Background
Because Small Faces' previous song release, the Marriott/Lane composition "I've Got Mine," failed to chart in the UK, their manager, Don Arden, determined that the Small Faces would not be one hit wonders, decided to bring in well-known songwriters Kenny Lynch and Mort Shuman to make sure the group's next single would be a success. [1]
The commercial-sounding song proved a big hit and reached number three in the UK singles chart. [1] Despite the success of "Sha-La-La-La-Lee," the band never really liked the song and felt it did not represent their sound, which was more R&B- and soul-oriented. [1]
Following the huge success of this song, the band developed a large female fan base, like many of their contemporaries. [2] This situation would ultimately end in Marriott becoming so disenchanted that he would leave The Small Faces in 1969 in a bid to be seen as a serious musician and form his next group, the heavier rock- and blues-sounding Humble Pie. [3]
Small Faces performed "Sha-La-La-La-Lee" live for the Dick Clark show in the United States, telerecorded from the UK. [1]
Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The band was one of the most acclaimed and influential mod groups of the 1960s, recording hit songs such as "Itchycoo Park", "Lazy Sunday", "All or Nothing" and "Tin Soldier", as well as their concept album Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake. They evolved into one of the UK's most successful psychedelic bands until 1969.
Small Faces is the second studio album by Small Faces, released through Immediate Records on 23 June 1967. Although this was their first album for new manager Andrew Loog Oldham's Immediate label, recording actually commenced during their tenure with Decca Records, whom they left in January 1967 after severing professional ties with original manager Don Arden. As a result of the switch of label and management, Decca and Arden released an outtakes compilation album, From the Beginning in early June 1967 in order to sabotage the chart success of the Immediate Small Faces release - something that it managed to do to some extent when From the Beginning reached number 17 in the UK charts. The Immediate album shares its name with their 1966 Decca debut album, which has led to some confusion regarding the titles. As a result of this, it has been unofficially dubbed The First Immediate Album by several fans.
"Itchycoo Park" is a song by English rock band Small Faces, written by Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane. Largely written by Lane, it was one of the first musical compositions to feature flanging, an effect at that time made possible by electro-mechanical processes. The song was not featured on any of their UK albums, but was however featured on the North American release There Are But Four Small Faces.
As Safe as Yesterday Is is the debut studio album by English rock band Humble Pie, released in August 1969.
"All or Nothing" is a song written by Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane of the British rock band Small Faces and released as a single in 1966.
"Tin Soldier" is a song released by the English rock band Small Faces on 2 December 1967, written by Steve Marriott. The song peaked at number nine in the UK singles chart and number 38 in Canada. It has since been covered by many other notable rock artists.
"Whatcha Gonna Do About It" is the debut single released by the English rock group Small Faces, released in the UK on 6 August 1965. The song peaked at number 14 in the UK Singles Chart, and stayed on chart for a total of 14 weeks. It reached number 28 in Canada.
"The Universal" is a song by English band Small Faces, released as a single on 28 June 1968. It reached number 16 in the UK, staying in the top 40 for a total of 10 weeks.
"My Mind's Eye" was the sixth song released on 11 November 1966 by the successful English rock group Small Faces. It reached number four on the UK Singles Chart.
"Here Come the Nice" is a song by English rock band Small Faces. Written by guitarist Steve Marriott and bass guitarist Ronnie Lane, it was released as a single on 2 June 1967, through Immediate Records. The song, which was the band's debut on Immediate, was their first promoted release of 1967, following feuds with Decca Records. It marked a distinct turning point for Small Faces' career, being their first single to deliberately venture into psychedelia, though they had previously done that on a few album tracks for Decca. The song's subject regarding a drug dealer somehow bypassed the BBC censors, who did not ban it, which resulted in the song managing to chart at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart during the summer of 1967. The song received mostly good reviews from music critics, with many positively noting the change of genres.
"I've Got Mine" was the second official song released by the English rock band Small Faces in 1965. The song failed to chart despite receiving favourable reviews in the British music press.
The Autumn Stone is a posthumous retrospective double album, and the second compilation album released in the UK by Small Faces in 1969 on the Immediate label.
From the Beginning is the first compilation album by the English rock band Small Faces. It was released by Decca Records of group material after the band had left the record label; it consisted of the band's Decca hit singles combined with various unreleased recordings. The album rose to Number 17 in the UK Album Chart.
"The Sad Bag of Shaky Jake" is a single released in 1969 by English rock band Humble Pie. The B-side "Cold Lady" was written by drummer Jerry Shirley in a R&B style and Shirley plays Wurlitzer piano and guitarist Peter Frampton plays the drums.
"Get Yourself Together" is a song by British rock band Small Faces, first released in 1967. It was cut during their tenure on both Decca and Immediate Records in 1966 and 1967 and was written by the Marriott/Lane partnership, who wrote a majority of the Small Faces material. It is regarded as one of their best compositions. It remains one of their most popular efforts despite it not being released as single in the United Kingdom nor the United States and has since been covered by other influential artists.
"Talk to You" is a song by English rock band Small Faces. It was recorded in 1967 and issued as the B-side of "Here Come the Nice" that peaked at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart.
"(Tell Me) Have You Ever Seen Me?" is a song by English rock band Small Faces. It has a complicated release history and was issued by both Decca and Immediate Records in 1967. The track apparently had a working title of "Mystery" in 1966. Initially planned as the Small Faces debut single on Immediate in mid-1967, it was shelved due to threats from Decca.
"Green Circles" is a song by English rock band Small Faces first recorded in 1966. While not issued as a single in the United Kingdom, it was originally intended as the B-Side of "Here Come the Nice", their first single release on Immediate Records, this release was cancelled and the B-Side was replaced with "Talk to You." It remains one of the group's most well known and influential songs, and showcases the group's venture into psychedelic music, which would be prevalent in their later work, such as on "Itchycoo Park", "Lazy Sunday" and Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake.
"Patterns" is the eighth single by British rock band, Small Faces, first released on Decca Records in 1967. It was the first of two unauthorised singles released in the United Kingdom. It was written by the Small Faces primary songwriters Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane. It became one of few singles by the group that features Lane on primary vocals, in contrast to Marriott's standard role as the group's lead vocalist.
In Memoriam is the first posthumous album release by East London rock band Small Faces after the announcement of their break-up in early 1969. It was released on 1 May 1969 through Immediate Records in West Germany only. Their second compilation album following 1967's From the Beginning, In Memoriam is a collection of live cuts and unreleased studio tracks. The studio material was recorded during 1967 and the 1968 sessions for Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake, and also included a few tracks possibly intended for their projected but unrealised fourth album 1862. The studio outtakes were complemented by five live tracks recorded on tour in November 1968.
