A Most Unusual Feeling x 2

[Roburt]

Not the greatest song/s ever written but it / they does / do have fans -- for me both tracks are too poppy but I can see them going down a storm in Wigan days.

. . . . .  So what's the story behind the song/s and the artists ?

The first out of the box was (1964) the Improbables on US Columbia  -- a 'white sounding' group who only seem to have had this one release. The 45 did well on some US radio stations at the time. THEIR song was written by J Chase & the track was produced by Tom Wilson. Tom Wilson was a staff producer for Columbia who had a jazz background (a black guy). He worked with the likes of Eddie Harris at Columbia but also Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, Pete Seger, the Clancy Bros, etc. So the Improbables could easily have been a white outfit that Tom Wilson was trying to get an R&B sound from.

Little, if anything, seems to be known about the group (unless someone here knows more). 

MOVING FORWARD ALMOST 2 YEARS & across to SCOTLAND. James Galt was a mate of Gallagher & Lyles from Largs (west of Glasgow)  -- (it's also been stated that James Galt was actually the name of a group not a guy, but that appears to be incorrect). Anyway Gallagher & Lyle wrote this version of "A Most Unusual Feeling" and sang backing vocals on James Galt's track. Another song he recorded is registered as being written by (Gallagher, Lyle, Galt), so to me that infers he was a guy in his own right. Though this Pye 45 never seemed to make it into any UK record shops (only Advance Promotion Copies of the 45 existing). However a few weeks later it gained a full US issue on Aurora.

The two songs sound very similar and (obviously) have the same title BUT their lyrics differ in places. As G&L went on to be famous and had been in the music biz since the late 50's, I can't see them having gotten away with plagiarism ... I'm sure someone would have had a dig at them over this song after they had become famous & were hit writers / singers. But as James Galt's G&L penned version came 18 months or so after the Improbables 45, the US writer can't have 'pinched' G&L's song.

So what is the story here AND was James Galt ever tracked down and interviewed about his Northern Soul tracks ?