Doctor Don, Minneapolis, MN (2025)

11/21/2025

WDGYs Doctor Don presents the Top 5 songs this week in 1970:

1 I THINK I LOVE YOU –•– The Partridge Family
2 WE’VE ONLY JUST BEGUN –•– The Carpenters
3 I’LL BE THERE –•– Jackson 5
4 TEARS OF A CLOWN –•– Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
5 FIRE AND RAIN –•– James Taylor

HIGH DEBUT OF THE WEEK: AT #55 - ONE MAN BAND/THREE DOG NIGHT

IT WOULD PEAK AT #19

11/21/2025

Music notes for Nov. 21:

2017 - actor, singer, songwriter David Cassidy died of liver failure. He was known for his role as Keith Partridge, the son of Shirley Partridge (played by his stepmother Shirley Jones), in the 70s musical-sitcom The Partridge Family, which led to him becoming one of popular culture's teen idols.

1970 - Coincidentally, on this date The Partridge Family started a three-week run at No. 1 with “I Think I Love You”. The song was featured in the study episode of the series.

1987 - Billy Idol knocked Tiffany from the No.1 single position on the singles chart with his version of Tommy James ' Mony Mony'. Tiffany had been at No.1 with another Tommy James song ' I Think We're Alone Now.'

1983 - Michael Jackson's 14-minute video for Thriller was premiered in Los Angeles. Directed by John Landis and the video (like the song) contains a spoken word performance by horror film veteran Vincent Price.

1981 - Olivia Newton-John started a ten-week run at No.1 in the singles chart with 'Physical', the singer's fourth No.1 went on to sell over 2 million copies. The song was originally offered to Rod Stewart. Newton-John recalled that she later had misgivings about the song because of its innuendos and asked that the song be pulled from release. However, she was told it was too late, and the song was already performing well on the charts

1980 - Steely Dan releases Gaucho. The album is meticulously produced and features the singles “Hey Nineteen” and “Time Out of Mind”contributions from Rick Derringer and Mark Knopfler.

1974 - Marty Balin, who founded Jefferson Airplane in 1965 but left in a welter of conflict with Grace Slick and Paul Kantner, reunites with the band, now known as Jefferson Starship, at a show at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. At first he claims to be a "hired gun," but he gradually comes back to the band full time, delivering their hit "Miracles" on their next album, Red Octopus.

11/20/2025

Music notes for Nov. 20:

Happy birthday Joe Walsh. An amazing career. With The James Gang he gave is “Walk Away” and “Funk 49”. In his early 70s solo career there was “Life‘s Been Good” and “Rocky Mountain Way”. He joined the Eagles in 1975. During his five-decade career, he has had stints in other bands, including Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band and Walsh played the guitar solo on Eagles bandmember Don Henley's 1982 hit 'Dirty Laundry'.

The late Dr. John born this date. Active as a session musician from the late 1950s until his death, he gained a following in the late 1960s after the release of his album Gris-Gris and his appearance at the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music. Rebennack recorded thirty studio albums and nine live albums, as well as contributing to thousands of other musicians' recordings. In 1973, he achieved a top-10 hit single with 'Right Place, Wrong Time’.

1995 - The Beatles Anthology 1 was released featuring 60 tracks including the track 'Free As A Bird', a song originally composed and recorded in 1977 as a home demo by John Lennon. In 1995 a studio version of the recording, incorporating contributions from Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr was released as a single by The Beatles.

1976 - Paul Simon hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live where he performed live with George Harrison on ‘Here Comes The Sun’ and ‘Homeward Bound’. Paul McCartney and John Lennon were both in New York City watching the show on TV. Earlier in the year, the show's producer Lorne Michaels offered The Beatles Union scale $3000 each to reunite. ($18,000 today_In the opening sketch, he is seen arguing with Harrison over how much of that money he should get.

1971 - Isaac Hayes started a two week run at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Theme From Shaft'. Hayes won a Grammy award for Best Original Film Score with 'Theme From Shaft and the Oscar for Best Song.

1967 - Los Angeles-based psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock were at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Incense And Peppermints'. When recording the track the band expressed a dislike for the song's lyrics so the lead vocals were sung by a friend of the band, 16 year-old Greg Munford, who was attending the recording session as a visitor.

1961 - Bob Dylan started recording his debut album over two days at Columbia Recording Studios in New York City.
1955 - Sun Records owner Sam Phillips sells Elvis Presley's contract to RCA for $35,000. That’s $425,000 today! Presley had just one year left on his contract, and Phillips invested the money in a local hotel chain

11/19/2025

Music notes for Nov. 19:

2016 - A furious letter from John Lennon to Paul McCartney and his wife, Linda, written after The Beatles' break-up sold for nearly $30,000 to an anonymous collector in Dallas. In the two-page typed draft with handwritten notes, Lennon criticises the couple for their treatment of him and his wife, Yoko Ono. The attack is said to be in response to Linda's criticism of him not publicly announcing his departure from the band.

2006 - The ill-fated Bob Dylan musical tribute The Times They Are A-Changin' closes on Broadway after a scant 28 showings.

2000 - The Beatles started an eleven-week run at No.1 on the album chart with The Beatles 1. The album features every number-one single released from 1962 to 1970. Issued on the 30th anniversary of the band's break-up, it was their first compilation available on one CD. The world's best-selling album of the 21st century so far having sold over 31 million copies.

1995 - The first installment of The Beatles Anthology documentary airs on ABC. Two more episodes would follow. About 27 million watched.

1992 - Linda Ronstadt appears on the famous "Mr. Plow" episode of The Simpsons, where she appears in a commercial for Homer's rival, Plow King (Barney Gumble).

1988 - Bon Jovi started a two week run at No.1 on the singles chart with lead single from the band's album New Jersey, 'Bad Medicine', which became the group's third No.1.

1982 - Led Zeppelin release their final studio album, Coda, a collection of unused songs recorded before drummer John Bonham died in 1980.

1968 - Onstage with The Supremes at the Royal Command Variety Performance in London, Diana Ross interrupts the show with a plea for greater in*******al understanding. She receives a two-minute ovation from the audience, which includes members of the royal family. Queen Elizabeth II herself stands after Ross' moving performance of West Side Story's "Somewhere."

11/18/2025

WDGYs Doctor Don presents the Top 5 songs this week in 1986:

1 HUMAN –•– The Human League
2 AMANDA –•– Boston
3 TRUE BLUE –•– Madonna
4 YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME –•– Bon Jovi
5 TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT –•– Eddie Money

HIGH DEBUT OF THE WEEK: AT #45 — WAR –•– Bruce Springsteen

IT WOULD PEAK AT #8.

11/18/2025

Music notes for Nov. 18:

1988 - The Beach Boys appear on the Full House episode "Beach Boy Bingo," where they bring Uncle Jesse (John Stamos) and the rest of the Tanner Family onstage during a show. Stamos, who often performs with the group in real life, appears in the video for "Kokomo," which was the #1 song for two weeks earlier.

1978 - Billy Joel went to No.1 on the album chart with his sixth studio album, '52nd Street'. His first No.1 album was also the first commercial album to be released on compact disc and won Joel the 1979 Grammy for album of the year . It featured the hits Big Shot”, “My Life and “Honesty”.

1975 - Bruce Springsteen made his live debut in the UK at London's Hammersmith Odeon. The set list included: Thunder Road, 10th Avenue Freeze-out, Born To Run The 'E' Street Shuffle, Jungleland, 4th of July, Asbury Park, Detroit Medley, For You and Quarter To Three. He learns that his record company has gone overboard with the hype, distributing posters that say: "At last London is ready for Bruce Springsteen."

1972 - Cat Stevens started a three-week run at No.1 on the album chart with 'Catch Bull At Four'. It is his only #1 album. The title was taken from one of the Ten Bulls of Zen a series of short poems and accompanying pictures that are intended to illustrate the stages of a Buddhist practitioner's progression towards enlightenment.

1972 - Steely Dan shows up on Hot 100 for the first time when their debut single, "Do It Again," enters at #98. It will peak at #6 on February 11, 1973.

1970 - Led Zeppelin III was at No.1 on the album charts. The distinctive cover was based on a suggestion of Jimmy Page's that it should resemble an old-fashioned gardening seed chart. The album featured “Whole Lotta Love.

1968 - A group called Pogo, which includes Randy Meisner, Jim Messina and Richie Furay, debuts at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. They change their name to Poco to avoid legal action over the comic strip Pogo.

1963 - Beatles manager Brian Epstein asks the group's fans to please refrain from pelting the group with Jelly Babies (soft, jelly-like sweets) at their concerts. The Beatles had made the mistake of remarking how much they liked them.

11/17/2025

Music notes for Nov. 17:

The late great Gordon Lightfoot born this date. Many of his albums achieved gold or multi-platinum status. and his songs have been recorded by many artists. Among his hits are “If You Could Read My Mind”, “Carefree Highway” and “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”.

The late Gene Clark born this date. He was a founding member of The Byrds writing most of the bands best-known songs from those years including “Eight Miles High and “I Feel a Whole Lot Better.”

2014 - Motown singer Jimmy Ruffin passed away. He is the elder brother of The Temptations David Ruffin. Jimmy was very close to joining the group, but his brother was hired instead. Jimmys solo hits include “What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted” and “I‘ve Passed this Way Before”.

2007 - The Eagles were at No.1 on the album chart with ‘Long Road Out Of Eden’ the bands seventh studio album and first since 1979.

1984 - Wham! Were at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Wake Me Up Before You Go Go'. Michael's inspiration for the song was a scribbled note left by his Wham! partner Andrew Ridgeley for Andrew's parents, originally intended to read "wake me up before you go" but with "up" accidentally written twice, so Ridgeley wrote "go" twice on purpose.

1980 - John Lennon releases Double Fantasy. A few weeks later, he is shot and killed, and the album quickly goes to #1 in many countries.

1976 - Olivia Newton-John's first TV special, A Very Special Olivia Newton-John, is broadcast on ABC. Her guests included Lee Majors, Elliott Gould and from “HappyDays” Ron Howard and Tom Bosley.

1970 - Elton John plays live in a recording studio, accompanied by just two musicians: Dee Murray on bass and Nigel Olsson on drums. Broadcast on WABC-FM (which would later become WPLJ), it's the first live FM broadcast from a music studio. The recording is later released as 17-11-70, Elton's first live album.

1963 - John Weightman the Headmaster of a Surrey Grammar School, banned all pupils from having Beatle haircuts saying, "this ridiculous style brings out the worst in boys physically. It makes them look like morons.

11/16/2025

Music notes for Nov. 16:

Happy birthday Bryan Adams. The Canadian singers. The group has sold over 12 million records worldwide, had nine Top 40 hits, and a triple-platinum album and were nominated for two Grammy Awards.

2010 - The Beatles back catalogue was finally made available on iTunes, after years of negotiations. For the first time consumers would now be able to purchase some of the Fab Four's most popular songs via the store. Apple and record label EMI had been in talks for years about getting the catalogue online.

2002 - Texan multi-billionaire David Bonderman hired The Rolling Stones to play at his 60th birthday party held at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. The bands fee was $5.5 million.

1985 - Starship started a two week run at No.1 on the singles chart with 'We Built This City”, their first of 3 #1 singes in the 80’s.

1974 - John Lennon was at No.1 in the singles chart with 'Whatever Gets You Through The Night.' Elton John played on the session and made a deal with Lennon that if the song reached No.1, Lennon would have to appear on stage live with Elton. Lennon kept his side of the deal and appeared live with Elton.

1975 - The Donny & Marie show debuts on ABC. Their theme song is "May Tomorrow Be A Perfect Day," but the show becomes synonymous with a different tune: "A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock N' Roll."

1970 - Stephen Stills releases his first (self-titled) solo album, with the hit "Love The One You're With."

1968 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience went to No.1 on the album chart with their third and final studio album Electric Ladyland. The double album included ‘Crosstown Traffic,’ ‘Voodoo Chile’ and a version of Bob Dylan's ‘All Along the Watchtower”.

11/15/2025

Music notes for Nov. 15:

Happy birthday Anna-Frid Lynstad from ABBA

Happy birthday Petula Clark. She hit #1 in 1965 with “Downtown”. She has scored 14 other Top 40 chart hits. Her career has spanned 80 years! She came to prominence at age 13 during WW 2 when she sang on a weekly radio show .

2007 - The first episode of Daryl Hall's show Live From Daryl's House aired on the web, with Hall performing from his home in Millerton, New York. The series gained traction and was picked up by the Palladia network. Over the years, Smokey Robinson, Joe Walsh, Cee Lo Green, Rob Thomas, and many other musical luminaries have appeared on the show, performing a mix of their own songs, covers and Hall & Oates tracks.

1980 - Blondie had a #1 hit with the single and third “The Tide Is High' a song written by reggae star John Holt In 1967.

1977 Suzi Quatro, in character as the rocker Leather Tuscadero, performs "Devil Gate Drive" on the TV series Happy Days. The song was a #1 hit in the UK three years earlier but never caught on here even though Quatro is from Michigan.

1972 - Harry Chapin's son Josh is born, which gives him a new appreciation for the poem his wife Sandy wrote (about her ex-husband) called "Cat's In The Cradle." Harry puts music to the poem and it becomes his biggest hit.

1969 - The Carpenters released their debut album, Offering, (later re-named as Ticket To Ride) on A&M Records. It was a commercial failure and produced only one minor hit single, a ballad version of The Beatles song 'Ticket to Ride'.

1965 - The Rolling Stones made their US TV debut on Hullabaloo, performing ‘Get Off Of My Cloud’. Hullabaloo was a one-hour musical variety series that ran on NBC from January 1965 through August 1966.

1956 - Elvis Presley's first movie, Love Me Tender, premiered at the Paramount Theater in New York City. The film a Civil War drama was going to be called The Reno Brothers, but when Elvis became a major star during the shoot, it was re-titled after his hit song, with Elvis given top billing.

11/14/2025

WDGY’s Doctor Don presents the Top 5 songs this week in 1980

1 LADY –•– Kenny Rogers
2 WOMAN IN LOVE –•– Barbra Streisand
3 THE WANDERER –•– Donna Summer
4 ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST –•– Queen
5 I’M COMING OUT –•– Diana Ross

HIGH DEBUT OF THE WEEK: AT #79 — TURN AND WALK AWAY –•– The Babys

IT WOULD ONLY GET TO #42.

11/14/2025

Music notes for Nov. 14:

Happy birthday Stephen Bishop. His two big hits were “On and On” in 1977 and “It Might Be You” from the the 1982 film “Tootise” which starred Dustin Hoffman. The song was nominated for an Oscar, but the winner that year was “Up Where We Belong” from the don”An Officer and a Gentleman”

The late Freddie Garrity born this date. He was the leader of the British Invasion group Freddie and the Dreams who hit #1 in 1965 with “I’m Telling You Now”.

1987 - George Michael went to No.1 on the album chart with his debut solo album 'Faith'. The album won several awards including the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1989. To date, the album has sold over 20 million copies worldwide. Between 1987 and 1988, Faith produced six Top 5 Billboard Hot 100 hits, four of which ('Faith', 'Father Figure', 'One More Try', and 'Monkey') reached No.1, making him the only British male singer to have four No.1 singles from one LP on the Billboard Hot 100.

1987 - The Dirty Dancing soundtrack hits #1. Even though it was set in 1963, the movie featured modern, original songs "(I've Had) The Time Of My Life", "Hungry Eyes” and “She’s Like the Wind”.

1962 - The Beatles played the final show of a 14 night run at the Star-Club, Hamburg, West Germany. Their time there proved to be a great training ground for the band.

11/13/2025

Music notes for Nov. 13:

2019 - Rod Stewart was featured on the cover of Britain’s Railway Modeller magazine. The singer had put the finishing touches to a 25-year project building a railway city, which was modelled on both New York and Chicago around 1945. The model railway which spans 1,500 square feet was housed in the attic of his Los Angeles home.

2016 - Leon Russell died in Nashville, he was 74. He led Joe Cocker’s band Mad Dogs & Englishmen and appeared at George Harrison’s 1971 Concert for Bangladesh. Many of his songs became hits for others, among them 'Superstar' (written with Bonnie Bramlett) for the Carpenters, 'Delta Lady' for Joe Cocker and 'This Masquerade' for George Benson. More than 100 acts have recorded 'A Song for You,' which Russell said he wrote in 10 minutes.

2000 - The Beatles launched their first official website www.thebeatles.com. The site went live on the same day as the release of their retrospective 'Compilation 1' album.

1982 - Men At Work started a 15-week run at No.1 on the album chart with their debut album 'Business As Usual', which went on to sell over five million copies. It was dethroned by Michark Jackson’s “Thriller”.

1976 - Rod Stewart started an 8 week run at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Tonight's The Night'. It was Rod's second No.1 after “Maggie Mae”. The song features whispers from actress Britt Ekland who was Stewart's girlfriend at the time.

1975 - Morris Albert's tearjerker "Feelings" is certified Gold. The song never rises higher than #6 on the Hot 100, but stays on the chart for an amazing eight months, driving some to madness with repeated listens.

Doctor Don

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