The "Insane World Of Mike Sain" airs every Wednesday at 9:00 AM Eastern Time on WPON-AM 1460 Detroit. This week's theme was "songs within a song" which featured "Memories of Those Oldies But Goodies" by Little Caesar and the Romans, a medley of mostly doo wop and R&B tunes. The rest of today's program consisted mostly of songs used in "Memories Of Those Oldies But Goodies."
Note: Many of the songs listed below are included on the CD, Art Laboe's 60 Killer Oldies [BOX SET].
- Memories of Those Oldies But Goodies - Little Caesar And The Romans - 1961
- Over the Mountain; Across the Sea - Johnnie And Joe - 1957, 1960
- Stranded In the Jungle - The Cadets - 1956
- Oh, What A Nite - The Dells - 1956, 1969 (remake)
- Tonite, Tonite - The Mello-Kings - 1957, 1961
- Story Untold - The Nutmegs - 1955
- Heaven And Paradise - Don Julian And The Meadowlarks - 1955
- The White Cliffs of Dover - The Mystics - 1960
- I Only Have Eyes For You - The Flamingos - 1959
- The Glory Of Love - The Five Keys - 1951
- Love You So - Ron Holden With The Thunderbirds - 1960
- In the Still of the Nite - The Five Satins - 1956, 1960, 1961
- A Thousand Miles Away - The Heartbeats - 1957, 1960
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Notes:
- The nostalgic "Memories Of Those Oldies But Goodies" by Little Caesar and the Romans (#101/1961) was a tribute to doo wop and a sequel to their Top 10 hit for which they are best remembered, "Those Oldies But Goodies (Remind Me of You)." "Memories Of Those Oldies But Goodies" is a medley of doo wop and R&B tunes that include most of the rest of the songs played on today's show.
- "Over The Mountain; Across The Sea" was a Top 10 hit for Johnnie and Joe in 1957, and this song recharted in 1960. "Over The Mountain; Across The Sea" later also charted for Bobby Vinton in 1963. The Johnnie and Joe duo were Johnnie Louise Richardson and Joe Rivers. "Over The Mountain; Across The Sea" was this duo's only pop hit; they had two other hits on the R&B charts, both in 1957, with "I'll Be Spinning" and "My Baby's Gone, On, On."
- The Cadets 1956 hit, "Stranded In The Jungle," also charted that same year for the Jayhawks and the Gadabouts. The Vibrations (a.k.a. the Jayhawks) recorded a new version of this song which later became a minor hit in 1961 (peaking at only #117). "Stranded In The Jungle" shifts back and forth in the narrative between a girl's old lover whose airplane crashes in the jungle, leaving him stranded and in danger, and her prospective new lover who keeps trying to convince her to forget her old lover. The Cadets were an LA-based group who recorded for two different labels under different names (i.e., as the Cadets for the Modern label, and as the Jacks for the RPM label). As the Jacks, they had one chart hit with "Why Don't You Write Me?" in 1955.
- "Oh What A Nite" was the Dells' R&B chart debut song in 1956. This song was later remade in 1969 (as"Oh, What A Night"), and this later version was a hit on both the Pop/Rock and R&B charts in 1969. The Dells were a long-lived R&B group with a long string of hits on both the R&B (1956-1992) and Rock/Pop charts (1962-1974.
- "Tonite, Tonite" by the Mello-Kings first charted in 1957 and again in 1961. "Tonite, Tonite" was the only charted song for this Mt. Vernon, NY-based doo wop group.
- "Story Untold" by the Nutmegs peaked at #2 on the R&B charts in 1955. This song became a pop hit for the Crew-Cuts that same year and was later also a minor hit for the Emotions (#110/1963) . The Nutmegs had only one other hit (on the R&B charts) with "Ship Of Love" (1955). Although their national chart hits ended in 1955, this New Haven, CT-based group continued to be popular on the East Coast until the mid 1960s, scoring many regional hits with songs they recorded a cappella.
- The noncharting "Heaven And Paradise" by Don Julian and the Meadowlarks was released as a single in 1954/1955 (Dootone 359 b/w "Embarrassing Moments"). Although this song never charted nationally it was a major local hit. The Meadowlarks were founded in LA in the early 1950s. They had many personnel changes over the years and later became known as the Larks. Their best known songs include "The Jerk" (1965).
- "(There'll Be Blue Birds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover" was written in 1941 by Nat Burton and Walter Kent. "The White Cliffs of Dover" is one of the most famous of all the World War II era pop classics. This song topped the charts for Kay Kyser in 1941 and was also a chart hit that same year for Glenn Miller, Kate Smith, Sammy Kaye, and Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra. "The White Cliffs Of Dover" later became a minor hit for both the Robins (#106/1961) and the Righteous Brothers (#118/1966). The Mystics noncharting version of this song was released as a single in 1960 (Laurie 3058 b/w "Blue Star"). The Mystics were a Brooklyn-based doo wop group best remembered for their 1959 chart debut song, "Hushabye." Although their time on the charts was short-lived (starting and ending in 1959), the Mystics continued to perform live for many years thereafter. Their group members included, at various times, Jay Traynor (later of Jay and the Americans) and a young Paul Simon.
- The Flamingos are best remembered for their elegant and ethereal 1959 hit, "I Only Have Eyes For You." This song was written by Harry Warren and Al Dubin and was part of the soundtrack for the 1934 movie musical "Dames" starring Joan Blondell. "I Only Have Eyes For You" became a pop hit for Ben Selvin, Eddy Duchin, and Jane Froman in 1934 and later also charted for the Lettermen (1966), Jerry Butler (1972) and Art Garfunkel (1975). "I Only Have Eyes For You" was also a minor hit for Cliff Richard (#109/1964) and Mel Carter (#104/1974). The Flamingos were formed in Chicago in the early 1950s. Key members included cousins Zeke and Jake Corey, and the group had a number of personnel changes over the years. The Flamingos were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.
- "The Glory Of Love" was the Five Keys' R&B chart topping debut song in 1951. "The Glory Of Love" first topped the charts for Benny Goodman in 1936 and has since then also charted for the Roomates (1961), Don Gardner and Dee Dee Ford (1962), Otis Redding (167), and the Dells (in 1971 on both the R&B and Rock/Pop charts and again in 1975 on the R&B charts). Lenny Welch also had a minor hit with this song as a medley (#110/1970). The Five Keys were a doo wop group from Newport News, VA, and their other best known songs include "Ling, Ting, Tong" (1955) and "Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind" (1956).
- "Love You So," which made the Top 10 in 1960, was Ron Holden's only Billboard Hot 100 chart hit, making him a true one hit wonder. Ron Holden had one other charted song with "Gee, But I'm Lonesome" (1960).
- The Five Satins are best remembered for their 1956 chart debut song, "In The Still Of The Nite" (a.k.a. "In The Still Of The Night/"I'll Remember"). This song recharted for the Five Satins in 1960 and 1961 and later also charted for Santo and Johnny (1964), Paul Anka (1969), and Boyz II Men (1993). The Crests with Johnny Maestro also had a minor hit with this song as "I Remember (In The Still Of The Night)" (#102/1960). The Five Satins included portions of "In The Still Of The Nite" in their 1982 song, "Memories Of Days Gone By," which is another medley of classic doo wop tunes similar to "Memories Of El Monte" and "Memories Of Those Oldies But Goodies" as featured on today's show. "In The Still Of The Nite" was written by Fred Parris who was the lead singer of the Five Satins.
- The Heartbeats are best remembered for "A Thousand Miles Away" which peaked at #5 on the R&B charts in 1957 and also made the Billboard Hot 100 Rock/Pop charts twice (in 1957 and 1960). Members of the Heartbeats included James "Shep" Sheppard who later formed Shep and the Limelites. "A Thousand Miles Away" later also became a minor hit for Santo and Johnny (#122/1964).
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