Weekend Boys And Girls Music Threefer

 

It's well known that the Beatles were great admirers (and copiers) of American R&B, Motown and other Black American music forms, often songs originally performed by female artists.  The themes were often girl meets boy and ensuing entanglements from there. Showing their excellent ear for music, here are three such songs (out of many) that the Beatles covered in the early 60's: the Shirelles' "Baby It's You" (1961), the Cookies' "Chains" (1962), and Little Eva's "Keep Your Hands Off My Baby" (1962).  The first song was written by Burt Bacharach/Mack David/Luther Dixon ("Barney Williams"), and the last two by Carole King/Gerry Goffin.  Hope you enjoy.

Weekend #1 Music Twofer

 

Sixty (!) years ago tomorrow, The Shirelles became the first all-black girl group to have a number 1 single in the U.S., with the Gerry Goffin/Carole King song "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow."  It's been covered by dozens of others, including Brenda Lee, Roberta Flack, Smokey Robinson and, of course, Carole King -- but we think the original's still the greatest.

A few years after, on  January 30, 1964, The Searchers had their second number 1 single on the U.K. charts with "Needles and Pins" (written by Jack Nitzsche and Sonny Bono).  It, too, has been covered by many artists, including Jackie DeShannon, The Ramones, and Tom Petty.  The lead vocal and jangly guitar are courtesy of founding member Mike Pender.

Hope you enjoy.

Weekend Baby Song

Well, after searching high and low for a song that would be an appropriate "baby" song to honor the newest arrivals to our family (twins Cal and Liv, and Viviana, earlier), we just couldn't come up with one that used the word "baby" appropriately, while maintaining the high musical standards of this blog.  So, instead we chose this lovely Shirelles song, "Baby It's You" which has the Shirelles going for it, frequent "baby" checking, as well as a lullaby-dreamy tune by Burt Bacharach.  (We prefer to pretend to hear the Shirelles singing "cheek, cheek" rather than "cheat, cheat" --  it's much more appropriate to the newborns.) Hope mom & dad and the little ones get some rest this weekend!

Weekend Song

Today is songwriter extraordinaire Carole King's 70th (!) birthday. Her career as a songwriter and entertainer spans the past 50 years. This is the first of her songs to chart, hitting #1 in 1960. It's the Shirelles classic "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow."

Mother's Day Music

Always remember to remember what Mama said! Happy Mother's Day!

Weekend Dedication

This is dedicated to the ones we love.