Songs of V-Day: I Want Her, She Wants Me.

Alright. Here is a Valentines day mini mix of the best '60's pop love songs.

I've been talking with friends lately on two topics that inspired this blog.

1. I dislike the majority of band names that are 'the (insert noun here)' The 1960's were chock full of these types of band names but they were good names and they were the fad of the decade. However since the start of the last decade and the re-explosion of garage rock, with bands like The Strokes, The Vines, The White Stripes, the trend has come full circle again. Only these are getting watered down with thoughtless boring names like The Microphone, The Stereo's, The Drums. Sadly this is parodied in a Sum 41 video, with a sleezy manager trying to capitalize on the 'the' trend making them change the band name to 'the sum 41's'.

2. In the 1960's all the bands did start with 'the' but were generally all awesome. The Beatles, The Rolling stones, The Kinks, The Who. Need I say more? And all of the love songs from this decade are so innocently dramatic. You'll never hear a song from another decade where a girl needs a boy so desperately, or where a boy needs to prove to his girl beyond a reason of any doubt that he'll always be true. However as long as this music exists chivalry will never die.

So this blog is dedicated to the top 5 love songs for boys and girls of the 1960's. These are the most heart wrenching, reverb drenched, tales of lust and heart ache of all time. It always leaves me wanting for simpler times when love was a hopeless ideal dying to be fulfilled. Those two minutes and twenty seconds of willful suspension, that love is all you need. And maybe The Beatles were right.... All you need is love.


Girl Meets Boy:

The Ronette's - Be My Baby.
Probably the best pop song of all time, and a prime example of Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound" production. From the reverb drenched bass drum thudding intro, to Ronnie Spector's Soaring Whoa-ohs, you can't help but swoon.

The Crystal's - Da Doo Ron Ron.
One of the most exciting songs about meeting someone while abusing a rhyming scheme. Infectious hand claps, hammering piano's and fat saxophones. It's impossible to listen to this song with out tapping your toes let alone resisting clapping along.

The Crystal's - He's A Rebel.
What more exciting than meeting the boy of your dreams than having you parents and society disapprove of him. And while falling in love with the misunderstood bad boy of your town may seem romantic, chances are it won't be long until you're listening to Tammy Wynette's "Stand by your man" debating your choices.

The Marvelettes - Please Mr. Postman.
Distance makes the heart grow fonder, and there is no better part of love than pining over someone. However now that we don't have to wait a week for letter these days, it sort of renders this song obsolete. However you can still feel obliged to write people handwritten letters. I'm sure they would be really surprised, as well baffled at how something that wasn't a bill got delivered to them in the first place.

The Shirelles - Will you still love me tomorrow?
The '60's was a decade when girl groups totally owned it. Regardless of how awesome The Beatles were, even they loved these girls and they're bombastic melodrama.

Boy Meets Girl:


Manfred Mann - Do Wah Diddy.
The male equivalent of Da Doo Ron Ron *. A raucous over sensationalized song about meeting a girl. One of the many gems to come out of the Brill Building group of song writers that included Jeff Barry( who has written most of the songs on this list already) Carole King, and Neil Diamond who wrote for the Monkee's and later didn't do too badly writing songs for himself I hear.

The Turtles - Elenore.
First of all, how can you not sing along to this song? One of my favourite song for the fact that the chorus is so simple stating that "Elenore, Gee I think you're swell. And you'd really do me well. You're my pride and joy etc." The Turtles would later break up over being in contract disputes and multiple law suits over copyright ownership. Flo and Eddie would later join Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention, often performing The Turtles hits with the Mothers.

The Beach Boys - Little Surfer Girl.
Probably the best pop waltz / rip off of "when you wish upon a star" ever. Lush harmonies cresting like gentle waves of sound with Dennis tapping away on the ride cymbal keeping the song swirling along. I have a feeling that in the early '60's Surfer girls were the equivalent of Scene girls today. Instead of tattoo's and piercings though a french bikini and bob hair do's were the order of the day. What boy wouldn't pine for classic beauty and innocence. *sigh*

Alright I'm going to listen to this one more time and continue the list.

The Beatles - I've Just Seen a Face.
The Beatles wrote a shit load of love songs. I think maybe ten of their songs aren't about love. But probably if you play those songs backwards they are subliminally about love. Anyways, I always thought this was a really cute song when I was a kid. Especially the parts that Paul hums after the verse. If I was drunk in a bar and there was karaoke, this would probably be my song of choice. Followed up by The Turtles Elenore.

Tommy James & The Shondelles - Crimson and Clover.
This song is sex. If I was trying to seduce someone to make out this would be the song I'd probably choose. Awesome tremolo guitars and vocals ambient reverb thrown all over the place. I'm not to sure what Crimson & Clover have to do with disrobing a girl you just met, but I imagine if I unlock this secret it would be too much responsibility for one man alone.

...Crimson and Clover... Over and Over !


So here's a link to listen to the playlist. This playlist is probably best listened to with someone, or while pining for someone who will never know how you feel because she doesn't even know you exist because you spend all your time listening to pop music and reading blogs.

...it's okay, I'm here for you. You're safe here.

I promise to try and stay on top of this blog, as it seems I've been slipping as of late.

Happy V-Day Everyone !



* Before somebody tries to correct me. There is a male equivalent of Da Doo Ron Ron that was released in 1977 by Shaun Cassidy**. Girls everywhere swooned for the Partridge Family's now "grown up" lead singer gone solo. However being released in the '70's voids it from this list. And out of general good taste as well.


** Somewhere along the lines i blurred Shaun Cassidy and David Cassidy together. Shaun Cassidy sang Da Doo Ron Ron. David Cassidy sang in the Patridge Family. Apparently I'm losing my touch.