Where Were You November 25, 1968?

Bob Stroud did his Rock and Roll Roots Time Warp back on Nov. 25, 2007, the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Since Liz and I are doing "A Trip Down Memory Lane" these days to mark our 40th anniversary of "going together", I will list all the songs Stroud played.

These were all being played on Chicago's two major young people's station at the time. Both were AM radio as FM was just starting to get going. Those stations were WLS and WCFL. These are the charts Stroud used to compile his playlist.

I was a senior at Palatine High School, in Palatine, Illinois, slinging Whoppers at the Burger King on Northwest Highway for a buck an hour and having a great time with the other employees and boss, Bob Galloy, who was just about a kid himself. Didn't much like the other boss, Jerry, but did like their father, Mr. G.

I was sports editor of the Cutlass, the school paper (we were called the Pirates, get it, Cutlass) and sports editor of the yearbook as well.

Liz and I had been going together almost a year by then. She worked part time at General Finance Corporation in Evanston, Illinois, during breaks and holidays. Her dad, Amby, also worked there and they carpooled it from Palatine.

Both of us were living in different sections of the huge Winston Park subdivision. I was at 1102 Anderson Dr., across from St. Thomas School and church. Liz was living at 44 Patricia Lane.

Stroud's comments accompany as well. If in parentheses ( ), it is my comment. I didn't get any of Bob's comment the first thirty minutes as I was asleep. The songs:

Elenore-- Turtles-- (how do you beat that great harmony?)
Nobody-- Three Dog Night (a favorite blue-eyed soul group of mine.)
I Heard it Through the Grapevine-- Marvin Gaye-- (the definitive version of the Gladys Knight & the Pips version. I still can't hear this without envisioning those raisins doing their best soul moves.)

Shake-- Shadows of Knight-- (a local northwest suburb group more famous for "Gloria." This one, for some reason, is regarded as a Bubblegum song, even though it is a great rocker.)

Son of a Preacher Man-- Dusty Springfield--(Nashville song from British songstress)
White Room-- Cream--(second hit after "Sunshine of Your Love." One of my favorite groups and one where I immediately bought every album they released after Ronnie Creel let me listen to his "Fresh Cream" album on a trip to Goldsboro, NC.)

Quick Joey Small (Run Joey Run)-- Kastenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus--Bubblegum music becoming the rage. (I always liked Bubblegum even though most of my friends didn't. How's that for a group name? I still have these original albums as brother Bob evidently did not like them and didn't wreck the albums.)

For Once in My Life-- Stevie Wonder-- has achieved standard status
Shame, Shame-- Magic Lanterns-- British group
Abraham, Martin and John-- Dion--hadn't been on the charts in a long time, then comes out with something completely different from his "Wanderer" type music.
Cinnamon-- Derek-- Top Ten song a long time before Neil Young had his "Cinnamon Girl."
I Can't Turn You Loose-- Chambers Brothers-- follow up to "Time Has Come Today." (Two of my all-time favorite songs.)
Things I'd Like to Say-- New Colony 6-- "B" side of "Come and Give Your Love to Me." Legend has it that Larry Lujac, dj at WLS, turned the 45 over and played this song. He immediately decided this would be the hit. (The Great Chicago Sound of the 60s. Former member Ronnie Rice still performs solo around the Chicagoland area as the "Human Jukebox." He sure knows a lot of songs.)

Kentucky Woman-- Deep Purple--Neil Diamond song and follow up to "Hush." (How to make a pop song into a heavy metal one.)

Both Sides Now-- Judy Collins-- written by Joni Mitchell
Magic Carpet Ride-- Steppenwolf-- (Nothing takes me back to Senior Lounge at Palatine High, right off the cafeteria, more than this song. Hey, is that a junior trying to sneak in?)

Run to Me-- Montanas-- Second hit after "You've Got to Be Lonely."
Love Child-- Supremes-- The Number 1 Song in Chicago by Cindy, Mary, and Diana. (A socially conscious song.)

Man, Did These Songs Take Me Back a Long, Long, Long Time Ago. --RoadDog