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.
City: Halifax, NS
Radio Station: CJCH
Peak Month: December 1962
Peak Position in Halifax ~ #2
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #6
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #12
YouTube: “Dance With The Guitar Man”
Lyrics: “Dance With The Guitar Man”
Duane Eddy was born in Corning, New York, in 1938. When he turned five years old he started to play guitar. His family moved to Arizona and in 1954, at the age of 16, Eddy got a Chet Atkins Gretch guitar. In 1954, at Coolidge High School Duane met Jimmy Delbridge who shared his love of music. Both boys played guitar and sang. In short order they were appearing on local radio in Coolidge, KCKY, as Jimmy and Duane. Jimmy sang best and Duane was a superior guitar player. Duane persuaded Jimmy leave the guitar behind and play piano. During 1955 local Phoenix disc jockey Lee Hazlewood was informally managing the duo. In June ’55 Hazlewood drove Eddy and Jimmy Dell (as he was now known) to Ramsey Recording Studio in Phoenix. In the studio the duo recorded the first of Hazelwood’s songs, “Soda Fountain Girl” and “I Want Some Lovin’ Baby”. These were old hillbilly tunes backed by Buddy Long & the Western Melody Boys.
City: Halifax, NS
Radio Station: CHNS
Peak Month: December 1965
Peak Position in Halifax ~ #9
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Blue Lipstick”
Patrician Anne McKinnon was born in Shiloh, Manitoba, in 1947. had already been singing on the CBC for years — as part of the choir in the 1960s music show Singalong Jubilee (which is where Anne Murray got her start, too). Patrician-Anne — and her better-known sister, the singer and actor Catherine McKinnon — split their time between the East Coast and Toronto.
She was just 16 years old when she recorded “Blue Lipstick”.
“Blue Lipstick” was written for her by the famous songwriter P.F. Sloan. Philip Gary Schlein was born in New York City in 1945. His mom was born in Romania and his dad in the USA. The family moved to West Hollywood when Philip was twelve years old. His father was a pharmacist and had the family name changed legally since Philip’s dad was repeatedly denied a liquor license for his store. The new surname, Sloan, gave Philip’s dad no hassles and the family business thrived. In 1958 Philip was given a guitar as a present. Prior to being drafted into the US Army, Elvis Presley gave Philip Sloan a quick guitar lesson at a music store in Hollywood. By the age of 14 Philip Sloan’s nickname was “Flip,” a variant of Philip. So he became P (Philip) F (Flip) Sloan. At 16, “Flip” Sloan got a position as a songwriter with Screen Gems in Los Angeles. In addition to songwriting, Sloan teamed up with Steve Barri. The pair recorded several records hoping for a hit single. They failed at getting any notice when releasing singles under the names The Lifeguards, Themes Inc., The Rally-Packs and The Wildcats. And they barely registered on the charts in 1964 as Philip and Stephan with “When You’re Near You’re So Far Away”, or as The Street Cleaners with “That’s Cool, That’s Trash”.
Sloan wrote “Eve of Destruction”, “Secret Agent Man” for Johnny Rivers, “Unless You Care” and “Little Liar” for Terry Black, “You Baby” and “Can I Get To Know You Better” for The Turtles, “A Must To Avoid” for Herman’s Hermits and “Where Were You When I Needed You” for the Grass Roots (and produced “Let’s Live For Today” for the Grass Roots).
In the song “Blue Lipstick”, after a break-up, a young woman wears blue lipstick to signal how hurt she feels. She pretends she doesn’t care anymore. But she knows it isn’t true. She thinks she’ll never kiss another boy. If only the guy who broke things off would return to her. Until that elusive occurrence, she’ll keep on wearing blue lipstick.
Arc Records reported “Sloane wrote the song specially for the pretty 17-year-old vocalist, after hearing her via tape, back in May before “Eve of Destruction” started his present winning streak, and now his name practically guarantees close attention from the stations. Patrician-Anne is a regular on “Frank’s Bandstand” of the CBC-TV network’s edition of “Music Hop” so the disc gets national TV exposure.”
Promotional ads for the song effused, “An artist so great, the current Number One writer/performer in the US just wrote a song especially for her. The current wave of P.F. Sloan hits is great publicity for Arc Records new release, “Blue Lipstick” by Patrician-Anne.” In another ad, Arc Records featured both Terry Black and Patrician-Anne on a poster that read “They’re what’s happening baby! Canada’s grooviest teens. Tell the world about these two.”
“Blue Lipstick” peaked at #9 in Halifax (NS).
“Blue Lipstick” would wind up being her biggest hit. Sadly, her career would slow down after she was diagnosed with cancer in the early 1970s. In 1974 the CBC in Nova Scotia released an EP titled “Patrician Anne Halifax Vocalist”. It included four tracks, featuring a cover of the hit “If” by Bread, a song written by Sylvia Tyson, and another track penned by Brent Titcomb, formerly of 3’s A Crowd. According to the Toronto Historical Jukebox, Patrician-Anne released a full-length self-titled album in 1984 and died of Hodgkin’s in 2001.
City: Halifax, NS
Radio Station: CHNS
Peak Month: January 1966
Peak Position in Halifax ~ #3
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #16
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #51
YouTube: “A Young Girl”
Lyrics: “A Young Girl”
Noel Harrison was born in 1934, and was the son of Rex Harrison and his first of six wives, Ethel Collette-Thomas. When he was 15, his mother took Noel out of school to live in the Swiss Alps. Harrison never returned to school and began ski-racing. He joined the Ipswich theatre repertory group and taught himself guitar, but his main interest and most of his spare time was spent skiing. At an early age, he was a member of the British ski team, becoming its first giant-slalom champion in 1953. In 1952, Harrison represented Great Britain at the Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway. Four years later he was part of Great Britain’s olympic tea at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
City: Calgary, AB
Radio Station: CKXL
Peak Month: June 1967
Peak Position in Calgary ~ #3
Peak position in Vancouver ~ Hitbound
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “A Day In The Life”
Lyrics: “A Day In The Life”
Paul McCartney was born in Liverpool in 1942. He attended the Liverpool Institute High School for Boys and met fellow classmates George Harrison on a school bus. When Paul was 14 his mom died from a blockage in one of her blood vessels. In his early teens McCartney learned to play trumpet, guitar and piano. He was left-handed and restrung the strings to make it work. In 1957, Paul met John Lennon and in October he was invited to join John’s skiffle band, The Quarrymen, which Lennon had founded in 1956. After Paul joined the group his suggested that his friend, George Harrison, join the group. Harrison became one of the Quarrymen in early 1958, though he was still only 14. Other original members of the Quarrymen, Len Garry, Rod Davis, Colin Hanton, Eric Griffiths and Pete Shotton left the band when their set changed from skiffle to rock ‘n roll. John Duff Lowe, a friend of Paul’s from the Liverpool Institute, who had joined the Quarrymen in early 1958 left the band at the end of school. This left Lennon, McCartney and Harrison as remaining trio. On July 15, 1958, John Lennon’s mother died in an automobile accident.
City: Halifax, NS
Radio Station: CHNS
Peak Month: February 1969
Peak Position in Halifax ~ #3
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #46
YouTube: “Condition Red”
Lyrics: “Condition Red”
The Goodees were a girl group comprised of Kay Evans, Sandra Jackson and Judy Williams. They became friends at Memphis’ Messick High School. They started singing at school assemblies and local events. They got a break in 1967 when they won a local talent contest. The winning prize included an audition with Stax Records.
City: Halifax, NS
Radio Station: CJCH
Peak Month: January 1957
Peak Position in Halifax ~ #3
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #35
YouTube: “Wisdom Of A Fool”
Lyrics: “Wisdom Of A Fool”
Around 1945, a gospel quartette from Newport News, Virginia, was formed. They consisted of Rudy (born 1932) and Bernard West (born in 1929) and Ripley (born in 1930) and Raphael Ingram. They called themselves The Sentimental Four. They added a second tenor, Edwin Hall, to the group, though they kept their name. Music commentator Marc Goldberg writes, “With their changed sound, the Sentimental Four (plus one) won the Jefferson Theater amateur show for five consecutive weeks.” Consequently, they were rewarded with a trip to the Apollo Theater. The manager of the Jefferson Theater in Newport News was Ike Burton. He was so excited about The Sentimental Four, that he offered to become their manager, which they accepted. Burton wanted the group to change their name. Goldberg recounts, “They were in his office when a key ring with 5 skeleton keys on it fell on the floor, and the “5 Keys” they became.” Soon they had double-breasted gray plaid suits and blue and white ties with the ‘K’ stitched on. They showed up at the Apollo Theatre Amateur Hour on August 24, 1949, with their new outfit.
City: Halifax, NS
Radio Station: CJCH
Peak Month: October 1956
Peak Position in Halifax ~ #4
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Little Coquette”
Lyrics: “Little Coquette”
Jimmy Beasley was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1929. (Real Blues Magazine states he was born in 1929, while Wikipedia states he was born in 1931). Beasley was in several bands while in high school. But he also developed a talent for boxing. Between 1948 and 1950 he won 59 out of 65 fights vying for the Golden Glove competition. In 1954, Beasley was about to move to Los Angeles, when his band – The Sonny Kenner Trio – became the house band at the El Capitan Club at 18th and Vine in Kansas City. On one occasion, Billie Holiday showed up at the club and asked to sing with the trio. Upon moving to Los Angeles, Beasley got to know people in the music scene. For a semester he studied theology at Pepperdine College in Malibu, but quit before the year was through.
City: Calgary, AB
Radio Station: CKXL
Peak Month: November 1970
Peak Position in Calgary ~ #6
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #26
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “I Believe In Sunshine”
Lyrics: “I Believe In Sunshine”
Formed by a bunch of high school chums in Willowdale, Ontario, in 1968, Madrigal consisted of Rick Henderson on guitars, guitarist/bassist John Swainson, Peter Boynton on Piano, and drummer Don Simpson. Madrigal been playing psychedelic rock and pop in the Toronto area for close to a year. Greg Hambleton, owner of Tuesday Records, noticed them and one thing led to another. Hambleton signed Madrigal to management and recording contracts. In the summer of 1969, the band was in a recording studio. They released their version of his song “I Believe In Sunshine”. The song had been recorded by A Passing Fancy in 1967 and peaked at #28 on CHUM in Toronto.
City: Halifax, NS
Radio Station: CJCH
Peak Month: October 1956
Peak Position in Halifax ~ #6
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Pretty Little Girl”
Lyrics: “Pretty Little Girl”
The Monarchs were a doo-wop group from New York City. The members consisted of Arthur Allen, Arthur Kemp, Fred Wells, Robert Galloway, and Robert White. They released a single titled “Wanna Go Home” on Wing Records in 1955. They switched labels to record on Neil Records in 1956. Their first effort was “Always Be Faithful”. Their third single release was “Pretty Little Girl” late summer ’56. A photo of the group at the top of this post features the five members on each side of a table with a manager and his spouse at the back of the table.
