Donna was singing back-up vocals for Three Dog Night when she met record producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte who would soon help her become one of the hottest acts around earning her the moniker "Queen of Disco". "Hot Stuff" which features a distinctive guitar solo by Steely Dan guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter would become the #1 song on the pop charts during the spring of 1979.
Recorded in early 1962 under the direction of Owen Bradley, Patsy along with the Jordanaires delivers a heartfelt rendition of "You Belong To Me". The song was originally composed during WW2 by Chilton Price but was reworked and promoted by Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart afterwards so Chilton ceded some of the writing credit to them.
Patsy Cline Jordanaires You Belong To Me Owen Bradley Chilton Price
Without question, and notwithstanding his legal problems, Phil Spector was one of the great producers in rock and roll history and ever a perfectionist (notice this is Take 25). Written by Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry, "Be My Baby" has been called by some music critics the greatest rock and roll record of all time. That may be stretching it some, but it's certainly one of the best. From September of 1963 this is "Be My Baby" featuring the lead vocal of Veronica Bennett (later Mrs. Ronnie Spector, Phil's wife) and The Ronettes with the "mikes open" at the studio and a comment from Phil Spector himself at the completion.
Ronnettes Phil Spector Ronnie Spector R&B Pop Girl Groups Be My Baby
The driving force behind the Motown Sound for most of that company's hits throughout the 60's and into the 70's was a group of musicians fondly called the "Funk Brothers". In the early part of 1966, the Funk Brothers had completed the rhythm track for the soon-to-be Supremes' hit "Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart", and in their spare time (and probably in need of some extra dough), a group of them wandered over to a small studio in Detroit and helped a local trio called The Capitols put together a recording called "Cool Jerk". It was an obvious violation of their contract with Motown, but they did it anyway, and the end result was a song which went to #7 in May of 1966 due in large part to their fabulous work on this recording.
"Apache" was composed by guitarist Jerry Lordan who was inspired to write it by the 1954 film of the same name. The British instrumental group The Shadows were touring with Jerry when he played it for them, and ultimately they recorded this version which was a big hit in the UK, during the summer months of 1960. A few months after the release of this recording, Jorgen Ingmann covered the song and took it to #2 in the US in February of 1961. Today this song is considered one of the greatest guitar tracks ever recorded.
"Da Doo Ron Ron" was written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, produced by Phil Spector and recorded by a mix of girl groups but credited to The Crystals. Actually the tune was first recorded by The Blossoms with Darlene Love singing lead, but right before its release, Spector substituted Dolores "La La" Brooks of The Crystals vocal for Darlene Love's. At any rate, the tune was a huge hit during the spring of 1963 peaking at #3 in May.
The Crystals Da Doo Ron Ron Dolores La La Brooks Jeff Barry Ellie Greenwich Phil Spector
William Weatherspoon, Paul Riser and James Dean were far from being the top Motown composers, but they struck a chord with this song. Although the song was originally intended for the Spinners, Jimmy Ruffin talked his way into recording this one instead. Celebrating 50 Years of Motown, this is David Ruffin's older brother Jimmy, backed by Motown's marvelous Funk Brothers and the Andantes, singing "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted", a Top Ten hit from September of 1966.
Jimmy Ruffin R&B Soul Motown What Becomes of the Brokenhearted
"Blue Velvet" was written by Bernie Wayne and Lee Morris in 1950 and first popularly recorded by Tony Bennett the following year. The Clovers managed to record a marvelous doo-wop version of it in 1955, but Bobby Vinton's cover recorded in 1963 became the biggest selling of them all. This recording was the #1 song on the pop charts during August of 1963.
Recorded in 1956 with the Oscar Peterson Quartet, Louis takes the lead and then hands it over to Ella on the Gershwin classic, "Our Love Is Here To Stay".
Ella Fitzgerald Louis Armstrong Our Love Is Here To Stay George Gershwin
One of the most popular songs coming at the end of WW2 was this one composed by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn. The song was first a hit for Harry James & His Orchestra with Kitty Kallen doing the vocal. On December 8, 1945, Bing Crosby accompanied by Les Paul and his Trio overtook Harry James' recording of the same song, and Bing and Les went to #1. The song has since become a standard recorded by many.
Celebrating now over 50 years of some of the greatest popular music ever recorded, Motown's Mary Wells' first Top Ten hit from May of 1962, "The One Who Really Loves You" produced by Smokey Robinson. When Mary was assigned to Smokey, he wanted for her a special identity and he decided to make her a female "Harry Belafonte" using bongos extensively in her recordings.
Mary Wells The One Who Really Loves You Motown Carolina Beach Music Shag
Working with producer Snuff Garrett, Gene made several hit records including "Chip Chip", Top 10 from February of 1962.
Celebrating now over 50 years of Motown music with Ron, Rudolph, and O'Kelly Isley, three brothers from Cincinnati, who only had one Top 40 hit during their brief stay with Motown, "This Old Heart Of Mine", a song originally intended for The Supremes. The song peaked at #12 during March of 1966.
Celebrating now over 50 years of Motown music with one of Holland-Dozier-Holland's legendary compositions, "Reach Out, I'll Be There" by the Four Tops. The recording went to #1 in the nation in September of 1966, became the Tops' signature song, and was awarded a spot in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs Of All Time".
Four Tops Reach Out I'll Be There Motown Holland-Dozier-Holland
In 1961, Ray Charles and Betty Carter combined talents on a marvelous reading of the Cole Porter classic "Everytime We Say Goodbye".
Ray Charles Betty Carter Everytime We Say Goodbye Cole Porter
Inspired by events surrounding the Cuban Missile Crisis, Gloria Shayne Baker and Noel Regney (married at the time) wrote "Do You Hear What I Hear" in October of 1962. The Harry Simeon Chorale were the first to record it, but Bing Crosby put the song over the following year with this performance of it, and it has been a favorite Christmas Carol ever since.
Bing Crosby Do You Hear What I Hear Cuban Missile Crisis Christmas Carol
"Is That All There Is" was composed by the legendary rock and roll songwriting duo of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Leiber and Stoller were so identified with the early rock and roll era with songs like "Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock", "Searchin", and so many others that when this song was released, it took much of the pop world by surprise. It was first recorded by a man named Dan Daniels in 1968, but the following year Peggy Lee took the song all the way to #11 on the charts in October of '69 making this her first pop chart hit since "Fever" back in 1958. Leiber and Stoller were inspired to write the song from a story written by Thomas Mann in 1896 entitled "Disillusionment". This recording earned Peggy a Grammy Award and it has since been enshrined in the Grammy Hall Of Fame.
Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis wrote the music to "All Alone Am I" in 1960, and the music only was first used in a film entitled "Island of the Brave". Manos also composed the music for the film "Never On Sunday". Famed record producer Owen Bradley had Arthur Altman write English lyrics to "All Alone Am I", and it ultimately became a huge hit for Brenda Lee, peaking at #3 in October of '62.
One of the most beloved recordings from the 50's doo-wop era, the Johnny Maestro-led Crests reached #2 on the charts in December of 1958 with "Sixteen Candles". The original Crests line-up was one of the first inter-racial rock groups that featured not only Maestro in the lead but also Patricia Van Dross, the older sister of R&B great, Luther Van Dross. Maestro would leave the group in 1961 to pursue a solo career that took a while to blossom, and not until he hooked up with some members of the Del Satins which ultmately would become known as Brooklyn Bridge did he realize some success.
"Crazy" was voted in one poll the #1 Jukebox Hit of all time. I don't know how authentic that poll might have been, but certainly "Crazy" is one of the most time-honored recordings in popular music history. The song was composed by country music artist Willie Nelson who had made a demo of it that found its way into the hands of Patsy's record producer, Owen Bradley. After listening to the demo, Patsy tried at first to record it in the style Willie had sung it, and the results were not to anyone's liking, especially Patsy's. At Owen Bradley's recommendation, she recorded it again a few days later this time "in her own style" with a vocal assist from the Jordanaires, and what you hear is the first and only take ever made of Patsy singing "Crazy". The song ultimately became a Top Ten crossover pop hit in November of 1961 and the signature song for what little remained of the rest of her life.
So revered was Jimmy Reed in the blues field that he sang this song from 1961 at Carnegie Hall.
Johnny Ray, an Oregon native, was one of the most controversial performers of his day. In live performance, he would beat up his piano, lie on the floor as if he were in pain, and add further animations to his singing. Sound familiar? It should since a lot of rock and roll performers who came after him, copied his animated performing style. Questions about his sexuality surfaced later adding further drama to the life of this 50's sensation. Shortly after he signed with Columbia Records, he entered the studio in October of 1951 and recorded a two-sided hit with vocal backing provided by the Four Lads. One side was "The Little White Cloud That Cried", and the other was this recording of "Cry". Both were two of the biggest hits of year 1951 and firmly established Johnny Ray on the pop charts for most of the decade.
"I Only Have Eyes For You" was composed by Harry Warren and Al Dubin in 1934 for the film "Dames" where it was introduced by Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler. The song has become a standard since recorded by many, but none as successfully as this by The Flamingos. Rolling Stone has awarded this recording a place in their "500 Greatest Songs Of All Time" and deservedly so. The song peaked at #11 on the charts for The Flamingos during the spring and summer of 1959.
The Flamingos I Only Have Eyes For You Harry Warren Al Dubin
It's a song that sounds like it has been around for a hundred years, but "Make Somone Happy" was actually written with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Adolph Green and Betty Comden for the 1960 musical production of "Do Re Mi". Jimmy Durante's version of the song was recorded in 1965 with Gordon Jenkins arranging and conducting the orchestra.
Jimmy Durante Make Somone Happy Jule Styne Betty Comden Adolph Green Do Re Mi
Some saw Donovan as Britain's answer to Bob Dylan, but whatever he was he was terrific, and he took "Sunshine Superman" to #1 on the US charts in August of 1966. Born Donovan Philips Leitch in Glasgow, Scotland, he developed polio as a child which left him with a limp. Donovan was profoundly influenced by the folk music he heard as a child and began writing and playing his own music in his teens. "Sunshine Superman" was his "introduction" to American audiences with a brilliant recording production by Mickie Most.
"Baby, What You Want Me To Do" was written and first recorded by the legendary blues artist Jimmy Reed in 1959. The song has since become a popular blues piece for a number of artists including Elvis Presley and in 1964 for the great Etta James.
Etta James Baby What You Want Me To Do Jimmy Reed Carolina Beach Music Shag
To say The Strangeloves never really existed isn't quite fair although the group was an idea put forth by the songwriting/production team of Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein, and Richard Gottehrer who were also responsible for such hits as The Angels' "My Boyfriend's Back". The "strange" production idea was to pass The Strangeloves off as a new rock group from Australia which may have worked, but problems arose when they were asked to perform live. Since the producers weren't really live performers they hired another group to take their place. "I Want Candy" was a big hit in the summer of '65 peaking at #11 on the charts, but The Strangeloves would soon never be heard from again.
By the time Burt Bacharach played "Walk On By" for Dionne, their working relationship had already been firmly established with several hits, but still Dionne had doubts about this new song. "How are the kids going to dance to this one", she complained? But it didn't matter, and "Walk On By" went to #6 in May of 1964 and became one of her most critically acclaimed recordings with the writing team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David.
"Please, Please, Please" was written by James Brown and Johnny Terry, and Brown's recording of it backed by the Famous Flames launched the music career of one of the great all-time R&B performers. Although this 1956 song did well on the R&B charts, it failed to make the pop Top 40 in a day and age in which what was then termed as "race music" was seldom played on the major commercial airwaves.
This pretty female vocal quartet from Sheboygan, Wisconsin epitomized the fun-loving sound of the '50's. Starting with their 1954 mega-hit "Mr. Sandman", The Chordettes found a way to mix a 1940's Andrews Sisters-sound with a tinge of 1950's rock and roll. "Lollipop" was one of their biggest hits, peaking at #2 in the nation during March of 1958.
Peggy Santiglia was the lead singer for this female trio from New Jersey who hit the big-time with "My Boyfriend's Back" in the summer of '63. The Angels had actually performed a demo of this song which was originally intended for The Shirelles to record, but the music publishers liked their demo so well that they released it as is, and it went all the way to #1 in August of that year.
The Treniers were a rock and swing band led by two brothers, Cliff and Claude Trenier, who both had once worked with the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra. They were pioneers of early rock and roll taking their "swing" in a new direction. Many of their songs had a humorous twist like this one in which they actually got Willie Mays to take a vocal part. But make no mistake, it still "swings", if you'll pardon the pun. "Say Hey" was an habitual expression Willie used when speaking, and therefore the moniker, the "Say Hey Kid".
The Treniers Rock Big Band Swing Willie Mays Say Hey Baseball
The theme to television's "Rawhide" was composed by Dimitri Tiomkin with lyrics by Ned Washington. Dimitri Tiomkin was also responsible for the music to "High Noon". Ned Washington also wrote "The Nearness of You" with Hoagy Carmichael and "Stella by Starlight" with Victor Young. The western series starred Eric Fleming and Clint Eastwood in his first major acting exposure. This famous theme was recorded by Frankie Laine with Jimmy Carroll & His Orchestra in 1959.
Frankie Laine Rawhide Clint Eastwood Dimitri Tiomkin Ned Washington
When "Long, Cool Woman (In A Black Dress)" was released in 1972 many people at first thought this was a new one by Creedence Clearwater Revival but were surprised to learn this was Britain's The Hollies. The song was certainly a departure for the group who had relied for so many years on their close harmonies. "Long Cool Woman" written by Allan Clarke, Roger Cook, and Roger Greenaway was a winner for them, however, peaking at #2 during the summer of '72.
"Come On-A My House" has an interesting history. The song was composed in 1939 by Armenian-born author and playwright William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian (David Seville of Alvin & Chipmunks fame). The melody is based on an old Armenian folk song and the subject matter of the song touches on gracious Armenian customs. Rosemary Clooney hated the song and when first approached with it by Columbia Records producer, Mitch MIller, she refused to record it. Mitch told her to either sing it or leave Columbia so she decided to go on with it. However, as Rosemary recounted years later, "you can hear the anger in my voice as I'm singing it". "Come On-A My House" ended up being one of the biggest hits of 1951, and a song by which Rosemary has always been identified.
Rosemary Clooney Come On-A My House William Saroyan Ross Bagdasarian Mitch Miller
One of the prettiest songs written during the 1950's as well as one of the nicest sentiments composed in 1952 by Alan Brandt and Bob Haymes and first recorded by Nat King Cole in January of 1953. "That's All" has been covered by many people since including one of the best by Johnny Mathis some years later.
"Ode To Billie Joe" was a record phenomenon during the summer of 1967 staying at the #1 position for a solid month during a day and time in which a single week was more the norm. Bobbie Gentry was born in Mississippi and drew from her roots for most of her material, and in this case she not only wrote and sang the song but produced it was well. She never had another recording even approach the success of this one, and after a performance run in Las Vegas, she basically retired from the industry in the early 70's.
Roger Miller once boasted that he could make a song out of anything, and he "danged" near proved it. "Chug-A-Lug" was his second Top 10 single from October of 1964 following "Dang Me" a few months earlier, and he would go on to record many more and enter the Country Music Hall Of Fame (posthumously).
One of the most popular and controversial songs Nat ever recorded was this one written by eden ahbez (he preferred not having his name capitalized). Nat first recorded the song on Aug. 22, 1947 with a wonderful arrangement of it done by Frank DeVol. The song was first presented to Nat while he was working in a local club in LA, and its songwriter, ahbez, handed it to Nat along with a card from Johnny Mercer (so the story goes) in hopes that Mercer's influence would get Nat to take a serious look at it and possibly record it. The reference to Mercer is important since ahbez was dressed in a flowing white gown with sandals and a full beard when he was introduced to Nat. Nat was a little taken aback by the entire scene, but he did take the song home with him and played it on his piano. He saw all the musical possibilities with it and subsequently a recording session was arranged with DeVol to record it. The song became the #1 hit in America for 8 weeks, but when Nat tried to locate eden ahbez to ensure he received his royalties he was nowhere to be found since he had not left anyone a forwarding address. Legend has it that ahbez was finally found with a pregnant wife living in a sleeping bag under the letter "L" of the famed HOLLYWOOD sign. "Nature Boy" was used as the theme for the 1948 movie "The Boy With Green Hair" starring Pat O'Brien and a young Dean Stockwell, and appropriately so since the film concerned the fate of WW2 war orphans. The recording in this video is one <b>...</b>
"People Get Ready" was written by Curtis Mayfield of The Impressions, and it has been named one of the "Top 10 Best Songs Of All Time" by a panel of top musicians and artists which included among others Paul McCartney, Hal David, and Brian Wilson. The song which went to #14 on the pop charts for The Impressions during March of 1965 reflects the social and political tenor of the times particularly that which involved the civil rights movement.
Impressions People Get Ready Curtis Mayfield Civil Rights Movement
Some production ideas look better on paper than in reality, and the pairing of Mercury Record's two most successful artists in the late 1950's, Dinah Washington and Brook Benton, is a case in point. Dinah resisted the notion of doing a duet album with Brook before the recording session even took place simply because she viewed herself at this point in her career as a "jazz" artist and Brook simply as "pop" or "rhythm and blues". If you listen closely to the lyrics of "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)", you'll notice a point where Dinah remarks "you're in my spot, baby", which, of course, was aimed at Brook who mistakenly started singing Dinah's part of the song. The error was nearly seamless so the producers left it alone which was just as well since Dinah had already stormed out of the studio after the recording refusing to sing any further with Brook and ending a planned album of duets. It's really a shame since the two of them recorded a pair of rhythm and blues classics with "Rockin' Good Way", and this recording of "Baby" composed by Clyde Otis, Murray Stein, and Brook himself. The song went to #5 in February of 1960.
Dinah Washington Brook Benton Baby You've Got What It Takes Clyde Otis
Dance-crazed America had no problem liking "The Wah Watusi" during the summer of '62 including actor Steve McQueen and Lynda Byrd Johnson (pictured dancing The Watusi in the video). The Orlons were a vocal quartet from Philadelphia led by Shirley Brickley who first hit it big with this tune peaking at #2 during June of 1962.
Barbara Lewis wrote and recorded it and "Hello Stranger" was her biggest hit ever in May of 1963 and the song will be forever "hers", but Queen Latifah covered it quite nicely not long ago.
Queen Latifah Hello Stranger Barbara Lewis Carolina Beach Music
"Tweedlee Dee" was Lavern's first big hit going all the way to #14 on the pop charts in a day and time in which so-called "race music" had a difficult time finding its way onto the major airwaves. As a result of this disparity the song was even more successful covered by white artist Georgia Gibbs not long after Lavern's release. The recording situation so enraged Lavern that she (unsuccessfully) sued Georgia over it. And when taking a flight to Australia, Lavern took out an insurance policy on herself and sent it to Georgia with this note: "You need this more than I do because if anything happens to me, you're out of business".
Nelson honed his craft in the latter days of the big band era and then was hired by Capitol Records to do some arranging for some of their artists. One of his first assignments was to assist Les Baxter on a record date with Nat King Cole. The result of that session was Nat's "Mona Lisa", and from that point forward, Nelson became one of the leading staff arrangers and orchestra conductors in the US. On occasion Nelson would record on his own, and he even had a #1 hit with "Lisbon Antigua" in December of 1955. Nelson Riddle has arranged music and conducted the orchestra on some of the most famous popular recordings in music history for the likes not only of Nat King Cole, but Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Ella Fitzgerald and many others. In 1960 he composed the theme music for a new television series starring Martin Milner and George Maharis called "Route 66". This theme became very popular over time and even reached the Top 40 pop charts peaking at #30 in August of 1962.
"Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" was composed by Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach for the 1933 operetta, "Roberta", and was featured in the film adaptation starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The first popular recording of the song was done by the Paul Whiteman Orchestra with Bob Lawrence on vocal. The song has since become a standard recorded by many, but none more successfully than by The Platters in 1958. The Platters had already established a pattern of reviving old standards with new and fresh arrangements, and although "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" didn't seem at first as any different than those songs they had recorded before, the Jerome Kern estate at first objected to the idea of having a rock and roll group sing this song. That is, until the royalty checks started rolling in and all objections were withdrawn. "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" was one of The Platters' greatest recordings reaching #1 in late December of '58 and continuing into 1959. Tony Williams provided this magnificent vocal for The Platters.
Earl's career started in the late 1930's and early 40's playing his alto sax with Lionel Hampton and some of the giants of jazz, but when he set out on his own in the mid-40's with his own band, he turned more to rhythm and blues. His recording of "Flamingo" was one of his first that caught the attention of the Carolina Beach Music scene, and subsequently just about everything he has recorded is being danced to by the same people who love to "shag". Carolina Beach Music embraces much more than just "shag" tunes as the music of Earl Bostic so readily displays.
Earl Bostic Carolina Beach Music Jazz R&B Dancing In the Dark
"Honeycomb" is not a song one would ordinarily connect with songwriter Bob Merrill, he of "People" and "Don't Rain On My Parade" fame, but write it he did in 1954. A few years later songster Jimmie Rodgers made it his first and only #1 hit in August of '57. Jimmie would then reel off three Top 10 hits right after it starting with "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" followed by "Oh-Oh, I'm Falling In Love Again", and "Secretly".
