#1232: Because You’re Gone by The Nocturnals
Peak Month: July 1965
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #9
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Because You’re Gone”
The Nocturnals started as an instrumental band called the Rousers in the late 1950’s in Haney, BC. Haney was a town east of Vancouver. Their sound changed over time and they renamed themselves the Nocturnals. Now based in Vancouver, the band consisted of Bill McBeth on drums and lead vocals, Ron Henschel on guitar, Chad Thorp organ, Wayne Evans on bass, and Roger Skinner and Carl Erickson on saxophone. The Nocturnals became affiliated with 1410 CFUN, an AM radio station in Vancouver. On this pop music station The Nocturnals did many promotional appearances during noon hour sock hops at schools and special events. They were referred to as the “Funtastic Nocturnals” and were featured on shows hosted by DJ’s Red Robinson, Fred Latremouillle and “Jolly” John Tanner.
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#1235: Hello Fool by Ralph Emery
Peak Month: September 1961
8 weeks on Vancouver’s CKWX chart
Peak Position #6
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Hello Fool”
“Hello Fool” lyrics
In 1933 Walter Ralph Emery was born in the town of McEwen, Tennessee. Based in Nashville, Emery became a country music deejay on WSM. His late-night show garnered a lot of ratings. This was due to the wide coverage of WSM at night where Emery was heard across much of the midwest and Eastern ‘states. Many of Emery’s fans were long-haul truck drivers enjoying Emery’s company on the radio in the middle of the night. The country and western crowd of session musicians, recording artists and agents in the Nashville scene listened in to Emery’s show. And many were personal friends of Emery. Among these was movie star and singer, Tex Ritter. For a spell, Ritter was Emery’s co-host on the WSM show. Many well-known stars, most notably Marty Robbins, would just drop by and sing a song or share an anecdote.
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#1236: 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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#1238: Mod Socks by The Grasshoppers
Peak Month: April 1965
8 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #11
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Mod Socks”
“Mod Socks” lyrics
According to AllMusic.com music critic, Jason Ankeny, The Grasshoppers were a rock ‘n roll band from Cleveland who formed in 1962. There were several lineup changes and Benjamin Orzechowski joined the band in 1964 and became the lead singer. Ben Orr, who was born in 1947, went on to be a lead singer in the New Wave band, The Cars. Jeff Niesel, of Rolling Stone Magazine writes that members of the Grasshoppers Fan Club included Diane Akins, the president of the club. She remembers meeting Ben Orr when the Grasshoppers were an opening act when the Beach Boys performed in Cleveland in November, 1964. Orzechowski was given the nickname at the time “11 letters” cause his surname was so long. Though AllMusic fails to mention him, I received a comment from Robin Marie Ouellette, the daughter of Louis Pratile. She confirmed that her dad was a member of the Grasshoppers. Dante Rossi and John Matuska were also prominent members of the band.
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#1242: In the Mood by The Hawk
Peak Month: October 1960
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #10
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “In The Mood”
In 1935 Jerry Lee Lewis was born in Ferriday, Louisiana. At the age of nine he started playing the piano. He imitated the styles of preachers and black musicians that passed through his community. His playing style was creative and outrageous. Jerry Lee Lewis rose to become one of rock ‘n rolls’ first showman in the mid-50s. He incorporated some of what he heard into his musical style from listening to radio shows like the Grand Ole Opry and Louisiana Hayride. Among his influences were Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams and Al Jolson. At the age of ten his dad decided to mortgage the family farm so he could purchase a piano for Jerry Lee to play. Lewis first performed in public when he was fourteen years old at the opening of a local car dealership. At age fourteen he quit school and honed his musical skills. But before he became a famous recording act, Lewis sold sewing machines to help make some money.
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#1303: Every Little Tear by Paul Janz
Peak Month: April 1990
9 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #19
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Every Little Tear”
Lyrics: “Every Little Tear”
In 1951 Paul Janz was born into a Mennonite family and his dad was a Mennonite minister. They lived for a few years in Three Hills, Alberta. At the age of four Janz moved with his family to Balen, Switzerland. He was raised on gospel and traditional church music and from childhood sang in a church choir. Early on he was inspired by his upbringing and started to experiment with musical arrangements by the age of ten. When he turned 13 he showed off his emerging skills on the trumpet in a Salvation Army Band. In his teen years he acquired proficiency on drums, guitar and opera with the Basel Conservatory of Music. He also ended up arranging and conducting with the Basel Symphony. He formed a group called Deliverance and based himself in Munich for much of the 70s. The group had success in Germany and scored a minor hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979 called “Leaving L.A”, that peaked in the ‘States at #56.
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#1243: Love is Just a Four Letter Word by Joan Baez
Peak Month: May 1969
6 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #9
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 #86
YouTube.com: “Love Is Just A Four-Letter Word”
Lyrics: “Love Is Just A Four-Letter Word”
Joan Baez was born on Staten Island, New York, in 1941. Her mother was from Edinburgh, Scotland, and her father from Puebla, Mexico. Joan remembers racial slurs thrown at her due to her Mexican heritage. Her younger sister, Mimi Farina, was also became a folk singer and recording artist. Joan Baez was 17 years old in 1958 when she began her studies at the Boston University School of Drama. She was part of a group of peers who had a passion for both folk music and human rights. She began to perfect her adaptations of traditional folk songs showcasing the challenges of the human condition. These include lyrics concerning underdogs in a struggle, race relations, poverty, war and its folly, romantic betrayal, unrequited love and spiritual breakthroughs. She appeared on the folk music scene in 1959 at Club 47 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. That same year she performed at the first Newport Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island.
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#1244: Love Song by Elton John
Peak Month: May 1976
6 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #10
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Love Song”
Lyrics: “Love Song”
Reginald Kenneth Dwight was born in 1947. When he was three years old he astounded his family when he was able to play The Skater’s Waltz by Émile Waldteufel by ear at the piano. When he was eleven years old he won a scholarship as a Junior Exhibitor at the Royal Academy of Music. Between the ages of 11 and 15 he attended the Academy on Saturday mornings. In 1962, by the age of 15, he was performing with his group, The Corvettes, at the Northwood Hills Hotel (now the Northwood Hills Public House) in a northern borough of London. While he was playing with a band called Bluesology in the mid-60s he adopted the stage name Elton John. His stage name, which became his legal name in 1967, was taken from Bluesology saxophonist Elton Dean, and their lead singer, Long John Baldry. Continue reading →
#1246: Cry Your Eyes Out by Les Emmerson
Peak Month: September 1973
7 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #13
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Cry Your Eyes Out”
Les Emmerson was born in 1944. In 1963 he formed the Staccatos. The Ottawa group included lead singer and local disc jockey Dean Hagopian. After some local hits they got the attention of Capitol Records. One of their 1965 singles imitated the surfing sound with “Moved To California”. In 1966 their Top 40 hit on the Canadian RPM singles chart, “Let’s Run Away”, won the group the two Juno awards that year for Best Produced Single and Vocal Instrumental Group Of The Year. Then they released “Half Past Midnight” and the song peaked on the Canadian RPM singles chart at #8 in May 1967. It won them a JUNO award for Best Produced Single and got them gigs in the trendy music scene in the downtown Toronto neighborhood of Yorkville. Coca-Cola lined them up for some jingles and they shared one of two sides of an album in 1968 with The Guess Who called A Wild Pair.
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#1247: Rocket In My Heart by Paul Janz
Peak Month: July 1990
10 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #18
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Rocket In My Heart”
Lyrics: “Rocket In My Heart”
In 1951 Paul Janz was born into a Mennonite family and his dad was a Mennonite minister. They lived for a few years in Three Hills, Alberta. At the age of four Janz moved with his family to Balen, Switzerland. He was raised on gospel and traditional church music and from childhood sang in a church choir. Early on he was inspired by his upbringing and started to experiment with musical arrangements by the age of ten. When he turned 13 he showed off his emerging skills on the trumpet in a Salvation Army Band. In his teen years he acquired proficiency on drums, guitar and opera with the Basel Conservatory of Music. He also ended up arranging and conducting with the Basel Symphony. He formed a group called Deliverance and based himself in Munich for much of the 70s. The group had success in Germany and scored a minor hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979 called “Leaving L.A”. that peaked in the ‘States at #56. The song drew on the popular style of the Bee Gees in the aftermath of Saturday Night Fever.
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