And The Stiffs Just Keep On Comin'

[Bob1370]

"But did he do "2 + 2 Is On My Mind"?

Wasn't there so I can't answer that...but it was part of his set, IIRC, back at the start of the Iraq war. And more relevant to this area's radio, "2+2" got some airplay back when it was released, from WBBF in Rochester. It didn't hang around the playlist more than a few weeks (although it was picked up again a year or so later when WCMF started playing AOR pretty much full time)...did any Buffalo station play it as well?

 

[SirRoxalot]

I remember it being the flip side of Ramblin' Gamblin' Man. Then again, maybe that was just the radio single.

 

[JustPastBuffalo]

The first time I heard "2 + 2" was on WUFO. Yes, "WUFO 10-80, The Soul of the City."

How'd that happen!? Well, I used to listen to WUFO because I liked R&B and by accident discovered a progressive jock, Jim Sotet (not to be confused with our friend Jim Santella.) Sotet (So-TAY) did a very good progressive show on WUFO from 6 til sign off in the summer of '68. Like Santella, Sotet had a comfortable, conversational delivery, more suitable than the "laid back stoner" delivery often heard on progressive FM at the time. Still, his presentation and show were far different than the energetic Top 40 delivery normally heard on AM and nothing like the spiritual, rhyme-driven delivery used by so many great R&B jocks at the time.

My favorite WUFO jocks were guys like Gary Byrd; a guy by the name of Red Blood and IIRC, Frankie Crocker was at WUFO until early '67. Another top WUFO jock named Duwayne "The Double D" Donavant went to Buffalo State, and years later a prodigious rising star named Don "The D-A" Allen worked at WUFO. I loved those jocks' handles. Think about rap and hip hop today. Those guys were wayyyy ahead of their time.

Sotet's WUFO show was short-lived, but as "Brother Love" he played "underground music" (e.g., Fresh Garbage by Spirit and Fresh Air by Quicksilver Messenger Service) that normally would not have been heard on AM. WYSL-FM also played "2 + 2" and IIRC, Sotet had a hand in that station's early days. Sotet's "Brother Love" shouldn't be confused with the Brother Love whose underground show was syndicated by ABC-FM. It wouldn't be a surprise to learn the name "Brother Love" was used by more than a few underground-progressive-jocks at the time.

 

[chas108]

In honor of last night's concert, one of Bob Seger's most popular songs which never hit the top 40, Turn The Page.

Tres cool. But did he do "2 + 2 Is On My Mind" one of his great songs from the psychedelic psyixties as The Bob Seger System.

I became aware of "2 + 2" on a 'KB "Champion/Challenger" weekend. Only heard it a couple times...and IIRC it was Berns playing it and worked into the backsell that the flip side was "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man".

It's been decades since I heard it...what a flashback.

Speaking of ABC-FM's syndicated "Brother Love"...on Jeff Roteman's KQV/Pittsburgh tribute site are a couple pages, complete w/jingles, devoted to the ABC Corporate "Love" format.

http://www.14kqv.andmuchmore.com/

Jeff doesn't provide a link directly to the "Love" page, so when you get to the home page and enter the main KQV site thru the ITC Triple-Decker, (which I'm sure, JimPastrick, has played more than its share of grey Fidelipacs!), there's a site listing on the left, look for "KQV-FM - Love FM" and click to see ABC's promo print ad ("LOVE combines progressive rock music with honest, meaningful talk.") along with other artifacts, you can even hear jingles (for a progressive rock format?!).

It all lasted a year...and I completely missed it. I was a child of AM back then.

Annnnd now, we need a stiff...in 1984, Toto tried to repeat their lightning-in-a-bottle success of "Toto IV" with "Isolation", but to no avail. Leadoff single "Stragner In Town" was the album's biggest hit, peaking at #30.

Follow-up "Holyanna" (trying to repeat the success of "Rosanna"?!) didn't even do that well...and did you know in '87 they had an insipid little ballad called...wait for it... "Anna"?

Can you say "out of fresh ideas"? Or at least fresh songtitles.

 

[Call Me Sherlock]

I became aware of "2 + 2" on a 'KB "Champion/Challenger" weekend. Only heard it a couple times...and IIRC it was Berns playing it and worked into the backsell that the flip side was "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man".

It's been decades since I heard it...what a flashback.

Berns must have been playing some sort of Gold 45 (which company's sometimes released with two hits back to back).

I remember playing "2 + 2" and "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" followed sometime later.  Here's what I found when I googled "Flipside of Seger's Ramblin' Gamblin' Man"

1968 -- 2+2=?/Death Row -- Capitol 2143       

(A real stiff-but Don can't be blamed since he wasn't yet at 'KB in '68.  Later, in the 70s, he and I played a lot of "stiffs" if you look at some of those old WBBF/WKBW playlists)

1968 -- Ramblin' Gamblin' Man/Tales Of Lucy Blue -- Capitol 2297             #17 US

 

[Tom Wells]

Thanks Call Me Sherlock...That's what's on the B-side of my Capitol 2297, too.
I just didn't find it yet to verify.

 

[SirRoxalot]

I definitely remember - and have - a two-sided single with "Ramblin', Gamblin' Man" b/w "2+2". It is a radio promo record.

 

[heydaybegone]

Thanks Call Me Sherlock...That's what's on the B-side of my Capitol 2297, too.
I just didn't find it yet to verify.

definitely remember - and have - a two-sided single with "Ramblin', Gamblin' Man" b/w "2+2". It is a radio promo record.

Oh Dat Sherlock!! Now, board posters, you can see what it's like to have a mentor that "Keeps on giving"...

I'm proud to call him a mentor of mine...even if I'm on old guy...cause it made us what we are today (radio or not) ;D

HDBG

 

[John C]

In honor of last night's concert, one of Bob Seger's most popular songs which never hit the top 40, Turn The Page.

Tres cool. But did he do "2 + 2 Is On My Mind" one of his great songs from the psychedelic psyixties as The Bob Seger System.

Courtesy of my cool sister who grabbed a set list from the sound area at HSBC:

Roll Me Away/Trying To Live/Her Strut/Mainstreet/Old Time Rock And Roll/Downtown Train/Ramblin' Gamblin' man/C'est Le Vie/Good for Me/Travelin' Man/Beautiful Loser/Nutbush/Come To Poppa/Pumpin'/Real Mean Bottle/We've Got Tonight/Turn The Page/Sunspot Baby/Horizontal Bop/Katmandu/Against The Wind/Hollywood Nights/Night Moves/Rock & Roll Never Forgets

An excellent show for a mid-60s guy fighting with a cold. Ironically enough, according to my Whitburn, the Bob Seger song which hit the Top 40 but was his lowest charting single as far as how high it hit in the top 40 was 30+ years later, maybe his most popular single, "Old Time Rock & Roll", which only reached #28 in 1979.

 

[JustPastBuffalo]

Didn't see last weekend's Seger show, but I was at all three of his (consecutively) sold out shows at The Aud back in the 80s. This Seger tangent compelled me to search the Pastrick Archives (aka, that radio junk in the basement) whereupon I came across a bunch of Seger 45s.

Here's an interesting discrepancy. I have two Capitol 45s of Ramblin' Gamblin' Man. One is pressed on the classic yellow Capitol label marked "Promotion Record Not For Sale." It's b/w "Tales of Lucy Blue" and credits "Bob Seger." The second 45 is pressed on the yellow and orange Capitol "swirl," also b/w "Tales of Lucy Blue" and credits "Bob Seger System" (without the article "The.")

I have a Capital "Starline" 45 (the mini-greatest hits pressings Capital issued with hits on both sides of the 45.) The A side features "2+2=?" credited to The Bob Seger System. The flip is Ramblin' Gamblin' Man, also credited to The Bob Seger System.

Want a bonafide Seger Stifferoo? It's the Tim Hardin song "If I Were A Carpenter" on the Palladium label (P1079A) and it rocks! It has a great bass line, a thick Hammond B-3 and Seger's young but raw vocals. Also pulled up "Lucifer" on the ugly 70s red and orange Capitol label, credited to The Bob Seger System.

 

[Obtuse1]

My original 1968 Capitol (orange/yellow swirl) single has "Ramblin'...." backed by "Tales Of Lucy Blue". Subsequent "two-fer" pressings included "2+2+?". I also have one of the latter (an 80's pressing) that includes Ramblin' in rechanneled (a.k.a. fake) stereo (as it was on the Ramblin' Gamblin Man LP). The original single is the way to go for "Ramblin'"

Strangely some of the original RGM singles were credited to "Bob Seger" while others said "Bob Seger System" (mine is the former).

Sadly Bob doesn't seem to care much for his earlier material, and most remains out of print. There were 1993 CD releases of Ramblin' Gamblin' Man, Mongrel, and Seven, but these were quickly withdrawn. He'd rather have everyone believe his career started with Beautiful Loser. He still performs RGM, most likely because of it's inclusion on the multi-platinum "Live Bullet".

 

[Bob1370]

CallMeSherlock posts, "I remember playing "2 + 2" and "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" followed sometime later."

Thanks, Larry, for confirming my memories about hearing Seger's "2+2?" on WBBF...must have heard the song playing on your show back in the day...BBF always seemed to chart its own course in playing promising songs, never seemed to be a slave to national charts. Same with KB. That's why western New York listeners got to hear some interesting stuff that other parts of the country didn't....

 

[John C]

Didn't see last weekend's Seger show, but I was at all three of his (consecutively) sold out shows at The Aud back in the 80s. This Seger tangent compelled me to search the Pastrick Archives (aka, that radio junk in the basement) whereupon I came across a bunch of Seger 45s.

Here's an interesting discrepancy. I have two Capitol 45s of Ramblin' Gamblin' Man. One is pressed on the classic yellow Capitol label marked "Promotion Record Not For Sale." It's b/w "Tales of Lucy Blue" and credits "Bob Seger." The second 45 is pressed on the yellow and orange Capitol "swirl," also b/w "Tales of Lucy Blue" and credits "Bob Seger System" (without the article "The.")

I have a Capital "Starline" 45 (the mini-greatest hits pressings Capital issued with hits on both sides of the 45.) The A side features "2+2=?" credited to The Bob Seger System. The flip is Ramblin' Gamblin' Man, also credited to The Bob Seger System.

Want a bonafide Seger Stifferoo? It's the Tim Hardin song "If I Were A Carpenter" on the Palladium label (P1079A) and it rocks! It has a great bass line, a thick Hammond B-3 and Seger's young but raw vocals. Also pulled up "Lucifer" on the ugly 70s red and orange Capitol label, credited to The Bob Seger System.

Jim, I remember the "Seger wave" engulfing Buffalo during the shows you mentioned. That must have been a lot of fun. I don't know why I didn't go to any of the shows. The closest I've come to your "3-fer" was seeing Bruce Springsteen and the ESB play consecutive nights in Roch and Buff a few years ago. Bob Seger, Bruce Springsteen, how about a Billy Squier stiff to add to the BS pile. "My Kind of Lover" received a fair amount of airplay around Western NY but never hit the top 40.

 

[chas108]

how about a Billy Squier stiff to add to the BS pile. "My Kind of Lover" received a fair amount of airplay around Western NY but never hit the top 40.

Still, "My Kinda Lover" did better than "In The Dark", released inbetween "The Stroke" and "My Kinda Lover" from Squier's debut album.

 

[John C]

I can hear "The Stiffs Police" siren in the distance since this group never charted, therefore cannot be "stiff-worthy" but how many people remember The Sherbs, "No Turning Back"?

 

[qman]

It's interesting to note (well interesting to me anyway lol) that "Into The Groove" by Madonna, with all the airplay it used to get on CHR radio and still receives on AC and soft AC radio, never reached the top 40!

 

[JustPastBuffalo]

Found this one misfiled in the "S" category when I was searching for those Seger songs: Kate Taylor, "It's In His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song)." This folk rock version with rrother James on back-up pales compared to the original by Betty Everett and even Cher's most recent cover.

 

[Nick Gerard]

My wife is watching "Jackass 3" in the other room (I won't admit to watching it) and through a closed door I'm hearing the long-forgotten Roger Miller classic "You Can't Roller Skate In a Buffalo Herd."

Hmm, I guess it never showed up well in those auditorium tests.

Nick Seneca

 

[SirRoxalot]

My wife is watching "Jackass 3" in the other room (I won't admit to watching it) and through a closed door I'm hearing the long-forgotten Roger Miller classic "You Can't Roller Skate In a Buffalo Herd."

Hmm, I guess it never showed up well in those auditorium tests.

Nick Seneca

It apparently tested right along side "Brand New Key" by Melanie - which is making a comeback in a TV commercial.

 

[BillMac1290Radio]

Thanks for the great trip down into the deep depths of my memory banks. I really cannot add anything much to this thread there is so much listed I'd be just repeating things. OH for the glory days of some of the music noted and the great days of radio....To bad we can't change things back to what they should be.