Brian Griffin's Eclectic Avenue - Vol. 1: Five O'Clock World

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

 BRIAN GRIFFIN'S  
 ECLECTIC AVENUE 

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

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

(COLD SHOW OPEN)

"Bird Is The Word" - Peter Griffin

(cover of "Surfin' Bird" by The Trashmen

on episode of Family Guy, original single

Dec. 1963/Jan. 1964, highest chart pos.

#4 Hot 100 & Cash Box)

That was my human (and I use the word loosely) Peter Griffin, kicking off

my first official radio show with "Bird Is The Word," a mind-numbing cover
of  "Surfin' Bird," a top 5 hit by The Trashmen. The song is a combination

of two earlier hits, "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" and "The Bird's The Word,"

by the R&B group The Rivingtons. The Trashmen are remembered as

one of the leading landlocked Midwestern surf rock groups of the 60s.

Hello, everybody! I'm Brian Griffin from Family Guy, pleased as punch to

have landed a gig as a Shady Bunch DJ here on S-P-M-M Radio. I aim to fleas

with my new show Eclectic Avenue, a mongrel mix of tunes - something old,

something new, something borrowed (cool covers) and something blues.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Let's keep the ball rolling (into my open jaws) with another sound
of the 60s, a song adopted as the theme of the hit television series

The Drew Carey Show. The Vogues sing-- "Five O'Cock World!"

"Five O'Clock World" - The Vogues

(Dec. 1965/Jan. 1966, highest chart pos. #3 Cash Box,

#4 Hot 100, opening theme of The Drew Carey Show)

Arguably the greatest opening sequence in television history, that was

the fantastic music video created for The Drew Carey Show with the cast

doing a nifty choreographed dance production to "Five O'Clock World."

The song was a top 5 hit for The Vogues, a group from Turtle Creek,

PA, near Pittsburgh. (I once took a tinkle in Turtle Creek.) Hey it's

five o'clock somewhere and I think I'll have me another martini.

If you're just tuning in, I'm your

mangy musical mutt, Brian Griffin

- The Pooch with the Hooch -

and we're taking a stroll down

Eclectic Avenue here on S-P-M-M

where all the cool oldies come to play.

Here's a record that station manager

Shady hounded me to put on my playlist

because it's one of his favorites. Okay,

Shady, I'll throw you a bone (as long

as you return the favor).

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

It's the smooth soul sound of The Friends of Distinction.
-- "Love Or Let Me Be Lonely!"

"Love Or Let Me Be Lonely" - The Friends Of Distinction

(Apr. 1970, highest chart pos. #6 Hot 100/#8 Cash Box/#13 R&B)

They are very special friends indeed - Friends of Distinction - a sophisticated
soul group from la-la land, with "Love Or Let Me Be Lonely," a 1970 single
that performed even better on the pop chart than it did on the R&B survey.

Brian Griffin here on S-P-M-M...

the #1 station for a rock & roll nation,

and you're tuned to Eclectic Avenue,

a little bit of this, a little bit of that, 

and all of it certified K-9 cool.

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

As we continue to bop down Eclectic Avenue, let's take

a detour and rock down to "Electric Avenue" with

Eddy Grant, founder of The Equals, one of the

UK's first mixed race bands of the 60s!

"Electric Avenue" - Eddy Grant

(May/June/July 1983, highest chart pos.

#1 Cash Box/#2 Hot 100/#18 R&B)

That was Guyanese-British zinger and musician Eddy Grant ripping off my

"Eclectic Avenue" idea with a song called "Electric Avenue." Eddy's single

was one of the biggest hits of 1983, yet failed to reach #1 on the Billboard

chart. It spent 5 weeks at #2 bumping its head on songs that leapfrogged

over it to the top. "Electric Avenue" was held back from the #1 spot by

"Flashdance...What A Feeling," Irene Cara's theme from the hit movie,

and by "Every Breath You Take" by The Police. "Electric Avenue"

got the job done on Cash Box, reaching #1 for a single week.

Your dial is set to S-P-M-M and this is

Eclectic Avenue with your lovable

lapdogBrian Griffin, playing an

exciting blend of tunes to keep your

fingers snappin' and your toes tappin'.

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

Here's one that's never fails to get my tail waggin'.

It's English/Aussie goddess Olivia Newton-John

transforming her image from good girl to

Totally Hot with-- "A Little More Love!"

"A Little More Love" - Olivia Newton-John

(Jan./Feb. 1979, highest chart pos. #3 Hot 100/#4 Cash Box)

Ahhh yes, folks... in my dreams I'm dancing with her leg.

That was dazzling damsel Libby Newton-John with her

worldwide hit "A Little More  Love," the lead single

from her 1978 album Totally Hot.

You're taking a musical trip down Eclectic Avenue

here on S-P-M-M, the station with personality,

and I'm your host Brian Griffin, the tyke

you can't help but like.

Ya know, folks, it would be a cryan shame if

I didn't include this great sound of the 60s on

my first blogcast. From Chicago they came...

The Cryan Shames their name. 

CLICK TO START VIDEO!

In 1966 The Shames had a hot regional hit with this cool cover of
a song originally waxed by The Searchers-- "Sugar And Spice."

"Sugar And Spice" - The Cryan Shames

(Aug. 1966, highest chart pos. #49 Hot 100/#52 Cash Box)

From the summer of '66, "Sugar and Spice" by the Windy City
garage rock band The Cryan Shames, covering a 1964 hit by
the Liverpool band The Searchers, a song written and record
produced by Tony Hatch. The song makes reference to the
nursery rhyme What Are Little Girls Made Of? and also
borrows from the Pete Seeger - Lee Hays song "Kisses
Sweeter Than Wine," a hit for Jimmie Rodgers in 1957.

Well I'll be doggone, the show's over and it's time for me to chase my
tail out the door. Thanks for inviting me into your home and letting me
jump all over the furniture. Sorry I spilled my martini on your La-Z-Boy.
(Try a mixture of white vinegar and baking soda.) Stay tuned for my
good buddy Dr. Don Rose coming up on the flip side of news with
his Rose-Colored Glasses... and I'll be back in a jiffy with more
jarring juxtapositions on my really big shoe Eclectic Avenue.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Till then this is Brian Griffin, Your Pooch with the Hooch, saying
goodbye. I leave you with The Star Sisters, a Dutch trio from the
pop cover band Stars on 45, taking you all the way back to the
WWII era with their Andrews Sisters medley. See ya!

"The Star Sisters Medley" (Andrews Sisters medley of:
"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" - "South American Way" -
"Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen" - "In The Mood" -
"Rum And Coca Cola" - "Tico Tico" -
and "Say Si Si (Para Vigo Me Voy)" -
Stars On 45 Proudly Presents The Star Sisters

(Aug. 1983, highest chart pos. #107 U.S. Bubbling Under,
perf. on German music television show ZDF Kultnacht)