Mar 14, 2015 - JS & KV - Saxophone

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:  3/14/15
Host:  John Simon & Kim Vaughan
Feature:  Spotlight on Saxophones!

 

Birthday Calendar


March 8 – Micky Dolenz (Monkees) – age 70
            – Little Peggy March – age 67
          
March 9 – Lloyd Price – age 82
            – Mark Lindsay – age 71

March 12 – Paul Kantner (Jefferson Airplane) – age 74
            – James Taylor – age 67
         
March 13 – Neil Sedaka – age 76
             
March 14 – Quincy Jones - age 82 




 


Playlist


[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)


Spooky - Mike Sharpe (1/67; #57 - the first of three charting versions of this tune. Mike Sharpe also played on the Classics IV version [see below].)



Shotgun - Jr. Walker & All-Stars (2/65; #4 Pop, #1 R&B for four weeks  - Junior was a journeyman touring musician who was a regular on the Motown Caravan of Stars circuit.)



Hand Clappin' - Red Prysock (9/55; dnc - although it never charted nationally, it was used as the theme music for a number of radio shows. Tenor sax man Red Prysock got his start in Tiny Bradshaw's big band.)



The Stroll - The Diamonds (1/58; #4 - this white Canadian band was wildly successful covering R&B tunes that white radio wouldn't otherwise play.)

* Harlem Nocturne - Viscounts (3/62; #52 Pop, #17 R&B - the New Jersey quintet's sultry instrumental would re-chart in 1965 at #32. Harry Haller was the sax man.)



* Purple People Eater - Sheb Wooley (6/58; #1 for six weeks! - requested by two listeners: Larry in Danby and Leonard in Penn Yan. Scary....)

Miami's Blue - Marketts (5/65; dnc - released as the b-side of a non-charting single by this LA-based studio band. Wrecking Crew regular Plas Johnson played the soulful sax lead.)

Pretty Little Angel Eyes - Curtis Lee (6/61; #17 - co-written by Tommy Boyce and Curtis Lee and produced by young Phil Spector, this one featured background vocals by the Halos and a honking sax solo by an uncredited horn player.)

* Opus 17 (Don't Worry About Me) - 4 Seasons (5/66; #13 - all of their big hits were recorded in NYC and featured some great studio players.)

This Little Girl's Gone Rockin' - Ruth Brown (10/58; #24 Pop, #7 R&B - the first of three in a row spotlighting the honking saxophone stylings of King Curtis, who was the house horn player for Atlantic Records.)



Respect - Aretha Franklin (5/67; #1 Pop and #1 R&B for eight weeks! - this one earned her Grammys in 1968 for  "Best Rhythm & Blues Recording" and "Best Rhythm & Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female." The Otis Redding composition had no bridge, so King Curtis soloed over the chords to When Something Is Wrong With My Baby.)

It's A Lover's Question - Clyde McPhatter (11/58; #6 Pop, #1 R&B - McPhatter was the tenor vocalist for the original Drifters on Atlantic Records.)

Glad All Over - Dave Clark 5 (2/64; #6 - one thing that distinguished this quintet from other British Invasion bands was the presence of sax man Denny Payton.)



Wooly Bully - Sam the Sham & The Pharoahs (6/65; #23 Pop, #31 R&B - their chart debut featured the saxophone of band member Butch Gibson.)

* Down to the Nightclub - Tower of Power (11/72; #66 Pop - Joe the cabbie requested any T.O.P. tune. The Tower of Power Horns were the most sought-after studio brass section in America. Skip Mesquite, Emilio Castillo, "Doc" Kupka and  -  later  -  Lenny Pickett on saxophones of all sizes.)

7-8pm

I Wish I Were a Princess - Little Peggy March (6/63; #32 - released hot on the heels of her #1 debut I Will Follow Him, and featuring many of the elements that made that one such a hit.)

Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day - Monkees (1966; from their debut LP "The Monkees" - written by Tommy Boyce and Steve Venet.)

Stagger Lee - Lloyd Price (2/59; #1 Pop & R&B for 4 weeks each.)

Melody for An Unknown Girl - Unknowns (9/66; #74 - a one-hit wonder release on the Parrot label by a "supergroup" trio of teenybopper heart-throbs: Mark Lindsay, Keith Alison and Steve Alaimo. Mark Lindsay got his start as the sax player for Paul Revere & The Raiders.)



How Sweet It Is - James Taylor (6/75; #5 - Marvin Gaye had a big hit with this ten years earlier. This version features a sax solo by David Sanborn.)

* Ooh Baby Baby - Linda Ronstadt (11/78; #7 - another West Coast Motown cover featuring David Sanborn on saxophone. The original was written by Smokey Robinson and was a hit for his Miracles.)



You Don't Own Me - Lesley Gore (12/64; #2 for three weeks - produced by Quincy Jones and released in the thick of the British Invasion. This was an early feminist anthem by the New Jersey-based teen who passed away three weeks ago from cancer.)

The Closest Thing to Heaven - Neil Sedaka (4/64; #107 - another record released in the middle of the British Invasion. This one didn't fare nearly as well as Lesley Gore's record would, and pretty much signaled the end of Neil Sedaka's hit-making days  -  until he reinvented himself ten years later and roared back with the #1 Laughter in the Rain.)

45 Corner:  We Can Be Together - Jefferson Airplane (11/69; b-side - from the album Volunteers. The original version has the grand-daddy of all swear words in it, but this special radio station promo 45 was especially edited to allow it to get airplay. "Up against the wall, mummmmmmmf!")

Return to Sender - Elvis Presley (10/62; #2 for 5 weeks! - featuring the blazing saxophone of Boots Randolph and kept out of the top slot by the red-hot 4 Seasons.)



Oh Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison (9/64; #1 for 3 weeks - another big hit featuring the sax work of Boots Randolph, who played on many Nashville sessions back in the Golden Age.)

8-9pm




I Can't Dance to That Music You're Playin' - Martha Reeves & The Vandellas (8/68; #42 Pop, #24 R&B - a song about an unfaithful sax player, featuring an amazing seamless cross-fade between Martha's piercing wail and Hank Cosby's wailing saxophone. On a side note...part of Martha's vocal was accidentally erased on the master tape. With the Vandellas on tour, her producer brought young Syreeta Wright in to dub the vocal part on the recording. Martha was apparently further incensed when Syreeta sounded more like Diana Ross than Ms. Reeves. Listen to it here!)



What Does It Take - Jr. Walker & All-Stars (6/69; #4 Pop, #1 R&B for 2 weeks - the first of many records that found sax man Junior Walker singing melodically and sweetly. A great summertime hit from 1969!)

* Baker Street - Gerry Rafferty (4/78; #2 for 6 weeks - featuring the wailing sax of Raphael Ravenscroft, and unfortunately stuck behind those very hot Bee Gees.)



* Spooky - Classics IV (1/68; #3 for 3 weeks - released a year after the original, and featuring Mike Sharpe on saxophone. The Atlanta Rhythm Section  -  including members of the Classics IV  -  would reach the Top Twenty with THEIR version in the summer of '79.)

* Chasing Change - Climax Blues Band (1976; from the album "Gold Plated" and featuring the late Colin Cooper on saxophone.)

River Deep, Mountain High - Ike & Tina Turner (5/66; #88 - Phil Spector's greatest professional disappointment was this record, which he was certain would be a #1 worldwide smash. Buried in his "wall of sound" was sax man Jim Horn. These next three tunes feature horn players with great "horn names.")



* Brown Sugar - Rolling Stones (5/71; #1 for 2 weeks - recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama and featuring the late Bobby Keyes on the rare saxophone-instead-of-guitar solo.)



* Old Time Rock 'n' Roll - Bob Seger & Silver Bullet Band (4/79; #28 - featuring the saxophone stylings of one "Alto Reed.")



* Quarter to Three - Gary "U.S." Bonds (6/61; #1 for 2 weeks - perhaps the most poorly-recorded #1 record of all-time, audio-wise. Based on a song by  -  and featuring  - Gene  "Daddy G" Barge on saxophone.)



Your Mama Don't Dance - Loggins & Messina (11/72; #4 - featuring the very-recently departed Jon Clarke with a rare baritone saxophone solo.)



Lady Madonna - The Beatles (3/68; #4 - written as a tribute to the great Fats Domino, this one featured London Jazz sax man Ronnie Scott on a prominent horn line.)



Peter Gunn Theme - Duane Eddy & The Rebels (10/60; #27 - The Rebels included saxophonists Steve Douglas and Jim Horn and bass player Larry Knechtel. All of them would migrate to LA and join the team of musicians known, informally, as "The Wrecking Crew.")



* Pick Up The Pieces - Average White Band (2/75; #1 - the first charting single from their Atlantic Records debut LP, with Roger Ball on saxophone. This Scottish band could cut one deep and funky groove....)

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








Congratulations to PJ from Newfield, who was Caller #5 and gets to participate in the Shamrock Shake contest!








Host Next Week (3/21/15):  KV with a spotlight TBA





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.