"The Loco-motion" was written by husband/wife team Gerry Goffin and Carole King. They offered the song to Dee Dee Sharp, who had an earlier hit with "Mashed Potato Time". Sharp turned down the song, and Goffin and King then offered the song to their babysitter, Eva Boyd, who had sung the demo tape. The song reached #1 or #3 in three different decades with three different artists.
The twist was so much bigger than the locomotion. Chubby Checker is recognized as the inventor of the Twist. Also the twist can be done to so many different styles of music.
The Twist is the #1 song all-time on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, because it was released as a single TWICE, and hit #1 both times. They were about a year and a half apart.
I love this song! I am 69 years old and even now at some weddings and parties, when this song is played, people actually hold on to each other and make a chain and dance around the room...like a conga line. The first person makes like he or she is the engine locomotive chugging their arms like a train and leads everybody all over the place. So much fun. Anybody as old as me remembers doing this?
"The Twist" by Chubby Checker became #1 on the charts TWICE in successive summers--it was THE dance for summer parties. I remember because at one pool party, we twisted on the concrete patio around the pool and we all wore the skin off the soles of our feet. And NO, there was no alcohol involved. I'm now 72 and I can still feel the burn!
The hairstyle is called a bouffant. A beehive is similar, but the hair is all teased up and piled on top of the head, looking like a beehive sitting on top of the head.
In reality, some of them were wigs, but not always. I grew up in that era, and I can attest to the hours women spent having their hair combed, teased and sprayed into oblivion. As strange as it looks right now, it gave women something that’s missing today. I think it’s called authentic femininity… I’ll wait for the “woke attack”
Summer of 1962....I was 11 years old....I worked in my grandfather's restaurant on the beach....a little shack where we did burgers, dogs, fries...I blasted Little Eva all day long that summer....the beachgoers were all up and dancing in the sand!! Great memories! There are so many girl groups, from the early 60s you should check out....The Shirelles, The Ronettes, The Vandellas, Ruby and the Romantics....the list goes on and on. BTW....I really love you two....you're so great together!!
My grandkids asked me to show them “our” dances from the 1960’s. Knowing full well that I would end up in traction (a 911 call)… I managed one full minute and needed an oxygen tank to boot! We had infinite energy back then to keep going for hours. Ahhh, those were the days. Life was so different and wonderful, too. You kids “get it”, bless you!
This song was written by Carole King and her husband/co-song writer Gerry Goffin. They wrote a number of hits for a number of artists before they divorced and Carole King was talked into performing herself and released her album Tapestry. It was an album most of us had in our homes in the 70s
The 60s were the decade for girl groups. There's so much more for you guys to discover! Try Be My Baby by the Ronettes, Will You Love Me Tomorrow by the Shirelles, or Where Did Our Love Go by the Supremes. There's tons of this, and it's all good. I read somewhere that hundreds of girl groups charted in the 60s.
@@glennelfmann3143 A really great time to be a teenager…a little before my time. I was fortunate to have a big sister who was a teen at that time, had all those ‘45’s … I was 5-7 years old and played them more than she did!
A piece of trivia; Gerry Goffin & Carole King wrote Loco Motion for Dee Dee Sharp but, at the last minute, she turned it down, so they got Eva (their 18 year old housekeeper/babysitter) to do it.
Yes. I heard the the Shirelles were supposed to sing it but they opted out for whatever reason and the writers loved Eva’s voice so much, they went with it. Good decision!
@@gtojohnny9 Carole King & Gerry Goffin wrote it for Dee Dee Sharp but, at the last minute, she turned it down, so they got Eva (their housekeeper/babysitter) to do it.
Awesome! Kylie Minogue and Grand Funk Railroad also did this song. But this is the best! You need to check out Martha and the Vandellas Dancing in the Street also. Also - Land of 1000 Dances, Wilson Pickett mentions MANY different dances from that era - Mashed Potato, The Swim, etc. You could learn them all!
Please react to the amazing songwriter of this song Carole King. So many songwriting credits to her name, but is equally as amazing as an artist herself. Her album Tapestry is one the best albums of our time.
Start with Carole King's "I Feel The Earth Move". From her classic "Tapestry" album which has sold 25 million copies worldwide. Carole is in the Songwriters and Rock n' Roll Hall Of Fame!!
Written by the greatest female artist Carol king Eva was her housekeeper at the time Grand Funk does a great version of this The twist was far more popular Not sure if there was a locomotion dance This is choreographed for TV
The Twist was a worldwide phenomenon. EVERYBODY did it--and still do it today. Watching a baby/toddler do it with their parents brings a lot of joy to me for some reason. There are even follow up songs: "Let's Twist Again", "Peppermint Twist", "Twistin' The Night Away" ( a real BANGER, imo), "Twist and Shout" along with others. It's popularity was probably due the fact it was easy to learn and ANYONE could do it...
Another great FEMALE song of the 60's is "WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME TOMORROW" by THE SHIRRELLES. It is in the Top 10 female songs of the 60\s in my opinion. Incidently both The Locomotion and that song were written by Carole King.
That got me thinking what are the other great FEMALE songs of the 1960's. Must include RESPECT by Aretha Franklin. Must include WALK ON BY by Dionne Warwick. Must include MAYBE by the Chantels. That is off the top of my head. Now I must have a think.
Another suggestion for female Fridays is Connie Francis "Where the Boys Are". She hits that late 1950s-early 1960s vibe and has a fabulous voice. She was a female "crooner" at the same time as Paul Anka.
In the background, the 3 female singers were known as The Blossoms. They had regular gigs on the weekly TV shows that featured current music, and they were backup singers or re-branded as other groups to record outside of recording contracts. Darlene Love is the most well known of the trio.
The Locomotion was a song; the Twist was an institution. Everybody did the twist, and it lasted. Chubby Checker owned the twist, but there was one other great twist song. Joey Dee and the Starlighters had a hit with the Peppermint Twist. Well worth a listen. There were tons of ridiculous dance songs in those days, and they all lasted about a week: Popeye the Hitchhiker, the Swim, the Popcorn, the Funky Broadway, I can't begin to name them all, largely because most of them were completely forgettable. Norman LeRoy, just below, listed several great girl groups, and I want to add two more. Leader of the Pack by the Shangri-Las. Bette Midler covered it brilliantly many years later, but the original is the best place to start. He's a Rebel by the Crystals is the other great girl group song IMO. Those two got worn out at my house.
One of the other dance songs, even before the Loco-motion was "The Bristol Stomp"; don't know if you can find stuff on it but we liked to do the dance, line dance" at sock hops.
Seeing that you enjoy little Eva‘s original song, I know you will truly “dig“ Grand Funk Railroad’s cover of this song. It is funkier. More “Jump” to it ❤️ Love you two!!!
Love when one teacher corrects another teacher "more funner = more fun" lol. need to listen to "Dancing in the street" do the original version you will love it also :)
Next Stops: The Supremes, "You Can't Hurry Love" Martha and the Vandellas, "Dancing in the Street" Joan Osborne, "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted" (live; Jimmy Ruffin cover, featuring the original Motown Records house band)
All the old songs are not only great, but us elder’s have the memories that each song brings with them. Thank you J & Amber for giving us these great songs & our memories that go with them…love you two!👍♥️♥️xoxoxo
Have you guys listened to Billie Holiday yet? If not you should check her out. Her music would probably be the oldest you've listened to so far. She was popular in the 30's and 40's. I'd suggest starting with The Very Thought Of You
Billie Holiday was a great American singer that every modern singer should study. Billie did not have a strong voice and had a quite limited octave range However, what she did vocally to overcome these limitations made her the singing icon she became
I commented on your remark about it 'didn't deserve' being the all-time Billboard #1 song of the rock era. Has nothing to do w/deserving it. I was just stating a fact regarding the song and it's popularity. "Deserving it" is a personal choice of liking it or not. It also has nothing to do w/the covers as all songs are tallied by Billboard by the individual recording. If one goes by covers, then 'Yesterday' by the Beatles would be number 1.
The original Hairspray film (the 1988 one with Ricky Lake and Debbie Harry) kind of puts these dance crazes into their context of US 'bandstand' TV shows. It's also brilliant.
If you haven't already seen The Ronettes performing Be My Baby you'll really love their hair and the song is one of the best ever by a girl group. I like Ronnie Specter's voice even more than Diana Ross'.
When done there, check Eddie Money's "Be my little baby" featuring Ronnie Specter. In an interview he said he begged her to come out of retirment to sing on this song so he could pay homage to her ... "just like Ronnie said"
Ahhhhhhh my momma had that on 8 track. I used to listen to that song and others, over and over and over. Thank you so much for that one. 80’s were my high school years and we had great music but the 60’s and 70’s rocked as well.
THE TWIST. I was 10 when this came out. Everyone including me watched American Bandstand. Got to see all the new dances and all the music hits. Gosh thanks for your reactions. Love it
"The Loco-Motion" was written by Gerry Goffin & Carole King (Brill Building, NY, NY). I gave your video a like and wow! Do I have a story for you! I attended a Roman Catholic High School in The Bronx, NY. Our monthly dances took place in the gym with a student spinning records over a PA system. In my junior year, as a member of the Dance Committee, we contacted a DJ at a local radio station who hosted small rock and roll shows for high schools. He agreed to bring a show to our school. This was a year or so after Little Eva hit No.1 with "The Loco-Morion." I don't remember any other performer that night except Little Eva. She was dressed much more provocatively than the clip you saw. It was the 60s and she wore a shimmering, skintight miniskirt. It was the final performance of the show and her dance moves were incendiary! As she swung her hips, the skirt inched up higher and higher. All the boys went wild! Our dances were chaperoned by the faculty: Roman Catholic nuns, brothers, priests and some lay teachers. They were incensed by this performance. One brother's face got so red I thought he was going to explode! It was pandemonium when Little Eva finished the song, ending the show. The boys shouted and stomped their feet in approval. The faculty actually began calling for order, threatening to shut down the dance. A group of them went over to the DJ and most likely ordered him to play calmer records as the dance started up again. Needless to say, the Dance Committee took a lot of heat for this. It was the only such show I remembered up until graduation. Of course, we had no idea what Little Eva was going to do. However, we were not disappointed and it was the highlight of the night! The memory is seared into my brain in a very good way! Keep in mind, this was nearly 60 years ago. Things were much different back then, no twerking or wardrobe malfunctions. Chuck
Many songs back then had dances that went with them. It was a fun time. The Twist was definitely more popular. Chubby Checker invented the dance and the Beatles did “Twist and Shout”! That was a huge deal! Great old stuff 🌺✌️
Imelda May "Big Bad Handsome Man" "Psycho" "It's Good To Be Alive" Bow Wow Wow "Baby Oh No" "Do You Wanna Hold Me" "I Want Candy" Garbage "I Think I'm Paranoid" "Queer" "Breaking Up The Girl" All have many more great songs. These are just some quick picks.
This song was on the first album I ever bought. It was an album of mixed artists. I really like this one. I think the twist was more popular. I used to do the twist.
This is an absolute classic ... I'm shocked that you'd never heard this. My little girl (now 16) was doing this in the 3rd grade ... I thought it was universal ... I guess I live and learn
Guys, Little Eva sang locomotion while cleaning and dusting her boss's house. It helped her focus on work. Her boss was a record producer. His wife heard Eva singing and put it on tape for Eva's boss to hear at the office. He was looking for a new artist and there she was at his house. Little Eva recorded locomotion just like you hear it it went viral for a bit.😊
Hoping you will watch Melanie (Safko) sweet hippie girl from Woodstock. "Lay Down - Candle in the Wind " with Edwin Hawkins singers . Perfect for a Friday
The dances back in the day can all be found on Wilson Picket's Land Of A Thousand Dances, plus it's a great tune from a great oldies musician. Wilson Picket's and Otis Redding's rabbit holes are phenomenal rabbit holes to head down - I dare you both to try either of these rabbit holes.
Thanks, guys! Little Eva was amazing.. Carole & Gerry''s babysitter, is how I heard it... she was like, 14! this song has been remade a few times.. "Grand Funk Railroad" had a hit with it in 1974.. and I guess Kylie Minogue?.. but Eva was so awesome!...
A better next step than little Eva is to dig into the Phil Spector back catalogue. He was a complete nut, but his productions of the Shirelles, Darlene Love, Ronnie Spector and many more are fantastic. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, Be My Baby, Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) and even the production of Ike and Tina Turner's River Deep, Mountain High.
and just to add, like Loco Motion, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow was also written by Gerry Goffin & Carole King. They were a monster hit writing team!
Her hair is bouffant, a bee hive is all the hair on top swirled skyward. I was 9 when this song came out and I love the later cover by Kylie Minogue. I have both of them in my music library. Can't sit still listening to this, it is so upbeat.
This for popular again in the 70.s. This brings back memories. My friends and I would do dance routines to this on my porch. I was tge smallest so was always in the middle.
As far as I know the Locomotion wasn’t a real dance other than making a train and kicking your legs out. I could only find one TH-cam video from back thenish. The Twist was huge, as were the Mashed Potato, the Pony, and how about The Jerk. And the Watusi. There were some really cool dances like the stroll. Did anyone do the Bump - that came later but was a lot of fun.
Don't forget the Funky Chicken started by Rufus Thomas with Do The Funky Chicken. Or Marvin Gaye Hitch Hike (1963). It went well with Vanity Fair's Hitchin a Ride that came out in 1969.
I lived all over the United States during the 1950's and 60's - from New York to California (dad was an aerospace engineer) so I can tell you what went on all over. The Locomotion was a GREAT song to dance to, but we just danced however we wanted. No specific steps. Different parts of the country might have their own regional takes on most of these. But the dance that went NATIONAL and WAS done exactly with the greatest enthusiasm was the Twist. (see the scene in Pulp Fiction where John Travolta and Uma Thurman are dancing the Twist) That was all the rage. The "Pony" was used heavily in Go-Go dancing and incorporated whatever other moves a dancer felt like such as "Mashed Potato" and "Swim". Generally people used a number of these different moves to dance to any song that had a great beat. Just watch old American Bandstand TV shows. And old variety shows that featured really popular singers will have professional dancers in the background doing all the latest moves.
There has had many versions of this song, in 1987 Kylie Minogue did a cover of it as her fist ever single when she left the TV series Neighbours she was famous for in the UK, NZ and Aussie, you should do a comparison of a few, be interesting to see who lies which versions best.
Not many people I know have heard of her, but Amii Stewart has a dynamite voice. 'Knock on Wood' is her most successful song and you can kind of tell how good her voice is in it.
This song was written by the most amazing Carole King!
No way! Cool fact!
Love her!
Little Eva was Carole King's babysitter.
Just to give credit where due, it was co-written by Carole King & Gerry Goffin.
Wow Carole King is my favorite female singer.
"The Loco-motion" was written by husband/wife team Gerry Goffin and Carole King. They offered the song to Dee Dee Sharp, who had an earlier hit with "Mashed Potato Time". Sharp turned down the song, and Goffin and King then offered the song to their babysitter, Eva Boyd, who had sung the demo tape. The song reached #1 or #3 in three different decades with three different artists.
actually hit #1 four times with a french version
The twist was so much bigger than the locomotion. Chubby Checker is recognized as the inventor of the Twist. Also the twist can be done to so many different styles of music.
The twist was defiantly bigger.
Chubby Checker cover the twist the original was done by JR Walker and the Allstars.
The Twist is the #1 song all-time on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, because it was released as a single TWICE, and hit #1 both times. They were about a year and a half apart.
@@lormatos4694 @s g Nah mates, it was Jethro "Bird" Turner and the Bandmates that started it all back in 1957.
The twins was bigger but the locomotion was a better song in my opinion
I love this song! I am 69 years old and even now at some weddings and parties, when this song is played, people actually hold on to each other and make a chain and dance around the room...like a conga line. The first person makes like he or she is the engine locomotive chugging their arms like a train and leads everybody all over the place. So much fun. Anybody as old as me remembers doing this?
Yes I see it at almost every wedding
I do 🥰💜
69? congrats fellow 'survivor'. (I'm 68)
@@remmymafia3889 You old farts. I'm still a kid at 67! 😝
We still do at every wedding!!😆
You’ll LOVE “Dancing In The Streets” by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas.
Yes!
Which no doubt inspired "Dancing In the Sheets" by Shalamar.
Which was also covered by Van Halen
"Ready For Love" is the bomb!!!!
Actually my favourite song of Martha Reeves and the Vandellas is "(Love is like a) Heatwave. Would love to hear that one!
"The Twist" by Chubby Checker became #1 on the charts TWICE in successive summers--it was THE dance for summer parties. I remember because at one pool party, we twisted on the concrete patio around the pool and we all wore the skin off the soles of our feet. And NO, there was no alcohol involved. I'm now 72 and I can still feel the burn!
The hairstyle is called a bouffant. A beehive is similar, but the hair is all teased up and piled on top of the head, looking like a beehive sitting on top of the head.
In reality, some of them were wigs, but not always. I grew up in that era, and I can attest to the hours women spent having their hair combed, teased and sprayed into oblivion. As strange as it looks right now, it gave women something that’s missing today. I think it’s called authentic femininity… I’ll wait for the “woke attack”
I've always liked the bouffant hair style!
Out west we called the short poufy style the "bubble" back in the day! Lots of teasing and hairspray, lol!!
Summer of 1962....I was 11 years old....I worked in my grandfather's restaurant on the beach....a little shack where we did burgers, dogs, fries...I blasted Little Eva all day long that summer....the beachgoers were all up and dancing in the sand!! Great memories! There are so many girl groups, from the early 60s you should check out....The Shirelles, The Ronettes, The Vandellas, Ruby and the Romantics....the list goes on and on. BTW....I really love you two....you're so great together!!
My grandkids asked me to show them “our” dances from the 1960’s. Knowing full well that I would end up in traction (a 911 call)… I managed one full minute and needed an oxygen tank to boot! We had infinite energy back then to keep going for hours. Ahhh, those were the days. Life was so different and wonderful, too. You kids “get it”, bless you!
Lolol
At the roller rink, when they played this we would play "crack the whip" and someone always got smacked into the boards.
@@andyanderson3628 Busted my little sister's collarbone, whip cracked her into a big manzanita in the side yard. Man, she was flyin'.
The Twist hands down. I lived it the Twist was gigantic
This song was written by Carole King and her husband/co-song writer Gerry Goffin. They wrote a number of hits for a number of artists before they divorced and Carole King was talked into performing herself and released her album Tapestry. It was an album most of us had in our homes in the 70s
Yes absolutely
Strongest selling album to that point!
And if no one else has said it, there was no dance called the loco-motion until after the song was written.
Yes, I listened to Tapestry constantly. Loved it!
The Goffin & King songbook is immense over so many genres & artists most tracks becoming standards in their own right 🇬🇧👍
Guys, BINGO! the music and dance of “yester-decade”, was SUPERIOR to today’s and recent years. So glad you see that ❤️
The 60s were the decade for girl groups. There's so much more for you guys to discover! Try Be My Baby by the Ronettes, Will You Love Me Tomorrow by the Shirelles, or Where Did Our Love Go by the Supremes. There's tons of this, and it's all good. I read somewhere that hundreds of girl groups charted in the 60s.
YES!!! WILL YOU LOVE ME TOMORROW? By the Shirelles!!!!!
@@wesleypruitt265 Yes, Will You Love Me Tomorrow is the best of them! Written by the great Carole King.
Such great choices!!
Don't forget the Shangri-Las.
Be My Baby is the song named by Brian Wilson as his favorite song and the one that influenced him the most.
Little Eva was the first artist to dub her voice to the melody, harmony and background vocals to the song. It's all her singing!
Thank u! Important history.
That's a cool fun fact ! .. I'm a music junkie, and had no idea about this. 👍👍
You should also check out “Mashed Potato Time” by Dee Dee Sharp
And
“The Watusi” by the Orions
Both from that early ‘60’s dance era.
Also, The Monkey, The Swim..etc. Seems like a new dance was coming out every month back then.
@@glennelfmann3143
A really great time to be a teenager…a little before my time. I was fortunate to have a big sister who was a teen at that time, had all those ‘45’s … I was 5-7 years old and played them more than she did!
A piece of trivia; Gerry Goffin & Carole King wrote Loco Motion for Dee Dee Sharp but, at the last minute, she turned it down, so they got Eva (their 18 year old housekeeper/babysitter) to do it.
@Rhonda Bothelio
The tune, yes; didn’t know there was a dance.
Kylie Minogue started her singing career with a cover of The Locomotion back in the 80s in Australia. It is good fun too.
Little Eva was Carole Kings Babysitter wot a voice and a powerful track !
Yes. I heard the the Shirelles were supposed to sing it but they opted out for whatever reason and the writers loved Eva’s voice so much, they went with it. Good decision!
@@gtojohnny9 Carole King & Gerry Goffin wrote it for Dee Dee Sharp but, at the last minute, she turned it down, so they got Eva (their housekeeper/babysitter) to do it.
the twist was the king of all the dances back then
Carole King wrote this for Little Eva- her babysitter- who she made a star!
Actually the song was written for Dee Dee Sharp, but she turned it down.
I grow up with all the best music in the 50's-60's-70's.
Absolutely the best.
This song is by Carole King. She has explained that there was no such thing as The Locomotion. It was just an idea for a song.
Right. The Twist was an actual dance step, so it wins Best Dance by default. But The Locomotion is a better song.
Twist was by far more popular- dance contests galore
Awesome! Kylie Minogue and Grand Funk Railroad also did this song. But this is the best! You need to check out Martha and the Vandellas Dancing in the Street also. Also - Land of 1000 Dances, Wilson Pickett mentions MANY different dances from that era - Mashed Potato, The Swim, etc. You could learn them all!
Yes! I requested “Dancing In The Streets” yesterday.
also David Bowie & Mick Jagger doing Dancing in the Streets is a great cover
Check out Kylie Minogue's cover of this song. It's really nice and sweet th-cam.com/video/POWsFzSFLCE/w-d-xo.html
@@Sportsref13 Van Halen did it better.
@@Sportsref13 The original first tho....!
We were taught this dance in gym class, so that we could hear this song, and dance to it for our sixth grade prom…. Wow, what a flash back…. Thanks
Please react to the amazing songwriter of this song Carole King. So many songwriting credits to her name, but is equally as amazing as an artist herself. Her album Tapestry is one the best albums of our time.
Carole King is straight legendary fire! 🔥🤙
This has been one of my all time favorite songs ever since I was a kid.
“Everybody’s doing a brand new dance now,
COME ON BABY DO THE LOCOMOTION” love this song!!!
When you said "sweet," I burst out laughing. This is a bumper and so much fun to dance to.
The Twist never went away. “Limbo Rock” is still popular too.
The Twist was the top of the pyramid of dances. A lot of songs introduced a new move/dance, but Twist was king.
Need to react to Carole King! Again in icon In the music industry as a singer and a songwriter with some great hits for a lot of people
Start with Carole King's "I Feel The Earth Move". From her classic "Tapestry" album which has sold 25 million copies worldwide. Carole is in the Songwriters and Rock n' Roll Hall Of Fame!!
@@surlechapeau One of the greatest albums of all time I wore the thing out!
ABSOLUTELY AGREE!!!
Of course Carole wrote one of Aretha’s most iconic songs Natural Woman, but Carole herself does an amazing version too.
@@surlechapeau
Agreed! Perfect starter song for CK!
The Twist was huge. By far, the number one dance.
Written by the greatest female artist
Carol king
Eva was her housekeeper at the time
Grand Funk does a great version of this
The twist was far more popular
Not sure if there was a locomotion dance
This is choreographed for TV
J&A, you'll love Carole King's "I Feel The Earth Move", "So Far Away", "Its Too Late" and many more!!!
Rajah! [ smiling ]
You've got to hear Grand Funk Railroad do this!
She was Carole King's babysitter.
@@MrJohnw2454 I love the Grand Funk Railroad cover of this. I also have a bit of a soft spot for the Kylie Minogue version too.
There were so many songs have referenced the Twist so it definitely wins hands down.
The Twist was a worldwide phenomenon. EVERYBODY did it--and still do it today. Watching a baby/toddler do it with their parents brings a lot of joy to me for some reason. There are even follow up songs: "Let's Twist Again", "Peppermint Twist", "Twistin' The Night Away" ( a real BANGER, imo), "Twist and Shout" along with others. It's popularity was probably due the fact it was easy to learn and ANYONE could do it...
Absolutely spot on! The Twist rules!! 😉😁
You two bring such joy to everyone, thank you. peace
This was cowritten by Carole King. You simply have to check out the album TAPESTRY by her, and I mean every song. It's that good, she's that good.
Carole King would be an awesome choice for female Friday! “ I Feel the Earth Move” ( or anything from the Tapestry album) would be great!
Definitely have to do Carol King: You've got a friend, It's too late, I feel the earth move, A natural woman, So far away
I knew of this version but the one I remember the most was the 80's cover by Kylie Minogue. It was a staple at every family wedding from like 88 on.
Another great FEMALE song of the 60's is "WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME TOMORROW" by THE SHIRRELLES. It is in the Top 10 female songs of the 60\s in my opinion. Incidently both The Locomotion and that song were written by Carole King.
That got me thinking what are the other great FEMALE songs of the 1960's. Must include RESPECT by Aretha Franklin. Must include WALK ON BY by Dionne Warwick. Must include MAYBE by the Chantels. That is off the top of my head. Now I must have a think.
I also suggested the Shirelles. Great minds.
Her hair is a bouffant. A beehive is an updo. I won this record as part of an oldies album from a local radio station in 1968. I played it to death!
Another suggestion for female Fridays is Connie Francis "Where the Boys Are". She hits that late 1950s-early 1960s vibe and has a fabulous voice. She was a female "crooner" at the same time as Paul Anka.
Love her
Please, please, please explore Connie Francis...
I was in love with her when I was 8 yr. old. Still think she was so beautiful and my goodness what a singer.
That movie"Where The Boys Are" is one of my favorite movies of all time and I don't know why!
The twist was so much bigger that ” the locomotion. ” It was a fad that lasted for a time ,but not for long . But love the song !❤️
For a future female Friday I suggest Leader Of The Pack by The Shangri-Las. It's A good one from the 60's...
Oh yeah - that’s a good one.
In the background, the 3 female singers were known as The Blossoms. They had regular gigs on the weekly TV shows that featured current music, and they were backup singers or re-branded as other groups to record outside of recording contracts. Darlene Love is the most well known of the trio.
You guys liked Grand Funk Railroad , well in late 70s GFR covered this song.
Yes, love their version! Although it was actually mid-70s (1974). Man, I'm getting old!
A standard song at the roller rink.
Great song and great reaction.
Also, Amber--the braids rock.
Grand Funk Railroad did a fantastic cover of this song...
The twist was by far a much more requested song , but the locamotion was fairly popular .
The Locomotion was a song; the Twist was an institution. Everybody did the twist, and it lasted. Chubby Checker owned the twist, but there was one other great twist song. Joey Dee and the Starlighters had a hit with the Peppermint Twist. Well worth a listen. There were tons of ridiculous dance songs in those days, and they all lasted about a week: Popeye the Hitchhiker, the Swim, the Popcorn, the Funky Broadway, I can't begin to name them all, largely because most of them were completely forgettable. Norman LeRoy, just below, listed several great girl groups, and I want to add two more. Leader of the Pack by the Shangri-Las. Bette Midler covered it brilliantly many years later, but the original is the best place to start. He's a Rebel by the Crystals is the other great girl group song IMO. Those two got worn out at my house.
YES! The Peppermint Twist is a jam for real!!!! Good Call!
Yes, love He's a Rebel!
The Beatles, "Twist and Shout"
Sam Cooke, "Twistin' the Night Away"
Ahhhhhhh yeah as soon as dances were mentioned I immediately thought of "Peppermint Twist." Was that an actual dance? No matter the song is a fun one.
I mean, it was a good 20+ years before I was born and even I would immediately say the Twist.
One of the other dance songs, even before the Loco-motion was "The Bristol Stomp"; don't know if you can find stuff on it but we liked to do the dance, line dance" at sock hops.
The Twist was a MONSTER hit..it brought people of all ages together as the craze exploded..there were clubs named after it..
Yeah, it's almost impossible to describe just how huge the Twist was. It was everywhere.
Fisrt record I ever bought , still best version .
Seeing that you enjoy little Eva‘s original song, I know you will truly “dig“ Grand Funk Railroad’s cover of this song. It is funkier. More “Jump” to it ❤️
Love you two!!!
GFR’s version was the first version I ever heard…and I was absolutely in love with the beat. Great version of a classic hit.
Kylie Minogue also did a good cover of this song.
The album cover was 3-D, I remember playing it while wearing the glasses.
YASSS!!!! GFR'S VERSION IS THE BOMB!!!
That’s right , now that you’ve heard the song check out what GFR did with it 👍✊🤗
Love when one teacher corrects another teacher "more funner = more fun" lol. need to listen to "Dancing in the street" do the original version you will love it also :)
Next Stops:
The Supremes, "You Can't Hurry Love"
Martha and the Vandellas, "Dancing in the Street"
Joan Osborne, "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted" (live; Jimmy Ruffin cover, featuring the original Motown Records house band)
The Supremes definitely need to be reacted to. You can't hurry love is my favorite
Joan Osbornes version of that song is killer!!!
All great requests!
All the old songs are not only great, but us elder’s have the memories that each song brings with them. Thank you J & Amber for giving us these great songs & our memories that go with them…love you two!👍♥️♥️xoxoxo
Have you guys listened to Billie Holiday yet? If not you should check her out. Her music would probably be the oldest you've listened to so far. She was popular in the 30's and 40's. I'd suggest starting with The Very Thought Of You
Billie Holiday was a great American singer that every modern singer should study.
Billie did not have a strong voice and had a quite limited octave range
However, what she did vocally to overcome these limitations made her the singing icon she became
We're still waiting on some Billie Holiday.
I agree. "Lady Day" is an absolute must.
This is *THE* song for doing a chain around the dance floor at a wedding.
The Twist is the overall number 1 song in the history of the Billboard charts - it went on the charts twice going to number 1 both times w/in 2 years.
It didn't deserve it.
@@timcarr6401 go tell that to the tens of millions of people who bought it, danced it and kept it on the charts-- has nothing to do w/deserving it--
@@frankmastroianni2501 It was a fun song cover, but there have been hundreds of songs of much better quality.
I commented on your remark about it 'didn't deserve' being the all-time Billboard #1 song of the rock era. Has nothing to do w/deserving it. I was just stating a fact regarding the song and it's popularity. "Deserving it" is a personal choice of liking it or not. It also has nothing to do w/the covers as all songs are tallied by Billboard by the individual recording. If one goes by covers, then 'Yesterday' by the Beatles would be number 1.
@@frankmastroianni2501 Are you talking about the sheer number of covers of a song? I usually prefer the originals, but there are exceptions.
You just can't beat 50's-60's-70's Rock N Roll!
The original Hairspray film (the 1988 one with Ricky Lake and Debbie Harry) kind of puts these dance crazes into their context of US 'bandstand' TV shows. It's also brilliant.
Gave you a thumbs up just for your SRV t-shirt. There's hope for the future of music with young ones appreciating music like his and this.
The first time I heard this song was a cover by Kylie Minogue. After I told my mom that I loved it, she played this version for me.
"The Mash Potato" by Dee Dee Sharp was a great dance. I think it was a lot like "The Lindy" of the 1920s.
If you haven't already seen The Ronettes performing Be My Baby you'll really love their hair and the song is one of the best ever by a girl group. I like Ronnie Specter's voice even more than Diana Ross'.
When done there, check Eddie Money's "Be my little baby" featuring Ronnie Specter. In an interview he said he begged her to come out of retirment to sing on this song so he could pay homage to her ... "just like Ronnie said"
Yep! One of the great "girl group" hits.
The first time I heard this song was the 1989 version sung by Kylie Minogue. Lots of old 50s songs translate well into 80s pop it seems.
Archie Bell and the Drells “Tighten Up” is a later 60s fun dance song.
I was going to suggest the Tighten Up!
Ahhhhhhh my momma had that on 8 track. I used to listen to that song and others, over and over and over. Thank you so much for that one. 80’s were my high school years and we had great music but the 60’s and 70’s rocked as well.
Loco-Motion came after the Twist. One of the most requested songs at our school dances; another was The Frug(sp). Ah, good times.
One of my favorite 60's song. Alot of songs were so much fun to dance to! Martha and the Vandellas dancing in the street. Of course the Supremes.....❤
THE TWIST. I was 10 when this came out. Everyone including me watched American Bandstand. Got to see all the new dances and all the music hits. Gosh thanks for your reactions. Love it
"The Loco-Motion" was written by Gerry Goffin & Carole King (Brill Building, NY, NY). I gave your video a like
and wow! Do I have a story for you! I attended a Roman Catholic High School in The Bronx, NY. Our monthly dances
took place in the gym with a student spinning records over a PA system. In my junior year, as a member of the
Dance Committee, we contacted a DJ at a local radio station who hosted small rock and roll shows for high schools.
He agreed to bring a show to our school. This was a year or so after Little Eva hit No.1 with "The Loco-Morion."
I don't remember any other performer that night except Little Eva. She was dressed much more provocatively than
the clip you saw. It was the 60s and she wore a shimmering, skintight miniskirt. It was the final performance of
the show and her dance moves were incendiary! As she swung her hips, the skirt inched up higher and higher. All
the boys went wild! Our dances were chaperoned by the faculty: Roman Catholic nuns, brothers, priests and some
lay teachers. They were incensed by this performance. One brother's face got so red I thought he was going to
explode! It was pandemonium when Little Eva finished the song, ending the show. The boys shouted and stomped
their feet in approval. The faculty actually began calling for order, threatening to shut down the dance. A group
of them went over to the DJ and most likely ordered him to play calmer records as the dance started up again.
Needless to say, the Dance Committee took a lot of heat for this. It was the only such show I remembered up until
graduation. Of course, we had no idea what Little Eva was going to do. However, we were not disappointed and it
was the highlight of the night! The memory is seared into my brain in a very good way! Keep in mind, this was
nearly 60 years ago. Things were much different back then, no twerking or wardrobe malfunctions. Chuck
Many songs back then had dances that went with them. It was a fun time. The Twist was definitely more popular. Chubby Checker invented the dance and the Beatles did “Twist and Shout”! That was a huge deal! Great old stuff 🌺✌️
This is my favorite version.
I can see Kia doing the locomotion all over the living room! Lol!✌❤
Every wedding I've gone to has played this song, & everyone makes a chain with each other & does a train motion around the reception room.
Grand Funk Railroad's version is a real banger.
I had to go listen. Your right. That was awsome. Never heard that before.
This song was #1 on the charts twice. Once with little Eva and again with Grand Funk Railroad.
Imelda May "Big Bad Handsome Man" "Psycho" "It's Good To Be Alive"
Bow Wow Wow "Baby Oh No" "Do You Wanna Hold Me" "I Want Candy"
Garbage "I Think I'm Paranoid" "Queer" "Breaking Up The Girl"
All have many more great songs. These are just some quick picks.
Imelda May has so many amazing wild songs. Her Rockabilly is wonderful!
Written by Carol King. WILL YOU LOVE ME TOMORROW is one of my favorites that she wrote. She also wrote YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE A NATURAL WOMAN.
Please do "The Warrior" by Scandal next Friday. Patty Smyth kills it.
That was our graduation song in 1984.
I think “Goodbye To You” is better!
I lived through it. The Twist was THE MONSTER. It then opened the door for all these other great "dance" songs.
You would probably like Roni and the Ronettes , same vibe
This song was on the first album I ever bought. It was an album of mixed artists. I really like this one. I think the twist was more popular. I used to do the twist.
There's an episode of the Cosby Show where Vanessa and her friends were dancing to it,dressed scantily, and Claire banished them back upstairs,lol
This is an absolute classic ... I'm shocked that you'd never heard this. My little girl (now 16) was doing this in the 3rd grade ... I thought it was universal ...
I guess I live and learn
If you enjoy seeing the dances, check out "Shake a Tail Feather" by Ray Charles from the Blues Brothers movie - it will get you dancing!
Guys,
Little Eva sang locomotion while cleaning and dusting her boss's house. It helped her focus on work. Her boss was a record producer. His wife heard Eva singing and put it on tape for Eva's boss to hear at the office. He was looking for a new artist and there she was at his house. Little Eva recorded locomotion just like you hear it it went viral for a bit.😊
Hoping you will watch Melanie (Safko) sweet hippie girl from Woodstock. "Lay Down - Candle in the Wind " with Edwin Hawkins singers . Perfect for a Friday
Is she the one that sang I got Brand New Roller Skates?
Yes..a powerful song that gives me goose-bumps every time...It has to be the long version too...!!!
I remember kids doing this in my elementary school days. It was a nationwide dance craze.
The dances back in the day can all be found on Wilson Picket's Land Of A Thousand Dances, plus it's a great tune from a great oldies musician. Wilson Picket's and Otis Redding's rabbit holes are phenomenal rabbit holes to head down - I dare you both to try either of these rabbit holes.
Thanks, guys! Little Eva was amazing.. Carole & Gerry''s babysitter, is how I heard it... she was like, 14! this song has been remade a few times.. "Grand Funk Railroad" had a hit with it in 1974.. and I guess Kylie Minogue?.. but Eva was so awesome!...
A better next step than little Eva is to dig into the Phil Spector back catalogue. He was a complete nut, but his productions of the Shirelles, Darlene Love, Ronnie Spector and many more are fantastic. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, Be My Baby, Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) and even the production of Ike and Tina Turner's River Deep, Mountain High.
and just to add, like Loco Motion, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow was also written by Gerry Goffin & Carole King. They were a monster hit writing team!
Don't forget the classic SLEIGH RIDE by The RONETTES
@@lajas46 the entire Phil Spector Christmas Album.
Her hair is bouffant, a bee hive is all the hair on top swirled skyward. I was 9 when this song came out and I love the later cover by Kylie Minogue. I have both of them in my music library. Can't sit still listening to this, it is so upbeat.
Grand Funk Railroad's version of this is the best, a true "BANGER"!!!
This for popular again in the 70.s. This brings back memories.
My friends and I would do dance routines to this on my porch. I was tge smallest so was always in the middle.
As far as I know the Locomotion wasn’t a real dance other than making a train and kicking your legs out. I could only find one TH-cam video from back thenish. The Twist was huge, as were the Mashed Potato, the Pony, and how about The Jerk. And the Watusi.
There were some really cool dances like the stroll.
Did anyone do the Bump - that came later but was a lot of fun.
And the Swim, and the Frug, and the Monkey, and the Madison and...
Memory Lane...... I tried doing the Mashed Potato a couple of years ago. I couldn't keep my balance and had to hang on to a chair. Lol.
Don't forget the Funky Chicken started by Rufus Thomas with Do The Funky Chicken. Or Marvin Gaye Hitch Hike (1963). It went well with Vanity Fair's Hitchin a Ride that came out in 1969.
I am pretty sure "The Electric Slide" was very popular around the country. The dance was very popular in the club I went to back in the day.
I lived all over the United States during the 1950's and 60's - from New York to California (dad was an aerospace engineer) so I can tell you what went on all over. The Locomotion was a GREAT song to dance to, but we just danced however we wanted. No specific steps. Different parts of the country might have their own regional takes on most of these. But the dance that went NATIONAL and WAS done exactly with the greatest enthusiasm was the Twist. (see the scene in Pulp Fiction where John Travolta and Uma Thurman are dancing the Twist) That was all the rage. The "Pony" was used heavily in Go-Go dancing and incorporated whatever other moves a dancer felt like such as "Mashed Potato" and "Swim". Generally people used a number of these different moves to dance to any song that had a great beat. Just watch old American Bandstand TV shows. And old variety shows that featured really popular singers will have professional dancers in the background doing all the latest moves.
There has had many versions of this song, in 1987 Kylie Minogue did a cover of it as her fist ever single when she left the TV series Neighbours she was famous for in the UK, NZ and Aussie, you should do a comparison of a few, be interesting to see who lies which versions best.
Not many people I know have heard of her, but Amii Stewart has a dynamite voice. 'Knock on Wood' is her most successful song and you can kind of tell how good her voice is in it.