The Sixties Live! — on You Tube

by Bob Bembridge in Album Reviews, Honoring Lives, Musician Reviews, Reviews, Song Reviews

Robin Williams said if you remember the Sixties, you weren’t there.

One thing you couldn’t forget was the music.  Bob Dylan sparked an artistic renaissance in rock music which hasn’t been equaled since.  Most of those great songs of the Sixties are now available on You Tube.  Here are a few of my favorite music videos which you can check out for yourself.  (I’m recommending the You Tube video which contains the best available sound recording of each song.)

Flirtations – Nothing but a Heartache  (posted by dazzababes 6/30/06)

These three soul sisters from South Carolina started out in 1962 as The Gypsies.  After a couple of minor hits, they renamed themselves the Flirtations in 1966.  This early 1969 release reached Billboard’s #34 spot by May and remained in the Top 100 for 14 weeks.

Easybeats – Friday on My Mind  (posted by NWINTER2008 2/27/08)

A rock group?  From Australia?  That was a hard nut to swallow in 1966 when this song was released.  This Sydney rock band formed in late 1964, and this song was an international pop hit.  The group split up in late 1969.

Byrds – I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better  (posted by Gurumachine1000 2/7/08)

Reportedly the Beatles’ favorite American group, the Byrds invented folk rock in 1965 with their cover of Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man.”   Rolling Stone ranks the Byrds as #45 on its list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.  After firing an overbearing David Crosby in 1967, the Byrds recorded with varying lineups that never achieved the same artistic and commercial success they had from 1965 to 1967.   Love those Shindig dancers!

Keith – 98.6  (posted by RadioBazterd 9/21/08)

This North Philly native was influenced by Philadelphia’s own American Bandstand where he learned to dance from watching show regulars Bob and Justine.  Better yet, his neighbor was president of the Bobby Rydell fan club, and he got to see Hugo Peabody himself.  Keith (real name: James Keefer) performed with Barry and the Bel-Aires at local record hops before going solo.  Released on New Years Day 1967, 98.6 hit #7 in only one week.   

Sir Douglas Quintet – Mendocino  (posted by shakedownsounds 1/21/09)

These five boys from San Antonio, Texas adopted their unlikely moniker to exploit the popularity of the mid-Sixties British Invasion.  They hit the big-time in 1965 with the release of “She’s About a Mover.”  They pioneered the use of Tex-Mex and Cajun sounds with rock music.  “Mendocino” was released in December 1968 and reached Billboard’s #14 spot by early 1969.  The song was even a bigger hit in Europe, where it sold three million copies. 

Who – The Kids are Alright  (posted by deargirl 1/29/06)

Forget Woodstock.  Forget Tommy.  The Who were never better than they were from1965 to 1967, and this song proves it.  The Who’s “My Generation” was released in 1965 and became the unofficial anthem of Britain’s “Mod” movement.  The Who’s 1967 album, “The Who Sell Out,” is their best work and is on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Joe Byrd and the Field Hippies – You Can’t Ever Come Down  (posted by thepowderedclouds 5/26/08)

If you don’t know what this song’s about, don’t ask.  Avant-garde composer Joe Byrd didn’t exactly bust open the Top 40 with his two psychedelic rock groups – 1967’s United States of America and 1969’s Field Hippies.  However, he and his band members produced some of the most interesting music to come out of the late Sixties.

A descendant of Virginia’s famous Byrd family, he was (and is) recognized as one of that era’s leading experimental composers. 

Ultimate Spinach – (Ballad of) the Hip Death Goddess  (posted by plinianguy 1/5/09)

This rock band from Boston mixed psychedelic rock with Baroque music.  Released in early 1968, “Hip Death Goddess” is eight minutes and 14 seconds of hippy trippy, but I still dig it.