Review of the 10 greatest hits of the 1960s, part 27 | Culture & Leisure
Now let’s move on to the K-list of artists and bands that managed to break into the top 10 in the 1960s. But first, a little music streaming update.
Recently, I compared music streaming services Spotify, YouTube Music, and Apple Music, the latter of which I’ve been trying for a month. I keep the first two because they have features that Apple Music doesn’t, but listening to music on Apple is a very enjoyable experience, even over Bluetooth, which generally has lower fidelity than wired headphones.
Not only is there more clarity, but I hear more detail in the music – instruments and backing vocals I couldn’t hear before. Sometimes the differences are such that I feel like I’m hearing an alternate mix. That’s true in some cases, like in the extra strings of the Bee Gees’ Dolby Atmos surround mix. Stay aliveand additional vocals I’ve never heard before on Fleetwood Mac’s Atmos mix dreams.
I will probably subscribe to Apple Music.
And now to the K list.
Bert Kaempfert – wonderland at night: Of Germany. One of many wonderful instrumentals of spectacular fidelity by Kaempfert, who also produced the first professional recordings involving the Beatles, recorded in Hamburg in 1961. the most faithful stereo recordings. ever produced by the group.
Ernie K-Doe – Stepmother: One wonders if this humorous shot about mothers-in-law would have ever been recorded today.
Keith- 98.6: Light and memorable pop with great sound from the late 1960s.
Chris Kenner – I like it like that: Soul singing and playing loose, almost sloppy, and so much the better for that.
Andy Kim – I love you baby: A very enticing cover of the Ronettes hit by this Montreal artist, who later took over the most famous Ronettes hit be my baby.
Ben E. King – Spanish Harlem, stay close to me: One of the best soul singers of the 1960s came out of the park right after leaving the Drifters in 1960 with these two super atmospheric songs. Interestingly, for some reason this latest hit, whose appeal has spanned decades, can be heard in Dolby Atmos on Apple Music. I don’t have the right headphones to take full advantage of Atmos, but I can detect a 3D effect regarding the string parts of the song.
Claude King –Mount Wolverton: Kind of a cute novelty country song, but my ears are still ringing and burning from the overdone “answer song” (in Southern accent terms) (I’m the girl on) Wolverton Mountain by Jo Ann Campbell.
The Kingsmen- Louie Louie, the jolly green giant: The first of these is the immortal classic, almost indecipherable (because the song was recorded with a microphone) (a cover of an original by Richard Berry) which was examined by the FBI for lyrics possibly obscene. This version of the song is also considered a precursor to garage and/or punk rock. This latest hit is a dumb takeoff from long-running plant product ads.
The Kingston Trio-Reverend Mr. Black: The Trio were one of the best folk groups of the late 1950s and early 1960s, and were most famous for the ballad of the doomed man Tom Doley. When it comes to that tough story song, I wonder if it inspired the hit ringo (not the Beatles) by Lorne Greene a year later.
The Kinks- You really got me, all day and all night, tired of waiting for you: The Kinks are in my top five favorite bands of all time, and those early rock hits are wonderful. But if there had been justice, they would have also hit it big during their marvelous 1966-71 period, apart from the very good #14 ranking of sunny afternoonlike Waterloo sunset and the Face to face, something else, Village Green Preservation Society, Arthur and Lola scrapbooks. However, the title track of this last album reached the top 10 in 1970.
Gladys Knight and the Pips- Every beat of my heart, I heard it through the vine: Gladys Knight is one of my favorite soul artists of all time, with her passionate, punchy and emotional voice. Yet even though she may have performed the original version of the Van McCoy song To give up in 1964, I prefer the 1969 version of the Ad Libs.
Kokomo-Asia Minor– Memorable and lively instrumental in super stereo, from 1961.
Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas- Little children, bad for me: Pleasant British invasion pop, and very poppy bad for me is one of the few Lennon-McCartney songs recorded by the band. Interestingly, both songs were on one single.