From long-time Forgotten Hits Reader (and MAJOR Cryan' Shames Fan) Clark Besch ...
A friend of mine sent me the below WLS survey from the internet, showing that this week, 56 years ago, The Cryan' Shames were at #1.
My reply is below this.
MY REPLY:
Pure magic time.
Growing up in Dodge City listening to great Chicago groups on WLS, I had already deemed the band my all-time fave after only a few singles and Summertime '67 was a really tough time to hear WLS, as I believe it was at the peak of the sun's 13 year cycle of bad AM reception, as I remember it.
About the only time we got WLS decent enough to hear was for the 10 PM Art Roberts Top 3 Countdown Show ... not good for an 11 year old school kid who wanted to hear Ron Riley earlier in evenings.
However, just before we went on our yearly vacation, I was able to tape the song and hear it for the first time on the Art Roberts Top 3 segment. Reception was BAD. [Clark sent us a copy, but it is SO bad, it's not worth sharing ... especially when you can listen to a CLEAN version below!!! - kk]
When it came to the false ending, I thought the song was over before turning the recorder back on to catch the ending. Anyway, as one might imagine, it went straight to the top of my PERSONAL weekly chart seen below.
Then ...
But before that, one of the first places we stopped was in Ft Worth where, as always, I was after 45s and radio surveys. To my GREAT HAPPY surprise, the local great station KFJZ was charting the new Shames 45 (which likely NEVER made it to Dodge City stores)!!!
I looked in the record rack for the #49 record. There it was and ...
IN THIS PIC SLEEVE!!!
First time I had ever seen the band! AND it's just a great sleeve!
The rest of the trip was gravy after this!!! Alamo, Riverwalk, Six Flags, Astrodome, you name it: THIS was the great moment of my one and only trip to Texas. August, 1967!!!
Clark Besch
"It Could Be We're In Love" topped The WLS Super Summer Survey for four straight weeks in the Summer of '67, holding off stiff competition from other national #1 Hits like "All You Need Is Love" by The Beatles and "Light My Fire" by The Doors, which peaked at #8 and #2 respectively on the 'LS Chart.
It was a BRILLIANT single ... and very much of the times. (It should have been a HUGE national hit ... but was another record that never gained enough momentum at the same time to place better on the charts.)
Still, it's widely varied peaks was just another great anomaly of the national chart reporting at the time. (#85 in Billboard ... #70 in Cash Box ... and #52 in Record World ... a spread of over thirty places between the three publications.)
It was an exciting time for radio here in Chicago ...
WLS and WCFL were in a heated battle for listeners ... and local groups had become the norm for AM airplay that summer ...
The Buckinghams, The New Colony Six, The Ides Of March, The American Breed, The Shadows Of Knight had all been enjoying huge chart success on the 'LS and Super 'CFL charts ...
But NONE of them had ever had a record top those charts for FOUR WEEKS before. The Cryan' Shames would be the ONLY group to do so during the glory days of Chicagoland Rock.
SO many readers have fallen in love with this song over the years thanks to our promotion of it here in Forgotten Hits ... I've probably received more "Thank You"'s for introducing them to this track than any other in our nearly 25 year history.
And it's a great tune ... compared to being up to par with what Brian Wilson was doing with the Beach Boys at the time.
Happy to give it another spin today in FH! (kk)
REMINDER:
Don't miss Rewound Radio's Second Annual "WLS / WCFL Rewound" Labor Day Weekend ...
Non-stop vintage air checks throughout Labor Day Weekend ...
The jocks ... the music ... the commercials ... the newscasts ...
EXACTLY as you heard them way back then.
It all kicks off Saturday Morning, September 2nd, at 5 am Chicago time ...
Right here: http://rewoundradio.com/
