Doctor Don

Doctor Don Weekday mornings 7-10am on WDGY
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Playing the Hits of the 60s, 70s & 80s

05/17/2025

Music notes for May 17:

2024 - According to The Sunday Times annual Rich List Paul McCartney had become the United Kingdom’s first billionaire musician. He and his wife Nancy were worth $1.3 billion, up $1.2 billion in 2023. The newspaper attributed the milestone to McCartney’s longevity and continued appeal with fans across generational lines.

2012 - Donna Summer, the Queen of Disco, died of lung cancer, an illness she believed she contracted from inhaling toxic particles released after the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York. She won five Grammy Awards, six American Music Awards, and had three multi-platinum albums, and 14 Top 40 hits.

1986 - Whitney Houston started a three week run at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Greatest Love Of All', the singers third No.1.
1975 - Elton John made history when he was awarded a Gold Record based solely on pre-sales, ahead of his ninth album, 'Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy.’ The album debuted at No.1 a feat never before accomplished by an album and spent seven weeks at the top spot.

1974 - The Elton John TV special Say Goodbye To Norma Jean And Other Things airs on ABC, a documentary detailing the production of Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" LP featuring footage from the recording session in France, interviews, and concert footage.

1967 - Working at the Capitol Recording Studio in Hollywood, Glen Campbell recorded 'Gentle On My Mind,' a song written by John Hartford and arranged by Leon Russell. The song went on to win four Grammy Awards the following year and became the theme to the television variety show, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour between 1969 and 1972.

1963 - The very first Monterey Folk Festival begins at the Monterey Fairgrounds in California. Over the weekend, Bob Dylan makes his first West Coast performance

05/16/2025

WDGY’s Doctor Don presents the Top 5 songs this day in 1984:

1 HELLO –•– Lionel Richie
2 LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY –•– Deniece Williams
3 AGAINST ALL ODDS (Take A Look At Me Now) –•– Phil Collins
4 HOLD ME NOW –•– Thompson Twins
5 TO ALL THE GIRLS I’VE LOVED BEFORE –•– Julio Iglesias & Willie Nelson

HIGH DEBUT OF THE WEEK: 59 — MAGIC –•– The Cars

IT WOULD PEAK AT #12

05/16/2025

Music notes for May 16:

Happy birthday Janet Jackson. A member of the Rock Hall since 2019, her career includes 10 number one songs among over three dozen chart hits.

1987 - U2 started a three week run at No.1 on the singles chart 'With Or Without You', the group's first No.1. The third track from their 1987 albumThe Joshua Tree the song was the group's most successful single at the time.

1981 - Former New Christy Minstrels member (with Kenny Rogers), Kim Carnes started a nine week run at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Bette Davis Eyes', the singer’s only #1. It was originally written and recorded in 1975 by Jackie DeShannon in a very different arrangement.

1980 - Paul McCartney releases McCartney II, which like his first solo album issued 10 years earlier, was recorded at his home studio with Paul playing every instrument .

1970 - Randy Bachman leaves The Guess Who to produce an album for Winnipeg band Brave Belt, which he eventually joins. At the suggestion of Neil Young, Bachman recruits fellow Winnipeg bassist and vocalist C.F. Turner, and the band Bachman-Turner Overdrive is born.

1966 - The Beach Boys released the classic album Pet Sounds widely ranked as one of the most influential records ever released and has been ranked at No.1 in several music magazines lists of greatest albums of all time, including New Musical Express, The Times and Mojo Magazine. In 2003, it was ranked No.2 in Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, (The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's came first).

1964 - Mary Wells started a two week run at No.1 on the singles chart with 'My Guy'. Written and produced by Smokey Robinson.

05/15/2025

Music notes for May 15:

2008 - Neil Diamond reached the top of the Billboard album chart for the first time in his career with Home Before Dark the 67-year-old's 29th studio album. His previous highest chart position was in 1973 when the soundtrack to the film Jonathan Livingston Seagull peaked at No.2. At the age of 67, Diamond became the oldest artist to have a US number one, the record was previously held by Bob Dylan in 2006 with Modern Times released when he was 65.

1982 - Asia went to No.1 on the album chart with their self-titled album. It spent a total of nine weeks at No.1 and became the best-selling album in the for the year 1982. It featured the songs “Heat of the Moment” and “Only Time Will Tell”.

1976 - The Rolling Stones went to No.1 on the album chart with Black And Blue, the group's sixth No.1 album. The band's first studio album released with Ronnie Wood as the replacement for Mick Taylor featured the hit 'Fool To Cry', the only single released from the album.

1975 - Fleetwood Mac play their first concert with new members Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks at a show in El Paso, Texas.

1971 - Crosby Stills Nash & Young scored their second No.1 album with 4 Way Street. The live album featured recordings from shows at The Fillmore East, New York, and The Forum, Los Angeles.

1967 - Paul McCartney met American photographer Linda Eastman for the first time, during a Georgie Fame concert at the Bag O'Nails nightclub in London, England. They married on March 12, 1969.

1965 - Bob Dylan's single 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' peaked at No.39 in the charts, giving Dylan his first top 40 hit. John Lennon was reported to find the song so captivating

05/14/2025

Music notes for May 14:

Happy birthday David Byrne, of the founders and lead singer of new wave band The Talking Heads.

The late Jack Bruce, bass player or Cream born this date. Their 1968 Wheels of Fire became the first platinum-selling double album.

2015 - B.B. King passed. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential blues guitarists of all time, Rolling Stone magazine placed him behind only Jimi Hendrix and Duane Allman in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. Bonnie Raitt said, "Without a doubt, B.B. King has influenced more rock and blues musicians than anyone else in history."

1988 - Atlantic Records' 40th Anniversary celebration takes place at New York's Madison Square Garden, featuring appearances from many famous artists on the label's roster: The Bee Gees, Wilson Pickett, The Rascals, The Coasters, Emerson, Lake And Palmer, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Foreigner, Yes, Genesis, and the event's main attraction, a rare reunion of Led Zeppelin, with John Bonham's son Jason taking over drums for his late father.

1977 - Leo Sayer went to No.1 on the singles chart with the Albert Hammond and Carole Bayer Sager song 'When I Need You', the singers second No. 1 after “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing”.

1968 - John Lennon and Paul McCartney go on The Tonight Show to announce the formation of Apple Records. Unfortunately, Johnny Carson is on vacation and the guest host is the sportscaster Joe Garagiola, who has no idea what to talk about.

05/13/2025

WDGY’s Doctor Don presents the Top 5 songs this week in 1977:

1 WHEN I NEED YOU –•– Leo Sayer
2 SIR DUKE –•– Stevie Wonder
3 HOTEL CALIFORNIA –•– Eagles
4 SOUTHERN NIGHTS –•– Glen Campbell
5 COULDN’T GET IT RIGHT –•– The Climax Blues Band

HIGH DEBUT OF THE WEEK: AT # 73 — LIFE IN THE FAST LANE –•– Eagles

IT WOULD PEAK AT #11

05/13/2025

Music notes for May 13:

Happy Stevie Wonder. musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalis. Born Stevland, he was a child prodigy who developed into one of the most creative musical figures of the late 20th century. Wonder who has been blind from shortly after birth, signed with Motown's Tamla label at the age of eleven and continues to perform and record for Motown to this day.

2011 - ‘Like A Rolling Stone' was voted as Bob Dylan's best-ever song by Rolling Stone Magazine, who had asked the opinions of a panel of writers, academics and musicians to compile a poll to mark Dylan's 70th birthday on 24th May.

1985 - Bruce Springsteen married Julianne Phillips at Lake Oswego, Oregon. Julianne filed for divorce on Aug 30th 1988.

1978 - After eight weeks at #1, "Night Fever" by the Bee Gees is finally bumped off, replaced by Yvonne Elliman's "If I Can't Have You," another song written by the Bee Gees and also featured on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. The Bee Gees version of the song was on the flip-side of “Stayin Alive”.

1970 - The world premiere of The Beatles film 'Let It Be' took place in New York City. The film which was originally planned as a television documentary features an unannounced rooftop concert by the group, their last performance in public. Released just after the album, it was the final original Beatles release.

1967 - The Supremes scored their 10th No.1 single with 'The Happening'. It was the last single to be released as the Supremes, from now on they were known as Diana Ross and the Supremes.

05/12/2025

Music notes for May 12:

Happy birthday Steve Winwood. A amazing career that included lead singer for The Spencer Davis Group, Traffic and Blind Faith followed by a great solo career.

The late Burt Bacharah born this date. Certainly along with lyricist Hal David, one of the greatest songwriting teams ever.

2004 - Barry and Robin Gibb from The Bee Gees were both presented with honorary degrees from Manchester University. They also picked up a posthumous award for their brother Barry. The brothers had once lived in Manchester, England.

1984 - Lionel Richie started a two week run at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Hello' his second solo No.1. The song inspired by his younger years when he was too shy to talk to the ladies.

1973 - Led Zeppelin started a three-week run at No.1 on the album chart with their fifth album Houses Of The Holy. The group's third No.1 album went on to spend 39 weeks on the chart. Houses Of The Holy has now been certified 11 times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales in excess of 11 million copies.

1972 - The Rolling Stones released Exile on Main Street, the second album on their own label. The double set featured two hit singles, 'Tumbling Dice' and 'Happy'.

1967 - The first Jimi Hendrix album, Are You Experienced?, is released. Songs include "Foxy Lady," "Hey Joe" and "Purple Haze."

1963 - Bob Dylan walked out of rehearsals for the Ed Sullivan show after being told he couldn't perform his song 'Talking John Birch Paranoid Blues' due to it mocking the military and segregation. CBS officials asked Dylan to substitute it for another song, but the singer reportedly said: 'No, this is what I want to do. If I can't play my song, I'd rather not appear on the show'.

05/11/2025

Music notes for May 11:

Happy birthday Eric Burdon, he of the gritty distinctive lead voice for The Animals.

The late R. Dean Taylor born this date. He was singer, songwriter, and record producer for Motown during the 1960s and 1970s. He co-wrote hits for the Four Tops, Temptations and Diana Ross & the Supremes. As a singer, Taylor is best known for his 1970 hit 'Indiana Wants Me' which went to #5.

1989 - The late Roy Orbison is posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York, with Eric Clapton presenting the award to Orbison's widow

1985 - Bruce Springsteen and a small group of friends went out for a boy’s night out in Lake Oswego, Oregon, two nights before his wedding to Julianne Phillips. Drinking in the Gemini pub Springsteen sang a number of songs, karaoke-style, to his own records in the jukebox.

1974 - Led Zeppelin attended an Elvis Presley show at the Los Angeles Forum in California. After a shaky start to the show, Elvis stopped the band and jokingly said: ‘Wait a minute, if we can start together fellas, because we’ve got Led Zeppelin out there, lets try to look like we know what we're doing.’ All four members of Zeppelin met with Elvis after the show, spending over 2 hours backstage. Elvis asked for all the group’s autographs for his daughter Lisa Marie.

1972 - John Lennon goes on the Dick Cavett Show and mentions that the FBI is monitoring him. He turns out to be right.

1970 - The triple soundtrack album Woodstock was released igoing gold within two weeks. The album featured tracks by; Canned Heat, Richie Havens, Country Joe McDonald, Crosby Stills & Nash, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, Joe Cocker, Santana and others. The couple on the album coverWrapped in a blanket? Nick Ercoline and Bobbi Kelly were a new couple of three months and it would be two years after that before they got married.

1968 - Richard Harris releases "MacArthur Park," a mysterious song written by Jimmy Webb about a cake left out in the rain. It climbs to #2, but 10 years later reaches #1 in a version by Donna Summer.

05/10/2025

Music notes for May 10:

Happy birthday singer/songwriter Dave Mason. He was a member of the band Traffic. In 1977 he had a solo hit with “We Just Disagree”. During his amazing career he has has worked with many notable musicians including Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Jimi Hendrix (twelve-string guitar on 'All Along the Watchtower' and Fleetwood Mac.

Happy birthday Donovan. The Scottish singer-songwriter had a bunch of hits in the 60’s including “Sunshine Superman”, “Mellow Yellow”, and “Jennifer Juniper”

Happy birthday one-hit wonder Carl Douglas. Intended as an album-filler and B-side of a single, 'Kung Fu Fighting' became one of the Best Selling Singles in the world.

Happy birthday U2’s Bono. Paul Hewson was born in Dublin. He shortens his nickname from Bono Vox (Latin for "good voice") to simply Bono and fronts the band U2.

1986 - The Pet Shop Boys went to No.1 on the singles chart with 'West End Girls“.

1985 - After three albums, The Go-Go's announced they were breaking up. The members went on to enjoy solo success, (Belinda Carlisle and Jane Wiedlin) and the group reformed in the late 90s.

1974 - Eric Clapton recorded I Shot the Sheriff a cover of a Bob Marley song that would be included on his 1974 album 461 Ocean Boulevard. Clapton was reluctant to record the song , but it became the only No.1 hit of his career.

1969 - Led Zeppelin made their first appearance on the album chart when the band's debut album charted at #10. Recorded in around 36 hours, the album is now considered one of the most important debuts in rock, creating an entirely new interpretation of the Rock And Roll genre, with groundbreaking musical styles and recording techniques.

1963 - The first Rolling Stones recording session is held in London, where they record their first single: a cover of Chuck Berry's "Come On."

05/09/2025

WDGY’s Doctor Don presents the Top 5 songs this week in 1970:

1 AMERICAN WOMAN / NO SUGAR TONIGHT –•– The Guess Who
2 ABC –•– Jackson 5
3 LET IT BE –•– The Beatles
4 VEHICLE –•– The Ides Of March
5 SPIRIT IN THE SKY –•– Norman Greenbaum

HIGH DEBUT OF THE WEEK: AT #79 — BABY HOLD ON –•– The Grass Roots

IT WOULD PEAK AT #35

05/09/2025

Music notes for May 9:

Happy birthday Rock Hall of Famer Billy Joel. He was born in the Bronx and grew up in Hicksville, Long Island.

Happy birthday Tommy Roe. He scored a bunch of hits in the 60’s including “Dizzy”, ”Sheila”, and “Sweet Pea”, and Jam Up and Jelly Tight”.

2020 - Little Richard died of bone cancer at the age of 87. He had his biggest hits in the 1950s and was known for his exuberant performances and flamboyant outfits. With the likes of Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley, he was one of the handful of acts who mixed blues, R&B and gospel that led to the evolution of rock 'n' roll. He sold more than 30 million records worldwide with hits including 'Good Golly Miss Molly', 'Lucille', 'Tutti Frutti' and 'Long Tall Sally'.

2003 - The Eagles trimmed to a four-man lineup (Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit) after parting ways with Don Felder, started their Farewell I tour in Richmond, Virginia, the title a mocking reference to the many "farewell" tours that aren't really. They played 168 dates on the tour over three years.

1992 - Bruce Springsteen performs on US TV for the first time when he finally accepts a longstanding offer to be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. He plays three songs from Human Touch and Lucky Town, the albums he released simultaneously five weeks earlier.

1974 - Bruce Springsteen gets a huge career boost when he opens for Bonnie Raitt at her Boston Arena show. Playing his full two-hour set at Raitt's insistence (rare for an opening act), Bruce is so impressive that Rolling Stone's Jon Landau writes in Boston's The Real Paper, "I saw rock and roll future, and its name is Bruce Springsteen. And on a night when I needed to feel young, he made me feel like I was hearing music for the very first time." Landau went on to become Springsteen's manager and producer.

1970 - Guess Who started a three-week run at No.1 on the singles chart with 'American Woman', it was the group's sixth Top 30 hit and only chart topper. The song was born by accident when guitarist Randy Bachman was playing a heavy riff on stage after he had broken a string, the other members joined in on the jam. A fan in the audience who had recorded the gig on tape presented it to the group after the show and they developed it into a full song.

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