Mike Greenblatt:

I’m proud to say I call Tommy James my friend. When we told you last June about Sony Music giving him carte blanch to record any Beatle or Motown tune for future use in motion pictures, commercials or television shows, I didn’t think Tommy would let us exclusively post his dramatic interpretations of 1964’s “Where Did Our Love Go” by The Supremes and Lennon’s 1965 “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away.” Yet here they are, in all their unvarnished glory. Obviously, my friend Tommy is a true artist, due to the fact that artistry always changes. These two recordings, light years away from his 1964 garage-rock classic “Hanky Panky,” show him at the top of his vocal, producing and arranging powers. And we’re honored to present them for the very first time anywhere. (Check the “Up Close” section.) And, he’s in the studio now, cooking up a third song.

As a direct result of both Dionne Warwick and Kool & The Gang getting inducted into what they dubiously call The Rock’n’Roll Hall Of Fame, “Jungle Boogie” and “Walk On By” ascend to the top of our Hot 100 this month (100 songs by 100 artists). Too bad there was hardly any rock’n’roll on the ABC-TV  three-hour sloppily-edited special (although we enjoyed the Ozzy and Frampton segments, Foreigner not so much) and I will never ever even understand the appeal of Dave Matthews, although I have a dear friend who follows him all over the world. British band Alabama 3 makes its Hot 100 debut at #59 with its 1997 “Woke Up This Morning.” What do they have to do with Jersey? One listen and you’ll figure it out. If it ascends into the Top 10 (which I’m pretty sure it will), we get to post its video and then you’ll really know.   

Dee Dee Warwick graces our “History” section this month. Did she really sexually abuse Whitney Houston as a child when her mother, Cissy Houston, was on tour? Is this why Whitney always took her own daughter on tour with her? Dionne Warwick says no, told People magazine she will never forgive the producers of the 2018 Whitney documentary for alleging such, and stayed faithful to her sister right to the end, holding her hand as she died in an Essex County nursing home after a stroke.