The Tremeloes - Here Comes My Baby (1967)

1967 was the year of "Flower Power," peace signs, and Haight-Ashbury. Both pop music and Western culture were changing rapidly and drastically but the British Invasion was still in full bloom as the former empire continued to send hits to the upper reaches of the American record charts in a big way.

Popular in Britain since around the time The Beatles became a sensation there, The Tremeloes finally hit America with "Here Comes My Baby," a song written and recorded by Cat Stevens on his debut album, Matthew & Son (1967). Stevens' original version is much more pop-oriented than the music we came to know as his style and his voice is not instantly recognizable. When I first learned that he wrote "Here Comes My Baby" I was quite surprised.

The song's universal appeal is evident by the fact that outfits as different as The Mavericks and Yo La Tengo have issued good cover versions of it, but The Tremeloes single continues to be the definitive one.

The talented group rode the song to #4 on the English charts and #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 here in America and is missing the final verse that Stevens used on his album track.

In this video the group is camping it up more than they need to and having a little too much fun when you consider the fact that they don't have the girl. It's immediately followed by Stevens' LP version.

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