Donovan SunshineSuperman Taiwan record 600

the cheesiest semi-legal records in the world!

I MOVED TO CALIFORNIA from Pennsylvania in June 1978. I naively believed I would find some semblance of “the sixties” hidden away in San Francisco. But in only a few years, most of it had been blotted out. There were still a lot of hand-painted Victorian houses and a few hip coffee shops and bookstores.

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Medium photo 1962 ChubbyChecker Twist 1500 crop

the #1 hit records on the pop charts 1962

THIS IS THE THIRD in a series of ten articles listing and addressing the #1 records of the year as they appeared on Cash Box magazine’s Top 100 chart from 1960 through 1969. It was originally published as “Big Girls Don’t Limbo Rock” on my publication Tell It Like It Was on Medium on February 16, 2019. [Continue reading]

BrendaLee 1960 piano Billboard 1500

the #1 hit records on the pop charts 1960

THIS IS THE FIRST in a series of ten articles listing and addressing the #1 records of the year as they appeared on Cash Box magazine’s Top 100 chart from 1960 through 1969. It was originally published as “Save The Last Twist For Me” on my publication Tell It Like It Was on Medium on January 1, 2019. [Continue reading]

PatBoone 1955 PublicityPhoto 1500

should pat boone be in the rock & roll hall of fame?

THE QUESTION ON QUORA was “Who was the first rock & roll superstar to be discarded and forgotten to time?” I answered with Bill Haley, Pat Boone, and Connie Francis. Each singer was a big star in their heyday—the word “superstar” did not exist then—but each has been under-appreciated by most critics and historians since rock & roll became self-reflective decades ago. [Continue reading]

ATOG TS header 1955 Haley 1500 crop

the first discarded and forgotten superstars of rock & roll

THE BURNING QUESTION on Quora today was “Who was the first rock & roll superstar to be discarded and forgotten to time?” Of course, I couldn’t resist, although my answer may not have been exactly what the questioner was looking for in forgotten superstars. But who knows—maybe this is exactly the kind of thinking-provoking answer the asker wanted? [Continue reading]

TimeMachine 1960 George first trip 1500 crop

traveling through time at 45 rpm (time travel records)

IT’S NO SECRET that most of us form strong emotional bonds with things during our teenage years. This includes attachments to humans (think your best friend), food (think pizza), even sports teams (think “Go, Phillies!”) This seems especially so about music: usually, whatever the hits on the radio were that we loved when we were 15-years-old, we are going to love—for better or worse—until we are 95-years-old! [Continue reading]

ConnieFrancis 1961 1500 crop

should connie francis be in the rock & roll hall of fame?

THE READERS AT QUORA have been keeping me busy—once I answered a question or two intelligently and fairly, I’ve been getting requests to answer others. Answer one question, and another pops up, even if it wasn’t asked directly of me. Many questions I just pass by, but this one was right in my ballpark: “Why isn’t Connie Francis in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?” [Continue reading]

dbl header FO2 1500

what was the first “rock” double-album of the ’60s?

 IT IS ACCEPTED “FACT” that two seminal works of popular music—the Beach Boys’ PET SOUNDS and Bob Dylan’s BLONDE ON BLONDE—were released on the same day, May 16, 1966. And there was a second reason to celebrate that date: BLONDE ON BLONDE was also the first rock double-album of all-new studio recordings, beating the Mothers of Invention’s FREAK OUT! [Continue reading]

HermansHermits photo 1965 1500

listen people to what I say

IT WAS EARLY 1966 and my 12-year old sister Mary Alice just bought her beloved Herman’s Hermits’ new single, Listen People. She proceeded to play it night and day, over and over and over, driving my bother and me to beyond distraction. Diving us batty! In fact, so far beyond distraction, that we decided, “Nevermore!” [Continue reading]