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: Dec 28, 2013
Host: John Simon
Features: 12-28-61
It’s
a quiet Saturday night on the hill – the students are away for break, it’s cold
and dark and it’s the Saturday between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, so there
are very few ads and/or giveaways. A perfect night for a trip back to an
earlier time when old-style vocal groups were still in top form and the “Girl
Group” phenomenon had not yet kicked into gear. Exciting things were brewing in
Detroit, where Berry Gordy’s recording team had just scored their first #1 Pop
hit with their premier female group The Marvelettes. Nobody knew what it all
meant, but….here come The Sixties!
Birthday Calendar
Dec 23 – Maurice Gibb – born in 1949
– Robin Gibb – born in 1949
Dec 24 – Lee Dorsey – born in 1924
Dec 26 – Abdul “Duke” Fakir (Four Tops) – age 78
– Phil Spector – age 73
Dec 27 – Mike Pinder (Moody Blues) – age 72
Dec 28 – Edgar Winter – age 67
– Alex Chilton – born in 1950
Playlist
[songs in bold are from the spotlight date of 12-28-61; 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)
The Lion Sleeps Tonight – The Tokens [in its 2nd of three weeks at #1, this record would re-chart 30 years later thanks to its appearance in Disney’s “Lion King” movie]
Run
To Him – Bobby Vee [peaking
at #2 this week]
Please
Mr. Postman – Marvelettes [down
to #7 after reaching the top of the Pop charts – and after a 7-week run at #1
on the R&B charts].
Can’t
Help Falling in Love – Elvis Presley [at #10 this week, headed to
#2]
Unchain My Heart – Ray Charles [at #14
this week, headed to a peak of #9 Pop and two weeks at #1 R&B]
* El Paso – Marty Robbins [the first #1 record of the 1960s, this request was prompted by the
song’s inclusion in the finale of the HBO series “Breaking Bad”]
Scarborough Fair – Simon & Garfunkel [reached #11 in
March of 1968]
What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve – Nancy Wilson [12/65; reached #17 on Billboard’s Christmas
chart]
* Since You Showed Me How to Be Happy – Jackie Wilson
[12/67; #32 Pop; #22 R&B]
Take a Look – Irma Thomas [11/65; only reached #118 on
the Pop chart]
Devil In Her Heart – The Beatles [from the US Capitol LP
“Beatles Second Album”]
In and Out of Love – Diana Ross & the Supremes
[11/67; #9 Pop; The first release to give
Ms. Ross top billing]
Town
Without Pity – Gene Pitney [at #36, headed to #13]
It
Will Stand – Showmen [down
to #78 from a peak of #61 Pop; written and sung by Norman “General” Johnson,
who would later form the group Chairmen of The Board]
Well…All Right – Buddy Holly [12/58; the b-side to “Heartbeat,” this song
would be recorded ten years later by Blind Faith]
7-8pm (birthdays, etc)
Ya
Ya – Lee Dorsey [just down from #7 Pop and #1 R&B]
Shake Me, Wake Me – Four Tops [2/66; #18]
Ain’t No Woman Like the One I Got – Four Tops [2/73; #4
Pop]
New York Mining Disaster 1941 – Bee Gees [5/67; #14;
their U.S. chart debut]
Too Much Heaven – Bee Gees [11/78; #1 (2 weeks); their 4th of six consecutive #1
singles, making them the most successful group of the ‘70s]
I Shall Be Released – Box Tops [4/69; #67 Pop, surprisingly making this the most successful
single released of this Dylan classic]
I’m In Love With a Girl – Big Star [written and sung by Alex Chilton
Cry Like a Baby – Box Tops [3/68; #2 * mono single
version]
* Theme From Valley of The Dolls – Dionne Warwick [1/68;
#2 (for 4 weeks!)]
* Sunlight
– Jesse Colin Young [Warner Brothers 45 released in 1976; dnc]
Pony With the Golden Mane – Every Mothers’ Son [11/67;
#93]
When I Fall In Love – The Lettermen [at #13, headed to #7]
‘Til
– Angels [at #17, headed to #14]
Smoky
Places – Corsairs [debuting at #95, headed to #12 Pop]
8-9pm (70s happy hour)
* Walkin’ After Midnight – Patsy Cline [2/57; #12 Pop, reissued as a single after her death in 1963]
Funny
How Time Slips Away – Jimmy Elledge [at #31, headed to #22 Pop;
written by Willie Nelson]
Hard Candy Christmas – Dolly Parton [11/82; #8 C&W; from the film “Best Little Whorehouse in
Texas,” starring Dolly Parton]
(Our Love) Don’t Throw It All Away – Andy Gibb [10/78;
#9]
Sentimental Lady – Bob Welch [10/77; #8; A re-recording of his Fleetwood Mac
composition (notice the writing credit on the Mac 45 is "R. Welch"), this one features background vocals by former band mates Christine
McVie and Lindsey Buckingham]
Tobacco Road – Edgar Winter [1972; did not chart]
Mr. Sun – Lettermen [b-side
of “Volare” from 1967; a remarkable slice of psychedelic Sunshine Pop]
Lost Her in the Sun – John Stewart [12/79; #34]
* Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) – Marvin Gaye [7/71; #4;
#1 R&B (2 weeks)]
Whenever I Call You Friend – Kenny Loggins [7/78; #5]
Don’t Mess With Bill – Marvelettes [1/66; #7]
I
Understand – G-Clefs [down to #38 Pop after peaking at #9]
Turn Around, Look At Me – Glen Campbell [10/61; #62]
Watching and Waiting – Moody Blues [11/69; released as a single on their new Threshold
label with great hopes of surpassing the success of “Nights in White Satin.”
The single was a gigantic flop.]
CLOSING THEME: Sleepwalk – Santo & Johnny (1959, #1 for two weeks)
Host Next Week (Jan 4): John Simon with a spotlight on the songs of early Jan 1969
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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