Human Beinz – "Nobody But Me" (1968)

No no no no no no no no no

No no no no no no no 
No no no no no no no no no

No no no no no

Nobody can do the shing-a-ling like I do

[NOTE: There is no record I enjoy singing along to more than “Nobody But Me.”  That alone makes it worthy of being chosen for the 2 OR 3 LINES “GOLDEN DECADE” HIT SINGLES HALL OF FAME.  Here’s what I wrote about that record way back in 2011.]

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Very talented people are often envied by less talented people.  I myself have experienced such envy on more than one occasion.

For example, whenever this song comes on the radio, I am able to do something that very others can – namely, sing the very tricky "no-no" parts of this song EXACTLY correctly. 

I'm like a certain baseball player who was such a natural hitter that it was said that if you dragged him out of bed in the middle of the night and started pitching to him, he would immediately start hitting line drives to all fields.

If you dragged me out of bed in the middle of the night and put on "Nobody But Me," I would duplicate lead singer John "Dick" Belley's performance like we were Siamese twins, putting each and every "no" (there are 30 altogether) in its proper place.  I don't even need to hear the record – I can do it a cappella and on demand.  

Try it sometime.  What the hell – try it right now.  Click on this link, which will take you to the song.  Hit the "start" button and give it a shot.

I'll even give you the sheet music:

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How you'd do?  Pretty bad, huh?  I thought so.

Well, try it one more time – after all, I caught you by surprise, before you had a chance to warm up.  I'm sure you'll do much better the second time . . .

NOT!  You sucked just as badly the second time, didn't you?  (Tell the truth!)

That's the difference between you and me – I nail "Nobody But Me" a hundred times out a hundred, rain or shine.  (Of course, there are other differences between you and me.  For example, you've never created a wildly popular little blog.)

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Click here to listen to the original recorded version of "Nobody But Me" by the Isley Brothers.  It's not bad, but it's certainly not as good as the Human Beinz cover.

That cover is used as the soundtrack to a new Nike TV ad.  It's not the best Nike TV commercial ever (I'll be posting about the very best one sometime in the future) but it's a good one – thanks in large part to the use of "Nobody But Me."  Click here to view that Nike ad.

Martin Scorsese used "Nobody But Me" in The Departed.  Click here to see the scene from The Departed where Leonardo DiCaprio goes medieval on a couple of thugs to the accompaniment of "Nobody But Me."

The first episode of the 7th season of The Office featured a cold open with the cast doing a lip dub to "Nobody But Me."  Click here to watch it.

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The Human Beinz are from Youngstown, Ohio, and originally called themselves the Premiers.  In 1966, they changed their named to the Human Beingz, but their record company mispelled their name on "Nobody But Me."  The song became a top-10 hit, which meant they couldn't really change the spelling then.

Turns out it didn't really matter.  They never had another hit (at least not in the United States – the band was very popular in Japan for some reason), and broke up in 1969.

The Human Beinz in Japan

Click here to listen to Human Beinz recording of "Nobody But Me."

 

Click here to order the song from Amazon.

Rod Stewart – “(I Know) I’m Losing You” (1971)

Your love is fading

I can feel your love fading

[Putting not only the original Temptations recording of “(I Know) I’m Losing You” but also Rare Earth’s and Rod Stewart’s cover versions of that song in the 2 OR 3 LINES “GOLDEN DECADE” COVER RECORDS HALL OF FAME is an unprecedented decision that’s certain to be controversial.  I have only three words to say to those who don’t agree with it – can you guess what those three words are?  (Here’s a hint: the first of those three words is “go.”)] 

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From Cashbox magazine’s November 12, 1966, review of the Temptations new single, “(I Know) I’m Losing You”:

It’s a surefire success for the Temptations with this emotion packed follow-up to “Beauty’s Only Skin Deep,” titled “(I Know) I’m Losing You.” The ork is throbbing, the chorus is smooth and the group tells its sad tale in exquisite fashion.

“The ork is throbbing”?  (Say what?)

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Rod Stewart’s cover of “(I Know) I’m Losing You” – a #1 hit for the Temptations in 1966 – is yet another example of a great cover of a Motown song by a white recording artist.

That cover was the penultimate track on Stewart’s 1971 album, Every Picture Tells a Story – an album that everyone (and I do mean everyone) I knew in college owned.

Every Picture Tells a Story wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good – clearly Stewart’s best album ever.

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Click here to listen to the Temptations’ original recording of “(I Know) I’m Losing You.”

Click here to listen to Rod Stewart’s cover of that record, the newest member of the 2 OR 3 LINES “GOLDEN DECADE’ COVER RECORDS HALL OF FAME.

Click here to buy that record from Amazon.

Rare Earth – "(I Know) I'm Losing You" (1970)

It’s all over your face

Someone’s taken my place

Ooh baby, I’m losing you

[Welcome to the big leagues, Rare Earth!  Your cover of “(I Know) I'm Losing You”is so good that I've decided to promote it from the 2 OR 3 LINES “GOLDEN DECADE” COVER RECORDS HALL OF FAME to the 2 OR 3 LINES “GOLDEN DECADE” HIT SINGLES HALL OF FAME.  I saw Rare Earth perform at the high-school football stadium in my hometown of Joplin, Missouri on July 2, 1973.  I'll have more to say about that in a future 2 OR 3 LINES “GOLDEN DECADE” HIT SINGLES HALL OF FAME post – until then, the original March 3, 2023 2 or 3 lines post about today’s featured record will have to suffice.]

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Rare Earth – which began life as the Sunliners in Detroit in 1960 – wasn’t the first all-white group signed to a record contract by Motown.

But they were the first all-white band signed to a record contract by Motown to have a hit.

Both of Rare Earth’s first two hit singles – “Get Ready” and “(I Know) I’m Losing You” – were covers of Temptations hit.  And both charted higher than the originals.

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We could argue until we’re blue in thew face whether the Rare Earth or Rod Stewart covers of “(I Know) I’m Losing You” is better.

But life is very short, and there’s no time for fussing and fighting, my friend.  So let’s just agree they’re both great, and leave it at that. 

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Click here to listen to the album version of Rare Earth’s cover of “(I Know) I’m Losing You.”

Click here to listen to the single version, which peaked at #7 on the Billboard “Hot 100.”

Click here to view a rather bizarre video of the group performing the song on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Click here to buy the album version of “(I Know) I’m Losing You” from Amazon. 

Temptations – "(I Know) I'm Losing You" (1966)

I can feel it in my bones

Any day you’ll be gone

Oooh, baby, I'm losing you

[I featured covers of “(I Know) I’m Losing You” by Rare Earth and Rod Stewart on my wildly successful little blog before featuring the original Temptations recording of that song.  I can’t think of another truly great record from that era that has two equally great covers, so I’ve decided to induct all three of those recordings into the 2 OR 3 LINES “GOLDEN DECADE” HIT SINGLES HALL OF FAME.  Here's my January 2024 post about the original Temptations recording of “(I Know) I’m Losing You."]

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My 24th season of basketball refereeing did not get off to a great start.

I had been assigned to do a girls’ junior-varsity game at 530p at a high school just a few miles from my apartment.  (So far, so good.)

But the visiting team – which was being bussed from a high school in the most distant part of the county – ran into rush-hour traffic, and arrived half an hour later than they should have.

Don’t ever send me this greeting card!

Then the very loud buzzer that the scoreboard operator uses to alert the referees when there’s a substitute who wants to enter the game got stuck in the first quarter, necessitating a long delay while someone went into the electrical closet at the school to disconnect and then reset the buzzer.  (My hearing is almost back to normal, thank you very much!)

But then the same thing then happened in the second quarter.  That time, the effort to reset the buzzer resulted in both scoreboards going blank.  So we had to wait until the athletic director located the small portable scoreboard that is used for kids’ rec league games in that gym on weekends.  (That scoreboard wasn’t satisfactory for several reasons, but we really had no choice.)

The game started out looking like it was going to be a blowout, but it ended up coming down to the home team’s last shot.  That last shot was blocked, but the home team players, coaches, and fans were certain that the shooter was fouled.

They were kind enough to point out our error to us as we left the court.

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My partner and I had changed into our uniforms in the PE department office.  I had left my phone and keys in a zippered coat pocket before heading to the gym to do  the game, but my smart watch wasn’t with them when we returned to change back into our street clothes.  

I didn’t think much about that – I figured I had stuck it somewhere in the small suitcase I use to transport my uniform, shoes, and whistle to games, and that I would find it once I got back home and unpacked.

But the watch not only wasn’t in my coat pocket, it wasn’t in my suitcase either.  Nor was it in my car when I made the long trip from my apartment to my parking garage to check.  

The watch

I texted one of the referees who was working the varsity game that followed mine and asked him to look around the dressing area after his game was over, but he told me that he didn’t see my watch anywhere.

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There’s an app on my phone that controls various aspects of my smart watch’s operation.  I opened that app, thinking that there might be a “Find My Watch” function I could use to track it down – and sure enough, there was such a function.  

I didn’t know if “Find My Watch” worked only if I was in the immediate vicinity of my watch.  But I had nothing to lose, so I hit the button.

A jazzy little ringtone immediately started to sound, so I knew the watch must be nearby.  But where could it be?

After listening intently for a few seconds, I realized that the ringtone seemed to be coming from inside my left shoe – which I was still wearing.

The shoe

Sure enough, the watch was in my left shoe – where I had hidden it after changing into my referee shoes before the game.

Somehow I had managed to change back into my street shoes, walk to my car, drive home, walk to my apartment, walk back to my parking garage, and then walk back to my apartment once again without noticing that there was a watch in my left shoe.

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2 or 3 lines has previously featured the Rare Earth and Rod Stewart covers of “(I Know) I’m Losing You,” so I figured it was about time to feature the original 1966 recording of that song by the Temptations.

Click here to listen to today’s featured record.

Click here to buy that record from Amazon.

Kinks – "You Really Got Me" (1964)

You really got me now

You got me so I don’t know what I'm doin’

Last week, I went to the Great Frederick Fair in Frederick, Maryland with a daughter and three grandchildren who live there.

They came after school was over for the day, arriving at about 4:15.  Since seniors who entered the fair before 3:00 got in free, I showed up early and spent the money I had saved (and a little bit more) in the beer garden.

I could have killed the remaining time before my offspring arrived by visiting the barns where cows, pigs, sheep, and other livestock are exhibited.  But let’s face it – farm animals are pretty disgusting.  (I mean, pee-yew!)

Instead, I checked out the exhibits in the Household Building, which had the advantage of being located right next to the beer garden.

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The household item “departments” at the Great Frederick Fair include baked goods, food preservation, clothing items, needle arts, afghans and quilts, photography, and fine [sic] arts.  

Each department was further divided into divisions and classes.  Take a close look at the entry tag attached to this infant’s sweater and you will see that it was entered in Department P, Section 2, Class 3 – which is the category for crocheted sweaters for children up to six years of age.

Because that particular entry finished first in its class, its maker took home $4.  (That may sound pretty sweet, but the entry fee is also $4 – plus the entrant had to pay for the yarn and those cute little duck-shaped buttons.) 

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What would a county fair be without jams, jellies, canned vegetables, and other preserved foods:

Photography seemed to be a very popular household department.  It looked like just about everyone in Frederick County who owned a smartphone entered a photo this year:

My favorite among all the embroidered, needlepointed, knitted, and crocheted entries in Department Q ("Needle Arts") were these fabulous Mario Brothers:

There were more pies, cakes, cookies, breads, and other baked items (Department M) than you could shake a stick at, including this trompe l'oeil hamburger cake:

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There was a special household-item department for entries from children who were 10 years old and younger, and another one for middle- and high-school students.  The Great Frederick Fair applies the Danish system for judging entries in those two departments: “excellent” entries are awarded blue ribbons, while “good” entries get a red ribbon and “fair” entries take home a white ribbon.

The Danes are apparently forgiving folks, because even those whose entries fail to meet minimum standards get a green “participation” ribbon.  (Any judge who gives one of my grandkids a green ribbon is going to have some ’splaining to do!) 

I took this photo of to show you what a green ribbon looks like.  Only later did I notice that this particular participation ribbon was attached to some cookies that were purportedly baked by a four-year-old child.  Look closely at the buff-colored entry tag, which is partly obscured by the ribbon, and you'll see the “age 4” notation:

 

My favorite item among the children’s fine arts exhibits was this drawing of the late Raymond Burr, the actor who portrayed the titular character in the Perry Mason television show:

Perry Mason aired from 1957 to 1966.  I haven’t seen a Perry Mason episode in many years, but maybe the nine-year-old artiste who entered the drawing of Burr discovered the show on some obscure cable channel and became an aficionado of the character. 

Or maybe the kid’s grandfather – who is old enough to remember watching Perry Mason – is the one who actually drew the picture.

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If there were a Mount Rushmore for “British Invasion” artists, the four groups that most people would choose for inclusion on it would be the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Who, and Kinks.

The Kinks were probably the least popular of the four in the United States.  They had a dozen or so top-five hits in the UK during the “Golden Decade,” but never had a single climb higher than #6 on the Billboard “Hot 100.”    

I’ve decide to right that wrong by including “You Really Got Me” – which was a #1 hit in the UK, but topped out at #7 here – in this year’s group of inductees into the 2 OR 3 LINES “GOLDEN DECADE” HIT SINGLES HALL OF FAME.  

“You Really Got Me” was released in the U.S. in the summer of 1964 – roughly a year before the Stones released “Satisfaction” and the Who released “My Generation.”

Critics have described “You Really Got Me” as hard rock, garage rock, and proto-punk.  Whatever term you prefer, it’s certainly very different from what the Beatles were doing.  

The Beatles were still releasing records for 14-year-old girls in 1964.  Not the Kinks, baby – “You Really Got Me” is grownup stuff.

Click here to listen to “You Really Got Me.”

Click here to buy it from Amazon.