November 30, 2019 - JS - Ladies Night!

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:  11/30/19
Host:  John Simon
Feature:  Ladies Night

Coming up at 6pm: it's my annual post-Thanksgiving post-birthday Rockin' Remnants show. Tonight it's nothing but the voices of women (R&B, C&W, Pop, Jazz, Girl Groups...). Curl up with your radio and with your people and let's have a party!




  


Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia


These three female vocalists are in a very exclusive club:

* April Stevens
* Karen Carpenter
* Gladys Knight 

What sets them apart from other female vocalists from the Sixties and Seventies?

(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)


Too Many Fish in the Sea - Marvelettes (11/64; #25 - the Marvelettes scored the first #1 record for the Motown family of labels back in 1962 and were their premiere girl group until the Supremes caught the world's attention. This is one of their classics.)

 

As Tears Go By - Marianne Faithfull (11/64; #22 - sixteen year old Marianne met Mick Jagger and Andrew Loog Oldham at a posh party in London. They were so taken with her that they helped her land a recording contract and gave her first crack at this song that Mick and Keith had written.)

I'd Be So Good for You - Joanie Sommers (11/64; dnc - this had it all: it was written by Mann-Weil, produced by Barry Mann himself and featured the crack playing of The Wrecking Crew, it had the support of a major label, and was sung by the golden-throated Joanie Sommers. Why it floundered we'll never know.)


Is It True - Brenda Lee (11/64; #17 - "Little Miss Dynamite" left Nashville for a tour of England and had a serious fling with a British studio guitarist named Jimmy Page! He was the driving force behind this decidedly non-C&W slab o' wax.)

Oh No, Not My Baby - Maxine Brown (11/64; #24 - Carole King and Gerry Goffin wrote it. Dee Dee Warwick sang the close harmony back-up vocal. It's just about a perfect record.)


* Johnny Angel - Shelley Fabares (4/62; #1 for two weeks - this one had its nationwide TV debut on the Donna Reed Show, which worked very much in its favor. Believe it or not, that's Darlene Love and the Blossoms singing back-up. This was a dedication to the birthday guy: me. Thank you, Barbara from East Hill.)

It Hurts to Be Sixteen - Andrea Carroll (7/63; #45 - not all birthdays are fun and games and cake! This disc captures the angst of being "too young" for many things and "old enough to know better" at he same time. Those are the Chiffons singing back-up.)


* Day By Day - Godspell Cast (7/72; #13 - the uncredited lead singer on this show tune was Robin Lamont. Now you know!)


I Only Want to Be With You - Dusty Springfield (1/64; #12 - this was her first solo hit here in the States, and was the beginning of a long and storied career.)

 

* Son of a Preacher Man - Dusty Springfield (11/68; #10 - this was from her critically-acclaimed Dusty In Memphis LP, and is often cited as one of the greatest examples there is of a "Blue-Eyed Soul" record.)


I Can Hear the Rain - Reparata & The Delrons (3/67; dnc - the girls from Queens were signed to RCA Records, where they cut some gorgeous singles, including this one. It deserved to be heard by more people. Tonight it will be.)

Walking In the Rain - Ronettes (11/64; #23 - there's no disputing the pedigree of this one. It's ranked at #269 in the RS500 and arranger Jack Nitzsche was nominated for a Grammy Award.)


We'll Sing In The Sunshine - Gale Garnett (11/64; down to #37 on this date after peaking at #4 - Was it Folk? Was it C&W? Whatever it was, it was a big hit!)


* Silver Threads and Golden Needles - Linda Ronstadt (4/74; #64 - this oft-recorded number was from Linda's 1969 Hand Sown...Home Grown  LP and released by Capitol to squeeze one more hit out of her after she'd signed with Geffen Records.)

We Are Family - Sister Sledge (4/79; #2 Pop, #1 R&B - This driving pulsing anthem continues to fill dance floors forty years after it took over the airwaves.)

 

7-8pm

 Birthday Calendar


November 26 – Tina Turner – age 80
            – Jean Terrell (Supremes) – age 75
            – John McVie (Fleetwood Mac) – age 74
             – Gayle McCormick (Smith) – born in 1948

November 28 – Berry Gordy, Jr. – age 90
          

November 30 – June Pointer (Pointer Sisters) – born in 1953

Fairy Tale - Pointer Sisters (10/74; #13 - their first charting hit actually won them a Grammy Award for Country Vocal Group of the year!)

Baby It's You - Smith (9/69; #5 - Gayle McCormick delivers a tour-de-force performance on this old chestnut.)


Over My Head - Fleetwood Mac (11/75; #20 - Christine McVie brought this to the band. John McVie's bass drove it home.)


Stoned Love - Supremes (11/70; #7 Pop, #1 R&B - The Supremes were assumed to be done when Diana Ross left for a solo career. Jean Terrell had the unenviable task of taking over. It actually worked out pretty well....)

River Deep, Mountain High - Ike & Tina Turner (5/66; #88 - this was touted as Phil Spector's greatest creation. When it stalled at #88, he went into a major depression. Cool factoid: he actually paid Ike Turner to stay away from the recording studio while Tina recorded her vocal track.)

Don't Mess With Bill - Marvelettes (1/66; #7 Pop, #3 R&B - this one also hit #1 in several East Coast cities, and helped cement Motown's reputation as "The Sound of Young America" as envisioned by Motown founder Berry Gordy.)


Love Child - Diana Ross & the Supremes (11/68; #1 for two weeks - Berry Gordy had decided to elevate Diana Ross to a solo career, and had a hand in writing this - one of her final big hits with the group.)

I'd Much Rather Be With the Girls - Donna Lynn (4/65; dnc - believe it or not, this unrecognized treasure was co-written by Keith Richard and Andrew Loog Oldham, although their version claimed that they'd "much rather be with the boys.")

* Half Breed - Cher (8/73; #1 for two weeks - the caller said that his wife was betting that I wouldn't dare to play Cher. In fact, she upped the ante and said I wouldn't dare to play Half Breed. Well there, game on: "Cher dare" taken!)


* Move Over - Janis Joplin (1/71; dnc - this was the opening track of her groundbreaking  -  and final  -  solo album Pearl. Caller Bill from Interlaken said "You've GOT to play some Janis on your all-women show.")

45 Corner:  Walk On By - Ginger Thompson (9/68; dnc - this obscure B-side was found on the flip of the non-charting Boy Watcher. Its spare arrangement really reveals the simple beauty of the Bacharach-David classic.)


* Christmas Wrapping - Waitresses (12/82; #45 UK - this one missed the charts in the US upon its release in 1981, but caught on in England a year later. Going out to Elise on the East Hill: my first holiday record of the season!)


You Don't Own Me - Lesley Gore (1/64; #2 for three weeks - one of the first feminist anthems of the Rock era, sung by a little high school kid from Tenafly, NJ.)

  

8-9pm




Little Bell - Dixie Cups (12/64; #51 - one of a string of singles on the Red Bird Records label written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwhich, this used to be called in every time I was on by my then-7 year old daughter. She's now 23. Sigh.)

* Chain of Fools - Aretha Franklin (12/67; #2 Pop, #1 R&B - from the pen of Don Covay, this is one of Aretha's toughest records. The opening guitar figure is played by an uncredited Joe South.)

 

* Crazy On You - Heart (4/76; #35 - this was their chart debut. The guitar pyrotechnics come courtesy of Nancy Wilson.)


* At Seventeen - Janis Ian (6/75; #3 - this one went on to win her a Grammy for Pop Female Vocal, and helped bring comfort to thousands of teenage girls across the land.)

They Don't Know - Tracey Ullman (2/84; #8 - Tracey Ullman was a British comedienne and television personality who recorded a one-off LP with this spot-on Girl Group send-up as the lead single. Definitely worth a dip into the Eighties tonight!)

 

* Downtown - Petula Clark (1/65; #1 for two weeks - this was her chart debut in America, and what a way to open the floodgates!)


* Crimson & Clover - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts (5/82; #7 - the request was for "Tommy James & The Shondells' Crimson & Clover." When reminded of the theme, they said "Didn't Joan Jett also do it?" Good point!)

Reach Out For Me - Dionne Warwick (11/64; #20 - one of a long string of tunes from the pens of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Dionne Warwick was their favorite female vehicle for their tunes.)


* I Am Woman - Helen Reddy (12/72; #1 - at the time this one was derided by many men  -  and sold enough copies to women and their allies to reach #1. It also won her a Grammy for Female Pop Vocal.)


* Spanish Harlem - Laura Nyro (1971; dnc - this was from her Columbia Records Gonna Take a Miracle LP, recorded with vocal support from LaBelle and recorded in Philadelphia under the guidance of Gamble & Huff.)


* Gonna Get Along Without You Now - Skeeter Davis (5/64; #48 -  Sisters Patience & Prudence had had a hit with this five years earlier, but Skeeter Davis hit it outa the park!)

Here You Come Again - Dolly Parton (11/77; #3 Pop, #1 C&W for five weeks - this one definitely qualifies as a "crossover Country" hit. It also earned Dolly Parton a Grammy Award for Female Vocal of the Year.)


Everybody Go Home - Eydie Gorme (9/63; #80 - a heart-breaker from the writing team of Goffin and King, delivered beautifully by Mrs. Steve Lawrence.)


Thank You and Goodnight - The Angels (12/63; #84 - this charting B-side will close tonight's show in lieu of Santo & Johnny's Sleepwalk. Don't worry: they'll be back next week. Thank you  -  and goodnight everybody.)

 

Trivia Answer


Three women reached #1 on the Billboard chart with records they recorded with their brothers. April Stevens & Nino Tempo with Deep Purple, Karen & Richard Carpenter with Close To You (and Please Mr. Postman) and Gladys Knight, whose brother Bubba was one of The Pips on Midnight Train to Georgia!

Congratulations to Kathleen from Trumansburg, for correctly answering the question and winning a Gift Card to The Carriage House Cafe!



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 (12/7/19):  Gregory James with a spotlight on songs with "You" or "I" in the title.



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!