THE JAYNETTS - "Sally Go Round The Roses" (1963)

 

From Wikipedia: "The credited members of the Jaynetts who recorded "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" were Yvonne Bushnell, Ethel Davis (aka Vernell Hill), Ada Ray Kelly and Johnnie Louise Richardson, a fifth credited member Mary Sue Wells (aka Mary Sue Wellington/Mary Green Wilson) was recruited through a newspaper advertisement."

 

 This is a very haunting and ethereal song, and just like the girl on this French 45 sleeve, I don't think that there is anything to compare it to.

It's like a crazy beautiful dream, and yet it reached number two on the charts on my birthday in 1963.

THE JAYNETTS - "Sally Go Round The Roses" 

FALSETTO SONGS THAT MANAGED TO HIT THE CHARTS AFTER ROCK BECAME DOMINANT

 

In the years between 1959 and 1963, popular music for teenagers struggled to find its identity. Rock had died, it was said, after Elvis was inducted into the Army (1958) and Buddy Holly died (1959). In its place, sappy pop songs sung by Frankie Avalon, Bobby Vinton, and the like ruled "American Bandstand;" Instrumental surf music came along (and largely went); sassy Girl Groups, R&B, and Motown broke color barriers with White teens; and Doo Wop gained a toe-hold on the charts. 

 

And, interestingly, during that period of Rock's dormancy, male singers with high falsetto voices became a THING. Of course, once The Beatles and other British bands smashed through America's doors in 1963 and 1964, giving way to a rebirth of Rock, most of the artists and groups featuring falsetto singing pretty much died out -- with only The Four Seasons and The Beach Boys continuing to thrive in the post-British Invasion world of pop music.

 

But every once in awhile, there were exceptions -- times when a falsetto-voiced record became a hit song. 

 

Despite their square pre-Beatles appearance and reputation as a "sappy pop" duo, Dick & Dee Dee had a 1965 hit with the lively "Thou Shalt Not Steal," a record that broke free of the duo's "sappy pop" origins by embracing a tougher-sounding approach that embraced the influence of Rock's re-emergence.

DICK & DEE DEE - "Thou Shalt Not Steal" 

 

A year later, in 1966, Lou Christie, another former sappy pop singer had a couple major hit records. "Rhapsody in the Rain" was particularly striking because in addition to its great production values, it embraced a frank sexuality that would have been hard to find in the pre-Beatles era, certainly on Top Forty radio. (The song's topic is making love and "going too far" in the back seat of the singer's car during a thunderstorm.) The record is produced by former Four Seasons producer Charles Calello, who gives the record its aural drama by punctuating his "Wall of Sound" production with the sounds of thunder and rain and gritty guitar licks. All of it in service to Lou Christie's lustful vocals, highlighted by his falsetto in the irresistibly hooky refrain.

LOU CHRISTIE - "Rhapsody in the Rain" 

CAL TJADER - "Soul Sauce" (1965)

 

"Soul Sauce" was a huge hit for vibraphonist Cal Tjader in 1965, but it's been 61 years since then, so I'm guessing there are lots of people who have never heard it.

The original title was "Guachi Guaro" which you will hear them chanting start and finish.

Vibes, piano, and percussion make this instrumental the solution for the doldrums, and it's good for the soul too! 

As legitimate as it sounds "Guachi Guaro" is just a made up phrase that doesn't directly translate to anything, although it could have something to do with alcohol!

CAL TJADER - "Soul Sauce" 

 

 

 

BILL CONNORS - "Assembler" (1987)

 

Bill Connors is an amazing guitarist, and one of my favorites from the 70's and 80's.

Three chord rock is great no doubt, but when you need a break, you can't beat some good jazz fusion, and that's what Bill Connors is all about.

I'm not big on fusion dominated by synths and other keyboards, but when the guitarists take charge, that's when it gets really good, at least for me.

I think this tune will explain it better than I can. 

BILL CONNORS - "Crunchy" 

PEACEPIPE - "A Biker's Tune" (1969)

 

I didn't really know anything about John Uzonyi and Peacepipe until my pal, the fantabulous artist Gary Wray, told me to give them a listen. This is the kind of music that made people say "Wow!" a lot back in the day.

Recorded in maybe 1968 or 69 but not released until Rockadelic Records had the balls to do it in 1995, here's some super fuzztone guitar driven insanity.

Dick Dale and Leslie West jamming in Hendrix's basement, or that's at least what it sounds like to me!

TURN IT UP LOUD! 

PEACEPIPE - "A Biker's Tune"

THE GAMMA GOOCHEE HIMSELF - "(You Got) The Gamma Goochee" (1965)

 

 

"Tikki Tikki Tembo" -The book tells the story of a Chinese boy with a long name who falls into a well. It is an origin myth story about why Chinese names are so short today. 

It is also a Japanese story. 

In some stories the boy drowns, and in some stories he is barely saved because it took so long to get help because of his long name. 

 

"Long-Name-No-Can-Say" 

 A cross-cultural phenomena, here are just a few examples. 

 

"Teki-teki-no, teki-suri-ombo, so-take-nudo, Harima-no-betto, Cha-wan-chaus'no, Fushimi-no-Esuke"

 

"Het-toko het-toko hengo-no-kami, ik-kai niu-do waniudo, gaga-no fun-nai-zama, oodep-po kodep-po, sasara dep-po hibashi, ja-jan-janjan" 

 

"Tiki-tiki-tembo-no sa rembo-Hari bari broohski-Peri pen do-Hiki pon pom-Nichi no miano-Dom bori ko"

 

"Nicki Nicki Tembo No So Rembo Ooma Moochi Gamma Gamma Goochi" 

 

"Eddie Koochy Katcha Kama Tosa Neera Tosa Noka Sama Kama Wacky Brown" 

 

"Tiki Tiki Timbo No Sin Nimbo Hoi Boi Boski Poi Pon Do Hiki Pon Pon Niki No Mi Ah Dom Poi" 

 

"Ekitekini tekisuru onbō Sōrinbō sōtaka nyūdō Harimano bettō chawan chausuno hikigino Hyokosuke"

 

"Pacho-Nacho-Nico-Tico-Melo-Felo-Kiko-Rico" 

 

The list goes on and on, and in 1965, John Arthur Mangiagli wrote and recorded this song

which was also later covered by The Kingsmen!

THE GAMMA GOOCHEE HIMSELF - "(You Got) The Gamma Goochee" 

FRANK ZAPPA - "Hot Rats" (1969)

 

"Hot Rats" was Frank Zappa's second solo album after "Lumpy Gravy" and the musicians playing on it are so good, they should be considered a super group.

Written by Zappa, with vocals by the one and only Captain Beefheart, the song "Willie The Pimp" is a marvel of a tune.

The rest of the players were Don "Sugarcane" Harris on violin, Ian Underwood playing the tack piano, Max Bennett on bass, and John Guerin on drums.

These guys have played with everybody from Joni Mitchell and Frank Sinatra to Alice Cooper and Janet Jackson, and literally tons more.

In 1956 Sugarcane Harris was half of the duo Don & Dewey, and even though they didn't have any hits, the pair of songwriters were responsible for some very classic songs like "Farmer John" by The Premieres, "I'm Leaving It Up To You," by Dale and Grace, and "Big Boy Pete" by The Olympics.

Not as big a hit, but one of my favorite compositions of theirs is this maniacal upbeat rocker. 

DON & DEWEY - "Baby Gotta Party"

 

So here you go, driven by the violin of Sugarcane Harris and Zappa's guitar work, one of my all-time favorite songs.

 FRANK ZAPPA - "Willie The Pimp" 

THE SHALLARAS - "I Put Something In Your Drink" (2026)

 

The Shallaras are my new favorite band because they are super talented, and just fun to watch and listen to.

I was unfamiliar with this duo until my pal, the wild and krazy artist Gary Wray, sent me a link to this video that just knocked my socks off.

 

The Shallaras are Angela Cory: Voice and Saxophone....and

Mauro Pandolfino: Guitar, Bass lines and Drums played together at the same time without any overdubs.

You can find out more about them at their website, 

or just look them up on Bandcamp.

Check them out, I guarantee you will not be disappointed! 

THE SHALLARAS - "I Put Something In Your Drink" 

THE UBIQUITOUS SIXTIES SONG - "Hey Joe"

 

Rich here. I'm guessing any Baby Boomers reading this remember the iconic Sixties song, "Hey Joe." Almost every garage band worth its salt (including my own band) covered "Hey Joe," and dozens of recording artists released their own versions of the song, including some major groups like The Byrds, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Deep Purple. 

 

"Hey Joe" started out in the early '60s as a somewhat traditional acoustic  folk-blues "murder song" narrated from the viewpoint of a jilted lover who vows revenge. Within a year or so of its first recorded version, the song caught on with some of L.A.'s biggest bands of the time, not least because David Crosby introduced it to his band, The Byrds, who were the headlining band at the Whiskey A-Go-Go. The song's popularity with other bands and artists quickly spread beyond the confines of Southern California.

 

There's a lot of controversy about who actually wrote "Hey Joe." Dino Valenti (aka Chet Powers) of the band Quicksilver Messenger Service claimed he wrote it, as did cult folk artist Tim Rose, but it was first copyrighted by folksinger Billy Roberts, who was also the first artist known to record the song. However, singer/songwriter Niela Miller (who was Billy Roberts' former girlfriend) . . . claimed that Roberts 'stole' the melody and chord progression from her 1955 song "Baby, Please Don't Go to Town." According to Miller, all Billy did was write some new lyrics. 

 

Although the song's popularity seemed to die out in the Seventies, in the Sixties "Hey Joe" was one of the most ubiquitous songs of the era with many artists giving their own unique spins on its arrangement. Here are several distinctive ones:

 

The first recorded acoustic version by Billy Roberts from 1961-62

The definitive Southern California rock version by The Leaves (1966)

 

Jimi Hendrix's psychedelic version (1966)

The Soul version by Wilson Pickett (1969)

 

BONUS Tex-Mex version by Willy Deville (1992)

SCORPIO TUBE - "White Birches" (1970)

 

It's 1970 in L.A. and the name of the band is Scorpio Tube.

One single is all they have with this A side called "White Birches," and an even wilder B side titled "Yellow Listen." 

 

This tune was suggested by my pal Underground Artist, Gary Wray.

It never hurts to go check out some of his wild art while you're listening to the sounds of...

SCORPIO TUBE - "White Birches" 

CHICKEN COUPE DEVILLE - "Twang Bang Deluxe" (1998)

 

Chicken Coupe DeVille came out with this album titled "Twang Bang Deluxe" in the year 1998.

When it comes to modern day Rockabilly, these fellers know what they are doing!!

This doesn't happen very often but I actually couldn't find the very cool "I Seen Her First" that I wanted to play for you on YouTube. Maybe it offended the Grammar Police!

So I made a video myself using a Kodak Flashcube commercial public domain video I found on the Internet Archive.

I think it worked out pretty good. 

See if you agree! 

CHICKEN COUPE DEVILLE - "I Seen Her First"  

TRACY BONHAM - "The Burdens Of Being Upright" (1996)

 

Tracy Bonham's first album came out in 1996, and was titled "The Burdens Of Being Upright."

What can I say? Tracy is just whatever is more awesome than amazing!

SO talented.....and she's on tour right now.

If one of her show's is close to you, I highly recommend you try and attend! 

TRACY BONHAM - "Mother Mother" 

HUGH MASEKELA "Grazing In The Grass" (1968)

 

I don't know what it was with horses and grazing in 1968, but after "The Horse" was number two in May, Hugh Masekela came out with his monster instrumental hit "Grazing In The Grass" which was number one in July of 1968 for two weeks.

You couldn't turn your radio on for fifteen minutes without hearing one of these two songs back then, often back to back.

The really odd thing is that unlike "The Horse" which was an instrumental version of a song with vocals, the instrumental "Grazing In The Grass" was released the following year with vocals by The Friends Of Distinction" which made it to number three in 1969.

Talk about recycling! 

HUGH MASEKELA "Grazing In The Grass"  

CLIFF NOBLES & CO - "The Horse" (1968)

 

Sometimes the story is more interesting than the song, and I think that's the case with the hit "The Horse" by Cliff Nobles & Co.

Cliff Nobles was a singer, and in 1968 he released his second single titled "Love Is All Right," and it didn't generate any interest at all, but the flip side which was just an instrumental version of the A side caught fire. The funny thing is that since there were no vocals, Cliff Nobles didn't even perform on his biggest hit song.

"The Horse" made it to number two on the charts, and stayed there for three weeks, It was only beat out by Herb Alpert's massive hit, "This Guy's In Love With You."

Cliff & Co tried to do it again, but "The Mule," and "The Camel" just couldn't do it for them!

CLIFF NOBLES & CO - "The Horse" 

TOOTER BOATMAN & THE CHAPPARALS - "The Will Of Love" (1958)

 

William McCon Boatman Jr aka Tooter Boatman was from Mineral Wells, Texas, and his band was called The Chaparrals. He recorded mostly between 1957 and 1963.

He should really be in the 27 Club because he had only been 28 for a couple of months when sadly he was killed by a hit and run driver. 

If you've never heard Tooter and the boys before, then you're in for a treat! 

TOOTER BOATMAN & THE CHAPPARALS - "The Will Of Love"

DAVE CLARK FIVE - "Any Way You Want It" (1964)

 

Rich here, paying tribute to a band that tends to get overlooked when we remember the British Invasion of 1964 -- the era when The Beatles crashed down the doors of the American music industry, opening them to other British bands that we still remember 60-some years later, like The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Who, The Yardbirds, and The Animals.

 

But for a brief time, the Dave Clark Five sold more records than all those other bands except for The Beatles. In fact, their debut smash hit "Glad All Over" knocked The Beatles off the top of the charts to become the second British band to have a Number One hit on the American record charts. 

 

Now never mind that Dave Clark himself was kind of a jerk although he certainly was a highly successful promoter of the band. Despite the images on their record covers and TV appearances, Dave Clark never played drums on the DC5's records, nor did he really write the songs he took credit for composing. Even in their live appearances, the band most often simply sang to a pre-recorded background, and because Dave Clark simply put the band on a salary, he was the only one who profited from their significant royalties, publishing, and appearances, while the band members struggled financially after the band broke up.

 

Having said all that, there is no denying that those early Dave Clark Five records were catchy as hell, and the Wall of Sound production gave the band a pounding Roar (referred to as the "Tottenham Sound") that was unequaled by their British contemporaries in those early days of British rock recordings, including The Beatles. 

And so, at least for the first year or so of The British Invasion, the Dave Clark Five turned out one hit after another until they just couldn't keep up with the creative progression of the other British bands who all were competing with each other to make artistic statements with each new record.

 

But -- for a time, the DC5 had the most powerful sounding records on the charts and on the jukeboxes, as manifest in these two singles, the stomping "Bits & Pieces" and "Any Way You Want It." Turn these songs

up loud when you play them!
DAVE CLARK FIVE - "Bits And Pieces"

DAVE CLARK FIVE - "Any Way You Want It"  

THE DONNAS - "Get Skintight" 1999)

 

The Donnas started off in 1993, and called themselves Ragady Anne. 

"Get Skintight" was their third album and came out in 1999.

 

Hailing from Palo Alto, Ca, they also had an alter-ego band called Electrocutes.

None of their first names were really Donna, they were actually Torry, Allison, Brett, and Maya.

Their last studio record came out in 2007 and they disbanded in 2012.

The world has been a sad place ever since!

THE DONNAS - "Hyperactive"

BALLIN'JACK - "Ballin' The Jack" (1970)

 

Ballin'jack were an awesome funk rock band originally from Seattle. Their first record was self-titled and came out in 1970.

 

Ballin'jack derived their name from the classic 1913 Ragtime tune penned by Jim Burris and Chris Smith. Jim wrote the words, and Chris wrote the music.

Since 1913, the song "Ballin' The Jack" has been recorded by 100's of people. 

Even though Ballin'jack was a fantastic funk rock band they still felt a need to record the song from whence they took their name, and they do it up in style!

BALLIN'JACK - "Ballin' The Jack" 

 

 

Ballin'jack did make the charts in l970 when their song "Super Highway" made it to #93. Despite their obvious talents they just couldn't keep it going.

Maybe the problem was they were just too good!

So, here you go! Where's my flying jet car? Haven't we waited long enough? 

BALLIN'JACK - "Super Highway" 

LEE MORGAN - "The Rumproller" (1965)

 

 So maybe you're not really into jazz and you don't understand why other people are, well, I've got an answer to your question and it's called "The Rumproller." 

If you don't like this song, then you're probably not going to like any jazz, because this song by the fantastic Lee Morgan and the guys from 1965, is just freakin' awesome from start to finish! 

When it gets to about the six minute mark and they back it off a little bit, you just might think you died and went to heaven for a few minutes. 

LEE MORGAN - Trumpet

JOE HENDERSON - Tenor Sax

RONNIE MATHEWS - Piano 

VICTOR SPROLES - Bass

&

BILLY HIGGINS - Drums 

Music so sweet you'll wish it never ends! 

LEE MORGAN - " The Rumproller"

Lee Morgan led an amazing but tragic life, and if you've got nine minutes to spare, I suggest you watch this video, it's sad, it's complex, and somehow sometimes, this is what it takes to create freakin' great music.

It's Lee Morgan! 

THE BADGE - "Dancing (うかれ気分で)" (1982)

 

Today's featured song is by everybody's favorite 80's power pop band, The Badge.

What? You say you never heard of this killer power pop trio?

Well, after today, you can become a fan too, because these guys are as good as almost anyone.

This single was released in 1982, and they had a few more up to 1985, but then took about 30 years off before resurfacing in 2021. 

 

 

Here's what they looked like in 2024!

The members of this cool band are Shoji Nakamura, Nobuaki Tanaka, and Tetstu Kawasaki.

They rock! 

THE BADGE - "Dancing (うかれ気分で)"

BOBBY TAYLOR AND THE VANCOUVERS - "Does Your Mama Know About Me" (1968)

 

Here's a Saturday Night Special for you if there ever was one!

Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers were a band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, hence the name The Vancouvers, but they weren't always called The Vancouvers, and here's where the story gets fun.

 

 

Probably the most interesting thing about this band is that one of the two guitarists was none other than the very suave Tommy Chong of Cheech and Chong fame.

In the beginning, one of their names was Little Daddy and the Bachelors, and then, according to Wikipedia, they were doing pretty good until Tommy Chong suggested that they change their name to something akin to Four Black Guys and One Chinese Fellow, which I'm sure he thought was hilarious, but nobody else did, so they changed it again to an abbreviated form, this time to Four N's and a C.

That still wasn't working so they went with Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers, Bobby Taylor being the lead singer, who went on to produce The Jackson 5's first record.

Their song "Does Your Mama Know About Me" made it to 29 on the charts in 1968 on the Gordy label, and was co-written by Tommy Chong.

Considering all the great music that there was on the Motown and subsidiary labels in 1968, it's no wonder this group got left behind, as most of the music sounds like Philly soul or early disco.

 

I much prefer this piece of insanity from 1974.

"Earache My Eye" was written by Tommy Chong and world class guitarist Gaye Delorme, who also played that killer riff.

The drums were played by the world's best percussionist, Airto Moreira.

CHEECH AND CHONG - "Earache My Eye" 

BIS - "Tell It To The Kids" (1997)

 

Bis (rhymes with this) are from Scotland, and they came out with "The New Transistor Heroes" in 1997.

I don't know where they got all their energy from but Sci-Fi Steven, Manda Rin, and John Disco really put the power in the term power pop.

 

 

Bis broke up in 2003, and reformed in 2009, and have been playing off and on ever since, and have gigs coming up this year. In October they'll be playing at "The Royal Hotel, Whitby."

 

In November you can catch them at the "Shiiine On Weekender" festival.

BIS - "Tell It To The Kids" 

STEWART COPELAND & STAN RIDGWAY - "Don't Box Me In" (1983)

 

Rich here. Those of a certain age may remember the classic Young Adult novel from 1975, "Rumblefish," by S.E. Hinton, the author that seemed to authentically express the feelings of post-Sixties alientated youth. You may also remember the noirish film adaptation by Francis Ford Coppola in 1983.

 

Coppola's film featured up-and-coming young stars like Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, and Diane Lane, and was filmed in a sleek-looking black and white that recalled the classic film noir movies of the 1940's. 

 

And in a genius move for the soundtrack, Coppola enlisted the talents of Stewart Copeland, the drummer from the Police, and Stan Ridgway, the lead singer & songwriter for the quirky new wave band Wall of Voodoo. The film and the soundtrack were edgy, with the duo of Copeland & Ridgway capturing a catchy early '80s post-punk theme song for the movie, "Don't Box Me In." The song featured an angular guitar hook and Ridgway's spooky harmonica and quirky voice -- a combination that helped emphasize the film's theme of youthful alienation.

STEWART COPELAND & STAN RIDGWAY - "Don't Box Me In" 

AGONY COLUMN - "Love In The Head" (1980)

 

Agony Column isn't a band name I would have expected there to be more than one of, and actually it's not really a name I would have ever expected to be used once. Shows you how much I know.

The Agony Column I'm talking about was a New Wave/Post-Punk band from Leeds, West Yorkshire in the UK. They formed in 1978 and disbanded in 1982. 

This song, and I think it's a pretty good one, was released in 1980.

AGONY COLUMN - "Love In The Head" 

 

What you really need to know so that you don't get them mixed up is that in the late 1980's there was a hillbilly death metal band from Austin, Texas who also called themselves Agony Column.

The members were named Crow, Red Wing Viper, Bat Lord, and Devil Chicken.

 

And if that ain't enough, there is currently yet another The Agony Column band which is a gothic doom/dark metal band from Belarus.   

THE DARTELLS - "Hot Pastrami" (1962)

 

The Dartells hailed from Oxnard, California. Their single titled "Hot Pastrami!" made it to #11 on the charts in 1962. After the single gained so much popularity, they were able to come out with this album of the same name.

Simplicity personified! 

THE DARTELLS - "Hot Pastrami!" 

 

The "Dartell Stomp" didn't have any success, but was just as cool as "Hot Pastrami!" I always thought.

The band didn't last long and broke up soon after the record was released. 

THE DARTELLS - "Dartell Stomp"

JACO PASTORIUS - "Come On, Come Over" (1976)

 

There are two words that describe world class bassist Jaco Pastorius to a T, and those two words are talented and troubled. It was his talent that took him to the top of his game, and it was trouble that ended his career and life at the age of thirty-five.

It's sinful enough that this song wasn't a number one hit, and it's completely ludicrous that it never even made the charts.

Enjoy one of the funkiest bass lines you'll ever hear, and great vocals by Same & Dave.

JACO PASTORIUS - "Come On, Come Over" 

DANGERMAN - "Let's Make A Deal" (1999)

 

Dangerman is one of those kinds of groups that makes you wonder what's wrong with the world.

Dangerman was a duo from New York comprised of Chris Scianni, vocals and guitar, and Dave Borla playing the drums.

This self-titled album from 1999 was their only release. They had a couple of singles the same year, but that's about it. It does look they went on to do some other things as individuals with other people, but not a whole lot.

Here's a great song from them for you! 

 DANGERMAN - "Let's Make A Deal"