All of the country tunes I posted above were released in 1968, which was a big year for country music breaking into the American mainstream. Also, in 1968, the Byrds released Sweetheart of the Rodeo, then in '69 Bob Dylan's epochal Nashville Skyline came out. Lately I've found a deeper appreciation for country music, and its roots and history. That's what I've been listening to a lot lately, and all for a class I'm in that focuses on the music of the Ameircan sixties. We did a unit on Motown, too, and here's that playlist.
It was neat, reading the revolutionary works of LeRoi Jones and then thinking about, comparing/contrasting that stuff to the double meanings found within the lyrics of the Motown tunes. particularly with respect to Martha and the Vandellas' music. Dancing in the Street: upbeat party tune or call to consciousness-raising and revolutionary action? Can you dig it?
The Marvelettes, "Please Mr. Postman" (1961)
Martha and the Vandellas, "Dancing in the Street" (1964)
The Temptations, "My Girl" (1964)
Diana Ross and the Supremes, "Stop! in the Name of Love" (1965)
Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, "Tracks of My Tears" (1965)
Stevie Wonder, "Signed Sealed Delivered I'm Yours" (1970)
Gladys Knight and the Pips, "Heard It Through the Grapevine" (1967)
The Temptations, "Just My Imagination" (1971)
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, "Tears of a Clown" (1967)
