Saturday, July 30, 2011

Singer Gene McDaniels Has Died

Singer Gene McDaniels, who reached the top three in 1961 with "A Hundred Pounds of Clay" and later rose to No. 1 when he wrote Roberta Flack's "Feel Like Makin' Love," died Friday at his home in Maine. He was 76.

A soft-spoken man with a powerful voice, McDaniels scored eight other chart hits, including "Chip Chip," "Point of No Return" and "Tower of Strength," which featured one of the most memorable inhales in pop music history.
Born in Kansas City and raised in Omaha, McDaniels sang in the church choir and studied at the Omaha Conservatory.

He also loved the rhythm and blues he heard on the radio in the 1950s, he said later, and was a particular fan of Pookie Hudson, lead singer of the Spaniels.

But when he began his professional career in 1954 his primary style was jazz. He performed with among others, Cannonball Adderley, Les McCann, John Coltrane and Miles Davis.

His pop/rock recordings combined these influences, and "A Hundred Pounds of Clay" helped crystallize the transition between 1950s R&B and the soul music of the 1960s.

By the mid-1960s he had begun moving into producing and songwriting as well as performing. He ultimately worked for Capitol, Motown and A&M before, some years later, forming his own label.

Besides "Feel Like Making Love," which won a Grammy, he wrote a number of songs with socially conscious messages. Those included the jazz-flavored Les McCann/Eddie Harris hit "Compared to What?" and "Before You Accuse Me," which was recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival and Eric Clapton.

While he eventually moved away from the show business spotlight, he continuing writing and recording until his death. He also worked with younger artists.

He is survived by his wife, Karen.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Dan Peek - Original Member of America Has Died

From Wikipedia: Dan Peek (pictured left) (born 1 November 1950, Panama City, Florida; died July 24, 2011) was a former member of the rock band, America from 1970 to 1977, together with Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell.

He contributed lead and backing vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, and harmonica to their recordings during his tenure in the band. As a member of America, Peek contributed with four Top 100 singles: "Don't Cross The River" (#35), his most successful single "Lonely People" hit (#5), "Woman Tonight" (#44), and "Today's The Day" (#23). "Lonely People" and "Today's the Day" also hit number 1 on the Billboard AC charts.

Peek left America shortly after the February 1977 release of the Harbor album. He renewed his Christian faith after years of unhappy recreational drug use and a fast lifestyle, and had begun to seek a different artistic direction than Beckley or Bunnell. He went on to sign with Pat Boone's Lamb & Lion Records, and found success as a pioneering artist in the emerging Christian pop music genre. Outside of rejoining Beckley and Bunnell on stage on one spontaneous occasion several years after, Peek has not reunited with America, contrary to various inaccurate reports which have arisen over the years. Chris Christian co-wrote, produced, and contributed backing vocals on Peek's debut solo album, All Things Are Possible, in 1979, but that was in the context of Peek's solo career, and not as America. This was the first Contemporary Christian Hit to reach the Billboard charts and reached the Top 10 in the A/C Billboard chart. Gerry and Dewey sang on "Love Was Just Another Word" written by Steve Kipner and Chris Christian in LA which was the last time the three original members of "America" recorded together. He followed "All Things Are Possible" with "Doer of the Word". Doer of the Word was a Christian hit and Gerry Beckley sang background vocals on the record, but he did the recording at Chris Christian's studio in Dallas and Dan was not present.

Peek would later release an autobiography entitled An American Band, based on America's most successful period, and his own spiritual journey.Peek's first album and single became big hits on contemporary Christian music (CCM) radio stations and charts. The single "All Things Are Possible" not only hit number 1 on the CCM singles chart, it also crossed over to the Billboard singles and adult contemporary charts, becoming one of the earliest CCM's crossover hits.

Peek lost much of the momentum gained by the success of his initial hit by not releasing a second album for five years, 1984's Doer of the Word. While several of his songs would make the CCM charts, none crossed over to the Pop or Adult Contemporary charts. The delay really may have cost Peek in that regard with the title track, "Doer of the Word", which was an upbeat, very America like song that was backed by Beckley. It hit number 2 on the CCM charts. 1986 saw the release of his Electrovoice album, again to the CCM market, which included a remake of "Lonely People", featuring a very similar lead vocal treatment and overall arrangement that was done on the original America version years prior. He changed some of the song's lyrics to reflect his Christian faith, for example the lines "And ride that highway in the sky" and "You never know until you try" became "And give your heart to Jesus Christ."

Peek spent much of the 1990s in semi-retirement, occasionally recording music at his home in the Cayman Islands. He released several solo projects and collaborated with Ken Marvin and Brian Gentry as "Peace" on three albums. In recent years he has released music via his web page.

This Week On Treasure Island Oldies


July 24th, 2011 to July 30th, 2011

"The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades". You may think that after our very bright Technicolour Special! It was a lot of fun playing so many colourful songs on this week's show. If you did not get to hear the live show, it's available on the Archive page in Real Media and as part of our 24/7 Stream in Windows Media of the three most recent shows. And thanks for your requests. I always enjoy hearing from you.

Our next special is in two weeks, our Annual Instrumental Gems Wordless Wonders Special, live Sunday, August 7th. It's a rare opportunity to go back to a time when an instrumental song was not a rare event, but very common and frequent. We'll play some of the great instrumental hits of all time from the '50s, '60s, and '70s. I know you will want to listen to this show, as from listener feedback, this is one of the most anticipated and most enjoyed specials of the entire year.

I was saddened to hear of the death of Dan Peek, one of the three original members of America. They were a terrific group, with great vocals and fantastic production by the legendary George Martin. The wonderful thing about music is that once recorded, it is with us forever, like a great memory. Dan, thanks for so many great music memories.

The Treasure Island Oldies Blog is continuing with our Technicolour Special theme this week by playing Green Onions by Booker T & The MGs. Enjoy!

Voice Your Choice presents Tommy James & The Shondells with two of their many hits: Draggin' The Line and I Think We're Alone Now. Which song would you like to hear? Cast your vote at the Voice Your Choice page and we'll play the winning song in the 3rd hour of next week's show.

Take Treasure Island Oldies wherever you go this summer. You can listen to both the Live show as well as the 24/7 Stream on your smartphone. You'll need an app for listening. May I suggest www.wunderradio.com. They have a version for all types of smartphones, including Android and iPhone. It's fun to be able to listen on the go. Here's the link for the live stream: http://meta.insinc.com/treasure/treasure.asx. And this is the link for the 24/7 Stream: http://treasureislandoldies.com/ContinuousTIO_2.asx.

Let the world know you're a proud listener of Treasure Island Oldies. Send in your name, photo, city and province or state for the Listener Gallery to michael@treasureislandoldies.com and our Webmaster, Eddy Fisher, will post it on the Listener Gallery page along with the many already received.

You can also let all your friends know you enjoy the show with your personal Treasure Island Oldies Email Signature. A selection of complimentary signatures to be placed at the end of your outgoing emails is available for download. Click Goodies on the upper menu on any page on the website. Thanks to the many folks that have downloaded their own copy of the Email Signature. That's great!

I hope you have a great week and see you next Sunday for the live show.

Bye for now.

Michael

Tommy James And The Shondells - Voice Your Choice

Tommy James was born Thomas Jackson in Dayton, Ohio and started his pop group The Shondells when he was only 12 years old. Their first single, Hanky Panky, was recorded for a small independent label, Snap, in 1963.By the way, the original version of Hanky Panky was recorded in 1963 by The Blossoms as the B side of the 45. Roulette Records purchased the original master recording by Tommy James And The Shondells from Snap Records and issued it on their own label.  It took three years for the song to become a hit when it finally reached the top of the charts in 1966.

As the song was climbing the charts, Tommy James recruited the Pittsburgh group The Raconteurs to become the official Shondells. From 1966 to 1973, they hit the charts an incredible 31 times; during which time they enjoyed 7 Top Ten hits, including a Gold Record.

This week on Treasure Island Oldies, Voice Your Choice spotlights Tommy James And The Shondells with two of their hits for your votes: Draggin' The Line and I Think We're Alone Now.

Have a favourite of the two? Come to the Voice Your Choice page and cast your vote. We'll play the winning tune in Hour 3 on next week's show.

Booker T & The MGs - Song of the Week

In keeping with our Technicolor Special this week on Treasure Island Oldies, here are Booker T & The MGs with their classic hit, Green Onions.

A bit of trivia for you: do you know what the MGs stood for? It was short for Memphis Group!

Enjoy!
Michael

Monday, July 18, 2011

This Week On Treasure Island Oldies


July 17th, 2011 to July 23rd, 2011

In case you did not get to listen to the Live show Sunday night, I began each hour with a Grass Roots song, in tribute to Rob Grill, the lead singer of the group who died last week. They sure had so many great records and so many hits. Glad to be able to play some of them for you on this week's show.

A couple more specials are coming your way. Get out your sunglasses. Next week it's our Technicolour Special, Sunday, July 24 and for the entire week on the Archive. All the songs with have a colour in the song title; it'll be vivid and full spectrum songs next week! Then the week of Sunday, August 7th, it's our annual Instrumental Gems Wordless Wonders Special. You'll know every song, but not buy the lyrics - there aren't any. LOL From all the feedback I receive from listeners all around the world, this is one of the most anticipated specials of the year. And I'm definitely looking forward to it. Please mark your calendars for these two specials.

Although it's been a little quiet for birthdays the past few weeks , I would really like to know when you birthday is approaching. Send the details to me via an email to birthdays@treasureislandoldies.com. I'd be pleased to wish you Happy Birthday on the show and play our official birthday song by The Beatles, Birthday.

The Treasure Island Oldies Blog is playing a great song from the '70s with the Climax Blues Band and Couldn't Get It Right. Enjoy!

Considering just how popular they were, how many hits they had, and how legendary the group became, it's not very often that The Beatles are featured on Voice Your Choice. We are remedying that this week with two of their many, many hits. Would you prefer to hear Blackbird or Yellow Submarine? Cast your vote at the Voice Your Choice page. We'll play the winning song in the 3rd hour of next week's show.

Take Treasure Island Oldies wherever you go this summer. You can listen to both the Live show as well as the 24/7 Stream on your smartphone. You'll need an app for listening. May I suggest www.wunderradio.com. They have a version for all types of smartphones, including Android and iPhone. It's fun to be able to listen on the go. Here's the link for the live stream: http://meta.insinc.com/treasure/treasure.asx. And this is the link for the 24/7 Stream: http://treasureislandoldies.com/ContinuousTIO_2.asx.

Let the world know you're a proud listener of Treasure Island Oldies. Send in your name, photo, city and province or state for the Listener Gallery to michael@treasureislandoldies.com and our Webmaster, Eddy Fisher, will post it on the Listener Gallery page along with the many already received.

You can also let all your friends know you enjoy the show with your personal Treasure Island Oldies Email Signature. A selection of complimentary signatures to be placed at the end of your outgoing emails is available for download. Click Goodies on the upper menu on any page on the website. Thanks to the many folks that have downloaded their own copy of the Email Signature. That's great!

I hope you have a great week and see you next Sunday for the live show.

Bye for now.

Michael

The Beatles - Voice Your Choice

This week on Treasure Island Oldies, Voice Your Choice features The Fab Four. What can I possibly tell you about The Beatles that you don't already know? Suffice it to say, they continue to make their mark on popular music and they've influenced a number of generations.


We spotlight two very different songs by John, Paul, George and Ringo this week. Blackbird is from the White Album, while Yellow Submarine is title song from the cartoon animated film.

Which song would you like to hear? Cast your vote at the Voice Your Choice page. We'll play the winning song in the 3rd hour of next week's show.

Climax Blues Band - Song of the Week

Climax Blues Band were from Stafford, England, and although they only appeared on the North American charts on four occasions, they still made a good impact.

This week the Treasure Island Oldies Blog is playing Climax Blues Band in a live performance on the British TV show Top Of The Pops. Here they are with Couldn't Get It Right, our Song of the Week.

Enjoy!
Michael

Monday, July 11, 2011

This Week On Treasure Island Oldies


July 10th, 2011 to July 16th, 2011

And the hits just keep on coming! And boy did they ever, again this week on the show. It's always such a treat to play some songs that by today's standard would be considered Lost Treasures. I know you enjoyed hearing Down The Aisle of Love by the Quin Tones, Mark Lindsay's Silver Bird, Foot Stomping Pt. 1 by The Flares, Angela Jones by Johnny Ferguson, Under The Moon Of Love by Curtis Lee, and so many more. For the complete playlist for this week's show, click Listen on the Menu at Treasure Island Oldies and the scroll down to the Playlist.

And thanks once again for the wonderful comments and feedback on last week's Made In Canada Special. I very much appreciate it. We've got a couple more specials coming your way. On July 24th it will be our Technicolour Special. Every song played will have a colour in the song title. I've done this theme once or twice before over the past fourteen years the show has been on the air, and it's a lot of fun. Then on August 7th, it's one of the most popular specials of the entire year: the Instrumental Gems - Wordless Wonders Special. Remember the days when there were so many instrumental hit songs on the radio? Not any more; but you can relive those days and wonderful memories with the entire show filled with great instrumental hits from the '50s, '60s and '70s. You don't want to miss this one!

The activity on my Facebook page continues on a regular basis. Recent new friends include Stephen Young in Vancouver, British Columbia, broadcast legends J. Robert Wood, former Program Director for powerhouse 1050 CHUM in Toronto, "The Live" Earl Jive, in Beverly Hills, California, long time listener Claes Ehrenhorn in Gothenberg, Sweden, Mary Anne Lisney in Tucson, Arizona, and another broadcaster, Ross Winters who is returning to Vancouver, British Columbia. Keith Sharp, who published the music magazine Music Express in the late '70s, has also become a friend. You can too. Just click the Facebook logo on any page of the website.

In tribute to Rob Grill, the lead singer of The Grass Roots who died this week, the Treasure Island Oldies Blog is playing the biggest hit of their great career: Midnight Confessions. It's our Song of the Week.

Voice Your Choice presents Nilsson with two wonderful hits of his for your votes this week: Everybody's Talkin', from the movie Midnight Cowboy starring Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voigt, and Without You, written by Pete Ham and Tom Evans from Badfinger. Which song would you like to hear? Cast your vote at the Voice Your Choice page. We'll play the winning song in the 3rd hour of next week's show.

Take Treasure Island Oldies wherever you go this summer. You can listen to both the Live show as well as the 24/7 Stream on your smartphone. You'll need an app for listening. May I suggest www.wunderradio.com. They have a version for all types of smartphones, including Android and iPhone. It's fun to be able to listen on the go. Here's the link for the live stream: http://meta.insinc.com/treasure/treasure.asx. And this is the link for the 24/7 Stream: http://treasureislandoldies.com/ContinuousTIO_2.asx.

Let the world know you're a proud listener of Treasure Island Oldies. Send in your name, photo, city and province or state for the Listener Gallery to michael@treasureislandoldies.com and our Webmaster, Eddy Fisher, will post it on the Listener Gallery page along with the many already received.

You can also let all your friends know you enjoy the show with your personal Treasure Island Oldies Email Signature. A selection of complimentary signatures to be placed at the end of your outgoing emails is available for download. Click Goodies on the upper menu on any page on the website. Thanks to the many folks that have downloaded their own copy of the Email Signature. That's great!

I hope you have a great week and see you next Sunday for the live show.

Bye for now.

Michael

Nilsson - Voice Your Choice

It's not often that a performer becomes known only by their last name. Such was the case with Nilsson, whose real stage name was Harry Nilsson.

Although sounding Scandinavian, Harry Nilsson's real name was Harry Nelson. He was born in Brooklyn, New York on June 15, 1941. Despite being a really good songwriter (he wrote One for Three Dog Night, for example), his biggest hit, Without You, was written Pete Ham and Tom Evans and who first recorded it as  Badfinger.

He was a friend of so many musicians, and among them his close friends included John Lennon and Ringo Starr.

This week on Treasure Island Oldies, Voice Your Choice presents Nilsson with Everybody's Talkin' and Without You.

Which song would you like to hear? Cast your vote at the Voice Your Choice page. We'll play the winning song in the 3rd hour of next week's show.

The Grass Roots - Song Of The Week

With the sad news of the death of Rob Grill, the lead singer of The Grass Roots, the Treasure Island Oldies Blog pays tribute to this great American group with their classic all-time biggest hit.

Here they are: Rob Grill, Warren Entner, Creed Bratton and Rick Coonce - The Grass Roots with Midnight Confessions. It's our Song of the Week.

Enjoy!
Michael

Rob Grill of The Grass Roots Has Died

Rob Grill, the lead singer of The Grass Roots, died today of after-effects from a fall a couple of weeks ago. He was 67.

One of the most popular American bands of the late '60s and early '70s, The Grass Roots were originally a studio creation of writer-producers Steve Barri and P.F. Sloan. Unwilling to hit the road and give up their blossoming behind-the-scenes careers, the two recruited Grill's then-band The 13th Floor to "become" The Grass Roots under their guidance.

Taking over the Grass Roots name and working with Barri, Grill and company first cracked the Top 10 in 1967 with The Byrds-esque "Let's Live for Today". "Midnight Confessions" became their biggest hit ever a year later. That led to a steady run of pop-rock smashes that also included "Sooner or Later", "Two Divided By Love" and "Temptation Eyes". They set a Billboard record, remaining on the magazine's singles chart for an unprecedented 302 consecutive weeks, between 1967 and '72. The group's formula not only proved a winner on radio but also TV -- Grill proudly told us they held the record for most appearances by a group on American Bandstand.

While the hits slowed by the mid-'70s, The Grass Roots found a new life on the oldies circuit, where they toured every summer for more than 30 years, including a spot on last summer's Happy Together tour. It proved to be a swan song for Grill. Beset by health problems, he had to leave the group mid-way through the schedule.

Grill leaves behind his wife Nancy. His only son died last year. --Mike McCann
 

Monday, July 04, 2011

This Week On Treasure Island Oldies


July 3rd, 2011 to July 9th, 2011

Can you say Made In Canada eh? LOL What a fantastic time on Treasure Island Oldies with our Annual Made In Canada Special. And it was a real treat for me to play some songs by artists I was responsible for discovering and signing to A&M Records when I was Vice-President of the A&R (Artist and Repertoire) Department. I've never had the opportunity to play Eddie Schwartz and All Our Tomorrows, or the great R&B group The Arrows where their fantastic hit single Heart Of The City. Of course, it was a pleasure to play my biggest discovery Bryan Adams with his summer anthem, Summer Of 69. I also enjoyed playing Eyes Of A Stranger by The Payolas, as well as Charity Brown. It was also fun to play People Gotta Move by Gino Vannelli, the first Gold Record I ever received. Coincidentally, it was given to me in August 1974 by A&M Records, before I even joined the record label in 1975. Another first on the show was Every Little Tear by Paul Janz. Not only did I sign him to A&M, I eventually left the company after nearly 11 years to become his manager. Every Little Tear was a Top 5 hit in Canada and a huge hit for Paul Janz. Incidentally, he is now Dr. Paul Janz and Head of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at King's College London, England. Well done, Paul!

Happy Birthday wishes go out to my son David Godin, celebrating his 28th birthday this week, as well as to my friend Bobbi Gutman in Richmond, British Columbia. She and her husband Aron are regular listeners of the show. If you have a birthday coming up, be sure to let me know. Send the details to birthdays@treasureislandoldies.com. I'll be pleased to announce your birthday on the show and play our official birthday theme song by The Beatles, Birthday.

The Treasure Island Oldies Blog is playing one of the great Canadian groups from the Rock & Roll Era, The Diamonds. Check out this great live performance of Little Darlin'. It's a perfect fit for our Made In Canada Special this week. I am also adding some other videos of The Arrows, Bryan Adams, The Payolas, and Paul Janz, artists I signed to A&M Records. Enjoy!

Voice Your Choice presents Three Dog Night with two of their many hits for your votes: Let Me Serenade You and Family Of Man. Cast your vote for the song you'd like to hear at the Voice Your Choice page. We'll play the winning song in the 3rd hour of next week's show.

Take Treasure Island Oldies wherever you go this summer. You can listen to both the Live show as well as the 24/7 Stream on your smartphone. You'll need an app for listening. May I suggest www.wunderradio.com. They have a version for all types of smartphones, including Android and iPhone. It's fun to be able to listen on the go. Here's the link for the live stream: http://meta.insinc.com/treasure/treasure.asx. And this is the link for the 24/7 Stream: http://treasureislandoldies.com/ContinuousTIO_2.asx.

Let the world know you're a proud listener of Treasure Island Oldies. Send in your name, photo, city and province or state for the Listener Gallery to michael@treasureislandoldies.com and our Webmaster, Eddy Fisher, will post it on the Listener Gallery page along with the many already received.

You can also let all your friends know you enjoy the show with your personal Treasure Island Oldies Email Signature. A selection of complimentary signatures to be placed at the end of your outgoing emails is available for download. Click Goodies on the upper menu on any page on the website. Thanks to the many folks that have downloaded their own copy of the Email Signature. That's great!

I hope you have a great week and see you next Sunday for the live show.

Bye for now.

Michael

Three Dog Night - Voice Your Choice

Three Dog Night were a pop-rock vocal trio from Los Angeles, named for the coldest night in the Outback of Australia. Danny Hutton, Cory Wells and Chuck Negron hit the charts 21 times between 1969 and 1975, including 11 Top Ten hits plus 7 Gold Records. They recorded songs by such varied songwriters as Otis Redding (Try A Little Tenderness), Harry Nilsson (One), Laura Nyro (Eli's Coming), Hoyt Axton (Never Been To Spain), Randy Newman (Mama Told Me Not To Come), and more.

This week on Treasure Island Oldies, Voice Your Choice features two great songs by Three Dog Night: Let Me Serenade You and Family Of Man. Come to the Voice Your Choice page and cast your vote. We'll play the winning song in Hour 3 of next week's show.

Made In Canada - Songs of the Week

I'd like to begin this week's Made In Canada tribute here on the Treasure Island Oldies Blog with The Diamonds, from Toronto.

Their version of the Gladiolas' regional hit, Little Darlin' became an international smash and of the of the cornerstone records of the Rock & Roll Era.

Enjoy!



And for something extra, here are a few videos of Artists I signed to A&M Records when I was the head of the Artist & Repertoire Department:

Here's Bryan Adams and his summer anthem, Summer Of 69

.


Another signing I am very proud of was The Payolas. Like Bryan Adams, they were from Vancouver, British Columbia. Here they are with the classic Eyes Of A Stranger. Incidentally, the lead singer is Paul Hyde and the guitar player is Bob Rock, who went on to become one of the top five record producers in the world!



I'm also pleased to play an artist I signed to A&M Records, but also left to become his manager. Here is Paul Janz with his Top 5 hit, Every Little Tear.




And finally, here is the red hot R&B group from Toronto, The Arrows featuring Dean McTaggart on lead vocals (and the songwriter in the group) and the great sax player, the late Earl Seymour with Heart Of The City from their second album we did with them, The Lines Are Open.