Toto's Top Tunes Time Tunnel - Vol. 3: Walk On By... Don't Stop, Sniff and Yank on the Doggone Leash!

BOOTH ANNOUNCER GARY OWENS:

...and the cow was returned to its rightful owner.

And that's the latest from S-P-M-M news...
fast, up-to-the-minute, completely fake
and proud of it. Now stand by for

 TOTO'S TOP TUNES 

 T I M E  T U N N E L 

on the station that's #1 for music and fun - S-P-M-M!

COLD SHOW OPEN:

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

"Just Like Me" - Paul Revere And The Raiders

(Jan./Feb. 1966, highest chart pos. #11 Hot 100/#16 Cash Box)

"THE DITTIES ARE COMING!"

"THE DITTIES ARE COMING!"

That there was Paul Revere and his band of Raiders featuring
Mark Lindsay on lead vocal, kicking off our midnight ride with
"Just Like Me," a single that brushed the top 10 in the
early weeks of 1966 and began a string of classic
garage rock hits by the group.

Hi there! I'm your host, Toto Moto,
Shady's dog, the Shady's Place
blog mascot, Chief Petting Officer
and Shady Bunch deejay. They call
me the All Night Satellite, the Hound
of Sound and the Hi-Fi Fido. Shucks,
I don't care what they call me as long
as they don't call me late for chow.
(BA-DUM-BUMP)
Welcome to another 7-in-a-row
midnight block party here on
S-P-M-M, the station that's
number one for music and fun.
I'm starting from scratch...
and I aim to fleas.

Here's a riddle: What has four legs and chases cats?
Mrs. Katz and her lawyer! (BA-DUM-BUMP)

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

I know I'm a corn dog, but it's alright, and that just happens to be the
title of my next song. In 1966 this one reached the top 30 on the pop
chart and the top 5 R&B. J.J. Jackson zings-- "But It's Alright!"

"But It's Alright" - J.J. Jackson

(Oct./Nov. 1966, highest chart pos.

#4 R&B/#22 Hot 100/#26 Cash Box)

You done me wrong, girl... left me
all alone with my achy breaky heart,
"But It's Alright," sings Brooklyn soul
man J.J. Jackson, a record that was
hot on the charts in the fall of 1966.

This is everybody's favorite mutt, your rover

of the radio - Toto Moto - and I want you to

lend me your ears. Lend me your eyes, too,
because my show is simulcast on YouTube.
We're traveling thru my Top Tunes Time
Tunnel back to the swingin' 60s here on
S-P-M-M, the number one station for
a rock and roll nation. This 7-song
non-stop commercial free cruise
is just getting started!  

CLICK TO START VIDEO NOW!

From 60s R&B soul we switch to country pop and the smooth
sound of Billy Joe Royal's sig song "Down In The Boondocks."
In this vintage clip, Billy Joe is flanked by The Gazzarri
Dancers on Hollywood A Go-Go!

"Down In The Boondocks" - Billy Joe Royal

(July/Aug. 1965, highest chart pos. #6 Cash Box/#9 Hot 100)

From the archives of Hollywood A Go-Go, that was Billy Joe Royal

doing his biggest hit, "Down In The Boondocks," a top 10 record

in the summer of 1965. "Boonies" was written by Joe South and

samples the Gene Pitney hit "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa."

If you're just tuning in, I'm Toto Moto,

your Rocker Spaniel, keeping you

company on the radio all night

long here on the greatest little

station in the nation, S-P-M-M. 

Folks, this next one has me scratching
my head (and other body parts). Dionne
Warwick emerged as one of the biggest
stars of the 60s waxing the songs of
Burt Bacharach and Hal David. You
are about to hear one of their greatest.
It's among Dionne's best known hits,
ranked #70 on Rolling Stone's list of
The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time,
yet, at the time of its release, the
single failed to reach the top 5
on the pop and R&B charts.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Check out this vintage clip in which Dionne decides to
casually "Walk On By" rows of mysterious men in suits.

"Walk On By' - Dionne Warwick

(May/June 1964, highest chart pos.

#6 Hot 100 & Cash Box & R&B)

That was sultry soul siren Dionne Warwick brushing the top 5
in the spring of 1964 with "Walk On By," and this is your
All Night Satellite Toto Moto digging up gold (and a
few old bones)  on S-P-M-M... Retrosonic Radio
in Futuresonic Stereo Surround.

I've got more great tunes in my Time Tunnel

than you can shake a stick at, enough to last

you through the dogs days of summer.

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

Now let's hear the West Coast folk-rock
sound of The Byrds with a Bob Dylan
song that ignited the mid 60s folk-rock
boom. Spinning on my turntable even
as I bark is the band's first single,
number one in the summer of
'65-- "Mr. Tambourine Man."

""Mr. Tambourine Man" - the Byrds

(June/July 1965, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100 & Cash Box)

Those Byrds are the bees knees, and you're sweatin' to the oldies
with me, your K-9 compadre, Toto Moto, right here on

S-P-M-M, the station that's #1 for music and fun.

From Oklahoma they came - Five Americans,

count 'em - one, two, three, four five. In 1967

the band released their biggest hit. Inspiration

for the ditty came when the lead guitarist was

goofing around and produced a unique sound

that reminded the other guys of a telegraph key.

START VIDEO NOW!

By now I'm sure you know the famous
song I'm talking about - "Hot Diggity
(Dog Ziggity Boom)" - uh... no...
pardon me, folks, I accidentally
skipped ahead to my next show.
Here are The Five Americans
and-- "Western Union!"

"Western Union" - The Five Americans

(Mar./Apr. 1967, highest chart pos. #5 Hot 100/#7 Cash Box)

"Western Union" by the Five Americans, not to be confused with
"Hey, Western Union Man" by Jerry Butler or the traditional
Christmas hymn "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer."
(BA-DUM-BUMP)

Hey, the sun's comin' up and I gotta run.
(I also need to find the nearest fire hydrant
pronto!) Thanks for staying awake with me

all night long. Stay tuned on the B side of
news for the debut of another brand new
show here on S-P-M-M Retrosonic Radio.
It's called Libbin' It Up With The Good Girls
and stars those sweet thangs, my new best
bud-ettes Cindy, Patti & Jane, and I'll be
back soon to take you on another hip
musical trip to the Swingin' Sixties.

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

Toto's Top Tunes Time Tunnel - the paws that refreshes. Accept no substitutes.
Now this is your puppy pal, your Pooch with the Hooch, Toto Moto, saying
so long and leaving you in the capable hands of Every Mother's Son as
they sing their 1967 top 5 hit "Come On Down To My Boat." What's
my favorite part of a boat, you ask? The poop deck, of course.
(BA-DUM-BUMP)  Goodbye everybody!

"Come On Down To My Boat" - Every Mother's Son

(June/July 1967, highest chart pos. #5 Cash Box/#6 Hot 100)

Get Morganized with Robert W. Morgan - Vol. 1: Can I Get To Know You Better All Summer Long at Cherry Hill Park?

LISTEN TO THIS BRIEF SEGMENT TO BECOME FAMILIAR WITH ROBERT W. MORGAN'S VOICE:

BOOTH ANNOUNCER GARY OWENS:

...and the cow was returned to its rightful owner.

And that's the latest from S-P-M-M news...
fast, up-to-the-minute, completely fake
and proud of it. Now stand by to

 GET MORGANIZED 

 WITH 

 ROBERT W. MORGAN 

on the station that's #1 for music and fun - S-P-M-M!

PIGGYBACK COLD OPEN:
CLICK TO PLAY FIRST VIDEO
AND IMMEDIATELY CLICK
TO PLAY SECOND VIDEO!

"All Summer Long" - The Beach Boys

(from July 1964 album All Summer Long)

ZAP! - YOU'RE MORGANIZED!

The Beach Boys in the lead-off spot with the title song from their album

All Summer Long released this week, July 13 to be exact, back in 1964.

As you might recall, the song was used nine years later on the
closing credits roll of the hit movie American Graffiti.

Good Morgan, Boss Angeles, and
good Morgan to you wherever you
are! I'm Robert W. Morgan, one of
the boss jocks at 93 KHJ, the much
more music station in Los Angeles.

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

Beginning right now I'm moonlighting
as a new member of The Shady Bunch at
sister station S-P-M-M. I'm on a mission
to get you Morganized by playing the
greatest sounds of the 60s, like this
groovy song by The Turtles from
'66. The guys hit the beach on
Where The Action Is and ask
the musical question-- "Can
I Get To Know You Better?"

"Can I Get To Know You Better" - The Turtles

(Nov. 1966, highest chart pos. #89 Hot 100/#97 Cash Box)

From the fall of 1966, you just heard
a groovy tune by The Turtles, a record
that shoulda been a hit. Instead "Can
I Get To Know You Better" lingered
near the bottom of the Hot 100 ladder. 

You're having summertime fun in the
Morgan with Robert W. on Boss Radio
KHJ simulcasting on S-P-M-M. We're
plowing thru a 7 in a row commercial

free cruise - more music with less talk!

Billy Joe Royal, the country popper from

Georgia, hit big in the summer of 1965
with "Down In The Boondocks," a
song written by Joe South, the man
responsible for "Games People Play."

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

Billy Joe's back on the chart in '69 with a song about a girl named Mary Hill
and the games she plays till way after dark in-- "Cherry Hill Park!"

"Cherry Hill Park" - Billy Joe Royal

(Nov./Dec. 1969, highest chart pos. #15 Hot 100 & Cash Box)

That was number 15 on the Boss 30,
Billy Joe Royal and "Cherry Hill Park"
hot on the chart near the end of 1969.

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

If you're just tuning in, your getting
Morganized with me, Robert W. in
the Morgan, on KHJ, simulcasting
 on YouTube and S-P-M-M Retro-
Sonic Radio... where all the cool
oldies come to play. Burning up
the boss lines, here's Barry McGuire,

with the number one sound this week
in Boss Angeles and coast-to-coast!

"Eve Of Destruction" - Barry McGuire

(Sept./Oct. 1965, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100 & Cash Box)

The message is in the music. Can you
feel the heat coming up off the street?
Heavy sound there from Mister Barry
McGuire singing his 1965 chart-topper
"Eve Of Destruction," a protest song
written by P. F. Sloan.

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

Covering the changing sounds of the
60s like no other station - this is KHJ
Boss Angeles simulcasting on
S-P-M-M. From the Boss 30,

the Chi-town sound of The New
Colony Six-- "I Will Always
Think About You."

"I Will Always Think About You" - The New Colony Six

(Apr./May 1968, highest chart pos. #22 Hot 100 & Cash Box)

From Chicago, the silky smooth sound
of The New Colony Six and their first
hit from the spring of 1968, "I Will
Always Think About You."

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

Robert W. in the Morgan with you on
S-P-M-M... where the beat goes on.
Now here's the cool sound of a
San Francisco based folk-rock

band that has been compared to
the English bands The Beatles
and The Zombies. They call
themselves The Beau Brummels,
and this is their debut single and
first hit-- "Laugh Laugh!"

"Laugh Laugh" - The Beau Brummels

(Feb./Mar. 1965, highest chart pos. #15 Hot 100/#17 Cash Box)

Riding high on the chart in the early weeks of 1965, The Beau Brummels

with "Laugh Laugh," a record produced by Sly Stone, the first hit single

of the emerging San Francisco music scene in response to The British

Invasion. The song was featured in a 1965 episode of The Flintstones

and performed by a group called "The Beau Brummelstones."

ZAP!
YOU'RE
MORGANIZED!

That's a wrap. I hope you enjoyed this
first edition of Get Morganized with
me, Robert W. Morgan. Stick around.
Coming up on the B side of news it's
everybody's favorite pooch, Toto Moto,
The Hound of Sound, who will take
you on another exiting trip back to
your youth playing the groovy hits of
the past in his Top Tunes Time Tunnel, 

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

And I'll be back soon to get you Morganized with another batch of boss goldens,
every spinner a winner, so keep it here on S-P-M-M... the number one station
for a rock 'n' roll nation. To play us off, The Phil Spector Wall of Sound and
vocals by his girl group The Ronettes. It's their top 20 hit from late 1964
"Walking In The Rain." Now this is Robert W. Morgan saying so long,
be good... and see you next time!

"Walking In The Rain" - The Ronettes

(Nov./Dec. 1964, highest chart pos.
#20 Cash Box/#23 Hot 100/#28 R&B)

Echoes of the Spectorian Era, Vol. 14: I Wake Up Crying Because I Can't Kick the Wall-of-Sound Habit!

 Welcome to Vol. 14 of my series 

 covering the Sound of Spector... 

 the great Wall-of-Sound 

 recordings of the 60s! 

 THE BUTTERFLYS 

The song "I Wonder" was recorded by Phil Spector's girl group
The Crystals and released as a single in the U.K. It was also waxed
by Spector's Ronettes and released as an album track.

When it comes to the version of "I Wonder" released as a single by
The Butterflys (aka Butterflies), a girl group once called the Buttons
and made up of two former Crystals, wonder is all one can do.

In the fall of 1964, the Butterflys made a run at the top 50 with "Good Night Baby."
Some believe their follow-up, "I Wonder," was merely the overdubbed voice of
Ellie Greenwich, the Brill Building vet who wrote the song and provided
female vocals for another group, the Rainbows. I wonder if it really
matters.  The sound's the thing and the Butterflys' version of
"I Wonder," the only one released as a single in the

U.S., is girl group nirvana!

 "I Wonder" - The Butterflys 

 (Jan. 1965, highest chart pos. #117) 

 THE FURYS 

In 1962 Gene Pitney had a doublesided hit with "Only Love Can Break a Heart"
backed with "If I Didn't Have a Dime (To Play the Jukebox)"

Here's a Spectoresque cover of that fab flip arranged by Jack Nitzsche and
performed by R&B/doo-wop vet Jerome Evans and his group The Furys.

 "If I Didn't Have a Dime" - The Furys 

 (September 1964, uncharted) 

 MAUREEN GRAY 

I introduced Maureen Gray in vol. 2 of Echoes. As you might recall, Maureen

was the young singing sensation discovered by John Madara of the East Coast

songwriting/producing team of Madara & White. Maureen was only age 12

when she boldly marched into Madara's Philadelphia record store and told

him she could sing.  Madara signed the confident girl to a recording

contract.  Over the two years that followed Madara wrote and

produced more than a dozen of Maureen's recordings.

Here's a great one I'm posting for the first time. The moment you hear those

clacking castanets you'll know that this recording, which included budding

Philly Sound giant Leon Huff on keyboards, is an excellent example of the

East Coast Wall-Of-Sound that imitated Spector's West Coast production

style. Here is so young Maureen Gray with the flip side of "So Young,"

the splendidly Spectorian "There Is a Boy."

 "There Is a Boy" - Maureen Gray 

 (Jan. 1962, B side of "So Young") 

 TOM JONES 

Now here's a drama drenched Wall of Soundalike ballad
by Tom Jones that'll hit you like a ton of bricks!

It's the Welshman's powerful interpretation of the Burt Bacharach -
Hal David song "I Wake Up Crying," a top 20 R&B hit

for Chuck Jackson in 1961.

Awaken to Spectorian Splendor
with Mr. Tom Jones!

 "I Wake Up Crying" - Tom Jones 

 (from Dec. 1967 album 13 Smash Hits) 

 NINO TEMPO & 

 APRIL STEVENS 

Now here are Nino Tempo & April Stevens, the Grammy Award winning duo
from Niagara Falls that you met in vol. 4 of this series. The exciting brother-sister
act captured lightning in a bottle with the recording you are about to hear.

As the pictures above and below indicate, Nino & April emerged from
the deep end of the gene pool. They had the right look, the right sound
and the talent to become top recording artists.

When the family moved from Niagara Falls to California, Nino, a musical
prodigy, landed gigs as a session musician and worked under Phil Spector
as a member of The Wrecking Crew. Nino signed a recording contract
and began making records singing duets with his sister Carol who
went by the name April Stevens.

Nino wrote songs for the pair to record including "The Habit of Lovin' You Baby"

which the sibs waxed at the end of 1966. "Habit" was given the Spectorian studio

treatment and the single hit the street at the start of 1967. Unfortunately "Habit"

went to waste because it was released as the B side of "You'll Be Needing Me

Baby" which only Bubbled Under and never climbed above #133 on the chart.
What a shame! I hope you will agree that this killer B coulda been a killer A!

 "The Habit of Lovin' You Baby" - Nino Tempo & April Stevens 

 (Jan. 1967, B side  of "You'll Be Needing Me Baby") 

 BILLY JOE ROYAL 

Georgia born, country influenced pop singer Billy Joe Royal is best known for his hits
"Down in the Boondocks," "I Knew You When" and "Cherry Hill Park." In 1965 Royal

recorded the Joe South song "I've Got To Be Somebody." By Christmas Billy Joe's
Spectoresque single was climbing toward the top 40, helped along by this stirring
blue-eyed soul performance on the teen music TV show Shindig.

 "I've Got To Be Somebody" - Billy Joe Royal 

 (Dec. 1965/Jan. 1966, highest chart pos. #38, 
 live perf. on Nov. 6, 1965 ep. of Shindig) 

 REPARATA & 

 THE DELRONS 

Gotta love those New York girl groups. Mary Aiese, stage name Reparata,
and her Brooklyn trio of Catholic school girls called the Delrons, made a name
for themselves in the U.S. and the UK doing what mid 60s girl groups

 did best, singing songs about the pain of teenage love.

Reparata considers the group's RCA recording sessions to be their best work,
and she points to the single "I'm Nobody's Baby Now," written by Jeff Barry
and performed in the style of the Shangri-Las, as her favorite. Mine too!

 "I'm Nobody's Baby Now" - Reparata & the Delrons 

 (April 1966, uncharted) 

 I hope you enjoyed my 

 Echoes 14 platter party. 

 Stay tuned for more 

 splendid Spectorian sounds 

 coming your way in volume 15! 

Have a Shady day!