….and 5 more things you didn’t know about Jay & the Americans In April 1964, Jay and the Americans were riding high, having had a couple of hits under their belt and working on driving their new single, “Think of the Good Times”, up the charts. The group made an appearance on the TV show
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Bobby Taylor, Motown recording artist and producer
Soul music legend Bobby Taylor has died at age 83. The singer / producer was living in Hong Kong at the time of his death. He was born in North Carolina, but his musical journey took him through Washington DC, Delaware, New York, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Jose and Columbus, Ohio before landing in Hong Kong.
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The Million Dollar Quartet and Elvis’ Mystery Girl
The date was December 4, 1965. Carl Perkins and his band were hunkered down at Sun Records for a recording session that included a not-yet-famous piano player named Jerry Lee Lewis. (Lewis’ first Sun release was on the way, but it would be another 7 months before he would have his first national hit.) Johnny
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A Capitol Fourth features The Beach Boys and The Four Tops
The Beach Boys – Though they never had a patriotic-themed hit (unless you count “Surfin U.S.A.”), they are synonymous with the flag-waving spirit of the 4th of July. In 1975, they released a double-album compilation called “Spirit of America.” The boys of summer have been called “America’s Band”, their biographical mini-series was called “An American Family”
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Passings: Timothy Wilson, “Tiny Tim” of the Hits and The Legendary Teenagers
We are sad to report the passing of Timothy Wilson, former lead singer of The Legendary Teenagers, of cancer at age 73. He was born Howard Wilson in Salisbury, Maryland where he was discovered by Bobby Freeman and his manager Walt Summers, singing with his group Tiny Tim & the Hits. The group was taken
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5 Things You Didn’t Know About the Brooklyn Bridge
5 Things You Didn’t Know About the Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge has long been considered one of the best bands to come out of New York in the late 1960s, both vocally and instrumentally. Much has been written about the legendary band, but here are 5 things you probably did not know about The
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The passing of Fireflies’ lead Ritchie Adams (Ziegler)
Singer-songwriter Richard Ziegler (aka Ritchie Adams) passed away on March 6, 2017 after a brief illness. Although Ziegler achieved most of his commercial success as the writer of the music for Bobby Lewis‘ 1961 smash “Tossin’ & Turnin’” and Englebert Humperdinck‘s signature song “After the Lovin’”, doo wopp fans revered him as the original lead
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Robert Bateman, legendary Motown writer, has passed away at 80
by A. Scott, special to Pop, Rock & Doo Wopp Motown legend and R&B Hall of Fame member Robert Bateman has passed away, aged 80. Born in Illinois with one arm shorter than the other, he was easily recognized by his distinctive gait. Many people believed it was an affected walk, and began to copy
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The Flamingos & The Mystics share a unique claim to fame
Stories of artists passing on songs which would go on to be mega-hits for other artists abound in the music business. However both The Mystics and The Flamingos share the distinction of having compositions that were written expressly for them swiped at the last minute by artists whose stars were shining just a little bit
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Pop, Rock & Doo Wopp welcomes The Lettermen
The Lettermen will make their debut appearances as part of the Pop, Rock & Doo Wopp Live! series this fall with two 2017 concerts in Florida. One is as-yet-unannounced but the other, in Clermont, will be on sale soon. Read on… Pop, Rock & Doo Wopp Live! returns to the Clermont PAC, starring The Lettermen with special guests
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