The "Insane World Of Mike Sain" airs every Wednesday at 9:00 AM Eastern Time on WPON-AM 1460 Detroit. Today's theme was "Actors And Actresses Who Also Sang" which featured songs by actors, actresses, comedians, ex-boxers, and other celebs who had an occasional pop hit. Mike kicked off today's show with Red Skelton's "Pledge Of Allegiance" in honor of Flag Day which is today. Mike also shared some of his memories of his meeting Soupy Sales (one of this show's featured artists) as a child and being nicknamed "Bird Bath" by the comedic icon.
- The Pledge of Allegiance - Red Skelton - 1969
- Out Of The Picture - Marcia Strassman - 1967
- Rawhide - Elwood And Jake - 1980
- Stand By Me - Cassius Clay - 1964
- Hey Pearl - Soupy Sales - 1965
- Young Love - Tab Hunter - 1957
- Hullabaloo - Joey Heatherton - 1964
- There Is a Tavern In the Town - Wally Cox - 1953
- Make Yourself Comfortable - Andy Griffith - 1955
- Are You the Boy? - Tuesday Weld - 1960
- The Ballad of Thunder Road - Robert Mitchum - 1958, 1962 (remake)
- Mama Sang A Song - Walter Brennan - 1962
Notes:
- Comedian Red Skelton is best remembered for his variety show, "The Red Skelton Show" (1951-1971). He had one chart hit in 1969 with "The Pledge Of Allegiance" which he presented on his show that same year. In this number, Skelton recites and comments on the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance with "Red's White And Blue March" playing in the background.
- "Out Of The Picture" by Marcia Strassman was the B-side of her only charting song, "The Flower Children," which barely made the charts (peaking at only #105 in 1967). "Out Of The Picture" is included on the hard-to-find CD, "The Girl Group Sound: Volume 3." Marcia Strassman is a singer and actress best known for her role as the low-key wife of "Gabe Kotter" on the 1970s TV sitcom, "Welcome Back, Kotter."
- John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd first performed as "Joliet" Jake and Elwood Blues on "Saturday Night Live" in the 1970s. They later co-starred in the 1980 movie, "The Blues Brothers," which also featured Ray Charles, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, and several other oldies icons. Belushi and Aykroyd also had several chart hits under the "Blues Brothers" name from 1978-1981. Their noncharting "Rawhide" as heard this morning was one of several numbers they performed in the 1980 movie. "Rawhide" was written by Ned Washington and Dimitri Tiomkin and was the theme for the TV show "Rawhide."
- The former world champion heavyweight boxer Cassius Clay changed his name to Muhammed Ali in 1966. Before then, he went by his real name, Cassius Clay, and recorded under that name. His rare rendition of the oldies classic, "Stand By Me," which is sung, and its flip side, "I Am The Greatest," which is mostly rap, both made the charts in 1964 but just barely (peaking at only #102 and #113, respectively).
- Soupy Sales had one chart hit in 1965 with "The Mouse." His noncharting "Hey Pearl" was included on his 1965 album, "Soupy Sales Sez Do The Mouse" (ABC-Paramount ABC-517). Soupy Sales started out in radio then began doing television shows in 1950 in Cincinnati. His TV career took off in 1953 when he moved to Detroit and became that city's top-rated TV personality throughout most of the rest of the 1950s. Pie throwing was a regular feature on Soupy Sales's shows and in the course of his career he was reportedly hit with over 25,000 pies. Many of his guests, which included such big names as Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis, and Sammy Davis, Jr., were also on the receiving end of his flying pies.
- Movie star-1950s teen idol Tab Hunter is best remembered for his role as "Joe Hardy" in the 1958 movie, "Damn Yankees!" Since his debut in 1950 in "The Lawless," he has appeared in over 70 films to date. From 1957-1959, Hunter also had a string of hits on the pop charts and he debuted with his chart topping "Young Love" as heard this morning. "Young Love" is an oldies classic made famous by Sonny James who also topped the charts that same year with this song. "Young Love" later also became a hit for the Crew-Cuts (1957), Lesley Gore (1966), Donny Osmond (1973), and Ray Stevens (1976).
- Singer, dancer, and actress Joey Heatherton began her show business career in the 1950s onstage in New York as one of the children in "The Sound of Music." In the 1960s, she was always on TV and appeared in many variety shows, commercials, and TV dramas. She also toured with Bob Hope on his USO tours. In the early 1970s, she had two chart hits, "Gone" (1972) and "I'm Sorry" (1973). Prior to that, she had also released some singles on the Coral Records and Decca labels in the 1960s. Her rare and noncharting "Hullabaloo" as heard this morning was released in 1964 as a single (Coral 9-62459 b/w "My Blood Runs Cold") and is included on the hard-to-find CD, "Girls, Girls, Girls: Volume 7."
- "There Is A Tavern In The Town" and its flip side, "What A Crazy Guy (Dufo)" were both hits in 1953 for Detroit-born Wally Cox. This comedian-character actor is best remembered for his TV and movie roles as the nerdy, timid man with horn-rimmed glasses. He began his TV career in the 1940s and starred in many TV series throughout the 1950s. He was a regular on "Hollywood Squares" from 1966 until his death in 1973 and was the voice behind the "Underdog" cartoon character.
- Andy Griffith, who is best known for his starring roles in "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Matlock," has a long career in TV, the movies, and Broadway going back to the 1950s. He is also a fine singer and has released many gospel albums over the years. The only songs of his that made the pop charts were several comedy skits from 1954-1955 that include "Make Yourself Comfortable" (1955) as heard this morning. In this number, a woman (Jean Wilson) sings a song with Andy piping in with wisecrack remarks about the song's lyrics.
- Actress Tuesday Weld made her film debut in 1956 with "Rock, Rock, Rock" and appeared in many more films through the early 1970s, including the diabolical "Pretty Poison" (1968) in which she co-starred with Anthony Perkins. Since then, she went on to make many highly acclaimed made-for-TV movies. She never had a chart hit but in 1960, she released a single, "Are You The Boy?"(b/w "All Through Spring and Summer", Plaza 508). This rarely-heard song is on the hard-to-find compilation CD, "Ultra Chicks Vol 4 Baby Pop!"
- Famous movie star and leading man Robert Mitchum made many movies from 1943 until his death in 1997. He also had two songs that made the pop charts, "Little Old Wine Drinker Me" (1967) and "The Ballad Of Thunder Road" (1958, 1962 remake) as heard this morning. "The Ballad Of Thunder Road" was part of the soundtrack for the 1958 movie, "Thunder Road," starring Mitchum.
- Walter Brennan was a well known character actor with a long career in both the movies and TV. He is best remembered for his role as "Grandpa" in the TV series, "The Real McCoys." In the early 1960s, Brennan made a splash on the pop charts with "Dutchman's Gold" (1960), "Old Rivers" (1962), and "Mama Sang A Song" (1962) as heard this morning. All of these numbers are spoken by Brennan against an instrumental musical background. "Mama Sang A Song" also charted in 1962 for both Stan Kenton and Bill Anderson.
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