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: December 12, 2015
Host: John Simon
Feature: December 12, 1967
Birthday Calendar
December 6 – Jonathan King – age 71
December 8 – Jerry Butler – age 76
– Greg Allman – 68
– Jim Morrison (Doors) – born in1943
December 9 – Donny Osmond – age 58
December 11 – David Gates – age75
December 12 – Dionne Warwick – age 75
– Dickey Betts (Allman Bros.) – age 72
– Frank Sinatra – born in 1915
Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia
A rare feat is an artist taking another artist's #1 record to the top of the charts. Can you name three cases where this happened? [note - one of our birthday artists did it....]
(scroll down to find the answer below the playlist)
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)
5) The Rain, The Park And Other Things - Cowsills (down from a two-week peak at #2 - this Rhode Island family band was originally approached about playing themselves in a major network TV series. Instead, professional actors were hired for the hit series "The Partridge Family." David Cassidy and Susan Dey became teen heart throbs. Danny Bonaduce sort of crashed and burned. Meanwhile, The Cowsills released a string of sunny and upbeat hit records.)
4) I Second That Emotion - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (this was the first of three weeks at #4 on the Pop chart. This record would also reach #1 on the R&B chart.)
3) Hello Goodbye - The Beatles (racing up the chart. Three weeks ago it debuted at #45. Next week #8. This week #3. Two weeks later it'll reach #1 and stay there until 1968.)
2) I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Gladys Knight & The Pips (peaking in its first of three weeks at #2 Pop. It would also spend six weeks at #1 R&B, making it Motown's biggest hit to date - until Marvin Gaye's version would eclipse it a year later.)
1) Daydream Believer - The Monkees (this is its third of four weeks in the top slot. The Monkees were universally scorned for not playing on their own records - although we now know that many of their contemporaries were guilty of the same "crime." This is the first record the boys actually played on. "What number is this Jim?" "Seven-A!")
* A Whiter Shade Of Pale - Procol Harum (6/67; #5 Pop, #1 UK - a worldwide smash on the Deram Records label, and ranked #57 in the RS500 - "recent gold" back in December '67.)
Snoopy's Christmas - Royal Guardsmen (#10 Cashbox - this was the third entry in their Snoopy "trilogy," and was a Top Ten record on New York City's WABC. Billboard had a separate "Christmas Chart, " where it came in ranked at #5.)
Christmas Time Is Here Again - The Flirtations (12/68 - this was the b-side of their first pressing of "Nothing But A Heartache," which stalled at #101 on the Deram Records label. The record would be re-released several months later with a different b-side and would crack the Top Twenty in the US. This particular holiday record is pretty hard-to-find.)
A Different Drum - Stone Poneys (at #28 this week, headed to #13. This was the first time most of the world had heard the voice of Linda Ronstadt - or the songwriting of The Monkees' Michael Nesmith. Linda Ronstadt would go on to become one of the most iconic singers of the Seventies and Eighties, and Mike Nesmith would finally stop being a Monkee.)
45 Corner: A Little Rain Must Fall - The Epic Splendor (this bouncy single on the Hot Biscuit Records label was at #100 this week, headed to a peak of #87. This is as far as ths Long Island group would ever get, and probably hasn't been heard on the radio since 1967.)
Come Go With Me - Dell Vikings (2/57; #4 - Dot Records signed the group and re-released their 1956 single with a different spelling ["Del-Vikings" had been their earlier name]. This one would later be used in the movies American Graffiti, Diner, Stand By Me and Joe Versus The Volcano.)
Hushabye - The Mystics (5/59; #20 - this one was penned by NY writers Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. In addition to the Brooklyn quintet, the record included session players Al Caiola and Bucky Pizzarelli.)
Cycles - Frank Sinatra (10/68; #23 - "The Chairman Of The Board" would've been 100 years old today, and his career covered a lot of territory. This one doesn't get played much, but it comes across as effortless and affecting.)
Break On Through - The Doors (4/67; #126 BB, #104 CB - contrary to popular belief, Light My Fire wasn't their first single. This one came close to breaking the "Hot 100" barrier on the Cash Box chart, and has gotten lots of airplay over the years. Jim Morrison famously died at age 27 in Paris.)
Mr. Dream Merchant - Jerry Butler (11/67; #38 - Jerry Butler got his start as a Gospel singer, then was with the Impressions, a solo artist based in Chicago, a player on the Gamble-and-Huff "Philly Soul" scene and is currently the host of PBS Oldies shows. "The Ice Man" remaineth!)
I Say a Little Prayer - Dionne Warwick (at #7 this week, down from a peak of #4 - her musical family included her sister Dee Dee, her Aunt Cissy Houston and later her niece Whitney. She was the ideal interpreter of Burt Bacharach's work, and this one was riding high on the charts as she was celebrating her 27th birthday.)
Revival - Allman Brothers Band (1/71; #92 - band members Dickey Betts and Greg Allman both had birthdays this week. This was the first charting single for the venerable band, better known for their live shows than for their singles.)
Go Away Little Girl - Donny Osmond (9/71; #1 - words and music by Goffin-King, who had two different artists reach #1 with this record. Donny was 12 when he recorded this one. Here's an observation from one of our Facebook friends: "Okay, that song was not icky when sung by a kid. I have always been creeped out by the other!")
Spotlight On David Gates, composer arranger, singer!
A Girl Never Knows - Connie Stevens (4/64; dnc - words & music by the late PF Sloan and Steve Barri, this one was produced and arranged by David Gates, who was very active behind-the-scenes before he started recording with Bread. This song can be found on Phil's Spectre, Vol. II: a tribute To Phil Spector soundalikes.)
Popsicles & Icicles - The Murmaids (11/63; #3 - written, produced and arranged by young David Gates, who hailed from Tulsa, OK - where he was in a high school dance band with schoolmate Leon Russell. The two eventually worked their ways to LA, where they became involved in the recording studio scene.)
Everything I Own - Bread (1/72; #5 - Bread released an impressive string of mellow Pop hits in the early Seventies, and soon added Wrecking Crew member Larry Knechtel into the line-up.)
45 Corner: Letter From A Teen Age Son - Adam Wade (12/12/67; #120 - This record spent one week on the Bubbling Under chart before disappearing into obscurity. It was one of a couple of "answer records" to Victor Lundberg's Top Ten-charting An Open Letter To My Teenage Son.)
* Reflections - Diana Ross & Supremes (8/67; #2 - This was the first record to give Ms. Ross top billing, and was the disc that broke their string of four consecutive singles to reach #1 on the Pop chart.)
* You Keep Me Hangin' On - Vanilla Fudge (7/67; #67 - The Supremes took this one to #1 a year earlier. Kim Wilde would take it to #1 in 1987. In-between, Vanilla Fudge would chart with it twice: this time, and a year later when it would reach #6. Listener Betsy requested this one - her favorite version.)
* Anyone For Tennis - Cream (5/68; #64 - this could be found in the soundtrack to a biker film, and was requested by a listener who called it "the first song I'd ever heard by this new band called Cream," and one that he hadn't heard in over forty years. Found it!)
Cross My Heart - Billy Stewart (#94, headed to #86 Pop, #34 R&B - The self-proclaimed "Fat Boy" from DC had a string of great records on the Chess Records label. This was his final charting Pop single. He'd die two years later in an auto accident.)
Good Good Lovin' - The Blossoms (peaking on this date at #115 Pop, #45 R&B - this had previously been released in early 1966, where it stalled at #101. Darlene Love continued to make terrific records, but chart success would elude her.)
Back-To-Back B-Sides:
That's When The Tears Start - The Blossoms (found on the b-side of Good Good Lovin', this gem was written and produced by Van McCoy. He'd eventually become known for his own #1 smash The Hustle!)
You Must Be Love - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (as I've said before, purchasing a Smokey Robinson single was always a good investment: you'd often get two great songs for the price of one! This can befound on the flip side of I Second That Emotion.)
Joanne - Michael Nesmith & The First National Band (8/70; #21 - Monkee Mike Nesmith was a fine songwriter with strong Country leanings. This band gave him the perfect outlet for his best material, and pedal steel player "Red" Rhodes added the perfect icing on the cake.)
* Our House - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (9/70; #30 - Graham Nash wrote this ode to domestic bliss for his current sweetheart Joni Mitchell, who was no doubt busy doing a bunch of composing herself.)
Too Late To Turn Back Now - Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose (5/72; #2 Pop - one of the signature sounds of the Summer of '72, featuring the warm baritone of brother Edward Cornelius.)
Arms Of Mary - Sutherland Brothers & Quiver (4/76; #81 - a melodically Folk-ish coming-of-age song by the British Sutherlands and their 4-piece band Quiver.)
Cook With Honey - Judy Collins (2/73; #32 - from the pen of LA session singer Valerie Carter, who cut the original version with her band Howdy Moon.)
Reflections Of My Life - The Marmalade (3/70; #10 - the American chart debut of this band, which had a much more successful run in their native UK.)
Love So Right - Bee Gees (9/76; #3 for four weeks! - the Bee Gees couldn't NOT have a hit at this stage of their career. The only thing keepoing this record from the top slot was Rod Stewart, whose Tonight's The Night spent eight weeks at #1.)
45 Corner: Christmas Time Is Here Again - The Beatles (Official members of the Beatles Fan Club received a special audio greeting from the boys every Christmas. This was the December 1967 version - fitting perfectly with our chart date!)
In And Out Of Love - Diana Ross & The Supremes (in its second week peaking at #9 on the Pop chart, which was - by the Supremes' standards - a disappointment. Their previous five singles had been four #1's and the #2 hit Reflections - see above.)
Ooh Baby - Deon Jackson (peaking in its second week at #65 - his final charting single on the tiny Carl Records label sounded an awful lot like a Smokey Robinson record. Not too shabby!)
Trivia Answer
#1 re-makes of #1 records:
Please Mr. Postman - Marvelettes (1961); Carpenters (1975)
The Loco-Motion - Little Eva (8/62); Grand Funk (5/74)
Go Away Little Girl - Steve Lawrence (1/63); Donny Osmond (9/71)
You Keep Me Hanging On - Supremes (1966); Kim Wilde (1987)
When A Man Loves A Woman - Percy Sledge (1966); Michael Bolton (1991)
I'll Be There - Jackson 5 (1/70); Mariah Carey (1/92)
Lean On Me - Bill Withers (1972); Club Nouveau (1987)
Lady Marmalade - LaBelle (1975); Christina Aguilera (2001)
Congratulations to Bill from Ithaca, for correctly answering the question and winning a pair of passes to Cinemapolis!
Host Next Week (12/19/15): Kim Vaughan with a spotlight on The Holiday Season.
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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