Sunday, April 10, 2016

The Sunday Comments ( 04 - 10 - 16 )

A short but sweet Sunday Comments Page today ...

But filled with lots of goodies.  Read on!  

FH Reader Tom Cuddy (who was thanked in part of Chicago's acceptance speech when they were inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Friday Night in Brooklyn) sent in this clip of that acceptance speech so we can share it with our readers before the HBO special runs at the end of the month.  (As expected, Peter Cetera did NOT show up for the ceremony.)  Of course the world would have absolutely NO idea who Peter Cetera is were it not for his time spent in this great band ... so I don't quite understand the need to express such bitterness here at this moment of recognition and in ANY way dampen the joy of the other founding members.  As recently as the day before Robert Lamm told Scott Shannon that Peter was still welcome to join the group on stage and perform any song(s) he wanted to ... but in THEIR key, not his, alluding to one of Cetera's ridiculous earlier demands. (Cetera may be an asshole for not showing up ... but that was his choice.  Read the link below and you'll see that fellow inductee Steve Miller felt it necessary to trash the Hall as well ... noticeably AFTER he accepted his award.)    
Check 'em out here:

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/04/09/arts/music/after-his-induction-steve-miller-rips-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame.html?referer=

Later in the week we'll have Ron Onesti's hands-on account of what it was like to be there for this momentous occasion ... he shared a table with Robin Zander of Cheap Trick and Danny Seraphine of Chicago.  Judging by the clip above, Danny was emotionally charged that night to both be winning such a prestigious award AND playing with the guys he first help found the band with some fifty years ago.  (Sax player Walt Parazaider says the band rehearsed for the very first time in his basement on February 15, 1967.)  It was Danny's first time performing as a member of Chicago in over 25 years.  (Check out his book sometime ... a great read!)  You'll also note that our Forgotten Hits buddies Tom Cuddy and Scott Shannon are both mentioned in the group's list of thank you's.)  kk       
http://www.amazon.com/Street-Player-My-Chicago-Story/dp/0470416831/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460303805&sr=1-1&keywords=danny+seraphine

Bet you didn't know you and Steve Miller shared similar feelings about Jann Wenner!
David Lewis
Me and about two-thirds of the planet!  (lol)  And yet somehow he still outranks ALL of us!!! (kk)

Eric Burdon and the Animals have just been added for two shows at Chicago's City Winery ... but if you're interested in seeing them, you'd better act fast.  They've sold out EVERY time they've played there!
Monday, September 26th, and Wednesday, September 28th
http://www.citywinery.com/chicago/catalogsearch/result/?q=burdon   

Hi Kent,
Not sure if you mentioned it, but we also lost Andy "Thunderclap" Newman this week:  

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/apr/03/andy-thunderclap-newman-obituary
Man, if you're gonna be a one-hit-wonder, it may as well be with a song like "Something In the Air!"
Also, do you know when the Rock and Roll Hall of Lame, er, Fame airs on HBO this year?
Thanks, and all the best,
Bob Rush (who is still undecided as to his possible candidacy for POTUS ..... : )
 

Yep, we covered Thunderclap Newman last week - and I agree - one hit wonders don't come much better than "Something In The Air". (Didja know that song was written for "The Magic Christian" soundtrack, the same one that broke Badfinger's "Come And Get It", written by Paul McCartney and starring Ringo Starr and Peter Sellers?)
I didn't know that! 
The actual Hall of Fame ceremony was held last Friday Night in Brooklyn and first airs on HBO on April 30th (and then probably at least a thousand more times in May!). tenkuveddymooch! 
As for the presidential candidates I'm casting my vote for Dolly Parton, as hers are probably the best of all the boobs currently running.
Hard to argue with that!
Best,
Bob


Hey Kent, 
Well, that is sad news to hear that bass vocalist of The Belmonts, Carlo Mastrangelo, has died. It was his voice that was first heard on Dion and the Belmonts' first hit, "I Wonder Why". Carlo was a jazz drummer, and that scat sound he sang was basically vocal drumming! He often took the rest of the group to jazz clubs, to get the guys interested in blending their pop style with jazz and blues. Many people don't know that it was Carlo who backed Buddy Holly on drums on Buddy's last gig at Wall Lake, because Buddy's drummer had frostbite on his feet from riding the very cold tour bus.
I rediscovered Dion and the Belmonts about a year and a half ago and haven't stopped playing their songs since. I have the "Carlo and The Belmonts" CD, too, and I think it's worth getting, if you're into the doo-wop era. He was a very good lead singer as well. 
Dion and Carlo lived very close to each other in Florida, and got together often, in recent years. Now, there is only one original Belmont left in this world ... Angelo D'Aleo, my all-time favorite falsetto singer. It would be a real kick if him and Dion could get together to make another set of recordings. I know the two of them still have their pipes. 
- John LaPuzza
I don't know about Angelo but Dion sounds better than ever ... and he has settled very comfortably into his current blues groove ... his last couple of albums have been just outstanding.
I had never heard the "frostbitten feet" story before ... pretty amazing (and just more proof as to why some of these guys wanted to fly to their next gig.)  kk

Hello,
I am a real fan of the Buckinghams and especially the songs they recorded from 1967 through 1970.  I especially like the work Dennis Tufano did on these songs.
I recently found your blog and read your article "The Buckinghams: A Forgotten Hits Exclusive" from Wednesday, June 15, 2011.  In this article you offer a link to the original Buckinghams performing their hit Susan recorded live on the Ed Sullivan show, I think in January of 1968.  The Ed Sullivan show section of the clip showing the group performing the song with Dennis Tufano singing lead only last for one or two seconds and then changes to a clip of Carl Giammarese with the "new" Buckinghams singing the song.  Carl is also a great performer and singer I enjoy his work, too.

However, I have been trying very hard (in vain) to obtain the full video and audio clip of the Buckinghams singing Susan on the Ed Sullivan show to add to my Buckingham collection -- all without success.  Your one or two second clip is as close as I have come. 
Can you tell (help) me get the audio and video clip of the Buckinghams performing Susan on the Ed Sullivan show?
Thank you.
Bill Hofstetter
Nashville, TN
You'll find a few Buckinghams clips from back in the day on YouTube but quite honestly their appearances on both The Ed Sullivan Show and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour have never been licensed through their respective copyright holders for such use.  (Season One of the highlights from The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour never came out ... for some RIDICULOUS reason, they issued the programs BACKWARDS, so we've got Season Three ... and then Season Two ... but Season One, on which The Buckinghams appeared, never saw the light of day ... and I've never gotten an answer as to when ... or even IF these discs will be released.)
Same thing with The Ed Sullivan Show ... there are a number of GREAT DVD's available of key performances of this era ... but unfortunately The Buckinghams' performance has never made the cut.
And the powers that be who own and control this material have always been VERY instrumental in policing these clips so that when they DO show up on YouTube from time to time (and they do), they are very quickly taken down.  (You'd think the very fact that watching them is in such high demand that it might eventually dawn on them to commercially release this material so that the fans can own and enjoy it again ... but for whatever reason that logic just doesn't seem to exist.)
They don't pop up often ... and they don't stay up long ... so if you DO get a chance to see them you'd better catch 'em while you can!  (I just happened to hit the luck of the draw this morning ... but have NO idea how long they'll be available for viewing.)
The Ed Sullivan Show and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour aired back to back on CBS in the late '60's and were always an EXCELLENT way for music fans like up to keep up with the latest hits, artists and musical trends of this VERY exciting time in music.  Sad to say the audience who would be most receptive to owning this material is shrinking ... so they really ought to consider getting these clips out to market NOW so that their key, core audience can still enjoy them again.
OK, stepping off my soap box now.  (kk)





Kent ...
Check out Glen Campbell's smokin' instrumental version of "The William Tell Overture".
The Lone Ranger Rides Again.  
Great TV Show.  
Lousy  Movie.
Frank B.



My, but that little country boy can play, eh?  Campbell actually released a version of this on the flip-side of his chart-topping single "Southern Nights" in 1976.  (kk)

Kent,
Speaking of commercials which run in the background songs from days gone by, last night here on television I saw one for the first time. Can't remember the  product or whether it was a local or national commercial, but the song in the background was WORRIED MAN but it wasn't the Kingston Trio singing it.
Larry
I don't think I've ever seen this one ... anybody able to share more details?  (kk)      

For any who never heard the original version of Jan & Dean’s “Popsicle”, it was by The Todds on the Todd label from 1962. It may be on you tube.   
Ken
Not sure if this is it or not because in one place it's identified as "The Todds" and in another as "Gene and the Pearls"!   (kk)