Articles by John Twang

"Saginaw, Michigan" started with an idea by Don Wayne (Choate), the Nashville native who wrote a big hit for Ireland's Val Doonican, originally recorded by Faron Young, "Walk Wall". Don also composed "Country Bumpkin" which topped the country charts for Cal Smith. Bill Anderson has appeared in our hometown of Belleville a number of times. One occasion was his "Songs I Wrote for Others (?)" Tour. He told the story of composer Don Wayne coming to him with an unfinished tune. That was "Saginaw,…

Environmentalist, singer and composer Kenny Young wrote "Under the Boardwalk" (Drifters), "Arizona" (Mark Lindsay), "Don't Go Out Into the Rain (you're going to melt) (Herman's Hermits)" and "Just a Little Bit Better". Kenny's original is from 1964. Herman's Hermits hit the Top Ten in 1965.

Allen Toussaint's version of "Working in a Coalmine" morphs into the hit later. In a recent Canadian television interview Allen tells us about Lee Dorsey's love of auto body work and that singing was almost secondary despite his hits with "Ya-Ya" (the notorious name Morris Levy appears as co-writer) , "Ride Your Pony" (composer Naomi Neville was Allen Toussaint using his mother's maiden name) and "Working in a Coalmine". The 1966 hit was written and produced by the essential New Orleans music…

Sidney Bechet was born in New Orleans three years before Louis Armstrong. The clarinetist left the Storyville District for Europe in 1919 where he also mastered the saxophone. He spent most of his career in abroad. While in France he wrote Petite Fleur. British trombonist Chris Barber formed his first jazz band in 1949. Clarinetist Monty Sunshine and banjo virtuoso Lonnie Donegan were members of the band during the fifties. In 1958 Chris Barber’s version of “Petite Fleur” became a world-wide…

DJ Tommy Shannon was on air at WKBW in Buffalo in the fifties when he met "The Rebels" (named after Duane Eddy and the Rebels) at a local high school. They entered a recording studio together and started fooling around with a jingle composed for the Shannon radio show. It was released in 1959 as "Wild Weekend". The track was re-released in 1962 and hit world-wide. The group's name became The Rockin' Rebels, The Buffalo Rebels and even The Hot Toddys. Tom retired from a noted radio career afte…

Louisiana’s Robert “Bobby” Charles Guidry wrote Fats Domino’s “Walking to New Orleans”, “(I Don’t Know Why I Love You) But I Do,” by Clarence “Frogman” Henry; and “See You Later Alligator,” for Bill Haley and the Comets. Fats didn't want the “Alligator” tune. Somehow Bobby wound up singing the song over the phone to Leonard Chess of Chess Records in Chicago. He sent Robert Guidry a ticket, and when Charles showed up at his office, he was already to hit the road as the newest member of a “Chess…

In 1947 the motion picture “Capas Negras” (named after the black capes of the university students of Coïmbra.) was shot in Coimbra, Portugal. Alberto Rebeiro sang the title tune “Coimbra” (composers: Raul Ferrâo/José Galhardo) years later it became popular in parts of Europe. The title was changed to “Avril au Portugal” in 1950, and Les Baxter hit the number two spot in 1953 with “April in Portugal”.

Sonny Curtis and Jerry Allison of the Crickets wrote and recorded "More Than I Can Say" in 1959. Since then it's been released by Bobby Vee in 1961 and Leo Sayer had the hit in 1980. It's almost difficult NOT to sing along with the tune.

"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong in 1966, the single was first recorded by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, but it was not released. In 1967 Gladys Knight & the Pips altered the lyric a bit and hit the top of the R&B chart. Marvin Gaye recorded his version of the song prior to the Pips' but released it after theirs on the "In The Groove" album, October 1968. Versions of this classic can be found as an eleven minute version on CCRs "Cosmo's…

Duke Ellington was once a member of Russell Wooding's Grand Central Red Caps who in 1931 recorded “That’s My Desire”. In 1951 Frankie Laine (Francesco Paolo LoVecchio) took it to the top of the American charts even though he recorded it originally in 1947. The day before recording it he was $7,000 in debt. His first royalty cheque was for $36,000. Frankie’s father was once Al Capone’s barber in Chicago. During the Depression he was a marathon dancer. In 1932, with his partner Ruth Smith at Y…

James "Sugar Boy" Crawford recorded as Shaw Weez, Shaweez, Sugar Boy & the Cane Cutters, James Sugar Boy, and later James Crawford, Jr. In 1954 he called this Cajun melody “Jackamo” and claimed he composed it when he recorded it for Chess Records. The Dixie Cups “Iko, Iko” (group members listed as composers: Hawkins-Hawkins-Johnson) hit the top twenty in 1965. At the time their manager was Joe Jones of “You Talk Too Much” fame. The family of Joe Jones claimed he was the composer. Of course, t…

Chilean singer/actor Antonio Prieto had a 50-year career, recorded over 1000 songs, acted in more than 33 films (Don Miguel Rojo, the eldest of the bandit brothers in Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars with Clint Eastwood) and had the first variety television show in South America. Considered by music critics as an icon of the Latin Bolero genre, his biggest international hit was “La Novia” (“The Wedding”) in 1961. Anita Bryant recorded the first English version the same year. "The Wedding"…

The song "I'm a Woman" was written by famed songwriting duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and was first recorded in 1962 by Christine Kittrell. It was recorded and released as a single later that year by Peggy Lee, reaching number 54 on U.S. pop charts. It was also the title song to Lee's 1963 album I'm a Woman, and appeared on her subsequent albums In Love Again! (1964) and Is That All There Is? (1969). (Wikipedia)

"Oh What a Night, Such a Night" was written by Lincoln Chase (Jim Dandy, and The Name Game plus The Nitty Gritty for partner Shirley Ellis) and recorded by The Drifters featuring Clyde McPhatter and released in January 1954. It hit second spot on the R&B chart. Elvis Presley released the song with The Jordanaires on his album Elvis Is Back. The Elvis version made it to number 16 in 1964.

In 1974 Gigliola Cinquetti got to the top spot on the Italian charts with "Alle Porte del Sole". It was the same songwriting team (Pace/Panzeri/ Pilat/Conti) who also gave her Si, the Italian entry for the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, defeated by ABBA's Waterloo. Al Martino's (Alfred Cini) version, "To the Door of the Sun" was almost the identical arrangement and reached the Top Twenty in 1975. It happens to be one of my wife's favourite songs. That means nothing to you, but much to our hous…

Ringo Starr's (Beatle Richard Starkey) cover of Hoyt Axton (character actor: Black Stallion, Gremlins, We’re No Angels and Kingfish, singer and composer: "Joy to the World", "Never Been to Spain", "The Pusher", "Greenback Dollar") and David Jackson's "The No No Song" was on his 1974 album Goodnight Vienna. It hit the top ten! In interviews Ringo has said that many of the musicians were stoned or drunk at the time of recording this anti-drug tune. Providing background is Harry Nilson.

Guy Warren (Warren Gamaliel Kpakpo Akwe), the Ghanaian drummer known as Kofi Ghanaba (son of Ghana) was a member of the Tempos band. Guy played piano, flute, sang, and was trained in Western style composition. He is known as the first African drummer to play with jazz musicians in America. In the 1950s and 60s he recorded several albums in the States which sold millions of copies. One of those was " Africa Speaks, American Answers" in 1956. It contained "That Happy Feeling". Upon returning to G…

The disco song “Goodbye (There’s Nothing to Say) was released in1974 as Nosmo, months later issued as The Javells featuring Nosmo King (Doctors/Steve Jameson). Two years later Nosmo King sued the writers of Maxine Nightingale’s "Right Back Where We Started From" (Pierre Tubbs and J. Vincent Edwards) and it was settled out of court. "Right Back Where We Started From" hit the American top ten in 1976.