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Post by razorbacker on Jul 24, 2018 18:49:17 GMT
I've never understood what a Doo Wop song was, but I do like that one. I guess I always thought it was when a song was sung acapella, but I can clearly hear background music. Where did the name Doo Wop come from? And what makes a song a Doo Wop song? Doo Wop is mostly harmony types of songs lead by a tenor voice with a bass vocalist singing the lines as well. It usually has sparse instrumentation, sometimes none, but the harmonies are the thing. And it was mostly black groups. There were a few white doo wop groups but they were definitely on the scant side.
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Post by MissScarlet on Jul 24, 2018 21:32:26 GMT
I've heard a few songs where Doo Wop is actually in the song or background singing. I always figured that's where the name came from. But it's not always the case.
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Post by Arielflies on Jul 25, 2018 4:20:17 GMT
The background singers snapping fingers and laying down a wop-wop track.
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 26, 2018 11:21:01 GMT
Sometimes you get more than one piece of gold in a week. That was the case on February 17, 1962 when we got the very first singles from a couple of big name acts. This one hit the chart at #100, can't debut much worse than that. Soul Twist – King Curtis & The Noble Knights King Curtis has been heard playing sax on multiple hits by multiple artists in the past, but now he steps into the role of releasing new music under his own name. This was his first hit single, he wrote it & it is going to #17 on the Pop Chart & it gets two weeks at #1 on the R&B Chart. This was the highest he peaked on either chart. He was born Curtis Montgomery in Fort Worth, Texas, and was adopted, with his sister Josephine Allen, by Josie and William Ousley. Curtis Ousley attended I.M. Terrell High School, and studied and performed music with schoolmate Ornette Coleman. He was a very prominent studio session player during this time. Curtis was killed on August 13, 1971, when he was stabbed during an argument with a pair of drug dealers he discovered on the steps outside his Manhattan apartment. Curtis was attempting to carry an air conditioner into his apartment when Juan Montanez refused to move from the entrance. A fight ensued and Montanez stabbed Curtis. Curtis later died at Roosevelt Hospital. In March 1972, Montanez was sentenced to seven years for second-degree manslaughter, but was released in late 1977 for good behavior. www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gFezXsdj-0And this one started at #93: Surfin – The Beach Boys This song has been lounging around, in & out & back in the Bubbling Under Charts for a few weeks & now we hear the first single from the future superstars. Unfortunately it isn’t going to be a huge hit for them. It stays around for six weeks & comes to rest at #75. Brian Wilson & Mike Love wrote the song. As explained in the DVD Brian Wilson Songwriter 1962 - 1969, Brian was very concerned about the background vocals on this song, as he wanted them to not only be in tune, but sound exciting. The arrangement was sparse: Beach Boys guitarist David Marks said that Brian used his finger to hit the snare drum, Al Jardine played the upright bass, and Carl Wilson played a hollow-bodied electric guitar, but it was unplugged. That was all the instrumentation. Sometimes record labels, management moves & other shenanigans make for interesting back stories. This is one of those times. Thanks to songfacts.com. Released on Candix Records, a minor Los Angeles company, "Surfin'" got its first ever play on December 2, 1961 on KFWB Radio. It was a hit in Los Angeles and sold about 50,000 copies, leading to a record deal for The Beach Boys with Capitol Records. Confusingly, "Surfin'" was seemingly released three times in three months on (apparently) two different labels: Candix 331 in November 1961, X 301 in December and Candix 301 in January 1962. The full story is complex and still imperfectly understood, but in simple form, when the owners of Candix went back to the pressing plant to order more of 331, they were told to settle their bills first, so in order to maintain a flow of singles they had another plant press the record, hence the X 301 release (which is far and away the rarest of all). When sufficient cash had been raised for a further repressing on Candix, the number 301 was retained, possibly for the sake of continuity, possibly as a slip of the pen. If anyone has one of those releases on the X label, you got a rare gem! www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jIdYAAO7cM
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 28, 2018 13:16:44 GMT
Since we discussed Doo Wop up above, I thought you might like to hear something from a bit later, from a group that you might not expect. Many folks know Frank Zappa for his humor & his guitar playing, but he & The Mothers Of Invention were big fans of Doo Wop & even put out an entire album of the genre under the name of Crusin With Ruben & The Jets. The album contains some stunning examples of great doo wop music. Here is a song from that album called Show Me The Way To Your Heart. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb3Cu_Xrt_gHere is a song from Burn Weenie Sandwich that goes back to 1955 & The Four Deuces. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb3Cu_Xrt_g
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Post by MissScarlet on Jul 29, 2018 18:24:35 GMT
Since we discussed Doo Wop up above, I thought you might like to hear something from a bit later, from a group that you might not expect. Many folks know Frank Zappa for his humor & his guitar playing, but he & The Mothers Of Invention were big fans of Doo Wop & even put out an entire album of the genre under the name of Crusin With Ruben & The Jets. The album contains some stunning examples of great doo wop music. Here is a song from that album called Show Me The Way To Your Heart. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb3Cu_Xrt_gHere is a song from Burn Weenie Sandwich that goes back to 1955 & The Four Deuces. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb3Cu_Xrt_gI enjoyed the song a lot, but both links went to the exact same thing. (You can't fool me. )
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 30, 2018 10:55:47 GMT
Since we discussed Doo Wop up above, I thought you might like to hear something from a bit later, from a group that you might not expect. Many folks know Frank Zappa for his humor & his guitar playing, but he & The Mothers Of Invention were big fans of Doo Wop & even put out an entire album of the genre under the name of Crusin With Ruben & The Jets. The album contains some stunning examples of great doo wop music. Here is a song from that album called Show Me The Way To Your Heart. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb3Cu_Xrt_gHere is a song from Burn Weenie Sandwich that goes back to 1955 & The Four Deuces. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb3Cu_Xrt_gI enjoyed the song a lot, but both links went to the exact same thing. (You can't fool me. ) OOOOPS. Here is the one that was missing. I think it is one you will like as well.
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Post by razorbacker on Aug 5, 2018 11:22:02 GMT
So March 3, 1962 was a crazy week on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. That week there were five singles making their debut appearance being sung by stars of TV Shows. We had new hit singles by Alvin & The Chipmunks, Rick Nelson, Johnny Crawford (Mark McCain on The Rifleman) & TV brother & sister Paul Peterson & Shelly Fabares from The Donna Reed Show. But, I won't subject you to all those songs, I'll stick to a couple of ladies that had their first hit singles on the charts that week & both of them did really well. I suspect you will remember both of them! This one began at #91: Johnny Angel – Shelly Fabares Shelly won’t be outdone by her TV brother Paul Peterson. She is going to see her first hit single go all the way to #1, stay there for two weeks & come in as the 11th biggest hit of the year. Lyn Duddy & Lee Pockriss wrote this one. Shelly who was primarily an actress, sang this in an episode of The Donna Reed Show, in which she was a regular cast member. On that episode, her character Mary Stone abandons her plans to attend college to pursue a singing career. This song features Glen Campbell and Carol Kaye on guitar, Hal Blaine on drums, and Darlene Love and the Blossoms on backup vocals. These were some of the top West Coast session musicians who played on hundreds of hits in the '60s. Songwriters Lyn Duddy and Lee Pockriss wrote this song while they were trapped in Duddy's apartment during a blackout. They each had other songwriting partners (Pockriss and Paul Vance were the creative minds behind "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini") but with nothing else to do, they decided to brainstorm some ideas. "I had always wanted to write a soliloquy - a song written from the point of view of someone who waited on the corner every night for someone to pass by," Duddy told Billboard. He had the idea for one called "Seven-thirty," but changed it to "Johnny Angel" when Pockriss suggested it should be a guy's name. "I just picked that name out of thin air. It didn't mean anything," he said. Although they produced a chart-topping hit out of their alliance, Duddy and Pockriss never worked together again. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wt7UYKepRLUThis one started out at #77 & came in the face of the onslaught of songs involving The Twist: Mashed Potato Time – Dee Dee Sharp Harry Lamb & Jon Sheldon were the writers of this one. It is going to stay around for a whopping eighteen weeks & it goes all the way to #2 on the Pop Chart, but it gets four weeks at #1 on the R&B Chart. This was the first & biggest hit single in her career. Dee Dee was born as Dione LaRue in Philadelphia. She was an R&B singer & she married record producer Kenny Gamble in 1967, they divorced I 1980. www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwfQbMyh2i0Dee Dee Sharp had a pretty big week, not only was her first solo song on the charts, but she also debuted her first duet at the same time & it was equally as big a hit: This one debuted at #60: Slow Twistin – Chubby Checker w/ Dee Dee Sharp She got to #2 with the song above & this duet is headed for #3. This one was also written by Jon Shedon. It will also get to #3 on the R&B Chart. On November 9, 2013, the Sandy Hosey Lifetime Achievement Award was bestowed upon Dee Dee by the Artists Music Guild. She thought she was in attendance to bestow the honor upon her longtime friend, Chubby Checker when she was surprised with her own honors. The Sandy Hosey Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to five artists every year by the Guild. www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCO4sRLzsGkPS: This was one of about 143,278 different songs for Chubby Checker that revolved around The Twist!
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Post by razorbacker on Aug 28, 2018 10:48:08 GMT
Sometimes Rock & Roll history can get pretty messy. Take for instance this song that debuted at #80 on April 22, 1962: I Sold My Heart To The Junkman – The Blue Belles This was the first hit single for these ladies. It was written by Leon & Otis Rene & it is going to stay around for eleven weeks & come in at #15 on the Pop Chart & #13 over on R&B. The ladies were from Philadelphia & included group members Nona Hendryx, Sarah Dash, Cindy Birdsong & leader Patti LaBelle. They will eventually change the group name to LaBelle in 1977. Cindy Birdsong will eventually leave & join The Supremes in 1967. In 1962, the Chicago-based girl group the Starlets were riding high with their top forty single, "Better Tell Him No". That year, while on tour, they were convinced by Newtown Records president Harold Robinson to appear in a recording studio where they recorded two songs. One of these songs was "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman". After recording the songs, Robinson released the song on his label but instead of crediting the Starlets, he credited a Philadelphia-based girl group named The Ordettes, who had recently changed their name to The Blue Belles - after a threat from another record boss, the name was altered to Patti LaBelle and Her Blue Belles & they were credited with this single. So evidently this isn’t The Blue Bells at all, but is instead The Starlets. Color me confused! www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAUmY4FfApA
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Post by MissScarlet on Sept 6, 2018 1:47:44 GMT
I was a bit behind on your Classics links. All caught up now. I just love all the background info you give us. I remember a lot of the songs, but never knew the background on the songs or the singers. Keep up the great links.
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Post by razorbacker on Sept 6, 2018 10:45:24 GMT
I was a bit behind on your Classics links. All caught up now. I just love all the background info you give us. I remember a lot of the songs, but never knew the background on the songs or the singers. Keep up the great links. Regarding the song I linked to above. Evidently Patti LaBelle mentioned it in her book & made the statement that she actually had a hit single before she had even sung on a song. Weird things going on in the music industry.
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Post by razorbacker on Sept 6, 2018 16:50:47 GMT
Here is one that maybe somebody will remember. It hit the chart on May 19,1962 & debuted at #76: Snap Your Fingers – Joe Henderson Joe has the first of what will eventually be two versions of this song to chart. It will also be the bigger of the two as he goes all the way to #8 while Barbara Lewis will stall out at #71 in 1974. Joe has a multi chart top 10 with this single as well. He goes to #2 on R&B & #5 on the AC Chart. Grady Martin & Alex Zinetis wrote this one. Joe had charted once before, but only on the R&B Chart, so this was his first Hot 100 hit single. This was the biggest hit in the career of Joe, but we will never know how good he could have been. He died of a heart attack at the age of 27 in 1964. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oRFFsB-sTQ
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Post by razorbacker on Sept 11, 2018 10:58:41 GMT
Ok, I have to share this one for two reasons. I think everyone will remember the song, but I have no reason to believe anyone will have heard the story of Merle Kilgore, Johnny Cash & Johnny Horton before... The song debuted at #80 on May 26, 1962! Wolverton Mountain – Claude King Claude co – wrote this song with Merle Kilgore. The song stays on the chart for sixteen weeks & ends up at #6 on the Pop Chart, #3 on the AC Chart & it spends nine weeks at #1 on the Country Chart. Clifton Clowers by the way, is a real person. Here is an interesting story involving song writer Merle Kilgore. He & Johnny Horton & Johnny Cash were all buddies & they all had somewhat of a belief in the paranormal & being able to communicate from the other side much like Houdini, although Harry didn’t really believe it was possible) Johnny Horton did. Merle & Johnny Horton were next door neighbors in Louisiana and they were close friends. One day Johnny showed up at Merle’s house & said something to the effect that he didn’t think he would be around much longer & he was giving Merle his favorite guitar, the one he always used during his shows. They got to talking about the whole paranormal thing & Johnny decided on an experiment between just the two of them. He said that if he died, he would communicate with Merle with a phrase known only to the two of them. The Drummer is a rummer & he can’t keep the beat. Johnny was deadly afraid of drunks. There were times in his final days when they would have to make him go onstage because if there was a drunk or two in the audience he was afraid that one of them was going to shoot him dead. Well one night in Texas (just days after his conversation with Merle) he finally did go on, everything went well & there was no incident, until the ride home. They were hit head on by a semi - truck. Johnny died on the way to the hospital & other members of the band were pretty badly injured. Investigation proved that the driver of the truck was in fact drunk. So fast forward a few weeks & Johnny Cash is in Chicago & attending a Cubs game. During a rain delay he was being interviewed on the radio & they were talking about Johnny Horton & Merle Kilgore & others in the Country music community when the phone rang. It was a lady who claimed to be a psychic & the head of a group of folks that was in communication with the dead & that they used a Quija board to do so. She said she had no idea who Merle Kilgore was but when she heard the name mentioned on the radio, it rang a bell with her because that name kept getting spelled out during their Quija sessions & someone was trying to communicate with Merle. She said the message was: The Drummer is a rummer & he can’t keep the beat. Johnny Horton, it seems, was able to accomplish what Harry Houdini never could. Now how weird is that?! www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVMlF9i2ffU
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Post by razorbacker on Sept 13, 2018 11:39:44 GMT
On the week of June 9, 1962 there were some pretty famous & memorable songs that debuted on the Billboard Hot 100. There was Sealed With a Kiss by Brian Hyland (headed to #3), The Wah Watusi by The Orlons (hitting #2 on the Pop Chart & #5 on the R&B Chart, & there were two different versions of The Baby Elephant Walk (The Miniature Men stall out at #87) & Lawrence Welk hits 48 on the Pop Chart but #10 on the AC Chart. But I had to highlight this single. The song debuts at #68: Roses Are Red (My Love) – Bobby Vinton Well if you gotta have a first hit single it might as well be a huge one & this one was. It stays at #1 on the Hot 100 for 4 weeks & comes in as the 4th biggest hit of the year, it also gets 4 weeks at #1 on the AC Chart & just to make sure everyone hears it, it goes to #5 over on R&B. Al Byron & Paul Evans wrote this one. Bobby was born in Cannonsburg, PA. His dad was a bandleader so he came by his musical abilities naturally. He played clarinet, oboe, saxophone, piano, drums, trumpet & of course he sang. Bobby was signed by CBS (Epic) Records in 1960 as a bandleader. Two years and two failed LPs later, he was called to a meeting with label executives who wanted to drop him from the label. In the meeting, he pointed out that his contract called for him to record and release two more songs. The executives exited the meeting room to confer with the label's lawyers - who were attending - and to consider the situation. While everybody but Bobby was out of the room, he listened to rejected demo records and found a recording that caught his attention: "Roses Are Red (My Love)." After the executives returned to the meeting, he persuaded them to allow him to sing on his next single, and in their eyes his final single. This was the song that he found literally on the trash heap & it saved his career. www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rjPC7-JMUM
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Post by Arielflies on Sept 13, 2018 18:40:45 GMT
Ah, I saw the title and the song started playing in my head. That was a good slow dance song.
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Post by razorbacker on Sept 16, 2018 16:16:24 GMT
Here is one that you may know but didn't know who was singing it. I have always liked the song. It debuted at #96 on June 16, 1962: You’ll Lose A Good Thing - Barbara Lynn Barbara has the first & biggest version of this single to chart. She gets her version to #8 on the Hot 100 & it spends three weeks at #1 on the R&B Chart. Freddy Fender will release his version in 1976 & it goes to #32 & #1 on Country. Barbara wrote this one herself & it was her first chart hit. Barbara was an R&B vocalist & guitar player out of Beaumont Texas. Not only was this her first hit, but it was also her biggest. The song was also featured in the film Hairspray. www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoaLCc2jR_g
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Post by razorbacker on Sept 22, 2018 12:59:38 GMT
It is a rare circumstance that 2 different songs will debut on the same week & both hit #1, but that was the case with these two songs. Both songs were also compositions that came out of The Brill Building. Chart date June 30, 1962: This one began at #86 Loco Motion – Little Eva This was her first hit single & it is going all the way to #1 on the Pop Chart for a week & #1 on the R&B Chart for 3 weeks. The song was written by Gerry Goffin & Carole King & it is in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. Eva was born Eva Narcissus Boyd in Belhaven North Carolina. This song debuted the day after her 19th birthday. The husband-and-wife songwriting team of Carole King and Gerry Goffin wrote this song. Little Eva was their babysitter - actually more of a nanny - being paid $35/week to watch their daughter Louise and clean the house. They were all young: Eva was 17, Carole 19 and Gerry 22. One day Carole came up with a melody that Gerry thought sounded like a locomotive, and when he saw Eva dancing with their daughter to the tune, he got the idea to make the song about a brand new dance - The Loco-Motion. He wrote the lyrics and they brought Eva to the studio and had her record the song as a demo - they were hoping Dee Dee Sharp would sing it. Their producer Don Kirshner thought Eva's vocal was just fine, so they named her Little Eva and had her record the song. The only downside for King and Goffin was losing their nanny: when the song became a million-seller, Eva was able to buy a place of her own. www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn1hA9rK-d0This one started out at #66. Breaking Up Is Hard To Do – Neil Sedaka Fourteen weeks was the length of stay for this one & it will become a #1 hit single as well. The song also hits #12 on the R&B Chart. Neil co – wrote this one with Howard Greenfield, his Brill Building buddy. It was his first #1 hit single & he won’t have another one until 1974. Howard Greenfield penned the lyrics at Neil's urging, and then it was presented to Barry Mann (of Mann and Weil) for appraisal. Mann didn't think much of it, so Neil then added the opening "dooby-doo" part and the rest is history. There is a guy named Artie Kaplan who plays saxophone on both of these hit singles. www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbad22CKlB4
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Post by MissScarlet on Sept 23, 2018 2:03:54 GMT
Great songs. I found myself singing along to Breaking Up Is Hard To Do. Yeah, I still remembered most of the words.
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Post by razorbacker on Sept 30, 2018 15:36:54 GMT
I kind of like to highlight 1st hit singles for folks & so, here are two debut singles that appeared for the first time on July 28,1962: One of these guys won't be around for long the other one will stay around for quite a while & have a lot of hits. This one began at #84: Alley Cat – Bent Fabric This song charts twice in 1962 with this one being the first & most popular. This version goes to #7 on the Pop Chart while staying around for a whopping eighteen weeks. The song also goes to #2 on the AC Chart. The song was written by Frank Bjorn. This version of the song won the Grammy Award for Best Rock & Roll Recording, 1962. Bent Fabric was a piano player from Copenhagen Denmark. His real name was Bent Fabricius Bjerre. This was the first of just two times he would hit the Hot 100. So he certainly set himself a high bar with a Grammy right out of the box. www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMqTuWl3xAAAnd this one started out at #73: Sheila – Tommy Roe Here is another guy that sets himself a high bar with his first hit single. The song will spend two weeks at #1 & come in as the 16th biggest hit of the year. He also gets to #6 over on the R&B Chart. Tommy wrote the song & he won’t have his 2nd & final #1 hit until 1969. Tommy was a pop singer/songwriter/guitar player out of Atlanta. Evidently he wrote this song when he was just 14 (he is still 19 at the time of this record). This was originally recorded in 1960 for a small label called Judd Records, which was run by Jud Phillips, the brother of Sam Phillips of Sun Records. When Tommy accepted a deal with ABC-Paramount, the song was rerecorded with a different arrangement, and released as the B-side to "Save Your Kisses." When DJs flipped the record and started playing "Sheila" instead, the song took off, giving him the first of his 11 Top-40 American hits. This version of the song was recorded at RCA Studios in Nashville with producer Felton Jarvis. On guitar was Jerry Reed. The other musicians were Buddy Harman (drums), Wayne Moss (guitar), and Bob Moore (bass). The backup singers were The Jordanaires, who sang behind Elvis Presley on many of his hits. www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_BwauaXAlc
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Post by razorbacker on Oct 5, 2018 12:02:05 GMT
Evidently no one liked or even remembered those last two songs, so I'll try again with two more debut singles, perhaps these will ring a bell. They both debuted on August 42, 1962. This one started at #94: Silver Threads & Golden Needles – The Springfields This song is going to chart four different times with this one being the first & the biggest. It was the only version to hit the Top 40 as it got to #20. Jody Miler #54 in 1965, The Cowsills 74 in 1969 & Linda Rondstadt #67 in 1974 will also give it a go. This version also goes to #16 over on the Country Chart (their only Country hit). Dick Reynolds & Jack Rhodes wrote the song. This was the first of just two Hot 100 hit singles for this trio out of London that included Dusty Springfield, her brother Tom & their friend Tim Field. Of course beginning in 1964 Dusty is going to begin to hit the charts with regularity as a solo performer & does so all through the decade of the 60’s. The song was originally recorded by Wanda Jackson in 1956 - it was the first single for the rockabilly singer. The Springfields heard Jackson's version and recorded their own. Their version is an early example of folk-pop, complete with a jangly guitar solo. www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz6HB9HYQz4And this one got life at #83: Let’s Dance – Chris Montez Ola & The Janglers are able to get their version of this song only to #92 when they release it in 1969, but Chris goes all the way to #4 on the Hot 100 & #15 on the R&B Chart. Jim Lee wrote the song. This was the first it single for Chris whose real name was Ezekiel Christopher Montanez. He was from LA & evidently the youngest of 20 kids. This was his biggest hit single (he will chart higher on AC), but he will change his style to more of a soft ballad singer & continue to chart throughout the 60’s. www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EjJq9c1maI
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Post by razorbacker on Oct 9, 2018 13:00:24 GMT
I get the feeling that I am just talking to & amusing myself over here. But maybe, sometime, somehow, a few of these songs will garner the attention of someone else. So, it is try try again. During the early years of the Rock Era on the Billboard Charts a weekly listing of brand new singles would run on average from 10 - 15 new songs with 13 being about average. On the week of August 11, 1962 there were 19 brand new singles that charted for the 1st time. Not only was it a long list, but it was a pretty historically significant group of songs as well. Here are just a few that had the kids dancing in the street. This one debuted at #100: Do You Love Me – The Contours This was the first of what will eventually be four different versions of this song that will chart. It is also going to be the biggest of the 4, but three of the four will hit #11 or better & the final version will be a re- release of this single & it still goes to #11 (thanks to being featured in the movie Dirty Dancing). This version goes to #3 on the Pop Chart & it gets 3 weeks at #1 on the R&B Chart. The song was written by Berry Gordy & it is in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. This was the first chart hit for these folks. They were an R&B group out of Detroit & recording on the Gordy label. Group members included Billy Gordon, Billy Hoggs, Joe Billingslea, Sylvester Potts & Hubert Johnson. The song was originally written for The Temptations, but they failed to arrive for the recording session. At the same time but in a different Motown studio, The Contours arrived to record "It Must Be Love," but Gordy had other ideas - he asked them to cut "Do You Love Me" instead. As for The Temptations, it was another two years before they finally had their hit ("The Way You Do The Things You Do"), but when they did, they became the premier male act on the Motown roster. www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EoI-6lQFIEThis one started out at #96: Your Heart Belongs to Me – The Supremes So we have the very first chart hit for the Supremes & it is not going to be a very good beginning for them. They stay on the chart for just three weeks & climb just one spot to end up at #95 & they don’t cross over to any other chart either. Smokey Robinson wrote the song. Even the most popular groups can’t avoid turnover & conflict. They formed as a teenage quartet with Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, Florence Ballard, and Betty McGlown. In 1960, Betty left to concentrate on her studies and was replaced by Barbara Martin. In 1961, when Barbara left to start a family, the Supremes became a trio. In 1967, Florence Ballard was fired from the group and was replaced by Cindy Birdsong. Jean Terrell replaced Diana Ross in 1970. Cindy Birdsong was replaced by Lynda Laurence in 1972. Scherrie Payne replaced Jean Terrell and Cindy Birdsong returned replacing Lynda Laurence in 1973. Cindy left again in 1976 and was replaced by Susaye Greene. Finally in 1977, they disbanded. But, regardless of the makeup of the group, they sure did put out some major hit singles including 12 #1 hits before Diana left. www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWpWjweZ6VYThis one began at #90: Green Onions – Booker T. & The MG’s The first hit single for these guys is going to go all the way to #3 on the Pop Chart & it is going to get four weeks at #1 on the R&B Chart. The song was written by Steve Cropper (guitar), Al Jackson (drums), Booker T. Jones (Hammond organ) & Lewie Steinberg (bass). This one is in both The Rock & Roll & Grammy Halls Of Fame. The band developed this song while they were waiting for rockabilly singer Billy Lee Riley (a Sun artist) to show up for a session. In an interview with National Public Radio, Booker T. Jones said: "That happened as something of an accident. We used the time to record a Blues which we called 'Behave Yourself,' and I played it on a Hammond M3 organ. Jim Stewart, the owner, was the engineer and he really liked it and wanted to put it out as a record. We all agreed on that and Jim told us that we needed something to record as a B-side, since we couldn't have a one-sided record. One of the tunes I had been playing on piano we tried on the Hammond organ so that the record would have organ on both sides and that turned out to be 'Green Onions.'" The group's guitarist Steve Cropper brought this song to the Memphis radio station WLOK the day after they recorded it. The morning DJ, Rueben Washington, was a friend of Cropper's, and put the song on his turntable to hear off-air. After listening to just part of the song, he cut off the record that was on air and started playing "Green Onions" for his listeners. Says Cropper: "He played it four or five times in a row. We were dancing around the control room and believe it or not, the phone lines lit up. I guess we had the whole town dancing that morning." The response to the song proved Cropper's point that it should be the A-side of the single instead of "Behave Yourself," and subsequent singles were pressed with the sides flipped. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjgjoSsOvi4A #87 debut for this one: I Left My Heart In San Francisco – Tony Bennett This list seems to be full of Hall Of Fame inductees & here is another one. The song is in The Grammy Hall Of Fame. It stays on the chart for twenty one weeks & ends up at #19 on the Pop Chart but it gets to #7 over on the AC Chart. It was written by George Cory & Doug Cross. Evidently this song was given to Tony’s piano player by the writers way back in 1954, but it somehow got lost or mislaid & not found until earlier in 1962. Tony won the Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Solo Vocal Performance, Male. www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX_KRilBnNAThis one started out at #85 Surfin Safari – The Beach Boys Mike Love & Brian Wilson co – wrote this one. It is going to stick around for seventeen weeks & peak at #14, they won’t have a cross over hit until the middle of next year, but this was their first Top 40 hit. Mike Love sings lead. Their first record label named the band; they were almost The Surfers. But only their drummer, Dennis Wilson, surfed. This was the first recording to display the harmonies for which the group became famous. The recording was also self-produced, and taken to Capitol complete with its B-side "409" which was a minor hit. This precedent made the Beach Boys the first total, self-contained artists of the rock era. www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMChBJZUDK8Here was a #79 debut: Beechwood 4-5789 – The Marvelettes This song will chart twice with this version being the first & bigger of the two. Twenty years later The Carpenters see their version go to #74, but these ladies go all the way to #17 on the Pop Chart & #7 over on R&B. Marvin Gaye, George Gorsy & William Stevenson wrote this one. Gladys Horton sings lead on this one. Funk Brothers provide instrumentation & Marvin Gaye plays drums. Until the release of Tommy Tutone's hit "Jenny (867-5309)," this song's telephone number was the most popular one in the US. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us18AUBM2RI#73 for yet another Smokey Robinson written song: You Beat Me To The Punch – Mary Wells Smokey Robinson co – wrote this one with Ronnie White. It will spend twelve weeks climbing the charts & ends up at #9 on the Pop Chart, but it goes to #1 over on R&B. It was her first #1 hit on any chart, but it won’t be the last. Not only was it Wells' first #1 hit on the Billboard R&B Singles chart, but it also made her the first Motown performer to earn a Grammy nomination (it would be the only Grammy nomination of her career). www.youtube.com/watch?v=4O1iq3yEqXUTwo of these songs are in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, 2 of them are in the Grammy Hall Of Fame & one of them is in both. And one of these songs was a multiple Grammy winner. Just consider that all of these songs debuted on the same week & looking back at it from a historical perspective, it was a pretty special week indeed!
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Post by Arielflies on Oct 9, 2018 14:50:09 GMT
I remember Green Onions.
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Post by razorbacker on Oct 9, 2018 17:16:24 GMT
I suspect that if you clicked the links you would remember them all.
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Post by Arielflies on Oct 9, 2018 19:50:17 GMT
I suspect I would...link clicking not required on majority of them. When I can spare more than a few I will.
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Post by razorbacker on Oct 17, 2018 10:46:23 GMT
Here are a couple of songs that debuted on August 25, 1962. I suspect one will be memorable, perhaps the other will not. This one began at #90: It Might As Well Rain Until September – Carole King This was the first hit single from Carole as a singer & not just as a writer even though she & Gerry Goffin did write the song. It is going to stay around for nine weeks & it goes all the way to #22. It is kind of weird to think that she hits the Hot 100 just twice in the entire decade of the 60’s. Her real name was Carole Klein. She was born in Brooklyn & began playing piano at the age of 4. She & Gerry Goffin were married for 10 years between 1958-1968. She met Gerry at Queens College in New York. They became songwriting partners, writing in the Brill Building for Aldon Music. They wrote hits for some of the biggest names of the day: The Animals, the Shirelles, Herman's Hermits, and the Byrds. They wrote "The Loco-Motion" for Little Eva. This song was originally intended for Bobby Vee, but Carole had recorded a demo & the label released it as a double A-side single with "Nobody's Perfect. Don Kirshner liked Carole King's version of "September" so much that even after hearing Bobby Vee's version, he decided to release King's version as a single on the Dimension label. www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEK4z9-b2eoThis one started out at #65: Sherry – The 4 Seasons Group member Bob Gaudio wrote this one. It is going all the way to #1 where it sits for 5 weeks & lands as the 3rd biggest hit of the year (they will also have the 2nd biggest hit single of the year with their very next release). The song also goes to #1 on the R&B Chart. Bob Gaudio, who was the organist/singer with The Four Seasons, wrote this song and quickly became the group's primary songwriter. Previously a member of The Royal Teens (Short Shorts), he formed The Four Seasons with Frankie Valli the previous year. According to Gaudio, this song came to him very quickly, and he wrote it in less than 15 minutes. He says it took the group longer to decide upon a name for the song than it took him to write it. This was originally called "Terry." The group loved it and performed it over the telephone for their producer, Bob Crewe, who liked everything about it but the name. After considering "Jackie" (after Jackie Kennedy), and "Peri" (after a record label Crewe had a stake in), the group changed the name of the song to "Sherry," after Cheri Spector, the daughter of one of Crewe's best friends, a DJ named Jack Spector. When The Four Seasons wrote and recorded a demo of this song, they didn't have a record deal. Frankie Valli was friends with Randy Wood, who was the West Coast Sales Manager for Vee Jay Records. Vee Jay was owned by a black couple and had a lot of success distributing Doo-Wop and R&B songs in the '50s. Vee Jay's only Pop hit to this point was Gene Chandler's "Duke Of Earl." Valli played the song for Wood over the phone, and Wood loved it. Valli sent him a copy, and Wood took it to a local DJ named Dick "Huggy Boy" Hugg, who played it on his show. Listeners flooded the station with calls, and the song was released on Vee Jay, where it became a massive hit. The Four Seasons never had an official contract with Vee Jay - they submitted material to the label song by song for distribution - and after 7 more Top-40 hits with the label, The Four Seasons sued over non-payment of royalties and signed with Mercury/Philips. Vee Jay went under, leaving behind a legacy as the most successful black-owned record label pre-Motown, and as the first American label to distribute The Beatles. www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVAsnD969qs This particular week on the Billboard Hot 100 there were 20 brand new singles released & most of them were compete schlock. But at least there was the 1st hit from a future super star & a huge #1 hit to keep the week from being a complete washout.
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Post by Arielflies on Oct 17, 2018 14:32:57 GMT
My best friend was named Sherry and we always giggled when we put this 45 on the phonograph.
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Post by razorbacker on Oct 21, 2018 15:18:51 GMT
The week of September 8, 1962 had 12 new songs to hit the chart including the two below both of which went to #1. This one started out at #98: He’s A Rebel – The Crystals This song stays around for eighteen weeks & goes all the way to #1 where it sits for 2 weeks & it comes in as the 12th biggest song of the year. The song also goes to #2 on the R&B Chart. Gene Pitney wrote this one & it has been installed into both the Grammy & Rock & Roll Halls Of Fame. And here is another convoluted piece of rock history & another case of artists being hosed by the powers that be: From Songfacts.com… The Crystals did not sing on this. While at Liberty Records as the company's West Coast A&R head in 1962, producer Phil Spector heard Pitney's demo of the song. Knowing it would be a hit, he promptly resigned and his boss, Snuff Garrett, produced a version by Vikki Carr to be released as her first single. Spector assembled his musicians to do HIS version, but the Crystals were 3000 miles away in New York City; so he recruited The Blossoms - Darlene Love, Fanita James, and Gracia Nitzsche - to sing "He's a Rebel." Spector's version of this song, credited to the Crystals but sung by the Blossoms, hit #1. Vikki Carr had to wait three more years before her first chart record in the US ("It Must Be Him"). In New York, the influential disc jockey at WINS, Murray the K, figured out that Phil Spector used a different set of Crystals on this song, and broke the story on the air. As Crystals member La La Brooks tells us, Murray called her to ask about it, and she told him that the actual Crystals had nothing to do with the song. The story was far from a scandal, since producers were known to switch out musicians, sometimes having a completely different group front the band. For La La, it was a relief that the story was out, although when The Crystals toured around the world, they never explained that they didn't sing on "He's A Rebel." www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_nxRchyn1gAnd this one began life at #72: Monster Mash – Bobby Boris Pickett & The Crypt Kickers Now we have the first single from Bobby as a solo artist (he had charted earlier as a member of The Stompers) & it is going to go all the way to #1 where it stays for two weeks & ends up as the 14th biggest song of the year. Bobby co – wrote the single with Leonard Capizzi. The song also goes to #9 on the R&B Chart & it will hit the Top 10 again when it is re - released in 1973. Bobby was from Somerville Mass. Evidently The Crypt Kickers included Gary Paxton (the song was apparently inspired from Gary’s Alley Oop), Johnny McRae from Ronnie & The Daytonas, Ricky Page of The Bermudas, & Leon Russell on piano (some folks say Leon got to the studio too late to play on the song & is only on the “B” side of the single). The backing singers for the record were The Blossoms, led by Darlene Love. (Here are The Blossoms again)! www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNuVifA7DSUDiversity in styles & substance was key to AM radio back in the day.
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Post by Arielflies on Oct 21, 2018 15:34:55 GMT
Love Monster Mash - there was even a dance made up to go with it - at least in my school. He's a rebel was repeatedly sung with gusto...though one could change the he to she.
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Post by razorbacker on Oct 23, 2018 10:29:42 GMT
Love Monster Mash - there was even a dance made up to go with it - at least in my school. He's a rebel was repeatedly sung with gusto...though one could change the he to she. I once went to a collectibles convention in Orlando. You could buy anything you had an interest in, toys, comic books, records ....Anyway, they had a few guest celebrities on hand to sign autographs & talk to the crowd. One of those guests was Bobby "Boris" Pickett. He had a booth set up & he played The Monster Mash over & over & over...all day long. It had to have driven the other folks around him crazy to have to listen to that thing on constant repeat.
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Post by razorbacker on Oct 31, 2018 11:55:34 GMT
I have gone on in the past about how diverse AM Top 40 radio was back in the day & here is an example of just that. All three of these songs hit the chart on September 29, 1962. All 3 of them were really successful singles & they could not be more different. This one started out at #93: Desafinado – Stan Getz & Charlie Byrd This was the 1st of two different versions of this song that charted in 1962 & it was also the most popular. These guys are able to get sixteen weeks out of the song & a #15 on the Pop Chart & a #4 over on AC. This was the first time either of these guys had charted & they do so with a song that gets installed in the Grammy Hall Of Fame. Antonio Carlos Jobim wrote it. Stan Gets was a Jazz tenor sax player that had been in the bands of Stan Kenton, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Godman & Woody Herman in the past. He has just one more hit on the Hot 100 but that song will also make it to the Grammy Hall Of Fame. He was from Philadelphia. Charlie Byrd was a Jazz guitar player that had also been with Woody Herman. He studied under master guitar player Segovia, Charlie also has just one more Hot 100 hit single. He was from Chuckatuck Virginia. This was the only time they charted together. www.youtube.com/watch?v=991uASejkY8This one saw the light at #88: I’ve Been Everywhere – Hank Snow I have to believe this one is a bit more famous for the commercial with Johnny Cash singing the song. Geoff Mack wrote the song & Hank is able to get it only to #68 while sticking around for eight weeks, but it will spend two weeks at #1 on the Country Chart. Hank will of course be around the Country Charts in a big way for years to come, but this appears to be the final time he crossed over to the Pop Chart. Geoff Mack was an Australian. The original version was a list of Australian destinations, including Wallangarra, Billabong, Darwin and Woolloomooloo. Later in 1962, Mack re-wrote the lyrics with places in America (using a map to determine place names), and country singer Hank Snow took it to the top of the Country charts. Snow was originally from Canada, but was known for traveling, which is often what he sang about. www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGj7-R6WPf4And this one started one step higher at #87: Nothing Can Change This Love – Sam Cooke Sam wrote this one himself. It stays on the chart for eleven weeks & ends up at #12 on the Pop Chart but it goes to #4 over on AC on the R&B Chart. The song was recorded on August 23, 1962 at RCA Studio 1 in Hollywood, California. They also recorded "I'm Gonna Forget About You" the same day. The session was conducted and arranged by René Hall, producers were Hugo & Luigi. www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3TkNgdUH8w
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