New Oldies: Dream Girl by Garry Miles And The Statues

Here's a really "dreamy" oldie that really should have been a big hit.

This is Dream Girl by Garry Miles And The Statues on Liberty 55279 from 1960:



The guy singing this record was born James E. Cason in Nashville, Tennessee, on 27 November 1939. His mother, Rosa, sang alto at their church. She got him involved in the youth choir there. Nicknamed "Buzz", he attended Issac Litton High School in suburban Inglewood where he became an art student, and a big fan of Elvis Presley (who wasn't in Nashville in 1956?). Buzz also had dreams of running a camera, and maybe becoming a film director one day. In his Junior year, Buzz had his first taste of show business when he was invited to lip-sync White Christmas on a TV show called the Noel Ball Saturday Showcase on WSIX-TV. Wanting to be behind the camera, Buzz was initially reluctant to do the show. But the guy organizing the show, a fellow student named Jim Seymore, talked him into it by saying, "It'll be fun and there'll be lots of girls there!"

(Note: Despite the call letters, WSIX-TV is actually channel eight. The call letters were simply a reference to the name of a tire shop, 638 Tire Company in Springfield, where two brothers, Louis and Jack Draughon worked. These guys started WSIX-AM radio in 1930, now WYFN-AM, then added Nashville's second television station, WSIX-TV, in 1953, and finally put WSIX-FM on the air in the late 1950's.)

After meeting the musicians at the Christmas show, he organized a rock and roll group called The Casuals with Buzz on lead vocals, Richard Williams on piano and backing vocals, Chester Power on accordion and piano, Johnny McCreery on guitar, and Billy Smith on drums. Buzz wrote his first song with Richard, My Love Song For You, which became their first single on Nu-Sound 801 in 1957, a label organized by Noel Ball and Buzz Cason. The song became a top 10 local hit and was issued nationally on Dot 15557. They went on the road as the backing band for The Everly Brothers in 1960. Dub Albritton heard them and singed them as the backing band for Brenda Lee. Around this time, Buzz met Bobby Russell, another Nashville native who was writing songs at Globe Recording Studio above Mom's Tavern on Broadway, the building that today houses Tootsie's Orchid Lounge. The two guys started writing songs as a team. Their first project together, along with arranger Bergen White, was a group they called The Todds, putting out a single called Tennessee on Todd 1064. That was the original recording of the song that Jan And Dean turned into a top 20 hit in 1958. This was the first time a song co-written by Buzz made the national charts. It was this same trio, Buzz, Bobby, and Bergen, who hooked up with Bill Beasley to produce budget covers of hit songs to be issued on the Hit Records label. I've mentioned this interesting label before and plan to do a more extensive feature about it later. Believe it or not, I own at least one copy of every single and album ever issued on that label (called "running the label" among record collectors). Buzz and Bobby repeated this trick when they put out a single on Todd called Popsicle. Again, Jan And Dean picked it up and turned it into another top 20 national hit in 1963. It was around this time that Buzz moved to Los Angeles to join Jan And Dean's label, Liberty, as Snuff Garrett's assistant.

Leon Russell was a session musician with Liberty. When he met Buzz, the two produced a group called The Crickets doing a really cool "California" version of (They Call Her) La Bamba on Liberty 55696 in 1964. The song did very well in England and was even featured in a movie called Girls On The Beach. Back in Nashville, Buzz had come to know arranger Bill Justis, known at the time for his hit instrumental, Raunchy. Through Bill, Buzz met Bucky Wilkin, lead singer of Ronny And The Daytonas. The two wrote a song called Sandy that also became a top 20 hit.

In 1966, Buzz and Bobby, along with then-president of Nashville's Monument Records, Fred Foster, formed a publishing company called Rising Songs. This lead them to another huge hit, Everlasting Love by Robert Knight. A year later, Buzz and Bobby started their own publishing company, Russell-Cason Music. They wrote and published more hits, including The Joker Went Wild by Brian Hyland, Little Green Apples, first recorded by Roger Miller, and Honey, first recorded by Bob Shane of the Kingston Trio, later a big hit for Bobby Goldsboro. Bobby Russell did his own versions of these compositions for the Hit Records label. He recorded Honey as Bobby Sims on Hit 320. He also recorded two different versions of Little Green Apples for Hit Records, first on Hit 322 as Steve Miller after Roger Miller's version became a hit, and then again on Hit 347 as Leroy Jones, after O C Smith's version became a hit.

Buzz made his own hit record, 1432 Franklin Park Circle Hero on Elf 90,020 in 1968. The song peaked at #36 on Billboard's Hot 100, #41 on Cashbox, and #64 on the Country charts. But it did best on the Adult Contemporary charts, peaking at #9.

His career really took off at this time. He wrote songs and did backing vocals for his childhood hero, Elvis Presley, along with Kenny Rogers, John Denver, Julie Andrews, George Jones, Waylon Jennings, Andy Griffith, Roy Orbison, Kris Kristofferson, Jimmy Buffett, Billy Swan, Mel McDaniel, and Willie Nelson. He started the Berry Hill Music Scene when he created a state-of-the-art studio in Nashville called Creative Workshop, which has been used by country superstars like Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, and The Judds, along with many others such as The Doobie Brothers, Little Carl Carlton, Jimmy Buffett, and Olivia Newton-John, just to name a few. Creative Workshop was rebuilt, then later sold to country superstar Martina McBride and her husband John, and is now known as Blackbird. Buzz became President of Southern Writers Group USA, a member of the Board Of Governors of National Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), a member of the CMA and ASCAP, and was nominated to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005, the Nashville Public School Hall of Fame in 2006, and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Quite the impressive career! You can read his entire life story in his autobiography, Living The Rock 'N' Roll Dream: The Adventures of Buzz Cason.

There are well over 150 records on MusicMaster Oldies that were either written, produced, or recorded by Buzz Cason, including every single single ever published on the Hit Records label. If you want a big slice of pop music history, covering country, rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and more, give it a listen today!

New Oldies - Fake Out by Frankie Sardo

Frankie Sardo

Frankie Sardo was born Frank Marco Sardo in Italy in 1936, although most sources incorrectly claim he was born in 1939. His exact date of birth is unknown (at least to me). His father, Marco, worked in show business. Frankie was only five years old when dad got him up on stage, acting, dancing and singing. The family came to America to escape World War II and settled in New York City where Frankie attended grade school. When he left high school, somewhere around 1952, Frankie went into the United States Army for a couple of years, serving through the end of the Korean War in 1953. When he returned around 1954, he went to Virginia to continue his education. He kept busy in the theater while attending school, both acting and singing in various plays, some of which he even produced himself. When he got back to New York City in 1958, he went into the recording studio with his brother and cut his first of eleven singles. Here's the complete discography:

1958 - MGM 12621 - My Story Of Love / May I
1958 - MGM 12678 - Let's Go Rock / Midnight Stomp
1958 - ABC/Paramount 9963 - Class Room / Fake Out
1959 - ABC Paramount 10003 - Oh Linda / No Love Like Mine
1959 - Lido 602 - Kiss And Make Up / The Girl I'm Gonna Dream About
1959 - Lido 604 (as Frankie And Johnny) - Big Clem / Together Tonight
1960 - 20th Fox 208 - When The Bells Stop Ringing / I Know Why And So Do You
1960 - 20th Fox 221 - Dream Lover / Bonnie Bonnie
1960 - SG 1 - She Taught Me How To Cry / Ring Of Love
1961 - Studio 9910 - I'm Sittin' At Home / Just You Watch Me
1962 - Newtown 5005 - I Got You Where I Want You / Mister Make Believe
1962 - Rayna 5005 - She Taught Me How To Cry / Ring Of Love (reissue or remake of above SG 1 from 1960)

Out of all these records, and most of them are more than good enough to have become big hits, only one made the national charts. That one was today's New Oldie, Fake Out, written by Frankie's brother John, which made its debut in Cashbox magazine on 6 December 1958 where it lasted six weeks and peaked at #68. It was never listed in Billboard's Hot 100. The single was favorably reviewed, however, in Billboard's 6 October 1958 issue as a Pick of the New Releases.

Frankie had invited a friend from Brooklyn named Victor Bonadonna, who sang under the name Vic Donna, to the session where he recorded Fake Out and Class Room. Frankie wasn't satisfied with the sound they were getting out of Fake Out and the Producer felt there was something missing. Vic said, "I have an idea. I think on certain parts there should be a little harmony." The invited Vic into the studio where he grabbed a mike and sang the backing vocals. Everyone loved it! Frankie's manager invited Vic to join forces with him and Vic agreed.

Stock Copy Label

Here's Fake Out by Frankie Sardo on ABC/Paramount 9963 from 1958:

Promo Copy Label

And here's the flip side, Class Room:

While Fake Out was climbing the Cashbox charts, mainly due to airplay and record sales in the Midwest, Frankie was invited to be the opening act for the 1959 Winter Dance Party tour alongside rock and roll legends Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper (J. P. Richardson), and Dion And The Belmonts. Frankie's name appears on the bill as an "Extra Attraction" (above), but you'll notice that his "New Hit" is incorrectly listed as "Take Out." Oops!

Buddy Holly Crash Site - Clear Lake, Iowa

Frankie shared a room with Ritchie Valens while staying in Clear Lake, Iowa, to perform in the show on 2 February 1959. Backing musicians included Tommy Alsop on guitar, Waylon Jennings on bass, and Carl Bunch on drums, who were billed as The Crickets. This would end up being the final show for Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper. Later that night, Buddy chartered a small plane to take him to Moorhead, Minnesota from the nearest airport in Mason City, Iowa. It was snowing like crazy. The pilot, Roger Peterson, finally took off shortly after midnight, despite the fact that the flight would heavily rely on instruments and Roger was only qualified to fly in clear weather. There was only room for three passengers. Waylon Jennings won a seat on the flight, but gave it up to Buddy Holly and rode the bus instead. Buddy yelled to him, "I hope your ol' bus freezes up!" Waylon replied, "Well, I hope your ol' plane crashes!" It was a statement that would haunt Waylon Jennings for many years. The plane crashed shortly after takeoff near a fence that was built to separate two cornfields. The four bodies laid in the blowing and drifting snow all night. This is the night Don McLean is talking about in American Pie when he sings, "February made us shiver, with every paper I delivered, bad news on the doorstep, I couldn't take one more step." Ritchie Valens was only 17 years old and left his new bride that night. Buddy Holly's new bride, Maria Elena Holly, was just two weeks pregnant that night. She learned about her husband's death through news reports. This was very painful, of course, and it's the reason why the names of people killed are now withheld from the press until after the family has been notified. Her pregnancy would later end in a miscarriage, putting an end to the Holly family tree. She's blamed herself for the tragedy. Normally, she tagged along with her husband when he went on tour. But she stayed home that night because she wasn't feeling well. Had she gone with him, she believes, he would not have been on that airplane. She did not attend the funeral, and she has never visited his grave in Lubbock, Texas. That's what Don McLean talks about in American Pie when he sings, "I can't remember if I cried, when I read about the widowed bride. Something touched me deep inside, the day the music died."

Frankie continued recording through 1962, never breaking through with a national hit song. That's when he got married and tried his hand at record producing, off-Broadway theater, and even working night clubs with his father, Marco. Frankie headed to California in 1968. His first project was to help produce music for the movie Hell's Angels '69.

On 12 November 1971, while visiting London, Frankie, along with six other men, were arrested after Scotland Yard detectives raided a luxury apartment in the Mayfair district. The group was charged with conspiracy to commit what was first described as the theft of a million dollars worth of stock certificate blanks printed for Westinghouse Electric and Continental National Bank and Trust of Chicago. In reality, the 5,000 blank stock certificates were printed at the American Bank Note Company in New York. On 4 October 1968, they were delivered to Emery Air Freight for shipment via American Airlines to Chicago. When the plane carrying the notes arrived at O'Hare airport, the certificates were missing. The actual FBI complaint in Los Angeles listed the blank securities as $30 million and claimed they had been intended for delivery to four American companies when they were stolen in August 1971. The seven men arrested included:

35 year old movie producer Frank Sardo of Los Angeles, California;
Movie producer Rudolph Johnson of Cannes, France;
52 year old Charles Samuel Bufalini of Los Angeles, California;
39 year old record producer James Walker of Los Angeles, California;
29 year old Terry (???nzi) of Highland Park, Illinois;
50 year old financier Marion Arthur Denark of London, England;
Record producer Nicholas Avenelli of Los Angeles, California.

The FBI had the California men under surveillance when they boarded a plane from Los Angeles to London. Scotland Yard was notified and the English detectives continued watching the men as they left the airplane together, took their luggage, and watched them arrive at the apartment together. All were held in Brixton Jail in South London awaiting trial in London or possible extradition to Chicago. Rudolph Johnson tried to claim that he didn't know any of the other men, but had once made a movie with Frankie Sardo. When he heard Frankie would be coming to London, he asked him to bring along some cigarettes. He told authorities that he was only visiting the apartment to pick up those cigarettes at the time of the raid. By themselves, phony stock certificates have no value because they would be inspected and identified as forgeries if anyone ever tried to cash them in. However, they could be used as collateral for a loan. Most fraud cases like this are discovered when someone takes out such a loan and then disappears. Frankie was eventually acquitted of all charges. It appears that another man, Anthony Ditata, was ultimately arrested, indicted, and convicted of using the notes as collateral for fraudulent loans. In 1972, Ditata tried to appeal on the grounds that the value of the notes were less than $100, making the crime a misdemeanor. Despite this claim, the conviction was upheld.

After that bizarre experience, Frankie returned to Hollywood to make movies and changed his last name to Avianca, which was his mother's maiden name. Here's a list of some of his projects:

1971 - Executive Producer - Clay Pigeon
1973 - Producer - The 14 (also distributed under the names Existence and The Wild Little Bunch)
1975 - Producer and Actor - The 'Human' Factor
1978 - Actor - Matilda
1982 - Producer - Blood Song (also distributed as Dream Slayer)
1988 - Producer - The Undertaker
1999 - Producer - The Survival Club
2000 - Producer - Blame It on the Moon

An annual show and symposium is held each year around February 2nd, the anniversary of the Winter Dance Party tragedy. Frankie was invited to attend this show several times, but he always refused.

On the 50th anniversary, in 2009, Frankie finally agreed to make an appearance. He signed autographs on Saturday afternoon, then spoke on a panel on Saturday evening in the E.B. Stillman Auditorium at Clear Lake Middle School called "The Last Tour" where Frankie Avianca (Sardo), Tommy Allsup, Carl Bunch, Bob Hale, Carlo Mastrangelo, and Freddie Milano recalled good memories, horrible weather conditions, and shared stories about the last show. It was at this panel where the world learned why Frankie had been avoiding the Surf Ballroom for 50 years. He admitted that survivor guilt kept him away. He had always felt the anniversary gathering was commercializing the tragedy. After finally returning, Frankie's feelings changed. "This showed me how wrong I was about how I conceived it to be. I thought it would be some commercial thing, one of those morbid sad things; milked. But it wasn't that at all. It's quite the opposite, really." Instead of sorrow, what Frankie recalled during his return was the kids who came to see the show and their laughter and joy. Frankie continued, "I tell a lot of my friends, I was not in their league. I never wanted to be a rock and roll star. I didn't want to be a singer." He went on to say, "I was just a Korean War veteran who got caught up in it, was taking advantage of it and having fun. I was in between whatever life had in store for me." According to Frankie, "I was just having fun and, luckily, I could carry a tune!" He also admitted that, although he'd been avoiding the Surf Ballroom, he had once paid a visit to the farm where the plane came down after a business trip to Chicago. During that visit, he left flowers there in memory of his friends.

By the way, my first visit to that site was a very moving experience. I went back there with four friends and we all felt the same thing. It's like being surrounded by ghosts, but you aren't scared. Instead, you're overwhelmed with the feeling that you're members of an audience and they're really happy you came to see them.

A year later, the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, in conjunction with the Surf Ballroom and Museum presented a luncheon in Clear Lake where they featured The Frankie Sardo Story.

Last I heard, Frankie's still working as an independent film producer in New York City, also spending some time at a second home in Canada.

You'll hear EVERY ONE of Frankie Sardo's songs on MusicMaster Oldies on Live365, along with hundreds of other talented young people with similar stories. Check it out! Tell your friends! While you're visiting, please take a moment to send a note to the DJ (that's me!).

New Oldies - Tonight I'm Telling You by Keith Colley

Here's another really nice Teener that recalls a time when life was less complicated and teenagers fell in love and got married after they discovered the joys of going steady and making out in the back seat of cars parked under the summer moon.

Not very much is known about Keith Colley except that he was born Jarrell Keith Colley in Connell, Washington in 1941. After being raised on a wheat farm near Spokane, Keith attended the University of Washington. While still attending college, he went down to a radio station in town and recorded a cover of Dion's 1959 hit, A Teenager In Love and they played it on the air. A guy named Jerry Dennon heard the song and tracked Keith down to offer him a recording contract with his company, Jerden Records.

His contract was transferred to Era Records where he cut three singles:

Era 3054 1961 It's Nice Out Tonight / Zing Went The Strings
Era 3067 1962 Put Em Down / (And Her Name Is) Scarlet
Era 3068 1962 The Number / Someone To Take Your Place

Keith then moved on to Unical Records where he recorded Heartbreaker USA on Unical 3004 in 1962, which was only released as a promo with the same song on both sides.

His next record would finally land him on the national charts. However, rumor has it that the lyrics he wrote were so bad, the record producer decided to translate them to Spanish. The result was Enamorado, which means "in love." The song was released on Unical 3006 in 1963 and climbed to #66 on Billboard's Hot 100. It did much better regionally, peaking at #19 on 1050 CHUM-AM in Toronto and #16 on the Silver Dollar Survey from WLS-AM in Chicago. The song was reissued in 1968 on White Whale 311.

Here's Enamorado by Keith Colley on Unical 3006 from 1963:



Here's the flip side, a song called No-Joke:



Keith followed this up with a very similar song called Queridita Mia (Little Darlin') on Unical 3011 in 1963, which only managed to appear on Billboard's Bubbling Under chart for one week at #122. The flip side was a tune called Ramblin' Bee. He had just one more release on Unical 3013 in 1963 with Aladdin / Cuando La Luna.

Apparently, Keith cut a record just after leaving Unical on JAF 2502 in in 1963 called Discover A Lover / The Puppet, but I've been unable to locate this record, or even find anyone with a recording of either side! Do you have one to share?

After one more single on Vee-Jay 682 in 1965 called Welcome Home Baby / Billy Girl, Keith moved on to the Challenge label, the company where he would end up working as a record executive, composer, and promoter. Today's New Oldie was his first release on that label.

Here's Tonight I'm Telling You by Keith Colley on Challenge 59334 from 1966:



The flip side was a tune called Up Off My Knees. A couple years after Keith released this record, he put out his last single on the Columbia label. This was the ORIGINAL version of the song that would later become a #29 Billboard Hot 100 hit in that same year for a group from Warrington, Lancashire, England, who called themselves the Magic Lanterns.

Here's Keith Colley's original version of Shame Shame on Columbia 44410 from 1968:

And here's the hit version of Shame Shame by The Magic Lanterns on Atlantic 2560 from 1968, which also appeared on their Shame Shame album on Atlantic SD 8217 from 1969:



I haven't been able to track down the current location of Keith Colley, but I can tell you that he'd be 72 today and is probably still living in the Spokane area. I'd love to find out more about him! In the meantime, you can hear almost all of his songs (except those two that I'm missing on the JAF label) on MusicMaster Oldies on Live365. If you enjoy the oldies there or the stuff you're reading on this blog, please invite your friends!

New Oldies: Sitting By The Record Player by Glenn Dunno

While roaming around an antique store in Waxahatchie, Texas yesterday, I overheard a woman who worked there talking about vinyl records. She said there was a time, not long ago, when you couldn't give them away. Antique stores were throwing them out. But, she added, things are changing. Vinyl records have started coming back and may become even more collectible than ever before. Typically, this store had an extremely small collection of mostly crap vinyl records. About the only interesting discs in the place were a "golden oldies" album published by a Houston radio station with photos of the disc jockeys inside the jacket, a direct-to-disc demonstration album pressed on red plastic that was apparently given away with Pioneer stereo equipment, and a Beach Boys fan club picture sleeve. If you happen to go searching for records in an antique store, you should know that the owners of these stores normally don't put the "good stuff" out for sale. They are usually sold online through eBay or end up in the hands of a local collector who has a close relationship with the owners. Sometimes, however, the owners overlook a real gem and just set it out with the Firestone Christmas albums and other common stuff. This usually happens when they come across a record that's so rare, it can't be found in their (usually outdated) price guides and nobody's trying to sell a copy of it online. I found my copy of this record in an antique store in Wisconsin and paid 50 cents for it. Today it's listed as being worth $300, but I've seen it sell on eBay for as little as $74. Condition makes the difference, and mine is in great condition!

I don't know anything at all about Glenn Dunno or Off Center Records. I'm guessing that The Capris from New York City, who had a big hit with There's A Moon Out Tonight in 1961, had something to do with the making of this record. It's possible that one of The Capris is singing this using the name Glenn Dunno. That's NOT the country superstar Vince Gill who wrote this song, by the way, because he would have been only four years old at the time! Anyway, it's a catchy song that has become a favorite of obsessed record collectors like myself. We just love records that sing about the joys of collecting records!

Here's Sitting By The Record Player by Glenn Dunno on Off Center 6146 from 1961:



And here's the flip side, Some One Like You:



If you know anything more about Glenn Dunno or the history of this record, please let me know!

While you're sitting by your computer, be sure to check out MusicMaster Oldies (http://www.Live365.com/stations/mmoldies) if you want to hear tens of thousands of cool oldies from the 1950's and 1960's, along with a few other surprises!

New Oldies: When I'm In Love by The 2nd Thought

Photo by: Charles Curtis / Duluth Herald

The 2nd Thought from Duluth, Minnesota featured (from left to right above) Timothy (Tim) Koivisto on lead guitar, James (Jim) Johnson on bass guitar, Charles (Chuck) Cox on rhythm guitar, Dennis Robinson on drums, and Kerry Demeria on lead vocals and organ. The garage rock band was assembled by the remaining members of an earlier band called The DeVilles after their lead singer, Junior Thompson, left in 1966. Junior's parents managed the DeVilles and claimed ownership of the name.

This song's melody may sound familiar to you. I don't know much about the composer and arranger, Peter Steinberg, except that he'd also produced a record for another garage rock band in St. Paul, Minnesota, who called themselves Men At Work (a couple decades before the Australian group with the same name). The melody of this song is actually a composite of two different tunes, the first one being He's Got The Whole World (In His Hands), a very old and traditional American spiritual made famous in 1958 by England's Laurie London and the Geoff Love Orchestra and Chorus.

The other part of the melody is considerably older, being composed originally by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and known to us as Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night Music).

Those are the ingredients. Now just mix them both together, sprinkle in some catchy lyrics, apply a little garage rock flavoring, and the musical magic comes out here!

I just think this is a really catchy tune and I never seem to get tired of hearing it. Here's When I'm In Love by 2nd Thought on Gloria 777 from 1966:



Due to a couple of back-to-back medical emergencies I've fallen behind on new posts here. Somehow I managed to escape the Grim Reaper's grip, so I'll just have to wait to conduct my interviews with John Lennon, Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and the like. In the meantime, I'm back, and I swear I'll get caught up with some really cool new MusicMaster Oldies for you to enjoy!

New Oldies - Where's My Love by Johnny Angel And The Creations

The Creations: Guy Fredricks, Tony Fasce, Art Mayer, Sal LoCicero

The Creations were a doo-wop group from Bergenfield, New Jersey, where members Guy Fredricks, Tony Fasce, Art Mayer, and Sal LoCicero attended Bergenfield High School together. Winning first place in a Christian Youth Organization talent contest in June 1959 launched their recording career. Immediately, they were signed with Jamie Records and made their first public appearance on Dick Clark's American Bandstand -- where they earned an incredible 98% rating from the audience.

Listen very carefully to the beautiful harmonies in this wonderful song! Here's Where's My Love by Johnny Angel And The Creations on Jamie 1134 from 1959:



And here's the flip side, We're Old Enough:



There were a whole bunch of solo artists from the 1950's and 1960's who took the name Johnny Angel, along with a ton of groups known as The Creations. There's so much mis-information on the Internet about these artists, it's really difficult to sort it all out. I'm on a mission to do exactly that, but it's going to take a lot of work. There was even a recording by The Creations on Jamie 1197 from 1961 that you would think is the same group, recording on the same label just two years later. However, I'm not even sure that's true. This later record was produced by Phil Spector and the group sounds quite different. Listen and see for yourself!

Here's The Bells by The Creations on Jamie 1197 from 1961:



And the flip side, Shang Shang, which sounds even more different from the others:



If you know anything about any group known as The Creations, or any artists who sang under the name Johnny Angel, please let me know. I've found Creations from all over creation, including Union, Kentucky, McKeesport, Pennsylvania, Indianapolis, Indiana, Chicago, Illinois, and Bremerton, Ohio, just to name a few. I've also found Johnny Angel's from everywhere, including England, Smackover, Arkansas (who also recorded with a cat named Johnny Mathis, not the black pop singer, as Jimmy And Johnny), Los Angeles, California (a creation of Garry Paxton), Chicago, Illinois, Detroit, Michigan, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Nashville, Tennessee, and many more cities.

You might be wondering how a 1962 song called Johnny Angel could have spawned so many Johnny Angel singers. While that song was a hit for Shelley Fabares in 1962, it was first recorded in 1960 both by Georgia Lee on Decca and Laurie Loman on ABC-Paramount.

In fact, the whole mess of these songs and artists were probably originally inspired by the 1945 George Raft movie called Johnny Angel!

Here's a quick trip through the history of the song known as Johnny Angel.

The song is considered by many to be a classic oldie that represents a genre and has been immortalized with other legends by The Carpenters on their wonderful Now And Then album. The hit version was taken from the debut album by television star Shelley Fabares. The song itself was written a few years earlier by Lyn Duddy and Lee Pockriss. Shelley's version was produced and arranged by movie score producer Stu Phillips. Shelley, who did not see herself as a singer or teenage idol, first appeared singing the song in her role as Mary Stone on an episode of The Donna Reed Show during that sitcom's fourth season. The backing singers were Darlene Love and The Blossoms. Here's the hit version everyone knows:



Here's the original recording of Johnny Angel by Georgia Lee on Decca 31075 from 1960:



Here's another recording of Johnny Angel by Laurie Loman on ABC-Paramount 10108 which was also released in 1960:



Shelley Fabares also did her own "answer" song, actually a sequel to the story, called Johnny Loves Me. This song explains how the girl won Johnny's heart:



There's also another "answer" to this song, this time from a male perspective! Here's Johnny Angel by, of course, Johnny Angel, on Markie 113 from 1963. I believe this incantation of Johnny Angel came from Chicago, but who really knows?



Finally, here's Karen Carpenter singing the song as part of a very clever medley that took up an entire side of the Now And Then album by The Carpenters on A&M Records. I've always loved this record because it's both a tribute to the great songs of the 1950's and 1960's, as well as a tip of the hat to the good old days of boss radio:



For a healthy dose of the oldies radio, unfortunately without the boss jocks (yet), check out MusicMaster Oldies on Live 365. You'll be glad you did!

New Oldies - It's A Cry'n Shame by The Gentlemen

My move from San Diego to Dallas is complete. So, as promised, here's a little taste of Texas garage rock for you!

The Gentlemen came from Fort Worth and played all over the Dallas area back in the mid-1960's. They made only one record, this one, which was released on the Vandan label. These records are nearly impossible to find today and could easily fetch $1500 or more in the used vinyl market. But, if you're lucky enough to find a copy on the "Crimson" label, hold out for more money. That hand-written test pressing was probably made first and is crystal clear compared to the Vandan release, which was clearly defective. Don't expect to find one, however. While a few thousand copies of the Vandan pressing were made, the Crimson test pressing is probably one-of-a-kind. Also, let the buyer beware, there are bootleg copies of this single out there. You can spot them fairly easily. The gold top looks more like yellow, and the word "distributors" doesn't hug the edge of the label like it does on the original pressings.

The group featured Mike Kelley on guitar and vocals, Seab Medor on lead guitar and vocals, Tommy Turner on keyboards (Farfisa), Bruce Bland on bass, and Tim Justice on drums. Mike handled the lead vocals on this particular track, which had just been recorded by another Dallas group called The Briks before being covered by The Gentlemen. The group formed in 1964 and cut one test pressing, Beg Borrow And Steal backed with Here I Cannot Stay, before making this record.

You can hear that earlier acetate and get a lot more background information about this band at the Garage Hangover blog, which also includes a rare recording of a rehearsal session for this track!

Here's It's A Cry'n Shame by The Gentlemen on Vandan 8303 from 1966:



And here's the flip side, You Can't Be True:



Now that I'm set up in Dallas, I hope to get back to regular posts here. I've also got some exciting plans for MusicMaster Oldies. With a little luck, you may soon be able to help pick which songs are played. Stay tuned!

New Oldies: Dear Love by Angie Kay And The Keys

Sorry again for the long delay between posts. I've been really busy getting ready to move. I'll be leaving San Diego this week for my new home in Dallas. Yes, I know it sounds crazy to leave the perfect weather of California for the hot summers in Dallas. But getting away from the new 13.5% state income tax will soften the pain quite a bit. I can always use the money I'll save to fly to California for a visit now and then. Since this will be my last post from San Diego, I thought I'd feature a home town artist this time.

Angie Kay was born Angela Kathol in San Diego, California in 1943. She grew up in the south suburb of National City and attended Cathedral Catholic Girls High School where she was a member of the Glee Club. Angie lived just around the corner from Rosie Hamlin who sang the hit song Angel Baby as Rosie And The Originals.

This record was released in March 1962 when Angie was just 22 years old. It was one of two records she cut on the Globe label with both singles released simultaneously. This one, on Globe 400, and the other on Globe 401. That second record contains That 'OO' Feeling b/w Cute Little Tomato. I'd love to play those two songs for you, but I can't. That's because I have never seen a copy of that single and I can't find it, or even recordings of those two songs, anywhere. If you just happen to have a copy of this single, or even just a recording of these songs, please let me know!

Here's Dear Love by Angie Kay And The Key on Globe 400 from 1962:

And here's the flip side, Mama May I:



The current whereabouts of Angie is a mystery, although I suspect she's still living in San Diego. If you know how to reach her, please send her a link to this page and let her know that I'd love to hear from her!

I hope to have everything set up to do another post just after Christmas. At that time, I'll feature another "home town" artist, but this time from my new home town of Dallas! Regardless of where you live, the chances of hearing an artist from your home town are extremely good on MusicMaster Oldies. We're playing 1950's and 1960's music from all over the world!

New Oldies - Open Up Your Heart (And Let The Sunshine In) by Cowboy Church Sunday School

Stuart Hamblen

Stuart Hamblen was born Carl Stuart Hamblen on 20 October 1908 in Kellyville, Texas. His father, Rev. Dr. J. H. Hamblen, was a traveling Methodist preacher and founder of the Evangelical Methodist Church.

When he was 18 years old, Stuart took a job on KAYO-AM radio in Abilene, Texas, becoming radio's first "singing" cowboy. One year later, he entered a talent show in town where he won a $100 cash prize.

This was the tail end of the Roaring '20's and the Great Depression was about to clobber America. The radio and recording industries were still very young. At that time, the Victor Talking Machine Company was located in Camden, New Jersey. Young Stuart took off for Camden with a dream to expand his horizons into the fledgeling record business. He recorded four songs there, then headed to Hollywood, California for an audition at KFI-AM radio. They put him on the air as "Cowboy Joe" the Singing Cowboy.

Using the name Dave, Stuart joined a Western singing group called the Beverly Hill Billies (did you think the TV sitcom was the first to use that name?). The group's success led Stuart to form his own group which he called King Cowboy And His Wooly West Revue. Soon afterward, the name was changed to Stuart Hamblen And His Lucky Stars. Their radio performances on the Covered Wagon Jubilee became quite popular up and down the West Coast.

Suzy Hamblen

In 1933, Stuart married a young lady named Veeva Ellen Daniels. One night on his radio show he referred to her as Suzy Ashenfelder and the alias stuck. From that point on, his wife became known as Suzy! He became a daddy in 1935 when his first daughter, Veeva Suzanne, was born. His second daughter, Lisa Obee Jane, came along in 1938.

Of course, everyone who lives in Hollywood ends up in motion pictures (right?). As life went on, Stuart found his way into quite a few Cowboy movies, including: In Old Monterey with Gene Autry, The Arizona Kid and King Of The Cowboys with Roy Rogers, The Plainsman And The Lady and The Savage Hoard with Wild Bill Elliott, Carson City Cyclone and The Sombrero Kid with Don "Red" Barry, King Of The Forest Rangers with Larry Thompson, and Flame Of The Barbary Coast with John Wayne.

Stuart was the very first artist signed by Decca Records in 1934. He wrote over 235 songs through the years, including: Texas Plains, My Mary, Golden River, Walkin’ My Fortune, Ridin’ Old Paint, (Remember Me) I’m The One Who Loves You, Teach Me Lord To Wait, Until Then, How Big Is God, His Hands, and Open Up Your Heart (And Let The Sunshine In).

Let's listen to Stuart tell a quick story about how he came to write Open Up Your Heart (And Let The Sunshine In):



Now let's hear Open Up Your Heart (And Let The Sunshine In) by the Cowboy Church Sunday School on Decca 29367 from 1955, which is actually sung by Stuart's two daughters, Veeva (20) and Lisa Obee (17), along with his wife Suzy. Stuart recorded the voices at 33-1/3 RPM and played them back at 45 RPM to raise the pitch and make them sound much younger:



You might be wondering by now if I've gone off my rocker featuring this song as a New Oldie. But, hear me out. If you come back and listen to this song the next time you're depressed, I'm willing to bet that it cheers you up! Now let's hear Stuart's original recording of the song:



Stuart also wrote a song in 1950 that became the very first "cross-over" hit, It Is No Secret (What God Can Do), which means it was a hit for Jo Stafford on the Pop charts and also for Stuart himself on the Country and Western music charts in 1951. The song also topped the Gospel sales charts. The original manuscript of that song is buried in the cornerstone of the Copyright Building at the Library of Congress in Washington. Elvis Presley even covered the song in 1957 on his Christmas album.

Here's It's No Secret by Stuart Hamblen on Columbia 20724 from 1951, but first listen to the interesting story behind the song as told by Stuart himself. He was living in Errol Flynn's old house at the time. The neighbor he's talking about was John Wayne:

Rosemary Clooney

By far the biggest hit Stuart wrote was This Ole House, which became Song Of The Year in 1954, reaching #1 on the charts for Rosemary Clooney in seven different countries around the world.

Here's This Ole House by Rosemary Clooney on Columbia 40266 from 1954:

Here's the original recording by Stuart Hamblen on RCA 5839 from 1954:



The also song became a hit in the UK by Scottish-born Billie Anthony with Eric Jupp and his Orchestra on Columbia 3519 from 1954:



The song was also a hit on the German charts, sung in German as Das Alte Haus Von Rocky-Docky by Bruce Low on Karussell 8450212 from 1955:



There's an interesting story behind the religious theme that runs through so many of Stuart Hamblen's songs. As so many others who lead a life in the spotlight, Stuart turned to alcohol for relief. This led to public fights and jail time, often bailed out by the sponsors of his popular radio show. He would refer to himself as the "original juvenile delinquent." He got into horse-racing as a trainer at Santa Anita and spent a lot of time gambling at the racetrack. His life was going downhill fast.

In 1949, Stuart's wife Suzy took him to the home of Henrietta Mears to attend a prayer meeting of the Hollywood Christian Group. A young Billy Graham was speaking with the group that night. They arrived early, on purpose. Suzy and Henrietta slipped into the kitchen leaving Stuart alone in the room with Billy Graham. They had a nice talk and became friends. Stuart invited Billy to the station to promote his tent crusade on his radio show. After that interview, Stuart urged his listeners to go to the crusade to hear Billy speak, saying, "Make sure y'all come, 'cause I'll be there too!" Suzy made sure Stuart kept his promise to attend the show that evening. Stuart sat in the center of the front row that night, and continued to attend night after night in that same seat. He would later refer to his first meeting with Billy Graham as the turning-point of his life. If you ask me, I think God set aside a special place for Suzy in Heaven!

After his conversion, Stuart decided to clean up his act. He quit gambling and got out of the horse-racing business. He quit smoking and booze, becoming an activist against alcohol. By this time, Stuart’s show was syndicated nationwide. When his show's sponsor asked him to read a commercial promoting beer, Stuart refused, based on principles of his new-found faith and the fact that he had publicly vowed to reject alcohol. The sponsors threatened to cancel his show, but Stuart would not compromise and stuck to his convictions. The sponsors pulled out and the show was cancelled. But, in the last few shows before it went off the air, Stuart used the time to let his listeners know what happened. This made Stuart popular with the Prohibition Party. As a staunch anti-Communist, Stuart had unsuccessfully run for Congress in 1938. In 1952, the Prohibition Party asked him to lead their ticket in a run for President of the United States. He agreed, and was actually running in the lead in the very early returns! But he finished in a distant fourth place behind the eventual winner, Dwight David Eisenhower.

Here's some rare footage of Stuart Hamblen being interviewed by Jimmy Dean on his television show.





Stuart and Suzy were together for more than 55 years. They bought a horse ranch in Santa Clarita, California, and bred Peruvian Paso horses. They owned a thoroughbred (Oro Negro) that was a three-time U.S. National Champion of Champions. For ten years they rode their horses in the annual Pasadena Rose Parade. Beginning in 1971, Stuart produced a weekly radio show from that home called Cowboy Church Of The Air which was syndicated on Christian stations across the country.

Stuart also won several awards for his contribution to Country and Western music. In 1970, he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. In 1972 he received the Academy of Country and Western Music’s prestigious Pioneer Award for his work as the first singing Country and Western Cowboy on radio. The Los Angeles City Council proclaimed 13 February 1976 as Stuart Hamblen Day when he was immortalized with a Star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame. In 1978 Stuart won the Gene Autry Award for the enrichment of our western musical heritage. He received a Golden Boot Award for his work in movies in 1988. The honors continued after his death. In 1994 he was inducted into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame. In 1999 he was inducted into the Western Music Association’s Hall of Fame. In 2001 he was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame and also won the International Country Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame Award.

Stuart Hamblen was 80 years old when he died of brain cancer on 8 March 1989 in Santa Monica, California. He's buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles. His beloved wife Suzy joined him on 2 June 2008 at the age of 101. They were survived by their two daughters, Veeva and Lisa Obee, along with ten grandchildren and nineteen great-grandchildren.

Thanks for attending the sermon here at the church of MusicMaster Oldies. We're a non-denominational congregation and you're all welcome to sit and listen to the gospel music as long as you like. We're all neighbors in here!

New Oldies - Is It Time by The City Squires

(Top L-R) Gus DeAngleo, Jim Brickner, Jerry Colvin.

(Bottom L-R) Bill McCracken, Greg Burnett

The City Squires got started in 1963 as The Jaguars (named after the car) when a couple of 12-13 year old kids from the southern Cleveland suburb of Parma, Ohio, decided to get together and form a garage rock band. The original members were 13 year old Jim Brickner on guitar and 12 year old Roland Solomon on bass (who reportedly had the gift of perfect pitch). They added a drummer named Tom Sitzler. A few weeks later, Tom Kent from nearby Middleburg Heights came on board to handle lead vocals and rhythm guitar. Shortly afterward, drummer Tom Sitzler split from the band and was replaced by Tom Kent's friend, Dale Zack.

The Jaguars took their act to the streets and gathered up some fans. In June 1965, inspired by one of the biggest local band at the time, the guys decided it was time to cut some records. So they hooked up with The Baskerville Hounds manager, James M "Jimmy" Testa, and got into the Audio Recording studios to lay down some tracks. They recorded a cover of Jenny Jenny by Little Richard, and a couple of original tunes, including one Jimmy Testa wrote called Laurie and an instrumental penned by Roland Solomon. Jimmy Testa messed around with some interesting production techniques on that instrumental and ended up giving it a new name, Russian Ho-Ho. Jimmy convinced the guys to change their name to The City Squires and pressed up a couple hundred copies of Jenny Jenny b/w Russian Ho-Ho on his Tema label. (I know this is hard to believe, but I don't happen to own that record! If you know where I can get my hands on a copy of Tema 136, or at least a recording of these two songs, I'd love to hear from you! I'd especially love to hear that orphaned recording of Laurie.)

Just one year later, in June 1966, the guys were back in the studio recording three tracks, Child Of Our Times, I Want Your Girl, and Parma Polka, which was inspired by local Friday night horror movie host Ghoulardi (Ernie Anderson) on WJW-TV 8 who used to love picking on that suburb for it's Polish population, which he referred to as "A Certain Ethnic" population, and the pink flamingo statues found in front yards all over the city.



Parma Polka was more of a rocking polka, partly inspired by the song Gloria by Them, where the band spells out P-A-R-M-A instead of Gloria's name, and riffs from other current hits such as Day Tripper by The Beatles and Time Won't Let Me by Cleveland's Outsiders. They made an acetate pressing of Parma Polka b/w I Want Your Girl and gave it to Ghoulardi for possible use on his show, along with the many other cool records he liked to use which included Who Stole The Keeshka by Frankie Yankovic His Yanks. But Ernie Anderson was leaving Cleveland for a very successful voiceover career in Los Angeles, to be replaced by Big Chuck and Hoolihan, with Hoolihan later being replaced by Little John. A guy named Ron Swede, who called himself The Ghoul, picked up much of Ghoulardi's schtick when he began hosting movies on Saturday afternoons on another station. The Ghoul made extensive use of the Parma Polka on his show. (Again, I don't have a copy of this recording, but I'd love to get one. It may have been credited to The Esquires instead of The City Squires, but I'm not certain of that. I'd especially love to hear the flip side of that acetate, I Want Your Girl, which I hear is a garage rocker featuring some nice guitar work by Jim Brickner and a melody similar to Beg Borrow And Steal!)

Co-founder and bass guitarist Roland Soloman left the band and was replaced by a guy named Greg Burnett from The Canterburys. Greg could play sax and trumpet and was a good vocalist, but he really had to fake his way along as a bass player. The City Squires were a bit upset by the way things were going so they decided to break up for a while. A few months passed before Jim Brickner and Greg Burnett assembled a new band. Still using the name The City Squires, they joined forces with another band from Parma called The Set LTD, which included Jerry Colvin on keyboards and Gus D'Angelo on bass. They also picked up Bill McCracken from the Canterburys to handle the drums. Greg Burnett became the lead singer for the new City Squires and also got a chance to pick up his sax and trumpet for a change.

Practice makes perfect, and boy did these guys practice together! They became close friends and practiced together several hours every day. After practice, they might go out for a gig that same night and play together for several more hours! What if you throw a party and nobody comes? That's what happened one night when the City Squires were booked together with The James Gang at a place called the Painesville Armory just east of Cleveland. The event was hosted by a disc jockey from WIXY 1260 in Cleveland, but only a few people showed up! The guys decided to do an extensive jam session together.

The City Squires built a repertoire of over 500 songs. Fresh out of High School, they played at places as far west as Cedar Point, as far east as the clubs of Erie, Pennsylvania, and many places in between, including the Playboy Lounge, and the Columbia Ballroom. They became members of the Cleveland Musicians Union, which paid off for them on occasion when a club owner would try to stiff them on their fees. The guys put on a heck of a good show. They'd do some crazy stuff like auctioning themselves off for a dance with the girls who could scream the loudest. Sometimes Greg would take over playing the other guys' instruments, including the drums, right in the middle of a song without missing a beat!

They made their way back into the recording studio in 1967 to record Is It Time and Lonely Boy. Here's Is It Time by The City Squires on Tema 141 from 1967:

And here's the flip side, Lonely Boy:



Both songs got some spins on Cleveland radio and ended up selling several hundred copies around town. They also got a chance to lip sync to Lonely Boy on Big Jack Armstrong's TV show. The show's producer accidentally started the record at the wrong speed and the guys frantically tried to make it work anyway. Big Jack made them suffer by keeping it going at 78 RPM for an uncomfortably long time. During that same recording session in 1967, Jim Brickner wrote a theme song for the band and put it on a record for use every time they opened or closed one of their shows.

After an argument in 1968, Jim Brickner left the band for a few weeks. The rest of the guys got together and did a gig at Cain Park using the name Pye Jones And The 28th Day Ragtime Band, probably a takeoff on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

They went on to write and record even more songs, gradually getting even better and better over time. In 1968, drummer Bill McCracken was replaced by Pete Naster, then by 15 year old Bob Dillinger. In 1969, ABC Records got hold of their demo and the result was a visit by Bill Symzyck and a four-single recording contract. However, the label felt that the name City Squires sounded too dated and turned them into The Gregorians. The band wasn't thrilled with the new name, so it was only used on one record, a tune called Dialated Eyes b/w Like A Man.

Here's Dialated Eyes by The Gregorians on ABC 11225 from 1969:



To promote this record, the guys did an interview on WMMS-FM, which was a new progressive rock station in Cleveland at the time (and where I would end up working a few years later).

The band finally called it quits in 1970. Greg Burnett went into the Air Force. Richard Solomon played bass for the Baskerville Hounds for a while, then got back together with Tom Kent in a band called Raintree, which also featured Bob Dillinger on drums.

Jim Brickner, Greg Burnett, Roland Solomon reunited in 1979, pulling in Doug McCutcheon from The Baskerville Hounds on keyboards and Tom Napier on drums. They played some local clubs for a while, but didn't make any more records.

A lot of the music you'll hear on MusicMaster Oldies came from records that were big hits in just a single city back in the 1960's. I've found many of these records by traveling all over the world and visiting as many vinyl record stores and record shows as possible. I've also collected a whole bunch of radio station surveys. Songs that appear on these surveys that never appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 national charts are often very good. In most cases, they simply never got the promotion needed to launch them into the national spotlight back in those days before the Internet leveled the playing field for local talent and allowed them to publish their own material for the whole world to enjoy. Still, it's all about promotion. The world may be able to hear your songs on YouTube or buy them on iTunes, but people still have to find them first! You'll hear thousands of local and regional hits on MusicMaster Oldies. It's like taking a trip around the world in a a time machine!