August 31 – September 20, 1963

The Angels

My Boyfriends Back

Where was her boyfriend anyway?

Back from where?

Because of the tone and era, I imagine he was a year or two older than the damsel in distress, and maybe he was coming back from college.  I would prefer to envision that he was returning after a stint in jail where he brutally murdered a prostitute in a seedy motel, after making a shocking Crying Game like discovery during the dirty deed.

What’s wrong with me?

Let’s return to the innocence and the song, but as this is the only time we will see the Angels, with “My Boyfriends Back”, which is arguably one of the most successful and remembered girl group songs of the 60s.  That is the case for the song, though not for the Angels.

“My Boyfriends Back” was not the first hit by the Angels, as in 1961 they had a #14 hit with ‘Til in 1961.  From New Jersey, the group initially consisted of sisters, Barbara and Phyllis Allbut^[1], who flanked their lead singer Linda Jansen.  Jansen left to pursue a solo career, and she would be replaced with Peggy Santiglia.^[2]  

This was a better move for the group, as Santiglia has a more marketable voice, that could also serve multiple purposes.  Under their new label, Smash Records, the group recorded a demo of “My Boyfriends Back”, a song penned by the songwriting trio of Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein and Richard Gottehrer.  This group was interesting enough in their own right, as the trio from New York City would later create a band called “The Strangeloves”.  They would even create a fictional backstory that they were Australian sheep farmers, and it was their way of keeping up (or countering) with the British Invasion.  Their biggest hit, was “I Want Candy”, which went to #11 in 1965.  

Anyway, the demo, which was originally meant to be shopped to the Shirelles, was considered good enough to release as a single, which is exactly what they did.  It checked so many of the boxes, to make it a hit.  With the hand clapping, easy to follow lyrics and story, harmonies and horn infused arrangement, girls everywhere could sing along to it.  

It opened with a verbal warning, which told any listener exactly everything you needed to know:

He went away,^[3] and you hung around

And bothered me, every night

And when I wouldn’t go out with you

You said things that weren’t very nice

Simple right?

It continued, with the most recognized part and most repeated part:

My boyfriend’s back, and you’re gonna be in trouble

Hey-la-day-la my boyfriend’s back

While the song was so easy for anyone to sing (especially girls), the message of someone of a man/boy spreading bullshit about bedding (or whatever innocent or non-innocent idea) and getting what was coming to them was something that women of any day, and really any age can understand.  We all know many men who have lied about their amount of sexual conquests, and while women are stereotyped as gossipers, that attribute can be found in any gender, even the non-binary ones that nobody in 1963 could envision.

Even if you were a young girl who had yet to have a boyfriend, that individual could easy long for the day where they had a man in their life who would protect that them that way.  That seems a little (a lot) antiquated now, but if you strip away the gender roles, it is still about your significant other having your back and righting a wrong at your expense.  This seems relatable, and remains a fun song to sing, regardless of the era.

Other Notable Songs that charted but did not go to number one in this time period: August 31, 1963 – September 20, 1963.

8/31/63: Be My Baby by the Ronettes went to #2 and reached #4 on the R&B Chart.^[4]  

9/7/63: Monkey Time by Major Lance reached #8, but went as high as #2 on the R&B Chart.  

9/14/63: Then He Kissed Me by The Crystals went to #6 but went to #8 on the R&B Chart.^[5]  

9/14/63: Lonely Surfer by Jack Nitzsche hit #39.  

^[1] Apparently, the sisters had the nicknames of “Jiggs and Bibs”.  Sounds like bad stripper names to me.

^[2] How did her solo career go?  As well, as you think it went.

^[3] Again, where the fuck did he go?

^[4] For what it is worth, I consider “Be My Baby” to be one of the greatest songs, not only of its kind but ever.  If I had Doc’s DeLorean, I would go back in time to try to date Ronnie Spector.

^[5] I don’t feel as strong as I do about this song as I do about the Ronettes’ “Be My Baby”, but this also would have been a great one to have talked about.

The Polynesian Football Hall of Fame announced three new members to their institution with Malcom Floyd, Mike Iupati and Tom Kaulukukui.

Floyd, who is part Samoan, was a two-time All-Mountain West at Wyoming.  Professionally, he played 11 years with San Diego, accumulating 321 Receptions for 5,550 Yards and 34 Touchdowns.

Iupati, who liked Floyd had Samoan Ancestry, was an All-American Guard at Idaho, and went on to play 11 years in the NFL with San Francisco, Arizona and Seattle.  He went to four consecutive Pro Bowls (2012-15).

Kaulukukui, who is Hawaiian, played his college ball at Hawaii, would later coach the Rainbow Warriors in 1941 and from 1946 to 1950.  He also won three Pineapple Bowls.

We here a Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the newest members of the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB.  Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players, coaches and executives.  As such, it is news to us that the Seattle Mariners have announced that former Outfielder, Ichiro Suzuki, will be inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame on August 27 before their home against Cleveland.

After a successful career in Japan, Ichiro joined the Mariners at age 27, where he shattered the myth of a Japanese position player thriving in the Majors.  Ichiro was a hitting machine, leading the American League in Hits seven times, winning two Batting Titles, and he batted over .300 in his first ten years in Baseball, a streak in which he was never not included in the All-Star Game.  He won the MVP, the Rookie of the Year, ten Gold Gloves and three Silver Sluggers.  

Ichiro was traded to the Yankees in 2012, but he returned to close out his career for 15 Games in 2018, and two in 2019, when the Mariners opened the season in Japan.  He recorded 2,542 Hits, batted .321 and stole 438 Bases for Seattle.

Ichiro is eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2025, and he should be a first ballot of inductee.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Ichiro Suzuki for his impending honor.

A journeyman player who celebrated his 30th birthday during the 2021 MLB season, Enrique Hernandez is, perhaps, an unlikely hero for the Boston Red Sox. As the team look ahead to the 2022 campaign, there have been plenty of important contributions from around the field but supporters would have been delighted by the contribution made by their Puerto Rican.

He’s very much an outsider for the Hall of Fame at this stage but Hernadez is a genuine contender in an unofficial poll for the most underrated player of the campaign.

Long Journey

Enrique Hernandez has been a surprise package this season, especially when you consider his long path into Major League Baseball. He was first picked up by the Houston Astros in 2009 and had to wait until the sixth round of that year’s draft result to hear his name called.

Hernandez had to be patient again as he waited a full five years to make his debut for the Astros in MLB. As a Utility Player, he featured in 24 games for Houston in 2014 and returned some respectable batting stats.

Despite showing some promise, Hernandez was traded to the Miami Marlins at the end of that 2014 campaign, along with Jarred Cosart and Austin Wates. His stay in Miami was brief, playing just 18 games before moving on to the LA Dodgers a year later in 2015.

Hernandez finally found some stability in Los Angeles and he would stay in the west for the next five seasons. It was an up-and-down experience for the player who tended to follow up effective campaigns with more subdued performances.

2015 showed some promise but there were injuries along the way and Hernandez became better known for wearing a banana suit in the dugout when he wasn’t playing. From 2017 onwards, he became more consistent for the Dodgers while playing in every position except pitcher and catcher.

Popular with the fans, Hernandez’s stock increased and, in 2020, he played his part as the Dodgers claimed the World Series. Stability had seemed to arrive but, ahead of the 2021 campaign, Enrique Hernandez signed that two-year contract with the Boston Red Sox.

Red Sox Rated

The Red Sox made it to the postseason but ultimately fell just one game short of making it through to the World Series. Having beaten the Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays in the opening rounds, it was ironic that Boston went down to Enrique Hernandez’s old team, the Houston Astros, in the League Championship Series.

The Astros now face the Atlanta Braves in that World Series with the best baseball betting sites showing the Braves as very narrow favorites. Once those final games are completed, the markets reset and those sportsbooks, affiliated with sbo.net, will report on the figures ahead of the 2022 season. 

Having fallen just short of the World Series game, Boston Red Sox will be up among the favorites for the pennant when the markets open for 2022. Sbo.net will publish and continue to update the odds once the new season gets underway.

Articles on the MLB will cover news and opinion and, if anyone wants to place a bet on the new season, it’s easy to do so. The panel of recommended sportsbooks listed here will all accept new registrations and there is a choice of funding methods which can cover opening stakes.

Effective customer service and the potential for live streaming some baseball are among the other benefits. It’s a strong website for all baseball fans but how has Enrique Hernandez influenced the Red Sox’s standing?

Hernandez in Numbers

By the start of September, Hernandez had played 112 games for the Red Sox and his numbers have been seriously impressive throughout the campaign. At that stage, some of his best performances had come in center field where he saved 11 defensive runs and had six outs above average.

His batting improved after being shifted up to the leadoff spot at the end of June. His next 51 games after that switch saw him hit no fewer than 11 homers while returning superb stats throughout.

The journeyman may have finally found a home and the individual performances of Enrique Hernandez can help the Boston Red Sox to go one better in 2022.