November 12, 2022 - JS - Name That Tune

 

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:  11/12/22

Host:  John Simon

Feature:  Name That Tune: Songs where the title doesn't appear in the lyrics. Play at home, or compete against the radio audience: the first caller for each song gets a point. The first to score 5 points wins gift cards to Bickering Twins Restaurant and Tequila Bar. The second to score 5 points wins movie tickets to Cinemapolis!

 

 

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

 

Playlist

 

 

·      YouTube links follow certain entries

·      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)

 

School Day - Chuck Berry (4/57; #3 Pop for three weeks; #1 R&B for five weeks - many people may think of this one as "Hail, Hail Rock 'n' Roll," which is the punchline of this paean to the typical life of a teenager stuck in school. In fact, it was chosen as the title of a pretty cool movie!)

 

* Unchained Melody - Righteous Brothers (7/65; #4 - here's a case of the reverse: a song getting its title from a movie! Unchained was a Warner Brothers film from 1955 that was best known for its theme song. Three versions reached the Top Ten in the US, and later it would become a showcase for Righteous Brothers tenor Bobby Hatfield.)

 

A Lover's Concerto - The Toys (9/65; #2 for three weeks - this one was knocking on the door of the #1 slot for three weeks, but never quite got there. It was a bit more sophisticated than many of the Girl Group songs that were being released, and that might help explain its curious title.)

 

5D (Fifth Dimension) - The Byrds (7/66; #44 - their first several records were penned by other writers, but they finally broke through with their own: Eight Miles High. This follow-up record was penned by Roger McGuinn, and was equally trippy.)

 

Annie's Song - John Denver (7/74; #1 for two weeks - JD wrote this for his then-wife Annie, and it resonated with romantic record buyers far and wide, topping both the US and the UK charts. It was also his second consecutive #1 record here in the States.)

 

New York Mining Disaster 1941 - Bee Gees (5/67; #14 - this was the brothers' first charting single in the US. Nobody could have predicted the massive success that was to follow as they morphed and adapted their sound to change with the times over the years. Watch this blurry video to get a sense of their brotherly blend.)

 

* For What It's Worth - Buffalo Springfield (1/67; #7 - this was penned by Stephen Stills and is considered to be one of the great protest songs to come out of the Vietnam War era. Truth be told, it was written as a commentary about the LAPD's heavy-handed response to teenagers gathering on Sunset Strip.) 

 

Epistle to Dippy - Donovan (2/67; #19 - talk about "trippy," this one is barely remembered by people who were actually tuned in back then: NOBODY was able to name this tune this evening!)

 

* Some of Shelly's Blues - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (9/71; #64 - my buddy JH suggested a couple of Mike Nesmith compositions, and this is one of them. Nowhere is Shelly's name ever mentioned, but several groups - including The Monkees - recorded this one. These guys had the hit, and they've just released their latest album, fifty+ years later!)

 

Positively Fourth Street - Bob Dylan (10/65; #7 - music writer Dave Marsh calls this one an "...icy hipster bitch session," and it spoke to many people who just wished that they could say something this cutting and clever to their frenemies or rivals.)

 

* 45 Corner:  Space Oddity - David Bowie (8/69; #124, reissued 1/72; #15 * #1 UK for two weeks - going out to Brooktondale Peggy from Scottie, this was Bowie's first major release in the States - where it flopped. It has since become one of his most enduring numbers. Tonight we hear the radio station promo 45, which was edited down from 5:05 to 3:49.)

 

Pledging My Love - Johnny Ace (2/55; #17 Pop, #1 R&B for ten weeks - this was Johnny's final hit, released shortly after he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Christmas Eve. The gunshot apparently wasn't intentional, but his death devastated record buyers everywhere. He was only 25 years old.)

 

My True Story - Jive Five (7/61; #3 Pop, #1 R&B for three weeks - founding member and lead singer Eugene Pitt wrote this one for the group. It may or may not have been a "true story," but it certainly resonated with the record-buying public!)

 

 

7-8pm

 

Birthday Calendar

 

November 6 – Glen Frey (Eagles) – 1948

            – Doug Sahm – 1941

           
 

November 7 – Johnny Rivers – age 80

            – Joni Mitchell – age 79

 

November 8 – Bonnie Raitt – age 73

            – Rickie Lee Jones – age 68

 

November 10 – Greg Lake – 1947

         

November 11 – LaVern Baker – born in 1929

            – Mary Travers (P,P & M) – born in 1939

            – Jesse Colin Young – age 81

            – Marshall Crenshaw – age 69

 

November 12 – Ruby Nash (& Romantics) – age 83

            – Brian Hyland – age 79

            – Booker T. Jones – age 78

            – Neil Young – age 77

 

 

New Kid in Town - Eagles (2/77; #1 - guitarist and singer Glen Frey composed this one with band mate Don Henley and friend JD Souther, who also added vocal support. Their vocal arrangement earned them a Grammy Award for this smash hit. The part near the end that says "...and you're still around" still gives me goosebumps!)

 

(Is Anybody Going To) San Antone - Doug Sahm (3/73; #115 - "Sir Douglas" hailed from San Antonio, and this single had a decidedly Tex-Mex flavor to it. Adding uncredited vocal support was his old friend Bob Dylan.)

 

Can I Change My Mind - Johnny Rivers (10/75; #120 Cashbox - born in Manhattan and raised in Baton Rouge, Johnny Rivers was one of the great interpreters of other people's songs. Part of his talent was picking good material, but he also tapped some great studio players. This one had been a big hit for Tyrone Davis, but Johnny's version is pretty great, too!)

 

Night In the City - Joni Mitchell (7/68; dnc - this song was plucked from her debut album as a potential hit single, but it went nowhere. David Crosby was the producer and Stephen Stills played the bass guitar, and she'd soon leave Reprise for Geffen Records. She's considered one of the greatest singer/songwriters of her time.)

 

That Song About The Midway - Bonnie Raitt (11/74; NR - Bonnie was born in Burbank, California to a showbiz family, and is known as an accomplished Blues guitarist and singer. This was the opening track from her Streetlights LP, and it was a cover of a Joni Mitchell song.)

 

Youngblood - Rickie Lee Jones (7/79; #40 - rounding out our trifecta of amazing women singers/songwriters and distinctive performers is this track, plucked from her debut LP. Chuck E's in Love was the BIG hit, but this one sounded great tonight!)

 

From the Beginning - Emerson, Lake & Palmer (8/72; #39 - Greg Lake played the bass, the guitar parts, and sang on this song that he'd written as a teenager. It has since become a staple of Classic Rock radio, and it certainly deserves that distinction.)

 

Sunlight - Jesse Colin Young (7/76; dnc - he was a founding member of The Youngbloods and was their chief writer and lead singer. This was released twice as a single by the band in 1969 and again in 1971, and he released a live version a few years later under his own name. It failed to chart each time out, but it's a fine record.)

 

Someday, Someway - Marshall Crenshaw (7/82; #36 - he was an early rider of the New Wave scene, with a punk-ish sensibility and a knack for writing a catchy hook. He played the role of Buddy Holly in the film La Bamba and he also played the part of John Lennon in a touring version of Beatlemania. This was his biggest hit, and you can see the Buddy Holly/John Lennon energy in this 1982 video.)

 

Jim Dandy - LaVern Baker (12/56; #17 Pop, #1 R&B - she was one of Atlantic Records' biggest R&B stars, but she scored several crossover hits and this was one of the most successful. A whole new generation would be exposed to this song in the Seventies when Black Oak Arkansas charted with it, but this is the original.)

 

500 Miles - Peter, Paul & Mary (1/63; dnc - this was tucked onto the B-side of a low-charting single, but it's become one of the trio's most enduring classics, featuring the plaintive lead vocal of Mary Travers.)

 

Hurting Each Other - Ruby & The Romantics (4/69; #113 - their first charting record reached #1, and each subsequent release charted slightly lower than the one before it. By the time they signed to the A&M label, they were no longer relevant. Their label mates The Carpenters, however, would have a pretty big hit with this one a few years later.)

 

 

8-9pm

 

3,000 Miles - Brian Hyland (4/66; #99 - Brian got his start as a kid with a #1 novelty record about a polka-dotted bikini, but he steadily evolved as a performer. This is a record that barely scraped into the Hot 100 six years later, but it should've been a hit.)

   

 

Melting Pot - Booker T. & The M.G.s (4/71; #45 Pop, #23 R&B - they were the house band for Stax Records and backed up everybody from Otis Redding and Sam & Dave to Carla Thomas and William Bell. In and around their session work, they also had an impressive number of hits under their own name. This was their final charting single.)

 

Old Man - Neil Young (4/72; #31 - he was only 24 when he wrote this one. Fifty years later he's officially an "old man," and he's had a brilliant career over that time. We heard him earlier as a member of Buffalo Springfield. Here he is with the second from his Harvest album. The previous one had gone to #1.)

 

 

* A Day In The Life - The Beatles (5/67; NR - young Luca called this one in, and it's the only Lennon/McCartney composition I can think of that doesn't have the title in the lyrics. No singles were released from the Sgt. Pepper album, but I'll bet that you know every word!)

 

The Rain, The Park and Other Things - Cowsills (9/67; #2 for two weeks - this was their national charting debut single, and it was the beginning of a prolific career. It made it to #1 on NYC's WABC, as well as on the Cashbox chart, and the core trio of the family band is still touring today. In fact, they've just released a new album!)

 

59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) - Harper's Bizarre (2/67; #13 - Paul Simon wrote this one and he & Art put it on the B-side of At the Zoo, but this version brought in plenty of royalties for the writer. Note: this is the first case this evening where part of the lyrics are listed parenthetically in the title, ostensibly to help record-buyers find the single on the rack!)

 

* Masterpiece - Temptations (2/73; #7 Pop, #1 R&B - this was the follow-up to their massive hit Papa Was a Rolling Stone, and it did surprisingly well for a song where the lyrics have nothing to do with the title. Thanks to my buddy JR for the suggestion.]

 

(Theme From) Valley of the Dolls - Dionne Warwick (3/68; #2 for four weeks - this was initially the B-side of I Say a Little Prayer, a record that reached #4 in the late Fall. Two months later it was an even bigger hit than the A-side - probably due to its association with a major motion picture.)

* Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin (11/70; #16 - another JR suggestion, this was from the British band's third album. Most recently, it's appeared in the MCU's Thor: Ragnarok film to great affect.) 

 

Badge - Cream (4/69; #60 - Eric Clapton famously misread his co-writer's notation for the "bridge" of the song as "Badge." George Harrison blames it on his own bad handwriting. He also appears on the record as a guitar player under the pseudonym "L'Angelo Misterioso.")

Pandora's Golden Heebie Jeebies - Association (11/66; #35 - hot on the heels of their #1 smash Cherish, the LA group released this hip and trippy number. Record buyers were confused, many stations were reluctant to play it because it was clearly about drugs on some level, and Valiant Records let them go to Warner Brothers without a fight. Ironically, their first three singles for the new label were much less controversial, and they reached #'s1, 2 and 10, respectively.)

* Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen (1/76; #9 Pop, #1 UK for nine weeks - Wendy from Carlsbad was one of three listeners who called this one in. It's a tour-de-force featuring the incredible Freddie Mercury, and the group called Lake Street Dive recently performed a killer version of it at our own State Theater. Rolling Stone Magazine ranked it at #166 on the RS500 and I discovered that it sounds best turned up loud!)

Ballad of Easy Rider - The Byrds (11/69; #65 - Bob Dylan handed Roger McGuinn a scrap of paper with the opening line to this song on it, saying "Finish it." McGuinn did, and it was the perfect fit for Dennis Hopper's counterculture film. It's also how we'll end tonight's show.)

 

 

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

 

Trivia Answer

 

Congratulations to Dave from Ithaca, for being the first to correctly name five songs and winning Bickering Twins gift cards! And congrats to Steve from Brooktondale who came in second and won a pair of passes to Cinemapolis!

 

 

 

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 (11/19/22):  Gregory James with a spotlight called "Please Hold: songs with 'Hold' in the title."

 

 

 

Thanks for tuning in - and for voting us Ithaca's Best Local Radio Show in this year's Ithaca Times Readers' Poll! 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!