DAILY DIRT: There should be no more debate, No. 6 Grass Roots are Hall of Fame worthy

May 6, 2025 | By Steve Eighinger, Muddy River News Minister of Culture and Doctor of Love

The Grass Roots in 1969 Left to right: Dennis Provisor, Warren Entner, Rob Grill and Rick Coonce By ABC / Dunhill Records - Billboard, page 34, September 1970, Public Domain.

Daily Dirt for Tuesday, May 6, 2025

‘Midnight Confessions’ was their signature hit … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,275 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Well, day one was a ton of fun.

I was in conversation most of the day about our No. 7 selection in The Daily Dirt’s week-long countdown of the top seven American bands/groups of the 1960s. My favorite response came from the former lead singer of Yukon Jack and the Sled Dogs, a wild-and-crazy band who performed 1960s and 1970 hits back in the great state of Ohio, mostly during the Big ’80s.”Yukon” Jack Soliday felt the Beach Boys — our No. 7 pick in the countdown — should be No. 1 without even hearing about the remainder of the list. Hopefully, Yukon Jack stays with us during the week and provides us with his own assessment come Sunday.

Just a reminder, this top seven includes only American bands/groups and does not include any duets or solo artists. Let’s continue with day two of the countdown, which brings us:

No. 6: The Grass Roots

There has been debate for decades whether or not The Grass Roots are worthy of induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Without question, my answer is a resounding YES. I’m not sure why, but this group has never received credit for the long string of hits it produced, plus the longstanding popularity of its music and overall sound. They were the first band to regularly incorporate horns into their rock sound.

One of the key marks for a Hall of Fame band is its ongoing popularity, and the popularity of Grass Roots music is arguably as strong today as it was in the late 1960s and early 1970s. I saw the band once in concert, and the show was spectacular.

The one major drawback against the Grass Roots being elected to the Hall of Fame has been their lineup, which outside of lead singers Rob Grill and Warren Entner, was a rotation that seemingly never ended. Grill was a phenomenal lead voice who died in 2011 at age 67 from complications of several strokes. What many do not realize about Grill was that he was also quite a songwriter. He either wrote or helped write (usually with Entner) 21 songs with the Grass Roots that charted.

My three personal favorite Grass Roots songs from the 1960s are:

“Midnight Confessions”: I’ve said it many times before, if Rod Stewart had not come along in the summer of ’71 this would (still) be my all-time favorite song.

“Where Were You When I Needed You”: One of the great songs from a great summer (1966).

“The River Is Wide”: Several groups have covered this song, but the Grass Roots had the most success with it early in 1969. This was their first post-“Midnight Confessions” hit.

Honorable mention: “Things I Should Have Said,” which was their last release that reflected a mid-1960s sound.

Although the following hits don’t count toward their 1960s countdown position, it shouldn’t be forgotten the Grass Roots also gave us “Sooner Or Later,” “Baby Hold On,” “Temptation Eyes,” “Two Divided By Love,” “Heaven Knows,” “Bella Linda” and “Lovin’ Things”. Hall of Fame? Yes, I definitely think so.

The band also released a pair of greatest hits albums, entitled (rather fittingly) “Golden Grass” and “Golden Grass Vol. II”.

Here’s how the countdown has gone so far:

No. 6 Grass Roots

No. 7 Beach Boys

2. Did you know (Part 354)

That the fear of the dark is nyctophobia.
That the fear of cooking is mageirocophobia.
That the fear of animals is zoophobia.
That the fear of work is ergophobia.
That the fear of studying is sophophobia.
That the fear of injections is trypanophobia.

3. Since part of today’s theme deals with the beloved 1960s, here were the top 10 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 on this date back in 1966:

1. “Monday, Monday,” by the Mamas and Papas.
2. “Good Lovin’,” by the Young Rascals.
3. “Sloop John B,” by the Beach Boys.
4. “Soul and Inspiration,” by the Righteous Brothers.
5. “Kicks,” by Paul Revere and the Raiders.
6. “Secret Agent Man,” by Johnny Rivers.
7. “Rainy Day Women No. 12 and 35,” by Bob Dylan.
8. “Bang, Bang,” by Cher.
9. “Leaning On The Lamp Post,” by Herman’s Hermits.
10. “Gloria,” by Shadows of Knight.

Steve Thought O’ The Day

A lot of people tend to assume Van Morrison was the lead singer of the Shadows of Knight. Wrong. The band’s lead singer was Jim Sohns. While Morrison’s band, Them, originally wrote and performed the song “Gloria,” which was later covered by The Shadows of Knight, it was not Morrison himself who sang the version made famous by The Shadows. Glad that is settled.