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FIFTEEN WEEKS overall on the singles chart, “I Get Around” by The Beach Boys peaked at #1 this week (2 weeks) on the Billboard Hot 100. Beginning June 28 through week ending, July 11, 1964. (Source: Billboard)
For our previous Billboard 1964 Number One U.S.A. Hits go HERE
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“IN THE YEAR 2525” | ZAGER & EVANS | RCA
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“The listing of records herein is the opinion of CKLW based on its survey of record sales, listener requests and CKLW’s judgement of the record’s appeal.”
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The above CKLW chart was digitally restored by Motor City Radio Flashbacks
— A MCRFB VIEWING TIP —
ON YOUR MOBILE DEVICE? Tap over CKLW chart image. Open to second window. “Stretch” image across your device screen to magnify for largest print view.
ON YOUR PC? Click on all chart images 2x for largest print view.
A SPECIAL THANK YOU
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A sincere, thank you, Mrs. Patti Griggs. This featured presentation would have not been possible without your generosity, dedication, and your continuous support.
Above CKLW music chart courtesy of Mrs. Patti Griggs and the George L. Griggs estate.
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In 1963, WXYZ commissioned PAMS of Dallas to create a plethora of outstanding jingles saluting all the high schools in the metropolitan Detroit area. They were aired mostly during the Detroit high school graduation season and were highlighted on WXYZ during the Detroit high school football seasons, 1963 and 1964.
At the time, WXYZ chose to tally every high school in alphabetical order on the Detroit map with their own jingle, from A through Z. The presented WXYZ jingle sampler was created for high schools lettered A, B, and C . . . from All Saints to Cody High.
Throughout the decades having passed since, many of the named schools recalled in this PAMS sampler, those institutions no longer exist today. But you just may find your high school’s ‘jingle’ played here — as they were selectively saluted on WXYZ radio, some 58 years ago.
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NOTE: For all the other WXYZ High School tributes — 1963-1964 — you can find them archived HERE
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COCA COLA | FONTELLA BASS | THE COCA COLA BOTTLING CO.
COCA COLA | PET CLARK (1966) | THE COCA COLA BOTTLING CO.
COCA COLA | LOS BRAVOS (1967) | THE COCA COLA BOTTLING CO.
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The Marvelettes was an American girl group that achieved popularity in the early-to mid-1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart (now Cowart Motley), and Georgia Dobbins, who was replaced by Wanda Young prior to the group signing their first deal. They were the first successful act of Motown Records after the Miracles and its first significantly successful female group after the release of the 1961 number-one single, “Please Mr. Postman“, one of the first number-one singles recorded by an all-female vocal group and the first by a Motown recording act.
Founded in 1960 while the group’s founding members performed together at their glee club at Inkster High School in Inkster, Michigan, they signed to Motown’s Tamla label in 1961. Some of the group’s early hits were written by band members and some of Motown’s rising singer-songwriters such as Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye, who played drums on a majority of their early recordings. Despite their early successes, the group was eclipsed in popularity by groups like The Supremes, with whom they shared an intense rivalry.
Nevertheless, they managed a major comeback in 1966 with “Don’t Mess With Bill“, along with several other hits. They struggled with problems of poor promotion from Motown, health issues and substance abuse with Cowart the first to leave in 1963, followed by Georgeanna Tillman in 1965, and Gladys Horton in 1967. The group ceased performing together in 1969 and, following the release of The Return of the Marvelettes in 1970, featuring only Wanda Rogers, disbanded for good, with both Rogers and Katherine Anderson leaving the music business.
The group has received several honors including induction into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, as well as receiving the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. In 2005, two of the group’s most successful recordings, “Please Mr. Postman” and “Don’t Mess with Bill” earned million-selling gold singles from the RIAA. On August 17, 2013, in Cleveland, Ohio, at Cleveland State University, the Marvelettes were inducted into the first class of the Official Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame.
The departure of Georgeanna Tillman and renewed success
By 1964, the majority of American vocal groups especially all female bands such as the Shirelles and the Ronettes started struggling with finding a hit after the arrival of British pop and rock acts. In the meantime, other Motown girl groups such as Martha and the Vandellas and the Supremes were starting to get promoted by Motown staff with the Vandellas becoming the top girl group of 1963. The following year, the Supremes took their place as the label’s top primary female group after a succession of hit recordings that year, culminating in the release of their second album, Where Did Our Love Go, which Motown was able to promote successfully. Some sources claim “Where Did Our Love Go” was turned down by the Marvelettes. Gladys recalls “When they played ‘Where Did Our Love Go’ they played ‘Too Many Fish In The Sea‘. We picked ‘Too Many Fish In The Sea’ because it had all the music and all the bongos. We were all together and said at the same time we didn’t want ‘Where Did Our Love Go’.”
That year, the Marvelettes reached the top forty with the Norman Whitfield production, “Too Many Fish in the Sea”, reaching #25 with the recording. By now, Motown had begun its charm school hiring choreographer Cholly Atkins and Maxine Powell to refine the label’s acts. Atkins began polishing the Marvelettes’ dance moves while Powell taught the group to be more graceful, telling them and every other Motown act that they would “perform in front of kings and queens“. Meanwhile, two of the Marvelettes got married: Georgeanna Tillman married longtime boyfriend Billy Gordon of the Contours and Wanda Young married her longtime boyfriend Bobby Rogers of the Miracles changing her name to Wanda Rogers. By the end of 1964, Georgeanna Tillman, a longtime sufferer of sickle cell anemia was diagnosed with lupus. By early 1965, struggling to keep up with their stringent recording sessions and touring schedules and her illnesses, a doctor of Tillman’s advised her to leave performing for good. The rest of the Marvelettes carried on as a trio from then on.
In mid-1965, Wanda Rogers took over as lead vocalist, as Motown producers felt Rogers’ voice was more suitable for this role than Horton’s. With Rogers as lead, the group had a hit with “I’ll Keep Holding On“, which reached #34 while “Danger! Heartbreak Dead Ahead” settled for a #61 showing but was #11 on the R&B chart. Later in 1965, the group released the Smokey Robinson composition, “Don’t Mess with Bill“, which brought the group back to the top ten reaching #7 and becoming their second single to sell over a million copies. From then on, with Robinson mainly in charge, most of the Marvelettes singles would feature Rogers on lead. In 1966, they had a modest success with “You’re the One” and by the end of that year, they reached the top 20 with “The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game“, which Smokey had to fight to get released. In 1967, the group recorded the Van McCoy composition, “When You’re Young and in Love“, which had been originally recorded by Ruby & the Romantics. The song reached #23 in the U.S. and peaked at #13 in the UK, becoming their only British hit.
By 1967, Gladys Horton had reconsidered her involvement with the Marvelettes. After her first child, Sammie, was born with cerebral palsy, Horton decided to leave the group entirely, doing so before the release of the hit “My Baby Must Be A Magician“. The song peaked at #17 and was noted for featuring the Temptations’ Melvin Franklin providing the opening line. With Horton out, Harvey Fuqua introduced the group to Ann Bogan who became Horton’s replacement. However, by the time Bogan joined the group in 1968, most of the musicians of Motown’s early years had left, mainly due to financial disputes with the label. The group struggled with recordings after the release of “Magician“, with Motown offering little to no promotion. The 1968 singles “Here I Am Baby” and “Destination: Anywhere” were only modestly successful, peaking at #44 and #63 respectively. The release of their 1969 album, In Full Bloom, failed as did its only single, the remake of Dinah Washington’s “That’s How Heartaches Are Made“.
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Information and credit source: “The Marvelettes” Wikipedia
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Wanda Rogers (acapella)
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Released October 12, “Destination: Anywhere” peaked at #28 (charted 7 total weeks R&B overall) on the Billboard R&B chart in 1968. B-side: “What’s Easy For Two Is Hard For One”
TAMLA 54201 (Source: Billboard Top R&B Singles)
“DON’T MESS WITH BILL” (INSTRUMENTAL) | THE MARVELETTES
DAVE PRESTON | DATE: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1979
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NEW! A special THANK YOU to our newest contributor Dave Preston — formerly of WDRQ — for recently donating this FM 93 radio aircheck (he recorded in 1979) to our Motor City Radio Flashbacks’ airchecks archive.
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Dave Preston writes: “Jim, I worked at WDRQ FM 1979-1981 and worked at WTWR, Tower 92 during this time era as well. I worked with some great talent, Jim Zippo was somewhat of a passer by but Don Geranimo really left his mark. This tape dated back to when I was first hired by Eddie Rogers. After a recent switch at the time, the new format of WDRQ was Disco. They had hired a whole new staff at the time and I was part of the new hires over there along with a list of others.
The disco format did not last very long. Eddie Rogers was soon let go and Mark Driscoll then became program director. Mark began adjusting and readjusting both the staff and format on an ongoing basis even from day one from his hotel room, nearly over night, turning the station into a revolving door. Mark was replaced after a year by Bill Garcia. Bill was the program director credited with hiring Don Geranimo for evenings.
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The featured WDRQ aircheck was audio enhanced by Motor City Radio Flashbacks
