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: 5/28/16
Host: John Simon
Feature: May 28, 1965
JS says "Yikes - my first Remnants show since April!" Spotlight on late-May 1965, and a birthday calendar chock-full of songwriters (Bernie Taupin, Hal David, Rosanne Cash, Stevie Nicks, John Fogerty, Clarence Burke of the 5 Stairsteps....oh - and one Robert Zimmerman from Minnesota). 6-9 p.m. Plenty of room for you and your friends....
Birthday Calendar
May 22 - Bernie Taupin (lyricist) - age 66
May 24 - Bob Dylan - age 75
- Rosanne Cash – age 61
May 25 - Clarence Burke, Jr. (5 Stairsteps) - born in 1949
May 26 - Stevie Nicks - age 69
May 27 - Don Williams (Pozo Seco Singers) - age 77
- Bruce Cockburn - age 71
May 28 - Gladys Knight - age 72
- John Fogerty - age 71
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)
(Love Is Like A) Heatwave - Martha & Vandellas (8/63; #4 Pop, #1 R&B for four weeks - temperatures are hovering around 90 today with stifling humidity and no break in sight. At times like these we play Heatwave!)
Pipeline - Chantay's (3/63; #4 - the apostrophe is all their doing - and so is the playing. Surf's up, friends!)
The Door Into Summer - Monkees (1967; dnc - an album track from their #1 LP Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd. The Monkees just released a new album this week in 2016, fifty years after their debut.)
Mr. Tambourine Man - Byrds (5/65; #55, headed to #1 - the debut single for the band that officially introduced "Folk Rock" to the world. Unknown at the time was the fact that Roger McGuinn was the only group member to play on the record. Columbia hired the Wrecking Crew to provide the instrumental tracks.)
Catch The Wind - Donovan (5/65; #58, headed to #23 - Donovan was cursed with the industry's claim that he was Scotland's answer to Bob Dylan. This was the first of a string of Top 20 records for the young troubador.)
Shakin' All Over - Guess Who (5/65; #47, headed to #22 - the Canadian group Chad Allen & The Expressions actually recorded this one. The label called them "Guess Who," and the floodgates soon opened for them.)
Play With Fire - Rolling Stones (5/65; #96 (peak) - this was the b-side of The Last Time, which went Top Ten, but it got enough airplay and telephone action that it charted, too.)
It's Growing - Temptations (5/65; #37, down from #18 Pop and #3 R&B - the follow-up to My Girl didn't equal its predecessor's success, but this is a record holds up just fine, "toy piano" intro be damned.)
* Politician - Cream (1968; dnc - from their double album Wheels Of Fire comes this topical request from a listener in Newfield.)
Fortunate Son - CCR (11/69; #14 - the b-side of Down On the Corner, this one clocks in at #99 in the RS500.)
* Volunteers - Jefferson Airplane (11/69; #65 - title track from an album many consider to be their best.)
This Is My Country - Impressions (11/68; #25 - another one from the heart of the late-'60s culture wars, when Civil Rights tensions, anti-war sentiments and fights about hair and lifestyle choices were coming to a head. Happy Memorial Day, everybody!)
* (Love Is Like) A Baseball Game - Intruders (7/68; #26 - we have some die-hard Cubs out there, and I was asked to "play a baseball song" as soon as I could. Yes, ma'am!)
* Too Late To Turn Back Now - Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose (6/72; #2 Pop, #5 R&B - a request from Jeff on West Hill.)
* Bring It On Home - Animals (5/65; #40, headed to #32 - rumoured to be the result of a challenge between Herman's Hermits and the Animals to cut the more successful Sam Cooke cover. The Hermits charted higher with Wonderful World, but this one cuts one deep groove!)
Tonight's Birthday Calendar segment kicks off with a spotlight on lyricist Hal David, best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach. Seven of the next nine songs were written by this legendary force, who would've turned 95 today.
I Say A Little Prayer - Aretha Franklin (8/68; #10 - the b-side of House That Jack Built reached Top 10 on its own merits, even though Dionne Warwick had taken it to #4 eight months earlier. It would later star in the movie My Best Friend's Wedding - remember???)
Sea of Heartbreak - Don Gibson (6/61; #21 Pop, #2 C&W - this was co-written with Paul Hampton, not Burt Bacharach. Great song!)
Don't Make Me Over - Swinging Blue Jeans (3/66; 116 - the British Invasion groups found great source material in American "Girl Group" records, like this Dionne Warwick classic. Cool record, but not much chart success....)
You Waited Too Long - 5 Stairsteps (5/66; #94 Pop, #26 R&B - written and arranged - and sung with real feeling - by 17 year old Clarence Burke, Jr. This was their first in a long string of excellent singles for the Chicago family group.)
* Time - Pozo Seco Singers (2/66; #47 - the chart debut for this Texas trio. Singer Don Williams would later migrate to Nashville for a successful solo career as a Country singer.)
What the World Needs Now - Jackie DeShannon (5/65; #70, headed to #7 - Bacharach/David hit gold with this one, and Jackie DeShannon finally had a big hit as a singer.)
The Look Of Love - Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 (5/68; #4 - Bacharach/David were nominated for an Oscar with this song from "Casino Royale." Brasil '66 sang it at the Awards ceremony and subsequently had the biggest hit with it.)
This Girl's In Love With You - Dionne Warwick (2/69; #7 Pop - a big hit for her eight months after Herb Alpert took it to #1 for four weeks. Classic Bacharach/David!)
Ticket To Ride - Beatles (5/65; #2, down from #1 - tonight we hear the driving mono single version of this one, when the Beatles could do no wrong.)
Help Me, Rhonda - Beach Boys (5/65; #1, first of two weeks - Capitol Records had the two highest-charting records in the country on this date, and the Beach Boys were helping stem off the British Invasion.)
Count Me In - Gary Lewis & The Playboys (5/65; #7, down from two weeks at #2 - another great studio effort by Leon Russell, Hal Blaine and the Wrecking Crew musicians. These kids must've been really embarrassed to have to lip-sync this one on The Mike Douglas Show....)
* I'll Be Doggone - Marvin Gaye (5/65; #16, down from #8 Pop and #1 R&B - great dance tune for this suave Motown entertainer.)
You Really Know How To Hurt A Guy - Jan & Dean (5/65; #76, headed to #27 - no Surf or Car theme here, but who was the band? You guessed it: The Wrecking Crew!)
* Woolly Bully - Sam the Sham & The Pharoahs (5/65; #5, headed to #2 - this record would spend a whopping SEVEN WEEKS in the Top 5, two of them at #2, but it never quite reached the top.)
I Do Love You - Billy Stewart (5/65; #42, down from #26 Pop and #6 R&B - a sweet Soul classic for Mr. Billy Stewart. One listener called in and suggested that the chord progression would later lead to Crystal Blue Persuasion. Hmmm....)
* Look Through Any Window - Hollies (11/65; #32 - these guys were the real deal: killer harmonies, crisp playing, great songwriting....good call!)
* Before and After - Chad & Jeremy (5/65; #39, headed to #17 - from the pen of young Van McCoy, who would later chart as a recording artist with The Hustle.)
Ooo Baby Baby - Miracles (5/65; #24, down from #16 Pop and #4 R&B - Smokey Robinson has been quoted as calling this his "national anthem." The 5 Stairsteps and Linda Ronstadt would both chart with versions of this classic tune, but nobody sings it like the man who wrote it.)
Leather & Lace - Stevie Nicks w/ Don Henley (10/81; #6 - Stevie Nicks had become a superstar by 1981, and everything she did turned to gold - including this duet with the Eagles' drummer.)
Seven Year Ache - Rosanne Cash (4/81; #22 Pop, #1 C&W - this record was produced by her mentor/husband Rodney Crowell, and announced the arrival of a serious songwriter and performer.)
Knockin' On Heaven's Door - Bob Dylan (9/73; #12 - from the soundtrack to Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. This clocks in at #190 in the RS500.)
45 Corner: Free To Be - Bruce Cockburn (4/77; dnc - the very first release for True North Records, which was formed by Bruce Cockburn's management team. Tonight we play the mono radio station promo single for you.)
Silver Springs - Fleetwood Mac (1/77; dnc - the b-side of their Top Ten Go Your Own Way. The only place the single version is available is on the original 45. A Rockin' Remnants exclusive!)
Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival (5/69; #2 - John Fogerty wrote four songs that reached the Rolling Stone 500 list. This one clocks in at #355, and it still gets played daily on rock radio. Just imagine the royalty checks!)
Country Comfort - Elton John (1971 - from the album Tumbleweed Connection. Words by Berinie Taupin, who is 66 years old this week.)
It's All Over Now Baby Blue - Dion (5/65; dnc - words and music by Bob Dylan. This track was cut for the unreleased Columbia Records album Wonder Where I'm Bound, when Dion first explored his Folk-y side. He'd be back a few years later with Abraham, Martin & John on the Laurie label.)
Host Next Week (6/4/16): JS with a spotlight on your requests!
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.
