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The Beatles single "Paperback Writer" / "Rain" Capitol 5651 is released in the US, May 30th, 1966
A bit of a "weak" song to release as a single....but did manage to make to number #1 on the charts,
for one week, falling to #2 the next week by Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night",
then #1 for a second time the following week.
The Beatles filmed 3 promo films ...directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg (he woukd later direct them in Let It Be).
2 were shot miming to the songs in the studio...1 in color ...i in black snd white ...
then "outside" filming at Chiswick Park...again miming ...this time no drum kit for Ringo!
John and Paul set up a challenge...minimal chords....and subject matter not about love...or relationships...
and in the same key....G
Paperback Writer ...first Beatles single not about love or a relationship...
it's written in the first person about a guy who wants to be a book writer....
in the key of G ....most of the song is just G ...each verse ending in C...
The guitar riff was played by Paul on his Epiphone Casino...though in the promo films it
looks like George playing it on his Gibson SG.
The distortion guitar sound is so modern....there are still debates online on how that smooth rich distortion
was achieved....the Beatles were given new Vox Conqueror amplifiers in 1966, with a built-in fuzz circuit,
Paul McCartney tended to play electric guitar through his Fender Bassman amp so more likely a Sola Tone Bender Fuzz box was used. Anyway an amazing guitar sound for 1966.
Paul's bass is very punchy too...he used his Rickenbacker 4001 inside of his usual Hofner,
it was dual miked ...using a loudspeaker as a microphone...Paul plays some crazy fast licks high up the neck.
The Beatles were also being playful in the studio....during the third verse...John and George
sing the french nursery rhyme "Frere Jacque" for backing vocals...
The b-side recording "Rain" is even stranger....the Beatles played it fast with the varispeed tape sped up
a bit fast too...then the tape was slowed down...John Lennon then did his vocals the opposite...tape slowed down then sped up slightly...the key ended up being slightly off G.
The results are amazing...and to top it off ...is Ringo's great frenzied drumming...to this day, Ringo is most
proud of his druming on "Rain"...it is outstanding....it really drives the song,
near the end of the song Ringo does very cool drum fills with the bass being the only other instrument...
then the final 20 seconds of the song is backwards....that's right ....backwards!
John stumbled on it when threading a reel to reel tape wrongly when high one night in his home studio,
he loved it and told producer George Martin use it when recording Beatles songs, recorded just after "Rain"
"I'm Only Sleeping" features backwards guitars...as does 'Tomorrow Never Knows".
Trivia: Paperback Writer was the only "1966" song that the Beatles bothered to play "live" during their 1966 tours...they didn't play any Revolver songs live.
On May 30, 1964, The Beatles had new competition in album sales. That was the day that The Rolling Stones released their debut LP titled "The Rolling Stones" and subtitled "England's Newest Hit Makers" in the US.
The American version was different from the version released in the UK in that the UK album cover didn't have any writing on it other than the Decca logo. Also the track "Not Fade Away" (the A-side of the band's third UK single) replaced "Mona (I Need You Baby)" on the US version. Upon its release, "England's Newest Hitmakers" reached No. 11 in the US, going gold in the process. To date, this is the only one of the Stones' American studio albums that failed to place in the top five on the Billboard album charts.
On May 30, 1964, The Beatles had new competition in album sales. That was the day that The Rolling Stones released their debut LP titled "The Rolling Stones" and subtitled "England's Newest Hit Makers" in the US.
The American version was different from the version released in the UK in that the UK album cover didn't have any writing on it other than the Decca logo. Also the track "Not Fade Away" (the A-side of the band's third UK single) replaced "Mona (I Need You Baby)" on the US version. Upon its release, "England's Newest Hitmakers" reached No. 11 in the US, going gold in the process. To date, this is the only one of the Stones' American studio albums that failed to place in the top five on the Billboard album charts.
A very exciting time for the Rolling Stones....
2 days later on June 1st the Rolling Stones arrived in America for their first tour!
They did eleven concerts between June 5th and June 20th.
On june 18th The Rolling Stones appeared on The Mike Douglas Show...
they played 4 songs ....3 of them "live"..."Carol"..."Not Fade Away" and "I Just Want to Make Love to You"...all really good versions...they just mimed to "Tell Me"...I guess because it features a 12 string guitar...
The whole 13 minute segment is available to see on youtube....
there is even an awkward mini interview in the middle ...Mike Douglas asks the group
which one appeals to girls more....Brian Jones then says "The men prefer Mick"...
a deliberate dig at Jagger....as Jones could see Mick becoming more and more
the front man of the group that he was once the leader...
Mike Douglas quickly changed the subject....
it's hilarious stuff!
As a side note ...the Beatles and the Rolling Stones were friends as well as rivals...
The Beatles went to see the Stones, who were playing at a club in april 1963...they hit it off right away...The Beatles then invited the Rolling Stones to see their show at The Royal Albert Hall ....the Rolling Stones witnessed Beatlemania first hand at that show and
when they were leaving the concert, they were mistaken for the Beatles and mobbed....
Brian Jones came home to their dingy flat that night and said to other Stones that he wanted that kind of adulation....
and less than a year later the Rolling Stones did reach close to that level around
the time of their first album, becoming second in popularity to the Beatles.
Fifty years ago today, May 31st, 1972, Pink Floyd began recording "Dark Side of the Moon", which spent 962 weeks on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart. Two singles, "Us and Them" and "Money" were released from the album which was certified 14x platinum, selling 45 million plus worldwide.
The record builds on ideas explored in Pink Floyd's earlier recordings and performances, while omitting the extended instrumentals that characterized their earlier work. The group employed multitrack recording, tape loops, and analogue synthesizers. Alan Parsons engineered much of the work.
A concept album, The Dark Side of the Moon explores themes such as conflict, greed, time, death and mental illness. The sleeve, which depicts a prism spectrum, was designed by Storm Thorgerson in response to keyboardist Richard Wright's request for a "simple and bold" design, representing the band's lighting and the album's themes. The design is iconic, and has been used for many other purposes, and is instantly recognizable.
1 June 1967, The Beatles released Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, in the UK. Recorded over a 129-day period beginning in December 1966, the album is widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time and was the first Beatles album where the track listings were exactly the same for the UK and US versions. As of 2011, it has sold more than 32 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums in history.
Interesting thing is that for years all the Beatle books I have read or own,
and there are a ton of them, indicate June 1st 1967 as been the release date
in the UK (and June 2nd in North America) ...but recently it has been confirmed
that Sgt Pepper was "rush released" (whatever that means) on May 26th 1967
in the UK...
On a trivia note Jimmy Hendrix was a big Beatle fan (and the Beatles were a big fans of him) ....well Jimmy quickly learned the title song "Sgt. Peper's Lonely Hearts Club band"
and played just a few nights after the album was released on june 4th 1967 ...with the Beatles in attendance. Paul in particular was amazed that Jimi did a good version of his song so quickly!
Fifty years ago today, May 31st, 1972, Pink Floyd began recording "Dark Side of the Moon", which spent 962 weeks on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart. Two singles, "Us and Them" and "Money" were released from the album which was certified 14x platinum, selling 45 million plus worldwide.
The record builds on ideas explored in Pink Floyd's earlier recordings and performances, while omitting the extended instrumentals that characterized their earlier work. The group employed multitrack recording, tape loops, and analogue synthesizers. Alan Parsons engineered much of the work.
A concept album, The Dark Side of the Moon explores themes such as conflict, greed, time, death and mental illness. The sleeve, which depicts a prism spectrum, was designed by Storm Thorgerson in response to keyboardist Richard Wright's request for a "simple and bold" design, representing the band's lighting and the album's themes. The design is iconic, and has been used for many other purposes, and is instantly recognizable.
Landmark album....I have it on both vinyl and CD ....
I bought it way back then and still have all the posters and goodies it came with.
That was the cool thing back then ....the album covers were artwork...
a lot of thought was put into it ...and also the posters, booklets, and photos that
came with albums back then...I have kept all of them in perfect condition...
As for Pink Floyd ....not my fave band ....that would be "The Who" and
"The Beatles" ...they are neck and neck for me.
Then next in my next tier are bands like Pink Floyd...Led Zeppelin...Black Sabbath...
The album before Dark Side of the Moon ....Meddle ....is also very good ....
a bit of a transition album....has a couple of classics ....spooky (and long) "Echoes"
and also kinda spooky "One of These Days" ...love that echo bass and distorted slide
guitar.
Dark Side of the Moon ...their first album with more accesible ..."normal" songs...
it stayed on the album charts for years ...I think it holds a record....
It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day
I was out choppin' cotton, and my brother was balin' hay
And at dinner time we stopped and walked back to the house to eat
And mama hollered out the back door, y'all, remember to wipe your feet
And then she said, I got some news this mornin' from Choctaw Ridge
Today, Billy Joe MacAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge
It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day
I was out choppin' cotton, and my brother was balin' hay
And at dinner time we stopped and walked back to the house to eat
And mama hollered out the back door, y'all, remember to wipe your feet
And then she said, I got some news this mornin' from Choctaw Ridge
Today, Billy Joe MacAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge
Bobbie Gentry's "Ode to Billie Joe". Released 10 July 1967.
Deep Purple released the album "In Rock"....on Warner Brothers records and tapes. I have it on vinyl...orginal with gatefold sleeve...Warner Brothers Records
seemed to me back in 70s to be the coolest label...they had Black Sabbath ...
Alice Cooper...Deep Purple....along with talented lighter artists like
Van Morrison and James Taylor.
It was the first classic hard rock (almost heavy metal) album with the classic...
Deep Purple lineup of Ritchie Blackmore ...Jon Lord ...Ian Paice ...Ian Gillan ...Roger Glover.
The Cover artwork features the group depicted like the US Presidents on Mount Rushmore.
Blackmore wanted the album to be called "In Rock"....to emphasize that Deep Purple were now strictly a hard rock group ....no mellow stuff allowed.
Deep Purple had some success with the earlier version of the group...
they scored a US hit in 1968 with a cover of Joe South song "Hush"....
another hit with Neil Diamond's "Kentucky Woman"...also in 1968.
By 1969 the hits dried up and Blackmore wanted to get much heavier...he could see that was where rock music was heading ...Led Zeppein were becoming huge....
Jon Lord prefered more progressive music ...they made a deal ...Deep Purple would do a lighter
progressive album and if that didn't sell well...then record a hard rock album more to Blackmore's liking.
Concerto For Group and Orchestra was released in late 1969...it didn't exactly fly off the shelves...
even though it featured new members Ian Gillan and Roger Glover.
Original Deep Purple vocalist Rod Evans was replaced with Gillan because he had the pipes to sing
and sometimes scream over the new heavy tunes.
Deep Purple In Rock only featured 7 songs...the weakest song being "Living Wreck"...
they almost cut it from the album....they probably should have and replaced it with "Black Night"...
Black Night ended up being released as a single ...also on Jun 5th 1970.
It is a riff song, borrowing heavily on Ricky Nelson's version of the classic "Summertime".
The album opens with blistering rocker "Speed King" ...weird thing is that when Warner Brothers listened to the master tapes they thought that the first minute of feedback and general mayhem was just noise and perhaps a mistake ...it was cut from the song on the US version of the album!
Bloodsucker..I love how wild this song is ...unhinged solos by Blackmore in the middle...
manic singing/shouting by Ian Gillan in the final verse/outro.
The entire album is very wild anc uncompromising ....it still holds up 52 years later....
Deep Purple's music was never again as wild, though perhaps their best was the Machine Head album, more polished sounding and features their most famous songs.
The songs....
Child in Time ...it is epic....in length ....in sheep power...Blackmore's machine gun like solo
and Gillan frenzied screaming....no rock singer can scream like Ian Gillan...not even Robert Plant.
Flight of the Rat .....it moves at determined pace ...just doesn't let up for a second....
Into the Fire....love those riffs....an antic drug song....
Living Wreck....the weakest song ....like the lyrics though...about a groupie....
Hard Lovin' Man....wow....by the end it sounds like Blackmore has reallly trashed his Stratocaster...
Last edited by GTB365; 06-05-2022 at 08:21 PM..
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