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WAYNE NEWTON

J

johnbasalla

I listened to a whole bunch of albums by Wayne Newton, from his Capitol Records days in the early-mid 1960's to his output on M-G-M Records, and then (my favorites) the 1970s albums on Chelsea Records.

When he was young, he had a high-register voice. It was noticeably lower by the time he was recording for Chelsea. How did Wayne Newton fair on BF/EZ stations? I thought that his high register voice might have been a turn off-tune out situation. Additionally, I was surprised by how many upbeat, boisterous, songs he sang on those Capitol albums that I had. Still, they were not Rock.

How did his later releases, most notably "Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast" and its follow-up single "Can't You Hear The Song?" do? These two albums were of the most interest to me.
 
Wayne Newton sang as a boy well into adulthood. Sometime in the 1970s, someone told him he had a lower register and he began to use it. It rejuvenated his career! There was a running gag as to whose voice would change first, Donny Osmond or Wayne Newton!
 
I programmed Beautiful Music both in the later 60's, later 70's and early to mid-80's. Newton's voice was a bit too unique for the format and I did not play him at all. I can't recall SRP or Bonneville including anything by him, although I may not have a good memory nearly 50 years back.
 
davideduardo said:
I programmed Beautiful Music both in the later 60's, later 70's and early to mid-80's. Newton's voice was a bit too unique for the format and I did not play him at all. I can't recall SRP or Bonneville including anything by him, although I may not have a good memory nearly 50 years back.
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He'd best fit on MOR formatted stations of the era.
 
Whew! I thought this was another obit in a horrifying week of celeb death.
 
cc333 said:
I know!

Chuck Mangione's "Feels So Good" is one of my favorite albums.


That's the only song of Wayne's that I've ever heard!

c
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I would suggest going on to YouTube and listen to his Top 10 Pop hit "Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast", a melancholy piece that reminds listeners of Elvis Presley's "Don't Cry Daddy". Then came my favorite Wayne Newton hit, "Can't You Hear The Song?" ... a pleasant, catchy tune. Both of these were on Chelsea Records, an RCA imprint, in the early 1970s. By this time, his voice had changed and wasn't as high-pitched. Semi-related, the Chelsea Records label from 1970-1973, or so, is my all-time favorite record label to look at. Lots of bright colors. The later one, with darker tones, not so much.
 
johnbasalla said:
How did his later releases, most notably "Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast" and its follow-up single "Can't You Hear The Song?" do? These two albums were of the most interest to me.
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"Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast" was Wayne's highest-charting single...peaking at #4 on the Hot 100. It's also his only single to go Gold. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart.

"Can't You Hear The Song" peaked at #48 on the Hot 100---#3 on the Easy Listening chart.

And the one after that---"Anthem", did worse, peaking at #65 on the Hot 100 and missing the Easy Listening chart altogether.

Wayne was never a truly big recording act. His successes on MOR radio in the 60s were at a time when MOR stations didn't sweat record sales. They were looking for a sound.

His highest-charting album was "Red Roses for a Blue Lady" in 1965, and it peaked at #17. His second-highest was the "Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast" album, which managed #34.

If he hadn't worked the TV variety show circuit and had a big booster in Lucille Ball, who gave him guest-starring roles as himself on two of her series, he wouldn't have made much of a mark. Las Vegas saved him---and most of that was because, with an hour-long show to himself, he could show off a range of talents, and manipulate a range of emotions. He earned a reputation as a master showman.
 
Newton, with his brother, was working in a lounge at a Vegas hotel as early as age 17. He became a solo headliner in 1963, before all but perhaps his Jackie Gleason show performances. My favorite Newton TV appearance was on a “Lucy Show” episode in 1965. He sang the “Little” Jimmy Dickens written “Bessie The Heifer.”

"Bessie the heifer the queen of all cows;
She gave more milk than any law allows.
In the morning she gave pasteurized.
At night she gave homogenized.
Bessie the heifer the queen of all the cows."

Now, that’s lyric writing.
 
Ma “Contrarian” Gee said:
Newton, with his brother, was working in a lounge at a Vegas hotel as early as age 17. He became a solo headliner in 1963, before all but perhaps his Jackie Gleason show performances. My favorite Newton TV appearance was on a “Lucy Show” episode in 1965. He sang the “Little” Jimmy Dickens written “Bessie The Heifer.”

"Bessie the heifer the queen of all cows;
She gave more milk than any law allows.
In the morning she gave pasteurized.
At night she gave homogenized.
Bessie the heifer the queen of all the cows."

Now, that’s lyric writing.
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Runner-up:

Season 1, Episode 5 of The Doris Day Show, "The Songwriter", in which Doris composes a song called "Your Love is Like Butter Gone Rancid" (sung to the tune of "My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean"):

Your love is like butter gone rancid
It’s no good now; it’s started to turn
I pray that it’s just like the man said
You can’t put it back in the churn
Can’t put
Can’t put
Can’t put it back in the churn
Oh, durn!

thrillingdaysofyesteryear.blogspot.com

Doris Day(s) #5: “The Songwriter” (10/29/68, prod. no #8516)

I have to tell you, cartooners…this week’s Doris Day(s) was a real chore to do—because of all the episodes of The Doris Day Show I’ve ...
thrillingdaysofyesteryear.blogspot.com thrillingdaysofyesteryear.blogspot.com
 
michael hagerty said:
"Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast" was Wayne's highest-charting single...peaking at #4 on the Hot 100. It's also his only single to go Gold. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart.

"Can't You Hear The Song" peaked at #48 on the Hot 100---#3 on the Easy Listening chart.

And the one after that---"Anthem", did worse, peaking at #65 on the Hot 100 and missing the Easy Listening chart altogether.

Wayne was never a truly big recording act. His successes on MOR radio in the 60s were at a time when MOR stations didn't sweat record sales. They were looking for a sound.

His highest-charting album was "Red Roses for a Blue Lady" in 1965, and it peaked at #17. His second-highest was the "Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast" album, which managed #34.

If he hadn't worked the TV variety show circuit and had a big booster in Lucille Ball, who gave him guest-starring roles as himself on two of her series, he wouldn't have made much of a mark. Las Vegas saved him---and most of that was because, with an hour-long show to himself, he could show off a range of talents, and manipulate a range of emotions. He earned a reputation as a master showman.
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I have all of the Joel Whitburn books which has the chart information.
 
I just saw an episode of Kim Russo's Celebrity Ghost Stories with Wayne Newton. He was visited by the ghost of Elvis Presley....pretty cool story! 👻
 


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