for Sunday 5th February 1967

A multi-coloured selection of sounds with Snoopy Vs The Red Baron #5, Ruby Tuesday #8, Indescribably Blue #27, Maxine Brown #28, climber Mellow Yellow and a new category – 'Chartbuster' for the Beatles, with Strawberry Fields Forever.
The spell-checker thinks the number one single should be by 'Patella' Clark – but sadly Petula was never signed up as a member of the Knees Club!

40

24

Michael

Geno Washington and the Ram Jam Band

Piccadilly 7N35359

Originally from Indiana, Geno Washington came to England as a US serviceman. After his discharge he remained in the UK, formed his soul band and generated Mod Genomania.

On February 7th at Wycombe Town Hall I attended a Geno Washington and the Ram Jam Band concert, one of several I went to in late '66/early '67. They were the current hot band to see, and were guaranteed to get the place jumping. Audience participation was an essential part of the experience; knowing the rituals of when to point, when to clap and when to chant "Gee-no! Gee-no!", was what sorted the 'in' crowd from the likes of me, who had to resort to following the lead of the Mods!

Unfortunately, Geno's funky sound and stage presence seemed impossible to capture on vinyl. Studio recordings never seemed to do him full justice and even the Hand-clappin', Foot-Stompin', Funky-Butt... Live! album, (Piccadilly NPL 38026), despite being recorded at the height of his adulation, lacked that certain something.

Geno remained in his adopted country and still tours regularly. After concentrating for a while on an acoustic blues set, he has returned to the sort of stomping soul for which he is famous. He still has a great voice – and a funky butt!

Climbers:
Mr Hyde	Pussyfoot
Just Like A Man	Emma Rede
The Impossible Dream	Shirley Bassey
I Dig You Baby	Jerry Butler
She	Del Shannon
Mellow Yellow	Donovan
Give It To Me	Troggs
Detroit City	Tom Jones
You Got To Me	Neil Diamond
Baby	Loot
Chartbuster:
Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever	Beatles
Disc of the Week:
I'll Try Anything	Dusty Springfield
Album of the Week:
Trogglodynamite	Troggs

Baby

Loot

Page One POF 013

According to an insert in a German picture sleeve, reproduced in this blog, the Loot line-up was Chris Bates, Dave Wright, Jeff Glover, Roger Pope and Bruce Turner

Dave Wright had been a founder member of the Troggs with Reg Presley, and like the Troggs, the Loot came from Andover, Hampshire and were part of the Larry Page stable.

On the above-mentioned picture sleeve, Baby Come Closer is being promoted as the 'A' side (Hansa 19354 AT) rather than Baby, as is the case with the single released in Holland (Fontana YF 27876) The Record Collector Price Guide also lists Baby Come Closer as its 'A'. However, the Page One promotional advertisement (right, courtesy of Brian Long) shows the positions reversed. Perhaps Larry Page changed his mind about which was the stronger side.

For whatever reason, Radio London listed Baby as a climber for a mere two weeks, and the unfortunate Loot was heard no more on the station. Meanwhile, the teacher's pets were the other band featured in the Page One advert. The already-successful Troggs not only had their new single Give it to Me chosen as a Big L climber, but their album Trogglodynamite had also been picked as the Album of the Week. The Loot must have been crying in their beer when the following week (Feb 12th) they saw their stablemates crash into the Fab 40 at #11, while Barry Benson's cover of Cousin Jane (from the Trogglodynamite LP) was Radio London Club Disc of the Week.

As of February 2010, there is no evidence to confirm that either side of the Loot single was played as a Caroline Sure Shot. However, Baby Come Closer did enter the Countdown of Sound on March 4th and spent three weeks in the lower-end of the 50-single Caroline chart.

Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever

Beatles

On February 3rd, Kenny Everett gave Strawberry Fields Forever its first-ever airing. Ken was so knocked out by his Big L Beatles exclusive (presumably given to him because of his close association with the band) that he played it twice in a row, describing it as "The most amazing record I've ever heard."

Radio City then claimed to be first with the single, but did not play it till February 10th, while Radio Scotland declared itself first to have Strawberry Fields at #1. Company policy dictated that Caroline could not play the single till it hit the Nationals, so while the Fabs topped the Fab on February 12th, the single was not on the Caroline playlist till the 25th.

Just Like A Man

Emma Rede

Columbia DB 8126

Emma Rede already had a place in the Fab Forty at #17, as a backing singer on Engelbert Humperdinck's Release Me. She had also appeared incognito in recent Fabs, on Hendrix's Hey Joe.

Born Jacqueline Norah Flood in Dublin, she was performing on Radio Eireann by the age of fourteen. Relocating to London's West End in the early Fifties, she auditioned for Ronnie Aldrich, who gave her the stage name, Jackie Lee when he made her the lead singer with his band the Squadronnaires.

In 1959, Jackie joined the Raindrops, (not to be confused with Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry's later US group) a quartet formed by her future husband Len Beadle, with Vince Hill and Johnny Worth. They found popularity on the Light Programme's Wednesday evening 'Parade of the Pops', performing interpretations of American hits, some of which they recorded. The Raindrops released a number of singles, including covers of Claudine Clark's Party Lights and the Shirelles' Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow. Some of the recordings were credited to 'Jackie Lee and the Raindrops'.

Jackie launched her solo career in 1965, but despite having access to strong material, including the Bacharach and David song I Cry Alone, which was in the Fab Forty in February of that year, her recordings failed to make any impact. Emma Rede was the name chosen for a relaunch of her career in '67.

Although success eluded her with her own singles, as a session artist, Jackie became a chart-topper! She led two vocal collectives called the Tears of Joy and the Jackie Lee Singers (featuring sometime member Elton John) who enhanced several smash hits. As well as those already mentioned, Jackie sang on Tom Jones's Green Green Grass. Her voice was also heard on many commercials of the day.

It was animals – horses and bears, specifically – that finally brought fame for Jackie. In 1968, top ten success arrived with her recording of the theme to hit Children's TV series, White Horses, this time under the name of Jacky. The singer reverted to her Jackie Lee persona to score a second a hit in 1971 with another children's TV theme. Rupert, was an animated version of the popular Daily Express cartoon strip.

In 1973, Jackie retired from showbiz, suffering from problems with her vocal cords. She now resides in Canada.

A complete Jackie Lee biography, which supplied much of the above information, can be found at www.jackielee.org/Jackie_biog.htm

Tune in next week for another Field's Fab Forty

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