When I was a kid, singles were the best way to get into music – that is, music that wasn’t interrupted on the radio by some golden throat in love with his own voice. I kind of remember having some singles with the price tag still attached to the paper sleeve; those were 50 cents but I more clearly remember paying about 68 cents for a single in the late 1960s-early 1970s. And the first single I ever bought with my own money? “Good Vibrations” by the Beach Boys, in 1966.
OK, here’s an old one: Procol Harum had a giant hit in 1967 with “A Whiter Shade of Pale” and they followed it up the same year with “Homburg,” a song that not coincidentally sounded a lot like its predecessor. The followup did reasonably well, and although neither “Whiter Shade” nor “Homburg” were originally on the British version of Procol Harum’s first album (“Whiter Shade” was included on the U.S. version), they now appear on the CD release.
MP3: “Homburg” by Procol Harum
Jumping into the 1970s, we encounter the singer-songwriter duo Brewer and Shipley. Mike Brewer and Tom Shipley are perhaps best known for “One Toke Over The Line” from their 1970 album Tarkio, but they had a handful of followup hits including “Shake Off The Demon,” the title tune from their 1971 album.
30 Days Out 