Workin' On A Drew-vy Thing with Joe Niagara!

LISTEN TO THIS 60 SECOND SHOW OPEN TO BECOME FAMILIAR WITH JOE NIAGARA'S VOICE:

Hello! This is Joe Niagara -"The Rockin' Bird" - veteran radio personality

on Wibbage - WIBG Philadelphia. I'm here to tell you about my new show

coming in 2021 to S-P-M-M Radio. It's called Joe Niagara's Knocked Out

Nifties featuring the greatest rock 'n' roll, doo-wop, R&B and soul of the

1950s and 60s, the kind of tuneage you love listening to on Wibbage.

In today's special preview, Workin' On a Drew-vy Thing, the main focus is

on a fine singer by the name of Patti Drew. I'll be spinning Patti's best group

and solo recordings along with a few other golden goodies to give you an

idea of what to expect on my new show. I'm puttin' down a wailin'

pound of sound, so if you're ready... this Rockin' Bird will fly!

Patti Drew is a soulful singer from Charleston,
SC, who led The Drew-Vels, a group that
included her sisters Lorraine and Erma and
bass man Carlton Black, Erma's husband.
 In October 1963 The Drew-Vels released
their first single "Tell Him," not to be
confused with the 1962 hit by another
mixed gender R&B group The Exciters.

October 1963 was one of the worst times
in history for an American recording act
to issue a record because, the following
month, President Kennedy was slain,

plunging the U.S. into despair and
putting a damper on record sales.
Soon after, The Beatles arrived
with a radically different style of
music that rendered traditional
pop and doo-wop obsolete.

In February, 1964, The Drew-Vels' single peaked near the bottom of
the chart. Greatness has nothing to do with chart position, and here's

here's proof as Patti and the The Drew-vels perform-- "Tell Him."

"Tell Him" - The Drew-Vels

(released Oct. 1963, charted Feb. 1964,

highest chart pos.  #90 Hot 100 & R&B)

That was "Tell Him" by The Drew-Vels,
a record that slipped through the cracks
and sold poorly at the time of its release,
but one that is today regarded as a
gem of the genre by critics and
fans of R&B and early soul.

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

The following month, March, 1964, Patti Drew

and The Drew-Vels released their second
single with "Everybody Knows" on the
A side. This Rockin' Bird digs the
popcorn tempo B side--

"It's My Time."

"It's My Time" - The Drew-Vels

(Mar. 1964, B side of "Everybody Knows")

You just listened to a honey of a sound,
a genuine killer bee called "It's My Time"
the fab flip side of the Drew-Vels'
single "Everybody Knows." 

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

"Everybody Knows" failed to chart,
but Patti Drew and her group kept on
releasing records. In August of '64,
with a full-fledged British Invasion
underway, The Drew-Vels streeted
their next single. Once again no
chart action, but Niagara says
"Creepin'" is a keeper!

"Creepin'" - The Drew-Vels

(Aug. 1964 single)

Saw my baby "Creepin'" - another great record by

The Drew-Vels that missed the chart. If you're just

tuning in, I'm Joe Niagara, one of the deejays on

Philly's legendary Wibbage radio station, WIBG,

and I'm simulcasting a preview of my upcoming

show on sister station S-P-M-M. Together we're

Workin' On a Drew-vy Thing with Patti Drew.

In 1965 Patti's group The Drew-Vels broke up.

The following year Patti found a new label

and began a career as a solo artist. In 1967

Patti made a run at the R&B top 20 with

a re-recorded version of "Tell Him."

"Tell Him" - Patti Drew

(Sept. to Nov. 1967, highest chart pos.

#22 R&B/#85 Hot 100)

Niagara's got chills and fever after hearing
that one. Patti Drew, out on her own,
with a nifty update of her earlier
girl group recording, "Tell Him."

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

In 1968 Patti gained her biggest hit with
"Workin' On a Groovy Thing," a song

co-written by Neil Sedaka. A cover
by the 5th Dimension charted higher

...but the original's still the greatest!

"Workin' On a Groovy Thing" - Patti Drew

(Aug./Sept. 1968, highest chart pos. #34 R&B/#62 Hot 100)

From the summer of '68, "Workin' On a Groovy Thing" by Patti Drew,
a song successfully covered a year later by the 5th Dimension.

Before I go, I'd like you to hear a few more
examples of the kind of music I'll be playing
on Knocked Out Nifties. My show will run
the gamut from 1950s R&B and doo-wop

to rock 'n roll to 60s pop, R&B and soul.
This Rockin' Bird's ears know what's
good for you, and on this next R&B
ballad, the eyes have it. From right
here in Philadelphia, Brenda And
The Tabulations now with their
signature song-- "Dry Your Eyes."

"Dry Your Eyes" - Brenda and the Tabulations

(Mar./Apr. 1967, highest chart position

#8 R&B/#20 Hot 100/#22 Cash Box)

I'm The Rockin' Bird and you just heard Philadelphia's own
Brenda Payton and her group The Tabulations, do their first
and biggest record "Dry Your Eyes," a single that went
top 20 pop and top 10 R&B in the spring of 1967.

The great sounds just keep on comin'.
Now meet The Sparkletones, another
Philadelphia area group, not to be
confused with Joe Bennett And The
Sparkletones, the rock 'n' roll and
rockabilly act from South Carolina
 that had a 50s hit with "Black Slacks."
In 1963 these Philly Sparkletones

released their one and only record
entitled "Just One Chance."
Unfortunately the group missed
their chance to become singing
stars because their single
failed to make the chart.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Listen to the girl group harmony on this outstanding doo-wop
ballad and you'll wonder why and how this fine group,
The Sparkletones, managed to remain no hit wonders!

"Just One Chance" - The Sparkletones

(Mar. 1963, uncharted)

I hope you enjoyed Workin' On A Drew-vy Thing, the best of Patti Drew,
along with those other gems of rock 'n' roll, R&B, doo-wop and early soul.

There's lots more where they came from and, starting in 2021,
you'll be hearing them on my new show Knocked Out Nifties.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

It's time for me to wrap up this special sneak preview, but I hope to see
your face in the place next year when I join The Shady Bunch team
here on S-P-M-M, the number one station for a rock 'n' roll nation.
As the Stax Records studio session band The Mar-Keys play
us off the air with their Memphis sound 1961 instrumental
"Morning After," this is Joe Niagara, The Rockin' Bird,
saying stay cool and goodbye for now!

"Morning After" - The Mar-Keys

(Oct. 1961, highest chart pos. #60 Hot 100/#65 Cash Box)

2020 - Year of the Dell Rat, Part 1: Ernest P. Worrell and Family Guy's Brian Griffin Join The Shady Bunch!

 HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

 KNOW WHAT I MEAN, VERN? 

 CAN SHADY DEL KNIGHT 

 KEEP YOU ENTERTAINED 

 IN THE COMING YEAR? 

 IS PETER GRIFFIN 

 QUAGMIRE'S NEW  
 WAZE APP? 

WELCOME BACK,

DEAR FRIEND!

I'm delighted to have you along for the ride as I begin another year of blogging
here at Shady's Place Music & Memories. I am excited to announce that two
familiar faces, Brian Griffin and Errnest P. Worrell, have been elevated to the
status of full time DJs on SPMM radio. Brian, Ernest and other members of
The Shady Bunch put together a special two-part show to kick-off 2020.
S-P-M-M means more music with less talk, so let's get right to it.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

(COLD SHOW OPEN)

"Can You Do It" - The Contours

(Apr. /May 1964, highest chart pos. #16 R&B/#41 Hot 100,
#59 Cash Box) dancers on 1964 ep. of American Bandstand)

Greetings and salutations...

and happy new year, ya'll!

I am the Geator with the

Heater. I am the Boss

with the Big Hot Sauce!

As you can tell, the New Year's Eve Bandstand
bash that Shady Seaweed started last night is still
going strong. If you are watching our simulcast
on YouTube, you just heard the great Motown
group The Contours singing their 1964 hit
"Can You Do It," and you saw the style of
dancing that was popular in the 60s with
the teen kings and queens on South Street
in Philadelphia, on Dick Clark's TV show
 American Bandstand, and also on my
bombastic show Discophonic Scene.

S-P-M-M is the station that's #1 for music and fun, and our New Year's day party
is just getting started, and so, without further ado I'd like to welcome back for
another year of service down here at the mill, that silver tongued devil,

my new best bud... The Dean of Keen-- Mr. Shady Green!

Thank you very much, Jerry Blavat, and hi

to you out there! My time traveling Wayback

Machine just landed here on the first day of

2020, but now, with all you listeners aboard,

we're ready to blast off again to explore the

greatest years of our youth and listen to the

groovy tunes that formed the soundtrack of

our lives. This super sound by the brothers
Gibb should conjure up some memories.

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

Flashing back to the part of their career favored by many fans,

their early recordings of the 60s, here are The Bee Gees
in 1968-- "I've Gotta Get A Message To You!"

"I've Gotta Get A Message To You" - The Bee Gees

(Sept./Oct. 1968, highest chart pos. #3 Cash Box/ #8 Hot 100/#1 UK)

The Bee Gees there with "I've Gotta Get A Message To You," their first top 10 hit

in the states and their second #1 on the UK chart. You're tuned to Part 1 of our

 New Year's Spectacular here on S-P-M-M, where all the cool oldies come to play.

Now it gives me great pleasure to introduce one
of the new members of our Shady Bunch DJ staff.
You know him as America's Coolest Canine -
Peter's pup on the TV series Family Guy.
I'm sure you also recognize him from his
appearances in previous years as guest
host on the old blog Shady Dell Music
& Memories. He's the one and only
Brian Griffin. Brian, so glad to

have you with us, my friend!

Well, thank you very much, Mr. Green.
Golly, I never sat in a control room at a
microphone before. I guess I'm a little
nervous. A few martoonies oughta take
the edge off. (clears throat) Uh... hello,
everybody! I'm Brian Griffin, but you
already knew that, didn't you? (Damn,
I'm dying already.) Anyway, my show
here on S-P-M-M Retrosonic Radio is
called Eclectic Avenue. As the name
implies I'll be playing a wide variety of
music, a mixed bag, something to suit
just about every taste. Okay, for my
first song as a Shady Bunch DJ, I've
got one I hope you like, "Cars," the 80s
new wave synthpop hit by Gary Numan!

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

"Brian Had Sex" - Stewie Griffin

sung to the tune of "Cars" by Gary Numan,

(orig. recording Apr. to June 1980, highest chart pos.

#9 Hot 100, #4 Cash Box, scenes from Family Guy)

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

Okay, obviously somebody pulled the old
switcheroo on me there. That, of course,
was my baby brother Stewie doing what
he does best... running his little mouth
when he should be sucking on his binky.
Stewie's been acting out ever since Lois
ran off with Ace Frehley. Anyhow, while
I sit here dying of embarrassment...
listen to "(I Just) Died In Your Arms,"
a cover of the Cutting Crew hit done
by Fil Henley aka Wings Of Pegasus.

"(I Just) Died In Your Arms" - Cutting Crew (Wings of Pegasus cover)

orig. recording Apr./May 1987, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100 & Cash Box) 

Introduced by my human brother Chris last year, that was Brit rocker Fil Henley
and his band Wings of Pegasus covering "(I Just) Died In Your Arms,"
the original version a #1 smash in 1987 recorded by another
English group, Cutting Crew.

That does it for me. Now I'd like to introduce a guy
I'm sure you've seen over the years in television
commercials and movies. I met him for the first
time a few minutes ago in the green room.
Ladies and gents, meet another new member
of the Shady Bunch deejay team, and this
dog's new best friend - Ernest P. Worrell!

Hey Brian! How's it goin', dawg? Is it just my imagination, good buddy,
or do you have some kind of nasty rash on your groin?

Anyhoo... thank's a bunch and howdy to all you

folks out there in radio land! This here's your old

pal Ernest P. Worrell, back to sip eggnog and super-

vise while you shovel snow off your driveway and

scrape the windshield of your F-150. My new show

here on S-P-M-M is called Rock-a-Billygoat. I'll be

servin' up a slew of down home tunes from the

heartland including early rock & roll, R&R revival,

rockabilly and crossover country. Today I'll give

you a taste startin' with a couple of boys I'm

sure you know - Phil and Don - The Everlys.

They're gonna do a song written by Sonny

Curtis, a fella who was with Buddy Holly's

band as a teenager. This one started out

as the B side of "Ebony Eyes," but when

it took off like wildfire and shot to

number one in the UK, it was

switched to the A side.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Both sides of the platter cracked the top 10 here in the states.

From 1961 here they are, The Everly Brothers-- "Walk Right Back."

"Walk Right Back" - The Everly Brothers

(Mar./Apr. 1961, highest chart pos. #7 Hot 100/#11 Cash Box)

Walkin' right back to the early 60s with The Everly Brothers
right here on S-P-M-M radio, home of The Shady Bunch.

Now this boy, Jack Scott, was the first white rock &

roll star to come out of Detroit. He was born across

the river in Windsor, Ontario, and has been called

the greatest Canadian rock & roller of all time.

In the summer of 1958, Jack had a double-

sided hit of his own. The B side, an up-

tempo number called "Leroy," based 

on "Jailhouse Rock" by Elvis the

Pelvis, just missed the top 10.

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

I want you to hear the A side, a rock & roll

ballad that made the top 3 on the national

chart, Jack Scott-- "My True Love."

"My True Love" - Jack Scott

(Aug./Sept. 1958, highest chart pos. #3 Hot 100/#7 Cash Box)

Ernest P. Worrell on the radio here at S-P-M-M,

and that was Mr. Jack Scott right there with

the biggest hit of his career, a dang pretty

little ditty called "My True Love."

Well I'll be ding if they ain't wavin' me off

already... so I'll be takin' my bow and sayin'

so long for now. This is your old pal Ernest

P. Worrell leaving you with two pieces of

advice. Don't take any wooden nickels,

and don't do anything I wouldn't do,

know what I mean, Vern? Now here's

a fella you all know from his show

Stuck Like Glue. Say howdy-do

to my good buddy Shady Blue!

Thank you, Ernest, and welcome aboard!
Hey, wouldn't you know it, just as Ernest tossed to me, we ran
out of time for this edition, but stay tuned on the flip side
of news for part 2 of our New Year's spectacular.

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

Coming up a few days from now, you'll meet
six more new members of The Shady Bunch
 DJ crew. You won't want to miss it, so keep
your dial set right here on S-P-M-M, the #1
station for a rock & roll nation. Now for
Jerry Blavat, The Geator with the Heater,
Shady Green, Brian Griffin, Errnest P.
Worrell and the entire Shady Bunch
gang, this is yours truly Shady Blue
hoping by now you're stuck like glue
and wishing you a safe, healthy
and happy 2020. See you soon!

"Last Night" - Mar-Keys

(July/Aug. 1961, highest chart pos.
#3 Hot 100 & Cash Box/#2 R&B)

 STAY TUNED FOR PT. 2 

 THIS SUNDAY!