Red’s mailbag – February edition

Did I hear you say some time ago that Roy Orbison and k.d. lang recorded Crying somewhere in Vancouver? Where and when?

Thanks,
Doug Kochen

Yes, it was recorded at Blue Wave studios on 2nd Avenue. How do I know? Roy told me when he was in town for the session.

Mr. Robinson, I enjoy listening to your Sunday morning show, it helps motivate me as I work on my old cars. And nowadays any motivation is a plus. Also your insight to the artist and their songs is excellent as some songs make me think back to the old days cruising Kingsway from the old A&W in Burnaby to the Vancouver White Spot at Gladstone. And yes we did drag race (I am older and smarter now)! I hope you keep going for a long time as I figure this next project is going to keep me going for the next 5 years. So again great job and thanks for the good memories.

Dave DeCosse

Red, I heard you commenting about Connie Stevens a while ago.  If I’m not mistaken Red, I think her first TV series was when she did 77 Sunset Strip with Edd “Kookie” Byrnes, Roger Smith and Efrem Zimbalist.

Al O’Grady

Al, Connie played ‘Cricket Blake’ on Hawaiian Eye from 1959 to 1962, a role that made her famous. After making three guest appearances between 1958-1960 on 77 Sunset Strip, she recorded  “Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb” (1959), a duet with one of the stars of the program, Edward Byrnes.

Hi Red, I was thinking the same thing… the other version of Handy Man was James Taylor. Great job once again with Red Rock Diner.

You really take me back to the old days a lot  of the oldies you play are from before I was even born. Have a great rest of your Sunday.

Your loyal listener,
Jan-Fraser Coward

Jan, I hope you still enjoy the songs you weren’t old enough to remember. Thanks for writing.

Good Morning Red, we celebrate our birthday on the same day. I am retiring from Sears February 28. I am also celebrating my 60th birthday on March 30 at the River Rock Resort.

I grew up in Ocean Falls and remember when you came up to promote Teen Town. I still have my crest! About six of my friends from Ocean Falls will be staying at the resort to celebrate.

We love the Beatles, Stones and British Invasion music. Would you play some of their music on March 29? We will be listening in my suite. We are bringing old yearbooks,nostalgia and music from the early sixties. It was a magical time.

Elsa Tod
Burnaby

Hi Red, I am one of your fans and have met you many times. I know that you did the Elvis at the PNE last year and it was fun to meet Wink Martindale again. I was wondering if you have plans for the Beatles show this year at the PNE. One of the people that I have in mind that you could have for a guest is George Martin. It would be nice to meet him and get his version of the Beatles days. I know he worked on the Love Show in Las Vegas. I hope you are thinking the same way as me and inviting George Martin to the PNE. Have a nice week and talk to you soon.

Margaret Henswold

Margaret, there will be a Beatles show at the PNE on the exact date they appeared here in 1964, August 22.

Hello Mr. Robinson,

I am a loyal fan of your Red Rock Diner on Sunday mornings, in fact I am here at work this morning at Nanaimo Hospital and the tunes are keeping me in a good rhythm.  I work 12 hours, so your program is enjoyed for a good part of that time.

I also want to THANK YOU SO MUCH for playing John Denver’s Sunshine On My Shoulders this morning.  To hear John on the radio is a most wonderful thing. I have written and asked you to play his music so I really appreciated you doing so this morning. I hope to hear more of John’s music on your show in the coming weeks,  John’s music is just too beautiful to hide away.  He did a wonderful duet with Placido Domingo called Perhaps Love… would love to hear that on the radio as well as any of his wonderful songs that spanned a 35 year career.

Best wishes from here on Vancouver Island,
Amanda Prothero

Amanda, thanks for tuning in. Isn’t it about time someone played John’s music? I will endeavor to play more.

You could almost say that I’m stalking you… following you through all of your moves on the dial. Thank you for all the hours of listening pleasure. As you have said numerous times, shows such as yours are few and far between. I miss the music and stories about the 50’s that I heard when the show was on Sunday afternoon.

I am looking for a song that has the name ‘Joan’ or ‘Oh Joan’ in the lyrics (I heard it on C-ISL). Although it’s the scantiest of clues, I’m hoping you have a suggestion or two, please.

Lynda McNicol

Lynda, thank you for your nice note. Oh, Joan is the title of a modest hit by the Canadian group The Beau Marks whose biggest hit was Clap Your Hands.

Hi Red, I bet you’re hearing this a lot, since you NEVER make mistakes. But when you spoke about Roy Orbison & Jennifer WarnesLoving You Feeling Again and said you should play it more, as a gem from “Roadie”… it was actually Emmy Lou Harris w/ Roy Orbison. Jenny & Emmy both were proud to work with Roy, but…

As I said, you probably will hear about this one.

Cheers,
Kelly

Kelly, you are right on the money.  Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Hi Red, I was wondering if you could tell me the original singer and song title of a song with the lyrics “I’m saving my money to buy you a rainbow, a rainbow, and then I’ll go out and buy you the moon.” Also is there a place you know of or a site on the internet we could find the song? If anyone knows Red, it’s you. I’ve heard versions of it but not like the original. Thank you very much.

Charlie and Barb Speck
Nanaimo

Charlie, the original hit was done in 1957 by Russ Hamilton (UK artist) and sold two million copies. It is simply called Rainbow. Canada’s Terry Black had a version as did Tommy Sands but the biggest hit was by Hamilton. Thanks for the email.