Hey Old Schoolers. Professor Mikey here with another attempt to bring the past back to where it belongs. In our hearts and minds. If I were building a time machine school bus, I’d make sure it had a great sound system before it had anything else. Especially a search engine. Ha ha.

Old School loves the underground years, but in ‘65 a lot of things were getting figured out. The British Invasion was full on and the USA had surrendered to the long hair, the mersey beat,mini skirts and swinging London.

But they all share something in common besides the paisley pants, and swinging London. All these groups and many more were enchanted and influenced by the stone cold grooves blasting out from Black America. The Stones loved the Muddy Waters of the Chicago Blues. John Paul George and Ringo stopped in the name of love to groove on those Motown harmonies. Eric Burdon lived in the House of the Rising Sun.

So for this show we are going to the songs that were powering American soul trains and soul radio. Putting them together sounds like a street symphony of wisdom and groove, inspired by the restless need to be free and totally expressive through a music that was ascending to new heights.

If you had the opportunity to find a late night soul station in the summer of ‘65 this is some of what you might have heard. Put on your high heel sneakers, don’t be too proud to beg, sugar pie honey bunch. Old School is turning it over for episode 86.

It’s the Soul Summer of ‘65, in the midnight hour, in any hour. As a culture, Papa’s got a brand new bag.

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Professor Mikey, about to wrap up episode 86 of the Old School, “1965 Summer of Soul.” The obvious problem, this old jukebox has swallowed up all my dimes, and there are still lots of great songs we haven’t heard yet. So lets do this. Lets make this Volume 1, and we will come back at you with a Volume 2 for our next episode. The music is already there, including more Otis Redding, more Supremes, more Marvin Gaye, plus some lesser known artists like Gene Chandler, the Marvelows, Mel Carter, Lee Dorsey, and even a 60s comeback from Little Richard. 1965 Summer of Soul Volume 2, coming soon to Substack or a podcast player near you.

If you like the show, forward it to a friend. Professor Mikey’s Old School is produced for educational purposes, and the chance to get your groove on. The music we hear is either in the public domain, cleared by the podcast providers, encouraged by the artists and their families, or is used within the guidelines of Section 107 of the copyright act of 1976, wherein the definition of “fair use” becomes especially muddy. We prefer Muddy Waters.

A free subscription to my newsletter takes a second and its the fastest, easiest way to get the latest episode, plus roam the stacks of what has come before. Do that at professormikey.substack.com. Come see about me.

Thanks for listening, rock on with your bad self, and keep the music coming. Stay safe, stay cool, and keep it Old School.

And be sure to have a good answer when you they ask you “What were you known for?”

1965 Summer of Soul

Midnight Hour Wilson Pickett

Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag Pt 1, 2, 3 James Brown

The Jerk The Capitols

Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) The Four Tops

Shotgun Jr. Walker and the All-Stars

Boomerang Jr. Walker and the All-Stars

The Clapping Song Shirley Ellis

Iko Iko The Dixie Cups

Do I Love You Billy Stewart

See Saw Don Covay

Uptight (Everything’s Alright) Stevie Wonder

All or Nothing Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles

Yes I’m Ready Barbara Mason

Tonight’s the Night Solomon Burke

I’ve Been Loving You To Long Otis Redding

The Birds and the Bees Jewel Akens

Ain’t That Peculiar Marvin Gaye

Stop! In the Name of Love The Supremes

Summer’s here and the time is right for podcasting at the pool! (Player above, Apple and Spotify links below.)

This show is a reunion of sorts. Attendees are solid gold seniors who had no relation to each other, other than their heydays and their expiration dates. They hooked up for one mad love affair in the Troy Donahue-Connie Stevens summer of 1963, then went their separate ways. Sometimes they might see one another on a Rhino oldies collection, but other than that they were cast into that great audio convalescent care stack-o-wax we know as Golden Oldies.

It’s a great bunch once you get to know them. Collectively they represent one of the last summits of pop culture before The Beatles hit the beaches and the rest of the fab but gear British Invasion followed. Culturally, what was on the horizon was the equivalent of sound coming to the movies.

The artist contributions are significant. They offer a sweet last snapshot of Fifties culture that lingered well into the early Sixties. Focusing their talents on the singles market, still the only game in town, they were a mixture of young talent and old business. They played by rules that had been around too long and still managed to deliver unique and original product. Cool, young, and under contract, they rocked the radio, jolted the cash registers, and spoke to young people.

There were so many songs that charged this magical last summer of the before times. This is only the tip of the iceberg floating in the deep end. Some of these songs haven’t been played next to each other in over a half century. They still play well together, unaware of the future, masters of their space in their time. On the beach.

Poolside ‘63 listeners weren’t thinking of all these cultural changes as they showed up in their swimsuits with their beach towels, their lotions and potions, their flotation devices. The pool was for fun and relaxation and the tunes blasting the chlorine filled air just felt right. It felt loud.

Special thanks to the artists who made this magic summer so unforgettable, to DJ B. Mitchell Reed, to the Coca-Cola Company, to The Chantays on Lawrence Welk) to Japan, to the Bronx, to Saigon, to country, to the blues, to jazz and everything else that got shaken up in this sound kaleidoscope from an endless summer.

IT’S MY PARTY - Lesley Gore

THE MONKEY TIME - Major Lance

DA DOO RON RON - The Crystals

SUKIYAKI - Kyu Sakamoto

EASIER SAID THAN DONE The Essex

IF YOU WANNA BE HAPPY - Jimmy Soul

HEATWAVE - Martha and the Vandellas

FINGERTIPS PT 1 & 2 - Little Stevie Wonder

SALLY GO ROUND THE ROSES - The Jaynettes

IN DREAMS - Roy Orbison

PIPELINE - The Chantays

SURF CITY - Jan and Dean

YOU CAN’T SIT DOWN - The Dovells

DENISE - Randy and the Rainbows

HE’S SO FINE - The Chiffons

MY BOYFRIEND’S BACK - The Angels

WIPEOUT - The Surfaris