Sidewalk Surfing

Jan and Dean had a top 40 hit in October 1964 with "Sidewalk Surfing", a song about skateboarding.  The song is actually the Beach Boys' song "Catch A Wave" with different lyrics.  Although not a huge hit for Jan and Dean, the song emphasized the new skateboarding craze, at a time when American artists were struggling to stay afloat during the British Invasion.
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Mashmakhan

Nobody seems to know what their name means, but Canadian Rock Band Mashmakhan scored a gold record in 1970 with the song "As the Years Go By".  The band broke up in 1971 and never reformed.  This is one of those songs that might make you go "oh yeah I remember that"... but maybe not.  Be sure and listen past the way-too-long intro, because it's actually a pretty good song.  But it's obviously a very forgotten oldie!
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So, are you ready for fall?

Saw this over the weekend... not sure I'm ready!

Little Red Riding Hood

In 1966 Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs had their second top ten hit, "Little Red Riding Hood".  Though a novelty song, it's musical and quite well done.  It's been covered most recently by the Smashing Pumpkins.  A friend of mine told me once he thought the song was a forgotten oldie because it has "stalker overtones"... I truly hope he's wrong and our sensitivity hasn't gone to that kind of ridiculous.
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Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas

Early on in the British Invasion of 1964, along came Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas.  Managed by Brian Epstein, produced by George Martin, and provided with songs by the Beatles, Billy J's immediate success was assured.  That year he took the song "Bad To Me" to #1 in England, #9 in the USA.  But success was fleeting... Billy put a total of six songs on the chart over two years and then never charted again.  It's not just their music, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas are all pretty much forgotten today...

New toilet...

So yesterday our faithful old toilet developed a crack in the tank and had to be replaced.  Since we had to buy one of those crummy water saver toilets and so far are scared to really test it, I'm thinking I might just have to decorate it a little... how about this idea?

No Milk Today

Herman's Hermits had a top ten hit in England in 1966 with "No Milk Today", but for reasons only a record executive would understand, it was released as the B side in the USA.  It was still strong enough to make it into the top 40 on it's own in 1967, but I think it would have been top ten as an A side.  Today, it's another forgotten oldie...

Willow Weep For Me

"Willow Weep For Me" went to #15 on the Hot 100 in 1964 for Chad & Jeremy, but, it also went to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.  An interesting song, it's been around since 1932 and has been recorded by dozens of mostly jazz artists from Billie Holiday to Frank Sinatra.  Regardless, the song was early in the British Invasion, and yet is mostly forgotten today.
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Trying to decide if you wanna drink beer or play guitar? Do both!!

Unit Four Plus Two

The song "Concrete and Clay", by British band Unit Four + Two, hit number one in England in 1965, and was a hit around the world, peaking as high as #12 on Cashbox in the USA the same year.  The band broke up in 1970 and never reformed.  Usually when this happens the song sinks deep into forgotten oldie status... as with this gem.
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Beatles openers...

The band Cannibal and the Headhunters didn't really make much of a splash in rock and roll, they had a top 40 hit with "Land of 1,000 Dances" in 1965, and then went nowhere.  But people really liked the band, the Beatles used them as their opening act on their second tour, and Wilson Pickett re-recorded their song and had a bigger hit with it in 1967.  But any group the Beatles thought was good enough to tour with, deserves a spot in rock history... so they're today's forgotten oldie.
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