With only three channels to choose from, did we have better television choices back in 1969?
A look at the Fall TV Schedule tells us this:
Sunday Nights: The Ed Sullivan Show was still required viewing back in 1969 ... it aired against The F.B.I. and Walt Disney's Wonderful World Of Color. (Earlier evening fare included Lassie, Land of the Giants, Wild Kingdom and The Bill Cosby Show. Depending on what time dinner was served on any given Sunday Night, I might have watched The Bill Cosby Show ... unless my younger sister had already commandeered the television set to watch Lassie.) Most likely after Ed I switched over to Bonanza (although by 1969 this program had pretty well run its course for me ... incredibly it would air for another four years and, by 1969, had already been a Sunday Night fixture for ten!!!) or The ABC Sunday Night Movie. I don't think I've ever seen an episode of The Leslie Uggams Show and wasn't a fan of The Bold Ones either. Most of my friends were hooked on Mission Impossible but, other than the ultra-cool theme song by Lalo Schiffrin, this one never really grabbed me either.
Monday Night we had Music Scene (which I did watch, naturally!), something called New People, Harold Robbins' "The Survivors" and Love, American Style on ABC, Gunsmoke, Here's Lucy, Mayberry R.F.D., The Doris Day Show and The Carol Burnett Show on CBS and My World and Welcome To It, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In and The Monday Night Movie on NBC. I was still a big "Laugh-In" fan in '69 and, in that respect, I wasn't alone ... much of the country was ALSO tuned in and Laugh-In ended up being the #1 Television Show of the Year ... but I'll also admit to seeing more than a few episodes of "Love, American Style", too!
On Tuesday Night it was one of MY favorite shows, "Mod Squad" on ABC, followed by the Movie of the Week and then Marcus Welby, M.D., one of my Mom's favorite TV shows. (As "hip" as it seemed at the time, "Mod Squad" SURE looks dated nowadays!!! lol I guess it can best be described as television's version of what THEY thought was hip!!! These seemed to be a current trend, trying to lure in more younger viewers as programs like "Room 222" also tried to show the world through teen-aged eyes.) CBS gave us Lancer, The Red Skelton Hour, The Governor and J.J. and The CBS News Hour, which, at that time, incorporated 60 Minutes into their programming. Over at NBC we had I Dream Of Jeannie (starring Barbara Eden's well-hidden navel), The Debbie Reynolds Show, Julia (starring the beautiful Diahann Carroll ... I liked that one, too) and The NBC Tuesday Night Movie.
Wednesday Night on ABC gave us The Flying Nun and The Courtship of Eddie's Father ... I don't think I've ever seen a single episode of either of these two so-called television classics ... I was most likely tuned into The Glen Campbell Good-Time Hour on CBS, which is how I happened to be one of the ones that caught the video of The Beatles performing "Get Back" on the Apple Rooftop that we wrote about a couple of weeks back. But after Glen, I DID switch over to ABC to watch "Room 222", another one of my then-favorite shows. (As mentioned above, I can only imagine how dated this one must look today!) Other Wednesday Night television fare included The Virginian, The Kraft Music Hall, Medical Center, The ABC Wednesday Night Movie, Then Came Bronson and Hawaii Five-O, whose theme song was a BIG hit for The Ventures that year.
On Thursday Nights I did a bit of channel surfing (and this was in the PRE-remote days, too, when you actually had to get up out of your seat to change the channel!!!) I'd start the night with Family Affair on CBS, then switch over to That Girl and Bewitched on ABC. Then we'd watch This Is Tom Jones, another one of my Mom's favorites before ending the night with The Dean Martin Show on NBC. If you didn't watch THESE shows, you were probably watching The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Daniel Boone, The Jim Nabors Show, Ironside, Dragnet, It Takes A Thief or The CBS Thursday Night Movie.
Friday's gave us Get Smart, The Good Guys and Hogan's Heroes on CBS before their Friday Night Movie, High Chaparral (another one of my favorites) on NBC, followed by The Name of the Game and Bracken's World or Let's Make A Deal (my Dad's favorite show), The Brady Bunch (brand new in 1969 and now a permanent, historic part of pop culture), Mr. Deeds Goes To Town, Here Comes The Brides (starring new heart-throb Bobby Sherman, who was also tearing up the pop charts by this time with his hits "Little Woman" and "La-La-La, If I Had You") and Jimmy Durante Presents The Lennon Sisters. (Really?!?!? In 1969?!?!?)
Saturday's kicked off with either the back-to-back hits The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game or, depending on the guests, we might instead watch The Andy Williams Show. (Typically, we skipped the competition, which on CBS was The Jackie Gleason Show.) Then came My Three Sons, Green Acres, Petticoat Junction and Mannix on CBS or The Lawrence Welk Show and Hollywood Palace on ABC or Adam-12 and The Saturday Night Movie on NBC.
Emmy Winners for the 1969-1970 Television Season were:
OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES: My World And Welcome To It (Sheldon Leonard, Executive Producer, Danny Arnold, Producer)
OUTSTANDING DRAMATIC SERIES: Marcus Welby, M.D. (David Victor, Executive Producer, David J. O'Connell, Producer)
OUTSTANDING VARIETY OR MUSICAL SERIES: The David Frost Show (Peter Baker, Producer)
OUTSTANDING NEW SERIES: Room 222
OUTSTANDING CONTINUED PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A DRAMATIC SERIES: Robert Young, Marcus Welby, M.D.
OUTSTANDING CONTINUED PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A DRAMATIC SERIES: Susan Hampshire, The Forsythe Saga
OUTSTANDING CONTINUED PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A COMEDY SERIES: William Windom, My World and Welcome To It
OUTSTANDING CONTINUED PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A COMEDY SERIES: Hope Lang, The Ghost And Mrs. Muir
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN DRAMA: James Brolin, Marcus Welby, M.D.
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN DRAMA: Gail Fisher, Mannix
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN COMEDY: Michael Constantine, Room 222
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN COMEDY: Karen Valentine, Room 222.
As for the actual television ratings for the '69 season, THESE are the shows that finished in The Top Ten:
1. ROWAN AND MARTIN'S LAUGH-IN (NBC) Rating 26.3
2. GUNSMOKE (CBS) 25.9
3. BONANZA (CBS) 24.8
4. MAYBERRY R.F.D. (CBS) 24.4
5. FAMILY AFFAIR (CBS) 24.2
6. HERE'S LUCY (CBS) 23.9
7. THE RED SKELTON HOUR (CBS) 23.8
8. MARCUS WELBY, M.D. (ABC) 23.7
9. WALT DISNEY'S WONDERFUL WORLD OF COLOR (NBC) 23.6
10. THE DORIS DAY SHOW (CBS) 22.8
Other notable programs with 20 million or more viewers: The Bill Cosby Show (22.7), The Jim Nabors Show (22.4), The Carol Burnett Show (22.1), The Dean Martin Show (21.9), My Three Sons (21.8), Ironside (21.8), The Johnny Cash Show (21.8), The Beverly Hillbillies (21.7), Hawaii Five-O (21.1), The Glen Campbell Good-Time Hour (21.0), Hee Haw (21.0), The ABC Movie Of The Week (20.9), Mod Squad (20.8), The NBC Saturday Night Movie (20.6), Bewitched (20.6), The F.B.I. (20.6), The Ed Sullivan Show (20.3), Julia (20.1), The CBS Thursday Night Movie (20.0) and, just missing, Mannix (with 19.9)
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Echoes Of 1969
Boy, the echoes of 1969 have been all around us lately, haven't they?
This week, Senator Edward Kennedy passed away due to complications from his brain tumor. Although he was driving the vehicle that went off the bridge in Chappaquiddick, Massachusetts, ultimately killing his female passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, he was never charged with manslaughter ... in fact, he never faced ANY charges at all! Instead, while her life tragically ended that night, he got to enjoy a high-profile, 40 year career in politics. Apparently Kennedy's only "official" crime was leaving the scene of an accident. Of course he ALSO failed to even REPORT this accident for the next nine hours, allowing plenty of time for sobering up and getting his story straight. (After a career encompassing public drunkedness and lewd behavior, it really isn't much of a stretch of the imagination to "suppose" that Kennedy had been drinking that evening at his Martha's Vineyard party. He "lost control" of his vehicle while driving Kopechne home from this party and, despite decades of instance that "no inappropriate behavior" had occurred, it has since been published that Kopechne's body was found sans underwear. Sounds to me that if Mary Jo was going "commando" that evening, Teddy may have had a tough time keep both hands on the wheel, if you catch my drift!!!) Kennedy settled with Mary Jo's family (financially) and was pretty much let off the hook ever since ... although the scandal DID "dampen" any Presidential aspirations he might have had, following in his brothers' footsteps. Hard to imagine ANY other U.S. Citizen being let off for a crime of this magnitude with barely a slap on the wrist.
A week or so ago Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, one of Charles Manson's followers, made headlines when she was released on parole after serving 34 years for pointing a gun at then-President Gerald Ford back in 1975. Manson's followers were deemed responsible for the Sharon Tate / Abigail Folger / Jay Sebring / Leno and Rosemary LaBianca murders back in 1969 and are still serving time (along with Charlie) for these crimes after he basically seduced and brain-washed them with his "Helter Skelter" mind-games version of Kool Aid. (Manson, now 74, has been denied parole himself a total of eleven times since he was first incarcerated. When California overturned the death penalty, Manson's sentence was reduced to life imprisonment. Certainly by now The State Of California would have expected Charlie to have died in prison ... but he's still kicking and still living up to his creepy reputation. One cannot help but wonder what it has COST The State Of California to keep ol' Charlie alive and well these past 40 years ... probably a little bit more than the tab for Michael Jackson's recent funeral!) And how exactly do you qualify for parole after pointing a gun at The President Of The United States??? Shoot a cop in Chicago and they'll string you up by the short-hairs for life ... but make a threat against The President Of The United States ... all the while pledging your allegience to Helter Skelter ... and you're still awarded a "Get Out Of Jail Free" card!!!
And this weekend, the film "Taking Woodstock" opens at theaters nationwide, reliving the incredible Woodstock experience from the OTHER point of view ... this time focusing on the guys who organized and promoted the ultimate music festival. We're going to see it on Saturday ... and I can't wait!!! (And in yet another twist of fate, The Chicago Cubs are playing The New York Mets this weekend, too!!! Although, as pointed out by one of our readers, without anywhere near the same amount of excitement and fanfare THIS season, however!!! lol)
Long time no type.
I spent the Summer of 1969 working for the U.S. Postal Service in a balmy almost tropical setting.
I was the company clerk for the 43rd Army Postal Unit, at Danang, South Viet Nam, APO 96349.
Yes, I was at China Beach before it was a TV show!
Radio was a great escape for us, and AFVN did the trick.
The Dawn Buster (program) got us up each day, and of course 9:05 Means Exercise, was usually was on the air when we got to work. By the way, I think the corporate P.D’s of today are missing a sure thing buy not having a morning exercise program on the radio!!!
During the day, the majority of the programming came from Saigon, but at night we listened to “Your Brother” who was local - he was at DaNang high on top of Monkey Mountain, where the AFRTS AM, FM & TV studio and transmitters were located. Here it is in the distance.
Our postal unit was located next door to the library / arts and crafts shop, (yes the troops did get some down time) And I worked the counter at the crafts shop at night. We sold model airplane kits, model cars, and taught film developing in the darkroom. You would be surprised how many of those in combat took a 35 mm camera with them into the field, and snapped pictures during the mission! When they got a little R & R, they would develop the film or slides. I saw some pretty gruesome stuff, as well as some beautiful shots of southeast Asia.
On the radio (Donna Summer, 1979) I remember Oh Happy Day by the Edwin Hawkins Singers, AFVN played that a lot, I remember thinking that the line from the Creedence Song said, ‘there’s a bathroom on the right”. I promise you - I really did.
This week, Senator Edward Kennedy passed away due to complications from his brain tumor. Although he was driving the vehicle that went off the bridge in Chappaquiddick, Massachusetts, ultimately killing his female passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, he was never charged with manslaughter ... in fact, he never faced ANY charges at all! Instead, while her life tragically ended that night, he got to enjoy a high-profile, 40 year career in politics. Apparently Kennedy's only "official" crime was leaving the scene of an accident. Of course he ALSO failed to even REPORT this accident for the next nine hours, allowing plenty of time for sobering up and getting his story straight. (After a career encompassing public drunkedness and lewd behavior, it really isn't much of a stretch of the imagination to "suppose" that Kennedy had been drinking that evening at his Martha's Vineyard party. He "lost control" of his vehicle while driving Kopechne home from this party and, despite decades of instance that "no inappropriate behavior" had occurred, it has since been published that Kopechne's body was found sans underwear. Sounds to me that if Mary Jo was going "commando" that evening, Teddy may have had a tough time keep both hands on the wheel, if you catch my drift!!!) Kennedy settled with Mary Jo's family (financially) and was pretty much let off the hook ever since ... although the scandal DID "dampen" any Presidential aspirations he might have had, following in his brothers' footsteps. Hard to imagine ANY other U.S. Citizen being let off for a crime of this magnitude with barely a slap on the wrist.
A week or so ago Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, one of Charles Manson's followers, made headlines when she was released on parole after serving 34 years for pointing a gun at then-President Gerald Ford back in 1975. Manson's followers were deemed responsible for the Sharon Tate / Abigail Folger / Jay Sebring / Leno and Rosemary LaBianca murders back in 1969 and are still serving time (along with Charlie) for these crimes after he basically seduced and brain-washed them with his "Helter Skelter" mind-games version of Kool Aid. (Manson, now 74, has been denied parole himself a total of eleven times since he was first incarcerated. When California overturned the death penalty, Manson's sentence was reduced to life imprisonment. Certainly by now The State Of California would have expected Charlie to have died in prison ... but he's still kicking and still living up to his creepy reputation. One cannot help but wonder what it has COST The State Of California to keep ol' Charlie alive and well these past 40 years ... probably a little bit more than the tab for Michael Jackson's recent funeral!) And how exactly do you qualify for parole after pointing a gun at The President Of The United States??? Shoot a cop in Chicago and they'll string you up by the short-hairs for life ... but make a threat against The President Of The United States ... all the while pledging your allegience to Helter Skelter ... and you're still awarded a "Get Out Of Jail Free" card!!!
And this weekend, the film "Taking Woodstock" opens at theaters nationwide, reliving the incredible Woodstock experience from the OTHER point of view ... this time focusing on the guys who organized and promoted the ultimate music festival. We're going to see it on Saturday ... and I can't wait!!! (And in yet another twist of fate, The Chicago Cubs are playing The New York Mets this weekend, too!!! Although, as pointed out by one of our readers, without anywhere near the same amount of excitement and fanfare THIS season, however!!! lol)
Kent ...
You talked about The Cubs and The Mets in 1969. In the next couple of weeks, starting on Friday, The Cubs & The Mets play six games against each other. As I look at today's newspaper, I find The Cubs nine games out of first place. The Mets are 14 1/2 games out of first place. I say let's forget about today and keep talking about 1969!!! Frank B.
I enjoyed Mike's reflections on our 69 Cubs. Things haven’t changed much – lol!!
Greg
Add all this up with our own Forgotten Hits coverage of the events of 40 years ago ... including the moon landing, the sports headlines created by The Cubs, The Mets and "Broadway" Joe Namath, the pop chart success spawned by the music from the hit / hip musical "Hair" and (still to come) other trends in popular music, television shows and movies of 1969 and we have TRULY been experiencing Deja Vu all over again this past month!!!
Clearly, it wasn't ALL happy memories ... there was, after all, still a war going on in Viet Nam ... in fact, some of our readers were there to experience it first hand ... although our brand new President, Richard Nixon, was doing his best to pull the troops out of combat and bring the boys home to their families, by now realizing that this war was NEVER going to be won by anybody.
Lt. William Calley was held accountable for the My Lai Massacre ... the trial of The Chicago Eight (soon Seven after defendant Bobby Seales was bound and gagged and then tried separately) begins in response to the revolution right here at home at 1968's Democratic National Convention ... and Hurricane Camille ripped through Mississippi with a fury not witnessed again until Katrina four years ago.
Today we share a few more of YOUR memories of 1969!!!
I can't say I have any memories of 1969 ... my parents hadn't even met yet (or if they had, they hadn't been dating very long) and I would be 16 years in the future still ... Tom Diehl
Wow - 1969 - what a year. I couldn't wait to turn 21 and when I did I was married, pregnant and too sick to celebrate! I still feel cheated!! LOL 1969 was the year Nixon became President and Ted Kennedy plead guilty to leaving the scene of fatal accident at Chappaquiddick, Massachusetts, in which Mary Jo Kopechne was drowned — got a two-month suspended sentence. Politics has been more exposed since that time. It was a different economy - Unemployment was 3.6%, Median Household Income was $8,389, Federal Spending was $365.8 Billion and the cost of a postage stamp was 6 cents! And, let's not forget 1969 was when the FCC banned all cigarette advertising on radio and television - as if we wouldn't know cigarettes were still there. But, the most important event in the life of children - Sesame Street was born! I know everybody talks bad about the 60s, but I'd go back in a heartbeat.
Lea Mea
Long time no type.
I spent the Summer of 1969 working for the U.S. Postal Service in a balmy almost tropical setting.
I was the company clerk for the 43rd Army Postal Unit, at Danang, South Viet Nam, APO 96349.
Yes, I was at China Beach before it was a TV show!
Radio was a great escape for us, and AFVN did the trick.
The Dawn Buster (program) got us up each day, and of course 9:05 Means Exercise, was usually was on the air when we got to work. By the way, I think the corporate P.D’s of today are missing a sure thing buy not having a morning exercise program on the radio!!!
During the day, the majority of the programming came from Saigon, but at night we listened to “Your Brother” who was local - he was at DaNang high on top of Monkey Mountain, where the AFRTS AM, FM & TV studio and transmitters were located. Here it is in the distance.
Our postal unit was located next door to the library / arts and crafts shop, (yes the troops did get some down time) And I worked the counter at the crafts shop at night. We sold model airplane kits, model cars, and taught film developing in the darkroom. You would be surprised how many of those in combat took a 35 mm camera with them into the field, and snapped pictures during the mission! When they got a little R & R, they would develop the film or slides. I saw some pretty gruesome stuff, as well as some beautiful shots of southeast Asia.
On the radio (Donna Summer, 1979) I remember Oh Happy Day by the Edwin Hawkins Singers, AFVN played that a lot, I remember thinking that the line from the Creedence Song said, ‘there’s a bathroom on the right”. I promise you - I really did.
The Fifth Dimension got a lot of play with Aquarius of course, and I remember one night “Your Brother” played Love is Strange by Buddy Holly, which I had never heard, and he said it was a new release of a lost tape.
I would mail requests to radio stations to send us air checks that I played each night on the house P A system, so the folks could get that back home feeling, (plus I got to keep the tapes, still have a couple of them). Cousin Brucie even personalized his WABC tape for us, we got material from WLS, WKYC, WSGN, WAYS, WQXI, KOMA and a bunch more that I cant remember. The stations were very generous to do that for us.
Even though there was a war going on, I have good memories of the Summer of 1969, mostly because I lived through it.
I salute the ones that did not.
Thanks for giving me a chance to reflect.
Bobaloo
THE GOOD TIME GOLD SHOW
THE GOOD TIME GOLD SHOW
I remember helping my brother deliver flyers on the air base my Dad served on. It was the first job I had where I made money from someone besides my parents. It rained on us and got really nasty. It turned out it was the remnant of Hurricane Camille which had devastated the Mississippi coast earlier in the week and even killed people (we were in Arkansas).
-Chuck
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Losing Another Legend
We lost another one of the great "behind the scenes" voices of rock and roll music yesterday when songwriter Ellie Greenwich passed away at the age of 68 from a heart attack.
Frannie was the first one in with the news ... and then it got picked up by the wire services and pretty soon we were flooded with emails, too, surrounding this sad, sad news.
Greenwich's songwriting credits read like a "Who's Who" List of the Greatest Music of the '60's ... "Be My Baby" by The Ronettes, "Hanky Panky" by Tommy James and the Shondells, "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" by Manfred Mann, "Leader Of The Pack" by The Shangri-Las, "Chapel of Love" by The Dixie Cups all topped the charts yet, despite this incredible legacy of music, she, too, has been ignored by Jann Wenner and his Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame!!!
Fortunately, some of our readers shared their personal experiences (and some music) with us ... we'll give you the best of that today ... along with the initial report:
Click here: Ellie Greenwich, Legendary Songwriter, Dies at 68 - Spinner
Songwriter Ellie Greenwich, who co-wrote many of the classic hits of the girl group era, has died at age 68. According to her niece, Greenwich died of a heart attack at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital in New York, where she had been hospitalized for pneumonia.Greenwich's songs, mostly written with her then-husband, Jeff Barry, include such '60s girl-pop standards as 'Be My Baby' and 'Baby I Love You,' by the Ronettes, 'Da Doo Ron Ron' and 'Then He Kissed Me,' by the Crystals, and 'Leader of the Pack,' by the Shangri-Las. Her songbook also includes penning 'Chapel of Love' for the Dixie Cups and 'River Deep, Mountain High' for Ike & Tina Turner. Greenwich was part of New York's Brill Building songwriting factory alongside the likes of Carole King, Neil Sedaka, Burt Bacharach and Neil Diamond. "Ellie Greenwich was one of the most important people in my career," Diamond told Spinner. "She discovered me as a down-and-out songwriter, and with her then-husband, Jeff Barry, co-produced all my early hits on Bang Records. She has remained a great friend and mentor over the years and will be missed greatly." The songwriting (and onetime married) couple had their songs recorded by performers including Tommy James and the Shondells ('Hanky Panky'), Lesley Gore ('Maybe I Know,' 'The Look of Love') and Manfred Mann ('Do Wah Diddy Diddy'). Greenwich also had a Top 20 hit of her own with 'The Kind of Boy You Can't Forget' under the group name the Raindrops.
Eleanor Louise Greenwich's infatuation with music began with the least sexy of instruments: the accordion. She later learmed piano and began writing her own songs, forming a group called the Jivettes as a young teenager.With her blond hair, huge doe eyes and easy smile, Greenwich looked like a cross between her contemporaries Dusty Springfield and Carole King. Her fresh-faced good looks, ear for melody and earnest voice got her noticed by RCA Records where she issued a single under the name of Ellie Gaye when she was 17. No one noticed.
In 1959, Greenwich met Jeff Barry, the man who was to become her romantic and creative partner. Soon after, a chance meeting with Jerry Leiber (of songwriting duo Leiber and Stoller) launched her career as a professional songwriter, and once Greenwich and Barry were married they decided to work solely with each other.But after penning a string of iconic girl group hits, the couple divorced in 1966 and their creative partnership eventually dissolved. Greenwich continued in the music business, discovering Neil Diamond, producing Dusty Springfield and recording a solo album as well as working as a session singer for the likes of Frank Sinatra. A difficult period followed her success, which included a nervous breakdown, and Greenwich left the business for a couple of years. In 1973, she released the singer-songwriter album 'Let It Be Written, Let It Be Sung' and later in the decade collaborated with Blondie. In the early 1980s, she wrote for Cyndi Lauper and sang backup on Lauper's solo debut, 'She's So Unusual.'
"Cyndi Lauper's stuff has a '60s edge," Greenwich said in an interview with Charlotte Greig for her 1989 book 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.' "Although she doesn't wanna see it that way, because she doesn't wanna be dated, so to speak. 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' could have been 1960s, if you took those synthesizers out."In that same interview, Greig writes that Greenwich came across as funny, friendly and effervescent." She opened the door, a huge smile on her face. Her hair was platinum blonde and she was fully made up, with pale pink lipstick and plenty of black mascara, just as in the '60s. She looked dazzling, despite being 20 years older than the girl I'd seen in the photographs, and having a heavy cold that day, which she had decided to ignore. She welcomed me in, and for several hours we sat and talked while she drank coffee and chain-smoked. I was enchanted by her; Ellie had a way of sounding conspiratorial when she spoke to you, as though you were a girlfriend she hadn't seen in ages."The 1984 Broadway musical 'Leader of the Pack' was based on Greenwich's life and music. She and Barry were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1991.
Legendary songwriter Ellie Greenwich -- who with her then-husband Jeff Barry gave us such hits as "Da Doo Ron Ron," "Chapel Of Love," "Leader Of The Pack," "Maybe I Know", "Be My Baby" and "Hanky Panky" -- died Wednesday (August 26) from a heart attack at a New York hospital where she had been admitted with pneumonia. She was 69. Born in Brooklyn, she grew up in Long Island and by 17 had a recording contract using the name Ellie Gaye. Though she met Jeff at a family Thanksgiving dinner while still in college, the two didn't immediately write together. It was Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller who gave Ellie her break after meeting her by chance as she waited for an appointment with another Bril Building composer. While composing songs like "Today I Met The Boy I'm Gonna Marry" she cut demonstration recordings for other writers and soon became known as the "Demo Queen." As romance with Jeff blossomed into marriage, the two began not only writing -- but singing -- together. As The Raindrops, Jeff and Ellie charted five times, including "The Kind Of Boy You Can't Forget" (#17 - 1963), "What A Guy" (#41 - 1963) and the original "Hanky Panky" (the B-side of "That Boy John" in 1964). Ellie also recorded as the Butterflys ("Good Night Baby" reached #51 in 1964) and under her own name ("I Want You To Be My Baby", #83 - 1967). Jeff and Ellie also produced many of their compositions, as well as the early Neil Diamond hits "Solitary Man" and "Cherry Cherry." The couple's marriage and creative partnership broke up in 1965. In 1985, a Broadway musical based on Ellie's tunes entitled "The Leader Of The Pack premiered, earning a Tony nomination for Best Musical. Ellie was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 1991.
-- Ron Smith / oldiesmusic.com
I just heard the sad news of Ellie Greenwich's passing from Artie Wayne. I'm sharing with you an early demo recording Ellie did of a song called Love Is Better Than Ever, which was recorded and released by the LeVons on the Columbia record label. Although the quality of this on my actual acetate 78 is much better, I have deliberately downgraded the audio quality to prevent bootlegging of the song (yet I am sharing it everywhere), as other songs I have shared in the past have been bootlegged in their high quality. This song was written by my friend Mark Barkan and the late Ben Raleigh, who was a songwriting partner of Artie Wayne. RIP Ellie.
Tom Diehl
Check out the the incredible career of Ellie Greenwich here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellie_Greenwich
Billy Hinsche
Kent,
My husband asked me if I heard what they had just said on the news and I told him no. He told me that Ellie Greenwich died and that she was 68. I heard that she died of a heart attack. I could hardly believe it. I guess they didn't have much information on that news report. I was emailing Scott Shannon on a song he played on True Oldies Channel. It's hard to believe she's gone. You tend to think that everyone is going to stay young forever and live forever. My condolences go to her family, friends and associates. May she Rest In Peace.
Arlene
Ellie Greenwich and George Goldner came to see me at KQV in Pittsburgh in the 60's with tapes of "Leader of the Pack" and "Chapel of Love" saying they could not interest anyone in radio in programming after stops in New York, Cleveland and Detroit. I added them to the KQV playlist where they soon topped our Hit Parade and with Bill Gavin spreading the news to other programmers nationally they became giant hits.
Then Ellie and Ilene Berns of Bang Records came to see me in Chicago with tapes of a new singer named Neil Diamond. WLS broke his "Solitary Man" and “Cherry Cherry” started him on a forty year run of success.
It was a time when radio and the recording interest both gained from "music excitement", sadly missing from radio these days.
John Rook
Hit Parade Radio
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2325108/posts
Neil Diamond credits Ellie's belief and dedication in him as being what pushed him over the edge ... and he hasn't looked back since. One of my all-time favorite Neil Diamond recordings came from his first LP when HE cut his version of Ellie's '60's classic "Hanky Panky". ("I don't care WHO wrote it!!!") We've featured this one a couple of times before and it even earned quite a few of your votes as a Favorite, Forgotten B-Sides in our Forgotten Hits Poll a few years back. (kk)
Hi Kent ...
The great Ellie Greenwich!! What a sad day. I worked with Ellie dozens of times. Here's a song we did together called "I've Gotta Go Now".
I will miss her, a great lady. R.I.P. Rock In Perpetuity!
Lots of love,
John Madara
Frannie was the first one in with the news ... and then it got picked up by the wire services and pretty soon we were flooded with emails, too, surrounding this sad, sad news.
Greenwich's songwriting credits read like a "Who's Who" List of the Greatest Music of the '60's ... "Be My Baby" by The Ronettes, "Hanky Panky" by Tommy James and the Shondells, "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" by Manfred Mann, "Leader Of The Pack" by The Shangri-Las, "Chapel of Love" by The Dixie Cups all topped the charts yet, despite this incredible legacy of music, she, too, has been ignored by Jann Wenner and his Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame!!!
Fortunately, some of our readers shared their personal experiences (and some music) with us ... we'll give you the best of that today ... along with the initial report:
Click here: Ellie Greenwich, Legendary Songwriter, Dies at 68 - Spinner
Songwriter Ellie Greenwich, who co-wrote many of the classic hits of the girl group era, has died at age 68. According to her niece, Greenwich died of a heart attack at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital in New York, where she had been hospitalized for pneumonia.Greenwich's songs, mostly written with her then-husband, Jeff Barry, include such '60s girl-pop standards as 'Be My Baby' and 'Baby I Love You,' by the Ronettes, 'Da Doo Ron Ron' and 'Then He Kissed Me,' by the Crystals, and 'Leader of the Pack,' by the Shangri-Las. Her songbook also includes penning 'Chapel of Love' for the Dixie Cups and 'River Deep, Mountain High' for Ike & Tina Turner. Greenwich was part of New York's Brill Building songwriting factory alongside the likes of Carole King, Neil Sedaka, Burt Bacharach and Neil Diamond. "Ellie Greenwich was one of the most important people in my career," Diamond told Spinner. "She discovered me as a down-and-out songwriter, and with her then-husband, Jeff Barry, co-produced all my early hits on Bang Records. She has remained a great friend and mentor over the years and will be missed greatly." The songwriting (and onetime married) couple had their songs recorded by performers including Tommy James and the Shondells ('Hanky Panky'), Lesley Gore ('Maybe I Know,' 'The Look of Love') and Manfred Mann ('Do Wah Diddy Diddy'). Greenwich also had a Top 20 hit of her own with 'The Kind of Boy You Can't Forget' under the group name the Raindrops.
Eleanor Louise Greenwich's infatuation with music began with the least sexy of instruments: the accordion. She later learmed piano and began writing her own songs, forming a group called the Jivettes as a young teenager.With her blond hair, huge doe eyes and easy smile, Greenwich looked like a cross between her contemporaries Dusty Springfield and Carole King. Her fresh-faced good looks, ear for melody and earnest voice got her noticed by RCA Records where she issued a single under the name of Ellie Gaye when she was 17. No one noticed.
In 1959, Greenwich met Jeff Barry, the man who was to become her romantic and creative partner. Soon after, a chance meeting with Jerry Leiber (of songwriting duo Leiber and Stoller) launched her career as a professional songwriter, and once Greenwich and Barry were married they decided to work solely with each other.But after penning a string of iconic girl group hits, the couple divorced in 1966 and their creative partnership eventually dissolved. Greenwich continued in the music business, discovering Neil Diamond, producing Dusty Springfield and recording a solo album as well as working as a session singer for the likes of Frank Sinatra. A difficult period followed her success, which included a nervous breakdown, and Greenwich left the business for a couple of years. In 1973, she released the singer-songwriter album 'Let It Be Written, Let It Be Sung' and later in the decade collaborated with Blondie. In the early 1980s, she wrote for Cyndi Lauper and sang backup on Lauper's solo debut, 'She's So Unusual.'
"Cyndi Lauper's stuff has a '60s edge," Greenwich said in an interview with Charlotte Greig for her 1989 book 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.' "Although she doesn't wanna see it that way, because she doesn't wanna be dated, so to speak. 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' could have been 1960s, if you took those synthesizers out."In that same interview, Greig writes that Greenwich came across as funny, friendly and effervescent." She opened the door, a huge smile on her face. Her hair was platinum blonde and she was fully made up, with pale pink lipstick and plenty of black mascara, just as in the '60s. She looked dazzling, despite being 20 years older than the girl I'd seen in the photographs, and having a heavy cold that day, which she had decided to ignore. She welcomed me in, and for several hours we sat and talked while she drank coffee and chain-smoked. I was enchanted by her; Ellie had a way of sounding conspiratorial when she spoke to you, as though you were a girlfriend she hadn't seen in ages."The 1984 Broadway musical 'Leader of the Pack' was based on Greenwich's life and music. She and Barry were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1991.
Legendary songwriter Ellie Greenwich -- who with her then-husband Jeff Barry gave us such hits as "Da Doo Ron Ron," "Chapel Of Love," "Leader Of The Pack," "Maybe I Know", "Be My Baby" and "Hanky Panky" -- died Wednesday (August 26) from a heart attack at a New York hospital where she had been admitted with pneumonia. She was 69. Born in Brooklyn, she grew up in Long Island and by 17 had a recording contract using the name Ellie Gaye. Though she met Jeff at a family Thanksgiving dinner while still in college, the two didn't immediately write together. It was Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller who gave Ellie her break after meeting her by chance as she waited for an appointment with another Bril Building composer. While composing songs like "Today I Met The Boy I'm Gonna Marry" she cut demonstration recordings for other writers and soon became known as the "Demo Queen." As romance with Jeff blossomed into marriage, the two began not only writing -- but singing -- together. As The Raindrops, Jeff and Ellie charted five times, including "The Kind Of Boy You Can't Forget" (#17 - 1963), "What A Guy" (#41 - 1963) and the original "Hanky Panky" (the B-side of "That Boy John" in 1964). Ellie also recorded as the Butterflys ("Good Night Baby" reached #51 in 1964) and under her own name ("I Want You To Be My Baby", #83 - 1967). Jeff and Ellie also produced many of their compositions, as well as the early Neil Diamond hits "Solitary Man" and "Cherry Cherry." The couple's marriage and creative partnership broke up in 1965. In 1985, a Broadway musical based on Ellie's tunes entitled "The Leader Of The Pack premiered, earning a Tony nomination for Best Musical. Ellie was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 1991.
-- Ron Smith / oldiesmusic.com
I just heard the sad news of Ellie Greenwich's passing from Artie Wayne. I'm sharing with you an early demo recording Ellie did of a song called Love Is Better Than Ever, which was recorded and released by the LeVons on the Columbia record label. Although the quality of this on my actual acetate 78 is much better, I have deliberately downgraded the audio quality to prevent bootlegging of the song (yet I am sharing it everywhere), as other songs I have shared in the past have been bootlegged in their high quality. This song was written by my friend Mark Barkan and the late Ben Raleigh, who was a songwriting partner of Artie Wayne. RIP Ellie.
Tom Diehl
Check out the the incredible career of Ellie Greenwich here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellie_Greenwich
Billy Hinsche
Kent,
My husband asked me if I heard what they had just said on the news and I told him no. He told me that Ellie Greenwich died and that she was 68. I heard that she died of a heart attack. I could hardly believe it. I guess they didn't have much information on that news report. I was emailing Scott Shannon on a song he played on True Oldies Channel. It's hard to believe she's gone. You tend to think that everyone is going to stay young forever and live forever. My condolences go to her family, friends and associates. May she Rest In Peace.
Arlene
Ellie Greenwich and George Goldner came to see me at KQV in Pittsburgh in the 60's with tapes of "Leader of the Pack" and "Chapel of Love" saying they could not interest anyone in radio in programming after stops in New York, Cleveland and Detroit. I added them to the KQV playlist where they soon topped our Hit Parade and with Bill Gavin spreading the news to other programmers nationally they became giant hits.
Then Ellie and Ilene Berns of Bang Records came to see me in Chicago with tapes of a new singer named Neil Diamond. WLS broke his "Solitary Man" and “Cherry Cherry” started him on a forty year run of success.
It was a time when radio and the recording interest both gained from "music excitement", sadly missing from radio these days.
John Rook
Hit Parade Radio
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2325108/posts
Neil Diamond credits Ellie's belief and dedication in him as being what pushed him over the edge ... and he hasn't looked back since. One of my all-time favorite Neil Diamond recordings came from his first LP when HE cut his version of Ellie's '60's classic "Hanky Panky". ("I don't care WHO wrote it!!!") We've featured this one a couple of times before and it even earned quite a few of your votes as a Favorite, Forgotten B-Sides in our Forgotten Hits Poll a few years back. (kk)
Hi Kent ...
The great Ellie Greenwich!! What a sad day. I worked with Ellie dozens of times. Here's a song we did together called "I've Gotta Go Now".
I will miss her, a great lady. R.I.P. Rock In Perpetuity!
Lots of love,
John Madara
So sad to hear that Ellie Greenwich passed away today. DJ Stu Shea
Her hit list is INCREDIBLE. For a list of her songwriting achievements, click this link: Click here: Ellie Greenwich
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
8 - 25 - 67
In a special mid-week WLS Flashback this morning, we're taking a look back at the chart dated August 25, 1967.
This week Chicago's own Cryan' Shames sit on top of The WLS Super Summer Survey for the FOURTH straight week with their MONSTER local hit, "It Could Be We're In Love". (It is, in fact, the BIGGEST Local Hit of All-Time here in Chicago ... despite greater national success for hits by The Buckinghams and songs like "Bend Me, Shape Me" by The American Breed and "Vehicle" by The Ides Of March, it's "It Could Be We're In Love" that is most revered here in Chicagoland. Incredibly, despite a four week reign on top of The WLS Chart ... a 50,000 Watt Powerhouse MEGA Station in the '60's ... it only managed a #85 showing in Billboard Magazine. It fared a LITTLE bit better in Cash Box, where it peaked at #70.)
This week Chicago's own Cryan' Shames sit on top of The WLS Super Summer Survey for the FOURTH straight week with their MONSTER local hit, "It Could Be We're In Love". (It is, in fact, the BIGGEST Local Hit of All-Time here in Chicago ... despite greater national success for hits by The Buckinghams and songs like "Bend Me, Shape Me" by The American Breed and "Vehicle" by The Ides Of March, it's "It Could Be We're In Love" that is most revered here in Chicagoland. Incredibly, despite a four week reign on top of The WLS Chart ... a 50,000 Watt Powerhouse MEGA Station in the '60's ... it only managed a #85 showing in Billboard Magazine. It fared a LITTLE bit better in Cash Box, where it peaked at #70.)
Earlier this year in our annual June 3rd salute to Bobbie Gentry's hit "Ode To Billie Joe", Jim "Hooke" Pilster told us that he HATED that song because it knocked The Shames out of the top spot after a six week run. That's not entirely true ... while it DID replace The Cryan' Shames at #1 the following week, "It Could Be We're In Love" only topped our local chart for FOUR weeks, not six ... still a pretty impressive run when you consider that because of this, National #1 Records like "Light My Fire" by The Doors and "All You Need Is Love" by The Beatles never reached the summit here in Chi-Town.
(Click to enlarge) Across town at competitor WCFL, The Cryan' Shames record sat at #1 for three weeks (so I guess you COULD say they had the Number One Record for a total of SEVEN weeks if you were the eternal optimist!!! lol But three of those weeks were "shared".) In fact, the week before, their picture even graced the cover of Super 'CFL's "Sound 10 Survey".
Other big "Summer Of Love" Hits on the chart this week include the two-sided hit by The Monkees, "Pleasant Valley Sunday" / "Words" (note how these titles are reversed depending on which chart you check!), "Carrie Anne" by The Hollies, "Thank The Lord For The Night Time" by Neil Diamond, "Reflections" by Diana Ross and the Supremes (their first record to push Diana Ross' name ahead of the rest of the group), "Silence Is Golden" by The Tremeloes (a remake of the great Four Seasons B-Side) and "Blue's Theme" by our FH Buddy Davie Allan and the Arrows.
In that 1967 is my all-time favorite year in music, it's tough to pin down just a few favorites from this week's chart ... I love ALL of these tunes. "A Girl Like You" by The Rascals, "Take Me Back" (a local hit by The Flock, which we've also featured a number of times before in Forgotten Hits), "Heroes and Villains" (which I personally preferred to "Good Vibrations" despite all the media-hype surrounding this earlier Beach Boys masterpiece), "I Had A Dream" by Paul Revere and the Raiders, "You Know What I Mean" (one of my all-time favorite Turtles tunes!), "Never My Love" by The Association and "12:30" by The Mamas and the Papas not only rank as some of my 1967 favorites but also as some of my biggest favorites of all-time.
Add to this list tracks like "Society's Child" by Janis Ian, "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Frankie Valli, an unexpected yet very rewarding return to The Top Ten by Bobby Vee with "Come Back When You Grow Up", "Baby I Love You" by Aretha Franklin, "I Was Made To Love Her" by Stevie Wonder and "I Dig Rock And Roll Music" by Peter, Paul and Mary and radio just didn't get any better than this!
Today we'll feature a few of these tunes for your listening pleasure. We've introduced hundreds and hundreds of oldies music fans to "It Could Be We're In Love" by The Cryan' Shames over the past ten years ... and NOBODY can understand how on earth this song wasn't the HUGE hit it deserved to be ... and that truly IS a cryan' shame. Most often compared to the work of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys at the time, a lot of the credit has to go to the song-writing genius of Jim Fairs, along with the impeccable vocals that The Shames always delivered on ALL of their records.
By the way, James Fairs is taking his newest musical venture, The Jamez Band, to the stage tomorrow night at The Bolingbrook Performing Arts Center starting at 7:30 PM. It promises to be an exciting evening of sights and sounds as FIVE of the original members of The Cryan' Shames will join him on stage throughout the evening. Complete information can be found on The Cryan' Shames website:
You'll want to check this out as James Fairs promises there won't be another reunion like it until 2049!!!
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