Tributes to 50s Rock’n’Roll and Doo Wop by Rockers form the late 60s and early 70s (A List)

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Some of ‘em were great, others terrible. Coincided with the Rock’n’Roll revival (AKA “When Oldies Really Became Oldies”) Usually came one per album, a tribute the good ol’ days. Did this start with Sha Na Na? CCR? Flash Cadillac? Looking for originals as opposed to covers. Getting started:

David Bowie: Drive-In Saturday
Mott The Hoople: The Golden Age of Rock’n’Roll
Sir Douglas Quintet: She’s Huggin’ You, But She’s Lookin’ At Me
Elton John: Crocodile Rock
Creedence: Lookin’ Out My Backdoor
MC5: Let Me Try
Velvet Underground: I Found A Reason
Byrds: Tunnel of Love
Troggs: Everything’s Funny
Steppenwolf: Berry Rides Again
Canned Heat & Little Richard: Rockin’ With the King
The Move: California Man (Wizzard to thread?)

― Orgy of Pragmatism (Charles McCain), Friday, 13 October 2006 16:56 (nineteen years ago)

I don't know about "Let Me Try." That's kind of more of a sixties soul sound so wouldn't have been too retro by 1970.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Friday, 13 October 2006 17:01 (nineteen years ago)

Trying to find a good Brownsville Station choice. Maybe "Rock with the Music" - leadoff track on the 2nd album.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Friday, 13 October 2006 17:04 (nineteen years ago)

Ruben and the Jets to thread!

― Ruud Comes to Haarvest (Ken L), Friday, 13 October 2006 17:11 (nineteen years ago)

Seek: Rubettes, "Sugar Baby Love," I think from 1974.

Possibly first of the lot: Cat Mother & the All Night News Boys, "Good Time Rock & Roll" (1969), produced by Jimi Hendrix.

― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Friday, 13 October 2006 17:11 (nineteen years ago)

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/matchgame/3x5pictures/JonBauman2.jpg

― PappaWheelie: Giving out breaks to the needy since September 25th, 2006 (PappaWh, Friday, 13 October 2006 17:25 (nineteen years ago)

HACKAMORE BRICK - "RADIO!!!"

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Friday, 13 October 2006 17:26 (nineteen years ago)

The Beatles, "Oh!Darlin"

― Ruud Comes to Haarvest (Ken L), Friday, 13 October 2006 17:36 (nineteen years ago)

"Oh! Darling"

― Ruud Comes to Haarvest (Ken L), Friday, 13 October 2006 17:37 (nineteen years ago)

Todd Rundgren - "Baby Let's Swing"

― hank (hank s), Friday, 13 October 2006 17:54 (nineteen years ago)

Most early 10CC fits this bill..i.e. "Rubber Bullets"

― Radio Free Albemuth (DocMartensBoots), Friday, 13 October 2006 17:55 (nineteen years ago)

Led Zeppelin's "D'yer Mak'er" is as much doo wop as it is reggae, in my 'humble opinion...

― hank (hank s), Friday, 13 October 2006 18:10 (nineteen years ago)

my thread was better:

revisionist doo-wop

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Friday, 13 October 2006 19:03 (nineteen years ago)

Well, what about Queen's "Thing Called Love"?

― The Mad Puffin (The Mad Puffin), Friday, 13 October 2006 19:15 (nineteen years ago)

my thread was better

I don't think so. Yours was about parody and it doesn't seem like that many interesting examples came up. It's weird that Captain Beefheart's "I'm Glad" was mentioned. The Magic Band could do all the Howlin' Wolf-inspired tunes in the world, but something more like an R&B ballad gets singled out for some reason. I think it was all the same.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Friday, 13 October 2006 19:56 (nineteen years ago)

blue oyster cult "true confessions"

― dave q (listerine), Friday, 13 October 2006 20:19 (nineteen years ago)

British glam stuff like Gary Glitter and Mud.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Friday, 13 October 2006 20:24 (nineteen years ago)

earl vince & the valiants, "somebody's gonna get their head kicked in tonight"
kinks, " jack the idiot dunce"
bruce springsteen, "she's the one"

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Friday, 13 October 2006 20:45 (nineteen years ago)

Hank OTM -- the lyric sheet even asks "Whatever happened to Rosie and the Originals?"

"True Confessions" = food for thought.

― A Radio Picture (Rrrickey), Friday, 13 October 2006 20:58 (nineteen years ago)

Oh -- "Rip This Joint" and "Turd on the Run."

― A Radio Picture (Rrrickey), Friday, 13 October 2006 21:05 (nineteen years ago)

Billy Joel's whole album Innocent Man, it's from '83 though.

― graf cycliz (graf cycliz), Friday, 13 October 2006 22:37 (nineteen years ago)

I wouldn't consider CCR, Springsteen, the Sir Douglas Quintet and Brownsville Station for this thread, because those artists were all fifties-influenced - it wasn't like they were doing a campy oldies tribute.

That was the eighties and O.O.P. asked about oldies tributes from the seventies.

― Rev. Hoodoo (Rev. Hoodoo), Friday, 13 October 2006 22:51 (nineteen years ago)

...not that I'm gonna tell Orgy how to start a thread, but somehow those CCR and SDQ songs don't feel right next to "California Man" (a good song, BTW) and "Crocodile Rock."

― Rev. Hoodoo (Rev. Hoodoo), Friday, 13 October 2006 22:52 (nineteen years ago)

Wasn't specified that they needed to be especially campy, though. Plus, where do you draw the line?

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Friday, 13 October 2006 22:56 (nineteen years ago)

TIM ELLISON:
Doug Sahm wasn't going for an oldies effect when he sang "She's Huggin' You, But She's Lookin' At Me" - he was just doing a classic slow-grind like he used to do playing in bands in Texas in the fifties. He was looking back and paying tribute, yes, but it wasn't like "Hey Kids, Let's Put On Our Gold-Lame Jackets And Sing Some Of Those Moldy Goldies At The Hop!"

Tim, you were asking where I draw the line? Right about here:
_____________________________________________________________________

Now, Frank Zappa was only one year older than Doug and he too played in rock & roll bands in the fifties in East L.A., yet everytime HE recorded something in that vein, it sure as hell came off one step removed from Sha Na Na-ville.

― Rev. Hoodoo (Rev. Hoodoo), Friday, 13 October 2006 23:25 (nineteen years ago)

is reuben and the jets any good?

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Friday, 13 October 2006 23:44 (nineteen years ago)

Well, maybe Doug Sahm is an exception. But I don't see how you can say that CCR is entirely free of camp. Brownsville Station were certainly kind of campy.

yet everytime HE recorded something in that vein, it sure as hell came off one step removed from Sha Na Na-ville.

I don't think that's true. What about some of the covers on Weasels Ripped My Flesh and Burnt Weeny Sandwich?

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Saturday, 14 October 2006 00:22 (nineteen years ago)

Agree with "D'Yer Maker", also "Rock n Roll", not to mention overtly covering stuff like "Hello Mary Lou" in the middle of "Whole Lotta Love" when playing live.

dave: What do you think of "Debbie Denise"?

― Sundar (sundar), Saturday, 14 October 2006 00:27 (nineteen years ago)

I was just considering starting a thread for 50s/Doowop-style melodies interpolated in other contexts (i.e. Freddie Fender "Dry Your Tears," Roky Erickson "Starry Eyes").

This & Amateurist's threads ought to get me my fix though.

― Hoosteen (Hoosteen), Saturday, 14 October 2006 00:35 (nineteen years ago)

there are really too many to mention.

― scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 14 October 2006 03:21 (nineteen years ago)

My favorites are 10cc - Donna and Frank Zappa - WPLJ

― Rat Nasty (ratnasty), Saturday, 14 October 2006 06:09 (nineteen years ago)

to me, that album just sounded a little too tongue-in-cheek. the only songs i like on that album are "no. no. no." and "jelly roll gum drop."

They, too, played rock & roll in the pre-Beatles era (as the Blue Velvets). Those guys had serious swamp-rock ROOTS. There is nothing about their music that suggests the malt shop on HAPPY DAYS.

Yeah, there was some wiseguy humor involved, but again, they seemed a little too involved with the shit to sound like they were spoofin' it. Even that heavy-metal version of "Rumble" sounded like it was done with affection.

never heard WEASELS, but as far as the two oldies covers on SANDWICH...the four deuces did a better "WPLJ," while "valarie" just flat out doesnt convince me.

― Rev. Hoodoo (Rev. Hoodoo), Saturday, 14 October 2006 06:36 (nineteen years ago)

no one said "American Pie" or "Life is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)" yet?

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Saturday, 14 October 2006 06:38 (nineteen years ago)

somehow or another the site deleted the questions i was responding to last time, so in order:

(a) "Is Zappa's RUBEN & THE JETS album any good?"
(b) "I don't see how you can say CCR is entirely free of camp."
(c) "Brownsville Station were certainly kind of campy."
(d) "What about Zappa's oldies covers on WEASELS RIPPED MY FLESH and BURNT WEENY SANDWICH?"

― Rev. Hoodoo (Rev. Hoodoo), Saturday, 14 October 2006 06:41 (nineteen years ago)

Just for clarity re. CCR, I was talking specifically about "Down on the Corner" maybe being a little campy - not nec. the band in general.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Monday, 16 October 2006 23:18 (nineteen years ago)

Random thoughts:

I probably should have clarified my question. I'm not really concerned about the quality of the songs, or whether they were campy or not. I just wanted to help start a list of original tracks that tried to recapture the essence of early rock and doo wop.

It does go without saying that some of the artists mentioned by others and myself were seriously 50s influenced. The songs I picked were the just first ones to come to mind. I do admit it’s a definite mix of trash & treasure.

I had read somewhere that “Lookin’ Out My Backdoor” was a tribute to the Sun sound. That’s why I picked it.

Has the proper version of Reuben & The Jets ever come out on cd? I thought Zappa’s horrid 80s remix was the only available version.

BTW, Amateur(ist)’s thread is pretty good. Can’t believe I missed it the first time around.

― Orgy of Pragmatism (Charles McCain), Wednesday, 18 October 2006 18:11 (nineteen years ago)

Has the proper version of Reuben & The Jets ever come out on cd?

I don't think it has. The version on iTunes is the remade one. "Jelly Roll Gum Drop" is such a great track.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Wednesday, 18 October 2006 18:22 (nineteen years ago)

"Debbie Denise" is a good pick, as is "True Confessions"...neither one is obviously indebted to 50's era rock, but I can see both done as straight-up doo wop, no problem...

― hank (hank s), Wednesday, 18 October 2006 18:23 (nineteen years ago)

Huh, well the version that was on iTunes, anyway. Zappa stuff seems to have been pulled. (xp)

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Wednesday, 18 October 2006 18:24 (nineteen years ago)

eleven years pass...

Humble Pie: "Red Neck Jump"

― Ubering With The King (C. Grisso/McCain), Thursday, 2 August 2018 19:22 (seven years ago)

Pete Wingfield's "Eighteen With A Bullet"

― Real Compton City G, Thursday, 2 August 2018 23:50 (seven years ago)

seven months pass...

Brinsley Schwarz: "Down In The Dive"

― a large tuna called “Justice” (C. Grisso/McCain), Thursday, 28 March 2019 06:15 (seven years ago)

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