Friday, May 10, 2013

The Friday Flash

Just a few quickies this morning ...   

re: BOSTON:  
I wanted to be sure to mention the Boston Strong Concert. This star-studded event will take place at Boston’s TD Garden on May 30th. Tickets went on sale Monday, May 6th. The concert will feature Beantown faves like Aerosmith, the J. Geils Band, New Kids on the Block, Extreme, and the band Boston ... who will be joined by a host of American stars, like Carole King, James Taylor, Jason Aldean, Jimmy Buffett, and Godsmack, along with comics Dane Cook and Steven Wright.
Eileen
Let the healing begin! (kk)  

re: YOUR FAVORITE TV THEMES:
I was glad to see Freddy Cannon's Where The Action Is made number 40 on your Top 50 list.
I don't know if it has been covered on Forgotten Hits before but there is an oft repeated story that Del Shannon was offered the song after Dick Clark rejected the Paul Revere and The Raiders version for daily use on the TV show.
Del did record the song while signed to Liberty records (a non hit period for him) and the track made the last rung on his "This Is My Bag" album ... but the recording was not substantial enough to be included on the Del Shannon - Liberty Years CD. His recording was made after Freddy Cannon hit with the theme. I spoke with Freddy Cannon back in the late 70s and he said Del had never mentioned it to him.
The rejected Paul Revere version was used as a filler track on one of their albums, and has been used on several reissues due to their association with the show, and it is probably the actual demo as you will notice that the recording is only about 1 1/2 mins long ... too short even for an standard album cut.
I guess every artist has a "song that got away story" and that might be an interesting list for a future Forgotten Hits. How would music history have been rewritten if ... for example would "Don't Be Cruel" have been a hit if the Four Lovers (aka Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons) had not rejected the song and recorded it instead of the one they did pick ... Otis Blackwell's "Apple Of My Eye."
Thanks for everything you do!
Paul Urbahns
Radcliff, Ky  

I agree regarding Peter Gunn - one of the great themes. Did anyone vote for Nelson Riddle's cool jazz on Route 66?
If you get a chance, check out the episode of "Cheers" where one of the patrons, much to Ted Danson's dismay, proceeds to sing the LYRICS to the "Bonanza" theme. Hysterical!
Bobster
"Route 66" (which made TV Guide's Top Ten) received 133 votes, falling just short of The Top 50. Those who voted for it made it clear that they absolutely LOVE the theme. (kk)



Hi Kent,
Re: your All-Time Favorite TV Themes, I'm attaching a copy of my 1964 Epic recording of "Bewitched"
(Howard Greenfield / Jack Keller) sung with my ex - Mimi Roman.
Paul Evans


Hey Kent,
I am pleased that Johnny Rivers' "Secret Agent Man" made the top ten of the Favorite TV Themes. We in the states did hear the second theme you featured from "Danger Man". I remember the "Secret Agent" series very well. First, they would give us a tease on what to expect in the episode. Then, "Secret Agent Man" would play, showing the title and star, Patrick McGoohan's name, then go to a commercial. After that, the episode began, and the second theme would play, showing some more credits. I had the "Secret Agent" soundtrack LP, and was VERY disappointed that someone else sang "Secret Agent Man" on its first track. In fact, I actually tried to cut a groove on it, so the needle, of my record player, would automatically travel to the second track! That cut was the other theme you featured, called "High Wire". When McGoohan got tired of the series, he developed "The Prisoner", and more great music from that show, followed.
- John LaPuzza
 

Hi kk,
My three favorite themes from your final listing of the highest vote-getters made it into the Top 10. Reminds me of the I.R.S. Top 104 a few weeks back where 25 of my 100 choices for the countdown were played by Rich Appel.
You'll be receiving many thanks for putting this together -- don't know if TV Guide will join in, though!
Dann
ranking-the-60s.com
Actually, I sent a copy of the final list (Top 50) to TV Guide thinking they might want to run a link in their "Letters To The Editor" page or something. (Like you, I doubt it ... to that degree they're kinda like The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame ... where nobody else's opinion really matters.) There is a BIG difference here, owever ... whereas their own staff picked their version of The Top 60, we went with the good old, time-proven "majority rules" adage. In fact I heard Scott Shannon defending the rankings on the air by saying something to the effect of, "We didn't pick 'em ... YOU did when you voted." In many cases, these weren't necessarily OUR favorites ... or based on any kind of proven chart performance or television ratings ... these were the songs that YOU GUYS selected as your all-time favorites. And, with just over 18,000 votes coming in through our online poll (plus those received at The True Oldies Channel), I'd say we got a pretty good representation of what the real folks out there consider to be their favorites. (kk)



re: WHAT'S NEXT?:
Kent,
I'm not sure if you've ever done this. If you have, you can ignore my suggestion.
My suggestion is have people vote for their favorite "B" sides (flipsides if you will) of hit records.
The stipulation: the "B" side must NOT have made the Billboard Hot 100.
Three "B" sides that I would vote for in a heartbeat (maybe in this order, maybe no) are ...
"I Won't Go Hunting With You Jake" (flipside of "Big Bad John") by Jimmy Dean
"High Blood Pressure" (flipside of "Don't You Just Know It") by Huey Smith and the Clowns
"Reelin' And Rockin'" (flipside of "Sweet Little Sixteen") by Chuck Berry
The last one qualifies because that version did not make the Billboard Hot 100. A later live version by Chuck of the same song did.
Beatle Bob has been sending emails about the Top 200 B-Sides of All Time and it made me think that it might be fun for your readers to come up with your all-time favorites: again, if it has not been done before.
On an unrelated note, I'm delighted at the response to my "Snippets On Demand!" game. I am certain that I've gotten many new players as a result of me mentioning it here.
Ronnie
Hmmm ... I wonder if this is where "Beatle Bob" got his list:
If so, I hope he credits us!!!
We did EXACTLY what you're suggesting a few years ago (except on our countdown the B-Side could not have made The National Top 40)
We had a GREAT response to this ... something like 65,000 votes came in!!! (Best turn-out we've ever had!) We even flew out to New Jersey and counted down The Top 20 on Dave The Rave's "Relics And Rarities" Show.
You'll find all of the results at the link above.
Thanks, Ronnie!
kk  

So it won't be B-Sides ... but we DO have something special planned for Monday ...
I just ain't tellin' you what it is! (You'll just have to check the website ... and check it often ... because we've got surprises planned all day long!) kk

re: THIS AND THAT:
Kent ...
Pat St. John is on WCBS-FM Sunday mornings. One of the features of his show is collectible cuts.
Here's one of them:
Lou Gramm of Foreigner told this story. While they were in the studio recording, they had the hockey game on the TV. They didn't have a title for the song they were working on. One of the players had to leave the
game because of "Double Vision." Now they had a name for the song they were working on.
Frank B.
 


Here's a quick follow-up on a "Story Behind The Song" we featured a couple of weeks ago ...  

>>>This is the 50th anniversary of when the Kingston Trio's second biggest hit, "Reverend Mr. Black", peaked on the charts. It is very interesting how it became a hit in the first place. The trio's producer, Voyle Gilmore, heard the song at a convention, and wanted it recorded at Capital Records. The song really had Johnny Cash's name written all over it, but he was signed on a different label, so Gilmore's second choice was the Kingston Trio. The boys previewed the tune, and none of the three ... Bob Shane, Nick Reynolds, or John Stewart ... wanted to sing it. Gilmore decided that Stewart's "airy" voice was best suited for the recording, because it was the "closest" sounding to Cash's. After much whining, John said ok, laid down the track, and promptly forgot about it. It was featured on one of my favorite KT albums, Kingston Trio #16.
Shortly after the album appeared on record store shelves, a Chicago Junior High School Teacher (his name escapes me, but you can find it in the book, "The Kingston Trio on Record". My copy is boxed away somewhere), was teaching a class on how an individual or small group can manipulate the media. He asked his students to bring to class a fresh, new album, containing the worst song they ever heard. Every student did, and "Reverend Mr. Black" was voted the absolute worst! Now, I'm a fan of John Stewart and his songs, but I have to admit, his singing was not very good on that particular recording, and I'm surprised Gilmore didn't go with Bob Shane to sing it. After the song was voted "the worst" by the class, the teacher then instructed the students the barrage a popular Chicago radio station with requests to hear the song, many times a day, for a week. After the requests were honored, the station manager put in a call to Capital Records, and alerted them to the popularity of the song in that market. It was concluded by the management that the song should be released as a single. When that happened, it became a huge hit for the trio, second only to "Tom Dooley", and all because a Junior High School Class determined that it was the worst song they had ever heard! Years later, Johnny Cash did record it, to finally give the song the "flavor" Voyle Gilmore originally wanted. (John LaPuzza)
>>>Too funny! Checking to see how the song performed here in Chicago, I see that it peaked at #9 on the Top Tunes Of Greater Chicagoland list ... and #6 on the WLS Silver Dollar Survey. (Wonder which radio station they bombarded?!?!? In 1963, WLS would have been the most-likely candidate.) Nationally, the song hit The Top Ten, too, peaking at #8 in Billboard, #7 in Cash Box and#4 in Record World! (kk)  

Hey Kent,
I found my copy of "The Kingston Trio on Record" and read that it was William R. Idol, who had his class vote on "the worst" record, that turned out to be "Reverend Mr. Black", their second biggest hit. I wonder if he's still around. You were right in that the students barraged radio station WLS to play the "great new record" by the Kingston Trio, and from there, the station suggested to Capital Records that they release it on a 45. I forgot to mention that the featured instrumentalist on the track was Glen Campbell, playing the 6-string banjo, tuned like a guitar, because Glen couldn't play a "real" 5-string banjo. The trio liked working with him. He also played the same instrument on the trio's "Desert Pete", along with singing backup vocals with Bev Bivens, of We Five ("You Were On My Mind"). John Stewart's brother, Mike, coincidentally, was leader of that group.
- John LaPuzza
I found this documentation on line ... but had no luck locating a Chicagoland school teacher named William R. Idol. (Wouldn't it be funny if his kid was rocker Billy Idol??!?) Of course if he were also High School President in 1963, my guess is that would put him right around 90 years of age if he's still around. But with SO many Chicagoland Readers on the list, who knows ... maybe one of them took part in this crazy 1963 hit-making experiment!!! Would love to hear from you if you did ... or know someone who did ... or know someone who went to that school and maybe had Mr. Idol as their teacher.   

January 23, 1963:  
RECORDING SESSION: Disc 4/ Track 1, THE CAPITOL YEARS: The Reverend Mr. Black (Billy Edd Wheeler and Jed Peters) 2:16
Master #38996 recorded January 23, 1963
Album: THE KINGSTON TRIO #16
Basically a narrative written around the old spiritual "Lonesome Valley," "The Reverend Mr. Black" features a distinctive lead by John Stewart and some memorable 6-string work by sideman Glen Campbell. This Billy Edd Wheeler composition, pitched to Voyle Gilmore at a Nashville convention, reportedly owes it's initial success to President and Chicago high school English teacher William Idol. To make a lasting point about "the shaping of public opinion by vocal minorities" (as expressed in JFK's PROFILES IN COURAGE), Idol asked his students to choose a song they didn't particularly like to see if they could make it a hit by placing a hundred calls to a local radio station. The song they chose, on March 18, 1963, was the lead track from the new album THE KINGSTON TRIO #16, and within forty-eight hours asked Capitol to release "The Reverend Mr. Black" as a single. It was a big hit in Chicago, and it cracked Billboard's Top Ten by May. Of all the Trio's singles, anly "Tom Dooley" went higher.
SOURCE: Liner notes; The Kingston Trio: The Capital Years (Capitol Records CD7243 8 28498 2 7)



Here's a great review of a recent Tommy Roe show at B.B. King's in New York City:


Kent ...
First interview in 30 years.
Frank B.
Great to hear that she's recording again ... I don't know that anybody ever thought that THAT would happen! (kk)


Airplay: The Rise and Fall of Rock Radio DVD ...
NOW AVAILABLE


Relive the rise and fall of rock radio with footage from all the eras
Hear from deejays Casey Kasem, Jerry The Geator Blavat, Dick Biondi, Raechel Donahue, Cousin Brucie Morrow and many more!
See vintage footage and sound of Alan Freed, Dick Clark, Wolfman Jack, Tom Donahue, Murray the K, Martha Jean The Queen Steinberg and others, plus The Beatles and Elvis!
Alan Freeds son talks about his dads involvement in the payola scandal
Maybe video didn't kill the radio star after all. Airplay: The Rise and Fall of Rock Radio documents the history of rock and roll radio -- from the introduction of The Devil s Music by 1950s AM deejays to the FM pioneers who brought sex-drugs-and-rock to the airwaves in the 60s. Then witness the silencing of rock radio by government and big-business interests and, finally, see its promise of rebirth via satellite.
Hear from radio stars, and watch historic film footage in this award-winning documentary previously seen on public television. Featured deejays include Jerry The Geator Blavat, Dick Biondi, Raechel Donahue, Cousin Brucie Morrow, Martha Jean The Queen Steinberg, Dan Ingram, Meg Griffin and more. Plus, Lance Freed talks about his father Alan Freed s own rise and fall in radio. Musicians include David Crosby, Grace Slick, Little Steven Van Zandt, Bob Weir, Ray Manzarek (The Doors) and others.
Plus, see vintage footage and hear recordings of radio and rock greats like Dick Clark, Tom Donahue, The Beatles, Wolfman Jack, Murray the K, Elvis and many, many more!
Format: Color, NTSC
Language: English
Region: Region 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Studio: Topics Entertainment
DVD Release Date: April 3, 2013
Run Time: 95 minutes
We've been singing the praises for this one for a few years now ... highly recommended. (In fact, you'll even find a quote from our review printed right on the box!!!) A "must have" for all fans of radio. Great to see that it's now available for the general public to view, own and enjoy! (kk) 

Check out the surprises Macca pulls out on this tour!!! There are a few clips on youtube too!!
Mike Mertes
Yes, we got this from a few readers today. I think it's great that McCartney continues to spruce up the act with new / old material. (Probably makes it more fun and interesting for him, too!) I'm a little surprised by "Eight Days A Week" ... that was always more of a John song to me ... and certainly more of a group sound. I've seen him perform "Listen To What The Man Said" before ... but it must have been the Wings Over America tour since they're saying that this is the first time he's performed it as part of his "solo" show. (Always one of my favorites ... and a #1 Hit to boot ... and one they could play a little more often on the radio as far as I'm concerned ... instead of "Band On The Run" four or five times a day!) I mean the guy had 35 Top 40 Hits AFTER The Beatles ... and nine of those made it all the way to #1. With the next release in The Paul McCartney Collection ready to come out ... and "Rock Show" coming back to theaters ... and a world tour under way ... as well as an album of new material coming (well, new for him anyway ... sounds like there'll be quite a few remakes on this release, too) McCartney is certainly no stranger to the Music News Pages these days! (kk)

EAGLE ROCK ENTERTAINMENT TO RELEASE DOOBIE BROTHERS LIVE AT WOLF TRAP
~ON DVD, CD, DIGITAL VIDEO AND DIGITAL AUDIO~AND ON BLU-RAY FOR THE FIRST TIME
~JUNE 4, 2013~

NEW YORK, NY (May 9, 2013) — Eagle Rock Entertainment are proud to announce the release on June 4 of the Live At Wolf Trap CD, DVD and Blu-ray [Pre-book Order Date May 17, MSRP $9.98 DVD, $13.98 CD, and $19.98 Blu-ray] from the Doobie Brothers. This title includes the classic hits: “Rockin’ Down The Highway,” “Takin’ It To The Streets,” “Listen To The Music,” “Long Train Runnin’,” “Nobody,” “China Grove,” “Black Water,” and many more.
Recorded on July 25, 2004 at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Virginia, Live At Wolf Trap captures The Doobie Brothers in fine form on a set that mixes classic hits with some rarely performed tracks from across their extensive catalogue. This would prove to be the last recorded footage of long time drummer Keith Knudsen performing with the Doobie Brothers; Mike Hossack too has now passed away. Originally released in the autumn of 2004, the show is now being reissued on DVD and CD and will be released on Blu-ray for the first time.
As well as an amazing set of songs, the visual versions of the release also feature bonus features, extra live tracks [Dangerous, Takin’ It To The Streets, Without You] and featurettes including “Back Stage Pass” / Doobie-aoke / The Dropped Pick / Outtakes / The Family. Live At Wolf Trap is an essential release for any Doobies fan.
TRACKLISTING
1) Rockin’ Down The Highway
2) Jesus Is Just Alright
3) Dangerous
4) Another Park, Another Sunday
5) People Gotta Love Again*
6) Spirit*
7) Steamer Lane (instrumental)
8) South City Midnight Lady
9) Snake Man
10) Nobody*
11) Five Corners
12) Rainy Day Crossroad Blues
13) Clear As The Driven Snow
14) Neal’s Fandango*
15) Takin’ It To the Streets*
16) Don’t Start Me Talkin’
17) Take Me In Your Arms
18) Little Bitty Pretty One
19) Black Water
20) Long Train Runnin’
21) China Grove
22) Without You*
23) Listen To the Music
* Not on CD version 

Dear Friends and Fans of Pop, Family Style,
Gary Pig Gold's new "Family Band: The Cowsills Story" - inspired story of his own is now available at the prestigious Rock's BackPages site for one and all to read, reprint, re-post, quote from and / or Link to,
right there at ... http://www.rocksbackpagesblogs.com/?p=52724


-- Tom Cuddy
I love the music of Burt Bacharach ... but I've found I like (and appreciate) it a whole lot more in small doses. Several years ago I purchased the 3-CD collection "The Look Of Love", a stellar collection of some of his most famous works, most performed by the artists who made them international hits. But while trying to listen to it recently I found myself bored to death! I actually had to turn it off. (Too much was literally too much!) However, if you're a MAJOR Burt Bacharach fan, then this 6-CD collection is probably for you. (Check out the link above for the complete track listings for three versions of this brand new release.) kk


And this one was all over the news last week:  
Click here: How President Clinton Failed To Reunite Led Zeppelin For ’12-12-12' « WCBS-FM 101.1  
Kent ...  
If a U.S. President can't get you back together, nobody can. Frank B.   

re: ON THE RADIO:

Sunday, May 26, 2013 12 - 4 pm CT
Featuring Rolling Stones twin spins
Sunday, May 26, 2013 4 - 5 pm CT
THE HISTORY OF ROCK & ROLL
A chapter of The Rolling Stones
Mike Baker And The Forgotten 45s now on 88.1 WLTL
and streaming via TuneIn.com and the free TuneIn App.
Note: The History Of Rock & Roll is the Drake-Chenault series aired on XM