“OUT OF THIS WORLD” BY GINO WASHINGTON: A NEARLY FORGOTTEN SHAKER FROM 1963 THAT SHOULD BE THE FIRST SONG PLAYED AFTER THE PANDEMIC ENDS & WHEN WE START HOOKING UP AGAIN. (BUT PLAY IT NOW ANYWAY.)

 

A song so unrestrainable that the singer can only prevent its escape for an agonizing eight seconds. “La-de-da apartments”—the kind described by writer Toni Cade Bambara—all across the country—were soon jumping to “Out Of This World,” which quickly rackets uphill.

The singer was / is “Jumpin’” Gino Washington. At the time, he was a bad-ass teenager from Detroit. Kids today would insist upon calling him a BAMF and we would not disagree. In fact, this BAMF is among us. We congratulate him heartily for his greatly stomping contribution.

When the song first appeared, Cash Box predicted that it would “take a quick trip to chartsville” and it did just that, spending five weeks on the Billboard charts and peaking at #44, in March 1964. The backing vocalists, The Rochelles, would later become Tony Orlando’s “Dawn.”

The bass player was not the Chuck Berry, but he was a guy named Chuck Berry. He was part of a white band, The Atlantics, that backed the three black singers. While groups like Rodney and the Blazers or Booker T and the MGs come to mind, that era was not known for integrated bands.

A short while later, Mr. Washington was drafted into the Army, and sent to Vietnam. When he returned in 1967, his career had vanished. Meanwhile, a UK-based singer, Geno Washington, had stolen all but one letter of his name. This “Geno” was also an American serviceman (Air Force). But enough of that.

Before he served in Vietnam, Gino Washington opened for the Rolling Stones. He worked with the Primettes, who would go on to become the Supremes. He released other hits, such as “Gino Is A Coward.” And to this blogger’s approval, he was backed at some point by the Royaltones.

Returning to “Out Of This World”—it may borrow its opening saxophone riff from “Mr. Twist,” an obscure 1962 shaker by Tommy and the Twisters. The lyrics are barely discernible. The lead vocals are sludgy and the backing vocals may be too enthusiastic in their gluey star-brightness.

The guitar solo searches for itself in the cloakroom. It rifles through a lot of the coats, trying, perhaps, to thieve some taxicab fare. And yet, “Out Of This World” is almost perfect. “Does this 45 have a B-side?” you might ask. Why yes it does. Behold: 

“Come Monkey With Me” employs “monkey” as verb, with double entendre. Not only should you do the monkey with me, but you should fool around with me, too. It enters the long list of monkey songs, the best of which may be Dave Bartholomew’s “The Monkey Speaks His Mind.”

But we love “Come Monkey With Me” because it could’ve been the A-side. There’s very little energy lost between these two singles. According to the song, if the gal would come monkey with [me], the singer promises to love her…ten-der-ly. Yeah right.

A friend of mine once pointed out that she liked “Mr. Five by Five” (Jimmy Rushing) because his jump blues voice had that gruffness, full of character, and she was right. For some, Gino Washington might not compare to fellow Detroit crooners Jackie Wilson and Little Willie John, but he does possess that roughened shouting stuff. It’s A-one.

The Detroit Metro Times ranked “Out Of This World” as the 19th greatest Detroit song ever, noting that The Atlantics (garage), the Rochelles (doo wop?), and Gino Washington (soul) brought “the myriad threads of Detroit music to a boiling point.” Yes. We agree.

When you consider the Detroit acts that that rank higher than him—Marvin Gaye, The Stooges, John Lee Hooker, The Supremes, MC5, etc.—it’s quite a distinction. Look a little bit farther down the list for Nathaniel Mayer’s “Village of Love.” We almost chose that song for this post.

 

Likely personnel for “Out Of This World” b/w “Come Monkey With Me”

Gino Washington (lead vocals); The Rochelles: Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent (backing vocals); The Atlantics: Jeff Williams (lead guitar), Jim Watkins (rhythm guitar), Rick White (sax), Chuck Berry (bass), and Cliff Rosin (drums). Songwriting/arranging: George “Gino” Washington. Released on Amon 90580 (1963) and Wand 147 (1964).


sources of information

AllMusic Guide entry for Gino Washington
Billboard charting details for Gino Washington
Black Cat Rockabilly Europe entry for Gino Washington
Cash Box February 1964
Detroit Metro Times ranking of the best Detroit songs ever
Discogs entry for The Atlantics
Discogs entry for “Out Of This World” / “Come Monkey With Me”
Wikipedia entry for Geno Washington
Wikipedia entry for Gino Washington
Wikipedia entry for Tony Orlando and Dawn