This week's earnest exercise in The Best Three Hours Of Radio On The Whole Friggin' Planet began and ended with tracks by The Ventures, played in memory of Nokie Edwards. In the late '80s, probably around '88 or so, The Ventures were scheduled to play at a bar located in a shopping center in Seneca Knolls, a suburban area north of Syracuse. In another manifestation of Syracuse's frustrating feast-or-famine existence, The Godfathers were elsewhere in Syracuse that same night, and The Bodeans were also appearing at yet another local venue. I wanted to see all three shows. But there was no real choice: I had to see The Ventures.
The Ventures were one of the most influential groups of the early '60s, and the most influential American instrumental rock 'n' roll combo. I can say that without denying the sheer magnificence of Dick Dale & the Del Tones or Link Wray, or the importance of The Shadows in England. I became a fan in the early '80s, via an oldies radio spin of "Walk--Don't Run." Riveted. There was no way I would or could pass up a chance to see The Ventures play live.
I don't remember the name of the bar. The floor in front of the stage had been garnished with sand, to conjure a beach party ambiance. Soon, the band was on stage. Nokie Edwards had left the group by then, so the Ventures I saw were the "Hawaii Five-O" line-up of Bob Bogle, Don Wilson, Gerry McGee, and Mel Taylor. The owner of the venue introduced, "The best f***ing dance band in the world, THE VENTURES!!"
Enthusiastic applause, followed by something like a half-second pause for effect. Maybe a quarter-second. Maybe a full second or more. No time at all, but a seeming eternity, a tantalizing tease. You know what I mean. That brief moment when time stands still, when a performer or a group knows intuitively that he or she or they is about to claim you in full. A half-second. Quarter-second. Less than a tick, yet a sweet, enticing forever. Mel Taylor's drums rolled. That guitar intro.
The Ventured opened their show with "Walk--Don't Run."
The Ventured opened their show with "Walk--Don't Run!"
I've had the pleasure and good fortune to see a lot of terrific shows, from The Kinks to The Ramones to Paul McCartney. No one grabbed me from the get-go better than The Ventures did.
The Ventures played two sets, and they were magnificent. I can't remember whether or not they played "Surfing And Spying," the great tune The Go-Go's wrote for them, but they certainly delivered an accomplished and invigorating victory lap through their catalog o' tunes. I think they did "Hawaii Five-O" twice, and I know they did both "Walk--Don't Run" and the slightly-different "Walk--Don't Run '64." There were even a couple of vocal numbers. It remains one of my most cherished concert memories. The Ventures are in The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Sometimes, even that inept organization gets things right.
Our show this week also served up some fab new music from Brian Jay Cline, Nick Batterham, and The Difficult Stranger, plus a Mark Lindsay performance from Gar Francis Songbook Volume One, a new collection of various artists' interpretations of Gar Francis songs, and the belated TIRnRR debut of a track from the recent live album by Micky Dolenz & the American Metropole Orchestra. Mix in some Reparata & the Delrons, Adam Ant, Prince, Collins Kids, Forty Nineteens, Steve Barton, KISS, Janis Martin, O'Jays, Nazz, and Smithereens, and some specific tracks by The Monkees, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, and The Ramones that could be seen as celebrations of this week in Syracuse University men's basketball, and we've got ourselves a radio program.
And we opened with "Walk--Don't Run" by The Ventures. That, my friends, is how you put on a show. The Ventures knew that. This is what rock 'n' roll radio sounded like on a Sunday night in Syracuse this week.
This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl, Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse on The Spark WSPJ-LP 103.3 and 93.7, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/
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Our new compilation CD This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4 is now available from Kool Kat Musik! 29 tracks of irresistible rockin' pop, starring Pop Co-Op, Ray Paul, Circe Link & Christian Nesmith, Vegas With Randolph Featuring Lannie Flowers, The Slapbacks, P. Hux, Irene Peña, Michael Oliver & the Sacred Band Featuring Dave Merritt, The Rubinoos, Stepford Knives, The Grip Weeds, Popdudes, Ronnie Dark, The Flashcubes, Chris von Sneidern, The Bottle Kids, 1.4.5., The Smithereens, Paul Collins' Beat, The Hit Squad, The Rulers, The Legal Matters, Maura & the Bright Lights, Lisa Mychols, and Mr. Encrypto & the Cyphers. You gotta have it, so order it here.
TIRnRR # 915: 3/18/18
THE RAMONES: Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio? (Rhino, End Of The Century)
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THE VENTURES: Walk--Don't Run (EMI, Walk--Don't Run)
ADAM ANT: Won't Take That Talk (Capitol, Wonderful)
THE MONKEES: Let's Dance On (Rhino, The Monkees)
REPARATA & THE DELRONS: Dedicated To The One I Love (Collectables, Whenever A Teenager Cries)
CHUCK BERRY: Sweet Little Sixteen (MCA, The Anthology)
ELVIS PRESLEY: Good Rockin' Tonight (Prism Leisure, Good Rockin' Tonight)
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BRIAN JAY CLINE: Ballad Of A Rosetta Stone (Kool Kat Musik, Idle Chatter)
THE RAMONES: Locket Love (Rhino, Rocket To Russia)
PAUL McCARTNEY: My Brave Face (Capitol, Flowers In The Dirt)
CHARLIE ROBBINS: Heart Says Go (Blue Wave, VA: History Of Syracuse Music Volume 14)
THE GIRLS: I Beg Your Pardon (WSC, single)
THE POP TARTS: Pop Tarts Theme (Blue Wave, VA: History Of Syracuse Music Volume 14)
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NICK BATTERHAM: Nothing Lasts (Popboomerang, Golden Boy)
THE COLLINS KIDS: Beetle-Bug Bop (Hoodoo, The Rockaway Rock)
THE FORTY NINETEENS: The Longer I Wait (Kool Kat Musik, Good Fortune)
THE COLLINS KIDS: Party (Hoodoo, The Rockaway Rock)
SPYGENIUS: The Friendly Stars That Glow (Big Stir, 'Pacephale)
THE COLLINS KIDS: The Rockaway Rock (Hoodoo, The Rockaway Rock)
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THE KINKS: Waterloo Sunset (Essential, Something Else)
BIG STAR: September Gurls [single version] (Stax, The Best Of Big Star)
THE SEARCHERS: Hearts In Her Eyes (Omnivore, Another Night: The Sire Recordings 1979-1981)
THE FLASHCUBES: No Promise (Kool Kat Musik, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4)
MICK MITSCH'S LAGANSLOVE: Bogs Of Mayo (Yoursong.net, Back To The Bog)
POP CO-OP: Feint Of Heart (Silent Bugler, Four State Solution)
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MARK LINDSAY: Rush On You (Bongo Boy, VA: Gar Francis Songbook Volume One)
THE BEVIS FROND: I Can't Get Into Your Scene (Fire America, Bevis Through The Looking Glass)
MICKY DOLENZ & THE AMERICAN METROPOLE ORCHESTRA: A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You (7a, Out Of Nowhere)
REPARATA & THE DELRONS: Captain Of Your Ship (Crimson, VA: The 60s Summer Album)
KISS: Detroit Rock City (Mercury, The Very Best Of KISS)
REPARATA & THE DELRONS: Do Wah Diddy Diddy (Collectables, Whenever A Teenager Cries)
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STEVE BARTON: Shadow Of The Bride (Sleepless, Tall Tales And Alibis)
THE REPLACEMENTS: I Will Dare (Sire, For Sale: Live At Maxwell's 1986)
PRINCE: I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (Warner Brothers, The Hits/The B-Sides)
THE NAZZ: Open My Eyes (Rhino, VA: Nuggets)
THE BEATLES: Thank You Girl (Capitol, The Beatles' Second Album)
THE CREATION: Painter Man (Numero, Action Painting)
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THE JAYHAWKS: I'm Gonna Make You Love Me (Columbia, Smile)
HARMONIC DIRT: Maybe (n/a, Anthracite)
THE DIFFICULT STRANGER: Illusion (single)
JEANNE DEE: Every Day I Have The Blues [Take 2] (Omnivore, VA: Something Got A Hold On Me)
THE O'JAYS: Love Train (Epic, Love Train)
BRENDA JONES: Let's Go Back To School (Omnivore, VA: Something Got A Hold On Me)
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THE RAMONES: Do You Wanna Dance? (Rhino, Rocket To Russia)
JANIS MARTIN: My Boy Elvis (Hoodoo, Bang! Bang!)
THE SMITHEREENS: Yesterday Girl (Capitol, Blown To Smithereens)
JANIS MARTIN: Drugstore Rock And Roll (Hoodoo, Bang! Bang!)
SMOKEY ROBINSON & THE MIRACLES: The Tears Of A Clown (Motown, VA: Hitsville USA)
[UNKNOWN ARTIST]: Something Got A Hold On Me (Omnivore, VA: Something Got A Hold On Me)
THE PRETTY THINGS: Midnight To Six Man (Fontana, Get A Buzz)
THE YARDBIRDS: Over Under Sideways Down (Rhino, Ultimate!)
THE BAY CITY ROLLERS: Wouldn't You Like It (Arista, The Definitive Collection)
JOHNNY NASH: Cupid (Crimson, VA: The 60s Summer Album)
EYTAN MIRSKY: This Year's Gonna Be Our Year (M-Squared, Year Of The Mouse)
THE SMALL FACES: All Or Nothing (Immediate, The Autumn Stone)
THE VENTURES: Walk--Don't Run '64 (EMI, Walk--Don't Run)
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