Friday, August 24, 2018

The Friday Flash


re:  SUPERJOCK:
Rewound Radio will be saluting “Superjock” Larry Lujack this Saturday Afternoon as part of their regular weekly Dee Jay Hall Of Fame Series.
The program kicks off at Noon Eastern and will include Larry’s farewell broadcast on WLS.
Here’s a Listen Live link:  https://rewoundradio.com/

re:  ED KING:
Sad news about the passing of Guitarist Ed King.
King first reached fame in 1967 with the chart-topping hit “Incense and Peppermints” by The Strawberry Alarm Clock.  (This song was voted as The #1 Psychedelic Hit of All-Time” by Forgotten Hits Readers back in 2005.)
In the early ‘70’s, he joined Lynyrd Skynyrd, where he co-wrote their biggest hit “Sweet Home Alabama.”

Ed King 1949 - 2018
Former Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist dies
By Kristin Hall
Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Ed King, a former guitarist for Lynyrd Skynyrd who helped write several of the group’s hits including “Sweet Home Alabama,” has died in Nashville, Tennessee, according to a family friend. He was 68.
Scott Coopwood said King died Wednesday due to cancer. Funeral arrangements had not yet been announced Thursday.
King joined the band in 1972 and was part of its first three albums with its distinct three-guitar sound.
He is credited on several of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s songs, including “Saturday Night Special” and “Workin’ for MCA,” and his voice can be heard providing the opening count on “Sweet Home Alabama.”
“Ed was our brother, and a great songwriter and guitar player,” said Gary Rossington, a founding member of the band. “I know he will be reunited with the rest of the boys in Rock and Roll Heaven.”
King left the band two years before a plane crash killed singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines in 1977. He rejoined the group 10 years later when it reunited with Johnny Van Zant taking his brother’s place and played with the band until he retired in 1996 due to heart problems. He had a heart transplant in 2011.
King was also an original member of the California psychedelic group Strawberry Alarm Clock, which had a hit that King co-wrote called “Incense and Peppermints” in 1967.

I was so sorry to hear today of the death of Ed King as we have lost another of Rock's legendary guitar players. He first came to fame as lead guitarist of The Strawberry Alarm Clock ( I know everyone can hum the melody of his famous guitar break in their #1 hit "Incense and Peppermints"). He later became part of the three guitar front line of Lynyrd Skynyrd where he wrote the iconic intro to "Sweet Home Alabama."   
Ken Voss

re:  ARETHA FRANKLIN:
The other day we told you that Mark Bego’s Aretha Franklin biography was being quickly updated and rush-released in light of her recent passing.  (I’ve been listening to the special Sirius-XM Aretha / Queen Of Soul Tribute Channel this week.)
Well, here’s the official release … and the good news that Mark has yet another Best Seller under his belt with this one … before it even hits the streets!!!  (Stay tuned, Aretha fans … this is a GREAT book … and we may have a couple of copies to give away to our readers.)

Anyway, here’s the latest scoop … 

MARK BEGO’S NEW “ARETHA FRANKLIN: THE QUEEN OF SOUL" "TRIBUTE EDITION" ALREADY HITS NUMBER ONE IN AMAZON

Celebrity author Mark Bego had only days to update his in-depth biography, “Aretha Franklin:  The Queen of Soul” / “Tribute Edition,” and it has already hit Number One on one of Amazon.com’s Best Seller lists!  The moment Bego heard that Aretha was “gravely ill” last week, he started work on a new beginning and a new ending to this engrossing biography.  This is the fourth incarnation of Mark’s popular book which was originally published in 1989. 
The book “Aretha Franklin:  The Queen of Soul” / “Tribute Edition” is being rushed to bookstores by Skyhorse Publishing in New York. It has updated photos, an updated discography, and several new elements. 
Although the book won’t be officially released until September 18th, pre-sales put Bego’s new edition of his Aretha biography at the top of the charts on Amazon’s “New Release” best-seller list in pre-sales for the Kindle version. 
This gives Mark Bego three best-sellers in a row:  following “Life With My Father:  Glen Campbell,” written with Debby Campbell (Top Ten “The Tennessean”) in 2014, and his 2017 Skyhorse Publishing celebrity cookbook “Eat Like a Rock Star” (Top Ten Amazon New Cookbooks List).  The cookbook features Bego’s recipes along with the recipes of 46 rock & roll stars. 
According to Bego, “I’ve been a fan of Aretha’s music since I first wrote about her ‘Young, Gifted and Black’ album in my record review column in the campus newspaper while in college.  I can legitimately say, I have been writing Aretha’s story since 1972.” 
What sets this book apart is that Mark was able to interview Franklin at her Bloomfield Hills, Michigan home at the height of her “Freeway of Love” recording resurgence.  “It wasn’t just an interview,” recalls Bego, “it felt like an official visitation with the Queen of Soul.  She even gave me a tour of her garden.” 
Then Mark was able to personally interview dozens of Franklin’s co-workers, producers, and friends. In addition, he spoke to Aretha’s record producers from each area of her recording eras.  From the Columbia Records days in the ’60s is Clyde Otis, from her Atlantic Records years, it is Jerry Wexler, and from the Arista era he interviewed Clive Davis.  Bego also spoke to longtime friends of Aretha’s including Mary Wilson, Martha Reeves, Freda Payne, and Sarah Dash. Adds Bego, “This book has been a true labor of love for me.”
This is a GREAT book … you can preorder your copy thru Amazon right now … and stay tuned for your chance to win a copy thru Forgotten Hits!  (kk)



And if you don’t already have a copy of Mark’s best selling “Eat Like A Rock Star,” be sure to pick up a copy of this one, too!  (And don’t be surprised if Mark has a “Second Course” book up his very creative sleeve, too!!!)  kk

From Frank Merrill …

This belongs as a post for sure!!!
"R – O – Y – G – B – I - V, Find out what it means to me..."
This is friggin' amazing!
Whatever one believes, God ... or, to some, whatever's out there ... gave a collective reassuring hug to a lot of Detroiters.


Aretha Franklin: A Celebration Of Life will be held next Friday (August 31st) in Detroit.  Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Hudson, Faith Hill, Ron Isley, Chaka Khan, Fantasia, Jennifer Holliday and others and others are slated to perform and speak about the ways that Aretha touched their lives.  (Hudson was hand-picked by Franklin to portray her in a planned biopic that's been in the works for a while now.)  Clive Davis is also putting together a tribute concert, scheduled to take place on November 14th in New York City.  (The performing line-up has yet to be announced.)  

re:  DEFINING THE ROCK ERA:
Hi Kent, 
With all the talk about Billboard lately I was wondering when the first year of Rock and Roll really was?
Growing up, I thought it was 1954 -- in fact, I thought the first History of Rock and Roll documentary that was hosted by Humble Harv said 1954.
I also thought Dick Clark did a 20 year anniversary special in 1974 that had among others, Cheech and Chong.
I know Rock Around the Clock didn't get huge until 1955, but the original release was 1954, plus Elvis' That's Alright Mama was in 1954, or am I dreaming that?
Thanks for any help you or the readers can give me on this. I always figured the reason it changed must have had something to do with Billboard's charts somehow.
Bill
No less an authority than Joel Whitburn told us that he dedicated the distinction of the start of The Rock And Roll Era with "Rock Around The Clock" hitting #1 on the Billboard Chart.  (This, of course, predates their Hot 100 Chart that has been the focus of so much discussion of late.)
Of course there is no absolute defined “start date” of rock and roll … it evolved over time, the hybrid of all that came before it in the way of pop, rhythm and blues and country.  (If you’re going to pick a date, then “Rock Around The Clock” hitting #1 is as good as any … things certainly changed worldwide after that.)
But we all know that tracks like “Shake, Rattle And Roll” and “Good Rockin’ Tonight” and “Rocket 88” and others like “That’s All-Right, Mama” by Elvis (which was never really what one would consider a chart success but absolutely launched his career and put him on the map, at least in terms of the country charts) were among the earliest examples.  (Other R&B hits from ’54 and ’55 of note include “Gee” by The Crows, “Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight” by The Spaniels, “Sh-Boom” by The Chords, “Hearts Of Stone” by The Charms, “Work With Me Annie” by The Midnighters, “Sincerely” by The Moonglows, “Earth Angel” by The Penguins, “I Got A Woman” by Ray Charles, “At My Front Door” by The El Dorados, “Smokey Joe’s Café” by The Robins, “Only You” by The Platters, “Bo Diddley” by Bo Diddley, “Ain’t It A Shame” by Fats Domino, “I Hear You Knockin’” by Smiley Lewis, “Maybelline” by Chuck Berry (whose original lyric to “Johnny B. Goode” said “My, but that little COLORED boy could play”) and “Tutti Frutti” by Little Richard, many of which were covered by white artists, which allowed them to gain airplay and be welcomed into people’s hearts and homes at a time when many still called music produced by black artists as “Race Music.”  (If I’m not mistaken, at some point in time before Billboard launched their R&B [Rhythm and Blues] Chart, a phrase coined by Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records, they actually had a chart CALLED the Race Music Chart!)
We give things a little leeway here in Forgotten Hits.  If the Rock Era began in 1955 with the success of “Rock Around The Clock,” we also acknowledge some of the other R&B track that helped rock and roll music develop and grow that came prior to that date. 
Remember … everything influenced everybody … where would Elvis had gotten “Hound Dog” (a #1 Hit for eleven weeks) were it not for Big Mama Thornton???  Elvis begat The Beatles … The Beatles launched Garage Rock (and four piece combos) from coast to coast.  James Brown and Jackie Wilson inspired Michael Jackson … it’s all relative … but without one, you wouldn’t get the other.  (kk)