This week, we bid farewell to an icon of our chosen music.
Icons. The word icon is overused. It absolutely applies to Dwight Twilley in this context. A power pop icon. A legend of pop with power. We join out friends in the rockin' pop community as we mourn the loss of one of our heroes.
And as our friends and fans mourn Twilley's passing, it occurs to me that I was a relative latecomer to his work. The Dwight Twilley Band's one big hit record--the power pop classic "I'm On Fire"--was a hit in 1975, a time when I was still listening to a lot of AM Top 40. I must have heard it on Syracuse's WOLF-AM, but I have no recollection of it.
But I caught up, and I caught on. I read about the Dwight Twilley Band in Bomp! magazine's power pop issue in 1978, I heard the Flashcubes cover "I'm On Fire" in their live set, and I snagged my own copy of the track on a various-artists compilation called Geef Voor New Wave. A belated fan. A fan nonetheless. Many, many more Twilley purchases would follow.
In the lengthy power pop history I wrote for John M. Borack's 2005 book Shake Some Action, I said of the Dwight Twilley Band:
"Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Dwight Twilley Band did find commercial success with 'I’m On Fire,' a terrific single that became a # 16 hit in 1975. The Dwight Twilley Band was actually a duo, comprised of Twilley and partner Phil Seymour, usually accompanied by ace guitarist Bill Pitcock IV. Fittingly, Twilley and Seymour first met while waiting on line at a local theater to see a revival screening of A Hard Day’s Night. The group’s follow-up single, 'You Were So Warm,' was perhaps even better than 'I'm On Fire,' but it was a commercial stiff, and an equally-strong, shoulda-been-a-goddamn-hit track called 'Shark' went paradoxically unreleased at the time. By the time the group’s first album, Sincerely, was released in 1976, the Dwight Twilley Band had lost the momentum of 'I’m On Fire.'
"Seymour split from Twilley after 1977’s Twilley Don't Mind album. Twilley went on to record several fine pop albums in the ‘80s, and returned in 1999 with a splendid record called Tulsa. Seymour cut some demos with 20/20 (more about whom later) before embarking on a promising but brief solo career. Seymour passed away from lymphoma in 1993.
"(Twilley, eulogizing his former partner in the pages of Yellow Pills fanzine, simultaneously summed up some of the timeless appeal of the pop experience itself: 'I’ll never forget the cold November night at the Church Studios in Tulsa. Phil and I had just signed our first recording contract. We had been instructed by the record company to get acquainted with working in a ‘real’ 16-track studio and not attempt to record a ‘real’ record. In the confusion of a pivotal moment, it was Phil who pulled me into a secluded hallway and said, "Dwight, let’s make a hit record right now." That night we recorded ‘I’m On Fire.’
“'For me, the true magic was when we sang together. It felt like it was, somehow, more than just two voices. It was the kind of luxury I know I’ll never recapture.')"
Nor will we be able to recapture it. Still, we'll play it on the radio. In that way, our icons live on.
Sincerely.
This is what rock 'n' roll radio sounded like on another Sunday night in Syracuse this week.
This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream, and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. Recent shows are archived at Westcott Radio
You can read all about this show's long and weird history here: Boppin' The Whole Friggin' Planet (The History Of THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO).
TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATIONS are always welcome.
The many fine This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio compilation albums are still available, each full of that rockin' pop sound you crave. A portion of all sales benefit our perpetually cash-strapped community radio project:
TIRnRR # 1205: 10/29/2023
TIRnRR FRESH SPINS! Tracks we think we ain't played before are listed in bold
DWIGHT TWILLEY: The Luck (Copper, Tulsa)
THE DWIGHT TWILLEY BAND: Please Say Please (DCC, The Great Lost Twilley Album)
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL: Walk On The Water (Fantasy, Chronicle, Vol. 2)
BEN VAUGHN: Sundown Sundown (Bar/None, Mono USA)
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SUGAR HIGH: Flirting With Madness (n/a, Spuds)
DWIGHT TWILLEY: 10,000 American Scuba Divers Dancin' (The Right Stuff, XXI)
KLAATU: True Life Hero (Klaatunes, 3:47 E.S.T.)
THE ISLEY BROTHERS: Got To Have You Back (Motown, Greatest Hits And Rare Classics)
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TIA CARRERE: Why You Wanna Break My Heart (Reprise, VA: Wayne's World OST)
THE GRIP WEEDS: Where Have All The Good Times Gone (Jem, VA: Jem Records Celebrates Ray Davies)
THE DWIGHT TWILLEY BAND: Shark (In The Dark) (DCC, The Great Lost Twilley Album)
QUINT: Ballad Of Sharknado Rhapsody (BMG, VA: Sharknado 5 OST)
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SHOES: The Things You Do (Elektra, Tongue Twister)
RON FLYNT & THE BLUEHEARTS: I See Blue (YaYa, Big Blue Heart)
CARLA OLSON: Street Fighting Man (BFD, single)
THE SOFT BOYS: Mystery Train (Rykodisc, 1976-81)
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TRANSVISION VAMP: Tell That Girl To Shut Up (UNI, Pop Art)
WILLIAM PEARS: Big Bang (Permanent Press, Big Bang!)
THE BEAT: There She Goes (Wagon Wheel, The Beat)
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THE GOLD NEEDLES: Hit The Main Drag (Jem, single)
THE POSIES: I May Hate You Sometimes (Rhino, VA: Children Of Nuggets)
TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS: Strangered In The Night (MCA, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)
THAT PETROL EMOTION: It's A Good Thing (Rhino, VA: Children Of Nuggets)
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The Greatest Record Ever Made!
TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS: American Girl (MCA, Anthology: Through The Years)
THE ENGLISH BEAT: Save It For Later (Shout Factory, Keep The Beat)
THE DWIGHT TWILLEY BAND: That I Remember (DCC, Twilley Don't Mind)
HOLLY GOLIGHTLY: Mary-Ann (Vinyl Japan, Laugh It All Up!)
MIKE BROWNING: Moments Fly (single) ORANGE: Judy Over The Rainbow (Zonophone, VA: Burning Sounds! 20 Killer Power Pop Cuts!)
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THE MnM'S: I'm Tired (Burger (Melts In Your Ears 1980-1981)
PHIL SEYMOUR: Trying To Find My Baby (The Right Stuff, Precious To Me)
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DWIGHT TWILLEY: Girls (The Right Stuff, XXI)
ROBERT ELLIS ORRALL: Something To Tell You (RCA, Fixation)
THE RAMONES: Swallow My Pride (Rhino, Leave Home)
THE DUKES OF STRATOSPHERE: My Love Explodes (Geffen, Chips From The Chocolate Fireball)
THE BEATLES: Please Please Me (Apple, 1962-1966)
THE DWIGHT TWILLEY BAND: I'm On Fire (DCC, Sincerely)
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DWIGHT TWILLEY: Goodbye (Copper, Tulsa)
TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS: Airport (MCA, She's The One)
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