Call me a musical snob, but I've always felt that pop music has gone straight downhill since 1967, not unlike my waistline and my hairline. Motown had not yet descended into Jackson 5 bubble gum pseudo-soul. Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding were the vanguard of the Memphis sound. The Rolling Stones were brilliant. And the Beatles gave us "Sgt Pepper".
Still, America prefers its music a bit less threatening than "Midnight Hour", "Time Has Come Today", or "A Day In The Life". During the remembrances on the passing of Davy Jones today, it was mentioned that Davy had the best-selling album of 1967 - "More Monkees". I couldn't believe it. Everyone that I knew back in '67 had "Sgt Pepper" and no one admitted to possessing "More Monkees". Sure enough, an Internet search showed that more people bought an LP featuring "Last Train to Clarksville" than with "Lucy In The Sky". Never underestimate the taste of the American public.
1967 was not an aberration. The best-selling album of 1966 was Herb Alpert's "Whipped Cream", a trumpet-led instrumental. Of course, it outsold such trivialities as the Beatles "Revolver" and the Beach Boys "Pet Sounds". Don't we all go around whistling Herb's "Tijuana Taxi" 45 years later as opposed to "Help Me Rhonda"?
Actually, even a "Music went straight downhill ever since Otis died" snob like me can still recite every word of that catchy "Monkees" theme. RIP, Davy Jones.
No comments:
Post a Comment