Joe & Eddie: "Tear Down The Walls!"

Released in 1965,

this was the fifth (5th) LP recorded by

Joe Gilbert and Eddie Brown.

Their successful musical career as a duo

was tragically shortened by Joe Gilbert's

death in an automobile accident in 1966.

Read more about Joe & Eddie HERE.

Hoyt Axton: "Mr. Greenback Dollar Man"

Released in 1965,

this was Hoyt Axton's seventh (7th) LP.

A talented singer-songwriter whose songs were

most often popularized by other singers and groups,

Hoyt Axton was also a fairly active presence

in television and movies.

Read more about Hoyt Axton HERE.

[Hoyt Axton is also a distant cousin of this blogger! wooHOO!]

Barbra Streisand: "My Name Is Barbra, Two..."

Released in 1965,

this was Barbra Streisand's sixth (6th) LP.

I've written various tidbits about Barbra in previous posts,

which you can easily find by looking at the "label list."

But I encourage you to find out more about Barbra Streisand's extraordinary career

HERE.

Vince Guaraldi: "A Charlie Brown Christmas"

Released in 1965

with the television airing of this

first of many Charlie Brown specials,

this became Vince Guaraldi's signature work.

He went on to compose and record seventeen

Charlie Brown specials before he passed away

at the age of 47 from an apparent heart attack.

Read more about Vince Guaraldi HERE.

Read more about the Charlie Brown specials HERE.

The Rolling Stones: "Out Of Our Heads"

Released in 1965,

this was The Rolling Stones' fourth (4th) LP released in the U.S.A.

Read more about The Rolling Stones HERE.

Roger Williams: "Plays the Hits"

Released in 1965

this was one of well over one hundred

easy listening recordings

made by Roger Williams.

Read more about Roger Williams HERE.

Baja Marimba Band: "Rides Again"

Released in 1965,

this is one of several delightful recordings

from Julius Wechter's talented crew.

Seriously,

one has to be a pretty grumpy customer

not to get a kick out of these

tasty interpretations of fun tunes.

John Gary: "The Nearness of You"

Released in 1965

at the height of John Gary's popularity.

Read more about John Gary HERE.

Hugo Winterhalter: "The Big Hits of 1965"

Released in late 1965,

this is GREAT

elevator music.

Read a tiny bio-sketch of Hugo Winterhalter HERE.

The Rolling Stones: "NOW!"

Released in early 1965,

this was The Rolling Stones'

third (3rd) LP distributed in the USA.

Read more about this LP

and follow the trail to more about

The Rolling Stones

HERE.

Ramsey Lewis: "Hang On Ramsey"

Recorded live and released in 1965,

this is a really great LP

filled with delightful jazz interpretations

of popular songs

like "Hard Day's Night" and "Hang On Sloopy"

Read more about Ramsey Lewis HERE.

Living Brass: "Mexican Shuffle"

Released in 1965,

the generic "Living Brass"

was trying to ride

Herb Alpert's coat-tails

with this LP.

Not sure it was anywhere near

as commercially successful

as Mr. Alpert's Tijuana Brass

or the closely related

Baja Marimba Band, though.

Part of the "Living Strings" family

this music was suited perfectly

for brief exposure during an elevator ride.

Johnny Horton: "The Battle of New Orleans"

Released post-humously, in 1965,

this recording is a great tribute to

Johnny Horton's legacy.

Read about Johnny Horton HERE.

Henry Mancini: "The Latin Sound of..."

Released in 1965.

Henry Mancini persistently is relegated to "Easy Listening"

"Mood Music" and other brands of "Elevator Music."

And I admit that

compared to ROCK music

and all of its legitimate descendants

Mr. Mancini is much more closely related to those softer genre.

But I believe there should be at least ONE solid, accepted category

somewhere between "easy listening" and "jazz"

that could describe Henry Mancini 

and a few others

so they wouldn't be so blithely

lumped in with the Muzak crowd.

Know what I mean? 

I mean

these days

Rock, Pop, and Soul

have so many subgenre

it is durn near totally

confounderatin'

to keep up with 'em all.

Even Jazz

has multiple subgenre.

I'll have to give this some serious thought.

No, really.

I will.

Please stand by.

Epiphany to follow.

The Byrds: "Turn! Turn! Turn!"

Released in 1965.

This album's title song is probably the most remembered of The Byrds' hits, although they had several, including "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "All I Really Want to Do."

However, I just have to mention their cover of one of the greatest songs of all time:

"Satisfied Mind"

If you do not know this song, you owe it to yourself to go find it.

It has been recorded by umpteen artists.

More about that HERE.

Cover photo: Guy Webster

This album found its way to a collector in Washington (state).

Joshua Rifkin: "The Baroque Beatles Book"

This is an absolutely fabulous novelty LP released in 1965.

It takes musical parody right down to the level of the cover art, the liner notes, and the compository presentation of the track titles.

Fun, fun, fun.

Cover art by Roger Hane.

Decent article providing more details: HERE.

Wes Montgomery: "Goin' Out Of My Head"

Released in 1965, this was Wes Montgomery's twenty-eighth (28th) album.

He had more than 40 to his credit by the time he was taken by a heart attack in 1968.

Wes Montgomery was one of the greatest jazz guitarists of all time.  If you have not taken the time to give him a listen, you need to remedy that situation as soon as possible.

Really.

The Beatles: "Help!"

Released in 1965 between "Beatles VI" and "Rubber Soul" (both also released in 1965).  I will boldly state that for most Beatles fans the music is much more important than the film.  Although the movie is important historically, and it is moderately fun to watch, we all know that the venture into big screen exposure was not as fun for the Fab Four as it appeared to be.  They really just wanted to make great music, which they did better than any other artistic team in history.

Yep. Canada.

Elvis Presley: "Girl Happy"

One of Elvis' many "soundtrack" recordings from the hugely popular feature films he starred in fifty years ago.... or more.

To tell the truth I was a bit young when these LPs and their corresponding films were first released. I saw the movies on black and white television in my pre-adolescent years, and I had three older sisters who certainly dug everything about Elvis. I came across these LPs much later and added them to my collection more or less for the fun of it. If Elvis is anything, he is light-hearted and fun - at least in these movies.



So, this particular LP ended up with a collector in Canada, and watching the online auction for it was quite rewarding, indeed.

The Beatles: 'White Album' and 'Rubber Soul'

OK. Well. I said in my previous post that I would follow it with a straight list of the 90 LPs from which I have disencumbered myself already. BUT honestly that idea does not appeal to me in the least. In particular, as I looked at the list in preparation for that expedient method of disposing of their mention in these esteemed digital halls of history, I really began to feel that I had to give the LPs a bit more attention than just to list them with little or no elaboration.

I reckon I still am not going to give these LPs nearly as much attention as I would like to do, but then again I'm pretty sure I am not the first or only person ever to mention and make comments on these albums. I don't have the time or knowledge really to do each one quite that much justice. So, I'll report off the top of my head and that will be it, pretty much.

The first two albums that flew out of my collection (on the same day) were two Beatles albums.

One was the so-called 'White Album.' It came to be called that because it was released in a plain white cover with "The Beatles" embossed unobtrusively on it. Released in 1968, it is actually TWO LPs - aka a 'double album.' I read just recently in Geoff Emerick's book "Here, There, & Everywhere" that the 'White Album' got no other name because The Beatles could not settle on one in consensus. They had not too long before suffered the death of their manager, Brian Epstein (drug overdose at age 37), and they were just returning from their trip to India when they began recording the tracks that became the 'White Album.' So, their perspective, their camaraderie, their outlook were quite different for the making of this album than it was for the previous recordings. This album marked a significant turning point in the lives of these men who made such an irreversible impression on the world of their day. I believe the effects of their contribution are still reverberating.

The other Beatles LP that slipped from my fingers that day (not so unwillingly because it fetched a decent sum in return!) was 'Rubber Soul.' 'Rubber Soul' is The Beatles' sixth LP, but due to separate releases in countries outside the UK, it could conceivably be counted as somewhere between the tenth and fifteenth album recorded by The Beatles. Released in 1965, it included fourteen tracks. Among them was a Grammy-winning song called "Michelle" as well as "Norwegian Wood," "Drive My Car," "You Won't See Me," and "Nowhere Man."

Like so much of their music, the appeal is truly timeless.

You can see by the pics that these records saw a lot of use - and a great deal of love - over the years.