I cannot believe it’s that time of year again already.
Rewound Radio is now taking your votes for The Greatest Songs Of All-Time. 2025 will mark their 28th anniversary of this special year-end countdown that airs between Christmas and New Year’s.
I’ll turn it over to Mike Riccio to explain the whole thing …
Hello once again ...
IT'S OUR ONCE-A-YEAR REMINDER TO VOTE NOW FOR THE TOP SONGS OF ALL-TIME at: https://musicradio77.com/voting2025.html
As moderator of the "OldiesBoard.com"
music site, thanks again for voting last year to become part of the 27th
edition of the "Top Songs of All-Time" list.
If you didn't see the results, here's the address to view the final tally: https://musicradio77.com/voting2024.html
The year went by quickly and now it's time to pick
your favorites for the 2025 edition of the "Top Songs of All Time."
It's become a true tradition as we enter the 28th edition thanks to your
participation and so many followers of OldiesBoard.com and RewoundRadio.com.
The voting is just starting. You can pick up to ten of your favorite songs to
determine the results.
Then you can view the results at OldiesBoard.com and also listen to the results
all week long over the holidays on RewoundRadio.com
You can even have your own booklet of the results of more than 3000 songs that
get votes, along with interesting facts and details about all the songs.
Remember, this is the only music survey that includes any artist, any era, any style ... and we NEED YOUR VOTE THIS YEAR to continue this fun tradition!
The process is easier than ever! Just take a few minutes to pick your favorite
songs (pick anything from one song up to to ten of your favorites).
Go to OldiesBoard.com for details or just vote at the following link (It's a
100% safe and secure link): https://musicradio77.com/voting2025.html
Thanks so much for helping to make this so much fun
for all these years.
We need and appreciate your participation and hope you'll vote for your
favorite choices this year.
Sincerely,
Mike Riccio
OldiesBoard.com moderator
HERE'S MY 2025 TOP 77 VOTE ---
1 = "ONLY YOU" / PLATTERS
2 = "IN THE STILL OF THE NIGHT" / FIVE SATINS
3 = "EARTH ANGEL" / PENGUINS
4 = "TONITE - TONITE" / MELLO - KINGS
5 = "JAILHOUSE ROCK" / ELVIS
6 = "SIXTEEN CANDLES" / CRESTS
7 = "CARA MIA" / JAY & THE AMERICANS
8 = "MACK THE KNIFE" / BOBBY DARIN
9 = "FRANKIE" / CONNIE FRANCIS
10 = "CATHY's CLOWN" / EVERLY BROTHERS
FRANK B.
Place YOUR votes here:
https://musicradio77.com/voting2025.html
Speaking of countdowns, this week’s Ross On Radio column has a feature on songs that have become Halloween classics in recent years. (You’ll likely be scratching your head at the greater majority of these.)
Still, his findings are not unwarranted …
Here is the complete list of all 49 songs that surged into the Spotify 200 in the U.S. for October 31st, 2024, in order of total daily plays:
1. Michael Jackson - Thriller
2. Ray Parker Jr. - Ghostbusters
3. Bobby “Boris” Pickett, The Crypt-Kickers - Monster Mash
4. Andrew Gold - Spooky, Scary Skeletons
5. Rockwell - Somebody’s Watching Me
6. The Citizens of Halloween - This Is Halloween
7. Tyler, The Creator feat. ScHoolboy Q, Santigold - Thought I Was Dead
8. John Carpenter - Halloween Theme
9. Andrew Gold - The Addams Family
10. Rihanna - Disturbia
11. Talking Heads - Psycho Killer
12. Blue Öyster Cult - (Don’t Fear) The Reaper
13. Screamin’ Jay Hawkins - I Put a Spell On You
14. Britney Spears - Toxic
15. Ghost - Mary On A Cross
16. Harry Belafonte - Banana Boat (Day-O)
17. Billie Eilish - Bad Guy
18. The Cramps - Goo Goo Muck
19. Jorge Rivera-Herrans, TROY, Diana Rivera-Herrans - Sangerous
20. Ed Ivory, Ken Page - Oogie Boogie’s Song
21. Lana Del Rey - Season Of The Witch
22. Jorge Rivera-Herrans, Steven Rodriguez, Cast of EPIC: The Musical - Six Hundred Strike
23. The Specials - Ghost Town
24. AC/DC - Highway to Hell
25. Jorge Rivera-Herrans, Steven Rodriguez, Steven Dookie, Armando Julián, Wanda Herrans, Cast of EPIC: The Musical - Get in the Water
26. Daryl Hall & John Oates - Maneater
27. Ava Max - Sweet but Psycho
28. Jorge Rivera-Herrans, Barbara Wangui, Cast of EPIC: The Musical - Not Sorry for Loving You
29. Trap Remix Guys, Trap Remix Guy - Harry Potter (Trap Remix)
30. Evanescence - Bring Me To Life
31. Sam Smith, Kim Petras - Unholy
32. Jorge Rivera-Herrans - Charybdis
33. Nelly Furtado - Maneater
34. Jack Lenz - Goosebumps Original Theme Song
35. The Cranberries - Zombie
36. Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal
37. Warren Zevon - Werewolves of London
38. Danny Elfman - What’s This?
39. Twenty One Pilots - Heathens
40. October Country - My Girlfriend Is a Witch
41. Stevie Wonder - Superstition
42. Harry Belafonte - Jump in the Line
43. Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
44. Andrew Lloyd Webber, Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum - The Phantom Of the Opera
45. PattyCake - I Put a Spell on You (In the Style of Hocus Pocus)
46. Danny Elfman - Main Title Theme (from “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”)
47. Little Nell, Patricia Quinn, Richard O’Brien - Time Warp
48. Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)
49. Lucie Cravero, HoKø - Ghost Sanctuary
This year’s list of Songwriters Hall Of Fame Nominees has just been released … again, several more elite songwriters who have helped to elevate the craft are on the ballot, some of whom for some inexplicable reason have been overlooked before.
Still, you’ll find a very impressive (and eclectic) list of nominees:
Kenny Loggins, Taylor Swift, LL Cool J, Pink, Sarah McLachlan, David Byrne (Talking Heads) Charlotte Caffey, Kathy Valentine and Jane M. Wiedlin of The Go-Go’s, Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings of The Guess Who, Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell of America and Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of Kiss, Richard Carpenter of The Carpenters, Harry Wayne Casey (best known as KC of KC and the Sunshine Band) and Boz Scaggs.
From the non-performer category, nods went out to Patrick Leonard (“Like A Prayer” and “Live To Tell,” both hits for Madonna), Vini Poncia (The Ronettes’ “Do I Love You?,), Martin Page (Starships’ “We Built This City”), Kenny Nolan (Labelle’s “Lady Marmalade”) and the duo Terry Britten and Graham Lyle (Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got To Do With It.”)
Country songwriters are represented by Jeffrey Steele (Rascal Flatts’ “What Hurts The Most,” and Tim McGraw’s “The Cowboy In Me”) and Larry Weiss (Glen Campbell’s “Rhinestone Cowboy,” Jeff Beck’s “Hi Ho Silver Lining.”)
R&B-pop songwriters nominated include Tom Snow (The Pointer Sisters’ “He’s So Shy,” Deniece Williams’ “Let’s Hear it for the Boy”) and Christopher “Tricky” Stewart (for Rihanna’s “Umbrella,” Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” and “Break My Soul.”)
Walter Afanasieff (who helped Mariah Carey with her perennial smash “All I Want for Christmas Is You”) is nominated again as is Bob McDill, noted for the country classic “Everything That Glitters (Is Not Gold),” a hit for Dan Seals. Bachman and Cummings are also repeat nominees.
Eligible voting members have until midnight Eastern on December 4th to turn in their ballots, noting up to three nominees from the songwriter category and up to three from the performing-songwriter category. Recipients will be announced in early 2026. (kk)
June Lockhart, who we just talked about recently when she celebrated her 100th birthday, has passed away.
June starred in two ‘60’s classics, “Lassie” and “Lost In Space.” She also had several movie roles, including “Meet Me In St. Louis” and “A Christmas Carol.” In all, she had over 150 movie and tv credits. In fact, she has TWO stars on The Hollywood Walk Of Fame … one for movies and one for television. She was well-loved by everyone she worked with over the years … and will be missed. (kk)
David Ball, one half of the duo Soft Cell, has passed away. He was 66.
Ball handled all of the synthesizer chores that backed up Marc Almond’s vocals on their chart-topping hit “Tainted Love” in 1982. (It topped the charts in Great Britain, Australia and Canada … and spent 43 weeks on the charts here in the US, ultimately peaking at #8 in Billboard ... and reportedly sold over 21 million copies worldwide. When it was re-released in the UK in 1991, it went back into The Top Five.)
Ironically, the duo, who first teamed up in 1979, split in 1984 and then reunited in 2001, had just completed their next album, “Danceteria,” scheduled for release early spring of next year.
Soft Cell had just played a headline slot at England Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames a few weeks ago. (Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the past two years due to ongoing health issues as a result of damage from a previous spine fracture he suffered in 2023 in a fall, in which also broke five ribs and his wrist. Ball then subsequently caught pneumonia and developed sepsis, which led to him being placed in an induced coma during a seven month hospital stay.
Almond said “His tunes and hooks are still unmistakably Soft Cell, yet he always took it to the next level, too. He was a wonderfully brilliant musical genius and the pair of us have been on a journey together for almost 50 years. In the early days we were obnoxious and difficult, two belligerent art students who wanted to do things our way, even if it was the wrong way. We were naive and made mistakes, although we never really saw them as such. It was all just a part of the adventure. Dave and I were always a bit chalk-and-cheese, but maybe that’s why the chemistry between us worked so well.
Admitting that the duo also had several splits along the way, Almond went on to say “Whenever we came back together after long periods apart there was always that warmth and chemistry. There was a deep mutual respect that gave our combined songwriting its unique power. We laughed a lot, and shared a sense of humour, and a love of film, books and music. Dave had shelves full of books and an array of wonderful and surprising musical references. He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I’m very proud of our legacy.”
“We’ve been invested in the Soft Cell myths and stories, and “Danceteria” will now stand as an album that brings everything full circle for us. I just wish that Dave could have stayed on long enough to celebrate our 50 years together in a couple of year’s time. He will always be loved by the Soft Cell fans who love his music and his music and memory will live on. At any given moment, someone somewhere in the world will be getting pleasure from a Soft Cell song. Thank you, Dave, for being an immense part of my life and for the music you gave me. I wouldn’t be where I am without you.”
LOCAL CONCERT UPDATE: The Franki Valli and the Four Seasons show with The Rascals, scheduled for Saturday, November 1st, 2025, at the Rosemont Theatre has been cancelled by the artist.
That’s too bad … this sounded like and interesting pair-up of artists. Please contact the theatre regarding refunds. (kk)
