Re-The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore

From: Andrew Loog Oldham

bob;

bob crewe wrote the lyrics and produced the records for the four seasons ; frankie valli and brought us and produced the revolutionary mitch ryder & the detroit wheels and produced the later lesley gore recordings post quincy jones. the bob crewe generation( " barbarella ") . plus he co-wrote " ( voulez vous couchez avec moi ) lady marmalade" .

keith richards and i wrote " i'd much rather be with the boys " as an innuendo'd compliment to his savoir faire.

we used to visit him at mira sound and other new york recording locations and believe me he was more than the four seasons lyric writer - he produced the records.

earlier with frank slay he co-wrote and co-produced freddy cannon ; the rays ; billy & lilly. later for motown he produced the last recordings of bobby darin including the theme from " lady sings the blues ". his soundtrack for the ellie greenwich musical " leader of the pack " co-produced with ellie was a cracker. listen to the elecktra records single version of " river deep, mountain high" . not to take away from the spector original but this mother swings.

bob, along with jerry ragavoy, bert berns, bob krasnow, artie ripp, seymour stein, jack nitzsche, phil spector, sonny bono and others was one of the wonderful americans who welcomed the stones and i on our first 1964 tour into their lives and work. a welcome change from the UK where we lived where the record business was often not something you admitted to being part of in " decent society ".

raised prior to the US 1962 sodomy law revisions of course bob was careful where he aired the sexual preferences you refer to in your " sun ain't gonna shine " homage. bob was gay, wonderfully gay and very supportive of those that struggled with that fact and later with those that struggled with alcohol and addiction. . watch the frank sinatra 1968 noir flic " the detective " to get a taste of that suppressive existence just after the summer of love.

when i saw the musical " jersey boys " i was offended on bob's behalf. his role in the four seasons career had been reduced to a gay charles nelson reilly relief from the mundane mob affectations and involvements of the group exagerated in order to bring their story to broadway and stages all over the world. the later clint eastwood was a little kinder and accurate.
i expressed my concerns about the portrayal of crewe in the otherwise wonderful show to , amongst others , his brother dan. dan reminded me of how impossible bob had been post ' 67 to work with and how his c-workers had long, cold memories. he had been sacrificed in order to keep the show moving, something ironically bob would have understood had it not been so painful by the blant cruel use of his sexuality to deliver a cheap laugh to the stalls.

bob crewe was one of my american heroes, and someone i was proud to have as a friend. along with chess records, new orleans, specialty records, pomus & shuman, leiber & stoller, phil spector ,motown and more he was part of the sound of that young america that sparked and inspired young musical lives all over the world.

he was perhaps more generous towards " jersey boys " creator and co-writer bob gaudio than the show was to him. bob once described to me his version of how the classic " can't take my eyes of of you " was wriiten. perhaps their most mainstream but born of the most non-mainstream moment. bob was living above fifth avenue , and his current amor , billy biceps, named in the new warhol tradition was sunning with bob on the terrace in a mixture of sun and LSD. bob looked over at his hunk and the universal lyric leapt into his mind. " your're just too good to be true ; can't take my eyes of of you ..... " bob completed the lyric with a sketch melody derivative of conway twitty's " it's only make believe " . - sing it - it works ! - . he took the lyrics and melodic sketch to gaudio who re-vamped it into history adding the stan getz inspired classic horn break. the two bob's had created a universal anthem !

on another occasion in '64 dakota resident bob knew we were strapped for cash - bob sent over a 4 track to london called " society girl " with instructions to get some session singers or school girls to sing on it ( i went for the latter ) and to flog the result to a local record company for a couple of hundred quid. he had sold it in the states to cameo-parkway by the rag dolls " because he knew it would not be a hit " . in fact, follow this laptop songwriters , the track was " rag doll " . the 4 track was a scrumptious learning curve to me who was making it up as i went along. the separation and track choices were inspiring.

the last time i lunched with bob about five years before he passed was on sunset strip at cafe med. he looked great, or else he would have cancelled, and was most sanguine and stoic about his portrayal in " jersey boys " . he told me the millions of dollars helped swathe the wounds, but we both knew that was not true.

proud to have called him friend - a true american talent.

best , andrew o

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Crewe loved the Cher version.

Joel Selvin

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Bob C. did of course produce The Four Seasons' version; the Walker Brothers' producer was Johnny Franz. He was a staff producer for Phillips UK. The Walker Brothers record is British all the way, probably Bobby Graham on drums, John Paul Jones is probably in the room, etc.. Franz was also the producer of Dusty Springfield during this time, so he's a name to be reckoned with.
I enjoyed reading what you had to say about the record, one of my all-time favorites..

Marshall Crenshaw

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As always Bob, love the way you shine the light on sometimes forgotten gems
like The Sun Aint Gonna Shine Anymore.

Just to give due credit, while Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio co-wrote this, and
Crewe produced the Franki Valli version, it British producer John Franz was
responsible for the much superior Walker Brothers' version, with an
arrangement by Ivor Raymonde. Franz - who went on to produce the early
output of the great Scott Walker's solo career - also produced a number of
other wall of sound-ish 60s hits, including the Walker's Make it Easy on
Yourself and Dusty Springfield's You Don't Have to Say You Love Me (the
latter co-written by Raymonde). Franz was a respected pianist/accompanist in
his early career and died sadly young in his early 50s.

Yours

David Porter
New Zealand

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I always loved that record along with so many other Crewe/Gaudio/Calello productions. BTW I think the original version of the song was done by the Little Bits on Crewe's own Dynovoice label. Same arrangement as the Walker Bros. version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omji4ItJpgw&utm_source=phplist5791&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-The+Sun+Ain%27t+Gonna+Shine+Anymore

Mark Linett

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"Oh breakin up is so very hard to do." Make it easy on yourself Bob! Another great Walker track. There was a documentary about Scott Walker about 10 years ago called "30th Century Man" I found it interesting, he's real character. It's probably streaming on Netflix. Like the Velvet Underground they didn't sell tons of records but everyone who heard them started a band. Particularly among the 90s britpop set, who really valued craft in record making. On an unrelated topic, you see Mensch's wife on Bill Maher? Got a bit feisty but she held her own. Cheers
George Drakoulias

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Hi Bob - John Maus (Walker) taught Carl Wilson and David Marks guitar technique - but you probably already knew that ! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Walker_(musician)?utm_source=phplist5791&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-The+Sun+Ain%27t+Gonna+Shine+Anymore

Billy Hinsche

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Great to see Bob Crewe acknowledged in your, "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" story today, Bob.
He was one of the most gifted and successful songwriter/producers in pop music history.
Your insight into his lyric sensitivity is so accurate.
Bob Crewe's list of hits are too long to list here, but they are far more numerous than the timeless
4 Seasons catalog.
When Bob Crewe, listened to a new song, he would
dissect it and describe clearly why
he felt it could be commercially viable or not.
As a song plugger in the 70's, it was like going to Harvard each time i played songs for Bob.

He was not represented with enough respect in Jersey Boys in my opinion.
When I asked Frankie Valli why that was, he said the show was about the 4 Seasons points of view and story
about their life and times.
While his partner Bob Gaudio is another true pop music genius who deserves every once of credit for the 4 Seasons success and with songs like
"The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore", it was Bob Crewe's productions who set radio ablaze with hit after hit, and artist after artist for years.

Eddie O'Loughlin

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Ah Bob I just heard this song at a Safeway in Tucson, here for a board meeting on my 63rd birthday and I remember listening to it on the radio in Washington DC on when I was 13 - I couldn't quite make out all the words, maybe not even till just now when I read your post but I felt it, that dark mysterious soulful yearning and I was in love - so so so in love with a guy who I remember now as dorky and a bit geeky but I lived and breathed for him then. And the song brings it all back - wow. Thanks for sharing my night, Bob.

Stephanie Zill

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You've gotta watch this Scott Walker doc if you haven't already.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dBMJ79ly3B4&utm_source=phplist5791&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-The+Sun+Ain%27t+Gonna+Shine+Anymore

Michael Koch

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julian cope from the teardrop explodes was heavily influenced by scott walker.

as was 90 percent of the post punk artists

Halloran

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I'm sure you are gonna get a million e-mails tonight about Scott Walker. It's all true. John Walker also had a role in history beyond his own success as a Walker Brother. Under his real name John Maus he was also the guitar teacher for the young Carl Wilson and David Marks. Scott & John also played in the band on Shindig! I could go on and on... Scott's classic baroque pop and his more experimental efforts since the 1980's. Have fun listening if you have the time.

-Ted

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amen.

marvin etzioni

p.s.
driving home from a club tonight, heard chuck berry for thirty minutes non stop.
it was glorious, making everything before and after on the radio dial sound empty.

carry on.

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bob,
i'm scott walker's a&r at 4ad.
have been for over ten years.
there is a brilliant film ( produced by bowie - a huge fan ) about scott's career arc.
trailer :
https://youtu.be/dBMJ79ly3B4?utm_source=phplist5791&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-The+Sun+Ain%27t+Gonna+Shine+Anymore
ed horrox

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This has been stuck in my head for the last two days. I just got this
newsletter and it freaked me out a little bit. I think Scott Walker
might be putting out some sort of mind control bat signal.

Ben Oliver

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The Walker Brothers were huge here. Make it Easy on Yourself was as big. They had a string of hits then Scott left and went solo. He is a real cult artist here. He had hits doing covers of Jaques Brelle songs. Jackie!
Then they got back together and had a smash with No Regrets. One of my favourite records. Check it out.
If I'm right, they weren't actually brothers!

Richard Griffiths

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Bob: This song is such an underrated forgotten gem. When I was a teen in the 80's, I was signed to MCA as a recording artist. They set me up with Bob Crewe and Jerry Corbetta (Sugarloaf), who had written some originals for me and had me cut a cover of "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore." I was probably 15, singing in Crewe's home studio where the guest bathroom was transformed into a vocal booth. I had them cut the mic when I needed to pee. Humbly speaking, I think this version could have been a huge hit at that time. Their then new arrangement made it modern but kept the Wall Of Sound feel with a gigantic choir behind me. Alas, my album never saw the light of day but these tapes are either somewhere in Crewe's warehouse or by now burned in a Universal City garbage bin. I was happy to see the Walker Brothers version used as a centerpiece in the film "Truly Madly Deeply" (1990) and honestly, Cher's 1995 take on it is pretty stellar.

Thanks for the memories,
Jerry Sharell Jr.

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Cher's 1996 cover of TSAGSA - gorgeous.
https://open.spotify.com/track/545FAO9fjjz7Sqdl1ULNGL?utm_source=phplist5791&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-The+Sun+Ain%27t+Gonna+Shine+Anymore

Rami Ramirez

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I agree - it is a sensational piece of music. The song was used to tremendous effect in a film called Truly, Madly, Deeply where the ghost of a woman's deceased lover/ husband (played by Alan Rickman) sings it to her while accompanying himself on the piano.

Thanks for the memory, Mr L.

Nigel Russell

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I will keep this post forever. Read that sentence wondering how Scott Walker might sing it. I would likely be silly for you to take a look back at the Walker and Scott solo efforts but there's lots more where this came from, barely scratched on these shores.
Walker's voice ranks high in the realm of popular music but so high few took the elevator in an America sidetracked by guitar solos and AOR.
Again, thanks for this classic post.

James Spina

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Scott Walker! Inspiration to none other than David Bowie (can you hear it?), who exec produced this fascinating doc I saw years ago as part of a full house at the Hot Docs film festival in Toronto:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Walker:_30_Century_Man?utm_source=phplist5791&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-The+Sun+Ain%27t+Gonna+Shine+Anymore

From teen idol to meat-punching avant-gardist... what a fascinating story.

Love Sasha Frere-Jones' take on his voice and performance from this 2012 article in the New Yorker: "...his baritone voice had the potential to "tranquillize" people. The impulse to work against that, and to wake people up, has been a defining characteristic of his songs. His performance on "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" makes a decent trifle about missing a woman into an existential pothole."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Walker:_30_Century_Man?utm_source=phplist5791&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-The+Sun+Ain%27t+Gonna+Shine+Anymore

Hope your skin is on the mend and glad you made it down the mountainside okay!

Take care,
Sally Lee

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I'm sure you're familiar, but "The Electrician" by The Walker Brothers is one of the most interesting, cinematic pieces of popular music. It came up on my Spotify Weekly, and I was immediately drawn in by the juicy weirdness. It has a truly wonderful arc, a nice meandering journey that is at once both sinister and quaint. Thanks for posting.

David Cooper Claire

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Scott Walker became a highly revered song stylist whose solo records got weirder and weirder as time went on. He's still making them today and hugely loved by a ton of outsider new artists. If you want to learn more, check out the Doc on him - he talks about being a pop star and then turning away from it, and seeking his own path. It's haunting and fascinating.

Jim McGuinn

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I discovered that song in the movie, Seeking a friend for the end of the world. It's a Steve Carnell flick with a herb Albert soundtrack. That song ends the movie, an amazing choice for your last day on earth. I likes it so much I did all the research you did. Franki valli still performs it and probably does the walker bros arrangement. Watch the movie, its great!

Jonathan Kutz

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.......that is a fukking perfect record............

Tommy Allen

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So great you brought this one up. I was living in Puerto Rico with my family when this beauty hit the waves. I had a great little band and we were getting some sweet airplay with a song I had written for the boys.
Suddenly up came the amazing Scott Walker along with his partners John and Gary. As you said, the boys had gotten nowhere in LA so off they went. They got their gear, put on some great looking sweaters, called themselves The Walker Brothers (which was not their names) and headed for England. The girls went completely mad, they just could not get enough. I loved the way you described The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine. It is still brilliant. I loved My Ship is Coming In as well as Bacharach and David's Make It Easy On Yourself.

It is true that they were somewhat close to The Righteous Brothers. My buddy Bill Medley certainly thought so! When I was producing Bill a few years ago I almost talked him into doing something with Scott Walker. I failed.... Scott is amazing, one of David Bowie's favorites.

Shayne Fair

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Bob, this is a gay disco anthem. I'd say way more popular than the original! Hell, it was years before I even heard the original. Check it out!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Alp4LUSeIc&feature=youtu.be&utm_source=phplist5791&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-The+Sun+Ain%27t+Gonna+Shine+Anymore

Lizzz Kritzer

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Your eloquent remembrance of this great song brought it all back for me. I've always loved this recording. Thank you for this and for all your writings that are so brilliant...time after time.

John Sebastian (radio guy)

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Fie On You, Bob!
Now you've got me doing it AGAIN after being free of that tune in my head for at least the last several years!

Dennis Brent

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A beautiful top shelf record, and probably the all-time most accurate imitation of a Phil Spector production. Runners-up include The Forum "The River is Wide" and Dusty Springfield "Stay Awhile". The fact that Crewe--producer of the Four Seasons and Mitch Ryder--managed to create it is weird. Phil himself might hear it and think it was his own record If he didn't know better. Paul Lanning

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Thanks Bob - I've always loved this song. Jules Shear did a nice version of it as well: https://open.spotify.com/track/7kMy9HR31svlJ8x3uaYlFc?utm_source=phplist5791&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-The+Sun+Ain%27t+Gonna+Shine+Anymore

I'm not sure if you've written about Jules before - of course he's well known for his writing for others - but despite a limited vocal range he's actually made some great records. "The Great Puzzle" from 1991 was a great album worth a listen. There are a few songs on that album over which I could see you waxing poetic...

Eric Harrison

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Scott Walker has had an amazing career. All over the map.

Check out The Walker Bros. 1978 LP "Nite Flights". Bowie covered the title song. "The Electrician" was used in "Bronson" starring Tom Hardy.

Cheers,

Tom Quinn

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Was huge in Australia, and we saw it on the local tv station's broadcast of UK's Thank Your Lucky Stars, along with all the best UK 60's beat groups... caused me to be a mod down under in my teens during the 60's...

Tony Barnes

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One of my all time favorites (Walker Bros. version) and a staple of early Malibooz' sets. It wasn't until years later that I found out it was a 4 Seasons flip side. In those days you were a Beach Boys or a 4 Seasons fan ("4 Seasons you'd better believe it ..."). For us it was no contest. Brian's falsetto vs. Frankie's...pul-eese!
It was also years later that I found out "Silence Is Golden" by The Tremolos was also a Seasons' B-side. Oddly enough this gave me added respect for the Seasons; although I'll never understand how they could pass on those 2 gems.
As far as Bob Crewe goes it's hard to beat the "subtlety" of "Music To Watch Girls By" a magnum opus for a gay guy to write.
XXOO
John Zambetti
The Malibooz

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In the 2012 Steve Carroll film "Seeking a Friend at the End of the World" this song is used for the end of the world scene. Carrell is laying on the floor listening to music with headphones knowing the meteor was about to hit. This is the song he is listening to. And then it all goes silent.

-Randy Wind

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So true about the homogenous culture we have become. I remember my first trip to California in 1965 - 14 years old and my first airplane experience. Watts riots raging. Beatles dominating. I was about a year into my self-taught guitar life and Hang on Sloopy was a hit here on the east coast. I was amazed (and a bit chagrined) to discover that a completely different version was also a hit on the west coast. Music was still very regional - e.g. Detroit and Philadelphia each had their own distinct sonic identity.

God, I sound like my father. "The good ol' days."

David Murphy

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They use "Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore as the outro in the film "Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World" and it just KILLS!! Great film too by the way...

Young Hutchison

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You beautifully described the magic of this song, an out of the way gem at #13. I'm so with you on what you wrote, here. (I wish I could be with you on politics. There must be something deep in our genes that makes you a left-wing hampster and me a right-wing shitlord.)

Kevin Ytza

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Great tune Bob. Didn't know if you ever heard this one which was on the air in Rochester when I was a kid. A real Vanilla Fudge knock off but you gotta love the name :-) The Fuzzy Bunnies!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzdtvhRf0XE&utm_source=phplist5791&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-The+Sun+Ain%27t+Gonna+Shine+Anymore

Hope all is well and glad you made it off the mountain.

Tommy Nast

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So glad you "discovered" The Walker Brothers! I did as an adult, and it led me to the solo music of Scott Walker (aka Noel Scott Engel) who remained a huge star in England, which his own TV show for a bit, after the band dissolved for the first time. He's still at it, making less mainstream music for the past 30 years or so. I hope you check it out, much is incredibly beautiful. There's also a documentary about him that's great, called Scott Walker: 30 Century Man.

Mark Haven

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Spot on Bob. Did you ever here Jules Shear version? Not as good as the original but special in it's own way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsEDWecEBDE&sns=em&utm_source=phplist5791&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-The+Sun+Ain%27t+Gonna+Shine+Anymore

Vincent P. Favale

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That era when radio was a "living, breathing thing" and you never knew what you were going to hear, was relatively brief, spanning a few short years between the debut of KSAN and WNEW-FM and the rise of the Burkhart-Abrams Superstars format. Prior to that, the Bill Drake and Rick Sklar eras of AM Top 40 were the very embodiment of homogenization. And to your point, in terrestrial radio at least, almost everything since has moved further and further away from uniqueness and more and more toward duplication.
Jack

Dr. Jack M. Casey
General Manager
WERS-FM
Boston

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Thanks Bob.Great song.

Ted Keane

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Thank you, Bob: When done right, this song can be magical. Check out Jules Shear

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsEDWecEBDE&utm_source=phplist5791&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-The+Sun+Ain%27t+Gonna+Shine+Anymore

Not many songs make you feel anymore. Like you referred once - Sebastian's Darling Be Home Soon - the live version. When he emphasizes "beat your crazy head against the sky." It makes you stop and listen.

djkonk

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Boy oh boy! Sounds like you think that "THE SUN AIN'T GONNA SHINE ANYMORE" is the be all and the end all of the WALKER BROTHERS! Their very next release, a popped up version of JERRY BUTLER's "MAKE IT EASIER ON YOURSELF" is as thrilling and motivating as their first! And then is followed by dozens and dozens of other stunning sounding releases!
I can't quote chapter and verse about produced or writers or other pertinent about them or their releases...I could if I had their 5 cd box set in front of me or I could burn you a copy if you like.
Look at AMAZON and see how many releases they have had over the years both as a group and as SCOTT WALKER solely! He was and they do too, have legendary status as entertainers!
At this point in life and age I'd rather keep my WALKER BROTHERS music than anything by ZEPPELIN , FLOYD, And 100's of other acts! This is music!

David Stein

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Bob, have you tracked Scott Walker's career at all since then? He has produced some astonishing recordings and has a huge cult following. Check out the documentary "Scott Walker: 30 Century Man". He was hugely influential to, among others, Bowie and Radiohead.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Walker:_30_Century_Man?utm_source=phplist5791&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-The+Sun+Ain%27t+Gonna+Shine+Anymore

Best,
ASH

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I love Long John Baldry's cover even more

Rene Lessard, Ottawa

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That movie you're 'visualizing' exists. It's called Truly, Madly, Deeply (1991).

It's a film about grief and it's not him losing her, it's her losing him. The song is featured prominently.

Andrew Held

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Greetings from Westport, CT.

Scott Walker no longer has hits, but he's been releasing some pretty interesting, challenging music for the last four decades. Bowie executive produced 30 CENTURY MAN, a doc chronicling Scott's journey.

Since it's old (2009) it's long ago gone from Netflix, but you can rent it on iTunes, or stream it on Prime

Thomas Sladek

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3UVMq7NSRw&utm_source=phplist5791&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-The+Sun+Ain%27t+Gonna+Shine+Anymore

Walker Brothers version of There Goes My Baby, Not on Spotify.

Raymond Lynn

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Thank you Bob for this
Always a favorite since 1966
When Steve Crossno would play it on KELP
El Paso. Great border record

Christopher Dwight Harris

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Never have I read a better piece about a song. Brilliant work. Imparting such substance and intimacy about what music once was with such eloquence is the kind of inspiration young minds desperately need.

The sixties were fifty plus years ago, to someone twenty years old today it's so distant that it's completely off their radar. How many songs from 1910 were you listening to as a teen? If you were like me, none. But for us, you and I are the same age, K-Earth and Serius/XM have made it seem like Boss Radio never went away. Of course, K-Earth is now an 80s station, but 60s radio lives on with 60s on Six. The Cousin Brucie and Peter Noon shows on weekends are worth the cost of the subscription alone. I wish Lee Abrams was still programming satellite radio, he is an incredible programmer.

Radio was my first true love. My first radio job was at WNOE in New Orleans at the tender age of 18. That someone put me on the air at that age on what was then recognized as one of the nation's best Top 40 stations is incredible; believe me, I sucked. Bill Stewart, who with Todd Storz, is given credit by most radio people for creating the Top 40 format, was the PD. The station was at 529 Bienville Street in the French Quarter; it's condos now and the studio where so much great Top 40 radio once emanated from is someone's bedroom. Sadly, 1060 WNOE no longer exist; it went dark a few years ago. Like many AM stations, it no longer had any value.

Songs like The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Any More inspired how I chose to live my life, they drove me to live life close to the music. That's the power of music. It can change your life.

Frank A. Gagliano

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That song plays a lot in my head anyway. Now it's really stuck in there. Not a bad song to be playing though.

A few years ago I interviewed Bob Gaudio. You might be interested in what he had to say about the song:

There were Frankie Valli solo records at the same time as there were Four Seasons records. What made a Frankie Valli solo record as opposed to a Four Seasons record?

Let's take one that was early on, which was "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore," originally recorded by Frankie, and extremely different from the Walker Brothers who covered the record seven or eight months later. If you listen to "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" versus what we (Four Seasons) were doing, you'll know the difference. The backgrounds are by a chorale group that sounds decidedly like a chorale group, male-oriented but not Four Seasons stuff. It was designed that way. We didn't do a lot of harmony with it. And Frankie didn't sing falsetto ... well, kind of a soft falsetto in the beginning, but not typical Frankie Valli.
It was a concerted effort to put a wide gap between a Frankie Valli solo record and Frankie Valli on a Four Seasons record.

Ken Shane

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Bob, don't know if you're aware of Scott Walker's (the main "voice" of the Walker Brothers) subsequent solo career, but it's a fascinating story, one that remained virtually unknown in North America, even if it went on to influence countless others on the art rock end of the spectrum, most notably Bowie. His journey culminated in a completely uncompromising, avant guarde direction.

At a minimum, check out this trailer for the biographical film, '30th Century Man':
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY8C5M9kCSU&utm_source=phplist5791&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-The+Sun+Ain%27t+Gonna+Shine+Anymore

If sufficiently intrigued, check here for my 'Scott Walker Primer':
https://www.facebook.com/208757673971/photos/a.10150704368703972.418106.208757673971/10152099320323972/?type=3&theater&utm_source=phplist5791&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-The+Sun+Ain%27t+Gonna+Shine+Anymore

The full '30th Century Man' film can be viewed on YouTube here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otOwSvs6BsU&utm_source=phplist5791&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-The+Sun+Ain%27t+Gonna+Shine+Anymore

Cheers,
Roch Parisien
Rocon Communications

_________________________________________

I remember that record, I played a big club onesummer in Nantasket Beach, MA, right after the Walker Bros had played there. We sucked and got fired, but they were a seriously big deal. Pictures of them all over the place.

Didn't hurt that they were grotesquely good looking. Grr. But it was a terrific record.

Thnx

Rik Shafer

_________________________________________

I'm not in the music business, just a fan who grew up with these songs.

This one was always one of my favorites.

Whenever I think of The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore, I am reminded of another (to me) classic, You've Got Your Troubles by The Fortunes.

Maybe it's the structure. The section that comes out of the verse and just soars:

She used to love me that I know
and it don't seem so long ago
that we were walking
and we were talking
the way lovers do

And then, after you think the singer has calmed down and is going back to the verse, a sudden and unexpected bridge (?):


And so forgive me

if I seem to you my friend,
that I ain't got no pity for you
Well, that ain't true
You see I lost my lost my lost my little girl, too

Love it.

Thanks,

Pam Arnold

_________________________________________

I loved that record. I was already in a band and signed to Capitol when it came out, so we were hip to some of the less ubiquitous stuff coming out of England.

Interesting to note is the 2006 documentary about Scott Walker, "30 Century Man," by Stephen Kijak, which showed me a fascinating picture of Scott I never knew about. Scott continued to record in England long after the demise of the Walker Bros. He became a darling of the avant-garde, making records that stretched conventionality beyond the breaking point.

Ted Myers

_________________________________________

Listen to Cher's version on Its a Man's World. That great moment when the singer really lets go... sublime. Like her or not, she can sing and absolutely nobody sounds like her; a voice that's immediately recognizable. In any event it's a great track and made me fall in love all over with that song

Myles Silton

_________________________________________

Wow... Bob...thank you for Reminding me of that great song and that wonderful ....haunting voice...

It's really quite simple ... and it doesn't matter how many followers you have on social media or how much self promotion you do... . a great song and a great singer are the elements necessary to make music that matters 50+ years later!

Tom Stipe

_________________________________________

One of my favorite oldies. I would also point you to the Jules Shear version which is on Spotify. Years ago, (guessing mid 90's) I saw Shear at the Bottom Line and he proceeded playing "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" by introducing it as "the one song he most wished he wrote" ... Funny the things we remember.


Brian Lukow

_________________________________________

As always, you have a great ear. Why was this song sos overlooked? It was a cornerstone in one of Alan Rickman's very english films "Truly, Deeply, Madly" which is fantastic and overlooked like the song of the same name.
Thanks. Going to watch this again tonight.
Steve Gonsalves

_________________________________________

Just wanted to let you know that I love your writing! And I am not in the music industry and certainly not any kind of music aficionado. I learned of you through Barry Ritholz's blog, as he frequently gives links to your postings. Your posts help me understand the challenges and failings of the music industry and, importantly, of other industries similarly afflicted. And your reflective emails like this one are thoroughly enjoyable and bring back fond memories (I'm a fellow boomer). Thank you for your keen insights and the edgey way you convey them. -Gib Lovell

_________________________________________

And now I can't get it out of my head either. But that's not a bad thing. Great song, although not one I can honestly say I remember. I turned 10 in '66. But I seem to remember the chorus.

I too heard a song the other day on Spotify – from the weekly "Discovery" selection of tunes picked out for me based on my listening habits – a song I hadn't thought of in ages. Never owned a copy. Must've heard on an FM station in my car. Never knew the name of the artist. Never knew the actual name of the song, which I assumed was the chorus: "That's the way she feels about you."

The song is "Sunlight" by The Youngbloods. And I couldn't get it out of my head. Thematically it's the opposite of songs like "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore," the lovesick songs, the "I'm not getting her back, she doesn't feel the same, it's over" songs like "Walk Away Renee" and "Warmth of the Sun." "Sunlight" is the other side of the coin. It's the idealized lover, one that loves you unconditionally. In reality, you're not going to find a love like that. But when I hear "Sunlight" it seems possible, tangible.

And it's a nice song that you might not have heard or thought of for a while, so I'm forwarding for your consideration, and, I hope, enjoyment.

https://open.spotify.com/track/0mTrxRU653SESEtrsuYoJ6?utm_source=phplist5791&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-The+Sun+Ain%27t+Gonna+Shine+Anymore

Craig Dees

_________________________________________

One of the best songs ever I'd never heard it
Great call

Michael H. Lindner


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