Skip to Main Content

Roots and Rhythms
Wednesday October 15th, 2014 with Bruce Walton
Bert Berns

Phil Spector was the supernova producer of the 1960's, but Bert Berns was a writer-producer on the same level as Spector, Lieber & Stoller and Holland-Dozier-Holland, for his impact on the soul and rock music of the early and mid-'60's.
You Can't Love 'Em All (1963 Atlantic)
Mel Torme - The Bert Berns Story - Twist & Shout, 1960-1964
Two big hits and some precursors and derivatives
My Girl Sloopy (1964 Atlantic)
The Vibrations - Twist & Shout
Hang On Sloopy (1965 Immediate)
The McCoys - The Bert Berns Story: Mr. Success, 1964-1967
Killer Joe (1962 Scepter)
The Rocky Fellers - Twist & Shout
Twist & Shout (1962 Wand)
The Isley Brothers - Twist & Shout
Hold On Baby (1962 Symbol)
The Hockadays - Twist & Shout
a small taste of some of the great soul music, by both major stars and lesser lights, produced by Bert Burns
It Was Easier To Hurt Her (1965 United Artists)
Garnet Mimms - Mr. Success
I Went Out With My Baby Tonight (1965 Decca)
Moses K & The Prophets - Mr. Success
I'll Be A Liar (1963 Jubilee)
Betty Harris - Twist & Shout
Everybody Needs Somebody To Love (1964 Atlantic)
Solomon Burke - Mr. Success
Piece Of My Heart (1967 Shout)
Erma Franklin - Mr. Success
I Got To Go Back (& Watch That Little Girl Dance) (1967 Atlantic)
Otis Redding - Mr. Success
some white pop and rock (although even early Van Morrison is difficult to categorize in simple terms like "rock")
Cherry, Cherry (1966 Bang)
Neil Diamond - Best
Baby Let Me Take You Home (1964 Keetch)
The Mustangs (Bert Berns) - Twist & Shout
Here Comes The Night (1965 Parrot)
Them - The Angry Young Them
One more from Van Morrison's Bang sessions of 1967 - a song that, sonically, looks back to Blonde On Blonde and ahead to Astral Weeks
Joe Harper Saturday Morning (1967 Bang)
Van Morrison - The Bang Masters
Interactive CKCU
Dave Aardvark (host)
Good one Bruce!

2:19 PM, October 16th, 2014
Sonia
I really enjoyed it!

2:46 PM, October 16th, 2014
Lloyd Smiley
Great show! I'm currently reading Joel Selvin's biography of Burns ("Here Comes the Night: The Dark Soul of Bert Burns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm & Blues"). A good read. Also, I've been covering Van's 'Joe Harper' for about as long as I've been playing guitar, so it's good to hear that on the radio too!

1:05 PM, October 18th, 2014
Comments on this playlist have closed.