Doctor Don

09/08/2026

Music notes for Sept. 8:

1997 - 29 years after the band first formed, Led Zeppelin released 'Whole Lotta Love', their first ever single in the the UK. Yep, no singles over there, but in the US received many.The track recorded in 1969 and featured on the bands second album was issued to promote their re-issued back catalogue.

1990 - The New Kids on the Block cartoon series made its debut.
Lasting just one season on ABC, the animated New Kids travel the world and face challenges like getting to concerts on time.

1976 - Riding the wave of his Frampton Comes Alive! album, Peter Frampton gets invited by President Gerald Ford to spend the day at the White House.

1973 - Marvin Gaye started a two week run at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Let's Get It On', his second No.1 following “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”.

1968 - The Beatles performed ‘ Hey Jude’ on the UK television show 'Frost On Sunday' in front of an invited audience. The song was the first single from The Beatles' record label Apple Records and at over seven minutes in length it was the longest single to hit #1 in both the UK and the US.was, at the time, the longest single ever to top the British charts.

1965 - An ad appears in Variety looking for "Four Insane Boys, Ages 17-21" to star in a new TV show: The Monkees.

1955 - In an attempt to hide the wrinkles in his suit, Chuck Berry does the duck walk for the first time.

09/08/2026

WDGY’s Doctor Don presents the Top 5 songs this week in 1976:

1 5 (Shake, Shake, Shake) SHAKE YOUR B***Y –•– K.C. and the Sunshine Band
2 2 YOU’LL NEVER FIND ANOTHER LOVE LIKE MINE –•– Lou Rawls
3 6 PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC –•– Wild Cherry
4 4 I’D REALLY LOVE TO SEE YOU TONIGHT –•– England Dan and John Ford Coley
5 7 A FIFTH OF BEETHOVEN –•– Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band

BIGGEST JUMP WITHIN THE TOP 40 - That’ll Be The Day - Linda Ronstadt went from #35 tp #23.

09/07/2026

Music notes for Sept. 7:

1997 - Fleetwood Mac went to No.1 on the album chart with 'The Dance', which found the group reuniting after a ten-year hiatus. The album went on to sell over 5 million copies.

1987 - Michaels Jackson releases "Bad," the title track to his first album since Thriller. The song was supposed to be a duet with Prince, but the Purple One turned down the offer.

1985 - John Parr started a two-week run at No.1 on the singles chart with 'St Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)' from the movie of the same name.

1985 - Ringo becomes the first Beatles grandfather when his son Zak's child is born.

1978 - Keith Moon of The Who passed away. Joining the band in 1964 before they released their first single, Moon appeared on the band’s first eight albums – from their 1965 debut, My Generation, to 1978’s Who Are You.

1968 - Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham made their live debut as Led Zeppelin but billed as The New Yardbirds at Teen Club in Gladsaxe (a suburb in the outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark). Around 1,200 attended the show.
A local review stated; 'Their performance and their music were absolutely flawless, and the music continued to ring nicely in the ears for some time after the curtains were drawn after their show‘.

1968 - The Doors' third album, Waiting For The Sun, hits #1 thanks partly to the popularity of the hit "Hello, I Love You”.

09/06/2026

Music notes for Sept. 6:

2016 - Barbra Streisand extended her chart record after she scored her 11th No.1 album with her Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway. The star had already notched up more chart toppers than any other female artist, and now extends her lead over Madonna, who has eight. She also overtook Elvis Presley, who has 10, to tie with Bruce Springsteen.

2005 - The Rolling Stones release their album A Bigger Bang. It sells just a million copies (modest by Stones standards), but the accompanying tour breaks the record for highest-grossing tour, earning $558 million. ($954 million today).

1997 - Elton John recorded a new version of 'Candle In The Wind' after performing the song live at Diana, Princess of Wales funeral. An estimated 2.5 billion people around the world watched Elton play the special tribute to Diana. While the ballad was initially written in honour of actress Marilyn Monroe, the singer-songwriter altered the lyrics to create a loving tribute to the late Princess of Wales after her tragic death.

1988 - New Kids On The Block release their breakout album, Hangin' Tough. The LP goes to #1 in and spawns five hit singles, including the chart-topping title track and the #3 entry "You've Got It (The Right Stuff)."

1986 - The girl group Bananarama went to No.1 on the singles chart with 'Venus'. The song was first released as a single by the Dutch group Shocking Blue in the summer of 1969. It too topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for a week in February 7, 1970.

1975 - Glen Campbell started a two week run at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Rhinestone Cowboy', his first No.1 after 13 Top 40 hits.

09/06/2026

https://youtu.be/vbvyNnw8Qjg?is=xGr1KxTwtC8U-iQb

09/05/2026

Music notes for Sept. 5:

The late Freddie Mercury (real name Farrokh Bulsara) born this date in Zanzibar (a set of islands off the coast of Africa). Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of rock music, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octave vocal range. His band Queen sold millions of albums and scored ten top 40 hits, including two #1’s: “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and “Another One Bites the Dust”.

Happy birthday Scottish singer-songwriter Al Stewart. His biggest hits were “Year of the Cat”, “Time Passages” and “Song on the Radio”.

Singer-songwriter Joe South passed away. He had hits with “Walk a Mile inMy Shoes” and “Games People Play”. He wrote “Rose Garden” which was a big hit for Lynn Anderson, “Hush” by Deep Purple, the Billy Joe Royal hits “Down in the Boondocks” and “I Knew You When, and The Osmonds “Yo-Yo”.

1981 - Stevie Nicks went to No.1 on the album with Bella Donna, featuring the tracks ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’ (the Tom Petty duet), ‘Leather and Lace’ (with Don Henley), ‘Edge of Seventeen’ and ‘After the Glitter Fades’.

1966 - John Lennon started work on his role as Private Gripweed in the film 'How I Won The War'. The black comedy was filmed in Spain and saw Lennon, taking a long-overdue break from The Beatles after nearly four years of constant touring. His character wears glasses that he would use as the basis for his distinctive eyewear.

09/04/2026

Music notes for Sept. 4:

2007 -The Bob Dylan "biographical" movie, I'm Not There”premieres at the Venice (Italy) Film Festival. The film features six actors representing different aspects or eras of Dylan's life and music, including Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger and Christian Bale. Reviews were so-so. The film only made $11 miillion, but it cost $20 million to make.

1982 - The Steve Miller Band started a two week run at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Abracadabra' the group's third No.1.
Steve Miller wrote the hit after a chance encounter with Diana Ross in Sun Valley, Idaho, which reminded him of performing on the 1960s TV show Hullabaloo with her and The Supremes.

1976 - The Bee Gees went to No.1 on the singles chart with 'You Should Be Dancing', the group's third No.1. It was this song that launched the trio into Disco stardom and is the first chart-topper in which Barry Gibb used his now-trademark falsetto.

1976 - Fleetwood Mac No.1 on the album chart with their self-titled album after being on the charts for over a year. The album went on to sell over 5 million copies and was the first of three No.1 albums for the group. The album was their first after adding Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham.

1971 - Taken from the album 'Ram', Paul McCartney went to No.1 on the singles chart with the US only released 'Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey'. McCartney's first solo No.1. Paul would later explain that "Uncle Albert" was based on his real-life uncle. "He's someone I recall fondly and when the song was coming, it was like a nostalgia thing... As for Admiral Halsey, he's one of yours, an American admiral", referring to Admiral William "Bull" Halsey.

1962 - The Beatles first formal recording session at EMI's Abbey Road studios took place. George Martin was unhappy with a previous session on June 6, so he called The Beatles back into the studio to try again. They recorded six songs, including 'Love Me Do' and 'Please Please Me.' They also recorded “How Do You Do It” which Martin wanted to release as a single, but the band was not comfortable with that. The song went on to become a hit for Gerry & The Pacemakers.

09/04/2026

WDGY’s Doctor Don presents the Top 5 songs this week in 1965:

1 HELP! –•– The Beatles
2 LIKE A ROLLING STONE –•– Bob Dylan
3. CALIFORNIA GIRLS –•– The Beach Boys
4 UNCHAINED MELODY –•– The Righteous Brothers
5 IT’S THE SAME OLD SONG –•– The Four Tops

HIGH DEBUT OF THE WEEK AT NO. 68 - “Since I Lost My Baby - The Temptations.

IT WOULD GET AS HIGH AS #17

09/03/2026

https://youtu.be/fqZpODXINnY?is=-KFGexqMA8-UIp2O

1965-66..... #1 U.S. Billboard Hot 100, #1 Canada, #3 New ZealandOr...

09/03/2026

Music notes for Sept. 3:

Happy birthday Al Gardine of The Beach Boys. He did the lead vocal on “Help Me Rhonda”.

2017 - Walter Becker, co-founder and guitarist for Steely Dan passed away. Steely Dan released its first album Can't Buy a Thrill in 1972. All told the band had ten Top 30 hits and albums sales in the millions. Walter met fellow co-founder Donald Fagen in when both were students at Bard College north of New York City.

1970 - After a successful 10-year career, The Dave Clark 5 called it quits. Inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame 2008, the band was a major part of the 60’s British Invasion. They hit the Billboard Top 15 times .

1970 - Arthur Brown, he of the 1968 #2 “Fire”, was arrested at The Palermo Pop Festival in Italy. After he set fire to his helmet (?), he stripped naked during his performance. He spent four days in jail.

1968 - Fed up with all the bickering Ringo rejoined The Beatles after a two-week absence rejoined The Beatles. John and Paul had sent him a telegram begging him to come back. Upon his return to the studio, he found his drum kit covered with flowers to welcome him back courtesy of George.

1966 - Donovan went to No.1 on the singles chart with 'Sunshine Superman'. The track featured then Yardbird and future Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. The song was written for Donovan's future wife Linda Lawrence.