Fantastic Oldies Game!

[AlexBrowne]

A guy you might see on an oldies tour these days is Cleveland's own Sonny Geraci, one of the few in pop music to have had songs which landed in the Top 5 as lead singer of two different quintets: with The Outsiders in 1966, he gave us "Time Won't Let Me," and then in 1972 he resurfaced with the Los Angeles-based band Climax and their million-seller "Precious And Few"; both were the first and biggest singles for their groups.

Oh, and thanks for the nice compliment, Those RRRs; back at ya!

 

[Those RRRRs]

You might have to be from Philly or New York to know this tune, and amfmsw probably knows it, but there was a regional hit in the mid-late 60's called "Sonny" recorded by The Cammotions.

(I'm gonna start keeping my books in my desk drawyer at work to look up years/labels because I have more time here to go online than I do at home!)

 

[skippertthomas]

And "Boy from NEW YORK City" was a peeking hit for the "Ad Libs" in 1965, as it went to number #8 on the Billboard charts.... :

 

[GridLeakBias]

And "Boy from NEW YORK City" was a peeking hit for the "Ad Libs" in 1965, as it went to number #8 on the Billboard charts.... :

Buddy Holly’s first recording session (“Blue Days, Black Nights”) was in Nashville with US Decca in Jan 1956. Decca misspelled Buddy’s surname on the contract, thus giving birth to Buddy Holly, rather than Holley.

Buddy recorded “Peggy Sue” and “Oh Boy” at Norman Petty’s studio in Clovis, NM Jun 30/Jul 1, 1957. “Oh Boy” was Holly’s third Top Ten Hit in 1958.

(Buddy had an unusual contractual arrangement in ‘57/’58, whereby releases alternated on Coral and Brunswick (a subsidiary of Decca), with those on the former label credited to Buddy Holly and the latter to the Crickets.)

 

[AlexBrowne]

Los Bravos was an unusual international quintet -- it consisted of four Spaniards and one German who recorded in English -- who gave us "Black Is Black," which peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966, and two other singles, "Going Nowhere" and "Bring A Little Lovin'," which were not as successful, neither cracking the Top 50.

 

[Those RRRRs]

"The Clovers" and Newport News, Virginia's "The Five Keys" both recorded a tune called "From The Bottom Of My Heart," but on the flip of "The Clovers" version (1956 Atlantic 1107) was a great tune called "Bring Me Love."

 

[GridLeakBias]

"The Clovers" and Newport News, Virginia's "The Five Keys" both recorded a tune called "From The Bottom Of My Heart," but on the flip of "The Clovers" version (1956 Atlantic 1107) was a great tune called "Bring Me Love."

The Charades broke onto the California doowop scene in the late '50s. The group backed and performed with many of the rock and roll artists (Chuck Berry, The Coasters, Connie Francis) before they began recording on their own. Their classic "Please Be My Love Tonight” b/w “Turn Me Down”(Ava 154) was released in 1963.

 

[Those RRRRs]

The Charades were a diverse sounding group that successfully recorded not only doowop but also other styles of music including early soul sounds and surfin' tunes such as "Delano Soul Beat" and "Surf & Stomp."

 

[skippertthomas]

SOUL...Yes, my favorite hit by "The Box Tops" was their 1969 hit that went to 18 on the Billboard charts in the late summer and early fall...."Soul Deep"....Memphis boys who did an east coast swing of R&B clubs.. When they would show up, the venue would be in shock, as the promoters thought they were a black r&b group... Here were some of the Memphis 'White Eyed Soul' guys... Oh, the 60's..... :

 

[GridLeakBias]

SOUL...Yes, my favorite hit by "The Box Tops" was their 1969 hit that went to 18 on the Billboard charts in the late summer and early fall...."Soul Deep"....Memphis boys who did an east coast swing of R&B clubs.. When they would show up, the venue would be in shock, as the promoters thought they were a black r&b group... Here were some of the Memphis 'White Eyed Soul' guys... Oh, the 60's..... :

Chuck Berry's 1959 single, ""Back in the U.S.A." (A-Side) was backed with "Memphis, Tennessee" (Chess 1729). The B-side reached #6 in the UK, and has been covered by many artists. In 1963 Lonnie Mack recorded a fast-paced, full-length instrumental improvisation of Berry's melody, and named the tune "Memphis". Mack's instrumental skyrocketed to #5 Pop and #4 R&B in the US. In 1964 Johnny Rivers recorded another version also entitled "Memphis", copying Mack's pacing and some of his instrumental improvisations, and reinstating the vocal line from Berry's original. That version hit #2 on Billboard's Pop chart.

 

[amfmsw]

This is a stretch fellas....

Chuck Berry was i[b]nstrumental [/b] in the early career of the Beach Boys. The courts agreed. "Surfin' USA" music was "liberally borrowed and inspired" by "Sweet Little Sixteen". The Chucker's still makin' merry with those royalty checks.

 

[GridLeakBias]

This is a stretch fellas....

Chuck Berry was i[b]nstrumental [/b] in the early career of the Beach Boys. The courts agreed. "Surfin' USA" music was "liberally borrowed and inspired" by "Sweet Little Sixteen". The Chucker's still makin' merry with those royalty checks.

OK amfmsw, since you stretched it, I will also. But we shouldn't make this a habit, "Those RRRRs" might penalize us for a rule violation. ;D

The Royal Teens hailed from Fort Lee, New Jersey and changed their name from the Royal Tones when they discovered that there was already a group called The Royaltones. In the summer of 1957, they were signed to Power Records (owned by Lee Silver) and their first single had a rousing sax-and-guitar instrumental on one side, "Planet Rock", and a silly semi-instrumental called "Short Shorts". With the promotional help of Alan Freed and Dick Clark, "Short Shorts" began to take off immediately. When Silver found himself swamped with orders [for this single] which he could not afford to fill he sold the master to ABC-Paramount, early in 1958. The record peaked at #3 on Billboard.

 

[AlexBrowne]

Besides scores for several films and Broadway shows, Lee Pockriss has written or co-written a number of Top 40 hits including "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" (#1 for Brian Hyland, 1960), "Catch A Falling Star" (#1 for Perry Como, 1958), "Johnny Angel" (#1 for Shelley Fabares, 1962), "Tracy" (The Cuff Links, 1969), "In My Little Corner Of The World" (Anita Bryant, 1960), and "Playground In My Mind" (Clint Holmes, 1973).

 

[GridLeakBias]

Besides scores for several films and Broadway shows, Lee Pockriss has written or co-written a number of Top 40 hits including "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" (#1 for Brian Hyland, 1960), "Catch A Falling Star" (#1 for Perry Como, 1958), "Johnny Angel" (#1 for Shelley Fabares, 1962), "Tracy" (The Cuff Links, 1969), "In My Little Corner Of The World" (Anita Bryant, 1960), and "Playground In My Mind" (Clint Holmes, 1973).

Chuck Willis had a successful recording with "C.C. Rider", which topped the R&B chart in 1957 and also crossed over and sold well in the pop market. "C.C. Rider" was a remake of a classic twelve-bar blues with a relaxed beat, combining a mellow vibraphone backing and chorus, inspiring the emergence of the popular dance, The Stroll. Willis died suddenly in 1958 at the peak of his career, just after the release of his last single, "What Am I Living For?", backed by "Hang Up My Rock & Roll Shoes".

 

[amfmsw]

Now WOR personality Joey Reynolds nailed his "rock and roll shoes" into the bosses door at WKBW with the attached note: "Try to fill these".

 

[GridLeakBias]

Now WOR personality Joey Reynolds nailed his "rock and roll shoes" into the bosses door at WKBW with the attached note: "Try to fill these".

Debbie Reynolds was best known as an actress, after winning the Miss Burbank Beauty Contest at age 16 which lead to a motion picture contract with Warner Brothers. Ms Reynolds chalked up several hit records despite an only intermittent career as a recording artist. Her song "Aba Daba Honeymoon" (featured in the 1950 film "Two Weeks With Love" as a duet with Carleton Carpenter) was a top 3 hit in 1951. She is also remembered for her smash recording of the theme song "Tammy", from the motion picture “Tammy And The Bachelor”, which earned her a gold record and was the best-selling single by a female vocalist in 1957 and was number one for 5 weeks on the Billboard pop charts.

 

[Those RRRRs]

The Instrumental (lol) track for "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep" was recorded two years before the lyrics were written, and both The Miracles and Jimmy Ruffin recorded the song before The Temptations took it to #3 on the Billboard pop charts. It's worth noting that the original flipside called "You're Not An Ordinary Girl" was also a minor hit on the east coast.

 

[GridLeakBias]

The Instrumental (lol) track for "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep" was recorded two years before the lyrics were written, and both The Miracles and Jimmy Ruffin recorded the song before The Temptations took it to #3 on the Billboard pop charts. It's worth noting that the original flipside called "You're Not An Ordinary Girl" was also a minor hit on the east coast.

Delecta (Dee) Clark, with his passionate tenor voice enjoyed a number of rock 'n' roll hits in the late 50s and a lesser number of soul work in the 60s. Clark's entertainment career began in 1952 as a member of the Hambone Kids, who recorded a novelty number in which Clark's group patted a rhythm known as the Hambone. Clark later joined a vocal group, the Goldentones, and after joining Vee Jay Records, they recorded as the Kool Gents. In 1958 he had a hit with "Nobody But You" (R&B #3 and pop Top 30). "Just Keep It Up" (R&B # 9 and pop Top 20) and "Hey Little Girl" (R&B #2 and pop Top 20) proved equally popular the following year. The artist's major success came in 1962 with "Raindrops" (R&B #3 and pop #2).

 

[amfmsw]

A popular Philly regional hit for Stevie Wonder was "Purple Raindrops". The precipitation is a common topic of teenage angst, featured in Carol Kins's "It Might As Well Rain Until September". Another was "Raining In My Heart" written by Paul Anka for Buddy Holly. "Walking In The Rain" from the Ronettes, Jay and the Americans, not to be confused with "Walkin' In The Rain With The One I love" by the Love Unlimited. Also "In The Rain" by the Dramatics. One more, "the obligatory "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" from BJ Thomas.

I know yoos guys will pick up my slack here.

 

[GridLeakBias]

A popular Philly regional hit for Stevie Wonder was "Purple Raindrops". The precipitation is a common topic of teenage angst, featured in Carol Kins's "It Might As Well Rain Until September". Another was "Raining In My Heart" written by Paul Anka for Buddy Holly. "Walking In The Rain" from the Ronettes, Jay and the Americans, not to be confused with "Walkin' In The Rain With The One I love" by the Love Unlimited. Also "In The Rain" by the Dramatics. One more, "the obligatory "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" from BJ Thomas.

I know yoos guys will pick up my slack here.

Gotcha covered, amfmsw.

Johnny Ray was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He became deaf in his right ear at age 13 after an accident, and he later performed his music wearing a hearing aid. Surgery performed in New York in 1958 left him almost completely deaf in both ears, although hearing aids helped his condition. Popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a "major precursor" of what would become rock 'n' roll, for his jazz and blues-influenced music and his animated stage persona. (Ray's performing style included theatrics later associated with rock 'n' roll, including beating up his piano, writhing on the floor and crying.) In 1952 he dominated the charts with the double-sided hit single of “Cry” and “The Little White Cloud That Cried”. Selling over a million copies of the 45 single, Ray's delivery struck a chord with teenagers and he quickly became a teen idol. More hits followed, including “Please Mr. Sun”, “Such A Night”, “Walkin' My Baby Back Home”, “A Sinner Am I” and “Yes Tonight Josephine”. His last hit was “Just Walkin' in the Rain”, in 1956.