ROCK-O-LLECTIONS

By Frank “Smokin” Truatt 

Last week I wrote about my first Bruce Springsteen concert and how he put on a clinic showing the world how to entertain an arena. That concert was last Monday evening. Two days before that I had the pleasure of being part of an amazing performance from a group that transcended the 70’s and the 80’s at the Paramount Theater in Middletown… Tavares. I always enjoy and appreciate the diversity and talent that each artist brings to the stage. There are probably no comparisons that I can make between Bruce and Tavares, other than the fact that both truly entertained their audiences. The original 5 members of Tavares were brothers who did not fit into the “Motown,” the “Sound of Philadelphia” or the “Muscle Shouls” genre. They were from New England with their own unique sound. I became interested in their music hearing songs like “My Ship,” “Remember What I Told You to Forget,” “My Ship” and their very soulful version of the Hall & Oates song “She’s Gone.” I was doing college radio at the time being exposed to up-and-coming artists with songs that didn’t chart high enough to be played on New York radio. In July of 1975 they released an album called “In the City.” It produced the band’s only top ten hit, “It Only Takes a Minute.” The album would turn out to be one of my favorites of all time. None of the other songs on the album cracked the top 40 but there are some real gems that should have been released as singles. The lyrics are great, and all the tunes are catchy, most of them uplifting, and once you know them, you’ll want to sing along. 

That’s the way albums have always been. We would buy them for a song or two, and occasionally we would get lucky that a bunch of other songs on that album were pretty good too. That’s the way it was with me for this one particular album. More than likely, it’s not in your personal collection, but something about that album spoke to me. It’s hard to believe that their later hits “Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel,” “Don’t Take Away the Music” and their version of “More Than a Woman” never hit the top 10. Two different concerts, two different venues and two different genres of music. Both provided amazing nights out with memories that I’ll cherish for years to come. Next Friday it’s Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits at the Paramount. Can’t wait to relive my childhood memories through some great oldies! Win tickets on WTBQ/WGHT on the 2 second song contest each weekday morning at 8:30am. Be sure to tune in every Monday evening for my ROCK-O-LLECTIONS show where you can request any song as long as it was from the 70’s! The best decade for music by far!