FIRST HOUR
Pilot Of The Airwaves (Charlie Dore)
(1979)... any decent song which mentions the airwaves, being on or listening to the radio stands a fair chance of grabbing some air time. Sure enough, this one was a well-played turntable hit but only just made it into the lower reaches of the Top 75. Charlie has gone on to write songs for the likes of Tina Turner, Paul Carrack and Celine Dion ~ and she can also claim a co-writer's credit for Ain't No Doubt, #1 for Jimmy Nail in 1992 [W]
Our Lips Are Sealed (Fun Boy Three)
(1983)... The Fun Boys' final Top 10-er had previously been a minor hit for US girl group The Go-Gos, whose lead singer, before go-going solo, was Belinda Carlisle
I Guess I'll Always Love You (Isley Brothers)
... from the first of today's featured years, a golden era for the group and the Motown record label in the UK (see also Marv Johnson, later in the hour)
A rock 'n'roll connection
The Girl Can't Help It (Little Richard)
(1957) ... the original stand alone version of a song which Darts would work into a seamless medley with Daddy Cool, their Top 10 debut 20 years later. Born Richard Wayne Penniman, Little Richard was hailed as 'The Innovator, The Originator and The Architect ' of rock 'n'roll and was also one of its greatest, most charismatic showmen. He died in 2020, aged 87. [W]
The Boy From New York City (Darts)
(1977) ... Rita Ray, the only woman in Darts' extensive line-up of nine stepped up to sing lead on this cover of a '60s US hit for The Ad Libs
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Rise (Gabrielle)
(2000 ) .... seven years after debuting with Dreams which went all the way to # 1, Gabrielle returned to the top spot with a gospel-style ballad which sampled Bob Dylan's Knockin' On Heaven's Door
Newsround pre-Tameside: 53 years ago ~ 1969
You Got Soul (Johnny Nash)
... written by the man himself, the second of three late '60s Top 10-ers ~ more would follow in the '70s
Going Up The Country (Canned Heat)
... re-worked from a 1920s' blues song ~ like their previous single, On The Road Again
I'll Pick A Rose For My Rose (Marv Johnson)
... nine years after You Got What It Takes - his only other UK Top 10-er, this was one of a run of memorable Motown songs which made the UK chart around the same time and later included on the shiny silver-sleeved compilation LP, Motown Chartbusters Volume Three
Boom Bang A Bang (Lulu)
... in the year when she married Bee Gee Maurice Gibb, Lulu also turned 20 and sang for the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest. She ended up as the joint winner ~ with three other countries ~ Spain (the host nation), France and The Netherlands
Headline News (Edwin Starr)
... Extra! Extra! Read all about it! ~ as promised on a recent show, the flip side of Stop Her On Sight (SOS)
Chelsea Morning (Joni Mitchell)
... one of Joni's earliest songs written well before it appeared on her second album, Clouds.
Where Do You Go To My Lovely (Peter Sarstedt)
... with its unforgettable, highly quotable lyrics, the stand-out song everyone was talking about in the first few months of 1969 which had a five week run at the top of the chart
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SECOND HOUR
Run Run Run (Jo Jo Gunne)
(1972) ... great idea for an up and coming band wanting to get noticed ~ pick a name that rhymes with your best song or write a song that rhymes with your name. Despite what we probably all assumed at the time, Jo Jo Gunne didn't go down that route. They adopted the title of an old Chuck Berry song, one which was completely unknown in the UK. Sadly, Run Run Run was to be their only hit [W]
You Little Trustmaker (The Tymes)
(1974) ... several hits in the US, stretching back to the '60s, but just two here, You Little Trustmaker and its follow-up, Ms Grace which would go on to top the chart early in '75
Marlene On The Wall (Suzanne Vega)
... teaser for our second featured year ~ single taken from the album Left of Center. The title track was chosen as a follow up a few months later and also made the Top 30
Absolutely Lyricless ~ the instrumental break
... piano instrumentals from different decades
Java (Floyd Cramer)
(1963) ... a familiar tune which takes its name from an Indonesian island, but best known to those of us who grew up in the '60s and early '70s as the theme music of the kids' TV show Vision On
Honky Tonk Train Blues (Keith Emerson)
(1976) ... boogie woogie piano from the wizard of the keyboards, taking time out from Emerson, Lake & Palmer with a one-off solo hit single. Jazz pianist and composer Meade 'Lux' Lewis wrote the tune for which he is best remembered. way back in 1927
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Bills (Lunchmoney Lewis)
(2015) ... no relation as far as I know to the aforementioned Meade 'Lux' Lewis, 'Lunchmoney' is an American rapper who defied music's traditional boundaries to create a mass appeal, radio friendly hit song
Time Of Your Life (Good Riddance) (Green Day)
(1998) ... written by lead singer and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, I think it's fair to say the mellow acoustic feel of Time of Your Life came as a complete departure from the band's usual sound, strongly influenced by 'first wave' '70s punk including the likes of The Ramones, The Clash and The Buzzcocks. Despite the dramatic change of style, it became one of the band's most popular songs in a long list of hit singles and albums during the '90s and '00s. A staple of the band's concerts, it is usually played as the final song in their live shows. Country music legend Glen Campbell gave his seal of approval by recording a version for his landmark 60th album - including songs by other rock artists from Lou Reed and Tom Petty to Nirvana and U2 - in 2008 [W]
Newsround Tameside: 36 years ago ~ 1986
Manic Monday (The Bangles)
... written incognito by Prince using the name 'Christopher' ~ the debut hit for one of the best girl bands ever,
Can't Help Falling In Love (Lick The Tins)
... a much-covered song, usually performed as a straight ballad, but not this time! Lick The Tins, a London-based Celtic / folk rock indie band turned it into a whistle and drum toe-tapper which builds to a frantic finale. Despite plenty of airplay, it just missed out on a Top 40 place (# 42)
Girlie Girlie (Sophia George)
... Jamaican reggae singer who was a one-hit wonder in the UK. Girlie Girlie made the Top 10 here having spent 11 weeks at No.1 in Jamaica
If You're Ready (Come Go With Me) (Ruby Turner & Jonathan Butler)
... uplifting soul anthem, previously a '70s hit for The Staples Singers
In A Lifetime (Clannad & Bono)
... reissued three years later and fared slightly better chart-wise ~ # 17 in 1989, compared with # 20 on its initial outing
(What A) Wonderful World (Sam Cooke)
(1960, 1986) ... made it to # 2 as a reissue, having featured in one of a series of TV ads for Levi 501 jeans. The first - and most famous, or maybe infamous ? - was the launderette scene with the hunk in the boxer shorts (actor/model Nick Kamen) getting his jeans washed to a backdrop of Marvin Gaye's 1969 chart topper I Heard It Through The Grapevine, which also returned to the chart
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SHOW THEME:
Rhapsody In Blue (Rick Wakeman)
written by George Gershwin, arranged by Tony Visconti
from the album Rhapsodies (A&M Records, 1979)
[W]: Source: Wikipedia
Please bear in mind: it's a live show and so, occasionally I might need to change the running order, leave a song out, or play an unplanned extra song which will not be shown in this weekly music blog.
If you missed any of the show, you can catch up online after 15:00 on Sunday 06/02/2022:
