Fantastic Oldies Game!

[AlexBrowne]

Welcome back, GLB... wow, pneumonia. Here's hoping it was the rockin' kind with the only complication a touch of the boogie woogie flu! Here's to a healthy recovery!

Today we are remembering one of the most popular female vocalists of the pre-rock era, Jo Stafford, who passed away Wednesday of congestive heart failure at the age of 90. She sang with Tommy Dorsey and the Pied Pipers, and had four #1 songs: "Candy," recorded with Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers (1945); "My Darling, My Darling," from the Broadway musical Where's Charley?, a duet with Gordon MacRae; "Make Love To Me!" (1954); and the biggest one of all, "You Belong To Me," which sold close to two million copies (1952).

 

[GridLeakBias]

Welcome back, GLB... wow, pneumonia. Here's hoping it was the rockin' kind with the only complication a touch of the boogie woogie flu! Here's to a healthy recovery!

Today we are remembering one of the most popular female vocalists of the pre-rock era, Jo Stafford, who passed away Wednesday of congestive heart failure at the age of 90. She sang with Tommy Dorsey and the Pied Pipers, and had four #1 songs: "Candy," recorded with Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers (1945); "My Darling, My Darling," from the Broadway musical Where's Charley?, a duet with Gordon MacRae; "Make Love To Me!" (1954); and the biggest one of all, "You Belong To Me," which sold close to two million copies (1952).

“Rockin’ P. And The B.W. Flu” – that’s an LOL. Great reply, thanks again Alex.

Mark McIntyre, an orchestra leader, pianist, and songwriter, brought his daughters, 11-year-old Prudence and 14-year-old Patience, into the Liberty Records studio in Los Angeles in the summer of 1956. They made a demo recording of the song "Tonight You Belong to Me", which had been a hit for Gene Austin in 1927. Liberty liked the song, signed the girls and immediately released it as an A side single. The song went to #4 on Billboard and became the biggest selling record put by Liberty for two years. Another recording by the girls, "Gonna Get Along without Ya Now", was released the same year and reached #11 on the Billboard charts.

 

[AlexBrowne]

Just returned from a great concert at Milwaukee's Festa Italia by Jay & The Americans -- Sandy Deanne, Howie Kane, Marty Sanders, and (Jay #3) Jay Reincke -- in which they sang all their hits, and told some great stories about their relationships with Doc Pomus, Leiber and Stoller, Neil Diamond, and more, including this one: David Blatt (Jay Black) got the job as Jay #2 by singing "Cara, Mia" for his audition in Sanders' basement and it always brought the house down in concerts, but United Artists was unwilling to release it, eventually, grudgingly, agreeing to place it on the B-side of "When It's All Over"; but the group pulled a fast one on the label, singing "Cara, Mia," instead of "When It's All Over," on The Tonight Show, thus ensuring that the B-side, not the A-side, would be a hit, which it was -- "Cara, Mia" peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 while "When It's All Over" peaked at #129!

 

[GridLeakBias]

Just returned from a great concert at Milwaukee's Festa Italia by Jay & The Americans -- Sandy Deanne, Howie Kane, Marty Sanders, and (Jay #3) Jay Reincke -- in which they sang all their hits, and told some great stories about their relationships with Doc Pomus, Leiber and Stoller, Neil Diamond, and more, including this one: David Blatt (Jay Black) got the job as Jay #2 by singing "Cara, Mia" for his audition in Sanders' basement and it always brought the house down in concerts, but United Artists was unwilling to release it, eventually, grudgingly, agreeing to place it on the B-side of "When It's All Over"; but the group pulled a fast one on the label, singing "Cara, Mia," instead of "When It's All Over," on The Tonight Show, thus ensuring that the B-side, not the A-side, would be a hit, which it was -- "Cara, Mia" peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 while "When It's All Over" peaked at #129!

Sandy Nelson attended high school with Jan Berry, Dean Torrence (who became Jan and Dean), and Kim Fowley. After gaining respect as a session drummer, he played on such songs as "To Know Him Is To Love Him" (Phil Spector's Teddy Bears, 1958), "Alley-Oop" (The Hollywood Argyles, 1960), and "A Thousand Stars" (Kathy Young and the Innocents, 1960). His song "Teen Beat", on Original Sound Records (Original Sound 5), rose to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1959. Subsequently he signed with the Imperial record label, and pounded out two more Top 40 hits, "Let There Be Drums", which went to #3 in the UK Singles Chart, and "Drums Are My Beat".

 

[AlexBrowne]

Film Director Tom Laughlin used "One Tin Soldier," an anti-war song written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, on the opening sequence (which depicted the slaughter of wild mustangs) of his 1971 cult film Billy Jack; in 1969, the first recording of the tune had been the only charted single for the Canadian quintet The Original Caste, but the movie version by Jinx Dawson, lead singer of the pop quartet Coven (the record was credited to the full group), is better known and charted twice, once in 1971 and later upon the re-release of the film in 1973.

 

[GridLeakBias]

Film Director Tom Laughlin used "One Tin Soldier," an anti-war song written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, on the opening sequence (which depicted the slaughter of wild mustangs) of his 1971 cult film Billy Jack; in 1969, the first recording of the tune had been the only charted single for the Canadian quintet The Original Caste, but the movie version by Jinx Dawson, lead singer of the pop quartet Coven (the record was credited to the full group), is better known and charted twice, once in 1971 and later upon the re-release of the film in 1973.

"Mustang Sally" is an R&B Blues song written and first recorded by Mack Rice in 1965. It gained greater popularity when it was covered by Wilson Pickett the following year. Rice's version made it to #15 on the U.S. R&B charts in 1965. Pickett's version climbed to #6 R&B and #23 Pop in 1966. According to music historian Tom Shannon, the song started as a joke when Della Reese's band leader wanted a new Ford Mustang. Rice called the early version "Mustang Mama", but changed the title after Aretha Franklin suggested "Mustang Sally."

 

[AlexBrowne]

"Land Of 1000 Dances" is a great party song that has charted for no fewer than six artists: Chris Kenner in 1962, Cannibal and The Headhunters and Thee Midnighters (two Mexican-American groups) in 1965, Wilson Pickett (the most successful version, a #1 R&B hit) in 1966, The Electric Indian (an instrumental) in 1969, and the J. Geils Band in 1983; despite the title, Kenner's original mentions (only) 16 dances: the pony, the chicken, the mashed potato, the alligator, the watusi, the twist, the fly, the jerk, the tango, the yo-yo, the sweet pea, the hand jive, the slop, the bop, the fish, and the popeye.

 

[GridLeakBias]

"Land Of 1000 Dances" is a great party song that has charted for no fewer than six artists: Chris Kenner in 1962, Cannibal and The Headhunters and Thee Midnighters (two Mexican-American groups) in 1965, Wilson Pickett (the most successful version, a #1 R&B hit) in 1966, The Electric Indian (an instrumental) in 1969, and the J. Geils Band in 1983; despite the title, Kenner's original mentions (only) 16 dances: the pony, the chicken, the mashed potato, the alligator, the watusi, the twist, the fly, the jerk, the tango, the yo-yo, the sweet pea, the hand jive, the slop, the bop, the fish, and the popeye.

Country Joe and the Fish was a rock band most widely known for musical protests against the Vietnam War, from 1966 to 1971. The group's name is derived from leftist politics; "Country Joe" was a popular name for Joseph Stalin in the 1940s, while "the fish" refers to Mao Tse Dung's statement that the true revolutionary "moves through the peasantry as the fish does through water." Country Joe and The Fish were regulars at Fillmore West and East and Chet Helms' Avalon Ballroom. They were billed with such groups as Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Led Zeppelin, and Iron Butterfly and played at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and at the Woodstock Festival in 1969.

 

[AlexBrowne]

Eric Burdon & The Animals told the story of the Monterey Pop Festival in their single "Monterey" released six months after the 1967 event; the lyrics refer to a number of the Festival performers including The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, Ravi Shankar, The Who, Hugh Masekela, The Grateful Dead, and Jimi Hendrix, and share this philosophy: "If you wanna find the truth in life don't pass music by."

 

[GridLeakBias]

Eric Burdon & The Animals told the story of the Monterey Pop Festival in their single "Monterey" released six months after the 1967 event; the lyrics refer to a number of the Festival performers including The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, Ravi Shankar, The Who, Hugh Masekela, The Grateful Dead, and Jimi Hendrix, and share this philosophy: "If you wanna find the truth in life don't pass music by."

“You Always Hurt The One You Love”, a pop standard recorded by The Mills Brothers was released by Decca Records as catalog number 18599. It first reached the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart on June 22, 1944 and lasted 20 weeks on the chart, peaking at #1. It has been performed by many artists over the years, such as The Mills Brothers, Connie Francis, Fats Domino, The Impressions, Frankie Laine, Peggy Lee, Kay Starr, Hank Thompson, and Clarence "Frogman" Henry, whose version became a top twenty hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961.

 

[AlexBrowne]

The version of "You Always Hurt The One You Love" that I prefer is the hilarious spoof by Spike Jones & His City Slickers recorded in 1945: Carl Grayson sings the first part in an overly-sweet manner similar to the Ink Spots, then Red Ingle recites the second part as Amos and Andy might do it, and the third part features a frantic Dixieland-style interpretation with vocals by Grayson and silly sound effects typical of Jones' recordings; in the '60s and '70s, the comedian Rip Taylor used to lip sync Spike's recording as part of his routine, acting out the sound effects -- very, very funny!

 

[GridLeakBias]

The version of "You Always Hurt The One You Love" that I prefer is the hilarious spoof by Spike Jones & His City Slickers recorded in 1945: Carl Grayson sings the first part in an overly-sweet manner similar to the Ink Spots, then Red Ingle recites the second part as Amos and Andy might do it, and the third part features a frantic Dixieland-style interpretation with vocals by Grayson and silly sound effects typical of Jones' recordings; in the '60s and '70s, the comedian Rip Taylor used to lip sync Spike's recording as part of his routine, acting out the sound effects -- very, very funny!

"Cocktails for Two" is a song from the Big Band era. The song originated with the movie Murder at the Vanities (1934), where it was introduced by singer and actor Carl Brisson. Duke Ellington's version of the song recorded in 1934 was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007. Released in 1944 by RCA Victor, the Spike Jones version of “Cocktails For Two” reached its highest ranking (#4) in 1945, and became their all time biggest hit.

 

[AlexBrowne]

They're two different songs with the same title, popular 15 years apart, with different takes on the same theme, a wedding ring: in the 1955 hit "Band Of Gold," Texan Don Cherry tells us that instead of weath and fame, his only design in life is to have "a simple little band of gold to prove that you are mine"; in the 1970 hit "Band Of Gold," Detroit's Freda Payne confesses that "since you've been gone, all that's left is a band of gold" (but that marriage was doomed from the start: on their honeymoon night, she and her new husband "stayed in separate rooms"!)

 

[GridLeakBias]

They're two different songs with the same title, popular 15 years apart, with different takes on the same theme, a wedding ring: in the 1955 hit "Band Of Gold," Texan Don Cherry tells us that instead of weath and fame, his only design in life is to have "a simple little band of gold to prove that you are mine"; in the 1970 hit "Band Of Gold," Detroit's Freda Payne confesses that "since you've been gone, all that's left is a band of gold" (but that marriage was doomed from the start: on their honeymoon night, she and her new husband "stayed in separate rooms"!)

Ferlin Husky is an American singer who has become well-known as a country-pop chart-topper under various names, including Terry Preston and Simon Crum. In the 1950s and 60s, Husky had several hits, including "Gone" and "Wings of a Dove", each a number one on the country charts. In the late 1950s, Husky had a long string of hits, including the #1 "Gone" in 1957 (he first recorded "Gone" as Terry Preston in 1952). "Gone" was a "crossover" success, also reaching #4 on the pop charts.

 

[AlexBrowne]

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel have scored four #1 songs between them, three as a duo --"The Sounds Of Silence" in 1965, "Mrs. Robinson" in 1968, and "Bridge Over Troubled Water" in 1970 -- and one by Simon alone, "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" in 1975; Garfunkel's never had a #1 solo hit (his most successful single was "All I Know" which peaked at #9 in 1973).

 

[GridLeakBias]

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel have scored four #1 songs between them, three as a duo --"The Sounds Of Silence" in 1965, "Mrs. Robinson" in 1968, and "Bridge Over Troubled Water" in 1970 -- and one by Simon alone, "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" in 1975; Garfunkel's never had a #1 solo hit (his most successful single was "All I Know" which peaked at #9 in 1973).

Alvin and the Chipmunks is a five-time Grammy Award-winning animated music group created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. in 1958. The group consists of three singing animated chipmunks: Alvin, the mischievous troublemaker, who quickly became the star of the group; Simon, the tall, bespectacled intellectual; and Theodore, the chubby, impressionable sweetheart. The trio is managed by their human father and confidant, David Seville. In reality, David Seville was Bagdasarian's stage name, and the Chipmunks themselves are named after the executives of their original record label, Liberty Records: Alvin Bennett (the president), Simon Waronker (the founder and owner), and Theodore Keep (the chief engineer). Although the characters were fictional, they did release a long line of actual albums and singles, with "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)” (Liberty F-55168) becoming a number-one hit single in the United States. It spent four weeks at Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart from December 22, 1958 to January 12, 1959. It also earned three Grammy Awards and a nomination for Record of the Year.

 

[AlexBrowne]

Diana Ross was originally just one of the three Supremes, but in 1967 the group was renamed Diana Ross and The Supremes: their first charted single was "Reflections," and their last under that name was their #1 1969 recording "Someday We'll Be Together"; Ross went solo in 1970, and while her first record, "Reach Out And Touch (Somebody's Hand)" was only a moderate success, she returned to the #1 spot with her second solo release, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough."

 

[GridLeakBias]

Diana Ross was originally just one of the three Supremes, but in 1967 the group was renamed Diana Ross and The Supremes: their first charted single was "Reflections," and their last under that name was their #1 1969 recording "Someday We'll Be Together"; Ross went solo in 1970, and while her first record, "Reach Out And Touch (Somebody's Hand)" was only a moderate success, she returned to the #1 spot with her second solo release, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough."

The number one song (in Chicago) for the week of Aug 3, 1967 was “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”, Frankie Valli.

 

[AlexBrowne]

Jersey Boys, with music by Bob Gaudio and lyrics by Bob Crewe, and the winner of the Tony for best Broadway musical in 2006, is the story of The 4 Seasons: Frankie Valli, Gaudio, Nick Massi, and Tommy DeVito; it features virtually all the group's biggest hits including "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Sherry," "Walk Like A Man," "December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)," and "Rag Doll," as well as one of Valli's most popular singles as a soloist, "Can't Take My Eyes Off You."

 

[GridLeakBias]

Jersey Boys, with music by Bob Gaudio and lyrics by Bob Crewe, and the winner of the Tony for best Broadway musical in 2006, is the story of The 4 Seasons: Frankie Valli, Gaudio, Nick Massi, and Tommy DeVito; it features virtually all the group's biggest hits including "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Sherry," "Walk Like A Man," "December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)," and "Rag Doll," as well as one of Valli's most popular singles as a soloist, "Can't Take My Eyes Off You."

Chuck Berry had a number of early recordings which are often overlooked and seldom heard on the oldies stations. One of these has been in my top ten C.B. tunes since it’s release in 1957, i.e., “Oh Baby Doll” backed with “La Juanda” (Chess 1664).