It was already dated in 1965 when the film first came out. But the early performances captured a beauty and excitement that I love to re-visit.
Both tunes written by HDH
SURFER BOY--
http://youtu.be/2sLlDRDDHFU
BEACH BALL--
http://youtu.be/Sepy886IhJ0
Thanks to Plazpastic for both of these YouTube postings.
And: A WEE BIT OF TRIVIA:
Ever seen The Supremes' white dresses worn in the clips before? You just might have--
Attachment 8708
You gotta admire Diana's shellacked "hair helmet" wig. It's set in a wave that her "Surfer Boy" could ride high! I've viewed this clip dozens of time, and finally got to enjoy the entire film thanks to TCM awhile back. Priceless camp!
I'm going to have to watch the film as well, Mark. From the clips, the audience actually there watching The Supremes seems barely interested. And you're right about Diana's hair here: It does seem to scream "Surf's up!" with the one-sided flip goin' on. But ya gotta give it to her--she loved to dress up and add her own, unique touches. It's what makes her her.
You're so right, Methuselah2 -- those recordings were indeed outdated from the start, and it's hard to believe that H-D-H wrote and produced them. But The Supremes make it fun to watch regardless. As always, Diana's performance radiates enthusiasm and pure joy, especially in "Surfer Boy". Thanks for sharing these wonderful Motown chestnuts! You've done it again! Thanks! - Gary
So glad you enjoyed them, Gary. Have The Supremes turned outdated into timeless? Yes, I think they have. "Surf's up!" And Diana is sure riding a wave of popularity these days.
She sure is, Meth -- and it does my heart good!Quote:
Originally Posted by Methuselah2
I don't remember thinking that "Surfer Boy" sounded dated when I first heard it.
I saw this in the theater when I was a kid. I was 'awe-struck' by the hair! LOL
144man - For me, the whole "Beach" movie concept was well-worn out by the time BEACH BALL was released. And having The Supremes in it, singing about surfers and the beach, seemed very out of place and wrong-headed. The HDH songs melody-wise were OK but typical pop for the period--but then the lyrIcs about 'riding waves, my surfer boy' and 'c'mon, c'mon, do the beach ball with me' crossed the line of no return into summer teen movie hokiness. And having The Supremes mimicking riding water skies in the choreography for SURFER BOY only made things worse. They were being crammed into an old formula that had already stopped working. And it couldn't possibly work for The Supremes. It looked like they had stumbled into the wrong movie. As inane as the BEACH BALL song is, the performance at least comes alive at the song's bridge when the girls start to clap hands and move with it. I enjoy the clips now because it's fun to see The Supremes in their early days [[their appearance in the movie was filmed in 1964) and how professional they were. And I definitely liked HDH's inclusion of the saxophone in that bridge as they often did--perhaps here as a nod to the Motown Sound.Quote:
Originally Posted by 144man
I first heard "Surfer Boy" on a very early bootleg tape of unreleased Motown. I didn't even know it was from a film, so it didn't sound musically out-of-place with the other tracks included.
I needed a relaxer--for my nerves!Quote:
Originally Posted by blueskies
I saw this movie in the theater when it was released in September 1965. My friends enjoyed the auto show while I enjoyed The Supremes. I never remember them singing Surfer Boy - I always thought they did Stop! In The Name Of Love, in addition to Beach Ball. Doh!
I can imagine appearing in this movie was a big deal for them. I've heard it was filmed in December 1964, so Baby Love had just been #1. Other performers in this movie were The Four Seasons, The Righteous Brothers, The Walker Brothers and The Hondells. I liked all the musical performances.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058952/...=tt_cl_sm#cast
I wonder if they have film of the full performances of The Supremes without the editing of the auto show and the other silliness of the film. Some enterprising soul should look and issue a DVD with additional footage! One can only hope.
JohnJeb, I agree with you that it would be wonderful if film footage of The Supremes uninterrupted performance doing "My Surfer Boy" and "Beach Ball" existed. But I am sure if any such footage ever existed, it was scrapped or scoffed decades ago by crew members. I am a Mae West fan and the same problem happened to her musical numbers, "Taste All The Fruit" and "Hard to Handle," with "business" interrupting vocal performances, or musical productions being banned for being too risqué at the tine and subsequently being "lost." I for one, am glad that the Supremes wee considered for this bit of fluff, because it is priceless viewing it through the haze of time.
It was all in fun and some exsposure for the girls,always fun to look back at the way we were.
It would be interesting to know when the music for these two songs was actually recorded. The expanded CD issue of "More Hits" states that they were recorded on 10th and 12th December 1964, but presumably that would be when the ladies recorded their vocals as the backing music to me sounds older. I suspect that H-D-H dusted off a couple of old rejected backing tracks and got THE SUPREMES to sing over the top of them.
Musically "Surfer Boy" sounds like a 1963 recording to me and sounds very similar to "Quicksand" or "Heatwave" by MARTHA & THE VANDELLAS. "Beach Ball" sounds more 1964 but early in the year before the whole Motown Sound got more sophisticated with "Where Did Our Love Go" etc. I wonder if we will ever find out.
Roger
wow, I just remember how excited we were goin to the movies that Saturday to see "Beach Ball" and the Supremes were in it.There were not that many movies or even TV shows that had Rock N Roll artists in them.
Apparently VERY soon after this was done, Berry G.[[or someone) commanded that Miss Ross get some dental work done STAT!!!!
Attachment 8721which was well advised and seemed to be de rigueur for other Motown performers as well...like oh, ummmm..say for example
....Attachment 8722
........There's even another person in the Surfer Boy clip who had some "dental augmentation" in the early days too.
I was always fascinated by the Berry Gordy/Motown "assembly line" concept"...'bring em in one door...fix em up, shine em up and send em out of another door as STARS!'
Add Gladys Horton to that needy list. They never had hers fixed . Try to find a pic of Gladys smiling and you'd be hard pressed.Quote:
Originally Posted by LuvHangOva
Only picture I ever saw of Gladys Horton smiling with her mouth open was that group shot of the 5 Marvelettes right after they signed with Motown; after that when she was photographed smiling, it was with her mouth closed. Did Motown ever offer to pay for dental work? Or did Gladys refuse such offers?
I saw this at the movie theatre when it was out. I thought they looked great and as you can hear it is them on the recordings. Great stuff!