Happy Birthday Harry

Today's forgotten oldie is in honor of Harry Nilsson, because today is his birthday.  Nilsson was a rarity in the music industry, he did what he wanted and was still able to be successful even though he never went on major tours as most artists must to be successful.  He had three huge hits as well as a couple of gold albums, a grammy, and a best vocalist of the year award.  He was also notorious for his drinking, especially his LA binges with John Lennon.  One of his big hits is today's forgotten oldies... "Coconut" which went to #8 on the hot 100 in 1972.  So in honor of Nilsson, here's "Coconut", and happy birthday Harry.
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The Hurdy Gurdy Man

Donovan was considered sort of a British Bob Dylan, his first two hits in 1965 "Catch the Wind" and Colours" were very folksy and un-electric.  But when he got things going in 1966 with the #1 smash "Sunshine Superman" he'd moved to the psychedelic sounds of Flower Power.  1968's "Hurdy Gurdy Man" was one of his Flower Power hits, climbing to #5.  Today it's just a strange forgotten oldie.
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Lou Christie

Lou Christie is an American singer that had success in the 60's with several big hits.  Due to military service and a record company dispute, he successfully made two comebacks during his career.  I met him in 1977 when he was driving from radio station to radio station trying to make his third comeback.  Anyway, his first hit was in 1962 and climbed to #6 on the hot 100.  If you've never heard Lou sing, his falsetto is pretty amazing... here's "Two Faces Have I", today's forgotten oldie.
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Beatles...

Today's forgotten oldie is really not a song, but to remember how things were back in the day.  June 1st was the 50th anniversary of the release of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and a week later the album is #1 in Britain, and #3 in the USA... fifty years later!!!  So today a song from the album, "When I'm 64" to remind everyone that back in 1967 every song on every Beatle album was played on the radio, every DJ did it, it was accepted.  Every song was treated like a hit. No other artist that I know of enjoyed that distinction, that privilege.  Only the Beatles....
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Talk Talk

In 1966, a California band calling itself the Music Machine, cracked the top twenty with a truly unique sound.  The song "Talk Talk" featured fuzz-box guitar leads and a throaty vocal that stood out from the other songs on the radio.  The band had a second, lesser hit a year later but faded from the limelight, disbanding in 1969.  Today the band and song are considered pioneers in proto punk.... I agree, and Talk Talk is one of my favorite forgotten oldies.
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A Well Respected Man

The British band The Kinks have four songs on the list of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 songs that shaped rock and roll, and today's forgotten oldie is one of them.  "A Well Respected Man" was an international smash, scoring big in Europe and reaching #13 in the USA.  It marked an expansion of styles for the Kinks and heavily influenced many bands and song writers of the time, bringing out subtle social unrest, and serving as a preview of things to come in rock and roll.  Today, other than appearing on several TV shows, it's a forgotten oldie...
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Timothy

In 1971, a Pennsylvania band named the Buoys had a top twenty hit with a little song called "Timothy".  I remember playing the song on the radio, and slowly realizing it was about three miners trapped underground and how two of the miners survive by eating the third... poor Timothy.  The unusual theme made it tough for the Buoys to have a successful follow-up and they faded away.  But their #17 hit remains the only song I remember about cannibalism, and is a true forgotten oldie.
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The Searchers

One of my favorite British Invasion bands, the Searchers released a bunch of records in the USA during the 60's.  Even though they were well received and considered a big part of the invasion, they only had three top twenty hits, all during 1964.  This song is my favorite Searchers tune, "Don't Throw Your Love Away", a cover of a very minor Orlons' hit from 1963.  To me the song is a great example of that smooth Searchers sound, with great vocals and tasty guitar.  Unfortunately a forgotten oldie today.
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Hey Joe

This is probably my favorite forgotten oldie of all time.  In 1966 the L.A. band The Leaves were the first to hit the charts with the song "Hey Joe".  The song reached the top 40 despite a barrage of versions recorded and released by other bands and artists.  The song is truly a garage band classic, back in the 60's if you went to a party with a band they did a version of "Hey Joe", everybody did the song.  The three bands I was in back in the 60's all did a version of the song... and yet today, mostly forgotten.
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This Guy's In Love...

In 1968 the leader of a big brass band scored a #1 hit with "This Guy's In Love With You".  Herb Alpert was well known for his instrumental records with the Tijuana Brass, but this time he sang the song, and it not only went to #1 on the Hot 100, but it went #1 on the Easy Listening chart as well!  Between the two charts, the song was #1 a total of 14 weeks!  And yet today the song is just another forgotten oldie...
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Another Bobby!

Rock and roll has seen it's share of Bobby's.  And it was 1969 when Bobby Sherman had his breakout hit with "Little Woman".  The song climbed to #3 on the hot 100 earning a gold record.  At the time, Bobby Sherman was a huge star with girls screaming at every concert.  He had a successful TV series, Here Come The Brides, many TV and even movie roles, several hit records, and a solid career.  But in the 70's he stepped away from it all, eventually becoming a paramedic and later a police officer. Interesting guy... unfortunately his music is largely forgotten today.
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Happy Birthday Donovan!

Today is Donovan's 71st birthday, so it's appropriate that our forgotten oldie is one of Donovan's many forgotten hits.  Released in 1966 on the Sunshine Superman album, "Season of the Witch" is Donovan's signature song, always asked for by fans at his concerts, and played more than his bigger hits.  The song was never released as a single, but has been covered by literally dozens of big name performers, and definitely fits the bill as a forgotten oldie!
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Shop Around

Today's forgotten oldie was requested by a listener... from 1976 "Shop Around" by the Captain and Tenille.  The song had been a huge hit for the Miracles 15 years before, reaching #1 on the R & B chart.  The Captain and Tenille did the song proud however, their version hitting #4 on the Hot 100 and selling a million records.  Today, like most of  Daryl and Toni's music, it's another forgotten oldie.
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Smith, of course...

Smith was a California rock band that roared to #5 in 1969 with a cover of a song that had already been a hit twice... the old Shirelles and Beatles tune "Baby It's You".  The Smith version out-charted it's predecessors and sold over a million copies.  Unfortunately, the band broke up not long after, and band members never repeated their one-hit wonder success story.  It's a shame, because the song deserves airplay but instead is a forgotten oldie.
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The amazing Janis...

When Janis Joplin burst on the scene in the late 60's it was obvious she was something special.  In 1967 singing lead for Big Brother and the Holding Company, she roared up the charts to #42 on the hot 100 with the song "Down on Me".  If you combine album sales with single sales, the record was a legitimate hit.  One of Joplin's signature songs, "Down on Me" shows the power of Janis vocals, but today her music is largely ignored, and mostly relegated to forgotten oldie status.
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Terry Stafford

When the Beatles owned the top five songs on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1964, who was #6?  Who is the only singer to take a song written for Elvis Presley higher on the charts than the Elvis version?  The answer to both questions is today's forgotten oldie.... Terry Stafford's "Suspicion".  The song eventually climbed to #3 on the chart, nestled between Beatle songs.  Today the song is just a forgotten oldie.
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Who

Today's forgotten oldie is "Magic Bus" by the Who.  Though the song only reached #25 on the hot 100 in 1968, it has been a fan favorite since it's release and a staple of Who concerts, and was the closing song on the 2015-2016 "Who Hits 50 Tour", usually with a long instrumental jam pushing the song length to 15 minutes or more.  Great song, rarely heard anymore.
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Bee Gees... so many top ten songs!

The Bee Gees scored another international hit in 1969 with "I Started A Joke".  The song was #1 in several countries, reaching #6 on the hot 100 in the USA.  Sung by Robin Gibb, the song has an eerie quality, and Barry Gibb said later that it really has no meaning, the lyrics just sounded cool.  Today, it's another forgotten oldie.
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Bee Gees... again

With a Bee Gees tribute band scheduled to play at the La Crosse Center on April 29th, today's forgotten oldie is another forgotten Bee Gees tune.  "Massachusetts" went to #11 on the hot 100 in 1967, but it was #1 in 12 other countries. The song sold 5 million copies worldwide, and was voted by fans as the third most popular Bee Gees song.  Another mystery... such a great song, mostly forgotten today.
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Paper Lace

"The Night Chicago Died" is a song by the British Group Paper Lace, that reached #1 on the hot 100 in 1974.  The song is totally fictional, about a gun battle between Al Capone's mob and the police on the East side of Chicago.  Not only did the battle never happen, there is no East Side of Chicago...  just Lake Michigan.  Anyway, it's a very cool song, a former #1, now mostly forgotten.
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