Today In Oldies 12/20/2010

Golden Hits Radio & GHR-2's Everything Oldies......stuffing your stocking with Oldies news!

• Want a suit worn by John Lennon on the cover of a landmark album?  It's probably gonna cost you
• You'll never believe whose house might become a music school!
• Who's the latest group to have their music get the full Broadway musical treatment?
• What is it that's worrying Ronnie Spector these days?
• Blondie's Debbie Harry recalls a close encounter with a notorious serial killer

Behind The (Christmas) Music

This week, Everything Oldies tells the stories behind the classic pop Christmas songs and albums you've come to know and love.  From the original titles of some of your favorite Yuletide standards to the story of how unforeseen bad timing kept a classic 60's Christmas album from being fully appreciated upon its release, we hope you enjoy the tales that go along with the songs that have made Christmas merrier for many years.....

• An Unwanted 'Gift'

Brian Wilson calls it his favorite album of all time.  It has a spot on many critics' Top 10 list of the greatest albums ever recorded.  It ranks in the top half of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, holiday themed or otherwise.  So why was it a commercial flop upon its release, and to this day nowhere to be found among the best selling Christmas albums of all time?  The most likely culprit is a case of the most unfortunate timing in music history involving an event which forever changed a nation. 

In 1963, there was no name bigger among music producers and moguls in the pre-Beatles era than Phil Spector.  He had several #1 songs under his belt, and in addition to producing multiple artists and serving in executive capacities with other record labels, he also had his own label, Philles Records.  His perfection of the "Wall of Sound" production style featuring session musicians collectively known as the Wrecking Crew (including Glen Campbell, Hal Blaine, Sonny Bono, and Leon Russell) had produced a string of chart hits, including 2 songs that are staples on Oldies radio years later ("Be My Baby" by The Ronettes and "He's A Rebel" by Darlene Love and The Blossoms).  Spector had put an emphasis on singles, eschewing the album format, but that would change when he decided to employ the full resources of Philles Records including its entire artist roster along with the "Wall of Sound" and the Wrecking Crew for what he thought would make record store cash registers ring and radio station turntables spin that Christmas season. 

Featuring songs which had become traditional Christmas standards, Spector put a fresh spin on them for A Christmas Gift For You.  The first single, "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)", featured virtuoso vocals from Darlene Love.  Other highlights include the three songs contributed by The Ronettes ("Sleigh Ride", "Frosty The Snowman", and "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus") and The Crystals' rendition of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town".  With Spector's imprint and the Wrecking Crew's musical prowess, it appeared to be a combination that would be unstoppable on the radio and in record stores. 

So what went wrong that caused A Christmas Gift For You to be an epic failure at first?  It wasn't the marketing effort.  It certainly wasn't the lack of creativity.  It had everything to do with the release date of the album, set months before anyone would have any way of knowing the events that would unfold.  A Christmas Gift For You had only been on record store shelves for a few hours on its release date, Friday, November 22, 1963, when Walter Cronkite announced to the nation that President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated in Dallas, Texas.  The collective mood of the country was a very somber one for the holiday season in 1963, making celebrations muted.  Phil Spector's Christmas Gift wasn't what the country was ready for during this time of tragedy. 

Fortunately, the story of Spector's epic album has a happy ending.  It has been reissued in various formats almost a dozen times, and with each successive re-release its legend, and critical acclaim, has grown.  The combined sales of the reissues of A Christmas Gift For You total in the millions, and although none of them have sold enough to crack Billboard's list of the Top Christmas Albums of All Time, it has reached its potential comercially, and with the proliferation of wall-to-wall Christmas music formats on radio stations across the country, several of the singles from the album, including The Ronettes' "Sleigh Ride" and Darlene Love's "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)", have become holiday standards in their own right.  Bruce Springsteen's classic rendition of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" was inspired by The Crystals' rendition on the album, and U2's cover of "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)" was modeled closely after Darlene Love's.  Love performs the song each year on the Christmas episode of David Letterman's Late Show (scheduled this year for Dec. 23). 

Before he began killing girlfriends, Phil Spector was just another creative genius who gave us a Christmas masterpiece..........

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

"Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer" began as a promotional vehicle for what now defunct department store chain?

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

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

Who was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums hit #1 on the Billboard album charts?

Answer: Donna Summer

 

Today In Oldies 12/15/2010

Golden Hits Radio and GHR-2's Everything Oldies.......Oldies news first! 

• First up on the agenda for Sony's 10 album megadeal w/ the late Michael Jackson......a reissue of one his his classics
• How did the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees react to the news that they were in?  We get it straight from the source with Dr. John, Alice Cooper, Darlene Love, and Neil Diamond!
• Levon Helm is hospitalized
• Remember the rather bizarre pairing of Bing Crosby and David Bowie that produced "Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy" for a TV special in 1977?  It's parodied by two Hollywood heavyweights here. 
• Daryl Hall's internet series comes to real TV New Year's Eve! 
• Here's a look at this week's new (and reissued) CD releases from many of the folks heard each day @ Golden Hits Radio and GHR-2

Oldies On TV

• Natalie Cole - Christmas With The Tabernacle Choir - PBS (check local listings)
• Barbra Streisand - Larry King Live - CNN (9:00 Eastern/8:00 Pacific)
• Roger Waters - Conan - TBS (11:00 Eastern/10:00 Central)
• Ronnie Spector - Late Show With David Letterman - CBS (11:35 Eastern/10:35 Pacific)
• Annie Lennox - Late Night With Jimmy Fallon - NBC (12:35 Eastern/11:35 Pacific)

A Shot At The Title

All this week, Everything Oldies will play "What if?", as we spotlight songs with their original working titles.  Imagine what a different world we'd live in if the most covered song of all time were The Beatles' classic, "Scrambled Eggs".....which was the original working title of......"Yesterday".  Enjoy the stories behind the titles.....and why they changed.

• The title of this 1959 hit was changed due to the founder of the record label of which it was released (which was founded by a Seattle DJ for the sole purpose of distributing music made by a single act) thinking the original title would be too suggestive, thus turning off AM radio DJs.  So "Come Softly" became a smash for The Fleetwoods as..........

• Omnipresent 80's musical maven Phil Collins was in the process of producing and playing drums on the debut solo album of one of the lead vocalists for Earth, Wind, and Fire.  He approached bassist Nathan East and mentioned that the album lacked a hit single.  They set out to remedy that by playing around with a piano riff in the studio with the singer adding the words "Choosy Lover" over it.  Realizing they had a hit, Collins agreed to join the up and coming artist on the finished version, further enhancing the chances of the song being a hit.  It was a Top 5 smash for Philip Bailey once "Choosy Lover" morphed into...........

• Singer/songwriter Walter Egan had a rough outline of a song he planned to call "Don't Turn Away Now".  He had some of the biggest names in music at the time behind his debut album, including co-producer Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks providing background vocals.  He developed a crush on Nicks, and the song evolved to be about her.  He developed a metaphor about the attraction between two people, and "Don't Turn Away Now" became.........

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

What do Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, and Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones all have in common?

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

What was the first #1 song under Billboard's Hot 100 chart format?

The answer is below.......and it happened on August 4, 1958

 

Today In Oldies 10/14/2010

Golden Hits Radio and GHR-2's Everything Oldies......scouring the globe so you don't have to for Oldies news!

• American Idol auditions are underway!  How is Steven Tyler enjoying the new gig?
• The onslaught of music autobiographies continues......... 
• Several artists will celebrate the legacy of John F. Kennedy at (where else?) the Kennedy Center
• A (musical) dream comes true for one of the rescued Chilean miners
• How's this for irony.....Paul McCartney keeping together the marriage involving the woman who broke up the band?!?!?!
• One of Phil Spector's finest has released a new album

Where In The World Is.........Lobo? 

Roland Kent Lavoie was born in Tallahassee, Florida on July 31, 1943.  He was a veteran of numerous bands in and around central and south Florida beginning in 1961, one of which (The Rumours) included both Jim Stafford and country/rock legend Gram Parsons.  Working with producer Phil Gernhard, he went solo in 1969 and changed his name.  That's when success came calling. 

Lavoie changed his stage name to Lobo in 1971.  Working with Gernhard, who had become an executive at Big Tree Records, his first single sent him into the stratosphere.  "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo" was a Top 5 hit on both sides of the Atlantic, becoming Big Tree's first major national hit.  His debut album, "Introducing Lobo", soon followed.  After a brief flirtation with concept albums that produced no hits, Lobo went back to the well that made him a star.  He made a triumphant return to the charts in 1972 with "I'd Love You To Want Me", which narrowly missed reaching the top in the U.S., hitting #2 and becoming his second domestic million seller.  It fared even better in Europe, hitting #1 in both Germany and the UK.  The winter of 1973 brought another Top 10 hit with "Don't Expect Me To Be Your Friend".  Later that year, he scored three more Top 40 hits from his album "Calumet", most notably "It Sure Took A Long, Long Time" and "How Can I Tell Her".  For a two year span, Lobo had become a tried and true hitmaker with the help of Phil Gernhard. 

Lobo parted ways with Big Tree Records in 1976.  He put out several albums in Europe only, then signed with MCA Records in 1979.  His first U.S. album release in four years, "Lobo", produced his last U.S. Top 40 hit, "Where Were You When I Was Falling In Love".  So what did Lobo do when the pop chart was no longer his friend? 

What he did was the same thing many pop stars who fall out of favor do.  He took a shot at country stardom.  Unhappy with the production values on his albums for MCA, he formed his own label, Lobo Records, and moved to Nashville.  The move didn't prove as successful for Lobo as it had for many others over the years.  By the late 80's, he had abandoned country music and Nashville.

While his success in the U.S. was finished, his popularity abroad began to explode in the 90's.  He spent the decade recording for various Asian record labels and toured Europe extensively.  In 2000, he signed with a German label, recording several new tracks for greatest hits compilations and two Christmas songs.  He still tours occasionally in Europe, and his latest album, "Propinquity", was released online September 7th on Stoney Records. 

And now, a man whose name translates as "wolf" singing about a dog.....with karaoke lyrics if you feel inclined to sing along......

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

"Jessie's Girl" was a #1 smash for Rick Springfield in 1981, but the central character's boyfriend in the song was NOT named "Jessie" in real life.  According to Rick, what WAS the boyfriend's real life name? 

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

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

Which R&B legend did the sax solo on Foreigner's 1981 hit "Urgent"?

Answer: Jr. Walker