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“What Am I Doing Here (When everything I want is somewhere else)” is the world’s first (and only) motivational book punctuated by radio stories. Enjoy it, absolutely free. It’s sold out, I won’t be republishing, and despite assorted pleas, I won’t be writing another one. [Unlike a lot of radio people, I wrote every word—no ghost writers or editors. I’ll let you decide whether that’s bragging or apologizing.]
MAY 2025
FRIDAY MAY 16, 2025 3:31 AM CT.. Next full show: Monday Night Trivia (so don’t call tonight for the replay of last Monday’s show, but do call on Monday). Last night was the usual AOR show—All Over the Road, from talking about the history of C.C. Rider, to the latest of Emory, Sam’s granddaughter who was abducted by a non-custodial parent, with lots of other things too.
Bobby Powell – C.C. Rider – 1965 Whit
Lavern Baker – See See Rider – 1962 Atlantic
Ma Rainy – See See Rider Blues – 1925 Paramount
Chuck Willis – C.C. Rider – 1957 Atlantic
Keith – You’ll Comin’ Running Back To Me – 1967 Mercury [LP: 98.6/Ain’t Gonna Lie]
Bobby Sheen – How Many Nights – 1962 Liberty
Nat King Cole – Darling Je Vous Aime Beaucoup – 1955 Capitol
Bobby Hendricks – Psycho – 1960 Sue
Del Vikings – When I Come Home – 1957 FeeBee
THURSDAY MAY 14, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. Do call! Last night several of you did. The topics ran the gamut from candidates for the first rock and roll record (there’s no such thing, music evolves) to building your own radio (yes, kits are still available, but unless you’re a fanatic, it’s easier to buy a CCradio). We also talked about the latest AI horror—a woman filing for divorce because she asked ChatGPT to interpret her tea leaves. (Her husband should have taken that as a sign. Instead, he’s fighting to stop her from ending the marriage. Social Media in Greece has been overtaken by debates on this. It would be so much better if they were debating the first rock and roll record, but for all I know about Greece, they may still be waiting for one. (Actually rock and roll in Greece commenced in the mid 60s. But if you’re like me, you don’t want to hear it.)
Eddie Cochran – Sittin’ In The Balcony – 1957 Liberty
Elkie Brooks – Pearl’s A Singer – 1977 A&M
Chi-Lites- Have You Seen Her - 1971 Brunswick
Ella Fitzgerald & The Ink Spots – I’m Beginning To See The Light – 1945 Decca
Big Boy Crudup – That’s All Right – 1946 RCA
Jack McVea – Open the Door Richard – 1946 Black & White
Freddie Slack with Ella Mae Morse – House Of Blue Lights – 1946 Capitol
Shields – You Cheated – 1958 Tender/Dot
Slades – You Cheated – 1957 Domino
Animals – Hey Gyp – 1966 MGM
Donovan – Hey Gyp (Dig The Slowness) – 1965 Pye (UK, not relased in US)
Kansas Joe & Memphis Minnie – Can I Do It For You? – 1930 Vocalion
Lee Marvin – Wand’rin’ Star – 1970 Paramount
WEDNESDAY MAY 14, 2025 3:31 AM CT.. Full show tonight at 10. Last night, as usual, we ran the gamut from green dresses to the Menendi (but we don’t have a clue to the LA DA’s politically suicidal stance on that one). I’m betting the boys will be free in June. Lisa thinks they won’t. There’s at least a dime riding on this between us, though Lisa said she’d settle for hearing her request. Regardless of outcome, we were happy to oblige and started the bumpers with her choice:
Drifters – Dance With Me – 1959 Atlantic
Esquires – Get On Up – 1968 Bunky
Dean Martin – In The Misty Moonlight – 1967 Reprise
Louis Jordan – Saturday Night Fish Fry – 1949 Decca
Latin Vibe – How Do You Feel – 2003 Antibemusic [CD: Latin Vibe – Giacomo Bondi]
Eddie Cantor – Makin’ Whoopee – 1929 Victor
Toys – Lover’s Concerto – 1965 DynoVoice (Minuet in G Major – Christian Petzold not Bach)
Bandleader Freddy Martin first did it as Lover’s Concerto in the 1940
Toys – Attack – 1965 DynoVoice (same stats as above for both Bob Crewe productions)
Red Sovine – Juke Joint Johnny – 1956 Decca
Lattie Moore – Juke Joint Johnny – 1952 Speed
TUESDAY MAY 13, 2025 3:31 AM CT.. Full show tonight at 10 CT. Please join me. Last night’s Monday Night Trivia ended without you correctly guessing on the Straggler: 14% of men who earn over $100,000 a year, never do this. Do what? Eat breakfast. You identified several of the Bumper Stumpers (Tams, Uniques, Tony Joe White, Clarence Carter, Bobby Moore and Sawyer Brown) but no one had a clue about what all the artists had in common: All of them recorded at FAME studios in Muscle Shoals Alabama at some point in their career.
Tams – Disillusioned – 1962 Arlen
Patti LaBelle & The Bluebells – All Or Nothing – 1965 Atlantic
Tommy Roe – Your Love Will See Me Through – 1977 Monument
Uniques – Not Too Long Ago – 1965 Paula
James & Bobby Purify – Help Yourself (To All My Lovin’) – 1968 Bell
Tony Joe White – Mama’s Don’t Let Your Cowboys Grow Up To Be Babies – 1980 Casablanca
Jimmy Hughes – Neighbor, Neighbor – 1966 Fame
Clarence Carter – Tell Daddy – 1966 Fame
Bobby Moore & The Rhythm Aces – Try My Love – 1966 Checker
Gants – Road Runner – 1965 Liberty
Sawyer Brown – Out Goin’ Cattin’ – 1986 Capitol
FRIDAY MAY 9, 2025 3:31 AM CT.. Next live show: Monday Night Trivia. (Tonight it’s a replay of last Mondays show, and there is a Straggler, so if you didn’t hear it, check it out and call me Monday night. Last night we heard from a lot of you—much appreciated. We talked about everything from accessible apps to obscure artists, and played your requests too:
Elvin Bishop – Fooled Around And Fell In Love – 1975 Capricorn
Elvin Bishop – Calling All Cows – 1975 Capricorn
Elvin Bishop – Sure Feels Good – 1975 Capricorn
Moms Mabley – Abraham Martin & John – 1969 Mercury
Bill Withers – Lean on Me – 1972 Sussex
Patsy Cline – She’s Got You – 1962 Decca
Arthur Alexander – A Shot Of Rhythm and Blues – 1962 Dot (flip of you better move on)
Jimmy Ruffin – What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted – 1966 Soul
Malo – Suavecito -1972 WB
James Holvay – Love That Lady – 2025 Windy City Soul [EP CD: Working Man]
Cicero Blake – Sad Feeling – 1964 Renee (And 1965 Mar-V-Lus)
Sounds of Dawn – How Many Times – 1967 Twin Stacks
(Leo Austell owned both Renee & TwinStacks
Johnny Cash – The Ballad of Ira Hayes – 1964 Columbia
THURSDAY MAY 8, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. Please call. We covered the landscape last night from more help to the visually impaired to songs on Scopitones, which you have to be able to see - but who wants to? (Actually, The Exciters film of Tell Him at the zoo is fun.) Sadly, the history of these innovative video jukeboxes in the US is anything but fun, but we talked about it. Got an email asking me to put the links and phone numbers we discuss on air on this blog. I wish I could. Honestly, I can barely find the requests I take. (Apologies if I lost yours.) Most of the show is done on the fly with no notes involved. That’s why I put the replays up (dutifully after every show). If you hear something, and want to hear it again, it’s on the Downloads page (link on the nav bar above) and will remain there for quite some while. I will try to amend my wanton ways and keep a log of helpful numbers and links. But not today. As for playing your requests, here’s what you heard:
Crests – Molly Mae – 1959 Coed
Andrews Sisters – Your Red Wagon – 1947 Decca
Kingston Trio – Scotch & Soda – 1962 Capitol Jack in St. Charles
Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats – Rocket 88 Dave on northside for betty Ike turner
Jimmy Liggins – Cadillac Boogie – 1947 Specialty
Howard and the White Boys – She Can Cook – 1994 Mighty Tiger
Jr. Walker & The All Stars – Cleo’s Back – 1965 Soul
Howard and the White Boys – I’m Gonna Hate Myself In The Morning – 1994 Mighty Tiger
Will Bradley - Beat Me Daddy, Eight To The Bar – 1940 Columbia
Johnny Cash – Don’t Take Your Guns To Town – 1959 Columbia
Kingston Trio – Scotch & Soda – 1962 Capitol
WEDNESDAY MAY 6, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight starting at 10. If you were hanging on at the end of last night’s show, call earlier tonight. There’s always room to get in at the show’s start. Last night we discussed a number of options for blind or limited sight listeners in the Chicago area. (Listen to the replay if you want to jot down numbers.) We also played your requests (including Jimmy P’s six pack), talked about music, and the sad saga of Smokey Robinson. Personally I don’t believe it for a minute, but even in the best case outcome, this is going to cost him big bucks, even if only legal fees. Lots to say about that, but our show is about ignoring major concerns for three hours to just have fun on the radio, so I’ll leave it at wishing him the very best.
Johnny Cash – Tennessee Flat Top – 1961 Columbia
Marvin Gaye – You – 1967 Tamla
Lulu – Oh Me Oh My (I’m A Fool For You Baby) – 1969 ATCO
Fireballs – Bottle of Wine – 1967 ATCO
Otis Rush (with the Willie Dixon band) – Three Times A Fool – 1958 Cobra
Commodores – Easy – 1977 Motown
Imaginations – Guardian Angel – 1961 Music Makers
Penguins – Hey Senorita – 1954 Dootone
Cleftons – You Baby You – 1956 Gee
Danderliers – Little Man – 1956 States
Dells – Dreams of Contentment – 1955 VeeJay
TUESDAY MAY 6, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. Last night’s Monday Night Trivia was a fine time had by all, with several callers winning in categories they chose, but no one identifying the Straggler (or the other question I threw out because I didn’t remember we had a straggler—so that one becomes next Monday night’s Straggler). As for last night’s Straggler:
If we do this at all and 40% of us have done it at one time or another; we do it on average, 10 times a minute. Do what? Try our luck on a slot machine. (According to the New York Times in 2004, the average player starts a new round every six seconds—10 times a minute.)
As for the Bumper Stumpers, only one was identified, and an easy one at that (Tony Allen) and no one came close to the theme. I told you it was timely. As you’ll note, yesterday was Cinco de Mayo, so in honor of this, we played songs that were huge in East LA. Only a bit more than half were actually LA records, but all got a tons of airplay thanks to Art Laboe and Huggy Boy. Cinco de Mayo just isn’t the same without them. Here’s what I played:
Romancers – My Heart Cries – 1965 Linda
Brenda & The Tabulations – The Touch Of You – 1969 Top And Bottom
McKinley Mitchell – The Town I Live In – 1962 One-Derful
Incredibles – I’ll Make It Easy – 1966 Audio Arts
Sunny & The Sunliners – Smile Now, Cry Later – 1966 Black Whale
Don Julian – I Want You Back – 1964 Jerk
Perez Brothers – I’m Truly Truly Yours – 1963 Wolfie
Notations – I’m Still Here – 1970 Twinight
Tony Allen – Nite Owl – 1955 Specialty
Rosie & Ron – Bring Me Happiness – 1961 Donna
Rene & Ray – Queen Of My Heart – 1962 Donna
FRIDAY MAY 2, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Next live show Monday Night Trivia! Do call. Don’t call tonight. It’s a replay of last Monday night’s show. Topics ran the gamut tonight from trials to tribulations, more help for Jim, and the mystery of Fran’s request. (The definitive version was “Big Jim” Buchanan (a pseudonym for Paul Frees) below:
Dr. Teeth & The Electric Mayhem – Money – 1976 (Episode 106)
Aalon Butler – Please Give Me A Chance – 1967 PKC
Al Green – Want To Hold Your Hand – 1969 Hi
Mel Blanc – Money – 1954 Capitol
“Big Jim” Buchanan (Paul Frees) – Money – 1954 Century
Chuck Willis – Betty & Dupre – 1958 Atlantic
Walker Brothers – Make It Easy On Yourself – 1965 Smash
Mamas & Papas – California Dreaming - 196
Benny Goodman – Gotta Be This Or That – 1945 Columbia
Lou Rawls – Groovy People – 1976 Philadelphia International
Paul Anka – Eso Beso – 1962 RCA
Sergio Mendes – Look Around – 1968 A&M [LP: Look Around]
THURSDAY MAY DAY, 2025 3:31 AM CT…Full show tonight at 10. Please call earlier. (Last night I talked to myself for an hour and a half then the lines were full with five waiting when I signed off.) 10 Central! Call. We covered a lot of ground last night from out there to right here. And I played your requests (Louis Jordan is the best—I’m still laugnhng about “obnoxicated”):
Harve Presnell – They Call The Wind Mariah – 1965
Magic Sam – Sweet Home Chicago – 1968 Delmark [LP: West Side Soul]
Blues Brothers – Sweet Home Chicago – 1981
Marvelettes – My Baby Must Be A Magician – 1967 Tamla
Intruders – Cowboys To Girls – 1968 Gamble
Marvelettes – The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game – 1966 Tamla
Louis Jordan – Open The Door Richard – 1947 Decca
APRIL 2025
WEDNESDAY APRIL 30, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. Please call. Last night we spent time talking about Johnny Mathis, Frank Sinatra and Mitch Miller, in addition to playing your requests including the tremendous Louis Jordan. For Cleveland Dennis, we played the Shaw-eez. He particularly likes James Crawford’s crying. But Crawford couldn’t hold a candle to Jackie LaRue. We introduced him to the Starlites.) We also discussed radio & religion, but not religious radio.
Four Aces – Tell Me Why – 1951 Decca
Frank Sinatra & Dagmar – Mama Will Bark – 1951 Columbia
Johnny Mathis – Begin The Beguine – 1982 Columbia
Johnny Mathis – Brazil – 1986 Columbia [unreleased until 1998 on Ultimate Hits CD]
Coasters – Brazil – 1959 Atlantic
Johnny Mathis – I’m Coming Home – 1967 Mercury
O’Kaysions – GIrl Watcher – 1968 ABC
Shaw-eez – No One To Love Me – 1953 Aladdin (James Crawford crying)
The Starlites – Valarie – 1960 Fury (Jackie LaRue crying)
The Starlites – I Found Out Too Late – 1960 Fury (Jackie LaRue crying)
Starbuck – Lash LaRue – 1975 PS
Erskine Butterfield and his Blue Boys – Whatcha Know Joe – 1941 Decca
Jo Stafford – Whatcha Know Joe – 1963 Reprise [LP: Getting Sentimental over Dorsey]
Stevie Ray Vaughn & Dick Dale – Pipeline 1987 Columbia
Louis Jordan - Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby – 1944 Decca
TUESDAY APRIL 29, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight starting at 10. I’ve already lined up your requests. Hopefully we’ll hear more on Sam’s granddaughter, who has been located but is still not home; Fran’s doctor appointment, and what happened with Laura at the concert this past weekend.
Last night’s Monday Night Trivia was a good time had by all as usual. No takers on the Bumper Stumpers. All were on Beltone Records or its subsidiary Lescay (or Leopard, owned by Belton A&R Head Joe Rene). Belton was home to Bobby Lewis and The Jive Five among others. Les Cahan launched it in 1960 at 1650 Broadway, an outgrowth of Beltone Studios, in business since the 40s. The Crows recorded Gee at Beltone Studios in 1953. King distributed Beltone (until the royalty fight) along with Lescay and Leopard. What we played is listed below.
You did very well on the trivia questions I threw out: 50 million Americans regularly engage in this pastime. What pastime? Filling out crossword puzzles. [New Yorker 3/4/02]
And matrimonial bliss… In Great Britain, over 60% of married men and women admitted to doing this in the name of “relationship insurance”. Doing what? Hiding money from their spouse. [International Herald Tribune 2/4/2004]
Opals – Hop, Skip & Jump – 1962 Beltone (they sang back up on The Shoop Shoop Song)
Leopards – Mah Mah Chicken Pot Pie – 1963 Leopard
Dontells – Lover’s Reunion – 1963 Beltone (Chicago)
Creslyns - Boom Chip-a-Boom – 1963 Beltone
Corvairs – Because I Love You – 1963 Beltone
Ritchie Adams – What Took You So Long – 1961 Beltone
Carnations – Is There Such A World – 1961 Lescay
Vernon Harrell – I Had A Dream My Record Was Number One – 1963 Beltone
Leopards – Valerie – 1963 Leopard
Dontells – Make A Change – 1963 Beltone
Jive Five – These Golden Rings – 1962 Beltone (outtake)
FRIDAY APRIL 25, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Next live show: Monday Night Trivia. (Tonight it’s a replay of last Monday night’s show—sit back and enjoy it, but call on Monday.) Last night we talked about music (everything form Earth Wind And Fire to The Ricochetts—a local Chicago group no one seems to remember, but I keep hoping one of you will), soft food diets, why you shouldn’t drink your urine (an ancient practice that’s gaining in popularity again—in a word, don’t!) and animals on the loose. I also played your requests:
Earth Wind & Fire – September – 1968 CBS Annette & Jon
Court Jesters – Roaches – 1961 Blast (NC group) Naoto
Annuals – Hungry, I’m Hungry – 1958 Conn and Marconn (local Cleveland only 1 release)
Gene & Wendell – The Roach - 1961 Ray Star
Mills Brothers – Cab Driver – 1967 Dot John in Covington
Gladys Knight & The Pips – Ain’t You Glad You Chose Love – 1968 Soul [LP: Feelin’ Bluesy]
Skyliners – I’d Die – 1963 Atco
Haydon Thompson - 16.88 – 1966 Kapp (had been done for Quill in Chicago)
Ricochetts – Losing You – 1966 Quill
Isley Jasper Isley – Caravan of Love – 1985 CBS
THURSDAY APRIL 24, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. I hope you’ll call. Last night many of you did. We heard from Sam, and troublingly Emory has not yet been located. (You’ll recall that she’s Sam’s granddaughter and she was abducted by her bio dad who suffers from mental impairment. The police think they’ve narrowed down her whereabouts so hopefully there will be a reunion before long.) We talked about a number of other things, most notably the coming Singularity (when AI and human intelligence merge). One futurist predicts we’ll be there in 2029. Some exciting thoughts but even more uneasy ones. But we put all that aside to play your requests:
Wild Cherry – 1, 2, 3 Kind Of Love - 1978 Epic
Dells – Dry Your Eyes – 1958 Vee-Jay
Cliff Nobles – Darling Goodbye – 1969 Moon Shot [LP: Pony The Horse]
Shells – Deep In My Heart – 1962 Johnson
Nat King Cole and The Four Knights – My Personal Possession – 1957 Capitol
Nat King Cole and The Four Knights – That’s All There Is To That – 1956 Capitol
Dells – Tell The World – 1955 Vee-Jay
Evie Sands – Any Way That You Want To – 1969 A&M
Marvelettes – Forever – 1963 Tamla
High Inergy – You Can’t Turn Me Off – 1977 Gordy
Nat King Cole – That Sunday, That Summer – 1963 Capitol
WEDNESDAY APRIL 23, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight starting at 10. We covered a lot of ground last night from food processing (I may never eat again) to the incomparable Curtis Mayfield, and played your requests too (the last 7 of which were written by Curtis):
Bobby Day – Over & Over – 1958 Class
Bobby Day – That’s All I Want – 1959 Class
Antsy McClain – New Good Old Days – 2008 DPR
Fascinations – Girls Are Out To Get You – 1967 Mayfield
Major Lance – I’m The One – 1963 Okeh EP
Gene Chandler – Think Nothing About It – 1964 Constellation
Walter Jackson – That’s What Mama Say – 1964 Okeh
Jan Bradley – Mama Didn’t Lie – 1963 Chess
Impressions – Never Could You Be – 1965 ABC Paramount
Impressions – I Need You – 1965 ABC Paramount
TUESDAY APRIL 22, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. We had a fine time last night playing Monday Night Trivia. Hard to believe… or not, but I mixed up the Straggler and asked you a new question courtesy of listener Laura, that ultimately you got: What established parliament, still meeting today, has never made even one government decision? A parliament of owls. Then I remembered the Straggler, and no one got it—but a lot of you tried: On any given day, 7% of Americans do this. Do what? Eat at McDonalds. So that means a new question next week.
Now, as for the Bumper Stumpers, all of the acts comprised the lineup of Don Cornelius’ “Chicago Soul” 90-minute nationally-televised special seen after The Tonight Show on NBC in April 1977. The only problem is that only The Chi-Lites were Chicago based. (Their well known locales are in parentheses below.)
Spinners – How Can I – 1964 Motown (Detroit)
Johnnie Taylor – Baby We’ve Got Love – 1963 Derby (Texas)
Boz Scaggs – We Were Always Sweethearts – 1971 Columbia (San Francisco Bay Area)
Chi-Lites – I Like Your Lovin’ – 1970 Brunswick (CHICAGO)
Ronnie Dyson – I Think I’ll Tell Her – 1973 Columbia (Philadelphia)
The Dramatics – Since I’ve Been In Love – 1969 Volt (Detroit)
Bill Withers – Three Nights And A Morning – 1967 Lotus (Los Angeles)
Brothers Johnson – I’ll Be Good To You – 1976 A&M (Los Angeles)
Johnnie Taylor – I Found A Love – 1989 Malaco (Texas)
Spinners – Sweet Thing – 1964 Motown (Detroit)
Chi-Lites – I Want To Pay You Back – 1971 Brunswick (CHICAGO)
FRIDAY APRIL 18, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Next live show: Monday Night Trivia! Talk to you then at 10. (Tonight is a replay of last Monday night’s trivia—don’t call, but do call Monday.) Last night as usual ran the gamut from Doo Wop to Disappearance. Actually the latter is a familial abduction of Emory. You’ll remember her grandfather Sam calling in when she was hospitalized long ago. Your prayers helped her through that, and Sam is asking for them again. Emory’s father has taken her, and no one in the family knows where. He and Sam’s daughter are divorced. Everyone is worried because Emory’s father is mentally unbalanced (diagnosed). The good news is even with emotional issues, its rare that a biological father would harm his child. (I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, but thankfully, it doesn’t happen often.) My gut is that all will be well and Emory will be back with her Mom, but the time between now and then will be fraught with worry for the whole family. So please keep them, and Emory, in your prayers for a speedy reunion. On a happier note, we played several of your requests last night, and a few of my faves too:
Danleers – One Summer Night – 1958 Mercury
Crickets – You’re Mine – 1953 MGM
Vibrations – You’re Mine (unreleased) Chess [CD: Chess Rhythm & Roll]
Becky Hobbis – Someone To Watch Over Me – 1977 Tatoo
Jive Five – My True Story – Kevin in Colorado Springs
Nutmegs – A Love So True – 1957 Herald (flip of Comin’ Home)
Bob Luman – Private Eye – 1961 WB
Bob Luman – Come On Home And Sing The Blues For Daddy – 1969 Epic
Bloodstone – Something’s Missing – 1975 London
Maze featuring Frankie Beverly – Love Is The Key – 1983 Capitol
THURSDAY APRIL 17, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight, starting at 10. I hope you’ll call—or call back. Apologies to everyone I left hanging as the show ended last night. We covered a lot of ground, from fireballs in the sky over Mexico City and space debris from other stars whizzing through our solar system to AI glasses for the blind and your requests. Speaking of which, all we played last night were your choices:
Paul Whiteman – Whispering – 1920 Victor
Dr. Buzzard – Whispering/Cherchez La Femme/Se Si Bon – 1976 RCA
Nina Simone – Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood – 1964 Philips
Chimes – Once In A While – 1960 Tag
Four J’s – Here Am I Brokenhearted – 1963 Jamie
Radiants – Heartbreak Society – 1963 Chess
Valentines – Tonight Kathleen – 1954 Old Town
Marlo Lanier – Understanding – 2022 CDBaby
Phil Harris - That’s What I Like About The South – 1945 ARA
Eddie Holland – Jamie – 1961 Motown Jimmy P
Wink Martindale – Deck of Cards – 1959 Dot
Orchids – You’re Everything – 1955 Parrot
WEDNESDAY APRIL 16, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight starting at 10. We had a good time last night talking about everything from early TV (Kukla Fran & Ollie--looking forward to Gail Isaacson’s audio essay on that), to everything radio. And a lot in between including The Mona Lisa Lanier School of Dance’s “Dancing In The Night” production at the Carl Perkins’ Civic Center 7PM, May 1st in Jackson, TN. (Always good to talk with Mona Lisa, and her brother Marlo—both so talented!)
Sad to bring up Jackson though, as we couldn’t let the night go by without mentioning the passing of Wink Martindale at 91 yesterday. In addition to all those game shows, he was a disc jockey and for a minute there, a recording star with his 1959 version of Deck Of Cards. (T Texas Tyler brought that to life in 1948 but the text goes back to the 1700s, when a British farmer’s wife, Mary Bacon, wrote in down in her 1762 book. Several people have done it since T Texas Tyler including also in 1948, Tex Ritter and Phil Harris. But Wink’s version in 1959 was the highest it ever got on the pop charts. Red Sovine did an updated Viet Nam version in 1967. Others not notable have been out since then.) Deck of Cards entered the charts just after Wink got to LA in 1959, as morning show host on KHJ. He was also a midday mainstay on KMPC. He’s featured in Randy West’s book about game shows, and I vow to have Randy join us soon.
In between calls, we played your requests:
Jackie Wilson – Whispers Getting Louder – 1966 Brunswick
Dinah Washington – Million Dollar Baby – 1958 Mercury
Impressions – Amen – 1964 ABC-Paramount
Five Stairsteps – Danger She’s A Stranger – 1967 Windy C
Jesse Lee Turner – The Little Space Girl – 1958 Carlton
Turbans – When You Dance – 1961 Parkway
Mello-Kings – Tonite Tonite – 1957 Herald
Capris – There’s A Moon Out Tonight – 1958 Planet
Capris – Morse Code Of Love – 1982 Ambient Sound
TUESDAY APRIL 15, 2025 3:31 AM CT.. Full Show tonight starting at 10 CT.. Hope you’ll join me and call! Many of you did last night for Monday Night Trivia, in fact so many of you, that we ended the show with a full board of callers. My apologies for losing track of time, something I do with alarming regularity.
Last night you quickly knocked off the Straggler: A recent long term study showed that exposure to this could make the smell and taste of some cheeses stronger. Exposure to what? Hip Hop music. [We went over the full study on the air. If you missed it, listen to the replay.]
James quickly answered the followup question: These well known things had always been white. Suddenly in the 80s they were yellow, which they still are today. What well known things? Wimbledon tennis balls. (They show up better on TV—Wimbledon was the last venue to make the swap but finally in 1985, they released a statement saying that after lengthy discussions they now believe the advantages of using yellow outweighed the sentimental attachment to white. [London Times 11/18/85])
And the third question becomes next week’s Straggler. Now about the Bumper Stumpers. I’ll explain this fully at the start of next week’s trivia show as I completely ran out of time last night. I told you the theme was that they were all part of a packaged oldies show in the early ‘70s and I asked who hosted it and where was it held.
Guss Gossert hosted the “7th Nostalgic Rock and Roll Record Revival Show” at the Academy of Music in Manhattan in 1972. Gus, as you may know, coined the term ‘doo wop’ (it was, and is, vocal group harmony). You may also know his 1976 murder in Knoxville remains unsolved. But after graduating from UT and winding up on the air in NYC at WCBS-FM and WPIX-FM, he brought back the sound missing since the British Invasion, both on the air and in multiple venues, like the one referenced here. There were 11 acts, and we ran out of time before we played the Ronettes (I Can Hear Music, 1966 on Philles was on the list) as a Bumper Stumper, but here’s what we did play:
Turbans – Golden Rings – 1961 Parkway
Buddy Knox – Somebody Touched Me – 1958 Roulette
Moonglows – Unemployment – 1959 Chess
Diamonds – She Say – 1959 Mercury
Shangri-Las – Right Now And Not Later – 1965 Red Bird
Tokens – Please Write – 1963 Laurie
Students – Every Day Of The Week – 1958 Checker
Nolan Strong & The Diablos – Mind Over Matter – 1962 Fortune
Crests – My Juanita – 1957 Joyce
Mystics – Blue Star – 1960 Laurie (flip of White Cliffs of Dover)
Buddy Knox – Somebody Touched Me – 1958 Roulette
Moonglows – Unemployment – 1959 Chess
Diamonds – She Say – 1959 Mercury
Shangri-Las – Right Now And Not Later – 1965 Red Bird
Tokens – Please Write – 1963 Laurie
Students – Every Day Of The Week – 1958 Checker
Nolan Strong & The Diablos – Mind Over Matter – 1962 Fortune
Crests – My Juanita – 1957 Joyce
Mystics – Blue Star – 1960 Laurie (flip of White Cliffs of Dover)
There’s a great Nolan Strong story too—saying he showed up with The Diablos is somewhat of a stretch. He showed up with one Diablo. Maybe more on that some night. Meanwhile, I wrote down your requests and will play them tonight.
SUNDAY APRIL 13, 2025 1:27 AM CT.. Hi again-- I forgot to mention that momentarily the stream for The Rollye James Show is down (unrelated to the new URL for KJAA: see prior post). But you can listen to the downloads anytime, just click on DOWNLOADS on the above nav bar. You'll also find Gail Isaacson's wonderful audio essay, Daddy Jazz, there too.
As you'll recall, Gail called last week and talked about her jazz fanatic dad who brought her up right-- listening to Daddy-O's Jazz Patio, starting in 1948 on WAIT. Gail wasn't around yet, but by the time she was cognisant, Daddy-O was going even stronger. [To digress for a moment, WAIT in 1948 was a sound to behold with Al Benson and Jockey Jack setting the world on fire. Daddy-O Daylie held his own. Their rhyming patter became a blueprint for countless soul jocks who followed. Daddy-O was also responsible for bringing the Ramsey Lewis Trio to Chess' attention and so much more. By 1956, it paid off, and cool jazz, presented in only the way Daddy-O could, permeated the overnight airwaves on WMAQ. From there it was a smorgasbord of call letters from WAAF to WGN.] And one of the most ardent listeners to all of his shows was Gail's dad. You'll hear about his love of jazz, and Gail's love of him in a truly terrific podcast. Listen here.
Gail, as you also may recall, is now living in Sawyer, Michigan and she and her husband run Radio Harbor Country WRHC, a community supported station that includes Gail's own "Cheaper Than A Shrink" on Sunday evenings at 6. (I also plan to check out ""Mashed Potato Time". You can guess what DJ Karin plays from that title alone.) Check out WRHC's website here.
AUNDAY APRIL 13, 2025 12:35 AM CT… If you listen to KJAA online and can’t get it anymore, that’s because the URL changed. I don’t plan on changing it again anytime soon, so hopefully this is the last time you’ll have to update whatever you use to connect. Click here to go direct, or here for more info. Apologies…. Three big hours of Monday Night Trivia coming up and I’m looking forward to hearing from you!
FRIDAY APRIL 11, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Next live show, Monday Night Trivia! We’ll start right at 10. (Tonight’s a replay of last Monday night’s trivia and there’s a Straggler you might want to review if you missed it live this week. Please don’t call tonight, but do call with your answers on Monday!) Last night we talked about The Crests. Everyone always thinks of the late Johnny Maestro and rightfully so, as he was the wonderful lead singer on all those Coed hits, but the founder of the group—the guy who got it together, was JT Carter, the bass signer. Sadly he died on April 5th—making every member now past tense. But I didn’t want to let his passing go unnoticed and it provided a fine reason to play some of their hits:
Crests – 16 Candles – 1958 Coed (Luther Dixon co wrote that)
Crests – Step By Step – 1960 Coed
Crests – The Angels Listened In – 1959 Coed
Crests - Trouble In Paradise – 1960 Coed
Jimmey “Soul” Clark – (I’ll Be Your Champion) I’ll Be Your Winner – 1967 Soulhawk
Rolling Stones – Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man – 1965 London
Fantastic Four – Can’t Stop Looking For My Baby – 1967 Ric-Tic
Bobby Lewis – Tossin’ And Turnin’ – 1961 Beltone
Brooklyn Bridge – Worst That Could Happen – 1968 Buddah
Asleep At The Wheel – Nothin’ Takes The Place Of You – 1975 Capitol
THURSDAY APRIL 10, 2025 3:31 AM CT…. Full show tonight at 10. Call early! Last night we talked about everything from radio to cooking French fries in peanut oil (which is how it should be done everywhere) and we honored Lenny Welch, who sadly passed away in Florida yesterday. 86 years old. He’d been ill for quite a while so his passing was undoubtedly a relief for him, and the music he left us is a blessing for us:
Lenny Welch – Since I Fell For You – 1963 Cadence
Lenny Welch – I Need Someone – 1959 Cadence
Lenny Welch – Since I Don’t Have You – 1973 Mainstream
Broadways – Goin’ Goin’ Gone – 1966 MGM
Capitols – I Got To Handle It – 1966 Karen
Curtis Lee – Under The Moon of Love – 1961 Dunes
Ben E King – Don’t Play That Song – 1962 ATCO
Lenny Welch – Just One Smile – 1966 Kapp
Lenny Welch – You Don’t Know Me – 1959 Cadence
Lenny Welch – Eyewitness News – 1974 Mainstream
Lenny Welch – Sunday Kind Of Love – 1972 ATCO
WEDNESDAY APRIL 9, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. I hope you’ll join me. Last night’s show ended with several of you waiting to get on the air. Please call earlier tonight. We talked about everything from generic drugs (the majority made in India) to Johnny Rivers, and I played your requests too:
Dwight Yoakam & Buck Owens – Streets of Bakersfield – 1988 Reprise
Lloyd Price – Where Were You (On Our Wedding Day) – 1959 ABC-Paramount
Rick Nelson – Poor Little Fool – 1958 Imperial
Romancers – I Still Remember – 1955 Dooto
Ray Charles – Come Back Baby – 1957 Atlantic [LP: Ray Charles/Rock & Roll]
Randy Travis – Diggin’ Up Bones – 1986 WB
Beatles – Cry For A Shadow – 1964 Amiga (unreleased in US and UK)
Curtis Lee – Pretty Little Angel Eyes – 1960 Dunes
Huey Smith – Rockin’ Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu – 1957 Ace
Johnny Rivers – Rockin’ Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu – 1972 UA
Dee Clark – Raindrops – 1961 VJ
TUESDAY APRIL 8, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. Please join me. Last night, we had an abbreviated Monday Night Trivia show, and the question I threw out was almost answered. It becomes our Straggler and will probably go quickly next week. A few of you correctly guessed some of the Bumper Stumpers, but no one hit on the theme:
All of them (plus Frankie Lymon, Danny & The Juniors, The Chantels, and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins) were on Alan Freed’s 1958 Big Beat Show Tour, and 67 years ago Monday night they were playing in Canton Ohio.
Here’s what I played:
Jo Ann Cambell – Mother Please! – 1963 Cameo (A play on the Anacin TV commercial from ’62)
Larry Williams – Just Because – 1967 Okeh
Jerry Lee Lewis – Cold Cold Heart – 1961 Sun
Ed Townsend – Stay With Me – 1960 WB
Chuck Berry – Wee Wee Hours – 1955 Chess (flip of Maybellene)
Buddy Holly – Love Is Strange – 1959 unreleased (Norman Petty Recording Studio)
FRIDAY APRIL 4, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Next live show: Monday Night Trivia. We’ll be about an hour and a half late—plan on joining me around 11:30 PM CT. (Tonight it's a replay of last Monday's show, I don't believe there are any stragglers, but if you missed it, you'll hear it at 10 on WGN.) Last night we talked about a plethora of things, and right now I can’t remember any of them, but you can listen to the replay (on the stream ‘til the next live show, or on the downloads whenever you like). I also played several of your requests:
Harry Connick Jr.–Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans – 1988 Columbia [LP: 20]
Brenda Holloway – When I’m Gone – 1964 Tamla
Count Basie Big Band with Ella Fitzgerald – April In Paris – 1956 Clef
Otis Redding – Direct Me – 1968 ATCO
Ella Fitzgerald – Soldier Boy – 1955 Decca
John Prine – Illegal Smile – 1974 Atlantic
Major Lance – Think Nothing About It – 1964 Okeh [LP: Um Um Um Um Um Um]
Ashford & Simpson – Solid – 1984 Capitol
Impressions - Get Closer Together - 1962 ABC-Paramount
Arthur Alexander – Where Have You Been All My Life – 1962 Dot
Cecil Taylor – Bemsha Swing – 1957 Transition [LP: Jazz Advance]
THURSDAY APRIL 3, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. I hope you’ll call. Last night we spent an hour together after the Blackhawks and had a fine time discussing Marc’s love life, Ruth’s musical tastes, Dave’s requests, Tubby too. And we played what you wanted to hear:
Louis Armstrong – Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans – 1947 RCA
Rosemary Clooney – Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans – 1977 Concord Jazz
[LP: Everything’s Coming Up Rosie]
Woody Herman – Do Nothin’ Till You Hear From Me – 1944 Decca
WEDNESDAY APRIL 2, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Late start tonight. Join me at Midnight CT (after sports play by play). Last night was interesting—non stop calls in the second and third hour, and almost nothing in the first. But I had some fun with news oddities. I also played several of your reqests:
Andrews Sisters – Bei Mir Bist Do Schoen – 1937 Decca
Frankie Laine – That Lucky Old Sun – 1949 Mercury
Brook Benton – A Million Miles From Nowhere – 1958 Vik
Arthur Alexander – Burning Love – 1972 WB (written by Dennis Linde)
Junior Wells & The Aces – If You Gonna Leave Me – 1966 Delmark [LP: Live In Boston]
Aretha Franklin – April Fools – 1972 Atlantic
Ray Charles – Mess Around – 1953 Atlantic
Marvelettes – Twistin’ Postman – 1961 Tamla
Swallows – It Ain’t The Meat, It’s The Motion – 1951 King
Tommy Sands – Teen-Age Crush – 1957 Capitol
TUESDAY APRIL 1, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight starting at 10. Last night was a rousing round of Monday Night Trivia. I threw out three questions and you got ‘em all:
When given a list of professions in 2003 Gallup survey, and asked which was the most dishonest; lawyers, as expected, came close to the top—but car sales and advertising beat them. So did three other professions. One of them was HMO management. Name one of the other two. Stockbrokers and Insurance Sales People.
In 1963, radio stations in America were threatened with license revocation for playing this song. What is it? (Hint: It was NOT playing Louie Louie, though the FBI spent two years investigating the lyrics.) Peter, Paul & Mary’s “Puff.” (Later, upon Richard Nixon’s orders, the us Army compiled a list of songs allegedly encouraging drug use. “Puff The Magic Dragon” was one of hundreds of songs on it.)
This American entertainment attraction is so big today that it's virtually an industry. There are 41 different venues. About 12 million people pay admission every year. And people do it four times a year on average. 65% are women. The average age is 40. 85% graduated college. And, as big as it is now, it didn't exist before the 1860s. What is it? Broadway plays. (The 41 theatres are in Manhattan. The Theatre District in midtown surrounding Times Square is the heart of it from 40th to 57th streets, Sixth to Eighth avenues; but Lincoln Center on the upper west side also has numerous theatres. That, along with London's West End, comprises the highest concentration of theatres in the English speaking world.)
The Bumper Stumpers were all early Doo Wop in honor of the late Scotty from East Chicago. He would have loved hearing them. (I can’t remember which one of you suggested we do that, but thanks.) The theme? All were on Apollo Records:
Cellos – Rang Tang Ding Dong – 1957 Apollo
Lillian Leach & The Mellows – So Strange – 1958 Apollo
Sparks of Rhythm – Handy Man – 1956 Apollo
Opals – Oh But She Did – 1954 Apollo
Brochures – They Lied – 1961 Apollo
Vocaltones – Darling – 1955 Apollo
Admirations – My Baby – 1961 Apollo
Chesters – Lift Up Your Head – 1957 Apollo
[Larks – Darlin – played by accident not part of the theme, but it was an Apollo recording]
Claremonts – Why Keep Me Dreaming – 1957 Apollo
Night Riders – Rags – 1954 Apollo
Gentlemen – Don’t Leave Me Baby – 1954 Apollo
MARCH 2025
THURSDAY MARCH 27, 2025 3:31 AM CT.. We’ve got a half hour to spend together tonight from 12:30 to 1 AM, after the NCAA finals. Last night, a full three hours chocked with murder mayhem and music, including some of your requests:
Manhattans – Call Somebody Please – 1969 Carnival
Manhattans – ‘Til You Come Back To Me – 1969 Carnival
Claudine Clark – The Telephone Game – 1962 Chancellor
Little Joe & The Thrillers – Peanuts – 1957 Okeh
Little Willie John – I’m Shakin’ – 1960 King
Nat King Cole – I Found A Million Dollar Baby – 1958 Capitol [LP: The Very Thought Of You]
Pigmeat Markham – My Wife, I Ain’t Seen Her – 1961 Chess
Michael Johnson – Bluer Than Blue – 1989 EMI’
Bergen White – Come Go With Me – 1975 Private Stock
WEDNESDAY MARCH 26, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. I hope you’ll join us. Last night we talked about Chicago’s South Shore in the first hour with Charlene Wexler (the hour is archived under DOWNLOADS on the above nav bar), and continued with more Chicago memories, musical memories and a few horror stories (who knew chewing gum could lead to dementia-- actually, nobody knows for sure, but the plastic particles found in gum are now being studied). On a happier note, I played some requests:
Ray Charles – I Got A Woman – 1960 Atlantic
Peggy Lee – Is That All There Is – 1969 Capitol
Rochell & The Candles – Each Night – 1962 Challenge
Turks – Emily – 1955 Money
Hearts – Lonely Nights – 1955 Baton
Ray Charles – Blackjack – 1955 Atlantic
Sonny & Cher – The Beat Goes On – 1967 ATCO
Vernon Green – Can You Talk – 1973 Dootone
Medallions – Buick 59 – 1954 Dootone
Jackie Davis – It All Comes Back To Me Now – 1956 Capitol [LP: Hi Fi Hammond]
TUESDAY MARCH 25, 2025 9:30 PM CT... Charlene Wexler joins me live in about half an hour on WGN. If you're a Chicagoan, you'll relate to her wonderful novels, the latest of which is Farewell To South Shore. (You can get copies of all her work at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Speaking Volumes, Target, and Walmart-- just enter her name in the search box.) We'll take calls too, if you want to chime in. After that, it's as usual, what's ever on your mind, and your bumper requests too.
TUESDAY MARCH 25, 2025 3:31 AM CT…. Full show tonight starting at 10. Last night’s Monday Night Trivia was its usual fun, and at the end of the show Sherrie correctly guessed the answer to the trivia question I threw out:
Rule #1 in an 1850’s book on etiquette is “Do not eat if you’re (doing this)” Doing what? Wearing mittens. (Exactly how people managed to actually eat wearing mittens is beyond me, but apparently it happened enough to be the number one rule in 1852.)
As for the Bumper Stumpers, all were George Kerr productions:
Barbara Jean English – Key In The Mailbox – 1973 Alithia (produced)
Whatnauts – Give Him Up – 1969 GSF (produced)
Frankie & The Spindles – Count To Ten – 1968 Roc-Ker (wrote & produced)
Fashions – A Lover’s Stand – 1968 20th Century Fox (wrote & produced)
Escorts – Look Over Your Shoulder – 1973 Alithea (wrote & produced)
Serenaders – I’ll Cry Tomorrow – 1964 V.I.P. (wrote) Raynoma Gordy produced)
Linda Jones – What’ve I Done (To Make You Mad) – 1967 Loma (wrote & produced)
Manhattans – It’s Gonna Take A Lot To Bring Me Back – 1970 DeLuxe – (produced)
Troy Keyes – Love Explosion – 1969 ABC (wrote & produced)
Timothy Wilson – Baby Baby Please – 1967 Buddah (produced)
Vivian Copeland – He Knows My Key (Is Always In The Mailbox) - 1969 D’Oro (produced)
FRIDAY MARCH 21, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Next full show: Monday Night Trivia! (No replay tonight—sports play by play). Next week, it's full shows Monday through Wednesday starting at 10 CT, will a full preemption on Thursday. Ground we covered last night ran from a new disturbing scam (big in England at the moment, but guaranteed to be stateside in no time at all-- for-warned is for-armed on this one, which will catch you off-guard if you’re the unlucky target), to the latest bad luck befalling riders on Magic Mountain’s fabled roller coasters (this one caused a 22 year old to die when he experienced brain sheer from the coaster operating as expected—well not expected to the rider, but warnings about what could happen under routine conditions are inadequate claims the lawsuit). We also played a few requests:
Ruby & The Romantics – Day Dreaming – 1963 Kapp
Everly Brothers – Bowling Green – 1967 WB
Manhattans – I Bet’cha – 1966 Carnival
Lambert Hendricks & Ross – In A Mellow Tone – 1960 Columbia [LP: Sing Ellington]
THURSDAY MARCH 20, 2025 3:31 AM CT…. We’ll be delayed an hour tonight (Blackhawls) so join me at 11 CT. Last night we had a Northwestern basketball interruption. They’re somewhat unpredictable and usually the game ends later than expected. Not last night. Earlier than expected. In fact it was over when I was over 20 minutes from the studio. I made it! Of course I was panting during the first 15 minutes and I’m keeping my fingers crossed about those speed cameras, but it was worth it. Full board of calls all night. If you didn’t get in, I’m hoping you’ll try tonight. I managed to get in a half dozen of your requests too:
Manhattans – Call Somebody Please – 1969 Carnival
Four Tops – Are You Man Enough – 1973 Motown
Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton – Jeannie’s Afraid Of The Dark – 1968 RCA
Lee Williams & The Cymbals – Til You Come Back To Me – 1968 Carnival
Big Bopper - Chantilly Lace – 1958 D (later Mercury)
Chris Thomas King – Hard Time Killing Floor Blues – 2000 Mercury [soundtrack LP]
WEDNESDAY MARCH 19, 2025 3:31 AM CT… we’ll be delayed until about 11:30 tonight (Northwestern basketball play by play). Tune in then, and hopefully we’ll be talking to you in moments. Last night we lost an hour to Blackhawks hockey, but managed two hours of talk ranging from the Post Office glitches, to computer operating systems, and of course some radio chatter. Don’t know why I couldn’t remember that Bartell bought KYA in 1959 (sold it in 1962 or 3 to Churchill, who sold it to Avco in 1966, who sold it to King in 1977-- years approximate, doing this from memory) but at least I remembered that Jane Swain was the GM who came in around 1960 from Bartell's WAKE in Atlanta, bringing in Bill Drake as PD)… but the discussion was about two Buffalo transplants, Russ The Moose Syracuse and Tommy Saunders, and the good memories both evoked. I played a handful of your requests too:
Chuck Willis – What Am I Living For – 1958 Atlantic
Chuck Willis – Hang Up My Rock And Roll Shoes – 1958 Atlantic
Major Lance – Sometimes I Wonder – 1964 Okeh
Youngbloods – Get Together – 1969 RCA
Box Tops – Choo Choo Train – 1968 Mala
TUESDAY MARCH 18, 2025 3:31 AM CT.. Sports delay will have me starting at 11 tonight. I hope you join me then. Last night was a full evening of Monday Night Trivia. No one guessed our Straggler question and Cindy suggested we carry it over a week, since last week’s show was so short. I took a poll and you wanted an answer. So in the final moments of the show, came the big reveal:
Women are often accused by men of doing this. So much so that it’s seen as a common female trait. But a study conducted by a Northwestern University professor shows that men actually do it more than women—do what? Change their minds.
You didn’t do too well with the Bumper Stumpers either (but you aced the numerous ‘pick your own category’ questions). Every song I played was released on George Goldner’s End label:
Malcolm Dodds- Beauty & The Beast – 1957 End (first record released on End, a B side)
Birdie Green – Tremblin’ – 1962 End (shortly thereafter Birdie became Byrdie)
Miracles – My Mama Done Told Me – 1958 End (yes, Smokey Robinson’s group)
Sam Hawkins – Landlord – 1961 End
Delvets – Repeat After Me – 1962 End
Clusters – Darling Can’t You Tell – 1962 End
Del Satins – I’ll Pray For You – 1961 End
Spinners – Richard Pry, Private Eye – 1958 End
Starlighters – You’re The One To Blame – 1959 (Van McCoy formed the group as a kid)
Little Anthony & The Imperials – Formula of Love – 1961 End
THURSDAY MARCH 13, 2025 3:31 AM CT… No show tonight, a replay of Monday Night Trivia tomorrow night, and that means the next live show will be next week’s Monday Night Trivia, starting promptly at 10 CT. There’s a Straggler question and new Bumper Stumpers and I’ll expect your calls. Last night we covered scams, an unbelievable bigamy story (not only did the blushing bride marry while she was married but she married her father, who was in prison so she could get his VA checks), the true story of Betty & Dupree, what really went on at Vee-Jay Records, and much more. We also played your requests:
Third World – Now That We Found Love – 1978 Island
Bar-Kays – Soul Finger – 1967 Volt
Chairmen of the Board – Give Me Just A Little More Time
Kool Gents – I Just Can’t Help Myself – 1956 Vee-Jay
Starlites – Valarie – 1960 Fury
Nutmegs – Ship of Fools – 1955 Herald
Chuck Willis – Betty and Dupree – 1957 Atlantic
WEDNESDAY MARCH 12, 2025 3:31 AM CT.. Full show tonight starting at 10. Join me. Last night we covered everything from an unconscionable foster mom who disciplined her charge by sitting on his head (yes, the child died) to, on a happier note, Chicago Soul and radio. And I played several of your requests, for better or worse, too.
Accents – New Girl – 1964 M-Pac
Accents – Enchanted Garden – 1963 Mercury
Cicero Blake – Sad Feeling – 1964 Renee
Sounds of Dawn – How Many Times – 1967 Twin Stacks
Buckinghams – Foreign Policy – 1967 Columbia
Spanky and Our Gang – Like To Get To Know You – 1968 Mercury
Lavern Baker – See See Rider – 1962 Atlantic
Joe Turner – Blues In The Night – 1958 Atlantic
Heavy D & The Boyz – Now That We Found Love – 1991 MCA
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes – Wake Up Everybody – 1975 PI
Gene Pitney – If I Didn’t Have A Dime – 1962 Musicor
TUESDAY MARCH 11, 2025 3:31 AM… Full show tonight starting at 10 CT. I hope to hear from you. Last night’s abbreviated Monday Night Trivia show was interesting—if you’re listening to the replay (either as a download or on the stream) you’ll not hear the first segment. I couldn’t get audio to anything—and I was fairly frantic trying everything I could imagine (playing with the distribution amp, redoing processor settings, re-connecting cables and more…. until I discovered that the computer on the screen I was using was not here. It is in another city entirely. So nothing I did here was going to magically show up there. (I will not soon live this down.) Once corrected, we connected and that’s what you’ll hear. You’ll miss the first Bumper Stumper, but nobody got any of them anyway (though Fran came close when she recognized Robbie Montgomery’s voice as one of the original Ikettes). As for the theme-- all the songs I played were written by Ike Turner:
Richard Berry – Big John – 1955 RPM
Stacy Johnson – Don’t Believe Him – 1964 Modern
Robbie Montgomery – Pee Wee – 1963 Teena
Jimmy Thomas – Hurry And Come Home – 1962 Sue
Mary Sue (Bonnie Turner) – Love Is A Gamble – 1952 Modern
I also threw out a new question, which garnered lots of guesses, but as none were correct, it’ll be our Straggler for next week.
FRIDAY MARCH 7, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Next live show: Monday Night Trivia but next Monday we’ll be delayed an hour and a half (sports interruption). Figure on joining me at 11:30. Tonight is a replay of last Monday night’s show, so please don’t call—but do call Monday. Last night was the usual AOR show (all over the road). From Linda’s medical frustration (she needs a new doctor now), to scams and more scams, we covered it all, and played some of your requests too:
Kenny G featuring Earth Wind & Fire – The Way You Move – 2004 Arista
George Kranz – Din Daa Daa – 1983 Personal
Dennis Edwards – Don’t Look Any Further – 1984 Gordy
Four Tops – Reach Out I’ll Be There – 1966 Motown
Patti Labelle – You Are My Friend – 1977 Epic
Dells – Now I Pray – 1956 VJ (unreleased)
Al Wilson – Who Could Be Lovin’ You – 1967 Soul City
Animals - It’s My Life – 1965 MGM
Kenny Vance – Looking For An Echo – 1975 Atlantic
THURSDAY MARCH 6, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10 CT. We’ll cover news you can’t use (and maybe some you can), play your requests, and talk about whatever’s on your mind. That’s pretty much what we did last night, covering everything from hominins to jingles, fulfilling several requests and mourning the loss of Roy Ayers. Like so many lately, it’s a blessing for him as he’s been not well for years now, but a loss for us.
Roy Ayers – Wave – 1968 Atlantic [LP: Stoned Soul Picnic]
Roy Ayers – Hot – 1985 Columbia
Roy Ayres – Stoned Soul Picnic – 1968 Atlantic [LP: Stoned Soul Picnic]
Corsairs – Smoky Places – 1961 Tuff (Abner Spector’s label)
Channels – All Alone – 1957 Gone
Pete Fountain – The Honey Wind Blows – 1964 Coral
Glenn Yarbrough – The Honey Wind Blows – 1964 RCA
Murray Head – One Night In Bangkok – 1985 RCA
Dean Martin – That’s Amore – 1953 Capitol
Harry James with Frank Sinatra – All Or Nothing At All – 1940 Columbia
Dick Van Dyke – I’ve Got A Crush On You
String-A-Longs – Wheels – 1960 Warwick
WEDNESDAY MARCH 5, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight starting at 10. (Last night we were preempted for about half an hour due to President Trump’s address to congress.) We noted the passing of Friends of Distinction founder Harry Elston at 86, and played Grazing In The Grass, for which he wrote lyrics and sung lead. We talked about everything from radio and music to Waymo and electric cars, took your calls and played your requests:
Friends of Distinction – Grazing In The Grass – 1969 RCA
Intervals – Here’s That Rainy Day – 1962 Class
Georgettes – Hard Hard – 1970 Yodi
Louis Prima – Banana Split For My Baby – 1956 Capitol Billy Bob in Bourbonnais
Johnny Taylor – Blues In The Night – 1967 Stax [LP: Wanted One Soul Singer]
Cab Calloway – Blues In The Night – 1941 Dave on the North Side
Henson Cargill – Skip A Rope – Billy Bob in Bourbonnais
Kingston Trio – M.T.A. – 1959 Capitol
Jades – So Blue – 1958 Time
Johnny Mathis – The Twelfth Of Never – 1957 Columbia
TUESDAY MARCH 4, 2025 3:31 AM CT Full show tonight at 10 CT, please call. Last nights Monday Night Trivia was shorted by an hour (sports interruption) but in the two hours we had, lines were continually full. It wasn’t until the waning moments that the trivia question I threw out was correctly answered: Women generally talk more than men, but in this one documented situation, men routinely outtalk women. What situation? Jury duty.
No one got the Bumper Stumpers theme, though several people thought it was a Chicago connection—close but not correct. All of them were St. Louis based artists, who at one time or another recorded at Oliver Sain’s Archway Studios. Oliver, who was nothing short of astounding musically (search him online if he’s unfamiliar to you) produced most, if not all, of these songs on various labels, and wrote a few of them too:
Oliver Sain – Booty Bumpin’ – 1974 Abet
Sharpees – Do The 45” – 1965 One-Derful
Albert King – Calling On My Darling – 1961(unreleased) later on Chess Blues CD compilation
Barbara Carr – My Mama Told Me – 1966 Chess
Benny Sharp & The Sharpies – Music (I Like It) – 1969 Midas
Montclairs – Unwanted Love – 1972 Paula
Fontella Bass & Bobby McClure – Don’t Mess Up A Good Thing – 1965 Checker
FEBRUARY 2025
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 28, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Next live show: Monday Night Trivia, but the start time will be delayed by an hour due to the Blackhawks game. Tune it at 11 CT and get ready to play. Missed last Monday night’s show? It’ll replay tonight. Last night’s show was so abbreviated that I didn’t even have time to play a bumper. We heard from Tubby, and my fix for her VCR worked! We also took a request (Blues In The Night—Johnny Taylor is my favorite version), and heard from Debbie in Raleigh and Jim in Richmond, WI. Hopefully Monday night, I’ll hear from you!
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Very short show tonight. We’ll spend less than an hour together. I’ll probably get on the air around 12:30 CT, but you might want to start checking at midnight. Last night we talked about everything from death by Jello for a hospitalized patient (I knew the institutional food they serve was gonna kill someone) to what to do when your VHS tape won’t eject (not only do most people no longer have VHS tapes, but in this case, it’s a combo TV/VHS unit—Tubby’s gonna try my first suggestion and report back, but when she mentioned the tape would still play, just not eject, I got the sinking feeling it’s mechanical. Maybe a worn out rubber belt, but I’ll break it to her gently.) And I played several of your requests, plus a few of my own:
Jerry Butler & Brenda Lee Eager – Ain’t Understanding Mellow – 1971 Mercury
Jerry Butler – Only The Strong Survive – 1969 Mercury
Jerry Butler – Hey, Western Union Man – 1968 Mercury
Jerry Butler & The Impressions – For Your Precious Love – 1958 Falcon
Jerry Butler – Rainbow Valley – 1959 Abner
Roberta Flack – Feel Like Making Love – 1974 Atlantic
Robert John – Ooh Baby Baby – 1968 Columbia
Robert John – You Don’t Need A Gypsy – 1972 Atlantic
Tommy Edwards – It’s All In The Game – 1958 MGM
Tommy Edwards – It’s All In The Game – 1951 MGM
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 26, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight starting at 10. Last night was brief, but we covered yet another death—Robert John. 79 years old. (He had a stroke awhile ago and never fully recovered, so his passing was undoubtedly a relief for him, but a loss for those of us left behind. (I played my two favorites.)
Robert John – If You Don’t Want My Love – 1968 Columbia
Robert John – Don’t Leave Me – 1968 Columbia
Jerry Butler – Make It Easy On Yourself – 1962 VJ
Jerry Butler - Mr. Dream Merchant - 1967 Mercury
Isley Brothers – Who’s That Lady – 1964 UA
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 25, 2025 3:31 AM CT.. We’ll be delayed about an hour and a half tonight. Plan on hearing me around 11:30 CT. Last night’s Monday Night Trivia was fun. Full board of calls all night. Apologies if you didn’t get through. No one guessed the Straggler (but Sam did come close):
Assuming they’ll do it at all, in the home women are most likely to do it in the kitchen, while men are most likely to do it in the bedroom. Do what? Commit murder.
No one got the Bumper Stumper theme, and a sad one it was. Every artist I played died within the last 12 months. (I thought of this because of the passing of Jerry Butler, Roberta Flack, Gwen McCrae and Chris Jasper, all within the last week.) Here’s what I played:
Clarence Frogman Henry - Lady With The Hatbox - 1957 Chess (unreleased) 4/7/24
Ronny & The Daytonas - Sandy - 1965 Mala (Buzz Cason 6/16/24)
Sugar Pie DeSanto - Slip-in Mules - 1964 Checker 12/20/24
Tommy Hunt - The Door Is Open - 1962 Scepter 2/12/25
Billy Edd Wheeler - Fried Chicken and a Country Tune - 1969 UA 9/16/24
Gwen McCrae - For Your Love - 1973 Cat 2/21/25
Little Freddy - All My Love - 1958 Chief (Brenton Wood 1/3/25)
Frankie Beverly & The Butlers - Because of My Heart - 1966 Fairmount 9/10/24
Sweet Inspirations - Gotta Find Me A Brand New Lover – 1970 Atlantic [LP: Sweet Sweet Soul] (Cissy Houston 10/7/24)
Steve Alaimo - Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying - 1963 Checker 11/30/24
Sandy Posey - I Take It Back - 1967 MGM 7/20/24
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 21, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Next live show: Monday Night Trivia 10PM (Tonight it’s a replay of last Monday’s show. I believe there’s a Straggler question you might want to hear if you missed it last Monday.) Last night we covered Frank Sinatra and Nelson Riddle, an Amazon driver hitting a pedestrian the backing up to hit them again, a murderous Louisiana woman who got probation the first time, allowing her to do it again this month and much more. I also played your requests:
Percy Faith – Delicado – 1952 Columbia
Frank Sinatra – They Can’t Take That Away From Me – 1954 Capitol
Frank Sinatra – Come Fly Me – 1958 Capitol
Frank Sinatra – From The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning – 1955 Capitol
R Crumb and His Cheap Suit Serenaders – Get A Load Of This – 1974 Blue Goose
Paul Evans – Midnight Special – 1960 Guaranteed
Lee Morgan – You Go to My Head – 1968 Blue Note [EP: The Gigolo]
Jerry Vale – Pretend You Don’t See Her – 1957 Columbia
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 20, 2025 3:31 AM CT.. Full show tonight at 10. Please call. Last night we ran the gamut from old time of day telephone lines to questionable attire, and we played several of your requests:
Tams – What Kind Of Fool – 1964 ABC Paramount
Bill Deal & The Rhondells – What Kind Of Fool – 1969 Heritage
Billy Ward & His Dominoes – Do Something For Me – 1950 Federal
James Brown – The Payback – 1973 Polydor
Charlie Rich – River Stay ‘Way From My Door – 1964 Groove [LP: Charlie Rich]
Tommy Edwards – Please Mr. Sun – 1959 MGM
Heartbeats – Darling How Long – 1956 Hull
Buddy Holly – Modern Don Juan – 1956 Decca
Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas – Trains And Boats And Planes – 1965 Imperial
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 19, 2025 3:31 AM CT.. Full show tonight at 10. Please call—several of you did last night, which makes the show fun to do. We talked about everything from the Governor of Kentucky not remembering KFC history (or he just made it up when he said the Colonel would chafe at the news of KFC headquarters moving to Texas-- the Colonel would have found it funny for reasons I mentioned on the air) to an opossum devouring a Costco cake (The cake-bandit will be fine after he’s cleared of lead poisoning, not from the cake, I presume.) and the passing of Good Guy Gary Stevens at 84 Monday. He had a wild ride. Rest well, Gary, wherever you are. I also played your requests, and talked about some of them:
Gabriel & The Angels – That’s Life (That’s Tough) – 1962 Swan
Tommy Edwards – Navajo – 1959 MGM [LP: You Started Me Dreaming]
Frank Sinatra – That’s Life – 1966 Reprise
Jarmels – A Little Bit of Soap – 1961 Laurie
Mickey Gilley – You Don’t Know Me – 1981 Epic
Hollywood Flames – Buzz-Buzz-Buzz – 1957 Ebb
Dionne Warwick – Who Is Gonna Love Me – 1968 Scepter
Lou Johnson – (There Is) Always Something There To Remind Me – 1964 Big Hill
Lou Johnson – Magic Potion – 1963 Big Top
Lou Johnson – Unsatisfied – 1965 Big Top
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 18, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight, we’ll start at 10. I hope you’ll join me. Last night’s Monday Night Trivia was a good time had by all. Ultimately our Straggler was guessed: People buy this everywhere. In America they’ll pay the most for it, $6.25, on average in Oklahoma. In West Virginia, they’ll pay the least, $2.50 on average. Pay for what? A regular cappuccino. But the followup question remains unanswered and thus becomes our Straggler for next week.
As for the Bumper Stumpers, you recognized several, but no one took a guess on our theme. All the artists I played charted at least twice on the Billboard Hot 100 with the same song. Below is what you heard. In brackets is the song that charted twice and the years it happened.
Righteous Brothers – He Will Break Your Heart – 1966 Verve [Unchained Melody 65, 90]
Surfaris – Get Out – 1966 Decca [Wipeout 63, 63, 70]
Bobby Helms – Jacqueline – 1958 Decca [Jingle Bell Rock 56, 58, 60, 61, 62]
Contours – That Day When She Needed Me – 1964 Gordy [Do You Love Me 62, 87]
Chubby Checker – Rosie – 1964 Parkway [The Twist 60, 61]
Brenda Lee – It Started All Over Again– 1962 Decca [Rockin’ Around The xmas… 60 61 62]
Ben E King – How Can I Forget – 1963 ATCO [Stand By Me 61, 86]
Billy Stewart – What Have I Done – 1968 Chess [I Do Love You 65, 69]
Bobby Boris Pickett – Graduation Day – 1963 Garpax [Monster Mash 62, 70, 73]
Electric Light Orchestra - Showdown 1973 Harvest [Showdown 73, 76]
Aerosmith – Last Child – 1975 Columbia [Dream On 73, 76]
FRIDAY VALENTINE’S DAY 2025 3:31 AM CT… Next full show: Monday Night Trivia. Tonight you’ll hear a replay of last Monday’s show, and if you missed hearing the Straggler question, you can catch it tonight, and call in on Monday. Last night covered a lot of ground—from another self-protection tip from the nefarious (make sure you check your bank statement every month, you’ve only got 30 days to report fraudulent transactions—after that, the bank isn’t liable, even when it’s their fault!) to sound-alike record labels from back in the day (Promenade, HIT, TOPS, SPAR and so many more). We mourned the passing of Tommy Hunt and played your requests:
Tommy Hunt – Human – 19 Scepter
Flamingos – Your Other Love – 1960 End
Flamingos – I Only Have Eyes For You – 1959 End
Antonio Carlos Jobim & Joao Gilberto – Desafinado
Buster Brown – Fannie Mae - 195
Buchanan & Goodman – Buchanan and Goodman On Trial – 1956 Luniverse
Mongo Santamaria Band – Watermelon Man – 1963 Battle
Don Gardner & Dee Dee Ford – Need Your Lovin’ – 1962 Fire
Johnny Cash – Ballad Of A Teenage Queen – 1957 Sun
Sammy Davis, Jr. – The Candy Man – 1971 MGM
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 13, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. Please join me. Last night we talked with Steve Propes and had a fine time talking about obscure soul, answer records, singers, groups and even some country. (The file is on the downloads page in perpetuity, and on the replay until tonight’s live show.) Then we talked about the history of Hang On Sloopy, various medical maladies, radio (including the passing of Tom Fitzmorris, Mr. Food on WGSO—sad to lose him, but a relief for him and his family has he’s been dealing with Alzheimer’s Disease for quite a while) and more. As for the bumpers (mostly your requests):
Cadillacs -Betty My Love – Josie – 1956 Josie
Hank Thompson – The Wild Side Of Life – 1952 Capitol
Kitty Wells – It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels – 1952 Decca
Mad Lads – Don’t Have To Shop Around – 1966 Volt
Vibrations – My Girl Sloopy – 1964 Atlantic
Antonio Carlos Jobim –One Not Samba–1963 Verve [LP The Composer of Desafinado, plays]
Rachel D’arcy – Dance For You – 2020 Jayco [CD: Annabelle Serpentine]
Buchanan Brothers – Medicine Man – 1969 Event
Jesse Belvin – Guess Who – 1959 RCA
Four Shells – Hot Dog – 1966 Volt
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 12, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10 (CT). Steve Propes joins me in the first hour. Any questions you have about obscure R&B oldies that I can’t answer (which is most of them), Steve probably can, so do call. Last night was about a 15 minute show, but we managed to take three calls and play one request: Ramsey Lewis Trio – Hang On Sloopy – 1965 Cadet. I’ll have more to say about the history of that song tonight.
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 11, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Very short show tonight, after Northwestern Basketball. I won’t start before Midnight (CT), but check in after that and we should have some time to spend together. Last night’s Monday Night Trivia was fun as always. No one got the question I threw out so it becomes next week’s Straggler. (If you missed it, catch the replay on Friday and you’ll be ready to call in and guess next Monday.
Few Bumper Stumpers were identified and no one ventured a guess on the theme. Every record I played was by a solo singer who had also been in a well known group. (I realize ‘well known’ is relative, but all of them got quite a bit of airplay back in the day.) Below is the artist and title. The group(s) they were in are in parentheses.
General Johnson – Gone Fishin’ – 1989 Surfside (Showmen & Chairmen of the Board)
Bobby Sheen – Dr. Love – 1966 Capitol (Bob B Soxx & The Blue Jeans)
Mel Williams – Stay With Me– 1957 Capitol (Shields, Sheiks, Johnny Otis Show/Montclairs)
Ted Taylor – Somebody’s Always Trying – 1964 Okeh (Cadets/Jacks)
David Ruffin & Eddie Kendrick – I Couldn’t Believe It – 1987 RCA (Temptations)
Eugene Church – Mind Your Own Business – 1961 King (Cliques)
Eddie Floyd – I Never Found A Girl – 1968 Stax (Falcons)
Richard Berry – Have Love Will Travel – 1960 Flip (Flairs, Crowns)
Sonny Turner – With This Ring – 1983 Christopher EP (Platters)
Pookie Hudson – I Know – 1963 Double L (The Spaniels)
Gene Chandler – Cowboys To Girls - 1968 Brunswick [LP cut: There Was A Time (Dukays)
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 9, 2025 3:31 PM... FULL Monday Night Trivia tomorrow night! Please join me at 10 CT. I'm working on those Bumper Stumpers as I type, and I've got a few questions lined up for you.
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 7, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Next live show Monday Night Trivia. We’ll be delayed about a half hour, so join us around 10:30 CT, we’ll have a new question, 10 new Bumper Stumpers, and the opportunity for you to choose any category at which you excel. (Tonight it’s a replay of Monday Night Trivia, don’t call—but do call on Monday.) Played a lot of your requests last night:
Gene Barge – Country – 1955 Checker
Bessie Smith – Down Hearted Blues – 1923 Columbia
Temptations – Standing Alone – 1958 King
Ray Charles – I’m Movin’ On – 1959 Atlantic
Del Shannon – Keep Searchin’ – 1964 Amy
Five Satins – Tell Me, Dear – 1961 Ember
Johnny Ace – Pledging My Love – 1954 Duke
Tony Bellus – Robbin’ The Cradle – 1959 NRC
Luther Vandross – Always And Forever – 1994 Epic
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 6, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight! Last night we spent about an hour together and I managed to play two of your requests. We also got in some conversation about the latest spate of plane mishaps. (A couple scary fires, but fortunately the planes hadn’t left terra firma, though aborting a roll out just before lift off will certainly get the attention of everyone on board. Listen to the replay for those and other details.) If you think you’ll just drive to your destination, well, we also put the rumor about Bessie Smith’s death to rest, though what did occur was certainly gruesome enough. Walking? Maybe I’ll come up with something for tonight. With the ice in Chicago, it’s best to stay home if you’re nearby.
Clovers – Blue Velvet – 1955 Atlantic for Jerry in Minnesota who never heard it
Cleftones – Can’t We Be Sweethearts –1956 Gee Sgt Pappy’s request
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 5, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Abbreviated show tonight due to the Blackhawks play by play but we’ll have an hour to spend together, so please tune in around midnight CT and call! Last night we were on after Northwestern Basketball and we covered everything from radio reception and mono recordings to what it means when a grocery item says ‘Sell By’. I also managed to play several of your requests:
Gene Chandler – There Goes The Lover – 1967 Brunswick
Varetta Dillard – That’s Why I Cry – 1957 RCA
Etta James – Can’t Shake It – Unreleased (2011 Ace CD: Etta James Who’s Blue)
Ruby Andrews – Casonova (Your Playing Days Are Over) – 1967 Zodiac
Little Milton – Blind Man – 1964 Checker
Junior Walker & The All Stars – Cleo’s Back – 1965 Soul
Ray Charles – Hard Times (No One Knows Better Than I) – 1961 Atlantic
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 4, 2025 3:31 AM CT… We’ll be delayed by at least 15 minutes tonight. The show will start right after the postgame for Northwestern basketball.
Last night’s Monday Night Trivia finally saw a winner to the Straggler (after I gave a hint that it involved going somewhere: In the 1970s, Americans were asked what they’d be willing to do for a million dollars. 12% said they’d take off all their clothes in public. 13%, the largest group all said they’d be willing to do this for the loot. Do what? Go to Jail. (No word on how long they’d stay or what they’d do to get there—leading me to wonder whether respondents picked from a list or that 13% simultaneously came up with that answer on their own.) New question next week.
You knocked off several of the Bumper Stumpers and even got the theme: They’re all telephone themed songs:
Ron Holden - Can You Talk – 1973 NOW
Jimmy Norman – I Don't Love You No More – 1962 Little Star
Judy Clay & William Bell – Private Number – 1968 Stax
ZZ Hill - Cheating In the Next Room – 1982 Malaco
Barbara Mason - From His Woman To You – 1974 Buddah
Chuck Jackson - Tell Him I'm Not Home – 1963 Wand (with Doris Troy)
Carol Douglas - Doctor's Orders – 1974 Midland International
Lou Johnson - Wrong Number – 2010 One Media
Jerry Jackson - Tell Her Johnny Said Goodbye – 1979 CBS
Four Tops - Just Seven Numbers – 1970 Motown
Claudine Clark - The Telephone Game – 1962 Chancellor
We also played Effie Smith – Dial That Telephone, 1959 on Spot (the later album was on Jubilee).
JANUARY 2025
FRIDAY JANUARY 31, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Next full show: Monday Night Trivia! (Tonight it’s a replay of last Monday’s trivia, so if you don’t recall the straggler question, you might want to give it a listen and call on Monday. Last night was another AOR show—All Over the Road. From familiar foods that can kill you to the controversy of Aspartame, we covered it all including various medical maladies. Remember, I am not a doctor—do not take medical advice from a talk show host—contact someone with a license. That won’t stop me from weighing in on whatever’s bothering you, bunky—but just don’t trust my take. I managed to play several of your requests, as you’ll see form the list below, most of which I never would have played on my own:
Lonnie Johnson – Tomorrow Night – 1948 King
Bill Haley & His Comets – Dim Dim The Lights – 1954 Decca
Jaguars – The Way You Look Tonight – 1959 R-Dell
Chuck Berry – Brown-Eyed Handsome Man – 1956 Chess
Mike Clifford – Close to Kathy – 1962 UA
Marianne Faithful – As Tears Go By – 1964 London
Status Quo – Pictures of Matchstick Men – 1968 Cadet Concept
Fleetwoods – Come Softly To Me – 1959 Dolphin
Five Keys – Ling Ting Tong – 1954 Capitol
THURSDAY JANUARY 30, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. We got a late start last night, around 10:30 right after Northwestern Basketball, and the topics ran the gamut from scams to can openers for the blind. I also played your requests, and this time did not confuse Jimmy P on the Southside, with Sgt. Pappy in Gary (though they both have similar and wonderful taste):
Roberta Flack with Donny Hathaway – You Are My Heaven – 1979 Atlantic
Students – Every Day Of The Week – 1958 Checker
Moroccos – Bang Goes My Heart – 1956 United
Royal Jesters & The Memphis II – Let’s Kiss And Make Up – 1962 Cobra
Shells – Baby, Walk On In – 1961 Johnson
Moonglows – Sincerely – 1954 Chess
Billy J Kramer – Bad To Me – 1964 Imperial
Frankie Valli – Grease – 1978 RSO
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 29, 2025 3:31 AM.. We’ll have about a 15 minute delay in the start of the show tonight-- Northwestern Basketball will be wrapping up. But I promise we’ll get to the story about thedatabase in which you’re probably included—the one you didn’t know existed. Last night we covered bad practices by cell phone companies claiming you didn’t return your phone when you have proof you did (and what to do about it), some inexplicable hospital horrors, plus people behaving badly in general. And we heard from Kevin who was unceremoniously (or maybe very ceremoniously) asked to leave his home (his wife of 17 years decided he’d be better off gone), and Lisa, who lost her brother to a sudden death and the passing of her 13 year old dog in the same week. I think 2025 is going to see a lot of endings—but buried in every ending is a new beginning (trite as it sounds, it’s no less true), so hopefully the end result will make up for the misery along the way. We started tonight’s bumpers with Oklahoma City Radio legend Dale Wehba, who died at 88 last week, and then went on to play your requests…
Dale Wehba – Russian Roulette – 1958 kings-x
Heartbeats – I Won’t Be The Fool Anymore – 1957 Rama
Waylon Jennings – Only Daddy That’ll Walk The Line – 1968 RCA
Waylon Jennings – Wurlitzer Prize – 1977 RCA
Whitney Houston – Saving All My Love For You – 1985 RCA
Dells – Why Do You Have To Go – 1957 Vee-Jay
Orchids – Newly Wed – 1955 Parrot
Velours – Can I Come Over Tonight – 1957 Onyx
Five Discs – Never Let You Go – 1962 Cheer
Taylor Dayne – I’ll Always Love You – 1988 Arista
TUESDAY JANUARY 28, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10—please call! Last night’s Monday Night Trivia resulted in you getting two of the questions I threw out:
1% of all shoplifters can accurately claim this. Some have even successfully used it as a defense. Used what? That they’re kleptomaniacs, and couldn’t help themselves.
A 1970’s survey said three out of twenty wives could claim this. Claim what? That they made more money than their husbands.
But there's a Straggler for next week. Listen to the replay on Friday if you didn't hear it.
The Bumper Stumpers’ theme was also quickly gotten. Every song we played was huge in Pittsburgh—and done by local artists:
El Venos – Now We’re Together – 1956 Groove
Del Vikings – When I Come Home– 1956 FeeBee
Skyliners – I’d Die – 1963 ATCO
La Rells – I Guess I’ll Never Stop Lovin’ You – 1962 Liberty
Pure Gold – Just Because – 2008 Collectables [LP: Life Is But A Dream]
Binders – You Don’t Have To Cry Anymore – 1970 Ankh
Johnny Angel & The Halos –Don’t Have To Shop Around (live act for 50 years in Pittsburgh)
Stereos – Echo In My Heart – 1962 Columbia
Contrails – Someone – 1966 Reuben / Diamond
Cameos – Never Before – 1960 Matador
OK, the Cameos were 70 miles from Pittsburgh in Steubenville, but it’s practically a suburb. And we couldn’t end the show without playing some of the biggest Pittsburgh oldie ever:
Scott English – High On A Hill – 1963 Spokane
FRIDAY JANUARY 24, 2025 3:31 AM… Next live show, Monday Night Trivia! (Tonight it’s a replay of last Monday’s show.) Last night, as usual, we covered a wide range of topics from discovering your safe deposit box at the bank is not insured (a problem for some of the California fire victims), to dinosaurs. And we played some of your requests too,
Rockwell – Change Your Ways – 1984 Motown [LP: Somebody’s Watching Me]
Sergio Franchi – I Never Fell In Love – 1972 Metromedia [LP: Sergio Franchi]
Nat King Cole – That’s All – 1953 Capitol
Nat King Cole – That Sunday, That Summer – 1963 Capitol
Sam Cooke – You Send Me – 1957 Keen
Nolan Strong & The Diablos – Since You’re Gone – 1960 Fortune
Gene Chandler – Bless Our Love – 1964 Constellation
Antonio Carlos Jobim – One Note Samba – 1964 Verve
Etta James – Strange Things Happen – 1960 Ace
THURSDAY JANUARY 23, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight, starting at 10. I hope you’ll call. We discussed everything form iguanas falling out of the sky in Florida (actually they freeze and fall off trees—not dead, just sleeping and often agitated if you disturb them—but they can disturb if a five foot long 25 pound lizard falls on your head)-- to the downside of following your GPS map program. We also played some of your requests, and a few other jewels:
Buddy Holly – Rave On – 1958 Coral
Stevie Wonder – I’m Wondering – 1967 Tamla
Al Martino – To The Door Of The Sun – 1974 Capitol
Thee Midniters – That’s All – 1965 Chattahoochie
Carman – Some-O-Dat – 1982 Priority [LP: Carman]
Nancy Sinatra – These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ – 1965 Reprise
Mike Reilly – 1927 Kansas City – 1971 Paramount
Snooks Eaglin – Willy Lee – 1962 Imperial
Engelbert Humperdinck – Another Time, Another Place – 1971 Parrot
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 22, 2025 3:31 AM CT.. Full show tonight at 10. Please call. Several of you did last night (thank you) and the topics ran the gamut from old radios to snow in New Orleans. We said goodbye to Bob Kuban (died Monday) and managed to play some of your requests:
Bob Kuban & The In-men – The Teaser – 1966 Musicland
Chubby Checker – Hey, Bobba Needle – 1964 Parkway
Drifters – Honey Love – 1954 Atlantic
Ray Charles – Georgia On My Mind – 1960 ABC Paramount
Donald Byrd – Wind Parade – 1980 UA
Arthur Lyman – Love For Sale – 1963 HiFi Records
TUESDAY JANUARY 21, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Happy Birthday Patty Brooks!
Full show tonight at 10. Last night’s Monday Night Trivia started an hour late (sports preemption). No one got the Straggler: In the United States, this happens over 12,000 times an hour, every hour, every day. [Some sources claim it happens 3,000 times an hour, every hour—the math is a bit different but the answer is the same.] What? A puppy is born. And not even a guess on one of the Bumper Stumpers, let alone the theme—which was that all these acts were radio disc jockeys. (Their most well known perch is in brackets after the song info.)
Dale Van Horn – That’s Summertime To Me – 1981 Audio Visions [WKIX Raleigh]
Joey Reynolds - Ma Bell, You Got Me By The Calls – 1976 Pyramid [WKBW Buffalo]
Ted Jarrett - (Let's Twist) Slow and Easy - 1962 Spar [WSOK Nashville]
Georgie Woods - Potato Salad – 1968 Fat Back [WHAT Philadelphia]
Nickie Lee – The Ten Commandments of Man – 1967 Dade [WAME Miami]
Hoss Allen - The Eleventh Commandment – 1966 Kapp [WLAC Nashville]
Paul "Sir Raggedy" Flagg - Papa-Momma-Romper-Stomper – 1967 Atlantic [WIGO Atlanta]
FRIDAY JANUARY 17, 2025 3:31 AM CT.. Monday Night Trivia next week gets a late start. Join us at 11 PM CT, for two hours of fun. (Tonight it’s a replay of last Monday night’s trivia. Don’t call. But do call Monday!) Last night, the Blackhawks delayed us by about 30 minutes, but that gave us plenty of time to discuss the first Kennedy assassination attempt, and everything else that was on your mind. I never did get into the story about a guy who lost over half a billion in bitcoins—yes lost, literally, as in accidentally threw out the drive with the info to his account—and what he tried to do about it. Maybe we’ll talk about that next week. I also played your requests:
Spinners – They Just Can’t Stop It (Games People Play) – 1975 Atlantic
Vicki Lawrence – The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia – 1973 Bell
Ink Spots – This Is Worth Fighting For – 1942 Brunswick
Johnny & The Hurricanes – Beatnik Fly – 1960 Warwick
Louis Prima – Closest To The Bone – 1957 Capitol [LP: Call Of The Wild]
Ray Peterson – The Wonder of You – 1959 RCA
Brenda Lee – Rock The Bop – 1957 Decca
Terry Cashman – Talkin’ Baseball – 1981 Lifesong
Kinks – Sunny Afternoon – 1966 Reprise
THURSDAY JANUARY 16, 2025 3:31 AM CT… We’ll be a half hour late in starting tonight. Figure 10:30 CT. We talked about Sam Moore last night. What an interesting journey he had. I can’t imagine anyone figured he’d make it to 89 years old, but the last 40 or so years he was down right domesticated. We played some early Sam & Dave, too. And we talked about a variety of medical maladies and everything else that was on your mind, in addition to playing some of your requests:
Sam & Dave – Keep A Walkin – 1961 Marlin
Sam & Dave – Never Never – 1964 Alston
Sam & Dave – May I Baby – 1966 Stax
Scarlets – Dear One – 1954 Red Robin
T.S. Monk – Bon Bon Vie – 1980 Mirage
Mr. Acker Bilk – Stranger On The Shore – 1962 ATCO
Della Reese – Someday You’ll Want Me To Want You – 1961 RCA
Stoney LaRue – Hill Country Boogaloo – 2019 One Chord Song
Marcels – Blue Moon – 1961 Colpix
& Friendly Loans – 1962 Colpix
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 15, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. Please call. We’ll spend some time remembering Sam Moore of Sam & Dave—a pretty colorful character with a grounded life in the end. Last night we covered people behaving badly including a dynamic duo robbing a family dollar store by the wife defecating on the floor while the husband made out with cleaning supplies (it only sounds like I am making that up. I also played a lot of your requests:
Blackbyrds – Walking In Rhythm – 1974 Fantasy
Bobby Day – Rockin’ Robin – 1958 Class
Boogaloo & His Gallant Crew – Cops & Robbers – 1956 Crest
Five Discs – Rock and Roll Revival – 1972 Laurie
Five Satins – In The Still Of The Night – 1956 Ember
Frank Sinatra – I’ll Be Seeing You – 1961 Reprise
Jerry Butler – Mr. Dream Merchant – 1967 Mercury
Jerry Butler & The Impressions – For Your Precious Love – 1958 Falcon
Jimmy Burns – Talk To Me – 1996 Delmark [LP: Leaving Here Walking]
Jimmy Soul – If You Wanna Be Happy – 1962 SPQR
TUESDAY JANUARY 14, 2025 3:31 AM CT.. Full show tonight starting at 10 CT. I hope to hear from you. Heard from a lot of you on last night’s Monday Night Trivia. No one knocked off the question I asked, so that’s next week’s Straggler. As for the Bumper Stumpers, yeah, other than Sammy Ambrose, they were beyond obscure Florida soul. Every song was done by a Florida based artist, recorded in Miami or Tampa:
Steinways (Miami) – My Heart’s Not In It Anymore – 1966 Oliver
Del Rays (Bradenton/Tampa) – Love Came – 1968 Paris Tower
Lyn Williams (Miami)– Tears In My Eyes – 1969 Dade
King Coleman (Tampa) – The Boo Boo Song – 1967 King
Prolifics (Miami, formerly The Moovers) – If Only I Could Fly – 1968 Drive
Sammy Ambrose (Miami) – This Diamond Ring – 1964 Musicor (first recording)
Helene Smith (Miami) – Sure Thing – 1967 Deep City
Bell Brothers (Miami) – Tell Him No – 1968 Sure-Shot
Lewis Clark & Explorers (Tampa) – I need Your Lovin So Bad – 1966 Tigertown
Purple Mundi (Miami) – Stop Hurting Me Baby – 1972 Cat
Moovers (Miami, later The Prolifics) – One Little Dance – 1967 Brent
FRIDAY JANUARY 10, 2025 3:31 AM CT.. Next live show, Monday Night Trivia (tonight, it’s a replay of last Monday’s trivia). Last night we talked about incredibly creative, or monumentally stupid criminals, you be the judge, and a variety of other things. I also played several of your requests:
Avons – Since I Met You Baby – 1968 Excello (Nashville group)
Avons – Whisper (Softly) – 1961 Hull (New Jersey group)
Shells – Baby Oh Baby – 1957 Johnson
Dubs – Chapel of Dreams – 1959 Gone
Everly Brothers – Bird Dog – 1958 Cadence
Randy Newman – Political Science – 1980 WB
Tom Lehrer – Who’s Next – 1969 Reprise
Phyllis Hyman – Somewhere In My Lifetime – 1978 Arista
Vi-Tones – Blue Moon – 1962 Chamal
Mojo Men – Sit Down I Think I Love You – 1966 Reprise
THURSDAY JANUARY 9, 2025 3:31 AM CT.. Full show tonight at 10. Please call. Last night we covered a lot of ground from fruit & vegetables that look like the body parts they can heal, to a doctor “catching” cancer from a patient, and horrible airline stories from passengers to carriers. We heard from Wisconsin caller Jim (he’s sounding much better—thanks for your concern) and we played several of your requests too:
Sha Na Na – Chantilly Lace – 1973 Kama Sutra [LP: The Golden Age of Rock’N’Roll]
Four Tops – I Like Everything About You – 1966 Motown [B side to Loving You is Sweeter]
Supremes – Never Again – 1961 Tamla [B Side to I Want A Guy]
Royal Jokers – You Tickle Me Baby – 1955 ATCO
Terry Stafford – Amarillo By Morning – 1973 Atlantic
Terry Stafford – I’ll Touch A Star – 1964 Crusader
Chuck Mangione – Land of Make Believe – 1973 Mercury
Elvis – You’ll Never Walk Alone – 1971 Camden
Donays – Devil In His Heart – 1962 Brent
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 8, 2025 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10! Last night we played a lot of Brenton Wood. He’s in a much better place now, and while we’ll miss him, he left a great legacy of music for us. All the bumpers tonight were by him:
Catch You On The Rebound – 1967 Double Shot [Baby You Got It flip]
The Oogum Boogum Song – 1967 Double Shot
Gimme Little Sign – 1967 Double Shot
I Think You’ve Got Your Fools Mixed Up – 1967 Double Shot [Gimme Little Sign flip]
I Like The Way You Love Me – 1967 Double Shot [Oogum Boogum flip]
Baby You Got It – 1967 Double Shot
I Want Love – 1966 Brent
Some Got It, Some Don’t – 1967 Double Shot
Love Dovey Kind of Love – 1968 Double Shot
You’re Beautiful People – 1973 Mr. Wood Records
We also played a bit of:
(As Little Freddy) Too Fat & All My Love – 1958 Chief
Hide-A-Way & Mr. Schemer – 1963 Brent
Sweet Molly Malone – 1967 Brent
Lovey Dovey Kinda Lovin’ – 1968 Double Shot
Me & You – 1968 Double Shot [Some Got it, Some Don't flip]
TUESDAY JANUARY 7, 2025 3:31 AM CT…Full show tonight starting at 10. We’ll dedicate all the bumpers to Brenton Wood who passed away in his sleep Friday, and take your calls about whatever’s on your mind. Last night’s Monday Night Trivia brough a couple blasts from the past—Nashville’s Steve Jarrell, who retired his long running "Sons of the Beach” band last year (Catch his Saturday morning 9-noon ET radio show on MyBNR.com—and check out his latest music video, Pages, here—warning: it’s downright moving—and radio Exec. Bob K who is always fun to talk with. Good memories about MARS and more.
And yes, we had time to play trivia—you didn’t get the Straggler, so here’s the question—and answer: People are less likely to do this in Pennsylvania than in other state. West Virginia comes in next, followed by Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York for states with residents less likely to do it. Do what? Move to another house [New York Times 11/21/03]
You got a few of the Bumper Stumpers (Jimmie Rodgers, Channels, Edd Byrnes & Lee Dorsey, to be exact but stunningly, you didn’t get the theme—every song I played was the B side of the record.
Lloyd Price – Have You Ever Had The Blues – 1959 Am-Par: ABC Paramount [Personality]
Jimmie Rodgers – Make Me A Miracle – 1958 Roulette [Secretly]
Channels – All Alone – 1957 Gone [Altar Of Love]
Parliaments – Don’t Be Sore At Me – 1967 Revilot [All Your Goodies Are Gone]
Edward Byrnes – You’re The Top – 1959 WB [Kookie Kookie Lend Me Your Comb]
Lee Dorsey – Messed Around And Fell In Love – 1964 Constellation [You’re Breaking Me Up]
Sheppards – Feel Like Lovin’ – 1961 Apex [Tragic]
Ernie K. Doe – Wanted $10,000 Reward – 1960 Minit [Mother-In-Law]
Sapphires – Gonna Be A Big Thing – 1966 Am-Par [You’ll Never Stop Me From Loving You]
Spaniels – Don-cha Go – 1955 VeeJay [Do-Wah]
FRIDAY JANUARY 3, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Next Live Show: Monday Night Trivia at 10 CT. Join me and call. We’ll open with the Straggler from last Monday, so if you didn’t hear it, listen to the replay tonight. Last night we talked about outrageous fast food prices. According to a national survey, the biggest offenders are Shake Shack and Five Guys. And we covered the need for you to drink water. Divide your weight in two, and that’s how many ounces of water you should consume each day to be fully hydrated. (Few of us do it, but the more you do to drink more water and eat less junk, the better you’ll feel. I know this is a rotten dirty trick—if we have to be living inside a body on the earth plane, the least we should expect is that whatever it is we want to eat is what is good for us. I’ll take it up with the powers that be in the afterlife. For now, I’ll just keep you company weeknights and play your requests:
Jerry Lee Lewis - One Has My Name – 1969 Smash
Engelbert Humperdinck – Release Me – 1967 Parrot
Steely Dan – Glamour Profession – 1980 MCA [LP: Gaucho]
Louis Prima – Civilization – 1947 RCA - jack St Charles
Mr. Acker Bilk – Stranger On The Shore – 1962 ATCO
Rod Bernard – This Should Go On Forever – 1958 Jin
Jimmy Soul - If You Wanna Be Happy - 1963 SPQR
Commodores – Zoom – 1977 Motown
Mel Carter – Funny World – 1965 Imperial [LP: Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me]
Mel Carter – Tar and Cement – 1966 Imperial
THURSDAY JANUARY 2, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight starting at 10. Last night ran the usual gamut from our lousy diets to food poisoning, with plenty of Emergency Room horrors (like the sign that advised patients to expect a 10 hour wait), and several of your requests:
Brook Benton – Rainy Night In Georgia – 1969 Cotillion
Randy Newman – I’m Dead (But I Don’t Know It) – 1999 [LP: Bad Love]
Big Joe – Ice Man – 1969 Wow
Allman Brothers – Rambling Man – 1973 Capricorn
Hour Glass – Out Of The Night – 1967 Liberty [LP: Hour Glass]
Dave and Ansel Collins – Double Barrell – 1970 Big Tree
Alley Cats – Puddin N’ Tain – 1962 Philles
Bop Chords – Castle In The Sky – 1956 Holiday
Cadets – Stranded In the Jungle – 1956 Modern
WEDNESDAY NEW YEAR's DAY 2025 3:31 AM CT… Happy New Year! Full show tonight at 10. Plenty of things to say, and play. Speaking of which, last night we counted down your True Confessions—those guilty pleasures: the songs you truly love but are mortified to admit you even like. This poll is by your request, the anti-dote to the Worlds Worst Hit Records. Instead of a Top 10, we had a Dirty Dozen, due to a three way tie at #10. Literally hundreds of songs were suggested, but only a bit more than 50 had multiple votes. As for what’s on the list, the oldest song as from 1965, the newest from 1988. Six of them were #1 nationally (with Debby Boone staying on top for 10 weeks), Two were #2, one was #3, and one was #4. One was #9 and the Sopwith Camel was hardly a big hit at #26. * denotes former high ranker on the World’s Worst Hit Records over the years:
10T Beach Boys – Kokomo – 1988 Elektra #1
10T Sam The Sham – Li’l Red Rriding Hood – 1966 MGM #2
10T Vicki Lawrence – The Night THe lights went Out in Georgia – 1973 Bell #1
9 *Carpenters – We’ve Only Just Begun – 1970 A&M #2
8 *Donny Osmond – Puppy Love – 1972 MGM #3
7 *David Geddes – Run Joey Run – 1975 Big Tree #4
6 *Starland Vocal Band – Afternoon Delight – 1976 Windsong #1
5 Herman’s Hermits – Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter – 1965 MGM #1
4 Kinks – Lola – 1970 Reprise #9
3 *New Vaudeville Band – Winchester Cathedral – 1966 Fontana #1
2 Sopwith Camel – Hello Hello – 1967 Kama Sutra #26
1 *Debby Boone – You Light Up My Life – 1977 Warner/Curb #1
I was joined by the multitalented Steve Bryant. Our usual Christmas night get together had to be delayed as I was preempted Christmas eve and Christmas night, so instead we rang in the New Year together. Here’s a link to Steve’s YouTube channel. If you liked what you heard there’s a lot more there. And as for what you heard:
Steve Bryant – Only A Dollar A Day
Steve Bryant – Older Wiser Kind of Guy
Johnny Nash – TV Theme of The Mighty Hercules
Steve Bryant – The Christmas Pat Down
Steve Bryant – We Need Some Cash
Steve Bryant – Can’t Afford To Drive My Car
Steve Bryant – Booty Call
Steve Bryant – Just One
Steve Bryant – California Dreaming
Steve Bryant – Wiki Secrets
DECEMBER 2024
TUESDAY NEW YEAR’S EVE 2024 3:31 AM CT.. Steve Bryant joins me tonight. We’ll have fun talking about everything from the weirdest Christmas gifts to counting down your guilty pleasures. That’s right. We’ll reveal the top 10 of your true confessions—the songs you secretly love but would die of embarrassment to admit. Fortunately there were no deaths in the solicitation of your darkest musical confessions, but then again, no one sees you on the radio, and you don’t even have to use your right name.
Last night we had a rousing round of Monday Night Trivia, resulting in one Straggler, and two solved questions: It’s commonplace today, but the first time an athlete did this was in the early 1920s. Did what? Endorsed a sneaker. (Charles “Chuck” Taylor was a basketball player hired by Converse in 1921, who suggested a small refinement to the All Stars to make it better for basketball, and went on to endorse the product.
When this happened in 1994, Hormel sales went up. What happened? Spam took on new meaning beyond packaged pork. (A Phoenix lawyer sent an unsolicited emaii to thousands of readers of various online message boards. Most were not pleased. One recipient suggested the readers send coconuts and cans of spam to the lawyer. Spam resonated and has been forever since associated with unsolicited email.)
As for the Bumper Stumpers, all the songs we played were included on the artists’ debut albums:
Flamingos – The Vow – 1959 Checker [LP: Flamingos]
Esquires – No Doubt About It – 1967 Bunky [LP: Get On Up And Get Away]
Del Vikings – Heaven in Paradise -1957 Luniverse [LP: Come Go With The Del Vikings]
Patti Drew – Been Rained On – 1967 Capitol [LP: Tell Him]
Five Satins – Our Anniversary – 1957 Ember [LP: The 5 Satins Sing]
O’Kaysions – How Are You Fixed For Love – 1968 ABC [LP: Girl Watcher]
Gene Chandler (Dukays) – Nite Owl – 1962 VJ [LP: The Duke Of Earl]
Sapphires – Where Is Johnny Now – 1964 Swan [LP: Who Do You Love]
Bob Kuban and the In-Men – Try Me Baby – 1966 Musicland [LP: Look Out For The Cheater]
J.J. Jackson – I Dig Girls – 1967 Calla [LP: The Greatest Little Soul Band In The Land]
Lee Dorsey – Do-Re-Mi – 1962 Fury [LP: Ya Ya]
FRIDAY DECEMBER 27, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Next full show: Monday Night Trivia next week. Join me at 10 CT and call! (Tonight it’s a replay of last Monday Night’s trivia—enjoy it but don’t call.) We had an hour to spend together last night. That gave me time to say farewell to Sugar PieDeSanto, who died in her sleep on the 20th at 89 years old. We also talked about Christmas season sales (up 6.7% online, 3.1% in stores), and credit card debt (oh, about 1.2 trillion and counting). We took your votes on those guilty pleasures—polls close Monday and right now we’ve got a 938-way tie for #9, so vote for those songs you love but are mortified to admit you even like. I also took the time to play my favorite Christmas record. It’s the only one you’ll hear this year while The Rollye James I Hate The Holidays Club is meeting (through January 1st) but I’d play it any month, so right after Christmas—it’s almost appropriate.
Sugar Pie DeSanto – Soulful Dress – 1964 Checker
Carla Thomas -Gee Whiz It’s Christmas – 1963 Atlantic
TUESDAY CHRISTMAS EVE 2024 3:31 AM… I again apologize for not being with you on Christmas Eve or Christmas Night. I am ready, willing and able, but WGN slotted a Dusty Rhodes Christmas special. He has over 60 years of experience in Cincinnati radio and I remember him fondly from his days on WSAI in the 60s. I bet it will be good. (I was thinking about doing the show online, but many of the people who would like to listen can’t easily access anything online.) Thursday, I’ll be back—but delayed for two hours. Hamp & OB will be talking all things Bears. But join me at midnight and we’ll have an hour together.
Next week, it’s full shows every night. Monday Night Trivia, New Year’s eve with Steve Bryant joining me. We’ll count down your guilty pleasures (if we get enough corroboration to count anything down, other wise we’ll talk about he hundreds and hundreds of awful songs you admitted to loving. Please be prepared to vote, either at Midnight this coming Thursday, or by email through the weekend. (Link to reach me is above.)
Last night we had a fine time with two and a half hours of Monday Night Trivia. You knocked off a couple questions I threw out including our Straggler from last week: In the 1920s, it cost between $50 and $500. At the end of the 20th century it cost $700 million. What is it? An NFL franchise. (In 1922 Curly Lambeau paid $50 for what would become the Green Bay Packers. In 1999, Robert McNair paid $700 million for Houston Texas expansion team, the Houston Texans, after the Oilers left for Nashville in ’96.)
And the follow up: Women wear this all the time now, but in 1800 it was nothing short of depravity for a women to wear. By the 1880s wearing this was common place. What is it? Underwear. (In 1783 actresses in France were allowed to wear them—precisely how I have no idea. Prior to the 1880’s, women’s underwear came in pairs (which is why we still call them pairs). They were sold in two pieces—one for each leg, held up with garters, no crotch. Exactly how that wasn't more depraved than whatever was envisioned in 1800 is lost on me.) [Palm Beach Post 9/15/97]
You also made mincemeat out of this: Well under 10% of American women did this in 1950. Today well over 50% do it. Do what? Dye their hair. That left us no time for another question, but I’ve already picked it out and you’ll hear it next Monday night. As for last night’s Bumper Stumpers— they were all Detroit labels not associated with Motown (Though Ed Wingate later sold Ric Tic and Golden World to Berry Gordy who folded them into the Motown family.) Below is what we played and below that are the owners of the labels:
J.J. Barnes – Baby Please Come Back Home – 1967 Groovesville
Deon Jackson – Hard To Get A Thing Called Love – 1967 Carla
Nolan Strong & The Diablos – Since You’re Gone – 1960 Fortune
Reflections – Poor Man’s Son – 1965 Golden World
Edwin Starr – Back Street – 1966 Ric Tic
Capitols – Tired Running From You – 1966 Karen
Manhattens – Why Should I Cry – 1963 Big Mac
Shades of Blue – Happiness – 1966 Impact
Darrell Banks – Somebody Somewhere Needs You – 1966 Revilot
Groovesville – Don Davis
Carla – Ollie McLaughlin
Fortune – Jack & Devora Brown
Golden World – Ed Wingate & Joanne Bratton (bought by Motown)
Ric-Tic – Ed Wingate & Joanne Bratton (bought by Motown)
Karen – Ollie McLaughlin
Big Mack – Ed McCoy
Impact – Harry Balk (Motown connection but not direct purchase)
Revilot – Don Davis & LeBaron Taylor
FRIDAY DECEMBER 20, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Next live show, Monday Night Trivia, but we’ll be delayed about half an hour. Figure at 10:30 CT start. (Tonight it’s a replay of Monday Night Trivia, enjoy the show but don’t call). Last night we heard Johnny D’s tale of seeing his old love at a memorial service (his wife looks much better than her, so it all worked out well); the sad news of Barbara’s long distance love (we all predicted it, but she’s crushed—fortunately she’s not out too much money); several other things I can’t remember, and your votes! This is a listener request poll in answer to The World’s Worst Hit Records poll we do every year. Vote for your ‘guilty pleasures’. Those songs you secretly love but are too embarrassed to admit it to anyone. Don’t worry. You’re anonymous on the radio. I’m worried however, that we’re not going to be able to compile a top ten. The problem is you’re voting for hundreds of songs, but none of them have many votes. So please keep ‘em coming and hopefully we can amass a top 10. Call Monday during trivia, or email now (click on ‘contact’ on the above menu bar).
Safaris – Image of a Girl – 1960 Eldo
Emotions – So I Can Love You – 1969 Volt
Johnny Mathis – It’s Not For Me To Say – 1957 Columbia
Linda Jones – Hypnotized – 1967 Loma
Blossoms – That’s When The Tears Start – 1965 Reprise
THURSDAY DECEMBER 19, 2024 3:31 AM CT.. We’ll be delayed by an hour tonight due to the Blackhawks. Figure on 11 PM CT, and call. I know Johnny D will—he’s going to tell us about seeing his old girlfriend at a memorial service. A ton of you called last night with your Guilty Pleasures Confessions (those songs you love but are mortified to admit you even like), but we need a lot more if we’re going to come up with a top 10. Carol (world’s greatest show prep) will tabulate tonight but I’m not sure any title has more than two votes. If this continues, I have no idea how we’re going to come up with a top ten, and I have no intention of compiling a 936 song music sweep. So call and confess. Last night we talked about surgery gone wrong, and, well, nothing gone right, now that I think about it. There seemed to be a consensus that 2024 can’t end soon enough. Had a nice long chat with Norm about radio, he even played me a clip of John R. selling those baby chicks including the ‘at this price, sex cannot be guaranteed’. (But who wants to have sex with a chicken? I wondered.) I also played quite a few requests and a couple guilty pleasures:
Sam Hawkins – Hold On Baby – 1965 Blue Cat (Barry/Greenwich)
Dee Dee Sharp – I Really Love You – 1965 Cameo
Ambassadors – I Really Love You – 1969 Arctic
Jeanette Baby Washington – Let Love Go By – 1965 ABC
Dickey Lee – Laurie – 1965 TCF
Billy Stewart – I Do Love You – 1965 Chess
GQ – Sitting In The Park – 1980 Arista
Patience & Prudence – Gonna Get Along Without You Now – 1956 Liberty
Beach Boys – There’s No Other – 1965 Capitol
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 18, 2024 3:31 AM CT.. Full show tonight starting at 10. Call! Last night we were an hour delayed due to the Blackhawks, but we covered a lot of ground. Cindy has her new stove and managed not to explode the condo before it arrived. Walmart is testing body cameras on hapless workers—gee, what could possibly go wrong? (Anti-theft measures gone bad—but the crowning glory still goes to locking cheap items behind glass and not having staff to unlock them when you’d like to buy. Waiting for 26 minutes for a $15 thumb drive? Doesn’t seem like an inducement to honest shoppers— you could probably break the lock in less time than that.) And of course we talked music, even played a couple requests:
James Booker – Gonzo – 1960 Peacock
Tower of Power – You Ought To Be Havin’ Fun – 1976 Columbia
Tower of Power – This Time It’s Real – 1973 Warner Brothers
Lenny Williams – Shoo Doo Fu Fu Ooh – 1977 ABC
Norman Fox & The Rob Roys – Pizza Pie – 1959 Capitol
Tower of Power – What Is Hip – 1973 Warner Brothers
Jesse Belvin – Love Of My Life (unreleased demo tape, now on several CDs)
TUESDAY DECEMBER 17, 2024 3:31 AM CT… We’ll be delayed an hour tonight (Blackhawks).. show will start at 11 (CT). I hope you’ll join me, and even better if you call. Several of you did last night for the lone hour of Monday Night Trivia at Midnight.
The first trivia question I offered was gotten quickly:
In the annals of job interviews, there are many tales about opportunities lost when the interview took place over a meal, if the interviewee did this. Did what? Salted their food without tasting it. [It’s seen as indicative of a closed mind. Alfred Einstein used this yardstick when hiring faculty members at Princeton. As the story goes, he’d invite candidates to dinner just to see if they salted before tasting. Those who did were out. Elvis was notorious for showering his food with salt before even thinking about eating it, so it’s not entirely a sign of failure.]
The second question becomes our Straggler for next week. As for the Bumper Stumpers, there were only three—even so, there was a theme of sorts. In addition to being songs I really liked, all of them were huge Philadelphia records, done by groups nowhere near Pennsylvania:
Millionaires - Never For Me - 1967 Philips (from NY)
Intervals - Here's That Rainy Day - 1962 Class (from St. Louis)
Five Smooth Stones - I Will Never Love Another - 1969 Chisa (from LA)
FRIDAY THE 13th OF DECEMBER, 2024 3:31 AM CT.. Next live show is Monday but we’ll be two hours delayed—we'll have an hour of Monday Night Trivia at Midnight CT. Full show last night and we covered a lot of ground, but we didn’t hear from Cindy so I have no idea how her gas leak saga turned out. A pot pourri of bumpers including several of your requests:
Frances Faye – I Wish I Could Shimmy Like Sister Kate – 1952 Capitol
Olympics – Shimmy Like Sister Kate – 1960 Arvee
Poison Ivy – Coasters – 1959 ATCO JT Aurora
Mel & Tim – Backfield In Motion – 1969 Bamboo
Elvis Presley – I Beg Of You – 1958 RCA
Frank Sinatra – My Kind Of Town – 1964 Reprise
Charlie Rich – A Field of Yellow Daisies – 1965 Smash
Marvin Gaye – Sexual Healing – 1982 Columbia
Dionne Warwick – Who Is Gonna Love Me – 1958 Scepter
THURSDAY DECEMBER 12, 2024 3:31 AM CT.. Full show tonight starting at 10. Please call. Many of you did last night and I appreciate that. As usual, we ran the gamut from radio receivers to gas leaks. (Hopefully Cindy took our advice and called the emergency numbers we gave her. With any luck, we’ll find out tonight). As for bumpers, you’ll have to listen to find out why I played these:
Chad & Jeremy – Yesterday’s Gone – 1964 World Artists
Tavares – Whodunit – 1977 Capitol
Rufus & Roots (Rufus Hunter) – Caught Up 1979 T-Jaye
Jessie Hill – Ooh Poo Pah Do – 1960 Minit
Jermaine Jackson – Let Me Tickle Your Fancy – 1982 Motown
Benny Spellman – Every Now And Then – 1962 Minit
Big Mama Thornton – I Smell A Rat – 1954 Peacock
Linda Jones – Hypnotized – 1967 Loma
Charlie Rich – Beautiful Woman – 1977 Epic
Rupert Holmes – Who What When Where Why – 1976 Epic
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 11, 2024 3:31 AM CT..Full show tonight at 10. Please call. Several of you did last night, and it was fun talking with all of you on a wide variety of subjects from the horror of HOAs to radio of days gone by. I played your requests, took some votes on your guilty pleasures (the songs you are embarrassed to admit you love) and waltz down
Troggs – With A Girl Like You – 1966 Atco
Patsy Cline – Three Cigarettes In An Ashtray – 1957 Decca
Skyliners – Since I Don’t Have You – 1958 Calico
Jessie Hill – The Pot’s On Strike - 1962 Minit
Dan Hartman – Instant Replay – 1978 Blue Sky
Edgar Winter Group – Easy Street – 1974 Epic
Orlons – Not Me – 1963 Cameo
Patsy Cline – Back In Baby’s Arms – 1963 Decca
Jim Reeves – Welcome To My World – 1963 RCA
Donald Byrd – Cantaloop Island - 1964 Verve
TUESDAY DECEMBER 10, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. I hope you’ll call. Not many of you did last night for Monday Night Trivia, but given all the holiday hoopla that surrounds us this month, not entirely surprising. I threw out one question that was a stumper almost all night until Ruth nailed it:
Howard Hughes was infamous for buying things for small personal reasons. (He is said to have bought a casino just to relocate their neon slipper, which shone in his bedroom at night.) But in this case, he was unsuccessful. He loved the product. Bought it regularly. He just wanted two small changes. When the company refused his requests, he attempted to buy them. What was the product that Hughes so loved? Swansons’ TV Turkey Dinners. (His changes? He didn’t what white meat mixed with dark meat, and he wanted peach instead of apple cobbler.)
No one took a shot at any of the Bumper Stumpers, or the theme. Everything we played was written by Allen Toussaint (and a lot of them were big hits—but not by the artists I chose.)
Benny Spellman – Fortune Teller – 1962 Minit
Betty Harris – I Don’t Wanna Hear it – 1965 Sansu
Meters – Ride Your Pony – 1970 Josie [LP: Struttin’]
Mad Lads – Get Out Of My Life Woman – 1966 Atlantic
Jean Knight – T’ain’t It The Truth – 1965 Tribe
JayHawkers - A Certain Girl – 1966 Lucky Eleven
Lou Johnson – Wrong Number – 1971 Volt [LP: With You In Mind]
O’Jays – I Cried My last Tear – 1965 Imperial
Capitols – Working In The Coal Mine – 1966 ATCO [LP: We Got A Thing]
Jamey Ryan – Holy Cow – 1970 Show Biz
Art Neville – All These Things – 1962 Instant
FRIDAY DECEMBER 6, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Next live show, Monday Night Trivia, Monday at 10 CT. (Tonight it’s a replay of last Monday’s trivia show, don’t call, but do call Monday.) Last night ran the gamut.. lots about New Orleans radio with Jim, fun with the Death Clock, dead restaurant chains coming back to life, and a Springfield Ohio woman who ate her cat (no she wasn’t Haitian, and the worst part was the cop’s description—I’ll spare you but suffice it to say I’m still nauseous. You’ll hear it on the replay if you dare.) As for bumpers, some of your requests and some of my guilty pleasures. True confession voting on the songs you love but hesitate to mention to anyone for fear that embarrassment might be deadly, will continue on Monday (through Monday the 23rd actually), so fess up.
Pete Seeger – Draft Dodger Rag – 1966 Columbia
Rooftop Singers – Walk Right In – 1952 Vanguard
Chad Mitchell Trio – Barry’s Boys – 1964 Mercury
Bay City Rollers – Strangers In The Wind – 1978 Arista
The Springfields – Silver Threads And Golden Needles – 1962 Philips
Little Richard – Slippin’ And Slidin’ (Peepin’ And Hidin’) – 1956 Specialty
Fantastic Johnny C – Boogaloo Down Broadway – 1967 Phil LA of Soul
Phil Ochs – Outside A Small Circle Of Friends – 1967 A&M
Terence Trent D’Arby – Sign Your Name – 1987 Columbia
THURSDAY DECEMBER 5, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. Had fun last night talking about radio (great night for DXing) and music, which of course involved your true confessions of what songs you truly love but would cringe if anyone else knew. Judging by the bumper list, we played some of them. I’ll leave it to you to decide which ones:
Innocence – Mairzy Doats – 1967 Kama Sutra
Videls – Mr. Lonely – 1960 JDS
Innocence – There’s Got To Be A Word – 1967 Kama Sutra
Cryan Shames – It Could Be We’re In Love – 1966 Columbia
Deniece Williams – That’s What Friends Are For – 1977 CBS
Tradewinds – Mind Excursion – 1966 Kama Sutra
J.J. Cale – Cocaine – 1976 Philips
Freddy Cannon – Transistor Sister – 1961 Swan
Terence Trent D’Arby – Wishing Well – 1987 CBS
Kenny & The Impacts – Wishing Well – 1965 DCP
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 4, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight, on what would have been Jack Armstrong’s 79th birthday. We’ll probably talk about him, and anything else that’s on your mind, along with taking your true confessions about your guilty musical pleasures—the songs you love but would prefer no one else had any idea about your secret passion. (It’s the poll we take after the annual World’s Worst Hits compilation—and I fully expect thet two lists will share a couple titles. We’ll take votes through December 23rd and will do the Big Reveal on December 26th, when Steve Bryant joins us. (That usually happens on Christmas night, or Christmas eve, but much as I’d love to join you both nights, WGN is preempting the show for a Christmas special with Dusty Rhodes, a legendary Cincinnati jock.)
Last night we had fun in the first hour with Shotgun Tom Kelly. (Click on his name to get to his website, where you can buy the book, All I Wanna Do Is Play The Hits!, and facilitate getting an autographed copy.) It’s a great book, packed with entertaining stories that will intrigue you even if you’ve never been inside a radio station. The first three bumpers were a tribute to Shotgun’s well known phrase, “You’d better believe it, baby”:
Joe Tex – You Better Believe It Baby – 1966 Dial
Brothers of Soul – You Better Believe It – 1969 Boo
Chubby Checker – You Better Believe It Baby – 1964 Parkway
Leroy Van Dyke – Walk On By – 1961 Mercury
Dionne Warwick – Walk On By – 1964 Scepter
Nat King Cole – I Wish You Love – 1960 Capitol [At the Sands – released in ’66]
Neil Sedaka – Alice In Wonderland – 1963 RCA
Fine Young Cannibals – She Drives Me Crazy – 1989 I.R.S
Keith – You’ll Come Running Back To Me – 1967 Mercury [LP: 98.6/Ain’t Gonna Lie]
O’Kaysions – Little Miss Flirt – 1968 ABC [LP: Girl Watcher]
TUESDAY DECEMBER 3, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. Votes for Guilty Pleasures (those songs you are embarrassed to admit you love) continue. And The Rollye James I Hate The Holidays Club will hold another meeting (we meet on WGN weeknights, 10 to 1, and if forced frivolity isn’t your thing, you’re in). Other than that, most anything of no significance whatsoever goes. Last night’s Monday Night Trivia was a good time (at least for me). No one got the Straggler, so at the end of the show I revealed it:
Sports journalists will write about every nuance of any sport, and anything surrounding it. To prove that point, over 550 articles have been written about this sports related topic. About what? The Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx. [It’s one of the most documented curses of all time and it goes like this: Anyone (or team) who graces the cover of Sports Illustrated will be fall a terrible fate. OK, terrible is way over the top, but after that honor, something bad will follow. Now statistiicians have actually proved it not to be true—58% of the time, the cover subject has good luck after appearing—but that 42%, wowza. Just ask Leon Durham (Cubs) or Magic Johnson (Lakers)]
As for our Bumper Stumpers: every one of these artists had a mega Christmas hit, all of them charted in the top 10 on the Billboard Christmas Charts (1920-2004). [Actually that’s not true, The Cadillacs came in at #11, but it was played for years.] Many of them aired each year for decades (yes, plural) and a few topped the Christmas charts at #1 multiple times over the years. (After the artist and song info in brackets is their biggest Christmas hit and the first year it charted. Following that is the highest chart position it achieved):
Charles Brown – It’s Nothing – 1949 Aladdin [Please Come Home For Christmas 1960] 1
Cadillacs – I Wonder Why – 1954 Josie [Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer 1956] 11
Clarence Carter – The Court Room – 1971 Atlantic [Back Door Santa 1968] 4
Glen Campbell – Without Her – 1968 Capitol [Christmas Is For Children 1968] 7
Orioles – Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me – 1953 Jubilee [Lonely Christmas 1949] 8
Bobby Helms – Jacqueline – 1958 Decca [Jingle Bell Rock 1957] 1
Royal Guardsmen – I Say Love – 1968 Laurie [Snoopy’s Christmas 1967] 1
Little Esther Phillips – You Never Miss Your Water – 1963 Lenox [Far Away Blues 1950] 6
Earl Grant – Fever – 1957 Decca [Silver Bells 1967] 3
Buck Owens (as Corky Jones) – Hot Dog–1956 Pep [Santa Looked A Lot Like Daddy 1965] 2
And we ran out of time before we could play this one:
Ravens – Count Every Star – 1950 National [Silent Night/White Christmas 1948] 8
NOVEMBER 2024
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2024 3:31 AM CT.. Next live show Monday Night Trivia at 10 CT. (Don’t forget your law of abundance checks, if you do that ritual—new moon is Sunday morning, at 21 minutes past midnight CT (Saturday night).
We spent Thanksgiving honoring a tradition spanning decades—the unveiling of The World’s Worst Hit Records, as voted on by you this year. Here’s the list:
10 America – Horse With No Name 1972
9 Nancy Sinatra – These Boots Are Made For Walking 1966
8 Wayne Newton – Danke Schoen 1963
7 Rick Dees – Disco Duck 1976
6 Maria Muldaur – Midnight At The Oasis 1973
5 Starland Vocal Band – Afternoon Delight 1976
4 Billy Ray Cyrus – Achy Breaky Heart 1992
3 Debby Boone – You Light Up My Life 1977
2 Tiny Tim – Tip-Toe Thru’ The Tulips With Me 1968
1 Paul Anka – You’re Having My Baby 1974
In the Oh so close category (tied for #11, 7 songs in alphabetical order by artist): Baja Men – Who Let The Dogs Out; Blue Swede – Hooked On A Feeling; Cher – Bang Bang; Eagles – Hotel California; Dawn (Tony Orlando) – Candida; Dawn (Tony Orlando) Tie A Yellow Ribbon; Rolling Stones – Brown Sugar.
And for #18 if we counted that far, we had a 14-way tie (listed alphabetically by artist): Archies – Sugar Sugar; Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods – Billy Don’t Be A Hero; Bobby Goldsboro – Honey; Captain & Tennille – Muskrat Love; David Geddes – Run Joey Run; Don Ho – Tiny Bubbles; Elton John – Candle In The Wind; Helen Reddy – I Am Woman; Mariah Carey – All I Want For Christmas Is You; Napoleon XIV – They’re Coming To Take Me Away; New Vaudeville Band – Winchester Cathedral; Paper Lace – The Night Chicago Died; Three Dog Night – Joy To The World; Wings – Band On The Run.
We played montages of the near miss ties, and highlighted the Muskrat Quartic-- Willis Alan Ramsey, Amreica, C&T, and of course Big Daddy’s Hampster Love, and we did a brief synopsis of the Honey house tour, covering the outside grounds, from the tree on the front lawn to the wrecked car in the garage.
This year’s Top 10 statistics:
There were 3 songs from the 60s; 6 songs from the 70s; 1 from the 90s. Oldest: 1963. Newest: 1992 Danke Schoen is a debut, in fact it has never racked up sizable votes before.
You’re Having My Baby was #1 in 2024, 2023 & 2022; and #10 2021. Prior to that it never made the Top 10.
Songs in last year’s top 10 that got few (or no) votes Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald; Brand New Key; Hey Jude; Rhapsody In The Rain; Once You Understand
Previous Top 10 choices (several top 10 in multiple years) that were virtually absent this year (2 or less votes, in somewhat reverse chronological order): My Heart Will Go On; I’ve Never Been To Me; Last Game Of The Season; Feelings; Is That All There Is; Don’t Worry, Be Happy; Peggy Sue (an outlier-- #10 in 2019, never before or since on the list); Torn Between Two Lovers; Christmas Shoes; I Will Always Love You; Chica Boom; Elvira; Relax; Sailing; Bad Blood; Don’t Think Twice; Ebony Eyes; Gimme Dat Ding; Don’t Give Up On Us; Hello; Tom’s Diner; Sometimes When We Touch; I Honestly Love You; Dancin’ Queen; You Don’t Bring Me Flowers Anymore; We Built This City; You Take My Breath Away; We Are The World; MacArthur Park; Playground In My Mind; Little Blue Man; The Lion Sleeps Tonight; Purple People Eater; Goodbye Earl; YMCA; 99 Luftballoons; Mickey; Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer; Surfin’ Bird; Puppy Love (Donny Osmond version); Swingin’; In The Year 2525; People; Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor; Is That All There Is; Witch Doctor; Itsy Bitsy, Teenie Weenie, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini; Short People; and Staying Alive.
The “Death” category, a perennial favorite was barely recognized this year.
Thanks for voting. There’d be no list without you, and again thanks to Carol Ford. There’d be no accurate count without her phenomenal show prep.
I’m giving in to your request that we do a guilty pleasures list. We’ll take votes all next week. I’ll tell you more about it on Monday.
And we officially opened “The Rollye James’ I Hate The Holidays Club!” I do not hate the holidays but I more than understand people who are saying Ho Ho Hum (or as one caller said, Ho Ho Hell No—I love that). From recent losses in your life to incidents dating back to childhood, there are a large number of people who find the forced frivolity unbearable. That’s what the club is all about. The only remnants of Christmas in evidence will be the few R&B Christmas songs I love, like “Gee Whiz It’s Christmas”. I’d play that Carla Thomas record all year long. No Hippopotami, No Barking Dogs, No Reindeers running you down, and definitely no smarmy songs with oppressive melodies. Welcome to December.
THANKSGIVING 2024 3:31 AM CT.. Full live show tonight at 10. We’ll be counting down this year’s list of The World’s Worst Hit Records as voted on by you. We’ll visit previous years as well, and generally have a good time. Your calls well be welcomed and much appreciated. Last night we took the final votes, and now, I’ll get to work on tabulating the list. I could not have done this without Carol ‘showprep is my life’ Ford. Her excellence makes the list accurate. I’m lucky if I can find the slips of paper where I write the votes. Meanwhile she’s got an Excel file going. Played a couple bumpers last night relating to historical happenings (Garnett Mimms turned 91 this week, Buzz Cason would have turned 85 yesterday, and Pete Wingfield peaked on the billboard Hot 100 this week in 1975 with the flipside of what I aired:
Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters – A Quiet Place – 1964 UA
Garry Miles – Look For A Star – 1960 Liberty
Clifford Curry – Good Humor Man – 1967 Elf
Arthur Alexander – Soldier of Love – 1962 Dot
Pete Wingfield – A Shadow Of A Doubt – 1975 Island
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 26, 2024 3:31 AM CT.. We’ll be an hour late tonight—the show will start after the 11 PM news. That leaves the final 2 hour voting block for The World’s Worst Hit Records. Right now there’s still a big tie for #10, so by all means if you heard someone mention something you have and you haven’t voted on it yet, call! We spent last night getting your choices, but the bumpers were mostly your requests:
Essex – What I Don’t Know Won’t Hurt Me – 1963 Roulette
Beach Boys – Help Me Rhonda – 1965 Capitol
Delfonics – You’ve Been Untrue – 1967 Capitol
Gene Chandler – Duke Of Earl – 1961 VeeJay
Sade – Smooth Operator – 1984 Portrait
Sarah Vaughn – Smooth Operator – 1959 Mercury
Little Walter – Boom, Boom Out Goes The Lights – 1957 Checker
Bobby Marchan – There Is Something On Your Mind Pt.2 – 1960 Fire
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 26, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10, last full show to get your votes in on this year’s poll of The World’s Worst Hit Records, so please call. Last night we talked to many of you on Monday Night Trivia, and eventually someone got the question I raised:
In 2021, over 10% of Americans adults said they did this. A year later, in 2022 almost 20% said they did it. Did what? Used tobacco products. (It was actually 19.8% in 2022 according to the CDC. But this was a somewhat unfair question as polls ran the gamut. I doubt there was any real consensus—some studies even showed tobacco use going down in 2022.)
I threw another question out after that, which went unanswered as the show ended and hence becomes next week's Straggler.
No one took a guess on our Bumper Stumpers theme. Every artist I played went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 [listed in brackets] and never had another top ten record nationally:
Larry Verne – Abdul’s Party – 1961 ERA [Mr. Custer]
Elegants – Good Night – 1959 Apt [Little Star]
Essex – Be Sure – 1963 Roulette [Eeasier Said Than Done]
John Fred & The Playboy Band – Hey, Hey, Bunny – 1968 Paula [Judy In Disguise]
Kiki Dee – I – 1967 Liberty [Don’t Go Breaking My Heart]
Terry Jacks – Rock ‘n’ Roll (I Gave You…) – 1974 Bell [Seasons In the Sun]
Billy Swan – Do I Have To Draw You A Picture- 1981 Epic [I Can Help]
Angels – Cry Baby Cry – 196 Caprice [My Boyfriend’s Back]
Mark Dinning – The Lovin’ Touch – 1960 MGM [Teen Angel]
Wild Cherry – 1, 2, 3 Kind of Love – 1977 Epic
Barry McGuire – Cloudy Summer Afternoon – 1966 Dunhill [Eve of Destruction]
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Next full show, Monday Night Trivia. Get ready to play and more importantly to get your final votes in on annual poll of The World’s Worst Hit Records. You’ve got Monday through Wednesday and then you’ll hear the results on Thanksgiving.
We got a lot of votes last night, which I good because we’ve still got a large tie in the top 10. Hopefully that will be broken by the time the polls close. We started last night after the Blackhawks game but managed to talk with many of you, and play some bumpers too:
Betty Everett – There’ll Come A Time – 1968 Uni
Sherrys – Pop Pop Pop Pie – 1962 Guyden
Frankie Laine – What A Wonderful World – 1968 ABC [LP: Take Me Back To Laine Country]
Skyliners – Since I Fell For You – 1963 Atco
Skyliners – I’d Die – 1963 Atco
Bobby Helms – My Special Angel – 1957 Decca
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2024 3:31 AM CT… We’ll be delayed by an hour tonight due to the Blackhawks. Figure on an 11 PM CT start. Call and vote. We’re in the final four nights of voting for The World’s Worst Hit Records and your input may break a big tie.
Last night we talked with Steve Propes (always a pleasure). Amazon has a lot of his books, here and here. If you’re an old school record fan, you’ll love ‘em. I asked him to vote on his choice for world’s worst. He contributed Beep Beep by The Playmates. So what do you say? As for bumpers:
Hank Levine – Image Pt. 1 – 1961 Vogue Int’l
Innocents – Gee Whiz – 1960 Indigo
Ron Roman – Love of My Life – 1964 Daani
Bobby Day & The Satellites – Beep Beep Beep – 1957 Class
Cholli Maye – Cry For Me – 1963 Gold Records
Erich Bergen – Cry For Me – 2014 Rhino [LP: Jersey Boys
Orlons – Not Me – 1963 Cameo
Dr. John The Night Tripper – Mama Roux – 1968 Atco
Big Sambo And The House Wreckers – The Rains Came – 1962 Eric
Linda Laurie – Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress) – 1973 MCA
Linda Laurie – Ambrose Pt 5 – 1958 Glory
Brick – Dazz – 1976 Bang
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 20, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight starting at 10, and I’m hoping you’ll call with more of your choices for The World’s Worst Hit Records. You’ve got another week, but the polls close after next Wednesday’s show, giving me time to tabulate the results so Thanksgiving night while you’re eating your turkey, I’ll be playing them. The Top 10 as voted on by you. Right now we’ve got a ferocious tie, so it’s your vote that might make the difference. Last night, we started after the Blackhawks and played your requests. Yes, even Cry was one of them (Carl in Chicago requested it). I mention Cry because it is also getting a respectable amount of votes this year. But since it’s the World’s Worst Hit Records, for every one you hate, there are probably dozens of people who loved it enough to plunk down 88 cents for the 45RPM. Here’s what you wanted to hear:
Fontella Bass – Rescue Me – 1965 Checker
Paul Evans – Midnight Special – 1960 Guaranteed
Lavern Baker – That’s All I Need – 1955 Atlantic
Johnny Mathis – Chances Are – 1957 Columbia
Righteous Brothers – Unchained Melody – 1965 Philles
Charlie Gracie – I Love You So Much It Hurts – 1957 Cameo
Johnnie Ray – Cry – 1951 Columbia
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2024 3:31 AM CT.. We’ll be delayed an hour tonight. Plan on joining us at 11 PM Central. I hope you’ll call. Many of you did last night for Monday Night Trivia- over 100 calls on a night when the new ATA failed (the device between your phone and our audio). I managed to swap it out with the old one a half hour into the show, then all was well. You went all night and never got our Straggler, but it was arcane and out there:
Worldwide, a huge amount of people have done this, but we know for sure of only one US president who did it. Did what? Visited a psychiatrist. (In 1951, while a senator from California, he visited a New York doctor for back and neck pain. He continued to see him throughout his political career. After Nixon’s death, Dr. Arnold Hutschnecker admitted to treating Nixon saying the president didn’t have a serious psychiatric diagnosis, but he did have a good portion of neurotic symptoms.) [New York Times 1/3/01]
Only Fran got one of the Bumper Stumpers (Tony Orlando) and no one got the theme: Everything I played was written by Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil. And I could have played a lot more if I remembered to break for news and play commercials on time. But I get to talkin’ to you and forget I’m on the radio. This explains why program directors have hated me throughout my career. Thankfully listeners did not agree. And I cherish each and every one of you. Here’s the bumper list:
Lyn Roman – Just A Little Lovin’ – 1968 Dot
Clyde McPhatter – On Broadway – 1964 Mercury [LP Songs of the Big City]
Marlena Shaw – Looking Through The Eyes Of Love – 1968 Cadet
Tony Orlando – Bless You – 1961 Epic
Patti LaBelle – Here You Come Again – 1981 Philadelphia Int’l [LP: The Spirit’s In It]
John Fred and his Playboys – We Gotta Get Out Of This Place – 1967 Paula [LP 34:40 of]
Frankie Laine – I’m Gonna Be Strong – 1963 Columbia
Blossoms – Good Good Lovin’ – 1965 Reprise
Jody Miller – Magic Town – 1965 Capitol
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 15, 2024 3:31 AM CT… next full show: Monday Night Trivia at 10 CT! Do call. (Tonight, Friday, is a replay of last Monday’s trivia, so don’t call.) We spent 20 minutes together last night, so in lieu of a bumper, I took more of your votes on The World’s Worst Hit Records Annual Poll. I’ll add that file to the current replay, and I’ll talk to you Monday night!
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 14, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Very short show tonight—less than half an hour. But plenty of time to get your votes in for the World’s Worst Hit Records. Join me around 12:30 AM… Last night we took tons of votes, and shared a few stories too.. like Mattel who is selling the Wicked Doll (as in the Wicked Movie). The first reports blamed AI (and I tend to believe it) but that’s now being denied, but whoever proofed the package is probably looking for work about now. The back of the box instructed kids to go to a porn site (someone forgot to put “movie” after Wicked). Original boxes are already up for auction at a pretty price, but Mattel instructing early buyers to destroy the box-- nah ah. The box is part of the whole experience. Mattel should be offering to replace them at no charge— for those not wanting to sell them on online. We played a few of your requests, and a couple of other timely goodies:
B. Bumble & The Stingers – Bumble Boogie – 1961 Rendezvous
Eddie Floyd – Knock On Wood – 1966 Stax
Hank Williams – Kaw-Liga – 1953 MGM
Stick McGhee – Drinkin’ Wine Spo-de-o-dee – 1949 Atlantic
Lavern Baker – Bumble Bee – 1960 Atlantic
Orioles – Crying In The Chapel – 1953 Jubilee
Sir Mack Rice – Mustang Sally – 1965 Blue Rock
Jim Gilstrap – Swing Your Daddy – 1975 Roxbury
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 13, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. Last night the voting (on the World’s Worst Hit Records) continued, and it will do so through two weeks from tonight (the night before Thanksgiving). We’ll play back your top ten, so you can hear turkeys while you’re eating turkeys on Thanksgiving. We talked about other animals last night, specifically monkeys that escaped in South Carolina from a lab. 43 made the break, as of yesterday morning, 30 had been captured. We’re rooting for the other 13. And we played several of your requests:
Charlie Rich – Mohair Sam – Smash
Charlie Rich – Finally Found Out – 1962 Phillips
Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga – The Lady Is A Tramp – 2014 Columbia [LP: Cheek to Cheek]
Righteous Brothers – (You’re My) Soul and Inspiration – 1966 Verve
Mickey Gilley – I’m Your Puppet – 1988 Airborne
Mickey Gilley – Put Your Dreams Away – 1982 Epic
Marvin Gaye – The End Of Our Road – 1970 Tamla
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. Call. And Vote. Yes, he votes continue on the World’s Worst Hit Records Annual Poll. Any decade, any genre. Keep ‘em coming and we’ll tabulate the list in time to play the turkeys while you’re eating yours on Thanksgiving.
Had fun last night on Monday Night Trivia, but in my addled state, I asked you a few questions that I used a few years ago. And you had very good memories:
A study was done, and restaurant tips go up 18% when a waitress does this. But when a waiter does it, tips go down 3%. What are they doing? Drawing happy faces on the check. [Minneapolis Start Tribune 1/1/97]
In 1980, only one NFL player could claim this. Today over 400 can—in fact it’s 25% of players with this distinction. What distinction? That they’re over 300 pounds. (427 this year.)
But the next question I threw out was new to you, and it remains the Straggler for next week.
You didn’t do well identifying the Bumper Stumpers, but Gary got the theme: All the artists I played recorded Coca Cola jingles. Here’s what you heard:
Dells – Movin’ On – 1956 Vee-Jay
OC Smith – The Season – 1967 Columbia
Little Milton – Can’t Hold Back The Tears – 1965 Checker
Fortunes – That Same Old Feeling – 1970 World Pacific
Lee Dorsey – A Little Dab A Do Ya – 1968 Amy
George Benson – My Woman’s Good To Me – 1969 CTI
Fontella Bass – I Surrender – 1966 Checker
Jay & Techniques – Dancin’ Mood – 1969 Smash
Impressions – I’m The One Who Loves You – 1962 ABC-Paramount
Vogues – Earth Angel – 1969 Reprise
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2024 3:31 AM CT.. Next live show: Monday Night Trivia. 10PM. Call and have fun. (But don’t call tonight. It’s a replay of last Monday night’s show.) We covered a lot of ground last night and had a good time doing it. Poor Bob back at WGN master control. I blew every break. We continued to vote on the World’s Worst Hit Records—death records are really in a category all their own. I cleared up the Pick Me Up On Your Way Down mystery, and delved into all sorts of mysteries and maladies. I also played a few of your requests:
Robert Gordon – Rock Billy Boogie – 1979 RCA
Jody Reynolds – Endless Sleep – 1958 Demon
Kook & The Gang – Celebration – 1980 DeLite
Dee Clark – Hey Little Girl – 1959 Abner
Terry Stafford – Suspicion – 1964
Jive Five – Beggin’ You Please – 1962 Beltone
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 7, 2024 3:31 AM CT… We’ll be delayed half an hour tonight. Plan on a start right after the 10:30 news. The election is over, but the voting continues for the annual poll of the World’s Worst Hit Records. Last night we talked about Peanut, the now euthanized pet squirrel. Lots of sides to that story, but the bottom line was governmental authorities handled it in the worst way possible. And we almost felt sorry for McDonald’s. The E-coli outbreak could have happened anywhere—and that’s the scary part. Tonight we’ll look at inspection guidelines and the chance that what you’re eating has been inspected at all. All the bumpers last night were your requests:
Johnny Kidd & The Pirates – Shakin’ All Over – 1960 His Master’s Voice (APT in USA)
Quincy Jones – The Preacher – 1959 Mercury
Quincy Jones – Killer Joe – 1970 A&M
Rocky Fellers – Killer Joe – 1963 Scepter
Five Keys – Ling Ting Tong – 1954 Capitol
Chan Romero – Hippy Hippy Shake – 1959 Del-Fi
Coasters – Little Egypt – 1961 Atco
Nina Simone – That’s All I Ask – 1966 Philips [LP: Wild Is The Wind]
Charlie Walker – Pick Me Up On Your Way Down – 1958 Columbia
Patsy Cline – Pick Me Up On Your Way Down – 1968 Decca
ELECTION DAY TUESDAY NOVEMBER 5, 2024 3:31 AM CT… No show tonight. Can you imagine me doing election coverage? ‘Nuff said. Next live show, Wednesday night around 10:30 CT right after the Blackhawks.
A rousing game of Monday Night Trivia last night. No one got my question, so since it was a Straggler, I revealed it at the end of the show: What do Jackie Robinson and Mickey Mantle have in common? It’s not baseball and it’s not New York. What is it? The FBI kept files on both of them. (Robinson, for being New York chairman of the United Negro and Allied Veterans of America, which the FBI considered a communist front to provoke racial friction. Jackie’s 131 page file also noted he was on the NAACP board of directors. Meanwhile, Mantle had a 29 page file, which started with the investigation in to a threatening letter he received, and went on for pages and pages to ascertain his character.)
You got several of the Bumper Stumpers but no one ventured a guess on the theme. All the acts I played were on "The Biggest Show of Stars – Fall Edition 1957". The amazing part is that it was an 80 date tour which started on September 6th in Pittsburgh and ended on November 24th in Richmond, with dates in 28 states and five Canadian provinces. Even before the tour got underway, DC cancelled the September 8th show, due to fears that Fats Domino would cause a riot bigger than the entire DC police force could handle. (The show was moved to Carr’s Beach Ballroom in Annapolis. Far as I know, no riots there, or anywhere else.) There were 15 acts on the bill: Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly & The Crickets, Paul Anka, The Spaniels, The Drifters, The Everly Brothers, Frankie Lymon, Lavern Baker, Jimmy Bowen, Buddy Knox, The Diamonds, Clyde McPhatter, Johnnie & Joe, and The Bobbettes. The promoter was the legendary Irvin Feld, who went on to own Ringling Bros.- Barnum & Bailey Circus (twice, selling it to Mattel for $50 mil, and buying it back for $22.5). His son has built the empire, but also quite the reputation. The lawsuits from his sister and his separated wife rival any soap opera on TV…. but I digress. Here’s what we played:
Buddy Knox – Somebody Touched Me – 1958 Roulette
Johnnie & Joe – Kingdom of Love – 1982 Ambient Sound
Spaniels – I Know – 1960 Vee-Jay
Lavern Baker – It’s So Fine – 1958 Atlantic
Everly Brothers – I’m Here To Get My Baby Out Of Jail – 1962 Cadence
Bobbettes – Have Mercy Baby – 1960 Triple-X
Clyde McPhatter – Ta Ta – 1960 Mercury
Buddy Holly – Early In The Morning – 1958 Coral
Jimmy Bowen – Warm Up To Me Baby – 1957 Roulette
Diamonds – She Say – 1959 Mercury
Drifters – Bip Bam – 1954 Atlantic
And the votes continue on the World’s Worst Hit Records Annual Poll. Any decade, any genre. Keep ‘em coming and we’ll tabulate the list in time to play the turkeys while you’re eating yours on Thanksgiving.
OCTOBER 2024
THURSDAY HALLOWEEN 2024 3:31 AM CT… Next live show: Monday Night Trivia. No show tonight due to the Blackhawks game on the West Coast so we celebrated Halloween early and opened the voting for the Annual World’s Worst Hit Records Poll, and had a fine time doing it. We also put to rest the origin of the turkey drop. (It was not WKRP, not WQXI Atlanta, not KBOX Dallas. Small market radio station owner Stephen P. Bellinger told the tale two and a half years before the TV episode, at the 1976 NAB convention in Chicago. We played his explanation, and some of your requests, and started out with something truly awful (in conjunction with early voting on those songs you hate).
Sunday Sharpe – I’m Having Your Baby – 1975 UA
Carpenters – B’Wana She No Home – 1978 A&M
Beach Boys – Darlin’ – 1968 Capitol
Donnie Gerard – Darlin’ – 1976 Greedy
Bobby Darin – Things – 1962 Atco
Andre Williams – Jail Bait – 1956 Fortune
Little Eva – Let’s Turkey Trot – 1962 Dimension
Bobby Boris Pickett – Monster Mash – 1962 Garpax
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 30, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Voting begins tonight at 10 CT on The World’s Worst Hit Records (any decade, any genre as long as it’s a national hit). Last night we talked about bank scams, how to avoid E-coli (spoiler alert: wash your produce, even, especially, pre-washed bagged items. Dry them with a towel—it’s a lot of work, so you might want to just take your chances), and radio. Lots of radio. It was fun, and I played your requests, too.
Barry Mann – Who Put The Bomp In The Bomp, Bomp, Bomp – 1958 ABC Paramount
Cookies – Don’t Say Nothing Bad About My Baby – 1963 Dimension
Robert Johnson – Sweet Home Chicago – 1937 Vocalion
Little Junior Parker – Sweet Home Chicago – 1958 Duke
Magic Sam – Sweet Home Chicago – 1967 Delmark [LP: West Side Soul]
Blues Brothers – Sweet Home Chicago – 1980 Atlantic
Michael Franks – When Sly Calls – 1983 WB
Silhouettes – Heading For The Poor House – 1958 Ember
Cab Calloway – Minnie The Moocher – 1931 Brunswick
Michael Franks -Down in Brazil 1977 WB [LP: Sleeping Gypsy]
Nina Simone – Pirate Jenny – 1964 Philips [LP: In Concert]
Tuesday October 29, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight starting at 10. Do call. Last night was an abbreviated version of Monday Night Trivia, after the Blackhawks. Many of you called (Thanks for that!!). No one answered the question I brought forth, so it remains in play for next week. As for the Bumper Stumpers: All the acts were on Richard Nader’s Rock & Roll Revival Concert in New York this week in 1970. And all the songs were what the groups currently had out:
Coasters – DW Washburn – 1968 Date / 1971 King
Little Anthony & The Imperials – If I Love You – 1970 UA
Chuck Berry – Have Mercy Judge – 1970 Chess
Shirelles – It’s Gonna Take A Miracle – 1970 UA
Persuasions – Party In The Woods – 1969 Minit
FRIDAY OCTOBER 25, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Next full show, Monday Night Trivia, but there will be a start time delay. Expect us to begin at 11:30 CT, right after the Blackhawks wrap up. Last night we talked about a wide variety of things including the lunacy of Sears dropping the catalog in 1993, rather than move it online, and the transition of Dick Feller to Deena Kaye Rose (took me by shock—especially since he did it at 70 years old). I ordered his book. And played some of your requests, and Wives & Lovers, due to the passing of Jack Jones, the quintessential ‘60s MOR artist. He will be missed.
Jack Jones – Wives & Lovers- 1964 Kapp
Dick Feller – Makin’ The Best Of A Bad Situation – 1974 Asylum
Michael Franks – Popsicle Toes – 1975 Reprise
Booker T & The MG’s – Time Is Tight – 1969 Stax
Frank Sinatra – Witchcraft – 1959 Capitol
O’Jays – Use Ta Be My Girl – 1978 Philadelphia International
Tom Lehrer – The Elements – 1959 Lehrer Records [LP: An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer)
Fireballs – Bottle of Wine – 1967 Atco
Ben White & The Darchaes – Nationwide Stamps – 1962 Aljon
Bettye Swan – Don’t Wait Too Long – 1965 Money
THURSDAY OCTOBER 24, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10, please call. We talked about streaming, radio, music and a bunch of other things too… including a joke about a guy and his wife and their marital bed. I’ll leave it at that, but listen to the replay and you’ll hear it. Great to hear from several of you, including a few, like Cynthia, who rarely call. And we played some of your requests:
Dick Feller – The Credit Card Song – 1973 UA
Debbie Dean – Don’t Let Him Shop Around – 1961 Motown
Staple Singers – For What It’s Worth – 1967 Columbia
O’Jays – Don’t Let Me Down – 1991 EMI-USA
Midnighters – Rock, Granny, Roll – 1956 Federal
Kinks – You Really Got Me – 1964 Reprise
Patti Page – The Doggie In The Window – 1953 Mercury
Raindrops – The Kind Of A Boy You Can’t Forget – 1963 Raindrops
Lonestar – Amazed – 1999 BNA
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 23, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10 CT, please call. Last night we started slow about 10:45 after the Blackhawks, and ended with a lot of you on hold. We talked about everything from airline food (and a mouse crawling out of an SAS inflight meal) to winning a million bucks from Elon Musk. I hope Lia does. (I found the petition online for her, but in checking to see if it was valid, I think I inadvertently signed myself up during a commercial break. I’m not expecting riches. Or a visit from federal agents, but who knows.) I’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, I hope you’ll call back tonight.
Little Junior’s Blue Flames – Fussin’ And FIghtin’ Blues – 1953 Sun
Brooklyn Bridge – Worst That Could Happen – 1968 Buddah
Sweet Inspirations – Sweet Inspiration – 1968 Atlantic
Doors – People Are Strange – 1967 Elektra
Nutty Squirrels – Uh Oh Pt 2 – 1959 Hanover
Vince Guaraldi – Linus And Lucy – 1964 Fantasy
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles – Just Losing You – 1968 Tamla [LP: Special Occasion]
TUESDAY OCTOBER 22, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Show start will be delayed by an hour tonight, so join me tonight at 11 CT, and do call. Last night was the setting for another entertaining Monday Night Trivia show. No one got the Straggler: This unfortunate event happens on average 8 times a day in America. What happens? A dog attacks a mailman. (It happens most frequently in Indiana). [Cox News Service 6-6-03]
But you did get a handful of the Bumper Stumpers, though no one came close to the theme: All the artists I played had a #1 national hit this week on the Billboard Hot 100 (obviously it’s not the #1 record that we played but every artist you heard topped the national charts this week (year and song in parentheses):
Exiles – Church Street Soul Revival – 1969 Columbia (#1 1978 Kiss You All Over – Exiles)
Herb Alpert – Talk To The Animals – 1968 A&M (#1 1979 Rise)
Brenda Lee – Ruby’s Lounge – 1976 MCA (#1 1960 I Want To Be Wanted)
Miracles – I Love Your Baby – 1959 Motown (#1 1974 Do It Baby)
Dionne Warwick – Do You Believe In Love At First Sight – 1977 WB (#1 1974 Then Came You)
Bobby Darin – The Lady Came From Baltimore – 1967 Atlantic (#1 1959 Mack The Knife)
Lulu – I’ll Come Running – 1964 Parrot (#1 1967 To Sir With Love)
Neil Sedaka (with Dara Sedaka) – Your Precious Love – 1983 Curb (#1 1975 Bad Blood)
Spinners – How Can I – 1964 Motown (#1 1974 Then Came You – with Dionne Warwick)
Tommy Edwards – I Really Don’t Want To Know – 1960 MGM (#1 1958 It’s All In The Game
Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs – I Think I’ll Catch A Bus – 1967 Dot (#1 1963 Sugar Shack)
FRIDAY OCTOBER 18, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Next live show, Monday Night Trivia 10 PM CT.. do call (but don’t call tonight—it’s a replay of last Monday’s show, however you might want to hear it if you don’t know what the Straggler question is). Last night we were on after the Blackhawks for a couple hours. We talked about a wide variety of things—employees behaving badly (and getting fired for it), employers behaving badly (and the lawsuits aren’t enough—this one North Carolina CEO should be in prison), and lots about radio, and about records. And sadly, the reason behind I Love You being my first bumper is that Eddie Holman’s wife Sheila passed away. She wrote the song, and for that alone I will never forget her. Married since 1968, they have 3 kids and 9 grandkids, and Eddie’s still singing—though not a happy song tonight.
Eddie Holman – I Love You – 1968 ABC
Gerry & The Pacemakers – How Do You Do It – 1964 Laurie
Little Joe & The Thrillers – Peanuts 1957 Okeh
Bunker Hill – Hide & Go Seek – 1962 Mala
Sam & Bill – For Your Love – 1965 JoDa
Robert Johnson – Sweet Home Chicago – 1937 Vocalion
Jacksonians – California Dreamin’ – 1973 MGM
Bobby Womack – California Dreamin’ – 1969 Minit
Mamas & Papas – California Dreamin’ – 1965 Dunhill
THURSDAY OCTOBER 17, 2024 3:31 AM CT… We’ll be an hour late tonight, on at 11 CT after the Blackhawks, but that gives us two hours to talk about something close to nothing. We did a fine job it last night, and played a lot of your requests too. Apologies if you were listening and heard caller Clayton's racial slur. Disappointing behavior to say the least. He's now officially banned from the show. I edited it out of the replay, and luckily Adam at WGN caught it so it wasn't on the radio.
Jimmy Reed – Ain’t That Lovin’ You Baby – 1956 VeeJay
El Dorados – Lights Are Low – 1957 VeeJay
Nutmegs – Story Untold – 1955 Herald
Ella Fitzgerald – A-Tisket A-Tasket – 1939 Decca
Malo – Suavecito – 1972 WB
Mary Wells – Bye Bye Baby – 1961 Motown
Nutty Squirrels – Uh Oh Pt 2 – 1959 Hanover
Rochell & The Candles – Once Upon A Time – 1960 Swingin’
Manhattans – Searchin’ For My Baby – 1965 Carnival
Dells – The Love We Had – 1971 Cadet
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 16, 2024 3:31 AM CT.. Full show tonight starting at 10, do call. We had 90 minutes last night, but the first 30 weren’t on the stream. (I forgot to turn it on.) If you were listening to the radio, or to WGN’s stream, you heard it, but if you were depending on me, you missed it. If Fran did, we’ll play her “The Mummy” request again (a promise to her, maybe a threat to you, I dunno). We talked about AI, online shopping and the paradigm shift happening that’s changing the way we buy. We also went over the Hunter Moon (this Thursday morning, supermoon full). The last hour, you’ll hear for yourself if you listen.
Bob McFadden & Dor (Rod McKuen) – The Mummy – 1959 Brunswick
B.B. King – Rock Me Baby – 1964 Kent (Bihari Bros. label)
Chuck Berry – You Never Can Tell – 1964 Chess
George Benson – On Broadway – 1978 WB
Kool Gents – I Just Can’t Help Myself – 1956 VeeJay
TUESDAY OCTOBER 15, 2024 3:31 AM CT…We’re halfway through October.. hard to believe. Tonight we’ll be delayed by The Blackhawks. Check in around 11:30 CT and I should be there. Last night’s Monday Night Trivia was a good time had by most. In the second hour you got the Straggler: 70% of Americans believe this could happen to someone, but only 4% believe it would happen to them. What? That they’ll go to hell. (Additionally, 17 percent of Americans don’t believe in hell and 12% aren’t sure) [Gallup poll May 2004]
No one even ventured a guess at our Bumper Stumpers theme: everything I played was written by Bert Keyes:
Lezli Valentine – Love On A Two Way Street – 1968 All Platinum
Hi-Marks – Angel Smile – 1979 K-Tel (LP: Showtime Spectacular)
Manhattans – Cry If You Wanna Cry – 1971 DeLuxe
Big Maybelle – Oh Lord, What Are You Doing To Me – 1964 Scepter
Willie Bobo – Sock It To Me – 1967 Verve
Moments – Sunday – 1969 Stang
Crests – Isn't It Amazing – 1960 Co-Ed
Burt Keyes – Stop Jivin' Start Drivin' – 1957 Amp 3 (Bert, but it says Burt on the label)
Shirley Ellis – Music & Memories – 1967 Columbia [LP: Sugar, Let's Shing-A-Ling)
Ames Brothers – Little Gypsy – 1958 RCA
FRIDAY OCTOBER 11, 2024 3:31 AM CT.. Next live show, Monday Night Trivia. 10PM CT. Tonight it’s a replay of last Monday’s trivia, and if you missed it, you missed the Straggler question that’s still active. So check it out tonight, and please all on Monday. Last night ran the gamut from the history of an FM station in Philadelphia to how not to lose your SSI benefits. (I really don’t think Fran has anything to worry about, but I’m sure we’ll hear about it next week.) I also played a lot of your requests:
Frankie Laine – Mule Train – 1949 Mercury
Frankie Laine – Jezebel – 1951 Columbia
Frankie Laine – That Lucky Old Sun – 1949 Mercury
Tarantula Ghoul – Graveyard Rock – 1959 Meadows
John Zacherle – Dinner With Drac – 1958 Cameo
Sapphires – Gonna Be A Big Thing – 1966 ABC Paramount
Rufus Thomas – (Do The) Push and Pull – 1970 Stax
Yum Yums – Gonna Be A Big Thing – 1965 ABC Paramount
Roy Orbison – Blue Angel – 1960 Monument
James Brown – I Can’t Stand Myself When You Touch Me – 1967 King
Patsy Cline – Always – 1980 MCA
THURSDAY OCTOBER 10, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10, please call! Last night we kicked it off with Eduardo in Tampa who confirmed what I’d heard—Hurricane Milton was closer to a non-issue than the storm of the century for Tampa Bay. That’s not to say we won’t hear about devastating damage, and it remains to be seen how much water will be in Milton’s wake as it traverses across the state (flash flooding can be deceptively deadly), but overall, the predictions of catastrophic conditions did not materialize, and that’s a good thing. We talked about that, the HOA president from hell, gemstones, hominids, King Tut’s curse, stupid criminals (like the deranged perpetrator who didn’t notice the dash cam, which captured the murder), Don & Dewey, Tarantula Ghoul, John Zacherle, Frankie Laine, and plenty I’m leaving out. We also played a lot of your requests:
Crockett’s Classic (Larry Crockett’s take on George Johns’ format)
Joe Simon – The Chokin’ Kind – 1969 Sound Stage 7
Buddy Holly – Rave On – 1958 Coral
Don & Dewey – Leavin’ It All Up To You – 1957 Specialty
Don & Dewey – Big Boy Pete – 1959 Specialty
Roy Orbison – Only The Lonely – 1960 Monument
Little Willie John – Now You Know – 1961 King
Jonathan King – Everybody’s Gone To The Moon – 1965 Parrot
Midnight Star – Slow Jam – 1983 Solar
Hawkshaw Hawkins – Put A Nickel in the Jukebox – 1960 Columbia
Sandpipers – Guantanamera – 1966 A&M
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 9, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10 CT. I’ll have time to play all your requests. Do call. Last night was abbreviated, but for about 20 minutes or so, I told you about the earth’s second moon (don’t get excited, it’s not a long term thing and you can’t see it without serious equipment), played Jo Armstead (A Stone Good Lover – 1968 on Giant) since it was her 80th birthday this week, and took a few calls including one with a short history of vinyl (as in records, which for 45s was too often polystyrene, but I digress).
TUESDAY OCTOBER 8, 2024 3:31 AM CT… We’ll have an abbreviated show tonight—I’ll probably be on at 12:30, maybe later, maybe earlier, maybe not at all, depending on what the Blackhawks do. Last night we had a fine three hours with Monday Night Trivia. I threw out a starter question, and we’re still working on it, so that becomes our Straggler for next Monday night.
As for the Bumper Stumpers, you didn’t get many and you didn’t have a clue about the theme. All of them were written or co-written by Rose Marie McCoy. This woman deserves to be in the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame, yet inexplicably she’s not. BMI credits her with writing 857 songs, recorded by 400 artists, and that doesn’t even begin to tell the whole story.
For the most part I stayed away from the obvious big names (from Elvis to Nat King Cole and everyone in between, and tried to play stuff that might be a little less recognizable. With Rose Marie, that alone was a daunting task. Here’s what I chose:
Linda Hopkins – Little by Little – 1963 Brunswick
Mickey & Sylvia – Gonna Work Out Fine – 1960 (unreleased first recording)
Ruth Brown – Mambo Baby – 1954 Atlantic
Darrell Banks – Our Love (Is In The Pocket) – 1966 Revilot
Du Droppers – Honey Bunch – 1955 Groove (EP)
Maxine Brown – We’ll Cry Together – 1969 Commonwealth United
Five Keyes – Doggone It, You Did It – 1955 Capitol
Nappy Brown – Don’t Be Angry – 1955 Savoy
Lezli Valentine – The Coward’s Way Out – 1968 – All Platinum (written with Bert Keyes)
Earl Grant – If I May – 1966 Decca [LP: Sings Songs Made Famous by Nat King Cole]
FRIDAY OCTOBER 4, 2024 3:31 AM CT.. Next full show, Monday Night Trivia. (Tonight it’s a replay of last Monday’s trivia, don’t call—but do call Monday.) Yesterday, October 3rd was George Johns’ 83rd birthday. It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating his 40th. I’m saddened to note, that yesterday also marks the day George left us. I don’t yet know what caused his death, but he was active until the last few weeks, so hopefully it’s what I wish for all of us—a quick exit. George was my program director in Indianapolis 47 years ago right now. WIBC was so good and I was so bad, as a disc jockey. I’m still sure that George never listened to my audition tape. He just saw “female, first class license, wants overnights” and figured I was the answer to his prayer even I spoke Farsi. George always did things with flourish, so dying on his birthday somehow fits. Always the master of the promo, he made sure we won’t forget the date. One of the jingles I often played went, “WIBC-ing you on the radio, 1070.” George, in the blink of an eye, I’ll B C-ing you on the other side. I have a feeling you’ll be programming heaven before I get there, and I can’t wait to hear it (ok, I can wait a little while, but soon my friend). It’ll be great. It’s a much bigger market, Chuck Riley and Buster Bodine are waiting to do drive time, and I’m sure Hugh Heller has already scripted the jingles.
It was almost RIP for the phone system last night. At first I thought it was at my end, but it turned out to be a system failure for my provider. I still don’t know what happened, but after an hour, we were back to normal and I was delighted that most of you who were hanging when we went down, called again when we were back up. In the hour interim I had time to prattle on about who knows what and play some of your requests:
Giacomo Bondi & Brazilian Jumbo – Lindo Lindo – 2017 Time Out
[LP: Bossa Nova Chill Out Dinner Party]
Julie London – Cry Me A River – 1955 Liberty
Stranger On the Shore – Mr. Acker Bilk – 1962 Atco
Quotations – Imagination – 1961 Verve
Liz Anderson – I’ll Never Fall In Love Again – 1972 Epic
Cookies – On Broadway – Unreleased Dimension [CD: 2005 Collectables - Chains]
Prince Buster – Dance Cleopatra Dance – 1966 Not On Label
Roberta Flack with Donnie Hathaway – You Are My Heaven – 1979 Atlantic
Shirelles – Foolish Little Girl – 1963 Scepter
Little Willie John – Sleep – 1960 King
Drifters – I’ll Take You Home – 1963 Atlantic
THURSDAY OCTOBER 3, 2024 3:31 AM CT.. Full show tonight at 10, please call. Many of you did last night and it made the show a pleasure to do. We heard from Jim and several people who had thoughts to share with him. We talked about McDonald’s in the UK not noticing for four years that 16 of their employees were human traffic victims, stories about the power of belief from Dr. Brinkley to Dr. Maltz to Dr. Doughtery (fun stuff, actually), 2600 cycles, social security horrors, AI concerns, Red Top Baby Chicks & White Rose Petroleum Jelly, and a death ruled suicide that turned out to be accident—a guy was trying to separate frozen hamburgers and stabbed himself in the stomach. I think there are still some outstanding questions there, but one answer is troubling—regardless of circumstance, this guy died slowly and painfully. We also played some requests:
Billy Walker – From The Bottle To The Bottom –1969 Monument (Kris Kristofferson wrote it)
Radiants – It Ain’t No Big Thing – 1965 Chess
Stylistics – You Are Everything – 1971 Avco
Roy Orbison Blues – 1962 Monument
Rene y Rene – Lo Mucho Que Te Quiero – 1968 Arv Intl / White Whale
Rene y Rene – Angelito – 1964 Jox
Richard Dimples Fields – If It Ain’t One Thing, It’s Another – 1982 Boardwalk
Esquivel – My Blue Heaven – 1958 RCA
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 2, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. Last night we spent the bulk of the show giving help to Jim. Thanks to all of you who weighed in. We also talked about an octogenarian sentenced to jail for cloning a big sheep (yes there’s more to that story and we shared it), airline workers at JFK with a side hustle—using passenger luggage to smuggle drugs, and the latest use of AI—imitating your doctor when you ask your healthcare provider a question on your electronic medical portal. What could possibly go wrong? (It already has.) We also played some of your requests…
ZZ Hill – Cheatin In The Next Room – 1982 Malaco
ZZ Hill – Gimme Gimme – 1966 Sue
Maxine Brown – Oh No, Not My Baby – 1964 Wand
Manhattans – Give Him Up – 1970 DeLuxe
Marty Robbins – The Story Of My Life – 1957 Columbia
Roy Orbison – Leah – 1962 Monument
Johnny Ace – Pledging My Love – 1954 Duke
Capitols – Tired Of Running From You – 1966 Atco [LP: Dance The Cool Jerk]
Basia – Astrud – 1988 Epic [LP: Basia]
Johnny Mathis – Gina – 1962 Columbia
Johnny Mathis – I’m Coming Home – 1973 Columbia
TUESDAY OCTOBER 1, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. Please call. Last night’s Monday Night Trivia was action packed. You got the two trivia questions I threw out:
In the US New Hampshire is #1 followed by Nevada and North Dakota. Number one in what? Beer consumption per capita
This common toy was created in the 1880s, but not successfully sold until the 1960s. What is it? A Talking Doll (Chatty Cathy was the first success. She spoke 11 phrases, voiced by June Foray, the voice of Rocky the flying squirrel in Bullwinkle cartoons among many others.) [National Post 11/8/03]
I was about to offer a third question, but I think we ran out of time, so we’ll start with a new one next Monday night.
As for the Bumper Stumpers, at first it was grim but ultimately you got several of them. What you didn’t get (or even venture a guess) was the theme: This week, it’s the 53rd anniversary of the first Soul Train show in national syndication (October 2, 1971). All the bumpers were by acts appearing on Soul Train in the first year, singing the songs I played. The bracketed date below is the episode on which they appeared, and the numbers to the right are the highest rankings on the national Billboard R&B charts:
Eddie Kendricks – I Did It All For You – 1971 Tamla [10/2/71]
Emotions – Show Me How – 1971 Volt [11/6/71] 13
Intruders – I Bet He Don’t Love You – 1971 Gamble [11/13/71]20
Ralfi Pagan – Make It With You – 1971 Wand [12/11/71]32
Gene Chandler – Yes I’m Ready – 1972 Mercury [12/25/71] 47
Jesse James – I Need You Baby – 1971 Zea [1/8/72]47
Persuaders – Love Gonna Pack Up – 1971 Win Or Lose [1/22/72] 8
Garland Green – Plain And Simple Girl – 1971 Cotillion [3/4/27]17
Laura Lee – Since I Fell For You – 1972 Hot Wax [3/11/72]24
Otis Clay – Trying To Live My Life Without You – 1972 Hi [4/8/72]24
Millie Jackson – My Man, A Sweet Man – 1972 Spring [4/15/72]7
SEPTEMBER 2024
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 26, 2024 3:31 AM CT.. Next full show: Monday Night Trivia, September 30th. Tonight it’s a replay of last Monday night’s trivia and there is a straggler, so if you missed hearing what it was, you can listen tonight and catch it. Then think about it and call me Monday. Last night was people helping people. Isaac, the caregiver for his great grandmother and grandmother got some suggestions—so did Jim, who is battling deteriorating vision. But Jim is resistant to new things, and we’re going to walk him, step by step through getting help for setting up his iPhone to talk to him, and if you have any thoughts, please call Tuesday night. Meanwhile, I’ll come up with numbers he can call to try and line up someone in Wisconsin to hands on help. Our bumpers:
Leon Redbone – Seduced – 1981 Emerald City (Atlantic)
Merry Clayton – It’s In His Kiss – 1963 Capitol
Betty Everett – The Shoop Shoop Song – 1964 VJ
Intervals – Here’s That Rainy Day – 1962 Class
Joe Turner – Honey Hush – 1953 Atlantic
Dee Dee Warwick – I’m Gonna Make You Love Me – 1966 Mercury
Wade Flemons – That Other Place – 1964 VJ
Merry Clayton – Oh No Not My Baby – 1972 Ode
Salty Peppers – La La Time – 1969 Capitol
Martha & The Vandellas – Jimmy Mack – 1967 Gordy
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 26, 2024 3:31 AM CT.. Full show tonight at 10. Last night we talked with Fred Bronson about his latest book, Rockin’ The Kremlin. It’s worth the read! (You can hear the show by clicking on DOWNLOADS above.) After that it was your calls, and requests….
Pink Floyd – Another Brick In The Wall – 1980 Columbia
Harold Weakley – To Russia With Care – 1966 Columbia
Chuck Berry – Back In The U.S.A. – 1959 Chess
Antonio Carlos Jobim – Wave – 1967 A&M [LP: Wave]
Sandpipers – Wave – 1969 A&M
Eliane Elias – Some Enchanted Place – 2015 Concord [LP: Made In Brazil] Eduardo
Swallows – It Ain’t The Meat – 1951 King
Johnny Mercer – Strip Polka – 1942 Capitol
James Brown – Sex Machine Pt 1 – 1975 Polydor
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10, and Fred Bronson joins me in the first hour. If you have any of the Billboard #1 books, you know Fred. If you don’t, trust me he’s a kindred spirit and a long time friend. Check out his FredBronson.com. You’ll notice the first book written on the page I linked is “Rockin’ The Kremlin”, the story of an American farm boy who saw the fall of the iron curtain and wanted to be a part of the rebuilding. He was, and a big part of the record business as well. The tag line is “My incredible true story of gangsters, oligarchs and pop stars in Putin’s Russia” and the book lives up to all that and so much more. Junk was a one-man musical invasion into Eastern Europe, and what he encountered is spellbinding.
After that, your calls (and requests, if I like them). Last night we covered people too dumb to drive, dollar store items with a surprising ingredient, trying to reach Maytag to figure out how to get a washer repaired, the result of the cicada onslaught, Florida’s bracing for what will be a hurricane before it makes landfall and a lot more. As for your requests (all of the bumpers were by your choice—but after hearing Colour My World, I hereby re-invoke my right of rejection. Arthur Godfrey wasn’t much better…
Arthur Godfrey with Archie Bleyer – Too Fat Polka – 1947 Columbia
Patsy Cline – You Belong To Me – 1962 Decca [LP: Sentimentally Yours]
Chicago – Colour My World- 1970 Columbia
Sergio Mendes – Mas Que Nada – 1966 A&M
Tito Jackson – Big Leg Woman – 2021 Gulf Coast [LP: Under Your Spell]
Robin Luke – Susie Darlin’ – 1958 Dot
Bobby Freeman – Do You Wanna Dance – 1958 Josie
Newbeats – Bread And Butter – 1964 Hickory
Paul Simon – You Can Call Me Al – 1986 WB
Mary Wells – Bye Bye Baby – 1961 Motown
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2024 3:31 AM CT.. Full show tonight starting at 10. Please call, Last night’s Monday Night Trivia was interesting. After an hour or so, you got the Straggler: There are almost 200 countries in the world. All have their own laws. But 70% of those countries all mandate this. What? Driving on the right side of the street. (Numerous countries have switched from left to right over the years, but only one country switched from right to left: Okinawa in 1978)
And you got the follow up: In the early 1980s we did this for approximately 16 hours annually. Today, we do it for around 50 hours a year. Do what? Sit in traffic.
And the third question becomes our Straggler for next week. You also did very well on identifying our Bumper Stumpers (you got ‘em all except Stevie Wonder, Gene Chandler and Jackie Wilson), but no one came up with the theme. And I can understand that as it’s somewhat obscure, but it was just in the news as the National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame announced their 2024 inductees and a category of “Leo’s Casino Special Honorees”.
There is no way to overstate the importance of Leo’s Casino. And there was nothing quite like it anywhere else, though many venues tried. All the acts I played were mainstays there. For the most part, it all happened by accident. Leo Frank’s club burned down and he, with partner Jules Berger, seized the former lounge space in the aging Quad Hall Hotel at 7500 Euclid.
At first it was going to be a jazz venue like Leo’s former club, but almost overnight it became an R&B haven, though jazz acts continued to populate the list of performers until it’s closing in 1972. Leo was not motivated by social or political issues. His target was money and anyone who had the $2 entry fee was welcome to come in buy dinner and hear the performers. (In total it seated 700 in a supper club setting.)
People of all backgrounds lined the block to get in, and all were dressed to the 9s. Furs and gowns were the norm for the ladies with the guys sporting well tailored suits. It could have been the case that the dolled-up crowd went there to be seen, but their shared desire was to see and hear the performers, be it music, comedy or both.
Race was a non-factor, a statement punctuated by what happened in the 1966 riots. While mayhem broke out a couple blocks away, a perfectly coiffed, totally mixed, crowd stood in line around the block to see The Supremes. The first two nights were without problem. The third night probably would have been as well but the national guard needed the block for their staging area so they shut the club down. A month later it reopened with Ray Charles. A world was changing outside the doors, but inside Leo’s everything was as it had been and would be for the next six years.
Shows were Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, with a “Breakfast Show” at 1 AM Saturday night/Sunday morning. The joint was rocking long past last call for alcohol. Early on, Berry Gordy saw it as his test market. He’d send virtually all his acts (some already popular but many just starting out as near-unknowns) with material that, if it played well, was all the proof Gordy needed to decide to push it nationally.
(Sadly, it is also known as the site of Otis Redding’s last performance. He was in town on December 9, 1967 to do WEWS-TV5’s “Upbeat” tv show, after which he appeared at Leo’s Casino. The next day, his plane crashed in route to Madison, Wisconsin.)
Thomas and Louise Boddie recorded virtually all the performances at Leo’s, and in a couple cases (Gloria Lynne and the O’Jays, for instance), live albums were released. Obviously none of the Motown material was ever included, but the Boddie’s had a booming business with out it. If they weren’t capturing stage acts and local bands (sometimes pressing and releasing records on their own labels), the were recording weddings and bar mitzvahs.
It took the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame quite a while to give Leo’s Casino rightful recognition, but for Baseball Hall of Famer LaMont ‘ShowBoat” Robinson, the impetus behind the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, it was an obvious connection. LaMont’s uncle played in the house band, and as a youngster, he would hang out to hear the magic.
The asterisks by the artist names below denote this year’s class of Leo’s Casino Special Honorees. The others were a big part of why Leo’s was Leo’s. The magic is gone, but the memories will linger forever. Here’s what we played:
Gloria Lynne – Record Company Blues – 1969 Everest [LP: Live at Leo’s Casino]
*O’Jays – Stand In For Love – 1966 Imperial (originally recorded at Leo’s Casino)
Otis Redding – Hard to Handle – 1968 Atco (last appearance before the plane crash)
Supremes – Buttered Popcorn – 1961 Tamla (last act to play during the 1966 riots)
Stevie Wonder – Funny How Time Slips Away – 1965 Tamla
Ray Charles – I Chose To Sing The Blues – 1966 ABC (first act a month after the riots)
*Temptations – What Love Has Together – 1965 Gordy
*Aretha Franklin – Soulville – 1968 Columbia
*Gene Chandler – I Can Take Of Myself – 1966 Constellation
*Martha & The Vandellas – Love, Guess Who – 1970 Gordy
Jackie Wilson – My Heart Is Calling – 1961 Brunswick
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 20, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Next live show Monday Night Trivia at 10 CT. (Tonight it’s a replay of the last Monday Night Trivia and there is a straggler, so you might want to hear what it is, if you weren’t listening. Then call on Monday with your answer) Last night we talked about Florida’s condo crisis, fake olive oil, stupid car thieves and more, including your requests.
I meant to include some links. As you’ll recall, Jay from Green Valley called and talked about the latest scams targeting you. If you’re a PC user, he suggests Seraph Secure to cut down on potential malware. He also mentioned Steve JJ Weisman’s Scamicide as a source of good info. And he suggested you check out videos from Jim Browning, Scam Sandwich, Pleasant Green and Scammer Revolts (search for them on YouTube).
As for last night’s bumpers, ya just can’t have too many polkas…
Roy Clark – The Lawrence Welk-Hee Haw Counter-Revolution – 1972 Dot
Glahe Musette Orchestra – Beer Barrel Polka – 1939 Victor
Clean Living – In Heaven There Is No Beer – 1972 Vanguard
Andrews Sisters – Pennsylvania Polka – 1942 Decca
Frankie Yankovic – Pennsylvania Polka – 1959 Columbia
Sapphires – Who Do You Love – 1964 Swan
Homer Joy – Streets of Bakersfield – 1972 Capitol
Mickey Gilley – City Lights – 1974 Playboy
Martha & The Vandellas – Come And Get These Memories – 1963 Gordy
Willie Nelson – September Song – 1979 Columbia
Mary Wells – The One Who Really Loves You – 1962 Motown
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 19, 2024 3:31 AM CT…Full show tonight at 10. Please call! Last night we talked about various crimes and misdemeanors (meaning I don’t remember a thing, but I was very appreciative of your calls). Oh, I do remember I went over the mold saga and I know exactly what I played, because the bumpers were written down. Carol the perennial reigning queen of show prep will get me your requests, so by showtime tonight we should be in pretty good shape thanks to her efforts.
Stan Getz & Charlie Byrd – Desafinado – 1962 Verve – Robert STickney
Eddie & The Cruisers – Maryia – 1989 Scotti Bros. [LP” Eddie & The Cruisers II]
Billy Edd Wheeler – Ode To The Little Brown Shack Out Back – 1964 Kapp
Freda Payne – Memories & Souvenirs – 2016 Royal Oak
Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 – Slow Hot Wind – 1966 A&M [LP: Herb Alpert presents]
CeCe Peniston – Keep On Walkin’ – 1993 A&M Chris SC
Bobby Vinton – Beer Barrel Polka – 1975 ABC
Dickey Lee – 9,999,999 Tears – 1976 RCA
J.D. Souther – You’re Only Lonely – 1979 Columbia
Patsy Cline – If I Could See The World – 1958 Decca James
Jimmie Rodgers – The World I Used To Know – 1964 Dot
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 18, 2024 3:31 AM CT.. Full show tonight at 10, Do call! Last night, as usual, ran the gamut including weird laws still on the books, unexpected medical bills, streaming tv and more. Plus we played your requests:
Patsy Cline – Why Can’t He Be You - 1962 Decca
Patti LaBelle & The Blue Belles – Down The Aisle – 1963 King
Sam Cooke – Nothing Can Change This Love – 1962 RCA
Ricky Nelson – Poor Little Fool – 1958 Imperial
Average White Band – Person to Person – 1976 Atlantic
Otis Redding – Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag – 1968 Atco
John Cafferty And The Beaver Brown Band – Betty Lou Got A New Pair Of Shoes – 1983
Scotti Brothers [LP: Eddie & The Cruisers Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]
Delbert McClinton – Better Off With The Blues – 1997 Rising Tide
[LP: One Of The Fortunate Few]
Peggy Lee – Manana – 1948 Capitol (Dave Barbour & The Brazilians – Lee & Barbour wrote)
Patsy Cline – Never No More – 1958 Decca
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight start at 10 CT.. right before it is the full supermoon. Last Night was Monday Night Trivia. You didn’t get the question I asked, so it remains the Straggler for next week. You did very well when requesting categories about which you have an obscene amount of knowledge (and everybody knows a lot about something, no matter how obscure). Tommy correctly identified a couple Bumper Stumpers, and Don got the theme (with help from Google—a disheartening scenario since the prizes are virtually worthless and you’re doing this for the fun of it). As for that theme, all of the artists I played recorded songs under another name. The first hour featured a trifecta as the Vibrations, Jayhawks and Marathons were the same group. (Well, the first song by the Marathons was, anyway—once Leonard Chess got wind of the Vibrations moonlighting on another label, he put an immediate stop to it, so latter Marathon hits were different guys.) In the brackets below are names under which they also released records:
Marathons – Talkin’ Trash – 1961 Arvee [Vibrations – Jayhawks]
Vibrations – Cave Man – 1960 Checker [Maratons – Jayhawks]
Jayhawks – Don’t Mind Dyin’ – 1956 Flash [Vibrations – Marathons]
Mar-Vells – Go On And Have Yourself A Ball – 1964 Butane [Fabulettes]
Fabulettes – The Worryin’ Way – 1966 Sound Stage 7 [Mar-Vells]
Cadets – I Want You – 1957 Crown [Jacks]
Jacks – Why Don’t You Write Me – 1955 RPM [Cadets]
Joytones – This Love – 1965 Coed [Love Potion]
Rondells – Parking In The Kokomo – 1965 ABC Paramount [Cyrkle]
Royals – Every Beat Of My Heart – 1952 Federal [The Midnighters]
Jerry Landis – Lisa – 1962 Amy [Paul Simon]
FRIDAY THE 13th of SEPTEMBER 2024 6:10 PM CT… Next full show, Monday Night Trivia at 10 CT. Please call (and enjoy tonight’s replay of last Monday Night Trivia if you missed it). Apologies for the delay in getting this uploaded. Last night we talked about a wide variety of things. You’ll hear it for yourself on the download or stream. We played several of your requests as well (bumpers below). I’m feeling a bit better today, but I’m going to spend the next three days in bed so I should be in great shape in time to play trivia with you next Monday.
Frankie Beverly & The Butlers – Because of My Heart – 1966 Fairmount
Searchers – Don’t Throw Your Love Away – 1964 Kapp
Orlons – Don’t Throw Your Love Away – 1963 Cameo
High Energy – You Can’t Turn Me Off – 1977 Motown
Righteous Brothers – White Cliffs of Dover – 1966 Philles
Louis Prima – White Cliffs of Dover – 1945 Majestic
Checkers – White Cliffs of Dover – 1953 King
Patsy Cline – A Poor Man’s Roses – 1957 Decca
Sergio Mendes – Gente (Chup Chup) – 1967 A&M [LP: Equinox]
Nat King Cole – Send For Me – 1957 Capitol
Bobby Vee – Take Good Care Of My Baby – 1961 Liberty
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 12, 2024 7:20 PM CT… Full show tonight at 10. Apologies for not getting last night’s show on the stream and available for downloads until now, but I just didn’t have the energy. Still fighting the classic cold. I’m no worse. Unfortunately, I’m no better and it’s now been a week. I’ve taken all your suggestions (in fact Jon is out to get Fisherman’s Friend cough drops and the teas you suggested). Profound thanks for calling last night. Please do it again tonight. It’ll make the show much easier for me to do, so whatever’s on your mind of little to no world consequence, I want to hear it. Played a few of your requests and some in honor of Sergio Mendes, and Frankie Beverly, who sadly are no longer with us. But their music remains. Heard lots of Maze on the Frankie Beverly obits I caught, but no Butlers (I’ll play another one tonight). Lovable Girl is an unknown classic:
Frankie Beverly & The Butlers – I Want To Feel I’m Wanted – 1966 Fairmount
Sergio Mendes – Triste – 1967 A&M [LP: Equinox]
Sha Na Na – Sandy – 1977
Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66 – Wave – 1967 A&M [LP: Equinox]
Lena Horne – Stormy Weather – 1942 Victor
Four Freshmen – It’s A Blue World – 1952 Capitol
Freddy Cannon – The Dedication Song – 1966 WB
Butlers – Lovable Girl – 1963 Guyden
Sergio Mendes – So Danco Samba – 1965 Atlantic [LP: The Swinger From Rio]
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 11, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. Please call. Somewhat slow last night, as we followed the debate, which may have left you in a stuper. But we did get a chance to talk about several things, from medial stories that will leave you uneasy (Did you know you’re eating something that could cause your skin to turn invisible? That was the brightest note on this topic last night), to searching for love over 50. And we played your requests, plus a nice dose of Sergio Mendes, RIP. Sad he’s gone but always happy to play his early stuff.
Sergio Mendes – Oba La La – 1961 Philips [LP: Dance Moderno]
Boogaloo & His Gallant Crew – Clothes Line (Wrap It Up) – 1956 Crest – LInda richton park
Sergio Mendes – Chove Chuva – 1966 A&M
Drifters – Please Stay – 1961 Atlantic Andy Norridge
Arthur Alexander – You Better Move On – 1962 Dot Cindy Chicago
Arthur Alexander – A Shot of Rhythm and Blues – 1962 Dot Cindy Chicago
Sergio Mendes – O Morro Nao Tem Vez
Sergio Mendes Trio –Favela – 1965 Capitol/ Tower
[LP “Brasil ‘65” / “In The Brazilian Bag”]
Connie Francis – Where The Boys Are – 1961 MGM Chris Greenwood
Sergio Mendes – One Note Samba – 1965 Capitol/Tower
[LP “Brasil ‘65” / “In The Brazilian Bag”]
Sergio Mendes Trio – Muito A Vontade – 1965 Capitol/Tower
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10 after debate coverage and we’ll talk about anything but the debate. We’ll leave out any matter of importance, but everything else is up for grabs. Last night was a fine time playing Monday Night Trivia with loads of calls, but no right guesses to our Straggler:
Shoplifting is the most common crime that might occur in a department store. But about 20 years ago, a New York department store was the scene of this criminal activity. No word on whether the two perps were prosecuted. What criminal activity? Spreading cremated remains without permission (2002, Bloomingdales-- the deceased once bought a cashmere sweater there, so her filmmaker son and his brother walked around the store dumping Mom’s ashes everywhere. ) [New Yorker 9/30/02]
You got several of the Bumper Stumpers but not the theme. Every act I played was on stage this week in 1964 in Brooklyn—but not all together. The Brooklyn Paramount featured a multi-day show starring The Animals, Jan & Dean, Bobby Rydell, Chuck Berry, Del Shannon, The Dixie Cups, and Dee Dee Sharp. But Murray the K at the Brooklyn Fox outdrew them with his multi-day extravaganza including The Searchers, The Newbeats, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Miracles, Martha & The Vandellas, and Jay & The Americans. Here’s what I played:
Searchers – Ain’t That Just Like Me – 1964 Kapp
Newbeats – Shake Hands – 1966 Hickory
Marvin Gaye- Soldier’s Plea – 1962 Tamla
Temptations – Paradise – 1962 Gordy
Miracles – Got A Job – 1958 End
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas – Love, Guess Who – 1970 Gordy
Anthony & The Imperials – I’m Hypnotized – 1968 Veep
Jay & The Americans – Come Dance With Me – 1963 UA
Dee Dee Sharp – Why Doncha Ask Me – 1963 Cameo
DEe Shannon – Cry Myself To Sleep – 1962 Big Top
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 9, 2024 1:25 AM CT… Next live show tonight at 10 providing I’m living. Actually I feel better now than I did over the weekend. So hope springs eternal that you’ll hear a live Monday Night Trivia show tonight. I’ve even picked out the theme for the Bumper Stumpers. And just now I managed to digitize Thursday night’s show. Sorry for it taking so long. I have no idea what we might have discussed, but I did keep a log of the bumper requests I played:
Miracles – Who’s Lovin’ You – 1960 Tamla
Ohio Players- Who’d She Coo – 1976 Mercury
Frankie Valli – Can’t Take My Eyes Off You – 1967 Philips
The Mothers of Invention – Valarie – 1969 [LP: Burnt Weeny Sandwich]
Jackie & The Starlites – Valarie – 1960 Fury
Average White Band – School Boy Crush – 1975 Atlantic
Elvis Presley – Treat Me Nice – 1958 RCA
Patsy Cline – Walking After Midnight – 1957 Decca
Patsy Cline – Leavin’ On Your Mind – 1963 Decca
Ben E King – Stand By Me – 1961 Atco
James & Bobby Purify – You Can’t Keep A Good Man Down – 1967 Bell
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 5, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. Please call. Thanks to all of you who did last night. We discussed a number of things, including the medical mystery of how could a doctor in Florida mistake someone’s liver for his spleen? The surgical patient is dead but his family is wondering. We got updates from Jim, and others and took your requests. Will I actually play Frank Zappa. Before you answer, remember my fondness for him because of our shared love of East LA soul oldies. As for what we played, you requested them and here they are:
Patsy Cline – Faded Love – 1963 Decca
Wayne Cochran – The Coo – 1959 Scottie
Delbert McClinton – Never Been Rocked Enough – 1992 Curb
Delfonics – Face It Girl, It’s Over – 1969 Philly Groove (LP: Sound of Sexy Soul]
Delfonics – Ready Or Not, Here I Come – 1968 Philly Groove
Delfonics – Hurt So Bad – 1968 Philly Groove [LP: La La Means I Love You]
Russell Malone – You Send Me – 2012 (unrecorded professionally)
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 4, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. Looking forward to talking with you. Last night we discussed the reasons you should take advantage of annualcreditreport.com where you can pull your credit for free from all three bureaus once a week. (It used to be once a year, hence the name, but with misuse of your personal data being so rampant, you can now check weekly—OK, that may be a bit much, but try to do it at least monthly.) We also discussed the danger of Teflon pans, diseases du jour (too many to count, especially related to travel horrors), Salman Rushdie, Barnes & Noble, tv shopping, radio, and music. And we played a lot of your requests:
Benny Goodman Quartet – Tea For Two – 1937 Victor
Carla Thomas – Gee Whiz – 1960 Satellite Mary Ellen Oak Lawn
Bob & Earl – Gee Whiz – 1958 Class
Delbert McClinton – Same Kind of Crazy – 2002 New West [LP cut: Room to Breathe]
Otis Redding – Try A Little Tenderness – 1966 Volt
Percy Sledge – When A Man Loves A Woman – 1966 Atlantic
Sparks of Rhythm – Handy Man – 1955 Apollo
Jimmy Jones – Handy Man - 1959 Cub
Johnny Adams – Body And Fender Man – 1988 Rounder [LP: Room with a View of the Blues]
Moe Koffman Quartette – 1958 Jubilee
Freddie Slack with Ella Mae Morse – Cow Cow Boogie – 1942 Capitol
Ella Fitzgerald & The Ink Spots – Cow Cow Boogie – 1944 Brunswick
Brook Benton – Rainy Night in Georgia – 1969 Cotillion
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 3, 2024 3:31 AM… It was the third of September, that day I’ll always remember (yes, I’m reciting Papa Was A Rolling Stone lyrics… but it also was my late childhood friend Bucky Lemon’s birthday). We’ll celebrate the day with a full show tonight starting at 10. Last night was the Labor Day edition (live) of Monday Night Trivia. The question I threw out remains unanswered so it will be next week’s straggler. Don in Beloit got the theme for our Bumper Stumpers (all were integrated groups) and a few of you got s some of the artists (Marcels, Graham Central Station, War & The Meadowlarks) but most went unguessed. Here’s what we played:
Marcels – Teeter Totter Love – 1961 Colpix
Graham Central Station – Feel The Need – 1974 WB
Jaguars – The Way You Look Tonight – 1956 R-Dell
Crests – Guilty – 1961 Selma
War - All Day Music – 1971 UA
Impalas – First Date – 1959 Hamilton
Chambers Brothers – Let’s Go, Let’s Go, Let’s Go – 1974 Avco
Don Julian & The Meadowlarks – Heaven & Paradise – 1955 Dooto
Trammps – Love Epidemic – 1974 Golden Fleece
Del Vikings – When I Come Home – 1957 Fee Bee
Foundations – In the Bad Bad Old Days – 1969 Uni
AUGUST 2024
FRIDAY AUGUST 30, 2024 3:31 AM CT…Next live show, Monday Night Trivia—live on Labor Day. I have between now and then to heal. I took a flying leap yesterday and landed on my face. At first I was worried about it and my teeth (my permanent retainer decided to bend in an unnatural way—I’ll see the dentist on Tuesday), but as the show started I realized that the other injuries (torn up shin, hurt elbow, assorted bumps and bruises) paled compared to my right wrist. I’m typing so I assume it’s not broken, but the pain level on a 1 to 10 scale is above a 9 when I try to type. But that won’t deter me. I’ll stop typing now but I’ll be here Monday unless I’m not anywhere (count on me to be here). As for tonight’s by request bumpers:
Les Elgart - Bandstand Boogie – 1954 Columbia
Champs – Tequila – 1958 Challenge
Patsy Cline – Crazy – 1961 Decca
Nat King Cole – Unforgettable – 1951 Capitol
Timi Yuro – What’s A Matter Baby (Is It Hurting You) – 1961 Liberty
Delfonics – La La Means I Love You – 1968 Philly Groove
Etta James – At Last – 1961 Argo
THURSDAY AUGUST 29, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10, and I fully intend to be on the air doing it. I was last night, though in the waning moments of the show the phones gave out. Apologies to all who were holding. It took me a while, but I narrowed down and fixed the problem and all should be well tonight (though you’ll be the first to know). Last night we talked about tornados (34 years since the big one in Plainfield, IL), teeth (Lia’s adventures in denture-land), the need for a solid support system (especially when you’re older and alone), the odyssey of Larry Williams (the writer and original artist on the first two bumpers we played tonight) and mercury going direct (but still in the retroshade until 9-11), among a myriad of other things I can’t recall. But I do have a list of what you heard:
Larry Williams – Dizzy Miss Lizzy – 1958 Specialty
Larry Williams – Bad Boy – 1959 Specialty
Leapy Lee – Little Arrows – 1968 Decca
Jackson 5 – Big Boy – 1968 Steeltown
Ripples & Waves Plus Michael – Let Me Carry Your School Books – 1971 Steeltown
Frank Sinatra – One For My Baby – 1958 Capitol [LP cut: Only The Lonely]
Platters – Only You – 1955 Mercury
Monkees – Tapioca Tundra – 1968 Colgems
Lou Rawls – Show Business – 1967 Capitol
Don Gardner & Dee Dee Ford – I Need Your Lovin’ – 1962 Fire
Marty Robbins – Strawberry Roan – 1959 Columbia [LP cut: Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs]
Yellow Balloon – Yellow Balloon – 1967 Canterbury
TUESDAY AUGUST 27, 2024 11:00 PM CT... No live show tonight. Apologies. Jon took one look at me late this afternoon and proclaimed, '"You will not do a show tonight." I interjected, "but I can" and he interrupted, finishing the sentence, "not do the show. Go lie down." And so I did. Not that I feel any better for it. Actually I feel worse, but that just punctuates his edict. General metabolic auto-immune stuff I think, and I fully intend to do a show tomorrow/Wednesday night. In the meantime, there's a link I've been meaning to give you. Click here and read my book for free! Let me know how you like it. (It's the world's first motivational book punctuated by radio stories. I bet you'll learn something you didn't know. Maybe about the real story behind the payola hearings.)
TUESDAY AUGUST 27, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight starting at 10. I hope you’ll call. Last night’s Monday Night Trivia saw the straggler in play all evening. At the end of the show I revealed the answer:
Although rudimentary efforts existed since the 1700s, the first official one was sold in 1939. A year later, over a million of them were. Now millions and millions are sold regularly. Millions of what? Paperback books. (In 1940, Dale Carnegie’s “How To Win Friends And Influence People” sold a million copies of that title alone. A year earlier the first paperback was sold Pearl Buck’s “The Good Earth”. [Columbia State 2/10/02])
As for the Bumper Stumpers, the theme was that all the artists performed in Alan Freed’s “The Story of Rock n Roll”, a ten day spectacular Second Anniversary show at the Brooklyn Paramount 68 years ago, in 1956 September 1st through the 10th No one attempted to figure that out, but we did have correct guesses on Joe Turner, The Cleftons, Frankie Lymon and Fats Domino
Mabel King – Alabama Rock And Roll – 1956 Rama
Penguins – Be Mine – 1963 Original Sound
Harptones – Oobidee Oobidee Oo – 1954 Bruce
Jean Chapel – Welcome To The Club – 1967 Sun
Cirino & The Bowties – Again – 1956 Royal Roost
Joe Turner – Lipstick Powder And Paint – 1956 Atlantic
Cleftones – You Baby You – 1956 Gee
Frankie Lymon – Little Bitty Pretty One – 1958 Roulette [LP cut]
Fats Domino – Every Night About This Time – 1950 Imperial
Penguins – My Troubles Are Not At An End – 1956 Mercury
Jimmy Cavalo And His House Rockers – Rock Rock Rock – 1956 Coral
FRIDAY AUGUST 23, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Next live show, Monday Night Trivia at 10 CT. Do call. Don’t call tonight. It’s a replay of last Monday’s show. But if you missed the straggler, you might want to hear it and think about it over the weekend. Then call Monday with an answer. Last night we followed the DNC wrap up, starting at 11. We talked about an airport in Japan halting all outgoing flights because a store past the security check misplaced a pair of scissors. I kid you not. We also touched on the chicken wing caper. A Kansas City NFL star wants to pay the $1.5 million stolen by the school worker (in the form of 11,000 cases of chicken wings). Never mind that. I still want to know how she fenced it. Someone had to help her successfully sell 11,000 cases of wings. What? She went door to door asking restaurants if they wanted to buy hot chicken. Not likely. The plot continues. We took some of your requests and played a few too (though Pat & The Blenders was for me).
Pat & The Blenders – Just Because – 1968 Fast Eddie
Impressions – It’s All Right – 1963 ABC Paramount
Detroit Emeralds – Feel The Need – 1972 Westbound
Joan Weber – Let Me Go Lover – 1955 Columbia
Kenny Lattimore – For You – 1996 Columbia (For Van in Chicago)
Marshall Thompson featuring the Chi-Lites – Low Key – 2001 Mar-Ance
THURSDAY AUGUST 22, 2024 3:31 AM CT… We’ll be on at 10 CT tonight, or right after Kamala Harris concludes her speech at the DNC, whichever is last. And as usual, if it’s of absolutely no consequence and on your mind, I’d love to talk about. Last night we talked with Steve Propes, author, historian, R&B oldies lover (search for him on Amazon under books and you’ll probably come up with ten you’ll want to read). We followed that with with talk about everything from Phil Donahue to Kenny Rankin.
Peppermint Harris – Wait Until It Happens To You – 1967 Jewel
Royals – Every Beat Of My Heart – 1952 Federal
Ritchie Valens – Come On, Let’s Go – 1958 Del-Fi
Robins – Framed – 1954 Spark
Temptations – Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) – 1971 Gordy
Patsy Cline – San Antonio Rose – 1961 Decca [LP cut: Showcase]
Marcels - Blue Moon – 1961 Colpix
Roy Hamilton – Don’t Let Go – 1957 Epic
Intervals – Here’s That Rainy Day – 1962 Class
Leon Redbone- Get Out, Get Under The Moon – 2014 August [LP cut: Flying By]
Paul Whiteman/Bing Crosby – Get Out Get Under The Moon – 1928 Columbia
Wilson Picket – I Found A Love – 1967 Atlantic
Falcons – I Found A Love – 1962 Lu Pine
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 21, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Well nothing awful happened yet (still counting the days this week since the dire predictions from astrologers of all stripes, and yes, tongue is firmly in cheek—hopefully I won’t be the one surprised). Baring some disaster, full show tonight at 10. I hope you’ll call. Last night ran the gamut as usual. Plenty of radio stories, lots of medical maladies and many of your requests:
Billie Holiday – God Bless The Child – 1941 Okeh
Frankie Laine – God Bless The Child – 1950 Mercury
Brenton Wood – Oogum Boogum Song – 1967 Double Shot
Buddy Knox – Party Doll – 1957 Roulette
Duprees – Have You Heard – 1963 Coed
Jan Bradley – Mama Didn’t Lie – 1963 Chess
Sam Cooke – Bring It On Home To Me – 1962 RCA
Billly Joe Royal – I Knew You When – 1965 Columbia
Wade Flemons – I Knew You When – 1964 VJ
Wade Flemons – That Other Place – 1964 VJ
Frank Sinatra – Fly Me To The Moon – 1964 Reprise [LP cut: It Might As Well Be Swing]
Joe Harnell – Fly Me To The Moon – 1962 Columbia
Kenny Rankin – Haven’t We Met – 1966 Columbia
House of Gold –– On & On [both from 1977 Little David LP with Don Costa]
Stringman [from Little David LP Like a Seed 1972]
TUESDAY AUGUST 20, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Well we’re still here. The Full Moon and all the awful warnings haven’t come to pass. Yet. Sometimes it takes a while, so we’re not out of the clear yet, but as of today, looks like no killer solar flares, dramatic civil unrest, major earthquakes and so forth. May the rest of the week be equally uneventful. We’re live tonight at 10, so if you want an escape from DNC rhetoric, this is the place. We’ll talk about anything but politics. Particularly if it’s fun. And we’ll play your requests. Especially if I like them. Now about last night’s Monday Night Trivia… you knocked off the straggler in short order:
According to a 1998 study from Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, managerial workers are twice as likely to have a heart attack after doing this. Doing what? Firing someone [Chicago Tribune 3/23/98] but you still haven’t unraveled our follow up question, so it becomes next week’s straggler. You didn’t do well on the Bumper Stumpers, which was somewhat surprising as several were done by mega hit artists. And no one even tried for the theme: All of the artists (soloists and all group members) were born in the Carolinas. (Their birthplaces are in parenthesis):
Clyde McPhatter – Rock And Cry – 1957 Atlantic (Durham NC)
Ben E King – How Can I Forget – 1963 Atco (Henderson NC)
Chubby Checker – You Better Believe It – 1964 Parkway (Spring Gully, SC)
Barbara Jean English – Key in the Mailbox – 1973 Alithea (Sumpter, SC)
Brook Benton – Nothing Can Take The Place Of You – 1969 Cotillion (Lugoff, SC)
Inez Foxx – Hurt By Love – 1964 Sue (Greensboro, NC)
Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs – I Remember – 1961 Herald (Lancaster, SC)
Bill Pinkney (of the Drifters) – Don’t Call Me – 1964 Fontana (Dalzell, SC)
O’Kaysions – Love Machine – 1968 ABC Paramount (Wilson, NC)
“5” Royales – I Know It’s Hard But It’s Fair – 1959 King (Winston Salem, NC)
Little Eva – The Trouble With Boys – 1963 Dimension (Belhaven, NC)
FRIDAY AUGUST 16, 2024 3:31 AM CT.. Next live show: Monday Night Triva 10 PM CT. We’ve got a Straggler. I bet you’ll guess it, so please call. Astrologically speaking, Monday is a big day. Not only do we have a full moon (which always means the sun and moon are in opposition) but Mercury is conjunct the sun opposing the moon, and Uranus is squaring it all (Sun, moon, and Mercury). Meanwhile we have Venus opposing Saturn, while Mars and Jupiter are in conjunction squaring both Venus and Saturn. (I won’t bring up the astrological signs involved, as they are somewhat different depending on if you’re focused on western or vedic astrology). Bottom line for those who believe in such things, it’s going to be a very interesting week—not to mention it’s also the week of the DNC in Chicago. We’ll ignore allt that and play trivia on Monday. Last night we played your requests and talked about whatever floated your boats—sciatica cures, cats, old music, and other things to numerous to mention, meaning the show is less than an hour old and I can’t remember a one of ‘em. I do remember what I played:
Smokestack Lightnin’ – I Idolize You – 1969 Bell
James Baskett – Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah – 1946 Disney (from Song of the South)
Bob B Soxx & The Blue Jeans – Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah – 1962 Philles
Huey Lewis & The News – Heart of Rock and Roll – 1984 Chrysalis
Flamingos – Music Maestro Please – 1959 End [LP cut: Flamingo Serenade]
Mills Brothers – Paper Doll – 1942 Decca
Tams – Disillusioned – 1961 Arlen
Frederick Knight – I’ve Been Lonely For So Long – 1972 Stax
Huey Lewis & The News – I Want A New Drug – 1983 Chrysalis
Bing Crosby & Grace Kelly – True Love – 1956 Capitol
THURSDAY AUGUST 15, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10 and as usual anything goes. It did last night with a lot of talk about radio, some about music, and a good Mitch Miller story from Steve Bryant, not to mention several of your requests. (I will never again play Runner by Manfred Mann, a song I never heard before that James requested. Apologies for putting you through it.)
I did something awful last night. I forgot that Steve Propes was going to join us. Apologies to you for missing him, and to him for my forgetting. We've set it up to have him on next Wednesday at 10 and I'm looking forward to it!
Andrews Sisters with Jimmy Dorsey And His Orchestra – Hold Tight – 1938 Decca
Howard Tate – Half A Man – 1966 Verve
Buddy Holly – Rave On – 1958 Coral
Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine In (The Flesh Failures) – 1969 Soul City
Doris Day – Put ‘Em In A Box, Tie ‘Em With A Ribbon – 1948 Columbia
Harold Weakley – To Russia With Care – 1966 Columbia
Marty Robbins – A White Sports Coat (And A Pink Carnation) – 1957 Columbia
Mickey Gilley – You Don’t Know Me – 1981 Epic
Manfred Mann’s Earth Band – Runner – 1984 Arista
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 14, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight starting at 10. I hope you’ll call. Last night’s show ran the gamut from what the hell would anyone do with 11,000 cases of chicken wings? (A school food worker in suburban Chicago has been sentenced to 9 years in prison for over a year and a half long heist—but there’s absolutely no word on how she fenced $1.5 million worth of chicken wings. And I wanna know. Yes, clearly she interacted with the restaurant community, maybe on every conceivable level, but exactly how did this come to pass)-- to the Air Force THunderbirds returning to Chicago for next year’s August show. And we got in several of your requests too:
Chuck Jackson – I Don't Want To Cry – 1961 Wand
Bobby Rydell – The Cha Cha Cha – 1960 Cameo
Ray Charles – You Don’t Know Me – 1962 ABC Paramount
New Vaudeville Band – Winchester Cathedral – 1966 Fontana
Dean Martin - Little Ole Wine Drinker Me – 1967 Reprise
Chantels – I’m Confessin’ – 1959 End
Patsy Cline – So Wrong – 1962 Decca
Ink Spots – Don’t Get Around Much Anymore – 1942 Decca
Joe South – Don’t It Make You Want To Go Home – 1969 Capitol
El Dorados – At My Front Door – 1955 VeeJay
Howard Tate – Look At Granny Run Run – 1966 Verve
TUESDAY AUGUST 13, 2024 3:31 AM CT.. Full show tonight at 10. I hope you’ll call. Many of you did last night for Monday Night Trivia and eventually you correctly answered the Straggler:
Happy Hours is a popular name for restaurant discounts at certain times. 20 years ago, it was also the most popular name for this. For what? Boats. (In order, the top ten boat names were: Happy Hours, Carpe Diem, Reel Time, Sea Biscuit, Freedom, Summer Wind, Aquaholic, Serenity, No Worries and Mental Floss. Serenity was the most popular name in the 1990s.) [Dallas Morning News 2/10/04]
We threw out another question, which becomes next week’s Straggler. As for the Bumper Stumpers, you got a few, but no one ventured a guess on the theme. All the artists were supporting acts on a name performer’s bill, to whit:
Monday August 12, 1964 opening for Four Seasons at Loew’s Theatre in Providence, RI—
Barbara Lewis, Ruby & The Romantics, Bobby Goldsboro, Chiffons, Jimmy Soul
Monday August 12, 1967 opening for Otis Redding at the Kiel in St Louis—
Carla Thomas, Arthur Conley, Percy Sledge, Five Stairsteps
Sunday August 11, 1967 opening for Gene Pitney at VIctory Stadium in Roanoke, VA—
The Easybeats, The Happenings, The Music Explosion, Fifth Estate
And here’s what we played:
Barbara Lewis – Make Me Belong To You – 1966 Atlantic
Music Explosion – What You Want – 1968 Laurie
Ruby And The Romantics – Every Day’s a Holiday – 1964 Kapp
Jimmy Soul – My Baby Loves To Bowl – 1963 SPQE
Chiffons – Sailor Boy – 1964 Laurie
Arthur Conley – Shake Rattle and Roll – 1967 Atco
Carla Thomas – Little Boy – 1961 Stax/Atlantic unreleased
Five Stairsteps – Oooh, Baby Baby – 1967 Windy C
Percy Sledge – Any Day Now – 1969 Atlantic
Easybeats – St. Louis – 1969 Rare Earth
Bobby Goldsboro – And Then There Was Gina – 1975 UA
FRIDAY AUGUST 9, 2024 3:31 AM CT.. Next live show Monday Night Trivia at 10 PM CT. Tonight it’s a replay of last Monday’s trivia, so don’t call—but do call on Monday. I’ll be waitin’ for ya! Last night ranged from radio (WPDQ and KAAY in particular) to ridiculous—but it according to the veterinarian it was true—a woman brought her sick puppy in. Xrays revealed the dog swallowed a though. The woman didn’t wear them—but her husband’s mistress did. The puppy is fine. No word on the marriage. It was great to have wall to wall calls, and my pleasure to play some of your requests. We talked too much to get more of ‘em on. But there’s always next week.
Pete Fountain – The Honey Wind Blows – 1964 Coral
Dean Martin – Houston – 1965 Reprise
Sunny & The Sunglows – Talk To Me – 1963 Tear Drop
Carpenters – All You Get From Love Is A Love Song – 1977 A&M
Steve Eaton – All You Get From Love Is A Love Song – Steve Eaton Productions
Sha Na Na – Don’t You Just Know It – 1974 KamaSutra [LP cut: Hot Sox]
Belvederes - Why Do You Treat Me This Way – 1962 Poplar – Dave la Salle
THURSDAY AUGUST 8, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. Please call early! The first half hour is usually crickets and by the end of the show, there’s several of you holding. So if you can call closer to 10 CT, I hope we’ll have a chance to talk. Lat night, we covered a variety of things as usual, ranging from tips for Jim about his iPhone and other things to let conquer the world without having to see it. We stayed away from world politics, as usual, thought I did recommend Johnny D read ‘The Creature From Jekyll Island’ since he seemed confused about our currency. Actually, we’re probably all confused about that and everything else that matters right now, so instead of worrying about it we focused on an upbeat financial theme: the economic benefits of checking into the Holiday Inn over a nursing home. Perennial cruises are also a good option. And we played your requests (plus remembered Maurice Williams who passed away at 86 on Monday):
Gladiolas – Little Darlin’ – 1957 Excello
Maurice Williams – Being Without You – 1966 Deesu
Tokens – Tonight I Fell In Love – Tokens – 1961 Warw8ci
Earls – Remember Then – 1963 Old Town
Earls – Never (slow version) – 2001 Laser [CD cut: Back On The Streets Of The Bronx]
Jerry Lee Lewis – Sweet Little Sixteen – 1962 Sun
Jerry Lewis – Down The Line – 1958 Sun
Delfonics – He Don’t Really Love You – 1966 Moon Shot
Brian Hyland – 3000 Miles – 1966 Philips
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 7, 2024 3:31 AM CT. Full show tonight at 10. I’m looking forward to hearing from Nick (we ran out of time last night) and You! Last night we covered cats, drugs, rock and roll and scams du jour, not to mention why you shouldn’t expect to actually get your postal mail. And we played some of your requests:
Matt Bianco – Half A Minute – 1984 WEA (Atlantic in US – Basia vocal)
Lavern Baker – Bumble Bee – 1960 Atlantic
Wanda Jackson – Fujiyama Mama – 1957 Capitol
Diamonds – Land of Beauty – 1957 Mercury
Ink Spots – To Each His Own – 1946 Decca
James Brown – Night Train – 1962 King
Ted Weems – There’s Too Many Eyes… 1929 Victor
TUESDAY AUGUST 6, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. Plenty to talk about and several requests to play. Speaking of playing, Monday Night Trivia was fun, as always. In a turnabout, you got the Bumper Stumpers theme right away (Cleveland Dennis knew every song I played was on Sue, Juggy Murray & Bobby Robinson’s great independent R&B label), but only one of the songs (I Idolize You) was guessed. (The full list is below.)
You quickly aced my first two questions:
You hear it all the time “the boss from hell” but the first time an employer was widely termed that way was the 1980s. What employer deserved that handle? Leona Helmsley.
We hear about attacks on people and property from nation sanctioned to independent terrorist groups. But one form of terror is rarely reported but on the rise. What is it? Piracy. (Pirates attacking cargo ships. There were 120 incidents in 2023 resulting in the loss of lives and goods, including the first hijacking of a vessel of Somalia in several years, but incidents happened around the world, including many off the South American ports of Brazil, Peru and Columbia.) [ICC (International Chamber of Commerce)/IMB (International Maritime Bureau) 1/11/24]
But you stalled on my third, so that becomes next week’s Straggler.
Matadors – Vengeance – 1957
Barbara George – Send For Me – 1962
Don Covay – Believe Tt Or Not 1958
Four Jokers – Run Around – 1958
Soul Sisters – I Can’t Stand It – 1964
Bobby Hendricks – Psycho – 1960
Ike and Tina Turner – I Idolize You – 1960
Senors – May I Have This Dance – 1962
Baby Washington – It’ll Never Be Over For Me – 1964
Jackie Shane – Comin’ Down – 1963
FRIDAY AUGUST 2, 2024 3:31 AM CT.. Next live show, Monday Night Trivia! (Tonight it’s a replay of last Monday night’s trivia—don’t call, but do call on Monday.) Last night we played a lot of your requests, and tackled everything from the Law of Abundance (new moon is Sunday at 6:13 AM, you know what to do) and solar flares, to what may be lurking in your new abode’s walls, or below that nice wooden floor. We also played your requests:
B.J. Thomas – Here You Come Again – 1977 MCA [LP cut: B.J.Thomas]
Little Richard – The Girl Can’t Help It – 1956 Specialty
Ella Fitzgerald – Gulf Coast Blues – 1940 Decca
Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps – Race With The Devil – 1956 Capitol
Richard Dimples Fields – Earth Angel – 1981 Boardwalk
Al Hibbler – After The Lights Go Down Low – 1956 Decca
Lionel Richie – Love Will Conquer All – 1986 Motown
Greg Phillinganes – Countdown to Love – 1985 Planet
Enchanters – There Goes (A Pretty Girl) – 1956 Coral
Andrews Sisters – Rum And Coca Cola – 1944 Decca
THURSDAY AUGUST 1, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. Call and call early! Last night we covered our usual vast array of nothingness, including the new moon, which will be here Sunday morning August 4th at 6:13 AM Central, Mercury stationing on the same day and turning retrograde until the 28th, and the next full moon on the 19th. We also got into pet psychics and we played your requests:
Big Jay McNeely – There Is Something On Your Mind – 1959
Jolly Jax soliloquy from There Is Something On Your Mind – 1962 V-Tone
Howlin’ Wolf – Spoonful – 1960 Chess Willie Dixon wrote
Etta & Harvey – Spoonful – 1960 Chess
Lou Rawls – Tobacco Road – 1963 Capitol
John D. Loudermilk – Tobacco Road – 1960 Columbia
Nashville Teens -Tobacco Road – 1964 London
James Brown – I Need Help (I Can’t Do It Alone) – 1972 Polydor [LP cut: There It Is]
Bobby Byrd – I Need Help (I Can’t Do it Alone) – 1970 King
Dean Martin – Mambo Italiano – 1954 Capitol
Rosemary Clooney – Mambo Italiano – 1954 Columbia
Buddy Guy – What Kind of Woman Is This – 2006 Silvertone [LP cut: Bring ‘Em In]
Joe Tex – Hold What You’ve Got – 1968 Dial
Johnny Horton – North To Alaska – 1960 Columbia
Frank Stallone – Darlin’ – 1984 Polydor
Dells – There Is – 1968 Cadet
JULY 2024
WEDNESDAY JULY 31, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight. Please call. And call early. We had full lines last night in the 2nd and 3rd hour, and a vast wasteland at first. So if you want to get on the air, your best bet is to call at the start of the show. I’ll look forward to hearing from you. We talked about a wide variety of things last night from the horror of HOAs to the old 10 10 lines. Don’t know what they were? You’ll have to listen to the replay. We played several of your requests too:
Dean Martin – Sway – 1954 Capitol
Drifters – Up On The Roof – 1962 Atlantic
Smokey Robinson – Just To See Her Again – 1987 Motown
Linda Griner – Goodbye Cruel Love – 1963 Motown
Hugo Winterhalter’s Orchestra featuring Eddie Heywood – Canadian Sunset – 1956 RCA
Elgins – Stay In My Lonely Arms – 1966 VIP
Gladys Knight & The Pips – If I Were Your Woman – 1970 Soul
Whispers – I Was Born When You Kissed Me – 1966 Dore
Marvelettes – Playboy – 1962 Tamla
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes – Wake Up Everybody – 1975 Philadelphia Int’l
TUESDAY JULY 30, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Primary Day in Arizona (for everything but presidential, that took place months ago). So while I’m on the air tonight, I’ll be tabulating county returns. But you will be my first priority if you grace me with a call. We can talk about anything besides politics. We all get enough of that everywhere else. We’re live at 10 PM Central and I’ll look forward to hearing from you. It was fun playing Monday Night Trivia last night, as always. You aced the four questions I threw out:
For over 50 years, select government workers in DC were invited to the White House to do this. It probably would still be going on, but after 9-11, they disbanded the get togethers due to increased needs security at the presidents’ home. What were they doing? Bowling. (The White House had a bowling league from 1950 to 2001. Teams included Secret Service, secretarial staff, domestic help and gardeners, all part of the only bowling league in history to require a security clearance.)
Employees take note. On any given workday, there’s a 20% chance that this will happen to you. What? Being criticized by their boss. [Fortune 3/18/96]
Hotels are everywhere in every conceivable place, but only two are located in this unlikely setting. Where? Under water (the Undersea Lodge in Key West and the Utter Inn in Sweden).
In 1997, a legal researcher determined that the five rings of the Olympics were the most recognizable symbol in the world. What was #2? The McDonald's arches. [John Vidal in his book McLibel, reported in the Sunday Star Times (New Zealand) 6/22/97]
You also got several of the Bumper Stumpers:
Lena Horne – Love Me or Leave Me – 1955 RCA
Treniers – Who Put The Ungh In the Mambo – 1955 Okeh
Brook Benton – Laura (What’s He Got That I Ain’t Got) – 1967 Reprise
Louis Jordan – That Chick's too Young To Fry – 1946 Decca
Sarah Vaughn – I Need You More (Than Ever Now) – 1974 Mainstream
Ray Charles – It Should've Been Me – 1953 Atlantic
Ella Fitzgerald – Smooth Sailing – 1951 Decca
Mickey & Sylvia – This Is My Story – 1960 RCA
Phil Phillips – Your True Love Once More – 1960 Mercury
Nancy Wilson – Streetrunner – 1974 Capitol
Count Basie – Li’l Darlin – 1958 Roulette [LP: The Atomic Basie]
But you didn’t get the theme: Every artist was an African American who appeared on the Perry Como Kraft Music Hall NBC TV show.
FRIDAY JULY 26, 2024 3:31 AM CT…Next live show, Monday Night Trivia! Tonight it’s a replay of the last Monday Night Trivia. So don’t call, but I hope you will call Monday. A lot of you did last night, and I’m too tired to remember a thing about what we discussed, but it was mostly a good time had by all. I say ‘mostly’ because our last caller, Sherry, was sobbing and I felt so bad that the show was ending-- kinda like, “Gee, your entire life is falling apart? Sorry, gotta go, news is coming up.” Shamefully unacceptable. Sherry was regretting not being there for her grandmother’s final moments and has been wracked with guilt ever since.
I felt so badly for her and sorry we couldn’t have continued the conversation. Sherry (and everyone else), trust me on this: in the blink of an eye, we’ll all be together again on the other side, and until then, your grandmother is watching over you and she wishes she could alleviate your pain by letting you know she’s fine. Better than fine. OK, maybe I’ve listened to too many NDE podcasts, but I honestly believe that’s the truth. Our earthly existence is like a video game. The real action is between lives. Not that I want you to test it out right now, but we’ll all know soon enough. Yeah I am tired, and sorry that I didn’t have more time for Sherry. Though I did have time to play several of your requests:
Levi Stubbs – Mean Green Mother From Outerspace – 1986 Geffen
Parliament Funkadelic – Mothership Connection (Star Child) – 1975 Casablanca
Turbans – I’m Nobody’s – 1956 Herald
Bobby Lewis – One Track Mind – 1961 Beltone
Ronny Jordan – After Hours – 1992 Island [LP cut: The Antidote]
Hollywood Flames – Buzz Buzz Buzz – 1957 Ebb
Darrell Banks – Open The Door To Your Heart – 1966 Revilot
Unifics – The Beginning Of My End – 1968 Kapp
Eugene Church – Pretty Girls Everywhere – 1958 Class
Danderliers – Chop Chop Boom – 1955 States
THURSDAY JULY 25, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. We’ll solve the world’s problems again. We do that by ignoring them completely and having a good time. Last night we delved into Samsung’s Shortcut Sneaker (over 50 years after the concept was used in “Get Smart”, but this time for real), the possibility of having Neanderthal DNA, what to do with unsolicited phone calls, more on drummers, your requests, and I think I may have figured out who played drums on Dee Clark’s Hey Little Girl. Al Duncan! Right now he’s in the 75% possibility, but I’ll keep trying to track it down. (You’ve been of no help, I should add, affectionately of course).
Dee Clark – Hey Little Girl – 1959 Abner
Connie Francis – Lipstick On Your Collar – 1959 MGM
Parliaments – Don’t Be Sore At Me – 1967 Revilot
Four Tops – Reach Out (I’ll Be There) – 1966 Motown
Ray Charles – I’ve Got A Woman – 1954 Atlantic
Barbara Lewis – Hello Stranger – 1963 Atlantic
Ketty Lester – Love Letters In The Sand – 1961 Era
Loretta Lynn – One’s On The Way – 1971 Decca
Penguins – Memories Of El Monte – 1963 Original Sound
WEDNESDAY JULY 24, 2024 3:31 AM CT.. Full show tonight starting at 10. We can talk about anything you want, as long as it has no political significance—that you can get everywhere else. We started to get into the best drummers last night, but I’m saving the rest of that for Richard who requested the topic. Great to hear from Glen in Madison, and everyone else. If you didn’t call last night (or even if you did) I hope you’ll call tonight. Last night, we played a few songs from the newly departed, and a few of your requests too:
Jerry Fuller – Shy Away – 1961 Challenge
Ricky Nelson – Travelin’ Man – 1961 Imperial
Sandy Posey – It’s Midnight, Do you Know Where Your Baby Is – 1976 WB
Jack Gale – The Medicine – 1960 Columbia
Four Tops – Ask The Lonely – 1965 Motown
Jo Ann Campbell – Ahab The Arab – 1962 Cameo [LP cut: All The Hits By Jo Ann Campbell]
Tides – Chicken Spaceman – 1961 Dore
"Dion (DiMuci)" [yes that's what it said on the label] Donna The Prima Donna - 1963 Columbia
TUESDAY JULY 23, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. Let’s talk! Last night we had a rousing edition of Monday Night Trivia. You asked for a lot of categories (always fun) but never got the Straggler: Most of us encounter these virtually all the time these days, but the first time anyone saw one was in the latter ’70s. Saw what? An unsolicited email. (On May 3, 1978, Digital Equipment Corp sent an unsolicited email to 600 individuals on the Arpanet announcing an event where there newest computer would be on display.)
The Bumper Stumpers continued with last weeks ‘answer records’ theme:
Etta James – The Wallflower – 1955 Modern [Work With Me Annie]
Margaret Lewis – Honey (I Miss You Too) – 1968 SSS
Blossoms – Son In Law – 1961 Challenge [Mother In Law]
Gloria Lynne – You Don’t Have To Be A Tower Of Strength – 1961 Everest
Jo Ann Campbell – (I’m The Girl On) Wolverton Mountain – 1962 Cameo
Pearlettes – Duchess Of Earl – 1962 VeeJay [Duke of Earl]
Gene Chandler – You Threw A Lucky Punch – 1962 VeeJay [You Beat Me To The Punch]
Billy Ward & His Dominos – Can’t Do Sixty No More – 1955 Federal [60 Minute Man]
Esther Phillips – When A Woman Loves A Man – 1966 Atlantic
Linda Laurie – Stay At Home Sue – 1961 Rust [Runaround Sue]
Phil McClean – Small Sad Sam – 1961 Versatile [Big Bad John]
Frank Gallop – The Ballad of Irving – 1966 Kapp [Big Bad John]
Steve Greenberg – Big Bruce – 1969 Trip [Big Bad John]
Meanwhile, I am living an online nightmare. When you go to rollyestream.net (for downloads, for instance) you will see navigation bars that make no sense whatsoever. Ignore them. (I’ve left them up while I investigate the code culprit that’s creating this mayhem-- everything is perfect in preview, but when it hits the server it goes to hell. Using the above nav bar will get you where you want to go. Apologies for the confusion.
MONDAY JULY 22, 2024 2:14 AM CT... Apologies. Most of the older links on the Downloads page aren't active. They will be soon. Unfortunately I have to type each one in, individually. This takes a while, it's after 2AM and I'm getting hungry. I'll talk to you tonight at 10 for Monday Night Trivia. I'm ready and looking forward to it.
SUNDAY JULY 21, 2024 1:30 AM CT... Well, that went better than expected. I only had to delete and reload the program three times. But most seems well (and some doesn't, but why dwell on that?). Tomorrow I will attempt to reconfigure thed downloads page. Maybe. Either way, I'll keep you posted and will look forward to talking with you tomorrow on Monday Night Trivia!
SATURDAY JULY 20, 2024 10:35 PM CT... I am throwing caution to the wind and rebuilding this site (little by little). Keep in mind that if you suddenly see nothing (and if you haven't read this beforehand, you won't know why-- but assuming you're reading it now, that's the worst that will happen). For how long it will happen is dependent on more variables than I can count, but if it does, fixing it will instantly rise to the top of the to do list. Apologies in advance.
FRIDAY JULY 19, 2024 3:31 AM CT Next live show, Monday Night Trivia! (Tonight it’s a replay of last Monday night’s trivia—don’t call, but do call on Monday.) We followed President Trump’s acceptance speech last night, and in keeping with our political free zone, didn’t say a word about it. We did note the passing of Bob Newhart, and played one of my favorite early bits of his. (We also played an explanation as to how he got started elucidated by none other than one of my all time favorite morning men, WCFL’s Dan Sorkin. PBS did an interview with him in 2005. If you’d like to hear the whole thing, click here.) As for the requests we played:
Kai Winding – Time Is On My Side – 1963 Verve
Irma Thomas – Time Is On My Side – 1964 Imperial
Rolling Stones – Time Is On My Side – 1964 London
Three Degrees – Maybe – 1970 Roulette
Billy Bland – Let The Little Girl Dance – 1960 Old Town
Gloria Lynne – Don’t Take Your Love From Me – 1964 Everest
THURSDAY JULY 18, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight, probably, but if President Trump runs long on his acceptance speech, we’ll be on after it’s concluded. Last night we played your requests, and a few other goodies, and talked about whatever was on your mind. Absolutely nothing of consequence— Connie Francis and Bobby Darin’s relationship (well it was of big consequence to her at the time, but you get my drift, so to speak); Patsy Cline, James Brown’s rift with King (resulting in two versions of I Feel Good)—among the spellbinding topics. More of the same tonight, I’m sure.
Gene Chandler – Groovy Situation – 1970 Mercury Fran
Sha Na Na – Lovers Never Say Goodbye – 1969 Buddah
Dean Martin – Ain’t That A Kick In The Head – 1960 Capitol
James Brown – I Feel Good – 1964 Smash [LP Cut: Out of Sight]
Dionne Warwick – I Say A Little Prayer – 1967 Scepter
Patsy Cline – Walkin’ After Midnight – 1957 Decca
Tim Tam & The Turn-Ons – Wait a Minute – 1966 Palmer
Coasters – Wait A Minute – 1961 Atco
Lost Generation – Wait a Minute – 1970 Brunswick
Enchanters – Wait A Minute Baby – 1956 Coral
WEDNESDAY JULY 17, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. Last night we discussed a number of inconsequential things including the history of Wibbage, various maladies (some of which are very consequential if you’re facing them, but none of them are divisive), and we played your requests:
Silhouettes – Get A Job – 1958 Junior/Ember – for linda in richton park
Silhouettes – Headin’ For The Poorhouse – 1958 Ember
Boogaloo & His Gallant Crew – Cops and Robbers – 1956 Crest
Lanes – Open Up Your Heart – 1956 Gee
Ella Fitzgerald – Soldier Boy – 1955 Decca
Wiliam Bell – Crying All By Myself – 1964 Stax
Peter Brown – Do You Wanna Get Funky – 1977 TK
Patsy Cline – She’s Got You – 1962 Decca
Pearl Bailey – Whoever You Are, I Love You – 1969
Robins – Live Wire Suzy – 1960 Arvee
TUESDAY JULY 16, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. There’s a lot happening in the world right now, and we’ll ignore all of it and have a good time—with one caveat. If menacing weather, or other local catastrophes occur, WGN will preempt my show to bring you full coverage—which is exactly as it should be. Radio serves no higher purpose than getting you critical information immediately. Last night we started Monday Night Trivia an hour late due to truly alarming conditions, and I was proud to be delayed. But we did spend two hours playing games. I threw out a question, which remains unanswered. It becomes next week’s straggler.
The Bumper Stumpers theme was easy and obvious-- all of what you heard were answer songs to big hit records. But the real challenge was identifying who did them. Tommy knew Carla Thomas. Below you’ll see all of them. But there were so many from which to chose, we’ll stick with the same theme next Monday night with a new crop of songs.
Al Smith Combo featuring Hazel McCollum & The El-Dorados – Annie’s Answer–1954 VeeJay
Carla Thomas – I’ll Bring It On Home – 1962 Atlantic
Mad Lads – Don’t Have To Shop Around – 1965 Volt
Debbie Dean – Don’t Let Him Shop Around – 1961 Motown
Chantels – Well I Told You – 1961 Carlton
Geraldine Stevens (Dodie) – Billy, I’ve Got To Go To Town – 1969 World Pacific
FRIDAY JULY 12, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Next live show, Monday Night Trivia at 10 PM next week. Tonight, it’s a replay of last Monday night’s trivia. Good to talk to you last night. We covered a lot of ground, from Open The Door, Richard to the abuse of Elvis. We also playe several of your requests. I didn’t get a chance to play Peter Brown’s Do You Wanna Get Funky. It was his 71st birthday yesterday. Seems like it was just a few years ago that a kid with a cardboard cut out on his album cover came up with one of the disco greats—maybe we’ll pay it next week.
Charlie Rich – July 12, 1939 – 1970 Epic
Hot Lips Page – Last Call for Alcohol – 1952 King
Arthur Prysock – Rainy Night in Georgia – 1987 Milestone
Jeanie C Riley – Harper Valley PTA – 1968 Plantation
Ben Colder (Sheb Wooley) – Harper Valley PTA (Later That Same Day) – 1968 MGM
James Brown – There Was A Time – 1967 King
Charlie Rich – Mohair Sam – 1965 Smash
Del Reeves – Slow Hand – 1981 Koala
Solomon Burke – Everybody Needs Somebody To Love – 1964 Atlantic
Jack McVea & This All Stars – Open The Door, Richard – 1946 Black & White
THURSDAY JULY 10, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10—do call. It started out sluggish last night, but I did my public service by telling you where to get free French fries (all over the place) and free Slurpees (limited to 7-Elevens). And I played some of your requests and talked about whatever was on your minds—music, radio, Y.Y. Wickie and more.
Manhattans – I’m The One Love Forgot – 1965 Carnival
Todd Rundgren – Cool Jerk Medley: I’m So Proud, Ooh Baby Baby, La La Means I Love You, Cool Jerk – 1973 Bearsville [LP cut: A Wizard, A True Star]
Manhattans – You Send Me – 1985 Columbia
Ray Sharpe – Linda Lu – 1959 Jamie
Kris Kristofferson – Help Me Make It Through The Night – 1970 Monument [LP cut: Kristofferson]
Sammi Smith – Help Me Make It Through The Night – 1971 Mega
James Brown – Super bad – 1970 King
Richard Dimples Fields – You Send Me – 1982 Boardwalk [LP cut: Give Everybody Some!]
Claudine Clark – Party Lights – 1961 Chancellor
Steve & Eydie – I Want To Stay Here – 1963 Columbia
Eddie Holland – Jamie – 1962 Motown]
Richard Dimples Fields – Sincerely – 1982 Boardwalk [LP cut: Mr. Look So Good]
WEDNESDAY JULY 10, 2024 3:31 AM CT…. Full show tonight at 10, and as usual anything goes providing it is of no importance whatsoever. We’ll have a good time. We did last night talking with Bruce Blackman of Starbuck. (You can hear the hour in perpetuity—click on downloads above). We played a lot of Starbuck songs last night, and some of your requests too:
Starbuck – Moonlight Feels Right – 1975 Private Stock
Starbuck – The Slower You Go – 1976 Private Stock
Starbuck – I Got To Know – 1976 Private Stock
Starbuck – Jim’s Café – 2014
Sha Na Na – I Wonder Why – 1973 (live) for Jim in Richmond WI
James & Bobby Purify – I’m Your Puppet – 1966 Bell
Dicky Doo & The Don’ts – Teardrops Wil Fall – 1958 Swan Jack St. Charles
Robert Mitchum – The Ballad of Thunder Road – 1960 Capitol
Starbuck - Lash LaRue – 1975 Private Stock
Arthur Alexander – Anna – 1962 Dot
Louis Jordan – Five Guys Named Moe – 1942 Decca
Danny O’Keefe – Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues – 1972 Atlantic
Leon Russell – Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues – 1984 Paradise
TUESDAY JULY 9, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight starting at 10. Bruce Blackman joins me in the first hour, and if the name doesn’t sound familiar that’s because you’re not associating it with Starbuck. But you will be tonight. If you want some pre-show reading, check out BruceBlackman.com and prepare to have a good time.
Last night’s Monday Night Trivia was also a good time. The Straggler question went all night. I finally revealed it at the end of the show: One out of three Americans believes this about themselves. What? That they’ve got a good idea for an invention [Akron Beacon Journal 9/6/01] I promised to share mine, and I will in the second hour tonight. If you don’t know what the vertical blanking interval is, you might want to google it first Look for it in relationship to NTSC. If you’re old, you’ll recall it as the black bar that repeated on your television screen when vertical hold needed attention. Yeah, you can tell it’ll be spellbinding, right. But I’ll try to make it at least mildly entertaining.
As for the Bumper Stumpers, there were two themes. An easy one—all the groups and artists’ last names started with a C (you’ll notice they’re all in reverse alphabetical order too). As for the more elusive connection. Every artist we played had a National Top Ten smash hit on the R&B charts—and then never charted R&B again. Only one song was guessed: Zippity Zum because Cleveland Dennis recognized the Chord’s from Sh-Boom. Here’s al of them (with their big hit in parenthesis—if nothing’s there, then I played the big hit—for all the good it did you):
Crows – Mambo hevitz – 1954 Tico (Gee #2 RB)
Crickets – You’re Mine – 1953 MGM (#10 RB)
Crescendos – Gawk N’Stroll – 1958 unreleased Nasco (Oh Julie - #4 RB)
Counts – Darling Dear – 1954 Dot (#6 RB)
C.O.D.’s – Cry No More – 1965 Kellmac (Michael #5 RB)
Tony Clarke – Landslide – 1966 Chess (The Entertainer #10 RB)
Claudine Clark – Walkin’ Throug A Cemetery – 1962 Chancellor (Party Lights #3 RB)
CJ & Co. – Devil’s Gun – 1977 Westbound (#2 RB)
Chords – Zippity Zum – 1954 Cat (Sh-Boom #2 RB)
Jimmy Charles – Age For Love – 1960 Promo (A Million To One #8 RB)
Chanters – Stars In The Sky – 1958 DeLuxe (No No No #9RB)
JULY 5, 2024 3:31 AM CT.. Next full show next week for Monday Night Trivia. (Tonight it’s a replay of last Monday night’s show.) Last night, I finally got around to tellin’ the whole Love Land saga. The only thing I didn’t tell you is why James Gadson thought he wrote it, but I haven’t a clue. It turned out fine in the end. Please pray for Bonnie from Butternut, she’s in the hospital with AFib-- scary stuff. Fortunately it’s usually not as dire as you’d think, but it’s no fun to be lying in bed in a hospital room so I’m glad we could keep her company. Here’s what we entertained her (and you, and in the case of Gee Whiz, me) with:
Al Hibbler – Love Land – 1958 Decca
Don Trotter And The Eighth Wonder – Loveland – 1969 Josie
Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band – Love Land – 1970 Warner Bros.
James Gadson – Got To Find My Baby – 1971 Cream
Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band – Love Land [1970 version]
Untouchables – Raisin’ Sugar Cane – 1961 Madison
Reunion – Life Is A Rock (But The Radio Rolled Me) – 1974 RCA
Kasenetz Katz Singing Orchestral Circus – Quick Joey Small – 1968 Buddah
Frank Bishop – My Horoscope – 1967 Caravelle
Gene Cotton – Before My Heart Finds Out – 1977 EMI
Ray Charles – America The Beautiful – 2021 Tangerine [LP cut: True Genius]
Newbeats – Run Baby Run – 1965 Hickory
Bob & Earl – Gee Whiz – 1958 Class
Neil Diamond – Brooklyn Roads – 1968 Uni
THURSDAY FOURTH OF JULY 2024 3:31 AM CT… Live show tonight on the 4th, starting at 10. We’ll review the Love Land saga (there wasn’t much love, either, but it still is a great song, at least one of the versions, anyway). Last night we played your requests, talked about the usual subjects and heard from the usual suspects, and a few infrequent callers as well, not to mention a first time caller too. We played his request right away, and a number of yours too:
Les Brown (Doris Day vocal) – Sentimental Journey – 1945 Columbia
Junior Walker & The All Stars – 1965 Soul
Everly Brothers – Poor Jenny – 1959 Cadence
Diana Krall – Peel Me A Grape – 1997 Impulse [LP cut: Love Scenes]
Les Paul & Mary Ford – How High The Moon – 1951 Capitol
Gloria Gaynor – How High The Moon – 1975 MGM
Del Shannon – Little Flirt – 1962 BigTop
Louis Armstrong & His Savoy Ballroom Five – St. James Infirmary – 1928 Odeon
Johnny Cash – Ragged Old Flag – 1974 Columbia
Eddie Cochran – Sittin’ In The Balcony – 1957 Liberty
WEDNESDAY JULY 3, 2024 3:31 AM… Full show tonight at 10, please call. Last night several of you did. We talked a lot about music, as well as dance shows and disc jockeys from days gone by, the usual glot of nothing substantive but fun. And I played your requests. (OK, I played Foxy (the LA, not Miami, group) for me, but the rest of them were all up to you.)
Ohio Players – Jive Turkey (Part 1) – 1974 Mercury
B J Thomas – Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song – 1975 ABC
Eddie Floyd – Knock On Wood – 1966 Staxrf
Johnny Bond – Hot Rod Lincoln – 1960 Republic
Arkie Shipley – Hot Rod Race 1951 Gilt-Edge
Charlie Ryan – Hot Rod Lincoln 1956
Foxy – I Like The Way You Love Me – 1971 Double Shot
Marlo – I Could Of Had A Good Thing – 2022 CD Baby
Marlo – Understanding - 2022 CD Baby
Bobby Peterson – Irresistable You – 1956 V-Tone
Statler Brothers – Do You Remember These – 1972 Mercury
Ohio Players – Fire – 1974 Mercury
TUESDAY JULY 2, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. Please call. Several of you did last night which makes Monday Night Trivia a pleasure to do. No one got the the trivia question I threw out, so it becomes next week’s Straggler.
You did get a few of the Bumper Stumpers (Flaming Ember, Original Casuals, & Matt Lucas) but on one came close to the theme. All these acts were big surprises to bookers. All were white artists booked at the height of their popularity by unsuspecting promoters of R&B venues. (And by all accounts, there was never a hint of the problem the apoplectic bookers thought might occur when they actually saw these performers.)
Roy Head - Just A Little Bit - 1965 Scepter (Treat Her Right)
Bobby Charles - Time Will Tell - 1956 Chess (Later Alligator)
Flaming Ember - Mind Body & Soul - 1969 Hot Wax (Westbound #9
Mello-Kings - Chip Chip - 1959 Herald (Tonite Tonite)
The O'kaysions - Love Machine - 1968 ABC (Girl Watcher)
Original Casuals - So Tough - 1957 Back Beat (top 10 R&B, not even Top 40 pop)
Eternals - Babalu's Wedding Day - 1959 Musictone (regional giant: Rockin' In The Jungle)
Matt Lucas - MC Twine - 1965 Karen (I'm Movin' On)
Linda Lindell - My Man, He's A Lovin' Man - 1967 Brent (What A Man)
Bob Kuban & The In-Men - SOS - 1966 Musicland [LP cut: Look Out For The Cheater]
[Other obvious off-the-top-of-my-head choices that we didn’t have time to play: Tony Joe White, The Soul Survivors, The Casinos, Frankie Laine, Timi Yuro, Bobby Caldwell, Buddy Holly (didn’t HE surprise The Apollo?), Johnny Rivers, Mark-Keys, Wild Cherry, and so many more.]
JUNE 2024
THURSDAY JUNE 27, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Next live show: Monday Night Trivia next week (on Monday Night at 10 CT)… Tonight you’ll hear the audio of the debate between Trump and Biden, with Chris Cuomo afterwards and a special guest. In the midnight hour, it’ll be a replay of last Thursday night’s conversation with author Del Staecker about his latest, “Another Southside”. Tomorrow night it’s a replay of this week’s Monday Night Trivia. As for last night, we talked about radio reception, air conditioning, driverless cars, delivery robots and Jim’s eye update, and we played several of your requests, as well as honored some birthdays:
Gilberto Gil – Here And Now – 1979 Elektra [LP cut: Nightingale] (turned 82 Wednesday)
Marcos Valle – She Told Me – 1968 Verve [LP cut: Samba ‘68]
Brenda Holloway – You’ve Changed Me – Motown (unreleased) (turned 78 Wednesday)
Bo Diddley – Ooh Baby - 1966 Checker
Bo Diddley – I’m Sorry- 1959 Checker [LP cut; Go Bo Diddley]
Bo Diddley – You Can’t Judge A Book By The Cover – 1962 Checker (Willie Dixon wrote)
Georgie Fame – In The Meantime – 1965 Columbia [UK release] (turned 81 Wednesday)
Eddie Floyd – I Never Found A Girl – 1968 Stax (turned 87 Tuesday)
Floaters – Float On – 1977 ABC (Larry Cunningham would have turned 73 this week)
Rolf Harris – Sun Arise – 1962 Epic
Seekers - I’ll Never Find Another You – 1965 Capitol
WEDNESDAY JUNE 26, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. Please call! Many of you did last night, and apologies to the handful of you I left holding when the show ended. Call earlier tonight. Last night we played most of your requests, talked about problems with AI (I still want to know what the McDonald’s customer was actually ordering when she got vanilla ice cream topped with bacon), how to clean vinyl records, and the horror of lawyers (in this case blaming parents for an open pool drain that sucked in and killed an 8 year old).
Treniers – Say Hey – 1954 Epic
Bobbettes – Mr. Lee – 1957 Atlantic
Lena Horne – Stormy Weather – 1942 Victor
Peggy Lee – You Go To My Head – 1952 Decca
Heart – Dreamboat Annie – 1975 Mushroom
Shorty Long – Function At The Junction – 1966 Soul
Commodores – Nightshift – 1985 Motown
Johnny Adams – Body and Fender Man - 1988 Rounder [LP cut: Room With A View]
Patsy Cline – Strange – 1962 Decca
Chris Barber’s Jazz Band – Petite Fleur – 1958 Laurie
The Rinky-Dinks (really Bobby Darin) – Early In The Morning – 1958 ATCO
TUESDAY JUNE 24, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight starting at 10. Please join me and call. Last night’s Monday Night Trivia was an hour late in starting due to the final game of the Stanley Cup Championships. Glad that Edmonton had the MVP, and sorry Sunrise won. There’s something about pairing hockey with the everglades that doesn’t jibe with me, but it was a well played championship by both teams. Next year the Oilers rule (I hope).
No one got the Straggler… About twenty years ago, an analysis of internet search queries turned up 70 thousand hits for jokes about this. About what? Doctors. (British scientists took it a step further and ranked doctor jokes. What came in first is lost to history but thanks to the New York Times [1/27/02], we have the joke that came in second: A man goes to the doctor, telling him there’s a piece of lettuce sticking out of his bottom. The doctor examines him. The worried patient asked if it’s bad news. The doctor replies: I’m sorry to tell you, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. –-This is probably a big hit in Germany too where excrement jokes routiney rank #1.)
As for the Bumper Stumpers: All were mega hit artists with dozens of songs including several #1s on the Billboard R&B charts.. but none of them ever made it to number one on the Hot 100. That’s a reflection Billboard, not the wonderful performers. The list could have been a ot longer with Jackie Wilson, The Dells, The Impressions and too many more. Here’s what we played (and believe me, it was hard to find to find songs you wouldn’t notice by the likes of these guys):
Brook Benton – Walk On The Wild Side – 1962 Mercury
Martha & The Vandellas – You’re The Loser Now – 1970 Gordy
James Brown – These Foolish Things – 1963 King
Sam & Dave – May I Baby – 1967 Stax [LP cut: Soul Men]
Wilson Pickett – Sin Was The Blame – 1973 RCA [LP cut: Mr. Magic Man]
Isley Brothers – Time After time – 1962 Wand [LP cut: Twist & Shout]
Hank Ballard & The Midnighters – How You Gonna Get Respect – 1968 King
Fats Domino – Every Night About This Time – 1952 Imperial
FRIDAY JUNE 21, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Next live show—Monday Night Trivia next Monday. We’ll start at 10, or after the Stanley Cup Finals, if the match goes that long. Tonight it’s a replay of Monday Night Trivia from last Monday and there is a straggler. So if you missed it Monday night you might want to catch it tonight to give you time to think about it.
In the first hour last night, we talked with writer extraordinaire, Del Staecker. His latest, “Another Southside” is not to be missed if you’re a Chicagoan. (Even if you aren’t you’ll love it.) Click on it for ordering from Amazon.
After that we got an update from Jim, and calls from several of you including Cris and Eduardo, and we played some of your requests too:
Moroccos – Red Hots And Chili Mac – 1955 United
Gene Chandler – Bet You Never Thought – 1966 Constellation
Radiants – It Ain’t No Big Thing – 1965 Chess
Dells – Now I Pray – 1956 VJ (unreleased)
Voxpoppers – Wishing For You – 1956 Mercury
Escorts – Submarine Race Watching – 1962 Coral
Brenton Wood - I Like The Way You Love - 1967 Double Shot
Coasters – Three Cool Cats – 1958 ATCO
THURSDAY JUNE 20, 2024 3:31 AM CT.. Live show tonight at 10. Please call! Last night ran the gamut from Shreveport (radio stations) to Edmonton (go Oilers), with your requests intersperced:
Stompin’ Tom Connors – The Hockey Song – 1972 Boot
Chet Atkins – Frog Kissin’ – 1975 RCA
Tommy Edwards – It’s All In The Game – 1958 MGM
Barry Manilow – Sandra – 1974 Bell [LP Cut: Barry Manilow II]
Astrud Gilberto – Meditation – 1965 Verve [LP Cut: The Astrud Gilberto Album]
Ronnie Milsap – Stranger In My House – 1983 RCA
Johnny Burnett – Dreamin’ – 1960 Liberty
Toby Keith – Don’t Let The Old Man In – 2018 Show Dog
Right Said Fred – I’m Too Sexy – 1991 Tug
Tommy Hunt – Human – 1965 Scepter
WEDNESDAY JUNE 18, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. Please call! Last night we started a bit late, but it was good to see The Oilers trounce The Panthers in Florida. We talked about everything from bearded dragons to cicadas, not to mention music. And we ran down the details in Marvin Gaye’s murder, though I’m not entirely sure why. But as I always say, if it’s on your mind, it’ll be on mine. As for your requests:
Justine Washington – I Can’t Wait Until I See My Baby – 1963 Sue
Major Lance – I’ve Got A Girl – 1960 Mercury (written by Curtis Mayfield)
Jackie Wilson – I’m So Lonely – 1965 Brunswick
Blue Notes – Get Out – 1965 Landa
Terry Cashman – Talkin’ Baseball (Willie, Mickey & the Duke) – 1981 Lifesong
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes – I Should Be Your Lover – 1980 Source
Brenton Wood – Catch You On The Rebound – 1967 Double Shot
Kingsmen – Jolly Green Giant – 1964 Wand
Olympics – Big Boy Pete – 1960 Arvee
Roy Ayers – Hot – 1985 Columbia
TUESDAY JUNE 18, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Tonight we’ll be on after the Stanley Cup Finals. It could be right at 10, or anytime after that. Check in periodically. Last night was a rousing game of Monday Night Trivia. No one guessed the question I threw out, so it becomes a straggler for next week.
As for the Bumper Stumpers, the theme was the same for this week and last— artists that peaked in the 10 ten of the Billboard Hot 100 this week. Here’s what we played last night (followed by info on their peaking song this week):
Pat Boone – July You’re a Woman – 1969 Tetragrammaton (#1 1961 Moody River)
Coasters – Wait A Minute – 1961 ATCO (#8 1957 Young Blood)
Barbara Lewis – Pushin’ A Good Thing Too Far – 1964 Atlantic (#3 1963 Hello Stranger)
Major Harris – Jealousy – 1976 Atlantic (#5 1975 Love Won’t Let Me Wait)
Taste of Honey – Do It Good – 1979 Capitol (#3 1981 Sukiyaki)
Kenny Rogers – 1958 Carlton (#5 1977 Lucille)
George Benson – It Should Have Been Me #2 – 1954 Groove (#7 1978 On Broadway)
Temptations – My Pillow – 1962 (unreleased Gordy) (#8 1967 You’re All I Need)
Joe Simon – When – 1970 Sound Stage 7 (#8 1975 Get Down Get Down Get On The Floor)
Jimmy Rodgers – The World I Used To Know – 1964 Dot (#3 1958 Secretly)
Dorothy Moore – Funny How Time Slips Away – 1976 Malaco (#3 1976 Misty Blue)
Same theme for last week, except all the artists peaked on the national Billboard Hot 100 in the top 5. The list of what played is in the Tuesday June 11th post below, but as for the songs peaking this week:
Sheb Wooley –#1 1958 (6 weeks) Purple People Eater
KC & The Sunshine Band – #1 1977 I’m Your Boogie Man
Dixie Cups – #1 1964 Chapel Of Love
Dion – #3 1963 Lovers Who Wander
Dovells – #3 You Can’t Sit Down
Honey Cone – #1 1971 Want Ads
Chuck Berry –#1 1958 Johnny B Goode
Ray Parker Jr –4 1982 The Other Woman
There would have been sixteen other choices this week, including six #1s four additional top 5s, and five more top 10s (proving the theme could go on endlessly):
Gogi Grant – #1 1956 Wayward Wind
Stevie Wonder #1 1963 Fingertips Pt 1
Four Tops – #1 1965 I Can’t Help Myself
Herb Alpert – #1 1968 This Guy’s In Love With You
Captain & Tennille - #1 1975 Love Will Keep Us Together
Marvin Gaye – #1 1977 Got To Give It Up
Carpenters – #2 1971 Rainy Days And Mondays
Sister Sledge – #2 1979 We Are Family
Gene Pitney – #4 1962 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Johnny Mathis – #5 1957 It’s Not For Me To Say
Gary Lewis & The Playboys – #8 1966 Green Grass
Ray Parker Jr – #8 1981 A Woman Needs Love
Tommy James & The Shondells – #10 1967 Mirage
Friend & Lover – #10 1968 Reach Out Of The Darkness
AWB – #10 1975 Cut The Cake
FRIDAY JUNE 14, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Next live show, Monday Night Trivia. (Tonight it’s a replay of last Monday night trivia, so please don’t call—but do call on Monday.) We started a bit late last night, after the Stanley Cup Finals. It does not look good for Edmonton, sorry to say. But we had a good time talking about a wide variety of things, identifying songs, taking your calls and playing your requests:
Baby Washington – That’s How Heartaches Are Made – 1963 Sue
Mary Martin – Never Never Land – 1954 RCA [LP Cut: Peter Pan]
Jerry Reed – Caffein, Nicotine, Benzedrine (and Wish Me Luck) – 1981 RCA
Linda Clifford – Runaway Love – 1978 Curtom
Eddie Cochran – Summertime Blues – 1958 Liberty
Eddie Cochran – Sittin’ In The Balcony – 1957 Liberty
Jonathan King – Everyone’s Gone To The Moon – 1965 Parrot
Brothers Four – Green Leaves of Summer – 1960 Columbia
Antonio Carlos Jobim – Mediation – 1963 Verve [LP: Composer of Desafinado plays]
THURSDAY JUNE 13, 2024 3:31 AM CT.. We’ll start right after the Stanley Cup Finals stop. Could be at 10, could be a bit later. Hang in there, and do call. Last night we identified songs that drive you crazy. Johnny D hummed Greenfields and Mary Ellen vocalized J’Taime. Now they both know what was running through their heads. (I wouldn’t have come up with either, but you guys did and for that we’re all grateful. There was another song Johnny Dee hummed, but it doesn’t sound familiar to any of us. Maybe he can hum it again. Now there’s a reason to listen tonight. As for bumpers:
Tower of Power – You Ought To Be Havin’ Fun – 1976 Columbia
Marvelettes – The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game – 1966 Tamla
Ernest Tubb – Walking The Floor Over You – 1941 Desca
Ernest Tubb & Friends Walking The Floor Over You – 1979 Cachet
Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin – J’Taime – 1969
Mark James – Suspicious Minds – 1968 Scepter
Frank Dell – He Broke Your Game Wide Open – 1967 Valise
Rasputin Stash – The Devil Made Me Do It – 1974 Gemigo
Brothers Four – Greenfields – 1960 Columbia
Chan Romero – I Don’t Care Now – 1959 Del-Fi Jerry Montana
Pookie Hudson – I Know – 1963 Double L
Ray Charles – Unchain My Heart – 1961 ABC Paramount Dave LaSalle
WEDNESDAY JUNE 12, 2024 3:31 AM CT Full show tonight at 10. Please call. Good to talk with many of you and play your requests last night. Topics ranged from the history of KGO-FM, ABC’s ill-fated SuperRadio and NBC’s ill-fated NIS to the horror story of the night—guy coughed and sneezed so much his intestines fell out. And you didn’t think it could happen! (It probably can’t, unless like this guy you had recent abdominal surgery, but the headline was frightening as all get out.) As for what you heard:
James Carr – The Dark End Of The Street – 1967 Goldwax
Jimmy Clanton – Darkest Street In Town – 1962 Ace
Corsairs – Smoky Places – 1961 Tuff
Gino Vannelli – People Gotta Move – 1974 A&M
Brenton Wood – I Think You Got Your Fools Mixed Up – 1967 Double Shot
Robert Parker – Barefootin’ – 1966 Nola
David Rose – Ebb Tide – 1962 MGM
Clyde McPhatter – Lover Please – 1962 Mercury
Little Willie John – Sleep – 1960 King
Jackie Wilson – It’s So Fine - 1958 Coral
FRIDAY JUNE 7, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Happy Birthday to Michael O’Shea & Barbara Harvey!
Next live show: Monday Night Trivia at 10 CT. (Tonight, it’s a replay of last Monday’s show—if you missed the straggler, you’ll hear what it is.) Last night, we heard from Laura (the lady who gave us the great trivia questions and is now over one year sober—congratulations Laura!) and Lia (who gave us an update on her health issues—next surgery Wednesday, but it should be smooth sailing after that), Linda (who told us about her uncle’s WW2 service, a horrifying tale of racism, but he triumphed in spite of it), Fran, Ruth, Cindy, Eduardo, Chad and I’m leaving several folks out, so if you missed the show, the replay is streaming now and downloadable for the foreseeable future. We didn’t hear from James, but I did decid to play his request: “Play any version of A Room With A View” said James. The problem here is there are three completely different songs with that title, so we played ‘em all:
Paul McCartney – A Room With A View – 1999 Walrus [Noel Coward 1929]
Lou Rawls – Room With A View – 1989 Blue Note [Billy Vera & Lowell Fulson 1988]
Julie London – A Room With A View – 1957 Liberty [Einar Swan & Al Stillman 1938]
Louis Armstrong – A Kiss To Build A Dream On – 1951 Decca
Marvin Gaye – I’ll Be Doggone – 1965 Tamla
James Brown – A Cottage For Sale – 1968 King [LP: Thinking about Little Willie John]
James Brown – Sex Machine Pt.1 – 1975 Polydor
Larry Santos – Say Hello To Pan Am – 1980 (jingle)
Andrews Sisters – Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy – 1941 Decca
Orlons – South Street – 1963 Cameo
THURSDAY JUNE 6, 2024 3:31 AM CT… Full show tonight at 10. Attendance will be taken, and hopefully we’ll hear from Joanie about her daughter. Please pray for Chrissie. She’s had an awful systemic infection that has left her in a rehab hospital and in need of a liver transplant. On a happier note, we talked a lot about radio last night. We also covered abuse of animals in lab testing, specifically the mega fine given to the firm that abused tens of thousands of beagles. 4,000 were captured a couple years ago and all found good homes (including with Prince Harry and Meaghan). And we played several of your requests:
Chris Kenner – I Like It Like That – 1961 Instant
Lenny Welch – Since I Fell For You -1963 Cadence
Sam Cooke – Good Times – 1964 RCA
Frankie Ford – Time After Time – 1960 Ace
James Brown – Signed Sealed & Delivered – 1963 King
Cassius Clay – Stand By Me – 1964 Columbia
Miss Toni Fisher – The Big Hurt – 1959 Signet
Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters – Such A Night – 1954 Atlantic
Moody Blues – The Story In Your Eyes – 1971 Threshold
Sam Cooke – When A Boy Falls In Love – 1965 RCA
WEDNESDAY JUNE 5, 2024 3:31 AM CT.. Full show tonight starting at 10. Your participation is welcome! Last night ran the gamut. We started with the bad news about the cicadas you can’t stop hearing (yes in Chicago they are louder right now, and there’s a good reason that only happens every 220 or so years. We moved on to the delightfuol idea of living at the scene of gruesome murders, and explored using in appropriate bar codes. Like a bag of Doritos to gain access to a fitness center (no it didn’t work). We also played a lot of your requests:
James Brown – Get Up Offa That Thing – 1976 Polydor
Sam Cooke – Wonderful World – 1960 Keen
Felix Figueroa & His Orchestra – Pico & Sepulveda – 1946 Ambassador
James Brown – Hot Pants – 1971 People
Hound Dog Taylor – Give Me Back My Wig – 1971 Alligator [LP Cut: House Rockers]
Chi-Lites – Have You Seen Her – 1971 Brunswick
Boyz II Me – End Of The Road – 1992 Motown
Johnnie Taylor – Stop Doggin’ Me – 1972 Stax
TUESDAY JUNE 4, 2024 3:31 AM CT.. Full show tonight at 10. We played Monday Night Trivia last night, and Don from Beloit got the first of the Bumper Stumpers, the Bumper Stumper theme, and the Straggler question, all in the first few minutes of his call. Talk about lack of restraint! As for that Straggler:
Since the early 1800s it’s been legal for someone in France to wed this kind of spouse. What kind of spouse? A dead one. (In 1803, Article 171 provided for marriage to dead people, a provision intended for war widows. Marrying the dead is legal in numerous countries including Germany, India, Japan, South Africa, South Korea and the Sudan, for similar reasons. In America, it’s generally not allowed, but there have been exceptions.)
Our follow up question remains unanswered and thus becomes next week’s Straggler.
The Bumper Stumpers theme was all the acts I played were on The Dick Clark Show this week, mostly American Bandstand (AB), but a few on The Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show (SN) on the years noted below:
Danny & The Juniors – Doin’ The Continental Walk – 1962 Swan AB 1958
Dee Dee Sharp – Willyam Willyam – 1964 Cameo AB 1962
Tony Orlando – Happy Times (Are Here To Stay) – 1961 Epic AB 1961
Orlons - Envy (In Your Eyes) – 1965 Cameo AB 1962
Frankie Avalon – True True Love – 1961 Chancellor SN 1960
Jr. Walker & The All Stars – Right On Brothers and Sisters – 1971 Soul AB 1965
Bobby Lewis – What A Walk – 1961 Beltone AB 1961
Roy Orbison – Let The Good Times Roll – 1965 Monument AB 1966
Johnny Preston – Leave My Kitten Alone – 1961 Mercury SN 1960
Carl Dobkins Jr. – Exclusively Yours – 1960 Decca SN 1960
Stacey got Frankie Avalon, Tommy got Jr. Walker, and Don got Danny & The Juniors. The rest went without guesses (though Jon knew Roy Orbison instantly, leading me to wonder why you didn't call).
MONDAY JUNE 3, 2024 10:05 PM CT... Monday Night Trivia is about to start, and I'm dedicating the show to Bob in Memphis, who would have turned 70 today! (He died on May 18th.) His wife, Carolyn was kind enough to send a link to the video of his funeral. Click here to see it. (When you get toward the end, Carolyn is the white haired lady helped into the wheel chair.)
SUNDAY JUNE 2, 2024 10:50 PM CT... I'm finally getting around to recoding my websites, and at best it's a work in progress. I'll stay on it when time permits, but time doesn't permit much, so apologies in advance and please bear with me. If you're looking for what was previously on this page, click here, but understand it's an outdated static image and eventually I'll remove it entirely. I spent some time on the site this weekend to my utter frustration, but fortunately I spent more time picking out the Bumper Stumpers and some followup questions if you get the straggler tomorrow night at 10 CT on Monday Night Trivia.
