Download    Ever wonder why all Motown records sound remarkably alike?  Several reasons, actually.  The drum track uses a snare on every beat instead of just on 2 and 4.  So, you end up with a snare hit 4 times a measure instead of the customary 2 times (I find this mildly irritating and overdone – much like a ribeye that’s been on the grill too long).  And quite often they would use two drummers on the same track (talk about overdone).  Two guys, Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson, oversaw the production of every recording – so you’ve got the same musical tastes over and over again.  Add to this the always present “call and response” singing style that female groups were so adept at doing (men don’t pull that off very well).  Oh, and into the mix goes the fact that the same band, “The Funk Brothers”, was the backup band on every recording.  No wonder Motown is so easily recognizable…

“Motown” is a portmanteau of motor and town and some great music came out of Detroit from 1959 to 1971.  “Baby Love” is certainly one of them.  It was recorded by The Supremes in 1964 and is ranked #324 on the Rolling Stone list of “500 Greatest Songs of All Time”.  Instead of using a snare four times in a measure, it uses a “clap” track, but you can ignore that after a while.  It’s a terrific song nonetheless and should be in your repertoire..  We’re working up a Motown set for an upcoming party and this one will certainly be in it.  Check the Pop/Rock list to download the backup midi track.

Watch The Supremes do it on the link below:

  Download MP3    Who knew there was a Saint Cecilia?  And who knew she was the patron saint of music?  “Cecilia” is the third cut on the iconic Bridge Over Troubled Waters album by Simon and Garfunkel. It was their fifth and final album together.  Garfunkel pursued a short-lived acting career while Paul Simon went on to write and produce some of the most interesting music ever… and this song is a good example of Simon’s “quirkiness”.

Paul wrote this song with Saint Cecilia in mind… at least that’s what he claims.  How the somewhat raunchy lyrics match up with the activities of a saint we’ll never know.  But it’s still a fun song to do on a job.  The beat is unusual – almost a fast reggae but not quite.  It results from a late-night party when the duo and a couple friends started beating on a piano bench.  They recorded the beat with an old Sony tape recorder with reverb turned to max.  In the studio, Paul played it back and thought the recorded rhythm had an infectious quality to it.  He wrote a guitar line and then the lyrics.  I couldn’t duplicate the beat exactly like the original, but this sequence is close.  Your audience will get the idea… the midi sequence is on the Pop/Rock list.

  Download    A gent by the name of Joe South began his career in 1958 with the novelty song “The Purple People Eater Meets the Witch Doctor”.  Joe wrote the song and performed it in Atlanta when he was 18 years old.  The song eventually was recorded by The Big Bopper and was a semi-hit.   Thankfully, he got a little more serious with his song writing and gave us such treasures as “Games People Play”, which he recorded himself – “Rose Garden” by Lynn Anderson – and this little gem I’m featuring today “Down in the Boondocks”.

Billy Joe Royal recorded South’s tune in 1965 and it went to number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.  I can still remember singing along with it as a kid.  The story line is “poor boy can’t have rich girl” – reminds me of the Johnny Rivers hit “Poor Side of Town” with a story line “poor boy ridicules poor girl who thought she could hook up with a rich guy and now she’s come back to poor boy – wrong”.  Okay, that’s a stretch, but “Boondocks” was a catchy tune back in the day and can be used in a sixties set.