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: 2/7/15
Host: John Simon
Feature: Spotlight on Early 1958
We've got a loaded birthday calendar this week. Look for special spotlights on session drummer Hal Blaine and Motown songwriter/producer Barrett Strong, along with a tribute to the late Don Covay. We'll start the show with a spotlight on the Billboard sounds of February 1958, we'll fold in your requests, and give away a pair of tickets to see Ira Glass at the State Theatre.
Birthday Calendar
February 1 - Don Everly - age 78
February 2 - Graham Nash (Hollies, CSN) - age 73
February 3 - Dennis Edwards (Temptations) - age 72
- Dave Davies (Kinks) - age 68
- Melanie (Safka) - age 68
February 5 - Hal Blaine (drummer) - age 86
- Barrett Strong - age 74
February 6 - Bob Marley - born in 1945
February 7 - King Curtis - born in 1934
Playlist
[songs in bold are from the spotlight date of DATE; 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)
Don't Let Go - Roy Hamilton (#13 on this date - we open the show with this jumping platter on the Epic Records label)
Silhouettes - The Rays (#3 - this Harlem doo-wop group struck gold when a Philadelphia DJ put this record on continuous loop one night and allegedly fell asleep on the air. Herman's Hermits would later take this song to the Top 5 in 1965)
Maybe - Chantels (#15 Pop * #2 R&B - this was the biggest hit for the prolific Bronx girl group fronted by Arlene Smith.)
* Peggy Sue - Buddy Holly & Crickets (just finishing a three-week run at #3, this was requested by "nearly-4 year old Evan, who's listening with his grandmother in Virginia.")
(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons - Sam Cooke (debuting on this date and headed to #17, this had been a #1 hit for Nat "King" Cole in 1946.)
* When Something is Wrong With My Baby - Sam & Dave (2/67; #42 Pop, #2 R&B - requested by listener Lew, whose wife has been sick for much of the past week.)
Blue Velvet - Moonglows (this was released on the Chess Records label as a single. Although it didn't chart for Bobby Lester & his Moonglows, there were charting versions by The Clovers, The Statues and Bobby Vinton, who took it to #1 in 1963)
Stop her on Sight (S.O.S ) - Edwin Starr (2/66; #48 Pop, #9 R&B - his final release on Detroit's Ric Tic Records label, featuring the uncredited playing of the moonlighting Funk Brothers. A frustrated Berry Gordy signed Starr to his own label to diminish the local competition and to further strengthen his Motown empire.)
Leaving On A Jet Plane - Peter, Paul & Mary (12/69; #1 - penned by an unknown John Denver, who would explode onto the scene in 1971 and go on to become one of the biggest stars of the decade)
Dead End Street - Lou Rawls (4/67; #29 Pop, #3 R&B - the record label lists his monologue as "1:27" and the song itself as "2:10." Most radio stations played the whole thing.)
* Sweet Cherry Wine - Tommy James & Shondells (3/69; #7 - requested by Carolyn in Long Island, home with a cold but with her radio providing companionship and comfort!)
At The Hop - Danny & The Juniors (in its final of seven weeks at #1 - originally written as "Do the Bop.")
Love Me Forever - Four Esquires (just off the chart after peaking at #25. A competing version by Eydie Gorme squeaked one position higher a month later)
* Mr. Blue - Fleetwoods (10/59; #1 - one of two #1 hits for these Seattle teens on the little Dolton Records label)
* Stop Your Sobbin' - Kinks (1964 - from their first LP, this one would be covered by the Pretenders fifteen years later and released a their first single, charting at #34 in the UK)
On the Wings of a Nightingale - Everly Brothers (9/84; #50 - their final charting single, written by Paul McCartney and produced by Dave Edmunds.)
On a Carousel - Hollies (3/67; #11 - the first single to feature the lead vocal of Graham Nash. Two years later he'd leave the band to join up with David Crosby and Stephen Stills.)
* Is This Love - Bob Marley & The Wailers (2/78; #9 U.K.) The Canadian Pat Travers Band took a cover version of this to Hot 100 #50 in 1980.
Money - Beatles (1964; from With The Beatles - they got their start covering American Girl Groups and R&B artists, and this Barrett Strong cover was among their toughest.)
I Heard it Through the Grapevine - King Curtis (8/68; #83 - one of SIX charting versions of this Barrett Strong composition. Others - chronologically - were Gladys knight & Pips, Marvin Gaye, CCR, Roger, and The California Raisins!)
I Can't Get Next to You - Temptations (10/69; #1 pop, #1 R&B for five weeks - co-written by Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield and featuring Dennis Edwards, along with the other individual Temptations. The opening piano flourish is played by "Funk Brothers" bandleader Earl Van Dyke.)
Da Doo Ron Ron - Crystals (4/63; #3 - one of about 150 Top Ten records with Hal Blaine behind the drum kit. "When Blaine hits his tom-toms after each line of the chorus, the effect is like moving up into overdrive." - Dave Marsh, from The Heart of Rock & Soul.)
Dizzy - Tommy Roe (3/69; #1 Pop for 4 weeks - one of about 50 #1 records with Hal Blaine behind the drum kit. The inside joke with this song is the dizzying # of key changes that transpire by the end of it.)
45 Corner - Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel (2/70; #1 for 6 weeks - winner of five Grammy Awards that year, including one for piano player Larry Knechtel, this is another one with Hal Blaine on drums. The mono 45 - which doesn't exist on CD - has a different mix from all others that are available, designed to give listeners goosebumps by the time it's over.)
I Can't Stop Lovin' You - Don Gibson (2/58; #81 Pop, #7 C&W - this two-sided hit single - with Oh Lonesome Me on the A-side - would provide material for other artists over the years, including Ray Charles, Linda Ronstadt, Neil Young.)
* Who's Sorry Now - Connie Francis (2/58 - headed to #4 and requested by our friend Barbara in Danby. One of 66 charting singles for the New Jersey native, all on the MGM label.)
* Victoria - Kinks (1/70; #62 - going out to Simon in Vancouver and featuring birthday boy Dave Davies on lead guitar.)
I Can Hear Music - Beach Boys (3/69; #24 - a re-make of a low-charting single for the Ronettes that far surpasses the original, in my humble opinion....)
* Don't It Make You Want To Go Home - Joe South (8/69; #41 - sandwiched between two #12 hits for the singer/songwriter/session guitarist from Atlanta. Brook Benton would later have middling success with this same song. Requested by an old friend I hadn't spoken with in 35 years. It was amazing!)
They Don't Know About Us - Tracey Ullman (2/84; #8 - Ullman was better known as a comedienne and actress, but this "Girl Group" tour-de-force exploded out of speakers in the mid-eighties with authentic appeal. Watch for a surprise cameo at the end of the video....)
Once You Get Started - Rufus (10/75; #10 Pop, #4 R&B - this record was borrowed from my buddy's mom about 40 years ago and I never returned it. I found out Friday evening that she'd just passed away. I dedicated it to "Mama Gloria," who I loved a lot.)
Chain of Fools - Aretha Franklin (1/68; #2 Pop, #1 R&B for 4 weeks - opening with a guitar figure by studio player Joe South, this song was written by the late Don Covay, who passed away three days ago.)
See Saw - Don Covay (11/65; #44 Pop, #5 R&B - Aretha would later record this one, too, and take it all the way to #14 on the Pop chart. Don Covay was also part of an Atlantic Records "supergroup" called the Soul Clan, along with Solomon Burke, Arthur Conley, Ben E. King and Joe Tex. R.I.P.)
Homely Girl - Chi-Lites (1/74; #54 Pop, #3 R&B - one of a slew of soulful ballads penned by lead singer Eugene Record, this one is a tale of an "ugly duckling" who grows to be a beauty, much to the chagrin of the guys who teased her as a girl.)
Didn't Want to Have To Do It - Ralfi Pagan (1974; Fania Records - a beautiful reading of the John Sebastian song, this one never charted nationally.)
45 Corner: Nothing You Can Do - Average White Band (8/74; did not chart - the opening track from Side Two of their Atlantic Records debut album was edited for airplay and released as its debut single. It fell on deaf ears. Three months later, the label released "Pick Up The Pieces" and the rest is history.)
Sometimes When I'm All Alone - Danny & The Juniors (11/57; dnc - b-side of their smash hit "At The Hop," this one showed the more-sensitive side of the group and has been requested several times over the years.)
Thank You Anyway (Mr. DJ) - Lou Johnson (1962; dnc - the first release from this revered yet little-know balladeer was released on the Big Top Records label. Lou Johnson was one of Burt Bacharach's favorite interpreters, and was given first crack at several songs that would later become big hits for Dionne Warwick. Do a little research - you may be pleasantly surprised! By the way - this song was my way of apologizing to those of you whose requests never made it to the air tonight....)
Host Next Week (2/14/15): John Simon with a spotlight on Valentine's Day. Submit your requests and dedications at any time!
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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