KEEP ON PUSHING
EPISODE 3

From Studio C Chicago, it's "Keep On Pushing," a motley and mind-expanding exploration of the Sixties, with plenty of air time given to pop, soul, British Invasion, blues, bossa nova, Broadway, jazz, lounge, film music, folk music, garage rock, and much more. I'm Andy Miles and this is Henry Mancini and His Orchestra.

Henry Mancini & His Orchestra “Something For Cat” (1961)

Betty Everett “Getting Mighty Crowded” (1964)

The Oscar Peterson Trio “I Feel Pretty” (1962)

Diana Ross & The Supremes “No Matter What Sign You Are” (1969)

"Your water sign just lit my fire/You fill me with such desire." The songwriting team was Berry Gordy Jr. and Henry Cosby and they called it "No Matter What Sign You Are." Diana Ross & The Supremes released it as a Motown single in 1969, but the stars didn't really align on that one because it didn't climb too high on charts anywhere it was released . . . except The Netherlands, where it hit number two.

The Oscar Peterson Trio before that, "I Feel Pretty," from the Peterson album "West Side Story," his 1962 recording of the Broadway smash, recorded and released just a few months after the film version hit screens in the fall of 1961. Peterson is joined on the album by Ray Brown on double bass and Ed Thigpen on drums.

Betty Everett, "Getting Mighty Crowded" before that, a 1965 release that came on the heels of Everett's two biggest hits, the top 10 singles "Let It Be Me" with Jerry Butler and "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)," both released in 1964. The Greenwood, Mississippi, native continued releasing minor hits into the late ’70s and died in 2001.

And music from "Breakfast At Tiffany's" at the top of the show, "Something For Cat" by Henry Mancini & His Orchestra.

You're listening to "Keep On Pushing." I'm Andy Miles. And no matter what sign you are, you are welcome here. Lots of good stuff on the way, including The Staple Singers, The Band, Dionne Warwick, and this from Aki Aleong & The Nobles.

Aki Aleong & The Nobles “Body Surf” (1963)

Thunderclap Newman “Something in the Air” (1969)

The Caravans “Walk Around Heaven All Day” (1964)

The Rooftop Singers “Walk Right In” (1963)

Sweet little song from The Rooftop Singers, "Walk Right In," a chart-topper for the trio in 1963. "Walk Right In" was actually an old song, first recorded in 1929, but that was by far the most famous version of it.

Some gospel before that, "Walk Around Heaven All Day," a song released by The Caravans in 1964. With ever-changing personnel, the group was active for 30 years beginning in 1947 and had a short revival in the early 2000s. Over the years The Caravans bounced between about 18 different record labels; Vee-Jay Records put that one out.

Thunderclap Newman before that, "Something in the Air" from 1969, a song that went to number one in Britain. Pete Townshend of The Who not only produced the record, he played bass on it and wrote the string arrangement. That same year the song turned up on the soundtrack for the Peter Sellers comedy "The Magic Christian," which also starred John Cleese, Raquel Welch, and Ringo Starr, among others.

Surf rock from Aki Aleong & The Nobles at the top of the set; 1963 was the year. Like Ringo Starr, Aleong also had a career in the movies.

From Studio C Chicago this is "Keep On Pushing." I'm Andy Miles. Sticking with the cinematic theme, this is music from the Italian film "L'avventura."

Giovanni Fusco “Titoli” (1960)

The Staple Singers “Motherless Children” (1963)

The Beatles “I’m Looking Through You” (1965)

Aretha Franklin “The House That Jack Built” (1968)

Aretha Franklin from a 1968 single that produced a pair of top 10 hits. "The House That Jack Built" was the A-side, "I Say A Little Prayer" the B-side.

The Beatles’ "I'm Looking Through You" before that; that one was on both the British and American "Rubber Soul" albums, both released in late 1965. Paul McCartney wrote the song about his then-girlfriend Jane Asher, a British actress who was also the sister of Peter Asher, one half of the ’60s duo Peter & Gordon, who will no doubt come up in some future episode of this show.

We heard The Staple Singers, "Motherless Children" from 1963; it was included on The Staple Singers' album "This Land."

And music from "L’avventura" got things started in that set. The 1960 Antonioni film had a fine score by Giovanni Fusco, who scored several major Italian and French films of the late ’50s and ’60s.

And you're listening to "Keep On Pushing." I'm Andy Miles. We’re going to keep on pushing with one last set, and the first song in it has an altogether different tone and tempo. The singer is Carmen McRae.

Carmen McRae “I Got It Bad and That Ain’t Good” (1968)

The Band “Rag Mama Rag” (1969)

Dionne Warwick “Anyone Who Had A Heart” (1963)

Crosby, Stills & Nash “49 Bye-Byes” (1969)

That's Crosby, Stills & Nash with the closing track from their great 1969 debut album; "49 Bye Byes" is the name of that song. Stephen Stills wrote it and sang the lead vocal.

"Anyone Who Had A Heart" from Dionne Warwick before that. Released in 1963, the song was Warwick's first top 10 single. George Martin, who was just becoming known as producer of The Beatles at that time, produced a version of the song for Cilla Black that went to number one in Britain, Ireland and New Zealand in 1964.

We also heard "Rag Mama Rag" from The Band. It came out in 1969 on The Band's second album, as well as a single on Capitol Records, the follow-up to their biggest hit, "Up on Cripple Creek." "Rag Mama Rag" didn't fare nearly as well.

Carmen McRae at the top of the set, "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good." That's a Duke Ellington song from the early '40s, and one that gave Peggy Lee a hit record early in her career when she sang for The Benny Goodman Orchestra. The version we heard was a 1968 recording McRae did for her album "The Sound of Silence," which included her singing not only the Simon & Garfunkel song the album was named after, but also "MacArthur Park." I’ll have to go back and listen to that one.

We also heard President Lyndon Johnson's famous 1965 speech to Congress, delivered eight days after Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama, where civil rights leaders and protestors were brutally attacked by state police and local law enforcement on the Edmund Pettis Bridge.  The formal title of the address was “The American Promise,” but it came to be known as the “We Shall Overcome” speech, watched live on television by more than 70 million Americans, as Johnson pushed for passage of the Voting Rights Act. The speech was effective: A poll conducted shortly after the address found that 76 percent of Americans were in favor of the bill.  Johnson signed it into law five months later, in early August 1965.

You've been listening to "Keep On Pushing" from Studio C Chicago. I'm Andy Miles. There's still one more song on the show. It's a Howlin' Wolf blues standard called "Killing Floor," put out by Chess Records in 1964.

Howlin’ Wolf “Killing Floor” (1964)

Visit the main “Keep On Pushing” page