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Fantastic Oldies Game!

AlexBrowne said:
The Supremes may have been the most successful of the Motown girl trios, but Martha & The Vandellas -- Martha Reeves, Annette Beard (replaced in 1964 by Betty Kelly), and Rosalind Ashford -- have a lot of fans who think they were the best; their biggest hits from the '60s, including "Come And Get These Memories," "Heat Wave," "Quicksand," "Dancing In The Street," "I'm Ready For Love," "Jimmy Mack," and my personal favorite "Nowhere To Run," all on the Gordy label, constitute an amazing body of truly great music!
On this day, February 3, in music history:
1941 - Jimmy Dorsey and his orchestra recorded "Amapola."

And on a sad note:
1959 - Buddy Holly (22), Ritchie Valens (17), and the Big Bopper (28) died in a plane crash in Iowa.
:'(
 
"Amapola," which was an adaptation of a Spanish song and was featured in the 1939 film First Love, was a #1 hit for Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra in 1941 (with vocals by Bob Eberly and Helen O'Connell); in the rock era, an instrumental version by a Frenchman, Jacky Noguez And His Orchestra, peaked at #63 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960.

And regarding Holly, Valens, and the Big Bopper... note that exactly one year from today will mark the 50th anniversary of "the day the music died..."
 
Jimmy Dorsey recorded a version of the tune that was better known by Elgart called "Sophisticated Swing," but the other side of the orignial 45 was the bigger hit for him called "So Rare."
 
"What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted," from 1966, was the first and biggest hit for Jimmy Ruffin, older brother of the Temptations' David Ruffin, who was backed up on the recording by the great Motown studio band The Funk Brothers; the mournful song, written by James Dean, William Weatherspoon, and Paul Riser, was originally written for The Spinners, but Jimmy Ruffin persuaded Dean, the lyricist, to let him record it because the words about a man lost in the misery of heartbreak resonated with him.
 
AlexBrowne said:
"What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted," from 1966, was the first and biggest hit for Jimmy Ruffin, older brother of the Temptations' David Ruffin, who was backed up on the recording by the great Motown studio band The Funk Brothers; the mournful song, written by James Dean, William Weatherspoon, and Paul Riser, was originally written for The Spinners, but Jimmy Ruffin persuaded Dean, the lyricist, to let him record it because the words about a man lost in the misery of heartbreak resonated with him.
Jimmy Buffett began his musical career in Nashville during the late 1960s as a country artist. After visiting Key West with his friend, Jerry Jeff Walker, Buffett moved there permanently and began establishing the easy-going beach bum persona for which he is known. Buffett combined country, folk, and pop music with coastal and tropical lyrical themes for a sound sometimes called "gulf and western." Some early Buffett albums: “A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean” (1973), “Havana Daydreamin' “ (1976) and “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes” (1977), which featured the breakthrough hit song "Margaritaville".
 
After The Lovin' Spoonful scored, in 1966, with their last top 10 song, "Nashville Cats," a parody called "Noshville Katz" was recorded by the Lovin' Cohens in 1967 which celebrated the Music City's "only kosher deli" (and got some airplay on radio in New York, where I grew up)! Here are the words (enjoy... eat, darling, eat...)

Noshville Katz, he runs a kosher deli!
Noshville Katz, the only place in town!
Noshville Katz, it's not like you're in Brooklyn!
Noshville Katz, the only one around!

Well there's thirteen-hundred and fifty-two different restaurants in Noshville,
And you can eat anything from a hominy grit to a Contac time pill,
But there's only one place to get a half-sour pickle or a corn beef sandwich in Noshville,
Just ask anybody how to get to Katz's if you're looking to eat well!

About a year ago it was impossible to find a kosher delicatessen,
And the people said, "Mr. Katz, won't you open up a place to fress in?"
Well it was a good idea for a Brooklyn boy to bring a kosher deli to Noshville,
And his bubbe asked him who would eat his food, he said, "The Tennessee folks will!"

They call him Noshville Katz, he runs a kosher deli!
Noshville Katz, the only one in town!
Noshville Katz, it's not like you're in Brooklyn!
Noshville Katz, the only place around!

Have a Yiddishe dish, a potato knish, or a bagel and cream cheese,
A little chicken soup or gefilte fish with some carrots and green peas,
If you can get through that, have a little chopped liver or a piece of herring in wine sauce,
Then you can wash it down with a Dr. Brown, it shouldn't be a total loss (eat, darling, eat)!

Noshville Katz, he runs a kosher deli!
Noshville Katz, the only place in town!
Noshville Katz, it's not like you're in Brooklyn!
Noshville Katz, the only one around!

We also cater bar mitzvahs.


(You can find the actual recording on YouTube. Enjoy!)
 
AlexBrowne said:
After The Lovin' Spoonful scored, in 1966, with their last top 10 song, "Nashville Cats," a parody called "Noshville Katz" was recorded by the Lovin' Cohens in 1967 which celebrated the Music City's "only kosher deli" (and got some airplay on radio in New York, where I grew up)! Here are the words (enjoy... eat, darling, eat...)

(You can find the actual recording on YouTube. Enjoy!)
(That's funny Alex, thanks. I'm still trying to imagine John Sebastian with a Yiddish accent. :D ;D ::) )

Oh yes, Nashville, Music City...home of so many of America's great musical artists. J.R. Cash had a humerous tune in 1965, "The One on the Right Is on the Left" which was included on his album, "Everybody Loves a Nut". It reached Top 10 (#2) on Billboard Country Singles chart and #46 on the Pop Singles chart. It is a spoof of a folk song group that is "long on musical ability", but ultimately breaks up due to "political incompatibility". The first part of the joke is that the three men in the front of the group (presumably the guitarists and the lead singer) are physically positioned differently from their political "position":
The one on the right is "on the left" (Left wing or liberal)
The one in the middle is "on the right" (right wing or conservative)
The one on the left is "in the middle" (moderate)
The punch line to the joke is that "the guy in the rear", presumably the drummer, is less easily labeled: he is a Methodist and he burned his driver's license (rather than his draft card). The song closes by stating that the one in the rear got drafted.
 
After The Beatles first broke through in the U.S., from February through April 1964 holding down the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with three songs in a row ("I Want To Hold Your Hand," "She Loves You," and "Can't Buy Me Love"), the two artists who interrupted their streak were Louis Armstrong And The All Stars (with "Hello, Dolly!") and Mary Wells (with "My Guy") before The Beatles returned to #1 with "Love Me Do"; "My Guy," written and produced by Smokey Robinson, was a landmark for Motown, their very first #1 single.
 
AlexBrowne said:
After The Beatles first broke through in the U.S., from February through April 1964 holding down the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with three songs in a row ("I Want To Hold Your Hand," "She Loves You," and "Can't Buy Me Love"), the two artists who interrupted their streak were Louis Armstrong And The All Stars (with "Hello, Dolly!") and Mary Wells (with "My Guy") before The Beatles returned to #1 with "Love Me Do"; "My Guy," written and produced by Smokey Robinson, was a landmark for Motown, their very first #1 single.
Guy Mitchell, born Albert George Cernik, son of immigrants from Croatia, became a pop singer with Carmen Cavallaro's big band. In 1947 he made some recordings for Decca with Cavallaro's band and later recorded for King Records under the name Al Grant. Mitch Miller, who was in charge of talent at Columbia Records, noted Cernik in 1950, and he joined Columbia and got his new stage name at Miller's urging: Miller is supposed to have said, "My name is 'Mitchell' and you seem a nice 'guy', so we'll call you Guy Mitchell." Mitchell’s biggest hit, "Singing the Blues", was #1 for ten weeks in 1956, outdoing the Marty Robbins version which only reached #17.
 
Muy Guy by Mary Wells was a Motown hit for the Summer of' 64. Probably still in the jukebox on the burger/fries stand on the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach DE!
 
amfmsw said:
Muy Guy by Mary Wells was a Motown hit for the Summer of' 64. Probably still in the jukebox on the burger/fries stand on the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach DE!
"Oh, when the sun beats down and burns the tar up on the roof
And your shoes get so hot you wish your tired feet were fire-proof
Under the boardwalk, down by the sea, yeah
On a blanket with my baby is where I'll be..."

The Drifters with Johnny Moore on vocal lead, cut the classic best seller and #4 hit, “Under the Boardwalk”, on the Atlantic label in 1964.
 
Or as we call it at the Jersey Shore, the "Underwood Hotel". It's just Beyond The Sea.
 
amfmsw said:
Or as we call it at the Jersey Shore, the "Underwood Hotel". It's just Beyond The Sea.
"Underwood Hotel"...LOL ;D

“Somewhere beyond the sea,
Somewhere, waiting for me,
My lover stands on golden sands
And watches the ships that go sailing…”

"Beyond the Sea" has been recorded by many singers, but Bobby Darin's 1960 version is the best known, it went to #6 on the charts.
 
"Somewhere" from West Side Story was a hit for Philly Phavorite The Tymes in '63 on Cameo-Parkway. The recording was basically acapella 'cept for Bass, light piano in middle eight bars, and snare with brushes. Later recorded in '65 by Philly Boy and former Dovell Len barry on Decca...a really loud, swingin' version.
 
amfmsw said:
"Somewhere" from West Side Story was a hit for Philly Phavorite The Tymes in '63 on Cameo-Parkway. The recording was basically acapella 'cept for Bass, light piano in middle eight bars, and snare with brushes. Later recorded in '65 by Philly Boy and former Dovell Len barry on Decca...a really loud, swingin' version.
Herbie Hancock recorded his first piano solo album “Takin' Off” for Blue Note Records in 1962. "Watermelon Man" (from the album) was to provide Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría with a hit single in 1963, a tune which was later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. (A bit of Trivia: his name is used as a pun in the film “Blazing Saddles”. When the character of Mongo entered a scene, a character cried, "Mongo! Santa Maria!".)
 
Philly's Blue Notes, before the '70's successes, recorded for Port Records with "If I Loved You". Very collectable....and expensive.
 
Today, WPLJ (the call letters stand for White Port and Lemon Juice) is New York's leading hot adult contemporary radio station; in the 1960s, then known as WABC-FM and sister to top-rated Top 40 WABC, it was one of the first stations in the Big Apple to adopt an album-oriented rock format.
 
AlexBrowne said:
Today, WPLJ (the call letters stand for White Port and Lemon Juice) is New York's leading hot adult contemporary radio station; in the 1960s, then known as WABC-FM and sister to top-rated Top 40 WABC, it was one of the first stations in the Big Apple to adopt an album-oriented rock format.
Franki Valli and the Four Seasons had 29 Top 40 Hits, beginning with two #1 hit singles on Vee-Jay in 1962: "Sherry" and then “Big Girls Don't Cry".
 
Chicago based Vee-Jay records were chance-takers, and winners with new acts like the 4 Saesons (in Atlantic City this weekend), the Beatles, Betty Everett and Jerry Butler. Their 45 label earily similar to Capitol's LP version...black, silver ring, rainbow ring...expensive.

So, who's gonna be the wonderous 1000th entry?
 
amfmsw said:
Chicago based Vee-Jay records were chance-takers, and winners with new acts like the 4 Saesons (in Atlantic City this weekend), the Beatles, Betty Everett and Jerry Butler. Their 45 label earily similar to Capitol's LP version...black, silver ring, rainbow ring...expensive.
Funny you should mention record labels. One of the things required of hep cats when I was a teen was to be able to describe each and every 45rpm label, i.e., colors of label and the text on it. My three favorites were: Imperial – maroon with silver text; Chess – dark blue/silver with same colored (opposing) text; and of course, Atlantic with it’s red/black with opposing same colored text.
amfmsw said:
So, who's gonna be the wonderous 1000th entry?
As far as the 1,000th post – if I had a choice, I’d leave this to “Those RRRRs”, the originator of this entertaining thread. What say, Gang? This is 999, someone wake the RRRRs up and let him/her have it.
 
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