Favoriting Bitslap with KBC: Playlist from October 6, 2009 Favoriting

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Back in 1979, I made the decision to accept Dr Demento as my personal savior. Since then, with the help of his apostles Spike, Al, Stan and Black-Eyed Susan Brown, I have made it my mission to spread the Gospel of the Firesign and the Word of the Waller. Please join me and my fellow seekers as we find the Wisdom we crave and the Rapture we deserve. A new sermon every Tuesday (and NO collection plate!).

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Favoriting October 6, 2009: Singles 2

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Artist Track Comments
Buchanen and Goodman  FLYING SAUCER [Parts 1 and 2]   Favoriting From 1956 (and available on 78 RPM no less) this is the one that started the Shit Train rolling for Dickie Goodman and his partner Bill Buchanen (who had a whole lot of break ins on his own as well). Just for fun, look up Dickie Goodman in Wikipedia for an amazingly thorough discography (and keep in mind that they didn't have digital mixing in those days). While you're there, you'll note that he blew his own brains out in 1989 and that he spent a large chunk of his life dodging copywrite lawsuits. 
Screamin Jay Hawkins  LITTLE DEMON   Favoriting This is the flip side of Jay's biggest hit 'I Put a Spell on You' [Okeh 7072]. Rumor has it that he recorded the song so drunk he couldn't even remember doing it, so he had to relearn the song from scratch. 
Royal Guardsmen  JOLLY GREEN GIANT   Favoriting The Royal Guardsmen originally hailed from Ocala, FL and of course, their biggest hit is one of the biggest Xmas singles of all time ['Snoopy vs the Red Baron']. They decided to stick with the Snoopy/Red Baron thing for the bulk of their career, which apparently has made them well off enough that they didn't have to do a series of 'Reunion Concerts' to pay their bills. This is their cover of a minor Kingsmen hit. 
Billy Lee Riley & His Little Green Men  FLYING SAUCER ROCK N ROLL   Favoriting Billy Lee was the darling of the Sun Studios back in 1957 when this recording was made. However, the piano player on this record, some guy named Jerry Lee Lewis, made such an impression on Sam Phillips that he dropped the label's massive PR effort for Riley and went with Jerry Lee instead. Riley went on to start his own label but only enjoyed limited success before dying of colon cancer this past August. 
Betty Hutton, Tony Martin, Phil Harris and Dinah Shore  HOW DO YOU DO AND SHAKE HANDS   Favoriting This song was originally included in Disney's Alice in Wonderland and sung to great yawning by Tweedletwit and Tweedledork (the voice of J Pat O'Malley) 

Music behind DJ:
Martin Denny 

 

 
Bill Halley and the Comets  13 WOMEN   Favoriting This was the A side of the biggest B-side in recorded history, and you damn well better know what it is. If not, here's a clue: Think Richie Cunningham. Perhaps the idea of the Apocalypse as the subject for a hit record turned radio stations to the other side of the record. 
Linda Laurie  AMBROSE [Part 5]   Favoriting For the record, there are no other parts and Linda wrote and recorded this while still in high school in Brooklyn. She also does both of the voices. She's had a pretty interesting career as a songwriter, her credits include 'Leave Me Alone,' 'Ruby Red Dress' and 'Delta Dawn' which were all hits for Helen Reddy. Her best, though, was 'Life is a Trippy Thing' which is a cult favorite picked up by Frank and Nancy Sinatra. Here's a clip of her on 'I've Got a secret' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-bQqsoMvQ0 
Roddy Jackson  HICCUPS   Favoriting George Roderick Jackson was a Califoirnia teenager almost literally swept off the streets to become a rock n roll star (shades of Stan Freberg!). He had 3 singles on the Specialty label (produced by Sonny Bono), but this was the biggest. It sits on the flip sides of one of the hottest records known to man, 'Moose on the Loose.' 
Chips  RUBBER BISCUIT   Favoriting Written by Charles Johnson and released on Josie Records in 1957. Memorably covered by the Blues Brothers in 1978 and others, it begs the question: What the hell is a Sunday-Go-To-Meeting Bun? Here's a clip featuring an amazing Dan Ackroyd: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYyBZE0kBtE. Wanna take a stab at the lyrics? Try this: http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=53258. And here's an interesting remix by Taymaz Valley featuring Charlie Chaplain (you can't make these things up) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oFr-9xx-eQ 
Nu Tornadoes  MAGIC RECORD   Favoriting A quintet from Philadelphia (Phil Dale, Tommy Dell, Mike Perna, Louie Mann and Eddie Dono) they were regulars on American bandstand, but never really made it as hitmakers. Their biggest hit was 'Philadelphia USA,' written by Al Scalise and Bill Borelli, who also wrote this one. 
Ganim's Asia Minors  DADDY LO LO   Favoriting Released on East-West Records (a division of Atlantic) features Armenian Oud player Chick Ganimian. Catchy. 
Hank Ballard and the Midnighters  FLOAT   Favoriting Hank wrote many great songs, and it's a sin to think that most of the money and glory went to Chubby Checker for 'The Twist.' But Hank scored big with tunes like 'Work with me Annie,' 'Annie had a Baby,' 'Finger PoppinTime' and 'Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go.' Hank died of throat cancer in 2003 at age 75. 
Billy Ford and Thunderbirds  MONSTER ROCK N ROLL   Favoriting Swan Records #4002 in 1957. The flip side of the hit 'La-De-Da' by Billy and Lillie. Written by Bob Crewe and Frank Slay Jr, who gave us most of the Four Seasons biggest hits. 
Playmates  THINGAMAJIG   Favoriting Roulette records #4136 from 1958. Released right before they scored big with "Beep Beep'. They were originally called the Nitwits and were one of the first acts to sign with Roulette records. They had a string of novelty hits until about 1964. 
Earl Brown  PACHALAFAKA   Favoriting Sparing you the suspence, Pachalafaka apparently means a transvestite or a Turkish woman with a mustache. Written by Irving Taylor and appears on his 1958 record 'Terribly Sophisticated Songs' It was a bigger hit for Soupy Sales, who had Pookie the lion do it on his show many times. Also known for a stunt pulled by KWDM in Des Moines, IA. When they switched their call letters to KWKY, they played this song for 48 hours straight. Look up KWKY in Wikipedia for the full story (they don't have stations like that anymore, unless you count WFMU). 
Earl Brown, Allen Davis and Joe Pryor  IN A CAFETERIA WITH YOU   Favoriting Flip side of the above. If you look up Earl Brown in Wikipedia, you will learn (and I quote) "[he was] head coach of the Auburn Tigers from 1948-1950. He is notorious for his stretch at Auburn, where he went 3-22-4, including a record of 0-10 in his final season, when the Tigers were outscored 285-31." I don't think it's the same Earl Brown. 

Music behind DJ:
Dick Dale 

VICTOR   Favoriting

 
Jim Stafford  UNDECIDED [Single Version]   Favoriting There's also an album version, which is longer and almost totally different. Jim is best known for 'Spiders and Snakes" (this is the flip side), "Swamp Witch" (the story of Black Water Hattie) and 'Wildwood Weed' (written by Don Bowman). Quite a life for Mr Stafford: he was raised in Winter haven Florida, where he played in a band with Bobby Braddock and Gram Parsons, he was [briefly] married to Bobbie Gentry, and now owns the Jim Stafford theatre in Branford, MO. 
Pipkins  GIMME DAT DING   Favoriting There were but two Pipkins (as limited by law): Tony Burrows and Roger Greenaway. Greenaway has a pretty long rap sheet as a composer ['Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress,' You've Got Your Troubles' and others]. Burrows fronted a few forgettable bands [Edison Lighthouse, White Plains, First Class]. This was their only hit. 
Hedgehoppers Anonymous  IT'S GOOD NEWS WEEK   Favoriting Only thing I could find was that the lead singer was Mike Tinsley, who had a minor career elsewhere and that these guys had another good song: Afraid of Love. Hear it here (and see a picture) through the miracle of youTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_pbZeQKlZs 
Beach Bums (with Bob Seger)  YELLOW BERET   Favoriting A 1966 single from Bob's first band. Withdrawn shortly after release out of fear of a lawsuit by Sgt Barry Sadler. Silly boys, Sadler would not be so petty as to sue, he would have gone right after them and kicked some long-haired ass! 
By a Group Called Boston  ELAGEN SCHMERL   Favoriting What the hell are these guys talking about anyway? No info at all (I have the record, but it's lost in the KBC Jungle). The label does say "By a Group Called Boston" though. 
By a Group Called Boston  ODE TO BOBBY   Favoriting This one's a little easier to figure out. It's an ode to Bobby Orr, the hockey legend who played for the Boston Bruins. 
Procol Harum  GOOD CAPTAIN CLACK   Favoriting Originally included on their first EP (which includes Homberg) and later included on CD versions of their first LP. 
Barbara Feldon  99   Favoriting Barbara was a former model with some great acting chops (I still get weak in the knees remembering her on that tiger rug for Top Brass!). She also appeared on The Man from U.N.C.L.E. before landing the role of Agent 99 in Get Smart. Today she's 77 and looks 35. This came from the Get Smart soundtrack (written by Martin Grudeff and Raymond Jessel). The flip is called "Max." You too can get a whole slew of Get Smart merchandise (including this record)at www.wouldyoubelieve.com/collect.html 
Chipmunks  RAGTIME COWBOY JOE   Favoriting Many of us remember fondly 'Cowboy Joe's Radio Ranch" with Paul Aaron on WKCR back in the 80s (last I heard, Paul went off and moved to a real ranch in Wyoming). Ragtime Cowboy Joe was his theme song and he scraped together maybe 50-100 different versions of it (most of which I have on tape - don't make me use them!). This one is from the Chipmunks very first record ("Let's all Sing with the Chipmunks") and reached #16 on the charts. 
Eleanor Shaw  WHEN WE'RE LIVING ON TOP OF THE MOON   Favoriting She's had a few singles along the way, but I couldn't find out anything about her. Sorry. 
Leona Anderson  RATS IN MY ROOM   Favoriting Written by Tony Burello ("The Sound of Worms") and recorded in the Holland Tunnel for Horrible Records ("If it's really a Horrible record, it's bound to be a hit!") Cool video alert: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WbGK3Y6b4E 
Betty Hutton, Tony Martin, Phil Harris and Dinah Shore  MUSICIANS   Favoriting A leftover flipside from earlier on. Written by Tom Glazer and Charles Grean in 1951 

Music behind DJ:
Dave Edmunds 

CLASSICAL GAS   Favoriting

 
Trey Barker  VALLEY OF TEARS [Part 2]   Favoriting No idea what happened to Part 1. Written by Bob Markley (of the West Copast Pop Art Experimental Band) and Baker Knight. According to OfficeNaps (www.officenaps.com - which seems to be currently inactive. Go there anyway for a shitload of great free downloads), Trey Barker is actually Baker Knight, who is an accomplished songwriter for people like Ricky Nelson and the Rat Pack. Released on Fifo Records, a Santa Monica label whose only LP seems to be the ultra-rare WCPAEB record, which I am dying to find. 

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