2022 - Year of the Dell Rat, Part 1: Crazy Little Thing Called Love!

 CAN SHADY DEL KNIGHT KEEP YOU 
 ENTERTAINED IN THE COMING YEAR? 

 DOES 

 CHRIS GRIFFIN 

 REACT POORLY 

 TO BAD NEWS? 

 WELCOME BACK, DEAR FRIEND! 

 AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

I'm delighted to have you along for the ride
as I begin another year of blogging here
at Shady's Place Music & Memories.
This year I am excited to launch eight
new S-P-M-M radio shows hosted by
engaging TV and radio personalities.
You met them all last year in sneak
previews, and they're back in this
special two-part post to help me
kick-off 2022. Today, in part one,
you will meet the first four new
members of The Shady Bunch,
so let's get right to it.

Lo & behold, two of your favorite Shady's Place regulars,

Brian and Chris Griffin from Family Guy, are back,

along with my first special guest, their sister Meg.

Meg was overjoyed when I slipped her a note in class

and invited her to join The Shady Bunch DJ team.

Santa was good to Meg this year, and my job offer was the icing on the cake. 

Meg's social media accounts blew-up when word spread that she
had been chosen to become the latest celeb radio personality on SPMM.

Without further ado, please

join me in welcoming this

delightful young woman

back to Shady's Place.

Ladies and gentlemen -

Meg Griffin!

Thank you very much, Shady,
and happy new year, everyone!

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

I am beyond excited that Shady picked

me to host my very own radio show.
I've decided to call it Meg Griffin's
Frantic Romantic. I'll be playing the
greatest love songs of your lifetime

including somebody done somebody
wrong songs and wistful ditties like
this one by ABBA. Goodbye '21,
hello '22 and-- "Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year" - ABBA

(from Nov. 1980 album Super Trouper)

That was the Swede sound of ABBA

and "Happy New Year," featuring

"Aggie" (Agnetha Fältskog) on

lead vocal. Penned & produced

by Benny and Björn, the song

was released in the fall of 1980

on ABBA's Super Trouper album.

It's time for me to hand over the mic

to another new Shady Bunch deejay.

Before I go, I'd like  to invite you to

join me later this year for my show

Meg Griffin's Frantic Romantic

 here on S-P-M-M Retrosonic Radio. 

Now welcome back America's sweetheart.

You know her as Adrian Monk's smart,

savvy and sometimes sassy assistant,

and she's also my great new friend--

Natalie Teeger!

Thank you so much, Meg, and happy new year

to one and all! My new show on S-P-M-M is

called Natalie Teeger's Array of Sunshine.

As the name suggests, I will be bringing

my sunny disposition to the airwaves and

brightening your day with the groovy sounds

of sunshine pop and light rock. For example,

did you know that The Critters derived their

name from The Animals? As the summer of

'66 was getting underway, these Jersey boys

landed their first single on the chart with a

version of a song written by John Sebastian.

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THE VIDEO NOW!

Here are The Critters with a record that brushed the top 20
on Cash Box and got them noticed-- "Younger Girl."

"Younger Girl" - The Critters

(June/July 1966, highest chart pos. #21 Cash Box/#42 Hot 100)

You just heard "Younger Girl," the first single by The Critters,
one that revealed their hit potential as sunshine poppers.
Oddly, while the platter performed well on Cash Box,
it failed to reach the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Later that year the group followed-up with "Mr. Dieingly Sad"
which cracked the top 20 on Billboard and top 15 on Cash Box.

"Mr. Dieingly Sad" - The Critters

(Sept./Oct. 1966, highest chart pos. #14 Cash Box/#17 Hot 100)

That's all I have for now. Please join me
this year for the official debut of my show

Natalie Teeger's Array of Sunshine
on S-P-M-M Retrosonic Radio!

Now here's one of the charismatic stars of the

Netflix science fiction drama Sense8. She's the

San Francisco-based trans woman hacktivist

and blogger you first met at Riley's Raves

on the old blog, SDMM, and she's back

this year with her own radio show.

Please welcome-- Nomi Marks!

Thank you, Natalie... and happy 2022 to all my
friends and followers out there in S-P-M-M land!
Just a friendly reminder -- whatever you do,
don't call me Michael. I am delighted that
Shady Del Knight has given me this
amazing opportunity to co-host a radio
show along with my BFF Nia Nal from
Supergirl. Our show, Transitive Verve,
celebrates diversity in music, a mix

of styles by artists old and new...
everything from 80s new wave
to modern pop and rock.

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

On our show, you'll meet exciting young entertainers from around the

world, like up-and-coming Romanian stars Andrei Cerbu and Beatrice

Florea. Here they are with-- "Crazy Little Thing Called Love!"

"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" - Queen cover

by Andrei Cerbu & Beatrice Florea (Sept. 2019)

Hi, I'm Nomi's radio co-host Nia Nal,
and that was the fabulous Romanian
duo of guitarist Andrei Cerbu and
 singer Beatrice Florea covering
Queen in fine fashion doing the
Freddy Mercury song "Crazy

Little Thing Called Love." As
that exciting performance
illustrates, people of all kinds
across America and around
the world share a bond. We
have something in common -
this thing called love, a love

of good music. With that in mind,
I invite you to join Nomi and me
for Transitive Verve, making its
official debut this year on S-P-M-M.

Now it gives me great pleasure to introduce Shady's last special guest of the day,
WMEX Boston top 40 radio legend Arnie "Woo Woo" Ginsburg, back from
Beantown to start moonlighting as a Shady Bunch personality
this year on S-P-M-M. Take it away, Arnie!

Thank you, Nia Nal, and happy new year

to all my top 40 teens in the listening audience.

Your friend The Woo Woo is here for you-you,

Old Aching Adenoids, Arnie Ginsburg, back

on the air to bring you another sampling of

my famous Night Train Show coming to

you in '22 on S-P-M-M Retrosonic Radio.

I'll be spinning the great sounds of doo-

wop, pop and rock & roll, records that

were hot in New England and across

the USA in the pre-Beatles years,

the late 50s through early 60s.

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

Here's one now, ripped from the Wimmex Tunedex. It's Beantown's
own Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon taking us along for a day
of fun and teen romance down at-- "Palisades Park!"

"Palisades Park" - Freddy Cannon

(June 1962, highest chart pos. #3 Hot 100 & Cash Box)

Penned by Gong Show host Chuck Barris and

sung by Freddy Cannon, that was a rock & roll

tribute to New Jersey's Palisades Amusement

Park. Can you believe that great song was the

designated B side of a single? What were the

guys in suits thinking? When a deejay played

the song by mistake, it took off and went

top 3 in the spring of 1962, becoming

the biggest hit of Freddy's career.

Gee, that does it for Part 1 of our new year
spectacular. Stay tuned for Part 2 coming up

next Wednesday, the 5th of January, when
you'll meet four more new members of

The Shady Bunch deejay staff.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

And stick around for more great sounds from Meg Griffin, Nomi & Nia,
Natalie Teeger and me, Arnie Ginsburg, coming your way throughout
2022 on S-P-M-M Retrosonic Radio. Remember - while the others
are talkin'...we're rockin'! As Ernie Fields plays us off with
his hit instrumental "In The Mood," this is your buddy
Old Aching Adenoids, Arnie "Woo Woo" Ginsburg,
saying so long and, once again, happy new year!

"In The Mood" - Ernie Field's Orch. aka Ernie Fields Orchestra

(Nov./Dec. 1959, highest chart pos. #4 Hot 100/#7 Cash Box)

 MEET MORE NEW S-P-M-M DEEJAYS 

 IN PART 2 ON WEDNESDAY, JAN. 5! 

Natalie Teeger's Array of Sunshine: Natalie Gets it On and Cuts to the Chase!

COLD OPEN:

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

"Get It On" - Chase

(July 1971, highest chart pos. #22 Cash Box/#24 Hot 100)

That was "Get It On,"

the best known recording

by Chase, the jazz rock

band led by trumpeter

Bill Chase. The single

peaked just outside

the top 20 in the

summer of 1971.

Hi there, I'm

Natalie

 Teeger!

As you might already know, I am Mr. Monk's

personal assistant on the TV series Monk.

I'm here today with exciting news.

Shady Del Knight has picked me

to join The Shady Bunch as a DJ

on his S-P-M-M radio station!

You're tuned to the second sneak

preview of my show which will

make its debut in 2022. It's called

Natalie Teeger's Array of Sunshine.

I'll be bringing you the best sounds

of the 60s and 70s - sunshine pop,

soft rock, brassy horn bands like

Chase, English imports and more -

songs that are guaranteed to put

Array of Sunshine into your day.

Would you like to ride in my

beautiful balloon? Or how

about my Flying Machine? 

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

That's the name of the British studio

group formed by songwriters/producers

Tony MacAuley and Geoff Stephens.

In the fall of 1969, The Flying Machine

was way up there where the air is rare,

in the top 5 on the U.S. chart, with

the feel-good ditty-- "Smile A Little

Smile For Me (Rosemarie)." 

"Smile A Little Smile For Me" - The Flying Machine

(Oct./Nov. 1969, highest chart pos. #5 Hot 100 & Cash Box) 

That one goes out to all of the

brokenhearted Rosemaries of

the world who need cheering

up - the English studio-based

pop group The Flying Machine

doing their signature song and

big U.S. hit-- "Smile A Little

Smile For Me." 

If you're just tuning in, I'm

Natalie Teeger, Mr. Monk's

 girl Friday and every other

day of the week, giving you

a sneak peek at my new

 show coming to S-P-M-M

Retro Radio. I'm offering

Array of Sunshine

to make your day a little

 brighter and a little better.

START VIDEO NOW!

This band put Niles, Michigan, on the map with their debut single "Hanky Panky,"

originally released in 1964 on that city's Snap record label. Fast forward to the
summer of '69. Tommy James And The Shondells were riding high with a
string of hits and soaring toward the top of the chart with this song
co-written by Tommy. Here's "Crystal Blue Persuasion."

"Crystal Blue Persuasion" - Tommy James And The Shondells

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

That was one of the songs most often

heard playing on the radio during the
celebrated summer of '69 - Tommy
James And The Shondells peaking
at #2 on the charts with "Crystal

Blue Persuasion." Many listeners
thought the song was about drugs,

but Tommy insisted he got his
inspiration from Bible verses. 

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

Natalie Teeger playing the great

sounds of your lifetime and here's

another, The Grass Roots with 1971

gold-- "Two Divided By Love!"

 

"Two Divided By Love" - The Grass Roots

(Nov. 1971, highest chart pos. #8 Cash Box/#16 Hot 100/#2 Canada)

An ear-pleasing blast from your past, those were The Grass Roots, the LA-

based band that started out doing folk rock, but had their greatest success

in the late 60s and early 70s cranking out good time pop-rock singles like

that one, "Two Divided By Love," a record that penetrated the top 10

on Cash Box and went all the way to #2 in Canada in the fall of 1971. 

Natalie Teeger keeping you company

on S-P-M-M, where all the cool oldies
 come to play. I'm doing my best to

turn that frown upside down and

put Array of Sunshine into your

day. How am I doing so far?

Here's another fellow who did pretty

doggone well for himself after first

making his mark with a famous band.

It's Paul McCartney, you might have

heard of him, joined here by wife Linda

and their band Wings doing a 1978 single

that went top 5 in the UK and did even

better stateside, going all the way to the

top of the chart.  Here are McCartney

and Wings-- "With A Little Luck."

"With A Little Luck"- Wings

(Apr./May 1978, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100 & Cash Box)

That was Paul McCartney with

his band Wings performing

"With A Little Luck," their

chart-topping single from

the spring of '78, a song

from their album

London Town.

This is your breath of fresh

air, Natalie Teeger, bringing

Array of Sunshine into your

life on S-P-M-M Retro Radio,

the station with personality.

START VIDEO NOW! 

No one spreads sunshine better

than this pair and their yacht rock

sound. Here are The Captain and

Tennille with-- "Love Will

Keep Us Together!" 

"Love Will Keep Us Together" - The Captain & Tennille

(June/July 1975, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100 & Cash Box,

live perf. on The Midnight Special) 

A winner of a song that spent

four weeks at #1 at the start

of summer in 1975, that was

"Love Will keep Us Together,"

composed by Brill Building

greats Neil Sedaka and his

partner Howard Greenfield

and performed by Captain

and Tennille on a telecast

of The Midnight Special.

“Captain” Daryl Dragon

laid down the entire

instrumental backing

on the record except

for the drums which

were played by Hal

Blaine of the famed

Wrecking Crew. 

Before I forget, I want to remind you to watch Mr. Monk,

Captain Leland Stottlemeyer, Lieutenant Randy Disher and

me as we work together to bring the bad guys to justice

on our series Monk, now playing on Amazon Prime.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Darn!  Boss man Shady Del Knight's giving me the signal to wrap it up.

That does it for this second preview of my new show on S-P-M-M Retro Radio.

To play us off, here's Santana with "Jingo," the first single released from the

Latin rock band's self-titled debut 1969 album. "Jingo" is a cover of a song

originally released in 1959 by Nigerian percussionist Babatunde Olatunji.

Stay tuned. Coming up on the B side of Gary Owens' news, meet Shady's

Place newbie Denny the Dell Rat and take Shady's latest Mom & Pop

Brain Buster Quiz. Now this is Natalie Teeger inviting you to join

me next year when once again I'll bring Array of Sunshine

into your world. Take care and I'll see you in '22!

"Jingo" - Santana

(Nov. 1969, highest chart pos. #37 Cash Box,

#56 Hot 100,  from Aug. 1969 album Santana)

Nice job, Natalie.

By the way, in case you

haven't heard... I have

my own band. It's called

The Randy Disher Project.

Hey, if you'd like, I can

get you tickets to our

next show. It's Saturday

afternoon...in my garage.

Natalie Teeger's Gotcha Covered with Leonid & Friends!

Hi there, I'm

Natalie Teeger!

As you know, I'm
Adrian Monk's

personal assistant
on the hit TV series
My Mother the Car
Monk.

You might recall my appearance a few years ago on Shady Del Knight's

old blog Shady Dell Music & Memories.  Shady was nice enough

to invite me back as a guest host here at Shady's Place.

I needed to beg, coax and twist Mr. Monk's arm, but he finally agreed
to give me some time off so that I could introduce you to what
just might be the greatest cover band in the world! They're
Leonid & Friends, a Russian tribute band that specializes in
covering the songs of the American supergroup Chicago.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Leonid & Friends have never seen Chicago in person. They learned Chicago's songs

by listening to recordings and watching videos. The Moscow based jazz-rock band

has the uncanny ability to replicate Chicago's complex arrangements note for note.

Listen as they perform "Beginnings," a top 10 hit for Chicago in 1971.

"Beginnings" - Leonid & Friends

(Chicago cover)

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

The song you just listened to, "Beginnings" was
originally released as a single at Halloween in
1969 but didn't become a hit until it was re-
released in 1971. Two years later, in the

summer of '73, Chicago scored another

top 10 hit with the song you're hearing
now, "Feelin' Stronger Every Day."
Check out this more than capable
cover by the talented band
Leonid & Friends!

"Feelin' Stronger Every Day" - Leonid & Friends
(Chicago cover)

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

In 1974 Chicago brushed the top 5

with the single "Call On Me." Let's

call on Leonid & Friends to cover

the song like nobody else can!

"Call On Me" - Leonid & Friends
(Chicago cover)

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

Leonid & Friends have the Chicago sound

down pat, but they cover other bands

equally well. Here they do "September,"

a top 10 hit in '79 for Maurice White's

LA-based R&B band Earth, Wind & Fire.

"September" - Leonid & Friends

(Earth, Wind & Fire cover)

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

It should come as no surprise that

Leonid & Friends cover the pop jazz

band Blood, Sweat & Tears. Here's

their version of "Spinning Wheel!"

"Spinning Wheel" - Leonid & Friends

(Blood, Sweat & Tears cover)

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

In '84 Chicago brushed the top 15

with "Stay The Night." Here again,

our featured act Leonid & Friends!

"Stay The Night" - Leonid & Friends

(Chicago cover)

I hope you enjoyed these covers of classic

soft rock songs originally recorded by

Chicago, Earth, Wind & Fire and
Blood, Sweat & Tears, and per-

formed in recent years by the

fine Russian cover band

Leonid & Friends.

This is Natalie Teeger thanking you for joining

me and inviting you to watch our TV show

Monk now streaming on Amazon Prime.

As Mr. Monk and I leave you now, please listen

to "If You Leave Me Now," one last exquisite

cover by the fabulous Leonid & Friends!

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

"If You Leave Me Now" - Leonid & Friends
(Chicago cover)

Nice job, Natalie. By the

way, in case you haven't

heard... I have my own

rock band. It's called

 The Randy Disher Project.

Hey, if you'd like, I can

get you tickets to our

next show. It's Saturday

afternoon...in my garage.