Joyce Martin's a Gold Digger - Vol 2: Gettin' Together

Hi again! I'm Joyce Martin.

I'm sure you remember
me from my previous
appearances here at
Shady's Place.

As you recall, I'm a good girl breaking bad... falling under
the influence of the mean girl gang known as the

I'm just trying to

fit in, but ever since

I got mixed up with

The Hellcats... my

grades have been

slipping and my

folks have been

on my case.

Not knowing which way to turn for help, I found a friend in
Professor Shady Del Knight who offered to be my sugar daddy

private tutor and help me bring up my grades. To earn extra

credit, I am doing a special research project for Professor

Knight and hosting this series at Shady's Place. It's called

Joyce Martin's  a  Gold Digger!

In each volume I display vintage top tunes surveys,

the hit parades distributed by radio stations in the
50s and 60s. Next I go digging for gold - picking
a favorite song from each list and playing it for

your listening and dancing pleasure.

I'm lucky to have this

chance to make good,

so... if you're ready...

let's dig some gold!

WNOW 1250 AM YORK

Today I'm featuring the playlists of radio
stations across Pennsylvania. Let's begin
with the survey above, issued by WNOW
12-5-0 Radio in York, Professor Shady's
hometown. It's the week of June 25,
1961, and I'm poring over WNOW's
Fabulous Forty. I think I'll play #7,
"The Boll Weevil Song," an adap-
tation of a traditional folk song
by Brook Benton with backing
by The Mike Stewart Singers,

a top 3 crossover hit nationally.

"The Boll Weevil Song" -
Brook Benton (June/July 1961,
highest chart pos. #2 Hot 100,
#2 Cash Box/#2 R&B)

WRAW 1340 AM READING

Our next stop is Reading and WRAW 1340,
another station with a Fabulous Forty. It's the
week of April 7, 1967, and I'm choosing survey
sound #36 - pop crooner Andy Williams doing

"Music To Watch Girls By," a vocal version of a
hit instrumental by The Bob Crewe Generation.

"Music To Watch Girls By" - Andy Williams

Apr. 1967, highest chart position
#34 Hot 100, #50 Cash Box)

 WLAN 1390 AM LANCASTER

We now head southwest to Prof. Shady's

old stomping ground and a visit to Lancaster,

home of station WLAN 1390. My pick comes

from the Super Heart Survey for the week of
October 7, 1967. It's Tommy James And The
Shondells with "Gettin' Together," a record
that merely cracked the top 20 nationally
but made the top 5 in Lancaster. This week
it's hanging on to the #12 spot. Here's an
ultra rare video of Tommy and his group
performing the song on the TV show
The Village Square which at the time
originated from Atlanta, Georgia!

"Gettin' Together" - Tommy James
And The Shondells (Sept./Oct. 1967,
highest chart pos. #14 Cash Box,
#18 Hot 100, live perf. on TV show
The Village Square, Atlanta, GA)

 WQTW 1570 AM LATROBE

I'm digging this gold. Hope you are, too.

We now travel all the way back out west to

Latrobe, famous for the brewing company
that makes Rolling Rock Beer. It's June 9,
 1967, and I'm plucking a song from the
WQTW 1570 Good Guy Hot Prospects,
 a list of records that are bubbling under
the top 30 in Latrobe this week. It's an
uncanny sound from the garage rock
band The Seeds, the first song they
recorded. When first released in 1965,
it was only a regional hit in California,
but when re-released in '67 it brushed
the top 40 nationally. Here now are
Sky Saxon and The Seeds with--
"Can't Seem To Make You Mine!"

"Can't Seem To Make You Mine" - The Seeds

(May/June 1967, highest chart pos.

#41 Hot 100/#55 Cash Box)

WOW! My request hotline is lighting up! 

A guy named Frankie is calling from a Muscle Beach bikini & pajama party,

and he wants to hear a song by his favorite girl-popper, Annette Funicello.

         WSBA 910 AM YORK

In that case, let's travel all the way

back across the commonwealth to

Professor Shady's hometown, York,

and a top tunes list issued by WSBA
"Hi-Fi Radio 910" later to be called
"The Nifty 9-10" and ultimately
"The Mighty 910." It's the week

of September 17, 1960, and I'm
gonna play #13 on the survey
"Pineapple Princess," a ukelele
song by Mouseketeer Annette
that brushed the top 10 on
the Billboard Hot 100.

"Pineapple Princess" - Annette

(Sept./Oct. 1960, highest chart pos.
#11 Hot 100/#15 Cash Box)

Oh shoot-- Professor Shady's waving me off!

  It time for the last play of the day, and a look at

one more vintage radio station top tunes survey.

KDKA 1020 AM PITTSBURGH

From station KDKA 1020 AM in Pittsburgh, here above is a survey listing

the top hits of 1964. I'm spinning the #6 song that year, a single by the English

rock & roll band The Dave Clark Five. This is the band's first big hit, the echo-

drenched, sax-driven, call-and-response style song that ignited their rivalry

with The Beatles and launched the British Invasion. Here are the DC5

with their big beat biggie from the spring of '64-- "Glad All Over!"

"Glad All Over" - The Dave Clark Five

(Mar./Apr. 1964, highest chart pos. #5 Cash Box/#6 Hot 100)/#1 UK)

I hope you dug this gold.

Please join me for vol. 3 of

Joyce Martin's
 a  Gold Digger.

coming soon!

Vinyl Gladiators Fight to the Finish!

 Welcome to 

Vinyl Gladiators, 

 another variation of my song cover 

 competition heretofore known as 

 Winning Hand... Version Sacrifice... 

 and BATTLE OF THE BANNED. 

 Today I present a lurid spectacle 

 staged solely for your amusement! 

Covers of popular songs will do battle today as you sit comfortably in your box seat

in the amphitheater eating grapes, getting a massage and having your feet washed.

The fate of these brave warriors rests in your hands. How many of them, if any,

 will survive the day? Let the squeamish be forewarned. Molten wax will

surely be spilled in the course of this gruesome contest!

 The combatants have 

 entered the ring. 

 Vinyl gladiators now 

 stand before you. 
 Allow me to introduce 

 them and... let the 

 games commence! 

 BEN E. KING  

Drifters lead singer Ben E. King co-wrote and originally recorded "Stand By Me,"

a secular love song inspired by the spiritual "Lord, Stand By Me." King intended

for the song to be recorded by The Drifters but they declined. In 1961, as a solo

artist, King waxed a version that reached #1 on the R&B chart and top 5 pop.

 "Stand By Me" - Ben E. King 

 (June 1961, highest chart pos. #1 R&B/#3 Cash Box/#4 Hot 100) 

 SPYDER TURNER 

Born in Beckley (WV) and raised in the Motor City, Dwight David "Spyder"

Turner sang with doo-wop groups and signed a recording contract with

 MGM. In late 1966, Spyder released a cover of "Stand By Me."

The recording is novelty in nature because Turner imitates Ben E. King

and other R&B and soul greats including Smokey Robinson, David Ruffin,

Chuck Jackson and Billy "Motormouth" Stewart. Spyder's take on the song

made the top 3 on the R&B chart and brushed the top 10 on the pop survey.

 "Stand By Me" - Spyder Turner  

 (Jan./Feb. 1967, highest chart pos. #3 R&B, 
 #11 Cash Box/#12 Hot 100) 

As a bonus, I'd like you to see and hear this very rare clip of Spyder Turner doing

his hit on Village Square, a weekly music TV show that originated from a studio

in Charleston, SC, and was syndicated across the country from 1965 to 1968. 

 "Stand By Me" - Spyder Turner  

 (perf. on TV show The Village Square, Charleston, SC) 

 JOHN LENNON 

In February, 1975, John Lennon released a cover of "Stand By Me" on his sixth

solo studio album Rock 'n' Roll. The following month the song was released as

a single and reached the top 20 in the U.S. In April, John performed his latest

hit on the UK based TV music show The Old Grey Whistle Test.

 "Stand By Me" - John Lennon 

 (Apr./May 1975, highest chart pos. #20 Hot 100 & Cash Box, 

 perf. on Apr. 18, 1975, ep. of The Old Grey Whistle Test) 

SCARLET FEVER! 

That's right. Shady's come down with a case of scarlet fever,

because three exciting female rockers are about to join the

competition, each of them a ravishing redhead, each of

them covering an 80s hit. Let's meet the ladies now! 

 COLE ROLLAND & 

 HALOCENE feat. 

 ADDIE NICOLE 

I introduced this first fiery frontwoman

a few weeks ago in my special feature

 That Was Then - This Is Now. She's

Addie Nicole... lead singer of the

Phoenix, Arizona, band Halocene.

Once again, Addie is joined by

Canadian guitarist Cole Rolland as

they do a metal cover of Bon Jovi's

hit "You Give Love A Bad Name!" 

"You Give Love A Bad Name"

Bon Jovi  metal cover by

Cole Rolland & Halocene

(Feb. 2021) 

 ANDREEA MUNTEANU 

 & ANDREI CERBU 

Now, from Eastern Europe, and also making a return visit to Shady's Place, here's that

zesty rising star from Romania, zinger Andreea Munteanu. On her popular YouTube

channel, versatile Andreea is part pop princess and part classic rocker. Andreea

shines as lead zinger of guitar wizard Andrei Cerbu's band The Iron Cross,

and in this performance Andreea & Andrei collaborate on a cover of

English popper Samantha Fox's 1986 synth-rock hit

"Touch Me (I Want Your Body)." 

"Touch Me (I Want Your Body)" - Samantha Fox

cover by Andreea Munteanu & Andrei Cerbu (Feb. 2021) 

 SHUT UP & KISS ME! 

 feat. DARIA BAHRIN 

The third sassy redhead is Daria Bahrin,

another Romanian singer discovered by

Andrei Cerbu. Daria fronts a band of

Andrei's called Shut Up & Kiss Me!

Enjoy this cookin' cover as sassy

Daria and her bandmates bring out

our animal instincts performing

Def Leppard's 1987 rock

anthem "Animal!"

"Animal" - Def Leppard cover

by Shut Up & Kiss Me! feat.

Daria Bahrin (Dec. 2020)

 Put down your 

 wine goblet... 

 slowly rise from 

 your throne... 

 face these vinyl 

 gladiators and 

 render your decision. 

 Which lucky cover gets thumbs up 
 and lives to play another day? 
 Which poor devils get the 
 dreaded thumbs down 
 and are reduced to 
 puddles of molten wax 

 on the Colosseum floor? 

 The decision is yours! 

Happy Birthday, John!

John Ettline was born 114 years ago

on the 12th day of March, 1906.

John graduated from York High.
He was an all around athlete

and played on the school's

football and baseball teams.

John attended junior college

until his father needed to

pull him out to help with

the family farm in Foustown,

the Cousler Park area north

of York. His education cut
short, John was nevertheless
regarded as an extremely
intelligent man.

John loved music and dancing, and it's no stretch

to understand why he was inspired to buy the

Shady Dell and turn it into an ice cream

parlor and juke joint for teenagers.

To celebrate John's birthday this year, I picked
three songs I think he would have enjoyed.

 MAURICE WILLIAMS 

 AND THE ZODIACS 

Let's get the birthday party started with a vintage clip of the Carolina based
one-hit-wonder group Maurice Williams And The Zodiacs doing their late
1960 chart topper "Stay" on The Village Square, a nationally syndicated
music television show that aired every week in the mid to late 60s.
The Village Square originated in Charleston, South Carolina, but
by the time this performance was taped in 1966, the show was
being produced at a studio in Charlotte, North Carolina.

"Stay" - Maurice Williams And The Zodiacs

(Nov./Dec. 1960, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100/#3 R&B,
1966 perf. on The Village Square)

 THE FIVE DELIGHTS 

The Five Delights were a mixed race (Latin & Caucasian) New York doo-wop
group that also made records as The Mood Makers and The Watusi Warriors.
In 1958 The Five Delights released a single with the ballad "There'll Be
No Goodbye" on the A side. To celebrate John's birthday I'd like to get
Shady's Place hoppin' and boppin' with the rockin' rollin'
B side-- "Okey Dokey Mama!"

"Okey Dokey Mama" - The Five Delights

(1958, B side of "There'll Be No Goodbye")

 SHELLEY FABARES 

A tradition was inaugurated one year ago on this date when readers

reacted quite favorably to the following video. It's fresh and lovely

Shelley Fabares as Mary Stone on The Donna Reed Show singing

"Johnny Angel," a song that seems ideally suited for this occasion.

"Johnny Angel" - Shelley Fabares

(Mar./Apr. 1962, highest chart pos. #1,

scene from The Donna Reed Show)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOHN.

WE LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU!