May 27, 2023 - KV & JS - More Short Songs and More

 

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:  5/27/23

Host:  Kim Vaughan & John Simon

Feature:  More Short Songs

 

 Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia

 

"Atlantis was Donovan's fourth and final Top Ten hit, but it actually started out as the B-side of the single. The A-side was an anti-war song. Can you name it?"

 

(scroll down to find the answer 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)

 

Heart & Soul - Cleftones (5/61; #18 Pop, #11 R&B - Hoagy Carmichael wrote it, and we bet that you know how to play it on the piano. 😉

 

Gonna Get Along Without You Now - Patience & Prudence (12/56; #11 - they were the young daughters of band leader Mark McIntyre and were 14 and 11 respectively when he brought them into Liberty Records to record a couple of demos. Liberty liked what they heard, and record-buyers gobbled it up!)

 

Walking to New Orleans - Fats Domino (7/60; #6 Pop, #2 R&B - more first-time stereo from the King of New Orleans. See last week's blog post for more info on this new CD release!)

 

A Groovy Kind of Love - Mindbenders (4/66; #2 - Wayne Fontana had famously left to find fame and fortune, but it was the guys who'd stayed behind that made it big!)

 

Love You So Much - New Colony Six (2/67; #61 - this Chicago outfit was a rockin' band before morphing into the Soft Rock balladeers who had their biggest hits a couple of years later. This one clocks in at 1:58, and it's a ball of unfettered energy and exuberance.)

 

Don't You Think It's Time - Dave Barry (1963; dnc)

 

Hiccups - Jimmy Harrison (1959; dnc)

 

Riviera - Bill Haley & The Comets (1961; dnc)

 

* Still Crazy After All These Years - Paul Simon (5/76; #40 - this was one of four charting singles from his Grammy-winning album of the same name. Another reached #1, one was a duet with Phoebe Snow, and one was a long hoped-for reunion with his long-time partner Art Garfunkel. It was quite a record!)

 

* Rock 'n' Roll Heaven - Righteous Brothers (5/74; #3 for two weeks - they had gone their separate ways back in 1966, but once you're a "brother" you're always a brother. They reunited with a new rockin' sound and had a big hit with this tribute to some of the greats - including Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Jim Croce. Add to that list the name Tina Turner.)

 

I Idolize You - Ike & Tina Turner (12/62; #82 Pop, #5 R&B - the world has been mourning the loss of Tina Turner, who passed away at age 83 in Switzerland after a long illness. Here she is at her fiery best in her early days as a barnstorming lead singer.)

 

* Proud Mary - Ike & Tina Turner (1/71; #4 - two requests came in for this iconic version of the Creedence Clearwater Revival song, and it was a radical re-imagining of the original. Ten years later she'd re-emerge as Rock 'n' Roll royalty with a whole new sound and a whole new persona. The world mourns her loss.)

 

Graduation's Here - Fleetwoods (5/59; #39 - it's Cornell graduation weekend and this one is so good that we're playing it again! See last week's blog post for more info.)

 

Graduation Day - Arbors (6/67; #59 - they were two sets of brothers who met at college in Ann Arbor, from whence they took their name.)

 

Follow That Dream - Elvis Presley (1962, #15 - from the film of the same title)

 

Never Throw Your Dreams Away - Joanie Sommers (3/66; dnc - yet more good advice to today's graduates. She was known as "the Pepsi girl," and her biggest hit was Johnny Get Angry, but she had a beautiful voice and could sing just about anything.)

 

Special Occasion - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (8/68; #26 Pop, #4 R&B - they were cooking on all cylinders at this stage of their career together, and this one even mentions "caps 'n' gowns!")

 

 

7-8pm

 

 Birthday Calendar

 

May 21 – Ronald Isley – age 82

 

May 22 – Bernie Taupin - age 73

 

May 23 – General Johnson (Showmen, Chairmen of the Board) – born in 1941

            – Dean Friedman – age 68

         

May 24 – Bob Dylan – age 82

            – Patti LaBelle – age 79

            – Rosanne Cash – age 68

 

May 25 – Tom T. Hall – born 1936

            – Mitch Margo (Tokens) – born 1947

            – Clarence Burke, Jr. (Five Stairsteps) – born 1949

 

May 26 – Peggy Lee – born 1920

            

May 27 – Ramsey Lewis – born 1935

            – Don Williams (Pozo Seco Singers) – born 1939

            – Bruce Cockburn – age 78

 

 

Work to Do - Isley Brothers (10/72; #58 Pop, #11 R&B - the Cincinnati natives had been recording since 1958 for labels including RCA, Wand, Atlantic and Tamla, before forming their own T-Neck Records label. They also have the distinction of being the only group consisting of original members with a career spanning six decades!)

 

Border Song - Elton John (1970, #92 - his first song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, and one of many many songs written by Bernie Taupin.)

 

It Will Stand - Showmen (charted twice, in 1961 and 1964, peaking at #61 and #80 respectively. The lead singer's given name was, indeed, General Norman Johnson. He'd later go on to front the Chairmen of the Board.)

 

Ariel - Dean Friedman (1977, #26 - he was a bona fide "one-hit wonder," but what a hit it was!)

 

A Groovy Kind of Love - Patti LaBelle & Bluebelles (1/66; dnc - this was the b-side of their Atlantic Records "Over The Rainbow" single. A few years later they'd record a classic album with Laura Nyro, and would soon have an international smash hit as LaBelle with "Lady Marmalade." The driving force behind all of them was Patti LaBelle.)

 

It's All Over Now Baby Blue - Dion (4/65; NR - it seemed that Dion's hit-making days were over with the onset of the British Invasion and then the burgeoning Folk Rock movement nearly finished him off. Columbia tried to revive his career by recording a bunch of Folk songs with modern instrumentation, including this Bob Dylan tune. If they had released it, it might have just worked!)

 

I Love - Tom T. Hall (1973, peaked at #12 in early 1974,
#1 on the Country chart. They called him "the Storyteller," and he was a prolific writer and performer. Here he is with Tammy Wynette!)

 

That's How I Got to Memphis - Rosanne Cash (1982; NR - we combine Rosanne's birthday with songwriter Tom T. Hall's. This album track from her Somewhere In The Stars LP features a verse by her father Johnny Cash, plus guitar work from session players Reggie Young and Albert Lee.)

 

You Waited Too Long - Five Stairsteps (5/66; #94 Pop, #16 R&B - this was the group's first charting single, released on Curtis Mayfield's Windy C Records label and co-written by 17-year old lead singer Clarence Burke, Jr.)

 

Dream Angel Goodnight - Tokens (1962, dnc)

 

Greenfields - Tokens (a 24-second a capella track from their 1971 concept album Intercourse, which they self-produced)

 

654321 Lou (Girl On 6) – The Tokens (also from the album Intercourse, and this one is only 14 seconds long yet manages to tell the entire story of a courtship)

 

Tell All the World About You - Peggy Lee (1962, dnc - co-written by Ray Charles and Percy Mayfield, who wrote Hit The Road Jack)

 

 

Dancing In The Street - Ramsey Lewis (9/67; #84 - many of his hits were recorded "live" in clubs, and he was known to cover everyone from The Beatles to Motown. This jumpin' version of the Martha & The Vandellas hit features Maurice White on drums. It didn't even make a ripple on the R&B chart!)

 

Look What You've Done - Pozo-Seco Singers (12/66; #32 - Don Williams would eventually move to Nashville and become a big Country star. Before then, he was a member of this cool Folk Rock trio.)

 

Wondering Where The Lions Are - Bruce Cockburn (1980, #21 - born in Toronto and coming to Ithaca in the fall, he's one of Canada's greatest exports.)

 

 

 

 

8-9pm

 

* Little Green - Joni Mitchell (1971; NR - this is from Joni's Blue LP, and was requested by listener Vikki as a tribute to her friend Dorie who passed away a couple of months ago. There will be a Celebration of her life next weekend, and we start it a little early tonight.)

 

* Atlantis - Donovan (4/69; #7 - Epic Records decided that this was NOT a radio-friendly song: it was too long, and the first full minute was a spoken-word recitation, so they relegated it to the B-side of Donovan's next single. It turns out that they miscalculated. Going out to Peggy from Scottie.)

 

* Taxi - Harry Chapin (3/72; #24 - this was Harry's first charting single. Eight years later he released its sequel, and that one would reach #23. Shortly after that he'd die in a motorcycle accident on the LIE, leaving behind an impressive catalog of story songs.)

 

To Susan On the West Coast Waiting - Donovan (2/69; #39 - this was an overt anti-war song written in the form of a letter from a lonely GI in Vietnam. It was an okay song, but the flipside was the big hit.)

 

The Wind - Cat Stevens (1971 - the opening track of his Teaser & The Firecat LP.)

 

Traffic Jam - James Taylor (1977; NR - this short track from his JT LP has become a favorite of anyone stuck in automotive congestion, and we've had plenty of it these past two weekends thanks to out-of-town visitors and poorly-planned roadwork. Sing along!)

 

Expressway to Your Heart - Soul Survivors (9/67; #4 Pop, #3 R&B - written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff and continuing our "traffic jam" theme. They were a short-lived "blue-eyed soul" outfit that recorded on the Crimson Records label, and this record reached #1 on NYC's WABC.)

 

No Good to Cry - Wildweeds (5/67; #88 - these high school kids from Connecticut were legitimate "one-hit wonders," but their guitarist/singer/writer of this one would go on to fame and fortune with NRBQ. His name is Al Anderson.)

 

Seven Days - Clyde McPhatter (1956, #44)

 

Lover, Please - Clyde McPhatter (1962, #7, written by Billy Swan)

 

Sixteen Reasons - Connie Stevens (1960, #3)

 

 

It's Not Unusual - Tom Jones (4/65; #10 Pop, #1 UK - this was his first charting single, and just last night - nearly fifty years later - he sang it on the stage of Turning Stone Casino, just two hours east of here.)

 

How Do You Do It - Gerry & Pacemakers (7/64; #9 Pop, #1 UK - they were possibly the second most popular band from Liverpool with an unmistakable Merseybeat sound.)

 

I'll Follow the Sun - The Beatles (12/64; NR - this little number from their Beatles 65 LP clocks in at 1:49, and they are undisputedly the most popular band from Liverpool. Tomorrow will NOT rain, but the time HAS come for us to go. Thanks for coming by!)

 

 

 

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

 

Trivia Answer

Epic Records released Donovan's anti-war single "To Susan On The West Coast Waiting" in February of 1969 and it peaked at #35. Along the way, the B-side started getting more and more airplay. It was called "Atlantis." The rest is history.

 

Congratulations to Greg from Ithaca, for correctly answering the question and winning 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 (6/3/23):  Jan Hunsinger with a spotlight called "Songs for the Lonely"

 

 

 

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