Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Artist News ... From The Artists Themselves!

A couple of nice things going on for some of the artists who are also Forgotten Hits list members ... check these out!:

First, this from Davie Allan (of the Arrows):
This is just too cool!
Davie
Yes, Davie is one of the Unsung Eleven!!! Congrats!!!
“While countless books and articles are available on pioneers like Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly and Little Richard, not much has been disclosed concerning ‘the unsung heroes of early rock and roll’; so what a special treat this book is. Dick Stewart, author of 'Eleven Unsung Heroes of Early Rock and Roll', has been active in the music biz nearly as long as rock and roll has been alive. Lead guitarist for the instrumental rock combo, The Knights, label owner of Lance Records, and publisher and editor of The Lance Monthly are just some of the achievements you’ll find listed on Dick’s resume. As the title of the book implies, eleven performers, who have been interviewed by Dick, constitute the subject matter. Composed in article form, these interviews are in-depth, revealing and informative. Starting with each artist’s childhood and continuing to the present, 'Eleven Unsung Heroes of Early Rock and Roll' travels a multitude of miles. The tone is conversational and casual, making for consistently easy and interesting reading.
“The artists featured in Eleven Unsung Heroes of Early Rock and Roll are Jack Ely (lead vocalist of The original Kingsmen), the late Larry Knechtel (studio musician extraordinaire), Carl Bunch (drummer for Roy Orbison and for Buddy Holly during his Winter Dance Party tour), and singer/songwriter/guitarist Sonny Curtis (Crickets’ guitarist and composer of The Everly Brothers’ ‘Walk Right Back’ and Bobby Fuller’s ‘I Fought the Law’). Jimmy Torres of The String-A-Longs’ ‘Wheels’ fame has a story to tell, too, one which is so violent that it’s a miracle he survived and is still with us.
“Guitarist George Tomsco of the Fireballs of "Bull Dog" fame appears here, too, as does the late great rock-and-roll inspirer, Clyde Hankins. Also included are Keith McCormack (composer of ‘Sugar Shack’), and Robert Kelly, who got his start in one of Jack Ruby’s clubs in Dallas, Texas. Yes, that Jack Ruby — the infamous nightclub owner who shot and killed the alleged assassinator of President John F. Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald.
“The King of Fuzz Guitar, Davie Allan (‘Blues Theme’), and Sonny West, rockabilly singer, guitarist and composer of Buddy Holly’s ‘Oh Boy!’ and ‘Rave On’ are further spotlighted. How and why the music was created, accompanied by fascinating and funny experiences inhabit the pages of 'Eleven Unsung Heroes of Early Rock and Roll'. Honest and confessional, the book covers the good, the bad and the ugly with insight and understanding. As colorful and exciting as the music it champions, 'Eleven Unsung Heroes of Early Rock and Roll' answers a lot of questions and gives these fellows the accolades they deserve. Household names they may not be, but the quality of their work and their contributions to rock and roll speak for itself, and that’s what’s important."
WTG, Davie ... will have to pick up a copy of this! (Ordering instructions can be found at the link above.) kk
And you can visit Davie's website here: Click here: Davie Allan and The Arrows

And then this from Beverly Bremers, one of our very first Forgotten Hits Interviews, from WAY back when!!!
Hi and Happy Spring!
I'm writing because I need your support, if you have a few minutes. I made a last-minute entry in a competion to perform in the Lilith Fair tour this summer. This would be a great opportunity for me, but I need your votes. The judging ends on May 24th, so time is of the essence. In case you haven't heard of it, the Lilith Fair was very successful several years back and has returned. It's a wonderful musical tour around the country, featuring all female singer / songwriters and launched Sara McLaughlin's career.
This process is a bit complicated, especially if you're not already registered with Our Stage and familiar with its process, but hopefully it'll be worth it. I will certainly appreciate it and you'll get to hear a bunch of talented singers.
First go to
www.ourstage.com and click on "Join" in the top right-hand corner. Then click on the left box that says "Register as a Fan".
After registering, you'll get a thank you message. Close the box. Then check your email account for the confirmation. After you receive your email confirmation message, click on the link they give to activate your account. If you want to complete your Profile, great. If not, Click on "Discover New Music". It may take you right to Lilith Standings page or not. Go to the top right-hand corner to Search and type in "Beverly Bremers", which should take you either to Beverly Bremers' songs or to my profile, "About Beverly Bremers". There should be a green tab on the top right-hand corner that says, "Join Fan Club". Click on that and after the thank you, close the box. Then, and this is most important, click on the tab at the top of the page on the left that says "Overview" and click. It should take you to my profile page. Then click on the green tab on the right-hand side that says "Make this my favorite artist". This will ensure that my song will come up in the rotation within the first 20 artists. If you don't do this, my song, "Jezebel" may never pop up!
Still with me?
Then click on "Judge" at the top, then on the right side click on Lilith Fair Channels. On that page, scroll down on the right-hand column and select "Lilith Local Talent Search: Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego". Voila! You made it to the judging!
There will be four artists at a time that come up to listen to. You have to listen to at least 15 seconds of each and vote for them in the order you like them best. My "Jezebel" should be in the grouping within five tries, maximum. I hope you'll judge me best : )
Please vote as often as possible to get me in the top 100, and then the top 20 within the month.
Thanks for your support (& patience)!!
Hugs,
Beverly
Visit my websites: www.beverlybremers.com


I also received a note from Gretchen Christopher of The Fleetwoods this weekend, bringing us up to date on some of her most recent activity:
Hi, Kent,
We FLEETWOODS debuted on the national charts in 1959 and were the first group in the world to have multiple #1 Hits top THE BILLBOARD HOT 100 in a single year (1959: "Come Softly To Me" and "Mr. Blue"). While that is a record we will always hold (it's so nice to be the first), it was exceeded in 1964, when the SUPREMES had three #1 Hits and the BEATLES had an incredible six! Nice company to be succeeded by! (:o)
We FLEETWOODS had 11 Hit Singles on THE BILLBOARD HOT 100, our last Top 40 Hit being "Goodnight, My Love" in 1963 (an appropriate farewell, on the eve of the British Invasion). Five decades later, I made my solo artist recording debut in 2007, when release of GRETCHEN'S SWEET SIXTEEN (SUITE 16) was launched in Las Vegas at the 2ND ANNUAL COOL BOBBY B DOO WOP CONVENTION & GRAND FINALE CONCERT, headlined by THE FLEETWOODS starring GRETCHEN CHRISTOPHER. Immediately after the concert, I returned to Olympia, WA, to take over management of my mother's hospice care.
Three and a half years earlier, when I'd made the commitment and begun recording the CD for my 16th Leap Year Birthday, Mom was told she had only days, weeks or months to live! This was devastating, and I said, "Don't die, just because they tell you you're going to!" Family flew in from California, and we met with the doctor, who recommended we arrange for hospice care immediately (meaning Mom was expected to live less than six months). Torn between spending even more time with Mom or working relentlessly to get SUITE 16 finished within her lifetime, I did both, and sleep went by the wayside.
Happily, Mom defied the odds and lived not only to celebrate her 95th birthday, but her 96th, 97th and 98th, each a grand celebration. My brother, who'd been managing Mom's caregivers (hiring, firing, payroll, shopping, household) for these 3 1/2 years, needed relief, and I committed to take over all these duties, including scheduling myself for 24 hours caregiving each week. Work on promoting the album went by the wayside, but, happily, Mom and I were together when we learned that BILLBOARD'S FRED BRONSON had named GRETCHEN'S SWEET SIXTEEN (SUITE 16) among the 2007 BILLBOARD CRITICS' PICKS for 10 BEST ALBUMS OF THE YEAR! Oh, what a blessing, after working so hard to conceive, write, record and produce the concept album of 16 self-penned songs and a 16 page booklet of liner notes and photos (previously unpublished, except for THE CASHBOX cover photo of THE FLEETWOODS and our co-producers, Dolton Records' BOB REISDORFF and BONNIE GUITAR).
Mom and family and friends celebrated her 99th birthday with a dinner party on my deck overlooking the bay. Two months later, she took her final leave. July 30, 2009, family came from four states and traveled across the Cascade Mountains to celebrate Mom's 100th birthday, fulfilling her final wishes by scattering her ashes in her hometown, Wilbur, WA, and dedicating a memory stone next to those of her distinguished twin brother and parents (please see
www.TheFleetwoods.com/tributes.htm_Helen_Gray_Christopher ).
Now, it is a new year, and I've resumed singing, first at the concert celebrating our Fleetwoods' induction into the VOCAL GROUP HALL OF FAME, November 2008, and last week, my solo concert at Olympia's ARTS WALK on Saturday and Seattle's HARD ROCK CAFE on Friday, wonderfully accompanied by GRETCHEN CHRISTOPHER & THE FLEETWOODS' SHOW BAND, performing songs from SUITE 16 and my special lyrics honoring STEPPENWOLF keyboard player GOLDY McJOHN on his 65th birthday: HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GOLDY.
Thank you, Kent, for having given mention to GRETCHEN'S SWEET SIXTEEN on my birthday. For those interested, SOUND CLIPS may be heard and CDs SIGNED to order, at
www.GoldCupMusic.com
Thank for caring and sharing!
Gretchen


And finally ... guess who's back in the studio recording a brand new album!!! We just heard from Billy James of Glass Onyon Productions, who forwarded us a picture of The Chocolate Watch Band in the studio along with a brief message from Tim Abbott!
(Now where else are you going to go from The Fleetwoods to The Chocolate Watch Band ... with Davie Allan and Beverly Bremers thrown in for good measure?!?!? Here in Forgotten Hits, we cover 'em all!!! lol)
Hey Billy,
Here's a shot from the session yesterday. We had Darryl Hooper keyboardist from The Seeds in the studio to work on our part of the Sky Saxon tribute cd. We did a really great version of Can't Seem To Make You Mine. Darryl also joined us to cut the Jerry Lee Lewis classic A Whole Lotta Shaken Goin On. We finished 8 songs in two days. David is coming back next weekend on his way back from the Northwest to complete the project. Then we start mixing. I'll keep you updated.
Tim Abbott
The Chocolate Watchband


***

Talk about a cool collection of our favorite artists ... check out the latest listing of artists scheduled to appear at this summer at the first ever Rock Con in New Jersey ... man, this thing just keeps getting better and better!!!
Dear Friends,
The guest list for
"ROCK CON: Weekend of 100 Rock Stars" is growing. We are delighted by some of the wonderful artists who are joining us for the ROCK CON Fan Fest, and we wanted to share the current roster with you ...
Al Rappa (Bill Haley’s Comets); Alannah Myles ("Black Velvet"); Andy Pratt ("Avenging Annie"); The Angels ("My Boyfriend's Back") Note: Bernadette, Linda, Jiggs, Denise, Arleen & Peggy will all be appearing!; Barbara Harris (The Toys "A Lover's Concerto"); Beki Brindle Scala (Grace Pool, & lead guitarist: Jerry Lee Lewis, Rick Danko, John Sebastian); Beverly Bremers ("Don't Say You Don't Remember"); Bryan Laye ("Tangerine Lane"); Bruce Kulick (KISS); Charlie Gracie ("Butterfly"); Clarence Collins (R & R Hall of Fame: original member of Little Anthony & The Imperials); Clay Cole (The Clay Cole Show, author "Sh-Boom"); Dan Lavoie (famed Harp Guiarist); The Delicates ("Black & White Thunderbird," "Submarine Race-Watcher's Theme"); Demon Boy (star of the new “Demon Boy” comic book series); Dennis Ferrante (John Lennon's Recording Engineer); Dinky Dawson (Rock's Most Famous Sound Man); The Dovells (“Bristol Stomp” “You Can’t Sit Down”); Earl Slick (legendary David Bowie guitarist, also played on Lennon albums); Eddy Kelly (American Bandstand dancer); Eerie Von (Danzig, Samhain); Eli Brown (The Vagrants); The Fifth Estate ("Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead"); Gary Van Scyoc (Elephants Memory, John Lennon's Live in NYC 70’s band); Gene Cornish (R & R Hall of Fame: The Rascals); Gerrit Graham ("Beef" in "Phantom of the Paradise" - composed with Bob Weir/Grateful Dead); Glen Burtnik (Styx, ELO); Greg Hawkes (The Cars); Harriet Schock ("Ain't No Way to Treat a Lady"); Hilton Valentine (R & R Hall of Fame: The Animals); The Human Beinz ("Nobody But Me"); Ian Lloyd (The Stories "Brother Louie"); Ian Mitchell (Bay City Rollers); J. Morrison (Tuff Darts); Jane Weidlin (The Go-Gos); Jay & The Americans ("She Cried”); Jim Carrick (Spanky & Our Gang); John DeSalvo (Tuff Darts); John Ford (Strawbs); John Ford Coley (of England Dan & John Ford Coley: "I'd Really Love To See You Tonight”); John Idan (R & R Hall of Fame band: The Yardbirds); John Hawken (Renaissance, Spooky Tooth, Strawbs, Nashville Teens); Johnny Winter (legendary Rock Blues guitarist); Jonathan Tiersten (Jonathan Tiersten & the Ten Tiers); Karina Bradley (“Dance Floor Diva”); Kat Gilbert (West Coast songtress); Kasim Sulton (Utopia/Meatloaf); Kristen Capolino (Heavy-metal Teen guitar phenomenon); Lezlie Deane (Scary Cherry & The Bang Bangs); Linda Jansen (former original lead singer of The Angels: "Til," "Cry Baby Cry"); Little Anthony (R & R Hall of Fame: Little Anthony & The Imperials); Livingston Taylor ("I Will Be In Love With You"); Marty Balin (R & R Hall of Fame: Jefferson Airplane, and Starship); Mary Weiss (The Shangri-Las “Leader of the Pack”); Michael "Mac" McNenney (Thunder Road Band); Mike Konopka (Nazz); Nelson Slater ("Wild Angel" album, produced by Lou Reed); The 1910 Fruitgum Company ("Simon Says," "1 2 3 Red Light”); Pat Dinizio (The Smithereens); Pat Horgan (Thunder Road & Garage Band Series); Paul Nelson (Johnny Winter Band guitarist); Paul Petersen (Donna Reed Show - "My Dad"); Peg Pearl (Aura); Peppy Castro (Blues Magoos); Pete Bremy (Vanilla Fudge/Cactus); Pete Fornatale (Rock historian/veteran DJ helped define progressive FM rock radio); Peter DiStefano (Porno for Pyros); Peter Sabatino (The Vagrants); P.J. Soles (from The Ramones' "Rock & Roll High School"); Randy Jones (Village People); Ralph Scala (Blues Magoos); The Rip Chords ("Hey Little Cobra"); Rick Mullen (Commander Cody/Don McLean/Van Morrison/Savoy Brown); Robert Gordon ("It’s Only Make Believe" "My Gal is Red Hot"); Robey ("One Night in Bangkok" – starred in TV's "Friday the 13th: The Series"); Ron Dante of The Archies ("Sugar Sugar" and The Cuff Links “Tracy”); Scott Cummings (Michael Jackson’s bodyguard for 15 years); Shaun Weiss (Beatles attorney Nat Weiss' son - the only person to have attended both Ed Sullivan shows, the Shea Stadium concerts + the Beatles' final Apple rooftop concert); Sid Bernstein (World-famous promoter who brought The Beatles to America); Silvio Ennella (Thunder Road Band); The Smithereens; The Soul Survivors ("Expressway to Your Heart"); Spanky McFarlane (Spanky & Our Gang, The Mamas & The Papas); Stewkey (Nazz); Terry Sylvester (R & R Hall of Fame: The Hollies); Tom T-Bone Stankus (Dr. Demento/ "Existential Blues"); Tommy Bia (Thunder Road Band); Tommy Frenzy (Tuff Darts); Tommy James ("Mony Mony"); Victoria Levy (The Hoosier Mamas); Vince Martell (Vanilla Fudge); Walter Egan ("Magnet & Steel"); William Finley (Phantom in the rock musical "Phantom of the Paradise")
We hope to see you there.
Cheers,

***

And finally, a quick announcement ... this just in from Mr. C., who does The Flip Side Show over at Radio Free Nashville. The program airs tonight at 7 PM Central Time ... and you'll find a "Listen Live" link at the web address shown below. Thanks, Mr. C., for helping us to keep it all alive! (kk)

Hey there KK;
This past Tuesday night, the Flip Side was silenced for the first time, because of the flooding in Nashville. There was no damage to the radio station (thank goodness) but the power was out for several days, as Radio Free Nashville was stranded up on the hill.
Your newsletter today reminded me I haven't mentioned Forgotten Hits in a while ...

For the next couple of Tuesdays I plan to play some cuts from your "Top 200 B-sides" list.
So everyone is welcome to tune in to The Flip Side Radio Show on www.radiofreenashville.org on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. Central time.

I'll be playing actual 45s on real turntables, as usual (scratches and all).
As I say on the show every week: I'll see you on the Flip Side!
Mr. C.


Now THAT sounds like a show worth listening to!!! Thanks again, Mr. C!
By the way, you can find the COMPLETE "Favorite, Forgotten B-Sides" Countdown on the OTHER Forgotten Hits Web Page:
Click here: Forgotten Hits - Your Top 200 Favorite, Forgotten B-Sides