March 1, 2025 - JS - Academy Awards Weekend

 

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:  3/1/25

Host:  John Simon

Feature:  RR Goes to The Movies

 

It's the Saturday night before the Academy Awards are presented, and Rockin' Remnants is going to the movies from 6-9pm. Three hours of music that enhanced the narrative, helped to paint the pictures, and left audiences humming as they walked out of the theater. Airing at 93.5 locally and streaming worldwide. Make some popcorn and come take a sonic trip with me!

 

Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia

 

 

By Hour #3 I’ll have played three songs featured in James Bond films. Can you name them all?

 

(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)

 

The Syncopated Clock – Percy Faith (3/51; #12 – Channel 2 in NYC used this as its opening theme music for “The Late Show,” and again for “The Early Show,” and even later for “The Late Late Show.” Tonight we borrow it for our early Movie Music bed!)

 

 

Help! – The Beatles (9/65; #1 for three weeks – following the success of their first feature film, the band was awarded a bigger budget for a full-color production with  travel to exotic locations and an orchestral score. Tonight you hear the orchestral James Bond-like introduction to the title song from the soundtrack LP.)

 

 

 

Goldfinger – Shirley Bassey (3/65; #8 – speaking of James Bond, this was his first true blockbuster with a big budget, a John Barry score, the fearsome manservant/assassin Oddjob, the racily-named Pussy Galore and Sean Connery as Agent 007 himself. This would also be the first of three Bond films to have Shirley Bassey singing the title song.)

 

Baby the Rain Must Fall – Glenn Yarbrough (3/65; #12 – Steve McQueen starred in the film, and Glenn had recently left the Limeliters to embark upon a solo career. I was too young to ever go to this movie, but it certainly seemed to be intended for mature audiences!)

 

 

 

To Sir With Love – Lulu (11/67; #1 for five weeks – Lulu sang this song in one of the closing scenes of the film in which she also played a student at a working class high school in a poor London neighborhood. The film resonated with the American public, and this ended up being the biggest single of the year!)

 

Across 110^th Street – Bobby Womack (3/73; #56 Pop, #19 R&B – Bobby Womack was a studio guitarist, a composer and an associate of Sam Cooke, whose widow he would later marry. He also became a successful solo artist, and this was one of his signature numbers.)

 

Stand By Me – Ben E King (5/61; #4, 10/86; #9 – all five of the previous songs were written specifically for inclusion in their respective films. This one, however, was an Oldie that lent its title to the 1986 film adaptation of a Stephen King short story. Its inclusion in the film led to its return to the Pop charts 25 years after its initial release!)

 

 

*  Moon River – Jerry Butler (10/61; #11 – this musical number from the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s won the Academy Award for Best Song at the 1962 Oscars. Tonight we hear the hit version recorded by the late Jerry Butler, with guitar accompaniment by his long-time friend Curtis Mayfield. Andy Williams also recorded a version that was never released as a single, but is nearly as well-known.)

 

*  The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face – Roberta Flack (4/72; #1 for six weeks – this song was used to chilling effect in Clint Eastwood’s taut psychological drama called Play Misty for Me, and it catapulted Roberta Flack to stardom. It would earn her Grammy awards for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year, and would be heard a lot immediately following her death just last week at age 88.)

 

 

*  Theme from ‘A Summer Place’ – Percy Faith & His Orchestra (2/60; #1 for nine weeks – this has since become a perennial summertime favorite, but the film it came from is much darker and complex than the piece would imply. Its nine-week run at number one would stand as the record until The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” would match it seven years later.)

 

Shape of Things to Come – Max Frost & The Troopers (9/68; #22 – the film was Wild in the Streets and the premise was that young people were taking over and changing all of the rules in Washington DC. As if that could ever happen in real life!)

 

 

You Never Can Tell – Chuck Berry (8/64; #14 – one of Chuck’s coolest creations during his “second coming” after he’d spent a year in jail, this one is inexorably linked with the Uma Thurman/John Travolta dance scene in Pulp Fiction. Check it out.)

 

 

 

Unchained Melody – Righteous Brothers (7/65; #4, 8/90; #13 – this is another classic hit that gained a new life through its inclusion in a Hollywood film: Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze’s film Ghost led the Righteous Brothers’ record label to re-release the single 25 years later and it almost cracked the Top Ten again!)

 

 

 

The Look of Love – Dusty Springfield (7/67; #22 – this number from the James Bond satire film Casino Royale earned an Oscar nomination for Best Song, and this particular version of it reportedly inspired Mike Meyers to create his swingin’ character Austin Powers – which would lead to yet another spoof of a spy movie!)

 

*  Stay Gold – Stevie Wonder (1982; dnc – this striking ballad from the film The Outsiders was never actually released as a single, but the film included an all-star cast of young and up-and-coming stars.)  

 

 

 

7-8pm

 

 Birthday Calendar

 

 

February 24 – Joanie Sommers – age 84

            – Paul Jones (Manfred Mann) – age 83

            – Nicky Hopkins – born in 1944

 

 

February 25 – George Harrison – born in 1943

            – Emitt Rhodes – born in 1950

 

 

February 26 – Fats Domino – born in 1928

            – Mitch Ryder (Detroit Wheels) – age 80

            – Evie Sands – age 78

 

 

February 28 – Joe South – born in 1940

            – Brian Jones (Stones) – born 1942

 

 

March 1 – Harry Belafonte – born in 1927

            – Roger Daltrey (The Who) – age 81

            – Mike D’Abo (Manfred Mann) – age 81

 

 

 

 

One Boy – Joanie Sommers (7/60; #54 – Buffalo native Joanie was best known for two things: her big hit “Johnny Get Angry,” and her string of Pepsi jingles in the late Sixties. This song was popularized in the Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie, and was her first nationally-charting single.)

 

I’m Happy Just to Dance with You – The Beatles (8/64; #95 – no, that’s not a typo: this Beatle song, featuring a rare lead vocal from George, really did only reach #95. It was, though, the B-side of one of three singles from their film A Hard Day’s Night, and all six sides were on the chart at the same time.)

 

 

My Little Red Book – Manfred Mann (6/65; #124 – this Burt Bacharach song was featured in the film What’s New Pussycat, featuring Peter Sellers and Peter O’Toole and it failed to garner much chart attention here in the States. It was also one of lead singer Paul Jones’ final recordings with the band. For the record, a subsequent release by the LA band Love eventually would achieve greater success.)

 

Lullaby – Emmitt Rhodes (1970; NR – he was a young prodigy who played all of the instruments on his debut LP, and was thought by some to be Paul McCartney using an alias. This very short song from that LP was used to great effect in Wes Anderson’s film The Royal Tenenbaums.)

 

Volunteers – Jefferson Airplane (9/69; NR – this is the live version from the Woodstock movie soundtrack, where Grace Slick mentions that Nicky Hopkins is sitting in with the band. I always thought that her introduction to the song in the film was brilliant. Many years later, I discovered that it was all an illusion created in the editing booth when they spliced that intro onto the beginning of the song. Check out the first minute of Exhibit A and then Exhibit B below)

Exhibit A:    

Exhibit B:

 

Blue Monday – Fats Domino (1/57; #5 Pop, #1 R&B for eight weeks – the New Orleans native was one of the first truly successful crossover artists, and this song’s appearance in the Jayne Mansfield film The Girl Can’t Help It certainly didn’t hurt.)

 

 

Jenny Take a Ride – Mitch Ryder & Detroit Wheels (12/65; #10 Pop – despite his soulful delivery and his Detroit origins, Mitch Ryder never charted on Soul radio. This song was featured in the 2019 film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.)

 

 

Hush – Joe South (1968; NR – this was a song that Joe wrote for Billy Joe Royal, and it was subsequently released by Deep Purple. Their version was also used in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but tonight we hear the guitarist/songwriter himself, as found on his LP “Games People Play.”)

 

Out of Time – Rolling Stones (1966; NR – this version was featured on their Flowers LP, and Brian Jones plays the marimba lines. It was never issued as a single, but it appeared prominently under the opening credits of the Vietnam War film Coming Home, which earned both Jane Fonda and Jon Voight Best Actor Oscars in 1978.)

 

 

Crazy Annie – Evie Sands (1/70; #116 – this song was inspired by a character in the acclaimed film Midnight Cowboy, and was yet another disappointment for “hard luck Evie Sands,” who just couldn’t get a break in the cutthroat music business!)

 

 

I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City – Nilsson (10/69; #34 – this is another single related to Midnight Cowboy, although it was submitted too late to be included in actual film. Instead, the producers used Nilsson’s version of Fred Neil’s “Everybody’s Talkin’.”)

 

 

I’m Just a Country Boy – Harry Belafonte (8/67; dnc – this was a re-recording of an earlier Belafonte record, and was produced an arranged by film scorer Hugo Montenegro. Harry actually appeared in several films, but none of them featured his singing.)

 

The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo) – Manfred Mann (3/68; #10 – Mike D’Abo replaced Paul Jones as the lead singer of the band in 1966, and this version of the Dylan tune was his biggest hit with the group. He later had a daughter who worked as an actress, most famously as Kevin’s older sister in The Wonder Years.)

 

 

The Kids Are Alright – The Who (8/66; #106 – this one couldn’t quite break through when it first came out, but the band gave it a second chance when they named their 1979 autobiographical film after it.)

 

 

8-9pm

 

*  Live and Let Die – Wings (7/73; #2 for three weeks – Paul McCartney was commissioned to write this song, but later stipulated that they could only use it if they let him record it. Sure enough, it was a big hit – and a hit record like this helps to sell movie tickets!)

 

*  Something in the Air – Thunderclap Newman (9/69; #37 – going out to Lou in Florida, who remembers this one from its use in The Strawberry Statement back in 1970. The group was put together by producer Kit Lambert and The Who’s Pete Townshend, who also played the bass here under a pseudonym. Also in the band? Guitarist Jimmy McCullough, who would soon go on to join Wings!)

 

 

*  Like a Rolling Stone – Bob Dylan (7/65; #2 for two weeks – one of the runaway hit films of this season has been the Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, which is largely about the years leading up to Dylan’s “electrifying” Newport Folk Festival set in 1965. This was the big hit from that conversion, and Rolling Stone Magazine ranks it as #1 in the RS500, in effect calling it the greatest Rock song in the history of the known universe!)

 

 

*  Love Me Tender – Elvis Presley (11/56; #1 for three weeks – in addition to being “The King” of the music world, Elvis had a burning desire to be a movie star. This song was commissioned to appear in Elvis’ first major motion picture, and the film’s title was actually changed from “The Reno Brothers” to Love Me Tender to capitalize on the song’s success. We send it out to Barbara on the night before her birthday.)

 

Friends – Elton John (3/71; #34 – Elton John and Bernie Taupin created the score for this film before they had actually found success as a writing team. By the time the movie came out, Elton’s fame really helped to promote the film!)

 

 

 

*  On the Road Again – Canned Heat (8/68; #16 – this was the “boogie/Blues” band’s first charting single, and was used in the Woodstock movie back in 1970. It was also used in the 2024 road trip documentary Will & Harper, which has yet to appear in theaters. It is most highly recommended by Remnants DJ Kim Vaughan!)

 

Ballad of Easy Rider – The Byrds (11/69; #65 – this cult film by Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholas was also a road trip movie with a killer soundtrack. Legend has it that Bob Dylan had agreed to contribute to his friend Peter’s film, but bailed at the last minute as he was preparing to star in his own movie. He compromised by handing Roger McGuinn a piece of paper with the opening line on it. McGuinn did the rest.)

 

Shama Lama Ding Dong – Otis Day & The Knights (7/78; NR – this was a fictional band playing in a fictional roadhouse outside of a fictional college town in National Lampoon’s Animal House, and the unwitting college kids stride through the doors yelling “Otis, my man!” when they suddenly realize that they’re not on campus anymore….)

 

 

Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To) – Diana Ross (11/75; #1 – this was Diana Ross’ second major motion picture, starring here with Billy Dee Williams and Anthony Perkins, and the theme song helped to sell movie tickets – and vice versa.)

 

*  The Court of the Crimson King – King Crimson (10/69; NR – listener Mollie called this one in: it was apparently used to great effect in the 2006 film Children of Men. Unfortunately, all we had in the studio was the full 9+ minute version, so I faded it out at about the three minute mark.)

 

*  The Good, The Bad & The Ugly – Hugo Montenegro & His Orchestra (2/68; #2 – Clint Eastwood made a string of Italian films in the genre that came to be known as “spaghetti Westerns.” The king of composers in this genre was Ennio Morricone, and this was one of his greatest.)

 

 

*  Come and Get Your Love – Redbone (1/74; #5 – this song was immortalized in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, and it became Chris Pratt’s theme song in his role as “Star Lord.” Going out with love to my sister in Vermont.)

 

That Thing You Do – The Wonders (10/96; #41 – we close with this infectious earworm written for a film about a teen band from New Jersey that becomes an overnight sensation in the thick of the British Invasion. Fountains of Wayne frontman Adam Schlesinger composed this Beatlesque gem, and it’s a thing of wonder!)

 

 

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

 

Trivia Answer

 

I played Goldfinger, The Look of Love and Live and Let Die.

 

Congratulations to Mike from West Hill, for correctly answering the question and winning a pair of movie 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 (3/8/25):  Gregory James with a spotlight on songs that contain the word “baby” in the title.

 

 

 

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!