The Friday Flash

re:  Coppock's Topics:  
We called it!  "Let the controversies and debates begin!!!"  

Our latest edition of "Coppock's Topics" spurred a few immediate responses, most of which came to the defense of Paul Evans ... but you'll find a few sports comments here as well.  (I love it ... and so will he ... it's always GREAT to get the blood flowing and spark our passionate readers to comment!!!)    

>>>Paul Evans, "Seven Little Girls Sitting In The Backseat - Kissin' and a Huggin' With Fred." - The first real gimmick song I can recall. It basically tells you how square the world was during the Eisenhower years or how dull Cousin Brucie Morrow remains. Sadly, some guy who owns the publishing to this flawed pinkie ring is still making a buck.  (Chet Coppock) 
>>>OK, I've gotta be REAL careful with this one ... Paul Evans has been a Forgotten Hits list member for several years now ... and he certainly has always had a way with a clever lyric and a catchy melody.  As such, this one doesn't bother me so much (and let's face it, based on today's programming, you're rarely going to hear it anyway.)  I can think of a couple other songs that I find FAR more annoying and obnoxious ... "Playground In My Mind" by Clint Holmes and "Sing" by The Carpenters immediately come to mind.  These recordings were created for the SOLE purpose of eating away your brain cells and filling your head with mindless clutter. A Paul Evans composition that you don't hear much anymore (yet might find a bit more enjoyable) would be "When" by The Kalin Twins ... let's give THAT one a spin, shall we???  (kk)   

I don't know Chet Coppock, and he's certainly entitled to his opinions, but Paul Evans is an incredibly successful songwriter.   
When "Seven Little Girls Sitting In The Back Seat" was a hit, it was 1959, an  era for novelty records.  "The Chipmunk Song" was the # 1 hit for the first two weeks on Billboards' Hot 100 chart.  Then in March "Charlie Brown" by The Coasters hit # 2 and The Chipmunks were back with "Alvin's Harmonica" at # 3.  That May, TV actors Edd Byrnes and Connie Stevens saw their novelty hit with "Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb" climb to # 4.  The Coasters' "Along Came Jones" came and went during the summer of '59, but not before it made it to # 9.  Writer / producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller wrote and produced The Coasters to a third Top Ten chart hit in October with "Poison Ivy".  And in November of '59, when Paul Evans "Seven Little Girls" climbed to # 9, radio and TV DJ Wink Martindale's spoken word novelty hit (although it wasn't supposed to be funny) "Deck of Cards" was at # 7.Paul Evans certainly doesn't need me to defend him.  I'd be more than happy with the royalties Paul has received over the years for writing "Roses Are Red".  The fact is, Paul's written a half dozen songs that Elvis Presley recorded, a # 5 hit for The Kalin Twins in 1958, "When", and songs that have recorded by Johnny Tillotson, LaVerne Baker, Frankie Lymon, Jackie Wilson, The Coasters (there they are again), Jim Reeves, Jimmy Dean and Reba McEntire.He wrote the song "Happiness Is", which became a hugely successful jingle for Kent cigarettes in the '60's.Novelty records are fun.  They're not meant to be serious.  And they're pretty much a dead genre these days.My personal favourite Paul Evans song (that he recorded himself) is "Happy Go Lucky Me".  It's infectious.  
Doug Thompson in Toronto  

Hi Kent - THANK YOU for "defending" Paul Evans' tune "Seven Little Girls".It was a favorite of my late Mother!!!!!Keep up the G R O O V Y** work...**What would Chet Coppock think of "Treat Her Groovy, Take Her To A Movie" by Ronnie Rice / New Colony Six??? LOL  
Carolyn  
Actually Chet was probably right there in the studio with them when The New Colony Six recorded that track ... he was their roadie at the time!  (lol)  kk   

Kent, 
EMOTIONAL RESCUE!!! Are you kidding me? I had completely forgotten about that record! 
I want you to know I did make it through EMOTIONAL RESCUE by the Stones.  However, without getting into specifics, it took a little bit longer that the posted time of 5:38. Hadn't heard it in years. Speaking of Paul Evans, and reading what was said about him, I immediately thought of a record he came out with in 1961 on Carlton Records, said record being AFTER THE HURRICANE. I had to get it out and play it. Don't know if that record by him has ever been discussed or mentioned in FH. 
Larry Neal  

Hello Kent,  
What else would you expect from someone whose Hockey Team gets Jimmy Buffett to sing a disparaging song about their Worthy Opponents The Boston Bruins Hockey Club to celebrate there Stanley Cup Triumph?  
Plus you must take into consideration the Jesuit School he represents who at one time rose to the rank of #1 in the Football Standings only to be smacked down as revealed in the glorious T-Shirt from the '93 game at South Bend:  "God Made Notre Dame #1 & BC made them #2". 
So it is with a grain of salt and much skepticism that ponder his rantings about the songs that offend him. 
Certainly Pat Boone's cover can't compare to the original, but it is not a hated attempt. 
Convoy is certainly not a highly ranked 'Oldie' ... however it is beloved for its introduction to a tangential offshoot of Rock 'N Roll. 
My Ding-A-Ling an anthem to the angst of millions of young people searching for their niche and allowing them to experience a playable albeit 'salty' song with its double-entendres and sheer naughtiness. 
Paul Evans is an under-appreciated singer / songwriter who espoused the joy and innocence of the fifties. 
I can't speak to the others ... and certainly Chet is allowed his preferences ... but I disagree with his choices. 
Unfortunately, I, too, am tainted since I am a Patriots Fan, the cheatingest team in all sports! ha ha! And wouldn't all the 'Haters' give their first 45 to have them as their team !! ha ha 
Love Forgotten Hits!!!  
CharlieOFD    

Kent ... 
With the Super Bowl coming up, I want to ask Chet a sports question.  Controversy = The New England Patriots cheated in the Championship Game by using under inflated footballs. 
Everybody is blaming the coach, the quarterback & the ball boy.  
I say it's the referee's fault. The referee touches & spots the football before every play.  
I'd like to know how an illegal football can get by the referee & into the game.  If the referee allowed the football to be used, it couldn't have been obviously under inflated like some players claim it to be.  
What do you think Chet?  
Frank B. 
This "football gate" stuff is nonsense ... 
One ... if you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin' ... 
Two ... the loss of two pounds of pressure on a football just wouldn't be noticeable to an official, despite the fact that they do check all footballs to be used in game before kickoff time.  
YO, KENT, THANX FOR RUNNING MY PIECE ON YOUR BLOG ... U ROCK, BUDDY! Looking forward to seeing you sooner rather then later at the Ronnie Onesti Palace.  
I don’t have to tell you that I'm a shameless self promoter and part time, 18 hours a day, hustler. So, just a reminder that my new book "Buffone", the story of legendary Bears linebacker, Doug Buffone, will be out later this year. I hope the F.H. regulars will leap on this silver platter of football yarns, laughs, physical anguish, nights that never ended, and uppers along with so damn many little yellow pills.  Just 20 bucks. Will help me pay for the cycle I plan to buy to celebrate my 67th birthday in April.  
Chet   

re:  This And That:  
Elk Grove Village has announced another killer line-up for their Summer Free Concert Series, which takes place every Tuesday in July. 
This year, they're kicking things off on Saturday, The 4th of July, with Kenny Rogers, followed by a great fireworks show! 
The summer series kicks off in earnest the following Tuesday (July 7th) with Kansas, followed by .38 Special on July 14th, country-rocker Travis Tritt on July 21st and closing down on July 28th with an '80's double-header featuring Christopher Cross and Air Supply! 
All of the Tuesday shows begin at 7:30 pm (and trust me, they WILL be crowded!!!)  Hopefully a better, more-organized seating arrangement will be worked out this year.  Kenny Rogers' July 4th Show will begin at 8 pm and held at Community Park, East of Lions Park ... all other concerts are held at The Village Green.  (kk)  

Speaking of Kenny Rogers, did any of you tune in to watch The First Edition reunion last weekend, held at The Kenny Rogers Exhibit at The Country Music Hall Of Fame?  Due to other commitments, I only got to see about the first 25 minutes ... but in that time, some interesting tidbits were revealed.  (I don't know if this has been archived at the site or not but it's well worth seeing.)  One that surprised me (after years of reporting that Glen Campbell played the psychedelic lead guitar on The First Edition's first hit "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)") was the revelation at SEVERAL musicians took a crack at the guitar spots on that record ... and, when all was said in done, Campbell's guitar-work DID make the cut ... but only as the backwards guitar you hear there at the beginning.  The balance of the guitar work was handled by the band's own Terry Williams.  (kk)  
UPDATE:  I spoke with Michael Manning of The Country Music Hall Of Fame about the possibility of them posting the interview on their website so that others could enjoy it as well ... and he said that they would.  Keep watching these pages for an update ... and a link to this archived pieces as soon as it becomes available.  (kk)   

Kent ... 
The truth about the dirty music business. 
I like to remember Jackie Wilson as "Mr. Excitement."  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_0DGEIyAkU   
Frank B.

It's Another Edition of Coppock's Topics!

The beauty of Rock' n Roll is that it creates vibrancy, energy,  moods, expressions of feelings and  constant reminders of moments that folks treasure in one form or another.   

It's also a genre that creates constant debate.   

Who is the greatest guitar player of all time: Hendrix, Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughn, B.B. King … none of the above? Buddy Guy? Keith Richards? 

Anyway so much for the buildup. That leads me to my list of seven songs that should never see the light of day.  

1. Pat Boone, "Tutti Fruitti"  
A pathetic effort by "Mr. White Bucks" to cover  Little Richard's raging hunk of  madness. Boone had about as much soul  as your average wooden Indian.  

2. C.W. McCall, "Convoy."

Fortunately, I was still drinking heavily in the 70's so the ugliness of this junk only busted my spleen instead of my skull.

3. Chuck Berry, "My Ding-A-Ling."

Just why did the St. Louis Tiger, the man who gave us "Johnny B. Goode", "Oh Carol" and "Back in the USA" record this brain cramp? Better yet, just how did the sucker get to #1? Maybe the 70's were a tad overrated?

4.  Rick Dees, "Disco Duck."

Quick! Be honest! What was worse ... that song or leisure suits?   

5. Steve Miller, "Space Cowboy."

Beyond forgettable, horrific. Ex-pro wrestling star, Handsome Jimmy Valiant, used to mimic the song by shouting in his "buildup" interviews, "Mama, you don't like my apples you don't shake my tree."

6. Paul Evans, "Seven Little Girls Sitting In The Backseat - Kissin' and a Huggin' With Fred." 

The first real gimmick song I can recall. It basically tells you how square the world was during the Eisenhower years or how dull Cousin Brucie Morrow remains. Sadly, some guy who owns the publishing to this flawed pinkie ring is still making a buck.

7. (And not a moment too soon.) Rolling Stones, "Miss You."

I can see the eye brows raising, but hold it a second, I can't accept a falsetto recording from the band that gave us "Gimme Shelter", "Bitch" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash." In concert, "Miss You" is actually beyond painful.

Chet Coppock
Host: Chicago Blackhawks Heritage Series
Host: Notre Dame football on 89-WLS Radio

An interesting list ... here are some of MY comments before we open this up to the floor ...

1)  It is still my contention that Pat Boone did more to hurt ... and HELP ... rock and roll than any other single individual.  I know we've debated this point before ... but Boone brought rock and roll into the homes of middle class, paranoid, white bread America.  He (lamely most of the time, perhaps, but effectively if only for this reason alone!) covered R&B artists like Little Richard, Fats Domino, The El Dorados, Ivory Joe Hunter and others, making this music "safe" for those who were a little slow to embrace this new "teenage revolution".  Eventually most of the "uneducated" who thought rock and roll was the devil's music came around ... and in the process, his record sales were second only to Elvis himself.  (Funny thing is nobody ever complained about Elvis singing Gospel Music and exploring his roots in the church ... but artists like Boone and TV's "My Little Margie" / girl-next-door Gale Storm made MASSIVE strides in bringing the essence of this music to folks who otherwise may have never even heard it when they covered songs by black artists that hadn't yet crossed over to commercial radio.  It may have been watered-down .. hell, it most definitely WAS watered down ... but I'm pretty certain that every originator of this rhythm and blues / rock and roll beat cashed their royalty checks when they came in the mail.

That being said ... I can't stand to listen to his version of "Tutti Fruitti" either ... but I will NEVER deny the contribution he made to the genre of rock and roll.  I maintain to this day that he is right up near the top of our Deserving And Denied List of worthy artists who have been repeatedly snubbed and ignored by The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

Give a listen to this one ... with the right material, Pat could still crank out a memorable hit every now and then.  Not only was this one of my First 45's ... but I think Boone rocks out pretty good on this track, even if it was a "novelty" record!

2)  One of the great mysteries of life is how this record EVER got all the way to #1.  Sure, I remember the CB Craze ... my dad may have even dabbled in it a little bit ... but there weren't enough addicts out there to support those kind of sales.  (Besides, who really talked this way?!?!)  Then again, after a week at the top of the charts it was displaced by Barry Manilow's "I Write The Songs" ... so in the long run, which was really better?

3)  I whole-heartedly agree.  What a shame that The Grandfather Of Rock And Roll ... and perhaps the genre's first true tunesmith ... topped the charts for his only time with THIS one!!! (I probably saw Chuck Berry six or seven times in 1972-1973 ... and this one was ALWAYS a crowd pleaser ... but I NEVER expected it to go all the way to #1!!!)

Here's one of my all-time favorites by The Chuckster ...

4)  No doubt about it, they were BOTH awful!!! (But, in a moment of total honesty and full disclosure, I will also secretly admit to all of you, my closest friends out there, that at the time I bought BOTH!!!  And I'll bet that a whole lot of you out there did the same!)  What were we thinking?!?!?  

5)  It's become nearly impossible for me to listen to ANYTHING by Steve Miller anymore ... his music has become SO over-saturated that I turn it off the instant I hear the first or second note ... which is a real shame because I REALLY liked it at the time.  ("Space Cowboy", maybe not so much ... I wasn't all that familiar with it or Miller's music back then ... so the inside joke on "The Joker" was lost on me until years later.)  

I used to play his albums "Fly Like An Eagle" and "Book Of Dreams" non-stop back in the day ... and, surprisingly, if I stick them both in the car and listen to them straight through now (which I did a month or two ago), I can absolutely enjoy and appreciate this music again within that context.  But I'm not kidding you, radio has RUINED these songs for me.  The second one of them comes on, it's button-pushing time for me!  (Sad part is you probably won't find anything better no matter how many times you keep pushing ... so at that point it's either back to Miller ... or pop in a CD!!!)   

6)  OK, I've gotta be REAL careful with this one ... Paul Evans has been a Forgotten Hits list member for several years now ... and he certainly has always had a way with a clever lyric and a catchy melody.  As such, this one doesn't bother me so much (and let's face it, based on today's programming, you're rarely going to hear it anyway.)  I can think of a couple other songs that I find FAR more annoying and obnoxious ... "Playground In My Mind" by Clint Holmes and "Sing" by The Carpenters immediately come to mind.  These recordings were created for the SOLE purpose of eating away your brain cells and filling your head with mindless clutter.

A Paul Evans composition that you don't hear much anymore (yet might find a bit more enjoyable) would be "When" by The Kalin Twins ... let's give THAT one a spin, shall we???

7)  Honestly, I couldn't believe it when The Stones put this record out, trying to cash in on the last phase of disco.  It was about as UN-Rollling Stones sounding record as they could make ... and at the time I thought it was a real sell-out.  But Keith Richards has always had a way with a "reach out and grab you" guitar riff ... his intros are amongst the catchiest ever written.  Even so, this one hasn't aged well for me either ... and I swear I must turn it off at least fifteen times a week.  For SOME crazy reason, it still seems to be in heavy rotation (and there are at least fifty OTHER Rolling Stones songs that outrank this one when listing those deserving a spin!) 

If you can't stand THIS falsetto, give a listen to the long-forgotten "Emotional Rescue" ... an even WEAKER attempt that you virtually NEVER hear anymore.  (You will be my knight in shining armor if you can make it all the way to the end of this track!)

As always, Chet, thanks for your insightful input, sure to spark a controversial comment or two.  Meanwhile, until we meet again, I bid you adieu.  10-4, Good Buddy!  (kk)

50 Year Flashback - January 19th, 1965

Here's a WHK Tunedex Chart from Lorain, Ohio.

Check out Robert Goulet at #3!!!  Frank Sinatra (#12), Ronnie Dove (#27), Bobby Vinton (#28), Dean Martin (#30), Jerry Vale (#36), Mel Carter (#38) and even George Jones (#32) are all doing side-by-side battle with the likes of the biggest British Invasion Artists of the day like The Beatles, Petula Clark (#1 and misspelled on this week's chart!), The Searchers, The Dave Clark Five, Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Kinks and Chad and Jeremy.

Big movers of the week include "The In-Crowd" by Dobie Gray (#30 to #8), "Thou Shalt Not Steal" by Dick And DeeDee (#31 to #9), "The Jolly Green Giant" by The Kingsmen (#20 to #11), Sinatra ("Somewhere In Your Heart", up from #27 to #12), "This Diamond Ring" by Gary Lewis and the Playboys (#29 to #13), "Paper Tiger" by Sue Thompson (#33 to #18), The Dixie Cups ("Little Bell", #36 to #19), Joe Tex (up 20 places from #41 to #21 with "Hold What You've Got"), Ned Miller's "Do What You Do Do Well", up from #47 to #22, Ronnie Dove ("Hello Pretty Girl", up from #43 to #27), Dean Martin "("You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You", #46 to #30), George Jones' version of "The Race Is On" (up 17 places from #49 to #32), "Everyday" by The Rogues (#44 to #33) and The Kinks ("All Day And All Of The Night", up from #50 to #39).

New premiers include "Have You Looked Into Your Heart" by Jerry Vale, "Camel Walk" by The Ikettes, and future hits like "Bye Bye Baby" by The Four Seasons, "Tell Her No" by The Zombies, "Little Things" by Bobby Goldsboro, "The Boy From New York City" by The Ad-Libs and "King Of The Road" by Roger Miller.

And check out this week's #34 record ... it's "Dream Baby" by Cherilyn ... an early Cher solo track written and produced by Sonny Bono (doing his best Phil Spector imitation in the studio!), several months before Sonny and Cher would first hit the charts!  (It would later be reissued as simply by Cher once the couple broke through but never made The Billboard Charts!)