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Thursday, August 06, 2015

60s Advertisements

It's the conclusion of SIXTIES WEEK in A Pop Culture Addict's Guide To Life, and I hope you all enjoyed the trip through time.  It's fun to reminisce about the fads, fashions, music, and happenings of a time gone by.  When I get settled into my new home (which will be very soon), I will have to remind myself to try a 70s week, or 80s week.  I think it's a good idea for future entries.

For now, I think I have come up with a fitting conclusion for 60s week, and it is sort of linked to a television show that recently wrapped up its seven season run.

Have you ever watched the television series "Mad Men"?  I have to admit that I just began watching the show on Netflix and have already made it through the first couple of seasons.  I can see why so many people were so addicted to the show.  Great characterization, excellent plots, and a real feel of what the corporate world was like fifty years in the past.  And as many of us have come to realize, very little has changed in that regard.

Now, for those of us who have seen "Mad Men", we all know that the show is centered around an advertising agency, and that while the ad campaigns that the executives aren't the focal point of the series, it is interesting to see what the process was in greenlighting ad campaigns for various products.

So, it gave me a bit of an idea...what if I made this blog topic all about the different ads that came out of the 1960s?  After all, some of the ads are works of art in themselves...

...and, well...some of them are...shocking.  And not in the good way either.

I found at least fifteen different examples of 1960s advertising, and I'll offer up my own commentary along the way.  And let's start things off with my favourite of the bunch.



1.  Now, I have to say that the 1960s were a time of posters and ads and products that were extremely creative and unique, and nothing can be more unique than a Campbell's soup tote bag.  You can use it for storing your swimsuit, beach towel, and even your transistor radio!

And you know what?  I want one!



2.  Remember when McDonald's was touted as a fine dining establishment where you'd get all dressed up to the nines to dine on Big Macs and French Fries?  Yeah, me neither.  But I will say this about the ad.  It is a beautiful piece of vintage 60s art...even if the slogan "Let's eat out" now has a bunch of different meanings as time passed.



3.  These days, peanut butter is now banned in most elementary schools for allergy concerns.  But back in the 1960s, not only was it allowed, but it was touted as a nutritious lunch when paired with marshmallow fluff.  I guess Type 2 diabetes wasn't a huge concern in the 60s.



4.  I'm just going to go out on a limb here and say that only 4 out of 5 doctors approved of this ad.  And I'm going to hazard a guess that the 1 out of 5 that didn't were the only doctors who lived long enough to see the seventies.



5.  Even though this ad is in French, I'm guessing that if you breastfeed your child and drink beer at the same time, that child becomes a happy drunk by osmosis.



6.  This person must have some very interesting dreams, don't you think?  And speaking of underwear...



7.  Isn't it nice to know that if your house is burning down, your Jockey Y-fronts will still look clean and springtime fresh?



8.  Mother's Day is May 14th.  So, why not spend the day feeding your husband chocolates on the couch?!?  Honestly, is there an ad that could be any more sexist?



9.  Oh, I stand corrected.  Thanks for being such a "wifesaver", Colonel Sanders!



10.  This ad is groovy baby, yeah!  From the mod font to the fact that the car is spitting out rainbows and flowers, the only way this could be any more 60s is if Dusty Springfield were the one driving the car!



11.  Well, to be fair, this ad was released BEFORE Jenny McCarthy was born...



12.  "Blow in her face and she'll follow you anywhere"?  Not if she's passed out on the pavement from smoke inhalation, dummy!

(And, don't think I didn't notice the blatant sexual innuendo in that ad either.)



13.  I...just don't know what to say about this ad.  It renders me gobsmacked.



14.  Sadly, I can guarantee that you will NEVER see another ad like this one again.



15.  As Austin Powers would say...yeah, baby, yeah!  Just one question.  What the hell is this ad trying to sell anyway?

Wednesday, August 05, 2015

That Wilkin Boy



I thought that I would try something a bit different for the continuation of Sixties Week in the blog.  As I already mentioned before, this week is going to have only six days, as the seventh is reserved for "The New Archies Reviewed".  So, because I only have six days to work with, I tried to come up with interesting topics that still reflected the spirit of the sixties.

I think I've come up with a fantastic idea for today.  And, well...the source of this blog topic was inspired by a title within the Archie Comics Library - only it didn't start off as an Archie title.  Well, not exactly anyway.

You see, there have been a lot of characters underneath the Archie Comics umbrella that weren't really part of the Riverdale scene.  Of course, the most obvious examples of this currently is Sonic the Hedgehog.  Over the last few years, Sonic comic books have sold nearly as well as the Archie comics have.  You also have had Josie and the Pussycats and Sabrina the Teenage Witch making frequent appearances in Archie comics over the years.

There was a period of time during the 1990s in which the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had an entire series of comic books that were released by Archie.  Super Duck, Ginger, Wilbur, and Debby were all titles that were featured in many early issues of Pep Comics.  And, let's not forget about Katy Keene, the glamourous supermodel whose career spanned from the 1940s to the 2000s - all without aging a single day.

Just what kind of moisturizer does she use?

As far as Archie comics went in the 1960s, it certainly was a busy decade.  Dozens of new titles were released during that time period.  Some only lasted a couple of years, but others lasted a couple of decades.  Let's see...there was "Archie & Me", "Reggie & Me", "Betty & Me", "Everything's Archie", "Archie's TV Laugh Out", "Jughead's Jokes", "Reggie's Wise-Guy Jokes", and at least a couple of other titles. 

And one title that was released in the late 1960s was one that didn't really feature any Archie characters (at least not back then anyway), but read similarly to an Archie comic.  It certainly had all of the elements of a standard Archie comic.  It had a love-crazed red-haired boy madly in love with the girl next door who happened to have the most strict father in the whole universe.  It had an excessively vain and slimy character who always dressed to the nines while plotting to play tricks on our red-haired hero.  It even had a dog who had a mind of his own as he made casual thoughts about the madcap adventures of his owner and his friends.

Believe it or not, the red-haired boy in the comic series even had his own band! 

Okay, so instead of the Archies, it was the Bingoes...but you get the idea.



Today we're going to be taking a look at the comic book series "That Wilkin Boy", a serial that began in 1968 and ran for approximately fourteen years, wrapping up in the early 1980s.  The comic book was illustrated by longtime Archie artist Dan DeCarlo, and the setting was a town that was called Midville - which is supposed to be a rock's throw away from Riverdale, though the comic book never really makes this clear.

The main protagonist of the story is Woodrow Wilkin...otherwise known by his nickname of Bingo.  And, no, Bingo did not get his name from sitting next to his grandmother helping her blot out every N-42 with a bright red bingo dabber at the local bingo hall.  If I had to wager a guess, he was likely named after Ringo Starr, only changed the R to a B.  At least that's my thought anyway.  After all, the first issue was dated January 1969, and Bingo kind of looked like a Beatle.



So, how can I best describe Bingo?  Well, he's seventeen, he's the only child of Willie and Wilma Wilkin, and his Uncle Herman lives with him as well - once a professional baseball player in his youth.  He plays in a band with his friends Buddy and Teddy, and he lives next door to the Smythe family.



Now, living next door to Samson and Sheila Smythe is a double-edged sword for Bingo.  On one hand, he lives next door to his girlfriend and one true love Samantha, who is sort of like a combination of Betty and Veronica's best features.  And unlike Archie, Bingo is a one-woman man.  But on the other hand, Samantha's father, Samson - a muscular type who can't stand weak willed people - makes fun of Bingo frequently, and he absolutely is against Bingo dating Samantha.  And Samson's dislike doesn't stop at Bingo.  He also can't tolerate Uncle Herman or Bingo's dad either.  This conflict between the Smythe and Wilkin families sets up a lot of the stories in "That Wilkin Boy".

Interestingly enough, the wives of Samson and Willie get along great, and both approve of the Bingo/Samantha relationship.  They often serve as the voices of reason in the whole family feud.  It's a wonder they didn't appear on the actual game show "Family Feud".  It was around in the 1970s!

(Actually, one could consider Rebel the dog the REAL voice of reason.  He says things that we're all thinking, but is completely oblivious to the rest of the characters in the story.)



Samson isn't Bingo's only adversary.  Sometimes his frenemy Teddy Tambourine can cause him a lot of problems as well.  You see, Teddy is the Reggie Mantle of "That Wilkin Boy".  If not for the sunglasses, you might consider Teddy to be Reggie's brother.

(In fact, if you took Reggie, Teddy, and Alexander Cabot III from Josie and the Pussycats and put them all together, it's essentially THE SAME CHARACTER!)

Of course, Teddy only is sneaky when he wants to steal Samantha away from Bingo.  There is a Teddy/Samantha/Bingo love triangle going on, but it's not as focused on as say, Archie/Veronica/Reggie.  In any other story, Teddy and Bingo get along well, and they even play in the same band together with their speech impaired pal Buddy - who I guess would be the Jughead in this story.



And since I mention Jughead in this, I thought that I would just mention this right off the bat.  In 2005, Jughead Jones came to Midville to visit Bingo and his family with good reason.  After 35 years in the Archie Comics world, the decision was make to permanently link Riverdale to Midville by making Jughead Bingo's cousin.  Yes, the link in the chain was Bingo's Uncle Herman, as it was explained that he was the brother of Jughead's mother.  Now, why they didn't just explain this in the comic book before, I don't know.  But not too much has been mentioned of it lately - mainly because the story in which Bingo and Jughead were revealed to be cousins appeared in "Jughead and Friends Digest #5" - a full thirteen years after the last issue of "That Wilkin Boy" was released.

So, why did "That Wilkin Boy" didn't have as much staying power as say Sabrina, or Josie?  Well, to be fair, it did start off strong, and it focused on a lot of serious issues and topics.

In one story, they dealt with racism when Samson discovered that the new family in the neighbourhood were Asian in descent, and he made a lot of racist comments (which was surprising for a comic in the Archie library).  But after Samson got to know them - and after the father of the Asian family took Samson out with a kung fu move - they became friends.

In another story, Bingo and Samantha are trying to take care of a young girl who they found alone and shivering in the rain, and Samantha gets hysterical to the point where this happens.



You don't see this in an Archie comic, do you?  And what's interesting is that after this panel, Samantha actually admitted that she deserved the slap because she acted like a child!  The last issue I remember this comic being reprinted in was dated 1987.  I can see why it hasn't been shown in nearly thirty years.

But I think ultimately what killed "That Wilkin Boy" was the fact that when you look at it, you really don't have any major difference from a standard '60s era Archie comic.  Bingo could easily be substituted with Archie.  Samantha is like Betty.  Samson is easily a Mr. Lodge type character.  Teddy and Buddy are like Reggie and Jughead.  It was just unnecessary to have both "That Wilkin Boy" and "Archie" to run the same stories - and since Archie had a lot more staying power, Bingo was jettisoned.



Still, "That Wilkin Boy" did have some good moments.  It's worth taking a look at.

Tuesday, August 04, 2015

August 4, 1964

The first Tuesday Timeline of the month of August 2015, and you already know that the subject will be sixties related.  After all, it is SIXTIES WEEK in the blog this week.

So, what year of the 1960s am I going to feature this week?  We'll get to that in a moment.

For now, why don't we take a look at some of the events that took place on August 4 in every decade EXCEPT the sixties?  There's quite a lot that took place!

1327 - During the First War of Scottish Independence, James Douglas leads a raid into Weardale and almost kills Edward III of England

1693 - Dom Perignon invents champagne

1783 - A double whammy takes place in Japan when Mount Asana erupts killing fourteen hundred people - the eruption would later cause a famine which kills another 20,000 people

1789 - Members of the French National Constituent Assembly take an oath to end feudalism

1821 - French fashion designer Louis Vuitton (d. 1892) is born

1875 - Danish poet/author Hans Christian Andersen dies at the age of 70

1889 - Spokane, Washington is the site of a devastating fire which levels thirty-two blocks of the city

1892 - Lizzie Borden's father and stepmother are found dead in their Massachusetts home - the cause of death revealed to be murder

1900 - Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (d. 2002) is born

1901 - Singer Louis Armstrong (d. 1971) is born in New Orleans, Louisiana

1910 - Actress/singer Anita Page (d. 2008) is born in Flushing, Queens, New York

1914 - Belgium and the United Kingdom declare war on Germany following German troops invading Belgium

1921 - Hockey player Maurice "Rocket" Richard (d. 2000) is born in Montreal, Quebec

1936 - The 4th of August Regime is established by Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas

1944 - Jewish diary writer Anne Frank and her family are arrested by the Gestapo

1946 - Over 20,000 people are left homeless following a devastating earthquake in the Dominican Republic

1958 - The Billboard Hot 100 is published for the first time

1974 - 12 are killed, and 22 injured when a bomb detonates in the Italicus Express at San Benedetto Val di Sambro, Italy

1977 - The United States Department of Energy is established by Jimmy Carter

1993 - LAPD officers Stacey Koon and Laurence Powell are sentenced to thirty months behind bars for violating Rodney King's civil rights

2001 - Actor/Garfield voice artist Lorenzo Music dies at the age of 64

2007 - NASA's Phoenix spaceship is launched

2014 - James Brady - the 15th White House Press Secretary - dies at the age of 74

And blowing out candles on a birthday cake today are the following people; Reg Grundy, Carol Arthur, Frank Vincent, Martin Jarvis, Richard Belzer, John Riggins, Billy Bob Thornton, Kym Karath, Barack ObamaLauren Tom, Roger Clemens, Paul Reynolds, Terri Lyne Carrington, Crystal Chappell, James Tupper, Timothy Adams, Daniel Dae Kim, Lee Mack, Marcus Schenkenberg, Michael DeLuise, Ron Lester, Jeff Gordon, Stefan Brogren, Dominic Ochoa, Kurt Busch, Mick Cain, Marques Houston, Meghan Markle, Abigail Spencer, Crystal Bowersox, Cole and Dylan Sprouse, and Jessica Sanchez.

Okay, so what date from the 1960s will we be looking at this week?



Well, how about August 4, 1964?

Yeah, that was the day in which one of the greatest rock songs was released (well, in the United Kingdom anyway).  This song was by a band who managed to have a career that spanned over thirty years.  That's longer than most bands these days.  And although the group went its separate ways in 1996, their music is still spun quite often on Internet playlists, compact discs, and even old school vinyl.

Would you like to hear the song?  I bet you do!

All right.  Here's today's special Tuesday Timeline song, released fifty-one years ago today.



ARTIST:  The Kinks
SONG:  You Really Got Me
ALBUM:  Kinks
DATE RELEASED:  August 4, 1964
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS:  #7



So, the story behind the composition of the song goes like this.  In March 1964, the lead singer of The Kinks, Ray Davies - then a young man just shy of twenty - was trying to compose a song to be added onto their yet to be released debut album.  And while he was brainstorming ideas, he was tickling the ivories on his family's piano.  And while he did come up with the basic melody and lyrics for the song that would become "You Really Got Me", it was completely different from the version that you just heard.

Would you believe that the original version was sounded a bit like a jazz record, and wasn't nearly as screechy as the version that was eventually released?  Somehow, I can't quite picture that.  That would be like turning "The Girl From Ipanema" from a sensual slow jam to a rap song.

Anyway, a few days after he wrote "You Really Got Me", he performed the song in front of photographer Alan Ballard, who was known for snapping the photos of some of the up and coming rock musicians emerging from Britain.  He heard the song, and at first he didn't seem impressed...until he added in the section at the beginning of the song that went "Der-der, der, der-der".

Little did they know that little five note segment would be the segment that helped bring the song to success.  And that it would take Ray's younger brother, Dave, to amp it up a lot.

Initially, it was done on a piano...which was fine.  But when Dave heard the song, he thought that it would sound a lot better on a guitar.  And while the guitar sound kind of conflicted with Ray's vision of a jazzy sounding song, once he heard the iconic guitar rift, he knew that it would be a hit.

Though, according to Ray Davies, if you listen closely to the song "You Really Got Me", you might hear something in the song that you really weren't meant to hear.  Let me explain with a direct quote by Ray;

"Halfway through the song it was time for Dave's guitar solo. This moment had to be right. So I shouted across the studio to Dave, give him encouragement. But I seemed to spoil his concentration. He looked at me with a dazed expression. 'F--k off.' If you doubt me, if you doubt what I'm saying, I challenge you to listen to the original Kinks recording of 'You Really Got Me'. Halfway through the song, after the second chorus, before the guitar solo, there's a drum break. Boo ka, boo boo ka, boo ka, boo boo. And in the background you can hear 'f--k off'. You can, you can. When I did the vocal I tried to cover it up by going 'Oh no', but in the background you still hear it 'f--k off'. And it's even clearer on CD, it's really embarrassing."

So, there you have it.  You might be able to hear the F-bomb dropped somewhere within this song.  Listen closely.

And with that, we end our look back on "You Really Got Me" - a song that was released 51 years ago today.


Monday, August 03, 2015

'60s Toys and Games!

It's Sixties Week in A POP CULTURE ADDICT'S GUIDE TO LIFE, and I have to say that I am enjoying this week a lot.  I'm learning so much about the swinging sixties, and the more I learn about it, the more that I think I want to be a part of that decade.  A decade where people could be free to be who they wanted, and where people could make their own decisions without being challenged on them.

Yeah, those would be fantastic times indeed.

I think that it would be even better to experience the decade as a child.  And certainly there were lots of toys and games that were invented during the 1960s that people still use today.

I think you know where I am going with this thread here.  Today we're going to be talking about 1960s toys and games. 

Just how many toys and games were invented during the 1960s?  Well, quite a lot.  In fact, some historians look back on the 1960s as a sort of golden era for toys and games.

Have a look at some of these toys that were brand new on toy shelves during the 1960s.



TWISTER

Yes, the board game that had people placing their right hand on green while simultaneously putting their left foot on yellow had kids of all ages turning themselves into human pretzels.  And I suppose even a few adults found themselves in some precarious positions, depending on where the arrow lay.  Although it was invented in 1964, it took a couple of years before it became popular - most notably when Eva Gabor and Johnny Carson played the game on the set of "The Tonight Show".



MOUSE TRAP

Ah, another board game that was released in the 1960s.  1963, to be exact.  And let's just say that this particular game celebrated the life of Rube Goldberg.

For those of you who may not know who I am talking about, Rube Goldberg was a cartoonist, as well as an inventor.  And when I say inventor, I mean that he designed inventions that were designed to, say, open a can opener...but the invention was a flashy array of bells, whistles, pulleys, and gadgets that took what would be a simple task and made it much more difficult and elaborate.

And that's essentially what Mouse Trap is.  It's actually a diabolical game in that you first start off working together to build the perfect mousetrap (out of plastic pieces)...but once the traps are set, you turn on each other, and try to catch your opponent's mice with the very traps you helped build.  Talk about the ultimate trap!



G.I. JOE

Now, I have to admit that I truly believed that G.I. Joe was an '80s creation, mainly because G.I. Joe action figures were everywhere in my childhood.  But surprisingly enough, the first G.I. Joe action figure was released in 1964.  And it was released at a time in which Barbie dolls were also insanely popular.  Of course, toy manufacturers were reluctant to release "dolls" for boys, as it was deemed not appropriate (yes, the sixties weren't all THAT progressive), but when G.I. Joe came around, it was marketed as an action figure, so that boys would more likely play with it.

It seems like bizarre marketing, but it worked.  And G.I. Joe is still around today.



OPERATION

Water on the knee?  A broken heart?  Monkey Wrench?  Whatever the problem, you are the doctor that can save the patient's life in this game, which first saw release fifty years ago in 1965.  But you really have to be careful in this game.  In the game of Operation, you really have to be careful.  One false move, and you'll kill your patient dead.

Or, at the very least, you'll make his nose glow as bright as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.



CHATTY CATHY

Okay, so technically, I'm cheating with this one, as Chatty Cathy became available for purchase in 1959.  But throughout the 1960s, this talking doll that spoke at least eleven different phrases, it was the must have toy for little girls.  It really was at the time, the most realistic doll for little girls to pretend that they were mothers.  Unfortunately, we now live in a world where little girls DO become mothers.  Maybe we should reinstate the Chatty Cathy doll.

Sunday, August 02, 2015

A Celebration of '60s Motown!

Hey there, groovy dudes and Georgy girls!  Hope you're ready for some 1960s goodness, as this week is SIXTIES WEEK in A Pop Culture Addict's Guide To Life!

And, I have a confession to make.  I am so excited about doing this week's edition of the Sunday Jukebox entry because I absolutely love 1960s music.

From the rockabilly sounds of 1960 to the psychedelic guitar songs of 1969, and everything in between, there was just something special about the sounds of the 1960s.  Unlike other decades, the 1960s had a very special spark of originality and creativity.  Very few cover records were released during this period, and if any were, they usually sounded halfway decent enough that nobody really noticed.

(Seriously, 25%-35% of the songs that topped the charts in the 1980s and 1990s were cover versions of 1960s songs.)

And since I'm doing album spotlights in the Sunday Jukebox entries now, I thought that I would do a spotlight on a 1960s era compilation of songs.  Songs that not only are definitive for an entire generation of people, but songs that come from what could be one of my favourite eras of music.



In 2009, this compilation was released.  It's a collection of 40 songs intended to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Motown Records.  Founded on January 12, 1959 by Berry Gordy (under the original name of Tamla Records), it was definitely one of the powerhouses of the 1960s recording scene.  The roster of artists underneath the Motown label were small, but powerful.  And even though Motown started off as a very small label (it was based in Detroit, Michigan for the first thirteen years of its existence before relocating to Los Angeles in 1972), it packed a huge punch.  Between 1960 and 1970, the label boasted a whopping seventy-nine Top 10 Records on the Billboard Hot 100. 

These days, Motown is only a shadow of its former self, though it still exists in some format.  An independent company until the late 1980s (Gordy sold the company to MCA and Boston Ventures in '88), Motown was sold at least three more times before merging with Universal Records in 2005 and as of 2015, it now operates as a subsidiary to Capitol Records.

Anyway, the Motown sound is probably some of my favourite music to come out of the 1960s, and I have to admit that I have a lot of the old-school Motown music downloaded in my iPod.  There is just something special and whimsical about Motown music.  Most of it is happy, carefree, and thoughtful.  Even the songs about break-ups aren't nearly as depressing as some of the break-up songs sung by...oh...Taylor Swift, perhaps.

And Motown Records did more than just release great rhythm and blues music.  They shattered a lot of colour barriers in the United States as far as radio airplay went.  Prior to 1960, it was very difficult for artists of colour to get their music heard.  With the success of Motown Records, African-American artists thrived on the pop charts.  Motown basically helped these artists find their voice, and I think that the recording industry is all the better for it.

So, I thought that for today's edition, I'd pick out my favourite songs from this compilation, and provide a bit of trivia about the songs or the artists.

I think this could be a lot of fun!  So, sit back and listen to some of these Motown classics with me!



"SHOP AROUND" - The Miracles with Smokey Robinson
Disc One - Track 2
Released: September 27, 1960
Peak Position on the Billboard Charts: #2

All right, so this was an iconic single for the Motown label.  Not only was it the first major release for the label, but it was the first single that hit #1 on the R&B charts.  And, it was the first single for both Motown and the Miracles that sold one million copies.  It's a song with a great message as well, as the song is about a mother telling her grown son not to settle for any just girl.  He should "shop around" so that he can find the right woman to settle down with.  Great advice for any man, and a great debut record for a record company!



"DO YOU LOVE ME" - The Contours
Disc One - Track 4
Released:  June 29, 1962
Peak Position on the Billboard Charts:  #3

Here's a song that actually charted twice!  Once in 1962, and once more in 1988 (the reason being that it was a song that appeared in the successful film "Dirty Dancing").  And it's a song that has been covered by a slew of other artists such as The Dave Clark Five, Westlife, and even Alvin and the Chipmunks!

And here's an interesting fact about this single.  It was intended for The Temptations to sing!  The reason Berry Gordy wanted the song for the Temptations was because he felt that it would be the song that launched them onto the Top 40 charts.

But when the band could not be found as they had already committed to performing at a Detroit gospel festival, the song was offered to The Contours.

And although the song didn't quite reach the top of the charts, it did do one positive thing for The Contours...it saved them from being dropped by the record label!



"MY GUY" - Mary Wells
Disc One - Track 9
Released:  March 13, 1964
Peak Position on the Billboard Charts:  #1

Okay, I have a confession here.  This is probably one of those songs that makes my Top 5 list of favourite Motown songs recorded.  Of course, having a song penned by Smokey Robinson himself probably helped keep this song on the top of the charts in the spring of '64.

Considered Motown's very first solo female star, Wells was barely 21 when she sang this hit.  But given the husk of her voice and the sensual way she sang it, you'd never know it!  Apparently, Wells started singing it the same way as if Mae West would sing it as a joke.  To her surprise though, they liked it!

Sadly, this would be Mary's last hit with Motown.  She left the company shortly after that.  But still, it's a great song!



"MY GIRL" - The Temptations
Disc Two - Track 1
Released:  December 21, 1964
Peak Position on the Billboard Charts: #1

I love this song for two reasons.  First, it was the title track for one of my favourite guilty pleasure movies, "My Girl".  The beehive scene still gets me right in the heart.  Every time.

But secondly, this was the signature song for The Temptations, and their first number one hit.  Not bad for a group who just three years earlier couldn't even get on the Top 40.  David Ruffin performed the lead vocals for this track - usually they were done by Paul Williams or Eddie Kendricks.  And another piece of trivia.  This song was originally supposed to be recorded by The Miracles, but only if Ruffin would sing the lead vocals.

It seemed to be a gamble, but it paid off in a big way!



"Uptight (Everything's Alright)" - STEVIE WONDER
Disc Two - Track 7
Released:  November 22, 1965
Peak Position on the Billboard Charts:  #3

This is probably one of my favourite Stevie Wonder songs...and would you believe that he was only fifteen when he sang this one?  If it weren't for the fact that he was blind, I'd remark that it was awesome that he had a Top 5 hit before he could legally drive!

And why do I like this song?  Well, it's upbeat, it's passionate, and it saved Stevie Wonder from being kicked out of Motown!

You see, Stevie's first hit was "Fingertips" in 1963.  Stevie was thirteen back then.  And during the period between thirteen and fifteen, puberty caught up with Stevie, and his voice deepened.  This posed a problem, as Berry Gordy believed that his voice had changed his sound too much, and he almost released Stevie out of his contract.

This song was Wonder's chance to prove himself, and although his voice had matured, it was at a high tenor, which proved easier for producers to work with.  And, well...let's just say that this was only the beginning for Stevie.  As of 2015, he's really the only artist from 60s era Motown that is still with the company in some manner.



"Reach Out I'll Be There" - THE FOUR TOPS
Disc Three - Track 2
Released:  August 18, 1966
Peak Position on the Billboard Charts:  #1

I'll save one of the best for the last.  I find it difficult to find a bad thing to say about the Four Tops.  They released some fantastic songs during their tenure at Motown Records.  But this song was particularly powerful because it conveyed a lot of different emotions all wrapped up in what could be considered a R&B classic.

You can think singer Levi Stubbs for that.  His delivery of the lines were so profound and so raw.  He was almost literally screaming his lines, that's how much he got into it.  It's a wonder he even had a voice left at the end of it all!

So, there you have it.  Six classic Motown hits from the 1960s!  Have any more to add?

Saturday, August 01, 2015

Let's Tie Dye, Everybody!

It's the beginning of August, and for some weird reason, I am in a sixties kind of mood.

Which is quite interesting, given that the 1960s were way before I was born!

But think about it for a second.  The 1960s were a decade of great change.  It was a decade in which we saw protests and hippies.  Psychedelic patterns and flower power.  A decade which saw the music of the Beatles, the Turtles, the Rolling Stones, and the Mamas and the Papas, concluding with the epic music festival known as "Woodstock".

Basically, it was a decade that I would have loved to have experienced.

Unfortunately, I was born about twelve years too late to even get a little taste of the 1960s.  But my parents - who are celebrating a huge milestone later this month - lived through the whole decade, and I have to say that they have a lot of fine moments of the 1960s.



So, since the 1960s were a groovy decade, why not declare the first week of August to be "SIXTIES WEEK"? 

Mind you, only six of the seven days will be devoted to the 1960s.  There's no way that I can make "The New Archies" sixties era.  So, Friday gets a pass.

But from now until the 6th, I will be devoting every blog topic to a subject from the sixties.  1960s music, 1960s film, 1960s toys and games, 1960s activities...even a 1960s Tuesday Timeline entry! 

So, what subject will I be talking about today?

Well, how about a particular craft that many people took part in during the 1960s.  If done correctly, you could have a beautiful looking piece of wearable art that would make even the most hardcore beatniks stop and stare!  If done incorrectly, you would have permanent stains all over your walls, carpets, hair, and even your hands.

Which might be great if you were a member of the Blue Man Group, but not good in everyday life.



Of course, I'm talking about the art of tie-dying, a way of turning ordinary shirts into fantastic looking original creations.

It was all a part of the whole psychedelic movement, where drab clothing was splattered with vibrant coloured fabric dyes in brilliant shades of red, yellow, blue, and green.  It was very difficult to blend into the crowd with a shirt like that - unless of course you happen to be in a crowd of people all wearing tie-dyed shirts.



And you know, it wasn't just shirts that people tie-dyed.  They tie-dyed their jeans, their jackets, their scarves.  Heck, some probably tie-dyed their underpants. 

Now, you might believe that tie-dying began in the mid-1960s, and there absolutely was a heightened interest in tie-dying beginning around 1965.  By the early 1970s, tie-dying had definitely reached its peak in popularity.

But you may be surprised to know that tie-dying has been around for thousands of years!  Some of the earliest examples of tie-dying come from the South American region of Peru as early as the 6th century!  The garments had lines and circles, and were dyed in brilliant shades of red, yellow, and blue.  It would actually be interesting to see how they managed to get dye that colour back in those days.



And in Thailand, this is just one of the examples of the tie-dying art known as mudmee.  As you can see, it's done a little bit differently than the standard tie-dye design, but the end result is something that is absolutely beautiful.

So, how does one make a tie-dye shirt?  Well, admittedly, I don't know myself.  And I'd really like to learn how to do one because I really want to make a few shirts for an upcoming event that I want to plan (think 1960s themed for this one), and I think it would be cool if the main guests all wore tie-dyed shirts.

Certainly, there has to be a few examples of how to make basic tie-dye outfits.  Really, all you need to have is a shirt made of 100% cotton, some fabric dye, and soda ash (the catalyst in making the perfect tie-dyed shirt).

Oh, and that 100% cotton shirt is CRUCIAL.  You could use a cotton-poly blend, but the colours won't be as vibrant.  And don't even think of using polyester to dye a tie-dye shirt.  Polyester will not keep any dye in at all, and you'd just be wasting your time.  You'd be best to just buy a 5-pack of Fruit of the Loom or Hanes T-shirts and use those.

Of course, I still don't know what techniques to use...I wonder if there are any do-it-yourself videos on how to tie-dye.

Oh, look!  Here's one right here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_jeodKpCxA

Thanks, Tatjanna for the brilliant ideas!  On some weekend when I don't work, I will have to try this out!