We just can’t say enough nice
things about B.J. Thomas …
Here are a few more …
Nice tribute to BJ
Thomas, but I saw no mention of “Eyes Of A New York Woman” so I will mention
it. Classic!
Ken
A
#28 hit in 1968, this one always felt like a “Hooked On A Feeling” wannabe /
clone to me … which isn’t really fair because it actually came first … so B.J.
was definitely headed in the right direction … and then REALLY hit his mark
when “Hooked” was released as his follow-up single and went all the way to #5.
Both
songs were written by Mark James who, one year later, would give Elvis his
first #1 hit since 1962’s “Good Luck Charm” when “Suspicious Minds” topped the
chart.It has since become radio’s
most-played Elvis tune for the past 40 years.(Unfortunately, it’s also about the ONLY thing you hear by The King
these days, despite an incredible 116 Top 40 Hits.)
Of course, Billboard has seen fit to
“disqualify” 25 of those since they charted before they officially renamed
their chart The Hot 100 in August of 1958.Those 25 include TEN #1 Hits … songs like “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Don’t Be
Cruel,” “Hound Dog,” “Love Me Tender,” “All Shook Up,” “Teddy Bear” and
“Jailhouse Rock” … all bonafide rock and roll classics that helped define the
genre … but I digress … we’re supposed to be talking about B.J. Thomas here.
That
being said, the very first time I heard “I Just Can’t Help Believin’,” I
thought, “Man, this would have been the PERFECT song for Elvis to sing.”He was just at the beginning of his big Vegas
comeback at the time … and it just sounded SO Elvis-like.(I guess Elvis thought so, too … and was
apparently a little miffed that the song reached B.J. before he ever had the
chance to record it.In fact, he used to
give B.J. some grief over “stealing” his next #1 song … all in a sort of fun
way.)
Elvis
would go on to record the tune … and it became a big part of his live act.
Years
later, B.J. Thomas would tell this story in concert … but then end it with
“Yeah … but I’ve got the gold record hanging on MY wall.”(kk)
Kent,
You posted some
great videos today of B.J. Thomas. If I may, some quick thoughts I had
concerning today's posting ...
First, I
enjoyed the tributes and remembrances of B. J. Thomas from other readers. As
for other artists having records on other labels, I had forgotten in a sense
Donovan with a record or two on Hickory. I always enjoyed the earlier
recordings of Neil Diamond when he was with Bang Records. I am not sure, but I
believe his first record came in 1962 on Columbia.
Now don't get
mad at me, but I always liked the version HOOKED ON A FEELING with the
OOGA-CHOOGA'S.
Gary Theroux
said that ROCK AND ROLL LULLABY was done asn a collaboration between a few
artists that included the Blossoms When I saw that group mentioned, I assumed that
this was the same group that recorded, in 1961, SON-IN-LAW (Challenge),
the answer to Ernie K-Doe's big hit MOTHER-IN-LAW (?)
Larry Neal
The Blossoms were one of the
most used back-up singing groups back in the day … and (since we were just
talking about Elvis) performed with him on stage for many years.(They also did background vocals for Paul
Anka, Bobby Darin, Dionne Warwick and many, many others.)They were part of the “house band” on the TV
Series “Shindig” … and also contributed vocals on recording sessions held by
The Righteous Brothers, The Mamas and the Papas, The Beach Boys, Duane Eddy,
Herb Alpert, Jackie Wilson, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Tom Jones and, again,
many, many more.)
They were led by Darlene Love
(who you may have heard of! Lol) and, under the wing of Phil Spector, were the
REAL singing group on the hits “He’s A Rebel” (#1, 1962) and “He’s Sure The Boy
I Love” (#11, 1963), although the record label showed the artist as “The
Crystals.”
Darlene Love was none to
happy with this arrangement, as the credit for these hit records was going to
someone else.(La La Brooks, the name
most commonly associated with The Crystals, didn’t join the group until 1962 …
AFTER their first big hits. Yet SHE is the one who has been touring for DECADES
capitalizing on their fame.)Another
name you may recognize as the lead singer of The Crystals is Barbara Alston … she
sang The Crystals’ first two hits, “There No Other (Like My Baby),” #18, 1962,
and “Uptown,” #10, 1962.
But back to The Blossoms …
Darlene Love, Fanita James
(Ronnie Spector’s sister, back when they both still had the last name Barrett) and
Gloria Jones were also members of Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans (who scored
the Top Ten Hit version of the Disney tune “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” in 1963, another
record produced by Phil Spector.(You
guys have REALLY got to read our Phil Spector Series … you’ll find ALL kinds of
FASCINATING facts like this!!!)
Anyway (damn, I’m having a
hard time staying on track today!!!) Spector LOVED the song “He’s A Rebel” and
really wanted to record it with The Crystals … but they were out on tour at the
time, so he would have had to wait until they got back in town to do the
session.In the meanwhile, he caught
wind that Vikki Carr had recorded the tune … so he knew he needed to beat her
to the punch and rush-release the Wall Of Sound version that he heard in his head.
So, he brought in The
Blossoms to cut the track … but then released it under the much more familiar
name, The Crystals, figuring that that recognition would earn it immediate
airplay.The trick worked … “He’s A
Rebel” went straight to #1, The Crystals were able to complete their tour (and
then get credit for a record they had nothing to do with) and Phil Spector had
another huge it.(The only one unhappy
with the arrangement was Darlene Love … and understandably so.)It wouldn’t be the last time Spector would
take advantage of her talent without issuing credit.Love finally put her foot down and demanded
that Phil record something under her own name.The result was “(Today I Met) The Boy I’m Gonna Marry,” which became a
#35 SOLO Hit for Darlene in 1963. (By the way, if you're wondering, the Vikki Carr version rode The Crystals' version's coattails and peaked at #61 in Music Vendor before it fell off that chart's shared position, while it only managed to "bubble under" in both Billboard and Cash Box.)
When Elvis resumed his
performing career ... (how'd we get back to ELVIS?!?!) ... The Blossoms became a big part of his Las Vegas nightclub
act and also accompanied him on tour.(They would do the same for Tom Jones, of whom Elvis was a huge fan.)
So … to answer your EARLIER
question (you know, from about four and a half hours ago!), YES, The Blossoms had the #78
Novelty Hit “Son-In-Law” in 1961, the “answer record” to the #1 Ernie K.Doe
hit.
(Harry Nilsson used to say, “To
make a long story even longer …” … we certainly have accomplished that
today!!!) kk
Ok, now who are we spotlighting
here today?
Oh yeah … B.J. Thomas …
So let’s get back to it,
shall we???
Kent –
One final comment about B.J. …
My middle daughter was born January 3rd, 1970.
"Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" rose to #1 the day she was born.
Years later at B.J.'s last performance at City
Winery, Dan Conroe brought my Guitar backstage to him prior to his performance.
I had included a note telling him how much his first big hit "I’m So
Lonesome I Could Cry" meant to us G.I.'s fighting in Vietnam.
I was sitting in the first row wearing my Vietnam
soft cap. As he took to the stage, he stopped where I was seated, addressed me
BY NAME, shook my hand and told me, " Jim, when I do that song tonight,
I'll be singing it for you."
True to his word, midway through his set he spoke of
the history of the song and its significance during the war. He then
acknowledged all of the vets in the audience. As the band’s intro began, he
turned to me and asked, "Were you in the Army, Jim.?" Nodding yes, he
continued, "So was my dad." He concluded, "Jim, this is for
you."
Your Buddy,
Guitar Jim Nowoc
By the way, I share B.J.’s story and many others in
my book, "No Strings Attached" - My Life Growing Up With The Birth of
Rock and Roll."
Continued success, Kent.
Jim
The man was a jewel … he will
be missed.(kk)
And let’s not forget the fact
that B.J. Thomas used to come into our living rooms every week to sing the opening theme to the hit television series “Growing Pains!”
And this just in from our
buddy Chuck Buell, who just happened to do the voiceovers on a couple of Coca-Cola
commercials that B.J. recorded …
The preceding B. J.
Thomas Forgotten Hits Special has been brought to you in part by Coca Cola!
More catching up to do ... so some of these are already out of date (like this first one, for example!) ...
But all still have info that's just too good not to share! (kk)
kk …
Felix Cavaliere will be "Groovin'" on Saturday Night with
Cousin Brucie.Meanwhile, Tony Orlando
has an interesting guest tonight ... Toni Wine.I've heard the name, but don't know much about her.You got anything?
FB
Toni
Wine has worked with Tony for years - toured as part of his band - wrote or
co-wrote a couple of big Dawn hits (CANDIDA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING SUNDAY) as well
as the hits A GROOVY KIND OF LOVE, BLACK PEARL and sang background vocals for
all kinds of artists over the years (perhaps most notably as the female lead
vocalists with The Archies and The Partridge Family.)
So,
yeah ... she's a pretty big deal ... and goes WAY back with Tony Orlando ... so
this should be a good show.(kk)
After announcing the launch of the brand new HISTORY OF ROCK
‘N’ ROLL radio series kicking off this weekend, we received a number of
inquiries regarding how one might go about obtaining a copy of the original
series or this new on-going venture.
I can only say that this will be a collectors’ market … I’m
not aware of any plans to make this material commercially available … and the
quality on the late ‘70’s version is probably suspect at best.(All broadcast from vinyl … as that was just
the way it was back then … you’re susceptible to ALL kinds hiss, pops, skips,
etc., even if a station only aired it one time.My guess is that some disc jockey at every station it aired took their
copy home from the station after the series had run its course.)The copy that I got from David Lewis varies
in quality throughout … some is as pristine as can be while others include the
hiss and skips I’m referring to.(kk)
Hello from St.
Charles,
I have a version of
the History of Rock And Roll show on CD. It is 36 hours and was
duplicated by Ken R several years ago. Is there any chance you could put
me in touch
with Gary T? I'd
be interested if his 52 hour + version is available in a clean version on CD or
thumb drive or via Dropbox, etc.
I'm a former
broadcaster who aired the Ken R version several times, but now would like an
updated version for my PERSONAL collection, WITHOUT local station inserts.
Thanks –
Jon Morgan
I
can pretty much assure you with all certainty that Gary won't be sharing
anything -
Right
now, your best bet is to network thru other collectors -
They
exist in varying degrees of quality (especially with them originally being on
vinyl and now adding in some 50 years of wear and tear) ... but they're getting
harder and harder to come by.
Even
the digital copy that I received earlier this year is pretty much all over the
board qualitywise ... and also collected in completely random order ... but
it's still cool to listen to it all again ... mistakes and all.
(Mine
encompasses 279 chapters!!! All of Evolution of Rock and History of Rock
and Roll with some other tidbits and short chapters thrown in for good
measure. The only way to contain it all was on a flashdrive, which one of
our readers generously did just so I could experience it all again.)
I
can only wish you good luck. (I'm happy to run a blurb in an upcoming
issue of FH expressing your desire to put together a complete set to see if we
get any response ... my guess is you won't be the only one looking for a copy!!!
Thanks,
Jon!
kk
Kent,
I
believe my 36 hour copy is taken from the original masters, as it sounds
excellent. KenR marketed a licensed version a few years back before he
shut down his production/jingle studio. That's when I bought my
copy. I, as did Gary, first heard it on WLS. Later, I was board-op
for WLS-FM and we ran the whole show on a special weekend.
I
gather from your article that Gary reworked the entire series and added to
it. I am interested in getting either the additional original hours to
the version I have, or getting his in its entirety, in pristine condition (no
recordings from the internet / no local station inserts). Since that
sounds unlikely, I'll be content with what I have.
Should
you come across such a version, please keep me in mind.
Happy
Summer,
Jon
Morgan
Radio!
It's a sound idea.
PS.
Looking forward to the remodeled Arcada, restaurants, hotel rooms, etc.
It is within walking distance of my home.
I probably received at least another 6-8 requests regarding
how one might go about getting a copy of this program for their own personal
collection.I don’t think anybody’s
looking to broadcast it … or make any money off of selling copies … I think
these are folks who just grew up loving this music and want some type of
keepsake to relive the times (in somewhat chronological order with all the big
hits!)
There probably IS a market for something like this …
somebody like Time Life or Gary’s old stomping grounds, Readers Digest, would
almost seem to be a natural way to market this collection.But it is also terribly out of date, boasting
some significant errors … and the licensing of all this music through all these
artists and record labels would stop it dead in its tracks … everybody’s going
to want a piece of the pie, leaving nothing but crumbs left that simply aren’t
worth circulating.
But since I also know that over the past 22 years SEVERAL
copies of this great program have changed hands via the collectors’ market, I
don’t rule out anything.
So … if you’re looking for a copy … or have a pristine copy
to make CD dupes from … please let us know … and we’ll see what we can put
together … STRICTLY for “at home” / collectors’ use.
And, in the meantime, we can all start listening THIS
WEEKEND as Gary Theroux and Wink Martindale bring us brand new chapters from
THE HISTORY OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL!!!(Hey,
you can also listen to Gary’s short, mini-chapters on Rewound Radio at 10 am, 3
pm and 9 pm weekdays!)kk
Kent,
I am so thrilled over the response Lisa and I have received from
our version of Don’t You Care. I appreciate that you reposted it on Forgotten
Hits. We are actually getting some radio play including Wave. FM-94.7 HD2 &
95.9HD2 92.9 The Grand.
This is great!
Carl
Great
to hear!I think the word is definitely
getting out there.(kk)
Hi Kent,
Again, thank-you for the Bob Dylan 80th Birthday Tribute … the
huge response is certainly not surprising. Really an excellent
tribute.I can only hope somebody
pointed it out to Bob Dylan as I'm sure he would be more than complimented.
Watched over the weekend at the media response to the passing of
B.J. Thomas.Watched NBC Weekend News, a
very brief blurb (I've seen longer Panda stories), and on ABC Weekend News,
crickets! It was right up there with Farrah Fawcett passing away the same
day as Michael Jackson -- it was Farrah who? But who knows, maybe, just
maybe, B.J. Thomas would have wanted it that way.We can only hope. He really released
some quality music.
Caught Bob Sirott on his "Summer Record Collection"
show last Saturday night. Great show, great music! Out here in
Colorado, on night pattern we catch a bunch of Chicago radio -- WGN-AM, WBBM
and WLS. Depending on the season and atmospheric conditions, on
terrestrial you can hear them fairly well, sometimes strong, sometimes not
as. When I'm on the desktop, of course on the internet, it's crystal
clear. I have caught Bob Sirott many mornings before WGN-AM goes to day
power and pattern. That morning shift has got to be a grinder. The
morning personality riding to work in its stark solitude, must be saying to
himself: "Shouldn't I be home sleeping like the rest of the
world!" You have to admire the Morning Guy, as it takes a special person
to be up and bright in the morning, let alone funny and entertaining.
I'm sure so many of us that grew up in small-town America could
comment on not only Chicago radio but also so many other stations during
directional night patterns between sunset and sundown. At night in
middle-America for Top 40 you could get not only WLS-Chicago "The Big
89", but also KOMA-Oklahoma City, "The Big 1520," KAAY-Little
Rock, "The Mighty 1090", and a few others. When it came to
Chicago, if you tuned in before sun-up in the winter, it was Larry Lujack and
his "Farm Report over the fruited plains (moooooo)" or Lyle Dean on
news … maybe Fred Winston doing fill-in and at night Landecker, really kickin'
ass with his Boogie Checks! I even remember listening to Don Phillips as
a little kid late at night on the radio next to my bed. Spontaneous,
"anything can happen," live radio -- "we don't need no stinking
voice-tracks" radio! Top 40 at its best! (Ooops, there I go
with generational "back in my day comments." Just think, in 50
years Ice-T will be repeating the same diatribe!)
Thank goodness for Forgotten Hits, because I don't think I'm the
only one suffering with Covid-Fatigue! Mask, no-mask, in person school,
no, on-line class, vaccine, no vaccine, half-empty, half-full stadiums,
in-flight fights, beaches full -- wait, shut-down -- you can't make this stuff
up!
And of course, we have the "My Pillow" Mike Lindell on
TV pushing his Giza sheets (maybe for Seniors coming out soon, he'll have
"Old Giza" sheets)! Hey wait, here comes another Ambulance
Chaser commercial with a lawyer instructing you to be sure and call him so that
"car accident you were in, can turn you into an instant
millionaire!" And to think I still haven't read that New York
Times All-Time Best Selling book on Mesothelioma!
Hey, let's not stop the fun there … how about those
pharmaceutical commercials with everybody dancing to a super-Oldie as they read
us side-effects that could be equated with Drano-ingestion! "And remember,
if you died from a certain medicine, be sure and call us so we can get you the
money you deserve."(But remember,
we get to keep half if we win the case!)If the Covid doesn't get ya, that shady guy from down the street with
his "deer-hunting" AK-47 will!
And to think, I still have a flip-phone, and I'm not even on
Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter!
By the way, with all their screen time on television, do you
ever wonder how these members of Congress have any time at all to do what we
elected them for? In the words of Rodney Dangerfield: "I was
in rough shape last week, but I'm alright now!" Oh by the way,
"Aside from that, Mr. Lincoln, how did you like the popcorn?"
As I said Kent, thank goodness for Forgotten Hits!
Hey, these people on Suicide-Prevention sure leave you on hold
for a long time! ha!
I see they are even offering free beer and, in Virginia, a
chance to win guns!
(Free alcohol and guns … what could possibly go wrong?)
Peace,
Tim Kiley
Look for another Beach Boys Anniversary release next month
when Capitol / UMe releases the 5-CD Box Set “Feel Flows.”
Tracks come from their albums “Sunflower” (my personal
favorite) and “Surf’s Up.”These LPs
came out after The Beach Boys left Capitol Records to form their own Brother
Records company, originally distributed by Warner Brothers.The set includes 135 tracks (including brand
new remasters of both LPs) plus 108 tracks from the vaults, including several
alternate takes, demos, live recordings, radio ads and isolated tracks of just
vocals and/or instruments.It is also
accompanied by a 48-page book.
The official drop date is July 30th.(kk)
And, speaking of new releases, can you believe Amazon sold
out of the new “Dolenz Sings Nesmith” CD?!?!
Lots of great press for this one … and the response has been
terrific.
Micky’s PR Manager David Salidor just sent me this article …
Stroud
is quoted as telling host Rob Hahn, “I do love talking about the music, and I know that
there’s not very much of that on the airwaves anymore, so it gives me great joy
to be able to get on the air and do something that has all but fallen off the
wayside — the dumbing down of radio, if you will. I think being able to put my
own spin on it, too, I found that the audiences really liked my personal
connection to whatever the song or the artist is that I’m talking about. That
seems to have worked out really well for me.”
Ironically,
in a recent conversation I had with Scott Shannon, he also singled out Bob
Stroud as being perhaps the best there is on radio at doing this.
Shannon told
me, "You've got a guy right there in Chicago who does this
better than anybody else” and then continued to sing his praises for Stroud’s
work.“When it comes to talking about
the stories behind the songs and artists, Bob always presents this with a
knowledgeable take on the music, keeping it all entertaining and interesting
... there's just a natural flow to his program that allows the listener to be
informed while they are hearing and enjoying the music they love.There just aren’t a lot of jocks doing this
much anymore (or qualified to do so for that matter.)He’s one of the best .... and probably THE
best on the air right now for this type of information.
Coming
from one of the most decorated programmers in history, I take that as quite a
compliment.
It has
been a very big year for Bob Stroud ... SO many milestones ... and all well
deserved.Just keep doin' what you're
doin', Bob ... it's kept ME a listener for 40 years!!!(kk)
From Big Jay Sorensen … presenting good oldies radio isn’t
getting any easier!
Here’s
hoping that Me-TV-FM (the Chicago station referred to in the article) can dodge
another bullet and keep things going for a good while longer.Their ratings just keep on improving as more
music fans discover the station (and more car radios go down to 87.7
FM!!!)Here’s to continued success for
Neal Sabin, Rick O’Dell and the entire staff and crew working so hard behind
the scenes.(kk)
And,
speaking of radio and deejays, we lost another good one last week …
Kent,
I just received an email from a friend of mine here in OKC that
said that last week radio announcer Tom Shannon passed away. Now Kent, to be
honest with you, the name was somewhat familiar to me, but my friend said he
was a big time top 40 DJ back East. My friend said that Tom Shannon had
something to do the song 96 Tears. Did he write it or maybe co-wrote it?
Possibly the first DJ in America to play it on the air?
Larry
Tom
Shannon was a big deal at CKLW, the Detroit radio station that so many of our
readers grew up listening to back in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s.(The station also played a lot of Canadian
output, due to their close proximity to The Great White North ... they were
actually located in Windsor, Canada … but billed themselves as a
Detroit-Windsor radio station.)Our DJ
Buddy Sam Tallerico, who hosted the Lost And Found Oldies Show for decades on
WVKR, used feature clips, jingles and chart info on this station all the time
on his radio program.)
He was an extremely popular presence in
Top 40 Radio back in the day.(In 1969,
Shannon was voted the No. 1 pop music disc jockey in the United States and
Canada, earning him the Bill Gavin Radio-Record Award, the industry’s top
honor.)
Pat St. John, currently a familiar
voice on SiriusXM’s 60’s Channel, was just a teenager when he joined the
station and worked under Shannon’s tutelage.You’ll see that he speaks very highly of his mentor in the article
posted below.
He got his start in Buffalo, working
alongside a staff that included Dick Biondi and Joey Reynolds at WKBW.In 1962, the theme song he used on his
program (a song he helped to cowrite) was issues as a single by The Rockin’
Rebels … and “Wild Weekend” became a National Top Ten Hit!
As for “96 Tears,” that was written by
? and the Mysterians frontman Rudy Martinez … but Tom Shannon helped to break
the record when he moved to Michigan to work at CKLW. (? and the Mysterians was
a local Michigan band and their 1966 #1 Hit “96 Tears” is considered to be one
of the very first punk / garage band classics.)
Shannon even hosted his own TV show for
a while … kind of a “Bandstand” show for teenagers.Prior to retiring, he returned to WKBW for a
brief stint when the station went all oldies.(Much like Chicago’s Dick Biondi, Shannon was playing these tunes when
they were all “newies!!!”)He hung up
his mike for good in 2005.
Sad to hear of his passing … as I’m
sure others on our list will be as well.
Check out this excellent article /
tribute below.It even includes links to
a couple of Tom Shannon aircheck clips from back in the day.
Thanks for letting us know, Larry.(Tom died on May 26th … and this
was the first notification we received.)Glad we could share this news with our readers … and I’m sure spur on
countless memories along the way.(kk)
From Sam Tallerico, a HUGE CKLW fan, after I told him the news …
Kent!
No, I did not know ...
Tom Shannon was the first CK jock that
made an impression on my 10-year-old ears in May, 1968. My recollection is that
he held the 6-9 pm weekday time slot, which included his countdown of the CKLW
Big 30 ... Mondays, I believe.
Even at the young age of 10, I could hear
how Shannon stood out because his delivery was a little more mellow than the
higher energy sound of other personalities like Scott Regan or "Big"
Jim Edwards. I liked it!
It's nice to read how highly regarded he
was by other DJs. Thanks for passing this on!
Sam
We learned this weekend that we lost Actor Clarence Williams III last Friday (June 4th).
Best known to our
generation as Lincoln "Linc" Hayes on "The Mod Squad,"
Williams continue to do high profile, quality work long past the end of that
series. (This leaves only Michael Cole, who played Pete Cochran, leftfrom the original
teen-aged crime-fighting trio. Peggy Lipton (Julie Barnes) died in 2019.
As much as we enjoyed "The Mod Squad" when it was on TV in the late '60's, it SURE looks dated now. Some of the storylines are downright preposterous ... and the series tried WAY too hard to look "hip" to its target audience. (The kids that were living "the scene" didn't have to be told what the older generation THOUGHT the scene looked like and was all about.)
Still, Williams was a powerful presence both on "The Mod Squad" and several roles that came his way later in life.
He will be missed. (kk)
Frank B. sent us this very well done article about Clarence's career ...
One of the biggest
selling singles of 1971 might come as a bit of a surprise!
Lally Stott's original
had a slow climb to number one in Australia and was a minor hit in Italy and
the US. Then along came Los Caracas, a quartet from Scotland, who had been
performing Latin flavored pop tunes. They were past winners of ITV's
Opportunity Knocks, a forerunner to Britain's Got Talent. While in Rome, an
Italian record producer suggested they change course and cover Stott's
"Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep."The
band, now called Middle Of The Road, reluctantly recorded what they regarded as
a frivolous novelty tune. Then, the unexpected happened when the infectious
song became a sensation across mainland Europe, at or near the top of charts in
most every country. But, when released in England, it landed with a thud. That
was, until influential BBC presenter Tony Blackburn kept hearing the song while
on European holiday and,when he got behind the record on his Radio One
programme, it jumped into the UK charts on June 5 at #36. Fourteen days later
it topped the UK charts for the first of five weeks. It remained in the UK top
fifty charts until January 22, 1972, an astonishing 34 weeks! According to New
Musical Express' point system, it was the top single released that year in the
UK (NME was a weekly music newspaper, not a trade magazine.)It didn't make The Guinness Book Of British
Hit Singles list of the Top 100 All Time UK Best Sellers. But then neither did
any by Abba, whose members have said their own distinctive vocals,
instrumentation, and songwriting style was influenced by MOTR's early europop
hits.
"Chirpy..." is
one of less than fifty singles in recorded music history to ever sell ten
million or more physical copies worldwide. What makes its sales figures all the
more amazing is that RCA Victor chose not to give the record a US release. Was
it because Stott's original only charted for two weeks in April and got no
higher than Billboard #92?
MOTR had two other top
five UK hits, "Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum" and "Soley Soley,"
both while "Chirpy..." was
still charting. Meanwhile, another cover by Mac and Katie Kissoon, siblings
from Trinidad, managed to reach US Billboard #20 after charting for only one
week in the UK. Was little baby Don a young child experiencing separation
anxiety or was he simply a bird?
In Wayne Jancik's review
of the Kissoons' single in The Billboard Book Of One Hit Wonders, he says the
song was reportedly a well-veiled anti-war tune, but I don't get that at all!
Four of MOTR's five UK
chart hits were written by Lally Stott. The group had many more hits across
Europe and the Far East, but are virtually unknown in the US.
Mike Gentry
I have always liked the Mac and Katie
Kissoon version … a Top 20 Hit here in The States in 1971.(It went all the way to #4 here in Chicago on
the WCFL Chart!)
When I listen to the Middle Of The Road
version, I am reminded less of ABBA than the scene in the film “My Best
Friend’s Wedding” when the kids are all sucking in the helium from the balloons
and singing a John Denver song … the vocal just sounds WRONG!!!(And this was #1 for five weeks?!?!)I’ve gotta stick with our domestic version of
this one.(I thought I remembered
reading that Katie Kissoon just recently passed away but a quick Google search
didn’t come up with anything.I swore we
even covered this in Forgotten Hits … but I can’t find that either … anybody
out there know for sure?)
When people ask me “What is the
definition of a Forgotten Hit?” I would cite “Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep” as a
perfect example.
This was a Top 20 Hit back in 1971
(almost exactly fifty years ago today) and, as such, got all kinds of
airplay.But it didn’t retain that
status the way most of the best known oldies do.
When oldies radio playlists shrunk to
about 200-300 songs, repeated again and again and again ad nauseum, songs like
these disappeared from the airwaves for decades.
However, even if you haven’t heard this
song in the past 20, 30, 40 or even 50 years, the moment you DO hear it again,
it is instantaneously familiar … you can probably sing along with nearly half
the words … because the song isn’t really forgotten … it’s still up there in
your memory bank … it has just been ignored for so long that it’s no longer on
your radar.
That was the very basis for founding
Forgotten Hits … because there are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of these
songs that simply haven’t gotten their due since they fell off the charts.
That’s not to say that “Chirpy Chirpy
Cheep Cheep” is a great song and should be back in heavy rotation … but it IS
pretty damn catchy … and I’ll betcha if you played the Mac and Katie Kissoon
version today, it’ll haunt you for the better part of the next day or two.This is one of those songs that I would rank
as a “2” on our rotation playlist (with “4” and “5” being the tunes you hear
the most often.DEFINITELY worth a spin
once a month … or every other month … just not to the point where you don’t
ever want to hear it again … but still appreciate it when you do. (And I’ll
betcha you sing along with it then, too!!!)
Internet Radio and radio stations like
Me-TV-FM have helped bring back SO many of these songs that we used to single
out as Forgotten Hits … and when they’re doing it right, it turns these tunes
back into “fan favorites.”
Because no matter what all those
high-priced consultants have been telling radio programmers for decades now,
WE, the listeners, really DO remember these songs … and can process more than
just the same 200 tracks played endlessly again to the point that we just have
to turn them off.Radio has RUINED far
too many of these songs for us … GREAT songs that we can no longer stand to
listen to.Give it a rest and play something
else.Trust me, you’re listeners will
appreciate it … and in the process, you’ll be presenting FAR more interesting
radio than you are now.(kk)
>>>There has been a commercial on for
about 2-3 months advertising those Kit-Kat candy bars. Now I am not quite sure,
but I believe the music being played in the background is Leroy Holmes' 1953
tune THE TYPEWRITER on Decca. I am not quite sure, but I've seen it some 3-4
times this weekend and think that's it. Not sure, though. Have you seen it by
any chance and if so, what say you?(Larry
Neal)
>>>I have not seen this spot so I really can’t
comment … but, as so often happens here, you mentioning one thing immediately
brings something else to mind for me. (Or, usually, vice versa!)As soon as you said “The Typewriter” song, I
immediately thought of the old Jerry Lewis bit that he probably performed
thousands of times over the years.I checked my Joel Whitburn
/ Billboard Hits book and find no listing for a song called “The Typewriter” as
being a chart hit in 1953 … or any other year prior to The Rock Era, for that
matter … but am guessing that it was more likely Leroy ANDERSON who recorded it
(the “Sleigh Ride” guy) than Leroy Holmes (the heavyweight
boxer! Lol) kk
I stand corrected. Believe me I was thinking Leroy Anderson, but
at the same time I was thinking also of Leroy Holmes. Now why? I don't know.
Thanks for correcting me. I vaguely remember that bit by Jerry Lewis.
Thanks so much for informing us
about, and even providing a link for downloading Rollie James’ program of May
18th, in which she interviewed Norm N Nite. I used to listen to his
oldies shows on WNBC in New York from Columbus, Ohio, back in 1975, and I
always enjoyed being able to listen to his entire show during the winter.
During the summer, I could only catch about the last half hour of the shows,
and that used to really bum me out back then.
I was actually looking on YouTube
for the record that he recorded on a local Cleveland label called Good Old Rock
And Roll Music back in 1968, but unfortunately, I didn't find it. But
what I did find was a goldmine of portions of Norm N Nite shows on WCBS FM,
WNBC, WMJI in Cleveland and other stations, plus many interviews that he
has done over the years.
An interview that I thought you
would be especially interested in, being from Chicago and a huge Buckinghams
fan, is an interview that Norman N Nite did with Carl Giamarese of the
Buckinghams. You can find that interview at:
You will also find Norman N Nite
interviews with Tommy James, Rob Grill of the Grass Roots and Mark Lindsay
among others.
Also, Kent, I saw that you had an
interesting article about Murray The K playing The Earls’ version of the old
Harptones' record, Life Is But A Dream, in 1961 on WINS, and how that record
won most requested record of the week over a song by Elvis Presley. What
can I say? New Yorkers are very smart!
But I thought to myself,
"Shoot, it is a Facebook article and I don't have a Facebook
account. But what the hell, I'm going to try reading it anyway."
Well, luckily for me, it was one of those Facebook articles that was created so
that anyone could read the
article, whether they had a Facebook
account or not. So that was a very pleasant and unexpected surprise for
me!
Sam Ward
Yeah, I’ve
never done Facebook either, and it’s very frustrating when readers send me links
to articles and photos I can’t actually read or see!!!I signed up recently so that I could read a
review that one of our readers posted but when all was said and done I still
couldn’t see it and then got dozens of notices of friend requests and notifications
of accepting MY friend request, which I think must have generated as a “folks
we have in common” thing of some sort.
Please, if you
didn’t hear back from me, don’t take it personally … I just don’t have the time
to devote to it … I can barely keep up with Forgotten Hits as it is!!!Unfortunately, that means I’ll probably miss
more than I see (as has always been the case) … but it truly ISN’T any slight
of ANY kind … I just can’t do both.(kk)
If you happen
to be an Ella Fitzgerald fan, The Ed Sullivan YouTube Channel has quite a
tribute to her going up on the site this month.
UMe has also released a whimsical
new animated video for “Cheek To Cheek” on the Ella Fitzgerald YouTube channel. One of
her most enduring and beloved duets with Louis Armstrong, the video was created
in celebration of her 104th birthday. The video concept is inspired by vintage
pencil-line drawings and portrays two lovers who meet, separate and come
together again through a series of imaginative, animated dance scenes. Celebrating its 65th
anniversary this year, “Cheek To Cheek” was released in 1956 on Ella and Louis’
first album together, the aptly titled Ella
and Louis on Verve Records.(kk)
kk:
I'm reading Bill O'Reilly's new book.He talks a little bit about music and says Berry
Gordy allegedly funds the start of his new MOTOWN record label by borrowing a
few thousand dollars from the Detroit Mafia. Didn't Berry tell us he borrowed
the money from his sister?Berry says
the rumors began because he hired an Italian American to head his sales
department.
Bill mentions Tommy James and Frankie Valli.Most of the places where they performed were
mob owned, back then.
PAYOLA = A combination of payment and victrola.
He touches briefly on Alan Freed and Dick Clark's "AMERICAN
BANDSTAND."
