#970: Red Red Wine by Neil Diamond

Peak Month: May 1968
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #7
1 week Hitbound on CKLG
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #62
YouTube.com: “Red Red Wine”
Lyrics: “Red Red Wine”

Neil Leslie Diamond was born in Brooklyn in 1941. His parents were Russian and Polish immigrants and both Jewish. His dad was a dry-goods merchant. When he was in high school he met Barbra Streisand in a Freshman Chorus and Choral Club. Years later they would become friends. When he was sixteen Diamond was sent to a Jewish summer camp called Surprise Lake Camp in upstate New York. While there he heard folk singer, Pete Seeger, perform in concert. That year Diamond got a guitar and, influenced by Pete Seeger, began to write poems and song lyrics. While he was in his Senior year in high school, Sunbeam Music Publishing gave Neil Diamond an initial four month contract composing songs for $50 a week (US $413 in 2017 dollars). and he dropped out of college to accept it.

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#971: Who Do You Love by The Woolies

Peak Month: April 1967
10 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #11
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #95
YouTube.com: “Who Do You Love”
“Who Do You Love” lyrics by Bo Diddley
“Who Do You Love” original version by Bo Diddley

In 1943 Bob Baldori was born in Pennsylvania. His father, John Baldori, played the trumpet while his mother, Lucille, had sung in a big band John Baldori was a trumpeter in. After the war the family relocated to Dearborn, Michigan. John Baldori worked at Ford Motors, a side job at Detroit Tiger’s games and playing at jazz clubs in Detroit. At the age of three, Bob Baldori was introduced to the player piano at his grandfather’s home. By the age of five he started to learn piano. Bob’s youngest brother, Jeff (born 1951), also took piano lessons. Bob was influenced by Oscar Peterson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino and Duke Ellington.

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#972: Route 66 by Nelson Riddle

Peak Month: May 1962
9 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #5
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #30
YouTube.com: “Route 66”

Born in 1921, Nelson Smock Riddle, Jr. was born in Oradell, New Jersey. He learned the piano at eight and the trombone at age 14. By his late teens he was arranging for local dance bands. He began to play with the Charlie Spivak Orchestra. In 1943 he joined the Merchant Marine and in 1944 began to play in the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra until he was drafted into the U.S. Army in April 1945. He finished serving in the Army in June 1946 and move to Hollywood. Within a few years he had arranged his first Top Ten hit single, a tune sung by Doris Day titled “Again.” Riddle pursued his multiple talents as an arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator.

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#978: The Peppermint Twist by Danny Peppermint And The Jumping Jacks

Peak Month: December 1961
6 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #8
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “The Peppermint Twist”
Lyrics: “The Peppermint Twist”

Danny Lamego was born in New Jersey. He formed a band called The Jumping Jacks and they played the circuit at clubs in New Jersey. In 1956 they recorded a single with a tiny independent label in New York City called Andrea Records. It was a rockabilly-flavored tune titled “Hickory Dickory Dock.” However, the song was a commercial failure as the Andrea label, which released only two singles, had poor distribution. In 1957 Danny Lamego and his Jumping Jacks got another single called “The Other Man” released through Jubilee Records on the Josie Label. The song was reviewed in the April 20, 1957, issue of Billboard Magazine with this recommendation: “Presley like effort on a nicely backed rock and roller. Lament tells the story of a jilted lover who wishes he was the other man. Nice stuff here that could catch on.” The single, however, didn’t catch on and also missed the pop charts.

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Peak Month: March 1961
8 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #6
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Music Vendor (USA) ~ #112
YouTube.com: “Star-Crossed Lovers”

Ted Cooper and Edward Zolas were obscure composers who also recorded as Eddy and Teddy. Ted Cooper was born in 1938 and turned 23 in 1961. The pair were songwriters for Aldon Music in New York, located at 1650 Broadway. Ted Cooper went on to be an arranger and producer in New York.

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#990: Heart And Soul by Jan And Dean

Peak Month: June 1961
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #4
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Heart And Soul”

Jan and Dean were a pop duo who formed in 1958. They met in 1957 while they were students at Emerson Junior High School in Los Angeles. A year later they were on the football team of University High School. They had adjoining lockers and began singing and harmonizing in the showers with a number of other football players. Dean Torrence was drafted into the US Army Reserve in 1958. Jan Berry went on to record his first single with Arnold P. “Arnie” Ginsburg under the name Jan & Arnie. (Ginsburg happened to have a namesake, Arnie “woo woo” Ginsburg, who was a career DJ in Boston including on WMEX). The hit, “Jennie Lee”, was penned by Ginsburg and inspired by a poster of a local Hollywood burlesque performer. Jan and Arnie performed on American Bandstand in May and the tune went to #8 on the Billboard charts. When Dean Torrence returned Jan & Dean recorded their first Top Ten hit, “Baby Talk”, peaking at #10 in 1959 (#20 on CKWX in Vancouver).

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#993: Happy Happy Birthday by Wanda Jackson

Peak Month: December 1960
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #6
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
CFUN Twin Pick ~ November 19, 1960
YouTube.com: “Happy Happy Birthday”
Lyrics: Happy Happy Birthday”
Original version by the Tune Weavers

Wanda Lavonne Jackson was born in 1937 in Maud, Oklahoma. According to Wolf Kurt in his essay, “You Can’t Catch Me: Rockabilly Bursts Through The Door,” Jackson’s dad was a musician. In search of a better life, he relocated the family to Bakersfield, California, in the 1940’s. While in Bakersfield, her dad purchased Wanda a guitar and taught her to play. Tom Jackson also took his daughter to live concerts by Spade Cooley, Tex Williams and Bob Wills, which opened her eyes and ears to the exciting world of country and western music. It was when she was eleven years old that her family returned to Oklahoma in the fall of 1948. In 1954, while she was still sixteen years old, Wanda Jackson started to sing professionally in Oklahoma City. While in high school, Jackson had been discovered by country music recording artist, Hank Thompson, who heard Wanda singing KLPR-AM in Oklahoma City. Thompson asked Wanda to sing with his band, the Brazos Valley Boys. This led to her recording several  songs with Capitol Records. Among those was a duet with the Brazos Valley Boys bandleader, Billy Gray titled “You Can’t Have My Love”. The song climbed to #8 on the Billboard country chart. From her initial success, Wanda Jackson approached Capitol Records to give her a record contract. However, she was told by producer Ken Nelson that Capitol wasn’t interested because “Girls don’t sell records.” Subsequently, Wanda Jackson got a record deal with Decca Records.

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#996: A Question Of Temperature by The Balloon Farm

Peak Month: April 1968
8 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #7
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #37
YouTube.com: “A Question Of Temperature”
Lyrics: “A Question Of Temperature”

Before The Balloon Farm formed, Don Henny and Ed Schnug first played together in a band called Adam, which made one single for the Mala label entitled “Eve” in 1966. Adam’s gimmick was that all four members of the group adopted the first name  of Adam: Adam Taylor, Adam Dawson, Adam Schnug and Adam London. After the band named Adam disbanded, Henny and Schnug were joined by Mike Appel and Jay Saks and adopted the name The Balloon Farm. They took the name from a New York City nightclub.

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#997: Cry Myself To Sleep by Del Shannon

Peak Month: July 1962
8 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #6
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #99
YouTube.com: “Cry Myself To Sleep”
Lyrics: Cry Myself To Sleep”

Charles Weedon Westover was born on December 30, 1934, in Coopersville, Michigan. He was known professionally as Del Shannon. He learned ukulele and guitar and listened to country music. He was drafted into the Army in 1954, and while in Germany played guitar in a band called The Cool Flames. When his service ended, he returned to Battle Creek, Michigan. There he worked as a carpet salesman and as a truck driver in a furniture factory. He found part-time work as a rhythm guitarist in singer Doug DeMott’s group called Moonlight Ramblers, working at the Hi-Lo Club. They renamed themselves Big Little Show Band, and Westover took on the stage name of Charlie Johnson. Ann Arbor deejay Ollie McLaughlin heard the band. In July 1960, Charlie Johnson signed to become a recording artist and composer on the Bigtop label. His name was changed once again, this time to Del Shannon. It was a combination of Shannon Kavanagh (a wannabe wrestler who patronized the Hi-Lo Club) with Del, derived from the Cadillac Coupe de Ville, which Westover’s carpet store boss drove.
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#998: Hootenanny by The Glencoves

Peak Month: July 1963
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #6
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #38
YouTube.com: “Hootenanny”
Lyrics: “Hootenanny”

The Glencoves were a folk group formed in 1961 in Mineola, Long Island, New York. Their membership consisted of lead vocalist and banjo player Don Connors, backing vocalist and guitar player Bill Byrne, backing vocalist John Cadley and backing vocalist and guitar player Brian Bolger. John Cadley began playing guitar at the age of 13 after hearing a recording of the Kingston Trio in 1959. Of the Glencoves, John Cadley is the one member who has remained in the music business over the decades.

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