Video Non Veritas

With all of the frivolity of the past couple of weeks, I thought I would get serious for a moment.

Sometimes I get lost grooving to tunes on YouTube. I get a chuckle looking at some of the old videos. Did they really think they were fooling anybody, or were they done as a joke?

Gratuitous Sax

The Knickerbockers were a group from New Jersey that had one major hit record. That record, Lies, won them the award for “Best Beatle Knockoff of 1966.”

Never mind that there are at least two electric guitars in the recording. I think you might even hear an acoustic guitar as well when you listen to a clean copy. One thing I don’t hear is a saxaphone.

What’s Is That Man Doing Here?

Booker T and the MG’s was a big group out of Memphis in the 1960’s The original members were organist Booker T. Jones, guitarist Steve Cropper, bass player Lewie Steinberg (later replaced by Duck Dunn), and drummer Al Jackson Jr. As far as I know they never had a sax player, and I don’t recall ever hearing one on any of their records. So who is that guy? -- not that he does anything but clap.

Piano, What Piano?

The ferry cross the Mersey carried Gerry and the Pacemakers on the wave of the British invasion. This video has the old bugaboo of using electric guitars in the video when the recording clearly has acoustic.  Also, Gerry Marsden is playing the only 6 string, the other guy is playing base. Notice one of the band members is playing a piano. (In the film Ferry Across the Mersey which uses the same recording he is playing a grand piano). Even on a clean recording of the song (which is the same recording as used here) there is no piano to be heard. Another guitar, yes, but piano? – no.

I am sure there are many more out there. So go listen to some old tunes and get a laugh at the same time.