Howl Are Fangs With You, Wolfman?

AHHHOOOOO!!!

Mercy mercy me! This here's
your old buddy Wolfman Jack,

baby, "sittin' in the balcony"
and sittin' in for your regular

host Shady Del Knight at the

greatest little station in the

nation, S-P-M-M Retrosonic

Radio. I'm your doctor of

love, you understand. I've

got the cure you're looking

for-- the best oldies you

ever heard and the best

oldies you never heard! 

While the moon is full and stars do shine

Cuddle and dance to these tunes of mine.

Grab that special someone, start squeezin'

and let the Wolfman's music do the pleasin'.

Now, you pay close
attention to these songs,
baby, or the Wolfman's
gonna GETCHA!

Oh my my, baby, you're gonna rock

around the clock when you hear the

platters the Wolfman's gonna play.

To start off my howlin' hootenanny,

I've got a nostalgic surf-rock sound
by the revival lineup of The Human
Beinz, a 60s band from Youngstown,

Ohio. In 2018 the H-Bs released this

groovy cover of a song first waxed

in 1965 by The Tradewinds. Here

now are The Human Beinz with

their so-called "Malibu Version"

of "New York's A Lonely Town!"

"New York's A Lonely Town (Malibu Version)"

- The Human Beinz (released in 2018)

You just heard a modern remake of a surf-
rock classic, a Beach Boys sound-alike
song by The Human Beinz, "New York's
A Lonely Town (Malibu Version)." Now
here's a Motown girl group that had a
string of soulful R&B hits in the 60s.
They're The Marvelettes, and these
ladies were hot at Christmas 1964
and in early '65 thanks to a song
that gives sound dating advice.
Don't sell yourself short, little girl.
There's "Too Many Fish In The Sea!"

"Too Many Fish in the Sea" - The Marvelettes
(Dec. 1965/Jan. 1965, highest chart pos.
#15 R&B/#21 Cash Box/#25 Hot 100)

Yes, gracious, everybody's talking about

the Wolfman's "pompatous of love."

You just listened to the marvelous Marvelettes of Motown reminding us

that there are too many fish in the sea. The Marvelettes are the gals who

topped the chart in 1961 with "Please, Mr. Postman." Well I got another

ditty from '61 about the mailman and his daily delivery, this one by

 The Videls, a Providence, Rhode Island, quintet featuring the

vocals of Pete Anders and Vinnie Pincia. Here now are

The Videls and-- "A Letter From Ann."

"A Letter From Ann" - The Videls

(Sept. 1961, uncharted)

Awww, you thought your baby Ann was diggin' you...

but she was diggin' me... the cat on the radio.

Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee!

Yes, baby, those were The Videls with the vintage doo-wop sound

of "A Letter From Ann." That record didn't make the chart, but it

went straight to the old Wolfman's heart. I'm givin' it my ZEAL

of approval. In 1960, The Videls did reach the chart with

another sad song that goes, "I don't have a girl to call

my own, and I don't have a lover whose mine alone."

Here they are again, the fabulous Videls, with

the teenage lament-- "Mister Lonely."

"Mister Lonely" - The Videls

(June 1960, highest chart pos. #66 Cash Box/#73 Hot 100)

Oh baby... it's all according to how your

boogaloo situation stands, you understand?

That was "Mister Lonely," completing my

double play, two Videls sobbin' songs in a

row about lost love and love never found.

Now listen to this. Pete and Vinnie from

The Videls went on to form a New York

based pop duo called The Trade Winds.

They're the guys I mentioned at the top

of the show when I played The Human

Beinz updated "Malibu Version" of

"New York's A Lonely Town." Now

let's hear the original hit from 1965

waxed by The Trade Winds. You're

gonna swear it's Brian Wilson and

his Beach Boys. AHHOOOOOO!

"New York's A Lonely Town" - The Trade Winds

(Feb./Mar. 1965, highest chart pos. #32 Hot 100/#38 Cash Box)

Those were The Trade Winds with "New York's A Lonely Town," a Beach Boys

sound-alike about a SoCal surfer boy stranded in the Big Apple in winter.

That fab slab went top 40 on Cash Box and brushed the top 30 on Billboard.

If you're just tuning in, you've got the old Wolfman in your ear

on S-P-M-M Retrosonic Radio... where we go huntin' for

the great songs of the past and bring 'em back alive!

This is swingin' school, baby...

and the Wolfman's gonna teach

you a lesson. In 1962, singer

Buddy Greco fell short of the

top 50 with his release of

"Mr. Lonely" - same title -

but a different song from

the one you heard earlier

by The Videls. In 1964,

crooner Bobby Vinton

used the same backing

track from Buddy's

record and took

his version of

"Mr. Lonely"

all the way

to the top

of the chart!

"Mr. Lonely" - Bobby Vinton

(Dec. 1964/Jan. 1965, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100/#2 Cash Box)

Awww, you listen to The Wolfman.

 As long as you got the curves, baby...

I got the angles!

Now as you recall, I started

the show with a band from

Youngstown, Ohio, called

The Human Beinz. To close,

here's a terrific R&B group

from Akron. They're Ruby

And The Romantics, and

I've got their #1 charting

crossover smash from

the spring of '63. Baby,

you just wait and see--

"Our Day Will Come!" 

"Our Day Will Come" -

Ruby And The Romantics

(Feb./Mar. '63, highest cht. pos.

#1 Hot 100, Cash Box & R&B,

scenes from Apr. 1989 film

Under The Boardwalk)

Mercy sakes alive, I see by the old clock

on the wall... there's a dead fly.

The sun's coming up and the

Wolfman gotta grab his fangs and go.

If you've been listening to the show at the

diner on the outskirts of town, be sure

to tip your waitress when you leave.

She works hard for the money, honey.

This is your old pal Wolfman Jack

reminding you to obey your ma

and pa. I'll see you next time

right here on the greatest little

station in the nation, S-P-M-M.

I guarantee we gonna rock &

roll ourselves to death, baby.

AHHHOOOOO!!!

Toto's Tutorial: How to Play DJ with a Piggyback Intro!

 Hi, I'm 

 Toto Moto! 

 As you know, I'm Shady's dog, 

 Shady's Place blog mascot, 

 Chief Petting Officer and 

 a DJ on SPMM Radio. 

I'm here today with Toto's Tutorial, a special post previewing a new feature
coming soon to SPMM Radio - the "Piggyback Cold Open." Piggyback
cold opens (aka Piggyback cold intros) will ramp up the excitement
and realism of my show and the shows of other Shady Bunch DJs.

 BULLET 

"White Lies, Blue Eyes" by the one-hit-wonder rock group Bullet,
is an example of a record with a cold intro or cold open because it
begins with vocals rather than an instrumental lead-in. Top 40
radio stations loved records like this one because they were
an exciting way for programmers to follow a station
identification jingle and get the next block of
songs started "with a bang."

Let's try the Piggyback cold intro on that Bullet record. First click to play
the jingle below. Using your mouse, hover the pointer over the time counter
so that you can keep track of the elapsed time. When the jingle hits the
16 second mark, let it continue playing while you bring the pointer
down and click the "White Lies, Blue Eyes" song video beneath it.
If your timing is right you will perform a seamless transition from

the jingle to the record the same way the pros do. Give it a try!

PIGGYBACK COLD OPEN:
CLICK TO PLAY FIRST VIDEO

AND AT 16 SEC MARK, CLICK
TO START SECOND VIDEO!

"White Lies, Blue Eyes" - Bullet

(Dec. 1971/Jan. 1972, highest chart pos.

#28 Hot 100/#25 Cash Box)

Now scroll down the page and practice the Piggyback

technique on the rest of the jingles and songs
representing various styles and music genres.
Use your imagination and substitute
"S-P-M-M" for the call letters
used in the jingles. It's fun!

 BOBBY LEWIS 

PIGGYBACK COLD OPEN:
CLICK TO PLAY FIRST VIDEO

AND AT 8 SEC MARK, CLICK
TO START SECOND VIDEO!

"Tossin' And Turnin'" - Bobby Lewis

(July/Aug. 1961, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100/#1 R&B)

 THE CRAZY WORLD 

 OF ARTHUR BROWN 

PIGGYBACK COLD OPEN:
CLICK TO PLAY FIRST VIDEO

AND AT 12 SEC MARK, CLICK
TO START SECOND VIDEO!

"Fire" - The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown"

(Sept./Oct. 1968, highest chart pos. #2)

 THE BEATLES 

PIGGYBACK COLD OPEN:
CLICK TO PLAY FIRST VIDEO

AND AT 9 SEC MARK, CLICK
TO START SECOND VIDEO!

"Help!" - The Beatles

(Aug./Sept. 1965, highest chart pos. #1)

 OTIS DAY & THE KNIGHTS 

 Ft. LOUCHIE LOU - MICHIE ONE SHOUT 

Most records of the 50s and 60s had relatively brief running times and many had

cold opens. Singles released from the late 60s to present tend to run longer and

have instrumental intros rather than vocal intros. However a bold, attention-

grabbing instrumental intro works well as a Piggyback. Here's an example.

PIGGYBACK COLD OPEN:
CLICK TO PLAY FIRST VIDEO

AND AT 9 SEC MARK, CLICK
TO START SECOND VIDEO!

"Shout" Otis Day The Knights

ft. Louchie Lou - Michie One Shout

(1989 single)

 THE MARVELETTES 

PIGGYBACK COLD OPEN:
CLICK TO PLAY FIRST VIDEO

AND AT 7 SEC MARK, CLICK
TO START SECOND VIDEO!

"Playboy" - The Marvelettes

(May/June 1962, highest chart pos. #4 R&B/#7 Hot 100)

 Doggone it, I had fun with those Piggybacks  

 and I hope you did, too.  Let me know if 

 you got the technique to work for you. 

 Stay tuned for more 

 Piggyback show opens 

 coming soon to 

 S-P-M-M radio... 

 "the station 

 with personality!" 

Geator Gold - Vol. 2: The Duck Across the Pond!

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)

"Can You Do It" - The Contours

(Apr. 1964, highest chart pos. #41 Hot 100 & R&B)

A fantastic sound coming out of Detroit, those were the mighty Contours

with "Can You Do It," a record that brushed the top 40 on both charts -
R&B and pop, in the spring of 1964. If you're watching my simulcast
on YouTube you saw the def dancing of the teen kings and queens
on my good friend Dick Clark's TV show American Bandstand.

Greetings and salutations! I am The Geator
with the Heater. I am The Boss with the
Big Hot Sauce, welcoming all my yon
teenagers to another bombastic edition
of Geator Gold here on S-P-M-M...
the station that's #1 for music and fun.

We're plowing through 7-in-a-row on
the Jerry Blavat show, doin' the bop
at the Geator's sock hop... and lawd
have mercy, we won't stop til we drop.

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

Ready for a quack attack? Here's my man

Jackie Lee with his swan song-- "The Duck!"

"The Duck - Part 2" - Jackie Lee
(released Mar. 1973 in the UK)

That was Mr. Jackie Lee keeping us out

on the floor and beggin' for more. If you're
livin' in the U.S.A., I'm willing to bet that
was the first time you heard that particular
version of "The Duck." Quick story: Back
in the fall of 1963 the duo of Bob & Earl
wrote and recorded "Harlem Shuffle."

"Bob" was Bob Relf who made solo
singles using his own name and two
others - Bobby Valentino and Bobby
Garrett. "Earl" was Earl Nelson who
took the name Jackie Lee and had a
solo hit with the dance ditty "The Duck."

What you just listened to was Part 2 of "The Duck" which was not released
on a single in the U.S. It was issued in the UK in 1973 on the B side of
Part 1. If you are familiar with Part 1 you noticed that Part 2 contains
different lyrics and the female backing singers are featured more
prominently, making it even more of a groove than side one.

Back to Detroit we go now for a nifty number by one of Motown's top
girl groups and another version of a popular song that I'm betting is
new to your ears. It's the Marvelettes and their hit "When You're
Young And In Love," only this is an alternate version with
a spoken intro. This one's too cool for school!

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

"When You're Young And In Love" (alternate mix) - The Marvelettes
(May/June 1967, highest chart pos. #9 R&B/#23 Hot 100)

From the vaults of Motown, those were the marvelous Marvelettes
with the seldom heard spoken intro version of their top 10 hit
from the spring of 1967, "When You're Young And In Love."

Up next on Geator Gold, more of the girl group

sound, this one by a group from New York. In

1957 the duo Johnnie & Joe had a top 10 hit

with "Over The Mountain Across The Sea."

"Johnnie" was Johnnie Louise Richardson,

daughter of "Zell" Sanders, founder of the

New York based R&B label J&S, one of

the few record companies ever owned by

a woman. Johnnie was also a member of

The Jaynettes, the Bronx girl group that

hit with "Sally, Go 'Round the Roses."

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

In 1958 Zell signed a girl group called The Bouquets and changed their
name to The Click-Ettes. Featuring lead singer Barbara Jean English
here is one of their great ballads-- "Lover's Prayer."

"Lover's Prayer" - The Click-Ettes
(June 1959, uncharted)

On Geator Gold we play 'em from the heart... not the chart, and you just heard
the fabulous girl group The Click-ettes proving that old school is cool with
a great late 50s snuggle song for my yon teens, "Lover's Prayer."

If you're just tuning in, we're in the middle of

a 7-in-a-row block party on Geator Gold with

yours truly Jerry Blavat, The Geator with the
Heater, The Boss with the Sauce, right here
on S-P-M-M... home of The Shady Bunch.

Speaking of school, here are The Students,
a doo-wop group from Ohio that recorded
two classics of the genre, "I'm So Young"
and "Every Day Of The Week," both
songs penned by William H. "Prez"
Tyus, Jr., a high school pupil.

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

The two monumental songs were released back-to-back on the same 45.

Here now are The Students with the B side, "Every Day Of The Week,"

a dance number that inspired The Dovells' "Bristol Stomp!"

"Every Day of the Week" - The Students

(B side of "I'm So Young" single orig. released in

July & Aug. 1958 and charted #26 in June 1961)

Waxed in the summer of 1958 and popular three years later in the summer of '61
as the fab flip of the top 30 hit "I'm So Young," that was the up tempo side
"Every Day Of The Week" by The Students of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Fiction and Fact From the Geator's Almanac:
He is known as the singing barber of Pine Hill,
New Jersey, a town not far from Philadelphia.
I'm talking about Mr. Billy Harner. In the 60s
Billy's high voltage performances of R&B
material invited comparisons to Mitch
Ryder and earned Billy the nickname
“The Human Perk-u-lator.”

START THE VIDEO NOW!

In the 70s, Billy's records were hot in
Northern Soul clubs of the UK. Here's
Billy's biggest-- "Sally Sayin' Somethin'!"

"Sally Sayin' Somethin'" - Billy Harner

(Aug. 1967, highest chart pos. #118 Bubbling Under)

That was Billy Harner - “The Human Perk-u-lator” - and his signature song
"Sally Sayin' Something," a big hit on the East Coast in the summer of 1967.

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

And as all good things must come to an end,
so too must this edition of Geator Gold.

Thanks for listening. Don't touch that dial,
because my puppy pal Toto Moto is coming
up on the other side of news with a special
show called Toto's Tutorial. You don't wanna
miss it. After that, my good buddy Dell Rat
Tom drops in to play stacks o' wax on Juke-
box Giants, and I'll be back soon with more
Geator Gold... so keep it here on S-P-M-M
where the cool oldies live on and on.

To play us off, gospel-tinged disco done right, just inches across the border
into secular territory. The song is "Mighty Cloud of Joy," and the group
is called the Mighty Clouds of Joy. Now this is Jerry Blavat, The Geator
With the Heator... The Boss With the Big Hot Sauce, reminding you to
keep on rockin', baby, 'cause you only (woo-HOO!) rock once! Bye y'all!

"Mighty Cloud of Joy" – Mighty Clouds of Joy
(Feb./Mar. 1975, highest chart pos. #47 R&B)