April 11, 2020 - GJ-Chart Toppers and Bottom Dwellers

  

Rockin' Remnants

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Date:  April 11, 2020

Host:  Gregory James

Feature:  Chart Toppers and Bottom Dwellers Mid-April 1955-1979

Birthday Calendar

April 5

Allan Clarke (lead singer Hollies)  78 years old

April 6

Merle Haggard (b. 1937  d. 4/6/2016)

April 7

John Oates   71 years old

Janis Ian       69 years old

April 9

Gene Parsons      76 years old

Steve Gadd (session drummer) 75 years old

April 10

Bunny Wailer  (percussionist with Bob Marley) 73 years old

Playlist

·     blue 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)

Ballad of Davy Crockett  Bill Hayes   #1  1955

This was one of five recorded versions of the song. Bill Hayes was also an actor on the TV soap opera “Days of Our Lives.”

Pledging My Love        Johnny Ace  #29   1955

The track eventually reached #17 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the R&B chart.

I’m Telling You Now    Freddie and the Dreamers 

#1  1965

The track was first released in 1963 on Capitol Records, but did not make an impression. When it was re-released in 1965, it became a #1 hit.

A Woman Can Change a Man       Joe Tex  #100  1965

This track eventually reached #56 on the Hot 100 and #12 on the R&B chart.

Philadelphia Freedom            Elton John  #1  1975

The song was a tribute to tennis star Billie Jean King whose tennis team was called the Philadelphia Freedoms.

Dynomite            Bazuka  #100  1975

The song title was inspired by the character of J.J. on the TV show “Good Times.” The track reached #10 on the Hot 100.

Soul and Inspiration Righteous Brothers  #1   1966

This track, written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weill and featuring members of the Wrecking Crew, stayed at # 1 for three weeks.

When a Man Loves a Woman       Percy Sledge  #100  1966

This was one of only a handful of recordings that entered the charts at #100 and climbed to #1. The track was the first #1 hit to be recorded at the FAME studio in Muscle Shoals.

Disco Lady  Johnnie Taylor  #1  1976

This was the first Hot 100 #1 hit to include the word “disco” in the title. It spent four weeks at #1 on the Hot 100.

I Want to Stay with You   Gallagher and Lyle  #100  1976

This track by the Scottish duo eventually peaked at #49 on the Hot 100.

All Shook Up    Elvis Presley   #1  1957

The track held the #1 Hot 100 chart spot for eight weeks and for four weeks on the R&B chart. The harmony vocal is by Gordon Stoker of the Jordanaires.

You Are My First Love    Nat King Cole  #100   1957

Known primarily as a consummate vocal stylist, Cole started his career as a pianist in a jazz trio that bore his name.

Happy Together Turtles  #1  1967

The Turtles knocked the Beatles out of the top spot on the Hot 100 with this track, which stayed at #1 for three weeks. It was their only number 1 hit in the U.S.

Think            Vicki Anderson/James Brown  #100  1967

James Brown recorded his first cover of this song in 1960. He reworked the song several times, including this version which peaked at #100 for one week on the Hot 100.

Dancing Queen         ABBA  #1  1977

Stig Anderson on keyboards, which kicks the song off to a glissando start. This was ABBA’s only #1 hit in the U.S.

Somethin’ ‘Bout ‘Cha      Latimore    #100    1977 

This track was recorded on the Glades label and taken from the LP “It Ain’t Where You Been.” Benjamin Latimore was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2017.

7-8pm

He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother    Hollies   #7   1969 

Recorded at Abbey Road with Elton John playing piano.

It’s Not Love (But It’s Not Bad)  Merle Haggard  #1 CW    1972 

This was off of Haggard’s fifteenth studio LP and was his thirteenth #1 song on the country chart. For Sam in Geneva.

How Does It Feel to Be Back?   Hall and Oates  #30    1980 

John Oates wrote the song and sang lead.

Days Like These   Janis Ian           NR

From her “god and the fbi” album which was recorded in a house rather than a studio.

Willin’    Gene Parsons      NR   1973

Parsons was a Byrd, a Flying Burrito Brother and he was a co-inventor of the B-bender, which can make a standard guitar sound like a pedal steel guitar.

50 Ways to Leave Your Lover   Paul Simon   #1  1976

Steve Gadd’s brilliant poly-rhythmic drumming leads off the song and keeps pulsing all the way to the fade out.

Dreamland    Bunny Wailer  1976    NR

Wailer has won three Grammys and is an influential figure in reggae music.

Twilight Time     Platters  #1  1958

The group had 40 charting singles on the Hot 100 chart between 1955 and 1967, including four #1 hits.

Bad Motorcycle  Storey Sisters    #50    1958   

This song by Lillian and Ann Storey (who were originally called “The Twinkles) was a big hit in Philadelphia on the Peak and then the Cameo label. “Motorcycle” was Philadelphia slang.

Night Fever Bee Gees   #1   1978

This track entered the Hot 100 at #76, then leaped up to #32. It then moved: 32-17-8-5-2-1. It remained at #1 for eight weeks (the most weeks at #1 for any single that year).

Hollywood   Boz Scaggs  #100    1978

Some fine (but overlooked) disco that peaked at #49. Backing vocals by Carolyn Willis, Phyllis St. James and Myrna Matthews.

Venus   Frankie Avalon  #1   1959

This track was Avalon’s first # 1 hit where it spent five weeks.

There Must Be a Way      Joni Jones  #100  1959

James has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This track peaked at #33.

Aquarius      Fifth Dimension  #1   1969

This iconic track spent six weeks at #1. The Wrecking Crew provided the instrumentation recorded in Los Angeles. The vocals were recorded in Las Vegas where the Fifth Dimension was performing at the time. The five singers gathered around two microphones and Billy Davis Jr. improvised his solo late in the song.

What a Fool Believes              Doobie Brothers  #1  1979

Written by Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins, the track entered the Hot 100 at #73 and reached #1 three months later.

Y.M.C.A.       Village People  #100  1979

After 26 weeks on the chart (and peaking at #2), this was its last Hot 100 entry.

8-9pm

Theme From A Summer Place  Percy Faith  #1  1960

The track spent 9 weeks at #1 and was the first movie theme and the first instrumental to win a Grammy for Record of the Year.

Lonely Blue Boy       Conway Twitty  #100  1960

Twitty’s recording reached #6 on the pop chart and #27 on the R&B chart in 1960. It was featured in the film Punch Drunk Love.

Let It Be           Beatles  #1     1970

It was their final single before McCartney announced his departure from the band. You heard the so called “Naked” version of the song which dispenses with much of the “Wall of Sound.”

Angelica              Oliver  #100  1970

This track peaked at 97 on the Hot 100.

Blue Moon   Marcels   #1  1961

The Marcels were named after a popular hairstyle of the day, the "marcel wave."

Sweet Little Kathy    Ray Peterson  #100    1961

Peterson was known for wearing his heart (and his voice) on his sleeve.

Just My Imagination        Temptations  #1   1971

The Funk Brothers and Detroit Symphony recorded the track’s instrumentation before the Temptations came into Hitsville to add their vocals in an all-night session.

I Was Wondering       Poppy Family   #100           1971

Although it cracked the Hot 100, it never rose higher than #100.

Johnny Angel     Shelley Fabares  #100  1962

The backing singers were the Blossoms featuring Darlene Love. The backing band consisted of three well-known members of the Wrecking Crew: Hal Blaine, Carole Kaye and Glen Campbell.

So This Is Love  Castells   #100            1962

The Castells were a vocal harmony group who began singing in high school. This track peaked at #21

He’s So Fine       Chiffons  #1  1963

The Tokens produced the track as well as playing on it. The recording was shopped to ten different labels before Laurie records picked it up.

Not For All The Money In The World  Shirelles  #100  1963

This was another track that never rose above the #100 spot on the Hot 100.

Can’t Buy Me Love   Beatles  #1    1964

This song was composed and originally recorded in Paris while the Beatles were performing at the Olympia Theatre. You heard a take from the Beatles Anthology in which Paul forgets the lyrics.

People  Nat King Cole   #100   1964    

While Cole is renowned for his original song renditions, his cover versions, even of iconic songs, also reached a remarkable level of excellence.

The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia Vicki Lawrence #1       1973

The song was written by Vicki Lawrence’s then-husband, Bobby Russell who offered the song to several singers, all of whom turned him down. Lawrence recorded the song herself, with The Wrecking Crew backing her up. It stayed at #1 for two weeks.  

Might Just Take Your Life   Deep Purple   #100 1974     

From the album “Burn” which was recorded in Montreux at the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, this was the first LP that featured David Coverdale on vocals.

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

H100 = Hot 100 Chart

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

CW = 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 April 18, 2020: Jan Hunsinger

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