Friday, November 26, 2010

Happy Anniversary, Baby, Part Two (This Time We're Celebrating Eleven Years of FORGOTTEN HITS!!!)

This weekend marks eleven years that we've been bringing you
Forgotten Hits ... so it was especially nice to receive this email the other day ...
Which provides me with the perfect segue to feature our
VERY FIRST FORGOTTEN HIT all over again!

Kent,
Wild in the Streets was a cool film that I haven't thought about in years!!!!
Yep, I viewed it on the butcher-the-editing-for-commercial-breaks "3:30 Movie," here in Chicago! (Remember that?)

Oh, and I was crushin' on Chris Jones and had the soundtrack, which wasn't too bad, and, of course, "The Shape of Things to Come" was amazing! I had to give it a listen on youtube just because you mentioned it in your column last week!
Loved the whole "generation gap" theme of the movie that featured that song, because the issue of the differences between the generation was so big in '68! I was in High School and I remember writing a lame play for Honors English that had a narrator, two old ladies, and two young girls. It was a hit just because nearly every kid felt so isolated from the adults back then!
(Crap! Now I am an old lady!)
What was the story on the whole Max Frost band thing?
Who were the real musicians?
Thanks!
Janis

As we mentioned a while back, "Shape Of Things To Come" by Max Frost and the Troopers was the very first song EVER featured in Forgotten Hits.

It was Thanksgiving Weekend, 1999, when we first launched our publication (via an email to 35 original readers, all people we had met in the AOL Oldies Chat and Trivia Room.) We've done Anniversary Tributes in the past (but probably not in the last six or seven years or so!) so it's nice to feature this one again ... and acknowledge our pretty modest roots! (I remember complaining, even way back then, about how many GREAT songs don't get played on the radio anymore ... and asking a few online friends, "If I put together a newsletter spotlighting and featuring some of these songs and artists, would anybody bother to read it?" ... to which, eleven years ... and some 600,000 web-hits later ... the overwhelming answer seems to be "YES"!!!

Forgotten Hits continued to be distributed strictly via email until the list simply became too large and unmanageable. That's why we started our two websites a couple of years ago ... the one you're reading now and
www.forgottenhits.com, where many of our most popular series from the past have been archived. We've found that we're now able to reach many more oldies fans because odds are when they're searching for virtually ANY oldies topic, our name comes up! (We certainly have covered a lot of music these past several years!)

And, I truly believe that radio really HAS gotten better since 1999 ... and I'd like to think that in SOME small way, we've had a little bit of influence over that. We've been encouraging deejays to push the envelope just a little bit further for eleven years now ... and I really do believe that the playlists today, while still pretty tightly formatted and controlled, ARE significantly better than they were back in 1999.

Here's just a brief recap of some of our previous Max Frost coverage ... incredibly, the story has changed (and expanded) from time to time as more and more information becomes available.

Originally, back in 1999, based on research available at the time, we remarked that there already seemed to be a discrepancy as to just who exactly Max Frost was!

Joel Whitburn's early books said that Billy Elder was Max Frost (fronting a studio group produced by Harley Hatcher and Eddie Beram for Mike Curb Productions) at Tower Records. He also noted that Christopher Jones played Frost in the movie "Wild In The Streets." But a few years later, he cited Paul Wibier as the lead singer so we listed BOTH as possibilities in our 1999 newsletter because we really could find no definitive source to better clarify things. At other times, he credited Davie Allan and the Arrows as being the studio band that played on the hit record ... but Davie Allan told us several years ago:

I was getting the question about "Max Frost" and the song "Shape Of Things To Come" a lot so I saved an answer that I keep reusing (since February '05):
I wish I could say that we were "Max Frost & The Troopers" but unfortunately, it's just not true. I DID play on the "Wild In The Streets" soundtrack along with studio musicians known as the "Hollywood Wrecking Crew" (Hal Blaine, Carol Kaye and Larry Knechtel) but none of us played on "Shape Of Things To Come". A band was hired to do that one and it was kept a secret as to who the members were (actually "Mom's Boys" featuring Paul Wibier). The mix-up started when my instrumental version was released as the last "Arrows" single on the "Tower Records" label. All I did was play lead on that pre-recorded track so everyone assumed that we and "Max Frost" were one and the same. I'm on some of the "Max Frost" tracks which includes those that appeared on "The Glory Stompers" soundtrack.
-- Davie Allan

Davie told Ron Smith a similar story:
While proofing my upcoming WCFL chart book, I decided to research this track.
Here's what Davie himself had to say in an interview:
"Along with the 'Hollywood Wrecking Crew' (top studio musicians Hal Blaine, Carol Kaye and Larry Knechtel), I played on most of the 'Wild In the Streets' tracks. We did not play on 'Shape Of Things To Come'. That was 'Mom's Boys' (lead singer Paul Wibier). When I did the 'Arrows' version of the soundtrack, I overdubbed my leads but they decided that I should NOT use the 'fuzz' ... they felt it was passe!?!?!?
Even 38 years later, I still have to say aaaarrrrrgggggh!!!!!!!"

Good enough for me.
-- Ron Smith
Paul Wibier's name soon became Paul Wybier in most publications (including ours, since it seemed to be the most common spelling of his name) ... but very little was ever learned about the backing band providing the music on this cut.

Davie Allan has since cut "Shape Of Things To Come" about four times over the past 42 years ... it just seems to be one of those that he keeps coming back to (including another recent rejuvenation a year or two ago for his "Moving Right Along" CD.)

Max Frost and the Troopers were the names of the characters in the film "Wild In The Streets", which drove the point home about how NOBODY over 30 could be trusted ... and, as such, should probably even be executed!!!
(As much sense as this may have made to some of us way back when, I have to admit that it's kinda hard to look back fondly at this philosophy as many of us are closing in on 60! LOL)

But I DO remember seeing this film at the movie theater and thinking at the time that this is how MOST teenagers probably felt. (And I was hardly a juvenile delinquent!!!) I ALSO remember it being a pretty horrendous film, even by 1968 teen exploitation standards! (I also seem to remember a really hot chick in the movie who rarely wore a top ... but instead preferred to let her long hair cover her private parts ... pretty exciting stuff for a 14 year old boy at the time!!!)

While you rarely heard this song on the radio for a good number of years after it reached The Top 20 in 1968, it became VERY popular again a few years ago when Target began running it regularly in their television commercials. (In fact, I'll bet you that I've heard it more often on the radio these past five or six years than it had been played in the previous 30!)

Checking a number of websites prior to going to press today, I found that MOST of the story has remained the same since 1999 ... with one new twist ...

Instead of "Mom's Boys", the name of Wybier's band NOW seems to be "The 13th Power"! (NO idea where that came from ... but who knows ... with so many new readers on the list, maybe this will trigger a memory or two that will allow us to zero in a little deeper ... you know, in time for our 22nd Anniversary!!! lol)

Here is one posting that I found:

Max Frost and The Troopers was a fictional rock music group created for the teen
exploitation film Wild in the Streets, released in 1968. The film featured Christopher Jones as the highly influential singer Max Frost. The songs performed by Frost and his band, a group that was never formally named in the film, was credited to Max Frost and the Troopers in subsequent singles and album. The band name "Troopers" is based on the term "troops," the designation Frost used in the film to refer to his friends and followers.
A studio group appeared on the
soundtrack album for the film, along with incidental music penned by Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, and composed by Les Baxter, however the songs were not originally credited to Max Frost and the Troopers, but rather to The 13th Power.
Due to the success of the song "
Shape of Things To Come" as a single, an accompanying album by Max Frost and The Troopers, Shape of Things to Come, was issued on the Tower record label in 1968. Musicians playing on the album are believed to include members of Davie Allan and The Arrows (who also released the "Shapes of Things to Come" without lyrics), with lead vocals by Paul Wibier (who also wrote a majority of the songs on the album). The music is high-energy rock with some psychedelic touches.
The group was produced by
Harley Hatcher and Eddie Beram for Mike Curb Productions. Their first single was recorded with Curb's Tower subsidiary, Sidewalk Records. Subsequent singles were taken from their album.
Their final single, "Sittin' In Circles," was performed in the film
Three in the Attic, by Davie Allan and the Arrows. The B-side of that single, "Paxton Quigley's Had The Course," was a Chad & Jeremy composition.
The soundtrack album for the 1968 film
The Glory Stompers, starring Dennis Hopper, contains two additional songs credited to Max Frost and the Troopers: "There's A Party Going On" (which was released as their first single) and "You Might Want Me Baby."
The cultural historian
Greil Marcus borrowed the Troopers' song title for his 2006 book, "The Shape of Things To Come: Prophecy & The American Voice."

No real new information there ... in fact, if anything, there are a couple more errors that we've cleared up over the years published here again as "fact". (Thus our on-going commitment to "The Most Accurate Truth"!!!)

What we DID find that's worth sharing is this GREAT "Shape Of Things To Come" video.
Click here: Max Frost & the Troopers - Shape Of Things To Come Video

Now I can only assume that this is Paul Wybier handling the lead vocal here ...

or is that simply Christopher Jones LIP-SYNCING to the vocal?!?!?
Who knows!!! (And will we ever REALLY know for sure?!?!?)
HAPPY 11th ANNIVERSARY TO US ...
AND THANKS AGAIN TO ALL THE READERS
WHO HAVE HELPED FORGOTTEN HITS
GROW OVER THE PAST ELEVEN YEARS ...
WE COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU!!!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

A Few Quick Mid-Week Comments

re: GOBBLE GOBBLE:
First and foremost, VERY Happy Thanksgiving Wishes to ALL of our Forgotten Hits Readers out there ... have a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend!

And then just a few quick "Deadline Dash" pieces to round out the week! (We'll have brand new postings on Friday and Sunday this weekend so please check back with us!)

Wednesday night will be a four-pack of DJ's on Topshelf Oldies, starting with myself hosting the Real Deal with Tom Diehl from 8 to 9 pm (all times eastern), followed up by Sidetrax with Soxx from 9 to 10pm, The Other Side of Ramtown with Ramtown Mike from 10 pm to midnight and The Pop Shoppe with Stu Weiss from midnight to 3 am. Ramtown Mike will be back on Thanksgiving day with another "Other Side Of Ramtown" show as well.
Tom Diehl

Wednesday Night, November 24th, (the night before turkey day), here's what's happening!!!!!
It all happens at
www.topshelfoldies.org
Special Programming is:
8:00 PM The Real Deal with Tom Diehl
9:00 PM Sidetracks with Soxx - it's Rosie
10:00 PM The Other Side of Ramtown (Mike)
12.00 AM Special edition of The Pop Shoppe with me (Stu Weiss)
Join us for a special evening on the best spot on the Internet.
Then, join me again on Friday night join me for 8 hours of the greatest memories on my regular night of "The Pop Shoppe", 7 PM - 3:01 AM (Eastern)

DJ Stu Weiss

>>>Need some help from the FH readers. Each week I contribute a half hour music show to a friend's local internet blog. The Thanksgiving show will have songs about thank you. (Jack)
...Be sure to let us know which selections you decided to go with! (kk)
The songs I chose were
The Thanksgiving Song by Adam Sandler
(I know no imagination), but where else you gonna hear a song that mentions Betty Grable, Mike Tyson, Elvis, Daryl Strawberry and masturbation.
Cold Turkey by John Lennon
I'm thinking there's a lot of folks who's rather suffer thru cold turkey than go to one of those family dinners.
Thank You by Sly
I Thank You by Sam & Dave
Thank The Lord For The Night-time by Neil Diamond
Thanks A Lot by Brenda Lee
and Thank You For The Music by Abba.
After I submitted the show, I thought of Danke Schoen. It would have been perfect. I, too, equate Danke Schoen with the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
To me it's the highlight of the movie.
Upcoming are non-Xmas winter songs, (Tommy Roe will be one of them) and songs about aging (my b-day is coming up). I'm also thinking songs about peace for Xmas week, songs about Memphis for Elvis' b-day, and love sucks for Valentine's Day.
Thanks for everyone's help so far.
Jack
Glad we could help. For lots of "themed" ideas, drop another line to FH Reader Don Effenberger ... he's got ALL kinds of lists like this (and has provided some of the "Themed Weekend" ideas to Scott Shannon and The True Oldies Channel, too! (kk)

>>>Starting Monday, 11/22/10, WCBS-FM will be playing their entire music library in alphabetical order .... from ABBA to ZZ TOP. Really interesting mixture ... Pop, Doo-Wop, Instrumental, Country-Crossover, Christmas ... a little bit of everything. If I remember correctly, it takes a week to get from ABBA to ZZ TOP. Internet listeners can use WCBSFM.com (Frank B.)
>>>I love special programming like this ... always keeps you guessing as to what might be featured next. Wish we could tune in and listen at work but we have a "no radios" policy ... would LOVE to hear this from start to finish! (Maybe some of our listeners can tune in and enjoy the festivities!) kk
Off and running. Started at 8:50 AM (Eastern)
Here's what I got so far.
Abba = Waterloo
ABC = When Smoky Sings
Ace = How Long ? (has this been going on) - about 10 minutes.
Ad Libs = Boy From New York City
Aerosmith = Dream On
After The Fire = Der Kommissar (never heard this one before)
Air Supply = Lost In Love
Jewel Akens = The Birds And The Bees
Morris Albert = Feelings
Alive & Kicking = Tighter , Tighter (produced by Tommy James)
Allman Brothers = Ramblin' Man
Herb Albert = This Guys In Love With You
Amazing Rhythm Aces = Third Rate Romance
So Kent ... do you want me to check in with you once an hour? LOL!

Frank B.

Hi Kent,
Just a note to say that WCBS-FM is actually playing ONE song from each artist in it's library, a minor quibble I suppose, but it also leaves out SO many songs by artists who had multiple hits. For example, one song from The Beach Boys and The Beatles just doesn't cover the extent of their library at all. I'll be listening anyway because they have played a few good ones that don't get much airplay, Stay Awhile - The Bells being one that I had not heard in quite some time. I'm hoping to hear some more lesser played songs, so I'll let you know if they go outside the box a little bit. I've been listening to them since about 1972 and was very disappointed when they went off the air a few years back, and so glad when they came back, although very much changed and kinda of watered down to please the younger audience. I don't listen to them much anymore because Scott Shannon's show is so much more interesting with Top 5 songs of this date, info. on the artists and songs etc., etc. Last week I was very pleasantly surprised to hear Scott Shannon play Chirpy-Chirpy Cheep-Cheep, Mac and Katie Kissoon, as well as The Vogues, Land of Milk and Honey and many other forgotten hits, so I still think Scott's got the best oldies programming out there!
Thanks,
Eddie,
Orange, CT
Unfortunately, I haven't had much radio-listening time lately ... work has required KILLER hours these last few weeks and even the 45 minutes I used to enjoy listening at lunch have gone by the wayside now as most lunches are squeezed in at my desk if and when time permits. But Scott DOES seem to be mixing it up more and more recently ... hoping the reaction has been positive (or everything we've been preaching these past eleven years has been for naught!
I've got a similar A - Z idea that I've been working on for a while now that might better accomplish a more "suitable" mix of music. (Now if I can only convince Scott Shannon to run with it for a weekend or two ... or six!!!) kk

And then, just a few minutes ago ...
Kent ...
Up to LLLLLLLLLLL's ... almost half-way through the alphabet.
Now playing = Little Anthony - "Hurts So Bad".
Frank B.

CBS-FM’s A-Z Countdown! « WCBS-FM 101.1
For those of you who are able, please listen and enjoy! (kk)

re: PICK HIT VIDEO:
Here's our pick to click for this weekend ... an INCREDIBLY timed (and choreographed) video sent into us by our buddy Wild Bill Cody. (How the heck to people come up with this stuff?!?!?) Give this one a quick look ... you'll be glad you did!
Hey gang, I have to tell you what ... this is PHENOMINAL! Please check it out ... it's just amazing how this worked out. The choreography is amazing! Plus, I have been a lifelong fan of Laurel & Hardy! You're gonna love it!
Wild Bill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6O9FB90kAU

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

HELPING OUT OUR READERS

It's another edition of our popular
"HELPING OUT OUR READERS"
feature today in Forgotten Hits!

>>>Reading the First Pressings book for 1951, I was surprised to see that Johnnie Ray did not have the first recording of Cry. The first was by Ruth Casey on Cadillac Records. I have been doing a retrospective of 1951 R&B on my show and would love to have this one! I'm a nut about original versions and covers. (Charlie Miller)
>>>Johnnie Ray broke through in a VERY big way with his 1951 #1 Hit "Cry" ... it topped Billboard's Best Sellers Chart for eleven weeks ... and even crossed over to their R&B Chart where it ranked at #1 for a week! Ruth Casey's version didn't chart on Billboard's Pop OR Rhythm and Blues Chart ... and I wasn't familiar with it until I received your email. Fortunately, the ever-reliable Tom Diehl was able to track down a copy for us to share ... and we've since received it from a couple other readers as well. (kk)
I'm amazed! I didn't have too much hope since this is so old. And three copies you got! Thank you all. Of great historic interest, at least to me, and it doen't take a thing away from Johnnie Ray's much more soulful emotional version.
harlie

>>>I know your stomping grounds are in Chicago, but maybe you can help me find out about an old TV show in Boston. My memory on this is somewhat fuzzy, since it was about 45 years ago, but as best as I can recall this would be circa 1965. Back in the 60's, my band, Bobby & the Galaxies, worked every Saturday night at a local amusement park dance hall, in Dartmouth , Ma., called the Lincoln Park Million Dollar Ball Room. It was an immense place for us. We packed in 3500 kids every Saturday night. We had a featured guest each week, which my band usually backed up, unless they were a guest band. We backed up Freddy Cannon, Lou Christie, Jerry Lee Lewis and Dion, to name a few. One week we were approached with an idea to do a weekly half hour TV show from this venue. They wanted to film it on Tuesday nights and charge the kids admission, to help fund it. It was to be an American Bandstand type show, but with all live music, showing the kids dancing to the music. My band would be featured opening and closing the show, playing the theme song, (Bill Dogget's "Hold It") and featured for one song during the show. The rest of the songs would be played live by guest stars. It was a big opportunity for us. We filmed four episodes which aired on a Boston TV station, but since we never drew as many kids as we did on Saturday nights, the producers said they ran out of funds, and asked me to tear up my contract, with promises of future ventures. Since we did get paid for each of the episodes we filmed, I did, and never heard from them again. This was not an uncommon experience back in those days. I believe the shows aired on WBZ TV, but I'm not sure. The show was called Jamboree. I do remember that one of the featured guests was the Beau Brummels. I believe others included Lou Christie, B.J. Thomas and The Sir Douglass Quintet, but again my memory is fuzzy on this. We did work with these acts, but it may have been at the regular Saturday night gig. Any chance you can find copies of these TV episodes, or steer me in the right direction? Any information from your readers, to fill in the blanks, would be a great help to tracking down the episodes, if they still exist. Thanks. (Bob Hughes)
>>>Well, we've got a ton of East Coast Readers so let's see what turns up. Unfortunately a program that only aired four episodes (and on a local station at that!) is going to be tough to find. A lot of these tapes were ultimately erased and used over and over again and, in the days before home video taping are now lost forever. If nothing else, we'll probably hear from a few readers who either remember the program ... or partying-down with Bobby and the Galaxies on Saturday Nights! (kk)
Hi Kent -
Bob Hughes was asking about Lincoln Park, an amusement park in North Dartmouth, MA, where he used to perform and a tv show that was filmed there. I grew up in Dartmouth and live in South Dartmouth now. I have great memories of the park but I was too young to go to the ballroom.There is a website dedicated to Lincoln Park and the old wooden roller coaster.
Maybe they can help Bob
Regards
Jana
Worth a shot, right? Perhaps in all their memorabilia, they have some old photos or contacts that might help steer Bob in the right direction ... or other patrons from this era who regularly check out their site. Thanks, Jana! (kk)

>>>I remember this song (L. David Sloane by Michelle Lee) being played on WIND in Chicago in the 60s when I was but a wee lad (like 7 or 8 years old). I seem to remember it being a different voice, though, more like Brenda Lee or Lulu, but the memory of a 7 year old can be a bit off, I guess. Always wondered who sang this song, and what the title was ... thanks for solving my mystery! Do you happen to know if there was another version of that song, perhaps an earlier one? (R. McPatrick)
>>>None that I'm aware of ... at least not as a "hit" single ... of course, that's not to say that some other artist didn't cover this as an LP track or something ... but this is the best KNOWN version. (kk)
Here's another spin on this one (which I've always considered to be a dreadful song), in another language ... Celly Campbell - Hey Ex-Amour!
Tom Diehl

re: THREE DOG NIGHT:
>>>Actually, you'll find this to be the case with nearly ALL of the Three Dog Night singles ... RARELY was the LP mix the same as the single mix. (This was true of MOST singles released on Dunhill Records for that matter ... radio hasn't aired the correct version of Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride" in over 40 years!) With Three Dog Night, "An Old-Fashioned Love Song" was a COMPLETELY different mix ... not only is the ending different but that whole goofy ad-libbed bit didn't appear on the album version either. (This really freaked me out when I heard the single for the first time as I was already familiar with the album cut ... and thought this "goofiness" added NOTHING to the quality of the song! I've always kinda considered this the "carnival single mix"!!! lol) "One" never had a "cold" ending (which is the ONLY way you'll hear that song today) ... the original single faded out. "Eli's Coming" and "Mama Told Me Not To Come" BOTH have totally different endings than their single counterparts ... but perhaps the MOST glaring snafu is the missing guitar solo on the LP version of "Joy To The World" ... yet THAT is the one MOST oldies radio stations played until we pointed it out ten years ago that they were playing the WRONG version ... I can't even begin to tell you how many deejays I've sent the single mix to over the years! (kk)
Actually, I was told it was four singles that actually differed. As I feel, why buy the LP if it contains the same song version as the single? Same with Billy Swan's, I Can Help, as I feel the LP version ending was appended, but, at the time of it being a hit, both versions received airplay.
Thanks!!! :-)
John
Well, we've named FIVE Three Dog Night singles above already! You'll also find differences (subtle though some may be) between the LP and single mixes of "Try A Little Tenderness", "Celebrate", "Liar", "Family Of Man", "Black And White", "Let Me Serenade You", "The Show Must Go On", "Sure As I'm Sittin' Here" and "Play Something Sweet" ... and that's damn near ALL of 'em!!! (lol) kk

Three Dog Night was one of my favorite groups back in the 70's, but I'm going out on a limb here because they sounded very similar. I'm picking #1 as the hit. Just that little bitty bit different. That's my story and I'm st-st-st-stickin to it!
Sharon {TokeiTwo}
LOL ... I've already forgotten which was which!!! The one with the goofy carnival sound was the single ... the LP mix didn't have ANY of that! (kk)

I am very ignorant of the differences between the "single" and the "album" versions of songs. However, I do like to hear the songs as played on my AM radio in the 60s. I recently replaced my MP3 of Clapton's "After Midnight" with one with more guitar and less horns. I think I have the radio version now.
The two songs that I do recall with very different versions are these:
The Animals: "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" (see my daddy in bed ... vs. ... watch my daddy in bed ... )
The Beach Boys: "Help Me Rhonda" (ruined our plans vs. shattered our plans)
Can you e-mail me the "single" version of "Joy to the World?" I downloaded mine from my Three Dog Night Box Set but I think I have the album version.
Thanks,
"Spudpar"
Mark H. Friedman
As you know, I'm a REAL stickler for the original 45 versions .. because those are the ones we grew up with and fell in love with ... it was THOSE mixes that made us run out to our local record store and pick up a copy for our own collections. "Joy To The World" just happens to be one of the REAL obvious ones, due to the guitar solo in the middle. We're featuring the hit single version today (and I have sent you a copy under separate cover.) If any of the deejays on the list are NOT playing the right version on their programs, please drop me a line and I'll make sure that YOU get the correct single mix, too! (kk)

Have you ever read the book "Three Dog Nightmare"? I heard that it's really supposed to be something!
Lindsay
Oh yeah ... we've recommended Chuck Negron's incredible biography for YEARS now in FH ... MUST reading (aka as "The Amazing Adventures Of Chuck's Exploding Penis"!!!) Check your local bookstores or libraries for this one! (kk)


re: MAGIC CARPET RIDE:
>>>This was true of MOST singles released on Dunhill Records for that matter ... radio hasn't aired the correct version of Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride" in over 40 years! (kk)
Yeah, even told that to a CBS Manager at WOGL, when he claimed they play the "hit" versions, but, in reality, he's playing a stereo remake! :-)
John
There are a LOT of tracks like this ... a couple of Tommy James classics immediately come to mind ... several years ago radio legend Dick Bartley put out a series of CD's called "On The Radio: The Original Hit Singles", kind of MY concept about how THESE are the tracks we remember hearing growing up. (In fact, several of our Forgotten Hits "Regulars" helped contribute to this great collection of CD's!) Unfortunately, it was a pretty short-lived series (probably due to a fairly limited audience) ... but along the way he included some REAL gems, including the SINGLE mix of "Magic Carpet Ride". So here it is for all you dee-jays on the list that continue to air the WRONG version on a regular basis! (kk)



Let's Talk Instrumentals!
How about:
El Chicano - Vira Tirado - 1970
I listen to radio and hear a bunch of songs I never heard. Save those wonderful obscurities for others! But this is one of those songs you don't hear on radio, or even mentioned in music forums, probably because it didn't chart all that great. But when you hear it, you'll tell yourself, "I know that song!!!!". Some may even confuse it with a Santana tune! Luckily, for El Chicano, they just missed becoming a One Hit Wonder! A well engineered recording and a bit much for a mere 96k MP3, but I think you'll like it! ... http://www.angelfire.com/empire/abpsp/images/vira.mp3
Jersey John
Actually, we've given El Chicano The Forgotten Hits Spotlight Treatment a couple of times now ... including one fairly recent posting after the loss of group founder Bobby Espinosa:
Tying Up A Few More Loose Ends
(Scroll back to March 11th of this year if this link doesn't work ... we've been having problems again!!!)
Their music did fairly well here in Chicago ... all three nationally charted singles made The Top 30: "Viva Tirado" peaked at #19 in 1970, their rendition of the Van Morrison classic "Brown-Eyed Girl" reached #25 and my favorite, "Tell Her She's Lovely" went to #20. (I consider THAT one to be a GREAT Forgotten Hit ... so we'll feature it again today!) kk



Say, has anyone heard of the release of the second British Invasion series from Reelin' in the Years? It was reported that the Hollies, Manfred Mann, the Pretty Things and an unknown group would see a Fall 2010 release. Last time I looked it was Fall!
Dave Frey
I remember running a promo for these several months ago when the new series line-up was first announced ... but you're right, we haven't heard much about it since. Even a quick check of Amazon.com this morning didn't turn up anything ... so I went right to Bob Merlis, who is responsible for promoting these releases. Here's what he had to say:
There's no release date because they're trying to hammer out a distribution deal and that hasn't been consummated as yet.
-- Bob
Once we get the official word, you can count on an announcement right here in Forgotten Hits. (Hey, I wanna get MY copies of these, too!!! lol) kk

Hi Kent!
You recently ran YouTube links to "Song of the Dreamer" by Eddie Fisher and The Roomates. I'd like to play both of these on my show; any chance you've got MP3 copies you can share?
DJ Stu
Honestly, you can probably just play them right from YouTube ... there isn't a day that goes by where I don't hear at least half a dozen jocks and/or tv broadcasters playing a YouTube clip on the air ... but I asked our FH Buddy Tom Diehl if he could round up clean copies for you as MP3's ...and they're now in your possession! (Meanwhile, I'm running The Roomates' version again ... 'cause that's the one I like!) Thanks, Stu! (kk)


And, speaking of Tom Diehl ...
>>>Maybe Tom D. knows. Was this song ever published on CD?
I know "other" Tony Mason songs have been, but not this (Philly favorite) one ... http://www.angelfire.com/empire/abpsp/mason-45.gif
Just my style, uplifting, with a horn section! :-)
Best,
John
This thing barely charted nationally ... making it all the way to #125!
This one seems to have made it onto some Jerry Blavat related cd but most certainly not a legitimate reissue.
Tom Diehl


Hi Kent,

In all the info I've read about Austin Roberts at Forgotten Hits, I don't know that I ever read that he was the voice behind the pop group Arkade. What a surprise to run across this tidbit today. This song received a good bit of airplay here in Nashville, especially on the MOR stations. One of the commenters on this YT Video says this was his first 45! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqJQm7dm47M
David Lewis
This is a great sounding clip ... thanks for sharing, David! (I sent the link to Austin Roberts, too ... hopefully, he's been recovering nicely ... I'm still waiting to hear back from him.)
Actually, we've featured this one a couple of times now ... the song was also used in a number of wedding-related advertising campaigns (NOT a shampoo commercial as another commentator remembered) and was one of MY favorites back in the day, too.
A long-planned Austin Roberts Interview fell apart a couple of computer crashes ago ... as we learned while doing interviews and research for that series, this was NOT Austin's first recording (but WAS his first real chart success.)
I've hesitated running bits and pieces of what I could find in the hopes that I would eventually resurrect enough pieces of this piece to do the man justice ... there just never seems to be enough time in the day to get any of this stuff done. It WOULD be nice to run a much more fitting tribute to Austin on the website ... so I really need to work on that! (My other hope was that after suffering a heart attack last year, Austin might be open to a couple more interview sessions, allowing him the opportunity to reflect on some of these things from a whole new perspective. If you're reading this, Austin, that offer still stands ... I would LOVE to put something together with you!) kk

Kent ...
Got this off Ron Smith's Oldies Calendar:
On 11/19/57 - WCFL radio in Chicago bans all Elvis Presley records and is picketed by local Elvis Fan Club.
Sounds like an interesting story.
Is there anybody you can talk to at WCFL to get more details ?
Frank B.
Honestly, I've never heard this before ... and at first thought it must be an error of some sort ... WCFL wasn't playing rock and roll music in 1957 ... they didn't switch over to Top 40 until late 1965 ... but I did some Internet searching and found that WCFL WAS, in fact, broadcasting in 1957 ... just not (as I suspected) playing rock and roll. So honestly, banning Elvis seems like a moot point to me ... seeing as how they weren't even playing him in the first place!
(I mean, who would notice?!?!?)
I found a couple of other websites that state this same historical anniversary as fact ... one of which attributes the banning to the release of Elvis' new film "Jailhouse Rock" ... so who am I to argue? (I had just never heard this before!)
Being otherwise totally unclear and unknowledgeable in this area, I went straight to YOUR source ... and asked Ron Smith about it (kk):
Like most stations in those days, WCFL had individual shows. Guys like Art Hellyer, in fact, worked for several stations at one time.
You've certainly seen the "DJ Roundup Of Top Tunes" published in the Chicago Tribune each week in those days where individual DJs would list their own top five tunes.I always assumed that the station bosses told any music announcers working for them not to play Elvis. But no, there wouldn't have been an official station "playlist" with him on it.
The edict would have kept the jocks though, from playing Elvis' newly-released Christmas album, which many stations found blasphemous. (Bandleader Sammy Kaye said thatit, “borders on the sacrilegious. Presley has gone too far this time”).A DJ in Portland, Oregon, was fired for playing three cuts -- "White Christmas," "O Little Town Of Bethlehem" and "Silent Night"! Dick Whittinghill in Los Angeles wouldn't play the album because he said, it would be "like having [stripper] Tempest Storm give Christmas gifts to my children."Elvis had played the International Amphitheatre eight months earlier and it wouldn't surprise me if the Chicago Federal of Labor - Industrial Union Council -- owners of the station -- had decided to make hay by getting moralistic and banning the King altogether. Of course, if anyone had actually listened to the album they would have heard perfectlyrespectful versions of the gospel tunes "Peace In The Valley," "It Is No Secret What God Can Do" and "Take My Hand Precious Lord."Of all the stations in town who could have banned Elvis, it's true that WCFL doing so probably would have hurt him the least. I'm sure the Colonel laughed about it all the way to the bank. And when Elvis was drafted by the Army a few months later and served his country overseas, everything blew over.

And, just to show you how far we've come -- London's Daily Mail newspaper will include a freeCD of 15 of Elvis' Christmas tunes in next Sunday's paper: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1331231/Free-Elvis-Christmas-album-weeks-Mail-Sunday.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

-- Ron Smith

Monday, November 22, 2010

Happy Monday

A few more quickies before we head off to another day at the office ...

re: ON THE RADIO:
Kent ...
As you correctly pointed out, I'm always raiding WCBS-FM for my music information.
I think it's time I gave them a plug in your newsletter.
Starting Monday, 11/22/10, WCBS-FM will be playing their entire music library in alphabetical order .... from ABBA to ZZ TOP.
Really interesting mixture ... Pop, Doo-Wop, Instrumental, Country-Crossover, Christmas ... a little bit of everything.
If I remember correctly, it takes a week to get from ABBA to ZZ TOP. Internet listeners can use WCBSFM.com
Frank B.
I love special programming like this ... always keeps you guessing as to what might be featured next. (XM60's used to do a thing where they played all the hits of the '60's CHRONOLOGICALLY!!! GREAT way to see how music changed over the course of music's most interesting decade.)
Wish we could tune in and listen at work but we have a "no radios" policy ... would LOVE to hear this from start to finish! (Maybe some of our listeners can tune in and enjoy the festivities!) kk

Hi,

Just thought that you may be interested in a brand new internet oldies station that we've just launched.For the past 13 years I've presented a regular show on satellite radio here in Europe.
The show, called Stafford's World, currently goes out on 12 stations around the world.
One key feature of the shows is the vast range of 60's and 70's oldies from both sides of the Atlantic that get featured.Off the back of this, "Oldies Paradise" was launched.We reckon that we're playing songs from one of the biggest radio station music libraries on the whole planet!

Have a listen at: www.oldiesparadise.com
Let us know what you think.
Mark Stafford
Oldies Paradise

re: TURKEY DAY:
Here's a fun one to watch before Thanksgiving, courtesy of Regular FH Contributor Frank B: Click here: Saying You Care -- Interactively BusinessWeek


>>>Need some help from the FH readers. Each week I contribute a half hour music show to a friend's local internet blog. Each show typically has about 5-7 songs that revolve around a given topic, usually something current. The Thanksgiving show will have songs about thank you. I try to include songs that are never heard on the radio, such as Thanks A lot, by Brenda Lee. Anyways the request I have is for FH readers to suggest topics and / or songs to go with it. Even comedy bits. The format can be rock, country, MOR, blues ... hey, if a polka song fit in, I'd play it. The more zanier ideas the better.I can be reached at: rockandrollneverforgets@yahoo.com. Thanks. (Jack)
>>>Of course, MY Thanksgiving Favorite has always been "Alice's Restaurant" ... we even got Y103.9 to play that one four times a few Thanksgivings ago! (lol) Lots of songs with "thanks" in the title ... a few that immediately come to mind (some a bit more obscure than others) would be "Be Thankful For What You Got" by William DeVaughn, "I Thank You" by either Sam and Dave or ZZ Top (depending on your audience mix), "Thank You For Being A Friend" by Andrew Gold, "Thank You Girl" by the tulu-baby Beatles, ... or my PERSONAL favorite, "Thank You And Good Night" by The Angels (which would also make a GREAT way to close the show!) You could go a bit further out there and feature "Thank U Very Much" by Scaffold (featuring Paul McCartney's brother, Mike McGear) or even "Thanks For The Memories", the Bob Hope theme song. Then again, we have ALL Thank(ed) The Lord For The Night-Time from time to time, haven't we? (John Denver even Thank(ed) God (He Was) A Country Boy! Or just slip in something "sly" like "Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin"!!!) I'm sure our readers can probably come up with DOZENS more ... but you'll need to get them to Jack QUICK so he can include a few of these ideas on his show. Just email him directly at the address above. (And Jack, let us know which ones you decided to go with!) Thanks! (kk)
Wow, Jack and Kent, we were all on the same wavelength!
(Great minds ... and all that)
I just posted yesterday my weekly Listing Slightly column -- this one on Thank You songs.
http://www.minnpost.com/listingslightly/2010/11/19/23530/lots_of_songs_to_be_thankful_for (Kent, you'll see a few there you nominated today -- including Bob Hope.)
(Jack, you'll see two versions of "Thanks A Lot" -- both Brenda Lee and Ernest Tubb.)
Jack, in the righthand column, you'll also see other recent lists of mine. Some of them may fit your needs, including an extensive list of "World" songs, "Dream" songs, weather ones and more. (And there's a year's worth archived on our MinnPost site.)
Both of you, keep up the great work.
Best,
Don Effenberger
After I posted Jack's original request, I got in the car to drive to work and IMMEDIATELY thought of "Thank You For The Music" by ABBA, a totally apropos track, especially for a radio program saluting Thanksgiving! But I have to admit, I NEVER would have thought of "Danke Schoen" in a million years ... what a GREAT suggestion ... pure genius!!!
(Of course you could also dedicate half your program to Little Eva and Dee Dee Sharp ... between "Let's Turkey Trot", "Mashed Potato Time" and "Gravy", you'd pretty well be covered! (I guess "Do The Bird" might even qualify, eh???)
How about the very end of "Strawberry Fields Forever" when John Lennon mumbles "Cranberry Sauce" ... not "I buried Paul" as so many suspected way back when!!!
Hopefully, you got a few other responses directly from the readers themselves ... now be sure to let us know which selections you decided to go with! (kk)




Watch for more HELPING OUT OUR READERS features tomorrow on the website!

And, speaking of "Danke Schoen" ... and Wayne Newton ...

re: WAYNE NEWTON:
Wayne Newton Wants His Home To Become A Tourist Destination « WCBS-FM 101.1
Kent ...
I wonder if Wayne will still be living there as we tour his home ?
Frank B.
According to the article:
If
Wayne Newton gets his way, his home may replace the recently closed Liberace Museum on Las Vegas tourist maps.
His 40-acre Casa de Shenandoah estate, six miles off The Strip, contains a career’s worth of memorabilia connecting him to such icons as
Elvis Presley, Jack Benny, Bobby Darin, Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra.
But his neighbors aren’t pleased with the idea that the man dubbed Mister Las Vegas will soon be drawing buses filled with visitors to their neighborhood.
It’s no secret Newton could use the money. He went through Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the ’90s to erase $20-million in debts and back taxes. Recently, sheriff’s deputies tried to collect a half-million-dollar judgment from a lawsuit by his former pilot.
I had the opportunity to meet Wayne Newton a few years ago at the official dedication ceremony held by The Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, were they placed Bobby Darin's star on the celebrity walkway. He has nothing but the utmost respect for all that Darin did to further his career and says that not a day goes by that he doesn't thank him and think of him, all these years later. As a huge Bobby Darin fan myself, (I know, I know ... when is the series FINALLY going to make it up on the website?!?!?), it was VERY moving to hear him talk about his mentor ... the man who kick-started his career. (Bobby discovered Wayne while he was still singing with his brothers and convinced him to give it a go as a solo act. In fact, Bobby gave up his own sure-fire hit when he let Newton record "Danke Schoen", a move that infuriated the song's composer, Bert Kaempfert, who had given Darin worldwide rights at first crack to his latest composition, a song that HE felt had "Bobby Darin" written all over it. Newton earned a respectable #12 showing on the charts ... but everybody involved at the time felt that "Danke Schoen" could have been Bobby's next "Mack The Knife", had he chosen to record and release it himself. Listen to the intro and you'll see that this is exactly the direction they were going!) kk

DANKE 1: For years, rumors have persisted that Bobby Darin DID, in fact, record "Danke Schoen" ... and that the arrangement used by Wayne Newton was actually Bobby's recording with his vocals wiped off, replaced by Wayne's. Listening to the arrangement, this sounds like it certainly could be the case. However, in all the decades since, a Bobby Darin version has never surfaced ... which I guess could mean that it never really happened ... OR that once Bobby's vocals were erased, a Darin version simply no longer existed!
DANKE 2: While I really enjoy hearing "Danke Schoen" once in a while today, I will admit that this has not always been the case. When this song was actually popular, I HATED it!!! What put it over the top for me was watching Ferris Buehler lip-sync to it in the big parade scene filmed right here in Chicago! One of my all-time favorite scenes from one of my all-time favorite movies ... and I've loved it ever since!

re: PAUL McCARTNEY:
It has been announced that Paul McCartney will be the musical guest on "Saturday Night Live" on December 11th. This will be Macca's THIRD appearance on the program.
He first appeared in May of 1980 ... a highlight of that program was then-series semi-regular Don Novello (as Father Guido Sarducci) interviewing McCartney with repeated references to his affection for marijuana. The video for McCartney's #1 Hit "Coming Up" was also aired that night, with Paul and Linda each playing numerous roles as band members performing McCartney's solo version of the hit from his McCartney II album ... the HIT single was the "Live In Glasgow" version.
McCartney appeared again in 1993 and performed in a few skits with host Alec Baldwin. This time he performed a couple of tracks from his brand new "Off The Ground" album (as well as "Hey Jude") and did his now classic interview with Chris Farley. ("Remember ... when you were in The Beatles ... ")
This time around, Paul will be performing a couple of selections from the recently released, newly remastered "Band On The Run" LP, available in a variety of versions from vinyl to single, double and triple CD's along with a deluxe version that includes a hard-cover book. (kk)


In other Beatles-related news ...

re: THE BEATLES:
"BEATexpo 2010: Celebrating the Fans and Music of The Beatles" is a music festival / fan convention coming up soon - the Saturday & Sunday of Thanksgiving Weekend (November 27 & 28), and advance tickets are still on sale but only until Friday the 26th at Noon. Admission will also be available at the door. There will be "Three Full Floors of Fab Four Fun," and it's all taking place at the Downtown Stamford Holiday Inn, 700 E. Main Street in Stamford, CT, where indoor garage parking if free and the special room rates have been negotiated for fans staying over.
At "BEATexpo," we are giving away FREE TICKETS to Broadway shows including "Million Dollar Quartet," "39 Steps" and "American Idiot." We are also trying to get tickets to give away for RAIN on Broadway and Paul McCartney at the Apollo!Updates: The revised schedule for Saturday & Sunday has been posted here:
BEATexpo 2010 ITINERARY.
There will be some surprise performances not listed on the schedule. Singer Julie Grant will be singing her UK hit version of "Up On The Roof" with The MerseyBeat, and Gary DeCarlo will be singing his hit with the band, too.
Who is Gary DeCarlo? The last #1 song in 1969, which knocked The Beatles' "Come Together / Something" out of the top spot, was "Na Na Hey Hey, Kiss Him Goodbye" by Steam. Gary DeCarlo, who also was known by his stage name Garrett Scott, was the lead singer on that classic anthem!

The complete guest list is as follows:
Denny Laine, Tommy Roe, Sid Bernstein, Richard (Beatles Engineer) Langham, Gary (Elephants Memory) Van Scyoc, Dennis (Lennon Engineer) Ferrante, Shannon (Beatles artist), Julie (British 60s singer / Beatles friends) Grant, Lada (Hullabaloo dancer) Edmund, Juma (Hendrix percussionist) Sultan, Gary (Steam) DeCarlo and Pat Horgan & members of Thunder Road (Garage Band Beatles).
JUST ADDED:
On November 27, Jimi Hendrix would have celebrated his 68th birthday. Celebrate the occasion with his percussionist, Juma Sultan, at "BEATexpo 2010,: a music festival and fan convention Saturday, November 27 from 8 pm - Midnight and Sunday, November 28 from Noon - 8 pm at the Downtown Stamford (Connecticut) Holiday Inn.Percussionist Juma Sultan shot to international fame when he stepped onstage of the 1969 Woodstock Festival as a member of Jimi Hendrix's band, "Gypsy Sun & Rainbows." In the early '60s, Juma moved to New York from his native California, formed the Aboriginal Music Society, and began playing gigs. He jammed with various jazz musicians, including saxophonist Sonny Simmons, in Greenwich Village. It was there that he met and befriended guitar legend Jimi Hendrix. He wrote and recorded with Hendrix from late 1968 until the legendary guitarist's death. His work appears on numerous Jimi Hendrix recordings that were released posthumously. In the early '70s, Mr. Sultan returned to the jazz world forming the New York Musicians Organization. He has produced concerts, managed artists, and continues to perform.Over the Summer, Juma was a Special Guest of Honor at "ROCK CON: Weekend of 100 Rock Stars" and he is excited to be a part of his first New England Expo. There's a nice Beatles connection to Hendrix, as Jimi was the first artist to cover "Sgt. Pepper" live onstage, which blew away The Beatles when they went to see him perform in London. Juma feels that the Beatles shaped music forever. They reached back into musical past utilizing tribal rhythm patterns to establish a new backbeat for a modern generation. Juma believes that Ringo Starr is an unsung hero in the field of rock and roll drumming and deserves much more respect than he has received. The soft sounds of early sixties groups were obsolete once the Beatles came about and altered music forever. The Beatles were innovators, like Jimi Hendrix was, and no one can ever match their sounds.Juma will be more than happy to meet fans and sign autographs, and perhaps play some bongos on stage at the event.

The list of guest authors is:
Jude (Shivering Inside) Kessler, David (Liddypool) Kessler, Kevin (The McCartneys) Roach, John (Life is What Happens ... ) Borack and Judith (Dear John Lennon) Furedi.

Performing live in concert:
NY Beatles band "The MerseyBeat," McCartney tribute band "One Sweet Dream," Long Island acoustic Beatles act "Something The Band." Also, Special Guests Ian (Stories) Lloyd & John (Strawbs) Ford will be doing a special Beatles set, and both Tommy Roe and Denny Laine are set to perform live.

The Fabulous Fab Four Film-Fest will feature vintage videos and rare clips, and the New England premiere of the full-length Lennon feature film "Let Him Be" will be screened on Sunday at 3pm. If the room is filled to capacity, there may be a second showing at 6 pm.
The Beatles Karaoke room, Red Dot Art Gallery, Beatles RockBand competition, Shannon's live paintings and the mammoth music & memorabilia marketpace will be Sunday only. The music festival concerts will be Saturday only. Again, see schedule.
Media sponsors for BEATexpo 2010 are WEBE (with Storm n Norman as guest MC), the New Haven Advocate / Fairfield Weekly and News12 Connecticut.
Our designated charity is
www.KissesFromKatie.org.
Advance tickets still available online at: www.ToursAndEvents.com/BEATexpo.htm.
Further information on "BEATexpo 2010" is available by calling (203) 795-4737 or from the website: http://toursandevents.com/BEATexpo.htm.
"It's guaranteed to raise a smile!"
-- Charles Rosenay


And, from The Forgotten Hits Book Club ...
Kent ...
Just finished reading "John Lennon - Life Is What Happens," by John Borack.
Instead of calling this a book, I think photo album would be a better description.
Here's what I learned.
--- August 1966 - San Francisco, last stop on Beatles Tour. Beatles decide to stop touring.
--- " She Said, She Said "- Based on an acid trip Lennon took in LA with Peter Fonda , David Crosby & others.
--- " Tomorrow Never Knows " - was a byproduct of Lennon's LSD use.
--- November 1966, John meets Yoko Ono at art show at London's Indica Gallery.
--- Strawberry Fields was a Salvation Army house in Liverpool where John Lennon used to play as a child.
--- Lennon said we didn't break up because we weren't friends: we just broke up out of sheer boredom,and boredom creates tension.
--- Last Beatles Album "Let It Be," released May 1970.
--- First John Lennon Solo Album "John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band," released - December 1970.
Frank B.


re: THE NEW COLONY SIX:
>>>I'll be doing a 2 PM phone mini-interview on WGN radio, 720 AM Chicago, but streaming worldwide - happening this afternoon, Sunday, 11-21. We'll be kicking around the garage era of the band and they'll be playing "Dawn Is Breaking" - first time on the radio in what, maybe 45+ years. (Ray Graffia, Jr.)
>>>Hopefully we're getting this out JUST in time to let people know to tune in and listen ... the show airs in just a couple of hours! (Hey, you've been on the radio more recently than that!!! I can think of at least half a dozen times in the past few years ... including once with me and Dave The Rave, literally minutes before you guys took the stage at CaveStomp!!!) kk
Thanks for the post this morning, Kent.
Two things though:
Too late to share but now they are telling me maybe closer to 2:30-2:45 than 2 PM
Mention of 45+ years referred to the last time anybody played Dawn Is Breaking on an AM radio station.
Happy and peace-filled Thanksgiving in case we do not “talk” sooner!
Ray
OK, totally missed that reference ... my bad! Hoping some of the folks tuned in and hung in there because you're right, they didn't even first mention The New Colony Six until about 2:44. (When they finally did, they also mentioned a new Friday Night Series on WGN that'll focus on the Chicago music scene "The Secret History Of Chicago Music", a tie-in to "The Reader", spotlighting many of the artists who were an integral part of the local music scene way back when, something we tend to cover faithfully here in Forgotten Hits, too ... and something that Jeff James TRIED to launch ... as The Windy City @ 6 ... on Y103.9 recently, too. Neat to see and hear that there is still an interest in this music that was such a big part of our lives growing up in Chicago in the '60's and early '70's!) Prior to Ray Graffia, Jr. hitting the airwaves, there was a WHOLE lot of conversation about the new Harry Potter Movie, so I'm hoping a few of the faithful hung in there for the brief interview ... and the playing of "Dawn Is Breaking", one of MY early favorites, too. (It was the original B-Side of "I Confess", their #2 Chicagoland Hit in early 1966 ... why the heck they had to run a Garry Meier promo over the song intro is beyond me, however!!! Seems to me that if you're going to do a show about this era of music, feature the damn song ... they then cut it off after a verse and a half to discuss the track rather than give listeners a chance to actually HEAR it!!! This is helpful how???) kk

Hey Kent,
If you missed Ray and Nick today, you can hear the podcast here: http://www.wgnradio.com/shows/nickd/wgnam-nickd-uncut-podcast-101121b,0,7893248.mp3file
The file starts with music form a local artist and then moves to Ray and the NC6. Nick has been a great addition to my radio experience since I found him on WGN. It is too bad that he is no longer on Sunday nights, but you can catch up on his podcasts of many great rare interviews with Steve Krakow and artists of Chicago including the Cryan Shames and recently, Shadows of Knight! Nick is funny and knows rock music. His secret history segment will be every other night on Friday nights at 11:30. Thank God it is back. Steve does a good job and you can see his drawings of the artists featured in Chicago Reader that week as well! Check his latest out: http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/ArticleArchives?category=936007
Email Steve at: plasticcw@hotmail.com
Clark Besch
Actually, I heard it and found it to be a MAJOR disappointment! (See my comments above as to just what I DIDN'T like about the program. To recap:
Less than five minutes spent on the entire topic ... a Garry Meier promo running over the intro of "Dawn Is Breaking" and then they cut it off after a verse and a half to talk about THEIR interpretation of the sound rather than discuss it with Ray, who NEVER would have had a chance to take a single phone call in that time space allotment. They barely let him answer the two questions they asked him!)
Here goes another program that has the capability to really spotlight this era and I feel like they TOTALLY blew it. In fact, I described it as "disrespectful" when I exchanged emails with Ray shortly after it aired.
Maybe the REGULAR program will be better ... but they did NOT win me over as a fan based on this afternoon's snippet. (And here I figured this would be a GREAT match between Forgotten Hits and The Secret History Of Chicago Music ... it COULD have been ... and it SHOULD have been ... but they REALLY got off on the wrong foot in my book!)


re: JUST ENOUGH TIME FOR A COUPLE OF FUN VIDEOS:
Here are a couple of MY favorites that I discovered this past week:
Click here: YouTube - "Uh Oh" by the Nutty Squirrels
Click here: YouTube - Heroes and Villains - The Fendertones

This last one is guaranteed to completely blow you away!!! AMAZING! (kk)

Sunday, November 21, 2010

The Sunday Six

Only enough time for a few quick posts this morning ...
So here are SIX THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ...
aka The Sunday Six!

re: THE BEATLES ON I-TUNES:
Certainly one of the biggest music news stories this past week was that an agreement had FINALLY being reached between The Beatles and I-Tunes for the Fabs' music to now be available digitally for downloading. A deal has been in the works for years now and rumors have persisted (since it seems like forever!) that once Apple and Apple could finally come to terms, their complete catalog would become available.
And the downloading started immediately.
But perhaps the biggest part of this story (that nobody seemed to notice) was the fact that, once these tunes officially became available, the #1 most-downloaded tune WASN'T a Lennon and McCartney composition ... but rather "Here Comes The Sun" by George Harrison!!! (WTG, George!!!)

Who would have ever guessed.
Also interesting is that The Top Ten ... which clearly reflect the FANS' favorites more than ANY other type of poll ever could ... doesn't look anything even close to the list of The Top Ten Beatles Tunes as determined by Rolling Stone Magazine a few months back.

(Big surprise there, right?!?!? The fans' opinions NEVER seem to count when it comes to this publication!!!)
In order, here were The Top Ten Beatles Downloads during their first week of availability on I-Tunes:
# 1 - Here Comes the Sun
# 2 - Let It Be
# 3 - In My Life
# 4 - Blackbird
# 5 - Come Together
# 6 - With A Little Help From My Friends
# 7 - Hey Jude
# 8 - While My Guitar Gently Weeps
# 9 - Twist And Shout
#10 - Eleanor Rigby
Incredibly, half of these tunes were album cuts and only ONE of The Top Ten comes from before their Rubber Soul album, often cited as the point that The Beatles' music reached a new level of sophistication ... the ONLY "Early Beatles" track on the list is their version of "Twist And Shout" ... a song they didn't even write but had been performing in clubs for years! Pretty amazing really! (kk)


re: MORE FUN THIS PAST WEEK:
More enjoyable for me this past week (since I've already purchased the entire Beatles catalgo 91 times in my life at this point) was Jimmy Kimmel's on-going "National Facebook Un-Friend Day", celebrated this past November 17th.
It was a hysterical, very well thought out campaign and, if you simply seach around YouTube for a while, you will find dozens and dozens of Jimmy's bits on this topic, including "Public Service Announcements" from celebrities (like Governorator Arnold Schwarzenegger and TV Star Lisa Kudrow ... who, let's face it, KNOWS what a "friend" really is ... someone they name a hair-style after!)
You'll also find some CLASSIC commentary on this whole Facebook thing. (I am NOT a friend ... or a fan ... of Facebook ... which, of course, makes me a social outcast here at home where the wife and all the daughters are regular ... and, in some cases, non-stop ... participants.)
Kimmel accurately points out that NOBODY has 5000 REAL friends ... ask these people to help you move or pick you up at the airport and see how many "friends" you REALLY have.
Click here: YouTube - Jimmy Kimmel Announces National Un-Friend Day
Kimmel also uses real-life examples on the air of actual Facebook postings such as "Thinking about going to Napa today" or "Had spaghetti for dinner tonight" ... the complete extent of a posting that actually generated a meaningful response like "Great" or ... "Great". (Do people REALLY spend this much time online telling their "friends" that they're "thinking about going to Napa"??? If you're thinking about it, then GO!!! Or don't ... whatever ... but do you REALLY need to TELL people you're THINKING about it?!?!? And do people REALLY feel this compelling need to RESPOND to something as ridiculous as that? Is it SO important to tell some one that it's "GREAT" that they're "THINKING about going to Napa?!?!?" ... and then consider this to have been "a meaningful conversation with a friend???" I truly just don't get it.)
I can only equate it to what I do with my computer time. Comparitively speaking, we get VERY few comments from our readers when measured against the number of people who actually read Forgotten Hits ... and yet, despite this fact, there are weeks (like THIS one) where I cannot possibly keep up with them. (And there are weeks where the Comments Page runs SO long, I wonder if anybody even bothers to read the whole thing!!!) Imagine how much longer it would be if EVERY person on the list felt a need to respond to EVERY single comment or topic posted!!!
And seriously, do you need to post your every thought?!?!? I'm thinking about taking a bathroom break when I finish this paragraph ... but do I really need to TELL all of you this?!?!? Granted, NOT as exciting as thinking about going to Napa ... but STILL a decision that I'm going to have to make sooner or later!!!
Anyway, there I go again ... off on one of my tangents ... suffice to say that Jimmy's "Un-friend Day" campaign clearly hits a nerve with me (and I mean that in a good way!!!)
Tying into all of this, here are a couple of my FAVORITE "Kimmel and Bits" (get it?!?!) from last week ... a couple of KILLER videos prepared for National Facebook Un-Friend Day ... first a duet by Country Stars Brad Paisley and Darrius Rucker ... and then a great remake of an old War Hit, "Why Can't We Un-Friend". Enjoy!
Click here: YouTube - "To All The Friends I've Un'ed Before" by Brad Paisley and Darius Rucker for National UnFriend Day
Click here: YouTube - "Why Can't We UnFriend?" by War for National UnFriend Day

re: THE BEE GEES:
Keep watching the listings for The Biography Channel ... there's a brand new, two-hour Bee Gees documentary that they've been running and it presents an absolutely OUTSTANDING history of the band!

As MAJOR Bee Gees fans for many, many years, there is very little that Frannie and I haven't seen by them ... so we were QUITE surprised to see some extremely rare early footage as well as some very recent interview segments showing Barry and Robin rehearsing for their since-cancelled reunion tour.
In addition, they also have a brand new 4-CD Career Retrospective out now on Rhino Records, spotlighting each of the Brothers Gibb, including Brother Andy. Most of the hits are here but what makes this collection especially interesting is that Barry, Robin, Maurice's widow and Andy's daughter hand-picked the selections themselves.
Click here: Rhino Mythology
The songs were personally selected by Barry, Robin, Maurice's widow Yvonne and Andy's daughter Peta. "These are pretty much our personal favorites," Barry explains in the liner notes, which were also written by the family. "This is now the Bee Gees 50th Anniversary. And by the Bee Gees I mean all four brothers."

"I always see our songs as 'just us three brothers' having a good time," adds Robin Gibb. "When I look back now, it is more about the journey, not the arrival." MYTHOLOGY also features a scrapbook of family photos, many never-before published, along with tributes from artists such as George Martin, Brian Wilson, Elton John, Graham Nash and the band's longtime manager Robert Stigwood.
The official Rhino News release tells us:
Spanning the Bee Gees' five-decade career, the set's 81 tracks touch on several of the group's best-known hits. But mainly, the collection digs into the Bee Gees' vast catalog to highlight deep tracks such as the early single "Spicks And Specks" (1966); the title track from the 1969 concept album Odessa; the single B-side "Country Woman" (1971); "Spirits Having Flown" (1979) the title track from the 35-million selling album; "Overnight" (1987) from the multi-platinum ESP; "Closer Than Close" (1997) from Still Waters; and "Man In The Middle" (2001) from the Bee Gees 20th and final studio album before Maurice's passing in 2003. MYTHOLOGY also features the debut of a pair of previously unreleased Maurice Gibb tracks - "Angel Of Mercy" and "The Bridge."The final disc spotlights Andy Gibb, who was not a member of Bee Gees, but worked with his brothers throughout his career before his death in 1988 at the age of 30.
The compilation opens with "Shadow Dancing" (1978), a #1 smash co-written by all four brothers that appeared on Andy's second album. Nearly all of the songs from his 1977 debut Flowing River are featured, including the back-to-back #1 singles: "I Just Want To Be Your Everything" and "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water." The set contains "I Can't Help It," a duet with Olivia Newton-John that cracked the Top 20 and several tracks from his final studio album After Dark (1980), including the Top 10 single "Desire." MYTHOLOGY also marks the debut of "Arrow Through The Heart," a song Andy recorded shortly before his death that was intended for a comeback album.

Kent ...
A & E will show this documentary on Saturday Night.
Frank B.
“The Bee Gees: In Our Own Time” Out Today « WCBS-FM 101.1
Yes, is the same program that we were talking about above ... and it's a GREAT piece of work on the band. (We tried to watch this last night, not realizing that your email was from the week BEFORE, which is a week after the Biography Channel documentary premiered ... THEY first broadcast this new documentary the previous Monday! We were REALLY anxious to watch it again so imagine our disappointment last night when we found that A&E was
running a "Billy The Exterminator" marathon instead!!!)
In any event, if you click on the extended link inside Frank's link above, you'll see that this new documentary is now available for purchase, which means it was released to the public before it officially aired on both the A&E and Biography Networks. (It ALSO means that I've got to run out and pick up a copy today!!! And the new CD Box Set, too!) kk

re: THIS JUST IN! / THE NEW COLONY SIX:
Kent -
Here's some late-breaking news that I just found out about two hours ago …
I'll be doing a 2 PM phone mini-interview on WGN radio, 720 AM Chicago, but streaming worldwide - happening this afternoon, Sunday, 11-21.
We'll be kicking around the garage era of the band and they'll be playing "Dawn Is Breaking" - first time on the radio in what, maybe 45+ years. As the Stones said, "This Could Be The Last Time" too!
Tune in and call in to say hey - hosted by Nick Digilio with Plastic Crimewave, AKA Steve Krakow. Excited - love our contributions to the beginning of the garage genre.
Ever see us do the tune live? Follow this link from a semi-acoustic set in support of a charity CD released in 2007:
http://www.myspace.com/video/vid/46303601.
We had just returned from CaveStomp 2007 (Warsaw Theater in Brooklyn, NY) where we did almost all Breakthrough and Colonization tunes; awesome set & awesome crowds. (Can ya tell I'm psyched about the interview?)
Raymond J. Graffia, Jr.
The New Colony Six
Hopefully we're getting this out JUST in time to let people know to tune in and listen ... the show airs in just a couple of hours!

(Hey, you've been on the radio more recently than that!!! I can think of at least half a dozen times in the past few years ... including once with me and Dave The Rave, literally minutes before you guys took the stage at CaveStomp!!!)
But you're right ... it's always a kick to do it again ... especially when it's a chance to spotlight the earliest days of the band BEFORE the ballad typecasting began!!! Hope some folks are able to call and listen. WTG, Ray! (kk)

And, ironically, we got some New Colony Six-related email yesterday, too, from a brand new Forgotten Hits reader ...
Hi,

Came across your site tonight and saw a post from a couple years back about a New Colony Six reunion you had.Wanted to tell you that back in the 80s down here in Florida, I got hired to write music for a real estate promo video, as I am a composer and music producer.The businessman who hired me seemed to know a fair amount about music, and I mentioned that I had been in the record business in the past. He said, 'Yeah, me too.
I was with a band called the New Colony Six."
I was floored! It was Patrick McBride!
So he became a businessman down here. Don't know if he still is around down here but he was doing well!

Thanks!
- Tom Hartman
I had heard that Pat was still down in the Miami area ... I think he was writing jingles and producing some sessions. Would LOVE to hear from him ... he's the ONLY original New Colony Six member NOT on our list! (I believe he talks to Ronnie Rice from time to time but even Ronnie tells me he's lost contact over the past few years.) Would have been AWESOME to have Pat at the reunion ... it was really quite emotional.
Happy to have you onboard ... please share your memories with our readers from time to time! And if you DO happen to run into Pat again, please have him contact us! (kk)
Hey will do, thanks.
One thing ... I remember asking him at the time about the other band members, I was holding the album cover that had "Things I'd Like to Say" on it (I had brought the album to the session, I think he was pleased I owned it!) ... and he mentioned someone in the band who had died, I believe in a motorcycle accident. He said the guy had been a little on the wild side. But I haven't read about that in any online history of the band, and you mentioned all the band members were at the reunion ... strange?
Tom
Les Kummel is the one who died in an auto accident ... but he wasn't an original member ... he came later (but would have been in the band at the time of the "Revelations" LP, which contained their biggest hit "Things I'd Like To Say".) In fact Kummel co-wrote BOTH of The New Colony Six's two biggest hits, "Things I'd Like To Say" and "I Will Always Think About You", with Ronnie Rice. (kk)
Thanks Kent.
I really do have to take some time and go through your site ... it sure looks like a lot of fun.
You might be interested in checking out mine. My band was from St. Louis, and our amazing journey took us to England and Abbey Road back in 1969.
You can read about it here:
www.aerovons.com
There is a song on our album from back then called "Words from a Song," and at the end of the song I played a piano part similar to the one at the end of "Things I'd Like To Say," just a tip of the hat to that song, which has always been one of my favorite ballads of all time.
Band broke up and thirty some odd years later the album got released. I get letters from all over the world by young kids who are "discovering us" lol
Best
Tom

Yes, the power of music ... and the Internet. Now THERE'S the perfect marriage! (kk)

re: GONE COUNTRY:
Top 10 Country and Western Song Titles:
1. It's Hard To Kiss The Lips At Night That Chewed My Ass The Whole Day Long(Tom)
C'mon KK, everyone knows the best country classic is ...
"Get Your Tongue Out Of My Mouth Because I'm Kissing You Goodbye"
'nuff said,
Wild Bill Cody

Loved the top 10 country titles.

Are you familiar with "The Perfect Country Song", sung by David Allan Coe? Written by Steve Goodman, it's the song with the refrain "You don't have to call me darlin', darlin' ... but you never even call me by my name". Steve was feeling pretty pleased with himself, because the song included references to Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Charley Pride and a number of other country greats, all in one song, and he sent it to David Allan Coe with a note that said "David, I've written the perfect country song, and I'd like for you to be the one to record it". Coe listened to it, and sent it back with a note that said "Well, Steve, it ISN"T the perfect country song, because it doesn't have anything in it about trucks ... trains ... and drinkin' ... and mothers ... and prison ... and rain ... it just isn't the perfect country song without those things in it". So, Steve being Steve, he sat down and wrote the last verse ...
"I was drunk the day my mama got out of prison
And I went to pick her up in the rain
But before I could get there in my pickup truck
She got run over by a gol dang train"
Upon receiving it back, David Allan Coe then agreed that it was, in fact, the perfect country song, and that's what it's known as today. Steve is also the guy who rhymed "ruined" with "lagoon" in Lincoln Park Pirates. Boy, we miss that man's talent.
The best country title I ever heard was "Get your tongue out of my mouth - I'm kissin' you goodbye".
Rick Barr
The New Colony Six

Click here: YouTube - David Allen Coe You Never Even Called Me by My Name
I've always loved the Steve Goodman / David Allan Coe song ... that's one my Mom used to play around the house all the time (and I have to admit it's a pretty clever song!)

Looks like "Get Your Tongue Out Of My Mouth Because I'm Kissin' You Goodbye" is the list favorite so far! (WTG, Ray Stevens!!!)
Thanks, Rick! (kk)
Click here: YouTube - Ray Stevens - Get your Tongue outa my mouth, I'm kissing you goodbye

re: CLIP OF THE WEEK:
And, since we seem to be extra-heavy on videos this week ... and we're out of time ... here's one more ... it's this week's Clip of the Week:
Wow!
Don't know if you caught Jimmy Fallon on the 16th of November, but he did a straight on impression of Neil Young doing "Whip My Hair" and who joins him onstage? The real deal, the "Boss" Bruce Springsteen.
Jimmy blew me away, the guy sang and played exactly like Neil ... check this out. Wild Bill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhFh-JqQuMg
Yeah, if they EVER need a fill-in for Neil Young, Jimmy Fallon can DEFINITELY do it!!! (lol) He is SPOT ON with this ... a hit for Willow Smith (daughter of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith!) kk


That's it for this weekend ... we're outta time!
Forgotten Hits ... OUT!
kk


UPDATE: Looks like NBC is all over this Jimmy Fallon clip ... after I heard that mine no longer played, I searched YouTube and found probably 40 others that had also been disabled. You can try THIS one (if you can get there fast enough!!!)
Click here: YouTube - Whip My Hair ft Neil Young & Bruce Springsteen