re: Dave Somerville:
Lots of love this week for Dave Somerville of The Diamonds ... first up, this report filed by FH Reader Tom Cuddy via Premiere Radio's Mike McCann ...
Lots of love this week for Dave Somerville of The Diamonds ... first up, this report filed by FH Reader Tom Cuddy via Premiere Radio's Mike McCann ...
THE DIAMONDS: Lead Singer David Somerville Dead at 84 Dave Somerville, who sang lead on The Diamonds' '50s classics "Little Darlin'" and "The Stroll," died Tuesday in Santa Barbara, California. He was 84.
Not only did the song become one of the enduring hits of its time, it helped inspire the dance classic "Monster Mash." Bobby "Boris" Pickett once told us the song was created when he began performing "Little Darlin'" -- complete with Dave's mid-song monologue -- in a Boris Karloff-accent. The Toronto-raised baritone helped form The Diamonds group in 1953. After settling in California, he began a second career as an actor. Using the stage name David Troy, he studied under Leonard Nimoy and even had a bit part in the season one Star Trek episode "The Conscience of the King," where he worked alongside his onetime teacher.
In recent years he'd performed oldies shows, billed as Diamond Dave Somerville. His wife Denise tells us he worked until this April, keeping alive the street-corner sound of rock and roll's first decade. The family asks that memorial contributions be made in Dave's name to Visiting Nurse and Hospice Care/Serenity House, 509 E. Montecito Street #200, Santa Barbara, CA 93103-9963
EDITOR'S NOTE: Comparing notes to several other death notices we received (and checking these dates against Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Hits book as our ultimate source), it would appear that Dave was 81 years old when he passed, not 84 as noted above. You'll see his age listed that way in these other posted reports. (kk)
EDITOR'S NOTE: Comparing notes to several other death notices we received (and checking these dates against Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Hits book as our ultimate source), it would appear that Dave was 81 years old when he passed, not 84 as noted above. You'll see his age listed that way in these other posted reports. (kk)
I am so sorry to tell you, if you have not heard, that Diamond Dave Somerville of the Diamonds passed away on July 14 at about 2:40 AM in Santa Barbara, California.
I could not give you a heads up on what was happening because I was asked not to by his wife. As some of you know I spent six days at the hospital with Dave and it was the most amazing experience of my life. When we said goodbye, we knew it was the last time we would see each other.
As part of our regular weekly programming (Week 408), Landa Somerville, Dave's so,n has put together a piece on his father ... and listeners will hear the very last interview Dave ever did from his hospital bed.
Thank You For All You Do.
Jimmy Jay
We, too, respected the family's wishes in not announcing anything in FH until they were ready to go public with this information. Jimmy Jay's program is syndicated all over the country ... be sure to listen for Jimmy's / Landa Somerville tribute this week on a radio station near you. (kk)
From Vintage Vinyl News ...
Dave Somerville, the original lead singer for the Canadian group the Diamonds, died from cancer in Santa Barbara, CA on Tuesday at the age of 81.
Somerville was born in Guelph, Ontario, to a musical family and grew up in Rockwood. At the age of 14, his family moved to Toronto where he, at first, studied architecture and building construction before changing his courses to a radio concentration.
At the age of 19, he became an engineer at the CBC while, at the same time, studying voice at the University of Toronto's Royal Conservatory of Music. While at the CBC, he met three other men who were interested in forming a singing group and the Diamonds were born.
The group practiced for 18 months, playing occasional shows around Toronto, before going to New York where they appeared on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. They won the program which led to a guest spot on the show and a contract with Coral Records. They recorded four songs for the label but none were a hit.
They next auditioned for Dr. Bill Randle, a DJ in Cleveland who had ins in the industry and, through his contacts, they were signed to Mercury Records. Their first single for the label, Why Do Fools Fall in Love? went to number 12 on the Billboard and 2 on the Cashbox charts. The followup, Church Bells May Ring, went to 14 but it was in early 1957 that their career really took off with their record Little Darlin'. The record was a huge hit, going to number 2 in Billboard on both the Pop and R&B charts and number 3 in the U.K., establishing them as a major group.
The Diamonds became popular guests on many of the variety shows of the day and their constant exposure led to six more top twenty hits including Silhouettes (1957 / #10) and The Stroll (1957 / #4).
Somerville left the group in 1961, changing his professional name to David Troy and singing folk music until 1967. He also studied acting under Leonard Nimoy and made a number of appearances including an episode of the original Star Trek. He later signed with the William Morris Agency who repped him as a voice over artist for hundreds of commercials.
In 1967, he joined the Four Preps and, on the side, started a comedy act with Bruce Belland called Belland & Somerville. The two also wrote the song The Troublemaker which was recorded by Willie Nelson.
During the 70's, Somerville formed the group WW Fancy with Keith Barbour (Echo Park) and Gail Jensen and, later, sang with the Diamonds and, once again, The Four Preps. He also wrote a song called The (Ballad) of the Unknown Stuntman which inspired Glen Larson, an original member of the Four Preps, to develop the show The Fall Guy. A reworked version of Somerville's song was used as the theme.
Finally, in the 90's, he turned to children's music, recording the album The Cosmic Adventures of Diamond Dave.
As a member of the Diamonds, he is a member of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, The Doo Wop Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
The Diamonds top twenty hits:Why Do Fools Fall in Love? (1956 / #12)
Somerville was born in Guelph, Ontario, to a musical family and grew up in Rockwood. At the age of 14, his family moved to Toronto where he, at first, studied architecture and building construction before changing his courses to a radio concentration.
At the age of 19, he became an engineer at the CBC while, at the same time, studying voice at the University of Toronto's Royal Conservatory of Music. While at the CBC, he met three other men who were interested in forming a singing group and the Diamonds were born.
The group practiced for 18 months, playing occasional shows around Toronto, before going to New York where they appeared on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. They won the program which led to a guest spot on the show and a contract with Coral Records. They recorded four songs for the label but none were a hit.
They next auditioned for Dr. Bill Randle, a DJ in Cleveland who had ins in the industry and, through his contacts, they were signed to Mercury Records. Their first single for the label, Why Do Fools Fall in Love? went to number 12 on the Billboard and 2 on the Cashbox charts. The followup, Church Bells May Ring, went to 14 but it was in early 1957 that their career really took off with their record Little Darlin'. The record was a huge hit, going to number 2 in Billboard on both the Pop and R&B charts and number 3 in the U.K., establishing them as a major group.
The Diamonds became popular guests on many of the variety shows of the day and their constant exposure led to six more top twenty hits including Silhouettes (1957 / #10) and The Stroll (1957 / #4).
Somerville left the group in 1961, changing his professional name to David Troy and singing folk music until 1967. He also studied acting under Leonard Nimoy and made a number of appearances including an episode of the original Star Trek. He later signed with the William Morris Agency who repped him as a voice over artist for hundreds of commercials.
In 1967, he joined the Four Preps and, on the side, started a comedy act with Bruce Belland called Belland & Somerville. The two also wrote the song The Troublemaker which was recorded by Willie Nelson.
During the 70's, Somerville formed the group WW Fancy with Keith Barbour (Echo Park) and Gail Jensen and, later, sang with the Diamonds and, once again, The Four Preps. He also wrote a song called The (Ballad) of the Unknown Stuntman which inspired Glen Larson, an original member of the Four Preps, to develop the show The Fall Guy. A reworked version of Somerville's song was used as the theme.
Finally, in the 90's, he turned to children's music, recording the album The Cosmic Adventures of Diamond Dave.
As a member of the Diamonds, he is a member of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, The Doo Wop Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
The Diamonds top twenty hits:Why Do Fools Fall in Love? (1956 / #12)
The Church Bells May Ring (1956 / #14)
Little Darlin' (1957 / #2 Pop / #2 R&B / #3 U.K.)
Words of Love (1957 / #13 Pop / #12 R&B)
Zip Zip (1957 / #16 Pop / #12 R&B)
Silhouettes (1957 / #10 Pop / #6 R&B)
The Stroll (1957 / #4 Pop / #5 R&B)
Kathy-O (1958 / #16)
She Say (Oom Dooby Doom) (1959 / #18)
And from Ron Smith's oldiesmusic.com website ...
David Somerville, lead singer with the Diamonds, passed away Tuesday (July 14) from prostate cancer in Santa Barbara, California, at the age of 81. Born in Guelph, Ontario, Dave was employed as an engineer by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Toronto while studying music. It was at the CBC that he met a local quartet and became their vocal coach. With the departure of their lead singer, Dave took over and the Diamonds were born. A trip to New York led to a win on Arthur Godfrey's "Talent Scouts" program and a recording contract with Mercury Records. The group was used primarily on "covers" of R&B tunes, such as "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" (#12 - 1956), "Church Bells May Ring" (#14 - 1956), "The Stroll" (#4 - 1958) and "Little Darlin'" (#2 - 1957). However, they later hit with original tunes such as "Kathy-O" (#16 - 1958) and "She Say" (#18 - 1959). Dave left the Diamonds in 1962 and performed solo and pursued an acting career as David Troy. He later joined the Four Preps and even toured with the Preps' Bruce Belland in a duo. He was a well-regarded voice-over actor and co-wrote the theme song for Lee Majors' TV show, "The Fall Guy." Dave and the Diamonds were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame (1984), the Vocal Group Hall of Fame (2004) and the Doo-Wop Hall of Fame (2006).
We talked with Dave Somerville back in 2009 for Forgotten Hits ...
You can find the highlights of that conversation here:
re: Me-TV-FM:
Kent,
As for all of the comments on ME-TV Radio in Chicago and similarities to Real Oldies 1690 and how the new station is gaining in popularity, we already had ME-TV Radio in Chicago -- 40 years ago! It was called "Wind-Radio" as in WIND AM! Yeah, WIND played 50's, 60's, 70's when it had the format in the mid / late 70's, with a mellow edge, but it might now be much different in idea format. I have never heard ME-TV Radio and I know they play album cuts, but THIS (attached) may be more of what Forgotten Hits would sound like on radio, if adding more rock songs.
Anyway, WIND had great DJs, too, like Ron Britain, Chuck Benson and Dick Williamson, to name a few. I believe Clark Weber may have been on then, too. I think I still have their Top 2000 chart (I think it was) that was the size of a road map!
Maybe Ron King Bee and Clark would like to chime in on the format or times at WIND??
Anyway, WIND had great DJs, too, like Ron Britain, Chuck Benson and Dick Williamson, to name a few. I believe Clark Weber may have been on then, too. I think I still have their Top 2000 chart (I think it was) that was the size of a road map!
Maybe Ron King Bee and Clark would like to chime in on the format or times at WIND??
SO, here's an eight minute montage of WIND when DISCO was the rage ... and oldies probably were not??
Clark Besch
That's actually a very interesting compilation ... and variety clearly was the name of the game back then. But many of these songs have been absent from the decades now ... whereas back then they were simply recent hits. More from Clark (and Clark) below! (kk)
I asked Clark Weber for his thoughts on the new Me-TV-FM format and here is what he sent me:
So, what are your thoughts on ME-Radio? All of this excitement Kent has mustered up for a format that used to be a somewhat basic MOR format, I am thinking. It's just that it has not been on the air awhile and not playing this type of oldie.
I’m a little fuzzy on my air shifts at WIND. I believe I worked weekends for a short time playing music when I first joined WIND. Then Dave Baum, who was doing the 9 to midnight “Contact Show”, left and joined KMOX in St Louis. I then took his night shift on “Contact” for several years until they went full time talk and then did the morning show for several more years. My total time with WIND was about 13 years. By the way, my producer at WIND was Neil Sabin who now runs both ME-TV and ME-Radio. Small world indeed.
You are correct in that it’s the old basic MOR format in new clothes. I think the mix is good and with very few commercials, it has a lot of listener appeal. When he put ME-RADIO together, Sabin called me to see if I had any interest in being a part of the format. I thanked him and took a pass ... however I have to admit that it was very tempting! I’m sure that streaming is in the wings.
Clark Weber
It may be a similar format to what once passed as MOR Radio back in the day ... but back then these songs were still somewhat "current" and familiar ... and, as such, part of our collective consciousness. Now ... some 40 years later ... it is quite refreshing to hear some songs that have been absent from the airwaves for that length of time. On more than a few occasions, I'll have to wait for the familiar catch to kick in ... I know that I know the song ... and recognize it ... but the subconscious tends to erase that which it no longer deems as "relevant" ... so, even for me, it may take 30 seconds to a minute ... or the first chorus ... before I recognize a long, forgotten hit.
All in all, I find it quite enjoyable to hear this music on the radio again ... and not have to sit chained to the computer to hear something other than the beaten-to-death playlist that all of the rest of radio seems to offer these days. A VERY welcome "change of pace" if you will ... and something that we have long maintained would find its audience ... if only someone would have the balls to give it a chance. In that regard, kudos to Neal Sabin ... not only for proving me right, but in being willing to go out on that solitary limb in order to do so. (kk)
>>>It's the only station I listen to. I've heard so many songs I haven't heard or even thought about in decades - but I agree with you that they need to do something about the programming. With all the great music that they play, you will NEVER hear three good songs in a row ... never! (Ed)
Since reading your comment, I've been keeping score ... and, for the most part, I have to agree with you. Randomly selecting blocks of music, this DOES seem to be the case. (The other night we listened for an hour and, at one point, heard three out of four consecutive songs that we were not at all familiar with ... a totally unnecessary album track by Carly Simon and two other obscurities that I couldn't even guess as to what they may have been.) They need to get out of that unknown album track rut and concentrate on music that people really want to hear. That's not to say that there isn't a place for album tracks within this format ... there is ... just play the ones that people WANT to hear rather than an over abundance of Gordon Lightfoot and Joni Mitchell tracks that nobody knows ... or wants to hear.
Despite any and all of my negative comments to date, this station still plays, without question, the widest variety possible on the dial today ... they just need to fine tune it a bit.
The other day while button pushing in the car I came across "Pink House" by John Mellencamp ... and let the whole song play. That's because it IS a good song ... and I hadn't heard it in over three months ... which allowed me to appreciate it again. The other stations in town have beat this music into our heads so repeatedly that we've lost all affection for it ... for the first time in AGES, it felt good to hear this track again. (Of course, it no sooner ended and I changed the channel again, only to come across "Jack And Diane" ... proving that somethings NEVER change. This one I couldn't tolerate listening to ... so I immediately pushed the button again.) Me-TV-FM overdoes James Taylor for me ... I swear I can't go an hour at any given point during the day without hearing something by him on that station ... so he, too, has now become a "button pusher" for me. Too bad, as I genuinely like his music ... just not seven or eight times a day ... every day! With a playlist of 2500 - 3000 songs, there is absolutely NO reason to beat an artist to death ... you alienate your audience the minute you do so.
The other thing I'd like to see them do is drop the "TV" association ... Me-FM is sufficient enough ... it's NOT TV, it's radio ... they've already established their connection ... let the TV station and the radio station stand on their own merits, especially if you're going to start advertising the station on other television outlets. (In a related note, Me-TV is running a special programming feature starring Dawn Wells this evening, who will take viewers on "a three hour tour" of her all-time favorite "Gilligan's Island' episodes. Now THAT'S a GREAT promotional tie-in ... and I absolutely LOVE the whole concept.) We can bring that same treatment to the radio station, too, in the way of special blocks of themed programming and countdowns that would really liven up the appeal of the listening experience. They're running more and more commercials ... which was to be expected once the "launch" was over. By the same token, a little bit of dee-jay participation would be a welcome addition right now, especially if staying true to the overall format.
It's not ALL MOR ... they're playing more and more uptempo tracks and proven Top 40 rock hits from the '50's, '60's and '70's ... SO much variety with plenty of room to grow. I have the highest hopes for this station (but also the highest expectations!) kk
re: This And That:
In a subject long near and dear to our hearts, Billboard Magazine has just published a list of The Top 100 Songs of Summer, 1959 - 2015.
Of course this means LOTS of more recent music than that typically covered here in Forgotten Hits ... but you WILL find a few "oldies gems" on the list.
Highest ranking ... "Tossin' And Turnin'" by Bobby Lewis from 1961, #3 on the overall list according to Bilboard's tabulations. ("Satisfaction", considered by many to be rock's all-time summer song, didn't even make The Top Ten, finishing at #11 ... you won't find too many folks on our list agreeing with THAT ranking ... especially when it falls behind some of summer's lamer hits like "Alone Again Naturally" by Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Everything I Do I Do It For You" by Bryan Adams and "We Belong Together" by Mariah Carey.)
You can catch the complete list here:
And find our own take on Summer Favorites (compiled both mathematically and by your votes) here:
(You'll also find a tabulation of All-Time Summer Favorites as voted on by The Forgotten Hits Readers and The True Oldies Channel a few years back ... with approximately 10,000 votes received, a pretty accurate recap of those songs you guys feel best represent your fondest summer memories.)
Vintage Vinyl News recapped Summer's Biggest Hit this way ...
If we came up with a discrepancy (based on our own chart research) it is noted below.
If we came up with a discrepancy (based on our own chart research) it is noted below.
This list covers 1955 - 1980 (again rock and roll's formative years have been eliminated from the equation in Billboard's world ... who now only document the hits in the Post-Hot 100 World. As such, titles listed for 1955 - 1958 come from OUR chart research only.)
1955 - Rock Around The Clock - Bill Haley and the Comets (only fitting that the song that launched The Rock And Roll Era should kick things off here, too!)
1956 - The Wayward Wind - Gogi Grant (hardly "rock" ... but summer's biggest hit nevertheless)
1957 - Love Letters In The Sand - Pat Boone (ditto)
1958 - Purple People Eater - Sheb Wooley (a novelty hit this time around!)
1959 - Lonely Boy - Paul Anka (our list shows "The Battle Of New Orleans" by Johnny Horton ... "Lonely Boy came in at #2 on the Forgotten Hits list)
1960 - I'm Sorry - Brenda Lee
1961 - Tossin' and Turnin' - Bobby Lewis
1962 - Roses Are Red (My Love) - Bobby Vinton
1963 - Fingertips - Part 2 - Little Stevie Wonder (Easier Said Than Done - Essex ... the Stevie Wonder track came in at #5 on our list, behind Easier Said Than Done, Sukiyaki, So Much In Love and Surf City)
1964 - Where Did Our Love Go - Supremes (Wow! Not sure HOW they came up with this one ... which placed at #15 on our list. I'm guessing they took the complete chart history of the record for the entire year in order for this to happen ... our research only covered the months June, July and August ... and each record's performance during the summer months.)
1965 - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - Rolling Stones (a no-brainer on this one)
1966 - Wild Thing - Troggs (We came up with "Hanky Panky" as our #1 Summer Hit. "Wild Thing" placed at #5. The Lovin' Spoonful's summer anthem "Summer In The City" came in at #10, most likely because a portion of its chart life extended beyond the August deadline. It has been voted as YOUR All-Time Favorite Summer Hit every time we've polled our readers.)
1967 - Light My Fire - Doors ("Windy" by The Association ... "Light My Fire" came in at #4)
1968 - This Guy's in Love With You - Herb Alpert
1969 - In the Year 2525 - Zager & Evans
1970 - (They Long to Be) Close to You - Carpenters ("Mama Told Me Not To Come" by Three Dog Night. The Carpenters landed at #5)
1971 - How Can You Mend a Broken Heart - Bee Gees ("It's Too Late" by Carole King ... it'd be hard to disqualify THIS one ... it was HUGE that summer ... as was the whole "Tapestry" album. The Bee Gees' hit placed at #5 on our chart)
1972 - Alone Again (Naturally) - Gilbert O'Sullivan
1973 - Bad Bad Leroy Brown - Jim Croce
1974 - Annie's Song - John Denver ("Billy Don't Be A Hero" by Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods ... I'm sticking with OUR choice on this one ... "Annie's Song" came in at #7)
1975 - One of These Nights - Eagles (Big? Yes ... #2 on our list ... 'cause there was NOTHING bigger that year than "Love Will Keep Us Together" by The Captain and Tennille)
1976 - Don't Go Breaking My Heart - Elton John & Kiki Dee ("Silly Love Songs" by Paul McCartney and Wings ... Elton and Kiki came in at #4, behind another all-time summer classic, "Afternoon Delight" by The Starland Vocal Band)
1977 - I Just Want to Be Your Everything - Andy Gibb
1978 - Shadow Dancing - Andy Gibb (Wow ... two back-to-back #1 Summer Hits for the Baby Gibb Brother!)
1979 - Bad Girls - Donna Summer (#2 on our list behind Amii Stewart's version of "Knock On Wood". I'm FAR more partial to the Donna Summer hit ... but that's not the way it all stacked up when we tabulated our votes way back when)
1980 - It's Still Rock and Roll to Me - Billy Joel
From FH Reader Frank B ...
Celine Dion Welcomes A Surprising Guest To The Stage To Perform A Duet You'd Never Have Thought Possible:
Technology certainly has come a long, long way, hasn't it? I remember when this first aired ... pretty amazing stuff! Thanks, Frank. (kk)
Kent,
Upon reading about the death of Ernie Maresca in today's FH, of course everyone knows about his one hit during the rock era, SHOUT! SHOUT! (KNOCK YOURSELF OUT), but he did have a follow-up to that of which I had to go pull because I had forgotten the name of the song. FYI, it was DOWN ON THE BEACH / MARY JANE.
Eileen mentioned THE THOUGHT OF LOVING YOU by the group The Crystal Mansion out of 1968 on Capitol. You mentioned you weren't familiar with it. I am familiar with the record since it made our local survey. Been many years since I've heard it though. Keep up the good work.
Larry
Checking Joel Whitburn's Comparison Chart Book, it looks like Maresca was a One Hit Wonder on the Billboard Charts ... but the record you mentioned DID chart both sides in Cash Box with "Mary Jane" hitting #106 and "Down On The Beach" reaching #103. "Mary Jane" cracked The Top 100 in Music Vendor, peaking at #81 during a four week run.
As for The Crystal Mansion song, it peaked at #79 in Record World. A follow-up single in 1970 (a cover of James Taylor's "Caroline In My Mind") climbed as high as #47 in the same publication. I'm personally not familiar with either one of these recordings. (kk)
Upon reading about the death of Ernie Maresca in today's FH, of course everyone knows about his one hit during the rock era, SHOUT! SHOUT! (KNOCK YOURSELF OUT), but he did have a follow-up to that of which I had to go pull because I had forgotten the name of the song. FYI, it was DOWN ON THE BEACH / MARY JANE.
Eileen mentioned THE THOUGHT OF LOVING YOU by the group The Crystal Mansion out of 1968 on Capitol. You mentioned you weren't familiar with it. I am familiar with the record since it made our local survey. Been many years since I've heard it though. Keep up the good work.
Larry
Checking Joel Whitburn's Comparison Chart Book, it looks like Maresca was a One Hit Wonder on the Billboard Charts ... but the record you mentioned DID chart both sides in Cash Box with "Mary Jane" hitting #106 and "Down On The Beach" reaching #103. "Mary Jane" cracked The Top 100 in Music Vendor, peaking at #81 during a four week run.
As for The Crystal Mansion song, it peaked at #79 in Record World. A follow-up single in 1970 (a cover of James Taylor's "Caroline In My Mind") climbed as high as #47 in the same publication. I'm personally not familiar with either one of these recordings. (kk)
Sorry, but this one still cracks me up every time! (kk)
