Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Tuesday This And That

That cheese shirt could have only come from one place … New Glarus Oktoberfest.

If you zero in, you can see their trademark mugs on the table with New Glarus on the small sign. We attend every year.

Robert Campbell

Very cleverly done, we got a few compliments on this one ... so thanks again, Mike, for sending.  (kk)

>>>I just hate to see it misconstrued ... Dick Biondi wasn't the first person in America to think The Beatles were going to be the next big thing ... they weren't even the next big thing in England yet (although they were certainly on their way.)  kk

 

The only reason there are major "discussions" about this is because they were/are world and life changing musicians. If they had not been so successful, nobody would be claiming "firsts."

Shelley J Sweet-Tufano

 

True … and as documented here over twenty years ago, SOMEBODY had to be first … we were able to determine that it was Dick Biondi at WLS, who played “Please Please Me” in February of 1963.  That is a matter of fact … and distinguishable ONLY because of who The Beatles became.  What led us down that path in the first place was so many OTHER sources claiming to have been the first … THIS is why we had to nail it down once and for all.  And for being the first, Biondi SHOULD be singled out for this achievement.  But again, it WASN’T because he believed The Beatles were going to be the next big thing … it was simply a record that he was asked to premier that week by his good friend at Vee Jay Records, with whom he had lunch earlier that same day.  Period … nothing more than that … yet still a significantly recognizable achievement in light of what was to be.  (kk)

http://forgottenhits.com/who_played_the_very_first_beatles_record_in_america

By the way, the new Dick Biondi documentary, "The Voice That Rocked America," will be screened at The Illinois Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame on Thursday, March 23rd, FREE for Charter Members only.

Space is EXTREMELY limited to 100 ... and only Charter Members are invited to this special screening ... 

The film is essentially completed with only a few licensing hurdles remaining before it can be shown on PBS (and other outlets) ... and be released on DVD (with ALL kinds of extras!), so this is your chance to view the final one hour edit.  (I was fortunate enough to see it a few weeks ago and it is a fitting tribute to Chicago's very first Rock And Roll Disc Jockey Superstar.) 

If you can't make it to this one, more private screenings are being scheduled.  

Complete details can be found here:  https://www.dickbiondifilm.com/

This is the best Burt Bacharach documentary I’ve seen!

Tom Cuddy

https://youtu.be/HgwjVLOjFpA

This is great — check out this story of two men imparting truth –

Joe Cantello

How many of us out there would LOVE to do this …

And are qualified to do so!!!  (lol)

https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/relationships/the-truth-is-out-there-just-not-here-two-old-farts-offer-wisdom-in-georgia-park/ar-AA17XbeI?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=51298fe1bc6c4bc8806385db29d0e144

We had several power outages yesterday due to severe storms ... and our cable and internet never returned (in fact it's still pretty spotty here this morning ... so I'm going to get this posted real quick before it goes again!!!)

However, as a result of this, we missed Micky Dolenz's appearance on The Tonight Show, which we were really looking forward to seeing.  (Would love to hear some play-by-play from any of you who may have seen it!)  I'm told he was on to talk about his upcoming tour saluting The Monkees' "Headquarters" album, which Dolenz will perform start to finish in concert this year.

Meanwhile, news comes today of a brand new Dolenz book (and I'm guessing he probably talked about this, too???)  kk

Here's part of the press release ...

We are proud to announce the publication of I'm Told I Had A Good Time: The Micky Dolenz Archives, Volume One. Set for release on November 7, 2023, the book is the result of a multi-year excavation of Micky’s astonishing personal collection. Over 500 pages in length, I'm Told I Had A Good Time highlights this treasure trove of photography, artwork, handwritten lyrics, scripts, and assorted ephemera spanning the 1940s through the 1970s. It will be offered in three unique editions:  Hand-numbered Signed Super Deluxe Edition with bonus content; Numbered Deluxe Hardback Edition; and Unnumbered Flexibound Edition.

This first volume (of what we hope will be as series) chronicles Dolenz’s childhood in Los Angeles and growth as an actor and performer in Circus Boy, through to his early musical endeavors with such groups as The Spartans and Mickey & The 1-Knighters. When Micky was cast in The Monkees, he preserved every move they made: from unpublished color shots on the set of their pilot to rare telegrams and keepsakes from their early days. In particular, the group’s most successful period of touring in 1967 is chronicled in-depth with stunning, unpublished images direct from the original negatives. In all, the group’s spectacular impact on record and film and the aftermath is recorded in Volume One up until Micky’s move to the UK in 1977.

Dolenz was not only an avid chronicler of the Monkees’ activities but also the intensely creative circle around him. Included are never-before-seen images of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Otis Redding, The Rolling Stones’ Brian Jones & Ron Wood, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, Harry Nilsson, Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, Alice Cooper, Jack Nicholson, Stephen Stills, David Crosby and Peter Fonda (among others).

Perhaps the most poignant photographs are his images of the other Monkees; Davy Jones, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith are seen at their happiest, captured in the act of music or mischief making. The book also includes images from Micky’s film library, working drafts of the hit song “Randy Scouse Git,” and a goldmine of personal mementos. For the text, Dolenz delivers a running commentary culled from new interviews recorded during the discovery process.

For decades, Micky Dolenz’s archives have been a fabled part of Monkees history. Now they will be presented in a deluxe fashion: printed in the highest quality and delivered to your door. I'm Told I Had A Good Time: The Micky Dolenz Archives, Volume One will only be available directly from beatlandbooks.com.

As we mark more than ten years today since the passing of David Jones, it is poignant to ponder the loss we still feel. Davy, Michael, and Peter had such deep connections with their fans around the world; a large part of the joy in compiling this book has been discovering the negatives of long-lost photos of them and understanding that the person they are looking at behind the camera is Micky, their bandmate and brother. We think you’ll be knocked out by what only he could capture, and we can’t wait to show you more in the months to come.