Archives: 60s music

Cinnamon Toast

By Brandon Adamson

derek cinnamon song

Like Sam the Sham and The Pharaohs’ “Little Red Riding Hood,” Derek’s hit song “Cinnamon” had a charismatic creep theme(the song was actually by Johnny Cymbal, but he released it under his younger brother’s name.) It’s a classic stalker’s anthem, about a guy who isn’t taking no for an answer. It’s never made clear whether the girl might be interested despite his arrogant display, or whether he may even just trying to convince himself to bolster his confidence. There’s a hint that rather than being a predator, he’s the one hurt by the punishment of rejection:

Sneakin down your alley way
And knockin’ on your door
Thought I had enough but I’m back for more

One can almost hear it as a Wonder Years styled inner voice encouraging him to keep trying. After all the stalk talk, he nervously knocks on her door, and she opens it, mildly annoyed. He says meekly, “Cinnamon, do you think we could maybe go out for coffee?”

“No thank you. I have to wash my hair. Maybe some other time.”

As he walks home dejectedly, he begins singing this song again to himself as some sort of defense mechanism and buildup for the next time.

Cinnamon is a pretty hot name for a 60’s suburban teenage girl, maybe even superior to Mercedes(Heather Graham) as the love interest of Corey Haim in the 1980’s film, License to Drive. I definitely empathize with the protagonist of this sexually charged song.

“Cinnamon” by Derek is one of my favorite jams of the 1960s. The lyrics are stalkerish and would trigger most millennials, but it remains to be seen whether it’s a dangerously creepy song or merely a pathetically creepy one. It’s a line fine line we walk. Take a chance and dance around it with us.

You can’t hide girl
I’m comin’ inside girl
Do what you want to
Baby I’ll let you
Might as well face it
Cinnamon you know I’m gonna get ya


Brandon Adamson is the author of “Beatnik Fascism“

They’ll Huff and They’ll Puff and They’ll Blow Your House Down

By Brandon Adamson

justforthehellofit

“What was the name of that movie we watched where the teenagers go around and do bad things and stuff that baby carriage in the trash can?” an ex girlfriend from years ago called me up to ask. She was talking about “Just For the Hell of It,” the 1968 Herschell Gordon Lewis I made her reluctantly sit through one time. For some reason it stuck out to her, and she wanted to show it to some dude she was hanging out with.

The movie itself is an interesting piece of art, basically it features scene after scene of teenagers terrorizing people just for kicks. There is a plot of course, but I’m not here to talk about the film, really. I just wanted to mention that the intro/theme song is yet another underrated classic among forgotten movies.

It’s Destruction performed by Tary Rebenar, a late 60’s early 70’s folksinger. He apparently later died of AIDS in 1989, which he was said to have contracted from a blood transfusion he received for a prior surgery for skin cancer. In the early 70’s he released an LP called Just a Dream Ago, which is hard to find.

justadreama_justadrea_101b

From that photo, he resembles the actor credited as “Steve White,” who appears in several of Lewis’ movies, usually in a musical capacity. I once thought they might be the same person, but after some research I realized Steve White is a different obscure and talented musician from that scene, who saw some success in a band called “Food” which released an album on Capitol Records called Forever is a Dream. It is very difficult to keep a lot of these things straight the way so many of these bands and actors in this era went under multiple aliases. Aside from legends like Ray Sager, most of these types seem to have disappeared without leaving much of a trace of information available.


Brandon Adamson is the author of “Beatnik Fascism“

Be My Guest

By Brandon Adamson

be my guest

Several years ago for Christmas, my girlfriend at the time gave me a copy of a 1965 British “mod” movie called “Be My Guest.” The plot is basically about a family who owns a struggling hotel, but the son’s band becomes popular and starts to draw people in. The film has a special appearance by Jerry Lee Lewis, and surprisingly features a lot of memorable music from bands like The Nashville Teens, The Niteshades, The Zephyrs, The Plebs, etc. “Be My Guest” is quite a good movie and made for a memorable Christmas in what was an innocent time for me.


Brandon Adamson is the author of “Beatnik Fascism“

The Ambushers

By Brandon Adamson

ambushers

There’s an unforgettably awesome song at the beginning of the Dean Martin/Matt Helm 60s spy film, “The Ambushers.”

“A blonde and a brunette lie in wait like injuns in the grass. You’re comin’ through the pass.
Then buster! You’re General Custer!”

The beauty of this song can only be truly experienced with the visual intro sequence from the film, but unfortunately it’s not available anywhere online without a video of the movie in it’s entirety. No sense posting that since it will probably be deleted from youtube in a week.

Signs of Age

By Brandon Adamson

jakeholmes

The first I heard of Jake Holmes when I was about 25. It was from an issue of “Ugly Things” where they reviewed his forgotten album, “The Above Ground Sound of Jake Holmes.” He’s actually most well known for having had his song “Dazed and Confused” stolen by The Yardbirds(and was later recorded by Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin after they disbanded.) They had seen Jake play it at Village Theater in Greenwich Village in 1967.

Personally I’m not really into the song “Dazed and Confused.” The tracks which have always drawn me to Holmes’ music are “You Can’t Get Love” and “Signs of Age,” particularly through his thoughtful lyrics and the way he builds up the song.

The Next Time

By Brandon Adamson

blast off girls - the big blast

“The Big Blast” was a group featured in the film “Blast Off Girls” by Herschell Gordon Lewis in 1967. “Blast Off Girls” was a low budget classic that chronicled the band’s relations with a sleazy manager “Boojie Baker” in a humorously cynical look at the music industry. One of the cast members, actor Ray Sager, later became a well known producer and is also widely recognized for his role in “The Wizard of Gore.” The film famously includes a cameo appearance by none other the Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

One of the recurring songs in the movie is The Big Blast’s signature song(in the movie) “The Next Time.” It’s quite catchy seeing as how as haven’t watched this film in almost 7 years, and it’s frequently in my head.