Reel Urban News Staff
Last year we brought you the story of Frank Mastropolo’s eBook 200 Greatest 60s Rock Songs, a No. 1 Amazon Best Seller. Book Authority named it one of the “13 Best New Rock Music eBooks to Read in 2024.”
Because we can’t get enough of a good thing, Edgar Street Books has just released a new eBook, 200 Greatest 60s Rock Songs Vol. 2. The No. 1 New Release on Amazon brings us the behind-the-scenes tales of another 200 songs from the decade when soul and R&B music exploded on the charts: the 1960s. Here the musicians, songwriters, and producers tell how these great tunes were created.
Sure, songs by Jimi Hendrix, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Diana Ross & the Supremes, Sam Cooke, Sly & the Family Stone, Wilson Pickett and Curtis Mayfield & the Impressions are here. But there are deep dives about tunes by Dionne Warwick, Sam Cooke, the Crystals, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, Martha & the Vandellas, the Shirelles and many more.
Published by Edgar Street Books on May 12, 2024, 200 Greatest 60s Rock Songs Vol. 2 is a fun read for anyone who believes the 1960s was one of the best eras of music.
We give it 5 Stars! It’s the perfect book to read while chillin’ and grillin’ or trying to explain to some youngblood what “sock it to me” means.
200 Greatest 60s Rock Songs Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 and 200 Greatest 70s Rock Songs are available on Amazon.
Enjoy this excerpt from 200 Greatest 60s Rock Songs Vol. 2.
“River Deep — Mountain High” by Ike & Tina Turner
The lukewarm reception record buyers gave Ike & Tina Turner’s “River Deep — Mountain High” on its release in 1966 is said to have caused producer Phil Spector to retire from the music industry for two years. Its failure was not due to the lack of hard work; twenty-one musicians performed over two sessions just to get the music track.
The song was written by Spector, Jeff Barry, and Ellie Greenwich and was considered by Spector to be his finest work. After the instrumental tracks were recorded, Spector required Tina to repeatedly sing the lyrics over several hours until he was satisfied with the result.
“I must have sung that 500,000 times,” Tina said in Rolling Stone. “I was drenched with sweat. I had to take my shirt off and stand there in my bra to sing.”
“It was mass confusion,” background singer Darlene Love told The Independent. “This time it was all din, no music. Nobody’s heart was in it, except Phil’s. The name on the label would be Ike & Tina Turner, though for all we knew Ike was in Alaska when we did the session.”
“River Deep — Mountain High” only reached No. 88 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. “If Phil had released the record and put anybody else’s name on it, it would have been a huge hit,” Ike said in Tearing Down the Wall of Sound. “But because Tina Turner’s name was on it, the white stations classified it an R&B record and wouldn’t play it. The white stations say it was too black, and the black stations say it was too white, so that record didn’t have a home.”
