UNDERACHIEVERS! The 50 Most Underrated Records of the 1960s, Pt. 1

 BEFORE WE BEGIN THE POST, 

 I PROUDLY PRESENT ANOTHER 

 EXHIBIT IN MY SERIES... 

  SHADY DELL 

 SHOW AND TELL! 

 “The Mystery of the Cup” 

 NEVER BEFORE SEEN ON EITHER 

 OF MY BLOGS...THIS ULTRA-RARE 

 SHADY DELL SOUVENIR PLASTIC 

 DRINKING CUP, GENEROUSLY 

 DONATED BY OUR GOOD 

 FRIEND JIM SIELING! 

 Cup measures 5.5 inches in height 

 and 3.5 inches at top lip. 

Jim says he has five of these cups.  Former Dell owner Toni Deroche

told me her son Brandon had one cup back in the 2000s when he

lived at the Dell with members of his band The Underwater.

However, Bran's collector cup vanished at some point.

 WHAT'S THE STORY 

 BEHIND THESE CUPS? 

 WHO CREATED THEM? 

 WERE THEY PRINTED AND 

 SOLD AT THE DELL AUCTION? 

 EVER SEEN ONE BEFORE? 

 DO YOU OWN ONE OR MORE? 

 PLEASE LET US HEAR FROM YOU 

 IF YOU CAN HELP SOLVE... 

 “The Mystery of the Cup”  

 NOW, ON WITH THE SHOW! 

 Hi! I'm 

 Shady Blue... 

one of the founding fathers

of the Shady Bunch DJ team

on S-P-M-M Retrosonic Radio.

I host an oldies show called 

 STUCK LIKE GLUE  

 on SHADY BLUE  

 And I'm 

 Shady Green... 

one of the other original

Shady Bunch DJs here

at Shady's Place and

your Host with the Most

on a magic carpet ride back

to the Swingin' Sixties called

 SHADY GREEN 
 AND HIS 

 WAYBACK MACHINE 

Starting today, Blue and Green collide.

 We're joining forces to bring you a 5-part, 50-song series

dedicated to great records of the 1960s that shoulda been,

coulda been and woulda been major hits but, for some

reason, failed to get the attention they deserved

at the time of their release.

 Along with the records we're playing, we've hung cool vintage

artwork and illustrations on the walls to enhance the mood.

  Listen to the first 10 songs and let me know in your comment:

 How many of these long lost relics do you remember or like? 

  Okay, start clicking and enjoy the tuneage in Part 1 of my series...

 UNDERACHIEVERS! 

 The 50 Most Underrated 

 Records of the 1960s! 

"Stubborn Kind Of Fellow" - Marvin Gaye

(Oct./Nov. 1962, highest chart pos. #36 Cash Box,

#46 Hot 100/#8 R&B)

"One of the very best records of Marvin's career, yet it fell short

of the Billboard Top 40. Outrageous!... a travesty!" - Shady Blue 

 CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW TO PLAY SONG 

 CLICK ON IMAGE ABOVE TO PLAY SONG 

"Hey Sah-Lo-Ney" - Mickey Lee Lane

(July 1965, uncharted)

"Uncharted??? Unbelievable!  Mickey Lee's record rocks big time!

Good to know the ditty was hot across the pond... a genuine

 'Northern Soul stomper' played heavily in dance clubs

of northern England." - Shady Green

"The Boy From Crosstown" - The Angels

(Oct. 1964, uncharted)

"Uncharted??? You gotta be kidding!  This song surpasses

'Boyfriend's Back' as the toughest, most streetwise sound

generated by this great pop girl group!" - Shady Blue

"That's Cool, That's Trash" - The Street Cleaners

(Nov. 1964, uncharted)

"Uncharted???  No way!  This slab's too cool for school! Penned

by Steve Barri and P.F. Sloan and covered a few months later

by The Kingsmen, this frat rockin' party platter belongs

in the soundtrack of Animal House.

Ain't gonna be any dancin' on the kissin' floor!"

- Shady Green

"You've Been Untrue" - The Delfonics 

(Apr. 1967, uncharted)

"Uncharted??? Didn't even make a dent in the R&B survey? 

 I'm flabbergasted!  One of greatest songs in the entire Delfonics

catalog, this exquisite sweet soul ballad is one of the essential

building blocks of The Sound of Philadelphia." - Shady Blue

"Mr. Dieingly Sad" - The Critters

(Sept./Oct. 1966, highest chart pos. #14 Cash Box,

#17 Hot 100/#17 Canada)

"Failed to reach the top 15 on Billboard?  Makes no sense to me!

This groovy, beautifully written song deserved to wind up

in the top 5 winner's circle!" - Shady Green

"Uncharted??? I call bullcrap!!!

"Homicide Dresser" - Billy Harner

(Oct. 1967, uncharted)

This rowdy Northern Soul cult classic by

East Coast blue-eyed soul shouter Billy Harner

aka 'The Human Percolator'  deserved to bust

into the top 40 at the very least!" - Shady Blue

"California Nights" - Lesley Gore

(Mar./Apr. 1967, highest chart pos. #11 Cash Box,

#16 Hot 100/#15 Canada)

"14 weeks on the chart and still peaked outside the top 15 on

Billboard? I'm flummoxed!  Co-written by Marvin Hamlisch

 and produced by veteran hitmaker Bob Crewe, this great

single deserved to reach the top 3." - Shady Green

"Hold On" - The Radiants

 (Apr./May 1968, highest chart pos.

#35 R&B/#68 Hot 100)

('Keep on rockin, baby... cause you only (WOO-HOOO!)

rock once!') "A soul essential that recalls the glory years of

The Geator (Jerry Blavat), Hy Lit, Georgie Woods, Porky

Chedwick and other great record spinners of the 60s.

 Featuring Mitchell Bullock on lead, here are Chicago's Radiants

with the hottest sound around in the spring of '68, but a true

underachiever that missed the Top 30 on the R&B chart

and stopped well short of the Top 50 on the pop survey.

Shirley you jest!" - Shady Blue

"I Wonder (If Your Love Will Ever Belong To Me)"

- Rick Nelson  (May 1964, uncharted)

"Uncharted??? Well 'I Wonder' what gives!  Okay, I know

darned well why Rick's superb cover of a 1961 record by a black

doo-wop group called The Pentagons failed to register on the chart.

 It's because the song went to waste issued as the B side of a single.

If only the Rickster's rendition had been released as an A side,

it coulda been and woulda been a hit!" - Shady Green

Okay, how many of these

underappreciated and

underachieving records

of the 1960s do you

remember? Do you

like any of them

so much that you're

 STUCK 

 LIKE GLUE?  

Did these moldy oldies

make you feel like you

just took a trip in my

 WAYBACK 

 MACHINE? 

Stick around!

 There are 4 more parts of this series...

40 more songs that need your love and

a forever home on your record player.

See you soon on the next edition of

 UNDERACHIEVERS! 

 The 50 Most Underrated 

 Records of the 1960s! 

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)