The falsetto of Lou Christie soared across the country in 1966 his multi-million selling LIGHTNING STRIKES rocketed to Number One. Twenty years later, LIGHTNING STRIKES remains a staple of Classic rock stations and is covered by new artists with alarming frequency. Lou first struck the charts at the age of 19 with the 1962 million-seller,
The Marvelettes occupy an esteemed place in the history of American popular music as the group that caused Motown, and most notably Berry Gordy to change the label’s focus from single bluesy soul artists (previously Barrett Strong’s “Money” had been the label’s biggest seller) to a smooth orchestrated harmonic sound that transcended the prior racial
After selling more than 65 million records worldwide as the star of THE MONKEES TV show, Micky Dolenz has continued to make his mark in other areas of the entertainment business, through his varied career as an actor, director, writer, producer and performer. Micky was born in Los Angeles on March 8, 1948. His dad,
Like many Liverpool bands, The Searchers undertook an “apprenticeship” in the German port of Hamburg and were signed by Pye producer Tony Hatch when they returned to Liverpool. Their debut single was a cover of the Drifters’ “Sweets for My Sweet”. It quickly rose to No. 1 in the UK charts. This was followed by “Needles and Pins”,
Say the word “Miracles” and all kinds of images from the golden era of the Motown Record Corporation comes to mind. The Miracles were the first Motown group to break through bringing Berry Gordy’s fledgling Detroit record company its first gold record for selling a million copies. The song was “Shop Around” and the year was 1960.
Together since high school, the Ohio Express were the ultimate bubblegum band. Their lead singer, Joey Levine, sang like he had a huge wad of bubblegum in his mouth. His super nasal vocals are a bubblegum trademark. The band played tense go-go grooves with chug-chug-chug-chug–chug-chug-chug-chug guitars & roller rink keyboards. Compared to most bubblegum bands,
Thirty years ago, in 1975, Pablo Cruise released its first A&M album simply entitled Pablo Cruise. The album cover was shot in the tropical gardens of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park and it featured a huge gorilla standing front and center. The band, David Jenkins (guitars & vocals), Cory Lerios (keyboards & vocals), Steve Price
In April 1963, 15 year old “Little” Peggy March scored a No. 1 hit with her instant smash “I Will Follow Him” which stayed at the No. 1 slot for an incredible 3 weeks. With her first recording an instant hit, RCA Records discovered Peggy’s way with language – she had a phenomenal ear and could pick
While he is perhaps best known for the No. 1 smash hit “Ghostbusters”, Ray Parker, Jr. has enjoyed quite a versatile career, not only as a much sought-after guitarist, but with a number of other hits to his credit, as a performer, songwriter and producer. Born May 1, 1954, in Detroit, MI, Ray started out
Rex Smith is a multi-talented performer whose natural singing ability has led him to a successful career as a singer and actor. A veteran of stage and screen, Rex started his career as a “teen idol” heartthrob with the platinum album hit “You Take My Breath Away.” Other albums included “Rex”, “Where Do We Go
The son of an army officer, Australian rocker Rick Springfield first picked up the guitar at the age of 13. In the early 60s, he began playing in bands. In the band Zoot, Rick wrote several hits. They also had a hit with a cover of ‘Eleanor Rigby’. Rick went solo after Zoot’s breakup in
The Rip Chords are a California Group.Their songs tell stories of hot rods, the surf and boys and girls in love. When you think of California in the 60’s, you think of The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, and The Rip Chords. No wonder. In 1964 “Cashbox” reported that“Hey Little Cobra” was #2 with a bullet
Pop music fans know Ron Dante as the man who sang lead and was all the background voices for the group The Archies hit song Sugar Sugar. This hit single topped the top 40 charts for weeks and was voted “Song of the Year’ in 1969 in an era dominated by the Beatles, the Rolling
At the age of 13, Stephen Bishop found himself at a crossroads. A clarinetist with hopes of becoming a History teacher, he was forever changed after watching the Beatles one night on The Ed Sullivan Show. He convinced his brother to buy him an electric guitar. He bought a “Mel Bay” chordbook and began to learn
Terry Sylvester started his musical career at the famous Cavern Club Liverpool in the early 1960’s. His first group “The Escorts” appeared at the Cavern with “The Beatles” on many occasions. When The Beatles played at the Cavern for the last time on the 3rd August 1963, “The Escorts” were hand picked by Cavern DJ
It was hardly extraordinary for a bunch of guys to get together on a street corner or in a high school bathroom to sing Doo Wop in the New York City of the late 50’s and early 60’s. The history of Brooklyn alone testifies to the remarkable talent that called just that one borough “home”
The music of Tommy James is played continuously, everyday, in every country in the world, and has been for over a generation. His songs have become so ingrained in modern culture, it’s difficult to go for more than a couple of days without hearing one of them on the radio, TV, in films, or one
The Troggs will be forever remembered for their primitive rock anthem“Wild Thing”, a No. 1 hit in the US in June 1966, selling many million copies. Hailing from the town of Andover in southern England, The Troggs (short for Troglodytes) consisted of Reg Presley on vocals, Chris Britton, guitar, Pete Staples, bass guitar and Ronnie
Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman formed a rock group with drummer Don Murray and bassist Chuck Portzin in Westchester, California in 1965 and called it “The Crossfires”. DJ and club owner Reb Foster assisted The Crossfires and they signed with White Whale Records, becoming in the process a folk rock group known as The Turtles.
The undisputed king of pop culture parody, “Weird Al” has sold more comedy recordings than any other artist in history. In a career spanning nearly three decades, he has amassed 28 Gold and Platinum albums, 7 Gold and Platinum-certified home videos and 3 Grammy Awards (with 9 nominations). An accomplished director, Al has helmed many
