#817: Marcheta by Karl Denver
Peak Month: October 1961
8 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #5
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com link” “Marcheta”
Lyrics: “Marcheta”
Angus Murdo McKenzie was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in December 1931. He quit school at the age of fourteen. Soon he got work as a deckhand with the Scandinavian Mercantile Marine at the close of World War II. Next he went into the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and fought in the Korean War where he was wounded. Then he returned to the sea. In his 1999 obituary in The Independent, it is written, “He was such a tough, hard-living character that the Rhodesians gave him the nickname “Boaty Maseteno,” meaning “brother of Satan.” In 1953, Denver arrived in a port in America. He impressed people with his guitar playing, falsetto and yodeling abilities. He made friends with Faron Young and Lefty Frizzell. In 1956, going by the name, Karl Denver, he became the first British act to perform on the Grand Ole Opry. He would later tell the British press, “I had a son called Karl who was killed and I thought I would keep his name. For a time I lived in Fort Collins in Colorado and I thought Denver was a good place, so I became Karl Denver.”
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#819: Tube Snake Boogie by ZZ Top
Peak Month: October 1981
9 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #9
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #104
YouTube.com link: “Tube Snake Boogie”
Lyrics: “Tube Snake Boogie”
ZZ Top was formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. The band has had three members since it began. Guitar player, Billy Gibbons, is the lead vocalist for the trio. Dusty Hill also shared lead vocals and plays bass guitar. The bands’ drummer is Frank Beard. Gibbons and Hill wear beards, however Frank Beard is clean-shaven. The band has sold over 25 million records of their blues-rock infused recordings. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. They credit the rock group Cream as one of their major influences. Among their early singles was “La Grange”, in 1973. This was a song about a brothel actually called the Chicken Shack on the outskirts of La Grange, Texas, from 1905 to 1973. The Chicken Shack was the basis for a play called The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas that debuted on Broadway in 1978. The song peaked at #41 on the Billboard Hot 100, but did not chart in Vancouver.
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#820: English Country Garden by Jimmie Rodgers
Peak Month: November 1961
10 weeks on Vancouver’s CKWX chart
Peak Position #10
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com link: “English Country Garden”
Lyrics: “English Country Garden”
Jimmie Rodgers was a country singer who is best known for his 1957 hit “Honeycomb”. James Frederick Rodgers was born in Camas, Washington, in 1933. His mother taught him to play the piano and guitar. During the Korean War Rodgers served in the U.S. Air Force. While there he played in a band called The Melodies. After the war ended in 1953 Rodgers entered Arthur Godfrey’s talent show. The attention he gained got him a record deal with Morris Levy’s Roulette Records. He had a string of Top 10 hits that followed in the late 1950’s including “Secretly”, “Oh-Oh I’m Falling In Love Again”, “Kisses Sweeter Than Wine” and “Bimbombey”. In Vancouver Rodgers charted nine singles into the Top 10 and eighteen singles onto the local pop charts.
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#821: Sign Of A Gypsy Queen by Lorence Hud
Peak Month: December 1972
9 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #9
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com link: “Sign Of A Gypsy Queen”
Lyrics: “Sign Of A Gypsy Queen”
Lorence William Hud was born in 1947 in Saskatchewan. He signed with A&M Records in 1972 and released a self-titled album that year. The single from his debut album, “Sign of the Gypsy Queen”, was his most successful charting single at #16 on the RPM charts and #9 on CKLG. He would release seven more singles between 1973 and 1982. However, none of them cracked the Top 30. The Canadian band, April Wine, had a Top 40 hit in Canada with “Sign of the Gypsy Queen” in 1981.
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#845: Hold Me Now by One To One
Peak Month: January 1989
10 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #13
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Hold Me Now”
One To One were a band that formed in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1984. It consisted of vocalist Louise Reny and producer/multi-instrumentalist Leslie Howe. The duo had been in a local rock band since the mid-70s called Mainstream. Tired of playing covers of 60’s, 70’s and 80’s pop tunes, Reny and Howe were inspired to collaborate and release original material. In late 1985 they released “There Was A Time“. The song climbed to #1 on CFRA-AM in Ottawa, and #14 on the Canadian RPM singles chart. According to Canadian Bands.com, the single made the Top 20 in several European record markets. In the spring of 1986, One To One had another Top Ten hit in Ottawa with “Angel In My Pocket“. The single cracked the Billboard Hot 100. It also topped the pop charts in The Philippines. Their debut album, Forward Your Emotions, was recorded in West Germany. It earned them credibility in the music industry. One To One were nominated for Most Promising Group of The Year at the Juno Awards in 1986. They lost out to Glass Tiger. Leslie Howe was nominated for Producer of the Year, but he lost out to David Foster and his soundtrack to St. Elmo’s Fire. Howe was also nominated at the 1986 Juno’s for Recording Engineer of the Year, but lost out to Gino and Joe Vannelli for their recording of the Black Cars album.
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#822: Big Brother by Dickie Lee
Peak Month: January 1965
8 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #7
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #101
YouTube.com link: “Big Brother”
Lyrics: “Big Brother”
Dickey Lee was born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1936. In 1957 he recorded “Dream Boy” which was a #2 hit on the Memphis pop music stations. With that success he got signed to Sun Records. In 1962 he wrote “She Still Thinks I Care”, which was a hit for George Jones. Lee was signed to Smash Records and at the age of 26 had a #6 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Patches.” The song about teen suicide was banned in various markets and was not playlisted on CFUN in Vancouver. He had another song about a girl named “Laurie” who died a year before her ghost asks for a teenage boy’s sweater. Most of his songs in the 1960’s had a tragic side to them.
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#823: General Hand Grenade by Trooper
Peak Month: January 1976
9 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #9
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com link: “General Hand Grenade”
Lyrics: “General Hand Grenade”
In 1967 Ra McGuire and Brian Smith played in a Vancouver band named Winter’s Green. The band recorded two songs, “Are You a Monkey” and “Jump in the River Blues” on the Rumble Records Label. “Are You A Monkey” later appeared on a rock collection: 1983’s “The History of Vancouver Rock and Roll, Vol. 3.” In the early seventies Winter’s Green changed their name to Applejack and added drummer Tommy Stewart and bassist Harry Kalensky to their lineup. Applejack became a very popular band in the Vancouver area, and began touring extensively in British Columbia. The band played a few original tunes such as “Raise A Little Hell”, and “Oh, Pretty Lady”, as well as Top 40 songs by artists such as Neil Young, and Chicago.
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#824: Rockin’ Band by Del Erickson
Peak Month: August 1961
10 weeks on Vancouver’s CKWX chart
Peak Position #4
WX DISC-overy of the Week August 5, 1961
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
According to IMDb.com, Delmar Walter Erickson was born on June 30, 1943 in Hennepin, Minnesota. Buddy Clyde was host of the Dance Party show on CKWX. He wrote these liner notes for the album, Presenting Del Erickson on Thunderbird Records TBLP – 1001.
Buddy Clyde stated, “I’ve been asked to write a few glowing words about the young gentleman you’re about to meet. When I’m sold on something I have a tendency to get a bit carried away. (Just ask any of my listeners). And Del Erickson is an artist that isn’t very hard to get sold on.
Starting out as an actor in motion pictures, Del has appeared in Blackboard Jungle, Diary Of Anne Frank, Hot Rod Girl and Blue Angel, just to name a few. Also ninety major T.V. productions. From motion pictures to recording Del has succeeded in having two “single” hits. Now he enjoys his new found career as a disc jockey in Vancouver, B.C., of course singing is still a major part of Del’s active life.
This album has established a new plateau in his varied and exciting career. Right now I’m going to ask you to open a bottle of your favourite refreshment, relax and enjoy Del Erickson in person…”
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#825: Fourteen Karat Gold by Don Cherry
Peak Month: September 1957
10 weeks on Vancouver’s CKWX chart
Peak Position #10
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com link: “Fourteen Karat Gold”
Lyrics: “Fourteen Karat Gold”
In 1924, Donald Ross Cherry was born in Wichita Falls, Texas. After high school he was already winning golf championships in the summer of 1941. But once America entered World War II, he was drafted into the Army-Air Corps. In 1946, he returned to golf and as an amateur won over ninety trophies in nine years. At night he began to perform in front of audiences singing popular songs of the day. He got noticed and by 1950 had a recording contract with Decca Records. Credited to the Victor Young Orchestra, Don Cherry’s vocal on “Mona Lisa” (a bigger hit for Nat King Cole) led to more attention. He recorded a 1927 hit titled “Thinking Of You” that was featured in the 1950 Tin Pan Alley film, Three Little Words. Cherry scored his second Top Ten hit as “Thinking of You” climbed to #4. The following year Don Cherry charted two more singles into the pop charts.
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#826: Love’s Gone Bad by Chris Clark
Peak Month: December 1966
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #3
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #105
YouTube.com link: “Love’s Gone Bad”
Lyrics: “Love’s Gone Bad”
Christine Elizabeth Clark was born in Santa Cruz, California, in 1946. From early childhood she expressed an interest in singing. She was active in school bands and by 1960, when she was 14, Chris Clark was on stage. She went on her first tour with Jan And Dean and Dick & Dee Dee. She also was on a tour with The Coasters and The Olympics at a VFW Hall in Marin County. Other recording artists Chris Clark performed with in the early 60’s was Bobby Freeman. She went down to Los Angeles to play in a number of clubs until she was kicked out when they discovered she was underaged. Her big break came near the end of 1963 when she had an audition with Motown.
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