’66 Sunset Strip: The Unreleased 1967-1968 Gene Clark Special
12.28.20
Take a trip to ’66 Sunset Strip as dublab steps into the wayback machine and revisits 1960s Hollywood nightclubs like The Trip, Hullabaloo, Whisky a Go Go and Pandora’s Box.
Tracklist:
Santo & Johnny – You Showed Me (Gene Clark/Jim McGuinn)
Gene Clark – Till Today
The Rose Garden – Till Today (Gene Clark)
The Rose Garden – Long Time (Gene Clark)
Gene Clark interview, by Domenic Priore, 1986 (Part 1)
January 26, 1967 Columbia Session:
Gene Clark – Back Street Mirror
Gene Clark – Don’t Let It Fall Through
Gene Clark – Yesterday, Am I Right
April 24, 1967 Columbia Session:
Gene Clark – The French Girl (Ian Tyson/Sylvia Fricker)
Gene Clark – Only Colombe
Demos, Late 1967 “Gene Clark Sings For You” Publishing LP:
Gene Clark – On Her Own
Gene Clark – Past Tense
Gene Clark – Past My Door
Gene Clark – One Way Road
Gene Clark – Down on the Pier
Gene Clark – 7:30 Mode
The First A&M Records Gene Clark Session, Mid-’68:
Gene Clark – Los Angeles
Gene Clark – I Pity the Poor Immigrant (Bob Dylan)
Gene Clark – That’s Alright By Me
Gene Clark interview, by Domenic Priore, 1986 (Part 2)
Dillard & Clark – Why Not Your Baby? (Gene Clark)
Jackie DeShannon – Splendor in the Grass (Jackie DeShannon)
Rick Nelson – Marshmallow Skies
Hearts & Flowers – Colour Your Dayime
Buffalo Springfield – Merry Go Round
The Stone Poneys featuring Linda Ronstadt – Fragments: Golden Song/Merry Go Round/Love is a Child
The Mamas & The Papas – Boys and Girls Together
Cher – Alfie
The Byrds – The World Turns All Around Her (Gene Clark)
The Byrds – She Don’t Care About Time (Gene Clark)
The Turtles – You Showed Me (Gene Clark/Jim McGuinn)
The Folkswingers – Eight Miles High (from the LP “Raga Rock”)
Special Thanks to Becky Ebenkamp and Whin Oppice for their production and research contributions on this episode.
“The French Girl” written by Ian Tyson and Sylvia Fricker (Ian & Sylvia)
“I Pity the Poor Immigrant” written by Bob Dylan
All other songs sung by Gene Clark, were written by Gene Clark and recorded during 1967-1968
Background music by The Folkswingers, from the LP 12 String Guitar!, released in 1963 featuring Glen Campbell on acoustic 12-String guitar with The Dillards backing him up; Doug Dillard on banjo, Rodney Dillard on guitar and Dean Webb on bass. This was cut at World Pacific Studios, 8715 W. 3rd Street (3rd & Robertson) by producer Jim Dickson. Because the two 12 String Guitar releases by The Folkswingers sold so well, by late 1964, World Pacific owner Richard Bock would allow Dickson to bring a new band he was managing, The Byrds, into World Pacific to rehearse, and then record what was later heard on the album Preflyte (released in July of 1969). That album begins with Gene’s 1964 vocal version of “You Showed Me.” Then in December 1964, Dickson invited Bob Dylan to one of The Byrds’ World Pacific sessions, while he was in town playing at Wilson High School in Long Beach, on a show put on by The Golden Bear in Huntington Beach. For six hours at World Pacific, they all worked toward creating the final arrangement brought later into the Columbia studios (6121 Sunset Boulevard) with Terry Melcher on January 20, 1965 for the 45 session on “Mr. Tambourine Man” by The Byrds. In June of 1965, this became a #1 single on Billboard’s Hot 100. On the day the 45 was released (March 26, 1965), Bob Dylan joined The Byrds for their opening night at Ciro’s LeDisc on Sunset Strip. After ending their set with “Mr. Tambourine Man,” Dylan came on to perform “Spanish Harlem Incident” and “All I Really Want to Do” with The Byrds. Later, about a week before The Byrds’ “Mr. Tambourine Man” hit #1, Bob Dylan entered the recording studio to cut his single “Like a Rolling Stone” (June 15-16, 1965.) It wasn’t until July, 25, 1965 that Dylan “went electric” at the Newport Folk Festival, as depicted in the movie A Complete Unknown and originally seen in the documentary film Festival (1967). We here at ’66 SUNSET STRIP recognize, when it came to breaking this ground, Dylan had some help.
Final background music track “Eight Miles High” was recorded in 1966; this Folkswingers lineup including Harihar Rao on sitar, Dennis Budimir on electric 12-String guitar, Tommy Tedesco, Howard Roberts or Herb Ellis on guitar, Bill Pittman on bass, Larry Knechtel on organ and electric piano, Lyle Ritz on Fender bass and Hal Blaine on drums. This is a cover of The Byrds’ song written primarily by Gene Clark with Roger McGuinn (who arranged it) and David Crosby (who added some words). The original Byrds version from early ’66 is most likely the first psychedelic rock ‘n’ roll 45. Thank you, Gene.
