March 26th, 1965

60 YEARS AGO TODAY:

3/26/65 – Mick Jagger, Brian Jones and Bill Wyman all received electric shocks from a faulty microphone on stage during a Rolling Stones concert in Denmark. (Wyman was knocked unconscious for several minutes!)

March 25th, 1965

60 YEARS AGO TODAY:

3/25/65 – Eric Clapton abruptly quits The Yardbirds.   

Feeling that the band was becoming too commercialized (they had just released what would be their first hit single, “For Your Love”), he will join John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers to get back to his roots and true love of playing the blues.  

Before leaving, however, he will recommend Jeff Beck as his replacement … and The Yardbirds will enter Phase Two of their career featuring incredible lead guitarists.  (Beck will eventually be replaced by Jimmy Page, who will turn “The New Yardbirds” into Led Zeppelin in the late ‘60’s.)

Also on 3/25, now 25,000 strong, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s march arrives at Montgomery, Alabama’s state capitol.

Also on 3/25, Actress Sarah Jessica Parker is born

Things That Make You Go Hmmm ....

The other day I mentioned that I had just watched the Elvis film "Fun In Acapulco," which also starred Bond-Girl Bombshell Ursula Andress.  (I decided that I would watch ALL of Elvis' movies again to re-observe them with the benefit of 60 year 20/20 hindsight)

I know what you're thinking ...

Why would ANYONE punish themselves in that way???  Could there be any worse torture than to watch ALL 31 of Elvis' films?!?! 

It's just something I decided to do ... 

I've owned them all for years ... but there were a good number of them (the vast majority, in fact) that I had never seen ... and this PARTICULAR film piqued my interest when I learned recently that Elvis filmed all of HIS scenes after the bulk of the background scenes had already been filmed in Mexico using an "Elvis stand-in!"

(Things that make you go ... hmmm ...)

"Fun In Acapulco" was Elvis' 13th theatrically released film.  The timing couldn't have been more atrocious ...  

It opened in movie theaters the weekend after President Kennedy had been assassinated.  A few short weeks later, Beatlemania would hit The United States in a way we hadn't been affected by music since, well, Elvis came along in 1956!  (The Beatles, in fact, would see "Fun In Acapulco" at a drive-in movie theater in Miami when they were there to film their second appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show!")  

There couldn't have been a worse example showing how far Elvis' career and appeal had fallen ... here was "The King Of Rock And Roll" singing a bunch of lame songs backed by a couple of Mexican Mariachi Bands while The Beatles were generating screams and mass excitement in ways we'd never seen before.  The British Invasion was about to hit our shores and turn the music world on its ear.  (In all fairness, Elvis DID manage one hit record off the soundtrack ... "Bossa Nova Baby" made The Top Ten in all three trades before the movie even hit theaters.)

 

[The "Viva Mix" released in 2014 blows this original version away!  The idea was to make Elvis sound "contemporary" by remixing some of his best-known hits ... guess this one snuck in somehow, too ... but it's really a pretty cool version!]

 

As for the film itself, it's not one of his better efforts.  (In fact, his pint-sized costar Larry Domasin steals the show as Elvis' self-appointed manager.)  There's a great scene where his character Raoul pits two nightclub owners against each other to jack up Elvis' performance rate to about fifteen times what he was previously making, only to tell him that now that he secured him this big raise, his management share is 50%.  I'll betcha that even Colonel Tom Parker had to smile at that line!!! (And perhaps feel a bit inspired to aim a little higher!)

Elvis plays Mike Windgren, a former circus performer, traumatized by an accident that killed his trapeze partner.  He takes a job as a lifeguard at one of the hotels down in Mexico but shows a genuine fear of heights as a result of the guilt he's been carrying around since the accident.  (Although you'll see him dressed as a matador in some of the promotional shots, Elvis is actually romancing a FEMALE bull fighter, played by Elsa Cardenas ... we never actually get to see her in the bullfighters ring either ... but she spends most of the film competing for Elvis' attention with hotel social director Ursula Andress who, by all accounts, was in hot pursuit of Elvis the entire time they were filming in REAL life as well.)  Andress was in high profile after her role in the James Bond film, "Dr. No" ... but was already married to John Derek, who spent quite a bit of time on-set, keeping an eye on the hot couple.  Elvis' character ultimately overcomes his fears by making a death-defying dive off the mountains, winning both his confidence back ... and the girl.  (They get married at the end of the film.)

"Fun In Acapulco" reached #1 at the box office, grossing just over $3 million ... it was the highest grossing musical film of the year. 

So why did Elvis film HIS parts of the movie in Los Angeles while the rest of the cast and crew were south of the border filming the bulk of the movie?  And how did his "imposed" scenes look in the final cut of the film?

Well, it seems that Elvis had been declared "persona non grata" (as in "not welcome in Mexico") after two of his previous films ("King Creole" and "G.I. Blues") had caused riots at the Las Americas cinema in Mexico City.  They felt he projected a bad image for impressionable Mexican teenagers.

But there was a little more to it than that ...

According to Wikipedia, the ban actually started in 1957 when "Excelsior," Mexico's foremost newspaper, published an article by gossip columnist Federico de Leon that stated Presley had been interviewed while visiting Tijuana and allegedly said the he would "not care to go sing in Mexico, as he found it a distasteful country" and that he would prefer to kiss three African American women than a single Mexican woman.  (YIKES!!!)

That's some pretty damaging stuff ... 

Except he never said it ... 

In fact, he had never even been to Tijuana or done an interview with the Mexican press at all ... but the perceived snub caused Mexican teenagers to become physically violent during the showing of his films.  (100 people were jailed during the riots caused by "King Creole" alone!)  Soon, Presley's records were banned from radio airplay and publicly burnt in the El Zocalo Town Square.  His records were also banned from being sold in record shops.  (Knowing all of this, WHY on earth would Elvis agree to make a movie portraying Mexico and Acapulco in any kind of positive light at all???  If anything, his association with the city was a 50/50 proposition at best ... it would either spur travel and resort business ... or stop it all together!!!)

Decades later, it came to light that those false Presley quotes were the work of Ernesto Peralta Uruchurtu, a power politician, and the Regent of Mexico City.  Uruchurtu reportedly sent a blank check to Elvis' Los Angeles offices in early 1957 in return for Presley's appearance at the 15th birthday bash of the daughter of a powerful media mogul.  When proper terms could not be agreed upon between the parties concerned, the check was returned.  However, by this point, the mogul had already begun to boast publicly that Elvis would be appearing at his daughter's birthday party.  When it became clear that that was no longer going to happen, the story of Elvis' rebuff was planted in "Excelsior" and used as an excuse in order to explain why didn't come.  It was their own private revenge to attack Elvis' career. (Again ... knowing all of this ... WHY would he want to make a film helping to PROMOTE Mexico at this time in light of these events?!?!  What good will were they expecting to generate???)

As to the look of the film itself, there are a number of scenes that almost look like they were filmed for a Viewmaster ... there is a very definite 3-D look to them where Elvis is fully to the front of the scene and closest to the camera and everything else looks somewhat distant in the background ... but overall, it's really pretty seamless.  Elvis interacts with most of the cast throughout the film ... and there isn't anything obvious to tip viewers off that he was effectively "spliced in" after the fact in the editing process.  If anything, I'd say it has to rank as pretty sophisticated editing for its time.

The reviews weren't especially kind ... most agreed this film was "for Elvis fans only" ... and that the beautiful travelog scenery far outweighed anything Elvis and the others were doing onscreen.  (I'm not the only reviewer to think that Elvis' young costar Larry Domasin steals the show either!)

But the biggest hurdle was the timing of the release of the film.  Pop culture changed literally overnight with the arrival of The Beatles.  The gap between their generational appeal expanded significantly.

Yes, "Viva Las Vegas" was still to come ... but Elvis never really got the spotlight back until his 1968 Comeback Television Special. 

The Sunday Comments ( 03 - 23 - 25 )

>>>I don't know if you have heard or not, but Herb Alpert will soon be releasing a 60th Anniversary edition of the famed album, "Whipped Cream and Other Delights" ... The album itself will be pressed on green vinyl with the Whipped Cream girl herself on the picture disc.  (GJ Kubat)

>>>Now WHAT on earth would make you think that I might be interested in something like that?!?!?  (kk)

kk …

Do You Think -- In Honor Of The 60Th Anniversary --

That Maybe They Can Use Real Whipped Cream This Time?

FB

You should run that gorgeous album cover!

DIS

Yeah, I heard it was pretty hot!  (kk)

From Tom Cuddy …

Four Queens, One Stage: Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight and Stephanie Mills to Unite on Joint Tour

https://relix.com/news/detail/four-queens-one-stage-chaka-khan-patti-labelle-gladys-knight-and-stephanie-mills-to-unite-on-joint-tour/

What’s next for the Dick Biondi film. 

Any idea where it will be available to the public. 

Glen Fisher
Doo Wop Revival

I put your question to Pam Pulice, the woman who has worked so diligently for the past eleven years to get this film made and out there for music fans to enjoy.  (I know the original plan was to get it aired on PBS … and then available for home dvd release … but beyond that point, I really don’t know what the next steps will be.)

Here are her answers … ‘cause inquiring minds want to know!!!  (kk)

Hi Kent,

It’s great as always to hear from you.  Thanks so much for posting my great news about Dick’s movie. Can you believe, after 11 years, the film is DONE!  Here is some extra news that you can share exclusively for your readers. 

Bob Sirott has offered to host the film at WGN-TV if they choose to run it.  The new CEO at WGN has the film in his possession, and we are waiting to hear back. Bob is the ideal host for Biondi’s story. As you know, Bob is the guy who brought Dick back to Chicago and to our delight, Dick never left. Thank you, Bob! 

I’m also working with a Producer’s Rep who is an expert in distribution and the film festival circuit, Glen Reynolds from Circus Road Films in Studio City, CA. Once the film finds its distributor, it takes several months for it to air or stream, but things are working and we feel confident The VoiceThat Rocked America will be released in 2025. 

While the film is fully licensed, we continue to fundraise to cover expenses for E&O insurance, DVD replication, poster prints, distribution and deliverables. DVDs and posters are rewards for our crowdfunding donors, but we cannot produce those until we find a distributor and we have the funding. 

Special thanks to the folks at Donny G’s Ristorante in Elmwood Park and Vito D’Ambrosio from the Italian American Executives of Transportation (IAET) for hosting our Dinner & a Movie fundraiser this past Tuesday evening. The response was incredibly heartwarming. Rock and Roll Mayor Emeritus of Bolingbrook, Roger C. Claar, was on hand with his buddy, Angelo “Skip" Saviano, Mayor of Elmwood Park. I was grateful when Skip handed me a check.  We are still counting donations coming in and hope to gain some new official sponsors.

We are in talks for our next fundraiser in June, 2025, at the Lyric Theatre in Blue Island. Details soon to come.

For folks who want to know what’s next for the Dick Biondi film project, please visit our website: https://www.dickbiondifilm.com/ where you can watch our trailer, connect with our social media and youtube channel, send us a message, and sign up for our email newsletter. 

Kent, you know what a labor of love this project has been for me to honor the great Dick Biondi. What you don’t know is the impact it has had on me personally. Holy cow, talk about life changing!  Like Dick says in the film, Don’t be afraid to follow your dreams. The importance of living your dream cannot be overstated. It’s happening to me, and for everyone who has supported my vision, I humbly thank you.

Warmest regards,

Pamela Enzweiler-Pulice

Director of The Voice That Rocked America

Website for Dick Biondi Film

Larry Tamblyn, a founding member of The Standells, passed away on Friday (3/21)  No cause of death was given.  He was 82.

The Standells hit pay dirt in 1966 with their classic recording of "Dirty Water."  It is garage band music of the highest caliber and made The Top Ten in both Record World (#7) and Cash Box (#8), falling just short in Billboard, where it peaked at #11.  (It was a #3 smash here in Chicago.)

You still hear it at Boston Red Sox baseball games, a tradition kicked of in 1998 ... reportedly, thanks to their song, The Charles River was finally cleaned up! ... and it ranked #757 on our list of THE TOP 3333 MOST ESSENTIAL CLASSIC ROCK SONGS OF ALL TIME.  The Standells placed at #3 in our Forgotten Hits Readers Poll naming THE TOP 50 GARAGE BANDS OF ALL TIME. (You can view the complete list here:  https://fhgaragebands.blogspot.com/)  

And who can forget their appearance on "The Munsters?!?!?" 

In theory, they're about the least likely "garage band" you could imagine ... 

Their lead vocalist of the band was Dick Dodd, who previously starred on Walt Disney's "Mickey Mouse Club!!!" ...

And the band was produced by Ed Cobb of the squeaky-clean Four Preps!!!

Yet that opening guitar riff just drew you in ... and a Garage Band Classic was born. (kk)

Also passing away on Friday was boxing great George Foreman.

The Olympic Gold Medalist was deemed unbeatable ... a mountain of a man ... and during his reign as Heavyweight Champion of the World, Foreman took on all challengers ... including a couple of explosive knock-outs of former champ Joe Frazier as well as a memorable bout with Ken Norton ...

But it was Muhammad Ali's "Rope-A-Dope" technique that put Foreman to the mat when Ali simply ran the champion out of gas.  (It also allowed Ali to reclaim the heavyweight title.)

In all, Foreman amassed a career record of 76-5, 68 of those wins coming by way of a knock-out.  (Several of those bouts came well after his boxing prowess had expired.)  I had the opportunity to watch him train at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas many, many years ago ... he was massive!  He was able to win his title back at the age of 45 against Michael Moorer.

In addition to his boxing skills, Foreman was a real personable talk show guest ... and will always be remembered for plugging his Foreman Grill. (Well, that and naming ALL five of his sons George!)  I mean, who didn't own of these?!?! 

Thanks for some great boxing memories, big guy!  (kk)

An interesting couple of things came out with all the research on 'The Winter Dance Party Tour, 1959.'

One of the big things was regarding the plane crash on February 3, 1959, that killed Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper.

a). It seemed that Buddy Holly had an aggressive passion for wanting to be the one to fly the plane, when there was an opportunity. 

b). Buddy Holly's pals from Texas and band mates knew of Buddy's passion and wanted nothing to do with being in a plane with him.

c). That night, February 3, 1959, his pals {Tommy Allsup and Waylon Jennings} from Texas didn't want to be in a plane or on the plane with Buddy, so they found other band mates, that would.

d). That night, February 3, 1959, after being told / assigned to sit in the back seat by the owner of the plane, Buddy made sure that he ended up in the front seat next to the Pilot.

e). From that point on, there was never any further communication from inside the airplane that night as they taxied, departed, and flew back over the Mason City airport to the Northwest. 

{It should be noted that Buddy Holly's gun was found on the frozen farm field. Ritchie Valens didn't have a gun, the Big Bopper didn't have a gun, and certainly not the Pilot}

'The Winter Dance Party Tour - 1959' 

Nashville Screenplay Competition - 2025

Writers: L J Coon / Donna L Cleaves 

{169 pages  / 42,266 words and detailed historic photos}  

Something more sinister took place in that airplane

Buddy Holly was never meant to have been seated in the front seat of the airplane. Buddy Holly managed to switch places with The Big Bopper. Buddy Holly had his own needs, his reasons to “control” as to why he insisted on swapping seats from the back into the front of the airplane that night.

That night, February 3, 1959, Tommy Allsup and Waylon Jennings wanted nothing to do with getting in another airplane with their Texas pal and tour mate, Buddy Holly.

Allsup and Jennings needed to recruit someone, any one of the other tour members that would fly with Buddy Holly. They found Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper.

Show #9 on this tour:

18-year old Robert Zimmerman {Bob Dylan} was right in the front row during Show #9 (of the scheduled 24 shows) on 'The Winter Dance Party Tour – 1959.'

Show #9 was in Duluth, MN, at The Duluth Armory (SATURDAY JANUARY 31, 1959) 8:00 pm to 12 am.  Of course “Bob Dylan” was 'Robert Zimmerman' at that time in his life!

L J 

L J Coon 

LJ has devoted YEARS to researching this crash … and this is new information he has come up with – do we wanted us to share it with the group.  (kk)

We covered the history of the song “Get Together” a long time ago in Forgotten Hits, but after the passing of Jesse Colin Young last week, it bears repeating …

And Best Classic Bands does a fine job of doing so here:

https://bestclassicbands.com/youngbloods-get-together-release-6-21-17/

Young didn’t write this song … and the story of who did … and who ended up reaping the benefits from it … is quite an interesting one.  (kk)

Happy Birthday 🎈🎂! to Ursula Andress and Bruce Willis. Ursula was at the trendy Drai's and Bruce was in Westwood Village. He was helping Calif. Gov. Gray Davis to get young folks out to vote. 

Jim Roup

Yippee Ki Yay, Bruce!

I just watched Ursula Andress in the Elvis movie “Fun In Acapulco” the other day.  (You know Elvis had a bevy of beauties surrounding him in all of his films, not unlike James Bond … Ursula managed to appear with BOTH ‘60’s sex symbols!)  kk

You (or somebody) had that last (colour) photo from the British Motown tour before ... Mr. Gordy is smack in the middle behind Smokey. 

Bob Frable

1965 was the first Motown Tour … but that’s not to say that this particular color photo came from that tour. (I can’t even imagine that Berry Gordy would have missed the chance to see his stars shine brightly on British soil!  You can clearly see him front and center in that first black and white photo as well.) There was also talk going around at the time about possibly making some recordings while they were there … Berry wanted to see the famous Abbey Road Studios up close and personal!  A far cry from the Motown studio, I’m sure!

When we do these random photo searches for our calendar series, we’re often at the mercy of how they’re identified online … we fact-check what we can but, as you know, the facts have become quite scrambled in the sixty years since.  My main goal is to have them be at least representative of the era … and the subject matter at hand.  There are times when we just have to use what’s available to us to best illustrate the times.  (kk)

Here’s a Doughboy follow-up from Chuck Buell ...

You are not alone when it comes to a traumatizing experience of opening a handy, pressurized tube of Dinner Biscuits!

Since I wrote about the Pillsbury Dough Boy in Forgotten Hits the other day, a few have shared with me their uncomfortable, shuddering feeling they get while waiting for that split second when a tube of biscuits suddenly pops open! It's been described as an expected/unexpected sharp feeling that occurs from not knowing exactly when that will happen!

Neither science nor the medical community have a word for this precise condition. It's best been commonly referred to as "CBA" or "Canned Biscuit Anxiety!"

The only suggestion I have that might provide you with some possible "Biscuit Tube Opening" relief may be singing the brief, attached musical refrain when waiting for when one of those specialized tubes of biscuits decides to "POP" open!

Then, take two hot biscuits tonight with your personally-desired amount of butter and, maybe some jam or jelly, and call me in the morning!  Good luck!

CB ( which stands for "Canned-Biscuit Boy!" )

Also from Chuck … (can we say he's on a roll???)

And the Forgotten Hits Award this week for "Best Line That Nails It So Perfectly, Concisely and Succinctly" for her phrase, "Drop-kicked us into puberty" goes to . . . . .

Shelley J Sweet-Tufano!!

Shelly couldn't be with us today because of the possibility that winning might bring back stressful, pre-adolescent memories like when a clump of her hair just wouldn't behave and yelling,

"I Look Terrible!  My Life is Over!!"

CB ( which, nevertheless, stands for "Congratulations Boy!" )

One more ...

Hey, Kent!

 

Remember when we were kids and we used to try and swing as high as we could, then jump from the swing as far as we could?!

I came across this video that reminded me of those great days.

Kinda.

It was a bit long so I edited it down a bit, added some fun music and, well, the attached is . . . ah . . . attached for you!

Ah, the memories!

CB ( which stands for "Catastrophe-Waiting-To-Happen!" Boy!" )

[DO NOT ATTEMPT AT HOME!!!]

And then, finally, one more from Chuck saluting the Forgotten Hits Trio of he, she and me ... wait a minute ... which one am I??? 

How THAT for a Little Boost to Get Your Weekend Going?!

It’s An Amazing Interlude rumored to have been inspired by a little number we just happened to see, put on by Forgotten Hitters Kent Kotal, Shelly Sweet-Tufano, and Chuck Buell!

Amazing!

CB!

Janet Jackson has pulled out of her scheduled appearance at The Cincinnati Music Festival due to “personal matters.”  Promoters of the three day fest are scrambling to find her replacement.

Jackson is currently performing in Las Vegas as part of her residency there thru the end of May.

In a statement to her fans, Ms. Jackson said:

To all my Cincinnati Music Festival fans … I’m so sorry that I won’t be able to be with you all in July.  Some personal matters have come up and I am unable to attend. I look forward to seeing you all soon!”

Jackson headlined this same event in 2022 and was scheduled to perform on July 26^th.  (kk)

kk ...

Just Finished Listening To Cousin Brucie Interviewing Lou Christie. 

Lou Grew Up On A Farm In Pennsylvania.

The First Song He Ever Wrote Was Also His First Hit:  "THE GYPSY CRIED."

Lou Just Recorded The 1940's Classic  "DREAM." 

No More Concerts For Lou Christie.

Like So Many Others, It's The Traveling.

His Book, "LIGHTNING STRIKES," Is Just About Finished.

He Said He's Including Pictures Of His Fans That He Has Collected Over The Years.

That's Something Different.

FB

I'm sorry to hear about Lou not doing any more live performances ... I saw him in concert a few years ago and he was still in fine voice ... a very talented artist.  (I tried to get him considered for The Happy Together Tour ... he would have made the PERFECT candidate ... go out there and sing four or five of your hits, backed by a killer "house band" ... and it would have given them a chance to finally shake up their line-up a little bit instead of presenting the same group of artists year after year after year ... a win/win for everybody concerned. But it was evidently an agency thing ... all of the artists performing on The Happy Together work thru Paradise Booking Agency ... and Lou does not ... so it never had a chance of happening.  Too bad ... it would have made for a GREAT show.  (kk)

Last Thursday, March 20^th, marked the five year anniversary of the passing of Kenny Rogers.

Our tribute series to Kenny is another one that we have recently resurrected and updated …

You can find it here:  https://fhkennyrogers.blogspot.com/

And one more new posting ...

For years after we published The Top 200 #1 Records of The Beatle Years we were asked by readers to put together a similar list spotlighting the Top 200 Biggest #1 Records of the '70's.

It's a unique perspective ... because all of the point are tabulated based on the TOTAL number of weeks each record spent at #1 in all three major trade publications.  (Billboard, Cash Box and Record World)

Since we've slowly been revamping everything out there, we decided to finally tackle this project, too ...

And I am happy to say that it was just completed (and the winner won by a landslide ... bigger than ANY other record of the rock era to that point in time, 1955 - 1979 ... 25 Years of Rock History.)

[Now watch ... the NEXT project you'll all want to see is a ranking of ALL of the #1 Records for that 25 Year Period ... hey, you know what ... I'd kinda like to see that list myself!!!  lol]

Anyway, for now you can view our latest effort ...

THE TOP 200 #1 HITS OF THE '70's 

Right here:  https://fhtop200no170s.blogspot.com/

 

60 YEARS AGO TODAY:

3/23/65 - Gemini 3 is launched.  It is the first US two-man space flight (Astronauts Grissom & Young)