HEY HYPE MACHINE! SUCK ON THIS!

If anyone ever needed an indication that a gazillion music choices available at the click of a finger is not necessarily better, all they'd have to do is take a look at the chart above, from the KRLA Beat in May of 1966. Keep in mind, this chart is for an AM radio station, something you could tune into with the cheapest possible audio equipment. Yeah, you've got some regular everyday chart busters on there, but what chart busters they were. The Stones, James Brown, Sam and Dave, a Phil Spector produced "River Deep Mountain High" by Ike & Tina Turner, along with lighter weight stuff. Good shit, I think you'd agree. But, holy deep tracks Batman, look closer, there's a pre-Pet Sounds "Caroline No" credited to just Brian Wilson, and at number 7, Love's "My Little Red Book". Jimmy Smith? Jimmy Smith! His "Got My Mojo Workin'" is climbing, from #32 to #27, making room for a new entry at #30, Captain Beefheart's "Diddy Wah Diddy". Lest you think it's heavily weighted toward California groups, what you don't see in that cropped version is another version of "Diddy Wah Diddy" at #34, by the Remains, from Boston

This chart came from a scanned copy of the KRLA Beat, which you can see in detail, via a pdf, at this page. You'll want to check this particular issue, there's a full page collage of the Exploding Plastic Inevitable at the Hollywood club, The Trip. No photos of the Velvets (Nico's in one), but lots of interesting quotes about the event. Barry "Eve of Destruction" McGuire says "The Velvet Underground should go back underground and practice". Ryan O'Neal, who is also seen doing what appears to be the robot, says "I'm glad I have short hair". Oh jeez, we are thankful as hell. Glad you could make it.

Do yourself a favor. Bookmark this page. There's over thirty issues. Budget a bunch of time. Click on the small images to open pdfs. This shit is rich.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~ 

Listen:

Love - My Little Red Book mp3 at DK Presents

Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band - Diddy Wah Diddy mp3 at LT Real Estate (?)
Jimmy Smith - Got My Mojo Workin' (Pts 1 & 2) (streaming) at YouTube
Visit:
KRLA Beat Archive  Click on the small images to open pdfs.