My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) has been in the works for years. Its roots stretch back even before 2019 (when I first announced my intent to write the book), before 2016 (when I posted my first GREM! essay on my blog), and before 2011 or so, when I repeated a familiar mantra from this radio show, a mantra which eventually evolved into this book's premise:
An infinite number of tracks can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns.
This week's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl celebrates the result of my long-threatened book's long and winding path to publication. The playlist collects a mere 48 of the 145 tracks discussed in my GREM! book, with minimal interruption. The interruptions, in fact, are readings of brief snippets from the book itself. So yeah, this one's all GREM! all the time.
Apologies to Crazy Elephant, Wilson Pickett, the Hollies, Melanie with the Edwin Hawkins Singers, Petula Clark, Arthur Alexander, Translator, Lesley Gore, the Shangri-Las, the Shirelles, Pink Floyd, Gladys Knight and the Pips, the Bobby Fuller Four, Merle Haggard, the Temptations, Buddy Holly, Roberta Flack, Johnny Nash, the Rare Breed, the Rolling Stones, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Bob Dylan, the Kingsmen, Baron Daemon and the Vampires, the Marvelettes, the Who, Todd Rundgren, Shoes, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Ike and Tina Turner, the Ronettes, the Knickerbockers, the Wonders, the Dave Clark Five, James Brown, Grand Funk, the First Class, the Isley Brothers, Rick James, the Pandoras, Marvin Gaye, Linda Ronstadt, P. P. Arnold, Sammy Ambrose, Big Star, the Dave Brubeck Quartet, the New Pornographers, Yoko Ono, Donna Summer, Rufus, Heart, the Breakaways, the Easybeats, the Byrds, the 5th Dimension, the Jackson Five, Sly and the Family Stone, the Bangles, Headgirl, Millie Small, the Flirtations, the Spinners, the Partridge Family, Suzi Quatro, David Ruffin, Led Zeppelin, Freddie and the Dreamers, the Bandwagon, Don Henley, Ben E. King, Grandmaster and Melle Mel, the Velvet Underground, Del Shannon, the Cocktail Slippers, Sam and Dave, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, the Four Tops, Verdelle Smith, the Bob Seger System, Jive Five, Freda Payne, the Contours, the Go-Go's, the Supremes, the Beach Boys, Raspberries, the Selecter, Tracey Ullman, the Drifters, the Coasters, Cheap Trick, Tegan and Sara, David Bowie, the O'Jays, and the T-Bones...
...you're ALL in the book, along with two more by the Beatles, and each on equal footing with the artists and tracks we did manage to squeeze into this week's overstuffed playlist, and with an infinite number of other worthy tracks I might get around to discussing if I ever follow through with GREM! Volume 2.
Details on The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) and how to order it can be found here. And in that GREM! vein: This is what rock 'n' roll radio sounded like on another Sunday night in Syracuse this week.
Isn't it the greatest?
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 # 1240: 6/30/2024: Selections from THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (VOLUME 1)
THE RAMONES: Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio? (Rhino, End Of The Century)
GREM!: Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?
BADFINGER: Baby Blue (Apple, Straight Up)
CHUCK BERRY: Promised Land (MCA, The Anthology)
DUSTY SPRINGFIELD: I Only Want To Be With You (Mercury, The Very Best Of Dusty Springfield)
GREM!: Noise
THE SEX PISTOLS: God Save The Queen (Virgin, Kiss This)
ELVIS PRESLEY: Heartbreak Hotel (RCA, The Top Ten Hits)
BIG MAMA THORNTON: Hound Dog (Time-Life, VA: The Rock 'n' Roll Era Roots Of Rock: 1945-1956)
PATTI SMITH: Gloria (Arista, Land [1975-2002])
LITTLE RICHARD: The Girl Can't Help It (Specialty, The Georgia Peach)
NEIL DIAMOND: Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show (Columbia, VA: Once Upon A Time In...Hollywood OST)
THE RAMONES: Sheena Is A Punk Rocker (Rhino, Rocket To Russia)
GREM!: Does Amy Rigby dream about the Ramones?
ARTHUR CONLEY: Sweet Soul Music (Rhino, Sweet Soul Music)
OTIS REDDING: (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay (Rhino, Otis!)
ARETHA FRANKLIN: Respect (Atlantic, The Atlantic Singles Collection 1967-1970)
THE MONKEES: Porpoise Song (Theme From Head) (Rhino, Head)
PRINCE: When You Were Mine (Warner Brothers, The Hits/The B-Sides)
GREM!: We are the weird
THE 13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS: You're Gonna Miss Me (Rhino, VA: Nuggets)
THE FLASHCUBES: No Promise (Northside, Brilliant)
TELEVISION: Elevation (Elektra, Marquee Moon)
THE RUNAWAYS: Cherry Bomb (Hip-O Select, The Mercury Albums Anthology)
GREM!: Springsteen's paperback novels
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Girls In Their Summer Clothes (Columbia, Magic)
KISS: Shout It Out Loud (Mercury, Destroyer)
THE BAY CITY ROLLERS: Rock 'n' Roll Love Letter (Arista, The Definitive Collection)
THE CHAMBERS BROTHERS: Time Has Come Today (Columbia, The Time Has Come)
BIG BROTHER AND THE HOLDING COMPANY: Piece Of My Heart (Columbia, Cheap Thrills)
THE CARPENTERS: Only Yesterday (A & M, The Singles 1969-1981)
GREM!: July 1st, 1979
MATERIAL ISSUE: Kim The Waitress (Mercury, Freak City Soundtrack)
THE SPONGETONES: (My Girl) Maryanne (Loaded Goat, Always Carry On)
THE TRAAMPS: Disco Inferno (Rhino, Rhino Hi-Five: The Tramps)
HAROLD MELVIN AND THE BLUE NOTES: Don't Leave Me This Way (Epic, The Ultimate Blue Notes)
THE KINKS: Waterloo Sunset (Essential, Something Else)
HOLLY GOLIGHTLY: Time Will Tell (Damaged Goods, Truly She Is None Other)
GREM!: The beauty in their sadness
THE SMITHEREENS: Behind The Wall Of Sleep (Capitol, Blown To Smithereens)
THE COWSILLS: She Said To Me (Robin, Global)
LULU: To Sir, With Love [museum outings montage] (Retroactive, VA: To Sir, With Love OST)
THE GRATEFUL DEAD: Uncle John's Band (Rhino, The Very Best Of The Grateful Dead)
CAST OF WEST SIDE STORY: America (Columbia, VA: West Side Story OST)
EDDIE AND THE HOT RODS: Do Anything You Wanna Do (Captain Oi!, The Singles Collection)
GREM!: Be who you want to be, not whatever some gray THEY want you to be
JOAN JETT: Bad Reputation (Blackheart, Bad Reputation)
JOAN ARMATRADING: Me Myself I (A & M, Greatest Hits)
STEVIE WONDER: I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever) (Tamla, Talking Book)
MARYKATE O'NEIL: I'm Ready For My Luck To Turn Around (n/a, 1-800-Bankrupt)
GREM!: Annus mirabilis
THE JAYHAWKS: I'm Gonna Make You Love Me (Columbia, Smile)
GREM!: An infinite number
THE BEATLES: Rain (Apple, Past Masters)
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NELSON RIDDLE: Batman Theme (Watchtower, VA: The Music Of DC Comics: Vol. 2)
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