Strictly the Sixties with Keith Semmel

09/03/2024

James Darren, who starred in 'Gidget,' 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' and 'T.J. Ho**er,' died Monday. He was 88.

05/27/2024

Singer and organist wrote 17-minute classic In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida, taking the album of the same name to four million US sales

04/28/2024

Moody Blues founding member, singer and keyboardist, Mike Pinder has died at 82.

04/18/2024

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer died at his home in Osprey, Florida, David Spero, Betts’ manager of 20 years, told The Associated Press by phone.

01/26/2024

Her song “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)” was inspired by her appearance at Woodstock, and “Brand New Key” topped the charts.

01/23/2024

The 1960s girl group out of Queens recorded No. 1 single “Leader of the Pack.”

01/18/2024

Peter Schickele, whose comedic parodies of classical music overshadowed his own strengths as a serious composer, died Tuesday at his home in Bearsville, N.Y. at 88. His daughter confirmed the death…

01/13/2024

Lesley Gore's 1963 rendition of 'Misty' is the #1 song in the TikTok Billboard Top 50 after appearing in more than 1.8 million videos.

12/27/2023

Comedian Tom Smothers, who with his brother performed as the singing comedy duo the Smothers Brothers, has died, according to a family statement shared by the National Comedy Center.He was 86.

10/14/2023

Mark Goddard, best known for his roles in 'Lost in Space' and 'General Hospital,' died at age 87 in hospice while living with pulmonary fibrosis, his wife Evelyn Pezzulich confirmed

10/12/2023

Rudolph Isley, one of the founding members of the R&B group The Isley Brothers, has died, his family announced.

09/26/2023

Actor David McCallum, who became a teen heartthrob in the hit series "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." in the 1960s and was the eccentric medical examiner in the popular "NCIS" 40 years later, has died.

09/24/2023

His biggest hit was nominated for three Grammys and he co-wrote and sang many of the group's other classics.

08/19/2023

For your consideration. (Nice to see "Bookends" on this list.)

Folk revival classics.

08/17/2023

The pair led one of the great independent labels with Carpenters, Cat Stevens, Peter Frampton, the Police, and Janet Jackson. Jerry Moss tributes...

08/09/2023

Guitarist-songwriter-singer Robbie Robertson, who led the Canadian-American group the Band to rock prominence in the 1970s and worked extensively with Bob Dylan and Martin Scorsese, has died. He wa…

08/09/2023

Psychedelic-Pop icons, and 2019 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductees, The Zombies, have acquired the rights to their 1960’s recording catalogue.  The deal includes their timeless h…

07/21/2023

LEGEND!

Tony Bennett's joyful and stirring renditions of classic songs made him one of the most popular interpreters of jazz, pop and Broadway standards.

07/11/2023

RIP Peter Nero, 1934-2023.

06/30/2023

RIP Alan Arkin, 1934-2023.

06/21/2023

On this date June 21, 1965 the debut studio album by The Byrds "Mr.Tambourine Man" was released on Columbia Records, produced by Terry Melcher. The material on the album mostly consists of cover versions of folk songs, primarily composed by Bob Dylan, and originals written or co-written by singer Gene Clark.

The album peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Top LPs chart and reached number 7 in the United Kingdom. It is the band's most successful album on either chart.

The "Mr. Tambourine Man" single was released ahead of the album in April 1965 and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. A second single, "All I Really Want to Do", also a Dylan cover, was moderately successful in the U.S., but fared better in the UK, where it reached the top ten.

It was recorded January 20, March 8 – April 22, 1965 at Columbia Studios in Hollywood.

Personnel:

Jim McGuinn – lead guitar, vocals
Gene Clark – rhythm guitar, tambourine, vocals
David Crosby – rhythm guitar, vocals
Chris Hillman – electric bass
Michael Clarke – drums

On "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "I Knew I'd Want You"

Jerry Cole – rhythm guitar
Larry Knechtel – electric bass
Leon Russell – electric piano
Hal Blaine – drums
Bill Pitman-rhythm guitar

06/17/2023

On this date June 17, 1967 the eighth studio album by Herb Alpert and the TJB "Sounds Like...." hit #1 on the Billboard 200 where it stayed for one week. The album was produced by Alpert and Jerry Moss. It entered the #1 spot between "More Of The Monkees", and "Headquarters".

Track listing:

Side 1
"Gotta Lotta Livin' to Do" (Lee Adams, Charles Strouse) - 2:47
"Lady Godiva" (Charlie Mills, Mike Leander) - 2:06
"Bo-Bo" (Sol Lake) - 3:04
"Shades of Blue" (Julius Wechter) - 2:44
"In a Little Spanish Town" (Mabel Wayne, Joe Young, Sam M. Lewis) - 1:54
"Wade in the Water" (Traditional, arranged by John Pisano, Edmondson and Alpert) - 3:03

Side 2
"Town Without Pity" (Dimitri Tiomkin, Ned Washington) - 2:14
"The Charmer" (John Pisano) - 2:13
"Treasure of San Miguel" (Roger Nichols) - 2:14
"Miss Frenchy Brown" (Ervan Coleman) - 2:27
"Casino Royale" (Hal David, Burt Bacharach) - 2:35

06/13/2023

The star says machine learning helped lift John Lennon's voice from a demo and turn it into a song.

06/09/2023

06/08/2023

Herb Alpert's 1965 album, 'Whipped Cream & Other Delights,' caused quite a stir upon its release because of its now iconic cover.

06/08/2023

Released June 8, 1967.

On this date June 8, 1967, the LP "Insight Out" by The Association was released on Warner Bros. Records, produced and engineered by Bones Howe. Musical arrangements were by Bill Holman, Clark Burroughs, Ray Polhman, The Association.

This was their first album done with Howe as producer. It peaked at #8 on the Billboard 200.

Two singles were released for the album:

"Windy" / "Sometime"
Released: May 1, 1967
"Never My Love" / "Requiem for the Masses"
Released: August 9, 1967

Track Listing:

Side one

"Wasn't It a Bit Like Now?" (Terry Kirkman) – 3:32 (lead vocal: Kirkman & Ramos)
"On a Quiet Night" (P. F. Sloan) – 3:22 (lead vocal: Yester)
"We Love Us" (Ted Bluechel) – 2:26 (lead vocal: Bluechel & Ramos)
"When Love Comes to Me" (Jim Yester) – 2:46 (lead vocal: Yester)
"Windy" (Ruthann Friedman) – 2:57 (lead vocal: Giguere & Ramos)
"Reputation" (Tim Hardin) – 2:38 (lead vocal: Cole)

Side 2

"Never My Love" (Addrisi Brothers) – 3:14 (lead vocal: Kirkman & Ramos)
"Happiness Is" (Addrisi Brothers) – 2:20 (lead vocal: Bluechel & Ramos)
"Sometime" (Russ Giguere) – 2:38 (lead vocal: Giguere)
"Wantin' Ain't Gettin" (Mike Deasy) – 2:20 (lead vocal: Cole & Giguere)
"Requiem for the Masses" (Kirkman) – 4:09 (lead vocal: Kirkman)

Personnel:

Terry Kirkman – wind instruments, vocals, percussion
Larry Ramos – lead guitar, vocals
Russ Giguere – rhythm guitar, vocals, percussion
Brian Cole – bass, vocals, woodwinds
Ted Bluechel, Jr. – drums, vocals, rhythm guitar, bass
Jim Yester – rhythm guitar, vocals, keyboards

Hal Blaine – drums
Joe Osborn, Ray Pohlman – bass
Mike Deasy, Dennis Budimir, Al Casey – guitars
Larry Knechtel – piano, keyboards
Gary Coleman – vibes, various percussion
Arthur Briegleb, Gale Robinson, Vince DeRosa, Richard Perissi – french horns
Jules Chaikin, Oliver Mitchell, Ian Freebairn-Smith – trumpets
Bob Edmondson – trombone
John T. Johnson, Gene Cipriano – saxophone
Bud Shank – piccolo, flute
Bones Howe – tambourine on "Never My Love"
Clark Burroughs, Marilyn Burroughs, Bertie Jane Giguere, Jo-Ellen Yester, Jerry Yester, Ruthann Friedman – additional backing vocals on (tag of) "Windy"

06/06/2023

Producer Giles Martin oversaw the remixing of the 1966 classic

06/06/2023

Singer had no previous recording experience when she sang a defining song of Brazilian culture in 1963

06/02/2023

Cynthia Weil, a songwriter who penned dozens of classic hits over a period of decades, has died. Weil’s daughter Jenn Mann, the psychotherapist and Couples Therapy host, tells TMZ that Weil died last night. No cause of death has been reported. Weil was 83.

05/27/2023

Arriving on Blu-Ray (finally) on Tuesday, May 30.