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: January 9, 2016
Host: John Simon
Feature: Mixed Bag
This week's Birthday Calendar includes Elvis Presley, Little Anthony Gourdine, Joan Baez, Stephen Stills, two members of Led Zeppelin, Kenny Loggins, Crystal Gayle, Scott Walker, Sir George Martin, Robbie Krieger of The Doors and the under-rated Van McCoy. Brace yourselves....we'll be putting on the party hats tonight! 6-9 p.m. with your host JS. See you soon.
Birthday Calendar
January 3 - Sir George Martin - age 90
- Stephen Stills - age 70
- John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) - age 70
- Robert John - age 70
January 6 - Van McCoy - born in 1944
January 7 - Kenny Loggins - age 68
January 8 - Elvis Presley - born in 1935
- Little Anthony Gourdine (Imperials) - age 76
- Robby Krieger (Doors) - age 70
- David Bowie - age 69
January 9 - Joan Baez - age 75
- Scott Engel (Walker Bros.) - age 73
- Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) - age 72
- Crystal Gayle - age 65
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)
California Dreamin' - Mamas & Papas (1/66; #4 - we kick off the show on the 50th anniversary of the release of this record. Tonight you get the mono single version, first time ever on CD from this compilation. PF Sloan played the opening guitar lick, and the song became an instant classic. #89 on the RS500, by the way.)
New York's A Lonely Town - Trade Winds (2/65; #32 - this plaintive lament about being far from home comes from the team of Vinnie Poncia and Pete Anders, who did a bunch of work with Phil Spector in the early Sixties.)
Wendy - Beach Boys (10/64; #44 - this one was held back by its placement on a four-song EP: 4 By The Beach Boys. On its own it would've been a smash!)
* Cheryl's Going Home - Blues Project (10/66; LP track - this song was written by Bob Lind and was supposed to be his debut single, until DJs flipped for the flip side Elusive Butterfly. The BP included it on their Projections album, and some consider it the definitive version.)
Someday We'll Be Together - Diana Ross & Supremes (12/69; #1 Pop, #1 R&B for four weeks - this was the final release for the Motown trio, as Diana Ross was on her way to a solo career. Ironically, she was the only "Supreme" on this record, The backing vocals were done by Motown session singers Maxine & Julia Waters.)
The Way You Look Tonight - Jaguars (9/56; dnc - a regional hit in LA for this interracial high school Doo Wop group. Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields wrote this one and the Lettermen had their first big hit with it in 1961. Fred Astaire sang the original in 1936.)
Again - The Four Cal-Quettes (8/62; dnc - this quartet cut four classy singles for Capitol Records. None of them charted. This b-side is a sublime case in point.)
Lonely Surfer - Jack Nitzsche (8/63; #39 - Jack "Specs" Nitzsche was Phil Spector's go-to guy for string and horn arrangements, and became a very in-demand producer and arranger. He wrote, arranged and produced this moody, majestic instrumental and released it under his own name.)
Journey To The Center Of Your Mind - Amboy Dukes (6/68; #16 - the only charting single for this rockin' Detroit band. Guitarist Ted Nugent would go on to become a right-wing nut and firearms enthusiast.)
I Could Be So Good To You - Don & The Good Times (4/67; #56 - a good-timey sunshine pop record produced by none other than...Jack Nitzsche!)
* I'm A Man - Spencer Davis Group (3/67; #10 - featuring the vocals and keyboard stylings of 18 year old songwriter and boy genius Steve Winwood. An amazing record!)
Dr. Robert - The Beatles (1965; LP track - this track was saved for release on the UK Revolver album, but Capitol cobbled together an album of non-LP singles and some tracks from Rubber Soul and called it "Yesterday...And Today." The Beatles considered it "a butcher job" and posed for the notorious "butcher cover." Capitol quickly recalled copies and slapped a new cover on the LP.)
Too Much Of Nothing - Peter, Paul & Mary (11/67; #35 - Bob Dylan wrote it; Dick Kniss played the bass...on this and all of their records. He deserves a mention here. Watch him in the video clip.)
45 Corner: Space Oddity - David Bowie (1/73; #15 - this had been previously released in 1969 on the Mercury label, and signaled the arrival of a new superstar. Commercial copies of this one ran at 5:12, but there was a special DJ edit that ran 3:49. That's what we feature in tonight's 45 Corner.)
* Timothy - The Buoys (1/71; #17 - this request was inspired by the salt mine scare we had in Lansing last week. The implication that cannibalism was part of the storyline of the song may have limited airplay. Still, this was a pretty big hit.)
Angry Eyes - Loggins & Messina (9/72; dnc - the LP version ran 7:40 long. There was a single edit that clocked in at 2:22, but it never charted. The next single would be their biggest: Your Mama Don't Dance.)
You're Lost Little Girl - Doors (10/67; LP track - from their Strange Days album and never released as a single. This one is a nice showcase for Robby Krieger's guitar stylings.)
What Is and What Shall Never Be - Led Zeppelin (10/69; LP track - from their album Led Zeppelin II and never released as a single, but this was an FM radio staple.)
There But For Fortune - Joan Baez (9/65; #50 - words and music by Phil Ochs. Joan Baez is still touring at 75, and will bring her show to Ithaca's State Theater in late February.)
Love Her - Walker Brothers (1/65; #20 UK - this one didn't chart in The States, but it put them on the map in England. They would actually ride the coat tails of the British Invasion and find success in their native America as a British import.)
If You Don't Want My Love - Robert John (4/68; #49 - this Brooklyn native got his start as a recording artist ten years earlier as Bobby Pedrick, Jr. He possesses one of the finest falsettos in popular music.)
Suspicion - Elvis Presley (5/64; #103 - this was an album track that suddenly drew attention when Elvis sound-alike Terry Stafford released it and sold a ton of records. RCA put it out as a b-side, paired with Kiss Me Quick. It almost cracked the Hot 100 on its own.)
Can't Help Falling In Love - Elvis Presley (12/61; #2 - credited to the production team of Hugo & Luigi, this is a record Elvis has called his favorite off all of his recordings.)
Spotlight on George Martin - the classically trained musician and record producer who signed the Beatles when no one else would. He has been called "The Fifth Beatle," and his contributions to their sound and growth can't be underestimated. He also produced records for a number of British Invasion bands (including Gerry & The Pacemakers, Matt Monro, Billy J Kramer and The Fourmost). Here are three records that had the "Martin touch" all over them.
Yesterday - The Beatles (10/65; #1 for four weeks - George Martin convinced a reluctant Paul McCartney to add a string quartet to this song - by playing it in the style of Bach to show the possible voicings. It went on to become the most recorded song in history.)
Is It Love - Cilla Black (3/65; #133 - from the film Ferry Across The Mersey. All selections were arranged by producer George Martin.)
I'll Keep Holding On - The Action (1966 - released as a single in the UK and the Netherlands, and produced by George Martin. The original version was a hit for the Marvelettes on the Tamla label here in the US.)
I'll Keep Holding On - Marvelettes (5/65; #34 Pop, #11 R&B - Wanda Jackson got to sing lead on this one after being relegated to a back-up role. It would be the beginning of a renaissance for the Motown pioneers who'd been displaced by the Supremes as the labels premier "girl group.")
* Keep On Running - Spencer Davis Group (3/66; #76 Pop, #1 UK - a driving dance-beat number from 17 year old Steve Winwood and the boys.)
Spotlight on Van McCoy
- Billboard's thumbnail biography simply says "Disco
songwriter/producer." Van McCoy was much more than that, and deserves
his time in the spotlight. In addition to writing and producing some
great records in the Sixties, he was the man who put together the
hit-making duo Peaches & Herb, he resuscitated the flagging career of the great David Ruffin and he did production work for Seventies Soul groups The Stylistics, The Presidents and others. Oh - and he did have a #1 record of his own in the Seventies.
Baby I'm Yours - Barbara Lewis (6/65; #11 Pop, #5 R&B - she was an accomplished songwriter in her own right, but this Van McCoy number lent itself perfectly to her style.)
That's When The Tears Start - The Blossoms (3/66; #128 Pop (3/66; #128 - Darlene Love and her Blossoms couldn't buy a hit, but this Van McCoy number had all of the elements that should have clicked. The flip side, Good Good Lovin', would fare better, but this is a Northern Soul dance floor favorite.)
Before And After - Chad & Jeremy (5/65; #17 - an earlier version by the Fleetwoods failed to crack the Hot 100. Chad & Jeremy's majestic version fared much better, and further cemented Van McCoy's reputation as a hit-maker.)
I Get The Sweetest Feeling - Erma Franklin (1970 - this smooth interpretation by Aretha's big sister used the same backing track as Jackie Wilson's sublime hit, but it was held back at the last minute. Shoulda beena smash.)
Let's Fall In Love - Peaches & Herb (12/66; #21 Pop, #11 R&B - although he didn't write it, Van McCoy was behind the signing of this duo, and he was the arranger on this track.)
Walk Away From Love - David Ruffin (11/75; #9 Pop, #1 R&B - just when it seemed that former Temptation David Ruffin was washed up, Van McCoy paired him with this song and assumed arranger duties on it. It was Ruffin's most successful solo single.)
Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue - Crystal Gayle (8/77; #2 Pop for three weeks, #1 C&W for four weeks - the younger sister of Loretta Young turned 65 today. This was a big radio hit in the summer of '77.)
The Hustle - Van McCoy (4/75; #1 Pop and R&B - he finally had a hit record under his own name....and it was one of the signature sounds of the Disco era.)
"Heroes" - David Bowie (10/77; #24 UK; dnc in US - the title track from one of the great concept albums of the Seventies, this one never made any noise here in the States.)
No Expectations - Joan Baez (4/70; #116 RW - this one didn't chart on Billboard or Cash Box, but it spent ten weeks bubbling around on the Record World chart. Words and music by Jagger and Richard, instrumentation by some of Nashville's finest.)
Lost Her In The Sun - John Stewart (12/79; #34 - after his Kingston Trio days, JS continued to write and record terrific songs. This one is from his Bombs Away Dream Babies LP.)
* In Dreams - Roy Orbison (2/63; #7 - this one ranks at #312 in the RS500. David Lynch commissioned a re-recorded version for his film Blue Velvet twenty-five years later, but that one failed to chart.)
Goodnight - The Beatles (1968 - this is the final track from their double album commonly known as "The White Album." Curiously, there were no singles released from that collection. The strings were arranged by none other than Sir George Martin.)
Host Next Week (1/16/16): Kim Vaughan with a spotlight on 1962
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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