1 Johnny B. Goode
2 Roll Over Beethoven
3 Maybellene
4 Rock and Roll Music
5 Sweet Little Sixteen
6 Too Much Monkey Business
7 School Days
8 Reelin’ and Rockin’
9 Nadine
10 Brown Eyed Handsome Man
11 Little Queenie
12 No Particular Place to Go
13 Promised Land
14 You Never Can Tell
15 Memphis, Tennessee
RANDY’S 25 FAVOURITE VEHICLE SONGS
All these songs get your motor runnin’, whether it’s in a car, truck, or motorcycle.
1 She Loves My Automobile—ZZ Top (with Willie Nelson)
2 Crawling from the Wreckage—Dave Edmunds
3 Maybellene—Chuck Berry
4 Hot Rod Race—Arkie Shibley
5 409—the Beach Boys
6 Who Drove the Red Sports Car—Van Morrison
7 Souped-Up Ford—Rory Gallagher
8 Hot Rod Lincoln—Johnny Bond
9 The Boys in the Bright White Sports Car—Trooper
10 Somethin’ Else—Eddie Cochran
11 Little Deuce Coupe—the Beach Boys
12 Rocket 88—Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats
13 Cars—Gary Numan
14 Radar Love—Golden Earring
15 I’m in Love with My Car—Roger Taylor (Queen)
16 Fun, Fun, Fun—the Beach Boys
17 Dead Man’s Curve—Jan and Dean
18 Drive My Car—the Beatles
19 Seven Little Girls Sitting in the Back Seat—Paul Evans
20 Mercedes Benz—Janis Joplin
21 I Drove All Night—Roy Orbison (also Celine Dion)
22 Born to Be Wild—Steppenwolf
23 The Little Old Lady from Pasadena—Jan and Dean
24 Teen Angel—Mark Dinning
25 (I’m Your) Vehicle—the Ides of March
RANDY’S 25 FAVOURITE INSTRUMENTAL POP SONGS
Instrumentals are very important. They’re all about melody. You know how in real estate they say the three most important factors in looking for a house are location, location, location? Well, in songwriting it’s melody, melody, melody. Many great songs first came to life as melody or an instrumental before someone put lyrics to them. Then the song takes on a new life. But a good instrumental melody can live on forever because it sticks in people’s brains.
1 Let’s Go—the Routers
2 Let There Be Drums—Sandy Nelson
3 Pipeline—the Surfaris
4 Wonderful Land—the Shadows
5 Tequila—the Champs
6 Green Onions—Booker T. and the MGs
7 Honky Tonk (Parts 1 & 2)—Bill Doggett
8 Man of Mystery—the Shadows
9 Rawhide—Link Wray
10 Rock and Roll (Part 2)—Gary Glitter and the Glitter Band
11 Telstar—the Tornados
12 Forty Miles of Bad Road—Duane Eddy
13 Ramrod—Duane Eddy
14 Atlantis—Mark Knopfler
15 7-11 (Mambo No. 5)—Gone All Stars
16 Miserlou—Dick Dale
17 Torquay—the Fireballs
18 Like, Long Hair—Paul Revere and the Raiders
19 Guitar Boogie Shuffle—the Virtues
20 Gonzo—James Booker
21 Last Night—the Mar-Keys
22 Penetration—the Pyramids
23 Freeway Jam—Jeff Beck
24 77 Sunset Strip—Warren Barker
25 Train to Nowhere—the Champs
RANDY’S 20 FAVOURITE FOOD SONGS
The food-song theme was suggested by one of our listeners. We didn’t want it to be instrumentals, we wanted the food name in the lyrics as well as the title. Denise did the research on this one because many of these songs were hard to find. But we told listeners to get out some of their favourite foods and eat along with the show because the songs were bound to make them all hungry.
1 Jambalaya—Jeff Healey
2 Bread and Butter—The Newbeats
3 Mashed Potato Time—Dee Dee Sharp
4 Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)—Dee Dee Sharp
5 Dixie Chicken—Little Feat
6 Peaches—the Presidents of the United States of America
7 The Banana Boat Song—Harry Belafonte
8 Cheeseburger in Paradise—Jimmy Buffett
9 Catfish Blues—the Jimi Hendrix Experience
10 Peanuts—Little Joe and the Thrillers
11 One Bad Apple—the Osmonds
12 Watermelon Man—Mongo Santamaria
13 Hambone—Red Saunders and His Orchestra with Delores Saunders and the Hambone Kids
14 Cherry Pie—Warrant
15 Cherry Pie—Skip and Flip
16 I Want Candy—the Strangeloves
17 Blueberry Hill—Fats Domino
18 Ice Cream—Sarah McLachlan
19 Peanut Butter—the Vibrations
20 No Sugar Tonight—the Guess Who
RANDY’S 25 FAVOURITE ONE-HIT WONDERS
I was one of these for a short period of time and I’m so glad that I’m not anymore: a one-hit wonder. You work hard learning your instrument, getting a band together, writing songs, recording, praying, hoping, and trying to have a hit. And when you do you’re a one-hit wonder until you can find that magic formula to follow it up. It’s often said that you’re only as good as your last record, and following up a big hit can be extremely difficult. The recording artists listed below were unable, for whatever reason, to follow up their one hit with another hit. They may have enjoyed a wonderful career without another hit. At least they got that one hit; plenty of recording artists never even get that. People may not recognize the name of the band or singer, but as soon as you say the name of the record or sing a bit of it they go, “Oh, that song!”
1 99 Luftballons (Red Balloons)—Nena
2 Just the Way It Is, Baby—the Rembrandts
3 Breakfast at Tiffany’s—Deep Blue Something
4 (I Just) Died in Your Arms Tonight—Cutting Crew
5 Venus—Shocking Blue
6 Harlem Shuffle—Bob and Earl
7 Spirit in the Sky—Norman Greenbaum
8 Something in the Air—Thunderclap Newman
9 Fire—the Crazy World of Arthur Brown
10 Runaway Train—Soul Asylum
11 Your Woman—White Town
12 Ride Captain Ride—Blues Image
13 Mississippi Queen—Mountain
14 Come On Eileen—Dexy’s Midnight Runners
15 Tainted Love—Soft Cell
16 As the Years Go By—Mashmakhan
17 Hey! Baby—Bruce Channel
18 Achy Breaky Heart—Billy Ray Cyrus
19 Wild Weekend—the Rebels
20 Pretty Little Angel Eyes—Curtis Lee
21 Sukiyaki—Kyu Sakamoto
22 Have I the Right?—the Honeycombs
23 Tobacco Road—the Nashville Teens
24 Just Like Romeo and Juliet—the Reflections
25 Elusive Butterfly—Bob Lind
RANDY’S 25 FAVOURITE NOVELTY SONGS
There are hardly any novelty songs released anymore, but back in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s they were all the rage: novelty songs with trick voices, sound effects, spoofs of other songs, etc., and plenty of fun and good melodies. Today they’re on children’s CDs, but back then they were hit records. Many people sent in a request for a show about these kinds of songs. I certainly remembered them all and had fun playing them.
1 We’re a Ukrainian Band—Bob Rivers
2 Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini—Brian Hyland
3 The Purple People Eater—Sheb Wooley
4 They’re Coming to Take Me Away—Napoleon XIV
5 Disco Duck—Rick Dees
6 Witch Doctor—David Seville
7 Boogie Bear—Boyd Bennett
8 Pretty Blue Eyes (bad version)—the Guess Who
9 Monster Mash—Bobby “Boris” Pickett
10 Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On the Bedpost Overnight?)—Lonnie Donegan
11 Clean the Aquarium—Bob Rivers
12 Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh—Allan Sherman
13 The Banana Boat Song—Stan Freberg
14 Tiptoe Through the Tulips—Tiny Tim
15 King Tut—Steve Martin
16 A Hard Day’s Night—Peter Sellers
17 The Hockey Song—Stompin’ Tom Connors
18 Peaches—the Presidents of the United States of America
19 Fish Heads—Barnes and Barnes
20 The Name Game—Shirley Ellis
21 Valley Girl—Frank Zappa (with Moon Unit Zappa)
22 Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport—Rolf Harris
23 Mr. Custer—Larry Verne
24 I Put a Spell on You—Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
25 Convoy—C.W. McCall
RANDY’S FAVOURITE SONGS WITH GIRLS’ NAMES IN THE TITLE
When I did a show on songs with guys’ names in the title, we had a tough time finding enough songs to fill the two hours. But with girls’ names we had to do two shows and still had plenty more to choose from … except, of course, for the letter X. Does Xena: Warrior Princess have a theme song?
A Alison—Elvis Costello
Annie’s Song—John Denver
Polk Salad Annie—Tony Joe White
B Barbara Ann—the Beach Boys
Bernadette—the Four Tops
Billy Jean—Michael Jackson
Bony Moronie—Larry Williams
C Carol—Chuck Berry
Cathy’s Clown—Everly Brothers
Claudette—Everly Brothers
Oh! Carol—Neil Sedaka
D Denise—Fountains of Wayne
Denise—Randy and the Rainbows
Diana—Paul Anka
Dolly Dagger—Jimi Hendrix
Donna—Ritchie Valens
E Come On Eileen—Dexy’s Midnight Runners
Eleanor Rigby—the Beatles
F Fannie Mae—Buster Brown
Short Fat Fannie—Larry Williams
G Gloria—Laura Branigan
Gloria—Them (with Van Morrison)
Guinnevere—Crosby, Stills and Nash
H Helen Wheels—Paul McCartney and Wings
Holly Holy—Neil Diamond
I Goodnight, Irene—the Weavers
Irene Wilde—Ian Hunter
Izabella—Jimi Hendrix
J Jane—Barenaked Ladies
Jennifer Juniper—Donovan
Jolene—Dolly Parton
Judy in Disguise—John Fred and His Playboy Band
Lady Jane—the Rolling Stones
K Kate—Ben Folds Five
Kathy’s Song—Simon & Garfunkel
L Dizzy Miss Lizzy—Larry Williams
Layla—Derek and the Dominoes (Eric Clapton)
Linda Lu—Ray Sharpe
Lola—the Kinks
Lucille—Little Richard
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds—the Beatles
Pictures of Lily—the Who
M Along Comes Mary—the Association
Hello Mary Lou—Ricky Nelson
Lady Madonna—the Beatles
Maggie May—Rod Stewart
Maybellene—Chuck Berry
Michelle—the Beatles
Proud Mary—Creedence Clearwater Revival
N Nadine—Chuck Berry
O Ophelia—the Band
P Hey Paula—Paul and Paula
Palmyra—the Guess Who
Peggy Sue—Buddy Holly
Q Little Queenie—Chuck Berry
R Help Me, Rhonda—the Beach Boys
Rosanna—Toto
Roxanne—the Police
Ruby Tuesday—the Rolling Stones
Walk Away Renée—the Left Banke
S Mustang Sally—Wilson Pickett
Runaround Sue—Dion and the Belmonts
Sara—Fleetwood Mac
Sara Smile—Hall and Oates
Susie Q—Dale Hawkins
Wake Up Little Susie—Everly Brothers
T Tammy—Debbie Reynolds
Tracy—the Cuff Links
U Ursula—Barclay James Harvest
V Valerie—Steve Winwood
Valleri—the Monkees
Venus—Frankie Avalon
Veronica—Elvis Costello
Victoria—the Kinks
W Wendy—the Beach Boys
Windy—the Association
X ? (Is there a song with a girl’s name starting with X?)
Y Dear Yoko—John Lennon and Yoko Ono
Yolanda—Alfie Zappacosta
Z Zoe—Eminem
Acknowledgments
I would like to express my sincere thanks to the following: Denise McCann Bachman for her support, creative input, and handling of all the mail so diligently; my manager Gilles Paquin in Winnipeg; Vinyl Tap producer Tod Elvidge; Chris Boyce for helping me formulate the early Vinyl Tap shows and create the template; Jon Conrad at Bachman Headquarters; Jennifer McGuire at CBC Radio for taking a chance on me as a radio host; Denise Donlon, the new head of CBC Radio, who encouraged me to keep the Rock Rollin’; Diane Turbide and Justin Stoller at Penguin Canada for their dedication to seeing this project through; my old friend, writer John Einarson, for all his research; to the listeners all over the world who tune in each week to Randy Bachman’s Vinyl Tap; and to my fans who have supported all my musical endeavours over the years. “If there ain’t no audience, there ain’t no show!”
Rock on!
Randy Bachman
Index
A
A&M Records, 175
A&R Studios, 59, 62
Abbey Road studios, 57, 181
“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” 20, 35
Alice Cooper, 61
“All My Loving,” 85
Allan, Chad, 22, 26, 31, 33, 45, 52, 53, 55, 75, 87, 121, 125. See also Chad Allan and the Expressions
Allan and the Silvertones, 15, 26, 119
Allen, Bruce, 147, 148
All-Starr Band, 104, 164
American Bandstand, 77, 106
American Woman, 63–68
“American Woman,” 15, 26, 30, 63, 67, 81, 82, 105, 132, 172, 173, 177
Andrews, Gary, 7
Animals, the, 75, 96
“Apache,” 120
Applejack, 147. See also Trooper
Arden, Jann, 175
Arista Records and Music, 157
Armstead, Josie, 19
Ashford, Nick, 19, 20
Ashford and Simpson, 36
Ashley, Bob, 21, 54, 121
Atkins, Chet, 39, 83, 84, 85, 109–11
“Aurora,” 43, 48
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, 172
Axe, 41
B
Bach, Barbara, 163
Bacharach, Burt, 19
Bachman, Calliane, 98, 124, 126, 167
Bachman, Denise
and Barbara Bach birthday, 163
and Gretsch searching, 88
and R. Bachman weight loss, 179
and Ringo Starr birthday, 162
and the Shadows, 125–26
Van Morrison concert, 107
and Vinyl Tap, xi, xii, xiii, 183
Bachman, Gary, 2, 4, 5, 31, 137
Bachman, Robbie, 31, 32, 33, 132, 144
Bachman, Tal, 47, 159, 174
Bachman, Tim, 31, 33, 144
Bachman-Cummings tour (2006), 141
Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO). See also “Takin’ Care of Business” awards, 109
BTO Greatest Hits, 139
BTO I (first album), 32, 97, 129, 130, 131
BTO II (second album), 131, 134
change from Brave Belt, 31, 33–34, 129
and Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve, 146
gigs in southern U.S, 150–51
Head On (fifth album), 139, 148
image and style, 15, 34–35, 132
“Let It Ride,” 78
and Little Richard, 149–50
Midnight Special, The, 144–45
Not Fragile (third album), 136–37, 138
recording style, 130, 132
resurrection of, 158
and The Simpsons, 170–71
Randy Bachman Page 20
