#30: Las Vegas Scene by Wes Dakus
City: Edmonton, AB
Radio Station: CJCA
Peak Month: October 1964
Peak Position in Edmonton: #2
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Las Vegas Scene”
In 1938, Wes Dakus was born in Mannville, Alberta. He moved to Edmonton and formed The Rebels in 1958. The Rebels quickly became one of the most popular predominantly instrumental groups on the prairies. They performed in rural hotels and seniors drop-in centres. Initially the band was known as the CJCA Rebels. It was Edmonton radio station that promoted them. CJCA gave The Rebels air-time on its local talent features and helped them with the bookings. The Rebels became one of the regular bands at The Commercial and The Rainbow Ballroom in Edmonton. By the time Dakus caught the attention of Quality Records’ VP Lloyd Dunn, he and The Rebels had gotten to know Alberta’s roads like the backs of their hands. By this time The Rebels were making tours across western Canada. The band travelled to Clovis, New Mexico where they recorded with Buddy Holly’s producer Norman Petty. He ultimately became their manager, and two singles were released under the name of The Club 93 Rebels, a nod to their radio station sponsor CJCA 930-AM.
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#37: Reuben James by the First Edition
City: Edmonton, AB
Radio Station: CHED
Peak Month: October 1969
Peak Position in Edmonton ~ #4
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #11
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #26
YouTube: “Rueben James”
Lyrics: “Rueben James”
Kenneth Ray Rogers was born in Houston, Texas, in 1938. Rogers has both Irish and American Indian ancestry. In 1956 he formed a doo-wop group called The Scholars. He began his recording career with a teen ballad “That Crazy Feeling” in 1957. The single climbed to #2 in Houston in February 1958 and appeared on the bottom of the CHUM Hit Parade in Toronto. By 1960 Rogers gained a reputation as a bass player and joined The Bobby Doyle Three, a jazz trio. The third member was Don Russell. At the time Rogers was a student at the University of Texas. In 1962 the trio released an album titled In A Most Unusual Way. They disbanded in 1965. Rogers released a single as a solo artist in early 1966 which was a flop. He joined The New Christy Minstrels in July 1966 as on vocals and double bass. Feeling stuck in the folk groove, he left the group and formed The First Edition. The other members of The First Edition also exited The New Christy Minstrels with Rogers. They were Mike Settle, Terry Williams and Thelma Camacho.
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#38: You Only Live Twice by Nancy Sinatra
City: Edmonton, AB
Radio Station: CJCA
Peak Month: July 1967
Peak Position in Edmonton ~ #7
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #44
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #44
YouTube: “You Only Live Twice”
Lyrics: “You Only Live Twice”
Nancy Sinatra is the daughter of crooner Frank Sinatra and was born in New Jersey in 1940. When she was 5 years old he recorded a song about her titled “Nancy, With the Laughing Face”. At the age of twenty she began her career appearing on The Frank Sinatra Timex Show: Welcome Home Elvis. This was a television special on the occasion of Elvis Presley’s discharge from the U.S. Army after being drafted to into the services in 1958. Nancy was sent by her father to meet Elvis at the airport in front of a pack of photographers. In 1960, she also got married to singer and actor, Tommy Sands.
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#39: Buffalo Soldier by Bob Marley and the Wailers
City: Edmonton, AB
Radio Station: CJSR
Peak Month: July 1983
Peak Position in Edmonton ~ #3
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Buffalo Soldier”
Lyrics: “Buffalo Soldier”
Robert Nesta Marley was born in 1945 in a village in Jamaica. His father died at the age of 70 when Bob Marley was ten-years old. While he was in primary school, Marley became friends with Neville Livingston, and they began playing music together. Livingston’s father and Marley’s mother had a child together, and the two boys ended up living under the same roof in Trenchtown, in Kingston, Jamaica. Marley and Livingston formed a band with Peter Tosh called the Teenagers, and renamed as the Wailing Rudeboys, and eventually the Wailers. Neville Livingston went by the stage name Bunny Wailer. Bob Marley released his first non-album single, “Judge Not”, in 1962. The Wailers first commercial success was a number-one hit in Jamaica in 1964 titled “Simmer Down”. During the Sixties, Bob Marley & the Wailers released fifty singles. Some of these include covers of the Tom Jones song “What’s New Pussycat?” and the Bing Crosby hit “White Christmas”. In 1967, the Wailers released “Stir It Up“, which was successfully covered in 1968 by Johnny Nash.
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#40: Marble Breaks And Iron Bends by Drafi Deutscher
City: Edmonton, AB
Radio Station: CJCA
Peak Month: May 1966
Peak Position in Edmonton ~ #8
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #31
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #80
YouTube: “Marble Breaks And Iron Bends”
Lyrics: “Marble Breaks And Iron Bends”
Drafi Deutscher was born in 1946 in Charlottenburg, in the western zone of Berlin, West Germany. In his youth he began to sing and write songs. At the age of 17 he got his first record deal. And between 1964 and 1966, Deutscher had a string of hits in West Germany. These include a number-one hit in June 1964 titled “Shake Hands”, and a #7 hit on the West German pop chart titled “Keep Smiling”. In 1965 Deutcher returned to the Top Ten in West Germany with a #3 hit titled “Cinderella Baby”. And for three weeks he had a number-one hit in June and July 1965 with the German-language song titled “Heute male ich dein Bild, Cindy-Lou”.
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#41: Stranded In The Jungle by the Cadets
City: Edmonton, AB
Radio Station: CFRN
Peak Month: September 1956
Peak Position in Edmonton ~ #2
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #15
Peak Position on the Cashbox R&B Singles ~ #10
YouTube: “Stranded In The Jungle”
Lyrics: “Stranded In The Jungle”
In the late 1940s, a gospel group formed in the Los Angeles area named the Santa Monica Soul Seekers. The members were Lloyd McCraw, Willie Davis, Austin “Ted” Taylor, Aaron Collins, Glendon Kingsby, and Will “Dub” Jones. Aaron Collins was born in Arkansas in 1930, and in his teens moved to Michigan to sing in a gospel group for three years. Collins next moved to Los Angeles in the late 40s to join the Santa Monica Soul Seekers. In 1955, the group auditioned with Modern Records and got a contract. They decided to switch their style from gospel to R&B. The decision led Glendon Kingsby to leave the group. The record label came up with the name The Cadets. A single was released which was a cover of the Nappy Brown song “Don’t Be Angry”. They also released a single titled “Why Don’t You Write Me?”, which was a cover of a song by the Feathers. Modern was concerned the two released would compete with each other. So, “Why Don’t You Write Me?” was credited to The Jacks (even though it was the same group). The single peaked at #3 on the Cashbox R&B Singles chart in 1955. It earned them a spot on a tour sharing the stage with Ruth Brown, T-Bone Walker, Etta James, and the Orioles.
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