May 24, 2025 - JS - "I've Got the Month of May"

 

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:  May 24, 2025

Host:  John Simon

Feature:  I’ve Got the Month of May

 

 

I'm back on Rockin' Remnants tonight from 6-9pm. Cornell Graduation, Memorial Day Weekend, miserable weather, nation in crisis....so many possible ways to go. I think that general music therapy is the answer! Good tunes, good company, hourly weather updates and your requests on 93.5 locally or streaming worldwide at wvbr.com.  See you on the radio!

 

 

Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia

 

 

TEXT 

 

(By the end of Hour Two I’ll have played songs by at least five acts containing siblings. Can you name three of them?)

 

 

 

 

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)

 

Groovin’ – Young Rascals (5/67; #1 for four weeks – Atlantic Records was reluctant to release this as a single, because it sounded nothing like the group’s previous hits. Apparently, the public disagreed! Its four-week run at the top would be interrupted by Aretha Franklin’s “Respect,” which took over for two weeks before being knocked back down.)

 

 

Watch the Flowers Grow – 4 Seasons (10/67; #30 – the one upside to all of this rain is that things are growing prolifically out there. This was the Jersey group’s first record that wasn’t about girls and romance, as well as their first tentative step into psychedelia.)

 

 

Younger Girl – The Critters (4/66; #42 – The Lovin’ Spoonful first recorded this as an album track. When they didn’t release it as a single, Kapp Records did – at the same time that The Hondells released their version on the Mercury label. Sales were effectively split down the middle, and neither version ended up in the Top Forty!)

 

 

Music to Watch Girls By – Bob Crewe Generation (3/67; #15 – Bob Crewe was a prolific songwriter and producer, best known for his work with the 4 Seasons. He also formed his own Dyno Voice record label and released several instrumentals under his own name. This was the most successful of them all.)

 

 

Walk Tall – 2 of Clubs (3/67; #92 – this female duo hailed from Cincinnati and officially qualifies as a one-hit wonder – IF you consider a #92 record “a hit.” They recorded for the small Fraternity Records label, and this was just about the last time they were heard from.)

 

 

*  The Warmth of the Sun – Beach Boys (11/64; dnc – this was tucked onto the B-side of “Dance, Dance, Dance” and goes out to everybody clamoring for some sunny music. As an aside, this is a song that was written a year earlier in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of President Kennedy, and the underlying sadness can't help but shine through.)

 

 

 

*  Sunshine on My Shoulders – John Denver (3/74; #1 – this one was requested by Lee from Groton, and was an unlikely hit. John Denver shared writers’ credit with his guitarist and his bass player, and the single edit ran two minutes shorter than the full-length version we hear tonight.)

 

 

*  Good Day Sunshine – Beatles (9/66; NR – this request came in from my old high school buddy Jason, who also lives under this incessant cloud cover we’ve been enduring. The only single released from the Revolver LP was “Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigby,” but this could’ve been a big hit, too.)

 

 

 

*  Hot Fun in the Summertime – Sly & The Family Stone (8/69; #3 Pop, #2 R&B – the caller said that this one always makes her think of summer, and hoped that it would warm things up for the rest of us.)

  

*  Cry to Me – Solomon Burke (2/62; #44 Pop, #5 R&B – this caller wanted to let me know that they tune in every week and just love the show. I told her that I’d let the team know.)

  

*  Stand! – Sly & The Family Stone (4/69; #22 Pop, #14 R&B – they were several months away from their explosive performance at Woodstock, but each record that they released was exciting and fresh and new. This was their follow-up to “Everyday People,” and the caller points out that the message is still fully relevant.)

 

 

 

Kansas City – Wilbert Harrison (5/59; #1 for two weeks Pop, seven weeks R&B – this Leiber & Stoller song has been recorded by over 300 artists, including The Beatles and James Brown. This, however, is the definitive version that spent seven weeks at the top of the R&B chart in the spring of 1959.)

 

 

 

Cathy’s Clown – Everly Brothers (5/60; #1 for five weeks – the brothers had just left Cadence Records to sign a record-breaking contract with Warner Brothers, and this was their first release for their new label. You can imagine the collective sigh of relief at WB when this record lodged itself at #1 for five weeks. By the way, the brothers actually wrote this one, too.)

 

 

 

Soldier Boy – Shirelles (5/62; #1 for three weeks – here’s a little bit of acknowledgment that this is Memorial Day weekend, and it rounds out our trifecta of big #1 records from the week of May 24^th. It was co-written by producer Willie Dixon and label owner Florence Greenberg.)

 

 

 

*  It’s Raining Again – Supertramp (10/82; #11 – this one goes out from Scottie to Peggy and all the rest of you. He called it “a forgotten Oldie,” and I love the children’s chorus at the very end.)

 

 

 

 

 

7-8pm

 

 Birthday Calendar

 

 

May 18 – Albert Hammond – age 83

            – Rick Wakeman (keyboards) – age 76

 

 May 19 – Pete Townshend (The Who) – age 80

            – Joey Ramone (Ramones) – born 1952

  

May 20 – Joe Cocker – born in 1944

            – Cher – age 79

            – Susan Cowsill – age 66

  

May 21 – Ronald Isley – age 84

            – Leo Sayer – age 77

  

May 22 – Bernie Taupin (lyricist) – age 75

 

 May 24 – Bob Dylan – age 84

            – Patti LaBelle – age 81

            – Waddy Wachtel (guitarist) – age 78

            – Roseanne Cash – age 70

 

  

Space Oddity – David Bowie (8/69; #124 * 1/73; #15, #1 UK – this one flopped when it first came out, but the second time was a charm. It turns out that session keyboardist Rick Wakeman was engaged to play the Mellotron on this recording, and that turned out to be one of the magical ingredients behind the hit.)

 

 

I’ll Wear a Silly Grin – Family Dogg (4/68; dnc – before embarking on his solo career, Albert Hammond was a member of this Art Rock combo, and this reworking of the Critters song was released as a single in Europe. It floundered, but I think that it’s aged well.)

 

 

 

Happy Jack – The Who (4/67; #24 – this was the band’s first Top Forty hit here in the States, and it came in the picture sleeve you see below. Pete Townshend was the group’s primary songwriter and driving force, but listen for drummer Keith Moon at the very end when he says “I saw you….”)

 

 

I Wanna Be Sedated – The Ramones (9/78; dnc – this record failed to actually chart, but it’s one of the NY group’s best-known songs. In fact, Rolling Stone ranks it at #145 in their RS500 listing. For the record, none of the Ramones were actually related to each other.)

 

 

Hair – The Cowsills (4/69; #2 for two weeks – this was one of six songs from the Broadway show’s score to reach the charts, and was actually arranged by two of the brothers in the family band. Little sister Susan Cowsill gets to sing the line “and spaghettied,” and is still doing it in concert to this day.)

 

 

Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves – Cher (11/71; #1 for two weeks – she got her start in a duo with her manager/husband Sonny Bono, but soon embarked on a wildly successful solo career and is one of a handful of celebrities who goes by just a one-syllable name.)

 

 

Razor Face – Elton John (3/72; dnc – Bernie Taupin was Elton John’s long-time songwriting partner, and almost everything they touched turned to gold. This song was released as the B-side of “Tiny Dancer,” and featured the organ licks of session player Rick Wakeman.)

 

 

 

I Met Him on a Sunday/The Bells – Laura Nyro w/ Labelle (11/71; NR – this historic collaboration brought Bronx-born songwriter Laura Nyro and Philadelphia-born Patti LaBelle together for an album of the songs they grew up hearing on the radio. Patti was joined by Labelle members Sarah Dash and Nona Hendryx, and producers Gamble & Huff assembled some of the core members of MFSB. This was the opening of Side One. Wow!)

 

 

It’s Your Thing – Isley Brothers (3/69; #2 Pop, #1 R&B for four weeks – they’d already recorded on RCA, Wand, Atlantic and Motown labels, but finally decided to launch their own record company, called T-Neck Records. This was their first release and they were off to the races!)

 

 

Seven Year Ache – Rosanne Cash (4/81; #22 Pop, #1 C&W – she was born in Memphis and raised by her mom in California, but she was the daughter of Memphis royalty and was eventually signed to Columbia Records. This was the first single from her second Columbia LP, and it signaled the arrival of a major voice on the Americana music scene.)

 

 

More Than I Can Say – Leo Sayer (9/80; #2 for five weeks – Sayer was a prolific writer who achieved great success in the mid-Seventies and into the Eighties, with several #1s and a string of hits for other performers. This is one of his hits that he didn’t write, but it spent a whopping five weeks at #2.)

 

 

8-9pm

 

Just Like a Woman – Joe Cocker (5/69; NR – Joe has finally been inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame – albeit it posthumously – and tonight we’ll hear his cover of a classic Bob Dylan song from his breakthrough LP. Among the notable session musicians on this recording are Jimmy Page on guitar, Chris Stainton on bass and Matthew Fisher on organ.)

 

 

Positively 4^th Street – Bob Dylan (10/65; #7 – we could’ve done a full three-hour show of Dylan’s music without repeating a single act! Tonight, though, we’ll keep it simple with just one of his signature tunes: this one was ranked at #206 in the RS500, and finds him at his acerbic best.)

 

 

Her Town Too – James Taylor & John David Souther (3/81; #11 – this one credits three writers: JT, JD Souther and session guitarist Waddy Wachtel. Waddy is a “first-call” member of the group of studio players informally dubbed “The Immediate Family,” and has played on sessions for Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Buckingham Nicks and others.)

 

 

New York Mining Disaster 1941 – The Bee Gees (5/67; #14 – this was the group's first single to reach the Hot 100 in the US, and it was the beginning of an incredible run for the three Gibb brothers. Check out this short video performance from about twenty-five years later.)

 

 

*  Still the One – Orleans (7/76; #5 – this band cut its teeth playing colleges and clubs in Central New York, and a couple of members actually met in Ithaca. This was their biggest hit, and it goes out to Gail in Interlaken from Bill. Turn it up!)

  

*  Margaritaville – Jimmy Buffett (4/77; #8 – the song turned out to be a defining moment in Jimmy’s career, in addition to being his highest-charting single. It also became the name of a string of restaurants/clubs all over the country and in Central America. Going out to Barbara, who’s sick of this weather!)

 

  

My Whole World Ended – David Ruffin (4/69; #9 Pop, #2 R&B – David had recently been unceremoniously fired from The Temptations while he was at the top his powers. Still under contract, he was moved from the Gordy label to the Motown imprint and assigned the song that had been intended to be the new Temptations record. Backing him up on this one are The Originals, who would soon start having hits of their own.)

 

 

Black Pearl – Sonny Charles & Checkmates Ltd. (5/69; #13 Pop, #8 R&B – the consensus is that this may have been the final great production of Phil Spector’s career. It was clearly the group’s greatest moment, and an important entry into the racial equity canon of the late Sixties.)

 

 

Don’t Sleep in the Subway – Petula Clark (6/67; #5 – the British chanteuse kept churning out hit after hit, most of them composed and arranged by Tony Hatch. This one was reportedly made of two separate song fragments that were strung together to become one of her signature songs.)

 

 

It Don’t Come Easy – Ringo Starr (11/70; #4 – Ringo was the first of The Beatles to release a solo single, and this one was the first of six consecutive Top Ten hits for the singing drummer. He’s still performing with versions of his “All-Star Band,” and puts on a fabulous show.)

 

 

*  Ma Cherie Amour – Stevie Wonder (5/69; #4 – this had originally been designated as the B-side of “I Don’t Know Why,” which had been released in February – but it took on a life of its own. Back in the summer of 1969 a 12-year old girl from Northport, NY went to the record store and bought this as her very first 45. I went on to marry her twenty years later.)

 

 

Call Me – Blondie (5/80; #1 for six weeks – that same Long Island girl had a second cousin named Chris Stein, and he was a rather quirky older teenager who eventually formed a band with Debbie Harry as the lead singer. This was their second of four #1 records within a two-year span! See you on June 28th.)

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

Trivia Answer

 

Bands containing siblings played during the first two hours of tonight’s show: Beach Boys, Everly Brothers, Sly & The Family Stone, Cowsills, Isley Brothers.

 

Congratulations to David from Dryden, 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 (5/31/25):  Gregory James with a spotlight on National Smile Day

 

 

 

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!

May 17, 2025 - JH: Songs From The Sopranos, II

 May 17, 2025

Host: Jan Hunsinger (JH)

Spotlight: Songs from "The Sopranos, II"

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!

Playlist

·     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

6:00 - 7:00

OPENING THEME:  Good Old Rock ‘n’ Roll – Cat Mother & the All-Night Newsboys (1969 - #29: produced by Jimi Hendrix)

*It Was a Very Good Year - Frank Sinatra (1966 - #28: song won "Old Blue Eyes" a Grammy for Best Male Vocal Performance)

Rock the Boat - The Hues Corporation (1974 - #1: song spent one week at #1 and is considered one of the first disco songs)

Sally Go Round the Roses - The Jaynetts (1963 - #2: Bobby Vinton's "Blue Velvet" kept the Bronx girl group out of the top spot)

Dawn (Go Away) - Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons (1964 - #3: one of the top singles of 1964)

Daniel - Elton John (1973 - #2: from the LP "Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player", Paul McCartney's "My Love" kept it from being #1)

Gloria - Them (1965 - #93; 1966 - #71: featuring a young Van Morrison, the song ranks #208/RS500)

Jim Dandy - LaVern Baker (1957 - #17: one of her 20 songs to chart on the BB Hot 100, it ranks #343/RS500)

Ain't That a Kick in the Head - Dean Martin (1960 - DNC: used in the film "Ocean's 11", the song gained popularity when re-released in a 1989 compilation CD of Dino's hits)

Foreplay/Longtime - Boston (1977 - #22: from the group's debut album)

The Gypsy Cried - Lou Christie (1963 - #24: Christie co-wrote his first hit, which sold over a million copies for the falsetto singer)

Crying - Roy Orbison (1961 - #2: Ray Charles' "Hit the Road Jack" kept the song from #1, but it ranks #69/RS500)

When You Dance - The Turbans (1956 - #33: one-hit wonder for the Philadelphia group)

Oh Girl - The Chi-Lites (1972 - #1: lead singer Eugene Record wrote and produced this hit for the Chicago group)

7:00 - 8:00 The Birthday Calendar

Background song: Tubular Bells - Mike Oldfield (1974 - #7: song became a hit after being used in the movie "The Exorcist")

May 11:
Eric Burdon - 84
Arnie Silver (The Dovells) - 82
Les Chadwick (Gerry and the Pacemakers) - b. 1943

May 12:
Burt Bacharach - b. 1928
Norman Whitfield - b. 1940
James Purify - b. 1944
Steve Winwood - 77

May 13:
Ritchie Valens [Valenzuela] - b. 1941
Mary Wells - b. 1943
Peter Watts (Mott the Hoople) - b. 1947
Stevie Wonder - 75

May 14:
Will "Dub" Jones (The Coasters) - b. 1928
Bobby Darin [Walden Robert Cassotto] - b. 1936
Troy Shondell - b. 1939
Jack Bruce (Cream) - b. 1943
Derek "Lek" Leckenby (Herman's Hermits) - b. 1943

May 15:
Eddy Arnold - b. 1918
Trini Lopez - b. 1937
Lenny Welch - b. 1938
Mike Oldfield - 72

May 16:
Roger Earl - 79
Barbara Lee (The Chiffons) - b. 1947

May 17:
Pervis Jackson (The Spinners) - b. 1938
Malcolm Hale (Spanky and Our Gang) - b. 1941
Keith [James Keefer] - 76

We Gotta Get Out of This Place - The Animals (1965 - #2: Eric Burdon was lead singer for the group; the Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil written song was popular with American troops in Viet Nam and ranks #233/RS500 but the Beatles' "Help" kept it from topping the BB Hot100)

You Can't Sit Down - The Dovells (1963 - #3: Len Barry was a member of the doo-wop group from Philadelphia)

Ferry Cross the Mersey - Gerry and the Pacemakers (1965 - #6: Les Chadwick played bass for the Liverpool group; song about their hometown river)

This Guy's in Love With You - Herb Alpert (1968 - #1: one of the dozens of hit songs written by Burt Bacharach, it spent 4 weeks at #1)

I Can't Get Next to You - The Temptations (1969 - #1: one of the many hit songs that Norman Whitfield wrote and produced for Motown Records)

Let Love Come Between Us - James & Bobby Purify (1967 - #23: Bobby was James Purify's cousin, Robert Lee Dickey)

Feelin' Alright - Traffic (1968 - #123: Steve Winwood was lead singer for the Spencer Davis Group, Blind Faith, and Traffic, as well as having a solo career)

Come On, Let's Go - Ritchie Valens (1958 - #42: first charting single for the artist who died at age 18 in the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper)

My Guy - Mary Wells (1964 - #1: Smokey Robinson wrote this hit for "The Queen of Motown")

All the Way From Memphis - Mott the Hoople (1972 - #10UK: Pete Watts played bass for the band; song received FM radio play but failed to chart in the US)

A Place in the Sun - Stevie Wonder (1966 - #9: Wonder has sold over 100 million records world-wide and has won 25 Grammys)

Charlie Brown - The Coasters (1959 - #2: "Dub" Jones sang bass for "The Clown Princes of Rock and Roll"; song was written by Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller; "Venus" by Frankie Avalon held the #1 spot)

Beyond the Sea - Bobby Darin (1960 - #6: based on a French song written in 1946)

This Time - Troy Shondell (1961 - #6: one-hit wonder that was a million seller)

*Badge - Cream (1969 - #18: Jack Bruce played bass for the trio; song was co-written by Eric Clapton and George Harrison)

Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter - Herman's Hermits (1965 - #1: song was #1 on May 17, 1965; "Lek" Leckenby played the distinctive guitar intro)

Make the World Go Away - Eddy Arnold (1965 - #6: song was #1 on the Country charts and epitomized the "Nashville Sound" of that era)

If I Had a Hammer - Trini Lopez (1963 - #3: Lopez was a singer, guitarist, and actor)

Since I Fell for You - Lenny Welch (1963 - #4: song was written in 1945 by Buddy Johnson)

Fool for the City - Foghat (1976 - #45: Roger Earl was the drummer for the group)

One Fine Day - The Chiffons (1963 - #5: song was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and it's King playing piano on the record)

It's a Shame - The Spinners (1970 - #14: Pervis Jackson was the bass singer for the group, which was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023)

Like to Get to Know You - Spanky and Our Gang (1968 - #17: Malcolm Hale was lead guitarist and arranger for the Sunshine pop group)

Ain't Gonna Lie - Keith (1966 - #39: his next single, 98.6, was his big hit)

Bell Bottom Blues - Derek and the Dominoes (1971 - #91; 1973 - #78: from the classic LP "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs)

My Lover's Prayer - Otis Redding (1966 - #61: the "King of Soul" is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music)

Dirty Work - Steely Dan (1972 - DNC: from their debut album, "Can't Buy a Thrill")

When the Battle Is Over - Delaney & Bonnie (1969 - DNC: early release by the duo)

Swingtown - Steve Miller Band (1977 - #17: in 1979 the song was used to advertise the Ford Mustang)

Allegheny Moon - Patti Page (1956 - #41: 1 of 41 charting singles for "The Singing Rage, Miss Patti Page" during the rock'n'roll era)

CLOSING THEME:  Sleepwalk – Santo & Johnny (1959 - #1 for two weeks; brothers Santo [steel guitar] and Johnny [rhythm guitar] Farina from Brooklyn)

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 May 24, 2025: John Simon (JS) with the best of the '50s, '60s, and '70s.

Thanks for tuning in! You can listen to Rockin' Remnants every Saturday night from 6-9pm on WVBR (93.5 FM in Ithaca, NY) or streaming here.