Memorable Performances 1965

I suppose the first of the really memorable performances I saw was when I saw Herman's Hermits and The Animals.

Herman's Hermits opened and I got the sense they were there for the girls. They played a relatively tame set of sweet tunes including:

• Can't You Hear My Heartbeat
  
• Silhouettes
  
• Henry the 8th
• Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter
  
• I'm Into Something Good
  
• For Your Love
  

The last one was significant because it was a Yardbirds cover. (More on them in another installment).

The Animals played their standards which included:

• House of the Rising Sun
• It's My Life
• Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
  
• We Gotta Get Outta This Place
  
• Tobacco Road
  
• Don't Bring Me Down
  
• When I Was Young

The difference was striking. Whereas Herman's Hermits was sweet and popish, The Animals were definitely the bad boys. That music had bones. (Of course as a 7th grader I had no clue at the tender young age of 12 that half their material was covers of American black blues masters of the 50's. I just knew there was something about it that I liked.)

Meanwhile, back at school, we had regular canteens featuring mainly top 40's cover bands. I had not yet picked up a guitar. We had a piano at home, and when a music teacher gave us an assignment to write a tune, I made one up from scratch only to find out that it "sounded like Moon River" much to my embarrassment. "Never Again!" I told myself, and began to wonder how to make sure the stuff I wrote was truly original.

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Next Installment: Memorable Movies 1965