Friday Musical Magic at the 2024 Birthday of Peter Gabriel, Otis Blackwell, Gene Pitney, and Jerry Goldstein

by Robert Wilkinson

Our musical birthday weekend begins with short sets from a bunch of birthday boys from mid-February! Today’s music features something for almost everyone, from Top Ten crooning to Jerry Lee Lewis to the Angels to Elvis Presley to the McCoys to War to performance art!

First, one of my early 60s favorites! Gene Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was a singer-songwriter and musician. He had 16 Top 40 hits in the United States, four in the Top 10, and among his major songwriting credits, he gave us "Rubber Ball" by Bobby Vee, "He's a Rebel" by the Crystals, and "Hello Mary Lou" by Ricky Nelson.

Here’s his first charting single! “Town Without Pity” (#13)

From 1962, “The Man who Shot Liberty Valence.” (#4) That year also gave us “Only Love Can Break A Heart” (#2) and “Half Heaven Half Heartache” (#12)

From 1962, the studio version of “Hello Mary Lou”

From 1963, “Mecca” (#12) and “Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa” (#17)

From 1964, two Top 10 hits! “It Hurts To Be In Love” (#7) and from Ready Steady Go, a live performance of “I’m Gonna Be Strong” (#9)

From 1975, live on UK television in 1975 performing “Half Heaven Half Heartache” and “Blue Angel”

Our closer features Gene live in 1983 performing ”Backstage” and “Princess in Rags”

Our encore, from 2000, is an entire show! Gene Pitney Live in Concert

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Our next birthday celebration dips back into the same era with the music of Gerald "Jerry" Goldstein (February 17, 1940), described in Wikipedia as a “producer, singer-songwriter, talent manager, music executive, musician and entrepreneur. He was one of the members of The Strangeloves, the co-writer of "My Boyfriend's Back" (a hit song in 1963 for The Angels) and "Come on Down to My Boat", the producer and songwriter of War, and the former manager of Sly and the Family Stone.”

We begin with the Angels in the era of the “helmet hair” girl groups! From The Ed Sullivan Show in October 1963, here’s Ms. Peggy Santiglia, lead singer in the Angels, three ladies dressed in white and snapping their fingers (Do wah diddy diddy!), giving us a jaw dropping video of their #1 hit “My Boyfriend’s Back” Wow. To think we survived that era....

Bert Burns co-wrote this classic with Richard and the other 2 FGG production partners that the Strangeloves took to #11 in 1965, complete with the Bo Diddley beat! (Sounds like at least one of the 4 writers was listening to “Willie and the Hand Jive” by the great Johnny Otis…) From Hullabaloo, “I Want Candy.” For the newer hit version, here’s Bow Wow Wow live in 1982 taking care of business! “I Want Candy”

Jerry and Wes Farrell co-wrote "Come and Take a Ride in My Boat," which was slightly reworked in 1967 to provide the band Every Mother's Son with their hit "Come on Down to My Boat."

While on the road, the Strangeloves found an act that caught their production eye. They went back to a tune they had, rewrote it, and came up with “Hang On Sloopy” for the McCoys. I found two strange “live” performance videos by the McCoys of the song. The first looks like it’s the actual “performance” while the second looks like it’s footage from the same shoot, but focused on the dancer rather than the band. Here are the teenage McCoys cranking out “Hang on Sloopy.” From the same shoot with a different soundtrack, “Hang on Sloopy.” (For the record, the lady is Lisa Leonard Dalton and she was never married to Rick Derringer.)

Our closer is a group he produced that had more than a few big ones! Welcome to War, with Eric Burdon fronting the vocals, giving us their huge #3 hit “Spill the Wine”

For our encore, the entire first album that blew everyone’s minds! Eric Burdon Declares War

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Without Otis Blackwell (February 16, 1931 – May 6, 2002) rock and roll would never have had many of its classic tunes delivered by the top of the top! This guy wrote some of the greatest tunes ever danced to, so get ready to enjoy some of the best of the best!

Here’s the original by Little Willie John! “Fever.” And here’s the version Peggy Lee made into a smash hit! Live in 1963, “Fever.”

Naturally, the King took a shot at the tune in his own unique way. Here's Elvis Presley's studio version of "Fever," and we'll close this run with an 8 minute and 40 amazing live performance by Buddy Guy of "Fever."

He gave early Sun Records some of its greatest. Jerry Lee took these Blackwell tunes into the stratosphere!

Live on Dick Clark in 1958, where we find him very live and most definitely NOT lip synching! Here’s the Killer knocking out two more of his biggest hits, “Great Balls of Fire” and “Breathless.”

For the King, he came up with these monster hits!

From October 1956 on The Ed Sullivan Show, “Don’t Be Cruel.”

Here’s the studio version of “All Shook Up” and from the Tupelo Mississippi Alabama Fair September 27th,1957, some rare live footage! "All Shook Up."

He wrote this hit! “Return to Sender”

To close this brief set, we’ll give you a live performance on Dick Clark’s show in 1960 of another hit written by Mister Blackwell! Though most have only heard the James Taylor version, here’s the original #2 smash hit by Jimmy Jones, the infectious “Handy Man”

For the encore, the Who live in 1965 cranking out one of his early blues hits, “Daddy Rolling Stone”

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Peter Gabriel (13 February 1950) is an English singer-songwriter, record producer and humanitarian who was the original lead vocalist and flute player for Genesis, wearing outrageous art costumes that blew the world’s mind. He pioneered "art rock" and promoted "world music" when very few had heard of it. He’s done more great music and won more awards, both musical and humanitarian, than any other musician alive. I can’t do a full tribute today, but here are a few of his best from his early solo career 1976-1986!

“Solsbury Hill”

“Games Without Frontiers”

Our encore is one of my favorites! For your enjoyment, “Red Rain”

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