(Watch for a brand new, Super-Sized Sunday Comments Page, too!)
re: LOCAL STUFF:
Just got this from Dennis Tufano ... hopefully still plenty of time for some of you to still get tickets!
Hi Kent,Please re-register me on the Forgotten Hits ... and belated Birthday Greetings!
I saw Paul Revere and the Raiders at Westchester Fest and they were great. Enjoyed seeing Tommy Scheckel with them.
Hope to see the 'new Buckinghams". It will be hard to replace Bob Abrams and Tommy Scheckel. I only wish all of them the best.
I will be at the dedication of "The Ides of March Way" on September12th. I am also a graduate of Piper School and Morton West High!!!!
Keep up the Great Work,
Carolyn
I'm a Morton West alum, too ... Class of 1971 ... and The Ides played at our High School a number of times, even after we all had left school and moved on with our lives. We caught them at Schaumburg's Septemberfest with The Buckinghams (and their new line-up) this past weekend ... I thought The Bucks sounded great and they've updated their set list quite a bit to accommodate the addition of new players Dave Zane and Rocky Penn. We all miss long-time Bucks Bob Abrams and Tommy Scheckel ... these guys performed with the band for 25 years! But the NEW guys sounded great, too, and the horn section was in top form the other night at Septemberfest.
In my opinion, The Ides tried to cram too much new and / or unfamiliar material into the beginning of their show ... they lost the audience early on to a degree ... when the familiar stuff came up ... "You Wouldn't Listen", "L.A. Goodbye" and some of the Survivor material like "Eye Of The Tiger", "The Search Is Over" and "High On You" ... the crowd responded accordingly ... but save an encore performance of "Rockin' Into The Night", Peterik eliminated covers of some of the material he cowrote for .38 Special ... I think mixing some of THAT familiar material into the early part of the set would have done a lot to liven things up and hold the audience's attention.
That being said, The Ides Of March have ALWAYS put on one of the most rocking, entertaining shows out there ... which made THIS particular performance all that much more disappointing. We had RAVED to friends about how good these guys are in concert and then witnessed about 40 minutes of shoulder-shrugging until the "hit" material kicked in.
But we couldn't be more proud of Berwyn's Most-Famous Sons ... and are looking forward to the ceremony ... and hopefully some musical highlights from the past! (kk)
... and, speaking of The Ides, in addition to the big street-dedication ceremony on Sunday (corner of Home Avenue and Riverside Drive in beautiful downtown Berwyn), you can catch Berwyn's finest at The Forest Park Ribfest on Saturday (along with one of our local favorites, The New Invaders) ... here's the scoop from FH Reader Mike De Martino:
This Saturday the Ides will be at the Forest Park Ribfest, 7824 Madison.
I called the Village of Forest Park, who were of limited help.
The Ides start at 8 PM ... of course I will have my famous record spindle hat on.
There is parking but the lady at the village did not know exactly where.
I would bring chairs just in case there is no seating.
If you can make it, please let me know.
THIS IS THE BEST SHOW OF THE SUMMER!!
TheDude
Here's a little more information about the fest:
Click here: Welcome to The Village of Forest Park - - - RIBFEST
Good food ... good music ... and, if the weather holds out, a GREAT way to spend the weekend! Thanks, Mike. (kk)
And don't miss the tribute to former New Colony Six Guitarist Mark Eskin being held TOMORROW at The Morton Grove Civic Center. They're calling it MARKAPALOOZA and all the details are below:
Click here: Markapalooza - tribute to BeatleMark at the Morton Grove Civic Center
Earlier this year, the Chicago music scene lost a great man -- BeatleMark Eskin -- who passed away in April. We miss him. FIVE BANDS, of whom he was a member, have joined together to play Tribute to him on Saturday, September 11, at the Morton Grove Civic Center, 6140 W Dempster, Morton Grove, IL. The bands participating are Stingrays, the New Colony Six, Instant Karma, BYTE, and the Chauffeurs. Each band in this amazing line up will feature songs reminiscent of Mark -- the ultimate Tribute to a man that made us all better musicians. We would love you to attend. We have been lucky to find a sponsor for all expenses and all proceeds will go to Mark's family. There will also be a cash bar with a percentage going to Mark's Memorial Fund. Tickets are $10 and available online through the Tribute webpage www.beatlemark.com. Doors open at 6:30 and the Tribute will start around 7:15. The first 176 tickets sold will have reserved seating. We expect to fill the hall to the roof. We hope you can come to pay tribute to our dear friend Mark Eskin.
Greg Favata
See you at Markapalooza Saturday?
Peace,
Ray
I'm sure that a number of our readers would like to attend this event. Sorry for the short notice but we hope to see some of you there. (kk)
This Saturday, Sept. 11
Blue Road Band - Special Soul-Jazz Party
featuring special guest Scott Van Wagner on sax
Lovell's Restaurant
915 S. Waukegan / Lake Forest
8:30 - 11:30 - upstairs
Blue Road is back at Lovell's for a soul-jazz party featuring special guest Scott Van Wagner on sax. Come and groove in the upstairs lounge at Lovell's with comfy couches, great food, our own private bar, room to dance, and NO COVER!
And, Coming Up ...
Saturday, September 25 at 9:00 p.m.
Blue Road at Chuck's Southern Comforts Cafe & Voodoo Lounge
Love the BBQ at this place!
6501 W. 79th in Burbank
re: OTHER RECENT SHOWS:
Hey guys:
I'm sorry, I couldn't find anyone from ANY radio stations at the site yesterday (Sunday) at Copper Country. I will try this week to contact the Program Director again and see if a recording is available. I didn't see any radio station vans or recording type equipment set up including any mardi units (that you would need to send the signal back to the radio station)???
Now the inside info on the show(s). This would have been every Desert Rose Band Fan's delight! It was an absolutely beautiful day up in the high country of Colorado except for a little wind. The crowd was suprisingly sparse, maybe 300+ people? The DRB did their soundcheck at approx 10 am ... and they sounded GREAT! They all looked relaxed and refreshed, I guess that high country Colorado air will do that to you.
Now here's the thing ... as most of you know, the first group up, "The Long Players with Bill Lloyd", was going to perform the "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" album in its entirety, Chris Hillman was scheduled to perform it with them, since he was one of the original Byrds that put that historic album together.
Well, I'm watching the stage and notice that J.D.Maness (who played pedal steel on the original Sweetheart album) was setting up. Then John Jorgeson appears on stage tuning a number of instruments. Herb Petersen then walks up with a banjo and is testing a mike ... WHAT ... ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
Chris Hillman then takes the stage, the lame announcer this day introduces the Long Players and sez that Chris, J.D., John and Herb would be joining in ...
GET OUTTA HERE!!!
So they kick it off with "You Ain't Going Nowhere" with the genius of the DRB front and center. The only thing that would have made this better would have been to see Roger McGuinn walk out onstage with his signature Rickenbacker 12 string, but unfortunately Roger wasn't there. The Desert Rose Band then performed the entire album, and you could tell they hadn't practiced at all, because after a couple of verses on nearly every song Chris would say, "Who wants to do a lead?" John or J.D. or both of them would break into some incredible leads, even Herb would break in with a lead on his banjo or Chris would dive into a searing lead on his mandolin.
The harmonies were incredible. Whoever the Long Players were, they pretty much were in the background as the Desert Rose Band performed "Sweetheart of the Rodeo". What a great feeling knowing that they then would be back up on stage a little more than an hour later for the "last" DRB Show EVER!
After a memorable rendition of this incredible historic album (the first Country Rock album ever produced), the guys got off the stage and made way for Radney Foster (who invited Chris up to play on a number of tunes). Then the stage belonged to Richie Furay and his group ... it was indeed a "Good Feelin' To Know" that the DRB would be next.
At approx 4:10 pm the Desert Rose Band took the stage and didn't disappoint. Even though I had no paper and pen to write down each and every song, it was an extended playlist that featured every DRB tune imaginable. The harmonies were heavenly as were the instrumentals. I was awestruck, sitting on one of the most beautiful places on God's Great earth seeing one of the greatest groups ever. It wasn't until near the end of the show that a sadness grew in your heart knowing this could very well be the LAST TIME they ever perform together again! When the group hit the first few notes of "The Price I Pay" I knew this was it. John put together one of the most memorable leads I have ever witnessed on this tune!
After the show, everyone was accessable behind the stage, I asked John about all the guitars he lost in the Nashville flood and it nearly brought a tear to his eye as he reinterated the devastation. I then asked him point blank, "Is this it for DRB?" He said with a wink and a smile, "You never know" as he was whisked away in a golf cart :-)
All in all a most memorable experience ... those that were there were treated to an incredible and most memorable show ever AND to top it off ... it was FREE!!!
"Wild" Bill Cody
We saw an oldies show over the weekend featuring Herbie Cox and Shirely Alston of Shirelles fame. It sounded great. Those "vintage performers" sure know how to rock ... LOL ... just kidding.
Speaking of which, you know that Creed Braxton from the original Grass Roots is on the show "The Office?" right? He's the older "gentleman" on the show. LOL I am a big fan of the show.
By the way, at the concert there was a petition to nominate Johnny Maestro for the Rock and roll Hall of Fame, which many signed.
Hope all is well. It's phenomenal how your site has grown. Kudos! :))
Best regards to you and the "fam."
And thanks for doing such a good job on your research for this site.
Blossmwrld
"The Office" has been one of OUR favorite shows for years, too ... and we just LOVE Creed! (He often only has one line per episode ... but it's usually a classic. Sometimes it's just a look or an expression ... but it STILL gets the point across. Wonder how much he gets paid for that contribution!!! lol)
I've heard GREAT things about Shirley Alston in concert over the years ... never had the chance to see her (other than on some of those PBS Oldies Shows.)
Thanks for the kind words ... yep, it's hard to believe sometimes how much the word has spread. (Figure we must be doing SOMETHING right!!!) kk
I spent three days at Lead East. They aren't kidding when they say it's the World's Biggest Rock & Roll Party. So much music, so much fun. What a great time.
With the possibilities of Hurricaine Earl, many of us thought that Labor Day weekend at Lead East would be drowned out. Oh how wrong we were. The weather all weekend in Parsippany, New Jersey was great.
Lead East comes but once a year and is the biggest oldies party there is. Bringing you back to the 1950's.
Many years ago it started as a car show and got bigger each year and finally combined with the late Ronnie I who brought Doo wop and oldies music to the event.
Once a year the Parsippany Hilton is transformed into that fantastic era that we can't forget.
Each year is better than the last. Jerry / The Wolfman from topshelfoldies has been their Dee jay for 27 years and this year was no exception. The Wolfman never stops talking and playing the music. I'm lucky enough to sit in for him when he takes a rare break.
There were many old cars, lots of music shows inside and out of the hotel. There were plenty of dealers in all types of nostalgia and plenty of CDs for sale. Roving accapella groups, plenty of food could be purchased.
To many people it's like a yearly reunion. Something was happening all weekend including drive in movies, classes on writing songs to 50's dancing.
There was a Sock Hop Saturday night and a Prom Sunday Evening. Saturday night turned into Sunday morning with Dee Jay Golden Gup playing and entertaining the folks from midnight till 6 am.
I can't forget the Idol contest that they ran too. The winner walked away with $300.00 dollars and got to sing at the big concert that night on stage in the ballroom.
With all that I've mentioned, I know I've left things out, but I guess you had to be there.
It is sad to see the weekend go so fast and realize that we can't do this again until next year.
The only sad thing about Lead East is that once it's over, it signals pretty much the end of summer too.Can't wait till next Labor Day.
The site is available at www.LeadEast.com
Maybe we'll all get together next year.
DJ Stu Weiss
re: THE CBS-FM TOP 1001 COUNTDOWN UPDATE:
Kent ...Big Jay Sorenson is back in New York Today and Tomorrow, helping us with our 1001 Countdown. He just played # 212 = Late In The Evening by Paul Simon. I like Big Jay. Wish he was here on a permanent basis.
All day long they've been saying that there's a new # 1 song. They say we'll be extremely surprised when we find out what it is. I don't like the sound of that. It can't be good. We'll find out tomorrow.
Frank B.
Keep us posted Frank! (OMG, watch it be "Boogie Oogie Oogie" by A Taste Of Honey!!! You'll FLIP!!!) Big Jay's a big fan and supporter of Forgotten Hits ... we wish him the very best ... 'cause we dig him, too! (kk)
Kent ...
It didn't turn out to be as bad as i thought it would.
# 1 = Rag Doll - 4 Seasons. I can understand that, with the popularity of Jersey Boys.
Interesting to note - A couple of weeks ago K C & Sunshine Band did a free concert in one of our parks. They come in at # 5.
35 songs on countdown = Beatles + Paul & Wings.
18 songs on countdown = 4 Seasons
17 songs on countdown = Rolling Stones
16 songs on countdown = Billy Joel
14 songs on countdown = Elvis
# 2 was a surprise to me. What do you think?
Frank B.
NO idea on #2. (It was "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey ... can't say I'm totally surprised by THAT one either ... it's rare to go ten consecutive minutes without hearing it SOMEWHERE!!!) A little disappointing to see Elvis with only 14 entries out of a possible 1001 ... shows you how much the "youth movement" has taken over.
By the way, you can now check out the COMPLETE Top 1001 Countdown list on the WCBS-FM Website: Click here: CBS-FM’s Top 1001 Countdown « WCBS-FM 101.1#more-16342
re: AND, IN OTHER RADIO NEWS:
Greetings, KK!
So sorry to hear of Jim Shea's demise at Y103.9 ... can't believe he'll no longer be holding court ... it has always been a pleasure to talk to him -- and to be a guest on his show. I hope he lands at another station shortly ... he's a rare 'treasure chest' of knowledge -- and, perhaps, even more important -- has a true passion for the great music that dominated our lives in the 50's, 60's, 70's. Good luck, Jim! Keep us posted on your whereabouts.
Fred Vail
Jim Shea was a good radio friend so we're sorry to see him go, too ... it just keeps getting tougher and tougher out there for radio guys who've devoted their whole lives to the business. (I think you and I were once on the same show with Jim if I'm not mistaken!) I know Forgotten Hits helped expand his listening base thanks to worldwide streaming ... we would both get emails from readers literally all over the globe who tuned in to hear a particular special feature. (Jim once told me that we jammed the live stream one time because SO many people had tuned in to listen ... don't know if that's true or not but it's pretty damn flattering if it is!!! lol) I will pass your greetings along ... and Jim has also encouraged other former listeners to drop him a line at sheamistro@hotmail.com to stay in touch. And you can be sure that any updates regarding is landing will be published here in Forgotten Hits. (kk)
Kent,
Starting next week I'll be contributing a 25-30 minute music interlude for a friend's internet blog show. I'm not really clear on how it works, but each week will deal with a theme, much like the syndicated Flashback series did. The inaugural show deals with going back to school / end of summer / beginning of fall and summer love. Anyways suggestions are welcome.
Jack
Then next week's Biggest Songs Of Summer Theme should fit right in ... LOTS of great ideas can be found there. (Of course since you're the guy who helped to compile all the Chicagoland Charts we used, you've got ALL kinds of resources to draw from ... or simply hop on over to The Forgotten Hits Top 100 All-Time Favorite Summer Hits on the website! kk):
Click here: Forgotten Hits - Your All-Time Summer Favorites
re: PAUL REVERE AND THE RAIDERS:
Great reading all those wonderful stories -- and memories -- of my dear friend, Paul Revere, and The Raiders. Best darn $150 band I ever booked!!
Let me explain:
Back in the 'dark ages' of the early 60's -- when Paul was on Gardena Records -- and I was promoting Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, Ray Peterson, Dick Dale, Johnny Burnette, Freddy Cannon, Dick and Dee and other great artists of the era -- I would occasionally get a call from Pat Mason, a Seaside, OR promoter and agent, asking me if I could use The Raiders for a 'pick up' date. Pat, who lived well into his 90's, had worked with Elvis, Johnny Cash, Gene Vincent, Bill Haley and The Comets, Jerry Lee Lewis and a number of other great artists of the 50's and 60's.
Back in those days it was common to book a band for union scale against a 'piece of the house' if they were trying to fill in a few dates. These 'pick up dates' were usually mid-week -- which was fine in the summer, but a real gamble the rest of the year. Since I was doing a lot shows in Sacramento, Stockton, Reno, Fresno -- mostly small or secondary markets -- I would often be offered an act that had played San Francisco and were on their way to Portland or Southern Cal. Pat would offer me the Raiders for $150 -- which was the union rate for a five piece band, and we'd work out a percentage split of the door -- after I'd covered the hall, advertising and lights and sound.
I could do an entire show (or 'dance and show') for $750 to $1,500 (for the larger venues), so we only needed a few hundred kids at $2.00 to $2.25 to break even.
I saw Paul when he played the Tennessee State Fairgrounds grandstand here about seven years ago -- Peter Noone and he co-headlined. Both gave exceptional performances. Freddy Weller, an 'ex' Raider, showed up backstage and we all had a great time chatting about the 'good old days.' I had little doubt that the Raiders would not put on a great show. After all, they were the best damn $150 a night band I'd ever booked!
Glad to be back in the loop, Kent. Enjoying Labor Day Weekend. Hope you're doing the same!
Fred Vail
Treasure Isle Recorders, Inc.
"Music City, USA"
Passed your note along to Paul Revere (by way of Tom Scheckel) and I think he got a good chuckle of out it. SO great to share these memories with those of us who missed all this really cool stuff the first time around. Thanks, Fred! (kk)
By the way, The Raiders are back in Branson at The Andy Williams / Moon River Theater where Tommy tells me they have REALLY been enjoying watching Andy's rehearsals for this year's big Christmas Show. (Anybody who grew up in the '60's remembers these!!!) He says the only thing missing is the TV cameras ... the show is put together just like one of his holiday television specials. (Having just recently finishing Andy's auto-biography ... a GREAT read, by the way ... and sharing MANY Christmases together, our family and his ... [of course we were on opposite sides of the TV glass but you know what I mean!] ... I can honestly say that this show is something that WE would like to see at least once in this lifetime!!!) kk
More to come this weekend! See you then!
