Ask “Mr. Music”
Jerry Osborne



FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 12, 1999

DEAR JERRY: Recently we were joined for an evening by some baby-boomer friends. When the subject of oldies but goodies came up, we discovered that everyone in the group follows your column.

Now we turn to you to help us fill in a blank.

We were trying to name one charted hit song title for each day of the week. Here is what we came up with:

Sunday. There are many, but we picked “Sunday Will Never Be the Same,” by Spanky and Our Gang. (The same group also did “Sunday Mornin'.”)

Monday. Again, there are many. We chose the Mamas and the Papas “Monday, Monday.”

Tuesday. Has to be “Tuesday Afternoon,” by the Moody Blues.

Wednesday. This was a tough one. We first thought of Simon & Garfunkel's “Wednesday Morning 3 A.M.,” but then ruled it out since it was not a single hit. Then we went with “Wednesday,” by the Royal Guardsmen.

Thursday. Phooey! None of us can think of a song with Thursday in the title. This is where we need you to rescue us.

Friday. Our choice here is “Friday on My Mind,” by the Easybeats.

Saturday. Plenty to choose from, but we think “Saturday Night,” by the Bay City Rollers is probably the biggest Saturday hit.

So, make our lives worth living again. Dig up a Thursday song for us that qualifies.
—Evan & Friends, New Haven, Conn.

DEAR EVAN & FRIENDS: Now this is a question that I don't get everyday. There are not a lot of Thursday songs, probably because the word itself does not flow quite as smoothly in verse as the other days of the week. For example, it's hard to imagine the Mamas and the Papas singing “Thursday, Thursday,” instead of “Monday, Monday.”

But because your lives are important to me too, I offer you “Sweet Thursday,” a chart hit from 1962 by Johnny Mathis (Columbia 42261).

Congratulations! You folks did a great job with this, especially coming up with one for Wednesday.


DEAR JERRY: I grew up in northern Indiana, and as far as I know, this song had national release, though I'm not positive. I believe it was in the early '60s and by a man and woman duet. I think it was called “Meet Me At Midnight, Mary.” At least those were the words they sang.

The local oldies station doesn't know anything about it. Years ago I requested the song, and they played a version that I think was even earlier than the one I wanted. It wasn't the right version, I know.
—John B. (jfma@jps.net)

DEAR JOHN: The title is just “Midnight Mary,” and there are two popular versions that came out in 1963. However, both are by male vocalists.

The original is by Jerry Cole (Capitol 5056), but it is a cover version, by Joey Powers (Amy 892), that became the bigger hit. This one even made the nation's Top 10.

I am not aware of a duet of “Midnight Mary” — male-female or otherwise.

DEAR JERRY: How does one fix a warped record? I have read where you could leave the record in the sun, between two pieces of glass. I have also heard you can put it in the oven. Should I be like 'Andrea' and use the Sunrays method, or try the Meat Loaf (oven) fix?
—Gary Phillip, Oshkosh, Wisc.

DEAR GARY: Despite clever musical suggestions from the Sunrays and Meat Loaf, I have never heard of a reliable way to dewarp a record. I am aware of cases where records have been ruined by someone trying to repair a warp.

If you do decide to try one of these ways, find a warped record that means nothing to you and experiment. Don't test the procedure on one of value.

Readers, if you have a secret dewarp formula, share it with us.


IZ ZAT SO? Both Spanky and Our Gang and the Mamas and the Papas are mentioned this week, and there is an interesting connection between these two popular '60s groups.

When the Mamas and the Papas reformed, in 1982, they selected Elaine “Spanky” McFarlane as their lead female singer.





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