70 Ounces of Gold was a series of song compilation CDs that offered value for the price. I found 70 Ounces of Gold: Classic Gold in a thrift store recently. When I played the CD I heard songs I hadn’t heard in over 50 years! Do you remember “I Love How You Love Me” by The Paris Sisters? Or “Love Letters” by Ketty Lester?
Of the 27 songs on this CD, I’d categorize nearly half of them “obscure.” But, once I heard them again, I remembered those songs from the late 1950s to early 1960s. I wouldn’t call these songs “Classic Gold” but the rarities on this CD triggered a wave of nostalgia! How many of these songs do you remember? GRADE: A-
TRACK LIST:
A few songs I like-Chuck Berry, Everly Brothers, Patsy Cline, Turtles-but mostly stuff I haven’t heard in decades and haven’t missed it at all. And what is Ian Whitcomb and The Turtles doing here? They came a few years later. really dislike the Ian Whitcomb, Jan & Dean, Kitty Lester. I would give it a C+ at best.
Steve, like you I was mystified why The Turtles were included on this CD. When I first played 70 OUNCES OF GOLD: CLASSIC GOLD, I kept saying, “Wow, I remember that song” although I hadn’t hear it since the Sixties. It just tickled my memory! You are certainly right that many of these “forgotten” songs are forgotten for a reason.
I’m somewhat surprised that I don’t remember more than about a third of these. ALL i HAVE TO DO IS DREAM is the clear standout for me, but you could have replaced it with any of the Everly Brothers’ better songs and still have come out on top. Patsy Cline’s WALKIN’ AFTER MIDNIGHT is a close second. On the downside there’s HEY PAULA, one of the most loathsomely godawful songs of this, or any, era.
Michael, my little sister’s name is Paula and she likes “Hey Paula.” But, I know what you mean.
Wow, what a very odd collection. I know most of them (80-90%) and we have a lot of them on various oldies collections. But they are all over the place as to style, etc.
Little tidbits: did you know that Delbert McClinton played the harmonica part on Bruce Channel’s “Hey, Baby”? Some of the songs are like the ANIMAL HOUSE soundtrack while others are country, 50s R&B, etc.
Jeff, good to know. Yes, I would classify 70 OUNCES OF GOLD: CLASSIC GOLD as an odd collection. There are about a dozen other complication CDs in this series. I’m not going to seek them out on the Internet, but if I run across one of these CDs in a thrift store, I’ll buy it.
I might know more if I heard them but most are not familiar. Perhaps even as a kid I didn’t listen widely. Spent all my time with the top ten perhaps.
Patti, I was listening to my transistor radio constantly during these years. I heard all of these songs–which vary in quality–but it was delightful to hear them again after so many decades.
I remember about half of the songs, heard them on AFN and Radio Luxembourg.
A bit OT
Most of them are just two and a half minutes, typical for those days.
Wolf, you’re right about the timings of these songs. Back then, a 3-minute song was rare. Later, when FM Radio became popular, long songs became the norm.
I know quite a few of the songs here, but have to agree that it’s a complete mish-mash (“I’m Doing Fine Now,” a hit from the 1970s, seems to come from a completely different universe than most of the other songs). My favorites here are “Make Me Your Baby” and “Hey Baby” (the Beatles loved the harmonica on that song and that influenced their decision to use harmonica on “I Should Have Known Better”). Oddest appearance: Bob Marley as co-writer of Richie Valens’s “Donna.” Is that right? THE Bob Marley?
Deb, my cursory search on the Internet found this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf_W3goCazM
Deb, I was a fan of Barbara Lewis too. “Make Me Your Baby ” was her third biggest hit after “Baby, I’m Yours” and “Hello Stranger.” Sadly, she canceled the two doo wop concerts we were going to see her at, maybe 10 years ago.
The song is credited to Richie Valens alone on all the sites I see. Bob Marley would have been only 13 when Donna was a hit.
Steve, I think someone at Discogs confused Richie Valens “Donna” with Bob Marley’s “Donna”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf_W3goCazM
Recognize most, like more than half. Most of these were high school AM top 50 stuff for me
Rick, like you I listened to these songs incessantly during the Sixties. Now, no one plays most of these songs.
This one has a lot of ups and downs but any compilation that includes Betty Everett, The Everly Brothers, and Barbara Lewis is okay in my book.
Jerry, you’re right: there’s gold amid the dreck.
Just found a very moving article on the real Donna Ludwig in WaPo from 1987- sorry, can’t link to it, really good, describing her life.
Wolf, we’re all hoping you’re continuing to recover!