June 1 - JS - Requests and Seasonal Gems!

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!

Date:  6/1/19
Host:  John Simon
Feature:  Seasonal Gems




Last minute sub on Rockin' Remnants tonight from 6-9. No real theme, no real plan - but I just did a crash-course in the late-May Birthday files. Do please drop by! [we'll start with some great songs from early June 1969 and 1966]


  


Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia


Can you identify the name of the lead singer of the song that follows my final commercial break this evening? Hint: this was one of Motown's biggest groups!

(scroll down to find the answer below the playlist – and to find a glossary of terms)




Playlist

·      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

·      a glossary of terms is below the playlist

6-7pm 



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

What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars (9/69; #4 Pop, #1 R&B - this is the debut of Jr. Walker's melodic  -  as opposed to growling  -  vocal stylings. A brilliant summertime classic!)

Too Busy Thinking About My Baby - Marvin Gaye (6/69; #4 Pop, #1 R&B - this mirrors the success of Jr. Walker's contemporary recording, except that Marvin Gaye's record spent SIX weeks at #1 on the R&B chart!)

Oh How Happy - Shades of Blue  (6/66; #2 - although they weren't part of the Motown family of labels, this was a Detroit-based group with a tasty bit of Blue-eyed Soul in the Summer of '66.)

Sweet Talkin' Guy - Chiffons (6/66; #10 - this was a swingin' sassy charter from the girls from New York City.)


Ma Cherie Amour - Stevie Wonder (6/69 - 6/69; #4 - this was the B-side of his lower-charting I Don't Know Why from a few months earlier. It has since become an oft-recorded "standard" in the Pop canon.)


Along Comes Mary - Association (6/66 - climbing the chart on this date and headed to #7, despite the fact that it was banned in many markets due to its possible drug-related nature....)

 

* I've Never Found a Girl To Love Me (Like You Do) - Eddie Floyd (7/68; #40 Pop, #2 R&B - this record proved that Eddie Floyd was more than just a soulful shouter: it's sweet and string-laden and a great dedication record!)


* Ask the Lonely - Four Tops (2/65; #24 Pop, #9 R&B - the request was "how about some Four Tops?" This is classic Levi Stubbs pouring his heart into this one that DIDN'T come from the team of Holland-Dozier-Holland.)

* Mercy, Mercy, Mercy - Cannonball Adderley (2/67; #11 - this was composed by Cannonball's piano player Joe Zawinul. The Buckinghams had a big summertime hit with it a few months later, but this is the original.)


* Eminence Front - The Who (12/82; #68 - not one of their bigger hits, by a long shot  -  but a pretty cool tune requested by a regular listener, who acknowledged that it went a bit beyond our parameters. Welcome to the club, buddy!)  


* Save the Country - Laura Nyro (8/68; dnc - this one was inspired by the assassination of RFK two months earlier, and would become a big hit for the 5th Dimension. It goes out at the request of listener Judy.) 

* Leader of the Pack - Shangri-Las (11/64; #1 - this one goes out to listener Barbara: it's a big dramatic passion play on vinyl, produced by the one and only Shadow Morton.)


* Blue Moon - Marcels (3/61; #1 - this wacky remake of the Rodgers & Hart chestnut rocketed to the top of the charts and fully legitimized the Doo Wop assault on classic melodies and show tunes.)


* I Only Have Eyes For You - Flamingos (6/59; #11 - and now: the stately and majestic side of Doo Wop music. Listener Betsy's comment after it was over: "The backing vocals! The lush harmonies!... /faint.")

7-8pm

 Birthday Calendar


May 26 – Levon Helm (The Band) – born in 1940
            – Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac) – age 71
           
May 27 – Don Williams (Pozo Seco Singers) – born in 1938

May 28 – Gladys Knight – age 75
            – John Fogerty (CCR) – age 74
           
June 1 – Pat Boone – age 85
            – Ronnie Wood (Faces, Stones) – age 72
            – Graham Russell (Air Supply) – age 69

I'll Be Gone - Pozo Seco Singers (6/66; #92 - they only had one Top Forty hit, but their lilting melodies and sweet harmonies were enhanced by Don Williams' rich baritone voice.)


Rhiannon - Fleetwood Mac (3/76; #11 - this song and Landslide were Stevie Nicks' major contributions to her first album with the band, and continue to be defining moments in her career.)

 

Fortunate Son - CCR (9/69; #14 - another as-good-as-if-not-better-than-the-A-side song by John Fogerty & Co. The flipside was Down On the Corner, but this continues to resonate as one of the classic stirring anti-war anthems.)


The Night They Drove Ol' Dixie Down - The Band (11/69; dnc - this was tucked onto the B-side of Up On Crippled Creek, but it's one of The Band's most enduring recordings, anchored by the steady drumming and wailing voice of Levon Helm.)

 

Didn't You Know You'd Have to Cry Some Time - Gladys Knight & The Pips (6/69; #63 Pop; #11 R&B - this is an underappreciated gem from the Motown family of labels  -  in this case Soul Records. Wait 'til you hear her hold out that last l-o-n-g note at the end!)

Ooh La La - Faces (3/73; dnc - this was co-written by multi-instrumentalist Ron Wood, released as a single but it didn't chart.)


Lost In Love - Air Supply (2/80; #3 for four weeks - their first big single got shut out of the top slot by Blondie's Call Me, but it announced their arrival in a big way!)


* Moody River - Pat Boone (6/61; #1 - there was heated debate on Facebook about whether or not I should play a Pat Boone record. Well, you really can't argue with this one: it reached #1 this week in 1961 and is melodic and haunting - and this is his 85th birthday!)

 

* Come On Up - Young Rascals (9/66; #37 - their next eleven records would be Top Twenty hits, so this one tends to get lost in the shuffle  -  but it's a badass tune!)


Nowhere to Run - Martha & Vandellas (2/65; #8 - these girls cut some great records in their day, but this one might just be their toughest one ever.)


* Do You Wanna Dance - Mamas & Papas (11/68; #76 - there were several hit versions of this record, but this slowed-down interpretation is rather magical, and it's significant in that Papa John Phillips rarely got to sing lead.)


45 Corner:  Rapid Transit - The Robbs (5/67; #123 - despite daily exposure on national television via Dick Clark's "Where The Action Is," these midwestern brothers failed to chart on a national level. Here's a cool slab of sunshiny vinyl for you on the Mercury label.)

* Easy to Slip - Little Feat (1972; dnc - this is the opening track from their Sailin' Shoes LP, requested by listener Jay. Great tune!)


Keep That Same Old Feelin' - Crusaders (6/76; #21 R&B - this is the shortened radio station edit of a great track from their album Those Southern Nights. It failed to chart in the Pop world, but made some noise on the R&B stations.)

 

8-9pm




* Younger Girl - Critters (6/66; #42 - John Sebastian wrote it and included it on a Lovin' Spoonful album, but these guys had the radio hit. The Hondells had a simultaneous release that split airplay and sales between the two, because it deserved to be a bigger hit.)

Just My Style - Gary Lewis & Playboys (12/65; #3 - Leon Russell plays the piano AND the guitar solo on this terrific Bones Howe production on the Liberty label.)


Opus 17 (Don't Worry About Me) - 4 Seasons (6/66; #13 - a big Bob Crewe production with the soaring falsetto vocals of Frankie Valli. A year later he'd have a huge chart record as a solo artist, but he was and always will be one of "the Jersey Boys.")


Beggin' - Timebox (2/68; #38 in the UK - The 4 Seasons had the hit with this song in America, but this was the UK's hit version. What a great record  -  well worth tracking down if you missed it!)

Baby, Now That I've Found You - Foundations (12/67; #11 Pop, #1 UK - this was a bigger hit for the mixed-race group in England than over here, spending two weeks at #1.)


La La Means I Love You - Delfonics (2/68; #4 Pop, #1 R&B - one of the great majestic Soul ballads of all-time, and a special dedication to my sweetheart. This still is one of "our" songs.)

Be Thankful For What You Got - Billy DeVaughn (4/74; #4 Pop, #1 R&B - if you close your eyes you might think you're listening to Curtis Mayfield. This is one of the great Summertime songs of the Seventies.)


Sha-La-La (Make Me Happy) - Al Green (10/74; #7 Pop, #2 R&B - some smooth Chicago Soul to soothe your soul on this springtime Saturday night.)


What a Wonderful Thing - Fabulous Rhinestones (8/72; #78 - this group formed partly from the ashes of The Buckinghams, and boasts the presence of legendary bassist Harvey Brooks. This was the closest thing they had to "a hit," and it's a fine record.)

 

* Moonlight Drive - The Doors (9/67; dnc - this was tucked onto the b-side of their hit single "Love Me Two Times," both from their Strange Days LP. Going out to Mark in Virginia, who  -  according to unnamed sources  - apparently started dancing on a chair and hooting and hollering when it came on!)


Clean Up Woman - Betty Wright (11/71; #6 Pop, #2 R&B - this one spent EIGHT weeks at #2 on the R&B chart. Yikes!)

45 Corner:  I'll Never Be In Love Again - Don Williams (6/87; #4 C&W - we usually don't dip so deep into the Eighties, but this is a classic example of Don Williams' smooth vocal delivery and ties in nicely to our birthday calendar.)

 Song Sung Blue - Neil Diamond (6/72; #1 -we in the RR family have been touched by tragedy lately, and this goes out to all who are feeling a little bit blue.)


I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You) - Temptations
(6/68; #13 Pop, #1 R&B - this one is particularly poignant, because it would be the Tempts' final big hit with David Ruffin - second from left - on lead vocal. He had just been fired from the band.) 

Angel of the Morning - Merilee Rush & The Turnabouts (6/68; #7 - this obscure regional hit from the northwest somehow caught fire and elevated a small combo to national fame for a fleeting minute. Chip Taylor wrote it and it would come back again in the early Eighties as a big #1 for Juice Newton.)

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




Trivia Answer


My final commercial break ended and The Temptations record came on. Part of its significance is that it was David Ruffin's final hit as a Temptation before embarking on a solo career.

Congratulations to Douglas from Freeville, for correctly answering the question and winning a pair of day passes to Island Health & Fitness!



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 (6/8/19):  Kim Vaughan with a spotlight TBD



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.

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