The Beatles biggest influence

If you read about the early days of the Beatles, you discover that during their early days as The Quarrymen they called themselves a "Skiffle" group.  Those young, soon to be Beatles were heavily influenced by Britain's King of Skiffle, Lonnie Donegan.  It's not hard to understand.... Lonnie had 31 hits in England in the 50's and 60's.  He also had three hits in the USA, a tough feat for a British performer in those days.  His biggest hit here went to #5 in America in 1958, "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavor on the Bedpost Overnight."  It's today's forgotten oldie.
Click here to watch a 1973 Live version

RIP Billy Paul

Today's forgotten oldie was a number one song in 1972, earning the artist a grammy and brief superstar status.  The artist, Billy Paul, was a Philadelphia R & B singer who'd been stationed on the same base in Germany with Elvis Presley and Gary Crosby when he was in the Army.  By the way, Elvis wanted to drive jeep instead of sing in the army so the three never started a band.  Anyhow, "Me and Mrs. Jones" was a huge hit and was so big that Billy's follow-ups seemed kind of sad and weak. Billy Paul died Sunday of pancreatic cancer... so today we pay tribute with his huge hit, RIP Billy.
watch a live version here

Gloria - the original

In 1964 and 1965 an Irish band named THEM had three or four singles in the USA before their leader, Van Morrison, left the band for a solo career.  The song "Gloria" is arguably Them's most famous hit, even though a cover by the Shadows of Night in 1965 charted much higher.  Morrison wrote the song and it's been covered by literally hundred's of bands and artists and is a legitimate rock classic, as well as today's forgotten oldie.
watch it here

Suspicion

On April 4, 1964 the Beatles made history when they captured the top five spots on Billboard's Hot 100.  Today's forgotten oldie was the song at #6 that day.  Terry Stafford, an Elvis sound-alike captured the honor with the song "Suspicion".  A week later the song peaked at #3.  Stafford continued to perform and record but never again cracked the top twenty, although a song he wrote, "Amarillo by Morning" was a monster country hit for George Strait.  Suspicion was also the first song to use a backing track using synthesizers.  Today, this great song is simply forgotten.
watch the video here

The Association

One of the great American bands of the 60's was The Association.  Fluctuating between a 6-piece and 9-piece band, they scored several top ten hits during their hey-day.  Their last top ten smash was 1968's "Everything That Touches You", a song that truly showed off the band's amazing vocal skills.  Though their recording slowed down, The Association still tours today and still wows crowds everywhere.  Though most of their hits were romantic ballads, they could rock with the best of them... this song represents their best forgotten oldie.
Click here to watch

14 Years Old

There aren't many groups that score a top twenty hit on the Billboard Hot 100 before anyone in the band is 15... but Dino, Desi and Billy did it.  Made up of Dean Martin's son Dino, Lucille Ball's son Desi, and their friend Billy Hinsche these kids had connections... their first audition was for Frank Sinatra.  Critics hated them, but teenagers loved them... and their biggest hit "I'm A Fool" is actually a decent song... but today it's very forgotten.
Here's a great clip of the band

Bee Gees' First Hit...

Barry and Robin Gibb wrote the lyrics for their first hit during a power outage at Polydor Records.  The song, "New York Mining Disaster 1941" was not based on an actual event, but rather a song that was crafted around a catchy melody.  There was a New York mining disaster in 1939... but.  Anyway, the Bee Gees were big stars in home Australia in 1967, trying desperately to make it big in England and the USA.  Even though the song only made to #14 on the hot 100, it was enough.  With a lot of people guessing that the Bee Gees were really the Beatles, they became bonafide stars around the world.  Today the song is largely forgotten...
watch and listen here

Third Rate Romance

In 1975, a band from Tennessee called the Amazing Rhythm Aces had a crossover hit called "Third Rate Romance". The song hit #14 on the Hot 100, and did even better on the country chart, climbing to #11.  Often the band is referred to as a one-hit wonder but that's unfair because they put several songs on both charts over the next five years, usually doing much better with country.  Today the song is a forgotten oldie, but what a great song!
watch the song here