We’ve talked here before about the bygone days of regional variations on the record charts—how bands could often rely on their local radio stations for airplay and as a result, score hit after local hit. Sometimes these bands would go national and sometimes they would not. I don’t know what was the guiding philosophy at WLOF in Orlando, Florida, but their chart for this week in 1966 contains a bunch of records that barely amounted to anything nationally. I’d like to think some of them were by local bands that made good, although a few were by national acts that simply weren’t very big, or who were enjoying a brief moment in the Florida sunshine. Here are five of the top ten.
1. “Hey Joe”/Tim Rose. Rose’s version of this song, the origins of which are hazy (but which Rose claimed as his original composition when it almost certainly was not), is said to have inspired the more famous Jimi Hendrix version. (Did not make national chart.)
2. “Winchester Cathedral”/New Vaudeville Band. On the other hand, this record was sweeping the country this week in 1966, proving that WLOF wasn’t entirely off in its own musical world of choice. Here’s a homemade YouTube video featuring the song. I can’t help it, but there’s something about the guy’s facial expressions that cracks me up. (National chart peak: #1.)
3. “Wild Angels Theme”/Davie Allan and the Arrows. From a biker movie starring Peter Fonda and Nancy Sinatra, made three years before Easy Rider. Does not exactly sound like biker music. (National chart peak: #99.)
Let us pause here to give WLOF credit for playing “Good Vibrations,” “Devil With a Blue Dress On,” and “Last Train to Clarksville.” (Start Casey Kasem voice.) Now, on with the countdown. (End Casey Kasem voice.)
8. “It’s a Happening”/Magic Mushrooms. A Philadelphia garage band (but then again, wasn’t every local band a garage band in 1966?) that somehow got this record released by A&M Records, only to have it pulled, or so the story goes, by Herb Alpert himself after he learned what magic mushrooms were. (National chart peak #93.)
10. “I Who Have Nothing”/Terry Knight. The ex-Detroit DJ most famous for managing (and later suing the hell out of) Grand Funk, Knight scored several regional hits with his group the Pack, which featured Mark Farner and Don Brewer of Grand Funk. “I Who Have Nothing”, which is remarkably wimpy given what Grand Funk would later become (even taking “Bad Time” into account), was Knight’s only national hit. (National chart peak: #46.)
If you know anything about the Smoke Rings, the E Types, or “Little Black Egg” by the Nightcrawlers, or any of the other obscurities featured on WLOF, let us know in the comments. I’d have researched them myself, but I’ve already killed nearly an hour working on the Magic Mushrooms.
Uh, that didn’t come out right.
“Theme from ‘The Wild Angels’”/Davie Allan and the Arrows (buy it here)
Filed under: Record Charts | Tagged: You could done something but you didn't try
A lot of the lesser-knowns on this list are regional rock bands – the Nightcrawlers were from Miami, FL and had an album on Kapp titled after their minor hit, LITTLE BLACK EGG. The E-Types were from San Jose, CA; the Traits were from Texas and were formerly Roy Head’s backup band; Teddy & the Pandas were a fine Garage Lite band from Boston (one album on Tower, ca. 1968 plus several singles); the Five Emprees were from Indiana and their biggest regional hit and album were both titled LITTLE MISS SAD. The Capreez’ were from the Detroit area; Dr. West’s Medicine Show & Junk Band featured Norman “Spirit In The Sky” Greenbaum (one LP on the tritely named Go-Go label); the Gurus were an early garage/psych band from New York with a definite middle-Eastern influence, and almost had an album out on United Artists, but wasn’t released (Sundazed eventually put it out on CD in 2003, really good album).
Even though it was a Florida regional hit LITTLE BLACK EGG was huge in San Bernardino/Riverside, California. It even made it into the top 100 of an all time top 300 San Bernardino’s radio station, KMEN put out in 1967, which a lot of the big hits of 1966 did.
While a great many songs seemed strange when seen by people who weren’t in the Olrando market, every one on the list got phone and sales action,
with some being phones only because there were no records to be had.
Dirty Water was a prime example #1 for four weeks before any singles were available.
And during my term as Music Directory -1965 to 1972 – WLOF was OVERALL
#1 – not just the number one top-40. Few top-40 stations of that era
could make that claim.
I set an all-time record with a 60% share during the night show, and was always #1 in all time slots, except the last year, with new owners and drastic changes where I slipped to #2 during 9AM to Noon.
If you go to http://www.bilver.com and look for the section shown as adance lists you will see two years of sheets I sent to record companies [and not radio] that have been scanned in, OCRed and made readable.
If you thought the top40 list was stanges wait until you see these.
There are FOUR MORE years that need to be scanned.
When done you will see a listing of EVERY recotd playes on WLOF in
a 6 or 7 year span – with probably less than a dozen that were missed.
I was a speaker at a BillBoard conference in about 1971 when I had the pleasure to announce our current Pulse standings. 44% in afternoon traffic and and amazing 33% share on a 24-hour 7 day weeks basis.
Orladno metro was ab0ut 500-600 hundred thousand at that time.
And I was nomitated for man of the year in secondard markers for five years in a row on the Gavin survey. Always the smallest station on the list.
Bill Vermillion
You can reach me at bv@wjv.com if you BESURE to have WLOF in the subject line. Filtering is quite heavy so text only please, no thml
Bill
A comment on Hey Joe. The version played on WLOF was the original 45 RPM
mono mix. The LP version is in stereo and comapares POORLY with the original. It’s even better IMO than the link you have to the YouTube video.
I have the original in a very decent transfer from the origianl Columbia 45
is anyone is interted. Mail be at bv@wjv.com and have WLOF in the subject line.
Bill Vermillion
[...] the station’s former music director. If you didn’t see the post or his comments, click here. Bill says he is compiling tons of stuff from his WLOF tenure at his website, which looks like a [...]