Need Your Love So Bad

When someone says Fleetwood Mac, one's thoughts immediately go to the killer supergroup of the mid-70s with Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. But Mac was a very successful blues band a decade earlier in Britain formed by guitarist Peter Green and his former John Mayall Blues Band mates drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie, after whom the band was named.

Mac's self-titled first album was released 1968. They'd release 9 more albums as a blues outfit before the release of their second eponymous release in 1975 after Buckingham and Nicks joined Fleetwood, McVie and McVie's wife Christine who had been the band's organist since 1970.

After dallying with LSD and following bouts of schizophrenia, in 1970 Peter Green left the group he had founded.

In an obviously lip-synced performance, here's Green and a very young looking Fleetwood and Mac performing a Ray Charles-inspired arrangement of Need Your Love So Bad...

Off Beat: Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavour On The Bedpost Overnight

Released in the late 50s by skiffle artist Lonnie Donegan, Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavour (On The Bedpost Overnight) became a huge hit both at home in the UK and in the States in the early 60s. I remember hearing the song and loving it on the radio in Toronto as a little kid.

I didn't know who Lonnie Donegan was back then. I just thought the song was hilarious. But Donegan racked up 24 Top 30 hits in Britain and was the most popular British recording artist until the Beatles came along. Speaking of which, Donegan influenced many British musical acts of the 60s, including a little skiffle group called The Quarrymen - the precursor to the Beatles. Donegan died at the age of 71 in 2002, while on tour in Britain. Here's a 70s performance of Does Your Chewing Gum...

Off Beat: Witch Doctor

In 1958, the novelty song Witch Doctor hit #1 in America. The song was written and performed by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. - better known as David Seville.

Witch Doctor was the first occasion that Seville experimented with tape speeds in the recording studio. His most successful use of varied tape speeds was with Alvin and the Chipmunks. They released Christmas Don't Be Late in 1959 and never looked back, launching a career of records, cartoons and television shows. Here's Seville on the Ed Sullivan show in the 50s "performing" Witch Doctor...