FRIDAY MUSIC: Angels of Venice, by JD

Angels Of Venice is a Californian harp, flute and cello group founded by harpist Carol Tatum in 1993. The group’s core sound is harp, flute and cello but also combines Middle Eastern, medieval and neoclassical styles.

The official members of Angels Of Venice are:
Carol Tatum - harp, composer, producer
Cathy Biagini - cello
Susan Craig Winsberg - flute
Suzanne Tang - flute
Irina Cherkova - cello
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angels_of_Venice

You can read more about Angels Of Venice on their web page. https://www.angelsofvenice.com/bio

Angels of Venice- Nothing else matters

Angels Of Venice - After The Harvest

Angels of Venice Lionheart

Angels of Venice - Pachelbel’s Canon

Angels Of Venice-China Moon

FRIDAY MUSIC: Dion DiMucci, part 2, by JD

Yes, we have featured Dion previously from his ‘doo wop’ days in the fifties with The Belmonts. He is now 87 and believe it or not he is still singing and making records. His most recent record is “Rock and Roll Philosopher” released last year (2025). He is singing as well as if not better than ever. So here is another selection, some new and some old but showing how he embraces all styles of American music.

https://diondimucci.com/career/

Dion Dimucci- Written On A Subway Wall

And The Night Stood Still

I Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound

Dion - “Abraham, Martin And John” - Official Music Video

King of the New York Streets Live at The Town & Country Club 26 2 1990

I like my nostalgic visits to the golden olden days of melodic music!

FRIDAY MUSIC: Dulce Pontes, by JD

Dulce José Silva Pontes is a Portuguese songwriter and singer who performs in many musical styles, including classical music, pop and folk. She is usually defined as a world music artist. Her songs contributed to the 1990s revival of Portuguese urban folk music called fado.

https://universalmusic.pt/artista/dulce-pontes/

Canção Do Mar Dulce Pontes (legendado) HD

Carlos Núñez & Dulce Pontes - El Cant dells Ocells (Directo Sta. María del Mar, Barcelona) 1997

Dulce Pontes “Indios da Meia-Praia”

“Nada te turbe” Dulce Pontes

Dulce Pontes & Banda da Armada - O Amor a Portugal

COLOUR SUPPLEMENT: Big Society revisited, by JD

 This is another reposting from 2010/11 originally published on Nourishing Obscurity:

--------------------------------------------

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10680062

Long before David Cameron or his spin doctors came up with his idea of the Big Society, the people of this country were well capable of ‘community’ action in the form of mutual self help and self improvement in the trade unions, the co-operatives, the credit unions, the mutual guarantee societies, the mutual building societies, the Workers’ Educational Association, the Miners’ Lodge Libraries, the pitmen poets, the pitmen painters, the brass and silver bands etc.

A good example of this was the group known as the Pitmen Painters of Ashington in Northumberland, first brought to national attention in this book by William Feaver, the art critic of the Guardian.

The book then inspired the playwright Lee Hall to create the play of the same name. This was first aired in Newcastle in 2007 and transferred to the National Theatre in London where it was well received and has recently been revived as a touring production.

Subsequently it became a critical success on Broadway That is quite a journey; from a small mining village in Northumberland to the glamour and show-biz hoopla of New York.

But what of the painters themselves?

This picture shows Oliver Kilbourn and Jack Harrison photographed in 1982 in the original Ashington Group hut.

Probably the most well known of these painters is Norman Cornish who was the subject of a previous post in these pages - https://theylaughedatnoah.blogspot.com/2020/02/art-norman-cornish-by-jd.html (a bit of cross referencing there to a previous post which is now being repeated here)

The paintings are not great art but that is not the point. These people painted in order to discover themselves to find out what they were capable of doing as they tried to realise their potential; to explore the undiscovered country within; to search for and release the divine spark that is in each of us.

They are a living embodiment of Alexander Pope’s words-

Know then thyself, presume not God to scan
The proper study of mankind is man.

(As a sometime painter myself, I can attest to the fact that the intense concentration required in looking, drawing, painting can produce a form of transcendental self-hypnosis which is liberating – an antidote to the madhouse that is the modern world)

It is indicative of the detachment of the political class that they are unaware of such things both then and now and are beguiled by what they read in the popular press, believing that it is a true reflection of life. Or perhaps they are aware of it and are fearful that the common man might actually think for himself. Politicians don’t approve of things like that.

My grandfather was also a pitman. Although not a painter, his pastimes were to grow roses and read Shakespeare. He also had a few hens at the bottom of his garden to provide eggs and occasionally a roast dinner. Try that now and the whole health and safety or environmental health Council Jobsworths will be down on you in an instant.

Whether it be keeping hens at home or the WI selling home made jam or a small business advertising by the roadside, all must be outlawed to protect the large retail companies

Such politically inspired prohibition of independence can only lead to dependence on government and/or the corporate monopolies.

So Dave, if you want to encourage your big society just get out of the pockets of the plutocrats and repeal a few stupid restrictive laws.

-----------------------------------------

Current PM, Andy Burnham is trying to introduce something similar with his No 10 of the North. Less radical than the ‘big society’ but missing the whole point of independence for the people but increasing local bureaucracy.

FRIDAY MUSIC: The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, by JD

The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (also known as The Bonzo Dog Band & sometimes just “The Bonzos” for short) was created by a group of British art-school students in the 1960s. Combining elements of music hall, trad jazz and psychedelic pop with surreal humour and avant-garde art, the Bonzos came to the public attention through a 1968 ITV comedy show, Do Not Adjust Your Set.

http://www.iankitching.me.uk/music/bonzos/history.html

Their name was inspired by George Studdy. Read more here -
https://www.chrisbeetles.com/artists/studdy-george-ernest-1878-1948.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonzo_Dog_Doo-Dah_Band

Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band Canyons Of Your Mind 1968

The Intro and the Outro by The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band

BONZO DOG DOO DAH BAND: Jollity Farm (Live UK Television 1967)

The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band - I’m The Urban Spaceman (1968)

The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band Equestrian Statue (1967)

Look Out There’s a Monster Coming

FRIDAY MUSIC: André Rieu, by JD

André Léon Marie Nicolas Rieu is a Dutch violinist and conductor best known as the founder of the waltz-playing Johann Strauss Orchestra. Rieu and his orchestra tour worldwide, often playing in stadiums. He resides in his native Maastricht, where he also regularly performs at the Vrijthof.

As the founder of the Johann Strauss Orchestra, he has succeeded in making classical music accessible to a wide audience and has inspired millions of people with waltzes and music from opera, film, musicals, operettas and traditional melodies and he does it with a touch of humour talking with his audiences and sometimes playing unusual choices as can be seen below.
https://www.andrerieu.com/en

Andre Rieu - An der schönen blauen Donau 1999

André Rieu - The Second Waltz (official video 2020)

André Rieu - Boléro (Ravel)

ANDRE RIEU - Old MacDonald [HQ]

André Rieu - Mestreechs Volksleed en Mestreech is neet breid

Scotland the Brave & Highland Cathedral – André Rieu live in Bahrain

FRIDAY MUSIC: Clinton Ford

Clinton Ford (born Ian George Stopford Harrison; 1931–2009) was a popular English singer and entertainer known for his versatile style spanning skiffle, trad jazz, country and western, and traditional music-hall comedy. He scored several UK chart hits during the late 1950s and 1960s, most notably his 1962 smash cover of George Formby’s “Fanlight Fanny”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinton_Ford_(singer)

Fanlight Fanny

Wolverton Mountain

Clinton Ford and George Chisolm-The Old Bazaar In Cairo

Clinton Ford ‘Old Shep’ 45 RPM Original Version

El Paso

Clinton Ford sings “ MUSTAPHA” as Sheik Ali Bendhown
A very popular song from the 50s / 60s sung by Clinton Ford.
Clinton recorded this song as he said he fancied singing something in Arabic, so he asked a egyptian friend to translate a verse for him. It was played on Two- way - family favourites and Jean Metcalf had no idea it was him.
He recorded this number under the name of “ Ali Bendhown”.
As Clinton used to say It seemed a good idea at the time.

FRIDAY MUSIC: Bruce Springsteen (2), by JD

This is the second post for Bruce Springsteen. The previous post featured music which was “a blend(?) of New Orleans style jazz with folk music playing very old melodies which form the bulk of what can be loosely decribed as ‘Americana.”

https://theylaughedatnoah.blogspot.com/2022/07/friday-music-bruce-springsteen-and.html

This time we feature his more familiar style of rock’n’roll(sometimes with and sometimes without the E Street Band)

His concerts certainly provide value for money, they usually last three hours or more!

“Tougher Than The Rest” (MULTI-CAM) - Bruce Springsteen LA 3/19/2016

Bruce Springsteen - Human Touch (Official HD Video)

Bruce Springsteen - Dancing In the Dark (from Born In The U.S.A. Live: London 2013)

Bruce Springsteen - You Never Can Tell (Leipzig 7/7/13)

“Hungry Heart” (MULTI-CAM) - Bruce Springsteen LA 3/19/2016

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - Glory Days (London Calling: Live In Hyde Park, 2009) believe it or not this was the final number after a three hour show!

Don’t know where he gets the energy from. Must be because music makes you young!

FRIDAY MUSIC: Dave Brubeck, by JD

This week’s music comes from the Dave Brubeck Quartet.

David Warren Brubeck was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck’s work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasting rhythms, meters, and tonalities, and combining different styles and genres, such as classical, jazz, and blues.

In the early Sixties Brubeck ‘invaded’ the pop charts with his single “Take Five” which became the best selling jazz record of all time. In the late fifties Brubeck was experimenting with unusual time signatures in two albums; Time Out and Time Further Out.

The following selection is not all by his Quartet but helps to illustrate the influence he has had on subsequent musicians.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Brubeck

https://www.davebrubeck.com/

Dave Brubeck Quartet - Take Five (Live In Germany, 1966)

Jon Lord - Unsquare Dance (Dave Brubeck)

Jon Lord was keyboard player with Deep Purple and left the band because of the touring which was too tiring. He then concentrated on writing and recording new music. He also adapted existing music and recorded his own variations on themes including Unsquare Dance and I think it is better than the various Brubeck versions available on YouTube.

Brubeck: Koto Song | The Dave Brubeck Quartet, Live in Belgium 1964

Dave Brubeck - Golden Brown

Of course that was not Dave Brubeck playing Golden Brown by The Stranglers and it was not put together with AI. It was assembled before AI by Laurence Mason using tape editing etc as explained here -

A couple of people have asked how I made this video so here we go -
I took a clip from a 1964 live version of Take Five ( • Dave Brubeck - Take Five ) and made the drum loop by chopping up the intro and turning it from 5/4 into the 3/4 - 4/4 groove that Golden Brown has. The upright bass sound is sequenced from Logic, and the piano part was played in using one of the piano sounds from a Nord Electro 5D. Then I played the sax part over the top (I play a King Zephyr alto and for this I used a hard rubber Yanigasawa mouthpiece rather than my usual bright Guardala).
The video was then edited using the clip I’d taken the drum loop from.

Dave Brubeck Quartet - Take the “A” Train (Live In Germany, 1966)

That should set your feet tapping!

FRIDAY MUSIC: Jelly Roll Morton, by JD

Last week Mr Sackerson asked me how many musicians adopted the name Jelly Roll. I don’t know and I don’t suppose anyone else does. But I do know the most well known one was Jelly Roll Morton who famously claimed to have invented jazz. That is probably an exaggeration but he was certainly one of its first ‘superstars’ to come out of New Orleans which is certainly the home of jazz in the late 19th and early 20th centuries combining African rhythms with European folk music.

“Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe, known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American blues and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer of Louisiana Creole descent. Morton was jazz’s first arranger, proving that a genre rooted in improvisation could retain its essential characteristics when notated.

“Jelly Roll Morton got his famous stage name from a combination of an adopted family surname and a risqué musical moniker. Born Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe, he took the last name Morton as an anglicized version of his stepfather’s surname (Mouton) while playing piano in his teens. He adopted the nickname “Jelly Roll”—which was common early 20th-century sexual slang—while performing piano in the brothels and red-light districts of New Orleans.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jelly_Roll_Morton

Doctor Jazz - Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers - 1926

The Crave - Jelly Roll Morton

Original Jelly Roll Blues - Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers - 1926

Jelly Roll Morton - Tiger Rag

Pearls

Tank Town Bump

FRIDAY MUSIC: Jason “Jelly Roll” DeFord, by JD

Singer-songwriter Jelly Roll is known for hit songs like “Need a Favor,” “Save Me,” and “I Am Not Okay.” Unafraid to embrace an underdog persona, he overcame a tumultuous adolescence and early adulthood that included several stints in prison and drug addiction before achieving his music dreams. This turbulent past has helped inspire some of his most famous songs. Although he started in rap and hip-hop, the Tennessee native has emerged as a country music star. In November 2023, he was named the CMA’s New Artist of the Year and was nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards.

https://www.biography.com/musicians/a45530830/jelly-roll
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jelly_Roll_(singer)

Jelly Roll - Liar (Official Music Video)

Jelly Roll – God Never Let Me Stay Down | New Country Gospel Song 2026

Jelly Roll ‘How Do I Say Goodbye’ | Lyrics Video

Jelly Roll - Thorns (Official Music Video)

Jelly Roll -God, I’m Sorry | Draw back to God with this song|

I think it is Channel4 which shows The Grand Ole Opry on sunday nights and I saw him on there a few months ago and liked his style more or less immediately.

FRIDAY MUSIC: Henry Hall and the BBC Dance Orchestra, by JD

This is what my parents’ generation listened to on the radio; Henry Hall and the BBC Dance Orchestra. I’m not sure but I think Hall might have been the man who introduced an element of whimsy into the music of the dance bands of that era which makes it easy to see why he occasionally provided music for the Goons or for Ted Ray as well as Kenneth Horne’s Much Binding in the Marsh.

Hope you enjoy his bit of time travel and leave behind the cares of this mad modern world!

***************

Every generation has its ‘own’ music which is usually incomprehensible to previous and/or subsequent generations. My own musical generation lived at the time of the ‘beat boom’ of the sixties. My parents did not criticise ‘my’ music, in fact they liked some of it. Their generation would listen to the music played on the BBC’s Light Programme. They never claimed that it was better than our modern ‘rubbish’ just that it was different. One of the names that cropped up in conversations was Henry Hall and I just listened and nodded and thought that’s probably what I may have listened to had I been born in that era. But curiosity led me to look for and listen to a selection of the music of Henry Hall.

“The BBC Dance Orchestra, led by Jack Payne, made its first official broadcast on 12 March 1928. The band had proved its popularity as The Cecilians, occasionally broadcasting from the Hotel Cecil. Given the title Director of the BBC Dance Orchestra, Payne moved his 10-piece band to the studio at Savoy Hill. His regular radio performances ensured his success, and made his signature tune, “Say it with Music”, a hit.

The BBC Handbook of 1929 acknowledged the importance of dance music on the radio and called it “the voice of something very typical of ourselves and of this post-war age”. Radio dancing lessons were all the rage, and the listeners’ appetite for dance music was huge. The BBC Dance Orchestra was soon receiving 10 thousand letters a week.

Jack Payne left the BBC in 1932 and was replaced by Henry Hall, who continued the success with another line-up of the BBC Dance Orchestra. Hall was followed by Billy Ternent and then Stanley Black, until 1952. The orchestra provided the music for many hit programmes, including The Goons, Ray’s a Laugh and Much Binding in the Marsh.”

https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/march/first-broadcast-by-the-bbc-dance-orchestra

1934 Vintage - The BBC Dance Orchestra dir. by Henry Hall

I Like Bananas Because They Have No Bones - Henry Hall Lyrics

Henry Hall with the BBC Dance Orchestra ‘The Sun Has Got His Hat On’ Original 1932 78 rpm

The Teddy Bears’ Picnic - Henry Hall

Who’s Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf?

1936 Vintage - The BBC Dance Orchestra directed by Henry Hall

FRIDAY MUSIC: Eric Shi (Chinese bluegrass), by JD

Eric Shi hails from what one might consider the least likely place to find bluegrass music. He was raised in China’s Zhejiang Province, and he currently calls Dali in Yunnan Province home. After beginning his study of traditional three-finger bluegrass banjo in 2010 under the tutelage of Sab Watanabe, an accomplished Japanese musician, he had opportunity to meet Bill Keith three years later while Keith was on tour in Japan. His study of banjo methodology was further nurtured after that meeting. It was only two years after that — in 2015 to be exact — when he wrote his first Chinese banjo instructional book, which was published in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and mainland China. In 2021, his second book was published and distributed in mainland China exclusively.

https://bluegrasstoday.com/bluegrass-beyond-borders-eric-shi-brings-bluegrass-to-china/

jambalaya-Chinese bluegrass band Erhu and banjo

Amarillo By morning - Bluegrass Cover

Hard Times Come Again No More|Bluegrass Arrangement by Eric Shi

Turkey in the Straw Breakdown-Top 1 Chinese Favorite Bluegrass Song

Chinese Bluegrass band-Can Can dance ,Filmed in Dali, China

Alan Jackson-Chattahoochee Bluegrass Cover(by Eric Shi)

FRIDAY MUSIC: Randy Newman, by JD

I had almost forgotten what day it was with the World Cup altering the timings of everything. But luckily today is also ‘bin day’ so I was reminded.

So here is Randy Newman who I see is 92 and still going strong. Music obviously keeps you young!

Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, composer, and arranger. Born in Los Angeles to an extended family of Hollywood film composers, he is known for his Americana-inspired songs, non-rhotic Southern-accented singing, and lyrics that are often mordant or satirical and delivered by an unreliable narrator. Since the 1990s, he has worked mainly in film scoring, most popularly for Disney and Pixar.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Newman
https://www.randynewman.com/

Randy Newman - It’s Money That Matters (Official Video)

Randy Newman - Falling in Love (Official Video)

Randy Newman - Short People (Official Video)

Randy Newman - I Love L.A. (Official Video) [HD]

Randy Newman - “I’m Dead (But I Don’t Know It)”

FRIDAY MUSIC: Professor Longhair, by JD

Henry Roeland “Roy” Byrd (December 19, 1918 – January 30, 1980), better known as Professor Longhair or “Fess” for short, was an American singer and pianist who performed New Orleans blues. He was active in two distinct periods, first in the heyday of early rhythm and blues and later in the resurgence of interest in traditional jazz after the founding of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1970. His piano style has been described as “instantly recognizable, combining rumba, mambo, and calypso”.

Professor Longhair had only one national commercial hit, “Bald Head”, in 1950, under the name Roy Byrd and His Blues Jumpers. He also recorded his favorites, “Tipitina” and “Go to the Mardi Gras”. He lacked crossover appeal among white and wide audiences. Yet, he is regarded (and was acknowledged) as being a musician who was highly influential for other prominent musicians, such as Fats Domino, Allen Toussaint and Dr. John.

After a few years during which he disappeared from the music scene, Professor Longhair’s musical career finally received “a well deserved renaissance” and wide recognition. He was invited to perform at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1971 and at the Newport Jazz Festival and the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1973. His album The London Concert showcases work he did on a visit to the United Kingdom. That significant career resurrection saw the recording of the album “Professor Longhair - Live On The Queen Mary”, which was recorded on March 24, 1975, during a private party hosted by Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney on board the retired RMS Queen Mary.

Walk Right In/Shake,Rattle,& Roll” Professor Longhair & The Meters 1974

Professor Longhair - Go To The Mardi Gras

Tipitina (Album Version)

Professor Longhair --- Stag O’ Lee

Professor Longhair - Mess Around

That should set your feet tapping!

FRIDAY MUSIC: Martha Reich, by JD

Award-winning Santa Fe-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Martha Reich has performed at venues around the world. Her music transcends tradition and language in a way that is moving, honest, and rare. Each song feels as though she’s written it just for you--to tell you something important about life.

Reich has released five albums. Her most recent multi-instrumental CD, ‘BRAVE BIRD’ won a Gold Medal for Female Vocalist in the 2018 Global Music Awards and LA Critics Award for Best Folk Artist.

www.marthareich.com

Song For Tessa ~ Martha Reich ~ Official Music Video

Martha Reich ~ WOODY’S LULLABY ~ A love song to those forever in our hearts

Martha Reich ~ ‘FADE AWAY’ ~ 2019 New Mexico Music Awards Winner ~ Best Singer Songwriter Song

Martha Reich Braden - If you Only Knew (Live and Amplified)

BUDDHA BLUE ~ Official Lyric Video; Feat. Gregg Braden ~ Guitar & Flute and Michael Kott ~ Cello

FRIDAY MUSIC: World Cup!

A selection of music in celebration of football’s World Cup, 2026...

Barrett Strong - Money (That’s What I Want) (Lyric Video)

Pink Floyd - Money (Official Music Video)

Rosanne Cash - There Ain’t No Money

Bruce Springsteen - Pay me my money down

Dolly Parton - 9 To 5 (Official Video)

ABBA - Money, Money, Money (Official Music Video)

... Yes, the ‘beautiful game’ has been tainted by the curse of avarice!

FRIDAY MUSIC: Hamilton Camp, by JD

Hamilton Camp was a British-born actor and singer, who relocated to the United States with his family when he was a young child. He is known for his work as a folk singer during the 1960s, and eventually branched out into acting in films and television.

Hamilton Camp served as one of the links between the Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger folk music of the ‘40s and the singer/songwriter school of Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton, and Phil Ochs in the ‘60s. [Apple Music]

Camp is probably best known as the author of the song “Pride of Man”, which was recorded by a number of artists, notably Quicksilver Messenger Service, Gram Parsons, and Gordon Lightfoot, who included it as one of three songs by other songwriters on his first record. Camp died of a heart attack on October 2, 2005, four weeks before his 71st birthday. He was survived by his six children and thirteen grandchildren. [Wiki]

Hamilton Camp :: Pride Of Man

Girl of the North County

Celts (the lyrics are from the poem The Stolen Child by W.B.Yeats)

Hamilton Camp : Here’s To You

Hamilton Camp - Get Together

Gibson & Camp - “Sing For The Song” 5/21/87
Hamilton Camp And Bob Gibson, two renowned folksingers, singing together on Art Fein’s Poker Party in Los Angeles. Gibson died in the 1990s, Camp in 2006. Gibson started in folk music in 1955 and maintained a successful career. In 1961 the two teamed up for a world-famous recording “Gibson & Camp at The Gate Of Horn,” then they returned to their solo careers. The duo resumed performances in the late 70s.

FRIDAY MUSIC: Sixties Beat Boom, by JD

And some more golden oldies from this ageing baby boomer reminiscing about the good old days when life made more sense and there was such a burst of creativity and a sparkling variety of good music. I do hope I am not boring the youngsters of generation X or Y or Z or whatever/whoever they are. But have patience, we will not be here much longer: all of the artists featured this week and last week will now be in their late 70s or early 80s and more than a few are no longer alive.

Status Quo - Pictures Of Matchstick Men (Official Top Of The Pops Video)

Chris Farlowe with Out Of Time
This song was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and Farlowe’s version was number one in the pop charts in 1966 on the day England won the World Cup!

Ride My See Saw - Moody Blues {Stereo} 1968

Fleetwood Mac Albatross 1969
This is the real Fleetwood Mac which featured Peter Green, Danny Kirwan and Jeremy Spencer; probably the only rock group with three lead guitarists.

The Box Tops - The Letter (Upbeat 1967)

Rolling Stones - Paint It Black LIVE (1966)

FRIDAY MUSIC: From the Sixties, by JD

I see we have been here before when I did a post of music ‘The Likely Lads’ would have been listening to in their younger days - https://theylaughedatnoah.blogspot.com/2025/08/friday-music-classic-hits-of-50s60s-by.html

The reference to the Golden Oldies channel on Freeview still applies and, if anything, it is worse than last year. Freeview used to have three channels devoted to ‘golden oldies’ but now there is just one and this is how they describe their ‘best of the sixties’:

“A selection of live performances from TV music shows in the 1960s for a genuine taste of the best of the ‘60s!

‘From TV music shows’ ought to have been a clue because a good proportion of the videos are from American TV variety shows and a lot of them feature unknown singers who are definitely not giving us a genuine taste of the Sixties.

This is what they ought to be playing but you will never hear them on golden oldies channels either on TV or on radio. And it is a very eclectic and always melodic mix.

Cream - Badge

Mary Wells - My Guy

The Drifters - Under The Boardwalk (Official Video) Re-Mastered

The Scaffold - Lily The Pink

The Doors - Love Street

Martha & the Vandellas - Heatwave

Ben E. King / All Star Band - Stand By Me (The Prince’s Trust Rock Gala 1987)

Plenty more where that came from. The problem was what to leave out!

And yes George Harrison did play on that Cream song but for copyright reasons he was listed on the album cover as l’angelo Misterioso.

Ben E King’s song has been covered by 400 artists and is a timeless classic. It was inspired by a gospel song By Sam Cooke called ‘Stand By Me, Father’

Hope you enjoy that selection as much as I do.