More Love for Dick Clark (1920-2012)

Golden Hits Radio brings you more of Dick Clark's greatest moments.......

Dick Clark on a 1960's episode of Batman

A 1964 interview with The Beach Boys on American Bandstand

A conversation with Jefferson Airplane, 1967.......

And finally, 1966 and Neil Diamond.........

Celebrities tweet their fond memories of Dick Clark

Dick Clark 1929-2012

Golden Hits Radio celebrates the life of one of the folks who is responsible for the fact that we exist......Dick Clark, who passed away following a heart attack yesterday at a hospital in Santa Monica, California.  Whether it was on camera or behind the scenes, Dick Clark has been responsible for thousands of hours of our collective TV viewing since American Bandstand was first broadcast coast-to-coast in 1957. 

While we can't possibly bring you every piece of news coverage and video from around the Web, we can bring you an overview across several media organizations, and hopefully you learn something about the man that you never knew! 

CNN coverage of Dick Clark's life (includes sidebar video)

ABC News coverage (with video)

Rolling Stone pays tribute

 

 

Today In Oldies 12/28/2010

Golden Hits Radio & GHR-2's Everything Oldies.......the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's all in one place!

• Sir Elton John becomes a father!
• A look into the crystal ball that is 2011 shows lower concert ticket prices!
• Madonna helps those in need for the holidays
• Did Bob Dylan really order 178 pizzas in Amherst, Massachusetts last month?
• One of Harold Melvin's Blue Notes has passed
• Which of your favorite Golden Hits Radio & GHR-2 greats have new CDs in stores and online today?

Oldies On TV

• Paul McCartney, Merle Haggard, Vince Gill, James Taylor, Willie Nelson, Steven Tyler, Kris Kristofferson, more - Kennedy Center Honors (CBS)

The Gift Of Music

This week, Everything Oldies will spotlight hit songs written by one music superstar and performed by another.  In some cases, the writer of the song had the artist in mind when putting pen to paper, and in others, they had someone else in mind when the song was written and were advised to keep it for themselves.  In any case, the artist made it his (or her) own and fully realized the writer's vision. 

Today, we take a look at three songs written by the most prolific hitmaker of the 80's......Prince.  Not only did he hit the Billboard Top 10 more than any other artist with his own songs in the 80's, a song he wrote hit #1 and two more were Top 5 smashes for other artists!

• A song from Prince's second album in 1980 was a relatively low key affair when the Purple One did it himself.  The Pointer Sisters had also covered it in 1982, but their version was not released as a single.  It became a Top 5 hit in 1984 with ramped up production values, an all-star cast of musicians lending a hand (including Stevie Wonder on harmonica) and an intro that left no doubt in anyone's mind who was performing it this time.........

• Prince originally wrote and recorded this song as a duet for one of his "protege" acts, Apollonia 6.  He eventually chose not to include it on that album, and two years later, he offered it to another all-female band he liked, giving it to them under the pseudonym "Christopher".  While rumors that he offered the song because of his romantic interest in the group's lead singer led to tension within the band, it became the song that made them superstars and contained a message that connected with the public and their often hectic lives........

• Prince had a stable of female solo artists and groups he mentored to stardom in the 80's.  One got her start by providing background vocals on his song "Erotic City", which became a dance club sensation.  He originally wrote her first hit for another "protege" act, Apollonia 6.  Upon learning that the leader of that group, Apollonia Kotero, had no intention of staying in the group beyond her contractual obligation as his female co-star in the 1984 film Purple Rain, he then offered it to Sheila Escovedo, who became a star as Sheila E.  It launched her career, established her as a virtuoso percussionist, and became a Top 10 hit...........

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

The legendary Chess record label changed their name in 1965 to avoid confusion with another British label.  What was their new name?

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

Although Dick Clark has become synonymous with New Year's Eve on ABC, a different network originated his New Year's Rockin' Eve TV special in 1972.  On which network did it first appear on December 31, 1972, and which band received star billing in the title that first season?

Answer: The first New Year's Eve extravaganza featuring Dick Clark had the name of the host of the pre-taped musical segments from Los Angeles ahead of the title.........which was Three Dog Night's New Year's Rockin' Eve, on NBC. 

Today In Oldies 11/15/2010

Golden Hits Radio & GHR-2's Everything Oldies........New week, new Oldies news! 

• Take a look at Woody's Roadside Tavern's most famous patron.....who found his way to the stage!
• How big could Michael Jackson's (first) posthumous album be?  
• Watch Marie Osmond from last week's appearance on Oprah
• An attorney isn't happy with the way his client was portrayed in a movie (no word on why he waited NINETEEN YEARS to talk about it!)
• Just in time for your holiday shopping.....a legendary 70's group reissues a Christmas album (*HINT*...it does have a name, unlike their horse)

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. 

• In 1982, Paul Davis was working on a song whose references were very 50's, including car hops, doo wops, and drive-ins.  Appropriately, the working title was "'55 Love Affair".  His record label, Arista Records, didn't like the idea of a song that would appeal to an older crowd, so they had him change the title in order to "young it down".  The result was a Top 10 hit.  You wonder if the American Bandstand crowd in this clip would have gone quite as crazy with the original title...........

• As urban legend has it, a smash from 1972 was written about Don McLean, but the writers of the song tell a slightly different story.  Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox wrote a song for a young artist named Lori Lieberman.  They decided their original working title was a little old fashioned for 1972, so they changed the last word.  After hearing it, Lieberman said it reminded her of being at a Don McLean concert, and the song's legend grew from there.  It wasn't a hit for Lori Lieberman, but it became a #1 hit for Roberta Flack.  Interesting how "Killing Me Softly With His Blues" became............

• Song #54 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time had a rather unusual birth.  The man who wrote it and sang it was working as a hospital orderly by day and club singer by night.  Distraught over a broken relationship, he couldn't even bring himself to concentrate on the music he was to perform at the club.  He asked his bassist and organ player to give him a slow blues backing, and he began to improvise a 6 minute song about the breakup.  Realizing he might have something, he condensed it, took it to a producer, and recorded it in one of the early meccas of rock and pop music.  The producer, realizing he had a hit, pitched the song to Atlantic Records, whose co-founder, Jerry Wexler, loved the song but didn't like the off-key performance of the singer.  He ordered the singer and musicians back into the studio to re-cut it.........and accidentally released the off-key version anyway.  The original title was "Why Did You Leave Me", but it became one of the most played songs of all-time as.............

 

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

While it sometimes doesn't hurt to "go with your gut" when recording a song, it always helps to get a second opinion on its hit potential.  Which superstar let the Ohio Players know they had a winner in "Fire"? 

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

For its last 6 months on TV, American Bandstand moved from its longtime home at ABC to cable's USA Network, and Dick Clark stepped down as host.  Who was his replacement as host?

Answer: David Hirsch

 

 

Today In Oldies 11/12/2010

Golden Hits Radio & GHR-2's Everything Oldies......fixing Oldies news whenever it breaks! 

• A new book reveals some of the women who inspired some of the greatest hits of all time
• Which music legend won't be returning to the studio....or stage.....anytime soon?
• Several music icons are lined up for a British benefit to ring in 2011
• A Rolling Stone accepts an award for an album made BEFORE he was a Rolling Stone

Where In The World Is.........Tommy Tutone? 

For obvious reasons, very few songs have ever included actual telephone numbers in the title.  In the summer of 1982, Tommy Tutone became the target of threatened lawsuits and a handful of angry phone customers when they were riding the wave of their biggest hit, "867-5309 (Jenny)".  The song has endured long after its run on the charts, even if Tommy Tutone's career didn't. 

The band began in San Francisco in 1978.  The lineup was a revolving door during its original incarnation, but the two "anchors" of the group were lead singer and guitarist Tommy Heath and lead guitarist and backup vocalist Jim Keller.  The band once even included former Cowsills drummer John Cowsill.  While Tommy Tutone is known as a one hit wonder, they actually placed a song in the Top 40 before "867-5309 (Jenny)", 1980's "Angel Say No".  But their second album for Columbia Records contained the song that would become a classic. 

Written by Alex Call and band member Jim Keller, "867-5309 (Jenny)" flew off record store shelves, was hard to avoid on radio stations, and drew the ire of everyone across the country who actually had the number 867-5309.  Although it isn't known exactly how many households across the country had that number in the summer of '82, the band has provided a few clues over the years regarding some of the more notable ones.  In an interview, lead singer Tommy Heath mentioned the number belonged to the daughter of the Buffalo, New York police chief.  Songwriter Alex Call claims both the number and the name Jenny came out of thin air, but Heath has mentioned in subsequent interviews that the number belonged to a girl he knew and, as a prank, members of the band once wrote it on a bathroom wall at a club where they were playing a gig.  Real or not, the song was a smash, hitting #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the Mainstream Rock Top Tracks chart.  Years later, the number has been listed for sale on eBay from time to time. 

The end of "867-5309 (Jenny)"s run on the chart meant the end for Tommy Tutone.  They split up in 1984.  Their members went on to record and perform with other artists, but Tommy Heath took on a brand new career, becoming a computer analyst in Portland, Oregon.  He reformed the band in 1992, and in 2007, Tommy Tutone had a record deal once again, signing with Spectra Records.  Tommy Heath relocated to Nashville, Tennessee in 2010 and plans to record new material and tour with Tommy Tutone.  Lead guitartist Jim Keller is still active in the music business, managing Phillip Glass's publishing company, Dunvagen Music Publishers.  To find out more about Tommy Tutone's continued endeavors, click here for their official website.

And now, the most popular listed phone number in music history.............

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

For its last 6 months on TV, American Bandstand moved from its longtime home at ABC to cable's USA Network, and Dick Clark stepped down as host.  Who was his replacement as host? 

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

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

The name on his birth certificate reads Steven Dimitri Georgiou, but we know him better as ______________.

Answer: Multiple answers are acceptable here thanks to his ever changing stage name........Yussuf Islam, just plain Yussuf, OR his original 70's stage name........Cat Stevens