Rockin'
Remnants
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Date: 6/22/24
Host: John Simon
Feature: Low-Charters from June
Another tagline says "Big hits, lost nuggets and your requests," and tonight the focus IS on "lost nuggets." It'll mostly be records from this time of year (back in the day) that barely registered - but that deserve to be heard. Airing 6-9pm Eastern time from our air conditioned studio! Stop by if you're in the neighborhood....
BTW - tonight we start in June of 1967.
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)
Always You – Sundowners (6/67; dnc – this group from Glens Falls, NY never cracked the Hot 100, but this gem from The Summer of Love was released on Decca Records and had all the makings of a smash. Somehow, it never quite caught the wave.)
She May Call You Up Tonight – Left Banke (6/67; #120 – this was the third in a trilogy of singles inspired by young Renee Fladen, who showed up in the studio one evening with one of the band members. Keyboardist/composer Mike Brown was smitten, but it was unrequited. So, too, was this terrific song – it got stuck at #120.)
No Good to Cry – Wildweeds (6/67; #88 – they were high school kids from Central Connecticut and they almost made the bigtime with this record, but it would be their only charter. Singer/composer/guitarist Al Anderson would later going on to fame as a member of the revered NRBQ, but not ‘til several years later.)
Lovin’ Sound – Ian & Sylvia (6/67; #101 – the Canadian duo never quite cracked the charts here in the States, but they certainly did have a ripple effect. Sylvia Fricker was the writer of “You Were On My Mind” and Ian Tyson wrote “Four Strong Winds,” among other great songs. This one just missed the cut!)
Some Kind of Wonderful – Soul Brothers Six (6/67; #91 – they were a brother act based in Rochester and were signed to Atlantic Records. This should have been a Top Ten hit, and it would later become one when Michigan band Grand Funk would record it. This original version didn’t appear anywhere on the R&B chart!)
Live – Merry-Go-Round (6/67; #63 – Emmitt Rhodes was the creative force of this group, which had signed with A&M Records. Critics loved him, but not many people bought his records, and many people never even heard this song until The Bangles recorded and released it in the early Eighties.)
Rosie – Chubby Checker (6/64; #116 – this was actually the B-Side of a Top Forty single, and it has a special place in my heart because I’m just back from visiting my own daughter Rosie and her family in Southern California. Somehow, it got enough airplay that it actually “bubbled under” on its own merits.)
Baby, Baby (I Still Love You) – Cinderellas (6/64; #134 – this New York City group also recorded as both The Cookies and The Honeybees, and did lots of session work for Carole King & Gerry Goffin, Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann and other denizens of The Brill Building. This was released on Dimension Records, but it never quite made it.)
The Girl’s Alright With Me – Temptations (6/64; #102 – here’s another B-Side that almost charted on its own. The band is cooking and Eddie Kendrick sings like only he can. Kids who ran out and bought “I’ll Be In Trouble” got twice their money’s worth!)
Blue Summer – Royalettes (9/64; #121 – their biggest hits came on the M-G-M label, but this was when they were still recording for Chancellor and it’s become a lost Girl Group treasure. This is also our first acknowledgment that it officially became Summer two days earlier. Happy Solstice!)
Gonna Get Along Without You Now – Skeeter Davis (6/64; #48 – this had been a big hit for sisters Patience & Prudence about six years prior, but Skeeter Davis had some of Nashville’s top talent behind her and did a really nice job with it, too.)
Shenandoah – Goldebriars (6/64; #109 – this Southern California quartet featured sister vocalists Sheri and Dotti Holmberg, as well as guitarist and singer – and later hotshot record producer – Curt Boettcher. They signed with Epic Records and this single is the closest thing they had to a breakthrough recording. I think that it’s really pretty.)
A World Without Love – Bobby Rydell (6/64; #80 – the British Invasion was basically the final nail in Bobby’s professional coffin. Ironically, his final charting single was written by none other than Paul McCartney. To add insult to injury, a competing version was released concurrently by British duo Peter and Gordon. Their version reached #1.)
All My Loving – Beatles (6/64; #92 – here’s another Lennon-McCartney composition, and many people would call it a major hit. In this case, though, it was released as part of a four-song EP called ‘Four By The Beatles’ and record-buyers didn’t quite “get” the EP concept. This disc stalled at #92.)
You Waited Too Long – Five Stairsteps (6/66; #94 Pop, #16 R&B – this family group from Chicago was managed by their father, Clarence Burke, Sr. This was their first national release on Curtis Mayfield’s Windy C Records label, written and sung by then-sixteen year-old Clarence Burke, Jr. It’s a stunning debut single that should’ve been a major hit.)
7-8pm
Birthday Calendar
June 16 – Eddie Levert (O’Jays) – age 82
– Lamont Dozier (Motown) – 1941
June 17 – Barry Manilow – age 81
June 18 – Paul McCartney – age 82
June 19 – Elaine “Spanky” McFarlane – age 82
– Ann Wilson (Heart) – age 74
June 20 – Brian Wilson – age 82
– Anne Murray – age 79
– Lionel Richie – age 75
June 21 – O.C. Smith – born in 1932
June 22 – Peter Asher – age 80
– Howard Kaylan (Turtles) – age 77
– Todd Rundgren – age 76
I Love Music (Pt. 1) – O’Jays (11/75; #5 Pop, #1 R&B – Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff had assembled one of the finest studio groups in the land, and Eddie Levert and the O’Jays got to record some great dance tunes over their beats. This is one of their finest, and if you flip it over you get Part II, picking up where Part I had just faded out.)
Looks Like We Made It – Barry Manilow (6/77; #1 – Barry got his start composing jingles for companies including State Farm Insurance and MacDonald’s, but he had loftier aspirations. This was his third #1 within a three-year span, and he’d eventually chart twenty songs on the Hot 100.)
Dog & Butterfly – Heart (2/79; #34 – sisters Anne and Nancy Wilson were the heart of the band Heart, and co-wrote much of their material. Tonight we hear the 45, which subtly edits the longer album track without sacrificing any of its majesty and beauty.)
Give a Damn – Spanky & Our Gang (8/68; #43 – this song was originally inspired by a New York City Urban League advertising campaign of the same name. Many stations balked at airing a song with the “D-word” in the title, but it still got lots of play during a hot summer rife with political turmoil and activism.)
Stuck On You – Lionel Richie (6/84; #3 (two weeks – Alabama natives The Commodores had a series of hits on the Motown label, but lead singer Lionel Richie branched out on his own to record a long string of hit singles. This is one of the tastiest. The video is from twenty years later and is worth a look.)
You Won’t See Me – Anne Murray (6/74; #8 – Capitol Records recording artist Anne Murray recorded this song written by fellow Capitol Records recording artists Lennon and McCartney. For the Beatles it was an album track on Rubber Soul. For Anne Murray, it was one of her four Top Ten hits.)
Penny Lane – Beatles (3/67; #1 – this was issued as a double-A side single between the release of the Revolver and Sgt. Pepper’s LPs, and John and Paul each got to contribute an autobiographical track. John’s side was Strawberry Fields, and this was side was all Paul. Bonus: tonight we hear the radio promo version with a piccolo trumpet outro.)
Surfer Girl – Beach Boys (8/63; #7 – Brian Wilson composed and arranged most of the band’s material, but this is the first song to actually credit him as producer on the label. He also sings the lead, as well as the soaring high part. Happy birthday!)
Baby I Need Your Lovin’ – O.C. Smith (8/70; #52 Pop, #30 R&B – Holland-Dozier-Holland were among Motown’s most prolific songwriting teams, and their material has been covered by hundreds of artists. Here’s just one fine example, which helps check both Lamont Dozier and OC Smith off of this week’s birthday calendar.)
I Go to Pieces – Peter & Gordon (1/65; #9 – this duo rode the waves of the British Invasion right to the top of the Billboard charts, and their first three hits were written by Peter’s sister’s boyfriend Paul McCartney. Not this one, though: this was penned by American Del Shannon himself!)
She’d Rather Be With Me – Turtles (5/67; #3 for two weeks – The Turtles began as a high school surf band before morphing into a Folk Rock group, but their fortunes turned when they recorded Bonner and Gordon’s Happy Together. Their next three hit singles were by the same writing duo, and featured lead vocals by Howard Kaylan. Also noteworthy was the drumming of John Barbata, and this may be one of his most explosive performances. He passed away last month, leaving behind an impressive body of work.)
Be Nice to Me – Todd Rundgren (5/71; #71 – Billboard magazine refers to this guy as “virtuouso rock/musician/songwriter/producer/engineer,” and that’s a good start. This was his first solo single on his own Bearsville Records label, and he’s still doing his thing fifty+ years later.)
8-9pm
* Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again – Fortunes (5/71; #15 – here’s another one on the Capitol label. Roger Cook & Roger Greenaway wrote most of the British band’s hits, and Scottie sends this one out to Mecklenburg Peggy. Hopefully, the rain will help break this heat snap we’re in.)
* Midnight at the Oasis – Maria Muldaur (2/74; #6 – this had been called in during my last show, and then again this week. The caller says that her voice is “…like hollandaise: warm, rich and creamy!” I’d never really noticed the tasty guitar licks running throughout, so I checked the liner notes. That’s Amos Garrett on electric guitar.)
* A Summer Song – Chad & Jeremy (8/64; #7 – the summer solstice arrived on Wednesday and we’ve barely acknowledged it. This goes out at the request of a listener who says that it personifies “summer” for her.)
Summer Side of Life - Gordon Lightfoot (9/71; #98 - Gordon's Reprise singles were uniformly stunning, but his first few struggled to break through. This was his third for the label, and it would still be a couple of years before he'd really break through on the American charts.)
Forever – Mercy (6/69; #79 – this record is the one that disqualifies Mercy as a true “one-hit wonder.” After the success of “Love (Can Make You Happy”) on the tiny Sundi Records label, Warner Brothers signed the group and this was their only other charting single. That’s Brenda McNish singing the l-o-n-g note that begins at about 1:38.)
Let’s Get Together – Sunshine Company (5/68; #112 – The Youngbloods had the biggest success with this song, but We Five, the Jefferson Airplane and many others took a crack at it. This is a lost nugget that really captures the essence of the song.)
King of Nothing – Seals & Crofts (6/74; #60 – after bursting onto the scene with several high-charting singles, the duo managed to alienate listeners and programmers alike by emphasizing their Baha’i faith, and then releasing their song “Unborn Child.” This was the follow-up single from that album, and it suffered by association.)
What a Wonderful Thing – Fabulous Rhinestones (8/72; #78 – from the ashes of The Buckinghams in Chicago, this Woodstock-based band that included bassist Harvey Brooks released one very nice album. This was the single chosen from it, but the tiny label didn’t have much of a promotion or distribution budget. It deserved better.)
Ooh Child – Valerie Carter (5/77; #103 – she was a respected and sought-after background vocalist on the LA studio scene (James Taylor, Little Feat, Christopher Cross) who finally recorded a full album. This cover of the Stairsteps tune was chosen for release as a single, but stalled on the Bubbling Under chart.)
Be Thankful for What You’ve Got (Pt. 2) – William DeVaughn (6/74; #4 Pop, #1 R&B – the A-side was a big hit. The B-side is practically an instrumental by the Philadelphia studio group MFSB, and that’s Vince Montana on vibes.)
Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy – The Tams (6/68; #61 – they’re considered royalty on the Carolina “Beach Music” scene, and this is a bouncy feel-good record that got lots of play on the East Coast that summer. Tonight we hear my old well-worn 45.)
Take Me Home (Country Roads) – Olivia Newton-John (5/72; #113 – she was about to burst upon the Country scene, which would then lead to a wildly successful crossover career. This was her first release on MCA, and it didn’t quite catch the wave. However, her next five singles went Top Ten and two of them reached #1 on both charts!)
Can’t You See Me Cry – New Colony Six (6/68; #52 – this Chicago group had started as a rockin’ British Invasion-style band, and were about to morph into a Soft Rock outfit. This record sort of shows the transition between the two styles – no orchestral strings, but it’s a pretty ballad with jangly guitars. And on that note I say goodnight!)
CLOSING THEME: Sleepwalk – Santo & Johnny (1959, #1 for two weeks)
Congratulations to Regis from Trumansburg, for winning a pair of tickets to Ride The Cyclone at the Hangar Theatre!
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 (6/29/24): Kim Vaughan with a spotlight on the Library Road Trip!
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Thanks, too, to our sponsors Island Health & Fitness and Rasa Spa for their support every week!
