The "Insane World Of Mike Sain" airs every Wednesday at 9:00 AM Eastern Time on WPON-AM 1460 Detroit. This morning's theme was "mean and nasty" in celebration of Be Nasty Day which is today. Be Nasty Day is one of many bizarre holidays featured on this show around the beginning of each month. In today's show, all songs except for the first (played by special request) had "mean," "evil," "devil," etc. in the title. This morning's program featured a lot of rockabilly and blues and included many noncharting classics by both well known and obscure artists.
- Put A Little Love In Your Heart - Jackie DeShannon - 1969 (by request)
- How Can You Be Mean To Me - Dale Vaughn And The Starnotes - ca. 1958
- How Can You Be So Mean - Johnny Ace - 1955
- (Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean - Ruth Brown - 1953, 1962
- Mean Little Mama - Roy Orbison - 1957 (by request)
- Mean Mistreater - Johnny Powers - ca. 1958
- Mean Mr. Mustard - The Beatles - 1969
- Mean Old Blues - The Moonglows - 1958
- Mean Woman Blues - Jerry Lee Lewis - 1957
- Where Evil Grows - The Poppy Family - 1971
- Devil Woman - Buddy Knox With The Rhythm Orchids - 1957 (by request)
- Evil Woman Don't Play Your Games With Me - Crow - 1970
- I Must Be The Devil - The Box Tops - 1969
Disclosure: This page includes links that will take you to various online merchants outside of allbutforgottenoldies.net that sell recordings with some of the songs featured on this page. Please note that these are referral or affiliate links from which allbutforgottenoldies.net may receive, at no additional cost to you, a commission if you should make any purchases through them.
Notes:
- Singer and songwriter Jackie DeShannon is best remembered for her 1969 smash hit, "Put A Little Love In Your Heart," as well as many other songs as performed either by herself or by other artists. This sweet song, which helped to take some of the sting out of the rest of the numbers that followed, was played this morning by special request from Hisashi Nakamura.
- The rare and noncharting "How Can You Be Mean To Me" by 1950s rockabilly singer Dale Vaughn was released around 1958 as a single (Von 480 b/w "High Steppin'"). This song, which was written by Dale Vaughn (along with the flip side), is included on the CD, Loud, Fast & Out of Control.
- Johnny Ace had a string of hits on the R&B charts from 1952-1955 that included "Pledging My Love" (1955, also a pop hit), "My Song" (1952), and "The Clock" (1953), all of which topped the R&B charts. "How Can You Be So Mean" was the B-side of his 1955 R&B chart hit, "Anymore."
- Ruth Brown is a highly acclaimed R&B singer with a long string of R&B and Pop/Rock chart hits from 1949-1962. "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean" first topped the R&B charts for Ruth Brown in 1953 and was also a pop hit that same year. This song was remade in 1962 and recharted on the pop charts. Ruth Brown has made several movie appearances and she also starred in the 1988 Broadway musical, "Black And Blue." She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.
- Roy Orbison had a long string of hits that included "Running Scared' (1961) and "Oh, Pretty Woman" (1964). His noncharting "Mean Little Mama" (written by Sam Phillips) was recorded at Sun Records in 1957 but not released until 1961 (as part of the album, "Roy Orbison At The Rock House," SLP 1260). In the mid 1980s, Orbison made a comeback and had a Top 10 hit in 1989 with "You Got It." He was also a member of the Traveling Wilburys, a late 1980s supergroup. Orbison was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
- Detroit-born Johnny Powers is a rockabilly singer who, although he never made the national charts, achieved considerable local fame and cult status. He has a long career which started in the late 1950s that has continued to the present day. His first known recording, "Honey, Let's Go To A Rock and Roll Show" (b/w "Your Love") was in 1957 on the Hi-Q label. In 1958, he had regional hits with "Rock Rock" and "Long Blond Hair." During the late 1950s, Powers signed up with many labels, including Sun Records, and in the early 1960s was the first white artist to be signed up with Motown. "Mean Mistreater" as heard this morning was recorded around 1958 as a single (Olympic 011 b/w "Treat Me Right").
- The Beatles' noncharting "Mean Mr. Mustard" was included on their 1969 album, "Abbey Road."
- The Moonglows (a.k.a. Harvey And The Moonglows) were led by Harvey Fuqua and Bobby Lester. This group had several hits from 1955-1958 that included "Sincerely" (1955) and "The Ten Commandments Of Love" (1958). The Moonglows were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. "Mean Old Blues" as played today was the B-side of "Ten Commandments Of Love" (1958).
- Jerry Lee Lewis' noncharting "Mean Woman Blues" was released in 1957 (Sun EPA 107). This song was an R&B and country chart hit for Elvis Presley that same year and it was part of the soundtrack for the movie, "Loving You," in which he starred. "Mean Woman Blues" later also became a pop hit for Roy Orbison in 1963. Jerry Lee Lewis was known for both his wild on-stage antics and his furious and firey rock and roll piano style. In 1957, he burst on the scene with "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "Great Balls Of Fire," but various personal and other setbacks temporarily curtailed his music career. In 1968, he made a major comeback in country music and had a long and uninterrupted string of hits on the Country charts from 1957-1989. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.
- The Poppy Family is best remembered for the 1970 smash hit, "Which Way You Goin' Billy?" This group had several other hits from 1970-1971 that included "Where Evil Grows" (1971) as heard this morning. Key members of the Poppy Family included Susan and then-husband Terry Jacks (of "Seasons In The Sun" fame).
- Buddy Knox had a string of hits from 1957-1961 and he is best remembered for his chart topping debut song, "Party Doll" (1957). "Devil Woman" was the B-side of "Hula Love" which was a Top 10 hit in 1957.
- Crow was a hard rock band from Minneapolis best remembered for the dark and brooding "Evil Woman Don't Play Your Games With Me." The drummer for Crow, Denny Craswell, had been a member of the Castaways (of "Liar, "Liar" fame). Crow had several other charted songs including "Cottage Cheese" and "Don't Try To Lay No Boogie Woogie On The 'King Of Rock And Roll'" (both from 1970).
- The Box Tops were a soul-pop group from Memphis whose key members included Alex Chilton. Their best known songs include their chart topping debut song, "The Letter" (1967), and "Cry Like A Baby" (1968). "I Must Be The Devil" as heard this morning was the B-side of their 1969 hit, "I Shall Be Released."
Click here for a complete list of "Insane World Of Mike Sain" playlists available on this web site.
