August 17, 2024 - JS - Mid-August 1968

 

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:  8/17/24

Host:  John Simon

Feature:  The Week of 8/17/68

 

 Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia

 

 

The song “I Say a Little Prayer” was used to great effect in this 1997 Hollywood blockbuster rom-com. Can you name the film? An extra clue can be found three songs in (see below) if you need 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

·      songs IN BOLD are from our chart date

·      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)

 

Hello, I Love You – The Doors (at #2, down from two weeks at #1 – this LA band had two #1 records, just about exactly a year apart. Stereo versions have a left-to-right sound effect, but tonight you get the mono single version.)

 

 

Born to Be Wild – Steppenwolf (at #4, headed to four weeks at #2 – this is the stunning mono 45 mix with a thundering bassline and swirling B-3 organ. The lyrics are credited by some for giving “Heavy Metal” music its name: “I like smoke and lightnin’, heavy metal thunder!”)

 

 

I Say a Little Prayer – Aretha Franklin (debuting at #82, headed to #6 Pop and #3 R&B – this was the B-side of her latest single on Atlantic. The A-side debuted at #59 and would reach #6 Pop and #2 R&B, but this one seems to be the more memorable of the two – and there’s a scene in a Julia Roberts/Cameron Diaz movie that borrows directly from this version.)

 

 

I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You – Bee Gees (debuting at #99, headed to  #8 Pop, #1 in the UK – they’d first surfaced about a year prior here in the States, but this is the single that confirmed that they were more than just a Folkish brother group. They were willing to branch out and change with the times.)

 

 

Eyes of a New York Woman – BJ Thomas (at #38, headed to a peak of #28 – this song was written by Mark James, who also wrote “Hooked On a Feeling” and Elvis’ “Suspicious Minds.” Tonight we hear the 45 that I bought as a kid growing up in New York City, and it sounds better than any CD version out there.)

 

 

Guantanamera – Sandpipers (8/66; #9 – Pete Seeger had put the words of Cuban poet Jose Marti to music, and it was this trio’s breakthrough record. One of the sweetest sounds of the Summer of ’66.)

 

 

Black Is Black – Los Bravos (8/66; #4 – this one has a driving beat, blazing horns and a persistent riff that just won’t quit. The band was from Madrid but their lead singer actually hailed from Germany. Another signature tune from that summer.)

 

 

 

You’re My Everything – Temptations (#6 Pop, #3 R&B –Motown’s premiere quintet could do no wrong at this point, releasing a string of about six consecutive killer singles. This one featured the lead vocals of tenor Eddie Kendricks, but David Ruffin still managed to step into the spotlight for part of it.)

 

 

 

Fool On the Hill – Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 (at #48, headed to #6 – when it became clear that The Beatles weren’t going to release this as a single, this group added a Latin twist to it and put it in a picture sleeve and had themselves a hit!)

 

 

Soul Limbo – Booker T & The M.G.s (at #18, headed to #17 Pop and #7 R&B – this one starts with a cowbell and a tinkling piano, and eventually has Booker T’s organ trading off solos with a marimba. It’s both infectious and danceable!)

 

 

People Got to Be Free – The Rascals (in its first of five weeks at #1 Pop; #14 R&B – the Rascals had dropped the “Young” from their name, and were also suddenly trading in love songs for political numbers. This one was inspired by the King/Kennedy assassinations of the previous few months, and it became their biggest hit ever.)

 

 

45 Corner:  Sailor Boy – The Chiffons (8/64; #81 – here’s some NYC Girl Group magic for you, coming from a radio station promo 45 on Turntable 2. As far as I can tell, this song can’t be found on CD.)

 

 

So Much In Love – The Tymes (8/63; #1 – a seemingly timeless song from the Cameo-Parkway Records label, starting with the sounds of the sea and morphing into a finger-snapping summertime love song that never gets old.)

 

 

Reminiscing – Little River Band (7/78; #3 – this was the Australian group’s biggest hit to date, but six out of their next seven singles would go on to reach the Top Ten. As I told the caller, “Reminiscing: that’s what we do up here!”)

 

 

 

7-8pm

 

 Birthday Calendar

 

 

August 11 – Eric Carmen – born in 1949

            – Joe Jackson – age 69

 

 

August 12 – Buck Owens – born 1929

            – Mark Knopfler – age 75

 

 

August 13 – Dan Fogelberg – born 1951

 

 

August 14 – Dash Crofts – age 86

            – David Crosby – born in 1941

 

           

August 15 – Bobby Helms – born in 1933

            – Jimmy Webb – age 78

 

 

August 16 – Eydie Gorme – born in 1928

            – JT Taylor (Kool & The Gang) – age 71

 

 

August 17 – Belinda Carlisle (Go-Go’s) – age 66

 

 

 

Go All the Way – Raspberries (7/72; #5 – one of the biggest sounds that summer came from The Raspberries, who were fronted by the late Eric Carmen. It exploded out of the speakers!)

 

 

Get Closer – Seals & Crofts (4/76; #6 Pop – these two Texans co-wrote their three biggest hits, and each one reached #6 on the singles charts. This was the final one.)

 

 

Walking on the Wild West End – Dire Straits (1/79; NR – guitarist Mark Knopfler was the star of the show, and this was one of the songs included on an early demo that landed them a recording contract. It’s a standout track from their debut LP, but “Sultans of Swing” was the big hit.)

 

 

Along the Road – Dan Fogelberg (12/79; dnc – this was the B-side of Dan’s biggest hit Longer. Two great songs for the price of one!)

 

 

Steppin’ Out – Joe Jackson (8/82; #6 – he rode in on the “New Wave” as a smart-aleck punk, but he grew into a bold innovator who explored Jazz and Latin rhythms, as well. One cool factoid about this record is that there is no guitar in it whatsoever!)

 

 

 

Act Naturally – Buck Owens & His Buckaroos (4/63; #1 C&W for four weeks – this song would later reach the Pop chart when it was released as a Beatles B-side. Buck Owens had a secret weapon on HIS version: harmony vocalist/guitarist Don Rich nearly steals the show.)

 

 

My Special Angel – Bobby Helms (10/57; #7 Pop, #1 C&W for four weeks – Bobby charted eleven times on the Hot 100 between 1957 and 1973, but six of those times it was with Jingle Bell Rock! This was his second-highest charting Pop hit. Can you guess the other one?)

 

 

Tunesmith – Johnny Rivers (6/67; NR – Johnny had a knack for discovering great songwriters, and was the first to record covers by James Taylor and Jimmy Webb. The Fifth Dimension and Glen Campbell would have greater success with Webb’s material, but this album track could’ve and should’ve been a hit.)

 

 

Lady Friend – Byrds (8/67; #82 – David Crosby was in the process of being pushed out of the band, but he was the driving force behind this criminally underrated single. Two years later, he’d be in a very successful trio and The Byrds would be on their way out.)

 

 

I Want You to Meet My Baby – Eydie Gorme (7/64; #43 – Gerry Goffin co-wrote this one with Russ Teitelman, and Eydie sang it with lots of sass and swagger.)

 

 

Our Lips Are Sealed – The Go-Go’s (8/81; #20 – lead singer Belinda Carlisle would go onto have a successful solo career, but this their debut charting single and has always been one of my favorites.)

 

 

Too Hot – Kool & The Gang (1/80; #5 Pop, #3 R&B – they started as a Northern NJ Funk band, but James “JT” Taylor’s smooth vocals took them in a more lucrative direction. This was the second single from his first album with the band, and they were off to the races.)

 

 

 

 

8-9pm

 

 

The House That Jack Built – Aretha Franklin (debuting at #59, headed to #6 Pop and #2 R&B – we heard the B-side near the top of the show, but this is a barnstormer!)

 

 

Give Me One More Chance – Wilmer & The Dukes (peaking at #80 this week – hailing from Geneva and Rochester and parts in-between, this was a legendary local bar band that broke through nationally. This song borrows heavily from Otis Reddings “Fa-Fa-Fa Song,” right out of the gate.)

 

 

Back in the USSR – The Beatles (3/68; NR – I got a last-minute call for a birthday request and should’ve grabbed Disc Two, which opens with “Birthday.” Oh well, here’s the opening track from Disc One. Happy birthday, Chris!)

 

 

Mr. Businessman – Ray Stevens (at #58 this week, headed to #28 – Ray Stevens was a seasoned record producer and writer who released a bunch of comedy/novelty records along with a bunch of serious social commentary singles. This is one of the latter, again from my vintage vinyl library.)

 

 

Baby Don’t Go – Sonny & Cher (8/65; #8 – after floundering at Reprise Records, the husband/wife duo signed with Atco and raced to the top of the charts with “I Got You, Babe.” The folks at Reprise wisely re-released this 1964 single and finally got a hit out of them, too!)

 

 

Brown Eyed Girl – El Chicano (6/72; #45 – this LA Latin Soul band had a breakout instrumental hit that I play as my Birthday Music Bed every week, but they released a tasty cover of the Van Morrison song, too. Here it is on the Kapp Records 45.)

 

 

Celebrate – Rare Earth (8/71; #7 Pop, #30 R&B – several people called about having birthdays this month, so this one goes out to all of them! They were a white band signed to Motown, who actually gave them their own record label. On Rare Earth Records, it’s a Rare Earth record!)

 

 

Youngblood – Rickie Lee Jones (7/79; #40 – this was the follow-up single to “Chuck E.’s in Love,” and both came from her debut album. She’s still touring and recording, and comes to our area every couple of years.)

 

 

My Maria – B.W. Stevenson (8/73; #9 – this song was so good that Country artists Brooks and Dunn recorded a note-for-note cover of it and won a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1996. Tonight we hear the original.)

 

 

Hollywood – Rufus, feat. Chaka Khan (6/77; #32 Pop, #3 R&B – Rufus emerged from the ashes of The American Breed in the early Seventies, but truly came into their own when singer Chaka Khan joined the band, eventually earning top billing. Tonight you hear the stereo side of the promo 45.)

 

 

Overnight Sensation (Hit Record) – Raspberries (9/74; #18 – as I said on the air, Eric Carmen had it all: the looks, the voice, the guitar chops,the writing skill, the hair…and he was practically pleading for them to play this one. This goes out to Scottie, with a birthday on the 20^th.)

 

 

Rock the Boat – Hues Corporation (7/74; #1 – considered by music historians and critics to be one of the first Disco hits, this one featured instrumentation by three members of The Crusaders: Wilton Felder on bass, Larry Carlton on guitar and Joe Sample on keyboards.)

 

 

Can’t You See – Marshall Tucker Band (8/73; #108 – this was released as their first single ever, edited down from a 6:05 album length. Hard to believe that it didn’t chart!)

 

 

Rock Your Baby – George McCrae (7/74; #1 Pop, R&B and UK – originally written for KC & The Sunshine Band, members of whom played the instruments on the record, this was his biggest hit and was declared Record of the Year by Rolling Stone Magazine. I’d forgotten how infectious it is, but I can’t stop singing it in my head!)

 

 

Too Late to Turn Back Now – Cornelius Bros. & Sister Rose (8/72; #2 – one of the greatest songs of that summer still sounds as fresh and exciting as it did 50+ years ago. Part of it is the melody and part of it is the instrumentation, but most of it the warm-as-sunshine lead vocals of writer Eddie Cornelius. Just as the song seems to be coming to an end, another bridge kicks in and that chorus repeats all over. Tonight I had to end it before that bridge, because we ran out of time.)

 

 

 

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

  

 

Trivia Answer

 

 

There’s a memorable scene in which an entire restaurant breaks into a rollicking version of “I Say a Little Prayer,” much to Julia Roberts’ chagrin. The film is My Best Friend’s Wedding.

 

Congratulations to Linda from Covert, 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 (8/24/24):  Gregory James with a spotlight on records climbing the charts in late August of 1965-1969.

 

 

 

Thanks for tuning in - and for voting us Ithaca's Best Local Radio Show in the most recent 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!