A JANGLY MUSIC PRIMER – THE 1960S
by Eric Sorenson
I have always been drawn to the sound of a jangly, chiming, ringing 12-string guitar … or a combination of six-string guitars that creates the same rich sound. The great Searchers’ song – “Needles and Pins” – really resonated with me back in 1964. The release of “Mr. Tambourine Man” in April 1965 just seemed to open the floodgates of jangly music. I remember the first time I was sitting in the gymnasium bleachers and I heard a band perform “I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better” at a high school dance. I also remember walking down the street to hear a neighborhood teen with a Rickenbacker 12-string guitar play that song in his family room. Every garage band in the mid-60s included jangly Beatles and Byrds songs in their repertoire … as well as jangly nuggets like “Hey Joe” and “Gloria.” Since those magical teen years, my music collection has focused on “Byrdsian” music in particular – and chiming, ringing jangly music in general. In the months to come, I will list the artists and songs that are either “Byrdsian” or jangly. For this installment, I’ll start with some of the artists and songs from the 1960s. The following list is hardly comprehensive, but it provides Pop Geek Heaven website readers with a good launching point for those who are similarly inclined to crank up the treble setting on their stereos and listen to those Rickenbacker (or Hammer, Fender or Danelectro) 12-string guitars jangle, chime and ring!
The Sixties:
The Beatles -NOTE: The Beatles were on the charts for almost a year when the original Byrds lineup was formed. The Beatles were a huge influence on the Byrds. However, once the Byrds charted, the Beatles listened … and, in the case of George Harrison’s “If I Needed Someone,” they mimicked what they heard. The Byrds might not have developed their “signature” sound if Roger (then Jim) McGuinn hadn’t spotted George Harrison playing a Rickenbacker 12-string guitar in the movie “A Hard Day’s Night.” Capitol discs with “I Need You,” “It’s Only Love,” “If I Needed Someone” and “And Your Bird Can Sing” should be essential in a jangly music collection. The Beatles, after all, perfected the two-Rickenbacker guitar sound … and they inspired McGuinn, Clark and Crosby to change their folk music to the popular 4/4 Beatles beat!
The Searchers -this is the British band that brought us one of the first jangly hits -“Needles & Pins.” Purchase Rhino Records’ The Searchers Greatest Hits and Raven Records’ 23-song The Searchers: The Sire Sessions. These two discs will ensure that all of the band’s classic jangly tunes from the 60s, 70s and 80s -including “Hearts In Her Eyes,” “Love’s Melody,” “Everything But A Heartbeat” and “September Gurls” -are in your collection.
The Beau Brummels -the San Francisco folk-rock band that actually charted a national hit before the Byrds. Check out “Don’t Talk To Strangers” (featured on Rhino’s The Best Of The Beau Brummels CD). This is another cool variation of Pete Seeger’s “Bells Of Rhymney;” making it a cousin of George Harrison’s “IfI Needed Someone.” Sundazed Records has subsequently re-released the band’s back catalog, and a number of previously unreleased studio out-takes.
Jackie DeShannon -“When You Walk In The Room” -featured on Rhino’s The Best of Jackie DeShannon CD. This is yet another period artist and song that preceded the Byrds onto the national charts. The Byrds often covered this song during their early sets at Ciro’s. Several years ago, original Byrd Chris Hillman included a cool country pop version of this song on his Like A Hurricane album. The Byrds connection doesn’t end with this song. In 1965, DeShannon and the Byrds were paired in the studio for a version of “Splendor In The Grass.” DeShannon eventually released the song, but without backing vocals by the Byrds. The Rhino compilation also includes another superb folk-rock tune, “Don’t Turn Your Back On Me” and a subsequent compilation includes DeShannon’s version of “Needles & Pins.”
The Byrds – When “Mr. Tambourine Man” hit the AM radio airwaves in the spring of 1965, I became hooked on the sound of a Rickenbacker 12-string guitar, and any group that could emulate the wonderful vocal harmony of Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark and David Crosby. During that eventful year, the Byrds’ original five-member lineup released two outstanding albums titled after their two #1 hits -“Mr. Tambourine Man” and “Turn! Turn! Turn!” Those albums included timeless jangly tunes like “I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better,” “Chimes Of Freedom,” “Bells Of Rhymney” and “The World Turns All Around Her.” The b-side to “Turn! Turn! Turn!” was also one of the Byrds’ finest jangly songs – “She Don’t Care About Time.” Skip the four-CD box set issued in 1990 and purchase There Is A Season box set (three CDs, one DVD) that was released in 2006. Ever since Columbia/Legacy issued 20-bit remastered versions of the original Byrds albums, with bonus tracks, no collection is complete without the Mr. Tambourine Man and Turn! Turn! Turn! discs. Add Columbia’s The Byrds: 20 Essential Tracks From The Boxed Set: 1965-1990 to your collection and you’ll also have “Chestnut Mare,” “My Back Pages” and the four studio tunes performed by McGuinn, Crosby and Hillman back in 1990.
The Robbs -this Chicago band, patterned after the Byrds, became the house band on TV’s hit teen show “Where The Action Is!” Watch old segments of the show and you’ll see the band performing top 40 hits playing two Rickenbacker guitars. Collectors’ Choice Music did Boomer music fans a huge favor in 2004, by releasing The Robbs CD that includes classic folk-rock tunes “Race With The Wind” and “Funny Sort Of Way” (originally released on 45 on the Mercury label).
The Hollies – Seek out the band’s three-CD 30th anniversary Hollies Anthology (on EMI) and groove to jangly tunes like “Like Through Any Window.”
The Nightcrawlers -“Little Black Egg” may have put them on the charts, but “Basket Of Flowers” was pure Byrdsian folk-rock. You’ll find this excellent tune on The Nightcrawlers: The Little Black Egg (on Big Beat).
The Syndicate Of Sound -“Little Girl.” There may have been no sensible structure to this one-hit-wonder song, but it certainly caught listeners’ ears when it was released. You’ll find it on Rhino’s Nuggets series and box set. Sundazed Records has also released a Little Girl compilation of the band’s work.
The Turtles -“It Ain’t Me Babe” proved that another 60s folk-rock band had discovered the hit value of a Dylan tune matched with a Rickenbacker 12-string. “Let Me Be” and “Love Minus Zero” were other folk-rock hits by this band. In 1969, they covered the McGuinn-Clark penned tune, “You Showed Me,” and turned it into a #1 hit. Rhino released a Turtles 20 Greatest Hits CD, but Sundazed Records has subsequently released the band’s individual albums on disc.
Love -their self-titled first album, Love, jangles throughout and includes Byrdsian songs like “You I’ll Be Following,” “Hey Joe” and the “Hey Joe” spin-off, “My Flash On You.”
The Leaves -“Hey Joe.” The Leaves’ version of this hit song can be found in the Rhino Nuggets compilations. Sundazed Records has subsequently released a compilation entitled Leaves Are Happening!, that includes the band’s version of Dylan’s “Love Minus Zero.” When the Byrds began to tour extensively, this L.A. band succeeded them as the house band at Ciro’s. Also seek out the individual album Hey Joe on the One Way Records label.
The Cryan’ Shames -a Chicago folk-rock band that had chart hits with “Sugar & Spice” and “I Wanna Meet You.” The Cryan’ Shames also recorded nice jangly covers of “Hey Joe,” “She Don’t Care About Time” and “If I Needed Someone.” Sundazed Records has released all of their original albums, with bonus tracks.
Tbe Grass Roots -“Where Were You When I Needed You” came the closest to sounding like the Byrds. For the better part of two years, this folk-rock band had a string of hits (Rhino released a two-CD set of their greatest hits -Anthology 1965-1975) that featured a number of P.F. Sloan songs. Varese Sarebende also released Where Were You When I Needed You in 1994; the disc includes many of the Grass Roots’ early hits, along with their cover versions of other chart hits from the late 60s.
Sonny & Cher -Their version of “All I Really Want To Do” beat the Byrds’ version onto the charts, climbed higher in chart ratings … and boy did it jangle! You’ll find other Byrdsian songs -like “Bells Of Rhymney” and “Needles & Pins”) on the EMI Records All I Really Want To Do/The Sonny Side of Cher CD release.
The Shadows of Knight -“Gloria” (featured on the Rhino Nuggets series and box set). This song was originally written and performed by Van Morrison and Them. The Shadows of Knight gave it a garage kick and just the right amount of jangle. This song featured an infectious E-D-A chord sequence that many bands learned in the mid-60s!
The Cyrkle -a band best known for the chart hits “Red Rubber Ball” and “Turn Down Day.” Pick up a copy of the Sony Records Red Rubber Ball (A Collection) CD compilation of their hits. If you’re into hunting down obscure singles, seek out the very Byrdsian “The Words” on 45. Interestingly enough, Roger McGuinn added a song entitled “The Tears,” with similar chords, to his concert repertoire in the 80s.
The Dovers – I had never heard of this band until their tracks began to appear on Jeff Glenn’s Lost Jukebox series of compilations. Eventually, Jeff “burned” all of the band’s 45s onto a single CDR for me. 12-string riffs abound on tracks like “She’s Gone,” “Your Love,” “She’s Not Just Anybody” and “The Third Eye.”
The Stillroven – I first heard of this band on a popular Minneapolis radio station, when the Stillroven’s version of “Hey Joe” won a weekly “Battle of the Bands” competition. Sundazed released an excellent Stillroven compilation entitled Cast Thy Burden Upon.
The Standells – although this band was best known for its chart hit “Dirty Water,” several of their album tracks had a nice jangly sound. Seek out the two-fer Dirty Water/Why Pick On Me released on the Big Beat label in 2003.
The Rose Garden – this obscure band scored a minor hit with the song “Next Plane To London,” but they covered several Gene Clark tunes on their first album … and their version of “Long Time” provided the inspiration for Jeff Glenn’s band – the Retros – to record this song for the Full Circle: A Tribute to Gene Clark compilation that was released on the Not Lame label in 2000. The Rose Garden album was released on CD by Collectors’ Choice Music in 2003.
Teen Jangler Blowout! (featuring various artists) – This disc is one of a dozen compilation discs released by the Teenage Shutdown label in 1995.
“Four Strong Winds” – by Bruce Johnson and Terry Melcher (AKA Bruce and Terry). This is a very jangly version of a classic Ian Tyson folk song.
NOTE: Sadly, Jeff Glenn passed away in December 2009. Before Jeff’s untimely death, he had compiled over 240 volumes in his Lost Jukebox series. A few winters ago, I painstakingly went through all of these discs and compiled a Found Jukebox Jangly Gems CDR that features all of the Dovers tracks and obscure songs by the Playboys of Edinburgh, the Rumbles, the Shy Guys, the Kitchen Cinq, Dennis and the Times, the Daughters of Eve, Four Fifths, the Dirty Words, the Loose Ends, the Next Five, the Grains of Sand, the Inner Circle … and more. I am indebted to Jeff for the thousands of hours he devoted to scouting flea markets, swap meets and second-hand stores throughout the Los Angeles area to collect his library of vinyl 45s. RIP, Sir Jeff!
