Author: Margaret Ashworth

This was written by Huey ‘Piano’ Smith. He recorded it with his group, Huey ‘Piano’ Smith and His Clowns in 1958, but it was not released until 1971 on the … Continue readingFrankie Ford: Sea Cruise

This was written by Graham Nash when he was a member of the Hollies, but it was rejected as not commercial enough. Here is a clip of the group trying … Continue readingCrosby, Stills and Nash: Marrakesh Express

Based on the tune to Auld Lang Syne, this was written by Pat Best and recorded by the group of which he was a member, the Four Tunes. It reached No … Continue readingI Understand (Just How You Feel)

This was written by the group’s founder John Sebastian. It was released as their first single in July 1965 and reached No 9 in America. It does not seem to … Continue readingThe Lovin’ Spoonful: Do You Believe in Magic

This was written by group members Bob Spickard and Brian Carman and recorded and released in December 1962. It reached No 4 in the US in May 1963 and No … Continue readingThe Chantays: Pipeline

A classic teen tragedy single. It was written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and George ‘Shadow’ Morton. It topped the US charts in November 1964 and reached No 11 in … Continue readingThe Shangri-Las: Leader of the Pack

The authorship of this instrumental is a tangled tale involving transposed labels and titles, with the result that the credit is shared between String-A-Longs members Richard Stephens and Jimmy Torres … Continue readingThe String-A-Longs: Wheels