Tar And Cement - Verdelle Smith

Pat, I just timed my original 1966 commercial 45 for you, and my listed/actual timings exactly mirror the ones that you specified in your initial post.

Bringing this thread back, yes there were 2 versions of this song, I have a copy of each.
I suspect that this song was issued twice (same catalog #), with "A Piece Of The Sky" the original "A" side. I say this because I have a radio station survey from March 1966 with this side listed as one of the djs' pick hits.
I recall hearing both versions during the chart run of "Tar & Cement".
Capitol did not issue distinct promo copies at the time, radio stations simply got stock copies with maybe a sticker designating plug side.

Has anyone come across the longer 3:41 version of Verdelle Smith's "Tar and Cement" anywhere on CD?

Todd Ireland wrote: Has anyone come across the longer 3:41 version of Verdelle Smith's "Tar and Cement" anywhere on CD?

                      
Todd, the timing of your question couldn't be better. Amazon shows that
just last month (May 2013). a domestic CD label named Omni has released
"Tar And Cement: The Complete Recordings 1965-1967". The 22-track
listing starts with "Tar And Cement (full length version)", and ends with a
non-described version of the same song; my guess is that it's the shorter 45
version. It also includes her other Hot 100 charter, "In My Room." I have just
ordered this CD, and will report back as to its specifics.

(And musicmanatl, I agree. It's a great song!)

Edited by jimct

Okay, I'm such a nerd when it comes to this stuff. I found both a Youtube video of Adriano Celentano singing "Il Ragazzo della Via Gluck" ("The Boy From Gluck Street") and I also found a page that translates the lyrics from Italian to English:

http://lyricstranslate.com/en/il-ragazzo-della-gluck-boy-glu ck.html

Lee Pockriss and Paul Vance didn't modify the storyline all that much when they translated the song to English. The Italian lyrics are about a friend of the singer who is sad to leave their small town for the big city, and when he returns to buy a house eight years later he finds all of the beautiful country gone ("just house on top of house / asphalt and cement"). It's the same theme just done a little differently.

This lyrics webpage also happens to have a performance video of Adriano singing this song, which must have been quite unusual for the time. It's like an early music video.

A little more digging on Wikipedia indicates that Adriano is the best selling male artist in Italy. It also notes that "Celentano was born in Milan at 14 Via Gluck, about which he later wrote the famous song "Il ragazzo della via Gluck" ("The boy from Gluck Street")".

So cool! Thanks for the tip off, Bondy!

Edited by musicmanatl