Each day leading up to the unveiling of the 2020 Grooveyard Great 88, we’ll share a video of one song that just missed the survey. Hear the full Great 88 on a special five hour edition of “The Grooveyard” on Saturday, December 26 from 7 PM to midnight. Check out the complete year-end schedule here.
#92
“On Broadway” by The Drifters (1963)
Pay attention to the instrumentals and vocals here. The Drifters were a cross-over from doo-wop to R&B, with the vocals striking a balance here. The music has a hint of soul with a large production number, and that intrusive guitar kicking in towards the end gives a nod to rockabilly. At this time, Motown was just firing up with its new soul sound, and Mike Stoller reports in Hound Dog: The Leiber & Stoller Autobiography, “Some say Sam Cooke invented soul music in the fifties, and some say Ray Charles. Some say soul didn’t come about until later, in the sixties, with the advent of Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin. Others have told us that our productions for the Drifters began it all. Who can say?”
2019: not on survey, Highest Ranking: #68 (2014)
Come back each day as we unwrap another song that just missed the Great 88. You can also check out first round results here. Then join host Alan Seltzer on”The Grooveyard” for the Great 88 countdown on a special five-hour show Saturday, December 26 at 7 PM until midnight. Listen to “The Grooveyard” following “Rick’s Redneck Ranch” each Saturday night at 7 PM on 88.1 FM on Long Island or by clicking the 88.1 FM link on wcwp.org, via the TuneIn app. or the WCWP app on your iPhone or Android device. You can also follow us on Twitter. and on the Facebook groups for the show and WCWP.
Happy holidays from. . .
The Grooveyard 