September 1, 2018: JH - Car Songs, Labor Day, End of Summer, Start of School

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!)

Thanks to our sponsors Island Health & Fitness and Rasa Spa for their support every week!

Birthday Calendar:

August 26 -
Chris Curtis (Chris Crummey) Searchers drummer - born 1941
Valerie Simpson (songwriter) - 72

August 27 -
Darryl Dragon (Captain & Tennille) - 76
Tim Bogert (Vanilla Fudge) - 74

August 28 - 
John Perkins (The Crew Cuts) - 87
Danny Seraphine (Chicago) - 70
Wayne Osmond - 67

August 29 - 
Dinah Washington - born 1924
Chris Copping (Procol Harum) - 73

August 30 - 
Kitty Wells - born 1919
John Phillips (Mamas & Papas) - born 1935
John McNally (The Searchers) - 77
Charles Colbert (The American Breed)

August 31 - 
Jerry Allison (The Crickets) - 79
Bob Welch (Fleetwood Mac) - born 2012
Van Morrison - 73
Gina Schock (The Go-Gos) - 61

September 1 - 
Archie Bell - 74
Barry Gibb - 72
Greg Errico (Sly & the Family Stone) - 70

Playlist

·     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

·     a glossary of terms is below the playlist

 OPENING THEME:  Good Old Rock ‘n’ Roll – Cat Mother & the All-Night Newsboys (1969, #29, produced by Jimi Hendrix)

CAR SONGS:  nothing says summer like car songs!

Camaro Commercial - The Turtles (1967 - nr: promotional spot done by the group)

Stick Shift - The Duals (1961 - #25: first hot rod instrumental to chart nationally, but was the group's only Top 40 song)

Beep Beep - The Playmates (1958 - #4: song uses the technique of accelerando, getting faster as the cars in the song speed up; a million-selling single; pictured below is a 1960 Rambler wagon similar to the one owned by my folks, except ours was Pepto-Bismol pink!)


*Hot Rod Lincoln - Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen (1972 - #9:  song was first released by songwriter Charlie Ryan in 1955; this version was the biggest hit)

GTO - Ronny & the Daytonas (1964 - #4: another million-seller)

GTO Judge Breakaway - Paul Revere & The Raiders (1969 - nr: another promotional commercial from another '60s pop group)


Fun Fun Fun - The Beach Boys (1964 - #5: The Beach Boys helped to define the California myth)

409 - The Beach Boys (1962 - #76: this song is credited for starting the hot rod music craze of the early '60s)

Hey Little Cobra - The Rip Cords (1963 - #4: group included Terry Melcher and Bruce Johnston)

*Shut Down - The Beach Boys (1963 - #23: the song is about a drag race between a Super-Stock 413 cu. in.-powered 1962 Dodge Dart and a fuel-injected 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray)

Ballad of Thunder Road - Robert Mitchum (1958 - #62: from the movie that starred Mitchum, the legendary actor)


Little Deuce Coupe - The Beach Boys (1963 - #15: the 1932 Ford Coupe was considered by many to be the definitive hot rod)


Maybellene - Chuck Berry (1955 - #5: Berry's first single and first hit; #18 RS500)

One Piece at a Time - Johnny Cash (1976 - #29: novelty song was the "Man in Black's" last Top 40 hit; below is a promo photo for the song)


45 Corner

Wonderful Summer - Robin Ward (1963 - #14: wistful one-hit wonder on Dot Records for the singer who was born Jacqueline Eloise McDonnell in Hawaii; my copy came from Angry Mom's Records)


Geronimo's Cadillac - Michael Murphey (1972 - #37: first hit for the artist who would go country and add his middle name "Martin" a few years later)

Hot Dang Mustang - Alexander & the Greats (1964 - dnc: song devoted to the much-loved classic American car)


Birthday Calendar

Aggravation - Chris Curtis (1966 - dnc: Joe South wrote it, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones played on it, but although the song made it to #19 in the UK, it did not chart here in the US)


I Don't Need No Doctor - Ray Charles (1966 - #72: one of many hit songs by the songwriting team of Ashford & Simpson)

Love Will Keep Us Together - The Captain & Tennille (1975 - #1: song spent 4 weeks at the top of the charts)

You Keep Me Hanging On - Vanilla Fudge (1967 - #6: group's cover of the Holland-Dozier-Holland hit)

Sh-Boom - The Crew-Cuts (1954 - #1: John Perkins sang lead for the group out of Canada; song helped to usher in the rock'n'roll era)

Lowdown - Chicago (1971 - #35: Danny Seraphine co-wrote the song with Peter Cetera; we heard the mono side of a promotional 45 rpm)


Goin' Home - The Osmond Brothers (1973 - #36: Wayne co-wrote the song with his brothers)

What A Difference A Day Makes - Dinah Washington (1959 - #8: song was originally written in 1934; Washington won a Grammy for Best Rhythm and Blues Performance for her recording)


Conquistador - Procol Harum (1972 - #16: loved this song when it was on AM radio; thanks to JR for pointing out that it was recorded with the Edmonton Orchestra)

It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels - Kitty Wells (1952 - #27: answer song to the song "The Wild Side of Life" that launched the Queen of Country Music on her way to stardom)

Mississipppi - John Phillips (1970 - #32: solo effort post-Mamas & Papas)


Needles & Pins - The Searchers (1964 - #13: song was co-written by Sonny Bono and Jack Nitzsche; McNally was co-founder of the group in 1957 and it helped to shape the Mersey Sound)

Bend Me Shape Me - The American Breed (1967 - #5: the band would later evolve into Rufus)

Peggy Sue - Buddy Holly (1957 - #3: song began as "Cindy Lue", after Holly's niece, but Jerry Allison persuaded him to change it to "Peggy Sue" for the woman who Allison would eventually marry - Peggy Sue Gerron; #194 on RS500)


Sentimental Lady - Bob Welch (1977 - #8: song was originally on Fleetwood Mac's 1972 album "Bare Trees"; Welch got help on this remake from his former bandmates; track from Welch's "French Kiss" LP in the WVBRchives)

Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile) - Van Morrison (1972 - #61: Morrison was inspired by the Wilson song "Reet Petite" and the band nailed it on the first take!)

Our Lips Are Sealed - The Go-Gos (1981 - #20: from the LP "Beauty and the Beat", my copy of which still has a "Blue Fox" sticker on it [long-time Ithaca residents might remember "Blue Fox Records and Books" on Aurora St.])


Tighten Up - Archie Bell and the Drells (1968 - #1: song spent two weeks at the top of the charts and ranks #265 on the RS500)

New York Mining Disaster - The Bee Gees (1967 - #14: first of 43 Hot 100 chart hits for the brothers)

Hot Fun in the Summertime - Sly and the Family Stone (1969 - #2: released after the band's Woodstock performance, it ranks #247 on the RS500)

Summer Songs

The Long Hot Summer - Jimmie Rodgers (1958 - #77: theme song to movie starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward; they later married)


The Things We Did Last Summer - Shelley Fabares (1962 - #46: cover of Jo Stafford #10 hit in 1946)


Summer Wine - Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood (1967 - #49: from the LP "Nancy & Lee" which I picked up at 'Yesterday and Today Records' in Jacksonville, FL)


Summer Wind - Frank Sinatra (1966 - #25: went to #1 on the Easy Listening charts)


*Goin' Up the Country - Canned Heat (1969 - #11: released in 1968, peaked on the charts in 1969; the group performed the song at Woodstock and it became the unofficial anthem of the music festival)


*He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother - The Hollies (1969 - #7: called in by my brother who was listening from Albany on wvbr.com)

School Songs: September 5 is the first day of school for most area students

School Is In - Gary 'US' Bonds (1961 - #28: Bonds played the North 40 in Lansing on August 24, backed by local band Radio London and Rockin' Remnants' own JS!)


School Day - Chuck Berry (1957 - #3: one of Berry's best-known songs)

Be True to Your School - The Beach Boys (1963 - #6: includes the tune "On Wisconsin")



Labor Day songs

Working for the Man - Roy Orbison (1962 - #33: one of 31 Hot 100 songs for Orbison)


A Hard Day's Night - The Beatles (1964 - #1: with that distinctive opening chord!)

5 O'Clock World - The Vogues (1965 - #4: big hit for the group from Turtle Creek, PA)

The Work Song - Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass (1966 - #18:  formed A&M Records with Jerry Moss)




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


Glossary of Terms:

dnc = did not chart

nr = not released as a single at the time

AC = Billboard’s chart for “Adult Contemporary” records

BB = Billboard Magazine, which publishes the Hot 100 chart (previously known as the Top 100), along with several other charts

Bubbling Under = songs that were ranked but fell below the top 100

C&W = Billboard’s chart for “Country & Western” records

R&B = Billboard’s chart for “Rhythm & Blues” records

RRHOF = Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
RS500 = Rolling Stone Magazine’s ranked list of the top 500 singles of all-time



Host Next Week (9/8/18):  Gregory James with the theme "To Chart, or not to chart".


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 streaming here. 

Thanks again to our sponsors Island Health & Fitness and Rasa Spa for their support every week!