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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #44 – Blood, Sweat & Tears: “Spinning Wheel” b/w “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy” – Columbia Hall Of Fame 45-4-33168 (G5/H5)

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #44 – Blood, Sweat & Tears: “Spinning Wheel” b/w “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy” – Columbia Hall Of Fame 45-4-33168 (G5/H5)

“The Jukebox Series” focuses on the 80 records that inhabit my 1963 Seeburg LPC1 jukebox. I’ve had my jukebox (or as I like to call it “the prehistoric iPod”) for a little over twelve years and in that time I’d like to think that I’ve perfected the mix of 45s within.

“What goes up…must come down…” not only is this the first line to Blood Sweat & Tears’ signature hit, but it also foreshadowed the group’s red hot ascent to the top, and its equally quick drop out of fashion.

Blood, Sweat & Tears had their genesis in an experiment by ex-Blues Project member and Bob Dylan sideman, Al Kooper. Kooper wanted to create a group that melded jazz horns to rock rhythms for a fresh new sound. Kooper:  “Like Maynard Ferguson’s band from the years 1960-1964, I wanted a horn section that would play more than the short adjectives they were relegated to in R&B bands; but, on the other hand, a horn section that would play less than Count Basie’s or Buddy Rich’s. Somewhere in the middle was a mixture of soul, rock, and jazz that was my little fantasy.” (Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards by Al Kooper).

Kooper formed Blood Sweat & Tears with Jim Fielder, Fred Lipsius, Randy Brecker, Jerry Weiss, Steve Katz and Bobby Colomby. Kooper was fond of the production that James William Guercio provided for The Buckinghams and for the first BS&T album, Child Is Father To The Man, the two paved the way for horn-laden groups like Chicago Transit Authority, The Ides Of March and Chase that would soon rule the charts.

After working on BS&T’s debut album, Kooper left the group moving on to Super Session fame with a whole host of recording artists. With Kooper gone, BS&T members Bobby Colomby and Steve Katz began looking for a new vocalist and had considered Alex Chilton (of The Box Tops and later Big Star), Stephen Stills and Laura Nyro for the job, before going with a throaty Canadian singer named David Clayton-Thomas who was recommended to them by Judy Collins.

Not only did Clayton-Thomas bring a bona-fide personality to the band via his rough and raw vocal prowess, but he also wrote their biggest hit (and today’s jukebox classic) “Spinning Wheel.” Clayton-Thomas:  The song was “written in an age when psychedelic imagery was all over lyrics…it was my way of saying, ‘Don’t get too caught up, because everything comes full circle.” (Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications), page 74.)

The song quickly climbed to the #2 position on the charts in 1969 and was nominated for three Grammy Awards, winning one for Best Instrumental Arrangement in 1970. As a goof, the band interpolated an Austrian tune from 1815 called “O Du Lieber Augustin” (or “The More We Get Together”) to end the song.

The song was like catnip to the many middle-of-the-road vocalists of the late sixties and was covered by Shirley Bassey, James Brown, Sammy Davis Jr., Peggy Lee, Chet Baker, Ted Heath and many others.

The flip of today’s jukebox classic is “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy.” The song was originally a Motown hit written by Berry Gordy, Frank Wilson, Brenda Holloway and Patrice Holloway, and recorded by Brenda Holloway who brought the song to the #39 position of the charts in 1967. It was initially Kooper’s idea for the band to record the song, but by the time they committed it to wax, he’d already left their ranks. It was one of three singles that climbed to the #2 position on the pop charts from their Blood Sweat & Tears album. (The other two were “Spinning Wheel” and the Laura Nyro song “And When I Die.”)

Like “Spinning Wheel,” the song saw numerous east listening covers by the likes of Lou Rawls, Gloria Estefan, John Davidson, Rosemary Clooney, Cher, Shirley Bassey, Damita Jo, Eydie Gorme, Ray Conniff, Diana Ross, Ramsey Lewis, Candi Staton, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Dusty Springfield and many others.

The eponymously titled album topped the charts for seven weeks in 1969, sold over four million copies and won the Grammy for Album Of The Year, beating out The Beatles Abbey Road.  It featured the stellar lineup of David Clayton-Thomas on vocals, Lew Soloff on trumpet, Bobby Colomby on drums, Jim Fielder on bass, Dick Halligan on keyboards, Steve Katz on guitar, Fred Lipsius on saxophone, Chuck Winfield on trumpet, Jerry Hyman on trombone, performing  an eclectic mix of songs including a version of Billie Holiday’s “God Bless The Child,” Laura Nyro’s “And When I Die,” Traffic’s “Smiling Phases” and several classical pieces composed by Erik Satie.

The group appeared at Woodstock at the height of their popularity; however their performance wasn’t filmed due to the insistence of their manager who hadn’t negotiated terms for the filming of their set. By the time of the release of the Woodstock film, Blood Sweat & Tears had missed the boat on being accepted by the hip rock cognoscenti and were subsequently seen as a lightweight AM radio singles band.

The band’s quick decline came on the heels of several other equally bad decisions including their participation on a tour of Eastern Europe sponsored by the U.S. Department Of State (during a time when their fan base was highly suspect of all things government), and then playing shows in Vegas. Even though their record sales dramatically slumped, they have continued to persevere and still tour today with American Idol runner-up Bo Bice as their lead singer and Glenn McClelland of Ween on keyboards.

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #43 – Chicago II Jukebox EP: “Movin’ In”/”Wake Up Sunshine”/”To Be Free” b/w “West Virginia Fantasies”/”Colour My World”/”It Better End Soon 2nd Movement” – Columbia Special Coin Operator Release Jukebox EP 7-KGP-24 (D5/E5)

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #43 – Chicago II Jukebox EP: “Movin’ In”/”Wake Up Sunshine”/”To Be Free” b/w “West Virginia Fantasies”/”Colour My World”/”It Better End Soon 2nd  Movement” – Columbia Special Coin Operator Release Jukebox EP 7-KGP-24 (D5/E5)

“The Jukebox Series” focuses on the 80 records that inhabit my 1963 Seeburg LPC1 jukebox. I’ve had my jukebox (or as I like to call it “the prehistoric iPod”) for a little over twelve years and in that time I’d like to think that I’ve perfected the mix of 45s within.

Jukebox EPs (or extended plays, or tiny albums) were made for the coin operated jukebox market during the 1950s through the mid-1970s. They were small-holed 7” records that played at 33 1/3 RPM and cost 25-50 cents per play. They typically included four to six tracks from an album and afforded the listener at a diner or bar an extended taste of a record by their favorite artist.

Today’s jukebox EP is culled from the second album by Chicago Transit Authority who by 1970 shortened their name to just plain Chicago. The album carried the title Chicago as well, but it is far better known as Chicago II. Although the album spawned several big singles including “25 Or 6 To 4,” “Make Me Smile,” and “Colour My World,” only one of them is present on the jukebox EP that was released to promote the album on coin operated machines.

Chicago’s first three records were all double albums, which was unheard of at the time. Their manager and producer, James William Guercio, had just come off of working with Blood Sweat & Tears and he used his clout with Columbia Records to push the notion of double albums through.

This gave the band featuring Robert Lamm on keyboards, Terry Kath on guitar, Peter Cetera on vocals, James Pankow on trombone, Lee Loughnane on trumpet, Walter Parazaider on saxophone and Danny Seraphine on drums, room to stretch their musical muscle especially on their debut album. By the time of their second release, Chicago began to shorten their tunes and play up the horns, leading them to the dominance of the singles charts they’d have for the rest of the 1970s.

The highlight of the second Chicago album was the suite that took up most of side two called “Ballet For A Girl In Buchannon” which included three songs on today’s EP, “Colour My World,” “To Be Free” and “West Virginia Fantasies.”  The Buchannon of the suite’s title was actually a misspelling of Buckhannon, West Virginia.

After the band recorded the suite, they were hesitant to have singles edited from it for release. When the band acquiesced, they ended up releasing two of their most beloved singles, “Make Me Smile” which climbed to the #9 position on the charts in 1970, and “Colour My World” which went two slots higher to #7 in 1971.

“Colour My World” was the slow dance classic of 1970 and has also proven over the years to be one of the band’s best-loved recordings. It was written by trombone player James Pankow and features Terry Kath singing the lead vocals with Walter Parazaider on the flute solo.

James Panko (as told on The Chris Isaac Hour TV show): “It’s a small segment of a multi-movement piece on our second album which is basically a tribute to my first love. I had been listening to Bach – the Brandenburg Concertos, and they had all those arpeggiated melodies. I sat at a piano and started messing around with these arpeggios. That cycle of arpeggios became the foundation of the song. Frank Sinatra called our publicist and said, ‘Ask that kid to write another verse for that song.’ I thought about it, I called him back and said I can’t do it – it’s like sewing another arm on your kid, I can’t do it.”

Other songs on the EP include “West Virginia Fantasies,” an instrumental from the Suite that highlights the group’s compositional acumen; “It Better End Soon 2nd Movement” which was also from the album’s other extended suite that took on the Nixon administration, “Movin’ In” the opening track to Chicago II, “To Be Free” (another instrumental) and the single “Make Me Smile.” The album climbed to the #4 position on the U.S. charts upon its release in 1970.

The band continued to rule the charts throughout the 1970s becoming one of the decade’s biggest hit makers until Terry Kath died of an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound in 1978 while participating in a game of Russian roulette. The band would never be the same again without him.

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #36 – The Friends Of Distinction: “Grazing In The Grass” b/w “Going In Circles” – Collectables 45 RPM Single COL 04769 (M4/NL4)

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #36 – The Friends Of Distinction: “Grazing In The Grass” b/w “Going In Circles” – Collectables 45 RPM Single COL 04769 (M4/NL4)

“The Jukebox Series” focuses on the 80 records that inhabit my 1963 Seeburg LPC1 jukebox. I’ve had my jukebox (or as I like to call it “the prehistoric iPod”) for a little over twelve years and in that time I’d like to think that I’ve perfected the mix of 45s within.

Some of the world’s best-loved and biggest hits have their origin in afterthought…

“Grazing In The Grass” was originally an instrumental hit recorded by South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela that topped the charts in 1968. Masekela came to record the song after purchasing a cowbell-infused novelty record in Zambia called “Mr. Bull #5.” After turning in his debut album to UNI Records which was contractually short by three minutes, the label suggested he cover the single. While in the studio, actor and singer Philemon Hou came up with a new melody which became “Grazing In The Grass.”

Masekela thought little of the song, but included it on the album anyway to fulfill his contract. When UNI executive Russ Regan decided to release it as a single, Hugh Masekela became the first South African recording act to reach number one on the pop charts. (Fun fact: The guitarist on Masekela’s version of the song was Bruce Langhorne, who was the subject of Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man.”)

The Friends Of Distinction were a soul group from southern California that formed in 1968 around Harry Elston, Floyd Butler, Jessica Cleaves and Barbara Jean Love. Elston and Butler were members of The Hif-Fi’s, who warmed up for Ray Charles on tour, along with Marilyn McCoo and Lamont McLemore who went on to form The 5th Dimension. The group secured a recording contract with RCA Records after joining forces with ex-Cleveland Browns running back Jim Brown who took on management of the group.

When Elston heard Masekela’s hit version of the song, he wrote lyrics to it for Friends Of Distinction to record. Their version hit #3 on the pop charts and #5 R&B. While many people believe that the song is about getting high, it’s actually about bulls grazing in the grass.

The song has been covered by Stevie Wonder, Chet Atkins, Boney James and Meco, and has been featured in many films including Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Jackie Brown, I Shot Andy Warhol and I’m Gonna Get You Sucka.

The flip of today’s single is The Friends’ follow-up single “Going In Circles” which was also a million seller that climbed to #3 on the R&B charts and #15 pop in 1970. The slow jam heartbreak/coming-of-age song was written by Jerry Peters and Anita Poree and has been covered by The Gap Band, Isaac Hayes (on his Black Moses album) and Luther Vandross.

The story goes that after six albums and five years of hits including “Love or Let Me Be Lonely,” “Time Waits for No One,” and “I Need You,” The Friends Of Distinction broke up somewhat acrimoniously with Elston and Butler going separate ways to work outside of the music industry.  By 1990 the legacy and influence of The Friends’ recordings had grown substantially. After not speaking to each other for many years, Elston and Butler agreed to work together again, however the reunion was short lived as Butler suffered from a heart attack and died in Elston’s arms. Elston reformed the group in 1996 with new members including Geno Henderson, Wendy Brune and Berlando Drake. They continue to tour and perform the music of The Friends Of Distinction around the world today.

RadioActive SmorgasBoogie

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I’m Uncle Marty as we wrap up the Summer of Boogie on the 551st gathering of The 3D RadioActivity. As I noted last time, we have managed to listen to 160 different Boogie numbers since The 4th of July with close to 300 different tracks in the earlier shows on this topic along with those we played in other chapters along the way. It’s been one of the most popular features we have undertaken, as we started with close to half a thousand cuts. We have a veritable smorgasbord of leftovers to choose from for you this time as we prepare to Rock That Boogie one more time.

Download or play here:
https://archive.org/download/The3dRadioactivity/3dradio_20200906-RadioActiveSmorgasBoogie.mp3

We have been having fun all summer doing a variety of leg shaking tracks, and I want to extend some gratitude for inspiring this feature to my friends Captain Dan and Commander Walt in Pennsylvania who do their radio programs from The Bunker of Boogie. Moving forward, we will look into some of the notable studios and companies like Chess, Stax, Sun, Vee-Jay Records and others who have put out artists that are so well known that they only need one name to be recognized, like Elvis, Muddy, Koko, Mavis, Etta, Fontella, Lowell, and Elmore. Please tell me your suggestions by sending email, or with a message on our Facebook page which has links to the archives of all the earlier episodes and graphics in the photo section.  Look for us on Denver’s  MileHiRadio,   Theacidflashback.com,   TuneIn and  InternetFM dot com, because the best FM radio is now on the Internet.

Until we meet again, Remember that Radio Dave always says Keep Rockin’ On!

…Uncle Marty

“It’s not true I had nothing on, I had the radio on.”

…Marilyn Monroe

Boogi3D People

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Uncle Marty here with you on our 550th gathering of The 3D RadioActivity, as we continue our Summertime Seconds of Boogie, and delve into those who do and truly are Boogi3D People!

Click to download or play:
https://archive.org/download/The3dRadioactivity/3dradio_20200830-Boogi3DPeople.mp3

Let’s look at some numbers as we finish up show number 550…  Over 730 hours of programming, within a gnat’s eyebrow of 10,000 individual recordings, and over 7,500 different selections! For example, this show is one shy of twenty tunes averaged out to over fifty years old per song. Over this Summer of Boogie, we’ve managed to get 160 different tracks to you, that’s close to 17 per week. We still have one more to go next time as our big Hollywood finish to this epic endeavor has spanned close to 300 different tracks in 14 specific shows along with those naturally occurring in the other chapters. There’s still some choice cuts to be spun, so we will round out the merriment with a Smorgasbord of Boogie to finish the feature next time. Then we will get into a look at some of the smaller yet notable studios and companies like Chess, Stax, Sun, Vee-Jay Records and others who have put out some of the best of all time selections ranging from Acoustic to Zydeco. I have tried mind reading, however it is much easier to get your suggestions in writing, so send your email, or with a message on our Facebook page which has links to the archives of all the earlier episodes and graphics in the photo section.  Look for us on Theacidflashback.com, Denver’s MileHiRadio,   TuneIn and  InternetFM dot com, because the best FM radio is now on the Internet.

Until we meet again, Keep Rockin’ On!

…Uncle Marty

“It’s not true I had nothing on, I had the radio on.”

…Marilyn Monroe

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #28 – Average White Band: “Pick Up The Pieces” b/w “Work To Do” – Atlantic 45 RPM Single 45-3229 (Q3/R3)

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #28 – Average White Band: “Pick Up The Pieces” b/w “Work To Do” – Atlantic 45 RPM Single 45-3229 (Q3/R3)

“The Jukebox Series” focuses on the 80 records that inhabit my 1963 Seeburg LPC1 jukebox. I’ve had my jukebox (or as I like to call it “the prehistoric iPod”) for a little over twelve years and in that time I’d like to think that I’ve perfected the mix of 45s within.

“TSOP” by MFSB, “Love’s Theme” by The Love Unlimited Orchestra, “Space Race” by Billy Preston, “Frankenstein” by Edgar Winter Group, “Popcorn” by Hot Butter,” “Joy” by Apollo 100, “Rock And Roll” by Gary Glitter, “Dueling Banjos” by Eric Weissberg & Deliverance, “Hocus Pocus” by Focus, “The Hustle” by Van McCoy, “Soul Makossa” by Manu Dibango, “Feels So Good” by Chuck Mangione, “Scorpio” by Dennis Coffey and “Tubular Bells” by Mike Oldfield – the 1970s had its share of some of the greatest instrumental hits of all time.  While many of these tracks are truly not instrumentals because they either have wordless singing or minor vocal parts consisting of the title being shouted out several times over the duration of the song, they are still rightly classified as instrumental hits.

Today’s jukebox classic stands taller than most on the above list of ‘70s instrumentals. With its propulsive disco beat and infectious horn part, “Pick Up The Pieces” managed to set throngs of dancers into motion on disco dance floors around the world.

But it wasn’t always that way…When “Pick Up The Pieces” was originally released as a single in the U.K. in 1974; it sank without a trace, completely failing to chart. Three months later, the single came out in the U.S. where it sold a million copies and climbed to the top of the charts. It was then rereleased as a single in the U.K. and it rose to the top five. Not to dis our friends across the pond, but what were they thinking the first time around…

The song crossed over into the disco charts and also spawned an answer record recorded by James Brown’s backing band The J.B.s, called “One By One.” On the record, the J.B.s were credited as AABB, or the Above Average Black Band in homage to AWB. It was also sampled by the likes of The Beastie Boys, TLC, Too Short, Ice Cube, Eric B. & Rakim, Nas, Arrested Development and A Tribe Called Quest.

The Average White Band originated in Scotland in 1971 and consisted of Allan Gorrie (bass, guitar and vocals), Malcolm Duncan (tenor sax), Onnie McIntyre (vocals, rhythm guitar), Michael Rosen (trumpet), Roger Ball (keyboards and sax) and Robbie McIntosh (drums) and Hamsih Stuart (guitar, bass and vocals).

Even though one of the group’s earliest gigs was as a support act to Eric Clapton’s Rainbow Concert in 1973, when their debut album Show Your Hand was released on MCA Records the same year, it sold poorly. For their second album, the group relocated to Los Angeles and signed with Atlantic Records.

The album, titled AWB was produced by Arif Mardin and ultimately topped the U.S. album charts on the heels of its chart-topping single. It was also known to AWB fans as The White Album as it featured stunning graphics on a white background that gave the band its memorable logo.

At the height of their initial fame, tragedy struck when drummer and founding member Robbie McIntosh died of a heroin overdose at a party in 1974. Allan Gorrie also overdosed at the same party, but Cher kept him conscious until medics arrived and he survived. Such was the “swinging” party scene of mid-70s Los Angeles. As a result, McIntosh was replaced by Steve Ferrone.

The band continued to release albums well into the 1980s (including a duo album with Ben E. King on vocals), and scored several hit singles including “Cut The Cake” (#31/1974), “Queen Of My Soul” (#23/1976) and “Let’s Go Round Again” (#12/1980). By the early 1980s, Ferrone left the group to work with Duran Duran, while Hamish Stuart went on to tour and record with Paul McCartney.

The group still exists today with McIntyre and Gorrie still on board. Their last album was a live album called Times Squared, released in 2009. The flip of today’s single is an exceptional cover of The Isley Brothers’ top twenty R&B hit “Work To Do,” which was also covered by The Main Ingredient and Vanessa Williams.

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #24 – Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass: Jukebox EP: Whipped Cream & Other Delights “A Taste Of Honey,” “Green Peppers,” “Whipped Cream” b/w “Bittersweet Samba,” “Lollipops And Roses,” “El Garbanzo” – A&M 33 1/3 RPM Jukebox EP SP 410 (G3/H3)

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #24 – Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass: Jukebox EP: Whipped Cream & Other Delights “A Taste Of Honey,” “Green Peppers,” “Whipped Cream” b/w “Bittersweet Samba,” “Lollipops And Roses,” “El Garbanzo” – A&M 33 1/3 RPM Jukebox EP SP 410 (G3/H3)

“The Jukebox Series” focuses on the 80 records that inhabit my 1963 Seeburg LPC1 jukebox. I’ve had my jukebox (or as I like to call it “the prehistoric iPod”) for a little over twelve years and in that time I’d like to think that I’ve perfected the mix of 45s within.

Jukebox EPs (or extended plays, or tiny albums) were made for the jukebox market during the 1950s through the mid-1970s. They were small-holed 7” records that played at 33 1/3 RPM and cost 25-50 cents per play. They typically included four to six tracks from an album and afforded the listener at a diner or bar an extended taste of a record by their favorite artist.

Today’s jukebox EP is culled from a record with the most iconic album cover of all time, Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass’ classic Whipped Cream & Other Delights featuring half of the album’s twelve tracks.

Before forming the Tijuana Brass and a record company (A&M) that still lives today, Herb Alpert was best known for co-writing Sam Cooke’s “Wonderful World” and producing tracks for Jan & Dean.  All that changed in 1962 when he recorded the single “The Lonely Bull” in his garage and gave birth to one of the biggest recording acts of the 1960s rivaling The Beatles.

The first few Tijuana Brass albums were recorded with a cadre of Los Angeles studio musicians. For the group’s fourth album, Whipped Cream & Other Delights, Alpert recruited future Tijuana Brass members John Pisano (guitar) and Bob Edmondson (trombone) and augmented them with Wrecking Crew members Hal Blaine, Carol Kaye, Chuck Berghofer, and Russell Bridges (aka Leon Russell). Once the album took off, Alpert solidified the TJB lineup by adding Nick Ceroli (drums), Pat Senatore (bass), Tonni Kalash (trumpet), Lou Pagani (piano), and Julius Wechter who played marimba and vibes only on studio recordings.

The food-themed Whipped Cream album, featuring such tasty tunes as “Tangerine,” “Butterball,” “Peanuts” and “Love Potion No. 9,” topped the charts and sold over 6 million copies in the United States. It also won five Grammy Awards, three for the single, “A Taste of Honey” which is the lead track on today’s EP. Sol Lake, who contributed numerous original songs to the TJB repertoire, wrote “Green Peppers,’ “Bittersweet Samba” and “El Garbanzo” for the album. The other track on this EP is “Lollipops And Roses.”

“Whipped Cream,” the album’s title track, is an Allen Toussaint-penned creation (under the pseudonym Naomi Neville) that was heard regularly on the TV game show, The Dating Game, as bachelorettes were being introduced to the audience.  Three other songs from the album, “Lollipops And Roses,” “Lemon Tree” and “Ladyfingers” were also used on the show as musical cues, as well as “Spanish Flea” from the TJB’s follow-up album, Going Places!.

“A Taste Of Honey” was written by Bobby Scott and Rick Marlow for the 1960 Broadway musical of the same name. The song was originally recorded as an instrumental by Bobby Scott.  The lyrics were specifically written by Marlow so Tony Bennett could record it. Lenny Welch recorded a vocal version of the song in 1962 that was heard by The Beatles who adapted it for their own recording on the Please Please Me album in 1963. The song was also a part of The Beatles’ live repertoire, and can be heard on 1962 recordings from The Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany.

The oft-covered song was also committed to vinyl by Barbra Streisand, Julie London, Tony Bennett, Chet Baker, Trini Lopez, Martin Denny, Acker Bilk, Chat Atkins, Bobby Darin, The Hollies, Tom Jones, Allan Sherman (as “A Waste Of Money”), Andy Williams, Lionel Hampton, The Ventures, Peggy Lee, The Temptations and The Rascals, to name but a few of the hundreds of versions of the song that exist.

And then there’s the album and EP cover…the most iconic in all of recorded music…the cover that launched millions of young adolescent boys sex lives!

The model on the cover, Dolores Erickson, was three months pregnant when the photo was taken!  It was parodied by such artists as Pat Cooper (Spaghetti Sauce & Other Delights), Soul Asylum (Clam Dip & Other Delights), Cherry Capri and the Martini Kings (Creamy Cocktails & Other Delights), The Frivolous Five (Sour Cream & Other Delights), plus on Herb Alpert tribute albums by Peter Nero and Dave Lewis.

Thanks to my buddy Kent Rayhill (of Ohana Films), I am the proud owner of not one…not two…but 151 copies of this record…can you really ever get enough Whipped Cream & Other Delights?

Several years ago, I went to see Herb Alpert perform with his wife Lani Hall (of Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66) perform at a club. These days, Alpert covers his entire Tijuana Brass era by performing a cursory medley of their hits. The format of the show included questions and answers from the audience between songs. At the show I attended, I remarked from the audience that I have 151 copies of Whipped Cream on vinyl. Herb was somewhat taken aback by this random fact and went on to tell the story of the album cover image.

After the show, I met Alpert backstage and had him sign a sealed copy of the album for me. He asked me why I had so many copies of the album and if they were worth anything. I told him that musically, they were priceless, but since he sold millions of copies of the album back in the 1960s, they are plentiful and sell for about 25 cents each. He took it all in stride.

The following night, he performed another show in the Chicago area of which a few of my friends were in attendance. When an audience member inquired about the Whipped Cream album, he remarked that he met a guy the previous night that owns 151 copies of the album. I guess I made an impression on him (however nutty an impression that may have been).

Boogi3D On Location

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Uncle Marty here with our 549th serving of The 3D RadioActivity, as we continue our deep dive Summertime Seconds adventure where we’ll be visiting BOOGIE on Location. No matter if you are in or out of the country, on the water, climbing that mountain or moving stairs, we’ve got you covered.

Click to play or download:
https://archive.org/download/The3dRadioactivity/3dradio_20200823-Boogi3DOnLocation.mp3

We have presented a variety of BOOGIE views of late, so it is appropriate that since we have covered places and things, we should take a look and listen to BOOGIE PEOPLE on our next get together. Tell me any suggestions by sending email, or with a message on our Facebook page which has links to the archives of all the earlier episodes and graphics in the photo section.  Look for us on Denver’s  MileHiRadio,   Theacidflashback.com,   TuneIn and  InternetFM dot com, because the best FM radio is now on the Internet.

Until we meet again, Remember that Radio Dave always says Keep Rockin’ On!

…Uncle Marty

“It’s not true I had nothing on, I had the radio on.”

…Marilyn Monroe

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #8 – Luther Ingram: “If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don’t Want To Be Right)” b/w Hot Butter: “Popcorn” – Collectables Records Double A-Sided 45 RPM Single COL-3170 (O1/P1)

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #8 – Luther Ingram: “If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don’t Want To Be Right)” b/w Hot Butter: “Popcorn” – Collectables Records Double A-Sided 45 RPM Single COL-3170 (O1/P1)

“The Jukebox Series” focuses on the 80 records that inhabit my 1963 Seeburg LPC1 jukebox. I’ve had my jukebox (or as I like to call it “the prehistoric iPod”) for a little over twelve years and in that time I’d like to think that I’ve perfected the mix of 45s within.

Today’s classic comes from a double A-sided reissue single on the Collectables record label released specifically for jukeboxes featuring two big hits by two different artists. Most of the records in the juke are original pressings, however this was the only copy of Ingram’s soul classic I could find at the time I was looking, plus having two hit singles by two different artists on one record is indeed a bonus.

The A-Side of today’s double-sided single is Luther Ingram’s infidelity ballad “If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don’t Want To Be Right),” which is one of the greatest soul singles of all time! The song was written by STAX songwriters Homer Banks, Carl Hampton and Raymond Jackson. Banks also wrote the Sam And Dave classic “I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down,” and billed as “We Three” with Raymond Jackson and Bettye Crutcher, wrote Johnnie Taylor’s “Who’s Making Love” and The Staple Singers’ “If You’re Ready (Come Go With Me).”

“If Loving You Is Wrong” was originally recorded in 1970 by The Emotions with an up-tempo arrangement that didn’t serve the song well. As a result, the record was left on the shelves of STAX records unreleased. Luther Ingram moved to Memphis after several failed attempts at a recording career in New York City and signed a recording contract with the KoKo label which was distributed by STAX Records. With the label, he found success scoring the top-ten R&B hit “Ain’t That Loving You (For More Reasons Than One)” in 1970.

While at STAX, Ingram discovered The Emotions’ version of “If Loving You Is Wrong” and rearranged and recorded the song as a mournful ballad. His version topped the R&B charts and rose to the number 3 position on the pop charts in 1972, selling over four million copies.

The song has been covered by a plethora of artists including Isaac Hayes, Rod Stewart, Percy Sledge, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Ramsey Lewis and Cassandra Wilson. Millie Jackson’s 1974 chart version of the song was expanded into an eleven minute suite complete with a spoken “rap” which was nominated for two Grammy Awards. Barbara Mandrell also scored a country hit with her rendition of the song in 1978.

If all Ingram did in music was to give us this signature recording, his stature would be sealed as an R& B great, however Ingram was also the co-writer(with Mark Rice) of The Staple Singers’ empowerment anthem “Respect Yourself.”

The flip of this double A-sided single is “Popcorn” by Hot Butter. “Popcorn” was a bubbly electronic confection composed by German musician Gershon Kingsley who was known for his work composing classical and Broadway music, and writing TV commercial jingles. Kingsley recorded the influential electronic album The In Sound from Way Out! with Jean-Jaques Perrey for Vanguard Records in 1966. The album promoted the use of synthesizers in pop music years before German recording artists Can and Kraftwerk.

Kingsley first recorded “Popcorn” for his 1969 album Music To Moog By, and then recorded the song again in 1971 with his First Moog Quartet. Stan Free was a member of The First Moog Quartet and re-recorded the song in 1972 under the name Hot Butter.

Hot Butter’s record came out during the moog craze of the early 1970s that saw classical records by the likes of Walter/Wendy Carlos (Switched On Bach) and Isao Tomita (Snowflakes Are Dancing) cross over to the pop charts and sell millions of copies.  Hot Butter’s recording was one of the first all-electronic records to chart on the Billboard Hot Singles Chart, peaking at #9 pop and #4 on the adult contemporary charts.

The song was not named for popcorn that you eat; rather it was an amalgam of “pop” for pop music and “corn” for the kitsch and novelty of the recording. It has been covered by the likes of Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, Jean Michel Jarre, Arthur Fiedler & The Boston Pops, James Last, Norrie Paramour, Ronnie Aldrich and The Muppets.

Kingsley also wrote the music used by Disney theme parks for its Main Street Electrical Parade and the theme from the TV game show The Joker’s Wild.

The RadioActive State of Boogie

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Uncle Marty here as our 544th get together will be examining The 3D RadioActive State of Boogie, as we check out the repetitive, swung note pattern found in this shuffling “groove” rhythm, by taking things from coast to coast and further. 🎼 ☢️ 🎶 😎 🎵

Play or download here:
https://archive.org/download/The3dRadioactivity/3dradio_20200719-RASt8O%27B.mp3

Bobbie, Buck, Buddy, Igor, Jack, Jill, Jeff, Margie, Pete, and Pinetop have something in common… And we will listen to how all of them and others BOOGIE by NAME on our next chapter. Got any suggestions? Then tell me with an email.  Remind your circle of best friends and family to look for us on Theacidflashback.com,  Denver’s MileHiRadio,   TuneIn  and  InternetFM dot com, because the best FM radio is now on the Internet.

Until we meet again, as Radio Dave always says, “Rock On!”

…Uncle Marty

“It’s not true I had nothing on, I had the radio on.”

…Marilyn Monroe