That's Where I Went Wrong by the Poppy Family

#148: That’s Where I Went Wrong by the Poppy Family

Peak Month: January 1970
11 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG Survey
1 week Hit Bound
Peak Position ~ #1
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #29
YouTube: “That’s Where I Went Wrong”
Lyrics: “That’s Where I Went Wrong”

Susan Pesklevits was born in 1948 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. When she was seven years old she was a featured singer on a local radio station. At the age of eight her family moved to the Fraser Valley town of Haney, British Columbia. When she was 13 years old she had her own radio show. In a December 1966 issue of the Caribou newspaper, the Quesnel Observer noted that Susan Pesklevits had auditioned for Music Hop in the summer of 1963 when she was only 15 years old. She had her first public performance at the Fall Fair in Haney when she was just 14 years old. It was noted she liked to ride horseback, ride motorcycles and attend the dramatic shows. Asked about what she could tell the folks in Quesnel about trends in Vancouver, Pesklevits had this to report, “the latest things in Vancouver are the hipster mini-skirts, bright colored suit slacks, and the tailored look. The newest sound is the “Acid Sound,” derived from L.S.D…. it is “pshodelic” which means it has a lot of fuzz tones and feed back. As an example, she gave “Frustration” recorded by the Painted Ship” a local band from Vancouver. Pesklevits added that on the West Coast “the latest dance is the Philly Dog. It mainly consists of two rows, one of girls and one of boys. The idea is to take steps, move in unison, while doing jerking motions and using a lot of hand movement.”

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When A Boy Falls In Love by Mel Carter

#1138: When A Boy Falls In Love by Mel Carter

Peak Month: August 1963
9 weeks on Vancouver’s C-FUN-TASTIC FIFTY Survey
Peak Position ~ #9
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #44
YouTube: “When A Boy Falls In Love”
Lyrics: “When A Boy Falls In Love”

Mel Carter was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1939. As a child he was in a choir at New Prospect Baptist Church. In 1954, Carter began studying under jazz singer Little Jimmy Scott. Carter went to Chicago and met Sam Cooke when Cooke was part of the Soul Stirrers. Mel Carter was also part of a street corner doo-wop group. In the late 50’s and early 60’s, Mel Carter appeared on stage with Dinah Washington at Ciros. In 1960 Carter released his first single on Arwin Records titled “I’m Coming Home”. In 1961 he switched labels to Mercury and released “I Need You So”. Then in 1962, he released a duet with Clyde King titled “The Wrong Side of Town”, which was a minor hit in California and West Virginia. In the spring of 1963, Mel Carter released “When A Boy Falls In Love” on the Derby label.

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This Little Girl Of Mine by the Everly Brothers

#149: This Little Girl Of Mine by the Everly Brothers

Peak Month: February 1958
8 weeks on Vancouver’s Red Robinson’s Teen Canteen Survey
Peak Position ~ #1
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #26
YouTube: “This Little Girl Of Mine”
Lyrics: “This Little Girl Of Mine”

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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Jenny Take A Ride! by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels

#151: Jenny Take A Ride! by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels

Peak Month: January 1966
10 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG Chart
Wax To Watch ~ November 27, 1965
Peak Position ~ #1
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #10
YouTube: “Jenny Take A Ride!”
Lyrics: “Jenny Take A Ride!”

William Sherille Levise, Jr. was born in Michigan in suburban Detroit in 1945. He formed his first band, Tempest, when he was at Warren High School. The band gained some notice playing at a Detroit soul music club called The Village. Levise Jr. proceeded to front a band named Billy Lee & The Rivieras. Record producer and songwriter, Bob Crewe, saw the band and took them under his wing. Crewe renamed them Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. The Detroit Wheels were John Badanjek on drums, Mark Manko on lead guitar, Joey Kubert on rhythm guitar, Jim McCarty on lead guitar (not to be confused with the Yardbirds drummer of the same name) and bass guitarist Earl Elliott.

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Principal's Office by Young MC

#152: Principal’s Office by Young MC

Peak Month: February 1990
16 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG Chart
Peak Position ~ #3
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #33
YouTube: “Principal’s Office”
Lyrics: “Principal’s Office”

Marvin Young was born in 1967 in London, UK. His parents, both Jamaican immigrants, left England when he was three-years-old. They moved the family to Queens, New York, when Marvin was eight. While he was a student at the University of Southern California, he rapped over the phone to two owners of an independent record label in Hollywood named Matt Dike and Michael Ross. After he performed his rap on the phone, Young was given a record contract while he was  still talking to Dike and Ross. In 1989 he cowrote with Dike, Ross and Tone Lōc on the songs “Wild Thing” and “Funky Cold Medina”. These two rap rock singles crossed over from the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart to the Billboard Hot 100, where they respectively peaked at #2 and #3.

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Are You Gonna Go My Way by Lenny Kravitz

#153: Are You Gonna Go My Way by Lenny Kravitz

Peak Month: May 1993
13 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG Chart
Peak Position ~ #2
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Are You Gonna Go My Way”
Lyrics: “Are You Gonna Go My Way”

Leonard Albert Kravitz was born in 1964 in New York City. His mother was African-American and Bahamian, and a Christian. His father was descended from Russia Jews. Kravitz began banging on pots and pans in the kitchen, playing them as drums at the age of three. He decided that he wanted to be a musician at the age of five. He began playing the drums and soon added guitar. Kravitz’ father was a jazz promotor, and Duke Ellington played Happy Birthday for Lenny on his fifth birthday. The family moved to Los Angeles in 1974 when his mother, Roxie Roker, got cast as Helen Willis in the TV sitcom The Jeffersons. 

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She's So Cold by the Rolling Stones

#154: She’s So Cold by the Rolling Stones

Peak Month: December 1980
13 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position ~ #1
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #26
YouTube: “She’s So Cold”
Lyrics: “She’s So Cold”

Michael Philip Jagger was born in Dartford, Kent, England, in 1943, some 18 miles east of London. Though his father and grandfather were both teachers by profession, and he was encouraged to be a teacher, the boy had different aspirations. “I always sang as a child. I was one of those kids who just liked to sing. Some kids sing in choirs; others like to show off in front of the mirror. I was in the church choir and I also loved listening to singers on the radio–the BBC or Radio Luxembourg –or watching them on TV and in the movies.” In 1950 Mick Jagger met Keith Richards while attending primary school. They became good friends until the summer of 1954 when the Jagger family moved to the village of Wilmington, a mile south of Dartford. The pair bumped into each other at a train station in 1961 and resumed their friendship.

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Contact by Platinum Blonde

#155: Contact by Platinum Blonde

Peak Month: November 1987
13 weeks on CKLG chart
Peak Position ~ #3
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Contact”
Lyrics: “Contact”

Mark Holmes was born in the UK and lived in Manchester until the family moved to Toronto. He met several other musicians and formed a punk band that played covers to The Police and other new wave bands. After a lineup change, Holmes was playing guitar and the lead vocalist, Chris Steffler was the drummer and Sergio Galli was a second guitarist. The trio became Platinum Blonde. They got a record deal with CBS in 1983. Their debut album, Standing In The Dark, earned them two Video Of The Year nominations at the 1984 Juno Awards. But it was their second album, Alien Shores, which included “Crying Over You”, a #1 single on the Canadian RPM charts in 1985, and in Vancouver.

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Shy Guy by the Crystalettes

#156: Shy Guy by the Crystalettes

Peak Month: October 1962
12 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position ~ #2
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Shy Guy”

The Crystalettes initially recorded under the name The Dispoto Sisters. They grew up in Reseda, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. The sisters began singing at a very young age, and performed in the Wee Voice group in 1957. At the time Patty (born 1950) was 7, Diana (born 1947) was 10, and Tina (born 1945) was 12. They took part in numbers of choral events while, including at Whitney High School in Los Angeles. They performed with Martha Tilton and many others. They recorded their first single in 1959 on the Verve label, credited to The Dispoto Sisters. It was a two-sided Christmas disc: “Whistling Neath’ The Mistletoe/ Will Clause”. A local paper ran a photo with the byline “Pleasing Voices: The three young daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Dispoto are well on the way to a career as a trio. Patty, 9, Diane, 13, and Tina, 14.”

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