Meanwhile, back on the East Coast

Folk acts who move to L.A., such as the Byrds, help make America’s reply—while East Coast acts keep shining too.

So far America’s reply has looked mostly like an L.A. story. We covered folk rock and acts who start in Greenwich Village then move west. Easy to think almost everything important in the reply is L.A.-based. L.A. does grow many important things—but that is neither the whole era nor the whole reply. Before and after the Beatles land in February 1964, many other acts succeed. Why have I not mentioned Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons? For them we return east—to the New York–New Jersey belt. New York is an entertainment center; some American music comes from there. That is this lecture.

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. In recent years the musical Jersey Boys brought them back into view. Hits already in 1962—“Sherry” and “Big Girls Don’t Cry” at No. 1. Through the Invasion years they keep scoring: “Let’s Hang On” No. 4 in 1965; “Workin’ My Way Back to You” No. 9 in 1966. From 1962 before the Beatles through 1966 after, they stay hugely successful. Interesting split: West Coast falsetto vs. East Coast falsetto—that high male voice when you flip into the top range. It is a Beach Boys key; Brian Wilson often takes the high falsetto on surf records and even on more ambitious mid-1960s surf. Frankie Valli’s falsetto sounds different—maybe raspier, rougher. Still, Beach Boys and Four Seasons are alike in many ways: West Coast falsetto vs. East Coast falsetto.

Remember Capitol refusing the Beatles’ earliest U.S. singles—sure Americans would not care for a British band. Three of those singles go through Chicago indie Vee-Jay, which also holds much of the first U.K. Beatles album. When the Beatles hit in February, they take album chart Nos. 1 and 2 at once—one Capitol, one Vee-Jay. When Vee-Jay’s Beatles titles cool, they also have Four Seasons rights and issue a late-1964 package, The Beatles vs. the Four Seasons—Vee-Jay Beatles sides plus Four Seasons hits—trying to monetize both catalogs. You also see the link between the two acts.

On New York, the Lovin’ Spoonful: Village folk people who do not go to L.A. but build careers in New York. John Sebastian—singer, songwriter—is one of the few who bring autoharp into rock. Find videos of him singing while playing it: an instrument preloaded with chord buttons—press for C or Am. School teachers often use it so kids can sing folk without guitar; press buttons in order for accompaniment. Sebastian does that. First hit roughly “Do You Believe in Magic,” No. 9 in summer 1965—same stretch as “Like a Rolling Stone” and “Mr. Tambourine Man.” In 1966 “Daydream” hits No. 2; other singles chart. The Spoonful project an upbeat image—you hear jug-band influence (cans, washboards as instruments): folk, amateur, popular, full of good-time feel.

Another New York-area band: the Rascals. Later we will cover Paul Revere & the Raiders and Revolutionary War stage clothes. The Rascals start as the Young Rascals, dressed like The Little Rascals shorts from the 1930s–40s. They grow tired of it and become the Rascals. Blues-rooted more than pop or vocal-group polish. If the Byrds answer the Beatles, the Rascals may answer the Spencer Davis Group or the Animals—or, to a degree, the Rolling Stones, though Stones lean harder on singles. At the famous 1965 Shea Stadium show they open for the Beatles—Felix Cavaliere on organ, Eddie Brigati singing; the two often write together. Spring 1966: “Good Lovin’” is a hit—still requested; a cover of the Olympics’ 1965 R&B hit. Early psychedelic era: “Groovin’” is a 1967 No. 1.

Finally a band from Indiana: the McCoys. Guitarist Rick Derringer later matters in Edgar Winter’s band and as a 1970s solo act. Here they are very young—under eighteen—with a No. 1 in 1965, “Hang On Sloopy,” so they can only tour on school breaks. Producer: Bert Berns at Atlantic, who had taken over from Leiber & Stoller on Drifters dates; he produces many acts and helps make the McCoys part of America’s reply. “Hang On Sloopy” is, in many ways, a rework of “Louie Louie”—next lecture. After the McCoys, Derringer joins Edgar Winter then goes solo; Berns produces early Neil Diamond singles including “Cherry, Cherry.” We will return to Diamond—he writes for the Monkees; “I’m a Believer” is a 1966 hit.

Next: garage bands—since I mentioned “Louie Louie.” What kids shaped by the Beatles do: pick up guitars in basements and garages—common mid-1960s America.