"Happy Together" by The Turtles and "Dedicated To The One I Love" by The Mamas and the Papas hold on to the #1 and #2 spots respectively on this week's chart … but making a big move toward the top are "Somethin' Stupid" by Nancy and Frank Sinatra (#3, up from #8) and "I Think We're Alone Now" by Tommy James and the Shondells (#4, up from #7). Petula Clark holds at #5 with her latest, "This Is My Song."
The Monkees climb seven places to #6 with "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" … could IT be the next new #1 Record? "Bernadette" by The Four Tops continues its climb, moving from #11 to #7 while "Western Union" by The Five Americans cracks The Top Ten for the first time, moving from #14 to #10.
Also on an uphill climb in The Top 40 we find "Jimmy Mack" by Martha and the Vandellas (up from #16 to #12), "The 59th Street Bridge Song" by Harper's Bizarre, jumping from #19 to #14, "Beggin'" by The Four Seasons, up seven places from #24 to #17, "Sweet Soul Music" by Arthur Conley, up to #21 from #27, "With This Ring" by The Platters, which climbs eight places from #33 to #25, "At The Zoo" by Simon and Garfunkel, leaping 21 positions from #49 to #28, "Don’t You Care" by The Buckinghams (climbing from #43 to #31), "Tell Me To My Face" by Keith (up to #32 from #41), "I'm A Man" by The Spencer Davis Group, up twenty spots from #56 to #36 and "On A Carousel" by The Hollies, which rises from #57 to #40, a move of seventeen places.
"More Of The Monkees" is still the #1 Album in the nation.
Tonight's Monkees television episode stars Julie Newmar as April Conquest, who all four boys immediately fall in love with. It's considered one of their classic episodes.
Once again, no other Beatles are present this evening, leaving George Harrison alone in the studio tonight to complete his recording of "Within You, Without You". George holds court with the Indian musicians especially assembled to complete this track. And, once this recording was complete (sometime between 3:00 and 6:30 am the following morning), The Beatles had officially finished recording their "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album. (In all, over 700 hours were spent in the studio making the album … and that didn't include all of the mixing time done to date and still required to finalize the LP)
It is revolutionary in virtually every way, not the least of which is printing the song lyrics on the back cover. It would also provide numerous clues a few years later to the whole "Paul Is Dead" theory. (Paul's back is turned to the camera as he is no longer with us ... George Harrison's finger is pointing to the lyric "Wednesday Morning at Five O'Clock" ... the time of Paul's fatal car crash ... and, of course, the funeral flower arrangement on the front cover depicting a left-handed guitar ... and the hand raised over Paul's head signifying the blessing for his passing ... unreal in theory but some pretty interesting "coincidences" to be sure!)
In hindsight it almost seems inconceivable that just four years earlier The Beatles were singing "She Loves You, yeah, yeah, yeah" and were now singing about "plasticine porters with looking glass ties", "tangerine trees and marmalade skies" and girls with "kaleidoscope eyes" … but they were. Start to finish, the album took 129 days to complete … an absolutely unheard of amount of time back in the day when some artists released as many as three or four albums within a single year!
Sessions began with "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" … but those songs were paired instead as a Double A-Side Single … the creative juices were flowing so quickly (fueled by what must have been an unlimited supply of drugs and drinks), that the idea of a "concept album" soon appeared. What if The Beatles pretended to be somebody else … Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, for example. Truthfully, the "concept" really only extended to the first two … and last two … tracks.
When no singles were released from the LP, some radio stations charted the entire album as #1. It became the official soundtrack to The Summer Of Love … and every generation since has embraced the genius of Pepper.
Here in Chicago, Richard Speck's trial begins today for the murder of eight student nurses. More on this gruesome night can be found here:
http://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2016/07/50-years-ago-today.html
http://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2016/07/50-years-ago-today.html
