From Geoff Lambert’s weekly sheet …
Somebody born in ‘33 was 45 in
‘78
That’s gotta be some sort of a
record
Also from Geoff …
An article in Cash Box
magazine 30th of April 1966
‘Louie, Louie' Returns Again
NEW YORK — The Kingsmen’s record
of “Louie, Louie,” which was initially released some two and a half years ago,
has once again become a hot item in the singles sales market. The current sales
boom has accounted for the sale of 97,000 pieces of the deck according to the
label’s Peter Garris, who also stated that between seven and eight months ago
the single went through a phase where it sold an additional 300,000 copies. The
current boom in the single has placed it on the Top 100 chart at 89 with a red
bullet last week and this week has moved it to number 85. The tune has never
waned in its appeal according to the sales figures on the Kingsmen’s “Louie,
Louie” LP, released by the label. Monthly sales are in the 80,000 to 100,000
range. Garris also said that stations throughout the country are once again
regularly playing the tune.
Interesting in light of our recent observation …
>>>And look at #89 ... The Kingsmen are back with
"Louie Louie!" (Maybe audiences have matured a little bit since
1963 and can handle it now ... but I doubt it!)
kk
The Kingsmen’s version of “Louie Louie” actually made the
National Charts THREE TIMES …
First in late 1963 / early 1964 where it peaked at #1 in
both Cash Box (two weeks) and Record World (one week) … then again in April of
1965 where it peaked at #129 in Record World only … and then this current run
from April of 1966, where Cash Box ranked it at #65. I guess controversy really does spur
sales! (kk)
It seems Geoff’s on a roll this week …
Did you know?
In 1982, John Denver walked into
his home carrying a chainsaw. He didn’t come to argue – he came to return
something. Days earlier, while he was away, his soon-to-be ex-wife Anne Martell
had hired men to cut down the trees around their Aspen home - the tall ones
that John loved. When he came back, they were gone. The yard felt empty.
Exposed. Something in him broke. He went to the garage. Started the saw. Then
walked inside. The kitchen table he cut in half. The dining table he cut in
half. The bed they shared for fifteen years he sawed straight through. Wood
cracking. Rooms torn apart. A life coming apart piece by piece. At one point he
grabbed her by the throat then stopped. "I did what I came for," he
said and walked out. Eight years earlier he had written "Annie’s
Song" in ten minutes on a ski lift. The man who once sang "you fill
up my senses" had just cut their life in half.
To subscribe to Geoff’s weekly sheet, just drop him an email
at geoff.lambert@btinternet.com … and tell him Forgotten Hits sent you!
>>>I don't know if you remember or not, but several
years ago (8? 9?) Forgotten Hits came in as the #1 Oldies Website in
Russia! (NO idea why!!!) But I remember we joked around about it
for a while. (kk)
Not sure if you shared with your
Russian website viewers and the rest of the world back then what TV and radio
was like in the USSR days, but if not, here is an "insight":
Russian Bandstand -- https://youtu.be/dVfkV5C6EEc?si=P4uyqylC3oAnCSQ2
Go Go Radio Moscow -- https://youtu.be/rECtD2GmlX8?si=k9XpVI9mHef53xTb
And remember, in Russia, you
don't listen to the radio -- radio listens to you!
Regards,
Uncle T. Jay
From Tom Cuddy …
‘Michael’ Rocks Box Office With
Record-Setting $97 Million Debut
https://variety.com/2026/film/box-office/michael-box-office-opening-weekend-record-1236730805/#utm_campaign=syndication&utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=referral
And his worldwide box office gross for opening weekend was $217.3
million, which means that in just one weekend, this already places him in third
place for the all-time highest worldwide music biopic grosses (behind “Bohemian
Rhapsody” - $910.8 million – and “Elvis” - $288.7 million, which he will easily
pass in the week to come. Pretty
amazing.
This movie spotlights the high points of Michael’s career,
stopping in 1988 when he was still on top of the world with his “Bad” tour.
Billboard points out 20 previous times that Jackson proved
he was “The King Of Pop” here:
https://www.billboard.com/lists/michael-jackson-king-of-pop-20-times-he-earned-title-list/#recipient_hashed=fa7e92da6f6e66bffcf0bcbf863670c6eb37d7159eb4d0ea1e44fecd5ec87eeb&recipient_salt=3a1d6b09af3b92ad7e38f8327cf18febeb049fd1c9a251b66957a07d9375735c&utm_medium=email&utm_source=exacttarget&utm_campaign=billboard_daily&utm_content=678854_04-27-2026&utm_term=6338564
Hi Kent –
Thanks for the link to that Billboard story on some of the
mistakes made in the recent Michael Jackson film.
Looks like they missed a couple of other errors:
In 1969 the Jackson 5 were shown in the Motown studios
recording several songs for their first album.
Young Michael is laying down his lead vocal on the song
"Who's Lovin' You," which would end up as the B-side of the group's
first Motown single release.
In the control room working the board is Berry Gordy.
However, the song was actually produced by Bobby Taylor of the Vancouvers (who
never appears in the film).
Earlier in the same scene Michael is shown singing his
vocals to the song that would end up on the A-side of that first Motown 45.
"I Want You Back" was written and produced by the
team of Freddie Perren, Alphonso Mizell, Deke Richards and Berry Gordy.
Together they called themselves The Corporation.
But in the booth once again we only see Berry. This makes
it seem that Berry and only Berry produced the group's first record(s) when of
course that was not true.
Just wanted to add, as you posted Sunday, fans of the
Jackson 5 and Michael's music will probably enjoy the film (even though it's
not completely accurate).
Santi Paradoa
Miami, Florida
Oh, there are plenty of others …
In the film, we see The Jackson Five performing “Never Can
Say Goodbye” in 1968 … even tho that song wouldn’t even be written until three
years later.
The idea of Michael’s first nose surgery being inspired by a
drawing of Peter Pan may have had some minor element of proof to it …
But what was far more obvious was that Michael didn’t want
Joe Jackson’s nose … which is something he inherited and most definitely had to
get rid of.
And cutting Bobby Taylor completely out of the story is
another huge mistake … but I guess at this point, it’s safer to go with the
legend. (After all, Michael was “eight”
to his audience when he was really ten!)
But the fact is, it was Bobby Taylor who first brought the
group to Motown’s attention. Gladys
Knight also got in the quintet’s corner, telling Berry that he should sign
them. But then, when it came time to
introduce them to the world for the very first time on “The Ed Sullivan Show,”
it was Diana Ross who got all the credit … most likely because she was Motown’s
most recognizable artist (and was also sleeping with Berry Gordy at the time!)
Nobody knew who Bobby Taylor (and the Vanouvers) were …
their only real pop hit was “Does Your Mama Know About Me,” which peaked at #29
in 1968. The group would get a lot more
attention if Gladys Knight and Diana Ross were on the team promoting them (not
that they weren’t already outstanding on their own.) kk
FROM WILD WAYNE’S INTERVIEW WITH
GENE PITNEY, 9/6/1992
1967 = Gene Pitney Married His
Childhood Sweetheart , Lynne Gayton In Italy.
Gene Was Appearing At San Remo
Festival.
Problems =Gene Rented A Yacht.
Priest Refused To Marry Them. Thought They Were Living In Sin. They Weren't
They Thought They Had All The
Right Paper Work With Them. They Didn't. Needed Permission From A Parish
Priest.
Gene Told Wayne He Really Got
Upset When Fans Would Approach Him On The Street & Ask Him To Sing.
Wayne Didn't Want To Make The
Same Mistake.
During The 1992 Interview, Wayne
Is Playing The Recording Of Gene Singing "E SE DOMANI" (AND IF
TOMORROW)
No Surprise That Wayne Was
Shocked When He Heard Gene Singing Along With This Record!
One & Only Time He Ever Did
It.
FRANK B.
Gene Pitney always did GREAT interviews. I’ll never forget the one they featured on
the (then) XM 60’s Channel shortly after his passing. Several artists who toured with Gene in the
‘60’s have told me what a great, fun-loving guy he was … always the prankster
with the other acts on the bill. Hard to
believe he’s already been gone twenty years now. (kk)
Frank also tells us …
THE LAST RONETTE HAS DIED … RIP
NEDRA TALLEY ROSS: 1946 - 2026
FRANK B.
She’s the one that WASN’T a Bennett. Boy, the British acts sure loved The
Ronettes. The Beatles and The Rolling
Stones each had their little flings with these girls! (kk)
|
|
THE RONETTES HIT LIST
|
USA
|
CHI
|
UK
|
|
1963
|
Be My Baby
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
|
1963
|
Sleigh Ride
|
--
|
EX
|
--
|
|
1963
|
Baby, I Love You
|
24
|
20
|
34
|
|
1964
|
(The Best Part Of)
Breakin' Up
|
39
|
23
|
--
|
|
1964
|
Do I Love You?
|
34
|
23
|
14
|
|
1964
|
Walking In The Rain
|
20
|
17
|
16
|
|
1965
|
Born To Be Together
|
52
|
EX
|
29
|
|
1965
|
Is This What I Get
For Loving You
|
75
|
EX
|
--
|
|
1966
|
I Can Hear Music
|
90
|
--
|
--
|
|
1969
|
You Came, You Saw,
You Conquered!
|
90
|
--
|
73
|
OK, this is pretty cool …
Lyle Lovett is coming to our local City Winery.
Now I’ll admit that I’m not much of a Lyle Lovett fan. (As far as I’m concerned, the best thing he
ever did was Julia Roberts!)
But check out this promo piece the City Winery sent out in
advance of the show …
Hi there,
There's a moment that happens at
a Lyle Lovett show that doesn't happen anywhere else, and we just had to
share it with you.
The song ends. The room goes
quiet. And then Lyle leans into the microphone. Not to start the next song, but
to tell you something. Where he was when he wrote it. Who it was really about.
What he was too afraid to say out loud until he figured out how to say it in a
lyric.
Suddenly, a song you've heard a
hundred times becomes something you're hearing for the first time.
That's what Songs & Stories
actually is. Not a greatest hits set. A conversation.
And it happens at City Winery,
which means dinner in front of you, something good in your glass, and Lyle
close enough to read the expression on his face when he hits the line that
matters. That detail isn't a gimmick it's the whole thing. Big rooms give you
the songs. City Winery gives you the songwriter.
Dinner. Wine. Lyle Lovett live.
Exactly as he was meant to be heard.
This is the kind of thing that
sells out and then everyone's kicking themselves, I'd grab a spot sooner rather
than later. We've booked three shows for you, click here to get the last seats.
Is that a great promotional gimmick or what?!?! (kk)
From Stephen Bishop …
I just got word that “On and On” has officially surpassed 50
million plays on Apple Music in the U.S.
I’m incredibly grateful to all of you who have continued to listen and support
my music over the past five decades. It truly means more than I can say.
We’re currently working on a 50th Anniversary Edition of my debut album,
Careless. For the first time, it will include liner notes, new photos, original
song drafts, and two bonus tracks I considered for the album back then but
never included … until now. Stay tuned!
Love and Sunshine,
Stephen
Hey Kent,
As long as I'm obsessing over the 8 Track Tape from back in
the day, one final hurrah from a '60's dinosaur. Never saw this one
coming.
"Thanks", for your patience.
Gary
Limited-time deal: Bring Back 8 Track tape T-Shirt T-Shirt
https://a.co/d/0ePbmzbF
Here’s your chance to spend a few minutes with Chuck Buell …
Here's my latest Radio Interview
from just a couple of days ago. (April 24, 2026)
This by Jim Hampton of the
online USA Radio Museum.
Radio Museum?!!
What am I?! An Artifact?! It’s like when I go into a museum, look
at some of the vintage displays there, and say, “Hey! I had some
of those things when I was a Kid!
Anyway, if you have any interest
in a very brief overview of my Lifetime Radio Travels, his CB synopsis
story and the Video Interview are here. (Read “very brief" as
42 Minutes!)
(The accompanying photos he
found for all this are killer! I don't know where he got some
of them!)
So, first his story with photos …
and then the link to the video.
And, as usual, feel free to
read, watch and listen to as much or as little as you wish!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIbPNNogtYA
"And Thanx for
Listenin'!"
CB
Be on the lookout for the Chuck Buell Forgotten Hits take-over, coming to you over the course of the next two days! (kk)
60 YEARS AGO TODAY:
4/28/66 – The Boston Celtics beat The LA Lakers four games
to three to win the NBA Championship.
The rivalry between these two clubs will go on for decades.
Also on 4/28, “The Sound Of Music,” Julie Christie and Lee
Marvin are the big winners at this year’s Academy Awards
