The "Insane World Of Mike Sain" airs every Wednesday at 9:00 AM Eastern Time on WPON-AM 1460 Detroit. Today's theme was "I Spy" in which Mike played various spy-, private eye-, and detective-related songs. This morning's show was inspired by the many spy and detective TV series and movies that were popular throughout the 1960s and early 1970s.
- Casino Royale - Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Brass - 1967
- Theme From Shaft - Isaac Hayes - 1971
- Double-O-Seven - The Detergents - 1965
- Back Stabbers - The O'Jays - 1972
- James Bond Theme - The Ventures - ca. 2000
- The Man With The Golden Gun - Lulu - 1974
- The Peter Gunn Theme - The Blues Brothers - 1980
- Agent Double O-Soul - Edwin Starr - 1965 (by request)
- Secret Agent Man - Johnny Rivers - 1966
- Thunderball - Tom Jones - 1966
- Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress) - The Hollies - 1972
- Private Eye - The Olympics - 1959
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Notes:
- "Casino Royale" by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass was the title song for the hilarious spy spoof movie co-starring David Niven and Peter Sellars. This song made the Pop/Rock Top 40 in 1967 and also topped the Adult Contemporary charts that same year.
- Isaac Hayes' "Theme From Shaft" topped the charts in 1971 and was the title song for the 1971 movie starring Richard Roundtree. The Bar-Kays provided instrumental backing to this song and also had a hit that same year with "Son Of Shaft." In addition to the title song, Isaac Hayes wrote, produced, and performed (with the Bar-Kays) the rest of the many songs from the "Shaft" movie soundtrack for which he won an Academy Award for Best Score. He is a prolific songwriter who has written some 200 songs with David Porter, many of which became hits for other artists. Isaac Hayes was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.
- The Detergents are best remembered for their parody songs which include their 1965 hits, "Leader Of The Laundromat" and "Double-O-Seven" as played this morning. "Double-O-Seven" is a spoof on James Bond movies and in this song, sound effects plus bits and pieces of the famous James Bond theme can be heard.
- The O'Jays were formed in 1958 in Ohio and first known as the Triumphs. They had a long string of hits from 1963-1997 including "Back Stabbers" (1972) as heard this morning.
- The signature "James Bond Theme" as heard in all the James Bond movies goes all the way back to the first movie in that series, "Dr. No" (1962). This song became a chart hit for Billy Strange in 1964. Over the years, the Ventures have recorded more than one cover of this song. The version played this morning is from their 2000 CD, Ventures Gold. The Ventures are best known for "Walk - Don't Run" (1960), "Hawaii Five-O" (1969), and many other surf rock instrumental hits. Since their heyday on the charts in the 1960s, the Ventures have been actively touring and recording nonstop and have maintained a huge international following.
- Lulu is best remembered for singing the chart topping title song for the 1967 movie, "To Sir, With Love," starring Sidney Poitier. In that movie, Lulu played the role of "Barbara 'Babs' Pegg." Lulu had many other hits that also included "Best Of Both Worlds" (1968) and "Oh Me Oh My" (1970). She also sang the title song for the 1974 movie, "The Man With The Golden Gun," as heard this morning.
- "Peter Gunn" was the title theme song for the private eye TV show (1958-1961) that co-starred Craig Stevens in the title role. This song was written by Henry Mancini and was a chart hit for Ray Anthony (1959), Duane Eddy (1960), Deodato (1976), and the Art of Noise Featuring Duane Eddy (1986). The Blues Brothers cover of "Peter Gunn" as heard this morning is part of the soundtrack for the 1980 movie, "The Blues Brothers," co-starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as "Joliet" Jake and Elwood Blues. Belushi and Aykroyd also had several chart hits under the "Blues Brothers" name from 1978-1981.
- Agent Double-O-Soul" was Edwin Starr's chart debut song in 1965. His best known songs also include "Twenty-Five Miles" (1969) and the chart topping "War" (1970).
- Johnny Rivers' had a smash hit in 1966 with "Secret Agent Man" which was the theme for the TV spy series, "Secret Agent." The Ventures also had an instrumental hit with "Secret Agent Man" that same year. The "Secret Agent" TV series starred Patrick McGoohan as "John Drake" and ran from 1964-1966. This show was based on the TV series, "Danger Man," which first aired in 1960 as a half-hour spy program on British television.
- Tom Jones' 1966 hit, "Thunderball," was the title song for the 1965 James Bond film. From 1969-1971, he hosted his own TV variety show. In the mid 1970s, he went country and topped the Country charts in 1976 with "Say You'll Stay Until Tomorrow."
- The Hollies' smash 1972 hit, "Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress)," is a detective-like narrative set to music.
- The Olympics were an L.A.-based doo-wop group best remembered for their 1958 chart debut novelty song, "Western Movies." They had a string of hits from 1958-1966 that also included "Private Eye" as played this morning. This song makes reference to Peter Gunn and incorporates this TV show's title theme in the melody. The Olympics were formed ca. 1954 and first known as Walter Ward and the Challengers. The group's original lineup consisted of Eddie Lewis, Charles Fizer, Walter Hammond, and lead singer Walter Ward. The Olympics still perform on the oldies circuit and the group today consists of Walter Ward, Eddie Lewis, William DeVase, and Kenneth Sinclair.
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