#1196: Harlan County by Jim Ford
Peak Month: October 1969
7 weeks on CKLG chart
Peak Position #10
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Harlan County”
Lyrics: “Harlan County”
In 1941 James Henry Ford was born in Paintsville, Kentucky. The county was rural, remote and had a history of having its citizens taken advantage of by carpetbaggers and coal companies. In an article in Kentucky for Kentucky in 2017, it was mentioned, “one of nine children, Ford was raised by his grandmother near Van Lear, Kentucky. In order to hear the radio, Ford said, he would often travel to a cabin on a hill in nearby Butcher Holler, where Loretta Lynn lived.” At age eleven, Ford moved first to Michigan with his dad who was in the military. Finding the weather too cold, Jim Ford moved down to New Orleans. He served in the armed forces in Germany for awhile. Then he moved to Los Angeles and then took up residence in Fort Bragg, California. He developed a fusion of soul, country and folk music. His songs often referenced people dealing with adversity. His songs have been recorded by a host of performers including Aretha Franklin, Dave Edmunds, Patti LaBelle, Tanya Tucker, Billy Preston, Burton Cummings, The Black Crowes, Bobby Gentry and The Temptations. Nick “Cruel to Be Kind” Lowe, from the UK, considers Jim Ford as his most formative musical influence.
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#1198: Cheryl’s Goin’ Home by The Cascades
Peak Month: May 1966
7 weeks on CFUN chart
Peak Position #7
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #131
YouTube.com: “Cheryl’s Going Home”
“Cheryl’s Going Home” lyrics
John Gummoe was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and was drafted to join the U.S. Navy. On the USS Jason, a group of sailors in the U.S. Navy formed a band in 1960 called the Silver Strands. Among the San Diego based crew was John Gummoe who provided lead vocals. The group left the Navy and renamed themselves the Thundernotes. Among Gummoe’s bandmates were Eddy Snyder (guitar), G, David Szabo (keyboards) Dave Stevens (bass guitar) and Dave Wilson (drums). They became The Cascades and recorded “There’s A Reason,” making #10 in San Francisco and #15 in San Diego in July ’62. Their second release with Valliant Records was “Rhythm Of The Rain”. The song went to #1 in the USA, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and Ireland. The song peaked at #3 on CFUN and spent 15 weeks on the chart in 1963. It tied for the second longest chart run for a single in Vancouver that year behind “She Loves You” by The Beatles.
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#1400: School Bus by Kris Jensen
Peak Month: October 1960
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #13
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com link: “School Bus”
In 1942, Peter Jensen was born in New Haven, Connecticut. From a young age, Pete was a big fan of the singing cowboys, Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. When Pete was sixteen years old, he met Denise Norwood. She was a songwriter who penned “The Garden Of Eden.” This was a hit for Joe Valino. Between the ages of sixteen and nineteen, Jensen collaborated with Denise Norwood. He recorded numbers of her songs at her home studio. In 1959, Colpix Records released Jensen’s recording of “Bonnie Baby”. The tune made the local charts on WHIL Boston. Jensen variously recorded for Leader, Kapp, Hickory and finally White Whale. Jensen could not only sing, but also play the guitar and bass guitar. Though he would release at least sixteen singles between 1959 and 1966, he is remembered in America as a one-hit wonder. But not in Vancouver where he charted three songs on the local pop charts.
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#1200: Can I Get to Know You Better by The Turtles
Peak Month: November 1966
6 weeks on CKLG chart
Peak Position #5
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #89
YouTube.com: “Can I Get To Know You Better”
Lyrics: “Can I Get To Know You Better”
In 1947 two of the founding members of The Turtles were born. Howard Kaplan spent his first eight years in the Bronx and Manhattan. Then his dad got a job in Utica, in upstate New York, with General Electric. Several years later he moved with his family to the Los Angeles community of Westchester, just to the south of Santa Monica. Mark Volman was born in Redondo Beach and his family later also moved to Westchester. At Westchester High School both boys were in the Westchester High A Capella Choir. Mark was a first tenor and Howard was a second tenor. Kaplan and Volman’s first band, the Crossfires, played instrumental music, but the arrival of the Beatles in 1964 encouraged a change of focus. Howard’s vocal abilities made him a clear choice to be the frontman when the Crossfires evolved into the Turtles. In ’65 Kaplan changed his surname to Kaylan. Other high school friends, Al Nichol, Don Murray and Jim Tucker were among the original Crossfires bandmates who made the transition to The Turtles. After several changes bass player Chip Douglas was in the Turtles’ line-up by the spring of 1966.
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#1207: I Was Made To Love Her by King Curtis & the Kingpins
Peak Month: February 1968
6 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #10
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #76
YouTube.com: “I Was Made To Love Her” ~ King Curtis
YouTube.com: “I Was Made To Love Her” ~ Stevie Wonder
Lyrics: “I Was Made To Love Her”
Born Curtis Ousley in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1934. His trademark was a honking Texas tenor sound inspired by his main influences Illinois Jacquet, Earl Bostic, Arnett Cobb albeit with a rock and roll edge. He moved to New York in 1952 and played with Lionel Hampton’s and Horace Silver’s jazz groups. He began doing session work for R&B and rock and roll artists in the mid-Fifties. One of his most memorable solos, and the one that sealed his reputation as a rock and roll sideman, appeared in the Coasters’ 1958 smash, “Yakety Yak”.
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#1214: I Dig Girls by J.J. Jackson
Peak Month: February 1967
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #7
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #83
YouTube.com: “I Dig Girls”
Lyrics: “I Dig Girls”
In 1941, J.J. Jackson was born in the Bronx, New York. In 1957 he had his first song recorded by Billy Williams called “The Lord Will Understand (And Say Well Done)” as one of three tracks on an Extended Play supporting Williams hit single “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself A Letter“. Jackson wrote songs recorded by the Flamingos, the Shangri-las – the B-side to “Remember (Walking In The Sand)”, Barbara Lewis and Eddie Floyd, In 1966, Jackson wrote a hit single in the UK for the British group in the Pretty Things called “Come See Me“.
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#1221: Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine by Country Joe & The Fish
Peak Month: August 1967
5 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #5
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #98
YouTube.com: “Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine”
Lyrics: “Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine”
In 1942 Joseph Allan McDonald was born in Washington, D. C. He was raised in the Los Angeles, California, suburb of El Monte. His parents, Florence and Worden, were members of the United States Communist Party and began to have difficulties with the authorities during the McCarthy years. In his home Joe was raised as what was termed at the time as a “red diaper baby.” The El Monte Legion Stadium was on the circuit for music groups of the era and Joe went to hear most of them. In the fall of 1965, Country Joe and the Fish was the creative fusion of a political device, necessity and entertainment.
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#1392: A Sunday Kind of Love by Jan and Dean
Peak Month December 1961
6 weeks on Vancouver’s CKWX chart
Peak Position #11
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #95
Youtube.com: “A Sunday Kind Of Love”
Lyrics: “A Sunday Kind Of Love”
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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#1225: A Kookie Little Paradise by Jo Ann Campbell
Peak Month: September 1960
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CKWX chart
Peak Position ~ #12
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #61
YouTube.com: “A Kookie Little Paradise”
Lyrics: “A Kookie Little Paradise”
In 1938 Jo Ann Campbell was born in Jacksonville, Florida. When she was just four years old she was enrolled in music school. She also had a flare for choreography winning successive honors at her high school as a drum majorette. She flew to Europe in 1954 as part of a dance troupe. Afterward, she based herself in Manhattan having a successful audition with the Johnny Conrad Dancers. In that capacity she appeared on The Milton Berle Show and The Colgate Comedy Hour. She was encouraged to give attention to her vocal talents and in 1956 she recorded her debut release with RKO-Point Records in New York called “Where Ever You Go” with the Johnny Conrad Dancers. It was unsuccessful. In search of a hit she moved on to sign with Eldorado Records after her performance at the Apollo Theater in Harlem got favorable reviews. Again there were no hits resulting from several single releases. Next she signed with Gone Records and in December 1957 her single, “Wait A Minute,” spent six weeks on the CHUM chart in Toronto. Campbell also appeared at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater and on American Bandstand.
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#1235: Hop Scotch by Santo and Johnny
Peak Month: April 1961
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
1 week C-FUN Twin Pick Hit
Peak Position #10 on CKWX/#11 on CFUN
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Hop Scotch”
The Farina brothers, Santo & Johnny, were born in Brooklyn, New York. Santo, October 24, 1937 and Johnny, April 30, 1941. As a boy Santo Farina listened frequently to the Hometown Frolics, a country radio show. Through that association he came to love the sound of the steel guitar by the time he was teen. Santo convinced a neighborhood music store to modify and acoustic guitar to allow him to play it like a steel. Santo was mesmerized with the sounds he could produce on his new guitar and practiced day and night. Within two years, he was performing for amateur shows on a new Gibson six-string steel guitar. Soon after, he acquired a steel guitar teacher who had learned the art in Hawaii.
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