These were monster hits. They topped the charts. They were played until the grooves wore out.
Truly, they were monster hits. They just weren’t national hits, in the same sense that Katy Perry could release a song on Tuesday and it would be on every radio station playlist by Tuesday afternoon. We’re talking about the 1960’s, where some songs became national hits, while others were simply “regional” classics.
But just because we don’t hear them on the oldies radio rotation playlist, doesn’t mean that these songs aren’t as fantastic as ever. And on today’s edition of K-Chuck Radio, let me bring you some of those classic songs that really deserved an extra spin here and there.
THE CHOIR
It’s Cold Outside
This was a big hit in Cleveland, the band’s home base. The Choir would later morph into a 70’s power pop band called the Raspberries. You might know the lead singer of the Raspberries – some guy named Eric Carmen.
THE PYRAMID
Summer of Last Year
A British hit from 1967. One of the lead singers, Ian Matthews, later joined Fairport Convention, and had a couple of solo hits of his own.
THE MYDDLE CLASS
I Happen To Love You
The Myddle Class got plenty of airplay in the Northeast, but never broke nationally. What a shame.
THE TIDAL WAVES
Farmer John
This is a Michigan garage band whose regional label, SVR Records, got picked up for national distribution by Hanna-Barbera Records. Yeah, that combination worked out REALLY well…
THE BLACK DIAMONDS
See The Way
This Australian rock band had several hits in the 1960’s, but none of these songs ever broke nationally. Thankfully, we have YouTube clips and blog posts like these to help share the great sounds.
CANDY AND THE KISSES
The ’81
This Philadelphia-based girl group had a regional hit, and although the song never broke nationally, it did become the first hit for songwriter Kenny Gamble, who later partnered with Leon Huff to craft all those fantastic 1970’s Philadelphia International hits.
THE SEVEN SOULS
I Still Love You
Although this song is now a major hit on the R&B “Northern Soul” circuit, this track never got the chance to break into the Top 40. You get bonus points if you can hear Percy Faith’s “Theme From ‘A Summer Place'” in the intro of this song.
THE HAUNTED
1-2-5
This rock band from Montreal had a major hit with this garage track north of the border, and I’ll let you figure out what the “1-2-5” actually means in this song.
RICHARD AND THE YOUNG LIONS
Open Up Your Door
This song was #1 in about 35 different cities… just not at the same time. And by the time the song started creeping up the national charts… the band was already twenty miles towards Splitsville.
THE CREATION
Makin’ Time
This is a classic “freakbeat” track that you might have heard as either part of an intro for a current Budweiser commercial, or as one of the many samples on a Girl Talk song.
So here’s the forgotten tracks… let’s hope they’re never forgotten. Here on K-Chuck Radio!!
Chuck The Writer 