Incredibly, The Beatles AND The Rolling Stones both won Grammy Awards this week ... in 2025!!! Sixty-something years since they first touched our consciousness!!!
"Hackney Diamonds" by The Stones won the award for Best Rock Album (and it's a goodie!) ...
While The Beatles won for Best Rock Performance, thanks to their revolutionary "Now And Then" video.
(John Lennon's 50th Anniversary "Mind Games" box set also won an award Monday Night, a feather in son Sean's cap for sure!)
Congratulations to these never-to-be-extinct dinosaurs who have long outlived anyone's expectations, circa 1963! (kk)
Gary Pig Gold shared this cool piece he wrote in celebration of what would have been Buddy Holly's 88th Birthday last year ...
For Buddy on his 88th
The first order of business upon securing my first “real” job –
hand-delivering supermarket flyers door-to-door all around the
neighbourhoods – was to immediately take each week’s earnings to the
nearest record store in order to build a music library which, until
then, consisted only of whatever albums I’d been gifted each birthday
and Christmas throughout those once swinging Sixties.
Embarking
upon my mission alphabetically then with the swinging “B” bands, I
headed straight for the Beatle rack and grabbed something called Beatles VI … yes,
I know: a purely Capitol Records USA concoction, but one which I think
was, all tracks considered, pretty damn well cobbled together. So much
so that it still earns more than its fair share of spins upon the ol’
Pig Player to this very day.
Now, as we always did back then, I began by studying closely ST-2358’s back cover for more – in fact, for any details on its contents; this being the prehistoric age before Wiki or even Lillian Roxon’s Rock Encyclopedia.
But on this day lay only four questionable-generation B&W pics of
JPG&R plus a list of, and I quote, “More Great Albums For Your
Beatles Collection” which I had yet to collect. No help there.
Nevertheless …
Switch on my cool little Symphonic model 509-A2 Solid State Stereo
Compatible turntable, turn the toggle to “33,” and it was Time to Meet the Beatles VI ! But as Side 1 drew to a close, it was its
final two-minutes-ten seconds in particular I’d already found myself most
enchanted with, and completely intrigued by. Curiosity fully piqued, and
realizing the album jacket would provide no clues whatsoever, as Dad
had taught me years earlier with his music library, I looked at
the label to find out what exactly it was I was hearing. Upon doing so
though I was startled to find my fave new Fab number – something called
“Words of Love” – had a “B. Holly” in brackets beneath its title rather
than the usual “Lennon-McCartney” or, not nearly often enough, “G.
Harrison.”
So … Who was this B. Holly ??
This, of course, required immediate, next-level investigation, giving
me an excuse – as if much were ever needed – to skip Port Credit
Secondary the very next day and take a train all the way into the big
flagship Sam the Record Man store towering just north of Dundas on Yonge
in downtown Toronto. In there, right to the left of the front doors
hanging over the New Releases displays I could always find this cool,
hippie-looking clerk with shoulder-length dirty blonde hair atop the de
rigueur faded yellow t-shirt who would guide me in my purchases (after
winking “Hey kid! Ditching classes again?”) For example, he’d just a
couple of weeks earlier warned me away from a copy of the
above-mentioned Harrison’s Electronic Sound and carefully placed a Best of the Guess Who into my trusting hands instead.
On
this fateful day, upon asking this friendly clerk – you know, come to
think of it I don’t think I ever actually knew his name – who, or what
this Holly on my Beatles VI label was, he immediately reached into the inventory behind and produced this bright yellow, god-awful gaudy even to my untrained eyes cheesy looking
long-player. Along with these solemn words, for which I’m forever
grateful:
“Here. Get this. Take this home and listen to it. Closely.”
And
that is how I first came to disc-over the incalculable wonders and
indelible joys which were, are, and forever shall be Charles Hardin
Holley and his one and only – two and only, to be exact – Crickets.
Just thought you’d all like to know how all those years ago I was, as they say, Learning the Game.
My love of The Beatles' music introduced me to SO many early rock and roll artists I may never have discovered otherwise.
Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, Little Richard, Larry Williams and several others. I, too, wanted to know more about these artists that so inspired our Fab Four.
Their version of "Words Of Love" is absolutely my favorite ... not so much because it was the first version I'd ever heard ... but their crystal-clear interpretation of the harmonies and instrumentation used. (Much like Bob Dylan's music, I find myself liking OTHER artists' interpretation of Buddy Holly's songs more than Holly's originals.) kk
Kansas and .38 Special are teaming up for a summer tour.
And if that’s not enough for you as a one-two punch, a third Classic Rock Act will open each show. (This will vary from city to city)
Between them, Kansas and .38 Special placed ELEVEN songs on our TOP 3333 MOST ESSENTIAL CLASSIC ROCK SONGS List as voted on by Forgotten Hits Readers.
Placing within the Top 1000 were: “Carry On Wayward Son” by Kansas (#45), “Hold On Loosely” by .38 Special (#155), “Dust In The Wind” by Kansas (#162), “Caught Up In You” by .38 Special (#184) and “Point Of Know Return” by Kansas (#493)
(Actually, that gives these bands FIVE of The Top 500 picks!)
Announced dates thus far include:
June 6th - Richmond, VA: Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront
(with The Outlaws)
June 7th - Oxon Hill, MD: The Theater at MGM National (with The Outlaws)
June 13th - Southaven, MS: BankPlus Amphitheater (with Jefferson
Starship)
June 14th - Huntsville, AL: Orion Amphitheater (with Jefferson Starship)
June 20th - Orange Beach, AL: The Wharf Amphitheater (with The Outlaws)
June 21st - Atlanta, GA: Fox Theatre (with The Outlaws)
June 27th - Charlotte, NC: Skyla Credit Union Amphitheater (with The Outlaws)
June 28th - Raleigh, NC: Red Hat Amphitheater (with The Outlaws)
July 12th - La Vista, NE: The Astro (with Dave Mason)
July 13th - Cedar Rapids, IA: McGrath Amphitheater (with The Outlaws)
July 19th - The Woodlands, TX: The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion (with Dave
Mason)
July 20th - Irving, TX: The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory (with Dave Mason)
July 25th - Camdenton, MO: Ozarks Amphitheater (with Dave Mason)
July 26th - Rogers, AR: Walmart AMP (with The Outlaws)
From Timmy ...
Paul and Marianne
The great drummer for The Shadows of Knight passed away last week.
Tough to beat that guy's drumming.
Illinois Music Archives | RIP Shadows of Knight drummer Tom Schiffour | Facebook
Clark Besch
Man, we’re only one month in … and there’s already a Who’s Who List of celebrities who have left us …
Beeb Birtles and David Briggs of The Little River Band have been awarded the Member of the Order of Australia Award. They join Glenn Shorrock and Graeham Goble of LRB, who were previously acknowledged this decade.
Chicago’s own Richard Marx is joining the judges table for this season’s Australian version of “The Voice.” (Of course by this I mean he'll have his own CHAIR!)
Also on the panel … Mel C of The Spice Girls, Ronan Keating and Kate Miller-Heidke, the only actual Australian on the panel.
Meanwhile, the legendary Tom Jones of the BRITISH version of “The Voice” has announced a North American Tour, kicking off his spring. Tom will turn 85 while out on the road in June … but this may be our last chance to see him … so I desperately want to go. Small snag … as of right now, there’s no Chicago date listed … so this may be a little trickier than I had hoped! (kk)
Tom’s itinerary so far:
April 17th – Niagara Falls, ON – Fallsview Casino Resort
April 18th – Ledyard, CT – Foxwoods Resort Casino
April 21st – Red Bank, NJ – Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre at Count Basie
Center
April 23rd – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
April 25th – Cherokee, NC – Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort
April 27th – Davie, FL – Hard Rock Live
April 29th – Daytona Beach, FL – Peabody Auditorium
May 4th – New Orleans, LA – Saenger Theatre
May 7th – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits at The Moody Theater
May 9th – Albuquerque, NM – Route 66 Casino Hotel
May 11th – Valley Center, CA – Harrah’s Resort Southern California
May 14th, 16th and 17th – Las Vegas, NV –
Encore at Wynn Las Vegas
May 19th – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Financial Theatre
May 21st – Costa Mesa, CA – Segerstrom Center for the Arts
May 23rd – Rancho Mirage, CA – Agua Caliente Casino Resort
Ringo seems to be pulling out all the stops to promote his new T-Bone Burnett-produced country album … and it seems to be working … it has already topped a couple of the specialty charts.
He appeared on Jimmy Kimmel’s show last week … and was quite entertaining. (You can view it for yourself below)
Clark Besch files this report:
Ringo was great on Kimmel last night. You can see it here:
Ringo Starr on Surprise Performance with Paul McCartney & He Clears Up Rumors About Himself
Apparently, Ringo's new country album is #1 on LP charts in UK. I could not find the proof tho. Pretty cool, tho.
Here's a story: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2025/01/23/ringo-starr-charts-the-first-no-1-album-of-his-solo-career/
Of course, he sang some country songs with the Beatles and his second ever solo LP was a country LP 55 years ago in 1970, too.
There's his great country duet with Buck Owens on Buck's 1963 hit Act Naturally from 1989 that is great: Buck Owens & Ringo Starr - Act Naturally
or Ringo with the Beatles doing it in 1965: The Beatles - Act Naturally
Clark
From David Salidor …
DOLENZ & BEGO
Celebrity-author Mark Bego met up with Micky Dolenz on the artist's SONGS AND STORES tour stop at The Fox Theatre in Tucson Friday night.
Bego co-authored Dolenz's book I’M A BELIEVER: MY LIFE OF MONKEES, MUSIC, AND MADNESS .
And here’s a piece on the fund-raising efforts Micky and others put together to help the LA fire victims last week …
Micky Dolenz performing at the "Show of Helping Hands" concert on Jan. 28, 2024
(Photo: Alex Kluft)
Two guys getting older on January 30th …
Happy 95th Birthday🎈🥳🎉🎂!!! to Gene Hackman! And Phil Collins 74.
And Happy Birthday 🎉🎂🥳🎈 to John "Johnny Rotten" Lydon on January 31st! He’s seen here at a David Bowie after party in Hollywood.
I told him I was going to England next week. I got the classic look from him with "You can have it man"!!! 😜
From Tom Cuddy … saluting Ron Onesti … saluting The Buckinghams!!!
Ron Onesti: The Buckinghams … 60 years and going strong!
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250130/sponsored/ron-onesti-the-buckinghams-60-years-and-going-strong/
And don’t forget The Bucks are being inducted into the Rockgodz Hall Of Fame on February 16th …
More information (and tickets) here: www.rockgodzhalloffame.com
>>>How do we get Donald Trump to pardon Pete Rose
so he can finally take his rightful place in Baseball’s Hall Of Fame?!?!
Uhhh, Kent? Trump was only able to attend ONE Major League Baseball game in his combined presidency.
The day he starts caring about ANY of the major sports, the first thing he will do is implement some embarrassing rule requiring everyone (even those from TV and radio covering the event) to LOUDLY SING the National Anthem before the event begins! (This despite the fact that some of their teams and many of their competitors aren't based in the U.S. ...)
He probably believed that not only should Rose have been banned from baseball, but should also have been thrown into prison right away!
Bob Frable
More on DJ Dale Wehba, from Clark Besh and Larry Neal …
This was in our local newspaper the other day.
Larry
Larry, that was a nice article! Thanks for sending along to me!
I had no idea he went on to CKLW and WMEX! I agree that his voice was VERY unique and just a great DJ voice. It WOULD be hard to not know who was behind that voice when you heard it. For my midwest friends I sent the sad news to, many responded about how influential Dale and KOMA was in the plains states in the 60's. Here below is Dale in 1953 high school and in 1954 on OKC's school station, KOKH-FM. Dale is third from left in upper left standing at the mic.
I wonder if the folks behind that cover ever got into trouble over it. There were LOTS of DJs and other music-related people on that cover, and of course, 18-year old Vicki Lawrence. She must have been p.o.'ed about that pic, as she wouldn't personally respond to my sending her a copy of the cover; her office responded, but she did not.
Mike Wolstein
