Although Delbert McClinton had been performing for decades, his only Top 40 hit came about in late 1980 with his single “Giving it up for your Love.” The song peaked at #8 in early 1981 about the time I left Huntington, WV for Beckley, WV to work at WCIR-FM. The song was in “A” or hot rotation when I started working at the station on February 16.
This particular single features the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section who co-produced this recording with Barry Beckett. Other claims to McClinton’s fame included playing harmonica on Bruce Channel’s number one hit “Hey! Baby”; the instrument is prominently featured on the recording. Additionally, McClinton tutored John Lennon on the harmonica.
Like his cousin Kenny Loggins, Dave Loggins got his start as a songwriter before branching out on his own. One of his earlier successes was penning “Pieces of April’ for Three Dog Night. Unfortunately, Dave Loggins only had one solo hit: 1974’s “Please Come to Boston.”
Besides being covered by numerous other artists, it was nominated for the Grammy for the “Best Male Pop Performance.” Besides charting at the #5 slot for two weeks, it also was a #1 record on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart. It had similar success in Canada placing at #4 on the singles chart and at #2 as an adult contemporary recording.
From what I remember, most people I knew at the time liked the song. I was at home on summer break when it came out and remember my coworkers’ discussions comparing his style to his more famous cousin. The song was unprecedented for being nearly four minutes in length for an unknown artist’s first release. I always assumed that the “man from Tennessee” was a reference to Elvis.
Although this was Loggins only solo hit, he went back to songwriting for a number of other artists such as Kenny Rogers, Gary Morris, Alabama, Wynonna Judd, Don Williams, Anne Murray, Restless Heart, Toby Keith, David Allen Coe, and Reba McEntire.
Although I can’t be sure, it sounds like one of the guitars used on this cut used Nashville tuning which is called high-strung tuning. This is achieved by using the E, A, D, and G octave strings of a 12-string guitar set on a 6 string acoustic guitar instead of the standard set of guitar strings. The B and high E strings are the same as standard tuning.
With nearly 20 feet of snow on the ground, it’s hard to believe that it is Halloween 2012. I always like to feature a Halloween related tune on this auspicious occasion that fits in the daily schedule. I’ve hit most of the Halloween one hit wonders, but there are a couple left.
Originally recorded by Johnny Fuller in 1958, Jumpin’ Gene Simmons released his version of
“Haunted House” in 1964. The songs entered the Top 40 charts on August 29, 1964 and ironically Simmons died on the same date 42 years later. It peaked at #11 and was Simmons only Top 40 hit.
Impressed by the rockabilly artist, a young man born Chaim Weitz and who later changed his name to Eugene Klein and then officially to Gene Klein, eventually took Simmons’ name for his own stage persona. Although the Kiss bassist is legally named Gene Klein, he is best known as Gene Simmons.
While its different musically, the beginning of Greg Guidry’s one hit wonder “Goin’ Down” with the electric piano and bass reminds me of The Alan Parsons Project’s “Wouldn’t Want to Be Like You.” That is where the similarities end, as it is a fairly typical pop song. I like the limited use of the vibra-slap in the intro.
This 1982 hit charted at #17 and came from his album “Over the Line.” Guidry had an untimely end – his charred body was found in his car in his garage. His death was determined to be a suicide.
Going back to 1971, Jonathan Edwards’ one-hit wonder that might not have happened. Because a studio engineer accidentally erased a song titled “Please Find Me” which was slated for release on Edwards’ self-titled debut album, Edwards recorded a new song, “Sunshine,” as a replacement track.
The lyrics comprise a clandestine anti-war message that most people will not recognize because of its subtlety. The song broke out of Edwards’ hometown of Boston as an album cut and was eventually released as a single which peaked at #4 in January 1972.
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While synthesist Paul Hardcastle had several hits in the UK, his US one-hit wonder was the anti-war song “19” that charted on Billboard’s Hot 100 at #15 in 1985. The title was taken from the first line of the narration that the “in World War II the average age of a combat soldier was 26 – in Vietnam, he was 19.”
Dealing with the topic of Vietnam War veterans who returned with post traumatic stress disorder, it was somewhat controversial in the US, and the song was slow to chart. I was one of the programmers at the time that waited to add the record due to the subject matter. It was only after MTV made the single a hit that I reluctantly added the record and it began its slow ascent up the radio charts.
The artist and the author in Atlanta - 1985
That was not the case in the clubs as it was a number one dance record in the US, as well as being a number one hit in the UK, Austria, Germany, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. In Canada, it peaked at #2. In 1985, the pain of the Vietnam War still lingered in the US and it was not as popular as elsewhere in the world. In non-English speaking countries, the original narration was re-recorded in the national language, which made an easier path for success elsewhere.
The narration came from a 1984 ABC documentary, “Vietnam Requiem,” that dealt with the post traumatic stress disorder with which many Vietnam vets were still coping in the 1980s. ABC sued Hardcastle for his use of the narration, but was unsuccessful in the litigation. I would have thought that ABC could have won this case as others with lesser amount of usage set the precedence. The narrator was Peter Thomas who at 88 still narrates the TV shows “Nova,” “Forensic Files,” and “Medical Detectives.” His voice has also been used for numerous TV commercials spanning several decades.
Following the success of “19,” his former US label, Profile Records, re-released the instrumental single “Rainforest,” which charted the second time at #57. It failed to chart in the US when it was initially released in 1984. You occasionally hear “Rainforest” on the Weather Channel.
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There are songs and there are songs. Emerson, Lake, & Palmer’s “From the Beginning” is in the latter category. From their fourth album “Trilogy,” 1972’s “From the Beginning” was their only top 40 hit in the US and therefore, it is a one hit wonder – just barely as it only peaked at 39.
I know people will take exception to the categorization of ELP being a one hit wonder, but the definition of the category is an artist who only has had one single to chart within the Top 40. No matter how popular a band or its songs may be, if it didn’t chart in the Top 40, it is not categorized as a mainstream hit.
ELP only had three other songs chart within the Top 100: “Lucky Man” at 48, “Nutrocker” at 70, and “C’est La Vie” at 91. Despite their lack of chart success, they remain one of my favorite progressive rock bands – a genre sometimes called classical rock or art rock back in the day.
Greg Lake shines on this number. He is playing umpteen guitars (several acoustics – and perhaps a 12-string), at least two electric guitars, and bass. I love the bass track on this recording. Carl Palmer is on drums and percussion. While Palmer plays the toms in concert by using mallets, I believe he is also playing congas on this track.
Arriving late in the tune is Keith Emerson doing one of his signature Moog synthesizer leads. One thing bothered me about this lead as that at the end he hangs on the “A” note four times before dropping an octave and repeating the “A” note all over again for five times only an octave lower. Not that I really disliked it, but I was wanting more – but as the old musical adage often rings true, “less is more.”
The song reminds me of 1977 when Jon Weiner and I performed it live during an open stage at The Portfolio on South Craig Street in Pittsburgh. I played my red España acoustic guitar while Jon did the synth parts on his ‘cello.
I learned the guitar parts from a guy by the name of Mike out of Ashland, KY. Unfortunately, I don't remember his name. He showed me this and the Allman Brothers' "Little Martha." I didn’t learn until recently, that I learned the wrong chords inversions for "From the Beginning"; however, the chords were correct and easier to play than the way Greg plays them. I never learned the guitar intro, but started playing where the single edit begins.
Greg Lake Version Live Version from 2005
Here’s a nice alternative version by Greg Lake. It is a slightly different arrangement with different instrumentation. I like the female backup vocalists – they give the song a dreamy timbre. I prefer Lake’s lead on the original to this version – it sounds too much like Peter Frampton with the auto-wah effect – not that there is anything wrong with that.
The keyboard starts out mimicking Keith Emerson’s lead, but switches to an electric piano sound that reminds me of Brian Auger. I learned something from this version – there was a line in the song that I could never quite understand it – so I sang, “The very latest.” It never made sense to me, but today after listening the first time, I finally understood what he was singing – “But there it is.” Duh. This is a very nice version, but I still prefer the original ’72 release.
Does the name “The Fabulous Thunderbirds” ring a bell? I would hope at least you might remember their one-hit wonder from 1986 “Tuff Enuff” – the title cut from the album of the same name. When CBS Records promoted this single, they did so from the angle that the guitarist, Jimmie Vaughan, was the brother of guitar great Stevie Ray Vaughan. Stevie Ray also recorded for CBS Records’ Epic label.
While the band’s strength was attributed to Jimmie Vaughan’s connection to his brother, lead singer Kim Wilson was no slouch and his vocals on “Tuff Enuff” are a testimony of his talent. In addition, the song’s popularity was aided by its usage in three 1986 films: “Gung Ho,” “The Naked Cage,” and “Tough Guys.” Subsequently, it also was used in 1991’s “Ricochet” and 2007’s “The Game Plan.” The single and album were produced by veteran rocker Dave Edmunds.
The single was issued on CBS Associated Records – a short-lived label that had several well known artists including ELO, Slade, Ozzy Osbourne, Joe Walsh, Gino Vannelli, and Kansas. It also was home for lesser known artists Chris Jasper, Bertie Higgins, Kids at Work, and Henry Lee Summer. When Jimmie Vaughan left The Fabulous Thunderbirds and teamed up for his more famous brothers, they recorded for CBS Associated under the moniker The Vaughan Brothers.
“Tuff Enuff” may have been the biggest charting single in the label’s entire history peaking at #10 on the Hot 100 and at #4 on the Mainstream Rock chart. Other top contenders included ELO’s “Calling America” at #18 and Slade’s “Run Runaway” at #20. While I don’t remember the reason for the label’s creation, I think it was an effort to combine all of CBS’ minor labels into one. At one point there were numerous labels being managed by Epic/CBS Records.
In 1986, CBS discontinued the Portrait Records label with Epic remaining their star label of the Epic/CBS division. While Columbia Records was a CBS owned label, it was run as a separate operation. Sony purchased both CBS Records divisions in 1988 and in 2009 it merged the two into one as the Columbia/Epic Label Group. By 2011, Sony spun Epic off again as a division separate from Columbia Records. And the rest they say is history.
In addition, I used to sing back in 1986 and 87 in a band called The Game. I also played the repeating one note keyboard parts on my Sequential Circuits Pro-One synthesizer. They synth had a nice repeat function that I used on this song as well as in an earlier incarnation of the same band on the Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me Baby.” The synth also had an arpeggiate function and a simple quarter note sequencer. All could be used to create unique synthesizer patterns.
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Today’s one-hit wonder is a single that became more popular after it charted than when it peaked on Billboard’s Hot 100 in December 1966. The late in the year release date probably hampered the sales and airplay of J.J. Jackson’s hit “But It’s Alright.” Typically when a single moves up the chart during December, it is the kiss of death – or at least it was.
At least when I was in radio, Christmas music dominated the airwaves during December and the record industry grinded to a screeching halt. Apparently, that is what happened to Jackson. By the time January 1967 turned the page on the calendar, “But it’s Alright” was a distant memory in recurrent rotation if it was that lucky. Case in point -- the single only peaked at 22.
It is difficult to believe that this song, which was a dance classic in the 60s and later and an oldies radio favorite, failed to break into the Top 20. Records that performed much better and gained more airplay than “But it’s Alright” have taken a back seat on oldies radio to Jackson's one-hit wonder. When I was doing mobile DJ work in the 80s and 90s, this tune was guaranteed to fill the dance floor once the beginning guitar chords pumped through the speakers.
Recorded in Great Britain, the single featured some the UK’s best jazz musicians including Terry Smith on guitar, Dick Morrissey on sax, and John Marshall on drums. All three later became part of Jackson’s touring band. The song also evokes the memory of marching bands at a Friday night high school football game with the simple sounds of a glockenspiel. Add a key change and the right channel reverb and what more could you want?
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For One-Hit Wonder Wednesday, here’s a little psychedelia from 1969 with the little known Texas band “Bubble Puppy.” It is said that they took their name from a game in Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” known as “Centrifugal Bumble-Puppy.” By the time “Hot Smoke and Sassafras” hit the charts, the band was a four piece with Rod Prince and Todd Potter on guitars, David Fore on drums, and Roy Cox on bass.
“Hot Smoke and Sassafras” was a mondegreen of a phrase the band heard on “The Beverly Hillbillies.” The single, released in Houston based International Artists label, charted at #14. Their name on the label of several singles was miscredited as “The” Bubble Puppy. Under the advice of new management, “Bubble Puppy” rebranded as Demian, but had little success under that moniker and never achieved the heights of “Hot Smoke and Sassafras.”
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Yesterday while at work, a coworker walked into my office and said, “Did you know Horshack died?” I hadn’t thought about Arnold Horshack or the actor, Ron Palillo, who played the part of the annoying character from “Welcome Back Kotter” for decades. If you lived in the 70s, you’ll certainly remember Horshack’s idiotic laugh and some of his memorable characterizations such as “ooh – ooh – ooh” and “How-ahh yah?”
A week ago, if you asked me to name the Sweathogs, I could only name two – Vinny Barbarino (played by John Travolta) and Arnold Horshack. Palillo did an excellent job in creating a memorable character for the show that ran four seasons on ABC. Palillo died of a heart attack at the age of 63. I was a sophomore in college when the show debuted and was shocked to learn that this guy who played a high school student was seven years older than me. Amazing.
To celebrate the lives of Palillo and Horshack, our one-hit wonder is from John Sebastian and is his number one theme for the show: “Welcome Back.” According to the definition, a one-hit wonder is the only song by an artist (as listed on the record) to chart in the Top 40. While Sebastian had numerous Top 40 hits with the Lovin’ Spoonful (ten to be exact), he only had one single to place within the Top 40.
Some pressings of the single were released as “Welcome Back Kotter” while others simply were issued as “Welcome Back.”
Not only did the single chart at number one on the Hot 100, it also was a #1 adult contemporary hit and placed on the country charts at #93. The album, “Welcome Back,” peaked at #79. Sebastian plays guitar and harmonica and sings all the vocals on the track. Although the song has a Randy Newman flair, it is all John Sebastian as the author/composer and artist.
Recorded in 1973 and peaking on the American charts at number 5 in spring of 1974, David Essex’s “Rock On” is one of those songs that when you heard it first you had to stop and carefully listen to it. Considered a “Glam Rock” song, “Rock On” was more than that and it defies categorization - with exception of one. It was a one-hit wonder.
The song begins with Ray Cooper’s percussion and Herbie Flowers’ bass run through a tape delay. The dry signal figured into the left channel while the delay appeared in the right. Strings and horns appear later in the mix and Essex’s vocals are processed with heavy dose of reverb – reminiscent of production from the 1950s – a theme of the song.
This is a song that cries out to be heard in stereo, and a mono mix just doesn’t do it complete justice. Although, I probably first heard this song through the one speaker in the dash of my 1964 Ford Fairlane 500 over WKEE-AM80 in Huntington, WV. The mono AM radio version didn’t hamper me from going out and buying the single as soon as possible.
The thing that bothered me about this song was Essex’s equating of the names Jimmy Dean and James Dean. I know he intended for the reference to the actor James Dean; however, when I think of Jimmy Dean, I think of the country artist who sang “Big Bad John.”
A younger generation will identify with Jimmy Dean as the sausage huckster – a reinvention of his career. Now, James Dean of “Rebel without a Cause,” “East of Eden,” and “Giant” was a much cooler icon. This song was cool as well, so I guess I’ll cut Essex some slack on the Jimmy/James nomenclature.
Today’s One Hit Wonder Wednesday selection reminds me of when I moved to my current town of Beckley, WV in early 1981. Although Phil Seymour had a hit in 1975 with the Dwight Twilley Band’s “I’m on Fire,” he only had one solo hit record.
As one of the early artists signed to Neil Bogart’s short-lived Boardwalk Records, “Precious to Me” peaked at #22. Although, “I’m on Fire” charted higher at #16; however, I would venture to guess that by today’s standards, “Precious to Me” is better known today.
I know what you are thinking, how can he go from Montrose, to Sandy Denny, to Brian Auger, to Frank Ifield? Well, that’s the beauty of this blog – I control the content and I have very eclectic tastes. Some of you will really hate Ifield’s only American hit from 1962, “I Remember You.” But it’s my blog and I’m sticking to it.
Co-written by Johnny Mercer, Frank Ifield’s “I Remember You” charted at #5 in the US and was in the #1 slot for seven weeks in the UK. It was Britain’s second biggest selling single for ’62 being beat out by another favorite of mine, “Stranger on the Shore” by Mr. Acker Bilk.
Some will compare Ifield with Slim Whitman, as both yodel. While Whitman no doubt influenced the British crooner, Ifield influenced Whitman with this recording as he recorded “I Remember You” four years before “The Smiling Starduster.” Slim’s version, which is the same arrangement, never had the success of Frank Ifield’s recording, as it peaked at #134 on the pop charts and #49 on the country charts.
In the UK, Ifield had four number one records and eleven others that charted in the Top 40. He was not as fortunate in the US being a one-hit wonder, although his 1966 “Call Her Your Sweetheart” made it to 28 on the US country charts.
VeeJay Records attempted to capitalize on his fame in Britain by combining several of his recordings on albums with The Beatles who were under license from EMI to VeeJay. Two albums were released in 1964 with the title of “The Beatles and Frank Ifield On Stage.” Except for the cover and slightly different names, neither album had any live cuts.
Both included the same four cuts by The Beatles and same eight selections by Ifield (including “I Remember You”) in one of VeeJay’s many schemes to repackage Beatles’ recordings before they reverted back to EMI and its American label, Capitol Records. The first of these albums I have and it is titled “Jolly What.” I bought my copy at a store in East Jenkins, Kentucky in 1973 and paid $2.99 for it. They also had the “Savage Beatles” album, but didn’t have enough cash to buy it – pity.
The second version of the album with a drawing of The Beatles is extremely rare and it is thought that less than 100 copies were pressed. It was rushed released right at the end of VeeJay’s contract with EMI. In 1995, a sealed copy of this album sold at auction for $22,000. I wish I had this one rather than “Jolly What!”
When Steven Goodman wrote the “City of New Orleans,” he wasn’t thinking about New Orleans per se. He was singing about the Illinois Central passenger train that traveled from Chicago to New Orleans during the daytime.
It was added in 1947 as a complement to the line’s other train on the same route during the night – “The Panama Limited.” It was roughly a 15 hour train ride from one destination to the other – which was monumental in itself. Amtrak took over the City of New Orleans line in 1972.
When Arlo Guthrie recorded the song and Reprise Records issued it as a single, it became his only Top 40 hit. I know, most people probably know “Alice’s Restaurant” better, but it didn’t perform as well on the charts. “City of New Orleans” appeared on Arlo’s album, “Hobo’s Lullaby.” The song peaked at #18.
America lost an icon yesterday with the passing of Andy Griffith at the age of 86. For those of my generation, he was Andy Taylor – sheriff of Mayberry, North Carolina. Sheriff Taylor was the purveyor of folksy wisdom in a simpler time. Later in the 1980s and 1990s, he starred as criminal defense attorney Ben Matlock – the epitome of a country lawyer created in the mold of Raymond Burr’s Perry Mason.
Griffith was no stranger to music and was adept on guitar and trombone. He graduated with a Bachelor’s of Music degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and was a member of the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia – a college music fraternity for men; he was president of the UNC chapter when he was a student.
Griffith’s vocal ability was showcased on numerous gospel recordings. His best known was the platinum certified “I Love to Tell the Story — 25 Timeless Hymns.” Andy was awarded a Grammy award for the Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album for this same album in 1997. Although he recorded a number of albums, he only had on popular hit – a record on which he did not sing, but rather acted as a country parson who witnessed his first football game.
“What It Was, Was Football” was recorded in 1953 and sold regionally well on the Colonial Records label out of Chapel Hill, NC. In 1954, the master was sold to Capitol Records and the spoken word recording peaked at #9 on Billboard’s popular charts – making it his one-hit wonder.
The single was released under the name of Deacon Andy Griffith. Funny thing though, two days ago I was just talking about this particular recording with my wife. It's a little different type of record we are featuring today, but it honor's Andy Griffith's long career in show business.
I know what you’re thinking – “He must really be sick as I never heard him feature anything like this in the past – That infection must have moved to his head.” Not so. I’ve liked Us3’s “Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)” since I first heard it 1993 as the opening music of the movie “Renaissance Man” starring Danny DeVito. It was Us3’s only hit in the United States and managed to climb the charts to the #9 position by March 1994.
This hip-hop tune, as did all of the cuts on their “Hand on the Torch” album, extensively used samples from the Blue Note Records’ catalog.
The spoken intro and the line “How about a big hand there” are by Pee Wee Marquette and come from Art Blakey’s “A Night at Birdland, Volume 1.” Samples of two men at the beginning of the track saying “yeah” and “what’s that” are from Lou Donaldson’s “Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky (From Now On).”
Herbie Hancock’s Cantaloupe Island
The pièce de résistance is the sample of Herbie Hancock’s “Cantaloupe Island” that was recorded thirty years previously on the album “Empyrean Isles.” That also featured Freddie Hubbard, Ron Carter, and Anthony Williams.
Hubbard plays the coronet on the original recording. The trumpet parts added to Us3’s version were by Gerard Presencer. Although the song is in the same key as Hancock’s original (Fm), the sample is sped up some.
Formed as a spinoff from the Canadian group Fludd, Saga began in 1977 and continues performing and recording today. Signed to CBS’ new label Portrait, Saga only had one Top 40 hit in the United States – thereby qualifying for our coveted, weekly One-Hit Wednesday spot.
While the band had several AOR singles to chart on the Mainstream Rock charts such as “Wind Him Up,” “The Flyer,” and “What Do I Know”; the only Top 40 hit was “On The Loose” which charted at #26. It also was their biggest AOR hit and peaked at #3 in 1982.
“Wind Him Up” and “On the Loose” were both from their fourth album “Worlds Apart” that was released in 1981. It's an interesting keyboard based tune that should bring back some early 80s memories.
During the summer of 1973 a song recorded by Stories took America by storm and within weeks landed at the number one spot for two weeks, required the record company to reissue the album to add the single, and it was certified gold.
Still controversial in 1973, the song was about an interracial relationship between a black woman and her white boyfriend. Although an uncommon situation in the early 1970s, it didn’t prevent radio and the buying public from wanting to hear this song.
Although a colossal hit in the US for Ian Lloyd and Stories, it was an anomaly – as it didn’t follow the typical style of the band. Since they became defined by “Brother Louie,” they never came close to repeating its success and were typecast from this one-hit wonder.
Original Version
What most people don’t realize that “Brother Louie” was not an original song for Stories. They covered a song written and performed originally by Hot Chocolate. The original was a top 10 hit in the UK; however, a song about an interracial relationship sung by a predominantly black band was not going to be released as a single in the US – leaving the opportunity for a white band to try their hand at recording “Brother Louie.”
In addition to Hot Chocolate’s performance, they enlisted British blues artist Alexis Korner to provide the speaking parts in the song. These were eliminated for Stories version of the song for obvious reasons.
Although the Shocking Blue had been in existence for two years and released albums and singles in their native land The Netherlands, they burst onto the American pop scene in 1969 for one brief moment. Then they vanished from the American charts forever.
I decided to go with “Venus” today to honor planet that appeared between the sun and the earth yesterday in what is called the transit of Venus. While I did not get to view it first hand as the sun was obscured by clouds in my region, I did view it live from NASA’s stream from Hawaii.
Although today’s one hit wonder was about the mythical goddess from which the planet was named, I thought it fitting to use the Shocking Blue hit for One-Hit Wonder Wednesday. What a hit it was as it charted at number one in the US, Canada, Spain, Belgium, France, and Italy. It peaked at #2 in Germany and Japan and was a #3 record in The Netherlands. A top 10 hit in the UK, the single charted at #8.
The song features the vocals of the late Mariska Veres and the guitar of Robbie van Leeuwen. Klaasje van der Wal plays the memorable bass runs and Cor van der Beek handled the drums. The keyboardist, who actually contributes greatly to the record’s sound, was not credited. I believe an RMI Electra-Piano was used on this cut.
Robbie van Leeuwen is seen playing a Fender Telecaster in the accompanying video; however, other performances have him playing a Coral (by Danelectro) Longhorn thin-line electric six string.
The Big Three Big Ripoff
It is apparent that Robbie van Leeuwen was greatly inspired by a 1963 recording of “Banjo Song” by the folk group The Big Three. The Big Three consisted of Tim Rose, Cass Elliot, and her then husband James Hendricks. If you listen, it is obvious that their interpretation of Stephen Foster’s “Oh! Susanna “was the inspiration for the Shocking Blue’s hit.
Had Tim Rose pushed it, he would have been much richer from song royalties for “Venus” due to copyright infringement. He had a much better case than Ronald Mack’s claim that George Harrison stole from “He’s So Fine” as the basis for “My Sweet Lord.” That claim was tentative at best, but was close enough to win big for Mack and his publisher. The Big Three’s song, although an arrangement of a public domain composition, makes a much stronger case.
Associate Provost and Professor of Mass Communication at Alderson Broaddus University and an adjunct faculty member at Southern New Hampshire University.
Graduate of Marshall University, West Virginia University, Southern New Hampshire University, Kentucky Christian University and Mountain State University.
Dissertation on institutional rebranding (see newriver.net) was the 2009 international winner of the Alice L. Beeman Dissertation Award for Outstanding Research in Communications and Marketing for Higher Education Advancement and was the 2008 Leo and Margaret Goodman-Malamuth Outstanding Dissertation Award for Research in Higher Education Administration.
Placed as a winner in five Active Industry Research Contemporary Hit Radio "Pick the Hits" competitions from 1983 through 1987. Each competition had 31 winners. Placed 2nd (1st among radio participants), 6th, 10th (twice), and 21st in the five competitions.
Awarded 14 gold & platinum records and an international sales award from various record companies. Winner of 30 Public Relations awards.
