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!)
·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
6:00 - 7:00
OPENING THEME: Good Old Rock ‘n’ Roll – Cat Mother & the All-Night Newsboys (1969 - #29: produced by Jimi Hendrix)
Background Music: Moon River - Henry Mancini (1961 - #11)
Surfin' USA - The Beach Boys (1963 - #3: Brian Wilson had to share songwriting credit with Chuck Berry due to the tune's similarity to Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen")
At Last - Etta James (1961 - #47: song was originally a hit for Glenn Miller in 1942)
That's Amore - Dean Martin (1953 - #2: song was also used in the movie "Moonstruck"; Dino had 30 charting singles in the rock'n'roll era)
Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen (1975 - #23: title track from his breakthrough LP; song ranks #21/RS500; a song by a New Jersey guy from a show based in New Jersey)
I Wonder Why - Dion & the Belmonts (1958 - #22: first charting single for the group)
I've Been Lonely Too Long - The Young Rascals (1967 - #16: not too long after the group would drop the 'young' from their name)
I've Got You Under My Skin - Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons (1966 - #9: another group from the Garden State; song was written by Cole Porter in 1936)
Mother and Child Reunion - Paul Simon (1972 - #4: song title is said to have been inspired by a chicken and egg dish on a Chinese restaurant menu)
Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me - Mel Carter (1965 - #8: song was a #5 hit for Karen Chandler in 1953)
What Time Is It? - The Jive Five (1962 - #67: song was covered by Marshall Crenshaw on his "Field Day" LP)
Rave On - Buddy Holly (1958 - #37: song ranks #154/RS500)
Time Is on My Side - Erma Thomas (1964 - DNC: song was released as the "B" side to "Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)", the Rolling Stones covered it and had a #6 hit)
Don't Bring Me Down - The Animals (1966 - #12: song was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King)
Band of Gold - Freda Payne (1970 - #3: song ranks #391/RS500)
Come Go With Me - The Dell-Vikings (1957 - #4: classic doo-wop song that ranks #441/RS500)
7:00 - 8:00 The Birthday Calendar Background music: Gonna Fly Now (Theme from "Rocky") - Bill Conti #1 July 1977
April 13: Horace Kay (The Tams) - b. 1934 Lester Chamber - 85 Bill Conti - 83 Al Green - 79 Max Weinberg (E Street Band) - 74
April 14: Loretta Lynn - b. 1932 Tony Burrows - 83 Michael Brewer - b. 1944
April 15: Roy Clark - b. 1933
April 16: Henry Mancini - b. 1924 Rudy Pompilli (Bill Haley and His Comets) - b. 1924 Ed Townsend - b. 1929 Roy Hamilton - b. 1929 Bobby Vinton - 90 Dusty Springfield [Mary O'Brien] - b. 1939 Gerry Rafferty - b. 1947
April 17: Pete Graves (The Moon glows) - b. 1936
April 18: Glen Hardin (The Crickets) - 86 Mike Vickers (Manfred Mann) - 85
April 19: Don Barbour (Four Freshman) - b. 1927 Michael Stewart (We Five) - b. 1945 Mark Volman (The Turtles) - 78
Untie Me - The Tams (1962 - #60: group was known for wearing tam o'shanters; song was written by Joe South)
Time Has Come Today - The Chambers Brothers (1968 - #11: we heard the 4:45 single edit of the song, the LP version runs 11:06)
Tired of Being Alone - Al Green (1971 - #11: song ranks #293/RS500)
Badlands - Bruce Springsteen (1978 - #42: song kicks off with a drum lick by "The Mighty" Max Weinberg)
Don't Come Home A'Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind) - Loretta Lynn (1967 - #1 C&W: one of 24 country #1s for the "Coal Miner's Daughter)
Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) - Edison Lighthouse (1970 - #5: Tony Burrows was lead singer for several one-hit acts, including this one, the Pipkins, and White Plains)
Witchi-Tai-To - Brewer & Shipley (1969 - NR: song was from the LP "Weeds" and received a lot of FM airplay)
Yesterday, When I Was Young - Roy Clark (1969 - #19: Clark was the long time co-host of TV's "Hee Haw")
See You Later Alligator - Bill Haley and His Comets (1956 - #6: Rudy Pompilli played saxophone for the group)
For Your Love - Ed Townsend (1958 - #13: ballad was a one-hit wonder)
Don't Let Go - Roy Hamilton (1958 - #13: not a typo, two songs in a row from 1958 that both charted at #13!)
Mr. Lonely - Bobby Vinton (1964 - #1: song spent one week at #1 and is one of 44 charting singles from the singer born in Canonsburg, Pa.)
You Don't Have to Say You Love Me - Dusty Springfield (1968 - #4: song ranks #491/RS500)
Star - Stealer's Wheel (1974 - #29: Gerry Rafferty was co-founder of the group from Scotland)
8:00 - 9:00
See Saw - The Moonglows (1956 - #25: uptempo song from a group better known for ballads)
Where Will the Words Come From - Gary Lewis and the Playboys (1967 - #21: song was co-written by Crickets members Glen Hardin and Sonny Curtis; Hardin was a session piano player for Johnny Rivers, John Denver, Gram Parsons, and a host of others)
Sha-La-La - Manfred Mann (1965 - #12: Mike Vickers was guitarist for the group and directed the orchestra for The Beatles' live broadcast of "All You Need Is Love")
You Stepped Out of a Dream - The Four Freshmen (1956 - NR: the quartet's harmonies helped inspire Beach Boy Brian Wilson)
You Let a Love Burn Out - We Five (1967 - NR: Michael Stewart formed the group at the University of San Francisco in 1964, could play multiple stringed instruments, and was the arranger of their music; later he produced Billy Joel's "Piano Man" LP)
You Know What I Mean - The Turtles (1967 - #12: Mark Volman was a founder of the pop group along with Howard Kaylan; they continue to headline the "Happy Together" oldies tour)
*Rocky Mountain High - John Denver (1973 - #9: one of Denver's signature songs and one of Colorado's two state songs)
Back to our Spotlight Feature:
Turn the Beat Around - Vicki Sue Robinson (1976 - #10: one-hit wonder that is considered a disco classic)
Carrie Anne - The Hollies (1967 - #9: song is a tribute to Marianne Faithfull and employs a steelpan solo)
Whiter Shade of Pale - Procol Harum (1967 - #5: song is based on a Bach cantata and ranks #57/RS500)
Mickey's Monkey - The Miracles (1963 - #8: song inspired a dance craze for "The Monkey" and was written and produced by Motown's Holland-Dozier-Holland team)
Who's Sorry Now - Connie Francis (1958 - #4: one of 56 charting singles for the singer-actress born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero)
45 Corner
Superstar - Murray Head (1970 - #14: from the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar")
Gee - The Crows (1954 - #14: the first '50s doo-wop record to be a million-seller and it has been called the first rock and roll record by a rock and roll group)
This Magic Moment - The Drifters (1960 - #16: Ben E. King was lead singer for this Doc Pomus/Mort Shuman song; Jay and the Americans would take it to #6 in 1968)
CLOSING THEME: Sleepwalk – Santo & Johnny (1959 - #1 for two weeks; brothers Santo [steel guitar] and Johnny [rhythm guitar] Farina from Brooklyn)
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: 4/12/25
Host: John
Simon
Feature:
Back to the Movies!
We pick up where we left off last time on the eve of The Academy Awards presentation. Leftover classics, unfilled requests, trivia prizes and more. Make a batch of popcorn, find a comfy seat and let's go re-live those thrilling days of yesteryear!
Rock ‘n’ Roll
Trivia
Vikki Carr’s
“It Must Be Him” is strongly linked to a certain film from the Eighties. Can
you name the film AND quote a famous line from that movie?
(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!)
Theme from “A
Man and a Woman” – Francis Lai (11/66; NR – this
haunting melody with a European flair spawned several covers, the most
successful of which was by vocalist Tamiko Jones and flautist Herbie Mann.
Francis Lai’s original never charted, but it’s the one I remember from back in
the day.)
The Look of Love
– Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 (5/68; #4 – this Bacharach/David composition was nominated for an Academy Award in
1968, and this group got to perform it at the televised ceremony. That gave
sales a tremendous boost, helping them surpass Dusty Springfield’s earlier
version in the chart race. It was, of
course, from the James Bond film Casino Royale.)
* Theme from
“Shaft” – Isaac Hayes (11/71; #1 Pop and R&B – this was a leftover request from my previous show, and it was the Stax
Records songwriter’s biggest hit. Note: some radio stations balked at the
“ghetto” language, so the single edited out the words “damn right” and “a bad
mother!” Going out at the suggestion of John-the-Drummer.)
One Tin
Soldier – Coven (9/71; #26 – this song
had been a middling hit for a group called “The Original Caste” back in 1969,
but it was re-recorded for inclusion in the film Billy Jack. This new
version would chart three times over the course of the next two years, with one
of THEM being a re-recording released on another label!)
* Where the Boys
Are – Connie Francis (1/61; #4 – Connie
made her acting debut in this Spring Break teen drama, and her idea for the
songwriters behind her big hit “Stupid Cupid” to compose a song by this title.
Their names were Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, and they came through in a
big way. Going out to Barbara in Danby.)
* Hello Dolly! –
Louis Armstrong (5/64; #1 – Dixieland
trumpeter Louis Armstrong recorded the title track for the Broadway show, and
managed the remarkable feat of knocking The Beatles out of the number one slot
that they’d held for the previous 14 weeks. It also won Grammy Awards for Song
of the Year and Male Vocal Performance. Going out to Linda from Interlaken.)
* Oogum Boogum
Song – Brenton Wood (4/67; #34 – this was
the first charting single from the Louisiana native, and it was most recently
used in the Netflix documentary Will & Harper, highly recommended by
our own Kim Vaughan.)
* Rock ‘n’ Roll
High School – The Ramones (8/79; DNC – this
was the title track from the Punk Rock high school comedy starring The Ramones,
and it was released as a single that mostly fell on deaf ears. Going out at the
behest of listener John in Freeville!)
* Exodus –
Ferrante & Teicher (11/60; #2 – this
was the stirring title track from an epic movie about the founding of Israel,
and the soundtrack won the Academy Award and two Grammys that year. It was
recorded by a wide range of artists, but this version was the most successful.
Going out to listener Greg.)
If I Fell –
The Beatles (8/64; #53 – Capitol released
three singles from the band’s first feature film A Hard Day’s Night, and
all six sides charted that summer. This was the designated B-side of “And I
Love Her,” which reached #12. Long before there was auto-tune – and when the
band was too busy to do overdubs – mistakes were often left as they’d occurred.
An attentive listener noticed and commented on Paul’s inability to hit the high
note in the last verse!)
Cry to Me –
Solomon Burke (1/62; #44 Pop, #5 R&B – this
song, along with a bunch of others from this era, was used to great effect in
the film Dirty Dancing, a coming-of-age classic set in a Catskills
resort. Nobody puts baby in the corner!)
(I’ve Had) The
Time of My Life – Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes (11/87; #1 – this was the main theme from Dirty
Dancing, and paired Righteous Brother Bill
Medley with Californian Jennifer Warnes. It won the Oscar for Best Original
Song, along with a Grammy for Record of the Year.)
Too Late to
Turn Back Now – Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose (6/72; #2 for two weeks – one of the great songs from that summer,
this was recently featured in a most memorable scene in Spike Lee’s film BlacKKKlansman.
Check out the crowd dancing and singing along. And check out the movie,
starring Denzel Washington’s son!)
The Happening
– The Supremes (5/67; #1 Pop, #12 R&B – this
was the final single released before Diana Ross was given top billing. Those of
us who attended the John Rudan 50th Anniversary event at The Hangar
Theatre may have been surprised when he went on record as saying this was his
favorite Supremes song. He’s also one of a handful of people I know who’ve seen
the film!)
7-8pm
Birthday Calendar
April 6 – Merle
Haggard – born 1937
– Louie Shelton (guitarist) – age
84
– Danny Kortchmar (guitar) – age 79
April 7 – John
Oates (Hall & Oates) – age 76
– Janis Ian – age 74
– Mongo Santamaria – born 1922
– Percy Faith – born 1908
April 8 – Leon
Huff – age 83
– Steve Howe (Yes) – age 78
April 9 – Carl
Perkins – born 1932
– Steve Gadd (drummer) – age 80
April 12 –
Herbie Hancock – age 85
– John Kay (Steppenwolf) – age 81
Okie From
Muskogee – Merle Haggard & The Strangers (11/69; #41 Pop, #1 C&W – this one exemplifies the friction between
the Country crowd and the Peace-and-Love crowd back in the day, and was used to
great effect in the film Platoon. It was also awarded the Country Music
Award’s “Record of the Year” honors.)
Valleri – The
Monkees (3/68; #3 for two weeks – this
was originally a skeleton of a song created for an episode from the show, but
the network was inundated with requests for it to be released as a single – and
a couple radio stations even resorted to playing a bootlegged version taped
from the TV. Session player Louie
Shelton is actually the man playing those flashy guitar licks! You also
know his work from “Last Train to Clarksville.”)
You Make My
Dreams Come True – Hall & Oates (5/81; #5 – John Oates and Darryl Hall were listed as the co-writers of this one,
which would be used to great effect nearly thirty years later in the film 500
Days of Summer. Watch the clip!)
You’ve Got a
Friend – James Taylor (6/71; #1 – this
Carole King song was JT’s only #1 single, and he had help from both Joni
Mitchell on vocals and Danny Kortchmar
on acoustic guitar. JT and “Kootch” had played together in the band called The
Flying Machine, and their guitar interplay is simply mesmerizing. This one won
Grammys for Song of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal.)
At Seventeen –
Janis Ian (10/75; #3 – New Yorker Janis
Ian wrote this song at the age of 23, and found it nominated for both Song of
the Year and Record of the Year at that year’s Grammy Awards. More recently it
was used in the 2004 film Mean Girls, which also had a character
derisively called “Janis Ian” behind her back.)
Watermelon Man
– Mongo Santamaria (3/63; #10 – pianistHerbie Hancock composed this one, which went
on to became conga player Mongo Santamaria’s biggest hit. We’ll hear both
versions before the night is over.)
Theme from The
Dark at the Top of the Stairs – Percy Faith (10/60; #101 – three competing versions of the title track from this film were
released in October of 1960. Ernie Freeman’s was the highest charter at #70,
but Percy’s was the most fluid and haunting.)
TSOP (The
Sound of Philadelphia) – MFSB (4/74; #1 Pop and R&B – Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff
were the masterminds behind Philadelphia International Records, recruiting the
musicians, writing the material, creating the arrangements and signing the
acts. Their crack session players were called “MFSB,” which they winkingly said
stood for Mother, Father, Sister, Brother. Those in the know beg to differ.)
Your Move –
Yes (9/71; #40 – the opening opus from
their debut album was “I’ve Seen All Good People/Your Move,” and it ran about 7
minutes long. Atlantic Records released this 3½ minute edited version which
opens with three voices and an acoustic guitar. One of those three voices AND the
acoustic guitar were courtesy of Steve
Howe.)
Born to Be
Wild – Steppenwolf (7/68; #2 – this
thundered out of car speakers and juke boxes all that summer, and reappeared a
year later in the countercultural film Easy Rider. Tonight we hear the
explosive mono 45 version of the song which includes the line “heavy metal
thunder,” a phrase that came to categorize a whole subgenre of Rock music.)
Boppin’ the
Blues – Carl Perkins (7/56; #70 – the
local Hangar Theatre has announced that their summer season opens with the
musical The Million Dollar Quartet, featuring the music of young Elvis,
Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl
Perkins. We start promoting it here and now!)
Watermelon Man
– Herbie Hancock (10/62; #124 – Jazz pianist
Herbie Hancock wrote and recorded this for his Blue Note LP Taking Off,
and his version featured horn players Freddie Hubbard and Dexter Gordon – but
it was Mongo Santamaria’s version that paid Herbie’s bills for the next seven
years or so.)
8-9pm
Late in the
Evening – Paul Simon (8/80; #6 – we wrap
up the birthday calendar with session percussionist Steve Gadd’s extraordinary
drumming on this number from Paul Simon’s film One Trick Pony.
Apparently, Gadd used one pair of drumsticks in each of his two hands to make
it sound like two drummers playing at once.)
* Wham Bam
Shang-a-Lang – Silver (6/76; #16 – young
John Batdorf had recently split with duo partner Mark Rodney to form the band
Silver, and this was their one big hit. It resurfaced years later in Marvel’s Guardians
of the Galaxy film trilogy, exposing it to a whole new audience.)
* Stuck in the
Middle With You – Stealer’s Wheel (5/73; #6 – Quentin Tarantino chose this song for a disturbing scene in his film
Reservoir Dogs, and it really stuck with my buddy JR who suggested it for this
show. After the band dissolved, singer Gerry Rafferty would branch out on his
own.)
* Tiny Dancer
(45 version) – Elton John (3/72; #41 – the
full-length LP version clocked in at 6:16, but MCA released a shorter version
for radio play. We play that version tonight, inspired by a scene from the
Cameron Crowe film Almost Famous. It may be time to watch it again!)
It Must Be Him
– Vikki Carr (9/67; #3 for two weeks – this
record got its second wind when it appeared repeatedly in the 1987 film Moonstruck.
Vince Gardenia plays Cher’s character’s father, who listens to the song
repeatedly as he’s apparently signaling that he’s having an extramarital
affair. Unfazed, his wife keeps telling him “Cosmo, you’re gonna die.”)
Tubular Bells
– Mike Oldfield (2/74; #7 – talk about a
radio edit…this 3-minute version was trimmed down from 39 minutes on the album.
It’s also inextricably linked to the horror film The Exorcist. Remember
that one???)
Love Theme
from Romeo & Juliet – Henry Mancini (6/69; #1 for four weeks – this musical piece was ubiquitous back in
the summer of 1969, and it sonically captured some of the beauty of Franco
Zeffirelli’s blockbuster film. It was sad to hear of Olivia Hussey’s passing back
at Christmastime, and sobering to hear that she’d somehow become 73!)
* Sunshine of
Your Love – Cream (1/68; #5 – I got a
message out of the blue from a guy I went to high school with in NYC, who asked
me to play this one – featured in one of his favorite scenes from the Scorcese
film Goodfellas. This is the full-length version from the Disraeli
Gears LP.)
Bring a Little
Lovin’ – Los Bravos (5/68; #51 – when it
comes to using popular music to capture a time and place, Quentin Tarantino is
a master. This song was but one of many highlights in his film Once Upon a Time
in Hollywood, which relies heavily on the music and jingles played on KRLA
in the late Sixties. The band’s biggest hit was “Black is Black,” but this one
merits a listen.)
The Dark End
of the Street – The Commitments (10/91; dnc – one of the great Music movies of the Nineties was this Irish film about
the formation of a white Soul band in Dublin. A number of singles were released
from the soundtrack LP, although only one of them charted. All of them were
actually performed by the cast.)
What Becomes
of the Brokenhearted – Joan Osborne and The Funk Brothers (2002; NR – meanwhile, one of the greatest Music documentaries
of all time was the film about the musicians behind all of Motown’s hit
records. Standing in the Shadows of Motown combines vintage footage and
interviews with current-day interpretations of classic Motown tunes. This is my
very favorite of them all!)
Strange Magic
– Electric Light Orchestra (3/76; #14 – we
had a request to play ELO’s version of “Xanadu,” but I couldn’t find it
anywhere. At the last minute I grabbed this one, featured in the 2004 film Ella
Enchanted starring Anne Hathaway. And….that’s a wrap! See you on May 3rd.)
CLOSING
THEME: Sleepwalk – Santo & Johnny (1959, #1 for two weeks)
Trivia Answer
The song “It
Must Be Him” was featured prominently in the film Moonstruck. The line
quoted by the caller was “Cosmo, you’re
gonna die.” Other classic lines are “You’re
a wolf!” and “Johnny Cammareri....”
Congratulations
to John from Ithaca, for correctly answering the question and winning a $25
gift card to Bickering Twins Restaurant and Tequila Bar!
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
(4/19/25): Jan Hunsinger with a spotlight TBD
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!
![Connie Francis – Where The Boys Are – Vinyl (7", 45 RPM, Single), 1961 [r1327192] | Discogs](https://i.discogs.com/qmXvV7WaVS18_rDQJWxqKnKo5DXHHsAJilj2erjOG8Q/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:600/w:594/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTM5MDk3/ODctMTY3MDE4NjY4/Ni02ODI4LmpwZWc.jpeg)
![The Supremes – The Happening – Vinyl (Purple cover, 7", 45 RPM, Single), 1967 [r6542356] | Discogs](https://i.discogs.com/vzI-xWJtQzekNCX_KZwgEWtizRZMT9TGUHJKQA-1cEQ/rs:fit/g:sm/q:40/h:300/w:300/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTY1NDIz/NTYtMTYzMTc4MTc3/My03ODY4LmpwZWc.jpeg)
![Henry Mancini – Love Theme From Romeo & Juliet – Vinyl (7", Single, Repress), 1970 [r12533293] | Discogs](https://i.discogs.com/RBTPACsZWKSeVeoikTxGDKbFsJQmtqduQ_I86H-Nhz8/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:600/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTEyNTMz/MjkzLTE1MzcxMTk4/NDEtMjk0Ni5qcGVn.jpeg)