For the 4th Of July, I wanted something American.

Then it occurred to me- Jay & The Americans!

I had some fun with the beginning of this one.

Oh, and that Denise likes them too- I don't know whether more than Herman's Hermits or not.

After this, she will never have a reason to listen again- certainly not for ME, lol!

At the start there was Jay Traynor, and he was replaced by Jay Black.

Black had that at times operatic voice, as did Roy Orbison.

I'll have the very interesting story of Only In America, ORIGINALLY recorded by the Drifters but given to Jay & The Americans with the same music track behind them, it was unchanged.

The song was considered unrealistic being sung by The Drifters!

As usual, I will be playing songs that are forgotten by the tight playlists of today's radio.

Including one in particular, called Think Of The Good Times that had Engineer Ken and I look at each other and smile in recognition, an excellent old forgotten song that revealed nothing by its title, but when it started to play it was instantly recognizable.

There are extra studio bits of intro on some of the songs, that being a trend today.

Oh, and listen closely for that squeaking door at the beginning of one of the songs!

I was feeling very goofy during this show, and that will continue in Part Two- as well as some surprises.

I will now get to work to ensure the next half is up in time for the 4th.

 
Mike

Let's continue on, shall we, with singles by the Beatles that remained only singles.

At least if you lived in the UK back when they were originally released, not appearing on any album.

There are quite a few of them, and I certainly will not be getting to them all in these 2 parts.

There will be at least another show, maybe more.

And I will be playing them in the order they came out at the time in England.

Additionally, to further muddy the waters, there is the matter of EP's.

We had them here in America, but for some reason they were always seemingly more popular in Britain.

For those who may not know, EP stood for Extended Play- they were a cross between a 45 RPM single and a 33 1/3 RPM album.

They were the smaller size of a single but played at the speed of the larger sized album- the extended play came in because they contained 2 or more songs per side instead of one song on each side, with the slower speed compensating for the smaller size.

Damn, I am confusing myself, lol!

In this chapter I will play the Beatles 4-song Long Tall Sally EP, none of which made it onto albums over there.

And of those 4 songs, only one was written by the Beatles- and that was a bigger hit here by the Mamas & Papas.

Finally, I will close out this Volume One with one of the all-time great 2-sided hits.

There will be a Volume Two in the vague future.

For now, let's just enjoy the music. Whew!

Mike

Nowadays it seems like almost everything is available on CD.

But if you were a Beatle fan in the 60's in England (and who wasn't?), there were singles released there that were NOT put on albums.

At that time anyway, as the folks there were living Beatlemania in real time.

We caught on later.

And the strange thing is, UK albums commonly had 14 songs on them as opposed to the 12 here in the U.S.

Now, many WERE on albums, but I will deal with the Beatle songs that were not- the Loose Change we'll call it.

If you were a fan in England, you had to buy the 45 RPM single for these songs or you didn't have them!

And imagine this, She Loves You and I Want To Hold Your Hand were ONLY put out as singles- and in THAT order over there, the reverse of the way we first heard them here.

I will have some very interesting information about each tune- stuff that you likely didn't know.

While I consider the Beatles the Greatest Band That Ever Existed, I have a confession to make.

I didn't like I Want To Hold Your Hand. But the flip side blew me away!

And that flip side was on an album, so I won't be playing it- hehehehehe!

Come join me as we go back and re-create a strange period in Rock & Roll history, when singles still meant more than albums. 

 
Mike

After all those Flowers & Gardens & things, I thought I'd take a Personal Day.

Just grabbed some Odds & Ends in the form of CD's and records and brought them in to the station.

I said to myself, let's really go free-form and see what happens.

I must thank my pal, Mike Hennessy, for the opening song of the day.

He sent it to me, I didn't even know it existed, and a perfect fit.

Nice pickup Mickster!

Then a song specifically for Odds & Ends.

After that, something that has been nagging me.

That whole Paul McCartney/Heather Mills divorce.

As I say in the show, I think more people are sympathetic to Paul, and regard Heather as something of a gold-digger.

From the getgo, a song jumped out at me that summed up my feelings on the subject.

That led to another similar song, but the 1st one is the one that says it best for me.

It also occurred to me that McCartney has a song from a fairly recent album called From A Lover To A Friend.

Don't think he's going to be singing that too much in concert for a while, lol!

But I wanted to play something by Paul, so why not a very overlooked one that nobody plays anymore?

Probably because it is long, and that upsets radio nowadays- gets in the way of the commercials, and the DJ's mindless chatter.

So a multi-tuned cut, a terrific example of McCartney the Prolific Tunesmith- songs tumbling together as if he couldn't contain all the melodies in his head. (And the last in the bunch is my favorite!)

Engineer Ken said he hadn't heard it in years, see if the same applies to you.

More Odds & Ends to follow- including some NEW music!

 
Mike

We will close out this series of April Showers Bring May Flowers with a mixed bag of music.

First, I was handed a bulletin, actually 2nd Hand News, that people are laying in the Tall Grass!

Then, for the black-wearing Goth listeners that make up such a large portion of our audience, lol, some Flowers regarding the DEAD- as in deceased, not the group.

One of those will be by the Human Beinz, an old very 60's group that manages to mix psychedelia with a Latin beat!

Do you remember Derek & The Dominoes, with Eric Clapton under the guise of Derek, and the late great Duane Allman as one of the Dominoes?

Did you know they did a song that manages to cover both Trees and Gardens? You do now!

At long last, I will have a cute little number for Farmers- couldn't neglect them, talking about things that grow in the ground.

Mary Hopkin, with an obscure track I have always liked, will stop by to sing about Kew Gardens.

The one in England, not the one we have in Queens, New York.

I have not been to the one in England, and possibly not consciously the one in Queens either- as I say, Queens confuses me, lol!

Finally, the song I picked to close out this whole long Theme, by the Moody Blues and maybe my favorite by them.

All things are energy- you, me, this computer, the ground we walk on, the food we eat, and on and on.

Though seemingly solid, a microscopic look shows whirring atoms, and the even smaller molecules spinning around. So, nothing is really solid.

Since that is true, why then can't we use our senses to SEE the light of a sigh, or HEAR colors, to mention a few possibilities?

All of this in a spoken word/song that has a very spiritual aspect to it, regarding "This Garden Universe..."!

A heady song from a heady group.

As always, I hope you enjoyed this Horticultural exploration of Rock & Roll.

And that you will return for the next Theme Series- whatever it may be!

 

It's still May, so we continue with our April Showers Bring May Flowers.

Although we have had far more rain in May, I guess for those June Flowers!

Well I promised you Grass, and I will now deliver.

It was funny, because of that smoking pot double meaning of Grass, I couldn't look at Engineer Ken without both of us cracking up.

I tried very hard to only refer to the grass I walk upon, lol!

Got a real good cookin' opening set of R&B/Soul songs, all of which you may not have heard in a long time.

Then, do you remember that after the Beatles broke up, we were all wondering what drummer Ringo Starr was going to do?

The others had put out their solo albums, but they wrote their own material.

It turned out Ringo did an album called Sentimental Journey, with all songs from the 1930's & 40's- some maybe older, I don't know.

Now that has become trendy nowadays, but Ringo Starr aka Richard Starkey was the FIRST!

We have a song from that album that fits our Grass theme, followed by a couple of other songs you definitely ought to remember- and no doubt, definitely haven't heard in a while.

Ahhh, that is my biggest joy with this show- pulling out those forgotten songs!

We will close out this next-to-last chapter with a sort of musical argument.

It seems one lady thinks the grass is green, while two other women are of the opinion it is blue.

Let's graze!

 

Mike

After that last song in the previous episode, I needed something to switch gears and pick you up.

I am continuing our proposition that April Showers Bring May Flowers with Trees and a Song From the Wood!

Then a wonderful 2-song set, analogous to Jimi Hendrix opening for the Monkees at that famous 60's  concert.

But reverse them- a pop song and a protest song- and I love them both.

One for the Flower Girl and one for the Flower Lady.

We will close this chapter out with a song that is within our Theme, and that many people may not realize is actually an anti-war song.

If the people in the world would only stop to really listen to the words, take them to heart, then maybe all nations could get along.

Probably a pipedream, since at any given time there is always some large or small war going on somewhere on this earth.

I guess we need the people who believe peace is possible as much as we need our warriors.

However, for this Memorial Day, the weekend and the song is dedicated to our Soldier Heroes who have given their lives for these beloved United States. The ultimate sacrifice, and we salute you for it.

Happy Memorial Day, but don't forget to remember our brave Heroes!

 

I didn't realize it or plan it, but this is the all 60's chapter of our little musical look at Flowers & Gardens and things that grow out of the ground.

And back in the 60's, as the times they were a-changin, flowers were a large part of it.

At least as a symbol of where your head was at- even as a political statement!

We will take a look and listen at those days in our opening set. Including a father/daughter generation gap that gets a little smaller.

Then it is on to some different TYPES of flowers- even those that are not real!

There will be many surprises in this one, I would think...unless of course you are getting to know me!

Mike

April Showers Bring May Flowers...as we all know!

We are in the middle of Spring, and begin a new Theme series here with Gardens, Flowers, Grass and some other things that grow out of the ground.

And this from a CITY GUY!

I may not know much about gardens, flowers, etc. But I do know music.

And I can promise you a truly enjoyable time, as I pick from Rock & Roll, Folk, Soul, Country and anything else to produce a free-form musical bouquet.

I will begin with the SINGLE version of a very long song from the 60's- it's so long I didn't want to scare anyone away. But I'll play it in full here someday.

Then something live from the old Fillmore East from early 1971, followed by a song from a 1993 CD dedicated to our planet.

When I do these Theme shows, I often take some time to look at the topic from a different angle.

In this case, I had two songs, but played one for...well, what was the FIRST Garden?

Closing out this opening seed, we'll hear Arlo Guthrie doing what he does best- getting into a song and having fun with the audience, and the audience with him.

Using the OLD way of teaching that still works!

 
Mike

Peter Frampton was the lead guitarist with the old British group the Herd.

After that, he founded Humble Pie with Steve Marriot.

And he also did session work with some of the best, including George Harrison on All Things Must Pass.

It was at George's sessions where he discovered his signature talk box.

He went solo in 1971, had minimal success, and in 1976 busted out of nowhere with his Frampton Comes Alive- the biggest selling live LP at the time! Now it is the 4th live bestseller.

I'll play songs you don't hear anymore, not only the ones the Classic Rock stations do- and some stuff from other albums.

But mainly it'll be from that live album.

What is noticeable is the loudness of the audience (sounds like a firecracker goes off during one song), almost in some cases becoming a distraction.

I think it would have been tamped down today.

But it is without doubt one of the great live Rock & Roll albums of all time.

And Frampton just seemed more confident on stage, and the songs have a brightness not found on his studio albums.

Give a listen.

 
Mike

Well, in this concluding chapter, I will give you that answer right away about who influenced Ronnie Spector the most as a singer.

We are going back to the early 60's, to a time when the Girl Groups were very popular.

And the toughest, sexiest girl group was the Ronettes.

I will open with their biggest hit, and go from there.

We'll have some fun at Billy Joel's expense very early (you'll hear why!).

They were DJ Murray the K's Dancing Girls, backup singers for other artists, and by the time we play our 3rd song here, they had Darlene Love and Cher as THEIR backup singers- with Leon Russell on piano!

In early 1964, they toured with the Rolling Stones and met the Beatles.

Oh, and WHO was the biggest vocal influence on lead singer Ronnie Spector?

Listen, think about it and if you don't get it, you may be very surprised.

I'll tell you the answer in Part Two.

This is gonna be fun!

All right, finally wrapping it up with the Tribute/Memorials.

This was a strange one, as I knew it would be the last one and there would be people and songs left out.

I ALWAYS have more music than I can play.

And the first 4 songs you will hear, in particular, made me pause.

A couple of big country guys and a Broadway non-rocker died- did they fit the show?- plus the 4th song might be considered disrespectful.

Ah what the hell, this is free-form radio, so I went with them all, lol!

It's part of my Diversity Programming, to sound like a politician- oh dear God, don't let me sink that low!

We lost Porter Wagoner, who brought the world Dolly Parton besides having many country hits.

A good song from him about a once famous singer, called Skid Row Joe.

And listen for the thump, I hit the microphone when I cued Engineer Ken to play it! I do that a lot, lol!

I followed that with Hank Thompson, one of the inventors of Honky Tonk Swing, which led to Rockabilly- ergo, Rock & Roll.

Then I pondered and played one of the guys I remember yelling at the TV to get off the Ed Sullivan show, so I could see the Beatles or another British Invasion group.

That would be Robert Goulet, who I discovered made his Broadway DEBUT in Camelot- helluva way to start, and a helluva voice I now have grown to appreciate.

Then we come to the late author, Norman Mailer.

I didn't want to make light of his death, but the 1st song I thought of was the same one Kenny did- it's probably the one you are thinking of- so I said let's do it!

I didn't have time, but the actor Dick Wilson died in 2007.

You undoubtedly know him as Mr. Whipple, who for decades admonished customers NOT to squeeze the Charmin. So, in your head or for real, play anything by Squeeze- get it?

For Evel Knievel, a terrific song you'll remember by the Ozark Mountain DAREDEVILS- another get it?

Ike Turner left us, and he recently started being credited with the FIRST Rock & Roll song, Rocket 88, which had always been listed as by Jackie Brenston. To hear it, go to the Podcast I did here called  AND JUST WHAT WAS THE FIRST ROCK & ROLL SONG?

But this time for Ike, he and Tina Turner's first song ever together, and it went Top 10 on the Rhythm & Blues charts.

The last one of note to go was back in December, Dan Fogelberg. That one hurt.

Gonna play my favorite Dan Fogelberg song, although I have quite a few.

A good way to look at things:

Love when you can
Cry when you have to...
Be who you must
That’s a part of the plan
Await your arrival
With simple survival
And one day we’ll all understand...

I hope you enjoyed this series, and as I mentioned in an earlier chapter, I don't know any other show that takes as much time to pay tribute to these artists of all kinds.

They can't give any more, and seems to me, deserve at least one more play!

Mike

If you are getting fatigued by the topic, this is the next-to-last of our Tribute/Memorial shows.

But it does show you how each year our Rock & Roll people and others large and small, pass away, most going unnoticed.

The Radiohead people got to me.

British actor Ian Richardson died last year, with no real connection to the group.

He was in tons of movies, but seemed to finally find his popularity on Brit TV's House Of Cards.

Which is the same title of a song by Radiohead. Hence, there IS a connection!

Then a two-for-one.

Lee Hazelwood passed away. He was a weird, reclusive guy, but wrote many amazing hit songs, for himself, others, and most notably for Nancy Sinatra. In the late 1990's, he was suddenly embraced by alternative rockers like Nick Cave and Sonic Youth.

Also former First Lady, wife of Lyndon, Lady Bird Johnson left us.

A song for both of them, as I have Lee Hazelwood & Nancy Sinatra singing Ladybird

Nicky James died. One of the original Moody Blues, but not of the ones who went on to do those terrific Core 7 Days Of Future Passed type albums and more.

Feeling impish, I realized I could be a little devilish with the name of the famous song he played on.

In 2007 we lost the founder and owner of the famous Hungry i, Enrico Banducci.

The Hungry i was home to a slew of comedians and folk singers- so I'll play the opening song from my treasured vinyl LP, Glenn Yarbrough Live At The Hungry i, where he had the audience participate in the singing!

Finally, Teresa Brewer passed away at 76.

There are songs that filter into you as a child, here are a couple that got to me.

These are real fun to hear, Teresa rockin' in the Pre-Rock days- and clearly an influence on that little Brenda Lee to come.

Put ANOTHER nickel in the nickelodeon!

One last chapter to go.

 

Engineer Ken brought me back laughing into this chapter with a very good line you should appreciate.

For the 2007 passing of Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman I have a song from Van Halen.

Then, a long long time ago, TV's Merv Griffin was a singer- and he had a big hit with the unlikely title of I've Got A Lovely Bunch Of Coconuts. No kidding!

We HAVE to play that one. Though it sounds nothing like Merv Griffin!

Now we come to that question about Tom Snyder, probably most famous for coming on after Johnny Carson with the Tomorrow show.

Among his many guests over the years, Tom had John Lennon's final televised interview, the first U.S. television appearance of U2, Charles Manson's famously crazy interview, Wendy Williams destructions with the Plasmatics and a weird non-interview with Johnny Rotten. Johnny apparently didn't feel like talking.

For Tom, I have something from Poco.

And I also asked about legendary mime Marcel Marceau. Frankly, I think I picked a winner of a song for him!

Did you know Michael Jackson took/stole his well known Moonwalk from Marceau's classic "Walking Against The Wind"?

We will close this episode out with the late Willie Tee's 1962 hit.

Believe it or not, I am not done yet.

And come on, the music is good!

I've got something from the Kinks for her.

The guy who wrote Unchained Melody died, Hy Zaret. Interesting story in that he was supposed to write it for a 1955 movie called Unchained, but he refused to include the word "unchained" anywhere in the song.

Give a listen, he didn't!

Also, we lost Boots Randolph, whose instrumental hit was equally famous for being the theme song for a very funny British comedian. You should recognize it immediately.

Bill Pinkney the last remaining original Drifter died in 2007. He was the distinctive bass singer who left the group just before their major successes.

As this was broadcast just one day after St. Pat's, I thought I would do my Mom proud by going back to Tommy Makem and the Clancys for one more. This one a folk song you should know.

Hilly Crystal, founder and owner of the legendary CBGB's died last year. So one from the early punk band Television for him.

Speaking of television, Alice Ghostley of the show Bewitched died- she will never be MORE Ghostley!

I will leave you with a couple of questions.

What would you play for some upcoming late folks such as Tom Snyder and famous mime Marcel Marceau?

Come back and hear what I chose.

 

I will open the concluding half of our Songs For Fools with one about a guy so dopey he doesn't even know when to come in out of the rain- or so the expression goes, right?

Then I have a Contrast- 2 versions of the same song (which I would be shocked if you didn't know), and both of note.

First, after hearing the single for so many years, you will find the longer beginning of the LP version very strange.

Then an unreleased interpretation of that same song by a BIG name group (some guy named Keith Richards does some of his rare lead singing).

After that, a song I HAD to play, or insult my pal, Mike Hennessy.

I don't remember where or how he found this song, but it was a Top 10 song and I had never heard it!

Just goes to show you, there are little gems out there each of us for some reason has never heard.

Oh, and I also didn't know the microphone was ON! For the longest time.

Anybody who has been on the radio knows we are constantly clearing our throats for that wonderful rich sound, lol!

Well, I coughed, and Engineer Ken and I just looked at each other like a bomb had exploded!

It was pretty funny, and I don't have to tell you to listen for it- you will hear it easily enough, lol!

No question, I am a full-time fool, and don't have to work at it.

I have a song to prove that not just men are fools, women can excel in that department too.

And I will give the final words to the world's greatest band ever, and a guy named Cliff Edwards.

Happy April Fool's Day to All Of Us Fools!

 

We will put the Tribute/Memorials aside temporarily for these special Songs For Fools.

I got off to a rocky start on this one, guess I was anxious to get going on this April 1st, lol.

These two Pods were a lot of fun to do, and if you don't suspect anything yet, well the 3rd song I played should explain it all.

I intend to give you some "Oh Wow" moments with this two-parter, those songs just below the consciousness that haven't been heard in a long time but are so enjoyable to welcome back.

Everybody at various points in their life acts like a fool.

And from the earliest days of Rock & Roll right up to today, there have been songs about them.

No fooling!

I had to get this one up, and jump ahead in our chronological order, to have it out there for St. Patrick's Day!

Tommy Makem died in 2007, and along with the Clancy Brothers put out some wonderful music, Irish and otherwise.

They were legitimate folkies, and if you think they had no rock & roll roots you are mistaken.

Don't forget, at that 30th Anniversary for Bob Dylan, they were there with the likes of George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Roger McGuinn, Tracey Chapman, Dylan himself, and many others. And they are on the resulting album singing Dylan with all those rock luminaries.

So a few from them, including Moonshiner, a love song to whiskey!

And as I said in the show, back when I was drinking, I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard, and sang, those songs!

Interestingly, Kitty Carlisle and Tom Poston died 13 days apart. They were both panelists on the same TV game show for years- I can't remember Carlisle ever NOT being on it!

That prompted me to play some John Lennon.

We lost Bobby "Boris" Pickett last year, of Monster Mash fame- I will play something far more obscure by him.

Then it is one for and from Zola Taylor, of the Platters.

And we will end this one with one-hit-wonder Freddie Scott, who I was surprised for some reason to learn was 74 when he died.

Being temporarily part of the living, I think I may take some time off to celebrate my birthday, or as I call it, the Ides Of Mike- an 11 day bacchanal.

But we will continue where we left off.

And Happy St. Paddy's Day!