Very pleased to see that you have presented so many nice words about my dear pal Gordon Waller
Thought you might appreciate the tribute I wrote to him on Huffington Post
And - on a related note - something I wrote about Walter Cronkite's part in the Beatles' US breakthrough.
Thanks for all you do!
Martin Lewis
A World Without Gord: A Salute to Gordon Waller of Peter & Gordon
http://tinyurl.com/mvmcv3
Tweet The Beatles!
How Walter Cronkite Sent The Beatles Viral - in 1963!
http://tinyurl.com/nkmdet
Wow, thanks for the kind words, Martin ... I appreciate that. (We were there the night you introduced Peter and Gordon from the stage at Beatlefest Chicago, 2006! What a GREAT show that was!)
And a VERY nice and fitting tribute, too ... Forgotten Hits Readers can read the whole piece via the links above. Thanks again! (kk)
re: DAVID CASSIDY:
I'm wondering how many people on the list checked out the new David Cassidy TV Series "Ruby And The RockIts" the other night. It truly is a "Family Affair", produced by Shaun Cassidy and starring both David and Patrick Cassidy. The REAL star of the show, however, is young Alexa Vega, who sounds just about as contemporary as can be as David's long-lost daughter. (We've included her new song "Lost In Your Own Life", which I'm predicting is going to be a pretty good-sized hit.) The idea of David Cassidy being a 1988 superstar is a bit of a stretch ... by then, his career peak was nearly twenty years behind him ... but it's done in a fun-enough fashion that makes the whole thing watchable. (Now they've just got to get rid of that incredibly annoying laugh-track!!!) In all fairness, Cassidy DID enjoy a surprise "comeback hit" in 1990 when "Lyin' To Myself" hit The National Top 30. Some of you may remember that it was sent as a "blind track" to radio stations all over the country to see if they would play it without knowledge of who the artist was. (Being David Cassidy in 1990 was more of a career determent than a plus sign!!!) Surprisingly, the record took off and was headed up the charts when Enigma Records closed their doors, ending all sales and distribution. Too bad ... it's really not a bad record! (kk)
re: A COUPLE THAT SLIPPED BY:
Hey Kent -
Just wanted to pass along some info regarding the upcoming New Colony Six concert this Sunday (July 26, 2009) in Lake Zurich, Illinois ...
Ray Graffia e-mailed me yesterday to inform me that at this Lake Zurich, IL, NC6 concert, original NC6 keyboardist Craig Kemp will be sitting in with the New Colony.
Craig is a super guy, and still a phenominal keyboard player. (As both YOU & I witnessed at Ray Graffia's NC6 Reunion Party in April 2008).
This is a very rare appearance by Craig, and with TWO original NC6 members on stage (Craig & Ray), this promises to be a very exciting treat for any of the FH folks who are planning to attend.
Sure wish that I could be there, but unfortunately, not possible.
Thanks for passing this info along ...
Jerry Schollenberger
Yep, this should be a special evening ... be sure to check out the official New Colony Six website for more details:
Click here: http://newcolonysix.com/41.html
Meanwhile, The Rip Chords just finished a stint in Las Vegas working with former Beach Boy Al Jardine. Mitch Schecter let us know that things went great!
Hey Kent ...
Just got back from Las Vegas and our show with Al Jardine and The Endless Summer Band at The Cannery Casino. The show was great ... a complete sellout!
We were invited back onstage for Al's encore ... and the place was really rockin'.
Mitch Schecter / The Rip Chords
We're going to have to stop at The Cannery next time we're there ... they seem to really cater to many of the artists we feature here in Forgotten Hits ... and we've heard REALLY good things about the enthusiastic crowds attending these concerts. Thanks, Mitch! (And don't forget Al Jardine has a new LP coming out ... and that Dean Torrence with The Surf City All-Stars will be performing here next week in land-locked Elk Grove Village, IL!!!) kkre: I CAN DREAM ABOUT YOU:
>>I had a dream the other night. I was with Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon -- we were re-living the 'glory days.' :) Every once in a while Dennis Wilson or Carl will appear in a dream. Odd how certain folks we know appear larger than life even though they're gone. (Fred Vail)
KENT, THIS IS FOR FRED VAIL ...
THAT IS VERY NICE THAT HE DREAMS OF THOSE ROCK AND ROLL DAYS!
AND I'M IN HIS DREAMS ALONG WITH THE BEACH BOYS.
FRED, THOSE WERE FUN DAYS ... THANKS FOR THINKING OF ME !
YOUR ROCK AND ROLL FRIEND,
FREDDY "BOOM BOOM" CANNON
re: HOWARD KAYLAN / THE TURTLES / THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION:
Howard Kaylan phoning in with that piece is priceless.
You gotta understand ... I love the Mothers during that phase ... I subjected Trish to the whole 'Just Another Band From LA' record the other night ... Billy The Mountain, Eddie Are You Kidding (Written by Howard, and that would be cool to hear at Turtles' shows as well as Keep It Warm) ... even that naughty-ass song Magdelena ... which Howard actually collaborated with Frank on.
I gotta see his movie, that's all there is to it. God bless him, and God bless Mark Volman. Two of my favorite people.
I dunno how you got Howard Kaylan to become a member, but God bless the both of you.
Todd
The movie is a whole lot of fun if you're a fan of this era of music. Probably a bit hard to find as a rental (as it appeals to a very specific audience) ... but I know that it's available through Collectors' Choice and Amazon.com.
As for Howard Kaylan participating with Forgotten Hits, I think I just invited him one day ... have ALWAYS loved his music (Frannie and I are HUGE Turtles fans ... and I think Howard Kaylan's is one of the BEST, most over-looked and under-appreciated voices of the '60's) and he's participated now and again ever since ... most famously when he made his no-holds-barred comments about the selection process of The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. (I know that a number of deejays around the country picked up on THAT story and were reading our column live over the airwaves ... which, in turn, resulted in MY appearing on a number of radio programs discussing our series.) Every now and again, I'll ask Howard something ... or send him a clip ... and, if the mood strikes him, we'll hear back. GREAT guy ... like I said, we're big fans.
In fact, just recently, Frannie and I were driving out somewhere when "You Baby" came on the radio ... of course we IMMEDIATELY began singing along with the record ... and I wondered out loud if Howard Kaylan does the same thing when HE hears it come on the radio ... because, let's face it, EVERYONE else in the whole wide world sure does!!! Maybe he'll see this and drop us a line!!! (lol) kk
re: SHEL SILVERSTEIN:
Hi Kent -
After reading your comments on Shel Silverstein, I pulled up an interview we did with his Nephew Mitch Myers. I love that a Jewish guy from Chicago wrote one of the great Irish Folk songs: The Unicorn by The Irish Rovers. I love that he wrote for Playboy and also wrote my favorite books when I was a kid. I also love the story about "A Boy Named Sue."
Here's what Mitch told us:In those days in Nashville, and for all the people that would visit, the most fun that anyone really could have would be to go over to someone's house and play music. And they would do what one would call a "guitar pool," where you grabbed a guitar and you played one of your new songs, then someone else next to you would grab it and do the same, and there were people like Johnny Cash or Joni Mitchell, people of that caliber in the room. Shel sang his song "Boy Named Sue," and Johnny's wife June Carter thought it was a great song for Johnny Cash to perform. And not too long after that they were headed off to San Quentin to record a record - Live At San Quentin - and June said, "Why don't you bring that Shel song with you." And so they brought the lyrics. And when he was on stage he performed that song for the first time ever, he performed it live in front of that captive audience, in every sense of the word. He had to read the lyrics off of the sheet of paper that was at the foot of the stage, and it was a hit. And it wasn't touched up, it wasn't produced or simulated. They just did it, and it stuck.The full interview is here: http://www.songfacts.com/int/2007/08/mitch-myers-shel-silverstein.html
Be Well,
Carl Wiser
www.songfacts.com
Although Shel Silverstein had a very loyal following, he is another one of those artists who I feel never really got his due. We'll feature Johnny Cash's BIGGEST Pop Hit today, too ... "A Boy Named Sue" from 1969 ... ANOTHER one you never hear on the radio anymore, despite its #2 chart performance! (Hey, we don't need or want to hear "A Boy Named Sue" often ... three or four times a year will still give it that "WOW" impact we keep talking about ... but not playing a #2 smash at all doesn't make ANY sense to me!!!) kk
re: WAGES OF SPIN:
We've heard from a couple people on the list now, wondering what the current status of this much-talked-about film is. Several folks on the list had ordered copies before Christmas of last year, only to have their money refunded because the film was going back in for more editing. Then the big National Enquirer Story broke about the film telling the REAL story about Dick Clark's business dealings during the early days of American Bandstand (and the whole radio payola scandal.) Seems like THAT would have been the PERFECT time to release this film and capitalize on all the additional publicity this article generated ... but STILL no film!!! So we asked producer Shawn Swords "What's Up?!?!?" Here's what he had to say:
Hi Kent
I was going to contact you when we announced distribution. We have had
a few distribution offers, but most are backloaded and we aint going that
way. HBO asked for a screener today and we're going to contact several cable
and theatrical indy distribution companies this week and early next week.
If nothing materializes within ten days then we will pursue some of the offers
currently on the table. I will send you an update within a few weeks. Hope
you're well.
Best -
Shawn
es, please do keep us posted. (Obviously we've stirred up quite a bit of anticipation regarding this one ... and the fans can't wait to see it!!!) kk
