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WIXY exclusives

J

johnbasalla

For those who have fond and detailed memories of WIXY 1260, here's a fun question to ponder.

What songs do you remember hearing on WIXY that were/seemed to be exclusive to WIXY? I'll move on to other stations in the future.

Here are 4 that I remember:

* "Everybody Knows Matilda" by DUKE BAXTER (1969). VMC Records. An hilarious full story-song (has a beginning, middle and end), about a loose woman whose boyfriend doesn't take kindly to other guys hooking up with Matilda. Some lyrics, a few spoken: "Heard a knock upon the door... He said "Let me in!,
Took it that her boyfriend had a gun... 'Sorry baby but you have to run'(said in falsetto), but I was gone before she was done, I left my skin. Leaped through the window as the door came tumbling down..."

* "Mississippi Mama" by OWEN B. (1970). Janus Records They were supposedly a Folk-Rock group from Columbus, Ohio, but this song ROCKED! The record clocked in at under 2 minutes. The B-side was a very interesting reworking of the Motown classic "Nowhere To Run" that sounds nothing like the original. This record peaked nationally at #97 on the Billboard Hot 100.

** "I Am What I Am" by Lois Fletcher (1974). Playboy Records. A light, upbeat fun pop tune by a lady who I searched for on the internet, found her at the business she now has, and had a nice conversation.
She recorded the record in Canada, so, thanks to Canadian content rules for that country's stations, it should have also made it on to CKLW. Lyrics: "I Am What I am, I'm just one of the people, I'm happy to live 'til I die..." I'm glad I bought a copy as I have never seen another copy of it!

** "Dance Master" by WILLIE HENDERSON (1974). Playboy Records. This was likely also played on WJMO 1490, but I wasn't listening to them much by the mid 1970s. A so-so early Disco/Funk piece.


Key:
* I bought a copy of the record when it was new. I wore it out playing it.

** I still have the original copy I bought.
 
"Jerusalem" - The Hello People 1968

"Get On Your Knees" - Los Canarios 1970

"Montage"- Love Generation 1968

For starters

Here's a bunch of scanned WIXY surveys I used to have, mainly 1967-71:

http://www.dannykewl.com/surveys/index.html

Here is an old 1998 newsgroup thread started by me (as BwanaDon/Dan The Man) regarding many of the obscure tunes mainly in WIXY's bottom 20 that either I don't recall WIXY ever playing and that I never heard back then, and some I still never heard. I remember WIXY didn't seem to play most of their bottom 20, unless it was by an established hit artist, and IIRC, when they did their countdown on the air Friday afternoons, it was 40 thru 1.

http://groups.google.com/group/rec....6cbb?hl=en&lnk=gst&q=how's+these+for+obscure#
 
A couple of songs which come to mind:

Mah Na Mah Na, by Piero Umilinilani.

Shaving Cream, by Benny Bell
 
Danny, Thank you for the links. Very interesting. I remember the WIXY Top 60, in which you almost never heard #41-60. I remember seeing one of those lists with "In The Court of The Crimson King" by King Crimson listed like at #58. They were a Progressive Rock act at home on WNCR and the fledgling WMMS once they went "Progressive". I remember at the time thinking that was an interesting title, and hoped to hear it. I never did, at least on WIXY 1260.

WIXYGrad, both of those off-the-wall novelties were, if my memory is serving me correctly, also played on WGAR and/or WKYC or WWWE if they had changed by that time. I believe CKLW played at least one of them. At least one of the stations, identified the artist on "Mah Na Mah Na" as "Mystery Star". Maybe they didn't want to deal with that name, or... if you look at the original 45 label, it's not really distinct as to who the artist is. It's not like the song title and the artist's name are in big letters as would be the norm.

I wonder how many stations played "Stop, Wait and Listen" by Circus, a band from Cleveland. Probably WHLO in Akron joined WIXY on that one.
 
You're welcome John!

Here's a couple more, if I can take the liberty of stretching the idea of "exclusivity" a tad.

Richard and the Young Lions - "Open Up Your Door". Top 5 on WIXY, pretty sure, as well as WHK, and #1 on WKYC, and I believe it charted well on CKLW (and maybe the Akron stations). From Fall 1966. However this tune by this New Jersey band, pretty much failed to make even a dent anywhere else. Since this was a hit on all the Cleveland Top 40 stations at the time, guess it will fit here just as well as when we start calling the other Cleveland stations into play on this thread. Here's an actual video someone posted on YouTube, where they played in Windsor, ON:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLq8q7QKnPE

Late summer 1966, pretty much the same story with Jacobson and Tansley "Dream With Me", Top 10, and perhaps Top 5 on some of the Cleveland stations. Not sure about CKLW on this one, and I don't know where this duo is from. I heard it also got played in the Seattle, WA and Vancouver, BC areas, but that was it. Us and them.

I posted this one on YouTube (Dream With Me):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsKmMZNGiMo

I'll have to put my thinking cap on for really exclusive WIXY tunes not already mentioned. That may have started happening more during the 70's.

As far as "Stop, Wait, and Listen", I remember a Cleveland Top 40 FM also playing it at time time (as well as WIXY), may have been WLYT 92.3.
 
Jim Trefney said:
What about "Cold Outside" by the Choir?
Click to expand...

"It's Cold Outside" by Mentor's The Choir, was number one on WIXY for 5 straight weeks in the Spring of 1967. It kept another "regional" at #2, "Love Love Love Love Love" by Flint MI's Terry Knight and the Pack (who evolved into Grand Funk Railroad). I believe "It's Cold Outside" also managed #1 on WHK and WKYC at the time, I know they also played it. I remember CKLW playing it, but I don't know how high it charted there. I'm sure it did good in Akron. I remember hearing it on WABC in New York also, even though they never played their "own" Richard and The Young Lions "Open Up Your Door" which made #1 here. Strange. "It's Cold Outside" charted at #68 on Billboard, and I have a hunch that the song may have done better if it was released in the Fall/Winter vs. Spring with the lyrics suggesting that the failed love was like it getting cold outside and "the leaves are turning brown", etc.
 
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