Articles by John Twang

His debut album "Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J." contains Bruce Springsteen's "Spirit In The Night". This and "Blinded By The Light" were late additions to the LP so few members of the band are on the track except for Clarence Clemmons, Vini Lopez and Harold Wheeler. Manfred Mann's Earth Band (lead vocalist Chris Thompson, Colin Pattenden, Chris Slade and Manfred Mann) covered "Spirit(s) In The Night" and peaked at number forty on Billboard. This is the single version edited from the six m…

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band (Clarence Clemmons, Garry Tallent and Max Weinberg) recorded "Pink Cadillac" in 1984 as the B side of "Dancing In The Dark". Until The Boss heard the Natalie Cole version he nixed women singing the song because it wasn't a woman's lyric. Natalie Cole covered "Pink Cadillac" and hit the number five spot pop and number nine R&B in 1988. The Dennis Lambert produced single is on the LP "Everlasting".

"La Vie en Rose" (Piaf - Louiguy - Monnot) was written in 1945 and made popular by Edith Piaf (Gassion). The name "Piaff" meaning sparrow was a nickname. She was named Edith after nurse Edith Cavell. Actually the song from the LP "Chansons Parisiennes" made her famous all over the world. It was 1950 when Tony Martin (Alvin Morris) covered "La Vie en Rose" and out of many versions peaked the highest on Billboard when it reached number nine. English lyrics came from Mack David. Mack was Hal Da…

Grammy award winner John Oates performs (Daryl) Hall and (John) Oates' chart topping "Maneater" live at the New York 2009 Songwriters Circle Song Writing Contest June 25th, 2009 at the Bitter End in New York City. Wikipedia: "John Oates has explained that while it is natural to assume the lyrics are about a woman, the song actually was originally written "about NYC in the ’80s. It's about greed, avarice, and spoiled riches. But we have it in the setting of a girl because it's more relatable. It'…

The duo Air Supply (Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock) originally recorded the Australian single version of "Lost In Love" (Graham Russell) in 1979. The single was in excess of five minutes and became part of the album "Life Support". The next year Air Supply re-recorded "Lost In Love" for the LP of the same name. This reached number three on Billboard while topping the Adult Contemporary chart.

From the Wally (Waldo) Holmes LP "A Good Mix" comes the solfeggio version of "Rock The Boat" (Holmes). The trumpeter and songwriter is the leader of the jazz group Yankee Wailers. They make annual appearances at the L.A. Sweet and Hot Music Festival. Wally also founded The Hues Corporation. The Hues Corporation (lead vocalist Fleming Williams, Ann Kelley and St. Clair Lee) included "Rock The Boat" on their 1973 debut album "Freedom For The Stallion". A slightly different edit became the sing…

Marv Green sings "Amazed" (Marv Green - Aimee Mayo - Chris Lindsey) from his LP "Pouring Raindrops Back Into Clouds". Apparently the song was offered to Boyz ll Men and they rejected it at the time. Marv's tunes have been recorded by Willie Nelson, Jewel, George Straight and Bon Jovi. Lonestar (lead vocals Richie McDonald, Michael Britt, Keech Rainwater and Dean Sams) included "Amazed" on the group's 1999 album "Lonely Grill". The single topped both the Top One Hundred and the Country chart…

Floyd Tillman recorded "I Love You So Much It Hurts" in 1948 and charted at number six on the "Country" listing. This is a remixed stereo version of the original record. Floyd played lead guitar for Adolph Hofner and also worked with Moon Mullican and Ted Daffan. The next year The Mills Brothers (Donald, Herbert, Harry and John Mills Jr.) took "I Love You So Much It Hurts" as a B side to number eight on Billboard. You don't get smoother than these guys with a simple guitar accompaniment.

"Early In the Morning" aka "She Let's Her Hair Down" or a bracketed combination of those titles started with a 1968 Miss Clairol television commercial and resulted in a well known song. Who recorded the tune first as a single is hotly debated. The title itself is also the cause of confusion with releases of different songs titled as "Early In The Morning". The first "She Lets Her Hair Down (Early In The Morning)" (Leon Carr - Paul Vance) I could find issued, as confirmed by Second Hand Songs…

This version of "Poetry In Motion" (Paul Kaufman - Mike Anthony) was recorded in 1960 but first published in 2011 by Bear Family Records. This original has King Curtis (Curtis Ousley) on saxophone and was recorded some weeks before the famous single version with Boots (Homer) Randolph on sax. Johnny Tillotson's LP "More Lipstick On Your Collar" contains the hit "Poetry In Motion" with Floyd Cramer on piano. The single topped the U.K. charts and peaked at number two on Billboard in early 1961…

Hank (Hiram) Williams and his Drifting Cowboys (Don Helms, Sammy Pruett, Jerry Rivers and Jack Shook) original "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)" was issued as a B side yet reached number two on the Country chart in 1951. Hank is a member of The Country Music Hall of Fame, The Songwriters Hall of Fame and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1962 Johnny Tillotson recorded "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)" and peaked at number twenty-four on Billboard's pop chart,…

Jackie Wilson's "Lonely Teardrops" (Berry Gordy Jr., Tyran Carlo) was initially recorded as a blues ballad but Brunswick label executives and the writers weren't happy with the product. It was Decca veteran arranger Dick Jacobs who re-arranged it. What became the hit version of "Lonely Teardrops" topped the 1958 R&B chart while peaking at number seven on the Top One Hundred. Jackie, ex member of Billy Ward and this Dominos, shows off his vocal range and a reason why he was nicknamed "Mr. Exc…

The 1959 movie "A Hole In The Head" highlighted Frank Sinatra and Eddie Hodges singing "High Hopes" (James Van Heusen - Sammy Cahn). The song won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The Frank Capra film also included Edward G. Robinson, Eleanor Parker, Keenan Wynn, Carolyn Jones and Thelma Ritter . Further down the credits is James Komack who later created and produced television's "Welcome Back, Kotter" and"Chico and The Man". Later that year Frank Sinatra recorded "High Hopes" with "a…

Co-writer Les Reed sings "Everybody Knows (L. Reed - B. Mason). Just a few of the successes Les co-wrote include "It's Not Unusual", "There's A Kind Of Hush", "Delilah", "The Last Waltz, "Here It Comes Again" and "Kiss Me Goodbye". The Dave Clark Five (lead vocalist Lenny Davidson, Dave Clark, Rick Huxley, Dennis Payton and Mike Smith) placed "Everybody Knows" at number two in the U.K. and number thirty-seven on Billboard in 1967. This cut, their final hit in the U.S. is from the 1967 album…

This is the original theme to the gothic television series "Dark Shadows". Conceived as "Shadows Of The Night" this cult classic was composed by Robert Cobert and is performed here by his orchestra in 1968. The narrator is David Selby who played the character Quentin Collins. Robert Cobert composed television themes for "The Winds Of War" and the game shows To Tell The Truth, Password, and The $25,000 Pyramid. The Charles Randolph Grean Sounde had success with "Quentin's Theme" in 1969 when…

Originally called "Disco Baby", Harvey Scales sings "Disco Lady" (Harvey Scales - Albert Vance - Don Davis) during a live performance. Harvey wrote "Love-Itis" which hit for Mandala in their native Canada. Johnnie Taylor hit number one on both Billboard's pop and R&B charts with "Disco lady" in 1976. Apparently this was the first single certified as platinum by the RIAA and the first chart topper to use the word "disco" in the title. This was Johnnie's first release on the Columbia label aft…

Political activist Malvina Reynolds sings "What Have They Done To The Rain" she wrote in 1962 trying to stop atmospheric nuclear testing causing fall out. The lady knew how to compose songs with meaning, songs like "Little Boxes", "Turn Around" and "Morningtown Ride". The Searchers (Frank Allen, Chris Curtis, John McNally and Mike Pender) covered "What Have They Done To The Rain" and peaked at number twenty-nine on the Billboard Top One Hundred. This was a cut on the Tony Hatch produced "The…

In 1941 Duke Ellington and His Orchestra released the future jazz standard "Just Squeeze Me (But Please Don't Tease Me)" (Duke Ellington - Lee Gaines) with vocalist Ray Nance. Ray was with the Duke for years as a dancer, trumpeter on "Take The 'A' Train", violinist on "The 'C' Jam Blues" and singer. Over a decade later The Four Aces (Al Alberts, Dave Mahoney, Louis Silvestri and Rosario Vaccaro) reached number twenty on Billboard with " Just Squeeze Me (But Please Don't Tease Me)". This was…