Brainbuster Question of the Day for Friday, March 27th, '09

Q: Which two people won the Oscars as Best Actor and Actress at the March, 2000 Academy Award ceremony, and for what films?















A: KEVIN SPACEY AMERICAN BEAUTY / HILARY SWANK BOYS DON'T CRY

Nashville's greatest contribution to the hot-rod and surfing craze of the early '60s came in the form of Ronny & the Daytonas. Centered around singer-guitarist-songwriter John "Bucky" Wilkin (son of country tunesmith Marijohn Wilkin, best known for composing "Long Black Veil" and "One Day At a Time"), their big moment in the sun came with their debut disc, the Wilkin-penned "G.T.O." After writing the song in physics class as a senior in high school, Wilkin's mom pulled a few strings, landed him a publishing deal, and had a session set up with Nashville producer (and former Sun session man) Bill Justis. Justis cut the tune with various Nashville session players who had a feel for rock & roll and instructed Bucky to come up with a group name to put on the record. Wilkin became Ronny Dayton with the anonymous backing group becoming the Daytonas. The record sprang to number four on the national charts, and an album was cut in two weeks using more or less the same personnel. Wilkin seems to have cared little about playing live and, after a short time fronting a thrown-together combo for selected dates (including a USO tour), simply put together a phantom group to go out and honor tour commitments. After the USO tour, Buzz Cason joined the group, becoming Wilkin's main writing partner. A shift away from the Beach Boys-styled hot-rod and surf tunes came with the group's second hit, the ballad "Sandy." Another album, exploring the ballad side of the band, was recorded in Germany with Cason and various session players, including a full string section, then an innovative idea for a rock & roll record. The hits soon dried up, however, and the band moved on to RCA Victor with some success before Wilkin left to pursue a solo career with albums on United Artists and Liberty. He remains active today on the oldies circuit.

Brainbuster Question of the Day for Thursday, March 26th, '09

Q: The Northeast Passage, first successfully navigated in 1880, is a challenging water route along the northern coast of what two continents?














A: EUROPE / ASIA

Sensational '70's Tune for Thursday, March 26th, '09

Appearing in February 1979, "Tragedy" was the band's fifth top chart hit in a little over a year. It would subsequently breach the Top Five of the charts in nearly ten countries. The second U.S. single to spin off the band's Spirits Having Flown LP, which itself could not technically be considered a disco album, it nevertheless beat with a frenetic energy that set it apart from their earlier dance fests. Of course, it also gave the burgeoning anti- disco movement more fuel for their fire -- "you've heard one Bee Gees record, you've heard them all." All fire and explosion, Barry Gibb's falsetto may have been high but it was executed with superb control -- a feat which few vocalists can perform. "Tragedy" was also groundbreaking in its utilization of the new multi-tracking technology, and the song was stronger for it. Hopelessly retro but timeless as well, "Tragedy" would top the charts again in late 1998 when Brit-popsters Steps gave it an updated treatment.

Brainbuster Question of the Day for Wednesday, March 25th, '09

Q: Which film, nominated as Best Picture for the Academy Award in 1999, was the second biggest money maker of 1999, reaping almost $300 million?



A: THE SIXTH SENSE

Sensational '70's Tune for Wednesday, March 25th, '09

Songwriter/arranger Van McCoy was working on an album for Hugo and Luigi when the idea came to him to record his own album. While recording tracks for the LP in New York, his partner, Charles Kipps, accepted a DJ's invitation to come to the Adam's Apple club. After seeing the patrons do an elegant dance called "the hustle," Kipps later told McCoy about what he'd seen. The sessions were done at New York's Media Sound with pianist McCoy, bassist Gordon Edwards, drummers Steve Gadd and Rick Marotta, keyboardist Richard Tee, guitarists Eric Gale and John Tropea, and orchestra leader Gene Orloff. Hugo Peretti brought in piccolo player Philip Bodner to play the lead melody. Produced by Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore and issued on Avco, the million-selling "The Hustle" danced up to number one R&B and number one pop in the summer of 1975. It was included on the number one R&B/Top 12 pop LP Disco Baby. His other hits include the Top Six R&B/Top 50 pop hit "Change With the Times." Music vet McCoy also had hits with Faith, Hope & Charity, former Temptations member David Ruffin ( "Walk Away From Love"), and Gladys Knight & the Pips ( "Baby Don't Change Your Mind").

Brainbuster Question of the Day for Tuesday, March 24th, '09

Q: Who was the first actress to make $20 million dollars to star in a film?



A: JULIA ROBERTS

Sensational '70's Tune for Tuesday, March 24th, '09

Sensational '70's Tune for Monday, March 23rd, '09

A number two U.K. hit and Roxy Music's long-awaited U.S. breakthrough -- it reached number 30 in early 1976 -- "Love Is the Drug" followed in the footsteps of David Bowie's "Fame" by utterly Americanizing what had hitherto been a stubbornly British phenomenon. The difference was whereas Bowie needed to completely dismantle his own sound and attitude, Roxy simply strengthened theirs, creating a dramatic art funk fusion from ingredients that had been littering their arsenal for years.

Pulsating on an unselfconsciously visceral bass line, "Love Is the Drug" is, nevertheless, as far from the R&B basics of true funk as it is possible to stray without descending into a dance-free zone. Rather, it predicts the Teutonic rhythms which Bowie, again, would himself be employing on his own next album, Station to Station, and which would fuel much of the post-punk electro-funk of the late '70s.

Indeed, peel away the radio-pleasing buoyancy which is the song's immediate calling card and "Love Is the Drug" is as grimly unrelenting as any past Roxy attack -- as taut as it is tight, as sordid as it is sensual. Simple Minds, Gang of Four, Public Image Ltd., and the Human League can all trace at least a soupçon of their future funkiness to "Love Is the Drug," as can Roxy themselves. Regrouping following a three-year layoff, the group's Manifesto album was cut firmly from the same soul as "Love Is the Drug" and its own follow-up single, "Both Ends Burning."

A "Love Is the Drug" remix made number 33 in Britain during 1996.

Brainbuster Question of the Day for Monday, March 23rd, '09

Q: It is said that Erik the Red named this land incorrectly on purpose, in order to attract visitors and settlers. Which land?












A: GREENLAND

Brainbuster Question of the Day for Friday, March 20th, '09

Q: Her name was Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman, and she was a journalist for the New York World. In 1889, under the pen name Nellie Bly, she wrote a news article describing the 72 days she spent doing what?























A: TRAVELING AROUND THE WORLD IN A HOT AIR BALLOON

Friday's Fabulous '50's Tune for March 20th, '09

Danny & The Juniors were a Philadelphia based quartet comprising Danny Rapp, Dave White, Frank Maffei and Joe Terranova. They are most widely recognized for their hit single "At the Hop", which was released in 1957. They are sometimes erroneously stated as being an Italian-American band. However, lead singer Danny Rapp was of Irish extraction.

The 1950s

Initially formed in Philadelphia in 1955 as "The Juvenairs", they signed with local record label Singulair. Artie Singer of Singulair, along with a local disc jockey named Larry Brown, changed the name of the group to "Danny & The Juniors".

Dave White co-wrote a song for the group, "Do the Bop", to accommodate a new dance called The Bop that was popular on Dick Clark's TV show, American Bandstand. The song came to the attention of Clark, who suggested that they rename it "At the Hop". The song was not initially a success, but after being played on American Bandstand, it was picked up by ABC-Paramount Records, and stayed at the top of the U.S. charts for seven weeks. It went on to sell over two million copies worldwide. The song was followed in 1958 by the similar sounding "Rock 'n' Roll Is Here To Stay", which also made it into the Top 20.

The 1960s

In 1960, Danny and the Juniors were signed to Dick Clark's Swan Records label, and they released one more record, "Twistin' USA". It made it into the Top 40, and became their final hit single. They went on to release several more singles, but were not able to repeat their earlier successes.

Dave White left the group in the early 1960s to concentrate on writing and production. White was very successful in this venture, composing a number of hits, including "You Don't Own Me" for Leslie Gore, and "1-2-3" and "Like A Baby" for Len Barry.

In the late 1960s, the Juniors also appeared on Guyden Records, Mercury Records, and Capitol Records, where they re-recorded "Rock 'n' Roll Is Here To Stay" in 1968.

The 1970s and the end of the Juniors

In 1976, "At the Hop" was re-issued, and it made its way into the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart.

After a few quiet years, Danny Rapp was found dead in a hotel in Arizona on April 5, 1983, of an apparent suicide.

"Danny & The Juniors" still tours, with Joe Terry (lead), Frank Maffei, and Frank's brother Bobby Maffei.

Band member details

* Danny Rapp (born Daniel Joseph Rapp, May 10, 1941, in Philadelphia - died April 5, 1983) - Lead Tenor vocalist.
* Joe Terranova (born Joseph Terranova, January 30, 1941, in Philadelphia) - Baritone / Bass vocalist
* Dave White (born Dave White Tricker, September 1, 1940, in Philadelphia) - Tenor vocalist.
* Frank Maffei (born November 1940, in Philadelphia) - Second Tenor vocalist.

Awards and recognition

Danny and The Juniors were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003.

Singles

Singular Records

* Do the Bop/? (just before release they were known as The Juvenaires)(1957)
* "At the Hop" / "Sometimes" (1957)

ABC-Paramount Records

* "At the Hop" / "Sometimes (When I'm All Alone)" (1957)
* "Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay" / "School Boy Romance" (1958)
* "Dottie" / "In The Meantime" (1958)
* "A Thief" / "Crazy Cave" (1958)
* "Sassy Fran" / "I Feel So Lonely" (1958)
* "Do You Love Me" / "Somehow I Can't Forget" (1959)
* "Playing Hard To Get" / "Of Love" (1959)

Swan Records

* "Twistin' U.S.A." / "A Thousand Miles Away" (1960)
* "Candy Cane, Sugary Plum" / "Oh Holy Night" (1960)
* "Daydreamer" / "Pony Express" (1961)
* "Cha Cha Go Go (Chicago Cha-Cha)" / "Mister Whisper" (1961)
* "Back At The Hop" / "The Charleston Fish" (1961)
* "Twistin' All Night Long" / "Some Kind Of Nut" (1962)
* "(Do The) Mashed Potatoes" / "Doin' The Continental Walk" (1962)
* "We Got Soul" / "Funny" (1962)

Guyden Records

* "Oo-La-La-Limbo" / "Now And Then" (1962)

Mercury Records

* "Sad Girl" / "Let's Go Ski-ing" (1964)

Luv Records

* "Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay" / "Sometimes (When I'm All Alone)" (1968)

Crunch Records

* "At The Hop" / "Let The Good Times Roll" (1973)

Roulette Records

* "At The Hop" / "Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay" (1973)

MCA Records

* "At The Hop" / "Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay" (1980)

Trivia

Their single "At the Hop" was commercially used for the Canadian National Exhibition, changing the words to "Let's go to the Ex" rather than "Let's go to the hop."

“At the Hop” was parrodied by the band Dash Rip Rock with their single entitled “Let’s Go Smoke Some Pot”.

"At the Hop" was also parodied by NRBQ during the 1973 energy crisis under the title, "Get That Gasoline."

A seasonal parody of "Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay" has become an annual tradition on NBC's Saturday Night Live. To that tune, Jimmy Fallon, Chris Kattan, Horatio Sanz and Tracy Morgan sing "Christmas Time Is Here Near."

Brainbuster Question of the Day for Thursday, March 19th, '09

Q: One of the most successful business men in the world, Microsoft founder Bill Gates was a college drop-out - from what university?

















A: HARVARD

Sensational '70's Tune for Thursday, March 19th, '09

"Dust in the Wind" is a hit single released by the American progressive rock band Kansas in 1977. It peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart the week of February 18, 1978, making it Kansas' only top ten Billboard Hot 100 charting single. Written by Kerry Livgren, it was one of the band's first acoustic tracks; its slow melody and melancholy lyrics differ from their other hits, such as "Carry On Wayward Son" and "The Wall". The song's instrumental bridge contains a distinctive and highly memorable melodic line for solo viola played by Robby Steinhardt.

Kansas also released a live version of the song on their album Two for the Show.

Brainbuster Question of the Day for Wednesday, March 18th, '09

Q: Oliver Stone won the Academy Award as Best Director twice in a four year span: for a 1986 film and a 1989 film, both related to the same subject. What were the film titles?





A: PLATOON / BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY Vietnam War

Sensational '70's Tune for Wednesday, March 18th, '09

With "How Long," Ace became the only pub rock group to score a massive hit, a song that charted not only in the U.K., but crossed over into the mainstream U.S. market. That kind of success was a pipe dream for Brinsley Schwarz, the undisputed leaders of the movement, but that's because their pop moves came too late and were too retro to really connect with a wide audience. Ace, however, didn't necessarily sound like roots rockers -- at least on "How Long." The single faded in to a laid-back yet insistent, repeated bass line, supported by tinkling high-hats, before it gently eased into the soulful, jazzy chorus. Immediately, this is a catchy, slyly seductive song, but when Paul Carrack starts singing the verse, the whole thing becomes slightly magical. Even this early in his career, Carrack sounds older than his years and he brings real weight to the song that seems to be a lament to the end of a long, failed love affair. But that's not what the song is about. It's about a man who realizes, as he rolls on down the open highway, that he's just spent too damn long playing in a band and that it's time for them to call it a day. Now, that's a pub rock song if there ever was one -- most of the songs were about playing in a band or listening to a band play on a Friday night -- but the great thing is, it never sounds like it. The laid-back vibe, the soulful singing, the great melody all add up to a single that sounds like a soft rock classic of the '70s. And it surely is that. But it is also one of the great pub rock singles, a song that arrived at the end of the pub rock era and certainly summed up what all the bands were feeling, even if they didn't want to admit it to themselves.

Brainbuster Question of the Day for Tuesday, March 17th, '09

Q: Who was Queen Elizabeth's father -- the popular British King from 1936-1952?
























A: GEORGE VI

Sensational '70's Tune for Tuesday, March 17th, '09

Chaka Khan's most requested song while with Rufus and solo as well. Charming, simplistic, no strings -- just Chaka singing with the Rufus band, specifically her collaborator, Tony Maiden's guitar. Maiden opens with some lovable chords that he sustains with incremental embellishment throughout, under Chaka's smoldering delivery. They break it down on the fade with additional backing voices providing a launching pad for Chaka's blood-curdling wails. The public loved "Sweet Thing"; it aced the R&B chart early in 1976 and has been remade many times, most notably by Mary J. Blige in 1993 and saxophonist Boney James.

Brainbuster Question of the Day for Thursday, March 12th, '09

Q: While working as a bouncer at a bar in Brooklyn, this hoodlum was knifed and got a scar on his cheek in a fight over a woman. Who was he?





A: AL CAPONE - called "scarface"

Sensational '70's Tune for Thursday, March 12th, '09

Bebu Silvetti (27 March 1944 — 5 July 2003) was an Argentine pianist, composer, arranger and record producer best known for the 1977 instrumental disco hit, "Spring Rain".

Biography

Bebu Silvetti was born in Quilmes and started his piano education at the age of six. During his teenage years he formed his own jazz quartet and a few other musical groups. At 21 Bebu left Argentina to go to Spain where he stayed a few years working as a pianist at some of the most popular jazz clubs of the time. In the early 1970s he moved to Mexico and started arranging and composing. Upon his return to Spain some years later, he recorded his first album, which contained his hit offering, "Spring Rain". Other albums followed. Silvetti returned to Mexico in the late 1970s, he continued arranging, composing and producing mostly for other artists.

During his long and prolific career, he produced, arranged, and composed for a wide variety of Latin and international artists, including Plácido Domingo, Luis Miguel, Paul Anka, Engelbert Humperdinck, Vicki Car, Roberto Carlos (singer),Rocio Durcal,Rocio Jurado,Jerry Rivera,Tamara,Los Harkas,Paul Anka,Daniela Romo,Armando Manzanero,Jose Luis Perales,Daniel Baremboim,Nazareno Andorno[1],Juan Gabriel,Magie Carles,Los Nocheros,Marco Antonio Solís, Ricardo Montaner, Paloma San Basilio, and Raul di Blasio.

Bebu was the recipient of the Grammy, Billboard and many other awards throughout his lifetime.

Bebu Silvetti died in Miami, Florida at the age of 59 from respiratory failure caused by complications from his lung cancer treatment.

His hit track "Spring Rain" was remixed by DJ YOSHITAKA for the Japanese music game beatmania IIDX 13 DistorteD. The song name was changed to "Spring Rain (Lluvia de Primavera)" to signify the remix.

Brainbuster Question of the Day for Tuesday, March 10th, '09

Q: What was the most prestigious kitchen item a housewife could own in the 19th century?


















A: KITCHEN STOVE

Sensational '70's Tune for Tuesday, March 10th, '09

The song's origins took the form of a live jam in Kitchener, Ontario. The group was rushing into the second set and began improvising a rhythm to liven up the crowd. Burton Cummings, the lead singer, began improvising lyrics to fit the music.

The song's lyrics have been the matter of some debate, often interpreted as an attack on U.S. politics (especially the draft). Jim Kale, the group's bassist and the song's co-author, explained his take on the lyrics:
“The popular misconception was that it was a chauvinistic tune, which was anything but the case. The fact was, we came from a very strait-laced, conservative, laid-back country, and all of a sudden, there we were in Chicago, Detroit, New York — all these horrendously large places with their big city problems. After that one particularly grinding tour, it was just a real treat to go home and see the girls we had grown up with. Also, the war was going on, and that was terribly unpopular. We didn't have a draft system in Canada, and we were grateful for that. A lot of people called it anti-American, but it wasn't really. We weren't anti-anything. John Lennon once said that the meanings of all songs come after they are recorded. Someone else has to interpret them.”

Randy Bachman has claimed that the American woman referred to in the song is in fact the Statue of Liberty, furthering the anti-war theme.

As a single, the track spent three weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 (where it was credited as a double sided hit, along with "No Sugar Tonight"), an unprecedented success for a Canadian band; at the time, it competed with singles such as The Jackson 5's "ABC" and the Beatles's "Let it Be".

"American Woman" was voted Best Canadian Single of All Time by Chart Magazine in both the 2000 and 2005 polls of readers, music industry professionals, and musicians throughout Canada.

The song has been covered by many rock artists, including Lenny Kravitz, and Krokus. It was also featured in Sam Mendes's movie American Beauty. It has most recently been covered by former Guess Who members Cummings and Bachman in a blues rock style.

Kravitz covered the song for the soundtrack of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. It was later included in the 1999 re-issue of his 5 album.

Brainbuster Question of the Day for Monday, March 9th, '09

Q: Sir Laurence Olivier won an Academy Award in the 1940s for his film portrayal of which Shakespearean character?



A: HAMLET

Sensational '70's Tune for Monday, March 9th, '09

Rick Springfield (born Richard Lewis Springthorpe on August 23,1949 in Sydney) is an Australian-American songwriter, musician and actor. As a musician he is most famous for the 1981 #1 single "Jessie's Girl", which became a Grammy Award-winning landmark of 1980s pop-rock and helped establish the emerging music video age. Also an actor, Springfield's best known role is that of the character Dr. Noah Drake on the daytime drama General Hospital. He originated the character from 1981-1983 and then returned to play him again from 2005 until present. He then appeared on Don't Forget The Lyrics in January 2009 to sing his song "Jessie's Girl" and his new song "What's Victoria's Secret." He stayed until the show was over. On March 19 2009 he plays a gig in support of Voices of Uganda at the Key Club in Los Angeles. The gig is co-organized by fellow General Hospital alum, actress Melissa Fitzgerald.

Springfield grew up in a military family and frequently moved as his father was posted to various military bases throughout Australia and Great Britain. Springfield started playing piano at the age of 9 and the guitar at the age of 13. He first wrote songs when he was 14.

In 1967, Springfield dropped out of high school to begin his professional music career. His first appearance in a band was as a singer/guitarist in the band Rock House. In 1968, the band changed the name to MPD, Ltd, then embarked on a tour of Vietnam to entertain the troops stationed there.

In 1969, when Springfield returned to Australia, he formed a band named Wickedy Wak with MPD bandmates Danny Finley and Paul Shannon, along with a keyboardist who went by the name of Ray Wight. Later that year, he joined the band Zoot. Zoot became one of the most popular Australian groups of the late 1960s. Another notable member of Zoot was Beeb Birtles, who in 1975 went on to form the Little River Band. In May 1971, when Zoot broke up, Springfield began a solo career. He had a #1 hit single in Australia, "Speak to the Sky."

After his success in Australia, the 22-year-old Springfield relocated to Hollywood, California in 1972.[1] Capitol Records signed him, and he recorded his first album Beginnings. "Speak to the Sky" was re-released as a single in the US, and reached #14 in the Billboard Top 100. Exposure on American Bandstand, as well as being regularly featured in teen fan magazines such as 16 magazine and Tiger Beat, sparked interest amongst teenage girls. In 1973 a Saturday morning cartoon called Mission: Magic! was centered around Springfield and ran for one year, with a soundtrack album also released.

Radio stations became suspicious of the album "Beginnings" and refused to play it, because of rumours that the record company, Capitol Records, was paying people to purchase it. Capitol denied the rumour, but Springfield was subsequently dropped from the label. However, in 1973 he was signed by Columbia Records, who released his second album Comic Book Heroes (1974). It received very good reviews from Rolling Stone Magazine, but it failed to chart. Springfield was dropped from that label as well, and plans to release an album entitled Springfield were also scrapped.

In 1976, Springfield released a third album Wait for Night under the Chelsea Records label. But while he was out touring to promote the album, the record company went bankrupt. Despite one single, "Take A Hand", grazing the Top 40, the album still fell off the charts and was reissued by RCA in 1982. Throughout the rest of the 1970s, Springfield performed in various clubs on the Sunset Strip and throughout Los Angeles, but was unable to maintain a career at the top of the charts.

After a break of several years to do some acting (see section below), Springfield returned to music in 1981 with the album Working Class Dog. Most notable on this album were the singles "Jessie's Girl", which went to #1 on the Billboard charts, and "I've Done Everything for You" which was written by Sammy Hagar, and reached #8 on Billboard. Springfield won a Grammy in 1982 for "Best Male Rock Vocal Performance" for "Jessie's Girl". Springfield was also nominated for a second Grammy in 1982 and a third Grammy in 1983. His subsequent release in 1982, the album Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet, also contained a string of top 40 hits including the #2 hit "Don't Talk to Strangers" and the ballad "What Kind of Fool Am I?"

His 1983 album Living in Oz contained more serious subject matter, and more of a hard-rock sound. The album went platinum on the strength of the hits "Human Touch", "Souls", and "Affair of the Heart". That same year he won an American Music Award for "Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist" along with John Cougar Mellencamp.

His 1984 single "Love Somebody" (from the soundtrack album to the Hard to Hold movie he starred in that year) was his last top ten hit in the U.S. to date, peaking at #5 on the Billboard singles chart. He stopped touring in 1985, for the birth of his first son, Liam. Also in 1984, Mercury Records released Beautiful Feelings which were unreleased sessions Rick recorded in 1978 but never released. The LP was remixed and additional instrumentation was added without Rick's involvement. Rick attempted to block the release of this LP, but was unsuccessful. Springfield later purchased an ad in several music industry magazines revealing the true nature of this LP, and he did not authorize it's release and his new LP (the afordmentioned "Hard To Hold") would be coming out soon. Despite the controversy, "Beautiful Feelings" reached number 78 on the LP charts, and a single, "Bruce", a song about people mistaking Rick for Bruce Springsteen, hit number 27 on the Hot 100.

Springfield was one of several performers who participated in the Live Aid charity concert. After releasing the album Tao in 1985, Springfield chose to take a break from recording to spend more time with his family, and to deal with the depression that had affected him since his adolescence.

In 1987, Springfield returned to the studio and released the album Rock of Life. The next year, he was seriously injured in an ATV accident. Since he was unable to play the guitar for six months, the planned tour to promote his album was canceled. It would be nearly a decade before Springfield would return to the studio to record the albums Sahara Snow (1997) and Karma(1999).

From 1999 onward, he has held several concert tours throughout North America. In February 2004, he released the critically acclaimed album "Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance" (in short S/D/A/A) on his own "Gomer Record" label. It went up to #8 on the Top Independent Albums chart, and #22 on Top Internet Album Sales chart.

In 2005, Springfield released The Day After Yesterday - a collection of his covers of "songs [he] wish[es] [he] had written."

On April 28, 2006, Springfield performed a medley of his hits at the 33rd Daytime Emmy Awards, and received an enthusiastic response, which included a standing ovation from his acting peers. Springfield's latest release is a live concert DVD entitled Live in Rockford.

In late-August 2007, Rick took part in the Countdown Spectacular 2 concert series in Australia. It was the first time Rick had performed live in Australia for some 35 years.

Curiously the one global chart market Springfield failed to break into with any great success was the British chart scene, despite having lived in the UK for a period and having a huge following there.[citation needed] This seeming failure was due more to timing than lack of popularity as the genre of soft rock that Springfield was part of remained largely unsuccessful in the new romantic and ska dominated British charts of the early 80s, which also saw the likes of Olivia Newton John and British artists Sheena Easton and Def Leppard fail to enjoy any great success in the period. He is often likened to the modern British act Robbie Williams who has suffered a similar fate in the United States despite global appeal and a decidedly strong American fan base. retrospectively the soft rock explosion in late 80s Britain has ensured that, despite not being a big hit at the time, Jessie's Girl, Springfield's biggest UK hit, is today regarded as an 80's classic with regular airplay in the UK.

In August 2008, Rick released Venus in Overdrive which debuted on Bilboard at #28. He also performed the first single "What's Victoria's Secret" on General Hospital as Eli Love.

Because of various issues regarding the management of his recording career and uncertainty with immigration paperwork, in the 1970s Springfield decided to branch off into acting. He had already starred in the cartoon series Mission: Magic, produced by Filmation in 1973, where he appears in the animated format, along with the teacher Miss Tickle and her teenaged students. In 1978, he became one of the last contract actors signed to Universal Studios, and appeared in several guest roles in series such as The Incredible Hulk and The Rockford Files. He also had a brief role as Zac in the 1978 movie Battlestar Galactica, and a small recurring role on the soap opera The Young and The Restless.

In 1981, Springfield became a soap opera star on General Hospital. He had signed a contract with RCA Records and already recorded the album Working Class Dog, which neither he nor his agent had expected would do very well, which is why Springfield took the soap role. But the song "Jessie's Girl" went to #1, and Springfield ended up both playing the role of Dr. Noah Drake from 1981 through 1983, while simultaneously going on tour with his band. The success of the song boosted the ratings of the show, which according to Springfield "became the biggest show on TV for that summer," and the fame from the show likewise boosted the sale of the song.[1]

In 1984, Springfield made one full length feature film Hard to Hold. It was considered a box office failure, but the movie did produce a successful soundtrack with a top ten song "Love Somebody."

Despite the fact that he played a young rock star in Hard to Hold, in real life Springfield was already in his 30s, had become a husband and father, and was growing uncomfortable with the teen idol image he portrayed.

Throughout the 1990s, Springfield acted in several made-for-TV movies, and appeared in television shows such as Suddenly Susan. In 1992, he starred in the suspense detective series Human Target. From 1994 to 1996, he also starred in another detective series, High Tide.

In addition to the roles on television and in film, Springfield also acted in musical theatre. In 1995, he was a member of the original Broadway cast of the musical Smokey Joe's Cafe. This Tony Award-nominated musical featured the songs of rock & roll songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. From February 2000 through December 2002, Springfield performed in EFX Alive! at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada to critical acclaim.

In 2001, he appeared in the film Dying to Dance, which also starred another General Hospital actor, Kimberly McCullough (Robin Scorpio). Springfield also played the role of Nick Knight in the original Nick Knight TV movie in 1989, a role later taken up by Geraint Wyn Davies in the TV Series Forever Knight.

In December 2005, Springfield was asked by the General Hospital producers to return to the show, and he returned to his role as Dr. Noah Drake after a 23-year absence. His run was subsequently extended, although as of 2007 he remains a guest star on recurring status, and not a full contract cast member. In July 2007, a new storyline was introduced with another character also played by Springfield, Eli Love, "a 1980s rock star" who just happens to look exactly like Dr. Drake. The storyline requires Drake, who hates musicians, to fill in for an injured Eli Love at a charity concert. In the summer of 2008, he returned as both Noah Drake and Eli Love. On July 29 2008, he performed his latest single "What's Victoria's Secret" on the show. In 2007, Springfield did a benefit concert in Cape Girardeau, Missouri for Sahara Aldridge, who was suffering with brain cancer, and whose family was friends with Springfield. Aldridge died shortly afterwards at the age of 14, and his 2008 album, "Venus In Overdrive" is dedicated to her.

In 1974, Springfield dated and lived with then 15-year-old actress Linda Blair. He considered it his first "grown up" relationship, despite nearly 10 years difference in their ages.

He married Barbara Porter (October 27, 1984). They met in 1980 while she was working as a receptionist at the recording studio where he recorded his 1981 album Working Class Dog. They have two sons: Liam, born in 1985, and Josh, born in 1989.

In 1985, Springfield a took break from his musical career to spend more time with his family, and to deal with the depression that had affected him since his adolescence. He had also wrestled with depression in the 1970s, when the serious illness of his father (who died on April 24, 1981) and career troubles caused him to "hit the wall" and contemplate suicide.

In 2006, Rick Springfield became a citizen of the United States, but also retains his Australian citizenship.

In 2009, Rick made a surprise appearance on Don't Forget the Lyrics! to commemorate the contestant's love for the 1980s. He sang "Jessie's Girl" after host Wayne Brady introduced him.

1982 Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for "Jessie's Girl"
1983 American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist along with John Cougar Mellencamp

Discography

Studio albums
Beginnings (1972) #35 US
Comic Book Heroes (1973)
Mission Magic (1974)
Wait for Night (1976; Rereleased by RCA in 1982)
Working Class Dog (1981) #7 US
Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet (1982) #2 US
Living in Oz (1983) #12 US
Hard to Hold (1984) #16 US
Tao (1985) #21 US
Rock of Life (1988) #55 US
Karma (1999) #189 US
Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance (2004)
The Day After Yesterday (2005) #197 US
Venus in Overdrive (2008) #28 US

Other releases
Beautiful Feelings (1984) US #78 (New instrumentation of songs originally recorded in 1978, published without Rick's consent)
Sahara Snow (1997)(With Tim Pierce and Bob Marlette)
The Greatest Hits ALIVE (2001)
Platinum & Gold Collection: Rick Springfield (2003)
Written in Rock--Anthology (2005)
Live in Rockford (2006) DVD concert
The Early Sound City Sessions (2007) Original recordings from 1978 that later became Beautiful Feelings in 1984

Singles
Year Song US Hot 100 US MSR US A.C. UK Singles Album
1972 "Speak to the Sky" 14 - - - Beginnings
1972 "What Would the Children Think" 70 - - - Beginnings
1974 "American Girls" 98 - - - unreleased Springfield album
1976 "Take a Hand" 41 - - - Wait for Night
1981 "Jessie's Girl" 1 10 - 43 Working Class Dog
1981 "I've Done Everything for You" 8 - - - Working Class Dog
1981 "Love Is Alright Tonight" 20 40 - - Working Class Dog
1982 "Don't Talk to Strangers" 2 11 30 - Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet
1982 "What Kind of Fool Am I" 21 - - - Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet
1982 "I Get Excited" 32 - - - Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet
1983 "Affair of the Heart" 9 23 - - Living in Oz
1983 "Human Touch" 18 34 - 23 Living in Oz
1983 "Souls" 23 - - - Living in Oz
1984 "Love Somebody" 5 - - 95 Hard to Hold
1984 "Bop 'Til You Drop" 20 - - - Hard to Hold
1984 "Don't Walk Away" 26 - - - Hard to Hold
1984 "Taxi Dancing" (duet with Randy Crawford) 59 - 16 - Hard to Hold
1984 "Bruce" 27 - - - Beautiful Feelings
1985 "Celebrate Youth" 26 - - 80 Tao
1985 "State of the Heart" 22 - - - Tao
1988 "Rock of Life" 22 - - 83 Rock of Life
2004 "Beautiful You" - - 28 - Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance
2008 "What's Victoria's Secret" - - - - Venus in Overdrive

Brainbuster Question of the day for Friday, March 6th, '09

Q: On November 13, 2000, the Michigan State basketball team broke what team's 1,270 game winning streak?



A: Harlem Globetrotters

Sensational '70's Tune for Friday, March 6th, '09

"Wasted Days and Wasted Nights" is an American country and pop song recorded by Freddy Fender. It is considered by many to belong to the swamp pop idiom of south Louisiana and southeast Texas that had such a major musical impact on Fender.

Song history

Fender wrote and recorded "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights", a blues ballad, for Duncan Records in 1959, during the early stages of his career. He was in the process of perfecting his mesh of rockabilly and Tejano, and the song showcased his new style. But he was arrested on charges of possession of marijuana, and in May 1960, he was convicted. The popularity of the song, along with his own popularity, plummeted.

Then, in 1975, "Before The Next Teardrop Falls" became a major hit, and Fender's career was rejuvenated. With the help of record producer Huey Meaux, Fender re-recorded "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights." This time, the song became a major pop and country hit, topping the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart in August 1975 and reaching No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Wasted Days and Wasted Nights" was certified gold for sales of 1 million units by the Recording Industry Association of America.

The song is heard in the background of a party scene depicting George W. Bush's drinking years in Oliver Stone's biographical film W. .

Brainbuster Question of the Day for Thursday, March 5th, '09

Q: Which U.S. President in 1823 declared that the United States would not tolerate European intervention in the Americas.












A: JAMES MONROE Monroe Doctrine

Sensational '70's Tune for Thursday, March 5th, '09

"I Saw the Light" is the opening track from Todd Rundgren's 1972 Something/Anything? double album which was one of the first artist-written, -produced and -performed albums. The song is a pastiche of 1960s pop songs and an homage to singer-songwriter Carole King. In addition to writing and producing the song, Rundgren played every instrument and sang all the vocals on three of the four sides of the double album, while a backing band accompanied him on the fourth.

Rundgren states in the liner notes of Something/Anything? that he intended the song to be the hit of the album, and copied the Motown tradition of putting the hits at the beginning of albums. Rundgren's version peakd at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #36 on the UK Singles Chart. However, in the US at least, Something/Anything? actually contained a bigger hit than "I Saw The Light", as the album's third single "Hello It's Me" climbed to #5.

A cover version of "I Saw The Light" was released in 1998 by country music singer Hal Ketchum from his album I Saw the Light. It reached #36 on the US country charts, and #50 on the Canadian country charts.

A live version of "I Saw The Light" by the Rundgren-fronted The New Cars appears on their 2006 album It's Alive!

The song was featured in the TV series Six Feet Under in the "Death Works Overtime" episode and in the pilot of That '70s Show. The song was also featured in the movie Kingpin.

The song was also covered on Terry Hall's (ex Specials) album Laugh and was released as a single in August 1997

Brainbuster Question of the Day for Wednesday, March 4th, '09

Q: This early TV program ran from 1947 to 1960; it was network TV's first weekday children's show, and NBC's first show broadcast in color. What was it?



This clip has the opening credits, mid-episode bumper, final goodbye song, Clarabell's "big surprise", and closing credits from the long-running kids show.

It aired on NBC on 24 Sep. 1960.

A: HOWDY DOODY

Sensational '70's Tune for Wednesday, March 4th, '09

Biography

Early life

Cocker was born on 20 May 1944 at 38 Tasker Road, Crookes, Sheffield. He is the youngest son of a civil servant, Harold Cocker and Madge Cocker. According to different family stories, Cocker received his nickname of Joe either from playing a childhood game called "Cowboy Joe" or from a neighborhood window cleaner named Joe. Cocker's main musical influences growing up were Ray Charles and Lonnie Donegan. Cocker's first experience singing in public was at age 12 when his older brother Victor invited him on stage to sing during a gig of his skiffle band. In 1960, along with three friends, Cocker formed his first band, the Cavaliers. For the band's first performance at a youth club, they were required to pay the price of admission before entering. The Cavaliers eventually broke up after a year and Cocker left school to become an apprentice gas fitter while he pursued a career in music.

Early career (1961-1966)

In 1961, under the stage name Vance Arnold, Cocker continued his career with a new band, Vance Arnold and the Avengers. The name was a combination of Vince Everett, Elvis Presley's character in Jailhouse Rock, (which Cocker misheard as Vance) and country singer Eddy Arnold. The band mostly played in the pubs of Sheffield, performing covers of Chuck Berry and Ray Charles songs. In 1963 they booked their first significant gig when they supported The Rolling Stones at Sheffield City Hall. In 1964 Cocker signed a recording contract as a solo act with Decca Records and released his first single, a cover of The Beatles' "I'll Cry Instead" with Jimmy Page playing backup guitar. Despite extensive promotion from Decca lauding his youth and working class roots, the record was a flop and his recording contract with Decca lapsed at the end of 1964. After Cocker recorded the single, he dropped his stage name and formed a new band, Joe Cocker's Big Blues. The band toured in France, where they played on American air bases and Cocker gained the nickname of "Le Petit Ray Charles". Although the band appeared on the ITV variety show Star and Garters, they were unable to secure enough bookings and had to disband due to lack of funds.

The Grease Band (1966-1969)

In 1966, after a year-long hiatus from music, Cocker teamed up with Chris Stainton, who he had met several years before, to form The Grease Band. The Grease Band was named after Cocker read an interview with jazz musician Jimmy Smith, where Smith described another musician as "having a lot of grease". Like the Avengers, Cocker's band mostly played in pubs in and around Sheffield. The Grease Band came to the attention of Denny Cordell, the producer of Procol Harum, The Moody Blues and Georgie Fame. Minus the Grease Band, Cocker recorded a single for Cordell in a London studio, "Marjorine". He then moved to London with Chris Stainton and the Grease Band was dissolved. Cordell set Cocker up with a residency at The Marquee Club in London and a "new" Grease Band was formed with keyboardist Tommy Eyre and Chris Stainton.

After minor success in the U.S. with the single "Marjorine", he entered the big time with a groundbreaking rearrangement of "With a Little Help from My Friends", another Beatles cover. The song was from the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album and features lead guitar from Jimmy Page, drumming by BJ Wilson, backing vocals from Sue and Sunny and Steve Winwood on piano. The single made the Top Ten on the British charts, remained there for thirteen weeks and eventually reached number one on 9 November 1968. It also reached number 68 on the US charts.

The new touring lineup of Cocker's Grease Band featured Henry McCullough on lead guitar; he would go on to briefly play with McCartney's Wings. After touring the UK with the Who in Fall 1968 and Gene Pitney and Marmalade in early Winter 1969, the Grease Band embarked on their first tour of the US in Spring 1969. His album With A Little Help from my Friends was released soon after his arrival and made number 35 on the US charts, eventually going Gold.

Joe Cocker at Woodstock (1969)

During his US tour, Cocker played at several large festivals, including the Newport Rock Festival and the Denver Pop Festival. In August, Denny Cordell heard about the planned concert in Woodstock, New York and convinced organizer Artie Kornfeld to book Cocker and the Grease Band for the Woodstock Festival. The band had to be flown into the festival by helicopter due to the large crowds. They performed several songs, including "Delta Lady", Something's Comin' On", "Let's Go Get Stoned", "I Shall Be Released", and "With a Little Help from My Friends", before a rainstorm disrupted their set. Cocker would later say that the experience was "like an eclipse... it was a very special day."

Directly after Woodstock, Cocker released his second album, Joe Cocker!. Impressed by his cover of "With A Little Help From my Friends", Paul McCartney and George Harrison allowed Cocker to use their songs "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window" and "Something" for the album. Recorded during a break in touring in the spring and summer, the album reached number 11 on the US charts and garnered a second UK hit with the Leon Russell song, "Delta Lady".

Throughout 1969 he was featured on variety TV shows like The Ed Sullivan Show and This Is Tom Jones. Onstage, he exhibited an idiosyncratic physical intensity, flailing his arms and playing air guitar, occasionally giving superfluous cues to his band. At the end of the year Cocker was unwilling to embark on another US tour, so he dissolved the Grease Band.

Mad Dogs and Englishmen (1969-1970)

Despite Cocker's reluctance to venture out on the road again, an American tour had already been booked so he had to quickly form a new band in order to fulfill his contractual obligations. It proved to be a large group of more than 30 players (including three drummers, backing vocalists Rita Coolidge and Claudia Lennear, and pianist/bandleader Leon Russell). The new band was christened "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" by Denny Cordell after the Noël Coward song of the same name. During the ensuing Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour, (later described by drummer Jim Keltner as "a big, wild party") Cocker toured 48 cities, recorded a live album, and received very positive reviews from Time and Life for his performances. However, the pace of the tour was exhausting. Russell and Cocker had personal problems and Cocker became depressed and began drinking excessively as the tour wound down in May 1970. Meanwhile, he enjoyed several chart entries in the U.S. with "Cry Me a River" and "Feelin' Alright" by Dave Mason. His cover of the Box Tops' hit "The Letter", which appeared on the live album and film, Mad Dogs & Englishmen, became his first U.S. Top Ten hit. After spending several months in Los Angeles, Cocker returned home to Sheffield where his family became increasingly concerned with his deteriorating physical and mental condition.

On the road (1972-1982)

In early 1972, after nearly two years away from music, Cocker went on tour with a band that Chris Stainton had formed. He opened with a performance in Madison Square Garden which was attended by around 20,000 people. After touring the US, he embarked on a European tour where he played to large audiences in Milan and Germany. He then returned to the US for another tour in Fall 1972. During these tours the band cut the songs that would be part of his newest album, Joe Cocker. A mixture of live songs and studio recordings, the album peaked at number 30 on the US charts.

In October 1972, when Cocker toured Australia, he and six members of his entourage were arrested in Adelaide by police for possession of marijuana. The next day in Melbourne, assault charges were laid after a brawl at the Commodore Chateau hotel, and Cocker was given 48 hours to leave the country by the Australian Federal Police. This caused huge public outcry in Australia, as Cocker was a high-profile overseas artist and had a strong support base, especially amongst the baby boomers who were coming of age and able to vote for the first time. It sparked hefty debate about the use and legalisation of marijuana in Australia and gained Cocker the nickname of "the Mad Dog". Shortly after the Australian tour, Stainton retired from his music career to establish his own recording studio. After his friend's departure and estrangement from longtime producer Denny Cordell, Cocker sank into depression and began using heroin. In June 1973 he kicked the habit, but continued to drink heavily.

At the end of 1973, Cocker returned to the studio to record a new album, I Can Stand A Little Rain. The album, released in August 1974, was number 11 on the US charts and one single, a cover of Billy Preston's You Are So Beautiful, reached the number 5 slot. Despite positive reviews for the album, Cocker struggled with live performances, largely due to his problems with alcohol. In January 1975, he released a second album that had been recorded at the same time as I Can Stand a Little Rain, Jamaica Say You Will. To promote his new album, Cocker embarked on another tour of Australia, made possible by the country's new Labour government. In late 1975, he contributed vocals on a number of the tracks on Bo Diddley's The 20th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll all-star album. He also recorded a new album in a Kingston, Jamaica studio, Stingray. However, record sales were disappointing; the album reached only number 70 on the US charts.

In 1976, Cocker performed "Feelin' Alright" on Saturday Night Live. John Belushi joined him on stage doing his famous impersonation of Cocker's stage movements. At the time, Cocker was $800,000 in debt to A&M Records and struggling with alcoholism. Several months later, he met producer Michael Lang, who agreed to manage him on the condition that he stay sober. With a new band, Cocker embarked on a tour of New Zealand, Australia, and South America. He then recorded a new album with session work by Steve Gadd and Chuck Rainey, Luxury You Can Afford. Despite a Fall 1978 US tour to promote the album, it received mixed reviews and only sold around 300,000 copies.

In 1979, Cocker joined the "Woodstock in Europe" tour, which featured musicians like Arlo Guthrie and Richie Havens who had played at the 1969 Woodstock Festival. He also performed in New York's Central Park to an audience of 20,000 people. The concert was recorded and released as the live album, Live in New York. He also toured Europe and appeared on the German television show, Rockpalast, the first of many performances on the show. In 1982, Cocker recorded a song with jazz group the Crusaders on their album Standing Tall. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award and Cocker performed it with the Crusaders at the awards ceremony. Cocker then released a new reggae-influenced album, Sheffield Steel recorded with the Compass Point All Stars, produced by Chris Blackwell and Alex Sadkin.

Later career (1983-present)

In 1982, at the behest of producer Stewart Levine, Cocker recorded the duet "Up Where We Belong" with Jennifer Warnes for the soundtrack of the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman. The song was an international hit, reaching number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and winning a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo. The duet also won an Academy Award for Best Original Song while Cocker and Warnes performed the song at the awards ceremony. Several days later, he was invited to perform "You Are So Beautiful" with Ray Charles in a television tribute to the musician. He then joined singer Ronnie Lane's 1983 tour to raise money for the London-based organization Action for Research into Multiple Sclerosis. Musicians such as Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, and Chris Stainton also participated in the tour which included a performance at Madison Square Garden. While on another tour that year, Cocker was arrested by Austrian police after refusing to perform because of inadequate sound equipment. The charges were eventually dropped and Cocker was released. Shortly after the incident, he released his ninth studio album, Civilized Man. His next album Cocker was dedicated to his mother, Madge, who died when he was recording in the studio. A track from the album, You Can Leave Your Hat On was featured in the 1986 film 9½ Weeks. The album eventually went Platinum on the European charts. His 1987 album Unchain My Heart was nominated for a Grammy Award, although it did not win. One Night of Sin was also a commercial success, surpassing Unchain My Heart in sales. Throughout the 1980's, Cocker continued to tour around the world, playing to large audiences in Europe, Australia and the United States. In 1988, he performed at Royal Albert Hall and appeared on The Tonight Show. He also performed for President George H. W. Bush at an inauguration concert in February 1989. In 1992, his version of Bryan Adams' "Feels Like Forever" made the UK Top 40.

Cocker performed the opening set at Woodstock '94 as one of the few alumni who played at the original Woodstock Festival in 1969, and was very well received. Cocker was awarded an OBE in the Queen's 2007 Birthday Honours list for services to music. To celebrate receiving his award in mid December 2007, Cocker played two concerts in London and in his home town of Sheffield.
Cocker performing in Hallandale, Florida in 2003

In 2007, Cocker appeared playing minor characters in the film, Across the Universe, as the lead singer on another Beatles hit, "Come Together".

Personal life

In 1963, Cocker began dating Eileen Webster, also a resident of Sheffield. The couple dated intermittently for the next thirteen years, separating permanently in 1976. In 1978, Cocker moved onto a ranch owned by Jane Fonda in Santa Barbara. Pam Baker, a local summer camp director and fan of Cocker's music convinced the actress to rent the house to Cocker. Baker began dating Cocker and they eventually married on 11 October 1987. The couple currently resides on the Mad Dog Ranch in Crawford, Colorado.

Brainbuster Question of the Day for Tuesday, March 3rd, '09

Q: From 1859 to 1869, the Suez Canal was designed, engineered, and constructed by a company from which country?












A: FRANCE

Sensational '70's Tune for Tuesday, March 3rd, '09

A number 39 hit for the Bellamy Brothers from the summer of '79:



Although the Bellamy Brothers are the most successful duo in country music history, they have never been favored by the critics. That doesn't mean their music was rote, by the book, or formulaic country-pop. More than most acts of the late '70s and '80s, the Bellamys pushed the borders of country music, adding strong elements of rock, reggae, and even rap. Nearly a decade after their first hit -- the 1975 pop chart-topping, Southern rock-tinged "Let Your Love Flow" -- the brothers had earned a stack of best-selling records, and critical respect came by the late '80s. By that time, they had firmly established themselves as the top duo of the '80s, both in terms of popularity and musical diversity.

Howard and David Bellamy were raised in Florida. Their father, Homer, played traditional country music around the house and performed with a Western swing band on the weekends. In addition to the country music they heard in their house, the brothers were drawn to the calypso music of the neighboring Caribbean islands. However, nothing provided as much attraction as the rock & roll they heard on their sister's records and the radio. From the Everly Brothers to the Beatles, the Bellamy Brothers soaked up the sounds of contemporary pop and rock. In their late teens and early twenties, they once again became infatuated with country music, thanks to the music of George Jones and Merle Haggard.

Both Howard and David learned how to play a variety of instruments in their childhood. Neither child had any formal training, but Howard managed to learn the guitar, banjo, and mandolin, while David learned the piano, accordion, fiddle, banjo, organ, and mandolin. Both brothers went to college at the University of Florida. While they were students, they had their first paying gigs -- playing fraternity parties. Howard and David both earned degrees at the University of Florida; Howard majored in veterinary medicine, while David earned one in psychology.

During the late '60s, the two performed in a number of bands, both together and separately. In 1968, they moved to Atlanta, forming Jericho. Performing in such a large number of bands meant that the brothers perfected a number of different musical styles, since they were expected to please the tastes of many different club audiences. Playing in a never-ending series of bands and clubs proved tiring, and the brothers moved back home to work on their songwriting.

In a short time, the move paid off. In 1973, they met a friend of singer Jim Stafford, who directed the vocalist to David's "Spiders and Snakes." Stafford was immediately taken with the tune, releasing it as his next single; the humorous retelling of David's boyhood farm experiences would eventually sell over three million copies. The success of "Spiders and Snakes" gave the Bellamy Brothers enough money to move out to Los Angeles, where they began to concentrate on a full-time musical career.

In 1975, the brothers signed to Curb/Warner Bros., releasing their first single, David's "Nothin' Heavy." The song flopped. Dennis St. John, who was a friend of the Bellamys and Neil Diamond's drummer, suggested that the duo record a song written by Larry E. Williams, one of Diamond's roadies. After some encouragement, the Bellamy Brothers recorded and released Williams' song, "Let Your Love Flow." The song broke the doors wide open for the brothers, topping the pop charts and climbing into the country Top 30, as well as being a major hit in Britain, West Germany, and Scandinavia.

The Bellamy Brothers quickly released their debut album, also called Let Your Love Flow, which became nearly as successful as the single. Instead of concentrating on a domestic follow-up, the brothers spent their time in Europe, touring off and on for the next two years, which led to a great deal of financial success. Soon, they were able to pay off their debts and install their mother, Frances, as their financial manager. Their second album, 1977's Plain and Fancy, was a major success in Sweden and Norway, but it didn't make much of an impact in America.

The following year, the Bellamy Brothers moved back to America and returned to the family farm in Darby, FL. Not only did they change their address, but they changed their musical direction, moving closer to a straight country sound. The shift in style paid off, even if "Slippin' Away," the second single they released after they returned to the U.S., only made it into the country Top 20.

The Bellamy Brothers' country breakthrough happened in 1979, with the tongue-in-cheek "If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me." Initially, the song was a hit in Ireland, convincing the duo's American record company to release it as a single. The song rocketed to number one on the country charts, which led to the Top Five success of "You Ain't Just Whistlin' Dixie." The Bellamy Brothers' success continued to roll forward in 1980, as they scored two straight number one hits, "Sugar Daddy" and "Dancin' Cowboys." They earned a Grammy nomination for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group and the CMA named them the Most Promising Group of the Year. Throughout 1980 and 1981, the group continued to rack up the hits, including "Do You Love as Good as You Look" and "They Could Put Me in Jail."

Curb switched the Bellamy Brothers' distribution from Warner Bros. to Elektra at the end of 1981. Coincidentally, the change in distribution coincided with Howard and David's desire to experiment with their music. After they released the number one "For All the Wrong Reasons," the brothers followed with "Get into Reggae Cowboy," which was a groundbreaking country record that incorporated Jamaican rhythms. In 1982, the group was given a Lifetime Membership of the Federation of International Country Air Personalities, as well as being named the Top Country Duo by Billboard.

Throughout 1983, the brothers logged a number of hits. The following year, Curb signed a distribution deal with MCA, which had no effect on the continuing success of the Bellamy Brothers. For the next three years, the brothers were at their peak, both popularly and artistically, scoring a number of hit singles that showcased their continuing musical development as well as their increasing lyrical sophistication, as indicated by the Vietnam vet anthem "Old Hippie" and "Kids of the Baby Boom." The Bellamy Brothers continued to have hits on Curb/MCA until the end of the '80s.

By the turn of the decade, their audience had begun to shrink, leading the duo to switch record labels to Atlantic. After one album with Atlantic, 1991's Rollin' Thunder, the Bellamys left the label, founding their own record company, Bellamy Brothers Records. The Latest and the Greatest (1992) was the first album released on the label. Although the independent record label meant that the group wasn't charting as frequently as it used to, that was also a reflection of the shift of the country audience's taste. The duo could still have minor hits, like the Top 25 "Cowboy Beat," which proved that the Bellamy Brothers continued to hold on to a dedicated group of fans in their second decade of performing. Reggae Cowboys followed in 1998, and a year later the duo resurfaced with Lonely Planet.

Brainbuster Question of the Day for Monday, March 2nd, '09

Q: Star Wars was the third film directed by George Lucas. What were the first two?





A: 1971: THX-1138 / 1973: AMERICAN GRAFFITI

Sensational '70's Tune for Monday, March 2nd, '09

Formed in 1973 in England, the Rubettes were originally organized as a session outfit by Wayne Bickerton of Polydor A&R. Inspired by the successes of Sha Na Na, Mud, and Showaddywaddy, they combined glam rock presentation (red and white suits with matching caps) with a rock & roll revival sound. Their first release, 1974's "Sugar Baby Love," was an instant smash, remaining at number one in England for five weeks while denting the U.S. charts at number 37 in August, and remains their best-known record. Subsequent releases would be less successful, but the band soldiered on and continued to tour on the nostalgia circuit well into the 2000s.

The Rubettes' original lineup featured John Richardson on drums, Mick Clarke on bass, Bill Hurd and Peter Arnesen on keyboards, and Tony Thorpe on guitar. Vocalist Paul DaVinci left the band just before "Sugar Baby Love," replaced by Alan Williams. Their name, like their music, was selected to consciously tap into '50s America iconography, and the revival sound bore fruit in the U.K. on several more singles: The "Sugar Baby Love" soundalike "Tonight" was a strong follow-up, and "Jukebox Jive" and "I Can Do It" went Top Ten there as well. None charted in the States, though, and the band, which had evolved from prefab status to full-fledged band, moved from glammy nostalgia into more serious territory. They turned many a head with 1976's "Under One Roof," a sensitive portrayal of a gay man disowned and later murdered by his father; along with Rod Stewart's "The Killing of Georgie," it was one of very few songs tackling the difficult topic of homophobia. At the time some speculated that the song had been designed to be so uncommercial as to get the band dropped from their label. If so, it worked all too well, as the Rubettes soon fell silent in the face of dwindling success. Arnesen left that year, followed soon after by Hurd, and by 1979 the group was history. In 1983, though, at the urging of a German promoter, Williams re-formed the band for festival shows. Redubbed the Rubettes featuring Alan Williams to counteract other acts passing themselves off as the Rubettes, the reconstituted unit continued to tour Europe in oldies revival packages intermittently into the 2000s, with original members Richardson and Clarke back in the fold along with ex-Kinks keyboardist Mark Haley.