The Platters – Song for the lonely “The ’59” #031

“The ’59” 2018 #031: 180131

The Platters – Song for the Lonely (1962)

The Platters formed in Los Angeles in 1952 and were initially managed by Federal Records A&R man, Ralph Bass. The original group consisted of Alex Hodge, Cornell Gunter, David Lynch, Joe Jefferson, Gaynel Hodge and Herb Reed, who joined the group after he was discharged from the Army in December 1952. Reed also created the group’s name.

In June 1953, Gunter left to join the Flaires and was replaced by lead vocalist Tony Williams. The band then released two singles with Federal Records, under the management of Bass, but found little success. Bass then asked his friend music entrepreneur and songwriter Buck Ram to coach the group in hope of getting a hit record. Ram made some changes to the lineup, most notably the addition of female vocalist Zola Taylor; later, at Reed’s urging, Hodge was replaced by Paul Robi. Under Ram’s guidance, the Platters recorded eight songs for Federal in the R&B/gospel style, scoring a few minor regional hits on the West Coast, and backed Williams’ sister, Linda Hayes. One song recorded during their Federal tenure, “Only You (And You Alone)”, originally written by Ram for the Ink Spots, was deemed unreleasable by the label, though copies of this early version do exist.

Despite their lack of chart success, the Platters were a profitable touring group, successful enough that the Penguins, coming off their No.8 single “Earth Angel”, asked Ram to manage them as well. With the Penguins in hand, Ram was able to parlay Mercury Records’ interest into a 2-for-1 deal. To sign the Penguins, Ram insisted, Mercury also had to take the Platters. The Penguins would never have a hit for the label, but The Platters were altogether more successful.

“It’s Magic”, from their 1962 album ‘Song for the Lonely” was written by Jule Styne, with lyrics by Sammy Cahn. The song was introduced by Doris Day in her film debut, ‘Romance on the High Seas’ (known in the UK as ‘It’s Magic’ after the song), and was published in 1947.

The electrifying Aretha Franklin (“The ’59”) #030

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The Electrifying Aretha Franklin (1962)

Aretha Franklin’s third studio album, was released on March 19, 1962 by Columbia Records. It’s also known under its working title The Incomparable Aretha Franklin and was recorded at Columbia Recording Studios, 799 Seventh Avenue, New York. It was produced by John Hammond and arranged by Richard Wess.

The Tornados – The Original Telstar (“The ’59”) #029

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The Tornados – The Original Telstar (1962)

The Tornados were essentially a backing group for many of record producer Joe Meek’s productions and also for singer Billy Fury. But they also enjoyed several chart hits in their own right, including the UK and U.S. No. 1 “Telstar” (named after the satellite and composed and produced by Meek), the first U.S. No. 1 single by a British group.

The Tornados (Dave Watts version) still perform concerts around the UK and Europe; the band consists of Dave Watts (keyboards), Shaun Corrigan on guitar for ’60s band the Symbols (“The Best Part of Breaking Up”), Pete Gill on bass from ’60s band The Rebounds, Jamie Thurston (vocals/guitar from ITV Heartbeat tour, “ITVtheRoyal”) and Tristan Long on drums (performed with Gareth Gates, Deacon Blue, Midge Ure, SKIN, Halloween, Foundations, Fortunes, etc.).

Ben E King – Don’t play that song (“The ’59”) #028

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Ben E King – Don’t Play that Song (1962)

Don’t Play That Song! was the third studio album from Ben E. King. It was released by Atlantic Records as an LP in 1962 and was home to five notable singles: “Stand by Me”, “Ecstasy”, “First Taste of Love”, “Here Comes the Night”, and the title track, “Don’t Play That Song (You Lied)”

Herbie Hancock – Takin Off (“The ’59”) #027

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Herbie Hancock – Takin Off (1962)

Herbie Hancock’s debut was released in 1962 on the Blue Note label. The recording session included Freddie Hubbard on trumpet and veteran Dexter Gordon on tenor saxophone. ‘Takin Off’ was a typical hard bop LP, with its characteristic two horns and a rhythm section.

The bluesy single “Watermelon Man” made it to the Top 100 of the pop charts, and went on to become a jazz standard.

It was released on CD in 1996 with three alternate takes and then remastered in 2007 by Rudy Van Gelder. The 2007 edition features new liner notes by Bob Blumenthal.

The Beach Boys – Surfin Safari (“The ’59”) #026

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The Beach Boys – Surfin Safari (1962)

Surfin’ Safari was the Beach Boys’ debut, released on October 1, 1962 on Capitol Records. The official production credit went to Nick Venet, though it was Brian Wilson with his father Murry who contributed substantially; Brian also wrote or co-wrote nine of its 12 tracks.It peaked at No. 32 in its 37-week run on the US charts.

‘Surfing Safari’ was preceded by two singles: “Surfin'” and “Surfin’ Safari”, which charted at Nos. 75 and 14, respectively. The success of “Surfin’ Safari” helped secure a full album for the group while an additional single, “Ten Little Indians”, was issued, charting at No. 49.

Peter, Paul and Mary (“The ’59”) #025

“The ’59′” 2018 #025: 180125

Peter, Paul and Mary (1962)

The self-titled debut album from Peter, Paul and Mary was released in 1962 on Warner Bros. Records. Released in both mono and stereo on catalog no. 1449, it’s one of the rare folk albums to have reached the No.1 slot in the US – staying there for over a month.

The lead-off singles “If I Had a Hammer” and “Lemon Tree” reached numbers 10 and 35 respectively. It was the group’s biggest selling studio album, eventually certified Double Platinum. It was reissued as 180 Gram vinyl in 2016 under the Waxtime Label. The Waxtime issue has 3 Bonus tracks which are side 1 track 7 – One Kind of Favor (Live), side 2 track 7 – The Times They Are A’ Changin’ (Live) & Track 8 – If I Had My Way (Live)

At the Grammy Awards of 1963, their recording of “If I Had a Hammer” won the Best Folk Recording and Best Performance by a Vocal Group Grammies.

Booker T & the MGs – Green Onions (“The ’59”) #024

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Booker T & the MGs – Green Onions (1962)

Green Onions was the debut album from Booker T. & the M.G.s, released on Stax Records in October 1962. It reached number 33 on the pop album chart in the month of its release. The title single had been a hit worldwide and has since been covered by dozens of artists, including the Blues Brothers and Roy Buchanan (both with Steve Cropper on guitars), as well as The Ventures, Al Kooper, The Shadows, Mongo Santamaría and Count Basie.

Three previous Stax LPs – two by the Mar-Keys, one by Carla Thomas – had been issued on Atlantic Records. Green Onions was the first album released on the Stax label. It was also Stax’s first charting album. It features only instrumental songs and features Steve Cropper playing a Fender Telecaster.

The album was included in Robert Dimery’s 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Bob Dylan (“The ’59”) #023

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Bob Dylan (1962)

Dylan met John Hammond at a rehearsal session for Carolyn Hester on September 14, 1961, at the apartment shared by Hester and her then-husband, Richard Fariña. Hester had invited Dylan to the session as a harmonica player, and Hammond approved him as a session player after hearing him rehearse, with recommendations from his son, musician John P. Hammond, and from Liam Clancy.

Hammond later told Robert Shelton that he decided to sign Dylan “on the spot”, and invited him to the Columbia offices for a more formal audition recording. No record of that recording has turned up in Columbia’s files, but Hammond, Dylan, and Columbia’s A&R director Mitch Miller have all confirmed that an audition took place. (Producer Fred Catero, then a recording engineer for Columbia Records, claims to have the master of that session. It is not the original demo for Columbia, but a session from December 6, 1962, recorded by John Hammond, Sr.)

On September 26, Dylan began a two-week run at Gerde’s Folk City, second on the bill to The Greenbriar Boys. On September 29, an exceptionally favorable review of Dylan’s performance appeared in the New York Times. The same day, Dylan played harmonica at Hester’s recording session at Columbia’s Manhattan studios. After the session, Hammond brought Dylan to his offices and presented him with Columbia’s standard five-year contract for previously unrecorded artists, and Dylan signed immediately.

That night at Gerdes, Dylan told Shelton about Hammond’s offer, but asked him to “keep it quiet” until the contract’s final approval had worked its way through the Columbia hierarchy. The label’s official approvals came quickly.

Studio time was scheduled for late November, and during the weeks leading up to those sessions, Dylan began searching for new material even though he was already familiar with a number of songs. According to Dylan’s friend Carla Rotolo (sister of his girlfriend Suze Rotolo), “He spent most of his time listening to my records, days and nights. He studied the Folkways Anthology of American Folk Music, the singing of Ewan MacColl and A. L. Lloyd, Rabbit Brown’s guitar, Guthrie, of course, and blues … his record was in the planning stages. We were all concerned about what songs Dylan was going to do. I remember clearly talking about it.”

The album was ultimately recorded in three short afternoon sessions on November 20 and 22. Hammond later joked that Columbia spent “about $402” to record it, and the figure has entered the Dylan legend as its actual cost. Despite the low cost and short amount of time, Dylan was still difficult to record, according to Hammond. “Bobby popped every p, hissed every s, and habitually wandered off mike,” recalls Hammond. “Even more frustrating, he refused to learn from his mistakes. It occurred to me at the time that I’d never worked with anyone so undisciplined before.”

Seventeen songs were recorded, and five of the album’s chosen tracks were actually cut in single takes (“Baby Let Me Follow You Down”, “In My Time of Dyin'”, “Gospel Plow”, “Highway 51 Blues”, and “Freight Train Blues”) while the master take of “Song to Woody” was recorded after one false start. The album’s four outtakes were also cut in single takes. During the sessions, Dylan refused requests to do second takes.

The album cover features a reversed photo of Dylan holding his acoustic guitar. This was done to prevent the neck of the guitar from obscuring Columbia’s logo.

Dion – Alone with Dion (“The ’59”) #022

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Dion – Alone with Dion (1961)

By the beginning of 1961, Dion had released his first solo album on the Laurie Label, “Alone with Dion”, and the single “Lonely Teenager,” which rose to No. 12 in the US charts. The name on his solo releases was simply “Dion.” Follow-ups “Havin’ Fun” and “Kissin’ Game” had less success, and the signs were that Dion would drift onto the cabaret circuit. However, he then recorded, with a new vocal group, the Del-Satins, an up-tempo number co-written with Ernie Maresca. The record, “Runaround Sue,” stormed up the U.S. charts, reaching No. 1 in October 1961, and No. 11 in the UK, where he also toured. “Runaround Sue” sold over a million copies, achieving gold disc status

Lonely Teenager” was written by Alfred DiPaola, Silvio Faraci, and Salvatore Pippa and was Dion’s first solo single It reached No.47 in the UK in 1960.