October 7, 2017 - JS - 1968

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:  10/7/17
Host:  John Simon
Feature:  October 7, 1968




 The week ending October 12, 1968:

Slick Motown Soul, British Invasion, Bubblegum, Psychedelia, Bluesy Instrumentals, Hard Rock, Stone-cold R&B, Bossa Nova  -  a little bit of something for everyone on this week's chart!

 

Birthday Calendar


October 1 – Richard Harris – born in 1930
            – Donny Hathaway – born in 1945
           
October 2 – Don McLean – age 72
           
October 3 – Chubby Checker – age 76
            – Lindsey Buckingham – age 69
           
October 5 – Steve Miller – age 74
           




Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia


The average lifespan of a #1 Record in the RR era was two weeks. However...between 9/21/68 and 2/1/69 (which means all of October, November, December and January) there were only three records that reached those heights. Can you name two of them?

(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)

You're All I  Need to Get By - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell (#33 Pop, down from #7 - this one also made it to #1 for five weeks on the R&B chart in October of 1968. They were "America's sweethearts," but nobody knew that Tammi Terrell was soon to be felled by a brain tumor.)

I've Gotta Get a Message to You - Bee Gees (peaking in its third of four weeks at #8 - there was just too much traffic near the top of the chart for this classic to get any farther....)

Fool On the Hill - Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 (down to #22 from a peak at #6 - this breezy cover of Paul McCartney's ditty came in a picture sleeve.)

I Say a Little Prayer - Aretha Franklin (down to #13 on the Pop chart, from a peak of #10 - it also made it #3 on the R&B chart. The flipside was The House That Jack Built.)

Street Fighting Man - Rolling Stones (in its second week peaking at #48 - hard to believe that this Classic Rock staple never reached the Top Forty! Tonight we play a remastered version that shook the console!)

Court of Love - Unifics (at #46 Pop, headed to #25, and to #3 R&B - these guys had two Top Forty records on the Kapp label. This one was cheesy and irresistible.)

  

* La La Means I Love You - Delfonics (2/68; #4 - listeners Terry & Barbara are at home tonight celebrating their wedding anniversary with Rockin' Remnants, and this was the request. Happy Anniversary, you two!)

1,2,3 Red Light - 1910 Fruitgum Co. (down to #23 from a peak of #5 on the Pop chart - I'd mentioned "Bubblegum music" at the top of the show and got a Facebook request to NOT play Chewy Chewy. No worries  -  but this one is a most compelling "earworm." I have no regrets!)

* White Room - Cream (this was requested by the same guy who'd made the above request, and was just debuting on the chart this week. Eventually it would reach #6 on the Billboard chart. Tonight we play the full-length LP version.)

Shape of Things to Come - Max Frost & Troopers (at #26, headed to #22 - this is really a studio concoction by a fictional group for a movie called Wild in the Streets. Tonight we hear the hard-to-find mono 45. Pssst...click the link!)

  

* King Midas in Reverse - The Hollies (10/67; #51 - the caller mentioned that it was the Fall of '68 when Cass Elliott invited her friends Graham Nash and David Crosby to meet at her place for a little informal jamming, and that this song was somehow part of the story. True enough, this was one of his final recordings with the band.)

* What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong (7/68; #116 - this one barely registered here in States, but spent five weeks at #1 in the UK. Twenty years later it would reach the Top Forty after appearing the film Good Morning Vietnam!)

* Ride My See-Saw - Moody Blues (at #100 this week, headed to #61 - one of our listeners even called in with the chart-date info for me. By the way, the Moody Blues are nominees for the 2018 Class of the R'n'R Hall of Fame in Cleveland.)

Greenburg, Glickstein, Charles, David Smith and Jones - Cryan' Shames (peaking at #115 nationally - this band was a much bigger success in their home of Chicago, but this rocker should've been a big hit everywhere.)

7-8pm

Rosie - Chubby Checker (6/64; #116 - this was a breezy and bouncy b-side that coulda/shoulda been a hit. I dedicate to my daughter...Rosie!)

American Pie - Don McLean (1/72; #1 for four weeks - radio stations got a seven-inch single with Pt. I one one side and Pt. 2 on the flip, but most stations payed the full 8 1/2 minute LP version. Almost once an hour for at least 28 days. That's a lot of "pie," my friends.)

 

Rock Steady - Aretha Franklin (10/71; #9 Pop, #3 R&B for three weeks - Donny Hathaway was a singer and a songwriter, but he was also a session player. It's his organ part that drives this funky record, propelled by Atlantic players Chuck Rainey on bass, Bernard Purdie on drums and Cornell Dupree on guitar.)

Living In the USA - Steve Miller Band (bubbling under and eventually reaching #94 in November of '68 - but it would be reissued in 1974 and reach a more respectable #49. More to the point, it would also become a staple of Classic Rock radio over the next fifty years.)

Save Me a Place - Fleetwood Mac (3/80; dnc - this was one of Lindsey Buckingham's contributions to the band's Tusk LP. It was assigned to the b-side of a low-charting single, but it's a terrific example of his studio chops and arranging skills.)

* Oh, My Love - John Lennon (10/71; dnc - from the Imagine LP, this album track was requested by listener Michelle, who recently had a birthday and who seems to have found happiness at last. Happy Birthday, kiddo.)

* Time Has Come Today - Chambers Brothers (8/68; #11 - just off the chart a couple of weeks ago, this was the first and biggest hit for the band. The LP version clocks in at 11+ minutes. This is the 45 edit, coming in at 3:05.)

 

Porpoise Song - The Monkees (debuting at #89, headed to #62 - they quartet had come a long way since their debut as the "Faux Four," but churned out some stunning records along the way. They had passed their commercial prime, but left behind this fabulous psychedelic masterpiece, arranged by Jack Nitzsche and written by Goffin-King. Tonight we hear the superior mono mix.)

  

Hey Western Union Man - Jerry Butler (at #28, headed to #16 Pop and #1 R&B - Jerry Butler left Chicago to record under the supervision of Gamble & Huff, and it was a good move. This is one of a string of great hits they created together.)

45 Corner:  Soul Drippin' - The Mauds (bubbling under at #112 this week, eventually headed to #85 - "one-hit wonders" [if you can call #85 "a hit"] from Chicago. This was a bigger hit in their hometown, but hasn't been heard on NY radio in many a moon....)

The Weight - Jackie DeShannon (down to #64 this week - this is a case of a tasteful cover outperforming the original  -  on the charts, at least. The Band took their record to #63. Jackie's version made it to #55, and they were both on the chart at the same time. The Band's version continues to get lots of airplay. Jackie's? Not so much.)

Midnight Confessions - Grass Roots (at #6 this week, headed to #5 - the Grass Roots were going for a more "Motown-ish sound" with this record, and they hit the jackpot. Legend has it that Carol Kaye of The Wrecking Crew came up with this signature bass line.)

8-9pm




* Do You Know the Way to San Jose - Dionne Warwick (4/68; #10 - this Bacharach-David tune earned her a Grammy for Female Pop Vocal. Warning: once it gets in your head it's hard to let it back out....)

* (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay - Otis Redding (1/68; #1 for four weeks - Otis and his buddy Steve Cropper wrote this shortly after their triumphant appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival. They recorded it in the Fall. Otis died in a fiery plane crash a few weeks later, making this the first posthumous #1 of the Rockin' Remnants era.)

      

MacArthur Park - Richard Harris (5/68; #2 - this one has stirred many a debate between those who love it and those who hate it. Jimmy Webb and Larry Knechtel played the keyboards, Hal Blaine the drums, Joe Osborn the bass and Tommy Tedesco & Mike Deasy the guitars. They allegedly  did it straight through in one take!)

* Incense and Peppermints - Strawberry Alarm Clock (9/67; #1 - this record came out of nowhere to become one of the coolest #1s of the era. They would never equal their success, partly because the guy who sang the lead vocal never recorded with them again  -  this was intended as a throwaway B-side, and they enlisted the help of a high school kid who was friends with a band member!)

  

* Grazin' in the Grass - Hugh Masekela (7/68; #1 - an unlikely hit from a South African horn player on a tiny record label. Even MORE unlikely: a vocal version by the Friends of Distinction would nearly reach #1 eight months later.)

Slip Away - Clarence Carter (down to #10 this week after peaking at #6 Pop and #2 R&B - CC was a blind guitar player from the Muscle Shoals area. This one came out on the Atlantic Records label.)


Born to Be Wild - Steppenwolf (just off the chart - this record spent three weeks at #2. Last week it was at #23 and this week it is gone. Some music writers claim that the term "heavy metal" comes from the lyrics of this song.)

Stormy - Classics IV (lurking in the shadows, headed to #122 next week and eventually #5 - a timeless record, featuring the soulful vocals of Dennis Yost.)


Love Will Rain On You - Archie Bell & The Drells (#25 R&B - this tasty ballad is found on the flip side of a silly little dance number called Do the Choo Choo, but Pop Radio DJs never thought to flip it over. A shame.)

Say You Love Me - Fleetwood Mac (7/76; #11 - Lindsey Buckingham added some searing guitar parts to this single version of Christine McVie's song, elevating to a whole new level. Tonight we play that version for you.)



The Closer I Get to You - Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway (3/78; #2 Pop - this lilting duet also spent two weeks at #1 on the R&B chart. The two college friends had beautiful chemistry, and filled the void left by Tammi Terrell's passing - until Donny Hathaway jumped to his death shortly after this session.)

    

* Hello, It's Me - Todd Rundgren (10/73; #5 - the final request call of the evening came at about 8:51. Timing is everything!)

CLOSING THEME:  Sleepwalk – Santo & Johnny (1959, #1 for two weeks)

Bonus Track (kicking off the 9:00 Hour):
 
Hey Jude - The Beatles (in its third of nine weeks at #1 - the first two releases on the Beatles new Apple Records raced to the top of the charts, but Hey Jude won the race. Many of our listeners sang along on this one with Paul McCartney just two weeks ago at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. Goodnight to all, and to all a good night.)

 

Trivia Answer


Hey Jude - Beatles, #1 for nine weeks (9/21/68-11/30/68)

Love Child - Diana Ross & Supremes, #1 for two weeks (11/30-12/14) 

Heard it Through the Grapevine - Marvin Gaye, #1 for seven weeks (12/14/68-2/1/69)

Congratulations to George from East Genoa, for correctly answering the question and winning a large one-topping pizza from Papa John's AND a pair of day passes to Island Health and Fitness!

Congratulations, too, to Tom from Long Island who was listening on wvbr.com and who also knew the answer. He wins an honorable mention!








Host Next Week (10/14/17):  Kim Vaughan with a spotlight to be named soon....





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.