I had 18 sides, 9 bomb records before “Who’s Sorry Now.” So I didn’t think it was going to come. “Who’s Sorry Now” was going to be my last record for MGM. Of course, when Dick Clark played it, it became a hit.

Elton John incorporated elements of Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound production techniques in recording “Step Into Christmas.” “We wanted to make an homage to Phil Spector,” John told the Sunday Post. “Part of what made Phil Spector records were the rooms, the musicians and the ambience.”

The Drifters would place nine records in the R&B Top 10, including the greatest holiday song ever put on vinyl: “White Christmas.”

Things came to a head when one of the Drifters, who had been drinking, argued and cursed at Dr. Jive and Apollo owner Frank Schiffman. Treadwell fired the entire group backstage and offered four of the Five Crowns the opportunity to become the new lineup of the Drifters.

The song was ‘Dancing in the Street’ and it became the Motown anthem “At first, I didn’t like it. But then I thought about my neighborhood and how we’d stay up all night, dancing in the street.”

On November 13, 1963, the Trashmen released the surf rock classic “Surfin’ Bird.” Despite its sound, the band recorded the song 2,000 miles away from the sun, sand, and surf of Southern California.