Rockin’ Remnants
Rockin’ Remnants is broadcast from WVBR-FM Ithaca. Check out our webpage, like us on Facebook, and tune in to 93.5 FM or stream the show every Saturday night from 6-9 p.m. Eastern. (Or download the WVBR+app now available for iOS and Android.)
Thanks to our sponsors Island Health & Fitness and Rasa Spa for their support every week!
Date: May 11, 2024
Host: Gregory James
Feature: Songs with Food in the Title
Birthday Calendar
May 5
Georgia Dobbins (Marvelettes) b. 1942 d. 2020
May 6
Davey Johnstone (Elton John guitarist) 73 years old
Bob Seger 79 years old
Leon Hughes (original Coaster) b. 1930 d.2023
May 7
Johnny Maestro (Crests, Brooklyn Bridge) b. 1939 d. 2010
Jimmy Ruffin b. 1936 d. 2014
May 8
Philip Bailey (Earth Wind and Fire) 73 years old
Paul Samwell-Smith (Yardbirds bassist) 81 years old
Ricky Nelson b. 1940 d. 1985
Toni Tennille 84 years old
May 9
Billy Joel 75 years old
Richie Furay 80 years old
Tommy Roe 82 years old
Dave Prater (Sam and Dave) b. 1937 d. 1988
May 10
Jay Ferguson (Spirit) 77 years old
Donovan 78 years old
Dave Mason 78 years old
May 11
Eric Burdon 83 years old
Playlist
* songs with * were requests
* all chart information comes from the Billboard Top 100 (for chart dates before/during July 1958) or Billboard Hot 100 (for subsequent dates) unless otherwise noted
* glossary of terms is below the playlist
6:00-7:00
OPENING THEME: Good Old Rock n’ Roll—Cat Mother and the All Night Newsboys (1969, #29, produced by Jimi Hendrix)
Peanuts Little Joe And The Thrillers 1957 #22
Little Joe Cook’s falsetto singing may have been an influence on Lou Christie and Frankie Valli (who covered “Peanuts” with the Four Seasons in 1963).
Bread And Butter Newbeats 1964 #2
Another song with falsetto singing, this time by Larry Henley. This recording has turned up in several TV commercials.
Peanut Butter Marathons 1961 #20
The recording group was actually The Vibrations. The Marathons were under contract to a different label, so they changed their name to The Vibrations. The melody is identical to “Hully Gully.”
Hully Gully Olympics 1960 #72
*Apple Peaches Pumpkins Pie Jay and the Techniques 1967 #6
Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson sang backup on this track. John Simon put in this request.
Mashed Potato Time Dee Dee Sharp 1962 #2 H100 #1 RB
The Orlons sang back up on this track by the 17-year-old Dee Dee Sharp.
Peppermint Twist Joey Dee and the Starliters 1962 #1
This live recording should not be confused with the 1961 song “The Peppermint Twist” by Danny Peppermint and the Jumping Jacks.
Hot Pastrami Dartells 1963 #11
Dick Burns of the Dartells has said that the band simply lifted the melody of Joey Dee’s “Mashed Potatoes,” changed the lyrics and renamed it “Hot Pastrami.”
Mashed Potatoes Joey Dee and the Starliters 1961
A Taste Of Honey Herb Alpert 1965 #7
Winner of four Grammys. By this time, there were two actual members of Tijuana Brass in addition to Herb Alpert—the rest were the Wrecking Crew. Hal Blaine played the drums that drove the song along.
*Tupelo Honey Van Morrison 1972 #47
Van Morrison’s custom on the album was to record his vocals live with no overdubbing. Requested by Scottie going out to Mecklenburg Peggy and everyone else.
RC Cola And A Moon Pie NRBQ 1972 NR
In some parts of the country in the mid-20th century, this was called “the working man’s lunch.”
Cheeseburger In Paradise Jimmy Buffett 1978 #32
Jambalaya Brenda Lee 1956 DNC
Brenda Mae Tarpley first recorded Jambalaya when she was 11 years old.
Polk Salad Annie Tony Joe White 1969 #8
It was nine months between when the record was released and when it finally charted due to popular demand.
Dixie Chicken Little Feat 1978 DNC
Backing singers included Gloria Jones, Bonnie Raitt (seen in the video below), Danny Hutton and Bonnie Bramlett.
7:00-8:00
Please Mr. Postman Marvelettes 1961 #1
Georgia Dobbins co-wrote “Please Mr. Postman” but left the group before it was recorded.
All the Girls Love Alice Elton John 1973 NR
This track from Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” was a favorite of Davey Johnstone who played guitar on the track. Kiki Dee was a backing singer and the lyrics told a tale about a fictional and tragic girl. The song was not inspired by Alice Cooper.
Roll Me Away Bob Seger 1982 #27
Roy Bittan played piano, Waddy Wachtel played guitar and Russ Kunkel played drums on this song about a man and his motorcycle.
Down in Mexico Coasters 1956 #8 RB
This was their debut single.
Worst That Could Happen Brooklyn Bridge 1969 #3
Written by Jimmy Webb, the song was rumored to be about someone named Susan.
Stand By Me Jimmy and David Ruffin 1970 #61 H100
From the album “I Am My Brother’s Keeper.”
That’s the Way of the World Earth Wind and Fire 1975 #5 RB #12 H100
Philip Bailey was the high voice for Earth Wind and Fire.
I Write the Songs Captain and Tennille 1975 NR
Many people think this song was written by Barry Manilow (who did write a lot of songs), but it written by Beach Boy Bruce Johnston. Because Johnston knew Toni Tennille and Daryl Dragon from their work with the Beach Boys, he gave the song to them and they made the first album recording of the song.
Stroll On (Train Kept a Rolling) Yardbirds 1965 DNC
This version was heard in the film “Blow Up.”
It’s Late Ricky Nelson 1959 #9 H100 #30 RB
Nelson’s cover version was released and charted 21 years before composer Dorsey Burnette’s original was released on a compilation album in 1980.
My Life Billy Joel 1978 #3 H100 #2 AC
Everybody Tommy Roe 1963 #3
Recorded at FAME studios in Muscle Shoals.
Only You Know and I Know Dave Mason 1970 #42
From “Alone Together,” one of the coolest looking vinyl releases of the 1970’s with a stellar group of musicians including Leon Russell, Larry Knechtel, Carl Radle, Jim Capaldi, Jim Gordon, Jim Keltner, Bonnie Bramlett and Rita Coolidge.
Fresh Garbage Spirit 1968 NR
Or as it might be titled today: “Natural Compost.”
Wear Your Love Like Heaven Donovan 1967 #23
Lyrically, the song is like an Impressionist painting. Donovan’s Scottish dialect was in full force in this song.
8:00-9:00
Kind Woman Buffalo Springfield 1968 DNC
This track appears on the final Buffalo Springfield album as one of the group’s final recordings, but the song is really the first one by Poco with Richie Furay and Jim Messina on vocals and Rusty Young on pedal steel guitar.
Baby Let Me Take You Home The Animals 1964 #102
This was their debut single on Columbia records. As Eric Burdon remarks in the video below, the Animals had been together for seven months when this video was made. Don't miss the interview starting at 2:26.
Blueberry Hill Fats Domino 1957 #2 H100 #1 RB
Of all the fruits, I find blueberries the most thrilling…
Coconut Harry Nilsson 1972 #8
The song might conceivably be about homeopathic medicine. After the sister gets sick from drinking lime juice and coconut milk, the doctor advises her to drink the same thing to get well. As homeopaths like to say, “like cures like.”
*Hot Dog Led Zeppelin 1979 DNC
Robert Plant and John Paul Jones led the recording sessions for “In Through the Out Door,” and the band warmed up by playing tunes by Elvis Presley and Ricky Nelson. Requested by John Rudan.
Sugar, Sugar Archies 1969 #1
This song is the most successful bubblegum pop single of all time, and you didn’t even need to go to the record store to buy it-- it was attached to the back of Super Sugar Crisp cereal boxes.
Cinnamon Girl Neil Young and Crazy Horse 1970 #55
Neil Young wrote the song while recuperating from the flu. On paper the guitar solo is a repeated D note, but Young has said the identical notes have subtle differences.
I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) Four Tops 1965 #1H100 and RB
The Andantes were backing singers on this track. The parenthetical title is actually the one most associated with the song.
Little Green Apples O.C. Smith 1968 #2
After a Detroit DJ played O.C. Smith’s album version of the song, popular demand was such that Columbia Records released a single version of “Little Green Apples.”
Tutti Frutti Little Richard 1956 #17
The track was a sanitized version of a song that Little Richard had been performing live for several years prior to recording it in September of 1955.
Popcorn Song (Too Pooped to Pop) Cliffie Stone 1955 #14
Bob Roubian, the singer on the track, recorded the song to pay off debts he had incurred in opening a Newport Beach seafood restaurant called The Crab Cooker, which still exists to this day.
Ginger Bread Frankie Avalon 1958 #9 H100 #10 RB
Frankie was accompanied by a vocal group called The Four Dates. I like the uncredited guitar solo.
Lemon Tree Trini Lopez 1965 #20
“Lemon Tree” was inspired by a Brazilian song written in 1930.
Rice Is Nice Lemon Pipers 1968 #46
Cereal grain meets bubblegum on this track.
I Cant Grow Peaches On A Cherry Tree Just Us 1966 #34
The duo consisted of Chip Taylor and Al Gorgoni. Chip Taylor wrote “Wild Thing” and “Angel of the Morning.”
Strawberry Fields Beatles 1967 #8
John Lennon’s “Strawberry Fields” (which was inspired by the local Salvation Army Children’s Home of the same name) was backed by “Penny Lane,” Paul McCartney’s homage to his youth in Liverpool.
CLOSING THEME: Sleep Walk – Santo and Johnny (1959, #1 for two weeks)
Glossary of Terms:
DNC = did not chart
NR = not released as a single at the time
AC = Billboard’s chart for Adult Contemporary records
H100 = Billboard Hot 100
RB = Billboard’s chart of rhythm and blues records
Host May 18, 2024: Kim Vaughan.
Feature: Triple Down: Three Songs Each From Five Artists
Thanks for tuning in! You can listen to Rockin’ Remnants every Saturday night from 6-9 p.m. Eastern on WVBR (93.5 FM in Ithaca NY) or streaming on WVBR.com.
Thanks again to our sponsors Island Health & Fitness and Rasa Spa for their support every week!
