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is it “the sounds of silence” or “the sound of silence”?

IN THE FINAL WEEKS OF 1965, Top 40 stations around the country started playing a new record by a not-so-new duo with the oddly intriguing name of Simon & Garfunkel. (At least it was odd if you weren’t Jewish or didn’t live on the East Coast.) The record was The Sounds Of Silence. [Continue reading]

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wikipedia really messed up “music recording certification”

I LEFT WIKIPEDIA ALONE for the past few months, even though critiquing their entries is like shooting fish in a barrel. When it comes to “definitions” of persons and terms regarding popular music, Wikipedia’s theme song seems to be a well-known song by Elvis: “If you’re looking for trouble, you’ve come to the right place. [Continue reading]

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the #1 hit records on the pop charts 1969

THIS IS THE TENTH 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 “Someday We’ll Be Honky Tonk Women Together” on my publication Tell It Like It Was on Medium on October 1, 2019. [Continue reading]

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the #1 hit records on the pop charts 1968

THIS IS THE NINTH 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 “Grazing In The Grass With Mrs. Robinson” on my publication Tell It Like It Was on Medium on September 19, 2019. [Continue reading]

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the #1 hit records on the pop charts 1964

THIS IS THE FIFTH 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 “I Want To Hold Your Louie Louie” on my publication Tell It Like It Was on Medium on April 14, 2019. [Continue reading]

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the #1 hit records on the pop charts 1961

THIS IS THE SECOND 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 “Take Good Care Of Runaround Sue” on my publication Tell It Like It Was on Medium on January 15, 2019. [Continue reading]

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a Freak Out labelography and price guide

THIS IS A LABELOGRAPHY and price guide for the initial pressings of the Mothers of Invention’s 1966 two-record album FREAK OUT! It is intended as a complementary piece to the article “What Was the First Rock Double-Album of the ’60s?” Whereas that piece was for a general readership, this article is intended for collectors (although many of those general readers can enjoy the photos and some of the history). [Continue reading]

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understanding riaa gold and platinum record awards

MOST INFORMATION on the Internet about gold and platinum records of the Sixties is crap! That is, most of the “information” regarding RIAA Gold and Platinum Records awarded to albums from the ’60s and early ’70s is factually incorrect. This applies to almost every website: the few that aren’t plain incorrect are often unintentionally misleading, and this includes the RIAA’s own website! [Continue reading]

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dick campbell sings where it’s at for complete unknowns

IT WAS TWENTY YEARS AGO TODAY—give or take a few hundred days one way or the other—that I finally found a stereo copy of DICK CAMPBELL SINGS WHERE IT’S AT (Mercury SR-61060). I was at a record show in New York, and happily paid $100 for it! I had been looking for a copy for years and may have been the only person there that day willing to pay the seller’s asking price. [Continue reading]