EPIC_Oldies_XL5

01/12/2025

It's July 1964, The British Invasion was underway. TV talk show host Mike Douglas has The Rolling Stones on his show for the first time.



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01/08/2025

On the 8th day of January 1968, Stax Records releases Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" and Sam & Dave's "I Thank You." Both are very successful, but neither artist scores another hit (Redding had died about a month earlier).

Redding died in a plane crash on December 10, 1967, a month before this song was released (January 8, 1968) and three days after he recorded it. It was by far his biggest hit and was also the first ever posthumous #1 single in the US. Redding was a rising star moving toward mainstream success at the time of his death.

Stax guitarist Steve Cropper wrote this with Redding. Cropper produced the album when Redding died, including this track with various songs Redding had recorded the last few years. In a 1990 interview on NPR's Fresh Air, Cropper explained: "Otis was one of those kind of guys who had 100 ideas. Anytime he came in to record he always had 10 or 15 different intros or titles, or whatever. He had been at San Francisco playing The Fillmore, and he was staying at a boathouse (in Sausalito, across the bay from San Francisco), which is where he got the idea of the ship coming in. That's about all he had: 'I watch the ships come in and I watch them roll away again.' I took that and finished the lyrics.

Here is Otis Redding:
https://youtu.be/rTVjnBo96Ug

As for Sam and Dave:
This song was written by Stax Records inhouse writers Isaac Hayes and David Porter, who were Sam & Dave's main songwriters. The gospel feel is established off the top when Sam Moore delivers a spoken introduction with the passion of a preacher: "I want everybody to get up off your seat and get your arms together and your hands together and give me some of that old soul clapping."
This was recorded at Stax Recording Studios in Memphis with the Stax house band: Booker T. & the M.G's. Note the drum pattern: Al Jackson accents every third hit of his snare. This was David Porter's idea, although it wasn't easy for him to explain what he was looking for. Porter asked Jackson to play "the sound of horses," and he delivered the beat.

Steve Cropper added a dirty guitar sound, and Isaac Hayes played the clavinet (the instrument Stevie Wonder used on "Superstition"). Background vocals were provided by another Stax group, Ollie & the Nightingales.

Here is Sam and Dave:

https://youtu.be/OLKiyo48VJI

01/07/2025

Epic Oldies is sad to report the passing of Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary. These three fine musicians were a folk-music trio whose beautiful vocal harmonies transfixed millions as they lifted their voices in favor of civil rights and against war. Many of us baby boomers grew up singing their songs. Yarrow was 86.

Yarrow, co-wrote the group's most enduring song, "Puff the Magic Dragon," died Tuesday in New York. Yarrow had been battling bladder cancer for the past four years.

GP of Epic Oldies remembers talking with Peter on the phone a few years ago and remembers what a really nice guy he was. May he RIP.

01/07/2025

On this 7th day of January 1967 country artist Charlie Pride performs at The Grand Old Opry. Charley is the first African American solo singer to perform at the Grand Old Opry in Nashville. He is invited to perform at the venerable country music mecca after the success of his hit "Just Between You and Me," which makes it to #9 on the Country music chart.

Pride is only the second African American ever to take the Opry stage - the first was harmonica player DeFord Bailey, who performed there as part of the regular cast from 1929 to 1941.

As the child of a sharecropping family in Mississippi, one of Pride's few pleasures is listening to radio broadcasts from the Opry. Unlike many of his friends and family who listen to the blues, Pride prefers country music and teaches himself to play guitar like one of his idols, Hank Williams.

It is no surprise that for his Grand Ole Opry debut, a very nervous Pride chooses to sing a Hank Williams song: "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)." He also sings his debut single, "The Snakes Crawl at Night," which he deliberately released without publicity photos to give it a better chance on country radio. In fact, concerns about racism among country radio promoters, and not country music fans, keeps Pride from releasing publicity photos for the first two years of his career.

In 1993, Pride is invited to join the Grand Ole Opry, becoming only the second African American to receive this honor, after Bailey, and with Darius Rucker, is one of only three African American Opry members.

Charlie Pride continues having country hits but in 1971 he has a huge crossover into Top 40 radio with "Kiss An Angel Good Morning". How did that happen? Well, AM radio back in its hayday was the "big tent" of music.

Pride's producer, Jack Clement, selected most of his material, but Pride generally had the final word on whether he wanted to record a song. Although he didn't anticipate it becoming a big hit, Pride didn't hesitate over "Kiss An Angel Good Mornin'," telling Songfacts, "I couldn't wait to get into the studio."
This was Pride's eighth #1 Country hit. It also peaked at #7 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
In a 2002 interview with Alanna Nash (Behind Closed Doors: Talking With The Legends of Country Music), Pride explained how the song beat the odds in becoming a crossover hit: "'Kiss An Angel' is a clear example of a record that was not recorded to be a crossover record, and all that sort of hocus-pocus, and it became a million-seller. And it's a typical example of where we are today, flailin' about who's country and who's middle-of-the-road. You know, people at radio stations say, 'Well, Charley's good, but he's country, so we'll have to penalize him for bein' traditional.' I knew a guy who had a lot of radio stations, and he told me just before 'Kiss An Angel' came out, 'As long as you have steel guitars on your records, I'm not gonna play 'em.'

And then 'Kiss An Angel' came out and went to the Top 20 in pop, because a lot of MOR people and pop people decided to play it, and a million people went out and bought it. So there is a lot of so-called experts out there tryin' to put a format together about who's middle-of-the-road, and who's country, and who's contemporary. But all those kinds of music have been borrowin' from each other for so long that I think it's time to stop punishing one another from the standpoint of air play."

This won the Grammy for Best Country Song at the 1973 ceremony. Pride also took home the award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male for his Heart Songs album, but not specifically for "Kiss An Angel." His performance on that tune was nominated at the 1972 ceremony, but lost to Jerry Reed for "When You're Hot, You're Hot."

Here is Charlie Pride performing "Kiss An Angel Live":

https://youtu.be/hRIRTQ_k-Sg

Sadly Charlie contracted coronavirus in late 2020 and passed away. He was a great artist.

Charlie Pride stops by The Marty Stuart Show. In this clip the Country Music Hall of Fame Member sings his classic, Kiss An Angel Good Morning.

01/06/2025

We are dancing and having fun on this December 6th as on this date in 1979 Dick Clark hosts The Village People on American Bandstand and has the audience learn the dance moves to "Y.M.C.A." The song goes to #1 in the US and #2 in the UK.

For their Bandstand appearance, the group has choreography for the song that includes throwing their hands in the air during the climactic chorus. But this audience is filled with cheerleaders, who interpret it as "give me a Y!" They also do the M, C and A, creating the iconic dance.

What made the song so successful? The arrangment and then the dance which was created for the American bandstand appearance. The presentation has a lot to do with this song's success, but the horn lines are also a big factor. On "Y.M.C.A.," Ott opened the song with a blast of horns that served as its clarion call. Leading up to the chorus, he added five stabs that mix with strings and percussion to create another very distinctive element within the song. The famous arm movements that go with this song originated when the group performed on American Bandstand in an episode aired January 6, 1979. It wasn't the band that came up with it - it was the audience. When they got to the chorus, the group threw their hands in the air. The crowd followed suit, but continued with additional gestures for the remaining letters. It's not clear if the kids in the audience choreographed it beforehand, or if they made it up on the spot, but Bandstand host Dick Clark was very impressed with them. After the performance, he had the sound engineer re-cue the track and play it again so the group could watch them do it. As the Village People work out the gestures, Clark asks lead singer Victor Willis, "You think you can work that into your routine?" He replies, "I think we're going to have to." This was nothing new with Dick Clark: he influenced many of the songs in the sound track of our lives including suggesting changing song titles (At The Hop or an artists name such as Chubby Checker).

When The Village People released their first album in 1977, it was with lead singer Victor Willis, a group of studio musicians, and Felipe Rose, who plays the Indian. They filled in their cast of characters by placing an ad in trade magazines that read: Macho Types Wanted. Must Have Moustache. Willis became the cop, and four others were chosen to portray other male avatars: construction worker, cowboy, soldier, leatherman. It's campy fun targeted to the gay community but accessible to anyone who can still tolerate disco.

Their second album, Macho Man, gave them a modest hit with the title track, but it was "Y.M.C.A.," a cut from their third album, Cruisin', that got the attention of Dick Clark. The entire show is dedicated to the Village People, who perform four songs, starting with "Y.M.C.A."

They incorporate the gestures into their routine, which audiences quickly pick up on. The song peaks at #2 in America on February 3, but it lives on at weddings, bar mitzvahs, dances and sporting events for years to come, with crowds spelling out the chorus.

In the UK, it's an even bigger sensation: on the same day their Bandstand episode airs, it hits #1 in Britain, where it stays for three weeks. In April, they become the first disco group to tour arenas, including a show at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

As disco fades, so does the band. Victor Willis leaves in 1980, and later that year, the group stars in the film Can't Stop the Music (alongside Bruce Jenner), which flops. They release their last album in 1985, but continue as a live act for hire, playing lots of bar mitzvahs. In 2017, Willis gains control of the name and begins performing with a new version of the group. The previous iteration, which includes original members Rose and Alex Briley (the soldier), carries on under the name "The Kings of Disco."

Finally, "Y.M.C.A." is a very popular song at sporting events, especially baseball games where it is often played between innings. Since 1996, the song has played at Yankee Stadium when the grounds crew dredges the infield in the fifth inning. The crew stops to perform the arm gestures at the appropriate times as the crowd follows along.

This was a good year for the team: They won their first World Series since 1978 and enjoyed their first full season with shortstop Derek Jeter, who would become their captain.

Here are The Village people on American Bandstand on December 6th 1979.

Village People 4 songs and interview

01/03/2025

On January 3rd 1976 American interest in The Bay City Rollers peaks as their song "Saturday Night" hits #1 for one week, which is good enough to get their faces on cereal boxes.

The Bay City Rollers were a Scottish boy band who scored their first UK hit in 1971 with "Keep On Dancing." In 1975, they had the UK's best-selling single with "Bye Bye Baby," and were primed to break through in America. This infectious pop song, with its very memorable chant (S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y... Night!) stormed the States, becoming the first US #1 hit of 1976 (America's bicentennial). The song got a huge publicity push, and the band made their US TV debut performing the song on Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell, which was an Ed Sullivan-style variety show that lasted just a few months, but had a huge viewership since there wasn't much else to watch.

This was written by the songwriting team of Bill Martin and Phil Coulter, who had written four UK #1 hits, including "Puppet On A String," which won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1967 for Sandie Shaw.

The Bay City Rollers may not have lived up to the huge hype they received in America, but they did have five other Top 40 hits in the States, including "Money Honey," "You Made Me Believe In Magic" and "Rock And Roll Love Letter."

This song was first recorded in 1973 with original Rollers vocalist Nobby Clarke, but this version tanked when it was released in the UK. The band, as well as songwriters Martin and Coulter, had faith in the song and re-recorded it for US versions of their 1975 album Wouldn't You Like It.

Here are the lads performing "Saturday Night"

https://youtu.be/7BKKaKT_dtM

01/02/2025

On the 2nd day of December 1971 George Harrison's All Things Must Pass, his first album released after the breakup of The Beatles, begins a seven-week run at the top of the US albums chart.

When the Beatles came to an end in 1970, all four members released solo albums. George didnt get many of his own songs into The Beatles' albums over the years. This meant when he went solo there was a ton of material. So much material that his debut solo album was a 3 disc set!

He called in some heavy weights to record it, getting help from session stars like Alan White (later of Yes) and Klaus Voormann, and from famous friends like Eric Clapton, Billy Preston and Dave Mason. At the helm was Phil Spector, building his wall of sound.

The first single is "My Sweet Lord," a paean to Eastern philosophy where he repeats the Hindu mantra Hare Krishna. In both the US and UK, it's the first solo single from an ex-Beatle to hit #1. Other standouts include the upbeat love song "What Is Life" and "Apple Scruffs," a tribute to the young ladies who offered positive vibes outside Abbey Road Studios when The Beatles recorded.

https://youtu.be/SP9wms6oEMo

If you are wondering where George was when the album cover photo was taken he was shows Harrison in the garden of his Friar Park estate, his happy place.

All Things Must Pass becomes the first #1 album of 1971 in America, and stays on top for seven weeks. Harrison's next big move is organizing the "Concert For Bangla Desh," a relief effort for Bangladeshi refugees. Held at Madison Square Garden on August 1, 1971, it features Bob Dylan, Leon Russell, Eric Clapton and Ringo Starr. One of the first big charity concerts, it raises millions for UNICEF, mostly from the album and film.

Another byproduct of the All Things Must Pass sessions is Derek and the Dominos, the group Eric Clapton forms with Bobby Whitlock, Carl Radle and Jim Gordon, all of whom played on the album.

Epic Oldies is the only oldies station that streams the music from the 50s-80s, Motown and Doo W*p right to your smartphone.
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01/01/2025

Good Morning! Happy New Year!
Epic Oldies is a Radio XL5 stream that was born in 2022.
Radio XL5 was born in 2012 and plays today's hit music, indie pop and everything back to the 80s. We call it our legacy stream.
Both streams were designed for your smartphone because your phone is the new 'radio" platform: you take it every where!
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We hope you enjoy the music.
We wish you all a wonderful 2025! May you see this new year as an opportunity to excel, live life to the fullest and find peace and fulfillment and love.
Best wishes from all of us at Radio XL5 and Epic Oldies!

12/31/2024

On this New Year's Eve 2024 we look back to this date in 1966 when The Monkees' "I'm A Believer," written by Neil Diamond, hits #1 in America. The song stays at the top for seven weeks. It alos hits #1 in the UK.

Yes The Pre-Fab Four are on top of the charts. By the way, The Monkees called themselves that knowing full well how they answered a casting call and ended up being a genuine phenomenon world-wide.

Neil Diamond wrote "I'm A Believer." He had his first big hit earlier in 1966 with "Cherry, Cherry," which got the attention of Don Kirshner, who was looking for material for The Monkees. Kirshner was sold on "I'm A Believer," and as part of the deal, allowed Diamond to record the song as well. Diamond's version was released on his 1967 album Just For You. The Monkees version benefited from exposure on their television series.
This was The Monkees' second single, after "Last Train To Clarksville." It was used on the 13th episode of their TV series, which aired December 5, 1966, and climbed to #1 on December 31. By this time, Monkee mania was in full swing and they had a surefire formula for success, playing their singles on their show to help promote them. Their series lasted just two seasons, running from 1966-1968, but they had six big hits during this time that reached the top 3 in America, an impressive feat at a time when The Beatles and other British Invasion groups were dominating the chart. The concept for the Monkees TV series came from the Beatles movie A Hard Day's Night.

The Monkees sang on "I'm A Believer" but didn't play any of the instruments. The producers used session musicians because they weren't convinced The Monkees could play like a real band. This became a huge point of contention as the group fought to play their own songs, and eventually they got their way, playing on hits like "Pleasant Valley Sunday" and "Valleri."

Monkees drummer Micky Dolenz sang lead on this one. Davy Jones did most of their vocals, but Dolenz also handled lead on some of their most popular songs, including "Pleasant Valley Sunday," "Mary Mary" and "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone."

Neil Diamond had intended the song to be recorded by the country artist Eddy Arnold, and was surprised when record executive Don Kirshner passed it instead to The Monkees.

Monkees guitarist Michael Nesmith wasn't a believer. He didn't think the song would be a hit, complaining to the producer, Jeff Barry, "I'm a songwriter, and that's no hit." Barry banned him from the studio while Micky Dolenz recorded his lead vocal.

Mojo magazine July 2008 asked Neil Diamond if he resented at all the Monkees' success with this song at a time when his own recording career was less successful. He replied: "I was thrilled, because at heart I was still a songwriter and I wanted my songs on the charts. It was one of the songs that was going to be on my first album, but Donny Kirshner, who was their music maven, hears 'Cherry, Cherry' on the radio and said, 'Wow, I want one like that for The Monkees!' He called my producers, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich - 'Hey, does this kid have any more?' And they played him the things I had cut for the next album and he picked 'I'm A Believer,' 'A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You' and 'Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow),' and they had some huge hits. But the head of my record company freaked. He went through the roof because he felt that I had given #1 records away to another group. I couldn't have cared less because I had to pay the rent and The Monkees were selling records and I wasn't being paid for my records."

The single had an advance order of 1,051,280 copies and went gold within two days of release.

Here are the lads performing "I'm A Believer":
https://youtu.be/4PQAqprjOuA

Epic Oldies: we stream the oldies from the 50s-80s, Motown and Doo W*p 24x7 to your smartphone.
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12/30/2024

On this 30th day of December 1969, Peter, Paul and Mary's "Leaving On A Jet Plane" is certified Gold.

This was written by a very young John Denver, who was then a member of the Chad Mitchell Trio before beginning his solo career in the 1970s. Denver wrote this in 1967 during a layover at Washington airport, "Not so much from feeling that way for someone, but from the longing of having someone to love."

The Chad Mitchell Trio recorded the song that year, as did Spanky & Our Gang and Peter, Paul and Mary. It only became a hit when the latter act covered the song again two years later.

On one of his BBC radio specials, John Denver said: "This is a very personal and very special song for me. It doesn't conjure up Boeing 707s or 747s for me as much as it does the simple scenes of leaving. Bags packed and standing by the front door, taxi pulling up in the early morning hours, the sound of a door closing behind you, and the thought of leaving someone that you care for very much. I was fortunate to have Peter, Paul and Mary record it and have it become a hit, but it still strikes a lonely and anguished chord in me, because the separation still continues, although not so long and not so often nowadays."

The 1969 hit version by Peter, Paul and Mary came at a great time for Denver, who had just disbanded the Chad Mitchell Trio. Denver became the senior member of the group when Joe Frazier and Mike Kobluk left (Denver replaced Chad Mitchell, chosen in an audition that drew about 300 singers), but had no name recognition. Some of his first solo appearances were billed as "John Denver, writer of 'Leaving On A Jet Plane'." Known for this song, Denver got some club appearances and TV gigs, which helped launch his career as one of the biggest-selling artists of the '70s.
Denver claimed that he wasn't a prolific or systematic songwriter - he wrote songs when they came to him. Some of his popular songs took months to complete, but this one took him just a few hours to finish.

This became the biggest hit for Peter, Paul and Mary, and also their last. The trio charted 12 times on the Top 40 from 1962-1969, scoring with their renditions of "Puff The Magic Dragon" and "Blowin' In The Wind."

John Denver successfully took legal action against New Order, claiming that the guitar break on New Order's third single from their Technique album, "Run 2," too closely resembled "Leaving on a Jet Plane." The case was settled out of court, and as a result the single can never be re-released in its original form.

ANJAN

12/25/2024

Merry Christmas from the Radio XL5 streaming group!
Epic Oldies our oldies stream that plays the 50s-80s, Motown and Doo W*p.
Radio XL5, our legacy stream for 12+ years that plays today's hits and indie pop and back to the 80s.
Both streams at: www.RadioXL5.com
or find us each on Streema, GetMeRadio, MyTuner, Online Radio Box or OneStop Radio. Radio XL5 is also on TuneIn
We hope you enjoys the music that you can get on your smartphone! See you next year! Be well!

12/24/2024

From March 1964, The Beatles receive an award from Prince Phillip for "She Loves You". Very British event for sure



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12/23/2024

As Christmas approaches we remember an iconic Christmas song performed by The Carpenters in the 1970s. For many years it was the 'go to" song for radio stations around the holiday season. It has a truly interesting origin and evolution that spans almost 3 decades from World War 2 Europe to America.

Richard Carpenter composed the music for this song in 1966 when he was 19 years old. Frank Pooler wrote the lyrics twenty years earlier, in 1946, when he also was only 19 years old. The song Pooler had written was to be a Christmas gift for his girlfriend, whom he was missing while being away from her during a visit with his parents at Christmas time. However, their relationship ended before he was able present it to her.

Back in 1944 when the lyric was written, the theme of being away from loved ones over the holidays was common because of World War II, which left many soldiers far from home. Other songs with that theme include "I'll Be Home For Christmas" and "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas."

Twenty years later, Pooler was the choir director at California State University in Long Beach, when both Karen and Richard Carpenter were members of the choir. Richard and Karen were performing locally during the Christmas season and had tired of playing the usual Christmas fare. Richard asked Pooler, their favorite professor, if he had any ideas for different Christmas songs.

Pooler remembered the Christmas song he had written many years before and mentioned it to Richard, adding that he didn't think much of the melody anymore. Richard said he would try his hand at writing new music for the lyrics. Within about 15 minutes he was finished creating a song, written by two teenagers who were a generation apart, that was destined to become a Christmas classic.

The song was first released as a single (yes, a 45) on November 20, 1970, and earned gold record status. This song sparked the idea of a Christmas album by The Carpenters, and on October 13, 1978, "Christmas Portrait" was released with this newly recorded version of the song. Karen re-recorded her vocals for the album version as she felt that she could give the vocals a more mature treatment. This newly recorded version was presented on their TV Christmas special in 1978, as seen here, and became a hit all over again.

Karen Carpenter - March 2, 1950 - February 4, 1983 (32 years old)
Frank Pooler - March 29, 1926 - January 19, 2013 (86 years old)

Richard Carpenter composed the music for this song in 1966 when he was 19 years old. Frank Pooler wrote the lyrics twenty years earlier, in 1946, when he also was only 19 years old. The song Pooler had written was to be a Christmas gift for his girlfriend, whom he was missing while being away from her during a visit with his parents at Christmas time. However, their relationship ended before he was able present it to her.

Twenty years later, Pooler was the choir director at California State University in Long Beach, when both Karen and Richard Carpenter were members of the choir. Richard and Karen were performing locally during the Christmas season and had tired of playing the usual Christmas fare. Richard asked Pooler, their favorite professor, if he had any ideas for different Christmas songs.

Pooler remembered the Christmas song he had written many years before and mentioned it to Richard, adding that he didn't think much of the melody anymore. Richard said he would try his hand at writing new music for the lyrics. Within about 15 minutes he was finished creating a song, written by two teenagers who were a generation apart, that was destined to become a Christmas classic.

The song was first released as a single (yes, a 45) on November 20, 1970, and earned gold record status. This song sparked the idea of a Christmas album by The Carpenters, and on October 13, 1978, "Christmas Portrait" was released with this newly recorded version of the song. Karen re-recorded her vocals for the album version as she felt that she could give the vocals a more mature treatment. This newly recorded version was presented on their TV Christmas special in 1978, as seen here, and became a hit all over again.

Karen Carpenter - March 2, 1950 - February 4, 1983 (32 years old)
Frank Pooler - March 29, 1926 - January 19, 2013 (86 years old)

Richard Carpenter composed the music for this song in 1966 when he was 19 years old. Frank Pooler wrote the lyrics twenty years earlier, in 1946, when he al...