I'm looking for the name and artist title for an instrumental song
that sounds like it's from the 50's or 60's... The song is very
organ-based, with a sound not unlike the intro for Procol Harem's
"Whiter Shade of Pale". Here are the notes as best as I can figure,
using '--' to represent a 1 beat hold and '-' to represent a half beat
hold:

A -- E F# -- E D C# B A B - E - D C# B A B - E - E(octave higher) ---
F# - E D E - D - C# - E B C# - B - C# -- D C# B A B -- C# B A G#
A(back to start)

---

Request for Question Clarification by notyou-ga on 26 Apr 2003 02:39 PDT

Hi timbre:

Well, we busted out the synthesizer and tried to figure this one out. 
Based on your notes, our best guess is "Groovy Kind of Love", recently
popularized by Phil Collins, but originally performed by Wayne Fontana
and the Mindbenders.

Here's a site with a MIDI of the Phil Collins version (which is pretty
faithful to the original):
[ http://www.angelfire.com/ma2/Gem/agroovykind.html ]

And an MP3 of the original:
[ http://www.ankarafamily.net/mp3/mindbenders_groovy-kind-of-love.mp3
]

Where did you hear the instrumental version of this song?  On the
radio?  The only version I could find that didn't have singing on it
was for karaoke.

And please let us know if we're just totally off.  Song i.d. is tough
without lyrics.  :-}

---

Clarification of Question by timbre-ga on 26 Apr 2003 03:44 PDT

It's not Groovy Kind of Love... the notes I gave should be interpreted
as single notes instead of chords, and it has a moodier sound
dominated by several organs. Maybe it's early 60's British? The last
time I heard it on a radio station near Christmas. I don't think the
song has much instrumentation besides organ, maybe some basic
percussion.

---

Clarification of Question by timbre-ga on 26 Apr 2003 21:41 PDT

I've uploaded a small MP3 (140kb) to give an idea of what the melody
sounds like... imagine it played by grand, solemn 60's organs:

http://www.joinme.net/timbre/mystery.mp3

timbre...

I recognized your MP3 version immediately! The song is called
'The Theme from Telstar', or 'Telstar' for short. The story of
its writing and production by a guy named Joe Meek, who was
inspired by the launch of the communications satellite of the
same name, is detailed on this page from Retrofuture.com:
http://www.retrofuture.com/telstar.html

The organ-like sound you are referring to was the instrument
which Joe added to the studio version first recorded, at his
request, by the Tornadoes, "a crack instrumental outfit popular
on the British club circuit". The instrument was called a
"...clavioline, an electronic keyboard with an otherworldly
sound". At least, that was what made the original recording
sound so unique. 

There have been versions done since, by other bands.
Here is a clip of a version by Ronnie Montrose, from the
MP3Dimension website, which you won't recognize until the end
of the clip:
http://www.mp3dimension.com/dl/15078/4_04_ronniemontrose.mp3

Here is a full-length version, by the band 'Cigarbox Planetarium',
which is truer to the original version, hosted on the Washington
Post website:
http://mp3.washingtonpost.com/bands/cigarbox_planetarium.shtml

And, the original version is available on a 1995 release of a
Joe Meek CD called 'It's Hard to Believe: The Amazing World of
Joe Meek', reviewed on the Rolling Stone website here:
http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/cd/review.asp?aid=R%20%20%20224506&cf=

Clips of the songs on the CD are also available on the Rolling
Stone website here:
http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/cd/review.asp?aid=55408&cf=

The link for Track 1, which is the original Telstar, is:
http://www.rollingstone.com/media/assetaudio_old/6/37/63792/80_63792_1_2250_4500_14922_9_5_78.rm

Other albums by Joe Meek are listed on the Rolling Stone site
here:
http://search.rollingstone.com/bin/search?section=album&query=Joe%20Meek&exact=&matchany=

Enjoy!


Please do not rate this answer until you are satisfied that
the answer cannot be improved upon by means of a dialog
established through the "Request for Clarification" process.

sublime1-ga


Searches done, via Google:

telstar Tornadoes "Joe Meek" mp3 download
://www.google.com/search?q=telstar+Tornadoes+%22Joe+Meek%22+mp3+download

original telstar Tornadoes "Joe Meek" mp3 download
://www.google.com/search?q=+original+telstar+Tornadoes+%22Joe+Meek%22+mp3+download

original telstar "Joe Meek" mp3 download
://www.google.com/search?q=+original+telstar+%22Joe+Meek%22+mp3+download

original telstar "Joe Meek" mp3
://www.google.com/search?q=+original+telstar+%22Joe+Meek%22+mp3

telstar song mp3
://www.google.com/search?q=telstar+song+mp3

telstar song
://www.google.com/search?q=telstar+song

Brilliant, informative and comprehensive answer! That's exactly what I
was looking for, and the extra information you provided is
fascinating. Great link to Retrofuture! Thanks!!!

Could the song you are seeking be "Gloria in Excelsis Deo" perhaps?
While it is not a Christmas carol, it is frequently heard around
Christmas time.

Listen:
http://www.night.net/christmas/angels-heard.html

Regards;
Tutuzdad-ga

That's funny, because "Gloria in Excelsis Deo" shares some notes in
common with Telstar, and was the song that jogged my memory of the
Telstar song : )

I just found a vocal version of Telstar on SoulSeek, called "Magic
Star" by Joe Meek... sample lyrics: "Magic Star above, send a message
to my love, tell her that I'll wait patiently".

An interesting Google Groups thread can be found here:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&th=74c5caf46b44f94e&rnum=1

It mentions another version of Magic Star sung by Margie Singleton, as
well as a version of Telstar recorded by The Ventures.

More trivia: "Telstar by the Tornadoes was the first recording by a
British act to reach number one on the Billboard charts in the US... a
full year before the Beatles topped the US charts."

The song hit #1 on December 22, 1962, which may have something to do
with it being played around Christmas...