1961 in music.

Etta James' At Last won 1960. Let's see who wins 1961.

Billboard chart-topping albums of 1961:
Ernest Gold - Exodus OST
Lawrence Welk - Calcutta
Camelot Cast - Soundtrack
Carnival! Cast - Soundtrack
Elvis - Something for Everybody
Judy Garland - Judy at Carnegie Hall
Elvis - Blue Hawaii

Billboard chart-topping singles of 1961:
Chubby Checker - Pony Time
Elvis - Surrender
The Marcels - Blue Moon
Del Shannon - Runaway
Ernie K-Do - Mother in Law
Ricky Nelson - Traveling Man
Roy Orbison - Running Scared
Pat Boone - Moody River
Gary U.S. Bonds - Quarter to Three
Bobby Lewis - Tossin and Turnin
Joe Dowell - Wooden Heart
The Highwaymen - Michael
Bobby Vee - Take Good Care of My Baby
Ray Charles - Hit the Road Jack
Dion - Runaround Sue
Jimmy Dean - Big Bad John
The Marvelettes - Please Mr. Postman
The Tokens - The Lion Sleeps Tonight

What are your top three albums for 1961? We will keep a running tally and eventually have some sort of bracket. For me it would be:

1. Robert Johnson - King of the Delta Blues Singers
2. Buck Owens - Sings Harlan Howard
3. Max Roach - Percussion Bitter Sweet

What are some of the forgotten gems from the year? What is overrated? What did you discover at a young age and what did you discover later? lots of stuff for me to check out, just perusing what I found on wiki.

YEARS IN MUSIC • forum.chorus.fm

 

So I've started referencing Best Ever Albums to help with this.

My top 3:

1. Judy Garland - Judy at Carnegie Hall
2. Stan Getz - Focus
3. Sammy Davis, Jr. - As Long As She Needs Me

Just Missed:
Henry Mancini - Breakfast at Tiffany's: Music from the Motion Picture
Nancy Wilson and Cannonball Adderly - Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderly
Robert Johnson - King of the Delta Blues Singers
Oliver Nelson - The Blues and the Abstract Truth

Other top rated ones I've heard on BEA:
Bill Evans Trio - Sunday at the Village Vanguard
John Coltrane - Ole Coltrane
Patsy Cline - Showcase
Roy Orbison - Sings Lonely and Blue
Bobby "Blue" Bland - Two Steps from the Blues


Targets while we're on this year:
Miles Davis - Some Day My Prince Will Come
Ray Charles - The Genius Sings the Blues
Gil Evans - Out of the Cool
Les Baxter - Jewels of the Sea
Dion - Runaround Sue
Max Roach - Percussion Bitter Sweet
Jimmy Smith - Midnight Special

 

I like this album a lot. Buck's influence on John Fogerty and Dwight Yoakam made him such a slam dunk to listen to.

 

runaround sue was #4 for me fwiw

 

that robert johnson album is in the argument for my favorite of the 60s. just an all around king.

please listen to max roach

added a bunch from this year to my listening list. stan getz and the orbison debut are at the top

 

I'll definitely check out that Max Roach.

You should absolutely listen to the Judy album if you haven't. And absolute landmark. Rufus Wainwright did an entire concert and album where he covered the full show.

 

i’ve heard one or two songs from it but, yeah, i’m gonna do the full album

 

Did a little listening today:

The Genius Sings the Blues isn’t one of Ray Charles’ elite tier like The Genius of Ray Charles or Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music but it’s one of the greats doing his thing for a half hour in his prime so a worthy enough listen

Dion’s Runaround Sue, on the other hand, is great. The A side especially is just killer after killer. “Dream Lover” really jumped out at me more in context than as a single

 

dudes rock

 

i gave genius + soul = jazz a listen and liked it quite a bit. ray is a big hole for me.

 

At Newport, The Genius of Ray Charles and Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music seem to be his really exceptional moments. But he’s such a singular talent that even just-solid albums always end up worth the listen

 

A slightly trickier year for me, but that just means there's potentially lots to discover!

1. Oliver Nelson - The Blues and the Abstract Truth
2. Robert Johnson - King of the Delta Blues Singers
3. Etta James - Second Time Around

The Oliver Nelson album is fantastic jazz record, with "Hoe-Down" being one of my favourite jazz pieces. It also has a really evocative title - doesn't make the album any better, but I think that's an absolutely wonderful name for a record.

The Robert Johnson one for obvious reasons doesn't really feel like a 1961 record, but it obviously counts. Not one that I listen to super regularly, but I go through phases with those 20s & 30s bluesmen (him, Leadbelly, Blind WIllie Johnson, Son House etc). Obviously hugely influential on basically anybody that has picked up a guitar since.

That Etta James album is no At Last, but it's a really solid collection of songs, albeit not the masterpiece that came before it.

 

The personnel on that Nelson record is nuts. Freddie Hubbard, Eric Dolphy, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers, Roy Haynes. Makes your head spin

 

have literally never heard of him. added to my listening list immediately

 

Started his career as a player. Later became more of an arranger. This album splits the difference in a very Mingus or Ellington way: parts of it feel very composed, but then obviously based on that list of players, there’s some awesome soloing

 

I’m sad to say I wasn’t really feelin that Oliver Nelson album when I checked it out a few months ago, but now I’m excited to revisit it.

Some ‘61 jazz faves

Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane (this version of Nutty im particularly into)

Django & Stephane Grappelli - Djangology

Miles Davis - Someday My Prince Will Come

Grant Green - Green Street (rippin guitar stuff)

Oscar Peterson - The Trio

I’ve been really vibin Oscar Peterson’s playing in the past few years. His touch is very spritely; a pronounced attack, but it’s very gentle. Like he really lets the strings resonate, the notes are round and sumptuous. I love it

 

Djangology is a comp, yes?

 

Probably? They recorded those songs about 400 times and have like 12 albums called Djangology.

There’s a ‘62 Grappelli album called Django I like a lot too. Which, oddly, doesn’t have Django on it.

I worked on a Stephane Grappelli comp earlier this year so I spent a lotta time wandering around his catalogue. It’s a lot of the same tunes over and over. But it’s good!

 

Also since there’s a 100% chance I’ll forget this album when 1978 comes around, if there’s a Grappelli album to check out it’s this one:

Grappelli backed by Rhodes and funky guitars and it’s somehow amazingggg

 

Gil Evan’s Orchestra’s Out of the Cool is fucking incredible. I’m a sucker for third-stream-ish orchestration and this was the first thing Evans did after working with Miles on Sketches of Spain, so he apparently learned a lot about improvisation too. It’s an incredible balance. And anything with Elvin Jones on drums is worth the listen, always

 

Listened to Focus by Stan Getz today, I’d heard Getz / Giberto, but that was all I’d heard from him. Really enjoyed it, lovely to hear a jazz album that has like a classical concerto feel, with the string arrangements. The two styles really work in tandem here, beautiful listen.


Wiki and Apple Music are saying this is a 1962 record though!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focus_(Stan_Getz_album)

 

That may be a recent update to wiki. My album database (which I add from wiki) had it as a ‘61 when I bought it and Best Ever Albums has it as a ‘61 too

Edit: AllMusic has it as a ‘61 as well

 

Listened to Percussion Bitter Sweet and was a fan. I can handle Dolphy as a sideman in a way I definitely can't leading his own sessions. And, predictably, the percussion is fantastic, really swinging the whole time, even when Roach starts soloing.

 

@phaynes12 is it too late to switch my vote?

I forgot As Long As She Needs Me by Sammy Davis, Jr. was '61, so I want to swap that in for Breakfast at Tifffany's. Not that it's gonna win the bracket, but still.

 

nah, go for it, next round isn’t until thursday