Friday, August 16, 2024

The Friday Flash

Your journalistic efforts surpass those of what passes now for Rolling Stone magazine.  They are a shell of what they used to be and you outshine them while working a full-time job in addition to Forgotten Hits!

This week you wanted to get the true facts on a story, so you went to the source by tracking down Mark Lindsay from Paul Revere and the Raiders!

You were writing about bubble gum music and you reached out to a 60s icon for bubblegum music: RON DANTE of the Archies and the Cufflinks!

And that was just in ONE day’s edition of Forgotten Hits.

We’re fortunate as readers to have you keeping our music alive with factual and fun stories!

THANK YOU for all your efforts!

-- Tom Cuddy

   New York, NY

Wow!  Thank you, Tom, from the bottom of my heart.  This means a lot.  (kk)

From Dennis Tufano, former lead singer of The Buckinghams, several years ago:  Forgotten Hits is what Rolling Stone Magazine USED to be ... Interesting!

THIS is why we do it.  (kk)

As has long been speculated, Frankie Valli was caught out of sync when lip-synching his #1 Hit “Grease” during a recent concert appearance.  (Why he still feels the need to suffer the rigors of touring at 90 years of age is a question we have been asking for quite some time.)

But apparently video of Valli both on stage and having difficulty leaving the stage have gone viral, causing great concern about the beloved singing star.

Noise 11 has more …

https://www.noise11.com/news/frankie-valli-fine-after-health-scare-20240815

We lost Greg Kihn yesterday … he was 75 years old.

Kihn scored two HUGE Top 20 Hits in the early ‘80’s … “The Break-Up Song” went to #15 in Billboard in 1981 … and two years later he peaked at #2 with “Jeopardy."

One of my favorite quotes came during an interview with our DJ Buddy Phil Nee of WRCO in Richmond Center, Wisconsin.

When asked about the universal appeal of a song like “The Break-Up Song,” Greg said that HE thought it was because the lyrics “uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh” translates the same into every language!

Oh here, I’ll just let HIM tell it …

I’ve always loved this song … and it has certainly stood the test of time.

And Weird Al had a ball playing around with Greg’s biggest hit, “Jeopardy” …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvUZijEuNDQ

Tom Cuddy sent us this link …

https://gregkihn.com/blog/greg-kihn-an-iconic-figure-in-the-realm-of-rock-music-has-passed-away-at-the-age-of-75/

And, of course, today marks the 47th anniversary of the passing of Elvis Presley.  He died on this date in 1977 after one of the most remarkable careers in rock and roll music history.  (I’m listening to the newly released “Memphis” box set in the car right now … 111 tracks spread out over five discs.  It is AMAZING how many new ways RCA continues to come with to continue presenting music from The King.)

I was fortunate enough to have seen him live in concert three times, first in 1972 when he first started touring again after several successful runs in Las Vegas … probably still the most “electric” concert experience I’ve ever had, the energy that filled The Chicago Stadium the moment he took the stage, and then, sadly, right near the end when, although not in the best of shape healthwise, his voice was still as powerful as ever.

Thank you, Elvis, for the music … and the escalation of that music thru every generation since.  (kk)

[Type Elvis into the search engine at the top of this page and you’ll find more articles, tributes and salutes than you can probably read in a month! – kk]

 

60 YEARS AGO TODAY:

8/16/64 - St. Louis Cardinals Center Fielder Curt Flood gets eight straight hits in a doubleheader split against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium 


The St. Louis Cardinals would go on to win The National League Pennant that year ... and then defeat The New York Yankees in The World Series (costing Yankees Manager Yogi Berra his job!)