Listen To Podcast & Vote Below!

4/23/10 – The “Sweets For My Sweet” Cat Fight Show!

Posted: April 23rd, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: R&B, Rock n' Roll | Tags: , , , , | 9 Comments »

The Friday Night Cat Fight Radio Show

“Sweets For My Sweet”

 

 

 

 

 

The Friday Night Cat Fight is the only show the puts 2 versions of the same song by 2 different groups up against each other and then asks for YOUR VOTE!  A common theme on this show is the Americans vs. The Brits.  This occurs so frequently, because in most cases the British covers of American tunes are so damn good, that they deserve mention.  Also, sometimes the British group scored the bigger hit, while the original American cover is left behind, forgotten.  That is not the case this week, as The Drifters scored a major top 20 hit on both the American pop and R&B charts.  The Searchers 1963 cover hit #1 in the UK, but failed to chart Stateside when it was released here in 1964.  So please listen to this week’s Cat Fight Show and then make your choice and VOTE for the one you truly DIG THE MOST!

Also on this week’s program, we find out what Mel Torme and a guitar virtuoso have in common, we make some R&B phone calls with Big Walter and Floyd Dixon AND we talk to former Oriole Diz Russell about Sonny Til, the man.

So listen, vote and DIG!

Which One Do You DIG The MOST? - "Sweets For My Sweet"

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

9 Comments on “4/23/10 – The “Sweets For My Sweet” Cat Fight Show!”

  1. 1 Virginia said at 11:30 am on April 23rd, 2010:

    Wow what a selection of tunes this show has, many of the versions were new to me. Loved it, loved it, loved it. No contest, the Drifters original version for me this week. Thank you so much Matt for our weekly FNCF fix.

  2. 2 timevac3 said at 12:48 am on April 24th, 2010:

    The Drifters bring it home tonight, though the Searchers found the song to their liking as well.
    That Helen Foster tune was quite nice. I don’t thing anyone’s ever done a bad version, but I liked her voice. I used the link to grab that from Amazon. Thanks Matt!

  3. 3 David said at 8:44 pm on April 24th, 2010:

    I gave the less-familiar-to-me Drifters version several tries, just to be sure, and of course they’re the more essential group and they sing this really well as usual, but in the end, I think these lyrics need the more uptempo setting that the Searchers chose.

    Wow did I dig those rarely-heard versions of those instrumentals, especially “Twitchy.” Thanks, Matt.

  4. 4 Yum Yum said at 10:09 pm on April 24th, 2010:

    I know that the Drifters Version is Some Kind Of Wonderful and Matt Please Stay and keep doing these great Cat Fights on Friday nights because it brings back the memories of Under The Boardwalk hearing the Drifters singing Sweets For My Sweet sugar for my honey !!! Yessssss Yum Yum

  5. 5 Long Island Bob said at 10:00 am on April 25th, 2010:

    No contest here. Gotta give it to the Drifters. Charlie Thomas had some big shoes to fill when he took over the lead from Ben E. King. Very few singers could have pulled it off consistently – but Charlie does a fine job on “Sweets.” However, in LIB’s opinion, some of the later stuff leaves something to be desired.
    As for the Searchers, they never got the “right feel” to the tune – and it’s no wonder it didn’t chart in the states. Even their biggest charter in the USA, “Needles and Pins”, did not do justice to Jackie D’s original.
    The English invasion, save the Stones, brought an abrupt end to “50’s style music.”
    For that I can never forgive the folks “across the pond.”

  6. 6 CRYSTAL said at 10:10 pm on April 25th, 2010:

    I went with the Drifters. Matt, I just love that you are doing 1 hour on a regular basis. The show was always great when it was all 50’s but it is so much better now that you are not restricted. Keep up the great work.

  7. 7 Bruce said at 2:27 am on April 26th, 2010:

    Pomus, Schuman, The Drifters….it’s the perfect meeting within the cosmos of music to produce a wonderful song. The whole latin thing going on in the backround, it just sort of makes you want to dance doesn’t it? (I’ll put you on the spot again Matt and ask whether it was Al Nevins who did the arranging). While I think the Searchers did an admiral job, their version just didn’t have all the elements that made the Drifters version a certifiable catfight winner.

  8. 8 Matt The Cat said at 10:50 am on April 26th, 2010:

    Hi Bruce,
    It was Stan Applebaum arranging and conducting The Drifters’ version of “Sweets.”

    -MTC

  9. 9 Stickball Eddie said at 10:03 pm on April 28th, 2010:

    MTC,
    Drifters in a blowout! Great fight this week. The back alleys are not as lonely with MTC getting air time and more exposure on Rock-it Radio.

Leave a Reply