May 2, 2026 - JS - Sounds of Early May

 

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:  5/2/26

Host:  John Simon

Feature:  Sounds of Early May

 

 

 I'm back on Rockin' Remnants tonight from 6-9pm with a bunch of songs from early May (from back in the day). Weather updates, cool bits of trivia (and backstory) and good company on a Saturday night. Airing on 93.5 locally and streaming around the world at wvbr dot com. There's something for everyone and it won't cost you a cent!

  

 

 

Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia

Two songs were played during the birthday calendar that had reached #1 by other artists. What were they?

 

 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)

 

First of May – Bee Gees (5/69; at #48, down from #37 – this is about as close to the first of May that you can get, musically. Seven of the brothers’ first eight singles reached the Top Twenty, and casual observers may have assumed that were losing their touch. On the contrary, they would prove that they could change with the times, and go on to become one of the biggest-selling acts of the 20^th Century.)

 

 

Grazing in the Grass – Friends of Distinction (5/69; at #35, headed to #5 Pop, #3 R&B – they had started as members of an LA vocal group that included members of the group that had become the 5^th Dimension, and this was their debut single: a vocal version of the Hugh Masekela hit from the previous summer. It burst out of the speakers all summer long, and had countless kids trying to say I-can-dig-it-she-can-dig-it-he-can-dig-it as fast as they could!)

 

 

Too Busy Thinking About My Baby – Marvin Gaye (5/69; at #54, headed to #14 Pop, #1 for six weeks R&B – Marvin’s previous single had spent seven weeks at the top of both the R&B chart and the Pop chart, and this one spent another six weeks atop the R&B chart. In between the two, there was also a Top 5 duet hit with Tammi Terrell. He was suddenly Motown’s hottest commodity.)

 

 

Will You Be Staying After Sunday – Peppermint Rainbow (5/69; peaking at #32 – hailing from Baltimore, this group featured sisters Bonnie and Patty Lamdin and was signed to Decca Records. Their recording career was brief, but I’ve been informed that Rockin’ Remnants luminary John Rudan bought this single when he was a kid in Collegetown.)

 

 

Theme from Hawaii Five-0 – Ventures (5/69; at #8, headed to #4 – although this record was attributed to the Ventures, it appears that it may have been recorded by assorted members of LA’s famed “Wrecking Crew” while the group was touring around the country. Either way, the record helped to promote the TV show and vice versa, and they’re inextricably linked forever.)

 

 

The Last Time – Rolling Stones (5/65; #9 – three of the group’s first four singles were R&B covers, but starting in 1965 Jagger & Richards became two of the most prolific co-writers in the world. This one was even more popular in the UK, where it spent four weeks at #1.)

 

 

*  Ariel – Dean Friedman (4/77; #26 – this goes out at the behest of listener Barbara, and is one of the quirkiest and coolest rockin’ tunes of the decade. It was also Friedman’s only charting single, making him a member of the club dubbed “One-hit Wonders!”)

  

*  Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me – Mel Carter (7/65; #8 – he’d recorded a string of lush hits for the Imperial Records label, and this one features the drums of The Wrecking Crew’s Hal Blaine. Tonight it goes out as a birthday dedication to the woman that listener Tom Preston calls “Saint Karen.” He calls her this because she’s been married to him for all these years, and he’s convinced that only a saint could made that work.)

 

 

Raindrops – Dee Clark (5/61; #2 – I was so prepared for a rainy weather report that I came loaded with rain songs. This is a classic, starting with a low rumble of thunder and stormy sound effects, and Dee works himself into a feverish pitch by the end.)

  

Mountain of Love – Harold Dorman (4/60; #21 Pop, #7 R&B – he, too, was a bona fide One-Hit Wonder, and this is the record that made it so. It was basically a songwriting demo that had strings and a choir added after the fact, and it was an unexpected hit for Rita Records. Johnny Rivers would take his own version to the Top Ten three years later, and Charley Pride would take it all the way to #1 on Country radio in 1981.)

 

 

Love (Can Make You Happy) – Mercy (4/69; at #15 this week, headed to #2 for two weeks – this was another surprise hit for a small record label. Mercy was a Florida-based wedding band, and this record – with its octave-apart unison vocal line and dreamy background – put Sundi Records on the map. The group quickly signed with Warner Brothers Records, but they, too, were basically a one-hit wonder.)

 

 

I Can’t See Myself Leaving You – Aretha Franklin (4/69; at #33, headed to #28 Pop and #3 R&B – she’d charted twelve consecutive Top Twenty Pop hits since signing with Atlantic Records, and that doesn’t include several lower-charting B-sides. This one certainly should have been one, too – and it remains a favorite of mine.)

  

*  With a Little Luck – Wings (5/78; #1 for two weeks – this was a big #1 record for Paul & Linda McCartney’s group and it goes out from Scottie to Peggy on this Saturday night.)

 

  

 

7-8pm

 

 Birthday Calendar

 

 

April 26 – Duane Eddy – born in 1938

            – Maurice Williams (Gladiolas) – born 1938

            – Bobby Rydell – born in 1942

     – Ronny Wilkins (Daytonas) – born 1946

 

 

April 27 – Cuba Gooding (Main Ingredient) – born 1944

            – Pete Ham (Badfinger) – born 1947

            – Sheena Easton – age 67

 

 

April 28 – April Stevens – born in 1929

            – Willie Nelson – age 93

            – Bob Miranda (Happenings) – age 84

            – Tommy James – age 79

            – Tammi Terrell – born in 1945

April 30 – Bobby Vee – born in 1943

         

May 1 – Judy Collins – age 87

            – Rita Coolidge – age 81

 

May 2 – Lesley Gore – born in 1946

            

 

Theme from A Summer Place – Duane Eddy (7/64; dnc – his hit-making days were winding down, but his signature twangy guitar sound made just about anything sound better. This had been a giant hit for Percy Faith and his orchestra, and found its way onto the B-side of a non-charting single for Duane Eddy.)

 

 

Sandy – Ronny & The Daytonas (1/66; #27 – Ronny Wilkins was from a songwriting family, and got his start with a giant hot rod hit in “Little GTO.” Here we hear his mellower side, and he’d go on to produce a prolific amount of music well into the Seventies, mostly in Nashville.)

 

 

Little Darlin’ – Gladiolas (4/57; #41 Pop, #11 R&B – Maurice Williams was the writer of some big hits, and sang lead on this percussion-filled number. A cover by Canadian group The Diamonds would be a bigger hit, but my sources tell me that THIS was the version that was the favorite at Ithaca High School back in the day.)

 

 

A World Without Love – Bobby Rydell (5/64; #80 – this would prove to be Bobby’s last gasp after a prolific run of Pop hits on Philadelphia’s Cameo-Parkway Records label, largely due to the British Invasion of 1964. Ironically, he attempted to keep up with the times by recording a Paul McCartney composition. Unfortunately, a British version was released by Peter & Gordon on the very same day as his, and their version rocketed to #1. His petered out at #80, and he was done.)

    

 

Baby Blue – Badfinger (5/72; #14 – they were a great band that had been signed to Apple Records, where Paul McCartney had given them their first big record and where George Harrison would help produce their next big hit. “Baby Blue” was produced under the guidance of American rocker Todd Rundgren, and each of their singles was a thing of beauty. However…they’d flame out within another year or so, and become a sad and cautionary tale in music history.)

  

You Could Have Been with Me – Sheena Easton (11/81; #15 – her big bouncy hits – or her risqué steamy ones – get the most airplay these days, but this remains one of my favorites. It starts quietly and builds and ebbs, she’s accompanied by some killer male back-up vocals, and the chorus is explosive and catchy. She’s 67 this week.)

 

 

Happiness Is Just Around the Bend – Main Ingredient (6/74; #35 Pop, #7 R&B – they were formed in Harlem and had a string of great Soul hits in the Seventies. This cover of the Brian Auger song starts with Cuba Gooding’s signature spoken recitation.)

  

All Strung Out – Nino Tempo & April Stevens (9/66; #26 – they were a brother-and-sister team originally hailing from Niagara Falls in western NY, and eventually landed on the White Whale Records label. This was their debut single for the label and their final Top Forty hit, co-written by Nino himself.)

  

Funny (How Time Slips Away) – Willie Nelson (1965; NR – long before he became a recording artist, Willie was a prolific songwriter. In 1965 RCA released an album called Country Willie: His Own Songs, recorded in Nashville with all of the top session players. This version of the Joe Hinton hit is a prime example. Now 93, Willie has just released his 79^th solo album Dream Chaser!)

 

 

Mirage – Tommy James & Shondells (5/67; #10 – the hits just kept on coming for Tommy and he boys. The inspiration for this one came when the tape from their current hit “I Think We’re Alone Now” was inadvertently played backwards. They liked the sound, wrote words and melody, and….voila! Another Top Ten record!)

 

 

If This World Were Mine – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell (3/68; #68 Pop, #27 R&B – the hits just kept coming for these two, as well. Their big hit “If I Could Build My Whole World Around You” had peaked in January, but deejays started to play the flip side – written by Marvin Gaye. This was it, and it’s a beauty.)

 

 

Where Do I Go/Be-In/Hare Krishna – Happenings (7/69; #66 – the “tribal love rock musical” Hair yielded multiple charting singles by popular artists, and The Happenings were among them. They’d recently left The Tokens’ B.T. Puppy Records for the Jubilee label, and had their final moderately successful record with this medley.)

 

 

 

8-9pm

 

 

What Am I Gonna Do With You – Lesley Gore (8/65; NR – she was a sassy kid from northern New Jersey who’d had a string of singles under the guidance of producer Quincy Jones. This particular album track was never released as a single, but Jack Nitzsche was the arranger and it’s a splendid tune to play on what would’ve been her eightieth birthday.)

 

 

Cook With Honey – Judy Collins (2/73; #32 – this one was written by Valerie Carter, whose greatest success came as a session singer. It was the perfect vehicle for Judy Collins’ lilting voice, and Judy is still singing for appreciative audiences as she embarks on her farewell tour at the age of 87.)

 

 

(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher & Higher – Rita Coolidge (5/77; #2 – she was first thrust into the spotlight as part of Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour and subsequent documentary film, but she went on to cut a string of solo hits through the decade. This one had been a big hit for Jackie Wilson, and was arranged by her brother-in-law Booker T Jones, who plays the organ on the recording.)

 

 

More Than I Can Say – Bobby Vee (2/61; #61 – this was released as the B-side of his novelty record “Staying In,” and actually was a #4 hit in the UK. It would also resurface twenty years later as a big #1 record for Leo Sayer. This was the original version.)

  

*  My Girl Month of May – The Bunch (1972; NR – prompted by our “early May” theme, listener/musicologist Pete suggested this cool cover of an obscure Dion & The Belmonts song. The Bunch consisted of members of the British band Fottheringay, along with some members of Fairport Convention and The Dundee Horns. Those Dundee Horns members would go on to form The Average White Band!)

 

 

Do I Love You – The Ronettes (6/64; #34 – news spread earlier this week that the final remaining member of The Ronettes has passed away at the age of 80. Nedra Talley was Ronnie & Estelle’s cousin, and had left the group to focus on Christian music. Part of her journey led her to be involved in founding the local Covenant Love community in Freeville. It’s a small world, my friends. That's her in the lower right.)

 

 

On & On – Stephen Bishop (5/77; debuting this week at #93 and headed to #11 – this dreamy ballad invokes the tropics, name-drops Sinatra, and is perfect for singing along. Kenny Rankin would later release a very tasty version of his own, but this is the original!)

  

Let Your Love Flow – Bellamy Brothers (#1 on this date in 1976 – this was the debut single for the brother duo from Florida, and they would go on to chart over fifty Country singles in their career. It’s straight up feel-good song with a killer chorus and a big sound, and it was cranked up in the studio on this night.)

 

 

Hello Stranger – Yvonne Elliman (5/77; at #19 this week, headed to #15 – she was born and raised in Honolulu and first reached fame as a cast member in the original stage production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Her career included stints as a session singer and later as an associate of the Bee Gees. This is a faithful cover of Barbara Lewis’ hit from 1965.)

 

 

*  Sailing – Christopher Cross (9/80; #1 - his debut album won a remarkable five Grammy Awards in 1980, and this single alone won three of them. It goes out to Ithaca native Cheryl, listening in on her radio in Florida. Excellent choice!)

 

 

Another Park, Another Sunday – Doobies Brothers (5/74; #32 – this one features intricate guitar interplay and a soaring melody, and seems to have been forgotten by Oldies radio. It’s truly a lost gem.)

 

 

Whistle Stop – Roger Miller (3/74; #86 C&W - I close the show with a quick plug: I'm in the Hangar Theatre's kid show next week, The Probably Improbable Adventures of Robin Hood. I've put the lyrics to music and am joined by a terrific cast of four actors playing multiple roles. I'm no Roger Miller, but it's turned out pretty good. hangartheatre.org for tickets and info.)

 

 

 

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

  

Trivia Answer

Percy Faith had taken “Theme from A Summer Place” to #1 in 1960, and Peter & Gordon did the same with “A World Without Love” in 1964.

 

We had no winner tonight, so the movie tickets are safe!

 

 

 

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 (5/9/26):  Gregory James with a rerun of a show from May 2024 featuring Food in the titles, plus one hour from John Rudan  spotlighting “cold beginnings!”

 

 

 

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!