Thursday, May 20, 2021

THURSDAY THIS AND THAT

Did you celebrate Pet Sounds Day on Monday, the 17th?


I did … brought the CD in the car and listened to it straight thru a couple of times …

‘Cause you know if Pet Sounds Day is only one day … that makes it here today … and gone tomorrow.

Al Jardine’s camp sent us this interview that Al did a couple of years ago when he was out on the road with Brian Wilson performing Pet Sounds in its entirety.

https://bit.ly/3oosZyw ...

As well as a couple of other timely articles …

https://theboar.org/2021/05/beach-boys-pet-sounds-at-55
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/brian-wilson-beach-boys-pet-sounds-review

https://bestclassicbands.com/pet-sounds-release-date-5-16-155/

And don't forget about the Endless Summer Quarterly special Pet Sounds edition, available for a limited time (and in limited quantity) ...

Hulu will be airing the six-part Paul Mc Cartney / Rick Rubin series we told you about a few months back, beginning on July 16th. 

The musical event is being described this way:

“Never before have fans had the opportunity to hear Paul McCartney share, in such expansive, celebratory detail, the experience of creating his life’s work – more than 50 years of culture-defining music.  To be an observer as Paul and Rick Rubin deconstruct how some of the biggest hits in music history came to be is truly enlightening.  This is an intimate and revealing examination of musical history from two living legends.  It is an honor that Paul chose to return to Hulu to share this one-of-a-kind series.”

– Craig Erwich, President, Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment

In the series, McCartney sits down for a rare in-depth, one-on-one with Rubin to discuss his groundbreaking work with The Beatles, the emblematic 1970s arena rock of Wings and his 50-plus years as a solo artist. The series “explores music and creativity in a unique and revelatory manner, and gives a front-row seat to Paul and Rick in an intimate conversation about the songwriting, influences, and personal relationships that informed the iconic songs.”

We can’t wait!!!

(I chose to go with THIS story rather than last week’s McCartney news blast about his “eye yoga exercises” that he developed while studying with The Maharishi in India back in 1968 … just found it to be a bit more exciting and have a more universal appeal!  Lol)

And, speaking of music tv events, this Sunday Evening (May 23rd) at 9 pm Eastern, REELZ will present the BBC-TV documentary “Meat Loaf: In And Out Of Hell.”  The film was directed by Matt O’Casey in 2014 and was picked up by REELZ TV for its American broadcast premier.  Told mostly in his own words, by Meat Loaf himself, along with commentary by Todd Rundgren, Lou Adler, Tim Curry, Bob Kulik, Ellen Foley and Karla DeVito, you’ll also find our FH Buddy Harvey Kubernik on board, handling a portion of the narration.  (Harvey earned a Platinum Album Award for Meat Loaf’s debut album, “Bat Out Of Hell.)  kk

In other Music TV News, that Apple TV Series we were telling you about a couple of weeks ago is about ready to launch …

50 years celebration of 1971 continues if you have Apple TV.  I don't.

Clark Besch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QUSrefGO34&t=2s

1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything, a new docuseries that will explore the musicians and soundtracks that shaped the culture and politics of 1971, is set to launch on Apple TV+.

Featuring archival footage and interviews, 1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything will show how the musical icons of the time were influenced by the changing tides of history and how they used their music to inspire hope, change and the culture around them. The docuseries will examine such iconic artists as The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye, The Who, Joni Mitchell, Lou Reed and more.

Executive produced by Academy, BAFTA and Grammy Award winners Asif Kapadia (Amy, Senna) and James Gay-Rees (Amy, Senna, Exit Through the Gift Shop), the eight-part docuseries will premiere on Apple TV+ on May 21. The series was inspired by the book Never A Dull Moment: 1971 The Year That Rock Exploded by David Hepworth.

We’ll have to resubscribe in order to see this … but will probably wait till “The Morning Show” comes back and then just watch them all together!  (kk)

>>>In either event, Cetera had to have his jaw wired shut ... and (as you suspected) that DID have an impact on his voice and the way he sang ... so we ALL learned something today!!!  Thanks, Clark!  (kk)

Even MORE interesting! 

Thanks, Kent

Clark

On 5/20/1971, the Cubs were in St. Louis.

They did host the Dodgers the following three games.

But on that date in '69, they were AT the Dodgers.

-- Bob Frable

All the more reason I think this happened in LA – but two years EARLIER than we reported – probably spurred on by a loud mouthed Cubs fan cheering for the other side. In LA I don’t think the long hair would have been a factor (although a couple of years earlier you couldn’t get into Disneyland if you had long hair so who knows!)

If Cetera had a few beers (quite possible if not likely) and was cheering for The  Cubs in Dodger Stadium, I suppose anything was possible. Kinda disheartening to think that this was done by a group of Marines however.  (kk)

UPDATE:  I did one more spot check since I found articles claiming the incident took place in both 1969 and 1971.  Bob’s schedule would seem to bear this out as a 1969 incident … so I went back to our Forgotten Hits 1969 Calendar from a couple of years ago to see if we had ALSO reported this incident then ... and lo and behold, there is nary a mention of this at all.

However, what IS reported on our 1969 calendar was the fact that:

On May 17th a brand new album … and a two-record set at that! … by a brand new band out of Chicago is released.  The self-titled Chicago Transit Authority grows in stature through great word of mouth (and some incredible live performances, including shows backing up the likes of Jimi Hendrix.)  The band features several DePaul University college students who conjure up their own mix of music by combining rock, jazz and politics.  Their debut LP will stay on The Billboard Top 200 Album Chart for the next three years becoming (at that time) the longest chart life album by a rock band at 148 weeks.  The band was forced to change their name (again … they started out as The Big Thing) after being sued by the REAL Chicago Transit Authority rail line … so they shortened it to simply “Chicago.” 

They would go on to become one of the most successful rock bands of all-time (and yet were denied induction into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame for decades, until they were finally instated in 2015, 23 years after they first became eligible for the honor.) 

Despite numerous band member changes, the core group of three original horn players and Robert Lamm on keyboards continues to perform to sell out shows all over the world today. 

So how horrific, then, that just three days after the release of their first album, Peter Cetera gets the shit kicked out of him at a Cubs / Dodgers game!!!  (Doesn’t it seem like this fact would have come up as part of this story???)  So a bit MORE digging shows that the “CTA” album was officially released on April 28th, 1969, three weeks earlier than we originally reported!!!  (So essentially we had just about EVERYTHING wrong on this one!!!  That's what happens when you trust what's out there on the internet without doing your own diligent research!)   

As such, in our never ending quest to present “The Most Accurate Truth” possible, I have removed the reference from this week’s 1971 calendar and moved it to “This Week in 1969,” and also updated the album release date information while I was there.  (kk)

And, while we’re up here fixing things, here’s the REAL Happy Together Tour photo I couldn’t find the other day, featuring The Cowsills (Paul, Susan and Bob), Carl Giammarese of The Buckinghams, Tommy Scheckel of Paul Revere’s Raiders (along with yours truly), taken in the lobby of the beautiful Genesee Theatre a few years back.

And, speaking of Carl Giammarese, he also sent me a copy of a brand new track he just finished recording to share with our readers.  It's a reworking of The Buckinghams’ hit “Don’t You Care,” recorded as a duet with Lisa McClowry.

Hi Kent,

I thought you might enjoy this recording I did with Lisa McClowry. Lisa is a very talented singer and performer for the Chicago area. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_McClowry

I have known her for many years. Recently I had sent her a song I wrote hoping she would record it in her beautiful vocal style. During our conversation, she asked me if I’d like to make a virtual video with her. I jumped at the opportunity.

I give Lisa all the credit for coming up with this arrangement for Don’t You Care. It is now a very contemporary love song between two people trying to work it out. We made a special connection and I think the chemistry between us really worked. It is now available on streaming platforms including Spotify, Pandora and Apple music. I think we hit on something special based on the reaction I’m getting on Facebook and from streaming platforms. We will have the video finished in a few days.

Hope you enjoy,

Carl

Here’s the official press release …

Carl Giammarese and Lisa McClowry Debut New Version of Buckinghams’ Classic 

Music lovers don’t always have time to reflect on this, but if they have fallen in love to, or with, a song, chances are good that all over the country, thousands of others have, too. In the spring and summer of love, 1967, songs by The Buckinghams filled the airwaves and the Billboard charts. The renewal of Classic Rock via package tour vehicles such as Happy Together, Flower Power Cruises, Concerts at Sea, and others have kept the bands playing their signature hits all these years as well.

As of 2021, “Don’t You Care” has been heard all over the world regularly since 1967, over 2,000,000 times. Every teenager listening to 50,000 Watts of power broadcast from superstations to their transistor radios across the country has heard this one song that many times … in the past 54 years.

Thanks to Chicago-born vocalist and guitarist (and founding member of The Buckinghams) Carl Giammarese and Lisa McClowry, the popular versatile vocalist whose talents range from power-driven 80s ballads to sultry 60s song stylings, there’s a new version of “Don’t You Care” that is already generating quite a buzz among those who have loved the song for years!

The pair had known each other for years, but as Carl said, “I’d admired her beautiful voice more from a distance.” Mutual friends had recently been encouraging the two to combine their gifts on a song together and out of the blue, an opportunity arose.

Carl had been writing several new songs during the stay-at-home pandemic we’ve all been on. He had one song in mind that would be a cool duet, but Lisa shared that a different arrangement of “Don’t You Care” had been on her mind. She had a new arrangement in mind. Trusting that, Carl agreed, and Lisa introduced acoustic guitarist Mike Aquino’s great playing to serve as backing.

The track came together quickly, and the pair sound as though they’ve been singing together for years. Rave reviews are already being shared with Giammarese and McClowry. Who knows? There could well be more where this song came from. Carl said, “Lisa is quite the gifted professional.” As you hear the song, it will sound like they’ve been singing together for many years.

The Giammarese / McClowry duet is now out for digital streaming and downloads. If you’d like to hear it on Spotify, click here: https://open.spotify.com/album/5qjyQDX5ztdRdx3Uew06EU?si=8OFrHNiMTOS9wFqlPAQ4gA&nd=1

And here’s the exclusive world premier of the video …

Having listened to the recording prior to the video being ready for today's launch, I’ve got to say that the song and recording become much more powerful in the context of the video … it takes things to a w hole new level ... and really allows this immediately familiar song to take on a whole new meaning when coupled with this visual.  Very powerful, guys.

Thanks so much to everyone for letting us be the first to debut it.  (kk)

CREDITS

Video Title:  Carl Giammarese & Lisa McClowry perform “Don’t You Care” (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

Writers: James Holvay / Gary Beisbier (Spirit Publishing)

Arranger & Producer: Lisa McClowry

Mixing: Lavant Coppock

Guitar: Mike Aquino

Cover Art: Tom Scheckel, Bugaloo Design

Publicity: Dawn Lee Wakefield, TCV Media

Video: Greg Bizzaro, Jaffe Films

#CarlGiammarese #LisaMcclowry #DontYouCare

Song is available to purchase / download immediately today on any of the major digital streaming services (such as Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon, etc.)

It is also available from the streaming service of your choice.

And, from our very loosely defined "Sometimes you CAN take it with you" Department ... 

I had one of those under-dash players in the late 60s. I'd love to find one today.
Mike


I just LOVE the marketing campaign here … evidently fun for the whole family as even Granny listens to her favorite 45s while she’s rollin’ down the highway.  (Although I would have thought she may have needed a 78 player!)  Hit a bump and create a disc that’ll skip forever!  (lol)  [Knowing this to be the case, they probably could have come up with a better name for this device than "Record Eater"!!!]

Like I said, we all need our travelin’ music!  (kk) 

 

Outta time ... more tomorrow, here in Forgotten Hits!  (kk)