RUSTY DRAPER - "In The Middle Of The House" (1956)

 

Farrell Haliday Draper, aka Rusty Draper, at one time was one of the biggest pop and country crossover stars of the 50's, but that was a long time ago, so you probably have never heard of him.

I had this record as a little kid, and I always thought this song was the 'B' side.

Another singer named Vaughn Monroe also released this same song a couple of weeks earlier than Rusty Draper. 

Monroe's version made it to number eleven, and Rusty's version peaked at 24 on the charts. On a separate set of charts, Rusty's was one notch higher.

The song was so damn popular in the UK that there were three different versions in November of 1956 on the UK charts, one by Alma Cogan, one by Jimmy Parkinson, and one by The Johnston Brothers.

That's crazy! 

The writer Bob Hilliard must have been in heaven to see his song in the charts in the same year by five different artists.

I hope he made a lot of money!

RUSTY DRAPER - "In The Middle Of The House" 

THE BUGGLES - "The Age OF Plastic" (1980)

 

This album titled "The Age Of Plastic" by The Buggles in 1980 had the song "Video Killed The Radio Star" on it which made it to number one in 16 countries, but only made in to number 40 on the U.S. charts.

 

Whatever you do, don't get The Buggles mixed up with Sid and Marty Krofft's The Bugaloos.

 

Or even worse, the world's most obnoxious kid's show, "The Teletubbies."

 

The Buggles' music might be very cartoonlike but they are much better than that!

Here's the proof! Try to not tap your foot!!

THE BUGGLES - "Clean Clean"

THE COLLECTORS - "She (Will-O-The-Wind)" (1968)

 

It was suggested to me by my friend Robert Lindsey to give this 1968 album by The Collectors a try, so I did, and I remember this album cover, but I don't think I ever owned this one.

The Collectors were from Canada, and started out in 1961 as the CFUN Classics, and they recorded two singles in 1963, one as The Classics, and one as The Canadian Classics before morphing into The Collectors, and in 1969 they became Chilliwack.

There is one song on this album that is a 19 minutes and 15 second long suite. That's ambitious but I like this one better.

THE COLLECTORS - "She (Will-O-The-Wind)" 

RICHIE HASS AND THE BEATNIKS - "I Wanna Be On "Lost In Space" (1986)

 

Richie Hass was mostly a writer and a sideman percussionist on projects by Zoogz Rift, John Trubee And The Ugly Janitors of America and others. With his band Richie Hass And The Beatniks, he didn't really have any releases, but he did put out a single in 1980 as Richie Hass And The Solutions.

Unfortunately Richie's life was cut short in 2008 due to cancer. 

 

This song was one of two songs Richie had on this various artists compilation LP from 1986 titled "Obscure Independent Classics: Volume 3 - It Was Clearly The Belgian That Was Tampering With The Pilchard."

Just in case you're wondering, a pilchard is a type of sardine. 

Too bad he didn't get a chance to do more, because he obviously had a great sense of humor as this song will attest to! 

RICHIE HASS AND THE BEATNIKS - "I Wanna Be On "Lost In Space" 

The Alternative to Alternative™- Sam Phillips - "Where the Colors Don't Go" (1991)

 

Rich here. You know, it's always struck me weird that when Grunge was so dominantly popular in the Nineties, it was called "ALTERNATIVE MUSIC." I mean, the sheer popularity of Grunge meant that it was the mainstream, not the alternative.

 

Meanwhile, all the music of the late '70s and Eighties that had once been referred to as "alternative" because it didn't fit neatly on commercial playlists still didn't get much airplay, but it was no longer fashionable to call it "alternative." After all, New Wave, Ska, Power Pop, Neo-Surf, Folk-Punk, Alt-Country, Retrobilly, etc. had been considered "alternative" before Grunge came along and took over sole ownership of the term.

 

Then, there was also the Paisley Underground -- bands and artists who were delving into the psychedelic sounds of the Sixties and updating them. It was a movement that included a revival of Baroque Pop, which hadn't been a popular presence since the late '60s when bands like The Left Banke, The Moody Blues, The Zombies, The Beach Boys, and (of course) The Beatles all released popular songs that featured lush melodies and harmonies accompanied by classical instruments in addition to their rock-band foundations.

 

So it was that I began referring to all these genres as "The Alternative to Alternative™." And one of my favorites was Sam Phillips, who was not the famous 1950's record producer who gave us Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash, and Roy Orbison. The "new" Sam Phillips was a hugely talented young singer-songwriter who wrote impeccable songs with intellectual impulses that challenged popular notions of pop music, truly making her music an alternative to Alternative™, and "Where the Colors Don't Go" from 1991 was a Baroque Pop masterpiece.

SAM PHILLIPS - "Where the Colors Don't Go"  

JOAN JETT, LITA FORD, DORO & LEE AARON — 1980s vs 2026

 

Now this IS cool, and I can honestly say that I think this is the first time I've seen A-I technology put to good use!

I just happened to stumble onto this video, and what a great concept, introduce a bunch of the hard rockin' women of the late 70's and 80's, and show them as they were, as they are now, or as they could be.

Not my favorite kind of music, but what the Hell does that have to do with it, I'm still going to watch this video over and over and over! 

Big kudos to Let's Rewind, job well done!! 

"Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Doro, Lee Aaron and More - 1980s vs 2026" 

COMMANDER CODY AND HIS LOST PLANET AIRMEN - "Lost In The Ozone" (1971)

 

"Lost In The Ozone" by Commander Cody And His Lost Planet Airmen just might be one of the best Country Rock albums of 1971, or at least if it's not the best, it's a damn good one.

There were quite a few bands performing in the alt-country genre that year like The New Riders Of The Purple Sage, The Flying Burrito Brothers, The Byrds and Poco, but Commander Cody really did the best job of getting real Western Swing into the act, or at least that's my humble opinion!

Judge for yourself! 

COMMANDER CODY AND HIS LOST PLANET AIRMEN - "Lost In The Ozone"