Betcha him and the guys don't wear their old outfits through airports nowdays....
Posted on 04/15/2003 4:46:52 PM PDT by mikeb704
Eva Narcissus Boyd was buried in North Carolina earlier this week. The name may not be familiar, but her music certainly is.
Under the name "Little Eva," she recorded "The Locomotion." The song was a giant hit in 1962.
Forty years is a very long time, even if Baby Boomers recall the era as though it were last week. I thought of Little Eva a few of months ago while driving. Her hit was playing on the radio and I wondered how many times I’d heard it over the decades. Surely hundreds of times. Maybe even thousands.
I began conjecturing if "The Locomotion" will still be listened to in yet another 40 years. Given how pervasive 60s music is today, I think there’s a possibility of that happening.
It’s not just on oldies stations. Turn on the TV and chances are you’ll hear 60s music in commercials.
Donovan, the Sunshine Superman, sings "Colours" in a Kohl’s commercial. A Gap ad uses his "Mellow Yellow." The same company features another commercial with The Troggs’ "Love Is All Around." What, you thought "Wild Thing" was their only groovy ditty?
Admittedly, some of the music in TV ads emanated from one hit wonders. Flowers.com runs a spot with "Concrete and Clay," a 1965 hit for the legendary Unit Four + Two. GMC’s Yukon included "Our Day Will Come." The first song released by Ruby and the Romantics, it was also the only one for which the group is remembered. Old Navy used "California Sun," a hit by the Rivieras. The band made the Golden State sound like heaven, which was quite an accomplishment for some Indiana boys who’d never personally been out there a’havin’ fun in that warm California sun.
It’s surprising to me that, given their sheer number and popularity, more Beatles tunes aren’t incorporated in advertising. Possibly it’s because of legal impediments. Michael Jackson has owned the rights to over 200 Beatles songs. Of course, Michael is always busy with either not getting plastic surgery or being named in multimillion-dollar lawsuits, so perhaps he just hasn’t had the time necessary to exploit his ownership.
Another consideration is that some Boomers consider Beatles music sacrosanct. These folks feel disgust with what’s perceived as tawdry commercialization of their heroes’ works. They must have not paid much attention when the group cranked out barkers like "Dig A Pony" just to fill up an album.
The mid-80s marked the first use of a Beatles song in an ad. Lincoln-Mercury had a sound-alike group singing "Help." A couple of years later, Nike featured "Revolution" performed by the Beatles and the company credited it with increased sales. Apple Records sued Nike, but until the case was settled kept employing it.
In the late 90s, Nortel Networks licensed "Come Together" for a new marketing campaign. H&R Block latched on to "Taxman" for commercials last year. Around the same time, an Allstate Insurance ad included "When I’m 64." Julian Lennon performed the tune, which added a nice touch of irony I thought.
Car companies especially look back to the golden age of rock. Steppenwolf does a heavily mixed version of "Magic Carpet Ride" for Dodge Viper. "Unchained Melody" was a 60s hit for the Righteous Brothers and Mercedes Benz incorporated it in a commercial last year. The Kinks’ "You Really Got Me" has been used in other ads for Mercedes Benz.
A song I’ve heard in several commercials is the great "Time Has Come Today" by the Chambers Brothers. It’s pitched beer, cars, and even an investment company.
One advertisement highlights "It’s A Beautiful Morning," a hit for the Young Rascals. The product being sold is Vioxx, an arthritis pill purchased by many Boomers, possibly even the not so young anymore Rascals.
When most of my generation finally leave this vale of tears – if they ever do – maybe then the 60s music will fade away. But what will take its place? The Insane Clown Posse, Eminem, Twisted Sister?
You know, The Locomotion keeps getting better with age.
Condos and cabanas? Really? And here I thought that, at best, Lake Of Fire souls would be treated to a Carville-esque trailer park filled with Demos and other big time sinners.
Nah, last year VH-1 had the top 100 countdown and I gotta tell you, in the classic sense, I gotta go with their number one pick, "Satisfaction". Pure rock.
Betcha him and the guys don't wear their old outfits through airports nowdays....
Party on, Wayne! Party on, Garth:
http://pacer.members.easyspace.com/Limo.jpg
Shawn Lane
Buddy Guy
Marc Ribot
Robert Quine
Steve Morse
Steve Cropper
And anybody that ever heard the group *Grin* back in the late '60's- early '70s.
-archy-/-
We managed to give a local minister a near stroke when he heard and recognized the opening chords for House of the Rising Sun coming from his church's mighty Wurlitzer at a wedding ceremony he was performing. His sigh of relief when the vocalist acompanied it with the lyrics to Amazing Grace was visible, but he still had the look of a pole-axed steer.
-archy-/-
Knowing how rebellious kids can be (I sure was), you might be right, something worse is coming. It'll probably be a combination of disco and rap. What a sound... we can call it discrap.
The sad thing about rap is that it's essentially disposable music from throwaway performers. You don't hear rap oldies very often, certainly not on the rap video channels.
But I've come across examples of it being shoehorned into other music as a fill or bridge where it doesn't work too bad. Check this Olga Tanon offering out.
-archy-/-
What do you think of Jon Anderson of Yes? I always thought his voice was one of the best too, very easy to listen to.
Dammit, archy, it's tough to stifle laughter here in the office. Gives me a runny nose every time! (*sniff*) ;-)
He's immortalized, don'tchaknow. A lil' girl wrote a song about him, and it did okay on the charts itself. So long as people sing that song about him and those songs he did, he'll never fade away.
Mississippi in the middle of a dry spell
Jimmy Rogers on the Victrola up high
Mama's dancin', there's a baby on her shoulder
The sun is settin' like molasses in the sky
The boy could sing, knew how to move, everything
Always wanting more, he'd leave you longing for
Black velvet in that little boy's smile
Black velvet with that slow southern style
A new religion that'll bring you to your knees
Black velvet, if you please
Up in Memphis the music's like a heat wave
White lightening, bound to drive you wild
Mama's baby's in the heart of every schoolgirl
"Love me tender" leaves them cryin' in the aisles
The way he moved, it was a song, so sweet and true
Always wanting more, he'd leave you longing for
Black velvet in that little boy's smile
Black velvet with that slow southern style
A new religion that'll bring you to your knees
Black velvet, if you please
Every word of every song he sang was for you
In a flash he was gone, it happened so soon
What could you do?
Black velvet in that little boy's smile
Black velvet with that slow southern style
A new religion that'll bring you to your knees
Black velvet, if you please
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