THE SATURDAY SURVEY

 

Don't let them tell you that Beatlemania is dead ...

They've got the #1 Song in the Country again ("Can't Buy Me Love," topping the chart for its fourth week), "Do You Want To Know A Secret" at #3, "Twist And Shout" at #9, "Love Me Do" at #31 (up from #47), "She Loves  You" at #33, "All My Loving" at #36 and "Thank You Girl," finally cracking the Top 40 at #40.  That's SEVEN songs in The Top 40 alone.

But the list doesn't stop there ...

"I Want To Hold Your Hand" is still hanging on at #44 in its 16th week on the chart, "Please Please Me" sits at #53 and "P.S. I Love You," the flipside of "Love Me Do," is new on the chart at #91, giving them three more tracks in The Top 100, for a total of ten ... which is 10% of the entire chart!  (By the way, "Roll Over Beethoven" falls out of The Top 100 to #108 this week, so it still has chart representation in "The Next Ten.")

And that doesn't even take into account the REST of the British Invasion acts on the list this week.

The Dave Clark Five now have FOUR Top 100 Hits of their own ...

"Bits And Pieces" moves up to #4, "Glad All Over" slips out of The Top 10 to #11, "Do You Love Me" is the week's highest premiering record at #66 and "I Knew It All The Time" is back on the chart at #96.

The Searchers have three Top 100 Hits as well ... "Needles And Pins" is still hanging on at #19, "Ain't That Just Like" sits at #72 and "Sugar And Spice" creeps up to #86.

Landing at places in between, we find "Little Children" by Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas breaking into The Top 40 at #38 (up from #61), "Stay Awhile" by Dusty Springfield holding on at #43 and "Hippy Hippy Shake" by The Swinging Blue Jeans at #60.  (Some count The Bachelors as part of The British Invasion, but they're actually from Ireland ... still, they've got the #46 record, "Diane," their first US chart hit.)  Even without it, British acts now account for 20% of the entire US chart.

On the upside, fourteen American acts are represented in The Top 20 this week ... so the war's not over yet!  These include Louis Armstrong, The Serendipity Singers, Terry Stafford, Mary Wells, The Four Seasons, Jan and Dean, Robert Maxwell, Danny Williams, Betty Everett, Lesley Gore, Roy Orbison, The Kingsmen, Marvin Gaye and Pete Drake, whose song I really like, so we'll feature that one today!

 

60 YEARS AGO TODAY:

4/27/64 – A photo of President Johnson picking up his pet beagles by their ears sends a wave of outrage to animal lovers across the country.  After hearing the dogs — named "Him" and "Her" — yelp, a reporter asked, "Why did you do that?" and Johnson explained that it was to make them bark, adding, "And if you've ever followed dogs, you like to hear them yelp."

(The whole country yelped after they saw these pictures!!!)

Also on 4/27, the last original episode of “The Danny Thomas Show” airs on ABC-TV, bringing an end to the 11-year-old series that first premiered as “Make Room For Daddy.”

Danny’s daughter on the show was portrayed by Angela Cartwright, who just may have been my first major crush as a ten year old!  (lol)  kk

That's OK ...

Angela landed on her feet in "Lost In Space" shortly thereafter.

 

The Friday Flash

Chuck Buell tells us ...

Today, April 26, is NATIONAL PRETZEL DAY!

An important day for sure as the Pretzel is one of America’s very favorite snacks. If you’re an Average American, you probably eat almost two pounds of pretzels every year!

Forgotten Hitters who live in Pennsylvania should be especially proud of this day.  Pennsylvania is the center of American pretzel production for both hard and soft pretzels, providing all of us with 80% of the nation’s pretzels!

So, it’s not surprising that Pennsylvanians eat more pretzels than anybody else in any other state in the U.S.  For instance, it is said the average resident of Philadelphia alone enjoys over ten pounds of pretzels per year!

And it’s equally not surprising that National Pretzel Day was created by Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell when, in 2003, he declared April 26th “National Pretzel Day” to acknowledge the importance of the pretzel to the state’s history and economy.

So, Babe, come wrap your warm Pretzel arms around me, sit back with me and take a look at my Very Special National “Twisted” Pretzel Day CB Minute Medley Video! 

CB ( which stands for “Curley-Twisted-Pretzel Boy!” )

TWO POUNDS OF PRETZELS PER YEAR?!?!?

SHEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIT ...

I ate two pounds of pretzels last night!!!  (kk)

60 YEARS AGO TODAY:

4/26/64 – The Boston Celtics beat The San Francisco Warriors by a score of 105–99, to win the NBA Championship, four games to one. The victory marked the Celtics' sixth consecutive title.

 

Thursday This And That

I've been watching some of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Feedback from some of the artists who are fortunate enough to be inducted this year.  (The official ceremony will take place on October 19th and be broadcast live on Disney+.  ABC Television will air an edited program shortly thereafter.)

We've mentioned before that for many, becoming an honoree has become less and less prestigious over the years, simply because of the haphazard methods of the nominating selection committee ...

But Peter Frampton and Mick Jones and Lou Gramm of Foreigner acknowledged that they are truly honored to finally be recognized for their lifetime of work ... even if it did take a lot longer than most rock music fans think it should have.

Peter Frampton (who came up with the best line EVER when his nomination was first announced ... "You mean I'm not already in?") said, “I think I’m a little bit in shock, and speechless.  I never expected this. People always said, ‘You should be in.’ I said, ‘Eh, what is to be,’ y’know? So mixed emotions, because it’s something that I just never expected, whereas other people did for me. (laughs) It’s wonderful.”

Mick Jones described the experience as being "the whipped cream and cherry on top" ... “I think it means more to me now than perhaps 20 years ago.  I’ve had a great career, and this is like the whipped cream and cherry on top. It’s something I will savor over the years. It’s a great honor to be included amongst all these great artists that have been inducted over the years."

And Lou Gramm said, “It’s quite an honor and it’s been a long time coming.  I’m very proud and happy to be a member.”

Surprisingly silent was Cher, who blasted The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame earlier this year for ignoring her.  (She's been eligible since 1988, the year after The Rock Hall was founded!)

There is no question that Cher had a HUGE impact on the music scene of the '60's ... as well as the fashion scene as she transformed from the hippie, beatnik chick into the elegant Las Vegas performer.

I suppose if you're a "glass half full" sort of guy, you could brush it all off as, "Yes, the ignored you for 36 years ... but TECHNICALLY you got in on your first ballot!"  Hopefully, she'll take that approach and join in the celebration, accept her award graciously (with her usual bit of sarcasm) and even perform at the event!  (kk)

Yesterday, we told you about WLS' 100th Anniversary ... and I heard from Art Vuolo, "Radio's Best Friend," who shared a one hour video clip of a very special celebration commemorating the big event ...

OK, the wait is over!  Whether you were actually at the WLS 100th Anniversary Party or not, this video remembrance will, hopefully, provide a flood of memories of one of America's most iconic AM radio stations! 

 

It was an honor to have been invited, so I brought my video camera along, thinking I might be able to get a few minutes of what I thought would be an historic event ... and it was.

My hope is that the link below will get published in a number of radio publications so that fans of WLS, or just great radio, will be able to see and hear why this station meant so much to so many over the past 100 years.

 

WLS 100th Party!

Please feel free to share the link with anyone you feel would enjoy seeing it.  At the end there is a listing of six (6) other WLS videos which I had the pleasure of producing.  They are ALL available via my website: Vuolo Video  

If you like this presentation, please let me know.  If you didn't then contact someone else. (LOL)  Runtime is 53:34 and worth every second.  Enjoy!

Art

Chan Romero, who wrote the British Pop Classic “Hippy Hippy Shake,” passed away at the age of 82 this past week.

He wrote the song in 1959 when he was just 17 years old … and the cover version by The Swinging Blue Jeans became a #2 Hit on the British Charts.  (It peaked at #24 here in The States.)

It was also covered by The Beatles (a favorite of Paul’s) in one of their BBC performances.  (GREAT tune!)  kk

Also leaving us this week ...

Mike Pinder, an original founding member of The Moody Blues, who died yesterday at the age of 82.

When The Moody Blues first started out in 1964, their repertoire consisted largely of blues (hence the name), with forays into pop and rock.  The original lineup included Pinder on keyboards and vocals, guitarist/singer Denny Laine (who sang their first chart hit, "Go Now," a Top Ten Record the following year), Ray Thomas, also on vocals, tambourine and harmonica, drummer Graeme Edge and Clint Warwick on bass and vocals.  With this much vocal talent, the group was able to incorporate strong vocal harmonies into their sound ... but after an early round of success, Laine and Warwick left the group over musical differences.  (The Moodies were advancing into a much more sophisticated rock arena with the additions of Justin Hayward and John Lodge, thus creating what most would refer to as their “classic lineup,” recording the 1967 landmark album "Days Of Future Passed" (which Lodge is still performing in its entirety today on his solo tour.)  It was Pinder's use of the mellotron that helped define the band's new sound ... and several other hit singles (in a COMPLETELY different vein) followed: "Tuesday Afternoon" (#24, 1968), "Ride My See Saw" (#46, 1968), "Question" (#19, 1970), "The Story In Your Eyes" (#14, 1971), "Nights In White Satin" (#1, 1972, but originally recorded back in 1967 as part of the "Future Passed" album, showing just how far ahead of their time the "new" Moody Blues really were ... remember, 1967 was the year of "Sgt. Pepper" ... so despite critical acclaim, "Days Of Future Passed," recorded with a full orchestra, went virtually unnoticed at the time) and "I'm Just A Singer In A Rock And Roll Band" (#8, 1973.)

All of the above tunes made your list of THE TOP 3333 MOST ESSENTIAL CLASSIC ROCK SONGS OF ALL TIME, where The Moody Blues placed EIGHTEEN tracks on the countdown, five of which made The Top 1000.  (kk)

https://classicrockessentials.blogspot.com/

Timmy made my day with this one ...

"Essential Reading" ... to say the least!!!

60 YEARS AGO TODAY:

4/25/64 – Actor Hank Azaria is born