Moving up 12 to #48 on this day in 1971 was "Mother Freedom" by 70's superstars Bread. This was without a doubt the hardest-edged tune that ever charted for them; since it didn't have any pickup lines that people could use in their romantic pursuits, it would end up only peaking at #37.
Bread and David Gates material hold a special place in The Retro Attic's hearts, so keep tuning in!
PAYPAL DONATIONS BANNER
Listen on myTuner radio!
Friday, July 27, 2012
Thursday, July 26, 2012
ON THIS DAZE IN CHART HISTORY - JULY 26, 1973!
Coming in at #18(up 4) on this day in 1973 was the third top 10 hit for Irishman Gilbert O'Sullivan, who was known for his college sweater fashion sense. This peaked at #7 and is probably the least-played of his top 10 hits. I remember hearing this all of the time back then and now it proudly takes residence in The Retro Attic rotation!
A chart side note: also on this day in '73, Maureen McGovern raced up 11 spots to #9 with "The Morning After" from the classic film "The Poseidon Adventure." It would soon hit #1, and I remember Casey Kasem not liking it too much when it got there. At that time, American Top 40 was predicting what would be #1 the following week, and Casey made a quick and confident prediction that she would be knocked off the top. He was right! It's all good though; I would rather listen to a Maureen McGovern hits collection than a bunch of so-called LMFAO classics!
A chart side note: also on this day in '73, Maureen McGovern raced up 11 spots to #9 with "The Morning After" from the classic film "The Poseidon Adventure." It would soon hit #1, and I remember Casey Kasem not liking it too much when it got there. At that time, American Top 40 was predicting what would be #1 the following week, and Casey made a quick and confident prediction that she would be knocked off the top. He was right! It's all good though; I would rather listen to a Maureen McGovern hits collection than a bunch of so-called LMFAO classics!
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
ON THIS DAZE IN CHART HISTORY - JULY 25, 1969!
The Underground Sunshine were a late 60's quartet made up of members from Wisconsin and Germany. On this day in 1969, their one and only hit(a remake of The Beatles' White Album classic track "Birthday") jumped up 24 spots to #76. It would eventually peak at #26.
Their sole album on the Intrepid label is worth hunting down for its cool psychedelia. The highlight for me was their tripped-out 8 minute workout of "Gimme Some Lovin'," the Spencer Davis Group hit.
Enjoy this rare lipsynch clip of "Birthday" from American Bandstand and keep your ears open for this long-forgotten top 40 hit here on The Retro Attic!
Their sole album on the Intrepid label is worth hunting down for its cool psychedelia. The highlight for me was their tripped-out 8 minute workout of "Gimme Some Lovin'," the Spencer Davis Group hit.
Enjoy this rare lipsynch clip of "Birthday" from American Bandstand and keep your ears open for this long-forgotten top 40 hit here on The Retro Attic!
Saturday, June 30, 2012
DAVE CLARK FIVE, DON GRADY AND STATION MUSINGS
Even though it's the last day of June, I decided to get an early start on July's Artist Of The Month because the artist in question happens to be one of my all-time favorite groups. Crank up The Retro Attic in July as we look back at all of the great material that The Dave Clark Five left us! I had forgotten how much of a rocker "Any Way You Want It" was. If you're a fan of The Box Tops, The Grass Roots and Badfinger, then I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how good some of their overlooked singles and flip sides from the late 60's and early 70's were("Paradise Is Half As Nice," "Think Of Me," etc.). We will be showcasing one of their tracks every hour during July.
I'm sure you've already heard about the passing of My Three Sons actor Don Grady. Don was also a musician who flew up, up and away into the top 30 during '67 with his group The Yellow Balloon. We've had their self-titled hit in our rotation for a while now and will continue to do so. Rest in peace, Don!
As the summer progresses, I'm going to be changing the way our playlist is heard. The way it is formatted now has presented a couple of problems: certain tracks are getting played 2 or 3 times a day and I'm pretty sure that there are a few tracks that haven't received any airplay because they're buried so deep in the playlist. Eventually you will be listening to different playlists for each day of the week; if you're worried that the following Monday will sound exactly the same as the previous Monday, then don't fret: I will always be throwing in some new additions and I may occasionally rotate the playlists to different days. The Artist Of The Month will be continuing, although I will admit it will be a bit more challenging to format.
And speaking of listening, I'm going to try to be nice about the following issue. My station is all about being a GUIDE to forgotten music of the past and LISTENING/ENJOYING the tunes. If you hear something you like, then go out and Google the tune afterwards or better yet, help out my station by purchasing an MP3 via the Amazon links that are on my webpage's "Recent Tracks Played" display. I'm not a rookie when it comes to ways of the internet, and I know exactly what you "listeners" overseas(especially Germany and Russia) are doing. Those of you who are masking with outdated versions of Winamp(especially Winamp 5.50) will not be welcome here. You're not even listening; you're using a "popular" software program that "slices and dices" my programming and fulfills your precious wish lists. The same also goes to those who are showing up with a bunch of random letters of the alphabet as their user agent; I also know which software program that is. Those with no user agent displaying...don't make me laugh! And finally, how about good ol' Winamp 5.62! It looks to be legit at first, but I've seen way too many instances of it being used with a plugin(sound familiar, Mr. North Carolina?). The plugin automatically reconnects if kicked off and will continue to hammer a radio station's server if banned until the user on the other end realizes that he/she won't be getting through(I've seen this occur for several hours!). I know this is happening because I can listen to my station on Winamp 5.62 and kick myself off; guess what, it doesn't automatically reconnect!
I know some of you have busy lives and are looking to do some "time shifting" so that you have something to listen to on the way to or way back from work. I don't really have a problem with that, especially if you drop me a quick line and tell me that's what your intention is. Unfortunately, there are too many "phantoms" out there that think they can leave their devices on all day, so you will need to be monitoring as I have a listening cap in place.
I can't catch all of those that are using the above-referenced software programs, so I have started incorporating a method that will make our tracks less desirable to obtain. It's a method that terrestrial stations have been using for many years. Not sure what I mean? Keep an ear out for tracks such as Blue Cheer's "Summertime Blues" and I think you will understand! And at the same time, it won't be that much of an annoyance to my true listeners.
Questions or comments? Please use our webpage's contact form or chat with me through our live chat button that is on the right side of the page in the area where our poll and Artists Of The Month are. I'm sorry for sounding a little bitter, but I'm trying to reach out to those who truly miss the obscure oldies; if it only ends up being a very small group of loyal followers, then I'd rather have that than having my "fan club" being a bunch of flea market peddlers who display their "one-of-a-kind CDs" on some old wooden table.
And now back to the music! Thanks goes out to those of you who are listening and spreading the word about me by liking me on Facebook and liking my Tweets.
I'm sure you've already heard about the passing of My Three Sons actor Don Grady. Don was also a musician who flew up, up and away into the top 30 during '67 with his group The Yellow Balloon. We've had their self-titled hit in our rotation for a while now and will continue to do so. Rest in peace, Don!
As the summer progresses, I'm going to be changing the way our playlist is heard. The way it is formatted now has presented a couple of problems: certain tracks are getting played 2 or 3 times a day and I'm pretty sure that there are a few tracks that haven't received any airplay because they're buried so deep in the playlist. Eventually you will be listening to different playlists for each day of the week; if you're worried that the following Monday will sound exactly the same as the previous Monday, then don't fret: I will always be throwing in some new additions and I may occasionally rotate the playlists to different days. The Artist Of The Month will be continuing, although I will admit it will be a bit more challenging to format.
And speaking of listening, I'm going to try to be nice about the following issue. My station is all about being a GUIDE to forgotten music of the past and LISTENING/ENJOYING the tunes. If you hear something you like, then go out and Google the tune afterwards or better yet, help out my station by purchasing an MP3 via the Amazon links that are on my webpage's "Recent Tracks Played" display. I'm not a rookie when it comes to ways of the internet, and I know exactly what you "listeners" overseas(especially Germany and Russia) are doing. Those of you who are masking with outdated versions of Winamp(especially Winamp 5.50) will not be welcome here. You're not even listening; you're using a "popular" software program that "slices and dices" my programming and fulfills your precious wish lists. The same also goes to those who are showing up with a bunch of random letters of the alphabet as their user agent; I also know which software program that is. Those with no user agent displaying...don't make me laugh! And finally, how about good ol' Winamp 5.62! It looks to be legit at first, but I've seen way too many instances of it being used with a plugin(sound familiar, Mr. North Carolina?). The plugin automatically reconnects if kicked off and will continue to hammer a radio station's server if banned until the user on the other end realizes that he/she won't be getting through(I've seen this occur for several hours!). I know this is happening because I can listen to my station on Winamp 5.62 and kick myself off; guess what, it doesn't automatically reconnect!
I know some of you have busy lives and are looking to do some "time shifting" so that you have something to listen to on the way to or way back from work. I don't really have a problem with that, especially if you drop me a quick line and tell me that's what your intention is. Unfortunately, there are too many "phantoms" out there that think they can leave their devices on all day, so you will need to be monitoring as I have a listening cap in place.
I can't catch all of those that are using the above-referenced software programs, so I have started incorporating a method that will make our tracks less desirable to obtain. It's a method that terrestrial stations have been using for many years. Not sure what I mean? Keep an ear out for tracks such as Blue Cheer's "Summertime Blues" and I think you will understand! And at the same time, it won't be that much of an annoyance to my true listeners.
Questions or comments? Please use our webpage's contact form or chat with me through our live chat button that is on the right side of the page in the area where our poll and Artists Of The Month are. I'm sorry for sounding a little bitter, but I'm trying to reach out to those who truly miss the obscure oldies; if it only ends up being a very small group of loyal followers, then I'd rather have that than having my "fan club" being a bunch of flea market peddlers who display their "one-of-a-kind CDs" on some old wooden table.
And now back to the music! Thanks goes out to those of you who are listening and spreading the word about me by liking me on Facebook and liking my Tweets.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
RIP - DONNA SUMMER
What a year it has been so far for losing musical icons! As you probably already heard, we lost The Queen Of Disco a couple of days ago after a long battle with cancer.
Donna's heyday was of course during the 70's, but she showed her prowess by hitting during the robotic dance/new wave era that bands such as Midnight Star had helped pave, the '83 neo-disco movement, and the late 80's Stock Aitken Waterman dance pop era that had made Kylie Minogue and Rick Astley stars. She had even managed to land a top 20 album as late as 2008.
The Retro Attic - Rare 50s To 80s Oldies will be paying tribute to her during this coming week by playing a couple of triple plays at random times. So keep your ears here "on the radio" for some of her selections that you don't hear every day(keeping in line with what you would expect from us)!
Many thanks go out to Donna for all of the great musical memories she provided us. Heaven knows it's very lucky to have her now!
Donna's heyday was of course during the 70's, but she showed her prowess by hitting during the robotic dance/new wave era that bands such as Midnight Star had helped pave, the '83 neo-disco movement, and the late 80's Stock Aitken Waterman dance pop era that had made Kylie Minogue and Rick Astley stars. She had even managed to land a top 20 album as late as 2008.
The Retro Attic - Rare 50s To 80s Oldies will be paying tribute to her during this coming week by playing a couple of triple plays at random times. So keep your ears here "on the radio" for some of her selections that you don't hear every day(keeping in line with what you would expect from us)!
Many thanks go out to Donna for all of the great musical memories she provided us. Heaven knows it's very lucky to have her now!
Friday, May 11, 2012
HAMILTON, JOE FRANK & REYNOLDS - Winners And Losers - 1975 - #21
Remember these guys? This soft rock outfit featured former members of the 60's instrumental act The T-Bones("No Matter What Shape" and "Sippin' 'N Chippin'") and the late 60's group Shango(the quasi calypso/reggae hit "Day After Day It's Slippin' Away," which is currently in our rotation).
The average 70's music fan knows that Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds had two top 40 smashes during the first half of the decade: "Don't Pull Your Love(which apparently The Grass Roots turned down, then ended up recording a similar-sounding hit in "Two Divided By Love")" and the #1 swooner "Fallin' In Love." Any oldies station worth their weight in gold is still playing these on a fairly regular basis.
But how many of you remember this song, which also hit top 40? This was one of those numbers where I heard it several times as a kid, but I lost track of it as the years went by. I always had a certain line from it stuck in my head("You know it's that....wayyyyyyy"), and it wasn't until the last 10 years that I stumbled across the song once again(I purchased the 2nd pressing of The Playboy Years disc with the improved sound quality). I felt stupid; I should have recognized that deep voice!
At this point they should have been called Hamilton, Joe Frank & Dennison(Tommy Reynolds had left 3 years earlier and was replaced by Alan Dennison), but the record company was worried that too much time had passed; therefore, they insisted that the established hit-making name should stick around for a while longer. By the time the group name changed, disco music had an even stronger grip on the American public, so subsequent singles were only minor charters.
Live footage on them is hard to find, so I was delighted to find this(live vocals - good enough!). Enjoy this clip and keep your ears open for this song and their '71 mid-charter "Annabella" in our rotation! And speaking of The T-Bones, they will be spinning soon!
The average 70's music fan knows that Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds had two top 40 smashes during the first half of the decade: "Don't Pull Your Love(which apparently The Grass Roots turned down, then ended up recording a similar-sounding hit in "Two Divided By Love")" and the #1 swooner "Fallin' In Love." Any oldies station worth their weight in gold is still playing these on a fairly regular basis.
But how many of you remember this song, which also hit top 40? This was one of those numbers where I heard it several times as a kid, but I lost track of it as the years went by. I always had a certain line from it stuck in my head("You know it's that....wayyyyyyy"), and it wasn't until the last 10 years that I stumbled across the song once again(I purchased the 2nd pressing of The Playboy Years disc with the improved sound quality). I felt stupid; I should have recognized that deep voice!
At this point they should have been called Hamilton, Joe Frank & Dennison(Tommy Reynolds had left 3 years earlier and was replaced by Alan Dennison), but the record company was worried that too much time had passed; therefore, they insisted that the established hit-making name should stick around for a while longer. By the time the group name changed, disco music had an even stronger grip on the American public, so subsequent singles were only minor charters.
Live footage on them is hard to find, so I was delighted to find this(live vocals - good enough!). Enjoy this clip and keep your ears open for this song and their '71 mid-charter "Annabella" in our rotation! And speaking of The T-Bones, they will be spinning soon!
Saturday, April 28, 2012
MAY ARTIST OF THE MONTH - THE BEE GEES
May's Artist Of The Month here on The Retro Attic - 50s To 80s Rare Oldies should be a lot of fun! The Bee Gees left us with an amazing catalog, and I hope to cover it all through their many group charters as well as a few from Barry, Robin, and even Andy Gibb(after all, he was related and his brothers helped out on background vocals on some of his early hits). Hopefully you will have a few favorites to look forward to as we tackle the range of 1967 through 1989!
You will find that yours truly especially enjoyed the material that came out between '67 and '73 because of the Beatlesque harmonies, lite psych, and orchestration. I always felt that The Bee Gees became popular in the U.S. right away because they filled a void that a lot of Beatles fans were experiencing once the Lennon and Jesus controversy occurred as well as their feeling that the Fab Four's music was starting to get "weird" with the release of the "Revolver" album. There is no doubt in my mind that The Beatles would have continued to put out material as strong as "Don't Forget To Remember," "Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself," "My World," "Run To Me," and "Wouldn't I Be Someone" if they had stayed together.
I will admit that when I was a kid, I absolutely hated their disco phase(mainly because I couldn't roller skate worth squat and my mother blasted "Boogie Child" as long as an hour after it was bedtime for me). I have learned to appreciate those records these days, especially when compared to what is passing for dance music now(I won't mention names). I never hated the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack enough to take it to the Comiskey Park record BBQ in the summer of '79, so rest assured that I won't ignore the most commercially successful period of their career!
I didn't really follow them that much during the 80's, but I do remember seeing the video for "You Win Again" on VH-1(back in their adult contemporary programming days when you would see VJs like Rita Coolidge and Air Supply was on for every other video, it seemed) and being amazed that it wasn't a bigger hit on the Hot 100. The average music fan had probably forgotten about them since it had been 4 years since the "Staying Alive" soundtrack had been out and everyone had Guns N' Roses on the brain!
And as mentioned earlier, Andy will be given his due. There is no denying that he was a chart force to be reckoned with during '77 and '78 and you have to give him props for having four top 40 hits after the disco era had supposedly died! Whether you like it or not, that last approximately 90 seconds of "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" won't leave your head!
This all begins on "The First Of May(one might think I had it planned this way....my lips are sealed!)." I hope you will enjoy hearing their hits every 45 minutes for the next month and I also hope you will join me in wishing a speedy recovery for Robin; to say that he experienced a miracle is truly an understatement!
5/20/12 UPDATE: The miracle wasn't meant to be...we lost Robin today. The only way to mend our broken hearts is to keep The Bee Gees' music alive, and The Retro Attic will continue to do so for a long time to come!
June's Artist Of The Month won't be a specific artist. I have decided to welcome summer with open arms by showcasing all of those great and obscure "summer" songs from the 50's through the 80's. The Jamies, Tony Carey, War, Blue Cheer, Jamestown Massacre...I think you'll get the idea! Feel free to submit your suggestions and I'll do my best to include them.
A big thanks goes out to those who are listening to us loyally at work and/or at home. Please continue to spread the word about us, especially if you believe like me that the future of music is the past. There was so much that we audiophiles missed out on back in the golden days, and hopefully I'm accomplishing my mission by getting more of us educated.
Rock out, roll on...
You will find that yours truly especially enjoyed the material that came out between '67 and '73 because of the Beatlesque harmonies, lite psych, and orchestration. I always felt that The Bee Gees became popular in the U.S. right away because they filled a void that a lot of Beatles fans were experiencing once the Lennon and Jesus controversy occurred as well as their feeling that the Fab Four's music was starting to get "weird" with the release of the "Revolver" album. There is no doubt in my mind that The Beatles would have continued to put out material as strong as "Don't Forget To Remember," "Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself," "My World," "Run To Me," and "Wouldn't I Be Someone" if they had stayed together.
I will admit that when I was a kid, I absolutely hated their disco phase(mainly because I couldn't roller skate worth squat and my mother blasted "Boogie Child" as long as an hour after it was bedtime for me). I have learned to appreciate those records these days, especially when compared to what is passing for dance music now(I won't mention names). I never hated the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack enough to take it to the Comiskey Park record BBQ in the summer of '79, so rest assured that I won't ignore the most commercially successful period of their career!
I didn't really follow them that much during the 80's, but I do remember seeing the video for "You Win Again" on VH-1(back in their adult contemporary programming days when you would see VJs like Rita Coolidge and Air Supply was on for every other video, it seemed) and being amazed that it wasn't a bigger hit on the Hot 100. The average music fan had probably forgotten about them since it had been 4 years since the "Staying Alive" soundtrack had been out and everyone had Guns N' Roses on the brain!
And as mentioned earlier, Andy will be given his due. There is no denying that he was a chart force to be reckoned with during '77 and '78 and you have to give him props for having four top 40 hits after the disco era had supposedly died! Whether you like it or not, that last approximately 90 seconds of "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" won't leave your head!
This all begins on "The First Of May(one might think I had it planned this way....my lips are sealed!)." I hope you will enjoy hearing their hits every 45 minutes for the next month and I also hope you will join me in wishing a speedy recovery for Robin; to say that he experienced a miracle is truly an understatement!
5/20/12 UPDATE: The miracle wasn't meant to be...we lost Robin today. The only way to mend our broken hearts is to keep The Bee Gees' music alive, and The Retro Attic will continue to do so for a long time to come!
June's Artist Of The Month won't be a specific artist. I have decided to welcome summer with open arms by showcasing all of those great and obscure "summer" songs from the 50's through the 80's. The Jamies, Tony Carey, War, Blue Cheer, Jamestown Massacre...I think you'll get the idea! Feel free to submit your suggestions and I'll do my best to include them.
A big thanks goes out to those who are listening to us loyally at work and/or at home. Please continue to spread the word about us, especially if you believe like me that the future of music is the past. There was so much that we audiophiles missed out on back in the golden days, and hopefully I'm accomplishing my mission by getting more of us educated.
Rock out, roll on...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)