The Summer of '69

Ahh, yes ... The Summer of '69 ... I remember it well. (Well, sort of ... as the summer drew to a close, I would turn 16, but looking back over some of your memories has inspired a few of my own.)

We all know what Canadian Rocker Bryan Adams was doing that summer ... that was the year he got his first real six-string ... he told ME that he bought it at the five-and-time ... and, as I recall, he played it till his fingers bled ... yes, it was the Summer of '69.

That means Bryan would turn TEN later that year ... so he got a much earlier start on playing music than I did!!! (Personally, I got MY first six-string in 1967 ... inspired by seeing how much fun The Monkees were having every week, I knew that this was something that I wanted to do, too. Notice that I didn't say my first "real" six-string ... the one I bought in '67 was one of those cheap, Japanese jobbers where the strings sat about six feet off the fret board ... lol ... couldn't play it worth a damn which, in hindsight, I realize was only PARTLY my fault ... but I didn't care ... I was makin' music!!! lol)

By February of '68 I'd taken a few guitar lessons ... (let me tell you, I played a MEAN "Rockin' In The Rye"!!!) ... and, later that year, I bought MY first real six-string ... a Gibson ES-335 ... Cherry Red ... a BEAUTIFUL guitar. By then I'd already started writing my own songs and was well on my way to obscurity!!!

We heard from a few other folks on the list who had some personal musical memories circa 1969 ... and we'll be running them sporadically throughout the month of August.

Got some memories to share??? Drop us a line ... we'd LOVE to hear from you! We're looking for a whole lot of audience participation on this one ... so please come reminisce with us!

Hi Kent,
Probably nothing of interest to anyone else, but in looking over my gig history (of which I've compiled a huge amount), '69 was:
1. the first year that I did a Nevada show-group gig (Elko)
2. my first visit back to FL (where I went to high school) since '64
3. when I left the Portraits, after having been with them since 1/64 (before they were called the Portraits)
4. worked a day job (for about 3 months) for the first time since 1961
5. did several gigs with Donnie Brooks (whom I had known since '65), one of which included alternating sets with Nelson Riddle's orchestra
6. did some gigs with Chuck Higgnins ("Pachucko Hop")
7. also played in Kentucky and ran into an old Milwaukee musician friend
8. was on one show mc'ed by Wolfman Jack
Gary E. Myers / MusicGem

Late in the Summer of '69 I sang in a rock band in front of a live audience for the very first time in my life. It was also our first PAYING gig so it was quite the memorable, pressure-filled night. I had put together a band in our basement that consisted of my brother Mark (who today is facing those medical challenges we told you about a month or two ago ... he's holding steady right now, by the way, for those of you who have asked) on his maroon solid-body Gibson SG and a drummer named Jimmy Gilsdorf. We had never played outside our own basement before ... entertained at a couple of birthday and / or graduation parties ... but that was pretty much the extent of it. We only did instrumentals ... things like "Walk Don't Run" and "Wipe Out" and instrumental versions of other hits and classics ... like "Sleep Walk" and "My Bonnie" and "Rockin' In The Rye", of course ... and that was about it. Were we any good? Let's just say that NO ONE will EVER accuse me of being a lead guitarist!!! (lol)


But in the Summer of '69, one of my best friends in High School said that his brother was in charge of hiring the entertainment for an upcoming hay ride and wanted to know if we would play. Geez ... a REAL job?!?!? In front of people?!?!? I wasn't sure if we were ready for THAT!!! (We weren't ... it was flat-out awful!!!) Anyway, I figured we'd better learn a couple of hit songs that were on the charts right now ... so we quickly added "Bad Moon Rising" and "Honky Tonk Women" to our repertoire, featuring ME on lead vocals on both. (Two of the biggest songs of the Summer of '69, by the way, and the first two songs I ever sang live in public! In fact, I think I sang each of them three or four times that night ... we probably had about twenty minutes of material TOTAL as a band ... and had to play three forty-minute sets ... so we repeated stuff ... a LOT!!! lol) We couldn't honor ANY of their requests ... couldn't play anything more challenging than that which I've just described ... and it was, without question, the WORST live performance by ANY band EVER!!! Incredibly, they still paid us ... but by the time we all got home that night, we just wanted to quit, figuring we had absolutely NO business whatsoever in the rock arena. (Truthfully, we stunk SO bad that I wasn't even sure they'd let us sit in the audience watching somebody ELSE perform!!!) It was, POSITIVELY, the worst performance EVER ... and that includes playing at a bar several years later when the owner came up to us on the stage and offered to pay us $200 if we'd "stop playing right now"!!! (lol) kk


1969: Keep those memories coming, folks ... we'll run them interspersed throughout the entire month of August ... and on ANY variety of topics ... so don't be shy!!! Movies??? TV??? Politics??? The Moon Landing??? Charles Manson??? Chappaquiddick??? Woodstock??? Sesame Street??? Let us hear from you!!!

CALLING ALL METS FANS: We need to hear from a couple of 1969 "Miracle Mets" Fans who watched their team go from Worst To First that year. We've got LOTS of Cubs fans on the list ... and we all remember the heartbreak they caused us here in Chicago that summer. (In fact, some of us were petitioning newly elected President Richard Nixon to declare the team a national disaster in an effort to wipe out the entire season!!!) So Mets Fans, let's hear from you!!!

A SPECIAL FORGOTTEN HITS GIVE-AWAY: And, as an added bonus, we'll be giving away a copy of the brand new "Time Magazine" 40th Anniversary Special that THEY put together remembering 1969. It's a BEAUTIFUL book chock full of photographs and memories recalling the end of the decade. Vote for YOUR favorite bits and pieces throughout the month and, when it's all over, we'll award a copy to one winner ... so get your story in AND qualify to win a copy of this collectors' book!

7 - 31 - 66

(Click Chart to Enlarge)

Some of The Biggest Hits of the Summer were still riding high on the WLS Chart dated 7 - 29 - 66. "Summer In The City" (previously voted as YOUR All-Time Favorite Summer Song in a Forgotten Hits Poll we conducted a few years back) was holding down the #1 spot, a place it would occupy for three out of the next four weeks. (It would be interrupted for one week on August 12th when The Hollies' Hit "Bus Stop" unseated it ... only to return to the top of the chart a week later.) "Summer In The City" had just displaced "Wild Thing" by The Troggs (the only #1 Hit in history to be released on two different labels at the same time!), a spot it had occupied the previous two weeks. By July 29th, "Hanky Panky", the MONSTER Tommy James and the Shondells Hit (#1 in Chicago for four weeks) had already fallen to #15.

Other Summer of '66 Classics near the top of the chart included "I Saw Her Again" by The Mamas and the Papas (in at #3), "The Pied Piper" by Crispian St. Peters (#4), "Little Red Riding Hood" by Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs (#6), "Hungry" by Paul Revere and the Raiders (#7) and "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love" by Petula Clark, which was holding down the #10 spot.

Some of our Local Heroes were making THEIR showing on the chart this week as well ... The Cryan' Shames (mis-spelled on the chart!) held down the #4 Spot with their debut hit "Sugar And Spice", The Del-Vetts (ALSO mis-spelled on the chart!) were in at #30 with "Last Time Around" and The New Colony Six were sitting at #32 with their remake of the Bo Diddley tune "Cadillac".

Forgotten Hits on the chart? How about the Tommy McLain version of the Patsy Cline classic "Sweet Dreams", in at #9. (Tommy was one of the very first Forgotten Hits Interviews we ever did way back in 2001.) You NEVER hear this one on the radio anymore, despite its National Top 15 status. (Actually, it's a GREAT rendition of this song ... so we're featuring it today!) Another "sweet" entry could be found at #11 ... Tommy Roe's "Sweet Pea" was one of Tommy's trademark "Buddy Holly sound-alike" tunes ... and a pretty catchy one at that! Another Forgotten Hits Favorite was in at #31 ... "I Love Onions" by Susan Christie ... who, by the way, was NOT (as has often been reported) Lou Christie's sister!

The British Invasion was still pretty well represented this week, too ... besides the aforementioned hits by The Troggs, The Hollies, Crispian St. Peters and Petula Clark ... The Rolling Stones, Herman's Hermits, The Yardbirds, Dusty Springfield, Manfred Mann, Chad and Jeremy and Cilla Black ALSO had songs on this week's Top 40 Silver Dollar Survey. (Noticeably absent from the chart this week were The Beatles ... their two-sided hit "Paperback Writer" / "Rain" had fallen off the chart after sitting at #17 the previous week ... and "Yellow Submarine" / "Eleanor Rigby" wouldn't debut until two weeks later.

More Recent And Up-Coming Shows

re: RECENT AND UP-COMING SHOWS:
Hi Kent,
Hope all is well. We are doing very well and performing often. We just signed for a show on November 7th which features Chris Montez, Brian Hyland, The 1910 Fruitgum Company, The Vogues and The Grass Roots.
It will be at the Bergen P.A.C. in Englewood, N.J. Tickets at Ticketmaster.
Our schedule can be seen at www.1910fruitgumcompany.com
As usual, I enjoyed the news in your Forgotten Hits Newsletter, especially the question to my friend Alan O'Day.
Sad news about Gordon Waller ... he will be missed.
Keep up all the good work,
All the best,
Mick
The 1910 Fruitgum Company
Now THAT sounds like a KILLER line-up ... wish we could be there for this show. Thanks for staying in touch, Mick, we appreciate it! (kk)

Hi Kent -
Saw the Buckinghams at Elmwood Park Fest and I second the motion that their sound is greater than ever, especially with the addition of the horn assemble. What great musicians!
Tom on the drums is GREAT, too. What a drummer he is. Bob Abrams, with his sense of humor, adds spark to the show. Their rendition of Expressway to Your Heart and Domino is very entertaining utilizing Nick's vocals. Carl opened the show with Lawdy Miss Clawdy to get things rockin' ...
Looking forward to the Randy Bachman concert and ZZ Top, too. Keep up the fantastic comments.
Carolyn

>>>In a last minute performance, 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. (Linda Matlow)
>>>Now THAT had to be a nice surprise!!! (But why wouldn't he sing some of his Buckinghams hits for the crowd?!?!? You had an entire audience there primed for some '60's Chicagoland Rock Classics!!!) kk
We did go see the Cryan Shames last week ... at their Bensenville Show on the 22nd!
I saw Toad about two hours before the show talking to people in the street. When I went to talk to him he was gone.
We were having dinner at Two Chefs and at about 5:30 - 6:00 we watched a paramedic truck roll up. I told my wife, "Watch it's probably somebody in the band". Sure enough they rolled Toad out on a gurney. "There goes the concert".
Dennis Tufano did come in and do four Bobby Darin songs. Not quite what I was there to hear, but it was nice to have him fill in. "God Bless You" as he said several times.
What was more fun was that they called Larry Convey to fill in. He was on a golf course in the south suburbs and rushed up to fill in. He was great, especially dressed in golf shorts and a Cryan Shames T-shirt. We saw him last year doing a couple of songs as a guest singer. Larry sang lead with The Cryan' Shames from 1995 to 2002.
It was on the last song that Toad returned from the emergency room to sing the final song.
What was even funnier was that Hooke got a call on his cell phone during the concert in between songs. He took the call and he said "I can't really talk now ... I'm doing a concert." It was his wife giving him an update on Toad! How great!
And ... during the day, my son called me from his job at the Barrington Park District to say he talked to Toad, who was there watching his Grandson play baseball!
I did get a chance to talk to Toad after the concert and he said he had fallen and had a dislocated shoulder and had it a sling.
It turned out to be a great concert despite all the all the issues. The weather even held out.
Bill Hengels

Sounds like (despite an OBVIOUS set-back) the guys still pulled off a fun and entertaining show. (In hindsight, I cannot help but wonder if perhaps Dennis Tufano was "encouraged" NOT to sing any Buckinghams songs that night ... after all, Carl Giammarese and the guys are performing at the exact same venue on August 5th ... someone may have felt that whole situation to be more confusing than the average fan could comprehend ... and certainly the village didn't want to do anything to diminish the turn-out for an up-coming show. Just a thought!) kk

... and, speaking of J.C. Hooke and the guys ...

BOLINGBROOK PERFORMING ARTS CENTER PRESENTS: "JPG" LIVE IN CONCERT WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2009 -- 7:30 PM TO 9:00 PMFEATURING:
J.C. HOOKE (JIMMY PILSTER) ON CONGAS, DAVE RICE ON KEYBOARDS, DAVE ZANE ON GUITAR
BOLINGBROOK PERFORMING ARTS CENTER375 W. Briarcliff Road
Bolingbrook, IL 60440-0951
Marlene
Another "side project" for Jimmy?!?!? Cool! And let's not forget The Jamez Band Show (coming up at the same venue on August 26th), featuring a reunion of FIVE original members of The Cryan' Shames, performing as part of James Fairs' new musical venture. (I'm treating myself to a birthday concert that night!!! Can't wait to see them!) kk

My husband I thought it would be fun to go see Gary Lewis on Monday night at the Music Pier in Ocean City NJ - it was! He and his band (I don't think they were originals) put on a really fun show, sang all their hit songs and a lot of other groups hits of the 60s - The Monkees, Sam the Sham, The Beatles ... Gary had a ball singing and telling stories, like how they chose him to go on the Ed Sullivan show, hinting all along that it was his "connections in the business" that got them to be recognized, and how he was the one to knock the Beatles out of the #1 spot. His voice - well, he was a bit off key and whiny through most of the songs - but his exuberance made up for all that, in my opinion. He was gracious to stay after the show and sign autographs for the crowd. Eileen

We saw Gary a few years ago ... nope, not one of the better vocalists out there ... but he sure did seem grateful and appreciative of the career he was able to enjoy back in the '60's ... and he was genuinely having fun up on stage, performing for an audience again. (We've covered the fact that Lewis may not have even sung much on his own records back then, typically following a "guide vocal" laid down by someone else!) But let's not forget the fact that Gary Lewis and the Playboys placed fifteen straight songs in The National Top 50 between 1965 and 1969 ... a pretty amazing feat for ANY recording artist. (That tally includes eight Top Ten Hits: This Diamond Ring, #1, 1965; Count Me In, #2, 1965; Save Your Heart For Me, #2, 1965; Everybody Loves A Clown, #4, 1965; She's Just My Style, #3, 1966; Sure Gonna Miss Her, #9, 1966; Green Grass, #8, 1966 and Sealed With A Kiss, #8, 1968.) You can pick up the COMPLETE collection of Gary Lewis and the Playboys Liberty singles on an EXCELLENT 2-CD compilation recently released by Collectors' Choice Music. (kk)

Hey Kent ...
Here are a couple more photos from our show with Al Jardine.
That's me, Richie, and Al onstage together at the end of the show and a photo of The Rip Chords onstage during our set.
What a blast we had! We'll be doing it again real soon.
Mitch Schecter / The Rip Chords

Speaking of great surf music, we caught Dean Torrence and The Surf City All-Stars at their local appearance here last night ... GREAT show and a good-sized crowd on hand. The band performed the best live version of "Darlin'" (the 1968 Beach Boys tune) I've EVER heard ... and that includes seeing The Beach Boys themselves perform it at least a dozen times!!! From here they're off to Texas where former Beach Boys Al Jardine and David Marks join the line-up. (Here in Chicago, Bob Greene took the stage, along with Al's son Matt Jardine, who handled most of the high falsetto vocals.) If you get a chance to see them before the summer's over, do so ... GREAT summertime music and a guaranteed night of Fun Fun Fun! (kk)
Click here: The Surf City Allstars, World's Greatest Surf and Beach Party Band

The other day we told you about some of the Woodstock Anniversary Concerts that are coming up in various parts of the country. Meanwhile, let's not forget Hippiefest!!! These guys are still out on the road, too ... and man, what a line-up! Featured artists include Chuck Negron (formerly of Three Dog Night), Felix Cavaliere (formerly of The Rascals), Flo and Eddie (Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan of The Turtles), Joey Molland (of Badfinger), Mountain, Mitch Ryder and Brewer and Shipley. Tour dates can be found here (kk):
Click here: http://www.hippiefest.net/

The Rolling Stones

Oops!


This one SHOULD have gone out as part of The Sunday Comments ...


But I pasted it into the next "Leftovers" Page by mistake!


GREAT news for some of The Stones Fans on the list ... and, thankfully, I caught it in time to share with you today!!!


re: THE ROLLING STONES:
PHOTOGRAPHER SUE MICHELSON RELEASES UNIQUE PORTFOILO
OF UNRELEASED CLASSIC 1966 ROLLING STONES COCERT PHOTOGRAPHS
Images from July 25th, 1966 Hollywood Bowl Live Show Now Available For Online Viewing And Select Sales
BURBANK, Calif. - July 20, 2009 - Classic photographs of the Rolling Stones -- images that have never before been seen or published -- will become available to the public for the first time on Saturday, July 25th, 2009, when Studio City, California-based photographer Sue Michelson formally launches her Soul Gallery website at www.rollingstones1966photos.com to coincide with the forty-third anniversary of the legendary Hollywood concert at which they were taken. Interestingly, the following day, Sunday, July 26th, will be Sir Michael Jagger's 66th birthday.The collection of black & white and color photographs was selected from Michelson's personal archives, culled from a storied career which included stints as the staff photographer for the nationally syndicated radio show Rockline, as well as the Rock 'n' Roll Tonight television series that was filmed at Hollywood's famed Palace [now Avalon], while she worked for KLOS-FM. Michelson's work has been published in Billboard, Radio & Records, The KLOS-FM Concert Guide, and other print outlets over the decades. These unique and inspiring Hollywood Bowl images were captured at a legendary concert that featured the Rolling Stones along with the McCoys, Buffalo Springfield, and the Standells. The initial exhibit and offering at the Soul Gallery site will combine these long-hidden Rolling Stones photographs from that summer evening in 1966 with equally unknown black & white pictures of Buffalo Springfield and the Standells, taken on the same evening in the same venue.
Concert Stats and Rare Guitars
Sue Michelson's photos document the Rolling Stones' performance at a KHJ radio-sponsored Hollywood Bowl concert that included appearances by the station's promotional mascot, The Big Kahuna.
The Rolling Stones' sixth (non-compilation) U.S. album, Aftermath, released earlier in 1966, had been produced by Andrew Loog Oldham and engineered by Dave Hassinger at RCA recording studios on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood, just a couple of miles from the Bowl. Aftermath was the first Rolling Stones album on which all songs were written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
The set list from the Stones' performance at the famed Hollywood Bowl concert was as follows: Not Fade Away / The Last Time / Paint It Black / Lady Jane / Mother's Little Helper / Get Off of My Cloud / 19th Nervous Breakdown / (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
Sue Michelson's photos of the Rolling Stones in Hollywood include shots of Brian Jones playing the dulcimer on "Lady Jane," and onstage close-ups of Mick Jagger during the performance.
These images from the Bowl also show Keith Richards backstage, holding a rare 1950s-era Gibson Les Paul "Goldtop" guitar with the PAF (Patent Applied For) pickups. This was the guitar that Keith also used, at the end of this U.S. tour, to record tracks at RCA Hollywood for a portion of the Rolling Stones' next album, Between the Buttons. A mere six weeks after the Hollywood Bowl gig, Keith can be seen playing a different, black Les Paul Custom guitar on the Ed Sullivan television show during the song, "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?" He later played that black guitar on the remaining tracks of Between the Buttons, cut at Olympic Sound in London after the Stones returned to England. The black Les Paul Custom continued to be Keith's guitar of choice throughout the ensuing albums, Their Satanic Majesties Request and Beggars Banquet, as well as on the Rolling Stones' 1969 and 1970 European tours. Michelson's glimpses of Keith and the specific Les Paul "Goldtop" guitar seen at the Hollywood Bowl are very rare, since they are believed to be the only known photographs of Keith with this instrument. None of these photographs have ever been shown or reprinted before. Sue Michelson is offering limited, numbered, silver-gelatin prints of these images for sale, either individually or as a suite, in print sizes 12 x 16, 16 x 20, or 20 x 24 (all in inches). Web previews are located at www.rollingstones1966photos.com, on the Gallery page of the website.
Interested parties may contact Sue Michelson directly, either by phone at (818) 377-4561, or by emailing her at miracle010401@gmail.com, for inquiries, prices and terms of sale.For any additional information about Sue Michelson and the Soul Gallery website, please send us an email at kubro@davidcarrmusic.com, or contact our office at the KubRo Group number shown below.
818 - 343 - 1510
-- submitted by David Carr

***

1969:
We received a TON of 1969 Memories yesterday ...


Keep 'em comin', folks!!! Throughout the month of August we'll break away for '69 Flashbacks and we want YOU to share YOUR memories with us, too!!!


Doesn't matter WHAT the topic is ... we're going to try to cover ALL the biggies over the course of the month ...


So PLEASE ... SHARE with us ... and then watch these pages for

'69 MEMORIES ...

Coming soon to Forgotten Hits!!!



And, speaking of 1969 ... and The Rolling Stones ...

THESE guys had a pretty amazing year that year!

Their only chart single in 1969, "Honky Tonk Women", topped The Billboard Chart for Four Weeks that summer ... and went on to become one of the biggest records of the year. Founder Brian Jones also quit the band that summer ... and then died a few weeks later when he drowned in his own swimming pool on July 3rd. Two days later, The Stones played a memorial concert at Hyde Park to a crowd of about 250,000 fans ... but this isn't the concert they would be most-remembered for in '69 ... that came five months later at Altamont, the infamously filmed concert of The Rolling Stones that captured the murder of Meredith Hunter at the hands of Hell's Angels, hired by The Stones to work "security" at the event.


They weren't all HAPPY memories in 1969 ... share yours with us as we take a look back 40 years ... the end of a decade, the end of an era. Just email forgottenhits@aol.com ... and we'll run the best of the batch throughout the month of August.

Remembering Woodstock

re: WOODSTOCK ... 40 YEARS LATER:
The 40th Anniversary of Woodstock is upon us ... and tributes are springing up all over the country to celebrate this historical music event. (We had hoped to share some comments from Artie Kornfeld, one of the original organizers of this event, but he hasn't responded yet!)

The film "Taking Woodstock" premiers nationally on August 28th. The Ang Lee film tells the story of Elliot Tiber who gave up his "backyard" to house the festival. Complete details can be found here: Click here: Taking Woodstock - Moviefone.


Some of our Forgotten Hits Readers who live in the area have been keeping us informed over the past year with some of the filming events and the previews for the movie have been showing in theaters for weeks now. We can't wait to see this one!

Meanwhile, deluxe CD Box Sets and DVD Box Sets, including music and footage never before seen, have also flooded the market, as have a number of books on the subject. (You'll find an entire Woodstock Table Display at Barnes and Nobles! The "counter-culture" has now become SO mainstream ... and marketable ... some 40 years later!)

Dee Jay Jimmy Jay just sent us THIS report about some Boston-area celebrations:
Boston Celebrates Woodstock!
August 12 – 16, 2009 Regent Theatre, Arlington, MA
Featuring Richie Havens – Jocko (Sha Na Na) – Jimmy Jay (Rewind Show) plus more exciting events.

Wednesday, August 12 at 8 pm: An Evening with RICHIE HAVENS with Jimmy Jay host of the internationally syndicated Rewind Show will MC the show.

When Richie Havens opened the "Woodstock Music & Arts Fair" on August 15, 1969, the throngs assembled on Yasgur's Farm in upstate New York were quickly blown away by the power and energy of his performance.

(The rest -- as they say -- is history.)

40 years later, The Regent Theatre is proud to present this music icon two days before he returns to perform "Freedom" at the site of the original Woodstock stage in Bethel, NY at noon, followed by an evening performance.
***FREE RAFFLE TO WIN A FENDER GUITAR AT THIS EVENT!***

Thursday, August 13 at 7:30 pm : 7:30 Panel and 9:00 Film
Reliving Woodstock - Jimmy Jay Moderator (The Rewind Show)

A Lively, Interactive Panel Discussion and Q & A with Those That were There or Wish They Were including …

Susan Reynolds -- Author of "Woodstock Revisited" -- #1 on Good Morning America's Top 8 Woodstock books;
Elijah Wald -- Author of the new book on the history of American popular music from the dawn of recording to the 1960s, "How The Beatles Destroyed Rock and Roll”;
Bill Hanley -- Father of Festival Sound -- designed, built and operated of the Woodstock sound system, & recorded the master tapes;
Jocko -- Founding member of Sha Na Na, youngest performer on the Woodstock stage;
Gary Sohmers — Known as the "King of Pop Culture," he produces and hosts, the syndicated talk radio show "Calling All Collectors" and is a very popular, flamboyant appraiser of Toys, Collectibles and Memorabilia on the hit PBS television program "The Antiques Roadshow";

Dennis Keller -- "Front Row" Fan at Woodstock -- caught Pete Townshend's guitar tossed into crowd at the end of The Who's legendary set.

Thursday, August 13 at 7:00 pm

Special Screening Event Introduced By Director, Michelle Esrick!

Saint Misbehavin': The Wavy Gravy Movie

Beginning with Woodstock ‘99, director Michelle Esrick spent 10 years documenting the life of Wavy Gravy. Saint Misbehavin’ journeys from the hills of California to the Himalayan Mountains to reveal the life of this one of a kind servant to humanity. The film blends Wavy’s own words with magical stories from an extraordinary array of fellow travelers both cultural and counter-cultural, revealing the man behind the clown’s grin and the fool’s clothing. Featuring: Wavy Gravy, Jahanara Romney, Jordon Romney, Dr. Larry Brilliant, The Grateful Dead, Phil Lesh, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, Odetta, Patch Adams, Steve Earle, Lisa Law, Buffy Sainte Marie, Denise Kaufman, Michael Franti, Tom Law, Steven Ben Israel, The Hog Farm and more!

Friday, August 14 at 8:00 pm:
WOODSTOCK: The Next Generation

Special Concert Featuring Young Musicians / Bands Playing Songs Performed at Woodstock
Hosted by Jocko from Sha Na Na and Jimmy Jay from the Rewind Radio Show
Woodstock is not just for Old Hippies and Aging Boomers. Come hear some of Boston’s most talented teen and young adult musicians sink their teeth into Woodstock classics from The Who, Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, CCR, Sly & The Family Stone, Janis Joplin, & more! Feat. Renee Marcou, Louie Bello, Jessica Prouty Band, a special appearance by The Paul Green School of Rock.
Host Jocko will sit in on a few songs …

Saturday and Sunday, August 15 and 16:
WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL

(On The BIG Screen In Concert Sound)

Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace & Music — 4-Hr. Director’s Cut!
Sat 8/15, 7:30 pm; Sun 8/16, 2 pm (FREE if you dress in ‘60s Attire!)

The landmark Oscar®-winning documentary captures the essence of the music, the electricity of the performances, and the experience of those who lived it. Newly re-mastered, this director’s cut features legendary performances by 17 artists.

JIMI HENDRIX, Live at Woodstock

Sat 8/15, 2 pm; Sun 8/16, 7:30 pm

Hendrix’s complete, legendary festival closing performance.

Screening includes The Road To Woodstock: a documentary featuring interviews with Hendrix band members Mitch Mitchell, Billy Cox, Juma Sultan, and Larry Lee, engineer Eddie Kramer, & Woodstock promoter Michael Lang among others -- plus color film footage of never before seen Hendrix press conference held September 3, 1969 in Harlem — he answers questions about his Woodstock performance, his rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner," and the festival’s cultural impact

And we're celebrating here in Illinois, too! (WOODSTOCK, Illinois to be exact!!!) Two days of peace, love and music ... and nothing BUT peace, love and music ... will be offered on August 14th and August 15th with a total of NINE Tribute Bands scheduled to perform tributes to the Artists of Woodstock. (Bands include tributes to Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker, The Who, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Grateful Dead and Santana.) And, on July 31st at The Genesee Theatre in Waukegan you can catch Jefferson Starship (who are now billing themselves as "The Heroes Of Woodstock")!!!

Click here: Welcome to A Woodstock Illinois Tribute 2009

'60's FLASHBACK:

Eons ago, we interviewed Henry Gross for Forgotten Hits. Here's what HE had to say about the whole Woodstock Experience:

Prior to his success as a solo artist, Henry Gross started his career as the original lead guitarist in the camp '50's group Sha Na Na back in the late '60's. (Performing at WOODSTOCK just HAD to be one of the career highlights for this guy!!!) So we asked him about it!

FORGOTTEN HITS: You obviously had a real appreciation for the rock music that started it all in order to have been involved with Sha Na Na from the very beginning. Can you tell us how the concept for that band came about?

HENRY GROSS: Sha Na Na started when a college glee club, "The Columbia Kingsmen", did a few oldies at a school pub called " The Lion's Den" to a tumultuous response. Seeing this, the brother of one of the members, George Leonard, had the vision and put the concept to the members. Some stayed, some quit when the new direction was taken. I was at a different college but was in a band with two of the members of that glee club. They asked me to join and I did.

FH: The band took a tongue-in-cheek look at some of the music of the '50's in their stage act but musically and vocally were right on the money ... in other words, the music never suffered. How did Sha Na Na happen to be booked at Woodstock? What was that whole experience like? There couldn't have been a less-likely audience for you to play to!!!

HG: After playing at the hottest club in New York, The "Steve Paul Scene" and playing at "The Fillmore East" to incredible reactions, we were added to the bill at "Woodstock". Woodstock was great fun. Got to drive to the stage (for about three hours) with Jerry Garcia! Great guy! I also got to spend time with Jimi Hendrix, who I'd gotten to know fairly well through a guy called Velvert Turner who sat next to me in "The Midwood High School Mixed Chorus" in Brooklyn. Velvert was very close with Jimi and I was lucky to have had the opportunity to know both of them, as they were really great and talented guys. Also met and spoke to Alvin Lee, who is a friend of mine today, although he has no recollection of our meeting then. Why would he? It was right after he came off stage and there were 300,000 other folks talking to him at approximately the same time!

SHARE YOUR MEMORIES WITH US!!!

There has been a WHOLE lot of "Reflecting Back on 1969" going on recently ... The Woodstock Anniversary ... The Moon Landing ... The Miracle Mets ... The End Of The '60's ... and SO much more!

What are some of YOUR favorite memories of '69? (I mean, we ALL know what Bryan Adams was doing that summer ... but what about YOU guys?!?!?)

Send us some of your reminisces and we'll feature them throughout the month of August ... along with a look back at the music that was all over the radio during The Summer of '69 ... as well as some reflections on some of the headlines that were going on around us at the time. (Manson Family, anyone?!?!?) We'll take a look back at The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (oh wait ... that was 1968!!!) and share some of YOUR favorite '69 memories. (No ... not THOSE 69 memories ... well, unless you've got pictures to share!!!)

You know what I mean ... get 'em into us as soon as you can and we'll stop and take a look back throughout the month of August. Get in on the fun and drop us a line!

The Sunday Comments ( 07 - 26 - 09 )

re: LOST IN TRANSLATION:
>>>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

(Interestingly enough, we ALSO happened to catch The Mary Tyler Moore Show episode with Walter Cronkite this weekend!!! How cool is THAT?!?!?) kk

... 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?!?!? ...

Thursday, July 30 - Blue Truth on the Radio
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 -

Two Shows! 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. Rock the Fox in Aurora
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

847-677-7761

www.skokietheatre.com

Click the link below to order your advance tickets: https://www.ticketturtle.com/index.php?theatre=stmf
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

Downtown Elmhurst Concert Series - August 8
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!

Former Maud Quent Lang has an important engagement coming up, too! HIS new band, North Of Memphis, will be appearing at The Park West next month. (I've heard some REALLY good things about these guys ... so check 'em out if you get a chance!) Here are all the details:

JAM Productions presents Mike Flynn's NORTH OF MEMPHIS at the Park West, 322 West Armitage on Friday, August 14th. Chicago's premier R & B and session players have been collaborating and performing together at select venues for nearly two years. Led by singer / songwriter and lead guitarist Mike Flynn, this electric ensemble cris-crosses between blues, R & B, funk and fusion at a moment's notice.

North of Memphis is: Mike Flynn, lead guitar; Howard Levy, harmonica; Quent Lang, sax and flute; Steve Taylor, lead vocals; Pat Flemming, lead guitar; Dave Forte, bass; Bill LeClaire, keyboards; Kevin Johnston, Drums. Doors open at 7:30pm. Rick Biordi's band opens the show @ 8:30, followed by North of Memphis. Tickets are available @ http://www.jamusa.com

See and hear North of Memphis on My Space and YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGYn9Iz7hCg

http://www.myspace.com/mikeflynnsnorthofmemphis

http://www.youtube.com/user/lowryman

http://www.myspace.com/fordzign (click on Bad Axe)

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 - last minute performance with The Cryan' Shames in Bensenville last night!
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.

Now THAT had to be a nice surprise!!! (But why wouldn't he sing some of his Buckinghams hits for the crowd?!?!? You had an entire audience there primed for some '60's Chicagoland Rock Classics!!!)

And, speaking of Dennis Tufano ...

Dennis Tufano featured on Darin Lifetime Events "Music From The Heart" concert video!

This wonderful professionally recorded two disc set was recorded on May 17, 2009, at the Southpoint Casino in Las Vegas. Dennis Tufano performs solo and along with Bill McCubbin, Dakota Horvath,TK Kellman, Gene Sironen, Jimmy Walker, and the Fat City Horns. The set also includes a special "Mack Is Fifty" video to celebrate the anniversary of the 1959 record of the year, 'Mack The Knife". I recently previewed this and have to say you will just love it! The boxed set is available through the order form that can be found here:

http://darinlifetimeevents.org/ORDER2009.htm

The Darin site is: http://darinlifetimeevents.org/

Dennis Tufano website: http://www.dtsings.com

Dennis Tufano blog: http://dennistufano.blogspot.com/

-- Submitted by Linda Matlow, PIXINTL

Wow! Sounds like Dennis has gotten all cyberspace on us recently!!! (lol) That's OK ... he puts on a great show an his tribute to the music of Bobby Darin is well worth seeing.

Meanwhile, speaking of The Buckinghams, I've heard from SEVERAL people on the list now saying that they are REALLY kicking some serious butt in concert lately. The addition of a four-piece horn section seems to have revitalized the band ... and many of their summer shows have been described as stand-outs!!! (Maybe a little "Friendly Competition" is a GOOD thing!!! lol) For those of you hoping for a REAL Buckinghams reunion, I wouldn't start holding my breath just yet ... honestly, there seems to be enough room out there for ALL of these artists to perform and entertain. The Buckinghams WITHOUT Dennis Tufano has been playing all over the country for almost 25 years now ... and Dennis mixes his show up enough to include his own hits, the music of Bobby Darin and a few other '60's classics. Perhaps we should simply embrace this new "arrangement" and cherish the opportunity to see BOTH acts up on the stage! (kk)

Click here to find out when and where they might be appearing near you:

Click here: The Buckinghams - Home Page

Reminder: Dean Torrence will be performing THIS TUESDAY NIGHT in Elk Grove Village ... and, in other surf music news, here's another reminder from David Beard of Endless Summer Quarterly Magazine:

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)

(Speaking of which ... isn't it about time we did one of those Forgotten Hits / True Oldies Channel Weekends again?!?!? Maybe a strong letter-writing-campaign to Scott Shannon will get him motivated!!! lol)

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)