Zero to 180 – Three Minute Magic

Discoveries of a Pop Music Archaeologist

Tag: Neil Diamond

Toy piano
Zeroto180

Toy Piano in Pop Recordings

Background Summary Zero to 180’s initial research into the use of toy piano in popular music* first fingered Neil Diamond’s “Shilo” (1968), then Tommy James and the Shondells’ “Out of the Blue” (1967), before discovering more recently that “Lovey Kravezit” (1966) by The Everly Brothers employs the use of a

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"Mr. Mailman"
Zeroto180

B-Side: Called Up to the Majors

I forget where I picked up my copy of 100 All Time Country Hall of Fame Hits – Vol. 2, double-LP set from 1977 that was originally “nationally advertised on TV!”  The friendly price tag comes at a cost, though — 12 (even 13) songs per side, thus, a noticeable

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"A World of Their Own"
Zeroto180

Connect-the-Dots Album Covers

To the best of my knowledge, there are only three “connect-the-dots” album cover designs:  (1) John Entwistle‘s brilliant cartoon rendering of the four band members for The Who By Numbers released in 1975; (2)  Neil Diamond‘s aforementioned Shilo cover from 1970 — one that the ABC Arts of Australia, you

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"Shilo"
Zeroto180

“Shilo”: First Pop Use of Toy Piano?

Two songs were recorded in 1971 that featured toy piano lines:  “Butterfly” by Danyel Gerard – a big international hit – and “Only You” by NRBQ, a song from their Scraps album that was released as the B-side to “Ain’t It All Right.” For the longest time I thought (quite

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"Rosemary's Wine"
Zeroto180

Connect Neil Diamond’s Dots

I am still stunned that I somehow picked up a connect-the-dots album cover secondhand that had not already been filled in by one of the previous owner’s younger family members: Neil Diamond, I have to admit, is pretty easy to find on the Goodwill circuit.  Like many others of my

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