#74: Mr. Businessman by Ray Stevens
City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CKOC
Peak Month: August 1968
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #4
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #19
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #28
YouTube: “Mr. Businessman”
Lyrics: “Mr. Businessman”
Harold Ray Ragsdale was born in January 1939, in Clarkdale, Georgia. In high school he formed a group called The Barons. When he was 18, he was signed to Capitol Records on their Prep label. His debut single was “Five More Steps”. The single charted briefly on CKWX in Vancouver in February 1958. In the summer of 1960, Stevens “Sergeant Preston of the Yukon” climbed to #22 in Vancouver. While in 1961, Stevens released a single about unscrupulous pharmaceutical products pitched to cure whatever ails you. “Jeremiah Peabody’s Polyunsaturated Quick-Dissolving Fast-Acting Pleasant-Tasting Green and Purple Pills” reached #8 in Vancouver, and also charted in the Top 50 in Winnipeg and Montreal. For several decades, Ray Stevens’ song was the longest song title to make the Billboard Hot 100.
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#81: It’s The End Of The World As We Know It by R.E.M.
City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CKOC
Peak Month: March 1988
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #10
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #69
YouTube: “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”
Lyrics: “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”
R.E.M. is a band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980. Drummer William “Bill” Berry was born in Duluth (MN) in 1958. His family spent some years variously in Wisconsin and then Ohio, before moving to Macon (GA) in 1972. In high school he met guitar player Mike Mills. Born in Orange County (CA), Mills moved with his family to Georgia when he was six months old. Mills and Berry formed a band called Shadowfax, which later became The Back Door Band. Lead vocalist, Michael Stipe, was born in Decatur (GA) in 1960. Like Mike Mills, he was raised in a military family. When Stipe was in university, he met store clerk and guitar player Peter Buck. The pair formed a band and were later joined by Berry and Mills. Peter Buck was born in 1956 in Berkeley (CA). His family moved to Georgia where he attended public school.
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#86: Joy In The Morning by Richard Chamberlain
City: Calgary, AB
Radio Station: CKXL
Peak Month: July-August 1965
Peak Position in Calgary ~ #9
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Joy In The Morning”
Lyrics: “Joy In The Morning”
George Richard Chamberlain was born in 1934 in Beverly Hills, California. After high school graduation in 1952, he studied acting at a college in Pomona. But, he was drafted in December 1952, and sent to fight in the Korean War. He rose to the rank of sergeant. In 1959, Richard Chamberlain appeared in an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. The following year, he made a guest appearance in the crime-drama series Rescue 8, about the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Other guest appearances in TV shows in the early ’60s include Gunsmoke, the crime series Bourbon Street Beat, Thriller hosted by Boris Karloff, The Deputy starring Henry Fonda, and another western titled Whispering Smith. In 1960, Chamberlain starred opposite Richard Falk in The Secret of the Purple Reef. In 1961, Chamberlain starred with Charles Bronson, Slim Pickens, and Duane Eddy in the western A Thunder of Drums.
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#42: Elephant Candy by The Fun And Games
City: Calgary, AB
Radio Station: CKXL
Peak Month: December 1968
Peak Position in Calgary ~ #2
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Elephant Candy”
Lyrics: “Elephant Candy”
There was a band of musicians from a high school in Houston, Texas, that included rhythm guitarist, trumpet and recorder player, and vocalist Rock Romano (born 1945). Rock was playing guitar by the age of 13. Romano was joined by classmates Mike Cemo, guitar player and vocalist Paul Guillet, and John Bonno. When they added Richard Bain, D. J. Greer, and drummer Carson Graham, the students took the name The Six Pents. They worked as the house band at La Maison in Houston. They also recorded a single at local studio named Andrus. After releasing the single, they changed their name to The Sixpentz. They released a single on Matrix label titled “Your Girl Too”. They moved to the Geer label and released “Good To You”. A third garage rock tune, “Summer Girl”, was released on the Kidd label in 1966.
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#1: Cotton Fields by the Highwaymen
City: Halifax, NS
Radio Station: CHNS
Peak Month: November 1961
Peak Position in Halifax ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #6
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #13
YouTube: “Cotton Fields”
Lyrics: “Cotton Fields”
Dave Louis Fisher was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1940. In high school, Fisher had been part of a doo-wop group named The Academics. In 1958, Fisher helped form The Clansmen as a collegiate folk quintet of four freshmen at Weslayan University in Middletown, Connecticut. According to Joseph Murrells in his book, The Book of Golden Discs, Dave Fisher was the quintet’s lead singer and arranger. The other original members of the group were tenor Bob Burnett (born in Providence, RI), bass Steve Butts (born in New York City), baritone Chan Daniels (born in Argentina) and guitarist Steve Trott (born in Glen Ridge, NJ). The name, The Clansmen, they reasoned, was suggestive of Irish and Scottish clans, reflecting the Celtic roots of the songs the folk group performed. However, in the Civil Rights era with growing awareness of the violent acts and images of the Ku Klux Klan (known as the Klansmen), The Clansmen was not going to be a wise choice for the folk group to bill themselves if they wanted to go far. When they signed with United Artists at the end of 1959, they were given a new name, The Highwaymen. The name was inspired by the lines from lines by British poet, Alfred Noyes, “A highwayman comes riding…riding…riding,” from his 1906 poem The Highwayman.
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#70: Milk Train by the Everly Brothers
City: Calgary, AB
Radio Station: CKXL
Peak Month: November 1968
Peak Position in Calgary ~ #7
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Milk Train”
Lyrics: “Milk Train”
Isaac Donald “Don” Everly was born in 1937 and Phillip Jason “Phil” Everly was born in 1939. Don was born in Muhlenberg County in Kentucky, and Phil was born in Chicago. Their dad, Ike, had been a coal miner who decided to pursue music as a guitar player. From the mid-40s Ike and his wife, Margaret, sang as a duo in Shanendoah, Iowa. Later they included their sons “Little Donnie and Baby Boy Phil,” on local radio stations KMA and KFNF. In time they were billed as The Everly Family. In 1953, the family moved to Knoxville, Tennessee. Family friend and musician Chet Atkins got a record deal for the Everly Brothers with RCA Victor in 1956. However, their first single release was a commercial failure and they were dropped from the label. Next, Atkins got them connected with Archie Bleyer, and the boys were signed to Cadence Records. In 1957, their first single on the label, “Bye Bye Love“, became a million-seller and launched their career.
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#4: This Time by Troy Shondell
City: Halifax, NS
Radio Station: CHNS
Peak Month: November 1961
Peak Position in Halifax ~ #1 for 3 weeks
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #5
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #6
YouTube: “This Time”
Lyrics: “This Time”
Troy Shondell was born in 1939 as Gary Wayne Schelton. As he grew up Schelton learned the play five musical instruments. When he was 18, his first single was released titled “My Hero”, and credited to Gary Shelton (having dropped the “c” in his name in this instance). In June 1958, “Kissin’ At the Drive-In” was a Top 30 hit on WJJD in Chicago, and “The Trance” also charted in Chicago that fall. Schelton’s father died of a heart attack in 1960, and he wrote a song titled “Still Loving You”. Bob Luman covered the song successfully as a country hit in 1970.
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#5: Hallelujah I Love Her So by Ray Charles
City: Halifax, NS
Radio Station: CJCH
Peak Month: October 1956
Peak Position in Halifax ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Hallelujah I Love Her So”
Lyrics: “Hallelujah I Love Her So”
Ray Charles Robinson Sr. was born in 1930 in Albany, Georgia. His half-brother, George, was born when Ray was one-years-old. The brother had the same father, but George’s mother was someone the father had taken up with after he abandoned the family in the first year of Ray Charles’ life. George died accidentally in their mother’s laundry tub at the age of 4. From an early age Ray learned to play piano, though he began to lose his sight at the age of 4, and lost it by age 7. In 1937, Ray Charles was sent to St. Augustine (FL) to attend the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind. At the school, young Ray learned to play classical piano by using braille music. In 1945, his mother died when he was 14-years-old.
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#7: Fever by Little Willie John
City: Halifax, NS
Radio Station: CJCH
Peak Month: December 1956
Peak Position in Halifax ~ #2
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #27
Peak Position on Billboard R&B Best Sellers ~ #1
Peak Position on Billboard R&B Jockeys chart ~ #1
Peak Position on Billboard R&B Jukebox chart ~#1
YouTube: “Fever”
Lyrics: “Fever”
Little Willie John was born in 1937 in Cullendale, Arkansas. His family moved to Detroit in 1941 when his dad got work in a factory. He performed in a gospel singing group with a number of his siblings in the late 40s. In the early 50s he was singing with Paul “Hucklebuck” Williams Orchestra. In 1952 he had a seasonal regional hit in Detroit with “Mommy What Happened to Our Christmas Tree”. The song was credited to 14-year-old Willie John and Three Lads and a Lass. Willie John got the attention of a talent scout and was signed to King Records in 1955. He was nicknamed “Little Willie” due to his stature. His first hit with King Records was “All Around the World” which shot to #5 on the R&B charts in ’55. The song is a profession of the singer’s love for someone addressed as “my baby,” describing what else wouldn’t be true if he doesn’t love his woman. The refrain:
Well, if I don’t love you, baby
Grits ain’t groceries
Eggs ain’t poultry
And Mona Lisa was a man.
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#68: Two In The Afternoon by Dino, Desi & Billy
City: Calgary, AB
Radio Station: CKXL
Peak Month: June 1967
Peak Position in Calgary ~ #8
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #99
YouTube: “Two In The Afternoon”
Lyrics: “Two In The Afternoon”
Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV is the son of Des Arnaz and Lucille Ball. His birth in 1953 was one of the most publicized in television history. His parents were the stars of the television sitcom I Love Lucy, and Ball’s pregnancy was part of the storyline, which was considered daring then. The same day Lucy gave birth to Desi Jr., the fictional Lucy Ricardo gave birth to “Little Ricky.” As a testament to how interested the American public was in Lucy’s TV baby, Arnaz appeared on the cover on the very first issue of TV Guide with a title that read: “Lucy’s $50,000,000 baby.” The reason he was given this title was because revenue from certain tie-in commitments were expected to top that mark. In 1964 Desi became the drummer for the pop trio Dino, Desi and Billy. “Dino” was Dean Paul Martin, the son of pop singer Dean Martin “Billy” was Billy Hinsche, brother-in-law of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys.
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