Fantastic Oldies Game!

[GridLeakBias]

Although the great lyricst Johnny Mercer (1909-1966) -- who also founded Capitol Records in 1942, and had four #1 hits himself as a vocalist ("Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive," "Candy" with Jo Stafford & Pied Pipers, and "On The Atchison, Topeka, And The Santa Fe," all in 1945; and "Personality" in 1946) -- is not typically associated with the rock era, there were a number of familiar songs he wrote that charted after 1955, including:

- "And The Angels Sing" by The Three Chuckles (1956)
- "Autumn Leaves" by Mitch Miller & his Orch. and Chorus and by the Ray Charles Singers (both in 1955)
- "Come Rain Or Come Shine" by Ray Charles (1960, reissued in 1968)
- "Days Of Wine And Roses" by Andy Williams and by Henry Mancini And His Orchestra (both in 1963)
- "Dream" by Betty Johnson (1958), Etta James (1961), and Dinah Washington (1962)
- "Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear To Tread)" by Brook Benton (1960), Etta James (1962), and Rick Nelson (1963)
- "Goody Goody" by Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers (1957)
- "I Remember You" by Frank Ifield (1962)
- "I Wanna Be Around" by Tony Bennett (1963)
- "One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)" by Tony Bennett (1957)
- "Something's Gotta Give" by The McGuire Sisters and by Sammy Davis Jr. (both in 1955)
- "Summer Wind" by Wayne Newton (1965) and Frank Sinatra (1966)
- "That Old Black Magic" by Sammy Davis Jr. (1955), Louis Prima And Keely Smith (1958), and Bobby Rydell (1961)

You do great research Alex, thanks for making the game interesting.

Today was a slow news day (as it is said) and I decided to exercise the few brain cells I have left by using each of your song/artist posts to derive a complimentary one. I know this reaches beyond the scope of this thread, and I willingly accept the penalty which I may incur from Those RRRRs, but what-the-hey, I’m old! Whatta ya gonna do, fire me?

- "And The Angels Sing" by The Three Chuckles (1956)
The Angels Listened In – The Crests

- "Autumn Leaves" by Mitch Miller & his Orch. and Chorus and by the Ray Charles Singers (both in 1955)
Devil With A Blue Dress On – Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels

- "Come Rain Or Come Shine" by Ray Charles (1960, reissued in 1968)
Come Go With Me – The Dell Vikings

- "Days Of Wine And Roses" by Andy Williams and by Henry Mancini And His Orchestra (both in 1963)
A Little Bit Of Soap – The Jarmels

- "Dream" by Betty Johnson (1958), Etta James (1961), and Dinah Washington (1962)
Let It Be Me – Jerry Butler and Betty Everett

- "Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear To Tread)" by Brook Benton (1960), Etta James (1962), and Rick Nelson (1963)
It’s In His Kiss – Betty Everett

- "Goody Goody" by Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers (1957)
Sea Cruise – Frankie Ford

- "I Remember You" by Frank Ifield (1962)
Remember(Walking In The Sand) – The Shangri-Las

- "I Wanna Be Around" by Tony Bennett (1963)
I Do – The Marvellows

- "One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)" by Tony Bennett (1957)
You Baby – The Turtles

- "Something's Gotta Give" by The McGuire Sisters and by Sammy Davis Jr. (both in 1955)
If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody – James Ray

- "Summer Wind" by Wayne Newton (1965) and Frank Sinatra (1966)
The Game Of Love – Wayne Fontana

- "That Old Black Magic" by Sammy Davis Jr. (1955), Louis Prima And Keely Smith (1958), and Bobby Rydell (1961) There’s Something On Your Mind - Bobby Marchan

 

[AlexBrowne]

Great work for a "slow news day," GLB!

Vee-Jay Records did a wonderful thing in 1964 when they paired two of our greatest R&B singers, Betty Everett & Jerry Butler, on two singles, the romantic and soulful "Let It Be Me" and the classic Charlie Chaplin composition "Smile," and an album, Delicious Together; the two were reunited to sing "Let It Be Me" on stage when Everett received a Rhythm and Blues Foundation Pioneer Award in 1995, and then one last time in 2000 for a very moving duet on the PBS special Doo Wop 51 -- shortly before Everett's death in August 2001.

 

[GridLeakBias]

Great work for a "slow news day," GLB!

Vee-Jay Records did a wonderful thing in 1964 when they paired two of our greatest R&B singers, Betty Everett & Jerry Butler, on two singles, the romantic and soulful "Let It Be Me" and the classic Charlie Chaplin composition "Smile," and an album, Delicious Together; the two were reunited to sing "Let It Be Me" on stage when Everett received a Rhythm and Blues Foundation Pioneer Award in 1995, and then one last time in 2000 for a very moving duet on the PBS special Doo Wop 51 -- shortly before Everett's death in August 2001.

Alvis Edgar "Buck" Owens, Jr., had 20 number-one hits on the Billboard country music charts. Both as a solo artist and with his band, the Buckaroos, Buck Owens, along with his partner Don Rich, pioneered what has come to be called the Bakersfield sound. (Rich can be heard harmonizing on all of Owens' hits until his untimely death in a motorcycle accident in 1974. The loss of his best friend devastated Owens for years, sending him into a deep depression which abruptly halted his career until Owens performed with Dwight Yoakam in 1988.) 1963's "Act Naturally" became Buck Owens and the Buckaroos' first #1 hit on Capitol. In years following he hit the number one spot with memorable recordings such as “Love’s Gonna Live Here”(1963), “My Heart Skips A Beat”(1964), “I’ve Got A Tiger By The Tail”(1964), “Together Again”(1965), and “Buckaroo”(1965, an instrumental which featured Don Rich’s lead on his Fender Telecaster guitar.).

 

[AlexBrowne]

Hee Haw, which ran on CBS-TV from 1969-1971, was country music's answer to Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In on NBC-TV, featuring blackouts, gags, and cameos by guest stars, but while its comedy was strictly cornball, the musical talent was first-rate thanks to co-hosts Buck Owens and Roy Clark, both major country stars; Owens' biggest hit on the Billboard Hot 100 was "I've Got A Tiger By The Tail" in 1965, while Clark's was "Yesterday, When I Was Young," which entered the chart the day before Hee Haw's premiere.

 

[GridLeakBias]

Hee Haw, which ran on CBS-TV from 1969-1971, was country music's answer to Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In on NBC-TV, featuring blackouts, gags, and cameos by guest stars, but while its comedy was strictly cornball, the musical talent was first-rate thanks to co-hosts Buck Owens and Roy Clark, both major country stars; Owens' biggest hit on the Billboard Hot 100 was "I've Got A Tiger By The Tail" in 1965, while Clark's was "Yesterday, When I Was Young," which entered the chart the day before Hee Haw's premiere.

"The Big Hurt" was a hit for singer Toni Fisher in 1959. The song was written by her husband, Wayne Shanklin, and went to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "The Big Hurt" is notable because it featured phasing effects which at that time were rare in popular music. (Phasing the same part (a repetitive phrase) is played on two musical instruments, in steady but not identical tempo. Thus, the two instruments gradually shift out of unison, creating first a slight echo as one instrument plays a little behind the other, then a doubling with each note heard twice, then a complex ringing effect, and eventually coming back through doubling and echo into unison.)

Oops, hope this wasn’t more info than anyone really wanted to know.

 

[AlexBrowne]

Janis Joplin, the blues-rock vocalist from Port Arthur, Texas, arrived in San Francisco in 1966, at age 23, to become the lead singer of Big Brother and The Holding Company; the group had success with "Piece Of My Heart" and "Down On Me" in 1968, but Joplin is best remembered for her own 1971 #1 record "Me And Bobby McGee," released as a single after her death of a heroin overdose in October 1970.

 

[GridLeakBias]

Janis Joplin, the blues-rock vocalist from Port Arthur, Texas, arrived in San Francisco in 1966, at age 23, to become the lead singer of Big Brother and The Holding Company; the group had success with "Piece Of My Heart" and "Down On Me" in 1968, but Joplin is best remembered for her own 1971 #1 record "Me And Bobby McGee," released as a single after her death of a heroin overdose in October 1970.

After some eight years of making music together, mainly as The Golliwogs on the Fantasy label, CCR (Credence Clearwater Revival) was finally an 'overnight success' after leaving Fantasy and recording their debut album “Credence Clearwater Revival”(1968). This success prompted their second album, Bayou Country at RCA Studios in Los Angeles. Released in January, 1969, and a #7 platinum hit, the record was the first in a string of hit albums and singles which continued for the next three years. The single "Proud Mary", backed with "Born On the Bayou", went to Number 2 on Billboard. It would eventually become group's most-covered song, with some 100 cover versions by other artists to date.

This will be my last post for a while gang, I go for major vascular surgery tomorrow morning (July 2) to bypass a 6cm Abdominal Aortic Aneurism. I have a postitive attitude concerning this surgery and expect to return to this board quickly.
Meanwhile, Rock 'N' Roll is here to stay.

 

[AlexBrowne]

Good luck with the surgery, GLB! We'll try to hold down the fort in your absence. I hope some of our occasional contributors will step up in your absence!

After a string of gold and platinum hits between 1969 and 1971 ("Proud Mary," "Bad Moon Rising," "Green River," "Down On The Corner," "Travelin' Band," "Up Around The Bend," "Lookin' Out My Back Door," "Have You Ever Seen The Rain," "Sweet Hitch-Hiker"), the man who had written, produced, arranged, and sang lead on all those for Creedence Clearwater Revival, John Fogerty, left the group in 1971, and a bitter 34-year personal rift and battle over royalty rights between Fogerty and the other CCR members (John's brother and guitarist Tom Fogerty, bassist Stu Cook, and drummer Doug Clifford) ensued; John Fogerty had a top 10 hit of his own in 1984 with "The Old Man Down The Road," and his 1985 single "Centerfield" became popular with baseball fans, but it wasn't until 2005, when Fogerty returned to Fantasy Records under new ownership, that the royalty issue was resolved and his new album, The Long Road Home, a compilation of his CCR and solo hits, was released.

Oddly enough, I expect to be attending a performance by Creedence Clearwater Revisited, the non-Fogerty successors of the original CCR, tomorrow night at Milwaukee's Summerfest.

 

[amfmsw]

The Impressions, with Curtis Mayfield on lead vocal, sang "I'm So Proud", released on ABC-Paramount in April '64. It peaked at #14 pop. The group re-recorded the balad for mayfield's own label, Curtom, in '71, and released it on the B Side of "Ain't Got Time".

Best Wishes GLB! Nothin' like those full 12 wire EKG's!

 

[AlexBrowne]

The Four Tops' biggest hits -- including their two #1 singles, "I Can't Help Myself" and "Reach Out I'll Be There" -- were recorded in the mid-1960s; their last Top 10 hit on the Motown label was "Bernadette" in 1967, and it wasn't until they had switched to Dunhill/ABC that they again reached the Top 10 with "Keeper Of The Castle" in 1972 and "Ain't No Woman (Like The One I've Got)" in 1973.

 

[GridLeakBias]

The Four Tops' biggest hits -- including their two #1 singles, "I Can't Help Myself" and "Reach Out I'll Be There" -- were recorded in the mid-1960s; their last Top 10 hit on the Motown label was "Bernadette" in 1967, and it wasn't until they had switched to Dunhill/ABC that they again reached the Top 10 with "Keeper Of The Castle" in 1972 and "Ain't No Woman (Like The One I've Got)" in 1973.

Thanks for the kind words Alex and amfmsw. My surgery was a success and I’m now on the long road to recovery. BTW Alex, how was the CCR (not) event?

Can't sit here long, so the first tunes to come to mind from yours are:

“Please Help Me I’m Falling” – Hank Locklin
“Be My Baby”(1963) – Ronettes
“Bernadine”(1957) – Pat Boone
“The Big Hurt” (1959) – Toni Fisher
“Oh, Pretty Woman”(1964) – Roy Orbison

I’m stuck on the year Hank’s tune was released. "Please Help Me I'm Falling" went to No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop music chart. Billboard Magazine's 100th Anniversary issue also listed it as the second most successful country single of the Rock and Roll era. Help, anyone.

 

[AlexBrowne]

Good to have you back, GLB! It stormed the night CCRevisited played, so we chickened out. Despite my lack of enthusiasm for just about any music from the '70s-'80s, my wife wanted to see Earth, Wind & Fire on Sunday, however, we did, and it was a pretty funky scene all in all!

The great Fats Waller -- who had dozens and dozens of hits in the '20s, '30s, and '40s -- was remembered in 1957 by Billy Williams with his recording of "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter" which peaked at #3 on the Billboard Top 100; it had been a hit for Waller in 1935, the Boswell Sisters in 1936, and Connee Boswell in 1953, and is heard today in performances of the wonderful Broadway musical Ain't Misbehavin', which celebrates Waller's music and spirit.

... "Please Help Me, I'm Fallin'" was a hit for Hank Locklin in the summer of 1960. And what would be the most successful country single of the rock era? "El Paso"?

 

[GridLeakBias]

Good to have you back, GLB! It stormed the night CCRevisited played, so we chickened out. Despite my lack of enthusiasm for just about any music from the '70s-'80s, my wife wanted to see Earth, Wind & Fire on Sunday, however, we did, and it was a pretty funky scene all in all!

Thanks Alex.

The great Fats Waller -- who had dozens and dozens of hits in the '20s, '30s, and '40s -- was remembered in 1957 by Billy Williams with his recording of "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter" which peaked at #3 on the Billboard Top 100; it had been a hit for Waller in 1935, the Boswell Sisters in 1936, and Connee Boswell in 1953, and is heard today in performances of the wonderful Broadway musical Ain't Misbehavin', which celebrates Waller's music and spirit.

Antoine “Fats” Domino, born of French heritage in New Orleans, 50’s era R&B artist (Blue Monday, Blueberry Hill, Ain’t That A Shame) claims his piano playing style was influenced early on by Albert Ammons and Fats Waller, among others.

Albert Ammons was one of the big three names of late '30s boogie - woogie along with Pete Johnson and Meade Lux Lewis. (Boogie Woogie developed as a highly percussive piano-based music in the late '20s, and was characterized by a constant repeating rhythmic figure played by the pianist's left hand freeing the right hand for melody improvisation.) Fats Waller was a skilled and much copied jazz pianist -- widely recognized as a master of stride piano and one of the most popular performers of his era. He also was a prolific songwriter, with many songs he wrote or co-wrote still known to modern audiences, such as "Honeysuckle Rose" and "Ain't Misbehavin'".

 

[AlexBrowne]

"La Vie En Rose" was the signature song of the legendary French chanteuse Edith Piaf (interestingly, the 1950 U.S. hit version, on Columbia 38938, was sung in English), but she did chart with one of her singles during the Oldies era: "Milord" in 1961 (and this one, on Capitol 4493, was sung in French); Piaf died in 1963.

 

[GridLeakBias]

"La Vie En Rose" was the signature song of the legendary French chanteuse Edith Piaf (interestingly, the 1950 U.S. hit version, on Columbia 38938, was sung in English), but she did chart with one of her singles during the Oldies era: "Milord" in 1961 (and this one, on Capitol 4493, was sung in French); Piaf died in 1963.

In 1960 Petula Clark (British singer, actress and composer) embarked on a concert tour of France and Belgium with French star Sacha Distel, who remained a close friend until his death in 2004. Gradually she moved further into the continent, recording in German, French, Italian and Spanish, and establishing herself as a multi-lingual performer. In 1963 and 1964, Clark's British career foundered, but her recording of "Downtown" went to number 1 on the US charts in January 1965 and sold three million copies in America. It was the first of fifteen consecutive Top 40 hits Clark scored in the U.S., including "I Know a Place", "My Love", "A Sign of the Times", "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love", "This Is My Song" (from the Charles Chaplin film A Countess from Hong Kong), and "Don't Sleep in the Subway." The American recording industry honored her with Grammy Awards for "Best Rock & Roll Record" for "Downtown" in 1964 and for "Best Contemporary Female Vocal Performance" for "I Know a Place" in 1965.

 

[AlexBrowne]

A standard composed by Bert Kaempfert has a variety of "continental connections," shall we say: bandleader/producer/arranger Kaempfert, who was born in Germany in 1923 (and died in Switzerland in 1980), wrote and recorded the instrumental "Moon Over Naples," about the Italian city, in 1965, but most of us know the song as "Spanish Eyes," because those were the lyrics when Italian-American Al Martino's version of it was a #1 adult contemporary hit later that year.

 

[amfmsw]

Ahhh...the Eyes have it.

Look In My Eyes is a personal fave by The Chantels in the late Summer of '61 on Carlton. It was a big departure from their End/Gone label days. With a decent production budget, it was recorded in multi-track stereo with a full, lush orchestration.

Another, "Love Eyes" by Jersey City's Duprees on Coed is a local hit song. then there's Nelson's "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain", John's "Blue Eyes", and the ever popular Cheech & Chong's "Earache My Eye"

 

[TennStud]

Alabama enjoyed Shaggin on the boulevard.Sorry guys ..messed it up....thought it a NEw post and took last post off of page 1

 

[AlexBrowne]

Not sure if you intended to post in this topic, TennStud. Here, therefore, is a reply to the previous Fantastic Oldies Game post by amfmsw...

"Everlasting Love" is an uptempo song which gets a lot of airplay on a variety of radio stations since it was a hit for several different artists in four different decades: written by Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden, it was first recorded by R&B singer Robert Knight in 1967; the English pop band Love Affair had a #1 hit in the U.K. with it in 1968; Carl Carlton recorded a version which sounded a lot like Knight's and became a Top 10 hit in 1974; then there was the Rex Smith/Rachel Sweet take on it in 1981; and Gloria Estafan charted with it in 1995.

 

[GridLeakBias]

Not sure if you intended to post in this topic, TennStud. Here, therefore, is a reply to the previous Fantastic Oldies Game post by amfmsw...

"Everlasting Love" is an uptempo song which gets a lot of airplay on a variety of radio stations since it was a hit for several different artists in four different decades: written by Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden, it was first recorded by R&B singer Robert Knight in 1967; the English pop band Love Affair had a #1 hit in the U.K. with it in 1968; Carl Carlton recorded a version which sounded a lot like Knight's and became a Top 10 hit in 1974; then there was the Rex Smith/Rachel Sweet take on it in 1981; and Gloria Estafan charted with it in 1995.

Hi gang, I’m back again. While recovering from my surgery I developed Pneumonia and spent the past week hospitalized. Released today, I’m hoping to stay on this board and out of medical treatment. GLB

The sentimental and upbeat theme song, "Love is a Many-Splendored Thing" was one of the first songs written for a movie to become #1 in the charts during the same year (1955). The theme song, as recorded by The Four Aces (ABC-Paramount 29625) went to #1 on the charts for four weeks in 1955 (in the midst of the rock-and-roll era) and won the Academy Award for Best Song. The song also has been a hit for Jerry Vale and Frank Sinatra, among others.