Something Old, Something New, Something Happy, Mona Wu: Sneak Preview - Beautiful Sunday!

(COLD SHOW OPEN)

"Go, Jimmy, Go" - Jimmy Clanton

(Jan./Feb. 1960, highest chart pos.
#5 Hot 100/#7 Cash Box/#1 Canada)

 

Getting things started on a happy note, that was Jimmy Clanton,

born on the bayou and nicknamed the "swamp pop R&B teenage idol,"

singing his top 5 hit from the early weeks of 1960 -- "Go, Jimmy, Go!"

 

Hey yu! I'm Mona Wu, the pert, purty, perky, pixieish

Pollyanna who worked for the Time Bureau on the

superhero TV series DC's Legends of Tomorrow.

If you watch my show you know that I am a former

food delivery girl who served as the Bureau's

Assistant Coordinator of Creature Upkeep,

that is until they gave me the ax.

You also know that

I am obsessed with

fantasy novels and

magical creatures of

all kinds. I actually

had a crush on

a wolf man.

I also believe music is magic. Good music has the power to

mend your achy breaky heart and make you happy again.

With that in mind, I am proud to announce that next

year I will be joining The Shady Bunch deejay legion.

I'm here today with a sneak preview of my show

Something Old, Something New,

Something Happy, Mona Wu.

 

The songs I'll be playing on

S-P-M-M Retrosonic Radio

will spread sunshine into

your world. My tunes are

guaranteed to turn your

frown upside down.

Please listen to a few

samples from my show

and let me know if they

have that effect on you.

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

Let's hear from the family pop group

The Cowsills.  They know a girl who

can make you happy - the flower girl

in their hit song-- "The Rain,

The Park and Other Things!"

"The Rain, The Park & Other Things" - The Cowsills

(Oct./Nov. 1967, highest chart pos. #1 Cash Box/#2 Hot 100)

From the fall of 1967 those were The Cowsills with their first
big hit, "The Rain, The Park & Other Things," a record that
topped the Cash Box chart but stalled at #2 on Billboard,
held back by The Monkees monster "Daydream Believer."

Mona Wu here... putting some sunshine

in your day. How's your weekend going?

Here now is an English singer who was

born Peter Charles Green, made records

as Lee Stirling and Peter Lee Stirling,

and finally had a hit in the U.S. using

the stage name Daniel Boone. Catchy!

START VIDEO NOW!

This is another song that's guaranteed

to make you smile.  Sing along with

me: Hi hi hi, beautiful Sunday...

This is my my my beautiful day.

Here's-- Daniel Boone!

"Beautiful Sunday" - Daniel Boone

(Sept. 1972, highest chart pos. 15 Hot 100/#16 Cash Box)

That was Daniel Boone, a one-hit-wonder in the U.S., with his feel good

signature song "Beautiful Sunday," a record that cracked the top 20 and

made it halfway to the top 10 in the late summer and early fall of 1972.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Yep, it's a beautiful Sunday... and it's 5 o'clock somewhere.
That's why my friends and I are having a little drinky-poo.
Firewater makes us silly and, as this song by
Blood, Sweat & Tears goes--  You've
Made Me So Very Happy!"

"You've Made Me So Very Happy" - Blood, Sweat & Tears

(Mar./Apr. 1969, highest chart pos. #2 Hot 100 & Cash Box)

"You've Made Me So Very Happy," a song penned by Motown's Berry Gordy,

Brenda & Patrice Holloway and Frank Wilson, and originally released by

Brenda in 1967. You just listened to the great cover by Blood, Sweat &

Tears, the popular jazz-rock band formed and first led by Al Kooper.

When Kooper left, he was replaced on lead vocals by the man you

just heard, Canadian singer David Clayton-Thomas. Released as

a single in 1969, that Blood, Sweat & Tears version spent three

weeks at #2, denied the #1 spot by The 5th Dimension's

mega-hit "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In."

If you're just tuning in, I'm Mona Wu,

how do you do? And you're listening
to a sneak preview of my new show
  Something Old, Something New,
Something Happy, Mona Wu,
coming in 2022 to Shady's Place
and S-P-M-M Retrosonic Radio.

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

Now here's a happy tune that ran
up the chart a few weeks after
that BS&T song reached its
peak. It's Atlanta pop-rock
artist Tommy Roe and--
oh "Heather Honey!"

"Heather Honey" - Tommy Roe

(May 1969, highest chart pos. #14 Cash Box/#29 Hot 100)

You just heard "Heather Honey,"

one of the many easy listening hits

waxed by Tommy Roe. That record

by Tommy barely made it into the

top 30 on the Billboard chart,

but closed in on the top 10

on the Cash Box survey.

Something Old, Something New,
Something Happy, and I'm your
host, Mona Wu, with yet another
great song to brighten your day.

From popular 1959 movie

A Hole In The Head... it's

the inspiring ditty about an

ant and a rubber tree plant

performed by Frank Sinatra

and a chorus of cute kids. 

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Here they are, Ol' Blue Eyes and the kids, singing their hit song "High Hopes!"

"High Hopes" - Frank Sinatra "And A Bunch Of Kids"

(July/Aug. 1959, highest chart pos. #22 Cash Box/#30 Hot 100,

from the July 1959 film A Hole In The Head)

Nominated for a Grammy and the winner of an Oscar for Best
Original Song, that was Frank Sinatra "And A Bunch Of Kids"
(that's what it says on the record label) doing "High Hopes."

Oh darn! Shady's giving me the sign to wrap things up.

Now I'd like you to be honest and ask yourself this.

Do you feel happier now that you've sampled my songs?

If so, then won't you

please join me in 2022

for the debut of my new

S-P-M-M radio show

Something Old,

Something New,

Something Happy,

Mona Wu?

Of course, you could

always go someplace

else to get your happy

song fix but, knowing

how much fun it is

spending time with

me... I need to ask:

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

To play us off, here are those men from down under, the Little River Band,

the Aussie pop-rockers who placed ten singles on the U.S. chart between

1977 and 1983. This one took a 22 week ride on Billboard. That's longer

than any other record by the band. Hang on-- "Help Is On It's Way," and

I'm Mona Wu, always here for you, doing my best to make you happy.

I hope to see you next year!

"Help Is On It's Way" - Little River Band

(Oct./Nov. 1977, highest chart pos. #14 Hot 100 & Cash Box)

Whodunit?... with Nick and Audrey Spitz Chapter 3: Just What I Needed!

We're back... and that's a fact, Jack!

Hi, everybody! Remember us?

We're those lovable Jennifer Aniston

and Adam Sandler look-alikes,

Nick and Audrey Spitz, stars

of the hit Netflix original

movie Murder Mystery.

As you can see, we're still playing detective, examining

clues and trying to figure out who did the dastardly deed -

Miss Scarlett, Colonel Mustard or Mrs. Peacock.

While we try to solve our case, let's play another round of Whodunit.
Remember the rules? We'll give you the titles of 7 hit records along
with some additional clues. See if you can tell us Whodunit - who
is the artist, group or band that recorded the song?

If you're ready to play, let's put the pedal to the metal and find out
if you're just a garden variety gumshoe... or a first class dick.

RECORD #1:

This soft rock band formed in Melbourne,
Australia, in the mid 70s. In the decade
that followed they placed ten singles in
the top 20 on the U.S. chart including
"Man On Your Mind" which reached
the top 15 in the spring of 1982.

WHODUNIT?

RECORD #2:

Also formed in the mid 70s, this Boston based new wave - power pop rock band
was led by Baltimore born singer, rhythm guitarist, and songwriter Ric Ocasek.
In the spring of '78 their debut single "Just What I Needed" cracked the top 30.

WHODUNIT?

RECORD #3:

Born in New York's Greenwich Village, this female blues and folk singer
is best known for one of the biggest songs of 1974, "Midnight at the Oasis,"
a soft rock single that made a run at the top 5 and spent 24 weeks on the chart.

WHODUNIT?

RECORD #4:

This five member Tex-Mex rock band from San Antonio fronted by
Doug Sahm gained the biggest hit of their career in the spring
of 1965 with "She's About A Mover," a single that made a
run at the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.

WHODUNIT?

RECORD #5:

In the fall of 1987 this Philadelphia based dance-pop group fronted
by zesty lead zinger Jade Starling topped the Dance Club chart
with "Catch Me (I'm Falling)," a song from the soundtrack
of the Jon Cryer movie Hiding Out.

WHODUNIT?

RECORD #6:

They are a brother and sister vocal duo from Trinidad. In the mid 60s
she made a name for herself in the UK releasing records as "Peanut."
In the fall of 1971 the singing sibs reached the top 20 in the U.S.
with a cover of "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep," a #1 hit in the
UK that year for the Scottish band Middle of the Road.

WHODUNIT?

RECORD #7:

Johann Hölzel, a singer and songwriter from Vienna, Austria, had an
international smash in 1986 with "Rock Me Amadeus," a tribute to
Austrian classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It became
the first German language song to peak at #1 on the Billboard
Hot 100 and topped the charts on both sides of the pond.

WHODUNIT?

SCROLL DOWN TO FIND OUT WHODUNIT!

RECORD #1:

In the spring of 1982 the song "Man On Your Mind" was a top 15
hit in America for the Aussie soft rock band known as

 LITTLE RIVER BAND 

"Man On Your Mind" - Little River Band

(May/June 1982, highest chart pos. #13 Cash Box/#14 Hot 100)

RECORD #2:

Big in Beantown and just about everywhere else, this new wave power pop band

was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. In 1978 their debut
single "Just What I Needed," with bass player Benjamin Orr on lead vocals
in place of Ric Ocasek, went top 30 in the U.S. and top 5 in France.
The opening riff was derived from the late 60s nursery rhyme
pop hit "Yummy Yummy Yummy" by the Ohio Express.
By now you should know that this groovy band was 

 THE CARS 

"Just What I Needed" - The Cars

(Aug./Sept. 1978, highest chart pos.

#24 Cash Box/#27 Hot 100/#4 France)

RECORD #3:

Her 1974 soft rock hit "Midnight At The Oasis," inspired by Rudolph Valentino

sheik movies, spent nearly half a year on the chart and was nominated for

Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the Grammys. She is

 MARIA MULDAUR 

"Midnight At The Oasis" - Maria Muldaur

(Apr./May 1974, highest chart pos. #4 Cash Box/#6 Hot 100)

RECORD #4:

Doug Sahm was only 58 in 1999 when he died in his sleep of a heart attack.

In the spring of 1965, Doug and his five member Tex-Mex rock band

scored their biggest hit with "She's About A Mover," a song

penned by Doug. The guys called themselves

 SIR DOUGLAS QUINTET 

"She's About A Mover" - Sir Douglas Quintet

(May 1965, highest chart pos. #13 Hot 100/#24 Cash Box)

RECORD #5:

In the fall of 1987, "Catch Me (I'm Falling)," a song from the movie

Hiding Out, shot to #1 on the Dance Club chart. It was recorded

by Jade Starling and her Philly dance-pop group called

 PRETTY POISON 

"Catch Me (I'm Falling)" - Pretty Poison

(Sept thru Dec. 1987, highest chart pos. #1 Dance Club,

#8 Hot 100 & Cash Box/#13 R&B)

RECORD #6:

In 1971 the song "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep," written by British

artist Lally Stott, became a #1 hit in the UK for the Scottish

band Middle of the Road. The version best known in the

U.S. is a catchy cover waxed by a brother and sister

singing act from Trinidad. The duo was known as

 MAC & KATIE KISSOON 

"Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" - Mac And Katie Kissoon

(Sept/Oct. 1971, highest chart pos. #18 Cash Box/#20 Hot 100)

RECORD #7:

In 1998, while mounting a comeback, Austrian singer and songwriter Johann Hölzel

was killed in an auto accident days before he would have turned age 41. Let's turn

back the clock to a happier time in 1986 when he was topping the chart with his

German language international hit "Rock Me Amadeus" and calling himself

 FALCO 

"Rock Me Amadeus" - Falco

(Feb./Mar. 1986, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100 & Cash Box)

Okay let's find out how well you did on the quiz.

Use the scoring system below to determine

your music detective I.Q.

ALL 7 CORRECT

Holy moly, if you correctly named all 7 artists, you're a super sleuth!

You will be inducted into the Music Detective Hall of Fame

and the Whodunit Record Book.

6 CORRECT

BOOM! No shame whatsoever. I spy a budding private eye. You put the

Mike Hammer down. Charlie Chan - U Da Man. Way to go, Columbo!

5 CORRECT

Nice try, Sherlock! You're a middling, mediocre Magnum, P.I.

Looks like Popeye Doyle could use a little oil. You're no

Dick Tracy and you sure as hell aren't Cagney & Lacey!

3 OR 4 CORRECT

What the hay, at least you gave it your best shot (and failed).
Nancy Drew sure ain't you! Philip Trent got up and went.
Adrian Monk got no spunk. Inspector Clouseau's
got a long way to go!

1 OR 2 CORRECT

No! Not good! Bad! Face it. You're a defective detective!

Boston Blackie? Not exactly! Bulldog Drummond's got fleas!

Philip Marlowe set the bar low!

0 (GOOSE EGG, NONE) CORRECT

TIMBER! You flunked the course! Sam Spade fell asleep in the shade.

Holy dumbed-down Barney Fife, Batman! Peter Gunn ain't got none.

Nero Wolfe's been outfoxed. Kojak? NO, Jack!

Shhhhhh! We need you to keep this on the down low because we're still

working our Murder Mystery, but you'll be happy to know that we'll be

back soon to play another exciting game of Whodunit? Stick around!