KEEP ON PUSHING
EPISODE 4

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 Small Faces.

Small Faces “Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake” (1968)

The Marvelettes “Don’t Mess With Bill” (1966)

Nina Simone “The Backlash Blues” (1968)

Betty Everett “You’re No Good” (1963)

That's Betty Everett doing her version of "You're No Good" in 1963, the same year that Dionne Warwick's sister Dee Dee introduced the song. Everett's release on Vee Jay Records was a minor hit, nothing compared to Linda Ronstadt's '70s version that went to number one.

Nina Simone with "Backlash Blues" live at Westbury Music Fair in Westbury, New York, in April 1968. That was released on the LP "Nuff Said."

We also heard "Don't Mess with a Bill," a big hit for The Marvelettes and Motown Records in 1966, which was written by Smokey Robinson.

And Small Faces at the top of the show with the instrumental title track of their 1968 album "Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake."

And you're listening to "Keep On Pushing." I'm Andy Miles. Good stuff on the way, including Etta James, Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, and this from The Moody Blues.

The Moody Blues “The Best Way To Travel” (1968)

Bobby Darin “If I Were A Carpenter” (1966)

Sergio Mendes & Brasil ‘66 “Chove Chuve” (1967)

Shades of Jade “Why Does It Feel So Right (Doing Wrong)” (1968)

That's Shades of Jade, "Why Does It Feel So Right (Doing Wrong)," put out on Doré Records out of Los Angeles, California. The label got its start in the summer of 1958 and by that fall had a number one hit on its hands, the Phil Spector-penned "To Know Him is to Love Him" by The Teddy Bears, and soon after brought a young Herb Alpert and Lou Adler on staff. The song we heard came out in 1968, by which point Doré was focusing on R&B groups like Shades of Jade.

We heard Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 with "Chove Chuve," or "Constant Rain" in English, released in 1967.

Bobby Darin's "If I Were A Carpenter" before that. It was the first hit version of the song — the product of an all-night recording session with Darin on vocals and guitar. It became the title track of a folk album Darin put out a couple months after the single's release in late 1966, which marked a change of style for the singer, who was — and still is — most identified with the finger-snapping swagger of songs like "Mack the Knife" and "Beyond the Sea." The Four Tops and Johnny Cash also had hits with "If I Were A Carpenter."

The Moody Blues at the top, "The Best Way To Travel" from their album "In Search of the Lost Chord."

From Studio C Chicago, this is "Keep On Pushing." I'm Andy Miles. Thanks for joining me. Next up is Bob Lind.

Bob Lind “Elusive Butterfly” (1966)

Herbie Mann and Tamiko Jones “A Man and a Woman” (1967)

The Shirelles “Baby It’s You” (1961)

Etta James “I’d Rather Go Blind” (1967)

Etta James, "I'd Rather Go Blind," released by Cadet Records as the 1967 B-side to the Etta James hit "Tell Mama."

The Shirelles before that, "Baby, It's You," the first hit version of that song, which was later covered by The Beatles and the L.A. band Smith, who turned the song into a gold record in 1969, their one and only hit. Burt Bacharach wrote the song and "Baby It's You" was later used as the title for a so-called jukebox musical on Broadway, which featured The Shirelles' story.

We heard Herbie Mann and Tamiko Jones's version of "A Man and a Woman," the popular main theme from the French film "A Man and a Woman," which was a major hit in both France and the United States. The music was composed by Francis Lai, who had not previously scored a film. He scored big with the title song, which was recorded by countless artists in the late '60s. Dusty copies of the LP still show up in bins at estate and rummage sales. I know, I've bought at least two vinyl copies of it. Mann and Jones put it out on an album called "A Mann and a Woman" — "Mann " spelled with two N's, as in Herbie Mann — and released the song as a single, which only hit the top 90 on the pop chart, but went top 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

Bob Lind's "Elusive Butterfly" also spent time in the top 10 of the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, but it also reached the number five spot on the pop chart. That was in the early part of 1966. Tons of established artists covered the song in the latter part of the '60s, and Florence Henderson sang it on the first season of "The Muppet Show"! You can thank Wikipedia for that tidbit.

And you're listening to "Keep On Pushing." I'm Andy Miles.

We start this next set in Brazil.

Gilberto Gil “Procissão”

The Beatles “Rain” (1966)

Walter Wanderley “Batucada” (1967)

Frank Sinatra “All or Nothing At All” (1966)

Frank Sinatra, "All or Nothing At All." It was 1966 and Sinatra had added Artie Kane's Hammond B3 organ to the mix, freshening up the sound for the rock audience. Also on the track: session guitarist Al Viola, who not only backed Sinatra on guitar for two-plus decades; he played the mandolin on the soundtrack of the film "The Godfather." Sinatra first recorded “All or Nothing At All” at the beginning of his career, when he was the boy singer with The Harry James Orchestra. They released the song in 1940 but Sinatra didn't really have a name at that point and the record didn't amount to much. That is until Sinatra did have a name and it was re-released in 1943 and sold a million copies. Twenty-three years later he included it on the "Strangers in the Night" album on the Reprise Records label that he founded.

We also heard the Brazilian organist Walter Wanderley with the song "Batucada," released as the title track of a 1967 LP on the Verve label.

The Beatles’ "Rain," the B-side to "Paperback Writer," issued in the summer of 1966.

And another Brazilian, Gilberto Gil, opened that set with some Tropicalia music from the late '60s.

From Studio C Chicago, this has been "Keep On Pushing." I'm Andy Miles. One last song on the show: It’s "No Expectations" from The Rolling Stones. Thanks for listening.

The Rolling Stones “No Expectations”

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