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: 10/29/16
Host: John Simon
Feature: October 1965 (plus Halloween Requests)
It's Wizarding Weekend in Downtown Ithaca, scheduled to coincide with seasonal Halloween festivities. Tonight we open the phone lines for your requests, and also shine a spotlight on late October 1965.
Birthday Calendar
October 24 – Bill Wyman (Rolling Stones) – age 80
October 25 – John Hall (Orleans) – age 69
October 27 – Floyd Cramer – born in 1933
October 29 – Denny Laine – age 72
– Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac) – age 70
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)
Make Me Your Baby - Barbara Lewis (peaking at #11 - one of a string of great production numbers on the Atlantic Records label)
Cleo's Back - Jr. Walker & All-Stars (at #67, headed to #43 Pop and #7 R&B - some raunchy Motown roadhouse funk on the Soul Records label.)
Mohair Sam - Charlie Rich (at #29, down from a peak of #21 - a great cosmopolitan C&W record on the Smash Records label)
Dinner With Drac - Zacherle (3/58; #6 - word just arrived that John Zacherle passed away at the ripe old age of 98. His career encompassed radio, television and this perennial Halloween classic on the Cameo-Parkway label. The back-up band was Dave Appell's Applejacks.)
* The Monster Mash - Bobby "Boris" Pickett (10/62; #1 - speaking of "perennial Halloween classics," this was the first request of the evening. Mwa-ha-haaaaaaa!)
* I Put A Spell On You - CCR (11/68; #58 - their first two singles were covers of Fifties classics. Their next eight singles were original compositions that hit the Top Ten, making them the most successful American singles band of the early '70s).
Never Had It So Good - Ronnie Milsap (#113, headed to #106 Pop and #19 R&B - his only charting single of the Sixties was as a "blue-eyed Soul singer" for NYC's Scepter Records label. He'd later find great success as a Nashville session guitarist and recording star.)
* Spooky - Classics IV (12/67; #3 for three weeks - their first big hit on the Imperial label was the perfect Halloween record.)
Yesterday - The Beatles (#1 for its fourth and final week - this was virtually a Paul McCartney solo recording with a string quartet backing him up. It went on to become the most recorded song of all-time.)
You've Got To Hide Your Love Away - The Silkie (at #51, headed to a peak of #10 - when the Beatles declined to release this song from Help!, these Folk Rockers did - with uncredited assistance from a guitar-slinging Paul McCartney!)
Let's Hang On - 4 Seasons (at #18, headed to #3 - another big Bob Crewe production brought these Jersey boys back to near the top of the charts.)
* Purple People Eater - Sheb Wooley (6/58; #1 for four weeks - one of the most successful Novelty Records of the year, clearly geared to a young audience.)
* As Tears Go By - Rolling Stones (12/65; #5 - going out to Lew in Newfield. They let Marianne Faithfull record it first, but they had the bigger hit with it.)
This Magic Moment - Jay & The Americans (1/69; #6 - Ben E King and The Drifters released this song back in 1960. Jay Black and the group took it ten positions higher on the Hot 100 and managed to make it their own. Pretty impressive....)
Jumpin' Jack Flash - Rolling Stones (6/68; #3 for three weeks - the Stones released hit after hit in the Sixties. This one was ranked #124 in the RS500. Happy birthday to the man on the bass: Bill Wyman!)
Albatross - Fleetwood Mac (3/69; #104 Billboard, #1 in the UK - BB King himself declared Peter Green one of his favorite guitarists. This haunting instrumental was a smash in England, but fizzled over here.)
Floyd Cramer migrated to Nashville in his early twenties and became one of RCA's favorite session players. His "slip note" piano stylings were central to hundreds of hit records. Here are three of them in honor of his birthday.
Crazy - Patsy Cline (10/61; #9 - written by Willie Nelson, this record clocks in at #85 on Rolling Stone Magazine's RS500 - and owes much of its brilliance to Floyd Cramer's piano licks.)
Can't Help Falling In Love - Elvis Presley (12/62; #2 - as a session player, he scored dozens of #1's on Elvis records alone. This one never quite reached the pinnacle of the charts, but it's a classic.)
Your Last Goodbye - Floyd Cramer (9/61; #63 - in addition to his session work, Floyd released a bunch of instrumental singles under his own name on the RCA label. This one competed with its flip side for chart position and deserved a better showing.)
Time Passes On - Orleans (1975 LP track - this cut from the Let There Be Music LP showcases John Hall's writing, singing and distinctive guitar work. It seemed like a fitting track for his birthday spotlight.)
* The Black Widow - Alice Cooper (3/75 - this album track from Welcome To My Nightmare features a spoken intro by none other than Vincent Price, who would repeat the favor for Michael Jackson ten years later on Thriller.)
* The Creature From The Black Lagoon - Dave Edmunds (9/79; b-side of Girls Talk - a rockin' atmospheric romp requested by our buddy Brad.)
* Don't Fear The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult (7/76; #12 - another atmospheric cult classic, ranked at #397 in the RS500. More cowbell, anyone?)
* Mystic Eyes - Them (peaking at #33 - their final charting single before Van Morrison left to pursue a solo career. He's just recently released his 36th studio album and his music is still relevant.)
I Hear a Symphony - The Supremes (debuting on this date at an impressive #39; four weeks later it would become their fourth consecutive #1 record - and sixth in fifteen months!)
Catch Us If You Can - Dave Clark 5 (down to #40 from a peak of #4 - history shows us that this was a second-tier band - as far as playing their own instruments goes - but they were stiff competition for the Beatles and Stones as leaders of the British Invasion....)
Spooky - Atlanta Rhythm Section (8/79; #17 - this band emerged from the ashes of the Classics IV, who took this song to the Top 10 twelve years earlier. "Just like a ghost you've been a-hauntin' my dreams so I'll propose on Halloween...")
* Witchy Woman - Eagles (9/72; #9 - this, their first Top 10 single, was a perfect suggestion for this Halloween season. Thanks for the call!)
Cowboys To Girls - Intruders (3/68; #6 Pop and #1 R&B - this was the first smash hit for writers and producers Gamble & Huff, and helped launch them to a new level. Lead singer Sam "Little Sonny" Brown passed away two weeks ago. We salute him this evening.)
Devil Or Angel - Bobby Vee (8/60; #6 - Robert Velline passed away after a long struggle with Alzheimer's at age 73 on October 24th. Here's one of a slew of hit records from the one-time teen sensation from Fargo, ND. R.I.P. Mr. Vee.)
Jet - Wings (2/74; #7 - Denny Laine was one of the driving forces behind the McCartney's band. The three of them recorded the Band On The Run LP in Nigeria shortly after their drummer and guitarist quit and it became the band's most successful album.)
* God Only Knows - Beach Boys (8/66; #39 - this was originally a b-side from their Pet Sounds LP. Programmers may have shied away from a song with "God" in the title, but it still cracked the Top Forty. Rolling Stone ranks it at #25 in their RS500. That's high praise!)
Angel Of The Morning - Merrilee Rush & The Turnabouts (5/68; #7 - Chip Taylor wrote this song and Evie Sands cut the original version just as her record company was going out of business. Somehow, her version ending up reaching the ears of a small band in Washington state. They cut it and it became a hit!)
45 Corner: Magic Town - Jody Miller (12/65; #125 - bubbling w-a-y under this week, this would become a bigger hit for The Vogues about a year later. Happy Wizarding Weekend to one and all.)
* Ding, Dong The Witch Is Dead - Fifth Estate (5/67; #11 - a Pop adaptation from the Wizard of Oz score, giving the group their only charting hit.)
My Baby Must Be a Magician - Marvelettes (12/67; #17 - Motown magic written and produced by Smokey Robinson, with guitar by Miracle Marv Tarplin and a vocal cameo from Temptation Melvin Franklin. Spooky!)
* My Little Red Book - Love (4/66; #52 - LA band Love covered this Bacharach tune and turned a wimpy song about rejection into a biting revenge fantasy. It was requested by a local musician and seconded by our FB friend Betsy. Took a long time to track it down, but here it is!)
* If You Could Read My Mind - Gordon Lightfoot (12/70; #5 - an unlikely Halloween request referencing "a ghost from a wishing well." Thanks, George.)
45 Corner (Pt. II): Black Magic Woman - Santana (11/70; #4 - this was originally recorded by Fleetwood Mac under the leadership of Peter Green. It remains a staple on FM radio, but always segued into "Gypsy Queen." Tonight we hear it the way it sounded on AM radio back in the day.)
Congratulations to Jimmy from Ithaca, for correctly winning an hour of free bowling at Atlas Bowl in Trumansburg!
Host Next Week (11/5/16): Kim Vaughan with a spotlight on "Songs That Make You Feel Good!"
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