The year Kennedy died. The year The Beatles were born. The first woman in space. The Profumo affair. The ‘I have a dream’ speech by MLK. And alongside these epic events, the release of Billy J’s first LP, Listen. Probably not of quite the same magnitude as the rest of these events but nonetheless one of the early pop phenomenon’s of the 60’s.
There are some familiar songs on here, ‘da doo ron ron’ being probably the most famous, but several songs stand firm alongside this classic. I especially like ‘Yes’ on Side 1, which whilst an unusual title is a cracking tune with some simple but very effective piano input which is very different and adds another dimension to the song. And ‘Sugar babe’ sounds more like the Beatles than their own track which finishes Side 2, namely ‘I call your name’.
I’m not sure how Billy J felt a couple of years later when his career was effectively finished at the grand old age of 22. I suspect he was a little envious given what the 60’s were about to bring to many bands, but the everlasting nature of the music produced at least gave him a place in pop history. Whether that was a consolation or not I’m not sure. But this LP gives you a glimpse of a combo (the Dakotas were a group in their own right hailing from Manchester) which worked for a short while. And additionally there are some fine tracks on here.
