Articles by John Twang

The 1932 movie "The Crooner" included Ted Lewis (Friedman) and His Band playing "In A Shanty In Old Shanty Town" (Jack Little - Ira Shuster - Joe Young) . The single topped the chart. Former members of the Lewis band included Jimmy Dorsey and Benny Goodman. The track is edited to included Ted's vocal. In 1940 violinist and bandleader Johnny Long and His Orchestra covered "In A Shanty In Old Shanty Town" (Little Jack Little - John Siras - Joe Young) and they released it again as a million sel…

Wayne Kemp wrote "One Piece At A Time". The tune eventually ended up on the LP "One Song At A Time". It was Wayne who co-composed "Love Bug" for George Jones. Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Three took "One Piece At A Time" to the Billboard top thirty and atop the Country chart in 1976. Wikipedia: "Bruce Fitzpatrick, owner of Abernathy Auto Parts and Hilltop Auto Salvage in Nashville, Tennessee, was asked by the promoters of the song to build the vehicle for international promotion. Fitzpatric…

Carl Perkins wrote "Daddy Sang Bass" and recorded it in 1969 for his album "Greatest Hits". Paul McCartney was once quoted as saying "If there were no Carl Perkins, there would be no Beatles". Former Sun Records label mate and American treasure Johnny Cash with the help of June Carter Cash and the Statler Brothers topped the Country chart in 1968 with "Daddy Sang Bass". The single also crossed over onto the pop chart reaching the top fifty.

Freddy Weller co-wrote "Dizzy" (Tommy Roe - Freddy Weller) and recorded his country version for his 1978 LP "Love Got In The Way". Freddy played lead guitar for Paul Revere and The Raiders. Tommy Roe took "Dizzy" to the top spot on Billboard, in Canada and the U.K. in 1969 with studio assistance from the Wrecking Crew. The song may be considered as bubblegum but Tommy's career proves his talent.

Jazz saxophonist Sil Austin's "Slow Walk" (Sil Austin) reached number seventeen on Billboard in 1956. The single was clearly inspired by the then recent hit "Honky Tonk". During the forties Bill Doggett was the pianist and arranger for the Ink Spots. Keyboardist Bill's cover of "Slow Walk" features him on the organ and Clifford Scott on sax. The single from the LP "Everybody Dance The Honky Tonk" peaked at twenty-six on the Top One Hundred and number four R&B also in 1956.

From the original 1960 Broadway Cast recording of the musical comedy "Tenderloin" Tony Award nominee, stage and screen actor, singer Ron Hussman sings "Artificial Flowers" (Jerry Bock - Sheldon Harnick). Ron also starred in the Broadway productions of "Can-Can", "Fiorello", "All American" and "On The Town". The Bobby Darin (Cassotto) cover of "Artificial Flowers" peaked at number twenty on Billboard in 1960. On top of an impressive recording career Bobby also starred in the motion pictures "…

Tom T. Hall sings his own version of "Harper Valley P.T.A." This sparked an enviable career in country music. Skeeter Davis turned the song down so Margie Singleton was first to record "Harper Valley P.T.A." (Tom T. Hall) in 1968. This was released on her husband Leon's label Ashley Records. A few weeks later Jeannie C. (Carolyn) Riley covered "Harper Valley P.T.A.". Shelby Singleton, Margie's ex-husband, produced the Grammy winning hit on his Plantation label. The single topped both the…

Sam Cooke (Cook) released "Cupid" (Sam Cooke) in 1961 and the single peaked at number seventeen on the Billboard Top One Hundred, number twenty on the R&B chart and top ten in the U.K. Sam was a charter member of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, for what that may be worth. Tony Orlando (Cassavitis) and Dawn (Thelma Hopkins and Joyce Wilson) covered "Cupid" reaching number two Adult Contemporary and number twenty-two pop in 1976. This was the opening track (without the glitch) on the LP "To Be…

Hi-Tension (lead vocalist Jeffrey Guishard, Paul and Patrick McLean, David and Ken Joseph, Paul Phillips, David Reid and Leroy Williams) were first to record "You Make Me Happy" (D. Townsend - B. Jackson - D. Conley) in 1984. Surface (lead vocalist Bernard Jackson, David Conley and David Townsend) covered their own song, now titled "Happy", on their self-titled debut album. The 1987 single peaked at number twenty on the Top One Hundred, number two R&B and sixteen on Billboard's Hot Dance cha…

Tommy James (Jackson) and the Shondells (Eddie Gray, Peter Lucia, Ron Rosman and Mike Vale) issued "Sugar On Sunday" (Tommy James - Mike Vale) in 1969 on the top ten "Crimson And Clover" album which contained the title hit along with "Crystal Blue Persuasion". Texas group, The Clique (lead vocalist Randy Shaw, Jerry Cope, Dave Dunham, Oscar Houchins, Tom Pena and Sid Templeton) took their version of "Sugar On Sunday" to number twenty-two on Billboard that same year. This single is on their s…

In 1978 Neil Sedaka issued the LP "All You Need Is The Music". Track three on the vinyl release was "Should've Never Let Her Go" (Neil Sedaka - Phil Cody). Phil Cody also wrote the lyrics for Neil's hits "Bad Blood", "Solitaire" and "Laughter In The Rain". Two years later Neil re-recorded the song as a duet with his daughter Dara. "Should've Never Let You Go" is one of only three father and daughter hits and is on the album "In The Pocket". The Sinatras and the Coles were the other two father…

Neil Sedaka's first major label solo LP was "Rock With Neil Sedaka". The tune "Another Sleepless Night (Neil Sedaka - Howard Greenfield) was one of the twelve tracks. Through his incredible career Neil had recorded in Italian, Spanish, Hebrew, Portuguese, Japanese and German languages. Jimmy Clanton covered "Another Sleepless Night" on the 1960 album "Jimmy's Blue". The single peaked at number twenty-two on Billboard. The next year Jimmy was drafted along with his teen idol image. The year a…

Paolo Citarella aka Citorello aka Citerello aka Citroella first recorded "A Luna Mesz'o Mare" (Moon Amid The Sea) in 1927. The music and lyrics were close to that created by Gioachino Rossini and Carlo Pepoli the century prior. In 1938 Rudy Vallee and his Connecticut Yankees with vocal refrain by Red Stanley and The Gentlemen Songsters hit with the song as "Oh! Ma Ma! (The Butcher Boy)" (Rudy Vallee - Paolo Citorello) and reached number five on Billboard. Lou Monte's (Scaglione) novelty…

The "Thriller" album was supposed to include "State Of Shock" (Michael Jackson - Randy Hansen) by Michael Jackson and Freddie Mercury (Farrokh Bulsara). Scheduling conflicts prevented this project from reaching completion. . The Jacksons (lead vocalist Michael, Marlon, Jermaine, Tito, Randy and Jackie Jackson) and Mick Jagger's "State Of Shock" from the top ten LP "Victory" hit number three on Billboard in 1984. This was the last top ten hit for the group.

Katie Love and The Four Shades Of Black were first to record "It Hurts So Good" (P. Mitchell) at Muscle Shoals in 1971. The tune was written especially for Katie Love by Phillip Mitchell and did not chart. The 1973 movie "Cleopatra Jones" included "Hurts So Good" by Millie Jackson. This time the single reached number twenty-four on The Top One Hundred and number three on the R&B chart. The song is on the film soundtrack and the Millie Jackson LP "It Hurts So Good".

Singing cowboy, composer, actor and one rich man, Gene (Orvon) Autry and the Cowhands recorded "There's A Gold Mine In The Sky" (C. Kenny - N. Kenny). This topped Billboard's sheet music chart. The song inspired the 1938 western movie of the same name. Brothers Nick and Charles Kenny also wrote the lyrics for "Love Letters In The Sand". Pat Boone covered "There's A Gold Mine In The Sky" with Billy Vaughn's Orchestra in 1957. The single from the album "Pat's Great Hits" peaked at number fourt…

Prentiss Polk recorded "Hit Record" (Sibelius Williams) in 1961. Prentiss once sang with doo-wop group Malcolm Dodds (Williams) and The Tunedrops (Prentiss Polk, Bill Glover and Danny Simmons). Brook Benton (Benjamin Peay) covered "Hit Record" in 1962 as produced by Shelby Singleton. The single is on the album "Golden Hits Volume 2". The song charted at number forty-five and hit the top twenty R&B but it's posted because I find it so stranger that Brook would chose such a novelty offering wh…

The first recording of "Jimmy Mack" (Holland - Dozier - Holland) by Martha and The Vandellas (Martha Reeves, Annette Beard and Rosalind Ashford) occurred in 1964. The record was shelved by Motown's team of "quality control" because of the Viet-Nam war. In 1967 Motown finally released the top ten hit "Jimmy Mack" that we know and love with Martha Reeves and The Vandellas (Martha Reeves, Rosalind Ashford and Betty Kelley). The single from the album "Watchout!" topped the Billboard R&B chart. W…