The Soul of Good Fellas Pt. 2

The Crystals: Then He Kissed Me

Here's the monster hit from 1963 from one of the best known and most loved of all the girl groups. Produced by Phil Spector, it reached number 2 on the UK charts becoming one of the most popular American tunes in England.

The Marvelettes: Playboy

This early 60's track was a moderate hit for this Motown act who were still riding the crest of their smash Please Mr. Postman.

The Chantels: Look In My Eyes

One of the very first girl groups, the Chantels are best-known for their 1957 hit Maybe on End Records. In 1961, the Chantels signed with Carlton Records, where they had a minor hit with Look in My Eyes. Carlton dropped the group the following year.

The Soul of Good Fellas Pt. 1

First of all let me apologize for the rather long break since my last post. A couple of illnesses and a ton of work forced me to put the blog on the back burner, but as we approach our one year anniversary at Buffalo West Music I hope to get back into the swing of things. So here we go.

Along with a passion for music, I also have a passion for movies and when music and movies come together to successfully set moods, define characters and further storytelling it can truly be a magical thing. Now I'm not talking about Moulin Rouge or (ugh) Dreamgirls, I'm talking Superfly, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, The Big Lebowski, Rushmore and the like. But to me the master of utilizing popular music in a film is Martin Scorsese starting with Mean Streets but perfected with Good Fellas. The available soundtrack covers a mere fraction of the nearly fifty tracks featured in the film ranging from doo wop to opera to blues to rock. But this is a soul blog so here are a few of the more soulful tracks that will take you right back to each specific scene in the life of Henry Hill...and if you haven't seen Good Fellas than you're not alright, Spider!

The Cleftones: Can't We Be Sweethearts

Five high school buddies from Queens formed the Cleftones i n1955. This single which was released in 1956 on the Gee label never attracted much national attention. The Cleftones reached their peak in 1961 with their version of the standard Heart & Soul but they broke up just three years later.

Otis Williams & The Charms: Hearts Of Stone

This 1954 track released on the Rockin' label was on the top of the R&B charts for nearly 10 weeks.

The Moonglows: Sincerely

This Harvey Fuqua led group were among the most important R&B groups of the 50's. This is displayed all too well on this great 1954 Chess side.

Happy New Year

Here's a heartfelt although belated happy new year to all of you from Buffalo West. All the best for 2008 and thank you for your support throughout the past year. Take it Lightnin'!

Lightnin' Hopkins: Happy New Year