The Drifters, "We Gotta Sing" c/w "Nylon Stockings," Atlantic 45-2310 (rel. 11/1965)
At the close of 1965--a momentous year in popular music--The Drifters were an institution; standard-bearers of the pop end of Black music and seen as part of the old guard. The charts had been on their side that year; four of their five releases charted. None stormed the top, as had their "Save the Last Dance for Me" in 1960, but three of the four got up to #43, 51 and 60.
1965 saw the group embrace the new soul sound with good results. The group had weathered a traumatic loss in 1964 with the death of Rudy Lewis, whose voice brought an elegant gravitas to their hits that year. The day after his passing, a Drifters session was scheduled. The group recorded their Top 5 "Under the Boardwalk" and the gut-wrenching soul ballad "I Don't Want To Go On Without You," penned by producer Bert Berns and significant by circumstance to the shared sense of loss in the room.
"Under the Boardwalk" was The Drifters' last hurrah as major hitmakers. "Saturday Night at the Movies" later that year reached #18 and no future releases got close to that success. Not that the quality of their work lessened: they were yesterday's news to a public whose choices of worthy groups and performers overflowed the market. The Drifters had their faithful fans, but weren't winning new followers. Atlantic Records remained in their corner and they soldiered on, still produced by Bert Berns, who had brought them into the contemporary soul sound one single at a time.
The songwriting team of Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann had given The Drifters "On Broadway," "I'll Take You Home," "Saturday Night..." and "Come on Over to My Place," which became a major UK hit in a 1972 reissue. The group had passed on their gritty "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," which UK band The Animals snatched up and turned into a major global pop hit.
For the group's final single of 1965 the cleffers delivered "We Gotta Sing," a compassionate account of a Black vocal group who ply their sound after work, rehearse their favorites and write a few originals. They move into live performances and begin to go places. They encounter shady showbiz characters, but don't weaken. It's all about the music and the joy of singing together. The story doesn't resolve, but given the bright, positive melody and lead singer Johnny Moore projects an optimism that is winning. His is one of the great voices in Black music of the 1960s, and he's in fine form on this charming song that failed to chart at the end of a crazy year.
1965 saw the group embrace the new soul sound with good results. The group had weathered a traumatic loss in 1964 with the death of Rudy Lewis, whose voice brought an elegant gravitas to their hits that year. The day after his passing, a Drifters session was scheduled. The group recorded their Top 5 "Under the Boardwalk" and the gut-wrenching soul ballad "I Don't Want To Go On Without You," penned by producer Bert Berns and significant by circumstance to the shared sense of loss in the room.
"Under the Boardwalk" was The Drifters' last hurrah as major hitmakers. "Saturday Night at the Movies" later that year reached #18 and no future releases got close to that success. Not that the quality of their work lessened: they were yesterday's news to a public whose choices of worthy groups and performers overflowed the market. The Drifters had their faithful fans, but weren't winning new followers. Atlantic Records remained in their corner and they soldiered on, still produced by Bert Berns, who had brought them into the contemporary soul sound one single at a time.
The songwriting team of Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann had given The Drifters "On Broadway," "I'll Take You Home," "Saturday Night..." and "Come on Over to My Place," which became a major UK hit in a 1972 reissue. The group had passed on their gritty "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," which UK band The Animals snatched up and turned into a major global pop hit.
For the group's final single of 1965 the cleffers delivered "We Gotta Sing," a compassionate account of a Black vocal group who ply their sound after work, rehearse their favorites and write a few originals. They move into live performances and begin to go places. They encounter shady showbiz characters, but don't weaken. It's all about the music and the joy of singing together. The story doesn't resolve, but given the bright, positive melody and lead singer Johnny Moore projects an optimism that is winning. His is one of the great voices in Black music of the 1960s, and he's in fine form on this charming song that failed to chart at the end of a crazy year.
Cash Box opted out of a review for this fifth Drifters 45 of '65. More sober Billboard filled in.
"Nylon Stockings," penned by Tony Bruno and Vic Milrose, is a muddier-sounding, more traditional r&b ballad with woozy strings. I think this side of my copy is pressed a tad off-center, for which I apologize, but the queasiness seems to suit this account of a dazed ex-sweetheart whose woman didn't bother to clean up after herself when she split. He inventories these sad souvenirs, as obsessive males will, and mourns her loss.
Johnny Moore's performance is better than the song, which is rescued by the gritty, almost lo-fi vibe that creates a sense of loss and emptiness. It's not a bad song, but the keen optimism of the A-side doesn't mesh well with this down-in-the-dumps dilemma.
Johnny Moore's performance is better than the song, which is rescued by the gritty, almost lo-fi vibe that creates a sense of loss and emptiness. It's not a bad song, but the keen optimism of the A-side doesn't mesh well with this down-in-the-dumps dilemma.
The group had two minor hits in 1966. The death of Bert Berns in 1967 lost the group's mooring. Atlantic let them go in 1968 then re-signed them in 1969 after they had an uptick in British popularity. They were adopted by songwriter-producers Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway, who guided their musical fortunes into the mid-1970s, including a version of Paul McCartney's "Everynight" for UK Bell Records. The group's musical legacy covers decades, hundreds of recordings and many great moments, of which "We Gotta Sing" is one highlight.
Tomorrow: Chicago vocal group The Sheppards return with the saddest of ballads and happiest of upbeat tunes, via a 1962 OKeh Records platter.
I love so many of the Drifters' recordings. These tracks are both solid but it's hard to beat what they's already done. Rudy Lewis and Johnny Moore are both incredible singers, but Johnny Moore? WHOA. He's over the rainbow. Wish we could have heard a Drifters version of "We Gotta Get Out of This Place"!
ReplyDeleteYes! You can imagine how Johnny Moore might have sung that lyric--more impassioned and emotional than Eric Burdon's, which is fine, but more of a garage-band sound. Moore could've evoked the urban plight of the narrator to a beautiful degree. It might have been an r&b hit for the group, too!
DeleteTwo wonderful au courant-sounding songs. Listen to the Monkee's album-filler song "Gonna Buy Me Dog" from 1966 and tell me you don't hear the music from the much superior "We Gotta Sing." "Nylon Stockings" has that just-around-the-corner booming sound of the Righteous Brothers or Tom Jones.
ReplyDelete