YOUR ALL-TIME FAVORITE SUMMER SONGS:
It all kicks off today as Scott Shannon and The True Oldies Channel begin saluting all of your summer favorites in our Last Blast Of Summer Weekend.
It’ll run all Labor Day Weekend long, kicking off at noon on Friday (9/4) and running straight thru midnight on Monday evening (9/7).
And, at NOON on Monday, he’ll count down The Top Ten Summer Favorites.
Immediately afterwards, we’ll post the whole list of Top 200 All-Time Favorites (along with 80 “Honorable Mention” tunes that earned fifty or more of your votes in our most recent poll.)
And follow along here: https://fhsummerfavorites.blogspot.com/
Turn it on … and keep it on. (Sun screen optional)
Elsewhere on the dial, Me-TV-FM is bringing their Summer of Me to a close this weekend, too, with a Labor Day Weekend Special they’re calling The Final Summer Fling.
Both stations will be drawing from our extensive list of summer favorites.
Meanwhile, Sirius / XM 60’s Channel will be playing The Top 400 Summer Songs of the ‘60’s as voted on by their listeners. (And, if at any time you’re feeling all summered-out, you can switch over to their 70’s Channel, who will be playing The Top 700 Songs of the ‘70’s, as voted on by their listeners.)
Really enjoying the continuing summer songs countdown. (And your Weekend Comments were outstanding, as always.)
Rick O’Dell
>>>#93 - A WHITER SHADE OF PALE - Procol Harum (1967)
Kent,
"A Whiter Shade of Pale" is the debut single by the British rock band Procol Harum, released 12 May 1967. The single reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart on 8 June 1967 and stayed there for six weeks.
Without much promotion, it reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States.
One of the anthems of the 1967 Summer of Love, it is one of the best selling singles in history, having sold more than 10 million copies worldwide.
It was the summer 1973 (6-years after 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale' was released.)
We were performing this song pretty much every night, hauling a Hammond B3 and its Leslie from performance to performance.
We were working Brook Park Road in the Cleveland area ... The Aurora, Cousin's, Miranda's (The Blue Moon Room ) … COOL Stuff!!!
We had to haul that Hammond B3 and its Leslie down stairs for that performance, pretty much all for the 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale' sound.
L J Coon
We had to do that more than a few times …
The absolute worst was trying to maneuver that monster UP a flight of stairs in an unlit hallway … flat out terror-inducing! (kk)
I am enjoying the Summer Hits countdown. I like the fact that many of the titles are songs that were popular during the summer season. The magic of music can take you right back to where you were when that song was first playing.
Just because the Beach Boys had sunny harmonies does not slam dunk all of their songs in a summer countdown.
A song like 'Brandy' brings back so many memories.
I remember trying to imagine what she looked like.
The song was on the K-tel album 'Believe In Music,' which I also bought at Copps Department store in the summer.
Among the false info online is that the Looking Glass only had one hit.
As you pointed out, Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne was also a memorable track.
I see it made it to number 2 in Chicago, although it was not as well known across the country.
I also read somewhere that the man that Brandy loved was named Monty. This was someone not hearing the lyrics correctly thinking that Elliot sang 'Monty was an honest man ...'
She could feel the ocean fall and rise She saw its ragin' glory But he had always told the truth, Lord, he was an honest man And Brandy does her best to understand.
Phil – WRCO
Thanks for helping Forgotten Hits Fans remember many of the great Beach Boys tunes. They certainly had many summertime songs, but their catalog is a summer-vibe soundscape!
Phil @ PrayForSurfBlog.blogspot.com
Oh Yeah, “I Live For The Sun” by The Sunrays is a Monster!
Ken Freck
That one has always done well on our Summer Hits List. (kk)
Hi Kent –
Phenomenal job there on the Summer Favorites ... enjoying it immensely.
Don't know how you do it ... but we know why … because you LOVE IT like we do.
Just FYI or anybody else's, here is an interview just out in Goldmine Magazine about The Fifth Estate.
There is an interesting interview with Carl of The Buckinghams there also.
Kenneth Evans
I think it's pretty obvious that while "Lake Shore Drive" certainly should have been a hit, radio program directors rejected it because of the lyrical mention of LSD. In Chicagoland, LSD may mean Lake Shore Drive to some people -- like in New York BQE refers to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway -- but across the rest of the world LSD refers to the hallucinogen lysergic acid diethylamide. It's unfortunate, but true. Even at the late '60s peak of hippie culture drug songs ("White Rabbit," "Mother's Little Helper," etc.), lyricists chose to couch their inferences and carefully avoid mentioning specific drugs as doing so would kill airplay.
Gary Theroux
"The History of Rock 'n' Roll"
One thing that we learned over the many years of doing Forgotten Hits (and working with Skip Haynes on a number of occasions during that time) is that their song “Lake Shore Drive” reached a much broader appeal because there are Lake Shore Drives all over the country … so even ‘tho this song was written specifically about Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive (and its path “from rats on up to riches”), others could relate to their own locale. (There is NO question that the LSD drug reference was an obvious one … and I believe you’re 100% right in your theory about why it never received mainstream airplay. In fact, I’m shocked that gun-shy WLS, who backed away from ANYTHING that could be construed as even being the least bit controversial, played it as much as they did … yet it still never officially charted on their survey.)
I believe it is an FM Classic Rock staple these days … and was even used in one of those extremely popular Guardians Of The Galaxy movies a couple of years ago, reaching a whole new audience when it was included on the soundtrack cd. (kk)
#67 = "ONE SUMMER NIGHT" = This Is My # 1 Summer Song.
#74 = "BARBARA ANN" = Beach Boys.
I know this is a minority opinion –
But I like the 1961 original by The Regents, from Bronx , New York.
Here’s how they came up with the group name –
Lead Singer Guy Villari was smoking Regent Cigarettes at the time.
They did some recording at Regent Sound Studios.
Morris Levy (from the Tommy James book) put it out on the Gee label, after it became a local hit.
(Notice how I like to show-off sometimes.)
FB
Hi Kent ...
I thought you and your readers would be happy to know that the song "Summer in the City" is currently on a BMW commercial in the NY area for a "summer sales" clearance event. Just thought you should know.
I also liked what Rick O'Dell said about those summer songs and the memories they evoke. Ah, the good ole days ...
I, too, agree 100 (degrees) percent with you and O'Dell. lol And remembering "all that sweat and getting dirty and gritty."
Thanks Kent ... I see you put a lot of work into your top summer hits survey. Hope you are having a fun summer. It's going fast.
Elliot Lurie''s quip was great ... Loved it!
Also loved the young Beach Boys and how cute they are. I found Royal Teens "Short Shorts" amusing as well as those folks doing "The Twist."
Stay safe and Be well.
Sandy
>>>We tried to get a comment from John for our countdown – and let him know that not only did he make The Top 100 Summer Favorites, but that “Jack And Diane” was actually moving UP the chart this time around. In fact, we thought that since we’d have his attention, we’d ALSO let him know that EIGHTEEN of his songs made our Top 3333 Most Essential Classic Rock Songs Of All Time List, too.
I just wanted him to know how much his music has meant to SO many people over the years ... and was hoping for maybe just a nod of appreciation back to all the fans who continue to support him and rank his music among the best of all time, decades later. But we were intercepted by his web team, who told us: “Thanks for letting us know and sharing how John fared in the results! However, John isn't providing quotes of that type at this time.” (kk)
How Many Other 3333 Countdowns Does John Cougar Mellencamp Have To Deal With?
I just wanted him to know how much his music has meant to SO many people over the years ... and was hoping for maybe just a nod of appreciation back to all the fans who continue to support him and rank his music among the best of all time, decades later. But we were intercepted by his web team, who told us: “Thanks for letting us know and sharing how John fared in the results! However, John isn't providing quotes of that type at this time.” (kk)
How Many Other 3333 Countdowns Does John Cougar Mellencamp Have To Deal With?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Frank B.
FIRST 45’s:
My first 45 purchase was "Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport."
I do not remember what I purchased after that.
Mike Brown
I do not remember what I purchased after that.
Mike Brown
I was blown away when I read that the first 45 you ever bought was "Itsy Bitsy ... " … it was mine, too!
August of 1960 - I was visiting some cousins with my mom down in Miami, FL (what a HORRIBLE time to be down there - 100 in the shade every day.) Every other song on the radio (AM, of course) was "Itsy Bitsy ... ."
Somehow, I never got tired of hearing it.
So, when I got back to ChiTown, I ran over to the local record store and bought it, also picking up the Silver Dollar Survey. Anyone here remember Little Al's Records on Lawrence Ave? ;-)
Mike Wolstein
August of 1960 - I was visiting some cousins with my mom down in Miami, FL (what a HORRIBLE time to be down there - 100 in the shade every day.) Every other song on the radio (AM, of course) was "Itsy Bitsy ... ."
Somehow, I never got tired of hearing it.
So, when I got back to ChiTown, I ran over to the local record store and bought it, also picking up the Silver Dollar Survey. Anyone here remember Little Al's Records on Lawrence Ave? ;-)
Mike Wolstein
I thought I had bought “Itsy Bitsy” and “Speedy Gonzales” back-to-back … but they were released two years apart (!) … so obviously it’s just my memory playing tricks on me. (My copy of “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini” was on the original Leader record label … which meant absolutely NOTHING to me at the time, being all of seven years old … but became a nice topic of discussion many years later.) Since they were, for the longest time, the ONLY two 45’s in my entire collection, I played they heck of them … and their B-Sides. As such, “Don’t Dilly Dally, Sally” by Brian Hyland and “The Locket” by Pat Boone are among my all-time favorite B-Sides, too!
Once The Beatles hit, those were primarily the ONLY 45’s I was buying for the next couple of years, finally branching out to include other favorites along the way.
Being the oldest child, I had no older sibling to pass down their records to me … by I DID have an older next door neighbor (Sharon Kolar) who, once she learned how much I loved music and was always looking for new 45’s, used to give me the older ones from her own collection as she got tired of them. As such, I quickly began to build a collection of 45’s (although not necessarily GOOD ones! Lol) This was fine with me. Before you knew it, I was conducting my own Top 20 countdowns! (kk)
THIS AND THAT:
I'm looking forward to the release of Bill Carroll's new "Ranking The Albums" book.
In his musing about his own relationship with recorded music, he mentioned the incredible deals direct mail record clubs offered in the '60s and early '70s.
A guy I knew in college took great and unscrupulous advantage of those deals by inventing fictitious residents of his apartment building, all of whom were listed on the record club applications as living in apartments on floors which did not exist.
Oversize packages which could not fit in each apartment's tiny lobby mailboxes went into a large common bin. That's where he would collect many cartons of LPs he had fraudulently ordered.
This same lowlife later got a job at the nearby Musicland retail store, where customers could temporarily leave bags of LPs they'd bought but didn't want to have to lug around as they shopped elsewhere. Their bags of LPs would be stapled shut with their store receipt and placed behind the checkout counter until the customer returned to reclaim them. To take advantage of this, the creep in question would often not give a customer who immediately took their bag with them their receipt. He'd then fill a bag with LPs he had chosen to steal, staple it shut with the departed customer's receipt and then walk out with the bag at the end of his shift. Eventually, of course, this morally-challenged individual was caught by the store manager and fired on the spot.
I could certainly relate to Bill's memories, especially when he brought up The Mystic Moods' LP "One Stormy Night."
I had never heard of the group until the night my college girlfriend invited me into her dorm room, dimmed the lights and said, "I have an album I'd like to play for you." Before slipping the LP on her turntable, she held the album cover up and I thought, "The Mystic Moods?! What is this?” And then, as it began to play, she lay down next to me and I saw the moonlight in her eyes. I had had no idea that "One Stormy Night" was her favorite seduction album. And you know what? It worked.
Gary Theroux
"The History of Rock 'n' Roll"
Man, the things we learn in Forgotten Hits …
Chet Coppock lost his virginity to The Grass Roots’ hit “Let’s Live For Today” …
And now Gary Theroux’s getting laid to “The Mystic Moods”!!!! (lol)
Guess we’ve all got stories to tell … and THIS is the place to tell them!
I belonged to all those various “Record Clubs” back in the day … and used to joke that I couldn’t get mortgage approval because I still owed Columbia House one more album purchase and they were holding my credit rating hostage. (Now, all these years later, I think about asking for donations to Forgotten Hits so I can finally pay off my Sallie Mae loans!) kk
FH Reader Ken Voss sent us this link, tracing the history of the Rock And Roll Timeless Classic, “All Along The Watchtower.”
Interesting in that Dylan, who wrote and first recorded the song, has lost some of his connection to the tune, thanks to the Jimi Hendrix version. (Jimi’s rendition placed at #24 in our recent TOP 3333 MOST ESSENTIAL CLASSIC ROCK SONGS OF ALL TIME Poll … while Dylan’s version only made it to #1871.)
Dylan admits that Jimi’s seems to be the definitive version … and that he has adapted his OWN performance of the song to match the arrangement that Hendrix came up with in 1968, just a few months after Dylan first released his own version of the tune. (Dylan’s version never charted … while Jimi’s made The Top 20 on all three national charts.)
NOT mentioned in the article is how much fun Bob Dylan has performing “the classics” on stage.
A couple of years ago we ran the story about some fan yelling “Free Bird” out from the audience during a break in one of Dylan’s shows … only to have Dylan and the band PERFORM the song on request!!! (It just doesn’t get any cooler than that!) kk
Interesting overview / perspective of the song over the years.
Ken Voss
Speaking of Bob Dylan, Harvey Kubernik has an excellent piece out now in Record Collector Magazine spotlighting Dylan and Johnny Cash, a magical connection made in 1969 when Dylan headed out to Nashville to record his “Nashville Skyline” album …
After all our talk earlier this week about the Septembers of Our Years … and the Autumn of Our Life …
We got this from Geoff Lambert across the pond ...
As sad as this track is, I love it especially as we are reaching this stage in our life.
Take care, stay safe,
Rockin’ Lord Geoff (In England)
Ian Mitchell of The Bay City Rollers has passed away … he was 62. Mitchell joined The Rollers in 1976 in time for their “Dedication” album and, as such, appeared on their hit remake of “I Only Want To Be With You.”
Ian was only 17 years old when he joined the band … and was gone seven months later. No cause of death was given. (kk)
Even running THREE Comments Pages in a row wasn't enough to clear the decks ... so look for more tomorrow in Forgotten Hits!
You'll also find brand new postings on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week ... hope to see you then!
And please enjoy our special Last Blast Of Summer Weekend, running on The True Oldies Channel:
https://trueoldieschannel.com/
Remember, you can scroll back here to see anything you may have missed:
https://fhsummerfavorites.blogspot.com/
And then return on Monday (the 7th) at Noon Central to see the COMPLETE Top 200 List posted (along with 80 Honorable Mention titles!)'
Thank you for reading ...
Thank you for voting ...
Thank you for listening ...
Thank you for the music ...
Thank you for lettinme be mice elf agin ...
Thank you for being a friend ...
Thanks for the memories ...
Thanks for everything ...
Thank you and goodnight.
(Oh wait ... it's LABOR DAY ... not Thanksgiving!
That's OK ... Thank You anyway!!!)
Even running THREE Comments Pages in a row wasn't enough to clear the decks ... so look for more tomorrow in Forgotten Hits!
You'll also find brand new postings on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week ... hope to see you then!
And please enjoy our special Last Blast Of Summer Weekend, running on The True Oldies Channel:
https://trueoldieschannel.com/
Remember, you can scroll back here to see anything you may have missed:
https://fhsummerfavorites.blogspot.com/
And then return on Monday (the 7th) at Noon Central to see the COMPLETE Top 200 List posted (along with 80 Honorable Mention titles!)'
Thank you for reading ...
Thank you for voting ...
Thank you for listening ...
Thank you for the music ...
Thank you for lettinme be mice elf agin ...
Thank you for being a friend ...
Thanks for the memories ...
Thanks for everything ...
Thank you and goodnight.
(Oh wait ... it's LABOR DAY ... not Thanksgiving!
That's OK ... Thank You anyway!!!)
