The Girls From Petticoat Junction - I'm So Glad That You Found Me (1968)

[wonderglory]

Did the girls perform this from a radio program on the show?

[Jimboyc21]

Wait a minute. I am Mr. Trivia and 56 odd years old remember the show well, and I never knew or heard of this collection. Did not know of it's ever release. Sounds good though! One that got away or is someone pulling my leg?

[cmulwee001]

Got some great news! The is a "brand new" CD out by The Girls Of PJ!

It contains "If You Could Only Be Me"," I'm So Glad That you Found Me","Thirty Days Hath September" the full version of "Who Needs Memories Of Him" "Get Together" and the album closes with the full version of The Petticoat Junction theme! It's the only track on the whole disc that the girls don't sing( Curt Massey, the shows theme performer, does the "PJ" shout himself in the full version) Any comments anyone?

[wolflover8949]

@cmulwee001 I know i already ordered my cd. Just waiting for it to come in :-)

[cmulwee001]

@wolflover8949

I'm VERY excited about it. Also the version of "Up, Up, And Away" that's on the disk is not the same old folksy

Vaudeville style version that they performed in the series, but a fully produced track! The song was first recorded

by The Sunshine Company("Back On The Street Again" "Happy") before The 5th Dimension and The Johnny Mann Singers had million sellers with it. From the 30 second sample I heard, it sound to me... To Be Continued

[cmulwee001]

@wolflover8949 ... that the same backing track from The Sunshine Company's original was reused for The Girls From Petticoat Junctions' version with their vocals replacing those of TSC. This leads me to believe that these talented girls may have had the first cover version, even before The 5th Dimension of Johnny Mann. Considering that BOTH groups recorded for Imperial records this is entirely possible. After TSC cut their original, I believe that the label decided to cut a version with the girls

[cmulwee001]

@wolflover8949 .. before anyone else and using the same backing instrumental track. These things do happen sometimes with cover songs. Any further comments?

[wolflover8949]

Thank you :-)

[wolflover8949]

Can anyone tell me where i can get this song plus others from the girls on CD?

[cmulwee001]

I may have solved the mystery. This song was earlier recorded by Vikki Carr. Her's may have been the original.

[cmulwee001]

Linda Kaye Henning does the solo from 1:08 to 1:15 and from 1:16 to 1: 24 Lori Saunders solos, and Meredith MacRae does all the high soprano bridging segments. I've seen the episode in which they sang it "Bye Bye Doctor" and that's how I know who sings what part.

Meredith was already an accomplished singer even before becoming a cast member, so her talent was put to use often on "Petticoat Junction"

But then ALL the girls on the show could sing! And it was more common in the later years of PJ..

[cmulwee001]

Who did the original version of this song? Buzz Clifford wrote it. Did he record it himself first? I know there's another version of it by another singer or group, but this is a great cover.

[amunar777]

Any one know who popularized the original of this song? Thank you.

[cmulwee001]

@amunar777

Vikki Carr did it prior to these girls. Her version can be heard on Groove shark. Whether hers is the very original I don't know. She did it much faster than these girls.

Meredith was had long established herself as singer long before she took over as Billie Jo. If I am right, Meredith made her PROFESSIONAL singing debut at the age of either 9 or 10 on The Colgate Comedy Hour

singing a duet with her famous father who was one of the hosts. They sang "Count Your Blessings"...

[cmulwee001]

@amunar777 .. which originated in the holiday classic "White Christmas"

[cmulwee001]

@amunar777 Vikki Carr did it first. Her version can be heard on Groove Shark

[snoops71]

I never knew they sang!

[nanlisa]

Call them The Hooterville Supremes!

[tomovox]

@nanlisa Actually, that book mentioned by RJRanke above, Hollywood Hi-Fi did make mention that this song had a Supremes-like arrangement; the atuhors remarked the ladies were fine singers- and how right they were!

[Rotis59]

Meredith MacRae was born in July, 1944 and sadly passed away in 1999 after having a brain tumor removed.

[beattleBob]

was this the A-side or B-side to their Imperial single/ If You Could Only See Me and who wrote the song. Thanks

[TheLimePopsicle]

@beattleBob The writer was Buzz Clifford of "Baby Sittin' Boogie" fame. I think this was the a-side. At least it was the side preferred by some radio jockeys.

[beattleBob]

@TheLimePopsicle The B-Side was written by Carl D'Ericco who co-wrote one of The Animals greatest hits: "It's My Life."

[christheone8773]

EVEN though their characters were Billie Jo (the blonde) being the eldest, then Bobbie Jo (the brunette) being the middle child, and Betty Jo (the redhead) being the youngest - in REAL LIFE, Lori Saunders (Bobbie Jo) was the oldest (born in 1941), then Linda Kaye Henning was next (born in 1944) and then Meredith MacRae (born in 1945)-

[christheone8773]

GOSH, I wish I knew where I could get a copy of this single - it was released on the Imperial Records label in 1968-

[bxktd]

Which girl has the brief solos? I'm guessing Meredith?

[bxktd]

Thanks for posting this. 

I only learned this past week that these amazing ladies recorded some songs.

Does anyone know how many songs the Girls from PJ released? And, if they are available download or purchase anywhere?

[TheLimePopsicle]

@bxktd I think they only released two singles comprising the recordings "I'm So Glad That You Found Me", "Thirty Days Hath September", "If You Could Only Be Me" and "Wheeling, West Virginia".

[RoyFive]

All six of the ladies who were on the show sang. Pat Woodell, the original Bobbie Jo, (Seasons One And Two) was already an accomplished singer by the time the show premiered, and did several solos.

[cmulwee001]

@RoyFive But singing was only a minor part of the series when Pat was on there(which may be why she left). Singing started becoming more common in season 4when Meredith MacRae, herself an accomplished singer, took over the Billie Jo character. Sometimes there were two or more musical performances per show. By the last 3 years ,the NON-singing episodes were fewer in number; the exact opposite of the early years when you had as much as 5 episodes in a row or morewith no singing

[RJRanke]

This song is mentioned in the book Hollywodd Hi-Fi,about various celebrity recordings.One thing they said about PJ was that it went through more cast changes than almost any other show that wasn't a soap opera.:-)

This is a really nice song,and although they sang it on an episode,they didn't sing the full version.Thanks for posting this song.

[TheLimePopsicle]

You're welcome, thanks for the comments!

[cmulwee001]

@RJRanke

They did sing the full version, but it was a much faster version than the one they recorded. They sang it as a dedication to Janet Craig(June Lockhart), in the episode titled "Bye Bye Doctor", the one where June's name was added to the opening credits.

[NolifeRob]

I first heard this on an episode of the show. I couldn't get the song out of my mind. Thank you very kindly for posting it. " I'm so glad that you found me' is one of the finest (should have-but didn't ) singles of the sixties.

[TheLimePopsicle]

You're very welcome, I agree that it's quite catchy.

[RoyFive]

They did this on one episode. Meredith sings the solo part in the bridge.

[56sghor]

Very nice. I never knew the girls sang together. They sound great. Thanks for the post.