The Beat Goes On

This week’s special guest blogger is Mr. Clark Besch! Clark is a former dj at KZUM in Lincoln Nebraska, he’s a writer/blogger and frequent contributor to sites like “Forgotten Hits”. Clark has also contributed Bio information and Liner notes for many classic 60’s artists including The Buckinghams, The Cryan’ Shames and American Breed! Please join us and welcome Clark to SMS with his unique take on two classic hits from the 60’s…

Here’s Clark!…
Wayne Fontana (pictured above) passed away on August 6th. Had he never produced another 45 than the number one hit “Game of Love” (with the Mindbenders), he would have been legendary for just the presentation of that early 2nd Brit Invasion wave of rockers that hit our shores hard. That first “attack” in early ’64 featured the Beatles, Gerry & Pacemakers, DC5, Swingin Blue Jeans, Peter & Gordon, Chad & Jeremy, Searchers, Animals, Manfred Mann and more. By 1965, some of these were being tamed down by US hitmakers making inroads again such as the successes of all the top Motown artists (the Supremes, 4 Tops, Marvin Gaye, Temptations, etc) and other US hitmakers (Vinton, Johnny Rivers, Gene Pitney, Roger Miller, Beach Boys, Gary Lewis, Righteous Brothers, 4 Seasons and more).

Still, a second wave of Brits were on the way as ’65 began. They were almost as formidable as the ’64 wave. As the year began, a few were already rolling up the charts like the Zombies, Herman’s Hermits, the Kinks, Pet Clark–yeah, she was French, but who knew then? Soon, they were joined by others who had had hits in the UK in ’64 but the US wouldn’t grasp until 1965 was in the year.

Now, 1965 gave the US a big new batch of UK stars from Georgie Fame, Freddie & the Dreamers, Moody Blues, Rolling Stones, the Who, Tom Jones, Yardbirds, Fortunes, Donovan, Them, the Hollies, and of course, Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders.

In only 6 weeks after hitting the charts, “The Game of Love” reached #1 in the billboard Hot 100 on April 24, 1965. From the minute those echoes drums pounded out of your radio, you knew you were in for a 60’s classic. It’s still that way, but more often, the MUSIC is sampled on current hits like Eminem’s “Love Game” in 2013.

What makes the song so appealing besides the music and vocals are the timeless lyrics written by Clint Ballard, Jr. (wrote “You’re No Good,” by many and “In the Rain” by the Dramatics):

The purpose of a man is to love a woman
And the purpose of a woman is to love a man
So come on, baby
Let’s start today
Come on, baby
Let’s play

The game of love, love
La, la, la, la, la love

It started long ago in the Garden of Eden
When Adam said to Eve
Baby, you’re for me
So come on, baby
Let’s start today
Come on, baby
Let’s play

The game of love, love
La, la, la, la, la love

Come on, baby
‘Cause the time is right
Love your daddy with all your might
Put your arms around me
Hold me tight
Play the game of love

Two of my broadcasting friends argue on occasion. He usually likes 60s songs for the rhythm and sound while she values the lyrics. The Beat Goes On is one of those songs which manage to appeal to both of those tastes. The big difference here is that not only is the sound and beat awesome, as well as the lyrics, but these lyrics are still 95% pertinent some 53+ years later today as they were in 1967!

The beat goes on, the beat goes on
Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain
La de da de de, la de da de da

Charleston was once the rage, uh huh
History has turned the page, uh huh
The mini skirts, the current thing, uh huh
Teenybopper is our newborn king, uh huh
And the beat goes on, the beat goes on
Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain
La de da de de, la de da de da

The grocery store’s the super mart, uh huh
Little girls still break their hearts, uh huh
And men still keep on marching off to war
Electrically they keep a baseball score
And the beat goes on, the beat goes on
Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain
La de da de de, la de da de da

Grandmas sit in chairs and reminisce
Boys keep chasing girls to get a kiss
The cars keep going faster all the time
Bums still cry, “Hey buddy, have you got a dime?”
And the beat goes on, the beat goes on
Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain
La de da de de, la de da de da
And the beat goes on, yes, the beat goes on
And the beat goes on, and the beat goes on
The beat goes on, and the beat goes on

Just listen to the vocal in the bold print above part of the song. It’s almost an URGENT stressful vocal that defies description, but seemed so perfectly sang.

Might I suggest playing these back to back and listen to the BEAT, the MUSIC and the LYRICS. All are great 60’s music that we don’t think about that much. “The Beat Goes On” actually battled yet a 3rd (usually considered the 2nd) Brit Invasion of UK artists! “and the beat goes on and on and on….”

3 Comments

  1. “The Game of Love” was a song to dance to in your knee high boots and mini skirt! Great to hear it again as I had forgotten it like so many that fell by the wayside. And yet, “The Beat Goes On” was not on my list of favorites but the words were a sign things were changing in our world. Thanks for the memories and the interesting insights.

    • Hey Jules,
      Knee High Boots and Mini Skirts! Yeah! Proving once again that it wasn’t just the music that made the 60’s so great!
      Thanx for that memory!
      Rick

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