Geator Gold - Vol. 4: Trickle Trickle Tear Drops!

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

 GEATOR GOLD 

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

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

(COLD SHOW OPEN)

"He's Got The Power" - The Exciters

(Mar./Apr. 1963, highest chart pos. #57 Hot 100,

#64 Cash Box, Scopitone film release)

Greetings and salutations! I am The Geator

with The Heater. I am The Boss with the

Big Hot Sauce, welcoming you to another

fantastic, bombastic edition of Geator Gold

here on S-P-M-M Retrosonic Radio. I've got

a parade of platters from the past and our

7-in-a-row block party has just begun.

You just saw and heard Brenda Reid,

the little lady with the powerful pipes,

singing lead for her mixed gender group
The Exciters on "He's Got The Power,"

a record that climbed halfway up the

pop chart in the spring of 1963 and

oddly failed to register at all on

the R&B chart. Now let's jump

back in time to the early 50s. 

Fiction and Fact from the Geator's Almanac: In 1952 a man by the name

of Ronald Cuffey was lead singer of The Five Sharps, the now legendary

doo-wop group from Queens, NY. The Five Sharps recorded the song

"Stormy Weather" on the Jubilee label. That 78 rpm single is so rare

that it is known as the Holy Grail of doo-wop 78's, coveted by

collectors as one of the most valuable records in the world.

In 2003, a used copy of "Stormy Weather" sold for
$19,000. The value of that Five Sharps platter shot

to $25,000 a few years later. It is not even known

if an original exists on 45 rpm. If one is ever

found it would be worth many times more.

Fast forward to the summer of 1958 when Ronald Cuffey was
singing lead with a new group called The Videos. Their first
record  got plenty of radio exposure in New York but did not
reach the national chart. The Videos now with-- "Trickle, Trickle!

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

"Trickle, Trickle" - The Videos (July 1958)

You're jumpin' and jitterbuggin' with

The Geator With The Heater, charter

member of The Shady Bunch, and

this is Geator Gold on S-P-M-M

Retrosonic Radio, where all the

cool oldies come to play. 

You just heard a Geator golden gasser
by The Videos, their 1958 regional hit
"Trickle, Trickle." In January, 1959,
The Videos released a follow-up to
that jump tempo debut single. It's
a lot different, a dreamy ballad
entitled-- "Love Or Infatuation."

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

"Love Or Infatuation" - The Videos (Jan. 1959)

The Videos of Queens, New York, with their second single, "Love Or Infatuation."

Sadly, before the guys could put out another record, Ronald Cuffey died along
with another member of the group, bass man Ron Woodhall. Their deaths
put an end to this great doo-wop act, The Videos.

Don't touch that dial, because The Geator's
spinning another dreamy romantic ballad
for lovers only. This record was waxed in
1958 by one of Philly's Phinest groups,
Lee Andrews & The Hearts. I want you

to take your teen queen or teen king by
the hand, lead them to the dance floor
and sway to this snuggle song... a
doo-wop treasure-- "Teardrops."

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

"Teardrops" aka "Tear Drops" - Lee Andrews And The Hearts

(Jan. 1958, highest chart pos. #4 R&B/#20 Hot 100/#25 Cash Box)

A mellow sound from the early weeks of 1958, Lee Andrews
and the Hearts with "Teardrops," a record that reached
the top 5 on the R&B chart and top 20 pop.

If you're just tuning in, I'm The Geator,

Jerry Blavat, and we're right smack dab

in the middle of a 7 in a row commercial

 free cruise on S-P-M-M Retrosonic Radio.

The name of the show is Geator Gold...

 and I've got another classic nugget for

you right here and now. A one track

mind is the gist of a song that was

the second biggest hit of Motown

soul legend Marvin Gaye's 60s career.

Released in 1969, the single cracked

the top 5 on the Hot 100 and was

perched at #1 on the R&B chart

for six consecutive weeks. Here's

 Marvin joined in the recording studio

by The Andantes, Motown's in-house

group of female session singers, with 

one of the greatest Motown sounds--

 "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby!"

 "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" - Marvin Gaye 

 (June 1969, highest chart pos. #1 R&B/#4 Hot 100/#5 Cash Box) 

You got The Geator in your ear, and I'm
spinning Geator Gold on S-P-M-M..,
where we go hunting for the great songs
of the past and bring 'em back alive.

The Geator's on a roll with one

old gold nugget after another. 

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

Here now is the very first single
released by the Motown group
best known for their major hit
"Do You Love Me." Dig the
throaty sax and raw vocals
as The Contours sing--

"Whole Lotta Woman!"

"Whole Lotta Woman" - The Contours

(Feb./Mar. 1961, uncharted)

The first version of that catchy tune was

released regionally, and you just heard the

second version which was released nationally.

The Contours there with their first, and some

say their best single, "Whole Lotta Woman,"

an uncharted relic from early 1961 that

reminds me of the late 50s R&B hits

"Short Fat Fannie" and "Itchy

Twitchy Feeling." 

And as all good things

must come to an end,

so too must my show.

Thanks for tuning in.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Stay tuned. Coming up on the B side of news, it's Shady Seaweed with another

hip trip to Bandstands in Foreign Lands, and I'll be back soon with another

batch of boss beats and ballads on Geator Gold. Now this is Jerry Blavat,

The Geator with the Heater, reminding you to keep on rockin' 'cause

you only rock once! Hey, gimme a big strong line and let's do it

one last time as I play us off with Martha And The Vandellas

doing their first big hit. Baby, it's cold outside, but inside

 we're havin' a "Heatwave." Bye ya-ll!

"Heatwave" - Martha And The Vandellas

(Aug./Sept. 1963, highest chart pos. #1 R&B/#4 Hot 100 & Cash Box)

Stuck Like Glue On Shady Blue - Vol. 3 The $64,000 Question: Who Put the Bomp?

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

 STUCK LIKE GLUE 

 on SHADY BLUE 

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

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

PIGGYBACK COLD OPEN:
CLICK TO PLAY SECOND VIDEO

AT 9 SEC. MARK OF FIRST VIDEO!

"Who Put The Bomp (In The Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)" - Barry Mann

(Sept. 1961, highest chart pos. #7 Hot 100 & Cash Box)

Hey, old school's the rule...
and you're stuck like glue on Shady Blue!

How are ya doing, this morning?
You're tuned to the greatest little
station in the nation, S-P-M-M,
home of The Shady Bunch.
Kicking off the show you heard
songwriter Barry Mann singing
his one and only top 10 hit as a

solo recording artist, "Who Put
The Bomp," a ditty he co-wrote
with Gerry Goffin. Background
vocals on that record were done
by the Bronx doo-wop group
The Halos.

The El Dorados, a doo-wop group from Chicago, are best known
for their chart-topping R&B hit "At My Front Door" released in
August 1955. Wouldn't you know it, mild-mannered pop crooner
Pat Boone waxed a cover of the song and had his vanilla version
on the radio and in record shops a couple of weeks later!

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Shady Blue always gives credit where its due. The Patster's
whitewashed, sanitized cover is so bad... it's great. Go Pat, go!

"At My Front Door (Crazy Little Mama)" - Pat Boone

(Nov./Dec. 1955, highest chart pos. #7 Hot 100/#8 Cash Box)

That was Mr. Clean, Pat Boone, doing a decent job of covering

"At My Front Door," originally recorded by the El Dorados.

Shady Blue keeping you company on
S-P-M-M Retrosonic Radio, and now
 here's a song written by Bert Berns,
the influential songwriter and producer

who founded two of the coolest record

labels of the 1960s - Bang and Shout.

"Tell Her" was first recorded in the
spring of '62 by Johnny Thunder.
His platter failed to chart. By
the end of the year the song
was famous thanks to a
cover with a slightly

different title waxed
by the R&B group
The Exciters.

START VIDEO NOW!

Check it out... a record that made Billboard's list of The 100
Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time. The Exciters-- "Tell Him!"

"Tell Him" - The Exciters

(Dec. 1962/Jan. 1963, highest chart pos.

#4 Hot 100/#5 Cash Box/#5 R&B)

"Tell Him," a top 5 hit by The Exciters, featuring Brenda Reid, a little lady

with powerful pipes, a "girl group" that included her husband Herb Rooney.

If you're just tuning in, you're Stuck Like

Glue on Shady Blue and this is S-P-M-M,

where we go hunting for great sounds of

the past and bring 'em back alive. In the

early to mid 60s, this next young lady's

voice was heard singing soda pop

jingles as "The Pepsi Girl." Billed

as "The Voice of the Sixties" she

made records with Edd "Kookie"

Byrnes of 77 Sunset Strip, waxed

solo singles and albums and

acted on TV and in movies.

START VIDEO NOW!

As a recording artist she worked with some of the best songwriters,

arrangers and producers in the business. Nevertheless, she is remembered

as a one-hit-wonder for the girl pop single now spinning on my turntable.

Her name is Joanie Sommers and this her claim to fame-- "Johnny Get Angry!"

"Johnny Get Angry" - Joanie Sommers

(June/July 1962, highest chart pos. #7 Hot 100/#11 Cash Box)

That was Joanie Sommers with her signature song "Johnnie Get Angry,"
a top 10 memory maker from the summer of '62. Joanie got angry
because that teen romance ditty was her only hit.

Here's an actress & singer who made a much

bigger name for herself. Debbie Reynolds was

a popular leading lady of the 50s in musicals

and comedies, the one time wife of singer

Eddie Fisher and the mother of Carrie

Fisher - "Princess Leia" in Star Wars.

START VIDEO NOW!

In 1957 Debbie starred in the movie
Tammy and the Bachelor and waxed
the theme song. The sweet ballad
rode the pop chart for more than
half a year and spent seven weeks
at #1. Here now is the late, great

Debbie Reynolds and-- "Tammy!"

"Tammy" - Debbie Reynolds

(Aug./Sept. 1957, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100 & Cash Box,

from June 1957 film Tammy and the Bachelor)

Debbie Reynolds with the theme from Tammy
and the Bachelor, the first of four Tammy movies.

In the 1950s our next featured artist

was one of the most eligible bachelors

in Hollywood, a regular teenage idol.

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

It's Ricky Nelson with one of his

biggest and best, a song penned by

Gene Pitney. Ricky sings-- "Hello

Mary Lou (goodbye heart)."

"Hello Mary Lou" - Ricky Nelson

(May/June 1961, highest chart pos. #9 Hot 100
& Cash Box, B side of "Travelin' Man")

Ricky Nelson there with "Hello Mary Lou," the fab
flip side of his #1 smash hit "Travelin' Man."

Hey, I'm all outta time. Thank you
very much for joining me. I hope
by now you're stuck like glue on
me - Shady Blue. Stick around
for my good buddy Jerry Blavat,

"The Geator with The Heater,"
coming up on the flipside of
news right here on S-P-M-M,
the station that's #1 for
music and fun.

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

To play us off, here's Elvis singing a great ballad, his top 3

charting hit "Can't Help Falling In Love," in a scene

from the film Blue Hawaii. Aloha!

"Can't Help Falling In Love" - Elvis Presley

(Dec. 1961/Jan. 1962, highest chart pos. #2 Hot 100,
#4 Cash Box, from Nov. 1961 film Blue Hawaii)