Post by Pete70s on Nov 15, 2007 21:56:22 GMT -5
Yet another 60's pop act this week:
Spanky & Our Gang
Led by singer Elaine "Spanky" MacFarlane, and named after the "Our Gang" films of the 1930's, Spanky & Our Gang had a decent run of hits, but their Top 40 tenure lasted only one year. Making the Top 10 with their first single, "Sunday Will Never Be The Same", their self-titled debut album spawned two more hits, "Making Every Minute Count" and "Lazy Day". Scoring three hits off a debut album was a pretty good accomplishment for 1967, and the group continued to score with their second album and the two hits "Sunday Mornin'" and "Like To Get To Know You" by mid 1968.
Several factors led to the demise of the bands success by the summer of '68. First, A controversial single dealing with racial equality, "Give A Damn" was banned by many radio stations and caused quite a stir when the band performed it on The Smothers Brothers show. The record stalled at #43, and they never got back the momentum.
Second, the sudden and tragic death of guitarist Malcom Hale, due to carbon monoxide poisoning, led to the groups eventual disbanding.
And third, by the summer of '68 radio was turning more toward harder rock bands like Steppenwolf and Deep Purple. Spanky & Our Gang's brand of catchy, wholesome pop tunes was becoming out of place.
They would continue to chart (though missing the national Top 40) with singles "Yesterday's Rain", "And She's Mine", & "Anything You Choose", as well as a third and final album "Anything You Choose b/w Without Rhyme Or Reason", but the band was all done by the spring of '69. Spanky would later join John Phillips & Denny Doherty in a "new" Mama's & Papas.
Personally, of all the songs I know by them, I actually like "Sunday Will Never Be The Same" the least. Something about that intro irks me, like it doesn't fit the rest of the song. You could stick sleigh bells on top of it, and it would sound like a Christmas song or something.
I love all their other hits, though, and I especially like "Lazy Day"s b-side, "(It Ain't Necessarily) Byrd Avenue", as well as "Yesterday's Rain" and the controversial "Give A Damn".
Great group, Yes! Hall Of Fame? I wouldn't count on it....
Spanky & Our Gang
Led by singer Elaine "Spanky" MacFarlane, and named after the "Our Gang" films of the 1930's, Spanky & Our Gang had a decent run of hits, but their Top 40 tenure lasted only one year. Making the Top 10 with their first single, "Sunday Will Never Be The Same", their self-titled debut album spawned two more hits, "Making Every Minute Count" and "Lazy Day". Scoring three hits off a debut album was a pretty good accomplishment for 1967, and the group continued to score with their second album and the two hits "Sunday Mornin'" and "Like To Get To Know You" by mid 1968.
Several factors led to the demise of the bands success by the summer of '68. First, A controversial single dealing with racial equality, "Give A Damn" was banned by many radio stations and caused quite a stir when the band performed it on The Smothers Brothers show. The record stalled at #43, and they never got back the momentum.
Second, the sudden and tragic death of guitarist Malcom Hale, due to carbon monoxide poisoning, led to the groups eventual disbanding.
And third, by the summer of '68 radio was turning more toward harder rock bands like Steppenwolf and Deep Purple. Spanky & Our Gang's brand of catchy, wholesome pop tunes was becoming out of place.
They would continue to chart (though missing the national Top 40) with singles "Yesterday's Rain", "And She's Mine", & "Anything You Choose", as well as a third and final album "Anything You Choose b/w Without Rhyme Or Reason", but the band was all done by the spring of '69. Spanky would later join John Phillips & Denny Doherty in a "new" Mama's & Papas.
Personally, of all the songs I know by them, I actually like "Sunday Will Never Be The Same" the least. Something about that intro irks me, like it doesn't fit the rest of the song. You could stick sleigh bells on top of it, and it would sound like a Christmas song or something.
I love all their other hits, though, and I especially like "Lazy Day"s b-side, "(It Ain't Necessarily) Byrd Avenue", as well as "Yesterday's Rain" and the controversial "Give A Damn".
Great group, Yes! Hall Of Fame? I wouldn't count on it....
