10 SONGS: 10/24/2026

10 Songs is a weekly list of ten songs that happen to be on my mind at the moment. The lists are usually dominated by songs played on the previous Sunday night's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. The idea was inspired by Don Valentine of the essential blog I Don't Hear A Single

This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1358

WEDNESDAY WEEK: They Say

Southern California combo Wednesday Week scored attention from MTV with their superb 1987 track "Why," compelling popsmacked li'l me to purchase a copy of their wonderful album What We Had. In this far-future world of 2026, the group's What We Had line-up--Kelly Callan, Kristi Callan, Heidi Rodewald, and David Nolte--returns with an incredible new four-song covers EP called Souvenirs. Rockin' pop veteran Don Dixon produces, and our assembled Wednesdays deliver simply splendid renditions of too-cool selections from the songbooks of the Zeros, the Dolly Mixture, Color Me Gone, and Sandie Shaw. We opened this week's TIRnRR with Wednesday Week's invigmoratin' take on the Zeros' "They Say," and circled back to their cover of the Dolly Mixture's "Side Street Walker" later in the show. Amazing stuff! "They Say" will return  to our playlist this Sunday night, and we'll also debut Wednesday Week's take on Color Me Gone's "Lose Control." We've long been grateful for What We Had. Now, we're also grateful for what we have.

ARROGANCE: Praying Mantis

Speaking of Don Dixon (and speaking of MTV fave raves from the '80s), we offer this spin of Dixon's song "Praying Mantis," as performed with his former group Arrogance. Our pal Eleanor Cook informs us that Arrogance was just inducted into The North Carolina Music Hall Of Fame. We only know of Arrogance's fine work because Eleanor pointed us to it--much obliged, Eleanor!--and it's our pleasure to congratulate Arrogance for their well-deserved recognition by North Carolina music fans.

Oh, and an open letter to the good folks at the NC Music Hall Of Fame: Please consider inducting the Spongetones at your earliest convenience. Thanks! Sincerely, your friends at This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio.

THE CYNZ: Neighborhood Bully

No kings. Don't tread on me, ya razzafrazzin' bully. 

ELTON DUCK: Bad Things

Blanche DuBois relied on the kindness of strangers. TIRnRR relies on our friends, both in terms of supporting this nonprofit radio station's quixotic quest and suggesting undiscovered or underappreciated sounds we should oughta discover and appreciate. One such friend is Robbie Rist, who has just turned us on to the majesty of Elton Duck. Elton Duck were a Los Angeles group operating at the end of the '70s into the dawn of mourning in America, and they friggin' kicked, man. They earn a righteous footnote in pop history for the fact that Michael Steele was Elton Duck's bassist at the time of their 1980 recordings, a spot she occupied after her early stint with the Runaways and before achieving fame with the Bangles.

Footnotes aside, this is prime stuff, and it's a damned shame it's not widely available. Robbie's a fan! And now we're fans as well. Robbie picked "Bad Things" as one of his Elton Duck go-tos; we hear, and we obey. More Elton Duck on our next show.

THE RUBINOOS: Wouldn't It Be Nice

It would be impossible to overstate the importance of the Rubinoos in my musical crucible when I was 17. 1977 was the year I fell for the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, Blondie, and so many more then-contemporary acts demonstrating that someone was still carrying the torch for the excitement and sheer buzz of my beloved 1960s British Invasion idols. 

The Rubinoos' eponymous debut album was an essential component of all of that, and I heard it (and owned it!) before I heard "God Save The Queen," "Blitzkrieg Bop," and "X-Offender." "Wouldn't It Be Nice" was my favorite track on The Rubinoos, a love letter from a lonely square-peg teen like me to the pretty one of his dreams. I wrote about it here. It's still my favorite, as the warmth of the crucible remains with me always.

And of course, my crucible in 1977 led me to the revelation of a transcendent local band in January of 1978: Syracuse's own power pop powerhouses....

THE FLASHCUBES FEATURING TOM KENNY: Got No Mind

And we hope you won't mind if we repeat this important announcement:

In memory of Flashcubes guitarist Paul Armstrong, the surviving 'Cubes are releasing a new single and planning an epic memorial live show. Let's review my recent hype on behalf of each event:

Our friends at Big Stir Records are now accepting preorders for "Got No Mind," the new 45 by the Flashcubes featuring Tom Kenny. Offered as a memorial tribute to Flashcubes guitarist Paul Armstrong (the song's author), the track has already been a TIRnRR fixture, and it will remain so for the foreseeable. And to sanctify the release of this 7" slab o' cantankerous wonder, the mighty Big Stir is also offering original copies of two previous Flashcubes 45s--1979's "Wait Til Next Week"/"Radio" and 2016's two-fer of Chris Spedding covers, "Boogie City"/"Hey Miss Betty"--both individually and in bundles with the new one. Visit The Flashcubes page at Big Stir for details.

On Saturday, November 7th, fans and participants representing the Syracuse power pop and new wave rock 'n' roll scene that the Flashcubes ignited in the late '70s will gather at Syracuse's original home of rock 'n' roll The Lost Horizon to pay loud and heartfelt tribute to the late, great Paul Armstrong. 

In his brash capacity as a guitarist and general spark plug for the audacious energy of the Flashcubes, Paul Armstrong was a key figure in the history of Syracuse rock 'n' roll, and the impact he and his brother Flashcubes Gary Frenay, Arty Lenin, and Tommy Allen have had upon my life and work is damned near beyond measure. As we bid farewell to Paul Armstrong, you can be damned sure we're gonna put on a tribute show that would make PA proud.

And to do that, a bunch of performers who loved Paul and shared his passion for three chords and a cloud of dust will gather at the Lost for a full-volume celebration of his legacy. We'll have live sets by Amerikan Primitive, Perilous, 1.4.5. Survivors, the Johnny Thunders Orchestra, The Wax Museum host Ronnie Dark, PA's Boston buds Sal Baglio and Mike Gent, Syracuse's favorite son Tom Kenny, and the Flashcubes featuring Mark Doyle. Your emcees will be Dana and Carl, and we promise the sort of bright-lights bonanza that Paul Armstrong would have dug the most.

TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW! It's possible there will still be tickets available at the door...but given the response so far, I would not recommend waiting. This one's for Paul Armstrong. And it's gonna be as loud as he was. YOU should join us. Got no mind? WE don't mind!

PALYMYRA DELRAN AND THE DOPPEL GANG: Spirit In My House

Palmyra Delran and the Doppel Gang covering a Joey Ramone solo number? Works for ME!

JOEY RAMONE: What A Wonderful World

Joey Ramone covering Louis Armstrong? Works for ME!

FOOLS FACE: Nothing To Say

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE FOUR TOPS: Standing In The Shadows Of Love

The Four Tops are my favorite Motown group, which is (to quote another Motown group) really sayin' somethin', WOOO! 

It's tough to pick a single favorite Four Tops song. "It's The Same Old Song" was my first Four Tops obsession decades ago, and "Reach Out I'll Be There" earned a chapter in my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). Their cover of "If I Were A Carpenter" made our year-end countdown show in 2023, and I won't be surprised if "Reach Out I'll Be There" does likewise this year.

"Standing In The Shadows Of Love" is another example of the top of the Tops. The song is most definitely not a political statement--Motown was deliberate in avoiding such things until later in the timeline--but in this election season, we're free to reinterpret and invoke its message as we see fit.

Standing in the shadows? Not now.

Stand up. VOTE. Love depends on it.

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar. You can also become a Boppin' booster on my Patreon page.  

My new book of short stories Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies is out now, and you can get autographed copies of the new book, its six-chapter novelette digest A Band Called GUITARS VS. RAYGUNS!, and my previous book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) directly from me. You can still get my previous previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here. 

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. You can read about our history here

10 SONGS: 2/28/2026

10 Songs is a weekly list of ten songs that happen to be on my mind at the moment. The lists are usually dominated by songs played on the previous Sunday night's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. The idea was inspired by Don Valentine of the essential blog I Don't Hear A Single

This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1325, celebrating Black History Month

RIHANNA: Shut Up And Drive

Rihanna's "Shut Up And Drive" is a stupid song about sex. But it's a great stupid song about sex, probably the best-ever stupid song about sex, and a legit contender for my all-time Hot 200. Yeah, even among songs that may or may not be stupid and may or may not be about sex.

"Shut Up And Drive" strikes me as a sort-of equivalent to "Heavy Music" by Bob Seger and the Last Heard, a track I initially dismissed as a stupid song about sex before realizing it was--you guessed it!--a great stupid song about sex. Rihanna's song is greater. We'll hear it again on the radio in Syracuse this Sunday night. Drive, baby. Drive.

CHUCK BERRY: Come On

Chuck Berry's 1961 single "Come On" was not a hit in the USA, but it did make the British Top 40 (# 38). One presumes that's where the boys who would soon become the Rolling Stones heard it, and their subsequent cover of "Come On" served as the A-side of the debut Stones single in 1963. Chuck Berry led the way.

SLYBOOTS: If We Could Let Go

Pop perfection, with an aching plea for harmony that resonates and reinforces our hopes for something better than the hateful tsuris surrounding us. Slyboots' 2024 single "If We Could Let Go" is just unforgettable, endlessly enriching, and for damned certain on the best new tracks of the decade to date.

LEMOYNE ALEXANDER: Insecurity

From a previous 10 Songs:

I often mention that there is so much more great music out there that most of us don't get around to hearing. Credit our friends Brett Vargo and Uncle Gregg at the essential weekly podcast Only Three Lads for my recent belated discovery of LeMoyne Alexander. Mr. Alexander is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer with a long list of credits in hip-hop and R & B, and his recent guest appearance on O3L not only introduced me to LeMoyne Alexander, but specifically to his extraordinary 2024 single "Insecurity." Whoa! I'm retroactively declaring "Insecurity" to be one of my top tracks of '24. 

There's so much out there that we don't know, that we don't get an opportunity to know. With LeMoyne Alexander's superb rockin' pop track "Insecurity," we'll try to make up a little bit of lost time.

DONNA SUMMER: I Feel Love

From my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1):

1977 had the potential to be a year of musical revolution. When we say that, most of us are talking about punk, about the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, the Clash. Maybe we're not thinking as much about disco, and maybe that's fair. But if we want to consider the potential of pop music's revolution in '77, our discussions of "God Save The Queen," "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker," and "White Riot" had better allow some room on the dancefloor for "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer.

In the late '70s, disco and punk were supposed to be at war with each other. As a self-professed punk rocker in that era, I can attest that, yeah, punks didn't like disco, and the bumpin'-n-hustlin' set was appalled by the loud and fast noise my people favored. Hatfields and Capulets, meet McCoys and Montagues. Never mind the fact that the mainstream rock crowd held both punk and disco in nearly equal disdain; this was war!

Except that it wasn't. I'm skeptical of the notion that many of the Saturday Night Fevered ever took much interest in the Damned or the Dead Boys, but some among the new wave brigade did eventually allow their ears and minds to be a bit more open to non-pogo dance music, to the beat of dat ole debbil disco. Maybe it was just me, but I was a pop fan anyway; my intense dislike of disco music evolved into occasional tolerance, and tolerance evolved into a sporadic realization that some of the records weren't bad. 

Plus: Donna Summer. Donna Summer was gorgeous. I feel love.

Donna Summers's first hit, "Love To Love You Baby," was basically an extended orgasm set to a disco beat (which is not necessarily a bad thing).  But "I Feel Love" is more interesting; still shimmering and sexy--Donna Summer at that time could have covered the Singing Nun, and still been shimmering and sexy--but its European syncopation makes it even sexier, if not quite as sweaty. Or perhaps not as obviously sweaty....

WILSON PICKETT: Land Of 1000 Dances

"Land Of 1000 Dance." Our National Anthem. Well, it should be our National Anthem. And with no disrespect intended toward the 1962 original by Chris Kenner nor the hit 1965 remake by Cannibal and the Headhunters (whose fine version was the first to add the familiar na nana na na, nana na na na na na na na na, nana na naaaaaaa), I say folks attending baseball games across this occasionally (if not lately)-great land of ours should all rise for the wicked Wilson Pickett's evocation of doin' the Pony like Bony Maronie. Na nana na na, nana na na na na na na na na, nana na naaaaaaa. Batter up!

LL COOL J: Mama Said Knock You Out

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

THE BELLRAYS: One More Night

Like LeMoyne Alexander, the BellRays are another supercool act introduced to my eager ears via the Only Three Lads podcast. See? Ya learn stuff listening to O3L! You can catch up with your BellRays acclimation via their two-part O3L appearance in 2024: Part 1 and Part 2. To supplement your essential BellRays 101, let's review how the mighty Brett Vargo hyped their O3L spot:

"We're havin' a party this week! Joining us for a lively, laugh-filled exploration of 1973 albums is the heart and soul of the BellRays, singer Lisa Kekaula and guitarist Bob Vennum, who have been gloriously blending high octane punk, powerful soul music, deep blues, gritty garage rock, and whatever else they want to throw into the stew, since 1990. This is a band that defies expectations or pre-conceived notions and transcends any one genre or scene. Their music is all about energy and feel, and that makes them authentic no matter what the style is. To quote their 2020 compilation, It’s Never To Late To Fall In Love With...The BellRays."

NEVER too late! I can't explain why it took me so long to purchase some BellRays music and get it on the radio where it belongs. In that never-too-late spirit, the BellRays finally make their long-overdue TIRnRR debut with this killer track from their 2024 album Heavy Steady Go! They'll be back. We have a lot of time to overcompensate for, one more night at a time.

BOOKER T AND THE MG'S: Green Onions

Dana's pick for what oughta be our National Anthem. Booker T and the MG's with "Green Onions' or Wilson Pickett with "Land Of 1000 Dances?" Can't go wrong either way.

THE FOUR TOPS: Reach Out I'll Be There

Reach out. The bad guys have the power. We have the numbers. Reach out, my friends. Reach out.

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar. You can also become a Boppin' booster on my Patreon page.

I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here. My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

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. You can read about our history here.

10 SONGS: 1/10/2026

10 Songs is a weekly list of ten songs that happen to be on my mind at the moment. The lists are usually dominated by songs played on the previous Sunday night's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. The idea was inspired by Don Valentine of the essential blog I Don't Hear A Single.

This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1318

EYTAN MIRSKY: This Year's Gonna Be Our Year

THE FOUR TOPS: Reach Out I'll Be There

The news of the world this week does not inspire optimism. Nonetheless: We open the new year with testimonials of hope and resilience courtesy of Eytan Mirsky and the Four Tops. Both songs are given chapters in my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). The book was not intended as fiction, the brutal nature of the real world notwithstanding.

You can read an earlier version of my GREM! celebration of Brother Eytan's fantastic "This Year's Gonna Be Our Year" in its blog appearance right here. For now, let me add this bit from the book's chapter about the mighty Four Tops:

"...'Reach Out' is no less melodramatic than 'Standing In The Shadows Of Love' or 'It's The Same Old Song' or 'Seven Rooms Of Gloom.' But its sense of heightened emotion is put to a higher purpose: Not just lamenting lost love, but planting feet firmly, chin set, and reaching out to help a loved one make a stand when the chips are down. It's pure, it's inspirational, and it's spine-chillingly convincing and uplifting...."

We need that, especially in these times of trouble, when we feel like we can't go on. All hope isn't quite gone, not just yet. It's time to rewrite our stories. This year. Reach out. 

TAYLOR SWIFT [FEATURING SABRINA CARPENTER]: The Life Of A Showgirl [dressing room rehearsal version]

Look: I realize that I'm not in Taylor Swift's demo. But I respect her talent, I respect her accomplishment, and I very much respect her super ability to piss off a lot of people who piss me off. I've already waxed rhapsodic about Swift's sublime 2020 track "The Last Great American Dynasty," while simultaneously noting that most of her work is likely to fall outside my chosen pop parameters.

With that said, the fact that I don't listen to any contemporary hits radio format means I didn't hear the title tune from Swift's 2025 album The Life Of A Showgirl until a few weeks ago. I think the studio version of this collaboration between Swift and Sabrina Carpenter was played incidentally during the six-part Disney + docuseries Taylor Swift: The End Of An Era, but what got my attention was Swift and Carpenter's dressing room rehearsal performance of the song. That was stunning, allowing the words and melody to breathe free, unencumbered by extraneous (to me) gloss and thump. This rendition became an immediate personal pop obsession, prompting me to buy the track and put it on a radio show that's generally more known for playing the Ramones and the Flashcubes rather than Taylor Swift. See, great songs can fit in anywhere.

THE CYNZ: Love's So Lovely

The Cynz were TIRnRR's 13th most-played artist in 2025, and they placed two songs among our 50 most-played tracks. One of those tracks, "Heartbreak Time," was a single that has now been remixed as part of the brand-new Cynz album Confess, which is due out this month from the Jem Records label. As we commence a new year of countdown stats, we debut "Love's So Lovely," the latest single from Confess, and we'll be playing it again on Sunday. We confess a love of Cynz.

TREVOR BLENDOUR: She's Still My Baby

About a month ago, I got a text from beloved actor/musician/producer/debonaire man-about-town Robbie Rist:

"Sir.

Trevor Blendour (pronounced blender)

Look him up.

I think he's a great addition to TIRnRR.

Has a new album called Breaking Up With Trevor Blendour.

Find it."

We hear and we obey. Thanks for the tip, Robbie! (And, um...how did you get this number? Just askin'...)

MIKE BROWNING: It's Festival Time

Festival time? Man, it's ALWAYS a festival when Mike Browning releases a new single, and "It's Festival Time" puts that sentiment in writing. And if the snowy season in Syracuse doesn't immediately conjure images of FESTIVAL!, we can close our eyes, listen, and wave the ol' cigarette lighter high. We'll wave it again this Sunday. Don't argue with festivals.

THE TROGGS: Wild Thing

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

ELVIS PRESLEY: Hard  Headed Woman

The ONLY King we acknowledge.

SPECTRAFLAME: Love Don't Live Here No More

Another tip courtesy of the charmingly ubiquitous Robbie Rist, and this time it's a project he's involved in. "Love Don't Live Here No More" is the latest single from St. Petersburg, Florida's phenomenal pop combo Spectraflame, a fab force commanded by singer, songwriter, and guitarist Steve Burgess. Our Robbie adds drums, bass, backing vocals, and MORE GUITAR!, Lee Pons plays the keys, and the result is ready-made for rockin' pop radio. HEY! That's where WE come in! I knew we'd get to play some kinda part in this. Our part is to play it this week, and again next week. The love of pop music still lives here, and it lives here with gusto to spare.

(Er...our apologies to Spectraflame for announcing the song on-air last week as "Love Don't Live Here ANY More." I'd say we learned our lesson, but we did it again on our next show. Jeez, it's a good thing we're so adorable.)

THE VOGUES: Five O'Clock World

Good enough for Drew Carey. Good enough for us.

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar. You can also become a Boppin' booster on my Patreon page.

I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here. My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

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. You can read about our history here.

10 SONGS: 10/4/2025

10 Songs is a weekly list of ten songs that happen to be on my mind at the moment. The lists are usually dominated by songs played on the previous Sunday night's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. The idea was inspired by Don Valentine of the essential blog I Don't Hear A Single.

This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1304.

DOLENZ, JONES, BOYCE AND HART: I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight

This week, we put the TIRnRR spotlight on Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, serving as our Featured Performers and also as our Featured Songwriters. And we kicked that off with a 1976 live-in-Japan performance by Dolenz, Jones, Boyce and Hart, reuniting Tommy and Bobby with former co-workers Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones from the Monkees. The guys who sang 'em and the guys who wrote 'em! And in this case they're all singing "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight," a song that was Boyce and Hart's biggest hit as performers. Great, great song in either rendition.

THE FLASHCUBES: She

A feature on Boyce and Hart as songwriters allowed us to program a bunch of their songs as interpreted by a number of different artists. That includes the Monkees (of course!), as well as a few covers of B & H tunes recorded by and primarily associated with the Monkees. Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes cut a fabulous version of the 1966 More Of The Monkees album track "She" for a 2017 Monkees tribute album called Listen To The Bands. I confess that I suggested the 'Cubes do "Love Is Only Sleeping," but the 'Cubes rightly knew that "She" was a better match. HEY!

THE ARMOIRES: You're Not The Police

From the Flashcubes covering the Monkees, let's move to the Armoires covering the Flashcubes. From the various-artists blockbuster Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, the Armoires apply Byrdswax and all sortsa Cheap Tricks for their rendition of the Flashcubes' "You're Not The Police." Flippin' the song's gender POV delivers extra added gravitas, drawing a rockin' pop line in the sand, a line that will not be breached. Back off, bro! If I wanted the cops, I'd be watching TV.

THE FOUR TOPS: Last Train To Clarksville

It still feels weird to me that my favorite Motown group the Four Tops covered a Monkees song, and weirder still that they covered two Monkees songs, Neil Diamond's "I'm A Believer" and Boyce and Hart's "Last Train To Clarksville." Both of these were on the Four Tops' 1967 album Reach Out, an LP that mixed the two Monkees covers with covers of the Left Banke's "Walk Away Renee," Tim Hardin's "If I Were A Carpenter," and the Association's "Cherish," all alongside some new tunes crafted at Hitsville USA.

The Four Tops' Left Banke and Tim Hardin covers were magnificent, and the album gave the world the outstanding Four Tops classics "Reach Out I'll Be There," "Bernadette," "Standing In The Shadows Of Love," and "7 Rooms Of Glow." In contrast, neither of these fine Monkees songs is a proper fit for the Four Tops. Interesting as oddities only.

JAY AND THE AMERICANS: Come A Little Bit Closer

When we consider Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart's success as songwriters, a lot of people (me included) automatically think of Boyce and Hart songs recorded by the Monkees. That list includes "(Theme From) The Monkees," "Last Train To Clarksville," "I Wanna Be Free," "Let's Dance On." "She," "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone," "I'll Spend My Life With You," "Mr. Webster," "Words," "Valleri," "P. O. Box 9847," "Through The Looking Glass," and "I Never Thought It Peculiar," among others. There's even a Boyce and Hart song ("Whatever's Right") on the Monkees' 2016 triumph Good Times!, a track begun in the '60s and finished in this high-flyin' 21st century.

One of Boyce and Hart's most notable successes outside of the Monkees' aegis is "Come A Little Bit Closer," which they wrote with Wes Farrell. It was a # 3 hit for Jay and the Americans in 1964, and an integral part of my childhood musical memories. MY kind of song!

TOMMY BOYCE AND BOBBY HART: Out And About

Boyce and Hart followed their success with the Monkees by trying to establish themselves as a recording act, the guys who sang 'em and the guys who wrote 'em. The above-noted "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight" was their only Top 20 hit (# 8 in 1967). Nonetheless, their established track record as tunesmiths and producers made them bona fide contenders in the pop music sweepstakes.

The guys' pursuit of brass rings and gold records led them to a guest appearance on the TV sitcom I Dream Of Jeannie. The show aired on NBC, the very same network that aired The Monkees. The episode included a scene set in a record store, which displayed copies of Headquarters (ironically, the album released after Boyce and Hart were effectively relieved of duties as Monkees producers). The ensuing hijinks portrayed cute 'n' magical Jeannie's efforts to move into rock 'n' roll artist management with Boyce and Hart as her first clients. 

I haven't watched this episode in a very long time, but a quick visit to YouTube supports my memory that Boyce and Hart lip-synced two of their records on the show: "Girl, I'm Out To Get You" (as Jeannie uses her magic to turn Tommy and Bobby into musicians, perhaps a sly shot at the assembly process that created the Monkees), and "Out And About," the latter with the lovely Jeannie herself sitting in on drums as they audition for Wall of Sound producer and future murderer Phil Spector.

The sitcom exposure was not sufficient to lift the "Out And About" single higher than # 39. BUT! They did get to meet Jeannie.

ANNE RICHMOND BOSTON: Mr. Webster

The Monkees (well, Micky Dolenz and some studio pros) first recorded Boyce and Hart's "Mr. Webster" during the sessions for what became the 1967 album More Of The Monkees. That version was originally unreleased, and the group returned to it in '67 for a fresh recording used on their album Headquarters, the Monkees' third album and the first to feature the Monkees themselves as the musicians in the studio. As produced by Boyce and Hart and played by studio musicians, the first recorded version is overly melodramatic, even ponderous, in telling its tale of a long-tenured and underappreciated bank teller; for Headquarters, the Monkees worked with producer Chip Douglas to give the song an underlying bounce that actually enhances the drama without detracting from it. The Headquarters "Mr. Webster" is the definitive "Mr. Webster."

Anne Richmond Boston of the Swimming Pool Q's recorded a cover of "Mr. Webster" for the 1992 compilation Here No Evil--A Tribute To The Monkees. Boston's "Mr. Webster"  threads the needle between the two disparate Monkees takes, retaining drama but eschewing melodrama in a slow burn that is both folkier and silkier. 

THE MONKEES: (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone [live]

The Greatest Record Ever Made!

REDD KROSS: Blow You A Kiss In The Wind

In addition to appearing on I Dream Of Jeannie, Boyce and Hart were also on an episode of Bewitched, once again playing themselves and once again gettin' mixed up with a magic chick. Two magic chicks in this case, the show's star Samantha and her wicked identical cousin Serena, both played by Patty Duke...er, I mean Elizabeth Montgomery. Jeez, you can lose your mind when magical cousins are two of a kind. 

Where was I? Right: On Bewitched, our heroes perform "I'll Blow You A Kiss In The Wind" at the Cosmos Cotillion. And, continuing a TV tradition from The Monkees (where a storyline called for Michael Nesmith to be credited as the author of the Boyce and Hart composition "Gonna Buy Me A Dog"), Bewitched presents Serena as the author of "I'll Blow You A Kiss In The Wind." You can re-live and remember the episode's performances of the song by Serena and by Boyce and Hart right here.

You know who else remembers Boyce and Hart on Bewitched? Why, Redd Kross, of course. Hawthorne, California's other great group included a cover of "Blow You A Kiss In The Wind" on their 1984 EP Teen Babes From Monsanto. Serena could not be reached for comment.

THE MINUS 5: Boyce & Hart

On Sunday, the afternoon before this week's evening broadcast of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, I was listening to former Paul Revere and the Raiders lead singer Mark Lindsay's Underground Garage show American Revolution. In a set paying tribute to Boyce and Hart, Lindsay played the Minus 5's specific tribute to the pair, a wonderful track called--what else?--"Boyce & Hart."

And it was only the fact that I was driving at the time that prevented me from kicking myself as the track played. Why didn't I think to include that in our own B & H feature? The song comes from the Minus 5's album Of Monkees And Men, a collection of Minus 5 originals inspired by the Monkees and their milieu. We did include another track from Of Monkees And Men earlier in this week's show ("Micky's A Cool Drummer"), but I completely forgot about the even more appropriate "Boyce & Hart." My brain was apparently out and about. I wonder what it's doing tonight?

Ah, but fortune stepped in! An unexpected complication forced us to swap out one of the tracks played during the show's coda, and that provided a perfect opportunity to sub in the Minus 5's sublime "Boyce & Hart" at the very end of the show. Thank you, MonkeeMen! And Godspeed Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart.

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I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here. My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

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. You can read about our history here.