Song of the Day 5/26: The Little Darlings, “Little Bit O’ Soul”
Every once in a while I learn that a hit song that I thought was original is actually a cover. That’s the case here. The song was a hit in 1967 but was written in 1964 by English songwriters John Carter and Ken Lewis, who a decade later had a hit with “Beach Baby,” the last of singer Tony Burrows’ hit singles. They gave the song to this obscure band from Coventry, but the song failed to chart.
The tune was resurrected in 1967 by the Music Explosion, which lowered the key and raised the energy level with a livelier drummer. Their version was a smash, reaching No. 2 in the U.S.
The covers started multiplying a few years later.
Iron Cross gave it a shot in 1972, dressing up the original arrangement with some crunchy distorted guitar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCEVHxPFXTc
In 1983 the Ramones, naturally, sped it up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WVYMAuMYSA
And it didn’t stop there. Tom Petty played it in concert in the ’80s; Bruce Springsteen was still playing it live 10 years ago. So if your party is fallin’ and nobody’s movin’…
Thanks, Alby, for that trip down memory lane! Bill Quay, the “Rockin’ Redhead,” used to play that song (the Music Explosion’s version) frequently on WAMS. He would dedicate it to “Mother and the Mole,” who were frequent hangers-on at WAMS OBs.
Bill’s lead-in was “A LIttle Bit of Soul for Mother and the Mole.”