#786: Bitter Green by Gordon Lightfoot
Peak Month: December 1968
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #5
1 week Hit Bound
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Bitter Green”
Lyrics: “Bitter Green”
Gordon Meridith Lightfoot Jr. was born in Orillia, Ontario, on November 17, 1938. His parents, Jessica and Gordon Lightfoot Sr., ran a dry cleaning business. His mother noticed young Gordon had some musical talent and the boy soprano first performed in grade four at his elementary school. He sang the Irish lullaby “Too Ra Loo Rah Loo Rah” at a parents’ day. As a member of the St. Paul’s United Church choir in Orillia, Lightfoot gained skill and needed confidence in his vocal abilities under the choir director, Ray Williams. Lightfoot went on to perform at Toronto’s Massey Hall at the age of twelve when he won a competition for boys who were still boy sopranos. During his teen years Gordon Lightfoot learned to play piano, drums and guitar.
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#787: Poco Loco by Gene & Eunice
Peak Month: October 1959
9 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #4
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #48
YouTube.com: “Poco Loco”
Lyrics: “Poco Loco”
Eugene Forrest III was born in San Antonio, Texas, in September 1931. Later he took the name Gene Forrest when he began a singing career. In May 1931, Eunice Levy Frost was born in Texarkana, Texas. Before 1954, Eunice heard Ann Walls playing with Ernie Fields’ Orchestra in Phoenix. Eunice reflects, “when I saw her complete control of the band, for a few minutes she was the queen. They had to do everything she said, it seemed good.” Eunice Levy headed to Los Angeles to fulfill her dream. When she got to Los Angeles she met Gene Forrest at a singing contest. She discovered that Gene Forrest was “a struggling young man trying to make it entertainment-wise…and make big money the fastest way he knew.” The pair hit it off and soon became a singing duo and got involved romantically. Gene & Eunice wrote most of their own songs. Their first single, “Ko Ko Mo”, put “The Sweethearts of Rhythm & Blues” on the map. However, Perry Como covered the song and it became a #2 hit for Como and a #6 hit for The Crew Cuts on the hit parade.
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#788: Town Crier by Tommy Roe
Peak Month: February 1963
9 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #7
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Town Crier”
In Atlanta, Georgia, Thomas David “Tommy” Roe was born in 1942. At the age of 17, while he was still in high school, Roe was part of a trio with Bob West and Mike Clark called The Satins. Roe wrote a song called “Caveman” in 1959, backed with “I Got A Girl” and the trio was billed as Tommy Roe and The Satins released their first single on Judd Records. When he finished high school Tommy got work a soldering wires at a General Electric plant. In 1960 the single was re-issued on the Trumpet label. This time “I Got A Girl” climbed into the #10 spot on WAKE 1340 AM in Atlanta. The trio released a song in 1960 called “Sheila”, complete with Buddy Holly-esque vocal effects. But it failed to chart. Two years later Roe signed a contract with ABC-Paramount Records. Though he was just twenty years old, Roe found himself on the top of the national charts in America and Australia in October 1962 with a new version of “Sheila”. When “Sheila” became a hit, ABC-Paramount Records asked Tommy Roe to go on tour to promote the hit. Roe was hesitant to leave his steady paycheck at GE until ABC-Paramount changed his mind when they advanced him $5,000.
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#789: Muddy Mississippi by Bobby Goldsboro
Peak Month: September 1969
8 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #6
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #53
YouTube.com: “Muddy Mississippi Line”
Lyrics: “Muddy Mississippi Line”
Bobby Goldsboro was born in Mariana, Florida, in the Florida Panhandle in 1941. Shortly after his birth his family moved 35 miles north to Dothan, Alabama, where he was raised. Goldsboro learned is musical skills as he grew, by the age of twenty-one, Goldsboro became a guitarist for Roy Orbison. From 1962 to 1964 Goldsboro toured with Orbison, including the tour where The Beatles appeared as the opening act on the UK tour with Orbison as headliner. He roomed with Roy Orbison and they became close friends. In 1962, Goldsboro released his first of four singles on Laurie Records. Only one of these, “Molly,” made the Billboard Hot 100, and only marginally. In 1964 Goldsboro had his first of sixteen Top 40 hits in the USA with “See the Funny Little Clown.” Having switched labels, United Artists had sent him three songs to choose from in advance of recording, hopefully, a hit record. But after sitting and listening to the three songs, Bobby thought none of them were hit material. So he sat down in his parents living room and wrote “See The Funny Little Clown.” The song peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 when Goldsboro was turning 23 years old. but didn’t appear on the CFUN charts in 1964. That year Goldsboro was the opening act on tour with the Rolling Stones. Subsequently, he was the opening act on a tour headlined by the Four Seasons. The following year he was the opening act on tour with The Beach Boys.
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#790: I Can’t Explain by The Who
Peak Month: April 1965
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #2
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #93
YouTube.com: “I Can’t Explain”
Lyrics: “I Can’t Explain”
The Who are an English band who emerged in 1964 with singer Roger Daltry, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. The band enjoyed popular singles, such as “I Can See For Miles”, “Pinball Wizard” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again”. In Vancouver the band had eleven Top Ten hits, while in the UK they charted fourteen singles into the Top Ten, but in America they only charted one single into the Top Ten of the Billboard Hot 100, “I Can See For Miles”. The band were innovators of new genres in rock n’ roll with their rock operas Tommy and Quadrophenia. The Who early on were known for outlandish antics on stage. At the Railway Hotel in Wealdstone, England, in June, 1964, Peter Townshend destroyed his guitar on stage and smashed it into other instruments. The Who stand alongside The Beatles and The Rollings Stones as among the most influential rock bands from Britain. They had their first Top Ten single in the UK and in Vancouver in 1965 titled “I Can’t Explain”, which peaked at #8 in the UK and #2 in Vancouver.
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#792: Mexican Lady by Steel River
Peak Month: February 1972
8 weeks on Vancouver’s CKVN chart
Peak Position #6
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Mexican Lady”
In 1965 an R&B group formed in Toronto called The Toronto Shotgun. Coincidentally, possibly there was a huge Motown hit that year called “Shotgun,” by Junior Walker & the Allstars. The band consisted of vocalist John Dudgeon, drummer/percussionist Ray Angrove, bass player Rob Cockell, guitarist Tony Dunning and on keyboards, Bob Forrester. In 1969, Toronto Shotgun changed their name to Steel River. As Toronto Shotgun, they had played a lot of dances at high schools and performed at clubs in town on the weekends. As Steel River they became a full time rock n’ roll act. Their producer, Greg Hambleton owned his owned Tuesday Records and signed the band to the label.
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#793: Paperlate by Genesis
Peak Month: July 1982
10 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #4
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #32
YouTube.com: “Paperlate”
Lyrics: “Paperlate”
Genesis formed in Surrey, UK, in 1967. The bands name was suggested by their producer, Jonathan King, of “Everyone’s Gone to the Moon” fame on the pop charts in 1965. King had earlier suggested the band go by the name of Gabriel’s Angels. Though the band initially adopted that name, they soon changed their name to From Genesis to Revelation. Soon, they shortened their name to Genesis. It was a band name that led to many possibilities, including a riff off of their name on their first album, Genesis to Revelation. The band consisted of keyboard player Tony Banks, bass and guitar player Mike Rutherford, guitarist Anthony Philips, drummer Chris Stewart, and Peter Gabriel as lead vocalist. Stewart was fired from the band in 1968 and replaced by John Silver. The band’s debut album was From Genesis to Revelation, in 1969. Silver was replaced by John Mayhew on drums. In 1970, Genesis released Trepass, after which both Mathew and Guitarist Anthony Philips left the band. In 1971, Philips was replaced on guitar by Steve Hackett and the band released their third studio album Nursery Cryme. The fourth studio album, Foxtrot, featured new bandmate Phil Collins on drums. The band released Genesis Live in 1973 with Gabriel, Banks, Rutherford, Hackett, and Collins in the lineup. It climbed to #9 on the UK Pop Album chart.
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#794: 1941 by Tom Northcott
Peak Month: February 1968
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #6
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #88
1 week Hit Bound
YouTube.com: “1941”
Lyrics: “1941″
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 oldies music stations.
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#795: Choo Choo Train by The Box Tops
Peak Month: July 1968
6 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #4
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #26
1 week Hit Bound
YouTube.com “Choo Choo Train”
Lyrics: “Choo Choo Train”
William Alexander Chilton was born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1950. His parents were both musicians who performed jazz in the Memphis area and recorded several records. Alex was influenced by the music scene and when he was at Central High School he entered a talent contest. At the age of 15 he was invited to join a band called Ronnie and the Devilles. To avoid confusion with another band from New York that went by the same name, they chose to call themselves the Box Tops. The founder of the group was drummer, Danny Smythe. Other bandmates were Garry Taley who played electric sitar, lead guitar, bass guitar and was a backing vocalist. Bill Cunningham provided backing vocals, bass guitar and keyboards. John Evans played guitar, keyboards and also was a backing vocalist. In addition to being lead singer, Chilton played guitar. Bill Cunningham’s brother, B.B. Cunningham Jr., was lead vocalist for another Memphis band called The Hombres, who had a hit in the fall of 1967 titled “Let It All Hang Out”. But keeping The Hombres out of the #1 spot on the pop charts was the Box Tops debut single, “The Letter”.
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#796: 2 Good 2 Be Enough by Corey Hart
Peak Month: August 1987
9 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #9
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “2 Good 2 Be Enough”
Corey Hart was born in 1962 in Montreal, Quebec. He is best known for his international Top Ten hits “Sunglasses at Night” (#7 Billboard Hot 100) and “Never Surrender” (#3 Billboard Hot 100). Hart is lauded as one of Canada’s most successful singer-songwriters. He’s sold over 16 million records worldwide. On the Billboard Hot 100 Hart scored 9 consecutive Top 40 Hits. Back in Canada he succeeded in charting 30 top 40 singles (including 11 Top 10 singles during his career). Hart is a Grammy Nominated, ASCAP & multiple Juno and ADISQ award winner. He has also written and produced several songs for fellow Quebec recording star Celine Dion.
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