Friday, February 10, 2012

The Friday Flash

re:  ON THE RADIO: 

Kent ...

Here's an update on the WCBS-FM Super Battle of the Singers ...

UPSET!:  New England's Tavares  beat New York's Blondie.

Current Standings = New York, 37 / New England, 7

I'm going out on a limb and saying that New York will win.
Frank B.

C'mon, Frank ... would you REALLY expect anything out of WCBS-FM ... broadcasting out of New York?!?!?  (lol)  All good clean fun 'tho!  (kk)


>>>I will be bringing you back 53 years as we remember that plane crash in 1959 that till this day has not been forgotten. Don McLean referred to it as "The Day The Music Died" in his song "American Pie". This night we will remember Richie Valens / Big Bopper / Buddy Holly. I will transport you back to that fateful time in our lives. As long as we can listen to this era of music I feel we should never forget three entertainers that left us their music.
(Stu Weiss / The Pop Shoppe)
>>>Here's one we missed.  This originally aired Friday Night, February 3rd. but you will be able to still catch a broadcast of Stu Weiss' three hour tribute to The Day The Music Died ... we'll let you know shortly how, when and where!!!  (kk)


Now that's a show I'd like to hear!  Please let us know when and where we can catch this special program

Ed


When you find out if this show is still available, please let me know.  

Wild Bill


OK ... here's the scoop from Stu Weiss himself:


It has been posted onto the website of my oldies station. 
It runs three hours and it came out great. 
It can be found at http://www.oldiesyourway.com
Click on "interviews" and you'll find The Buddy Holly interviews there as well as others.
Thanks, Kent!
Stu
Dick Bartley’s Classic Countdown: The Best from January of ’78 and ’68
I'll take 1968 ... You can have 1978.
Frank B.

And, speaking of Sound Advice, we've heard from a couple of other Internet Jocks who are incorporating our suggestions into their weekend broadcasts (and we'll run schedules and Listen Live Links for these shortly.)  Think of Sound Advice as our version of "The Gavin Report" for Oldies Radio in the new millennium ... SO many great songs continue to get overlooked in favor of repetitive programming instead ... so we've come up with Two-Fer Ideas that allow you to play "One You Know ... And One You Didn't Even Know You Forgot!" on a regular basis.  It's an easy feature to incorporate into your broadcast day, too ... and it mixes up the variety a little bit (and will please your listeners to hear something off the beaten path once in a while!)  Why not give it a shot?  We don't expect you to use them all ... (although you certainly COULD!) ... Sound Advice is designed in such a way that you could feature it once a day at a given time slot ... and thereby create "appointment programming" ... a daily feature that listeners will tune in each and every day to see what new gem you've unearthed for them today.  Not only does it make for more interesting and entertaining radio ... but it also lets your listeners know that you're into this era of music and want to share these memories with your audience.  Give it a shot this week ... and see what kind of response you get.  What have you got to lose?!?!?  (kk)



re:  SOUND ADVICE: 

Great Pairing!  Smokie does go well beside Dr. Hook.
Smokie ddin't get their due here in the States.  Their "If You Think You Know How To Love Me" should have been Top 10 here. 

David Lewis



re:  I.R.S.:

OMG, is it REALLY IRS time again?!?!?  (No, I don't mean tax-filing time ... I'm talking about Rich Appel's / Hz So Good Annual "It Really Shoulda Been A Top Ten Hit" Poll!  Head on over to Rich's special polling site (IRS104@verizon.net) and cast your votes for YOUR favorite songs that have had you scratching your head for decades now ... "How is it possible that (so-and-so) was NOT a Top Ten Hit?!?!?"  (In fact, you can even view the four previous countdowns!)

Drop Rich a line at the email address above for more details ... or compile your own list of favorites that SHOULDA been Top Ten Hits.  (kk)

Send a list of songs that make YOU say "THAT really shoulda been a top 10 hit!"

Any song that didn't reach the Top 10 in the U.S. is fair game, whether or not it was ever on any chart, wheter or not it was ever released as a single.

It doesn't matter if you don't know (or care) whether songs were Top 10 or not.  We'll take care of all corrections.

Send as few songs as you'd like, or as many, up to 100.  We know some of you can come up with more, but please limit your list to 100 songs.

Unless you specify otherwise, lists are assumed to be in rank order, with your favorite listed first.

Make sure to list title AND artist for every song.

Since this is a ranking of songs, do not list two sides of a single as one entry.

Likewise, do not list two or more versions of the same song as one entry.

The absolute deadline for all "I.R.S. forms" is 11:59:59 pm Eastern Time, April 1st.

Send your lists now to IRS104@verizon.net ... and then watch for more details regarding the Top 104 Countdown, prizes, etc. ... right here in Forgotten Hits!

re:  THE 2012 HIT PARADE HALL OF FAME NOMINEES:

>>>Congratulations to all of this years Hit Parade Hall of Fame nominees!  (kk)
Thanks Kent,  It’s a great honor. 
I enjoy every issue of Forgotten Hits. 
Again, Thanks,  
Gary Pike / The Lettermen
Never before, and never again will there be the likes of the Lettermen.  What a magnificent contribution they have made to the world of music.  I have been honored and proud to know and love them as I do over the many years, and I will always cherish their friendship.
Congratulations ... so extremely proud of you.
Take care, and God bless.  
-- Ron Clark

re:  COOL CLIP OF THE WEEK: 
Boy, I think about the very few but extremely incredible people that made a life changing difference in my life and I'm sure you'll do the same. Get a Kleenex out my friends, you'll need it.  Take 10 seconds of your time to thank the person who made your life special.

Wild Bill


re:  PAUL McCARTNEY:
Kent ...
We don't hear enough about Sir Paul.  Here's some more.
Click here: Paul McCartney, ‘Kisses On The Bottom’ – Exclusive Interview, Album Stream 
By the way, I used my Amazon.com gift certificate and downloaded half the album after listening to the free album stream!
Frank B.
Honestly, I didn't have very high expectations for McCartney's latest release ... figured it was more of a vanity project ... and wasn't even sure I'd pick up a copy.  (Truth be told, I told Frannie this would make the PERFECT Valentine's Day gift for me ... not something I might go out and buy on my own but a great way to still have a chance hear it!)  Then, a few days ago I had the chance to hear the entire album ... and it blew me away!  Paul is in the finest voice I've heard him YEARS!!!  And the album has a real cool vibe.  VERY impressive ... and for the first I think all this advance buzz is justified.  Some VERY strong tracks here ... and this is the kind of album you can put on in the background and go about your day without any major distractions ... but still enjoy its presence.  And, it will introduce a whole new generation to some classic music from decades ago ... presented by an artist who truly loves and appreciates this era of music.  (kk)

But evidently Bob Lefsetz disagrees with me ... and all of the critics praising McCartney's latest work ... here is what HE ran on his site and newsletter the other day ... after McCartney wouldn't allow his new album to be posted on Spotify (a service Lefsetz champions on nearly a daily basis.)  Ironically, you can listen to a non-stop stream of McCartney's entire album via the link above ... and last night he performed the entire album live on iTunes ... hardly an "antique player" no one is familiar with ... all of these FACTS (rather than opinions) making virtually all of Lefsetz's comments below sound like nothing more than sour grapes. Fact is Paul IS getting this new music out there ... and the critics ARE praising his latest work ... and he's done DOZENS of interviews already promoting this latest effort ... and, as I said above, it's probably the best work he's done in over a decade.  And, for the record, he still packs 'em in at his live shows, too ... McCartney is consistently a top box office tour attraction every time he hits the road ... so I don't quite get most of the following rave ... (kk)

Nobody gives a shit about his standards album anyway.
Despite the reproduction of press releases in mainstream media, despite the reviews of said album in same, no one really cares. That's the dirty little secret of being a classic rocker, you're done, you're toast, only people your age have any desire to hear your new music, and most of them don't either.
Which is why you've got to make it easy.
Somehow, these acts still put money in front of exposure. When their problem is just the opposite. Believe me, McCartney's grosses are not going to go down if his music is on Spotify, just the opposite. People know the legendary cuts and want to hear them live. But they don't want to hear the new music. That's time to pee, to get popcorn, an indulgence by the oldsters that they tolerate, just as long as it's only a couple of songs. And how do you change this? By making good new music and making it available to people.
Hell, if I contacted BigChampagne I'd probably find out no one's bothering to torrent the McCartney covers album, desire is just that low.
But some might give it a spin if it was easily available to stream on Spotify, which is not like forcing me to go to a site I'm unfamiliar with because you made an exclusive publicity deal with them to use an antique player to hear the songs. The advantage of Spotify is everything's in one place. So people go there and take risks.
And what's great about Spotify is it kills piracy. Isn't that what got us into this mess? But by putting your stuff behind a pay wall, by making people buy it to hear it, you're hanging on to an old model and encouraging those who care to steal. We don't want to buy anything without checking it out first. Kind of like buying a car, would you do so without a test drive?
You've got to look to endgame. Not the tiny streaming payments of today. Not only is Spotify the first service to negatively impact piracy (it doesn't pay to take the time to steal to check out new albums anymore), as we move to a mobile world more people will pay for the service, as it is, uptake has increased.
I give a shit about music. I think artists should be paid. I think that recording revenue is just part of the total pie. I think the more artists rail against Spotify the more they demonstrate their ignorance and greed. What, do they all use BlackBerrys and refuse to use iPads too?
The public embraces the new when you make it good and easy. Convenience is something people pay for each and every day. Hell, that's what blew up MP3s to begin with! The ability to hear what you wanted whenever you wanted in your digital jukebox, ultimately in iTunes which synched with iPods. All those millions of iPods sold, if you think they were filled with paid tracks, you're dreaming.
Can we all get our heads out of the sand and live in the present? Can we all agree that the only path to the future is to get ahead of the consumer and corral him? This is how the iPhone killed the BlackBerry. Four and a half years ago, only Apple zealots needed iPhones, now everybody needs an app phone.
Many customers don't even know they need Spotify yet. The service is still growing. Isn't that great! Because once everybody knows about something and no longer cares you've got Nokia, or Palm, and you're toast. Spotify's got room to grow. But if Luddites like Paul McCartney keep crippling the service they'll make good and sure that music is free in the future.
P.S. For the umpteenth time, I've got no financial interest in Spotify, I own no shares in Apple, I'm just championing what I think is great, the same way you trumpet a band you love. And Apple's sales have proven iPhones and iPads are not niche, and neither are streaming music services. We've all got to start somewhere, whether it be Google or Facebook. The way acts are going they're gonna push back the future of digital music consumption for years, sheerly out of ignorance.
Spotify hits 3m subscribers to improve conversion rate: http://on.ft.com/ymlT4l
-- Bob Lefsetz

And, before we let Paul steal ALL of the headlines, we should also point out that Ringo Starr's brand new album "2012" made a GREAT first week showing on the various album charts.  And, Ringo also announced last week his 13th All-Star Band Tour, featuring some new names on the list.  
Read on ...
Today Ringo Starr announced his 13th All Starr Band, which will launch June 14, 2012 from Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls, Ontario and conclude July 21, 2012 at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, California. New to the All Starrs are Steve Lukather (Toto) and Gregg Rolie (Santana & Journey) who will join All Starr alumni Richard Page, Todd Rundgren, Mark Rivera, and Gregg Bissonette.
The tour is being produced by Dave Hart and as always fans can expect to hear a jukebox worth of hits. Ringo classic's such as "It Don't Come Easy", "Photograph", "Little Help From My Friends", "Yellow Submarine" and "Wings", from Starr's just released 17th solo record, Ringo 2012 (Hip-O / Ume). All Starr's hits include "Rosanna," "Broken Wings," "Hello It's Me," "Black Magic Woman."
Ringo will spend his birthday on the road, with a performance at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on July 7. Following in the tradition of the last few years, at Noon from the Hard Rock Nashville, Ringo will ask anyone anywhere, and everyone everywhere, to join him in a wish for Peace & Love.
The confirmed dates are as follows:
June 14, 15 - Fallsview Casino, Niagara Falls, ON
June 16 - Bethel Woods PAC, Bethel, NY
June 17 - Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, CT
June 19 - Bank of America Pavilion, Boston, MA
June 22 - Jones Beach Ampitheater, Wantagh, NY
June 23 - Ceasar's, Atlantic City, NJ
June 24 - Meyerhoff, Baltimore, MD
June 26 - State Theater, Easton, PA
June 27 - Mayo Center, Morristown, NJ
June 29 - St Augustine Theater, St. Augustine, FL
June 30 - Seminole Hard Rock Arena, Hollywood, FL
July 1 - Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, FL
July 3 - Tuscaloosa Ampitheater, Tuscaloosa, Al
July 4 - The Wharf, Orange Beach, Al
July 6 - Fox Theater, Atlanta, GA
July 7 - Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN
July 8 - Horseshoe Casino, Hammond, IL
July 11 - Usana Ampitheater, Salt Lake, UT
July 13 - Northern Quest, Spokane, WA
July 14 - St Michelle Winery, Seattle, WA
July 15 - Edgefield, Portland, OR
July 17 - Mountain Winery, Saratoga, CA
July 19 - Humphrey's, San Diego, CA
July 21 - The Greek, Los Angeles, CA
More dates to be announced soon.
RingoStarr.com Ringo Starr VIP packages are available including great seats and exclusive merchandise. For details please visit: www.vipnation.com
 
And lest we not forget ...a couple more Beatles anniversaries ...

Kent ...
On 2/7/1964 the Beatles arrived in New York on flight 101 (For WCBS-FM), to start the British Invasion.
Frank B.
And, on 2/8/1964, 3 of the 4 Beatles go to Central Park.  Click to find out who didn't go.
Frank B.

re:  THE CRICKETS: 
>>>In the early to mid sixties the Crickets' recordings on Liberty seemed to make our local surveys.  Their recordings of HE'S OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW BETTER and LONELY TOWN were big.  (Larry Neal) 
I'm thinking Larry must have meant Lonely Avenue (their version of the Ray Charles song). I highly recommend the Crickets' Liberty Years cd to anyone interested in hearing what the group sounded like Post-Buddy. So many killer songs on this cd, I don't think there is one out of the 31 on this cd that I dislike. The main reason I bought the cd was because both sides of the first Crickets 45 on Liberty that I ever owned were on this cd (Parisian Girl b/w Little Hollywood Girl). By the way, the Beatles were impressed enough with the Crickets that they performed the song Don't Ever Change on the BBC. By the way, you can see how some of their records charted regionally, here: 
Tom Diehl 

re:  ITCHY COO PARK:

>>>You mentioned the Small Faces' Itchycoo Park song in the latest edition of Forgotten Hits. There was a high frequency tone at the beginning of the 45 that rumor has it was to drive your dog crazy when you played the record. It was a sweep from 18 kHz - 14 kHz. Well, I put the record on the turntable and played it. I did not hear any high frequency at the beginning. I called my wife to see if she could hear it. Still nothing. My son came into the room and asked what was producing the high frequency, it was driving him nuts. Well I guess it was too many Who concerts that deadened my hearing in the high frequencies. So I put it in my audio editing program and went into spectral frequency display mode and viola it was still there. I  have  included both, the beginning of the song and the spectral view in the email. Careful if you play it if you have dogs!  (Bill)
>>>VERY strange ... I played it five times ... with our dog laying right at my feet ... and she never so much as rose her head to see what was up ... and she hasn't been to ANY Who Concerts.  (kk)
I wouldn't expect computer speakers to reproduce those high frequencies. If the frequency was in the range of 40 kHz, then dogs, cats, and bats would all get excited! That is, a cat will respond to a "hiss" or "psssst" that produces high enough frequencies to gain their attention.
It might of just been the diamond needle gouging the vinyl, making that racket. Anyway, we should ban 45s!! :-)
Interesting topic!
John
I wonder if any of our sadistic readers were able to torture their dogs with this clip!!! (lol)  Didn't work for me!  (kk)
re:  CHARLIE GRACIE:


Charlie looks like a nice person, well groomed / dressed and all!
But,
I had to chuckle with a photo from his early years, where his guitar was larger than Charlie!!!
Best,
John
LOL ... it IS kinda funny now that you mention it!  (kk)

  

Kent ... 
Last Sunday Wild Wayne played "My Humming Bird", "Everybody's Rockin'" and "I Don't Know Why" from Charlie Gracie's new CD. Wild Wayne told me that he might be interviewing Charlie on this Sundays show. It's not a done deal, yet.  I told Wild Wayne that will be a "Fabulous" interview.
Frank B.