#16: Making Every Minute Count by Spanky and Our Gang
City: London, ON
Radio Station: CJBK
Peak Month: September 1967
Peak Position in London ~ #6
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #30
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #31
YouTube: “Making Every Minute Count”
Lyrics: “Making Every Minute Count”
Spanky and Our Gang was a sunshine pop group led by Elaine “Spanky” McFarlane. She was born in Peoria, Illinois, in 1942. In 1959, she arrived in Chicago and began to perform in jazz clubs with Lil Hardin Armstrong (Louis Armstrong’s second wife), Earl Hines, and Little Brother Montgomery. She soon got involved with the burgeoning folk crowd and formed a trio with Roger McGuinn (future frontman of The Byrds) and Guy Guilbert called the Old Town Trio. The trio played in local Chicago area bars and coffee houses for a summer. In 1962, she joined the New Wine Singers. Fellow singer Arnie Lanza nicknamed her Spanky because of the similarity of her last name, McFarlane, to the last name of child actor George McFarland who played Spanky in the Our Gang (also known as The Little Rascals) comedies about poor neighborhood children and their adventures. The nickname stuck.
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#118: Jesse by Roberta Flack
City: Montreal, PQ
Radio Station: CHOM
Peak Month: November 1973
Peak Position in Montreal ~ #3
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #30
YouTube: “Jesse”
Lyrics: “Jesse”
Roberta Flack was born in Black Mountain, North Carolina, in 1937. Her family moved to Arlington, Virginia, when she was five. Growing up in a large, musical family, she often accompanied the choir of Lomax African Methodist-Episcopal Zion Church by playing hymns and spirituals on piano. She also attended a Baptist in her neighborhood to listen to contemporary gospel music including songs performed by Mahalia Jackson and Sam Cooke. When Flack was nine, she began to play the piano. Into her teens, she excelled at classical piano, finishing second in a statewide competition for Black 13-year-old students. In connection with the competition, she won a full music scholarship to Howard University.
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#17: Spaceship Superstar by Prism
City: London, ON
Radio Station: CJBK
Peak Month: December 1977
Peak Position in London ~ #6
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Spaceship Superstar”
Lyrics: “Spaceship Superstar”
In 1967 a new rock group appeared on the Vancouver scene called the Seeds of Time. They had several local hits including “My Home Town” and “Crying The Blues”. There were a number of lineup changes, but the bands personnel included drummer Rocket Norton, guitarist Lindsay Mitchell, and bassist Al Harlow. These three reunited after the Seeds of Time disbanded in 1974. After a brief stint as an R&B band called Sunshyne, they became Prism under Lindsay Mitchell’s initiative. In the band were new singer Ron Tabak, bassist Tom Lavin, keyboard player John Hall and drummer Rodney Higgs. Higgs was actually a pseudonym for Jim Vallance, the future songwriting partner of Bryan Adams.
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#18: While The Record Goes Around by the Playmates
City: London, ON
Radio Station: CKSL
Peak Month: October 1958
Peak Position in London ~ #6
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “While The Record Goes Around”
Lyrics: “While The Record Goes Around”
The Nitwits were a vocal group that began performing in Waterbury, Connecticut, in 1952. They were a trio consisting of Chic Hetti (born Carl Cicchetti) on piano and lead vocals, drummer and vocalist Donny Conn (born Donald Clapps), and Morey Carr (born Morey Cohen) on vocals and bass. All three were born in the Waterbury area. Each had attended the University of Connecticut in the early 50’s and decided to form a comedy group that also sang songs. They toured lounges in the USA and Canada. Their routine and material resembled another vocal group from the mid-50’s into the early 60’s named the Four Preps. Over five years of touring, the Nitwits shifted their focus from comedy skits with songs to being primarily a vocal group with comedic banter between tunes. In the spring of 1957, the Nitwits got a contract with Roulette Records, becoming the labels first vocal group. They changed their name from the Nitwits to the Playmates. In the middle of the calypso craze, they released an album titled Playmates Visit the West Indies. That year “Darling It’s Wonderful” peaked at #12 in Toronto.
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#47: Walkin’ Mary Home by the Nomads
City: Edmonton, AB
Radio Station: CHED
Peak Month: March 1967
Peak Position in Edmonton: #9
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Walkin’ Mary Home”
The Nomads formed in 1958 and had nine members. Notable lead vocalist, Lennie Richards, was born in Edmonton in 1940. He joined the band in 1961. In 1962 Lennie Richards and the Nomads released “Teem Twist” in 1962. On the back of the 45 RPM record jacket it read “When he was 16 he began singing and playing the guitar. An Edmonton disc jockey heard him sing and arranged an audition which launched him on his singing career. Lennie performed with various local “Rock n’ Roll” groups throughout his high school days and after graduation up until 1961. In the spring of 1961, he joined the Nomads as their feature vocalist and rhythm guitar player. Today, Lennie Richards is one of the most popular young singers in Western Canada.” The band also released a cover of the Bell-Notes 1959 hit “I’ve Had It”.
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#19: A House, A Car And A Wedding Ring by Dale Hawkins
City: London, ON
Radio Station: CKSL
Peak Month: November 1958
Peak Position in London ~ #6
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #46
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #88
YouTube: “A House, A Car, And A Wedding Ring”
Lyrics: “A House, A Car, And A Wedding Ring”
Delmar Allen “Dale” Hawkins was born in Goldmine Plantation, Louisiana, in 1936. Fellow rockabilly singer, Ronnie Hawkins, was his cousin. His family was poor and he picked cotton with Black-Americans to get by. He left home when he was fifteen and joined the United States Navy. After he left the Navy in 1953, he got a job in Shreveport (LA) working for Stanley Lewis at Stan’s Record Shop. He began recording in 1956 and released “See You Soon Baboon”, which opened with a Tarzan call. In 1957, Hawkins was playing at Shreveport clubs. His music was influenced by the new rock and roll style of Elvis Presley and the guitar sounds of Scotty Moore. Still, Hawkins blended that sound with the uniquely heavy blues sound of black Louisiana artists for his recording of his swamp-rock classic, “Susie Q”. He took five months to write the song before August 1954. In early 1957, Hawkins recorded the song late one night at KWKH-AM in Shreveport. The recording was sold to Chess Records which released it as a single in May ’57. “Susie Q” peaked at #7 on the Billboard Rhythm and Blues chart. It reached #27 on the Billboard pop chart in July ’57. In Canada, “Susie Q” reached #6 in Toronto and #10 in Winnipeg.
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#21: Getting Dizzy by the Elegants
City: London, ON
Radio Station: CKSL
Peak Month: October 1958
Peak Position in London ~ #7
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Getting Dizzy”
Lyrics: N/A
The Elegants were a doo-wop group that was started in 1958 by Vito Picone, Arthur Venosa, Frank Tardogno, Carman Romano and James Moschello in South Beach, Staten Island, New York. They started out performing under the boardwalk by their homes. Back in 1955 in Staten Island,Vito Picone was 15-years old and his friend Carman Romano played the trombone in their high school. But in the mid-50s they wanted form a vocal group. They recruited reunited high school bandmate Ronnie Jones, who played trombone. The fourth member of their group was and girl trumpet player Pat “Cordel” Croccitto. They named themselves The Crescents. The foursome sang for the fun of it and performed at local church functions and dances.
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#22: You’re So Square by Uranus
City: London, ON
Radio Station: CJBK
Peak Month: April 1980
Peak Position in London ~ #8
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “You’re So Square”
Lyrics: “You’re So Square”
Uranus was a rock ‘n roll band from London, Ontario. They formed in 1977. The band consisted of drummer Dexter Clayton Beaugregard. On keyboards and guitar was Frank Risdale. On bass guitar and rhythm guitar was Jerry Fletcher. While Jack Whiteside was also on guitar. The four bandmates took turns with vocals, and all were born in the London area. In 1978, the band released a 45 EP with four tracks: “’53 Buick / Handcuffs / Tommy Get Your Gun / I’m Wonderful”. It got some local airplay.
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#48: Hobo by Wes Dakus
City: Edmonton, AB
Radio Station: CHED
Peak Month: March 1965
Peak Position in Edmonton: #9
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Hobo”
In 1938, Wes Dakus was born in Mannville, Alberta. He moved to Edmonton and formed The Rebels in 1958. The Rebels quickly became one of the most popular predominantly instrumental groups on the prairies. They performed in rural hotels and seniors drop-in centres. Initially the band was known as the CJCA Rebels. It was Edmonton radio station that promoted them. CJCA gave The Rebels air-time on its local talent features and helped them with the bookings. The Rebels became one of the regular bands at The Commercial and The Rainbow Ballroom in Edmonton. By the time Dakus caught the attention of Quality Records’ VP Lloyd Dunn, he and The Rebels had gotten to know Alberta’s roads like the backs of their hands. By this time The Rebels were making tours across western Canada. The band travelled to Clovis, New Mexico where they recorded with Buddy Holly’s producer Norman Petty. He ultimately became their manager, and two singles were released under the name of The Club 93 Rebels, a nod to their radio station sponsor CJCA 930-AM.
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#23: Dream World by the Four Coins
City: London, ON
Radio Station: CKSL
Peak Month: August 1958
Peak Position in London ~ #7
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Dream World”
Lyrics: N/A
The Four Coins were a vocal harmony group formed in 1952 in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, by George Mantalis. He was born in 1934. The other members of the quartet, all Greek-American, were James Gregorakis, (born in 1934) and brothers George and Jack Mahramas. Jack Mahramas, born in 1940 in Canonsburg, was the youngest member of the quartet. The Mahramas brothers assumed the stage names George and Jack James. Mantalis and Gregorakis were cousins of the Maharamas brothers, and all were living within a few houses of each other on the same block in East Canonsburg (PA). Before they became a quartet, three of its members were horn players with Stanley “Bobby” Vinton and His Band of Tomorrow Orchestra in 1951-52. At the time Vinton was just 16-years-old, and also a Canonsburg native. The future pop star rose to fame with his number-one 1962 hit “Roses Are Red”.
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