Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era. Released in 1972, the two-LP set covered American garage rock and psychedelia from the years 1965 to 1968 and was a major influence on punk rock. Rhino Records reissued an expanded version of the set in 1998, with 118 tracks in total. I’m profiling and rating each of these 118 tracks, working backwards.
Track 24: My World Fell Down by Sagittarius
Release Date: 1967
From: California
Rating: 9/10
MY WORLD FELL DOWN – Sagittarius [3:37]
(John Shakespeare/Geoff Stephens)
Personnel/GLEN CAMPBELL: vocals * BRUCE JOHNSTON, TERRY MELCHER & GARY USHER: (backing) vocals * LARRY KNECHTEL: keyboards * CAROL KAYE: bass * HAL BLAINE: drums * Others unknown
Arranged by GARY USHER
Produced by GARY USHER
Recorded in Hollywood, CA
Columbia single #4-44163 (5/67); Pop #70
‘My World Fell Down’ is an anomaly for the Nuggets box set. It’s not the work of four teens playing in their parents’ garages, destined for obscurity. Instead, these musicians are well known – Glen Campbell’s on lead vocals, while session greats like Carole Kaye, Larry Knechtel, and Hal Blaine are also involved. Not surprisingly, it’s more polished than the average Nugget.
Yet it’s a worthy track for Nuggets to collate, as it would have been otherwise forgotten. It was created by Gary Usher, a famed producer who’d worked with The Beach Boys and The Byrds. Usher heard the song’s original version, by the UK band The Ivy League. He was convinced he could transform it into a Beach Boys-style epic and a huge hit.
Usher enlisted some studio pros, with Glen Campbell on lead vocals and Beach Boy Bruce Johnston on harmonies. It covers similarly ambitious territory to Pet Sounds and ‘Good Vibrations’. It was released the same month as Sgt Peppers, so the interlude of fairground noises probably wasn’t derived from The Beatles. It sounds like a blend of ‘God Only Knows’ and ‘Cabinessence’.
‘My World Fell Down’ is sometimes referred to as the great lost Beach Boys’ song. It’s excellent, but I prefer ‘Guess I’m Dumb’, a Brian Wilson song donated to Campbell as a thank you for filling in for Brian on the road.
When ‘My World Fell Down’ was released, Campbell had spent years working as a studio musician and trying to launch a solo career. Later in 1967, he’d turn Jimmy Webb’s ‘By The Time I Get To Phoenix’ into his first top 40 hit, and become a solo star.
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I would never have guessed this was Glen Campbell singing, as it sounds nothing like his music to come. It sounds more like a lost Beach Boys track.
For sure. Campbell was a very talented guy – it was weird it took him so many years to get famous.
That is a really cool song with a strong Beach Boys vibe! I had never heard of Sagittarius, unlike the group’s members.
I hadn’t either – they made albums, but they’re best known just for this song.
I like both songs…but My World Fell Down…it’s overblown but that is the beauty of it. Love the backing vocals and I also hear a little of the Zombies in there as well… or just the time period. Campbell’s voice sounds excellent in both. I never knew this existed… I’ll have to go back to both of these.
Campbell’s kind of amazing – probably could have made it in a few different genres.
I agree…this is a long way from Rhinestone Cowboy. This one really showed his voice off like I never heard.
Sagittarius gets my vote on the “most 60s band name ever” poll.
Bit of a Beatles vibe, too. Verse is very Eleanor Rigby, especially that string part. But mostly I’m struck by the way it pinballs between the minor feel of the verse and the (more) major feel of the chorus. Gives it a split personality aspect that somehow works pretty well. Fun song.
Yup, be even more 1960s if they were called The Sagyttarius.
Max bought up The Zombies as well, which makes sense – even though this predates Odessey and Oracle.
I didn’t know all these cool people were involved in this one until you told me. Even Terry Melcher, before Charles Manson tried to kill him. LMAO!!!!
By the Time I Get to Phoenix was first done by Johnny Rivers and was a hit in 1966. I heard the original of Gentle On My Mind for the first time the other day. It wasn’t quite as good as Glen Campbell’s but really similar and pretty good anyway.
It is an outlier for Nuggets – most Nuggets tracks don’t have the big name musicians (unless they got famous later).
Glen Campbell is pretty interesting for me – I tried an album recently, and it was pretty hit and miss. But he has some great songs – I should probably check out a compilation.
I never heard any of his albums besides a compilation I don’t think. I like all of his hits though and even some of the ’70s ones like Southern Nights and even Rhinestone Cowboy, believe it or not .