Timeline

 
Although "Freewheelin`" was released at the end of May 1963, it didn`t begin selling enough to register on the national pop LP chart until Peter, Paul & Mary`s version of "Blowin` in the Wind" crested in August.
 

 
Although "Freewheelin`" was released at the end of May 1963, it didn`t begin selling enough to register on the national pop LP chart until Peter, Paul & Mary`s version of "Blowin` in the Wind" crested in August.
 

 
Although "Freewheelin`" was released at the end of May 1963, it didn`t begin selling enough to register on the national pop LP chart until Peter, Paul & Mary`s version of "Blowin` in the Wind" crested in August.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Louie Louie is the rare rock & roll song whose story has merited an entire book (by Dave Marsh). Writer and original performer Richard Berry had been the uncredited bass singer on both "Riot in Cell Block #9" and "The Wallflower." His Jamaican-flavored ballad was a regional west coast hit that never charted. The Kingsmen turned it into a very popular garage-rock staple with nearly unintelligible lyrics and a crazy guitar break. The original Flip recording is hard to find. The Kingsmen`s cover completely transforms its sound and feel. Wikipedia provides more details.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
This monster single introduced The Beatles to America and served as the lead track to the LP "Meet The Beatles," which appeared in both mono and stereo editions. The mono mix of the single sounds solid at the bottom and propulsive, driven by the bass guitar, bass drum and rhythmic handclaps, with understated guitars. The stereo mix sounds bouncier, lighter, and brighter. Bass and drums are separated from guitars, giving the guitars more prominence. Paul`s bass is barely audible. As a result, the mono mix rocks a lot harder than the stereo mix does.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Bobby Bland was better known as Bobby "Blue" Bland throughout his career. After 1960, however, "Blue" was usually omitted from his name on singles releases but not from his albums. I decided to omit "Blue" in the Timeline to make searching more consistent. See this discography for details.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Phil Spector recorded this song with both The Ronettes and Darlene Love in 1963 and (wisely) decided against releasing either of them as singles. The Ronettes version appeared on their debut album late in 1964. Love`s version was never released until the CD era. Mike Stoller cut a better version with The Dixie Cups, and the result was a resounding hit.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Cover of original version by The Crickets (Buddy Holly)
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
There are two versions of this song. #1 was recorded May 1964 in London and released in the U.S. only as a single and on the 12 x 5 album. #2 was recorded November 1964 at Chess Studios in Chicago and released in the UK in January 1965 on the Stones` second UK album, and later on both the Big Hits and Hot Rocks compilations. Here the song is sequenced as version #1 but the CD source is for version #2, which I prefer.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Originally written for and performed by Nina Simone at a much slower pace than the Animals` version, this song has since been covered again by countless artists, including Joe Cocker, Elvis Costello, and Cyndi Lauper.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
According to Bruce Spizer, the song`s title is a pun on the town of Ryde, off England`s coast on the Isle of Wight. When the song was first released as a single, the movie "Help!" had yet to be named after the song that had yet to be written. Instead, the 45`s label read, "From the United Artists Release `Eight Arms To Hold You`," which was the movie`s working title.