John Twang's most read articles

Michael Jackson recorded a demo called "Al Capone" in 1986 which was finally issued on "Bad 25" the twenty-fifth anniversary of the historic release. This may not sound too much like "Smooth Criminal" but elements involved are strong and became the inspiration. The theme, staccato vocal, rapid fire words and the bass line should be obvious. "Smooth Criminal" was the next step and was recorded for the 1987 Quincy Jones co-produced LP and Grammy winning "Bad". Released as the seventh single fr…

The song "Gidget" (Fred Karger - Patti Washington) is from the 1959 Sandra Dee, James Darren movie of the same name. The first time it's sung in the film is at the start of the story when The Four Preps (lead vocalist Bruce Belland, Ed Cobb, Marv Ingram and Glen Larson) lend their talents along with pianist Lincoln Mayorga. The quartet issued the tune as a B side. The next time it's heard in the motion picture James Darren (Ercolani) sings the song. His version of "Gidget" from "Album No. 1"…

Tanya Tucker's 1972 LP "Delta Dawn" introduced "Soul Song" (George Richey - Norro Wilson - Billy Sherrill). In 1972 this was available on vinyl and eight-track. Co-writer Billy Sherrill produced the entire album. Within months after the initial recording Joe Stampley covered "Soul Song" as the lead single from the album of the same name. The single reached number one on the Country chart and number thirty-seven on the Top One Hundred while reaching higher on other national charts. This was p…

Composer David Pack and his falsetto recorded the LP "The Secret Of Movin' On" in 2005 and included this version of his "Biggest Part Of Me". David is a Grammy winning producer having worked with such varied artists as Chet Atkins, Natalie Cole, Phil Collins, Aretha Franklin, Little Richard, Kenny Loggins, Pointer Sisters, Steve Vai and Trisha Yearwood. In 1980 the Ambrosia (lead vocalist David Pack, Burleigh Drummond, Royce Jones, David Lewis, Christopher North, Joe Puerta and Ernie Watts)…

The 1953 movie Calamity Jane starred Doris Day (Kappelhoff) and Howard (Harry) Keel. The film included the number one and Academy Award winning song "Secret Love" (P.F. Webster - S. Fain). The recording was done in one take. Kathy Kirby's (O'Rourke) cover of "Secret Love" established her career in 1963 when the single peaked at number four in the U.K. and stayed on the chart for five months Billy Stewart released the same passion he gave "Summertime" on "Secret Love" peaking at number el…

Marv Green sings "Wasted" (Marv Green - Troy Verges - Hillary Lindsey) from the LP "Pouring Raindrops Back Into Clouds" which is part of the lyric from the hit. The album contains many of his biggest songwriting successes. The 2005 "Some Hearts" was Carrie Underwood's multi-platinum debut album. The opening track taken as a single from that release, "Wasted" hit the top of the Country chart and peaked at thirty-seven on the Top One Hundred. "Wasted" was being played on radio as an album trac…

"Tangerine" (Victor Schertzinger - Johnny Mercer) was introduced in the Victor Schertzinger directed film "The Fleet's In" starring Williams Holden, Dorothy Lamour and Betty Hutton' in her first movie role. The tune hit number one for the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra with vocalists Bob Eberle and Helen O'Connell who were all featured in the movie. In 1976 the Salsoul Orchestra (New York City session musicians) charted at number eighteen on the Top One Hundred and thirty-six R&B with their disco ve…

Tommy James (Jackson) and the Shondells (Eddie Gray, Peter Lucia, Ron Rosman and Mike Vale) issued "Sugar On Sunday" (Tommy James - Mike Vale) in 1969 on the top ten "Crimson And Clover" album which contained the title hit along with "Crystal Blue Persuasion". Texas group, The Clique (lead vocalist Randy Shaw, Jerry Cope, Dave Dunham, Oscar Houchins, Tom Pena and Sid Templeton) took their version of "Sugar On Sunday" to number twenty-two on Billboard that same year. This single is on their s…

This version of Paul Williams "The Family Of Man" (Paul Williams - Jack Conrad) is from the 1974 LP "A Little Bit Of Love". Three Dog Night's (Danny Hutton, Chuck Negron, Cory Wells) 1972 hit "The Family Of Man" came from the previous year's album "Harmony". The single peaked at number twelve on Billboard and top ten in Canada. The top ten LP "Harmony" spawned "Never Been To Spain", and two Paul Williams hit songs: this and "An Old Fashioned Love Song".

Introduced in the 1942 Betty Grable film "Springtime In The Rockies", in 1943 "I Had The Craziest Dream" (Mack Gordon - Harry Warren) was a chart topper for Harry James and his Orchestra with vocals by Helen Forrest. The audio is edited to include the vocal. Bandleader Harry James later married the film's star Betty Grable. The Skylarks (George Becker, Earl Brown, Jackie Gershwin, Joe Hamilton and Gilda Maikin) released their jazzy version in 1953 and peaked at number twenty-eight on Billboa…

Garde Republicaine de Paris recorded the Romanian "Valurile Dunarii" (English translation: The Waves Of The Danube) (Iosif Ivanovici) on a cylinder in 1898. The composition had been played with great success at the 1889 Paris Exposition. In 1946 "The Jolson Story" included "Anniversary Song" (Al Jolson - Saul Chaplin) with the orchestra conducted by Morris Stoloff. This was Al Jolson's (Asa Yoelson) comeback when he dubbed the singing for actor Larry Parks. Released as a single this reached…

It was Louis Jordan and His Tympani Five (various line-ups) that first recorded "Ain't That Just Like A Woman (They'll Do It Everytime)" (Demetrius - Moore) in 1946 The single topped the R&B chart while peaking at number seventeen on the pop listing. The late, great Fats (Antoine) Domino revived "Ain't That Just Like A Woman" for his album "I Miss You So" in 1961 and took the song to number thirty-three on Billboard. The albumtracks were assembled from various studio sessions between 1958 an…

Ian (Tyson) and Sylvia (Fricker) were first to record "Hey, What About Me" (Scott McKenzie) on the album "Play One More" in 1966. The songwriter, Scott Mckenzie aka Philip Bondheim, is the same artist who hit the next year with the monster recording of "San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair). Grammy winner Anne Murray first recorded "Hey, What About Me" for her debut 1968 Canadian LP of the same name issued on the Arc label. The next year she was signed to Capitol and launched…

"Warm Ride" (Barry - Robin and Maurice Gibb) was written especially for Rare Earth even though the trio started recording the demo for the 1977 "Saturday Night Fever" sessions. This then unreleased demo is from that time and features Barry Gibb as lead vocalist. This was to be the comeback record for Motown's Rare Earth (lead vocals Peter Hoorelbeke, Gil Bridges, Eddie Guzman, Ray Monette, Mark Olson and Mike Urso). From the 1978 album "Band Together" their version of "Warm Ride" peaked at n…

This is the Jackie DeShannon demo of "Heart In Hand" (Jackie DeShannon - Sharon Sheeley). Jackie couldn't have sounded more like Brenda Lee if she tried harder. The composers collaborated on over eighty songs including "The Great Imposter" for the Fleetwoods and "Dum Dum", another hit for Brenda Lee. Sharon and husband Jimmy O'Neil created the ABC television hit "Shindig" while Jackie went on to a legendary music career. Brenda Lee (Tarpley) recorded "Heart In Hand" as a single in 1962 reach…

At the start of filming "The High And The Mighty" in 1953 Dimitri Tiomkin was commissioned to write the movie's score and a theme. After composing the basic melody Dimitri requested help from veteran Ned Washington. The theme to "The High And The Mighty" (Dimitri Tiomkin - Ned Washington) was a reality. Dimitri won the Academy Award for his score. Warner Brothers brought the tune to pianist, saxophonist, bandleader and singer Les Baxter and his issue of "The High And The Mighty" was released…