Articles by John Twang

Academy Award, Emmy and Grammy winner Randy Newman wrote "Mama Told Me Not to Come" for Eric Burdon and the Animals 1967 album, "Eric Is Here", in1966. Randy's version came in the 1970 album "12 Songs". Three Dog Night's version from the album "It Ain't Easy" in 1970 hit number one with Cory Wells on lead.

The Beatles buddy, (Harry) Nilsson composed "One" for his 1968 album "Ariel Ballet". Originally called Redwood, the Three Dog Night (Chuck Negron, Danny Hutton and Cory Wells) cover from their debut album "Three Dog Night" featured New Yorker Chuck Negron on lead. They hit number five in 1969.

The wonderful Neil Sedaka and the Brill Building's Roger Atkins ("My Momma Said", "It's My Life") composed "Workin' On a Groovy Thing" and it was released world-wide by Neil in 1969. Nashville's Patti Drew was first to release the tune as a single hitting the R&B top forty in 1968. It was the title track from her album. Formed in the sixties as "The Hi-Fis", The Fifth Dimension (Marilyn Mcoo, Billy Davis Jr., Florence LaRue, Lamonte McLemore and Ron Townson) hit the top twenty on the pop,…

Emmy winner for a children's television show Doye O'Dell was first to record "Blue Christmas" (Johnson - Hayes) as a single in 1948. The Elvis Presley November release in the 1957 E.P. "Elvis' Christmas Album" was just in time for the holiday season and solidified the tune as his for generations. Still it wasn't until 1964 that "Blue Christmas" was released as a single. It was the A side to "Wooden Heart" that appears elsewhere in this blog. In 1965 "Bluer Christmas" was released with "Santa…

Texas radio personality Slim Willet (Winston Lee Moore) often sang on stage with his group "The Hired Hands" was the first to record his composition of "Don't Let the Stars Get In Your Eyes" in 1952. Once vocalist with the Ted Weems Orchestra, Perry Como's hit with Hugo Winterhalter's Orchestra and the Ramblers came the same year. "Don't Let the Stars Get In Your Eyes" hit number one for Mr C.

Sonny Curtis of The Crickets (Sonny, Jerry Allison, Glen Hardin and Joe Mauldin) composed "I Fought the Law". Originally the group were backing Buddy Holly instrumentally while "The Picks" (John and Bill Pickering, Bob Lapham) provided the vocal background. When Buddy moved to New York the trio added Sonny Curtis as lead guitar and vocalist. "I Fought the Law" was introduced on their first album without Buddy Holly, "In Style With The Crickets". This is the Bobby Fuller Four demo of "I Fought…

Minstrel show performer Emmitt Miller recorded "Anytime" (Lawson) in 1924. Grand Ole Opry member Eddy Arnold was once managed by the infamous Col. Tom Parker before the Colonel discovered Elvis Presley. Eddy had a number one country hit and a top forty pop hit with "Anytime" in 1948. Kate and Joe Fisher's son Eddie won his first talent show at the age of four and started singing professionally at 12 and was not outdone when his cover went to number two in 1952.

He who "put the bomp", Barry Mann (Imberman) and wife Cynthia Weil composed one ton of hits including "Looking Through the Eyes of Love" and here Barry gives his version. Musician, composer Gene Pitney's single in July of 1965 hit the top thirty from the album of the same name.

African Dance Band of the Cold Storage Commission of Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) were first to record this tune titled after an illicit alcoholic drink, "Skokiaan" (Musarurwa). It was released in 1947 and actually charted later in the U.S.A. Tom Glazer (On Top of Spaghetti) wrote the English lyrics and the Canadian group from St. Michael's Choir in Toronto, The Four Lads (Bernie Toorish, Connie Codarini, Jimmy Arnold and Frank Busseri) along with Neil Hefti's Orchestra reached the top ten i…

Charlie Gracie (Graci) appeared on Bandstand years before Dick Clark became the host. In 1956 he recorded "Butterfly" (Lowe - Mann) as composed under the pseudonym "Anthony September" in late 1956 and it became an immediate hit selling over three million copies. Charlie was the first solo rock and roll act to appear in Britain. Originally one of The Williams Brothers before going solo in 1953 Andy Williams again took the song to number one in 1957. Both versions were on the charts simultaneou…

Star of the Bob Hope and Bing Crosby "Road" movies, Dorothy Lamour (Slaton) sang "I Remember You" with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra in the 1942 film "The Fleet's In" (Mercer - Schertzinger). The Beatles were once the opening act for British born, Australian raised Frank Ifield. His 1962 cover hit the top ten and was the title to his 1963 album.

The 1964 album "Another Side of Bob Dylan" started off with this track, "All I Really Want To Do" by the composer. It was apparently recorded in one take. The Byrds (Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, Mike Clarke and Chris Hillman) got to the number forty position with "All I Really Want To Do" in 1965. The single differs from the album version found on "Mr. Tambourine Man". Produced by Sonny Bono, Cher's debut album release was "All I Really Want To Do" and it hit the top fifteen al…

Although it was written specifically for Perry Como, Ray Peterson's "The Wonder Of You" (Baker Knight) hit the top thirty in 1959 and became his first real hit. One year later he created Dunes Records as his own label and hit with "Corrine, Corrina" and a few other releases. Elvis Presley's Las Vegas concert cover reached the top ten in 1970 and the top of the easy listening chart.

Trumpet and trombone expert, big band leader and actor Vaughn Monroe first recorded "That Lucky Old Sun" (Smith - Gillespie) and watched it hit the top ten in 1949. "Old leather lungs", Frankie Laine's (LoVecchio) version charted for 22 weeks and reached the top of the chart in the same year.

Cajun Rod Bernard's single release of the traditional "Colinda" appeared in 1962 and became a regional hit. The female portion of the Canadian Sweethearts, Lucille Starr (Savoie) issued "Colinda" as the B side of "The French Song". Both were Canadian hits in 1964 with "Colinda" reaching number three in the Netherlands and both were produced by Herb Alpert.

Pittsburgh crooner Dick Powell and Canada's Ethel "Ruby" Keeler sang "I Only Have Eyes For You" (Warren - Dubin) in the 1934 movie "Dames" The Flamingos (Nate Nelson on lead, Jake Carey, Zeke Carey, Paul Wilson and Johnny Carter) took the tune into the top ten in 1955. This cover is on the Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra with vocalist Kenny Sargent recorded "Blue Moon" (Rodgers - Hart) in 1934. The melody was written for the Hollywood Revue of 1933 but unused for the film. The melody was used again the next year for the movie Manhattan Melodrama. Within months Lorenz Hart changed the lyric to the "Blue Moon" we know. In 1961 bi-racial group The Marcels (Cornelius Harp, Fred Johnson, Gene Bricker, Ron Mundy and Richard Krauss) hit the top of the charts with this fun cover.…

Johnny Dee aka the prolific composer John D. Loudermilk recorded his original "Sittin' In the Balcony" in 1957. What became Eddie Cochran's first hit was released at almost the same time and the cover got into the Billboard top twenty.