Saturday Early Show Celebrating the 2023 Birthday of Legendary Songwriter PF Sloan and Mr. “Honeycomb,” Jimmie F. Rodgers

by Robert Wilkinson

Our Saturday early show celebrates the birthday of songwriting legend PF Sloan. Don’t know who he is? He wrote some of the greatest tunes of the 60s! And today we also celebrate and dance to the music of the “other” Jimmie (F.) Rodgers, who gave us some great folk pop tunes in the 50s!

First, the incredible tunes of Mister P.F. “Flip” Sloan (September 18, 1945 - November 15, 2015). This brilliant songwriter and producer wrote some of the most famous tunes of the 60s before getting the shaft from the industry. His story, one of soaring to the height of fame followed by a crash to obscurity, is the tale of an indie songwriter who didn’t want to play ball with the powers that be. He helped create the California "surf music" sound in the early to mid-60s, and then went on to help create psychedelic folk-rock with the Grass Roots.

Early on PF partnered with Steve Barri to do surf music, and their vocals, along with PF’s lead guitar, are all over Jan and Dean records thanks to producer Lou Adler, who tapped Flip to play lead and do background vocals for Jan and Dean. This was the period when Flip was one of “the Wrecking Crew,” the great group of A-list studio musicians who played on most of the hits of the 60s. In Wikipedia it’s said that Flip and Steve “were credited on all Jan and Dean albums from Dead Man's Curve / The New Girl in School in early 1964 through Command Performance in 1965.”

This guy was one of the truly great musicians of the 60s! He played on every one of these, and wrote all but 1 song by Jan and Dean, 3 by the Turtles, 1 by the Grass Roots, and the tribute by Jimmy Webb.

To give you something from that era, Flip was the lead player and falsetto voice in the classic “Little Old Lady from Pasadena”

Because of their talent, Steve and Flip created the Fantastic Baggys, a surf music “group” that existed only in the studio. This was their very first big one in 1964, a California Jan and Dean styled tune, so it's time to twist! “Tell ‘Em I’m Surfin’” Here's a second offering by the Fantastic Baggys, an absolute great surf tune with the backing vocal arrangements ripped from Brian Wilson. For our last surf offering from way back when, "Anywhere The Girls Are."

This is such a period piece I can’t overlook it! It’s an unreleased album of outtakes, demos, and rare offerings of what is clearly a 1962-63 vibe. Here’s 26 minutes of The Fantastic Baggys meet The Lifeguards – Swimin’ and Skatin’ USA.

Here’s a great 1965 performance by Barry McGuire on Hullabaloo of his harrowing smash hit as relevant today as it was 50 years ago! The song had just streaked to number One on the charts with a bullet. This is PF Sloan’s most famous tune, one that actually changed the Constitution of the United States! The line “old enough to kill but not for votin’” led directly to the 26th Amendment, which lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. Too bad the song is still too relevant to take any comfort in how far we haven't come since 1965. “Eve of Destruction”

Live in LA in 2006, PF himself performing “Eve Of Destruction”

From 1965 on Shindig, here are Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, dual lead singers for the Turtles (later “Flo and Eddie”) doing their second hit, PF Sloan’s "Let Me Be."

Here's the original studio version of the song by the Turtles, obviously capitalizing on the 12-string jangling sound the Byrds were taking to the top of the charts at the same time! For your enjoyment, "Let Me Be."

This is a great live performance, since they don't seem to be lip synching the vocals! From 1966, the Turtles cranking out their third hit, also written by our birthday boy, P.F. “Flip”Sloan. This is a happy dance number, so sheik yerbouti! “You Baby”

I found a strange clip of the Turtles lip-synching it on Where the Action Is. “You Baby”

And here they are in 2011, Flo and Eddie still sounding great in a live performance of “You Baby”

For yet another take, here’s the original studio version by the Mamas and Papas on their first album of “You Baby”

For a slight digression for you Turtles fans, here are three the Turtles made into hits that weren’t written by Flip but I figured you’d dig anyway! First, live on Shindig! in 1965, frontmen Flo (Mark Volman, April 19, 1947) and Eddie (Howard Kaylan, June 22, 1947) with the Turtles knocking out their first hit, written by Bob Dylan. “It Ain’t Me Babe.” Second, here’s a live television performance in 1967 by the Turtles doing their biggest hit, “Happy Together” This third hit is a romp from 1967, the ever-danceable "She'd Rather Be With Me."

We now move to more P.F. Sloan hits that hit big for another band some of you might remember. These two are from the 1966 movie Hold On. First, Herman’s Hermits in a staged performance of PF Sloan’s “A Must to Avoid”

Here are Herman’s Hermits doing a clip of their soundtrack title hit Flip wrote for the movie Hold On, “Hold On”

Here’s a live clip from Melbourne in 1966 with them performing “A Must to Avoid”

I found a clip of PF doing a live acoustic performance of a song that Johnny Rivers took to number 3 on the charts in 1966, the awesome “Secret Agent Man”

Here’s Johnny Rivers in a fantastic smokin' live performance of “Secret Agent Man”

Johnny lip-synching the original studio version of “Secret Agent Man” (Yes, that legendary guitar riff was done by Flip!)

Here’s the original studio version by the Searchers of “Take Me For What I’m Worth”

A great clip of PF doing his studio version of “Take Me For What I’m Worth”

I found it again! Here’s a very rare live solo performance by Flip of “Take Me For What I’m Worth”

Here’s an early tune he wrote and recorded in 1966, the beautiful “From A Distance”

Another one from 1966! “A Melody for You”

PF Sloan and Steve Barri were also the original “Grass Roots.” Since they were a band created in the studio, there’s almost no live footage of that band. But I found some tunes I’m sure you’ll enjoy, written by our birthday boy!

Here’s a great 1 minute solo acoustic performance by PF of his smash hit for the Grass Roots, “Where Were You When I Needed You”

From their first studio album, the tune he sang lead on and played guitar. For your enjoyment, the Grass Roots version of “Where Were You When I Needed You” (None of the pictures in this video featured Flip!)

Also from their first album, “Only When You’re Lonely” and “You’re A Lonely Girl” (this tune sounds like it was inspired by Keith Richards….)

We’ll finish this great set list from their first album with “Eve of Destruction”

From their second album, a 1967 #8 smash hit produced by Flip, who also played lead guitar! “Live for Today.” Also from that album, “Things I Should Have Said”

His great 1966 album! 37 minutes of pure gold with the title Twelve More Times

A lost classic album from 1972! 41 great minutes! Raised on Records

We’ll begin to close this birthday celebration of this great American songwriter with this 10 minute mini-documentary on PF Sloan titled PF Sloan – Sailover

Here’s a 38 minute video interview with RadioJJ, including a couple of songs! PF Sloan Interview

This is a gem! From the Songwriting School of Los Angeles, 2 and a half extraordinary hours with the master songwriter! PF Sloan at the Songwriting School of Los Angeles

As the finale for the tribute, here’s the legendary Jimmy Webb in a live performance of his tribute to our birthday boy’s troubles with the music industry, the poignant “P.F. Sloan”

For our encore, here’s a couple from Flip’s Summer 2014 UK tour with Rumer! First, a live duet of “Ginger Street” which we’ll follow with Jimmy Webb’s paean to this extraordinary American songwriter, ”P.F. Sloan”

If you want to know more about this extraordinary talent, please check out the PF Sloan website to find out more about this legendary songwriter.

RIP, Flip. I was a huge fan of your music way back when you dominated the airwaves as the Dunhill hitmaker. Glad you made it back after “40 years in the wilderness.” The industry has never been kind to its best, so you were in good company.

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Now we turn to the life and music of Jimmie F. Rodgers (September 18, 1933 - January 18, 2021). A blazing star who hit the top of the charts several times in 1957-1958 in an upbeat style that blended folk and pop music, Jimmie had the misfortune of recording for Mo Levy’s Roulette Records. Mo was a violent mobster with connections inside police departments and the legal system, and was notorious for withholding royalties from his acts, and doing nasty things to them if they said or tried to do anything about it.

Jimmie’s career was cut short when he demanded his royalties and was soon run off the road on the Hollywood Freeway and getting beaten to within an inch of his life. If you want to know more, Tommy James wrote a tell-all about Roulette which is a harrowing tale of mobsters in the music industry, and of course, there’s lots on the internet about that era and the main players.

Today we’ll do a few of the biggest hits of this pop music icon from 60 years ago!

From 1957 on The Ed Sullivan Show, his breakthrough hit “Honeycomb.”

He performed it again for television without guitar on Dick Clark’s Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show in May 1958, “Honeycomb.”

From the primitive television technology of the 50s, a great live performance! This was his 1957 follow up hit that went to #3 on the charts! “Kisses Sweeter than Wine.” Flash forward about 15 years to The Midnight Special show, and we have Jimmie again giving us “Kisses Sweeter than Wine.”

Here's the original studio version of his 2nd hit, very much the style of the late 50s. It's classic Jimmie F. Rodgers, produced by the team of Hugo Paretti and Luigi Creatore, who co-owned Roulette with Mo. Because this production team was one of the biggest - they worked with Elvis as well as others who were "A list," - there's a good chance the background vocals are being done by the Jordanaires. "Kisses Sweeter than Wine."

Here’s a live television show broadcast from March 1958 on The Gisele McKenzie Show with Jimmie performing his 1958 hit that went to #13 on the pop charts, “Oh Oh I’m Falling In Love Again”

From The Ed Sullivan Show, also from 1958, an audio only shorter performance by Jimmie of “Oh Oh I’m Falling In Love Again”

Here are the studio versions of two of his Top Ten hits from 1958! First, the studio version of one that went to #3 on the charts, “Secretly,” and here's another from that year that went to #10, “Are You Really Mine”

Here's his studio performance of the schmaltzy title tune for the smash Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward movie, "The Long Hot Summer."

From The Jimmy Durante Show in 1959, Jimmy and Jimmie doing a gag around "Waltzing Matilda" before Jimmie gives us “Tucumcari”

On American Bandstand in 1964, here’s “The World I Used to Know”

Here's the studio version of one of his last hits, clearly derived from "Dream Lover" and a few others from that era. This one could have been part of a western movie soundtrack.... "T L C Tender Love and Care" [Orchestra conducted by Joe Reisman (September 16, 1924 – September 15, 1987), who also arranged for some of the great jazz players, as well as Patti Page, Perry Como, Johnny Ray, Lena Horne, Sarah Vaughan, and Henry Mancini, to name a few.)

We’ll close this tribute with a legendary song from the land of Oz I used to perform as a power chord rock and roll tune 40 years ago! Jimmie made this tune big in the US in 1959 as a tie in with the very grim apocalyptic hit movie of that year starring Gregory Peck, On The Beach. “Waltzing Matilda”

Here’s a 45 minute documentary titled Jimmie Rodgers – What Damaged His Career?

© Copyright 2023 Robert Wilkinson

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