The "Insane World Of Mike Sain" airs every Wednesday at 9:00 AM Eastern Time on WPON-AM 1460 Detroit except for today (Thursday, June 29, 2006) because Mike just returned from vacation. This morning, he featured songs with both instrumental and vocal versions and played both versions of each song back-to-back.
- Sleep Walk - Santo And Johnny - 1959
- Sleep Walk - Betsy Brye - 1959
- I Should Have Known Better (instrumental version) - The Beatles - 1964
- I Should Have Known Better (sung version) - The Beatles - 1964
- No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach's In) - The T-Bones - 1966
- No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach's In) - Don Lee Wilson - 1966
- Goldfinger - John Barry And His Orchestra - 1965
- Goldfinger - Shirley Bassey - 1965
- The "In" Crowd - Ramsey Lewis Trio - 1965 (by request)
- The "In" Crowd - Dobie Gray - 1965
- East Side Sound - Bob Seger And The Last Heard - 1966 (by request)
- East Side Story - Bob Seger And The Last Heard - 1966 (by request)
- Limbo Rock - The Champs - 1962
- Limbo Rock - Chubby Checker - 1962
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Notes:
- Santo & Johnny were a duo of guitar-playing brothers, Santo and Johnny Farina. They are famous for their dreamy instrumental hit, "Sleep Walk," which topped the charts in 1959. This song later also charted for Larry Carlton as an instrumental in 1982. Santo & Johnny's "Sleep Walk" was originally used as the opening theme song for the "Insane World Of Mike Sain." With Ann Farina and Don Wolf, Santo and Johnny Farina co-wrote a sung version of this song which has been covered by various artists including the Supremes and Betsy Brye.
- Betsy Brye was born Bette Anne Steele in Richmond, VA ca. 1933. She started singing on the radio as a child and began her career as a big band and jazz vocalist. She toured with the Buddy Morrow Orchestra and recorded for RCA, Capital Records and ABC-Paramount. Around 1957, she started recording for Canadian-American and became known as Betsy Brye. She released several records under that name and made many live concert and TV appearances through the early 1960s. Betsy Brye's rare and noncharting sung version of "Sleep Walk" as played this morning was released as a single in 1959 (US: Canadian-American 106 and UK: Columbia 4350, b/w "Daddy Daddy (Gotta Get A Phone In My Room)"). This song is included on the CD, Hey! Look What I Found, Vol. 5. (Click here for more info on Betsy Brye (Bette Anne Steele).)
- The Beatles recorded both instrumental and sung versions of "I Should Have Known Better" which were played back-to-back this morning. Both songs are on their 1964 album, "A Hard Day's Night: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" (United Artists UAL-3366 and UAS-6366). The sung version of "I Should Have Known Better" became a hit in 1964 along with its flip side, the chart-topping "A Hard Day's Night." George Martin also had a minor hit that same year with an instrumental version of "I Should Have Known Better" (which peaked at only #122).
- The T-Bones are best remembered for their 1966 smash instrumental hit, "No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach's In)." This song's melody is from the famous "Alka Seltzer" TV commercials from the late 1960s. The T-Bones were a trio of members Danny Hamilton, Joe Frank Carollo, and Tommy Reynolds. They started out as an instrumental studio group and then, in the early 1970s, they became a vocal group and renamed themselves Hamilton, Joe Frank, and Reynolds (of "Don't Pull Your Love" fame).
- Don Lee Wilson was a member of the Ventures (of "Walk - Don't Run" fame). His rare and noncharting "No Matter What Shape" is a spoken/sung cover of the T-Bones' famous 1966 instrumental hit. It was released as a single in 1966 (Liberty 55862 b/w "Angel"). WIlson also released several other noncharting singles in the mid 1960s that included "Tell Laura I Love Her" (Imperial 66064) and "Feel So Fine" (Imperial 66091).
- Film music composer and conductor John Barry wrote most of the music for the James Bond movies, including the title song for "Goldfinger." His own instrumental version of "Goldfinger" charted in 1965, but the best known version of this song is the one by Shirley Bassey as also heard this morning. Billy Strange, Jack LaForge, and Jimmy Smith also charted in 1965 with instrumental versions of "Goldfinger." Besides the James Bond movies, John Barry has also written scores for numerous other films and TV series. His many honors include five Academy Awards.
- Welsh-born R&B singer Shirley Bassey is best known for her 1965 smash hit, "Goldfinger," which was the title song from the 1964 James Bond movie. She also sang the title songs for "Diamonds Are Forever" (1971) and "Moonraker" (1979) as well as many non-007-related movies, including "There's Something About Mary" (1998).
- R&B jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis headed a jazz trio best remembered for their instrumental versions of well known songs by other artists. They had a string of hits from 1964-1975 that included "Hang On Sloopy" (1965), "A Hard Day's Night" (1966), and their smash hit, "The 'In' Crowd" (1965), as played this morning. Dobie Gray also had a hit in 1965 with a sung version of "The 'In' Crowd."
- Pop-R&B-country singer Dobie Gray is best remembered for his smash hit, "Drift Away" (1973, 2003 remake), and "The 'In' Crowd" (1965) as heard this morning. He had many other hits on the Pop/Rock charts from 1963-1979 that also included the original version of "Rose Garden" (1969), later made famous by Lynn Anderson. Gray then went country with several Country chart hits from 1986-1987. In the late 1960s, he was a member of the L.A. production of "Hair."
- Michigan-born Bob Seger (of "Like A Rock" fame) started out in the early 1960s playing mostly garage band hard rock. Seger's raw and edgy "East Side Story" was his first single and it became a big hit locally in the Detroit area. "East Side Story" was credited to "Bob Seger and the Last Heard" and released in 1966 b/w "East Side Sound," an instrumental version of "East Side Story" (Cameo-Parkway 438). Both songs were played back to back this morning. "East Side Sound" is on the CD, Buzz Buzz Buzzzzzz, Vol. 1. "East Side Story" is included on the CD, Cameo Parkway 1957-1967. Both songs are also on the hard-to-find CD, "Bob Seger: The Early Years 1966-1974."
- The Champs were a rock instrumental band best remembered for "Tequila" which topped both the R&B and Pop/Rock charts in 1958. Both "Limbo Rock" and its flip side, "Tequila Twist," were hits for the Champs in 1962. Chubby Checker also had a hit that same year with a sung version of "Limbo Rock" as heard this morning.
- Both "Limbo Rock" and its flip side, "Popeye The Hitchhiker," were Top 10 hits for Chubby Checker in 1962. Chubby Checker is famous for "The Twist" which topped the charts in both 1960 and 1962 and set off a dance craze in the early 1960s.
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