Class of '64-'65: British R&B

The Van Morrison thread inspired this. Besides Them, the Animals, Y'Birds and Stones...what white English artists were doing the American R&B thang and covering people like Ray Charles, Bo diddley (yes, still alive), Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker on albums during this year? And doing it REALLY WELL?



Post Edited (01-08-08 15:47)

Wasn't John Mayall kinda the grandaddy of that whole scene?

Pink Floyd actually came out of that scene, covering blues and r'n'b tunes before writing original psychedelia, tho "Lucifer Sam" retains a bit of 12 bar blues structure, and Syd wrote a song called "Jugband Blues." Don't think they actually used any jugs on that one, tho.

The Pretty Things. They're best known for the psych-pop concept album S.F. Sorrow, but they started out as a down 'n' dirty R&B band a lot like the Stones - check out their first couple of records.

...The Pretty Things' name is also a Bo Diddley (still alive as of 4:15 pm ET) reference, yes?

I'm waiting for diskojoe to break out the Manfred Mann.

Yes, indeedy. The Things liked covering his tunes, too.

Wait no more, Erik, I'm breaking out the Manfred Mann & I'm throwing in the Kinks as well into this pot (although I must say that the Pretties did better R&B covers than either of them).

EDIT: I just remembered, there's also the Downliners Sect to consider (a couple of members who later cut a album w/Thee Headcoats)



Post Edited (01-08-08 19:02)

Best White R&B British act of 1965 was The Action. They were more Detroit and East coast r&b (i.e. not Blues) but nobody did better Motown inspired music in the UK. They were snappy dressers too...

True that: Their "Since I Lost My Baby" is as good as the Temps...and different.

zombies believe it or not

How about Cyril Davies and the R&B All Stars or Screaming Lord Sutch and The Savages?

Cyril?

CYRIL fucking flamin groovie- JORDAN, music lover.

You bore me writer.

What do you look like in the nude?



Post Edited (01-19-08 03:56)

Are you drunk or just engaging in free association with the voices in your head?

Interestingly, nobody included the Beatles. Maybe it's because their covers were more often Chuck Berry & Little Richard (& the terrific Larry Williams) and so were perhaps more rock'n'roll. However, they also had a massive hit with an Isley Bros. R&B hit you may have heard called "Twist and Shout." Not to mention that they covered tunes by Barrett Strong ("Money") and Smokey ("You Really Got a Hold on Me") and some R&B girl groups like the Marvelettes ("Please Mr. Postman"). Technically some of this was recorded in '63, but I suspect some material by the other groups named might also have been cut pre-'64.

Sometimes one overlooks the obvious...good catch. The Beatles did tend to re-interpret the R&B covers to have less of a blues/soul groove, giving them a pop/rock'n'roll, upbeat sound.

The thing is, Lennon had a great voice for songs like "Money" and even "You Really Got a Hold on Me," and their "Twist and Shout" has an instrumental energy to it that the Isleys' does not (although the original was a quasi-improvised attempt to stretch out and work the groove, whereas virtually every cover version intends to cram all the energy into 3 minutes).

And quite frankly, most of the artists mentioned above excelled at energetic rockiness, if perhaps a little on the raunchy side (e.g. Pretty Things) or getting to another energy level altogether (e.g. some Yardbirds) rather than bluesy grooves. Evidently Sonny Boy Williamson was distinctly underwhelmed by the Yardbirds' work as his backing band in 1963 (documented on the Live at the Craw Daddy LP).