August 29, 2026 - GJ - Animals in the Title

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.)

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Date: August 29, 2026

Host:  Gregory James

Feature: Animals in the Titles

Birthday Calendar

August 23

Rick Springfield 77 years old

Rudy Lewis (Drifters lead singer) 1936

Keith Moon 1946

Jimi Jamison (Survivor vocalist)  1951

Jimy Sohns  (Shadows of Knight vocalist)  1946

August 24

Jimmy Fox   (James Gang drummer)  80 years old

Malcolm “Molly” Duncan  (Average White Band saxophonist)  1945

John Cipollina   (Quicksilver Messenger Service guitarist)  1943

David Freiberg  (Quicksilver Messenger Service vocalist)  88 years old

Michael Derosier  (Heart drummer)   75 years old

August 25

Elvis Costello 72 years old

Walter Williams  (O’Jays)  84 years old

August 26

Valerie Simpson            80 years old

August 27

Tim Bogert   (Vanilla Fudge bassist )   1944

Daryl Dragon  (Captain and Tennille) 1942

August 28

Joe Osborn (Wrecking Crew bassist) 1937

Danny Seraphine (Chicago drummer)  78 years old

Honey Lantree  (Honeycombs drummer)  1943 

Joseph Shabalala   (Ladysmith Black Mambazo)  1941

Rock n’ Roll Trivia

In the 6:00 hour I played five songs with birds in the title. Name three of them. 

 (scroll down to find the answer below the playlist)

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

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

The Lion Sleeps Tonight Tokens 1961  #1 H100--1962 #7 R&B

In Zulu, song’s original title was “Mbube” which means “lion.” Composer Solomon Linda worked at Gallo Records and moonlighted as a performer with the Evening Birds. When the group went into the recording studio, Solomon Linda improvised the melody that eventually became “In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight.”

Hound Dog Big Mama Thornton  1953   #1 (seven weeks) R&B

Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller were 19 years old when Johnny Otis asked them to write a 12 bar blues song that would revive Willie Mae Thornton’s career. They came up with Hound Dog in 15 minutes. Thornton added several vocal flourishes, some spoken dialogue and a syncopated delivery. 

Dixie Chicken   Little Feat  1978  DNC

Not really a song about an actual chicken or an actual lamb. Backing vocals by two great Bonnies—Bramlett and Raitt.

I Will Always Love You     Dolly Parton  1974   #1 CW

Dolly Parton died on August 25, 2026. This song was her parting gift to mentor and professional partner Porter Wagoner. One of the great break up songs of all time because it focuses on gratitude not resentment.   

Blackbird Paul McCartney   1968  NR

The bird song heard at the end is an actual blackbird. 

Bluebird Buffalo Springfield 1967  #58

The banjo solo at the end was played by Charlie Chin whom Stephen Stills knew from his folk music days in Greenwich Village.

White Bird It’s a Beautiful Day 1969 #118

Patti Santos sang the duet with David LaFlamme who also overdubbed all the violin parts.  

Mockingbird Inez and Charlie Foxx     1963   #7 H100   #2 R&B

The track sold over a million copies on the Symbol label.

*White Rabbit    Jefferson Airplane  1967   #8

Composer Grace Slick, who based the song on the Alice stories of Lewis Carroll, has said that the line “Feed your head” was as much about reading as it was about psychedelics. Requested by a listener grateful that the WVBR stream had been restored.

*Wondering Where the Lions Are   Bruce Cockburn 1979  #21

This song was inspired by a dream, according to the lyrics. Requested by Scottie with love for Peggy as well as for you and yours.  

Dead Skunk  Loudon Wainwright III 1973 #16

The song was based on actual events. Wainwright has said, “Someone had already killed [the skunk], but I ran over it.”

The Bird is the Word Rivingtons 1963 #52 H100  #27 R&B

This was the follow up to “Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow” and had a similar chord progression. The melody was copied by the Trashmen in 1964 as “Surfin’ Bird.

*A Horse with No Name  America  1971  #1

America recorded the track in London.

*Monkey Man   Rolling Stones   1969

This Stones deep track has one of the coolest intros in their repertoire. Bill Wyman played vibraphone, Nicky Hopkins played piano and Keith Richards played the superb slide guitar.  NR

7:00

Some Kind of Wonderful   Drifters  1961  #6 RB  #32 H100

Ben E. King had left the group by this point, and Rudy Lewis (on the right in the photo below) sang lead on this Goffin King composition.

Won’t Get Fooled Again The Who   1971    #15

This was the last song Keith Moon played live.

Eye of the Tiger    Survivor  1982   #1

The song was written for “Rocky III” and no fewer than three politicians tried to use the song without authorization for their campaigns. They were either issued cease and desist orders or required to pay a licensing fee.

Gloria   Shadows of Knight  1966  #10 

This Chicago quintet recorded a pretty faithful cover of Them’s original, with some AM radio-friendly lyric changes.

Woman    James Gang    1970  DNC

Jimmy Fox (middle in photo below) was the founder and namesake of the James Gang trio, and one of the composers of this song.

Pick Up the Pieces   Average White Band   1974  #1

Malcolm “Molly” Duncan (below right) played the sax solo on this superb Scottish funk side.

Barracuda Heart  1977  #11

A song about an unscrupulous music business executive that Nancy Wilson called “a sophisticated song of rage.” Also, a song with an animal as a metaphor in the title.

Oliver’s Army  Elvis Costello and the Attractions  1979  DNC

A highly charged political song cloaked in music reminiscent of ABBA and the Ronettes.

Use Ta Be My Girl    O’Jays   1978  #1 RB  #4 H 100

Walter Williams (below left) sang lead on the track and he still has many admirers.

The Only Living Boy in New York   Simon and Garfunkel  1970  NR

The “Tom” mentioned in the song is Art Garfunkel who was half of Simon and Garfunkel’s original stage name of Tom and Jerry. Simon wrote and recorded this track while Garfunkel was shooting Catch-22 in Mexico. This track is considered one of Joe Osborn’s most evocative performances on bass.

Make Me Smile   Chicago  1970  #9

This was Chicago’s breakthrough hit that re-kindled interest in tracks that had been previously released but sold poorly.  Danny Seraphine was the group's drummer.

That’s the Way   Honeycombs  1964

Honey Lantree was one of the first female rock drummers of note. She also sang harmony on this track.

Knocking on Heaven’s Door    Dolly Parton and Ladysmith Black Mambazo (with Bonnie Raitt on slide guitar)  1997

Sweet Transvestite   Tim Curry  1975   NR

Tim Curry died on August 25th. Curry’s work in Rocky Horror did much to bring cross-dressing and gender fluidity into general public awareness.

8:00

*Werewolves of London   Warren Zevon  1978  #21

In 1975, Jackson Browne performed this song in concert before Warren Zevon recorded the song for his Excitable Boy album in 1978.

Grey Seal    Elton John   B-side  1973

Lyricist Bernie Taupin has stated that even though he wrote the song, he has never understood what it means.

Year of the Cat    Al Stewart  1976   #8

The song took some inspiration from the film “Casablanca.” The song was written and recorded during the Vietnamese Year of the Cat.

*Islands in the Stream   Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers   1982  #1 H 100   #1 CW    #1 AC

Written by the Bee Gees. Requested by JR.

Foxy (Foxey) Lady   Jimi Hendrix  1968  #67

This was Jimi’s third single in the U.S. and used the spelling of “Foxey” on the label.  Hendrix used a dominant seventh sharp ninth chord, which came to be known as the “Hendrix chord.” Musician and author John Perry wrote that the Hendrix chord is “the whole of the blues scale condensed into a single chord.” The titular foxy lady was reputed to be Lithofayne "Faye" Pridgon seen below with Hendrix.

Little Red Rooster     Sam Cooke   1963   #11 H100, #7 R&B

Sam Cooke adapted this Willie Dixon blues shouter to a smooth R&B track. You can hear Cooke calling out to a young Billy Preston who created with his keyboard the impression of a rooster crowing and dogs barking.

Bird Dog Everly Brothers   1958  #2 H100, #2 R&B  #1 CW

After rejecting the idea of using a ventriloquist doing the voice of TV puppet Farfel the Dog, Don Everly voiced the spoken lyrics.

Too Many Fish in the Sea Marvelettes    1965   #25 H100  #15 R&B

This was one of the first hit singles written by Norman Whitfield.

See You Later Alligator   Bill Haley  1956  #6

The high pitched spoken opening of the record was voiced by lead guitarist Franny Beecher.

Wildfire  Michael Martin Murphey  1975   #3

Based on a Native American legend, Murphey has said that the song came to him in a dream, about a ghost horse that his grandfather had told him about. 

Cat in the Window (Bird in the Sky)   Petula Clark  1967  #26

Rockin’ Robin Bobby Day 1958  #2 H100, #1 R&B

Day was the original Bob in the duo Bob and Earl.

Fox on the Run   Manfred Mann  1969  #97

Mustang Sally  Wilson Pickett  1966  #23

This version of the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Walking the Dog Rufus Thomas   1963   #10 H100

Thomas was a master of many trades: singer, songwriter, dancer, dj and mentor to many younger artists associated with Stax Records, such as his daughter Carla Thomas and Otis Redding. 

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

Trivia Answer

The five songs with “bird” in the title were:

Mockingbird, Bluebird, White Bird, The Bird is the Word, Little Red Rooster

Congratulations to Greg from Ithaca for correctly answering the question and winning a pair of passes to Cinemapolis, downtown Ithaca’s home for first-run, international, independent and local films.

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

CW = Billboard’s chart for country and western records

RB = Billboard’s chart of rhythm and blues records

Host September 5, 2026: Jan Hunsinger 

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!

August 22, 1926 - JS - 23 Years On Remnants!

 

 

 

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: 8/22/26

Host:  John Simon

Feature:  23^rd Anniversary Show

 

 Tonight's Rockin' Remnants radio show marks my 23rd anniversary as a show host. Talk about a blink of an eye! I've spun a lot of records over the years and it's still one of my favorite things in the world to do. Come on by any time between 6-9pm and be part of the celebration! Big hits, B-sides, lost nuggets and your requests. See you on the radio....

 

Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia 

 

On my last show I played fifteen songs that contained the numbers 1, 2 and 3. Name three of them (plus the artist) and win a prize!

 

(scroll down to find the answer below the playlist – and to find a glossary of terms)

 

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)

 

A Little Bit o’ Soul – Music Explosion (8/67; #2 for two weeks – they were an Ohio garage band with one lone hit record, but what a hit it was: crunchy and loud with a killer guitar riff and some wild drumming with an infectious chorus. One of Laurie Records’ biggest hits of the year!)

 

  

You’re My Everything – Temptations (8/67; #6 Pop, #3 R&B – yet another great single from the Temptations at the peak of their powers. This one gives tenor Eddie Kendrick and baritone David Ruffin a chance to trade off as lead singers, over a majestic musical bed. I love this record.)

  

Windy – Association (7/67; at #16 this week, down from four weeks at #1 – California songwriter Ruthann Friedman is one of the many voices on this stunning single from The Summer of Love. That’s session player Hal Blaine on those drum fills and his counterpart Joe Osborn on bass, and this song was #1 for the entire month of July.)

 

  

Hypnotized – Linda Jones (8/67; #21 Pop, #4 R&B – she recorded for the tiny Loma Records label, and this was the label’s best-selling single of all time. She’d go on to team with Philadelphia writer/producers Gamble & Huff, but would die suddenly before she really could make her mark.)

  

 

Don’t Let the Rain Fall Down On Me – Critters (8/67; peaking at #39 – they were a quintet from northern NJ who had a short but fertile run on the charts before the military draft stopped them in their tracks. This was their final Top 40 single, and we’re hearing my original 45 on the air tonight.)

  

Over the Rainbow – Demensions (8/60; #16 – they were three teenagers from Christopher Columbus High School in the Bronx, joined by one of the singers’ uncles at the last minute for this recording. Hundreds of versions of this song have been released, but few have actually charted. This one did quite well!)

  

Blue Summer – Royalettes (8/63; #121 – they were a Baltimore quartet who briefly recorded for Chancellor Records in Philadelphia, and this one never broke through – but it might have, had it been released earlier in the season. That’s total conjecture on my part. If nothing else, it qualifies as a “lost nugget.”)

 

 

 

*  I Thank You – Sam & Dave (1/68; #9 Pop, #4 R&B – listener Greg has just finished a book about Stax Records and really wanted to hear something from that label. This one was written by the team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter, and the session players were Booker T & The MGs along with The Memphis Horns. That’s about as “Stax” as you can get!)

  

*  Here Comes My Baby – Tremeloes (4/67; #13 - recorded as though it's at a party - or a raucous club - this was one of the first big radio hits written by Cat Stevens. Original frontman Brian Poole had left the group a year prior, but they did fine on their own. And a few years later a raunchy Chicago Blues bar band led by a certain Pete Panek did a Ramones-flavored version of this song! No lie.)

 

 

On a Summer Night – Sugar Canyon (8/68; dnc – here’s another “lost nugget,” released on Buddah Records but never making any kind of noise on the charts. It’s a gentle little number that captures the vibes of a lazy summer night in a lakeside town – a lot like ours.)

 

  

Because – Dave Clark 5 (8/64; headed to #3 – they stormed onto the scene in the immediate wake of The Beatles, and for a while they were The Beatles’ primary British competition. Their previous singles had all been stomping rockers, but this was completely different from anything they’d previously released – and it’s gone on to be remembered as one of their greatest contributions.)

  

In the Misty Moonlight – Jerry Wallace (7/64; headed to #19 – he held his own in the face of the British Invasion and would score a few more crossover hits after this one, but he’d soon relocate to Nashville and go on to chart 35 additional singles on the Country charts.)

 

 

*  Make It With You – Bread (8/22/70; #1 – this record peaked at #1 for one week on this very date, and would herald the arrival of David Gates’ new band. They’d churn out a bunch of great singles over the next few years. This one goes out from Cheryl to John.)

 

 

*  Suavecito – Malo (4/72; #18 – they were a Bay-area Latin Rock band boasting a guitar player with a famous brother from another Bay-area Latin Rock band. One guy was Jorge and the other was Carlos. This one goes out to Peggy from Scottie on his birthday week.)

 

                                                                        

 

7-8pm

 

 Birthday Calendar

 

August 17 – Gary Talley (Boxtops) – age 79 

 

 

August 18 – Maxine Brown – age 87

            – Sarah Dash (LaBelle) – born in 1945

            – Barbara Harris (Toys) – born in 1945

 

 

August 19 – Ginger Baker (Cream) – 1939

            – Johnny Nash – 1940

     – Billy J. Kramer – age 83

 

 

August 20 – Isaac Hayes – 1942

            – Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin) – age 78

 

 

August 21 – Kenny Rogers – born in 1938

            – James Burton – age 87

            – Jackie DeShannon – age 85

            –Carl Giammarese (Buckinghams) – 79

 

 

August 22 – John Lee Hooker – born 1917

            – Ron Dante (Cuff-Links) – age 81

 

 

The Letter – Box Tops (9/67; #1 for four weeks – they were a bunch of young guys from Memphis who were in the right place at the right time. Producers Chips Moman and Dan Penn helped them create this out-of-the-blue smash hit, with Gary Talley on guitar and 16-year old Alex Chilton singing lead. It was the beginning of a beautiful relationship born at American Sound Studios.)

 

 

Oh No Not My Baby – Maxine Brown (10/64; #24 – legend has it that Scepter Records sent Maxine home with a demo of this Carole King song, and as she played it over and over she heard a bunch of neighborhood kids starting to sing the chorus over and over as they skipped rope. That’s when she knew that it would be a hit.)

 

 

I Met Him On a Sunday – Laura Nyro w/ LaBelle (11/71; dnc – the Gonna Take A Miracle LP was a collaborative project between Bronx native Laura Nyro and Philadelphia natives Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash, recorded under the guidance of Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff. It became something of a cult classic, and this is the track that opened the record. Each member gets to sing about a particular day of the week. That’s Sarah Dash on “Tuesday.”)

 

 

A Lovers Concerto – The Toys (9/65; #2 for three weeks – The Toys were a trio from the borough of Queens who were gifted with a solid gold piece of music. The melody was from an 18^th century Minuet in G, often attributed to JS Bach. It sold two million copies and was the biggest hit for the Dyno Voice Records label in its history. Barbara Harris sings the lead.)

  

White Room – Cream (10/68; #6 – they had a short shelf life, but Cream was one of the first of the “supergroup” trios of the era. Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker released only six singles, and only two of them reached the Top 20. Rolling Stone ranks this one at #376 in the RS500, and tonight we hear the LP version which really showcases Ginger’s drumming.)

 

 

Whole Lotta Love – Led Zeppelin (11/69; #4 – speaking of British Rock royalty….this one is ranked at #75 in the RS500, and is the reworking of an old Blues song that was attributed to Page, Jones, Bonham and singer Robert Plant. Tonight we hear the edited single version, which lops out a psychedelic freak-out section and cuts directly to the chase.)

  

From a Window – Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas (8/64; #23 – these guys had the good fortune of having Brian Epstein as a manager, and that gave them access to a bunch of Lennon-McCartney discards. Several of them became big hits – including a version of “Do You Want to Know a Secret” that topped the UK charts. This is one that you don’t hear that often. Happy birthday, Billy!)

 

 

Hold Me Tight – Johnny Nash (8/68; #5 – Johnny got his start in Houston, TX and was promoted as a Johnny Mathis-type crooner. Eventually, he relocated to Kingston, Jamaica where recording was less expensive and where he was introduced to Ska and Rock Steady music. Before long, he wrote and recorded this song in the Rock Steady style and was well on the way to reinventing himself!)

 

 

Walk On By – Isaac Hayes (8/69; #30 Pop, #13 R&B – he was one of the primary songwriters for the Stax Records family, but his debut album as a performer consisted of extended interpretations of other great songwriters like Burt Bacharach and Jimmy Webb. This single was edited down from a 9+ minute track on that album, and paved the way to a long and fruitful career as a singer.)

 

 

Hello Mary Lou – Ricky Nelson (5/61; #9 – this B-side was paired with the #1 “Travelin’ Man” and did quite well on its own. Ricky’s sidekick and guitarist James Burton plays the blistering guitar solo, and would later go onto greater fame and glory as a prolific session player and Elvis’ touring guitarist.)

 

 

When You Walk In the Room – Jackie DeShannon (1/64; #99 – Jackie was a guitar player/songwriter/singer who deserved greater recognition back in the day. She DID tour Europe on a bill with Roy Orbison and The Beatles, where she became involved with session guitarist Jimmy Page and where The Searchers may have discovered her. Two of her records led to big hits for those guys. Perhaps this one was ahead of its time.)

 

 

Don’t You Care – Buckinghams (3/67; #6 – 1967 was a banner year for the Chicago quintet. They charted FIVE Top 20 singles – plus a #41 record from their first label – within the calendar year, leading Billboard to label them “The Most Listened to Band in America.” Sadly, their producer James William Guercio would leave after that final single to produce two big horn bands that were about to blow up, and that would signal the end of The Buckinghams’ impressive run. Carl Giammarese plays those cool guitar licks in the middle of the song.)

 

 

Tracy – Cuff-Links (9/69; #9 – Ron Dante was a NY-based session singer who voiced a lot of the commercials you probably have stuck deep in the recesses of your minds. He was also the voice of “Archie Andrews,” leader of The Archies, who had a giant #1 record at the same time that this one was peaking at #9. Neither of those records credited him, but he was the secret ingredient in both. In fact, he was responsible for all of the voices on “Tracy!”)

 

 

                         

Boom Boom – John Lee Hooker (6/62; #60 Pop, #16 R&B – he was one of the great Chicago Blues men of the 20^th Century, born on this date in 1917. The burgeoning British Blues scene owed a whole lot to his influence, and a number of combos cut their teeth on this one. It was released on Vee-Jay Records here in The States and tonight we here a new stereo rendering from the original mono tapes.)

 

 

8-9pm

 

Black Is Black – Los Bravos (8/66; #4 for two weeks – this record was storming up the chart on this date in 1966, opening with a steady drum-and-bass beat, a quirky organ lick and a burst of horns. It was released on the tiny Press Records label and the band really WAS from Spain, with a lead singer who’d been born in Germany. What a record, out of nowhere!)

 

 

Pied Piper – Crispian St. Peters (8/66, down to #7 after peaking at #4 – these two records were going in opposite directions on August 22^nd, but each would have spent two weeks at #4 when all was said and done. His first two hits were covers of Folk-leaning songs, but his bizarre quotes in the press claiming to be a better songwriter than the Beatles and a more dynamic performer than Elvis seemed to sink his chances of really taking off. Still, this one will always remind me of summertime in the old days.)

  

Guantanamera – Sandpipers (8/66; #9 – Pete Seeger had translated Cuban poet Jose Marti’s words into English and adapted it to a traditional melody. The Sandpipers then took Pete’s version – including the spoken recitation before the final verse – and turned it into a Pop radio hit. The thing is that….it worked. What a beautiful record.)

 

 

Fool On The Hill – Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 (8/68; #6 – here, then, is an adaptation of a Beatles song by a South American act – and it ALSO works! Bandleader/keyboardist Mendes put Paul McCartney’s melody to a bossa nova beat and singers Lani Hall and Karen Philipp sing it beautifully. Sigh.)

 

 

1,2,3 Red Light – 1910 Fruitgum Company (8/68; #5 – on my previous show I played a bunch of songs that had the numbers 1-2-3 in them, either lyrically or in the count-off. This wasn’t one of them, but I’m playing this as people try to remember what some of them were [see our trivia contest at the top]. Dial carefully….)

 

Good Lovin’ – Young Rascals (4/66; #1 – this one has a classic 1-2-3 count-off that – in stereo – goes from speaker to speaker with three different voices. It had been a fairly non-remarkable recording by a group called The Olympics, but The Young Rascals turned it into pure magic and took it straight to #1.)

 

 

1-2-3 – Chambers Brothers (8/74; #121 Cash Box – well, we’ve had a winner but I’m still playing one more to round out the trifecta. The Chambers Brothers did a remarkably solid job covering Len Barry’s big hit from 1965, but it never came close to charting on Billboard and barely squeaked into the Cash Box Bubbling Under chart. Here it is on an Avco Records 45.)

 

 

Long May You Run – Stills-Young Band (9/76; dnc – this was the opening title track of a one-off album from two on-again/off-again band mates, and it never charted as a single. As with many of Neil Young’s songs, the subject of the lyrics is open to interpretation. In this case it really IS about a car, and tonight we hear the vinyl LP version, which is different from CD versions.)

 

 

Ridin’ In My Car – NRBQ (7/77; dnc – this is one of my perennial summertime favorites from the Connecticut-based touring band. Singer/guitarist Al Wilson wrote it and the band released it as a single, but the label’s limited promotion and distribution budgets kept it from reaching enough ears to chart.)

  

Don’t Worry Baby – Beach Boys (5/64; #24 – speaking of “car songs,” here’s one of the best of them all. Brian Wilson wrote it after hearing The Ronettes’ “Be My Baby,” and then offered it to Phil Spector. When Phil rejected it, Brian and the boys recorded it and released it as the B-side of “I Get Around.” That song went all the way to #1, and Rolling Stone ranks the B-side at #178 in their RS500.)

 

 

45 Corner: Summer Place ’76 (The Theme From "A Summer Place") – Percy Faith & His Orchestra (7/76; #111 – one of the most successful movie themes of the Sixties was Percy Faith’s “Theme from ‘A Summer Place,’” which spent nine weeks at #1 in 1960. Sixteen years later someone convinced him to try to cash in on the Disco craze by recording a zippier version, and this is it. It never quite broke through, but here it is on a 7” Columbia single. You can’t keep a good melody down.)

 

 

Fakin’ It – Simon & Garfunkel (8/68; #23 – we’ll close tonight’s show with two groovy tunes from our opening chart date of August 1968. The beginning and ending of the song consist of a slightly jarring bit of cacophony, thanks to producer John Simon. The middle of the song features a funny little spoken interlude. Perhaps the most fun fact about the 45 is that Paul had the 3:14 song listed as 2:74 on the label to possibly “fake out” radio programmers who were reluctant to play songs that exceeded a three-minute limit.)

 

 

Zip Code – Five Americans (8/68; #36 – their first big hit was “Western Union,” which reached #5 back in the spring of ‘67. Subsequent releases didn’t fare as well, so they decided to revert to the original formula – with “zip-zip-zip code” mirroring the “dit-di-di-di-dit”s of the original. It sort of worked, but the novelty had worn off. I, though, have a fondness for the fact that “1-double-0-3-6” was on the letter. I grew up in the 10032 version. I know that actual neighborhood! See you next month, everybody.)

  

 

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

 

 

TRIVIA ANSWER: 

 

The entire playlist can be found on the 7/22 blog post, but the winner cited “Land of 1,000 Dances” by Wilson Pickett, “It’s As Easy as 1-2-3” by Jan & Dean and “Ball of Confusion” by The Temptations.

 

Congratulations to Dave from the East Hill, for correctly answering the question and winning a pair of passes 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 (8/29/26):  Gregory James with a theme about Animals in song titles.

 

 

Thanks for tuning in - and for voting us Ithaca's Best Local Radio Show in this year's 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!