This Week On Treasure Island Oldies

October 25th to October 31st, 2009

Happy Halloween! We sure had a scary time on the 13th Annual Halloween Spooktacular with lots of listeners around the world and many friends in the Chat Room, errr, I mean the Crypt. LOL For many listeners it is their favourite special of the year and others commented that between the Halloween and Christmas specials, it's difficult to decide which one they like best. It is always a real treat and a bit of a trick too organizing this special with all the great Halloween-themed songs, the sound effects, and audio clips. And this year I am pleased to have been able to include some songs that were never played on the show before. For example, I played The Diamonds and Batman, Wolfman, Frankenstein Or Dracula, Walkin' Through A Cemetery by Claudine Clark (she sang Party Lights), Teenage Monster by Jay Matty, Zombie Walk by The Magics, and more. For the complete list of songs played on the Halloween Spooktacular, click Listen on the Menu and then Playlist. My thanks to all the Nuts in the Hut who wore their virtual costumes and completely changed their names just for the occasion. It was fun trying to figure out who was who. LOL One of my favourite "characters" was Alucard, which is backwards for Dracula, very clever! The Crypt will be open all week until just after Halloween on October 31st, so you have plenty of time to enjoy the special if you were unable to hear the live, I mean, "dead" show. :-) The Archive is on the Listen page, as well as the in the Crypt.

Happy Birthday wishes go out to California Barb, celebrating a birthday this week. Because of the Halloween Spooktacular, I was unable to play our official birthday song by The Beatles, Birthday. However, I'll be sure to play it on next week's show. And if you or someone special top you has a birthday coming up, be sure to let me know. Send the details to michael@treasureislandodlies.com.

Facebook continues to impress me with its ability to connect people from all over. This week I connected with Fay Greenwood and Matt Meaney in Langley, British Columbia, Rosemarie Edwards in the b, who is a huge fan of singer Eddie Rambeau (Concrete And Clay, My Name Is Mud) and she does a lot to promote him online, Karine Penney and Andrew Gize, my nephew and his wife who live in Gatineau, Quebec. It was also nice to connect with Kent Patel in Calgary, Alberta. And many thanks to everyone who wrote birthday wishes on my Facebook wall. It was surprising to receive so many good wishes. Follow me on Facebook; click the facebook logo on the left side of any page of the website.

Hello to Samantha K who commented on the posting at the Treasure Island Oldies Blog regarding the death of Soupy Sales. I appreciate having comments posted, so don't be shy to leave your comments on the Blog regarding a posting of interest to you.

To keep you in the mood for Halloween, there are two songs over at the Treasure Island Oldies Blog for you to enjoy. First up is Screaming Jay Hawkins with the classic performance of I Put A Spell On You. Then it's the cult classic Rocky Horror Picture Show and the Time Warp. Have fun and enjoy!

Voice Your Choice returns for next week's show with Ricky Nelson and two excellent songs, but you only get to hear one (unless there's a tie). Would you like to hear A Wonder Like You or It's Up To You? Cast your vote for the song you prefer. Click the Voice Your Choice button on any page of the website and make your selection. The winning song will be played in the 3rd hour of next week's show.

Our Listener Galley still has room for more photos of listeners. And I am pleased that another picture was sent to me this week, this time from Andy Desilets in Ottawa, Ontario. It would be great to receive your picture as well. Send your picture, name, city and country to michael@treasureislandoldies.com I look forward to including you in the Listener Gallery.

Have a great week, and once again, H A P P Y  H A L L O W E E N !

Michael

Ricky Nelson - Voice Your Choice

Ricky Nelson was born into show business. Born Eric Hilliard Nelson on May 8, 1940 in Teaneck, New Jersey, both his mom and dad were stars. His dad, Ozzie Nelson, was a bandleader and his mom Harriet Hilliard was a vocalist. Together they had a radio show in 1949 and then made the switch over to television from 1952 to 1966 with The Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet. Ricky and his brother David were regulars on the show.

Ricky Nelson was one of the first teen idols of the rock and roll era and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. He appeared on the Billboard chart a total of 54 times between 1957 and 1973, and scored 9 Gold Records and an astounding 18 Top Ten Hits.

This week on Treasure Island Oldies, we feature Ricky Nelson on Voice Your Choice with two of his hit songs from his early '60s period: A Wonder Like You and It's Up To You. Cast your vote for the song you'd like to hear at the Voice Your Choice page. We'll play the winning song in the 3rd hour of next week's show.

Happy Halloween - I Put A Spell On You

Here is a real classic! Screaming Jay Hawkins with a song that was originally intended to be a love song. That is until he got hold of it to record. I know you'll have fun watching I Put A Spell On You.

Happy Halloween!

Count Michael

Halloween Song of the Week

It's one of the greatest Halloween movies of all time, the cult classic Rocky Horror Picture Show starred Tim Curry. Here is a clip from the movie with the perennial favourite Time Warp.

Enjoy, if you dare!

Count Michael

Comedian Soupy Sales Dead At Age 83

(CNN) -- Soupy Sales, a comedian from the golden era of television, died Thursday. He was 83.
The funny man seen many times on popular game shows died at a New York hospice, said Paul Dver, Sales' longtime friend and manager.
"We have lost a comedy American icon," Dver said. "I feel the personal loss, and I also feel the magic that he had around him being gone. That's a much more severe loss than a loss of a friend."
Sales was known for his long-running children's show "Lunch With Soupy Sales," which started in 1953 and began his trademark slapstick pie-throwing antics. The comedy show featured skits that culminated in Sales getting walloped with pies in the face.
"Soupy was the last of the great TV comics when you talk about Ernie Kovacs, Red Skelton, right down to Howdy Doody," Dver said. "But it was bigger than that, because he used a children's format aimed at the kids and then he would forget he was doing a kids' show and do a wild, unrehearsed, wacky improv for a half-hour every day for 15 years."
He could also inflame the authorities. One New Year's Day, upset at being asked to work, he asked his youthful audience to send him those "green pieces of paper" from their parents' wallets. Though he didn't receive much -- he told The New York Times he received only a few dollars -- he was suspended for a week for the prank.
Later in his career, he was a regular on TV game shows, such as "Hollywood Squares," "To Tell the Truth" and "What's My Line?"

Sales recently fell backstage at a local Emmy awards show in New York and developed serious ailments after that, Dver said.

13th Annual Halloween Spooktacular on Treasure Island Oldies

Just a reminder to join me tonight on Treasure Island Oldies from 6 to 10 pm Pacific, 9 pm to 1 am Eastern for the 13th Annual Halloween Spooktacular.

Push here to enter the Crypt, if you dare!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See you later.
Count Michael

Vic Mizzy - Addams Family Theme Composer Has Died

By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON

The Associated Press
Tuesday, October 20, 2009; 1:04 AM


LOS ANGELES -- Vic Mizzy, a songwriter who composed the catchy themes for the 1960s sit-coms "The Addams Family" and "Green Acres," has died. He was 93.
Mizzy died Saturday at his home in Bel Air, his manager Jonathan Wolfson said. He said he didn't know the cause of death.
He wrote songs that were recorded by Dean Martin, Doris Day, Perry Como and Billie Holiday in the '40s and '50s. His hits included "Pretty Kitty Blue Eyes," "My Dreams are Getting Better All the Time," and "With a Hey and a Hi and a Ho-Ho-Ho."
But his most famous work was the theme to "The Addams Family," a tune accented by finger snaps and opening with the cleverly quirky lyrics: "They're creepy and they're kooky, mysterious and spooky, they're altogether ooky: the Addams family."
Mizzy sang the song himself and overdubbed it three times to give the impression of multiple vocalists. He also directed the title sequence where he asked actors who played members of the Addams family to snap their fingers in a bored way.
The enduring tune is often heard during sports game to rally the home team.
"He was smart enough to demand to own the song, which was unheard of at the time. So any time you go to a Lakers game and they play that song, he made money," Wolfson said.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Mizzy learned to play the piano as a child. In his teens, he teamed up with Irving Taylor and began writing songs and sketches for variety shows. They won a pair of radio contests and toured the East Coast vaudeville circuit. While served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, the pair wrote several hit songs, including "Three Little Sisters" and "Take It Easy."
Mizzy later composed and wrote songs for television and film, most recently a song for "Spiderman 2" which ended up on the DVD version of the movie.


He is survived by a brother, daughter and two grandchildren.

This Week On Treasure Island Oldies

This week on Treasure Island Oldies

Week of October 11th to 24th, 2009

It was great to have our Chat Room back up and running after many weeks of the server being down. I was glad to welcome back all the regular "Nuts in the Hut", and the joint sure was rockin'. Once again, my thanks to Bruce Toews from Toews On The Waves for 'bailing us out' these past weeks with his generous offer for us to use his show's chat room until ours was repaired. So many folks commented that the chat room is such a great addition and enhancement to the live show. Try it out for yourself some Sunday night between 6 and 10 pm Pacific time, 9 pm to 1 am Eastern. I am sure you'll have a great time too. To log into the Chat Room, click Chat on the Menu and just follow the instructions.

Mark your calendar for next week for our 13th Annual Halloween Spooktacular. Our fearless webmaster, Eddy Fisher,  has been digging deep down into the Crypt to make it ready and scary. You can get a little preview of the Crypt by clicking on the Halloween Spooktacular graphic on the left side of every page of the website. He'll unlock the door to the Crypt in time for the Halloween Spooktacular. Listen if you dare!

Once again his week, I have been connecting with some very cool folks on Facebook including Eric Burdon from The Animals, broadcaster and hugely talented voiceover guy Don Berns (you may have seen him as the 'game show' host on the recent Pizza Hut TV commercials), regular listener and Nut in the Hut, Caroline Congdon in Fargo, North Dakota, and so many others. It would be great to connect with you too. Just click the Facebook link on any page of the website. I look forward to seeing you on Facebook.

The Treasure Island Oldies Blog gets you in the mood for next week's 13th Annual Halloween Spooktacular with Creedence Clearwater Revival and their fantastic version of the classic I Put A Spell On You, originally recorded by Screamin' Jay Hawkins. Enjoy!

There will be no Voice Your Choice next week nor any of our regular features on the Halloween Spooktacular. Everything returns in its usual spot in two weeks.

Happy Birthday wishes go out to Mike Dillon in 100 Mile House, British Columbia. It was great to send best wishes his way and also to play his request, Time In A Bottle by Jim Croce. My thanks as well to everyone in the Chat Room and to the many listeners who sent emails or e-cards to wish yours truly Happy Birthday. I appreciate it very much. And if you have a birthday coming up or someone special to you has the big event soon, please let me know. Send the name, city, country, and birthday details to me by email. The address is michael@treasureislandoldies.com. I'll be pleased to say hi and play Birthday by The Beatles for you or that special someone.

Our Listener Galley still has room for more photos of listeners. Send your picture, name, city and country to michael@treasureislandoldies.com I look forward to including you in the Listener Gallery.

Have a great week.

Bye for now.

Michael

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Song Of The Week

To get you in the mood for next week's 13th Annual Halloween Spooktacular on Treasure Island Oldies, here is Creedence Clearwater Revival with their classic version of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' I Put A Spell On You. It's our Song of the Week.

Enjoy!

Veteran Singer Al Martino Has Died

SPRINGFIELD, Pa. – Singer Al Martino, who played the Frank Sinatra-type role of Johnny Fontane in "The Godfather" and recorded hits including "Spanish Eyes" and the Italian ballad "Volare" in a 50-year musical career, died Tuesday. He was 82.
Martino died at his childhood home in the Philadelphia suburb of Springfield, in Delaware County, according to publicist Sandy Friedman, of the Rogers & Cowan public relations firm. Friedman didn't cite a cause of death.
Starting in 1952, Martino was known for hit songs including "Here in My Heart" and "Can't Help Falling in Love."
Besides acting in the Marlon Brando classic "The Godfather," Martino sang the 1972 film's title score, "The Love Theme From The Godfather." His Fontane character is a singer and occasional actor and is the godson of Brando's Mafia boss character, Don Vito Corleone.
The Italian-American crooner, born Alfred Cini, was one of a number of South Philadelphia-born singers, including Bobby Rydell, Frankie Avalon, Fabian and Chubby Checker. He also was a longtime resident of Beverly Hills, Calif.
Philadelphia radio and television personality Jerry Blavat dined with Martino and his wife on Monday night. Blavat told the Philadelphia Daily News that Martino appeared to be in fine shape and that he was shocked when he learned of the singer's death.
"He was the last of the show business legends," said Blavat, who has played Martino's songs on the radio for years. "There's nobody else. The last of the performers. A magnificent voice."

The Beatles - Mono or Stereo

There has been a lot of talk by music critics, music perfectionists, and so-called Beatles experts regarding the recently re-mastered and re-released entire Beatles catalogue of albums. Some comments have been that there is a massive difference with these newly polished versions and others have commented that they prefer the earlier albums in mono and the later LPs in stereo.

What do you think? Have you heard both the mono and stereo versions of the albums? Do you find much difference? Do you have a preference? I'd like to start a dialogue and get your opinions as to whether you will even buy (yet again) another re-released version of the Beatles albums you may already have multiple copies of in your collection. Let's have some fun with this topic.

Please let me have your thoughts.

Cheers.

Michael

This Week On Treasure Island Oldies

Week of October 11th to 17th, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving to all our Canadian friends and a pleasant Columbus Day to our American friends. We had fun recognizing both events on this week's show. As I mentioned in the Chat Room, it never ceases to amaze me that with the huge volume of music released over the years, just how easy it is to select specific songs for the occasion. I was able to play quite a number of songs with a thank you or thankful theme. And I couldn't resist playing a couple of songs dedicated to Christopher Columbus: Must Of Got Lost by J. Geils Band and the Climax Blues Band's Couldn't Get It Right. Even our Novelty Tune of the Week and Rick's Rare Rock And Roll Relic covered both themes perfectly with Please Mr Columbus (Turn The Ship Around) by Lou Monte and Johnny Burnette's I Wanna Thank Your Folks. Special thanks to Rick Canode in Madison, Wisconsin for both tunes; they were great.

I know I must sound like a broken record, but I am still awaiting word from our network insinc as to what is going on with out regular chat room. I know it's been a while since it has worked and I appreciate your patience; I too am anxious to get a final resolve. In the meantime, I continue to appreciate the use of Bruce Toews' Toews On The Waves Chat Room. Cheers, Bruce. And we had quite a crowd in the Chat Room again this week. And it was great to welcome back Becky aka ogopogo in Westbank, British Columbia in the beautiful Okanagan Valley. It's always great to have the Nuts in the Hut get together for a weekly visit and some fun and sharing of memories.

More and more folks have been connecting with me on Facebook this past week including Mark Elliot, an old friend I worked with at CFOM in Quebec City. Mark does a show on CFRB in Toronto. A former A&R assistant of mine when I was Vice-President A&R at A&M Records, Max Hutchinson connected this week; he continues to be involved in the music business in Nashville, Tennessee. Another music industry friend connected this week too. Greg Simpson is a music promoter based in London, Ontario. I also mentioned on the show that I re-connected after many years with Susan Jacks, formerly with The Poppy Family. Susan is still as upbeat and bright as always, despite her recent health crisis. She is in dire need of a new kidney and while waiting she is getting prepared for dialysis. Susan we are definitely thinking of you and wish you all the very best. Don Asbury saw that I got in touch with  former Traffic member Dave Mason and sent a note to me to say how pleased he was to meet another fan. Let's connect on Facebook. Click the Facebook logo on any page of the website.

Speaking of Susan Jacks, over at the Treasure Island Oldies Blog, our Song of the Week is the Gold record and chart topper Which Way You Going Billy by The Poppy Family featuring Susan Jacks. Enjoy this classic!

Really enjoyed this week's Hit From Across The Pond with Fay Greenwood: Hole In My Shoe by Dave Mason. It's really interesting to hear a British smash hit that didn't make the Billboard chart, and Fay always has an interesting story leading up to the song. Don't miss this feature every week in the first hour of the show.

Voice Your Choice features the King of Rock And Roll, Elvis Presley, along with The Jordanaires on two of his great hit songs: She's Not You and Stuck On You. Cast your vote for the song you'd like to hear. Click the Voice Your Choice button on any page of the website and then wait till Hour 3 of next week's show when I'll play the winning song.

Our Listener Galley still has room for more photos of listeners. Send your picture, name, city and country to michael@treasureislandoldies.com I look forward to including you in the Listener Gallery.

If you have a birthday coming up or know of someone special to you with a birthday coming up soon. be sure to let me know. Send the name, birthday, city and country to michael@treasureislandoldies.com. I'll wish you a Happy Birthday and play our official birthday song for you by The Beatles, Birthday in recognition of the special day.

Have a great week.

Bye for now.

Michael

Elvis Presley - Voice Your Choice

The King of Rock And Roll is front and centre this week on Treasure Island Oldies, as Elvis Presley is the artist in the spotlight on Voice Your Choice.

Elvis was born Elvis Aron Presley on January 8, 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi. During his lifetime, which was sadly cut short when he died in Memphis, Tennessee on August 16, 1977, he appeared on the charts an unbelievable 153 times! Not only that, but he had 41 Top Ten hits between 1956 and 2002, including 24 Gold plus 21 Platinum Records. What an astonishing, astounding and outstanding achievement!

This week on Treasure Island Oldies, Voice Your Choice features two great Elvis hits for your votes: She`s Not You and Stuck On you. Click Voice Your Choice and cast your vote for the song you'd like to hear. We'll play the winner in the 3rd hour of next week's show.

The Poppy Family - Song of the Week

The Poppy Family, featuring Susan Jacks, formed as a result of being the regular musicians and singers on the Vancouver, BC edition of the TV show Music Hop. Both Terry Jacks and Susan Jacks ended up with solo hits after they broke up, but they were at their peak of success with this week's Song of the Week: Which Way You Going Billy. And once again, my thoughts go out to Susan on her recent health crisis of needing a new kidney. We're thinking of you Susan and wish you much success with a donor and a return to great health.

Enjoy this week's Song of the Week.

Michael

This Week On Treasure Island Oldies

October 4th to 10th, 2009

Our network insinc is still working on trying to resolve the down chat server issue and I hope to have word from them within a week. Once I know what's happening, I will pass it on to you. In the meantime, our temporary Chat Room courtesy of Bruce Toews and his Toews On The Waves radio show, was once again very busy. There were the regulars as it was great to welcome back Scott Harmon in Phenix City, Alabama, and also good to welcome Joey in the Miami, Florida area. I do apologize to those of you who have had difficulties connecting to the temporary chat room. All I can suggest is to carefully follow the instructions on how to connect, all on the Chat page of the website.

I have been connecting to more and more folks via Facebook. I was very pleased to re-connect with my long time industry colleague and friend, David Marsden, who is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Other people who have connected as friends include Dave Currie, Wayne Harrett from Seaside-FM in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Bruce Toews, Rich Howe, Rick Canode, Scott Harmon, Charlie Ritenburg, Linda Guy, Judy Covington, Al Mair, William Spaulding, and Dale Patterson. It would be great to connect with you too. Follow me on Facebook; click the Facebook link on any page of the website.

Our Song of the Week at the Treasure Island Oldies Blog is Midnight Confessions by The Grass Roots. Enjoy!

We move into the early 1970s this for Voice Your Choice with another TV "family", this time it's The Partridge Family. Which of these songs do you prefer?: Doesn't Somebody Want To Be Wanted or I'll Meet You Halfway. Cast your vote; click the Voice Your Choice button on any page of the website and make your selection. The winning song will be played in the 3rd hour of next week's show.

Speaking of next week, it's our Annual Canadian Thanksgiving Special. If there's a song you'd like to hear, Call or Click, it's that easy. Call the Treasure Island Oldies Listener Request Line at 206-203-4678 and record your voicemail request message. Or click the Requests button on any page of the website. I look forward to hearing from you.

Burt Toombs in Grimsby, Ontario has just been added to the Treasure Island Oldies Listener Gallery, and it would be great to have your photo as part of the gallery too. Send your name, city and photo to michael@treasureislandoldies.com

If you have a birthday coming up or would like me to wish Happy Birthday to someone special, send the details to me: name, birthday date as well and the city, province or state and country to michael@treasureislandoldies.com and I'll play our official birthday song, Birthday by The Beatles, to recognize the special day.

Have a great week.

Bye for now.

Michael

The Partridge Family - Voice Your Choice

The Partridge Family TV show was broadcast from 1970-74 and featured as lead singer David Cassidy and his real-life stepmother Shirley Jones who sang background vocals with the group. David is the son of actor Jack Cassidy. The premise of the show was about a widowed mother and her five children who begin a music career.

Interestingly, the concept for the TV show was based on the real-life touring family The Cowsills, who themselves scored many hit songs.

During their brief career, The Partridge Family appeared on the Billboard charts a total of nine times, including three Top Ten hits and two Gold Records.

This week on Treasure Island Oldies, Voice Your Choice features The Partridge Family with two of their hit songs for your votes: Doesn't Somebody Want To Be Wanted and I'll Meet You Halfway. Do you remember these songs? Do you have one you'd prefer to hear? Cast your vote at the Voice Your Choice page and maker your selection.

We'll play the winning song on next week's Annual Canadian Thanksgiving Special.

Grass Roots - Song of the Week

The Grass Roots, from San Francisco, California, are one of the groups that seem to have been forgotten. Today their songs still sound great on the radio.

Here's an example of their great pop-rock sound, the Top 5 Gold record from August 1968, Midnight Confessions; it's our Song of the Week.

Enjoy!

Michael

Veteran Record Producer Greg Ladanyi Dies In Touring Accident

LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) -- Veteran manager and producer Greg Ladanyi died in Cyprus on September 29th after sustaining severe head trauma following an on-stage accident last Friday in the Greek Republic of Cyprus. Ladanyi, 57, was immediately rushed to a local hospital where he remained in critical condition over the weekend. He was in Cyprus touring with Maple Jam Music artist, Anna Vissi.
Ladanyi, a Grammy Award-winning producer, has spent his entire professional career engineering, mixing and producing for numerous artists including (Jackson Browne six albums, including "Running on Empty", "Holding Out", and "Lawyers in Love"), Don Henley (three albums, including "Building the Perfect Beast"), Toto (four albums, including "Toto IV"), Fleetwood Mac ("Fleetwood Mac Greatest Hits" and "Behind the Mask"), Jeff Healey ("See the Light") and numerous others. His most recent work was with Anna Vissi and her Greek album, "Apagorevmeno".

E-mail This Article to a Friend
Print This Article
Tell Us What You Think

ADVERTISEMENT

As president of Maple Jam Music Group, Ladanyi evolved the company from the original Maple Jam Records label founded in 2004 to a full service entertainment entity that works hand-in-hand with the artist to fully develop their careers. Maple Jam has stated that they plan to continue operating, keeping Greg Ladanyi’s legacy alive. - CelebrityAccess Staff Writers