Listen: Justified & Ancient / The KLF Featuring Tammy Wynette KLFTammy.mp3

The last time Tammy Wynette played New York was October 25, 1994 at Town Hall. I’d scored a pair of tickets off a friend at Epic, Michael Alago came along with me. She was spectacular. Despite all the health scares, there were no physical signs of anything but beauty and strength. The voice was other worldly. We sat awestruck the entire time. She did all the hits and should’ve-been hits. Her stories were both personal and fun.

At one point, she thanked her label Epic for their loyalty and support since the 60′s and asked if anyone from the label was present, to please stand, asking the audience to give them a round of applause. No one stood. No one from Epic bothered to go. It was humilating for her and us. And this was a living legend.

Brilliant move on The KLF’s part getting her to vocal ‘Justified & Ancient’, also known as ‘Stand By The Jams’ in the UK. Rivals The Pet Shop Boys with Dusty Springfield as top collaboration ever.

Listen: A Young Girl / Noel Harrison
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Everyone was drawn to teenage death records, it wasn’t just me. They would even get radio play and chart on BILLBOARD. ‘A Young Girl’ did just that (US #51 in ’66), and got played heavily on my local Top 40, WNDR. Possibly helped onto the airwaves by his role in NBC’s The Girl From U.N.C.L.E., one of many b&w spy/comedies of the mid 60′s, or his famous Dad, Noel Harrison’s English adaptation of this Charles Aznavour song indeed still sounded both very French and rather menacing. If you told me The Pet Shop Boys were influenced by it, I’d believe you.

It was an ear catching song to hear on the radio in the day and has become a perfect period piece, frozen in time while simultaneously disappearing into the black hole of never-to-be-airplayed-again records.