LISTEN TO THIS 60 SECOND SHOW OPEN TO BECOME FAMILIAR WITH JOE NIAGARA'S VOICE:
Hello, this is Joe Niagara, and I've got a stack
of Knocked-out Niagara Nifties of the Past.
If you're ready... this Rockin' Bird will fly!
CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!
(COLD SHOW OPEN)
"Sorry (I Ran All The Way Home)" - The Impalas
(May 1959, highest chart pos. #2 Hot 100 & Cash Box,
#14 R&B, perf. on Dick Clark's Sat. Night Beechnut Show)
We're off and running with "Sorry (I Ran All The Way Home),"
a top 3 platter from 1959 by The Impalas, a doo-wop quartet
from Brooklyn, New York, with three white members and
black lead singer Joe "Speedo" Frazier, no relation to
Joe Frazier the boxing champ. That record soared like
a bird to the #2 spot on the pop chart and stayed there,
held back by two #1 charting hits - "The Happy Organ"
held back by two #1 charting hits - "The Happy Organ"
by Dave "Baby" Cortez and "Kansas City,"
the smash by Wilbert Harrison.
Hello again, I'm Joe Niagara -"The Rockin' Bird" - veteran radio
Hello again, I'm Joe Niagara -"The Rockin' Bird" - veteran radio
personality from Wibbage - WIBG Philadelphia, now coming
to you on S-P-M-M... the station that's #1 for music and fun.
You're listening to the debut of my new show Joe Niagara's
Knocked Out Nifties of the Past featuring the great sounds
of doo-wop, rock 'n' roll, rhythm & blues and classic soul
from the 1950s and 60s, the kind of tuneage you enjoy
hearing me play on Wibbage. I put down a wailin'
pound of sound... so without further
delay, on with the show!
Stay out on the floor.
You'll be beggin' for
more when you hear
this next Niagara Nifty.
This little cat takes a
toe hold, cuts from
the heels and POW!
CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!
It's Roy Tyson, only 12 years old
when he waxed this ton of a tune--
"Oh What a Night For Love!"
"Oh What a Night For Love" - Roy Tyson
(Dec. 1963, highest chart pos. #106 Bubbling Under)
Bubbling Under the Hot 100 at
Christmas time 1963, that was
young R&B artist Roy Tyson
with a rousing up tempo record,
a song written by Lloyd Price--
"Oh What a Night For Love."
The Rockin' Bird knockin' you out
with my Nifties of the Past, and here,
from the vaults of Atlantic Records,
is a doo-wop relic that missed the
chart but went straight to the heart.
Listen now to the terrific sound of
the mixed race, New York-based
group Tex And The Chex as they
sing-- "I Do Love You."
CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!
"I Do Love You" - Tex And The Chex
(Aug. 1961, uncharted)
The stuff that dreams are made of..."I Do Love You," a lost
musical treasure by no-hit-wonders Tex and the Chex... an
act that evolved into a pop/rock group called The Magicians.
If you're just tuning in, you're listening
to Joe Niagara, The Rockin' Bird from
Wibbage, W-I-B-G in Philadelphia...
moonlighting as a new member of
The Shady Bunch DJ team here
on S-P-M-M Retrosonic Radio.
CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!
We're right smack dab in the middle
of a 7-song non-stop block party
and there ain't no stoppin' us now!
I told you so... on this one. I said it
would be a hit and it is. Eddie Floyd
on Where The Action Is doing his
chart-topper-- "Knock On Wood!"
"Knock On Wood" - Eddie Floyd
(Sept./Oct. 1966, highest chart pos.
#1 R&B/#28 Hot 100/#41 Cash Box, perf.
on Nov. 1, 1966, ep. of Where The Action Is)
Doing his signature song "Knock On Wood" on Dick Clark's
Where The Action Is, that was Stax R&B great Eddie Floyd.
Hard to believe Eddie's record barely cracked the Billboard
Top 30 and missed the Cash Box top 40 entirely, but it shot
to number one on the Black Singles chart in October 1966.
The song returned to the chart in 1979 as a chart-topping
disco hit for Amii Stewart. Niagara says the original is
still the greatest... Eddie Floyd's "Knock On Wood."
Up next The Kodaks of Newark, NJ.
Formed in the mid 50s as an all boy
group, The Kodaks didn't click until
they added a female lead singer.
Her name was Pearl McKinnon,
a young lady with a powerful
voice who sounded a lot like
boy star Frankie Lymon. With
their new lineup, The Kodaks
hoped to become as big as
Frankie and his group
The Teenagers.
The Kodaks were popular in Jersey, New York and along
the East Coast, but failed to catch on nationally, possibly
due to confusion over their name. Some of their records
were released as by The Kodaks while others were
were credited to The Kodoks to avoid a lawsuit
from Eastman Kodak. Niagara says they're
the real deal. Listen as Pearl McKinnon
and her group The Kodoks sing--
"Little Boy And Girl!"
CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!
"Little Boy And Girl"
The Kodoks (The Kodaks)
featuring Pearl McKinnon
(Sept. 1957, uncharted)
The Kodaks aka The Kodoks,
featuring the lead vocals of
Frankie Lymon sound-alike
Pearl McKinnon, singing
"Little Boy And Girl," the
up tempo fab flip of their
first single... the ballad
"Teenager's Dream."
Hey, give me the title,
then sing your song!
CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!
THE VIDEO NOW!
"Long Lonely Nights" - Lee Andrews
And The Hearts (Aug. 1957, highest chart
pos. #11 R&B/#33 Cash Box/#45 Hot 100)
Born in Carolina, raised right here in Philly, that was Lee Andrews
with his vocal group The Hearts brushing the top 10 on the R&B
chart with their breakthrough hit "Long Lonely Nights." By the
way, the original release of that 45 on the green colored
Philadelphia label Main Line is now worth hundreds
of dollars to record collectors.
That does it for my first show.
I hope you dug my spun gold
because I'll be back before you
know it with another stack of
Knocked Out Niagara Nifties
of the Past here on S-P-M-M,
your number one station for a
rock & roll nation. How about
one last song for the road?
CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!
You're listening to the exciting
sound of The Mar-Keys, the
house band at the legendary
Stax/Volt studio in Memphis,
playing us off with "Last
Night," their top 3 charting
instrumental from 1961.
Stick around. Coming up on the flip side of news, it's the
premiere of another new Shady Bunch show, Beth Boland's
Adrenaline Rush. This is Joe Niagara - The Rockin' Bird -
saying thanks for joining me and so long for now!
"Last Night" - The Mar-Keys
(July/Aug. 1961, highest chart pos.
#2 R&B/#3 Hot 100 & Cash Box)
#2 R&B/#3 Hot 100 & Cash Box)
