R&SRNR_ 177 – “THE LAST SHOW”* Welcome to the final edition of our little podcast series. Yes, it’s true. After nearly eight years of episodes downloaded by a loyal worldwide audience numbering hundreds of thousands – plus critical acclaim as one of the highest quality oldies and music history programs in cyberspace, we think now is the right time to take our creativity in new directions. More about that during this prrogram. Our bittersweet so-long will be light on our personal nostalgia and heavy on the types of tunes and tales about the music that you’ve come to expect from us. For inst ..read more

R&SRNR_176 – “THE TRADE SECRETS OF LENNON & MCCARTNEY” Although they only collaborated for about twelve years beginning in late 1957, John Lennon and Paul McCartney rank as one of the most successful songwriting duos of all time. Our best guestimate is that approximately one billion copies of their compositions have been sold as of the posting date of this podcast. This includes around 600 million or more of those waxed by the Beatles with the remainder recorded by countless other performers. That extraordinary success wasn’t the result of an ordinary composing partnership. Behind the ..read more

R&SRNR _175 – “CAROLE KING – UPDATED & REMASTERED” This episode spotlights the most successful female songwriter of the rock and roll era. She’s written or co-written more than 200 charted hits. There’s a hit stage musical about her life, and her live concerts continue to be huge draws worldwide. In addition to our playing snippets of all of her charted hit singles, Radio Dave and our resident rockologist, Ken Deutsch cover many of what are known as “demo” recordings that she did to sell her songs to established recording stars in 1960s along with samples of their hit versions. And we ..read more

R&SRNR_174 – “THEY PLAYED ON THE MOST HITS” There’s one group of recording artists that played on more hits than anybody else in the history of rock, pop, and country music. It’s the Wrecking Crew – an amorphous collection of studio musicians based in Los Angeles from the late 1950s through the early 1970s. They backed countless acts in a wide variety of genres, including rock, pop, folk, and jazz. You heard them supporting such stars as the Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra, Paul Revere & The Raiders, and the Mamas & Papas. Also, the Byrds, the Monkees ..read more

R&SRNR_173 – “40 LOST INSTRUMENTAL HITS OF THE 1960s” Hundreds of instrumentals became hits during the 1960s, but only a handful are still heard these days. We’ve identified “40 Lost Instrumental Hits Of The 1960s.” These include melodies that were inspired by or used in Hollywood movies, television shows, and national advertising campaigns. Many of the acts we’re featuring in this episode were professionally connected with Elvis Presley, Otis Redding, and the Beatles.  One group recorded with the same producer and in the same studio as Buddy Holly. Another combined members of the Det ..read more

 RARE & SCRATCHY ROCK ‘N ROLL_046A – “THE COMPLETE HIT SINGLES HISTORY OF THE FOUR TOPS” – “REMASTERED & EXPANDED” This episode spotlights the Four Tops – four high school friends from Detroit who performed together continuously for 43 years. They failed to achieve a hit song during their first decade together, but succeeded as a popular draw at leading night clubs. They turned down a contract with Motown Records because they thought the company was too small, but years later they would join that label and become one of its most successful groups. Their repertoire spanned doo-wop ..read more

R&SRNR_172 – “THE HIT SINGLES HISTORY OF RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER” This is our seventh annual Xmas episode. We’re celebrating the season with a one-of-a-kind salute to the most famous member of the reindeer team that pulls Santa Claus’ sleigh through the skies every Christmas Eve – Rudolph Red-Nosed Reindeer. We’ll trace Rudoph’s history – from his birth in an advertising campaign for a Chicago-based department store to the song that gave him superstar status as the best known and best-loved Christmas critter of all time. Along the way, we’ll sample every hit single version of “Rudol ..read more

R&SRNR #_171 “COMPLETE HIT SINGLES HISTORY OF THE DAVE CLARK 5 (REMASTERED & ENHANCED)” As the Beatles led the British musical invasion in the mid-1960s, another English aggregation followed in their footsteps and for a time might have passed them in popularity around the world. This five-some bounced one of the Fab Four’s most famous #1 hits off the top position on the U.K. singles chart, performed concerts in the U.S. before any of their British rock band rivals did, and made more live appearances on CBS-TV’s legendary Ed Sullivan Show than the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Elvis ..read more

R&SRNR_170 – “THE COMPLETE HIT SINGLES HISTORY OF THE BEACH BOYS, PART 2” This is the second of two episodes spotlighting the most enduring rock and roll band in American History. –  the Beach Boys. No matter what the season, it’s always summer whenever and wherever their songs are playing. They’ve sold more than 100 million recordings around the world since 1961. We’ll focus on their U.S.-charted hit singles – all of them – in a two-episode salute. We began this chronicle on show #169 – comprising the Beach Boys’ successful 45s during the1960s. Now, this edition #170 – reviews the ba ..read more

R&SRNR_169 – “THE COMPLETE HIT SINGLES HISTORY OF THE BEACH BOYS, PART 1” This is the first of two episodes spotlighting the most enduring rock and roll band in American History. No matter what the season, it’s always summer whenever and wherever their songs are playing – the Beach Boys. They’ve sold more than 100 million recordings around the world since 1961. We’ll focus on their U.S.-charted hit singles – all of them – in a two-episode salute. It all begins with this one – show #169 – comprising the Beach Boys’ successful 45s during the1960s. Then, 15 days after the posting date of this ..read more