Here's a vintage chart from KYA / San Francisco dating back to May of 1961.
One of the greatest two-sided hits of all-time, "Travelin' Man" / "Hello Mary Lou" by Ricky Nelson has fallen out of the #1 spot to make way for "Those Oldies But Goodies" by Little Caesar and the Romans. A couple of other early '60's classics follow ... "Daddy's Home" by Shep and the Limelites at #3 and "Stand By Me" by Ben E. King, up eight places to #4.
I'm also partial to one of their "Aces in the Hole" tracks this week ... the Bobby Darin version of "Nature Boy", a GREAT track that never realized its full potential nationally, stopping at #40 on the Billboard Chart. (We play that one around the house all the time!)
It wasn't just your favorite local radio station that was counting down the hits back in the day ... check out this chart from Montgomery Wards, circa 1964. (OMG, remember when all the major stores had their own record departments ... and sold enough copies to make it worth while publishing their own charts?!?!)
Growing up here in Chicago, I was always partial to E.J. Korvettes, Sears (because you could always pick up the WLS Survey there), Polk Brothers and G.C. Murphy ... all of whom had EXCELLENT record departments. (Plus we had at least half a dozen "ma and pa" shops within in walking or bike-riding distance too!) Music was literally EVERYWHERE you turned back then. (Now to find it you've got to log on to your computer at home!)
As you can see, The Beatles were still exuding chart domination in late May of '64 with five of The Top 40 Tracks on this list. But check out Elvis with THREE chart entries of his own!
Speaking of "kissin'", check out The Kissin' Top Forty Tunes This Week on this KYSN Chart from 1962.
Young Mark from "The Rifleman" held down the #2 spot (with a bullet) with "Cindy's Birthday" ... and Elvis was right behind him with "Follow That Dream", the theme song from his latest movie (and one of the more tolerable ones at that!) He also lays claim to the #22 hit.
FH Readers will be pleased to see The Kingston Trio at #5 with their version of "Scotch And Soda" ... and there's our FH Buddy Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon at #9 With "Palisades Park", written by Gong Show Creator Chuck Barris! And look at The Lettermen at #24 with their version of "Turn Around, Look At Me", a song that could only "Bubble Under" in Billboard. (Most radio stations went with the A-Side, "How Is Julie?")
And finally, another trip home to Sweet Home Chicago and this WLS Chart from 1965. Man, check out this Top Ten... not a dog in the bunch. Peter Noone and Herman's Hermits hold down two of the Top Five spots with "Silhouettes" and "Mrs. Brown, You've Got A Lovely Daughter" ... where you'll also find the latest hits by The Beach Boys, Sam The Sham and the Pharaohs and Mr. Sock-In-The-Pants, Tom Jones! (Herman's Hermits are also at #30 with their brand new release, "Wonderful World".)
Quite a few British Rockers were still making their mark in May of 1965 ... and one of my favorite reimagined American Hits done up in British Style sits at #23 ... I'm referring to the Peter and Gordon version of "True Love Ways" ... which just may be my favorite version of this song of all time.
MY GUY by MARY WELLS held the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles Chart for the second week in a row, holding THE BEATLES and their latest American Hit LOVE ME DO to the #2 position. BITS AND PIECES by THE DAVE CLARK FIVE fell to #6 but PETER AND GORDON's version of A WORLD WITHOUT LOVE made another giant leap (from #30 to #10), cracking The Top Ten for the very first time.
Right behind it were LITTLE CHILDREN by BILLY J. KRAMER AND THE DAKOTAS (#11), DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A SECRET (#12) and P.S. I LOVE YOU (#15), both by THE BEATLES and another DAVE CLARK FIVE hit, DO YOU LOVE ME, at #18. Other Top 40 British Hits this weekend included THE BEATLES' CAN'T BUY ME LOVE (#23) and DIANE by THE BACHELORS (#27). A fifth BEATLES hit, TWIST AND SHOUT, just missed, coming in at #41 for the week.
Rounding out The Hot 100, we find GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY by THE SWINGING BLUE JEANS at #53, I KNEW IT ALL THE TIME (a third chart entry for THE DAVE CLARK FIVE) at #58, SUGAR AND SPICE by THE SEARCHERS at #62, NOT FADE AWAY by THE ROLLING STONES creeping up to #83, DON'T LET THE SUN CATCH YOU CRYING (the first US chart hit for GERRY AND THE PACEMAKERS), coming in at #87) and YESTERDAY'S GONE by CHAD STUART AND JEREMY CLYDE premiered at #92. Another British act, THE OVERLANDERS, sat at #98 with their cover version of this same tune.
Here in Chicago, "Love Me Do" / "P.S. I Love You" holds down the #1 Spot for the second week in a row on the WLS Silver Dollar Survey. Chad and Jeremy's version of "Yesterday's Gone" climbs to #3, nearly 100 places ahead of its national position. "Little Children" (now paired with "Bad To Me" as a two-sided hit) climbs to #9 for Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas ... that's a twenty point leap from the week before. Another Beatles two-sided hit, "Thank You Girl" / "Do You Want To Know A Secret", is at #11, The Dave Clark Five's version of "Do You Love Me" is at #17, The Rolling Stones take of the old Buddy Holly tune "Not Fade Away" sits at #19 and a remake of another old standard, "I Only Have Eyes For You", is perched at #25 by veteran British Rocker Cliff Richard.
Brand new on the chart is "A World Without Love" by Peter and Gordon, debuting at #28. The Swingin' Blue Jeans round out the countdown at #35 with their version of "Good Golly Miss Molly".
On TV this weekend you could find The Beatles appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show (albeit on film this time.) Now THIS would be interesting to see again ... The Beatles performed "You Can't Do That" in a scene from their brand new movie "A Hard Day's Night" ... a scene that was later cut from the final edit of the film. Ed Sullivan also interviews The Fab Four in London on the set of "A Hard Day's Night" ... not footage you typically think of when one considers their Sullivan appearances.
Just as he did several years ago when he published the first "Bubbling Under" chart book covering those "almost hits" that just missed making Billboard's Hot 100 Chart ... And a few years ago with "Hit Records, #101 - #150", covering the songs that fell short on the Music Vendor / Record World Charts .. Joel Whitburn has now put together a brand new book of "Just Misses" bringing the Cash Box Charts completely up to date. Called "Looking Ahead", this book documents EVERY record to fall short of Cash Box's Top 100 Chart ... nearly 6500 titles in all ... over 3500 of which do not appear in his Billboard Top Pop Singles book covering the history of the Billboard Pop Charts! That means ALL kinds of brand new entries ... regional hits ... novelty tunes ... doo wop ... jazz ... bubblegum ... garage band rock ... and much, much more. The book is currently available for pre-order ... with special discounted pricing through the late-June publication date. Lots more information (and sample pages) on The Record Research Website ...
For the first-time ever,
research exists for Cash Box
magazine's "Looking Ahead" #101-150 chart!
ALL 6,378 songs and 3,262 artists that peaked on
this esteemed chart are detailed! There are 3,562 exclusive
titles not listed in our flagship Top Pop Singles book! Many doo-wop,
jazz, bubblegum, dance and hard-rock titles never-before accounted for in
charted history! Arriving late June, 2014
Click
here to see sample pages or to order. Pre-publication sale ends when limited stock
arrives.
For this book, we
researched EVERY title that peaked on the
Cash Box "Looking Ahead" charts. This chart information has
NEVER been compiled ANYWHERE. To insure research accuracy, we painstakingly
detailed, week by week, the journey of each song entry, chart by
chart.
The "Looking Ahead" chart
started on October 3, 1959, (with 20 positions) and grew to 50 positions by
April 29, 1961. It stayed at 50 positions all through the 1960s. It continued
through the 1970s at mainly 20-30 positions until it ceased on February 27,
1982. On August 4, 1990, it came back as a 15 position chart which finally
ceased on March 27, 1993.
Here’s some interesting chart
exclusives ...
Early chart hits for artists
such as Bjorn & Benny (Abba), Dore Alpert (Herb Alpert), The Flying Machine
(James Taylor), Everyday Hudson (Hudson Brothers), David Idema (David Geddes),
The Twilights (The Embers), The Z-Debs (The Jaynettes), Lou Zerato (Boots
Walker), and Zip And The Zippers (The Orlons).
Great forgotten “girl groups”
such as Angie And The Chicklettes, The Cake, The Cotillions, Honey LTD, The
Majorettes, The Pleasures, and The Rubies.
Regional garage band favorites
such as The Chancellors, The Chosen Few, The Fifth Order, The Guilloteens, The
Juveniles, The North Atlantic Invasion Force, The Shy Guys, and The Spike
Drivers.
Celebrity recordings by Danny
Bonaduce, The Brady Bunch, Sherman Hemsley, Don Imus, Jim Nabors, Butch Patrick,
and Telly Savalas.
Also, there are many obscure
doo-wop, orchestral, bubblegum, R&B, dance and hard-rock titles that are now
accounted for in charted music history.
Pre-publication sale of $5 Off
ends when limited stock arrives, so order
today!
Another "Must Have" addition to our chart history library for sure!!! Don't miss out on this one ... and be sure to take advantage of the pre-publication discount price! (kk)
I, too, had heard the story of the Stones recording "Satisfaction" at Chess. I assumed it was the straight scoop.
I did a lot of voice recording work for a couple of ad agencies at Chess in the 60's and early 70's and remember hearing the engineer (whose name I've long since forgotten) tell me about that recording session.
Keep in mind that the group was not well liked by some in the industry due to their snarky attitude, wild behavior and flaunting drug use. I did a WCFL concert with them at McCormick Place in 69 or 70 and the Chicago cops placed them in squad cars after the concert and personally drove them to O'Hare to make sure they left town.
As for Dick Be-Oldie being at the session, nah, not a chance as Dick was bitter and I suspect embarrassed over his Chicago departure ... which by the way was strictly his fault!
Clark Weber
re: The Stories Behind The Songs:
Thanks for posting the story behind the dog Shannon – I always loved the ballad and I wondered if there was a trutht behind the lyrics.
Regards,
Martijn
After posting a bit last weekend about the origins of the stutter in the #1 Bachman-Turner Overdrive hit "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet", folks have been checking out our "Stories Behind The Songs" feature on the OTHER Forgotten Hits Website:
>>> Randy Bachman’s brother, whom has a stutter, had recorded vocals on the demo for “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet,” which the record company had loved. They insisted BTO go back into the studio and record it again. The response Bachman and the band received was not what they expected.
The A&R person said, ‘Whoa whoa whoa, what happened to the B-B-B-baby and N-N-N …?’” As it turns out, the record execs wanted the stutter. Randy Bachman had to return to the studio and mimic his brother’s stutter for the song, which it has become well-known for. (Mark Rivera)
Kent,
Mark Rivera's pretty close to the actual story ... but you might as well hear it from Randy himself. This is that song's intro from a six hour 'Anniversary of Rock' program that I wrote and produced in the mid 1990's (it only aired on Canadian radio stations).
I had three well known Canadian musicians as hosts: Denny Doherty (The Mamas and The Papas), Ian Thomas ("Painted Ladies") and Randy Bachman.
This is Randy's ad-libbed intro and the story behind "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" in his own words.
Doug Thompson in Toronto
re: Paul McCartney:
Paul McCartney had to cancel his Japanese tour this week due to illness. (Macca had hoped to reschedule a couple of shows ... but doctors insisted he rest and not perform.) Personally, I'm a little surprised he EVER went back there!!! There can't be a lot of pleasant memories of his last visit!
Meanwhile, he also released a brand new, pretty hi-tech video this past week for one of the songs from his "New" album, "Appreciate".
re: Beatles Memories:
Hey Kent,
Looking at all the surveys from 1964, it's fun to find a particular song that reminds you of something that was happening in your life at the time.
In the summer of that year, my family went on a small vacation at Lake Okaboji, IA. It was a nice getaway that wasn't too far away ... plus my dad had built houses for the owner of one of the motels, so we would always get discounts during our stays.
On the way to our destination we stopped for dinner in a town called Spencer. After we ate, we walked through a shopping mall that was closed because it was Sunday. Remember those days? You could still walk through it, but all the stores were closed.
On the way out, I noticed some gumball machines. One of them contained key chains of The Beatles. Excited, I put my money in (maybe a nickel?) and turned the crank. Out came a red plastic key chain. On one side was a raised figure of a nondescript face of a bowl-haired man. It was sort of close to John's, but really a "Mr. Nobody". On the reverse side, were raised letters that read, "BEETLE"! I was so mad at the spelling, I threw it in the nearest trash can! I knew somebody out there was trying to make a quick buck from manufacturing that junk.
I recently tried to find it on Ebay and other sites to see what it would be worth today ... so if someone is out there who has one, please share your memories!
Another Beatles experience on our vacation was when we were at Arnold's Park, a tourist area on the Lake. There was a pool hall we walked by and, being underage, my brothers and I couldn't enter. The song "You Can't Do That" was loudly playing on their juke box ... and you could hear all the "hustlers" singing along! Every time I hear it, that's what I think of.
- John LaPuzza
re: This And That:
After some health issues earlier this year, we are happy to announce that Jay Proctor, lead vocalist of Jay and the Techniques, is feeling fine and ready to head back out on the road!
Proctor had three straight Top 40 Hits ("Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie", "Keep The Ball Rollin'" and "Strawberry Shortcake") and he's lining up gigs now to take him through the end of the year.
Check out this email from manager Rick Levy:
JAY PROCTOR ... the phenomenal voice behind JAY & THE TECHNIQUES is back ... and ready to work ... late summer, fall, winter and on CLASSIC AMERICAN SOUL REVUE
Apples, Peaches, Pumplin Pie, Keep the Ball Rollin' ... plus Memphis, Motown and Philly Soul
Great for packages, tours, concerts and fundraisers
RICK LEVY MGT - 904 - 806 - 0817
Last week we told you that Jeffrey Foskett was rejoining The Beach Boys band. The Beach Boys are booked solid through the rest of the year ... and Jeff's soaring falsetto is being welcomed back with open arms (and high expectations.)
"Endless Summer Quarterly" Publisher David Beard caught up with Foskett recently and put together this short interview:
That new Michael Jackson song that you featured with Justin Timberlake is a #1 Hit if I've ever heard one. I can't believe it's sat locked in a vault for 31 years!
Top 10 Kid
I agree ... Jackson wrote the song with Paul Anka ... which'll put 57 years between Anka's first #1 Hit ("Diana" in 1957) and today's! I really enjoy the Justin / Jackson remix ... SO much stronger than Michael's original version (which I don't believe would have been anywhere near as big a hit had it been released in its original state.) That being said, I've got mixed emotions about these reworkings. Yes, they've given it a completely contemporary sound ... not unlike the Elvis "Bossa Nova Baby" treatment I mentioned the other day in the Heineken commercial. Let's face it ... you're probably NOT going to hear "Bossa Nova Baby" anywhere else these days ... and if this new remix entices a brand new audience to seek out more music by this artist ... or the original version ... then that's a good thing ... and they ARE making this music much more accessible to a whole new generation ... which I also like. (Kinda like colorizing old movies I guess ... many HATE the idea ... but I find them often to be more "watchable" this way ... we just don't live in a black and white world anymore.) However, I still appreciate the opportunity to enjoy BOTH options at my own choosing. Another interesting track on the album is "A Place With No Name", a reimagining and reworking of the #1 America hit "A Horse With No Name", done with their full support. (I could have lived without the song where Jackson mentions exploiting children and even uses the phrase "child abuse" ... and I would have thought the LABEL would have nixed this track as well!) What did you think of Michael's "live performance" at The Billboard Awards the other night? I've heard everything from the coolest thing EVER ... to downright creepy!!! (kk)
TOLEDO, OH, May 20, 2014 – Grammy winning recording artist, actor and filmmaker Ice-T has added his efforts to the growing roster of notables helping the Ohio-based nonprofit program Veterans Matter to house many of the over 57,000 veterans living on the streets and in shelters. Ice-T’s public service announcements begin airing nationally today on Cumulus Media Radio and digital properties, joining musicians Kid Rock, Kix Brooks, John Mellencamp, Darius Rucker, Darryl Worley, Stevie Nicks, Dusty Hill, Emerson Drive, Jennifer Nettles, Natalie Stovall and The Drive, and author Mitch Albom in the effort. "Thousands of veterans are homeless and living veterans on the streets of our nation tonight. Streets where they are being beaten, robbed, even killed. Let’s take care of our own.” said Ice-T of the Veterans Matter campaign to house veterans.
Veterans Matter, a national program of 1Matters, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit, was started in 2012 in Toledo, Ohio, by Ken Leslie, himself a formerly homeless alcoholic. He became aware that the primary obstacle facing many homeless veterans eligible for long-term housing assistance was the lack of an average $750 rental deposit, which is not covered by the HUD-VASH voucher assistance program. He created the Veterans Matter program to pay that deposit directly to the landlord and join the national effort to house all homeless veterans by the end of 2015. “We had one veteran in Texas who had been in a shelter for four years, ever since Hurricane Ike hit. She has issues that make working and staying focused difficult. HUD-VASH and Veterans Matter were able to get her a pillow under her head in her own bed, in her own room, in her own house,” explains Leslie. “Multiply her story by a thousand more veterans and you see why we are working so hard. We can and must take care of our own.” The effort to house homeless veterans has the national support of broadcast heavyweight Cumulus Media, where a campaign of public service announcements by the aforementioned artists encourage Americans to send donations of any amount to Veterans Matter by texting “VETS” to 41444. “Cumulus, the artists, and all of those involved with Veterans Matter, are just examples of how we, as Americans, are all just pitching in to do one small part to help house even one more veteran,” says Leslie. Veterans Matter partners with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Veteran Affairs (VA) to provide rental deposits to homeless veterans that qualify for voucher-assisted living but can’t fund the initial housing costs. According to Leslie, some of the artists have even anchored fundraising in their home states, helping to raise a good share of the almost $250,000 raised so far. 100% of the money raised goes to the program, as overhead costs are donated in-kind. Leslie cites a recent email received from a VA social worker that underscores the worth of the efforts that are uniting Ice-T, his fellow supporting artists, along with Cumulus and other Americans in the campaign: “When I told the veteran this has happened and he received his key to the apartment he became tearful and said, “I have been homeless for several years and thought this would never happen, ever." Later I dropped him off at the library. He called about 20 minutes later and said, “I just realized that I have a key to my own place, I know where I am going to be sleeping tonight. It is like the stress of the last several years has been lifted off my shoulders at once. Thank you so much for helping me." This IS why we do what we do. You and Veterans Matter are such a huge part of this and I thank you so much!” - Larry S., VA social worker, Bloomington, Indiana
It's all about giving back, folks. Please support this very helpful organization. (kk)
Kent,
I want to tell you what I started doing yesterday (Monday afternoon) and will continue to do so until further notice. (I will decide when further notice is due).
In FH many times you have stated that while you are in your car that you channel surf and no matter what station you tune in to, the same song or songs are always playing. Basically here in OKC, we just have the one station that plays the same songs over and over and probably you can hear them once every 4-5 hours.
Here in OKC we have no less than four stations that program sports talk, four stations that program news talk, and your guess is as good as mine as to how many stations program country (classic country, new country, legends of country, etc,) We do have one station that supposedly programs AOR but they changed frequencies months ago and supposedly they are still on the air but who really knows.
Now the above formats I have listed I have never really listened to through the years primarily I am not interested. For all practical purposes I really don't have that many CD's and really don't play them in my car. Also at home for that matter. So what I have started doing is just turning my car radio off, driving in my car where I need to go and not even thinking of turning it on. To be honest with you, in the back of my mind I know the radio is not on but really I have not missed it at all. I feel that I am not missing anything at all, no new "oldies" being played, all the sports talk stations
talk about the same topics no matter what station you are listening to, so really I feel that I am not missing out on anything.
BULLETIN: Would you believe as I was typing this e-mail to you, I saw on television just now that Sirius radio is going to be available free until June 2. So I take that back about my radio in my car being off until further notice. Tomorrow I will tune in to Sirius with the fifties at five and or sixties at six since it is being made available for free until June 2. I have never subscribed to it.
Larry
re: Ronnie Dove:
As mentioned by Jim Foster in his review for the Jackson, Tennessee Kool Caravan Of Stars, all of the acts were spectacular. Of course, I went mostly for Ronnie Dove, but I enjoyed every single other act that was on stage. It was also a thrill to meet every single one of them. Too bad it wasn't a real Caravan Of Stars with a traveling show, as I would go see it again if I could. Billy Joe Royal is one of my longtime heroes and it was a thrill of a lifetime to meet him and tell him how much I loved the music he made, much of it with the help of another hero of mine, Joe South. Billy Joe Royal told me he first worked with Joe South in 1959, I had not previously known that.
Jim mentioned an upcoming cd by Ronnie Dove from Real Gone Music. It is something that has been a long time coming for Ronnie; a cd that, for the very first time ever, includes every single chart hit Ronnie had for Diamond records during the 1960's, in the very best available sound quality. The cd contains 20 songs that hit the Billboard Hot 100 and one that bubbled under. Two of these have never been on cd anywhere in the world (one of them has been on cd as a 1980's re-recording, however), and several songs are making their debut in stereo on cd, with 16 of the 21 tracks appearing on the cd in stereo.
I was involved in pretty much every aspect of this cd from the very beginning, mostly by supplying tons of memorabilia used in the 12 page booklet (along with some memorabilia Ronnie provided -- with as much as we did use in the booklet, it's probably only 1/3 of what was available to use) and by providing disc dub sources to use for comparison for mastering purposes or for dubs if tape sources could not be located, and giving feedback regarding memorabilia used in the booklet along with placement of artwork and the overall layout.
This will be the definitive Ronnie Dove collection for anyone looking to get just the hits that Ronnie had in the 1960's (though he had plenty of B sides and album cuts that were just as good as a lot of his hits). I couldn't be prouder to have been a part of this project. Several other great people worked on it ... Marty Wekser and Evren Göknar did the stellar mastering for the cd, Joseph Lanza wrote the great essay inside which contains brand new quotes from Ronnie himself, and John Sellards did a fantastic job with the artwork and layout for the project. The booklet, front cover, and inside tray liner and back tray liner went through many changes all around before we found a final product we were all happy with, and I know everyone who buys the cd will be happy with it too. It is visually pleasing while also being audibly pleasing.
The cd will be out from Real Gone Music on July 1, 2014. The first 75 people to order it through Real Gone will receive an autographed booklet for the cd as well. More information can be found at the Real Gone website, and they will begin taking preorders for the cd soon.
I have a Ronnie Dove Greatest Hits CD on Stardust that I thought was pretty definitive ... all of the necessary hits are there (20 tracks in all), most of which overlap with the new, upcoming release ... but it sounds like this one has some extra love and care so it might be time to "upgrade" my collection! Thanks, Tom! (kk)
The Stardust CD, which uses a lot of mono disc dubs, has 16 chart hits on it plus four newer recordings.
Tom
re: Forgotten Hits Origins:
As mentioned several times over the years, Forgotten Hits began as an offshoot of my time spent in the old AOL Music Oldies Room. One of the guys who held court there was simply known as "Sev" ...
Pasquale Severino was the founder of Mystery Lyrics, a popular daily game that at its peak had hundreds and hundred of players and participants from all over the country. Inspired by the success and commaradrie of this game (and another one called Mystery Wavs, headed up by Ed and Diana Parker), I boldly asked the group one night: "You know, there are SO many great songs that we all know and love that don't get played on the radio anymore ... if I started a newsletter, and wrote a little something about these songs and artists ... would you read it???"
From those innocent and humble beginnings, the very first Forgotten Hits Mailing List (of 35 subscribers!) was born ... and it has grown and blossomed and (at times) exploded ever since, rounding up oldies music fans from all over the world, uniting them by our common bond of love for all this great music.
We lost Sev this past weekend ... and we've heard from some other early Mystery Lyrics players who are also grieving by the sad and unexpected news.
I need to catch up with FH more often ... I am not online nearly as much as I used to be and a lot gets passed by me without much notice. I, too, am saddened to hear of Sev's passing as I had been a part of Mystery Lyrics since 1999, which, being 15 years, is more than half of my life. I can't think of too many other people who could lighten the spirits of everyone around them, but Sev always did just that.
Tom Diehl
Thank you for posting a little somethig about Sev. I don't think the world knows just what a wonderful person it lost today. :(
