It’s still summer last time I checked, and that means one thing: It’s hard to get enough of the Oldies.
I’ve been carrying a pocket notebook with me lately while driving around and listening to The Fifties on Five and the Sixties on Six, and I’ve been jotting down the titles of songs that strike my fancy.
One of the songs I selected for today is “Born Too Late,” but when I Googled it on YouTube, I got a pleasant surprise: I found a version from a 1965 New American Bandstand show that segued into “Last Night” by The Mark-Keys.
Before I give you that twin spin, here’s a little background on those songs.
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“Born Too Late” by The Poni-Tails
The website history-of-rock.com says the trio, consisting of Toni Cistone (lead vocals), LaVerne Novak (high harmony), and Karen Topinka (low harmony) were students at Brush High School in Lynhurst, Ohio, near Cleveland, when they started singing together in 1956. “They performed at school functions and benefits, and it was at one of these shows that they were spotted by an attorney, John Jewitt, who gave them an introduction to music publisher Tom Illius.”
“Born Too Late” was the “B” side of a record released by ABC Records on June 23, 1958. ABC was promoting the “A” side, “Come On Joe, Dance With Me,” but several on-the-ball, Cleveland deejays began pushing “Born To Late,” and the record took off. It went to No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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“Last Night” by The Mar-Keys
This is a song with few words but a lot of power. Two of the things that stand out are the organ and the sax solo. According to Wiki, song producer Chips Moman wanted an organ in place of a guitar, and his instincts were on the mark.
The only words uttered in the song (the only words needed) are “Oh, last night” and “Ohhhhhhh yeah!”
You’re going to love these scenes from American Bandstand. The “swoony” looks on some of the kids’ faces are priceless. Some of the dancing is good, and some is curious, such as the kids continuing to dance through several brief stops on “Last Night.”
Anyway, here you go…six minutes of good, clean fun from an incredible era.
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“I Count the Tears” by Ben E. King and The Drifters
We’ve all heard of The Drifters, right? I thought they were, like most groups, fairly stable, with just a handful of members.
Wrong! So I found from Wiki, which says…
According to Rolling Stone magazine, the Drifters were the least stable of the great vocal groups, as they were low-paid musicians hired by George Treadwell, who owned the Drifters’ name from 1955, after (Clyde) McPhatter left. There have been 60 vocalists in the history of the Treadwell Drifters line, including several splinter groups by former Drifters members.
Essentially, the Drifters was a banner that dozens of singers flew through and under from time to time. But, man, those various groups of Drifters had a lot of good songs. “I Count the Tears,” from 1962, was one of them…Interestingly, it seems it never made the Billboard Hot 100 but went to No. 28 on the UK Singles Chart.
A commenter on the YouTube page linked below had a good description of the song, saying: “This is one of the greatest Pop orchestrations I’ve ever heard. There is so much happening inside that mix, dueling male/female choirs, a Rock session band, orchestral string section…bells?”
It’s short, so listen fast!
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“Soul Finger” by the Bar-Kays
Since we heard from the The Mar-Keys, it’s only fitting we hear from the Bar-Kays.
I love this song, partly because of its spontaneous sound. I like any good song that sounds like it was made on the fly, such as Gary U.S. Bonds’ “Quarter to Three,” which sounds like it was cut in a garage.
The hooting and shouting in “Soul Finger” has the same feel. Here’s what Wiki says about the song…
It features a chorus of neighborhood children who had been loitering outside the recording studio; they were instructed to shout “Soul Finger!” and were paid with Coca-Cola. The idea for the title and the shouts came from the Stax songwriters Isaac Hayes and David Porter.
Some priceless background sounds for the price of a Coke.
Another distinctive element of the song, besides the chattering and shouting, is that it opens with the melody of “Mary Had a Little Lamb” before cutting to the main riff, highlighted by a riveting staccato sequence from the trumpet.
Released in April 1967, “Soul Finger” peaked at No. 3 on on the Billboard R&B singles chart and No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100.
It’s hard to keep from jumping up and dancing with the doorknob on this song…So, go ahead, do it!
(The bonus song immediately after “Soul Finger” is Hugh Masekela’s “Grazing in the Grass.”)
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
Can’t go wrong with “Born Too Late,” Jim. Probably the story of my life. I am ill suited for the times we’re living in these days.
I sure didn’t see much “social distancing” in that clip of the Poni-Tails singing “Born Too Late.” Maybe the virus was already around way back then but we just didn’t know it. Hey, those were the days of the dreaded “cooties,” right? Oh, well, life goes on … at least for now.
Boy, you really dug deep for those! Didn’t even recognize “Soul Finger” by name. Dancing with the doorknob? Is this something you made (make??) a habit of?!
I used to do some doorknob dancing when I was younger and would get worked up about a song when no one else was in the house. The knee replacements have cut into my dancing, which, as you might imagine, was never very good. The Irish are good at drinking but terrible at dancing.
The mental picture is somewhat frightening …
Thank you for cheering us up with these Oldies, Jim! “Soul Finger” is an old favorite of mine. It came out of the old Stax Records in Memphis, my home town. Did you know that “Soul Finger” played a role during a crucial episode of the Cold War?
I never saw that, Julius…Sensational!
Thank you, Jim!