The Beach Boys claimed the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of June 1, 1965, with ‘Help Me, Rhonda,’ their second chart-topper (following the previous year’s ‘I Get Around‘).
This was the second version of this song released in 1965. The first, titled ‘Help Me, Ronda,’ appeared on the band’s album The Beach Boys Today!, ran about 20 seconds longer, and had less of a rock sound. Brian Wilson felt the song had hit potential so the band rerecorded it with a little more oomph.
Throwing back to the week of May 31, 1955, we find a quartet of repeats atop the Billboard chart: Perez Pablo’s ‘Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White,‘ Les Baxter’s ‘Unchained Melody,’ Georgia Gibbs’ ‘Dance With Me Henry (Wallflower),’ and Bill Hayes’ ‘The Ballad of Davy Crockett.’
I mentioned in the Les Baxter post that multiple versions of ‘Unchained Melody’ were kicking around the top ten that spring, and this week at #5 we find another of them. Al Hibbler’s take was the top-performing vocal version of the song until the Righteous Brothers came along a decade later.
In the five years since Fiona Apple released new original music, she has spent much of her time on social advocacy. That includes volunteering for Courtwatch PG, a Maryland-based charity that has people report on court proceedings to shine a light on injustices.
That experience inspired Apple to write and record her first song in half a decade, ‘Pretrial (Let Her Go Home),’ a track calling attention to the hardships faced by (mostly Black) women jailed in pretrial detention, unable to afford bail.
Neil Young is an artist whose music I appreciate but whose voice I often can’t stand. So an album of Neil Young covers might be just what the doctor ordered.
That’s what we got last month in Heart of Gold: The Songs of Neil Young, a collection featuring performances by Brandi Carlile, Eddie Vedder, Steve Earle, Mumford & Sons, and others. All proceeds benefit a charity established by the 79-year-old Young and his wife.
This Fiona Apple selection is a little less recent than the rest, having been released a year ago. It’s a duet with indie folk artist Iron & Wine that appeared on his 2024 album Light Verse.
Iron & Wine is the stage name of South Carolina folkie Samuel Ervin Beam, who has been recording for 23 years. He has been compared to some of my favorite artists, including Elliott Smith and Simon & Garfunkel, so I’m kicking myself for not having listened to him before now.
Meet Me In Montauk 