"Hanky Panky" and "Wild Thing," both being played constantly and still never being able to get enough of these two great tracks.
(Growing up in Chicago with TWO major Top 40 stations was living the dream for a 12 year old kid who loved popular music ... as soon as one station would play one of these, you knew you could switch over to the OTHER station ... and still probably hear it again within the next 20 minutes!!!)
"Dirty Water," "The Pied Piper," "Along Comes Mary," "Li'l Red Riding Hood," "Hungry," "I Saw Her Again," "Sweet Pea" ...
These were all Top 20 Tunes that we just couldn't get enough of!
And climbing the ranks you had Elvis and The Rolling Stones ... Bob Dylan, The Yardbirds and Dionne Warwick ...
Bobby Hebb's "Sunny" was all over the airwaves (and up 22 places on this week's Super Chart) ...
And The Lovin' Spoonful had the top debut with EVERYBODY'S all-time favorite summer song ... "Summer In The City!" (It's new at #46!)
And how about The Happenings' treatment of "See You In September," up 38 notches to #48! (And look ... there's Manfred Mann's "Pretty Flamingo" right behind it at #50!)
And Chicago's very own Ides Of March are making strides up the national chart, too! (And these guys are still in High School!!!)
"You Wouldn't Listen" (one of my all-time faves) climbs from #63 to #53 in its fifth week on the chart.
I always liked Tommy McLain's version of "Sweet Dreams," too. It moves from #69 to #55. (Tommy was one of the very first interviews I ever did for Forgotten Hits some 25 years ago!)
And lastly, a nod to our FH Buddy Brian Hyland, who is back on the chart with "The Joker Went Wild." It debuts at #78 this week.
60 YEARS AGO TODAY:
The Newlywed Game (with host Bob Eubanks) premiers on ABC
Despite considerable optimism by her medical team, Bonnie Tyler
has died.
Tyler first went into hospital back in May for emergency,
intestinal surgery.Complications
required doctors to place her in a self-induced coma in order to complete the
surgery, after which time she suffered cardiac arrest.Although she did wake up from the coma, she
had been incapacitated ever since, remaining in intensive care for the duration
of her hospital stay.
Bonnie scored big twice on the charts, first with her #3
smash “It’s A Heartache” in 1978 and then again with her worldwide #1 Hit “Total
Eclipse Of The Heart” in 1983.She had
been scheduled to go out on tour when the health problems first occurred and
doctor updates throughout her ordeal seemed to imply confidence that she would
pull through this and make a full recovery.Sadly, this did not happen.Tyler
was 75.(kk)
It's A Heartache ... Bonnie Tyler didn't make it ...
Here's a look back at her career from The Second Disc ...
OK, I’ve officially lost count as to the number of times The
Eagles have extended their residency at The Sphere in Las Vegas …
But they just did it again, adding four more shows in
December …
Friday, December 4th, Saturday, December 5th, Friday, December 11th and Saturday, December 12th
SHOULD wrap up the year for them … but with THESE guys, you just never really
know for sure.(This will bring their
Sphere residency to 68 total shows … and counting ... unless, of course, you
happen to believe that these final four shows will wrap things up.)
Despite ALL these extensions, we have yet to make it out
there to see their show.(While we were
able to catch “The Wizard Of Oz” at The Sphere late last year, we would have
LOVED to have seen The Eagles as well as The Backstreet Boys do their thing in
that amazing theater.)
Supposedly, an Eagles video of their performance is still on
the horizon … but we haven’t heard much more about that since Don Henley last
told us that “this is probably it” for the band this year.Their long goodbye tour has played a few
cities in 2026 … but for the most part, if you wanted to see The Eagles this
year you had to go to them … because they weren’t likely coming to you, despite
all the original hype about their farewell tour around the globe.(kk)
Meanwhile, Elton John will “unretire” to perform two shows
in Mexico City on October 2nd and 3rd, thus completing
(again) his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour.”(Thanks to health issues of his own and the pandemic, it took five years
for Elton to complete his goodbye tour, which ended just about three years ago.
But John wanted to make up the Mexico City dates cancelled
by the pandemic a few years back.These
will represent his first shows there since 2012, which came twenty years after
his FIRST appearances there in 1992.
In a statement made announcing these concerts, Elton said: “Mexico
City has always held a special place in my heart. I was truly disappointed that
the pandemic kept me from touring Latin America during my Farewell tour, which
makes this return especially meaningful. I’m thrilled to finally share this
very special moment with my fans after all these years.”
There has also been stories this past week of an Elton John
“avatar” show … similar to the ABBA shows that have been selling out in London
now for years … premiering at the brand new Hard Rock Café and Casino in Las
Vegas once its been completed.(kk)
And Lou Gramm, former lead singer for Foreigner, is announcing HIS retirement again ... this despite plans announced just a few weeks ago about him appearing as part of Foreigner's farwell / anniversary shows featuring three generations of lead singers!
>>>Regarding your July 1st, 1966, WLS survey, at
number 16 is "Race With the Wind." Now there's a song you don't
hear every day.(Dave)
I played "Race With The
Wind" on my most-recent Randy on the Radio program on Top Shelf Oldies: https://www.mixcloud.com/randypny/. (I've played other Robbs songs on previous shows as
well.)
– Randy Price
I’m still not quite sure why these guys didn’t click more
nationally … they certainly released some commercial-sounding music, very much
of the day … and were all over the fanzines (and on television, thanks to
“Where The Action Is”) … you’d think with that built-in fan base, a couple of
these would have made The National Top 40.(kk)
Todd Rundgren has added several new west coast dates to his
“Damned If I Do” tour (which opened here in June with shows at both the Arcada and the Des Plaines
Theatres)
Here’s where you can see him in October and November …
October 21, 2026 – San Francisco, CA – Castro Theater
October 22, 2026 – Santa Cruz, CA – Rio Theater
October 24, 2026 – Sacramento, CA – Quarry Park Amphitheater
October 25, 2026 – Oxnard, CA – Oxnard PAC
October 27, 2026 – San Diego, CA – The Sound
October 29, 2026 – Temecula, CA – Rhythm On The Vine
October 30, 2026 – Newport Beach, CA – Back Bay Amphitheatre at the Hyatt
Regency
November 2, 2026 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern
November 4, 2026 – Tucson, AZ – La Rosa
November 6, 2026 – Albuquerque, NM – Kimo
November 7, 2026 – El Paso, TX – Plaza Theatre
November 9, 2026 – Colorado Springs, CO – Pikes Peak Center
November 10, 2026 – Denver, CO – Paramount Theatre
November 12, 2026 – Phoenix, AZ – Celebrity Theatre
November 13, 2026 – Las Vegas, NV – ZOUK
November 15, 2026 – Boise, ID – Egyptian Theatre
November 16, 2026 – Spokane, WA – Bing Crosby Theater
November 18, 2026 – Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre
November 19, 2026 – Portland, OR – Aladdin Theater
November 21, 2026 – Salt Lake City, UT – Capitol Theatre
>>>If you happen to attend any of these events,
drop us a line with your review!!!(kk)
My daughter just bought presale
tickets for us to see Ringo in CT.
Hey! Great idea! I'll write a
review.
Shelley the smart aleck
From Tom Cuddy …
Bon Jovi opening night at Madison
Square Garden
Freddy Cannon in a still from
the 1965 movie “Village of the Giants”
Kent:
I know you’ve had a chance to
meet and get to know Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon over the years and I first met
him through a radio promotion back in the early 80s when I was programming WPRO
& PRO-FM in Providence.
Freddy and I were both born in
Boston and we hit it off immediately and have remained close friends ever
since.
Freddy is now 89 and living out
side of LA. He’s been fighting some stubborn medical challenges recently
as he’s been in and out of the hospital. This has been complicated by him
losing the love of his life, Jeannette, who passed away not long ago.
They had been boyfriend and girlfriend in high school, got married, and raised
a family.
What keeps Freddy’s heart
ticking as he approaches 90 years old? His love of rock and roll.
He loves writing it and performing it. And although his health won’t
allow him to travel for concerts any longer, he still finds the energy to write
songs and go into a studio with his Producer and musicians to record.
His most recent release is
currently a hit in the U.K. “All She Wants To Do is Dance” is a Freddy
original and this week it jumped from #25 to # 20 on the Heritage Radio Charts.
The Masssachusetts born rocker is pinching him that is new release is sharing
the same chart as new releases from the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, and
Shania Twain.
The new tune is being featured
in a regular rotation on Sirius XM’s 60s channel. Freddy wrote and sang jock
jingles for the on-air staff of the 60s channel, that can be hard leading into
his current hit.
He also sang a jingle a few
weeks ago for NYC DJ legend Cousin Brucie Morrow heard Saturday nights on WABC
Radio. Brucie will interview Freddy about his latest creation this
Saturday at 7pm in a live phone call.
Another event that is putting a
smile on Freddy’s face:
This Saturday (tomorrow night) Me-TV’s
Svengoolie will be airing the movie that Freddy performs in. It’s the 1965
Sci-Fi comedy “Village of the Giants,” featuring Tommy Kirk, Beau Bridges,
Johnny Crawford and Ron Howard. It starts at 8pm, east coast time.
Svengoolie will also be playing some music videos that Freddy has sung in for
his favorite horror show host.
Tom Cuddy
New York, NY
Kent,
Since today's FH stressed the
telephone and CB's Minute Medley reminded me of a few things
immediately, I had to write in.
First, did you know that the late fifties / early sixties group
the Fleetwoods took their name from a telephone exchange? Take the
phone numbers Beechwood 4-5789 and 634-5789 for example. Did
you ever wonder who or what you would get if you dialed those numbers,
minus the area code at the time?
How about KISSIN' ON THE PHONE by
Paul Anka?
And finally I don't know if you are familiar with this
record or not, but in 1961, on Capitol Records, singer Robin Clark had a Top 10
record here in the OKC area with DADDY DADDY (GOT TO GET A PHONE IN MY ROOM)
Larry
Although I wasn't familiar with it, that Robin Clark record "bubbled under" on all three national charts, rising the highest in Music Vendor (#111) where it charted for three weeks. Billboard listed it for one week only at #120 and Cash Box gave it a two week shot, never climbing any higher that #121.
I did find this entertaining video on YouTube however! (kk)
It's finally published! Radio Music Surveys
1970-1975 is the best yet in the series, focusing on a fascinating five year music span of singer-songwriters, FM rock, and the move to Disco.
169 surveys with brief station backgrounds and stories of songs on each
page. Take a look inside, at Amazon, search term Radio Music Surveys.
Carl Mann
I've been updating copies of my own survey collection of late.
If anybody on the list has original, good quality copies of these WCFL charts, please let me know. (I also have a number of surveys to sell, including some signed by the original jocks)
Time for a Quick Check into The Chuck Buell Historic Way Back Machine ...
Where today we take a look back at
some Telephone History!
The Buell Bell Telephone
Company was founded on this day of July 9 in 1877, when it installed the
first public telephone lines from Boston to Sommerville, Massachusetts.
About a year earlier, on March
10, 1876, the first words ever spoken on a telephone were spoken by Alexander
Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, when he made the first call to his
assistant, Thomas Watson.
Moments after they hung up, Bell
received a call notifying him that his car’s warranty had expired!
Soon after, Watson got a call
from someone about new siding for his house!
Later that week, Bell was the
first person to experience the joy of finding a dime in a pay telephone's coin
return!
Shortly after, Watson becomes
the first person to gain satisfaction of slamming a phone down following
the 100th call about siding for his house!
But little did either know their
phone invention would lead kids of the Forgotten Hits Generation
getting some perverse joy out of making annoying Prank Phone Calls!
And like a telephone’s Rotary
Dial, what goes around comes around. So now today, we same kids, who are
now grown up, constantly receive our share of annoying spam
Calls!
And with that, here’s your
“Chuck Buell Telephone Minute Medley!
CB ( which stands for
“Call-Collect Boy!” )
60 YEARS AGO TODAY:
7/9/66 – Rod Allen of The Fortunes has to be hospitalized
after being dragged off the stage by the audience at a concert in Lincoln,
Nebraska
The long-awaited Guess Who reunion tour, starring Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings, rolled into Chicago last Tuesday Night (June 30th) at The Huntington Bank Pavilion on Northerly Island.
This was our first time visiting this venue (and it will likely remain our last) ... the hassle of getting to, from and around this area ... not to mention the additional expense of doing so ... just doesn't make the overall experience worth it. The theater itself is quite large and offered excellent sound ... but I guess we'll just have to find someplace else to buy our $8 bottles of water in the future!
To complicate matters even further, Chicago has been going through a relentless heatwave. The heat index at showtime was 105 degrees ... but I do have to admit that being in such proximity to the lake did provide a nice, cool breeze throughout the entire concert.
All of this being said, the show itself was totally rewarding.
Opening act Don Felder, who has assembled a fine group of quality players in his band (with acts like REO Speedwagon, Elton John and Carrie Underwood on their resumes), played a strong set of Eagles covers that included rockers like "Already Gone," "One Of These Nights," "Life In The Fast Lane" and "Hotel California" as well as his solo hit "Heavy Metal" and a track from his new album, "Hollywood Victim."
Don is also offering an enticing raffle to raise money for St. Jude's Children's Hospital ... a $50 donation buys you a chance to win a pretty amazing grand prize ...
Meanwhile, The Guess Who were in FINE form Tuesday night. Burton's voice was strong for the majority of the show (although he deliberately played it safe on some of the high notes along the way) and Randy took center stage (although still seated in a chair for the duration of the show) for three Bachman-Turner Overdrive classics, "Let It Ride" (excellent and one of the best performances of the night), "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" and "Takin' Care Of Business," which was the final song of the band's encore.
Burton Cummings once again shared his affection for the City of Chicago ... The Guess Who recorded the majority of its hits right here in Chi-Town at the old RCA Studios on Wacker Drive. He then went on to play a number of Guess Who tracks that were recorded long after Randy left the band ("Runnin' Back To Saskatoon," which was the show opener, "Hand Me Down World," "Albert Flasher," "Clap For The Wolfman," "Guns Guns Guns," "Star Baby," "Bus Rider," "Share The Land," also performed as part of the encore, and his solo hit "My Own Way To Rock.") I loved Burton's introduction to "Star Baby" ... "Now 'Star Baby' may not be one of your favorites ... but it only lasts for two minutes and 45 seconds ... and then we'll be on to something else."
The Guess Who hit list featuring songs written collectively by Bachman and Cummings was also quite impressive: "Proper Stranger" (both a B-Side and an album cut), "These Eyes" (the one that kicked off the Bachman-Cummings era), "Laughing," "American Woman," "No Sugar Tonight / New Mother Nature," "No Time" and Randy's "Undun," sung by Cummings, who also performed the flute solo.
All-in-all, a very enthusiastic and energetic show. (In fact, might I suggest that the ENTIRE nominating committee for The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame attend one of these concerts together and then explain to us how this group has been denied induction for their past 36 eligible years.)
The duo seem to be getting along fine and are proudly showcasing The Guess Who name again after winning it back in a long, drawn out court case. They've still got eighteen shows to go, including an appearance tonight at Bank NH Pavilion in Gilford, New Hampshire, right on thru the final show scheduled for August 25th in Victoria, Canada.
Frannie was able to take a couple of decent pics from our Row Q seats, which are splattered throughout today's review. (kk)
You'll find our highly-acclaimed interview with Burton Cummings from a few years ago here:
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