The Small Faces - Itchycoo Park

This video is not synced with the audio but the video is so evocative and cool, colored footage from 1967, that I thought I'd use this version. Released by the Small Faces in August 1967 as a non-album single at the height of the summer of love, "Itchycoo Park" seemed to capture some of that zeitgeist even as it seemed slightly detached from it. The chords tumble out like an unfolding marionette, just slightly unpredictable. I first heard the song at the end of 1975 when it was re-released as a single (and was quite a hit). It tapped into the whimsy of being a nine year old kid, easily hummable on the way home from school on a lazy Friday afternoon. Always loved this song. Still do.

Footnote: The song was largely written by bass guitarist Ronnie Lane but sung by Steve Marriott (who found more fame in Humble Pie which had Peter Frampton). Drums by Kenney Jones (who found more fame with the latter-day moribund Who). Keyboards by Ian McLagan (who played on a bunch of Rolling Stones records in the '70s, including the track "Miss You").