William Martin Joel. nicknamed the Piano Man after his first major hit an signature song of the same name, has led a successful music career since the 1970’s. 
Here we go again. Wikipedia says that Joel took part in two - short lived bands. the one time group called the Hassles and the other group known as Atilla, but he also played with another group called the Echoes,who later became the Emeralds and the Lost Souls. Joel also played in sessions for tv Ads, including Chubby Checker and for Bachman Pretzels. He attended Hicksville High School until 1967,but he did not graduate with his class, he had missed a crucial English exam after playing a late night gig at a piano bar the evening before. Not having enough credits to graduate he decided to go into his musical career,still in 1992 he submitted essays to the school board in lieu of missed exams, they were excepted and he was awarded his high school diploma 25 years later. 
In his teens he played on a demo version of “Leader of the Pack”, which became a major hit for the group “The Shangri-las. One thing of interest, while he is known as the piano man, the song “A Matter of Trust”, is the only song where Joel plays guitar while in concert. Another interesting fact about Joel is that after being bullied by some mean kids he decide to take up boxing lessons and went on to win some Golden Gloves amateur fights. He gave up the sport after a broken nose. Though he wasn’t a performer yet, he wanted to be in the crowd for the Jimi Hendrix performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival, but he decided to leave after a day and a half because of the lack of bathrooms got too much for him to stand.
Find out more about Billy Joel on KWMC’S 1490 AM Classic hit station. And as usual all known facts and stories of interest are by Wendy Johnson and all shows are produced by Javier Martinez Sr.

​Her debut performance came one Sunday when she was 10 years old, when a singer scheduled to perform at her church did not show up.
The Priest,who knew from her parents her fondness for singing,invited her to perform instead- expecting,at least an amusing spectacle .But to everyones surprise,the voice that bellowed out of her tiny body that Sunday morning was overwhelmingly powerful and beautiful. At least that’s one story.
Later people would find out that her voice actually had to be amplified in the recording studio and really wasn’t all that powerful. Our featured artist this month is non other than the queen of disco,” Donna Summer”.she was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach #1 one the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. Wikipedia! oh boy here we go again, will they ever learn.
They say that when Donna took a demo tape to Groovy Record Label that they made a mistake on the label and instead of printing Donna Sommer, they printed her name as Donna Summer and the name stuck. But actually it was during a show introduction on stage that the MC forgot her last name and remembered that it was season name and said ,ladies and gentlemen , Donna Summer,maybe after that the studio might have made the same mistake. Donna Summer, actually Donna Sommer through marriage,her real last name is Gaines. When Casablanca Blanca released Donnas greatest hits volume 1 and 2 in 1979,it was said that the album was mixed different,each song ran into the next one,no silence in between ,and that it was the first time that such an album would be made. That is also not true, if you remember the cheap record label of K-Tel Records,they were already releasing records with the song over lapping into each other, and that was before Donna Summer. Then again i guess people at Wikipedia never heard the Beatles Abbey Road album, that also over lapped into the next song.
Find out more about Donna Summer on our next artist of the month on the all new Classic Hits Station KWMC 1490 AM. And as usual all stories and known facts of artist of the month are by Wendy Johnson and all shows are produced by Javier Martinez Sr.

As usual,most good bands of the 70’s would be artists that started out in the 60’s. No different for Daryl Hall and John Oates. 1967 was the first time they would meet, both fleeing in the same freight elevator from a gang fight at a dance in Philadelphia’s Adelphi Ballroom where Hall had been leading his band, the Temptones, and Oates his own band ,the Masters. In 1969 Oates joins the group “Gulliver” and makes a trip to Europe, while Hall finds studio work in Philadelphia singing background vocals for the Stylistics,the Delphonics,the Intruders and others.After the early 70’s and moving on into the year of 1977,the song “Rich Girl”( written about a friend of Sarah Allen’s whose father is a fast food king) is their third single and becomes their first #1 hit. The notorious serial killer David Berkowitz, known as the “Son of Sam” will later claim the song as a motivation for his murders. By 1978 the duo spends much time playing live,including a tour sponsored by “Care-Free” chewing gum, of high schools which have sent in the most gum wrappers. Then in 1981 the song “Kiss on my list”, written by Hall and Sara Allen’s younger sister Janna, tops the U.S. charts for three weeks and is a million seller. January 1982 “I can’t go for that”,their  third million seller in 4 releases, also spends a week at #1 on the U.S. R&B charts(extremely rare for a white act),only the fourth instance since 1965. In addition they are listed under “Black Music” in “World Book Encyclopedia”. In 1984 the Recording Industry Association of America confirms suggestions in Billboard Magazine and Newsweek that Hall and Oates are now the most successful duo in U.S. recording history, amassing a total of 19 U.S. gold and platinum  awards. Find out more stories and interesting facts about Hall and Oates on the Little Red Rooster show on KWMC’S 1490 AM Classic Hits Station. Always remember that all known facts and stories of Artist of the Month are by Wendy Johnson and all Shows are produced By Javier Martinez Sr.

Music in the 1970’s. Which artists and songs define the 1970’s?
Artists such as Eric Clapton, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Barry White, Eagles, Aerosmith, John Lennon and the Rolling Stones are just some of the groups that people will remember. Most of them were left over members of groups from the 60’s and now had groups of their own. Even in the year of 1970 we still had the Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Beatles in the Billboard charts.
There were so many good songs in the 1970’s that certain ones stand out more than others. So what are some of the songs that throw you right back into the 1970’s?
Maybe the Guess Who, American Woman or Brownsville Station, Smoking in the boys room, or maybe songs by Three Dog Night. Still in the early 1970’s we Heavy Metal music or Hard Rock gain a cult with such groups as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. Then we also had R&B groups like James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone, Earth Wind and Fire, the Tower of Power, Ohio Players, the Commodores, War and Kool and the Gang. So with all these groups around, what about pop music, some people enjoyed these bands and some didn’t but it wouldn’t be the 70’ with out them. You can’t forget the Carpenters, Jackson Five, Bee Gees, Eagles, Fleetwood Mac and Chicago. Or what about the ladies like Roberta Flack, Carly Simon, Carole King, Donna Summer, these are just some of the ladies that also defined the music of the 1970’s.
This will be part 1 of our various artists of the 1970’s. So listen to the Little Red Rooster Show on the all new classic hit station KWMC 1490AM and find out more on these artists and unheard stories about themselves and their songs that gave us a whole new generation of classic songs in the early 1970’s. And as usual, all information and facts about the artists and songs are by Wendy Johnson and all artist of the month shows are produced by Javier Martinez Sr.

If people were to understand more about music of the 1970’s, they would know that it was an era of either some great music and a bunch of one it wonders. The 1980s were full of one hit wonders and a lot of re-makes of music from the 60’s. Although many bands in the 70’s had good music, it was still being made by left over members from other groups of the 1960’s and although several of these bands had many good songs, there just isn’t anything interesting about their career.
Example, Chicago, Elton John, David Bowie, Paul McCartney and any of the Disco groups ect. you would have to go to their beginnings in music and you end up right back into the 1960’s.  Those are the people who gave us some decent music and that was it. In this case another group that fits into that category, the group “America”, thats right, starting out in 1967 in London they were the sons of U.S. Air Force officers stationed in the U.K..
Starting out into the music business with borrowed acoustic guitars and taking their name from the “Americana” jukebox that was in their local mess hall and the name was chosen because they did not want anyone to think that they were a British band trying to sound American. “A horse with no name” was an instant hit in the U. K. in 1972. Their first concert appearance as in an Ontario Collage supporting the Everly Brothers. While this song only made it to #3 in the U.K.,it made it to #1 in the U.S. taking over Neil Young’s song “Heart of Gold” and sadly the rest of their career is the same as a lot of other bands, how many gold records, how many platinum records,and of course as always there’s the “The Greatest Hits” album.
Tune in to the “Little Red Rooster Show” on KWMC’s 1490 AM Classic Hits Station and enjoy the laid back music of “America”. All known facts and stories are by Wendy Johnson and all shows are produced by Javier Martinez.

In 1969 this band forms from remnants of early 60’s Long Beach, California group “The Creators”, who then became “Night Shift” and were only successful on the local circuit. Also around 1969 Jerry Goldstein was looking for a blues-based black band to accompany former lead singer for “The Animals” Eric Burdon. By June of 1969 the name “WAR” is decided as their new name for the band. By 1970 the band tours the U.S. and then moves to the U.K. and Europe. in July 1970 WAR jams with Jimi Hendrix in a session at Ronnie Scotts jazz club in London. By August 1970 their debut album “Eric Burdon Declares War” reaches #18 in the U.S. and the song “Spill the Wine” is their first hit as it reaches #3 and earns a gold record.
By Febuary of 1971 Eric Burdon drops out exhausted and moves back to California, but the band continues on to complete all contracted dates on it’s own.
By June 30,1971 ”WAR” plays the Hollywood Bowl at a “99 cent spectacular”, a low entry price showcase for all new acts that are under contract with the “United Artist” record label. The bands first solo gold record is “Slippin into Darkness”, and then their second album “The World Is A Ghetto” also goes gold. By 1973 the bands third consecutive million seller is “The Cisco Kid”, which only reaches #18 on the U.S. charts.
On a roll in the mid 70’s on August of 1975 the album “Why Can’t We Be Friends” hits #8 and is the bands fifth gold album. The song “Why Can’t We Be Friends” is beamed into space to U.S. and Russian astronauts during the summer of 1975 link-up in earths orbit.
Find out more on “WAR” as they are featured as artist of the month on KWMC’S, Little Red Rooster Show. And remember that all stories and known facts of artist of the month are by Wendy Johnson and all shows are produced by Javier Martinez.

Being inducted as the first person of the first class of the Rock”n”Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. Teaching himself to play piano and singing in church was the start for Jerry Lee Lewis. Some of his early influences were such radio shows as The Grand Ole Opry and the Louisiana Hayride, Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams and Al Jolson were some of his favorite shows and artists. When he was 10, Lewis father mortgaged the family farm to buy Jerry his first piano. He eventually ended up in Memphis where he found work as a studio musician for Sun Studios. In 1957 he became a star with his unique piano-driven sound and also by this time he had developed some of his famous stage antics, such as playing standing up and even lighting up the occasional piano on fire. The story behind his nickname is told that because of his high energy and enthusiasm in his performances he earned the nickname”The Killer” for the way he knocked out his audiences, still this is not true. “Killer” comes from not remembering peoples names and he would always say to anyone “Hey Killer” and not the story before. One major success of Jerry Lee’s concerts was an album entitled “Live at the Star Club in Hamburg”, in 1964 an album that was recorded with the Nashville Teens. It is considered one of the greatest live Rock”N”Roll albums ever. In a review the album got 5 out of 5 stars, but still in the U.S. because of legal constraints, the album was never released.
Still things of more interest because Wikipedia doesn’t have the information, the song Breathless was sinking fast and Dick Clark made the following offer in his show; A free copy of the Breathless 45 for five Beechnut gum wrappers and 50 cents shipping and handing, as a result “Breathless reached the top 10 and Beechnut gum outsold Wrigley Spearmint gum for only the third time in history. And as usual, since Wikipedia never has any interesting stories here’s one from the little Red Rooster. In 1949 Jerry Lee Lewis makes his first public performance at an auto show featuring the years new model Fords in Natchez, LA. he earns 9 dollars for his performance. Find out more on Jerry Lee Lewis on KWMC 1490 am and the little red rooster show. Special thanks to Wendy Johnson who is in charge of all information and known facts about the artist of the month, and Mr. Javier Martinez for all productions of artist of the month.

Singer, songwriter, record producer and reverend. Al Green is best known for a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970’s. He has been referred to as the last of the great soul singers. Al Green the sixth of ten children’s was actually kicked out of the family by his religious father when Al was caught listening to he music of Jackie Wilson and Elvis Presley.
Then he lived with a prostitute and indulged in recreational drugs. The most important music to him was that of Jackie Wilson and Elvis Presley. Seems like trouble always follows this man, in 1974 his girlfriend assaulted Green and then committed suicide, she became upset when Green wouldn’t marry her. A few days later Green was held hostage at gunpoint by his cousin who demanded he owed her money.
In 2013 Green’s sister Maxine was reported missing and her daughter Lasha still says that Al Green has not reached out to the family about his sister and as of November 2019 she is still missing. On a darker side of this talented man come the stories of abusing women and assault, cruelty and domestic violence. Although he denied any charges he finally admitted to all.
He has then agreed to pay $432,800 dollars in alimony and child support. Then Green’s former secretary filed a law suit for $25,000 dollars in a civil lawsuit against him in 974.She charged that Green beat her and shoved her through a glass door after a dispute about how much back pay she was entitled to for her duties.
In 1975 they settled $100,000 dollar lawsuit for assault and battery charges.In1977 Green and his former organ player were arrested for assault it seems Green owed the player money from previous gigs. And then in 1978 he was again charged with assault and battery for beating Lovie Smith unconscious with a tree limb.
Find out more on Al Green on the Little Red Rooster Show At KWMC 1490 AM the all Classic Hits Station. All know information and facts are by Wendy Johnson and all shows are produced by Javier Martinez.

Considered the classiest of pop acts then and now, the Platters were the biggest selling vocal group of the era.They were the first African American group to hit #1 in the Rock’n’Roll era.
Their first top ten hit “Only You” was re-recorded in 1955, it also hit the pop charts and topped the R&B charts for seven weeks.Their next song was “The Great Pretender” with lyrics written in the washroom of the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, this song became the Platters first national #1 hit.
The “ Great Pretender” and also “Only You” were performed in the Platters first major motion picture, the movie “Rock around the Clock”. The Platters differed from most other groups of the era because their manager Buck Ram had the group incorporated in 1956, each member of the group received a 20% share in stock, full royalties and their social security was paid. The Platters were the first Rock’n’Roll group to have a top ten album in the U.S., they were also the only act to have three songs included in the “American Graffiti” soundtrack.
By 1959 the group started having problems with the public, when the four male members were arrested on drug and prostitution charges.Although no one was convicted, their professional reputation was seriously damaged and U S radio stations refused to play their songs and their records were taken of he playlists, this forced the Platters to rely more on European bookings. There have been more than 125 different Platter groups touring the country none of theses groups contain any original member of “the Platters”.
Find out more on “the Platters” on the Little Red Rooster Show and KWMC 1490 AM. All information and known facts are by Wendy Johnson and all shows are produced by Javier Martinez.

Formed in 1955 they started off as the “Five Chimes”, changing their name to the “Matadors” two years later and then by 1958 they would settle on the name “Miracles”.
The Miracles were the first act to be signed by Motown Records and also the first successful recording act for Berry Gordy’s Motown Records back in 1959. The group eventually scored the labels first million-selling hit record in 1960 with the song “Shop Around” also remember this was a million seller and not a #1 according to Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. There it only reached at #2. They recorded 26 top 40 pop hits, 16 reaching the Billboard top 20, and 7 top 10 singles. In all, the group had over 50 charted hits by the time they disbanded.
The Miracles are ranked at #32 on the Rolling Stone Magazine list of the 100 greatest artists of all time and 4 of their song were inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame, the most by any Motown group and in 2009 received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, and after much controversy, the Miracles were finally inducted into the “Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame. Ironically both Smokey Robinson and Bobby Rogers (another Miracles member) were born in the same hospital on the same month and date and year (Febuary 18,1940) but they would not meet each other until they were fifteen years old. Failing an audition at Brunswick Records, Berry Gordy got the group to release a record with the “End” label, and the group was not satisfied with effort made to release the song as they would end up earning only $3.19.
By then it was Smokey Robinson who suggested Berry Gordy label. On December 27,1960 the Miracles became the first Motown group to appear on “American Bandstand”, during the Miracles heyday the group began grossing $150,000.00 a year and were making between $100,000 and $250,000 for nightly shows. One interesting fact about the group is when they were know as the Matadors,each member was paid Five dollars per week by their agent Berry Gordy through out the 1960’s. The Miracles released 19 albums for Motown.
Find out more on the Miracles as they are featured as artist of the month on the Little Red Rooster Show and KWMC the all classic hits station 1490AM. And still after many years all known facts and interesting information are by Wendy Johnson and still all shows are produced by Javier Martinez.