Tennessee Ernie Ford--Sixteen Tons (1955)

     Ernest Ford was born in Bristol Tennessee in 1919 and grew up blessed with a rich baritone voice that was good enough for him to be accepted to the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in 1939. World War II interrupted that education and on the end of the war found that his deep resonant voice was sought after by radio stations. He worked at a couple of stations on the west coast, and it was there he developed a hillbilly persona called, "Tennessee Ernie".
     He also would tour as a singer/personality with regional country artists of the day as far east as Texas. It was one of these tours that a talent scout from Capitol records signed him to a contract in 1949. That year he also became host of a syndicated radio show called, "Hometown Jamboree" which eventually was heard over all of Southern California.
     Over the course of the late 40's/early 50's, he had seventeen top 20 hits on the country charts with eight making it to the pop charts as well. It was a song made popular by Merle Travis that would propel him to superstardom.
     "Sixteen Tons" has been claimed to have been written by George S. Davis, a folk singer/songwriter and coal miner from Kentucky in the late 30's as, "nine-to-ten tons". It has generally been attributed however to Merle Travis (who's grew up in a coal mining family as well) who recorded it in 1946 as, "Sixteen Tons". It told the travails of a poor family who was caught in a system where the coal mining companies would literally own a town, so because of low wages, families would have to buy on credit to stores which were owned by the companies. This created a situation which amounted to indentured servitude where the men of the family would literally be trapped into finding a better job or better situation for them and their families.
     Ford's musical director, Jack Fascinato came up with a unique musical arraignment which was lead by a solo clarinet. That, with Ford's baritone, and finger snaps lent a somber feel in a musical world which at that time was full of upbeat, fluff tunes. It soared to number one on both the country and pop charts. It was his last country #1 and he never really had a big hit again. Some could point to the advent of rock and roll for this, but the real reason I believe was that his focus changed from selling records to television.
     He was host of his own television show from 1956 to 1961, and then with a local San Francisco show from 62-65. He remained a guest host on shows throughout the 60's and 70's was well as a spokesman for different companies (most notably the Pontiac Furniture Company). His ability to sing however was compromised many years by his increasing alcoholism and passed in 1991 of liver failure.

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Lineup for the Rock and Roll Omnibus Radio Show Week of Jan. 21, 2013

Hour 1:

Opening: (0:30)

The Fifth Dimension—Up Up and Away 1967

The Fantastic Johnny C—Boogaloo Down Broadway 1967

Don Fardon--(The Lament of the Cherokee) Indian Reservation 1968

Jose Feliciano—Light My Fire 1968

Donna Fargo—The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA 1972

Donna Fargo—Funny Face 1972

Faze-O—Riding High 1978

Freddy Fender—Wasted Days and Wasted Nights 1975

Freddy Fender—Before the Next Teardrop Falls 1975

Ferrante & Teicher—Exodus 1960

Sally Field—Felicidad 1967

The Fifth Estate—Ding Dong The Witch is Dead 1967

The Fifth Dimension—Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine In 1969

The Fifth Dimension—Last Night I didn't get to sleep at all 1972

Georgie Fame—The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde 1968

Hour 2:

Farquahr—Streets of Montreal 1970

Farrenheit—Fool In Love 1987

Faster Pussycat—Don't Change That Song 1987

Spirit—Nature's Way 1970

Spirit—I've Got a Line On You 1968

Jo Jo Gunne—Run Run Run 1971

Jay Ferguson—Thunder Island 1977

Fat Matress—All Night Drinker 1969

Fastway—All Fired Up 1984

Fates Warning—Anarchy Drive 1987

The Feelies—The Boy With The Perpetual Nervousness 1980

The Feelies—Fa Ce La 1980

Fever Tree—San Francisco Girls 1968

The Beatles—Hey Jude 1969

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Gary Lewis & The Playboys: This Diamond Ring (1965)

     The son of actor Jerry Lewis, Gary & The Playboys (he chose not to add 'Lewis' so as not not be an influence in getting a gig) got a spot at Disneyland in 1960 and were there for several years when they were discovered by record producer Snuff Garrett. It was Garrett who added the "Lewis" back into the band's name thinking that it would be a way to sell records. "This Diamond Ring" was the first song out of the box and went to No. 1 in 1965. They had solid success through 1967 when Lewis was drafted into the military. Upon his return the momentum had been lost. They still continue to tour and you can check his website: http://www.garylewisandtheplayboys.com/dates.html.

     Please check out our other posts, and friend us on Facebook. By clicking on the live 365 banner, you can check out the best of the hits of the past and the songs that should have been. Thanks and have a great Thursday.

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Jimmy Castor Bunch--Troglodyte (Cave Man) (1972)

     Novelty records come in many shapes and sizes. Some are topical, that deal with pop culture such as dances, or fashion or just things that are not music related, but taken the country by storm (like Pac-Man Fever or The Streak). Or songs like this one. With the advent of funk in the late 60's and early 70's, the beat became paramount which led to some pretty strange lyrical content. It didn't matter what the words said, just as long as you could dance to it.
      Jimmy Castor got his start in doo wop in the middle/late 50's, singing in his group, "Jimmy and the Juniors", then replacing Freddy Lymon as lead singer of 'The Teenagers". The stint didn't last long, and after being with a couple of other groups, decided to focus on his talents as a sax player. The latter part of the 50's and much of the 60's, he could be found doing studio work for many artists. A great example of his work could be heard on the instrumental, "Rinky Dink" by Dave 'Baby' Cortez in 1962.
     He began dabbling in recording himself again in 1966, to little result, except for the single, "Hey Leroy, Your Mama's Calling" which hit the top 20 on the R&B charts (and #31 on the pop charts). As the 60's turned to the 70's, the Jimmy Castor Bunch developed a reputation as a hot funk band. Their commercial success hit a peak in 1972 with the album, "It's Just Begun" and the top ten hit, "Trogoldyte" which introduces us to Bertha Butt (one of the Butt sisters), who was also the subject of another top 20 song by the group in 1975.
     He recorded and toured as a solo artist from 1976 to 1988. He passed away this past January at the age of 71.

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You want a daily update on what's going on with the bus? Well...we are now on twitter. Follow us at @rokandrollomnibus. Thanks!!

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Peter, Paul and Mary--Blowin' In the Wind (1963)

     In the early 60's there had been a revival of folk music in America. Led by Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and the Kingston Trio, the airwaves could be filled with traditional music along with the more strident, social conscious music being made from a new generation of songwriters.

      Manager Albert Grossman had his finger on the pulse of this movement and it's commercial possibilities. At one time he had Dylan, Odetta, Phil Ochs, Gordon Lightfoot, Richie Havens and many others. He brought Peter, Paul and Mary together in 1961 after holding auditions among several singers in the New York folk scene. Their debut album, "Peter, Paul, and Mary" was released the following year and was an immediate hit on the strength of the singles, "Lemon Tree", and "If I Had a Hammer". The next album was 1963's, "Moving" which contained the trio's first top 5 hit, "Puff, the Magic Dragon".

     That same year, Bob Dylan released the song, "Blowin' in the Wind" to wide acclaim within the music community although it never charted (the B side was, "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"....a pretty cool combo). The Chad Mitchell Trio recorded it next, but there were problems with the record company releasing it because of the word, "death" in the song. This gave Grossman the opportunity to have Peter, Paul and Mary record and release it. Not only was it became their signature song (Dylan's too), but was adopted by both the civil rights and anti-war movements.

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Music Review: Glen Campbell--Ghost on the Canvas (2011)

Take this link to my review of this CD: www.associatedcontent.com/article/8725163/music_review_glen_campbellghost_on.html?cat=37

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Barbara and Neil--You Don't Bring Me Flowers (1978)

This song was written by Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman for a TV pilot created by Norman Lear called All That Glitters. The song was intended to be a theme song, but Norman Lear changed the concept of the show so that the song no longer fit. Eventually, Neil Diamond and several collaborators came upon the song (then only 45 seconds long) and expanded it with instrumental sections. The Bergmans expanded the song to full length with an additional verse, and the composition took form.

In 1977, Diamond released the album I'm Glad You're Here with Me Tonight, which included the track "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" as a solo performance. Early in 1978, Barbra Streisand covered the song on her album Songbird.

Enter Gary Guthrie who was the program director at WAKY-AM in Louisville KY, who spliced the two solo tracks together as a going away present to his wife, whom he had just divorced. As the real life story behind the song unfolded, interest in the duet caused Columbia Records was compelled to bring Streisand and Diamond into the studio to record an "official" version in October 1978. The song reached number one for two non-consecutive weeks in December 1978, producing the third number-one hit for both singers.

Diamond and Streisand had planned to star in a motion picture based on the song, but such plans were canceled when Diamond starred in a remake of The Jazz Singer. The version you are going to see here is what I consider the definitive version from the Grammy's in 1980.... 

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The Band--The Weight (1968)

     Luis Bunuel was a Spanish born movie director. Many of his movies were full of surrealism and religious imagery. Although for most of his life, he considered himself an atheist, much of the subject matter of his movies dealt with issues of morality.  It was some of the moral dilemmas explored in Bunuel's work that caught the attention of Robbie Robertson.

     The group that he was a member of had been backing Bob Dylan on his previous tour which saw a transition from an acoustic folk sound, to an electric, harsher rock sound. In 1966 he was in a motorcycle accident and went into semi-seclusion. During this time, he called his band to move up to Woodstock NY where he was staying. The time spent working on music eventually became known as "The Basement Tapes". They also began writing for themselves as well and this was released in 1968 as, "Music From Big Pink".

     "The Weight" was the first single, and reached #63. Over the next two years, three versions were recorded that actually did better in the states. Jackie DeShannon, The Supremes with The Temptations, and Aretha Franklin covered with better success. However, time has elevated the original version to classic status.

 

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Jefferson Starship--Miracles (1975)

     The Jefferson Airplane had run into the ground. With the Paul Kantner/Grace Slick songwriting axis on one side, and Kaukonen/Cassady on the other, Balin and his romantic ballads had been left out. His close friend Janis Joplin had just died and was wanting to separate himself from the drug lifestyle that the others were involved in. He finally left the group in 1970, and not long after that, the group itself ground to a halt. Jack Cassady and Jorma Kaukonen devoted themselves full time to Hot Tuna and Kantner/Grace released a series of albums. The first one, "Blows Against the Empire" was credited to Paul Kantner/Jefferson Starship was the first time that name had been used (this was 1980), and formally named that in 1974. On the first album under that name, "Dragon Fly", Balin had been invited to write a song, and a year later was formally invited to the group full time.

      1975 brought Red Octopus and the best selling album in the Jefferson Starship formation. Balin contributed the song Miracles, which not only was the highest charting single before the forming of Starship, but the album went #1 as well. The song shows off Balin's romantic crooning that has always been a hallmark of his best work, but what sends it soaring was the great production by Larry Cox. This is a song that you need to hear in it's album format. It's almost 7 minutes long, but there isn't a wasted note anywhere....

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Sunday Morning Vault: Head East--Never Been Any Reason (1975)

     I am not usually one of those people who would talk about the "days when I was a kid" to a younger generation. But with today's blog one of the two things (vinyl albums being one) that made music better in the 70's comes to the forefront of my mind.

     The story of how FM began to be used as a regular alternative for music other than top 40 AM radio is for another day. But for me, it was in Jr. High school that my memory of our local "underground" music station comes clear. KSHE 95 was the station and it was THE place to listen if you wanted a respite from Donny Osmond and The Carpenters.  My love of progressive rock music found seed and grew here, as was an appreciation of rock acts that were not "popular" until much later. Groups like Supertramp, Styx, Journey, REO Speedwagon, Bob Seger, Ted Nugent, Billy Joel, Charlie Daniels, were heard regularly on our airwaves long before they hit top40 gold. Also many acts that never saw huge success but found a home here like Pavlov's Dog, Missouri and today's focus....Head East.

     Head East was out of South Central Illinois, and had taken the same route as another group from the same area, REO Speedwagon. They honed their skills playing the bars and clubs around Carbondale (home of Southern Illinois University), St. Louis, then more regionally. They released their first album, "Flat as a Pancake" in 1974 on their own record label and quickly sold the first pressing of 5,000 units. The single eventually would reach the top 100 on the Billboard charts, as would two later releases.

     Singer John Schlitt would be kicked out of the band in 1980 because of cocaine and alcohol abuse. He would clean up his life and for a time was out of music entirely. In 1986, he was asked become lead singer of Petra, which at the time was Contemporary Christian Music's top band. He not only joined, but stayed with the group until they retired as a group in 2005. 

    

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Leo Sayer--You Make Me Feel Like Dancing (1977)

    I'd like to say there was a real good reason for posting this song. Except for the fact that the dammed thing has gotten stuck in my head and by hearing it maybe it will go away.....

    Leo was born in England although just a few years back became an Australian citizen, and spent time on the US charts from 1974-81, quite a bit longer in Britain.

 

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The Bee Gees--Night Fever (1978)

     Today is Barry Gibb's 65th birthday, and it's time to give him some props....

      I've never been a fan of 70's era disco, but it's not without it's charms, and although it turned into a record producer's version of spam, at it's peak it could be innovative (not to mention fun). Enter The Bee Gees. They had a long career by the time and at least to the public had dissipated from the popular music landscape. During this time however, they had continued to put out quality albums, and write...for themselves and for others. For those who were fans, the beginnings of what was to be the disco era Bee Gees could be found in the 1974 album, "Mr. Natural", when they shed the previous styles that they had been known for and sang in a looser style, with the tempo and tenor of the album was more upbeat.

      The next album, 1975's "Main Course" was the breakthrough. For those who think that Saturday Night Fever "made" the Bee Gees need to go here. They fully embraced the surfacing disco movement, but with a major difference. The Gibb brothers' writing skills had always been good, but by this time a new and exciting musical movement meshed perfectly in a way that gave some intelligence and depth to what was considered just glorified dance music.  

     The real songwriting leader during this time was Barry, and 1977/78 was his year. Consider that from December of 77 to September of 78, the charts were ruled by song written by the eldest brother. This is the list of No. 1's he had during this time:
  
     "How Deep is Your Love"
     "Stayin' Alive"
      "(Love is) Thicker Than Water"
      "Night Fever"
      "If I Can't Have You"
     "Shadow Dancing"
     "Grease"

     In fact, Gibb holds the record for consecutive #1's on the charts with six. Looking back 30 years later, there is a lot of dreck associated with disco music, and I'd be the first to point it out. But for anyone who is still not a believer, the Bee Gees (and the songwriting of Barry) was not only the class of the era, but produced arguably the best music of the 70's.

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Zager and Evans--In the Year 2525 (1969)

     In the almost 8 full months I've been writing this blog we have covered a lot of different songs and a lot of different types of music. Of course music, along with every art form is a very subjective thing. What is one person's favorite song, will be someone else's pile of poo. Which brings me to this song.

      The danger for any "message" song is that people will tire of the message before it has a chance to actually reach it's audience. Many folk singers have turned messages and/or protest into an art form. Sometimes when the message goes beyond the "now" and takes on a universal tone, it becomes a classic.  "In the Year 2525" is certainly a product of it's era more than a lot of songs, although it uses a sledge hammer to get it's point across rather than a scalpel, nonetheless the song endures to this day.  It came out during the time that Neil Armstrong was walking on the moon....it was also the summer of Woodstock. Both events had many of every generation wondering what was to become of us as a people.I think that had a lot to do with galvanizing of the song in the consciousnesses of that generation.  

      The interesting thing about the song was that it was written in 1964! Denny Zager and Rick Evans met at Nebraska Wesleyan University and formed a musical duo. It was originally released in 1968 on a local label and had received a lot of airplay on local stations in Omaha and Lincoln. It was picked up by RCA and given nationwide release in 1969, with it reaching #1 for six weeks that summer. Evans is still writing and performing, Zager makes custom guitars and although not performing together, are still good friends.

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The Captain & Tennille--Love Will Keep Us Together (1975)

     In 1971, Toni Tennille was looking for a keyboardist. The play she had co-written was being set up for performance at the South Coast Repertory. Dragon was on break from his gig with the Beach Boys as a part of the touring band and was hired. He was impressed with her voice and recommended her as a backup singer on the next BB's tour. When the tour was over, they began writing and performing together. A recording they made of, "The Way I Want To Touch You" garnered them a contract with A&M records.

      The song, "Love Will Keep Us Together" was written by Neil Sedaka & Howard Greenfield in 1973. Sedaka first recorded it for his album, The Tra-La Days Are Over" which was released in the UK only and later in the US on the album, "Sedaka's Back" in 1974. The song had also been covered by Wilson Pickett  before The Captain (a name given to Dragon by Mike Love from the Beach Boys) & Tennille recorded it for their debut album in 1975.

     The song reached #1 in the US and began a string of top 5 hits over the next two years. It also began a renaissance of Sedaka's career as a songwriter and a singer. Dragon & Tennille married late that year and 35 years later are enjoying their life together in Prescott Arizona.

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KISS--Rock and Roll All Nite (1975)

     KISS was in danger of losing it all....

     It was 1975 and all of the work that Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss had put into the group was in danger of being for naught. Their 5th single, "Rock and Roll All Nite" had a short life on the charts. The album that it was taken from, "Dressed to Kill" had done much better than it's two predecessors, but their label, Casablanca Records was in danger of going bankrupt. 

    Simmons and Stanley had been frustrated that the hot live shows that had already received lots of notice couldn't be translated to studio. So they came up with the idea of attempting to capture the excitement of their live shows on vinyl. The result was "Alive" released in September of 1975 and a re-release of "Rock and Roll all Nite" a month later. It reached the top 20, and set the wheels in motion that elevated KISS to one of, if not the most popular American band in rock history.

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Rick Springfield--Speak to the Sky (1973)

     Many only know him as an actor from the late 70's soap opera General Hospital, others as a successful singer in the early/mid 80's. Springfield's first hit however was in the early 70's....

      He was born Richard Lewis Springthorpe in a western suburb of Sydney, Australia in 1949. From the age of 13 he was playing in bands and his addition to the group Rockhouse prompted the name change to Springfield. For the three years between 69 and 71, Rick was with the group Zoot which not only gave him recognition throughout his homeland, but allow him to begin to spread his wings as a songwriter as well.

     He went solo in 72, writing and releasing, "Speak to the Sky" which went to #4 in Australia and prompted a flight to London to record his first solo album, which he plays guitar, keyboards, and banjo in addition to writing all of the songs. Later that year he moved to US to correspond to the release of "Speak to the Sky" in the US. It did great for a debut as it reached #14. However, a combination of being lumped in other established teen idol, a break from management as he wanted to do more adult themed music kept him out of the spotlight. Finally in 1978 he started doing some acting which led him the next year to the role that made him a star, and gave him a second chance to make it in the music business.

 

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Morris Albert--Feelings (1975)

     Those born after 1980 never noticed it much as popular music has become more fragmented, but there was a time that the top 40 was a true hodgepodge of music. Rock, pop, country, jazz, easy listening, and others that defy description found it's way to the Billboard charts. There are probably a myriad of reasons why this is, but unfortunately there isn't near the diversity on radio there used to be.

      For better or worse, songs like this one will never be heard again on top 40 radio. For one thing, those who sing in a style like this, can find their own fans and success on their own terms due to the internet and radio stations that cater to this specific type of music. Between the mid-70's and late-90's you never heard much from this musical faction, until a generation had passed and many of those stars from the 50's became "hip" again Many "easy listening" stars have come to the fore in the last 10 years without a song ever being near the top 40. Which brings us (finally) to "Feelings".

     Morris Albert was born in Brazil and had played guitar and sang in several bands up to his writing and recording of his biggest hit. It wasn't only here either, as his success became worldwide. Why? I don't have a full explanation for why it hit big here, except that radio listeners out there like a nice sappy ballad every so often. (Julio Iglesias made a career of it in the 80's).  The follow up here in the states made the top 100, but after that faded from view. He still continues to tour and lives in Italy having become a world musical celebrity. 

     

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Paper Lace--The Night Chicago Died (1974)

     Paper Lace began in 1967 in Nottingham, England as the group Music Box, then in 1969 changed it when Phil Wright joined as drummer and lead singer. They spent the next 5 years paying their dues on the pub circuit with the occasional television appearance. In 1974 the group had an chance to be on the show "Opportunity Knocks" and did so well that songwriters Mitch Murry and Peter Callender approached them with the song, "Billy Don't Be A Hero". The song went to number 1 on the British charts in the spring of 1974, but failed here as Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods beat them to the punch and released their version stateside first.. Another Murry/Callender song, "The Night Chicago Died" however, didn't have that issue and reached #1 here with 3 million copies sold.

      As with much of the best of bubblegum pop, it was very well crafted, and an album with "Billy" and "Chicago" proved that the band could extend the sound for a whole album. (It was released as "Paper Lace" in the states, "Paper Lace and Other Bits of Material" in the UK).  If you get a chance to hear it, you might be surprised at the quality of the music. However, the band never had another hit in the US or in Britain and by the end of the decade had gone their separate ways.

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Jewel Akens--The Birds and the Bees (1965)

     In 1964, Jewell Akens was the lead singer of a group called The Turnarounds and had just been signed by Era Records out of Hollywood. That year produced one single that saw no chart action. The owner of the label, Herb Newman, brought a song to them by a young songwriter by the name of Barry Stewart. (it was the pseudonym of Newman's teenaged son).

     Looking over the song, it was very sing-songy....almost like a nursery rhyme. Akens really liked the song, however the rest of the group did not. Long story short, the group split up over the song and Jewell decided to record it himself. He went through several arraignments before settling on the one that was finally released. It shot up to #3 on the charts in the spring of 1965 and became popular in different versions all over the world.

      It was to be the only big hit of Akens career. A follow up song, "Georgie Porgie" saw some chart action, but never saw the charts again. He has continued recording and have been told there are some really good singles from the early 70's that I need to check out. He released a gospel album not too long ago, but am lacking info about it.

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