Previous Feature 45s — Page 14

Canadian country singer, Lucille Starr began recording in 1959 with her husband Bob Regan as 'Bob and Lucille'; later as 'The Canadian Sweethearts'. Early in 1964 Lucille recorded a solo for A&M records The French Song with Herb Alpert as arranger and it became a world-wide million seller. The song eventually made No.18 on Sydney's 2SM Top 100 dated 28th August 1964 after 8 weeks on the chart.

Englishmen, Tony Eagleton and Don Evans started a quintet in New Zealand in the early 60s after they failed an audition in England for Marty Wilde's band. Their first release was in 1961 on Kiwi Records, War Cry coupled with Taboo , followed in the same year by My Dixie Darling and Cloudburst. At the peak of 'The Twist' dance craze, they recorded Mister Dee-Jay Twist.

Acker Bilk, an English clarinettist wrote this tune for his daughter Jenny in 1961 and Leon Young provided a string accompaniment. The song topped the Billboard chart in the U.S.A. in May 1962, reached No.2 in England in January 1962 and No.3 in Sydney on 10 March 1962 in a run of 21 weeks. The recording also had the distinction of entertaining the Apollo 10 crew as they orbited the Moon in May 1969.

After the expiry of their 7-year contract with Capitol Records, The Kingston Trio signed with Decca; their first release being Hope You Understand in 1964. They had six Top 40 hits in Sydney, beginning in 1958 with Tom Dooley and ending with Reverend Mr Black in 1963. Stay Awhile was written by the group for the album of the same name. See Everglades and Reverend Mr. Black for more info.

Melanie performed at the famous Woodstock festival in 1969 and it inspired her to write Lay Down (Candles in the Rain). In 1970 it became her first hit and was soon followed by two others: What Have They Done to My Song, Ma and Peace Will Come. Melanie wrote Brand New Key in 15 minutes and it was released on her album Gather Me before being released as a single. The single made No.1 on Sydney's Top 40 in February 1972.

The song was written by 11 year-old Elizabeth Cotten in 1904. Peggy Seeger recorded the song in the early 1950s when Cotten was working as a housekeeper for the Seeger family. Peggy took the song to England and in 1956 it was picked up by the Englishman Chas McDevitt who re-recorded it with vocalist Nancy Whiskey in 1957. It made No.5 in England in June of that year and No.7 in Australia (24th August).

Cousins from New York, Hugo and Luigi were songwriters, record producers and part owners of Roulette Records. They began recording for Mercury in 1954 and produced The Little Shoemaker for The Gaylords. Their instrumental hit, Cha-Hua-Hua made No.26 on Sydney's 2UE Top 40 (17th August, 1958). Later they joined RCA and produced records for The Tokens, Elvis Presley, Sam Cooke and Little Peggy March.

The song was published in 1965 by Hoagy Carmichael and Mitchell Parish who began as a team of songwriters in 1929. The Bing Crosby version was the first recording of The White World of Winter, arranged and conducted by Sonny Burke.

Born in Buffalo NY, Joanie Sommers moved to California as a teenager where she started a singing career, signing with Warner Bros. records in 1959. After giving Coca-Cola a free plug in an early recording, Joanie Sommers became the voice of Pepsi-Cola. She scored a Billboard hit with Johnny Get Angry, which made No.7 (July 21st, 1962) and No.23 in Sydney (11th August, 1962).

Clyde Otis was a songwriter and record producer for Mercury from 1958 to 1962. He produced The Stroll for the Diamonds and What a Difference a Day Makes for Dinah Washington and many other hits. In 1961 he revived an old Latin-American classic, Jungle Drums written by Ernesto Lecuona in the late twenties.

Sonny James began recording for Capitol Records in 1953, scoring a No.1 hit in America with Young Love in 1957. He went on to have more than forty Top 10 hits in the U.S.A. His first of two Top 40 hits in Australia was Kathaleen which made No.19 on Sydney's 2UE chart, dated 10th August 1958. In 1961 he returned to our charts with a vocal version of Apache.

Bill Taylor from Tuscaloosa, Alabama (USA) began recording in 1955 and became known as "Wild" Bill Taylor. In 1959 he recorded a number of sides as "William Tell Taylor". His recording of Uh Huh with Jimmy Heap and the Melody Masters was the first of two singles released on the Teen label in Australia early in 1960.

Liv Maessen won TV's New Faces in 1969 and scored a contract with Fable Records. The commercial broadcasters "record ban" in Australia exempted some independent labels, including Fable, and Maessen's cover version of Mary Hopkin's British hit Knock Knock Who's There became a top seller. It topped our charts for 7 weeks starting 25th June 1970.

The Sarstedt brothers, Peter and Clive had been a backing group and warm-up act for their older brother, Richard since early 1964 but this was their first recording as a trio. Richard Sarstedt who took the stage name 'Eden Kane' had been a successful recording artist since 1961. His notable hits were Well, I Ask You, Forget Me Not and Boys Cry. Peter Sarstedt and Clive (aka Robin Sarstedt) later became successful solo recording artists.

The theme from the TV program Bonanza, one of the longest running television Westerns, in production from 1959 to 1973. This release followed Al Caiola and His Orchestra's first hit, The Magnificent Seven. But Al Caiola had worked on many hits for other artists including Chances Are (Johnny Mathis), Mack the Knife (Bobby Darin), Calendar Girl (Neil Sedaka) and Runaway (Del Shannon).

Pianist, Floyd Cramer began recording in 1953 and within two years he had become a session pianist, notably on Elvis Presley recordings including Heartbreak Hotel. In 1960, Cramer recorded Last Date which reached No.2 on Billboard and in the following year, his self-penned On the Rebound made No.1 in Britain and No.5 in Sydney (2UE Chart: 13th and 20th May 1961).

Written by Joni Mitchell in 1966, The Circle Game is a 'rite of passage' song, telling the story of a boy's transition from childhood to adulthood. The song was recorded in the USA for the Vanguard label by indigenous Canadian folk singer Buffy Sainte-Marie in 1967 and her version was used in the film Strawberry Statement (MGM, 1970).

This recording, Copy Cat, was by the Jimmy Wisner Trio under the pseudonym 'Plato'. Jimmy started as a jazz pianist and formed a trio with a drummer and bassist. They backed many famous artists in live shows in Philadelphia. Jimmy's first hit was Asia Minor under the name 'Kokomo' after which he became a songwriter and producer, working with Bobby Rydell, Tony Bennett, Barbra Streisand, Neil Sedaka and many others.

Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood wrote the song, for a segment on Freddie and the Dreamers ITV show 'Little Big Time' and the original hit was by 'The Pipkins' in Britain. Gimme Dat Ding was a dialogue between a piano and a metronome and this cover version was by the Sydney band 'Maple Lace'. It made No.3 in Sydney (27th August, 1970).

The song was written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio for Frankie Valli who recorded it in July 1965 but it failed to chart. In January 1966 it was recorded in England by an American trio, The Walker Brothers (John Walker, Scott Engel and Al Schneider) and their version topped the British charts. In Sydney it made No.13 on the 2UE Top 40 (8th June, 1966).

In 1959 Tommy Tucker began recording for the Hi label in Memphis where he met songwriter and producer Jack Clement and they released a single entitled Miller's Cave. Later they moved to RCA in Nashville and recorded this sequel to Ballad of a Teenage Queen in September 1960. Both the original, recorded by Johnny Cash in 1958, and its sequel were written by Jack Clement. In Sydney it made No.14 on the prediction list for the 2UE Top 40 (1st April 1961).

Mickey Lee Lane began recording with his sister Shonnie in 1958 then he became a pianist with 'The Bell Notes' after their hit I've Had It. Late in 1963 he and his brother Bernie set out to compose a rock tune in the style of Surfer Bird. While driving around Long Island, New York in the early hours of the morning they came up with Shaggy Dog. Mickey played piano, guitar, bass, drums, tambourine and sang on the record. It made No.16 in Sydney on 3rd February, 1965.

Maximillian (Max Crook) began recording in 1959 with 'The White Bucks', his rock and roll group. In the same year he invented a synthesiser which he called the 'musitron'. He used the musitron in live performances, and with Del Shannon he wrote Runaway which included an instrumental part for the musitron. As 'Maximillian' he recorded many instrumentals including this hybrid: The Breeze and I with Theme from Peter Gunn.

Johnny Rivers began in the late 1950s, but his big break came in 1963 when he was asked to be the opening act at Whisky à Go Go on Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California. In 1964, he had a hit with Chuck Berry's Memphis followed by two more hits Maybellene and Mountain of Love. Early in 1965, he revived Sam Cooke's hit song, Cupid. It made No.59 on 2SM Top 100 (19th March, 1965). See Sea Cruise

An Australian quintet, formed in Sydney in 1976 whose first hit, The Nips Are Getting Bigger was written by Martin Plaza. Live It Up was written by another band member, Greedy Smith and they recorded it in 1984. It featured in Paul Hogan's film Crocodile Dundee (1986). As a result, the record was released in Europe and made No.3 on the UK charts. In Sydney it made No.1 on 28th June, 1985.

Steve Alaimo was the first to record Every Day I Have to Cry which was written by Arthur Alexander in 1962. Alaimo started his career as a guitarist and later a vocalist with his cousin's band in the late 1950s. In 1961 he signed a contract with Chess Records. In 1965 he hosted the television show Where the Action Is for two years after which he worked as a record producer for Atlantic Records.

Safaris formed in California in 1959. Led by Jimmie Stephens they recorded for Eldo Records. Their recording Image of a Girl made No.6 on Billboard (1st August 1960) and No.26 on 2UE's Top 40 (3rd Sep 1960). The more uptempo B side Four Steps to Love is featured here. They followed later in the year with The Girl With the Story in Her Eyes, also released in Australia on Top Rank.

Checkmates Ltd was a group of musicians from Indiana (USA), discovered by Nancy Wilson. They began with Capitol Records in 1966 and were signed to A&M records in April 1968. Phil Spector worked with the group and they came up with Love Is All I Have to Give. One month later they released Black Pearl with Sonny Charles as lead vocalist. The song made No.31 in Sydney 13th August, 1969.

Canadian saxophonist, flautist and arranger, Moe Koffman was a member of the bands of Art Mooney and Jimmy Dorsey in the early 1950s. In 1955 he formed a jazz quartet and in 1957 they recorded The Swingin' Shepherd Blues. Little Pixie followed and was No.29 on the 2UW Top 50 in Sydney on 14th September, 1958. In the 1970s, he recorded LPs of the music of Bach, Vivaldi and Mozart.

A British group changed its name from 'The Dominettes' to 'The Ugly's' in 1963 and began recording for Pye in 1965. Firstly, their own composition Wake Up My Mind, with harmonica and vocal by Steve Gibbons, made No.4 in Sydney on 21st July, 1965 (2UE Top40). Later singles were unsuccessful but featured a harpsichord on It's Alright and a kazoo on A Good Idea.

English performer Cliff Richard had more than 40 entries on the Top 40 charts in Sydney beginning with Livin' Doll in 1959. Bachelor Boy was recorded with his backing group 'The Shadows' and 'The Mike Sammes Singers' in 1962 for the film Summer Holiday. It made No.9 on the 2UE chart dated 16th February, 1963 and appeared for a total of 14 weeks.

Our Street's Annual Outing was recorded to the tune of The Blaydon Races by the Bachelors during their first Decca recording session in October 1962 . In 1969 they recorded the traditional words on the B-side of Everybody's Talking. The Blaydon Races were horse races held on Blaydon Island in the Tyne River in the north-east of England from 1861 until 1916. The song was written by George Ridley in 1862 and published in 1891.

A pioneer of rock 'n' roll, Gene Vincent was born in Virginia in 1935. His first Capitol record, Be-Bop-A-Lula, recorded in Nashville TN, was a world-wide smash hit in 1956. In the following year, Bernice Bedwell wrote Lotta Lovin' and sang it to Gene over the phone He recorded it with his backing group, The Blue Caps and it made No.8 on Sydney's Hit Parade, 7th December 1957.

The younger son of The 3rd Marquess of Zetland, Lord David Dundas, was born in Oxfordshire, England in 1945. With Roger Greenaway he wrote the jingle, Jeans On in 1974 as a television advertisement for Brutus Jeans. Dundas added verses, and with slight changes released it as a single in 1976. It made No.3 in England, Ireland and South Africa and topped the German charts. In Sydney, it reached No.4 on 17th November, 1976.

Johnny O'Keefe began performing publicly in 1953 with Gus Merzi's Band. He formed his backing group, The Dee Jays, in 1956 and began recording for Festival Records in 1957. He presented radio and TV shows and was the first Australian rock and roll singer to tour America. Come On and Take My Hand was 14th of 33 listings for O'Keefe on Sydney's 2UE Top 40; it made No.2 on 17th September, 1960.

This girl vocal trio was spotted by the Jerome Brothers in 1964 in New York. They arranged a recording session with Laurie Records and later the same year with World Artists. The latter resulted in a Billboard Top 100 hit, Whenever a Teenager Cries and a less successful follow-up Tommy. Three years later they had a Top 20 hit in Britain Captain of Your Ship. In Sydney, Whenever a Teenager Cries made No.36 on the 2SM Top 100, 5th March 1965.

Jerry Wallace was born in Missouri (USA) and began recording for Vogue Records of Hollywood in 1952. His revival of Gordon Jenkins P.S. I Love You entered Sydney's hit parades in December 1953. He made a Top 40 debut with Primrose Lane late in 1959 but Shutters and Boards was his biggest Top 40 hit peaking at No.16 on 26th January, 1963.

In 1957, The Bobbettes wrote a song about their school teacher Mr. Lee, whom they disliked. They turned him into a "sweetie" at the record company's request and scored a No.1 on the Billboard R&B chart. Three years later they gunned Mr. Lee down in their song I Shot Mr.Lee. Rejected by Atlantic, they recorded it for a smaller label and it made No.52 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Claude King was born in Louisiana and began recording in 1952 for Specialty Records. In 1961 he signed to Columbia and had hits with Big River, Big Man and The Comancheros. Later he arranged and recorded Merle Kilgore's Wolverton Mountain which spent 9 weeks at No.1 on the Billboard country charts and earned a gold record. In Sydney, it topped the 2UE Top 40 for 2 weeks in July and August, 1962.

Australian musicians, Graham Goble, Russ Johnson and John Mower were brought together by Ron Tudor of Fable Records as 'Drummond'. They recorded Daddy Cool, an American song originally recorded by 'The Rays' in 1957. Drummond's version made No 1 on the 2UE Top 40 on 23rd September 1971. Later, the group became known as 'Mississippi' and with some new members evolved as 'Little River Band'.

Pete Drake was a pedal steel guitarist from Georgia who moved to Nashville in 1959 to become a session musician. He worked with Marty Robbins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis. In 1963 he recorded Forever with "His Talking Steel Guitar". The guitar did not talk, rather a plastic tube from the amplifier and transducer fed the guitar sound to his oral cavity where he shaped the words.

Born in Hawaii of Portuguese descent, Glenn Medeiros took the world by storm with his first record, Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You. It made No.1 in Great Britain, Ireland, France and The Netherlands and No.10 on its 13th appearance on Australia's ARIA chart on 6th March, 1988. He followed in 1990 with another Top 10 hit She Ain't Worth It.

A revival of Kaye Ballard's 1954 hit, In Other Words was given a Bossa Nova beat in 1962 by Joe Harnell and his Orchestra and released on the Kapp label as Fly Me to the Moon. Joe Harnell was a pianist and arranger who began with Lester Lanin's band in 1950 and worked as an accompanist for Judy Garland, Dinah Shore and Peggy Lee. Fly Me to the Moon (Bossa Nova) made No.24 in Sydney on 2nd March, 1963.

Bonnie Guitar was born in Washington state, learned to play guitar and moved to California in the mid 1950s, becoming a session guitarist for Fabor Records. She recorded Ned Miller's song Dark Moon in 1956 and it became a hit the following year. Goodtime Charlie was the flipside of I'm Living in Two Worlds which was a top 10 hit on the U.S. country charts.

In 1962 Herb Alpert encouraged marimba player, Julius Wechster to form a band. 'The Baja Marimba Band' was signed to A&M records and they released their first single, Comin' in the Back Door in 1963. They recorded many albums including 'For Animals Only' (1965) which included a version of Bob Merrill's How Much Is That Doggie in the Window; it was later released as a single.

Originally recorded by the composer Jimmie Rodgers as Blue Yodel No.8 in 1930, it later became known as Mule Skinner Blues. The Fendermen were two 22-year-old men with Fender guitars who first recorded the song in the basement of a Minnesota music store. They based their version on Good Morning Captain by Joe D. Gibson (1957). The Fendermen made No.3 in Sydney, 13th August, 1960.

Big Time Operator was an English composition by Tony Colton and Ray Smith. Jeff St. John began on Sydney radio as an 8-year-old child and as a teenager, he earned a regular TV spot on 'Opportunity Knocks' hosted by Desmond Tester. In 1965, Jeff joined a Sydney-based band called 'The Syndicate' which later evolved into 'The Id'. Big Time Operator made No.7 on the 2UE Top 40, 8th March, 1967.

Sugar Baby Love was recorded in 1973 in London by a group of session musicians put together by the songwriters Wayne Bickerton and Tony Waddington. The song made No.1 in Britain and sold three million copies world-wide. In Sydney it made No.1 on 18th August, 1974 and stayed on top for 7 weeks. The lead vocalist was by Paul da Vinci who later pursued a solo career with the 'Penny Farthing' record label.

Bobby Russell was better known as a songwriter although he had been recording his own songs since 1958. He wrote The Joker Went Wild, Little Green Apples and Honey; all hits in the sixties. He eventually made the Sydney charts with his own performance of Go Chase Your Rainbow in 1974. His biggest hit in America, as a singer was a song about a man with a hangover, Saturday Morning Confusion.

Willie Nelson recorded for small record labels before signing with Liberty in 1961. He became a renowned songwriter with Crazy, Hello Walls and Funny How Time Slips Away. As a singer he had his biggest hits in the 1980s with On the Road Again, Always On My Mind and To All The Girls I've Loved Before. Touch Me made the Top 10 on the country charts in the USA in 1962.

Danny Williams was born in South Africa and first performed in the UK in 1959. He was signed to HMV records and his first hit was a cover version of Moon River topping the British charts late in 1961. He followed with a Top 10 hit The Wonderful World of the Young and he charted in America and Australia with White on White. A Little Toy Balloon appeared on the prediction list for the 2UE Top 40 for several weeks in July and August 1964.

Recorded less than one month after the wedding, this song told the story of John and Yoko's marriage. Repeated blasphemy caused the song to be banned by the BBC and US radio stations. In Sydney an edited version was played with every mention of Christ deleted and on some other Australian radio stations, the flipside Old Brown Shoe was played instead. Notwithstanding, the record was No.1 in Sydney for 4 weeks in July 1969.