June 27, 2026 - KV - Summer

 

  

 

Rockin' Remnants



Rockin' Remnants is broadcast from WVBR-FM Ithaca. Check out our webpage, like us on Facebook, and tune in to 93.5 or stream the show every Saturday night from 6-9pm! (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:  June 27, 2026

Host:  Kim Vaughan

Feature:  Summer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Birthday Calendar

 

 

Jun 21   – Ocie “O.C.” Smith – born in 1932

            – Ray Davies (Kinks) – age 82

            – Brenda Holloway – age 80

 

Jun 22   – Kris Kristofferson – born in 1936

            – Peter Asher (Peter & Gordon) – age 82

            – Howard Kaylan (Turtles, Flo & Eddie) – age 79

 

Jun 23   – Paul Goddard (Atlanta Rhythm Section) – born in 1945

 

Jun 24   – Jeff Beck (Yardbirds) – born in 1944

            – Colin Blunstone (Zombies) – age 81

            – Mick Fleetwood (Fleetwood Mac) – age 79

 

Jun 25   – Eddie Floyd – age 89

            – Harold Melvin – born in 1939

            – Carly Simon – age 83

 

Jun 26   – Billy Davis Jr. (Fifth Dimension) – age 88

            – Georgie Fame – age 83

 

Jun 27   – Doc Pomus (songwriter) – born in 1925

            – Bruce Johnston (Beach Boys, Bruce & Terry) – age 84

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia

 

 

During the birthday calendar, we celebrated an artist who used “initials” in their stage name.  Those weren’t the artist’s actual initials – it was a phonetic way of writing their first name, which *sounded* like two letters.  Who was it? 

 

(scroll down to find the answer below the playlist)

 

 

 

 

 

Playlist

 

 

·       yellow song titles are YouTube links

·       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 chart dates during/after Aug 1958) unless otherwise noted

·       a glossary of terms is below the playlist

 

 

 

 

 

6-7pm  

 

 

 

OPENING THEME:  Good Old Rock ‘n’ Roll – Cat Mother & the All-Night Newsboys (1969, #29, produced by Jimi Hendrix)

 

My Dad – Paul Peterson (1962, reached #6 in early 1963)

 

 * The Morning After – Maureen McGovern (1973, spent two weeks at #1, from the film Poseidon Adventure)

 

 * Hungry Heart – Bruce Springsteen (1980, #5)

 

 * Hey, Leroy, Your Mama’s Callin’ You – Jimmy Castor (1966, #31)

 

 * You Are The Sunshine Of My Life – Stevie Wonder (1973, #1)

 

 

 

 * Hot Fun In The Summertime – Sly & The Family Stone (1969, #2 for two weeks)

 

Summer – War (1976, #7, #1 on Adult Contemporary)

 

  

 

Summer Breeze – Seals & Crofts (1972, #6)

 

Summer Wine – Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood (1967, #49)

 

 * Summertime – Big Brother & The Holding Company (from their 1968 album Cheap Thrills)

 

 

 

 * Saturday In The Park – Chicago (1972, #3)

 

I Love The Summertime – Dean & Jean (1963, b-side of their first charting song, Tra La La La Suzy)

 

Summer In The City – The Lovin’ Spoonful (1966, #1 for three weeks)

 

Summer Love – Joni James (1957, #97)

 

 

 

 

 

7-8pm

 

 

 

Friend, Lover, Woman, Wife – O.C. Smith (1969, #47)

 

A Long Way From Home – The Kinks (from their 1970 album, Lola vs. Powerman)

 

Every Little Bit Hurts – Brenda Holloway (1964, #13)

 

Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again) – Kris Kristofferson (1971, #26)

 

 

 

Nobody I Know – Peter & Gordon (1964, #12)

 

You Baby – The Turtles (1966, #20)

 

So In To You – Atlanta Rhythm Section (1977, #7)

 

Heart Full Of Soul – The Yardbirds (1965, #9, their first single after Jeff Beck replaced Eric Clapton as lead guitarist)

 

This Will Be Our Year – The Zombies (1968, the b-side of a non-charting song called Butcher’s Tale)

 

 

 

The Chain – Fleetwood Mac (from their 1977 album Rumours, the only song credited to all members of the band.  Reportedly the title comes from the way the song was assembled as small pieces of things, like links in a chain.)

 

 

 

I’ve Never Found A Girl (To Love Me Like You Do) – Eddie Floyd (1968, #40)

 

If You Don’t Know Me By Now – Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (1972, #3)

 

Mockingbird – Carly Simon & James Taylor (1974, #5)

 

Another Day, Another Heartache – The Fifth Dimension (1967, #45)

 

 

 

 

8-9pm

 

 

 

 

Yeh, Yeh – Georgie Fame (1965, #21)

 

Sweets For My Sweet – The Drifters (1961, #16, written by Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman)

 

Summer Means Fun – Bruce & Terry (1964, #72)

 

 * The Great Pretender – The Platters (1955, spent two weeks at #1 in early 1956)

 

Lighthouse – Ocie Smith (1957, did not chart)

 

We Are Family – Sister Sledge (1979, #2 for two weeks, R&B #1) 

 

 

 

Pleasant Valley Sunday – The Monkees (1967, #3)

 

Summerlove Sensation – The Bay City Rollers (1974, did not chart in the US, #3 in the UK)

 

  

 

It’s Summer Time U.S.A. – The Pixies Three (1964, #116)

 

The Sweet Sounds Of Summer – The Shangri-Las (1967, #123)

 

Mr. Blue Sky – Electric Light Orchestra (1978, #35)

 

Too Hot – Kool & The Gang (1980, #5)

 

 

 

Hot Summer Nights – Walter Egan (1978, #55)

 

 

 

CLOSING THEME:  Sleep Walk – Santo & Johnny (1959, #1 for two weeks)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trivia Answer

 

 

O.C. Smith’s real name was Ocie Lee Smith – so his initials were actually O.L. Smith, but O.C. sounds like Ocie.

 

Congratulations to Mike from Ithaca, for correctly answering the question and winning a pass for 2 people to Cinemapolis!

 

 

 

Glossary of Terms:

dnc = did not chart

nr = not released as a single at the time

AC = Billboard’s chart for “Adult Contemporary” records

BB = Billboard Magazine, which publishes the Hot 100 chart (previously known as the Top 100), along with several other charts

Bubbling Under = songs that were ranked but fell below the top 100

C&W = Billboard’s chart for “Country & Western” records

R&B = Billboard’s chart for “Rhythm & Blues” records

RRHOF = Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

RS500 = Rolling Stone Magazine’s ranked list of the top 500 singles of all-time

 

 

 

 

 

 

Host Next Week (July 4):  John Simon (and Kim Vaughan) with a spotlight on Fourth Of July

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for tuning in! You can listen to Rockin' Remnants every Saturday night from 6-9pm on WVBR (93.5 FM in Ithaca, NY) or streaming here.

 

 

Thanks again to our sponsors Island Health & Fitness and Rasa Spa for their support every week!

 

 

June 20, 2026 - JS - Ladies Night: Girl Groups and More

 

Rockin' Remnants




Rockin' Remnants is broadcast from WVBR-FM Ithaca. Check out our webpage, like us on Facebook, and tune in to 93.5 or stream the show every Saturday night from 6-9pm! (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:  6/20/26

Host:  John Simon

Feature:  Girls and Women

 

 

  

Tonight's show spotlights the women who made the music back in the day. Girl Groups, solo artists, duet partners and more. 6-9pm on 93.5 FM or streaming at wvbr dot com.

 

Good tunes, good company and good vibrations for all ages! Plus...it   won't cost you a penny! Come join me and George Nettleton for                           three hours of musical fun and magic!

 

 

 

 

Playlist

 

 

·       YouTube links follow certain entries

·       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 chart dates during/after Aug 1958) unless otherwise noted

·       a glossary of terms is below the playlist

 

 

6-7pm 

 

OPENING THEME:  Good Old Rock ‘n’ Roll – Cat Mother & the All-Night Newsboys (1969, #29, produced by Jimi Hendrix)

  

Chapel of Love – Dixie Cups (6/64; #1 for three weeks –  two sisters and their cousin, all from New Orleans, were discovered by singer Joe Jones and signed to Leiber & Stoller’s new Red Bird Records label. Their first single was also the label’s first release, and it went straight to #1 in the thick of the British Invasion.)

 

 

Yes, I’m Ready – Barbara Mason (6/65; #5 Pop, #2 R&B for two weeks – Barbara was a Philadelphia singer and songwriter whose first record became a smash hit when she was still just 17 years old. She’d continue to record well into the Seventies, but this was her greatest triumph as both a writer and a recording artist.)

 

Gonna Get Along Without You Now – Skeeter Davis (5/64; #48 Pop, #8 C&W – she was based in Nashville and had a steady stream of crossover hits, but this cover of the Patience & Prudence “oldie” is one of my favorites: it’s bouncy and melodic and full of female vocal support.)

 

 

 

Girl From Ipanema – Astrud Gilberto & Stan Getz (6/64; #5 – here’s another one that did surprisingly well in the thick of the British Invasion. Getz was an American Jazz saxophonist and Astrud Gilberto was Brazilian crooner Joao Gilberto’s wife. The album version opens with him singing in Portugese, but the single version is just her, all in English. It won them all the Grammy for Record of the Year!)

 

  

Soldier Boy – Shirelles (6/62; #1 for three weeks – This one is two minutes and forty-one seconds of pure Pop pleasure. Just two verses, bookending a twangy guitar solo, but it spoke to a whole generation of girls whose boys were far away and it sold a gazillion copies.)

  

*  Desperado – Linda Ronstadt (1973; dnc – this album track from Don't Cry Now had been written and recorded by her former back-up band, who called themselves “Eagles.” Going out to our buddy JR from his friend Cheryl. There’s a message in there somewhere, Buster!)

 

 

 

*  Killing Me Softly With His Song – Roberta Flack (2/73; #1 for five weeks – 19-year old Lori Lieberman attended a concert in a small club in LA, and was so moved by the performance that she wrote the skeleton sketch of this song. The performer in question was young Don McLean. Lori’s recording failed to garner any attention, but Roberta’s earned her two Grammy awards, including Record of the Year.)

 

 

 

It’s As Easy As 1-2-3 – Jan Berry & Jill Gibson (5/65; dnc – offically, this one was attributed to Jan & Dean and was found on the B-side of “You Really Know How To Hurt a Guy.” In reality, Jan’s duet partner was the song’s co-writer Jill Gibson and Dean was in the hospital recovering from a horrible car crash. The Summer Solstice officially arrives at 4:26 tomorrow morning. Lyrically, this one fits the occasion perfectly!)

 

 

 

Dating Courtesy PSA – Shangri-Las (ca.1965 – this is a cheesy Public Service Announcement that has been lost to time – and for good reason. It also, though, makes for a great lead-in to the next song…)

 

 

*  Leader of the Pack – Shangri-Las (11/64; #1 – Mary Weiss was their lead singer, Shadow Morton was their producer, and their records were basically three-minute teenaged soap operas ending in tragedy. This was their biggest hit, and it even inspired a parody called “Leader of the Laundromat” that actually reached #19 several months later for a studio group called The Detergents!)

  

Don’t Sleep in the Subway – Petula Clark (6/67; headed to #5 – this was her sixth and final Top Ten hit here in The States. Two of those six records reached #1 and this one has become a staple of Oldies radio. It was actually a musical tapestry pulled from three different song snippets. Tonight we hear it in shimmering stereo.)

 

 

Jimmy Mack – Martha & The Vandellas (5/67; #10 Pop, #1 R&B – we’ll be hearing more from songwriter Lamont Dozier during the birthday calendar segment, but this is a little preview. The song itself had been recorded three years prior and left to sit on a shelf until Martha Reeves asked for a “listening meeting.” Label head Berry Gordy heard it and declared “This is a hit!” And so it was.)

  

I’m Into Something Good – Earl-Jean (6/64; #38 – Earl-Jean Reavis passed away on May 7^th at the age of 83, and this was her sole charting hit as a solo artist – but she was also a member of The Cookies and a frequent demo singer for Carole King & Gerry Goffin, and this song would actually become the first big hit for Herman’s Hermits.)

 

 

*  You Don’t Own Me – Lesley Gore (1/64; #2 for three weeks – Lesley’s first four singles all reached the Top 5, but this one was completely different from the first three. It was an unlikely declaration of female independence, and is considered one of the first feminist anthems of its time.)

 

  

7-8pm

 

 Birthday Calendar

  

June 14 – Rod Argent (Zombies) – age 81

            – Junior Walker (All-Stars) – born 1931

  

June 15 – Ruby Nash (Romantics) – age 92

            – Russell Hitchcock (Air Supply) – age 77

            – Harry Nilsson – born in 1941

  

 

June 16 – Eddie Levert (O’Jays) – age 84

            – Lamont Dozier (Motown) – 1941

  

June 18 – Sir Paul McCartney – age 84

 

June 19 – Ann Wilson (Heart) – age 76

            – “Spanky” McFarlane (Our Gang) – age 84

  

 

June 20 – Brian Wilson (Beach Boys) – born 1942

            – Anne Murray – age 81

            – Lionel Richie (Commodores) – age 77

  

 

Tell Her No – Zombies (1/65; #6 – keyboardist Rod Argent wrote this song, and his instrument is the main driving force – along with the urgent “no’s” sung by Colin Blunstone. In case you’re wondering, there are 63 of them!)

  

What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) – Junior Walker & The All-Stars (6/69; #4 Pop, #1 R&B for two weeks – sax man Junior Walker’s soaring horn and warm vocal delivery, atop a swirling melodic musical bed, proved to work in harmony like magic – and gave him the second #1 R&B hit of his career. I can remember hearing this song all that summer long. It’s still magical!)

 

 

 

Lost In Love – Air Supply (2/80; #3 for four weeks – they were an Australian outfit whose first seven singles all charted in the Top Five, and whose debut single got shut out of the top slot by Blondie, Queen and Pink Floyd, who collectively spent fourteen weeks at #1 that year.)

  

Hey There Lonely Boy – Ruby & The Romantics (8/63; #27 – they were from Akron, Ohio and created some of the most lush records of the era. Each subsequent single had less chart success than the one before it, but each was a thing of beauty. Eddie Holman would later have his greatest chart success with a male version of this one, but tonight the Girl Groups rule!)

 

 

 

Paradise – The Shangri-Las (6/66; dnc – this was the B-side of the girls’ final charting single “Past, Present, Future” and probably should’ve been the A-side. It was Shadow Morton’s greatest production in full Phil Spector-mode, and was actually written by birthday boy Harry Nilsson!)

 

 

Reflections – Diana Ross & The Supremes (8/67; #2 – Holland-Dozier-Holland had written all ten of the group’s #1 hits up to this point, and “Reflections” should have been the eleventh. The only thing stopping it was Bobbie Gentry’s surprise hit “Ode to Billy Joe.” Notably, this was the first record to give Diana Ross top billing. Within two years, she’d be off on her own – a year after H-D-H would also be gone after a dispute with label owner Berry Gordy.)

 

 

Bernadette – Four Tops (3/67; #4 Pop, #3 R&B – if anybody in the Motown family deserved top billing, it may have been the Four Tops’ Levi Stubbs – but that’s another story for another time. H-D-H had written and produced all of the group’s singles, and this certainly would’ve reached #1 if it weren’t for Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” blocking the way.)

 

 

Use Ta Be My Girl – O’Jays (6/78; #4 Pop, #1 R&B for five weeks – the Ohio natives first charted in 1963, but their career took off when they landed at Philadelphia International Records. This was their fifth consecutive R&B #1, all penned by Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff. They were superstars for a while there....)

  

Hello, Goodbye – The Beatles (12/67; #1 for three weeks Pop, and seven weeks in the UK – this song resurged in popularity just a few weeks ago when Sir Paul performed it on Stephen Colbert’s much-anticipated final show. I must apologize to those of you who were tuned in, for mistakenly saying that it happened on The Jimmy Fallon show, but I was flying by the seat of my pants – and that’s half the fun of “live” radio, isn’t it???)

 

 

Mull of Kintyre – Wings (11/77; dnc – this was released here in The States as the B-side of “Girl’s School,” which was a pretty dumb song. In the UK, “Mull of Kintyre” was an A-side, and one of the biggest records of the decade, spending nine weeks at #1. Not many songs feature bagpipers. This one certainly does!)

 

 

Don’t Worry Baby – Beach Boys (5/64; #24 – Paul McCartney and Brian Wilson were famously born two days apart, and each inspired the other to greater heights in their heydays. Brian was inspired to write this song after first hearing The Ronette’s “Be My Baby,” which he has named as one of the greatest songs he’d ever heard. He offered it to Phil Spector as its follow-up. When Phil declined, Brian had his own group record it. It was tucked onto the B-side of “I Get Around,” and Rolling Stone ranks it at #178 in its list of the 500 best songs ever.)

 

 

Sunday Will Never Be The Same – Spanky & Our Gang (6/67; #9 – this was the group’s charting debut, and I still remember hearing it pour out of speakers wherever I went that summer. I’m still transported directly to that time in my life whenever I hear it, and I found it happening again in the studio Saturday night. Sigh. Thirteen all over!)

 

 

 

8-9pm

 

 

You Won’t See Me – Anne Murray (5/74; #8 – The Beatles’ music catalog was often the source of potential “hit” material for other acts, but few people tackled this one. Tonight we hear the hard-to-find 45 version, which fades in well before the LP/CD versions start. It’s a pretty rockin’ little number, too!)

 

 

*  Dog & Butterfly – Heart (2/79; #34 – sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson were at the heart of the band, with Ann’s powerful voice and Nancy’s serious guitar chops. They wrote much of band’s material – including this song – and it goes out tonight at the behest of listener Scottie.)

 

 

*  A Brand New Key – Melanie (12/71; #1 for three weeks – this song reached #1 on Christmas day and rolled right into 1972 before Don McLean’s “American Pie” would de-throne it. It was her only chart-topper, and a number of radio programmers shied away from it because it was deemed overtly suggestive. Ms. Safka wrote it, recorded it and released it on her own label. Pretty impressive!)

 

 

Easy – Commodores (6/77; #4 – singer/songwriter and group leader Lionel Richie grew up on the campus of Tuskegee Institute, and was heavily influenced by Country music on the radio. This was one of his final songs as a member of the group before he ventured out on his own, and many of his songs deserved airplay on those Country stations, but Alabama was deeply segregated.)

 

 

What The World Needs Now Is Love – Jackie DeShannon (5/65; #7 – Jackie was a southern girl who played a mean guitar and was a serious songwriter, but her striking good looks and a sexist industry may have denied her the success that she deserved. Her treatment of this Bacharach/David tune, however, is immortal. Dionne Warwick also recorded it, but this one is the gold standard.)

 

 

He’s So Fine – Jody Miller (6/71; #53 Pop, #5 C&W – she’d charted a handful of Pop hits in the mid-Sixties, but her move to Nashville really defined who she was. This version of The Chiffons’ hit also incorporates some of the elements of George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord,” and it actually worked beautifully.)

  

Nothing But a Heartache – The Flirtations (5/69; #34 – the core group was made up of three sisters who’d gotten their start singing together in NYC in 1962. By 1968 they’d crossed over to the UK, and it was there that they had their greatest success. This particular record felt like a throwback to earlier times, and continues to be played and danced to on the Northern Soul scene.)  

 

 

Whenever a Teenager Cries – Reparata & The Delrons (1/65; #60 – this was another teen group from NYC, although they were a group of white girls from Queens who were signed to a small Pittsburgh-based label. This was their highest-charting record in The States, and tonight we hear the obscure mono 45 mix, which packs more of a wallop than it has a right to. One curious fact: the insomniac version of me heard this record several times in the Nineties on the all-night “Coast to Coast America” show at 3 or 4 in the morning. Weird, man.)

 

 

*  Society’s Child – Janis Ian (6/67; #14 – NYC’s High School of Music & Art was fed by all five boroughs, and was audition-based. Many of the City’s finest young musicians passed through its halls: Diahann Carroll, Billy Cobham, Laura Nyro, Peter Yarrow…. So did Janis Ian, who was signed to Verve Records while still a student. This song got a boost when Leonard Bernstein did a feature on a TV special.)

 

 

 

Master Jack – Four Jacks & A Jill (4/68; #18 – this South African quintet was basically a one-hit wonder here in the States, with their only other charting single stalling at #96. Its spare arrangement and cryptic lyrics somehow caught hold, and it was a breath of fresh air amid all the noise.)

 

Shenandoah - The Goldebriars (6/64; #109 on the Record World chart - they were a Southern California quartet  featuring the Holmberg sisters Dotti and Sheri, along with future record producer Curt Boettcher, and this very tasty adaptation of the Folk standard deserved a much better showing than it got - where Billboard didn't even list it as having "bubbled under." Truly a lost nugget.)

 

 

Then He Kissed Me/Be My Baby – Rachel Sweet (5/81; dnc – Rachel was all of 16 when she signed with Stiff Records, and barely 19 when she recorded this single for Columbia. While it didn’t chart here in the States, another single from her album – a duet with Rex Smith – became a pretty big hit. She had a big voice and was backed up by a terrific studio band on this one – and the song material was top-notch, too.)

 

 

Our Lips Are Sealed – Go-Gos (8/81; #20 – they were a quartet from LA that played their own instruments and wrote their own material, which was an anomaly at the time. This was the opening track and lead single from their first major-label LP, and it stands the test of time. We had it cranked that night!)

 

 

CLOSING THEME:  Sleepwalk – Santo & 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

BB = Billboard Magazine, which publishes the Hot 100 chart (previously known as the Top 100), along with several other charts

Bubbling Under = songs that were ranked but fell below the top 100

C&W = Billboard’s chart for “Country & Western” records

R&B = Billboard’s chart for “Rhythm & Blues” records

RRHOF = Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

RS500 = Rolling Stone Magazine’s ranked list of the top 500 singles of all-time

 

 

 

 

Host Next Week (6/27/26):  Kim Vaughan with no specific spotlight: just great tunes, she says! 

 

 

Thanks for tuning in - and for voting us Ithaca's Best Local Radio Show in the most recent Ithaca Times Readers' Poll! You can listen to Rockin' Remnants every Saturday night from 6-9pm on WVBR (93.5 FM in Ithaca, NY) or at wvbr.com/listen.

 

Thanks, too, to our sponsors Island Health & Fitness and Rasa Spa for their support every week!