Today's Forgotten Oldie...

"Words" is one of the Bee Gees signature songs.  Released in January 1968 as a studio cut, it was also released in a live version in 1977. Unusual as a Bee Gees song because Barry Gibb does all the vocal parts, Words went to #15 in the USA, but was #1 in many countries around the world.  "Words" has been recorded by many other artists. Among them are a hit version by Rita Coolidge in 1978.  The group performed this song on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1968, with Barry Gibb on vocals, Maurice Gibb on bass, Robin Gibb on piano, Vince Melouney on guitar and Colin Petersen on drums.  My favorite Bee Gee songs are from this era, when they were still a true 5-piece band, and "Words" deserves more air-play on the radio!

Merry Christmas!!

From my family to yours... Merry Christmas! Be safe and stay warm!

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

The Grass Roots were actually a band that was assembled by two songwriters to record and perform their music. Assembled in 1966, the Grass Roots had 21 charted hits, two gold albums and sold over 20 million records.  A top 40 hit in 1968, Bella Linda rode the airwaves for five months and is still on the setlist for the Grass Roots today.  In their 46 years as a band, the Grass Roots have had over 50 different members... mostly because ABC-Dunhill records controlled most of what they played live and recorded.  I think they would have been much bigger stars if they'd been allowed to do their own thing.  Their music is great, and Bella Linda is a classic example of their finest era.

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

Today I'm featuring a song that reached #6 on Billboard in late 1966; Peter and Gordon's "Lady Godiva". A catchy novelty tune, the song dominated the airwaves almost immediately on it's September release. Unfortunately, the song signaled the impending end of Peter & Gordon as chart toppers. The follow-up "Knight in Rusty Armour" seemed to tell fans that the boys were stuck in the novelty mode, and they broke up in 1968.

10 days to go.

Okay, the Mayan calendar ends in ten days... or does it?

First snow of the season!

Outside the window of the penthouse studio... pretty, but gray/blue. Fitting for Monday!

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

"It's My Life" is a song from songwriters Roger Atkins and Carl D'Errico,  written specifically for the Animals as their producer Mickie Most was soliciting material for the group's next recording sessions. The Animals released it as a single in October 1965.  "It's My Life" premiered on the US television show Hullabaloo, where the group sang live vocals against canned music on a den-type set that featured attractive young women sticking their heads through holes in the wall, where normally animal heads would be mounted.  The song became a hit in several different countries and has since been recorded by multiple artists.  The song was a top ten hit in many countries, climbing as high as #2 in Canada.  It peaked at number 23 in the USA.  A great song, deserving more airplay than it gets!!

It's the month of magic!

Has it hit you yet?  The excitement that Christmas is just around the corner?  Three weeks from today!  I admit I've enjoyed the warmer weather recently, but think about it... a nice December day with a light snow falling would be really nice.  That soft white blanket, and all the Christmas decorations lighting up the neighborhood would be sweet.  One good way to get in the mood for Christmas is to take the family to get a Christmas Tree... picking the perfect tree is always a great way to get in the mood, and it's always easy to spot the perfect tree!!

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

Today it's the second week in a row I've featured a forgotten oldie that was the number one song on the charts.  "Top of the World" is a 1972 song by The Carpenters. Originally recorded for and released on the duo's 1972 studio album A Song for You, the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in late 1973, becoming the duo's second U.S. #1 single. Originally only an album cut for the Carpenters, country singer Lynn Anderson covered the song and her version became the first hit. Karen Carpenter re-recorded the song for the band's first compilation as she was not quite satisfied with the original. Brother Richard Carpenter has remixed the song's vocals, most recently for their 35th Anniversary Gold compilation.  It appeared on the 2010 soundtrack of Shrek Forever After, as well as in a prominent scene of the 2012 film Dark Shadows, with a performance by the Carpenters seen on a television screen.

Sign up to win in the Big Birthday Book

How was Thanksgiving?

So did you eat so much you went into a turkey coma?  I have to admit I stuffed myself, but no coma occurred.  Lots of turkey and dressing, plus all the extras... but our dessert was lacking this year... we didn't have any HO HO's!!!!

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

"I Think I Love You" is a 1970 single by The Partridge Family, featuring David Cassidy, composed by songwriter Tony Romeo. The song was released at the same time as the debut of the network television sitcom The Partridge Family. During the show's first season the song was featured on the show twice as it was climbing the actual Billboard charts. The song hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Pop Singles chart on November 21, 1970 (42 years ago today), and also went to #1 in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.  The only cast members of the television show to actually participate in the recording of the song were David Cassidy and Shirley Jones. The music on the song was played by veteran studio musicians such as Hal Blaine, Larry Knechtel, Joe Osborne, Louie Shelton, Tommy Tedesco, and others. A solid number one song... mostly forgotten on the radio.

Toys for Tots

Kids with bleak Christmas outlooks are getting some help today... until 6:00 pm you can visit the LaCrosse Jaycees and the LaCrosse Radio Group and donate a new or gently used toy for the Toys For Tots campaign!  We hope to make 1200 needy kids happy this Christmas!  We especially need toys for toddlers (under 18 months) and the teens (13-16).  Please help and visit us with a donation!  The pictures show a very chilly group of Jaycees and a 20-bike donation from River Trails in Holmen!

Today's forgotten oldie...

"Rock Me Baby" (also know as Rock Me) is a Steppenwolf hit from 1969 that went to number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.  It was Steppenwolf's third top ten hit and is well known for it's 1:06 bridge.  Rock Me continued the edgy "biker" sound Steppenwolf was known for, but to me it was just more proof that John Kay and the boys could really rock.  A great song, and largely forgotten...

I like this very much!!

Now this is the kind of stand I wish more stores would take.  Just sayin'....

Too funny to pass up!

Slightly off-color, yes.  Very funny, yes!!!  Apologies to anyone offended by my sense of humor....

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

I had a request to do this forgotten oldie today, I love it when listeners remember a true "goody"! "Smith" was an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1969. They were discovered by Del Shannon while performing in a nightclub in L.A. They had a blues-based sound and scored a Top 5 hit in 1969 with a cover of the Burt Bacharach song "Baby It's You", featuring Gayle McCormick on lead vocals. This disc sold over one million copies between July and October 1969, out-charted popular versions by the Beatles and the Shirelles, and received a gold record awarded by the R.I.A.A.  "Baby It's You" was also featured in Quentin Tarantino's Grindhouse film, Death Proof.  Somehow the Smith version is overshadowed by the Shirelles' and Beatles' version and has practically disappeared from the airwaves.  I don't get it, to me the Smith version is the best by far and Gayle McCormick's vocal is perfect!  Watch it on youtube, she's easy on the eyes as well!

Election day!

It's finally here!  The day we go to the polls to decide the course for the country!  Please make your voice heard and vote... polls are open until 8:00 PM.  Nuff said!

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

I remember the Who breaking onto the rock scene but the first song they did that I really liked was "Magic Bus".  The song was written by Pete Townshend during the time that My Generation was being recorded in 1965. However, it was not recorded by The Who until 1968 and officially released in the US in September 1968. It has become one of the band's most popular songs and has been a concert staple, although when released, the record only reached number 26 in the United Kingdom and number 25 in the United States.  But DJ's loved the song and played the heck out of it in the fall of '68.  It has since appeared in video games (Rock Band 2), movies and TV shows, but it seems to have been forgotten on the radio...

Hurricane Sandy

With millions without power, thousands of homes underwater, 17 people confirmed dead, and billions of dollars damage, hurricane Sandy will affect Americans in the East for many months.  If you'd like to help, a donation to the Red Cross is the best way.  Visit www.redcross.org, call 1-800-red-cross or text the word redcross to 90999 to make a $10.00 donation.  Prayers always help too.
I won't show a picture of the devastation or the flooding, but here's a picture someone made that might give someone in the East a chuckle.  The caption is "how windy did it get in NYC?"

Giants World Champs!

The San Francisco Giants swept the favored Detroit Tigers in four games... winning game four last night 4-3 in 10 innings at Comerica Field,  They impressively won seven games in a row to win the title.  For those listeners that remember, I feel great about it since I picked the Giants to win it all on the day the playoffs began.  So, since I obviously missed the boat by not betting some money in Vegas... at least I can brag about picking the World Series Champions!

Survivor... or not?

The last four seasons I've done re-caps of each week's Survivor episode.  I truly believe the game has suffered, mostly because the producers keep bringing people back from previous seasons.  I've never been a fan of these "All-Stars".  And this season they brought back three former competitors that were all evacuated from the game due to various injuries or illnesses.
But I'm un-decided about doing blog re-caps this season.  Especially lately because they keep voting off the good looking bikini women that are a big reason many guys watch the show... myself included!  Should I re-cap or not?  Look at the pictures below of two contestants voted out recently... and then you tell me!

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

The "(Theme from) The Monkees" is a 1966 popular song, written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart as the theme song for the TV series The Monkees.  It later appeared on their album The Monkees.  Originally just an album track, it was later released as a single in several countries including Australia, where it became a hit, reaching #8.  It also made Billboard Magazine's "Hits of the World" chart in both Mexico and Japan, reaching the Top 20 in Japan and the Top 10 in Mexico.  Ray Stevens did a version of the Monkees Theme song in the 1980s featuring a German group of singers that argue during the refrain of the song. (Hey Hey Bist Du Monkees".)  Although never an official hit, the song received heavy airplay in the USA the entire first season of the TV show.  The song was being sung by every teen in the country...

Monday...

Okay, so it's Monday... and I couldn't think of anything to pump me up.  So... I went to my happy place... female super heroes!!  So guys, don't you feel better about Monday now too?!?!?

Today's forgotten oldie...

Isaac Hayes was a performer, songwriter and producer, instrumental in the success of Stax Records. In early 1971, Hayes composed music for the soundtrack of the film Shaft. The title theme, with its wah-wah guitar and multi-layered arrangement, would become a worldwide hit single, and spent two weeks at number one in the Billboard Hot 100 in November. The remainder of the album was mostly instrumentals covering big beat jazz, bluesy funk, and hard Stax-styled soul. The other two vocal songs, "Soulville" and "Do Your Thing," would be edited down to hit singles. Hayes won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for the "Theme from Shaft," and yet the song seems to be forgotten today.  Number one hit... Oscar winner.... and forgotten oldie.

Last Saturday night...

I keep getting calls from listeners that want to see some pictures of the band. So here you go, a couple shots of "Viagara Falls" last Saturday, October 13th, at All Star on LaCrosse's south side.

Friday Funny...

Gotta love it when Aunt May takes Spidey to the doctor...

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

Today one of my favorite songs from the 70's.  Liar was Three Dog Night’s single release after their chart topping song of 1971, Joy To The World. The song peaked at number 7. The song was on their 1970 album Naturally and was the third and last single released off of the album. According to Chuck Negron, Danny Hutton recorded the studio version of this song by singing it into a toilet, with his head just a few inches above the water. It makes sense since there is an eery vibration in the vocal.  I have never understood why this song is largely forgotten. A top ten hit, a great song and my all-time favorite from Three Dog Night!

I Love This!!

This is no joke... it could save your life!

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

Today a record that was one of the first big garage-band hits, and is credited with pioneering punk-rock. The Seeds "Pushin' Too Hard" broke into the top 40 in February of 1968 and stayed on the charts for 11 weeks. Sky Saxon was the writer and vocalist on the song, which he wrote sitting in a car waiting for his girlfriend to finish grocery shopping. The song is on the soundtrack of several movies, and was selected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll. I just think it's a great song... and it gets my vote as one of the top five forgotten oldies!

Have you ever...

Ever lost a little coffee on your computer when you see something funny online?  This picture did it for me... the one and only Daffy Duck!!

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

The Leaves were an American garage band formed in California in 1963. Their biggest hit was the song "Hey Joe", which was a hit in 1966. Theirs is the earliest release of this song. "Hey Joe" became a rock standard, covered by the Byrds, the Cryan Shames, Jimi Hendrix and many other bands in the late 60's. The Leaves released a few singles as well as three albums, but never achieved great success and broke up in 1967. Jim Pons, a Leaves founder, joined another group which did make it big... the Turtles. But "Hey Joe" made a huge mark on the 60's, it seemed like every band from coast to coast did the song on stage, and it's influence was strong enough that the song was included in a garage rock compilation called "Nuggets" in the 70's. The song is truly a great example of American rock of the British invasion era.

And now running onto the field...

Some thoughts about the NFL replacement refs...

Not good thoughts though...

Sunset at Goose Island

I took this Friday evening at Goose Island.  I think it's pretty cool...

I push E-4 a lot...

E-4 seems to give me the biggest lift and help me get through work!  (Okay, just kidding)

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

My Old School is a single drawn from Steely Dan's 1973 album Countdown to Ecstasy. It reached number 63 in the Billboard charts.  In its March 24, 2006 edition, Entertainment Weekly details a return trip to Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York by Donald Fagen, in which he describes a raid by sheriff's deputies in May 1969. Fagen, his girlfriend Dorothy White, Steely Dan bandmate Walter Becker, and some 50 other students were arrested. Charges were dropped, but Fagen was reportedly so upset with the school being complicit with the arrests that he refused to attend graduation.  The song features a guitar solo by Jeff Baxter.  Because of the reference to The College of William & Mary in the lyrics, "My Old School" became a favorite of W&M students and alumni, although the song is actually about Bard College. The lyric "never going back to my old school" turned the song into a student anthem and the album was a college party favorite.  A great song with a great story, and one of the most requested songs I remember in my years on radio!

Computer Jokes...

We're stuck with computers, an everyday part of life now.  And computer jokes too... hopefully these two will help put a smile on your face;



Wife texts husband on a cold winter morning: "Windows frozen."
Husband texts back: "Pour some lukewarm water on it."
Wife texts back 5 minutes later:
"Thanks a lot, Sparky - computer completely screwed up now."



I was visiting my son last night when I asked if he could hand me a newspaper.
"This is the 21st century," he said. "'I don't waste money on newspapers. Here, you can borrow my laptop."
I can tell you one thing for sure... that fly never knew what hit him.

Happy Monday!

 Let's start the week with a photo that made me smile!!  Happy Monday gang!

Friday giggle... what if?

With apologies to the homeless, what if Lady Gaga took a load of clothes to a homeless shelter?

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

Arthur Brown (born Arthur Wilton Brown on 24 June 1942) is an English rock and roll musician best known for his flamboyant, theatrical style and significant influence on Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, Marilyn Manson, George Clinton, and Kiss, among others, and for his number one hit on the UK Singles Chart and Canada, "Fire" in 1968.   The song went to number two in the USA.  Brown earned a reputation for outlandish performances, which included the use of a burning metal helmet, that led to occasional mishaps, such as fuel pouring over his head by accident and catching fire; happily two bystanders doused the flames by pouring beer on Brown’s head, preventing any serious injury.
Arthur Brown was an enigmatic figure, always on the edge of greatness, but when his band broke up in 1969 he was unable to recover professionally and never duplicated the success of "Fire". He still performs haphazardly, and as recently as 2011 was still lighting his head on fire.
I'm not sure I'd want to hear his hit record a lot, but Fire deserves more airplay than it gets...

A thought for Monday...

Something from George Bernard Shaw that I like for Mondays... I especially like the bear in the cartoon!

Go to the gym this weekend!

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

Doug Edwards was a member of Skylark, and Dave Richardson was a friend of band member David Foster. "Wildflower" was a song which Edwards composed using a poem written by Richardson. Skylark used the song as a demo, was signed by Capitol, and recorded an album. Wildflower was the initial single released from the album, however it was not successful - but - Rosalie Trombley, a music director at CKLW in Windsor, Ontario, played "Wildflower" repeatedly for three months in an effort to satisfy the Canadian government's requirements for Canadian content. Capitol decided to release the song in neighboring Detroit as a regional release, where it became a huge soul hit before breaking out nationally and crossing over to the pop charts. Eventually "Wildflower" spent 21 weeks on the Billboard pop charts. The song proved to be extremely popular in Canada as well; it ultimately peaked at number 10 on the RPM Top Singles chart, and number 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart plus sales of the single exceeded one million copies. Despite being a "one-hit wonder" the song was a top ten hit... but we never hear it any more.

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

Gary Lewis & the Playboys were a 1960s rock group fronted by Gary Lewis, son of comedian Jerry Lewis. They are best known for their 1965 Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "This Diamond Ring." In 1965, Gary Lewis was Cash Box magazine's "Male Vocalist of the Year," winning against nominees Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra. The group was one of only two acts during the 1960's whose first seven Hot 100 releases reached that chart's top 10 (The Lovin' Spoonful was the other): "This Diamond Ring" (#1), "Count Me In" (#2), "Save Your Heart for Me" (#2), "Everybody Loves a Clown" (#4), "She's Just My Style" (#3), "Sure Gonna Miss Her" (#9), and "Green Grass" (#8).
Of those seven songs, Save Your Heart For Me was a summer hit, evoking teen-age love song nostalgia reminiscent of the 50's. But the important thing is that it was a number two smash hit, it earned a gold record, and it's mostly forgotten today. Perhaps it's hard to take Jerry Lewis's son serious today, or maybe because it's a rock band with an accordion player... but whatever the reason it's a great song and deserves airplay!

Monday again... ugh!!

Did it seem like you got up"against your will" this morning? Did going to work seem really hard today? If you said yes, you are definitely not ready for a new week... me either!!

Here you go men... a 6-pack in seconds!!

Tired of keeping your shirt on when there's a camera around?  Ashamed of your belly?  Here's the answer... the Ab-Hancer!!

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

"Spill the Wine" is a 1970 song performed by Eric Burdon and War. Released as a single in May 1970 (backed by the non-album track "Magic Mountain"), it was War's first chart hit, peaking at number three on the hot 100. It was also a top three hit in Canada and Australia. In 1996, it was remixed by Junior Vasquez and released as a single again.
Lonnie Jordan said in an 2008 interview that Eric Burdon was the first Latin rapper in pop music.
In the introduction to the live version of the song on Greatest Hits Live, Lonnie Jordan reveals that the inspiration for the song was a time when he spilled a glass of wine on a mixing board in the recording studio. Eric Burdon found the event funny, so he and Jordan used it as the inspiration for the song.  However you view the song; latin, rap, California soul or just Eric Burdon making magic out of a fun idea... it's a great song and deserves air-play!