You’ve heard them on the radio from time to time – songs like “Nights in White Satin” by the Moody Blues, or “A Whiter Shade of Pale” by Procol Harum. It’s a song with the backing of a studio orchestra of some sort. A song where the song’s pop music sensibilities are mixed with studio wizardry and symphonic, baroque movements. And today, on K-Chuck Radio, I figure that if you want an alternative to the holiday music of the season… this would be a viable listening alternative.
TERRY KNIGHT
“Saint Paul”
Terry Knight wrote this song in 1968 about the impending breakup of the Beatles. He also slipped in a few snippets of Beatles songs in the mix – which got the song completely yanked off the airwaves when the Beatles’ lawyers issued a cease and desist order. The song was later re-issued (once Knight handed the publishing rights over to the Beatles), which only caused Beatles conspiracy theorists to look over the record and ask, “Does this record have clues as to whether or not Paul McCartney is dead?”
THE DAVE MILLER SET
“Mr. Guy Fawkes”
The Dave Miller Set was an Australian studio group, and this was a cover of a song by another group, the Eire Apparent. I’ve heard the Eire Apparent’s version of this song. The Dave Miller Set version is much better.
GENTLE SOUL
“Tell Me Love”
Songwriters Pamela Pollard and Rick Stanley formed this group in the late 1960’s; the songs they created have a mixture of sunshine pop and baroque pop to them.
DRAGON
“Sunburst”
In their pre-pop days, the New Zealand rock combo Dragon put together one of the trippiest albums of its time, an album called Scented Gardens for the Blind. This track, “Sunburst,” is both brilliant and hypnotic.
THE HONEYBUS
“I Can’t Let Maggie Go”
This 1960’s British Top 10 hit by the Honeybus was so popular, it essentially eclipsed everything else they ever recorded.
PRICE AND WALSH
“The House of Ilene Castle”
Apparently Price and Walsh were two songwriters who worked with Gary Zekley, a Sunshine Pop producer who had a hit in the late 1960’s with the song “Yellow Balloon.” I really like this song, even though the pressing in this YouTube clip may have been off-center, causing some serious wow and flutter in the recording.
STEVE AND STEVIE
“Shine”
Two minutes of symphonic psychedelia. Steve Kipner – I’m not sure if he’s “Steve” or “Stevie” – would later have a Top 40 hit, “Toast and Marmalade For Tea” with the group Tin Tin.
THE GLITTERHOUSE
“I Love All the Love In You”
This was the love theme from the motion picture Barbarella, starring Jane Fonda as the titular character. The Glitterhouse were a baroque / psychedelic pop band that was produced by Bob Crewe for Crewe’s DynoVoice label. Huh-uh-huh, Chuck said “titular.”
Figure I’ll start with these… and see how the rest of your day goes.
Chuck The Writer 