This Week on Treasure Island Oldies week of November 26th, 2017

Week of November 26^th, 2017 to December 3^rd, 2017

Well here we are in the last week of November already! I was pleased to play some Christmas tunes for you to get you in the mood for decorating and shopping. It was good to pay a musical tribute to David Cassidy, both as a solo artist and with the Partridge Family. I had not heard many of the songs I played on the show in some time. I was very pleased to get great response from the Nuts in the Hut, the Chat Room friends who gather every week to share in the music and memories. When I played David Cassidy's version of Cherish from 1971, the comments took off. While The Association's original is what you hear normally, it sure was good to play David's version. Boy, he sure had a good voice!

Please be sure to mark your calendar for the 21st Annual Treasure Island Oldies Christmas Special, Live, Sunday, December 17th at 6 pm Pacific. We will make the Christmas Special available on demand on the Listen page throughout the Christmas period. I look forward to sharing this special with you.

I'd like to wish Lennart Persson in Gothenberg, Sweden a very Happy Birthday. Lennart has been listening to the show for many years on his local station, Radio 88 FM in Gothenberg. Is your birthday coming up soon? If so, be sure to let me know the date so that I can wish you Happy Birthday on the show and play Birthday by The Beatles for you. Send the info to birthdays@treasureislandoldies.com 

Next week on Treasure Island Oldies, Voice Your Choice spotlights Ral Donner. Cast your vote at the Voice Your Choice page for either The Girl Of My Best Friend or She's Everything (I Wanted You To Be). I'll play the winning song on next week's show.

The Treasure Island Oldies Countdown this week is from 1964. In at Number One is one of the top "Girl groups", The Shangri-Las with Leader Of The Pack. It's playing at the Treasure Island Oldies Blog.

Thanks again for listening. Please join me again next week for more Treasure Island Oldies. 

Bye for now.

Michael

Ral Donner - Voice Your Choice

Ral Donner was born with a long name, Ralph Stuart Emanuel Donner, on February 10, 1943 in the Norwood Park area of Chicago, Illinois.

He got his start as a recording artist when he recorded a version of The Girl Of My Best Friend, a song originally recorded by Elvis Presley. Many thought it was actually Elvis recording under an assumed name. His biggest hit was You Don't Know What You've Got (Until You Lose It).

Treasure Island Oldies is pleased to spotlight Ral Donner next week on Voice Your Choice with two of his other hits. Cast your vote at the Voice Your Choice page for either The Girl Of My Best Friend or She's Everything (I Wanted You To Be). I'll play the winner on next week's show.

The Shangri-Las - Number One 1964 Top 5 Countdown Treasure Island Oldies

The Shangri-Las were from Queens, New York and one of the great Girl Groups of the '60s.

This week in 1964 they were the leaders of the pack, as they went all the way to Number One on the charts.

Here they are, the Shangri-Las with Leader Of The Pack.

Enjoy!

Michael

David Cassidy '70s Heartthrob and Star of The Partridge Family Has Died

(CNN)David Cassidy, who came to fame as a '70s teen heartthrob and lead singer on "The Partridge Family," has died, according to his publicist Jo-Ann Geffen. He was 67.

The singer-actor had recently been admitted to the intensive care unit of a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, area hospital. Cassidy was in critical condition and suffering from organ failure before his death Tuesday, Geffen said.

"David died surrounded by those he loved, with joy in his heart and free from the pain that had gripped him for so long. Thank you for the abundance and support you have shown him these many years," she said.

Cassidy's nephew, Jack Cassidy, tweeted about his uncle's death, saying "I can't help but thank God for the joy that he brought to countless millions of people."

David Cassidy was born into the entertainment industry that made him a star.

His father was famed actor and singer Jack Cassidy, and his mother was actress Evelyn Ward.

After his parents split in 1956, the elder Cassidy married actress and singer Shirley Jones the same year.

Cassidy moved in with his father, Jones and his three half-brothers after getting his high school diploma in 1968. His father helped him launch his career as an actor and musician.

His early work included appearances on "Ironside," "Marcus Welby, M.D.," "Adam-12" and "Bonanza."

In 1970, Cassidy began playing the role of Keith Partridge on the musical sitcom "The Partridge Family." His stepmother, Jones, portrayed his mother, a widow with five children.

The popular ABC series ran for four years and also had a successful run in syndication.

The show also spurred several pop hits.

The single "I Think I Love You," featuring Cassidy on lead vocals, hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts in 1970 and sold more than 5 million copies. The songs "Doesn't Somebody Want To Be Wanted" and "I'll Meet You Halfway" also cracked the top 10 the next year.

The group was nominated for a best new artist Grammy.

Cassidy later launched a solo career, recording a dozen studio albums and six compilation albums. 

For mor3e, fo to http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/21/entertainment/david-cassidy-dies/index.html

 

This Week on Treasure Island Oldies - Week of November 19th, 2017

Week of November 19^th, 2017 to November 25^th, 2017

Thanks for your company once again this week on the Island. It's so great to have people from all around the world listening. For example, this week there were listeners from Beijing, China, Central District in Hong Kong, Kailua, in Hawaii, Perth, Australia, along with folks from British Columbia, Quebec and Ontario, and from Arizona, Colorado, Ohio, Texas, Missouri, New Jersey, Florida, California, Delaware, and Illinois, just to mention several places. WOW! 

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all my American friends and listeners a very Happy Thanksgiving. Have a great long weekend with your family and friends.

Please be sure to mark your calendar for the 21st Annual Treasure Island Oldies Christmas Special. Every year, it gives me great pleasure to prepare and present this annual special for you. It's without a doubt, my favourite show of the year. And I look forward to sharing this special with you.

Is your birthday coming up soon? If so, be sure to let me know the date so that I can wish you Happy Birthday on the show and play Birthday by The Beatles for you. Send the info to birthdays@treasureislandoldies.com 

Next week on Treasure Island Oldies, Voice Your Choice spotlights The Raindrops. Cast your vote at the Voice Your Choice page for either What A Guy or The Kind Of Boy You Can't Forget. I'll play the winning song on next week's.

The Treasure Island Oldies Countdown this week is from 1965. In at Number One is The Supremes with I Hear A Symphony. It's playing at the Treasure Island Oldies Blog.

Thanks again for listening. See you next week for more Treasure Island Oldies. 

Bye for now.

Michael

The Raindrops Voice Your Choice

The Raindrops were, in essence, two songwriters, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry (I have no idea who the third person is in the above photo). They became two of the most successful songwriters of the 60s, with Hanky Panky, Da Doo Ron Ron, Be My Baby, Chapel Of Love, Leader Of The Pack, and River Deep Mountain High, among their many credits.

In 1963 and 1964 they recorded as The Raindrops and they appeared on the charts  a half dozen times. And next week on Treasure Island Oldies, Voice Your Choice presents The Raindrops with two songs for your votes. Cast you vote at the Voice Your Choice page for either What A Guy or The Kind Of Boy You Can't Forget. I'll play the winner on next week's show.

The Supremes Number One Top Five Countdown 1965 - Treasure Island Oldies

This week on Treasure Island Oldies, the Top Five Countdown is from 1965. Here at the top of the chart at Number One are the Supremes with I Hear  A Symphony.

Enjoy!

Michael

This Week on Treasure Island Oldies - Week of November 12th, 2017

Week of November 12^th, 2017 to November 18^th, 2017

Holy hourglass, Batman, that sure was a fast and furious four hours of favourites this week on the Island! LOL  I was pleased to play a couple of records by artists who passed away recently: Everlasting Love by Robert Knight; and Love-Itis by The Mandala. Whitey Glan, was their co-founder and drummer. And wasn't it great that Glen Campbell was acknowledged at the 51st Annual Country Music Association Awards. His family accepted the award for "Musical Event of the Year" for Funny How Time Slips Away, a duet with Willie Nelson, from his farewell album, Adiós.

Attention all Elton John fans. On the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the writing partnership between Elton John and Bernie Taupin, it's the ultimate greatest hits compilation, Diamonds. There are a ton of listener birthdays this week. There are four different physical formats: 1 CD, 2CD, 3CD limited edition box set with a 72 page hardbound book, and also a 2LP version pressed onto heavy-weight 180 gram vinyl. There are a ton of great songs and I was so pleased to receive an advance copy of the 3 CD set. WOW!This will make a great Christmas gift for the Elton John fan in your life.

Happy Birthday wishes go out this week to Connie Canode in Madison, Wisconsin, and to Chris Whitmer in Iowa City, Iowa. Both Connie and Chris are long time listeners and Chat Room regulars. If you birthday is approaching, be sure to let me know the date so that I can wish you Happy Birthday on the show and play Birthday by The Beatles for you. Send the info to birthdays@treasureislandoldies.com

Next week on Treasure Island Oldies, Voice Your Choice spotlights R. Dean Taylor. Cast your vote at the Voice Your Choice page for either Indiana Wants Me or Gotta See Jane. I'll play the winning song on the show next week.

Thanks again for listening. See you next week for more Treasure Island Oldies. 

Bye for now.

Michael

R. Dean Taylor - Voice Your Choice

R. Dean Taylor, born Richard Dean Taylor in Toronto, Ontario on May 11, 1939. His first single success was when he recorded At The High School Dance for Amy-Mala Records in 1962. His next single I'll Remember was recorded for the Quality Records label, Barry. It was a moderate success, hitting the Top 30 in 1963. With two "hits" under his belt, he decided to move to Detroit, Michigan, to further his career. He was signed to Motown in 1964 as both a songwriter and recording artist.

Some of his songwriting successes include Turn To Stone, recorded by The Four Tops, and All I Need by The Temptations. He went on to become part of the production and songwriting team known as The Clan and he co-wrote and co-produced Love Child and the follow-up I'm Living In Shame, both hits for The Supremes.

It wasn't until 1970 when he was assigned to the new Motown Records  subsidiary label, Rare Earth, that he hit his stride as an artist.

Next week on Treasure Island Oldies, Voice Your Choice spotlights two of R. Dean Taylor's hits. Cast your vote at the Voice Your Choice page for either Indiana Wants Me or Gotta See Jane. I'll play the winner on next week's show.

Johnny Rivers - Top Five Countdown 1966 Treasure Island Oldies

Johnny Rivers had many hits before this week's Top Five Countdown on Treasure Island Oldies.

What sets this song apart from the rest of his hits, is that this is the first song he wrote, along with Lou Adler.

This week on Treasure Island Oldies, the Top Five countdown is from 1966 and in the Number One spot is Johnny Rivers and The Poor Side Of Town.

Enjoy!

Michael

Drummer Whitey Glan Famous for forming The Mandala Has Died

Whitey Glan, was a rock drummer who formed The Rogues, later called The Mandala, passed away November 7, 2017.

The Mandala recorded one album for Atlantic Records, and it contained the explosive single Love-Itis. Live they were an electrifying group. I remember seeing them at my high school in Montreal for their Crusade of the Mighty Mandala. Don't think the teaching staff was ready for this group!

I'll play Love-Itis on next week's show. Please join me for the live show Sunday, November 12th at www.TreasureIslandOldies.com.

Michael

Robert "Everlasting Love" Knight Has Passed At Age 72

From Billboard:

Singer Robert Knight, best known for the 1967 country-soul hit "Everlasting Love,' has died at age 72. The Tennessean reported that Knight passed away on Sunday (Nov. 5) following a short, undisclosed illness.
Though he rocketed to fame for the soul-stirring track -- known for its uplifting chorus, "Need you by my side, girl you'll be my bride/ You'll never be denied everlasting love" -- Knight began his career in 1959, when he formed a vocal group with some high school pals known as The Paramounts.
The singer, born Robert Peebles in Franklin, Tennessee, on April 24, 1945, scored a R&B minor hit in 1961 with "Free Me," but the group didn't make it and due to a contract dispute with their former label, Knight spent five years out of the limelight, during which he studied chemistry at Tennessee State University. He joined a second group during his college years, The Fairlanes, landing a solo deal with songwriters/producers Buzz Cason and Fred Foster's label Rising Sons Music.
It was Cason, along with songwriter partner Mac Gayden, who wrote "Everlasting Love," the Motown-style track that would make Knight a star when it was released in 1967, crossing from the R&B charts to the pop listing and peaking at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Buzz and Mac were country artists, and I was R&B, and so I had to make it more of an R&B song,” Knight told Rebeat Magazine in a 2016 interview. “I practiced and practiced on it -- it was a hard song to sing because, at the time, it was hard to sing a fast song slow. I didn’t sing it the way they had written it. I made some changes to fit my voice, and I didn’t do it note for note. They had the melody going too fast, and it was jamming, it wasn’t doing right, it wasn’t sounding right. So I started what you call a steady step. I start singing a beat and a half: ‘hearts-go-a-stray’ -- like that. It wasn’t like that in the beginning, and I think that’s what got ‘Everlasting Love’ off the ground.”
Knight continued charting songs, including "Blessed are the Lonely" and "Isn't it Lonely Together," but neither reached the heights of "Everlasting." Knight reportedly moved away from music later in life to focus on a job at Vanderbilt University in Nashville as a lab technician, chemistry teacher and member of the grounds crew.
Meanwhile, "Everlasting Love" has proven to be one of the great pop perennials of the late 20th century, having been covered by everyone from U2 to Gloria Estefan, Carl Carlton and Love Affair. Between its various versions, the song has become a Hot 100 top 40 hit in each of the '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s.
"With 'Everlasting Love,' Knight created the blueprint for one of the most famous, most enduring songs to ever come out of Music City," Michael Gray, a historian at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum told the Tennessean. "Recording extensively with Mac Gayden and Buzz Cason in the 1960s, Robert was working in integrated bands when it was still taboo to do so in some places. The original version of 'Everlasting Love' is a prime example of the successful musical exchange between black and white musicians during a decade of great racial upheaval and Civil Rights struggles in the South."

Your Treasure Island Oldies Island Update for the week of November 5th, 2017

Week of November 5^th, 2017 to November 11^th, 2017

It was a pleasure to be with you once again this week on Treasure Island Oldies. While I always enjoy bringing you the specials, it's also nice to have a regular show that permits me to dig into the Island vault and play some real classics and Lost Treasures for you. I was also very pleased to do an extensive musical tribute to Fats Domino. What a real musical pioneer he was! We are all certainly richer for the music he gave us. I also had good fun playing so many songs relating to "Time", as we turned back the hands of time by one hour. Be sure to check out this week's song playlist at the Listen page. And as always, if you missed hearing the Live show or would to listen to it again, go to the Broadcast Partners Network page. You'll find a program grid with the days and local times that our various partner stations air the show during the week.

There are a ton of listener birthdays this week. Happy Birthday to Andy Desilets in Ottawa, Ontario; California Barb; Heather Dillon in 100 Mile House, British Columbia; Dana Van Dine, in Blackwood, New Jersey; Sunny in Elmhurst, Illinois; and last but not least, Tim Sykes in Cambridge, Ontario. If you birthday is approaching, be sure to let me know the date so that I can wish you Happy Birthday on the show and play Birthday by The Beatles for you. Send the info to birthdays@treasureislandoldies.com

Next week on Treasure Island Oldies, Voice Your Choice spotlights Queen. Cast your vote at the Voice Your Choice page for either You're My Best Friend or Somebody To Love. I'll play the winning song on the show next week.

Thanks again for listening. See you next week for more Treasure Island Oldies.

All the best! 

Bye for now.

Michael

Queen formed in London, England in 1970. Two members, Brian May and Roger Taylor had played together in Smile. Eventually the rest of the lineup, John Deacon and Freddie Mercury joined and changed their name to Queen.

Next week on Treasure Island Oldies, Voice Your Choice presents Queen. Cast your vote at the Voice Your Choice page for either You're My Best Friend or Somebody To Love. I'll play the winner on next week's show.

Elvis Presley Number One on Treasure Island Oldies Top 5 Countdown 1956

This week on Treasure Island Oldies, the Top Five Countdown is from 1956. And Elvis Presley had the top two songs!

Here's Elvis with  a three time Platinum selling Number One Song from 1956. It's Love Me Tender.

Enjoy!

Michael