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It’s the sound of summer, it’s the sound of love, and many would say it’s also the sound of the greatest song ever written. The Beach Boys classic ‘God Only Knows’ is a watermark in pop music. There is a before ‘God Only Knows’ and there is an after ‘God Only Knows’ with the masterpiece representing the moment that pop went baroque and stood firmly on the shoulders of all that had gone before, gazing ahead and forecasting the beach-bright future. It would’ve had its own place in music history for its beauty alone, but beyond the majesty was the...

Nothing But Heartaches (Juke Box Single) · The Supremes

It's pretty much a miracle that any of us survived childhood in the 1960s! Parents exposed kids to secondhand smoke and let them run wild in the streets. Sugar was in everything and hazards lurked everywhere. Given today's hands-on style of parenting, it's hard to believe some of the things that were "normal" for kids in the '60s.

If you’ve ever wondered what connects Frank Zappa to Frank Sinatra, Burt Bacharach to The Beach Boys, the answer is Carol Kaye. The session legend tells the story behind her career and legendary bass recordingsIf plucking a ripe plum from a tree had a sound, it would resemble Carol Kaye’s signature tone – a tone that made her a ‘first-call’ bassist in the highly competitive studio session world. It wasn’t just that, though. Kaye is arguably the first bassist to exploit the instrument in a truly melodic fashion, a nod perhaps to her early days as a jazz guitar prodigy....

A standout album in a remarkable career, ‘Is That All There Is?’ dared to be different, revealing a new versatility to Peggy Lee’s singing.Peggy Lee was 49 years old when Capitol Records released Is That All There Is? in 1969. It was her 42nd album, and it had been over 10 years since the singer born Norma Deloris Egstrom, in 1920, had last graced the US Top 40 with her presence; her sultry take on Little Willie John’s “Fever” scaled the upper echelons of the American hit parade in 1958. But Lee, a country girl with Scandinavian ancestry who hailed...

The ideas that emerged when R&B’s heaviest heads let it all hang out make for a compelling chapter in the story of American music.By the time the psychedelic revolution dosed America’s collective consciousness in the late 60s, Motown Records had spent the decade’s first half at the front of just about every new move in R&B and soul. And the label wasn’t about to lag behind when it came to keeping pace with the wildly blooming counterculture. R&B artists were used to being a step ahead of rock ‘n’ roll, with the world’s most influential rockers scrambling to adopt the...

In 1961, the three Wilson brothers, their cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine came together to form a band, The Beach Boys. By mixing influences such as 1950s pop vocal groups, R&B and rock and roll, the band created an idiosyncratic summery sound, defined by lush vocal harmonies and a thematic focus on youth culture. During the 1960s, the band released at least one album a year, becoming known for hits such as ‘Surfin’ USA’ and ‘Surfin’ Safari’. However, by 1966, bandleader Brian Wilson took complete control, creating what he referred to as a solo album in the form...

From October of 1991, here is "The 60s Remembered," an excellent documentary about the turbulent 1960s, going year by year, focusing on events that took place in Cleveland, Ohio. Taped from WVIZ (PBS), Ch. 25, Cleveland.

Because he was such an icon, he was able to have Black artists on TV when they were often not welcomed nor wanted elsewhere.I cannot recall when I first heard the name Ed Sullivan, but it certainly had to have been when I was a ghetto youth coming of age in the 1970s and 1980s. I initially connected his name with music superstars Elvis Presley and The Beatles, and their now legendary appearances on his variety show. I was intrigued by how he introduced musical guests, his mightily distinctive diction, his genuinely low-key demeanor. But I had no clue, truly,...

Strong -- who passed away Sunday, Jan. 29, at the age of 81 in Detroit -- co-wrote some of Motown's most enduring hits.More than 73 years ago, Barrett Strong, as a singer, declared “Money (That’s What I Want)” — for the first hit single from the Motown empire. What he actually wound up getting was musical immortality. As a songwriter. Strong — who passed away Sunday, Jan. 29, at the age of 81 in Detroit — co-wrote some of Motown’s most enduring hits, with a variety of collaborators but primarily the late Norman Whitfield. Those included “I Heard It Through...

“I still believe that love is all you need,” Paul McCartney continues to proclaim, “I don’t know a better message than that.” And yet John Lennon took that love-uber-alles ethos to such an extreme in the 1970s that even his old rose-tinted mate was retorting, “Too many people preaching practices.” So it’s no surprise that the sardonic duo in Steely Dan rolled their eyes when they heard the ‘Smart One’s’ prayer for peace with ‘Imagine’ and a string of pious talk show appearances in the early 1970s. Steely Dan’s bold response to Lennon’s all-white evangelism signified that the prominent days...

In the 1960s and '70s, facial hair -- including mustaches, sideburns, goatees, Van Dykes, soul patches, mutton or lamb chops and other creative topiary -- was a means of free expression and identity. The 1950s had been an era of extreme clean-shavenness; in movies of the time, a 5 o'clock shadow was a visual shorthand for intoxication or derangement. As young men threw off the shackles of conformity, they began experimenting with facial hair. From the beatniks' goatees and Van Dykes to full hippie beards, and then into the '70s with massive sideburns and pimp-ish mustaches. If you could grow...

Regardless of how silly it can be, I find much to enjoy about this Batman show with Adam West and Burt Ward. Julie Newmar is still the best Catwoman. After years of ownership disputes, the fans can watch these classics once again!

Stewart, a fearless champion of racial integration in soul music, was described by the Stax Museum as ‘an architect of the Memphis Sound.’Jim Stewart, the co-founder of Stax Records, died yesterday (5) at the age of 92. His passing was confirmed by another storied member of the Stax family, hit songwriter David Porter. Stewart paved the way for, and presided over, the immense and worldwide popularity of Stax and its wealth of household soul names. His standing was reflected in his 2002 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, by representatives of two of the company’s most celebrated...

Gene Cipriano, Wrecking Crew Saxophonist, Dead at 94 Gene Cipriano, a prolific session musician who performed on a long list of popular albums and major motion pictures, has died at the age of 94. The musician’s death was confirmed by his son, who told the Hollywood Reporter that Cipriano passed away on Nov. 12 of natural causes. Cipriano was born into a musical family, his father having played on Broadway and with the New Haven Symphony. He’d take up the clarinet as a child, eventually becoming proficient in all woodwinds, including saxophone, oboe and flute. As a young adult, he’d...

The irresistible Isaac Hayes-David Porter composition and production ‘Soul Man’ became another Stax classic.1967 may be remembered for psychedelic pop and the Summer of Love, but it was also a super-soulful time in chart history. That was thanks in no small part to Stax Records in general and Sam & Dave in particular. On September 9 that year, Messrs Moore and Prater continued their run of hits on the esteemed southern soul label with the irresistible Isaac Hayes and David Porter composition and production “Soul Man.” Such was its crossover potential that it entered the Hot 100 that day,...

In television, there's often a strange, inherent tension between the fans who watch shows and the executives who oversee them. The former want good stories, compellingly told, that make sense and, when the time is right, come to a satisfying conclusion. The latter want to make money, which often means extending shows for as long as possible and sometimes even leaving things unresolved at the end because that lack of resolution keeps people guessing and can help the shows have a long life in syndication. Often, the executives win, but when the fans do, they have the final episode of...

James Rado, co-creator of the influential hippie-era rock musical Hair, has died at age 90. Publicist Merle Frimark, Rado’s longtime friend, confirmed the news to The New York Times, saying the Broadway legend died on Tuesday in Manhattan from cardio-respiratory arrest. Rado was born in Venice, Calif., but raised in Rochester, N.Y., and Washington, D.C. Following a two-year Navy stint, he moved to New York, studying acting and writing music. The '60s were his breakout decade: In 1963, he landed a part in the Broadway play Marathon ’33 and took a role in The Lion in Winter three years later,...

This is an excerpt from Thomas Sowell's 'Dismantling America'