This was issued on Calla 154 for American distribution in 1968. This one did make it up to #78 on the Billboard Hot 100, #93 on Cashbox, and #35 on the Billboard R&B chart. The melody is based on Pacheibel’s Canon in D Major. Actually, many hits from the 1960’s were based on variations of a Classical music theme. I should do a blog post about that one day!

The group includes José Lipiani, Alberto Vega, Ignacio Pérez, Julián Luis Angulo, Enrique Gómez, Ray Gómez and lead singer Phil Trim. The group is from Madrid, Spain, but the lead singer was born in Trinidad and Tobago in the West Indies. He and Jean Marcel Bouchety wrote the song.

These guys had a bigger hit in 1971 with a song called Mammy Blue, which became a Top 10 hit in Europe, and Japan, and a Top 100 hit in Canada and the USA.

The lyrics are very interesting. They reflect the passionate struggle for racial equality that was really starting to reach its peak in the late 1960’s. Thank God, the message is obsolete today. We’ve come a long way!

Here are the lyrics so you can follow along as you listen to Oh Lord Why Lord by Los Pop Tops!

 

I’ve searched the open sky,
to find a reason why,
Oh Lord, why Lord.

The color of my skin,
is said to be an awful sin,
Oh Lord, why Lord. Oh-oh.

No I cannot understand,
no I’ll never never understand,
Oh Lord, why Lord.

I’ve got to live and live, and give,
much more than I can give,
Oh Lord, why-y-y-y-y-y Lord.

In this world, you made so sacred,
I only find problems and hatred,
(Oh Lord, why Lord).

I just can’t seem to find any place,
my every move is so unsafe,
(Oh Lord, why Lo-o-ord).

[Guitar and Piano bridge)

Why this long and bitter strife,
must go on for equal rights,
(Oh Lord)
Why can’t there be some harmony,
(Why lord)
Instead of contant agony.

I just can’t help but cry,
for the tears won’t stay inside,
(Oh Lord, why Lo-o-ord).

I feel the weight,
of their everlasting hate,
yet I still live with hope and faith,
(Oh Lord, why Lord).

I wear the chains,
but nothing ever seems to change,
(Oh Lord, why Lord).

I ask no special kindness,
I ask not for a crown.
I only ask, for some justice Lord,
to restore what’s right from wrong.
So now you’ve learned my sadness,
in a story and a song.
Oh Lord, why Lord. (sung with chorus)

{Note: Parts inside (parenthesis) are sung by the chorus. In the last verse, the word “ask” is pronounced “axe”.}

This is just another example of the extreme range of material you’ll hear on MusicMaster Oldies. If you have any requests, let me know. If you want to know we play your favorite 1950’s or 1960’s oldie, just ask. I should be able to tell you when to listen to hear it!