San Francisco / New York Giants Quiz (1901-2001): 1) Who
was the last Giant to be rookie of the year? 2) Who is the only Cy
Young award winner? 3) When did the Giants last win the
Series? 4) Who is the all-time leader in games pitched? [This is
hard. One hint…think post-1950.] 5) Career, RBI? 6) Single
season, RBI? Answers below.
R&B Groups
Three years ago (my how time flies) I did a series on some R&B
acts…so it’s time to bring back da funk!
The Isley Brothers
With a gazillion hits on the R&B charts, including 7 #1’s, it
seems as if the Isley Brothers have had 9 lives, musically
speaking, that is. Four brothers, Rudy, Ronald, O’Kelly and
Vernon formed a vocal quartet in Cincinnati back in 1955. Soon
thereafter, Vernon was killed in a bicycle accident. They took a
year off before their parents persuaded them to head to New
York, whereupon they received a contract from RCA in 1959.
July of that year, they recorded “Shout,” a tune which became
one of the drinking anthems on college campuses.
The Isleys then hooked up with the great songwriting team of
Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller (of ‘Smokey Joe’s Café’ fame), but
these dudes couldn’t come up with a hit for the brothers. So it
was with a different producer that they recorded “Twist And
Shout” in 1962 (#17 pop), two years before the Beatles’ version.
In 1964, the Isleys formed their own label, T-Neck (named after
Teaneck, NJ, where the family was now living) and a guitar
player by the name of Jimi Hendrix was actually part of the
touring band at this time.
Then in 1966, now with Motown, they had a huge hit in “This
Old Heart Of Mine,” one of the great ‘shag’ tunes in the
Carolinas, by the way, but by 1969 it was back to the T-Neck
label and the arrival of younger brothers Ernie and Marvin, along
with cousin Chris Jasper. The next year they won a Grammy for
“It’s Your Thing” and in 1973 “That Lady” climbed to #6 on the
Billboard pop chart.
Known for continually adapting to changing tastes in music, the
Isleys became one of the leaders of the disco movement. But in
1984, Ernie, Marvin and Jasper left to form Isley Jasper Isley
(ungrateful SOBs, in my opinion), however, following the death
of O’Kelly in 1986 (heart attack), the whole Isley clan reunited
and in 1992 they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of
Fame.
But that’s not the end of our story. In 1994, the Isleys won a
copyright infringement suit against Michael Bolton, proving to
the court’s satisfaction that Bolton’s hit “Love Is A Wonderful
Thing” was based on their song of the same name. Bolton, in
commenting on the trial’s outcome, suggested that the jury had
granted the Isleys a large award because they are black and he’s
white. [No, Michael, it was because you are a dirtball.] The
Isleys were then awarded 100% of the profits from the single and
28% of those from the album.
On the jacket for the Isleys’ “Beautiful Ballads,” Jon Sinclair
writes the following: “So press the repeat button, turn down the
lights, put another log on the fire, light up some incense,
replenish your favorite bedside refreshment, slip off those flimsy
underthings and crawl into the sack with your main squeeze,
because it’s time to get all the way down to love with the sweet
sweet sounds of the ever-loving Isley Brothers.”
Top Ten Billboard Pop Hits
–It’s Your Thing, #2
–That Lady, #6
–Fight The Power, #4
–This Old Heart Of Mine (1990 remake with Rod Stewart), #10
#1 Billboard R&B Hits
–It’s Your Thing
–Fight The Power
–The Pride
–Take Me To The Next Phase
–I Wanna Be With You
–Don’t Say Goodnight (It’s Time For Love)
–Caravan Of Love
Personally, my favorite Isley Brothers tune is “Harvest For The
World.”
And now…give it up for…
Bar-ry White!!!!
Born in Galveston, TX, 1944, Barry White soon moved to East
Los Angeles, where in 1960 he spent 3 months in jail for stealing
300 tires from a local car dealer. Dumb, dumb, dumb…Barry.
But he recovered from this fall from grace and joined a L.A.
R&B band, the Upfronts. Then in 1966, while working for
Mustang Records, he discovered a female vocal trio by the name
of Love Unlimited and produced their gold single “Walking In
The Rain With The One I Love” (#6 R&B, #14 Pop…and highly
irritating, as the song goes on and on and on and on).
It wasn’t until 1973, however, that White had his own first big
recording, “I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little Bit More Baby”
(#3 Pop, #1 R&B). Despite his chubby physique, Barry became
a major sex symbol at this point and around this time he was also
writing for the Love Unlimited Orchestra, which had the
instrumental disco hit, “Love’s Theme,” a #1 pop tune. [A 17-
year-old by the name of Kenny Gorelick was in the orchestra.
Kenny G.] For his part White had become a writing, producing,
performing machine.
But just as suddenly, by the late Seventies Barry’s popularity
waned and it wasn’t until the Nineties that he experienced a real
resurgence, culminating in his 1994 #1 R&B album, “The Icon Is
Love.” And here’s some trivia for you, on November 8, 1991,
White was on “The Arsenio Hall Show” when Magic Johnson
revealed he was HIV positive.
Top Ten Billboard Pop Solo Hits
–I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby, #3 (#1 R&B)
–Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up, #7
–Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe, #1 (#1 R&B)
–You’re The First, The Last, My Everything, #2 (#1 R&B)
–What Am I Gonna Do With You, #8 (#1 R&B)
–It’s Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next To Me, #4…growl. (#1
R&B)
Other #1 Billboard R&B Hits
–The Secret Garden (with Quincy Jones et al)
–Practice What You Preach
Ladies and Gentlemen…The Dramatics! Aargh!
The Dramatics were a Detroit band that began performing when
their average age was just 13. As teenagers in the 60s, they
shaped their act from Motown stars like the Temptations and the
Four Tops, but Motown Records turned them down in 1966 for a
recording contract.
Well, did they give up? No mam, and therein lies a lesson, boys
and girls. They simply worked harder. By 1969, Memphis’ Stax
Records signed the Dramatics to a contract, though their first
record didn’t come out until 1972. Oh, but what an album it was.
Titled “Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get,” the title song hit #9 on the
Pop Charts, #3 R&B, as well as generating the #5 pop tune, “In
The Rain,” (#1 R&B).
[“Whatcha See…” is threatening to break into the editor’s
personal Top Ten list. “Some people, are made of plastic…
ya know…some people, are made of wood…”]
And finally…The Ohio Players!!!!!
This group got together in 1959, Dayton, Ohio, starting out as
Greg Webster and the Ohio Untouchables, a simply dreadful
name, I’m sure you’d agree. Actually, for a while they backed a
group called the Falcons, whose lead singer was Wilson Pickett.
By 1967, the Untouchables had become the Players and were the
studio band for Compass Records. But they changed labels to
Westbound and gained a #15 Pop hit (#1 R&B) with the tune
“Funky Worm.”
The group then embarked on a 3-year run which saw them rack
up one smash hit after another, culminating in the #1 pop and
R&B songs, “Fire” and “Love Rollercoaster.” [They had two
other #1 R&B tunes; “Sweet Sticky Thing,” and “Who’d She
Coo?” the former having nothing to do with Krispy Kreme
donuts, know what I’m sayin’?] Lastly, in the decade of the
Seventies, the Ohio Players were also one of the great concert
acts.
Rollercoaster…of love…say what!
Tidbits
–The New York Post’s Page Six reports that Bill Clinton is
wooing Naomi Campbell. It seems that a close Clinton
confidant, who once escorted Monica to the Congressional Ball
at a time when our horny leader was eyeing her, is now “dating”
Naomi, though everyone knows what’s really going on; the guy
is setting up our former president.
–Nature strikes back…part 67.
According to the AP, a runaway elephant from Nepal found its
way into India and killed 13 villagers over a two-day period,
before the pachyderm was, unfortunately, taken out. The animal
was heading for Calcutta, which means that if it hadn’t been
stopped, it’s possible that hundreds of thousands would have
been crushed, Calcutta being rather densely populated, you
know.
But while our elephant friend met an untimely end, Tony P.
passed along the heartwarming story of the Panamanian convict,
a gentleman who earlier in the month had killed a judge during a
botched robbery. Captured and imprisoned in Costa Rica, the
felon escaped from his jail cell and made a break for it,
swimming across a river, when….WHOMP!…a crocodile
devoured the sucker. Justice…Costa Rica style. One can only
hope the Kozlowskis of the world meet a similar fate. [Reuters]
Top 3 songs for the week of 6/23/73: #1 “My Love” (Paul
McCartney & Wings) #2 “Playground In My Mind” (Clint
Holmes) #3 “I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby”
(Barry White)
San Francisco Giants Quiz Answers: 1) Last Giant to be rookie
of the year: John “the Count” Montefusco, 15-9 in 1975. For his
career, he was 90-83…weird dude. 2) The only Giant to win the
Cy Young was Mike McCormick, 22-10 in 1967, the first year
the award was handed out to a representative from each league.
Lifetime, McCormick was 134-128. 3) The Giants’ last Series
title was back in their New York days, 1954. Surprised? 4)
Games pitched: Gary Lavelle, 647. A solid reliever, he was on
the team from 1974-84 and, including stints with other ballclubs,
finished 80-77 with 136 saves and a 2.93 ERA. 5) Career RBI:
Mel Ott with 1,860. Willie Mays had 1,859 in a Giants uniform.
6) Single season RBI: Mel Ott, again, 151 in 1929. That season,
Ott had 42 homers to go along with the 151 ribbies, 113 walks,
and a .328 batting average. But he whiffed just 38 times in 545
at bats. And here’s the payoff, Ott was only 20 years of age that
season! I was telling Johnny Mac I haven’t given Ott the respect
he deserves. My apologies to the family.
Next Bar Chat, Tuesday. A special for Canada Day, which is
really Monday, and by then everyone will have also weighed in
on this absurd ruling by a San Francisco-based U.S. Appeals
Court concerning the Pledge of Allegiance. Where’s Joe
McCarthy when you need him? Sorry.
