This Week on Treasure Island Oldies - Week of June 29th, 2014

June 29^th, 2014 to July 5^th, 2014

I love bringing the Music of Canada Special to you every year. There’s a fantastic amount of great records that have been recorded by artists and groups from across Canada that became hits regionally, nationally and around the world. Whenever I travel to another country and hear a song on the radio, in a restaurant or bar, by a Canadian, it makes me feel good. And I’ve very proud of my own contribution to the success of many Canadian artists, whether it’s as a result of a record I started to play during my radio years as a Music Director, or the artists I discovered and signed during the 11 years I was the head of the Artist & Repertoire department at A&M Records. And I enjoy spotlighting a Made In Canada song every week on the show. If you missed hearing the Live show, be sure to listen to the Archive at the Listen page of the website. And to my Canadian friends living in both Canada and around the world, Happy Canada Day. And a Happy 4^th of July to all my American friends and listeners.

Our next special will be the Technicolor Special, Live Sunday, July 20^th. It promises to be a very colourful show, filled with Green Grass, a Yellow Balloon, a Red Rubber Ball, Blue Velvet, and a lot more. And if there is a song you’d like me to play on the Technicolor Special, be sure to let me know. Call the Listener Line at 206-339-0709 to record your message or Click Requests on any page of the website.

Happy Birthday wishes go out to my nephew Tony Gize in Airdrie, Alberta. Tony is not only a member of my family but also a listener and visitor to the Chat Room. If your birthday is coming up soon, be sure to let me know. Send the details to birthdays@treasureislandoldies.com and I’ll wish you Happy Birthday on the show and also play Birthday by The Beatles for you.

The Treasure Island Oldies Blog is featuring an artist I signed to A&M Records and worked with from the beginning right up to and including his most successful album, Reckless. Bryan Adams and Summer of ’69 is our Song of the Week. Happy Canada Day. Enjoy!

Voice Your Choice goes back to 1957 for this R&B group as we present Lee Andrews & The Hearts. Cast your vote at the Voice Your Choice page for either Teardrops or Long Lonely Nights. I’ll play the winner on next week’s show in the 3rd hour.

Here’s the Rock and Roll News for the week of June 29^th.

Listen to the Top 5 Countdown from 1965.

That’s it for this week’s update. Be sure to listen to the Archive of this week’s Music of Canada Special.

Happy Canada Day!

See you next week on The Island.

Bye for now.

Michael

Lee Andrews And The Hearts were formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1952. Initially recording for Rainbow Records in 1954, it wasn't until they signed with Chess Records that they finally achieved success.

The lineup included Lee Andrews, Thomas "Butch" Curr, Ted Weems, and Roy and Wendell Calhoun. Surprisingly, they only hit the charts three times, but they became memorable hits.

Next week on Treasure Island Oldies, Voice Your Choice spotlights Lee Andrews And The Hearts. Cast your vote at the Voice Your Choice page for either Teardrops or Long Lonely Nights. I'll play the winner during next week's show.

Bryan Adams - Song of the Week

Here is the most successful artist I ever signed to A&M Records when I worked for the label heading up the Artist & Repertoire department.

As we celebrate Canada Day this week on Treasure Island Oldies with our Music of Canada Special, I'm pleased to play for you Bryan Adams with Summer Of '69. It's our Music of Canada Song of the Week.

Enjoy!

Michael

This Week on Treasure Island Oldies - Week of June 22nd, 2014

June 22^nd, 2014 to June 28^th, 2014

I find it hard to believe that this was the 18^th Annual Summer Beach Party this week on Treasure Island Oldies. And many listeners have been part of the show since it began back in May 1997. We sure had a fun celebration of the Sun, the Surf, the Sand and the Greatest Oldies of All Time! Thanks for your company in the Chat Room, this week known as the Tiki Hut. We all sure had fun and it was great to see the regulars as well as our occasional visitors.

Next week is the third of our three back to back specials in June, with the Annual Music of Canada next week on the show. You’ll hear music from artists and groups from Canada who achieved success regionally, nationally and internationally. It’s also fun for listeners from various countries to hear some songs that they may not be familiar with, along with those that everyone anywhere knows well. The Music of Canada Special will begin at 6 pm Pacific time next week here on the show.

Happy Birthday wishes go out to Linda Guy in La Habra, California. She also joined us in the Chat Room for a mini birthday party for her. If you have a birthday coming up soon, please be sure to let me know. I’ll with you all the best on the show and also play Birthday by The Beatles for you. Send the details to birthdays@treasureislandoldies.com.

The Treasure Island Oldies Blog is playing one of the top summer songs of all time. It’s the Lovin’ Spoonful with Summer In The City. It’s our Summer Song of the Week. Enjoy!

Voice Your Choice spotlights Canada’s Bobby Curtola in celebration of our Music of Canada Special next week on the show. Cast your vote at the Voice Your Choice page for either Three Rows Over or Aladdin. I’ll play the winning song in the 2rd hour of next week’s show.

Here’s the Rock and Roll News for the week of June 22^nd.

Listen to the Top 5 Countdown from 1966.

Well that’s it for now. Enjoy the rest of your week and I look forward to being with you next week for our Music of Canada Special.

Bye for now.

Michael







 
 

Bobby Curtola - Voice Your Choice

Bobby Curtola was born April 17, 1944 in the small town of Port Arthur, Ontario. He became Canada's first "stay at home" teen idol. In other words, he did not leave Canada in order to achieve success. In  fact, he had many hits right across the country, with two of them also successful in the United States.

Next week , as we present the Music of Canada Special, Voice Your Choice spotlights Bobby Curtola. Cast your vote at the Voice Your Choice page for either Three Rows Over or Aladdin. I'll play the winning song in the 3rd hour of next week's show.

Lovin' Spoonful - Summer Song of the Week

The Lovin' Spoonful already had 4 Top Ten hit singles before Summer In The City exploded out of radios everywhere. It's become almost the epitome of the 3 Hs of summer: Hot, Hazy and Humid. Hearing the record almost made you sweat!

It's the perfect song for this week here at the Treasure Island Oldies Blog, as we enjoyed the 18th Annual Summer Beach Party on Treasure Island Oldies.

So here they are: The Lovin' Spoonful with Summer In The City. It's our Summer Song of the Week.

Enjoy!

Michael

Johnny Mann, Bandleader, Jingle Writer, Recording Artist, Has Passed

Any radio fan or professional will be well aware of Johnny Mann. If you don't know who Johnny Mann was, here's the info from Wikipedia...

Johnny Mann and his vocal group The Johnny Mann Singers were involved in several classic rock 'n' roll and rockabilly recording sessions for Johnny Burnette (including "God, Country and My Baby"), The Crickets and several 1957-1958 sessions with Eddie Cochran, who was also signed to Liberty Records in Hollywood. As bandleader with the Johnny Mann Singers, the group recorded approximately three dozen albums, hosted the TV series titled Stand Up and Cheer (1971–1974), and was the musical director for The Joey Bishop Show. He was also musical director of The Alvin Show, and was the voice of Theodore. Mann was also choral director for the NBC Comedy Hour.

The Johnny Mann Singers' cover version of "Up, Up and Away", rather than the original by The 5th Dimension, became the hit version of the song in the UK Singles Chart. The version also won a Grammy Award in 1968 in the Best Performance by a Choir of Seven or More Persons category. In total, Mann has been nominated for five Grammys, two of which he won.

Mann wrote a number of radio jingles, the most famous being Los Angeles station 93 KHJ as well as the "Sound of the City" jingle for KSFO in San Francisco, California. This jingle became as requested as many of the songs played by KSFO in the era of Don Sherwood, and it was adapted by Mann for other radio stations around the country which included KFRC (AM) in San Francisco and CKLW in Windsor, Ontario.

The Johnny Mann Singers still record jingles for radio stations today, done in the Bill Drake style of the 1960s and 1970s Top 40 era. Mann is credited as "Johnnie Mann" in some of his earlier works. The group's most notable alumna is Vicki Lawrence.

In 1998, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to him.
In 2010, Mann was awarded an honorary doctor of humanities degree from Anderson University in Anderson, SC. In April 2014 at the age of 85, he was a guest conductor of The South Carolina School of the Arts at Anderson University's spring gala where he led the university choir in performing the Johnny Mann Singers arrangement of "Up, Up and Away". At the song's conclusion, the audience of about 1,000 stood in Mann's honor.


On June 18, 2014, Johnny Mann died at his home in Anderson, South Carolina.