#5: The Blob by the Five Blobs
City: Guelph, ON
Radio Station: CJOY
Peak Month: November 1958
Peak Position in Guelph ~ #3
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #40
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #35
YouTube: “The Blob”
Lyrics: “The Blob”
This “Artists’ Biography for Jockey Programming” was released by Columbia Records.
All Five Blobs Are Bernie Nee
Columbia’s Five Blobs are, one and all, Bernie Nee, an ex-Seabee who got his first taste of show business leading a band o Saipan. When he was discharged from the service in 1946, the Bronc lad re-entered New York University, switching his major from dentistry to music. He was fortunate enough to receive encouragement from his family. Upon graduation in 1948, Nee began playing guitar and bass with small groups at dances and weddings in and around New York. Then in 1951, he began to make demonstration records for song writers. During the same year he also made 30 children’s records, and sang radio and TV commercials with the Goldswan Singers. The tall, brown-haired singer is 32, married, and the father of three children.”
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#1: Why? by Bronski Beat
City: Guelph, ON
Radio Station: CJOY
Peak Month: May 1985
Peak Position in Guelph #2
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Australian pop chart – #10
Peak Position on Belgian pop chart – #3
Peak Position on Dutch pop chart – #2
Peak Position on French pop chart – #8
Peak Position on Irish pop chart – #6
Peak Position on Italian pop chart – #5
Peak Position on New Zealand pop chart – #11
Peak Position on South African pop chart – #7
Peak Position on Spanish pop chart – #2
Peak Position on Swiss pop chart – #7
Peak Position on UK pop chart – #6
Peak Position on West German pop chart – #5
YouTube: “Why?”
Lyrics: “Why?”
James “Jimmy” Somerville was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1961. He moved to London in 1980 and attended the London Gay Teenage Group. In 1983 he co-founded Bronski Beat with Steven Forrest, the latter adopted the stage name Steve Bronski. Forrest was born in 1960 in Glasgow. Larry Steinbachek was also born in 1960, in his case in London. He worked as an electrician and was studying to be a musician prior to forming Bronski Beat. The three mates were sharing a flat in Brixton when they decided to form a group. They first performed publicly at an arts festival, September in the Pink. The trio were unhappy with the inoffensive nature of contemporary gay performers and sought to be more outspoken and political.
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#2: Baby You Come Rolling Cross My Mind by the Peppermint Trolley Company
City: Guelph, ON
Radio Station: CJOY
Peak Month: July 1968
Peak Position in Guelph #4
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #20
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #59
YouTube: “Baby You Come Rolling Cross My Mind”
Lyrics: “Baby You Come Rolling Cross My Mind”
In 1966, the Peppermint Trolley Company was a group formed in Redlands, California. There was a band named the Mark V which had been together since 1962. It consisted of members Danny Faragher, Jimmy Faragher, Steve Hauser, Dave Kelliher, Brad Madson and Dick Owens. They teamed with producer Dan Dalton, who urged the band to change its name. The Peppermint Trolley Company’s name was proposed by Jimmy Faragher and chosen by a committee of the Mark V band members. The Peppermint Trolley Company’s debut single was “Lollipop Train”. The song was co-written by P.F. Sloan and Steve Bari. It was another song passing on advice to those lacking insight into interpersonal and societal issues. “Lollipop Train” was a Top 20 hit in Chico (CA) in October 1966. When the group called it quits in February of 1967, Danny and Jimmy, along with Dalton, decided to continue recording under the “Trolley” name. The PTC would now be a duo consisting of Danny and Jimmy Faragher. Danny played trombone, marxophone, and melodica.
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