Island Update - Treasure Island Oldies Week of January 27, 2019

January 27^th to February 2^nd, 2019

Well it's the last week of January already! I can't believe how fast the time flies by. And I sure appreciate the time you take to listen to my show every week. It's quite a community we've built together over these past twenty-one plus years. And that community consists of listeners around the world who get in touch with me to either comment about how much they enjoy the show or to make a request for a song they'd like to hear. And I hear from you via email, Facebook postings and messages, and in the Chat Room. It's just great!

I wanted to let you know that next week on the show, I'll present my annual Tribute to The Day The Music Died. This year marks the 60th Anniversary of the passing of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper in that horrific plane crash. During the entire 4th hour, Ill play some of the great music they recorded, along with tribute songs, news clips and interviews. That's all coming next week.
 
Happy Birthday wishes this week go out to Bill Myers in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He's become a regular listener and Chat Room visitor. He's also a good musician; I've heard some of his songs he has produced. I'd like to help celebrate your birthday too by wishing you Happy Birthday on the air and playing Birthday by The Beatles for you. Send the details to birthdays@treasureislandoldies.com 

Voice Your Choice spotlights The Castells, Adult Contemporary music favourites. Cast your vote at the Voice Your Choice page for either Sacred or So This Is Love.  I'll play the winner on next week's show.

This week the Top Five Countdown is from 1961, this week's Spotlight Year. The Number One song is by one of the earliest Girl Groups, The Shirelles. Will You Love Me Tomorrow is playing at the Treasure Island Oldies Blog.

Here is this week's Rock and Roll News Podcast.

See you next week for the annual tribute to The Day The Music Died.

Bye for now.
Michael

The Castells Voice Your Choice

The Castells were a short-lived group on the charts, yet they were Adult Contemporary music fan favourites. From Santa Rosa, California, they were Bob Ussery, Tom Hicks, Joe Kelly and Chuck Girard. They formed a group around 1959 while attending Santa Rosa High School. After auditioning for several labels, they signed with Era Records and went into the studio to record. And what amazing and talented musicians they had on their records. Billy Strange (guitar), Barney Kessel (guitar), Ray Pohlman (bass & arranger of one of the group's sessions), Frankie Capp, Plas Johnson (saxophone), Glen Campbell (guitar), and Hal Blaine (drums) all played on their records.And these guys were later called The Wrecking Crew!

Treasure Island Oldies is pleased to present The Castells in the Voice Your Choice spotlight with two of their most beloved hits. Cast your vote at the Voice Your Choice page for either Sacred or So This Is Love. I'll play the winning song on next week's show.

The Shirelles Number One Treasure Island Oldies Top Five Countdown 1961

This week on Treasure Island Oldies, the Spotlight Year in 1961. At the top of the charts was one of the earliest girl groups to make it big. Coming from Passaic, New Jersey and lead by Shirley (Owens) Alston, they scored many hits during their successful run.

One of their biggest hits went to Number One. Here they are, The Shirelles with Will You Love Me Tomorrow.

Enjoy!
Michael

The Island Update Week of January 20, 2019

January 20^th to 26^th, 2019

Thanks for joining me for this week's show. There were lots of listeners around the world Online, and also so many more listening the the simulcast of the live show on WTND, Macomb, Illinois; KWQQ Double Q 106.3 FM, Farmington, Iowa; Legend Oldies Radio, Indianapolis, Indiana; and The VIP Lounge Oldies Funhouse Radio in the United Kingdom. In addition, the latest show is played on many more of our affiliate stations on the Broadcast Partners Network throughout the week. To find a day and time that's convenient for you, check out the Broadcast Partners Network page for a complete schedule.

We were one shy of a record crowd in the Chat Room! It was great to welcome new visitors as well as the weekly regulars, some of whom have been listening and chatting for over 20 years! Come join the fun in the Chat Room during the live show Sunday nights. Just click Chat on the Menu bar and follow the easy instructions. We all look forward to welcoming you.

Happy Birthday wishes this week go out to Fred Waterer in St. Catharines, Ontario; Wendy McDougall in Adelaide, South Australia; and my sister, Louise Godin in Gatineau, Quebec. If your birthday is coming up soon, be sure to let me know so that I can wish you all the best on the show and also play Birthday by The Beatles for you. Send the details to birthdays@treasureislandoldies.com 

Voice Your Choice spotlights the great Sam Cooke. Cast your vote at the Voice Your Choice page for either A Change Is Gonna Come or Bring It On Home To Me.  I'll play the winning song on next week's show. 

This week the Top Five Countdown is from 1968, this week's Spotlight Year. The Number One song is Judy In Disguise (With Glasses) by John Fred and His Playboy Band. It's playing at the Treasure Island Oldies Blog.

Here is this week's Rock and Roll News Podcast.

Have a great week.

Bye for now.
Michael

Sam Cooke Voice Your Choice

Sam Cooke, the legendary soul singer, was born January 22, 1931 in Clarksdale, Mississippi and raised in Chicago, Illinois. As the son of a Baptist minister, he sang in church choirs from age six. For six years he was the lead singer of the gospel group, The Soul Stirrers, from 1950 to 1956.

He began his secular singing career and landed a record deal with Specialty Records, but broke through when he recorded a song for Keen Records, written by his brother, Charles "L.C." Cooke, You Send Me. Eventually he ended up with RCA Victor Records and continued to have a highly successful career until his untimely death at age 33 when he was shot to death by a female motel manager on December 11, 1964. He was acknowledged with a Lifetime Achievement Award during the 1999 Grammy Awards.

Treasure Island Oldies Voice Your Choice spotlight this week is on Sam Cooke. Cast your vote at the Voice Your Choice for either A Change Is Gonna Come or Bring It On Home To Me. I'll play the winning song on next week's show.

John Fred and His Playboy Band Number One Treasure Island Oldies Top Five Countdown 1968

John Fred was no stranger to the hit charts when this record went to Number One. He had previously met success in 1959 with Shirley.

Fast forward to 1968, this week's Spotlight Year on Treasure Island Oldies. Sitting at Number One on the Top Five Countdown is a song written as somewhat of a parody of The Beatles' Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.

Here is John Fred and His Playboy Band with Judy In Disguise (With Glasses).

Enjoy!
Michael

Treasure Island Oldies Island Update for the week of January 13th 2019

January 13^th to 19^th, 2019

Welcome to this week's Island Update. My thanks to the many listeners who get in  touch with me during the live show, either via email and Facebook. It's great to be able to respond to a comment and to also play a request. Listeners have mentioned that it's amazing how they can make a request and then hear it shortly after sending it; it's almost like an instant request. This week also saw a near record number of folks in the Chat Room, where everyone had a great time chatting together. It truly is a great extension to the live show and I encourage you to come for a visit during the live show next Sunday. Just click Chat on the menu bar and then follow the instructions. See you with the other Nuts in the Hut!

It's fantastic to have the New Year get underway with the addition of another radio station to the Broadcast Partners Network. I'd like to extend a warm welcome to listeners in Thousand Oaks, California and KQVN 100.1 The Hill. We'll be with you every Sunday afternoon at 3 pm Pacific.

Happy Birthday wishes go out to Darryl Roberts, co-owner of our Broadcast Partners Network affiliate station, WTND-LP in Macomb, Illinois. Also a big hi and Happy Birthday to Judy Covington in Canton, Ohio; and also to Alice Bledsoe in Peoria, Illinois. If your birthday is coming up soon, be sure to let me know so that I can wish you all the best on the show and also play Birthday by The Beatles for you. Send the details to birthdays@treasureislandoldies.com 

Voice Your Choice spotlights Maxine Brown with two of her hits,  Cast your vote at the Voice Your Choice page for either All In My Mind or Oh No Not My Baby.  I'll play the winning song on next week's show. 

This week the Top Five Countdown is from 1960. The Number One spot is At The Hop by Danny and The Juniors. It's playing at the Treasure Island Oldies Blog.

Here is this week's Rock and Roll News Podcast.

See you next week on the Island.

Bye for now.
Michael

Maxine Brown was born in New York on August 18, 1939. She started out singing with gospel music groups, the Angelairs and Royaltones. When she was only 21, she wrote and recorded her debut single, All In My Mind, which became a hit on both the R&B and Billboard Hot 100 charts.

Further hits ensued, despite a steady change of labels into the late '60s.

Treasure Island Oldies is pleased to present one of the finest R&B voices of her time, Maxine Brown. Cast your vote at the Voice Your Choice page for either All In My Mind or Oh No Not My Baby. I'll play the winning song on next week's show.

Johnny Preston Number One Treasure Island Oldies Top Five Countdown 1960

He was discovered by J.P. Richardson, The Big Bopper, at the Twilight Club in Port Neches, Texas. The Big Bopper also wrote what would become a huge hit for Johnny Preston.

This week the Treasure Island Oldies Top Five Countdown is from 1060. Sitting comfortably at Number One is the Gold record, Running Bear.

ENjoy!
Michael

Christine McGuire Eldest Sister In McGuire Sisters Has Died At Age 92

Christine McGuire, the oldest of the three McGuire Sisters, whose radio and television appearances and string of Top 20 hits in the 1950s made them one of the most popular female singing groups of their time, died Dec. 28 in Las Vegas, where she lived. She was 92.

Her family released a statement confirming the death. The cause and other details were not disclosed.

Christine, Dorothy and Phyllis McGuire grew up singing in the First Church of God in their hometown of Miamisburg, Ohio. Their mother, a minister at the church, encouraged their interest in singing but would not allow the sisters to listen to secular music.

It wasn’t until the late 1940s, when the sisters were in their late teens and early 20s, that they added a few up-tempo pop tunes to their repertoire and began to appear as a vocal trio at veterans’ hospitals, benefits and other events. They were discovered by local bandleaders and radio stations in Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, and became known for their uncanny three-part harmony.

In 1952, the sisters pooled their savings and traveled to New York, hoping to audition for “Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts,” a popular television show that was the “American Idol” of its time. Godfrey was out of town, but a chance encounter led to a two-month engagement on the national radio broadcast of singer Kate Smith.

When the sisters finally performed for Godfrey, singing “Mona Lisa,” they won the contest and immediately became regulars on Godfrey’s top-rated radio and television shows. They had their first Top 10 hit in 1953 with a version of “Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight,” followed the next year by “Muskrat Ramble.” The sisters’ biggest hit, “Sincerely” (originally performed by the Moonglows), was released in 1954 and spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart. Their 1954 recording of Johnny Mercer’s suavely swinging “Something’s Gotta Give” soared to No. 5 on the Billboard chart.

As rock-and-roll began to filter onto the radio, the McGuire Sisters remained holdovers from an earlier, smoother musical era, along with such singers as Patti Page, Perry Como and Frank Sinatra. The sisters toured constantly, recording a few minor hits, before striking gold again in 1958 with “Sugartime,” a fast-moving tune by Charlie Phillips and Odis Echols that begins, “Sugar in the morning, sugar in the evening, sugar at suppertime.”The catchy number hit No. 1 and became the McGuire Sisters’ signature tune. At the height of their fame in the late 1950s, each sister was earning more than $1 million a year.

Fore more, please go to The Washington Post.

This Week on Treasure Island Oldies - January 6th to 12th, 2019

January 6^th to 12^th, 2019

Happy New Year to you! It was great being back with you after my week off for our annual New Year's Dance Party. And what a fun time it was playing all those great dancing records for you. The Chat Room was packed with both the regulars and also new visitors. Everyone was in great spirits and really enjoyed each other's company in  the fun atmosphere. Two of the Chat Room folks were Jill and Tim. It was exactly 14 years ago that they met in the Chat Room for the very first time. They eventually met in person, as they not only lived in different cities, but also different countries. After some time they got married and this week they came for a visit to thank me and the Chat Room regulars for making them feel so welcome and supported. As I said to Jill, that's the Magic of the Island at work! Congratulations Jill and Tim and here's to many more happy and healthy years together.

I would like to advise you there is a brand new live stream; the link to it is on the Listen page. If you have a pre-set on your media player, it will no longer work as the link is comp0letely different. So just go to the Listen page and then click the link for the Yare Media player. The stream is live about 10 minutes prior to the start of the show.

Happy Birthday wishes to Shirley Ham in Cincinatti, Ohio; Tammy Maynard in Nashville, Tennessee, and Jill Brown Sykes in Cambridge, Ontario. If your birthday is coming up soon, be sure to let me know so that I can wish you all the best on the show and also play Birthday by The Beatles for you. Send the details to birthdays@treasureislandoldies.com 

Voice Your Choice spotlights the Young Rascals with two of their early hits,  Cast your vote at the Voice Your Choice page for either Groovin' or I've Been Lonely Too Long.  I'll play the winning song on next week's show. 

This week the Top Five Countdown was from 1958 and at the Number One spot is At The Hop by Danny and The Juniors. It's playing at the Treasure Island Oldies Blog.

Thank you once again for a fun first show of 2019.

See you next week on the Island.

Bye for now.
Michael

Young Rascals Voice Your Choice

The Young Rascals were a "Blue-eyed Soul" group from New York City and the original group consisted of Felix Cavaliere (vocals and organ), Gene Cornish (vocals and guitar) who was a Canadian from Toronto, Eddie Brigati (vocals, percussion) and Dino Danelli (drums). The famous impresario Sid Bernstein signed them to Atlantic Records and their debut single, I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore became a minor hit, peaking at #52 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. But that was just the beginning.

Between 1966 and 1971, they had 18 singles on the charts including 5 Top Ten hits and 3 Gold Records. In 1968 they removed "Young" and re-named themselves The Rascals. They were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1997.

Treasure Island Oldies presents the Young Rascals in the spotlight for Voice Your Choice. Cast your vote at the Voice Your Choice page for either Groovin' or I've Been Lonely Too Long. I'll play the winner on next week's show.

Danny And The Juniors Number One Top Five Countdown

The first Top Five Countdown of the year is from 1958 and sitting at the top of the charts at Number One is a song that has become a Rock & Roll classic.

Danny And The Juniors are Number One with At The Hop.

Enjoy!

Michael

Daryl Dragon of The Captain and Tenille Has Died At Age 76

(CNN)Daryl Dragon, one half of popular '70s duo The Captain & Tennille, died Wednesday, according to his publicist Harlan Boll. He was 76.

Dragon, whose ever-present captain's hat left no doubt about which half of the duo he was, died of renal failure in Prescott, Arizona, Boll said.

"He was a brilliant musician with many friends who loved him greatly," Toni Tennille said in a statement. "I was at my most creative in my life when I was with him." Tennille was at Dragon's side when he passed away, Boll said.

The duo's best-known songs included "Muskrat Love," "Do That to Me One More Time" and "Love Will Keep Us Together."

Dragon, a classically trained pianist, was most at home behind the keyboard. One of his early gigs was as a backup musician for the Beach Boys in the mid-'60s. Dragon and Tennille met in 1971 when she hired him to play piano for a musical called "Mother Earth." They married in 1975, a year after they signed a deal with A&M Records.Their first album produced the hit single "Love Will Keep Us Together," which enjoyed multiple weeks atop the Billboard chart.

Dragon and Tennille separated in 2013 and finalized their divorce in 2014. They remained close friends.Dragon is survived by his older brother, Doug Dragon, and two nieces, Kelly Arbout and Renee Henn.

Boll asked that any donations being made in Dragon's name be made to organizations doing research into brain diseases and conditions such as Parkinson's Disease or post-traumatic stress disorder.

CNN's Cheri Mossburg contributed to this report.

Dr. Hook's Ray Sawyer Had Died At Age 81

Dr. Hook’s Ray Sawyer, ‘Cover of Rolling Stone’ Singer, Dead at 81

Alabama-born singer featured on hits like “Sylvia’s Mother” and “When You’re in Love With a Beautiful Woman” as member of Rolling Stone cover-gracing rock act

By Daniel Kreps

Ray Sawyer, the Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show member who sang the 1973 Shel Silverstein-penned hit “The Cover of ‘Rolling Stone,'” has died at the age of 81.Page Six first reported Friday that Sawyer died in Daytona Beach, Florida following a brief illness; a representative for the band confirmed the singer’s death to Rolling Stone.The Alabama-born Sawyer – who founded the group with Dennis Locorriere, Billy Francis and George Cummings – was a member of Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show from 1969 to 1981. A few years before the band’s formation, Sawyer lost his right eye in a car accident; Sawyer wore an eyepatch that made him resemble the Peter Pan villain Captain Hook, which served as the inspiration for the Dr. Hook moniker.

For the complete article from Rolling Stone, click here.