December 16, 2023 - JS - Sounds of the Season

 

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!)

 

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Date:  12/16/23

Host:  John Simon

Feature:  Sounds of the Season

 

 

 The last show of 2023 for me. Tonight it's "Sounds of the Season" on Rockin' Remnants - WVBR: mostly songs from Decembers passed, plus a smattering of Holiday tunes and listener requests. We're on from 6-9pm East Coast time and would love to have you drop by.

 

 

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)

 

 

Holiday – Bee Gees (9/67; #17 – this was the brothers’ third stateside hit, and they were just beginning a remarkable career. Surviving brother Barry Gibb was recently feted at the Kennedy Center, and has officially been declared one of the most successful songwriters in modern history.)

 

 

The Rain, The Park and Other Things – Cowsills (10/67; #2 for two weeks – they were a family act, and this was their major label debut. The core surviving trio continues to perform on the Oldies circuit to this day, and they’re better than ever!)

 

 

 

Different Drum – Stone Poneys (11/67; #13 – Monkee Mike Nesmith was the composer, and an unknown Linda Ronstadt was the lead singer. How’s THAT for a pedigree???)

 

 

In and Out of Love – Diana Ross & Supremes (11/67; #9 Pop, #16 R&B – this was one of the final songs from the group’s ace songwriting/production team of Holland-Dozier-Holland. It was also the final single with vocals from Florence Ballard, who’d been replaced by Cindy Birdsong. Cool factoid: that’s session player Carol Kaye on bass guitar.)

 

Snoopy’s Christmas – Royal Guardsmen (11/67; #6 WABC, #1 Xmas for five weeks – this song was the third in the group’s “Snoopy” trilogy, and rushed to the top of the Christmas chart that year. It would also chart in December of 1968 and 1969. It’s not listed in Joel Whitburn’s Billboard Hot 100, but it did reach #6 on WABC’s weekly Superhit survey in New York City.)

 

 

Everyone’s Gone to the Moon – Jonathan King (11/65; #7 – one of the truly coolest atmospheric records of the year, from a quirky character who would go on to become a successful record producer and writer for others.)

 

(Leavin’ On a) Jet Plane – Peter, Paul & Mary (12/69; #1 – this was one of John Denver’s first major successes as a songwriter, and it was the trio's only #1 hit. It also turned out to be their final charting single!)

 

 

Snowbird – Anne Murray (7/70; #8 Pop, #10 C&W – this Nova Scotia native would chart 54 Country hits in the Seventies and Eighties. This was the very first of them.)

 

If We Make it Through December – Merle Haggard (11/73; #28 Pop, #1 C&W for four weeks – this one was one of his biggest crossover hits, and it also doubles as a Christmas record – at least here on Rockin’ Remnants.)

 

The Look of Love – Lesley Gore (12/64; #27 – every three months, radio stations could count on a new single from the Teaneck native. The 45 of this one added a special jingle-bells effect to boost holiday sales. That’s the version we hear tonight.)

 

 

 

I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight – Barry & The Tamerlanes (11/63; #21 – Barry De Vorzon was a composer and producer from southern California who founded his own Valiant Records label. Tonight we hear a stunning new stereo mix of his vocal group’s biggest hit.)

 

Cold Cold Winter – Pixies Three (12/63; #79 – this was a low-charting Girl Group B-side for three young teens from Hanover Pennsylvania, ranging in age from 14-16.)

 

*  Christmas Wrapping – The Waitresses (12/82; #45 UK – this holiday novelty number didn’t actually chart here in the States, but it was a ubiquitous earworm in the mid-Eighties, and goes out at the request of listener Barbara who actually still has her vinyl copy! So does WVBR!)

 

 

*  Turn! Turn! Turn! – The Byrds (12/65; #1 for three weeks – a second stunning #1 single from the LA Folk Rockers, this one was attributed to Pete Seeger, who adapted it from the biblical Book of Ecclesiastes. Going out to listener Gary in northern New Jersey, and a fine choice it was!)

 

Frosty the Snowman – The Ventures (11/65; dnc – from their LP Christmas With The Ventures, this was mash-up of “Tequila” and “Frosty,” with a surfin’ feel. From the sublime to the ridiculous!)

 

 

7-8pm

 

 Birthday Calendar

 

 

December 10 – Chad Stuart (Chad & Jeremy) – 1941

            – Jessica Cleaves (EW&F) – 1946

           

 

December 11 – David Gates (Bread) – age 83

            – Brenda Lee – age 79

     – Jermaine Jackson (J5) – age 69

 

December 12 – Connie Francis – age 86

            – Terry Kirkman (Association) – 1939

     – Dionne Warwick – age 83

            – Dickey Betts (Allman Bros) – age 80

            – Frank Sinatra – 1915

 

 

December 15 – Jesse Belvin – born in 1933

            – Cindy Birdsong (Bluebelles) – 84

            – Dave Clark (DC5) – age 82

 

 

December 16 – Tony Hicks (Hollies) – age 78

            – Benny Andersson (ABBA) – age 77

 

 

 

Distant Shores – Chad & Jeremy (7/66; #30 – this was their final Top 40 single, and it was composed by James William Guercio – who would also produce for the Buckinghams, and later sign and manage a band called Chicago.)

 

 

 

I’ll Be There – Jackson 5 (10/70; #1 Pop and R&B for five weeks – this was their fourth consecutive #1 single for the Motown label, and was almost not released because they’d had such startling success with upbeat numbers, and Berry Gordy didn’t want to mess with a good thing. Cooler heads prevailed, and this became their biggest hit. Michael is the star, but brother Jermaine shares lead vocalist duties with him.)

 

 

Keep Your Head to the Sky – Earth, Wind & Fire (11/73; #52 Pop, #23 R&B – Jessica Cleaves was a founding member and lead singer for the Friends of Distinction, but she left to join her friend Maurice White’s group for a few albums.)

 

Goodbye Girl – David Gates (12/77; #15 – he’d been an in-demand composer and arranger in LA before forming Bread, and eventually embarked on a solo career. This was our friend Bryan Van Campen’s favorite song from one of his favorite films, and goes out in his memory.)

 

 

 Time and Time Again – Brenda Lee (3/66; #126 – she’s best known for her perennial holiday smash that actually topped the Billboard chart last week, sixty years after its first release! This particular song, though, was a relative flop. Coincidentally, it was written and produced by David Gates!)

 

Don’t Ever Leave Me – Connie Francis (10/64; #42 – this was her 50^th charting single, but she was on her way out as the times were changing. It would be her final single to chart this high.)

 

 

I Say a Little Prayer – Dionne Warwick (11/67; #4 – 34 of her first 37 charting songs were written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. This A-side from our chart date was actually less successful than the B-side, which spent four weeks at #2.)

 

Revival – Allman Brothers Band (1/71; #92 – this was the opening track from their second album “Idlewild South,” and their first nationally-charting single. The composer and acoustic guitarist was Dickey Betts. Duane Allman once said "I'm the famous one, but HE'S the good one!")

 

 

Everything That Touches You – The Association (2/68; #10 – co-founder of the band Terry Kirkman passed away last month, but he left an indelible mark. His biggest hit as a composer was Cherish, but he also wrote this one – and it’s a personal favorite.)

 

Groovy Kind of Love – Patti LaBelle & The Bluebelles (1/66; dnc – this was the B-side of their non-charting version of “Over the Rainbow,” and Cindy Birdsong would soon leave to replace Florence Ballard as one of The Supremes. That’s her on the high harmony.)

 

 

Catch Us if You Can – Dave Clark 5 (8/65; #4 – he was the bandleader and businessman of the band, and ostensibly their drummer – although there’s rampant speculation that session musicians were used on the recordings. He did, though, get credit for composing this one.)

 

Carrie Anne – The Hollies (6/67; #9 – guitarist Tony Hicks was a co-composer of this one and actually got to sing a verse. Watch him in this video, recorded a year after Graham Nash had left the group!)

 

 

 

8-9pm

 

Ready or Not Here I Come (You Can’t Hide From My Love) – Delfonics (12/68; #35 Pop, #14 R&B – both sides of this single charted on the two major charts, effectively keeping either of them from becoming a truly big hit. Philadelphia producer Thom Bell was the man behind the console for this one.)

 

 

Touch Me – The Doors (12/68; #3 – this record uncharacteristically included a heavy dose of brass and strings, and culminated in a wailing sax solo by Jazz player Curtis Amy. Tonight we hear the vintage Elektra Records 45.)

 

Born to Be Wild – Steppenwolf (10/68; #2 – exploding out of the speakers, it’s the incredibly punchy mono 45 edit of the song that first uttered the words “heavy metal” thunder. It instantly became a category of music!)

 

*  W*O*L*D – Harry Chapin (1/74; #36 – last time I was on I played the shortened-for-radio edit, and two people called telling me they missed the added elements of the full-length version. Well, the people have spoken!)

 

*  Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town – Bruce Springsteen & The E  Street Band (12/27; dnc – this was recorded on December 13, 1975 at C.W. Post College on Long Island, and goes out from Scottie to Peggy – and to all of you – with love.)

 

 

*  I’ve Found Somebody – The Free Movement (5/71; #5 Pop, #20 R&B – going out on the listener line to delivery driver Bobby O, who remembers requesting this one thirty years ago when Bobby Comstock, Jr. was the DJ, and taping it on his cassette recorder.)

 

Hard Candy Christmas – Dolly Parton (11/82; #8 C&W – this was a show-stopping number from the Broadway musical “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” and Dolly made it her very own. Although it never officially made it onto the Christmas chart, it’s considered a Christmas classic.)

 

Everybody Is a Star – Sly & the Family Stone (1/70; dnc – this one somehow never earned its own charting status, but it’s one of the group’s signature songs. The flipside spent five weeks at #1, though.)

 

 

If You Could Read My Mind – Gordon Lightfoot (12/70; #5 – this was the Canadian songwriter’s first charting single in the States, but his songs had been interpreted by others for years, including Peter, Paul & Mary. Four years later he’d hit #1 with “Sundown.”)

 

Cook With Honey – Judy Collins (2/73; #32 – LA session singer Valerie Carter had written this one, and it was the opening track of Judy’s ninth studio album.)

 

 

 

Waterloo – ABBA (6/74; #6 Pop, #1 UK for two weeks – this was their first hit for Atlantic Records and it also won the Eurovision Contest that year. Benny Andersson was a co-writer of all of the band’s singles, so the royalties have been very good to him!)

 

*  Someday at Christmas – Stevie Wonder (12/66; #24 Xmas – Motown label exec Berry Gordy wanted to replicate Phil Spector’s successful A Christmas Gift To You LP from ten years prior, so he assembled the Funk Brothers studio team and a bunch of his A-list acts and recorded a two-record set. This was released as a 45 and is a perennial holiday favorite.)

 

 

 

Goodnight My Love (Pleasant Dreams) – Jesse Belvin (10/56; #7 R&B – this enduring classic actually never charted on the Hot 100. Alan Freed used to close his show with it, and I’m borrowing that page from his book tonight. See you in 2024!)

 

 

 

 

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

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 (DATE):  Jan Hunsinger with a spotlight on Christmas!

 

 

 

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!