Western

282. Lee Marvin (Orchestra Conducted by Nelson Riddle) – Wand’rin’ Star (From the Soundtrack Album of the Paramount Picture “Paint Your Wagon”) (1970)

/ robbarker1979

The Intro

Here’s a strange one. Taking up the top spot for most of March was Academy Award-winning Hollywood actor Lee Marvin – definitely not a professional singer – and Wand’rin’ Star, from the 1969 western musical film Paint Your Wagon, based on the 1951 stage show.

Set in a mining camp during the Gold Rush in California, the film also starred Clint Eastwood in a singing role. Despite its notoriety now, it was panned upon its release. Not much of a fan of westerns or musicals, I’ve never seen it, and likely never will.

The song Wand’rin’ Star, like the rest of the music in the film/show, came from Frederick Loewe, with the lyrics by Alan J Lerner. Together, the duo wrote some of the most famous musicals of all time, including My Fair Lady (Vic Damone had a UK number 1 in 1958 with On the Street Where You Live).

The makers of the movie had a problem when it cames to filming. Prematurely white-haired, gruff-voiced Marvin, one of the top actors of the era, was no singer, yet he had top billing in his role as prospector Ben Rumson. And he refused to mime.

Before

Marvin was born 19 February 1924 in New York City. The son of an advertising executive and fashion editor, he struggled from authority from an early age – running away from home for two days at the age of four, and expelled from a succession of boarding schools. However when he was 18 he dropped out of a Florida prep school to join the Marines in 1942, determined to prove how tough he was. Marvin was wounded in action in 1944 and spent a year in hospital.

Upon his discharge he took up various menial jobs and stumbled upon acting almost by accident. Soon, he was in a Broadway production of Billy Budd, before the 50s beckoned, and he garnered many small TV roles.

Next, came Hollywood, and a role as a murderer in an episode of crime drama Dragnet got him noticed, leading to him being typecast as the bad guy in films. Two such roles came in The Big Heat and The Wild One (both 1953) – the latter of which may be where The Beatles got their name from (Marvin’s gang were called The Beetles). He finally got to be leading man in the TV crime drama The M Squad, which ran from 1957-60.

Once the series ended, he went up a notch in film roles, starring in The Comancheros (1961), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) and Donovan’s Reef (1963). But it was 1965 surprise-hit comedy Cat Ballou that really shot him to the big time, and he won the Best Actor Oscar that year.

The Dirty Dozen (also starring Charles Bronson) as a commercial success, and Point Blank adored by critics, both in 1967. Hell in the Pacific was also acclaimed a year later, and in 1969 Marvin was set to star in The Wild Bunch, but he fell out with director Sam Peckinpah and opted for Paint Your Wagon instead.

Wand’rin’ Star finds Marvin’s character fending for himself and contemplating his hobo lifestyle. The song was orchestrated and arranged by Nelson Riddle, who had been working with some of the most legendary singers since the 40s – including Frank Sinatra on his first number 1, Three Coins in the Fountain.

Review

The first time I listened to this, I thought Siri had accidentally picked an instrumental version, perhaps used as incidental music in the film. It’s quite some time before Marvin’s gravelly vocal begins. And you know what, yes, it’s out of tune and his timing is also off at times, but I’d take his voice over the dated backing singers.

It’s all about the mood, and Marvin’s baritone fits perfectly. His off-key rasp puts across that this is someone that’s been damaged, that’s gone through some shit, but is proud of the lifestyle he has.

Also, there’s some really great lyrics here, particularly:
I’ve never seen a sight that didn’t look better looking back
And especially:
Do I know where hell is?
Hell is in hello
Heaven is goodbye for ever, it’s time for me to go

No wonder this was played at Joe Strummer’s funeral, and covered by Shane MacGowan and the Popes. There’s real depth here. I can do without the backing singers taking over at one point, and I probably won’t be listening to it much in the future, but it’s surprisingly good. And the public clearly thought so too. This even kept Let It Be off the top spot!

After

Marvin remained active in films throughout the 70s, but despite his roles becoming diverse, nothing matched the 60s for him, commercially or critically. He was offered the role of Quint in Jaws (1975) but turned it down.

He was embroiled in a high-profile lawsuit in 1979 when his old live-in girlfriend, Michelle Triola, who had changed her surname to Marvin, claimed he had promised her half his income while they were still together. This was the first time the US Supreme Court has allowed such a case between unmarried couples. The judge only awarded her enough money to get back on her feet.

Marvin claimed to spend much of the remainder of his years living in the desert, which makes him sound very similar to the character Ben – no wonder he sang it with such conviction. He starred in Gorky Park in 1983, and his final film was The Delta Force alongside Chuck Norris in 1986.

The Outro

Marvin fell ill that December, and after a number of issues he died of a heart attack on 29 August 1987, aged 63.

The Info

Written by

Alan J Lerner & Frederick Loewe

Producer

Tom Mack

Weeks at number 1

3 (7-27 March)

Meanwhile…

12 March: The government’s anti-rabies measures following an outbreak in Newmarket, Suffolk meant that the quarantine period for cats and dogs was increased to one year.

13 March: The Bridgwater by-election became the first in which 18-year-olds could vote. Tom King of the Conservatives was the victor.

17 March: Martin Peters, who scored for England in the 1966 World Cup final, became the first footballer in the country worth £200,000 after transferring from West Ham United to Tottenham Hotspur.

23 March: 18 victims of the thalidomide scandal were awarded nearly £370,000 in compensation.

70. Marvin Rainwater – Whole Lotta Woman (1958)

/ robbarker1979

marvin-rainwater-650-430.jpg

The Info

Enjoying a three-week stint at number 1, Marvin Rainwater’s Whole Lotta Woman was a self-penned primitive rockabilly tune.

Before

Born in Wichita, Kansas on 2 July 1925, Marvin Karlton Rainwater had studied classical piano as a child, but he lost part of his right thumb in an accident as a teenager. He trained to be a vet, but after his stint in the Navy during World War Two, he decided to try the guitar.

Claiming to be 25 percent Cherokee, he cut a unique figure when he began wearing his trademark buckskin jacket and headband on stage, and writing his own songs. He won the TV talent show Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts in 1955, and from there a recording contract with MGM swiftly followed.

Combining country and western with the emerging rockabilly sound, and with an imposing physique and unique, craggy good looks, Rainwater had natural star quality, and scored a hit with Gonna Find Me a Bluebird in the US in 1957, the same year he released The Majesty of Love, a duet with future number 1 artist Connie Francis.

Review

Whole Lotta Woman is a simple rocker with sexually-charged lyrics that only just made it past censorship (the BBC let it go, but some of the US broadcasters wouldn’t touch it). The most interesting aspect of the recording is probably Rainwater’s raucous, double-tracked vocals, and the duelling electric guitar and piano instrumental break. Not bad, but it suffers coming after a run of interesting, more famous chart-toppers.

After

Rainwater’s follow-up, I Dig You Baby, made the top 20, but he failed to repeat his early flourish of success. He began recording material with his younger sister, Patty, but around this time he developed ongoing throat problems. His voice suffered, and MGM let him go. He went into semi-retirement to rest his voice, recording sporadically for other labels. Changing tastes and lack of momentum caused his career to stall, and eventually he was diagnosed with throat cancer. He recovered from this, but his career didn’t.

Sadly, his final recording sessions remain unissued due to the dire state of his voice, and by then he was living in a caravan with his family on wasteland in Minnesota. He died of heart failure on 17 September 2013, aged 88.

The Outro

His guitar-playing had inspired many however – back in Rainwater’s glory days, a teenage guitarist called Brian Rankin was waiting in the shadows to make his mark on rock’n’roll, and he was quite the fan. He even changed his name in tribute, to Hank Marvin.

The Info

Written by

Marvin Rainwater

Producer

Jim Vinneau

Weeks at number 1

3 (25 April-15 May)

Trivia

Births

25 April: Marillion Singer Fish
3 May  Presenter Sandi Toksvig

Deaths

3 May: Cricketer Frank Foster

Meanwhile…

30 April: The Life Peerages Act allowed the creation of life peers who could sit in the House of Lords. As women could become life peers, the act made it possible for women to sit in the House of Lords for the first time. On the same day, the musical My Fair Lady opened at Drury Lane Theatre in London, starring Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews.

3 May: Bolton Wanderers won the FA Cup for the fourth time with a 2-0 victory over Manchester United, a club still reeling from the Munich Air Disaster.

41. Tennessee Ernie Ford with Orchestra conducted by Jack Fascinato – Sixteen Tons (1956)

/ robbarker1979

BN-OL869_PLAYLI_J_20160613175931.jpg

The Intro

Interest in Dickie Valentine’s Christmas Alphabet understandably died down after the holidays, and the first new number 1 of the year was Rock Around the Clock, enjoying its second run at the top, before being usurped by a rather unique single.

Before

Sixteen Tons had originally been written and recorded by country singer-songwriter Merle Travis back in 1946. Travis’s songs often spoke of the hardships of workers in the US as he came from a mining family in Kentucky. His brother once wrote him a letter with the line ‘You load sixteen tons and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt’. His father was also fond of saying ‘I can’t afford to die. I owe my soul to the company store’. Back then, miners were paid with credit vouchers that they could use to buy goods at the company store. Travis had the beginnings of a very catchy chorus . He came up with a song whose humour is as black as the dirt in the miners’ fingernails, and Tennessee Ernie Ford was listening. 10 years later, his cover became his second UK number 1 single in less than a year.

Review

Sixteen Tons is so much better than Give Me Your Word. His previous number 1 was a mediocre ballad that could have recorded by anyone. It’s hard to think who could perform Sixteen Tons as well as Ford. The sparse arrangement features his deep, booming voice and finger-clicking to begin with, followed by a clarinet backing him up, Ford speaks not only for US workers, but any slave to the man. In the gloomy winter months of 1956, no doubt UK miners could find solace in such a song. The mining references may root the song firmly in the past, but anyone who finds themselves slaving away just to get by can identify.  And it helps that it’s as catchy as hell.

After

Selling millions upon millions, Sixteen Tons became Ford’s signature song, and earned him his own TV show, which ran for five years.

Unfortunately, he and his first wife Betty had alcohol problems, and while he managed during his career peak, by the 70s his love of whiskey was taking its toll.

The Outro

Betty died in 1989 but even this couldn’t curtail his drinking, and he remarried less than four months later. Ford died of liver failure on 17 October 1991 – 36 years to the day of the first release of Sixteen Tons. However, he left behind the definitive version of a song that truly resonates.

The Info

Written by

Merle Travis

Producer

Lee Gillette

Weeks at number 1

2 (20 January-16 February)

Trivia

Births

31 January: Sex Pistols Singer John Lydon
2 January: Actor Philip Franks
13 February: New Order bassist Peter Hook

Deaths

31 January: Author AA Milne

Meanwhile…

24 January: Plans were announced for the building of thousands of new homes in the Barbican area of London, which had been devastated by Luftwaffe bombings in World War Two.

37. Jimmy Young with Bob Sharples & His Music – The Man from Laramie (1955)

/ robbarker1979

jimmy-young-the-man-from-laramie-decca.jpg

The Intro

As well as the mambo craze of 1955, Britain was also in love with cowboys and country and western music. Slim Whitman’s Rose Marie held the top spot for 11 weeks, and the first ‘official’ country song to hit number 1 happened earlier that year – Tennessee Ernie Ford’s Give Me your Word (although, as I said here, it’s not really a country song, and you could argue that Frankie Laine’s Hey Joe should earn that honour).

Before

That summer had seen the release of Western movie The Man from Laramie, starring James Stewart in the title role, as a stranger who causes ructions by working for the rival of a cattle baron. Lester Lee and Ned Washington had written the theme, and Al Martino performed the US version. He only just scraped into the top 20 in the US, but Jimmy Young, riding high off his previous number 1 with Unchained Melody, became the first homegrown artist to have two consecutive number 1s in the UK.

Review

Young makes a better job of The Man from Laramie, than he did Unchained Melody. It’s a jolly, rickety old number, and I suppose it’s kind of catchy, but having said all this, I have no desire to ever hear it again.

Basically, it’s Young telling us all the ways in which the Man from Laramie is brilliant. His voice is better suited to this than his previous chart-topper, but he’s still bellowing, and the worst bit is the cringeworthy way he changes his voice to sing smarmily:

‘He had a flair for ladies
Now the ladies loved his air of mystery’

After

The fact Young is so fondly remembered for his career as a DJ rather than his music suggests he was right to switch careers. He became a disc jockey that year on Housewive’s Choice, but sensing the music climate was changing following Elvis’s success, he decided to go full-time, working for Radio Luxembourg and the BBC.

The Outro

In 1967 he was one of the original band of DJs on the fledgling Radio 1. Considered too ‘square’ by some of the station’s bosses, he proved them wrong and his morning show proved very popular. He switched to Radio 2 for the lunchtime show in 1973, and stayed with the station, becoming a national institution, loved for his charm and relaxed style. He was just as nice in person as on the air, by all accounts, and was mourned by millions when he died peacefully in his sleep on 7 November 2016, aged 95.

The Info

Written by

Lester Lee & Ned Washington

Producer

Dick Rowe

Weeks at number 1

4 (14 October-10 November)

Trivia

Births

18 October: Presenter Timmy Mallett

Deaths

14 October: Songwriter Harry Parr-Davies

36. Slim Whitman – Rose Marie (1955)

/ robbarker1979

Slim_Whitman_1968.JPG

The Intro

Influential country-western singer, guitarist and yodeller Slim Whitman’s Rose Marie enjoyed a massive 11-week-long reign in 1955. It stood as the longest-running continuous number 1 until Bryan Adams spent 16 weeks at the top in 1991 with (Everything I Do) I Do It For You.

Before

Born Otis Dewey Whitman Jr in Tampa, Florida on 20 January 1923, Slim grew up loving the country songs of yodelling Jimmie Rodgers. During World War Two he entertained fellow soldiers with his singing. Whitman was so entertaining, his captain blocked a transfer to another ship. This proved to be a massive stroke of luck, as everybody on that ship was killed when it sank. He taught himself to play the guitar with his left hand, despite being right-handed, after losing a finger in an accident. This later had an effect on a young Paul McCartney, who was left-handed and decided to retune his guitar just as Whitman had. George Harrison was also taking note, and once said the first person he ever saw with a guitar was Whitman. The instrument was beginning to become fashionable, thanks in part to Slim.

Elvis’s future manager, ‘Colonel’ Tom Parker, had heard Whitman on the radio and took him under his wing, and his first single came out in 1948. A young Elvis Presley even supported him.

Whitman was very popular by 1955, and even more famous in the UK than the US. He avoided standard country fare about drinking and having no money, and became known for his more romantic material. His yodelling became his trademark, and it may sound surprising but even Michael Jackson listed him as one of his 10 favourite vocal performers.

Rose Marie had been released as a single in 1954. It was taken from the 1924 opera of the same name, with music by Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart, and the lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. Eventually it toppled Alma Cogan’s Dreamboat, and it reigned supreme from July to October.

Review

At first I was baffled by the success of Rose Marie. As I explained when reviewing Tennessee Ernie Ford’s Give Me Your Word, I’m not a country fan. I found myself more amused by Whitman’s voice than anything. I’m not averse to a bit of yodelling either (see Focus or Mr Trololo), but I just could not see the appeal. Unlike most of the other songs so far though, I went back to it a few times, and it has grown on me. Lew Chudd’s production is haunting, and the lyrics pack more depth into them than the usual hits of the time (of course, it was written 30 years earlier, so that might explain why). It’s a love song, but Whitman is powerless against his emotions:

‘Oh Rose Marie, I love you
I´m always dreaming of you
No matter what I do, I can’t forget you
Sometimes I wish that I never met you’

Nonetheless, Whitman has given up. He belongs to her now.

‘Of all the queens that ever lived, I choose you
To rule me, my Rose Marie’

So, yes, fair play to Whitman. But… 11 weeks at number 1? A world record for 36 years? Really? Having said that, when you’ve the likes of Jimmy Young as your competition, perhaps it’s understandable.

After

Whitman made history in 1956 when he became the first ever country star to perform at the London Palladium. He continued to have hits on these shores, including I’ll Take You Home Again Kathleen in 1957.

His star began to wane as the 60s began, with mainly minor hits in the US country charts. Though he continued to record, Angeline (1984) was his last album for 18 years. He relied on royalties from compilations until he began work on his final album Twilight on the Trail which finally saw release in 2010.

The Outro

In 2013 Whitman died of heart failure on 19 June, aged 90.

The Info

Written by

Rudolf Friml, Herbert Stothart, Otto Harbach & Oscar Hammerstein II

Producer

Lew Chudd

Weeks at number 1

11 (29 July-13 October)

Trivia

Births

14 August: Actress Gillian Taylforth
1 September: The Jam bassist Bruce Foxton
3 September: Sex Pistols guitarist  Steve Jones
16 September: Children’s television presenter Janet Ellis
20 September: Actor David Haig
2 October: Human League singer Phil Oakey
9 October: Athlete Steve Ovett 

Deaths

16 September: Conservative MP Leo Amery

Meanwhile…

27 August: The Guinness Book of Records was first published.

4 September: BBC newsreaders were seen on television reading reports for the first time. The two in question were Richard Baker and Kenneth Kendall, who became celebrities themselves in time.

14 September: Airfix produced their first scale model aircraft kit.

22 September: ITV began, in London only. The first advert shown is for Gibbs’ SR toothpaste.

26 September: Clarence Birdseye started selling fish fingers in the UK.

18. Doris Day with Orchestra conducted by Ray Heindorf – Secret Love (1954)

/ robbarker1979

calamity-jane-sing-a-long.jpg

The Intro

US smash-hit musical western Calamity Jane was first released in November 1953. Loosely based on the life of the title character and her alleged romance with notorious folk hero “Wild Bill” Hickok, it starred Doris Day and Howard Keel in the central roles.

Before

Day, born Doris Mary Kappelhoff on 3 April 1922 was one of the most well-known singers and actresses of the era. Originally she wanted to be a dancer, but an accident at the age of 15 forced her out of action and she discovered a talent for singing, with Ella Fitzgerald her idol.

She took singing lessons, and caught the attention of jazz musician Barney Rapp. Kappelhoff began working with him, but he understandably felt she needed a new stage name. Admiring her rendition of Day After Day, he suggested Doris Day.

The sugary timbre of her voice and film-star looks soon captivated radio, film and television audiences, right from her first hit, Sentimental Journey, back in 1945.

Her first UK singles success came in 1952, with a Frankie Laine duet, Sugarbush, and the following year she duetted with Johnnie Ray on the number four hit Let’s Walk That-a-Way.

On 16 April, 1954, UK singles buyers saw sense and decided that this track from Calamity Jane was more deserving of the number 1 spot than the execrable I See the Moon by The Stargazers. The ballad was written by composer Sammy Fain, with Paul Francis Webster providing the lyrics that describe the joy of finally being able to tell the world of a love kept under wraps.

Day was visibly moved when Fain visited her to play it for the first time. The day of the recording, she warmed-up her voice, cycled to the studio and announced to musical director Ray Heindorf that she would only perform one take of her vocal. Despite understandable misgivings, Heindorf was ecstatic after the take, agreeing that she could never outdo herself.

Review

It would seem this song had special meaning for Day, she clearly loved it and it shows in that one-take performance. A cut above other songs of this ilk, her authentic vocal turns from typically sweet to barely-contained delight at times. The stirring strings replicate the chorus and add to its hit factor.

After

Secret Love gave Day her fourth US number one, and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song on 25 March. However she caused controversy by refusing to perform it at the ceremony. The subsequent bad press saw Day housebound with depression for some time afterwards. Nonetheless, a few weeks later it became her first UK number 1.

The Outro

In a clear display of how mad the British record-buying public can often be, I See the Moon returned to the top after only a week. Not for long though, and on 8 May, Secret Love toppled Johnnie Ray’s Such a Night, beginning eight weeks as best-selling single.

The Info

Written by

Sammy Fain & Paul Francis Webster 

Producer

Ray Heindorf

Weeks at number 1

9 (16-22 April, 8 May-1 July) *BEST-SELLING SINGLE OF THE YEAR*

Trivia

Births

19 April: Footballer Trevor Francis
8 May: Entertainer Gary Wilmot

Deaths

7 June: Mathematician Alan Turing

Meanwhile…

29 May: Diane Leather became the first woman to break the five-minute mile.
29 June: The IRA returned after a long period of inactivity.

13. Frankie Laine with Paul Weston & His Orchestra – Hey Joe (1953)

/ robbarker1979 / 3 Comments

The Intro

Frankie Laine dominated the singles chart in 1953 in a way nobody else has since. His record-breaking dominance with I Believe was proof of this enough, but there was more to come.

Before

On 23 October, Laine’s cover of Hey Joe ended the dominance of Guy Mitchell’s Look at That Girl. A week later, his next number 1, Answer Me, entered the charts. With four songs in a chart that only consisted of 12 singles back then, it’s doubtful that anyone else will ever have a third of all songs in the chart in any given week ever again. Although Ed Sheeran seems to be trying his best.

Review

Sadly, Hey Joe isn’t the legendary track covered by, among others, The Jimi Hendrix Experience. It was a country music track written by Boudleaux Bryant for Carl Smith, and had been a bestseller on the US country music chart for eight weeks. It was Bryant’s first notable achievement, and four years later he and his wife Felice would begin a run of hits for The Everly Brothers, including Bye Bye Love and All I Have to Do Is Dream. Hey Joe does not live up to those classics.

Laine’s cover, backed by Paul Weston & His Orchestra, certainly tries its best, and obviously its success suggests it worked with record buyers back then. Like Look at That Girl, it features a quite effective guitar solo, and the brass works well, but the lyrics are nauseating. Some cowboy is jealous of Joe’s gal, and he’s decided he’s going to take her for his own.

‘Hey Joe
She’s got skin that’s creamy dreamy
Eyes that look so lovey dovey
Lips as red as cherry berry wine’

Ugh. By the end of the song, he’s telling Joe that, though they might be friends to the end, the end is nigh as his passion for her is all-consuming. If Joe had any sense he’d shoot this annoying ex-friend first while he’s describing her in that patronising way of his.

Although Laine characteristically performs the tune with gusto, his vocal styling makes it worse, stretching certain words out past the point of no return. No doubt though, the popularity of westerns in the 50s, as well as Laine, meant Hey Joe was bound to do well.

The Info

Written by

Boudleaux Bryant

Producer

Mitch Miller

Weeks at number 1

2 (23 October-5 November)

Trivia

Births

27 October: Actor Peter Firth

Meanwhile…

2 November: The Samaritans phone counselling service began. Vicar Chad Varah officially set it up in London, was inspired years earlier while at a funeral for a 14-year-old girl who had committed suicide in the belief she had an STD. She was in fact only menstruating. This troubled Varah to the extent he advertised for volunteers at his church to help people contemplating suicide, and The Daily Mirror came up with the name for the fledgling support group in their headline a month later for an article highlighting Varah’s work. Varah stayed with the Samaritans until 2004.