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: 7/18/15
Host: JR
Feature: July 1974
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]
It’s the summer of 1974, and on the AM radio it was the
sounds of steadfast 70’scharters like Elton John, Olivia
Newton-John, Jim Croce, Abba and The Eagles and lesser
lights like George McRae, Dave Loggins, William
DeVaughn, and Golden Earring. We’ll check in with the
Birthday Calendar at 7:00 and in the 45Corner, the 7” vinyl
version of “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number”, not available on
LP orCD or MP3; another Rockin’ Remnants exclusive! And
back for the summer Rockin’Remnants trivia, with a chance
to win a pair of tickets to check out a flick at Cinemapolis!
Great stuff on a Saturday night… Last, but not least, the
great sound of Summertime oldies with Sly, The Monkees,
Tyrannosaurus Rex, Nat King Cole and Eddie Cochran!
6pm-7pm
Rock
Your Baby – George McCrae – BB Hot 100 #1, 2
weeks
The first and only Hot 100 #1 for this Miami-based
singer,
he was also a member of The Sunshine Band (as in “K.C.
And…)
he was also a member of The Sunshine Band (as in “K.C.
And…)
Rock
And Roll Heaven – The Righteous Brothers – BB
Hot 100 #3
A nice, mid-70’s comeback for Bill Medley and Bobby
Hatfield courtesy of producers Dennis Lambert and Brian
Hatfield courtesy of producers Dennis Lambert and Brian
Potter (Grass Roots, Hamilton,
Joe Frank & Reynolds,
Four Tops,Tony Orlando And Dawn, Gayle McCormick etc.).
Four Tops,Tony Orlando And Dawn, Gayle McCormick etc.).
Don’t
Let The Sun Go Down On Me – Elton John – BB
Hot 100 #4
The #1 Hot 100 artist of the 70’s rolled this ballad to
#2 for 2
weeks in the Summer of 1974.
Rock The Boat – The Hues Corporation – BB Hot 100 #6
This L.A, trio topped the Hot 100 for 1 week on
7/6/1974. Future sound-alike releases like “Rockin’ Soul”, and “Love Corporation” charted lower
and lower and this band was
history by the end of the decade.
If You Love Me Let Me Know – Olivia Newton-John – BB
Hot 100 #10
ONJ had 15 Top 10 singles and 5 Hot 100 #1’s from 1973
and 1983! This offering from her “country/rock” phase
peaked at Hot 100 #5. I bought all her 45’s on the MCA
Records label : )
One
Hell Of A Woman – Mac Davis – BB Hot 100 #14
Mac in his heyday was quite the versatile scamp:songwriter,
singer, movie actor,comedian, TV personality… This single
peaked at Hot 100
#11, and may have charted higher if
not for the H-E-double hockey sticks in the
title… AM radio
was still very very conservative in the 70’s.
This Dutch band is a classic example of a Hot 100
“Two-hit
Wonder”. “Radar Love” peaked at #13, and 8 years later
“Twilight Zone” peaked
at #10. Big in The Netherlands,
though…
Waterloo
– ABBA – Hot 100 #18
Speaking of imports… the first Hot 100 entry for this
Swedish quartet peaked at #6. There would be many
more
to follow.
45
Corner
Rikki
Don’t Lose That Number – Steely Dan – BB Hot 100
#7
Steely Dan (for the most
part Walter Becker and Donald
Fagen) were one of those 70’sbands that cranked out both
hit LP’s and hit singles. “Rikki”, taken from the LP Pretzel
Logic,
has
a slightly edited intro, and a faster speed to
time out a little under 4:00.
This ABC Records version is
You're The Reason I'm Living - Bobby Darin, 1966
Mountain Of Love - Harold Dorman, 1960
- Harold's original version peaked at Hot 100 #21. A cover version by Johnny Rivers peaked 12 spots higher in 1964.
7pm
– 8pm
Birthday Calendar
July 12th – Christine McVie
(Fleetwood Mac), 72
Walter Egan, 67
July 13th – Jim (Roger)
McGuinn (Byrds), 73
July 14th – Woody Guthrie, 1912
July 15th – Linda Ronstadt, 69
July 16th– Desmond Dekker, 1941
July 17th – Spencer Davis, 76
July 18th – Dion DiMucci,
76
Martha Reeves, 74
Bobby Sherman, 72
“Screamin’” Jay Hawkins, 1929
Fleetwood Mac faithfully cranked out
singles in the early 70’s, but didn’t have a Top 40 hit until this release in
late 1975; this version is different from the LP version, as were the other
single releases from the Fleetwood Mac album,
“Rhiannon”, and “Say You Love Me”.
“Hot Summer Night” – Night, 1979
This summer-themed song off the pen of
Walter Egan peaked at Hot 100 #18 for this Brit/American band.
“You Ain’t Going Nowhere” – The Byrds,
1968
Once again dipping into the Bob Dylan
catalog, this county-tinged single peaked at Hot 100 #74; the country-rock
craze was a few years away…
“This Land Is Your Land” – The New
Christy Minstrels, 1962
One of the best-known songs from the
pen of Woody Guthrie, I chose this version because I found a really neat video
of The Minstrels performing this live at Salem College from the TV show Hootenanny.
This song is generally acknowledged as
the first “reggae” single to appear on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #9.
The lyrics to this song have always baffled me, but thanks to the Internet,
they are now easily accessible; click here to see.
“I’m A Man” – Spencer Davis Group,
1967
Spence was the guitarist of this
quartet, but the real star was 19 year old Stevie Winwood on keyboards and
vocals. Stevie departed right after this
to form Traffic.
“I Wonder Why” – Dion and The Belmonts,
1958
The first charting single for Dion and
his Bronx mates (Carlo Mastrangelo, Fred Milano and Angelo D’Aleo) peaked at
Top 100 #22. Dion went solo 2 years later with great success; not so for The
Belmonts, who only charted 2 Top 40 singles.
“Nowhere To Run” – Martha & The
Vandellas, 1965
Martha Reeves and her back-up singers
Rosalind Ashford and Betty Kelly, charted 10 Top 40 hits between 1963 and 1967.
“I Put A Spell On You”– Screamin Jay
Hawkins, 1956
“Screamin” Jay (born Jalacy Hawkins)
was more known for his wild stage antics then his singing or songwriting
ability, although this song has been oft covered, most notably by CCR. He died
in 2000, age 70.
This cover version was Creedence's second single release
on Fantasy Records, and hobbled to Hot 100 #58.
"Those Lazy- Hazy- Crazy Days Of Summer" - Nat King Cole, 1963
"Summertime Blues" - Eddie Cochran, 1968
"Hot Fun In The Summertime" - Sly & The Family Stone, 1969
"The Door Into Summer" - The Monkees, 1967
-Off the LP Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones LTD, this was
written by their producer, Chip Douglas.
"Summertime Blues" - Tyrannosaurus Rex, 1970
\
-Here's a new discovery of an oft-covered summer classic! This was released on Blue Thumb Records and did not chart. The name of this band was shortened to just "T. Rex" and lead singer Marc Bolan (the chap on the left) was a major player in the "Glam Rock" sound of the early 70's.
"With A Girl Like You" - The Troggs, 1966
"Bits And Pieces" - DC5, 1964
"All Of The Day And All Of The Night" - The Kinks, 1965
"Casino Royale" - Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, 1967
-The theme song from the James Bond spy spoof, this movie was remade as a serious Bond vehicle starring Daniel Craig as 007 in 2006.
Trivia question: Who played Sir James Bond in the original Casino Royale?
A: David Niven.
Congratulations to Bill calling in from Ithaca, who answered our Rockin' Remnants trivia question, and won a pair of tix for a flick at Cinemapolis!
"The Dis-Advantages Of You" - The Brass Ring, 1967
-Melody takes from a Benson & Hedges cigarette commercial.
8pm
– 9pm Back to our chart date of 7/18/1974 + Happy
Hour 70’s & 80’s
Machine Gun – The Commodores – BB Hot 100 #22
The first charting hit for this band formed at Tuskegee
University was an instrumental,and an instant dance floor
classic. In just a year, keyboardist/vocalist Lionel
Richie
would step up and change the direction of the band,
before
leaving to become a top artist of the 80’s.
Be
Thankful For What You Got – William DeVaughn –
BB Hot 100 #27
A nice slice of D.C. soul, this was the only Top 40 hit
for this
singer, peaking at #4.
Hollywood Swinging – Kool & The Gang – BB Hot 100
#38
Robert “Kool” Bell and his gang were a force on both the
Hot 100 and the Billboard R&B chart in the 70’s and 80’s.
Check out the video with a “kool” live clip
from The Midnight Special!
Hang
On In There Baby – Johnny Bristol – BB Hot 100
#39
Johnny cut his teeth in the music business as a producer
for Motown Records; this was his highest charting solo
single, peaking at Hot 100 #8.
River’s
Risin’ (45 version) – Edgar Winter Group – BB
Hot 100 #72
After reaching the summit of the Hot 100 with
“Frankenstein”
in 1973, EWG had alimited Hot 100 shelf life; this 45
version is available
on some anthologies, and has a fade-out
ending, differing from the cold ending of the LP
version.
Don’t
Change Horses (In The Middle Of A Stream) –
Tower Of Power – BB Hot 100 #72
Man, this was a funky sound on the AM radio back in the
Summer of 1974! The Oakland horn-based band never sold
a lot of singles, but
always had work backing the likes of
Little Feat, The Doobie Brothers and Bonnie
Raitt.
Donna Fargo – BB Hot 100 #94
Donna Fargo had more success on the Billboard Country
chart than she did on the Hot100. While this
only peaked at Hot 100 #57, it was played a lot, and I mean a lot, on the
local AM stations, back in the day when they created
their own playlists. A fewyears ago when we ran a contest here on Remnants to
submit a playlist and have itplayed on the air, one of our listeners had great
memories of this song playing during study hall in
summer school in Binghamton. Local hit,
indeed…
Birthday tribute to Linda Ronstadt
“Long, Long Time” (45 version), “Poor,Poor Pitiful Me”, “Mad Love”
Linda Ronstadt has gone through many
musical styles and phases in a career spanning 6 decades and unfortunately is
unable to sing today due to Parkinson’s disease. Linda was one of my favorites in the 70’s and
I actually saw her live as the opening act for The Band in 1976! How cool is that? We’ve got one selection from her “folk” era (1970),
one from her “rock” era (1978), and one from her “new wave” phase in the early
80’s.What a talent. What a shame.
"Into The Mystic" - Johnny Rivers, 1970
-Johnny always showed great taste in cover versions, and this Van Morrison cover was spot on! Unfortunately, it did not chart.
"Ooh Child" - Valerie Carter, 1976
-I rave a lot about Linda Ronstadt, but I think Valerie definitely had a more soulful voice, although she is better known for her background vocal work. Check it out, here...
"In Thee" - Blue Oyster Cult, 1979
- The BOC tried mellowing their sound a bit in the late 70's and this slightly acoustic single peaked at Hot 100 #74
Host Next Week (7/25/15):
JS, 6-8
JR, 8-9
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.
Host Next Week (7/25/15):
JS, 6-8
JR, 8-9
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment