AMERICAN HIT RADIO – THE MOST INTERESTING POP FROM JUNE 1968

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God, I love the music of 1968. There is such a wonderful balance to most of it, combining melody and pop appeal with creativity, originality and nuance. These artists are certainly disparate from one another – I don’t think anyone would be compelled to compare the Rolling Stones and the Cowsills – but both created music that was unique for its time and full of personal ideas that did not rely on audience demands. Different styles meant different target audiences, but I still love all of it. This may be my very favorite time period in the history of pop music. Here’s a list of songs featured in today’s program;

1)    Mrs. Robinson – Simon and Garfunkel

2)    Folsom Prison Blues – Johnny Cash

3)    Pictures of Matchstick Men – Status Quo

4)    Tiptoe Through the Tulips – Tiny Tim

5)    Sky Pilot – Eric Burden & the Animals

6)    Reach Out of the Darkness – Friend and Lover

7)    Angel of the Morning – Merilee Rush

8)    Grazing in the Grass – Hugh Masekela

9)    Master Jack – Four Jacks and a Jill

10) Indian Lake – The Cowsills

11)  Stoned Soul Picnic – 5^th Dimension

12)  This Guy’s in Love with You – Herb Alpert

 

HOW MUSIC CHANGED, PART 137-4 – EVERY SINGLE MOTOWN A-SIDE, PART 4

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Episode four in our attempt to play every single Motown A-side in chronological order is full of superstar artists. Unfortunately, it is not full of hits by these superstars. Rather, we hear Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, the Temptations and Mary Wells struggling to find an identity. These songs are definitely not the material that their future reputations had been built upon, but it is still fascinating to hear these legendary performers as ‘ordinary’ artists trying to find their own niche on a record label that had yet to find its own significant niche in the commercial marketplace.

            Here’s a list of material covered in today’s program;

1)    Angel – The Satintones

2)    (I’m Afraid) The Masquerade Is Over – Marvin Gay

3)    Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide – Marvin Gaye

4)    I Don’t Want to Take a Chance – Mary Wells

5)    Rosa Lee (Stay Off the Bell) – Andre Williams

6)    Misery – Barrett Strong

7)    Broken Hearted – Smokey Robinson & the Miracles

8)    Mighty Good Lovin’ – Smokey Robinson & the Miracles

9)    No Love – Mable John

10)  Same Thing – Gino Parks

11)  I Know How It Feels – The Satintones

12)  Buttered Popcorn – The Supremes

13)  Oh Mother of Mine – The Temptations

14)  I Am Bound – The Golden Harmonizers

American Hit Radio – The Best of June 1958

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I know it’s been said that things were much simpler 50 years ago, and that may have been true in many other ways, but I don’t think it applied to popular music. Today’s pop music is much simpler than this stuff. In fact, contemporary pop is banal in comparison. No offense intended to Lil Wayne, Rihanna or Jordin Sparks, but their stuff just doesn’t have the depth and universal appeal that keeps this old stuff alive. 50 years from now, do you think we’ll be listening to any of the above? I’d say not. On the other hand, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Johnny Cash and Buddy Holly will, ummm, “Not Fade Away.”

            Here’s my proof;

1)    Rave On – Buddy Holly

2)    Ooh! My Soul – Little Richard

3)    I Guess Things Happen That Way – Johnny Cash

4)    For Your Precious Love – Jerry Butler

5)    Willy and the Hand Jive – The Johnny Otis Show

6)    Yallety Yak – The Coasters

7)    Purple People Eater – Sheb Wooley

8)    Endless Sleep – Jody Reynolds

9)    Zorro – The Chordettes

10)  Torrero – Renato Carosone

11) Return to Me - Dean Martin

12)  Johnny B. Goode – Chuck Berry

13)  All I Have to Do Is Dream – The Everly Brothers

HOW MUSIC CHANGED, PART 137-3 - EVERY SINGLE MOTOWN A-SIDE, PART 3

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You may think that a show dedicated to playing all of the Motown A-sides would be strewn with hits, but today’s show belies that perspective. In its earliest incarnation, Motown was struggling to get National attention, and trying all sorts of ideas, hoping that something would stick. Not very much of today’s program caught on nationally, but there’s plenty of interesting recordings that imply a hopeful future for the label. Here’s a list of songs featured in today’s program;

1)    Oh Lover – Sherri Taylor and Singin’ Sammy Ward

2)    I’ve Got a Notion – Henry Lumpkin

3)    Don’t Feel Sorry for Me – Jimmy Ruffin

4)    Don’t  Let Him Shop Around – Debbi Dean

5)    Ain’t It Baby – The Miracles

6)    Money and Me – Barrett Strong

7)    When I Needed You – Little Iva & Her Band

8)    Whole Lotta Woman – The Contours

9)    I Want a Guy – The Supremes

10)  He Lifted Me – The Gospel Stars

11)  Poor Sam Jones – Mickey Woods

12)  Money (That’s What I Want) – Richard Wylie

13)  Tomorrow and Always – The Satintones

14)  Blibberin’ Blabbin’ Blues -  Gino Parks

HOMAGE TO BO DIDDLEY

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I’m ashamed to say that I was unaware of Bo Diddley’s passing for more than a week. Much of it is my own fault, due to a schedule that barely allows me five minutes of downtime to listen to the media, but quite honestly, I listen to at least one hour of news a day, so it seems incredible that such an event would have passed me by. I suspect that most media outlets covered his death in passing id they covered it at all, and that is a shame. For an artist who had virtually no presence on the pop charts, his influence on the music has been awesome. There is not a single rock and roll artist that has not been touched by Bo Diddley. And so this show is my own small way of paying tribute to his musical output. At some point, we will pay proper tribute with a set of programs in our “How Music Changed” series. Meanwhile, here’s to BO DIDDLEY – the man, the song, and the beat.

Bo Diddley performs all listed songs unless indicated otherwise;

1)    Bo Diddley

2)    I’m a Man

3)    Pretty Thing

4)    You Don’t Love Me

5)    Bring It to Jerome

6)    Say Man

7)    Who Do You Love

8)    Who Do You Love – The Band w/ Ronnie Hawkins

9)    Diddley Daddy – Chris Isaak

10)  Mona (I Need You Baby) – The Rolling Stones

11)  Crackin’ Up – Paul McCartney

12)  Before You Accuse Me – Creedence Clearwater Revival

13)  Cadillac – The Kinks

14)  Ride On Josephine – George Thorogood & the Destroyers

15)  Pills – The New York Dolls

16)  Hey Bo Diddley

HOW MUSIC CHANGED, PART 137-2 – THE COMPLETE MOTOWN A-SIDES

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With the Motown series, we backed ourselves into a corner by stating that we will play every Motown a-side from the ‘60s. Our first show covered the earliest Motown/Tamla releases, and all of them dated from 1959! So, our second show is the first to coved the ‘60s. At this stage, Motown is still trying to find its own niche. In retrospect, it’s obvious that a few songs in today’s show are utterly ridiculous (singles didn’t get much sillier than “Custer’s Last Stand”), but even more are overlooked gems. There are a few bonafide hits, too, so listen up! Here’s the titles we cover;

1)    My Beloved – The Satintones

2)    You Never Miss a Good Thing – Eugene Remus

3)    Way Over There – The Miracles

4)    Yes, No, Maybe So – Barrett Strong

5)    Custer’s Last Man – Popcorn & the Mohawks

6)    Who Wouldn’t Love a Man Like That – Mable John

7)    Whirlwind – Barrett Strong

8)    Bye Bye Baby – Mary Wells

9)    What Makes You Love Him – Singin’ Sammy Ward

10)  Who’s the Fool – Singin’ Sammy Ward

11)  True Love – Herman Griffin

12)  Shop Around (Regional Version) -  The Miracles

13)  Shop Around (National Version) – The Miracles

14)  Who’s Lovin’ You – The Miracles

On the Brink of Fame – An Interview with Ian Wright

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Recently, a beautiful book of photography was brought to my attention. “On the Brink of Fame – Pop Stars in the Swinging ‘60s” is a gorgeous collection of rare (and a few never before seen) photos of iconic individuals and groups dating from pop music’s most active decade. Done in black and white, this stunning collection features the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and dozens of other pop stars, all at the infancy of their careers.

At first, I saw no real connection between the book and our radio program; after all, how can you discuss photographs for an hour on a medium that isn’t visual? The book itself neatly answered this question. The more time I spent perusing the photographs, the more I realized how the photos virtually sang to me. Photographer Ian Wright is also a wonderful storyteller, both lively and emotionally connected to his material, providing a potent combination that guaranteed an interesting show. Add in a few of the vintage tracks by the featured artists, and we found ourselves short on time! I’d like to thank Ian once again for his gracious manner, and also for his wonderful, timeless photographs.

Here’s a list of a few tunes featured in the program that I hope helps to convey the spirit of this book;

1)    Ferry Cross the Mersey – Gerry & the Pacemakers

2)    She Said Yeah – The Rolling Stones

3)    Please Please Me – The Beatles

4) I Was Kaiser Bill’s Batman – Whistling Jack Smith