UNDERACHIEVERS! The 50 Most Underrated Records of the 1960s, Pt. 1

 BEFORE WE BEGIN THE POST, 

 I PROUDLY PRESENT ANOTHER 

 EXHIBIT IN MY SERIES... 

  SHADY DELL 

 SHOW AND TELL! 

 “The Mystery of the Cup” 

 NEVER BEFORE SEEN ON EITHER 

 OF MY BLOGS...THIS ULTRA-RARE 

 SHADY DELL SOUVENIR PLASTIC 

 DRINKING CUP, GENEROUSLY 

 DONATED BY OUR GOOD 

 FRIEND JIM SIELING! 

 Cup measures 5.5 inches in height 

 and 3.5 inches at top lip. 

Jim says he has five of these cups.  Former Dell owner Toni Deroche

told me her son Brandon had one cup back in the 2000s when he

lived at the Dell with members of his band The Underwater.

However, Bran's collector cup vanished at some point.

 WHAT'S THE STORY 

 BEHIND THESE CUPS? 

 WHO CREATED THEM? 

 WERE THEY PRINTED AND 

 SOLD AT THE DELL AUCTION? 

 EVER SEEN ONE BEFORE? 

 DO YOU OWN ONE OR MORE? 

 PLEASE LET US HEAR FROM YOU 

 IF YOU CAN HELP SOLVE... 

 “The Mystery of the Cup”  

 NOW, ON WITH THE SHOW! 

 Hi! I'm 

 Shady Blue... 

one of the founding fathers

of the Shady Bunch DJ team

on S-P-M-M Retrosonic Radio.

I host an oldies show called 

 STUCK LIKE GLUE  

 on SHADY BLUE  

 And I'm 

 Shady Green... 

one of the other original

Shady Bunch DJs here

at Shady's Place and

your Host with the Most

on a magic carpet ride back

to the Swingin' Sixties called

 SHADY GREEN 
 AND HIS 

 WAYBACK MACHINE 

Starting today, Blue and Green collide.

 We're joining forces to bring you a 5-part, 50-song series

dedicated to great records of the 1960s that shoulda been,

coulda been and woulda been major hits but, for some

reason, failed to get the attention they deserved

at the time of their release.

 Along with the records we're playing, we've hung cool vintage

artwork and illustrations on the walls to enhance the mood.

  Listen to the first 10 songs and let me know in your comment:

 How many of these long lost relics do you remember or like? 

  Okay, start clicking and enjoy the tuneage in Part 1 of my series...

 UNDERACHIEVERS! 

 The 50 Most Underrated 

 Records of the 1960s! 

"Stubborn Kind Of Fellow" - Marvin Gaye

(Oct./Nov. 1962, highest chart pos. #36 Cash Box,

#46 Hot 100/#8 R&B)

"One of the very best records of Marvin's career, yet it fell short

of the Billboard Top 40. Outrageous!... a travesty!" - Shady Blue 

 CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW TO PLAY SONG 

 CLICK ON IMAGE ABOVE TO PLAY SONG 

"Hey Sah-Lo-Ney" - Mickey Lee Lane

(July 1965, uncharted)

"Uncharted??? Unbelievable!  Mickey Lee's record rocks big time!

Good to know the ditty was hot across the pond... a genuine

 'Northern Soul stomper' played heavily in dance clubs

of northern England." - Shady Green

"The Boy From Crosstown" - The Angels

(Oct. 1964, uncharted)

"Uncharted??? You gotta be kidding!  This song surpasses

'Boyfriend's Back' as the toughest, most streetwise sound

generated by this great pop girl group!" - Shady Blue

"That's Cool, That's Trash" - The Street Cleaners

(Nov. 1964, uncharted)

"Uncharted???  No way!  This slab's too cool for school! Penned

by Steve Barri and P.F. Sloan and covered a few months later

by The Kingsmen, this frat rockin' party platter belongs

in the soundtrack of Animal House.

Ain't gonna be any dancin' on the kissin' floor!"

- Shady Green

"You've Been Untrue" - The Delfonics 

(Apr. 1967, uncharted)

"Uncharted??? Didn't even make a dent in the R&B survey? 

 I'm flabbergasted!  One of greatest songs in the entire Delfonics

catalog, this exquisite sweet soul ballad is one of the essential

building blocks of The Sound of Philadelphia." - Shady Blue

"Mr. Dieingly Sad" - The Critters

(Sept./Oct. 1966, highest chart pos. #14 Cash Box,

#17 Hot 100/#17 Canada)

"Failed to reach the top 15 on Billboard?  Makes no sense to me!

This groovy, beautifully written song deserved to wind up

in the top 5 winner's circle!" - Shady Green

"Uncharted??? I call bullcrap!!!

"Homicide Dresser" - Billy Harner

(Oct. 1967, uncharted)

This rowdy Northern Soul cult classic by

East Coast blue-eyed soul shouter Billy Harner

aka 'The Human Percolator'  deserved to bust

into the top 40 at the very least!" - Shady Blue

"California Nights" - Lesley Gore

(Mar./Apr. 1967, highest chart pos. #11 Cash Box,

#16 Hot 100/#15 Canada)

"14 weeks on the chart and still peaked outside the top 15 on

Billboard? I'm flummoxed!  Co-written by Marvin Hamlisch

 and produced by veteran hitmaker Bob Crewe, this great

single deserved to reach the top 3." - Shady Green

"Hold On" - The Radiants

 (Apr./May 1968, highest chart pos.

#35 R&B/#68 Hot 100)

('Keep on rockin, baby... cause you only (WOO-HOOO!)

rock once!') "A soul essential that recalls the glory years of

The Geator (Jerry Blavat), Hy Lit, Georgie Woods, Porky

Chedwick and other great record spinners of the 60s.

 Featuring Mitchell Bullock on lead, here are Chicago's Radiants

with the hottest sound around in the spring of '68, but a true

underachiever that missed the Top 30 on the R&B chart

and stopped well short of the Top 50 on the pop survey.

Shirley you jest!" - Shady Blue

"I Wonder (If Your Love Will Ever Belong To Me)"

- Rick Nelson  (May 1964, uncharted)

"Uncharted??? Well 'I Wonder' what gives!  Okay, I know

darned well why Rick's superb cover of a 1961 record by a black

doo-wop group called The Pentagons failed to register on the chart.

 It's because the song went to waste issued as the B side of a single.

If only the Rickster's rendition had been released as an A side,

it coulda been and woulda been a hit!" - Shady Green

Okay, how many of these

underappreciated and

underachieving records

of the 1960s do you

remember? Do you

like any of them

so much that you're

 STUCK 

 LIKE GLUE?  

Did these moldy oldies

make you feel like you

just took a trip in my

 WAYBACK 

 MACHINE? 

Stick around!

 There are 4 more parts of this series...

40 more songs that need your love and

a forever home on your record player.

See you soon on the next edition of

 UNDERACHIEVERS! 

 The 50 Most Underrated 

 Records of the 1960s!