Monday 18th. February - we go back 50 Years!

The program for today will feature the Top 30 from exactly fifty years ago; in other words, what was being played on the 18th. February 1963.

The playlist includes the following tracks. (Numbers in brackets indicate the highest that they charted in the USA):-

• I Saw Linda Yesterday - Dickey Lee (14)
• Mama Didn't Lie - Jan Bradley (14)
• Walk Like A Man - the Four Seasons (1)
• Wild Weekend - the Rebels (8)
• From A Jack To A King - Ned Miller (6)
• I Wanna Be Around - Tony Bennett (14)
• Go Away Little Girl - Steve Lawrence (1)
• South Street - the Orlons (3)
• Loop De Loop - Johnny Thunder (4)
• Fly Me To The Moon - Joe Harnell & his Orchestra (14)
• Rhythm Of The Rain - the Cascades (3)
• Hey, Paula - Paul & Paula (1)
• You're The Reason I'm Living - Bobby Darin (3)
• Tell Him - the Exciters (4)
• Blame It On The Bossa Nova - Eydie Gorme (7)
• Our Day Will Come - Ruby & the Romantics (1)
• Walk Right In - the Rooftop Singers (1)
• The Night Has A Thousand Eyes - Bobby Vee (3)
• Up On The Roof - the Drifters (5)
• The End Of The World - Skeeter Davis (2)
• He's Sure The Boy I Love - the Crystals (11)
• Two Lovers - Mary Wells (7)
• Send Me Some Lovin' - Sam Cooke (13)
• Greenback Dollar - the Kingston Trio (21)
• Baby Workout - Jackie Wilson (5)
• You've Really Got A Hold On Me - the Miracles (8) (the Beatles covered it in July)
• Little Town Flirt - Del Shannon (12)
• What Will Mary Say - Johnny Mathis (9)
• That's The Way Love Is - Bobby 'Blue' Bland (33)
• My Colouring Book - Kitty Kallen (18)
• Don't Make Me Over - Dionne Warwick (13)
• Mr. Bass Man - Johnny Cymbal (17)

The Comedy Spot (following the 10:00 AM news & weather) is a Hancock's Half-hour, this one entitled "The Insurance Policy" and featuring Tony Hancock, Sid James, Bill Kerr, Hattie Jacques and Kenneth Williams. It was first broadcast by the BBC on the 11th. February 1958.

Tony considers taking out life insurance and, you guessed it, Sid James just happens to operate an insurance business!
Kenneth Williams plays a veterinarian in this show. Yes, a vet! You'll have to listen to it to find out.

Summer will soon be over.

As we approach the last weeks of our summertime, I thought that it would be nice to feature some classic "summery" pop-music in the program for Friday 15th. February.

Drawn mostly from those fab days of the 1960s when popular music with a surfing or beach theme ruled the airwaves, you will be able to hear Australian and American groups as they belt out those sand and salt-spray covered hits from the Top Forty charts between 1960 and 1965.

Groups such as the Beach Boys, the Sunrays, the Rivieras, the Trashmen, the Surfaris, the Delltones, Mungo Jerry and solo artists including Little Pattie, Paul Anka, Connie Francis and others will fill your ears with the upbeat sounds that had us stompin' left, right and centre!

So join me as we wind down the summer of 2012/2013 with a medley of some of the best popular music of our youth.

The Comedy Spot that follows the 3:00 PM news & weather will today feature another classic Hancock's Half-hour, this one entitled "The Student Prince", and featuring Tony Hancock, Sid James, Bill Kerr, Kenneth Williams and a new face (voice!) in Andree Melly (who preceeded Hattie Jacques).

Monday 11th. February - 0900 to 1200

 

Today's program features a mix of 1950s and 1960s pop and a dash of Easy Listening music.

The playlist includes the following hits from the the international and Australian charts:- 

• I Just Need Your Love - Little Pattie (Australian artist - 1960s)
• Born Too Late - the Shannons (1958)
• She's So Fine - the Easybeats (Australian artists - 1960s)
• Teenage Baby - Col Joye (Australian artist - 1950s)
• Tracy's Theme - Spencer Ross (1960)
• Beatnik Fly - Johnny & the Hurricanes (1960)
• Easier Said Than Done - Laurel Lee (Australian artist - 1960s)
• Cotton Candy - Al Hirt (1964)
• Fun, Fun, Fun - the Beachboys (1964)
• Georgie Girl - the Seekers (1960s)
• Born Too Late - the Poni-Tails (1958) (A counterpoint to the version by the Shannons)
• Come A Little Bit Closer - the Delltones (Australian artist - 1960s)
• Cradle Of Love - Billy Preston (1960)
• Pineapple Princess - Annette Funicello (1960)
• Ciao Baby - Lynn Randell (Australian artist - 1960s)
• Twenty-Six Miles - the Four Preps (1958)
• And I Love Her - the Beatles (1964)
• Diane - the Bachelors (1964)
• Volare - Bobby Rydell (1960)
• What Am I Doing Here With You? - Bev Harrell (Australian artist - 1960s)
• Blue Jeans - David Dundas (1970s)
• Always Something There To Remind Me - Sandie Shaw (1964)
• One In A Million - Bev Harrell (Australian artist - 1960s)
• Beyond The Sea (La Mer) - Bobby Darin (1960)
• Green Onions - Booker T & the MGs (1962)
• Would You Lay With Me - Judy Stone (Australian artist - 1960s)
• On The Prowl - Ol' 55 (Australian artists)
• Rag Doll - the Four Seasons (1964)
• Downtown - Petula Clark (1964)
• Monster Mash - Bobby 'Boris' Pickett (1962)
• Fever - Peggy Lee (1958)
• Blow Away - A Fine Frenzy (Alison Sudol - 2010)
• Beyond The Blue Horizon - Lou Christie (1970s)
   

 

 

The Comedy Spot which follows the news & weather update at 10:00 AM is another classic radio piece from the Hancock's Half-Hour series, entitled "The Picnic" and first broadcast by the BBC on the 20th. October 1959.



Program for Friday 8th. February 2013

Today I am going back in time to the 8th. of February 1961 (which was a Wednesday, incidentally) and the Top Thirty tunes that were being broadcast over the airwaves exactly 52 years ago.

Included in the playlist are the following tracks:-

• Wheels - the String-Alongs (also made popular by Bert Kaempfert)
• Asia Minor - Kokomo
• Dedicated To The One I Love - the Shirelles (the first of two in the charts this week)
• Theme from The Magnificent Seven - Al Cailoa & Orchestra
• Baby-Sitting Boogie - Buzz Clifford
• I Count The Tears - the Drifters
• Good Time Baby - Bobby Rydell
• Calcutta - Lawrence Welk
• There's A Moon Out Tonight - the Capris
• Rubber Ball - Bobby Vee
• Walk Right Back - the Everly Brothers
• Wings Of A Dove - Ferlin Husky
• All In My Mind - Maxine Brown
• Pony Time - Chubby Checker
• Once In A While - the Chimes
• Corrina, Corrina - Ray Peterson
• Calendar Girl - Neil Sedaka
• Where The Boys Are - Connie Francis
• Will You Love Me Tomorrow - the Shirelles (the second of their two in this weeks Top 40)
• You Can Have Her - Roy Hamilton
• Them That Got - Ray Charles
• Shop Around - the Miracles
• Please Love Me Forever - Cathy Jean & the Roommates (60s music was not all wonderful!)
• Sailor (Your Home Is The Sea) - Lolita
• Emotions - Brenda Lee
• Apache - Jorgen Inman
• Spanish Harlem - Ben E. King
• Theme from Exodus - Ferrante & Teicher
• At Last - Etta James
• Are You Lonesome Tonight - Elvis Presley
• Wonderland By Night - Bert Kaempfert
• Angel Baby - Rosie & the Originals (similar quality to Cathy Jean's effort!)

The Comedy Spot, following the 3:00 PM news update, is a Hancock's Half-hour, from the 2nd. of February 1956, entitled "Cyrano de Hancock".
It features Tony Hancock, Sid James, Bill Kerr, Hattie Jacques and Kenneth Williams.

Monday 4th. February - Different Times!

The program today will not only start at an earlier time but it will also be shorter.
This is due to the fact that for the first time in 20 years (i.e., since 1993) I am going to watch the American NFL Superbowl LIVE!!!

The last time that I was able to do this was the 1993 game, when Don Lane was the presenter and the games were shown here live on the ABC.

So.......today's program is starting an hour-and-a-half earlier than normal, at 7:30 AM, and will finish at 9:30, truncated to two hours instead of 3. (Normal time-slot is 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon.)

I do hope that my regular listeners will forgive this shortened program, but now that I've been retired for nearly six months I don't have to feel guilty about taking time off work to watch a football game!

The two hours will be a mix of all that was good from the 1950s and 1960s charts but due to the abbreviated time I will not be including the regular half-hour comedy spot.
The playlist includes the following tracks that were receiving airplay in the Top Forty, 51 years ago, in the first week of February, 1962:-

• The Peppermint Twist - Joey Dee and the Starlighters
• Crying In The Rain - the Everly Brothers
• A Little Bitty Tear - Burl Ives
• Her Royal Majesty - James Darren
• Cotton Fields - the Highwaymen
• Multiplication - Bobby Darin
• Hey! Baby - Bruce Channel
• Chip Chip - Gene McDaniels
• Norman - Sue Thompson
• I Know - Barbara George
• Duke Of Earl - Gene Chandler
• Irresistable You - Bobby Darin
• Baby It's You - the Shirrelles
• Break It To Me Gently - Brenda Lee
• The Twist - Chubby Checker
• The Wanderer - Dion
• Midnight In Moscow - Kenny Ball and the Jazzmen
• Town Without Pity - Gene Pitney
• Smokey Places - the Corsairs
• Can't Help Falling In Love - Elvis Presley
• Let Me In - the Sensations

Please join me if you can.

Friday 1st. February - a new month!

 

Well, here we are one full month into the year of 2013. January seemed to fly past so I expect the next 11 months will be much the same!

The program for today is similar to the last couple in that it will feature a selection of popular hits and easy-listening tracks from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.....and maybe a small foray into the 1980s.

Comedy spot after the 2:00 PM news & weather update will be a Hancock's Half-hour, today presenting, from 1958, "Hancock's Car".

Please join me for three hours of perfect Baby-boomer nostalgia.

Program for Monday 28th. January 2013

On this national public holiday I will be reverting to a smorgasbord of music from the charts of the Fifties and Sixties, together with a selection of Easy Listening tracks from down through the years.

The Comedy Spot following the 10:00 AM news & weather will be an episode of Take It From Here, first broadcast on the 4th. December 1958.
The Glums features Ron getting a job (he applies to join the police force) and the effect the announcement has on his bethrothed, Eth, and his father!

Please join me for three hours of enjoyable nostalgia.