Scepters, "Little Girls Were Made To Love" c/w "Love You Baby All The Time," M.O.C. 45-661 V (rel. 7/1965)
Memphis was a hotbed of teen groups, most formed in the immediate wake of The Beatles' February 1964 entry into the mass consciousness of America. Some bands made it big--The Gentrys and The Box Tops--but most never tasted fame beyond their hometown. Few of these groups got far enough up the ladder to make a commercial record. The seven-piece Scepters (who don't sound like more than four musicians on today's record) made one obscure single issued on the M.O.C. label.
I cannot find what this acronym stands for: it is not Maid of Cotton, which was another imprint and is connected with some creepy plantationy aspect of the deep South's checkered history. This imprint appears to be an offshot of Hi Records; it lasted for a decade, with sporadic releases that are seldom encountered.
Today's single was sold to me as a girl-group record. I knew it was not, but humored the seller, who let it go for a buck. I'd heard the B-side on a couple of garage compilations long ago. Definitely guys all the way. Via Facebook, I scared up an image of the group; the record got zero attention in the music press of the day and came and went without 99.7% of the mainstream public ever aware of its existence.
While it's not a masterpiece, it teems with the regional atmosphere so often found in garage-band discs. These guys were well-liked local performers and included a horn section in their live act. For this summer of '65 single, theirs is a pared-down sound, with 12-string electric, rhythm guitar, bass and drums. Two voices deliver the songs and they sound well-rehearsed, if a bit rushed.
"Little Girls Were Made to Love" sounds like a mix of The Beach Boys (sans harmonies) and The Dave Clark 5, but with a more atmospheric, open sound common to Deep South musicians and recordings. Their guitarist learned one chord from Beatles records--a G major with a C add-on. John Lennon was fond of this variant and it's all over the Fab Four's 1962-66 recordings.
The song is in the "Game of Love" ballpark: sunny sexism delivered with a man's leering jollity. Though the lead guitarist never breaks into a solo, his jangling fingerpicked riff enlivens the song, which wants a harmony vocal that doesn't happen. Whenever I hear a group sing in unison, it suggests they'd not had time to finesse the song, penned by Buddy Emmons (not, it seems, the revered Nashville steel guitarist of the same name). It's an agreeable throwaway made better by the teen spirit put into its performance.
"Love You Baby All the Time" is more like the typical garage-band sound. A Beatles-inspired beat-ballad, its mercurial vibe (from glum to hopeful) it has a regional sound (BKA poor microphone placement), with the drums an overwhelming presence at times. This dour little grinder has a mopey charm, and it's nice when the two vocalists break into harmony; I wish they'd had time to work out harmonies for both sides.
The opening suggests The Yardbirds' "Still I'm Sad;" one stretch of the melody is close to a passage in The Shirelles' hit "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow." Such patchwork melodies are common in this period of music; it's fascinating to hear how influences bounce around from performer to performer. And, hurrah, the guitarist gets in a brief instrumental break. I'd love to hear more from him; he has a great bite to his playing. We hear a LOT of the Scepters' drummer...
That was it for this band. This record seems little-known; even the garage-heads don't seem aware of it. While this is no masterpiece, it has a certain charm and the sincerity of these kids is touching. I'm sure they were fun to see in-person!
Tomorrow: UK Capitol picks out two fine Johnny Burnette-penned songs from a Gene Vincent album for a Brit-only 1959 single. Proof that American music benefits from some perspective and distance!
Sounds like teen spirit, indeed. Reminds me of grand fun times wandering around town and stumbling across garage bands practicing/playing. I've enjoyed sticking around to listen to the music and what banter I can make out. Oh, I LOL'd at "a regional sound (BKA poor microphone placement)" - you do have a way with words.
ReplyDeleteOne wonders with obviously talented guys like The Scepters: if they had had a George Martin-like producer—would they have gone on to climb a higher musical rung. Two fun songs!
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