60 YEARS AGO TODAY:
1/16/66 – Bobby Hull of The Chicago Black Hawks scores four goals (in what is his 17th career hat trick), only to lose 6-5 to The New York Rangers. In the process, however, he becomes the first player in team history to score 300 goals
Also on 1/16, in what can only be considered a big sports day in Chicago, The Windy City is granted an NBA franchise to be called the Bulls. (The Bulls will become the third NBA franchise to grace the city … and BY FAR, the winningest!)
John Mellencamp has found a clever way to announce his upcoming Greatest Hits Tour ...
What better than to film a promo video with his buddy Sean Penn, hotter than ever right now thanks to the award winning film "One Battle After Another."
It's been a while since Mellencamp performed some of these hits ... in his own words, some as many as seventeen years. He almost seems embarrassed by his success. (Hey, he told us all along time ago that he "don't wanna be no pop singer" ... I just don't know if any of us expected him to go to such great lengths to prove his point!
This could be the tour of the summer ... it's not likely he'll do this again ... and honestly, if he can just keep his political preaching out of the act, this could make for an amazing set of music.
Check out the cool video ...
And then John Mellencamp's Hit List at the end of today's posting ...
It's really QUITE amazing ... and who doesn't love these songs?!?! (kk)
Wild radio station promotions and wacky dj stunts were all the rage back in the early days of rock and roll … so Timmy’s piece on Stay Awake-A-Thons seemed like perfect fodder for those of us who grew up listening to the radio under our pillow when we were supposed to be sleeping back in the day.
(You can view that original post here: https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2026/01/timmy-brought-up-this-great-radio.html)
We asked our readers to send in any special memories they may have of this time … whether it be as a radio station promoter, a disc jockey or a listener enjoying it all … and we got a few responses (but not many.) Just drop me a line at kk@forgottenhits.com … and if we get a few more, we'll continue to share them with our readers. (We’d love to hear from you!) kk
Chuck Buell checks in about our story in FH about Radio's "Sleepless in 'Town!'"
>>>In San Bernardino, we put a sleeping pill in the coffee of the jock across town who was doing a marathon in a store window! (Don Elliot)
I've also heard stories about putting laxatives in cookies "delivered from a listener" during those events.
Today, I would think those actions might result in the filing of criminal charges!
As for me, besides a half dozen times remaining awake for a little over 24 hours straight being a main co-host for the March of Dimes and Easter Seals TV marathons, there were a couple of instances, I did stay awake for an entire Program Director's Jock Meeting.
CB ( which stands for "Catnap Boy!" )
An ENTIRE Program Director's Jock Meeting? Maybe twice? Stamina for sure! (I can keep my eyes open while I dream at a workshop that does not relate to what I do)
Shelley
The DJ contests / longevity stuff was part of Chuck Buell's story. Below, 104 discs in 4 hours? Lotsa DC5 in there, I’m betting?
Still seen constantly on TV for the Children's Hospital ads, "That Girl" with Chuck!
And SPEEDWAY driver Chuck in station racing battles: "SUNDAY! At ... raceway!"
Clark Besch
Speaking of Chuck Buell, who (as I'm sure you already know) just happens to be our Official Egyptologist, he just sent us another exciting Ancient Historical Forgotten Hits Discovery that he recently uncovered ...
(He asked me what I thought and I told him to take two tablets and call me in the morning.) kk
Kent,
Speaking of those stay-awake-record broadcasts as you were in Friday's FH, the only time I remember that happening here in OKC was back in 1960. One of the local DJ's, and I believe it was Chuck Dunaway on WKY, one weekend from Friday night 6 PM until 12 midnight Sunday, stayed awake at one of our department store windows in downtown OKC. And not only staying awake for the entire time, but he also had to listen to Bobby Hendrick's record PSYCHO over and over again. Now that would drive anyone batty.
Larry Neal
We had the chance to talk to Carol Connors many years ago in Forgotten Hits ... what an incredible story she has to tell. (Talk about being in the right place at the right time!)
Now, Harvey Kubernik tells us that that story has been captured on film ... something we can all look forward to seeing this year!
More details here:
As a teenager named David Robert Jones was breaking into showbiz, he recognized that his timing was just a bit off. Seems there was a fellow Brit by the name of Davy Jones who had already achieved a breakthrough on his path to stardom. So he changed his name and January 14th marks the anniversary of the first single release in 1966 by the artist who switched from David Jones to David Bowie.
Bowie’s first releases used variations on his birth name. His 1964 debut, “Liza Jane,” was credited to Davie Jones and the King Bees. In 1965, he went by Davy Jones and the Lower Third.
Problem was that by 1966 the “other” Davy Jones was already developing a significant resume. He had starred for years in the role of the Artful Dodger in the London and Broadway productions of the hit musical Oliver! for which he had received a Tony nomination. (His performance featured the show stopper “Consider Yourself.”) By 1965, the shorter Davy Jones had also been selected as a member of The Monkees.
The taller Jones changed his name to David Bowie and On This Day issued a song in the U.K. credited to David Bowie and the Lower Third called “Can’t Help Thinking About Me.” (The single was released in the U.S. that May.) The voice from the teenager is unmistakable.
| Year | JOHN (COUGAR) MELLENCAMP | US PEAK |
|
| 1979 | John Mellencamp (shown as John Cougar) | I Need A Lover | 28 |
| 1980 | John Mellencamp (shown as John Cougar) | This Time | 27 |
| 1981 | John Mellencamp (shown as John Cougar) | Ain't Even Done With The Night | 15 |
| 1982 | John Mellencamp (shown as John Cougar) | Hurts So Good | 1 |
| 1982 | John Mellencamp (shown as John Cougar) | Jack & Diane | 1 |
| 1983 | John Mellencamp (shown as John Cougar) | Hand To Hold On To | 13 |
| 1983 | John Mellencamp (shown as John Cougar Mellencamp) | Crumblin' Down | 6 |
| 1984 | John Mellencamp (shown as John Cougar Mellencamp) | Pink Houses | 8 |
| 1984 | John Mellencamp (shown as John Cougar Mellencamp) | The Authority Song | 12 |
| 1985 | John Mellencamp (shown as John Cougar Mellencamp) | Lonely Ol' Night | 4 |
| 1985 | John Mellencamp (shown as John Cougar Mellencamp) | Small Town | 4 |
| 1986 | John Mellencamp (shown as John Cougar Mellencamp) | R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A. | 2 |
| 1986 | John Mellencamp (shown as John Cougar Mellencamp) | Rain On The Scarecrow | 21 |
| 1986 | John Mellencamp (shown as John Cougar Mellencamp) | Rumbleseat | 28 |
| 1987 | John Mellencamp (shown as John Cougar Mellencamp) | Paper In Fire | 9 |
| 1988 | John Mellencamp (shown as John Cougar Mellencamp) | Cherry Bomb | 8 |
| 1988 | John Mellencamp (shown as John Cougar Mellencamp) | Check It Out | 14 |
| 1989 | John Mellencamp (shown as John Cougar Mellencamp) | Pop Singer | 11 |
| 1989 | John Mellencamp (shown as John Cougar Mellencamp) | Jackie Brown | 45 |
| 1991 | John Mellencamp | Get A Leg Up | 13 |
| 1992 | John Mellencamp | Again Tonight | 13 |
| 1993 | John Mellencamp | Human Wheels | 19 |
| 1994 | John Mellencamp with Me'shell Ndegeocello | Wild Night | 3 |
| 1994 | John Mellencamp | Dance Naked | 18 |
| 1996 | John Mellencamp | Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First) | 9 |
| 1997 | John Mellencamp | Just Another Day | 23 |
| 1998 | John Mellencamp | Your Life Is Now | 32 |
60 YEARS AGO TODAY:
I never quite got this one … and have done a bit of research on it …
In January of 1966, nobody in the entire world knew who Davy Jones OR The Monkees were … their television series wouldn’t debut for another eight months … and their first hit single wasn't released until a month before their series premiered. In fact, in January of 1966, the series hadn't even been green-lit yet! Meaning that at this point, it wasn't even certain that there was ever going to BE The Monkees!!!
I also found August 4th as the date Bowie changed his name, which would seem to be a bit more timely … but Bowie’s first release under the Bowie moniker did, in fact, come out in January of 1966, so I’m going with it. He says he picked “Bowie” because he always liked the sound of that big, American bowie knife … but I also read that he never LEGALLY changed his name at all … he only adopted it as his stage name, by which he became known the world over … so I guess at this point, who really knows for sure?!?!
MY guess is that in January of 1966, the name David Jones just sounded a little bit too "pedestrian" (in a Jack Jones sort of way) to become the kind of artist David Bowie wanted to become. All I know is that once he changed it, his world (and ours) changed completely ... and would never be the same again. (kk)