Don Lanier, "Need Your Loving" c/w "Sweetness," Gee G-1060 (rel. 4/1960)
A less-heralded member of the West Texas rock 'n' roll scene, Don Lanier found his niche in Nashville, where he had a long career. Like Jimmy Bowen, in whose band Lanier served as lead guitarist, he got in on the executive side of the music scene and prospered. In 1960, he attempted a solo career but pop music was in-between rock 'n' roll-friendly times, and a fella had to go pop in order to...pop. Thus, Lanier penned a pair of potential chart items: one a saccharine upbeat ditty that just scrapes by; the other an outstanding piece of popcorn blues that is his finest moment on record.
"Need Your Loving" owes a major debt to Otis Blackwell and Eddie Cooley's "Fever" (with lyrics later added without permission by Peggy Lee). So do 6,237 other songs of the day. "Fever" may be Otis Blackwell's greatest contribution to the tower of song. Minor-key finger-snappin' r&b became a healthy sub-genre for years after the song's 1956 debut for soloist Little Willie John. As variations became more baroque, a sub-genre sub-genre was born, though it didn't have a name until some nice folks in Belgium dubbed it popcorn. No one who made the records they celebrated knew from popcorn; like Northern Soul, popsike and such, its intent was to collate certain records that share a distinct sound.
"Need Your Loving" opens with powerful stand-up bass and light percussion. Lanier's gruff, limited vocal range captures the desperate tone needed to make such a song, well, sing. Twangy guitar enters the picture, with desolate decorations; tinkly piano follows. Best of all: no Dread Chorus. Which is a miracle for 1960--the year of the Dread Chorus' supremacy in pop music.
Derivative? Sure! But "Need Your Loving" so embraces the "Fever" aesthetic, and so shuns the sugary sound of most pop sides of its day that it succeeds as an antidote to the dreck that surrounded it on the airwaves. 1960 was a great year for Black music but a mixed-up mess for pop. We needed some Don Laniers to keep a through line from the rock 'n' roll explosion of 1955-59.
"Need Your Loving" owes a major debt to Otis Blackwell and Eddie Cooley's "Fever" (with lyrics later added without permission by Peggy Lee). So do 6,237 other songs of the day. "Fever" may be Otis Blackwell's greatest contribution to the tower of song. Minor-key finger-snappin' r&b became a healthy sub-genre for years after the song's 1956 debut for soloist Little Willie John. As variations became more baroque, a sub-genre sub-genre was born, though it didn't have a name until some nice folks in Belgium dubbed it popcorn. No one who made the records they celebrated knew from popcorn; like Northern Soul, popsike and such, its intent was to collate certain records that share a distinct sound.
"Need Your Loving" opens with powerful stand-up bass and light percussion. Lanier's gruff, limited vocal range captures the desperate tone needed to make such a song, well, sing. Twangy guitar enters the picture, with desolate decorations; tinkly piano follows. Best of all: no Dread Chorus. Which is a miracle for 1960--the year of the Dread Chorus' supremacy in pop music.
Derivative? Sure! But "Need Your Loving" so embraces the "Fever" aesthetic, and so shuns the sugary sound of most pop sides of its day that it succeeds as an antidote to the dreck that surrounded it on the airwaves. 1960 was a great year for Black music but a mixed-up mess for pop. We needed some Don Laniers to keep a through line from the rock 'n' roll explosion of 1955-59.
It's rare we have two reviews of a record. Cash Box was first; they dissed on the divine "Need Your Loving" but approved of the mediocre "Sweetness," Two days later, Billboard flipped the sides. Both agree to the song's "Fever"-esque stylings.
"Sweetness" is tolerable. That I'll say of it. A rewrite of the folk standard "Froggy Went a' Courtin'" was also nothing new. That melody has proved useful to generations of pop songwriters. A good band, including a fine sax stand by Sam "The Man" Taylor, helps atone for the Dread Chorus, who make a bold advance toward the microphone as the song changes key. Fortunate for us, that's a sign that its finale is coming.
Short enough to not horrify, "Sweetness" is helpful as an example of what 1960 pop sounded like. It was an awkward moment in American music. You don't have to listen to it; it's included for completeness' sake.
Short enough to not horrify, "Sweetness" is helpful as an example of what 1960 pop sounded like. It was an awkward moment in American music. You don't have to listen to it; it's included for completeness' sake.
Don Lanier made one more single in 1966 for Reprise Records. After that, he chose to man the control booth and the executive's chair, while he penned one pop standard in "Here We Go Again" for Ray Charles (and covered by many others). He helped country icons George Strait and Reba McEntire achieve stardom and did all that general behind-the-scenes stuff that makes the music world run well. He passed on in 2014 at age 78.
Tomorrow: Charlie Rich returns with a fantastic 1965 single for Smash Records--a follow-up to his big hit "Mohair Sam." It bit the dust when new but is now regarded as one of the best moments in a long career.
Two more very clean-sounding recordings! You wrote about the "Fever" influence on the first track and for some reason it caused me to wonder if Roger Miller's "King of the Road" might have also been inspired by "Fever" in a way as well....because I hear a little of "Need Your Loving" in the Miller track, too...the bass part, groove, etc. Who knows?
ReplyDeleteEven it's a "Fever" adjacent song "Need Your Loving" still is a toe-tapping song. Lanier has a pleasant voice here. For the saccharin sounding "Sweetness" he throws in, to my ears, a fuller Big Bopper-esque tone.
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