JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC

Riding in the car the other day, I heard an oldie in which the organ played a prominent role. I made a mental note to remember the song, thinking I might do an “Oldies with Organ” post.

I should have jotted down the name of the song — I had pen and paper with me, as usual — but I didn’t, and the song promptly slipped away.

Then this morning, I head another organ oldie, Steppenwolf’s “Magic Carpet Ride,” which reinforced my inkling to blog about songs featuring the organ.

So here, in no particular order, are four great organ oldies, minus, unfortunately, the song I heard the other day and have not been able to retrieve from memory:

“Magic Carpet Ride”

This song was released in 1968 and went to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Steppenwolf was a Canadian-American band formed in 1967 in Los Angeles by lead singer John Kay, keyboardist Goldy McJohn (who is on the organ in “Magic Carpet Ride”) and drummer Jerry Edmonton.

(Interesting footnote: Wikipedia says guitarist Michael Monarch and bass guitarist Rushton Moreve were recruited by notices placed in Los-Angeles-area record and musical instrument stores.)

Steppenwolf sold over 25 million records worldwide, had eight gold albums and 12 Billboard Hot 100 singles, including three Top 10 hits: “Born to Be Wild,” “Magic Carpet Ride,” and “Rock Me.” According to Wikipedia, “Steppenwolf enjoyed worldwide success from 1968 to 1972, but clashing personalities led to the end of the core lineup.”

Here it is, “Magic Carpet Ride”

“A Whiter Shade of Pale” by Procol Harem

The group Procol Harem released this song in 1968, and it went to No. 1 on the United Kingdom singles chart and No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Wikipedia says it is one of the best-selling singles in history, with sales of more than 10 million worldwide. In 2004,Rolling Stone magazine ranked “A Whiter Shade of Pale” 57th on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

As well as for its commanding organ lead, the song stands out for its inscrutable yet compelling lyrics, including…

And so it was that later, oh
As the miller told his tale
That her face at first just ghostly
Turned a whiter shade of pale…

The website Clocktower says organist Matthew Fisher began his musical career on bass guitar and later fell in love with the bluesy style of bands like The Animals, which inspired his move to the organ.

Here, then, is, “A Whiter Shade of Pale”

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“Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye”

I have a particular, nostalgic fondness for this song because it was by The Casinos, a group that came out of Cincinnati, where I lived when I held my first newspaper job as a cub reporter for The Kentucky Post in late 1968 and early 1969.

This song was released in 1967 and was The Casinos’ only Top 40 hit, rising to No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Wikipedia relates an interesting story about the band and the song…

“The Casinos were playing in a Cincinnati club where WSAI disc jockey Tom Dooley liked to visit. Dooley had a song he wanted to record but needed a band to provide the music. The Casinos had been getting great reaction to “Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye” at the club and wanted to record it. Dooley offered to pay for studio time at Cincinnati’s King Records Studio for the group to record their song if they would back up Dooley on his song. While Dooley’s song didn’t see success beyond WSAI, the Casinos’ tune quickly became a national hit.”

Another fascinating sidelight is that the organist, Bob Armstrong, went on to a career as a bridge-lighting designer and technician. Among the bridges for which he provided lights included the John A. Roebling suspension bridge in Cincinnati, a forerunner of the Brooklyn Bridge, which Roebling also designed.

Wikipedia says Armstrong also worked as business manager for a Catholic church in Amelia, Ohio, about 20 miles east of Cincinnati. He died of cancer, at age 67, in December 2011.

Here’s a great droopy-drawers song, “Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye.” (Note the swoony organ solo in mid-song.)

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“The Happy Organ”

Who could forget this feel-good, get-a-move-on song by Dave “Baby” Cortez (provided you were alive in the 1960s)?

It was released on the Clock Record label in 1959 and soared to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 list. It was co-composed by Cortez and James J. Kriegsmann, who, in addition to being a song writer, was a noted celebrity and theatrical photographer.

It was the first instrumental song to reach No. 1 on the pop charts.

As with “Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye,” this song strikes a strong personal chord with me.

One day when I was in high school back in Louisville, I was playing golf at the Seneca Park Golf Course. The green on Hole No. 8 — a Par 3 at the time — borders Park Boundary Road, which carries a lot of traffic. Our group was either on the green or approaching it when a long, wide convertible — maybe an Olds or Pontiac — came cruising around the corner, top down. The song “The Happy Organ” was blaring from the car radio. The members of our group stopped, watched and listened for several seconds as the car rounded the Park Boundary Road curve and went up a hill toward the clubhouse.

…Oh, my. What a day. And what a time to be young, in the 60s, with songs like “The Happy Organ” propelling us from one carefree day to the next.

Let’s hear it, then…“The Happy Organ.”