Shady's Angels, Vol. 1: Pretty Blue Eyes is a Work of Art!

COLD OPEN!

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

"Venus In Blue Jeans" - Jimmy Clanton

(Sept./Oct. 1962, highest chart pos. #7 Hot 100/#10 Cash Box,

performance on June 5, 1965, ep. of Hollywood A Go-Go)

One of the many hit songs written by the great Neil Sedaka, that was

my first BLUE SONG of the show - "Venus In Blue Jeans' - by the

"swamp pop R&B teenage idol" Jimmy Clanton, a record that made

a convincing run at the top 5 in the weeks leading up to Halloween

in 1962. From 1972 to 1976, Jimmy Clanton was a DJ at an oldies

format radio station in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Dell Rat Tom's

old stomping ground, and he and Tom became friends thru

chatting numerous times on the station's request hotline.

Hello and welcome!

I'm Pretty Blue Eyes,

one of Shady's Angels.

Shady's Angels don't

battle bad guys... we

spin great records of

the 50s and early 60s.

To enhance the mood as you

listen to the greatest oldies,

Shady will deck the halls

and plaster the walls

with pictures of

Shady's Angels

...classic pinups by mid 20th

century artists like Gil Elvgren,

Walt Otto, Edward D'Ancona,  

Bill Medcalf, Edward Runci,

Art Frahm, Harry Eckman,

Frederick Sands Brunner

and Joyce Ballantyne.

Along with vintage pinup girls, Shady will decorate with
nostalgic record album art, covers of pulp romance mags
and comics, and soft drink print ads of the period.

So sit back and let

Shady's Angels
entertain you.
Better yet, pick
a partner, head
out to the floor
and get ready
to dance and
make romance!

Two days ago, pop crooner Steve Lawrence

turned age 87. To boomers, Steve is best

known as one half of Steve and Eydie...

the successful duo he formed with his

late wife Eydie Gormé. Both Steve and

Eydie recorded solo hits and I'm gonna

play one of Steve's, a record that made

the top 10 in the early weeks of 1960.

The song was written by Teddy Ran-

dazzo & Bobby Weinstein, the team

that composed the hits "Goin' Out Of

My Head" and "I'm On The Outside

(Looking In)" for Little Anthony &

The Imperials and "It's Gonna Take

a Miracle" for the Royalettes. Here

now is Steve Lawrence with my

theme song-- "Pretty Blue Eyes!"

"Pretty Blue Eyes" - Steve Lawrence

(Jan. 1960, highest chart pos. #7 Cash Box/#9 Hot 100,

scenes from June 1963 movie The Nutty Professor)

This just in: Mrs. Shady Blue had a baby!

(No... not really.)

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

As proud father Shady B welcomed the tot into the world, he sang this
hit from '61 by the Brooklyn trio The Echoes-- "(You're my) Baby Blue!"

"Baby Blue" - The Echoes

(Apr./May 1961, highest chart pos. #12 Hot 100/#15 Cash Box)

If you're just tuning in,

I'm Pretty Blue Eyes,

one of Shady's Angels,

and the newest member of

The Shady Bunch DJ team

on S-P-M-M Retrosonic Radio

brought to you in Futuresonic

Stereo Surround! We're right

smack dab in the middle of a

 7-in-a-row commercial free

cruise, so let's get right

back to the music!

Up next, The Polish Prince, Bobby Vinton. Starting in 1962 Bobby

recorded quite a few "color songs" including "Roses Are Red,"

"Blue Velvet," "What Color (Is A Man)," "Petticoat White

(Summer Sky Blue)," "Red Roses For Mom" and the one

that's cued-up on my turntable right now, a top 3 hit

for Bobby in the summer of '63-- "Blue On Blue!"

"Blue On Blue" - Bobby Vinton

(June 1963, highest chart pos. #3 Hot 100 & Cash Box)

Pretty Blue Eyes keeping you company and spinning the best sounds

of the Fabulous Fifties and pre-Beatles 60s here on S-P-M-M... where

we go hunting for the great songs of the past and bring 'em back alive.

Hey, we hit the jackpot!  My next record features not one but two great singers.

As you might recall, DJ Hepcat Black introduced The Collins Kids (Larry & Lorrie)

on his radio show in 2018. In January, 1958, Lorrie Collins appeared on the TV

series The Adventures of Ozzie And Harriet and sang  "Just Because" with the

show's breakout star, teenage idol Ricky Nelson. Ricky's attraction to Lorrie
was genuine and they dated in real life. Around Halloween, 1960, the duo
recorded "You Are The Only One," but it was released without Lorrie's
vocals as another Ricky Nelson single. Rick's record made the top 30.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Guess what? I'm gonna play that rare, unreleased

recording of Ricky and Lorrie's romantic duet!

"You Are The Only One" - Ricky Nelson & Lorrie Collins

(recorded Oct. 26, 1960, unreleased)

Pretty Blue Eyes here on the beach, yet also on your radio

thanks to your imagination and S-P-M-M Retrosonic Radio! 

Now here is another rare treat.
It's same song, same TV series,

same teenage idol... but this
time a different episode and
a different singing partner.

Released as a single, their

version reached the top 30

in the early weeks of 1961.

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

Performing on the last

Ozzie And Harriet episode

of 1960, here are Ricky

Nelson and actress

Linda Bennett!

"You Are The Only One" - Ricky Nelson & Linda Bennett

(Jan/Feb. 1961, highest chart pos. #25 Hot 100/#29 Cash Box,

scene from Dec. 28, 1960, ep. of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet)

As you might recall, the youngest member of the Nelson clan was billed as

"the irrepressible Ricky" in the opening title sequence of his family sitcom,

and you just heard Rick doing the same song with two different beautiful

singing partners, assuring each girl, "You Are The Only One." 😍

I hope you liked volume 1 of

Shady's Angels

featuring yours truly...

Pretty Blue Eyes.

Stick around for more vintage
glamour girls and more great

tunes of the 50s and early 60s

coming your way on our next

show right here on S-P-M-M

...the station with personality.

START VIDEO NOW!

To play us off, The Crickets
from their album Something Old,
Something New, Something Blue,
Somethin' Else! It's another
version of my theme song-

"Pretty Blue Eyes!"

"Pretty Blue Eyes" - The Crickets

(from 1962 album Something Old, Something New,

Something Blue, Somethin' Else !!!!!!)

Ernest P. Worrell's Rock-A-Billygoat - Vol. 2: Rock the Bop!

HEADPHONES ARE RECOMMENDED FOR SPMM RADIO BLOGCASTS.

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

 Ernest P. Worrell's 

 Rock-A-Billygoat 

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

PIGGYBACK COLD OPEN:

CLICK TO PLAY FIRST VIDEO.
AT 10 SECOND MARK, CLICK
TO START SECOND VIDEO!

"Rock The Bop" - Brenda Lee

(Dec. 1957, uncharted B side of "Rock-A-Bye Baby Blues")

From Christmas 1957 and the early weeks of 1958, that was
Little Miss Dynamite, Brenda Lee, rockin' the bop and kickin' off
another heartland hoedown hootnanny here on S-P-M-M.

Howdy, Vern! This here's your old buddy

Ernest P. Worrell back with my second

set of sizzlers to Rock-A-Billygoat. On

my show you hear the greatest sounds

of early rock 'n' roll, rock 'n roll revival,

rockabilly and all that good stuff. I just

popped open an ice cold Meller Yeller

and I'm ready to spin stacks of wax, so

let's boogie, know what I mean, Vern?

Taint none of my beeswax, Vern, but

you look a little green around the gills

this morning. Fess up, Vern. What

happened? What'd ya do? Out all

night and runnin' wild, your

woman sittin' home with

a month old child?

Hey, got somethin' for you, Vern.

This cool cat is from Devonshire,

England, but to hear him sing

you'd swear he was born and

raised in Tupelo. He's an Elvis

the Pelvis impersonator by

the name of Johnny Earl.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

This fella bills himself as "the closest sounding Elvis sound alike on the planet."

Listen and you'll understand why. Heeeeeeeere's Johnny... along with Elvis's

famous backing singers, The Jordanaires, doing one of Presley's most

pleasing platters-- "Fame And Fortune!"

"Fame And Fortune" - Johnny Earle And The Jordanaires

(from 1997 album With Elvis In Mind and Dec. 2010 CD

Shades of Elvis: Memphis Music)

Is it Elvis... or is it Memorex?  Taint neither. Don't let your ears fool ya, Vern.

That was Brit boy Johnny Earle with The Jordanaires doing his best Presley

on "Fame And Fortune," a song from his 1997 album With Elvis In Mind.

This boy, Bobby Vee, hails from Fargo.

Bobby's career was born The Day the

Music Died. When Bobby's idol Buddy

Holly was killed in a plane crash on the

way to a gig in Minnesota, Bobby and

his band filled in at the show and the

crowd loved them. Bobby went on to

become a pop idol, but his rockabilly

roots were showing in 1962 the day

he went into the studio with Buddy's

band The Crickets and cut an album.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Here they are, Vern, Bobby Vee along with The Crickets

covering one of Buddy Holly's best known hits-- "Peggy Sue"

"Peggy Sue" - Bobby Vee And The Crickets

(from July 1962 album Bobby Vee Meets The Crickets)

BOOTH ANNOUNCER: 

It's another

Ernest P. Worrell

(ECHO CHAMBER)

DOUBLE PLAY-ay-ay-ay!

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

That's right, Vern, you can't play The Crickets with a sticky wicket,
and that why I sprayed Teflon on my turntable. Bobby's back
with Buddy's band, and this is-- "Someday!"

"Someday (When I'm Gone From You)" - Bobby Vee And The Crickets

(Aug. 1962, B side of "Punish Her," from July 1962 album

Bobby Vee Meets The Crickets)

You just heard a double dose of Bobby Vee fronting Buddy Holly's band
The Crickets on "Someday (When I'm Gone From You)," and before
that "Peggy Sue," a ditty that made Rolling Stone magazine's
list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Think hard, Vern. Do you remember

when my good buddy Chris Griffin

introduced limey lassie Amy Slattery

on Shady Dell Music & Memories?

Do ya, do ya? Well, I got good news.

Amy's here with me in the studio

today and she brought her pappy.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Together they're gonna do a nifty cover of a hit by Phil and Don -

The Everly Brothers. Amy and her daddy sing-- "Walk Right Back!"

"Walk Right Back" - Amy Slattery & Her Dad (Everly Bros. cover)

(Feb. 2018, orig. single Mar./Apr. 1961, highest chart pos. #7)

That was purty little Amy Slattery, the British gal who sings, plays a hundred
instruments and covers The Beatles like nobody's beeswax, this time paying
tribute to Phil & Don with a little help from her musical daddy, as they
performed The Everlys' 1961 hit "Walk Right Back."

Hello there. In case you just crawled
out from under a rock, you're tuned to

Ernest P. Worrell's Rock-A-Billygoat
here on S-P-M-M Retrosonic Radio,
home of The Shady Bunch, where
we always plow through a six pack
and toss in another cool one for the
road. Now this fella's a country
pop artist who sings, plays and
records in a style now known
as progressive country.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

In 1973 he lit up the charts with the song you're listening to right now.
B.W. Stevenson's his name, and this is-- "My Maria!"

"My Maria" - B.W. Stevenson

(Aug. to Oct. '73, highest chart pos. #7 Cash Box/#9 Hot 100)

That was B.W. Stevenson with "My Maria," a top 10 crossover hit from the fall of '73.

Dad-birnit, I'm fresh outta tunes,

plumb outta time, and I gotta run.

(My bladder's about to burst from

drinkin' too much Meller Yeller.)

Hey Vern... if you like what you

heard today on Rock-A-Billygoat,
then stick around, 'cause I'll be back
with another batch of Texas two-step
toe-tappers before you can say "Reba."

In the meantime, in between time, stay
put for another exciting edition of the

series That Was Then - This Is Now

coming up on the flip side of news.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

So, until we meet again, this is your old buddy Errnest P. Worrell sayin' so long
and wishin' you green skies and blue lights, uh, I mean blue skies and green lights.
That means keep the bugs off your glass and smokey off your tail, don't take any
wooden nickels, and don't do anything I wouldn't do...know what I mean Vern?

"Susie-Q" - Dale Hawkins

(July/Aug. 1957, highest chart pos. #27 Hot 100/#47 Cash Box)

Can We Be Frank With Each Other, Vern? ...or Would You Rather Be Ernest?

Hey there, Vern. Guess who?

I'll give ya three stabs at it

and the first two don't count.

That's right, it's me, your old buddy

Ernest P. Worrell!

Hey Vern, you look a little green around the gills today,
know what I mean? Git hold of a bad batch of moonshine?

Guess what, Vern. I'm back to spin more hep cat tunes
and sip Meller Yeller while I watch you paint your barn.

Taint none of my beeswax, Vern, but it
looks like you missed a spot over yonder.

Alrighty then, it's time for me to stop fiddlin' around and
start playing some grade A rockabilly and early rock 'n' roll!

 TED DAIGLE 

Ted Daigle is one of the founding fathers of Canadian country.
Ever since the mid 50s Ted has been promoting country music as a

performer, as a radio personality and as a music and program director
at stations across Canada. My first spinner is "Rock 'N' Roll Ruby,"
first recorded in 1956 by rockabilly singer Warren Smith. The song-
writing credit on this one went to Johnny Cash, but Smith claimed
the song was actually written by George Jones and sold to Cash.
Taint here nor there. Let's listen to Canadian Country Music
Hall Of Famer Ted Daigle with his 1961
cover of "Rock 'N' Roll Ruby."

"Rock 'N' Roll Ruby" - Ted Daigle

{1961, B side of 'When She Said

You All (Aka "Yo-All")'}

 JOHNNY CARROLL 

 AND HIS HOT ROCKS 

Now here's a good old Texas boy, Johnny Carroll. Johnny and his Hot Rocks
band also did a cover of "Rock 'N' Roll Ruby" on their second single
released in May 1956. A year later Johnny and his posse exploded
in the teenage crime musical movie Rock Baby - Rock It
singing "Rockin' Maybelle" (aka "Rockin' Maybel")
followed  by another ripsnorter, "Sugar Baby!"

"Rockin' Maybelle"/"Sugar Baby" - Johnny Carroll

And His Hot Rocks (from May 1957 film Rock Baby - Rock It)

 JOHNNY RIVERS 

"It Won't Happen With Me" was originally recorded in 1961 by
The Killer - Jerry Lee Lewis. The song begins with the lines:

You say you could fall in love with Elvis

And you love to hear Jacky (Jackie) Wilson sing

In 1964 Johnny Rivers sang the song on an album recorded
live At The Whisky À Go-Go. Johnny updated the song by
dropping the reference to Jackie Wilson and inserting
the hottest band in the world - The Beatles:

You say you could fall in love with Elvis

And you say you like to hear The Beatles sing

Johnny also changed the title to "It Wouldn't Happen With Me."
Wait for it, Vern-- Heeeeeere's Johnny!

"It Wouldn't Happen With Me" - Johnny Rivers

(from 1964 album Johnny Rivers At The Whisky À Go-Go)

 EDDIE COCHRAN 

Up next is rock 'n' roll and rockabilly great Eddie Cochran. Eddie first
performed a song he co-wrote, "20 Flight Rock," in the comedy film
The Girl Can't Help It released to theaters just before Christmas in
1956. The following spring, "20 Flight Rock" hit the street as a
single but failed to chart. Let's have a look and a listen as
Eddie takes the stage and wows the crowd in the movie.

"20 Flight Rock" - Eddie Cochran

(scene from Dec. 1956 movie

The Girl Can't Help It)

SONG STARTS AT 35 SEC. MARK!

 KITTY WELLS & RED FOLEY 

Now let's go way back and listen to an old school country record requested
by Shady Del Knight. In the mid 50s, when Shady was just a tadpole,
his pappy played this one around the house. It's a duet featuring a
couple of country music pioneers, Kitty Wells and Red Foley,
singing a song about cheatin' hearts. It's called "One By One."

"One By One" - Kitty Wells And Red Foley

(May/June 1954, highest chart pos. #1 Country)

 TOMMY ROE 

In the fall of '58 rockabilly singer Robin Luke went top 5 with "Susie Darlin'."
Tommy Roe is another boy who can really croon a tune. Early in Tommy's
career, before he switched to bubblegum pop, Tommy rocked and rolled

with the best of 'em. In the fall of '62 Tommy cracked the top 40 with
 a cover of "Susie Darlin'" that made a run at the top 10 in Australia. 

"Susie Darlin'" - Tommy Roe

(Sept./Oct. 1962, highest chart pos.

#35 Hot 100/#21 Canada/#13 Australia)

 BUDDY HOLLY 

Hard to believe it's been more than 60 years since that plane went down
and we lost music legend Buddy Holly. In late 1957 Buddy and his band

The Crickets, hit the top 3 on the pop chart with "Peggy Sue," a rockin'
little record listed as one of The Greatest Songs of All Time and one of
the Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. Hey, Vern, I'll bet you never

heard the "enhanced" version of "Peggy Sue" that I'm fixin' to play.
It's the original with extra instrumental backing tracks added to
the mix, including acoustic & electric guitar, piano, snare drum,
cymbals and tambourine. Here's the new "Peggy Sue!"

"Peggy Sue" (new enhanced ver.) - Buddy Holly

(Nov./Dec. 1957, highest chart pos. #3)

Hey, guess what, Vern...

I'll be back real soon with another batch of tunes
for your high school hop or heartland hoedown.

Till then don't take any wooden nickels,

and don't do anything I wouldn't do.

Know what I mean, Vern?