>>>In einer eMail vom 20.07.2009 13:37:27 Mitteleuropäische Sommerzeit schreibt Forgotten Hits:
>>>Although we already knew we had Forgotten Hits readers in other countries (Austrailia, Great Britain and Germany seem to be the primary spots), we just found a case of some website committed to psychedelic music that's been translating our columns to German ... and then back again to very broken English ... and running them on their OWN web page!!! (Kinda funny, kinda flattering, kinda maddening ... why not just run a link to the real deal instead of butchering this stuff to the point that it's almost unreadable or indecipherable?!?!?) kk
Hi Kent,
Now why didn't I think of that? I could do with a well visited website in German. Just run the posts through Google translator and paste them on my website. Can't lose, can you? lol.
Seriously though, this kind of content theft (slogging) is a big problem and is really frowned upon in the blogosphere. I'm not sure if you can do anything about it, but certainly I would keep an eye on it. Anyone wanting to read a good German music blog, by the way, is free to visit me at www.davidscott.de. And it's all my own work too :)
Dave
That English - German - English translation seemed like a bad dream ...
-- BOB FRABLE
Kent,
The mangling of the Allen Klein translation was fun reading. Who knows, we songwriters might have just found a new way of generating ideas for titles!Chordially,
Alan O'Day
lol ... actually, you probably COULD come up with a pretty clever and humorous "misinterpretation" along these lines ... might be kinda fun to work on. (Hey, maybe we could even get Borat to sing it!!! Sounds like a hit to me!!! lol) kk
re: ALLEN KLEIN:
It is very interesting to note that nothing in any of the published obituary information about Allen Klein is there any mention of anything specifically regarding his ownership and control of the masters of the Cameo - Parkway label. While many people have not held the label in high regard for their contributions to music or the industry, one of the most significant recordings ever was released by Cameo - Parkway: "The Twist" by Chubby Checker, which became a #1 record in 2 different years. At least they could have mentioned THAT!
Clay Pasternack
Actually, we DID mention something about Klein's ownership of Cameo - Parkway in our original piece ... but let's keep it in perspective. He didn't own C / P when Chubby Checker released "The Twist" ... he bought it just as they were closing the doors of the company for good ... and many believe he did so as a way to capitalize on the company's failure and take a substantial tax loss. Klein did NOTHING to enhance or support Checker's career ... in fact, he had SO little regard for Chubby's #1 recording that he locked it in a vault for 40 years, forcing Checker to re-record his song in order to get ANY oldies airplay at all. Many of the artists who fell victim to Klein's reign had to do the same thing ... go into the studio and try to recreate (as best they could) something as close as they possibly could to the original sound and vibe of their original hit recordings. Chubby Checker ... and all of his C / P labelmates ... lost untold royalties for DECADES because of Klein's refusal to distribute their product. He wasn't the label's savior ... by ANY means. Grim Reaper may be a more accurate description. (kk)
re: THIS JUST IN:
It is with deep regret that I have been asked to inform the world, that this morning, July 23, 2009, at 4 AM, Dirty Dan McBride (Daniel Hatton), lead guitarist and singer for Sha Na Na, passed away peacefully in his sleep in the LA area. He is survived by his wife Susan. There will be two services ... one on the East Coast and one on the West Coast. Details are being worked out.
He was featured in the Sha Na Na TV show with his band mates and also was appeared in the movie Grease.
Jimmy Jay
www.RewindShow.com
re: "SHIFTY" POWERS:
God bless you Shifty ... RIP. It's a shame who our heroes have become!
Talk2Me
IS IT OK WITH CHARLIE GRACE IF I RE-PUBLISH HIS PIECE ON SHIFTY? NICE PIECE ... MOVED ME TO TEARS ... I WAS THINKING OF SAVING IT FOR VETERANS' DAY IN NOVEMBER ... AND I DO GIVE HIM CREDIT AS AUTHOR ... GARY
riprenfield.com
P.S. I guess you're 'back'!!! Not hurtin' for material ... I was worried for a minute there ... lol Gary
I don't think Charlie Gracie Jr. is the author ... this is just something that's being passed around the Internet right now in light of all the never-ending Michael Jackson hoopla ... I just happen to be somebody that he sent it to. (Guess he figured that with our mailing list, we'd be a good source to help OTHER people see it as well.) It's true that our values are pretty out of whack sometimes ... really makes you wonder what's important. (Kinda like the whole "school teachers earn the lowest pay philosophy while Jon and Kate end up multi-millionaires simply by proving every week that they have eight kids that they don't seem to really give a damn about!!!) kk
The response to the "Shifty" piece was overwhelming ... thanks to everyone else who responded. By the way, I saw an advertisement last night announcing that SPIKE TV will be rebroadcasting the entire ten part "Band Of Brothers" Tom Hanks / Steven Spielberg mini-series in September ... a great chance to learn all about "Shifty" Powers and many OTHER heroes who today are rarely recognized for their efforts. (kk)
re: MICHAEL JACKSON:
Kent:
I really wasn't going to comment about the death of Michael Jackson, but I believe I have a GREAT RADIO STORY I would like to pass on to your readers.
Let's go back to the summer of 1984 and I am the afternoon host and PD of Top 40 station KTRS-FM in Casper Wyo. My Music Director at the time was and still is a very close friend of mine that I won't mention, because he has been the PD and still is the PD of one of Chicago's Biggest and Most Successful Radio Stations for over 20 years ... anyway, we get a call from Fred Scotti (Of Scotti Bros Records). Don't get me wrong, Fred was a sweetheart, but the ULTIMATE record guy. He was one of the ALL TIME shysters I have EVER dealt with. As you know, Casper at that time was known as a P-3 market, with P-1's being major markets like New York, L.A., Chicago, et al. BUT we were R&R reporters. So we did get attention from record promoters.
So anyway, Michael is coming out with a new album, and Fred sez ... "If the station adds Michael Jackson's latest single, he will send me a box of 50 of Michael's newest LP's" ... he goes on to say,"Not only are they his latest LP, it also is a collectors item because it actually comes with a white glove". For the life of me I can't remember what the single was we were to add, but I said "Hell Yeah, consider it added and send us the box of records".
Well we get them a week later, and we are into the summer ARB book so the MD and I are sitting around having a few "cool ones", and I decided we would give our listeners 50 chances to win AN AUTOGRAPHED MICHAEL JACKSON COLLECTOR'S ALBUM ... how cool would that be for our listeners??? The only problem ... the albums weren't autographed!
So that night, after a downing a number of Coors Lights, I autographed all 50 ... "MUCH LOVE, MICHAEL JACKSON". We then gave them away for an entire week. What a GREAT RADIO PROMOTION that turned out to be!!! The thing you have to understand is, it WAS NOT false advertising as they were Michael Jackson Collector LP's AND they were autographed ... but by ME! I never mentioned they were autographed by Michael, just that they WERE in FACT AUTOGRAPHED!
Remember, there was no internet, no ebay and no one knew what Michael Jackson's autograph even looked like back then. I imagine after he died, some of the people that won these had them on ebay and were asking BIG BUCKS! In the end I hope they got them. End of story, but I'd love to hear more stories from former P.D.'s, M.D.'s about not only record promoters, but some of the "give-a-ways" their stations did back in the day.
"Wild" Bill Cody
I used to work at a printing company where we printed a lot of collectible-type posters. One year, Walter Payton even came in (it was the year he was going into The NFL Hall Of Fame) and signed some posters for us to use as door prize give-aways for our Open House. (In fact, I've run the picture before of Walter Payton, me and my kids at the big event ... shown again below to show you how long ago this really was ... those daughters are now 24 and nearly 21 ... and Walter has been gone since 1999!!!) Anyway, one of my coworkers was a HUGE Walter Payton fan ... and he always wished he could have gotten his hands on an autographed poster ... so I left him one behind his desk one day ... "Mark - Thanks for all the GREAT tips you've given me over the years" ... and I signed it "Wally"!!! Another time we printed one by The Chicago Honey Bears Dancers, the girls who used to provide break-time entertainment at all the Bulls and Bears Games. We told the agency that we couldn't POSSIBLY be sure we got the skin-tones right on the poster unless a couple of the girls came by the shop ... which, INCREDIBLY, they DID!!! Got one of them to sign a poster to our shipping manger: "Pete ... Thanks For Last Night!!!" Yep, those were the FUN days in the Printing Business!!! (lol) kk
First and foremost, bud, (and this truly is between you and me, cause I'm gonna use the f-word a lot) ...
Fucking GREAT piece you did on Michael Jackson.
I couldn't have said it better.
Fucking great.
The media just 'whitewashes' (if you will) over stuff that might not just suit 'the ten-year-old ear' ... if you get my drift.
The line about how he didn't worship Bob or Jimi ... again ... wtg Kent.
Your writing ability might make you a million bucks one day. I kid you not. You have a way of communicating with another mind that is truly good. Keep it up.
Joyce, Hesse, Kerouac, Tom Robbins and KK!
For real, dude ... thanks.
Next time you land in Vegas so you can check out the cool buffets we have here ... Hehe
Come round with your gi-tar and we'll try to sing and fingerpick Blackbird all night till we just want to have another beer and give it a rest.
Peace,
Todd
I know you asked me NOT to run this piece ... but it was just TOO good to pass up!!! Thanks again for the VERY kind ... and very EXPRESSIVE ... words ... it really means a lot. We really, really try to be fucking great ... so it's especially neat to know when we do achieve fucking greatness!!! (lol) kk
re: PETER AND GORDON:
Subj: A celebrity death!
Posted by rawdatas@tsunami.he.net
(CelebrityDeathBeeper.com)
TACO BELL AD STAR GIDGET THE CHIHUAHUA DIES AT 15
http://celebritydeathbeeper.com/8299221.html
"Yo quiero Taco Bell."
And several people wrote in about: GORDON WALLER, MUSICIAN
http://news.google.com/news?q=Gordon+Waller
Uhhh ... pecking order?!?!?!
RENFIELD
lol ... I saw this posting, too ... and thought EXACTLY the same thing!!! (lol) kk
Larry does great covers. He did this one today in memory of Gordon Waller.
David Lewis
We found a few interesting covers of the Peter and Gordon / Paul McCartney classic "A World Without Love" on YouTube, including one erroneously credited to The Beatles themselves ... clearly NOT them within the first couple of seconds!!! We've also included a clip of The Lettermen's version (since those guys are on the list!). Meanwhile, you'll also find the real deal ... by Peter and Gordon ... along with most of their other hits. We watched The Dick Van Dyke Show last night ... it was the "The Red Coats Are Coming" episode with Chad and Jeremy ... a duo who were quite often mistaken for Peter and Gordon back in the day ... they had a similar look and sound ... and, in fact, Frannie said she had seen some mention of Peter and Gordon's Dick Van Dyke appearance in some of the blogs after Gordon's death. Nope ... that was Chad and Jeremy, folks!!! A fun appearance ... the guys look SO young and seem to be having SO much fun! (kk)
Click here: YouTube - A World Without Love Peter & Gordon Cover
Click here: YouTube - The Beatles Cover of "A world without Love"
Click here: YouTube - Lettermen - A World Without Love
... and, speaking of fun videos ...
re: A FUN VIDEO:
I just HAD to share this one with you. I happened to hear Scott Shannon talking about this the other day and, since he's clearly a list favorite, I had to share this story with those of you who may have missed it.
It seems that Eric Carmen had asked Scott Shannon to appear in the video for his brand new (1988) hit "Make Me Lose Control" ... wanted him to play a deejay announcing the "brand new Eric Carmen record." Scott agreed but then, when Carmen told him that he had to fly out to California for the video shoot, renegged, forcing Carmen to replace him with deejay Kid Leo instead. Apparently he wasn't too happy about Shannon's change of heart in the eleventh hour and told Scott, "You know, I'll get you for this" ... and then ... at the very end of the video, filmed a bit where he and Kid Leo are throwing darts at a Scott Shannon poster / dart board!!! TOO Funny!!! Funny thing is, I remember this from when the video was out and brand new ... but it didn't hold any significance for me then. With Scott Shannon so much a part of all of our lives now, it's REALLY neat to watch this again now ... kind of a fun (and fitting) tribute, I guess, under the circumstances. Hearing stories like this (and the recent one where he talked about the Scott Shannon billboard appearing in a Superman comic) make you realize what a HUGE presence Shannon has been in all of our lives these past thirty years or so. Kudos, Scott, for helping to keep this great music alive! (kk)
Click here: YouTube - Make Me Lose Control - Eric Carmen (HQ Audio)
re: MORE ON THE CONCERT FRONT:
The other day we mentioned gigs by The New Colony Six and The Rip Chords. Well, I just heard from these guys again with some "updates" ... so here goes:
Just in case you are planning a road trip this Sunday evening, 7-26-09 …
Current information indicates start time for the concert @ ~7 PM and we will play for at least 1.5 hours, and might approach two hours depending upon things like the weather, our stamina, the inclusion or exclusion of those dreaded brown M&Ms in our pre-concert repast, keggers of root beer consumed by the band before the show, proximity of Porta-Potties to the stage, tolerance / encouragement from the crowd and the thinking of the event organizers. Regardless, here is a link to where you’d be going …
Lions Park <> 81 E Main St <> Lake Zurich, IL 60047 <> (847) 540-0321 <> Map Link: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Lions+Park+in+Lake+Zurich,+IL&sll=42.196374,-88.090557&sspn=0.005755,0.016544&ie=UTF8&ll=42.202613,-88.090696&spn=0.011508,0.033088&t=h&z=15&iwloc=A
Feel free to spread the word to your friends and enemies, relatives and ex-spouses, and, in light of the times … former employees, past co-workers and your favorite caseworkers at the local unemployment compensation office.
Be there and be hexagonal ([New Colony] Six-sided)!
Ray Graffia, Jr.
P.S. Our original keyboardist, Craig Kemp, will be joining us onstage for one or two songs and that alone is worth the price of admission (since I’m pretty sure this is a freebie)!
lol ... GREAT promo piece, Ray!!! I don't think we'll be able to make it ... our Sunday Night plans take us to Evanston ... but hopefully some of our local readers will and can report back to us with a concert review next week!!! (kk)
Kent ...
Here are some photos from our show with Al Jardine at The Cannery Casino this past weekend in Las Vegas. The photo of us standing next to the sign includes Rip Chords Drummer Tony Tuttle, Me, Former Beach Boys Band & now Endless Summer Band bassist Ed Carter, and Rip Chord Richie Rotkin.
The onstage shots include Richie Rotkin and Arnie Marcus onstage with Amy Lynne playing keyboards and singing high vocal parts behind them ... and myself with Bassist Bobby Scammell. It was a great, sold out show.
Mitch Schecter / The Rip Chords
And this just in from Jimy Rogers of Blue Truth ... or would that be the "new" Mauds?!?!? ...
Hambone's Blues Party on WDCB 90.9 fm @ 10 p.m.
Listen online! www.wdcb.org
Jimy, Joan, Gary and guest vocalist Pat Smillie will perform live and give you a taste of our upcoming Ray Charles Tribute show Saturday, August 1 -
FREE festival in downtown Aurora on the Fox River - Billy Squire headlines
7:00 - 8:00 p.m. Artisans in Blue Festival, Lake Bluff
Free or donation - fund-raiser for music education - on the Village Green
Advance Tickets Now Available for a special BLUE TRUTH event:
FRIDAY AUGUST 7, 2009 at the beautiful SKOKIE THEATRE: A TRIBUTE TO RAY CHARLES: “The Soulful Songs of Ray Charles” Featuring vocalists Jimy Rogers & Pat Smillie with BLUE TRUTH
A special concert with new songs, backup singers, and more surprises!
7924 N LINCOLN AVE / SKOKIE, IL
THE MAUDS are BACK!
FIRST SHOWS WITH THE NEW BAND!
Come and hear your favorite Mauds songs
Let's Dance - Evanston - August 6, Davis St. Plaza
BLUE TRUTH and THE MAUDS feature Jimy Rogers on vocals,
Gary Gand on guitar, Joan Gand on keys, Graham Nelson on blues harp and vocals, Joel Treadwell on drums, Steve Nevets on bass and vocals.
Because of your continued support, Blue Truth continue to have the most FUN live shows. It's a BLUE TRUTH PARTY!!!!
You’re the best friends and fans a band could ask for!
See our website for more dates: www.bluetruthchicago.com
Full schedule, music, lots of photos, and more!
And while we never made it to The Cryan' Shames' gig in Bensenville this past weekend, it sounds like lead singer Tom Doody barely did either!!! Just got this report from Dennis Tufano's website:
Dennis Tufano performed five Bobby Darin Songs with The Cryan' Shames last night in the park in downtown Bensenville. Dennis got a call from the band that Tom Doody dis-located his shoulder and they asked if he'd come down and perform. By the end of the show Tom came back from the hospital and sang the last song with all.
ESQ PRESENTS A "PET SOUNDS SAFARI"
to benefit the Cornelius Animal Shelter
Presented by Steel Surf Productions
Date: September 11 & 12, 2009
Location: Cornelius and Davidson, NC
Sponsored by:
Midtown Sundries @ Lake Norman
Homewood Suites by Hilton (Davidson, NC)
Clarion Inn and Suites (Cornelius, NC)
Jim Shafer and LITE 102.9 FM
Larry Sprinkle and WCNC-News Channel 36
LKNFUN.COM
Friday night mixer
Featuring: Band Of Gold
Midtown Sundries @ Lake Norman, Cornelius, NC (9PM)
Saturday Records Show / Fan Convention
Featuring: David Marks (Founding Member of the Beach Boys) and Dean Torrence (Jan & Dean)
Event exclusives: A brand new Jan & Dean CD / DVD collectible set celebrating their 50th Anniversary
The premiere of the Surf City Allstars new CD, "Acoustic Vibrations"
Special guests include: Billy Hinsche, Gary Griffin, David Logeman, Philip Bardowell and Jez Graham
Homewood Suites in Davidson, NC (2-8PM)
Saturday night mixer
Midtown Sundries @ Lake Norman, Cornelius, NC (9-1AM)
Dean Torrence — A special 50th Anniversary J & D Show
David Marks — A career-spanning set
Complete details can be found on The Endless Summer Quarterly Website:
Click here: Endless Summer Quarterly
re: BRIAN EPSTEIN:
I just read your web piece regarding "Who Played The First Beatles Record In America" ... Superb work. You certainly deserve an acknowledgement for your research work. It all meshes with my own - far less extensive - research. And it makes logical sense.
I am a very ardent supporter of the Brian Epstein cause. I think he has been woefully under-appreciated and under-sung in recent years.
His success in talking Sullivan into booking an unknown act - without a US record deal - for three appearances - and then parlaying that into getting Livingstone to override Dexter - and then talk him into the promotional commitment - that alone makes him the ultimate hero of all the people around the Beatles.
I am joined in this opinion by my friends George Martin, Peter Asher, Sid Bernstein, Tony Barrow, Pattie Boyd, Cynthia Lennon and so many more.
And now departed pals such as Derek Taylor (my mentor and first boss), Alistair Taylor, and Walter Shenson.
Those who were jealous of Brian - such as Bill Harry - spin against him.
Perhaps you can do something on the topic? Happy to chat with you if that would help.
See the Epstein petition and website: http://www.BrianEpstein.com
Best -
Martin Lewis
Yes, in many cases Brian is truly under-rated as a manager ... but he NEVER let his boys down. He whole-heartedly believed in their talent and literally went to the ends of the earth to let the rest of the world know just how talented they really were. Certainly, he made some bad decisions, too, perhaps never fully realizing what a VALUABLE commodity he had ... giving away royalty shares for barely a fraction of what they were really worth. Most often, these blunders have been played up far greater than his accomplishments. This is an interesting site and I'm happy to pass the info along ... with the understanding that NO amount of signatures on any petition will in any way influence the committee that decides who does and doesn't get into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. We've covered THIS topic extensively, too, here in Forgotten Hits ... long before you were on our list. It's a sad, sad fact that the votes of the people ... no matter HOW knowledgeable or influential those people may, in fact, be ... count for diddley-squat in this VERY biased election process. (Hmmm ... maybe it's time for me to condense our Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Rave-Out and put it on the archived website.) kk
... and, speaking of The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame ...
re: THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME:
Believe it or not, The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this year! Madison Square Garden will host TWO Concert Events in October. On the 29th, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, Stevie Wonder, Simon and Garfunkel, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Friends will take the stage. The following night, October 30th, it'll be U2, Aretha Franklin, Metallica and Eric Clapton up on the stage. Both nights promise appearances by some "Very Special Guests". More information can be found at www.rockhall25.com.
re: TALK ABOUT YOUR FORGOTTEN HITS:
How long has it been since I heard "Mighty Clouds of Joy" by BJ Thomas?
Thanks and hallelujah!
Phil @ PrayForSurf.net
It's a GREAT song, isn't it?!?!? I tried to get Scott Shannon to include this one as part of our True Oldies Channel / Forgotten Hits Weekend ... but he opted for "Rock And Roll Lullabye" instead. I'm telling you, people LOVE this song ... but have forgotten all about it because it gets virtually NO airplay at all ... and that's just a shame. (Another B.J. Thomas goodie is "No Love At All" ... I guarantee you'll be singing along with THAT one, too!!!) I was VERY disappointed to see that we missed a local appearance by B.J. here a couple of weeks ago ... while he'll probably NEVER be called "Mr. Excitement" on stage, he's got an INCREDIBLE Hit List of material ... and puts on an excellent ... if somewhat "low-key" show. (We saw him a couple of years ago in Bensenville and he sounded great!) We'll feature that Forgotten Hit, "No Love At All" today to remind you just how good a song it really is. (kk)
Some people are still playing your "forgotten hits" on the radio ... here's the line-up from last Sunday's (7/19) GHT Show, airing from 6 - 8:30 PM:
6 - 7 PM: Everything's Alright - Newbeats / Mississippi (45 version) - John Phillips / A Rose And A Baby Ruth - George Hamilton IV / Feelin' So Good - Archies / Gonna Fly Now - Bill Conti / More Money For You And Me Medley (45 Version) - Four Preps / Just As I Am - Air Supply / Paper Tiger - Sue Thompson / More Than A Feeling (45 version) - Boston / When The Lovelight Starts Shining In His Eyes - Supremes / C.C. Rider - Chuck Willis / Summer - War / Wichi-Tai-To - Everything Is Everything / Fish Ain't Bitin' (45 version) - Lamont Dozier / The Wanderer - Donna Summer / 98.6 - Keith
7 - 8 PM: More And More (45 version) - Blood, Sweat and Tears / Love Lies Bleeding ("single edit") - Elton John / Makin' Love - Floyd Robinson / When Irish Eyes Are Smiling - Chauncey Olcott / Gypsies, Tramps And Thieves - Cher / More And More Amor - Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass / Love Come Down - Evelyn "Champagne" King / Bits And Pieces - Dave Clark Five / Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Pat Benatar / I'm Gonna Take Care Of Everything (promo edit) - Rubicon / Lady Bird - Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood / Shambala (Bob Radil acetate mix) - Three Dog Night / What I Like About You - Romantics / True Love Ways - Peter and Gordon / More Than You Know - Martika / Woman Tonight - America / Live For Loving You (single remix) - Gloria Estefan / The Stripper - David Rose
8 - 8:30 PM: One More Day - Todd Rundgren / Let A Woman Be A Woman, Let A Man Be A Man - Dyke and the Blazers / Golden Years (45 version) - David Bowie / Jamaica Farewell - Harry Belafonte / Lo Mucho Que Te Quiero - Rene and Rene / The Way It Is (Walter Cronkite mix) - Bruce Hornsby and the Range / End Of The Party - English Beat
Rich Appel / Hz So Good
Yep, some good ones on this list ... and plenty of Forgotten Hits, too ... many of which we've featured over the years. Internet Radio STILL seems to be the way to go to hear some of the more obscure stuff ... but all this talk about royalties and penalty percentages may soon put an end to that. (This just tells me that Internet Radio has made enough of an impact to make REGULAR radio stand up and notice ... too bad they STILL can't see clearly enough to change the way THEY program their stations!!! The argument that "Sure we play the same songs as everybody else ... because research has proven that THESE are the songs listeners want to hear" simply doesn't hold water. If this is true, what is it that will make YOUR station stand out amongst the other five or six stations in town playing the exact same stuff? Where does the "distinction" come in???) Sooner or later, SOMEBODY's gonna have to take the initiative to stand out from the rest of the crowd ... or people will simply stop listening all together. Look at radio stock today ... there seems to be a contest going to see which major radio network will file bankruptcy first!!! Yet they haven't learned ANYTHING from the competition! Unreal! (kk)
re: YOU THINK I'M KIDDING ABOUT ALL OF THIS?
HOW SAD IS THIS STORY???:
Quite often in our discussions regarding what's wrong with oldies radio today we use the argument that many of today's radio programmers are so young, they weren't around to know, remember and appreciate this music that they're supposed to be programming ... so instead, they go with the same thing that's been "working" everywhere else. (Seems to me if you're going to properly program an oldies station, it ought to be done by somebody who's LIVED through the music of the '50's, the '60's and the '70's in order to have some genuine affection for this music!) Anyway, helping to further prove my point, here is an UNBELIEVEABLE quote from Joan Rivers that comes from an interview that she recently did with TV Guide ... when asked the question "What do you hope your legacy will be?", Joan answered: I couldn't care less. Once you're dead, you're dead. I went on "Larry King" to talk about Ed McMahon after he died, and this 24-year-old intern met me and said I was going to be on with Ed's doctor, Dr. Severinsen. She was talking about DOC SEVERINSEN!!! So enjoy it while they still know you. -- Joan Rivers
re: DIGGIN' THE 'LS SURVEYS EVERY FRIDAY:
Kent,
For Laura's 45th birthday in roughly 13 months, I'm trying to get her 45 45s that were on the WLS charts on 9/3 & 9/10 1965. These do not have to be original labels, nor do the records have to be near mint or even close. As long as the song and the artist are legible is all that I need. I currently have 20 of them. If you, or anyone on the FH list has 45s for sale, preferably cheap or if they'd like some original WLS surveys in trade, I would appreciate the help. If there aren't 45 songs to be had, then any from Billboard or Cash Box is fine. I can tell you right off I don't have either Beatle song listed. I don't want to pay $20.00 for an original. An Apple reissue, or Capitol reissue is fine.
Thanks.
Jack
I think if you sent us a specific song list we could probably find some people on the list willing to help out ... sounds like a neat present. (For my 50th birthday, my daughter put together a CD of 50 songs from the '50's ... she did a lot of research as to the most popular songs of that era and then downloaded these tracks to a CD for me ... it was a very thoughtful gift. Of course because she's only 24, she wasn't familiar with most of these songs or artists so many of them are remakes or cover versions ... kinda like my "too young to be programmers" argument above ... but it's still the thought that counts. I treasure it in my collection today because of the thought and effort that went into preparing the gift. Send us a list and we'll try to help you realize your goal. (kk)
Here is a copy of the list that Jack sent me. If we've got some compationate collectors out there who'd like to lend a hand with this gift project, just drop me a line and I'll put the two of you in touch:
Here's what I need:
Help & Yesterday - Beatles; Heart Full Of Soul - Yardbirds; Laugh At Me - Sonny;
The World Thru A Tear - Neil Sedaka; With These Hands - Tom Jones; Just You - Sonny and Cher; Summer Nights - Marianne Faithfull; I'll Make Your Dreams Come True - Ronnie Dove; Are You A Boy Or Are You A Girl - The Barbarians; I Still Love You - The Vejtables; I Live For The Sun - Sunrays; Agent Double-O Soul - Edwin Starr; Somebody New - Rivieras; Millions Of Roses - Steve Lawrence; Midnight Hour - Wilson Pickett; Blowin' In The Wind - Steve Alaimo; Kansas City Star - Roger Miller; September In The Rain - Chad & Jeremy; It's A Man Down There - G.L. Crockett; Give Me All Your Love- Gerry & The Pacemakers; Action - Freddy Cannon; It's Gonna Take A Miracle- The Royalettes
That's 23 singles. The other two will have to come from either Billboard or Cashbox. You wanna talk about some forgotten hits, there's quite a few here. I've got a bit more than 13 months to get this together. I've picked up a few at record shows, but many of the dealers have no clue as to what they have and I haven't the time for anything more than a superficial look. Thanks for your help.
Jack
Hey, we'll give it a shot ... like I said, I really like the idea and the sentiment behind it. Good Luck! (kk)
Hey Kent,
Just a note to say that I really enjoyed that 1971 survey you included in the blog the other day. Those things really help to pinpoint a specific memory when you have an actual date to refer to. That particular survey had some bittersweet memories for me as my father had passed away in April and I always remember how ironic it seemed that "It's Too Late" should be on the air at that time, as well as "Joy To The World" and "I Just Want To Celebrate", which made me think of how can there be these great songs and sentiments, when I'm feeling so down?
Later that year, several albums helped to save my sanity, McCartney - Ram, Santana III and Chicago - Live at Carnegie Hall. I sat and listened to those albums / 8-track tapes with headphones on over and over again and just forgot all my troubles. I still have those albums and the Santana 8-track (no longer playable) and of course have long since replaced them on CD. Even though those songs have bittersweet memories, I still love the music from that time period because it helped me get thru a very difficult time.
A little over a year later, in June of '72, my mother passed away as "Lean On Me" and "Alone Again, Naturally" were at the top of the charts. Irony anyone?
Kent, please include more of those surveys in the future, they are great!!
Growing up in Connecticut, we always listened to WABC and the surveys are very similar to what we heard.
Thank You So Much!!
Eddie,
Orange, CT
The reader-response has been very positive on this new feature thus far ... so I imagine we'll run a few more. (I'm still hoping to get WLS to pick up our weekly feature!) Thanks SO much for sharing those very special memories with us. (kk)
And then THIS nice surprise from Greg Brown, WLS-FM afternoon deejay:
Kent,
You've got a great site ... it looks like a real "labor of love"! Thanks for sharing!
GREG BROWN
Afternoons 3:00pm - 7:00p
94.7 WLS-FM,
Chicago's True Oldies Channel
Of course by the time he took the air on Friday, they were already into their '60's weekend ... so our chart from 1973 held absolutely NO relevance whatsoever!!! (lol) But who knows .... maybe we'll slowly start to win him over. Next week's WLS Chart takes a look back at 1966! (kk)
