Author: Kim Simpson

“Up Above My Head” (1972) – The Rance Allen Group

“Up Above My Head” – The Rance Allen Group * Written by: Trad Arr. Rance Allen * Produced by Dave Clark and Toby Jackson * LP: The Rance Allen Group * Label: Gospel Truth Records

The choruses in the early versions of this traditional song, including the classic 1948 version by Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Marie Knight, conclude that “I really do believe there’s a heaven somewhere.” In this version by the Rance Allen Group, from Monroe, Michigan, the conclusion is that “I really do believe there’s a God somewhere.” Although Allen’s delivery is conviction itself, there’s a loosey-goosey aspect in that word choice that could qualify this as a deist anthem. Yes, this God may take the form of who knows what and reside who knows where, but I know He/She must be there. The IIm chord they’ve adapted into the chorus reminds you of the “when Jesus walked” line in the Edwin Hawkins’s Singers “Oh Happy Day.” Rance Allen is currently a Bishop for the Church of God in Christ in Michigan. You can see this vintage version of the group in the 1972 Wattstax film.

“Kiss Off” (1983) – The Violent Femmes

“Kiss Off” (1983) – Violent Femmes * Written by Gordon Gano * Produced by Mark Van Hecke * LP: Violent Femmes * Label: Slash
 
Violent Femmes came on like the American Buzzcocks, with lead singer Gordon Gano sneering like, looking like, and writing like Pete Shelley. Sexual frustration powered every sound and word, and in the case of the Femmes’ first album, the music rang with potent emotional truth because of their mimalistic instrumentation—acoustic guitar, acoustic bass, and snare drum. Their sound signified desperate self-expression through limited means, and what adolescent can’t relate to that? Gano’s hormonal lyrics, of course, were crucial, giving concise articulation to the underdeveloped frontal lobe generation, hardly impressed over things going down on their “permanent record,” yet any one of them who’s listened to Violent Femmes just a few times can recite portions of it from memory. On the universal theme exercise “Kiss Off,” Gano does the “go away! come back!” routine that emotional people do, but then, during the pill-count climax, he uncovers a deeper issue: “nine, nine, nine for a lost god.” That’s Gano the Baptist preacher’s son speaking, nodding toward Mark 15:34, where Christ, at the 9th hour, says “My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Maybe as a result of this breakthrough, the group’s next album would wax more overtly Bible-ish, and by 1987 Gano would be on the road with a new gospel band called the Mercy Seat.

“Feelings” (1966) – The Grass Roots

“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.”

“Enamorado” (1963) – Keith Colley

“Enamorado” (1963) – Keith Colley * Written by Keith Colley and Paul Rubio * 45: “Enamorado” / “No Joke” * Label: Unical * Charts: Billboard Hot 100 #66
 
In the early sixties Keith Colley was headed toward a Gene Pitney-esque sort of situation – crashing the gates as a teen idol while working behind the scenes as a songwriter and publisher. For Colley, though, the behind-the-scenes stuff won out and he ended up with only one charting single, “Enamorado,” which peaked at #66 in ‘63 (although his “Queridita Mia” did bubble under at #122 later that year). Colley, a non-Spanish-speaking Washingtonian, wound up giving this track the south-of-the-border treatment at the visionary behest of his label. And it sounds, in fact, a bit like Gene Pitney singing in Spanish.

“Cinnamint Shuffle (Mexican Shuffle)” (1966) – The Johnny Mann Singers

“Cinnamint Shuffle (Mexican Shuffle)” (1966) – The Johnny Mann Singers * Written by Sol Lake * Produced by Joe Saraceno * 45: “Cinnamint Shuffle (Mexican Shuffle)” / “Rovin’ Gambler” * Label: Liberty * Charts: Billboard Bubbling Under #126

There’s a whole category of records that found airplay and chart listings because of their involvement in TV ads. The Johnny Mann Singers’ “Cinnamint Shuffle” was a notable one from 1966. “Cinnamint,” along with “Teaberry,” were Clark’s chewing gum flavors and commercials for both of these featured consumers popping a stick of it into their mouths and dancing a two-second shuffle before carrying on with their business. The ad campaign’s song was a familiar one: “Mexican Shuffle,” written by Sol Lake, which was a keynote track on Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass’s South of the Border, a Billboard top ten album in 1964 (the “Mexican Shuffle” single hit #88). The Johnny Mann Singers’ 1966 version of the song, sporting the new title of “Cinnamint Shuffle (Mexican Shuffle),” managed to squeak into Billboard‘s “bubbling under” chart, peaking at #126. (Johnny Mann had worked as the musical director for the Joey Bishop Show from 1961-1964, incidentally.)

“Lower Level” (1967) – The Beau Brummels

“Lower Level” (1967) – The Beau Brummels * Written by Ron Elliott * Produced by Lenny Waronker * 45: “Magic Hollow” / “Lower Level” * Label: Warner Bros.

Chronically out of print Beau Brummels song—the B-side to their atmospheric and idyllic “Magic Hollow” A-side. This has an airiness to it that suggests sweet oblivion and mind satisfaction within an enormous, bustling public building where open windows send your thoughts drifting out over the traffic. The group was a trio at this point, just Sal Valentino, Ron Elliott, and Ron Meagher.