“Feelings” (1966) – The Grass Roots * Written by Kenny Fukomoto, Rick Coonce, and Warren Entner * Produced by Steve Barri * 45: “Feelings” / “Here’s Where You Belong” * Charts: Cash Box (#108), Record World (#118)
In With Six You Get Egg Roll, Doris Day’s final film, the Grass Roots show up as the band for the psychedelic teen club sequence. Their song choice is a good teen-friendly one, because they usually sounded adult-friendly enough to encroach on Gary Puckett’s turf. With its marimba lines, “Feelings” channels the Rolling Stones’ “Under My Thumb,” and the band sounds more weirdly alluring than they ever would again. Curiously, Arthur Lee’s Love, who used to be called the Grass Roots before having to change the name thanks to these LA rivals, toyed with the melody line from the verses of “Feelings” for the verses in his band’s “A House Is Not a Motel.”