Today In Oldies 12/26/2011

Golden Hits Radio's Everything Oldies.....when Oldies news breaks out, we break in!

• A percussionist and songwriter responsible for several big hits in the 70's has died 
• A legendary BBC performance, long thought to be destroyed, has been found!
• A distinguished group of artists heard every day on Golden Hits Radio will receive Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards in February  
• A music legend declared terminally ill a few weeks ago has been hospitalized

Gone.......But Not Forgotten

Today in 1986, the #1 song in the UK belonged to an artist who had hit the British Top 10 with the same song almost 30 years earlier.  It also wouldn't be the first time this artist would have a hit with the same song more than 25 years apart.  He is one of many American artists whose success in the UK rivaled his domestic accomplishments. 

Jackie Wilson's death in 1984 brought new attention to his music in no small part due to Michael Jackson thanking him during his acceptance speech when his landmark Thriller won Album of the Year at the Grammys.  His back catalog found new life in re-release, and while he had been a huge hit with British audiences throughout his career, he only had a handful of UK chart hits.  The one that had been his biggest in 1957 would be even bigger 30 years later! 

Two other Jackie Wilson hits, "I Get The Sweetest Feeling" and "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" had the distinction of hitting the British chart on three separate occasions, but the one UK hit that would top them all, and outperform its original run up the charts in 1986, was riding atop the hit parade 25 years ago this week.............

 

Golden Hits Radio's Burning Question of the Day

Today in 1957, the U.S. Army allowed Elvis Presley a 60-day extension so he could finish making which movie? 

Come back to Everything Oldies tomorrow to find the answer, and leave a Comment below with your best guess! 

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

Which legendary supergroup performed live for the first time together today on December 21, 1968? 

Answer:    Crosby, Stills, and Nash

 

 

Today In Oldies 12/21/2011

Golden Hits Radio's Everything Oldies.........all the Oldies news that fits! 

• The leader of a 70's supergroup wants their songs.....and he wants 'em NOW! 
• Remember Sir Paul McCartney's new album we told you about yesterday?  Take a listen to one of the tracks that features Eric Clapton.
• What are the most played Christmas songs on radio this holiday season?
• Your favorite Oldies stars are still making music!  Click here to check out new releases on CD and digital download this week   
• A lawsuit is settled between the surviving members of The Shirelles and the producers of a musical based on them

 

"What do you mean you don't have that song"?

The story behind the last #1 song of the 1970's (and 2nd #1 of the 1980's) has its origins in the same way many other classics do.  It began its life out of the remnants of an unused track with a different title and what turned out to be a very different first line of the chorus, a line which might not have been nearly as memorable. 

While reading New York's Village Voice newspaper one day, the song's singer and writer came across an ad in the "personals" section.  In an interview, he said he became curious about what might happen if he answered the ad, and what if it turned out to be taken out by his wife?  Had she become bored with him and needed an adventure?  While he never actually went through with it, he put pen to paper and came up with "People Need Other People".  Never heard of that one you say?  Oh, I'm sure you have. 

The original first line of the chorus wondered, "If you like Humphrey Bogart........".  Most of his songs up to that point were ripe with movie references, so he decided to go in a different direction.  Since this was a personal ad that sought someone to get away with her, a likely destination would be a tropical island.  If you're on a tropical island, what do you normally drink?  Certainly not beer.  After considering a Mai Tai and a Daiquiri, the artist went with a drink he had never actually tried before, and has since said he hated the taste of it once he did. 

While it became an unqualified international smash, it didn't start out that way.  As it began to gain radio airplay, listeners began to jam radio request lines and bombard record stores wanting to hear or buy "the pina colada song".  Since that wasn't the song's official title, DJs and record store workers had no idea what they were talking about.  With sales initially slow, brighter minds at Infinity Records decided to change the title with all future pressings of the record.  Sales and airplay skyrocketed, with the song hitting #1 in the U.S. and Canada and Top 5 status in Australia and New Zealand.  Music fans weren't ready to "Escape", but they most definitely were ready to get their hands on "the pina colada song", leading to the tweak in the title that led to a smash........

From a guest shot on Solid Gold in 1981, Rupert Holmes performs his signature song, the last #1 song of the 70's that hit the top this week in 1979........

 

Golden Hits Radio's Burning Question of the Day

Which legendary supergroup performed live for the first time together today in 1968? 

Come back to Everything Oldies tomorrow to find the answer, and leave a Comment below with your best guess! 

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

The #1 song this week in 1969 was Peter, Paul, and Mary's classic "Leaving On A Jet Plane".  You know who sang it, but do you remember who wrote it? 

Answer:    John Denver

 

Today In Oldies 12/20/2011

Golden Hits Radio's Everything Oldies.....where Oldies news comes first!

• The Beach Boys are back!  And at least one member is ready to hit the road
• Sir Paul jumps under the covers
• A music legend is living out her final days
• An eccentric music genius wants his murder conviction overturned......by none other than the highest Court in the land! 
• The singer of a classic 60's song is hospitalized 

 

A Supreme Finale

Several artists made more famous and infamous appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show during its 23 year run, but one of Sullivan's personal favorites appeared more often than any other pop or rock act of the era.  This week in 1969, the most successful incarnation of this group appeared for the 16th and final time. 

Their first appearance came around this same of the year in December 1964.  They would average 5 appearances a year through 1967.  By December 21, 1969, however, internal tensions within the group, a major shakeup at their label, Motown Records, and a shift in musical tastes had marked the end of the road for the most successful female group in music history.  Motown founder Berry Gordy also had a plan in place for the leader of the group to launch a solo career, and he felt the timing was right to send her out alone. 

The country was stunned following this performance at Ed Sullivan's announcement that the leader of The Supremes, Diana Ross, was leaving the group.  Their story, however, ended well, with the song they performed becoming their final #1 song in that incarnation and providing a fitting springboard for Diana Ross to enter the 70's as one of the A-list superstars of the decade. 

For one last time, here are The Supremes performing the hit that would be their swan song on The Ed Sullivan Show..............

 

Golden Hits Radio's Burning Question of the Day

The #1 song this week in 1969 was Peter, Paul, and Mary's classic "Leaving On A Jet Plane".  You know who sang it, but do you remember who wrote it? 

Come back to Everything Oldies tomorrow to find the answer, and leave a Comment below with your best guess! 

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

Which rock and roll TV special was filmed today in 1968........but never seen until 1996?

Answer:   The Rolling Stones' "Rock and Roll Circus"......a performance special featuring members of The Beatles and The Who (among others) but unseen until a VHS home video release 28 years later

 

 

Today In Oldies 12/13/2011

Golden Hits Radio's Everything Oldies......your 24 hour Oldies news team!

• Who just became one of only two living composers, and the only one not associated with classical music, to have his portrait on the walls of Steinway Hall?
• A music legend is having his hip repaired
• Hope you're sitting down for this one......it would appear that Michael Jackson's children are (GASP!) normal.
• Who's being featured on postage stamps in New Zealand?

 

As American As Pie

This week in 1971, a landmark song which is still a staple of Oldies and "classic hits" radio stations across the United States began its climb up the Billboard Hot 100.  It would eventually hit #1 in January 1972 and stay there 4 weeks.   

Don McLean's classic "American Pie" has been dissected ad nauseum by music lovers, historians, and musicologists alike, but McLean himself has gone the route of Carly Simon's elusiveness about the subject of "You're So Vain" when discussing the song.  He has never publicly given his own take on the song's numerous lyrics and references. 

With that in mind, we at Golden Hits Radio will give you what we call our "American Pie Primer", a collection of links and websites devoted to taking their best shot at defining the song and its myriad references so you can draw your own conclusions. 

• Understanding American Pie - a verse-by-verse breakdown of the song's lyrics, along with an encyclopedic summation of the events to which the song refers, by Jim Fann
• Songfacts.com - A comprehensive, user-contributed page devoted to the song
• An "American Pie" Lyrical Interpretation Page by Jim Kalman - An individual's take on the song and its meaning
• American Pie - An Interpretation - A British music lover's best shot at interpreting the lyrics

While you're determining the real meaning of the song, take a look and listen and sing along......

 

Golden Hits Radio's Burning Question of the Day

Which 60's teen idol took an acting turn today in 1963 on an episode of ABC's Burke's Law?

Come back to Everything Oldies tomorrow to find the answer, and leave a Comment below with your best guess! 

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

Which rock and roll TV special was filmed today in 1968........but never seen until 1996?

Answer:   The Rolling Stones' "Rock and Roll Circus"

 

 

Today In Oldies 12/11/2011

Golden Hits Radio's Everything Oldies......Oldies news you can count on!

• A current and future Rock and Roll Hall of Famer will soon have a new album and autobiography in stores!
• Two Rolling Stones, who generally don't get along, band together to help one of their late musical heroes 
• Ever wondered what some of your favorite artists have written into their tour "riders" -- their list of backstage items a promoter must provide contractually at a venue?  Here are a couple.....for the environmentally conscious Paul McCartney and the morally conscious Little Richard
• A member of an influential 60's folk group has died
• One group snubbed by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame isn't happy about a group who did get in
• Two feuding members of the same group set aside their differences for a distinguished honor

Good Rockin' at Mid-day

On December 12, 1961, a big band singer who had not made the successful transition to rock and roll had left Los Angeles for Cleveland try his hand at something different, a daytime TV talk show.  Over the course of 21 years and over 6,000 shows, his program became a necessary stop for the A-list, and in the process, he created some very memorable musical moments.

Michael Dowd, Jr.'s previous claim to fame up to that point had been as lead singer in Kay Kyser's big band in the 40's and 50's.  He also provided the singing voice of Prince Charming in Walt Disney's classic 1950 animated feature film, Cinderella.  By 1961, however, big bands were out of favor, and an old colleague hired him to host a new daytime talk show being launched at KYW-TV in Cleveland, Ohio.  It was an immediate hit.  Two years later, it went nationwide, and in 1965, it would move its home base from Cleveland to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where another show that would become an American daytime TV institution, American Bandstand, launched.

The Mike Douglas Show was the standard celebrity chatfest that exists on almost every American TV channel today.  It's no surprise that the host's musical background provided him with a fondness for having the hottest musical acts of the day on the show, and several of them made the most of their appearance.

The show was the highest rated program on daytime television for most of it's 21 year run, but the week that topped them all came the week of February 14-18, 1972, when Douglas's co-hosts were none other than John Lennon and Yoko Ono.  They brought along a rather eclectic group of guests with them that week, but the highlight came when one of Lennon's heroes joined them for a rip roaring musical performance..................



One of Douglas's most bizarre moments came in 1974, when an outlandish new group made their national TV debut.  The interview with one of the members before their performance provided fodder for one of his other guests, comedian Totie Fields.........



Golden Hits Radio's Burning Question of the Day

Which rock and roll TV special was filmed today in 1968........but never seen until 1996?

Come back to Everything Oldies tomorrow to find the answer, and leave a Comment below with your best guess! 

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

Which 60's teen idol visited Elvis @ Graceland today in 1960, lending Elvis his pants when he ripped them demonstrating karate?

Answer:   Fabian

Today In Oldies 12/8/2011

Golden Hits Radio's Everything Oldies......celebrating the stars that made the music!

• The 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees have been named!  
• One inductee is "pleased as punch" to be enshrined
• The Boss will be hiring in 2012
• Some days will be "Diamond"s next year
• Roy Orbison's widow has passed away......on the anniversary of her husband's death
• Motown put Detroit on the musical map, but the man who established its reputation as a rock and roll town will soon put out his first new album in 28 years!
• College football bowl season is upon us, and Oldies artists will play a part at halftime and singing the National Anthem
  

 

All For The Hall

Golden Hits Radio would like to congratulate the 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class of inductees!  Several of the folks are either heard each day on our station or were responsible for some of the greatest music ever recorded in a behind the scenes capacity.  Let's shine the spotlight on them.............

Donovan

The Small Faces (who later became The Faces)

 

Laura Nyro, a legendary songwriter who wrote a number of huge hits including.........

Legendary producer Tom Dowd, who sat behind the console during the recording of classics like..........

Producer/engineer Glyn Johns, who brought us..........

 

Golden Hits Radio's Burning Question of the Day

Which 60's teen idol visited Elvis @ Graceland today in 1960, lending Elvis his pants when he ripped them demonstrating karate? 

Come back to Everything Oldies tomorrow to find the answer, and leave a Comment below with your best guess! 

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

 

Which group appeared on the British TV show Jukebox Jury today in 1963, and declared Elvis Presley's then-current single "Kiss Me Quick" a "hit"? 

Answer:  The Beatles

Today In Oldies 12/7/2011

Golden Hits Radio's Everything Oldies......where Oldies news comes first!

• Who can now take claim to "Hardest Working Man In Show Business" with two new albums in 2012?
• An Eagle talks about playing with The Beach Boys and seeing the Beatles' final concert
• Members of the two biggest bands of all time team up for a performance in London
• The surviving Jackson brothers discuss life without Michael
• Speaking of the King of Pop, now his dermatologist could be in trouble
• And one more Michael Jackson item......the Cirque de Soleil production based on his music has begun a limited engagement in Las Vegas
• A soul great, who had just experienced a career resurgence several years ago, has died
• This week marks the anniversary of the concert that marked the end of the Woodstock era, and new details have emerged on that evening that prove it could have been even more tragic!
• Your favorite artists have new CDs in stores and on iTunes this week
• A 70's icon (now under a different name) premieres his new musical in Australia

 

Dobie Gray (1940-2011)

The Golden Hits Radio family lost an incredible talent yesterday, as Dobie Gray passed away at the age of 71.  He is one of the few artists who had a hit with the same song across two very different generations and is still a staple of Oldies and Adult Contemporary radio stations today. 

Not much is known about Dobie Gray's childhood.  He is thought to have been born near Houston, Texas.  In fact, even his given name is in question.  Some sources indicate his birth name is Lawrence Darrow Brown.  Still others claim it is Leonard Victor Ainsworth, a name he used on several early recordings.  

He moved to Los Angeles in the early 60's to pursue acting, but he also sang to pick up some extra money.  None other than Sonny Bono suggested he make his stage name Dobie Gray, a play on the name of the title character on the 60's TV series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.  His big break in music came in 1965 with the original version of "The In Crowd", a Top 15 hit for him that would become an even bigger instrumental hit later that year for the Ramsey Lewis Trio. 

As another hit song would elude him for nine years while recording for smaller independent labels, his acting career began to take off, with his most notable role coming during a 2 1/2 year stint in the Los Angeles production of the stage musical Hair. 

In 1972, he would sign a major label contract with Decca Records, which had just become part of the MCA family of labels.  Working with Mentor Williams, brother of legendary songwriter Paul Williams, his biggest hit would come with a song written and produced by Williams.  "Drift Away" was a smash, going Top 5 in the U.S. and Top 10 in Canada.  It has remained a mainstay on both Oldies and Adult Contemporary stations.  Almost 30 years later, it was a smash all over again, as a duet between Dobie Gray and hip hop artist Uncle Kracker was a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit the top of the Adult Contemporary charts in 2003.  A whole new generation had discovered the laid back sounds of "Drift Away". 

He would hit the Top 40 only once more in his career with 1979's "You Can Do It", but his success as a songwriter continued throughout the 1980's with a move to Nashville working with country artists. 

Dobie Gray may have left us, but it's safe to say we will be "drifting away" to his 1974 smash forever.  Here are all 3 of his Billboard Top 40 hits........

 

Golden Hits Radio's Burning Question of the Day

Which group appeared on the British TV show Jukebox Jury today in 1963, and declared Elvis Presley's then-current single "Kiss Me Quick" a "hit"? 

Come back to Everything Oldies tomorrow to find the answer, and leave a Comment below with your best guess! 

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

No less than five "answer" songs to what Elvis Presley hit were on the Billboard Hot 100 this week in 1960?  

Answer:   "Are You Lonesome Tonight?"

 

Today In Oldies 12/5/2011

Golden Hits Radio's Everything Oldies.....Oldies news when you need it!

•  Which superstar's phone was hacked by tabloid journalists?
• Which superstar wants to dance......after he accomplishes a goal?
• A 60's star is honored for his other job
• Another tell-all book is coming from music's most dysfunctional family

 

Spoken Like A Number One Hit

Hit songs come in all shapes, sizes, and packages, but the rarest of oldies genres is the "spoken word" hit.  A few that come to mind are Jimmy Dean's 1961 smash "Big Bad John" and Wink Martindale's 1957 Top 10 hit "Deck of Cards".  Sitting atop the Billboard Hot 100 this week in 1964, however, was a spoken word hit by one of the stars of a TV show that was also #1 in the Nielsen ratings that week.  It is a song that may or may not have been released to cash in on another group's massive popularity at the time. 

The song was a ballad chronicling the relationship between a Western lawman and a notorious real life outlaw.  While it was fast and loose with what historians know to be factual about the outlaw, radio listeners and record buyers were willing to suspend disbelief.  After all, the artist was the father they probably wished they had each week on TV and a former news anchor for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in his home country.  If he couldn't be trusted in song, who could?

This hit was included on an album the star had just recorded that was meant to be a companion piece to his hit TV show.  In fact, the single's B-side was the show's theme song with new lyrics added.  Timing can be everything when it comes to hit records, and in this case, a song that might never have seen the light of day as a single release at any other moment in music history was now at the pinnacle of the music charts thanks to its very fortunate title sharing the name of a member of music's biggest act. 

While there are varying accounts of the song's release as a way to capitalize on the success of a group that had taken the country by storm earlier in the year and had quickly become the biggest band in the world, it certainly didn't hurt that the song's title and that group's drummer shared the same name, and a very unique one at that.  To further brand the song with that group, a special promotional copy of the song was sent to both U.S. and Canadian radio stations with the artist providing an intro to the song by assuring radio programmers and listeners that while he was aware there might be confusion, the song had nothing to do with the group and "that wonderful drummer of theirs". 

Whether record buyers and radio listeners were simply confused or fascinated by the story in the song, they sent ol' Ben Cartwright to the top of the charts........even if they did think the song was about one of The Beatles.

From the album Welcome To The Ponderosa, where millions of TV viewers spent an hour with Ben and his sons every Sunday night at 9:00 p.m. (Eastern) on NBC......

 

Golden Hits Radio's Burning Question of the Day

No less than five "answer" songs to what Elvis Presley hit were on the Billboard Hot 100 this week in 1960?  

Come back to Everything Oldies tomorrow to find the answer, and leave a Comment below with your best guess! 

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

Which Broadway musical (and later, Oscar-winning film), based loosely on the life of a legendary 60's group, made its debut today in 1981? 

Answer: Dreamgirls 

 

 

 

Today In Oldies 12/2/2011

Golden Hits Radio's Everything Oldies.....all the Oldies news that's news to you!

• All the hype surrounding a "surprise reunion" at Wednesday's Grammy Awards nomination concert never materialized, and now everyone is wondering who it was supposed to be
• Jackson Browne has written a song for the Occupy movement.  Click here to see video of him performing it for the first time
• Why would an amplifier command a six figure price?  Because it once belonged to The Beatles!
• Speaking of the Fab Four, which one's sister plans to tell all in an upcoming book?  
• Elvis Presley's "daughter" wants a piece of his estate
• A legendary producer who worked with Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, The Byrds, and Bruce Springsteen (among others) has died
• One rock legend, currently on tour, contemplates his future
• It only took 42 years, but the spelling has finally been corrected on a legendary group's debut album

 

A Diamond Duet In The Rough

The #1 song this week in 1978 has one of music's more fascinating "backstories".  It featured the first collaboration between two established superstars, but it was not the first time they had sung together.  They had previously performed together in the school choir at Brooklyn, New York's Erasmus High School.  The song they recorded together after becoming household names was one they had each recorded solo.  Enter a very unlikely catalyst to make to bring them together.....a heartbroken radio station Program Director. 

The song was originally written as the theme song for a television show called All That Glitters, produced by the hottest name in the business in that era, Norman Lear (All In The Family, The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son).  Before the pilot episode was filmed, however, the premise of the show changed and the song didn't fit.  One of the writers of that song was one of the biggest names in the music business at the time, Neil Diamond.  In spite of the song not being used for TV, Diamond had been including it in his sold out live performances and noticed it was gaining traction with his audience.  Together with co-writers Alan and Marilyn Bergman, he added a few touches to finish the song and put it on his 1977 album I'm Glad You're Here With Me Tonight.  A few months later, another superstar covered it.  Barbra Streisand included it on her album Songbird. 

Variations on this story over the years, including at least one by Diamond himself in a published interview, have numerous disc jockeys across the country splicing together the vocals of Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand to create an on-air "duet", but the originator was the Program Director of WAKY-AM in Louisville, Kentucky.  Gary Guthrie was going through a divorce from his wife, Becky.  He had heard Neil Diamond's version first and noticed how it made her cry when she heard it.  Barbra Streisand was another of her favorite artists.  The light went on in his head, and he spliced the vocals of the two together.  He first limited airplay to the overnight hours, but once his daytime audience heard it, the request lines never stopped ringing.  Soon, other mass media picked up the story worldwide, including Good Morning, America, People magazine, and the BBC.  A phenomenon had been created.  The only missing piece was actually getting the two singers together to record it. 

The label for both artists, Columbia, finally got the two together for an "official" version.  Released in October, the song shot to the top in just a few weeks.  While plans for a feature film starring the duet partners based on the song never materialized (Diamond did The Jazz Singer instead), they teamed up for a memorable rendition of it at the 1980 Grammy Awards. 

One radio station manager's pain produced the 3rd #1 single for both Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand, and this week it was spending its first non-consecutive week atop the Billboard Hot 100.  Here is that legendary Grammy performance of.............

 

Golden Hits Radio's Burning Question of the Day

Which Broadway musical (and later, Oscar-winning film), based loosely on the life of a legendary 60's group, made its debut today in 1981? 

Come back to Everything Oldies tomorrow to find the answer, and leave a Comment below with your best guess! 

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

Speaking of TV specials, which legendary duo had their first network prime time special on NBC today in 1969 despite losing their title sponsor over their objection to footage aired of both the Vietnam War and Robert Kennedy's funeral? 

Answer: Simon and Garfunkel -- the title sponsor who dropped out was AT&T