Rockin’ Remnants
Rockin’ Remnants is broadcast from WVBR-FM Ithaca. Check out our webpage, like us on Facebook, and tune in to 93.5 FM or stream the show every Saturday night from 6-9 p.m. Eastern. (Or download the WVBR+app now available for iOS and Android.)
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Date: April 17, 2021
Host: Gregory James
Feature: Animal Tracks
Birthday Calendar
April 12
John Kay (Steppenwolf) 77 years old
David Cassidy (b. 1950 d. 2017)
April 13
Al Green 75 years old
Peabo Bryson 70 years old
Max Weinberg 70 years old
Lowell George (b. 1945 d. 1979)
Lester Chambers 81 years old
Jack Cassady 77 years old
April 15
Dave Edmunds 77 years old
April 16
Bobby Vinton 86 years old
Gerry Rafferty (b. 1947 d. 2011)
Dusty Springfield (b. 1939 d. 1999)
Henry Mancini (b. 1924 d. 1994)
Roy Hamilton (b. 1929 d. 1969)
April 17
Roy Estrada 78 years old
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 subsequent dates) unless otherwise noted
* glossary of terms is below the playlist
6-7 pm
OPENING THEME: Good Old Rock n’ Roll—Cat Mother and the All Night Newsboys (1969, #29, produced by Jimi Hendrix)
Hound Dog Big Mama Thornton 1953 #1 (seven weeks) R&B
Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller were 19 years old when Johnny Otis asked them to write a 12 bar blues song that would revive Willie Mae Thornton’s career. After they witnessed her singing other songs, they came up with Hound Dog in 15 minutes. Thornton added several vocal flourishes, some spoken dialogue and a syncopated delivery that never repeated itself.
Bear Cat Rufus Thomas 1953
This was the fastest “Answer record” to an established hit on record. Lyrics were written by Sam Phillips and recorded at Sun Studios two weeks after Hound Dog was released and it was on store shelves two weeks after that.
The Lonely Bull Herb Alpert/Tijuana Brass 1962 #6
Alpert played trumpet in the USC Marching Band while he was in college. The Tijuana Brass was really the Wrecking Crew and Alpert’s multi-tracked trumpet.
*Blackbird Beatles 1968 NR
Legend has it that Donovan taught McCartney the finger picking guitar technique he uses on this track. The bird song heard at the end is an actual blackbird, and McCartney’s foot tapping can be heard throughout the track. Requested by Gary.
Dog and Butterfly Heart 1979 #34
Ann Wilson was inspired to write the song after she observed a dog repeatedly chasing a butterfly. When the going gets tough…
Monkey Time Major Lance 1963 #9 H100 #2 R&B
The song was written by Curtis Mayfield, who helped Lance get his start in the record business. Lance is the father of Keisha Lance Bottoms, the mayor of Atlanta.
Mockingbird Inez and Charlie Foxx 1963 #7 H100 #2 R&B
This track sold over a million copies on the Symbol label.
White Bird It’s a Beautiful Day 1969 #118
Patti Santos sang the duet with David LaFlamme who also overdubbed all of the violin parts.
The Lion Sleeps Tonight Solomon Linda 1939 NR
Tokens 1961 #1 H100 and 1962 #7 R&B
In Zulu, song’s original title was “Mbube” which means “lion.” Solomon Linda (top photo) worked at Gallo Records and moonlighted as a performer with the Evening Birds. When the group went into the recording studio, Solomon Linda improvised the melody that eventually became “In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight.”
Bluebird Buffalo Springfield 1967 #58
The banjo solo at the end was played by Charlie Chin, pictured above, whom Stephen Stills knew from his folk music days in Greenwich Village.
Dead Skunk Loudon Wainwright 1973 #16
The song was based on actual events. Wainwright said, “Someone had already killed [the skunk], but I ran over it.”
*Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey Beatles 1968 White Album NR
As the Maharishi used to say “everybody’s got something to hide.” For Brooktondale Peggy and the Honey Hive Crew from Scottie.
*At the Zoo Simon and Garfunkel 1967 #16
This track was originally released as the A-side to “Feelin’ Groovy” and then turned up on the “Bookends” LP. So both sides of this single concerned themselves with enjoyment of New York City. In the late 1970s the song was licensed for use by the Bronx Zoo, the San Francisco Zoo and the Oregon Zoo. Suggested by John Simon.
7-8 pm
Sookie Sookie Steppenwolf 1968 DNC
The song was written by Don Covay and Steve Cropper for Steppenwolf’s debut album.
The Last Kiss David Cassidy 1985 NR
George Michael sang backing vocals.
Take Me to the River Al Green 1974 DNC
Al Green co-wrote it and, good as the Talking Heads’ version is, IMHO, Green gives the definitive performance of the song.
I’m So Into You Peabo Bryson 1979 #109
It doesn’t get any smoother than this.
Roulette Max Weinberg/Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band 1979
Springsteen’s response to the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster, the track was left off of “The River” LP.
Willin’ Little Feat 1972 (Sailin’ Shoes LP)
Outstanding work by Bill Payne on piano and Sneaky Pete on pedal steel guitar. Lowell George got the idea for the song from his time working at a gas station and listening to truckers tell their stories of the road.
The Weight Chambers Brothers 1973 NR
A really fine cover of the Band’s song.
Hesitation Blues Hot Tuna 1970
Hot Tuna has never had a charting single.
A1 on the Jukebox Dave Edmunds 1978 DNC
Record charts are not the only measure of success.
Trouble Is My Middle Name Bobby Vinton 1963 #33
Who would have guessed?
Change of Heart Gerry Rafferty 1982 NR
Spooky Dusty Springfield 1970 NR
As full of self-doubt as she was, Dusty recorded very fine covers as well as signature songs that have become iconic.
Pink Panther Henry Mancini 1964 #31
Mancini won four Oscars for his film scores and twenty Grammys, including the 1965 Grammy winner for Best Instrumental Composition for “Pink Panther.”
Dark End of the Street Roy Hamilton 1969 NR
While Hamilton’s vocal style could sometimes verge on the operatic, this track, released in the final year of his life, is deeply soulful.
Easy to Slip Little Feat DNC
From the LP “Sailing Shoes” which was Roy Estrada’s last recording with Little Feat.
8-9 pm
The Bird is the Word Rivingtons 1963 #52 H100 #27 R&B
This was the follow up to “Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow” and had a similar chord progression. The melody was copied by the Trashmen in 1964 as “Surfin’ Bird.”
Fly Like an Eagle Steve Miller 1977 #2H100 #20 R&B
The track takes some musical inspiration from “Slippin’ Into
Darkness” by War.
The Snake Al Wilson 1969 #27 H100 #32 R&B
The track stands out as an excellent example of Northern Soul despite its recent appropriation for political purposes.
Alley Cat Bent Fabric 1962 #7
This record won the 1963 Grammy for best rock and roll recording. The other nominees were: “You Beat Me to the Punch,” “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” “Twistin’ the Night Away,” “Up on the Roof,” and “Big Girls Don’t Cry.” Hmmm...
Tiger Fabian 1959 #3 H100, #15 R&B
This was Fabian’s most successful single, charting on both the Hot 100 and the R&B charts.
Little Red Rooster Sam Cooke 1963 #11 H100 #7 R&B
Sam Cooke adapted this Willie Dixon blues shouter to a smooth R&B track. You can hear Cooke calling out to a young Billy Preston who uses his keyboard to create the sounds of a rooster crowing and dogs barking.
Chestnut Mare Byrds 1970 #121 H100
Written by Roger McGuinn in consultation with psychologist Jacques Levy for a country rock musical called “Gene Tryp”—an anagram of the play title Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen from which “Gene Tryp” was adapted. The project was eventually abandoned, but some of the songs endure—like this one which has always seemed to me to be the kind of story that a psychologist might hear from a client on the couch.
Wildfire Michael Martin Murphey 1975 #3
Based on a Native American legend about a ghost horse, Murphey has said that the song came to him in a dream. The piano intro and outro was played by Jac Murphy (no relation).
Simon Smith and his Amazing Dancing Bear Randy Newman 1972 NR
Newman has said this song was the beginning of a new style of writing for him.
Walking the Dog Rufus Thomas 1963 #10 H100
Thomas called himself “the world’s oldest teenager.” He was a master of many trades: singer, songwriter, dancer, dj and mentor to many younger artists associated with Stax Records, such as Otis Redding and his daughter, Carla Thomas.
Hey Bulldog Beatles 1969
The track was going to be called “Hey Bullfrog” until Paul began barking and John started ad-libbing in the persona of the dog’s exasperated owner. Paul’s bass line and the lead guitar solo (by either George or John depending on whom you believe) are dazzling.
Me and You and a Dog Named Boo Lobo 1971 #5
The song title was inspired, no joke, by his German Shepherd named Boo.
*Puff the Magic Dragon Peter Paul and Mary 1963 #2 H100, #10 R&B
There is a Cornell connection with this song. The song is based on a 1959 poem by Leonard Lipton who was a Cornell student who knew the housemate of Peter Yarrow, a fellow Cornellian. Lipton apparently (or apocryphally) typed the poem on Peter Yarrow’s typewriter and left it in the typewriter. Yarrow came across the poem, apparently still in his typewriter and adapted the poem to form the lyrics of “Puff.” Happy ending: Lipton was credited as co-lyricist and he receives royalties from the song. Suggested by Gary.
Rockin’ Robin Bobby Day 1958 #2 H100, #1 R&B
Day was the original Bob in the duo Bob and Earl.
Bird Dog Everly Brothers 1958 # H100, #2 R&B
Yet another song that zoomorphizes people.
Tom Cat Rooftop Singers 1963 #20
Recording on the Vanguard label, this folk group incorporated blues and ragtime, as evident by this track.
Too Many Fish in the Sea Marvelettes 1965 #25 H100 #15 R&B
Too many fish, too little time…
CLOSING THEME: Sleep Walk – Santo and 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, publisher of the Hot 100 and other charts
H100 = Billboard Hot 100
Bubbling Under = songs that were ranked but fell below the top 100
CW = Billboard’s chart for country and western records
R&B = Billboard’s chart of rhythm and blues records
RRHOF = Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
RS 500 = Rolling Stone Magazine’s ranking of the top 500 singles of all time.
Host April 24, 2021: John Rudan
Thanks for tuning in! You can listen to Rockin’ Remnants every Saturday night from 6-9 p.m. Eastern on WVBR (93.5 FM in Ithaca NY) or streaming on WVBR.com.
Thanks again to our sponsors Island Health & Fitness and Rasa Spa for their support every week!
A great theme!
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