Issue No. 13 of Johnny Be Good features one of 45 songs from the book, Anatomy of a Song: The Oral History of 45 Iconic Hits That Changed Rock, R&B and Pop, by Marc Myers. Read John Pearson's review here. Order from Amazon here. Listen to the book on Libro (9 hours, 34 minutes). Each blog will spotlight a song from the book and a guest blogger’s color commentary. Click here to subscribe. Each issue of Your Weekly Staff Meeting will highlight the latest blog.
Groovy Becomes a Verb
Today’s guest blogger is Dave Barton.
Song: #13 of 45
Title: Groovin'
Singers: The Young Rascals
Released: April 1967
I APPRECIATED THIS:
The year was 1967. Car and transistor radios everywhere were busy pumping out hits such as “Soul Man,” “Light My Fire,” “All You Need is Love,” and “I’m a Believer.” It was a prolific year for pop and rock music. My favorite tune from 1967? It was released in April of that year and immediately soared in popularity and in May became the No. 1 song in the country for four full weeks. The song? “Groovin’” by the Young Rascals.
For more, read Marc Myers’ column from the WSJ, April 4, 2013, “The Day They Grooved to 'Groovin'.’”
Listen to "Groovin'" by The Young Rascals.
MY FAVORITE NOTES & QUOTES:
“Groovin,’” the song that transformed the word Groovy from an adjective to a verb, was penned by Young Rascal’s lead singer Felix Cavaliere and roommate Eddie Brigati. In his book, Anatomy of a Song, author Marc Myers features interviews with Cavaliere, Rascals guitarist Gene Cornish, and recording engineer Chris Huston.
In Chapter 13, you’ll discover the inspiration for “Groovin’,” who played the tasty harmonica fills, and how a famous New York city DJ preserved the purity of the recording when label executives demanded changes or no release.
I hope you enjoy this chapter of Anatomy of a Song. Just make absolutely certain to read it while you’re… groovin’ on a Sunday afternoon.
Guest blogger Dave Barton groovin' on a Sunday afternoon!
THIS ISSUE'S COMMENTARY BY Dave Barton
DAVE BARTON was a teenager in the ‘60s. Some of his favorite bands were the Beach Boys, Paul Revere & the Raiders, and the Young Rascals. Today, you’ll find him groovin’ in Southern California, occasionally playing guitar and bass with a local band, and listening to the Top Songs of the 1960s, and especially 1967.
NEXT UP!
Song #14 of 45, “White Rabbit,” by Jefferson Airplane.
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It all started in 2023, when John Pearson read and reviewed a "fun" book, Anatomy of a Song: The Oral History of 45 Iconic Hits That Changed Rock, R&B and Pop, by Marc Myers. Read John's review here. Order from Amazon here. Listen to the book on Libro (9 hours, 34 minutes).
If you'd enjoy being one of 45 guest bloggers, along with John Ashmen, Dick Nelson, Suzy West, Dave Barton, Paul Palmer, Bill Butterworth, Jim West, Melinda Schmidt, Jason Pearson, Gary Rea, Callista Dawson, John Walling, Ed Barrett, Larry Beatty, and others, read more here and contact John Pearson. Click here to subscribe to this blog and enjoy the toe-tapping musicians in each weekly blog post—reminding you of these iconic songs of yesteryear.