2023 - Year of the Dell Rat ???

...or is it the year of the

Belle Rat?

...or could it be the year of the

Platterpus?

 Ainsley, Zoe, Adalind, Twisty, 

 Jess, Stephanie and Dot 

 Join The Shady Bunch! 

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

 DO YOU NEED A 

 WACKY, WAVING, 

 INFLATABLE, 

 ARM FLAILING 

 TUBE MAN? 

 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 more

new S-P-M-M radio shows hosted by

some of my favorite celebs from

TV and movies. You met some of

them last year in sneak previews,

and they're back in this special 2-

part post to help me kick-off 2023.

The first seven new members of

The Shady Bunch are ready to

play tunes ripped from their

SPMM radio play lists, so

let's meet them right now!

Hello, I'm Dot Everest on the Amazon

TV series The Tick. By day, I work for

The City as an EMT. By night, you'll

find me breaking badass, a crime-

fighting super-powered vigilante

heroine on Team Tick. My new

show on S-P-M-M will be called

7 on the Dot...

TICK TICK TICK.

That means every song I play will

make reference to time. You won't

find my show on TikTok... only

here at Shady's Place. Time is of

the essence, so let me give you

a sample song from my show,

a 1965 clip of The Rolling Stones

performing on Top Of The Pops. 

START VIDEO NOW!

This is the band's first UK single written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards,

a record that hit #1 in the UK and made the top 10 in the U.S.

Here now are The Stones and-- "The Last Time!"

"The Last Time" - The Rolling Stones

(Apr. 1965, highest chart pos. #1 UK/#9 Hot 100,

#10 Cash Box, 1965 perf. on Top Of The Pops) 

Hi there, and Happy New Year!

My name is Stephanie Smothers.

Think I look like Anna Kendrick?

I get that a lot. I'm main character

of the 2018 black comedy crime

thriller A Simple Favor. In the

movie, I host a crafts and recipes

vlog that caters to moms. On the

sly, I'm an amateur sleuth who

does lots of digging, gets lots of

questions answered and solves

a murder mystery. This year,

I'll bring that skill set to my

new radio show on S-P-M-M. 

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW! 

My show is called Stephanie Knows Who (What, When, Where, Why and How).

Every song I play asks a question, and here's one now. It's Heart with their

1985 comeback single, the band's first top 40 hit in three years and the

first to make the top 10 in five years. Watch and listen as sisters Ann

and Nancy Wilson ask the musical question-- "What About Love?" 

"What About Love?" - Heart

(July/Aug. 1985, highest chart pos. #8 Canada/#10 Hot 100,

#17 Cash Box/#3 U.S. Mainstream Rock & Canada Adult Contemporary) 

Hello, mate! I'm Jess Parker on the British

science-fiction television series Primeval.

 I'm the field coordinator of a team that

battles prehistoric creatures when they

break through time/space portals and

attack humans. My new show on

S-P-M-M Retro Radio is called

Primeval

Platterpus. 

I will be resurrecting groovy

platters from the 60s, 70s and

80s, records that might sound

like dinosaurs to younger ears,

but to Boomers, they're the

latest and the greatest.

It's yesterday once more!

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW! 

Here's a sample of what I'll be playing on Primeval Platterpus.

The blokes and birds of the Swedish pop supergroup ABBA punctuate

our plight as we battle the beasts to save the human race. This is the

flip side of their 1974 hit "Waterloo," the first single released by

the group using the name ABBA. What do you do when

those primeval monsters appear? "Watch Out!" 

"Watch Out" - ABBA

(June/July 1974, B side of "Waterloo")




Editor's note: Meet Twisty, the deranged killer clown on

American Horror Story: Freak Show. Twisty is proud to join

The Shady Bunch in 2023 as the "silent DJ" of SPMM radio.

That's right. Twisty doesn't speak.

He simply stares at you, smiles,

does a little magic trick for you,

and then proceeds to kill you.

Nothing personal, but yeah...

you really need to die.

Twisty's new show on

SPMM will be called

Twisty the

Night Away

...and Twisty wants you

to hear a sample from

his play list. It's Elvis

the Pelvis in a scene

from his hit 1957

film Loving You!

"Twisty's Got A Lot O' Livin' To Do

(and You've Got a Lot O' Dyin' To Do)"

- Elvis Presley (scene from July 1957

movie Loathing You) 

I'm Adalind Schade a witch-like Hexenbiest on the fantasy police drama Grimm.

I'll be here in April 2023 along with six other celebrity contestants to take

The A to Z Challenge, a new trivia game series at Shady's Place.

It's called the A to Z Challenge

because four of the players have

names that begin with the letter

"A" like me, and the other three

players have names that begin

with "Z." The game proceeds

through the alphabet with

players taking turns naming

a recording artist whose name

begins with the corresponding

letter. For example, if it's my

turn to name a "B" music act,

 I could pick rock 'n' roll star

Johnny Burnette and score

10 extra points for playing

a Johnny Burnette song that

has a number in the title. 

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

And here it is, from the soundtrack of American Graffiti

Johnny's top 10 hit-- "You're Sixteen!" 

"You're Sixteen" - Johnny Burnette

(Dec. 1960/Jan. 1961, highest chart pos. #7 Cash Box/#8 Hot 100)

Hi, I'm Zoe Baker, Beth Pearson's cousin

and Kevin's girlfriend on the hit family

TV drama This Is Us. I'm one of the "Z"

name players on the A to Z Challenge.

Let's suppose it's my turn to pick an

artist whose name begins with "M." 

CLICK TO START VIDEO NOW!

I could score 10 bonus points by choosing a

song by Mandy Moore, because the artist's

 first and last name both begin with "M."

Then I could gain 10 additional points

by making a Six Degrees connection,

because Mandy and I are on the same

TV show This Is Us. Here's Mandy

with her 2001 hit-- "In My Pocket!"

"In My Pocket" - Mandy Moore

(June 2001, highest chart pos. #11 Australia/#26 New Zealand,

#21 U.S. Mainstream Top 40/#102 Bubbling Under)



Hi, I'm Ainsley Whitly, an ambitious television news reporter on the hit

TV series Prodigal Son. This year, I and my colleagues, who are also

investigative journalists, will host a new S-P-M-M radio show called

The I-Team.

In this case, "I" does not stand for investigation, as in investigative

reporting. The title of every song we play on I-Team will start

with the letter "I"... We'll be spinning some uber cool tunes,

so "I" hope you'll join us. I also hope you enjoyed Pt. 1

of Shady's annual New Year's Day celebration.

Stick around for Pt. 2 coming up on Thursday. 

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

To play us off, here again is This Is Us star Mandy Moore with

the "I" song "I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of The Week."

Now for Zoe, Adalind, Twisty, Jess, Stephanie and Dot,

this is Ainsley saying goodbye and see you soon! 

"I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of The Week" - Mandy Moore

(Apr./May 2009, highest chart pos. #14 Ukraine/#90 Hot 100) 

Twisty the Night Away!

premiering this year at Shady's Place!

Yesterday Once More: Meet Another Group of SPMM DJ Trainees - Vanessa, Renee, Gina, Kara and Ellie!

 Ellie Appleton - Yesterday Once More 

COLD OPEN:

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW! 

"It's Not Unusual" - Tom Jones

(May/June 1965, highest chart pos. #10 Hot 100 & Cash Box,

live perf. on June 28, 1965 TV special Murray The K –

It's What's Happening, Baby) 

Kicking off this special sneak preview, a rare clip of Welshman Tom Jones

before he became a superstar and heartthrob to millions of women all over

the world. You saw Tom at the start of summer, 1965, entertaining animals

at the zoo singing his breakthrough international hit "Its Not Unusual" on

the American TV special Murray The K – It's What's Happening, Baby.

 Hello, I'm Vanessa Kensington... 

a beautiful, determined, intelligent young woman who partners

with British spy Austin Powers in the 1997 comedy film

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.

I'm sure you are familiar with Austin as the semi-regular host of the

Valentine's Day dances here at Shady's Place. I've got great news.

Austin and I are reuniting as hosts of our own radio show.

 Stay tuned for the debut of The Spy Who Shagged Me featuring the best

of Brit pop, coming soon to S-P-M-M... the station with personality. 

 I'm 

 Renee Clemons, 

a reporter working at the

San Francisco Globe on

the TV series Gracepoint,

the American remake of

the hit UK drama series

Broadchurch. I'm happy

to report that I will be

joining five other news

gathering women as

anchors of the new

S-P-M-M radio show

The I-Team. The

"I" does not stand

for "investigation."

You see, every song we

play on our show will have

an "I" word in the title.

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

Here's a sample "I" song from

our series, one of the biggest

hits of the 60s, the Four Tops

reaching #1 on the pop and

soul charts with-- "I Can't

Help Myself (Sugar Pie

Honey Bunch)!" 

"I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" - Four Tops

(May/June 1965, highest chart position

#1 Hot 100 & Cash Box & R&B) 

 I'm WPC Gina Dawson 

on the British period police drama TV series WPC 56. 

I'm the first WPC (woman police constable) to join the

Midlands Constabulary at Brinford Police Station in 1956.

 

Soon I'll be joining other

fetching, feisty females as

presenters on a S-P-M-M

radio show that we're going

 to call British British Swag,

and I've got a sample, a song

recorded and released 10 years

after I joined the police force.

That's around the time my

job description no longer

included making coffee

for the men. The song

is by The Rolling Stones,

a cut from their 1966

album Aftermath,

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW! 

This is one of their most popular songs from the period, yet it was never

released as a single in English-speaking countries. Here are Mick and

his mates, the kings of British swag, on the UK music TV show

Ready Steady Go! doing-- "Under My Thumb." 

"Under My Thumb" - The Rolling Stones

(from Apr. 1966 album Aftermath, perf. on

May 27, 1966, ep. of Ready Steady Go!) 

 Hi, I'm 

 Kara Danvers... 

a bright, bubbly, somewhat

shy and awkward young woman

working as a personal assistant

and later a reporter on the DC

Comics superhero TV series

Supergirl. Some people say

I look and sound almost

exactly like Supergirl...

that the only difference

between the two of us

are the glasses and

the red and blue

caped costume.

That's crazy talk! Supergirl and I are nothing alike,

so just put that notion out of your mind, mister. 

I'm here to play a song sample from

my new radio show Kara Danvers

Supertunes coming soon to SPMM

Supersonic Radio. It's a wonderful

performance by a Nashville-based

band called imy2 which, in modern

code-speak, stands for "I miss you,

too." The group is fronted by blue-

haired beauty Annalise Mahanes,

a singer with the super power of

being able to cover songs from

a variety of genres and make

it seem like they were

written just for her. 

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

Here are Annalise and imy2 with a super cover of

Michael Jackson's-- "The Way You Make Me Feel!" 

"The Way You Make Me Feel" - Michael Jackson

cover by imy2 (Sept. 2020) 

 And I'm 

 Ellie Appleton. 

Do I remind you of

Lady Rose Aldridge

on Downton Abbey?

I get that a lot.

You say goodbye

and I say hello

and welcome to my

segment giving you

a sneak peak at my

new radio show

coming soon to

Shady's Place. 

As the co-star of Yesterday...

the 2019 musical rom-com

film that's loaded with great

 covers of Beatles songs, my

show on S-P-M-M Retrosonic

Radio will be wall-to-wall

Beatles, including classic

original recordings by the

Liverpudlian mop-tops

themselves, and terrific

Beatles covers by artists

of the past and present.

Quite rightly, my new

program will be called

Yesterday Once More. 

To close today's sneak

preview special, I've got

a sensational sample for

you. It is one of the best

covers I've found of a

song written by John

Lennon and recorded

by The Beatles. It was

released as the lead

song on their 1969

album Abbey Road

and as a single that

topped the chart

in the U.S.

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW! 

Here's the Ukranian duo Sershen & Zaritskaya - Sergey on guitar, Daria on vocals -

taking it to the next level with-- "Come Together." Now this is Ellie Appleton.

Thanks for joining us and see you soon on Yesterday Once More!

"Come Together" - The Beatles cover

by Sershen & Zaritskaya (Mar. 2021) 

Shady Green and His Wayback Machine Vol. 3: Hey Tonight, Drop Out With Me, Little Girl!

HEADPHONES ARE RECOMMENDED FOR LISTENING TO SPMM RADIO SHOWS.

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

 SHADY GREEN 

 AND HIS 

 WAYBACK 

 MACHINE 

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

 PIGGYBACK COLD OPEN: 
 CLICK TO PLAY FIRST VIDEO. 

 AT 11 SEC. MARK, CLICK TO 

 PLAY SECOND VIDEO! 

"Hawaii Five-O" - The Ventures
(Mar to May 1969, highest chart pos. #4 Hot 100/#6 Cash Box)

Visions of Jack Lord's hair flashing through my noggin as the best-selling

instrumental band of all time, The Ventures, get the old adrenaline pumping

and kick-off the show with the theme from the hit TV series "Hawaii Five-O,"

a top 5 hit from 1969. I've always wanted to say this: "Book 'em, Danno!"

How're you doing? I'm Shady Green

and I'm glad you hopped aboard my

Wayback Machine for another trip

back to one of the most exciting

periods in music history, the mid

60s through the early 70s.

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

Up next, here's a San Francisco based

folk-rock and psychedelic pop band
that racked up a string of hits as long

as a comet tail - 14 top 40 singles in

all. I'm talking about The Grass Roots,

and here they are with a groovy tune

from 1971-- "Temptation Eyes."

"Temptation Eyes" - The Grass Roots

(Feb./Mar. 1971, highest chart pos. #15 Hot 100/#16 Cash Box)

Retrosonic Radio in Futuresonic Stereo Surround - that's S-P-M-M,

and you just heard "Temptation Eyes" by The Grass Roots, a great

single that peaked at #15, surprisingly low considering the fact that

the record spent a whopping 18 weeks on the chart. That's longer

than any of the band's other releases including their

biggest hit "Midnight Confessions."

Here's another song that under-performed

on the U.S. chart, but the reason is clear.

It's The Rolling Stones with the follow-

up to their smash hit "Jumpin' Jack Flash."

This single was released in the U.S. shortly

after the violent clashes between police

and anti-Vietnam War protesters at the

1968 Democratic National Convention

in Chicago. Fearing the song would

incite more violence, local stations

refused to play it. 

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

FYI, the original picture sleeve of this single is one of the rarest and most

valuable in the world, worth well over a thousand dollars. Here they are,

The Stones, with the song banned in Chi-town-- "Street Fighting Man!"

"Street Fighting Man" - The Rolling Stones

(Sept. 1968, highest chart pos. #30 Cash Box/#48 Hot 100)

Banned in The Windy City, The Rolling Stones song "Street Fighting Man."

Incidentally "The Boss" - Brice Springsteen- called the song's lyrics

 "What can a poor boy do but sing in a rock and roll band?"

one of the greatest rock and roll lines of all time.

If you're just tuning in, your riding the

Wayback Machine with Shady Green,

The Dean of Keen, on S-P-M-M... the

#1 station for a rock and roll nation! 

Time now for some Rapp music.

I'm talking about the late, great

songwriter/musician Tom Rapp,

one of the most eloquent and

distinctive voices of my

g-g-generation. 

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

In 1967 Rapp and his psychedelic folk rock band Pearls Before Swine released
their first single for ESP records. Turn on, tune in-- "Drop Out" with me!

"Drop Out!" - Pearls Before Swine

(from Oct. 1967 album One Nation Underground)

From their 1967 debut album One Nation Underground, that was Tom Rapp

and PBS - Pearls Before Swine - with "Drop Out!" PBS was noteworthy

for using an assortment of esoteric musical instruments in their studio

recordings, the kind rarely found on pop or rock recordings.

Shady Green and the Wayback Machine...

and we're right smack dab in the middle

of a seven-in-a-row block party here

on S-P-M-M radio where all the

cool oldies come to play. 

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

Our magical mystery tour continues now

with The Doors and a song from their

second album Strange Days--

"You're Lost Little Girl." 

"You're Lost little Girl" - The Doors

(from Sept. 1967 album Strange Days)

The Doors with "You're Lost Little Girl." Released at the beginning of fall

in 1967, Strange Days is considered by many critic and fans including me,

Shady Green, to be The Doors' strongest, most interesting and best album.

Yet at the time of its release, it was overshadowed by the band's self titled

debut album and sales were disappointing. Strange days indeed!

Shady Green, The Dean of Keen. I don't

know about you, but I'm psyched. On

my turntable now is a power platter by

John Fogerty and his roots rock band

Creedence Clearwater Revival. This

single was released as a double A

sided record which means there

was no designated B side. Here's

a hint. The first A side features

"Have You Ever Seen The Rain." 

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

Retrosonic Radio in Futuresonic Stereo Surround... that's S-P-M-M, and here's

the second song on that super slab, a CCR sonic boom-- "Hey Tonight!"

"Hey Tonight" - Creedence Clearwater Revival

(Feb./Mar. 1971, highest chart pos. #8 Hot 100/#1 Denmark & Germany,

released as a double A side single with "Have You Ever Seen The Rain")

CCR with "Hey Tonight," one of the songs on their double A-side

release that also featured "Have You Ever Seen The Rain."

Both songs on that 1971 single cracked the top 10.

That does it for this voyage

of the Wayback Machine.

Thanks for riding along.

Stay tuned on the B side

of news for your buddy

and mine, that lovable

nosy neighbor Ernest P.

Worrell, who'll drop by

to Rock-A-Billygoat

right here on S-P-M-M...

the station with personality.

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

and I'll be back soon with more groovy greats from the Summer of Love and
the Woodstock era. To play us off, Norman Greenbaum with his gospel rock
classic from 1970 - "Spirit In The Sky." Norman's nifty number spent two
weeks atop the Cash Box chart but was held back at #3 on the Billboard
Hot 100, denied the top spot by the Jackson 5 hit "ABC" and by
The Beatles with "Let It Be." Thanks again for joining the fun.
Now this is Shady Green, The Dean of Keen, over and out!

"Spirit In The Sky" - Norman Greenbaum

(Mar. to May 1970, highest chart pos. #1 Cash Box/#3 Hot 100)

Cruisin' 1960 With Dick Biondi - The Wild I-tralian!

 QUESTION: 

 Where do people go in February 
 to escape old man winter? 

 ANSWER: Buffalo, NY! 

It's time once again to go Cruisin'.

The year is 1960 and we're

goin' north to Alaska

shuffling off to Buffalo

to join radio personality

 Dick Biondi at WKBW!

Listen to this 2 minute aircheck to get familiar with Dick's voice and style.

 BUSTER 

 BROWN 

The wailing blues harmonica intro
allows oldies fans to name that tune,
"Fannie Mae," in two seconds flat.
In his intro on the 1960 Cruisin'
album, top 40 DJ Dick Biondi,
the self-described Wild I-tralian
of Buffalo, shouts "Buster Brown!"

at the perfect moment, just before
the melody kicks in. "Fannie Mae"
was Buster Brown's biggest hit.

The blues rocker topped the
R&B chart and reached the
top 40 on the pop survey.

 "Fannie Mae" - Buster Brown 

 (Mar./Apr. 1960, highest chart pos. 

 #1 R&B/#34 Cash Box/#38 Hot 100) 

 THE ROLLING STONES 

I'm breaking the Cruisin' rules by jumping ahead to 1965. (You'll just

have to sue me.) I'm doing so because this is the perfect time to play

one of my favorite B sides, the fab flip of The Rolling Stones'

Jaggernaut "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction."

Listen to "The Under Assistant

West Coast Promotion Man,"

a song the Stones based on

Buster Brown's "Fannie Mae,"

written as a poke in the ribs

aimed at their promo man at

London Records, the fellow

who accompanied Mick and

his mates on their first

American tour. Note the

familiar riff which sounds

a lot like "Fannie Mae."

 "The Under Assistant West Coast 

 Promotion Man" - The Rolling Stones 

 {July 1965, B side of "(I Can't Get 
 No) Satisfaction"} 

 LITTLE ANTHONY 

 AND THE IMPERIALS 

When lead singer "Little Anthony" Gourdine joined the New York doo-wop

group in 1957, they were called The Chesters. A label change and a new

name, The Imperials, led to the top 5 hit record "Tears On My Pillow"

in the fall of '58. In the early weeks of 1960 the group, now called

Little Anthony And The Imperials, were climbing the charts

with their latest hit "Shimmy, Shimmy Ko-Ko-Bop."

 "Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko-Bop" 

 - Little Anthony & the Imperials 
 (Jan./Feb. 1960, highest chart pos. 

 #14 R&B/#21 Cash Box/#24 Hot 100) 

 CHUBBY CHECKER 

Written in 1949, the dance ditty "The Hucklebuck" was a top 5

hit for Tommy Dorsey and a top 10 hit for Frank Sinatra.

In the fall of 1960, Carolina born, Philadelphia raised

singer Ernest "Chubby Checker" Evans released

a rollicking version of the song as the follow-up

to his monster hit "The Twist." By year's end,

Chubby's "Hucklebuck" record was another

 crossover hit, reaching the top 15 on the

pop and R&B charts. 

 "The Hucklebuck" - Chubby Checker 

 (Nov./Dec. 1960, highest chart pos. 

 #13 Cash Box/#14 Hot 100/#15 R&B)  

 MARV 

 JOHNSON 

Detroit soul man Marv Johnson sang

on the first record released by the

company that became Motown.

Marv racked up million sellers

in the U.S. and was also quite

popular in Australia and the UK.

In 1960, Marv hit the top 10

Pop and came close to the #1

spot on the R&B chart with the
 infectious up tempo dance 45

"I Love the Way You Love."

 "I Love the Way You Love" - Marv Johnson 

 (Apr. 1960, highest chart pos. #2 R&B, 

 #8 Cash Box/#9 Hot 100) 

 THE EVERLY BROTHERS 

"Wake Up Little Susie," the smash

hit by The Everly Brothers, was

one of my favorite songs as a boy.

With a style that was a pleasing

blend of country, rockabilly and
rock 'n' roll, Phil & Don proved
that old school is cool. I'll never

forget that night in the late 60s

when I was listening to an

oldies radio show and was
blown away when, for the

first time, I heard the

Everlys' cool cover

of  Little Richard's

R&B hit "Lucille."  

 "Lucille" - The Everly Brothers  

 (Oct. 1960, highest chart pos. 

 #21 Hot 100/#41 Cash Box) 

 Don't miss the next 

 thrill packed episode 

 of Cruisin' coming soon! 

Have a Shady day!