So today we go to February 19th, 1961- the day before THIS happened, per Wiki:
Jerry Garcia, an 18-year old drifter who had been discharged from the U.S. Army, survived a car accident in Palo Alto, California. He would later describe the event as "the slingshot for the rest of my life". "Before then I was always living at less than capacity," he would write later. "Then I got serious." Garcia would go on to found the Grateful Dead.
And speaking of unknown people getting big breaks, wait'll I get talking to Johnny Preston about just how Running Bear came to be a hit- and who helped him on it! In the meantime, another new debut, a 6D that I actually got done prior to the show for a change, and the usual good stuff! Let's sling right on into things!
Hey boss, shouldn't I be getting some kinda award this week?
What, you mean besides being called the King, and the 150 different albums and singles that have been certified gold, platinum or multi-platinum?
Well, when ya put it that way...
What our big buddy is moaning about is that this week, he hit the UK #1 for the third TM in the last four! We'll find out which of his 149 songs to appear on Billboard’s Hot 100 Pop Chart in America he claimed the UK honors for THIS week! In the meantime, speaking of the UK, here's the new- and title- single for a British duo debuting at #10 on the M10! Here is Royal Blood...
So first off, Johnny, why don't you let the folks know who was doing the "Indian" background singing on Running Bear?
Well, sir, that was George Jones and the Big Bopper!
How did that come about?
Well, it was JP- the Big Bopper- who wrote the song. And he also wrote White Lightning which George recorded after the plane crash. He thought Running Bear was too "Romeo and Juliet" for his image, and gave it to me, but we never was gonna release it- until the crash. 'Course, the story of George recording White Lightning was legendary, too. We lost a lot of good music when that damned plane went down.
Amen to that. So this week, we had 17 tunes from 46 stations- and one song was on the Panel twice! The instrumental Wheels was charted by Billy Vaughn and by the String-a-Longs. The String-a-Longs had the bigger hit- #8 combined on Cashbox and 15 by itself on Billboard- and had a 2 to 1 margin on the Panel. However, both Laurie and I thought Vaughn's version was more enjoyable despite peaking outside the top 40. Still, we managed 5 finalists, and now, it's time for you to introduce them!
Sure thing! You all can choose from:
Lawrence Welk's Calcutta, the Cashbox #1;
The Everly Brothers with Ebony Eyes at #26;
EP: I sure hope they don' win! Those two clowns cut into my air time!
Hesh up, or I'LL be cutting into your air time! Johnny?
Yeah, then we got Chubby Checker and Pony Time at #10;
Buzz Clifford and The Babysitting Boogie at #14;
And Connie Francis and Where The Boys Are at #9.
Thanks, Johnny, and maybe this'll help you guessers out...
EP: But I doubt it...
...but I will throw in where the Panelists finished in the 1961 top 100 of the year!
Out of 17 Panelists, 11 made that countdown, and they were:
Finalist, Ebony Eyes at #75;
Finalist, Babysitting Boogie at #69;
The Capris and There's A Moon Out Tonight at #51
The Shirelles and Dedicated To The One I Love at #41;
Jorgan Ingmann's Apache at #30;
Finalist, Where The Boys Are at #29;
Smokey and the Miracles and Shop Around at #25;
The String-a-Longs' version of Wheels at #24;
Finalist, Pony Time at #14;
The Shirelles again, with Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow at #3;
...and Finalist, Calcutta at #2!
Some further oddities:
The year's #1 song is this week's 6D victim- highest charting without a Panel vote;
One song on the Panel- Pretty One by Roy Orbison- somehow got a vote despite being the b-side to a song that peaked at #72 last year...
And one Panelist- the song Angel Baby- was on the chart at #13 by Rosie and the Originals- but got the vote for a version by a gent named Charles Brown, of whom I could learn nothing.
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This lovely lady is Wendy Waldeman. She comes into our story with Jim Photoglo, who had a pair of early 80's top 40-grazers. But together, they Wrote a country #1 in 1987- my prime country era- by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band called Fishin' In The Dark. Wendy had a famous dad- Fred Steiner, who wrote the themes for a pair of well matched TV programs- Perry Mason and The Rocky And Bullwinkle Show. Wendy was also part of a folk supergroup that was called Bryndle- an act that also included Karla Bonoff and Andrew Gold! Andrew, of course, first made a mark by being Linda Ronstadt's multi-instrumentalist 'one man band', playing most of the music on the hits Heat Wave, You're No Good, and When Will I Be Loved. Andy also had a famous dad- one Ernest Gold, who wrote several movie themes, including our 6D victim at #4 this week- Ferrante and Teicher's Exodus.
Johnny, it's time for the Overseas, If You Please! Here are the #1s across the English-speaking globe...
Oh, I get ta read them, too? Say, this is kinda fun!
So the UK...
Save them for last...
EP: HEY!
Gotta build up the suspense, Amirite? Go on...
So, then, let's go to Canada, where Panelist, A Scottish Soldier by Andy Stewart- which would chart here in April- is at the top.
In New Zealand, it's Floyd Cramer and Last Date, which was at #57 here.
Australia, you had Bert Kaempfert's Wonderland By Night- which was #1 here in January;
and the Elvis song at #1 in the UK was- Are You Lonesome To-Nite, which was #33 here.
There, happy now?
Why ain't it #1 HERE?
Because, you boob, it was #1 for 5 weeks at the end of LAST year, and is taking it's good sweet time leaving the chart, okay?
Yeah, that's burnt!
Good! Now go entertain yourself while I get at the M10...
JP: Hey, Mr Martin, this here card says I still gotta do the big mover...
Sorry, Mr Insecure distracted me! Go ahead!
A song that Bobby Vinton will do in the future, the big mover is Please Love Me Forever by Cathy Jean and the Roommates, 22 spots from 94 to 72. That it?
I reckon so! Thanks, Johnny! And now, that M10...
9- Middle Of The Road slips 4 with Fate Strange Fate.
8- Neil Young and Crazy Horse up 2 with Pocahontas.
7- Tommy James and the boys up one with Hold On To Him.
6- After peaking at 3, El Michels Affair and Piyat Malik's Murkit Gem slips 3.
5- Also slipping three is Saintseneca's Wait A Minute.
4- Former #1 Brightest Star by Lilly Hiatt holds at 4.
3- Big move: Crack The Sky with Blowing Up Detroit.
2- Bigger move: Weezer up 5 with Grapes Of Wrath.
And still at the top... and not going anywhere...
...Home Free with Don McLean on American Pie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And the Panel picks?
Buzz Clifford babbled his way to 8.7%...
Everyone else got 10.8% each, except for... with 15.2%...
...Lawrence Welk and Calcutta!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Be here next week for thrills, spills, and BUBBLES!
