Articles by John Twang

Stax Records producer, singer and songwriter Eddie Floyd wrote "634-5789" (Steve Cropper - Eddie Floyd) and was a founder of The Falcons in the fifties. This is the composer's version from the album "Knock On Wood". Eddie fronted the Blues Brothers Band on tour and appeared singing this song in the movie "Blues Brothers 2000". Fellow member of The Falcons Wilson Pickett covered "634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.)" in 1966 for the LP "The Exciting Wilson Pickett" and topped the R&B chart while pea…

"Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" (Bert Berns - Solomon Burke - Jerry Wexler) was produced by Bert Berns and released by Solomon Burke in 1964. This track is extended here to from the usual minute to double that simply to include the "sermon". The single peaked at number fifty-eight on Billboard. Mr. Burke insisted he was the only writer. Wikipedia: "In 1997, Burke recalled: "When I did it for Jerry Wexler and Bert Burns (sic), they told me that song would never make it. I said, 'Well, I tell y…

Chuck Berry proves he can drop as many place names as possible with "Promised Land" appropriately using the tune of "Wabash Cannonball". This was the first single from the 1964 LP "St. Louis To Liverpool". The album included "No Particular Place To Go" and "You Never Can Tell". Chuck wrote "Promised Land" while he was in prison for a problem with the Mann Act. It was 1974 when Elvis Presley released a single of "Promised Land" reaching number fourteen on the Top One Hundred. The next year th…

Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul And Mary co-wrote "Torn Between Two Lovers" with the Muscle Shoals stalwart Phillip Jarrell. Peter sings the hit here from the woman's view while in concert. Phillip Jarrell's version is from the male perspective and is on the 1977 LP "I Sing My Songs For You". Phil is part of the Jarrell Guitar manufacturing company. Mary MacGregor's version of "Torn Between Two Lovers" was strong enough that it became the title of her first album. The 1976 gold single produc…

"Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" (Coots - Gillespie) appeared for the first time on Eddie Cantor's 1934 radio show. J. Fred Coots was a writer on the Eddie Cantor Show and with the help of Eddie's wife got Mr. Cantor to perform it on air. This song has been covered by Gene Autry, Perry Como, Tommy Dorsey, Bing Crosby, Bruce Springsteen, Mariah Carey and hundreds of other recording artists. Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons had the highest chart position with "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" i…

(Arthur) Collins and (Byron) Harlan recorded "Alabama Jubilee" (George L. Cobb - Jack Yellen) in 1915 and charted at number two. The duo was often referred to as The Half-Ton Duo because they were both overweight. One of the most popular recordings of "Alabama Jubilee" happened when Grand Ole Opry star Red (Clyde) Foley released the tune in 1951. This version hit number three Country and number twenty-eight pop on Billboard. Red was one of the first country entertainers to host his own netwo…

Juice (Judy) Newton and Eddie Rabbitt were responsible for the first commercial recording issued of "Both To Each Other" (Friends And Lovers). This was number one on the Billboard Country chart. Just weeks after this single was released the pop version was issued. The Country hit appears on the Juice Newton LP "Old Flames" and Eddie's album "Rabbitt Traxx". "Friends And Lovers" (Jay Gruska - Paul Gordon) was actually first recorded as a duet between Gloria Loring and Carl Anderson in 1985 fo…

The Who (Roger Daltry, John Entwistle, Keith Moon and Pete Townshend) with "The Overture from Tommy" (Pete Townshend) the B side of "See Me, Feel Me". This is from the 1969 double album rock opera featuring the "deaf, dumb and blind kid". This became a 1970 ballet by Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, a 1971 Seattle Opera production, a film in 1975 and a Broadway musical in 1992. Philadelphia's Tom Sellers put together studio musicians to form The Assembled Multitude. The single, "Overture From T…

Evelyn Knight (Davis) and the Stardusters (Glen Galyon, May McKim, Curt Purnell and Dick Wylder) issued the chart topping "Powder Your Face With Sunshine (Smile, Smile, Smile)" (Carmen Lombardo - Stanley Rochinski) in 1948. Evelyn's son Andrew was a lighting technician for The Rolling Stones, The Who and Pink Floyd. Later that same year later Dean Martin (Crocetti) had his first top ten hit of many with "Powder Your Face With Sunshine (Smile, Smile, Smile)". Dean's son in law was Carl Wilson…

Guitarist Dave Keuning wrote the music for "Mr. Brightside" before meeting co-writer and lyricist Brandon Flowers. The Killers 2001 demo of "Mr. Brightside" (Brandon Flowers - Dave Keuning) was simply given free to those attending their 2002 appearances. "Mr. Brightside" was the first single released by The Killers (lead vocalist Brandon Flowers, Dave Keuning, Mark Stoermer and Ronnie Vannucci Jr.) from their 2004 debut top ten Grammy nominated album "Hot Fuss". The single was issued in 2003…

Another unusual post. This is songwriter Paul Vance singing along with the hit "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" (Paul Vance - Lee Pockriss) and explaining the story behind the song. Wikipedia: "In September 2006, the song's co-writer Paul Vance read his own mistaken obituary. The obituary was of another man, Paul Van Valkenburgh, who claimed to have written 'Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini' under the name Paul Vance. The impostor explained his lack of royalty pay…

Brian Hyland was first to record "Save Your Heart For Me" (Geld - Udell) as a B side in 1963. Like the hit, this was produced by Snuff Garrett. In the early sixties Brian appeared at the Greenwich Village venue Cafe Wha? with a young Richard Pryor. Gary Lewis and The Playboys (David Costell, Allan Ramsay, David Walker and John West) cover of "Save Your Heart For Me" reached number two on Billboard in 1965 while topping the Easy Listening chart. The Snuff Garrett produced cut is on the LP "A…

Lis Sorensen sings "Braent" in her native Danish from 1993. The title means "Burned" in English. It was written by Scott Cutler and Anne Preven of the L.A. group Ednaswap with producer Phil Thornalley and translated by Elisabeth Nielsen. Ednaswap (lead vocalist Anne Preven, Rusty Anderson, Paul Bushnell and Scott Cutler) issued "Torn" on the group's self-titled 1995 LP. From her 1997 debut album "Left Of The Middle " Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn" included co-writer Phil Thornalley on bass a…

Arthur Collins and Byron Harlan sing "Alexander's Ragtime Band" (Irving Berlin) from 1911, the year it was originally published. This version hit the top of the chart for ten weeks! Wikipedia: "It is believed by some (especially jazz-ragtime circles in New Orleans, and the Watzke family of New Orleans), that Berlin was writing about a real band and bandleader, who were popular at the time in New Orleans, and actually was known as Alexander's Ragtime Band, after its leader, Alexander Joseph Watzk…

The first track from the 1978 LP Jesse Barish is "Count On Me" (Barish). This is Jesse's debut album. Jefferson Starship and "Count On Me" (lead vocals Marty Balin, John Barbata, Craig Chaquico, David Freiberg, Paul Kanter, Pete Sears and Grace Slick) was on the top five album "Earth". The single peaked at number eight on the Top One Hundred and includes composer John Barish on backing vocals. The song earned a BMI Millionaire Award for more than a million lays on air.

(Eric) Lowen and (Dan) Navarro sing their version of the song "We Belong" (Lowen - Navarro) on the 1990 LP "Walking On A Wire". Eric Lowen died at sixty with complications of ALS. Dan Navarro is the cousin of Dave Navarro of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jane's Addiction fame. Pat Benatar charted at number five on the Top One Hundred with "We Belong" as the lead single from the top twenty album "Tropico" in 1984. The tune was nominated for a Grammy that year.

"Hey, Harmonica Man" (L. Josie) by Jo Jo Wails and The Somethings was issued in 1963. Writer Lou Josie's best known composition was The Grass Roots "Midnight Confessions". The 1964 album "Stevie At The Beach" contains the single "Hey Harmonica Man" (Cooper - Josie). This peaked in the top thirty and is one of my personal favourites my Stevie.

The Johnny Otis (Iannis Veliotes) Show issued "Willie And The Hand Jive" (Johnny Otis) in 1958. The single peaked at number nine on the Top One Hundred and number one on the R&B chart. Wikipedia: "The origin of the song came when one of Otis' managers, Hal Ziegler, found out that rock'n'roll concert venues in England did not permit the teenagers to stand up and dance in the aisles, so they instead danced with their hands while remaining in their seats. At Otis' concerts, performers would demonst…