Ask “Mr. Music”
Jerry Osborne



FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 11, 2016

DEAR JERRY: Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black" doesn't normally play a song after each episode, but with "Friends in Low Places" they broke tradition.

Unfortunately it lasted less than a minute, and was one I liked but have never heard before.

The singer sounds a bit like Sam Cooke, if that's any help.

Was this song ever on records, or one created just for this program?
—Angie Maxwell, Marietta, Ga.

DEAR ANGIE: Unless you were in the Tucson area in the spring of 1961, it is very unlikely you would have any familiarity with either the song or the singer.

The title is "Lighted Windows," and the vocalist is Hoagy Lands, who did have a style somewhat similar to the great Sam Cooke.

Written by "Twist & Shout" composers, Bert Russell and Phil Medley, "Lighted Windows" was ignored when first issued on the tiny Judi label (J-054).

A few months later, ABC-Paramount licensed it for national distribution (45-10171), and sales did pick up, though not enough to land a position on any national survey.

Seemingly out of nowhere, and to the surprise of everyone involved, ABC's "Lighted Windows" became a huge hit in Tucson. KTKT and KAIR, both Top-40 stations, ranked Hoagy's debut single among their Top 5.

But the spotty success in southern Arizona didn't spill over to other markets, not even Phoenix. I did not find it on any other regional chart.

All of which makes me wonder how the producers of "Orange Is the New Black" knew of "Lighted Windows," or for that matter, Hoagy Lands.

He recorded about 20 singles from 1960 to 1976, but none charted nationally. "Lighted Windows" is a pretty good record, though it doesn't seem relevant to the content of that specific episode.

Speaking of "Twist and Shout," read on:

DEAR JERRY: I am positive that no one ever asked this question.

We know that for one week, in April 1964, the Beatles had the top five hits.

I know it's a fantasy, but if the Beatles were not yet in the picture, what records that never reached the Top 100, would have done so week?
—Frank Martindale, Buffalo, N.Y.

DEAR FRANK: A fantasy indeed.

First we need to know how many chart spots would open up without any songs by the Beatles.

Here they are, including two tunes about the Beatles that cannot exist on our imaginary April 4, 1964 chart:

1. "Can't Buy Me Love"
2. "Twist and Shout"
3. "She Loves You"
4. "I Want to Hold Your Hand"
5. "Please Please Me"
31. "I Saw Her Standing There"
41. "From Me to You"
42. "We Love You Beatles" (By the Carefrees)
46. "Do You Want to Know a Secret"
58. "All My Loving"
65. "You Can't Do That"
68. "Roll Over Beethoven"
79. "Thank You Girl"
85. "A Letter to the Beatles" (By the Four Preps)

Now left with only 86 titles, we have room to promote 14 qualifying tunes — ones that in the real world never made the Hot 100 — from that week's Billboard's Bubbling Under list.

Even if only for one week, each of these selections would likely have been among the Top 100. They are listed in order of their eventual peak position:

101. Brenda Lee "The Waiting Game"
101. Joe & Eddie "There Is a Meetin' Here Tonight"
102. Cassius Clay "Stand By Me"
105. Chiffons "Easy to Love (So Hard to Get)"
105. Paul & Paula "We'll Never Break Up for Good"
112. Jackie DeShannon "Oh Boy"
114. Barbra Streisand "I Am Woman"
114. Duprees Featuring Joey Vann "Where Are You"
115. Jim Reeves & Dottie West "Love Is No Excuse"
116. Brother Jack McDuff "Grease Monkey"
118. Jimmy Velvet "To the Aisle"
119. Freewheelers "Walk, Walk"
120. Johnny Nash "I'm Leaving"
122. Linda Lloyd "I'm Gonna Love That Guy (Like He's Never Been Loved Before)"

IZ ZAT SO? Each of these 14 singles achieved some degree of success on the regional level, but only two reached a local Top 10:

Joe & Eddie's "There Is a Meetin' Here Tonight," in Los Angeles; Boston; and Manchester, N.H.

Jimmy Velvet's "To the Aisle," in Columbia, S.C.

Finally, Jim Reeves & Dottie West's "Love Is No Excuse" was a Top 10 hit on all national country music surveys.





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