Beech Tree News Network

This week, I’ll bring you some musical history and facts you might not have known. I learned these first few from listening to Little Steven’s Underground Garage, Sirius XM channel 21.  

“River Deep-Mountain High” by Ike and Tina Turner was released in 1966.  The song stalled at #84 on the US Billboard Hot 100 despite being hailed as a masterpiece and peaking at #3 in the UK.  It’s failure in the United States is generally attributed to a combination of radio programming segregation, racial politics, and a sabotaged promotional campaign.  It was deemed too black for white radio and too white for black radio.  Therefore, the song had no dedicated market at the time.

The record, produced by Phil Spector using his “Wall of Sound” technique, was viewed with jealousy by other artists and DJ’s.  Some radio consultants and record industry figures conspired to prevent the song from succeeding, as they were threatened by Spector’s ambition.  Some analysts suggest that, in 1966, the song was out of step with the burgeoning, more politically charged Black Power movement, as the sound felt too reminiscent of an older, polished production style.

Although only Tina Turner sang on the record, the “Ike & Tina” brand was already heavily established as R&B/Blues, which made it harder for the mainstream white pop radio to embrace the song.  Phil Spector was so confident the song would be a hit that when it stalled, he was crushed.  Disappointed by its poor American performance, he withdrew from the music industry for two years.  The single was later re-released and covered by other acts, gaining its reputation as one of the greatest songs of all time, eventually being inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Chuck Barris wrote the Freddie Cannon song “Palisades Park”.  Yes, the same Chuck Barris who created, produced and hosted game shows The Dating Game and Newlywed Game for ABC and the Gong Show for NBC.  He also wrote three novels and four memoirs.  (LSUG and Google).

Pop group The Carpenters (1981) and country group Alabama (1986) both recorded versions of the song “Touch Me When We’re Dancing.  While Richard and the late Karen Carpenter took their version to #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, their 15th and final chart topper there.  The song was originally recorded by a group named Bama (which included the song’s writers Terry Skinner and J.L. Wallace in 1979. Mickey Gilley and Charly McClain also covered the song in 1984.

This final fact is one I learned on Little Steven’s Underground Garage the morning I typed this (4-1) but it’s no April Fool’s joke.  The rockabilly song “Crazy Legs” by Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps was co-written by the late, great Jerry Reed.  Thanks for reading and I’ll be back next week!