We’re going to visit some great memories today with the chart-topping ‘60s hits from the Buckinghams. Their original lead guitarist, Carl Giammarese is here to tell us how it all began with their No. 1 Billboard hit, “Kind of a Drag”. They followed that with a string of hits including “Don’t You Care” and “Hey, Baby They’re Playing Our Song”. Billboard Magazine named them “The Most Listened To Band In America” and they went on to play The Ed Sullivan Show, The Smothers Brothers’ Comedy Hour, and American Bandstand. They’re still on the road today and we talk with Carl about the ‘60s and what they’re doing now.
Do you remember the Detroit songwriting team of Holland, Dozier, and Holland. They wrote “Band of Gold” for Freda Payne who is our first guest this week. Freda’s sister, Sherrie became one of the Supremes and her two backup singers started a group called Tony Orlando and Dawn. Second up on this show is a guy who is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, and the Grammy Hall of Fame, Felix Cavaliere of the Rascals. Their Top Ten Hits from the ‘60s included “Groovin’,” “Good Lovin’,” “It’s a Beautiful Morning,” “How Can I Be Sure,” and “People Got To Be Free.”
Most people aren’t aware of what goes on behind the scenes when recording artists try to get their records played on the radio. In the Sixties, we used to call them “promo guys” and this week we’re talking with Jeff Trager, the consummate record promotion man who got all kinds of records played for Ray Charles, Tom Jones, Linda Ronstadt, the Eagles, and the Bee Gees. He’ll talk about that and some of the fundraisers he’s put together to benefit so many causes in the Bay Area.
It may have been one of the most well-known rock interviews of the ‘80s when Dave Sholin and his crew arrived at the Dakota apartments in New York City for a scheduled audience with John and Yoko. After the interview, Dave caught a flight back to the Bay Area and Lennon stopped in the courtyard to autograph a record for a stranger in an overcoat. Later that evening, Dec. 8, 1980, John Lennon was pronounced dead at Roosevelt Hospital. We talk with Dave about Lennon’s last interview and the heady days of radio going all the way back to the Sixties.
Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero started out as an accordion player, but when she changed her name to Connie Francis, the hits just wouldn’t stop coming. With fifteen million sellers and a life story that has more ups and downs than the roller coaster at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, Connie talks about “Who’s Sorry Now”, which she only recorded at her father’s insistence and the many recordings she’s made in fifteen different languages. And her movie roles – remember Angie in Where The Boys Are?