Rare & Scratchy Rock 'N Roll Podcast

It's 40 top 40 lost hits from the year 1965 – the tunes you never seem to hear on the radio, or the satellite or on anyone’s live stream anymore. Talk about variety - we’ve got some dreamers and a Duke, a religious King and a Johann Sebastian Bach concerto that rocked. There’s even a Cannon and a shotgun, so watch out for those. And the only father and son with their own individual top 40 hits in the same year. Plus several country singers who scored some of the biggest rock hits in this country.

Remember a time when life was groovy, love-ins were the in-thing, and happenings happened? An era when flower power energized us? When far out and out of sight were what we wanted to be? If you were around in the late 1960s, then you know what we're rapping about. No matter what bag you were in back then, there were many varieties of rock and roll from which to choose. One was “Sunshine Pop.”

You've got an immediate appointment with the “Rare & Scratchy Rock & Roll” Doctors. They’ve got the prescription to cure your musical ills! For this episode, we’ve assembled the greatest group of melodious MDs and alternative medicine mavens ever to be heard in one podcast. Their diagnosis is that you need some strong musical medicine. So, they’ve prescribed a concentrated dose of songs about doctors and rock and roll illnesses.

More rock, rhythm & blues, and country groups have been named after birds than any other member of the animal kingdom on this planet. These include multiple different groups who named themselves after the same bird species – such as eagles, larks, crows, and swans. We'll highlight 40 of these feathered musical friends.

This is part two of our two-part salute to Neil Diamond. Continuing our retrospective from the year 1970 forward, we’ll chronicle all the rest of his hit singles, along with the original versions by other artists who inspired him, Plus, later hit recordings of Neil Diamond originals by different singers – as well as songs he composed for various artists, but didn’t record himself. We’ll also highlight his special connections with Paul Newman, Glen Campbell, Barbra Streisand, and Brian Wilson, among

This is part one of our two-part salute to Neil Diamond. We’ll chronicle all of his hit singles, along with the original versions by other artists who inspired him. Plus, later hit recordings of Neil Diamond originals by other singers – as well as songs he composed for various artists, but didn’t record himself. This episode highlights Neil Diamond’s special connections with Pat Boone, Jay & The Americans, the Monkees, Cliff Richard, Lulu, Deep Purple, and Junior Walker & The All-Stars, among many o

This episode spotlights 40 lost hits from the year 1961. These include top 40 tunes radio stations no longer play – by major artists such as Tony Orlando, Fats Domino, Jackie Wilson, Ray Charles, and Chubby Checker, as well as famed actress/singer Ann-Margret, among many others. We’ll also reveal the special connection between one of Elvis Presley’s #1 hits from 1961 and a 78 RPM platter recorded in 1905 by one of that era’s most famous operatic tenors.

This is part two of our two-part salute to two siblings who comprised the most successful duo in the history of rock and roll – the Everly Brothers. We’ll chronicle the rest of their hit singles – singing together and also apart as solo artists – along with the original versions by other performers who inspired them. Plus, later hit recordings of Everly Brothers songs by other singers. We’ll also track their successful 1983 comeback – a decade after their 1973 breakup.

This is part one of our two-part salute to the Everly Brothers –the most successful duo in the history of rock and roll. They mixed their Appalachian mountain music heritage with some rockabilly, a little country and western, a dash of rhythm and blues, and a sprinkle of easy listening pop to chart more hit singles than any other twosome ever. We’ll chronicle their hit singles, along with the original versions by other artists who inspired them, and hit recordings of Everly Brothers songs by other singe

Have you ever seen a really bad major motion picture where the original soundtrack music was the only good part of the film? We have. We picked 30 such flicks and plucked 40 songs that debuted in those pictures for this presentation. Most of these movies were musicals that hit the wrong notes. But our celluloid collection also includes atrocious comedies, dreadful dramas, science fiction fiascos, and creepy cult classics

We're remembering “45 forgotten 1960s Xmas 45s.” Most were played on one or more radio stations somewhere, but with just a few exceptions, they went nowhere on the hit music charts. These include platters by then-established or emerging artists. We’ll also unwrap some singles worth hearing by singers who were hardly ever if ever heard from again. And we’ve got some 45s that appeared on the rock charts back then, but seem to have disappeared from radio station playlists today.

We’ve prepared a celebration of our 100th show that we hope you’ll share. It’s 40 of the records that are playin’ on the Jukebox at “Rare & Scratchy Rock ‘N Roll World Headquarters.” These include the absolutely smokin’ hit version of a movie theme that became the soundtrack for a famous cigarette ad campaign. And there’s the psychedelic folk song that provided the name for a comic book super hero nearly two decades later. They’re all part of the greatest rock and roll stories on record.

We're focusing on how rock and roll reflected the evolution of pop culture attitudes about sex in the 1960s and 1970s. Radio stations played all the songs we’re presenting in this edition back in the day, and most of these tunes are still heard today. That said, we suggest you cover the ears of any younger rock and rollers who might be listening to this download with you. That’s because we’ll sample 40 songs with lyrics that have adult content.

This episode salutes Gary Lewis & The Playboys, an act that achieved a feat that such then-contemporary groups as the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Beach Boys, and Four Seasons never matched. They were one of just two acts during the 1960s whose first seven 45s reached the top 10 on Billboard Magazine’s Hot 100 singles chart. Our resident Rockologist, Ken Deutsch, will be talking with Gary Lewis – our special guest for this episode. And Radio Dave will have more of the greatest rock & roll stories on record

This edition spotlights “Top 40 U.S. Hit Singles Imported From Canada During The First 40 Years Of Rock & Roll” – 1955 to 1994. Among the artists featured on this episode, we’ll hear from a 1950s rockabilly act that evolved into Bob Dylan’s backup band and eventually found its own great fame in the 1960s and 1970s. Then there are some American-born performers who moved to Canada and achieved great success when they exported their music back to the U.S.