The sweetness continues this month in Forgotten Hits ...
Yeah ... I'm talkin' about YOU, Sugar-Pie, Honey Bunch!!!
Seriously ....
Where else on earth are you going to hear something by The McGuire Sisters, followed by something by Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead ... followed by something from the "Mary Poppins" soundtrack ... followed by Def Leppard!?!?!?!?!!!
This is Forgotten Hits, folks ...
Where ANYTHING can happen within the context of our SWEET 16 Feature.
And we're not done yet ...
The Sweetest of the Sweet 16 features continues next month ...
With a little taste of HONEY!!!
Does that mean that dreadfully depressing Bobby Goldsboro song is coming up??? ...
YOU BETCHA!!!
Along with fifteen more ... see you back here August 16th as our Ode To Diabetes continues ...
[17 Billboard Hot 100 singles, 1958 - 1963, and one RIAA-certified
gold single]
In a whimsical 1972 recording, Dr. Hook and the
Medicine Show pined for exposure on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.
Thirteen years earlier, long before Rolling Stone was conceived, the
cover of Life magazine was the highest pedestal to which any entertainer
could aspire. Images that the publications editors selected for the cover
reflected momentous societal and political events in the nation’s history. The
cover story in Life magazine’s issue of August 3, 1959, began: “The
brightest new sounds heard through all the racket of rock ’n’ roll come from
the voices and instruments of three college grad cutups, Dave Guard, Bob Shane
and Nick Reynolds, who call themselves the Kingston Trio. …The Kingston Trio
at Large is now the best selling LP in the country.” The fact that Life,
geared to middle America, recognized the enormous popularity of the Kingston
Trio was news in itself.
The Trio, as they were known simply to their
fans, ushered in numerous trends and fads. They launched the folk music craze
of the late ’50s and early ’60s, even though they did not consider themselves
to be folk musicians. They catapulted pop music from the confines of the 45 RPM
single record with enormously popular top-selling albums. They established the
college circuit – previously the exclusive realm of lecturers – as a viable
concert touring platform. They set a fashion trend with their wide-striped
shirts – a style the Beach Boys later adopted. And they influenced numerous performers
who followed them, including Bob Dylan.
Their rise to fame became a matter of legend – how
nightclub entertainment publicist and Frank Werber – a refugee from Nazi
Germany — discovered the Trio at the Cracked Pot nightclub near Stanford
University on the peninsula south of San Francisco, became their manager and
signed them to a lengthy engagement at San Francisco’s Purple Onion nightclub,
leading to their contract with Capitol Records.
The Kingston Trio in 1959.
From left to right, Dave Guard, Bob Shane and Nick Reynolds
The group recorded The Kingston Trio album,
their debut release, with the Purple Onion’s upright bass player, Elmer Lynn
“Buzz” Wheeler, in just three days beginning February 5, 1958. Singing into one
shared microphone as they played their instruments, the boys efficiently laid
down the songs they regularly performed in their Purple Onion stage act. Their
repertoire included the song that seven months later would soar to the top of
the charts – “Tom Dooley,” a rural folk ballad about a man who was perhaps
wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to death by hanging. The label had
only modest expectations for the album, according to Werber. “They weren’t
planning to release any singles, and they pressed only 1,000 copies of the
album,” Werber said.
Their meteoric rise to fame was ignited, however,
when disc jockeys began playing “Tom Dooley,” and listeners swamped request
lines in response. Other stations added it to their playlists, and as demand
increased, the label released “Tom Dooley” as a single. Little time elapsed
before the Kingston Trio became the most popular vocal group in the nation.
Riding the crest of their wave of popularity, the
Kingston Trio ended 1959 triumphantly with the unprecedented distinction of
having four LP records in the national top 10 simultaneously. The trio endured
the departure of Dave Guard in the summer of 1961 by recruiting
singer-songwriter John Stewart, a longtime Trio devotee. Close Up, the first Trio album with Stewart, included a track that
became another signature song for the group: their poignant rendition of Pete
Seeger’s “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”
[rumor has it that the title of that Pete Seeger tune just may have helped to inspire an excellent series of books that specializes in interviewing well-known pop stars from the '60's ... just sayin' - kk]
The Kingston Trio in 1962.
Standing, Bob Shane and Nick Reynolds;
Seated, John Stewart
Although the Trio ceased recording and broke up in
1967, they created a voluminous library of musical treasures during their
decade-long recording career encompassing 23 U.S. albums of new material. But
their cultural imprint vastly transcended their own record sales. In
February 2011, nearly 57 years after Dave, Bob and Nick began performing
together, the Recording Academy honored the Kingston Trio with a Lifetime
Achievement Award during Grammy presentations.
About Dave Guard’s aloofness
“David was a very bright human being. But he had a
funny habit of trying to keep people at arm’s length. It was hard for him to
get really close to people, and he would use his intelligence and his quickness
to set up little barriers. There were so many people who loved him, and for all
the right reasons. I think this is true for a lot of entertainers: they really
want to be loved, but maybe at a distance. He was very engaging, when he wanted
to be, and he could be pretty remote, too.”
— Gretchen Guard
(Dave's wife)
The Trio’s formative era on the San Francisco Peninsula
“After having some acceptance [performing] at
nightclubs on the peninsula, we got it in our blood. When people applaud and
like what you’re doing, even though you’re just having fun, it’s kind of like a
narcotic. The socialites of San Francisco started hearing about us and coming
down to see this new phenomenon, three young brats having way too much fun. Our
rapport with the audience became infectious. We’ve always played with the
audience, involving them in our conversation, because we certainly weren’t
great musicians or great singers.”
— Nick Reynolds
The transition from Dave Guard to John Stewart
“John had written songs for us and he knew the style
that we were into. We put it together and rehearsed and went right back out six
weeks after Dave left. We were still getting sold-out crowds and standing
ovations, so we knew we had done something right.”
— Bob Shane
Why the Trio declined electrical pickups for their instruments
“Bobby Shane, I’ve got to say, is simply one of the
best rhythm guitar players. He plays with a big, heavy pick and heavy-gauge
strings, and would break them several times during a show. He’s a very strong
man and he would really lay that guitar down. It was like a drum section. While
Peter Paul and Mary were terrific pickers and they strummed, Bobby attacked.
When you put that together with Nick’s tenor guitar, which was like a mariachi
band, it would really add to the drive. Nick would play these terrific triplets
and double-time riffs like on ‘M.T.A.,’ and no other group had that.”
— John Stewart
The beginning of the end in 1964
“While we were at Decca’s offices negotiating a
contract, I looked outside and saw police officers holding screaming teenagers
behind barricades outside the theater where the Beatles were appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show. In my heart, I knew it
was over,”
The WLS Super Summer Survey Chart that came out on July 14, 1967, featured the presence of EIGHT of our Local Hero artists on the chart that week ... a full 20% of The Top 40!
Of course, this was back in the day when local radio stations could salute some of their own ... and artists like The Buckinghams, The Cryan' Shames, The New Colony Six, The American Breed, Spanky and Our Gang, The Mauds, The Flock and Milwaukee's Michael and the Messengers were charting right alongside some of the biggest hits by some of the biggest artists of the day ... artists like Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons ("C'mon Marianne" ... as well as Frankie's own solo chart-topper "Can't Take My Eyes Off You"), The Monkees ("Pleasant Valley Sunday"), Tommy James and the Shondells, Herman's Hermits, Herb Alpert ant the Tijuana Brass, The Association ("Windy"), The Grass Roots ("Let's Live For Today"), Jefferson Airplane ("White Rabbit"), Johnny Rivers, The Doors ("Light My Fire"), The Hollies ("Carrie Anne"), Stevie Wonder ("I Was Made To Love Her"), Ray Charles and more ... and nobody growing up and living here ever even gave it so much as a second thought! ALL of these songs and artists fit together in what would come to be known as The Summer Of Love ... and the fact that eight of these Top 40 Hits came from local artists didn't strike us as odd at all ... ALL of these songs belonged on the radio and were considered equally as good and deserving of success.
(Missing in action on this chart are two other local acts that had HUGE hits the year before ... The Shadows Of Knight, who hit #1 their smash "Gloria" ... and The Ides Of March, who also made The Top Ten in 1966 with their hit "You Wouldn't Listen" ... and four years later would score their own #1 Hit when they added horns to their line-up and recorded the rock classic "Vehicle.")
Today, we remember ALL of these great songs by all of these great artists, local or otherwise, who made listening to WLS Radio such a great joy and pleasure back in 1967.
I've said this MANY times over the years ...
And it bears repeating again today ...
We didn't like this music because it was made by Chicago artists ...
We liked this music because it was GREAT music ...
And absolutely held its own against all of the other hits of the day.
(The fact that it was all created right here in Chicago was just the cherry on top!)
That being said, The Cornerstones Of Rock show, featuring FIVE of Chicago's biggest artists ... The Buckinghams, The Ides Of March, The Cryan' Shames, The New Colony Six and Jimy Sohns of The Shadows of Knight ... have been playing to sold-out audiences for the past seven years now, proving that most of these songs have stood the test of time ...
Just like most of the tunes by these other artists featured on this week's chart have managed to do.
THIS is what Chicago Radio sounded like in The Summer of 1967. (kk)
~~~~~~
Last year, nationally known radio, television and pop culture news media journalist Bob Sirott (who made his name right here in Chicago back in the 1970's ... this guy just exudes personality, which made for the perfect fit when he joined the WLS on-air line-up) picked up on our spotlight coverage of this very special week in Chicago Music History and ran a feature on his WGN Morning Radio Program that included a medley of SEVEN of these tunes by our Chicagoland Local Heroes, put together by his engineer. (They left out Michael and the Messengers because they hailed from Milwaukee ... even 'tho they were very popular here and recorded their two biggest chart hits right here in Chicago.)
Listeners LOVED the way
it took them back to that very special time when WLS and WCFL ruled the
airwaves here in The Windy City ... and I do believe that HE had a great time, too ... which is why he's back onboard for our 55th Anniversary Salute as well!
In fact, I remember that after last year's piece ran on WGN Radio, he ran an encore presentation during which time Bob read a
series of very positive texts, emails and tweets that he received from his listeners, telling him how much they enjoyed the segment ...
And from that batch, my absolute favorite email of all was the very last one he read … (‘cause you know there’s always one in every
crowd!) …
“Jeez, Bob …
if I wanted to listen to music, I’d listen to a different station!”(lol)
And for the record, this isn't the first time that Bob has pointed out the significance of this music performed by our local talent during this era.
Next time you have a half hour to spare, check out his WTTW / PBS special HOW CHICAGO ROCKED THE '60's ...
It's an outstanding profile of the artists of this era.
Bob also covered a special Chicago Rock Bands reunion put together by Michael G. Bush for a Chicagoland Record Collector's Show back in 1983 that made the local news back when he worked for CBS Television ...
That one-of-a-kind Bob Dylan recording of “Blowin’ In The
Wind” we told you about last week sold for a little over $1.7 million, exceeding their
expectations considerably.
Produced by T Bone Burnett, the new track was
recorded in 2021 as an Ionic Original — essentially a hybrid between CD and
vinyl formats … which just may be the future of the way the most perfect sound
imaginable may be achieved.(Jeez, if
one song sold for $1.7 million, what’s an entire album going to go for?!?!)My 1963 copy “as is” is good enough for me,
should I ever want to hear Dylan warble this tune again.(kk)
You’ll find a great article on Micky Dolenz, sent in by David Salidor, here:
And, speaking of Micky, you can watch his recent appearance
on the British television series “Good Morning Britain” via the link below.
(More from David Salidor) …
Micky Dolenz, in the U.K. for the just
completed London and Film Comic Con, was
set to be on the Good Morning Britain show Tuesday, but was
postponed at the last minute due to the goings-on in the government there. Rescheduled
for Thursday, he was on amazingly moments before PM Boris Johnson officially
resigned. So, thank you Mr. Johnson.
The Eagles have added six Canadian dates to their Hotel
California Tour …
September 9th in Toronto, ON at The Scotiabank
Arena
September 13th in Ottawa, ON at The Canadian Tire Centre
September 16th in Winnipeg, MB at The Canada Life Centre
September 18th in Saskatoon, SK at The SaskTel Centre
September 20th in Edmonton, AB at Rogers Place
And September 22nd in Vancouver, BC at Rogers Arena
And, since we’re talking sixes, Carlos Santana postponed six
more dates on his current Miraculous Supernatural Tour with Earth, Wind and
Fire.
After collapsing on stage last Tuesday Night (July 5th)
and being treated for what we’ve all been told was heat exhaustion and
dehydration, it sounds like Carlos has wisely decided that it’s better to be
safe than sorry …
Scheduled shows at The Ruoff Music Center in Noblesville,
Indiana (July 6th), the July 9th show at The Riverbend
Music Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, the July 10th show at The American
Family Insurance Amphitheater / Summerfest Grounds in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the
July 12th at Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion in Rogers, Arkansas,
the July 15th show scheduled for The Dos Equis Pavilion in Dallas,
Texas and the July 16th show at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in
Woodlands, Texas, have all been postponed.(“Postponed” indicating that these dates would be rescheduled and made
up at some point at time … although sadly, NOT as part of a double bill with
Earth, Wind and Fire.)
Of course, we want Carlos to be in the best health possible
before resuming ANY on stage appearances … but this is a real shame for fans
who bought tickets for what can only be described as a superstar
double-billing.More news as it becomes
available.(kk)
“Bandala" was co-written (of course) by Wes Farrell,
who produced all, and co-wrote plenty, of the Partridge repertory.
His credited co-writer was Eddie Singleton, who might be the
same guy that lured Raynoma (a/k/a Miss Ray), an ex-wife of Berry Gordy, away
from Motown in the 60s to help start a competing label, Shrine, and music
publisher, Ramitary, in Washington DC.They
only lasted a few years before Ray went back to Motown, and a few years later
they divorced.
Later in the 70s, after a bit part in the Richard Pryor (!) /
Harvey Keitel feature Blue Collar, the Singleton I'm thinking of turned
to acting, appearing as one of the children first in an ABC Movie of the
Week "dramedy, "Love Is Not Enough," and then in a
short-lived series based on it, "Harris and Company," both led by
Bernie Casey, a guy you might recognize from a whole pile of movie and TV roles
(e.g. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure). Singleton passed in 2008.
Oh, and Phil Harris' "The Thing?"I recall hearing that as late as the mid-80s
on a "Music of Your Life"-type AM station here in Pennsylvania.
--Bob Frable
I
had forgotten ALL about “The Thing” until I heard it on Sirius XM’s ‘50’s Gold
Channel.(That’s actually digging pretty
far back, even for them … typically the music heard on this station ranges from
1955 – 1963 or the pre-Beatles era of rock and roll.Yeah, I know … so much for the station
name!To me, they’d be better suited to
calling themselves “The Golden Age Of Rock And Roll” … and then slipping in a
few earlier tracks, especially some early R&B tracks, that helped pave the
way for the rock and roll that took over the airwaves after Bill Haley and
Elvis Presley exploded.(kk)
As we pass the halfway point of 2022 celebrity deaths, we
lost actors James Caan and Larry Storch last week … which is really weird
because I always got those two mixed up.(Yeah, right)How Storch was able
to turn his F-Troop role into an entire career has always baffled me … but
there is no question that Caan was a gifted and talented actor.(While all of the press seemed to focus on
his role on “The Godfather,” for me my two favorite roles will always be
“Misery” and as Brian Piccolo in “Brian’s Song.” And, of course, who could ever forget him as
Elf’s Dad?!!??)kk
We also lost singer, game show host, talk show host, actor
and stage performer Adam Wade last week (July 9th)Wade was 87 years old.
He scored three Billboard Top Ten Hits in 1961 … “Take Good
Care Of Her” (#7), “The Writing On The Wall” (#5) and “As If I Didn’t Know”
(#10)
And Manny Charlton, guitarist and founding member of
Nazareth, who earned a #8 hit with their remake of “Love Hurts,” the Everly
Brothers / Roy Orbison tune, passed away on July 6th.Nazareth placed TWO songs on our list of THE
TOP 3333 MOST ESSENTIAL CLASSIC ROCK SONGS OF ALL TIME … “Love Hurts” ranked at
#993 while “Hair Of The Dog” came in at #1719.
Kent,
What you said at the bottom of today's FH is
hitting the nail on the head.
You mentioning that you heard MR. SANDMAN and
THIS MAGIC MOMENT is a way of keeping our music alive ... and it is indeed rare
that you would hear these two songs in back-to-back commercials.But Kent, for the last week, I have heard
about three different commercials on television for Walmart ... and in the
background is Little Richard singing apparently three songs called FEELIN'
SURPRISED, FEELIN' STRAPPED, and LIGHTS.
Now when I first heard these, I thought he was
singing his BAMA LAMA, BAMA LOO ... and, to be honest with you, I have not
really done any research here at home concerning these songs.
Is there some chance you might know the
history of the songs or records?
Or maybe this was a Little Richard soundalike
(?)
Larry
Checking Joel Whitburn’s Chart Comparison Book, I don’t see
Little Richard charting with ANY of the tunes you mentioned other than the one
you said it WASN’T … “Bama Lama, Bama Loo” peaked at #82 in 1964.
I happen to have The Complete Little Richard Specialty
Recordings (but by ’64 he wasn’t with the label anymore … so this may not
really be the “definitive” guide.)
Of the 73 tracks featured on this box set, I can’t find any
of these titles listed.
(which is really the song “Get Down With It,” even ‘tho the
link says “Lights”)
I also found one called “Get Down With Summer” attributed to
Little Richard.
(Sounds like he was “getting’ down” YEARS before KC and the
Sunshine Band were!)
I could not find anything on these tracks … not even on
YouTube ... so I’d have to say they’re pretty obscure (kinda like that Chuck
Berry song that Amazon used about a year ago or so.)Maybe somebody else out there knows for
sure?(kk)
One of the most forgotten of oldies has made
it to Youtube.
I found a video of Hooty Sapperticker by Andy Rose
& The Thorns, which also contains its back story and some audio and video
of early 60's WLS. Check it out. You might find something new here.
Ed #1
June 22nd
… a big day on WLS' Art Roberts show! Just got this from a friend – great
memories!
Clark Besch
As much as this song has been connected to Art Roberts, it
never charted on WLS despite his efforts to play and promote it.It DID, however, chart on the WJJD / Top
Tunes of Greater Chicagoland as an “extra.”(kk)
Tom Cuddy sent us this official video clip of the new
Chicago track “If This Is Goodbye,” which still begs the question “What does it
mean?!?!”
The band insists this is NOT their way of announcing their
retirement … but it sure comes across that way.I guess only time will tell.(Their new LP will be out this Friday, June 15th.)
Meanwhile, Chicago is currently on the road with Brian
Wilson … and we’ll be at their show here in Chicago on July 24th.(kk)
And, Chuck Buell reveals an interesting Forgotten Hit
Story for us that you may not otherwise be aware of …
He points out …
Fifty-nine years ago, in the Summer of 1963, Rolf Harris’ “Tie Me
Kangaroo Down, Sport” became a Number Three Song on Billboard’s Hot 100.
And Kangaroos have been dancing to it ever since!
The story goes that in 1960, Harris originally offered four unknown
Australian backing musicians 10% of the royalties for the song, but
they chose they'd rather take a low, flat one-time recording fee because they
thought the song would be a big bust.
Instead, it became a Number One Hit in Australia and a Top 10 hit in
the UK. And with that success, three years later in 1963, Harris re-recorded
the song with George Martin as the producer ( yes, that George Martin )
and, according to Joel Whitburn, that remake was the one that hit Number 3
on Billboard’s Hot 100 while also spending three weeks at
Number One on the Easy Listening Chart. Joel also noted it was a
surprise hit on the US R&B Chart where it went to No. 19.
Now then, did you know “Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport” was also covered
by the likes of . . .
Sometime in 1963, a version by Rolf Harris singing with the Beatles
appeared on the album, “The Beatles Complete BBC Sessions” … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUod6RYBkTY
Now, with all that being said, and if it’s stirred a desire within
you to own your very own Kangaroo, here in the U.S. is where you can and cannot
legally do so.
Meanwhile, I’m off to waltz with Matilda!*
CB ( which stands for “Cangaroo Boy!” )
* “Waltizing Matilda,” another one
of Australia's best known songs which has also been called
Australia’s “unofficial national anthem!”
Many years ago the printing company I was working for was
asked if we would be interested in printing the list of The Memorial Day 500 for
the oldies station in town at the time, WJMK (Magic 104)
I told them, “Yes … but ONLY if “Tie Me Kangaroo Down,
Sport” was listed at #1.”
(Yes, that really happened!)
Of course I was kidding … and of course the guy from the radio station's promotion department was dumbstruck ... and of course this song didn’t
even make the list of Top 500 Favorites … but what struck me as exceptionally
odd was the fact that we were PRINTING the list three full weeks before the
program was due to air over Memorial Day Weekend … and all the while during
those three weeks, the station was still encouraging their listeners to cast
their votes for their favorites, all the while knowing that the list had
already been decided!!!And I couldn’t
help but wonder if the listeners’ votes had anything at all to do with the
final outcome.(I didn’t see how it
possibly could have!!!)
Ah yes … just one more peek behind the curtain to see how
the business of radio REALLY works!!!
(If I remember correctly, the #1 Song that year was “I
Should Have Known Better” by The Beatles … which itself was a HUGE surprise as
this was a B-Side to The Beatles’ #1 Hit “A Hard Day’s Night” … and while the
station certainly DID play it quite a bit, it was hardly the song that one
would expect to finish at the top of the list of all-time favorites!)kk
Oh … and by the way …
the Pat Boone version got played as an “extra” here in Chicago, never
officially making the Top 40 Chart … but earning a mention on the old Top Tunes
of Greater Chicagoland Chart distributed in record stores all over the
city. Still, it was the Rolf Harris version that was the runaway hit ... a complete novelty of a different kind than we had ever heard before! (kk)
More from Chuck …
Yesterday,
July 11th, was “World
Population Day.”
(NO!
That doesn’t mean to take “action” to help Populate the Earth! C’mon, you
Guys! Stop It!) According to the United Nations, the world's
population will hit 8 billion people this year, up from 7 billion just ten
or so years ago in 2011. And get this. Of all the American Adults who
make up part of the increasing American population, Seven Percent of
them believe that Chocolate Milk comes from . . . I’m not kidding here . . .
that Chocolate Milk comes from BROWN COWS! Sounds like an Elementary School
Joke, but it’s not!
This “moo-ving” statistic is the result of a
National Survey commissioned by the Center for United States Dairy.
Coincidentally, those over 16 million adult believers equal more than
the entire population of the State of Pennsylvania! And while PA is ranked only
22nd in population of cows of all colors, Hershey, PA is
considered the Chocolate Capital of the World!
Well, “How Now Brown Cow?" I ask!
Now then, circling back, for those of you who insist “World Population Day” is
a call to continue to add to the 8 Billion inhabitants we already have, here's my
Special “CB World Populating Minute Medley" just for you!
CB (which stands for “Cow Boy!”)
OK, we’ve done it again …
Paired two great Chicago dee-jays in the same post!
If Chuck’s little medley makes you feel even the least bit amorous, can we PLEASE just keep the cows out of it!!!
Jonathon Brandmeier and his group Johnny and the Leisure
Suits put a real-life news story about a man breaking into Lincoln Park Zoo to have
sex with a cow to music … and it became quite a popular feature of his Johnny
In The Morning radio show! (kk)
