12/8 and 6/8 time songs: part 3, 1964-1978 – “The Warmth of the Sun” to “Good Timin’”

12/8 and 6/8 time songs: part 3, 1964-1978 – “The Warmth of the Sun” to “Good Timin'”

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Selected 12/8 and 6/8 time* popular songs and recordings, part 3, 1964-1978:

1964 – The Warmth of the Sun
1965 – Didn’t Want to Have to Do It, It’s Gonna Take a Miracle, Unchained Melody (Righteous Brothers version), Yes, I’m Ready
1966 – Please Stay (The Cryin’ Shames version)
1967 – I’ve Gotta Be Me, What a Wonderful World
1969 – Hot Fun in the Summertime
1970 – Colour My World
1973 – Sail On, Sailor
1974 – Good Timin’ (unfinished version)
1976 – Always and Forever
1978 – Good Timin’

For items in the list in which a specific recording of a song is indicated, in each case this marks the first recording of the song in 12/8 or 6/8 time that I’ve identified. For all other songs in the list, the original recording is in 12/8 or 6/8 time.

This is the third part of a series in which each part features a portion of the recordings listed in the page “Earth Angel” to “Good Timin’”: doc’s pick of 12/8 and 6/8 time songs, 1954-1978. See also parts 1 and 2 of the series:

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1964

The Warmth of the Sun (Brian Wilson, Mike Love) — recorded on 1 and 8 January 1964, and released in March on the Beach Boys’ fifth studio album, Shut Down Volume 2, Capitol Records ST 2027 (also ST-2027) — On 26 October 1964 it was issued on the single Capitol 5306, as the B-side of “Dance, Dance, Dance,” and reached #8 on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart.

Read “The Story Behind The Beach Boys’ Classic The Warmth of the Sun” at forgottenhits.com.

1965

Didn’t Want to Have to Do It (John Sebastian)

See also our feature page on the song: Didn’t Want to Have to Do It.

The Lovin’ Spoonful — recorded in 1965, and released as track 2, side two of the Lovin’ Spoonful LP Daydream, Kama Sutra ‎KLPS-8051, KLPS8051 (stereo), in March 1966

It’s Gonna Take a Miracle (Randazzo, Weinstein, Stallman)

The Royalettes — issued in June 1965 on the single MGM K 13366 (also K13366), b/w “Out of Sight Out of Mind” (Weinstein, Randazzo)

The rhythm track(s), the melody, and the harmonizing “whoo” back vocals all contain striking similarities to those of the recording of “Cry Baby Cry” (Morris Bailey, Jr.) by the Angels, which had been issued almost 3 1/2 years earlier.

Unchained Melody (m. Alex North w. Hy Zaret) — Righteous Brothers version, performed solo by Bobby Hatfield

See also our feature page on the song: Unchained Melody.

(below) live, c. 1965

Yes, I’m Ready (Barbara Mason)

See our feature page: Yes, I’m Ready.

Barbara Mason

issued 19 March 1965 on the single Arctic 105, b/w “Keep Him” (B. Mason); peak singles chart positions: #2, R&B; #5, Hot 100 — I’ve yet to find any information on the uncredited arrangement and production of the recording, except for the label credit “A Dynodynamic Production.”

lip-sync performance, c. 1965

1966

Please Stay (m. Burt Bacharach, w. Bob Hilliard) — first recorded by The Drifters, 1961; see the page Burt Bacharach and Bob Hilliard: selected songs 1960-62 and 1965 for a selection of recordings of the song

The Cryin’ Shames — live 1966 performance on French TV

1967

I’ve Gotta Be Me (Walter Marks)

from Wikipedia:

“I’ve Gotta Be Me” is a popular song that appeared in the Broadway musical Golden Rainbow, which starred Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé. The musical opened in New York City at the Shubert Theatre on February 4, 1968, and closed just under a year later, on January 11, 1969. The music and lyrics for the musical were composed and written by Walter Marks in 1967; the production featured a book by Ernest Kinoy.

Steve Lawrence — issued in December 1967 on the single Calendar 63-1001, b/w “Life’s a Gamble” (Marks)

Sammy Davis, Jr. — issued in October 1968 on the single Reprise 0779, b/w “Bein’ Natural Bein’ Me”

Despite the “I’ve” in the title, Sammy always sang the title phrase as “I gotta be me.”

What a Wonderful World (George David Weiss, Bob Thiele)

from Wikipedia:

George Weiss recounts in the book Off the Record: Songwriters on Songwriting by Graham Nash that he wrote the song specifically for Louis Armstrong. Weiss was inspired by Armstrong’s ability to bring people of different races together.

Because he was gigging at the Tropicana Hotel, Armstrong recorded the song in Las Vegas at Bill Porter’s United Recording studio. The session was scheduled to follow Armstrong’s midnight show, and by 2 am the musicians were settled and tape was rolling. Arranger Artie Butler was there with songwriters Weiss and Theile, and Armstrong was in the studio singing with the orchestra. Armstrong had recently signed to ABC Records, and ABC president Larry Newton showed up to photograph Armstrong. Newton wanted a swingy pop song like “Hello, Dolly!“, a big hit for Armstrong when he was with Kapp Records, so when Newton heard the slow pace of “What a Wonderful World”, he tried to stop the session. Newton was locked out of the studio for his disruption, but a second problem arose: nearby freight train whistles interrupted the session twice, forcing the recording to start over. Armstrong shook his head and laughed off the distractions, keeping his composure. The session ended around 6 am, going longer than expected. To make sure the orchestra members were paid extra for their overtime, Armstrong accepted only $250 musicians union scale for his work.^[2]

Louis Armstrong All Stars – issued in September 1967 on the single ABC 45-10982, b/w “Cabaret”

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Louis Armstrong All Stars – taped on 2 July 1968 at Shepherds Bush Studios, London (BBC)

Louis Armstrong (vocal), Tyree Glenn (trombone), Joe Muranyi (clarinet), Marty Napoleon (piano), Buddy Catlett (bass), Danny Barcelona (drums)

1969

Hot Fun in the Summertime (Sly Stone)

Sly and the Family Stone

issued 21 July 1969 on the single Epic 5-10497, b/w “Fun”; also included on the 1970 Greatest Hits LP

1970

Colour My World (James Pankow)

from Wikipedia:

“Colour My World” is a song written by American musician James Pankow, one of the founding members of the rock/jazz fusion band Chicago. Part of Pankow’s “Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon” song cycle/suite, it was recorded for their second album Chicago, also called Chicago II (1970). Terry Kath sings the lead vocal, and Walter Parazaider performs the memorable flute solo.^[1]

The song was initially released as the B-side to “Make Me Smile” in March 1970.^[2] It was re-released in June 1971 as the B-side to the re-release of “Beginnings“;^[2] this second single reached No. 7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.^[2]^[3]

Chicago

11 February 1977 concert, Amsterdam

1973

Sail On, Sailor (Brian Wilson, Ray Kennedy, Tandyn Almer, Jack Rieley, and Van Dyke Parks)

The Beach Boys — recorded on 28 November 1972 at Village Recorders, Santa Monica, CA; included as the first track on the 1973 album Holland, Brother/Reprise Records MS 2118, released on 8 January 1973; also issued in February 1973 on the single Brother/Reprise Records REP 1138, b/w “Without You”

1974

Good Timin’ (Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson) – unfinished 1974 recording

Beach Boys

1976

Always and Forever (Rod Temperton)

Heat Wave — (album version) included on the 1976 album Too Hot to Handle, (UK) GTO GTLP 013

1977 singles:

(UK) GTO GT 236, c/w “Mind Blowing Decisions” (Extended Remix Version) — issued on 27 October 1977
(US) Epic 8-50490, b/w “Super Soul Sister” — issued in December 1977 (3 December, according to Wikipedia)

live performance for the German music televison series Musikladen, c. 1977

watch here; presently unavailable for embedding

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TOTP, 16 November 1978

1978

Good Timin’ (Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson) – recording dates (from Wikipedia): April 29 / November 2, 1974; December 13, 1978

Beach Boys — included on the album L.A. (Light Album), (US) Caribou JZ 35752, released on 19 March 1979; also issued 17 April 1979 on the single Caribou ZS8 9029, b/w “Love Surrounds Me”

The Beach Boys – c. 1980(?)

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* selected articles, forum threads, and videos on 12/8 and 6/8 time:

counting time

12/8 Like 4/4 but each beat is divided into three eighth notes… (YouTube)
How to: count out triplet time signatures by Guitar Techniques, January 17, 2012 (@musicradar.com)
Should I count aloud to 12 in 12/8 time? Or count aloud to 6 in each measure? (@wyzant.com)

6/8 vs. 12/8 time

Difference between 6/8 and 12/8? (@reddit.com)
How to differentiate between 12/8 vs 6/8 timing (or hemiola) – (@music.stackexchange.com)
6/8 vs 12/8 (forum thread @drumchat.com)
Is the song “House of the Rising Sun” in 6/8 time or 4/4 time? Why is there a controversy over this question? Isn’t the answer definitive? (@Quora.com) — includes discussion on 6/8 vs. 12/8 time
- from popular post by Curtis Lindsay, pianist, composer: “I have seen printed arrangements in 4/4, with The Animals’ guitar strumming notated as triplets; I’ve also seen it in 6/8 and, less often, in 12/8 — which is actually the most logical choice to my mind, given the phrase structure, harmonic rhythm, and typical groove family.”