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: 7/29/17
Host: John Simon
Feature: Sounds of Summer
Tonight we'll start with some of the sounds of Summer (finally) and then we'll turn a birthday spotlight on the magnificent Darlene Love (who turned 80 just the other day). JS is your happy tour guide. C'mon by! 6-9 p.m., with two giveaways, your requests, and it won't cost you a thing....
Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia
Seven charting songs from August 1964 can be found on the A Hard Day's Night Soundtrack on United Artists Records. Name 'em!
(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)
Sitting In the Park - Billy Stewart (6/65; #24 Pop, #4 R&B - a classic mid-sixties Soul single: rolling organ, ascending chord pattern and smooth 3-part backing vocals....)
Saturday in the Park - Chicago (8/72; #3 for two weeks - bouncy pop tune full of summertime imagery and those Chicago horns!)
Grazing in the Grass - Friends of Distinction (4/69; #3 Pop - just one year earlier, this had been an instrumental #1 record for trumpeter Hugh Masekela. Somebody added words and the FoD added an infectious backing vocal line. Can you dig it bay-bay???)
Green Grass - Gary Lewis & Playboys (5/66; #8 - their first seven records hit the Top Ten. This was the final one, and it came from the British writing team of Cook and Greenaway. "Summertime is nigh," indeed.)
Pleasant Valley Sunday - Monkees (7/67; #3 for two weeks - biting social commentary disguised as Pop pablum for the masses, from the writing team of Goffin-King. The psychedelic meltdown at the end serves as confirmation that there's more to this one than meets the ear.)
* Summer - War (7/76; #7 - released on the first day of Summer in 1976 and requested by one of our loyal Canadian listeners.)
* White Summer - Yardbirds (7/67; dnc - this is basically a Jimmy Page solo performance from the Little Games LP. It elicited an appreciative call from a like-minded listener. Cool request.)
The House That Jack Built - Aretha Franklin (8/68; #8 - punchy mono from the Queen of Soul. Turn it up!)
Come On Down to My Boat - Every Mothers Son (6/67; #6 - these guys came out of nowhere and this distinctive gem was a signature song of the early Summer of '67.)
* 59th Street Bridge Song - Simon & Garfunkel (4/67; dnc - this was the B-side of At the Zoo. We have a listener who just loves this song and finds it comforting and healing during hard times. Watch the short video of their performance at the Monterey Pop Festival shortly after its release!)
Down in the Boondocks - Billy Joe Royal (7/65; #9 - a classic across-the-tracks single from the pen of the great Joe South.)
45 Corner: On a Summer Night - The Sugar Canyon (6/68; dnc - released on Buddah Records to little notice or fanfare, but it really captures a certain Summertime vibration. Shoulda been a hit!)
Patches - Dickey Lee (8/62; #6 - another across-the-tracks classic, with an added element of tragedy.)
Everybody's Talkin' - Nilsson (8/69; #6 - writer Fred Neil's version was just about perfect, but Nilsson's slightly sped-up version was just what the Midnight Cowboy producers were looking for. The widescreen exposure helped the record crack the Top Ten, and helped Nilsson become a star.)
* Summer Breeze - Seals & Crofts (9/72; #6 - two people called for this one. One of them recalled that it was the first 45 he ever purchased as a teenager. A classic!)
Birthday Calendar
July 23 – Dino Danelli (Rascals) – age 73
July 24 – Verdine White (Earth Wind & Fire) – age 66
July 26 – Darlene Love – age 80
– Brenton Wood – age 76
– Dobie Gray – born in 1940
– Mick Jagger – age 74
July 27 – Bobbie Gentry – age 73
Gimme Little Sign - Brenton Wood (8/67; #8 - one of the signature sounds of the Summer of Love!)
See You at the Go-Go - Dobie Gray (4/65; #69 - not one of his bigger hits, but it had a big sound and captures the excitement of the times.)
Paint It, Black - Rolling Stones (7/66; #1 - This one was at the top of the chart on Mick's 23rd birthday. Crank it up and feel the thunder!)
Spotlight on Darlene Love
Born in South LA and raised in the church, Darlene Wright joined The Blossoms while still in high school. They soon became sought-after session singers in Los Angeles and eventually came to the attention of producer Phil Spector. Before it was all over, they backed up acts ranging from Sam Cooke and Johnny Rivers to Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra ["That's Life"].
Their chameleon-like ability to sound like white bobby-soxers on one record and soulful shouters on the next made them especially appealing to producers.
Johnny Angel - Shelley Fabares (4/62; #1 for two weeks - with prominent exposure on The Donna Reed Show, this raced to the top of the chart. Who knew that it was three Black girls and a Chicana backing up young "Mary Stone??!?")
Lolita Ya-Ya - The Ventures (8/62; #61 - Nelson Riddle also released this ditty from the Peter Sellers film, but The Ventures left him in the dust - with some help from The Blossoms.)
(Dance With) The Guitar Man - Duane Eddy feat. The Rebelettes (10/62; #12 - guess who the Rebelettes really were....)
* He's a Rebel - The Crystals (11/62; #1 for two weeks - when Phil Spector heard that Liberty Records was planning to release this Gene Pitney composition by Vicki Carr - after he had decided to record it with The Crystals, who were back in NYC - he raced to the LA studio and cut this one with The Blossoms. It blew Vicki Carr's version out of the water, but Darlene was astonished that her name wasn't on the record. There was now trouble brewing in LA....)
A Fine, Fine Boy - Darlene Love (10/63; #63 - Phil Spector finally gave Darlene top billing on some singles, but he was mostly focused on Ronnie Spector's group at this point, and sales were low. They would soon part ways.)
* Poor Side of Town - Johnny Rivers (11/66; #1 - Johnny Rivers was well aware of the talent over at Gold Star Studios. This record featured the fine playing of The Wrecking Crew and the scintillating vocals of The Blossoms.)
That's When the Tears Start - The Blossoms (3/66; #128 - writer-and-producer Van McCoy enlisted the girls to sing one of his creations. It was released as a b-side and nearly charted on its own.)
Good Good Lovin' - The Blossoms (4/66; #101 Pop, #45 R&B one year later - here's the aforementioned "A-side," penned by Barry Mann & Cynthia Weill. Reprise released it twice and it charted R&B the second time out.)
Brown Eyed Woman - Bill Medley (8/68; #43 - also from the Mann-Weill team, who had written two of the Righteous Brothers' biggest hits. Bill Medley sang this song about interracial romance with true conviction, because he and background vocalist Darlene Love were actually dating at the time!)
Baby I Need Your Lovin' - Johnny Rivers (2/67; #3 for three weeks - too good to not play during this tribute. Listen to Darlene Love take off near the end of the song. Stunning!)
If I Can Dream - Elvis Presley (11/68; #12 - the beginning of Elvis' "comeback" phase - a huge Gospel number featuring Darlene Love and the Blossoms on background vocals.)
For even more on the amazing work of Darlene Love, seek out the documentary called "Twenty Feet from Stardom."
Trivia segment: See the question at the top. Here's your source material:
A Hard Day's Night - #1 / I Should've Known Better - #53
And I Love Her - #12 / If I Fell - #53
I'll Cry Instead - #25 / I'm Happy Just to Dance With You - #95
Ringo's Theme - George Martin Orchestra - #53
It Could Be We're In Love - Cryan' Shames (8/67; #85 - this one spent four weeks at #1 on Chicago's WLS, where they were hometown heroes. It didn't get much play on either coast, though, limiting its chart success. Beautiful tune that should've been a much bigger hit!)
* Seaside Shuffle - Terry Dactyl & The Dinosaurs (7/72; #2 UK - this had apparently been released a year earlier without charting. The caller says that Mungo Jerry shared the bill with these guys at a number of shows and "stole" their song.)
* Beach Baby - First Class (7/74; #4 - seemingly as American as apple pie, this was actually a British studio concoction. Nonetheless, it hit all the right buttons and sounded authentically Californian!)
* Let There Be Music - Orleans (4/75; #55 - this was apparently the first nationally-charting single for this Woodstock band with local ties. The request was from a younger listener who was really enjoying the tunes, but wanted to hear "some Orleans.")
Getaway - Earth Wind & Fire (7/76; #12 Pop, #1 R&B for two weeks - a summertime smash for Verdine White, his brother Maurice, and their very hot band. Be sure to watch the blistering bass duel starting at about 1:44. Verdine White is in the red pants.)
I'll Cry Instead - The Beatles (8/64; #25 - Capitol released three singles from the Beatles' first big movie. All six sides charted, as did George Martin's version of This Boy, dubbed "Ringo's Theme.")
I Can Help - Billy Swann (11/74; #1 for two weeks - this was a surprise hit from a guy better known as a writer and producer.)
It's All Over Now - Rolling Stones (7/64; #26 Pop, #1 UK - the Stones completely overshadowed the Womack Brothers with this rocking cover, and went straight to the top of the charts in England. It would be another year before they'd reach #1 in the States, finally getting some "satisfaction.")
Ariel - Dean Friedman (4/77; #26 - this one is full of New York-area Jewish humor, and is one rockin' record on Cashman and West's Lifesong Records label. For the single, the label edited out a verse and they changed the line "she was a Jewish girl" to "her name was Ariel." Tonight we hear the unedited LP version.)
Trivia Answer
ANSWER.
Congratulations to Michael from Ithaca, for correctly answering the question and winning a $20 gift card to Luna Inspired Street Food!
Host Next Week (8/4/17): John Rudan with a spotlight on Early August 1972
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment