The AM Radio Singles & Special Commissions 1968 - 1974
AM Radio was broadcast over the air from giant antennas. Sound waves rippling out into the ether. The Feds gave out radio frequencies, someone would build a studio and the music went flying out to all our AM radios at home, in cars, at the beach etc.
In the sixties, the radio disc jockeys were real music buffs who selected the music they played from the wide diversity of what was available. These songs depending on the power of the signal of the station could go out hundreds of miles. FM radio was on its way, but AM ruled the charts at this point. My AM radio singles are below. I included my acoustic version of Green Eyed Lady. Carl Johnson and I put this down when I was writing the lyrics. I have always liked it in addition to Jerry Corbetta's and Sugar Loaf's number #1 hit.
I also created concept music pieces and special commission albums after I stopped recording commercial albums. These special commissions allowed me to play with concepts that were not necessarily commercial at the time. In some ways those projects like "Wilderness America" produced some of my favorite compositions as my music career wound down. At the time I don't think I completely realized that Wilderness America would be my last album. It's had a strange resurgence in the last few years as European companies have licensed it for their pure vinyl releases. A rap artist even licensed Metropolis. Who could ever have predicted that music that was created over 50 years ago would still be of interest to people.
The AM Radio Singles
These singles capture the fun we had in the music biz during the late 60's and early 70's. Nothing like it or since. A moment in time.
Yankee Dollar - Paramount/Dot Records - 1968
(Artist/Songwriter)
Sweet Pain - United Artists Records - 1971
(Artist/Songwriter/Producer)
Sugarloaf - Liberty Records - 1971-72
(Songwriter)
(Songwriter/Artist/Producer)
David Riordan- Capital Records - 1974
(Artist/Songwriter/Producer)
Special Commissions
Friends - David Riordan - 1973
Warehouse Sound Company
Writer-Producer-Singer
I had gotten into a dispute with the producer of the still born Sweet Pain Two album. After we had signed the deal with him at 20th Century Records he announced he was taking control of the publishing of the songs on the record. My partner Rob Moitoza flipped out and blew up the deal with the record company. The album was released but over our dead bodies. His next
move was to sue me for a lot of money. Even though it was a nuance suit it prohibited me from recording anything new with another record company until I settled with him. About this time I renewed my relationship with Cliff Branch, a college friend, who had started a very successful mail order company selling stereo components to college kids. As part of playing with some new types of home tape recorders they were selling I continued to write songs. Cliff suggested we do an album that would be given away with each stereo system. It was such a gift. It meant I could keep my band employed and get some of the new songs recorded. Because it was not a commercial release the producer couldn't stop me. We had such fun doing that album together which eventually got me my deal with Capitol Records when the law suit went away. Here are three of my favorite tracks from that project.
Wilderness America - 1974
(Written and Co-Produced by D. Riordan)
Cliff Branch and I were approached by a leader in the environmental movement. She wanted to create an album of music that would raise money for seven different environmental groups. Her list read like a who's who of the 1970's environmental movement. She also had a contact at the
Bank of America foundation that said they would pay for the project IF we came up with a meaningful concept. Cliff and I took it on because for me I had always wanted to do a follow up to some of the environmental pieces I had done for the Sweet Pain album (Pine Canyon Stream) AND it was a chance for me to bring other musicians and singers into the project. I ended up writing most of the album and had the great thrill of hearing how an R&B artist like Walter Hawkins would interpret my composition "Metropolis," Caryn Robin the same with "Manchild" or singing with my fav Nashville group... Ann Hughes and Country Roads on "Wind Song." And money was raised for the environmental groups from the sales of this collection, so win, win.
