Monday, October 11, 2010

Today In Oldies 10/12/2010

Golden Hits Radio and GHR-2's Everything Oldies......Oldies news guaranteed fresh or it's free! 

Where In The World Is..........Walter Egan?

If you were looking to break into the music business circa 1978, you could have done a lot worse than hanging around the members of Fleetwood Mac.  Walter Egan did just that, and as a result, several members of that group had a big hand in his brief success.  In fact, his crush on one of them provided the inspiration for his one and only hit! 

Born in Jamaica, New York, Walter Egan signed with Columbia Records in the 70's.  1977 saw the release of his debut album, Fundamental Roll.  That year, there was no bigger act in music than Fleetwood Mac, with Rumors putting them on the A-list.  Imagine being a new artist and finding out Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks will be producing your first album!  While that album didn't produce any substantial hits, his collaboration with Mac members would continue. 

Buckingham and Rumors co-producer Richard Dashut were behind the mixing board for Egan's second album, Not Shy.  By that time, Stevie Nicks, fresh from her breakup with Lindsey Buckingham, had become the apple of Walter Egan's eye.  His schoolboy crush inspired him to write a song, and it became the stuff from which one hit wonders are created!  "Magnet and Steel" was a Top 10 hit, hitting #8 in 1978.  Whether she knew the song was about her or not, Stevie Nicks sang background vocals on "Magnet and Steel", giving it an ironic twist.  Lindsey Buckingham also backed Egan up on that song.  Quite a few 70's songs have found new life in subsequent decades after being included on movie soundtracks, and "Magnet and Steel" is no exception.  It has been featured in several films including Boogie Nights and Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo.  With his Fleetwood Mac connections, certainly Walter Egan was bound to have a few more hits left in him. 

Unfortunately, further hits eluded Walter Egan, but he didn't slip into total oblivion.  He joined a later incarnation of the group Spirit, and he wrote songs that became hits for other artists, most notably "Hot Summer Nights" for the group Night in 1979.  He has become a well-rounded individual in recent years, and you might have seen him in a somewhat unusual place several years after "Magnet and Steel".  As the royalty checks became less frequent, Egan tried his luck as a TV game show contestant, appearing on Scrabble.  When he mentioned that he was a singer and songwriter, host Chuck Woolery asked if the audience might recognize any of his songs.  He replied by breaking out into the chorus of "Magnet and Steel" to wild applause from the studio audience. 

Today, Walter Egan continues to write, record, and perform, and once again, you'll probably find him in places you wouldn't expect.  He serves as a substitute teacher at Centennial High School in Franklin, Tennessee.  He was also recently given a songwriter credit on a pop hit called "We Made You" by, of all people, hip hop superstar Eminem!  The song used samples from Egan's version of "Hot Summer Nights". 

See what else Walter Egan is up to these days by visiting his official website and his MySpace page, and now enjoy his ode to Stevie Nicks......

Golden Hits Radio and GHR-2's Burning Question of the Day

The 60's classic "Wild Thing" by The Troggs was written by Chip Taylor.  His niece is currently one of the world's biggest female movie stars (and married to one of the world's biggest MALE movie stars).  Who is she?

Check back tomorrow @ Everything Oldies for the answer, and leave a Comment here with your best guess!

Yesterday's Burning Question (and Answer) of the Day

In a recent interview, which British music superstar claims to have been offered the role of James Bond following Sean Connery's departure from the role?

Answer: Tom Jones -- he tells the story in this article

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