Name That Tune, Sixties

NAME THAT TUNE (August 27, 2023)

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

Welcome back to Name That Tune! Are you feeling lucky today?

Get your brain cells ready to tackle the five questions I have prepared for you. Let’s see if you can come up with the name of the song and the artist(s) who made it famous.

Ok, let’s rock and roll!

  1. This song from 1963 is just one hit by a group of boys from New Jersey that had us singing and dancing along to a great melody … and let’s not forget those fantastic drums!
  2. The singers of this song keep repeating one phrase over and over again; you’d think the person in question would just get the message and go away already!
  3. The lead singer of our featured group had a recurring role as gangster Rusty Millio during the fifth and sixth seasons of the hit HBO series, The Sopranos.
  4. The story of the lives of these guys from New Jersey, especially their lead singer, was turned into a Broadway play in 2004 and eventually into a movie in 2014. None of the original members of the group starred in either the play or the movie.
  5. This one word song is named after a girl … the one mentioned in question #2 who won’t go away. Come to think of it, many of this group’s songs were named after girls.

How’d you do with that one, kids? Well, let’s scroll down for the answers, shall we?

That’s right! It was the Jersey Boys themselves, The Four Seasons (also known later in their career as “Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons“), doing one of their biggest hits (and my personal favorite), “Dawn”. Let’s give a listen and enjoy those crazy drums!

Was I right about the drums or was I right? Kudos to Buddy Saltzman, the drummer on this recording; The Four Seasons did not have a regular drummer and always used various session drummers. Extra credit if you knew that tidbit.

I wonder if any of my WordPress music blogging friends (you know who you are) can name any other groups who used only session drummers. Hmm … let’s see who’s reading this.

Well, that was a great song, a real blast from the past for many of us and possibly a new one for some of you youngsters out there.

I hope you’ve been having fun playing along; join me next time right here for another round of Name That Tune.

See you on the flip side.

I’m The Sicilian Storyteller

NAR © 2023

21 thoughts on “NAME THAT TUNE (August 27, 2023)”

  1. Had the group with clue 1, song with clue 2.

    One of the greatest session drummers was Hal Blaine who played on SO many songs. He and the Wrecking Crew played with everyone from Sonny and Cher to Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.

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  2. Hi Nancy. I didn’t even know that song, but I like the drumming style, it’s kind of scatty but keeps the groove.

    James Brown got through a fair lot of fine drummers both live and recording, but if you get chance to watch his drummer Melvin Parker on the track ‘Please, Please, Please’ live at the TAMI show in 1964, you’ll see why Parker was one of the best – he never takes his eyes off James Brown and takes all his cues from Brown’s dance moves and his dropping to the knees. Parker not only nails the groove but adds plenty of subtle licks into the beat.

    Simon Phillips was a session drummer and played with Judas Priest on their 1977 album ‘Sin After Sin’ at only 19 years old! A tremendous talent so young!

    Other than that, I think Spinal Tap got through a load of drummers 😂😁

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    1. Hi, Ford! Let me say how nice it is to see you here for the first time. Welcome!
      I’ve seen this video of ‘Please, Please, Please’ a dozen times and never really thought about looking at the drummer. You’re absolutely right! Parker’s eyes never left James Brown … something that’s imperative when you’re striving for an excellent performance. Anyone can put in a shoddy effort but the results will be just as poor.
      I’ve been a Priest fan since the beginning; they have that certain sound like no other group and you always know when Priest is playing. After all these years I’m just learning that Simon Phillips was only 19 yrs old! I watched the 1977 ‘Sin After Sin’ video just now (you have to search in YouTube by entering Simon Phillips Judas Priest or you’ll never get there) and was knocked out knowing that amazing drumming was done by a guy still in his teens. Age is not a factor when it comes to talent!
      Thanks for stopping by and leaving such an enlightening comment. I hope to see you again. Great info, Ford!
      Hahaha … Spinal Tap! 🤣

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      1. Hi Nancy, many thanks for the warm welcome 😊 That’s so cool you’re a Priest fan, and already knew the Sin After Sin album. It’s my fave album by them, but I also love Screaming For Vengeance and British Steel, but then pretty much everything they’ve done is cool.
        It was a pleasure to stop by and talk some drums with you, and I’ll see you again soon in WP-land! Have a great week ahead 😎

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    1. Glad you enjoyed a slice of very early American pop rock, Deb!
      The play “Jersey Boys” was excellent. The movie’s pretty cheesy, though, mostly centering on the life of Frankie Valli (lead singer) and doesn’t have that great Four Seasons sound.
      Thanks for playing along. I love a great drummer!

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  5. Didn’t come even close with this one; which, as you know, is my perfect cup of Sunday coffee.
    How often do we get the chance to delve into something new? (now that everything is at our fingertips… Surprisingly, much less than we used to.)

    You asked about only session drummers… that I don’t know.
    Session musicians and drummers in particular, are used in recording sessions more than certain groups are prepared to admit.

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    1. Stumped you, Nicky! I feel mortally wounded yet somewhat gleeful. Hahaha!! This is a real blast from the past; just goes to show you what an old bat I am! 🤣

      Session musicians. The Beatles used them frequently. Just listen to She’s Leaving Home, A Day In the Life, All You Need Is Love … the list goes on. It’s unusual for a band not having its own drummer, though, I think, except for the very early Rock & Roll singers, Doo-Wop and Motown groups whose members played NO instruments. Fascinating. When did that change and who changed it?

      Great comment! 😊

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  6. I thought, “Yes! I was right!” about the group, when I read the Jersey Boys. The thing is, obviously, I wasn’t right as I initially thought of the Beach Boys. The song that came to mind was ‘Wipeout’ (as I instantly remembered that girl from school, Wipeout Williams 🙄). It turns out, the Beach Boys hadn’t sung Wipeout either (which, as it happens, doesn’t have any words at all, repeated or otherwise, apart from ‘wipeout’, once, at the beginning.) Surf City came out in 1963, which came to light as I desperately tried to find some connection between my Beach Boys link and your song. However, Surf City wasn’t sung by the Beach Boys either. Both of my songs feature a lot of drums, thankfully, but if they were by session drummers, your ‘guess’ would obviously be better than mine.
    And, would you believe me if I told you this is the first time I’ve heard ‘Dawn’?
    I’ve heard of the Four Seasons, though, not that it helped me this week.
    Here’s my score (out of five):
    – 😊😊😊😊😊

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    1. I adore you, Tom, and that is not something I usually admit on an international forum to any man other than my husband! You give the best rational for not knowing the answer and unabashedly follow through with your steps at reaching the wrong answer. And they all make perfect sense! At least you’re using your noggin and not just rolling over and playing dead. You make this game fun and interesting (which is what it’s supposed to be). You are a winner in my book any day of the week. 🌟 😊

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      1. 😊😆 Thanks, Nancy.
        The way I see it is if I have to go through my thought processes, it’s only fair that everyone else should as well! 🤣
        I know the answer is at the end of the post, but I give myself a great deal of fun seeing if I can get to the answer before reading it. It’s not often I manage it, but I’m usually close. (In my head!)

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