Like Herman's Hermits over in Britain, Jay and the Americans didn't have the same facility for songwriting and had to rely on other sources for material. (Three quarters of The Four Seasons were similarly disinclined towards penning their own music and lyrics but they had the team of singer Bob Gauido along with Bob Crewe to keep them in hits) For whatever reason, they had little use for songwriting teams of the day — either that or the songwriting teams has little use for them — and were thus forced to plunder the cover version market. And boy did they come up with an inspired choice for their latest hit.
Co-composed by light pop master Mantovani and producer Bunny Lewis — credited to the pseudonyms Tulio Trapani and Lee Lange respectively — "Cara Mia" was originally a major hit for British singer David Whitfield in 1954. Not only did it reach number one in the UK but it even made the Top 10 on the American charts, a rarity for an English single a full decade prior to Beatlemania. Though hardly a favourite of the critics (they were still firmly in 'Charlie Parker is God' mode), Whitfield was hugely popular in his day. If not quite as technically accomplished a vocalist as Mario Lanza, his powerful operatic tenor was a thing to behold. True, his recordings are a little hard to appreciate more than seventy years on but give them a few plays and you may well get used to him.
To say that Jay and the Americans were brave to tackle a song that appealed more to Greatest Generation parents than to their Baby Boom kids is probably an understatement. The fact that they were toying with bridging the ever-widening generation gap suggests that they had ambitions beyond the pop charts though it must be said that groups back then were looking to some unlikely sources for their material. The Beach Boys were soon to begin recording their rendition of "Sloop John B", an old folk song written by that very prolific individual Trad. Arr. The Byrds had recently released their debut album Mr. Tambourine Man which closed out with an eccentric version of the Vera Lynne World War II standard "We'll Meet Again" while its soon-to-be follow-up Turn! Turn! Turn! would include the Biblical title track, a re-writing of traditional ballad "He Was a Friend of Mine" and an oddball remake of the Stephen Foster classic "Oh! Susannah".
Jay Black's lead vocal is as impressive as Whitfield's but I'm not convinced he put the same level of care into his reading. It's as if we're just meant to be treated to Black's astonishing range — as well as some tremendous backing vocals from his fellow Americans — while the song itself is largely irrelevant. Add on a thumping beat and it's all bulldozer histrionic pop with no regard for subtly. It makes for a compelling if rather tiring listen. It's pretty much the audio equivalent to having a guest stay at your place: it's fun for a bit, starts to get a bit much after a while and then you're quite happy when it's all over and everything can get back to peace and quiet. By no means awful but they clearly had twice as much fun making it as I had listening to it.
Score: 6
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Con Can
Entering this week's RPM Top 10 is Little Caesar and the Consuls with "(My Girl) Sloopy". Soon to be known as "Hang on Sloopy" by The McCoys, the Consuls could only take cold comfort in getting there first with what would prove to be a far less well-remembered version. But is it as good? I'd say so. The Toronto-based group did it a lot slower than you may be used to but that's no bad thing. Whatsmore, it's still just as catchy. A near number one in Canada, it could do no better than the midway point of Billboard's Hot 100. Proof that luck, timing, and place can be the difference between a number one smash and mere also ran. Still, we'll be seeing Little Caesar and his chums before long in this space so clearly things were looking up for them back home.
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