Randy Bachman Read online

  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 Whor />
  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