SHG: The Toys: "A Lover's Concerto"

The Toys: “A Lover’s Concerto” Entered the chart on: 10/2/65 Peaked on: 10/30/65 Weeks at #2: 3 Songs at #1: “Yesterday” by the Beatles and “Get Off My Cloud” by the Rolling Stones

I’ll be honest, I could have sworn this was the first song based on a classical piece I’d be writing about when I started this feature. I somehow forgot about the Allan Sherman bit, and didn’t even know about “Don’t You Know,” which rather blunted the surprise regarding this one.

Then again, maybe not. This is the first “rock” song to be based on classical music to appear in Second Hand Goods. Someone—and by “someone,” I mean the legendary songwriting team of Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell—thought it would be a good idea to adapt the Minuet in G to a Supremes-knockoff pop-soul girl group song.

And you know what? They weren’t wrong!



Interestingly, the arrangement here, while clearly based on a classical piece, sounds oddly jazzy. Something you’d expect more in a Dionne Warwick song than in something that sounds like Martha & the Vandellas. Never noticed it before, but lead singer Barbara Harris (not that one) sounds an awful lot like Martha Reeves. She’s flying solo for the first verse, and I really like how they add the other two Toys gradually to the vocal mix, until it’s a virtual choir at the end. We’re not quite in “Sally Go Round the Roses” territory here, but arranger Charles Calello does a fine job of making the most of the ladies’ voices.

Lyrically, this could come across to some as insufferably twee. I don’t think it tips the balance too far, but this is sort of the tip of the iceberg, inspiring quite a lot of extremely saccharine, mega-girly female-sung soul-pop in the 70s. Stuff like “I Love You for All Seasons” by the Fuzz or...pretty much anything by the Barry White-produced vocal trio Love Unlimited is bound to conjure up images of pink silk hair ribbons or Hello Kitty plush dolls. This isn’t that extreme, but it is awfully precious and trying hard to be demurely feminine.

Overall, good taste rules the day, and for that I’m glad. I’ve always loved this song. Still do.

Rating: 5

SHG: Allan Sherman: "Hello Mudduh! Hello Fadduh! (A Letter From Camp)"

Allan Sherman: “Hello Mudduh! Hello Faddah! (A Letter From Camp)”
Entered the chart on: 8/10/63
Peaked on: 8/24/63
Weeks at #2: 3
Songs at #1: “Fingertips—Pt. 2” by Little Stevie Wonder and “My Boyfriend’s Back” by the Angels

“You know, it is so sad! All your knowledge of high culture comes from Bugs Bunny cartoons!”

Perhaps I should explain.

You see, the melody to this song is not original. We’re in “based on classical” territory again. This is from the “Dance of the Hours” mini-ballet sequence from Ponchielli’s opera La Gioconda. Over in the UK, this melody was transformed into the hit ballad “Like I Do” by Welsh songbird Maureen Evans. On our side of the pond, we used the same melody as the basis of a silly comedy routine about a kid’s miserable experience at summer camp.

Like our friends over in the UK, I’ve always found summer camp to be a strange and foreign concept. My summers were spent with my family, going on camping trips or weekend jaunts to the beach. “Summer camp” was this thing I only saw in the movies or on TV. And the kids always seemed to be having a dreadful time. I thought “summer camp” must be for parents who didn’t like their kids, and I felt a bit sorry for kids who were subjected to it.

But enough about me. What does Mr. Sherman have to say?



This is almost a bait-and-switch. The first 15 seconds lure you into thinking this is a straight classical adaptation. Then Allan comes in with his smoke-ravaged voice, and an overly enthusiastic audience reacts to his rendition of this child’s tale of woe. He hits all the targets and then some, escalating from poison-ivy rashes and food poisoning to alligator-infested lakes, malaria and a search party to find lost campers. Not all the references have aged as well; I didn’t “get” the reference to Ulysses that the audience found so hilarious (We are talking James Joyce, right?).

And after all this, we get the surprise that the kid’s only been at camp a day as he composes his letter. Followed by the “twist” ending in which the rain clears up, he sees how much fun the other kids are having, and exhorts his parents to “kindly disregard” his letter. Wait, did he send it or not?

Good Lord, I am over-analyzing a goofy novelty song!

Well, it’s entertaining. Slight, but entertaining. It’s a comedy routine, what more do you want?

But seriously, could someone explain the Ulysses reference to me? Please?

Rating: 3

SHG: Della Reese: "Don't You Know?"

Della Reese: “Don’t You Know”
Entered the chart on: 10/5/1959
Peaked on: 11/30/1959
Weeks at #2: 1
Song at #1: “Mack the Knife” by Bobby Darin

And we end the 50s as we began it: with a song I’ve never heard before.

I know Della of course, but as an actress, not a singer. She was part of my childhood, appearing on the now-rarely-seen Chico and the Man and guest-starring frequently on Sanford and Son, not to mention a ton of other TV shows.

Reading up on this tune has been interesting to say the least. Adapted from an aria from Puccini’s La bohème, you say? I’m intrigued! That would make this the first pop music adaptation of a classical piece to appear on this feature. I thought I would need to wait for a certain tune from the mid-60s for that! Oh, you’ll see!



Whoa! That’s the most forceful orchestration I’ve heard on this feature in a while! I know “There Goes My Baby” has a string orchestration, too, but this string section doesn’t f$&% around! The single crows “A Hugo & Luigi Production,” so I guess they’re responsible for the screaming strings, bombastic brass and pounding tympani. There’s nothing subtle about this.

In all, this is a throwback to the pre-rock sound from before. It really sits oddly among all those rock & roll records, I have to say. And her voice is powerful—damn, it would just about have to be to compete with that blaring orchestra—but it certainly has nothing to do with rock or R&B. Her voice is loaded with melodrama, and reminds me of divas from across the pond like Shirley Bassey and Dorothy Squires. I can understand this being a hit over in the UK more than here.

That said, you really have to appreciate the craftsmanship that went into this, Della’s singing ability, and the power of her voice. Majestic is the word for this one.

Rating: 4