Thursday This And That

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame has just announced a brand new Paul McCartney and Wings exhibit, opening May 15th. 

It's the Museum's first-ever salute to Wings and the creative force they were in the '70's.  (ALL kinds of Wings events and special releases going on lately!)

Their promo states that the exhibit will be comprised of the most extensive collection of items from McCartney’s personal archives to be made accessible to the public as well as donations from band members and associates, “Paul McCartney and Wings" will trace the arc of Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles reinvention – from his self-titled 1970 debut album through the formation of Wings to the band’s dissolution in 1981. 

The exhibition will feature numerous never-before-displayed artifacts, including instruments played in Wings’ recording sessions and in concert performances, clothing worn by the band, handwritten lyrics, original artwork, tour memorabilia, and previously unseen photography – presented within an immersive experience incorporating archival video, audio and images. "Paul McCartney and Wings" is made possible, in part, by support from Raymond James. 

Get the complete scoop here:

https://rockhall.com/exhibitions/paul-mccartney-and-wings/

And don't forget to watch the new Paul McCartney documentary on Prime Video, "Man On The Run," starting February 26th!  (kk) 

We told you that Tuesday marked the 60th Anniversary of when The Beach Boys began creating their 1966 masterpiece, "Good Vibrations."

Here's a piece we found in The Independent ...

https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/features/good-vibrations-beach-boys-mike-love-interview-b2921040.html?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us 

Best Classic Bands covered it, too ...

https://bestclassicbands.com/good-vibrations-recording-sessions-2-17-1666/ 

Harvey Kubernik sent us this clip of an interview Bobby Hart did when his book came out ten years ago ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PttKvNXX-Q8&t=339s 

And how about this, from Timmy ... 

Did anybody really buy these things?!?!?

60 YEARS AGO TODAY:

2/19/66 – Actress Justine Bateman is born

 

Some of Your Mid-Week Comments

re:  CB’s Way Back 1962

You old softy! I'm not the only romantic around here.

Shelley

Chuck’s response:

"Dear, Casey,  Is it too late to have you ask Shelley if she'd be my long distance Valentine for this year?  Signed, Curious Boy in Colorado."

Kent,

Thanks to you and CB for posting KOMA's  "KISSING TONE."  I always played that once when I was doing my weekly oldies Wax Museum on Sunday nights and when I could get away with it, I played it on early Saturday morning when I was doing my Koma Kountdown show. One final thing about the KOMA "KISSING TONE" … at the end of the jingle were the words, "MIGHTY PRETTY, IN OKLAHOMA CITY."  Also, the posting of Bobby Vinton's and Ray Charles' songs were fantastic. That Ray Charles song (done earlier by Don Gibson) was one of those songs that were number 1 here in the OKC area for many weeks. Thanks again.

Larry

Loved Chuck Buell's "Kissin Phone" comments.  We heard that as kids all the time, too.  

As to Monkees, unfortunately, I remember seeing the NEW MONKEES on a 1988 New Years Rose Bowl Parade float faking their first 45.  I bought it with pic sleeve and LIKED it, despite thinking the show would not work in 1988.  It had some cool nah nah nahs and catchy music along lines of That Thing You Do, so I was surprised when it and the TV show evaporated.

You can see the sleeve and video here: https://www.45cat.com/record/728188

Clark Besch

I never bought into the whole “New Monkees” thing – never even gave it a second thought – there was NO way they could just pick four new random guys to replace the group … who clearly endured a 60+ year run “just the way they were.”

The Monkees (Micky, Davy, Mike and Peter) are frozen in time … they’ve never aged … and at least half a dozen new generations have discovered them and their music in the six decades since the show first went on the air.

I mentioned the other day their string of five #1 Singles and five #1 Albums in a two year run … think about all that they did and accomplished during that two year period …

In addition to recording FIVE new LPs worth of material, they filmed 58 episodes of their TV show … did numerous tours and live shows … and in ’68 after the television series was cancelled made their first full length motion picture!  All this while fitting in non-stop newspaper, magazine, radio and television interviews and posing for countless photo ops with fans and for their publicity department.  Where on earth they got the stamina to live this life style without a break for two straight years (after being virtual unknowns prior to that first episode airing) is unheard of.  (Ok, well we know where they got SOME of that energy from … but still!!!)  And to go out and meet other new artists (Jimi Hendrix among them) and give them a shot in the arm … travel to England to meet The Beatles (and listen to early tracks from “Sgt. Pepper”) … film at least a dozen professionally shot music videos (in addition to their usual episode romp scene) … and maintain a level of recording that allowed them to achieve those five #1’s (with “Pleasant Valley Sunday” just missing by peaking only at #2) … it boggles the mind.

Now consider that if the Billboard Hot 100 was calculated then as it is now, how many MORE Top 20  Hits might they have had?  Nearly all their album tracks played as often as their singles … and particular cuts like “I Wanna Be Free,” “She” (a sure-fire #1 Hit that likely would have cut into “I’m A Believer”’s reign),  “Look Out, Here Comes Tomorrow,” the original TV version of “Valleri” … not to mention “Theme from ‘The Monkees,’” “Saturday’s Child,” “Mary Mary,” “Your Auntie Grizelda,” “Sometime In The Morning,” “Forget That Girl,” “You Just May Be The One,” “Shades Of Gray,” “For Pete’s Sake,” “No Time,” “Randy Scouse Git,” “She Hangs Out,” “Cuddly Toy,” “What Am I Doing Hangin’ ‘Round” and at least half a dozen others all would have had an impact on the charts … The Monkees may have had as many as THIRTY chart hits those first two years had today’s methodology been applied back then!  (Sorry, I know it sounds like I’m gushing … but the impact they had at the time cannot be overstated, especially since us “early teens” could no longer relate to the heady music The Beatles were now making.)  kk

And Micky's still rockin' ... to rave reviews, sixty years later!

https://fanboynation.com/micky-dolenz-doesnt-monkee-around-at-cerritos-center-review/

Thanks for the excellent Good Vibrations post, Kent!

Phil

Just announced … Santana with The Doobie Brothers, pairing up for a summer tour that kicks off right here in Chicago on June 13^th!!!  That’s one hell of a line-up!  (kk)

SANTANA & THE DOOBIE BROTHERS 2026 TOUR DATES:
Saturday, June 13th – Tinley Park, IL – Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
Monday, June 15th – Grand Rapids, MI – Acrisure Amphitheater
Wednesday, June 17th – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
Thursday, June 18th – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
Saturday, June 20th – Maryland Heights, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheater
Sunday, June 21st – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
Wednesday, June 24th – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
Friday, June 26th – Hershey, PA – Hersheypark Stadium
Saturday, June 27th – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
Monday, June 29th – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
Wednesday, July 1st – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Thursday, July 2nd – Wantagh, NY – Northwell at Jones Beach Theater
Saturday, July 4th – Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
Sunday, July 5th – Toronto, ON – RBC Amphitheatre
Wednesday, July 8th – Charlotte, NC – Truliant Amphitheater
Thursda, July 9th – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
Thursday, August 6th – Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre
Saturday, August 8th – Wheatland, CA – Toyota Amphitheatre
Sunday, August 9th – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre
Tuesday, August 11th – Chula Vista, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
Thursday, August 13th – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl
Friday, August 14th – Phoenix, AZ – Mortgage Matchup Center
Sunday, August 16th – El Paso, TX – UTEP Don Haskins Center
Tuesday, August 18th – Austin, TX – Moody Center
Friday, August 21st – The Woodlands, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Saturday, August 22nd – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
Wednesday, August 26th – Kansas City, MO – Morton Amphitheater
Thursday, August 27th – Shakopee, MN – Mystic Lake Amphitheater

Tom Cuddy sent me this trip down memory lane celebrating what was then Chicago’s 35^th Anniversary …  https://youtu.be/HxtZcKv3H9s

Tom also tells us about the passing of songwriter Billy Steinberg, responsible for the hits “Like A Virgin,” “Eternal Flame” and “True Colors.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/DU1a-X2kmth/?igsh=MWY4Zno2eTZsZjYwYQ==

Monkees TV trivia from TV Guide February 5th, 1966 … by the way, Charlie O'Donnell hosted Top Forty live!

The great actor Robert Duvall passed away at 95! Seen here in a casual mood and dressed up at a movie premiere on the red carpet at the director's Guild. Watched Robert dancing with Sandra Bullock. They were good 👍! 

 

Jim Roup

February 17, 1966

60 YEARS AGO TODAY:

2/17/66 – Brian Wilson begins recording The Beach Boys’ hit “Good Vibrations”

It will take several months and several different studios before Brian is satisfied with the results … at the time, it was the most expensive recording session ever for a single.

Brian first picked up on the idea of “vibrations” after a childhood conversation with his mother, who told him that dogs pick up vibrations as to whether or not people are afraid of them or not.  The idea stuck (and, quite frankly, kinda freaked him out!!!) … and then during one of his many drug-infused sessions, he came up with the idea of a song about sending out “Good Vibrations.”

Mike Love knocked out the lyrics in no time … but Brian felt the song had to be perfect … so he worked on it for MONTHS, recording it in various segments at different studios … and then re-recording most of those segments because they just didn’t sound right when he listened back to them again.  This happened time and time again … to the point that nobody even knew where they were with the track anymore.

Those sessions first kicked off on February 17^th, 1966 … 60 YEARS AGO TODAY … and didn’t finish up until The Beach Boys laid down their final vocals on September 21^st, some seven months later!  When all was said and done, Brian had over 90 hours of tape to sort thru to assemble the “perfect mix.”

Love it or hate it, it was considered revolutionary at the time … there had never been anything else quite like it … and the ‘60’s were a very creative and competitive time.  Brian felt that each new Beach Boys album had to be better and more innovative than the last.  He also looked to The Beatles as his greatest source of inspiration … and his fiercest competitors.  When The Beatles released “Rubber Soul,” Brian was inspired to create “Pet Sounds,” still regarded as one of the greatest recordings of all time.

But he held “Good Vibrations” back … it wasn’t finished … it just wasn’t “perfect” yet.

Then The Beatles did “Revolver” and raised the stakes even higher.  (Paul McCartney was blown away by “Pet Sounds” … and knew The Beatles had to top it.  Thus, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” was born.)

And on and on it went … until Brian just completely burned out and withdrew from the scene.  A combination of the drugs … and the self-imposed pressure … proved to be too much … so he decided to just lay in bed for a few years instead.

“Good Vibrations” topped all three of the major music trades … but never at the same time.  As such, it never reached #1 on our own Super Charts … which hardly seems fair for a certified #1 Hit.  But The Super Charts report the cumulative result of all three major trades on a weekly basis … and “Good Vibrations” never had enough points in a single week to come out on top.  As Randy Price told me, it would have been unfair to deny the record that did, just to make things right on paper so that “Good Vibrations” could earn a #1 showing here, too.  (The record spent one week at #1 in each of the trades.  It reached the top first in Cash Box on their chart dated 11/19; it then went to #1 in Record World the following week, 11/26 … but it didn’t hit #1 in Billboard until 12/10, two weeks after that … so it never had the consistent momentum to earn a #1 Super Chart showing, despite topping all three of the major trades.)