en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 60 http://www.audioscrobbler.net/data/webservices http://www.last.fm/user/Pirate45/journal The Last.fm journal for Pirate45. Last.fm journals are a place to talk about all things music. http://www.last.fm/user/Pirate45/journal/2007/05/22/1dti_john_wayne Tue, 22 May 2007 14:49:28 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Pirate45/journal/2007/05/22/1dti_john_wayne This Saturday, May 26, is the 100th birthday of the greatest movie star of all time - John Wayne.

Enjoy.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Pirate45/journal/2006/09/07/1dth_latest_music_update Thu, 7 Sep 2006 19:20:08 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Pirate45/journal/2006/09/07/1dth_latest_music_update It's been quite some time since I added a journal entry. I find that I am busier than ever and I have not had time to create any interesting posts as of late.

I do have ideas for several entries and hopefully they will be available at some point. I have been producing a lot of broadcasts and they give me interesting ideas.

I added the latest batch of music to my library today.

My library of music now consists of 3885 songs with a listening time of over 247 hours.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Pirate45/journal/2005/10/03/1dtg_for_all_it%27s_worth_-_part_1 Mon, 3 Oct 2005 14:35:10 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Pirate45/journal/2005/10/03/1dtg_for_all_it%27s_worth_-_part_1 Re-recorded (cover) versions of songs hitting the Top-40 chart is nothing new. Since the inception of the Top-40, certain songs have been recorded every few years, usually in a new and more modern style, by a new (or even old) artist and often they chart again.

But, you may not have known that there are many instances where the same song, recorded by different artists, has hit the chart in the same year. In fact, this has happened so many times that we are going to narrow our discussion to songs that have hit the chart in the same year (or within a short period of time) to instances where it has happened three times or more, lest this discussion would linger too long. As is, this will be a multi-part post.

Most instances of this occurrence took place in the 1950's, but not all. Far too often, a song would be released, and many other artists would record it at once. Never mind waiting 10 years or so to try the song again. In many cases, these songs were on the charts at the same time!

We'll work through these in alphabetical order. (Note that last.fm does not properly detect some of these artist/title combinations causing the formatting to look incorrect in places.)

The song Abraham, Martin And John is a tribute to Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, and John and Robert Kennedy. In 1968 Dion pushed the song to #4. The following year, The Miracles hit #33 with the song, black comedian Moms Mabley hit #35 (at the age of 75!), and Tom Clay worked the song into a medley that peaked at #8. So, in 1968 and 1969, the song appeared on the Top-40 four times.

In 1957 the song Around The World In 80 Days was a popular radio player. Recorded as Around the World it peaked at #12. (Main Theme) Around The World peaked at #13. The song was from the movie Around The World In 80 Days. Also from the movie, the only vocal version of the song was Around the World.

The Ballad Of Davy Crockett was a popular song in 1955 - apparently too popular as it was a hit four times. Bill Hayes, an actor and singer, hit #1 with the song and stayed there for five weeks. Tennessee Ernie Ford pushed the song to #5 during the same time frame, but he was not the only one. Also at the same time, Fess Parker, who would later play Daniel Boone on television pushed the song to #5, and The Voices of Walter Schumann hit #14. All versions of the song were on the chart at the same time, and all were featured on the television series Disneyland.

Up next is a look at a song that hit the chart six times in the same year. The song Banana Boat (Day-O) did it in 1957. Here are the artists that recorded it; The Banana Boat Song (#9), Banana Boat (Day-O) (#5), The Banana Boat Song (#13), The Banana Boat Song (#18), The Banana Boat Song (#19), and Banana Boat (Day-O) (#25) did a comedy version of the song. One would think that the same song as a hit six times in the same year would have made radio listening quite borning.

Earth Angel was good for 3 hits in 1956. Canadian group The Crew-Cuts used the song as their first hit and pushed it to #3. One-hit wonder group The Penguins could only get the song as high as #8, and female singer Gloria Mann fared even less-well at #18 with her version. The song was back in 1986 when New Edition peaked at #21 (with the most annoying version).

Eddie My Love was also a hit three times in 1956. The Fontane Sisters pushed the song to #1 and The Chordettes and Teen Queens both reached #14 with their versions.

We all know Eleanor Rigby from 1966. But, did you know that the song was also a hit in 1968 and 1969? First Ray Charles recording of the song touched the chart at #35 in 1968 and then Aretha Franklin nearly pushed the song as high as the Beatles' version. She peaked at #17 in 1969. The Beatles' version had peaked at #11 in 1966.

(More to follow...)]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Pirate45/journal/2005/09/22/1dtf_classic_hits_of_new_orleans Thu, 22 Sep 2005 13:26:08 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Pirate45/journal/2005/09/22/1dtf_classic_hits_of_new_orleans I'm going to be involved in an on-air fund-raiser next week for hurricane victims and part of that will involve playing some songs about New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region to generate interest.

I've been perusing my library and these are the New Orleans associated Classic Hits (generally from the mid-1950's through the early 1980's). Obviously New Orleans is a musical town and there are a lot of Dixieland or jazz songs about the city that will not apply to the Classic Hits format. Also, there are a lot of artists from New Orleans and that area that are not included in this list - just New Orleans-themed songs.

If I'm missing any, feel free to post a reply.

1979 Heart Of The Night
1972 The City of New Orleans
1972 The Witch Queen Of New Orleans
1964 The House of the Rising Sun
2000 New Orleans (Non-hit)
1959 Way Down Yonder in New Orleans (a.k.a. Freddy Cannon)
1960 Walking to New Orleans
1959 The Battle Of New Orleans
1960 New Orelans
1969 Proud Mary
1961 Big Bad John
1975 Black Water

There are also a number of songs about Mississippi and Alabama which would also be appropriate. As well, there are a number of "Bayou" and "Swamp" songs that could be appropriate for the region.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Pirate45/journal/2005/09/21/1dte_meeting_up_with_old_flames Wed, 21 Sep 2005 19:43:29 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Pirate45/journal/2005/09/21/1dte_meeting_up_with_old_flames I just noticed that my music scheduling software back-to-backed a couple of songs about meeting up with old girlfriends.

Taxi and Tangled Up in Blue. Strange coincidence!

Another that comes to mind is Same Old Lang Syne which is a very similar story to Taxi.

Harry Chapin did have a follow up to Taxi called Sequel which painted a rosier picture on the whole affair.

I'll keep my eye out for other songs with this theme as no further tunes come to mind from my library.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Pirate45/journal/2005/09/21/1dtd_smoking_some_45%27s Wed, 21 Sep 2005 17:45:45 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Pirate45/journal/2005/09/21/1dtd_smoking_some_45%27s A conversation I had a couple of days ago gave me an idea for a post. I was discussing with another person the first 45 RPM records that we ever purchased.

I can clearly remember the first two 45's that I bought. I don't remember the third or any after that in any particular order but there were many until I started buying twelve-inch singles in the early 1980's.

The first 45 I ever bought was Stir It Up. The second was The Cover Of 'Rolling Stone'.

I do not recall exactly how much I paid for those first two but it seems like it was 69 cents - perhaps 79 cents. I then recall that they were 99 cents for what seemed like several years, and then $1.29 for a while. I was just a young fellow so it seemed expensive at the time.

There were three discount stores in my hometown that sold 45's and there were always weekly charts from the two biggest local Top-40 stations available with the records. (I wish I had saved some of those. They seem to attract a lot of attention on eBay.)

I do recall that I paid 39 cents for my first pack of cigarettes but I do not recall how much I paid for my first 45's.

It is interesting to note that at the time, a single song cost more than a pack of cigarettes - about double. Now, you can download a song for 99 cents but cigarettes appear to be a lot more.

At least I quit smoking a few years ago and no longer need to buy them.

Less smokes - more music...]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Pirate45/journal/2005/09/20/1dtc_bob_seger Tue, 20 Sep 2005 13:41:32 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Pirate45/journal/2005/09/20/1dtc_bob_seger Bob Seger easily makes my personal list of "Greatest Artists".

The man from Michigan is best known for hits like Night Moves, Still The Same, We've Got Tonite, Fire Lake, Against The Wind, Old Time Rock & Roll, Shame On The Moon, and Shakedown but he was going strong long before any of those songs ever hit the charts - as far back as the 1960's.

The 60's stuff is good too! The oldest song in my library is from 1967; East Side Story. His first hit was Ramblin' Gamblin' Man in 1969. The song peaked at #17. It's a great song too - just the kind of hard-driving rock and roll that makes you feel good. Unfortunately, the song is just slightly over two minutes long and would be much more fun at around four minutes.

Mr. Seger disappeared from the Top-40 charts for 8 years and would not reappear until 1977 with the song Night Moves.

Although not making hits, Seger was making music. I have another tune in my library from 1972 that is a good one; Heavy Music Part 1.

Not all of Bob Seger's hits were labelled Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band. Hits #4 through #7 and hits #12 through #17 were with the Silver Bullet Band - the backing band that he formed. Most others were simply labelled "Bob Seger".

All of his hits were on the Capitol label with the exception of his one #1 song, which was on MCA as it was from a movie soundtrack.

As mentioned in an earlier post, Bob Seger spent only one week of his career at #1 on the Top-40 chart and it came in 1987 with the song Shakedown which was from the movie Beverly Hills Cop II.

The song Old Time Rock & Roll is one of those songs that a lot of people would think was a #1 song. It wasn't. In fact, it was Seger's lowest charting single out of his nineteen hit songs. Although it is probably his "most requested song" (based on my 25 years in radio and 17 years I spend working in nightclubs), every other song charted by Bob Seger climbed higher than Old Time Rock & Roll. It peaked at #28 in 1979. (Side note: I spent many years beatmixing records in dance clubs and one thing you could count on to occur each night was that some long-haired guy would come up and ask you to play Old Time Rock & Roll or Sweet Home Alabama.)

This also says something else about him though; Out of nineteen songs that he charted, only 3 of those songs did not climb above #20. Impressive numbers!

Other notable songs that were not hits (and you may have more to add to this list) are; Rock And Roll Never Forgets, Her Strut, Turn The Page, Fire Down Below, Katmandu, C'est La Vie, Betty Lou's Gettin' Out Tonight, Sunspot Baby, Horizontal Bop, and Lock And Load.

See you around the dial Bob.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Pirate45/journal/2005/09/19/1dtb_a_look_at_double-dippers Mon, 19 Sep 2005 13:54:22 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Pirate45/journal/2005/09/19/1dtb_a_look_at_double-dippers There are quite a few instances of artists charting the same recording more than once. Usually these songs are "novelty" or "seasonal."

White Christmas was a hit six times. Little Drummer Boy was a five-time hit. Jingle Bell Rock hit four times. Monster Mash hit the chart twice. Those are examples of seasonal songs - Christmas, Halloween, etc.

But, there are artists that have hit the charts with the same song more than once for non-seasonal reasons. Many times, this is due to being included on a movie soundtrack.

Let's look at a few;

Bohemian Rhapsody topped out at #9 in 1976. Then, when included on the Wayne's World soundtrack in 1992, the song skyrocketed to #2, out-performing its original release.

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do was a #1 song in 1962. In 1975, he released a slow version of the song that climbed to #8.

Castles In The Air was the "B" side of Vincent when it charted in 1972. A new version was recorded for release in 1981 but the song only got as high as #36. A great song though!

It was his first hit when it climbed to #6 in 1966 - Cherry, Cherry. A live version also charted in 1973 but only managed to get to #31.

December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night) hit #1 in 1976. A dance remix charted in 1994 but did not hit #1 - just #14 this time. The labelling was different as well. In 1984 the title was minus a comma and the "A" was a capitol letter. December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night) versus December 1963 (Oh, What A Night).

Do You Love Me was their only hit - twice! In 1962 it peaked at #3 but its inclusion on the Dirty Dancing soundtrack caused it to chart again at #11 in 1988.

Free Bird was a tribute to Duane Allman and charted in 1975 at #19. It was back as a live version in 1977 but barely touched the charts at #38.

Here's one that might surprise you. I'm So Excited originally reached #30 in 1982. A couple of years later in 1984, the sisters had produced a couple of big hits in the Spring and the song was remixed and re-released in the Fall. This time, it shot to #9.

One of the greatest ballads of the 1980's was Into The Night, and it book-ended the decade. The song was originally a hit in 1980, peaking at #11. In 1989 the same version of the song was back on the charts and climbed to #20.

Most people remember Layla both as the rocking version from 1972, and Eric Clapton's acoustic version in 1992.

I don't know what James Brown's thing is with popcorn but he parlayed the concept onto the charts more than once - not quite with the exact same song but here goes the story anyway: in 1969 Brown had a #11 hit with Mother Popcorn (You Got To Have A Mother For Me). His next hit was an instrumental called The Popcorn, also in 1969. Later that same year he fired up the stove to pop again with Let A Man Come In And Do The Popcorn Part One, which reached #21. The next year, it was Part Two (Let A Man Come In And Do The Popcorn) which peaked at #40.

Macarena was actually a hit with two different mixes. The version called Bayside Boys Mix was #1 for 14 weeks sadly. Another version called Non Stop reached #23 - all in 1996.

David Ruffin and eddie kendrick (a.k.a. Eddie Kendricks) were involved in hits twice with the songs The Way You Do The Things You Do and My Girl. First as members of The Temptations in 1964 and 1965, and 20 years later teaming up for a medley of the songs with Daryl Hall and John Oates. Ruffin died in 1991 and Kendrick(s) in 1992.

You knew this one was coming; 1999 was a hit first in 1980 (titled as **1999**), when it reached #12. Then, of course, in 1999, it was back (titled simply as 1999) - but, only for a single week at #40. It was getting a lot of airplay, people just weren't buying it.

Red Red Wine was originally a Neil Diamond tune but not a hit until recorded by the reggae group UB40 did it become a Top-40 hit - and then, twice. The song was first released in 1984 and went nowhere. In just four weeks on the charts it managed a showing of only #34. Apparently A&M felt that the song had more potential as a longer version was released in 1988. They were right, it went to the top spending a week at #1.

(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock hit #1 and stayed there for eight weeks in 1955. (It was not the tops song of the year despite those impressive numbers.) When the television program Happy Days debuted in 1974, the song hit the charts again - but just for a single week at #39. Haley was still alive to see it, dying in 1981. The song was later pulled as the theme to the program, replaced by the song Happy Days which was also a hit, hitting #5 in 1976.

Send in the Clowns was first a hit in 1973, touching the charts at #36. When re-released in 1977, the song fared better, climbing to #19.

Send Me an Angel was a double-dipper with different versions of the song. In 1984 it reached #29, then in 1989 titled as Send Me An Angel '89 it did only slightly better making it to #26.

Stand By Me was a huge hit. Not only did King hit twice with the song, but Spyder Turner, John Lennon, and Mickey Gilley had hits with the song in between King's appearances on the charts with the tune. The song peaked at #4 in 1961 and #9 in 1986 when a movie soundtrack featured it.

Summertime, Summertime did it twice. First in 1958 and again in 1962. The song did not produce impressive numbers either time.

In 1963 Surfin' U.S.A. reached #3. For a single week, the same version of the song was back in 1976 at #36.

Tall Cool One was an instrumental song that hit twice. It was a minor hit both times spending a grand total of three weeks on the chart combined between it's appearances in 1959 and 1964.

Topsy was a double-dipper - sort of. The first hit in 1958 was called Topsy II, the second that same year was Topsy I. The third hit (as you could guess) was Turvy II. All were instrumentals and the "Big Band" sound.

Then, of course, you have Chubby Checker. He "twisted" like James Brown ate popcorn. The Twist hit #1 in 1960 for a single week. Then, in 1961, the song was back and again hit #1, this time for two weeks. In 1988 he joined The Fat Boys for a rap version called The Twist (Yo, Twist!).

Wait, that's not all; In 1961 between #1 appearances for The Twist, Checker pushed Let's Twist Again to #8. In 1962 Slow Twistin' climbed to #3. In 1963 Twist It Up peaked at #25. Talk about milking it for all it's worth.

Actually, Checker tried it again with the "limbo" concept. The song Limbo Rock was a #2 hit in 1962 - then, Let's Limbo Some More went to #20 in 1963.

Most of Checker's hits involved some kind of dance craze. To make it worse, The Twist was not even original with Checker. It was first a hit for Hank Ballard and the Midnighters in 1960. Even Checker's name was a copy. "Chubby Checker" was just a similar sounding name to "Fats Domino".

Even Twist and Shout got into the act. The song hit #2 in 1964, and then in 1986, as part of two different movie soundtracks, the song made an appearance at #23 on Billboard's Top-40 chart.

Unchained Melody was a hit three times. Not only was the song a hit for them, four separate artists had a hit with the song in 1955. In 1965, The Righteous Brothers first hit with their version going all the way to #4. Then, in 1990 the song was part of the Ghost soundtrack and went to #13. That same year, The Righteous Brothers recorded another version of the song that also hit, peaking at #19.

Barbra Streisand had a very minor hit in 1971 (#40) with Where You Lead, then the following year, she rolled the song into a medley that peaked at #37.

Wipe Out was a #2 hit in 1963. For some reason it was back on the chart 3 years later, and managed to climb to #16.

This concludes our look back at double-dippers. Thanks to Joel Whitburn's Book Of Top-40 Hits. Without such reference materials, these statistics would be impossible to compile.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Pirate45/journal/2005/09/13/1dta_the_rock_of_new_orleans Tue, 13 Sep 2005 21:26:44 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Pirate45/journal/2005/09/13/1dta_the_rock_of_new_orleans New Orleans has been featured frequently on the news lately because of the hurricane, and that has me thinking of fond memories of listening to one of the greatest radio stations ever to hit the airwaves - WRNO, "The Rock Of New Orleans."

There's no shortage of information about WRNO on the web but my memories are of a great sounding station on the shortwave bands that rocked hard late at night.

I'm not sure if it was a complete simulcast of their local programming or not but listening in the late 1970's and early 1980's, I remember local commercials airing for businesses in the New Orleans area. That provided glimpses of life in an area hundreds of miles away. I remember particularly a furniture store in Gretna, Louisiana that was a regular advertiser.

The station is still around with mostly Christian programming - which I think is a fine and needed service as well but I miss hearing the old "Rock of New Orleans" crashing through the static so common on the lower frequencies of shortwave.

You could tune across the different shortwave bands at any time of day but the only sounds of rock and roll would emanate from New Orleans and could be heard around the world.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Pirate45/journal/2005/09/12/1dt9_we_loved_to_party_but_we_loved_to_love_more! Mon, 12 Sep 2005 09:25:44 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Pirate45/journal/2005/09/12/1dt9_we_loved_to_party_but_we_loved_to_love_more! Some of the greatest rock bands of the 1970's and 1980's had their highest chart success not with the hard rocking songs, but with the slow ones.

There are more than the examples than I am going to cite, but this should give you an idea.

One of my favorite bands is Styx. They had 16 Top-40 hits (and loads of other good songs) but only one #1 song; Babe, a slow song, was their one stop at the top in 1979.

Clearly, Boston was one of the greatest bands of the 70's and 80's but again, only one #1 song. And, it didn't come until 1986 when the slow song Amanda topped the charts.

Foreigner is another favorite and without a doubt one of the best of the best from the 70's and 80's. How many #1 songs? One - and once again, it is a slow one. I Want To Know What Love Is peaked at #1 in 1984.

Hard rocking band Def Leppard struck one time with the power ballad Love Bites in 1988.

As I mentioned in a previous entry, the band Journey amazingly never had a #1 song but their greatest chart success came with the ballad Open Arms which spent six weeks at #2 in 1982.

The Cars are not a band that would be considered "hard rocking" but they had an innovative sound and most of it was energetic. Although they also never had a #1 song, their highest chart position came with the slow tune Drive in 1984. The song peaked at #3.

The chart numbers for Alice Cooper are a bit more muddy. Alice had 11 Top-40 hits but never hit #1. School's Out in 1972 and Poison in 1989 both peaked at #7 - his highest chart position. But, if you add up the numbers of three of his slower songs - a sound vastly different from his hard-rocking normal style, the numbers are more impressive. Only Women, I Never Cry and the unforgettable You And Me were clearly his most popular songs with radio listeners.

Another great example, is the band Kiss. In 1976 the shock-rock group released the slow single Beth which achieved their career peak position of #7.

Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant achieved his greatest American chart success singing a slow tune as part of the super-group The Honeydrippers in 1984 with Sea Of Love.

Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers had sixteen Top-40 hits and none were bigger than 1981's Stop Draggin' My Heart Around when the band joined Stevie Nicks. The song peaked at #3.

REO Speedwagon was another band that could party hard but it was slow songs that gave them their two career #1 songs. In 1980 Keep On Loving You topped the charts, and in 1985 another song hit #1, also a slow tune; Can't Fight This Feeling.

More quick notes before we go:

Cheap Trick's only #1 was also a slow song. The Flame hit #1 in 1988. The Police hit #1 once with Every Breath You Take in 1983. Poison was at the top on a single occasion with Every Rose Has It's Thorn.

There are more examples but I think this makes the point - the slow tunes are without a doubt preferred by the masses.]]>