"She'd Rather Be With Me" - The Turtles
The Turtles had a series of folk hits in 1967, hitting Numebr one with "Happy Together". In Britain however, this song was a bigger hit than any for The Turtles.
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"Do Ya" - Electric Light Orchestra
Jeff Lynne has been in many bands including ELO, The Move, and The Traveling Wilburys, and this song goes to show whats in a name. Originally recorded by The Move, "Do Ya" didn't become a hit in the States until ELO rerecorded it.
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"Hush" - Deep Purple
Billy Joe Royal made a career out of songs written by Joe South including the song "Hush". A year later a new band hit the scene with a cover of "Hush". That band was Deep Purple, and the song sounded pretty different.
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"Indian Reservation" - Paul Revere and the Raiders
We had a great visit from Paul Revere as he traveled across the country on his motorcycle. The song he was promoting became their only number one hit.
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"Wake up Everybody" - Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes
Teddy Pendergrass played drums and sang lead for Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. In 1975, his last big hit with the group exploded on KFRC.
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"Born on the Bayou" - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival was from El Cerrito, California, but they sounded like they were from the swamps of New Orleans.
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"Gold" - John Stewart
Former Kingston Trio member John Stewart had this solo hit after the band broke up. Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks provides background vocals.
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"Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu" - Johnny Rivers
Johnny Rivers helped put the Whiskey a Go-Go on the map with his great collection of originals and covers. This cover of a song origionaly recorded by Huey "Piano" Smith is one of his best.
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"Pop Music" - M
I was in London and my program director was in Australia when we both heard a song and got excited to play it fo each other. The song was "Pop Music", which hadn't been released in the United States yet. KFRC started to play itand, before long, "Pop Music" was a huge hit.
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"D'yer Mak'er" - Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin doing reggae? It happened, but many people could never figure out how to pronounce the title of this great track. Here's a hint: It sounds like Jamaica.
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"Island Girl" - Elton John
Just a year after releasing the classic album "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", KFRC had Elton John in the studio for a day on the air. Unfortunately, the future knight got a case of food poisoning that forced him to be a spectator.
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"But It's Alright" - J. J. Jackson
Don't confuse this song with the similarly titled Huey Lewis song. J. J. Jackson's "But It's Alright" is a powerful song that was able to be a hit twice in three years.
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"Tightrope" - Leon Russell
Leon Russell played with everyone from Frank Sinatra to John Lennon. This track is from his most famous album, "Carney".
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"Used to be My Girl" - The O'Jays
The O'Jays were a band that made everybody want to dance. They had a ton of hits but this was their last one to reach the top five.
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"Shakin'" - Eddie Money
Eddie Money was a regular visitor to KFRC. It's a good thing that he decided not to be a police officer or we would have never gotten to hear this great song.
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"Bad Luck" - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
Producer/ Writers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff came up with a successful formula that helped shape the sound of Philadelphia music. This group, which included Teddy Pendergrass, was in Gamble & Huff's stable of artists.
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"Want Ads" - Honey Cone
"Want Ads" was one of the forst hits from the new label started by Holland-Dozier-Holland. After an uncountable number of Motown hits, there was little doubt that the writing/ producing team would be successful.
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"Born to be Alive" - Patrick Hernandez
French musician Patrick Hernandez had one huge hit, which was big in England before coming to the U.S. When he toured this song, one of his backup dancers was Madonna.
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"Dirty Laundry" - Don Henley
The Eagles' lyrics were always unique and memorable, but this Don Henley solo track held nothing back.
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"Clap for the Wolfman" - The Guess Who
This song is a tribute to Wolfman Jack, a name and voice remembered by radio listeners and "American Graffiti" fans alike.
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"Rock Steady" - Aretha Franklin
One of the most special concerts that I can remember was seeing Aretha Franklin perform with Ray Charles at the Fillmore West. This track is just one of many amazing songs by "Lady Soul."
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"Grazing in the Grass" - Friends of Distinction
This song was a big hit two years in a row. It first was an instrumental version by Hugh Masakela that reached number one of the pop charts. The following year, this version, lyrics and all, became a huge hit, in its own right.
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"Radar Love" - Golden Earring
Dutch group, "Golden Earring" had been together for over ten years before American audiences got to hear this hit. There have been over 200 covers of this song since it was released.
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"Tired of Being Alone" - Al Green
After dominating the R&B charts for a number of years, Al Green surged onto the pop charts with this hit.
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"Magnet and Steel" - Walter Egan
The lyrics to this hit had an immediate connection with listeners. Having Stevie Nicks on backround vacals and Lydnsey Buckingham in the procuders box didn't hurt either.
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"Hold on Tight" - Electric Light Orchestra
A somewhat forgotten band, Jeff Lynne's ELO has a number of hits. This song, with a different feel than most of their other tracks, is now being used in Honda commericals.
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"Ooh Child" - Five Stairsteps
Chicago's Five Stairsteps was a collection of brothers and sisters. They were known as the "First Family of Soul".
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"Urgent" - Foreigner
Foreigner had success from the beginning. After three albums of hits, their fourth album, "Four" had this great song.
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"Disco Lady" - Johnnie Taylor
This was the first single to be certified platinum. Over ten years after Johnnie Taylor replaced Sam Cooke in the group The Soulsters, he made quite a name for himself with this and many other hits.
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"Driver's Seat" - Sniff N The Tears
This English band had a name to remember. Paul Robert's group was heard in the movie "Boogie Nights".
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"Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" - Bob Seger
This track was the first big hit from Bob Seger's band The Bob Seger System. He recorded it in 1968 for Capitol Records, the label that he is still with today.
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"Long Tall Glasses" - Leo Sayer
I recently found a picture of a young Leo Sayer having a ball playing this, his first hit, in the KFRC studios.
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"Squeeze Box" - The Who
Pete Townsend picked up an accordion and it inspired him to write the song that spent more time on the pop charts than any other track by The Who.
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"Down to the Nightclub" - Tower of Power
Tower of Power was one of the first groups signed to Bill Graham's record label, San Francisco Records. Two years later they signed with Warner and had a huge success with the album "Bump City".
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"Together" - Tierra
This Los Angeles group blended many styles of music to create their own unique sound. The one hit wonder that they created had a tremendous response from listeners at KFRC.
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"She's a Beauty" - The Tubes
This track has a different line-up from the original San Francisco group, whose lead singer, Fee Waybill, became famous for singing "White Punks on Dope" in ten inch heels. Their sound, however, was still as powerful.
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"Eighteen With A Bullet" - Pete Wingfield
Music journalist Pete Wingfield borrowed a popular music industry term for the title track of his only hit, which he wrote and produced.
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"Clean Up Woman" - Betty Wright
Betty Wright was born, raised, and still lives in Miami, Florida. She recorded this, her biggest hit when she was still a teenager.
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"Whip It" - DEVO
Seeing Devo, at the old Waldorf, dressed up in goofy DEVO costumes, was an unforgettable experience. The club was small and by the end of the night there was sweat pouring off of everybody.
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"Susie Q" - Creedence Clearwater Revival
The first hit by the newly renamed "Creedence Clearwater Revival" was a revival of a 1950's hit by Dale Hawkins.
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"Fly, Robin Fly" - Silver Connection
This hit from the early days of the dance explosion was imported form Munich, Germany and only features six words.
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"Hot Rod Lincoln" - Commander Cody
This Johnny Bond cover is one of many classic car hits.
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"What You Won't Do For Love" - Bobby Caldwell
KFRC is proud to be one of the first American pop stations to play this cool and unique Bobby Caldwell hit.
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"Tired of Toein' the Line" - Rocky Burnette
The only big hit from the son of rockabilly star, Johnny Burnette, "Tired of Toein' the Line" was first played to me by a close friend. I immediately fell in love with the song and before the day was through, I must have played it for a dozen record executives.
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"I Love the Nightlife" - Alicia Bridges
This unique 70's track always reminds me of the first time I gave it a listen. I was living in Los Angeles and got a call from a record executive telling me to listen to this new track "Right now."
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"Isn't It Time" - The Babys (John Waite)
KFRC was one of the first stations in America to play the first single by John Waite's London formed group.
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