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!)
Date: November 30, 2013
Host: John Simon
Features: 1963
Birthday Calendar
Nov 25 – Percy Sledge – age 72
– Donald “Duck” Dunn (Booker T & the MGs) – born in 1941
Nov 26 – Jean Terrell (The Supremes) – age 69
– John McVie (Fleetwood Mac) – age 68
Nov 29 – Felix Cavaliere (Young Rascals) – age 70
– Peter “Herman” Noone (Herman’s Hermits) – age 66
Nov 30 – Noel “Paul” Stookey (Peter, Paul, & Mary) – age 76
Welcome to the annual John Simon Birthday Show (always found on the Saturday after Thanksgiving). This year is a big birthday for JS: the fiftieth anniversary of his 10th birthday. It’s also the fiftieth anniversary of the death of President John F. Kennedy. Tonight – let’s listen in on the sounds that were on the radio and jukeboxes the week that a mourning nation tried to pick up the pieces and return to some semblance of normalcy. History has shown that things would never quite be the same; a significant shift was beginning to get ready to explode in the pop culture scene…
Playlist
[songs in bold are from the spotlight date of 11-30-63; 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]
6-7pm
OPENING THEME: Good Old Rock ‘n’ Roll – Cat Mother & the All-Night Newsboys (1969, #29, produced by Jimi Hendrix)
I’m
Leaving It Up to You – Dale & Grace [the #1 record in the
land on 11/30/63]
Sugar Shack – Jimmy Gilmer & Fireballs [#4, down from 4 weeks at
#1]
Have
You Heard – The Duprees [at #32, headed to #18 - a throwback to the Doo Wop sounds of the
late ‘50s]
I
Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight – Barry & The Tamerlanes [at
#22, headed to #21. (Note: this is a completely different song than "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite" by Boyce and Hart, which would peak at #8 in 1968.) Barry DeVorzon would go on to found the Valiant Records
label and would reappear on the charts with “Nadia’s Theme” in the Spring of
1976.]
Popsicles
& Icicles – The Murmaids [at #63, headed all the way
to two weeks at #3. This one-hit wonder
confection was written and produced by a young David Gates, who would
eventually form the popular ‘70s band called Bread.]
* Don’t Go To Strangers – Etta Jones [11/60; #36 – an
uncharacteristically long (3:54) Jazz ballad, going out to listener Augie
Rosetti, with a birthday just today!]
Wonderful World – Sam Cooke [5/60; #12; this is a rare
stereo version found on the 3-CD box set called “Amazing Early ‘60s Box: 88
Hard-To-Find-Hits” from Eric Records]
* Johnny Angel – Shelley Fabares [#1 for 2 weeks in the
Spring of ’62, dedicated to The DJ from Barbara in Danby ;)]
I’ve Been Lonely Too Long – The Young Rascals [1/67; #16,
a sneak-peek at Felix Cavaliere’s birthday tribute. The Rascals’ acclaimed
musical revue “Once Upon a Dream” played Syracuse last weekend, gearing up for
a limited run on Broadway. JS says “thumbs-up!”]
Girl, Why You Want to Make Me Blue – Temptations [9/64;
#26, foreshadowing next week’s Temptations show at the State Theatre here in
Ithaca]
Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa – Gene Pitney [at #18, headed to #17. Another classic off the pens of Bacharach and David]
*
Dominique – Singing Nun [poised to take over the #1 slot for
the entire month of December of 1963]
In My Room – Beach Boys [at #38, headed to #23; the b-side of “Be
True to Your School,” which would eventually reach #6]
7-8pm (birthdays and more)
Hang ‘Em High – Booker T & The MG'S [11/68; #9] From the Clint Eastwood "Spaghetti Western" of the same name.
Take Time to Know Her – Percy Sledge [3/68; #11]
Stoned Love – Supremes [11/70; #7 Pop, #1 R&B]
Over My Head – Fleetwood Mac [11/75; #20, their first Top
20 hit. This is the album version (which is different from the 45 version
played on last week’s show by JR).]
A Ray of Hope – Rascals [12/68; #24. The band had dropped
the “Young” from their name and gotten decidedly more topical. This song was
written for and dedicated to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, the younger surviving
brother of two assassinated brothers.]
Wedding Song (There Is Love) – Paul Stookey [7/71; #24]
He Was a Friend of Mine – The Byrds [new words to this
old folk song were written by Roger McGuinn the night JFK was killed; this was
recorded for and released on their “Turn! Turn! Turn!” LP in early 1965]
The Warmth of the Sun – Beach Boys [written by Brian
Wilson the night of JFK’s assassination as a form of “music therapy” for the
bereft songwriter]
Abraham, Martin & John – Dion [10/68; #4. Two different people called in to hear this
one; this is the mono 45 version on Laurie Records, created to sound especially
good on AM radio.]
Forget Him – Bobby Rydell [at #49, headed to #4. This was the final
Top 40 record of this Rock ‘n’ Roll teen idol’s career. The British were
coming, and musical trends were shifting. Ironically, his next-to-final
charting single would be a recording of “A World Without Love,” written by
Lennon-McCartney. British singers Peter & Gordon would take it to #1, while
Bobby Rydell’s version (released on the same day) would stall at #80.]
She Loves You – The Beatles [released in September of 1963, this
record would flounder until re-released after the astounding success of “I Want
to Hold Your Hand” in January of 1964. The irony here? John Lennon has stated
that this record was actually their attempt to answer Bobby Rydell’s recording
called “Forget Him.”]
It’s Growing – Temptations [4/65; #18, #3 R&B]
8-9pm (70s hour)
* Looking for An Echo – Kenny Vance & The Planotones
[released in September of 1975 with a gigantic thud.]
Venus – Shocking Blue [#1 for one week in February of
1970]. See image below under "Frankie".
Poor Poor Pitiful Me – Linda Ronstadt [1/78; #31, words
and music by Warren Zevon]
Darling Be Home Soon – Association [5/72; #104, words
& music by John Sebastian]
Once You Get Started – Rufus featuring Chaka Khan [2/75;
#10]
Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me) – Temptations
[4/71; #1 Pop & R&B (2 weeks)]
Time Passages – Al Stewart [9/78; #7 Pop]
Holidays Are Comin’ (vintage Coca Cola radio commercial)
* Snoopy’s Christmas – Royal Guardsmen [11/67; perennial
holiday hit]
Sukiyaki – A Taste of Honey [3/81; #3 Pop (3 weeks), #1
R&B]
* Lost in The Fifties Tonight – Ronnie Milsap [1985; #1
C&W (2 weeks), going out to our birthday buddy Augie Rosetti]
Pretty Paper – Roy Orbison [at #111 this week in 1963, headed to #15 on
the Pop Chart]
9-9:20 pm (JS runs overtime for the holiday
weekend)
* Have You Heard –
Duprees [at #32, headed to #18. Yes, we played this in Hour #1. It was requested
by a new listener in Binghamton (listening in with her Ithaca son) and we
decided to play it again. In the old days, the big hits were often played once
every hour!]
Turn
Around – Dick & Dee Dee [at #65 this week, headed to
#27, used to great effect in vintage television commercials for Polaroid
cameras in the ‘60s and ‘70s]
* 59th Street Bridge Song – Simon &
Garfunkel [buried on the b-side of S&G’s “At The Zoo” in the Spring of ‘67]
I
Got a Woman – Freddie Scott [at #56, headed to #48]
Venus In Blue Jeans – Jimmy Clanton [8/62; #7, first-time
stereo from the new Eric CD box set mentioned above]
Venus – Frankie Avalon [3/59; #1 for 5 weeks!]
You’re My Everything – Temptations [7/67; #6, featuring a
rare shared lead vocal by Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin]
CLOSING THEME: Sleepwalk – Santo & Johnny (1959, #1 for two weeks)
Host Next Week (Dec 7): John Simon with a spotlight on December 1967 and some early holiday hits!
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 at wvbr.com/listen.
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