The Saturday Surveys (June 28th)

We've got another nice collection of charts to close out the month of June this week in Forgotten Hits.

First up, a Canadian Chart from CKLG 73 and their Boss Radio 30.

#1 in Vancouver this week in '69 were The Beatles with their two-sided hit "The Ballad Of John And Yoko" / "Old Brown Shoe", a record that DIDN'T top the charts here in the States (probably because it was banned on any number of radio stations at the time.)  Incredibly this record didn't chart at all on the CHUM Hit Parade, most likely for the same reason.

We have another unlikely candidate at #2 ... Bob Dylan's "I Threw It All Away", a song that crapped out at #60 on the U.S. National Charts.  (It only reached #85 in Billboard).

Elyse Weinberg has the #12 hit this week (down from #9) with something called "Oh Deed I Do".  I'm assuming this was a Canadian talent (?) ... but this record didn't make the Billboard or CHUM Charts either.

Hot "Hitbound" premier of the week belongs to The Guess Who with their second million-selling single "Laughing".  It was the success of this single, Burton Cummings told us a couple of weeks ago, that convinced the band that they might actually make it in the music business.  "Too many groups had that one hit, flash in the pan success ... and 'These Eyes' could have been it for us ... but 'Laughing' proved that we were on to something and we knew it when Dick Clark himself presented us with the gold record for this single.  That gold record still hangs on my wall today and looks as beautiful now as it did the day I received it, especially when the sunlight comes through the window and catches it just right."

Looks like surfin' was all the rage in Riverside and San Bernardino, California on this date back in 1963.

The Surfaris have the #1 Record with their two-sided hit "Wipe Out" / "Surfer Joe", followed right behind by Jan and Dean's "Surf City" and the very surf-guitar-sounding version of "Memphis" by Lonnie Mack.  You'll also find "Baja" by The Astronauts in The Top Ten along with something called "Johnny Surfboard" by Barry Mann at #14.  Future Beach Boy Bruce Johnston is at #32 with "Original Surfer Stomp", a solo record released several months before he teamed up with Terry Melcher to record all those "Bruce And Terry" records.

Look closely and you'll see that "From Me To You" by The Beatles made a HUGE leap this week from #39 to #17 with "From Me To You", a song that wouldn't chart nationally for another nine months when it was re-released as the B-Side of their "Please Please Me" single.  ("From Me To You" was a pretty big record in certain parts of California ... yet still did nothing nationally at the time, Bubbling Under at #116 in Billboard.)











  

This KEWB Chart surprised me ... look at Paul Revere and the Raiders perched at #2 with their version of "Louie Louie" ... in 1965!!!  (This record first came out in late '63 and competed with The Kingsmen's version ... and was completely blown away by the competition.  I didn't even know that Columbia had DONE a re-release in '65 ... and this chart pre-dates what most consider to be The Raiders' break-out hit, "Just Like Me", which wasn't released until the end of the year!)

Once again we have two songs by Them in The Top 20 ... competing with the likes of Patti Page (?!?!), Steve Alaimo and Esther Phillips, with her reworking of The Beatles' hit, now titled "And I Love Him".

And even as late as The Summer of '65, KEWB was still reporting The British Beat as part of its survey.  Incredibly you'll find just as many American artists there, many enjoying greater success overseas than they were here at home at the time.  (Elvis, The Everly Brothers and Burt Bacharach all have Top Ten Hits in the UK this week.)  You'll also find Sandie Shaw topping the charts with other British artists The Rockin' Berries and Tony Hatch's partner Jackie Trent not far behind.

And finally, we take another look at the VERY psychedelic-looking chart from  KYA, 1967.

I love the way they salute their own by promoting "The Sounds Of San Francisco, Heard Daily on KYA", spotlighting artists like The Jefferson Airplane, Moby Grape, Country Joe and the Fish, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band ... and hip tracks like "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and new music by The Grass Roots, Donovan, The Byrds and The Youngbloods.

You'll find "heavier" sounds within their weekly countdown, too ... The Jefferson Airplane are at #2 with "White Rabbit", followed by The Doors at #4 with "Light My Fire", "Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix at #7 and "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" by Procol Harum at #9.

Further down the countdown you'll find "Ding Dong, The Witch Is Dead" by our FH Buddies, The Fifth Estate, "Bluebird" by Buffalo Springfield, "Step Out Of Your Mind" by Chicago's own American Breed and brand new two-sided hit premiers by both The Monkees ("Pleasant Valley Sunday" / "Words") and The Beatles ("All You Need Is Love" / "Baby You're A Rich Man").

50 Years Ago This Weekend

A WORLD WITHOUT LOVE finally reaches #1 on The Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles Chart for PETER AND GORDON this week, a nice feather in the cap of PAUL McCARTNEY as well, who wrote the song for the duo.  (MACCA was dating PETER's sister, Actress JANE ASHER, at the time.)  DON'T LET THE SUN CATCH YOU CRYING sat at #7 for GERRY AND THE PACEMAKERS and another LENNON and McCARTNEY tune, this time recorded by BILLY J. KRAMER AND THE DAKOTAS, was this week's #9 Hit, BAD TO ME.

LOVE ME DO fell out of The Top Ten for The Fab Four (at #11) and the BILLY J. KRAMER flipside LITTLE CHILDREN was right behind it at #12.  CAN'T YOU SEE THAT SHE'S MINE by THE DAVE CLARK FIVE continued its climb up the charts, now sitting at #16 in its third week on the chart, just ahead of DIANE by THE BACHELORS, which fell to #17.  The CHAD AND JEREMY version of YESTERDAY'S GONE sat at #24, one position ahead of THE SEARCHERS'  latest hit, DON'T THROW YOUR LOVE AWAY.  DO YOU LOVE ME by THE DAVE CLARK FIVE and P.S. I LOVE YOU by THE BEATLES held on to their Top 40 positions at #34 and #37 respectively.

WISHIN' AND HOPIN' climbed 18 places for DUSTY SPRINGFIELD to #61 and THE ROLLING STONES hit their highest position at #63 with NOT FADE AWAY after nine weeks on the chart.  PETER AND GORDON's next release, NOBODY I KNOW (another LENNON and McCARTNEY tune) debuted at #73.  THE OVERLANDERS were still trying to hold on at #75 with their version of YESTERDAY'S GONE while FOUR BY THE BEATLES climbed to #92.  How desperate were we for new BEATLES material???  SIE LIEBT DICH, THE BEATLES' recording of their #1 Hit SHE LOVES YOU sung in German, premiers at #97.  (It had already been on our local WLS Chart for a couple weeks at this point.)  Other interesting premiers this week:  I'M INTO SOMETHIN' GOOD by EARL J EAN and IT'S ALL OVER NOW by THE VALENTINOS.  Neither will make much of an impact on the charts until they're covered a few months later by British Invasion sensations HERMAN'S HERMITS and THE ROLLING STONES!

It's interesting to see that "A World Without Love" FINALLY hit the #1 Spot on the Billboard Chart this week … a full two weeks AFTER it topped the chart here in Chicago.  (This week it sits at #4 on the WLS Silver Dollar Survey).  "Little Children" remains the #1 record in town.  "Can't You See That She's Mine" leaps to #7 (from #24), putting it four places ahead of The Dave Clark Five's other current hit "Do You Love Me", which sits at #11.  The Beatles are still holding on to a Top Ten Hit with "Love Me Do" / "P.S. I Love You", which sits at #8.

"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" climbs to #12, "Sie Liebt Dich" falls to #19 and The Searchers premier at #25 with their new one, "Don't Throw Your Love Away".

Another new favorite on the WLS Chart this week is "She's The One" by The Chartbusters, a group out of Washington, D.C. that sounds an AWFUL lot like The Beatles!  This would become a fairly big hit here in Chicagoland, peaking at #9 a few weeks later.

More From Jim Holvay

re:  THE CHICAGO SOUND ... 

DID WE OVERLOOK SOMEBODY?:

Songwriter Jim Holvay reviewed our recent feature on "The Chicago Sound" and had a few comments to make. 

A lot of what has become to be known as the "Chicago horn sound" was attributed to The Buckinghams ... a sound later carried on by Chicago and, eventually, even The Ides Of March ... but a local group called The Mob had horns in their line-up since the early-to-mid '60's ... and Jim wanted to make sure our readers were aware of this.  

Here are some of his comments regarding the evolution of the Chicago Horn Sound. 

I read your blog on “What Is The Chicago Sound?”.  

I was a little upset that The MOB was not given much credit (or even mentioned) for the contribution or inspiration that we provided to a lot of bands in the Windy City, considering we were the first band in Chicago that had a full horn section.  It could've been that we never had any real recording success or the bloggers don't know the history of how that all came about.  

Even though we were the first band “on the scene” and the cutting edge with a horn section, The Buckinghams, BS&T and CTA, beat us to the punch when it came to recording success.  We inspired Danny, Terry and Wally to add horns to their group, which was originally called The Missing Links.     

In March of ’66, I wrote and produced a single for them called “Makin’ Up And Breakin’ Up” b/w “You Hypnotize Me” on Ivanhoe Records, when they were a four piece band, prior to them re-forming as The Big Thing.  To Danny Seraphine’s credit, he did give us some recognition in his book “Street Player”. (Thank you Danny!)

(The Buckinghams would also record their version of "Makin' Up And Breakin' Up" for their first USA LP. - kk)

As you know it was the producers (Dan Belloc and Carl Bonafede) who added horns to The Bucks tracks. They didn’t have horns in the band.   

Mike Callahan was the only blogger that got it right. He referred his readers to a song called “Beatle Time” that Gary and I had recorded as a group called The Livers, previously The Chicagoans.  That song was recorded in December of 1963 and charted on WLS.  Carrying the melody of the tune was a horn section. 
  

The MOB’s very first release (”Wait” b/w “Mystery Man”) was on Cameo / Parkway Records in May of 1966. I believe “Kind Of A Drag” came out in 1967, later followed by the success of BS&T, CTA, the Ides Of March and finally Chase.  

A final comment on The MOB and horn rock bands.  

In June of ’66, The MOB was playing at a club in Schiller Park on River Road called the Wine and Roses. The Missing Links, The Exceptions, Carl Bonafede, everyone was coming to see The MOB.  

I believe WLS was the first station to break “Cherish” by The Association, which went to #1 and subsequently spread across the country.  The record label flew The Association out to Chicago to thank the jocks at the station for playing the record and making it # 1.  Terry Kirkman and the guys told us that after their visit to the station they asked who the hot band was in town. The jocks told the fellas, “Go see The MOB out at a club near O’Hare”. (i.e. The Wine and Roses)  We met The Association that night and became good friends, which resulted in us becoming their opening act on a lot of their college dates. Years later their manager (Pat Collechio) became our manager.   

Anyway, The Association flew back home to LA and told Capitol Records that they need to sign this great band which they had just seen in Chi Town.  Within a few weeks, we found ourselves recording in Studio A at the famous Capitol Records tower on Vine Street in Hollywood.  I believe it was Nik Venet who produced three songs that Gary and I had written.  After the session, we flew back home to continue our residency at The Wine and Roses and waited to hear what the verdict was on our newly created horn rock sound.  Keep in mind that at that time, every group in Chicago consisted of two guitars, bass and drums or maybe a Vox organ or a sax. 

Well, Sal Innucci (the then President of Capitol Records) heard our traks and said, “Dump the horns and add more guitars”.  

We weren’t going to do that because that’s not who we were. We felt we had something different and unique that would separate us from all of the Beatle influenced bands there were happening at the time.  Unfortunately recording-wise, all of the stars in the universe never lined up for The MOB and many groups came after us and took advantage of adding horns to their records, along with great songs, arrangements, production and a major label behind them.  

Thanks for listening, 

Jim

The Mob had one big local hit in 1970 called "I Dig Everything About You", which cracked The Top 20 on the WCFL Chart.  (Incredibly, this record wasn't even played on WLS ... and nationally peaked at #83 in Billboard!)  It should have been a MUCH bigger hit than it was, sounding very much of-the-time ... but somehow it failed.

I couldn't help but wonder how Jim felt ... and his bandmates felt ... about him giving away FOUR Top Ten Hit Records to The Buckinghams.  Had they cut these tracks themselves, it might have been The Mob that garnered all of this national acclaim rather than The Bucks ... but even after all this time, he doesn't think so.  Jim Holvay believes The Buckinghams had the right chemistry to make these records hits ... and that if recorded by anybody else they may have just fallen by the wayside.  He tells us:

Being on a major label helps the national distribution of your record tremendously. (i.e. $airplay$, interviews, press, industry ads in the trade papers and records in the stores) When “I Dig Everything About You” was released, I believe our small, indie label (Colossus Records) was having financial problems.  We did have a very loyal following but because of not having a national hit record, it was limited to a “club level” which went across the US, Canada and Hawaii. Keep in mind that we were able to stay together and work “on the road” for 15 years. The majority of bands without a hit record, break-up after a few years of playing clubs. 

As for giving away four Top Ten Hits, I was always a songwriter first and had numerous records out before The MOB. The songs that I and Gary gave Bonafede and later Guercio were considered “pop songs”. The MOB was an R&B influenced band and we were writing songs in that genre for the group. Even if Big Al had sung “Kind Of A Drag” or any of the Bucks hits, that was no guarantee they would’ve been successful.  There are a lot of elements that have to happen to make a song become a hit. The “magic” for the Bucks was Denny’s voice, Jon Jon’s drumming, Gary and my songs, Bonafede and Guercio’s production and Columbia Records' promotion department.   

Over the years, Gary and I held back quite a few songs for The MOB. Guercio wanted “Once A Man, Twice A Child” for BS&T and we didn’t give it to him.  That song appears on our first LP on Colossus. Lou Rawls wanted a song called “Can’t Keep A Good Man Down”, which we recorded on MGM Records, but it was never released. There have been a lot of songs that we held back, in hopes of getting The MOB a national hit record.   For whatever reason, it just didn't happen for us.

I had heard a couple of years ago that The Mob had gotten back together and were doing shows again?  Any details you can share in this regard?     

The MOB was inducted in the South Dakota Rock n’ Roll Hall Of Fame in April of 2011. Two thousand people showed up in Sioux Falls. (nice following J)  The good fellas would love to perform again but the mobsters live in eight different cities. This presents a big $logistic$ challenge.   

Well, if you guys are ever able to work this out, please know that we are ALWAYS happy to help spread the word ... so feel free to "use us" in any way you can.  

Again, a BIG THANK YOU Kent, for putting this out there and helping us tell our story.   

A VERY special thank you to Clark Besch for hooking us up with Jim Holvay for this special feature.  Clark also provided TONS of cool photos and sound clips (far more than we can use in a single piece!) so I wanted to thank him for that, too.  (Seems every time Clark and Kent work together, something "super" turns up!)  

Here are a couple of things that were just too cool not to share!  

Did you have Hip-Pocket Records when you were a kid?  There weren't very many of them released ... but here's the one put out by The Buckinghams, featuring their early 1967 hits "Kind Of A Drag" and "Lawdy Miss Clawdy".  (Cool sleeve, too ... I think this is a picture of all of the original guys when they were in the third grade!)

 

And how about this?  The Bucks plugging Rowe Jukeboxes (where they want you to play their latest hit, "Kind Of A Drag" ... naturally!)

 

The Buckinghams

Some great feedback to our recent pieces on The Buckinghams ... so they're back in The Forgotten Hits Spotlight again today!    

re:  THE BUCKINGHAMS:  
Kent - 
Can you ask Carl if they ever did a single called "Im Gonna Say Goodbye"?  It would have been out mid-1964, and it got played as an extra at WKBW in Buffalo.  I remember them playing this record and the group was called the Buckinghams.   
Also, I only remember three singles on USA - Kind of a Drag, I Call Your Name and Lawdy Miss Clawdy - maybe he can fill in here as he would certainly know.  They have always been a favorite of mine, and I worked their Tufano and Gianmarese record on Ode in the summer of 1973.  
Clay Pasternack  
I can answer these all by myself!  
The Buckinghams weren't calling themselves The Buckinghams yet in 1964 ... that name wouldn't come to be until they signed to WGN-Television as the "house band" playing the latest hits on a weekly television program "All-Time Hits".  It was a VERY clever moniker, bestowed on them, I believe, by a WGN Security Guard who made the connection between Buckingham Palace in London and Buckingham Fountain right here in Chicago.  In that EVERYBODY was trying to cash in on the English craze at the time, it was the PERFECT connection between the two ... a stroke of pure genius to say the least!  (Even a few years later, folks were still confused ... as mentioned in our piece last week, The Smothers Brothers had The Buckinghams perform on their show in front of a Union Jack Flag from the U.K.!!!)  
As for the USA singles, there were quite a few others ... some of which were even released BEFORE "Kind Of A Drag" broke the band nationally in late 1966.  (Others were released after the band jumped ship to Columbia, trying to cash in on their newfound success.)  Nearly ALL of these received airplay (and some chart action) here in Chicago.  

They are (in order):  
USA 844 - I'll Go Crazy (a #19 hit here in Chicago) / Don't Want To Cry  
USA 848 - I Call Your Name (#14 in Chicago) / Makin' Up And Breakin' Up  
USA 853 - I've Been Wrong  (#13 in Chicago) / Love Ain't Enough  
USA 860 - Kind Of A Drag (#2 in Chicago) / You Make Me Feel So Good  
... all of the above released in 1966  
USA 869 - Lawdy Miss Clawdy  (#24 in Chicago) / Makin' Up And Breakin' Up   
NOTE:  This single was also released with "I Call Your Name" on the B-Side  
USA 873 - I Don't Want To Cry / Summertime (did not chart)  
In addition, I believe The Buckinghams were also the band featured on these released singles:  
Spectra Sound 4618 - Sweets For My Sweet / Beginner's Love  (released as The Pulsations)
Spectra Sound 641 - It's All Right / I Love You No More  (released as The Centuries)  
Alley Cat 201 - Lawdy Miss Clawdy / Virginia Wolf  (released as The Falling Pebbles)  
All of the above tracks (except the two released as The Centuries) ended up on The Buckinghams' "Kind Of A Drag" album.  

I'm hoping Carl Giammarese can shed some additional light on these tracks as I've been curious about them for years now ... let's see what he comes back with!  (kk)   

Hi Kent,  
Sweets For My Sweet and Beginner's Love were the first two songs we recorded as either The Pulsations or The Buckinghams ... I'm not sure which ... in 1965.  (I think it was The Pulsations ... although the record may have been rereleased as The Buckinghams once they started having hits under that name. - kk) They were recorded at 218 South Wabash.  It was either called Hall Recording Studios or Stereo Sonic ... I can't remember when they changed names. The engineer was Ed Cody. It was initially released on Spectra Sound which was Dan Belloc's label. I think their distribution was selling it out of the trunk of Carl Bonafede's car, ha ha. At the time, both George LeGros and Dennis Tufano were singing lead and they harmonized fabulously together. Before Kind Of A Drag was recorded George was drafted and he missed out. George was a dear friend, a great guy ... sadly, he passed away several years ago. Anyway, when USA needed songs for the Kind Of A Drag album, Bonafede and Belloc added those two songs. The rest of the songs on that album were recorded at Chess Records, 2120 S. Michigan Ave.  

It's Alright and I Love You No More were recorded by The Centuries in, I think, late 1964, at Lawrence and Western and I think it was the old St. Louis Insurance Building. My cousin Jerry Elarde was our drummer and lead singer (fab voice) ... he sang It's alright. Our bass player, Curt Bachman, sang I Love You No More. I was the Lead Guitar player and Nick Fortuna was the rhythm guitar player. Both songs were written by Jeff Boyen (from Saturday's Children). Jeff was part of a duo called Ron and Jeff, kind of folky, but they did early Beatles fabulously. These songs had nothing to do with The Buckinghams other than Nick and I became The Pulsations and then The Buckinghams.

Lawdy Miss Clawdy was recorded early in 1965. It was released first on Alley Cat (Bonafede's label) and probably the distribution was handled like Spectra Sound ... right out of the trunk of Bonafede's car, ha. It was Carl Bonafede's and John Poulos's idea to call it The Falling Pebbles, just for fun, to see if the name would catch on ... sort of a take off The Rolling Stones name ... Stones, Pebbles ... whatever. We were big fans of The Hollies and recorded it like they did it, up tempo but with horns. At the time I wasn't really aware of the original Lloyd Price recording. Anyway, it eventually wound up on our USA's Kind Of A Drag album. USA released it as a single to counter Don't You Care, our first Columbia single. Lawdy did pretty well on the strength of Kind Of A Drag, and gave us three songs on the top 100 chart at the same time.  
I hope that clarifies some things.  Thanks for asking.  
Carl  
Three Top 100 Hits at the same time ... amazing ... for this incredible group out of Chicago.  (Now it's not like they were Iggy Azalea or anything ... but that's still pretty damn impressive!!!)  
It's funny because the very first version of "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" that I ever heard was The Buckinghams' version ... and I loved it!  I think next I heard Elvis Presley do it ... and then finally the Lloyd Price original.  Again, another reason why keeping this music alive is so important ... everybody influenced everybody ... and that's what keeps the circle going.  
And I love the Falling Pebbles story!  (We entered our 1970 High School Talent show as The Cardboard Oh-Yes Orchestra and performed "Hey Jude" ... a take-off on John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band!)  
This is great stuff, Carl.  (I wonder if anybody out there has a copy of The Centuries' tracks ... as these, apparently, never found their way to CD.  Would love to hear them!) Also, you'll find some REALLY cool, vintage Buckinghams videos on YouTube, dating back to the time they were the "house band" on WGN - TV's "All Time Hits" program.  (OMG, they look like babies in some of these clips!!!)  Enjoy!  (Thanks, Carl ... good stuff ... and an education for all of us!)  kk   

Here are three vintage clips, posted by original Buckinghams keyboardist Dennis Miccolis ... how cool is it that these even still exist!  
Click here: Dennymiccolis's channel - YouTube   

I've always liked the big sound of The Buckinghams' recordings. It's interesting reading all the things about them in FH, and how their album, "Time and Charges" inspired the formation of both Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears. It's also interesting that Jim Guercio ended up producing recordings for all three bands. Small world, huh?
- John LaPuzza  
I don't know that I'd go so far as to say "'Time And Charges' inspired the formation of both Chicago and Blood, Sweat and Tears" ... although both certainly gained a tremendous amount of attention at the time for their "unique" use of horns on rock and roll records ... something The Buckinghams had already been doing for a few years prior.  But yes, Guercio IS a common connector to all three acts ... and, at various times, all three artists have also denounced him for his controlling ways in the recording studio, often compromising them as artists.  (I've always been of the impression that there is not a HUGE Jim Guercio Fan Club in the music industry ... but his track record certainly speaks for itself!)  kk   

Kent,   
Thanks for the GREAT Buckinghams synopsis from Carl Giammarese!  I can't wait to buy his book!   
Jim Peterik's is still close also, I believe.  I'll let you know.  The Chicago sound was too varied to capture easily, but I know it DRIVES me still today as much if not more, than when I was young!  Working on the Bucks' CD packages and other Chicago artists of the day just make it even more fun to be a small part of.  
-- Clark Besch  

Kent, 
A friend just asked me if Susan, by the Buckinghams, was written about a specific woman. She thought, mistakenly, that I know everything about Rock And Roll. I did tell her that the song was not written by anyone in the band, but still Carl or Dennis might know. Thanks.  
Jack  
True ... but the guy who would REALLY know would be Jim Holvay, who wrote FOUR Top Ten Hits for the band, including this one.  ("Kind Of A Drag" [#1], "Don't You Care" [#5], "Hey Baby, They're Playing Our Song" [#5] and "Susan" [#6].)  

So I forwarded your friend's question to Jim ... along with one of my own ...   

What did Jim think about The Buckinghams' recording of his song ... and, in particular, the overall arrangement and then the little psychedelic interlude that Jim Guercio inserted there near the end (without the band's knowledge.  The Buckinghams themselves were shocked by this little piece of psychedelia when they first heard it ... but what did Jim Hovay, as the songwriter, think about Guercio's expression of his work???)  kk  

The song “Susan” was written backstage in between shows at a club on Rush Street called The Happy Medium.

My group THE MOB was appearing in the main room.  
There was a club below called The Pussycat A Go A Go, where I met a server who’s name was “Susan”.   
She later became a Playboy Bunny. (Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! - kk) We dated a few months and the song was about her.   

Regarding the arrangement, etc., Dennis Tufano did an excellent job in singing and interpreting the song, as did Marty Grebb, whose arrangement of the background vocal parts was beautiful.  Gary (Holvay's writing partner, Gary Beisbier, also a member of The Mob - kk) and I were extremely pleased with what they had done with the song.  

Of course we were in shock like everybody else when the “psychedelic section” came up that Jimmy Guercio had added, which I assume was inspired by “A Day In The Life”.  It had no relevance to what the song was about but we understood that everyone wanted to emulate The Beatles at that time.  

It was only recently that a musician told me that Guercio had lifted the whole track from a classical piece. When Gary and I first heard it, we thought he had orchestrated that interlude. I assume he paid a “licensing fee” in order to borrow that piece ... or maybe not. I don’t think there was any credit given to the classical composer on the album notes.  

What really got us upset was when the record came out and Jim Guercio’s name appeared as one of the writers of “Susan”. He had a tendency to do that (i.e. “Don’t You Care”). His justification was that he added the “psychedelic part”. OMG! Welcome to the record industry. 

Jim Holvay

 

More from Jim Holvay tomorrow in Forgotten Hits!