It was exactly this kind of performance and this type of introduction that must have inspired Tom Hanks to put together "That Thing You Do", which included an appearand on Hollywood Showcase by the Wonders.
It may be the only song I could listen to every day for the rest of my life and not get tired of it. If you like this song click up (on YouTube) their version of Cast Your Fate to the Winds. It's from their LP which was amazing.
can't get this song out of my head every day i find myself getting on youtube and listening to this but just listening isnt anough i have to watch the video with her dance and the accent of her voice and just the energy that the band gives off it's magical and i find myself singing this song as im walking
@nuts4clara - Hi there. Yes, I had a real crush on Bev. As a a 12 year old in 1965, so idealistic, so open to new music, language, and change. Times were different 45 years ago . . . simple, fresh, free. Difficult to put into words unless personally experienced, but our yearning for a "new world" was palpable. Just a sweet memeory now.
@gottselig2004 : Bev Bivens in an interview said that the group split into three factions, all three adamant about the direction they wanted to go in. Short story: End of group. A shame. They were awesome.
@polarisathena : I don't believe they ever had a "resident" drummer. They used the studio drummer for recordings, or the house drummer for whatever venue they played.
There were 677 "likes" and only 1 "dislike" for the "mime / lyp sync version of this song - elsewhere on youtube. For this version there were 1001 "likes" and 26 "dislikes". Cut them some slack; it was an excellent performance, especially since it was done live in front of a national TV audience.
I suspect 1970's figure-skating champion Dorothy Hamill must have had a copy of the We Five album as a little girl, because by 1976, she had a hairdo very similar to that of Beverly Bivens'!
I wonder in today's environment how long it would have taken to grab fans? Seems to me they were a one hit wonder. I can't remember any other songs from that era.
OK I'm trying to figure this song out..I Woke Up this morning, You were on my mind...I GOT TROUBLES I GOT WORRIES I GOTTA RAMBLE...So is this about a guy abandoning his girlfriend? If so then this song is depressing even tough its sounds totally positive!
@FairDealDan I think its more about a guy(singer is man) perhaps being completely unknown or disregarded by a girl he likes, or more likely being cast off but still loves her. "I've got worries... I've got wounds to bind... I've got to ramble and I've got to move on...walk away my blues."
@KarenLeFemme : They would hire a drummer for tour, use studio talent for recording, and here, they used the in-house drummer. The group We Five never had a "member" drummer, no. I followed them closely in the sixties, saw many performances by them, and the drummer (when they were live) was usually off-camera.
@skipdow3 Just stating a fact; not being critical. Read his biography and you'll see that he was self-conscious about his large hands. When he was dancing, he would curl in
At the time this song was popular, I had never seen them on television. Frankly, I never knew the lead vocal was by a woman. Wish I had seen'em! She was a pretty good-lookin' piece of...work.
@BrooksFrankandBoog70 Ha! Maybe 700 as I weigh 175. It doesn't help to be in poor taste. Some people do have medical problems you know? Sorry, but in 1966, those two ladies were the pinnacle of female performers. Your talking 45 years ago. How old are you? Maybe Michele Phillips to make a foursome in retrospect. She still looks very, very good.
Who would of believed that the San Francisco music explosion of the 60's (Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, Santana) 70's (Journey, Pablo Cruise), and 80's (Huey Lewis and The News, Metallica) would be started by a group that would have only one hit? That's what We Five did: They lit the fuse to the bomb (two if you counted The Beau Brummels-like We Five, they had a hit song in 1965 and wouldn't be heard from again).
I also saw them at Circle Star Theater in Redwood City. In the round. They were the lead up act to the Kingston Trio (the John Stewart version). Michael Stewart, the musical producer for the group and John's brother is the one on the left (their right) with the glasses. We got there a little early and saw them rehearsing that final few bars with the great ending. She really had an incredible voice, great arranging.. wow!
The 60's were such fertile ground for obscure bands to hit it big, even for just one song for which they'll forever be remembered-these guys were one of them......a true classic!!
I love this song. As a hippe kid, I was surprised to hear it on radio. It is about someone waiting for a fix down at the corner. But he/she was on thier mind. For today. I am so happy to see wires to thier amps. They did it live.
@duncanstpt Believe me I hear you. Back in 1971 we had a band. Not really making the grade. A chunkey guy with thick glasses heard us and asked can he add organ. We did not have the term"nerd". But he was one.We gave him a try. He was so much better than us. Lifted our sound. I will never judge again. Good H.S. memory.
WOW! Really singing and playing of instruments on television. What a radical idea. To see cords connecting instruments to amps really takes me back. I know today everything is wireless-but it is refreshing to see the low-tech of yesterday. Oh yes, Fred Astaire looked pretty spiffy too.
Ah yes, music from a time when in order to make "music" you actually had to have the ability to sing and carry a note. Feel good stuff, saw them live at the Circle Theater, Redwood City, Ca, New years eve 1965. This was before the era of noise that now passes as music. (I SIMPLY REPEATED WHAT 'scubahal56' SAID ABOVE) -- HA HA HA.
Sylvia Fricker wrote this(Ian & Sylvia). This is a fine arrangement, but the smiling demeanor is offputting. I love the song and I appreciated my fellow 'Friscans doing it. (The expression on Fred Astaire's face in the intro. is priceless. Please note, Ian is still writing fine songs-some of you oldsters might recall 'Four Strong Winds','Someday Soon', or 'Loving Sound'...No? O Canada. I'll sing 'em for you then, so you won't miss how fine the '60's were!
I don't think this is 100% live performance. Listen to the solo along the song, the pitchs of the play are much higher than the position of the player's hand. He play mostly at second fretch (relatives to the capo), but the sound comes from 5th to 7th fretch
@nguyenhercm I don't know what you are trying to say. The capo is on the 3rd fret (we're talking about the 12-string Rickenbacker, playing the lead) , so he's playing up the neck (in one close up he's on the 5th fret). It is a 100% live performance. Geez....
I first heard this on my way to Nam - 18 months later I felt so much older. But it still reminds me of a time in my life when I was young and full of hope.
Good grief....this takes me back to the mid-60's, laying on my bed with a little bitty transistor radio with a little bitty ear phone and lsitiening to KILT in Houston...WOW
Ah yes, music from a time when in order to make "music" you actually had to have the ability to sing and carry a note. Feel good stuff, saw them live at the Circle Theatre, Redwood City, Ca, New years eve 1965. This was before the era of noise that now passes as music.
Ha ha! Ability to sing is kinda funny! Have you not noticed that there's 4 guitars and 5 microphones, but only one cord - and it goes to an instrument!
Check out Serena Ryder's version of this awesome song - it's new, and she can sing!
@Cerastes22 What are you referring to? There are 4 guitar cords, 2 each to the two amps on the side. Each guitar (Es330, J160E, Rick 360-12 , and bass (assume a Fender) is plugged in.
@mkp823 Going back to look again, I do see cords from the instruments as you pointed out. My point was the lead singer's mike isn't wired. And this was at a time when there was no such thing as wireless... Or am I wrong about that too??
Anyway - my real point was to give a listen to Serena Ryder's version :)
@Cerastes22 Check at 0:46 - a cord is clearly dangling from Bev's mic. Also, before that, you can see a FAINT line (cord) going from where she's standing back to the riser behind her. It's a totally live performance (hence, the opening scene of the drummer in silhouette). Which makes it all the more amazing!
Ha ha! Ability to sing is kinda funny! Have you not noticed that there's 4 guitars and 3 microphones, but only two cords - and they go to instruments! :)
Check out Serena Ryder's version of this awesome song - it's new, and she can sing!
I agree with you completely. I'm 20 years old and I've always loved this music! I heard all this excellent music from my mother since I was little and I loved it just as much as she does! This was her generation and she was very lucky. I'm lucky as well to be brought up on this music and them it so much!
Nowadays you get famous for being an untalented little dits. And it's hard to tell another singer apart from another. In those they all had their own sound. ♥♥
I agree with you completely. I'm 20 years old and I've always loved this music! I heard all this excellent music from my mother since I was little and I loved it just as much as she does! This was her generation and she was very lucky. I'm lucky as well to be brought up on this music and love it so much!
Nowadays you get famous for being an untalented little dits. And it's hard to tell another singer apart from another. In those days they all had their own sound.
@scubahal56 Clearly this beats a lot of today's crap music.
But our parents thought this stuff was crap compared to their jazz, and their parents thought jazz was crap compared to their crooners.
Today we watch this and see clean-cut kids making good fun music; back then, parents saw DRUGS & SEX & LONG HAIR (just look at that bastard on the left, his hair almost touches his EARS!) and heard a horrible din.
The future is always in motion; it's harder to see that the *past* is in motion too.
Friend you have said it all. It is somewhat heartening to hear from kids 14, 15 years old that appreciate this music and think we are beyond fortunate to have lived then.
The mid-sixties really was an awesome time to be listening to top forty AM radio. There will never again be a time where you could hear Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, Dave Brubeck and We Five on one station.
This is a terrific performance and is emblematic of the energy, creativity, and being of the '60's. I can so relate to Halftrac's post. In 1965 I had a battery powered AM transistor radio tuned to a Cleveland rock station, 920 am I think. I rode around on my Sears (imitation Schwinn Stingray bike) listening to the We Five, The Seekers, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Mamas and Papas, and so many more. We were all so lucky to be alive in that time. There will be nothing like it ever again.
@Ranjeeb : The honest answer would be "yes", but they were in their very early, unreliable, FM band infancy in those days, and weren't anywhere near the point yet where they could be trusted for something like live TV performances. The other "harmony" vocals (the two guys in the back) are being picked up by the studio overheads.
I see some comments on here claiming this is lip-synced, or partially lip-synced. Oh? I'm no expert, but I see -- and hear -- no evidence of that. Compare it to their other performances of this same song, which obviously WERE lip-syncs of the original recording. This is totally different. Not that it really matters, because it's still one of the best music videos of all time, whether it's "live or Memorex." And I see nothing "grudging" about Astaire's intro. Seems pretty classy to me.
@CarterStanB: We Five performed this by lip-synching many times on TV, but on this Hollywood Palace performance - which I saw live back in 1965 - they were singing live (A trademark of all Hollywood Palace acts). The drummer is in-house; We Five never had their own drummer that I'm aware of.
@childeric57: He is Michael Stewart, actual founder of the group, and a genius of the sixties. He played "anything with strings on it" beautifully, and did all the groups arranging. He is to your left of Bev, with the sunburst Gibson and the glasses. His brother John (primarily a banjoist) wrote the Monkee's hit "Daydream Believer". Michael unfortunately ended as a suicide. A tremendous talent.
@MelosAntropon Thank you so much! I suspected that he was the one because his body language during the performance shows a particularly intense involvement. Brilliant guy...
@StukInTexAss You're probably not very familiar with their recorded version that became a hit, but this performance shown here is not the same as the recording. It could have been a partial lip-synch. (Today, of course, performers have technology that automatically and instantly corrects their pitch to put them in tune).
Saw them live at College of Marin when this was a hit. They had a great album and this was not their only good song. The song was written in "C" but they capo at the third fret for D#.
A few months earlier, I also saw Ian and Sylvia perform the original version, which is far different. Michael Stewart's arrangement is what turned it into a pop hit.
Michael Stewart also produced a 1967 single called "Sing Me a Rainbow" for the band I roadied for from 1968 until 2010, the Sons of Champlin.
Gees, for a few years there, your transistor radio gave you a thrilling daily earful of terrific new sounds from Britain, California, or Motown. Every single week there was an amazing new tune. Growing up, I think we assumed it would be that way forever.
i remember the 60's and this song quite well. i also noticed the grudging intro by fred astaire. who thought the wee five rose to fame to quickly. this from a guy who couldn't sing at all but was a musical star because he danced so well.
i loved the 60's but my parents told me it was better growing up in the 30's in spite of the depression.
kids growing up today have their own music and will remember this as the "good old days" -- how odd!
@QueenCeleste2 i guess when i wrote my post i was a little upset by Astair's intro. actually i am normally a big fan of fred astaire and it is no great pleasure to criticize his voice. but even he downplayed his vocal ability. he was a great entertainer and always a pleasure to watch. also a reluctant star on a sci-fi tv show to please his grandchildren. i just thought his intro was condescending re: wee five . still think he was not a "good" singer but "charming" - yes.absolutely
@verbenco Many thanks for your reply. I listened again, and have to agree with you; he was condescending. I guess it was hard for the old guard to accept something so different, and to be replaced by these whippersnappers. By the way, there is wonderful footage of him on the old Oscar Levant show from Los Angeles. Elegance personified.
@verbenco ound some of the footage to which you refer. surprised to see fred singing into mic with no dance involved. hard for me to believe i have no memory of Oscar Levant show. memory was not even jogged.by video fun to think about old days not just back to "wee five" era but before. if you have a moment check out a" song for cynthia" on my channel it was written for my wife. i try to dress elegantly in video but come off more old orson wells than fred astaire
Halftrac, you are so right..We had a great time, I mean really great! The kids now are so confined and dumbed down. A horrible situation really...Time for a change !
Really takes me back when singers believed in what they were saying and the bands had real talent. Even their harmonies were in tune on this without sound enhancing software or digital enhancing.
I was in the Navy in 1965 and when I hear this I remember the wonderful Times and Music we had back then ( in spite of Vietnam) and I agree with those earlier posts that call todays music (for a better word) lacking......the 60's groups were uplifting, joyful, sorrowful,pleasing,loving......not about the garbage that fills most ipods today...IMHO Yes it was a different time and really quite a different world.
On Amazon.com, I purchased We Five's renditions of "Softly As I Leave You" and "Beyond the Sea". Hearing these two songs, one cannot believe that the female singer is Beverly Bivens - what a range in her voice.
1:53 I love this song and had the 45 RPM. Listened to it a million times but never was aware that Jackie Earl Haley was one of the Guitarists? LOL
rleary1 1 day ago
Who's the guy with the Townshend windmill action?
rudeingenue 1 week ago
It was exactly this kind of performance and this type of introduction that must have inspired Tom Hanks to put together "That Thing You Do", which included an appearand on Hollywood Showcase by the Wonders.
scbutler51 1 week ago
Ha ! She too is doing the Mama Cass shuffle..
blueticecho 1 week ago
This is awesome. Great live cut.
lebarosky 2 weeks ago
It may be the only song I could listen to every day for the rest of my life and not get tired of it. If you like this song click up (on YouTube) their version of Cast Your Fate to the Winds. It's from their LP which was amazing.
MBFLA45 2 weeks ago
Was 12 when song was playin. Always thought was s guy singin.,,wow
woolybully02 2 weeks ago
Bev and the four guys from The Big Bang Theory - Far out!
TimSchohdesmoines 3 weeks ago
id love to sing with her some day i have bass of a voice i hope she sees this and reply back to me
TheDiver8888 1 month ago
can't get this song out of my head every day i find myself getting on youtube and listening to this but just listening isnt anough i have to watch the video with her dance and the accent of her voice and just the energy that the band gives off it's magical and i find myself singing this song as im walking
wregerg1 1 month ago
I love her energy. GREAT song ... Great performance.
DeathUnnameable 1 month ago
A real cutie that Bev Bivens.
eecortese 1 month ago 2
@eecortese So that's her name, huh? She was, indeed, cute, wasn't she? =D
nuts4clara 4 weeks ago
@nuts4clara - Hi there. Yes, I had a real crush on Bev. As a a 12 year old in 1965, so idealistic, so open to new music, language, and change. Times were different 45 years ago . . . simple, fresh, free. Difficult to put into words unless personally experienced, but our yearning for a "new world" was palpable. Just a sweet memeory now.
eecortese 4 weeks ago 3
Sting Ray bikes, the Beatles, carefree summer days and the We Five, all wonderful 60's memories.
NightMovesMusic 1 month ago
I thought for years this was an all male group....learned something new
biddyboy01 1 month ago
love this song.
aheartprint 1 month ago
Awesome! The memories are too much!
MrFatboyy2k 1 month ago
we love you beverly can your kids sing too that would be great if thay sing with you some daY THAT WOULD BE NEET
TheDiver8888 1 month ago
Beverly was a Hottie, for sure .
luvsmusic208 1 month ago
This was always one of my favorites "back in the day." Thanks for posting it.
BigSkyShooter 1 month ago
As has been noted elsewhere, notice how well dressed groups of the sixties were. Class acts, they were.
awkwarddude 1 month ago
Whats more amazing is the speed at which they disappeared. Before anyone gets know-it-all on me i am aware of the reason.
gottselig2004 1 month ago
@gottselig2004 : Bev Bivens in an interview said that the group split into three factions, all three adamant about the direction they wanted to go in. Short story: End of group. A shame. They were awesome.
MelosAntropon 1 month ago
@MelosAntropon She didnt want the notoriety of fame or being on the road and its too bad really but she was awesome
gottselig2004 1 month ago
With the drummer I count 6 members. How did they come up with 5. Should they be called "Us Six"?
polarisathena 1 month ago
@polarisathena : I don't believe they ever had a "resident" drummer. They used the studio drummer for recordings, or the house drummer for whatever venue they played.
MelosAntropon 1 month ago
ESTA CANCION ME GUSTA MUCHO, IGUAL LAS GANAS QUE LE PONEN TODOS AL CANTARLA Y MAS LA MUCHACHA CON SU BAILE,
elpollito59 2 months ago
@elpollito59 a poco no se antojan esos tiempos? a mí también me gusta esa canción y el baile tan pegajoso de la vocalista, saludos!
MANUELFARINELLI 1 month ago
what a cutie back then!
brownindian17 2 months ago
Beverly, the magic you had back then will be with you forever. You are a real treasure!
Karlpetry 2 months ago
Beverly is just too adorable in this clip.
arkady714 2 months ago 7
"Contralto"..........that's the Beautiful voice of Bev Bivens!!
desert3347 2 months ago
@desert3347 :You're absolutely right here - but she could sing up to coloratura soprano! A voice like that is one in a thousand.
MelosAntropon 1 month ago
Beverly Bivens was a real Hottie !
Great stage presence..... A great group...
sixtiesforever1966 3 months ago
Great song.
Cherie5743 3 months ago
There were 677 "likes" and only 1 "dislike" for the "mime / lyp sync version of this song - elsewhere on youtube. For this version there were 1001 "likes" and 26 "dislikes". Cut them some slack; it was an excellent performance, especially since it was done live in front of a national TV audience.
greenbrae7 3 months ago
I suspect 1970's figure-skating champion Dorothy Hamill must have had a copy of the We Five album as a little girl, because by 1976, she had a hairdo very similar to that of Beverly Bivens'!
altfactor 3 months ago
I wonder in today's environment how long it would have taken to grab fans? Seems to me they were a one hit wonder. I can't remember any other songs from that era.
berrygoodstuff1 3 months ago
now i know where flo,the progressive insurance lady,got her hair style from.
fg6971 3 months ago
I guess the drummer is not with them because there are already five and he would make six and they aren't "We Six"!
baird55aus 4 months ago
OK I'm trying to figure this song out..I Woke Up this morning, You were on my mind...I GOT TROUBLES I GOT WORRIES I GOTTA RAMBLE...So is this about a guy abandoning his girlfriend? If so then this song is depressing even tough its sounds totally positive!
FairDealDan 4 months ago
@FairDealDan I think its more about a guy(singer is man) perhaps being completely unknown or disregarded by a girl he likes, or more likely being cast off but still loves her. "I've got worries... I've got wounds to bind... I've got to ramble and I've got to move on...walk away my blues."
newcamper 3 months ago
Just wondering, did We 5 have a drummer? I see five on stage and I hear quite decent drumming but see no drummer.
KarenLeFemme 4 months ago
@KarenLeFemme you see the drummer at the beginning of the clip... but he's not on stage with the rest for some reason.
caretaker245231 4 months ago
@KarenLeFemme : They would hire a drummer for tour, use studio talent for recording, and here, they used the in-house drummer. The group We Five never had a "member" drummer, no. I followed them closely in the sixties, saw many performances by them, and the drummer (when they were live) was usually off-camera.
MelosAntropon 3 months ago
I always thought the name of the group was Wee Five.
brianjlevine 4 months ago
For Bill M.
TheUbie1 4 months ago
Finally a REAL live version! Thanks for posting this!
josegilpr 5 months ago
@skipdow3 Just stating a fact; not being critical. Read his biography and you'll see that he was self-conscious about his large hands. When he was dancing, he would curl in
his middle fingers to de-emphasize their size.
scruno50 5 months ago
Bev Bivens was only 19 years old when this was filmed.
MrRonnieG 5 months ago
She was a cutie.
guyNbluejeans 5 months ago
At the time this song was popular, I had never seen them on television. Frankly, I never knew the lead vocal was by a woman. Wish I had seen'em! She was a pretty good-lookin' piece of...work.
therealjoebloggs 5 months ago 2
Great song. Love the way Beverly dances to this song. Very natural.
GREAT VOICE! Thanks.
markdsullivan1 5 months ago
sweet memories...
Gerryofcalifornia 5 months ago
I loved the way they blended the folk sound with Rock back then!
pbrucpaul 6 months ago
@BrooksFrankandBoog70 Oh, You are 27 and like soccer! and you have been on this site for a couple days or so. What an expert; I think not, kid.
B52sguy 6 months ago
@BrooksFrankandBoog70 Ha! Maybe 700 as I weigh 175. It doesn't help to be in poor taste. Some people do have medical problems you know? Sorry, but in 1966, those two ladies were the pinnacle of female performers. Your talking 45 years ago. How old are you? Maybe Michele Phillips to make a foursome in retrospect. She still looks very, very good.
B52sguy 6 months ago
Fred Astaire has gigantic hands.
scruno50 6 months ago
@scruno50 Maybe so. Fred can dance though. And when was the last time he introduced you.?
I'd be honored if he introduced me while he was sitting in a wheel chair.
skipdow3 5 months ago
the 60s hit after hit nonstop it was unreal a musical renaissance
you will never see again.
pigurine 6 months ago
WE FIVE & Beverly Bivens. The Greatest. / Sir David
sixtiesforever1966 6 months ago
1956 yellow pontiac,tower grove park in south st.louis,this on the radio me n dorothy w.making out,,life was great,then we had to grow up..
25FIREBALL 6 months ago
Love the expression on Beverly B.'s face when the drummer starts to cook harder and harder: "You go, man! We'll hang on!"
voidforpurpose 6 months ago
Comment removed
Katsuma2024 7 months ago
I use to daydream about being in bed with Bev Bivens and Linda Rondstat in 1966. You can imagine what would have transpired! Oh! those nights.
Joseph F
Portland, OR USA
B52sguy 7 months ago
It's Live! The session drummer really kicks it up a notch and the band is ON... Gotta love it.
popegeorgeringo 7 months ago 2
Uk hit by Crispian St Peters.
wallpole 7 months ago
Who would of believed that the San Francisco music explosion of the 60's (Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, Santana) 70's (Journey, Pablo Cruise), and 80's (Huey Lewis and The News, Metallica) would be started by a group that would have only one hit? That's what We Five did: They lit the fuse to the bomb (two if you counted The Beau Brummels-like We Five, they had a hit song in 1965 and wouldn't be heard from again).
EricandDish 7 months ago
@EricandDish You are so right! But you forgot the Doobie Bros. Didn't they come out of the SF area?
Joseph
B52sguy 7 months ago
I also saw them at Circle Star Theater in Redwood City. In the round. They were the lead up act to the Kingston Trio (the John Stewart version). Michael Stewart, the musical producer for the group and John's brother is the one on the left (their right) with the glasses. We got there a little early and saw them rehearsing that final few bars with the great ending. She really had an incredible voice, great arranging.. wow!
calboy45 7 months ago
The 60's were such fertile ground for obscure bands to hit it big, even for just one song for which they'll forever be remembered-these guys were one of them......a true classic!!
stephenk54 7 months ago
I love this song. As a hippe kid, I was surprised to hear it on radio. It is about someone waiting for a fix down at the corner. But he/she was on thier mind. For today. I am so happy to see wires to thier amps. They did it live.
sinmike1 8 months ago
Is that Austin Powers or Harry Potter on guitar?
duncanstpt 8 months ago
@duncanstpt Believe me I hear you. Back in 1971 we had a band. Not really making the grade. A chunkey guy with thick glasses heard us and asked can he add organ. We did not have the term"nerd". But he was one.We gave him a try. He was so much better than us. Lifted our sound. I will never judge again. Good H.S. memory.
sinmike1 8 months ago 2
@duncanstpt you're so bad
destinoazul22 7 months ago
WOW! Really singing and playing of instruments on television. What a radical idea. To see cords connecting instruments to amps really takes me back. I know today everything is wireless-but it is refreshing to see the low-tech of yesterday. Oh yes, Fred Astaire looked pretty spiffy too.
chuck6289 8 months ago
I always love the bright sound of a Rickenbacker. Worked pretty well for the Byrds too. Nothing beats it.
125jlm 8 months ago 9
Bev Bivens certainly was a spunk back in the day.Grrrrrrrrrrrrr !!!!!!!
gypsydog24 9 months ago 12
@gypsydog24 everyone is when they are in their 20's or late teen's. I'm 59 now and lost my cute looks a long tiime ago partner
pkappel006 3 months ago
And a happy 65th birthday today (Thurs.) to Bev Bivens...!
misterearl 9 months ago
Fred was cool....
MerleOberon 9 months ago
Why no drummer?
golyg 9 months ago
@golyg The 'We Six' isn't as catchy..? It is kind of odd they wanted they illusion of having no drummer.
girlcirca83 9 months ago 2
I used to sing this in my treefort. If I only knew then what I know now.
PoppaZoe 9 months ago
Ah yes, music from a time when in order to make "music" you actually had to have the ability to sing and carry a note. Feel good stuff, saw them live at the Circle Theater, Redwood City, Ca, New years eve 1965. This was before the era of noise that now passes as music. (I SIMPLY REPEATED WHAT 'scubahal56' SAID ABOVE) -- HA HA HA.
FirstElvis 9 months ago
Sylvia Fricker wrote this(Ian & Sylvia). This is a fine arrangement, but the smiling demeanor is offputting. I love the song and I appreciated my fellow 'Friscans doing it. (The expression on Fred Astaire's face in the intro. is priceless. Please note, Ian is still writing fine songs-some of you oldsters might recall 'Four Strong Winds','Someday Soon', or 'Loving Sound'...No? O Canada. I'll sing 'em for you then, so you won't miss how fine the '60's were!
juan2m8 9 months ago
No doubt, this is a live performance even without any guitar knowledge. The drummer is really playing the drums, for crying out loud.
erzug 9 months ago
Cass shuffles her feet a lot better than Beaverly, but Beaverly is a lot better looking and is within the weight profile that I like.
henador 9 months ago
I don't think this is 100% live performance. Listen to the solo along the song, the pitchs of the play are much higher than the position of the player's hand. He play mostly at second fretch (relatives to the capo), but the sound comes from 5th to 7th fretch
nguyenhercm 10 months ago
@nguyenhercm I don't know what you are trying to say. The capo is on the 3rd fret (we're talking about the 12-string Rickenbacker, playing the lead) , so he's playing up the neck (in one close up he's on the 5th fret). It is a 100% live performance. Geez....
mkp823 9 months ago
@mkp823 Ok. I have learned a great (important)deal today. I did not know it was a 12- string guitar. Thank you and have a good day!!
nguyenhercm 9 months ago
Love her haircut - great style
debiedog1 10 months ago
I just found out We Five played in my hometown back in 1967, I believe.
latitudes57 10 months ago
i never knew a girl sang lead,i always thought it was a guy
Doctor72 10 months ago
1:52 first person to wear raybans
Longboardersrule12 10 months ago
Thanks for this great video but turn it up louder...Dan O'Nealon
spearofdestiny1965 11 months ago
l love Bev's haircut!!
debiedog1 11 months ago
Golden age. When Pop music had a melody. Great band.
meatrevolver 11 months ago
Love You Bev ! Great Song and Video. Notice how everyone is so happy up there singing? You do not see that today in 2011. Today it is just " GREED"
Sir David
sixtiesforever1966 11 months ago
With the drummer,shouldnt it be the We 6 ?
flyin2low2c 11 months ago
I didn't Woody Allen was in the group.
richrangel 11 months ago
The first time i heard this was on "RADIO CAROLINE" in 1966,was stationed in germany in the army.
schnellguy 11 months ago
Great song written by Sylvia Fricker/Tyson. Thanks for the vid
charlyW34 11 months ago
is she cute or what !
llensart 11 months ago
is Beverly cute or what ?
llensart 11 months ago 2
Am I the only one who thought (back in the day) that We 5 were all male? What a shock! She is very cute. Love the boots!
NortonSG 1 year ago
I first heard this on my way to Nam - 18 months later I felt so much older. But it still reminds me of a time in my life when I was young and full of hope.
jimtraner 1 year ago
@jimtraner Thanks for your service.
RedRanger1944 1 year ago
you surely can't get much cuter than Beverly Bivens! A very exciting woman.
bnylons 1 year ago
Lovely Young Beverly Ann Bivens! Love You Beverly... Sir David
sixtiesforever1966 1 year ago
I loved this song when I was. A kid
Ojibwas 1 year ago
Bev is really kick up a storm! It would have been amusing to have her and Susan Cowsill (who also danced around a lot) on the same stage...
shmuli9 1 year ago
Good grief....this takes me back to the mid-60's, laying on my bed with a little bitty transistor radio with a little bitty ear phone and lsitiening to KILT in Houston...WOW
Trebuchet1066 1 year ago
Ah yes, music from a time when in order to make "music" you actually had to have the ability to sing and carry a note. Feel good stuff, saw them live at the Circle Theatre, Redwood City, Ca, New years eve 1965. This was before the era of noise that now passes as music.
scubahal56 1 year ago 27
@scubahal56
Ha ha! Ability to sing is kinda funny! Have you not noticed that there's 4 guitars and 5 microphones, but only one cord - and it goes to an instrument!
Check out Serena Ryder's version of this awesome song - it's new, and she can sing!
Cerastes22 10 months ago
@Cerastes22 What are you referring to? There are 4 guitar cords, 2 each to the two amps on the side. Each guitar (Es330, J160E, Rick 360-12 , and bass (assume a Fender) is plugged in.
mkp823 10 months ago
@mkp823 Going back to look again, I do see cords from the instruments as you pointed out. My point was the lead singer's mike isn't wired. And this was at a time when there was no such thing as wireless... Or am I wrong about that too??
Anyway - my real point was to give a listen to Serena Ryder's version :)
Cerastes22 10 months ago
@Cerastes22 Check at 0:46 - a cord is clearly dangling from Bev's mic. Also, before that, you can see a FAINT line (cord) going from where she's standing back to the riser behind her. It's a totally live performance (hence, the opening scene of the drummer in silhouette). Which makes it all the more amazing!
mkp823 10 months ago
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@scubahal56
Ha ha! Ability to sing is kinda funny! Have you not noticed that there's 4 guitars and 3 microphones, but only two cords - and they go to instruments! :)
Check out Serena Ryder's version of this awesome song - it's new, and she can sing!
Cerastes22 10 months ago
@scubahal56 ignorance. i can tell you now, your looking in the wrong places. if you can see the word "beiber" turn around.
TheCharliec123 8 months ago
@scubahal56
I agree with you completely. I'm 20 years old and I've always loved this music! I heard all this excellent music from my mother since I was little and I loved it just as much as she does! This was her generation and she was very lucky. I'm lucky as well to be brought up on this music and them it so much!
Nowadays you get famous for being an untalented little dits. And it's hard to tell another singer apart from another. In those they all had their own sound. ♥♥
GBSightings17 6 months ago
@scubahal56
I agree with you completely. I'm 20 years old and I've always loved this music! I heard all this excellent music from my mother since I was little and I loved it just as much as she does! This was her generation and she was very lucky. I'm lucky as well to be brought up on this music and love it so much!
Nowadays you get famous for being an untalented little dits. And it's hard to tell another singer apart from another. In those days they all had their own sound.
GBSightings17 6 months ago
@scubahal56 Clearly this beats a lot of today's crap music.
But our parents thought this stuff was crap compared to their jazz, and their parents thought jazz was crap compared to their crooners.
Today we watch this and see clean-cut kids making good fun music; back then, parents saw DRUGS & SEX & LONG HAIR (just look at that bastard on the left, his hair almost touches his EARS!) and heard a horrible din.
The future is always in motion; it's harder to see that the *past* is in motion too.
CykciM 6 months ago 2
@scubahal56
Friend you have said it all. It is somewhat heartening to hear from kids 14, 15 years old that appreciate this music and think we are beyond fortunate to have lived then.
joesphx19 4 months ago
I can't find this song with volume loud enough, I swear! PS: I have a friend who looks just like Bev here- at this age. It's awesome.
Txboy85A 1 year ago
How cute is Bev Bivens?
marksmail2 1 year ago 45
@marksmail2 Cuter than the proverbial Button!!
steveinbelgium 1 year ago
@marksmail2 That look still works wonders now; always loved this song.
sparkledrive01 6 months ago
The mid-sixties really was an awesome time to be listening to top forty AM radio. There will never again be a time where you could hear Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, Dave Brubeck and We Five on one station.
dmdsmc73 1 year ago
Is that Bill Gates on the left?
Mufaso1000 1 year ago
@Mufaso1000 Actually it is Michael Stewart, little brother of John Stewart, John of "Gold" and Kingston Trio fame.
canoer2 1 year ago
@canoer2 : Fascinating fact!
Mufaso1000 1 year ago
reminds me of an old san francisco song
flakbac 1 year ago
Man!! I'm getting old. Ft. Gordon teentown 1965.
1bountifulinc 1 year ago
Beverly Bivens and Linda Rondstadt two beauties for the ages
Subvet483 1 year ago
This is a terrific performance and is emblematic of the energy, creativity, and being of the '60's. I can so relate to Halftrac's post. In 1965 I had a battery powered AM transistor radio tuned to a Cleveland rock station, 920 am I think. I rode around on my Sears (imitation Schwinn Stingray bike) listening to the We Five, The Seekers, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Mamas and Papas, and so many more. We were all so lucky to be alive in that time. There will be nothing like it ever again.
feelflowscw 1 year ago
@feelflowscw The Cleveland station you were tuned may have been 1420 AM , Or 1260 1220 ...
I agree 100% with everything you said .I too had a bike back in the 60's . AM was king back then.
I wanna go back in time so bad .
But I also know there will be nothing like it ever again .
CuyahogaMustang 1 year ago
This is really stirring stuff! What a fabulous performance!
parmenides91 1 year ago
@Ranjeeb : The honest answer would be "yes", but they were in their very early, unreliable, FM band infancy in those days, and weren't anywhere near the point yet where they could be trusted for something like live TV performances. The other "harmony" vocals (the two guys in the back) are being picked up by the studio overheads.
MelosAntropon 1 year ago
I see some comments on here claiming this is lip-synced, or partially lip-synced. Oh? I'm no expert, but I see -- and hear -- no evidence of that. Compare it to their other performances of this same song, which obviously WERE lip-syncs of the original recording. This is totally different. Not that it really matters, because it's still one of the best music videos of all time, whether it's "live or Memorex." And I see nothing "grudging" about Astaire's intro. Seems pretty classy to me.
CarterStanB 1 year ago
@CarterStanB: We Five performed this by lip-synching many times on TV, but on this Hollywood Palace performance - which I saw live back in 1965 - they were singing live (A trademark of all Hollywood Palace acts). The drummer is in-house; We Five never had their own drummer that I'm aware of.
MelosAntropon 1 year ago
Who's the genius who arranged these harmonies?
childeric57 1 year ago
@childeric57: He is Michael Stewart, actual founder of the group, and a genius of the sixties. He played "anything with strings on it" beautifully, and did all the groups arranging. He is to your left of Bev, with the sunburst Gibson and the glasses. His brother John (primarily a banjoist) wrote the Monkee's hit "Daydream Believer". Michael unfortunately ended as a suicide. A tremendous talent.
MelosAntropon 1 year ago
@MelosAntropon Thank you so much! I suspected that he was the one because his body language during the performance shows a particularly intense involvement. Brilliant guy...
childeric57 1 year ago
Back when singers could really sing, and the music could be played by the band.
Gee. How does it hold up so well?
shortist2003 1 year ago
The 60's had great times and horrible times. I think the music helped us get through that decade.
illustrate100 1 year ago 2
Lip synching again. Did these guys ever actually perform? I hear one persons voice recorded five or six times here.
StukInTexAss 1 year ago
@StukInTexAss You're probably not very familiar with their recorded version that became a hit, but this performance shown here is not the same as the recording. It could have been a partial lip-synch. (Today, of course, performers have technology that automatically and instantly corrects their pitch to put them in tune).
Cielamouroux 1 year ago
@Cielamouroux
I thought this WAS the recorded version. Funny you should say it might be part-live, part pre-recorded because it does sound like that.
StukInTexAss 1 year ago
Very rare live version. SPECTACULAR
TommieD1 1 year ago
Love that Rickenbacker guitar sound!!!!
wddenis3 1 year ago
Wow Fred Astair,, talk about a blast from the past
william3231954 1 year ago
Love he Ampeg Portaflex amps!
splayjanx 1 year ago
The guy who plays lead guitar later grew his hair out and became a drummer, drumming for Mike Bloomfield's band and Nick Gravenites.
retrorex 1 year ago
Great song - and wonderful to hear them singing their hit live (not lip synched). She's sweet at can be. Gorgeous guitar player on the right too!
3investigators 1 year ago
Saw them live at College of Marin when this was a hit. They had a great album and this was not their only good song. The song was written in "C" but they capo at the third fret for D#.
A few months earlier, I also saw Ian and Sylvia perform the original version, which is far different. Michael Stewart's arrangement is what turned it into a pop hit.
Michael Stewart also produced a 1967 single called "Sing Me a Rainbow" for the band I roadied for from 1968 until 2010, the Sons of Champlin.
DocBogus 1 year ago
a cutie!
brownindian17 1 year ago
great song with great memories! And, performed LIVE.
howellfilm 1 year ago
Gees, for a few years there, your transistor radio gave you a thrilling daily earful of terrific new sounds from Britain, California, or Motown. Every single week there was an amazing new tune. Growing up, I think we assumed it would be that way forever.
brkeys 1 year ago
THE SIXTH MEMBER OF THIS BAND, THE DRUMMER, WHO NEVER GOT ANY CREDIT, IS AMAZING!
funkadelphiarecords 1 year ago
@funkadelphiarecords
That's my dear friend, John Chambers. He was killed in Oakland in 1989. RIP
lakelock 1 year ago
I like the song alot! Didn't know who sang it! THANKS!
jhmoonman 1 year ago
Bev wants to dance, with her boots i can see her as a Shindig dancer. She is a dead ringer for Barbara Feldon
gozanelli 1 year ago
i remember the 60's and this song quite well. i also noticed the grudging intro by fred astaire. who thought the wee five rose to fame to quickly. this from a guy who couldn't sing at all but was a musical star because he danced so well.
i loved the 60's but my parents told me it was better growing up in the 30's in spite of the depression.
kids growing up today have their own music and will remember this as the "good old days" -- how odd!
verbenco 1 year ago
@verbenco Actually, he sang quite charmingly and was quite underrated as a singer.
QueenCeleste2 11 months ago
@QueenCeleste2 i guess when i wrote my post i was a little upset by Astair's intro. actually i am normally a big fan of fred astaire and it is no great pleasure to criticize his voice. but even he downplayed his vocal ability. he was a great entertainer and always a pleasure to watch. also a reluctant star on a sci-fi tv show to please his grandchildren. i just thought his intro was condescending re: wee five . still think he was not a "good" singer but "charming" - yes.absolutely
verbenco 11 months ago
@verbenco Many thanks for your reply. I listened again, and have to agree with you; he was condescending. I guess it was hard for the old guard to accept something so different, and to be replaced by these whippersnappers. By the way, there is wonderful footage of him on the old Oscar Levant show from Los Angeles. Elegance personified.
QueenCeleste2 11 months ago
@verbenco ound some of the footage to which you refer. surprised to see fred singing into mic with no dance involved. hard for me to believe i have no memory of Oscar Levant show. memory was not even jogged.by video fun to think about old days not just back to "wee five" era but before. if you have a moment check out a" song for cynthia" on my channel it was written for my wife. i try to dress elegantly in video but come off more old orson wells than fred astaire
verbenco 11 months ago
This was my favorite tune when it was released...
Halftrac, you are so right..We had a great time, I mean really great! The kids now are so confined and dumbed down. A horrible situation really...Time for a change !
GBS1043 1 year ago
@GBS1043 Kids, even young adults, are now often kept under the equivalent of house-arrest.
kinksfan1956 1 year ago
Really takes me back when singers believed in what they were saying and the bands had real talent. Even their harmonies were in tune on this without sound enhancing software or digital enhancing.
CaptainQueue 1 year ago
@CaptainQueue yep! Took real talent to move up the charts back then. Much tighter harmonies and instrumentation.
Dave78m 1 year ago
I was in the Navy in 1965 and when I hear this I remember the wonderful Times and Music we had back then ( in spite of Vietnam) and I agree with those earlier posts that call todays music (for a better word) lacking......the 60's groups were uplifting, joyful, sorrowful,pleasing,loving......not about the garbage that fills most ipods today...IMHO Yes it was a different time and really quite a different world.
2stent 1 year ago
great folky sound
john111257 1 year ago
When I woke up this morning I was on my mind a lot of people say as a joke. Dan O'Niallain, Grafton, Ma.
oniallain1965 1 year ago
On Amazon.com, I purchased We Five's renditions of "Softly As I Leave You" and "Beyond the Sea". Hearing these two songs, one cannot believe that the female singer is Beverly Bivens - what a range in her voice.
erzug 1 year ago
@erzug Not all of the We Five recordings featured Bev on lead vocals...
GBS1043 1 year ago