Saturday, November 28, 2009

The Weekend Comments

Because we're running Your Top 50 All-Time Favorite Instrumentals List tomorrow, we thought we'd squeeze in a few of your most recent comments today! Enjoy!

re: LITTLE RICHARD ON THE MEND:
Little Richard underwent hip surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville November 6. He is currently undergoing physical therapy and asked for prayers from his fans for a quick and full recovery. A spokesperson for Richard said fans should "get ready to rock 'n' roll with him in the new year because he's coming back strong."

-- Ron Smith

re: OTHER ROCKERS:
Rocker CHARLIE GRACIE met backstage with Rock Legend RAY DAVIES of THE KINKS at his Tower Theater Concert - Saturday, Nov. 21st. Ray and his brother Dave are long time fan of Charlie's, dating back to the 1950s when Charlie became the first SOLO U.S. ROCKER to tour the United Kingdom ... and Ray actually included Gracie in the telling and performing of his musical autobiography.
In fact, CHARLIE GRACIE and his wife Joanie were invited guests of the British Rock Icon, who performed in Philly as part of a big East Coast tour last night.
Charlie discussed the possibility of having Ray join a long list of artists already contributing to his new cd. That makes Ray a possible addition to Charlie's upcoming cd release in 2010 which already includes: Graham Nash, Peter Noone, Al Kooper, Keb Mo and more!
-- Charlie Gracie, Jr.


Hello KK ...
Happy Anniversary & Happy Bird Day.
I want to talk about Marty Robbins. I always liked his music. I just watched the DVD Marty Robbins Music Anthology. I now think he is vastly underrated. He plays guitar & piano. Writes music & books. He also did some acting. Lets concentrate on his music . Marty sings Country, Rock-n-Roll, R&B, Gospel. He even recorded 2 Albums of Hawaiian Music. He died at 57, during a Heart Operation. I'd like to know what you & your readers think of Marty Robbins.
Frank B.
In addition to placing nearly 100 songs on Billboard's Country Music Chart, Marty also had several cross-over hits in the late '50's and early '60's, most notably the chart-topping "El Paso" and The Top Three Hits "A White Sport Coat And A Pink Carnation" (1957) and "Don't Worry" (1961). Marty hit Billboard's Pop Top 40 a total of 13 times. Other hits included his version of the #1 Guy Mitchell Hit "Singing The Blues" (#26, 1956); "Big Iron" (also #26, 1960); "Ballad Of The Alamo" (from the John Wayne film, #34, 1960); "Devil Woman" (#16, 1962) and "Ruby Ann" (#18, 1962). His last pop hit just missed The Top 40 when "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife" peaked at #42. Personally, I'm just a "casual" fan ... but I'm guessing that some of our list members could rattle off some astounding facts on Marty Robbins. Let's see what comes back! Thanks, Frank! (kk)

re: AND THIS SAD NEWS:

Just lifted this bit of sad news from Ron Smith's oldiesmusic.com web page ... about Linda Laurie, whose novelty hit "Ambrose (Part 5)" we recently featured in Forgotten Hits:

Linda Laurie, singer / songwriter best known for the novelty hit "Ambrose (Part 5)," died Thursday (November 19) from cancer at a hospital in Santa Barbara, California. She was 68. Linda (whose real last name was Gertz) was a senior at Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn when she recorded "Ambrose," providing both her voice and the caustic title character, who constantly replied, "Just keep walking." Linda had already recorded with her friend Linda Yellin as the Knott Sisters in 1958 -- "Sunglasses" on Big Top Records failed to chart. And "Ambrose"? "It was just a party routine I used to do to amuse my friends. We played around with the idea of making some records of the routine and made a few tapes." Ambrose, by the way, was the name of her rag doll. Picked up by Glory Records in late 1958, the song made it to #52 early the next year. While there were no Parts 1 through 4 (though an instrumental version was released by the Hal McKusick Quartet), there was a "Forever Ambrose" follow-up. That, and her song "Jose, He Say," both missed the charts, as did more serious songs like "Prince Charming." After attending New York University, Linda became a songwriter, most notably composing the Helen Reddy hit "Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)". She also wrote the title song for the original Saturday morning TV version of "Land Of The Lost." It was reprised for the Will Farrell movie this year.
Here's a recap of our recent piece on "Ambrose", which also features a link to Linda's appearance on the "To Tell The Truth" television program:

'60's FLASHBACK:

Kent -- I dimly recall a song I believe was titled "Ambrose, Part 2" and I want to say it was sung by Sue Thompson. But in surfing the web, I couldn't find it. It was funny in a macabre way as the female singer keeps asking why they are walking in a dark place and the man just keeps saying "just keep walkin". I recall it was only played a few times on Chicago radio and then quickly disappeared either because no one liked it or because it was so demented. Can you provide any clues on this one? Steve Davidson

It was actually called "Ambrose, Part 5", a novelty hit that was done by Linda Laurie, and became a #46 Cash Box Hit, #52 Billboard Hit and a #36 Hit here in Chicago on the old WJJD Chart in those pre-rock-and-roll-WLS days. It's a CLASSIC novelty track that gets a VERY rare spin on the radio now and again (unless, of course, you happen to be listening to "The Dr. Demento Show", where it's been a favorite for DECADES!!!) Linda Laurie's real name is Linda Gertz, but under her stage name, she went on to write The Top Three Helen Reddy hit "Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)" many years later. According to Joel Whitburn's "Top Pop Singles" book, she ALSO sang the theme to the popular Saturday morning television series "Land Of The Lost." Linda was still a high school student when she began writing and recording demonstration records ... and, when "Ambrose Part 5" was released as a single, her OWN recording career started to take off. Incredibly, that's her doing BOTH parts on the record ... playing the part of the girl AND her boyfriend!!! (Nope ... contrary to what you may have heard, it wasn't Hugh Downs OR Rod McKuen ... they did their little voice contributions to Betty Johnson's "Little Blue Man" and Bob McFadden and Dor's "The Mummy"!!!) As to why it was called "Ambrose Part 5" ... and what happened to Ambose Parts 1 thru 4, Linda explained at the time, "Well, we were working backwards!!!" The truth is, there ARE no other "prequels" or "sequels" ... Ambrose, Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 do not exist ... but there WAS a follow-up record called "Forever Ambrose" that never charted. We found a VERY rare clip of Linda on the TV Show "To Tell The Truth" ... where she was there both as a contestant and to promote her new record ... and she ultimately went on to stump half the panelists! (lol) In fact, watch closely and you'll even hear her DO that low "Ambrose voice" at the end of this clip: Click here: YouTube - Linda Laurie on "To Tell the Truth" (kk)




re: ON THE RADIO:
With SO many former Clear Channel employees on the mailing list, I just HAD to run this latest radio blurb, submitted by John Rook:
Radio in the immediate days ahead ... read this:

Clear Channel’s Frightening Plan

re: AND NEW BOOKS:

Kent ... This is the beginning of a new series NEW BOOKS THAT ROCK! Today featuring “THE PIED PIPER OF WOODSTOCK” by songwriter/ producer Artie Kornfeld and “SH-BOOM” by Disc Jockey Clay Cole. http://artiewayne.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/pied-piper-of-woodstock-and-sh-boom-two-new-books-that-rock/

Regards,

Artie Wayne

... and speaking of new books ...

re: JOEL WHITBURN / RECORD RESEARCH:

We've been promoting a couple of recent interviews with Record Research / Billboard Chart Expert Joel Whitburn lately ... and mentioned that a brand new edition of his Top 40 Pop book will soon be in bookstores everywhere ... but the truth is, the new project that we were EXTREMELY excited to hear about is a new book that Joel is working on spotlighting some of the local and regional hits that many of us music fans fondly remember ... records that we heard growing up in a particular part of the country but that never received enough national airplay or momentum to make much of an impression on The Billboard Charts. Many of these showed up in the "Bubbling Under" category ... and, as most of you know by now, THOSE titles can now be found listed in Joel's latest "Top Pop Singles" volume. But we wanted to know more about this new, regional research. (One of our most popular features these past couple of years has been a little thing we call "Show Me Your Hits" ... where readers write in and share some of the songs that were HUGE, Top Ten Hits when and where THEY were growing up, but were virtually ignored by the rest of the country ... in fact, we'd LOVE to put together another series of these if you guys are willing to send us some great, lost tracks!!!) I asked Joel about his latest project (kk):

Hi Kent,
Many thanks for plugging my recent interviews. Your interest and help is much appreciated. I’m sending you a sampling of the “Breakout” artists from just a few of the more than 30 markets that Billboard surveyed beginning on January 9, 1961. Perfect timing for this feature, as the 60s decade featured many local garage bands, doo-wop groups, girl groups, instrumental bands and Northern Soul music. These artists and songs will be displayed in my next edition of “Top Pop Singles”.
In the 50s, Billboard published Top 10 surveys from all of the major markets. I have researched all of these charts and will include in my book anything that did not make the main pop charts.
Shown as “Territorial Best Sellers”, included will be 50s artists such as The Bon Bons, Billy Brooks, Bobby Charles, The Commanders, The Commodores (not the Lionel Richie group), The Delroys, Willie Dixon, The Five Strings, The Four Fellows, Big Boy Groves, Robbin Hood, Bill Kenny (Ink Spots), The Medallions, The Native Boys, The Nutmegs, Red Prysock, The Ravens, Jack Scott (on ABC-Paramount), Warren Smith, The Three Haircuts (guess who they are?),The Tracey Twins, Donald Woods & The Vel-Aires and The Wrens.
That’s about all I can show you right now. I’ve got a good year’s worth of research work in front of me and I’ll keep you posted as to what it’s all going to include.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and all your readers!!
Joel Whitburn

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, too, Joel!!!
I just LOVE the fact that, even after 40 years, you're STILL coming up with new and innovative ways of bringing us this chart information!!!
Even though the charts are now a part of history and permanently etched in stone, over the last several years The Record Research Books have added features like The B-Side to Every Charted Record, The "Bubbling Under" Charts (now incorporated into The Pop Singles Book), The "Classics" ... songs long-associated with the artist that for one reason or another didn't chart on Billboard's Hot 100 ... expanded biographies ... copies of original advertisements and record reviews run in Billboard Magazine way back when ... SO many new features to help to keep us record fact geeks satisfied ... and still keep us coming back for more! (Personally, I'm waiting for the book showing all 18,000 Picture Sleeves in your collection!!! AMAZING!!!!!)
Thanks for filling in some of the details on this new project ... can't wait to get my copy!
Continued success to you, Joel ... we've been enjoying the fruits of your efforts for over 40 years now!!! (kk)

Here's just a short sample of what we can expect in this new edition, courtesy of Joel Whitburn:

BREAKOUTS BY MARKET:
These artists did not make Billboard’s Hot 100 or Bubbling Under charts. They did, however, hit Billboard’s “Breakout Singles” chart. Listed first is the city (or market) where an artist made their first appearance as a “Breakout”. We will show bios with group member names and their city and state of origin, although most are from the “Breakout” city. This is just a small sampling of the hundreds upon hundreds of new artists and songs that will appear in the next edition of “Top Pop Singles”with full chart information as follows:
CITATIONS, The
Garage/surf band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Ted Kasper (lead guitar), David Gustin (rhythm guitar), Joe Halser (bass) and Tom Lamanchek (drums).
5/4/63 Breakout / 1 wk. Moon Race……[I]…..[Milwaukee]…..Slippin’ & Slidin’…….Sara 3301 ... released in August 1963 on Epic 9603; written by Ted Kasper (2:12)
Here is a small sampling of “Breakout” artists from a few of the markets surveyed:
BALTIMORE … The Jolly Jacks / The Telstars / Lue Cazz / Dotty Daniels
BIRMINGHAM … The Distortions
BOSTON … The Avons
BUFFALO … The Raging Storms
CHICAGO … The Buttons / The Cardigans / The Exports / The Livers / Junior Wells / Johnny Cooper
CLEVELAND … Dick Whittington’s Cats / Ivan & The Sabers / The Pussycats / Selective Service / The Springers
DALLAS … Floyd Dakil Combo / Scotty McKay / Clay Cole
DETROIT … The Companions / The Concords / The Escorts / The Rockin’ Ramrods / The Southbound Freeway / The Underdogs / Unrelated Segments
HARTFORD … Sam Kimble / The Roller Coasters
HOUSTON … C.L. & The Pictures / Neal Ford & The Fanatics / Gaylan Ladd / The Nightcaps / Tippie & The Clovers
LOS ANGELES … The Belairs / Manuel & The Renegades / The Surfmen / The Uptones
MEMPHIS … The Guilloteens / The Scepters / Homer Banks
MIAMI … The Golliwogs (pre-Creedence) / The K-Otics
MILWAUKEE … The Citations / The Legends / Paul Steffan & The Royal Lancers / Paul Steffen & The Apollos
MINNEAPOLIS / ST.PAUL … The Chancellors / Gregory Dee & The Avanties / The Del Counts / The Do’s & The Don’ts / The Electras / The High Spirits / The Stillroven / The Underbeats
NEW ORLEANS … The Stokes
NEW YORK … The Del Satins / The Dreamers / The Five Discs / The Latin Quarters / Marci & The Mates / The Rubies / The Visuals / The West Siders
PHILADELPHIA … The Cobras / Eddie & The Starlites / The Exceptions / The Philadelphians / The Volcanos / Billy & The Essentials
PITTSBURGH … The Fenways / The Roosters / The Tammys
ST. LOUIS … Patty McCoy & The Renegades / Hal Blaine & The Young Cougars
SAN FRANCISCO … Frankie Anthony
SEATTLE … Boot Dog Pefferly & The Loafers / The Redwoods / The Sonics / Van Doren
WASHINGTON, D.C …. Pearlean Gray / The Hangmen / Bobby Sax & The Housekeepers / Dey & Knight

-- Joel Whitburn

If some of these songs and artists ring a bell with you ... and you'd like to share some of their music with the rest of the list ... just drop me a line and we'll see what we can put together. Local chart information, photos and copies of the music would be much appreciated ... we've unearthed some GREAT, classic gems in the past ... so show your support for YOUR Local Heroes!!! Thanks, Joel! (kk) Good Morning Kent,
Thanks so much for your comments about my research work. As you know, I have an unending passion for what I’m doing. I enjoy getting up each day, never knowing what I’ll discover about some older songs and artists or some brand new and exciting new releases. It has been a joyous and fruitful career for me. And then to be able to share my discoveries with fellow music fans all over the world makes it the ultimate in satisfaction.
Thank you, Kent, for your loyal support. Have a great holiday season!
Joel

re: MIDNIGHT MARY:
What a fantastic Joey Powers story - and what wonderful linkage to "Warmth Of The Sun." Many thanks to Artie ... and Fred, and everyone else who makes the effort to write down these marvelous bit of history. What's Joey Powers doing these days?Now you've got me wondering about the story behind these slightly different mixes to "Midnight Mary". Compare this one to the one you linked on your blog page.
And it's not just the mix ... the backing vocal arrangement is substantially different beginning at about 1:50. The "cleaner" version I sent you isn't the version we heard on the radio in 1964. The version you posted is the one I clearly remember hearing on the radio. Not that I remember the layering of Joey's voice at the beginning, but because of the strong difference in the backup arrangement. Interesting ......
David Lewis
























So many of these stars have gone back and re-recorded their hits for various compilation albums over the years ... perhaps this is one of those (but it sure sounds true to the original recording ... as if it is from the same session.) I asked Artie Wayne if HE could shed any light on this ... was it, in fact, an "alternate take" that somehow has made its way into the public's hands? Or is it a remake recorded well after the fact? I also asked what Joey is up to these days, as it seems his comments on Artie's blog were fairly recent. Here's what he told me:
Happy Thanksgiving Kent ... to you, your family, and readers of Forgotten Hits.
The last I heard from Joey Powers he was living in Russia. The "Midnight Mary" mix you sent me is the one I did for the stereo mix of the album.

Regards,

Artie

Great memory, but there is practically zero chance that Artie heard “I Want to Hold Your Hand” then in NYC – supposedly a girl got a British copy to a Washington, DC station in early December for its first US airplay … Life magazine bought the Zapruder film and had an exclusive on it for some time, and didn’t at the time show the frame where the president’s head was hit.

Tom Taber

Our timeline regarding the first U.S. airplay of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" would seem to back this up ... even less likely would be any airplay of "This Boy", a track that wouldn't show up on the radio until after Beatlemania EXPLODED Stateside and their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. (kk)

Great post about Midnight Mary. However, not to take away from the power of the overall story - and I also wrote this to the author at the original site of the story:
Regarding “I Want to Hold Your Hand” ... The Beatles did not have any single being promoted in the US in November of 1963, and “Hand” wasn’t released in Britain until 11/29. It literally would not have been available to an American DJ at that point.
It began getting airplay in NYC about ten days before Christmas, and was rush released by Capitol on 12/26.
RasMaster

We seem to be having some "timeline" issues in Forgotten Hits lately ... waiting to see if Artie has any thoughts to share on this one! (kk)

re: DEAD MAN'S CURVE:

This past October 16, I was rounding a curve just north of my town when I, too, caught some gravel on the shoulder. As I lost control of the car, went thru a ditch, crashed thru a fence and smacked head on into a tree, all I could think of was the line, won't come back from Dead Man's Curve. I suffered a broken collarbone, but I'm on the mend.
Jack (Rock And Roll Never Forgets)

Glad to hear that you're healing fine!!! After a couple of rather serious car-related mishaps of my own this past year, I'm thankful to put it all behind me!!! (kk)

re: MORE MICKY / MONKEES NEWS:

Monkee Micky Dolenz will start rehearsing in January to join the London cast of the stage musical "Hairspray." He will take over the part of Tracy Turnblad's dad, Wilbur, February 2.

-- Ron Smith

re: THE BEE GEES:

Hi Kent,
So glad to hear the Bee Gees will be touring again! Next to the Beatles, they were my favorite group.
I have a tape of one of their concerts when Maurice was with them and they sounded better that their records.
Hope they come to Chicago. Keep us informed!
Carolyn
ps Any news on how things went in Highwood with Jimy Sohns???

No official tour dates yet for The Bee Gees ... but if they come to Chicago, we're planning on going. I haven't heard anything about the Highwood Show ... but it sounds like things were rockin' at The Abbey Pub last weekend ... check out the emails below! (kk)

re: RECENT EVENTS:
Kent -
We had a great time at the Dean Milano Book Signing Concert Event at The Abbey! The music was electric, the food was yummy and to see Ronnie Rice, Hook (Shames), Ray (NC Six) the two Jimmys and the guys from Jamestown Massacre and the Flock was like so cool!
Thanks for the advance notice! Love your newsletter!!!!!!!!
Mike De Martino and the guys from the Lovejoy Music Club

We never made it to the show ... but we're hoping for another chance ... stay tuned to these pages for more details!!! (kk)
Here are a few words from Dean Milano himself!
Hey guys, thanks so much for all your plugs on our party.
I hope you can make it Sunday. Looks like there are going to be over 60 musicians from the book on hand signing autographs.
Lots of great music and food, too!
Dean Milano
Yes, it actually did happen!
For those of you who missed it Sunday, there were over 75 musicians at the event signing books. The music went on all day and it was fantastic!


The cast (as far as I know): Tricia Alexander, Muriel Anderson, John Benishek, Geoff Boyan, David Bragman, Mark Bringman, Greg Cahill, Andrew Calhoun, Bob Centano, Tom Cloud, V.J. Comforte, Rob Curtis, Al Day, Al DeCarlo, Elliott Delman, Bobby Diamond, Marc Edelstein, Josie Falbo, Chris Farrell, Andy Foertsch, Tommy Furlong, Dennis Giovannini, Fred Glickstein, Ray Graffia, Steve Hashimoto, Annie Hat, Nate Herman, Ron Hoeller, Ron Holder, Alaric “Rokko” Jans, Steve Jones, Perry Jordan, Ron Karpman, Rob Kleeman, Tom Kleeman, Fred Kores,
Jeannie Lambert, Al Lathan, Warren Leming, Bruce Mattey, Glen Messmer, Michael Miles, Ed Mooney, Mike Peterson, Justin Pomeroy, Paul Petraitus, Jim Pilster, Alejo Poveda, John Priola, Jeff Quinn, Ronnie Rice, Jimy Rogers, Dean Rolando, Victor Sanders, Anne Schwartz, Chris Shannon, Barb Silverman, Greg Simone, Rick Simone, Ken Slauf, Tony Smith, Jimy Sohns, Barry Soliday, Pete Spero, Kestutuis Stanciauskas, Don Stiernberg, Craig Takehara, Ruth Tobias, Greg Trafidlo, Chip Trindl, Jim Ulett, Russ Ward, Tom Webb, Jim Williams, Ron Woodward ... And these are just the folks who were in the book itself, many of whom are in this picture! There were many more wonderful Chicago musicians in the picture who should’ve been in the book, but weren’t for reasons beyond anyone’s control.
Dean Milano

re: MORE THANKSGIVING ... AND ANNIVERSARY GREETINGS:
dear kent ...
congrats on the numbers. denny tufano was spot on when he said that your sight is what rolling stone used to be ... "interesting." continued success.

by the way, do you agree with me that "Gimme Shelter" is not just rock 'n roll, its thundering band track and raging vocals make it the greatest rock 'n roll song of all time.
1-gimme shelter
2-like a rolling stone
3-johnny b. goode
4-l.a. woman-doors
5-us and them-pink floyd

have a world class 24 karat gold holiday season ... tell ray graffia he owes me lunch!
chet coppock
chetcoppock.com
lol ... thanks, Chet, that means a lot. I've passed your note on to Ray Graffia ... but THIS weekend that might simply mean a leftover turkey sandwich ... so good luck with that!!! (kk)

KENT ...
IT'S BEEN A GREAT YEAR FOR YOU AND ME ... CONGRATS AND HAPPY TURKEY DAY!~!
SHANNON
Thanks, Scott ... and right backatcha!!! (kk)

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family Kent, from everyone in The Rip Chords Family ... and thanks for your support through the years ... we are thankful.
Mitch Schecter / The Rip Chords

Thanks. To you also. I'll be spending Thanksgiving working on a Jimi Hendrix tribute radio show (his birthday is 11/27).
WPFW 89.3 FM
www.wpfw.org
Hendrix -- Thursday 26th
Thanksgiving Day 12 Noon to 6 PM
Hosted by Bob Daughtry & Guest Co-Host Cordell Dickerson
Guests include Steve Roby, author of the Jimi Hendrix biography Black Gold; Billy Cox, original bass player for Band Of Gypsys; and Ken Voss, curator of the Jimi Hendrix Information Management Institute.
Ken Voss

Happy Thanksgiving to our Friends and Fans!
Have a great holiday, and tune in to 94.7 WLS this Friday for Dick Biondi's annual Toy Drive Broadcast live from the Stratford Square Mall in Bloomingdale.
Jimy Rogers will be interviewed between 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. and a new live Mauds track will be played! Listen online at http://www.947trueoldies.com/
The 2009 Dick Biondi Toy Drive takes place at Stratford Square Mall in Bloomingdale on Friday, November 27th, from 7 am until 10 pm. Join 94.7 WLS-FM and Dick Biondi as he broadcasts live in the Sears court area on the lower level of Stratford Square Mall. Special guests will be stopping by throughout the broadcast. Help make the holidays a little happier for underprivileged kids by bringing new, unwrapped toys or cash donations to the toy drive on behalf of UCAN of Chicago. For more information, click here.
BLUE ROAD and THE MAUDS feature Jimy Rogers on vocals, Gary Gand on guitar, Joan Gand on keys, Joel Treadwell on drums, Steve Nevets on bass and vocals.
plus Mauds backup vocalists Veronica Stanford and Jocelyn Mallard
For more info, see:
www.themauds.com
Upcoming Shows for Blue Road w / Jimy Rogers:
Wednesday, Dec. 9 Chuck's Voodoo Lounge, Burbank
Saturday, Dec. 12 Blue Bayou, Chicago
Saturday, Dec. 19 Gabe's Backstage Lounge, HighwoodSee our website for details:
www.blueroadchicago.com

Hi Kent ...

Happy Thanksgiving and congratulations on your ten year anniversary of Forgotten Hits. I look forward to reading your E-Mails every week. I hope things are good with you.

Lots of love,

John Madara

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving ...

TWAS THE NIGHT OF THANKSGIVING,

BUT I JUST COULDN'T SLEEP.

I TRIED COUNTING BACKWARDS,

I TRIED COUNTING SHEEP.

THE LEFTOVERS BECKONED -

THE DARK MEAT AND WHITE,

BUT I FOUGHT THE TEMPTATION

WITH ALL OF MY MIGHT.

TOSSING AND TURNING WITH ANTICIPATION,

THE THOUGHT OF A SNACK BECAME INFATUATION.

SO, I RACED TO THE KITCHEN, FLUNG OPEN THE DOOR,

AND GAZED AT THE FRIDGE, FULL OF GOODIES GALORE.

GOBBLED UP TURKEY AND BUTTERED POTATOES,

PICKLES AND CARROTS, BEANS AND TOMATOES.

I FELT MYSELF SWELLING SO PLUMP AND SO ROUND,

'TIL ALL OF A SUDDEN, I ROSE OFF THE GROUND.

I CRASHED THROUGH THE CEILING, FLOATING INTO THE SKY,

WITH A MOUTHFUL OF PUDDING AND A HANDFUL OF PIE.

BUT, I MANAGED TO YELL AS I SOARED PAST THE TREES ...

HAPPY EATING TO ALL - PASS THE CRANBERRIES, PLEASE.

MAY YOUR STUFFING BE TASTY,

MAY YOUR TURKEY BE PLUMP.

MAY YOUR POTATOES 'N GRAVY HAVE NARY A LUMP.

MAY YOUR YAMS BE DELICIOUS.

MAY YOUR PIES TAKE THE PRIZE,

MAY YOUR THANKSGIVING DINNER

STAY OFF OF YOUR THIGHS!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!!!

Gary Pike / The Lettermen

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!!!! And thank you for all you do.

Jimmy Pilster / The Cryan' Shames

Kent ...

I'm really happy for you ... you deserve all the success you are having! As far as I'm concerned you've got the best music forum on the net. May you grow and prosper,

Your friend,

Artie Wayne

HAPPY HOLIDAYS MY FRIEND,

GOD BLESS,

Austin Roberts

Congrats on 10 years at the Forgotten Hits’ helm and thanks, as always, for the incredible support you personally, and as captain of the good ship FH, have provided for the New Colony Six and our peers.

Peace today, peace tomorrow and over this entire holiday season,

Ray Graffia, Jr. / The New Colony Six

re: WHAT'S NEXT???:

>>>We're receiving LOTS of ideas and suggestions as to what our next countdown should be ... how does the All-Time Favorite Polka strike you?!?!? (kk)
Speaking of Polka ...

Kristy

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=those+darn+accordions+youtube&aq=1&oq=those+darn+a&aqi=g2

Yeah ... some pretty pathetic gems can be found here!!! (lol) kk

re: HELPING OUT OUR READERS:
>>>Elvis did a version of an Ink Spots' song called " A Fool Such As I".

(Bob Hughes)

>>>We've been looking for a copy of The Ink Spots doing the Elvis Presley tune "(Now And Then There's) A Fool Such As I" ... and so far, no luck.

Meanwhile, I got this from one of our readers, who checked an Ink Spots Music site (kk) ...

>>>Can you ask the requester if they know a site that lists this song? Because at this site it doesn't show it: http://inkspots.ca/ISALPHAZ.htm (Cookie)

>>>I couldn't find a listing for it in any of the sources that I checked either ... then I got this from Hil (TheOneBuff) kk ...

>>>I found Tommy Edwards via youtube singing A Fool Such As I. Maybe this is what was heard and supposed as The Ink Spots. Worth a shot, I figured. (TheOneBuff)

>>>Worth a spin ... I found early '50's charted versions by both Jo Stafford and Hank Snow, too ... but nothing on this one by The Ink Spots. (kk)

This is what the Originals Project site had to say for the song:
A Fool Such As I - Hank Snow (5-19-52), Tommy Edwards (11-20-52), Jo Stafford (12-30-52), Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan
No Ink Spots among them and I've never heard of such a record either. Hank Snow was the original, and the Tommy Edwards version may be the one the original requestor may be seeking, as TheOneBuff stated.
Tom

I'm starting to think that The Ink Spots never recorded this one ... perhaps it was their version of the early Presley hit "That's Where Your Heartaches Begin" that Bob was thinking of ... we featured that one back on November 16th. (Scroll back to this date and give it a listen!!!) kk

>>>DO YOU THINK INDIVIDUAL CD COLLECTIONS OF THE SWINGIN MEDALLIONS, MAGIC LANTERNS OR J.J. JACKSON ARE WORTH PURCHASING BEYOND THE OBVIOUS HIT? CURIOUS FOR YOUR INPUT. THANKS! (MGB)>>>Personally, the only one I'd be curious to hear would be The Magic Lanterns, as I heard they had several hits that didn't chart here ... as for the others, I'm not even remotely curious!!! (lol) But that's just MY opinion ... let's see what the rest of the list thinks ... maybe there are some lost "gems" out there that we don't even know about! (kk)
Kent ...
I oughta smack you ... the Swingin' Medallions had a lot of other great records, their version of Hey Baby is quite excellent.
Tom Diehl
Well, that's the kind of input we were looking for!!! (Not THAT great in my opinion ... but it's OK ... they even manage to work the "My Girl" riff into the song!) kk





















re: AND, NOW THAT THANKSGIVING'S OVER ...

IT'S ON TO CHRISTMAS!!!:
And, just like he did last year, Artie Wayne has sent us an INCREDIBLE collection of Christmas videos to share!!! (Careful ... you can spend HOURS here checking all of these out!!! lol) kk
Kent ...
They’re all here: ELVIS, REINDEER SINGING “WHITE CHRISTMAS”, BOB DYLAN, NEW MILEY!!, Aretha, Nat “King”Cole, Bing, NEW ARCHIES, Rudolf, JOSH GROBAN, “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, PAUL EVANS, Jingle Cats, Neil Diamond, The Rad Dudes, Band-Aid, CHRIS BROWN, Ashley Tisdale, Enya, The Carpenters, NEW JULLIANNE HOUGH, Brenda Lee, Beach Boys, Sponge Bob, MANILOW, Perry Como, Alvin and the Chipmunks and so much more! When Whoppy and Streaker were little more than kittens I sat down with them on their first Christmas Eve and sang Christmas songs on my guitar. Ten years later they’re playing Christmas songs for me that they found on the Internet! Sound outrageous? Not as outrageous as some of the the videos they found! For example, here are the Singing Reindeer and “White Christmas”, by Clyde McPhatter and The Drifters
http://digg.com/d3fDc1
NOW HERE ARE THE REST OF THE 99 CHRISTMAS VIDEOS
http://artiewayne.wordpress.com/2007/11/13/the-top-the-best-and-the-greatest-christmas-music-videos/
Regards,
Artie Wayne
http:
over50music.com


Meanwhile ...

REMINDER #1: If you're in the Richland Center, Wisconsin area, be sure to tune into Phil Nee's Radio Program this evening from 6 pm - Midnight ... because he'll be counting down YOUR Top 50 All-Time Favorite Instrumentals, as voted on by The Forgotten Hits Readers all over the world.

REMINDER #2: And, if you're NOT able to listen to the show, you can catch the WHOLE List on this very web page tomorrow morning ... as well as its new PERMANENT Home on the OTHER Forgotten Hits Web Page here:
Click here: Forgotten Hits - Top 40 Instrumentals, 1955 - 1979

REMINDER #3: And, coming next week, a link enabling you to listen to the ENTIRE Phil Nee Show on Podcast ... keep watching these pages!!!

REMINDER #4: If you missed The History Channel's One Hour Beatles Special Wednesday Night, it's airing again tomorrow (Sunday, November 29th) at 4 PM Chicago Time. It's a GREAT One Hour Overview of the recorded history of The Beatles, with some REALLY cool, rarely seen video footage and all kinds of extra studio chatter between The Fabs. DEFINITELY worth a viewing (or even ANOTHER viewing if you DID happen to catch Wednesday's broadcast!)

REMINDER #5: Don't forget to register to win a copy of Davie Allan's brand new CD "Retrophonic". We'll be giving away an autographed copy to one Forgotten Hits Reader next weekend ... but you can't win if you don't enter! 17 great new tracks including awesome remakes of Davie's Hit "Blues' Theme" and a kick-ass version of "Rebel Rouser". (The original version of BOTH of these hits made our Top 50 All-Time Favorite Instrumentals Countdown!) Just send me an email and register for next weekend's drawing. Send it to: forgottenhits@aol.com!!!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing ALL of you out there a VERY Happy Thanksgiving.

Here are a few of your latest comments ... along with one more reminder about The Top 50 All-Time Favorite Instrumentals Countdown running this weekend on WRCO, courtesy of Phil Nee. Those of you in the Richland Center area of Wisconsin can tune into AM 1450 and hear the show LIVE this Saturday Night (the 28th) ... be sure to check the website on Sunday (the 29th) to SEE the final results ... and keep watching this page for information as to how you'll be able to listen to an archived podcast of the program in the very near future.

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to vote ... when all was said and done, we received just over 14,000 votes ... so this truly is YOUR countdown, representing YOUR All-Time Instrumental Favorites.

Meanwhile, here are a few other thoughts and comments, as sent in by our readers:

re: ROCK AND ROLL ROOTS, VOLUME 11:
Hi Kent ...
Just wanted to thank you again for helping me obtain this cd. I've played "Face The Autumn" by Family on my last show, and got a good reaction.

Dave The Rave heard it, and asked what CD it was on. I told him that you made it possible for me to have that cd. He might be contacting you about getting a copy.
Thanks again!!! I enjoy your website very much.
Cheers,
Glenn Sauter
Producer and Host of HITS OF YESTERYEAR
http://www.hitsofyesteryear.com
"Face The Autumn" was a #12 Hit here in Chicago back in 1967 ... amazingly, it never even "bubbled under" in Billboard. If Dave The Rave ... or anyone ELSE on the list for that matter ... would like to obtain a copy of this hot new CD, just drop me a line and we'll set everything up. (I just mailed four other copies yesterday as a matter of fact to some of our out-of-state readers!!!) For a complete track listing, simply scroll back to the November 8th posting ... or visit The Drive Website here (kk):
Click here: Rock 'n Roll Roots Vol. 11 - WDRV - THE DRIVE

















re: THE MAGIC LANTERNS:
"Shame Shame" is one of my favorite songs by the Magic Lanterns.
Carrie
One of MY favorite songs of the '60's!!! We featured this one, too, not too long ago ...
Click here: Forgotten Hits: It's A Shame - Part 3 ... along with a brief bio on the band.
Here's the track again for those of you who may have missed it ... or simply enjoy hearing it as much as I do!!! (kk)

















re: DICK CLARK BIRTHDAY BASH:
Ryan Seacrest is now a part of the Dick Clark Birthday Salute with Jimmy Jay. Ryan and I recorded bits together last week and we had a great time. This will be the Broadcast Event of the Year. I am so sorry that we could not get all the stars on the show that wanted to be because we were full almost a week ago. I should have done 4 hours instead of 3.
When will it air? Many stations are going with it at different times but here is what I know off the top of my head.

95.9 FM WATD in MA will run it Saturday Night November 28 from 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM EASTERN TIME (They Stream also www.959watd.com). WLNG 92.1 FM in New York will run it Monday Night November 30 at 9 PM – 12. They also stream (www.wlng.com). There are many more but I can’t remember them again from the top of my head. I am lucky I have a head after interviewing all the stars below in the past two weeks.
Some of The Stars that will be on (In No Particular Order, just from memory): Huey Lewis, Neil Sedaka, Bobby Vee, Tony Orlando, Bobby Vinton, Dobie Gray, Chris Montez, Mel Tillis, Steve Alaimo, KC of the Sunshine Band, Betty Wright, Andy Williams, Connie Francis, Marshall Lytle from the Comets, Bobby Curtola, Martha Reeves, Bill Medley, Bobbi Smith of the Spinners, Paul Revere, Brenda Lee, Freddy Cannon, Joe Terry (Danny & The Juniors) Tom Bergeron (Dancing with the Stars), Joey Dee, Ruth Pointer, Beach Boy Al Jardine, Ben E King, Richie from the Rip Chords, Billy Vera, Barbra Lewis, Fabian, Brian Hyland, Bobby Lewis, Chubby Checker, Dee Dee Sharp, Colonel Abrams, Earl Lewis (The Trammps) Paul Peterson, Bobby Goldsboro, John Ford Coley, Little Anthony, Judy Craig Mann (The Chiffons), Maurice Williams, Ron Dante, ? & The Mysterians Kool of Kool & The Gang, Tommy James, BJ Thomas, Paul Evans & ... hmm ... I think I am missing somebody.
Grammy Award Winning Producer of BB King, Trade Martin recorded all the jingles for this special broadcast.
If you know of a station that should run this show or the 1 hour condensed version, have them contact me 617-773-0690 or by e-mail
JimmyJay@RewindShow.com
The One Hour Special will feature only hits from 64 plus but with drops from the older stars. The 3 hour show does it all (the way it should be).
But we all do what we have to in order that we keep the music alive.
Be sure to contact your local radio stations the show is good for both music & talk stations.
Dick Clark has heard most of it already and has sent me a very special e-mail. The ad banner is atached.
Happy Thanksgivng and Keep Rockin!
Jimmy Jay
www.RewindShow.com


















re: FROM DICK CLARK TO ED SULLIVAN:
Kent ...
I think everyone will like this book as much as i did ... "Sundays With Sullivan,"
by Bernie Ilson.

How The Ed Sullivan Show brought Elvis, The Beatles, and culture to America. Lots of behind the scenes information. On most shows the star act was put on at the end of the show. Ed Sullivan thought you had to grab the audiences attention, right away. Elvis & The Beatles opened the show and were brought back two more times during the show.
Frank B.

I've gotta STRONGLY disagree with you on this one, Frank ... I was REALLY looking forward to this book when it came out ... and it SHOULD have been a much-more-detailed, behind-the-scenes accounting of The Sullivan Show, a television landmark series that was our connection to what was happening in the entertainment world at the time ... in SOME cases, literally the MOMENT it was happening. I was EXTREMELY disappointed in the way the book was written. For some reason, Ilson felt the need to share some of the same meaningless tidbits about Sullivan's social habits two, three and even four times within these scant less-than-two-hundred pages. (That in itself was a huge disappointment ... how do you work with this guy for 20-something years and then cover the highlights in only 200 pages???) The stories I wanted to hear ... about Sullivan breaking some of the biggest acts in the music business ... and show business all together ... were barely there. Even the aforementioned Beatles and Elvis appearances were condensed into a few brief pages. (How sad that the most interesting new factoid that I took away from the book was the time Sullivan was eating an ice cream cone backstage when the performing bear ON stage noticed that Ed was sampling his reward treat ... and nearly mauled him for doing so!!!) SO much more could have been covered ... even a show-by-show recap, stating the guests and what they performed would have made for an EXCELLENT addendum. (You can find THIS kind of information over at TV.com ... a little bit of research, ESPECIALLY by a guy who was there for most of it, could have GREATLY enhanced this book's value to its audience.) My score on a 1-10: 2. (kk)

... and, speaking of The Beatles ...

re: THE BEATLES:

Beatlemania is alive and well at Collectors’ Choice Music. The new boxed sets have been dominating our top sellers list as well as our CD players and they are truly something to behold (especially those mono tracks)! As we get ready to take a little Thanksgiving break and look forward to a nice dinner and a long weekend with family and friends, we’re also looking forward to a couple of Beatles-related specials set to air in the coming days. On the evening of Wednesday the 25th, the History Channel presents “On Record With The Beatles,” a brand new documentary from director Bob Smeaton, who also did the acclaimed Beatles “Anthology” series and the new mini-documentaries included on the new remastered stereo CDs. “On Record…” is being touted as featuring over 60 songs with rarely seen footage and never-before-heard outtakes, so obviously, we are psyched to check it out.
ABC will follow that up on Thanksgiving night with a new one-hour Paul McCartney special highlighting his 2009 concerts at New York’s Citi Field. That special will also flashback to the Beatles’ legendary 1965 Shea Stadium show. You can pick up the new 2 CD / 1 DVD set that this new McCartney special is based on right now! Just visit our site for the full details on that and all of the new Beatles releases!
Meanwhile, both Mono and the Stereo Beatles Box Sets are back in stock and available for immediate shipment. You can check all of this out here (along with all kinds of OTHER great new releases):
Click here: Collectors' Choice Music

I knew about the Citi Field concert special ... but wasn't aware of The History Channel Program ... that'll make for some GREAT TV viewing tonight after "Glee"!!! (kk)

Kent,
I am enjoying another Sunday session with your newest Comments page from today. As always thanks for all the interesting stories to peruse and think about. I have a question about the new Disney production about The Beatles that maybe you can answer or find out for me. I notice that a "Steve Starkey" is listed as one of the Producers of it. Do you think he might be a relative of Ringo aka Richard Starkey? It would be interesting to know. I think I remember Ringo's son's name is Zack. Maybe he had more than one son and this is one of his boys. Also, do you know what Zack is doing? Maybe he's doing some music like Julian Lennon. If so that would be a great group to put together, along with George's son and also I believe that Paul had a son too. Do you know anything about the Beatles kids? It would be interesting to know what they all are doing, if anything, with writing and performing music these days.
Thanks for any info Kent, and for providing a great forum for us old rockers,
Veeder Van Dorn
The Moonrakers
Each of The Beatles has at least one musically-inclined offspring. To date, Julian Lennon has been the most successful in his musical ventures, scoring four Top 40 Hits (including a couple of Top 10's) in 1985 and 1986 ... but he hasn't made much of a musical impression since. Sean Lennon (John's son with Yoko) has also released a number of recordings but none of these have ever really taken off in a very big way. Paul McCartney's son James has performed on some of his father's recordings ... (no, Teen Idol Jesse McCartney is NOT related) ... and George's son Dhani was a featured player at the Concert Tribute to his Father ... and I believe he was somewhat instrumental in helping to put together the "Rock Band" deal. Zak Starkey has maintained the greatest presence amongst rockers, playing the drums for artists like The Who and the VERY Beatles-influenced Oasis. (I thought he may have sat in with Led Zeppelin a time or two, too, but I couldn't find anything on this online.) I, too, wondered about Steve Starkey ... so I asked Charles Rosenay, who sponsors all those Liverpool Tours (and the upcoming Beat Expo) if HE could fill in some of the blanks regarding your questions ... and this is what he had to say:
It seems that most, if not all, of the Beatles offspring are musically inclined. Julian Lennon, who had the most hits and recognition dating back the 80's, is preparing to release a new album for the first time in years. His catalogue of work ranges from quite good to brilliant. Sean Lennon has also released albums and toured, but his material seems to be less commercial than Julian's. He has most recently toured behind his mom, Yoko.
Ringo's son, Zak Starkey is a well-established drummer in his own right. For years, he has been The Who's drummer. His brother Jason is also a musician, but has not had the success of his brother. Ringo's daughter, Lee, never had any musical aspirations. Steve Starkey is a well-known Hollywood producer, and you could also find a Steve Starkey playing guitar on YouTube, but they are not related to Ringo.
George's son Dhani has released an album, "You Are Here," under his duo / band's name "thenewwho2" and it's very good. He has toured, and - of all the Beatle boys - seems to be most proud of his Beatles heritage. He was very instrumental in the release of the Beatles Rockband game.
Most recently, Paul McCartney's son, James, is the latest of the Beatle babies to make music, and he just did some low-key shows with a band just a few weeks ago.
We'd love to see a band with the Beatles sons, but only they can make that happen. We don't even know if they're friends. If they ever did "come together," it would be quite interesting, and we would honored to have them play at one of our Beatles conventions! At this point, none of the Beatles sons or daughters have ever made a convention appearance.
I must throw in a plug for my next convention, because it's this weekend! "BEATexpo 2009" takes place Saturday night, November 28 (doors open at 8 pm) and Sunday, November 29 (doors open at Noon, with an early-bird VIP optional 11 am admission) at the Downtown Stamford Holiday Inn, 700 E. Main Street in Stamford, CT. Although none of the Beatles kids will be there, John Lennon's recording engineer (Dennis Ferrante) will be here along with Peter Tork, Spanky McFarlane, Butch Patrick and many others. For more Info, check out the website here: w
ww.ToursAndEvents.com.
Charles

... and, speaking of BeatExpo, check out what sounds like a KILLER performance by Monkee Micky Dolenz, who joined Peter Tork on stage for a recent show!!!

re: MICKY DOLENZ:
As a prelude to his appearance at the
BEATexpo 2009 convention(www.Toursandevents.com/BEATexpo.htm) this weekend at the Downtown Stamford Holiday Inn, Peter Tork was a guest star at the Boston area Mega-Fest convention this past weekend. He sprinkled his live set with old Monkees favorites and some choice blues and bluegrass tunes. He also pleased the crowd with a rousing "Lady Madonna." But the highlight came when, toward the end of the set, Peter shouted to the back of the ballroom, paging a Mister "George Michael." After several attempts and no response, he shouted "Micky!" and from the rear of the room came Micky Dolenz onstage to join him. Dolenz told the audience of the time he met "British royalty" - not the Queen - but The Beatles! He went on to tell of his Abbey Road experience, and how The Beatles were all dressed in jeans, but that George Martin was in a suit. And he said that the following came out of the speakers, before he ripped into a scorching "Oh Darling," which is perfectly suited for Micky's vocal range. They ended with Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode." Davy & Mike were missed.
Don't miss Peter Tork's very special appearance at BEATexpo 2009 THIS WEEKEND in Stamford, CT. He performs solo and with a backing band on Saturday night (Nov. 28, doors open at 8pm), and he talks onstage + meets fans + signs autographs (no charge for autographs, photos and other souvenirs will be on sale!) on Sunday (Nov. 29, doors open at Noon, with an optional early-bird VIP admission at 11am). Ticket Information can be found on the website:
"BEATexpo 2009" - TicketLeap
And, you can read the complete article with photo of Peter & Micky here:
http://www.examiner.com/x-2082-Beatles-Examiner~y2009m11d22-Monkees-minireunion-features-Beatle-talk-and-Fab-Four-songs-at-Boston-area-celeb-convention?cid=examiner-email
Charles Rosenay / Liverpool Tours
Sounds like a GREAT show. (I tried to find a clip of this on YouTube but didn't see anything posted yet. Put "Micky Dolenz Oh Darling" into the YouTube search engine and you'll find ALL kinds of recent appearances of Micky performing this song live on stage. Be sure to give us the full scoop on your convention this weekend, Charles!!! (kk)

re: DIGGIN' FORGOTTEN HITS:

Hello Kent,

I hope things will slow down a bit for you this week after all the tabulating that has gone on to come up with the Top Instrumentals listing. I look forward to hearing them on Phil Nee’s show on WRCO this Saturday. Keep up the great work, a lot of great stuff in the Forgotten Hits newsletter.

Mike Ogilvie
Mississauga, ON


Howdy! From Austin, Texas.
I enjoyed the psychedelic list, though I thought it was awfully wordy. And maybe that was unavoidable with the contest winners and commentary about the contest entries.
(Yeah, I know - EVERYBODY's a critic!)
Anyway, THANKS!!!
I'd like to get on your mailing list, just for grins. I don't really spend much time with the oldies, as my musical interests run more to blues and "folk" music, and next year will be my 35th season working on the volunteer staff at the Kerrville Folk Festival: http://www.kerrville-music.com/.
I do recall being pretty well blown away by several of the tunes on your top 20 list - and there were some I do not recall at all (at all ... ). One of my faves back then was "Hot Smoke and Sassafras", which got a fair bit of airplay in my home area of Southeast Texas (Beaumont - Port Arthur market) which is where I had an eight year stint as a DJ. The four years as Music Director, then Program Director of KVLU at Lamar university was the high (!) point, but I was exploring non-commercial music and pimping "Progressive Country", which Texas Folkie Steven Fromholz referred to as "The great Progressive Country scare of the 70's"!!!
Anyway, I noticed that you said that "Hot Smoke & Sassafras" had gone A.W.O.L. from your archives. I just happen to have one. If ya need a digital copy I can probably dig it out of one of the boxes of promo 45's in the back room. There are some other "Gems" in there, too.
The first rock concert I ever went to (1962, I think) featured Dick & Dee Dee (The Mountains High), Gary (U.S.) Bonds (his hit just came and went thru what passes for a memory these days) and the "unforgettable" Piltdown Men!!! Do ya need a copy of "The Brontosaurus Stomp"???
The mentions of "In a Gadda Da Vida" brought back this blast from the past:
I was medically evacuated back to the Naval Hospital at Corpus Christie, Texas, on December 23rd, 1968, and sent home for the holidays on the 24th. The guy that took me to the airport in Corpus had a 4-track (yes!) player in his car (the first car audio I had seen besides the AM radios of the time. He played "I.A.G.D.V." and when it faded down in the middle of that mind bending drum solo, I decided I would never own a device that mangled music that way. I never owned a four or eight track player, but bought an under-dash Sony cassette player in 1970.
Anyway, that's enough for now! It's late and I'm tired. I look forward to hearing from you, and getting the newsletter - and digging through those old singles again ...
All The Best -
Bob C
P.S. My username (64RagTop) refers to my pristine '64 Dodge Dart Convertible. I recall drawing pictures of the new Darts in my high school art class, but it took me 40 years to get to own one!
Welcome aboard, Bob C ... great to hear from you!!! (lol ... and he called ME wordy?!?!? Just kidding, Bob!) Actually, that Psychedelic Series that you just read (over on The Forgotten Hits Website ... Click here: Forgotten Hits - Top 20 Favorite Psychedelic Songs) originally ran spread over an entire MONTH!!! What's up on the site is the "condensed" version of a month's worth of postings ... so it probably IS an awful lot to digest in one sitting!!! It is ALSO the most-read article on the website so I'm glad you found it interesting.
I'm sure that Bubble Puppy were quite popular in your neck of the woods ... they hailed from Texas, too! (Actually, I still have their big hit ... what's missing from the archives is a lengthly in-depth piece we did on the band back in 2000 ... a similar piece on The Iron Butterfly is now also forever lost thanks to one of numerous PC crashes since then!!!)
Anyway, I hope we DO stir a memory or two along the way ... and remember, your thoughts and comments are always welcome here! (kk)















re: HAPPY THANKSGIVING:
Hey KK!
Been out of touch for awhile, but enjoying your current issue. Without taking up too much "real estate", I just want to wish you & your readers a blessed & peaceful Thanksgiving. We have much to be grateful for, & music's near the top of the list!
Alan O'Day
Right backatcha, Alan ... and Thank YOU for all the great music you've given us over the years!!! (kk)

Of course not ALL of our Thanksgiving memories are HAPPY ones ... here comes a reminder from Clark Besch ...
Kent,
You mentioned Uncle Lar coming back to the internet radio waves soon. I have to say that he and Ron Riley are my all time heroes of radio. Being that it is nearing Thanksgiving, I thought I'd pull out this classic Lujack / Dahl battle tape that was a bit more "real" than WLS' 10 years earlier Riley / Weber feuds were. It was Thanksgiving of 1985 (and only a year plus until WLS would pull the plug on their "Music Radio" format) when Steve Dahl and Garry Meier's on air "antics" would boil over into a confrontation of strange results. Steve had been mouthing off at Larry for some time and eventually, Larry decided to have Steve "put up or shut up." Neither happened. But, Larry decided to "drop in" on Steve's show and ask Steve to explain or discuss his "problem of animosity" towards station employees and all. Once the VERY awkward moment ended and Larry left the studio, Steve commented that if he ever did that again, he'd be walking on one leg. Lujack, on his next show, would comment back about Steve, saying he would be starting a new segment called "The Truth About Steve Dahl" on his program. He decided to hang around until Steve's show came on and go in and hope Steve "would swing and I would break every bone in his body." SO, Lujack DID walk in on Steve's show AGAIN and the results were much less than Larry had hoped for. You can hear it on the enclosed attachment.Thanksgiving on WLS, 1985. I guess we all miss WLS for more reasons than just the great music and top 40 DJs we heard in the 60's. BUT, not much after 1987!! Haha. WLSClark
I remember listening to every bit of this exchange live on the air as it happened ... eventually Dahl and Meier walked out, leaving Larry to finish the program by himself. Larry's "The Truth About Steve Dahl" aired for a few days ... it was NOT a pretty site ... hardly a glowing moment in EITHER of these mega-talents' careers ... pretty embarrassing for the station, too ... but it was shock radio at its very best (or should I say WORST) to hear this all unfold live and unexpected. The strangest part is I think Garry Meier TRULY respected Lujack and his radio legacy but was egged on by Dahl to the point of no return. So sad to see legends fall. I have no idea if the two of them have ever spoken to each other again ... or if any apologies were ever rendered. Let's just say it's NOT the kind of memory EITHER man would look back on and laugh at today ... and definitely NOT one of their finest radio moments. (kk)






re: AND HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!:
It's amazing. I've been telling you for years that this thing is bigger than you gave it credit for, and now look atcha. Mitch and I came up with an idea for another vote ... have you ever done the most recognized song intros? We go to our local Aurelio's pizza here and there, and they always have on 60s on 6 satellite station ... but it's really hard to hear. So we make it a game with each other, and every so often you'll hear the big twang right before Hard Day's Night, or something like that. There's my vote for the next vote.
Kristy

We're receiving LOTS of ideas and suggestions as to what our next countdown should be ... this one might be a bit too easy ... I think most of our readers fall into that "I can name that song in one note" category!!! (How does the All-Time Favorite Polka strike you?!?!?) kk


This is one of the best websites ever, and I don't mind AT ALL visiting the website with all the good information and great music it provides, not to mention the millions of times it has provided me with that "walk down Memory Lane" -- a place where I love to walk.
Kudos to you!! Keep up the good work!!! Thanks again, Kent, and all the Forgotten Hits Readers!
Anita

Thank you for all the memories and smiles!!
Lea Mea

Hi Kent,
Happy 10th Anniversary! Keep up the good work.
Diana
Bloomfield Hills, Mi

Hi Kent,

Congrats on 10 years. That's a lifetime in Internet time!
Take care -
Art Munson

Happy 10 years!! (and happy wedding anniversary last week :)
Here's to many more forgotten hits!
Beatle Princess

Congrats on your number of visitors and length of tenure. Good stuff.
I'm at live365 counting down the top 800 oldies with countdown extras [source - various radio station top 500s and the like from the year 2000] as well as playing almost every charted oldie [1955-1979] alphabetically by title.The live365 show just began this week.
Get there by going to live365, going to listen and search MTS.
Take Care
Mark
Sounds like OUR kind of show!!! Thanks, Mark! (kk)

Dear Kent -
Happy Anniversary! I don't know how you do it, but I always look forward to your Forgotten Hits emails.
When you love what you are doing, it is fun. May we have many more Anniversary years to celebrate!! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family too.
Carolyn

>>>This Thanksgiving Weekend officially marks our Ten Year Anniversary (kk)psst ... do what I did for RIP Renfield ... 1 issue past the 10 anniversary?I call it ... "NOW IN ITS 11th YEAR!!!"
oh ... congrats!
Renfield




Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!!! Be sure to check back this weekend to see the OFFICIAL List of Your All-Time Top 50 Favorite Instrumental Hits!!! (kk)

Monday, November 23, 2009

More Stories Behind The Songs

re: DEAD MAN'S CURVE:
The other day we ran a short piece (courtesy of Artie Wayne) reflecting back on songwriter Artie Kornfeld's memories surrounding the writing of the Jan and Dean classic hit "Dead Man's Curve" ... which has since sparked quite a bit of dialog on this topic! Here's a recap ... and the latest! (kk)

Kent ...
Long before he became known as the Father Of Woodstock, Artie Kornfeld was a hit songwriter / producer (“The Pied Piper”, “The Rain, The Park, and Other Things”) When I went to Los Angeles for the first time in 1968 there were three places I wanted to see: Malibu Beach, MacArthur Park, and “Dead Man’s Curve”. Now 40 years later, I asked my longtime friend and sometime collaborator to tell me the story behind Jan and Dean’s “Classic Hit”, and how he co -wrote “Dead Man’s Curve”, with Brian Wilson and Jan Berry.
-- Artie Wayne

One day, Brian and I were chilling and trying out this tiny Honda that the company had sent him as a thank you for writing the Hondells “Hey Little Honda.” We were cruisin’ about 3 miles from his ex-wife, Marilyn’s mom’s house. Brian, as he was known to do, was pushing two hundred pounds way over what a 60 cc Honda could handle. I said 'Bry, you should slow down', as in Santa Monica there is a lot of sand on the streets. We went over and both the bike ... and us ... were torn apart. We carried half a Honda each 3 miles, bleeding like crazy, to an open door in an empty house.We noticed a piece of blank paper on the piano and Bry sat down and I pulled up a chair and, I guess because of recent events I wrote down the words, “Dead Man's Curve”. Brian started a two four piano rhythm but I didn’t have any idea for the lyric … except I always envied Jan’s Corvette, sang to Brian’s chords” I was crusin’ in my Sting Ray late one night and an XKE pulled upon the right…” Brian repeated what I wrote down with the melody and I almost finished the lyric in about 30 minutes with me writing the words, some with Brian, as being a New Yorker after I put us on Sunset Blvd.I had no idea what landmarks we would pass to that curve after Doheny where it turns right and heads into Beverly Hills..."
-- Artie Kornfeld

FOR THE COMPLETE STORY WITH RARE PHOTOS AND VIDEO! http://artiewayne.wordpress.com/2009/11/14/artie-kornfeld-and-the-true-story-behind-dead-mans-curve/
Regards,
Artie
http://artiewayne.wordpress.com/about-artie-wayne/

Cool story, Artie ... we ALWAYS love hearing the stories BEHIND the songs!!! Thanks for sharing this with our readers. (kk)

Great story on the origins of "Dead Man's Curve", a 60s classic to be sure. This is what sets Forgotten Hits apart from any of the other oldies fanzines on the web -- or anywhere else for that matter!
Dave
Thanks, Dave ... but read the email below and you'll see that our public demands that we be "spot on" every single time ... or we're going to get called on it! This is why we adopted the slogan "The Most Accurate Truth" ... and when we get it wrong, we own up to getting it wrong. (kk)

Artie's story on "Dead Man's Curve" sounds interesting, but I'm not sure it makes sense. The day they were tooling around on the Honda for the success of "Little Honda" is at least 6 months after "Dead Man's Curve" was already a hit! Something doesn't add up right there.

Ken
You know, he's right ... "Dead Man's Curve" debuted on The Billboard Charts on March 7, 1964 ... "Little Honda" didn't premier on the chart until September 12th. (In fact, even The Beach Boys' own version of this tune wasn't released until August of that year.) Interesting story? Yes. Completely accurate? Not exactly. (kk)

When we find a discrepancy like this, we always try to go back to the source to clear things up ... and, thanks to our FH Buddy Artie Wayne, we got THIS final word from Artie Kornfeld regarding the possibility of scrambling this timeline (kk):
Kent …
How ya’ doin’?
After I got your e-mail about Dave questioning the timeline in Artie Kornfeld’s story on when he wrote “Dead Man’s Curve”, I got in touch with him.
He e-mailed me three times today in an effort to get the facts right.
Artie Wayne
When Brian wrote and presented the song, it was WAY before the hit and he was given that 60cc bike. The story, except not for knowing exactly when the Honda was received, is Golden. 40 plus years later and 96 chart songs, I can assure you that we were on the Honda and, looking back at it, I assumed as Brian wrote it he was given it. WE WERE ON A HONDA AND DID WIPE OUT. WHY AND WHEN BRY GOT THAT BIKE IS NOT CERTAIN, BUT EVERYTHING ELSE IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED.
WHEN JAN AND I REUNITED AFTER HIS PARTIAL RECOVERY AT A COCAINE - ANON MEETING AT CEDARS SINAI IN BEVERLY HILLS, HE APPROACHED ME AND I HAD TEARS IN MY EYES AND SAID "HELLO, JAN." HE LOOKED AT ME PUZZLED AND SAID, “Artie Kornfeld you wrote “Dead Man’s Curve.” I replied, "No, Jan, WE did." He stared puzzled and for months he called four times a week. We met and tried to write but in his freebase smoking mind he just could not connect. It hurt so bad to see an ex best friend like this, as my Daughter had just died in 83.
Artie Kornfeld
I gained even more respect for my old friend when Artie e-mailed me again, and told me he contacted songwriter P.F. Sloan (“Eve of Destruction", “You Baby”, “Secret Agent Man") for further verification of the event.
Artie Wayne

P.F. Sloan, who taught Brian Wilson how to write and record, remembers the Honda story as I wrote it. He thinks BRY wrote the song for a commercial, as he remembers the session just days after we wrote “Dead Man’s Curve”.
Artie Kornfeld
I want to thank Artie Kornfeld for clearing this up … and look forward to hearing more stories behind the “Classics” that he co-wrote, which I’ll pass along to Forgotten Hits.
Artie Wayne
And, it sounds like Artie Kornfeld's got a WHOLE lot more stories to share, too ... his new book, "The Pied Piper Of Woodstock", is chock full of Artie's early memories ... from his earliest days as a hit songwriter ("The Pied Piper", "Dead Man's Curve", "The Rain, The Park And Other Things") on up to the planning and execution of the Woodstock Music Festival, here's a guy who has seen it all ... with a front row seat. We look forward to Artie Kornfeld sharing more of his memories with our Forgotten Hits Readers. (kk)
You can check out Artie's remarkable history here:
http://www.artiekornfeld-woodstock.com/

HERE COMES ANOTHER CURVE TO THE "DEAD MAN'S CURVE" STORY!!! ---> In the liner notes for the recently released Jan and Dean collection "The Complete Liberty Singles", yet another version of the story is told:
"For the next Jan and Dean disc, Jan reworked a 'Drag City' album cut, 'Dead Man's Curve,' into a California car crash of epic proportions. After an opening fanfare of alarming horns, the Greek tragedy builds on a pounding drum track underpinning Jan's lead which was framed, in turn, by a heavenly high-toned chorus in a breathtaking arrangement crafted by Jan. Roger Christian had lobbied for a less deadly conclusion, but Jan insisted that the song end catastrophically. The fourth credited writer (then Screen gems writer and future Woodstock producer) Artie Kornfeld, had recently collaborated with Jan on 'I Adore Him' by The Angels, and they teamed up again when Artie temporarily moved into Jan and Don's Occidental Blvd. apartment. Don Altfeld recalls how Art, Jan and Roger wrote the song on a restaurant napkin, and then left it on the table, returning later to dig through the trash for it."













For more on the "Little Honda" timeline, here are a few words from Fred Vail, who was promoting The Beach Boys' concerts in 1963 - 1964:
Good evening, Kent,
WOW! What a story. I was not on the 60cc Honda -- but wish I was there when it all came down. You know what really struck me? Artie referred to Brian as "Bri," (or Bry), a name seldom used when referring to 'the maestro.' That's what I still call him and that's also what Marilyn (Rovell Wilson Rutherford) called him in the old days.
We did three concerts at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium in 1963, including the December 21 concert that was recorded for their first #1 album -- and first "Gold" album, "Beach Boys Concert." We did a second concert in May of '64 and the two shows were combined for the Capitol album. I emceed the first Dec 21 concert and it was my introduction that Bri used for the album. I vividly recall 'the boys' including "Little Honda" on either the Dec show or the May show and Bri rode a Honda out on to the stage to the roar and delight of the crowd.
(Note: if you have a copy of the Capitol 'gatefold' "Beach Boys Concert" album (not the Pickwick re-issue, "Wow, Great Concert,") you can check the photos and see if Brian is pictured in one of them riding the Honda. My copy is on a record shelf in my cluttered office with about ten or fifteen boxes in front of it:)
I will forward Artie's story to Dean and try to get his remarks 'for the record.'
As they sang in "Little Honda," ..... hang on tight.:)
Fred

DIDJAKNOW?: If Brian Wilson originally wrote "Little Honda" to be used in a television commercial to promote the hot new cycle, it also was the recipient of the exact OPPOSITE effect. When The Beach Boys performed "Little Honda" on The Andy Williams Show in 1966 (with Andy singing along no less ... and The Beach Boys chanting "Andy, Andy" in the background!) they were told to change the lyrics to "Little Cycle" so as NOT to promote what could otherwise be construed as a "free advertisement" for Honda Motorcycles!!! (I finally found this clip on YouTube to share with you today ... DEFINTELY worth a viewing or two!!!)

And, speaking of Brian Wilson, THIS looks interesting:

re: ENDLESS SUMMER QUARTERLY:
The
Winter 2009 edition of ESQ is now available; it features another great article from Craig Slowinski on the Beach Boys TODAY! session outtakes (including "All Dressed Up For School"); a reflective article on the Beach Boys transitional single releases from 1968-1970 by Phil Miglioratti; and fan accounts and images from ESQ's Pet Sounds Safari; news & reviews; more!
David Beard

And, you can order YOUR copy today on the ESQ Website:
Click here: :: Endless Summer Quarterly - The Beach Boys' Fan Magazine ::

And here's ANOTHER Great Story Behind The Song!!!

re: MIDNIGHT MARY:

Yesterday, of course, was the 46th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination. And since today's issue seems somewhat Beach Boys-centric, it seems only fair to remind you that last year we told you what The Beach Boys were doing on the night of the Kennedy Assassination ... for the benefit of those who may have missed it, you can find THAT story here:
Click here: Forgotten Hits - The Story Behind The Beach Boys' Classic "The Warmth Of The Sun"

Meanwhile, here's ANOTHER great Kennedy Assassination Weekend story, courtesy of Artie Wayne, who gave us permission to run his entire article on The Forgotten Hits Website ... thanks, Artie!!!

(Here's the "teaser" that first came out ... from Artie's blog)
Kent ...
From Nov. 22, 1963, to Nov. 24, 1963, the weekend of the Kennedy Assassination, I had to record the Joey Powers “Midnight Mary “album. Together with musicians that included Paul Simon, Al Gorgoni, Jeannie Thomas, and Roger McGuinn, we managed to make it through!
Here's the story:
http://artiewayne.wordpress. com/2009/11/21/president- kennedy-and-midnight-mary/
Regards,
Artie Wayne
http://artiewayne.wordpress. com/about-artie-wayne/

Thanks, Artie ... this makes the PERFECT ending to today's "Stories Behind The Songs" feature!!! (kk)



It was November 22, 1963 and I had been preparing to record the entire “Midnight Mary” album during the four day weekend. I’d been flying to Columbus, Ohio every week to rehearse Joey Powers, who was going for his Masters Degree at Ohio State.
That night, as Al Gorgoni put some finishing touches on the arrangements, Jeannie Thomas polished the background parts for her and Lettie Hamblet. Our usual crew of musicians, augmented with Paul Simon and Roger McGuinn on 12 string guitars, was going over the charts for the first session, due to start in a half-hour.

Joey Powers and I were riding into the city from the airport, listening to a new record by the Beatles, “I Want To Hold Your Hand!” on the radio. Suddenly, the announcer interrupted with a terrible unconfirmed report from Washington. By the time we walked into the studio, we could see the tears in everybody’s eyes and we knew that it was true ... “President Kennedy had been shot!

Joey Powers recalls, “You met me at LaGuardia and had a cab waiting to go to the city. You were very nervous and kept looking away from me. The cab driver was listening to the news on his radio, but I was so preoccupied with studying the music, that I was not paying much attention.

Then you finally said that something had happened to the President. It occurred during my flight so I was completely in the dark. I was in such shock that I didn’t think I could do the album!”

Joey Powers

The mood in the entire nation was somber, and the collective grief in the studio over the next few days was overwhelming, but we had a deadline to meet. Al Gorgoni kept the session moving, while Jeannie Thomas comforted us all.

What a sad day it was. It took the wind out of all of us and it took us a while to get back to working. Even when we did, it was with a very heavy heart. but we finished the tracks over the next three days.

Gorgoni recalls, “I guess concentrating on meeting the deadline was a good way for me to avoid the emotion evoked by such a tragedy. After one of the sessions, I recall a conversation with Roger McGuinn about where Folk music was heading. He predicted the whole Electric Folk Rock thing that blossomed a while later when he formed The Byrds.

"Imagine being in the studio with Roger McGuinn and Paul Simon, who had started to record the “Wednesday Morning 3 AM album”. They were about to help establish a whole new stream of Pop music. Artie certainly could recognize talent. Even through all the sadness, I was happy to be there.”


Amy Records promotion man Freddie DeMann dropped by, but even his usual “Shtick”, couldn’t lighten things up. The CEO of Amy Records, Larry Uttal came by as well, but he couldn’t even make it in to the studio, breaking down in the hall. He said, just before he left, “I don’t know how you guys can do it.”... and, quite honestly, neither do we.

*************************************

In between the tracking and overdubbing sessions, Joey and I went down to WPIX TV, where Joey taped the Clay Cole Dance show. Clay is an old friend of Joey's, who once worked with him as an NBC page. In between takes, the mood is dark and apprehensive, while we watched all the footage of the assassination as it came into the newsroom unedited.


Clay Cole

As we watched the surreal events unfold, I have images forever etched in my memory, including the entire 8mm Abraham Zapruder home movie clip of the Presidential Procession, in which the President is getting his head shot off! The entire staff keeps watching the tape over and over again, getting more and more depressed. I don’t know how they’re ever going to be able to show this to the public. Finally, we decided to call it a night, and arranged for Joey to come in the next day to finish up his segment with Clay.


It’s hard not to think about this history changing event, and stay positive the next day. As soon as Joey is finished lip synching “Midnight Mary”, and doing an interview with Clay, we all went into the control room. Everyone was crowded around a monitor as we watched the assassination of alleged JFK killer, Lee Harvey Oswald, by Texas night club owner, Jack Ruby!

Stunned by another history altering day, everyone wondered what could happen next? Joey and I rushed back to the studio to finish up his vocals before he had to catch a plane back to Ohio. Exhausted, I fell asleep in the cab on the way back home to the Bronx, while on the radio, Murray the K played “This Boy” by The Beatles.

-- Copyright 2009 by Artie Wayne from his forthcoming book, “I Did It For A Song”
http://artiewayne.wordpress.com/about-artie-wayne/

After sending my friend Clay Cole my account of the events of 45 years ago, he e-mailed me back, “Damn, Artie! Thanks for the refresher. I blanked out on that memory …. that JFK nightmare dooms any good memories of that day”
FOR MORE ON CLAY COLE:
http://www.claycoleshow.com/