Michael Jackson 60s Songs: I'll Be There & Ben

August 1958 - June 2009

As he is laid to rest on his 51st birthday, two of Michael Jackson's 60s songs come to mind. They are I'll Be There and Ben, best remembered by many Singapore's pop music lovers.

Ben is a number one hit song recorded by Michael Jackson for the Motown label in 1972. Originally written for Donny Osmond, Ben was offered to Jackson as Osmond was unavailable for recording. 

It spent one week at the top of the U.S. pop chart, eight weeks at the Australian pop and was number seven on the British pop chart. It was the first of 19 number-one pop hits for Jackson in the US and won a Golden Globe for Best Song and an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1973.

I'll Be There is a U.S. number one hit single soul song recorded in 1970 by The Jackson 5. It is notable as the most successful single released by Motown during its Detroit Era, from 1959 to 1972. It is also the fifth in the group's string of five consecutive number one pop hits, making them the first black male group to achieve this.

I'll Be There remains one of the most popular of the Jackson 5's hits and sold 4.2 million copies in the United States, and 6.1 million copies worldwide. The song has been covered by other artistes.

"I'll reach out my hand to you/I'll have faith in all you do/Just call my name and I'll be there..." 

Goodbye Michael Jackson, may you finally rest in peace.

Reference: Wikipedia. Image: 
Classic Urban Harmony Archives, USA. Vinyl/M1171/1970 Motown.

(3) Beautiful Sunday, Blue Monday, Ruby Tuesday, Wednesday Evening Blues, Thursday, Black Friday, Another Saturday Night.

The days of the weeks feature in many song titles too. Limiting them from the 50s to 70s compositions, there are already a few hundred songs.

Beginning from *The World Hits 'Beautiful Sunday' Album (1972 - image) by the October Cherries, a Singapore group, there are titles like, Blue Monday by Bob Seger, Sunday, Monday Or Always by Frank Sinatra.

Ruby Tuesday is by The Rolling Stones, Melanie, Twiggy, Bobby Goldsboro. Wednesday Evening Blues by John Lee Hooker, Thursday by Jim Croce, Black Friday by Steely Dan, Another Saturday Night by Cat Stevens, Sam Cooke, The Bay City Rollers, The Eagles and Earth Wind  and Fire.

Sunday Best is by Bobbie Gentry, Sunday Morning Coming Down by Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, That Sunday, That Summer by Nat King Cole, A Monday Date by Louis Armstrong, Rainy Days and Mondays by The Carpenters. The list goes on...

*Beautiful Sunday, available by October Cherries on World Hits 1973 Single ES6-A, A Baal Production on Elastic Record. Composer/original recording is by Daniel Boone.

(1) Come September: Bobby Darin, Chet Atkins

This month of September reminds me of a movie that attracted a lot of attention in the early 60s. It is called, Come September and starred four of the biggest stars in that generation. Rock Hudson and Gina Lollobridgida were sex symbols then and Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin the teenage idols.

Rushing to see a movie like this is like rushing to watch Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt today! It was a long bus ride for me to catch the movie as I had to take a bus from the East Coast to the Capitol Cinema in North Bridge Road on a weekday afternoon.

Come September is a commercialised fantasy where a womanizing tycoon ends up chaperoning a group of American girls who have rented his Italian villa. Bobby Darin, a very popular 60s singer, composed two songs for the movie, the title song and another one called Multiplication. Chet Atkins or Mr. Guitar, 14 times Grammy winner, popularised the instrumental Come September.

Image: http://www.movieposters.com/

Original article: Andy Lim

(A) Mysterians 60s Masked Pop Group Reveals

Do you know that there was a Singapore pop group that wore masks? Who are they and why did they appear incognito on stage and record? Was it a gimmick on their part? Were they trying to attract everyone's attention? Were they the only group wearing masks? The mystery, hopefully, will be revealed soon.

(Because of much effort among some 60's music lovers in Singapore, who are neither interested in making a profit nor trying to gain popularity out of this venture, the era is slowly regaining its strength and making a comeback.

Will there be a resurgence? Will our youths today finally appreciate and learn to understand Singapore 60's pop music heritage?)

Image: http://www.memoryelixir.com/

Original article: Andy Lim.

Rolling Stones - Brian Jones - Guitar Weaving

A Rolling Stones legend he died in July, 1969. Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (back/centre), born in 1942 was English and one of the founding members of The Rolling Stones. Jones was known for his talent in using different musical instruments and for his flamboyant attire.

As a guitarist, Jones had used a Harmony Stratotone, a Gretsch Double Anniversary in two-tone green, a teardrop-shaped prototype Vox Mark III, Gibson (various Firebirds, ES-330), a Les Paul, as well as two Rickenbacker 12-String models.

Keith Richards maintains that what he and Jones called "guitar weaving", emerged from this period. "We listened to the teamwork, trying to work out... how you could play together with two guitars and make it sound like four or five". Their guitars became a signature sound for the Rolling Stones, both playing rhythm and lead without clear boundaries, known as the Chicago style.

Image: Psychedelic-rocknroll.blogs

Reference: Wikipedia.