#1320: Of A Dropping Pin by The Guess Who
Peak Month: December 1968
8 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #15
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Of A Dropping Pin”
Lyrics: “Of A Dropping Pin”
Originally there was a band in Winnipeg called Al & The Silvertones. The band had some lineup changes and became Chad Allen & The Expressions. In time they changed their name again to The Guess Who ?, with a question mark at the end of their name. They had a hit in Canada in 1965 called “Shakin’ All Over”, a cover version of the original by the UK’s Johnny Kidd And The Pirates in 1960. The Guess Who?’s version became a Top 30 hit in the USA. The Guess Who? tried to tour in the UK themselves in 1967 to support their single, “His Girl.” However, they didn’t have the proper documentation to perform, and “His Girl” only ended up spending one week on the British singles charts.
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#1321: A Rose and A Thorn by Andy Rose
Peak Month: November 1960
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #13
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “A Rose And A Thorn”
In 2011 there was a 31-track volume from Cat King Kole Records covering recordings by Andy Rose. He was a Paul Anka-like vocalist whose lone claim to fame was “Just Young”, a song that peaked at #69 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1958. A version of “Just Young” by Paul Anka charted at #80 during the same month. This was Andy’s only record to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. On the Cashbox Magazine charts “Just Young” listed both Andy Rose and Paul Anka’s recorded versions together and the song climbed to #28. In Vancouver the song peaked at #16 on CKWX and Andy Rose had some local fans. The B-side of “Just Young” was a rockabilly tune called “Love-A-Lov-A-Love” with a clear influence from the phrasing in Buddy Holly’s songs. However, Andy Rose was born Andrew Gattuso in Brooklyn, New York. His mother was an Italian immigrant from Sicily. Andy Rose has only one child a daughter. Andy had two brothers, Roger and Sal, and one sister.
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#1322: Sweet Black Angel by The Rolling Stones
Peak Month: May 1972
5 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
Peak Position #3
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Sweet Black Angel”
Lyrics: “Sweet Black Angel”
Michael Philip Jagger was born in Dartford, Kent, England, in 1943, some 18 miles east of London. Though his father and grandfather were both teachers by profession, and he was encouraged to be a teacher, the boy had different aspirations. “I always sang as a child. I was one of those kids who just liked to sing. Some kids sing in choirs; others like to show off in front of the mirror. I was in the church choir and I also loved listening to singers on the radio–the BBC or Radio Luxembourg –or watching them on TV and in the movies.” In 1950 Mick Jagger met Keith Richards while attending primary school. They became good friends until the summer of 1954 when the Jagger family moved to the village of Wilmington, a mile south of Dartford. The pair bumped into each other at a train station in 1961 and resumed their friendship.
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#1324: Try Me by Margie Rayburn
Peak Month: January 1961
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #12
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Music Vendor ~ #107
YouTube.com: “Try Me”
In 1924, Marjorie Helen Orwig was born in the San Joaquin Valley in the central California town of Madera. As a recording artist and performer, she was known as Margie Rayburn. While still in her late teens, during World War II, she began singing with big bands and in that capacity entertained American soldiers. At the end of the war she was hired as a featured vocalist with Ray Anthony’s Orchestra. Anthony had been part of the Glenn Miller band until he was drafted to serve in the US Navy in 1942, and at the end of the war formed his own band. Margie Rayburn went on tour with Gene Autry and got gigs at several nightclubs in San Francisco.
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#1325: The Piano Boy by Joanie Sommers
Peak Month: July 1961
8 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #12
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “The Piano Boy”
Lyrics: “The Piano Boy”
Joan Drost was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1941. She sang in church choirs from the age of ten. After moving to Venice, California, she got a break to sing at the Deauville Country Club north of the Topanga State Park in greater Los Angeles. Tommy Oliver was the band leader at the country club and he subsequently got her to record a demo for Warner Brothers in 1959. She made her club debut as Joanie Sommers at the prestigious Ye Little Club in Beverly Hills when she was 18. Sommers got a minor role dancing and singing with Ed Byrnes in the TV show 77 Sunset Strip. She was in a duet with Byrnes in “Kookie’s Love Song” in a 1959 episode of the show.
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#1327: Life Is A Song by Gainsborough Gallery
Peak Month: January 1970
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #14
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
At first there was a guitarist and lead singer named Mel Degan and bass guitarist Dennis Paul who were based in Edmonton. They formed a band called The Skeptics. In 1964 they relocated in Calgary and were joined with vocalist Jae Mack, guitarist Peter Marley and drummer Ray McAndrew. They got a reputation on the local scene playing at coffee shops and halls. By 1966 they were billing themselves as The Gainsborough Gallery. This was in honour of the Calgary art museum of the same name (and where they also received fan mail). Tim McHugh joined the band on keyboards.
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#1328: Spaceship Races by Tom Northcott
Peak Month: June 1971
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
Peak Position #15
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Spaceship Races”
Lyrics: “Spaceship Races”
Tom Northcott is a Vancouver folk-rock singer with hits on the local pop charts from the mid-60s into the early 70s. He became known to a Canadian audience by his regular appearances on CBC Television’s Let’s Go music program in 1964-68. He was nominated as best male vocalist for a Juno Award in 1971. Later he co-founded Mushroom Studios in Vancouver and produced records. His hits are played regularly on Canadian classic rock radio stations.
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#1329: Teen Prayer by The Velveteens
Peak Month: August 1961
8 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #12
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Teen Prayer”
“Teen Prayer” was a big local hit for a girls doo-wop group from Springfield, Massachusetts, called the Velveteens. In May 1961 it was #1 for three weeks in Springfield, Massachusetts, on WHYN and one week on WSPR (also in Springfield).
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#1330: Baby Blue by Chilliwack
Peak Month: December 1977
8 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #19
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #110
YouTube.com: “Baby Blue”
Lyrics: “Baby Blue”
Bill Henderson was born in Vancouver in 1944. He learned guitar and became the guitarist for the Panarama Trio that performed at the Panarama Roof dance club on the 15th Floor of the Hotel Vancouver. He formed the psychedelic pop-rock Vancouver band, The Collectors, in 1966. After several local hits like “Looking At A Baby” and “Lydia Purple” the band disbanded by 1970. Henderson (vocals, guitar), Claire Lawrence (saxophone, keyboards), Ross Turney (drums) and Glenn Miller (bass) were all Collectors bandmates. After Howie Vickers left The Collectors, they changed their name to Chilliwack. The name was a Salish First Nations name that means “going back up” and is the name of a city in the Fraser Valley in British Columbia.
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#1333: Diamond Mine by Blue Rodeo
Peak Month: May 1989
8 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #18
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Diamond Mine”
Lyrics: “Diamond Mine”
Blue Rodeo formed as a band in 1984 and had their first gig at The Rivoli in Toronto, February 1985. Blue Rodeo has sold over 4 million albums and won seven Juno awards. In 2012 they were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. In 1989 the band consisted of co-founders Jim Cuddy, Greg Keelor, and Bazil Donovan, Cleave Anderson and Bob Wiseman.
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