Quantcast
Channel: FORGOTTEN HITS
Viewing all 4150 articles
Browse latest View live
↧

Some Of Your Mid-Week Comments

March 4, 2015, 4:31 am
$
0
0
FREE CONCERT TICKET GIVE-AWAY:  
Local Forgotten Hits Readers were notified the other day about a brand new free ticket offer from our friends at The Genesee Theatre in Waukegan, IL.  (If you live in the Chicagoland area and would like the chance to participate in these special offers, drop me a line and ask to be added to our Local List.  From time to time we are presented with special deals just like this one ... and they tend to go fast ... so why not take advantage of first notification through our special mailing list???)  
[To enter for chances to win during this special give-away offer ... or to permanently sign up for our local list ... just send an email to forgottenhits@aol.com ... and we'll take it from there.]

This time around, we're tying it all into Mother's Day Weekend ... with a pair of free tickets to see one of the greatest voices of our time ... ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK !!!  (What a GREAT treat for Mom on her special day!)
Engelbert will be appearing on Saturday, May 9th, at The Genesee Theatre in Waukegan, Illinois ...
And The Genesee has partnered with us to give away TEN PAIRS of FREE TICKETS to this show!!!
Engelbert was a vocal heartthrob back in the day ... and he still wows his audience today, nearly 50 years later.  Top 40 Hits like RELEASE ME, THERE GOES MY EVERYTHING, THE LAST WALTZ, AM I THAT EASY TO FORGET, A MAN WITHOUT LOVE, LES BICYCLETTES DE BELSIZE, THE WAY IT USED TO BE, I'M A BETTER MAN, WINTER WORLD OF LOVE, MY MARIE, SWEETHEART, WHEN THERE'S NO YOU, ANOTHER TIME ANOTHER PLACE, and AFTER THE LOVIN' kept HUMPERDINCK near the top of the charts and dear to our hearts for many years ... and now is YOUR chance to see him for FREE!!!
Tickets will be given away on a first come / first served basis ... and when they're gone, they're gone.  (Please do not enter this drawing if you are not 100% sure that you are able to attend the show ... we would hate to cheat other fans out of seeing this great concert ... or have ANY of these great seats go to waste.  If necessary, check with Mom first ... but we think she'll love you for it!!!)
Concert Details again:
ENGLEBERT HUMPERDINCK
Live in Concert at
The Genesee Theatre
in Waukegan, Illinois
Saturday, May 9th
(Show starts at 8 pm)
Remember, Mother's Day is Sunday, the 10th ... so take your Mom out on the town the night before ... dinner and a show ... and the show's on us!
VERY Special Thanks to Colleen Rogalski and our friends at The Genesee Theatrefor this generous offer ... EXCLUSIVELY for our Forgotten Hits Readers!  (kk)


I WAS going to go with "Winter World Of Love", one of my favorite Engelbert tracks ... but frankly I've HAD it with this winter!!!  Spring is supposed to start in a couple of weeks ... and I can't wait!!!  (kk)  

ME-TV-FM:
We're officially giving this station our Forgotten Hits Seal Of Approval ... yes, I'm starting to hear some repeats (and unusual ones at that ... not stuff I heard five or six DAYS ago ... but stuff I heard five or six HOURS ago!!!) ... and there are still some other programming glitches (two out of four straight songs the other day were by Petula Clark ... GREAT to hear her back on the radio again ... but that HAD to be a mistake!) and some questionable song choices (God, I sound like an American Idol Judge!!!) ... but overall with THIS vast a play list, they are already offering, hands down, the best music selection and variety on the dial here in Chicago right now ... and they'll grow out of these other issues.  (Keep in mind, this is still part of their "test run".)
So PLEASE give it a listen ... because if this station is successful, it'll prove EVERYTHING I've been saying for the past fifteen years ... and especially the past five years when terrestrial radio took a serious turn for the worse and landed in the terminal zone.  87.7-FM ... I've been able to get it in the car (no matter where I've driven), I have reset my clock alarm radio at home (and it comes in fine) ... and I believe they'll be streaming shortly ... so unless you have this ridiculous need to hear "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Jack And Diane" six or seven times a day, please give this station a spin.  I think you'll like what you hear.  (kk)

THIS AND THAT:
We've run this clip before but I just love it!  I can't even imagine the time it took to edit this thing together ... the timing is PERFECT!  Even if you've seen it before, give it another view ... it's guaranteed to make you smile and brighten up your day.  (kk)



The big story in Chicago this week is the OUTRAGEOUS prices for Grateful Dead tickets as the Dead prepare to close out their final tour at Soldier Field. 
As of Tuesday, ticket prices were reportedly going for up to $126,000 PER TICKET!!!  (Jeez, for $126,000, Jerry Garcia himself better come back from the dead and do a four-hour guitar solo ... and bring John Lennon and Elvis with him!!!)
Incredibly, people are paying RIDICULOUS sums of money to see this show.  (Must be all those rich folks with the Dead Head stickers on the backs of their Cadillacs!)
One of our readers, Rich Silverman, told me that he's seen The Dead twice at Soldier Field ... and that there were times when Jerry's bandmates actually thought he had died on stage ... until he farted that is!!!  (lol)
I think in this case the majority of the audience will have a touch of grey ... but you'd better have some beaucoup bucks in your pocket too!  (kk)
For 126 k I could buy the Chicago Fire!
Chet Coppock 

I was catching up on some very old mail this past weekend when I came across this one ...
I believe it slipped through the cracks during all of our Buddy Holly coverage ...
I had the chance to meet Joe B. Mauldin and the Crickets twice.  The second time was most memorable as our station hosted Bobby Vee, Tommy Roe, and the Crickets in 2005.  Even though I was just the m.c., they treated me like I was one of them.  Hearing them in the dressing room
talk first hand about rock and roll history was amazing.  Joe was a very nice man who would really attack that bass on stage.  Sonny made him the brunt of a couple of jokes and Joe seemed to take the kidding and played off it very well.  The Crickets were so good on stage.  They just tore it up that night. Early in the show a young man, who looked like he was high school or college age,  stood up between songs and yelled "you guys rock". Joe and the Crickets got a good chuckle out of it and continued to play an incredible show.  Those of us in the crowd could not help but feel like we had just witnessed something special.   Sadly now that Joe is gone we will never see that trio again.
Phil Nee - WRCO   

I am especially looking forward to the May 7 Chicago Rock fundraiser for Marty Grebb. This is a very heartfelt and helpful way to assist someone who has been a part of this wonderful legacy of Chicago music. The line up is incredible: Dennis Tufano is amazing, as are the Cryan Shames ... can't wait!
Frannie


Hey Kent,
I saw you mentioned not being able to see the Glen Campbell movie here in Chicago.  They absolutely showed it in the Chicago area a few months ago, limited release.  We saw it at the Loew's in Schaumburg .   Great great movie, not to be missed, especially if you are a Glen Campbell fan.  
Janet
I'll bet I searched the internet at least 50 or 60 times trying to find this movie playing ANYWHERE within 50 miles of Schaumburg and never saw it listed once ... and you're telling me it played right here IN Schaumburg?!?!  Unreal!!!
I've been waiting to see this since the moment I heard it was being made.  Felt really bad that we missed Glen's final appearance here in Chicago a couple of years ago when he came through as part of his farewell tour ... REALLY wanted to see that, too.
If you search our website you'll find a couple of promotional pieces regarding a new book written by Glen's daughter and author Mark Bego ... so LOTS of Glen Campbell coverage going on right now.  He was always a very entertaining guy ... and had quite a connection to Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys ... which is ANOTHER new movie we're looking forward to seeing.  Check out the email below ...
(kk) 

Really looking forward to "Love And Mercy".  I remember reading of the casting some time ago and being astounded that ugly Paul Dano (freaky boy in Little Miss Sunshine, freaky genius in that Tom Cruise - Cameron Diaz movie) was playing Brian ... and that gorgeous Elizabeth Banks was playing Melinda ... LOL ... vain much? Whatever. I really wanna see it. 
Frannie
John Cusack as older Brian doesn't make much sense to me visually either ... but the preview looks pretty good ... and you know the music is going to be outstanding.  It opens nationwide on June 5th ... so consider it a date!  (kk)  

Another friendly reminder to file your IRS Return this year ...
No, not THAT IRS form (although I guess you'd probably better file that one, too!) ...
The Annual Rich Appel It Really Shoulda ... Been A Top Ten Hit form!!!
More details here:
http://www.musicradio77.com/IRS.html   

A couple of months ago we told you about a GREAT reunion interview that the members of The First Edition did at The Country Music Hall Of Fame / Kenny Rogers / Through The Years Exhibit.  We've been asking the museum to please post this segment on their website ... and it finally went up this week.
If you've got a little time to kill, I think you'll find this most enjoyable ... I know I did.  We've given Kenny Rogers and the First Edition some fair consideration over the years in the way of Forgotten Hits coverage ... so this is a GREAT way to cap things off.  (kk)
http://countrymusichalloffame.org/exhibits/exhibitdetail/kenny-rogers-through-the-years   (Scroll down to find The First Edition segment ... another great Kenny Rogers interview is posted here, too ... along with a couple of his classic videos)
More Kenny Rogers and the First Edition FH pieces:
Ken Freck
I shot a quick email to Peterik the other day on this ... let's see if he responds.  By the way, some British poll just named "Eye Of The Tiger" as 29% of the public's favorite song to work out to ... and have you noticed that they're starting to use the "Vehicle" horn riff in the advertisements for the new Will Smith movie???  All of a sudden Jimmy's EVERYWHERE again!!!  (But apparently NOT at the special Marty Grebb Benefit Concert mentioned above ... I'm hoping he'll at least stop and do a few songs with the band ... we're talkingChicago Musical Royalty up there ... and he's a BIG part of it.)  kk


That story about the Platters -- which reads more like a press release than any kind of actual reporting -- is certainly a classic in it's own right. My favorite line was the one about The Platters -- whom I built an entire Reader's Digest CD box set around -- being identified as "the first African American vocal group to crash through the racial divide that existed in the '60s and reach international stardom." Really!  What a surprise for all the other African-American groups who were on the charts internationally in 1960 -- and in the decades before.
The writer of that piece apparently did not know, among other things, that The Platters were essentially a ‘50s group – which first charted in 1955 and scored nearly all their key hits before that decade ended.   Before them, African-American groups like The Ink Spots and The Mills Brothers were charting domestically and internationally just fine.
When I interviewed The Platters' manager and chief songwriter Buck Ram in 1977, one point he made clear was that ownership of the group name "The Platters" was his and any member of The Platters was his employee.   How did that happen?
The Platters formed in 1952 with group member Herb Reed inventing their name.  After their initial work under the direction of first manager Ralph Bass failed, The Platters hooked up with songwriter Ram, who wrote for them “Only You.”  The group’s recording of that song for the Federal label was considered so bad by label owner Sid Nathan that he dumped the group and refused to release “Only You.”  At that time Ram happened to be managing another African-American group, The Penguins, who in 1954 scored a major pop and R&B hit with “Earth Angel” on the tiny Dootone label.   Mercury Records came to Ram asking to sign The Penguins and Ram agreed – but only if they’d also sign his other group, The Platters.  Reluctantly, Mercury did -- only to discover that while The Penguins never scored again, The Platters were to go on to rule as the #1 black vocal group of the  1950s.  And what was their first Mercury hit?   Nothing other than a million-selling new  recording of "Only You."  That sparked Sid Nathan to change his mind and rush-release the group’s inferior Federal version of the same song.  (You may have discovered, to your dismay, the amateurish Federal recording pop up on assorted budget line LP compilations.) 
Ram’s deal with The Platters as manager and chief songwriter included the group signing over all rights to their collective name to him.   (Motown would later do the same thing the groups they signed like The Marvelettes and The Jackson Five.)  The various Platters also became Ram's salaried employees, an idea the group members liked at first because it guaranteed weekly paychecks regardless of if their later records sold or not.  Over time, though, as those recordings did sell into the millions, The Platters -- who were not profit participants in their recording career -- deeply regretted the deal they had made with Ram.   Lead singer Tony Williams was particularly upset.  Finally, in 1959, after recording what became The Platters' final million seller ("Harbor Lights"), Tony quit to start what became a solo career which went nowhere.  Tony was replaced by Sonny Turner, but the fact that nearly all The Platters’ hits had been, in essence, Tony Williams solos with the rest of the group serving as backup singers, the lack of Tony’s presence sparked an immediate decline in The Platters career.   Mercury tried to deal with the loss by releasing subsequent Platters singles with a new recording by the group on one side and an old album track with Tony singing lead on the other.  That ploy only sort of worked for a couple of years.  In 1962 The Platters' final Mercury singles to chart at all were released. 
Not yet willing to give up, Ram next secured a deal with the smaller Musicor label and in 1966-7 his revised Platters made a brief comeback with minor singles like "With This Ring" and "I Love You 1000 Times."  And then it was over.
One of Buck’s big concerns at the time of our interview in 1977 was the number of fake sets of Platters playing clubs and county fairs around the country.  He told me he was suing each one to insure that only the Platters group he authorized were using that fabled  name -- which he still owned.
Buck Ram died on January 1, 1991, in Las Vegas at the age of 83.  Herb Reed, the last surviving original group member, then began a long battle in federal court to reclaim all rights to The Platters' name.  “We were cheated back then but that’s how things were done,” Herb told the press.  “It’s theft and I have to fight it so that no other artist faces this.”  In 2012, Reed finally won his case – weeks before he, too, passed away at the age of 83.    
--  Gary Theroux
Yeah, referring to The Platters as a '60's group kinda threw me, too ... the hits had pretty much dried up by then ... their hey-day was the 1955 - 1960 era ... and those recordings made back then STILL send chills up your spine when you hear them today.  (Kinda weird to see a white guy singing all the leads in 2015!!!)  kk 

Kent ...
Thanks for printing the legal decision about the Herb Reed Estate having legal rights to the Platters name. You're right ... I did miss it.
I have one more legal question for you.
Sonny Turner became lead singer of the Platters when Tony Williams left the group. I think it was in 1961. In your opinion -- can Sonny use the group name Sonny Turner & The Platters or is he not
allowed to use Platters at all?  It seems to me that he's the only one who has a truthful claim to the name, since he was at one time lead singer of the group and recorded some hits under that name ... "With This Ring" and "I Love You 1000 Times" and a couple of others.
Thanks -
Frank B.
"My opinion" has nothing to do with it ... this is a legal ruling.  Under the circumstances my guess is (and that's all it is is a guess) Turner may be able to bill himself as "Sonny Turner, former lead singer of The Platters" or something along those lines as these are, in fact, the facts.  (As it turns out, my hunch was correct ... check out Sonny's official website:  http://sonnyturner.com/ ... where he bills himself exactly as such.)
It's a tough call ... and a topic we'll get a little more in-depth with over the next couple of days ... once again we've got a group with the LEGAL right to the name, a long, hard fought legal battle that went on for decades, without a single original member in the line-up ... nor any official legal ties to one ... and then you've got Sonny Turner, who actually sang lead on a couple of their latter day hits, who has to bill himself as "formerly of". But with all of the remaining original member now deceased, how does one maintain the legacy of the group and keep this music alive?
This situation is most similar to the one I mentioned before about The Temptations.  You've got the "legal" sanction headed up by Otis Williams, the only surviving member of the original group ... but NOT a member who ever handled any of their lead vocals on any of the hits ... he's just "the glue" that's held it all together for all these years ... but he's a legendary hall of famer and has certainly earned the rights to that legacy.  But in effect what he's done is gone out and hired a bunch of hired hands to best simulate the sound and feel of The Temptations in order to best present this music in its most complimentary form.
Meanwhile you've got Dennis Edwards who was NOT an original member of the group ... but DID sing on a number of their very biggest hits in the late '60's and early '70's ... so HIS show can offer up the closest thing to the actual sound on those records (he even has Paul Williams' son in the band) ... but he has to bill himself as Dennis Edwards and The Temptations Revue.
Sticky points these days when so many of these great artists have passed on ... like I said, we'll go into greater detail over the next couple of days ... but today it's the guy with the rights who are helping to confuse the fans.  You may have "the rhythm section" up on stage ... the drummer and the bass player ... but the lead singer who often wrote AND sang every hit we know by a particular artist cannot use the band's name that he helped make famous.  That's why you've got SO many "formerly of"'s out there today.  More to follow.  (kk)    

A Little Bit Broadway, A Little Bit Rock 'n' Roll
Micky Dolenz is best known as the lead singer of the hugely successful rock 'n' roll band, The Monkees, which originated from the classic sixties TV show of the same name.  The Monkees sold over 65 million records and toured the U.S. (and much of the world) many times over.  Micky has also starred in many musicals on Broadway, the West End and in national tours including Disney's AIDA (Broadway), Pippin, Hairspray (West End), Grease, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Tom Sawyer and more.  Micky has recorded two solo albums (Remember and King For A Day)
and recently appeared in the World Premiere of the new play Comedy Is Hard (Ivoryton Playhouse) by four time Emmy winner Mike Reiss (The Simpsons).
"A Little Bit Broadway, A Little Bit Rock 'n' Roll" is a brand new show Micky has created to combine his love of Broadway with his love for rock 'n' roll in one thrilling new intimate concert. The show will include some of the Monkees greatest hits, a few rarities and songs from musical roles he has performed and from shows he loves.
Produced by Van Dean
Directed by Van Dean and Micky Dolenz
Music Direction by Michael J. Moritz, Jr. 
-- David Salidor
Right now this show is running exclusively at 54 Below in New York City ... no word yet on whether Micky will take this out on the road ... and with all of his other commitments (including a Monkees tour Down Under), we may not find out for quite awhile!  (kk)
Got this from Alex Valdez (it came under the heading "Cheap Parents") ...


>>>I learned something today for the first time by going over WKBR's survey. In the section PERSONALITY PICKS OF THE WEEK, was a record called THE SQUARE, a narrative, recorded by Dick Whittinghill on Dot. I did not know that this had been recorded by anyone else.  Let me explain.  In early 1965, Don Wallace, who did weekday mornings - afternoons here in OKC on WKY 930 (Noon - 3 PM), recorded that narrative. It made it into the top 20 on WKY's weekly survey in April of that year. He recorded it on Foundation Records with the flip being the Paul Peterson tune MY DAD. Through the years for whatever reason, I have always thought that Don Wallace wrote that. Apparently not. On the label it says it was co-written by Charles Brower and Billy Vaughn. Which begs the question if any other DJ's recorded it in other markets. Needless to say, WKY's crosstown competitor at the time KOMA,did not play the record. I have emailed Don Wallace to find out any additional information on why he came about recording this narrative.  (Larry Neal)
>>>Let us know if you hear back from Don Wallace.  Maybe some other deejays on the list might be able to answer your question as to whether or not this track was recorded by different jocks in different markets.  I'm really not familiar with "The Square" at all.  (kk)  
Kent,
I heard back via email from Don Wallace, who recorded THE SQUARE back in early 1965, and here is what he said.
He said he liked THE SQUARE when he first heard it and decided to make a "cover" of it. I am assuming at this point that WKY radio got a promo of it in along with the other weekly promos they got every week. He said that a man by the name of Tom Hays out of Enid Oklahoma decided to pay for the recording fee. It was to be put out on Foundation Records, which was the label that Tom Hays owned.  The record was produced in the studio of Sullivan's Recording studio here in OKC. Sullivan studio was owned and operated by Gene Sullivan, formerly of the recording duo Wiley and Gene. Don said, as he recalled, the record made it to #2 on the local top 40 radio chart survey. I respectfully disagreed with Don on this. I didn't say this to him though. I knew how high it got on WKY, where he worked at the time. He said the royalties from the record (didn't say how much that was, but probably wasn't enough money at the time), were donated to a Northside YMCA here in OKC. The royalty check was presented to Mr. Norman Bagwell in his office. Mr. Bagwell at the time was the general manager of WKY radio and WKY television. He did say he had several copies left and would give them to me if I wanted. I appreciated the gesture but currently told him that I already have some three copies. 
I will go out on a limb and probably say other DJ's in other markets made a "cover" of this record,
though probably not many. Local DJ morning man for many years on WKY radio, Danny Williams,
recorded Wink Martindales' 1959 DECK OF CARDS. That was put out on Sully Records owned and
operated by the above Gene Sullivan.
Larry
Hey, if either you or Don can send an MP3 version of Don's version, I'll be happy to share it with our readers.  Thanks, Larry.  (kk)
More from Larry after viewing this week's chart ...
Kent,
You are correct in that I don't ever remember seeing a SPOTLIGHT SOUND or PICK HIT OF THE WEEK listed at the top of the survey. Usually they are at the bottom.
Speaking of PICK HITS OF THE WEEK, for the week of February 11, 1965, here in OKC Bobby Sherman's IT HURTS ME was the PICK HIT OF THE WEEK. It stayed on the survey for some three more weeks peaking at #34, courtesy of Decca.
I went to the website that listed the top songs over on the other side of the pond and the song that
came in at #24 by a group called Heinz called DIGGIN' MY POTATOES got my curiosity as to how
it sounded. I looked it up on you tube. I can take it or leave it, for right now I'll leave it. As for the group Heinz, I had never heard of them, even though it is rumored one may listen to their records one of 57 ways.
Larry

Speaking of the charts, WCBS-FM Dee Jay Big Jay Sorensen takes a look back at what was happening on the charts on this date in the '60's, the '70's and the '80's right here: http://wcbsfm.cbslocal.com/2015/02/28/this-week-in-history-the-temptations-don-mclean-bon-jovi/   

Kent, 
The mini vacation from the Sunday comments was a good idea because this edition was very entertaining. You helped me reconnect with a song I had forgotten ... "Alibis" ... and I was introduced to a new one to me ... "Sunlight" by The Youngbloods. Thanks! 
Stacee 
Yep, BOTH great songs.  (For the record Jesse Colin Young wrote "Sunlight" and recorded it with his group, The Youngbloods ... but the version we featured on Sunday was actually done by Three Dog Night ... and incredibly well if I do say so myself!)  Chuck Negron laid down the PERFECT vocal on this track ... and it was quite popular on the FM Soft Rock Stations in the '70's ... got a lot of airplay here in Chicago.  THESE are the kind of album tracks radio ought to be featuring if following an "soft rock pop hits" format ... not deep, obscure tracks that risk losing your audience ... especially when you're still ignoring literally THOUSANDS of other hit records in the process!  (kk)
↧
Search

What's In A Name?

March 5, 2015, 1:45 am
$
0
0
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change ...
The courage to change the things I can ...
And the wisdom to know the difference.
 
 
Isn't that sorta how it goes?
 
I guess I'm just going to have to adapt to the times.
 
For all of Bowzer's original best intentions and valiant efforts to pass the Truth In Music Act into law in numerous states, loyal fans are still routinely deceived when buying tickets to see some of their favorite acts in concert.  And it's some of these very loopholes provided by this regulation that makes the area grayer and grayer.
 
(Don't get me wrong ... The Truth In Music Law was a necessary and noble effort to eliminate some of the riff-raff that were filling stages across the country claiming to be somebody they really weren't, thus duping the unsuspecting public in the process, who were shelling out their hard-earned cash to see somebody they THOUGHT was the "real deal" ... but the criteria as it currently stands ... requiring just one original member to be on board ... regardless of who or how significant that member may have been ... or simply granting the legal rights to a particular name in what often degenerates into an auction to the highest bidder ... has warranted a deeper look into how to better streamline the process ... for many of the reasons outlined below.)
 
We've covered it all before ... SO many times in Forgotten Hits ... and now with more and more of our favorite artists from this era passing away, it's become virtually impossible to continue on with the true integrity of the original group or artist.
 
It seems that rarely a week goes by when we don't get a new announcement ... come see Kansas' new lead singer ... Mick Jones has assembled a brand new line-up of Foreigner (even though he ... nor any of the original members ... will be participating) ... the recent furor over The Little River Band ... comments from our readers about Paul Revere's Raiders (carrying on Paul's wishes after his death, some of these guys were with Revere for 30-40 years!) ... The Grass Roots (carrying on as the band was "bequeathed" to the current line-up after Rob Grill's death) ... only certain member of Kiss being inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, despite the fact that OTHER members have now been with the band longer than its original incarnation ... Queen, first with Paul Rodgers (which really made NO sense at all) and now with Adam Lambert who, probably better than ANY performer I've ever seen, best channels the energy and spirit of Freddie Mercury ... but still isn't Freddie.  (Freddie's dead ... that's what I said) ... two camps of Temptations ... one led by Otis Williams, an original (who never sang a lead) and one led by Dennis Edwards, who sang lead vocals on any number of their biggest hits ... but didn't join the group until 1968.  (With all the other original members dead and gone, we can accept Otis putting together an entire new group of vocalists to best emulate the sound of his landmark group ... but truly all this is is a TRIBUTE to the music of The Temptations ... yet Otis' version is considered to be the "definitive" version of The Temptations, purely by his association.  Dennis Edwards ... who actually sang some of the group's biggest hits ... has to bill his act as The Temptations Revue.)
 
And maybe for most music fans that's enough.  Maybe for MOST people attending these concerts, that's really all they're there to hear and see ... the songs they love ... the songs they grew up loving ... and, as such, we should support ANY effortsto help keep this music alive.
 
The other day we told you about the big ruling regarding The Platters ... who FINALLY (after nearly a FIFTY YEAR COURT BATTLE) secured the rights back to their own name for the estate of Herb Reed  (and promptly released a brand new CD).  During that time as many as a DOZEN different "versions" of The Platters might be performing all over the country, NONE of them with the legal rights to the name, ALL of them depriving the REAL members from income because some unsuspecting promoter didn't know enough ... or CARE enough ... to check out the facts.
 
Fans have the choice to go and see "The Guess Who"featuring the drummer and the bassist and a guy doing his best to SOUND like Burton Cummings ... OR you can go see Burton Cummings, the guy who actually wrote and sang all of The Guess Who's hits ... yet BOTH draw a crowd.
 
We recently covered Creedence Clearwater Revisited ... same situation ... do you want to go see the "rhythm section" of original members Stu Cook on bass and Doug Clifford on drums with a John Fogerty sound-alike singing the leads ... or go see John Fogerty ... the guy who wrote and sang the hits.
 
Original members Carl Giammarese and Nick Fortuna have performed as The Buckinghams for nearly thirty years without original lead singer Dennis Tufano ... and are booked solidly all over the globe on a regular basis.  They have done their best to forge a new identity for the band and, in this case, it is clearly working ... but Dennis Tufano still makes singing appearances as well, again leaving fans the choice as to who they'd rather hear sing the hits.
 
In England, "Herman's Hermits" is led by Barry Whitwam, the drummer (who didn't even play on all of the recording sessions ... a good percentage of the time, they brought in a studio drummer to play on the records).  Here in The States, you get the real deal ... Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone, the REAL "Herman" on all the hit records, sounding just as good as ever and entertaining as can be.
 
The list goes on and on and on ... and we find it on EVERY level with "new" acts popping up all the time ... and, quite frankly, it's worn us out!
 
Maybe it's time for me to just wave the white flag ... we can't stop it ... and let's face it ... what do you do about it once these artists permanently leave us?  I suppose now that he's gone, I can go out as "Dan Fogelberg", right???  The name's not being used ... and as long as I play Dan's music and faithfully reproduce those sounds, and loving show my respect for his music, fans should be satisfied, right?
 
I'm sorry but for me it doesn't work that way.  I want to KNOW what I'm getting when I pay my money for a concert seat.  But the feeling I get is that most people don't care ... they just want to be entertained ... they just want to relive the moment.  As long as the group remains true and respectful to the artist in question, they can walk away feeling like they had a good time.
 
This is why so many "copy bands" are thriving right now.  You're not going to see the REAL Led Zeppelin again anytime soon ... so Led Zeppelin bands, Beatles bands, "The Australian Bee Gees" and the like regularly fill up theaters.  Even bands who ARE still touring have to compete with bands who try to sound like Steely Dan or The Eagles or Journey.  (Heck, even Journey doesn't sound like Journey anymore now that Steve Perry is gone ... so what's the difference?!?!?)
 
I can only suggest what I ALWAYS suggest ... buyer beware.  KNOW ahead of time what you're paying to see ... and really, if it's just the music you want to hear, then I say go for it and have a good time.  WE can't stop it ... and frankly, I'm tired of trying to deal with it.
 
On a related note, I got anangry email from some guy named B. Conover, and folks, I can only tell you that he's SERIOUS ... and he's pissed ... and I KNOW that he's serious and pissed because he has sent me the exact same email at least four or five times now.
 
B. Conover is unhappy with the way I covered the recent Little River Band fiasco as it relates to their scheduled (then cancelled) appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon ... and the "pot shots" he feels I took toward Wayne Rogers, et al, about their rightful ties to the band.
 
But apparently he hasn't read all of my PREVIOUS and subsequent pieces on this because many of the things he's unhappy about have already been explained and addressed in our forum.
 
Tomorrow in Forgotten Hits we'll run his email, verbatim, along with a published statement by current Little River Band lead vocalist and front man Wayne Nelson about life in the LRB for the past thirty years.  
 
Wayne raises some interesting and valid points ... so please take the opportunity to hear BOTH sides of the story ... tomorrow in Forgotten Hits.
↧
↧

The Little River Band ... The Final Chapter

March 6, 2015, 5:07 am
$
0
0
Yesterday I told you about this angry email I received from some guy named B. Conover regarding the way The Little River Band has been raked over the coals and portrayed in the press lately by music journalists (including this one) regarding the current line-up and their claims to the original band.   

(For the record, B. ... he never gave me his first name ... is pretty serious about all of this ... and also pretty pissed off ... I can tell that he's serious and pissed off because he has sent me the exact same email at least four or five times now!)   

B. is unhappy with the way I covered the recent Little River Band fiasco as it relates to their scheduled (and then cancelled) appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon ... and also the fact that I took the band to task for who they represent themselves to be.    

But apparently he hasn't read all of my other pieces on this because many of the things he's unhappy about have already been explained and addressed.   

Sadly, lead singer and front man Wayne Nelson seems to have taken the brunt of the criticism along the way ... and, as lead spokesman for the group, he has publicly made his feelings known, addressing many of the issues in an effort to present both sides of the story.     

And the key word here, folks, is "business" ... because that's what The Little River Band is ... a business ... and nobody associated with the group has any qualms whatsoever about admitting as such.     

My beef was with the handful of Forgotten Hits Readers who wrote in defending Nelson by stating that my "attacks" were unjustified since he was, in fact, a founding member of the band ... but he WASN'T.     

For the record, my beef has never been with Wayne Nelson ... he's been with the band for over thirty years and wrote and sang a couple of their last hits.  ANY guy who puts in thirty years with a band deserves recognition for his efforts ... as well as some bit of "ownership" to the brand ... but Wayne Nelson doesn't OWN the rights to The Little River Band ... that distinction belongs to a guy named Stephen Housden, another former, latter-day member of the group, who had the business savvy to tie up the legal rights.  Housden doesn't even tour with the band anymore ... and hasn't in years ... the general belief is that he just sits at home and counts the money his touring machine rakes in.   

As stated here numerous times, the original line-up consisted of Glenn Shorrock, Rick Formosa, Beeb Birtles, Graham Goble, Roger McLachlan and Derek Pellicci.Nelson joined the line-up in 1980.  That's four years ... and seven of the group's biggest hits ... after the fact.  But Nelson is no slouch ... his contributions (which include another six Top 40 Hits including a couple of my favorites, "The Night Owls", "Take It Easy On Me" and "The Other Guy" have been duly noted.)  He has spent MANY years with The Little River Band and should be recognized as a key and integral member of the band ... but he was NOT a "founding member" ... simply put, you can't rewrite history 40 years later.   

My other big objection was the current line-up going on Jimmy Fallon's show to perform as part of "their" 40th Anniversary ... when, in fact, NO current member was with the band 40 years ago when the band first started ... to me that's a blatant abuse of the band's legacy ... and an attempt to take credit where it really isn't deserved.  The band's career was made by the songwriting and vocal talents and contributions of original members Shorrock, Birtles, Goble and Formosa  While there may have been (and apparently still is) a contractual agreement in place between every former (and current) member of the band over the past 40 years stipulating that they are absolutely prohibited from any use of the name once they part ways, that doesn't give the "new guys" the right to lay claim to the very foundation of the band ... THEY WEREN'T there!!!

All of this being said, I have to admit that Wayne Nelson brings up some very good points in his arguments ... and, as Don Henley sang many years ago, "There's three sides to every story, baby ... there's yours and there's mine and there's the cold hard truth".  I believe there is some element of truth in everything Wayne tells us.  Over the years we've seen many, many very talented musicians make a decision to leave "a good thing" in pursuit of something they truly believed was a better opportunity, only to come to regret that decision later on when things didn't work out QUITE the way they thought they would ... and then experience difficulty finding their way back (as Paul McCartney taught us) to where they once belonged.   

The Little River Band has been an "evolving process" over the past 40 years ... COUNTLESS members have come and gone over the years ... some (including Nelson) have even left and come back ... so when you weigh Nelson's "FACTS" against much of what has been written, it DOES open up a new perspective on reality ... and just might change the way you judge them moving forward.  (If nothing else, it certainly provides some interesting and enlightening food for thought.)  

So here is B. Conover's original email, verbatim, along with a published statement by current Little River Band lead vocalist and front man Wayne Nelson.  Please read it ... and digest it ... as we close this final chapter on The Little River Band in Forgotten Hits.    

Please get the story right.  You can not carry on commenting about a group or event unless you know all the sides of the story and ALL the facts.   The Little River Band never ceased to be The Little River Band -  they didn't stop and pick up years later with all new people and "call themselves" The Little River Band.   People came and went, and when the supposed last of the originals left, there were still guys in the band who had been playing in the band with them for 8 to 15 years!  Wayne Nelson has been with the band for OVER 30 years, as has Steven Housden (who is still involved in recording, but not touring).  The band is NOT celebrating their 40th year anniversary by saying the present members have been there 40 years ... they are celebrating 40 YEARS OF THE MUSIC AND THE BAND AS A WHOLE, considering all members, present and past.   Please, for God's sake, be fair.  Comments that they are making money by playing other members' music make them not original ... how many bands / singers make hits and sing music composed by others?  There are so many gifted songwriters who do not perform, but their music is out there because of other performers.    

The present band (except for the drummer) has been together since 2006 - nine years - longer together as a group than the "original" members ever were.   By not referring to them as a legitimate band is a travesty.  The current rant from the previous members, with all the denigration and name calling has caused an immense upset within the band and those many, many fans who listen to them present the LRB musical catalog as well as the new music.   How many "tribute" bands record new music and get on the charts?   Look at how many albums have been produced, both studio and live, since 1996, containing new music, written by some of the "non-original" members and other songwriters! By your standards of what is a legitimate band, we would not have heard "Who Made the Moon", albums such as "Test of Time", "Where We Started From", live performance albums or so many of the new tunes in "Cuts Like A Diamond".   Nor would whole groups and generations of new fans be introduced to the LRB catalog, for which the songwriters CONTINUE to receive royalties.  Those members who left the band's business, decided to sign away their rights to the band name for a negotiated price.    

Please take a moment to read - to at least take into consideration - the other side, the feelings of those being persecuted by all the press. and whose livelihood is being affected by this mess.  Be the FIRST to follow up all the negative press from one side with this present information from the other side and allow both sides to hear each other:


MEDIA ALERT:  Little River Band lead singer, Wayne Nelson, sets the record straight 
“My message to Glenn Shorrock … the facts are the facts.  Freedom of speech does not allow you to change the facts or be 
above the law.”
Los Angeles, CA - January 23, 2015 - Wayne Nelson To Former Members of Little River Band and to the Australian Press –TELL THE TRUTH!!
“I feel the need to make a personal statement in reply to the lies, misinformation, and deceptive speculations that have been put forward by Glenn Shorrock, Graeham Goble, Beeb Birtles, and the many Australian journalists who are publishing their comments. Mr Shorrock’s latest 4-letter rant is especially embarrassing to Little River Band, its fans, and its legacy … but attached to it are also unconfirmed and unresearched claims that have no basis in fact. Free speech may allow opinions to be written, but it doesn’t allow the irresponsible repetition of false and defamatory information. So, in response to the latest flurry of press regarding Little River Band, here are the facts:
It was stated that there is no Australian in the band, and that there hasn’t been one since 1997 when Derek Pellicci left …
FACT IS: There has ALWAYS been an Australian standing on a Little River Band stage. Specifically:
  • 1981 – 2006 - The person who owns the Little River Band trademark globally is Stephen Housden, an Australian citizen and touring member of Little River Band from 1981 until 2006.
  • 1997 – Present - When Mr. Housden rebuilt the band’s lineup in 1997 after Derek Pellicci’s departure, it consisted of Australian citizens and residents. Greg Hind, an Australian citizen, has been in the band since 2000 and appeared on stage in every show since.
It has been stated numerous times that the trademark, name and good will of Little River Band has somehow been stolen …
FACT IS:  Each and every person who was a director of a company involved with the ongoing business of Little River Band is and was well aware of a simple stipulation … if they left the band or were fired, the rights to the trademark and name stayed with the remaining band members.
  • Mr. Shorrock was paid very handsomely when he sold his shares of the Little River Band Company in 1996. However, the money involved is secondary to the spirit and understanding of all band members… when you leave, you leave the name behind, and with it you give up all rights to use the name in the future.
It has been stated and continues to be implied that the founding members have been “muzzled” and prohibited from speaking about their connection to the band’s history…
FACT IS - No one can, nor has tried, to stop any former member of the band from speaking about his past.
  • According to Australian and U.S. Federal court orders, the former members are precluded from using the name or trademark to perform as, or make false and misleading statements about them being Little River Band, or the “real” Little River Band, or “an alternative” Little River Band. They gave up those rights, and have been legally enjoined from make statements that confuse that issue.
It has been stated that the former members receive no monies due to this controversy over the use of the trademark…
FACT IS - International radio airplay, record sales, and downloads still earn the songwriters and former musicians the royalties they are eligible for.
  • One case in point…the continuing touring and exposure of Little River Band music has helped take the sales of the Greatest Hits CD from approximately 2 million in the early 1990’s to near 3 million today.
  • Every time the band “comes to town,” local radio plays the hits in a higher rotation, which earns royalties for the songwriters.
  • To imply they earn nothing from our touring activity is absolutely untrue. To that end, both Graeham Goble and David Briggs were supporters of Greg Hind’s addition to the lineup prior to his finally joining in 2000. Knowing his talents as a singer, songwriter, and performer, both worked with Greg in the ‘90s…and encouraged him to join the band to ensure that the vocals stayed strong and that LRB continued to be successful in the US. Why?...because a successful Little River Band earns money for those who wrote songs and performed on past CDs.
It has been stated that there is no one in the current lineup that has any connection to Little River Band’s past history, nor made any contributions to the same…
FACT IS – I have remained intricately involved with Little River Band and its history and its legacy for over 30 years.
  • I was asked by the founding members in 1979 to join the band.
  • I was soon put into the role of a lead singer for two of the band’s major hits, The Night Owls and Take It Easy On Me.
  • I was the first and only American added to the corporate structure of Little River Band. (If nothing else, my unique position in the band’s history of being the only member from outside Australia is worth some mention.)
  • By being the first lead singer to sing a U.S. hit (other than Mr. Shorrock), Night Owls, is an obvious contribution to Little River Band’s history.
  • There are also many “behind the scenes” moments that could be mentioned. An important one for me and for LRB happened at Montserrat, with George Martin producing the Time Exposure album … my first with the band. Take It Easy On Me was being treated as an “album track” … we counted to four, played the song, then stopped. I felt the song was stronger than that, and suggested that the arrangement of the song could be more dynamic with a piano / vocal intro, strong second verse, etc. Peter Jones nailed the piano intro immediately … and George Martin jumped on the talk back and said, “that’s the way we’ll cut it!” Would the song have been a hit otherwise … no way to know. Regardless…

  • FACT IS - Night Owls and Take It Easy On Me were hits in 5th and 6th years of a record breaking run of top 10 hits for Little River Band in America. No one had ever done that six years in a row … not The Beatles, Michael Jackson, The Eagles, The Who, Fleetwood Mac, Heart, America … no one but Little River Band. To my way of thinking, that’s a strong connection to the band’s history and legacy and continued success.
  • In total since 1980, my name, vocals, and bass playing have appeared on 20 Little River Band CD’s, 11 singles, 3 live videos, and countless TV shows in Australia, America, New Zealand, and Europe.
  • I have performed with every lineup that has recorded original music for Little River Band.
  • If that’s not a connection to the band’s history, I don’t know what would qualify? I challenge all journalists to tell the truth and conduct the proper research that is expected of a professional in the media.  
I’d also like to add that the current lineup of the band has put in a lot of years and contributed time, effort, and talent to keeping the LRB legacy alive by writing, recording, and playing great music. Greg Hind is in his 16th year … Chris Marion his 10th … Rich Herring 9th. I acknowledge that there may have been more radio airplay and CD sales in the late ‘70s and ‘80s, but there is equal commitment to excellence and legacy in 2015 as there was in 1980. Reviews of the live show and for our new CD are a testament to that. If you’re part of the band from years 25-39, you’re part of the history, as far as I’m concerned.
To the issue of specific allegations by individuals, particularly from BS&G …
Mr. Goble now claims that he didn't know what he was signing when documents were put in front of him. As mentioned, in the last few weeks he's added an insinuation that there was some kind of "voodoo lawyering" in which his signature ended up on documents that he didn't see or sign.
FACT IS - I’ve seen copies of the documents in question ... they are very simple and plainly stated in their purpose. There is no deceptive or difficult language to deal with. Mr. Goble signed them in keeping with the same stipulations that had always been in place regarding band membership and its trademark.
Mr Birtles recently came after me for my use of the phrase “revolving door” when describing the changes in band personnel … under the banner "Screw You To Current Little River Band” (I can’t help but notice an eloquent trend from former members!) …
FACT IS - I didn’t attach the phrase to Little River Band. It was first used in liner notes for a box set called Reminiscing … notes written by an Australian journalist named Glenn A. Baker, to whom Beeb and the band had turned many times in the ‘70s and ‘80s for his journalistic excellence.  Mr. Birtles’ vote to oust Glenn Shorrock was part and parcel of the dismantling of Little River Band’s core in 1982 at a time when we needed to stick together the most. Mr. Birtles then walked out a year later, dissatisfied with what he had helped create. Earlier in 1983, after John Farnham had been fronting the band for about a year, Mr. Birtles and Mr Goble pulled me aside and said they wanted me to replace John … one of the greatest singers in Australian history!! Revolving door indeed.
Mr. Shorrock has made the most noise lately, including the claim that we are "grinding the name of the band into the dust". In the past he has repeatedly said that we are “sullying the Little River Band name” by touring. In response to his f-bomb headlines, I adamantly claim otherwise.
Mr. Shorrock declined offers to rejoin the band in 1998 after Mr Pellicci’s departure … claiming that he could make more money playing clubs in Australia and wasn’t interested in touring with Little River Band any more.
So I make the exact opposite claim to Mr Shorrock's ... by creating new music in the studio, and by continuing to tour with an excellent band who respects and delivers the high standard of musicianship and vocal harmonies that Little River Band is known for, we have lifted the band out of the dust that Glenn would have left it in. Countless comments to us by fans of Little River Band music, and of this lineup, bear my claim out.
When we perform we are thanked by fans for keeping the music alive, and for caring enough to do the work, get to where they live, and present a dynamic show that brings back great memories for concertgoers of all ages, and makes them feel happy. We are not showing up with masks and dark hats and trying to convince people that we are anyone but who we are … the current lineup of Little River Band in its ongoing history. For the record … that’s myself, Greg Hind, Chris Marion, Rich Herring, and Ryan Ricks. Any statements or implications to the contrary are false and insulting to all of us.
Most importantly, to our fans …
The trigger for this latest eruption of journalistic spin and negativity centers around our scheduled appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. You deserve to know how that situation unfolded, and why our appearance was finally cancelled.
Here’s the simplest way to describe the impasse without a lot of music publisher’s jargon … any repeated showings of a song on a TV show, webcasts, or movies requires the granting of permission by the song writer and the publisher of the song for those “reruns”. Industry wide, that permission (called synchronization rights) is granted as a matter of course … especially for shows like Fallon’s or Letterman’s or Leno’s in the past. But when NBC tried to gain those rights from the publisher who holds that control, the writer, Graeham Goble, refused to grant ANY such rights.
We knew we didn’t need permission for a single live performance of an older song, meaning we could have performed on the show.   However, that didn’t fit NBC’s wishes. Every attempt was made for a compromise with the new music versus the old, but as the emails and the news articles started to swirl with Mr. Shorrock’s comments as the headline (Fallon go F’ Yourself), the Fallon show understandably chose to cancel us because the whole situation was getting too messy to continue with.
However …
Little River Band has proven time and again that it is bigger than one person or one lineup.
FACT IS:  There are no founding members in the band, by their own individual choice.  Each original band member one by one, chose to "get off the bus.”  They divorced themselves from the band and from the use of its name, trademark, and good will (and some more than once).
They will forever be acknowledged and remembered for their impressive credentials and contributions. And Little River Band will continue to tour and carry the band’s legacy forward to the delight of our fans.” 
Most Sincerely,
Wayne Nelson
About 
Over the course of the last 40 years, the Little River Band has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and set a record for having Top 10 hits for six consecutive years - the first band to achieve that mark. According to BMI, ‘Reminiscing’ has garnered rare status with over 5 million airplays on America radio with ‘Lady’ close behind with over 4 million airplays. The band is Australian born and American led by singer Wayne Nelson who joined the band in early 1980. The band will embark on a U.S. tour spanning more than 150 dates in 2015 celebrating the 40th Anniversary beginning January 17, 2015.
For more information about cities and concert dates, visit http://www.LittleRiverBand.com.
For media information, contact Sheila Stewart at 310.593.4413 (o) or 303.378.2022 (c) or SStewart@SheilaStewartPR.com.

Please note that you see "the Band" is referred to when talking about the history ...not "I" or "we".
*****
In the case of The Little River Band, they seem to have found a loophole and flaw in the Truth In Music Laws established by Jon Bowman (Bowzer of Sha-Na-Na fame ... and currently a promoter and MC/host of many great oldies concerts on the east coast) several years ago. 

This law stipulates that any band performing under the "legacy brand" has to contain at least ONE original member ... or have the legal rights to the use of the name.  The current line up does NOT contain an original member ... and the legal rights to the name were purchased by someone who is also NOT an original member ... and doesn't even tour and perform with the group.  (Like I said ... it's a "business".)  

I couldn't help but wonder how Bowman feels today about the current state of the Truth In Music Law that he founded and pushed into law across the country.   

Let's face it - SO many things have changed in the years in the show-biz world today ... not the least of which has been the factor that so many of our great, beloved artists have passed away over these last several years, making it harder and harder to maintain the integrity and original intent of all of his Truth Is Music Law efforts.  (When Jon first began his campaign it was to do right by artists like The Drifters and The Coasters and The Platters and many of the original early rock and roll / R&B / doo-wop groups would laid the foundation for what came to be the music we all know and love ... but the fact is that most of those original guys are gone now ... and enterprising [and often under-handed] musicians and agents have been snatching up the legal rights to many of the names trying to make a quick buck for themselves with little regard for the fans or the caliber of what they put up there on that stage.)  

My question to Jon, circa 2015:  How do you view this situation currently ... and what, if anything, do you think can be done moving forward to insure the proper artists being credited for their work and contribution to the music of our lives?  What needs to be changed or modified to make The Truth In Music Act viable again and keep it on track in pursuit of its original intentions?  

Hopefully Jon will see this and respond ... and if and when he does, we'll pass those views on to our readers.  

Meanwhile, if you DO decide to go see The Little River Band anytime soon, please know that you will be presented with an entertaining and faithful show.  OUR goal was simply to have the truth out there and represented correctly from BOTH sides of the stage.  After this much press these past few months, I'd say we've accomplished our mission ... and can now close this final chapter on the band.  And I ALSO think that Wayne Nelson has made a commendable attempt at explaining that which many of us didn't take into consideration when presenting only part of "the facts".  The fans now know exactly what they're getting ... but the BAND needs to acknowledge who they really are, too.  Once that bond has been established, I have no problem with this anymore ... it's great music and we love it.  (Now if Shorrock, Birtles and Goble ever decide to get back together again and take their act on the road ... under ANY moniker ... you can bet that I'll want to see THAT show, too!  And at that point, we'll revert back to our Buyer Beware stance and let the "customers" decide who they'd really rather see.)  Man, these guys couldn't pick a better time to do so ... with all the focus on these events ... and free publicity ... they could probably sell out a world-wide tour right now.  (By the way, word is that Glenn Shorrock will be touring ... and performing Little River Band material ... as part of Ringo's All-Starr Band this summer ... gonna have to grab some tickets to THAT one, too!)  kk

  

↧

ME-TV-FM

March 7, 2015, 1:35 pm
$
0
0
This one'll mean a whole lot more to the "locals" on the list since the station still isn't streaming yet ... but the feedback continues to be exceptional for Chicago's brand new radio station.

We're posting this just in time to alert any interested parties that tonight at 8:00 Me-TV-FM kicks off their Saturday Disco Dance Party.  (Man, wouldn't Jeff James make the PERFECT host for this thing???)

The station continues to find its way ... but we couldn't be more pleased with the direction we've heard so far ... so kudo's again to the brand new Me-TV-FM for stepping WAY outside the box ... and bringing variety and creativity back to radio again.  
kk
Kent Kotal
Forgotten Hits

ME-TV-FM:
kk ...
LOVE the new radio station!
I'm mid 50's and haven't really listened to anything other than Talk Radio and Sports talk while in the car ... to me, there was next no reason to even attempt to find something I'd like on the radio, so I'd listen to my IPOD where I have all of my favorite 50's, 60's, 70's.
I was listening the other day and in about 15 short minutes I heard:
WOLD by Harry Chapin   (couldn't believe my ears )
Watching The River Run by Loggins and Messina.
I have to tell you that whatever advertisers are selling on that station is what I'm buying ... ANYTHING to promote this great music I have heard.
Bob Morrow from Bolingbrook
 
Hi kk ...
I also heard a few quirks on the station:  Two James Taylor songs within about 30 minutes; two Paul Simon songs within about 20 minutes. 
Thanks,
Mike S.
Yeah, there've been a few like that ... or a Doobie Brothers song followed four songs later by something by Michael McDonald ... an Eagles song followed a few songs later by a Don Henley solo hit ... that sort of thing ... all programming glitches in the early "fine-tuning" process I'm sure.  (The other day I heard The Commodores and then two songs later a Lionel Richie track ... worse yet about an hour later they played Sonny and Cher's "All I Ever Need Is You" ... when's the last time you heard THAT one (and it sounded great) ... followed only one song later by Cher's "Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves".  Without question, there are still some things to sort out.  Regardless, I am HIGHLY optimistic that this is going to be a GREAT radio station once it gets up and running.  (kk)
 
I love it!  This is like popping in one of those Time-Life Soft Rock Hits CDs that plays non-stop for 24 hours a day!
Janice
 
Hi Kent -  
Thanks for the info on Me-TV FM.  I’ve been listening pretty consistently since your first post and while it’s not perfect, it’s certainly the best thing on the radio outside of Bob Stroud’s Sunday Morning Show.  While I-Pods and CD’s help avoid the wasteland that is Chicago radio, there is something very nostalgic and wonderful about hearing a forgotten song on your car’s radio.  The best thing so far about Me-TV FM is that they make a concerted effort to play those songs that no one else, other than Stroud, plays.  In the first few days, I’ve heard songs like Stoned Love, Bella Linda and Daughter of Darkness for cryin out loud … not to mention a lot of entrees from our great local bands.  The reliance on the more easy listening songs can make things drag at times, but hearing Bobbi Martin’s For the Love of Him was cool! (Great guilty pleasure!) Still I have heard some rockers like She’d Rather Be With Me and Fun Fun Fun so there’s hope.  What would be so difficult about simply using the WLS or CFL top 40 lists from 1960 to 1975 and play EVERTHING listed.  If you wanted to extend into the early 80’s use Billboard or Cashbox.  With those sources and album cuts you’d have millions of interesting and varied songs to throw at your listenership!
Surfwoodie
I've listened to the radio my whole life in the car ... and it's been one of my greatest joys in life ... something I used to look forward to ... so these last few years here in Chicago have been a MAJOR disappointment with the total lack of selection and variety ... we may as well just have ONE station in town since they're all playing the exact same thing anyway.  As such, Me-TV-FM has been a VERY welcome relief.
They're not perfect ... but I believe they have the potential to get there.  Hearing some of these great songs again has been a real pleasure ... I've done less button pushing in the past two weeks than I have since WLS dropped their tie-in to The True Oldies Channel.  Hopefully they can keep fine-tuning the station, get some decent sponsors ... and downplay the repetitiveness ... what people are loving right now is the fact that you can potentially hear just about ANYTHING on this station right now.  (Too bad ... because that was the whole concept behind Jack-FM before they quick disintegrated!)
We already have about four Journey / John Mellencamp / Steve Miller stations in town ... and a couple of others that are extremely heavy on Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin ... Me-TV-FM needs to be careful not to become "The James Taylor Station" (because right now I'll bet I've already heard about 30 tracks by him ... and I'm only in the car a couple of hours each day.)  There are other artists long absent from the airwaves that it's been nice to hear again ... but quite honestly I don't think I'll have to listen to my Lobo's Greatest Hits CD anytime soon ... and I also believe I've heard the complete Petula Clark Hit Catalog now, too.  Before you might hear "Downtown" and "Don't Sleep In The Subway" ... otherwise, she's been long absent from the airwaves ... but, with this many tracks to choose from, this borders on saturation of another kind ... they NEED to mix it up a little better.  And, simply put, some songs just don't play well in heavy rotation ... Maureen McGovern's "The Morning After" would be one of those ... and I've heard that one three or four times already.  (I was pretty sure I never needed to hear this song BEFORE Me-TV-FM signed on the air ... now I'm absolutely convinced!!!)
I understand that every song can't be a gem ... but as stated earlier, too many of the wrong choices will inspire listeners to see what else is on somewhere else ... and if they're playing a series of "winners" while you're playing some obscure track just to be different, you may not get them back for awhile.  (kk)  

You were right about that being a program glitch in ME-TV-FM playing two out of four songs by Petula Clark.  Years ago in broadcasting, the rule of thumb was you didn't play a commercial by a car dealership back to back in a stop-set or more than one in a commercial break stop-set.
Larry Neal
See some of our other examples above ... clearly they've got to work some of this out.  (kk)
 
Thank you so much for telling us about Chicago's newest station.  I have heard so many good songs again these past few days -- I didn't realize how much I had missed some of these.  I believe the station will be a hit.
Toby
They ought to have billboards up all over town right now, letting potential listeners know that Chicago has variety on the dial again.  "Tired of the same old same old ... then tune into Me-TV-FM and hear the songs that NO other station in town is playing" ... tv spots, too.  (Maybe they're advertising on Me-TV???  I don't know) ... but something along those lines would at least inspire some curious listeners to give it a shot.  My guess is once they listen, they'll be hooked too.  (kk)

Kent -
I love the new 87.7 me fm. Variety is great. I hope that very soon they have an announcer that will tell us what they're playing. There a few this old musicologist can't even remember! Since I have an old car, what a nice change from you know what. Yesterday was the first day I could tune in on my old car ... it sure will not be the last!!
Mike De Martino
 
When this station is clicking on all cylinders, it's better than 100% of what's on the Chicago dial today. When it's not -- it's still better than 70%. 
Ron Smith

Robert Feder reports that Neal Sabin of Me-TV-FM has been inundated with nothing but positive response from listeners who have discovered the station ...
Feder writes:
Since MeTV FM began in soft-launch mode February 23, initial reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, according to Sabin.
Typical of dozens of passionate letters and emails Sabin shared was one that read: “I’ve been waiting for this station for 20 years. Keep the mix of popular and especially the more obscure songs coming. I love it when I hear a song and say ‘I haven’t heard that song in years!!!’ I was seriously thinking of getting satellite radio. Now I can’t wait to hear which song you’ll be dusting off next!”
Imagine that ... a public responding positively to variety in radio ... what a shocker!!! ... who would have EVER have thought?!?!?  (kk)

More random glitches and commentary that we've heard or heard about ...

They played The Youngbloods' hit "Get Together" both on the way to and home from work on Friday ... and the track skipped both times in about three places.  They need to replace this with a clean version ... and then play it two or three times a MONTH ... and not two or three times a day.

And while I understand that they're still in the process of welcoming new listeners, they're in overkill mode with this on-going hello campaign ... I've heard Lionel Richie's "Hello" four times this week, Neil Diamond's "Hello Again" three times this week and "Hello Goodbye" by The Beatles twice.  (However I also heard "This Boy" which is ALWAYS a welcome surprise on the radio.)  TONS of James Taylor ... a couple of "rare" tracks by Andy Gibb ("An Everlasting Love" and "(Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away" ... quite a bit of Bread (including "Diary" and "Sweet Surrender", two tracks NOBODY plays) ... but "Make It With You" and "It Don't Matter To Me" several times each ... a "remake" version of "My Baby Loves Lovin'" as well as a live version of Petula Clark's "The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener" rather than the hit single version ... "Summer (The First Time)" by Bobby Goldsboro, a song that one FH reader claims always makes him want to shove freshly-sharpened pencils into his eyes ... both "All I Know" and "Second Avenue" by Art Garfunkel (when's the last time you heard EITHER of these?) ... and much, much more.  Still WAY more good than bad ... and if they can iron-out this programming glitch, this easily could become The Forgotten Hits Dream Station ... EVERYTHING we've been saying radio needs to be. A MAJOR surprise was hearing "White Bird" by It's A Beautiful Day ... that alone would have won me over for good!

One reader says he heard "Love Me Tender" by Elvis ... that would be the oldest track played to date that I know of ... and there is absolutely NO reason why a couple hundred songs from the '50's and early '60's wouldn't play well on this station ... they fit the format PERFECTLY and I would love to see them play one every couple of hours or so.
All of this is VERY encouraging.    They're already getting into "special programming" with a Saturday Night Disco Party (no host yet ... but wouldn't Jeff James, late of 103.9, be PERFECT for this program???) ... and are even giving a way tickets to a Gordon Lightfoot concert coming up later this month in Rockford.  In my mind, they are WELL on their way to establishing their mark here in Chicago.  (Now some will argue that the REAL appeal is the fact that it's "new" and "different" ... and they're exactly right ... but I'm out to prove that variety is the name of the game.  For fifteen years I have criticized radio in general for insulting their audience with the "research consultant" advice that the typical listener cannot absorb more than 2-300 songs ... and maintained that if only given a chance, I could prove this to the rest of the radio world.  Well, Me-TV-FM has taken that EXACT concept and is building a radio station around it.  Time will tell how well it succeeds ... but my guess is that once the word gets out, frustrated listeners LONG bored by what passes today as radio everywhere else on the dial will come running here in droves to listen to the incredible mix of music.

I've got some other ideas that I think would fall perfectly into their game plan ... and we would LOVE to help ... so Neal Sabin or Mark Zandaer ... CONTACT ME!!!


↧

The Sunday Comments ( 03 - 08 - 15 )

March 8, 2015, 7:00 am
$
0
0
It's been a VERY big week in Forgotten Hits ...

So once again we've got a very LARGE Edition of The Sunday Comments ...

ENJOY!!!   

ONCE AGAIN, THE REST OF THE WORLD FINALLY CATCHES UP WITH FORGOTTEN HITS:  
This one FINALLY made the news last week ...  
But guess who first broke the story over a month ago ... (Yep, that would be me ... again!)
Forgotten Hits just may be the new enquirer!!!  (OK, so we'll never be TMZ ... but I can live with that!!!  lol)   

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/buddy-holly-plane-crash-investigation-to-be-reopened/
Kent ...
I know you printed this already.  I guess this makes it official.
Frank B.
Saw this on CNN ... same story we read in FH over a month ago!
David Lewis   

MORE ON THE BUDDY HOLLY INVESTIGATION ... 
AND KUDOS FOR FORGOTTEN HITS:  
Forgotten Hits Readers are diggin' our recent coverage of the reopened Buddy Holly plane crash investigation, another look into The Little River Band and the legal rights to band names ... along with our regular daily fare.  (Reuniting Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon with his long lost demo acetate for what would eventually become his first big hit, "Tallahassee Lassie" was also mentioned.)  Hey, we HAVE been on a bit of a roll lately!  (lol)  And, fortunately, our readers know where these stories first originated ... even if the REST of the media continues to ignore our efforts!  (kk)  

When I read about this on FH, I felt LJ had very good thoughts and ideas.  However, lots of times today, agencies like to SAY they might do this or that, but it is just to make you forget about it.  I hope they actually LOOK at the plane and get the facts right.  
Clark Besch  

Hi Kent -  
Like I always say, ask the master when you have a question!
Congrats on the Buddy Holly Investigation.  I hope they televise a program about it! People don't
realize how important these early rock starts were to us!!!
I heard that Brian Wilson will be appearing at Ravinia this year. When available, could you print the concert dates and any information on it??
Thank you and keep up the GREAT WORK!!!!
Carolyn
The Ravinia Summer Concert Schedule was announced on Thursday ... in addition to Brian Wilson on Monday, July 6th, they've also booked Steely Dan (July 24th and 25th), Lady Ga-Ga with Tony Bennett (June 26th and 27th), Aretha Franklin (July 11th), The Steve Miller Band (July 10th), Santana (August 29th and 30th), ZZ Top (August 27th), Chicago (August 22nd and 23rd), Gladys Knight with The O'Jays (September 11th), Jackson Browne (September 5th), Sheryl Crow (June 25th), The Doobie Brothers (June 30th), Rob Thomas (July 18th),
The complete schedule can be viewed here:   http://www.ravinia.org/calendar  

Kent;
You have every right to be ticked off about your work regarding the Buddy Holly crash. I can tell you that 25 years ago you would have been given a verbal or chyron credit about busting the story.
However, in this frenzied twitter / instagram / facebook world,  a "Breaking Story" is now old news roughly 45 seconds after its posted.
Take a deep breath ... the point is your readers know this is YOUR story.
It's my sincere hope that TNSB can provide us with new answers about the "Day the Music Died."
U rock, bro.
Chet Coppock
Host: Notre DameFootball - WLS Radio 

Dear Kent: 
I just wanted to say Thank You For All That You Do, and for your continued support and encouragement.  
On March 4, 2015, The NTSB's Facebook and Twitter sites were inundated with folks wanting to register their Shares / Likes after reviewing the NTSB Postings of my petition to reconsider The Civil Aeronautics Board's findings of September 23, 1959. 
This is a quote from The NTSB lead public affairs personnel Kelly Nantel on their Facebook site referencing my petition: 
Through all of your efforts The NTSB has enjoyed a  'Rock Star' status on their Facebook site. 
I looked back on The NTSB's Facebook site to January 1, 2015, and each of their postings never exceeded more than 70 Shares.  This Petition Review alone registered 316 Shares that The NTSB should consider the review of the petition.
They also enjoyed Shares from two other Facebook postings and three other Twitter postings referencing this petition review.  
The NTSB also posted this quote from The Civil Aeronautics Board's findings where the CAB found that the probable cause of the crash was “The pilot’s unwise decision to embark on a flight which would necessitate flying solely by instruments when he was not properly certified or qualified to do so.”  
This is one of the CAB's 1959 findings that just doesn't hold true today in 2015 and didn't hold true then ... the 'flying solely by instruments', would have been referring to visibility. (Ah yes ... that famous Hollywood Snow Storm.) 
In fact, the reported weather on the evening of February 3, 1959, was VFR and this is what Pilot Roger Peterson was certified to do with 711 hours total and 128 hours in The Beech Bonanza - 35 N3794N as an employee of Dwyer Flying Service.  This is what Dwyer Flying Service was certified by The FAA to operate under (Day and Night VFR Charter Flights)  
Jerry Dwyer has stated, "They knew about this flight day's in advance" ... why would Jerry Dwyer load the aircraft for this flight if this wasn't going to be an FAA certified VFR night chartered flight?  
The weather report for The Mason City Airport at departure time was VFR ... 
Measured ceiling 3,000 - Sky Obscured - Visibility 6 Miles - Altimeter 29.85 - Temperature 18 - Wind Southwest at 20 with gusts of 30.  Only a trace of snow was reported to have fallen between 00:00 and 09:30 on February 3, 1959.
Sure, there was a dusting of snow on the Iowa farm field ... sure, there was a slight drifting from the southwesterly wind of 20 / gust 30 ... but examining those famous professional photos once more, you will notice that there is no snow storm inside or covering the wreckage and there was no snow covering any new introduced objects to that farm field ... not even the compass indicator layig on the ground. 
The owner of the aircraft and the FAA Certified Tower Operator stood on the platform at the base of the FAA Tower and witnessed the aircraft N3794N's tail light, wing tip lights "in a slow descent" three miles from The Mason City Airport where they were standing. 
You don't have a reported visibility of six miles and a witnessed visibility of three miles ... in a Hollywood snow storm production.  (The above is only "one erroneous inconsistency" that the 1959 CAD recorded in their release of September 23, 1959.)  
Kindest Regards, 
LJ 
LJ Coon
WHAT'S IN A NAME? 
About two weeks ago, my sister Julie Rae, who lives in Waupaca, Wisconsin, called me and asked if I knew that The Diamonds were doing a show in her area and would Fran and I be interested in attending.  I said, of course, but please find out the names of the group members.  I told her that two of the original members had died, one had retired and if the main lead singer Dave Somerville was on the bill, yes, for sure, I’d be there.  
The lady at the box office said no, his name was not listed ... however, two of the group members were with the group for 30 years ... which would mean the earliest they would have become members would have been 1985.  Anyhow, she told my sister that the show was sold out. 
Don’t you wonder how the majority of the crowd felt when they must have expected a group of older silver-haired gentlemen to take the stage and instead they must have been somewhat bewildered knowing that “Little Darlin’” was their big hit some 60 years ago and these performers probably weren’t even born at that time! 
I’ve talked to Dave Somerville several times in the past two years.  He’s been inducted into the The Vocal Group Hall of Fame, The Doo Wop Hall of Fame, and The Rockabilly Hall of Fame.  He’s wondering what his chances are for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  He’s turned 80 now and knows his chances are getting slimmer each year, but of all his awards and the work he’s done, he’d love to cap it off with this one last big award.  I second that emotion! 
Joel Whitburn 
I've talked with Dave, too ... a GREAT guy ... who sold his rights to The Diamonds name several years ago.  (He's been doing some EXCELLENT solo shows looking back at that whole '50's era of rock and roll ... if you don't already have it, try and pick up a copy of his "Rock And Roll Greyhound Bus" CD ... you'll love it!) 
You're absolutely right ... fans who grew up loving the sound of The Diamonds back in the mid-to-late '50's had to be shocked to find performers on stage singing these songs who were half their own age.  Such is the fate of far too many legitimate artists these days ... perhaps at some point they felt their legacy had no long-term value so they sold out as a means of cashing in their chips ... only to find the nostalgia craze doing just fine.  (Remember when Jay Black had to sell off his own name to pay off his gambling debt several years ago?  Thankfully he's still performing spot solo shows ... and Jay and the Americans are thriving, too, with several of the original members still onboard.) 
You just never really know who you're going to see on stage these days ... so checking with the box office (as you did) is always a wise move.  Like we keep saying, Buyer Beware!  (kk)   

Hey kk,  
Thanks for leading us off with the Serenity Prayer in today’s blog forum. I needed that.    
I’ve seen The Buckinghams, Little River Band and Three Dog Night all in the past three years or so and wasn’t disappointed with any of shows. I guess the fact that they were all true to the music and their presentation meant the most to me.  In the case of The Buckinghams, Nick and Carl are fantastic. Yes, I’d love to see Dennis but I’d also like to see Bobby Darin but I have no control over either.  
We seem to not be offended when we see Gary Lewis without the Wrecking Crew and whoever sang on their hit recordings. Nobody seems to be offended at Gary Puckett (who can’t sing but puts on a heck of a show) without the Union Gap. To me it’s all about presentation and being true to the music.    
I remember a concert years ago where I saw The Coasters, The Platters and The Drifters. During intermission I took a Drifter CD, by mistake, over to The Coasters autograph table. The Coaster at the table  who couldn’t have been more than 35 years old, was offended that I accidently asked him to sign my Drifters CD.  
kk, out the 16 to 18 gentlemen (and Lady) that took the stage that night there couldn’t have been more than two original members.  
I think that the success of the Happy Together tours have to do with the fact that the majority of the acts feature all our lead men from their prospected groups and the emphasis is always on coming out for a good time rather than getting wrapped up in how true the acts our to their original sound. I guess that’s why I’m glad it’s called The Happy Together Tour due to the fact that Flo and Eddie have used this performing formula longer than any of the other acts on the bill.   
As for Mr. B. Conover, I think he could use a good Serenity Prayer about now.  
“KEEP COMING BACK”    
Jerry
Thanks, Jerry, I appreciate it.
For a rather surprising review of a recent Happy Together Concert, be sure to check out The FH Website later this week.  (kk)   

Spot on, Kent! The wife and I were in Vegas last weekend and saw the "Jersey Boys" stage show. It's made very clear you're not seeing Frankie Valli or any of the Four Seasons - but still a great show! I did see a billboard out there for the "Australian Bee Gees" and I was like, seriously? These sound-alikes with maybe one original (or less) have taken over music-oriented places like Branson MO or Pigeon Forge TN. No way I can shell out money to see that. Buyer beware! 
- Larry Cave
  50yearsagoonthehot100.blogspot.com 
With "Jersey Boys" it's understood upfront that you're seeing the story of The Four Seasons as portrayed by actors filling the roles and featuring the music ... it is, hands down, one of the best stage shows I've ever seen. 
We saw Frankie Valli a few years ago and while he's now in his 80's and still in fairly good voice (although many say he lip-syncs his entire performance), his new Four Seasons are all under 30 ... honestly, it just doesn't LOOK right ... but the sound and the feel is there.  With only one surviving Bee Gee left, fans who still want to hear and see this music don't have much of a choice other than to go see a sound-alike band ... this makes even more sense when one considers that a ticket to Barry Gibb's show is probably $150- $200 and you can see The Australian Bee Gees for $50-$60.  This is why I have no choice but to resign myself to the fact that it has to be about the music ... if I think too hard about it otherwise, I'll just have a mental breakdown!!!  (kk) 

By Bowzer's own accounts, Connecticut was one of the easiest states for him to get his proposal passed.  I had been involved with other music educators in prepping the idea and teaching our students about "the buyer beware" when it came to concerts. By the time Bowzer was ready to approach CT, he already had allies in Congress who were the parents of these same students. 
There is absolutely nothing wrong with seeing a great concert performance by anyone.  It is just the name ... the truth ... that irks my sense of correct advertising.  OK, "correct" and "advertising" are NOT two words that always go hand-in-hand ... BUT maybe it does all boil down to the word "truth". 
It began with Charlie Thomas.  There were so many "Drifters" that Charlie had a hard time making a living doing his own songs.  That is just not right. 
If a band readily admits they have no originals, allows their true story to be told (ie:  The Raiders, The Grass Roots) or labels themselves as a tribute band, then I relish the chance to experience their music and promote the continuation of these songs that are so much a part of me.  Dennis Tufano sings Bobby Darin.  He doesn't say he IS Bobby Darin.  There could be several 'Hermits' singing out there, but reality and truth says that there is only one 'Herman' performing.  For me, if you are being honest about who you are, then we have "truth in music".  Imitation is the highest of compliments, but admitting it is imitation, is key.
Shelley Sweet-Tufano
I was really hoping Bowzer would comment on how he views The Truth In Music Act today, circa 2015, but we never heard back from him.  I was kinda surprised as Forgotten Hits was VERY instrumental in helping him get the word out about his campaign way back when at the time Truth In Music was just getting off the ground.  (I guess I figured he owed me that much!  lol)
In any event it all comes down to the same thing ... decide your REAL reason for wanting to attend any particular show and then make the call ... if it's just to hear the music, I'm sure you'll come away satisfied, as long as the performers on stage stay true to the arrangements and spirit of the music you love.  If you only want to hear it presented by the original artist(s), then Buyer Beware.  I really can't break it down any simpiler than that ... but DO YOUR RESEACH!!!  (kk) 

Great column today!!! Bravo ... and, so true!!! 
David Salidor  

I just had to take a moment to blow smoke up your ass ... and tell you what a great job you've been doing lately.  I consider this to be The Golden Age of Forgotten Hits ... some of the best stuff you've ever written.  I look forward to reading each new post.  Keep up the great work. 
Steve Sarley      

THE LITTLE RIVER BAND 
Hi Kent,  
Hope all is well. Some thoughts below regarding The Little River Band.    
Looking back at the charts, it may not be too surprising that the LRB is now an American based group rather than an Australian one. They have had a lot of success in the US. Their first album, simply titled “Little River Band” charted in both Australia and the US in 1975. Of their first eight albums, through to “Playing To Win” in 1984, seven made the US album charts.  
Looking at their singles, all of them, starting with “Reminiscing” through “Playing To Win” (the 45) in 1985, charted higher in the US than in their native Australia. In fact the #4 US charting “Reminiscing” could only make #35 in Australia. As good as that song was, it should have been a Top 10 everywhere, regardless of country of origin. But maybe the references to Glen Miller’s Band didn’t resonate with the group’s Australian audience. 
Their 1979 release, “Cool Change” made the US Top 10 but did not register any showing on the Australian charts. It may not have even have been released there. Segue to 2001 and, in spite of “Cool Change” not making the charts, the Australasian Performing Right Association nominated the song as the 15th best Australian song of all time.
Incidentally, the top 5 on this list were: the Easybeats’ “Friday On My Mind”, Daddy Cool’s “Eagle Rock” (the inspiration for Elton John’s “Crocodile Rock”), Midnight Oil’s “Beds Are Burning”, Men At Work’s “Down Under” and Slim Dusty’s “Pub With No Beer”.  
This leads to another chart curiosity. In a book entitled “The 100 Best Australian Albums”, the authors head the list with Midnight Oil’s “Diesel And Dust”. No real argument there but, almost as an afterthought, Men At Work’s “Business As Usual” lands at #99. Given that this album simultaneously topped both the US and UK album charts in 1983, as did the 45, “Down Under”, you’d have thought that national pride might have nudged the album a little higher. (Both the album and 45 reached #1 in Australia, too). 
I digress but hopefully those involved with the LRB can offer us some “reminiscences” on the differences (and similarities) of being a hit act in the US and in Australia in the 1970 / 80s.  
Best wishes, 
Mike Edwards   

ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK  
I would LOVE to take my mother to the Engelbert concert coming up May 9.  She and I went to see him about 30 years ago, and it would be fun to see how he is holding up!  (My mother is 85 years old) ... I will suffer thru it for her sake, lol! 
Janet    

Could you please enter me in the Englebert Humperdinck free ticket give away? My Mom has always been a great Englebert fan and I believe owns every one of his LP's. She passed away but my wife and I became fans because of her. I would like to take my wife who is also a fan and a Mom and a Grandma.
Thank you,
Mr. Joseph Malin

Kent,
Thanks for the posting of the song by Arnold Dorsey, aka Englebert Humperdinck. It has been a few years without question since I have heard anything by him. You were right. He was big back in his day.
Larry

We've still got a couple of tickets left ... so if you're interested in seeing Englebert Humperdinck at The Genesee Theatre on May 9th, please drop us a line.  (kk)

LESLEY GORE
From Claude Hall's weekly commentary, this Lesley Gore story from Barry Salberg:

So sad to hear of the passing of Lesley Gore. I never met her, never got the chance to have her verify (or get her take) on this story from back in the day. 
In December of 1962, my folks rented a house (that they could ill afford) near Marin Country Club.  The owner of the house was Hugh Heller, who had just been promoted from his post as PD of KSFO and was moving down to Los Angeles (I assume to KMPC, as this was before the advent of the Heller-Ferguson jingle company).  KSFO was in its Golden West heyday at the time, dominating San Francisco — billing itself as the WORLD’S GREATEST RADIO STATION.  And it very may well have been, with a lineup that included the legendary Don Sherwood, Al Jazzbeau Collins, Jack Carney, and Jim Lange.  As program director, Heller was directly responsible for the famed “Sounds of the City” KSFO jingle masterpiece.  Young, hip, and well-heeled, Marin Country Club was part of the KSFO playground — Heller lived just off the course, and Lange played a lot of golf there, some with my step-father (who could ill afford to live or play there).
A year or so later, Lesley hits big with ‘It’s My Party’, ‘Judy’s Turn’, etc, and is heavily promoted as one of the lead acts on the giant Cow Palace rock‘n’roll show.  These shows were big stuff, with seemingly a dozen or so featured acts all on the same bill, each doing their current hits.  Well, my step-father was the NorCal sales rep for the apparel company of which Lesley’s father was the president.  So my parents invited her to have dinner with us one night, as she would be in town for the Cow Palace show.  I was a little younger than Lesley, and was clearly beyond enthralled at the thought.  I think she declined, as my memory is vague now whether she cancelled us first, or whatever, but she never made it to the Cow Palace show. The official announcement was that she took ill and wasn’t able to appear.
Years later, Gene Nelson is on the air and he’s talking about the old Cow Palace shows, and he recounts the story of Lesley Gore. As he told it, the promoters would routinely quote a certain price to the performers and then when the artists got to town, ready to go on, the promoters would renege, offering half of the original quote in a take-it-or-leave-it situation.  Most of the performers were kids, they were already in town, so they took it — but not Lesley. Remember, she was far from struggling financially, her family had money so, as a matter of principle, she told ‘em to take a hike, and wouldn’t go on, despite all their heavy pre-show promotion.  Hence, the on-air announcement that I heard as a kid that she had gotten sick and couldn’t perform.  
Well, as I say, I never had the chance to get HER recollections of the story — whether she actually made it to town and then cancelled the show, or as I suspect, never even made the trip.  I would imagine there are a few folks out there who could shed some light.  I don’t know how to contact Gene Nelson, but I think he’s still here in San Francisco.  Gotta be a few other souls who could share a bit on this one?
Seems like virtually everybody in the music business back in the day was screwing over somebody with some crazy angle ... so I can't really say that this story surprises me ... but with back-to-back hits as big as "It's My Party" and "Judy's Turn To Cry", I've gotta believe Lesley was scheduled as a head-liner ... and since she probably helped fill more seats at The Cow Palace than many of the other artists on the bill, I can't believe the promoter wouldn't cave to honor their original agreement ... rather than risk pissing off a crowd stadium full of teenaged music fans!  Cool story, Barry ... maybe some of the jocks on OUR list can help shed some light.  (kk)

Kent:
Reading of the passing of Lesley Gore prompted me to think about her records and times I saw here in concert and the opportunities I had to interview her over the years. I found her to be a complete professional to work with and she was definitely much smarter than the typical pop star. 
Back in the 80s when I was PD of WPRO and PRO-FM in Providence, we sponsored a concert featuring Lesley and Lou Christie. (I've included a dressing room photo).
They both did their solo sets and then they treated us to a handful of tunes together.  You could tell they had a terrific relationship. They both lived in NYC for decades, Lou still calling NYC home. And they continued to work together every time the opportunity popped up.
- Tom Cuddy
New York, NY
GREAT shot, Tom ... thanks for sharing!  (kk)

ON THE RADIO:
Scroll down to read our latest coverage regarding Chicago's hot new FM Station, Me-TV-FM!  Here are a few more that just came in ... along with some OTHER radio news!

MORE re: ME-TV-FM:
Is this going to be a national format?  Haven't seen anything here in the twin cities yet, but we do have the Me tv channel. 
Bill 
I haven't heard anything to that effect yet ... but if things work out here in Chicago, I don't see why it couldn't be.  (In fact, I have maintained all along that if somebody would simply TRY this format ... and find it successful ... copy-cat stations would quickly pop up all over the country ... and radio would be interesting again.)  I don't see ANY reason why, if Me-TV is successful in a market, Me-TV-FM Radio wouldn't be.  Or, for that matter, anywhere where listeners are fed up with being force-fed the exact same music day after day after day ... which is literally EVERYWHERE these days.  (kk)

My two cents ... Yes, they're outside the box. I heard Smackwater Jack from Carole King. Tapestry was such a hot album in 1971 that Mike McCormick put that song into rotation on WLS that summer. Not too many album cuts made in on the air on WLS during the McCormick (Rock of Chicago) reign, but cuts from Tapestry sounded great, even on AM. I've also heard the voice of Karen Carpenter more than once. Radio in general has been treating the Carpenters like they're some sort of anthrax from the 70's, so it's about damned time. Same holds true of Al Stewart. Aside from the softer AC stuff, I've also heard some good old fashioned Rock 'N' Roll and those lesser soul hits that you usually have to wait for Herb Kent (V-103) to play on Sunday afternoons. So they've got my attention.  
My biggest complaint about METV-FM is that feeble image / station id voice they're using. As one with years of radio on-air and programming experience, I must say with all due respect that I wouldn't hire that guy to be on the air in Keokuk, much less Chicago. Come on! Cough up a few quarters and pay a classy, balsy image guy. It doesn't have to be me, but if I don't get the call, choose someone who's better. I'll be OK with it.  
Bill Fortune   

I like the new station, I've had it on all week, both coming and going from work and find it very refreshing. Anne Murray, Linda Ronstadt, early Michael Jackson, Neil Diamond, John Denver. I haven't heard a lot that stuff in a long time.  
Ed Kristak

AND, IN OTHER RADIO NEWS ...
Kent ...
Scott Shannon is on vacation this week.
3/3/2015 = Today is his one year anniversary on WCBS-FM.
They're celebrating on Friday, 3/13/ 2015.  Listeners are invited  to call in and convince Scott, Joe and Patty that they should be invited to the studio for the one year anniversary celebration.
According to Ron Smith's book = 3/3/1957 - Samuel Cardinal Stritch bans Rock & Roll from Chicago Archdiocese Roman Catholic Schools. Were you going to school at this time?
Frank B.
On March 3, 1957, I was all of three years old ... so no, this didn't really affect me (although I'm sure that had I been older, I would have been outraged at the time!!!)
Congratulations to Scott Shannon on his first year at WCBS-FM ... he also took the week off from The True Oldies Channel ... but Scott and I talked recently and he's having the time of his life doing the new morning show, keeping True Oldies 2.0 alive and recording his syndicated "America's Greatest Hits" program.  WTG, Scott ... one of the GREAT radio voices of our time.  (kk)

Kent ...
This can't be true.  An Upstate New York Radio Station is now playing Christmas Music all year long.  I can't take it when they start playing Christmas Music on Thanksgiving!  They're calling it Santa 105.7 FM
Frank B.
http://www.syracuse.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2015/03/upstate_new_york_radio_station_now_plays_christmas_music_all_year_long.html
↧
↧

50 Year Flashback - March 9th, 1965

March 9, 2015, 4:00 am
$
0
0
WKLO in Kentucky is charting pretty much the same tracks as everybody else this week in 1965 ... although I have to admit that I'm pretty surprised to see Elvis charting so high with "Do The Clam" on some of these recent charts ... I never really considered that one to be one of Elvis' better known hits.  (It comes from his movie "Girl Happy" and only reached #21 in Billboard ... but it's shown up on quite a few of our Top Ten Charts recently.  I guess I always considered this one to be more of a "throw-away" by The King.)

WKLO ranks a few of these "hangers on" from the pre-British Invasion Era ... you'll also find Top 40 Hits by the likes of Del Shannon, Dean Martin and Frankie Avalon.

Jr. Walker and the All-Stars have the big mover this week ... their latest, "Shotgun" rockets from #39 to #11 ... that's a gain of 28 places!  (So I guess technically "Shotgun" deserves a "bullet" this week, right???)

The Sounds Orchestral version of "Cast Your Fate To The Wind" climbs 14 places to #12 ... and something called "The Out Crowd" by The Squares is up thirteen spots from #35 to #22.

One we haven't seen much of ... and already working its way DOWN the chart ... is The Tradewinds and their cult favorite "New York's A Lonely Town"... so we've just GOTTA feature this one before it disappears completely!












↧

The British Invasion Show

March 10, 2015, 4:00 am
$
0
0
Last Saturday Night, March 7th, The 2015 British Invasion Tour made its way to Chicago, stopping at The City Winery, a beautiful venue just outside the city limits.   

Unfortunately, we were unable to connect with the venue in time to attend and, as such, ended up missing one of the shows I most wanted to see this year.  (Talks for a second Chicago stop never materialized ... so they won't be coming back through town for a second leg ... and, in that Chicago wasn't a tour stop on last year's itinerary, I was quite disappointed, thinking that this very well may have been my one and only chance to see them.)

Thankfully, however, we heard from TWO Forgotten Hits Readers who WERE able to catch the show last week ... one in Wisconsin and the other in Ohio ... so we are now able to live vicariously through their reviews.  (No, it's not the same as being there ... but it looks like this is about as close as we're going to get this time around!)

First up, Ken Freck, sharing HIS perspective of the show he saw play in Milwaukee last week.  And then, a report from Tom Apathy, who not only caught The British Invasion Show last week in Ohio and sent us a review of the concert, but ALSO sent along some GREAT photos of the headliners.  

Extra, extra ... read all about it ... right here, EXCLUSIVELY in Forgotten Hits.  (Take it away, Fellas!)


Hi Kent:  
I want to highly recommend the British Invasion Tour that is going around. If you get a chance to see it, do so! It was outstanding. 

Denny Laine, Chad & Jeremy, Mike Pender of Searchers, Terry Sylvester of Hollies, Billy J. Kramer & Peter Asher. If you love the songs by these guys, check it out. Who knows how many chances are left to see a quality cast like this.   

I can give you a somewhat short synopsis of the event. My friend looked up the previous couple of shows and I guess Milwaukee got lucky on Friday Night. Apparently we got several more songs than those shows ... I guess because we were there to have fun, and the groups could sense it. 

It was a three hour show. The night started with Terry Sylvester, who had a solid set of Hollies and Swinging Blue Jeans hits, his two high profile groups. When you start the night with “I Can’t Let Go”, you are living large. “Bus Stop” and “Hippy Hippy Shake were highlights as well.   

Next up was Mike Pender of The Searchers, who was outstanding! His 12 String Rickenbacker never sounded better. He played the great Searchers hits plus a welcome surprise of P.F. Sloan’s “Take Me For What I’m Worth”, which is a killer underrated 45. The only problem with this set is that it was about 30 songs too short. 

Thirdly was Chad & Jeremy, who I haven’t heard for a long while but was stunned at how great they still sound together. Hearing them do “Summer Song” just gives you chills. They looked older but the sound was pure 1964. 

After a short break, Denny Laine took the stage, playing a few early Moody Blues faves. He was in excellent form and “Lose Your Money” and “I’ll Go Crazy” were both great. Hearing him sing “Go Now” was special as well. 

Next up was Billy J. Kramer. He had the longest set of all, including a couple of newer tracks. He started out a little rusty and stiff, but after a few songs he was in full stride. He did his Lennon-McCartney catalog highlighted by an outstanding version of “Bad To Me”. A solid “Little Children” and emotional “Trains, Boats and Planes” were highlights as well. He was cookin’ by the time of his last song, a shockingly excellent rendition of “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore”. 

The final act was Peter Asher who also played emcee for the show. He was spot on with great versions of Peter & Gordon’s first four hits including “I Go To Pieces” and “A World Without Love”. After a whimsical version of “Lady Godiva”, he went to a very warm tribute to Gordon, which peaked with Peter singing a duet with Gordon’s video a few years back doing “True Love Ways”, which was incredible and came off extremely well and left some eyes watering. 

The crowd wanted more, so after thunderous applause, out popped Denny Laine who said he was going to take us to the 70’s for one last song. He and the band got going with “Band On The Run” which I wasn’t really looking forward to, but was pleasantly surprised at how well they did it ... and they also had all the singers come out and join in the song. It was a fantastic sight to see all those great artists joining in a rousing version. The night was also filled with many great and humorous stories from the old days.  A memorable night indeed! 

Ken Freck 
Milwaukee




Kent,    
It was a great show, focused on the 60's songs they were part of.  Peter Asher was the emcee as well as a performer, telling stories about each performer before they came on stage. 

Terry Sylvester started the evening performing Hollies classics like Just One Look, Bus Stop, as well as his Swinging Blue Jeans hits Hippy Hippy Shake and You're No Good, of which he claimed Peter Asher "stole" their version when he produced Linda Ronstadt. 


Next up was Mike Pender, who at 74 years old, looked, sang and played guitar like it was 1964.  He did all the hits ... Love Potion #9, Every Time You Walk Into the Room, Needles and Pins ... he did not disappoint.


Denny Laine was a bit of the odd man out ... doing mainly blues standards, like he did with the Moody Blues, and of course, Go Now.  Since it was a 60's show, he did not do any Wings until the encore, when all of the artists came on stage for Band On The Run.


Chad and Jeremy were funny and sounded great ... Distant Shores, Yesterday's Gone, Willow Weep For Me, and other hits sounded great.  The running joke was that prim and proper Jeremy Clyde still lives in London, while the shabby denim clad Chad Stuart lives in Idaho.


Billy J Kramer's voice sounded great ... doing all the hits ... Little Children, Trains, Boats and Planes, I'll Keep You Satisfied, as well as a song he wrote to get Brian Epstein into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame.   


Peter Asher was funny and charming all night ... and was introduced by a video from Eric Idle of Monty Python, talking about how great Peter was and how he shagged Marainne Faithful ... ha ...  

The highlight was a video of the late Gordon Waller on the screen, with Peter singing a duet of True Loves Ways ... very touching.  



A very well performed show with a kick ass backing band ... a must see if they come to your town.   

All of these photos are from the March 4th Show at the Kent Stage ... 









(All photos courtesy Tom Apathy for use in Forgotten Hits ... thanks Tom!!!)

Sounds like we missed one heck of a show ... here's hoping they do this one more time next year so we get a second chance to see them.

Meanwhile, here's a live track by Chad and Jeremy from an earlier show ... still sounding pretty darn amazing some 50 years later ...

↧

Happy Together ... With A Twist

March 11, 2015, 3:57 am
$
0
0
Forgotten Hits Reader Rich Turner caught a special edition of The Happy Together Tour in Plant City, Florida, earlier this month and wanted to share his review with our readers. 

Take it away, Rich!   

Kent, 

Thought you might be interested in this. A couple of days ago, Monday, March 2, I caught the latest edition of the Happy Together Tour here in Plant City, Florida, at their annual event known as the Florida Strawberry Festival. I believe this was a one-off performance ... in other words, not part of any tour at this time. Their next tour starts in June. For the most part a very good show.  

The featured acts were: The Turtles, Chuck Negron (of Three Dog Night fame), Gary Puckett, Gary U.S. Bonds and Gary Lewis. They were backed by a group referred to several times as "The Happy Band." Don't quite know how the band members felt about that moniker, but in my opinion THEY were the stars of the show! An excellent set of musicians that made each artist's particular songs sound just like the original recording, except even better. Job very well done fellows. They introduced the band but none of the names struck home with me so they will remain incognito for now but "Happy."  

As far as the artists themselves go, IMHO I felt Chuck Negron was head and shoulders above and better than the others. What an outstanding voice he still has. He brought much new life into each of the five Three Dog Night songs he sang. Three of the songs he did were not even originally sung by him as the lead in the band back in the day, but they were outstanding. He opened with "Mama Told Me Not To Come" (as good as Cory Wells, maybe better), then went into "Celebrate" and brought the house down with "Eli's Coming", on which he received some help from the drummer and guitar player on vocals. Did I mention how great the Happy Band was?  

The next song was "One" and apparently he doesn't have the same hard feelings about the other Three Dog Nighters that they do because he dedicated the song to ... and he personally named ... all the original members of the Three Dog Night band starting with Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, Joe Schermie, Mike Allsup, Floyd Sneed, and then he asked for a prayer for Jimmy Greenspoon as he "is pretty bad shape right now." He then closed his portion of the show with, what else, "Joy To The World."  

He was also full of good humor and joked quite a bit with the crowd, especially when talking about the 60's. "It's kind of a blur right now." and "I hope you don't mind if I just kind of stand here by the microphone and sing because if I start moving around a lot, I have a tendency to get lost" ... and you get the picture. Very entertaining. Worth the price of the show right there.   

The three Garys were all just fine. Their voices left a little to be desired (Mr. Bonds was probably the best of the three) but they all had a lot of energy and enthusiasm as they sang their individual hits for probably the millionth time.  

And then, the featured act, The Turtles.  

I personally was wondering if they were going to show. I had heard that lead singer Howard Kaylan had back surgery about four weeks ago and was supposed to be laid up for at least two months. They were still advertised to appear so was it going to be one Turtle or Flo or both Turtles (aka Flo and Eddie)?    

When the Happy Band introduced the Turtles, who came out to my surprise but both Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan! I'm looking at Howard and I'm thinking, damn he's in pretty good shape for just having back surgery four weeks ago!  But then he picked up a guitar (Howard Kaylan never plays a guitar in concert) and the group started into "She'd Rather Be With Me", with Mark Volman singing lead. Uh-oh, what's going on here? Is Howard temporarily not strong enough to sing? The next song was "You Baby" with Mark again singing the lead (and to be honest, the song was really missing Howard's vocals).   

And then I figured it out. That was not Howard Kaylan up there at all, just someone with a very strong resemblance to him.  

And who did that person turn out to be?  

None other than Jim Pons, one of the original bass players in the Turtles back in the 1960's. So there were "two" Turtles on stage.  

He was introduced by Mark as being retired here in Florida and decided to join the show for this one performance to help things out. After being introduced, Jim said into his microphone "Thanks, get well Howard." And that was the only reference made to the missing Howard Kaylan the entire night.  

The group then played "It Ain't Me Babe", "Elenore" and closed with, of course, "Happy Together."  

Mark's vocals left a lot to be desired (not necessarily bad, just different than Howard's) ... which left what seemed to me most of the crowd wondering what was going on with the singing. Obviously most were unaware of the Kaylan back situation so there did seem to be a lot of negative feedback and it wasn't helped by the Turtles not really making any reference to the missing lead singer.  

The show ended with each singer coming back on stage to sing a snippet of their biggest hit and then into a huge crowd sing-a-long with "Happy Together."  

After it was all said and done, a real good show with a great band and a great performance by Chuck Negron. The crowd of probably about 1,500 I believe left "Happy!" for the most part.  

Rich Turner 
Safety Harbor, Florida 

Oh yes, the Happy Together Tour will be back here in Clearwater, Florida, in June with a different lineup (except for the Turtles). So I will check it out again, and hopefully Howard Kaylan will be back with the band!   

The Happy Together Tour has received a bit of flack the past few years for not quite putting up on stage what was always advertised ahead of time.  There were issues with The Grass Roots a few years back and last year Gary Lewis took ill mid-tour and missed a number of shows.  Gary "U.S." Bonds replaced him on at least a couple of appearances, one of which was caught by another Forgotten Hits Reader who gave it an outstanding review ... that night, it sounds like it was Bonds who stole the show. 

But The Turtles without Howard Kaylan on lead vocals just isn't The Turtles!  (My guess is that this show was booked before Howard underwent surgery so they made the best of the situation ... but to not mention or acknowledge Howard's absence or health condition just seems wrong to me.)  Best wishes for a speedy recovery, my friend ... it sounds like they need you!

The 2015 Happy Together Tour line-up includes The Turtles, Mark Lindsay, The Grass Roots, The Buckinghams, The Association and first-timers The Cowsills, who blew us away when we saw them a few months back.   

That's one heck of a line-up and we're looking forward to meeting up with all these guys again this summer when the show hits Chicago.  Here's hoping EVERYBODY stays healthy this year ... and fans get to see the artists they love and hear the music that never grows old.


Note:  Concert dates are still being finalized at this time ... 
Stay tuned to Forgotten Hits for more details as they become available
↧
Search

Thursday This And That

March 12, 2015, 5:05 am
$
0
0
I heard that Brian Wilson will be appearing at Ravinia this year. When available, could you print the concert dates and any information on it?? 
Thank you and keep up the GREAT WORK!!!! 
Carolyn
The Ravinia Summer Concert Schedule was announced last Thursday ... in addition to Brian Wilson on Monday, July 6th, they've also booked Steely Dan (July 24th and 25th), Lady Ga-Ga with Tony Bennett (June 26th and 27th), Aretha Franklin (July 11th), The Steve Miller Band (July 10th), Santana (August 29th and 30th), ZZ Top (August 27th), Chicago (August 22nd and 23rd), Gladys Knight with The O'Jays (September 11th), Jackson Browne (September 5th), Sheryl Crow (June 25th), The Doobie Brothers (June 30th), Rob Thomas (July 18th)  
The complete schedule can be viewed here:   http://www.ravinia.org/calendar 

Speaking of Brian Wilson, a live tribute concert celebrating the music of Brian Wilson has just been announced.  Billed as "Brian Fest: A Night To Celebrate The Music Of Brian Wilson" will be held on March 30th at The Fonda Theater.  Announced participants include Norah Jones, Ann Wilson of Heart, Boz Scaggs, Al Jardine, Wilson Phillips and several others.  "Many More Surprises" are also planned, including a special appearance by Brian Wilson himself.  His brand new album "No Pier Pressure" will be released a week later.  (kk)
Brian has also announced the following tour dates for this summer:

  • 06/18 – Saratoga, CA – The Mountain Winery
  • 06/19 – San Diego, CA – Humphrey's Concerts by the Bay
  • 06/20 – Los Angeles, CA – The Greek Theatre
  • 06/23 – Austin, TX – Frank Erwin Center
  • 06/24 – Dallas, TX – Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie
  • 06/26 – Atlanta, GA – Fox Theatre
  • 06/27 – Nashville, TN – Carl Black Chevy Woods Amphitheater
  • 06/29 – Philadelphia, PA – The Mann Center for the Performing Arts
  • 06/30 – Wantagh, NY – Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
  • 07/01 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
  • 07/02 – Boston, MA – Blue Hills Bank Pavilion
  • 07/04 – Toronto, ON – Sony Center (Brian Wilson and band only)
  • 07/05 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre
  • 07/06 – Chicago, IL – Ravinia Festival
  • 07/08 – Denver, CO – 1STBANK Center
  • 07/10 – Las Vegas, NV – Chelsea Theater at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
  • 07/12 – Seattle, WA – Benaroya Hall - S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium

Speaking of The Beach Boys, Endless Summer Quarterly Publisher (and Beach Boys Examiner columnist) David Beard takes a look back at the anniversary of "The Beach Boys Today" album ... a more in-depth look will appear in the next issue of ESQ ... but here's a neat recap teaser ...
http://www.examiner.com/article/examiner-exclusive-the-beach-boys-today?CID=examiner_alerts_article


I'm starting to see articles about the Wrecking Crew film documentary about these fantastic musical talents. Here's the New York Post's entry: 


Bob Frable

Yep - we've been singing the praises of this film for the past eight years now and once again the rest of the news world is finally catching up.  That's because it's being released in theaters prior to its DVD release ... music documentaries seem to be doing big business these days ... and as those close to the project already know, this one has taken FOREVER to make its way this far.  (And they're still doing special screenings and film festival showings too!) 

Producer Denny Tedesco recently sent us this Wrecking Crew update:  

Dear Friends and Family of Wrecking Crew,
As many of you know we don't send out many emails unless something is happening.
Well, a lot is happening!
Originally the movie was going to be only in five theaters starting March 13th. As I write this note, we are being launched around North America in 37 theaters. If you can't make it to a local theater, it will also be released on ITUNES and VOD on various cable networks.
The DVD Release will be on June 16th and we hope to send the Kickstarter contributors their DVDs a couple of days before that date. I will let you know about downloads for our KS friends very shortly. I'm still waiting to hear from our distributor.
Since we started screening this project in 2008 at film festivals, one question always came up in the Q&As. "Will there be a soundtrack?"
As of this week, I can say, "Yes!" With the help of Richard Foos (co-founder of Rhino Records & Shout Factory), we will be releasing a 4CD set with some great options.
• 3 CDs will include hits that the Wrecking Crew Members recorded.
• 1 CD will include recordings of the musicians themselves under their own names.
• Double LP (for our vinyl friends!) Click here for a video with Hal Blaine and myself with info about the Soundtrack.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERGw5c-g3p0&list=UU2dNH7GWKH_J-2y94jbrcWQThe New Book
Another great announcement is the release of the latest book by Ken Sharp. Exclusive interviews with members of the Wrecking Crew and artists including the Beach Boys, the Byrds, Cher, the Monkees, the Mamas & the Papas, the Righteous Brothers, Jackson 5, Jan & Dean, the Turtles, Paul Revere & the Raiders, the Grass Roots, the Ronettes, The Association, The 5th Dimension, The Carpenters, Herb Alpert and more.
Sound Explosion!: Inside L.A.'s Studio Factory with the Wrecking Crew, a new 12" x 12" album sized book, serves as the perfect companion to the Wrecking Crew film. It is a gorgeous book that was designed by Mark London.
Augmented with hundreds of rare photos, the book also features the back story behind the recording of more than 50 classic songs including "Good Vibrations,""California Dreamin',""You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling,""Mr. Tambourine Man,""Last Train to Clarksville,""River Deep-Mountain High,""Be My Baby,""California Girls,""Help Me, Rhonda,""I Got You Babe,""Wichita Lineman,""Bridge Over Troubled Water,""I Want You Back,""ABC" and "(They Long to Be) Close to You."Click Here to Pre-Order Your Copy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERGw5c-g3p0&list=UU2dNH7GWKH_J-2y94jbrcWQ 


Upcoming Screenings
Here is the latest list of screenings around North America. 
TOMORROW!!!:
• Please note :  On March 13th, I will be at the 7:30 screening for our Los Angeles Premiere which will include many of our cast from the movie. 3/13/2015

West Los Angeles, CA: Nuart Theatre
Los Angeles Premiere Screening at NUART Theater 7:30pm
Join Wrecking Crew members Hal Blaine, Joe Osborn, Don Randi, Bill Pitman, and more of the cast of the moview, along with director Denny Tedesco. Tickets still available!  Be a part of the LA Premiere.

Cambridge, MA: Kendall Square Cinema 9
Dallas, TX: Landmark Theatres
Denver, CO: Mayan Theatre
Portland, OR: Hollywood Theatre
New York, NY: IFC Center 5
Santa Ana, CA: South Coast Village 3
Tucson, AZ: The Loft Cinema

3/20/2015
Columbus, OH: Gateway Film Center 8M
Jefferson City, MO: Capitol City Cinema
San Diego, CA: Ken Cinema
Santa Fe, NM: Jean Cocteau Cinema
Saskatoon, SK: Broadway Theatre

3/27/2015
Berkeley, CA: Shattuck Cinemas 10
Gainesville, FL: Hippodrome - Gainesville
Phoenix, AZ: The FilmBar
San Francisco, CA: Opera Plaza Cinemas 4
San Luis Obispo, CA: Palm Cinema
Seattle, WA: SIFF Cinema at the Uptown
Waterville, ME: Railroad Square Cinema 3

3/31/2015
Winston-Salem, NC: Aperture Cinema

4/3/2015
Bellingham, WA: PFC's Limelight Cinema 3
Palm Desert, CA: Cinemas Palme D'Or 7
Spokane, WA: Magic Lantern Theatre

4/8/2015
Baton Rouge, LA: Manship Theatre

4/9/2015
Wichita, KS: Orpheum Theater

4/10/2015
Fort Worth, TX: Modern Art Museum of Ft. Worth

4/13/2015
Bethlehem, PA: ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks

4/14/2015
Springfield, MO: Moxie Cinema 2

4/20/2015
Lafayette, LA: Acadiana Center for the Arts

4/23/2015
Memphis, TN: Brooks Museum of Art

4/24/2015
Albuquerque, NM: Guild Cinema    

Fans who contributed to The Wrecking Crew Kickstarter Campaign have TRIED to be patient waiting for their customized copy of the DVD to arrive ... but in the meantime the film was picked up by Magnolia Films for national distribution so this delayed things a bit. 
All I can tell you (if you haven't seen it yet) is that it will be WELL worth the wait.  News of the soundtrack album and book make all of this even more exciting.  (Man, I would LOVE to get a signed copy of each, Denny!!!)   

Here's a photo of Denny and me at The Arcada Theatre screening of the film last year ...




More Wrecking Crew press, courtesy of FH Reader Tom Cuddy ... 
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-ms-the-wrecking-crew-sound-explosion-20150308-story.html#page=1 

http://www.malaysiandigest.com/features/544670-the-unknown-super-group-behind-rock-n-roll-s-most-iconic-albums.html 

http://www.billboard.com/articles/magazine/6479908/la-hit-musicians-behind-beach-boys-frank-sinatra-get-their-due 

http://www.laweekly.com/music/studio-musicians-who-played-on-two-decades-of-hits-finally-get-their-due-5414177

Denny also tells us that if the film ISN'T coming to your area, there are still any number of ways to watch it right in the privacy and convenience of your own home ...

Watch On Demand March 13th  
Amazon:Coming Soon
AT&T UVerse: On Demand > Uverse Movies > Featured/Early Releases
Barnes & Noble:Coming Soon
Cablevision:On Demand > Movies > Advanced Screenings
Charter: Channel 1 (On Demand) - Movie > New Releases (Search Titles)
CinemaNow: Coming Soon
Comcast: Top Picks > New Movies
HD On Demand > Movies > Just In
HD On Demand > Movies > Indies & Foreign > Magnolia Pictures
Cox: Early Screening > In Theaters
DirectTV: Channel 1000 and 1100 (On Demand) > Movies > (Search Titles)
Dish: DVR Button > All Movies > Search Movies > Search by Film or Actor
FlixFling: Search Title
Google Play: Coming Soon
iTunes: Coming Soon
Playstation 3 Store: Video > Playstation Store > Studios > Magnolia Pictures (Search Titles)
SuddenLink: Movies & Events > New Releases
Time Warner Cable: HD Movies > Movies
Verizon FIOS: Movies > By Genre > All > Indies & Docs > Magnolia
VUDU Coming Soon
Xbox360 / Zune Video Market Place > Zune > Featured (Search Titles)
YouTube: Coming Soon
See more at: 
http://www.magpictures.com/thewreckingcrew/#watchondemand

News came last night about the passing of Jimmy Greenspoon of Three Dog Night.  We knew he hadn't been well ... and if you saw our special "Happy Together" review yesterday, you know that Chuck Negron asked fans to keep him in their prayers during this difficult time.
I got this note from Mark Bego, biographer of the rock stars, this morning and wanted to run it for our readers ...

Kent:
Hello there.  I am sure you heard about the passing of Jimmy Greenspoon of Three Dog Night, March 11.  At a loss to find a way to immediately channel my grief for the passing of a dear friend, I composed the following.  Hopefully you can run it in Forgotten Hits.
Many thanks,
Mark
Jimmy Greenspoon of Three Dog Night (1948 – 2015)
Jimmy Greenspoon was one of the most upbeat, talented, energetic, and positive thinking people I have ever met. I had the rare privilege of writing his autobiography with him, "One is the Loneliest Number" (1991).  Along the way, we became close friends. I am so saddened to hear of his passing today. He came to New York City in the late 1980s, and together we plotted to tell his wild roller coaster ride to the top of the rock world, his descent into the depths of drug abuse, and his dramatic stint with rehabilitation.  We hit it off immediately, and we plotted to write what we thought was the ultimate rock & roll autobiography.  Being with Jimmy was like trying to harness a tornado.  He had such boundless energy.  Once we sold our proposal to a publisher, I moved into his house in Arizona, and we worked every day for over four months.  Together we created one of the best and most popular rock & roll books of my career.  When I came up with the idea of producing a radio show, it was Jimmy who stepped up to the plate and wrote me a theme song called “On the Mark.”  When I told him that I wanted to write a rock & roll cookbook, he was one of the first rock stars to give me recipes.  That was the kind of friend he was.  Whatever was needed, he was there to help.  Jimmy Greenspoon continues to be an inspiration to so many people — me included.  The world has lost a wonderful and talented keyboard player, and we have all lost a dear friend. Jimmy was truly the heart of Three Dog Night. His music and his talent lives on.
Mark Bego
Three Dog Night enjoyed a run as the most popular band in the world ... and while the three lead singers got most of the attention, there is no question about the support they got from the musicians on stage behind them. (In fact, they often did a song or two on their own in the middle of the set.)
So sad to hear of Jimmy's passing ... it sounds like he had a true and meaningful impact on your life ... so I am VERY happy to share your memories with our readers.  Thanks, Mark.  (kk)
http://hub.contactmusic.com/news/three-dog-night-star-jimmy-greenspoon-loses-cancer-battle_4629398


Paul McCartney (who helped cowrite another Kanye West track just released this past week ... is enjoying Top Five chart success with Rihanna with "FourFiveSeconds" ... and is reportedly working next with Lady Ga-Ga) apparently just isn't busy enough these days ... so he's lending his hand to a brand new recording project put together by Alice Cooper, Joe Perry of Aerosmith and his buddy Johnny Depp.  Billing themselves as The Hollywood Vampires, Paul's contribution will be a brand new recording of the track he wrote for Badfinger (and the Ringo Starr film "The Magic Christian"), "Come And Get It", a #3 Hit here in The USA back in early 1970.  Then he goes off on a tour of The UK.  (Wonder when he finds time to go to the bathroom?!?!)  kk

FH Reader Mike De Martino asked Gary Loizzo, lead singer of The American Breed, if he might be participating in the up-coming Marty Grebb Benefit Concert being held May 7th at The Arcada Theatre ...  
I asked him if he would be sitting in at the Bucks reunion. People we need to push him.   
Mike De Martino
Don't know yet ... if I do, it will be a last minute decision.Gary  
He certainly would be a welcome addition ... but we've got to be VERY careful here ... under NO circumstances are we allowed to refer to this as a Buckinghams Reunion ... this is simply four guys ... Nick Fortuna, Carl Giammarese, Marty Grebb and Dennis Tufano ... who, you'll note, have been very carefully listed alphabetically ... all of whom just HAPPENED to have one time performed together as The Buckinghams ... taking the stage for one VERY special night ... playing some of the hits OF The Buckinghams ... together again on stage for a very worthy cause.  However, in the concentrated concern of "political correctness" (and in no uncertain terms as mandated by the powers that be running this whole thing), this is NOT to be referred to as a "Buckinghams Reunion" ... we've been given VERY strict orders about this (and have already been reprimanded once for referring to it as such ... which we never actually did, by the way, but there are SOME people involved in this who seem to be more concerned with throwing their weight around than focusing on the REAL reason for the concert ... and I'm not about to get in the middle of THAT bullshit!!!) 
So ... for the record ... it's Nick, Carl, Marty and Dennis ... performing "the hits of The Buckinghams" ... for one night only at The Arcada Theatre on Thursday, May 7th.  Hopefully you already got your tickets ... because from what I understand, they're selling VERY quickly!!!  (kk)

Speaking of great acts that came out of Chicago, a brand new tour featuring Chicago and Earth, Wind and Fire has just been announced ... but, incredibly, Chicago is NOT part of the itinerary!!!  (I can assure you that this will change ... NO WAY they're not going to stop here and give the home-town fans something to cheer about!!!)  This should be a GREAT concert event ... both bands have performed together in the past and it is REALLY something to see.
Here are all the details as they currently stand, according to Vintage Vinyl News ...
http://www.vintagevinylnews.com/2015/03/touring-chicago-and-earth-wind-fire-to.html?utm_source=VVN+Music+E-Mail+Subscribers&utm_campaign=9a9de3aa10-March+5%2C+2015+Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3a4dfe0b50-9a9de3aa10-89761121
UPDATE:  I just got an email from Lee Loughnane of Chicago and, believe it or not, Chicago is NOT on the list for this go 'round!  Lee tells us:
Hi Kent,  
Great to hear from you. The offer from Live Nation to partner with Earth, Wind and Fire came in pretty late.  By then we had already set up many shows, including two nights at Ravinia ... so unfortunately, the answer is no ... we won't be playing Chicago with EWF this time through. Crazy I know, but that's the way it worked out. We are hoping to come back to Chicago with EWF after we have fulfilled our commitment to Ravinia, probably  later in the year.  
Thanks,  
Lee  
And you can bet that Forgotten Hits will let you know EXACTLY when that's going to happen ... man, what a GREAT double-bill this is ... I've gotta to believe both bands enjoy these shows every bit as much as the FANS do!!!  Thanks, Lee!  (kk)

FH Reader Tom Cuddy tells us that Earth, Wind and Fire were on Ellen yesterday ... and that after their performance, they plugged their upcoming tour with Chicago ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sYmy39HUUg&app=desktop   

Did you happen to see the Shania Twain "Live From Las Vegas" television special a couple of weeks ago.  Well, Shania (long one of our favorites) has just announced HER farewell tour, too.  (It'll stop in Chicago on July 29th at the Allstate Arena.)  By the way, if you enjoyed the special, you can pick up a live concert DVD (TWICE as long as the television special) AND an accompanying CD exclusively at WalMart.  (kk)

Micky Dolenz of The Monkees celebrated his 70th Birthday last week ... WTG, Mickster!
http://www.examiner.com/list/on-monkee-micky-dolenz-s-70th-birthday-a-look-at-some-of-his-career-highlights

The music of our lives just keeps fading further and further away. 
In a new article this past week, Billboard Magazine named The Top Ten Girl Groups Of All-Time ... and although The Supremes topped the list, you won't find much else to cheer about if you grew up in what USED to be known as "The Girl Group Era" ...
Also included ... The Top Ten Girl Group Hits, led by The Emotions with their 1977 chart-topper "Best Of My Love".  (kk)  

Here's more from that great Jeremy Roberts interview with Mark Lindsay ...

From FH Reader Dave Barry, here is YOUR chance to overpay for albums you probably already have in your collection anyway!!!
https://www.yahoo.com/makers/why-this-record-stores-750-lps-are-hot-sellers-112730604250.html

Got this from our FH Buddy David Salidor, who just started working with a fellow by the name of FRANK SHINER, who has recorded an album produced by Gary Katz of Steely Dan fame.  The impetus was to do an album of new standards ... so he's cut songs by the likes of Costello, Ferry, Waits, Newman and Paul Simon.  
Frank has a show coming up at The Cutting Room on March 21st ... so we wanted to get the word out there in time for interested folks to catch the show ...

The artistry of Frank Shiner lies in his lifetime of experience in singing and acting. “As a student of Shakespeare, and a student of language, the song is a play and the lyric is the most important thing to me. If a pretty sound comes out after that, it’s a bonus … never the initial goal”.  
Shiner has, with the release of his first album, achieved the rare distinction of creating a work that sounds remarkably like something from the Great American Songbook, yet the songs are actually all hidden gems from some of the most gifted composers around; Paul Simon, Tom Waits, Van Morrison, and Randy Newman, to name a few.  The Real Me, Frank Shiner’s aptly titled debut album on Bakerson / Universal Records, is immediately a pop adult standards work; concentrating on a new breed of standards, from the “deliciously jazzy” simplicity of Elvis Costello’s “Almost Blue,” to the “cool, sexy” rhythms of Tom Waits’ “Temptation.”  
The L. A. Examiner said of the album, “Just when you thought that Josh Groban and Michel Buble held the patent on amazing voices, along comes Frank Shiner to shatter those preconceived notions.”
“I'm kind of a genetically modified singer,” Frank says … “I'm what happens when you splice a dramatic tenor with a blues singer.”  
Taken together, the songs on the album describe a chapter in Shiner’s decades-long love affair with his wife Suzanne.  Nearly twenty years earlier, with one child to raise and another on the way, Shiner decided to put his career on hold.   
“There were never any regrets”, says Shiner, “I fulfilled my responsibility as a husband and father and I take great satisfaction in that.” 
In 2010, Suzanne began a battle with cancer “a truly life altering experience that changes your perspective on everything,” according to Shiner. 
The depth of the couple’s relationship courses through nearly every song on The Real Me (“Feels Like Home” written by Randy Newman, became a Top 5 AC single for Shiner), as his wife went through hell, which makes her prodding of her husband during an open mic night at a small suburban nightspot in late 2010 even more moving and climactic. She pulled on his heartstrings saying it would bring her great joy if he would sing … the only thing that could get him up on the bandstand.  The bandleader rushed out to the parking lot afterwards to collar Shiner before he disappeared and went on trying to recruit him for months.   One day he said, “Frank, music heals the soul.” The singer finally took the advice to heart, with all that he and his wife were going through with her illness. 
Recording these near-biographical songs with producer Gary Katz was the realization of a dream that only resurfaced a few years ago.  Katz, best known for his work with Steely Dan, has also produced for Joe Cocker, Laura Nyro, Diana Ross, and many others. 
Shiner met the challenge of the recording process with the same straightforward resilience that sent him up to the bandstand that night in 2010. After half a lifetime of dreams deferred, Shiner’s mind was flooded with thoughts of his father telling him thirty years before, “Follow your heart.” 
Starting at age ten, Shiner worked side-by-side with his father in the family-owned bakery in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Into Catholic high school, ever the class clown, Shiner’s musical universe expanded. His teachers nurtured his musical talent in “seasonal singers and chorus,” and when Shiner was cast as Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, “I finally felt at home, when I stood on that stage and heard the audience reaction, I said, ok this is what I want to do.” 
Shiner’s debut single, “Driving Home for Christmas,” was a holiday evergreen from the pen of British-singer/songwriter Chris Rea. The song was produced by Gary Katz (Steely Dan), and Shiner donated all proceeds to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in honor of his late father. 
“I go about life from my heart,” says Shiner. “I love hard, I suffer from anger, I suffer from loving too much, I suffer from worry, but it’s all from my heart … it’s all real.” 
With back-back successful shows at Manhattan’s 54 Below (and, an upcoming show at The Cutting room on March 21) Shiner is embarking on a cross-country tour in support of the album.  
www.frankshiner.com 
https://www.facebook.com/FrankShinerMusic  
Looks like Frank's already got his second radio hit ... "Feels Like Home" made The Top Five on the AC Chart ... and now they're playing "The Real Me"!  In fact, his second single "The Real Me" - out now - lands in the Top 20 this week, 5th Most Added in its 8th week, and tied for the 2nd biggest jump in the top 20 with Columbia's Ella Henderson and Universal's Colbie Caillat.(kk)

MARC LACOURCIERE'S "FENDER LEGENDS" PAINTINGBECOMES INSTANTANEOUS SMASH HIT,QUICKLY SELLING FIVE PIECES AFTER UNVEILINGON BOARD RECENT ROCK LEGENDS CRUISE III - PARTIAL PROCEEDS FROM RECENT SALES OF "FENDER LEGENDS"AT MEMORABILIA AUCTION TO BENEFIT NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE ASSOCIATIONTHIS ONE-OF-A-KIND CANVAS, OVER TWO YEARS IN THE MAKING, FEATURES SUCH FENDER GUITAR GREATS AS JIMI HENDRIX, KEITH RICHARDS,  ERIC CLAPTON,JEFF BECK, GEORGE HARRISON, BOB DYLAN, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN,PETE TOWNSHEND  AND STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN AMONG OTHER LEGENDS    

Within minutes of its unveiling onboard the recent Rock Legends Cruise III, the "Fender Legends" painting created by world-renowned fine artist Marc Lacourciere was a smash hit.     
Lacourciere -- a proud supporter of the Native American Heritage Association and their past three Rock Legends Cruises -- simply wowed the crowd, quickly selling five pieces of his epic "Fender Legends" that features thirty-two Fender guitarists all on one canvas. 
Only proving that good news travels fast, Marc sold another five shortly after his return to land. 
Each of the "Fender Legends" pieces sold includes an individual sketch on the back of one of the artists featured making each truly unique.  
The ones spoken for thus far include Leo Fender, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, David Gilmour, George Harrison, Dusty Hill, Bruce Springsteen, Keith Urban, Bob Dylan and Ronnie Wood, with interest already expressed in Jimi Hendrix, Keith Richards and Jeff Beck.
A brief video of Marc creating the work can be seen on his site atwww.musicfineart.com/art/fender.php.
During the cruise, Marc was able to present the legendary Alice Cooper with a "Welcome to my Nightmare" piece that he created last year, which made for another dream come true.      


Marc plans to continue capturing some of rock's greatest musicians with future works.
What's on the horizon?
AC/DC, Pete Townshend and The Who.
Meet the new boss ... same as the old boss.


"I've always been a huge music fan and thought that it would be a personal challenge to depict some of the great music legends that I have always admired," states fine artist Marc Lacourciere, who will be unveiling his latest, and perhaps greatest, painting titled, "Fender Legends," on board this week's Rock Legends Cruise III.
Lacourciere, considered one of the world's most sought after fine artists, has combined his passion for music with an extraordinary artistic talent to create the ultimate expression of musical performance art.
Over the years, he's painted everyone from Aerosmith to ZZ Top... many a rock notable from A to Z, including the Beatles, the Doors, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and the Rolling Stones.   
It's now the beginning of 2015 and to kick off the year, Marc is proud to announce his unique collaboration with the iconic musical instrument manufacturer, Fender, and his new "Fender Legends" painting honoring the greats.   
Since 1946, Fender has defined the signature sound of music.
With its illustrious history, their instruments have touched and transformed music worldwide, transcending into almost every genre of music, making it a cultural icon.   
Two years in the making, Marc Lacourciere's "Fender Legends" painting features music pioneer Leo Fender and the following guitarists:  Jeff Beck, James Burton, Eric Clapton, Kurt Cobain, Robert Cray, Sheryl Crow, Bob Dylan, David Gilmour, Buddy Guy, George Harrison, Jimi Hendrix, Dusty Hill, Buddy Holly, James Jamerson, Mark Knopfler, Yngwie Malmsteen, Johnny Marr, Marcus Miller, Tom Morello, Malina Moye, Brad Paisley, Jaco Pastorius, Bonnie Raitt, Keith Richards, Bruce Springsteen, Joe Strummer, Pete Townshend, Keith Urban, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Muddy Waters, Brian Wilson and Ronnie Wood
Truly an epic tribute featuring some of the greatest legends to ever strap on, or plug in, a Fender guitar!
All immortalized on canvas to celebrate Fender's rich history and the artists that helped create it.
There will be 32 highly-collectible individually embellished artist proof (Exhibition Edition) canvases in all, numbering 1 through 32, each measuring 40" x 53".   
All licensed prints come framed with a Certificate of Authenticity (C.O.A.) and begin at $7500 (S & H not included).
What makes these prints even more collectible is the fact that each piece features an individual sketch on the back of one of the artists featured, making each truly unique ... no two are the same.
In addition to the 32 prints offered to the public, Marc created a special "Leo Fender" print (with sketch) numbered "O" that is already spoken for...
As the official artist for all three Rock Legends Cruises (www.rocklegendscruise.com), Marc will be donating partial proceeds from this week's onboard auction (and partial proceeds from sales through March 1, 2015) to the Native American Heritage Association, the charitable organization hosting, and benefiting from, the Cruise.
On the original Rock Legends Cruise in the fall of 2011, he did a painting of ZZ Top, the featured headliner, that was followed by a painting of Foreigner who headlined RLC II in January of 2013.
This year, Marc will be displaying his painting of Alice Cooper, who will not only be rocking the boat but signing one of Marc's "Welcome to my Nightmare" prints for charity.   
In addition to the Fender painting, Marc will be unveiling two other new art pieces on board RLC III including a non-music painting titled, "Spiritual Harmony."
Orders can be placed before or after the cruise for any of Marc's fine art prints by calling 519.735.7779.

For additional information on artist Marc Lacourciere, please see his official websites atwww.musicfineart.comandwww.www.motormarcart.com 
"Fender Legends" Information - www.musicfineart.com/art/fender.php
"Welcome to my Nightmare" Painting -www.musicfineart.com/art/alice-cooper.php
Native American Heritage Association -www.naha-inc.org

Please "Like" Wages of Spin II "Bring Down That Wall" on Shop PBS
Wages of Spin "Bring Down That Wall" #1 Slot PBS Music Section: http://www.shoppbs.org/family/index.jsp?categoryId=1401343
The "Wages of Spin II" continues to weave the narrative thread established with the acclaimed (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, over 1000 PBS affiliate airings-featured on Entertainment Tonight) first installment. In post-payola scandal America, the recording industry turned to new methods to game the free market of creative content in its favor. Little do millions of Americans know that the soundtrack of their lives, the hits they hummed on the way to school to work and to play, were handpicked by a seedy consortium of Record Labels Executives, Promotion Men, Organized Crime Figures and Radio Programmers/DJ's in a ruthless battle for radio airtime which drove record sales. The story is deeper and more tragic than just the songs that got airtime and the artists who got shortchanged, but those artists who didn't get airtime and were condemned to a lifetime of anonymity because of a system that relied on crooked independent promotion men who created a safety buffer for their clients (record labels). The recording industry was also deeply infiltrated by and beholden to organized crime families and their cronies even in the upper levels of corporate management. The Wages of Spin II also explores a DOJ investigation into MCA that was shut down by The DOJ hierarchy and the quid pro quo history of Ronald Reagan, Lew Wasserman and MCA and how that relationship impacted the aforementioned DOJ investigation and the relationship of several key members of Reagan's hierarchy and MCA and MCA executives and organized crime families.
The story is about --
Crooked independent promotion men (many of whom had ties to organized crime families) who created a safety-buffer for their clients (Record Labels).
The power of The Network (independent promoters) to pick winners and losers in a rigged system.
The Network shutting out Pink Floyds "Another Brick In The Wall" single due to CBS Records refusal not to pay the "Indies". (As told by Dick Asher Deputy President of CBS Records).
· The Networks ties to Organized Crime via the independent promotion men and record labels executives allocating funds to independent promotion men in exchange for kickbacks.
Organized crime infiltration into the record industry.
Tens of millions of dollars distributed to the independent promotion men to secure radio airtime.
A division head of MCA directly connected to organized crime threatening Edwin Meese to shutdown the investigation into MCA and the investigation being shut down shortly afterwards.
Two division heads of MCA being directly connected to mob families.
The feud between two MCA executives that was resolved by John Gotti.
Lew Wasserman's history/relationship with organized crime and Ronald Reagan.
Wasserman bringing organized crime members into MCA and mentoring them.
An alleged 50 million dollar pay off to Irving Azoff to walk away from MCA. · The political players and White House circumvention of the Department of a Justice Investigation into MCA.
The investigation into MCA (and wiretaps) being shutdown and sealed and the tapes disappearing from a secured government facility in Maryland.
Two DOJ strike force prosecutors careers being ruined for refusing not to pursue MCA after being told to by their superiors in Washington D.C. to do so.
The Character Driven Productions Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Archive DVD
Collection Package (Wages of Spin I and II and Special Edition Charlie Gracie
"Fabulous") available 1/13/15 for World Wide DVD retail.!
Our Films are available for DVD retail sales thru the following retailers World Wide: FYE, Best Buy, Barnes and Noble, Sears, MVD Entertainment, CD Universe, KMart, DVD World, Turner Classic Movies, Video Warehouse, Heartland Music, ShopPBS, Cash Wise, Music Video Distributors, Newegg, Movie Stop, WhereHouse, DVD Planet, Spun, HotMovieSale, KroeseOnline, Cdon.com. Several additional retailers available thru Search Engines. Our films are available for retail in over 20
countries World Wide. 

When I told you about the Glen Campbell movie playing in Schaumburg, I forgot to mention that my mother and I did see him a couple summers ago on his last tour at Ravinia.   We were in the second row and he actually looked at us a few times for help with the lyrics.  Sad, but what a trooper he was.  It was a memorable concert, one we were glad to see. 
Thanks for all you do for our music.  
Janet Weiner  

Paul Evans (recently the topic of MUCH discussion here in Forgotten Hits for his 1959 Hit "Seven Little Girls Sitting In The Back Seat") sent us a couple of tracks he recorded for St. Patrick's Day ... right around the corner!
Hey all, Here comes St. Patrick's Day!
Here's a track from my Ace Records "Folk Songs of Many Lands" CD  (Original - 1960) ...Wearing of the Green.
The album also featured "The British Grenadiers" (One for "the other side").  :-)
Paul




Yes, it's been 50 years now ...
But it still come up every once in awhile.
(No, not THAT!!!  Well MAYBE that, every time somebody references the "Whipped Cream" album cover and its cover girl, model Dolores Erickson, a staple of Forgotten Hits perhaps more so than any other feature over the past fifteen years!!!)
A "Where Are They Now" article written by Erik Lacitis in 2012 has become one of the most linked-to pieces on Facebook again in 2015 as the #1 Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass album celebrates its 50th anniversary.  
(This time it was sent in to us by FH Reader Steve Sarley): 

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/herb-alperts-whipped-cream-lady-now-76-living-in-longview-and-looking-back/


More from LJ Coon regarding reopening the Buddy Holly plane crash investigation ... now even Don McLean is talking about it!!!     

Dear Kent:
Thank You for all of your kind encouragement.
There are 450 plus TV, Radio, news web-sites as well as Aviation Universities World Wide now asking for
The NTSB's Investigation into 'The Mason City Iowa accident February-3-1959
(Pilot, Roger Peterson - Buddy Holley - Ritchie Valens - J P Richardson 'The Bopper' )
CNN reached out and asked Don McLean, his thoughts on the NTSB Investigation. He goes on to beat me up a little bit, and in return, we both receive mixed comments and responses from CNN followers reference The NTSB's Investigation. 
L J
L J Coon

All aboard!!!
Look at all the folks who are talking about this story now ... six weeks after NOBODY else in the media (other than us!) found it newsworthy!!!
Many thanks to ALL of these sources for acknowledging our contribution to getting the word out ... not!  (kk)
 



WHAT WOULD THE WORLD OF ROCK AND ROLL BE WITHOUT THE DAILY LAWSUITS???

Got these news headlines from a few FH Readers this past week ...
Pharrell Denies Cribbing Gaye For ‘Blurred Lines’ At Trial

Pop star Pharrell Williams told a California federal jury Wednesday that his hit “Blurred Lines” doesn’t infringe Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up,” telling an attorney for Gaye’s family during a contentious cross-examination that any connections between the songs were made after the fact.
UPDATE:  Marvin Gaye's family won this lawsuit ... to the tune of something like $7.4 million!


A Manhattan jury on Wednesday hit Soul Temple, a record label with ties to the Wu-Tang Clan, with a $200,000 copyright infringement verdict for willfully grabbing two images of boomboxes produced by Lyle Owerko from the Internet for use on Wu-Tang rapper U-God's 2013 solo album “The Keynote Speaker” and related merchandise.


A California federal judge Monday allowed the widow of the songwriter behind The Monkee's 1967 chart-topper "Daydream Believer" to pursue claims that Screen Gems-EMI Music Inc. wrongfully withheld royalties, saying the plaintiffs adequately alleged the music publisher paid itself half of foreign royalties before giving composers their cut.
MY TWO CENTS:  A lawsuit like this is cold ... and it stings.
Amid Sirius Fight, Hawaii Mulling Pre-1972 Records Law

With courts in states across the country considering the tricky question of whether Sirius and Pandora need to pay to perform pre-1972 recordings, Hawaii is now considering a law that would specifically require it.

A measure to make " Hang On Sloopy " Ohio's official rock song passed in the Ohio House, 82-13. It now moves on to the state Senate. The 1960's hit has been a crowd favorite for decades at Ohio State University games. The university's marching band first performed it in 1965.

They won't go for that 
Rock & Roll Hall Of Famers Daryl Hall & John Oates are suing a Brooklyn artisanal granola company for calling one of their hipster - friendly products " Haulin ' Oats. " The music duo claimed in their Brooklyn federal suit that Red Hook - based Early Bird is profiting off their fame. 
"The name and mark Haulin' Oats is an obvious play upon plaintiff's well known Hall & Oates mark," the suit states. Founded by a former manager of Brooklyn's Franny's restaurant, Early Bird promises customers superior granola - related products.  The Haulin' Oats line - which runs $27 for a 3 pack - is touted as a "small-batch" offering. The duo wants Early Bird to stop using the name, plus damages.
kk:  Garfunkel and Oates they have no problem with ... in fact, John Oates has even appeared ON that program!!!  But a clever play on words to sell a healthy snack ignites a lawsuit.  There was a time when they would have KILLED for this kind of publicity!

Vito Picone is recovering from major heart surgery.  Vito is the lead singer of The Elegants.  They had a #1 hit with "Little Star" in 1958.
ME-TV-FM:   
People are still talking about Chicago's new ME-TV-FM ...
Isn’t it against the law for a Radio Station to play Lionel Richie four times a week? Should Be!  
Ken Freck
Seriously, when's the last time you heard Harry Nilsson or Willie Nelson on the radio??? I'm loving it!
Marlene

Other random comments we've seen and heard ...

I am loving the variety of this new station ... so many songs we haven't heard in a long, long time.  
The other day I heard "Run To Me" by The Bee Gees ... which sounded wonderful on the way to work.  But then I heard it again on the way HOME from work  ... and I hope this isn't a pattern that's starting to develop.  This is the third or fourth time now I've heard them play the same song 6-8 hours apart.
We've noticed it, too ... and it's VERY annoying ... because this should NEVER happen with a radio station that has a play list this deep.  Hopefully one of the glitches they're still trying to work out before the official launch.  (kk)


Caught the new 87.7 FM Saturday night ... loved their play list ... I'm hearing tracks I haven't heard in years!  Really dug hearing some cuts by Bryan Hyland, Henry Gross and the Impressions.  I think they need to "up" the tempo and rock a little more ... but at least I haven't heard Hotel California!
And actually we have ... twice now ... and "Lights" by Journey, too ... and more and more Fleetwood Mac and James Taylor.  I agree with the "upping the tempo" idea ... but they definitely HAVE improved in that regard.  It's a great mix of music ... but I feel like I'm holding a score card now for all the songs I've heard six or seven times in a two week period ... which is everything this station was NOT supposed to be.  Right now I'd say I'm pushing the button to listen to something else about 20% of the time ... which is still WAY better than nearly every other station in town ... but also considerably more than I was when the station first launched and I never heard a single repeat in seven days.  (They have a play list deep enough to accommodate this ... they just need to organize it better!)  kk

In Closing ... 

The variety is incredible ... seriously, when is the last time you waited in the car for an extra minute and a half just to see what a radio station was going to play next before turning it off ... and then, on more than one occasion, WAIT to hear that song play and go through the exact same process again in order to check out the next one?
On my round trip to the grocery store on Sunday I heard "I Want It That Way" by The Backstreet Boys, "Copacabana" by Barry Manilow, "Laugh, Laugh" by The Beau Brummels, "Day After Day" by Badfinger, "Stoney End" by Barbra Streisand, "God Only Knows" by The Beach Boys, "I'll Be Back" by The Beatles, "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" by The Bee Gees, "For The Love Of Him" by Bobbi Martin, "Montego Bay" by Bobby Bloom, "Ode To Billie Joe" by Bobbie Gentry", "Im A Drifter" by Bobby Goldsboro (which will appeal to a music-hog like me but probably not too many others ... makes more sense to play "Watching Scotty Grow" which is FAR more recognizable and is nearly the exact same melody anyway!) and "Don't Stop" by Fleetwood Mac.
OMG ... who would have EVER thought that you could play the music of the '50's, the '60's, the '70's, the '80's and the '90's side by side on a radio station?!?!  (Well actually I DO know of ONE guy!!!)  And, near as I can tell, nobody died ... NOBODY'S head exploded from this concept being more than their brains could absorb ... NOBODY contacted the station and said "STOP! I can't take it anymore ... this is just TOO MUCH MUSIC!!!".  In fact, quite the contrary would be true ... we received DOZENS and DOZENS of emails RAVING about the station ... and how good it was to hear these songs on the radio again ... which is EVERYTHING we have been preaching (to mostly deaf ears unfortunately) for the past fifteen years.
Me-TV-FM is nearly EVERYTHING we've wanted in a radio station ... sure, I'd still tweak a few things ... get rid of this and add that ... but the fact that we can listen to it in our CARS is the biggest plus of all.  (At work I still listen to Rewound Radio, who have been featuring the same concept for YEARS now ... without much from the '80's or anything from the '90's ... and quite a bit more '50's ... still a pleasure to listen to each and every day, especially since Me-TV-FM isn't streaming yet.)
Honestly, I'm hearing more and more "repeats" ... and not necessarily always the good ones ... I believe I'm up to my sixth spin of "The Morning After" now ... and I'm only in the car about two hours per day.  I almost hate to type this ... but if a radio station is going to force me to hear the same song six times in that short a period of time (and I don't believe ANY radio station should do that ... for ANY song), I'd still have to pick "Jack and Diane" over "The Morning After"!!! 
Also, if this is (as they keep telling us) "the construction zone", why aren't things getting better?  Why are we hearing even MORE glitches and repeats if they're truly fine-tuning things? (Yesterday, I heard a Dusty-glitch ... "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" followed one song later by "Son Of A Preacher Man" ... and both after already hearing "A Brand New Me" earlier in the day.  I LOVE that song ... and it's a great "wow factor" track ... but not if you've already played it four times in the past two weeks ... it defeats the whole purpose of the "wow"!!!)  I also heard "Cherish" by Kool and the Gang followed one song later by "Cherish" by The Association.  Now had those two played back-to-back, I might have smiled at an attempt at clever programming ... instead it just came off as a mistake.  Sometimes it feels like nobody's watching the store.  (And more of the "same old same old" keeps popping up, too ... more Fleetwood Mac tunes, "Lights" by Journey ... and I had to turn off "Hotel California" yesterday ... I can already hear ALL of these songs and artists twenty times a day on six other radio stations in town ... there is no need to invade my Me-TV-FM radio space now, too!)
Then again, when they're "on", the surprises are all over the board ... in addition to The Backstreet Boys song mentioned above (which fit PERFECTLY, by the way), I've also heard "My Kind Of Town, Chicago Is ..." by Frank Sinatra (huh?!?!), "Chances Are" by Johnny Mathis (I don't think ANYBODY thought they were going to go back THIS far) and, believe it or not, "Nature's Way" by Spirit, a song that even Chicago's Classic Rock stations don't play anymore!!!
The overall response has been EXTREMELY positive ... people are LOVIN' this brand new station ... 87.7 on the FM dial in Chicago ... and we're hearing from readers across the country who are jealous that THEY don't have a Me-TV Radio Station where THEY live!!!  (lol)  [With Me-TV available all over the country, syndication of this new radio station is NOT out of the question ... it just may be coming to your area sooner than you think!]
Believe me ... if this catches on to the degree I believe it will ... and have always predicted it would ... there will soon be more variety on the radio dial EVERYWHERE again ... and the concept of listening to the radio just may come back again ... at least for those in the 35+ age group ... which just may spark a whole new desired demographic once the ratings books prove who's REALLY listening to the radio today ... 'cause it sure isn't the demographic they're currently programming to!!!  (The under 35 group have other ways of listening to their music ... radio has truly become the "connection" for us older folks who grew up with radio by its side ... isn't it about time they started catering to their REAL audience again???)  
If Me-TV-FM is successful in proving my point, can syndication ... or copy-cat programming ... be far away?  OMG, radio just might get INTERESTING again!!!  (kk) 
↧
↧

A Brand New Monthly Feature

March 13, 2015, 4:00 am
$
0
0
You'll want to be sure to check out The Forgotten Hits Website this Sunday, March 15th ...

That's when we launch our brand new Monthly Play List Feature in conjunction with Joel Whitburn's Record Research!

On the 15th of every month, we'll feature a time-capsule recap of the biggest hits of that month for any given year, 1955 - 1984.  (This month it's all about "Where Were You In '62?")!

You'll get a recap of that month's 25 Biggest Hits (as tabulated by Billboard Magazine) along with a special medley of those 25 Hits put together by Joel Whitburn himself.  We'll even direct you to his website so you can order copies of Joel's Play List Books for your own library.  (These lists also make for GREAT programming ideas for all the jocks on our list!)

And, as he ALWAYS does, Joel's got another hot new release coming up!

Just as he did with all of The Billboard Charts from 1955 - 2009, Joel will soon be offering exact photo reprints of EVERY Cash Box Chart published in the 1970's!!!

These are black and white reproductions of Cash Box's Top 100 Pop Singles List for every week of the decade.  (More books will follow ... but this first one is expected to be ready to ship by the end of May!)

You can check out all the details below (or visit Joel's website where you can even view some sample pages.)

Here's another GREAT book you'll want to add to your Record Research Library Collection!


https://www.recordresearch.com/billboard_chart_collections/cash_box_top_100_charts_the_seventies.php




1st In Our New Cash Box Chart Book Series ...

Pre-publication sale on now -- Save $10!

Looking just as they were within the pages of Cash Box magazine are the 520 weekly "Top 100" charts of the 1970s! Each chart was carefully scanned straight from the magazine and is printed here in black and white.
Cash Box Top 100 Charts: The Seventies will arrive in late May, 2015.
Order today! Don't wait until this limited edition is out of stock.

↧

Cinderella

March 14, 2015, 5:48 pm
$
0
0
Saw the new Disney live-action film "Cinderella" this afternoon and felt inspired!





Be sure to visit the Forgotten Hits Website on Sunday Morning after 6 am Central Time and check out our brand new Joel Whitburn's Record Research Playlist Feature!
↧

Joel Whitburn's Record Research Play List ... March, 1962!

March 15, 2015, 4:00 am
$
0
0
Welcome to our brand new monthly feature!

On the 15th of every month, Forgotten Hits will post a new list of Billboard's Top 25 Songs for that corresponding month from any given year, 1955 - 1984.

We kick it off this month with The Top 25 Hits from March of 1962!  (Were were YOU in '62???) 



These lists come courtesy of Joel Whitburn's Record Research ... and you can find a COMPLETE set of charts for EVERY month, 1955 - 1984 in his new "Top Pop Playlists" books.  

We'll be running a new chart every month EXCLUSIVELY in Forgotten Hits.  And, not only do you get a copy of that month's play list but you ALSO get a special medley of these 25 Hits put together by Joel Whitburn himself!



And check this out ... Record Research is offering a special $5 Off offer EXCLUSIVELY to Forgotten Hits Readers who purchase a copy of Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Playlists, 1955 - 1969 and 1970 - 1984.  These are beautiful, full color books with lots of photos of collectible picture sleeves, sheet music and more.  

Here’s the link to check out “Top Pop Playlists 1955-1969” book: https://www.recordresearch.com/pop/top_pop_playlists_1955-1969.php   

Just enter the special promo code CORSAIRS and you'll get a $5 discount when ordering this book!  (This offer is valid from 3/15/15 through 3/31/15, expiring at 11:59 p.m. CST.)  Don't miss this great chance to add this book to your collection!   

And be sure to check back next month for a brand new list from a brand new year!  EXCLUSIVELY in Forgotten Hits!
↧

50 Year Flashback - March 16th, 1965

March 16, 2015, 4:00 am
$
0
0
Here are "The Fabulous 57" Hits of WMCA, home of "The Good Guys" in New York CIty, circa 1965.

They're charting TWO versions of "Red Roses For A Blue Lady" ... Bert Kaempfert's instrumental hit is at #11 while the Vic Dana vocal version is at #21.  (We featured the Wayne Newton version a couple of weeks ago on our 50 Year Flashback!)

Petula Clark's got a couple of songs on the countdown this week ("I Know A Place" comes in at #25, three places ahead of her first US Hit "Downtown", now down to #28.)  In fact there are still quite a few British Invasion Artists represented on this week's chart:  "Goldfinger" by Shirley Bassey is at #2, "Eight Days A Week" by The Beatles is right behind it at #3, followed by Freddie and the Dreamers ("I'm Telling You Now", #4) and Herman's Hermits ("Can't You Hear My Heartbeat", #5).

Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders hold down the #13 spot with their future #1 Hit "Game Of Love", followed by The Animals ("Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", #17), the two previously mentioned Petula Clark hits, "Tired Of Waiting" by The Kinks at #31, "If I Loved You" by Chad and Jeremy at #32, followed by The Searchers (#33 with "Bumble Bee") and Sandie Shaw (#34 with "Girl Don't Come").

The Moody Blues are at #37 with their first big hit, "Go Now", followed by Julie Andrews (technically British, right?) and Dick Van Dyke with the "Mary Poppins" hit "Super-Cali-Fragil-Istic-Expi-Ali-Docious" at #38.  Bringing up the rear are The Who (#46 with "I Can't Explain") and The Rolling Stones, new on the chart with "The Last Time", premiering at #56.  That gives British Acts 16 of the Top 57 songs, or a solid 28%.

Other Forgotten Hits favorites include "The Race Is On" by Jack Jones and "She's About A Mover" by The Sir Douglas Quintet.  I'm also partial to "Double-O-Seven", the follow-up hit for The Detergents ... it occupies the #27 spot this week on WMCA!















↧
↧

Tuesday This And That

March 17, 2015, 4:49 am
$
0
0
re:  Our Monday Morning 50-Year Flashback Series:
Kent,
FYI, Elvis' DO THE CLAM peaked at #11 here in OKC. I couldn't find anything really online by the group Squares with the tune THE "OUT" CROWD. Maybe this was a takeoff of some kind of Dobie Gray's IN CROWD. I know about a year later, Sam the Sham recorded a song called I'M IN (WITH THE OUT CROWD. My first guess was that the Square's tune is an instrumental but I really don't know.
Also in today's FH, the song at chart position #26 , DID YOU EVER by the Hullabaloos, which incidentally I have and made our local survey here, without checking, wasn't that the band that appeared on the weekly music show Hullabaloo? The show Shindig had a group I believe called the Shindogs and they also made a record which also made our local survey.
Larry
"Do The Clam" is one of those songs that achieved far greater success than it deserved, especially when weighed against the other music on the charts in 1965.  (Evidently Elvis still had a very loyal following at this time that bought his new releases no matter WHAT they were!!!  lol)
Rich Appel does his annual I.R.S. Countdown, listing songs (as voted on by music fans around the globe) that THEY feel really shoulda been a Top Ten Hit.  "Do The Clam" is one of those that, in hindsight, really shouldn't have even made The Top 40!  (We've seen similar lists about the "least deserving #1 records" ... quite a few come to mind on THAT list, too!)
 
For more on Rich Appel's upcoming countdown ... and your last chance to file YOUR returns, check this out ...
 
re:  THE I.R.S. COUNTDOWN ... AS IN "IT REALLY SHOULDA" BEEN A TOP TEN HIT:
The deadline is approaching ... you've got until April 1st to file your I.R.S. form at http://www.musicradio77.com/IRS.html  (full details can be found on the site)
This year we'll also be giving away copies of the books “Ranking the ‘60s” and the not-yet-out “Ranking the ‘70s” to random filers … and that we’ll be counting down the 8th Annual I.R.S. Top 104 the weekend of April 10-12 on Rewound Radio. 
Here’s everything you need to know about the 8th annual I.R.S. (“It Really Shoulda” been a Top 10 hit!).
To file your I.R.S. form, simply go to http://www.musicradio77.com/IRS.html by the April 1 deadline. Everyone who files AND leaves his /her mailing address is eligible to win the prizes we’re giving away, such as the books Ranking the ‘60s http://www.amazon.com/Ranking-60s-Comprehensive-Listing-Golden/dp/1492156280 and the not-yet-out Ranking the ‘70s.
Over the weekend preceding the deadline for that other I.R.S. - April 10-12 -  Rewound Radio will play back this year’s I.R.S. 1040, based on the songs you declared on your I.R.S. forms. As always, we’ll count down the upper 10% - the I.R.S. Top 104 - that weekend: Part 1 starts 6 pm Eastern Friday April 10 on Bob Radil’s show; Part 2 plays back on “That Thing with Rich Appel,” Sunday April 12 at 6 pm Eastern.
If you haven’t joined our Facebook group, where there’s currently lots of pre-I.R.S. activity, here’s where that is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/731369260214413/. For any other questions about I.R.S., email me anytime at IRS104@verizon.net. Thanks!
ALWAYS a fun time ... with TONS of songs you just don't hear anymore ... you'll want to tune in and listen to this.
We're also anxious to see Dann Isbell's new book "Ranking the '70's", the follow-up to his "Ranking the '60's" book reviewed here in Forgotten Hits a couple of years ago ...
 
Speaking of variety in radio again ... and songs you don't hear very often ...
 
re:  Me-TV-FM:
I'm in Rockford and love this station. Hope it streams soon!! I'd listen every chance I could.  
Thanks,
Melody Thoren
 
All cards on the table, I'll have to admit I'm becoming a little disenchanted with the new station ... as they get closer to their live launch, they seem to be drifting further and further away from the original concept of the station.  I'm hearing more repeats, more often, than ever before ... more programming errors (the same artist twice within a three or four song rotation) ... and less and less of the variety that a playlist of this size can afford.  (Six Fleetwood Mac songs in a day, six James Taylor songs in a day, etc, etc, etc.  Yesterday it was The Eagles and The Bee Gees ... today I'm sure it'll be somebody else.)  Despite this annoyance, they are still playing some GREAT tracks long-absent from the radio from time to time ... at least half a dozen times a day I'm amazed at hearing something new or different that I haven't heard them play before ... but we're no longer anywhere close to measuring up to the potential they originally exhibited.  VERY disappointing ... because ALL of this can be fixed and then better managed ... yet, as mentioned before, nobody seems to be watching the store.  SOMEBODY should be dedicated to correcting these glitches NOW before listeners start turning away in aggravation.  (I myself turned the station off at least a dozen times yesterday ... yet when they're "on", nothing beats it.  You seem to either get an INCREDIBLE set of music ... 18-20 GREAT songs in a row ... or you get annoyed by hearing something again that you just heard only hours before.)  The big launch campaign should be kicking in in high gear right now with advertisements, billboards, etc ... but asking folks to tune in now during their "construction zone" phase may ultimately turn listeners off ... and then turn them away.  SOMEBODY needs to step in a clean up this mess ... as this COULD be the greatest radio station in Chicago ... and a role model for other cities across the country.  The "construction zone" should be offering up something in the way of improvements ... yet instead I'm finding more and more to complain about.  (A couple of weeks ago I mentioned the Jose Feliciano version of "California Dreamin'" being played on the station, stating at the time that while this wouldn't necessarily be MY choice for a track to feature, something like this once or twice a year might cause a listener's ears to perk up ... I've just heard it now for the fifth time ... it does NOT belong in rotation ... and SOMEBODY over there needs to realize this!  Don't lose your audience at this most crucial point in BUILDING your audience!!!)  kk
 
re:  Our Brand New Monthly Playlist Feature:
I like the new feature for each month ... very colorful and great to see the picture sleeves!  
Clay
 
Kent,
Love your new feature you began today in FH.
You asked the question at the beginning where one was in 1962. Well, I was in high school listening to my favorite top 40 radio station here in OKC, buying the records that made the survey. I still have them and I'll tell you what! I bet I'm not the only reader of yours that will say that.
Great Feature.
Larry Neal 
 
Kent,
It's interesting to see the hits that never got as far as #25 on any given week included in this top 25 list.  By my calculation there are six songs that fall into this category ... e.g. The Marvelettes'"Twistin' Postman" is listed at 25, but had positions #'s 34, 43, 46 and 57 on the four weekly Billboard 100 charts from which the list is calculated.    
 I've taken another look at the March listing and find it strange that Gene Chandler's "Duke of Earl" isn't included as I believe it was in the top 20 for the entire month.  Can any comments be provided on how the rankings are esablished?
I guess this is a testament to the durability of records like the above, that hang around the charts a long time, whereas others are up and then down the chart in no time at all.  
Mike Ogilvie
I asked Joel Whitburn if he could better explain how a record that never got above position #34 in the month of March could end up as the 25th biggest hit of that month ... and can now offer clearer insight into how the points were tabulated ...
The ranking is taken strictly from my “Pop Annual” book.  If you go to year 1962, page 78, check out the Peak Date column.  Look for March dates and you’ll see that the #25 hit “Twistin’ Postman” peaked on 3/3 at position #34 and ranked at #260 for the year.  Moving up the column, next in line is the Paris Sisters “He Knows I Love Him Too Much” at #257, etc., etc., all the way to the top peak hit in March of 1962 “Hey! Baby” by Bruce Channel.
Joel
So the total points are based on the record's accumulation for the year (which is how Joel's Pop Annual book shows the biggest records ranked for any given year) ... and then recalculated by records that peaked in each particular month (or, in this case, March of 1962).  The Pop Play Lists also only list a record ONCE ... meaning that it is only eligible for ranking in the month it first reached its peak chart position.  This way you get 25 unique songs for each and every month with no repeats. After all, a record only peaks once.  (I've addressed this issue before ... because of the formula used, we tend to get a distorted reality in certain situations.  Where I feel this method goes incredibly wrong would be with a record like "I'm A Believer" by The Monkees.  It first reached its peak position (#1) the last week of 1966 .. so technically it only spent seven days in the #1 spot of that year.  However, it spent all 31 days of January in the #1 spot, making it a FAR bigger record than any other record to hit the charts that month ... but because it peaked the previous month, it isn't listed again in January ... only in December of 1966, where the record first peaked.  But if "Believer" spent seven weeks at #1 on The Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles Chart and only ONE of those weeks was during 1966, it will ALWAYS be (to me anyway) the Biggest Hit of 1967.  (Year-End cross-overs are the toughest.  Billboard Magazine themselves used to cut off their year on November 1st, meaning the biggest hits from the previous year would reach their highest peak position just about the time the calendar page turned, thus placing the proper credit into the correct annual timeframe.  Breaking it down by month is even tougher ... I'd have to wager that nearly EVERY record that ever charted with any great success crossed over into multiple months, earning high points overall but not enough in any given 30 day period to rank as high as that record would on the overall year-end chart.  In THIS respect, I feel Joel better accomplishes "the big picture" ... but I guess who can't have it both ways.  (Personally, for me, I would have organized a Top 40 List for each month ... it's a "format" we're more familiar with ... and I would have let records cross-over to any month in which they earned enough points to warrant doing so.  (By expanding the list to 40 titles, you're still getting a large influx of new material each month ranked appropriately against the biggest hits of that month.)  But then make it VERY month specific ... if a deejay picked up this book as a programming tool and then said, "Today we're going to play back The Top 25 Biggest Records of January, 1967" ... and then COULDN'T play "I'm A Believer" by The Monkees, a record that topped the charts for EVERY DAY of January, 1967, he really isn't giving his listening audience a true picture of that moment in time.  If the book were broken down ONLY by points earned during each specific month shown, I believe you'd have a FAR greater outcome ... and a more accurate representation. 
That being said, once you get the proper methodology down, it all makes sense ... the charts ARE representative of the biggest records to peak in each month shown.  Plus, in  addition, you get a GREAT visual with each and every month ... full color charts with photos of original picture sleeves and more.  Be watching for our April selection to hit The Forgotten Hits Website on April 15th!  (kk)
 
re:  BRIAN WILSON AND THE BEACH BOYS / THE WRECKING CREW :
Hi  Kent -
GREAT  email on what's happening with Brian Wilson!
Thank you for all the information. Really looking forward to Love and Mercy. May be going to his Ravinia Concert, too!
Carolyn
 
I still treasure "The Beach Boys Today" album ... a great effort that clearly told us (in hindsight)  Brian Wilson was advancing from "409" and "Shut Down" towards the genius of "Pet Sounds."
However, that being said, Brian illustrated his continued appreciation for doo wop on "Today"  with the Boys' cover of "So Young", a great song done originally by "The Students."
I saw Ronnie Specter do a bang up job on the tune at Ron Onesti's Arcada Theatre few months back, but the Beach Boys' harmony and  "Wrecking Crew" band track developed a very ethereal slice of musical bliss.
Kent, you may know this. Did Brian turn out two versions of "So Young?"
Chet Coppock
Host: Chicago Blackhawks Heritage Series
Over the years, numerous alternate takes and versions of The Beach Boys' tracks have made their way to CD and specialty box sets ... they were also notorious for writing and recording a song one way and then doing a COMPLETE reworking (sometimes as a totally new and different song) at a later date.  They even did this on their #1 Hit "Help Me Rhonda"!!!
I went to David Beard, Publisher of ESQ, on this one for his expert opinion ...
Apparently so!  1965 and 1975.
David Beard
 
Hi Kent -  
Fantastic information!I love anything to do with the Wrecking Crew.  Hal Blaine is amazing. He keeps supplying me leads on people ... best contact I ever had ... he's a star.
So pleased for Denny that the film is getting bigger exposure ... he deserves it. I am going to get Don Randi on my radio show, too .I must get the new book "Sound Explosion" ... I wonder if its available in UK yet?  
Regards,  
Geoff  
Not yet ... sounds like we're still in the pre-order stage right now ... but I'll bet it's fascinating!  (Amazon is showing a release date of September 15th ... wonder if you'll get it sooner through The Wrecking Crew website.)  kk
 
Kent,
The "Wrecking Crew" movie opened in New York last night (Friday, March 13), and I was there to see it. What a fantastic look back at the inner workings of the music industry in the '60s, from the points of view of many of the artists, producers and especially the session musicians who provided the magic behind so many of the hits we heard on the radio back then. It's amazing not only how many hit records featured Wrecking Crew members on the music tracks but also how much work they did day in and day out -- sometimes recording the backing tracks for an entire LP in two sessions in a single day! I highly recommend this movie to anyone who grew up listening to the radio during the '60s, or even anyone who's a fan of the music from that period.
– Randy Price
If you grew up loving the music of the '60's, this is an absolute MUST SEE film ... we've been raving about it for the past eight years ... in limited release (but also available through other means of viewing ... scroll back to our March 12th posting for more details), it is now readily available to anybody who wants to see it.  Don't miss your chance!  (Sounds like the official DVD release has been pushed back to June.)  kk
 
Brian Wilson has a couple of brand new releases planned for Record Store Day this year ... first up a special single release, "The Right Time" / "Sail Away", two tracks from his upcoming "No Pier Pressure" CD that feature former Beach Boys members Al Jardine, David Marks and Blondie Chaplain.
Then a 10" LP of tracks originally written and produced for The Honeys and The Castells back in 1964 ...
Billboard Magazine is reporting:
 
For Record Store Day on April 18, Omnivore Recordings will release Sessions '64, a collection of songs Wilson wrote and produced for the Honeys, the Castells and the Timers. The Record Store Day pressing, on 10-inch gold vinyl, is limited to 1,500 copies.
Wilson produced the tracks with Jimmy Bowen with Sandra Glantz, aka Ginger Blake of the Honeys, and Gary Usher arranging. The tracks, which included Wilson's then-wife Marilyn in the Honeys, were originally released on Warner Bros. Records in 1964.
Sessions '64 Track Listing:
The Honeys:
"He's a Doll" (mono master)
"He's a Doll" (stereo mix)
"He's a Doll" (stereo backing track)
"The Love of a Boy and a Girl" (mono master)
"I Can See Right Through You (Go Away Boy)" (stereo backing track)
The Castells:
"I Do" (stereo mix)
"I Do" (stereo backing track)
The Timers:
"No Go Showboat" (stereo mix)
"No Go Showboat" (stereo backing track)
And, speaking of Record Store Day ...
re:  RECORD STORE DAY:
Lots of special releases coming ... 
 
ABKCO’S RECORD STORE DAY VINYL RELEASES INCLUDE CLASSIC TITLES FROM ANIMALS AND HERMAN’S HERMITS 
Saturday, April 18, marks Record Store Day 2015, celebrating the culture of the independently owned record store.  ABKCO Records, one of the world’s leading independent record labels, is participating with a slate of unique releases on vinyl – including one that has never been issued in the U.S. one that has been unavailable on any format in the U.S. for almost five decades.
 
THE ANIMALS – THE ANIMALS NO. 2 (EP) 
Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2015, this is the Animals’ third British Extended-Play record. Never before released in the U.S., it is being reissued as a 45 rpm 10 inch (the original was a 45 rpm 7 inch) for optimum audio fidelity. The Animals No. 2 is part of a series of EP reissues for ABKCO, which earlier released 10 inch vinyl editions of The Animals (RSD 2014), The Animals Is Here and The Animals Are Back (RSD 2013).
SIDE ONE:  I’m in Love Again / Bury My Body  
SIDE TWO:  I’m Mad Again / She Said Yeah 
 
HERMAN’S HERMITS – BLAZE (LP) 
Considered an underappreciated psych-pop gem, Blaze was the final studio album to contain all new material from the Herman’s Hermits lineup of Peter Noone, Keith Hopwood, Derek Leckenby, Karl Green and Barry Whitwam. Produced by Mickie Most, the album features several originals, plus songs by Donovan, Graham Gouldman and the duo John Carter-Geoff Stephens. Blaze hasn’t been available in the U.S. on any format since its original release in October 1967.
SIDE ONE:  Museum / Upstairs, Downstairs / Busy Line / Moonshine Man / Green Street Green  
SIDE TWO:  Don’t Go Out Into the Rain (You’re Going to Melt) / I Call Out Her Name /  One Little Packet of Cigarettes / Last Bus Home / Ace, King, Queen, Jack
 
Also planning Record Store Day new releases are Paul McCartney, Joan Jett, Peter Gabriel, The Bee Gees, The Doors, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Johnny Cash, the aforementioned Marvin Gaye, Jimi Hendrix, Simon and Garfunkel, The Zombies, The Everly Brothers, The Kinks, Todd Rundgren, Otis Redding, Gregg Allman, Jeff Beck, Blue Oyster Cult, Dionne Warwick, U2, Frank Sinatra, Sly and the Family Stone (Whew!) and Brian Wilson.  (see the above Beach Boys piece for more details.) 
 
For a complete list and more details, check out: 
 
From FH Reader Scott Paton ... the never-ending debate continues!
The qualitative debate seems to have been resolved here, but people still prefer what they prefer:  http://www.laweekly.com/music/why-cds-may-actually-sound-better-than-vinyl-5352162
Scott 
For me personally, I've totally succumbed to the digital age ... I can't even remember the last time I threw a record on the ol' turn-table ... unless it was to make a digital copy of something for use in Forgotten Hits!  (Plus it's REALLY hard to play record in the car on the way to work!  lol)  kk
 
re:  FIRST 45's, FAVORITE FORGOTTEN B-SIDES, WHO PLAYED THE FIRST BEATLES RECORD IN AMERICA, AND MORE ... OUR VINTAGE FORGOTTEN HITS POSTINGS CONTINUE TO BE DISCOVERED BY BRAND NEW READERS EVERY SINGLE DAY!:
Happy almost Spring! 
Growing up during the late 50's and 60's as I did, all of my memories are encapsulated within the music of the time. The best music ever! Our family never sat down to dinner without the console stereo playing music in the background. All kinds of music ... folk, instrumental, rock and roll, big band, and male and female singers of the day. There was never a holiday or birthday on which we did not give or were given music in some glorious form. I can remember receiving "Meet The Beatles" and the joy that I felt holding that album in my hands.
My first 45 was Eydie Gorme singing "Blame It On The Bossa Nova. I had gotten a particularly good report card and the gift of the 45 was slipped under my bedroom door by our older sister. I will never forget that day!
August Moon
 
Came across the Forgotten Hits webpage and found the article on the Beatles' first airplay to be fascinating.
As far as the flipsides, I can't believe that I saw no mention of two of the best B-sides ever (post 1959 only) - HB Goose Step which was a wonderful Johnny and the Hurricanes styled instrumental that backed the Rivieras' California Sun.  And Butchie's Tune - an original Lovin' Spoonful song (unusual in that it is not written or sung by John Sebastian) that was the flipside of Summer in the City.  Both are on youtube.  Butchie's Tune was even featured as the ending song on a Mad Men episode. 
And isn't it funny how some songs hold up and others don't?  I have nothing against Paperback Writer - I bought the single when I was a kid.  But the B-side, the Lennon tune Rain - the stature of that song has continued to grow over the years until it has easily become one of their very best.
MOBO
Welcome aboard!  "HB Goose Step" was written up in on of our chapters when this series first ran several years ago as it was inspired by local Chicago record promoter and manager Howard Bedno, who had a "funny way of walking" and was immortalized in song in this fashion.  The Lovin' Spoonful had a couple of B-Sides nominated ... but "Butchie's Tune" wasn't one of them.
And I agree that in hindsight "Rain" would seem to be the stronger track in a battle between both sides of The Beatles' Summer of '66 release.  I personally never cared much for "Paperback Writer" and I can think of a few instances where John got the short end of the stick when the group split up their A's and B's.  Another good example is "Hello Goodbye", a record that inexplicably reached #1 ... but sounds like it could have been written by a four year old ... while the magical, mystical "I Am The Walrus""tagged along" as its flip.  (kk)
 
↧

More Mid-Week Comments and Announcements

March 18, 2015, 3:43 am
$
0
0
re:  THIS AND THAT:  
After seeing the list of all of the media coverage dedicated to the reopening of the investigation into the plane crash that took the lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper, even Frannie had to admit:
You scooped the world with this one!!!
(Best Ray Stevens voice from "The Streak" ... "Yeah, I did.")  kk 

Kent,
Thanks for posting the two selections concerning Cinderella. I wonder how many of your readers remember old Jack Ross's tune and another one he had, HAPPY JOSE. Another tune I remembered
immediately was the 4 Preps CINDERELLA out of 1958.
Have a great weekend.
Larry
P.S. Incidentally here in Oklahoma this weekend in a town not too far from OKC, the Temptations and 4 Tops are appearing in concert for one night. I was immediately reminded of your discussion this past week concerning original members in the groups, etc. 

The craziness surrounding the "Blurred Lines" / Marvin Gaye copyright controversy continues ... last week the courts decided that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams were guilty of copyright infringement and ordered to pay the Gaye family $7.4 million ... then Gaye's family said they were seeking to block any future sales or airplay of "Blurred Lines" (a bit extreme really ... just cut them in for a share of the royalties and then let them play the hell out of it ... EVERYBODY wins!) ... then Thicke and Williams said they would appeal the judge's decision (or possibly even file a counter-suit).
Now Gaye's family says they're considering more legal action regarding Pharrell's #1 Hit "Happy" ... they feel it sounds much too similar to Marvin's 1965 Hit "Ain't That Peculiar"!!!  (Are they gunning for this guy or what???)
After a recent copyright decision regarding Sam Smith's infringement on the Tom Petty / Jeff Lynne song "I Won't Back Down" (a BLATANT rip-off in my opinion ... something I noticed the very first time I heard it ... although all parties seem to have amicably agreed that this was probably more of an unconscious / subconscious thing ... remember the George Harrison / "My Sweet Lord" / "He's So Fine" case???), one cannot help but wonder if this will be a new trend in music.  (Kind of surprising in a way with all the "sampling" that's been going on for the past few decade now!)  Like Frannie says, is there even such a thing as a new, original idea anymore?  Is there ANY melody that can be constructed that doesn't in SOME small fashion resemble some nuance of the MILLIONS of songs that have been written and recorded in the past?
For me, I just don't hear it in the Gaye / Williams case ... if you're creative enough, you can lay any two similar "feels" on top of each other and make a case that one resembles, compliments or "fits" another ... I don't believe for a second that Williams sat down in either instance and said "OK, I'm going to write a song now that mimics "Got To Give It Up" and/or "Ain't That Peculiar" ... he may have been going for a certain Marvin Gaye "feel" ... but I do NOT believe that he consciously (or otherwise) sat down with the malicious intent to rip somebody off ... he's far too talented an artist in his own right to do so.  (kk)







More great stuff from that Jeremy Roberts / Mark Lindsay interview ... now up to Chapter 5!!!

Kent ...
Jimmy Sacca, lead singer of the Hilltoppers, died 3/7/2015. He was 85 years old.
The Hilltoppers bridged the gap between early pop and the Rock Era.
R.I.P. Jimmy Sacca.
According to Joel Whitburn's new Chart Comparison Book, The Hilltoppers made The National Top 40 eleven times between 1954 and 1957.  They also had eight Top 20 Billboard Pop Hits on the pre-rock era charts, the biggest coming in 1953 with "P.S. I Love You".  (Obviously NOT The Beatles song!!!)  Their biggest hit overall, of course, was "Marianne", which topped the Music Vendor Chart for a couple of weeks in 1957 and peaked at #2 and #3 respectively in Cash Box and Billboard Magazine.  (It was also a #1 Hit here in Chicago.)  The group, formed in Bowling Green, Kentucky, scored a Top 20 pop hit on The Billboard Pop Chart in 1955 with "The Kentuckian Song" from the Burt Lancaster film of the same name!  (How's that for rock and roll symmetry???)  kk  




Kent;
Random thoughts about today's Forgotten Hits.
Frankly, at this point, I'd pay 100 bucks to AVOID seeing The Steve Miller Band. I'm also burned out on Steely Dan. God, I love the group and the brilliance of Donald Fagen but I always have this empty feeling when I leave their shows. Maybe, I would feel better if I thought Donald was actually enjoying himself.
Chet 

A while back we told you about a new CD / DVD Release spotlighting Shania Twain's residency in Las Vegas with a grand, full-length live concert event.  The original plan was to have this release distributed exclusively through WalMart ... and I remember thinking at the time that I couldn't wait to pick up a copy.  (LOVE Shania!!!)
Well apparently now, after the success of her television special (an edited version of this same show) and the announcement that Shania would be doing her farewell tour this summer, Eagle Rock Entertainment has picked up the reigns and will now be mass-marketing this for a full-blown release around the globe.  (It makes sense ... Eagle Rock Entertainment is the largest producer and distributor of music programming for DVD, Blu-Ray, TV and Digital Media in the world. They work directly alongside talent to produce top quality, High Definition programs, both concerts and documentaries.  Past releases include The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, The Who, Queen, The Doors, Jeff Beck, Peter Gabriel, Paul McCartney, Ozzy Osbourne, Genesis, Alice Cooper, Eric Clapton and Aerosmith.  Eagle Rock Entertainment is a Grammy Award winning company and has received over 40 multi-platinum, over 80 platinum and over 144 gold discs, worldwide ... and they have offices in London, New York, Paris and Hamburg.) 

Here are all the details, courtesy of Carol Kaye at Kayos Productions:   

SHANIA TWAIN TO RELEASE SHANIA: STILL THE ONELIVE FROM VEGAS
DVD AND BLU-RAY ON APRIL 7 VIA EAGLE ROCK ENTERTAINMENT
New York, NY (March 11, 2015)– International superstar Shania Twain wrapped up her successful two-year residency in Las Vegas, NV as her SHANIA: Still the One stage show came to a close in December. The five-time GRAMMY winner entertained concert-goers from all over the world at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace during the course of her 105 performances and now, fans have an opportunity to bring the Vegas production home with the release of Twain’s live Blu-ray and DVD SHANIA: Still the One Live from Vegas via Eagle Rock Entertainment on April 7, 2015.  
Produced by Twain and directed by Raj Kapoor,Live from Vegas captures the full SHANIA: Still the Onestage performance, plus the bonus feature “Backstage Pass,” which boasts over an hour of never-before-seen behind-the-scenes footage tracking the conception, training, rehearsals, costumes and all decisions in-between that go into creating a one-of-a-kind experience for the audience. The show – a powerful journey through Shania’s biggest hits, country favorites, and beloved crossover songs – features a 13-piece live band, dancers, trained horses, a flying motorcycle and plenty of Vegas flash. 
“This show has been my labor of love for over three years,” shares Twain. “It has meant so much to me and was such a privilege to live out my visions on that stage, and it is so exciting to now get to share the whole experience with the fans all over the world!” 
With more than 75 million albums sold worldwide and U.S. sales topping 34.5 million, Twain remains the top-selling female country artist of all time. Her 1997 release Come On Over has sold in excess of 15.6 million making it the top-selling country album and places it in the Top 10 all-genre best sellers of all time. 
For more information, visit www.ShaniaTwain.com. 

SHANIA: Still the One Live from Vegas 
Track Listing:
1. Opening
2. I’m Gonna Getcha Good!
3.  You Win My Love
4. Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)
5. Up!
6. Good, Bad And Sexy (Interlude)
7. I Ain’t No Quitter
8. No One Needs To Know
9. Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?
10. Any Man of Mine
11. Shania Style (Interlude)
12. That Don’t Impress Me Much
13. Honey, I’m Home
14. (If You’re Not In It For Love) I’m Outta Here
15. Carrie Anne
16. Come On Over
17. Love Gets Me Every Time
18. Rock This Country!
19. Today Is Your Day
20. Black Horse, White Horse (Interlude)
21. You’re Still The One
22. From This Moment On
23. Red Storm (Interlude)
24. Man! I Feel Like A Woman!
25. Rock This Country!  (Live From Calgary) – Credits  www.ShaniaTwain.com | Facebook.com/ShaniaTwain | Twitter.com/ShaniaTwain | Instagram.com/ShaniaTwain 
Hoping to catch Shania's Farewell Tour?
Here are the announced dates so far ...
“Rock This Country” Tour Dates:

June 5 – Seattle, WA – Key Arena

June 7 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena

June 9 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena

June 11 – Edmonton, AB – Rexall Place

June 12 – Edmonton, AB – Rexall Place

June 14 – Saskatoon, SK – SaskTel Centre

June 15 – Winnipeg, MB – MTS Centre

June 19 – London, ON – Budweiser Gardens

June 20 – London, ON – Budweiser Gardens

June 22 – Hamilton, ON – First Ontario Centre

June 24 – Toronto, ON – Air Canada Centre

June 25 – Toronto, ON – Air Canada Centre

June 27 – Ottawa, ON – Wesley Clover Field

June 28 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre

June 30 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden

July 1 – Uniondale, NY – Nassau Coliseum

July 3 – Uncasville, UT – Mohegan Sun

July 7 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center

July 8 – Boston, MA – TD Garden

July 10 – Pittsburgh, PA – Consol Energy Center

July 11 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena

July 13 – Indianapolis, IN – Bankers Life Fieldhouse

July 15 – Jacksonville, FL – Jacksonville Veterans Memorial

July 16 – Miami, FL – American Airlines Arena

July 18 – Greenville, SC – Bon Secours Wellness Arena

July 19 – Charlotte, NC – Time Warner Cable Arena

July 21 – Washington, DC – Verizon Center

July 22 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center

July 25 – Auburn Hills, MI – Palace of Auburn Hills

July 26 – Moline, IL – iWireless Center

July 28 – Minneapolis, MS – Target Center

July 29 – Rosemont, IL – Allstate Arena

July 31 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena

August 1 – Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena

August 3 – Louisville, KY – KFC Yum! Center

August 4 – Saint Louis, MO – Scottrade Center

August 6 – Des Moines, IA – Wells Fargo Arena

August 7 – Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center

August 9 – Austin, TX – Frank Erwin Center

August 10 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center

August 12 – Oklahoma City, OK – Chesapeake Energy Arena

August 14 – Denver, CO – Pepsi Center

August 15 – Salt Lake City, UT – Energy Solutions Arena

August 17 – San Jose, CA – SAP Center

August 19 – Anaheim, CA – The Honda Center

August 20 – Los Angeles, CA – Staples Center

August 22 – San Diego, CA – Valley View Casino Center

August 23 – Fresno, CA – Save Mart Center
Asia and King Crimson Lead Vocalist John Wetton to Release Solo Career Retrospective 'The Studio Recordings Anthology' and Live Album 'New York Minute'

London, UK - Legendary John Wetton, best known for his work with Asia, UK and King Crimson, is releasing two new albums this month: The Studio Recordings Anthology 2CD Set and New York Minute - John Wetton & The Les Paul Trio, on Primary Purpose via Cherry Red Records. 
As a singer, bassist and songwriter, John Wetton initially rose to fame as the lead singer of King Crimson and thereafter Wetton formed UK with Eddie Jobson and later he was the lead vocalist of the supergroup Asia, his biggest commercial success. The band’s self-titled debut album was the biggest selling album in the world in 1982.
Wetton also has a successful solo career releasing a large number of studio and live albums and these are showcased on the 2CD ‘The Studio Recordings Anthology’ meanwhile a unique live album with The Les Paul Trio includes a number of songs Wetton has never sung elsewhere.  

The Studio Recordings Anthology 2CD Set  
The Studio Anthology collects together the best of John Wetton's six solo studio albums within a 2-CD set with extensive new liner notes.  
For more information: http://www.cherryred.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=4974  

New York Minute - John Wetton & The Les Paul Trio  
New York Minute sees John Wetton playing a selection of the songs that inspired him, many of which are not available on any other release. This new live album also includes unique renditions of his solo hit BATTLE LINES and the ASIA mega hit HEAT OF THE MOMENT. 
Track Listing: 
1. DO IT AGAIN 
2. WHAT’S GOING ON? 
3. GOD ONLY KNOWS
4. CAN’T FIND MY WAY HOME 
5. ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER 
6. NEW YORK MINUTE 
7. LADY MADONNA 
8. HEAT OF THE MOMENT 
9. BATTLE LINES 

For more information: http://www.cherryred.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=4972  
John Wetton is embarking on a number of live projects in 2015 including the final tour of UK and a German 'Rock Meets Classic' orchestral arena tour. 
John Wetton's official website: http://www.johnwetton.com  

EAGLE ROCK ENTERTAINMENT SIZZLES THIS SPRING WITH STYX - LIVE AT THE ORLEANS ARENA LAS VEGAS  
~ DVD, CD, BLU-RAY, AND DIGITAL FORMATS ~ 
COMING MAY 26, 2015  
New York, NY (March 11, 2015) — On May 26, 2015, Eagle Rock Entertainment will release Live At The Orleans Arena Las Vegas from Styx on DVD, Blu-ray, CD, and Digital Formats
Filmed in High Definition on July 25, 2014, Live At The Orleans Arena Las Vegas is a sonic showcase of Styx’s live prowess and razor-sharp musicianship. This show features the band, backed by huge video screens, performing a set list packed with hit songs, classic tracks, and fan favorites, including “Lady,” “Too Much Time On My Hands,” “Rockin’ The Paradise,” “Come Sail Away,” “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man),” “Renegade,” and “Suite Madame Blue.” The evening also held a special surprise when Don Felder– former Eagles guitarist – took the stage to join the band on “Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)”.
In addition to the live set, Live At The Orleans Arena Las Vegas features a bonus interview with band members Tommy Shaw (vocals/guitar), James “JY” Young (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Todd Sucherman (drums), Lawrence Gowan (vocals, keyboards), Ricky Phillips (bass, backing vocals), and Chuck Panozzo (bass guitar). 
Formed in Chicago in 1972, Styx played a key role in defining the AOR genre, and established themselves as one of America’s greatest rock bands. Their blend of soaring melodies, hard rock guitar, and prog-rock elements led to millions of global record sales and numerous platinum and multi-platinum albums. With over 40 years of rockin’ under their belt, the band isn’t slowing down any time soon, and will embark on a national tour this summer with Def Leppard and Tesla. See below for dates.

Track Listing:
The Grand Illusion / Too Much Time On My Hands / Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man) / Lady / Suite Madame Blue / Light Up / Crystal Ball / Superstars / Blue Collar Man (Long Nights) / Come Sail Away / Rockin’ The Paradise / Renegade

2015 Tour Dates (with Def Leppard and Tesla):
Thu 6/25 - West Palm Beach, FL - Cruzan Amphitheater
Sat 6/27 - Birmingham, AL - Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
Sun 6/28 - Atlanta, GA - Aaron's Amphitheatre at Lakewood
Tue 6/30 - Charlotte, NC - PNC Music Pavillion Charlotte
Thu 7/2 - Bristow, VA - Jiffy Lube Live
Fri 7/3 - Virginia Beach, VA - Farm Bureau Live at Virginia Beach
Sun 7/5 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
Tue 7/7 - Gilford, NH - Bank of NH Pavilion at Meadowbrook
Thu 7/9 - Mansfield, MA - Xfinity Center
Sat 7/11 - Bethel, NY - Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
Sun 7/12 - Darien Lake, NY - Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
Tue 7/14 - Toronto, ONT. - Molson Amphitheatre
Fri 7/17 - Clarkston, MI - DTE Energy Music Theatre
Sat 7/18 - Oshkosh, WI - Rock USA
Thu 7/23 - Wantagh, NY - Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
Fri 7/24 - Saratoga Springs, NY - SPAC
Sat 7/25 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
Fri 8/7 - Davenport, IA - Mississippi Valley Fair (STYX ONLY)
Sat 8/8 - Sioux Falls, SD - Sioux Falls Arena
Tue 8/11 - Kansas City, MO - Starlight Theatre
Fri 8/14 - Sedalia, MO - Missouri State Fair
Sat 8/15 - Des Moines, IA - Iowa State Fair
Mon 8/17 - Cincinnati, OH - Riverbend Music Center
Tue 8/18 - Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena
Fri 8/21 - Dallas, TX - Gexa Energy Pavilion
Sat 8/22 - Woodlands, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Sun 8/23 - Austin, TX - Austin360 Amphitheater
Thu 8/27 - St. Paul, MN - Minnesota State Fair
Fri 8/28 - Grand Forks, ND - Alerus Center
Sun 8/30 - Noblesville, IN - Klipsch Music Center
Tue 9/1 - Allentown, PA - The Great Allentown Fair
Thu 9/3 - Louisville, KY - KFC Yum! Center
Fri 9/4 - Maryland Heights, MO - Hollywood Casino Amphitheater
Sat 9/5 - Tinley Park, IL - First Midwest Bank Amphitheater
Wed 9/16 - Auburn, WA - White River Amphitheatre
Thu 9/17 - Ridgefield, WA - Amphitheater Northwest
Sat 9/19 - Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre
Tue 9/22 - Chula Vista, CA - Sleep Train Amphitheatre
Wed 9/23 - Phoenix, AZ - Ak-Chin Pavilion
Fri 9/25 - Albuquerque NM - Isleta Amphitheater
Sat 9/26 - Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
Mon 9/28 - West Salt Lake City, UT - USANA Amphitheatre
Wed 9/30 - Spokane, WA - Spokane Arena
Fri 10/2 - Bozeman, MT - Breeden Fieldhouse
Sun 10/4 - Bismarck, ND - Bismarck Civic Center 

A couple of weeks ago Forgotten Hits was all abuzz with news about The Platters ... now this week we've learned about a brand new release by the legendary Coasters!!!  (And I'll tell you what ... they're sounding MIGHTY FINE on The Temptations remake we get to feature today, courtesy of Billy James and Glass Onion PR.
Read on ... 
Legendary Vocal Group The Coasters Celebrate Their 60th Anniversary With Their First Album Of New Recordings In 35 Years!  
Los Angeles, CA - America’s premiere R&B vocal group and Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame inductees, The Coasters, have had one incredible, miraculous, astounding ride in the music business. Less of a group and more of an institution, The Clown Princes of Rock & Roll established themselves six decades ago, and in that time have seen many musical fads come and go. But one thing has always remained - the power of a truly timeless song especially when experienced through the prism of the expertly sung 4-part harmonies that are The Coasters stock in trade.
To commemorate the group’s unique and longstanding career, The Coasters are proud to present Magical Favorites a collection of brand new recordings covering some of the very best American rock and R&B classics such as Sam Cooke’s “You Send Me,” The Temptations “Just My Imagination,” Elvis Presley’s “Don’t Be Cruel” and many more - all done in the indelible Coasters way! Magical Favorites will be available March 31 from Goldenlane Records.  
For those unfamiliar with the group’s history, The Coasters scored their first hit single “Down In Mexico” in the spring of 1956, which they followed in 1957 with “Young Blood” and “Searchin’” the following year. In 1958, the band again hit the chart with two blockbuster hits that would become as iconic as the band that sang them, “Yakety Yak” and “Charlie Brown.” From then on, it was hit after hit for the group with songs such as “Poison Ivy,” “Along Came Jones,” “Love Potion #9,” “Zing Went The Strings Of My Heart” and many more! The line-up of The Coasters that was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 (Carl Gardner, Billy Guy, Will Jones, Cornell Gunter) have all since passed but their legacy lives on with the help of Joe Lance Williams (tenor / baritone), Primo Candelara (tenor), Dennis Anderson (baritone), and Eddie Whitfield (bass). Three of these gifted vocalists were personally handpicked by group founder Carl Gardner, with Dennis coming aboard in 2011 after Carl had passed. Though often imitated, they have never been duplicated and they continue to do what they do best on both the stage and in the studio, entertain the audience!
Track List:
1. All I Have To Do Is Dream
2. Cool Jerk
3. Don’t Be Cruel
4. If I Had A Hammer
5. Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)
6. Bad, Bad Leroy Brown
7. Lyin’ Eyes
8. Shout
9. (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay
10. Turn Back The Hands Of Time
11. You Send Me
12. Twistin’ The Night Away
13. Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love Babe
14. Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)
Pre-order the CD here: http://geni.us/3BA2
Pre-order the digital version here: http://geni.us/3pLj




The Marty Grebb Benefit Concert is getting closer.  (This one-night-only event will be held on Thursday, May 7th.) We've heard from a number of fans who would LOVE to see this show but live out of state and are unable to attend.  You can, however, still make donations to the cause ... in fact, a dedicated website is being set up for this very purpose.  (More details to follow) 
There are also other ways you can help ... including this one as submitted by Pam Dixon ... 
Do you want to buy a ticket or tickets to the AMAZING Chicago Music 60s Style Marty Grebb Benefit Concert May 7 at The Arcada Theatre, St Charles, IL, but are not able to attend?
As you may have seen posted recently, we have a way that you can be a part of helping not just Marty but also to expose the awesome Chicago 60s sound to some very talented Chicago kids who otherwise might not be able to see a concert like this!!
Call The Arcada Theatre Box Office @ 630 962 7000
MON - FRI 10 AM - 6 PM
Sat 12 - 6
Sun 12 - 4
Central Time
Let them know that you would like to buy a ticket / tickets and donate it to “The People’s Music School” of Chicago (tickets are $45 and $75)
We carefully selected this organization because it fits the spirit of this event so well.
Here is the “Mission” of The school:
"Our mission is to deliver access to the benefits of high-quality, tuition-free music education. Through intensive instruction and performance, our students achieve excellence in music that transfers to other areas in life. They grow musically, socially, emotionally and intellectually, and develop a foundation of responsibility, self-esteem, resilience and purpose.” 
More information here: http://www.peoplesmusicschool.org   

And ... don't forget ... there will also be all kinds of one-of-a-kind memorabilia for auction including autographed material by all of the show participants.  Keep watching The Forgotten Hits Website for more details!  (kk) 

And let's take this opportunity to also remind you of the New Colony Six Benefit Concert, raising funds for The Rhythmic Arts Project, being held at The Arcada Theatre on April 19th ... 



>>>Unfortunately, when the 2015 British Invasion Tour stopped at The City Winery in Chicago last weekend, we ended up missing the show I most wanted to see this year.  Needless to say, I was quite disappointed, thinking that this very well may have been my one and only chance to see them.  (kk) 
The 2014 British Invasion Concert Tour was a testing of the waters. But I told you, right from the get-go, that it was a winner and everyone should get there before it ends.  Would that it could go on forever ...Shelley 

And, after we talked about the "altered line-up" of The Happy Together Show last week, Shelley sent us THIS photo from backstage at The Strawberry Festival in Florida ...   

Some friends of mine sat in the red chairs to have their picture taken at the 2015 Strawberry Festival in Florida.  Those guys in the back photo-bombed!  Oh well, I'll keep the picture anyway! 
The "Happy Band" was the Godfrey Townsend Band.  I've always said they were worth seeing by themselves.  
Shelley J Sweet-Tufano



Bob Lind told us that he'll be performing at one of his favorite live haunts next month when he returns to The Luna Star Cafe.  More details below from Bob himself ...  

TO MY FLORIDA FRIENDS AND FANS  
(And friends and fans who may be in the area in April): 
Next Month, I'll be back at the Luna Star Café again (one of the few South Florida venues I care about playing these days). As some of you know, I recorded my live album at the Luna and it still has a special place in my mushy old heart. I hope to see a whole mess of you there.
Here are the juicy details:  
Luna Star Café
775 NE 125th St
N Miami, FL
305-799-7123 LunaStarCafe.com | lunastarcafe@aol.com
Show starts at 8 pm   
I realize that's almost a month away, but I know some of you like to mark your calendars early.
I'll send another reminder closer to the time for you less compulsive plan-makers.
Love to you,
Bob Lind
www.boblind.com 

Sociologist / Author Candy Leonard and her book ‘Beatleness’ will make their NY debut at the Fest for Beatles Fans with her book Beatleness: How the Beatles and Their Fans Remade the World  
Candy's book has been called a must-read for Beatles fans of all ages across the globe. And now she will be bringing her book, Beatleness: How the Beatles and Their Fans Remade the World, to the 41st Annual Fest for Beatles Fans, in Rye Brook, NY on March 20-22, 2015.  
Candy Leonard will be giving presentations and appearing in various panel discussions throughout the weekend. She will be discussing Beatlenessand taking questions in a presentation on Friday night, and on Sunday she will participate in a Beatleness Q&A with Beatlefan magazine Executive Editor Al Sussman. She will also be participating the Author’s Panel Discussion on Friday evening and the ‘She’s A Woman … Historian’ on Saturday evening to discuss the influence of women on the Beatles.  
When not giving presentations, Candy will be in the marketplace meeting and greeting fans, answering questions and signing books. She will be available for media interviews.   
Candy Leonard is a sociologist and first-generation Beatle fan. She spent years researching and interviewing other first generation fans for her book, Beatleness: How the Beatles and Their Fans Remade the World. Beatleness is a unique analysis of how the Beatles’ constant presence between 1964 and 1970 transformed the childhood and adolescence of millions of baby boomers who then transformed the culture.  
Candy has also done research on the impact of popular culture on gender relations and family life. She’s a qualitative research consultant to the healthcare and entertainment industries, and blogs about Beatles, boomers, and health at the Huffington Post. For more information on Candy Leonard and her book go to Beatleness.com. Like Beatleness on Facebook, and follow @CandySez and @BeatlenessBook.   

Also coming ...

Dee Elias brings her ‘Confessions’ to the Fest for Beatles Fans in NY  
Dee Elias, author of ‘Confesssions of a Beatlemaniac’, will be making her NY debut at the Fest for Beatles Fans March 20-22, 2015.    
Confessions of a Beatlemaniac is the true story of a 14 year old Dee Elias and her friends on a two year adventure to try to meet the Beatles.  Dee will be bringing her book and her tales to this year’s NY Fest for Beatles Fans in Rye Brook, NY on March 20-22, 2015. 
Dee will be giving two presentations in the Fest’s Discussion Room about her book and her escapades as a Beatlemaniac in the early 60’s.  Dee’s first lecture at the festival will be on Friday evening and the second on Sunday afternoon.  When not giving presentations, Dee will be in the Fest marketplace, meeting fans and signing copies of her book. Confessions of a Beatlemaniac takes the reader on Dee Elias’ personal journey to meet the Beatles.  Along the way, she tells of her encounters with Billy J. Kramer, Sonny and Cher, and Simon and Garfunkel.  
For more information about Dee Elias, or to purchase her book, go to: www.ConfessionsOfABeatlemaniac.com.  
For more information on the Fest for Beatles Fans, go to: www.TheFest.com.   

Kent, 
The flip of the Riviera's hit CALIFORNIA SUN, H.B. GOOSESTEP, which was mentioned in FH today reminded me of the only time it was played on air here in OKC. Back in the 1960's, one of our local DJ's was named Jim Bowman. He was known on the air as Jim "Goose" Bowman. A lot of times as he was heading into the top of the hours' news, he would play that instrumental. And MOBO is right, in that one would believe that it was done by Johnny and the Hurricanes if they weren't familiar with it.
Larry Neal


You can hear a long lost Jimi Hendrix track from 1967 via this link.  (By the way, did you see the quote from Grace Slick last week?  When asked, as she looks back over her long and successful career, if she had any regrets, her only comment was "Not screwing Jimi Hendrix"!!!  Lol)
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/premieres/hear-lost-1967-jimi-hendrix-recording-gloomy-monday-20150316     

>>>Just as he did with all of The Billboard Charts from 1955 - 2009, Joel will soon be offering exact photo reprints of EVERY Cash Box Chart published in the 1970's!!!  These are black and white reproductions of Cash Box's Top 100 Pop Singles List for every week of the decade.  (More books will follow ... but this first one is expected to be ready to ship by the end of May!)   kk   
Kent, 
I would buy this IF it were the 1960's book.  Hopefully, he will release one like that??
Clark
Visit The Record Research Website and you'll find ALL kinds of books to select from.  There was an all-'60's book called "Across The Charts" which shows EVERY charted Billboard Hit from the Pop, R&B and Country Charts issued in the '60's.  
There was also a Billboard Chart list that reproduced every individual pop chart Billboard published during that decade.  (I believe a similar Cash Box books will be coming as well ... but he's kicking this new series off with a 1970's chart book.)
Then you've got the Pop Playlist books to choose from, featuring the biggest hits of every month, available in two volumes ... 1955 - 1969 and 1970 - 1984.
Plus TONS more, specializing in just about EVERYTHING chart-aholics like us crave.  The brand new Comparison Chart Book shows you the peak position of every single to hit Billboard's, Cash Box's and Record World's Charts between 1954 and 1982.  And the list goes on and on and on.
Trust me ... you'll find WAY more stuff here that you want than you can possibly buy at one time!  (lol)  And they're addictive, too!!!  
Visit The Record Research Website today ...
http://recordresearch.com/ 

And, speaking of new books, FH Reader Ed Salamon tells us about HIS new offering ... a tome to the music that came out of the Pittsburgh area during the '50's, '60's and '70's ...  

Hi Kent,
I thought that you might be interested in hearing about my latest book. Pittsburgh’s Golden Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Lou Christie wrote the foreword and it contains more than 325 photos memorializing nearly a thousand Pittsburghers who made rock 'n' roll music in the area in the 50s, 60s and 70s. The official publication date is April ... but here's a little aAdvance praise for Pittsburgh’s Golden Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll:
“The DEFINITIVE 'feel good' history of Pittsburgh rock ‘n’ roll “– Mike Frazer, 94.5 3WS radio
“A must have for any Pittsburgh music fan. I loved it!’ – Joe Grushecky
“Well, my friend, you have outdone yourself’ – Lou Christie                                                                   
 “So fascinating for Pittsburgh music lovers like me” – Sean McDowell ,102.5 WDVE radio
Pittsburgh’s Golden Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll can be ordered from any bookstore and is available from amazon.com
Ed Salamon   
 
A couple of weeks ago we told you that Grateful Dead tickets were selling for upwards of $150,000 here in Chicago for their appearances here at Soldier Field.  (Well, maybe "selling" is too strong a word ... did anybody REALLY buy them for that price?!?!?)
Now comes word that legendary film director Martin Scorsese will be filming those shows for a new documentary he's making about the band.
http://entertainment.suntimes.com/entertainment-news/martin-scorsese-film-grateful-dead-concerts-chicago/    

Whew!  That's a LOT for a Wednesday!!!  (But it DOES help us to catch up a little bit!)  More as things become available.  Thanks, all! (kk)
 
↧
Search

The First Day Of Spring

March 20, 2015, 4:51 am
$
0
0
Well, that's what the calendar says anyway!!!  Headlines today about an arctic blast in the northeast may prove otherwise for some of our readers!

Here in Chicago, we'll probably see the mid-50's.  I thought we'd celebrate "Spring Fever" ('cause after this winter, I can't WAIT for it to get nice out again ... and STAY nice out!!!) by looking back at some of the #1 Hits on this date over the past 60 years.

This week's #1 Record in Billboard has been holding that position for the past eleven weeks ... and it is, without question, one of the best songs out there in a long, long while.

Harkening back to the sounds of 1965 and 1975 ... the James Brown Funk Era ... Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars have TOTALLY captured the sound and feel of this era ... which means they'll probably be sued by Marvin Gaye's family any day now!

Give a listen to UPTOWN FUNK ... #1, First Day Of Spring, 2015 ...



20 Years Ago Today ... March 20th, 1995 ... found Madonna topping the chart with her latest, TAKE A BOW.  This record spent SEVEN weeks in the #1 Spot on Billboard's Hot 100 Pop Singles Chart.



Flashback 25 Years Ago Today ... March 20th, 1990 (God that's SO hard to believe!!!) ... and you'll find JANET JACKSON wrapping up her third and final week on top of the chart with ESCAPADE.



30 Years Ago Today, REO Speedwagon found themselves in a similar position, enjoying a three week run on top with CAN'T FIGHT THIS FEELING, one of those songs we still hear all the time here in Chicago.



Step into the time machine and set the dial to March 20, 1980, and you'll find Queen topping the chart with their rockabilly revival hit CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE, another guaranteed daily airplay track some 35 years later.



March 20th, 1975 found The Doobie Brothers on top with their first #1 Hit, BLACK WATER.  (They'd hit #1 again five years later with What A Fool Believes).



On March 20th, 1970, Simon and Garfunkel were enjoying the biggest hit of their careers when BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER topped The Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles Chart for six straight weeks.  The duo split up shortly afterwards, figuring they could NEVER top the success of this record.



Those of you who follow our weekly chart feature 50 YEAR FLASHBACK on Monday Mornings will see that next week (on our chart from WRIT in Milwaukee), "Eight Days A Week" is the #1 Record.  It also topped Billboard Magazine's Pop Singles Chart on March 20, 1965, their latest US Hit to do so.  (EIGHT DAYS A WEEK was not released as a single back home in England.)



55 Years Ago Today, March 20th, 1960, we were treated to one of the longest running #1 Records of the '60's when Percy Faith's THEME FROM "A SUMMER PLACE" spent one of its nine weeks on top of the chart at #1.



And finally, flashing back to March 20th, 1955 ... 60 Years Ago Today ... it was The McGuire Sisters and their version of SINCERELY that held down the #1 position.  (Music certainly has come a long way since then!!!)



And there you have it ... our First Day Of Spring Flashback!!!

↧

50 Year Flashback - March 23rd, 1965

March 23, 2015, 4:00 am
$
0
0
WRIT In Milwaukee had their own version of The Silver Dollar Survey ... and this week The Beatles top the chart with their two-sided hit "Eight Days A Week" / "I Don't Want To Spoil The Party".

British Acts dominate The Top Three chart positions:  Freddie and the Dreamers make a HUGE leap from #16 to #2 with their first US Hit, "I'm Telling You Now", followed by Herman's Hermits at #3 with "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat".   The Kinks climb eight places with their latest "Tired Of Waiting For You", now sitting at #9, up from #17 the week before.  The seldom-heard "Come Home" by The Dave Clark Five has stalled at #13 ... and they're also ranking The Beatles'"I'm A Loser" from the "Four By The Beatles" EP at #33 ... and have already added Herman's Hermits'"Mrs. Brown, You've Got A Lovely Daughter" as an LP-Cut, premiering at #40 this week on the chart.

LA's Thee Midniters are at #5 this week with their version of "Land Of A Thousand Dances", up six places from #11.  And check out the way THEY handled the "Red Roses For A Blue Lady" programming dilemma ... they list all three artists at #6 this week: Bert Kaempfert, Wayne Newton and Vic Dana all share that position.

Elvis Presley and The Beach Boys both have two-sided hits on the chart this week ... Elvis with "Do The Clam" / "You'll Be Gone" (#16) and The Beach Boys with "Please Let Me Wonder" (shown here as the A-Side) and "Do You Wanna Dance", a rare Dennis Wilson vocal, at #21, a jump of 11 places from the week before.

We'll throw in a personal favorite, too ... just TRY to sit still when you listen to Georgie Fame's #26 Hit "Yeh Yeh".  (Radio is REALLY missing the boat by not playing THIS one once in a while!!!)












↧
↧

Mark Bego - 2.0

March 24, 2015, 4:00 am
$
0
0
re:  Mark Bego ... Biographer To The Rock And Roll Stars:
 
After the passing of keyboardist Jimmy Greenspoon of Three Dog Night a couple of weeks ago, we ran a heartfelt tribute by Mark Bego who, along with Jimmy, told the rock star's story by way of the musical biography "One Is The Loneliest Number". 
 
Here is Mark's original piece as submitted to Forgotten Hits:
 
Kent:
Hello there.  I am sure you heard about the passing of Jimmy Greenspoon of Three Dog Night, March 11.  At a loss to find a way to immediately channel my grief for the passing of a dear friend, I composed the following.  Hopefully you can run it in Forgotten Hits.
Many thanks,
Mark
 
Jimmy Greenspoon of Three Dog Night (1948 – 2015)
Jimmy Greenspoonwas one of the most upbeat, talented, energetic, and positive thinking people I have ever met. I had the rare privilege of writing his autobiography with him, "One is the Loneliest Number" (1991).  Along the way, we became close friends. I am so saddened to hear of his passing today. He came to New York City in the late 1980s, and together we plotted to tell his wild roller coaster ride to the top of the rock world, his descent into the depths of drug abuse, and his dramatic stint with rehabilitation.  We hit it off immediately, and we plotted to write what we thought was the ultimate rock & roll autobiography.  Being with Jimmy was like trying to harness a tornado.  He had such boundless energy.  Once we sold our proposal to a publisher, I moved into his house in Arizona, and we worked every day for over four months.  Together we created one of the best and most popular rock & roll books of my career.  When I came up with the idea of producing a radio show, it was Jimmy who stepped up to the plate and wrote me a theme song called “On the Mark.”  When I told him that I wanted to write a rock & roll cookbook, he was one of the first rock stars to give me recipes.  That was the kind of friend he was.  Whatever was needed, he was there to help.  Jimmy Greenspoon continues to be an inspiration to so many people—me included.  The world has lost a wonderful and talented keyboard player, and we have all lost a dear friend. Jimmy was truly the heart of Three Dog Night. His music and his talent lives on.
Mark Bego

While I have read a number of Mark's books over the years, I had NOT read "One Is The Loneliest Number" ... and, with Jimmy's passing, I was intrigued to do so.  However, in searching for a copy online, I discovered that this book is now out of print.  (Even Chuck Negron's excellent book "Three Dog Nightmare" ... aka "The Story of Chuck's Exploding Penis" ... a book we have highly recommended many times over the years ... is now out of print, too.)

Far too often this books disappear right before our very eyes before new fans discovering their existence have had a chance to read them.  (Sure, used copies can be found ... for $999!!! ... check Amazon! ... but AFFORDABLE copies are pretty scarce and hard to find.)

And, the fact of the matter is, that MANY of these books, with a little bit of serious updating, could easily become viable and desirable, sought-after collectible material again.  (Kind of like "Behind The Music: Remastered" ... where VH1 takes fantastic documentaries from their archives and then tacks on a new 10-15 minute epilogue, bringing the audience up to date with (what Paul Harvey used to like to say) "the rest of the story".

So I got to thinking ... what about a Bego 2.0 book series?  Mark has written SO many books over the years ... 61 and counting, to be exact ... why not pick some of the most desirable titles, commission an upgrade to bring these books up to date ... and make them available to the public again?  (I mean, technically Forgotten Hits is a publisher, right?  So who can we partner with to do a "soft launch" ... isn't that the radio term? ... put some feelers out there and make new and updated versions of these books available to the public.)  With all this new digital, on-demand printing and publishing available, wouldn't this make for a likely outlet to do so?  Make the books available through our service, Amazon ... and others LIKE Amazon ... the artists' websites ... etc, etc, etc ... they could be sold at live shows and places like Half-Priced Books ... and, in this way, brand new fans could discover their existence at an affordable price.

So I'm throwing it out there to all the movers and shaker on our list ... we're open to any ideas that might help to make this happen.  Drop me a line with your suggestions and we'll see where it goes from here.  (Hey, I figure that at the very least, I'll be able to read "One Is The Loneliest Number" for under a thousand bucks!!!)

Kent:
I meant to write to you sooner to thank you for running my paragraph on my dear friend Jimmy Greenspoon.  I have just been stunned by the news of his passing.  I thought there would be at least several more weeks to do more and say more to him.
The book "One is the Loneliest Number" was such an important book in by career.  Unfortunately, at this point, the book is out of print, and in the last several weeks I have started to actively looking for a publisher who would be interested in purchasing it to publish an updated version.  I would love to get an advance that would be of help to Jimmy's widow, to offset the medical costs that I know they will be hit with for Jimmy's care.  If you have any suggestions, let me know.  I would love to have his book come out again, so that his story will live on.
Thank you so much for your letter.  I like your ideas, and I will put a list of titles together to send to you.  I have been thinking about the prime ones that are due for updating and I will put some thoughts down on paper and send them to you.
Many thanks to you Kent.
Cheers,
Mark
 
After reviewing Mark's list, we've flagged some of the most likely candidates for updating below ... obviously, we don't need (nor could we possibly afford) to do a ton of titles at once ... just pick the very best, mostly "timely" and deserving titles as a starting point ... and see who out there might be able to help us get this project off the ground.  Again, please drop me an email and we'll see if we can get the ball rolling from there.  Thanks in advance to all who might be willing to support our efforts!
kk
Kent Kotal
Forgotten Hits
 
Books by MARK BEGO 
1. The Captain & Tennille (1977)  OUT OF PRINT
Mightmake for an interesting update ... now nearly 40 years out of date ... especially since the couple announced their split after nearly 40 years of marriage, reportedly with behind-the-scenes motivation tied to medical reasons that never really came out.  (kk)
2.  Barry Manilow (1977)  OUT OF PRINT
3.  The Doobie Brothers (1980)  OUT OF PRINT
4.  Michael! [Jackson] (1984)  OUT OF PRINT exceptIN PRINT IN JAPAN
5.  On the Road With Michael! [Jackson] (1984)  OUT OF PRINT U.S.
6.  Madonna! (1985)  UPDATE IN PRINT
7.  Rock Hudson:  Public & Private (1986) OUT OF PRINT
8.  Sade! (1986)  OUT OF PRINT
9.  Julian Lennon! (1986)  OUT OF PRINT
I'd be curious to see an update to this one ... although Julian has been out of the public eye for quite some time now ... he may have some interesting perspective to share, however, after nearly thirty years of new reflection  (kk)
10.  The Best of “Modern Screen” (1986)  OUT OF PRINT
11.  Whitney! [Houston] (1986)  UPDATE IN PRINT
12.  Cher! (1986)  UPDATE IN PRINT
13.  Bette Midler:  Outrageously Divine (1987)  UPDATE IN PRINT
14.  The Linda Gray Story (1988)  OUT OF PRINT
After the success of the Dallas reboot ... and the passing of Larry Hagman ... this might make for some fascinating reading.  (kk)
15.  TV Rock [The History of Rock & Roll on Television] (1988)  OUT OF PRINT
16.  Aretha Franklin:  Queen of Soul (1989)  UPDATE IN PRINT
Highly recommended  (kk)
17.  Between the Lines [with Debbie Gibson] (1990)  OUT OF PRINT
18.  Linda Ronstadt:  It’s So Easy (1990)  OUT OF PRINT
Definitely due for an update, with her current health condition and induction into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame  (FINALLY!!!)  kk
19.  Ice Ice Ice:  The Extraordinary Vanilla Ice Story (1991)  OUT OF PRINT
20.  One Is the Loneliest Number[with Jimmy Greenspoon of Three Dog Night] (1991)  OUT OF PRINT
With Jimmy's recent passing ... and the fact that two factions of Three Dog Night continue to perform around the globe ... this would make for a very interesting update  (kk)
21.  Madonna:  Blonde Ambition (1992)  UPDATE IN PRINT
22.  I’m A Believer:  My Life of Music, Monkees and Madness[with Micky Dolenz of The Monkees] (1993)  UPDATE IN PRINT
I might have to get the new version of this one ... Micky's been busier these past ten years that at any other time in his long-running career!  (kk)
23.  Country Hunks (1994)  OUT OF PRINT
24.  Country Gals (1994)  OUT OF PRINT
25.  Dancing In the Street:  Confessions of a Motown Diva [with Martha Reeves of Martha & The Vandellas] (1994)  OUT OF PRINT
26.  I Fall To Pieces:  The Music & The Life of Patsy Cline (1995)  OUT OF PRINT
I would think that there would ALWAYS be a market for this one!  (kk)
27.  Bonnie Raitt:  Just In the Nick of Time (1995)   UPDATE IN PRINT
28.  Rock & Roll Almanac (1996)  OUT OF PRINT
29.  Alan Jackson:  Gone Country (1996)  OUT OF PRINT
30.  Raised on Rock:  The Autobiography of Elvis Presley’s Step Brother [with David Stanley] (1996) OUT OF PRINT
31.  George Strait:  The Story of Country’s Living Legend (1997)  OUT OF PRINT
32.  Leonardo DiCaprio:  Romantic Hero (1998)  OUT OF PRINT
This is another one I think there will always be a market for ... Leo's grown up in the past 17 years!  (kk)
33.  LeAnn Rimes (1998) OUT OF PRINT
34.  Jewel (1998)  OUT OF PRINT
35.  Matt Damon:  Chasing a Dream  (1998)  OUT OF PRINT
36.  Will Smith:  The Freshest Prince (1998)  OUT OF PRINT
Another guy who's come a long, long way since 1998.  (kk)
37.  Vince Gill (2000)  OUT OF PRINT
38.  Madonna:  Blonde Ambition  Updated Edition (2000)  IN PRINT
39.  Aretha Franklin:  Queen of Soul Updated Edition (2001)  UPDATE IN PRINT
40.  The Marx Brothers (2001)   IN PRINT
41.  Cher:  If You Believe (2001)  IN PRINT
42.  Bette Midler:  Still Divine (2002)  IN PRINT
43.  Bonnie Raitt: STILL In the Nick of Time Updated Edition(2003)  IN PRINT
44.  Julia Roberts: America’s Sweetheart (2003)  OUT OF PRINT
45.  Tina Turner: Break Every Rule (2003)  IN PRINT
46.  I’m a Believer: My Life of Music, Monkees & Madness  [with Micky Dolenz of The Monkees] Updated Edition (2004) IN PRINT
47.  Joni Mitchell (2005)  IN PRINT
With talk of a Joni biopic in the works, this should be an interesting one to read  (kk)
48.  Jackson Browne:  His Life and Music (2005)  OUT OF PRINT
(49)  Yolana: Just One More Question [with Yolana Bard] (2006)  IN PRINT
(50)  Billy Joel: The Biography (2007)  IN PRINT U.K. / OUT OF PRINT U.S.
There's been a huge resurgence in Billy's music ... I think this would be a good one to update  (kk)
(51)  Macho Man [with Randy Jones of Village People] (2008)  IN PRINT
(52)  Elton John:  The Bitch is Back (2009)  IN PRINT U.K. / OUT OF PRINT U.S.
(53)  One Minute Before Midnight [with Ruth Mueller] (2009)  IN PRINT
(54)  Tina Turner: Die Biografie [in German only] (2009)  IN PRINT
(55)  Whitney Houston:  Die Biografie [in German only] (2009)  IN PRINT
(56)  Paperback Writer a Memoir (2010)  IN PRINT
(57)  Where the Action Is! [with Freddy Cannon] (2011)  IN PRINT
Another good one ... written with our FH Buddy Freddy Cannon
(58)  Whitney Houston:  The Spectacular Rise and Tragic Fall of the Woman Whose Voice Inspired a Generation (2012)  IN PRINT
(59)  Aretha Franklin:  The Queen of Soul [Her 70th Birthday Edition] (2012)   IN PRINT
(60)  Murder at Motor City Records (2012)  IN PRINT
(61)  Life with My Father:  Glen Campbell [with Debby Campbell] (2014)  IN PRINT

Mark has a few ideas of where he'd like to start, too ... see below ...  

Kent:
As you requested, below please find a list of all of my books, with notations about which ones are available and in print, and which ones are available for updating.
On the rock & roll list, the ones -- in my mind -- that most need updating are the Jimmy Greenspoon, and the Linda Ronstadt.  (Linda really wrote a shallow and unforthcoming book about herself two years ago, but she said almost nothing in it!)
Trailing close behind would be my books on Martha Reeves and Jackson Browne.  I would be thrilled if someone would take all four of these books for updating and for reprint.
Take a look at my list of books, their "in print" and "out of print" status, and let me know your thoughts.
Cheers,
Mark
PS -- Kent, also ... "thank you" very much for your interest in my books, and helping to keep these stories alive!
 
Again, PLEASE contact me if you think you might have an interest (and the resources) to help us relaunch some of these great titles.  Thank you!
kk
Kent Kotal
Forgotten Hits
 
 
↧

Helping Out Our Readers

March 25, 2015, 4:45 am
$
0
0
>>> Help!  I had a white label 45 in the 70's and lost it in the 90's. Not only can't I find it anywhere, but I can't find anything on it nor anyone who has ever heard of it. Sung by a female, it was on an independent label, and the chorus was "Michael Michael Michael life is but a garbage pail ... " 
It was probably a novelty record, but it was sung straight and serious. The song title had parenthesis and part of it was "The Unexpected ... " something or other. I can't recall the entire title because it was one of those ridiculously long titles that had nothing to do with the lyrics.  Any clues?  Cheers!  (Charles Rosenay)   
The song is "The Unexpected Experience Of Michael D.Tippet In An Unspecified Part Of San Francisco Last July (Michael, Michael, Michael)" from 1969.
Here is a label scan: http://www.45cat.com/record/r7037
– Randy
I'm not familiar with this song and couldn't find it on YouTube ... now that you've seen it, does it ring a bell with you, Charles?  (kk)
 
Good morning,   I am trying to recall a song from the 60's or 70's that contained the lyrics: "... she's a child of summer, and she's mine, all mine ..."
Please help an old man's memory.
Thanks.
Ken
This one's not clicking with me ... anybody?  (kk)
 
QUESTION OF THE WEEK (aka "THIS MORNING SCOTT SHANNON SAID" ...) 
 
Kent ...
I was listening to Scott's Sunday show.  He said that only once in music history, both the A & B side went to #1. It was Elvis = 1956, A-side "Don't Be Cruel" / B-side "Hound Dog."  I guess the Beatles never did it.
Frank B.
 
I would have to say thatthat's MOSTLY true ... if you consider only the era when Billboard Magazine charted both sides of the same record separately.  (Roughly 1955 - 1969)
 
Quite honestly, I never really understood how they accurately determined which side of a record people went into the record store to buy since it was the same 45.  For example, did you go into the record store to buy "Travelin' Man" (#1 in Billboard) or the B-Side "Hello, Mary Lou" (#1 in Chicago ... but only #9 in Billboard) ... or simply reap the benefit of getting BOTH incredible tunes for 99-cents back in the day?  How on earth would the record store owner know how to distinguish sales or popularity of one from the other when reporting their record sales to Billboard that week?
 
The Brooklyn Bridge tella story in concert that in 1969 their record company (Buddah Records) got the great idea that as their current hit ("Blessed Is The Rain") was starting to fall down the charts, they'd start pushing the flipside ("Welcome Me Love") to see if they could extend the life of the record before the group had a chance to record their follow-up release.
 
The experiment worked ... "Blessed Is The Rain" reached #45 and two months later "Welcome Me Love" peaked at #48.  In fact, for a couple of weeks, the two-sided hit competed with itself on the chart!  (That's not the first time that happened, potentially hurting the record in the process due to the confusion of the buyer OR the statistician responsible for determining that week's chart ranking!  Several people out there believe that many two-sided hits actually HURT the artist's chart performance because, in effect, they were "splitting the vote" with their fans ... whereas a big push to a dedicated A-Sideprobably insured a bigger hit overall.)
 
As they tell it, in the case of the Brooklyn Bridge record, when all the final sales were tabulated ... and all the dust had settled ... it turned out that BOTH sides of this record sold EXACTLY the same number of copies.  (How could it not?!?!  They were both pressed as one piece of vinyl!!!)  lol
 
Other artists have enjoyed similar experiences ... The Guess Who followed their smash "Laughing" up the chart with its B-Side, "Undun", which has proven to probably be the more popular of the two tracks today with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight (and extensive airplay over the years for this very popular flip.)  Original B-Sides like "Black Water" by The Doobie Brothers and "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by The Rolling Stones" both enjoyed tremendous chart success and popularity when they were re-released later as A-Sides ... after first being stuck on the flipside of "Another Park, Another Sunday" and "Honky Tonk Women" (respectively), at which time they went virtually ignored.
 
As for your original question ... (yes, I DO have a tendency to over-elaborated these points!!!) ... in late 1969, Billboard switched their policy of charting each side of the same record as independent hits and instead began showing both sides of the same record at a "shared position" ... in many cases this was a HUGE misrepresentation of reality ... nobody will EVER convince me, for example, that an equal number of people went into the record store to purchase The Beatles'"For You Blue" instead of the A-Side, "The Long And Winding Road", thus allowing "For You Blue" to "equally contribute" to this record reaching #1.)
 
However this would NOT be the case with The Beatles' two-sided hit "Come Together" / "Something", which I would ABSOLUTELY consider to be a Double A-Sided #1 Record.  In fact, "Something" was printed on the Green Apple (A-Side) of the 45 while "Come Together" was denoted as the B-Side (sliced apple).  Even The Beatles themselves celebrated the fact that George Harrison had finally composed, earned and recorded his very first A-Side Single.
 
Billboard defined their method of determining which title was listed first, stating that it was based on the song currently receiving the most airplay at the time.  So for the lone week this Beatles single sat on top of Billboard's Hot 100 Pop Singles Chart, "Come Together" was listed first, ahead of the ACTUAL A-Side, "Something".
 
But if that's STILL not enough to convince Scott to modify his findings, then THIS one should do it hands down.
 
Frank, you mentioned hearing this two-sided hit #1 tidbit on Scott's new, syndicated program "America's Greatest Hits" ... which seems to focus primarily on the music of '70's and '80's these days ... and even dips its big toe into the '90's (shudder!) from time to time ... but rarely explores the '60's and, virtually NEVER acknowledges the '50's (which is why I was so surprised to hear about his Elvis comment above).  This being the case, he certainly cannot deny the chart history THIS mega #1-Hit from 1997.
 
That's the year that Elton John hit the #1 Spot for 14 incredible weeks with his two-sided hit "Candle In The Wind, 1997" / "Something About The Way You Look Tonight". 
 
The A-Side, of course, was the reworking of his popular "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" track from 1973, now sporting new, updated lyrics dedicated to Princess Diana, who had recently died in that horrific car crash a few months earlier that year.  (Elton even performed the song with its new lyrics at Princess Di's funeral.)
 
For the first three weeks of its 14-week #1 chart run, "Candle" was shown as the A-Side #1 ... but for the remaining eleven weeks on top, it was "Something About The Way You Look Tonight" that held the lead position.  That incredible fourteen week run even trumps Elvis'"Don't Be Cruel" / "Hound Dog" run of eleven weeks as a two-sided #1 hit back in 1956.  (Who knows ... maybe he'll amend his original comment and acknowledge our findings on an upcoming show!)
kk
Kent Kotal
Forgotten Hits
 
*****
 
By the way ... several years ago, with the help of Randy Price, who put together The Super Charts, calculating the COMBINED chart positions of EVERY hit record, utilizing information gathered through all of the available, multiple sources used by the three major music trades at the time (Billboard, Cash Box and Record World) to tabulate their own charts, we mathematically calculated The Top 200 Biggest Two-Sided Hits Of All-Time and posted the results list on our website.  This list was determined by the COMBINED POINTS earned for BOTH sides of the same record ... which meant that a record like "Hey Jude" (which topped Billboard's Chart for nine weeks) actually finished below another Beatles Hit because the flipside "Revolution" only peaked at #11.  (And, because we only used mathematical statistics collected at the time in order to develop this ranking, it is free of any personal bias ... or benefit of hindsight ... that might otherwise impact how popular many of these records have remained over the ensuing years.)
 
Our final chart covered the years 1955 - 1979 ... the first 25 Years of Rock And Roll ... and, as such, doesn't take the 1997 Elton John record into consideration.
 
However, you MIGHT be surprised to see that The Top Three Records on this list are none other than "Travelin' Man" / "Hello, Mary Lou" by Rick Nelson (#3), "Come Together" / "Something" (#2) by The Beatles and "Don't Be Cruel" / "Hound Dog" by Elvis Presley (#1)!!!  (Now, what are the odds?!?!?)
 
You can check out the whole list here:
 
↧

Thursday This And That

March 26, 2015, 5:13 am
$
0
0
re:  This And That:
This just in ...
"The Wrecking Crew" documentary WILL have a Chicago-area showing after all ...
Denny Tedesco tells us that we can catch the film on April 10th at The Landmark Century Centre Cinema ... 2828 N. Clark Street in Chicago.  (This booking is so new that it doesn't even show up on the theater's website yet ... stay tuned for more details.)
If some of the "locals" on the list would be interested in doing some type of a "meet" at the theater to watch the film together, please let me know and I'll see if we can arrange something.  Meanwhile, catch this film anywhere you can ... you'll be VERY happy you did! 
(By the way, I also just saw my first-ever television commercial for this film!!!)  kk
 
Ron Smith's book, "Eight Days A Week", tells us that 3/21/1952 was "The Moondog Coronation Ball".  This event was considered to be the "First Rock Concert".
That's why I say it was disgraceful conduct for the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame to remove Alan Freed's ashes from the building.  If it wasn't for Alan Freed, there would be no Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.
Frank Buongervino
 
The Star Plaza Theatre (in conjunction with The Chicago Theatre) asks the musical question ...     
Are you a fan of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons?
Do You Love Jersey Boys? 
Then you should bid on this awesome VIP prize package:  
TWO Front Row Seats and a Meet and Greet with Frankie Valli when he returns to The Chicago Theatre on April 10th ... and a signed piece of Frankie memorabilia.  
Bidding starts at $500 and ends March 31st.  
Proceeds from the auction will support this year's Summer Music Theatre Outreach Program here at Star Plaza Theatre. 
The auction has been open for three weeks as of today ... and the current top bid is $510 ... so apparently not too many people willing to pay upwards of $500 for this.  (Apparently everybody already blew their wad on those $150,000 Grateful Dead seats!)  You can, however, bypass the entire bidding process and just BUY this package ... for five grand!  (kk)

And, speaking of Frankie Valli ...
 
Click here to listen to Scott Shannon's interview with Frankie Valli from last week on his WCBS-FM morning show ... this is a goodie ... and it's FREE!
 
 
Frank B also tells us that Big Jay Sorensen salutes Frankie Valli as part of his 60's / 70's / 80's flashback this week for WCBS-FM ...

It was announced last week that Paul McCartney will be inducting Ringo Starr into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame on April 18th.  This makes all four Beatles double-inductees into The Rock Hall, for both their collective efforts together as the band that changed the world AND as solo artists.  (It's great that they've got room to double-induct a number of artists ... but can't find a spot for Chicago, The Guess Who or The Moody Blues!!!  Not to mention countless other deserving and denied candidates mentioned here over the years.)  Stevie Wonder will induct Bill Withers (not THERE'S a great "rock" name!!!), new-comers Fall Out Boy will do the honors by inducting Green Day, and Patti Smith will induct Lou Reed, another two-time inductee.  (At press time there was no word yet as to who would be presiding over Joan Jett's part of the ceremony ... but it's probably a pretty safe bet that it WON'T be the members of Fanny, rock and roll's REAL first successful all girl group rock band.  (kk)
 
I just heard that Jorgen Ingman died = 3/21/15.
Had a big hit with "Apache" in 1961.  I bought that 45.
Frank B.
"Apache" was a #2 Billboard Hit back in 1961.  We featured it as part of our "Honest Injun" series several years ago.
 
Ron Smith reports this about Jorgen ...
Jørgen Ingmann, the Danish guitarist who gave us the instrumental classic, "Apache" (#2-1961), died Saturday (March 21) at the age of 89. Born Jørgen Ingmann Pedersen in Copenhagen in 1925, he won the Eurovision song competition for Denmark with his wife Grethe with the song "Dansevise" in 1963. His only other American chart tune was "Anna" (#54), another instrumental, in 1961.
 
Also leaving us recently (bios and death notices courtesy of Ron Smith, the official Forgotten Hits Grim Reaper) ...
Mike Porcaro, bassist with Totoafter their "Toto IV" album in 1982 died from ALS Sunday (March 15). He was 59. His brothers Steve and the late Jeff Porcaro were original members in the group. Mike retired from the group because of his disease in 2007. He played on such singles as "Stranger In Town" (#30-1984) and "I'll Be Over You" (#11-1986).
 
Andy Fraser, bassist with Free on "All Right Now" (#4-1970) and "Stealer" (#49-1971) died Monday (March 16) at his home in Temeculah, California. The London-born musician was 62 and had been diagnosed with AIDS and Kaposi's Sarcoma cancer, though no cause of death was given. A classically trained pianist, he switched to guitar at 13 and at 15 worked briefly with John Mayall's Blues Breakers, which led to a job as bassist with Free, where he co-wrote and co-produced both of the group's chart hits. After Free split up he worked in a variety of other British groups, including his own Andy Fraser Band, which released two albums. Besides "All Right Now" and "Stealer", he wrote "Every Kinda People," (#16) a 1978 hit for Robert Palmer that was re-recorded as a soft hit again in 1992.
 
Michael Brown (nee Michael Lookofsky), keyboardist with the Left Banke and Stories, died Thursday (March 19) of unknown causes. He was 65. Michael's father, a session violinist, owned a recording studio in New York and produced, published and managed the baroque-oriented Left Banke when they formed in 1965. Michael wrote their two hits-- "Walk Away Renee" (#5-1966) and "Pretty Ballerina" (#15-1967), but when he recorded another-- "Ivy Ivy" (#119-1967) using studio musicians, the resulting friction caused the group to disband (though they later reformed without Michael and without any more hits). He went on to play with Montage before joining Stories, having been introduced to Ian Lloyd by their fathers. He stayed with the group for their first album and first three singles, including "I'm Coming Home" (#42-1972) and "Brother Louie" (#1-1973-- which initially was missing from the album). After forming the unsuccessful group, the Beckies in 1976, he eventually gave up music.
 
Sad to hear, too, about Jackie Trent who, along with former husband Tony Hatch collaborated to write a number of hit records for Petula Clark back in the '60's.  She passed away over the weekend after a long illness.  (Our condolences go out to our friend, Tony)  kk
 
British singer / songwriter Jackie Trent, who along with Tony Hatch wrote such tunes as "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love" (#9 - 1966) "Don't Sleep In The Subway" (#5 - 1967) and "Color My World" (#16 - 1967) for Petula Clark, died after what was termed a "long illness" Saturday (March 21) in a hospital in Minorca, Spain, where she lived. She was 76. As a singer, her only American chart appearance was "If You Love Me, Really Love Me" (#106 - 1964) but she reached #1 on the UK charts with "Where Are You Now (My Love)," used in the British TV series "It's Dark Outside" in 1965. 
Born Yvonne Burgess in Newcastle-Under-Lyme, England in 1940, she started as a child star. Signed by Pye Records, she began collaborating with one its producers, Tony Hatch, both in-and-out-of the recording studio. Their affair led to the dissolution of both their marriages and their own nuptials in 1967 (they were divorced in 2002). They are best remembered in Australia for writing the theme for the television program "Neighbours."
-- Ron Smith
 
FH Reader Tom Cuddy tells us about a concert event that'll be coming to Chicago later this year. 
Put together by the same guys who gave us Sail Rock a few years ago, this looks like an interesting line-up.  (I had to chuckle at Tom's comment below!)  kk
 
Kent:  
Paradise Artists, the booking agency for the Rock the Yacht Tour, is promising promoters a concert that will last approximately 3 ½ hours.  Some original members in all groups, except Little River Band.  Concerts are still being booked,  although a handful of dates have already been confirmed.  They are:  
7/16/15 - Staten Island, NY - St. George Theatre
7/17/15 - Westbury, NY - NYCB Theater
7/23/15 - Kettering, OH - Fraze Pavillion
7/24/15 - Aurora, IL - River Edge Park
 
 
 
I'm sure several more shows will be added ...
River Edge Park is a beautiful venue out in Aurora ... it'll be nice to head out there again this summer!  
Ambrosia and The Little River Band were both subjects of Forgotten Hits reviews last year.  Robbie Dupree and Player also performed as part of the Sail Rock Show a couple of summers ago ... and Stephen Bishop will be a welcome addition to the line-up.  This one sounds like a winner to me.  (kk)
 
re:  The First Day Of Spring:
Hi Kent ...
Thanks for the cool MP3s.   It was interesting to see the different songs from each decade that were on the Billboard top spot at this time of the year.  "Bridge Over Troubled Water" from 45 years ago is still a masterpiece. 
As far as the sampling goes, I tend to agree with your honey, Frannie, that there is indeed "nothing new under the sun."  Over all I think the creative spirit has gotten "lazier" over time but I still am hopeful that there are many more songs yet to be written. Where's the creativity? 
By the way, Happy First Day of Spring to you too!
Blossmwrld
Our first day of spring was followed by 6" of snow on Monday!  (which makes mewonder how many more inches of spring we're expected to get this year!!!)  It was in the 60's and beautiful outside prior to that!  (kk)
 
The perfect song to usher in spring:
Gary Theroux
Yep, that's a good one ... and, despite a #6 chart showing, a forgotten hit for sure!  (kk)
↧
Viewing all 4150 articles
Browse latest View live
Search
<script src="https://jsc.adskeeper.com/r/s/rssing.com.1596347.js" async> </script>