This is the ninth edition of Diamonds In The Rough, the Special Feature that gives newer visitors to the GMC the chance to see some of our favorite posts from the past. Come to think of it, our regulars might want to take another look at these too. Sometimes things are just as much fun … Continue reading Diamonds In The Rough – Part IX
Category: Oldies
Bill Justis – A Rock And Roll Pioneer
Most of us know about Sun Records in Memphis, and how stars like Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash and Charlie Rich worked there in the early years -- as did a guy named Elvis. But another Sun veteran isn't quite as well remembered, and yet Bill Justis had a pretty good career too, … Continue reading Bill Justis – A Rock And Roll Pioneer
Anatomy Of A Song – Differing Styles But Same Song
It's about time we had another edition of our oldest Special Feature, Anatomy of a Song, so here we go. Today's choice was popular with fans in two different eras although it had a contrasting style in each. It began life in the mid-1940s as a movie love song that was perfect for crooners, but … Continue reading Anatomy Of A Song – Differing Styles But Same Song
The Shepherd Sisters Were The Real Thing
Unlike a lot of other sibling singing groups, the Shepherd Sisters were all real-life sisters. And even though the ladies had only one true hit record -- "Alone (Why Must I Be Alone)" in 1957 -- they managed to stick around for a number of years, during which they generated several dozen records, made countless … Continue reading The Shepherd Sisters Were The Real Thing
Rooftop Singers Peaked Early
Those of us who were around at the time might remember that the decade of the 1960s was one that saw a lot of different types of music bouncing around. One of the most popular was folk music, some of it highly political but much of it just light and irresistibly addictive to listeners. That … Continue reading Rooftop Singers Peaked Early
Diamonds In The Rough — Part VIII
Welcome to the eighth edition of Diamonds in the Rough, the Special Feature that offers links to a variety of posts from the past that I think you might find interesting. They're definitely some of my favorites, but then that's kind of the whole idea. Regular visitors to the GMC might recognize a few of … Continue reading Diamonds In The Rough — Part VIII
The Detergents Spoofed The Shangri-Las
I've always enjoyed a good 'answer' or 'response' song, a special type of piece that's sometimes put together following a hit record. It's something that has always been especially popular in country music -- examples include records by Goldie Hill and Kitty Wells -- but it occurs in pop music too. One of the cleverest … Continue reading The Detergents Spoofed The Shangri-Las
The Other Four Seasons – The Sandpipers
I would imagine that most regular visitors to the GMC, when reading a headline about a 1960s group called the Four Seasons, would immediately think of Frankie Valli and his Jersey boys. But there was another group around in those days that called itself the Four Seasons, at least for a while. In spite of … Continue reading The Other Four Seasons – The Sandpipers
Five-Star Favs – A New Special Feature
Welcome to the first edition of a new GMC Special Feature that I'm calling Five-Star Favs. Here's the scoop: like many of the folks who have a lot of music on their computer, I use the 'rating' capability of my media player (MusicBee - highly recommended) to assign each song a value of one to … Continue reading Five-Star Favs – A New Special Feature
The Elegants Struck Gold With A Star
As I said in a recent post, I've changed my thinking about the use of the term 'one-hit wonder'. I know that it's always been meant as a put-down and I'm sure it's perceived as such by the artist, but it doesn't have to be. After all, they've achieved something that countless others haven't -- … Continue reading The Elegants Struck Gold With A Star
Geezer Music Club 