Delfonics - Voice Your Choice

The Delfonics, an R&B vocal group, were from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The members were brothers William and Wilbert Hart, Ritchie Daniels, and Randy Cain.

Between 1968 and 1973 they appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts sixteen times. They reached the Top Ten twice and also received a Gold Record.

This week on Treasure Island Oldies, Voice Your Choice spotlights The Delfonics with two of their signature songs, La-La-Means I Love You and Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time). Cast your vote by clicking here and casting your vote at the Voice Your Choice page. We'll play the winning song in the 3rd hour of next week's show.

Skylark - Song of the Week

Skylark, a great pop group from Vancouver, BC, the home of Treasure Island Oldies, had quite the lineup. David Foster (yes, that's him in the middle of the photo), BJ Cook, Carl Graves, Duris Maxwell, and lead vocalist Donny Gerard. They scored a massive hit with Wildflower in 1973. Here they are performing Wildflower live, Skylark with our Song of the Week.
Enjoy!
Michael

The Dramatics - Voice Your Choice

The Dramatics, an R&B vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, are in the Voice Your Choice spotlight this week on Treasure Island Oldies. The five original members were Ron Banks, William Howard, Larry Demps, Willie Ford and Elbert Wilkins. L.J. Reynolds and Lenny Mayes replaced Howard and Wilkins in 1973, and the group continued on with success.

They had an astounding 36 charted singles on the R&B charts between 1967 and 1996; and they appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on twelve occasions between 1971 and 1977.

On Voice Your Choice this week, we present two of the signature songs by The Dramatics for your votes: Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get and In The Rain. Come to the Voice Your Choice page and cast your vote. We'll play the winning hit in Hour 3 of next week's show.

Bill Haley And His Comets - Song of the Week

In conjunction with our Fabulous '50s Special this week on Treasure Island Oldies, our Song of the Week is a great clip of Bill Haley And His Comets performing Rock Around The Clock live.
Enjoy!
Michael

Click here to go to the Archive page at the website to hear the entire four hour special.

Jody Reynolds - Song of the Week

As a tribute to Jody Reynolds who passed away November 7 (see the posting below), our Song of the Week is Endless Sleep, the first death/tragedy song of the Rock and Roll Era.

Enjoy!
Michael

Jody Reynolds - R.I.P.

Jody Reynolds, who recorded one of the all time classic songs of the rock & roll era for Demon Records, 'Endless Sleep', passed away on November 7 in Palm Springs, CA. He was 75.

'Endless Sleep' was recorded at the legendary Goldstar recording studio in Hollywood in 1958, with Al Casey picking those unforgettable ominous sounding deep guitar chords which punctuate the song. He was accompanied on the classic by ex-Nat King Cole guitarist, Irving Ashby, as well as jazz great Howard Roberts, with Raymond Martinez on drums.

Jody wrote the song in 1956, although 2 years passed before he got it into the recording studio. The record sold a million for Jody and became an international hit. The follow-up, 'Fire Of Love' also charted, but somehow it just lacked that special something which made 'Endless Sleep' such anunforgettable record and also one of the earliest death songs.

Miriam Makeba - Music Legend - Has Died At Age 76

Sad news reported by Daily Nation...
Miriam Makeba, one of Africa’s greatest music legends and South Africa liberation heroine died on Monday in Italy where she was suddenly taken ill after a concert.

Wire reports have quoted a hospital in southern Italy saying the 76-year-old musician died early Monday.

Italy's ANSA news agency reports that Makeba was stricken with an apparent heart attack just after she sang at a concert for an Italian journalist threatened by the Naples-area Mafia.

In South Africa, her publicist broke the news to a local radio station on Monday. Talk Radio 702 said Makeba died of a heart attack shortly after performing at an event in the southern town of Caserta.

"I'm not yet absolutely certain of the causes of her passing, but she has had arthritis, severe arthritis, for some time," her publicist told the station.

Nicknamed Mama Africa by her fans, Makeba was born on March 4, 1932, in a shantytown outside Johannesburg. She was the first black South African singer to gain international fame and was also hailed as an anti-apartheid icon.

She was the the first black African woman to receive a Grammy Award in 1965, which she shared with Harry Belafonte.

The concert where she had just performed was in support of writer Roberto Saviano, who wrote "Gomorra", a book about organised crime in southern Italy.

She may be best remembered for the distinctive clicking sounds which punctuate songs in her native Xhosa language.

R.I.P. Jamaican Music Legend Byron Lee

Bandleader, producer, studio owner, and Jamaican musical icon Byron Lee passed away November 4 after a battle with cancer, according to a post on his website. He was 73. Lee formed his famed band the Dragonaires in 1957 and kept the group going in one form or another for the next five decades to come. During the 1960s and 70s, he helped bring the sound of Jamaica -- including ska, rock steady, reggae, and soca music -- to a much wider audience both at home and abroad, though such hits as "Jamaica Ska", "Tiney Winey" and "Dancehall Soca", as well as his work as a producer and studio head. Lee and the Dragonaires appeared in the very first James Bond
film, 1962's Dr. No and Lee, along with several other Jamaican luminaries, were sent to showcase the unique sound of the island's music at New York's 1964-65 World's Fair. Lee insisted on a certain dapper look and reasonable behavior from his Dragonaires bandmates, and would later boast that "I am pleased to say that in all my years of touring we have never had any incident involving a member of my band whilst on tour." In addition to his own musical endeavors, Lee was also a serious businessman. In 1965, Lee created Lee Enterprises, which went on to produce hit
shows in Jamaica for the likes of James Brown, Al Green, the Drifters, and others. In 1968, he bought West Indies Records, renamed it Dynamic Studios and set up one of the island's most well-appointed studios, recording artists such as the Rolling
Stones, David Bowie, Paul Simon, and Bob Marley. Dynamic Sounds was also involved with distributing foreign records to North American and European audiences. In 1990, Lee launched the annual Byron Lee Jamaica Carnival in Kingston, which went on to become one of the nation's largest music events. He and the Dragonaires performed and recorded up until the very end; indeed, they were scheduled to play in Sunrise,
Florida this coming Sunday, according to the Miami Herald. On Tuesday, Jamaica's current Prime Minister Bruce Golding said of Lee's passing, "Jamaica, and
indeed the world, has lost another great music pioneer with the passing this morning of Byron Lee, one of the greatest band leaders ever to grace the entertainment stages of the world".

Post A Poppy for Remembrance Day and Memorial Day

In honour of and out of respect for everyone who has sacrificed their lives for our freedom, on November 11th I urge you to wear a poppy and post one on your website. It is the least we can do to recognize all that they have done for us.

Michael

In Flanders Fields

by John McCrae, May 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep,
though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Spanky And Our Gang - Voice Your Choice

Spanky And Our Gang were a folk-pop group from Chicago that took their name from the Little Rascals series of movies, serials and TV shows. Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane was the lead singer with the other members made up of Malcolm Hale, Lefty Baker, Nigel Pickering, Kenny Hodges and John Seiter. Sadly Malcolm Hale and Lefty Baker both died of liver failure in 1968 and 1971 respectively.

In two short years they charted nine singles and achieved one Top Ten hit.

This week on Treasure Island Oldies, Voice Your Choice spotlights Spanky And Our Gang with two of their most loved hit songs: Sunday Will Never Be The Same and Lazy Day. Cast you vote for the song you'd like to hear by coming to the Voice Your Choice page and making your selection. We'll play the winner in Hour 3 of next week's show.

We Five - Song Of The Week

Our Song of the Week is by We Five from San Francisco. They recorded a cover version of a song originally recorded by Canada's Ian & Sylvia and written by Sylvia Fricker. Here is a clip of You Were On My Mind.

Enjoy!
Michael