We're all about the history of rock & roll at BoomtownAmerica.com!

Every week, we present “ROCK REMEMBERED,” a deep dive into the hidden history of rock & roll, the stories behind the artists and songs that changed the world. Join host, “Boomtown Bill” Cross each Wednesday at 7 pm (Eastern) with an encore broadcast on Saturday at noon (Eastern).

Join us this Wednesday as we look at sometimes centuries-old songs that became modern rock hits a.k.a. "Real Oldies That Became Huge Hits!"

Remember the Beach Party movies of the 1960’s? They were made quickly and cheaply with the barest excuse for a plot (and the barest excuse for swimsuits they could get away with in those days).

Somehow, when they decided to make one more trip to beach in 1987 with Paramount Pictures’ Back to the Beach, they made it look just as cheap and feeble as the original films!

Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello are the stars (natch) only instead of being “Frankie and Dee Dee” as they were called in the original series, they’re now named “Annette” and “Annette’s Husband” (no, we’re not making that up).

What little plot there is revolves around a return trip to Malibu where their grown-up daughter is “living in sin” (remember that concept?) with a new generation of surfer. Also along for the ride is their young son, who actually looks like he could be Eric Von Zipper’s kid (although Harvey Lembeck is nowhere to be found). If we were Frankie, we’d get a DNA test stat. Just sayin’…

Anyway, Frankie’s become a car salesman in Ohio who couldn’t do “surf’s up” if you gave him Viagra. Annette has a serious Skippy problem, and Connie Stevens (who was never in the original series) shows up as the divorced woman on the make, putting the moves on Frankie.

Along the way, you also get cameo appearances by a whole raft of Baby Boom TV icons: Wally & the Beav, Gilligan, Maxwell Smart and more.

You also get Stevie Ray Vaughn jammin’ on the classic instrumental “Pipeline” with surf music legend Dick Dale.

Just when you think things couldn’t get any weirder, Pee Wee Herman pops up out of nowhere to sing “Surfin’ Bird” (we repeat, we are not making this up).

There are some of those really phony looking shots of the stars riding surfboards inside a Hollywood soundstage, a couple of gratuitous jokes about Annette’s two biggest assets, and a surfing competition where June Cleaver gets to say “crapola.”

If you’re feeling nostalgic or want something to play in the background while you engage in a little mid-life make-out session, you might want to rent or stream Back to the Beach this weekend.

Now, anybody know what happened to Gidget and Moondoggie?

Do you know this woman? Before you answer, read this.

This woman totally changed American pop culture without even trying.

Her name is Kathy Kohner. She’s not a composer or a musician. She’s not an artist or designer, yet without her, popular culture in the 1960’s might have been radically different.

That’s because during the summer of 1956, 15-year old Kathy started hanging around with a group of guys on the beach in Malibu who teased her because of her height (she was under 5”) and gave her the nickname Gidget.

Yes, Virginia, there is a real-life Gidget. Her dad, Frederick Kohner, was a writer who turned her adventures with a small group of surfing enthusiasts in the summer of 1956 into a modest little “teen appeal” novel called Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas.

The rest is pop culture history.

The book was published in 1957 (yes, that’s the real Kathy on the cover) and did well enough that Columbia Pictures bought the film rights. Beginning in 1959, there were 3 Gidget films and a TV series that introduced us to a young actress named Sally Field. More importantly, the runaway success of the first Gidget film (starring 16-year old Sandra Dee) touched off a surfing craze that has never really gone away.

In addition to spawning a wave of surf shops and surfer magazines, the surfing craze also gave us surf music, which in turn provided us with what is inarguably one of the greatest American rock bands – the Beach Boys.

The sun, the surf, and the great music cranked out by Brian Wilson and his friends (which included Jan & Dean, Dick Dale, and others) helped shift the focus in American pop culture. Previously, the country took its cue from the East Coast, primarily New York City. Thanks in large part to the surfing craze of the early 60’s, the Pepsi Generation now looked to the West Coast for its fashions, passions and trends.

And it’s all due to little Kathy Kohner deciding that she wanted to surf back in the summer of 1956!

By the way, Kathy is still with us. Her name is now Kathy Kohner Zuckerman. She eventually settled in the Los Angeles area as a teacher. She married college professor Marvin Zuckerman and raised two children. At last report, she was still surfing at age 85. She has been inducted into the Surfer Walk of Fame and is also the subject of a 2010 film documentary, Accidental Icon: The Real Gidget Story.

Somehow, knowing Gidget is still out there shooting the curl is very comforting.

By the way, Gidget also is responsible (indirectly) for the tidal wave of BEACH PARTY MOVIES! You can reads about them here at Boomtown America as well!

While we all marvel at the astounding success the Beatles had when Beatlemania broke big throughout the world – landing multiple songs of theirs in the charts simultaneously, what makes their success even more remarkable was the number of hit songs they wrote and gave away to other artists.

At one point in early 1964, the Fab Four had 14 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 (a record never beaten during the era of physical media). John & Paul were absolutely on fire creatively, penning a virtually inexhaustible stream of catchy ditties.

Their manager, Brian Epstein acquired other acts to promote. Invariably, he would ask the boys if they could contribute a tune or two to get these new artists launched properly. During this time, Lennon & McCartney weren’t writing with anybody but the Beatles in mind. So, they simply selected any of a number of songs they had written, intending to record themselves. Some of these include:

“I’ll Be on My Way” – Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas

The first of the Epstein acts to get the Lennon/McCartney treatment. This song was actually the B-side of Kramer’s first single. A cover of the Beatles’ “Do You Want to Know a Secret” was released as the A-side.

“Bad to Me” – Billy J. Kramer

For his follow-up, Kramer got an original Lennon/McCartney tune.

“Tip of My Tongue” – Tommy Quickly

Epstein really thought Tommy would become a major recording star, but it wasn’t in the cards. This Lennon/McCartney composition is all he’s remembered for today.

“Hello Little Girl” – The Fourmost

Another Epstein act that had minor success in the UK, but failed to crossover to the States.

“Love of the Loved” – Cilla Black

By far, the most successful of Epstein’s stable of talent after the Beatles. A fellow Liverpudlian, the former Priscilla White went on to a long career as a cabaret singer in the UK, remaining active and recording well into this century.

“Like Dreamers Do” – The Applejacks

Clearly, a song the Beatles thought about releasing themselves as their own version of this song finally saw the light of day on the Beatles’ Anthology CDs.

“I’ll Keep You Satisfied” – Billy J. Kramer

Kramer was the Epstein act that had the most success stateside after the Beatles. But his career stalled after the initial British Invasion lost steam.

“I’m in Love” – The Fourmost

A very pretty little pop song, but truth be told, this sounds more like a Beatles album cut than a hit single.

As John & Paul became accustomed to hearing their tunes performed by others, they did begin to write with other artists in mind. These tunes included:

“A World Without Love” – Peter & Gordon

The first non-Epstein act to be graced with a Lennon/McCartney composition, this duo had an inside track. Paul was dating Peter’s sister, actress Jane Asher. And, in fact, most rock historians believe Paul did most of the actual writing for the Lennon/McCartney material this duo recorded.

“One and One Is Two” – The Strangers with Mike Shannon

A minor bit of pop fluff the lads were probably wise to give away.

“It’s for You” – Cilla Black

A big hit in Britain, this Lennon/McCartney song remained virtually unknown in America until Three Dog Night recoded a rather inventive cover of it for their debut album.

“Nobody I Know” & “I Don’t Want to See You Again” – Peter & Gordon

The hits kept coming as long as John & Paul were supplying fresh material. Rumor has it the second tune was written by Paul as a message to Peter’s sister after a particularly nasty fight. (Although the couple would remain together until Jane allegedly caught Paul in bed with another woman in the Asher family home.)

“From a Window” – Billy J. Kramer

A hit on both sides of the Atlantic.

“Woman” – Peter & Gordon

Paul wanted to see if he could write a hit record without people knowing he was the composer, so this single was released crediting a “Bernard Webb” as the composer. The song was, indeed, another hit and McCartney was unmasked as the actual composer. This was notable at the time because it was the first tune where credit was not shared by John & Paul no matter who had really done the writing.

“Step Inside Love” – Cilla Black

A lovely ballad and one of her biggest hits in the UK, definitely written especially for her by John & Paul.

“That Means a Lot” – P.J. Proby

Proby had a few hits in the UK, but never managed to really get a foothold in America. It wasn’t for lack of effort. Proby was a frequent guest in the early days of Shindig.

“Cat Call” – The Chris Barber Band

This is a real obscure little gem. Written by McCartney in 1967 and given to a group known for mushy, middle-of-the-road instrumentals. It sounds vaguely like some strip club music from the early 1950’s (note the title) and does feature McCartney providing a few cat calls of his own.

As the band finally fractured, John & Paul went their separate ways as songwriters, but continued to provide material for other artists. A few of the more notable tunes include:

“Come & Get It” – Badfinger

A tune written for the movie The Magic Christian, which co-starred Ringo, Paul called a band known as the Iveys (signed to Apple Records) into the studio and produced the session himself. The band renamed themselves Badfinger and went on to a nice little string of hit records in the early 1970’s.

Pernina – Carlos Medes

A McCartney love song you’ve probably never heard. Written by Paul and given to singer Carlos Mendes while Paul was on holiday in Portugal in 1969.

“I Am the Greatest” – Ringo Starr

John wrote this specifically for Ringo. The recording session featured 3 of the 4 former Beatles, John, George & Ringo as well as Billy Preston & Klaus Voorman.

“Goodbye” – Mary Hopkins

While today, Hopkins is regarded as a “one hit wonder” for her recording of “Those Were the Days,” she actually had a second hit with this song, written for her by Paul McCartney, who also produced it (as he had produced “Those Were the Days”).

“On the Wings of a Nightingale” – The Everly Brothers

When Don & Phil Everly ended their long feud and began recording together again in 1984, Paul McCartney was one of the composers who repaid the musical debt he felt he owed the duo by writing this song especially for them. Produced by Jeff Lynne (ELO, Traveling Wilburys), in another, better world, this should have become a huge hit.

This list is by no means complete. Half the fun is discovering some of the songs Lennon & McCartney gave away for yourself. But any dyed-in-the-wool Beatles fans should certainly have all of these in the personal record collection.

Yes, that organic produce may be free of pesticides and synthetic fertilizer, but it’s no safer from germs that may come from harvest, transporting and having it out on display at your grocer’s.

Experts will tell you that germs don’t really discriminate based on how the food was grown. As with any raw produce, make sure you wash it once you bring it home from the store.