What If Something’s On TV And Never Shown Again ? (The Village Square)

“The Village Square” was a US TV show which originally aired out of Charleston, South Carolina & was syndicated across the country between 1965-68. A local band was renamed the Villagers & they covered the Top 40 hits of the day. Suited & booted for the middle of the road, Mod casual, with go-go dancers, for the British Invasion then kaftanned-up for the Summer of Love, everything they did had, at least, energy. It is the surviving clips of the guest artists, a chance to see quality, colour clips of acts that didn’t usually get star treatment, which are of most interest.

 

 

The Tams formed in Atlanta, Georgia in 1960 & 2 years later an R&B hit “Untie Me” scored them a deal with ABC-Paramount. That first hit was written by fellow Atlantan Joe South. He & another local songwriter, Ray Whitley, provided the material to keep their name in the frame through the rest of the decade. Here from 1966, in living colour they perform “What Kind of Fool (Do You Think I Am)”, a Top 10 record in 1964. The label had used FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama for a Tommy Roe hit & brought the Tams around to get this new sound. It’s great to see such a good quality clip of the guys, fronted by gravel-voiced Joseph Pope, doing their thing. It’s even greater, for me anyway, to see the second song. “Shelter”, their current 45 at the time, a dynamic Soul Stomper, written by Joe South & my favourite track by a group who made many fine records.

 

Over in the UK the Tams were Northern Soul darlings, a scene which kept its favourites close, long after their expected shelf life. In 1970 a two year old 45 “Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy” got a wider hearing. It’s a surprise that it only made #32 on the chart because everyone knows that one. The following year “Hey Girl Don’t Bother Me”, recorded in 1964 & still a floor-filler, went to #1. The Tams crossed the Atlantic, were on “Top of the Pops” & were a big deal. The group continued to perform & in 1987 had a UK hit with “There Ain’t Nothing Like Shaggin'” which is apparently a dance. It means something else in British so was banned by  the BBC !

 

 

The US R&B charts of the early 1960 were a rich seam of material for the British Beat Boomers. I guess cultural appropriation was not yet a thing so the 3 Motown tracks on “With the Beatles” were a gateway to the delights coming out of Detroit. Same with Manfred Mann’s “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” & the Exciters. There are many examples, it’s a list. The third single by Manchester’s Hollies, their first Top 10 hit, was a rush of harmonious Mersey Sound which pointed me towards the original recording from way, way back in the olden days, 1960.

 

“Stay” by Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs is such a  sure fire smash. It’s the sound of Doo-Wop moving into Soul. In 1960 the Drifters were hitting big adapting the Brazilian baion rhythm to R&B & “Stay” has a laid-back Caribbean feel. South Carolina beach music…it’s a thing. In 1958 he group, as the Gladiolas had recorded Maurice’s “Little Darlin'”, another individual vocal group song which was a bigger hit for the Diamonds. I had that record in a pile of 78 rpm discs (ask your grandma) that came my way & loved it when I was a kid.

 

The group are known as one-hit wonders but the second song here eventually earned them a gold record. There were, justifiably, high hopes for “May I”, written by Maurice, produced by the great Allen Toussaint & his partner Marshall Sehorn. Unfortunately Vee Jay went bankrupt just before the record’s release & it didn’t receive the promotion it deserved. “May I” is another good one, making use of the four voices & featuring the trademark Zodiacs’ falsetto. Once again, praise Jah for the Y-tube.

 

 

Here, in one clip, we have the duality of the Lemon Pipers, a band formed at college in Oxford Ohio. They signed with Buddah, a new label run by 24 year old Neil Bogart who had Captain Beefheart & Melanie on the roster but whose big idea was to grab hit Bubblegum Pop singles with the likes of 1910 Fruitgum Co & Ohio Express. Bubblegum for all its attractions (& there are many) relied upon an assembly line of writers & producers making ready-rolled records for faceless, or cartoon, groups. The Lemon Pipers were for real, they wrote their own songs. Trouble was that their debut single failed to sell & Buddah made them toe the company line.

 

So here they are promoting their second single “Green Tambourine” provided by staff writers Paul Leka & Shelley Pinz. This Pop-Psychedelia, more Pop than Psych despite the sitar, was catching on after Strawberry Alarm Clock’s “Incense & Peppermints” & “…Tambourine” succeeded John Fred’s “Judy In Disguise” at the top of the charts. They also perform the B-side “No Help From Me”, written by keyboard player Bill Nave, a bluesy Psych-Rocker in the style of the Blues Magoos or Jefferson Airplane. The success of the single meant that the Pipers were knackered though weren’t they?

 

The debut LP was a real mix, 5 Leka/Pinz songs, the others, including the 9-minute “Through With You”, was from the band. The follow up single was “Rice Is Nice” & it was no “Yummy, Yummy,Yummy”, it really did suck the big one. There was another LP, another 50/50 deal & the Pipers played on bills with the Heavy bands of the day. Unfortunately cod-psych lyrics like “To the yellow ball of butter where the clouds are as fluffy as a parachute sail” (“Jelly Jungle of Orange Marmalade-lade-lade-lade-lade”) did tend to get held against the band with the one big Pop hit & perhaps deservedly so.