Randy and the Rainbows scored their only real hit in 1963 with “Denise”. You know the song. It goes, “Oh Denise, shoo-bee-doo, I’m in love with you Denise…” Blondie covered it which maybe made it a little more popular, but it’s in constant rotation on oldies radio, basically since the day. It’s great, slightly magical, kind of perfect.
In 1973, Randy and Co. decided to re-record with something of a more dancy sound – disco is approaching fast and this has that bad step beat to guide dum-dums on the dance-floor. Because the original song is good, this version is kind of good, but it sounds like junk cuz it’s off an old acetate cuz I don’t think it ever saw the light of day.
FACT: 1963 was the year for oldies. More of the good stuff was packed into 1963. Cross influencing, copy-cats, lots of talent, payola – all came together to make ’63 the year.
NOT A FACT, BUT I THINK: This version of “Denise” predates the Four Seasons song “1963 (Oh What a Night)” by 2 years. But the two groups were thinking the same way - The Seasons just made a new, better good song, while The Rainbows chumped it and made their old song worse. “1963” was a smash hit that takes the oldies formula THEN totally makes it disco AND romanticizes that great year of 1963. Which all the oldies guys were probably doing at that point – meeting up in diners and bowling alleys, getting chubby, and saying, “Man, remember 1963!?” Spector was still working in a sort of cool way in ’75 but only because he’d totally lost his mind – probably in 1963.
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| The Rainbows in ’73. |
The beginning is just like Miley Cyrus' opus "Party in the USA" only not as good.