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Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane is an American singer and actress best known for fronting the vocal group Spanky and Our Gang in the late 1960s. She was nicknamed "The Queen of Sunshine Pop."
Spanky and Our Gang was an American 1960s sunshine pop band led by Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane. The band derives its name from Hal Roach's Our Gang comedies of the 1930s, because of the similarity of McFarlane's surname with that of George McFarland (Spanky). The group was known for its vocal harmonies and had major hits in the US and Canada in 1967–68 with "Sunday Will Never Be the Same," "Lazy Day," "Sunday Mornin'," and "Like to Get to Know You."
Terry Cashman is an American record producer and singer-songwriter, best known for his 1981 hit, "Talkin' Baseball". While the song is well recognized today and allowed Cashman the chance to meet the featured players, it was all but ignored by typical Top 40 radio during its chart life, making only the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.
The Five Stairsteps, known as "The First Family of Soul" and later "The Invisible Man's Band", was an American Chicago soul group made up of five of Betty and Clarence Burke Sr.'s six children: Alohe Jean, Clarence Jr., James, Dennis, and Kenneth "Keni", and briefly, Cubie. They are best known for the 1970 song "O-o-h Child", listed at number 402 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
"The Night Chicago Died" is a song by the British group Paper Lace, written by Peter Callander and Mitch Murray. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week in 1974, reached number 3 in the UK charts, and number 2 in Canada. It is about a fictional shoot-out between the Chicago Police and members of the Al Capone Syndicate. The narrator retells his mother's anguish while awaiting news of the fate of her husband, a Chicago policeman. The song is featured in the theatrical trailer of the 2000 comedy-drama film High Fidelity, and featured in a Season 1 episode of That '70s Show. This song begins with an electronic synthesizer sound impersonating a police siren. The first four lines in the Intro are spoken by the group. It also features the sound of a ticking clock, heard in the third verse.
The Chevrons were a United States pop group who recorded the hit record "Lullabye" in 1960. The band featured lead singer Terry Cashman, best known for his baseball songs, notably "Talkin' Baseball", then known by his born name, Dennis Minogue. The group disbanded when John "Marty" Trautman, co-founder of the group, was drafted by the U.S. Army on December 11, 1962.
"Leader of the Pack" is a song written by George "Shadow" Morton, Jeff Barry, and Ellie Greenwich. It was a number one pop hit in 1964 for the American girl group the Shangri-Las. The single is one of the group's best known songs as well as a popular cultural example of a "teenage tragedy song". The song was covered in 1985 by the heavy metal band Twisted Sister, who had a more modest hit with their version.
"Sunny" is a soul jazz standard written by Bobby Hebb in 1963. It is one of the most performed and recorded popular songs, with hundreds of versions released. BMI rates "Sunny" No. 25 in its "Top 100 songs of the century".
John Seiter is an American musician. He is best known for his work as a drummer for Spanky and Our Gang and The Turtles.
Margo Guryan was an American songwriter, singer, musician and lyricist. As a songwriter, her work was first recorded in 1958, although it was for her 1960s song "Sunday Mornin'", a hit for both Spanky and Our Gang and Oliver, that she is perhaps best known. Her songs have also been recorded by Cass Elliot, Glen Campbell and Astrud Gilberto, among others.
"1 - 2 - 3" is a 1965 song recorded by American blue-eyed soul singer Len Barry, who also co-wrote it with John Madara and David White. The recording's chorus and accompaniment were arranged by Jimmy Wisner. The single was released in 1965 on the American Decca label. The writers were sued by Motown Records at the time, claiming that the song is a reworking of Holland-Dozier-Holland's "Ask Any Girl" released by The Supremes as the B-side to their single "Baby Love" the year before. They denied the claim, but after two years of litigation, agreed to give the Motown writers 15% of the song's writing and publishing royalties. Holland-Dozier-Holland are listed as co-authors by BMI.
The O'Kaysions are an American pop band from Kenly, North Carolina that first formed in 1959. They are best known for their 1968 million-seller "Girl Watcher".
"Like to Get to Know You" is a 1968 song from Spanky and Our Gang. Written by Stuart Scharf, the song debuted at No. 71 on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 20, 1968, and peaked at No. 17 on June 8, 1968. It became a minor hit on the Billboard Easy Listening chart at the same time, eventually rising to No. 24 the same week it peaked on the Hot 100. In Canada, the song reached No. 5 on the RPM Magazine charts. On the album of the same name, the song is broken into two parts: the full vocal, and a coda that echoes the chorus and conversation from the song.
"So Rare" is a popular song published in 1937 by composer Jerry Herst and lyricist Jack Sharpe. It became a hit for Jimmy Dorsey in 1957.
James Joseph Wisner was an American pianist, arranger, songwriter, and producer. He is best known for his 1961 hit single "Asia Minor", released under the name Kokomo.
"The Rain, the Park & Other Things" is a psychedelic pop song with music and lyrics co-written by Artie Kornfeld and Steve Duboff. It was recorded by the pop band the Cowsills, and included on their 1967 self-titled debut album. Released as a single, the song reached No. 2 on the Billboard charts. It was kept from the No. 1 spot by "Daydream Believer" by the Monkees. The single cemented the group's international popularity and sold some three million copies over the years. It ties with 1969's "Hair" as the group's biggest hit, as both reached No. 2 in the US. In Canada, "The Rain, the Park & Other Things" reached No. 1 on the RPM singles chart.
Spanky and Our Gang is the debut album by Spanky and Our Gang, released on August 1, 1967. The album was released by Mercury Records and included three songs that were released as singles. These were "Sunday Will Never Be the Same", their biggest hit, which reached number Number 9 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in the summer of 1967, "Making Every Minute Count", which reached Number 31, and "Lazy Day", reaching Number 14.
"Lazy Day" is a popular song written by Tony Powers (lyrics) and George Fischoff (music), and recorded by the 1960s band Spanky and Our Gang. It appeared on their album Spanky and Our Gang.
"Sunday Mornin'" is a song written by Margo Guryan, and was recorded by Guryan as "Sunday Morning" and it appeared on her 1968 album Take a Picture, as well as on the B-side to her single "Spanky and Our Gang."
Artie Kaplan is an American recording artist, songwriter and a session musician. He has also been a music contractor where he was hired to musicians for sessions. In the 1960s, he was casting musicians for sessions for Aldon Music. When musician Joe Delia was asked about the best advice he had ever had, he said it was from Kaplan, who said "Always show up on time and bring a pencil."
References
- ↑ Gendron, Bernard (2002). Between Montmartre and the Mudd Club: Popular Music and the Avant-Garde. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. p. 343. ISBN 978-0-226-28737-9.
- ↑ "Spanky & Our Gang - Awards". allmusic.com. Retrieved December 1, 2012
- ↑ "RPM Top 100 Singles - July 1, 1967" (PDF).
- ↑ Discographical details at 45cat.com. Retrieved July 2, 2019
- ↑ "The O'Kaysions, Girl Watcher" . Retrieved November 21, 2016.
