Gruesome Twosome: Back Door Brill Edition
Eydie Gorme: “Don’t Try to Fight It Baby”Columbia Records single, 1963
Andy Williams: “Wrong For Each Other”
Columbia Records single, 1964 | BUY
Wanna know about the brilliance of the Brill Building Era? Even the relatively obscure songs from that special time and place serve as gems of melody and rhythm. These two singles were written for performers normally associated with more adult-oriented material, namely Eydie Gorme and Andy Williams. Carole King and Jack Keller’s sprightly “Don’t Try to Fight It, Baby” gave Gorme another appealing samba-ish hit in the “Blame It On The Bossa Nova” mold. Doc Pomus and Mort Schuman composed “Wrong for Each Other” for Williams in an attempt to recapture the success of their “Can’t Get Used to Losing You”, but the song’s dark lyrics and oddly shifting time signatures ensured only a modest chart showing in 1964. Personally, I think it’s pretty cool — who knew that Andy Williams of all people could sound so suicidal?
Comments
What a fun helping of MOR-styled pop goodness! Thanks for sharing these, Matt! Love how Eydie was apparently considered important enough at Columbia to warrant her likeness being used on her record labels. Cool!
Posted by: Dan | June 21, 2006 07:28 PM
I noticed that, too - custom labels were very rare back then. Eydie must have been pretty special to warrant one.
Posted by: Matt | June 22, 2006 06:46 PM