The Encore Show - Best of the 60s, 70s, and 80s

When Ben Fong-Torres' father immigrated to the United States from China, his surname was Fong, but he changed it to Torres and posed as a Filipino in order to avoid prosecution under the Chinese Exclusion Act which restricted Chinese immigration. Ben seems to have a pedigree totally of his own making. He graduated from San Francisco State in the mid-sixties and went on to become the senior editor for Rolling Stone magazine and author of books on Top 40 radio, the Doors, the Grateful Dead, and the Eagles. On this week's show, we talk about some of the classic interviews he's conducted for Rolling Stone and the awards he's won for magazine writing.

This is a replay from the Top Ten of our highest rated shows – Episode 11. Sandy Deane has been with Jay and the Americans since their inception back in the early Sixties and the hits never stopped coming – Cara Mia, Come a Little Bit Closer, Only in America, and This Magic Moment. Would you believe they were one of the bands that was on the bill when the Beatles played their first concert in the U.S. at the Washington Coliseum in 1964? I've got a ton of questions for Sandy and he has a raft load of ‘60s rock stories for us on this week's show.

This is a replay from the Top Ten of our highest rated shows -  Episode 18. On this week's episode, we're going to meet three different stars. The festivities begin with a 1967 song written by Jim Webb for the 5th Dimension. Florence La Rue, one of their original members who is still performing today, remembers Up, Up, and Away with us. Then we're shifting the tone to San Francisco's Summer of Love and the Sixties music scene recalling dj's Big Daddy Tom Donahue and Bobby Mitchell. We're talking with Tom's wife, Raechel Donahue who recalls not only those exciting times, but she became an entertainment reporter for CNN and is today the host of her own internet radio show. Finally, who can forget Hang On Sloopy? Our last segment is with Rick Derringer of the McCoys who's appeared on numerous albums with Steely Dan, Air Supply, and Cindy Lauper.

This is a replay from the Top Ten of our highest rated shows – Episode 14. When Bob Berryhill and his Surfaris recorded the all-time surf hit “Wipeout”, he was only fifteen years old and they made the record for a hundred and fifty bucks in an old hole-in-the wall studio in Cucamonga, CA. “Wipeout” was originally the B side of that record; the A side was a song called “Surfer Joe”. No matter – both songs became hits in the early Sixties and this week we're talking with Bob Berryhill, the original guitarist for the Surfaris who are still performing today.

This is a replay from the Top Ten of our highest rated shows – Episode 15. The Standells are considered by many to be the godfathers of punk rock. Their big hit from 1966, Dirty Water is today the theme song for every victory by the Boston Red Sox even though none of the band members including this week's guest, lead singer Larry Tamblyn were from Massachusetts. Second up on this week's show is David Logeman who's been involved in all kinds of show biz ventures, not only as the drummer for Frank Zappa, Jan and Dean, and the Beach Boys, but arranging and recording TV soundtracks. He now heads up the Surf City Allstars Tour with Dean Torrance and Al Jardine.

Deana Martin is a world-class entertainer who is equally comfortable singing with a celebrated symphony or on an intimate cabaret stage with a swinging jazz quintet. And I must add, she recorded her most recent album at Capitol Records Studio A which is famous in its own right. She's a New York Times best-selling author, a gifted actor, a vocalist of incredible depth and passion and a licensed pilot. But when talent is part of the family pedigree it can sometimes be difficult for the child of a famous singer and actor to forge their own individual path. Deana Martin has successfully navigated that tricky terrain and we're talking with her on this week's show.

This week we're listening to a replay of one of our highest rated shows. It's from July of 2017. We meet Tony Butala and you'll know who he is when I rattle off a few of their hits: The Way You Look Tonight, Hurts So Bad, Goin' Outa My Head/ Can't Take My Eyes Off of You. Tony's the only original member left of the Lettermen. And recently, TV legend and film star Dick Van Dyke became the first ever recipient of the Red Skelton America's Clown Award. We're going to hear about that and more from our first guest, Anne Pratt, the Executive Director of the Red Skelton Museum of American Comedy.

Remember the hullabaloo in the early ‘60s that came from a New York City hotspot called the Peppermint Lounge. This week we're talking with Joey Dee whose hit record, the Peppermint Twist exploded out of that steamy nightclub. After that, we'll talk with Bob Lind who created a word picture worthy of framing in the Sixties museum with his hit tune about the bright elusive butterfly of love.

On our second highest rated show of the season, we spent an hour talking with Peter Rivera of Rare Earth. Here's a replay of that show.  In 1970, Motown started an affiliated record label that included certain bands with white members only, and Rare Earth happened to be the first big hit-making act signed for Motown's new imprint label The record company didn't actually have a name for the new label yet and one of the band members jokingly suggested that they call the label Rare Earth. To the band's surprise, Motown decided to do just that and what followed was Rare Earth on Rare Earth. And what followed THAT was “Get Ready” and “I Just Want to Celebrate”. Peter Rivera, their drummer for those exciting years, is with us on this week's show.

Since the humble beginnings of Seattle's Emerald City Guitars more than 20 years ago, Jay Boone has built a high standard of trust and integrity, making him one of the frontrunners in the worldwide vintage guitar market. Jay has bought and sold vintage guitars to many super stars over the years and we're going to hear some fascinating stories about who is playing what nowadays.  I get to ask him about a guitar that I've kept over the years since the time I was on the road with Harpers Bizarre. It's a  Martin D-35 with a Brazilian rosewood back that I bought new in 1967. Some fascinating stories here like the one about Jay opening his shop one morning to find Carlos Santana waiting to get in.

Who remembers the song “I Met Him on a Sunday? Well, we're going to meet her today. “Her” is Beverly Lee who's been with the Shirelles from the very beginning. Beverly and the Shirelles have performed on five continents and appeared before many heads of state and U.S. Presidents, But first up, we tend to think of Dawn Wells in the role of Mary Ann on Gilligan's Island, although she also appeared in various tv episodes from the early ‘60s like Hawaiian Eye, 77 Sunset Strip, Maverick, and Bonanza. Today, she runs a business called Wishing Wells Collections, making clothing for people with limited mobility, and she's the founder of the Idaho Film and Television Institute. We talk with both Dawn and Beverly on this week's show.

“Crystal Blue Persuasion”, “I Think We're Alone Now”, “Hanky Panky”, “Crimson and Clover” – 23 gold records and 9 platinum albums for Tommy James and the Shondells. Tommy's with us on this week's show talking about his live album recorded at the Bitter End in New York City and his book, Me, the Mob, and the Music which is Tommy's story of Morris Levy, known as the Godfather of the music business. The book is part rock and roll fairytale, part valentine to a bygone era, and part mob story that reads like a music industry version of Goodfellas.

If you've seen the movie Moonstruck with Cher more than a few times, you've heard “It Must Be Him” more than a few times. That was Vikki Carr's million-selling gold record and she's our guest this week talking about that and a mile-long list of accomplishments including the Vikki Carr Scholarship Foundation which is based in Texas and offers scholarships to Latino students who want to pursue their dreams of a college education. Do you remember what happened when she guest-hosted The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1973?                   

Dr. Joel Wallach, pioneer of the health supplement program called Youngevity talks about health issues facing the Baby Boomer generation, ages 50 and up. Doc Wallach dedicates part of his time to lecturing throughout the world on the therapeutic benefits of vitamins and minerals and on advising the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on behalf of the dietary supplement industry. I'm a Type 2 Diabetic, so this whole hour had my full attention.

We're going to visit some great memories today with the chart-topping ‘60s hits from the Buckinghams. Their original lead guitarist, Carl Giammarese is here to tell us how it all began with their No. 1 Billboard hit, “Kind of a Drag”. They followed that with a string of hits including “Don't You Care” and “Hey, Baby They're Playing Our Song”. Billboard Magazine named them “The Most Listened To Band In America” and they went on to play The Ed Sullivan Show, The Smothers Brothers' Comedy Hour, and American Bandstand. They're still on the road today and we talk with Carl about the ‘60s and what they're doing now.

Do you remember the Detroit songwriting team of Holland, Dozier, and Holland. They wrote “Band of Gold” for Freda Payne who is our first guest this week. Freda's sister, Sherrie became one of the Supremes and her two backup singers started a group called Tony Orlando and Dawn. Second up on this show is a guy who is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriter's Hall of Fame, and the Grammy Hall of Fame, Felix Cavaliere of the Rascals. Their Top Ten Hits from the ‘60s included “Groovin',” “Good Lovin',” “It's a Beautiful Morning,” “How Can I Be Sure,” and “People Got To Be Free.”

Most people aren't aware of what goes on behind the scenes when recording artists try to get their records played on the radio. In the Sixties, we used to call them “promo guys” and this week we're talking with Jeff Trager, the consummate record promotion man who got all kinds of records played for Ray Charles, Tom Jones, Linda Ronstadt, the Eagles, and the Bee Gees. He'll talk about that and some of the fundraisers he's put together to benefit so many causes in the Bay Area.

It may have been one of the most well-known rock interviews of the ‘80s when Dave Sholin and his crew arrived at the Dakota apartments in New York City for a scheduled audience with John and Yoko. After the interview, Dave caught a flight back to the Bay Area and Lennon stopped in the courtyard to autograph a record for a stranger in an overcoat. Later that evening, Dec. 8, 1980, John Lennon was pronounced dead at Roosevelt Hospital. We talk with Dave about Lennon's last interview and the heady days of radio  going all the way back to the Sixties.

Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero started out as an accordion player, but when she changed her name to Connie Francis, the hits just wouldn't stop coming. With fifteen million sellers and a life story that has more ups and downs than the roller coaster at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, Connie talks about “Who's Sorry Now”, which she only recorded at her father's insistence and the many recordings she's made in fifteen different languages. And her movie roles – remember Angie in Where The Boys Are?

Perry Botkin, Jr., through his arrangements, launched an abundance of hit records while conducting the Wrecking Crew at many of the famed recording studios in Hollywood. You'll know Perry's sound when you hear the backing tracks for the Lettermen, Bobby Darin, Harry Nilsson, Harpers Bizarre, and Barbra Streisand. On this week's show, we get the stories behind all those recording sessions from the man whose charts graced many a music stand, Perry Botkin, Jr.

This week's show begins with Florence La Rue of the 5th Dimension who remembers Up, Up, and Away with us. Then we shift to San Francisco's Summer of Love recalling dj Big Daddy Tom Donahue with Tom's wife, Raechel Donahue who became an entertainment reporter for CNN and is today the host of her own internet radio show. Finally, our last segment is with Rick Derringer of the McCoys (Hang On Sloopy) who's appeared on numerous albums with Steely Dan, Air Supply, and Cindy Lauper.

This week we meet Tony Butala and you'll know who he is when I rattle off a few of their hits: The Way You Look Tonight, Hurts So Bad, Goin' Outa My Head/ Can't Take My Eyes Off of You. Tony's the only original member left of the Lettermen. And recently, TV legend and film star Dick Van Dyke became the first ever recipient of the Red Skelton America's Clown Award. We're going to hear about that and more from our first guest, Anne Pratt, the Executive Director of the Red Skelton Museum of American Comedy.

Remember the hullabaloo in the early ‘60s that came from a New York City hotspot called the Peppermint Lounge. This week we're talking with Joey Dee whose hit record, the Peppermint Twist exploded out of that steamy nightclub. After that, we'll talk with Bob Lind who created a word picture worthy of framing in the Sixties museum with his hit tune about the bright elusive butterfly of love.

Dirty Water by the Standells is today the theme song for every victory by the Boston Red Sox even though none of the band members including this week's guest, lead singer Larry Tamblyn were from Massachusetts. Our other guest, David Logeman has been the drummer for Frank Zappa, Jan and Dean, and the Beach Boys, and he now heads up the Surf City Allstars Tour with Dean Torrance and Al Jardine.

When Bob Berryhill and his Surfaris recorded the all-time surf hit “Wipeout”, he was only fifteen years old and they made the record for a hundred and fifty bucks in an old hole-in-the wall studio in Cucamonga, CA. “Wipeout” was originally the B side of that record; the A side was a song called “Surfer Joe”. No matter – both songs became hits in the early Sixties and this week we're talking with Bob Berryhill, the original guitarist for the Surfaris who are still performing today.

When Burt Ward and I recorded this interview recently, it was the day before Adam West, Batman, passed away. Not only had Burt and Adam worked together on the Batman show, they had done many conventions and book signings together. Obviously, during our interview, we were not aware of what was about to happen. Burt gets into how he won the part of Robin, the Boy Wonder for the Batman TV series on ABC. He describes what it was like filming the show with all of the stunts and explosions. And then we get into what is his real passion today – Gentle Giants Rescue – the world's largest big dog rescue that Burt and his wife, Tracy started 22 years ago.

In 1970, Motown started an affiliated record label that included certain bands with white members only, and Rare Earth happened to be the first big hit-making act signed for Motown's new imprint label The record company didn't actually have a name for the new label yet and one of the band members jokingly suggested that they call the label Rare Earth. To the band's surprise, Motown decided to do just that and what followed was Rare Earth on Rare Earth. And what followed THAT was “Get Ready” and “I Just Want to Celebrate”. Peter Rivera, their drummer for those exciting years, is with us on today's show.

Sandy Deane has been with Jay and the Americans since their inception back in the early Sixties and the hits never stopped coming – Only in America, Come a Little Bit Closer, Cara Mia, and This Magic Moment. Would you believe they were one of the bands that was on the bill when the Beatles played their first concert in the U.S. at the Washington Coliseum in 1964? I've got a ton of questions for Sandy and he has a raft load of ‘60s rock stories for us on today's show.

What do you think of when you hear somebody say, “Gimme a ticket for an aeroplane, ain't got time to take a fast train.? Well, if you remember the Sixties like I do, you think of The Boxtops. It was an international hit in September of 1967, reaching Billboard's Number 1 slot and staying there for four straight weeks. The Boxtops' bass player, Bill Cunningham was already from a musical family in Memphis, though he was yet to find out how many career changes he would go through over the years. But we'll find out on today's show.

It's pretty hard to get past “Spooky”, “Stormy”, and ”Traces”, without knowing that you're listening to the Classics IV. During the ‘60s, when they were touring as Dennis Yost and the Classics IV, each one of those three songs sold over a million records. Dennis died in 1968 at the age of 65 and his long-time friend Tom Garrett found himself center stage taking over the vocals. It's a story that could only grow up in the rock and roll ‘60s, and on today's show, we talk with Tom Garrett and the band that is still touring.

Some time ago, while doing my normal morning Facebook routine of checking out the various posts I'm interested in, I notice there's a guy who's posting almost every day, stories and pictures of various music groups from the ‘60s. And he's in a lot of the photos with stars like Tommy James and the Shondells, the Platters, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Lou Christie. It turns out that he is the quintessential ‘60s music fan, James W. Foster. You've got to check him out on Facebook. I tracked him down and he's here with us today. We talk with Jim Foster about his regular weekend visits to all of the ‘60s revival concerts around the country.

The Sixties provided us with a ton of great music – hundreds of Top Ten songs and a legion of new pop music artists. Most of us can remember bits and pieces of our own past whenever we hear a particular song from that era. There were a few of those songs that are now known as standards the world over. One of those rare birds was “Rhythm of the Rain” by the Cascades. We'll meet the man who wrote and sang that hit record, John Claude Gummoe. John Claude wrote it when he was in the Navy, and on today's show we'll talk with him about all of his show biz memories.

Alan Haber's Pure Pop Radio is the 24-hour Internet radio station playing the greatest melodic pop music from the '60s to today. Starting with the Beatles, he features everyone from Gilbert O'Sullivan to Bob Lind (remember Elusive Butterfly?). His signature interview program, Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation, presents the greatest pop music artists talking about their careers and playing their coolest tunes. And I have to let you know that last year, Alan interviewed me about my group, Harpers Bizarre and we had a ball talking about all that went on in the ‘60s.

Kevin Conway has been collecting Vintage Movie Posters, Historical & Sports Memorabilia, and rare Celebrity Autographs for over 30 years. While serving in the US Navy, he happened to go to a local auction where they were selling rare historical autographed photos and vintage movie posters. He was just amazed at all this history that was available to the public. His company is called Conway's Vintage Treasures and he's got stories about great deals - and not so great deals. You may have seen him on Pawn Stars -  wait until you hear the one about the Wizard of Oz. 

Bob Ray grew up in Los Angeles, or Boss Angeles if you remember Boss Radio from the ‘60s, and spent his earlier years there in television production with the Gong Show and radio before becoming a DJ in Norther California at KSFO in San Francisco and KLIV in San Jose. Weekdays now, he's on the air from 9AM to noon on BossBossRadio. When he's not busy being a Boss Jock, he's a professional photographer, or as he says, an artist with a camera, and he hosts week-long vacations to Italy for photography enthusiasts.

You remember Ted Baxter saying, "It all began at a small 5,000 watt radio station in Fresno."  For Peter Boam aka Peter B - Mr. Smooth, it all began at a college radio station in Sacramento, California. Back in the ‘60s, when Harpers Bizarre was in full swing, we knew most of the dj's in the Bay Area and one of our favorites was Peter B who's still on the air weeknights from 6 to 10PM on BossBossRadio. After KLIV in San Jose, he went from one major market to another (over 10 years at KVI in Seattle). Some great stories here.

They came out of the Sixties with three different band names doing all kinds of rock and roll covers until one day they had a chance meeting with Jan and Dean, and all of a sudden a new name emerged. They've kept that name for almost forty years – the hottest Beach Boys band around – Papa Doo Run Run. We're talking with Don Zirilli, one of the group's notable leaders who's been with them since day one and tells stories of working with Brian Wilson and Mike Love and being the house band at Disneyland for fifteen years.

Meet '60s Bay Area horn player Peter Welker who was part of the house band at the famed Jazz Workshop in North Beach. He talks about working with the likes of Van Morrison, Santana, Etta James, and Smokey Robinson. Also, later in the show, we talk with Edward Torchy Smith who's been doing Baby Boomers Talk Radio for the last several years and has interviewed most of the Sixties TV stars including Paul Petersen, Johnny Crawford, and many of the Mouseketeers. Episode #1. Hi everyone and welcome to another encounter with some groovy moments from the past. We're visiting the '60s with host Dick Scoppettone, whose pop group Harpers Bizarre had a hit record back then called “Feelin' Groovy.” He'll be talking with our guests about a decade that shaped a whole generation, not only with the most magnificent music ever made, but also the politics, protests, and pretty much everything that happened - in the Swingin' '60s.