Dominique 🐝 Petersen

6 years ago · 3 min. reading time · ~100 ·

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MUSICAL DECADES - 1960s - The Wall of Sound

MUSICAL DECADES - 1960s - The Wall of Sound

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Back to the '60s today with The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound). This is a music production formula developed by record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios in the 1960s, with assistance from engineers Stan Ross, Larry Levine, and the session musician conglomerate known as "the Wrecking Crew". The intent was to create a dense sound that came across well on AM radio and jukeboxes popular in the era.

In order to attain the Wall of Sound, Spector's arrangements called for large ensembles (including some instruments not generally used for ensemble playing, such as electric and acoustic guitars), with multiple instruments doubling and even tripling many of the parts to create a fuller, richer sound. Spector also included an array of orchestral instruments—strings, woodwind, brass and percussion—not previously associated with youth-oriented pop music. It was officially designated "Phil Spector's Wall of Sound" by Andrew Loog Oldham, who coined the term within advertisements for the Righteous Brothers 1964 single "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling".


The Righteous Brothers were the musical duo of Bobby Hatfield and Bill Medley. They began performing together in 1963 and recorded from 1963 through 1975. They continued to perform together until Hatfield's death in 2003. Their emotive vocal style is sometimes dubbed "blue-eyed soul".

Hatfield and Medley have contrasting vocal range that helped them create a distinctive sound as a duet, but also strong vocal talent individually that allowed them to perform as soloists. Medley sang the low parts with his bass-baritone voice, with Hatfield taking the higher register vocals with his countertenor voice.

They had their first hit with "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'”. Other notable hits include "Ebb Tide", "Soul and Inspiration", and "Rock and Roll Heaven." Both Hatfield and Medley also had for a time their own solo careers.



The Crystals are an American vocal group based in New York, considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era in the first half of the 1960s. Their 1961–1964 chart hits include "There's No Other (Like My Baby)", "Uptown", "He's Sure the Boy I Love", "He's a Rebel", "Da Doo Ron Ron (When He Walked Me Home)" and "Then He Kissed Me".



The Ronettes were an American girl group from New York City. One of the most popular groups from the 1960s, they placed nine songs on the Billboard Hot 100, five of which became Top 40 hits. The trio from Spanish Harlem, New York, consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett (later known as Ronnie Spector), her older sister Estelle Bennett and their cousin Nedra Talley.

Among the Ronettes' most famous songs are "Baby, I Love You", "Be My Baby", “(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up", and "Walking in the Rain", all of which charted on the Billboard Hot 100. "Walking in the Rain" won a Grammy Award in 1965, and "Be My Baby" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. The Ronettes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.



The Paris Sisters were a 1960s American girl group from San Francisco, best known for their work with producer Phil Spector. They reached the peak of their success in October 1961 with the hit single "I Love How You Love Me", which peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, and sold over one million copies.

Some of the group's other hit songs include the US Top 40 single "He Knows I Love Him Too Much" (March 1962, Number 34), "All Through The Night" (1961), "Be My Boy" (Number 56), "Let Me Be The One" (Number 87), and "Dream Lover" (Number. 91).



Ike & Tina Turner were an American, husband-and-wife musical duo. They were once considered "one of the hottest, most durable, and potentially most explosive of all R&B ensembles".

Their early works, including "A Fool in Love", "It's Gonna Work Out Fine", "I Idolize You" and "River Deep – Mountain High", became high points in the development of soul music, while their later works were noted for wildly interpretive re-arrangements of rock songs such as "I Want to Take You Higher" and "Proud Mary", the latter song for which they won a Grammy Award. They were also known for their often-ribald live performances, which were only matched by that of James Brown and the Famous Flames in terms of musical spectacle.

The duo was inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.



Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans was an early 1960s vocal group produced by Phil Spector, and was initially conceived as a vehicle for the lead vocals of Bobby Sheen, who took the stage name Bob B. Soxx. The Blue Jeans were backing vocalists Darlene Love and Fanita James, both of whom were also members of the girl group the Blossoms.

Despite Sheen's status as group leader, by the time the trio entered the recording studio, Spector was often using Love as the group's primary vocalist. Sheen sang lead on the group's first hit, 1962's "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" (originally from the 1946 Disney movie, Song of the South). Love, meanwhile, handled the lead vocals on the follow-up single, 1963's "Why Do Lovers Break Each Other's Heart?". Sheen and Love shared lead vocal duties on the final single, "Not Too Young to Get Married".


This ends Musical Decades for this week. Thanks for listening and I hope to see you here next time.

(The information used in this post is from Wikipedia.)



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Dominique "Nik" Petersen is an aficionado of "oldies" music and the author of Dr. Hook and Me: A Fan's Journal/Scrapbook. Read about it and her other books at the website: 

NikDesignsGraphics.com

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Comments

Martin Wright

6 years ago #8

His style evoked a period with clarity.

Jerry Fletcher

6 years ago #7

Dominique, Thanks for a walk down memory lane.

Dominique 🐝 Petersen

6 years ago #6

#5
And thanks for the share, Pedro \ud83d\udc1d Casanova ;o)

Dominique 🐝 Petersen

6 years ago #5

#5
LOL! You're right. Beehives!

Pedro 🐝 Casanova

6 years ago #4

Great Producer Dominique \ud83d\udc1d Petersen By the way..the hairdos of that era were n´t called " Beehives" ...can we say they were our ancestors Bee s???. Love the feel....great job Dominique...and thanks
Antonio L Rodr\u00edguez del Pozo

Dominique 🐝 Petersen

6 years ago #2

Pedro \ud83d\udc1d Casanova This is for you!

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