Friday, May 29, 2020

The Friday Flash

Wow! 
Wow, Kent!
Just listened to Wild Man! 
If I hadn’t known, I would have said that it’s a great newly discovered track from the Dunwich vaults!  Nice job Jimy, Michael and Conor.
By the way, Jimy and I will be announcing another historic recording very soon for you to premier. Hold on - loosely. (But don’t let go!)
Hope to see you in the ether tonight for the Peterik / Richardson show with Colin Peterik live from the Jam Lab! 
Rock steady! 
Jimbo

The Shadows Of Knight have raised the bar on doing a drop dead song that sounds like it was made by them in the mid sixties!
I’m sure a few of their Chicago area contemporaries of the time are thinking “Yeah, why don’t we try that?
What’s old is new again!
Bill Mulvihill 

Good Morning, Kent: 
Once again you got the scoop with the news about the new Shadows song. That’s exciting!
Thanks for sharing!
Rick


It's too bad the WILD MAN you plugged today was not actually released as a 45 with that sleeve you have pictured - I would buy one!
Jeff James

Kent,
Can I get a 45 of this on vinyl or is that just a prop?  I gotta have this 45. 
Love the video, tho.  Who died?  haha
I think the band videos were from a personal film Jimy Rogers of the Mauds made when he was young, or at least some, right?
Clark Besch

I’m not quite sure I “got” the video … but I asked promoter Conor Mahoney if the track would be released on a vinyl 45 …

As of right now it’s not planned ... but if we have enough demand it is a possibility.

It’s actually a pretty clever marketing strategy … now you really CAN return to 1966 in both look and sound … would make for a great promotional giveaway …  or sell ‘em for a buck at Jimy’s live appearances … might be worth considering.  (Plus there’s still a big market out there for vinyl right now … maybe next Record Store Day!!!)  Think about it, Conor … a unique “new” (old) way to promote your product!  (Please send 10% commission checks directly to me! Lol)  kk

Good response to the recent Explorers Club tracks we featured the other day, too … including a note from Bobby Hart, who received a copy of the new “covers” cd from promoter Bob Merlis …

We sent The Explorers Club albums to Bobby Hart ...
And he wrote back!  
As you can imagine TEC’s Jason Brewer is mega-stoked about this. 
Here's the Youtube link to their version of “I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight” (which Bobby refers to in his note as “I Wonder What She’s Doin’”..  he didn’t seem to mind that the spoken line in the original, “Come on Bobby, let’s go!” has been changed to “Come on Jason, let’s go!” 



And, from Jason …

Hello Kent!   
Marc sent me those fantastic posts from your site -- I greatly appreciate the very kind words.   I am really hoping your readers will latch on to these records that are about to come out ... I am really proud of them.
Thank you so much for the support.
J

Hey, I really like the new CD ... glad we could introduce a few new people to your work!  (kk)

And, speaking of Bob Merlis, he also sent us this piece along with a note that says …

It's almost as if this had been written with you in mind..

Special Edition! Top 100 Of The Lost '80s & More
Is this email not displaying correctly?
View it in your browser.


May 21, 2020







The Top 100 Lost Songs Of The '80s


Since early April, we've given Ross On Radio readers a badly needed distraction by measuring the "lost factor" of hits from various years of the '80s and late '70s. We've been looking for the songs that traveled the furthest between "this was huge" and "I never hear it on the radio anymore." Now, we've put together the 
Top 100 "Lost Songs Of The '80s." Plus, check out the separate Top 65 of 1985-89, as well as our ranking of the "Edge Of Seventeen"-type songs have become more prominent in the radio universe with time. And there's much more in this special Lost '80s issue

Lost Hits Of The '80s, Year By Year


We've already run top 15 lists of the 1982, 1984, and 1989 hits with the highest "Lost Factor." This week in addition to our ranking of the top songs of the decade, we're also publishing the top 10 songs of each year between 1980 (the #1 song is one of the first songs released just after New Year's Day) and the end of the decade. 
Here are the top 10 songs of the 1980s, year by year. Also, if you've been enjoying these columns, here's a new radio station that some of our readers have been bingeing as well this week.

In Search Of The "Lost" Hits Of The '80s

Looking at the Lost Hits of the 1980s led to questions beyond the song rankings. What exactly is "the lost factor" and what makes a song lost, and not merely obscure? Why are certain types of songs so vulnerable to being lost over time? Is any song really lost, when satellite radio goes so much deeper? And most important, isn't "Gloria" by Laura Branigan really just propped up by all that St. Louis airplay? Let's go down the rabbit hole one more time 
"In Search of the Lost Hits of the '80s."
Some '78 Hits Are "Champs"; What's Lost?

1978 is the year of "Staying Alive" and "We Are The Champions." It's also the chart year of Shaun Cassidy's "Hey Deanie," as well as some big hits like "You Light Up My Life" and "Shadow Dancing," whose footprints have faded over time. A Ross On Radio reader asked us to calculate not just the '80s but the '70s as well. As a bonus to our look at the Lost Hits of the 1980s, here's 
The Lost Factor of 1978. 
Please follow me @RossOnRadio for more ROR daily. Please reach out if I can help in any way. And please pass this e-mail to a friend who might also like to know about ROR's look at music and radio programming trends and history. They can sign up below. (I collect e-mail addresses only for the purpose of sending you the newsletter, and don't share them.) Thanks for caring about radio and reading Ross On Radio, and especially for all your efforts on behalf of listeners at times like these. Next week, it's our annual handicap of the summer song candidates, as well as what that means in this summer like no other. 
Copyright © *|2020|* *|Ross on Radio, 31 Virginia Rd. Maplewood NJ 07040|*, All rights reserved.


 



As well as let us know about this new book coming out on October 6th

My great friend and former partner in Memphis International Records, David A. Less, has written a fascinating book that explains most colorfully why Memphis became one of the world’s most singular and soulful music meccas. The publication date is October 6 … and here’s the official flyer …
Bob Merlis
There’s truly no place like Memphis and this is the story of why that is. HAVE MERCY! 
Billy Gibbons

Bob Sirott had Tommy Edwards on his show this morning!  Great stuff considering his youth days in Kansas were so much like mine and becoming Lujack's foil while I was listening constantly since 67 to Lujack and never knowing of Tommy's beginnings! 
Podcast here:
Clark

There’s a GREAT new interview with Micky Dolenz that covers a lot of new ground running in Goldmine Magazine right now … you can check it out here:

Hi, Kent -
Thursday's column was overwhelming ... more enjoyable stuff to read than I can recall in the few years I've been a fan.
Jack's piece about oldies and age was spot on; it echoed my personal feelings about music. 
My dad was a professional musician and had a small band from the 30s to the 70s.  He had tons of old 78s in our basement, and when I was about 10 or 11, I'd play them and learn them.  Sinatra, Patti Page, Debbie Reynolds, and lots of instrumentals.  I was hooked on Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, and others, because my dad played woodwinds.  The tune that got me hooked was Shaw's
signature tune "Frenesi". 
In the late 50s, my cousin, who is 10 years my senior, gave me 45s that he was tired of, like Little Richard's "Keep A-Knockin'," Gene Vincent's "Be Bop-a-Lula" and others, that made my dad cringe. But over the decades, I still love those old pop tunes. My dad knew I'd always reflect back to those standards.
Kudos to Dennis DeYoung for "With All Due Respect" ...  I think many folks would agree with him.
But the highlight was that last piece - Mike Masse' and group doing "Right Down The Line". It really touched me. I wonder if he's related to Laurel Masse'?   ;-)
Mike Wolstein
It's amazing how much the music you heard as a kid affected you and stuck with you over all these years … I think this is probably true of all of us.  My Mom also had a lot of old 78’s … and I discovered several favorites growing up, including some vintage Spike Jones singles and one of my all-time doo-wop favorites, “Pedal Pushin’ Papa.”
I was talking with Rick O’Dell of Me-TV-FM yesterday and the subject of Eddy Arnold came up.  Now Eddy was a HUGE country music star … but a few of his hits also crossed over to the pop charts … most notably “Make The World Go Away,” a #6 Hit in early 1966.  (Actually, between the three major trades, Arnold hit the pop charts an incredible 42 times between 1955 and 1969!)
My Mom LOVED Eddy Arnold … so I heard a lot of his music growing up … doesn’t mean I LIKED it necessarily … but I was exposed to it and it’s now part of my DNA.  As such, I probably know more Johnny Cash, Roger Miller and Harry Chapin songs that the average guy on the street, because she played all of these artists all the time, too!  (You can add Dean Martin, Elton John and Rod Stewart to this list, too!)
I’ve said it a thousand times … good music is good music.  Unfortunately, all music has not aged equally … and some of it is just never going to fit into today’s groove no matter what you do with it … but that’s why radio stations have playlists and genres and themes … weed out the crap and you can keep listeners tuned in forever!  (In a parallel situation, my next door neighbor, when I was about nine or ten, gave me a huge stack of her old 45’s that she was tired of … she was about five or six years older than me ... and, as a result, I learned SO many new songs from the late ‘50’s and early ‘60’s, many of which also became MY favorites … and the hunger for more has never subsided!)
Finally, I think that reading of “Right Down The Line” is OUTSTANDING … I just had to share it with you all … and we can thank my step-daughter (who has also always loved the song) for finding it for us!  (kk)

The other day we plugged tonight’s live streaming concert by The Fab Four, who will be performing the “Let It Be” album in its entirety this evening … but upon closer look, I'm afraid that I’ve got to take these guys to task for this one.
First of all, I had absolutely NO idea that there was a fee to watch this thing … which I find to be quite disturbing at a time when we’re ALL trying to get by with less during these VERY difficult times.  Some of the biggest name music acts on the planet have been performing free online for the past two months, trying to stay in contact with their fans and help raise money for good causes like our front-line heroes dealing with this virus every single day.  This includes a REAL actual Beatle (not a bunch of guys PRETENDING to be The Beatles!)  The list of superstars goes on and on and on … all of whom have given selflessly to help brighten our otherwise very dismal days.  Now you’ve got to understand that I LOVE The Fab Four … and have given them nothing but the best, most positive reviews over the years … and I even did a very in-depth “getting to know you” segment a few months back, ALL of which went up on the website to be enjoyed by all of  the fans who couldn’t get out to see them perform live.  (A similar concept after-concert Meet-And-Greet tonight will cost you an additional fifty bucks!!!)
The idea of charging fans chomping at the bit to get out in public again to enjoy some music and return to some semblance of normal just really rubs me the wrong way … so I’ve got to point it out.
Sure, we’re ALL hurting … and, in all fairness, that means that THESE guys haven’t been able to earn any income either during these difficult times … but this whole “We’re All In This Together” bullcrap that they keep feeding us every day certainly falls by the wayside when you hear something like this.
Sorry guys … but bad form.  (kk)

By the same token, after tonight’s free streaming program courtesy of Ron Onesti and The Arcada Theatre, he’s got ANOTHER one planned for this Sunday evening at 5 pm featuring The Bronx Wanderers, a VERY popular act performing music for all ages, from all ages, which you can also view on Ron’s Facebook page.  More details below.  (And it won’t cost you a cent!)


I missed Jim Peterik’s live stream Wednesday Night with Cathy Richardson but heard good things. There, too, donations were being accepted for MusicCares, an organization helping to give back to all the out-of-work performers affected by this pandemic.  But sharing with ALL … not profiting for ONE.  (kk)

Tommy Roe sent us this to share …

Funny what one can find to do in quarantine ...
Hope you enjoy.
Tommy


101.1 CBS-FM's 2020 Memorial Day Weekend 'Top 500 Countdown' | WCBS-FM 101.1
kk …
In my opinion, worst overall list ever.
FB
Definitely a younger crowd voting this year!!!  But honestly I can say that I was really only surprised by a select few.  (kk)

AND IN TODAY'S CLOSING VIDEO, LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE TEACHERS, LOOKING FOR NEW WAYS TO COMMUNICATE DURING THE STAY AT HOME EDUCATIONAL PROCESS ...