Articles by John Twang

South African David Marks (Holland) wrote "Master Jack" while working in the gold mines. He performs it here on a porch with friends. Four Jacks And A Jill (lead vocalist Glenys Lynne, Bruce Bark, Till Hanneman, Tony Hughes and Clive Harding) had the hit with "Master Jack" when it peaked at number eighteen pop and number three Adult Contemporary on Billboard in 1968. This is on the album of the same name.

The massive Hank (Hiram) Williams songbook includes the chart topping "Take These Chains From My Heart" Fred Rose - Hy Health) which came from his final Nashville recording session in 1952. Chet Atkins is playing lead guitar. The Ray Charles (Horace Charles Robinson) top ten LP "Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music Volume Two" contains "Take These Chains From My Heart". In 1963 the single peaked at number eight on the Billboard Top One Hundred. Ray played piano, organ, trumpet, clarinet…

The Coasters (Carl Gardner, Billy Guy, Earl Carroll, Thomas Palmer) recorded "Let's Go Get Stoned" (Ashford - Simpson - Armstead) in 1965. This was one of the first hits for the Ashford and Simpson team, Josephine Armstead, once a member of The Ikettes composed with them for a while in the sixties. Ray Charles topped the R&B charts and reached the top thirty pop the next year with "Let's Go Get Stoned". It's said the single from his album "Crying Time" was issued after Ray was released from…

The 1940 Broadway hit "Pal Joey" by Rodger and Hart saw the introduction of "Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered" on stage by Vivienne Segal. The opening night cast included Van Johnson, June Havoc and Gene Kelly! Actress, singer Doris Day (Kappelhoff) recorded "Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered" with The Mellomen (Thor Ravenscroft, Bill Lee, Bob Hamlin and Max Smith) and peaked at number nine on Billboard in 1950. The single is included on her 1949 debut album "You're My Thrill".

This is co-writer Denny Randell performing "A Lover's Concerto" (Sandy Linzer - Denny Randell) on the 2009 Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. The tune is based on the classic "Minuet In G" lately accepted to be the product of German organist and composer Christian Pentzold. Produced by the respected composers, The Toys (Barbara Harris, June Montiero and Barbara Parritt) hit number two on Billboard with "A Lover's Concerto" in 1965. Christian Pentzold's name has since been added to the credits.

"A Dear John Letter" (Billy Barton - Fuzzy Owen - Lewis Talley) was initially recorded by Bonnie Owens and Fuzzy (Charles) Owen. Bonnie was once married to Buck Owens, then Merle Haggard. In 1953 Jean (Imogene) Shepard and Ferlin Husky hit number one on the Billboard Country chart and peaked at number four on the pop section. Jean was just nineteen and became the youngest country female singer at that time to top the Country chart. Ferlin went on to have other cross over hits with "Gone" and…

Jackson Browne started writing "Take It Easy" (Jackson Browne - Glenn Frey) in 1971 for his first album but was having problems completing the tune. Glenn Frey stepped in and helped finished the song and told Jackson Browne that the Eagles would record it. Jackson finally issued his version as the opening track on the 1973 LP "For Everyman". Sneaky Pete Kleinow of The Flying Burrito brothers is on peddle steel while David Crosby, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Elton John, Russ Kunkel, David Lindley, Jo…

The first recording of "Sick And Tired" (C. Kenner - D. Bartholomew) was issued by Chris Kenner in 1957. This single reached higher than Fats on the R&B chart when it peaked at number thirteen. Chris Kenner was a longshoreman who, according to Imperial Records owner Lew Chudd, was difficult to handle. He died because of an alcohol related problem. Fats Domino's version of "Sick And Tired" (C. Kenner - D. Bartholomew - A. Domino) peaked at number twenty-two on Billboard's Top One Hundred and…

Neil Diamond at New York City's "Bitter End" in 1967 with his writer's version of "A Little Bit me, A Little Bit You". My spouse and I had the pleasure of seeing Neil Diamond in concert twice, although the concerts were decades apart, and must confirm what others have said. The man is a great entertainer. The Monkees "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" had Davy Jones as the only actual group member in the recording session. It's been rumoured that Neil Diamond and Carole King were singing ba…

B. W. (Louis Charles) Stevenson recorded "Shambala" (Daniel Moore) in 1973 and charted in the lower regions on both the pop and A.C. listings. The B.W. stood for Buckwheat. There is supposed to be a mythical kingdom in the Himalayas called Shambhala. Weeks later that year Three Dog Night (Lead Cory Wells, Danny Hutton, Chuck Negron, Mike Allsup, Jimmy Greenspoon, Jack Ryland and Floyd Sneed) peaked at number three on Billboard's pop and Adult Contemporary charts with "Shambala". This became…

Ed Townsend wrote and recorded "For Your Love" in 1958. The single backed with the Gerald Wilson Orchestra and Chorus reached number seven on the R&B chart and number thirteen on the Top One Hundred. Following a stint in the U.S. Marines where he won a Purple Heart, Ed took "For Your Love" to Capitol Records hoping that Nat Cole would record the song and this ended up with Ed being signed to the label. Peaches (Francine Barker) And Herb (Feemster) released their cover of "For Your Love" in 1…

The Intruders (lead vocalist Sam Brown, Eugene Daughtry, Robert Edwards and Phil Terry) "(We'll Be) United" (Gamble - Huff) was released in 1966. The group helped define the "Philadelphia Sound" and were one of the first groups to work with the writing and production team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Peaches (Francine Barker) and Herb (Feemster aka Fame) had success in 1968 when "(We'll Be) United" peaked at number eleven R&B and forty-six on the Top One Hundred. This is the song that took…

This is the unreleased Joni Mitchell demo for Joni Mitchell's "You Turn Me On, I'm A Radio". While she was on tour with Graham Nash and David Crosby Atlantic Records' founder Ahmet Ertegun was convinced by Graham to give her a listen. This is the unmixed two track result produced by Bill Halverson at that time. The track is better that the hit in my humble opinion. Singer, songwriter, painter Joni Mitchell's (Anderson) 1972 LP "For The Roses" contains "You Turn Me On, I'm A Radio" including…

Rose Royce (lead vocalist Gwen Dickey, Kenji Brown, Kenny Copeland, Freddie Dunn, Henry Garner, Lequeint Jobe, Michael Moore, Michael Nash and Terry Santiel) included the Norman Whitfield produced "Wishing On A Star" (Billie Rae Calvin) on their second LP, "Rose Royce ll: In Full Bloom". The 1977 single hit the top ten in the U.K. but was not a success on Billboard while the album topped the Billboard R&B chart and reached the pop listing at number nine. The Cover Girls (lead singer Caroline…

Streetsinger Lou Bandy (Lodewijk Dieben) sings the Dutch military tune "Wie Heeft Er Suiker In De Erwtensoep Gedaan" (Jack Van Tol - Lou Bandy), English translation "Who Has Done Sugar In The Pea Soup". This 1937 vinyl release has a chorus that will remind you of the upcoming Beatles song. The Beatles 1966 LP "Revolver" has Ringo Starr singing lead on the Billboard number two hit "Yellow Submarine" (Lennon - McCartney). Apparently Donovan (Leitch) helped with the lyric. Background vocals wer…

"Down Yonder" (L. Wolfe Gilbert) was recorded by the Peerless Quartet (Henry Burr, Albert Campbell, Frank Croxton and John Meyer) in 1921 and reached number nine on the charts. The composer also wrote "Ramona" and "Waiting For The Robert E. Lee". Del Wood (Adelaide Hazlewood) hit with "Down Yonder" in 1951 when the single peaked at number four pop and number five Country. The 1984 Dolly Parton, Sylvester Stallone movie "Rhinestone" has Del Wood playing the piano in the "Wild Possums Band".

Ten-time Grammy winner Chaka Khan's (Yvette Stevens) first album without the band Rufus was titled simply "Chaka" in 1978. The lead track with Cissy (Drinkard) Houston and Will Lee supplying backing vocals on the LP was "I'm Every Woman" written by the respected duo of Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson. The single topped the Soul chart, hit number thirty on the Disco list and peaked at twenty-one on the Top One Hundred. Whitney Houston covered "I'm Every Woman" in 1992 on the soundtrack o…

"A Paper Of Pins" is a British Folk Song, courting song and/or children's song with the earlier title "The Keys Of Canterbury". It was added to the Alan Lomax collection in the thirties. Straight sewing pins were once sold stuck through a paper sheet side by side. Here it's played on traditional tin whistles by an unidentified duo. From the Marilyn Monroe film "Bus Stop" we get The Four Lads "The Bus Stop Song (A Paper Of Pins)" (Ken Darby) as it was sung over the credits. The 1956 single pe…