A compendium of musical delights by Alan and Margaret Ashworth
This was written by band member Gene Clark who also took the lead vocal. It was released in June 1965 as the B-side of the band’s second single, Bob Dylan’s All I … Continue readingThe Byrds: I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better
Flaco-tastic new version of the Cooder song, a salutary tale originally on the Borderline album. This is from Flaco’s all-star 2018 album Partners.
King co-wrote this with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Stoller later said that King was 50 per cent responsible for the song, and he and Leiber 25 per cent each. … Continue readingBen E King: Stand By Me
THIS hymn is inextricably linked with the 1912 Titanic disaster, when the liner hit an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, and sank with the loss of 1,517 … Continue readingNearer, My God, To Thee
Such a lovely song, this. From Simon Nicol’s 1988 album Before Your Time.
The Jelly Beans were five high school friends from New Jersey. This was their debut single, written by husband and wife team Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, and it reached No … Continue readingJelly Beans: I Wanna Love Him So Bad
Lovely track which first appeared on the 1975 LP Northern Lights, Southern Cross.
From her superb debut solo album The North Star Grassman and the Ravens, this is Sandy at her best.
This reached No 2 in the US charts in 1958. It was written by Luther Dixon, who later worked with the Shirelles, and Allyson R Khent. It was featured in the … Continue readingThe Crests: Sixteen Candles
WHEN I first heard Jonathan Richman I thought he was simply playing a character – a naïve childlike figure who saw beauty in ordinary things and sang simple songs about … Continue readingThe forever innocent Jonathan Richman