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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.]
OCTOBER 2024
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 Daria 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.
