'Always Magic in the Air' Spotify playlist

Yesterday I wrote about Ken Emerson’s book Always Magic in the Air: The Bomp and Brilliance of the Brill Building Era (Amazon US, UK). Today I have a Spotify playlist for those of you who use it. 166 tracks, seven hours of music.

I can’t help thinking this is exactly what all books about music should have these days. I’d like to read this book again now I have the playlist to hand, as it’d make much more sense to hear the tunes as they’re discussed. So, book publishers, get your interns on the case!

The songs are in order according to when they’re mentioned in the book, which is better if you want to read along. Overall, it’s generally chronological, but not strictly. I haven’t included every song mentioned in passing, but it includes pretty much anything that is discussed for a sentence or more. I’ve tried to pick decent versions of each song, and not later re-recordings, but let me know if you spot any improvements that could be made.

However, a Spotify playlist doesn’t have all the metadata one really wants when the book is about who wrote the songs. So, somewhat obsessive-compulsively, below is a full tracklisting including the composers and the year of release (or composition; sorry for vagueness), separated into chapters.

Songs that I couldn’t find on Spotify are crossed out. Occasionally a producer’s name is included too. Here are the full names of the most frequent writers:

  • Burt Bacharach
  • Jeff Barry
  • Hal David
  • Gerry Goffin
  • Howard Greenfield
  • Ellie Greenwich
  • Jack Keller
  • Carole King
  • Jerry Leiber
  • Barry Mann
  • Doc Pomus
  • Neil Sedaka
  • Phil Spector
  • Mike Stoller
  • Mort Shuman
  • Cynthia Weil

1. The Original Cool Cats

  1. Elvis Presley — Jailhouse Rock (Leiber and Stoller, 1957)
  2. Jimmy Witherspoon — Real Ugly Woman (Leiber and Stoller, 1951, first L&S song to be recorded)
  3. Sam “Highpockets” Henderson — Too Bad Sweet Mama (Leiber and Stoller, 1954, L singing as “Billy Black”)
  4. The Robins — That’s What the Good Book Says (Leiber and Stoller, 1951, L&S’s first released composition)
  5. Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton — Hound Dog (Leiber and Stoller, 1953, L&S’s second single)
  6. Elvis Presley — Hound Dog (Leiber and Stoller, 1953)
  7. The Robins — Ten Days in Jail (Leiber and Stoller, 1953, L&S’s third single)
  8. The Robins — Riot in Cell Block #9 (Leiber and Stoller, 1954)
  9. The Cheers — Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots (Leiber and Stoller, 1955)
  10. The Robins — Smokey Joe’s Café (Leiber and Stoller, 1955)
  11. The Drifters — Fools Fall in Love (Leiber and Stoller, 1957)
  12. The Coasters — Searchin’ (Leiber and Stoller, 1957)
  13. The Coasters — What is the Secret of Your Success? (Leiber and Stoller, 1957)

2. A Broadway Divided

  1. ? — After the Ball (pub. Charles K. Harris Music, 1892, “the first pop song conceived and marketed as a million seller”)
  2. Marty Robbins — The Story of My Life (Bacharach and David, 1957)

3. Lonely Avenue

  1. Big Joe Turner — Boogie Woogie Country Girl (Pomus, 1955)
  2. Ray Charles — Lonely Avenue (Pomus, 1956)
  3. Tibbs Brothers — Get Hip, Miss Rip Van Winkle (Pomus and Shuman, 1956, their first joint copyright)
  4. Fabian Forte — I’m a Man (Pomus and Shuman, 1959)
  5. Fabian Forte — Turn Me Loose (Pomus and Shuman, 1959)
  6. Dion and the Belmonts — Teenager in Love (Pomus and Shuman, 1959)

4. “My Daughter Bought It. What Are You Going to Do About It?”

  1. The Coasters — Yakety Yak (Leiber and Stoller, 1958)
  2. The Coasters — Charlie Brown (Leiber and Stoller, 1958)
  3. The Coasters — Poison Ivy (Leiber and Stoller, 1959)
  4. The Coasters — Along Came Jones (Leiber and Stoller, 1959)
  5. The Coasters — Hey Sexy (Leiber and Stoller, 1958)
  6. The Coasters — What About Us (Leiber and Stoller, 1959)
  7. The Coasters — Little Egypt (Ying-Yang) (Leiber and Stoller, 1961)
  8. The Clovers — Love Potion Number Nine (Leiber and Stoller, 1959)
  9. Ruth Brown — I Can’t Hear a Word You Say (Leiber and Stoller, 1959)
  10. LaVern Baker — Saved (Leiber and Stoller, 1961)
  11. The Drifters — There Goes My Baby (Leiber, Stoller, George Treadwell and Lover Patterson, 1959)
  12. Wilbert Harrison — Kansas City (Leiber and Stoller, 1959)

5. Partners in Chutzpah

  1. Connie Francis — Stupid Cupid (Sedaka and Greenfield, 1958)
  2. Neil Sedaka — The Diary (Sedaka and Greenfield, 1958)
  3. Neil Sedaka — Oh! Carol (Sedaka and Greenfield, 1959)

6. The Young Lovers

  1. Carole King — Oh, Neil (Goffin and King, 1959)
  2. Carole King — A Very Special Boy (Goffin and King, 1959, B side of Oh, Neil)
  3. The Shirelles — Will You Love Me Tomorrow? (Goffin and King, 1960)

7. Putting the Bomp in the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp

  1. Bobby Vee — Take Good Care of My Baby (Goffin and King, 1961)
  2. The Diamonds — She Say (Oom Dooby Doom) (Barry Mann and Mike Anthony, 1959)
  3. Dickie Lee — Patches (Barry Mann and Larry Kolber, 1962)
  4. Neil Sedaka — Sweet Little You (Mann and Kolber, 1961)
  5. Tony Orlando — Halfway to Paradise (Goffin and King, 1961)
  6. Paris Sisters — I Love How You Love Me (Mann and Kolber, prod. Spector, 1961)
  7. Barry Mann — Who Put the Bomp (in the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp) (Goffin and Mann, 1961)
  8. Barry Mann — Teen Age Has Been (Mann and Weil, 1962)
  9. Tony Orlando — Bless You (Mann and Weil, 1961)

8. In the Garden of Aldon

  1. Connie Francis — Where the Boys Are (Sedaka and Greenfield, 1960)
  2. Neil Sedaka — Stairway to Heaven (Sedaka and Greenfield, 1960)
  3. Neil Sedaka — Calendar Girl (Sedaka and Greenfield, 1961)
  4. Neil Sedaka — Breaking Up is Hard to Do (Sedaka and Greenfield, 1962)
  5. Connie Francis — Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool (Keller and Greenfield, 1960)
  6. Connie Francis — My Heart Has a Mind of its Own (Keller and Greenfield, 1960)
  7. Connie Francis — Breakin’ in a Brand New Broken Heart (Keller and Greenfield, 1961)
  8. Jimmy Clanton — Venus in Blue Jeans (Keller and Greenfield, 1962)
  9. The Shirelles — Foolish Little Girl (Greenfield and Helen Miller, 1963)
  10. The Everly Brothers — Crying in the Rain (Greenfield and King, 1961)
  11. Bobby Vee — Run to Him (Goffin and Keller, 1961)
  12. Bobby Vee — Walkin’ with My Angel (Goffin and King, 1961)
  13. Carole King — It Might As Well Rain Until September (Goffin and King, 1962)
  14. Little Eva — The Loco-Motion (Goffin and King, 1962)

9. “It Was Just Jewish Latin”

  1. The Drifters — This Magic Moment (Pomus and Shuman, 1960)
  2. The Drifters — Save the Last Dance for Me (Pomus and Shuman, 1960)
  3. The Drifters — Sweets for My Sweet (Pomus and Shuman, 1961)
  4. Ben E. King — Souvenir of Mexico (Pomus and Shuman, 1960)
  5. Ben E. King — Spanish Harlem (Spector and Leiber, 1960)
  6. Ben E. King — Stand By Me (Ben E. King, Leiber and Stoller, 1960)
  7. The Drifters — Please Stay (Bacharach and Bob Hilliard, 1961)
  8. The Drifters — Mexican Divorce (Bacharach and Bob Hilliard, 1961)
  9. The Drifters — Some Kind of Wonderful (Goffin and King, 1961)
  10. The Drifters — Up on the Roof (Goffin and King, 1962)
  11. The Crystals — Uptown (Mann and Weil, prod. Spector, 1962)
  12. The Drifters — On Broadway (Mann, Weil, Leiber and Stoller, 1963)

10. Baby Talk

  1. Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans — Why Do Lovers Break Each Other’s Hearts? (Greenwich and Powers, prod. Spector, 1963)
  2. Darlene Love — (Today I Met) The Boy I’m Gonna Marry (Greenwich and Powers, prod. Spector, 1963)
  3. Ray Peterson — Tell Laura I Love Her (Barry and Ben Raleigh, 1960)
  4. The Crystals — He Hit Me (and It Felt Like a Kiss) (Goffin and King, 1962)
  5. The Crystals — No One Ever Tells You (Goffin and King, 1962)
  6. The Crystals — Please Hurt Me (Goffin and King, 1962)
  7. The Crystals — He’s Sure the Boy I Love (Mann, Weil and Spector, 1963)
  8. The Crystals — (And) Then He Kissed Me (Barry, Greenwich and Spector, 1963)
  9. The Crystals — Da Doo Ron Ron (Barry, Greenwich and Spector, 1963)
  10. The Ronettes — Be My Baby (Barry, Greenwich and Spector, 1963)
  11. The Ronettes — Baby I Love You (Barry, Greenwich and Spector, 1963)
  12. Veronica — Why Don’t They Let Us Fall in Love? (Barry, Greenwich and Spector, 1963)
  13. The Raindrops (Barry and Greenwich) — What a Guy (Barry and Greenwich, 1963)
  14. The Raindrops (Barry and Greenwich) — The Kind of Boy You Can’t Forget (Barry and Greenwich, 1963)
  15. The Raindrops (Barry and Greenwich) — Hanky Panky (Barry and Greenwich, 1963)

11. At Work in the Elvis Atelier

  1. Elvis Presley — Mess of Blues (Pomus and Shuman, 1960)
  2. Elvis Presley — Kiss Me Quick (Pomus and Shuman, 1961)
  3. Elvis Presley — (Marie’s the Name) His Latest Flame (Pomus and Shuman, 1961)
  4. Elvis Presley — Little Sister (Pomus and Shuman, 1961)
  5. LaVern Baker — Hey Memphis (Pomus and Shuman, prod. Spector, 1961)
  6. Elvis Presley — Suspicion (Pomus and Shuman, 1964)
  7. Elvis Presley — Viva Las Vegas (Pomus and Shuman, 1964)
  8. Andy Williams — Can’t Get Used to Losing You (Pomus, Shuman and Paul Case, 1961)

12. The Magician and the Mensch

  1. Gene McDaniels — Tower of Strength (Bacharach and Bob Hilliard, 1961)
  2. Gene McDaniels — Another Tear Falls (Bacharach and David, 1962)
  3. Chuck Jackson — Any Day Now (Bacharach and Bob Hilliard, 1962)
  4. Chuck Jackson — I Keep Forgettin’ (Leiber and Stoller, 1962)
  5. Jerry Butler — Make It Easy on Yourself (Bacharach and David, 1962)
  6. The Shirelles — Baby It’s You (Bacharach, Mack David and Luther Dixon (as “Barney Williams”), 1962)
  7. The Shirelles — It’s Love That Really Counts (in the Long Run) (Bacharach and David, 1962)
  8. Tommy Hunt — I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself (Bacharach and David, 1962)
  9. Gene Pitney — (The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance (Bacharach and David, 1962)
  10. Gene Pitney — Only Love Can Break a Heart (Bacharach and David, 1962)
  11. Gene Pitney — Twenty-four Hours from Tulsa (Bacharach and David, 1964)
  12. Dionne Warwick — Don’t Make Me Over (Bacharach and David, 1962)
  13. Dionne Warwick — Anyone Who Had a Heart (Bacharach and David, 1964)
  14. Dionne Warwick — Walk on By (Bacharach and David, 1964)
  15. Dionne Warwick — A House is Not a Home (Bacharach and David, 1964)
  16. Dionne Warwick — Reach Out for Me (Bacharach and David, 1964)

13. Selling Out

  1. Gene Pitney — It Hurts to Be in Love (Helen Miller and Howard Greenfield, 1964)
  2. Frank Sinatra — When Somebody Loves You (Greenfield, Keller and Keely Smith, 1965)
  3. The Chiffons — One Fine Day (Goffin and King, prod. The Tokens, 1963)
  4. Freddie Scott — Hey, Girl (Goffin and King, 1963)
  5. Maxine Brown — Oh No Not My Baby (Goffin and King, 1964)
  6. Carole King — He’s a Bad Boy (Goffin and King, 1964)
  7. The Cookies — Girls Grow Up Faster Than Boys (Goffin and Keller, 1963)
  8. The Cookies — I Never Dreamed (Russ Titelman and Goffin, 1964)

14. Seesaw

  1. Dusty Springfield — Goin’ Back (Goffin and King, 1966)
  2. The Byrds — Goin’ Back (Goffin and King, 1967)
  3. The Tokens — He’s in Town (Goffin and King, 1964)
  4. Carole King — A Road to Nowhere (King, 1967)
  5. Gene Pitney — I’m Gonna Be Strong (Mann and Weil, 1964)
  6. The Ronettes — Walking in the Rain (Mann and Weil, prod. Spector, 1964)
  7. The Righteous Brothers — You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ (Mann, Weil and Spector, prod. Spector, 1965)
  8. The Righteous Brothers — Just Once in My Life (Goffin, King and Spector, 1965)
  9. The Righteous Brothers — (You’re My) Soul and Inspiration (Mann and Weil, prod. Bill Medley, 1966)
  10. Bill Medley — Brown-Eyed Woman (Mann and Weil, 1968)
  11. Paul Revere and the Raiders — Kicks (Mann and Weil, 1966)
  12. The Animals — We Gotta Get Out of This Place (Mann and Weil, 1965)
  13. The Animals — Don’t Bring Me Down (Goffin and King, 1966)

15. Double Trouble

  1. Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas — Little Children (Shuman and John Leslie McFarland, 1964)

16. Golden Girls

  1. Bessie Banks — Go Now (Milton Bennett and Larry Banks, prod. Leiber and Stoller, 1964)
  2. The Moody Blues — Go Now (Milton Bennett and Larry Banks, prod. Leiber and Stoller, 1964)
  3. The Dixie Cups — Chapel of Love (Barry, Greenwich and Spector, 1964)
  4. The Dixie Cups — Iko Iko (prod. Leiber and Stoller, 1965)
  5. The Exciters — Do Wah Diddy Diddy (Barry and Greenwich, 1963)
  6. Manfred Mann — Do Wah Diddy Diddy (Barry and Greenwich, 1964)
  7. Lesley Gore — Maybe I Know (Barry and Greenwich, 1964)
  8. The Ad Libs — The Boy From New York City (George Davis and John Taylor, 1965)

17. “Somethin’ Died”

  1. The Shangri-Las — Remember (Walkin’ in the Sand) (George ‘Shadow’ Morton, 1964)
  2. The Shangri-Las — Leader of the Pack (George ‘Shadow’ Morton, Barry and Greenwich, 1964)
  3. The Shangri-Las — Give Us Your Blessing (Barry and Greenwich, 1965)
  4. The Shangri-Las — Give Him a Great Big Kiss (George ‘Shadow’ Morton?, 1964)
  5. The Shangri-Las — Out in the Streets (Barry and Greenwich, 1965)
  6. Ellie Greenwich — You Don’t Know (George ‘Shadow’ Morton, Barry and Greenwich, 1965)
  7. Jeff Barry — I’ll Still Love You (Barry and Greenwich, 1965)
  8. Tina Turner — River Deep — Mountain High (Barry, Greenwich and Spector, prod. Spector, 1966)
  9. Ronettes — I Can Hear Music (Barry, Greenwich and Spector, prod. Barry, 1966)
  10. Neil Diamond — Solitary Man (Diamond, prod. Barry and Greenwich, 1966)
  11. Neil Diamond — Cherry, Cherry (Diamond, prod. Barry and Greenwich, 1966)

18. Swinging London

  1. Dusty Springfield — I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself (Bacharach and David, 1964)
  2. Dusty Springfield — Wishin’ and Hopin’ (Bacharach and David, 1964)
  3. Tom Jones — What’s New, Pussycat? (Bacharach and David, 1965)
  4. Manfred Mann — My Little Red Book (All I Do is Talk About You) (Bacharach and David, 1965)
  5. Dusty Springfield — The Look of Love (Bacharach and David, 1967)
  6. Cilla Black — Alfie (Bacharach and David, 1966)
  7. Cher — Alfie (Bacharach and David, 1966)
  8. Dionne Warwick — Alfie (Bacharach and David, 1967)
  9. Jackie De Shannon — What the World Needs Now (Bacharach and David, 1965)
  10. Burt Bacharach — Trains and Boats and Planes (Bacharach and David, 1965)
  11. Dionne Warwick — Message to Michael (Bacharach and David, 1966)
  12. Dionne Warwick — I Say a Little Prayer (Bacharach and David, 1967)
  13. Dionne Warwick — Do You Know the Way to San Jose? (Bacharach and David, 1968)
  14. Dionne Warwick — Windows of the World (Bacharach and David, 1967)

19. From the Monkees to Thomas Mann

  1. The Monkees — Take a Giant Step (Goffin and King, 1966)
  2. The Monkees — I’m a Believer (Neil Diamond, prod. Jeff Barry, 1966)
  3. The Monkees — Pleasant Valley Sunday (Goffin and King, 1967)
  4. Aretha Franklin — (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (Goffin and King, 1967)
  5. Dusty Springfield — Just a Little Lovin’ (Mann and Weil, 1968)
  6. The Archies — Sugar, Sugar (Barry and Andy Kim, 1969)
  7. Leslie Uggams — Is That All There Is? (Leiber and Stoller, 1968)
  8. Peggy Lee — Is That All There Is? (Leiber and Stoller, arr. Randy Newman, 1969)

Coda

  1. The Drifters — Nobody But Me (Pomus and Shuman, prod. Leiber and Stoller, 1960)

And, one more link to the Spotify playlist.

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Tuesday 10 May 2011, 9:36am

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10 May 2011 in Links

Paul Ford on interacting with his archived self
On what it's like to search his archive of email since 1995, and what he may or may not have been like then. (via Waxy)

On this day I was reading

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  2. Allo Darlin' (17)
  3. Hefner (14)
  4. Carole King (14)
  5. Everything Everything (12)
  6. Saint Etienne (11)
  7. Neu! (11)
  8. Air (10)
  9. Bob Dylan (9)
  10. Brian Eno (7)

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