OT: The Old, the Obscure, and The Forgotten - Round 2

[Scud49]

Here's an old one , kinda forgotten about too - Good Newsweek by the Hedgehoppers Anonymous. It charted and was a decent hit as I recall, so I can't say it was obscure:

 

[Bigboote]

Here's one that I hadn't heard of till maybe 5-10 years ago. Fuzzy Duck. They had a funky groove, wonderful musicianship, and broke up right after their first album came out.

 

[Steelerone]

I should qualify that- certainly not forgotten amongst us gray beards, but the younger gen has no clue about the Byrds, Easy Rider, Nixon,Watergate,CCR, CSN&Y, Nam, etc - believe me, I know, I've chatted with quite a few of my son's friends etc...!

Scud, this is sort of a generational rite of passage. I remember sitting in my Grandmother's kitchen listening to her and her generation talking about what they did during the "Dust Bowl", the CCC camps, and even the 1st WW. I had no clue about Rudy Valee and they had no clue about Fats, Elvis, or The Hilltoppers. Funny story, I was driving our Grandson to his Little League game years ago and I had a CD with the old Abbott & Costello routine "Who's On First." It was the first time he had ever heard it and he said it was the funniest thing he had ever heard. The moral of the story - The cream of the crop always stays on top.

 

[Steelerone]

When I was in HS, I was such a classical music snob, I didn't get pop, folk, jazz...boy what I missed (pre-rock)

Later I came to really appreciate the Weavers and sang all the songs with my kids and students...one of their songs seems really appropriate now:

I wore out their "Lonesome Traveler". Not sure there has ever been a more in-sync group.

 

[Steelerone]

This is from the movie "The Girl Can't Help It'. Starring Jayne Mansfield and a host of 50s musical greats. Little Richard recorded the title song track. I think the maid is played by actress Juanita Moore. Crazy, silly ,musical fluff!

Bama, that was the first movie I saw after being discharged. It was playing at the Warner's. About two blocks from the Clemente Bridge. One of the first Rock & Roll movies. I saw Little Richard at the Syria Mosque.

 

[Steelerone]

The maid is great!

Uconnfan, didn't he also do "Sitting In The Balcony:"?

 

[Steelerone]

My go-to guy, Mark Knopfler, from way back when he led Dire Straits. This song started on their Brothers in Arms album (1985), and played at various times throughout his career. I saw him do it last year in Philly, with a backup group of very accomplished musicians, and it was magnificent. This recording ain't bad, either, from 1993:

Tomcat, has there ever been a better duo than Mark and Chet Atkins doing "I'll See You In My Dreams."?

 

[Steelerone]

If you could think of a name of anyone in history who, along with that magnificent voice, could also sit down and play the piano the way Nat Cole did, he would come in a distant second. He was given the name "King" for a reason.

 

[Scud49]

Scud, this is sort of a generational rite of passage.

Oh yea, I know that. I remember sitting with my great aunt and grandfather in their living room where their beautiful old GE tube radio was - it had a wood case and wooden louvres. They were quite proud of it, telling me they had bought it 25+ years during the depression, listened to news reports on the war, old comedy programs at night etc. I had no idea what all these things/events really meant- but it was all part of my learning process.

 

[Steelerone]

Oh yea, I know that. I remember sitting with my great aunt and grandfather in their living room where their beautiful old GE tube radio was - it had a wood case and wooden louvres. They were quite proud of it, telling me they had bought it 25+ years during the depression, listened to news reports on the war, old comedy programs at night etc. I had no idea what all these things/events really meant- but it was all part of my learning process.

"There he goes, into the drugstore. He's stepping on the scale. Weight - 200 pounds. Fortune - Danger. Who is it? The Fat Man".

 

[Ozimoto]

I would imagine everyone on here has heard "You Were on My Mind" by The We Five. Here is another one that I just found today.

 

[Ozimoto]

The Seekers had many hits. However, I don't think this one got much air play here in the states.

 

[Ozimoto]

I've posted "Will You be Staying After Sunday" by the Peppermint Rainbow, a Baltimore "sunshine rock" band. They had a few other songs that weren't bad. This one for instance.

 

[Ozimoto]

And there is this song that I remember hearing on the radio, but not for many years. Didn't realize at the time is was a subtle anti-apartheid song...

 

[Scud49]

I remember WBZ played this one a fair amount- I absolutely loved it, early garage rock. It charted on BZ as I recall, but I don't think it ever did anything on a national basis.

 

[Bama fan]

Bama, that was the first movie I saw after being discharged. It was playing at the Warner's. About two blocks from the Clemente Bridge. One of the first Rock & Roll movies. I saw Little Richard at the Syria Mosque.

The old Stanley Warner theater was on Fifth Ave. Not far from the Flagg Brothers shoe store made famous by Billy Joel in "Keepin' the Faith". I think there was a jeweler/optician named Buhl's next to the theater.

 

[Scud49]

Ozi's post on Four Jacks and a Jill reminded me of this one - Jack the Lad's "Song Without a Band. It's a real up tempo tune, 1970's scratches and all at no extra charge:

 

[FairView]

An obscure song I loved as a kid.

 

[Beemer]

A favorite of mine by Phil Phillips, 1959 Sea Of Love. Not often I have found a remake more enjoyable than the original but Robert Plant and The Honeydrippers with their orchestral version in 1985 was the bomb.
Several years later it was the first dance at the joining with my better half. We covered a lot of floor before the guests joined us half way through.

I loved the entire Honeydrippers EP and I'm disappointed that they never followed up.

 

[Beemer]

This one was a pretty decent hit as I recall in the early 70's - but it seems lost in the dustbins now:

The Brothers Johnson did it better in the late 1970s

 

[FairView]

Another obscure one I liked during my high school years.
It's by Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show - First song on their album Sloppy Seconds, which also included the hit "Cover of the Rolling Stone." This song, and the entire album, was written by the multi-talented Shel Silverstein. Parents may remember him as the author of the children's book, "The Giving Tree." Silverstein was also a gifted cartoonist. He also wrote "A Boy Named Sue," which Johnny Cash recorded live at Folsom Prison.

I chose this live version, even though the vocals aren't as good as the studio recording, because the visuals of the band are priceless.

 

[reno tony]

 

[Scud49]

I so remember this one on the WBZ charts back in the fall of '62 IIRC - so its certainly old, and now pretty forgotten to boot:

 

[nwhoopfan]

Well, it's certainly not obscure, and I doubt it's forgotten, but at least it's old...

This brought a smile to my face. I'm assuming these are high schoolers, putting a slightly contemporary twist on a song from way before they were born. It's pretty faithful to the original, the lead vocals are more of a modern approach, but other than that. I think they all do a really nice job. The background vocals nail it.

 

[cohenzone]

You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You're so vain,
I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you?
Don't you?

I love this one, and it might qualify as old, but I’m not so sure it’s obscure. It also has a certain relevance. .