Friday, January 26, 2018

The Friday Flash

Lately everybody's trending 1968.  (Hopefully you've been checking out our new weekly Saturday Surveys Series where each week we spotlight a different radio chart from a different state as we make our way thru the entire United States, Fifty Year Flashback style, and take a look at the biggest hits of 1968 from coast to coast.  Be sure to check the website every Saturday Morning for the latest posting … and let us know if some of these local, regional hits bring back a memory or two of what YOU were listening to on the radio while you were growing up in 1968.  

FH Reader Frank B tells us that The Decades Channel has been running a 1968 special … it has already aired several times this week (check your local cable listings for more information.)  

Got this from FH Reader Ken Voss … an "at the time" bird's eye view of the degenerating state of music scene in 1968 … thru the eyes of The Chicago Tribune …



After announcing earlier this week that Neil Diamond was retiring from touring, now comes word that Elton John will also be calling it quits on the road … although whereas Diamond's motives are health-related (the singer/songwriter has been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease), Elton's saying goodbye (yellow brick road) in style … with a massive 300 CITY / 3 YEAR TOUR!!!  (That's one hell of a goodbye!)  Like Diamond, he intends to continue writing and recording … he just won't be going thru the grueling pace of life on the road anymore.  (kk)  

I don't know why, but the devastating Neil Diamond news, followed by Elton's just made me think how ironic it is that they both were introduced to the record buying public when they were both on Uni Records. Two legends.  
David Salidor  
Actually Neil Diamond had nine chart hits for Bang Records before he moved to Uni … but how many other big artists can you name that recorded for the label?  (The one that immediately comes to my mind is The Foundations, who had two big hits with "Baby, Now That I've Found You" and "Build Me Up Buttercup.")  I used to love the color Uni record label.  (Eventually they became MCA … and then Elton formed his own Rocket Records, too.) 
Bang continued to release Neil Diamond records from the vaults, trying to cash in on his growing popularity after the move to Uni.  The one that really paid off was the re-release of "Solitary Man," Neil's first chart hit in 1966, which peaked at #55 upon its first release … but then went all the way to #16 four years later when it was re-released in 1970.  (kk) 

And wait ... there's more ... this just in from Ken Voss ...   

Lynyrd Skynyrd announces farewell tour 
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/lynyrd-skynyrd-announce-farewell-tour-150114830.html   

It’s too bad John Fogerty seems to dismiss his early Golliwogs songs. There are some cool tunes there. He should embrace his early Rock n Roll material. 
Ken 
I cannot help but wonder if this might not be partly due to the fact that back then his brother Tom was usually the featured lead vocalist and songwriter for the band.  Truth is other than a little bit of regional airplay, these records … and the band … never took off until John was at the helm and they changed their name to Creedence Clearwater Revival.  Then all of a sudden they were the biggest act on the planet!  (kk)  

Hey Kent,
I think I might have found a bit of a glitch in your “Friday Flash” post from last Friday, January 19. 
You mentioned that Billy Joel had inducted Foreigner into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 2013. I don’t think Foreigner has gotten into the R&R HOF yet (?)  
Billy has had the honor of inducting five different performers going back to Fats Domino in 1986, Drifters in 1988, Sam & Dave in 1992, The Righteous Brothers in 2003 and finally John Mellencamp in 2008. 
Billy himself became a R&R HOF member in 1999. 
Thanks!
Gary  
You are absolutely correct … Foreigner are NOT members of The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and I should have caught that.  (To the best of my knowledge, they've never even been nominated.)    
Shame on me for trusting WCBS-FM who ran this report after Lou Gramm and Mick Jones joined Billy Joel on stage for his most recent Madison Square Garden performance:    
Joel welcomed singer Lou Gramm and guitarist Mick Jones of the classic rock outfit Foreigner to perform a pair of the band’s classic hits, “Urgent” and “Cold As Ice.”  
Joel prefaced the performance by telling the audience that Jones co-produced his 1989 album, Storm Front  (The Joel - Foreigner connection runs even deeper, as the singer inducted the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013).     
“Him and another guy who was the singer of all those great songs are here with us tonight,” he announced as they joined him onstage.    
After the augmented lineup performed “Urgent,” Joel left the stage to the Foreigner members to lead his band through “Cold as Ice.”  

Here are some home cleaning tips from FH Reader Gary Pike, formerly of The Lettermen!  

Cleaning a record with wood glue  
I have heard about this cleaning method but never tried it.   The method I use, after cleaning the record with a lint brush, is apply a thin coat of distilled or RO water and then play, with the water still on the record.   It gets rid of or reduces substantially the clicks and pops. Make sure you blow dry the needle when your through.    
Gary Pike  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gyvipBs6Vs 

Any chance I could get an MP3 of this?  
It's the Burger King jingle from 1969:
"It takes two hands to handle a Whopper / the two-fisted burger at Burger King / 'cause the bigger the burger / the better the burger / and the burgers are better at Burger King"
Source #67 from:  http://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2010/01/more-of-your-commercial-favorites_08.html  
I know that I don't have a copy of this ... but one of our readers might ... anybody?  (Rich???)  Worse comes to worst you could probably find a copy of it on YouTube.  Here's the first one I found:   
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFFi3ILvWVo  
kk 

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