Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/6WvbMOjKf5y3CAHn4ubwlp?si=2f317883fd594e8d YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VECljlG--gE This was no "Simon Says." By 1967, album rock had arisen. After all, "Sgt. Pepper" came out in the spring. But it wasn't only the Beatles, "Are You Experienced," "The Doors" and even "Disraeli Gears" were also released in 1967. Even though album rock had no radio outlet in most markets, word was being spread amongst the cognoscenti, you only had to hear these records once to get them, they were building upon the foundation of what once was, they were testing limits. So when the Ohio Express released "Yummy Yummy Yummy" in the spring of 1968, it was universally derided, as simplistic trash. But you had to hear it. Because it was featured in Top 40 playlists, and those dominated the AM radio that we were all addicted to, both in cars and on our transistors. Now when "Yummy Yummy Yummy" peaked at #5 on WABC's 5/18/68 chart, it was an outlier. You'd have to go all the way to #26 to find something equally light, a trifle, "Indian Lake," the Cowsills track. Also on the chart were "Mrs. Robinson" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "A Beautiful Morning" and "Stoned Soul Picnic" and one of my personal favorites, "Reach Out of the Darkness," which was so groovy now, that when they hit the chorus you could only smile, with exuberance. Then again, there was that bass driven groove of the intro and the endless changes, something absent from almost all hit music today. A lot of today's successes are triumphs of image over music, then again, as hip as we were back in the day, today's youngsters believe they're hipper, they don't know what they're missing out on. Now the Tommy James & the Shondells track "Mony Mony" was actually #4, one step ahead of "Yummy Yummy Yummy" on this chart, but despite some scuttlebutt on the internet, I never saw James and his crew as precursors of bubble gum rock, reading the lyrics you might think "Hanky Panky" simplistic, but the sneer with which it was delivered... And let's not forget that "Hanky Panky" and "I Think We're Alone Now" were hits in 1966, when the world of music was truly just spreading its wings. And you knew "I Think We're Alone Now" was hip because it was covered by the Rubinoos. And, of course, Billy Idol covered "Mony Mony," but no credible rocker ever covered "Simon Says." A simplistic song about a child's game. Inferior to Red Rover if you ask me, but the song "Simon Says" was exploitive, you could see men coming up with a marketing hook on their way to success. And there was the cheesy intro and not a whole hell of a lot of melody. But "Yummy Yummy Yummy"? That was an original! They had to start from scratch on that one, there was no playground game with that moniker. Now if you check the Wikipedia page for "Yummy Yummy Yummy" you'll find its intro cited as inspiration for the Beatles' "Back in the U.S.S.R." and the Cars' "Just What I Needed." And to tell you the truth, when I first read this I scratched my head, but listening I found out it was true, they were identical! Then again, Wikipedia is a compilation of hoi polloi beliefs, there's no professional arbiter. However, both Paul McCartney and Ric Ocasek had to hear "Yummy Yummy Yummy," it was ubiquitous, and even if they didn't consciously lift the intro...remember George Harrision's "My Sweet Lord" and "He's So Fine"? But another interesting point that research will reveal is that "Yummy Yummy Yummy" was co-written by Joey Levine, its singer, and Arthur Resnick, neither household names. But Resnick had roots, he co-wrote "Under the Boardwalk" and "Good Lovin'," and if that latter track was good enough for the Grateful Dead, never mind the Young Rascals, why do we put down "Yummy Yummy Yummy"? In truth, it's the main concept, of having sweet love in your tummy, as if the track was directed to four year olds in nursery school, and Levine's nasal delivery didn't help. But Levine's delivery changes twenty two seconds in, he drops the act, loses his self-consciousness and just vocalizes, consumed by the sweet change in the music. And then we're back to the chunky guitar intro, which if it was good enough for the Beatles and the Cars... Then again, we've got the stupidity of the verse once again, the "yummy yummy yummy," words that didn't grace the lyrics of the aforementioned album rock acts. And then at 1:20 we've got the "ba-da's," hearkening back to what came before, "Yummy Yummy Yummy" sits at the crossroads of what once was and what will be. But then comes the secret sauce, at 1:28 the whole track modulates up, drawing the listener closer, elating their ears, doubling-down, a musical trick, but one that so often delivers. And this time the words are just a tad more sophisticated, resonating with both children and adults...er, teens... "Love, you're such a sweet thing, good enough to eat thing And sweet thing, that ain't no lie" Leave out the "yummys" and you've got lyrics not that different from the rest of the hit parade. Then: "Ooh love, I won't let you go" But then the song does, let you go that is. And you've got no other option than to pick up the needle and drop it in the opening groove once again. Assuming you owned it. Which I did. And at this point, I never bought singles, I was an albums only guy, but I knew there would never be a credible Ohio Express LP and I needed to hear this record now, ad infinitum. And I got sh*t for it. My parents laughed, older kids were snide, but I kept on playing 'Yummy Yummy Yummy." And by the turn of the decade, the slate was wiped clean of this kind of stuff. FM dominated and what was left on AM radio was oftentimes lowest common denominator, which "Yummy Yummy Yummy" was not. So if we pull the lens back, we've got a delectable intro, melody, changes, the complete package, the only potential negatives being the title and the nasal attitude expressed in the verses. Which is counteracted by the exuberance of what comes after. All in 2:20. Clear and concise. Album rock broke this mold, with extended solos and outros, and the progenitors were breaking new ground, but ever since "Toad," every self-respecting band featured a drum solo, to this day. Most of these players are not Ginger Baker, and once bitten, twice shy. Radiohead did name your own price with "In Rainbows," but it could never be done again. Yet today, if you're a rocker, longer is still better, why is that? As for so-called hits, oftentimes there's no melody at all, just one chord. As far as beat-driven stuff... It's melody that endures, if for no other reason than you can sing along! So sixty years later, when I mention "Yummy Yummy Yummy" everybody knows it. Both oldsters and those who grew up on Radio Disney. And then there are the endless covers and movie and TV syncs... Why has "Yummy Yummy Yummy" lasted if it's just tripe? It's not. -- Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/ -- Listen to the podcast: -iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj -Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp -- http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz -- If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter, http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1 If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25 To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
