for Sunday 4th June 1967

Alan notes: This was the first of just two occasions when Chuck Blair presented the Fab 40 show (he did it again on 16th July). We've still got two Fab Forty first-timers to go. Tony Brandon presented the show on 25th June (his one and only time), and of course Tommy Vance famously presented the very last Fab 40 on 6th August 1967.

This week's Fab tells a tale of D-I-Y disaster with a 'Happy' ending. Engelbert's wife grumbles, There Goes My Everything (#1) and says She's Leaving Home (#33) when the Changing Rooms team paints their house A Whiter Shade Of Pale (#2) and leaves Seven Rooms Of Gloom. She thought the Dream Merchants would use expensive Paper (Sun-coloured) (#7) with Patterns #17) and fancied a Lace Covered Window. "Calm down," says Eng. "Don't Sleep In The Subway (#4) or You Can't Come Home Again. It's No Good To Cry(#32) It's Alright, It'll be Okay (#13) Let's Build A World Of Our Own. Give Me Time (#12) and I'll Do It Again Just A Little Bit Slower (#26) With A Little Help From My Friends (#28). And Suddenly (#30) she was Happy.

Do It Again Just A Little Bit Slower reached #18 in the US Hit Hundred. The duo from Dallas, Texas, was John 'Jon' Abdnor and Javonne 'Robin' Braga. Jon's father, John Abdnor Senior was the owner of Abnak, an important local record label. Do It Again... recorded at Robin Hood Studios in Tyler, was the biggest production success for producer Bobby Patterson, a singer, musician and former classmate of Jon's. Patterson's party piece was playing guitar with his teeth – well before Jimi Hendrix gave new meaning to the term 'tooth picks'! It was Patterson's first single You Just Got To Understand, that prompted Abdnor Snr to start an R & B subsidiary of Abnak, called Jetstar, where Patterson wrote, produced and promoted his own music.

The song also has a great connection with Big Lil's Dallas cousin, Big K - KLIF! In May 1966, station owner Gordon McLendon had been sued by the Abnak label for failing to give sufficient airplay to a Five Americans single. (Distributed nationally by HBR). The case was reported as a likely candidate for the first instance of a computer being admitted to the witness stand! Said machine, employed by Compass Record Data Computer Service, participated via a telephone line from Los Angeles.

Steve Eberhart, curator of the (sadly now defunct) fascinating History of KLIF website, kindly took the trouble to tell tale of this bizarre court case and its outcome:

Steve wrote:

The song in question that Abnak records sued KLIF over was "Evol, not Love " by the Five Americans. (Webmaster note: The band's second release, which charted nationally in the US in 1966.)

KLIF chose not to play the record for some unknown reason. Abnak sued in court, alleging that KLIF's music survey stated, "The most accurate music survey in Dallas". Their contention being that if it was the most accurate survey in Dallas it should contain "Evol, not love " by the Five Americans, a local Dallas group, since it was outselling well over half of the records listed on the KLIF survey! Abnak prevailed in one motion only: getting the court to ban KLIF from using the phrase, "the most accurate music survey in Dallas" on their KLIF Top 40 Music Survey. KLIF subsequently replaced that phrase with, "based on record sales, listener requests, and KLIF's opinion of appeal". Interestingly, later the record was played as a "KLIF KLASSIC" oldie long after it descended from the national charts.

The mid 60's regional hits were numerous for local Texas and Dallas groups. Mouse and The Traps with "Public Execution"; "Not Too Long Ago" and "All These Things" by The Uniques (featuring a young Joe Stampley in lead); 13th Floor Elevators were also a favorite. There's a lot of music history in Abnak Records and legendary 60s producer Robin Hood Brian's studios out in Tyler, Texas.

Robin, of Jon and Robin and the In Crowd, married one of the Five Americans and at last report was living in Denison, Texas! One of their biggest regional hits was not "Do It Again" but "Dr. Jon, The Medicine Man". Although it garnered little attention outside the Southwest, it was a number one song on KLIF in Dallas and KTSA in San Antonio, to name a few.

Jon Abdnor Jr. was convicted of murder in the early 1970s and served many years in prison, only being paroled in recent years. At last report, he was living at his father's home in North Dallas.

KLIF's ex-Music Director, Jimmy Rabbitt, became Abnak's National Promotions Director and is credited as the man responsible for 'breaking' both Do It Again... and the Five Americans' Western Union.

Western Union and the follow-up, both released in the UK on Stateside, had already received airplay on Big L. The track was in the Fab Forty during April '67, but the Five Americans were obliged to compete with the virtually-identical British version by the Searchers. Sound of Love ( a US # 36), was released shortly afterwards, but Big L favoured the B-side, Sympathy, which made a one-week Fab appearance in the climber list of May 21st. However, over a month later, the single was flipped and resurfaced. On June 25th, Sound of Love was picked as Tony Brandon's climber, and this time it was on its way into the Fab Forty. Fittingly, the Five Americans had "achieved some local notoriety (in Dallas) in a dive called the Pirate's Nook".

Do It Again... was covered in the UK by New Formula, from Corby in Northants (Piccadilly label) and also by a girl group called Val and the V's (CBS).

Five Americans biography on allmusic.com.

This week's Tony Brandon climber was the first single to be produced by former Big L DJ Duncan Johnson. The song was also covered by the Mike Sammes Singers, on the B-side of Somebody's Thinking Of You Tonight.

Aboard the Galaxy this week: June 8th Lord and Lady Arran visited the Galaxy, lunched with the DJs and made a guest appearance on the Ed Stewart show. His Lordship was well-acquainted with Phillip Birch and was a great supporter of the offshore radio cause. Mike Lennox who had left the Galaxy on Jan 31st 1967, but continued to work for Radio London ashore, returned to the ship. The exact return date is unknown, but it was probably during this week, as this is the first time since January that Mike is allocated a climber. (Scan on the right courtesy of Hans Knot) Ashore Sunday, June 4th Brian Epstein presented a show at his Saville Theatre in London. On stage between 6.00 and 8.30pm, were The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Procol Harum, The Chiffons, and Denny Laine (and his Electric String Band). The compere was Radio Caroline's Rick Dane and some rather well-known musicians who were managed by Epstein attended. A programme like the one far left has been auctioned by Bonhams and sold for over £400. June 10th Mark Roman departed for Estartit on a 'Holidays With Deejays' package.

Besides climbers that were played at the time of the broadcast of the Sunday Fab Forty, Alan kept a note of others he heard later in the week and incorporated them into his list.

It's 'Small Faces Week' on Big L! Patterns (issued on the band's previous label, Decca) and Here Come The Nice (on their new label, Immediate) are joint #17 and their eponymous Immediate LP is Album of the Week. Click here for details of a 2-CD, 45-track deluxe edition boxed set, containing both the album and bonus tracks including the hits Itchycoo Park, Here Come the Nice, I Can't Make It and Tin Soldier. Confusingly, the band issued two identically self-titled albums - the first in June 66 on Decca and the current Album of the Week, on Immediate. (Below) The Decca release had been Album of the Week on 19th June 1966. Mint copies of the original vinyl Immediate Small Faces LP, whether in mono or stereo, can command circa £200 in the 21st Century.
Album of the Week Tracklist Small Faces Small Faces Immediate IMLP008; stereo IMSP 008 Side One: Side Two: (Tell Me) Have You Ever Seen Me Become Like You Something I Want to Tell You Get Yourself Together Feeling Lonely All Our Yesterdays Happy Boys Happy Talk to You Things Are Going to Get Better Show Me the Way My Way of Giving Up the Wooden Hills to Bedfordshire Green Circles Eddie's Dreaming

A real summer feel-good sound, "In the bright golden haze, it's the first of the golden days... and nobody's wearing a coat", Royal Blue Summer Sunshine Day, written by jazz legend Ronnie Scott, is a perfect example of a record doing well on one offshore station and doing virtually nothing on another. Even though selected this week by Mark Roman, Royal Blue Summer Sunshine Day, was a Big L climber for just two weeks, but it fared far better on Radio Scotland's Super Fifty.

Like fellow Welsh musicians, Eyes of Blue (see Fab 19/02/67), members of Merthyr Tydfil's Bystanders form part of the complicated Family Tree of the cult band Man.

Big L had totally ignored the Bystanders' double-sided cover single 98.6, (backed with Marvin Gaye's Stubborn Kind Of Fellow) in favour of the US hit version by Keith. Over on Caroline, however, airplay had already been given to the band's previous release My Love Come Home, towards the end of 1966. On January 7th '67, Robbie Dale had picked the Bystanders' version of 98.6 as his Sure Shot. The record spent several weeks in the Countdown of Sound, first on its own, then sharing space for a fortnight with Keith, before he took off up the chart on his own.

Nationally, Keith had the biggest hit (#24) with 98.6, but the Bystanders' cover also charted at #45, on February 9th 1967, remaining there for just one week.

The Bystanders formed in 1963, when their line-up was Jeff Jones, (drms), Micky Jones, (gtr) Clive John (aka Clint Space), (keybds), Ray Williams, (bass) and Gerry Braden on vocals.

In 1965, Gerry Braden was replaced by Vic Oakley from the Meteorites, and the Bystanders began issuing singles in 1966.

Soul Set:
Think It Over	B B King

The Soul Set information is courtesy of Kees Brinkerink.

There is currently no Ballad Box information available for this week

Green additions to the climbers indicate singles sourced from 'Monty's Diary'. (See Fab Forty for 010167). As well as new addition Stargazer, Monty has noted that Girls in Love remained on the climber list from last week. So Much for Mary and Please Let them Be, have both been relegated from DJ picks to unassigned climbers, while Monty noted that the Bystanders was designated Mark Roman's hit-pick. Monty also confirms Wolfgang Buchholz's listings of climbers by Equals, the Sorrows and George Bean.
Alan Field did not hear the records sourced from Monty's Diary played or announced as climbers.

The symbol (*) indicates additional information from personal listings, courtesy of Wolfgang Buchholz

The cover of Australia's GO-SET magazine for 070667, courtesy of Barry McKay at Poparchives. Visit the site and click on the cover to see the magazine's National Top Forty for that week. #1 is Petula Clark's 'This is My Song', a Fab Forty #1 in February '67.

This week's Radio 270 'Top Forty' on the Pirate Radio Hall of Fame is here

Tune in next week for another Field's Fab Forty