September 13, 2025 - JS & GJ - WVBR Open House

 

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:  9/13/25

Host:  John Simon (w/ Gregory James)

Feature:  WVBR's Open House

 

 

 

 I'm gearing up for one more night on the radio before I leave town for a month. It's also the night of WVBR's big Open House for prospective new DJs and engineers. I anticipate utter chaos as I try to weave together a musical tapestry on Rockin' Remnants from 6-9pm. DJ Gregory James will be riding shotgun. Give us strength and lend us an ear!  

  

 

 

 

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)

 

How Can I Be Sure – Rascals (9/67; #4 – released on Atlantic Records and recorded in NYC, that’s Felix Cavaliere playing the piano and Eddie Brigati singing a song that they co-wrote. Felix was dating a younger woman who was his muse for this song, along with “Groovin’” and “A Girl Like You.” At first they were reluctant to release a ballad like this, but they figured that if the Beatles could do it with Michelle or Yesterday...why not them???)

 

 

(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman – Aretha Franklin (9/67; #8 Pop, #2 R&B – released on Atlantic Records and recorded in NYC, this is a song that Carole King and Gerry Goffin composed at the request of producer Jerry Wexler. Those are Aretha’s two sisters along with the Sweet Inspirations on background vocals.)

 

 

Hush – Billy Joe Royal (9/67; #52 – this was the first charting version of the Joe South composition, written specifically for Billy Joe. A year later Deep Purple would take their classic version to #4.)

 

 

Your Precious Love – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell (9/67; #5 Pop, #2 R&B for five weeks – the pairing of Marvin & Tammi with writers/producers Ashford & Simpson was clearly a winning formula. The only thing that kept this one from reaching the top of the R&B chart was Sam & Dave’s “Soul Man,” which would spend seven weeks at #1!)

  

 

(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher & Higher – Jackie Wilson – 8/67; #6 Pop, #1 R&B – this may have been Jackie’s greatest performance, thanks to the instrumental backing of Motown’s Funk Brothers and The Andantes on backing vocals. The Andantes were Motown’s secret weapon, adding vocal support on records by most of its biggest acts including The Four Tops, Martha & The Vandellas and The Supremes!)

  

 

*  Just a Little – Beau Brummels (4/65; #8 – this one goes out for listener Barbara. The band chose a European-sounding name that also cleverly put their records in the bins directly next to The Beatles, but they were actually a San Francisco group – and their producer was none other than Sylvester Stewart, who would later become Sly Stone.)

 

 

Suspicious Minds – Elvis Presley (9/69; #1 – last time I was on was the anniversary of Elvis’ death and I ended up playing an alternate version of this song – without the background singers and strings/horns and finishing touches that go into making a polished single. Tonight we’ll hear the final product, released on 9/13/69. It would reach #1 about two months later.)

 

 

You Know What I Mean – The Turtles (9/67; #12 – last week the music world lost original Turtle Mark Volman. He and Howard Kaylan continued to make musical magic together well into the 2020s. Here’s one of a string of smashing singles they recorded for the White Whale Records label. This one had strings and horns arranged and conducted by Jack Nitzsche.)

 

 

You’re My Everything – Temptations (8/67; #6 Pop, #3 R&B – the Temptations were at the peak of their powers with their classic lineup. This one featured a rare shared lead vocal by tenor Eddie Kendrick and the inimitable David Ruffin.)

 

 

Mr. Dieingly Sad – The Critters (8/66; #17 – this one opens a mini-set of end-of-summer songs, and was the highest-charting single for this New Jersey band. Written by band member Don Ciccone, it was intended to be their first release, but Kapp Records decided to play it safe and release John Sebastian’s “Younger Girl” first.)

 

 

I’ve Got Sand in My Shoes – Drifters (8/64; #35 – hot on the heels of “Under the Boardwalk,” Atlantic released this almost-soundalike single. Co-host Gregory James points out that it’s really hard to get sand out of one’s shoes once it gets in there. Be forewarned.)

  

A Summer Song – Chad & Jeremy (8/64; #7 – this was the first and most enduring of the British duo’s hit records. Despite its breezy opening and summertime title, it really is a fairly mournful ode to the changing of the seasons.)

  

Love of the Common People – The Winstons (9/69; #54 – this was the follow-up to “Color Him Father,” which had won them a Grammy for R&B vocal record of the year and spent five weeks at #2 on the R&B chart. This was also their only other charting single, and it didn’t chart at all on the R&B chart!)

 

 

I’m Gonna Make You Mine – Lou Christie (8/69; #10 – the falsetto singer had charting singles on seven different labels over the years. His biggest hits had been on M-G-M but this was one of his three charting singles on the Buddah label, and his final Top Ten hit.)

 

 

 

 

7-8pm

 

 Birthday Calendar

 

 

September 7 – Chrissie Hynde (Pretenders) – age 74

            – Buddy Holly – born in 1936

 

 

September 8 – Jose Feliciano – age 80

            – Patsy Cline – born in 1932

 

September 9 – Dee Dee Sharp – age 80

            – Joe Perry (Aerosmith) – age 74

 

 

September 11 – Dennis Tufano (Buckinghams) – 79

            – Tommy Shaw (Styx) – age 72

 

 

September 12 – Barry White – born in 1944

 

 

September 13 – David Clayton-Thomas (BS&T) – age 84

            – Peter Cetera (Chicago) – age 81

 

 

 

 

 

*  It Doesn’t Matter Anymore – Buddy Holly (2/59; #13; #1 UK for five weeks – Buddy had famously died in a plane crash on February 3, 1959, a day immortalized as “the day the music died” by songwriter Don MacLean. The record label added strings and sped up the original recording and released this one on February 23^rd. It spent five weeks atop the British charts.)

    

 

*  It Doesn’t Matter Anymore – Linda Ronstadt (7/75; #47 – this was released as the B-side of “When Will I Be Loved,” and long-time listener and fellow WVBR DJ Tom Preston has repeatedly said that this is one of his favorite covers, and that her treatment of it is more believable than the original. BTW – the songwriting credit goes to Paul Anka!)

 

 

Back On the Chain Gang – The Pretenders (12/82; #5 – Chrissie Hynde wrote most of the band’s material and played a killer rhythm guitar. This one was written shortly after the drug overdose death of her close friend and guitar player James Honeyman-Scott and the firing of original bass player Pete Farndon for his drug use. She and her drummer relied on help from three British players to complete the recording.)

 

 

Light My Fire – Jose Feliciano (8/68; #3 for three weeks – this is one of the most unlikely covers of a Rock record, and earned the Puerto Rican-born New York musician a Grammy for Male Vocal Performance of the year. Every once in a while, a performer can put their own definitive stamp on somebody else’s material. This is one of those times.)

 

 

Why Can’t He Be You – Patsy Cline (10/62; #103 – this B-side of her low-charting “Heartaches” didn’t appear at all on Country radio, but it almost did reach the Hot 100. Her records were produced by Owen Bradley and featured Nashville’s finest session musicians. Of special note here are pianist Floyd Cramer and background singers The Jordanaires. This may be one of the saddest records I know.)

 

 

I’m Not In Love – Dee Dee Sharp (4/76; #62 R&B – this reworking of the 10CC smash was a low-charter on R&B radio, and was about half the length of her album version. It’s a far cry from her early Sixties hits about mashed potatoes and dance crazes, and appeared on the TSOP Record label, formed by her husband Kenny Gamble.)

 

 

Can’t Turn You Loose – Otis Redding (12/65; dnc – this Otis classic was tucked onto the back of his low-charting “Just One More Day,” and was played on GJ’s Amazing Cuts and Surprising B-sides show two weeks ago. The bass and drums leap out of the speaker and are actually louder than the horns!)

  

Sweet Emotion – Aerosmith (6/75; #36 – lead guitarist Joe Perry was an early experimenter with the guitar effect called the“talk box,” and you can hear it especially clearly on this version from their “Toys in the Attic” LP. Rolling Stone ranks this one at #416 in their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time.)

 

 

(Hey Baby) They’re Playing Our Song – Buckinghams (9/67; #12 – this Chicago-based band charted five Top Ten singles in 1967. Four of them were produced by James William Guercio, who was a big proponent of adding horns. They’d soon part ways and he’d go on to work with Columbia labelmates Blood Sweat & Tears and The Chicago Transit Authority.)

  

Black & White – Three Dog Night (9/72; #1 – this was their third and final #1 record and featured the lead vocals of Danny Hutton. It had previously been recorded by Pete Seeger with a chorus of children back in the Fifties, and was written by folksinger David Arkin, who may best be known as actor Alan’s father. Listen to the recording below and have your mind blown!)

 

 

8-9pm  

  

Go Down Gambling – Blood Sweat & Tears (8/71; #32 – producer James William Guercio had parted ways with the Buckinghams and turned his attention to bigger horn bands, starting with this one. Canadian David Clayton-Thomas, celebrating a birthday this week, was the writer and singer of what just may be the band’s hardest-driving single. It was also their final Top Forty hit.)

  

25 Or 6 to 4 – Chicago (8/70; #4 – this song was one of three singles pulled from the group’s second album and featured bass player Peter Cetera on lead vocal. He’d eventually leave for a solo career in 1985, but he left an indelible imprint on the band - and on Pop music, in general.)

 

 

Love’s Theme – Love Unlimited Orchestra (2/74; #1 Pop and R&B – this stunning instrumental with swirling strings and a driving rhythm section was composed, arranged and conducted by Barry White, who also auditioned and hired all of the musicians! He did, of course, also have a successful career as a singer with six R&B #1 hits under his belt.)

 

 

Summer Side of Life – Gordon Lightfoot (9/71; #98 – this single spent two weeks on the Pop chart, one of them at #99 and then reaching #98 on this date back in 1971. I just don’t understand how these things happen – what a terrific record!)

 

 

*  All the Way – Frank Sinatra (9/57; #2 – this song was released on this date in 1957 and would eventually top out at #2. It would also win an Academy Award for Best Song in the picture The Joker Is Wild. Going out to Jeanne on her birthday.)

 

 

*  Let It Ride – Bachman Turner Overdrive (2/74; #23 – this is a great driving song going out to Peggy from Scottie. We cranked it to about 9.5 in the Air Studio and made the windows rattle – which also drowned out the chaos of the wild party happening right outside our studio door.)

 

 

It’s a Shame – The Spinners (9/70; #14 Pop, #4 R&B – this song was actually released in mid-July of that year, but it was peaking on this date two months later. Stevie Wonder was a co-writer and the producer AND he was the studio drummer on this one. Is there anything he couldn’t do??? Note, by the way, that The Spinners were relegated to Motown's V.I.P. label. They'd soon leave for Atlantic, where they'd become chart-topping superstars!)

 

 

 

45 Corner:  This Time It’s Real – Tower of Power (9/73; #65 Pop, #27 R&B – they were the premiere mixed-race horn band on the planet and this was their classic line-up featuring Lenny Williams as lead singer. Tonight we hear the slightly scratchy 45, which is a different performance from the one on the LP. BTW – the band is still active fifty years later!)

 

 

Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie – Jay & The Techniques (7/67; #16 – they were another mixed-race band with horns, although these were mostly studio players on this recording. Among the background singers were Nik Ashford and Valerie Simpson, who were about to find a happy home in Detroit with the Motown family. This record spent 17 weeks on the charts!)

 

Bells of Rhymney – The Fifth Avenue (9/65; dnc – the last time I was on I played the Byrds’ version of this Pete Seeger adaptation and I mentioned this recording in the process. When Columbia didn’t release this as a single, this British group did. The producer was none other than Jimmy Page, who undoubtedly played some jangly guitar on the track. Somehow, it failed to chart.)

 

 

Because – Dave Clark Five (8/64; #3 – this was the first time the British Invaders released a ballad as a single, but what a gorgeous ballad it was! Singer Mike Smith was a great shouter, but he also could deliver a poignant and heartfelt lyric. Tonight we hear a rare stereo version from the late recording engineer Mark Mathews.)

 

 

Spooky – Atlanta Rhythm Section (8/79; #17 – we’ll close tonight’s show with this inspired reworking of the Classic IV’s 1967 smash. Several members of that group went on to form the Georgia studio band called The Atlanta Rhythm Section. They introduced this song to a whole new generation. And I’ll be back right after Halloween!)

 

 

 

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

 

Congratulations to Vikki Armstrong from Fall Creek, for winning tickets to Le Vent Du Nord at Bailey Hall next Saturday!

 

 

 

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 (9/20/25):  Gregory James with a spotlight on chart hits from 1956, 1966 and 1976

 

 

 

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!