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 Id 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 theres a possibility of that happening.
Its not just on oldies stations. Turn on the TV and chances are youll hear 60s music in commercials.
Donovan, the Sunshine Superman, sings "Colours" in a Kohls 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. GMCs 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 whod never personally been out there ahavin fun in that warm California sun.
Its surprising to me that, given their sheer number and popularity, more Beatles tunes arent incorporated in advertising. Possibly its 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 hasnt had the time necessary to exploit his ownership.
Another consideration is that some Boomers consider Beatles music sacrosanct. These folks feel disgust with whats 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 Im 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 Ive heard in several commercials is the great "Time Has Come Today" by the Chambers Brothers. Its pitched beer, cars, and even an investment company.
One advertisement highlights "Its 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.
I've seen that. Clarinex, right? Back in the 60s there was an album titled (as I recall) The Who Sells Out.
Growing up in the 80's wasn't all that bad, even though a lot of the music was. I kind of miss that simpler time, where the only fear I had growing up was of being nuked by the Russians in the middle of the night. The world is a bit more complicated now.
Whenever I see some these old koots on TV, I can only say one thing: "Ye Gods! Please let me age with some small amount of dignity!"
All I see is the picture of being in some nursing home 50 years from now being forced to listen to that. With any luck Dr. Krevorkian will still be around.
The recent cover version of The Smiths tune How Soon Is Now by Russian pop vocalists t.a.T.y would be a contender, I'd think, as are some of Canadian punkette Avril Lavigne, particularly Nobody's Fool and Mobile from her first album. And these are but their firsts, with hopeful features ahead of them...and others.
I can't begin to count the covers of Locomotion that are out there, Kylie Minogie's likely being the best known, though Atomic Kitten and Grand Funk Railroad left credible cover versions behind as well. Little Eva may be gone, and Warren Zevon leaving us as soon as his ride's here, but the music goes on.
-archy-/-
Bobby Vee, Brian Hyland, Little Eva, Johnny Tillotson and Freddy Cannon, September, 2000:
What I am saying is that it's way too soon to say that they'll go down in music history with the Mozarts and Beethovens of the world. The people who grew up with Zep necessarily carry a lot of emotional weight along with the music, which pretty much prevents any neutral perspective on the merits of their music. I think Dave Barry said it best:
But that doesn't matter. What matters is that when I'm singing along to "Shut Down", I'm no longer a middle-aged guy driving to the laundry to pick up my shirts; I'm seventeen, and it's a summer night with tantalizing possibilities of adventure and romance hanging semipalpably in the humid air, and I'm cruising the roads around Armonk, New York, and even though the vehicle I'm cruising in is my mom's Plymouth Valiant station wagon, which boasts the performance characteristics and sex appeal of a forklift, I am feeling good, and I am stomping on the gas pedal (not that this has any measurable effect on my mom's Valiant) and imagining that I'm at the wheel of a Stingray, singing triumphantly along with the Beach Boys as we roar past the Dodge 413...So I don't care how many times I hear "Shut Down", or "Little Deuce Coupe", or "Fun, Fun, Fun". They're always welcome on my radio; I'll go back to that summer night any time.
But there won't be anybody like that left in 50 years - at that point, it'll have to stand or fall on its own merits. All we can do is sort of wait and see how it's received by generations to come...
Tommy Roe, Shirley Reeves, Bobby Vee, Tom, Jeff, Little Eva, Deb Commings, and Robb Columbus, IN, September 2000:
Yeah, know what you mean. I used to be a great fan of U2 till I saw this:
Bono has no shame.
Little Red Riding Hood was always one of my favorites.
And there is NOTHING wrong with Bad Company!
For the record, Im a Gen-X'er (blech, I hate that term) and I do not listen to M&M&M, Inane Clown Puss, or much of anything else that fraudently trys to pass itself off as music or talent.
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