Strange Magic Being Erica - Vol. 2: Right Place - Wrong Time

BOOTH ANNOUNCER GARY OWENS:

...and the cow was returned to its rightful owner.

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S T R A N G E   M A G I C

B E I N G   E R I C A

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

"Got My Mind Set On You" - George Harrison

(Dec. 1987/Jan. 1988, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100 & Cash Box)

Kicking-off the show, that
was George Harrison with

"Got My Mind Set On You,"

one of three chart-topping

hits for Harrison as a solo

artist. As you well know,

George was a great song-

writer, but "Got My Mind

Set On You" is actually a

cover of a song originally

waxed in 1962 by James

Ray, an American

R&B singer.

Hello again! I'm

Erica Strange.
As you might recall,
I'm the time traveling
main character on the
Canadian TV dramedy

Being Erica.

Welcome to the second edition of

S T R A N G E   M A G I C

B E I N G   E R I C A

coming to you exclusively here on S-P-M-M

Retrosonic Radio. I'm excited to be moonlighting

as a member of The Shady Bunch deejay staff.

Strange Magic Being Erica
brings you the greatest
soft rock, new wave and
pop sounds of the 70s
and 80s. Sometimes I'll
even take you all the way

back to the late 60s.

On my Being Erica TV series
I change clothes a lot. I'll be

doing the same thing here on

S-P-M-M... even though I'm

hosting a radio show. Hey,

don't laugh. It makes

perfect sense to me!

Okay, let's get back to

the music and the magic.

By now you might know

that I love ELO.

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

Electric Light Orchestra is the Beatlesque English band co-founded

and led by Jeff Lynne. Here's a song that literally came from

Out of the Blue, ELO's 1977 album- "Sweet Talkin' Woman!"

"Sweet Talkin' Woman" - Electric Light Orchestra

(Mar./April 1978, highest chart pos. #17 Hot 100/#18 Cash Box)

From the spring of 1978 that was

ELO doing "Sweet Talkin' Woman,"

a single that brushed the top 5 in

the UK and went top 20 stateside.

You're time traveling with Erica
and up next is Phil Seymour,
a talented singer, songwriter,
drummer and musician from
the American heartland.

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

Phil played drums and bass and

sang with the Dwight Twilley Band.

He then went solo and had a hit

with a song he wrote--

"Precious To Me." 

"Precious To Me" - Phil Seymour

(Feb./Mar. 1981, highest chart pos. #22 Hot 100/#29 Cash Box)

From Oklahoma, that was Phil Seymour with his only hit,

"Precious To Me." The single brushed the top 20 in

the late winter and early spring of 1981. Sadly,

Phil took ill and died at the age of 41.

CLICK TO START VIDEO!

Now here's another gifted singer, songwriter

and musician, Gary Wright. Gary was a child

actor and later a member of the British rock

band Spooky Tooth. As a solo artist in the

mid 70s, Gary and his two hit singles

helped establish the synthesizer as an

important instrument in pop and rock.

The first of those hit songs is the one

you're hearing right now. The title

is an expression made popular by

John Lennon in his 1970 song

"God." Here's Gary Wright on

The Midnight Special doing  his

signature song "Dream Weaver"

"Dream Weaver" - Gary Wright" - George Harrison

(Feb./Mar. 1976, highest chart pos. #1 Cash Box/#2 Hot 100)

That was Gary Wright doing his breakthrough

hit "Dream Weaver," a single that went all the

way to #1 on the Cash Box chart, but stopped

at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, denied the

top spot by two other records, The Four

Seasons' "December, 1963 (Oh, What a

Night)" and Johnnie Taylor's "Disco Lady." 

CLICK TO START VIDEO!

If you're just tuning in, I'm Erica Strange

and this is Strange Magic Being Erica...

We're plowing through 7-in-a-row on

S-P-M-M. Now here's another cool

sound of the 70s by the British glam

band The Sweet. Check 'em out as

they do their last international hit--

"Love Is Like Oxygen!"

"Love Is Like Oxygen" - Sweet

(May/June 1978, highest chart pos. #8 Hot 100 & Cash Box)

The Sweet sound of success - 

a top 10 U.S. hit for the

Brit glam rockers in

the spring of 1978.

START THE VIDEO NOW!

Erica Strange keeping you company on

S-P-M-M Retro Radio. Earlier, we saw

and heard Gary Wright in the mid 70s

singing about the "Dream Weaver."

Here's another dreamy song that

was hot more than a decade later.

It's by Debbie Gibson, the pride

of Long Island, New York. Here's

Debbie with her gem of the dance-

pop freestyle genres, her debut

single "Only In My Dreams!"

"Only In My Dreams" (retro-mix) - Debbie Gibson

(July/Aug. 1987, highest chart pos. #4 Hot 100/#6 Cash Box)

From the spring and summer of 1987, that was Debbie Gibson with

"Only In My Dreams," a record that spent a whopping 28 weeks

on the chart and reached its zenith in the top 5 on the Hot 100.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Remember the episode of my television series Being Erica (above) when

I traveled back to the year 1969 and wore that groovy multi-colored dress?

How I wish I could have just stayed there forever. But, to my dismay,

when I blinked my eyes, I found myself stranded here in 2022.

Let me tell you, I was in the right place... but I must have

picked the wrong time. This guy knows what

I'm talking about. Here's Dr. John!  

"Right Place Wrong Time" - Dr. John

(June/July 1973, highest chart pos. #9 Hot 100/#11 Cash Box)

From the spring and summer

of 1973, you just listened to

"Right Place Wrong Time"
performed by one of the

pioneers of swamp rock -

zinger and piano player

Malcolm Rebennack,

better known as "Mac"

and best known as Dr. John.

The platter finished in the

top 10, making it the

biggest hit of his career.

Oh my, Shady just drew his finger across

his throat, the signal for me to "cut," and
that means I need to wrap up my second
show here on S-P-M-M. Before I forget,
I want to invite you to watch my TV
series Being Erica, now streaming
on Hulu and on Amazon Prime.

START THE VIDEO NOW!

To play us off, here's another one from ELO,

the theme song of my show, "Strange Magic."

Stick around. Coming up on the B side of

news, it's The Rockin' Bird, Joe Niagara,

who will spin a stack of knocked out nifties

of the past, and I'll be back soon with more

songs from the soundtrack of your youth on

Strange Magic Being Erica. See you then!

"Strange Magic" - Electric Light Orchestra

(Apr./May 1976, highest chart pos. #14 Hot 100 & Cash Box)

Whodunit?... with Nick and Audrey Spitz - Volume 2: Living Next Door To Alice

We're back... and that's a fack, Jack!

Hi, everybody! Remember us from last year?

We're those lovable Jennifer Aniston and

Adam Sandler look-alikes, Nick and

Audrey Spitz, stars of the hit Netflix

original movie Murder Mystery.

As you can see, we're still playing detective, examining

clues and trying to figure out who did the dastardly deed -

Miss Scarlett, Colonel Mustard or Mrs. Peacock.

While we try to solve our case, let's play another round of Whodunit.
Remember the rules? We'll give you the titles of 7 hit records along
with some additional clues. See if you can tell us Whodunit - who
is the artist, group or band that recorded the song?

If you're ready to play, let's put the pedal to the metal and find out
if you're just a garden variety gumshoe... or a first class dick.

RECORD #1:

In late 1982, "Everybody Wants You"
reached #1 on the Mainstream Rock
chart. The song was written and
recorded by a Boston area artist
known for his string of arena
rock hits of the 1980s which
also included "The Stroke"
and "Rock Me Tonite."

WHODUNIT?

RECORD #2:

Recorded by a London-based glam rock band, the bubblegum pop single
"Sugar Baby Love" topped the UK chart four weeks in a row in May 1974.
In the late summer that year the single brushed the top 30 stateside.

WHODUNIT?

RECORD #3:

In the summer of 1979 "Makin' It," the theme from a short-lived
television sitcom that revolved around the disco culture,
reached the top 5 on the pop chart. The song was
recorded by the actor who starred in the show.

WHODUNIT?

RECORD #4:

In the early weeks of 1977 the single "Living Next Door To Alice"
went top 3 in the UK and reached the top 20 in America. It was
waxed by an English rock band led by singer Chris Norman.

WHODUNIT?

RECORD #5:

In 1976 "Love Is The Drug," a single by an English glam
art rock band fronted by Bryan Ferry, peaked at #2
in the UK and cracked the top 30 stateside.

WHODUNIT?

RECORD #6:

In the spring of 1981 the smooth groove ballad "How 'Bout Us"
went top 5 R&B and top 10 pop. The song was recorded by a
seven member R&B band named after their hometown in Illinois.

WHODUNIT?

RECORD #7:

In 1963 this Scottish singer was billed as Johnny Cymbal when he
gained a top 20 hit in the U.S. with the novelty rock 'n' roll number
"Mr. Bass Man." In early 1969, using a different stage name, he
scored a top 10 hit with the bubblegum ditty "Cinnamon."

WHODUNIT?

SCROLL DOWN TO FIND OUT WHODUNIT!

RECORD #1:

Around Christmas, 1982, the single "Everybody Wants You" recorded by
this Beantown rocker topped the Mainstream Rock chart. His name is

 BILLY SQUIER  

"Everybody Wants You" - Billy Squier

(Dec. 1982, highest chart pos. #1 Mainstream Rock,

#31 Cash Box/#32 Hot 100)

RECORD #2:

In 1974 these glam rockers from London topped the UK chart with
the bubblegum pop song "Sugar Baby Love," a single that made
a run at the top 30 in the U.S. They were known as

 THE RUBETTES 

"Sugar Baby Love" - The Rubettes

(Aug./Sept. 1974, highest chart pos.
#30 Cash Box/#37 Hot 100/#1 UK)

RECORD #3:

He sang the theme song and starred in the disco oriented 1979 sitcom Makin' It.
The TV series lasted only eight episodes because the U.S. was experiencing a
backlash against disco. Watch Erik Estrada as he does his best Travolta
in episode 1 of season 2 of CHiPs dancing to the song made famous by

 DAVID NAUGHTON 

"Makin' It" - David Naughton

(June/July 1979, highest chart pos. #5 Hot 100 & Cash Box,

scene from Sept. 16, 1978, ep. of TV series CHiPs)

RECORD #4:

Led by English soft rock singer Chris Norman, this band had a hit
on both sides of the pond in 1977 with "Living Next Door To Alice."
The band's name is

 SMOKIE 

"Living Next Door To Alice" - Smokie

(Jan./Feb. 1977, highest chart pos. #18 Cash Box/#25 Hot 100/#3 UK)

RECORD #5:

In the mid and late 80s, British singer and songwriter Bryan Ferry
had a successful career as a solo recording artist. Before that he
was frontman of the glam rock band that had a top 3 hit in the
UK and a top 30 hit in the U.S. with "Love Is The Drug."
They called themselves

 ROXY MUSIC 

"Love Is The Drug" - Roxy Music

(Feb./Mar. 1976, highest chart pos.

#24 Cash Box/#30 Hot 100/#2 UK)

RECORD #6:

In 1981 their quiet storm ballad "How 'Bout Us" was a crossover hit.
They took their name from their hometown in Illinois. They are

 CHAMPAGNE 

"How 'Bout Us" - Champagne

(Apr./May 1981, highest chart pos.

#4 R&B/#10 Cash Box/#12 Hot 100)

RECORD #7:

In the early 60s he was known as Johnny Cymbal and performed

rock 'n' roll.  In 1969 he scored a top 10 bubblegum pop hit

with "Cinnamon" using the stage name

 DEREK 

"Cinnamon" - Derek

(Dec. 1968/Jan. 1969, highest chart pos.

#10 Cash Box/#11 Hot 100)

Okay let's find out how well you did on the quiz.

Use the scoring system below to determine

your music detective I.Q.

ALL 7 CORRECT

Holy moly, if you correctly named all 7 artists, you're a super sleuth!

You will be inducted into the Music Detective Hall of Fame

and the Whodunit Record Book.

6 CORRECT

BOOM! No shame whatsoever. I spy a budding private eye. You put the

Mike Hammer down. Charlie Chan - U Da Man. Way to go, Columbo!

5 CORRECT

Nice try, Sherlock! You're a middling, mediocre Magnum, P.I.

Looks like Popeye Doyle could use a little oil. You're no

Dick Tracy and you sure as hell aren't Cagney & Lacey!

3 OR 4 CORRECT

What the hay, at least you gave it your best shot (and failed).
Nancy Drew sure ain't you! Philip Trent got up and went.
Adrian Monk got no spunk. Inspector Clouseau's
got a long way to go!

1 OR 2 CORRECT

No! Not good! Bad! Face it. You're a defective detective!

Boston Blackie? Not exactly! Bulldog Drummond's got fleas!

Philip Marlowe set the bar low!

0 (ZERO) CORRECT

TIMBER! You flunked the course! Sam Spade fell asleep in the shade.

Holy dumbed-down Barney Fife, Batman! Peter Gunn ain't got none.

Nero Wolfe's been outfoxed. Kojak? NO, Jack!

Shhhhhh! We need you to keep this on the down low because we're still

working our Murder Mystery, but you'll be happy to know that we'll be

back soon to play another exciting game of Whodunit? Stick around!