True Love Ways

Peter and Gordon had a bunch of big hits in the 60's and represented the acoustic duo's of the British Invasion.  In 1965 they took the Buddy Holly song "True Love Ways" to #2 in Britain and #14 in the USA.  As much as I love Buddy Holly, the Peter & Gordon version is amazing and sadly forgotten.
Watch here...

Bacon Day!!

Finally, a day we can wrap our teeth around! Let's start with candy!!

A Christmas Wish...

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve.  Thinking back on the last year, I can come up with a lot of good things to reflect on... and a few bad things as well.  One thing I really became aware of this year is the number of accidents we see near the studio here on Highway 35.  As someone that drives a lot daily, and spends a lot of time every year on 16, 35 and 53, I've formed an opinion.... there are a LOT of really reckless drivers on those highways that think their commute is a Nascar race.  So, here's my Christmas wish for the racers... I sincerely hope you get caught speeding and driving recklessly, you are a threat to every good driver on the road and deserve to lose your license.  So the rest of us can get home safe.

Six shopping days til Christmas!!

So, will we have a white Christmas?  Hmmmmmm...?

Aaarrooooooooooooooo....

Today's forgotten oldie was a #2 smash in both the USA and Canada in 1966,  "Little Red Riding Hood" from the garage band Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs was based on the fairy tale and the kids loved it. It's rare to hear it on the radio, but it's been used in movies, TV shows and even Volvo commercials.  I think it's a great song that deserves airplay!!
watch here

1966, a big year for Keith

I don't mean me, I mean James Barry Keefer, known to the record industry as Keith.  First he had a huge hit with the song "98.6", and then later in 1966 he scored a top forty hit with "Ain't Gonna Lie".  But that was it for Keith, he goes down in history as a Two-Hit Wonder.  Still, Ain't Gonna Lie is a solid song, but forgotten today.
watch and listen here...

Something In The Air

In 1969 Pete Townsend of the Who put together a band to record songs sung by Pete's friend Speedy Keen.  Townsend even played bass for the band.  The band, named Thunderclap Newman, released a song Speedy wrote, "Something In The Air".  The song went to #1 in England and was a hit around the world, reaching the top 40 in the USA in May. It's a great 60's style song, probably most notable for the dozens of movies and TV commercials it was featured in. Tom Petty had a hit with the song in 1994, but the Thunderclap Newman version is best.  Maybe it's not truly forgotten, but it should be played more!
watch and listen here

Lady Godiva

Nope, it's not a history lesson, it's today's forgotten oldie. Peter and Gordon took the song "Lady Godiva" all the way to #6 on the Hot 100 on December 10, 1966. A top ten hit, mostly forgotten today.
listen here

Christmas Gift Idea....

Here's the toy you need for the Crazy Cat Lady on your list...

British Invasion 1964

One of my favorite British Invasion bands was The Searchers.  They had a wave of releases in 1964 and 1965, most of them valid hit records, and all of them excellent songs.  One of the best was "When You Walk In The Room" written by Jackie DeShannon.  It reached #35 on the Hot 100, but much higher in England and Canada.  Just a great song, mostly forgotten today!
Listen here...

Just like Rudy Vallee!

The New Vaudeville Band went to #1 in the USA on December 3rd, 1966 with the song "Winchester Cathedral". A copy of British Music Hall tunes, the singer sang through cupped hands in a Rudy Vallee voice, imitating the Vaudeville megaphone singers of the 1920's. Despite it;s novelty appeal, The song surged to number one twice, beating out the Supremes and the Beach Boys in the process.  A unique song, forgotten today.
listen here

How did you do?

Attention shoppers, did you get your Christmas shopping done?  Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday puts a lot of opportunity on the table, so how did you do?  Did you do a lot of walking?  Or did you figure out a better way...

Top Ten hit, but forgotten.

Rare Earth was the first band signed by Motown that consisted of all-white members, that had solid hit records.  In 1970 they took a Temptations song and gave it the Rare Earth treatment, and the song climbed to #7 on the Hot 100.  "I Know I'm Losing You" is a classic, covered by many artists, notably Rod Stewart, and yet the Rare Earth version is nearly forgotten today.
Listen Here

Guess what these are....

Perhaps you know, perhaps you have no idea... but they're definitely symbols of a fun time in many of our lives.  Going to a drive-in movie!!  These are the speakers you hung on your window (in case you didn't know). By the way, my favorite drive-in played rock and roll tunes through the speakers before the movie... cool!

Rodent Radio...

In 1976 the Captain and Tennille recorded a song that had already been a minor hit for America in 1973. The song was "Muskrat Love", and strangely, their version clicked, climbing to #4 on the Hot 100.  I'm not sure why the song has disappeared over the years, a solid top ten hit that was number 30 in total sales that year... today's forgotten oldie.
watch here

From 1966...

Back in the day I used to play some albums so much I'd wear them out... that was the case for "Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful".  Songs like "Summer in the City", "Darlin' Companion", "Nashville Cats", and today's forgotten oldie... "Rain on the Roof".  Rain on the Roof peaked at #10 on the Hot 100 on 11/19/66.  It's just a sweet little ditty that was all Spoonful, and a nice break from the norm, just a cool song, forgotten today.
Listen here

Friday!!!!

Don't you just feel like partying today?

Remember this?

"Let's Spend The Night Together" by the Rolling Stones has a ton of crazy history.  Released in 1967 as the "A" side with "Ruby Tuesday" as the "B" side, radio stations decided to play the B side due to the controversial and suggestive lyrics of the A side.  So "Ruby" became a #1 hit on the Hot 100.  Ed Sullivan refused to let the Stones perform the song on his show, finally relenting if they sang "Let's Spend Some Time Together".  Of course that made fans love the Stones even more.  The title of a documentary movie of the Stones Greatest Hits live was also given the title "Let's Spend the Night Together". What a great song, largely forgotten today.
Listen here.

A Little Green Bag...

A record released in 1969, the song "Little Green Bag" was a top twenty hit in 1970.  A Dutch band named The George Baker Selection scored the one-hit wonder, which was almost completely forgotten until it appeared in the 1992 movie Reservoir Dogs.  The movie catapulted the song to international cult classic status and it was re-released in many countries.  Unfortunately, it's still pretty much forgotten today.  Listen here...

Happy Veteran's Day!

A salute to all who have served, sacrificed and defended our freedom!  And here's to my dad... my biggest Air Force hero!!  Salute dad!

A listener request...

Today a forgotten oldie that was part of he new wave of music in the 60's aimed at raising social consciousness... a new role for rock music but one that became very popular.  The song was a hit around the world, reaching as high as #2 on the charts in Canada.  With Eric Burdon's growly vocals, and Alan Price's dark organ line the song "It's My Life" is all Animals, and yet is mostly forgotten today.
Watch the video here.

Remember this?

"If I Were A Carpenter" was written and first recorded by Tim Hardin.  The song was a monster hit for Bobby Darin in 1966, a smash on the soul charts for the Four Tops in 1968, and a #2 hit for Johnny Cash and June Carter on the country chart in 1970.  Honestly there aren't very many songs that are big hits three time in three different music genres!  The version I like best is Bobby Darin's... you'll remember the song when you hear it.  A classic, but mostly forgotten today.
Bobby on stage...

Please vote!!

There's no good reason not to!

Happy Halloween!!

Can you hear it?

The Beach Boys had a hit record in 1969 called "I Can Hear Music". To me the record is historically significant because it was both produced and sung by Carl Wilson at a time when Brian Wilson had lost interest in the band and Carl was emerging as the leader of the Beach Boys.  For his first effort, Carl did well as the song climbed into the top ten in major markets around the country and peaked at #23 on the hot 100.  Nice song, classic Beach Boys, but a forgotten oldie.

Rolling Stones first...

During the height of the British Invasion in 1964, a record surfaced by a new band, the Rolling Stones. "Tell Me" was off the Stones' first album "England's Newest Hit Makers", and even though it only reached #23 on the Hot 100, it paved the way for the Stones later releases.  It's a solid song, and is worth a listen simply because it was the first from the world's greatest rock band... but now it's a forgotten oldie.

My favorite tie

Yesterday I wore my favorite tie to work for the first time.  If you know me, you know I have over a hundred ties with everything from John Wayne to The Beatles to Mickey Mouse for designs.  But I like this one best... it even looks like the drum set I play when the band gigs!

Animals!

Today we go into the rock and roll jungle for our forgotten oldie... searching for Animals!  "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" was a top twenty hit for the Animals in 1965. Written by the legendary Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, the song was also a huge hit in Canada and the UK. It was also very popular with American Armed Forces in Vietnam... fittingly so.  What a great song, it deserves a better fate than to be a forgotten oldie!  watch here

Thursday - Friday - Saturday

Radiothon!!  Listen, pledge, help the kids of the Coulee Region with the Eagle and CMNH !!

Saturday night at Stoney Creek

My band "Viagara Falls" played on 10/18 for CMNH hero Alysta King's fundraiser, sponsored by the Family Dog Center.  Fun night, and a great cause!

This is so hard!!

Why don't they make the gas hole bigger?  It's hard to get the gas in there without spilling!!

I have no words for this...

Halloween costume or lifestyle issues?

Superstar

In 1971 The Carpenters went to #2 on the Hot 100 with "Superstar". The song was written by Bonnie Bramlett of Delaney and Bonnie, and had been recorded by several artists well before the Carpenters did it.  Richard Carpenter actually heard the song for the first time when Bette Midler performed it on the Tonight Show.  The song is about a groupie that falls in love with a famous rock star after a one-night stand... and the lyrics are pretty cliche in that respect. But it went all the way to number two, and today is largely forgotten.

Watch Superstar

Calypso!!

John Denver wrote the song "Calypso" as a tribute to diver and oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, and his ship The Calypso.  The song was originally the B side to the song "I'm Sorry", but Calypso received more airplay and the amazing happened... a B side went all the way to #2 on the Hot 100.  I met and got to know John Denver when Calypso was on the charts... despite my normal rock and roll preference, I'm a big John Denver fan.  This is an incredibly beautiful song and largely forgotten today.
John performing Calypso

Daily Videos...

Have you ever checked out the videos on this website>  Pretty cool stuff and it changes daily.  Today's vid is Donovan singing "Jennifer Juniper".  Check it out!

Donovan

Friday giggle...

Mother weekend is almost here... let's start it with a giggle!

Happy Birthday John!

John Lennon was born on October 9, 1940... yep, John would be 74 today.  A tumultuous childhood, a Beatle career, an up and down solo career, bed-ins for peace, a years-long battle to stay in the U.S., and a dozen other things that made John an icon in the world of rock and roll.  Gunned down by an insane fan abruptly ending an amazing comeback John's music is still meaningful and still sounds great today... as tribute to John on his birthday, listen to a forgotten oldie, his version of "Stand By Me".

listen here

Local band... almost a break out.

A listener requested the Unchained Mynds "We Can't Go On This Way". The song was a hit in the Midwest, even receiving play on WLS in Chicago... not bad for a La Crosse band. Randy Purdy, Wayne Bentzen, Clare Troyanek and Dan Hanson recorded the song in 1969 on Transaction records, it was re-released on Buddah records, made a brief appearance on Teen Town records, and then faded into rock history... except to the fans in La Crosse.  It's today's forgotten oldie.
listen here,

October 7, 1964

On this day, the Beatles recorded a three-song segment or the American TV show Shindig.
Kansas City, I'm a Loser, Boys

Clever!!

If they give awards for clever captioning, this one deserves to be number one!

Yellow River

The British band Christie scored an international hit in 1970 with the song "Yellow River". Although written about a soldier returning from the Civil War, it struck a chord during the Vietnam era, and was #1 in several countries around the world.  Requested by a faithful listener, today's forgotten oldie has been covered by many artists over the years.Watch here!

Don't Throw Your Love Away...

In 1964 the British Invasion went into high gear after the Beatles were on Ed Sullivan in February. One of the bands that hit the charts in the U.S. early was the Searchers... also from Liverpool.  They released dozens of records over the years, but in reality had very few real hits and only reached the top ten once, with Love Potion Number Nine.  "Don't Throw Your Love Away" was their second hit, reaching #16 on the Hot 100. A cover of an earlier Orlons record, the song stayed on the charts eight weeks... the question is, was it a good record or just part of the British wave?  You decide.  It's today's Forgotten Oldie".

Searchers

UFO's!!!

I read that a lot of visitors to Seattle report UFO's on foggy mornings.  That is hilarious!  But I have to admit, the space needle definitely has the look...

Best photo bomb ever!!

You can't plan something like this... what a great wedding shot!!

A Well Parodied Man...

The Kinks went to #13 in 1965 with "A Well Respected Man". The song was Ray Davies' jab at long established class distinctions in Great Britain, with funny references to typical upper class behavior... as Ray saw it.  It's still a great song today, perhaps even funnier now than 49 years ago.
Watch the Kinks do the song Live here...

Lovin' Nashville!

In 1966 the Lovin' Spoonful was riding high on the charts regularly.  Their third album "Hums" produced three top ten hits.  One of these was lead singer John Sebastian's tributes to the musicians and music in Nashville.  "Nashville Cats" went to #8 on Billboard's Hot 100.  The band thought it would cross into the country chart but it never did.  It's a nice little song that has probably become a forgotten oldie because it doesn't really fit any music genre...

I have this tree...

And my tree is growing over my wall... and I don't want to trim it... what can I do?  How about painting the wall?  Doesn't that tree look better now?

Recycle!

Halloween is just around the corner. To save a few dollars, recycle last year's pumpkin... hopefully you saved it in a dry place so it still looks good.  Hey, it's pretty scary now!!

I Think I Forgot You...

Can it be?  Yet another song that hit #1 that has slipped into the Forgotten Oldie category?  Yup!  The Partridge Family released "I Think I Love You' to coincide with their new TV show in 1970, and the song exploded to number one in the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.  Sung by show stars David Cassidy and Shirley Jones, the song has almost disappeared from the airwaves.

The Music Machine...

The 60's spawned a lot of bands that tried to garner attention by being different... The Music Machine pulled it off with success, but it didn't last long.  This LA based garage rock band performed with dyed black hair, black clothing, and each member wearing a black glove on one hand.  With a sound filled with fuzz-box guitars and Farfisa organ, their song "Talk Talk" was a top 20 hit in 1966.  The band failed to hit again, and broke up not long after.   Their first album is very solid (pictured below) and Talk Talk is a decent song, but largely forgotten today.