The 1960's Big Voices

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 12:52 pm

Good Chuck Berry story: Some friends of mine open for him and backed him up sometime during the 70's, Chuck arrived right before it was time to go on. The bass player (also a little shrimp like me) walked up to Chuck looked up at him and said all excitedly "Hey Chuck! what are we gonna play?" Chuck looked right over him to the promoter and said sarcastically "You mean to tell me you got me a band that don't know my stuff?" haha! My friend then said they all wanted to go crawl under some rock somewhere. All night he just started songs not telling anyone the key or anything, they all kept looking at the keyboard player because he could pick up the keys faster than anyone else. Was a night to forget I guess.
And Dane speaking of what you need besides talent to make it in the states, I looked up insipid lyrics on google and guess who came up 2nd? (after an insipid lyrics site) Britney Spears.
Howard you have your graphic equalizer settings backwards.

I don't mean to insult England you know, just that I've been around also and have met and played with musicians from other countries and have played other countries and the US is always the big enchalada to everyone. When and if they make it here they feel like they've really made it, you know like New York New York?

Scastles · Post by **Scastles** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 12:56 pm

Rivers hit of 'Memphis' was the 'live' cut done at Whiskey in '64, I think.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 1:01 pm

That was one of the songs that made me want to play bass. Joe Osbourne I think was on bass. I hear that a lot, great great song, also hear his version of Maybelline, in fact I hear a lot of his stuff lately.
A big regret of mine is that i never saw Roy Orbison, a friend of mine who is a great singer in his own right saw him many times and said he was always the consumate professional, whether it was a full house or half empty he always gave his all.
Eric Burdon and The Animals are playing Boston tomorrow night and I have to play, grr!!

ozover50 · Post by **ozover50** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 1:05 pm

"Kent" is a great name - not too rare over here. In fact I know more Kents than Howards! Egbert? Now that's rare!! Where's Jim Davidson when you need him?

ozover50 · Post by **ozover50** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 1:09 pm

I tend to keep the bass fairly flat and use the three bass controls on the pre-amp, Bob. I also use the rumble and 100Hz cut switches a fair bit when I'm playing vinyl!

royclough · Post by **royclough** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 1:17 pm

Bob

I don't take exception to the insult England Comment but until the group scene emerged in england how many beat groups were that well known in the states, very few, what we gave youw as that to make it you didn't need to be some good looking kid who called everybody sir or mam but you could be joe ordinary and as long as the music was good, it didn't matter.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 1:26 pm

I have a 15hz cut button on my receiver it cuts the rumble but doesn't affect the audible bottom in any way. That way I can still shake the house if I want with the LP's. It's an old Marantz receiver, is more powerful than my SVT heads. I have a 100 hz cut position too but never use it.

Oh yeah, Tom Jones, Englebert Humperdink (sp?) and B.J. Thomas also had the big voices back then, especially Tom Jones. Even Neil Diamond had a pretty big voice.

ozover50 · Post by **ozover50** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 1:38 pm

Bet you don't use any "cut" switches when you're playing, Bob!

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 1:47 pm

Roy I love 60's British music, all of it almost, our charts were dominated with it. At least a part of Beatlemania were the British accents, you guys probably couldn't have appreciated that part of it. Unless a part of Elvis's appeal was his down home Southern American accent. I still get thrills when I hear certain British tunes that I haven't heard for a long time, such as that Zombies tune "You make me feel Good" You guys killed us for several years after The Beatles broke, I am glad to have been old enough to experience it. I know I will never live through another time like that again. I love the beat groups and the beat sound, I wish that there was a place around here where I could play it. I want to visit Liverpool sometime, I have heard they have beat jams like we have blues jams here. I would like nothing better than to grab an EB-2 bass or Epi with flatwounds and a pick and go play that stuff somewhere in Liverpool at a jam, or maybe even a Ric guitar and play rhythm and sing or a Ric bass, although I think the hollowbody basses are more a part of that early 60's sound than the Ric basses were. Roy I also appreciate that you and Peter and probably many others here know much more about it than I do. I think this is definitely the coolest part of the Ric forum now. I look forward to learning more from you, Peter and anyone else here about that magic period.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 2:06 pm

British accents? Those guys were Scouse gits if I ever heard any.

brammy · Post by **brammy** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 4:37 pm

Scouse was a heavier Liverpool sub-accent, right? I read that John and Paul's parents (aunt) were NOT IMPRESSED that they were hanging around with that Scouse-speaking ruffian named George Harrison.

Am I right that scouse was to Liverpudlian in the same way that a heavy Brooklyn accent is to a regular NYC (Manhattan) accent?

brammy · Post by **brammy** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 4:49 pm

Roy was cool.

harley · Post by **harley** » Sat Jun 25, 2005 3:32 am

A couple of other "big voices" I haven't seen mentioned yet are the lead singers from The Box Tops (Alex Chilton) and The Grass Roots (Rob Grill?).

Not always the strongest material, but when it worked it was great. Our band plays Temptation Eyes and Midnight Confessions and both seem to go over real well. We used to play The Letter and I want to play "Soul Deep" really badly, which is likely how we'll start.

I agree, though, that Roy Orbison was just plain incredible!

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Sat Jun 25, 2005 6:31 am

I can't get Cara Mia out of my head now since I first saw it printed, thank Peter, help!!

royclough · Post by **royclough** » Sat Jun 25, 2005 7:14 am

http://mailaccelerator.dapdrive.com/AV.asp?ID=02A290CF-BA0A-4444-AE5E-FDBEF9D84CB8

Jay and The Americans version on above link in case anyone wants to hear it.

The song made number 1 in UK in 1954 and was by another Yorkshireman one David Whitfield

Cara Mia why, must we say goodbye?
Each time we part, my heart wants to die
My darling hear my prayer
Cara Mia fair
Here are my arms you alone will share

All I want is you forever more
To have, to hold, to love above all

Cara Mia mine, say those words devine
I'll be your love till the end of time

All I want is you forever more
To have, to hold, to love above all

Cara Mia mine say those words devine
I'll be your love till the end of time

Anybody for David's version