The First Mashup? You Are The Jury....

If I were the sort of person who had any respect for the hirarchy of the history of popular music, I would gladly start the argument about what was the first mashup by using dynamic logic principles set forth by those who get in physical rows about Rocket 88 VS The collected works of Milt Brown and his Musical Brownies.

Unfortunately, there aren't any hillbillies or itenerate bluesmen in Hackney, so it's hard to make these kinds of comparisons.

None the less, Australian 60's aggregate The Groop [64-69] released (In every sense of the word) a cover of Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" with the backing marimba/horn track from " It's The Same Old Song" by the Four Tops.

The Skinny is that this band packed it in in 69 because half of them were enamored of Music from Big Pink and the other half were content to be a glorified showband.
I'm not saying one can hear the titanic struggle of earthy authenticity VS frilly- shirted professionalism on this track, but at least it's fuckin weird.
Keep in mind the backing track is live- in other words; "They meant to do that."
I think it works in a "people -have- stopped -listening- ages- ago, -so -who -gives -a -shit" kind of way. Here's hoping you feel the same.
PREPARE TO BE MILDLY NON PLUSSED:
The Groop Baby Blue
AND FOR COMPARISON'S SAKE:
The Four Tops It's The Same Old Song

Comments

[jima]

The R+B song you're thinking of is the temptations! "Same old song" (but with a different feeling now that you are gone).

Definitely matches the riff exactly.

[Jon]

Also it's very like the riff in the Stones' "Under My Thumb"
Jon