This is a good place to drop general and weird news, entertainment, and general show prep material that might be interesting to air talent or producers. Hot dog threads ALWAYS welcome.
Well ... I have five more slots to cover in this little unofficial web-based countdown and at least 30 songs that could easily fit neatly in the boxes! I guess that's a good thing. This one's a winner and (sort of) a one-hit wonder from a lady named Dorothy Moore. The song was originally recorded in 1966 by country artist Wilma Burgess. It was re-released in 1972 by Joe Simon and it barely scratched the Hot 100 by charting at #91. In 1973, Malaco Production Company recorded Dorothy Moore's cover in a single take but spent over two years trying to market the song to a record company. In early 1976, with Malaco about to go bankrupt, the production company decided to throw a Hail Mary, liquidating some critical assets and paying to have Misty Blue made into a record under their own Malaco label. By May, the song reached #3 on Billboard's Hot 100, #2 on the US R&B charts, and hit the Top 10 in the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa. Dorothy tried several follow-ups but only one ('I Believe You', in 1977) hit the Top 30, with the rest of her songs getting a lukewarm reception on the R&B charts.
4. GREEN GREEN GRASS OF HOME - Tom Jones (1966)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer who sung many styles of popular music over the years – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records. There are a number of songs I consider to be his finest work, but this one is not only a musical masterpiece, it carries a strong message in the lyrics. Many speculate the song is about a condemned man on Death Row having a dream about returning home on the eve of his date with the executioner. Green Green Grass of Home was originally released in 1965 by Porter Waggoner and has been covered by several dozen artists in a number of languages. It remains a country and an A/C classic. The Tom Jones version charted at #11 on Billboard's Hot 100.
3. SKY PILOT- The Animals (1968)
A Sky Pilot is a Military Chaplain. This song reached #14 on Billboard's Hot 100.
Last edited by Hoosier Daddy on Wed Nov 30, 2011 10:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
I had Sky Pilot on a 45. The B side is a continuation of where the top 40 version was faded out, with airplane dogfight sound effects added into the music.
I'm picturing the 45 in my fading memory - was it on MGM records?
Also, here's the Wikipedia entry for 'Green Green Grass of Home'. Apperently it's been covered by everyone except Lady Gaga and Kenny G:
"Green, Green Grass of Home", written by Claude "Curly" Putman, Jr., is a country song originally made popular by Porter Wagoner in 1965 and Bobby Bare in 1965. It was sung later by Tom Jones in 1966 when it reached number one in the UK Singles Chart on 3 December staying there for a total of seven weeks.[1] It had also been recorded the previous year, 1965, by Jerry Lee Lewis, and included on his album Country Songs For City Folks (later re-issued as All Country), and Jones learned the song from Lewis's version. The Tom Jones record reached #11 pop, #12 easy listening on the Billboard US charts.
Since then it has been a popular cover song recorded by many such as Charley Pride, on his 1966 album Country, Johnny Cash on his 1968 album Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, Merle Haggard on his 1968 album "Mama Tried", Hank Snow on his 1968 album Hits, Hits, and more Hits, Joan Baez on her 1969 album David's Album, Pavel Novak - Czech Singer in 1968, Stompin' Tom Connors on his album Stompin' Tom Connors, 'LIVE' at the Horseshoe in 1971, Elvis Presley in 1975 on his album Today, and Kenny Rogers on his self-titled album, Kenny Rogers, in 1977. The song was also recorded by Gram Parsons and The Flying Burrito Brothers but was not released until 1976, on Sleepless Nights, a posthumous, Gram Parsons compilation album. (Parson's friend Clarence White and his band, the short-lived Nashville West, released yet another version of the song.) Countless others such as the great Trini Lopez have recorded this classic, making it a timeless country favorite.
With lyrics in Swedish by Stig Anderson as "En sång en gång för längese'n", both Björn Ulvaeus's Hootenanny Singers and Jan Malmsjö had each 1967 Svensktoppen hit with the song, for six respectively 33 weeks.[2] This language version was also recorded by Lotta Engberg in 1997. With lyrics in Portuguese by Geraldo Figueiredo as "Os Verdes Campos da Minha Terra", it was recorded in Brazil by Agnaldo Timóteo (1967), Belmonte and Amaraí (1968), Roberto Leal, and others. In 1978, this song was covered by Filipino singer Sam Sorono (1950–2008) on his Sings Tom Jones' Greatest Hits[3] LP album with EMI Records. The song was also recorded with lyrics in Serbian by Riblja Čorba as "Zelena trava doma mog", in 1993. Jussi Raittinen has made the song in Finnish, under name "On ihmeen hyvä kotiin tulla taas". In 2000, the Norwegian rock band Jetsurfers released a rock version of the song, on their debut album.
Katherine Jenkins released the song as a single on 20 November 2006, and it was included on her Serenade album during the same year. A live version was included on the single, which was recorded at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, just prior to the Australia versus Wales Rugby match on 4 November 2006.
In February 2009 Tom Jones performed the song live on a special Take-Away Show with Vincent Moon, along with If He Should Ever Leave You and We Got Love live in front of a camera in a hotel room in New York.[4]
The late Singaporean singer/songwriter/lyricist Su Yin (舒雲) covered this song in Mandarin Chinese language with Chinese lyrics written by himself and given the title name of 一片青青的草地, appearing on his LP album 黃昏放牛＊一片青青的草地, released by EMI Columbia Records in 1967.
Renowned Korean folk singer 조영남 (Jo Young Nam) did a cover of the song, with translated title and lyrics, called 고향의 푸른 잔디 (Gohyang-ui pooreun jandhi).
There is a Japanese version of the song entitled "思い出のグリーングラス" (Omoide no GURIINGURASU) by 森山良子 (Ryōko Moriyama).
In Hong Kong, this song was covered by female singer/organist Ma Chia Nar (馬嘉娜), on her LP album For Mama．There Goes My Everything with the lcoal Life Records in 1973. Also, another Hong Kong female singer May Cheng (鄭寶雯) covered the song in Cantonese language with Chinese lyrics written by Cheng Kwok Kong (鄭國江) and given the title name of 故園芳草綠, on her LP album 柔情常在, released by the local Bang Bang Records in 1979.
In September 2006 Jones performed the song as a duet with Jerry Lee Lewis during the taping of the latter's "Last Man Standing" TV special in New York City, and credited Lewis with providing the inspiration behind his own recording. Tom Jones sung the song on the 2009/10 edition of Jool's Annual Hootenanny on 1 January 2010.
"It was impossible to get a conversation going, everybody was talking too much." - Yogi Berra
EZ103.3FM wrote:I had Sky Pilot on a 45. The B side is a continuation of where the top 40 version was faded out, with airplane dogfight sound effects added into the music.
I'm picturing the 45 in my fading memory - was it on MGM records?
Yup. MGM Records. Sky Pilot was the first 45 RPM record MGM pressed in stereo.
Here's an informational blurb on Sky Pilot. It was late last night when I posted and Daddy was sleepy ...
The Sky Pilot of the title is a military chaplain, as revealed by the opening verse:
He blesses the boys, As they stand in line.
The smell of gun grease, And the bayonets they shine.
He's there to help them, All that he can.
To make them feel wanted, He's a good holy man.
The line-up includes Eric Burdon on lead vocals, Vic Briggs on guitar, John Weider on guitar and electric violin, Danny McCulloch on bass guitar, and Barry Jenkins on drums.
The song is a balladic slice of life story about a chaplain who blesses a body of troops just before they set out on an overnight raid or patrol, and then retires to await their return.
"Sky Pilot" is organized into three movements: an introduction, a programmatic interlude, and a conclusion.
The introduction begins with the verse quoted above, sung a cappella and solo by Eric Burdon. Thereafter the band joins in with instruments for the chorus. Several verse-chorus iterations follow, leaving the story with the "boys" gone to battle and the Sky Pilot retired to his bed. The verses are musically lean, dominated by the vocal and a pulsing bass guitar, with a strummed acoustic guitar and drum mixed in quietly.
The interlude starts as a guitar solo, but the guitar is quickly submerged under a montage of battle sounds. First come the sounds of an airstrike; then the airstrike and Rock band fade into the sounds of shouting, gunfire, and bagpipes. Near the end of the interlude the battle sounds fade, briefly leaving the bagpipes playing alone before the third movement begins. The bagpipe music is a covert recording of the pipers of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards playing "All The Bluebonnets Are Over The Border", captured by Burdon while performing at a school. He received an angry letter from the UK government (or possibly the Crown) over his use of the recording in the song.
The conclusion begins with the return of the bass and strummed acoustic guitar, accompanied by strings. After a few measures the verses resume, but with a quieter, melancholy atmosphere: one verse is sung along with bass, guitar, and strings, and then without a choral break a final verse (quoted below) is sung to bass, guitar, and woodwinds. Finally a strong bass line announces the return of the chorus, now accompanied with horns and piccolos, repeated several times as it fades. The musical effect is very upbeat, in stark contrast with the "downer" content of the movement's lyrics.
The song is universally interpreted as an anti-war protest song. There are no overt anti-war statements, but no glorification of war either. The (presumed) anti-war message is conveyed simply and obliquely, by lines such as:
But he'll stay behind, And he'll meditate.
But it won't stop the bleeding, Or ease the hate.
and the final verse:
In the morning they return, With tears in their eyes.
The stench of death, Drifts up to the skies.
A young soldier so ill, Looks at the Sky Pilot.
Remembers the words, 'Thou Shall Not Kill'.
There is also a sense of futility, or perhaps moral judgement upon the chaplain, conveyed by the chorus:
Sky Pilot, How High Can You Fly.
You'll never, never, never, reach the sky.
The war in question is usually assumed to be the Vietnam War, though the bagpipes and apparent sounds of a dive bomber in the interlude, taken with the UK nationality of the artists, may suggest World War II; the A-1 Skyraider, sometimes referred to by its radio call sign of Sandy, was a dive bomber, and was heavily used during the Vietnam War.
The US single, released in 1968, was the first to be pressed in stereo on MGM Records. By 1969, many other record labels soon followed this format.
The UK mono single version is unique as it features several effects not included in the stereo version, including more echo in the a cappella introduction, heavy reverb effect at the end of the line "How high can you fly?", and an extra bagpipe passage at the end of the fadeout on Part 2. Also, the airstrike and battle sounds are both moved forward in the instrumental break. This version can be heard on the expanded CD edition of "The Twain Shall Meet".
Besides the use of "found sound" in the interlude section, and heavy use of reverb and echos, the song is notable for its use of flanging, the swept "whooshing" sound effect laid over the entire track, most prominently during the chorus sections.
My goal in putting this list together was to showcase music that received airplay and actually charted on Top 40 radio stations back in the day but, for whatever reason, didn't make the cut at the psuedo-scientific voodoo-magic focus group that determined which 18 oldies songs we're going to play (over and over) on the 500 watt AM station connected to the satellite dish that no one listens to.
There is SO MUCH good music out there. Even if you throw out all the really obscure and bizarre stuff, there are hundreds of great songs that never see the light of day anymore. I wanted to spotlight some of them here. As mentioned on my initial post, this was MY LIST based on my personal preferences. It wasn't done using any formula and none of the songs were presented in any particular order. #123 wasn't any better (or worse) than, say #76 or #4. They're all good. And I would expect YOUR list to be different, because you may have different tastes than I do and perhaps grew up in a different era of music.
This has been a lot of fun for me. I've enjoyed picking a handful of songs and digging out my books and browsing the 'net for some tidbits of information to post. I don't have any intention of publishing a sequel or doing an encyclopedia of rock and roll or anything like that. I thank those who have also enjoyed these songs and those who have taken time to comment. And I thank the Honorable Chris Lester for use of his bandwidth and for maintaining what is STILL the greatest broadcast-related website on the internet.
Here are a few "also-rans" for this list -- which I hope you enjoy -- then I'll post the #2 and #1 songs and we'll be done.
I GOT THE MUSIC IN ME - The Kiki Dee Band (1974)
ELECTED - Alice Cooper (1972)
AIN'T GONNA BUMP NO MORE [WITH NO BIG FAT WOMAN] - Joe Tex (1978)
DOES YOUR MOTHER KNOW - ABBA (1979)
SUMMER SAND - Tony Orlando and Dawn (1971)
ROCK AND ROLL LOVE LETTER - Bay City Rollers (1976)
HONEY - Bobby Goldsboro (1968)
FIRST OF MAY - The Bee Gees (1969)
BIG BAD JOHN - Jimmy Dean (1961)
TO SIR, WITH LOVE - Lulu (1967)
JENNY JENNY - Little Richard (1957) ** Live performance. Check out the 20 second non-stop sax solo at 1:10. No breaths! Incredible!
"Ain't Gonna Bump No More" was one of those songs that was WAY more popular in this area than in other parts of the country.
Little Richard, overall, is overlooked.
And I still say: if Metallica and Britney Spears (or any other younger female artist) were to collaborrate on a cover version of "Does Your Mother Know?" you may have the biggest selling single of all time.
PS: I have begun working on the playlist I would choose of your songs if were to go back and do a show of "Saturday Morning Classix" of them. WOW, what a lineup!!!!
Scott Reppert
Music Director/Program Director/On-Air Personality
WTCS/WFGM/WMQC/WAIJ/WLIC/WRIJ/WKJL/WRWJ/WPCL/WWPN
Operations Manager: Hope Radio, T8WH, Palau
Production/Editor: "Believe Right" and "MFC WorldWide" "For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation"--Luke 2:30
Scott Reppert wrote:"Ain't Gonna Bump No More" was one of those songs that was WAY more popular in this area than in other parts of the country.
That's 'cause we got more fat women here than in other parts of the country.
Scott Reppert wrote:And I still say: if Metallica and Britney Spears (or any other younger female artist) were to collaborrate on a cover version of "Does Your Mother Know?" you may have the biggest selling single of all time.
Lindsay Lohan needs to cover The Bobby Fuller Four's "I Fought The Law (And The Law Won)". THAT would be the biggest selling single of all time.
Scott Reppert wrote:PS: I have begun working on the playlist I would choose of your songs if were to go back and do a show of "Saturday Morning Classix" of them. WOW, what a lineup!!!!
Thanks for your ongoing input and commentary. Even the "gick" comments! Just like when I worked overnights at an AM radio station several decades ago, its always nice to know someone is out there listening. I am anxiously awaiting your list within a list ...
This was Roy Orbison's first #1 song, and the first to prominently feature THE NOTE -- Orbison's trademark quivering final high note/Breve-on-Crystal Meth at the end of the song that makes you think the world is ending. As mentioned earlier, Roy's music is in a class by itself. Timeless. Peerless. Perfect. We miss you, Mr. Orbison. 52 years old was way too young to die.
1. W.O.L.D. - Harry Chapin (1974)
I did save this one for the #1 spot. You almost have to be a radio insider to truly understand all the little nuances that come out in the lyrics: How the job required a nomadic lifestyle that was hard on family life, and how quickly you could be fired in a format change, a corporate buyout, or over a bad book, and how it happened regularly to radio talent no matter how good they were at their jobs. W.O.L.D. is about an aging disc jockey who travels the United States seeking happiness, which he believes he'll find by following his passion for being a radio broadcaster, only to discover that his life, his looks, and his voice have passed him by. The song is sung as a phone call conversation from the DJ to his ex-wife. Chapin's lyrics go on to suggest that we can't change who we really are, and to further suggest that what the DJ really wanted was the love and companionship that had eluded him in a previous failed relationship. W.O.L.D. was inspired by WMEX/Boston radio personality Jim Connors, who is credited with discovering Chapin and pushing his hit "Taxi" on Connors' AM Drive radio program. WOLD-FM in an actual radio station at 102.5 MHz in Marion, Virginia but it has no relationship with this song.
I cannot remember a thread that has been more enjoyable. Take a short holiday break, folks, then come back loud and proud in the new year...Greg needs more songs to somehow find and air...I'm serious!
This thread cannot die!
"Television is a medium because anything well done is rare."
~ Fred Allen ~
“Radio is the theater of the mind; television is the theater of the mindless”-Steve Allen
#2's lameness was obliterated by #1's greatness...I'm happy with the overall outcome!
If I had to sit down and do a "Saturday Morning Classix" broadcast featuring songs from the H/D list, it would go something like this:
***"Saturday Morning Classix" Intro Cart***
Dave Clark Five--At The Scene ***Live Liner***
Sonny Bono--Laugh At Me
The Lovin' Spoonful--Darling Be Home Soon
Arthur Alexander--Anna ***Live Liner***
Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart--I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight
The Animals--Sky Pilot ***Live Liner***
***Spot Break And Weather***
***"Saturday Morning Classix" Piano-Banging Jingle
Wadsworth Mansion--Sweet Mary ***Live Liner***
Sugarloaf--Don't Call Us
Pieces Of Eight--Lonely Drifter
Mac & Katie Kissoon--Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep ***Live Liner***
Nazareth--This Flight Tonight
The Bee Gees--Lonely Days ***Legal ID***
***NBC News***
***"Saturday Morning Classix" Tiny Tim Liner***
Bobby Sherman--Cried Like A Baby ***Live Liner***
Sweet--Action
Mike Curb Congregation--Burning Bridges
Uriah Heep--Sweet Lorraine ***Live Liner***
Patrick Hernandez--Born To Be Alive
Eruption--I Can't Stand The Rain
Ace Frehley--New York Groove
I'm sure that's more than 90 minutes worth of music, but you get the idea of what I would have done back during the shows run (1984-1987). Although I never would have touched those last three on there, seeing as how they were probably being played as "normal oldies" in the "regular rotation"...
Scott Reppert
Music Director/Program Director/On-Air Personality
WTCS/WFGM/WMQC/WAIJ/WLIC/WRIJ/WKJL/WRWJ/WPCL/WWPN
Operations Manager: Hope Radio, T8WH, Palau
Production/Editor: "Believe Right" and "MFC WorldWide" "For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation"--Luke 2:30
If ANYONE would do a show featuring songs like this thread exposed, many of which I'd never heard of, I would air it in a New York minute! I know it would be anathema to most stations, but noncoms like mine are another story.
One would think (hope) an online/Sirius/XM setup could work.
"Television is a medium because anything well done is rare."
~ Fred Allen ~
“Radio is the theater of the mind; television is the theater of the mindless”-Steve Allen
The experts tell me these songs are no good. No one remembers them and, if played, no one would want to listen to them. I don't follow the reasoning, but I've never been a radio programmer so I don't know what I'm talking about. Or that's what they tell me.
I don't think you should broadcast a steady diet of these obscure songs, but they could be used to occasionally spice up the rotation, if you will, in between the easily-remembered power oldies your station plays on a regular basis. Another choice might be to do a Rarest of the Rare program and feature an hour or two of this stuff. Once a week. On Sunday night. Or another time when the Arbitron people are asleep and it doesn't matter.
When I was a younger man, I used to listen regularly to Joe Donovan on Louisville's 84 WHAS and his all-night oldies show. After 3:00 am, he played the really obscure records and I tried to stay up and hear the good stuff. There was a guy in Columbus ("Chuck O") in the early 90s that did a Rare Oldies program on WBNS-FM and he played some really great music. Chuck O is responsible for my vast collection of early 60s music and he enlightened me on how great artists like Roy Orbison, Gene Pitney, Freddy Cannon, Del Shannon, The Crystals, Sonny and Cher, and (of course) The Shangri-Las sounded so good back in the day.
I made it a point to tape his weekly shows and play them back over and over just to hear some really great music you just couldn't find elsewhere.
Sirius/XM dabbles in some rare cuts but they can still wear you out with the same old stuff repeated ad nauseum on many of their channels. The Deep Tracks channel is almost exclusively 70s album rock you've never ever heard before and that isn't my cup of tea. The 50s, 60s and 70s channels throw in some OH WOW! stuff from time to time, and you can occasionally hear some good stuff on First Wave, Studio 54, and The Underground Garage. But the Non-Comms are probably the last holdout for excellent long-form oldies programming like you suggested with a deep playlist.
You are to be commended for finding time to air this stuff. There is SO much great music out there that was popular for a while then it got bumped off the pedestal by the next biggest hit. Radio has such a short attention span and they forget the thousands of great Top 40 songs they used to play. Unfortunately, the formation of ownership clusters, voice tracking, and canned satellite programming have only made it worse. Thank you for saving a piece of yesterday!
www.Rock Radio Scrapbook.ca wrote:
He played requests, and answered his own phones. He did contests, played mostly vinyl, chose his own music, and broadcast live every weeknight from midnight-5 a.m. His playlist consisted of over 18,000 songs - all original arrangements from his personal archive - and a whole hour of his show was devoted to the rarest of the rare. He played virtually EVERYTHING that charted from the '50s through the '80s.
We're talking about Joe Donovan, who from 1977 to 1997 broadcast his iconic "Rock & Roll Revival" on the all-night show on WHAS Louisville. Thanks to the powerful 50,000-watt, clear channel WHAS signal, Donovan's show was heard in 38 states and four provinces. It was a sad day for many Donovan's fellow "Nighthawks" when did his final WHAS show on August 27, 1997 and his show was replaced by talk.
Donovan fans will remember the "Odd and Obscure Hour" at 3 a.m., 60 minutes of songs from the deepest parts of his musical archive. There was also "Name It and Claim It," with a prize to the listener who could match the artist's name to a portion of a song (Joe would actually mail out the song on cassette to the winner!) But perhaps best of all was Donovan's on-air personality - laid-back, relaxed and perfect for the all-night time slot (he also did Saturday Night Revival and Friday Night Revival Shows with much the same approach.)
We've looked for an aircheck of Joe Donovan's all-night show for some time. This aircheck - contributed by Adam Hamby, who has a Facebook site on Donovan - captures the "Odd and Obscure Hour." It's DXed - which is the way we remember hearing it - but well worth your time if you enjoy great personality radio that isn't afraid to be different.
