Whether you are part of the 60’s generation or not, The 60’s are Ground Zero and the Blueprint for Rock stars and the sex symbols they ultimately became! Men, Women Boys or Girls, we all have at least one who we Fantasied,Swooned, and Dreamed of, like no one before or ever after! We certainly did!
It’s a broad field with hundreds of candidates and even if your “Wonder Years” are among those of a younger generation we especially would like to hear from you with your “Hindsight and perspective”?
So, without any further delay, let’s pull back the curtain and reveal …
Your Sixties Music Secret “CRUSH”…And why?
We’ll get the conversation started by revealing our Sixties Crush and why SHE’S THE ONE: However first, we’d like to eliminate a couple of very obvious candidates and possibly one of YOUR CHOICES! First elimination: Mama Michelle Phillips! Hold On! We know you’re thinking “Hunh” Wha? “are you insane? NOPE! Here’s why: There is no question, that only a few girl singers are more fun to look at than Mama Michelle, But it all ends there! This very hot “Girl Singer” has no Apparent talent! She can’t really sing, she isn’t a songwriter ( although John Philips did give her a credit on “Creeque Alley”) AND, She was married to John Phillips, Who, even back in the 60’s simply gave us the creeps! Years later it would be revealed why! We just couldn’t fantasize over a girl who slept with John Phillips! Next elimination: Linda Ronstadt! Hold on, there’s that chorus again “Hunh” Wha? Are you nuts? NOPE! Here’s why: Linda is Everybody’s Fantasy CRUSH! and her list of suitors includes nearly everyone we’ve ever heard of except us and a couple of our friends! lol but we just can’t share our secret crush with soooo many other guys! ( But Jeeze, She did look good in that Cub Scout uniform! Google her, it’s worth your time ) We could go on but you get the drill! Our Sixties Music Secret Crush is Melanie Safka! We’re certain most of you are thinking “Hunh” Wha? Who? But we also know that many of you understand exactly who and why we dreamed about “Melanie”
Remember “Lay Down Candles in the Rain”? Oh yeah, her paean to Woodstock? Yes, that Melanie. You may also remember “Look What They’ve Done To My Song, Ma” or “Brand New Key” ( The Roller Skate Song ) Melanie had a voice with a power and control that rivaled Ronstadt’s as well as a lithesome sensuality that easily wiped Mama Michelle off the map! She possessed a 50 megawatt Smile and eye’s you just dare not look directly into for fear of being held there forever! But the real closer for us was when we heard her sing:
”I’ve got a Brand New Pair Of Roller Skates, you got a brand new Key I think that we should get together and try them on to see.”
What? “Hunh” Hmmm? Is Melanie really asking us to come over and put our “Key” in her “Skates”?….Whoa!…Really?…Yes!
The hook was set, We were ready to propose marriage, as soon as we could meet her, which sadly, never happened! BUT! There is another Woodstock being planned and if Melanie’s there, we will be as well and if we’re lucky, we’ll lay down candles in the rain!
But now, we want to hear from you dear reader! Who is YOUR Sixties Music Secret Crush? Joni, Janis, Judy ? John Paul or George, Tom Jones ? Mick or Keith. Freddie, Herman, Jimi, Gerry, or even Engelbert ? The Sky’s the limit, but whoever it is, please tell us WHY!
Meanwhile, while you’re dreaming, here’s our girl Melanie
One more cuz, It’s Melanie and we’re in Luv, “El You Vee”
So I can’t share Linda Rhonstadt…toooooo bad for mr! So I’ll trip out on Surrealistc Pillow and try my charms on Grace Slick!!!
…..the wood
I think Rick’s grounds for disqualifying Linda don’t hold water. In my fantasy, Linda only has eyes for me. All those other guys are irrelative. There was one little porcelain doll Welsh lass, with an Abbey Road connection, who to an 18 year old California boy was irresistible. Mary Hopkin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QptZ8tYZAkE
Hey Jim,
IWe gotta say that we really admire the way you manipulate your fantasy where Linda Ronstadt only has eye’s for you! DAMN! Why didn’tt we think of that!
Meanwhile you once more have gained our further admiration with Mary Hopkin! YEAH BABY! It’s been fun seeing what names are being revealed, but Jim, you really caught us off guard with Mary WOW! Don’t get us wrong we totally agree with you, but the truth is we literally forgot to fantasize about Mary. My God The voice of an Angel and a face to match!
However, not that you asked but, we had a weird, mixed up, confused 60’s Teen Age Boy problem with “Those We’re The Days” It was an incredible Record AND it was produced by a BEATLE! ( Paul McCartney ) So we assumed with Macca producing he must have certainly written it as well. BUT NO! The song was written by two Russian songwriters, whose names we can’t recall and if we could we couldn’t pronounce them. However we did know one of their names was Boris, Yeah “Boris” as in “Boris Badinov ( Bad enough ) from Rocky and Bullwinkle A Russian…A Rooskie? The Cold War was winding down but in our house Russians were still the very bad guys! So, as odd as it sounds Mary was just a wee bit tainted
TMI ?….Sorry bout that, but we were sooo torn! She was so great but, How Could She?
Thanx for listening
Rick
P.S. Thanx for that great video! Reminding us just how beautiful Mary was! And if you look closely you can see a guy dressed in a black cloak behind the curtain just to stage left!
Funny thing. The cold war “winding down” in the late ’60s. I recall it spinning up in the ’50s. My mother, upon overhearing my brother and I in the backyard mowing down a German platoon: “now, now boys. The war is over. The Germans are our friends. From now on you shoot Russians.”.
Hey Jim, sounds like we gre up in similar households! My younger brother and I used to “Play War “ every chance we got! However our mom was less informed as to the bad guys were…And I always made my younger brother the bad guy! He was always “The Germans, “The Japs” or the Russians…..We had no clue about Global Confrontations we had only head our mom refer to these people in a very negative way!
Yes, she was a “Black Belt Racist”
Thanx for the memories
Rick
Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy!
We couldn’t agree with you more when it comes to The Dave Clark Five AND Mike Smith! Even though they ( as you pointed out ) had an incredible string of hits, the DC5 remain the most underrated and under appreciated band to come out of the British Invasion! AND Mike Smith, there really are NO WORDS! In every discussion I’ve ever heard about great “Blue Eyed Soul” singers Mike Smith is never included! That my friend is a serious crime!
Furthermore, as far as songwriting? Not only did they ( Mike and Dave ) churn out hit after hit of Pop perfection, “Because” is one of the most beautiful “Love Songs” ever written! The three part harmonies are sublime!
We’re not sure that we could claim we had a “Crush” on these guys but if things had happened just slightly different, history would be celebrating “The Tottenham sound” rather than The Mersey Beat!
YES, Jimmy The DC5 rule! And thanx for those great clips! Tom Hanks induction speech will go down in history, it’s so obvious he was a true DC5 Fan! WOW!
Thank you Jimmy for always showing up with great rare clips and your unique perspective!
Rick
If I may add to my Grace slick ramble. I remember seeing her on the Johnny Carson show. They had just played a little known festival, that on the west coast we had no idea had happened, called Woodstock. She said their minds were blown. I didn’t know about Woodstock until the movie came out.
Hey Curtis
1) I can’t believe you didn’t know about Woodstock! Actually, I can’t believe you wern’t AT Woodstock
2) We’ve gotta start our research to find that footage of Grace and Carson! That had to be crazy great!
Thanx again Mr. Stone
Shoe
Well Ladies and Gentleman..I gotta go with Grace Slick, from Jefferson Airplane. She was the the ultimate 60’s acid rock psychedelic queen. Isaw them play at the shrine, with Hot Tuna. Which was half of the airplane, Jorma and Jack. It was great show. In spite of the fact that she was gonna dose Nixon. Fortunately for Tricky Dickey, she was banned from the White House. I met her in 1980 or 81, while touring in Amsterdam. We did a TV show together. She had calmed down by then, but still very much crush worthy. Pretty much my Elvis moment..
Hey Curtis,
GRACE SLICK! Amen brother Curtis….Jeeze we loved the power in her voice!
Great call! AND we have heard a lot of crazy stories about Grace, but we know nothing about this proposed dousing of President Nixon? Could you kindly fill us in?
Meanwhile, you met Grace? Another thing I admire about you!
Thanx Curtis,
Shoe
P.S. And PLEASE do fill us in!
Yes. I believe it was around 1970. Grace went to the same College as Tricia Nixon. She got an invitation to the White House, for some function, from tricia, to her real name of Grace Wing. Well She was recognized and was not allowed in. I saw an interview where she said she was definitely going to do it. She had it all planned out. I didnt think to ask her about the incident as I was too involved in reflecting on Amterdamn and the trails and tribulations of doing TV shows..Dammitt
Hey Curtis,
Whoa, that’s pretty heavy! Grace Slick was seriously planning to Assasinate the President Of the United States! I can’t imagine how she feels about the current POTUS?
Is Grace still with us or is she turning over in her grave?
Shoe
Although, IF I had to go with a female CRUSH, Dusty Springfield would be right up there. What was not to LOVE? A beautiful lady (who was also part of the British Invasion). Sexy. Soulful. GREAT singer. I believe “Wishin’ and Hopin'” was the first song that got my attention but this one is a favorite:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf1d65OHYXo
Carry on…
Better link. Better version. Enjoy:
Hey Jimmy, so appreciated your comments on the DC5, but! When we’re talking about a “Crush” well, Dusty wins hands down! And thanx for that great track featuring The Look Of Love…WOW, and we agree about “Wishin and Hopin but the song that made this 15 year old boy’s mind run wild was “Son Of A Preacher Man! With the lyric line “Lookin to wee how much we’ve grown” Hmmmmmm? Whatever was she saying?
Thanx Jimmy, Dusty rules!
Rick
GOOD ONE!! I actually had a crush on her voice..WOW!!
The girl covered with whipped cream on the cover of the TJ Brass album
Hey Stephen,
OMG right on the money Steve! I’m curious to know how many of us guy’s bought that album just to have the cover to look at!?
(I’m not admitting anything )
Rick
I go with the Marys….If Mary Weiss hadn’t existed then it would have been Mary Wilson. Surely no explanations are necessary!
Though to be fair, I spent a lot of time chasing down Nancy Sintra’s album covers.
Hey John,
We were hoping you’d chime in on this question, and YEAH Mary Weiss! We too went to Fantasyland many times with Mary! For those of you that don’t recognize Mary, She was the Super Hot Lead Singer from”Bad Girl” group The Shangri-Las
Mary Wilson was, of course The very beautiful and founding member of The Supremes
Great taste in Gals JWR!
Thanx,
Rick
I would have to say Joni Mitchell. The combination of talent and looks was unmatched in my estimation.
Hey Fred,
Not sure we can add much more, of course we completely agree! However we will ad, on a personal note Joni put the icing on the cake when we heard her sing the word “Fuck” on the radio! It was in 1972 from her just released “For The Roses album! The song is “Woman of Heart and mind and in it Joni sings “Fuck Your Strangers” WOW!
All that Talent, Grace and beauty AND She talks dirty! Proof there is a God!
Thanx Fred Joni IS the real deal!
Rick, Rick, Rick…This is a tough but FUN one. The Beatles are in a league of their own, so I’m going with The Dave Clark Five. These guys coming on the heels of The Fab Four delivered KNOCKOUT hits time and time again. Led by Dave Clark the group had the Tottenham Sound which was a refreshing, dramatic shift from the Boys from Liverpool. Lenny Davidson, Rick Huxley and Denis Payton were solid musicians right down the line however it was the GREAT Mike Smith on keyboards and vocals who was the REAL CRUSH for me. Whenever the DC5 performed you could not take you eyes off of Mike Smith! The BEST.
A little side story, it was back on Cape Cod, in the late 60’s, that a bunch of us kids had the sheer pleasure and excitement of seeing Mike Smith as he strolled through the local arcade where we would spend our summer vacations. NONE of us had the courage to approach him as he was ROCK ROYALTY. I’ll never forget it. Yeah, I LOVE The Dave Clark Five. Been playing a lot of their music lately (which is making the lovely Kathee Flynn a little nuts) but she’ll survive. Here are a few favorites. Enjoy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3BAU6mtkLI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPJCZyBHDGo
Added BONUS. Tom Hanks Induction of Dave Clark Five to Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: