My Top 1000 Songs #724: Hold Tight

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.] 

In the wake of my childhood obsession with the Beatles and the Who (and later the Kinks), I went on a British Invasion binge. Yet somehow I never came across the 1966 single "Hold Tight!" (or, for that matter, the awkwardly-named band Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich). Indeed, the first time I remember hearing the song is during Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof (in a scene indelibly etched in memory, which even thoughtfully recounts a little bit of history about the band)--yeah, the man knows how to curate a soundtrack and wield a song for maximum impact (literally in this case).

On first listen it sounded almost like the perfect approximation of a great lost British Invasion hit--Townshend-styled buzzsaw guitar, the soulful "Ay-yi-yi's," and of course that monster, pre-John Bonham drumbeat. I felt almost too ideally-constructed to have actually come out in 1966 (and to have escaped notice in the States)--but, no, a little research assured me it was a legit 60s release, dusted off for a 2007 film. Lots of other fine music by the band as well, it turns out.

On tv:

Death Proof: