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And The Stiffs Just Keep On Comin'

If i remember the story correctly, Casey Kasem was upset over the placement of the LDD about the dead dog coming out of an upbeat song.
 
Shredd & Ragan play the Casey tirade from time to time and it ALWAYS makes me laugh. "Ya come outta those uptempo records with a story about a dog dyin'..." Ponderous. Effin' ponderous.

Youoidar: Thanks for the head smack. And Berns, your clothes? Check the floor.
 
"Undercover Angel"......wasn't that by.....Alan O'Day?? (Don't want to cheat by Googling it.)

We got permission from the record label to cover "Undercover Angel," and Jim Quinn did a parody of it called "Undercover Pothole" in spring 1978, on the "13Q Records" label. Of course the lyrics were about dodging Pittsburgh's legendary April road craters. We sold it with proceeds going to charity at area record stores.
 
We got permission from the record label to cover "Undercover Angel," and Jim Quinn did a parody of it called "Undercover Pothole" in spring 1978, on the "13Q Records" label. Of course the lyrics were about dodging Pittsburgh's legendary April road craters. We sold it with proceeds going to charity at area record stores.
Click to expand...

Holy Moly. I never lived in Pittsburgh, don't think I ever heard 13Q live, I was living in Buffalo then, yet I now remember reading about that parody, perhaps in some trade magazine - R&R? Amazing, I can't remember what I had for lunch yesterday, but can remember some radio tidbit I read about 31 years ago(and never gave a 2nd thought to). Isn't that a sign of aging? Or maybe to much time devoted to radio :)
 
This is totally off topic, but fyi-Quinn is now a super right-wing conservative talk show host on an FM yakker in Pittsburgh. Makes Hannity look like a liberal.

and singing...Undercover Angel, Midnight Tennessee...
 
About the same time as Undercover Angel, and Ariel for that matter, how about Glen Campbell's Southern Nights? Ponderous, effin ponderous. :D
 
I may have mentioned it before but how about 'How Do You Do' by Mouth and MacNeil? Also, Savage, I remember one night sitting home in Henrietta surfing the radio dial in 1978 and found 13Q! I thought I was listening to BBF after hearing Dave Mason, Greg Stevens and a couple of other former BBFers on air. Even the stations sounded alike! I thought it was cool!
 
Yeah, qman, and Cary Pall too. You WERE listening to BBF. With a similarly deficient signal, just moved to Pittsburgh.

I am not making this up: the PD at BBF (my predecessor) was, IIRC, presented a "gold record" for being early on the stiff "Chevy Van" by Sammy Johns. I think the song was on some third-tier label like "GRP" or something. Many record companies issued their own home-grown gold records made by some trophy company as "thank you" gestures, as opposed to the genuine RIAA-certified plaques. But this one was in a class of its own.

The "Chevy Van" "gold record" consisted of a copy of the 45, spray-painted gold, with a new label slapped over the exhaust-manifold paint, then mounted on a slab of pine which had obviously been finished in some basement shop. It was hilarious.
 
How about...

"Second Avenue" by Tim Moore. Topped out at #58 in 1974. I think this song was written for Art Garfunkel. He may have done it on one of his LPs. If Garfunkel had released it as a single, it might have charted better than #58... and if Jerry Meyers had promoted it, it would've been #1 on WKBW and WYSL. Then again, maybe not. It's one of those sappy love gone wrong songs that might sound good on the radio once every three years. Although somethin' tells me that if Lifehouse, Jason Mraz, Colbie Caillat or (insert your choice of artist-group here) did this song today, it'd be a top 10 hit.
 
Savage said:
Yeah, qman, and Cary Pall too. You WERE listening to BBF. With a similarly deficient signal, just moved to Pittsburgh.

I am not making this up: the PD at BBF (my predecessor) was, IIRC, presented a "gold record" for being early on the stiff "Chevy Van" by Sammy Johns. I think the song was on some third-tier label like "GRP" or something. Many record companies issued their own home-grown gold records made by some trophy company as "thank you" gestures, as opposed to the genuine RIAA-certified plaques. But this one was in a class of its own.

The "Chevy Van" "gold record" consisted of a copy of the 45, spray-painted gold, with a new label slapped over the exhaust-manifold paint, then mounted on a slab of pine which had obviously been finished in some basement shop. It was hilarious.
Click to expand...

HA! ;D I got one of those, too! It hangs in my downstairs bathroom right next to the gold record for Joe Tex, "I Gotcha," which might be another candidate for this thread along with Coven's "One Tin Soldier" (wasn't there another version of that song that charted as well?) and, of course, "Timothy" by The Buoys, probably the only charting song in history about a cannibal.
 
Oh, man, you mean those gold records weren't real?

Next thing you're going to tell me is that those framed Elvis gold records sold in "better" memorabilia stores aren't real either... rats, I thought they were such a bargain... ;)

Also off topic: anyone remember Columbia's experiment with "one sided singles"? "Get the hit - Special low price!" read the generic sleeve. The "b-side" resembled a circle of sandpaper.

This just popped into my head as I was reading this thread, and the song "Don't Fight It" by Kenny Loggins and Steve Perry (not a stiff but not really played on-air anymore) popped up on my iTunes, and yes, I do happen to have the One Sided Single of it.
 
I still have, in my basement somewhere, a token of appreciation from The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band for my support of thier LP "Will The Circle Be Unbroken"....
a foot long slice of a railroad tie with a gold painted railroad spike driven into it.
Glued to the side of the lumber is a photo of the band and a heartfelt note reading..... "Thanks Eli"!

"Hey, Blondie, isn't that Angel Eyes?"
-ELI Wallach-
1966
 
The alternate Can-con version of "One Tin Soldier" was by The Original Caste.

A far superior version than Coven's, IMHO. Much fuller mix, sweeter orchestration and better harmonies and a touch slower tempo, which gives the single a nice "deeper-angst" feel comporting with the lyrics.

Another "can't we all just get along?" curiosity from the George McGovern era. BTW, just heard him last week wheezing from the political senior citizen peanut gallery (sorry, Mr. Carter) about how "we need the Fairness Doctrine" back.
 
Back around 1977 or so, WBBF was doing Sunday night live broadcasts from a Rochester bar featuring local and regional bands. One night not long before I left for Pittsburgh, the featured band was The Buoys, Scranton, PA natives and one-hit wonder stars of "Timothy." I had to introduce them on-stage & on-air.

I was chatting with the lead guitarist (whose name long ago faded into the mists of Bobheimer's) and I asked if the massive hit "Timothy" had set the band up for a good long time, financially speaking. He grimaced and told me that the five of 'em split $1500 in actual proceeds. The rest went to the label. (Sic transit "being a 20-year old rock star without having professional management and legal advice.")

Every time I hear "Timothy" I'm reminded of the cult film classic "The Big Bus," a parody of 1970s disaster flicks. The hero is a bus driver who was stranded on some mountaintop after a tragic bus crash. He's fighting his way back from disgrace after being accused of eating 60 passengers to stay alive.
 
Heard this song a few days ago and for the first two minutes, had no idea what it was: "Tusk," Fleetwood Mac. Please don't tell me this was a hit. :'(
 


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