Eddie Rambeau: "My Name Is Mud"

September 7, 1965 (1 week)

On the week of August 31, 1965, the Top 3 on the RPM singles charts was as follows:

1. The Beatles: "Help!"

2. The Beach Boys: "California Girls"

3. Bob Dylan: "Like a Rolling Stone"

Pretty unbeatable, huh? Yet, a week later they were all off the Canadian hit parade, victims of the bizarre rule of the time that stated that a drop down meant that you were done for good. (Because moving down one spot and then going back up has never occurred in the history of the pop charts) Still, there were some other solid contenders. Going from number six to number three was "It's the Same Old Song" by The Four Tops, one of many bangers from what is perhaps the finest singles band of all time. Up from eleven to five was "Tracks of My Tears" by The Miracles, another phenomenal recording. Making a ten point leap to number eight is "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" by The Animals. Down near the bottom is a new entry for The Lovin' Spoonful with "Do You Believe in Magic?". Instead, the chart topper for the first week of September, 1965 was "My Name Is Mud" by Eddie Rambeau, who...checks notes...isn't currently in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Having already reached the top of the Canadian charts that spring in the unique situation of having to share the number one spot with English group Unit 4 + 2, Rambeau was quickly becoming better known north of the border than in his native United States. His version of "Concrete and Clay" had to jockey with Unit 4 + 2's original on the Hot 100 which did neither of them any favours Stateside. In Canada, however, the two sailed all the way up to the top of the charts together which seemed to give them both a boost. While Unit 4 + 2's follow-up single "(You've) Never Been in Love Like This Before" only just dented the bottom end of the American charts, it managed to go all the way to number six in Canada; for his part, Rambeau's "My Name Is Mud" could do no better than a lowly number one hundred and twelve on Billboard, a far cry from topping the RPM charts.

While Unit 4 + 2 chose to go in a different direction with "Never Been in Love Like This Before", Rambeau evidently decided just to do more of the same with his follow-up. Though I may admire the brave creative move on the part of the former, the latter comes out slightly ahead because "My Name Is Mud" is a better. A brazen copycat of "Concrete and Clay" it may have been but it's a rather well made copycat, one that tops his recording of that song. It isn't nearly as good as Unit 4 + 2's version but for Rambeau to have pulled off an improvement on his rather drab hit single is nothing to scoff at.

Where his "Concrete and Clay" seemed stiff and lacking character, "My Name Is Mud" has some spring in its step and Rambeau seems happy to be part of it. Perhaps it was given more care because it was an original creation of Rambeau along with Bob Crewe and Bud Rehak, like they took what they did with the cover version a few months' earlier and just refined it into something light and charming. A minor bit of fun that certainly deserved to finished much closer to its Canadian peak than its sad end result down in the States.

Score: 6