Last week’s theme research lead me to rediscover The Soul Survivors with “Expressway (To Your Heart)”, which I liked and wanted to know more about the 60s group. The song that perked my ears is what the Philadelphia based R&B band is best known for hitting the #1 spot in Philadelphia and New York, nationally it topped at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. At YouTube, I found the band’s When the Whistle Blows Anything Goes album playlist. It’s always fun to sample tunes of these one-hit wonders. Hit play to listen to The Soul Survivors!
This is a music linky party. Your co-hostess are Stacy, Alana, and Me. Every other week we have a suggested music theme (see weekly prompts here) to build your song set around and all participants share YouTube or Vimeo videos for our music enthusiasts. Failure to meet this basic guideline puts your URL in danger of being removed or labeled – NO MUSIC.
I want to say sorry for putting John second on the linky party. I guess my fingers were working faster than my brain and this goof slipped right by me. Please forgive me, my friend!
Until life begins to settle down on this end, I am cutting my posts to the first BOTB of each month and weekly 4M dates on the dance floor. There’s only so much of me to go around! This is CAAC signing off, have a boogietastic week! X💋X💋, Cathy
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O my O my, I can feel it and I like it😸Great choise, CK! and that Wayne quote is so spot on😹Pawkisses for a wonderful week ahead🐾😽💞
Binky,
Excellent! I’m so happy you can feel it and the groove got you movin’. Have a pawsome week!
I lovevthst John Wayne quote, which is pure gold. The bears are cute and it nakes me do mad how they are hunted gor their paws.
This band is great and funny with the in-between burps and stuff. I love that they fid their signature hit song archepella. I know I spelled that wrong but…oh well.
Birgit,
I agree about the John Wayne quote – pure gold! I’ve never been a fan of trophy hunting. It’s one thing when you hunt for food and clothing as in the early days before technology came to the textile industry improving how we keep warm. I’ve never been a fan of natural furs for wearing, not that its not beautiful, but the process to turn it into something wearable leaves an unpleasant smell to the garment, plus I’d rather have the opportunity to see a bear in the wild, as long as I’m a safe distances away, then on my living room floor. Faux fur is fine by me if I want something like that. 🙂
It’s been a while since I heard The Soul Survivors!
John,
I’m glad to awaken your memories with this old band. Thanks for stopping by!
Gotta Love Momma and her babies photos.don’t matter a momma and her babies are always cute.
Thanks for joining the party this week, Mike!
The bears are adorable. Love love love the music. John Wayne a great actor. Have the best day ever.
John Wayne was an awesome actor. I think he probably was a pretty nice fella, too. It would’ve been fun to have met him. 🙂
Oh, I love this band and their soulful sound. Those bear cubs are adorable and love the John Wayne quote! Have a great week ahead!
I’m happy you enjoyed the awww moment, music, and marvelous quote. Here’s hoping your week is boogietastic, Eugenia!
My pleasure, Cathy!
The bear cubs are adorable.
Robin,
Bear cubs are adorable but it’s always wise to stay away from such cuties. I’m amazed to see tourists in the Smoky’s who try to get close to the wild life. They are asking for something to happen and it won’t be fun because where ever baby bear is, Mama bear is sure to follow!
KWYM about being spread thin! Hope you have a peaceful week Cathy. Thanks for hosting – really like the John Wayne quote it made me smile!
Usually by the time summer rolls around I like to stepping back in Blogosphere to leisurely do other things, even work on my blog but life has me tied up with various going-ons. It’ll slow down before long, though. I just need to not stress it when stuff gets overwhelming is all. Thanks for popping by, my friend!
Thanks for the refresher on this group, and i really like the awwww and the quote!
I’m happy to reintroduce you to this oldie!
The only song I knew of The Soul Survivors’ was Expressway to Your Heart. Positives – varied music, and a couple of great covers (Please Please Me and A Change is Gonna Come. The instrumental “Taboo-India” was interesting and not at all what I would have expected. I also enjoyed “Impossible Mission”. The slight disappointment? Three variations of Expressway To Your Heart. To me it was more filler than having a purpose, although I did like the a capella version at the end. Alana ramblinwitham
Alana,
Like you, “Expressway To Your Heart” is the only song I knew by The Soul Survivors. I had hoped after digging into their discography that I’d discover others but I didn’t. They really did have a good sound and could’ve done so much more had the cards been stacked in their favor but the music industry is a gamble plus the talent really has to be plugged in with the money. I have to wonder if this was the biggest down fall for the group.
I always liked them and that fabulous cover tune too!
I’m glad you enjoyed the music, Brian. It’s fun to rediscover older sounds and to learn a little about the bands.
Awww on mom and her cubs. So adorable.
Love the video and love the John Wayne quote. You made me laugh out loud.
Thank you for joining the Awww Mondays Blog Hop.
Have a fabulous day and week, Cathy. Love and hugs. ♥
Sandee,
Gone are the days of nonsense people like John Wayne. This quote is laughable but it’s also sad because it’s evident every single day just how stupid people are. A generation has allowed themselves to be dumb down. I pray somewhere among the sea of stupidity there are families raising their children to think for themselves. To use that gray mass between their ears as God intended and can revert this mess sweeping across the globe.
Hi, Cathy!
Happy Paw-some 4M Monday on Sunday, dear friend! I hope you and DH had a good week and weekend.
Awww, those bear cubs are cute, but I know better than to try smooching them. I don’t think their mama would understand or appreciate my intent.
I am excited that you chose to shine the spotlight on The Soul Survivors. The Philadelphia-based psychedelic white soul band was very popular in my neck of the woods. I never listened to this album before, and I am glad you posted it, especially since it includes the uncut album version of their biggest hit and signature song “Expressway To Your Heart.” The name of the album, When The Whistle Blows Anything Goes, seems inspired by “5 O’clock World,” a late 1965 hit by The Vogues, another Pennsylvania group.
Track one, “Do You Feel It,” sounds exactly, and I mean exactly, like The Young Rascals, a group that was well established and riding a string of half a dozen hits by 1967 when this Soul Survivors album was released. Therefore, I must conclude that The Rascals were a major influence for the S.S.
Oh my gosh, Cathy, the next song, “Please, Please, Please” is a fabulous cover of one of James Brown’s signature songs, a hit R&B single for “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business” in 1956.
“Expressway To Your Heart,” penned and produced by Philly hit makers Gamble & Huff, was featured in the OST of the 1987 movie Adventures in Babysitting, a cover version performed in the film by Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. On the original album, “Expressway” runs more than a minute longer than the edited version played by radio stations and released on the single. Most of that extra time is accounted for at the end of the song which extends well beyond the fade point of the 45.
The next track is a cover of Otis Redding’s original version of “Respect” which was turned into a huge hit when covered by Aretha Franklin. “Taboo – India” is an interesting exotic sounding instrumental piece featuring bongos and chanting. I really like the SS cover of “Too Many Fish In The Sea,” originally waxed by Motown’s underrated girl group The Marvelettes. The Young Rascals also did a cover of that song that was released on their 1967 album Collections. On the next track, “Dathon’s Theme, the SS guys are clearly imitating the successful blue-eyed soul style of The Righteous Brothers and The Walker Brothers.
“A Change Is Gonna Come” is a cover of a song written and first recorded by Sam Cooke, a modest hit for Cooke in early 1965, but an enduring civil rights anthem that has been recorded by Central PA’s Magnificent Men and other artists. I have loved the Soul Survivors’ version of “Hey Gyp,” a song written by Donovan, ever since I discovered it on the B side of the “Expressway” 45 I bought in 1967. Eric Burdon and the Animals also recorded an excellent cover of “Hey Gyp.” “Explosion In Your Soul,” the A side of a single that has “Dathon’s Theme” as the B side, was released as the follow-up to the act’s smash hit debut single “Expressway.” Not nearly as big a hit, the record approached the top 30 in early 1968. Regardless of its lower peak chart position, I think the song is cool as heck, and so is “Impossible Mission (Mission Impossible,” the group’s next single released in March of ’68. That single, inspired by the hit TV series that debuted in 1966, failed to climb halfway up the Hot 100 chart, but it is also in my personal collection. “Poor Man’s Dream” is another slab of soul released as the B side of “Impossible Mission.”
To sum it up, The Soul Survivors were the real deal. They performed authentic psychedelicized R&B and soul. Their original songs are gems of the genre, and a couple of their covers are so good that they deserve to be elevated to the status of classics because they rival the original recordings. The Soul Survivors’ style and sound were very similar to that of The Rascals during that band’s early years when they called themselves The Young Rascals, and they are also very similar to the psych-soul band Vanilla Fudge. The Soul Survivors released records on Philadelphia’s Crimson label. The printed labels issued by that company were so pretty, that I featured both the “Expressway” and the “Explosion” 45 in the sidebar of my Shady’s Place blog.
Thank you very much for picking The Soul Survivors for your 4M feature and have a wonderful week, dear friend Cathy!
Tom,
I knew this would be a band that falls squarely in line with your musical taste. I appreciated the commentary on the songs from the playlist. As good as Soul Survivors were, it’s hard to believe they didn’t make a huge hit in the industry. I read on Wiki that the band broke around 1974 mainly because they couldn’t achieve the kind of success with three subsequent minor hits. Eventually they lost their record contract and manager which led to the disbandment of the group.
I’m not sure how this works but Wiki says the group is still playing music under David Uosikkinen of The Hooters. Wiki also mentions the two original members, brothers, Richie and Charlie Ingui began playing in the early 90s doing gigs in the east mostly and even got a five record contract with a studio. Unfortunately Richie has since passed. The brief glimpse of fame the original band got was all that was meant to be for Soul Survivors. It’s too bad they didn’t make it cause they really had a good sound. Thanks for your interest, my friend. Have a boogietastic week!