Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Went to a fortune teller...


Here's another one which owes it's groove to Cuban music.

I realize this is included on a million comps and is in virtually constant rotation on classic oldies stations, but the truth is that it wasn't a huge hit at the time. The 45 is sometimes hard to get, often selling for more than you might think....mainly because everyone seems to want a copy.

The flipside, Lipstick Traces, went to no. 28 on the R&B charts in 1962, but only managed to reach no. 80 on the Hot 100 pop chart. Fortune Teller never charted. It wasn't until various British invasion groups covered the song that it began it's rise to modern day 'classic' status.

Hope ya enjoy...


2 comments:

  1. One of the best records ever. Did zip chartwise here in the UK and I remember the DJ at the local dance hall playing this to a less than impressed audience (myself excluded!). A year or two later several vastly inferior UK covers of Fortune Teller existed which were popular in clubs, but none had great chart success. The Minit label also had another of my all time favourites, the Showmen's It Will Stand/Country Fool which also didn't chart in the UK.

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  2. I know the Who and Stones versions. Never heard the original before. Good one.

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