For the month of January, I’m selecting some of the most memorable and influential songs of the 60’s. While they all hail from the same decade, these are some of my favorite songs of any era. They remind me that the 60’s were so much more than just Woodstock and psychedelic rock. It was a flourishing period for blues, folk, progressive and straight-ahead rock. #31DaysOf60sSongs
One of the more interesting and controversial dynamics in music history is the pre-determination of which songs will make it and which ones won’t. Throughout history, artists have reluctantly released certain songs, the thinking being that they simply didn’t measure up. In fact, several classics almost didn’t get recorded. Springsteen’s “Born to Run”, Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”, the Stones’. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”, and Wilco’s entire Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album all fit that bill. So does a monster pop-soul hit called “Where Did Our Love Go” by The Supremes.
As the story goes, when songwriter Brian Holland shared it at first, the girl group was disappointed. They wanted something more upbeat and catchier. They didn’t believe it could be a hit. But they also felt they didn’t have a choice. So, reluctantly they recorded the song with Diana Ross on lead vocals. But once they got the song down pat in the studio they knew they had something special. We know how the story ends. “Where Did Our Love Go” climbed to #1 on the Billboard charts – and the song and its unforgettable lyrics are universally known and loved. I still remember seeing commercials on TV for 60’s soul pop CD. compilations – my first glimpse into this wonderful classic. Ross sings like an angel and the baritone sax solo roars like a lion.
“I've got this burning, burning yearning feelin' inside me.”