We’re at it again! Excavations below the crust of some pretty simple-minded teenage pap that seemed to occupy the Billboard Top 100 in the year 1960. Marketers had found the right blend of country, rhythm, pop, sentimentality and rock and this led to a churning out of as much and as they could as fast was possible. The result was a mixed bag: quantity over quality in most cases. We call it spit-balling these days. We’ll dig into the substrate of popular music that did not make the Top 40, and in some cases, the Top 100. We’ll hear from Wanda Jackson, Billy Bland, Donnie Brooks, Johnny Preston, Esther Phillips, and a few dozen others in this week’s show. Not withstanding what we do here, we have to consistently remind ourselves of the classic Tony Soprano quote: “’Remember when’ is the lowest form of conversation.” So, we’re mining for the ones we don’t necessarily remember. And the big news? It’s a rare two-parts-over-two-weeks extravaganza. Hope you can join in!
No.
1
Artist
Title
Album
Buy
2
John D Loudermilk
Tobacco Road
You Heard It Here First!
3
Wanda Jackson
Dona'a Wan'a
Rockin' With Wanda [US Bonus Tracks]
4
Peter Sellers & Sophie Loren
Goodness Gracious Me
The Greatest Novelty Songs, Disc 3
5
The Flares
Hotcha Cha-Cha Brown
Foot Stompin'
6
Sugar Pie DeSanto
I Want to Know
100 Northern Soul Classics
7
Ruth Brown with Howard Biggs Orchestra
Takin' Care Of Business
Wail Man Wail!: The Best Of King Curtis 1952-1961 (Disc 3)
8
Billy Bland
Let The Little Girl Dance
The Rock 'n' Roll Era: 1960
9
Larry Hall
Sandy
The Forgotten 45's 1960-1962
10
Varetta Dillard
A Little Bitty Tear
Rhythm & Western Volume 4 – I Hang My Head and Cry
11
Hank Ballard & The Midnighters
Finger Poppin' Time
American Music Library: The Hits Of 1960
12
Earl King
Come On, Pt. 1
Living The Blues: Blues Classics 1960-1964
13
Ernie K-Doe
A Certain Girl
The History of New Orleans Rhythm & Blues [Disc 5]
14
Skip & Flip
Cherry Pie (1960 #11)
Greatest Hit Singles Collection
15
Donnie Brooks
Mission Bell
The Teen Years Collection: Volume 1- Dream Lover [Disc 2]
16
Manos Hadjidakis
Main Title: Never On Sunday
Never On Sunday
17
The Mark II
Night Theme
Banana Split for My Baby
18
The String-A-Longs
Wheels
Rock Instrumental Classics, Vol. 2
19
The Piltdown Men
Brontosaurus Stomp
American Music Library: The Hits Of 1960
20
Esther Phillips
Wild Child
The Great American Soul Book Chapter 1: Any Way You Wanta!
21
Brenda Lee
That's All You Gotta Do
The Brenda Lee Story: Her Grea
22
Eddie Cochran
C'mon Everybody
Eddie Cochran: 2 Classic Albums Plus Singles And Session Tracks [Disc 1]
23
Duane Eddy
Peter Gunn
Twang Thang: The Duane Eddy Anthology [Disc 1]
24
Joe Jones
You Talk Too Much
Pure R&B: Vol. 4- Whatd I Say [Disc 1]
25
Ral Donner
The Girl Of My Best Friend
War Paint – The Gone Records Story
26
The Everly Brothers
When Will I Be Loved
The Complete Cadence Recordings 1957-1960 Disc 2
27
Johnny Preston
Cradle Of Love
Running Bear
28
Little Willie John
Sleep
Little Willie John: All 15 of His Chart Hits from 1953-1962
29
Paul Evans
Happy-Go-Lucky-Me
American Music Library: The Hits Of 1960
30
The Safaris
Image of a Girl
Teen Ballads
31
Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
Stay
Pure R&B: Vol. 4- Whatd I Say [Disc 2]
32
Sam Cooke
Wonderful World
Greatest Hits
33
Dinah Washington & Brook Benton
A Rockin' Good Way (To Mess Around & Fall In Love)
First Issue: The Dinah Washington Story [Disc 2]
34
Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks
Hey Boba Lou
The Best of Ronnie Hawkins and The Hawks
35
Bobby Vee
Devil Or Angel
Malt Shop Memories – Top Down Convertible Sound ( Disc 1)