In our latest, we celebrate some German garage gibberish: "Balla Balla", originally done by The Rainbows in 1965 (1:44). Grab a lager and listen to some Schlager ! Die zweite Version is by the American twist King Chubby Checker , aided by De Maskers from The Netherlands (37:18). Chubby retitles the song "Baby Baby Balla Balla" and adds more lyrics so it .... uh ... makes sense. The band cooks and Chubby growls ... it'll put your heart at ease! More Dutch delight comes in the guise of Pee White &...
Nov 19, 2022•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 115
Duh duh duh -- Grab your partner, it’s Louie Louie time – again!! One cover and three “soundalikes” of Richard Berry’s bartalk-ian classic. First in the parade is I. Kadez ’s Nashville version of “Louie Louie” from the portentous month of November, 1963 (2:51). We think this might be the first cover that uses the Kingsmen version as a template. Listen in to find out the mystery vocalist behind the pseudonym. Second up is the first duplicate, “12 Months Later,” by another mystery band, The Sheep ...
Nov 13, 2022•2 hr 23 min•Ep. 114
Visiting professors Bobby Beaton and John Davis of The Gruesomes are back to lecture young garageniks about the legacy, impact, and mechanics of what is, in Dr. Beaton's words, "the paramount garage experience"!! That is, of course, the song "City of People", originally heard in 1966 by The Illusions (2:15). A song all the Gruesomes hold in both scorn and esteem, which they laugh at and love in equal measure - listen to what they have to say about it! There's also a version by The Creeps from 19...
Nov 06, 2022•2 hr 32 min•Ep. 113
This Halloween we continue to howl at the moon with 5 more songs about those scary wolfmen (and wolfwomen)! We start the horrific cavalcade with "Rockin' Werewolf" by Robbie the Werewolf from 1964 (2:38). Just try and get the chorus of this fun strummin' folk number out of your head, but keep the crucifixes away while Robbie is rockin' ... wait, is that only for vampires? Our second song is a Shatnerian soliloquy on lycanthropic transformation: "Wolfman" by The Muleskinners (38:29). Listen in on...
Oct 28, 2022•2 hr 18 min•Ep. 112
This week's show is a pre-Halloween extravaganza that takes you to the Twilight Zone and points beyond (i.e., Idaho)! The Serlingesque shenanigans start with "Out of Limits" by The Marketts (1:57). The famous 4-note riff is present, along with triangle, organ, castanets, and French horn! The Marketts manage to throw the sound of Western and spy movies into the mix, too - whooo! The sinister second is a truly weird number: weird because it's either by Barry Ray OR Rich Cutcher and the Wildwoods (...
Oct 22, 2022•2 hr 20 min•Ep. 111
What do you give the podcast listener who has everything? Answer: an episode on Them 's 1966 garage hymn "I Can Only Give You Everything", which has every thang : a gravedigger riff with fuzz, overdriven organ, pounding drums, a snarling vocal performance, some wild modulation and a messed up chord change (1:51)! Ain't that enough? Of course not! A couple of months later, the co-songwriter and producer of Them's initial onslaught, Scotland's Tommy Scott waxed his own interpretation (56:53). In t...
Oct 15, 2022•2 hr 37 min•Ep. 110
In the latest episode we make sense out of nonsense, meaning we crack open three 'goofy greats' and feast on the goo inside! Back in 1956, The Chips released "Rubber Biscuit," a rockin' doo wop number with insane vocables that we find hides a serious message (1:39). Two years later, David Seville went to visit the "Witch Doctor" (58:54). We don't know if he won his crushes heart, but the squeaky-voiced Doc did give Seville one of the greatest choruses ever. Finally, in 1972 the Italian legend Ad...
Oct 08, 2022•2 hr 37 min•Ep. 109
Watch it now, watch it! We're talking about quatro versions of "Wooly Bully" this week, but we have to go back to 1962 to listen to the origins of the insanity, namely the tune "Hully Gully, Now" by Big Bo & the Arrows (1:11). The bass is incredible. The organ is incredible. The vocals (by Little Smitty)... will leave you incredulous ! Words can't capture the wildness of this wooly antecedent, but the dirty job falls to us and we get our hands and ears dirty. In 1965, Sam The Sham & The ...
Oct 01, 2022•2 hr 3 min•Ep. 108
Randy Newman 's 1970 rocker "Have You Seen My Baby" is the subject of this week's episode: the original is in a rollicking Fats Domino barrelhouse-style with RN's love-it-or-leave-it voice (0:48). The lyrics are about a deluded romantic, and the arrangement is melancholically delightful. She ain't his baby! The following year, the Roy Loney-era Flamin' Groovies waxed the track to stunning effect (56:48). Their transparently rockin' version leads us into a considered discussion of the Beatles/Sto...
Sep 25, 2022•1 hr 53 min•Ep. 107
4 of Weldon's fave girl group songs on this one! We start off with "Party Lights", a smash hit for Claudine Clark in 1962 (1:15). She wrote and sang this clever little ditty, but the word is she also played piano as well. CC begs, pleads, uses her best Lowtower and even throws a tantrum but her mama ain't letting her go to join the kids across the street. That same year, some soon-to-be-legends were also looking to get the party started: The Supremes made a minor splash on the charts with "Let M...
Sep 16, 2022•2 hr 10 min•Ep. 106
In the new episode, we make some pretty music while watching the world go by - listening to 4 versions of a classic from Nuggets helps! The original "Night Time" was done by The Strangeloves in 1965 (1:11). It's a table-topper and guitar chopper, with a cool barrelhouse piano riff, bashing drums, clever lyrics and a cool , sort of meta spoken-word section. In 1966, Swedish snotsters The Sooner or Later waxed their wild rendition (52:18). The main riff gets played by the drums (!) and the bass, w...
Sep 11, 2022•2 hr 15 min•Ep. 105
In 1962, The Isley Brothers released "Nobody But Me," a big production of upbeat braggdoccio with wild vocals, raunchy saxes, piano, and some "no, no, no"s in the middle section (1:08). The song didn't really catch on, but two years later a Mersey versh appeared courtesy of beat merchants The Mojos (34:02). Their dual vocals somewhat detract from the original's mouthy message (how can two guys be the best at the Mashed Potato? - there can be no ties in garage rock!), but our Liverpool lads subtl...
Sep 03, 2022•2 hr 18 min•Ep. 104
Mourn (or celebrate) the end of summer with these four odes to the (hot) dog days, all from 1967! Our first number is "C'mon Summer's Happening" by The Hot Dog Stand (1:52). This mysterious mob of studio musos create an unbelievably peppy little piece of commercial cotton candy, with an odd mix of funky guitar and Wonderbread vocals. Sink your teeth into something more substantial with "Long Cool Summer" by The LPTs (38:36). Another group of studio specialists, masterminded by Lou Beatty and his...
Aug 27, 2022•2 hr 9 min•Ep. 103
We keep counting down and chewing up James Miller's list of the Top 50 Canadian songs ever - in this episode we go from numbers 24 to the much-anticipated Number One song! Listen to your intrepid hosts risk their Canadian citizenship to knock some mythical Maple Leaf musos off their high horses (or mooses?)! Corey Hart impressions! 2002 women singer-songwriter anthems!! A Neil Young song sung by a (different) CAVEMAN?!?!? All this, plus we play some Canadian garage and soul classics, and add our...
Aug 20, 2022•1 hr 45 min•Ep. 102
Episode 101 features our heroes discussing James Miller's list of the top 50 Canadian songs of all time . If you're a Canuck, listen to us revise our nation's musical history! If you're not from the Great White North, then you'll hear about a host of hosers who had hits you've never hitherto heard !! What songs should move up the list, or down ? Which songs should be on that weren't? And which tunes should be off ? (Part 1 goes from 50-25).
Aug 13, 2022•1 hr 57 min•Ep. 101
After almost two years at the crease, we at In The Past: Garage Rock Podcast are proud to celebrate reaching our first century: 100 episodes. And we've never missed a week since we started! To mark this achievement, we've selected four songs to discuss our own dogged determination: two of them are 80s anthems, and two are garage rockers from the snarling 60s. The usual crucial digressions and textbook musical theory are in play. Get a delicious beverage and come celebrate 💯 with us!! Nothing's ...
Aug 07, 2022•2 hr 14 min•Ep. 100
We return to The Hollies ' 1965 tearjerker, "So Lonely" because there are so many good versions we couldn't fit in our June 19 episode! The first in part 2 is The Henchmen, who created a garage derangement of the song in 1966, with organ and cool-dude-attitude vocals (2:07) That same year, The Ashes produced a haunting folk-rock take (34:49). Sparse, subdued and Cowboy Junkies-esque, with lonesome harmonica, shaky tambourine and forlorn female vocals. The Fugue were up next in 1968: their versio...
Jul 30, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 99
A small but determined pressure group has been ... well ... pressuring us to finally talk about some obscure orchestral pop psychedelia. Worried for our lives, we capitulate and chat about J.A. Freedman 's 1969 slice of Piccadilly Sunshine, "Dance with the Man in the Teapot" (2:15). No three-chord garage rocker this! An account of a crazy costume party which throws in everything but the kitchen sink - piano/organ, trombones, oboe, bass, and Beach Boys "ba ba ba"'s! Should we have waited to do th...
Jul 24, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 98
In this episode, we chew on a sweet piece of 1966 bubblegum, "Stop! Get a Ticket" by The Clefs of Lavender Hill (1:11). People say it's Beatle-esque, but we think it's better described as Hollies-esque, The handclaps (and drumbeats) will be what you remember the most, but don't sleep on the "race for your love" lyrics or you're gonna lose your baby! In 1967, Cleveland's Statesmen paid the fare and released their version of the song (36:02). It's slower and less peppy, BUT they add organ and FUZZ...
Jul 17, 2022•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 97
In 1940, bluesman Bukka White recorded "Parchman Farm Blues," a lament about being imprisoned in the infamous Mississippi State Penitentiary (2:30). Insightful lyrics, impassioned vocals, great slide guitar, and some nice accompaniment from Washboard Sam to boot! Even though he denied it, jazzman Mose Allison adapted White's song in 1958, titling it "Parchman Farm" and giving the song a controversial punchline (43:43). His version was an unlikely dance hit amongst the British Mods, with an insis...
Jul 09, 2022•2 hr 5 min•Ep. 96
In this episode, we prescribe Buffy Sainte-Marie 's 1964 beautiful folk-drone masterpiece "Cod'ine"(1:08). It's a harrowing tale of opiate addiction, and Buffy delivers a hair-raising, frightening vocal performance that'll scare you straight. Dare we say "it's as relevant today ..."? We also discuss her immense legacy, especially her incredible appearances on Sesame Street in the 70s. The first garage verzh we present is by Matthew Moore Plus Four, who retitle the song "Codyne (She's Real)" and ...
Jul 02, 2022•2 hr 2 min•Ep. 95
Listen in this week to a textbook discussion of the process of garagification: the transmogrification of Fred Neil 's "That's The Bag I'm In" from a corny folk ditty to a titanic garage tune. Casey Anderson gets us started with the first released version of the song , way back in 1962 (5:18). A very Greenwich Village rendition, from the era represented by "Inside Llewyn Davis." In 1965, the mysteriously and awfully-named Dalek/Engam: The Blackstones rearranged the song and made it ROCK, even giv...
Jun 25, 2022•2 hr 15 min•Ep. 94
Prepare to cry, because this week's episode centers on the sad & spangly song "So Lonely", originally done by The Hollies in 1965 (1:21). A perfect pop tune! The riff is beautiful & bright, sad & sharp, but it's underpinned by heavenly harmonies and some surprisingly groovy drum fills by Bobby Elliott. The Everly Brothers essayed the number in 1966, and those Kentucky kids sing for their supper (and our tears) ... the vocals are so incandescent that you'll git a funny feeling (46:25)...
Jun 19, 2022•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 93
In this episode, we study one of the greatest rock songs of all time, "Wild Thing." The original versh is by the aptly-named Wild Ones , some New York neanderthals who recorded Chip Taylor's made-to-order tune in 1965 (1:57). Next up is The Troggs' 1966 cave-painting (44:00). True to form, we reinterpret the song by finding the sweet side of this savage number. The ocarina solo also has us pondering the pastoral aspects of the song. Textbook stuff! After the USA and the UK, let's go to Greece to...
Jun 12, 2022•2 hr 12 min•Ep. 92
Well looky here - we have The Kinks up first this week with "Who'll Be the Next In Line" - a minor hit for them in 1965 (2:02). In this under-rated rock rhumba, Ray Davies and the band inhabit the mind of a bitter pub drinker: a lurching, sorta Latin groove and vocal performance make this one of the earliest examples of musical theatre in RD's songwriting catalog. Next in line are The Knack - no, not those guys, these are some 60s freakbeaters who mod -ify the song by speeding it up and adding s...
Jun 05, 2022•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 91
In a week when Jif was being recalled in Canada, we won't be recalling this episode! Three dumb songs about our favourite legume: the peanut. Little Joe and the Thrillers start spreading the madness with "Peanuts," the nuttiest hit song of 1957 (5:22). We're crrrazy about it. There's a "twist" in our discussion of Little Joe, so listen close. Next, following up from last week's look at The One Way Street 's wild hit "We All Love Peanut Butter" is the much, much more wholesome ode to "Peanut Butt...
May 28, 2022•1 hr 54 min•Ep. 90
In this episode, we speck -ulate on the meaning of that inscrutable garage rock classic, “Little Black Egg": the song with the famous RIFF and the enigmatic lyrics ... The first in our carton is the 1965 original by The Nightcrawlers (1:44). The REAL MEANING IS FINALLY REVEALED! And it's a SHOCKER!! Goldurn! The second peep comes from The Next Five , whose 1967 version is peppy and organ-tastic, but at what cost (57:23)? Oh, bother! The third egg in our omelette features those rockin’ seminarian...
May 21, 2022•2 hr 21 min•Ep. 89
In this episode, we present possibly the most sophisticated song we've ever discussed, the Burt Bacharach/Hal David weeper, "Walk on By." And in case you think we've left the garage for the piano lounge, don't you worry, the 60s kids have you covered . The first step, though, is taken by the inimitable Dionne Warwick and the 1964 original (2:25). A restrained, elegant vocal performance from a woman who hasn't set foot in a car-hole in over 50 years, and even strings and TWO grand pianos can't ma...
May 14, 2022•2 hr 14 min•Ep. 88
Our Mother's Day special episode features 4 versions of a song only a mother could hate - Bo Diddley 's 1964 putdown, "Mama, Keep Your Big Mouth Shut." The original has a great riff, a funky strut, vibrato on the vocals (Bo is a way underrated singer), and overall, the tremendous tremulous sound you know from Bo (1:33). The next year, The Pretty Things make the song less funky but still smelly, with some frantic rhythm strum, some strident singing, and a rave-up section in the middle (50:14). Fr...
May 07, 2022•1 hr 45 min•Ep. 87
Shakespeare famously wrote of the Seven Ages of Man, well, we play four songs from the 60s about "life" and get even more meaning! Hear all about the youthful rake described in The Animals ' 1965 hit, "It's My Life" (2:12) Then the shaggy dog story of Wil Bielers and his vriends in Q65 's "The Life I Live" (41:56). The Henchmen point out the tautology at the heart of the question: "What is life?" in their 1966er, "Livin'" (1:22:40). And finally, the whole thing devolves into nihilism & insan...
Apr 30, 2022•2 hr 21 min•Ep. 86
