First recorded (as “The Magic Bus”) by Pudding (1967).
Hit version by The Who (US #25/UK #26 1968).
From the wiki: “‘Magic Bus’ was written by Pete Townshend during the sessions in 1965 that produced My Generation. However, the Who would not record ‘Magic Bus’ until 1968 when it was released as a stand-alone single in the US and the UK.
“But soon after its composition, the Who’s management and music publisher in 1966 circulated a Townshend demo recording of the song. A version was released as a single in the UK in April 1967 by an obscure band called Pudding, in the UK on Decca and in the US on London’s Press label. It was not a hit.
First released by Lulu (UK #50 1964).
Hit version by Them (US #24/UK #2 1965).
From the wiki: “‘Here Comes the Night’ was written by Bert Berns. Them had intended this song to be the follow-up to ‘Baby, Please Don’t Go‘ but Decca rush-released a recording of the song by Lulu (‘To Sir With Love’, ‘I Could Never Miss You More Than I Do‘) in November 1964.
“The band members of Them were said to be bitterly disappointed by this decision made by Decca and Decca Records co-owner (and Radio Caroline co-director) Phil Solomon. Session musician and songwriter Phil Coulter (‘Puppet on a String’, ‘Saturday Night‘) remarked: ‘They bitched to me a lot but they wouldn’t dare to have said anything to Solomon.’
“Them was said to have a ‘certain grim satisfaction’ as Lulu’s recording reached #50 and then dropped off the charts. Jimmy Page played guitar on Them’s arrangement. Andy White (best known for replacing Ringo Starr on drums on The Beatles’ first single, ‘Love Me Do’) and Tommy Scott performed backing vocals with Coulter on keyboards.
“Them’s ‘Here Comes the Night’ became the group’s second UK Top-10 and their first US Top-40 hit.”
First recorded by Petula Clark (1965).
Hit version by Chris Montez (US #22/MOR #2 1966).
From the wiki: “‘Call Me’ was composed by Tony Hatch for Petula Clark (although some suggest he had written the song with Keely Smith in mind), and first appeared as the title cut on Clark’s EP, Call Me, released in 1965 by Pye in the UK and in the US on the album I Know a Place (1965) but was not released as a promotional single.
“Chris Montez, who had scored the hit ‘Let’s Dance’ in 1962 and subsequently dropped out of the music business, was invited to resume recording by A&M Records’ founder Herb Alpert. Alpert was unhappy when Montez began recording for A&M in his previous Chicano rock style and personally suggested Montez shift to easy listening, choosing ‘Call Me’ as the song to be Montez’s debut single in 1966 on A&M.
Originally recorded by Robert Knight (US #13/UK #40 1967 |UK reissue #19 1974).
Hit versions by Love Affair (UK #1 1968), Carl Carlton (US #6/R&B #11 1974), Narvel Felts (C&W #14 1979), Rex Smith & Rachel Sweet (US #32/UK #35 1981), U2 (AUS #2/POL #3/NETH #10 1989), Gloria Estefan (US #28/UK #19 1994).
Also recorded by David Ruffin (1969).
From the wiki: “‘Everlasting Love’ is one of two songs (the other being ‘The Way You Do the Things You Do’, by The Temptations, Rita Coolidge, Hall & Oates & UB40) to become a Top 40 hit in the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. The original version of ‘Everlasting Love’ was recorded by Robert Knight, at Fred Foster Sound Studio, Nashville. His producers, Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden, aimed to record him in a Motown style with an especial reference to the Four Tops and the Temptations, intending the song to serve as B-side for another titled ‘The Weeper’.
“Cason believes he may have drawn the phrase ‘everlasting love’ from the Biblical verse Jeremiah 31.3 which begins: ‘Yea, I have loved you with an everlasting love’. According to Cason, the recording ‘had some different sounds on it that, for the time period, were kind of innovative. The string sound is actually an organ and we used a lot of echo.’ Ultimately, ‘Everlasting Love’ was released as an A-side for Knight, and it peaked at #13 in 1967 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Written by Peter Green and first recorded by Fleetwood Mac (UK #37 1968).
Other hit version by Santana (US #4/CAN #4/AUS #15/GER #14 1970).
From the wiki: “‘Black Magic Woman’ was written by Peter Green of Fleetwod Mac and appeared as a Fleetwood Mac single in various countries in 1968, peaking at #37 on the UK Singles chart; subsequently appearing on the 1969 Fleetwood Mac compilation albums English Rose (US) and The Pious Bird of Good Omen (UK).
“The song became a fairly popular Blues-Rock hit for Fleetwood Mac, being featured by the group in live set-lists even after Green had left the band, the lead often sung by Danny Kirwan. And, during concerts in the early 1970s, ‘Black Magic Woman’ would form the basis for long mid-concert Blues jams by Fleetwood Mac. The song would often be introduced by a band member reminding the audience that it was a Fleetwood Mac song before it became such a big hit for Santana.
Original English-language recording by The Limeliters (1962).
Hit versions by Sandie Shaw (UK #51 1968), Mary Hopkin (US #2/UK #1/CAN #1/JPN #1/FRA #1/SWE #1 1968).
From the wiki: “‘Those Were the Days’ is a song credited to Gene Raskin, who put English lyrics to the Russian romance song ‘Dorogoi dlinnoyu’ (‘Дорогой длинною’, lit. ‘By the long road’), composed by Boris Fomin (1900–1948) with words by the poet Konstantin Podrevskii. It deals with reminiscence upon youth and romantic idealism. First recorded in 1926, by Alexander Vertinsky, the song was featured in the 1953 British/French movie Innocents in Paris, in which it was sung with its original Russian lyrics by the Russian tzigane chanteuse Ludmila Lopato.
Written and originally recorded by The Crickets (UK #42 1960).
Other hit versions by Bobby Vee (US #61/UK #4 1961), Leo Sayer (US #2/UK #2 1980).
“‘More Than I Can Say’ is a tune penned by Sonny Curtis (‘I Fought the Law‘) and Jerry Allison, who were both part of Buddy Holly’s former supporting ensemble, The Crickets. This heartfelt composition was recorded in 1959, shortly after Holly’s tragic passing, and subsequently released in 1960. This original rendition of the song managed to climb to #42 on the British Record Retailer Chart, marking its chart debut on May 12, 1960.
“The following year Bobby Vee, known for his other chart-toppers like ‘Take Good Care of My Baby’ and ‘The Night Has a Thousand Eyes,’ decided to lend his voice to ‘More Than I Can Say.’ This rendition found its place at #61 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. However, across the Atlantic Ocean in the United Kingdom, the song and its B-side, ‘Staying In,’ ascended to an impressive #4 on the UK Singles Chart.
“Meanwhile, in a twist of fate, Leo Sayer stumbled upon the song while searching for a classic track to record for his album ‘Living in a Fantasy’ in 1980. It all began with a TV commercial promoting a greatest hits collection by Bobby Vee. Captivated by ‘More Than I Can Say,’ Sayer promptly decided to give it a go, recalling: ‘We walked into a record store that very afternoon, bought the record, and had the song recorded that very night.’
“Prior to this, Sayer had already enjoyed significant success with two number-one singles in the U.S., namely ‘You Make Me Feel Like Dancing’ and ‘When I Need You,’ both released in 1977. The cover version of ‘More Than I Can Say’ came close to claiming the top spot as well, lingering at the second position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five weeks during December 1980 and January 1981. Unfortunately, it was unable to snatch the crown, as ‘Lady’ by Kenny Rogers and ‘(Just Like) Starting Over’ by John Lennon held onto the coveted top positions respectively over the course of those five weeks.”
