The mania for Hair at the midway point of 1969 was such that it wasn't simply established acts like The 5th Dimension and The Cowsills who could score a hit with a song from taken from the musical. The admittedly already in ascendant Three Dog Night nabbed their second straight Top 5 smash with "Easy to Be Hard". But by far the most star-making pop smash was, rather appropriately, "Good Morning Starshine" by some fella from the American south who went by the stage name Oliver.
(Question: was it considered to be way too on-the-nose for a guy being billed as 'Oliver' to have done "Food, Glorious Food" or "Consider Yourself" instead?)
Interest was still there but, just as crucially, so was the desire to milk it for all that it was worth. Had "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" or "Hair" not been released as singles at this time it's easy to imagine many wondering why the hell not — and the same even goes for "Easy to Be Hard". But "Good Morning Starshine" is where the line must be drawn. While a perfectly fine tune, especially for someone with an expressive stage voice, it is bland as a potential pop song.
North Carolina native William Oliver Swofford was a twenty-four year old singer when "Good Morning Starshine" fell into his lap. How it came to him I have no idea but I approve of having singles spun off from successful musicals being used to help launch relative unknowns. The 5th Dimension didn't need to be associated with Hair. The Cowsills did a hell of a job with the title track but Billy and Bob could have contributed an original instead and it would've been just as good. (That said, it probably wouldn't have been nearly as big a hit) The Three Dog Night were likely going to be just as big without "Easy to Be Hard" on their resume. Oliver, on the other hand, needed "Good Morning Starshine" in order to have the fleetingly successful career that he enjoyed. It's just too bad that his recording is so forgettable. (Just how forgettable is it? Well, I've been listening to it for the past several days but can't remember anything about his version and I've forgotten most of what I've been wanting to write about it in this very review)
The one real positive is that Oliver's hit probably prompted the folks in charge of a brand new children's TV show called Sesame Street to use it in a segment. They got the sweet natured Bob McGrath to put on a flowery shirt and sing it along with a half dozen hippie-ish muppets. And it is glorious. McGrath put his college glee club background to good use with a beautifully sung rendition that renders Oliver's redundant. Forgettable? This one is anything but. McGrath being the consummate pro, he not only sings it beautifully but he doesn't for a second step out of being the show's resident kindly English teacher. Even his momentary giggle is a delight. And it's understandable why the show's creators went with it: the melody is dreamy and the nonsense verses ("Glibby gloop gloopy, nibby nabby noopy...) are perfect for kids. For all I know, all of this is present and correct in Oliver's recording too but damn if I was paying attention.
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C'Mon, Be a CHUM!
I have done these additional reviews for quite some time but I happened to check out the CHUM charts and discovered that Desmond Dekker's sublime "Israelites". At a respectable number eleven the week Oliver was on top, it would peak at nine. Yeah, it's way too low, especially compared to it becoming a chart topper over in the UK, but it wasn't as if Jamaican music was taking over the North American music scene during this time. Having not heard it in quite some time, I'm struck by what a remarkably elastic voice Dekker possessed. It wouldn't be long before the influence of The Wailers prompted a certain way of Jamaican patois singing so it's rather refreshing to hear it done in a much more natural, far less caricatured manner. An absorbing single that gets better with every subsequent listen it would've been an easy 10 had Canadians made better choices at the start of the summer of '69. (It was just the third UK number one to get a full score from Tom Ewing. Check out his excellent review here)
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