For whatever reason I can't explain, one of my favorite Christmas treats is hearing Karen Carpenter sing "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town".  I find her singing reaches in to a solitary part of my mind and soothes my anxieties of the day.  I'll also mention another favorite..."The Bells Of St. Mary" by Bobb B. Soxx. It's the perfect example of the "wall of sound" from Phil Spector!

In the Spring of 1960 the Olympics had a huge #1 in the Los Angeles market with "(Baby) Hully Gully".  In Cashbox it only made it to #57 on their Top 100.  One year later, a group called the Vibrations who had reached #29 with "The Watusi" took the same melody and backing as the "Hully Gully", changed their name to the Marathons, changed the lyrics to "Peanut Butter' and reached #21 in Cashbox.

So very sorry to read of the passing of Sandy Posey.. My radio station in 1966 was KMOR in SLC, UT.  We featured a"Modified Country" format, avoiding the really "hard country" sounds of Buck Owens, Hank Thompson and the like.  We did get some static from that faction of the C&W artists, but we were the #2 rated station  in town and those that advertised with us did not complain.  We charted both "Born A Woman" and "Single Girl" by Sandy Posey because she fit our playlist like a glove.  Thank you Sandy for the music and memories!
 

Now that I am firmly in my 80's, I have noticed my musical tastes have evolved a bit.  Some examples include.....Selections from the three chart albums released by the Tymes in the 1960's where they did some great work on hits from the days of yore.  To mention a few...."And That Reminds Me", "Somewhere" & "The Way You Look Tonight"!
I'll also mention Bert Kaempfert.  I'll confess that I wasn't a fan of "Wonderland By Night" (I still feel the same) I really enjoy a lot of his later, light, uptempo songs like "That Happy Feeling", "Afrikaan Beat", & "Three O'Clock In The Morning".  The other day, I came across his album "Orange Colored Sky" (#140 in 1971).  I found one track that grabbed me by the ears, his take on the Anne Murray hit "Snowbird".  Check it out.
 

Looking back on my DJ days, I heard a number of songs that "shoulda-been" but weren't.  I'll mention a few...Two that I have seen mentioned at various internet sites are..."Peace Of Mind" and "Baby's Gone" by Gene Thomas.  Both are favorites of mine.
I've mentioned before my friendship with Randy Nauert, the bass player with the SoCal surf band The Challengers.  He sent me one of their singles back in the mid 1960's called "Before You" that I felt was a decent Top 10 offering.
My favorite version of the classic "Softly As I Leave You" was by the Nordic Trio on Dot.  I played it for a month on my show at KXLF in Butte, MT.  They had a Lettermen sound.
One that was a hit in Salt Lake City was called "The Right Boy" by Wendi.  It was on the Champ label based in Wisconsin.
Meeting the singer of "One Of Those Songs" from 1966 was one of the biggest thrills of my DJ days.  He was a Vaudville, Movie, Recording, Television, Radio and Concert star, the legendary Jimmy Durante.  That song fit him like a glove!!
 

Truly a sad day for us old timers.  In 1958, after two years on Guam with very little pop music on the radio, I spent the summer in L.A. listening to one of the all-time Top 40 stations, KFWB, Channel 98! "Rebel-Rouser" was heard many times and I became a forever fan.  In 1962, I started my DJ career in September and "Dance With Guitar Man" was one of the first songs I played that night.  Thanks you Duane for lots of music and memories.  I will remain a fan until the end!

I have been a fan of Steve Lawrence since my senior year in high school,when "Pretty Blue Eyes" and "Footsteps" were on my car radio every time I was behind the wheel.  In 1962 his "Go Away Little Girl"' hit the charts soon after I started my pro DJ career.  He had 24 total chart appearances. with 5 'Top 10's on 4 different labels.  He was the perfect guest with his appearances on the "Carol Burnett Show".  Thank you Steve for all the music and the memories!!

Back in 1966, the local music hall in Salt Lake City was bringing in many of the major recording stars of the day, and a few times I was invited out to be in a "welcoming committee" at the airport when they arrived.  One notable arrival was Jack Benny but the most memorable for me was the Smothers Brothers.  After the usual greeting and the Q&A session, I started for the door to leave.  Then I heard "Hey Jim, could you give the brothers a ride to their hotel"?  As luck would have it, I was driving a big wide-body '63 Pontiac with plenty of room so I agreed.  So it happened that I drove them to their hotel, them in the back seat with their road manager, me listening in on their conversation.  We got to the hotel and they got out, thanked me and headed in to the lobby.  The next night I saw their show and really enjoyed it.  This was before their TV show days, so it wasn't too political.  That remains one of my most cherished memories.  Thanks Tommy for all the laughs and songs.  R.I.P.

When the Beatles made their first trip to the USA for the Ed Sullivan Show,  Capitol Records dispatched one of their executives to escort the boys around town for their four day trip.  Voyle Gilmore had been with Capitol for awhile and was noted for having been the producer of 6 Frank Sinatra LP's.
During their days together, their were many chances for conversation and various topics were discussed.  John Lennon paid particular attention to financial subjects and after thinking about it determined that EMI (their home town label) had not been honest about their compensation.
Upon their return to England John quickly made his way to the EMI offices to confront the execs.  They realized that now the group had conquered America there was going to be some very serious money showing up so they quickly agreed to soothe John's anger and adjusted their financial arrangement.
However, once John left, they were on the phone to Mr. Gilmore chewing him out for revealing their "secrets" and demanding answers.  To which Voyle replied "All I did was quote them chapter and verse out of the company policy book that YOU wrote, not my problem!!"
This story was told to me by my long time friend John Gilmore, the son for Voyle Gilmore.
 

As it turns out, I also have to turn to Bob Lind and "Elusive Butterfly".  My choice is "I might have even called your name as I ran searching after something to believe in".  That would explain my 2 ex-wives and a lot of other females that drifted in and out of my life!

The other night, I was camped here on my computer, playing games and listening to music.  Suddenly, the title of a song that I hadn't thought about in at least 30 years popped into my head.  I looked it up in one of my numerous "Whitburn Books", got the artists who had done it and plugged into 'you tube' and had the fun of listening to the Hudson Brothers sing "Rendezvous" again.  I don't think we've ever mentioned them here on the board but for about 1 bright shining year they had a network TV show, a couple of hit records and toured with all kinds of hit artists of the mid 1970's.  I was even more impressed to find out they were from my neighborhood, Portland, OR.  Give it a listen and drift on back about 50 years ago when this was the hit music on the radio!  "All The Hits, All The Time!!!":

In '64, when I first left the USAF, I spent a few months working for a chemical company.  I got to visiting with the kid named Randy in the mail room and found out he played bass in a surf band that was fairly active in the So. Cal. area.  When he found out I had a DJ background, we became instant friends.  Soon after, I left the company and headed for Butte, MT to get back to the microphone.  After a short stint there, I returned to So. Cal. to get my FCC "First Phone".  When that was done, I landed the all-night gig on a small L.A. FM station.  One evening, I was grabbing a burger at a nearby cafe when in walked my bass playing buddy Randy and his band.  They joined me and we had a fun visit.  As I was leaving for work, they mentioned they had a gig coming and invited me to go see them play.  It turned out it was a pretty big event with some current pop music stars.  When Randy saw me in the audience, he motioned for me to get over to a backstage door where he let me in.  There I was, in the "green room" with the Dixie Cups, Jay & The Americans, Sam The Sham and the Pharaohs and The Righteous Brothers.  I just drifted around visiting with them all and mostly listening.  Following that, I rejoined the audience and watched all the stars sing their hits.   I should mention that my buddy was Randy Nauert, his band was the Challengers and they recorded several albums and released some 45's.  I managed to get their single called "Before You", one of my favorites.  I'll also mention that Randy got the producers credit for the hit song "Junk Food Junkie" and was a neighbor of Herb Alpert living in Malibu, so he must have been a factor in the L.A. music scene.

In my days in the mid '60s in SLC, in addition to my on-air chores, I was also the music director and production director.  That meant that as long as all the commercials were ready to play and the music chart was up to date I was free to come and go as I pleased.  The local music hall promo guy knew this so whenever they booked a talent, I was always invited to the reception they had for them, either the night before they appeared or after the opening performance.  However, a few times because of the reputation of the talent, I was invited to meet them at the airport in the welcoming committee.  For instance, we gathered there to meet and visit with Jack Benny as he arrived.
  One time was a bit more involved.  After we had greeted the stars and visited with them for a few minutes, I started out the door.  Then I heard "Hey Jim, can you give the guys a lift to their hotel?".  I had a big old 1963 Pontiac, so I had plenty of room and trunk space.  They loaded in the back seat of the car and off we went.  There I was, driving with the Smothers Brothers in the back seat heading for the downtown hotel.  I heard a few stories, had a few laughs and left them right at the front door.  Keep in mind this was after they had charted their LP's but before their TV days.  I did take in their performance the following night and really enjoyed it!!
 

It was in 1966.  I was the morning DJ on the #2 station in SLC, UT.  It was announced that a well known music star was going to give a concert at a nearby nightclub.  One of my DJ teammates and I decided to go.  I was a bit suspicious since there were various acts that had a famous name but none of the actual performers.  We did get a decent table and when the band came out, it really was Bill Haley and the Comets.  They played all their hits and then took an intermission break.  My buddy and I decided to see if we could get into the dressing room area so we made our way back there.  Luckily, the guy guarding Bill's door was a listener and recognized my voice so he let us in to meet with Bill.  We spent about 10 minutes in general conversation.  Bill mentioned that he was playing all over the Western states hoping to land in Las Vegas.  All in all, it was a very pleasant visit.  I will confess that it was a bit disconcerting to see such a star in a rather small club venue when just a few years before he been in front of thousands of adoring fans.  Anyway, I was thrilled to have spent time with him and it is one of my most favorite events as the years fly by.

Just to clarify, the jury is still on what DJ played the first Beatles record in the states.  A lot of stations got the first pressing of  "Please Please Me"/"From Me To You" back in August of '63 (It reached #116 in Billboard then).  My little station in West Texas had it on the playlist and I know I played it once.  Dick Biondi landed for a short time in the L.A. market after his Chicago run but didn't really connect with the radio fans.  No question though, he was a giant back then.  I remember hearing him in the late night hours on WLS, fighting it out with KOMA in Oklahoma City for the Midwest audience.