Wednesday, January 11, 2017

"Your Auntie Grizelda"

Backdated, archival post

[link to original on tumblr]

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Yester-day I listened to More of the Monkees because it was the fiftieth anniversary of its release.  I noticed something about "Your Auntie Grizelda."  After the lines in the verses, there's a drum part with this rhythm:


This sounded familiar to me because the same drum rhythm is in "Take a Giant Step."  It's during the instrumental section, with the first occurrence at about 1:39.

I referenced Sandoval's day-by-day book The Monkees and found that while the personnel on "Your Auntie Grizelda" are unknown, it was recorded in New York.  Since "Take a Giant Step" was recorded in Los Angeles, so I think it's safe to say that the songs feature two different groups of musicians (coincidentally, "Your Auntie Grizelda" was recorded the same day that the "Last Train to Clarksville" b/w "Take a Giant Step" single was issued in the U.K. - 14 October 1966).  The songs were written by different people too:  "Take a Giant Step" is by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, and "Your Auntie Grizelda" is by Jack Keller and Diane Hilderbrand.

So it seems that it's just coincidence that both songs have the same drum rhythm.