Numerous collections have compiled famous "answer songs." Ace Records' 2007 anthology The Answer to Everything had many of the best, like Jody Miller's "Queen of the House," Esther Phillips' "When a Woman Loves a Man" and Marilyn Michaels' "Tell Tommy I Miss Him." Early in the summer, Ace took a look not at answer songs, per se, but at sequel songs, on the compilation of Second Helpings: Sequels to the Songs That Left 'Em Hungry for More!
The 24 tracks on this collection all hail from the 1960s, encompassing pop, rock, country and R&B sequels all recorded by the same artist as the original song. Of the pop groups represented, you'll hear Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs' own follow-up to their 1966 hit "Little Red Riding Hood," naturally titled (what else?) "The Hair on My Chinny Chin Chin." Jay and the Americans - with the aid of producer-songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller - continued the story of "She Cried" with "It's My Turn to Cry," and The Crests built on the immortal doo-wop ballad "16 Candles" with "You Blew Out the Candles." Girl groups weren't exempt from the trend, either. The Angels dared to record a sequel to their all-time classic "My Boyfriend's Back" - and it wasn't pretty: "The Guy with the Black Eye." The Shirelles' poignant "Soldier Boy" from 1962 belatedly yielded 1965's "(Mama) My Soldier Boy is Coming Home." Motown's Marvelettes offered a sequel to their No. 1 hit "Please Mr. Postman" by combining it with a dance craze; hence, "Twistin' Postman." Jennell Hawkins had a Top 20 R&B hit with her cover of another early Motown tune, "Money (That's What I Want)." She went back to the well for a second helping, simply and directly called "More Money (That's What I Want)." Even instrumental groups weren't immune. Booker T and the MGs recorded a sequel to a song with no lyrics when they served a heaping dish of "Mo' Onions" in similar fashion to the original "Green Onions."
Teenage angst was the order of the day on Paul Anka's "Remember Diana," his 1963 sequel to "Diana" and also on Marcie Blane's "Bobby Did," the none-too-happy sequel to "Bobby's Girl." ("Bobby Did" was co-written by the young Neil Diamond, who decades later recorded a quasi-sequel song with his own "A Cherry Cherry Christmas.") Claudine Clark and Robin Ward were a little older, but captured youthful vivacity on their recordings, as well. Clark's 1962 Top 5 hit "Party Lights" solidified her status as a one-hit wonder, but she tried to recapture the magic a year later on "Walk Me Home (From the Party)." It's included here along with Ward's "Winter's Here," a seasonal continuation of her hit "Wonderful Summer" by the same songwriters, Perry Botkin and Gil Garfield.
Country artists took strongly to answer records and sequel songs. The Possum, George Jones, is heard here on "Root Beer," the sequel to "White Lightning." Marty Robbins returned to "El Paso" with "Feleena (From El Paso)," and Jimmy Dean recaptured the milieu of "Big Bad John" with "The Cajun Queen." Rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson got into the act, too, with "Man, We Had a Party," an appropriate sequel to "Let's Have a Party."
These songs and many more from the likes of Buddy Holly, Jan and Dean and Johnny Burnette make for a lively collection of Second Helpings. A 20-page full-color booklet with detailed liner notes is included in the release compiled by Sam Szczepanski and remastered by Duncan Cowell. You can check out the track listing and order Ace's compilation below!
Various Artists, Second Helpings: Sequels to the Songs That Left 'Em Hungry for More! (Ace CDCHD 1432, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)
- Peggy Sue Got Married - Buddy Holly with the Fireballs (Coral LP 57477, 1966)
- Man, We Had a Party - Wanda Jackson (Capitol LP ST 1511, 1961)
- Root Beer - George Jones (United Artists LP UAL 3193, 1962)
- The Hair on My Chinny Chin Chin - Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs (MGM 13581, 1966)
- Little Queen Bee (Got a Brand New King) - Slim Harpo (Excello 2246, 1964)
- The Cajun Queen - Jimmy Dean (Columbia 42282, 1962)
- It's My Turn to Cry - Jay and the Americans (United Artists 479, 1962)
- You Blew Out the Candles - The Crests (Coral 62403, 1964)
- Twistin' Postman - The Marvelettes (Tamla 54054, 1962)
- Walk Me Home (From the Party) - Claudine Clark (Chancellor 1136, 1963)
- Hey Little Donkey - The Rocky Fellers (Scepter 1258, 1963)
- Bobby Did - Marcie Blaine (Seville 133, 1964)
- (Mama) My Soldier Boy is Coming Home - The Shirelles (Scepter 12123, 1965)
- Donna's Gone - Lenny Miles (RCA 8011, 1962)
- What Did Daddy Do - Shep and the Limelites (Hull 751, 1962)
- Winter's Here - Robin Ward (Dot 16578, 1964)
- The Guy with the Black Eye - The Angels (Smash LP SRS 67039, 1963)
- The Anaheim, Azusa & Cucamonga Sewing Circle, Book Review & Timing Association - Jan and Dean (Liberty 55724, 1964)
- Feleena (From El Paso) - Marty Robbins (Columbia LP CL 2527, 1966)
- I'm Still Dreamin' - Johnny Burnette (Liberty LP LST-7190, 1961)
- Remember Diana - Paul Anka (RCA 8170, 1963)
- Mo' Onions - Booker T. and the MGs (Stax LP SD 701, 1962)
- More Money (That's What I Want) - Jennell Hawkins (Amazon 708, 1962)
- My Image of a Girl (Is You) - The Safaris featuring Jimmy Stephens (Dee Jay 203, 1989)
All tracks mono except Tracks 1-3, 6, 13, 15, 17-20, 24 in stereo
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I wonder why Lesley Gore's "Judy's Turn to Cry" was omitted? It was certainly more successful than any of the included tracks, and Ace has been quite active in reissuing Lesley's recordings.
When I saw Jan & Dean mentioned in the article, I assumed the song that would be included was "She's Still Talkin' Baby Talk" (Liberty 55522, 1962). That would have been a better and much more accurate choice for the theme of this collection.
"Anaheim, Azuza..." isn't really a sequel song. Yes, it about "little old ladies" who race cars, but doesn't really tie directly to "Little Old Lady (From Pasadena)" which I can only guess was the connection the compilers were trying to make. (It does revisit the "go, grannies, go" on the fade out though, so there's that.)
And I agree with Ed that "Judy's Turn To Cry" is a glaring omission as are Dee Dee Sharp's "Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)" and Chubby Checker's "Let's Twist Again." Those are three of the most famous and successful sequel songs of all time. My guess is that they were going for more uncommon or lesser known tracks for this collection.