November 16, 2024 - JS - Charting Covers

 

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:  11/16/24

Host:  John Simon

Feature:  Charting Covers

 

 This week's theme is Charting Covers of Charting Singles: sometimes a song was so good that it inspired somebody else to take a crack at it! In some cases it was a #1 record that inspired a different version, and in some cases the cover out-performed the original. All this plus Kitchen Theatre tickets, weather updates and good company. I do hope you'll stop 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)

 

I Can Hear Music – Beach Boys (3/69; #24 – this is a case where the original by the Ronettes had only made it to #100 three years earlier, but the Beach Boys were able to unlock the magic within and they recorded the definitive version of this Barry-Greenwich tune.)

 

 

 

Hey Jude – Wilson Pickett (12/68; #23 Pop, #13 R&B – Muscle Shoals session guitarist Duane Allman suggested that Wilson Pickett record this brand new Beatles song, and Atlantic Records released it while the Beatles’ version was still in the #1 slot. The two versions would eventually cross paths as The Beatles dropped down and Pickett’s version climbed up, propelled by Duane’s searing licks.)

 

 

I Can’t Turn You Loose – Chambers Brothers (11/68; #37 – this had been a #11 R&B hit for Otis Redding three years prior, and Columbia released this five-minute long version as a single that exploded out of the speakers alongside two versions of “Hey Jude.” What a time to be alive!)

 

You Got What It Takes – Dave Clark 5 (4/67; #7 – after a long string of singles that they’d written, the band turned to this Fifties-era stomper that had been a hit for Marv Johnson in the fall of 1959. His version had reached #10 on the Pop chart and #2 R&B, but their horn-laden version returned them to the Top Ten after they’d appeared to have lost relevance.)

 

 

That’s How Heartaches Are Made – The Marvelettes (11/69; #97 – Baby Washington had reached the Top Forty with this song in 1963, and Motown’s once premiere female group tried the get back on track with this version. Sadly, their time had passed. This would be their final charting record, and it barely made a ripple.)

 

It’s All in the Game – Cliff Richard (12/63; #25 – he was England’s equivalent of America’s Elvis, but he only managed to score a handful of charting singles over here. This version of the Tommy Edwards smash from 1959 was one of those, and I think it’s a pretty nice version.)

 

 

Walk Away Renee – Four Tops (2/68; #14 – after the Tops’ writing/production team had recently left Motown over an irreconcilable contract dispute, the group was forced to turn to covering established hits by other writers. This rendition is quite different from the Left Banke’s #5 version, but there’s no mistaking the signature sounds of Motown’s studio group The Funk Brothers.)

  

 

Darling Be Home Soon – Association (5/72; #104 – the southern California group had stopped having hits, so they, too, turned to covering some cool Oldies. This had been a pretty good hit for the Lovin’ Spoonful five years earlier, and it’s a very tasty version – but it never quite broke through.)

 

When You Walk In the Room – Karla Bonoff (12/79; #101 – I had played the Searchers’ Top Forty version of this one on my last show when the spotlight was on October 1964. Their version was a more energetic take on writer Jackie DeShannon’s original version from a year prior, and her version only reached #99 for one week. Southern California singer/songwriter Karla Bonoff couldn’t even muster THAT, but it doesn’t mean that it wasn’t a great record!)

   

 

Bring It On Home To Me – Animals (5/65; #32 – British record producer Mickie Most managed several hot acts including The Animals, Herman’s Hermits, Lulu and Donovan, and it may have been his idea to create this publicity stunt: a wager between Eric Burdon and Peter “Herman” Noone over who could record the more successful Sam Cooke cover. If I were the judge, the Animals would’ve been the clear winners.)

 

 

Wonderful World – Herman’s Hermits (5/65; #4 – alas and alack, the real judges were the teenaged girls who ran out and bought this one in droves. It’s light and inconsequential and lacks any of the magic of Sam Cooke’s original, and there would be much better covers of it to come over the years, but Herman won the bet.)

 

 

It Doesn’t Matter Anymore – Linda Ronstadt (7/75; #47 – this goes out to listener and former WVBR DJ Tom Preston, who says that he prefers it to Buddy Holly’s original posthumous hit from late 1959. Buddy’s version reached #13 here in the States and spent five weeks atop the British charts, but I tend to agree with Tom: her version is heartfelt and haunting and moving. Plus...who knew that she could play the guitar like that??!?)

 

 

Up on the Roof – James Taylor (6/79; #28 – The Drifters had taken this to #5 back in late 1962, and one of the industry's great ironies is that this was songwriter Laura Nyro’s ONLY charting single back in 1970. Writer Carole King's long-time associate James Taylor managed to make it his own for a short while in the late Seventies. Here it is.)

 

 

 

7-8pm

 

 Birthday Calendar

 

 

November 10 – Greg Lake (ELP) – born in 1947

 

November 11 – LaVern Baker – born in 1929

            – Mary Travers – born in 1939

            – Jesse Colin Young – age 83

 

November 12 – Ruby Nash Curtis (Romantics) – age 85

            – Brian Hyland – age 81

            – Booker T. Jones – age 80

            – Neil Young – age 79

 

November 14 – Stephen Bishop – age 73

 

 November 15 – Clyde McPhatter – born in 1933

            – Little Willie John – born in 1937

            – Petula Clark – age 92

 

November 16 – Dan Penn – age 83

           

 

 

 

From the Beginning – Emerson, Lake & Palmer (9/72; #39 – Greg Lake had been the voice of King Crimson before he left to team with Keith Emerson and drummer Carl Palmer. In this new power trio, he did most of the singing, played the bass and guitar parts, and was their chief songwriter. This was one of his finest moments.)

 

 

Too Much of Nothing – Peter, Paul & Mary (11/67; #35 – this was the trio’s fourth and final charting single penned by Bob Dylan. It’s only after I read last week’s blog post that I realized that Mary Travers’ birthday was two days earlier. Oops! Still, this one is an underrated gem.)

 

Sunlight – Youngbloods (11/69; #114 – Jesse Colin Young lent his name to the band and played bass, did most of the singing and writing, and was basically the lifeblood of the band. He would later release a solo “live” version of this song, but this one is from the band’s Elephant Mountain LP.)

 

 

 

Groovin’ – Booker T. & The M.G.s (8/67; #21 Pop, #10 R&B – The Young Rascals’ first big self-penned #1 single was still on the chart when this Memphis group recorded their instrumental version. Booker T was the bandleader, and the four members played together as one single-celled organism.)

 

 Hey There Lonely Boy – Ruby & The Romantics (8/63; #27 – this quintet was formed in Akron, Ohio and released a string of lush singles on the Kapp Records label. Many of us first heard this song when Eddie Holman released it as “Hey There Lonely Girl” in late 1969, but this is the original. Sublime!)

 

 

 

Without Love (There is Nothing) – Clyde McPhatter (1/57; #19 Pop, #4 R&B – here’s another that I first heard when Tom Jones had a hit withit in the late Sixties, but it turns out that the former Drifter was the original artist.)

  

 

 

Talk to Me, Talk to Me – Little Willie John (4/58; #20 Pop, #5 R&B – Little Willie John recorded the original versions of this and “Fever,” and a slew of other Soul classics during his short career. See what I did there? San Antonio’s Sunny & The Sunglows would release a successful cover version several years later, but this one opened the door.)

 

Old Man – Neil Young (4/72; #31 – Neil wrote this when he was in his mid-twenties and it was inspired by his meeting the caretaker of his new California ranch. The recording features James Taylor on banjo and Linda Ronstadt contributing harmony. Check out the video of young Neil introducing it to an audience for the first time!)

 

 

 

On and On – Stephen Bishop (5/77; #11 – you may remember Stephen Bishop from his minor role in the film Animal House, playing a sensitive folk singer serenading a group of entranced coeds. In real life, he was a fine songwriter and performer, and this is one of his best. Check out John Belushi’s reaction in the video clip, though.)

 

 

 

I Cried a Tear – LaVern Baker (12/58; #6 Pop, #2 R&B for five weeks – sometimes known as “Little Miss Sharecropper,” LaVern Baker was Atlantic Records’ most prolific female recording star in the Fifties, and Elvis Presley would eventually record eight of her songs over his career.)

 

 

I’m Your Puppet – Dan Penn (1965; dnc – Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham were two of the best southern songwriters of their generation, and composed or produced or played on a slew of important records at FAME studios in Muscle Shoals. Dan also released a few singles on his own, but this one would do much better when James & Bobby Purify got their hands on it.)

 

 

 

The Joker Went Wild – Brian Hyland (7/66; #20 – Brian’s career started with a teen novelty record about a yellow bikini, but he matured steadily as an artist. Snuff Garrett and Leon Russell collaborated on a bunch of his mid-Sixties recordings, including this one from the pen of songwriter Bobby Russell, who wasn’t related to Leon.)

 

I Know a Place – Petula Clark (3/65; #3 – this was the follow-up to her debut single here in the States, and there was no topping that one – because that one was “Downtown.” In actuality, she’d been scoring hits in Europe since the Forties, and would go on to become one of Warner Brothers Records’ greatest stars here in America.)

 

 

 

 

8-9pm

 

 

You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling – Dionne Warwick (10/69; #16 – thirty-five of her prior thirty-seven singles were Bacharach-David compositions, but she took a break to record this Righteous Brothers classic, attributed to Mann-Weill-Spector. She could sing just about anything!)

 

 

I Think We’re Alone Now – Rubinoos (3/77; #45 – Tommy James & the Shondells had taken this to #4 ten years earlier, but this northern California band certainly did it justice with this cool cover.)

 

 

I Wanna Learn a Love Song – Jose Feliciano (2/74; dnc – here’s a case where the “cover” was actually released a couple of months before the original. Harry Chapin had written this one describing how he had met his wife Sandy. Listener Scottie had requested Harry’s version, but I took the liberty of playing this radio station promo 45.)

 

 

Forever – Mercy (6/69; #79 – this was the group’s follow-up to their big hit “Love [Can Make You Happy]” and it was a cover of a song written by Nashville writer Billy Killen. Studio steel guitarist Pete Drake had taken HIS cover to #25 in 1964, but the Anita Kerr singers had the biggest success with it as “The Little Dippers” in 1960.)

 

Wild World – The Gentrys (2/71; #97 – these guys had been a Memphis garage band with one big hit back in 1966. They bounced around a bit before signing with Sun Records and recorded a charting version of Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl.” Their final almost-charting single was this spot-on cover of the Cat Stevens song. Unfortunately, his version was released simultaneously with theirs. His went to #11, and theirs fell into the abyss.)

 

 

Light My Fire – Jose Feliciano (7/68; #3 Pop, #29 R&B – this was a radical departure from the Doors’ original, and that may have been part of the key to its success: it was practically a whole different song with a Jazzy Latin vibe. One curious side-effect: The Doors version actually reappeared on the Billboard chart for a couple of weeks after this version surfaced – a full year after it had been a big #1 record!)

 

 

You’ve Made Me So Very Happy – Lou Rawls (3/70; #95 Pop, #32 R&B – most people think of this as a Blood Sweat & Tears song, and they DID have a #2 hit with it a year prior, but it had actually been a Top 40 song for Motown singer Brenda Holloway in late 1967. This is the case of a cover being a cover of a cover!)

 

(I Know) I’m Losing You – Rare Earth (8/70; #7 Pop, #20 R&B – this is another Motown record that charted for at least three different acts. The original was a #1 R&B hit for the Temptations, and Rod Stewart & The Faces would have a Top 40 hit with it a year after these guys did. Tonight we hear the very hard-to-find stereo 45 version!)

  

 

Wear Your Love Like Heaven – Peggy Lipton (6/70; #108 – last week’s show opened with a tribute to the recently-departed Quincy Jones. Lost in the headlines was the fact that “Q” was married to television actress Peggy Lipton of The Mod Squad. Before that had happened, a smitten Lou Adler had signed her to his new Ode Records label, where she recorded an LP that included this cool Donovan cover. Although it never quite made the grade, it’s a very cool slice of history.)

 

 

I’m a Man – Chicago (10/71; #49 – the first call that came in tonight was to request this cover of the Spencer Davis Group hit from 1967. This version was edited down from a longer LP track and released as a B-side that managed to get enough airplay to chart on its own. I faded it at the beginning of the really long percussion break, but….good one!)

 

Lady Madonna – Fats Domino (9/68; #100 – fittingly, Fats Domino’s final charting single was a cover of a song that was written to emulate his style! Superfan Paul McCartney wrote this one as an homage to one of his heroes and the Beatles had a Top 5 hit with it in the Spring of 1968. Fats Domino’s cover just barely managed to scrape into the Hot 100, but it was a poetic cap to a brilliant career.)

 

 

So You Wanna Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star – Patti Smith (9/79; dnc – we’ll break our streak of charting covers by closing with this excellent remake of The Byrds’ big hit from 1967. Arista Records released it as a single and it never went anywhere, but it was produced by Thom Panunzio and is a personal favorite!)

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations to Brian from Candor, for winning tickets to see “A Case for the Existence of God” at the Kitchen Theatre!

 

 

 

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 (11/23/24):  Kim Vaughan with a spotlight on Family, Food and Gratitude

 

 

 

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!