Today we head to the tape archives to share the backgrounds of two of the 'kookiest' records to come out of the Midwest in the 1960's.
With Easter approaching, I thought it might be appropriate to pay tribute to Peter Rabbit. This song was played at live shows by several bands before
Dee Jay And The Runaways ran with it into the Top 50 in 1965.
The Iowa group was led by 'Dee' Denny Storey and 'Jay' John Senn. John joined me on WRCO in the early 2000's to talk about the song and the group that actually started its own record company.
Well, Phil, you actually stumped me with this one!!!
"Peter Rabbit" didnt chart here in Chicago ... and I'd never heard the song before today!
Although it only peaked at #45 in Billboard, it DID sneak into The National Top 40 in Record World Magazine, peaking at #39 in the Summer of '65.
The duo of Phil Humphrey and Jim Sundquist formed the Fendermen at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. They somehow took an old Jimmie Rogers tune that they were playing in the bars all the way to number five on the Billboard survey in 1960.
The original version was recorded on a portable reel to reel tape recorder and pressed at Cuca studios in Sauk City, Wisconsin. That record caught on in some areas of the Badger State and a later re-recording at Soma studios in Minneapolis made history.
In 1993, I had the chance to quiz Jim Sundquist about one of the most unlikely hits of all time.
A Top Five One-Hit Wonder that you rarely hear anymore today ... maybe because it is such an unusual recording ... but hey, this is Forgotten Hits ... and Those Were The Days ... so the chances of US playing it is a Sure Fire Bet! (kk)
Be sure to listen to Phil Nee's THOSE WERE THE DAYS radio program tonight on WRCO ...
WRCO AM FM Radio Richland Center Wisconsin ...
Just click on the 100.9 headphones and start
streaming!
