Hits from the Summer of '66 ( #BOTB )

         Did you ever hear a haunting song from a distance that seemed dreamlike, but strangely familiar?  I've often had that sensation.  I think that's one of the things that can make music so special for many of us and filled with so many memories.  Here's a couple of songs that wove their ways through my summer of 1966...

 Battle of the Bands

 

        Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and now hosted by StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands.   This event happens each month on the 15th and on some there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month.  My blog is one of those with a second Battle excepting over these summer months.   The premise is simple:  Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it.  Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this post for more Battle action.

Hits from '66

      When I moved to Tennessee in the summer of 1966 I had already started immersing myself in popular music of the day.  Only vaguely familiar with a few crossover country hits, I was no fan of that twangy sound of country.  As I had done in Indiana keeping up with the current songs on Chicago's WLS radio station, I was now listening to music on Knoxville's WNOX to see what the next interesting song would be.  

        Some songs were monsters that couldn't be ignored because of their dominance on the radio waves, while others lingered enough to become locked in my memory banks.  In this Battle I present two different country hits that were remade for the rock and roll audience. At the time the songs seemed new to me though I had undoubtedly heard them many times over the years.  It's just that I essentially was rather dismissive of the country genre back then and couldn't tell you much about it other than there were a few good songs that I had liked over the years, but they somehow didn't seem so country to me perhaps.  Bottom line is that I was young and still musically uneducated to a great extent.  

        In my fifteenth summer I was spending many of my idle hours listening to music over my little transistor radio that by audiophile standards was not much at all, but to me was enough to fire up my musical imagination and curiosity. I was anxious to hear the next new thing while hoping to keep hearing favorites being repeated throughout the day into the late night.  

       Here are two of my favorites of that summer.  You likely know both songs well so I won't even mention who were the artists who originally performed the songs or those who had subsequent hits with the songs--both have had several covers done.

        These are the covers from 1966 and personally I think both covers are the best ever for either song.

         Do you remember these?  Which do you like best?

Tommy McClain  "Sweet Dreams"  (1966)

B. J. Thomas  "I'm So Lonesome I'm Could Cry"  (1966)

Time to Vote!

        Get your kicks on route 66 or from the summer of '66.  You're supposed to vote on one of these songs.  Which one do you prefer?  Battles are no fun without you the reader participating.    Hopefully you have an opinion of some kind.  You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.

        Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours. I don't know if anyone else will be doing a Battle this time around, but you can still check out these sites.


Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands
 
'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Landmark Sounds (Diedre Knight)

BATTLE OF THE BANDS BY DEBBIE D

Trivial Music Silliness

Results on Monday June 23