*** music trivia ***

[Ky Fried Redleg]

First line of his biggest hit: "When I think about those nights in Montreal, I get the sweetest thoughts of you and me."

This dude appeared on Soul Train three months before Elton, but no one remembers Gino's appearance. EVERYONE remembers the Rocketman. Gino's brother wrote this song. Vanelli's biggest hit:

[wally post]

There ya go, now I’ve learned something today!

[Roy Tucker]

Great background singers and nice sax solo. Earmarks of the 70’s.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

99% of people will swear Elton was first. If someone tells you they bet you a thousand bucks it was Elton, show them this from February of 1975. Does anyone remember this song? It was Vanelli's first hit.
Vanelli on Soul Train , 91 days before Elton's famous appearance:






Gino's return to Soul Train four years later, in 1979:

[Ky Fried Redleg]

Came across this awhile back and thought it was really sweet. It was a FB post from Mr. Vanelli back in 2018, talking about his marriage to his wife , Patricia, and why they had been able to stay married for so long. A lot of really good advice here.

Also, is it just me , or does Gino Vanelli, if you took away all of the 70's hair, look eerily like another Canadian of Italian descent that we all know Doesn't Vanelli look like Joseph Daniel Votto?






Gino Vannelli
June 5, 2018
·
Just Married

When Patricia and I met because of a snowed-out concert in Portland Oregon in the autumn of 1974, little did I imagine I’d be looking at this photo decades later. Which brings to mind the question I am often asked: How did you guys ever manage to stay married? Of course there are infinite reasons, (not the least of which being a little luck) but I will let you in on one important contributing factor.
On the day we shared formal vows, after the crowds thinned and we scooted back to our hotel room, Tricia and I added one more condition to our marriage pact—swearing one more sacred vow—and that is, to never, ever say something we both couldn’t take back. This included all cuss words, including A words, B words, C words, F words, in my special case, being raised in Montreal, throw church relics and saints into the mix of no-go zones. Added to the blacklist were any disparagements, nit-picking, hen pecking, whining, character assassination (in-laws included), brow beating, passing slurs, transitory tear downs, inventive name calling, no mud slinging whatsoever (however clever). No matter how angry we ever got, we decided, better to bite our tongues and choke on the silence than hurl slings and arrows of indelicate maxims. Our unwritten pledge also included: no cheeky sign language, meaning: wanker signs, birds, thumbed noses, chin flicks, forearm jerks, tongue pointing and L’s on the forehead. We signed that addendum to our marriage vows on a page in our hearts and abided by it all this time. (Although there were some moments I was certain one of us was dangerously teetering on the edge and was one phrase away from breach of contract)
Amazingly enough, to this day, we have both never even whispered a pained 'please' or an offhand 'shut up' to each other.
Bottom line: Just shut the hell up before you say something stupid to the one you love.
Big hug to all
G

[Ky Fried Redleg]

Sadly, Mr. Vanelli lost his wife, Patricia, in 2024 after her long battle with cancer. Gino was her caregiver for over five years. I saw an interview he gave sometime back last year and it was heartbreaking. He put out a new album on Feb. 7, 2025(almost 50 years to the day he first appeared on Soul Train) called The Life I Got(To My Most Beloved). He dedicated the album to his late wife, Patricia.

Here's a blog post from May 21, 2024, soon after her passing. This was just beautiful. Made me tear up. Well, actually, it made me cry like a baby :

https://ginov.com/to-my-most-beloved/

[Ky Fried Redleg]

135. This question is because of my father. He is almost 86 years old, and in failing health. His heart is struggling to function properly. He's looking at a heart surgery in another few weeks. He's running out of time. I guess we all are. Still, I will occasionally catch him talking to his "Alexa" and asking her to play him one of his favorite old songs. This is one that he often requests. It's always been one of his very favorites. It's also one of those songs I remember being played so frequently on that jukebox in the Krystal Kitchen diner in downtown Corbin back in 1971, when my sister and I would spend all day in there playing pinball.

This song was released in the summer of '71. It was the singer's breakthrough hit, and became a country standard. But this blockbuster hit was a bit of a fluke. Another one of those happy accidents. You see, this singer had been recording songs for more than 18 years but hadn't had a song on the charts since 1959. By the time he released his 1970 album, he was recording for Capitol Records. The initial single , the title track, didn't do well, stalling outside the top 60. Capitol summarily dropped the singer from the label and pulled the album from distribution.

But now for the miracle. And yes, it involves another one of those DJs. A DJ from WPLO-AM in Atlanta started playing a cut from the album, the same album that Capitol had pulled the plug on. The song exploded, and before you know it, it was being played all over the country. Capitol rushed to release the song as a single(of course they did) and it reached #1 on the Billboard Country chart even before Capitol could even re-sign the singer. That's right- the singer of the #1 country song in the nation didn't even have a record contract. He had been fired!!! Well, of course, the label hurriedly re-signed the singer, and he went on to have many, many more hit records for Capitol. Were it not for that DJ in Atlanta, this song would have never been heard, and likely the singer's career would have been over.

Now, not only was this song a huge smash on the country charts , it was also a big crossover hit. The song peaked at # 17 in November of '71 on the Billboard Hot 100 , where it was positioned just above "Two Divided By Love" by the Grass Roots and just one notch below the Carpenters' "Superstar." It ended 1971 as the 69th biggest song on the Billboard Hot 100 for the year, ranking just above "Liar" by Three Dog Night. This song was the singer's only pop hit.

The song spent three weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in '71 and was the ACM #1 Song of the Year in BOTH 1971 and 1972. The momentum from this blockbuster hit propelled the singer to have a dozen subsequent top 10 country hits, including an incredible run of six consecutive #1 country hits(including this song).

Now, if you're still not sure of this country standard, here's just a bit more. The original working title included two additional words, "Teenage Hearts." But those two words were eventually dropped from the title. The singer/songwriter said his goal, as he set out writing this song, was to write something that every man would like to say, and that every woman would like to hear.

It was the first #1 country song that had the word "sexy" in its lyrics. The singer/songwriter seriously considered removing the line which included the word "sexy," fearing that it would not clear the censors. He left it in, and it cleared the censors. That "sexy" line is the first thing I think of when I think of this song.

Can you think of this big crossover country/pop hit from 1971, one of my dad's all-time favorite songs? I love it , as well. Great song , written and sung by a fine gentleman. RIP

[texasdave]

I know so little about country music that I can honestly say that I have never of this gentleman nor any of his songs. This was real country, and not that twangy pop music that they call country nowadays.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

I know so little about country music that I can honestly say that I have never of this gentleman nor any of his songs. This was real country, and not that twangy pop music that they call country nowadays.

Yes sir, REAL country. I have nothing but disdain for what passes for country music today. I was actually a fan of country music in the 70's but this "Bro Country" stuff today has little resemblance to what I grew up hearing on the country side of things.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

135. This question is because of my father. He is almost 86 years old, and in failing health. His heart is struggling to function properly. He's looking at a heart surgery in another few weeks. He's running out of time. I guess we all are. Still, I will occasionally catch him talking to his "Alexa" and asking her to play him one of his favorite old songs. This is one that he often requests. It's always been one of his very favorites. It's also one of those songs I remember being played so frequently on that jukebox in the Krystal Kitchen diner in downtown Corbin back in 1971, when my sister and I would spend all day in there playing pinball.

This song was released in the summer of '71. It was the singer's breakthrough hit, and became a country standard. But this blockbuster hit was a bit of a fluke. Another one of those happy accidents. You see, this singer had been recording songs for more than 18 years but hadn't had a song on the charts since 1959. By the time he released his 1970 album, he was recording for Capitol Records. The initial single , the title track, didn't do well, stalling outside the top 60. Capitol summarily dropped the singer from the label and pulled the album from distribution.

But now for the miracle. And yes, it involves another one of those DJs. A DJ from WPLO-AM in Atlanta started playing a cut from the album, the same album that Capitol had pulled the plug on. The song exploded, and before you know it, it was being played all over the country. Capitol rushed to release the song as a single(of course they did) and it reached #1 on the Billboard Country chart even before Capitol could even re-sign the singer. That's right- the singer of the #1 country song in the nation didn't even have a record contract. He had been fired!!! Well, of course, the label hurriedly re-signed the singer, and he went on to have many, many more hit records for Capitol. Were it not for that DJ in Atlanta, this song would have never been heard, and likely the singer's career would have been over.

Now, not only was this song a huge smash on the country charts , it was also a big crossover hit. The song peaked at # 17 in November of '71 on the Billboard Hot 100 , where it was positioned just above "Two Divided By Love" by the Grass Roots and just one notch below the Carpenters' "Superstar." It ended 1971 as the 69th biggest song on the Billboard Hot 100 for the year, ranking just above "Liar" by Three Dog Night. This song was the singer's only pop hit.

The song spent three weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in '71 and was the ACM #1 Song of the Year in BOTH 1971 and 1972. The momentum from this blockbuster hit propelled the singer to have a dozen subsequent top 10 country hits, including an incredible run of six consecutive #1 country hits(including this song).

Now, if you're still not sure of this country standard, here's just a bit more. The original working title included two additional words, "Teenage Hearts." But those two words were eventually dropped from the title. The singer/songwriter said his goal, as he set out writing this song, was to write something that every man would like to say, and that every woman would like to hear.

It was the first #1 country song that had the word "sexy" in its lyrics. The singer/songwriter seriously considered removing the line which included the word "sexy," fearing that it would not clear the censors. He left it in, and it cleared the censors. That "sexy" line is the first thing I think of when I think of this song.

Can you think of this big crossover country/pop hit from 1971, one of my dad's all-time favorite songs? I love it , as well. Great song , written and sung by a fine gentleman. RIP

Freddie took home about all of the hardware at the '72 ACM Awards--

Entertainer of the Year
Album of the Year
Top Male Vocalist of the Year
Single Record of the Year
Song of the Year

[Ky Fried Redleg]

If Roy comes on here and said he went to a Freddie Hart concert back in '72 and did some serious mushrooms, I'll be doubly impressed.

[marcshoe]

Somewhere, I actually own a Freddy Hart 45.

btw, Gino V had a better fate than his cousin Millie.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

Somewhere, I actually own a Freddy Hart 45.

btw, Gino V had a better fate than his cousin Millie.

True , and we can be most certain that Milli wasn't the only artist to ever lip sync on Soul Train. They probably felt pretty much at home on that stage. LOL

[Roy Tucker]

If Roy comes on here and said he went to a Freddie Hart concert back in '72 and did some serious mushrooms, I'll be doubly impressed.

Nah. Searching the Roy memory banks, I find no Freddy Hart show.

Looking at the google, I see he played the Ohio State Fair in that era. I saw Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings shows there at the fair. The Waylon show I went to the fair with the intent to see it. But the Johnny Cash show we just stumbled upon with Mrs Tucker #1. That was the bands played outside on a temporary stage on the horse track and we sat in the grandstands.

I was more on the outlaw country/country rock side of things then. Classic country was too… country for my hippie tastes then. In retrospect, I wish I would have gone to see some of those shows. But I was poor then.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

136. Do you recognize the band below? This band is often acknowledged as a one-hit wonder because they had just one top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. But that one hit record was a biggie. It went all the way to #1 in 1974. Now, they did have one other huge #1 hit but it was in the UK, not the US. However, a guy from Cincinnati took their UK #1 to #1 in the US a few months later. Can you unravel all this madness from '74?

Who's the band below and what was their big #1 hit in America ? Also, who took their UK #1 to #1 in the US a few months later?