Rosie & The Originals

I don’t know what was original about The Originals. They don’t sound so original to me. The truth is that though they are known for only one song, Rosie & The Originals had a follow-up to Angel Baby, called Lonely Blue Nights, which reached number 66 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the winter of 1961. John Lennon was a fan. The Wikipedia article cites the members of the band but not what they played. And Rosie’s real name was Rosie.

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Rosie & The Originals

• Angel Baby – Write a generic love song. Make the lyrics vaguely teenage. Use a minor sixth turnaround chord pattern (trust me on this, I have it on good authority). Use a singer who may or may not be pubescent. Use the simplest possible arrangement. Mix. Simon Frith described this song as “sexuality transmuted into a dual promise of heaven and childhood.” Yeah. I suppose it’s that too. From the winter of 1961 / 1962.