6/16/66 – The Beatles make their last appearance on the
British TV Show “Top Of The Pops,” performing their latest single, “Paperback
Writer” and “Rain” live on the programme. (The quality's not the greatest ... but this is some pretty rare footage)
Also on 6/16 - Rowan and Martin begin hosting a new comedy/variety show that airs as a summer series replacement for The Dean Martin Show. While this series wasn't regarded as any particular notable success at the time, it will ultimately earn the boys their own television series down the road. (Ironically, it was a brand new, one-off television special that aired on September 9th, 1967, that launched the hit variety series, "Rowan And Martin's Laugh-In.")
Was it a big hit? You bet your sweet bippy!!! "Laugh-In" is still considered to be a revolutionary, landmark series ... and was definitely a cult favorite (and ratings topper) for NBC at the time, kicking off in 1968 and running for five years. (How big was it??? They even got President Richard Nixon to make an appearance and ask, "Sock It To Me???") I'm telling you, EVERYBODY watched and loved this show! It became the #1 show on television.
Timmy sent us this photo of an original ticket order form to
see The Fab Four perform at one of their 1965 return appearances at The Hollywood Bowl!
Ticket limit: 6.
Wow.
Can you even imagine buying six of the most primo seats at The Hollywood Bowl to see The Beatles for just $42?!?!?
Even factoring in inflation, those tickets would only go for about $75 each today, 60+ years later. Amazing.
These shows (as well as their concert the previous summer on
August 23rd, 1964), were all recorded and then edited into what
Capitol Records would later release as The Beatles’ only official live album in
1977.
Crowd noise was always a factor so these tapes were held
back until they could be cleaned up with 1977 technology.Even so, it wasn’t a very pleasurable
listening experience.
Further cleaning (thanks to improved technology) in 2016
allowed for a new and improved quality release that also accompanied the Ron
Howard film “Eight Days A Week.”That
entire film is worth watching as it captures The Beatles during their first
visit to America.Their reaction (and
those of the fans) capture a moment in time that is nearly impossible to
describe all these years later.It truly
was an amazing time in music … but I guess you had to be there to fully
appreciate it. (kk)
Here's a Chuck Buell follow-up to yesterday's post about The Pillsbury Funeral Home and Crematory ...
It is with great sadness that we, at Forgotten Hits, report the passing of the Pillsbury Doughboy.
The cause of his death was from a yeast infection and trauma from repeated pokes in his belly.
Doughboy was buried in a greased coffin, with the gravesite piled high with flours.
Dozens
of celebrities turned out to pay their respects including Mrs.
Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, The
Hostess Twinkies, and Capt. Crunch. Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded.
Born
and raised in Minnesota, Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but
his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not considered a very
smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Despite
being flakey at times, he was still a crusty old man and was considered a
positive roll model for millions.
Doughboy
is survived by his wife, Play Dough, and his three children: John
Dough, Jane Dough, and Dosey Dough. He and his wife also had one in the
oven. He is also survived by his father, Pop Tart.
In lieu of flour, it's requested donations be sent to "The Hot Butter Kitchens Association."
=====
(BTW, the Pillsbury Funeral Home has been a Family-owned Business for
over 115 years with no connection to the Baking Company of the same name
having multiple locations throughout central Massachusetts and New
Hampshire.)
CB (which stands for "Condolence Boy!")
The Rarest Doo-Wop Recording Was A Private
Copy EP Pressed In Late 5O's By DJ Arnie "WOO-WOO" Ginsburg.
"BONNIE" / DAL-TONES -- VELVET
VOICE 58EP
It Was Never Commercially Released.
This Is A Very Rare Recording.
Love your FH blog, been reading it every day for years!
It was fun reading Paul Haney’s article about all the record stores he used to visit in the Twin Cities as I grew up in the Twin Cities also (SW Mpls.) Although I’m about 13 years older than Paul,
I, too, frequented all those stores before they started to fade away ... although with the resurgence in the popularity of vinyl, there are more stores than ever now, yet not quite as fun as I remember!
Thank You, Paul, for the walk down memory lane!
Matt Phillips
Congratulations to Best Classic Bands, celebrating their 11th
anniversary!(kk)
Maybe from a touring standpoint - look how many classic rock bands are down to their last original member ... then again you've got key bands out there like The Doobie Brothers who are still touring with four essential key representatives of the various eras of the band ... and, they still sound great! But I'm inclined to think we probably are nearing the final chapter. Thankfully their music will live on forever, even though there's a movement out there right now in radio to stop referring to it as "classic rock." I disagree ... Classic Rock has become a genre all of its own ... and the artists that have blazed this trail should continue to be honored for doing so. (kk)
Tom also sent us this review on this year's Happy Together Tour ...
Cousin Brucie Talked To Peggy (Don't Call Me Little) March.
It Was RCA's Idea To Call Her Little Peggy March. She Hated It.
They Had A 16th Birthday Party For Her On The Clay Cole Show.
They Officially Crossed Out The Little In Front Of Her Name.
When She Turned 16 She Was On "AMERICAN BANDSTAND."
The Record Company Decided To Send Her On A World Tour.
She Was A Big Star In Germany. & Still Is Today.
She Lives In Germany Part Of The Year.
Cousin Brucie Told Her To Write A Book -- Like He Does Every Week With Every Guest.
Peggy Told Him She Wrote A Book. It's In German. She Caught Him By Surprise. He Didn't Know What To Say.
She Was 14 Years Old In 1963 When She Recorded "I WILL FOLLOW HIM."
Most Of The Shows Peggy Appears In Are In Germany & United States.
FB
Look for a new book celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Eagles' "Hotel California" album.
Due outSeptember 8, 2026, the book promises to “offer a definitive visual and narrative exploration
of the record that captured the shift from ’60s idealism to ’70s
disillusion – and turned that tension into one of the most enduring
works in American music.”
"Hotel California" stands as the third biggest selling album of all time. (With The Eagles' Greatest Hits, 1971 - 1975 topping that list, there is only room for Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album to round out The Top Three.)
From the official announcement:
The book is split into six chapters:
“Taking Flight” (before Hotel California),
“Checking In” (writing and recording the album), “Sounds So Familiar”
(side one), “Where The Pretty People Play” (side two), “Life In The Fast
Lane” (reception and promotion), and “Prisoners Of Our Own Device”
(after Hotel California).
Author Sean Egan traces how Eagles – idealistic young musicians navigating a
jaded, hedonistic era – channeled the contradictions of their time into a
long‑playing masterpiece.
The book examines:
— The turbulent 1976–77 sessions at the Record Plant (Los Angeles)
and Criteria Studios (Miami), where the band’s musical precision met the
era’s excess.
— The album’s overarching theme – a concept‑album‑adjacent portrait
of a culture sliding from innocence into self‑absorption – and the
band’s intentional mirroring of that descent.
— The songs that became generational touchstones, including “New Kid
in Town,” “Life in the Fast Lane,” and the title track with its
now‑legendary guitar “duel” featuring Don Felder and Joe Walsh.
— Eagles’ unique duality: serious artists and radio mainstays;
decadent rock stars with a conscience; not close friends, but remarkably
cohesive collaborators.
— The album’s 50‑year legacy, and how its themes of ambition,
illusion, and escape continue to resonate with new generations of
listeners.
You can preorder this book now on Amazon.com. (kk)
Questlove has put together another outstanding documentary …
“Earth Wind And Fire: To Be Celestial vs. That’s The Weight Of The World” is
currently streaming on HBO Max … and it tracks the history and legacy of the
band from its inception thru its current state.
Frequent commentators throughout the film include Stevie
Wonder, Lionel Richie and both Michelle and Barak Obama, who fell in love with
Earth Wind and Fire’s music when they first started dating in high school.(They even danced to their music when EWF
performed live at one of their White House Governors Balls!)
Maurice White is given full credit for conceptualizing the
band and then taking them to their peak by realizing all of his visions, thanks
to unparalleled faith and determination.Band members speak highly of Maurice throughout the film, even after
some of those ideals crashed and burned in the ‘80’s, by which time Maurice had
essentially bankrupted the group due to poor investments and improper manipulation
of funds.They later restructured
themselves, bringing back five of the original members and soared to new heights
from the late ‘80’s and beyond, into the current day.(It’s not a coincidence that Earth Wind And
Fire are touring with Lionel Richie this summer and will be playing to sold out
houses across America.This is a FAR cry
from the depths they experienced in the early ‘80’s when they had to cancel
several appearances due to poor ticket sales.)
All in all, it’s an excellent documentary and portrait of another
Chicago music institution that doesn’t always get the credit it deserves.With great music throughout, this one is
highly recommended.(kk)
After contributing to Forgotten Hits for over twenty five
years, Clark Besch and I finally got the chance to meet face-to-face (or in our
case would that be mug-to-mug???) a couple of weeks ago when he and his brother
Bill passed thru Chicago and we were able to coordinate a quick meet for
breakfast.
Brother Bill snapped this quick photo of us outside the
restaurant …
(L-R:Kent / Clark …
I know, it just doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it???)
Thank you, Clark, for all your many, many contributions over
the years.Your collection of music
archives never ceases to amaze me … thank you for allow us to share them with
all our other readers.(kk)
Kent,
Here's one of the photos we took
when we met up a couple of weeks ago.
Thanks SO much for getting
together with us for breakfast and thanks for all you do with FH!
Sorry Frannie didn’t come.
I always like how you showcase her on that LP cover as often as you can!
Thanks again!
WLSClark
Clark had planned to greet Frannie ahead of me at the
restaurant and tell her how much she still looked like her “Whipped Cream”
album cover photo from (more than) a few years ago!Unfortunately, she didn’t make it – gave us
our “boys breakfast” instead – so we’ll have to run this old “solo shot” of her
here this morning.(kk)
Speaking of old album covers, Timmy sent us this updated picture of the “Sgt. Pepper”
album cover …
Showing the only remaining living participants …
Also from Timmy, this vintage shot of Jimi and Nez ...
And this, from Chuck Buell …
Who is ALWAYS on the look-out for stuff like this …
"Nothing says Lovin'
Like Something Warm from the Oven!"
Pillsbury Funeral Home is a
legit business that has multiple locations across Massachusetts ~~~
! ! !
CB
Kent,
In talking about the records
that were short-changed in length in the early days, I was trying to come up
with some that were lengthy for their time.
I came up with these:
Nina Simone with I LOVES YOU
PORGY from 1959 -- 4:09
Stan Freberg with THE OLD PAYOLA
ROLL BLUES (Parts I & 2) from 1960 -- 8:56
Bill Dana with THE ASTRONAUT
(Parts 1 & 2) from 1961 -- 8:16
Now maybe some markets would
just play only one side of the novelty records, but not so here in OKC as I
remember. Normally a station or DJ would play a jingle at the end of part 1
and go into part 2.
Larry
Yeah, hearing the full-length of both sides I think was
pretty rare back in the day – although a record like Ray Charles’ “What’d I
Say” would likely be an exception to that rule … maybe “Fingertips” by Little
Stevie Wonder, too.
But this tradition continued on for quite a while … even in
in 1972 most radio stations were playing the full-length version of Don
McLean’s “American Pie” (but likely off the album rather than a “spliced’
single.)Another exception would be
those “segue tracks” like “We Will Rock You” and “We Are The Champions” (again,
likely played off the album by this point) and a big one here in Chicago was “Switchin’
To Glide” / “This Beat Goes On” by The Kings.(kk)
Paul Haney of Record Research shares some of his record
store memories of growing up in the Twin Cities area …
When I was eight years old, me and my older brother Kevin would
ride our bikes about a mile to the local Target store.That’s where I bought my very first 45 in
1974, “Earache My Eye” by Cheech & Chong (complete with picture
sleeve!).Most of my 45s were purchased
at that same Target store until I turned 16 and got my driver’s license –
that’s when a whole new world of record hunting opened up to me.
While in high school I bought my first Whitburn book and soon
began looking for older titles, especially from the 1950s and 1960s.My best friends in high school, Mark and
Tony, were also huge music fans and Tony especially was interested in old
rockabilly singles.Almost every weekend
we would hit the numerous record shops in the Minneapolis area looking for
records.One of the first we discovered
was named Oarfolkjokeopus (or “Oarfolk” for short).I remember one trip there in particular where
Tony thought he recognized one of the guys working behind the counter.Turns out it was Peter Buck, lead guitarist
of R.E.M., who just happened to be in town and was a friend of one of the shop
owners!While Oarfolk was cool, the real
oldies 45s I wanted were in a little basement shop right around the corner
called The Record Collector’s Co-op, which stocked a great selection of
original 45s from the 1950s and 1960s.
Some of the other shops in our regular rotation were Garage D’or
Records, Hymie’s Vintage Records, Northern Lights, Uneeda Record, The Wax
Museum and another shop of which I can’t recall the name, only that it was run
by a very obnoxious guy we dubbed “The Bald Jerk”.I remember picking up a number of great
novelty 45s from The Bald Jerk, including “The Astronaut” by Jose Jimenez and
“Yogi” by The Ivy Three.We also hit a
couple of the Salvation Army thrift shops, where I once found a stone mint copy
of “Long Tall Sally” by The Kinks (on Cameo) for a quarter!
Another favorite shop was Don Leary’s Records.By the time we discovered him, Don Leary was
an older man who had been selling records in the Twin Cities area for
decades.My friend Tony warned me that
Don was a cranky old man and wasn’t fond of teenagers.For some reason, he took a liking to me and
would let me look through his new 45s before he even put them out on the sales
floor.I think he was impressed by my
knowledge of the oldies.
Eventually, the record shops started closing and I moved on to
CDs.The best sources in the area for
those were Cheapo Records and Down In The Valley.
I’m so glad that I got to grow up in the era when we actually
had to go out and seek the music that we loved.Today’s music world is much more convenient, but a lot less fun.
Paul Haney / Record Research
Our long-time Forgotten Hits Buddy David Beard, publisher of
“Endless Summer Quarterly,” the long-running Beach Boys fanzine (now in its 39th
year!!!) has assembled a book of quotes by all of The Beach Boys over the years
that allows them to tell their own story in their own words.
These quotes are supplemented by quotes of other Beach Boys-related
artists and family members (such as Dean Torrence and Jan Berry, Van Dyke
Parks, Honeys Marilyn Wilson-Rutherford and Ginger Blake, former manager-promoter
Fred Vail, Wrecking Crew legends Hal Blaine and Don Randi, T.A.M.I. Show
director Steve Binder, Pet Sounds lyricist Tony Asher, and others.) It even features a foreword written by John Stamos! (kk)
We told you the other day about Freddy Cannon’s new single “All
She Wants To Do Is Dance.”
Well, now we’ve got the YouTube video to share with you as
well …
Carly Simon will release her first album of all new,
original material since 2008 when “Comes In Waves” is released this August.The first single, “Howl,” was just posted to
YouTube as a lyrics video … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTi2kk2Ocp0&t=5s
Two of Simon’s children contribute to the new LP … son Ben
Taylor lent his talents as a singer, musician, producer, and songwriter on the
record, while Simon’s daughter Sally Taylor provides vocals and designed the
album artwork.(Shown here is the visual
art for the new single “Howl” along with the album cover.)kk
Much is being made about the fact that with the #5 debut of “The
Boys Of Dungeon Lane,” Paul McCartney has now appeared as an artist in 54 of
Billboard’s Top Ten Albums on their Top 200 LP’s Chart. (32 of those
appearances were with The Beatles … the other 22 are as a solo artist or with
his post-Beatles band Wings.)
To put things in perspective, The Rolling Stones lead the
overall category with 38 Top Ten Albums, putting them ahead of both The Beatles
and McCartney’s solo work … but it’s the COMBINED total that is causing all
this attention.It makes him far and
away the most honored artist of the past 100+ years … no small feat when one
considers how many trends have passed our way during this time.All I can say is “Congratulations, Macca!”(kk)
