Zero to 180 – Three Minute Magic

Discoveries of a Pop Music Archaeologist

Bossa Country -or- Honky Nova?

On my one and only visit to Northampton, Massachusetts (NRBQ‘s 35th anniversary show in 2004), I ducked into a second-hand vinyl shop and came away with a K-Tel country collection from 1976 —

Country Superstars – 20 Greatest Hits

K-Tel's Country Superstars LP-front

This collection of early-to-mid 70s hits includes 1976 dieselbilly hit “Roll On Big Mama” by Joe Stampley, plus Johnny Cash‘s “A Thing Called Love” (1971), Tom T. Hall‘s “I Love” (1973), Hank Snow‘s “Hello Love” (1974) and Dotty [sic] West‘s “Country Sunshine” (1974), among others.

Track listing

K-Tel's Country Superstars LP-track listing

Lost to the winds of time, unfortunately, is the institutional knowledge at Canada’s K-Tel corporation as to who made the curious decision to include a “country bossa nova” song from 1964 – Skeeter Davis‘s charming kiss-off, “Gonna Get Along Without You Now“:

“Gonna Get Along Without You Now”

Skeeter Davis [‘K-Tel version’]

But wait:  as it turns out, Skeeter Davis’s version would hit two times, the second time being 1971 (so says Wikipedia, though I am having trouble verifying a follow-up to Davis’ March 9, 1964 recording at Nashville’s RCA Victor Studio), hence its inclusion on a K-Tel 1970s country compilation.  The version above – it just dawned on me – must be a ‘new’ arrangement from 1971.  The original release from 1964 below sounds markedly different:

“Gonna Get Along Without You Now”

Skeeter Davis (1964)

Could this be the first county pop number to take commercial advantage of the fresh bossa nova sounds that were sweeping popular music in the early-to-mid 1960s?

1964 EP – France

“Gonna Get Along Without You Now” was written by Milton Kellem in 1951 and has been covered in a wide variety of styles to date, more recently, Zooey Deschanel & Matt Ward (as She and Him) in 2010.   Kellem’s name would be associated with a number of 45s, from the 50s & 60s, including a King B-side for Bubber Johnson, “House of Love” from 1959.

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