5/31/09 Blog/Playlist: 1962

Opening theme—So What's New Herb Alpert& Tijuana Brass

Segment 1: Theme - 1962

Today I am taking a look back at the year 1962 in music. It was a pretty interesting year...still a couple of years away from the British Invasion, teen idols and the Twist were making a strong presence on the charts, and some of the greatest singers around were having a very good year. I'll start with one of my favorites who placed a couple of songs on the top 100 that year.

Gene Pitney – Town Without Pity
Gene Chandler – Duke of Earl
Del Shannon – Little Town Flirt
Patsy Cline – She's Got You
Connie Francis – Vacation
Freddy Cannon – Palisades Park
I used to hear the radio commercials for this all the time, having grown up on the East coast not far from NYC. The song, by the way, was written by Chuck Barris of "Gong Show" fame.

Segment 2: Picking Through the Record Box

Continuing on with 1962 for a bit, as I mentioned, the Twist was at its height in popularity during that year if the Billboard top 100 is any indication. The great Sam Cooke got in on celebrating the dance craze as well.

Don & Juan - What's Your Name
Sam Cooke – Twisting the Night Away
Rick Nelson – It's Up To You
Barbara Lynn - You'll Lose a Good Thing
Bobby Darin – Things

I thought I was going to have a glitch-clean show. Silly me.

I had "Twisting the Night Away" by Sam Cooke in the playout system because I forgot to pack his CD. Well, the playout didn't work, so I had to grab a random track off the Time-Life compliation CD I was using for most of the show. The Don and Juan track came up and then I noticed that "Twisting The Night Away" was also on this same CD! So I played it next. At least I didn't make a complete liar out of myself.

Segment 3: Soul Stew

Brook Benton – Hotel Happiness
Shirelles – Baby It's You
Booker T and the MGs – Green Onions
Drifters - Up On The Roof

Segment 4: Non-oldie/Current/New (Outside the Box)
I played a couple of songs from some terrific women. One is a singer/songwriter I found earlier this year who blew me away, and over Memorial Day weekend she was a New Folk winner at the Kerrville Folk Festival in TX. Congrats to Louise Mosrie! I plan to have her on the show at a later date.

Louise Mosrie – Maybe I'm Your Angel
Samantha Mooney – Laying It All On the Line
(both tracks are from EPs with full albums soon to come from both artists)

I had a couple of minutes to fill...so I thought about artists like Samantha and Louise and what it felt like to hear them and others like them for the first time. I encourage everyone to go and seek out new artists and give them your support, because you never know how they're going to touch your world. You can learn about some in my "Wendy V's Nashville Blend" blog, for starters.

Frequency To The Heart:

Last week we talked about setbacks. You may not want to be in the place in life you are at the moment. But can you find something in it to help you make the best of your present circumstances? You may be without a job right now...but that gives you time to take a nap in the summer sun. If you're on your own, you have the freedom to see new places, have new experiences and meet new people without being tied down. (I'm speaking from experience on these, folks). Even at the hardest times in life, we all have things to be grateful for. Focus on those and you will find the rough waters in your heart will calm a bit.

Closer – Soul Serenade – King Curtis

Coming up on June 14, I will have Boomer Castleman on as my guest...he's been a part of some pop music history and he's still going strong here in Nashville; so do check that out in a couple of weeks.

I was sad to hear from our program director after the show that Kerry Miller, who had been doing the "Samurai Songs" show after mine, decided to end his show. Kerry was an absolute pleasure to have in the studio with me every Sunday. He's been a great encourager and gracious enough to be my "blog photographer" when needed. I will certainly miss him.