Connie Stevens, "There Goes Your Guy" c/w "Little Miss-Understood," Warner Brothers 5380 (rel. 7/1963)
On this summer 1963 single, the influence of Lesley Gore is front-and-center. The East Coast singer had racked up two hits by the time this single saw release. The eerie chord-changes and defiant tone of "It's My Party" sent other producers, songwriters and arrangers scrambling to create a simulacra of Quincy Jones' work on that record, which was a hit on the week I was released.
One sees the Jones/Gore influence seep through American pop that spring, summer and fall--a harbinger of not-that-different sounds from England soon to wallop the American zeitgeist. Without cynicism, the creative teams at various record labels decoded "It's My Party" as a challenge: what makes it tick? Why did the public go ga-ga over this? Can we make it happen again?
With "There Goes Your Buy," co-penned by George Tipton and Johnny Cole (the former was famous for TV theme songs; the latter worked with Harry Nilsson among others), Connie had a strong entry in the Gore-fest that was 1963. She self-duets on this tense story-song of a friend who witnesses her bestie's heart broken by a philandering jerkwater. With The Blossoms in her corner and eerie strings, Stevens dishes out advice (and mild judgment) because, 1963-style, that's what friends are for.
It's a solid song that doesn't imitate "It's My Party" but gets at its vibe. The strings add a majesty to the proceedings, as do The Blossoms, the Black femme trio who graced countless LA sessions with their powerful backup. Unlike some of Connie's hits, this is a decent song with a compelling vibe. Arranger-producer Perry Botkin Jr. created a pastiche as good as its source of inspiration. This was just a B-side of a failed single; it didn't chart or get much airplay.
"Little Miss-Understood" (clever pun in title) is a theatrical showpiece that suggests a John Waters-directed Broadway musical. Penned by producer-arranged Botkin and Gil Garfield, it's a fine song from the POV of a young non-conformist who's pissed that the rest of the world is pissed that she's a non-conformist. Because that's how non-comformation works. At least, that does it for me.
This is a squarer shot at the Lesley Gore target, with the orchestral triangle (a fixture on Ms. Gore's hit singles), a song that evokes all the songwriters' work mentioned at the start of this post and a dramatic double-tracked performance by Ms. Stevens.
Two years later, songs like Sloan and Barri's "Let Me Be" and The Animals' "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" (first recorded by Nina Simone) would revisit this theme, albeit in a more serious vein. Non-conformism teems in pop songs of the mid-'60s. Connie & Co. were ahead of the bell curve and thus suffered the fate of being too soon with a good idea.
Connie has one monster record in her 1970 Bell single "Keep Growing Strong"/"Tick Tock," which soul DJs turned into a massive gotta-have for certain collectors. She's still with us and she made some excellent recordings in the '60s. And, yes--there is a David Lynch connection. In his befuddling 2001 film Mulholland Drive, a group of teenagers lip-synch to her 1960 Top Five hit "Sixteen Reasons." Why? Because David Lynch, may his creative soul rest in peace.
Tomorrow: Down to Memphis for garage band The Jesters on the final rock 'n' roll release for Sun Records (issue #400) from the summer of 1966.
"she of the terrifying color photo above (I expect her to lip-sync Roy Orbison's "In Dreams" as I gaze upon this Technicolor horror)"...hahaha!
ReplyDeleteShe was nearly 25 when she released these,—a bit on the old side for these two teeners—but fun in their own right. Love those strings on "Little MIss-Understood." Fun facts: Stevens was born Concetta Rosalie Ann Ingoglia in Brooklyn, New York City. She played a character named Cricket on both "77 Sunset Strip"" and "Hawaiian Eye" in the late '50's/early '60's. In my prepubescent tween years she was the cat's meow!
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