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: August 29, 2015
Host: John Simon and Kim Vaughan
Feature: 1962
Birthday Calendar
Aug 23 – Rudy Lewis (b. Charles Rudolph Harrell, The Drifters) – born in 1936
– Keith Moon (The Who) – born in 1946
Aug 24 – Mason Williams – age 77
Aug 25 – Gene Simmons (b. Chaim Witz, Kiss) – age 66
Aug 26 – Valerie Simpson (songwriters Ashford & Simpson) – age 69
Aug 28 – Wayne Osmond (b. Melvin Wayne Osmond) – age 64
Aug 29 – Michael Jackson – born in 1958
Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia
1. The Ronettes got discovered when they were mistaken for dancers that were hired to dance at this band’s gig.
2. Joe Pesci (the actor) played guitar for this band in 1961. Three of the four Young Rascals were in this band before forming their own. Jimi Hendrix was the guitarist for this band in the mid-60s.
3. This group was the house band at the Peppermint Lounge, after which they named their first hit song.
(scroll down to find the answer below the playlist)
Playlist
[songs in bold are from the spotlight 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)
Breaking Up Is Hard to Do – Neil Sedaka (#3 this week in 1962, on its way back down after spending two weeks in the top slot)
The Loco-Motion – Little Eva (#2 this week, having just spent a week at #1)
Sheila – Tommy Roe (in its first of two weeks at #1)
You Don’t Know Me – Ray Charles (#4 this week - follow-up to his massively successful I Can't Stop Loving You)
Venus in Blue Jeans – Jimmy Clanton (#38 this week - headed to a peak of #7)
Beechwood 4-5789 – The Marvelettes (#39 this week - headed to a peak of #17. One of the three most famous phone numbers in popular music. Can you name the others? Scroll down to the end of the playlist to find the answer!)
* That’s Life – Frank Sinatra (1966, #4 - featuring the swinging organ of Jazz keyboardist Michael Melvoin.)
* Having a Party – Sam Cooke (#70 this week in 1962, falling from its peak at #17. This was the b-side of Bring It on Home to Me, and both sides had the voice of Lou Rawls doing backing vocals.)
* If I Had a Hammer – Peter, Paul, and Mary (#46 this week - requested by a listener who used to listen to his parents' PP&M records as a little boy. Headed to a peak of #10.)
Things – Bobby Darin (#7 this week, having just peaked at #3 the previous week)
If I Didn’t Have a Dime (To Play The Jukebox) – Gene Pitney (making its Hot 100 debut this week at #99, this song would peak at #58)
What’s a Matter Baby – Timi Yuro (peaking this week at #12)
Sherry – The Four Seasons (this was in its second week on the Hot 100 and already at #22; in two more weeks it would be at #1 and would stay there for five weeks)
You Belong to Me – The Duprees (#19 this week - headed to #7 for the Italian Doo-Woppers from Jersey City.)
* Surfin’ Safari – The Beach Boys (#51 this week and it would climb to #14. This was their second Hot 100 hit.)
I Can See for Miles – The Who (1967, #9. The Who would have 26 songs that made it into the Hot 100, and this would be the only one to crack the Top Ten.)
Classical Gas – Mason Williams (1968, spent two weeks at #2. The success of this song owes a lot to his role as head writer for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour; the song was broadcast on the tv show several times. Williams increased the appeal by working with an artist who made a visual collage called 3000 Years of Art. Williams would have three other songs on the Hot 100, but none of them would get any higher than #90.)
Rock and Roll All Night – Kiss (1975, co-written by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. The studio recording peaked at #68, and then a “live” recording would peak at #12 a few months later.)
Down By the Lazy River – Osmonds (1972, #4, co-written by Alan Osmond, Merrill Osmond, and Wayne Osmond.)
45 Corner: Never Had It So Good – Ronnie Milsap (10/65; #106 Pop, #19 R&B - written by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson. This would be Ronnie Milsap's only charting single as a Blue-Eyed Soul act. He'd eventually migrate to Nashville and score thirty-five #1's on the C&W chart. Yikes!)
You’re All I Need to Get By – Marvin Gaye & Tammi
Terrell (1968, #7, R&B #1. Written and produced by husband-and-wife team Ashford & Simpson, and with their voices on background vocals.)
I Want You Back – The Jackson 5 (their first Hot 100 hit, spent a week at #1 in early 1970. The first of four consecutive Hot 100 #1s.)
* Johnny Angel – Shelley Fabares (spring of 1962, spent two weeks at #1)
Johnny Loves Me – Shelley Fabares (her follow-up hit in the summer of 1962. It peaked at #21, and had just fallen off the chart a few weeks before our spotlight date. Both records were recorded at LA's famous Gold Star Studios and featured vocal support from Darlene Love and The Blossoms.)
I’ll Be There – The Jackson 5 (9/70, spent five weeks at #1 - their fourth consecutive #1 record, which would also reach #1 twenty years later when recorded by Mariah Carey!)
Lie to Me – Brook Benton (#56 this week, its second week on the Hot 100. It would peak at #13. This was Benton’s 28th time on the Hot 100; he would have a total of 50 songs to make it onto that chart.)
What Time Is It? – Jive Five (#110 on the Bubbling Under chart this week, it would eventually peak at #67)
What Kind of Love Is This? – Joey Dee and the Starliters (#57 this week and climbing to #18. This song was used in the film Two Tickets to Paris, starring Dee.)
Make It Easy On Yourself – Jerry Butler (peaking at #20 this week - The Walker Brothers would release a nearly-perfect copy of this one three years later and take in to #16.)
A Wonderful Dream – The Majors (#42 this week)
Your Heart Belongs to Me – The Supremes (bubbling under at #103 this week, after having peaked at #95. This was their first Hot 100 hit. It would take almost two more years for them to really find success on the chart – and then they would have five consecutive #1s.)
Anniversary of Love – The Caslons (1961, #89. This was on the chart called Bubbling Under the Hot 100 at the time that the chart switched its numbering system from #1-x to #101-x. So this song had the strange experience of climbing two notches from #17 on the Bubbling Under to #115 on the Bubbling Under the following week, in late Aug / early Sept 1961.)
You Beat Me to the Punch – Mary Wells (#32 this week in 1962, on its way to #9 Pop and #1 R&B. Mary Wells was the )
Lolita Ya Ya – The Ventures (#74 this week - headed to #61 on the Pop chart and featuring the uncredited "ya-ya's" of the Blossoms. Check them out here!
The Point of No Return – Gene McDaniels (#36 this week)
Patches – Dickey Lee (#45 this week, its second week on the Hot 100, and climbing to #6)
* The Stripper – David Rose And His Orchestra (#47 this week, on its way down from spending at week at #1)
Dance With Me – Orleans (1975, #6. Orleans performed at the NY State Fair on Friday and mentioned their Ithaca roots. This essay by Larry Hoppen (scroll down below the 2008 Ithaca Fest info) provides more details about their local connection.)
Substitute [45 Corner] – The Who (5/66; #106 - released on the Atco Records label with substituted lyrics to avoid radio executives’ discomfort around discussion of skin color)
* The Israelites – Desmond Dekker and the Aces (1969, #9, one of the first reggae songs to gain popularity in the U.S.)
Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground) – The Jacksons (1979, #7 Pop, #3 R&B - a significant release in that this record reunited Michael with his brothers, making it a sure-fire hit.)
Trivia Answer
Joey Dee and the Starliters.
Congratulations to Jayne from Newfield, for correctly answering the question and winning two tickets to Cinemapolis!
Here are the 2 other "phone" 45's:
Host Next Week (9-5-15): John Simon with a spotlight on early September 1964
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.
