re: PAUL REVERE AND THE RAIDERS:
Hey Kent,
It's Tom Scheckel (former drummer for The Buckinghams). Been reading your blog for some time, always great stuff. I wanted to thank you for the nice press about my leaving the band. It was a very hard decision to make after 27 great years but I felt like taking a chance and making a change in my life and the guys completely supported me in my decision, even though we were all pretty sad about it, especially on our last night together.
I wrote a letter to friends, fans and the band, and the guys posted it on The Buckinghams Facebook site for me. It may be too long for you to print on your site, but here's a link for any interested readers to check it out:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Buckinghams/134705224041?ref=ts#!/note.php?note_id=392933566939&comments
Have a great summer, and thanks for all of the support you've given The Buckinghams and the rest of our good friends over the years.
Tommy Scheckel
Thanks, Tommy ... I think it's a GREAT sentiment and appreciate you including us in this. (As a lifetime fan of both The Buckinghams AND Paul Revere and the Raiders, I'd have to say you've been keeping some pretty good company these past three decades!!!)
Here's a short excerpt from Tommy's posting ... you can read the whole thing by simply clicking on the link above:
Hi everyone, Tom Scheckel here.
I didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye!
Being the drummer in The Buckinghams over the last 27 years has been my great pleasure and privilege. Carl, Nick, Bob, Bruce and I are very much brothers and I'm proud of the music we've created together as we've continued the rich legacy of The Buckinghams for the past three decades.
The Buckinghams are a wonderful organization and a fantastic band, I love all of the guys to death and we’ll be great friends for life. We part ways with our deep respect for each other firmly intact and best hopes for each others’ success. I can’t wait to see The Buckinghams from the audience and see what all the fuss is about!
We have the best fans in the world and many of you have become close, personal friends over the years. We've watched some of you grow up from children to adults, while others have become grandparents before our eyes (myself included). Our concerts have become more like family reunions and social events of sorts, as together we’ve celebrated the music we all love; the music that has become richer and more important in our lives as we've become a little older and a little more sentimental.
As you’ve heard, I'm leaving the band to play with our good friends, Paul Revere and The Raiders. The opportunity and timing were right for me and my style of drumming should be a good fit for Paul’s rock ‘n’ roll circus.
Thank you all for your wonderful support over these many years. You've been magnificent and I can't thank you enough for your kindness.
Please come by to say, "Hi" if you see me bashing away in your town. I’ll be the sweaty one in the tight pants and military jacket.
Thanks again,
Tommy
People sometimes forget what it takes these days to keep a band together ... imagine that ... 27 years with the Buckinghams ... that's nearly five times longer than the original band stayed together!!! Pretty amazing.
Best of luck with The Raiders ... and it sure would be nice if Paul or ANY of the guys would share a word with our readers from time to time!
With the great new Singles Compilation CD out, we're more than happy to help plug it.
I have been a lifetime Paul Revere and the Raiders fan and would love to hear from you guys from time to time. (Hey, maybe you can be our official Branson Reporter ... once you get settled out there, you can give us the lowdown on some of the other oldies acts passing through town!)
Anyway, best of luck to you ... and please stay in touch! (kk)
And for all the latest Raiders information, tour dates, merchandise, etc., be sure to check out the official website here:
Click here: http://www.paulrevereraiders.com/index.html
Thanks much, Kent!
I'll pass the word on to the boys about your site, and keep my ears open for any cool Branson stories. Have a great one, and thanks again.
Tom
re: ON THE RADIO:
Friday's here again ... that means it's time for another edition of "The Pop Shoppe".
Set your computer to www.topshelfoldies.org from 7 PM till 3:01 (eastern).
This week's schedule is as follows:
7:00 / 8:30 - Back to the 1960's. Many of your favorites and forgotten tunes will be heard.
8:30 / 9:00 - Folk songs from the 1960's. Songs that added another dimension to the music of that era.
9:00 / 10:00 - Time for a phone interview with Dodie Stevens. You'll find there's a lot more to her career than just Pink Shoe Laces. I met her recently at an oldies concert. She still sounds great and today sings with her daughter Stephanie. Both ladies are pretty as a picture. I look forward to talking with Dodie about her career.
10:00 / 11:00 - This segment will feature Mothers Day songs.
11:00 / 12:00 - May 7th would have been Johnny Maestro's birthday. I will be playing some special songs as we can't forget that this master of song is gone.
12:00 / 1:30 - It's Midnight Country! These were the days when country was really country. Lots of real classics here.
1:30 / 3:01 AM - We go to the greatest sounds of the 50's and 60's with a touch of the 40s.
It's all here on Friday nights in The Pop Shoppe. The Greatest Songs That Ever Lived.
Many of my past interviews along with special links and my picture gallery can be found on the new page that Ramtown Mike (our Wednesday Dee jay) has set up for me.
Just go to www.ramtownlive.com/popshoppe
Future interviews that are scheduled so far
May 14th - Robin Luke, "Susie Darlin"
May 21st - Jim Stephens (lead singer of The Safaris) "Image of a Girl"
Looking forward to seeing you all Friday night.
(Remember, you must be here Friday evening because I don't want to be alone.)
I am Sincerely Yours,
Stuart Weiss / DJ STU
re: AND TV, TOO!:
Kent
Attached is a website just forwarded to me.
http://oldiestelevision.com/
I haven't had a chance to look at it in detail but I watched number 12
12 THE CENSORED JERRY LEE LEWIS HERE UNCENSORED! (1957-59)
The video quality is awful but the performance is incredible. More energy and excitement without all the backup dancers and fireworks used today.
Enjoy!
Steve Davidson
Thanks, Steve ... this really IS an awesome site ... I hung around for quite a while, checking out this clip and that clip ... you're right, they seem to be of varying quality ... but SO good to see some of this stuff again. (And it's not just music either!!!) Thanks for sharing! (kk)
... and, also in the television vein ...
The Ed Sullivan clips on PBS and DVD are very nice. It is too bad they don't put some of the lesser groups on like The Remains, Thomas Group etc. who had some great songs & regional hits. That would be interesting as well.
Ken
Did these artists actually appear on The Ed Sullivan Show? I've been pushing for years to get the "Upbeat" television series out on home DVD ... they had a lot more of the "regional" acts that you're referring to on a regular basis ... and these would be VERY cool to see. (kk)
Kent,
Great newsletter, as always. I'm happy to see that George Manney is presenting the Philly Music Series. George is a Philadelphia music treasure and I am happy to know him through our mutual friend, Stephen Caldwell, of The Orlons. Stewkey, of Nazz, is another of our Philly music people who is deserving of recognition. He's a born rocker.
Kent, I just completed an interview with Marshall Lytle, bass player of Bill Haley's Comets (talk about Philly-local groups) for my monthly column, The U.S. Beat, in the British magazine, THE BEAT. As it is difficult to obtain in the U.S. (except by rather expensive subscription), I would be happy to send it to you to re-print once it runs in the June issue of The Beat. Let me know. (PS: I finally learned to play upright slap bass, thanks to Marshall!)
Also, here's a nice story: my long-time friend, Tony Marc, who is in the vintage guitar business, had the foresight to procure the name "Danelectro" back in 1979 when the company was out of business. When they began manufacturing again in 2000, Tony cashed in. Always a good friend and a very generous person, Tony gave me a re-issue Danelectro bass, as well as a Fender Telecaster (!)
I was on the phone with Al Jardine and I told him about my new guitars, and about Tony. One thing led to another, then a 3-way call. Al told us about a green Dano baritone guitar of Glen Cambell's that Al used to mess with. So, Tony sent him one (!) Heck of a guy, huh? Al's delighted, and sent me a photo of his new guitar (which I'll send you as soon as I can figure out how to transfer it from my Blackberry!), of which I guess I am the godfather. (By the way - he / we sent friend Billy J. Kramer a Dano, too. He was speechless.)
Keep up the good stuff, Kent. (you're a helluva a lot more interesting than Lefsetz!)
Best,
Dr. Robert (Bob Rush)
Glad to hear things are going well!
I'd be happy to publish your interview with Marshall ... just let me know when it's "safe" to post it up on the website. (Forgotten Hits Readers, stay tuned!!!)
Cool about the Danelectro Guitars ... my cousin has worked for Hamer Guitars for something like 30 years now ... amazing how many of these they give away to artists in the hopes of them endorsing your products. (I remember Paul McCartney saying one time how when you're first starting out in the business, you scrimp to save every penny you can to buy a half-way decent guitar ... and then when you actually make it ... and can afford to buy the very best of everything ... they GIVE them to you!!! Peter Noone said, too, that because Herman's Hermits used to endorse certain brands of guitars, drums and microphones, they used to get free ones to use in their concerts ... but when they toured with The Who, The Who used to take all these "freebies" and smash them as part of their show-closing finale, often times before The Hermits ever even got to play them!!! lol)
... and this from George Manney ...
re: THE PHILLY POP MUSIC SERIES:
Charlie & Richie Ingui of The Soul Survivors played a un-plugged set at the Philly Pop Music series at jt's Philadelphia House in NE Philly May 1st, Saturday night.
http://www.phillypopmusic.com
They tore the roof off the place with their interpretation of a Curtis Mayfield hit and ended with an acoustic rendition of "Expressway To Your Heart" that simply set the night on fire.
Charlie & Richie and the Soul Survivors just released a new CD titled: "Heart Full Of Soul" covering classic hits of the past. Digging deep into the catalogs of Curtis Mayfield, Junior Walker, Marvin Gaye, William Bell and other great influences, HEART FULL OF SOUL is an album that showcases the extraordinary voices of Charlie & Richie Ingui, the Soul Survivors two original lead singers who have teamed up with Grammy nominated producers Jimmy Bralower & Johnny Gale for this new high energy album celebrating their roots in the classic music of Chicago, Memphis, Detroit, NY & Philadelphia.
HEART FULL OF SOUL is a great new album of classic R&B and Soul music now available at
amazon.comhttp://www.amazon.com/Heart-Full-Soul-Survivors/dp/B0030EV4DU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1272895676&sr=8-2
George Manney
Thanks, George! The Soul Survivors have participated with Forgotten Hits from time to time and they seem like really great guys ... glad to hear that they're still performing, recording and wowing their fans in the process! Thanks for sharing! (kk)
re: ROCK CON:
Great edition - I loved every word that everyone wrote!
Just an update to let you know that ROCK CON is now being billed as the "Weekend of 100 Rock Stars" and we span the rock & roll era from 50's to the present, having just added Charlie Grace and Al Rappa from Bill Haley's Comets to the guest roster. I don't believe there's ever been as many pop & rock personalities in one place at the same time, with complete access to the fans. We also added Johnny Winter and Jane Weidlin from the Go-Gos. I'm most excited about the event because we have so many great 60's music celebrities, and so many expect to also jam at the convention. We're getting inquiries and reservations from fans from all over the world. It should be an amazing weekend. The website has been updated: www.NationalRockCon.com and more guests are being added weekly. I think it's starting to snowball now, because the artists are contactng us to be part of the festivities.
I hope to see many of my fellow Forgotten Hits readers July 30 - August 1 at the Sheraton Meadowlands in East Rutherford, NJ. Tickets are now on sale.
For further info, simply email rock@NationalRockCon.com.
Charles Rosenay
Sounds like one heck of a weekend, Charles!!! Hopefully some of our readers will be able to attend and report back to us on all the festivities! (kk)
... and, speaking of Charlie Gracie ...
re: CHARLIE GRACIE:
CHARLIE GRACIE THANKS YOU!
By now I sure everyone knows my dad is not one to spend time on the computer plugging appearances and all the rest --- THAT is something my wife Kim and I have taken on with a great deal of satisfaction ... insamuch as it allows us to maintain precious contact with all of you!
Please know that we share ALL of your very kind messages and photos with my dad and he is very appreciative! He also asked us to thank everyone who attended his numerous concerts throughout the UNITED KINGDOM over the last 6-weeks. Our father has enjoyed at least 38-tours in the U.K. (that we can recall) since his first two in 1957 and '58. Your love and devotion to dad (and mom) has allowed him to thrive and prosper in a field he loves so very much. So again, dad sends his love and a million thanks you for your great support. God-willing, he is scheduled to return for another month of shows starting October 30th, highlighted by a concert appearance at the Theatre Royal in Windsor!
Charlie Gracie, Jr.
By the way, Charlie, Jr. also tells us that his Dad's latest CD now rests in the hands of Producer (and Forgotten Hits List Member) Al Kooper ... soon we hope to be able to have a track to share with all of our readers, as anticipation is certainly building about this hot, new release. Stay tuned! (kk)
The CD is now in the hands of Mr. Al Kooper. When he's finished mixing, we'll have a record to sell --- and you will be the first to know. I believe the people will be surprised to hear just how rockin' dad can be --- even at almost 74 years of age! The music keeps him young. Stand by ...
Thanks,
Charlie Jr.
re: FIRST 45's:
Nearly every week we receive a few more of your "First 45's" memories as people discover the website. I was especially pleased to see THIS one come in from Larry Baran of The Jamestown Massacre, who recorded one of my all-time favorite "shoulda been a HUGE hits" back in the '70's, "Summer Sun"!!! (Meanwhile, be sure to check out some of the memories up on the OTHER Forgotten Hits Website ... The Forgotten 45's section is now three full pages long!!!) kk
Click here: Forgotten Hits - FIRST 45's
The Monster Mash by Boris Pickett was my 1st 45 record. 1962. I bought it at the Woolworth store on 53rd street and Blackstone in Hyde Park Chicago. I wore it out.
Larry Baran
guitarist with Jamestown Massacre
www.jamestown-band.com
Be sure to check out their website ... in fact, when you get there you'll hear EXACTLY what I'm talking about ... what a GREAT, overlooked song!!! (kk)
More to come in The Sunday Comments ... hope to see you then!
