Articles by John Twang

Alberta born Joni Mitchell (Roberta Anderson) wrote and recorded "Big Yellow Taxi" and charted with the single from the "Ladies of the Canyon" album. (from a 1996 interview with the Los Angeles Times): "I wrote 'Big Yellow Taxi' on my first trip to Hawaii. I took a taxi to the hotel and when I woke up the next morning, I threw back the curtains and saw these beautiful green mountains in the distance. Then, I looked down and there was a parking lot as far as the eye could see, and it broke my hea…

The song was originally created as "Leningrad Nights" in 1955 but at the request of the Soviet Ministry of Culture, the lyrics were changed along with the title to "Evenings in Moscow". In 1956, it was recorded by Vladimir Troshin, a young actor of the Moscow Art Theatre. The British jazz group, Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen, had a hit with the song in 1961 under the title "Midnight in Moscow". This version peaked at number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1962; in March that ye…

Andy Kim and Jeff Barry composed and produced "Sugar, Sugar" for the Archies television show. Here is the Andy Kim version as co-composer. This is the product of a group of studio musicians managed by Don Kirshner. Ron Dante's lead vocals were accompanied by those of Toni Wine (who sang the line "I'm gonna make your life so sweet"), and Andy Kim. Together they provided the voices of the Archies using multitracking.

"Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots" was a teenage tragedy song that was a top-ten hit for The Cheers (Bert Convy, Sue Allen and Gil Garfild) in the fall of 1955. The Cheers members included Bert Convy who would later be the host of Tattletales. The Leiber and Stoller tune was covered successfully by The Diamonds (Dave Sommerville, Ted Kowalski, Bill Reed and Phil Levitt) and appears on their greatest hits cd.

John Denver (Deutschendorf) wrote "Leaving on a Jet Plane" in 1966. The original title of the song was "Babe, I Hate to Go" but Denver's then producer Milt Okun convinced him to change the title. That same year, Denver chose this song along with others and, with his own money, had 250 copies pressed onto vinyl. He distributed the copies to friends and family. Peter, Paul and Mary were so impressed with the song that they chose to record it themselves and released it on their 1967 Album 1700.…

When Connie Francis signed for the movie "Where the Boys Are" she contacted Neil Sedaka for a suitable song as they had composed her hit "Stupid Cupid". The original recording of "where the Boys Are" (Sedaka - Greenfield) was recorded July 12, 1960 in Hollywood and was used only when combined to medleys with the overture and closing credits scores. Other than Connie, Paula Prentiss, Frank Gorshin, Yvette Mimieux and George Hamilton were in the cast. This is the Neil Sedaka demo. Connie Franci…

According to wikipedia "American Woman" (Bachman, Cummings, Kale, Peterson) originated with a live jam at a curling rink concert in Waterloo, Ontario. Winnipeg group The Guess Who (Randy Bachman, Burton Cummings, Garry Peterson, Donnie McDougall and Bill Wallace) was rushing into the second set and began improvising a rhythm to liven up the crowd. Burton Cummings, the lead singer, began improvising lyrics to fit the music. They liked what they had played and noticed a kid with a cassette recorde…

"Easy to be hard" was sung by Jill O'Hara as Sheila in the off-Broadway performance of Hair. This tribal-rock musical was a definite award winner: 1968 Best Musical Tony, 1969 Grammy for best score for an original cast show album and in 2009 the revival won a total of eight Tonys. The title tune, Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In, Good Morning Starshine and Easy to be Hard all originated here. Written by Galt MacDermot, James Rado, and Gerome Ragni "Easy to be Hard" by Three Dog Night, (vocalists…

"When Will I Be Loved" was written by Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers (Don and Phil), who had a number eight hit with it in the summer of1960. Chet Atkins is on guitar and Floyd Cramer on piano. On the "Heart Like a Wheel" album Linda Maria Ronstadt covered the song in 1975 as a follow-up single to "You're No Good" and her version was a bigger hit peaking at number two. In 2011, she announced her retirement. In August 2013, she revealed that she has Parkinson's disease, and "can no longer…

Van Morrison and "Them" issued "Gloria" as the B side of the Joe Williams classic and Bert Berns production "Baby, Please Don't Go" in 1964. The Shadows of Knight (Jim Sohns, Warren Rogers, Norm Gotsch, David Wolinski and Tom Schiffour), released "Gloria" as their first album in 1966. In 1965 the single hit the top ten. Many Chicago natives refer to the group as one of the original punk bands.…

In the forties Eve Young was a big band singer with the likes of Benny Goodman. In 1952 Karen Chandler aka Eve Young (Eve Nadauld) peaked at number five with "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" (Harry Noble). She was married to noted arranger Jack Pleis. Discovered by Quincy Jones, Mel Carter reached the top of the Adult Contemporary chart and number eight on the Top One Hundred in 1965.

Chuck Berry's "Thirty Days (to get you back home)" got to number two on the R&B chart in 1955. Say what you will about this man, he came up with some great early rock and roll. He came from Arkansas and settled in Ontario, Canada where he built a mighty following. From his album "Ronnie Hawkins" "Forty Days" peaked at number forty-five in 1959 and is still played today on Canadian oldies radio stations. His versions of Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love" and "Hey, Bo Diddley" are simply marvels t…

Freddy Fender (Baldemar Huerta) recorded "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights" (B. Huerta - W. Duncan) on the Duncan label in 1959. He was known as a member of The Texas Tornados (Doug Sahm, Flaco Jiménez, and Augie Meyers) and Los Super Seven (Los Lobos' David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas, Flaco Jiménez, Ruben Ramos, Joe Ely, and country singer Rick Trevino). South of the border he was known as "Baldy Huerta", "El Be-Bop Kid" and "Eddie Con Los Shades". The hit "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights" (Freddy F…

In 1965 Carl Belew was first to record "Crystal Chandelier" (Ted Harris) and took the song to number twelve on the country chart. It's on the album "Am I That Easy To Forget". Composer Ted Harris received a Grammy nomination for the song that year. Vic Dana (interesting details elsewhere) got to number fourteen on the Easy Listening chart and fifty-one on the pop chart with his 1965 cover. It's from the album of the same name. Although it unbelievably never charted and wasn't released as…

In 1969 Roger Miller released a self-titled album and was the first to record "Me and Bobby McGee" (Kris Kristofferson - Fred Foster). The tune got to number twelve on the country chart. Sheb (Shelby) Wooley was first to teach Roger guitar chords. Rhodes Scholar, U.S. Army Captain, helicopter pilot, composer, actor and Columbia Studio janitor Kris Kristofferson presents one of many versions recorded by him. Kris received the American Veteran of the Year Award in 2003. Recorded just days be…

Lys Assia's "O Mein Papa" (Paul Burkard) was written for the 1939 Swiss musical "Der Schwarze Hecht" (The Black Pike). In 1954 the musical became the film "Feuerwerk" (Fireworks) starring Lilli Palmer. "The Man With the Golden Trumpet" Eddie Calvert topped the U.K. chart and peaked at number ten in the U.S. with his 1954 instrumental. The composer's name was misspelled "Oh, Mein Papa" (Burchart). Eddie Fisher with Hugo Winterhalter's Orchestra had the smash vocal hit the same year as "Oh!…

In 1995 "Brill Building Legends" hit the stores and it included this Carole King demo. Dion (DiMucci) and the Del Satins' (Stan Zizka, Leslie Cauchi, Keith Koestner, Fred Ferrara and Tom Ferrara) original "Take Good Care Of My Baby" (Carole King - Gerry Goffin) was issued in 1961 as a track on the album "Runaround Sue" but it wasn't released as a single. "The Wanderer" and "The Majestic" were on the same l.p. Bobby Vee (Velline) topped the charts with the cover from the 1961 album of the sa…

In 1946 Kentuckian Merle Travis recorded the album "Folk Songs of the Hills" and here you will find the first recorded version of "Sixteen Tons" (Travis). Who actually wrote the song is in dispute. The Merle Travis finger picking style on guitar is still around today having influenced Chet Atkins and Scotty Moore. Although it was perfected by Leo Fender, Merle designed the first solid-body electric guitar. "The old pea picker" and American icon Tennessee Ernie Ford topped the Country and Pop…