October 12, 2019 - JH: Songs With Girls' Names, Part II

Host: Jan Hunsinger (JH)
Date: October 12, 2019

Spotlight: Songs With Girls' Names, Part 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

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

Wake Up Little Susie - The Everly Brothers (1957 - #1: written by the famous songwriting team of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, the song was 'banned in Boston' for its suggestive subject matter; #318 RS500)

Where's the Playground Susie - Glen Campbell (1969 - #26: song was written by Jimmy Webb and was the second single from Campbell's "Galveston" LP)

Suzie-Q - Creedence Clearwater Revival (1968 - #11: the group's cover of Dale Hawkins' "Susie-Q" from 1957; CCR's only hit not written by John Fogarty)

Susie Darlin - Robin Luke (1958 - #5: Luke wrote the million-seller about his five-year-old sister, Susie)

Runaround Sue - Dion (1961 - #1: Dion co-wrote the song with Ernie Maresca; #351 RS500)

My Maria - B.W. Stevenson (1973 - #9: the song, co-written by Stevenson, would top the country charts for 3 weeks when Brooks and Dunn covered it in 1996)

Take a Letter Maria - R.B. Greaves (1969 - #2: Greaves wrote the song which was kept from the #1 spot by "Wedding Bell Blues")

Linda - Jan & Dean (1963 - #28: song was written by in 1942 by Jack Lawrence about his attorney's (Lee Eastman) daughter, Linda Eastman [McCartney]!)

Lisa Listen to Me - Blood, Sweat, and Tears (1971 - #73: one of the group's last charting singles with David Clayton-Thomas as lead singer)

Valleri - The Monkees (1968 - #3: Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart hit for the pre-Fab Four; despite what you see in the video it was Louie Shelton playing the flamenco guitar)

Some of Shelly's Blues - The Monkees (NR - 1968: although covered by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and The Stone Poneys, The Monkees' rendition of the Michael Nesmith tune did not come out until Rhino's "Missing Links" Volume Two was released in 1990)

Walk Away Renee - The Four Tops (1968 - #14: their cover of The Left Banke's hit)

45 Corner

Jennifer Tompkins - The Street People (1970 - #36: Rupert Holmes was a member of the group, which existed only in the studio)

Tribute to drummer Ginger Baker, who passed away October 6, 2019: born Peter Edward Baker, 8/19/39 in South London, was known as 'Ginger' for his flaming red hair; known as rock's first superstar drummer for his showmanship and drumming style, notably using two bass drums rather than the customary one)

Sunshine of Your Love - Cream (1968 - #5: their first BB Hot 100 single and #65 on RS500)

Sea of Joy - Blind Faith (DNC - 1969: after the break-up of Cream, Baker joined up with Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, and Rick Grech to form the super group that only put out one LP)

Birthday Calendar:

October 6:

Millie Small - 73

Kevin Cronin (REO Speedwagon) - 68

October 7:

Al Martino - born 1927

Chet Powers (Dino Valenti) - born 1940

Martin Murray (The Honeycombs) - 78

Tony Sylvester (The Main Ingredient) - born 1941

October 8:

Fred Cash (The Impressions) - 79

Susan Raye - 75

October 9:

John Lennon - born 1940

John Entwistle (The Who) - born 1944

Jackson Browne - 71

October 10:

Ivory Joe Hunter - born 1914

John Prine - 73

October 11:

Curtis Amy (West Coast jazz musician) - born 1929

Daryl Hall (Hall & Oates) - 73

George McCorkle (Marshall Tucker Band) - born 1947

October 12:

Sam Moore (Sam & Dave) - 84

Melvin Franklin (The Temptations) - born 1942

My Boy Lollipop - Millie Small (1964 - #2: one of the best-selling ska records of all time for the Jamaican-born Small)

Roll With the Changes - REO Speedwagon (1978 - #58: the band was formed in Champaign, Illinois in 1967; from the LP "You Can Tune a Piano But You Can't Tuna Fish")

Mary in the Morning - Al Martino (1967 - #27: song was co-written by Johnny Cymbal; one of the great Italian pop crooners, Martino played singer Johnny Fontane in "The Godfather")

What About Me - Quicksilver Messenger Service (1971 - #100: Chet Powers [aka Dino Valenti] wrote the song under the name Jesse Oris Farrow)

Have I the Right? - The Honeycombs (1964 - #5: the English pop group from North London features a female drummer, Honey Lantree; the song topped the charts in the UK, Canada, Australia, and Sweden)

Everybody Plays the Fool - The Main Ingredient (1972 - #3: Tony Sylvester was born in Panama and was known by that nickname)

Choice of Colors - The Impressions (1969 - #21: Fred Cash replaced Jerry Butler in 1960 and still tours with the current line-up of the group)

L.A. International Airport - Susan Raye (1971 - #54: country crossover for the Buck Owens protege; Raye and Owens recorded several duet hits and she is married to Owens' former drummer)

Come Together - The Beatles (1969 - #1: double-A sided single with "Something" from the "Abbey Road" LP)

Substitute - The Who (1966 - DNC: the song was much more popular in the UK, where it reached #5 on the charts)

Rock Me on the Water - Jackson Browne (1972 - #48: Browne said that his much covered song with gospel chord changes is about "the inner search for spiritual meaning")


Since I Met You Baby - Ivory Joe Hunter (1956 - #12: known as "The Baron of the Boogie", Hunter wrote and played piano on this song, his only Hot 100 entry)

Angels From Montgomery - John Denver (1973 - NR: although the best-known cover of the John Prine song was done by Bonnie Raitt, Denver's cover from the "Farewell Andromeda" LP came out 1 year earlier)


Touch Me - The Doors (1969 - #3: Curtis Amy provided the blistering sax solo on the Doors classic)

Sara Smile - Hall & Oates (1976 - #4: the duo's first Top 10 hit)

Fire on the Mountain - The Marshall Tucker Band (1975 - #38: George McCorkle wrote the tune for Charlie Daniels, but when Daniels decided not to use the song it became the first Top 40 hit for the band)


A Place Nobody Can Find - Sam & Dave (1965 - DNC: Sam Moore sang tenor for the duo, who were known as "Double Dynamite" for their stage performance)

Ball of Confusion - The Temptations (1970 - #3: Melvin Franklin sang bass for the group and provided the line "and the band played on" to this tune)

Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond (1969 - #4: Diamond has said that the song was inspired by Caroline Kennedy; it has become popular at sporting events, particularly baseball games at Fenway Park)


Caroline No - The Beach Boys (1966 - #32: originally released under just Brian Wilson, included in their "Pet Sounds" LP, the song ranks #214 on the RS500)


Arms of Mary - Sutherland Brothers and Quiver (1976 - #81: the song topped the charts in Ireland, Belgium, and the Netherlands)

Along Comes Mary - The Association (1966 - #7: the group's first hit, was rumored to be about marijuana)

What Will Mary Say - Johnny Mathis (1963 - #9: Mathis has sold over 360 million records worldwide!)

Sweet Mary - Wadsworth Mansion (1971 - #7: a one-hit wonder for the group from Providence, RI)


Midnight Mary - Joey Powers (1964 - #10: the song was written for the Everly Brothers, who turned it down; Paul Simon and Roger McGuinn played on Power's LP of the same name)

Alice Long (You're Still My Favorite Girlfriend) - Boyce and Hart (1968 - #27: known primarily for the songs they wrote for The Monkees, Boyce & Hart had 5 BB Hot 100 songs as a duo)

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

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 This Week (10/19/19): Gregory James (GJ)  will spotlight sound like riffs.

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. 

Thanks again to our sponsors Island Health & Fitness and Rasa Spa for their support every week!

Oct. 5, 2019 - JS & GJ - Whose Riff Is It Anyway??!?

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:  10/5/19
Host:  John Simon & Gregory James
Feature:  Sound-Alike Records


Tonight you get the tag-team of JS & GJ, spinning tunes that seem to have "borrowed" from earlier records (and  -  in some cases  -  were clearly stolen). Several of these were litigated in court, and writer credits were modified to acknowledge the original creators. Some of them slid by. In any case, you're about to go down a very interesting rabbit hole this evening!

  




Playlist

·      yellow song titles are YouTube links

·      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)



He's So Fine - Chiffons (3/63; #1 - we'll start with the most notorious plagiarism case of the 20th century, when George Harrison was accused of lifting the melody of his biggest hit directly from this Girl Group classic written by a then-deceased Ronnie Mack. The jury of public opinion remains divided, but these are both great singles in their own right.)

My Sweet Lord - George Harrison (1/71; #1 for four weeks - this was the first single by a former Beatle to top the charts. It was also the biggest-selling single of 1971 in the UK. It also, of course, was found by a United States District Court judge to have been "subconsciously" plagiarized by George, who had to turn royalty payments over to Ronnie Mack's publishing company.)

 

Surfin' USA - Beach Boys (3/63; #3 - When the single was released in 1963, the record only listed Brian Wilson as the composer although the song was published by Chuck Berry's publisher Arc Music. Later releases of the record, beginning in 1966, listed Chuck Berry as the songwriter. Under pressure from Arc Music, Murray Wilson, Brian's father and manager, had given the copyright, including The Beach Boys’ lyrics, to Arc Music prior to the release of the single. The "Surfin U.S.A." incident was one of the first major plagiarism scuffles in rock history.

Sweet Little Sixteen - Chuck Berry (2/58; #3 - Here's the original song in question. Willie Dixon plays bass on it and Lafayette Leake plays the piano!)

Lies - Knickerbockers (12/65; #20 - if it's possible to sue for "imitation," these kids from Bergenfield, NJ would be doing hard time. This is one of the greatest Beatles songs that wasn't a Beatles song in the history of Western music!)

In My Lonely Room - Martha & The Vandellas (4/64; #44 - opening jangly guitar strum, signature drum hit followed by handclaps and horns and a sunny Motown melody....)

The 81 - Candy & The Kisses (11/64; #51 - opening jangly guitar strum, signature drum hit followed by handclaps and horns and...the SAME sunny Motown-style melody! We still don't understand how this blatant act of piracy went unchallenged!)

Hang On Sloopy - McCoys (8/65; #1 - The lead singer was a 16 year old Rick Derringer. It is the official state rock song of Ohio and is played at every Ohio State football game by the marching band. The chord progression sounds exactly like the one from another #1 record from earlier in the same year.)

The Game of Love - Wayne Fontana & Mindbenders (4/65; #1 - Fontana left the Mindbenders in the middle of a concert in 1965. He subsequently went on to perform with other musicians, and he has had quite a history of run-ins with British bobbies and bailiffs. The track includes a Bo Diddley percussion passage, too.)

Let's Live for Today - Grass Roots (5/67; #8 - this was apparently adapted from an Italian Pop record called Piangi Con Me from a year earlier, but it sounds eerily close in melody to an American Drifters' hit from several years earlier. Here it comes....)

I Count the Tears - Drifters (1/61; #17 Pop, #6 R&B - "Na-na-na-na, late at night" is the exact same melody as "Sha-la-la-let's live for today...." In the earlier case, Ben E. King delivers the goods. Both of them are great records.)

45 Corner:  Summertime - Ricky Nelson (3/62; #89 - this was found on the B-side of Young World, but it sounds a whole lot edgier than one might imagine all these years later. Speculation is that future Wrecking Crew member Joe Osborn is playing bass on here. This riff would later resurface on records by Deep Purple, Blues Magoos and others.)

(We Ain't) Got Nothin' Yet - Blues Magoos (12/66; #5 - this blistering psychedelic garage band record appears to have borrowed directly from Teen Idol Ricky Nelson. Whoa!)

Hello I Love You - Doors (8/68; #1 - This recording by the Doors was promoted as the first rock 45 rpm record in stereo. Robby Krieger has denied the allegations that the song's musical structure was stolen from The Kinks All Day and All of the Night. Krieger said the song's vibe was taken instead from Sunshine of Your Love. UK courts determined in favor of Ray Davies and any royalties for Hello I Love You are paid to him.)

All Day and All of the Night - Kinks (12/64; #7 - Hear it with your own ears and YOU decide!)
 

7-8pm

 Birthday Calendar


September 29 – Jerry Lee Lewis – age 84
            – Mark Farner (Grand Funk) – age 71
           

September 30 – Johnny Mathis – age 84
            – Cissy Houston (Sweet Inspirations) – age 86
            – Marilyn McCoo (Fifth Dimension) – age 74
            

October 3 – Chubby Checker – age 77
      

When Sunny Gets Blue - Johnny Mathis (9/57; dnc - this album track appeared on Johnny Mathis' Greatest Hits, which appears to have been the first "Greatest Hits" LP ever released as such.)

Unchained Melody - Sweet Inspirations (9/68; #73 Pop, #41 R&B - Cissy Houston and her group sang background on dozens of big hits and went on to release a number of singles under their own name on the Atlantic Records label. This stunning example is just one of many to grace the charts.)

Wedding Bell Blues - Fifth Dimension (11/69; #1 for three weeks - the group charted with at least four Laura Nyro compositions over a three-year period, and this was the most successful of them all. Marilyn McCoo sang it to her future husband Billy Davis on stage and it became true!)


Pony Time - Chubby Checker (1/61; #1 for three weeks - Chubby Checker charted 38 Pop hits in his career and 21 of them were dance records. Often overshadowed by The Twist, this gem deserves to be heard tonight. Boogity-Boogity-Shoop!)

Drinkin' Wine (Spo Dee O'Dee) - Jerry Lee Lewis (4/73; #41 Pop, #20 C&W - Jerry Lee was one of the original Rockabilly pioneers unleashed on the world by Sun Records. His career took a serious hit when it was revealed that he'd married his 14-year old cousin, but he had a strong comeback  -  especially on the C&W charts  -  in the Seventies.)


Bad Time - Grand Funk (4/75; #4 - the critics hated them, but young white males bought millions of their records and they eventually had their greatest chart success with Todd Rundgren in the producer's seat. This Mark Farner number was their final big hit.)

Spotlight on P.F. Sloan

P.F. "Flip" Sloan was a singer, songwriter, session guitarist and record producer who was born and raised in NYC. After migrating to Southern California, he and his songwriting partner Steve Barri were behind a remarkable string of great records and recording projects. Tonight we'll zoom in a little bit closer on the man behind the music.

Tell 'Em I'm Surfin' - Fantastic Baggys (8/63; #99 - these East Coast boys saw that there was gold to be made in the Surf Music craze unleashed by the Beach Boys. This was the closest they had to a hit single on their own, but they were poised to make their mark....)

Little Old Lady From Pasadena - Jan & Dean (6/64; #31 - Label owner Lou Adler had hired Sloan and Barri as back-up singers and studio players, and Jan Berry tapped PF Sloan to sing the lead falsetto on this big hit in lieu of Dean Torrence. In essence, this was a "Jan & Flip" record!)

Secret Agent Man - Johnny Rivers (3/66; #3 - many a young guitar player cites this opening guitar lick as their first musical triumph. Few knew that it was PF Sloan who created it and played it on this giant smash record!)

You Baby - Turtles (2/66; #20 - in addition to writing hit songs for the Grass Roots and Herman's Hermits - not to mention Barry Maguire's Eve of Destruction - Sloan-Barri wrote a string of great songs for The Turtles. This may have been the best.)

 

California Dreamin' - Mamas & Papas (1/66; #4 - PF Sloan was one of Dunhill Records' chief creative forces. It is actually him playing the signature opening guitar lick on this classic ground-breaking record.)


Take Me for What I'm Worth - Searchers (1/66; #76 - one of their specialties was writing songs of teen rebellion and frustration. This one is dripping with angst and resentment.)

Autumn - The Thomas Group (6/66; dnc - tapping into the success of Jerry Lewis' son Gary or Dean Martin's and Desi Arnaz' sons Dino and Desi, PF Sloan was charged with production duties with Danny Thomas' son Tony's band. In addition to production, PF Sloan played the jangly guitar riff and sang the falsetto line that elevates this shoulda-been-a-hit single into the stratosphere.)

 

PF Sloan - Association (2/71; dnc - this Jim Webb composition should have immortalized one of the true unsung heroes of the Southern California music scene. Instead, the record faltered  -  and the members of The Association apparently didn't even realize that "PF Sloan" was a real person. He found this out when he met some of them at a Hollywood party and they laughed when he told them his name.)

8-9pm




* Pretty Ballerina - Left Banke (1/67; #15 - not a soundalike, per se  -  but they pioneered their own genre of "Classical Rock," and scored three charting singles writing about a girl named Renee Fladen. This goes out to both Debbie and Betsy.)


I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better - Byrds (6/65; #103 - B-side of All I Really Want to Do, but Columbia promoted the track extensively and it eventually bubbled under at #103. It ranks at #234 on the RS 500 Greatest Songs. Composer and lead singer Gene Clark admitted that the opening riff was taken from Needles and Pins.)

 

Needles & Pins - Searchers (3/64; #13 - The intro is performed by two 6 string guitars played by John McNally and Mike Pender that sound like a 12 string, inspiring the terms “ringing,” “chiming” or “jangly guitars.”)

My Baby Don't Care - The Gants (9/65; dnc - this was the B-side of the Mississippi college band's lone charting single Road Runner. They were HUGE Beatles fans and this song borrows from Ticket To Ride on multiple levels. Not a rip-off...it's an homage!)

Give Me One More Chance - Wilmer & The Dukes (7/68; #80 - these guys hailed from the Geneva, NY area, and brazenly borrowed the "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa's" from Otis Redding  -  but, again, it was more "homage" than "pillage.")

 

Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song) - Otis Redding (10/66; #29 Pop, #12 R&B - Otis playfully leads a call-and-response routine with the Memphis Horns on this tasty nugget from the Fall of 1966.)

 

Rock Around the Clock - Bill Haley & Comets (5/55; #1 - The April 12, 1954 Decca recording session almost failed to take place because the band was traveling on a ferry that got stuck on a sand bar en route to New York from Philadelphia. Danny Cedrone plays the iconic guitar solo. Many historians cite this as the first "Rock 'n' Roll record.")

Move It On Over - Hank Williams (6/47; #4 C&W - Move It on Over was Williams' first Billboard  hit, and generated the first serious money the singer had ever seen in his life. Don Helms on pedal steel guitar.)

 

Everglades - Kingston Trio (10/60; #60 - this playfully borrowed the opening guitar figure from the Everly Brothers, and they winkingly reference that point near the end of the song with "running through the trees with the Everlys!")


Bird Dog - Everly Brothers (8/58; #1 - and here is the lick in question. See what they did there???)


45 Corner:  Mama McCluskie - Norro Wilson (4/68; #145 - this guy was more successful as a songwriter than as a recording artist, and would later recycle the "hook" of this song into a big #1 hit for Charlie Rich. Here it comes....)

The Most Beautiful Girl - Charlie Rich (12/73; #1 Pop and C&W for three weeks - "Tell her I'm sorry, tell her I NEED my baby...." That was the catchiest part of Mama McCluskie, and was at the heart of this records success.)

Time of the Season - Zombies (2/69; #3 - Rod Argent acknowledged that the bass line of the Zombies song does echo Stand by Me, but he said “It was just a simple blues phrase, using the blue note leading up to the key note, and that’s all I thought really.”)

Stand By Me - Ben E. King (5/61; #4 - Inspired by an earlier spiritual recorded by the Soul Stirrers, King’s version was written with Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller who wrote the bass line played by Lloyd Trotman.)

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







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 (10/12/19):  Jan Hunsinger with a spotlight on Girls' Names, Part II



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 at wvbr.com/listen.

Thanks again to our sponsors Island Health & Fitness and Rasa Spa for their support every week!