Listen: 5-10-15-20 (25-30 Years Of Love) / The Presidents
5-10-15-20

Given I’d previously owned only Dennis Coffey and Bill Withers records on Sussex, I assumed the best when this came along. Turns out it’s a one listen song, simple.

Seemed like no time passed before the record was literally all over the air. You almost couldn’t escape it. Logically both the Top 40′s and the RnB locals were playing it, but so too were the college stations. Everyone loved it, hands down. For me, just knowing a Sussex single was spinning on some 16″ industrial Gates radio station turntable made it sound that much better.

Within a few years though, producer Van McCoy got tarnished with the disco curse, simply for having too big of a hit, ‘The Hustle’. But truth be told, the fellow wrote some perfect songs: ‘Baby I’m Yours’ for Barbara Lewis, ‘Getting Mighty Crowded’ by Betty Everett, ‘You’re Gonna Make Me Love You’, the Northern Soul holy grail recorded by Sandi Sheldon and ‘I Get the Sweetest Feeling’ for Jackie Wilson.

Listen: The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss) / Betty Everett
The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss) / Betty Everett

Seems like a ton of people have covered this. Cher comes to mind. A perfect song for her. She could sing the phone book though, and pretty much has.

First things first. Betty Everett did the original and had her biggest solo hit with it too (#6 in ’64). ‘The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss)’ as it’s also known, was a soul/girl group staple in ’64. I recall someone, maybe The Chiffons, doing it on SHINDIG. As ubiquitous then on US radio as Linda Lewis (see yesterday’s post) was on UK radio during ’75 with her cover version.

Listen: Rock A Doodle Doo / Linda Lewis
Rock A Doodle Doo / Linda Lewis

Linda Lewis had a mid-chart UK hit with ‘Rock A Doodle Doo’ during the summer of ’73 (#15). If you were there you’d know, it was played relentlessly for weeks and weeks, almost like Radio 1 wanted to make it sell. Or maybe just because it sounded so good over the air, like in my case, coming out of a 4″ x 6″ green transistor radio (that era’s version of a hand held device), permanently borrowed off my cousin.

She looked super hot on TOP OF THE POPS, like an English Kim Weston or Tammi Terrell, but with a voice much closer to Minnie Riperton. I was well pleased to get a US promo later that fall, but had no hopes I’d ever hear it on American radio, despite Reprise releasing it twice. Unfortunately, I was right.

Listen: It’s In His Kiss / Linda Lewis
It's In His Kiss / Linda Lewis

By 1975, she’d left Raft and Reprise for Arista. For once, Clive Davis seemed to be in step with what I’d have done if I were running the label, make Linda Lewis a star in The US. Her first album for him was great, and the lead single ‘It’s In His Kiss’, even greater and a real chance for her to flex the higher range potential of that voice. It should have been a smash here (it peaked at #6 in The UK) and sounded spectacular on the air. I know. I ran my college station and forced even the most die-hard southern rock DJ’s to spin it. They already hated my tastes, so why not flex. It’s fun being the boss sometimes.

Listen: Getting Might Crowded / Betty Everett BettyEverettGetting.mp3

A nice one to have on Vee Jay, but even nicer on UK Fontana. A Northern Soul classic, a Mod favorite, lot’s of descriptions have been pinned on this baby. Part of a healthy chart run in ’65 – she had five BILLBOARD Top 100′s. Pretty much all of her Vee Jay output is worth having. Good songs, most of them have been covered too. This one’s a perfect snapshot of the time period’s all nighter club ambience. Best left alone, kinda like ‘Be My Baby’.