Through a special arrangement with Onesti Entertainment, we just received a VERY special Forgotten Hits Ticket Discount Offer for tonight's show at The Arcada Theatre!
It's KC and the SUNSHINE BAND
The show starts at 8:30 PM TONIGHT --
Simply mention Forgotten Hits at the Box Office and you will receive a 25% Discount off the ticket price for every ticket you purchase!
The Arcada Theatre is located at 105 E. Main Street in St. Charles, IL ... and they've got LOTS of other great shows coming up over the next several months, too. (Check the website for full details: Click here: The Arcada Theatre)
So if you're looking to have some fun this evening, then put on your boogie shoes, come on out and get down tonight! Let KC and the Sunshine Band help you to shake, shake, shake your booty! (After all, he IS your Boogie Man!)
We saw KC and the Sunshine Band there a couple of years ago and they put on a VERY entertaining show ... you won't be disappointed.
And, if you ARE able to attend the show, be sure to email us with a full report!
Here are a few upcoming events that you may wish to check out ...
re: UPCOMING EVENTS: Here's the token reminder I always send out the week of my gigs. In this case it's actually not a gig, it's the first-ever public screening of the Paul Surratt film BOB LIND Perspective. (Info and review of the film here: http://www.boblind.com/LindDVD.html) If you don't live in the area and can't get there, don't slash your wrists in despair. The DVD is available for sale at the cheapo-cheapo price of 20 bucks. (Click the above link to purchase.) If you ARE interested in coming, here are the details: Friday, Sept 24, 2010 Bob Lind PERSPECTIVE Screening followed by Q & A with Bob & others in the film. Center for Spiritual Living 2 SW 12th Ave Boca Raton, FL Showtime: 8 pm Tickets: $5 Wine & refreshments served. DVDs will be on sale for a one-time discounted price of $15. Bob will also autograph them. Info and directions: 561-368-8248 Yers, Bob Lind www.boblind.com We've got an awful lot of readers down in Florida ... hope some of you can make it out to the show and report back to us! (kk)
Neil Young, Stephen Stills and Richie Furray are reforming as Buffalo Springfield for the first time in 42 years for a concert this fall. The three original members of the '60s folk-rock group will be reuniting for a performance during Young's annual Bridge School Benefit in Mountain View, California, according toRollingStone.com. Young, Stills and Furray are the only surviving members of Buffalo Springfield's initial lineup. Bassist Dave Palmer died in 2004 and drummer Dewey Martin died last year. There's no word on who will fill those slots, or if the band will perform as an acoustic trio. (We've since heard that Jim Messina, who replaced Dave Palmer after the band's first two albums, will also be performing that night. Messina, of course, went on to greater fame as one have of the Loggins and Messina duo in the '70's. kk) The last time Buffalo Springfield played a public show was in 1968 (they once performed privately at Stills' house in 1986). There was talk of a reunion tour, but Young wasn't interested. Subsequently, Martin and Palmer brought in other members and toured as Buffalo Springfield Revisited.
Kent ... We're included in a great show this weekend at The Allentown Symphony Hall in Allentown Pa ... Saturday, September 25th. If any of the F.H. readers are in this area, grab a ticket and stop on out and catch the show, then stop and say hello! Mitch Schecter / The Rip Chords
Also this weekend is the final night of the Happy Together Again Tour ... on Sunday, September 26th, you can catch The Buckinghams, Rob Grill and The Grass Roots, Micky Dolenz of The Monkees, Mark Lindsay (former lead singer of Paul Revere and the Raiders) and The Turtles (aka Flo and Eddie) at The Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pamona, California. The tour was a HUGE success this year (and they're already making plans for next year's event!) If you're in the area, consider this one a night of "can't miss" entertainment! (kk)
And don't forget Micky Dolenz is coming back to the Chicagoland area in October, sharing the bill with Peter Noone at The Star Plaza in Merrillville, Indiana. (We recently gave away a pair of tickets to a lucky Forgotten Hits Reader!) That's a show we're really looking forward to!
The Willowbrook Ballroom Presents Shake, Rattle And Roll: THE ROUTE 66 DANCE CLUB At The Willowbrook Ballroom 8900 Archer Avenue Willow Springs, IL 60480 Saturday, October 2nd, at 7 PM COME AND DANCE, SOCIALIZE, CELEBRATE A BIRTHDAY, ANNIVERSARY OR JUST GETTING TOGETHER AFTER WORK FOR COCKTAILS. YOU'RE WELCOME TO BRING SNACKS. 50/50 CASH DOOR PRIZE - 1/2 THE PROCEEDS HELPS THE KIDS AT CHILDREN'S HOPE HOSPITAL IN OAK LAWN, ILLINOIS LIVE ROCK 'N' ROLL ROOTS MUSIC OF VINYL COVERS AND THE DEL SOULS. AWARD TO THE BEST SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLLER!!! The Del Souls
Broadway.com It's Her Party! Lesley Gore Joins Million Dollar Quartet For One Night Only Sixties musical icon Lesley Gore will sit in with Broadway’s Million Dollar Quartet for one night only on September 24. She will join Eddie Clendening (as Elvis Presley), Lance Guest (as Johnny Cash), Levi Kreis (as Jerry Lee Lewis), Rob Lyons (as Carl Perkins), Hunter Foster (as Sun Records’ Sam Phillips) and Elizabeth Stanley (Dyanne) on stage for a special performance during the show’s finale. Gore is a singer / songwriter whose songs include “Judy’s Turn to Cry,” “She’s A Fool,” “That’s the Way Boys Are,” “Maybe I Know,” “You Don’t Own Me” and her classic smash hit, “It’s My Party.” Inspired by the famed December 4, 1956, recording session that brought together four rock icons, Million Dollar Quartet recreates the historic day in the Memphis Sun Records studio when Presley, Cash, Lewis and Perkins took part in an impromptu jam session. The show includes some of the actual songs that were performed on the day as well as standards for the quartet including “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Who Do You Love?,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “I Walk the Line,” “Folsom Prison Blues” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On.” Kent ... My question is why? Wouldn't it be a better idea to get Jerry Lee Lewis as a guest, since he's the only member of the quartet still alive. Frank B. I'm not sure what this is all about ... having just recently seen this production, I know that there is a significant female lead to the story ... but it looks like Elizabeth Stanley will still be playing that role for this special performance. (Maybe Lesley's gonna do a walk-on as Sam Phillips' Grandmother or something!) Hey, it'll be GREAT to hear her perform a few of her biggest hits ... and, as a "special encore", it should be a real treat ... but what ANY of this has to do with ANYTHING related to "The Million Dollar Quartet" is beyond me! She would have been all of about ten years old when this studio event took place. That being said, if you haven't already seen it, "The Million Dollar Quartet" is a REAL fun night of musical entertainment ... albeit it a COMPLETELY fictionalized account of what really went on that day. (Truth be told, they didn't "perform" anything even remotely resembling their hits that night ... if anything, the evening had much more of a gospel / church sermon feel to it ... but this is a GREAT excuse to showcase the talents of these four up-and-coming, rising stars. Highly recommended. (kk)
On December 4th, The Ides Of March will be performing their very special Christmas Concert at The Norris Cultural Center in St. Charles, Illinois. More information can be found here: Click here: Norris Cultural Arts Center (Watch for more of your Ides Of March comments this weekend on The Forgotten Hits Web Page!) kk
Hi Kent! Put us back on the list! We use your website all the time at koolgold101.5fm Where we're all keeping the oldies alive! My dear Friend and fellow Fargo, ND native, Bobby Vee, along with Brian Hyland, and the Shirelles will be at our Big Classic Car show this Friday night. It will be Rockin'. Gary Weber ("Life is hard, Radio is Harder") God Bless - Keep the Faith Interestingly enough, when I spoke to John Rook the other night he had just visited with Bobby Vee and attended one of his concerts in Spokane ... sounds like it was one hell of a show. (Bobby performs with two of his sons these days and we've heard nothing but good things about their rockin' band.)
Meanwhile, here in Chicago, we've got Matthew and Gunnar Nelson coming next month with their tribute to THEIR father, Ricky Nelson. (We've heard really good things about this show ... a couple of our readers caught this tribute when it played out on the East Coast ... Gunnar Nelson was on the air with Jeff James the other day on Y103.9 and explained that it's a two hour show jammed packed with Ricky's music ... along with video clips from various stages of his career ... sounds like you'll be able to watch Little Ricky grow up right before your eyes on the big screen backdrop, featuring HUNDREDS of Ozzie and Harriett video clips! Tickets are still available for this show, too, at the Arcada Theatre on October 1st. Be sure to visit their website for more information. Click here: The Arcada Theatre
Hi Kent (and the Forgotten Hits Crew!) I have had an amazing summer and have not been in contact with you all for a while. One awesome event this summer was a live Radio and U-Stream broadcast from Rock Con at the Meadowlands in NJ. Now the fall is here and this Halloween I will be in Indiana with some of the greats of music history ... Diamond Dave Somerville of the Diamonds, and Marshall Lytle of Bill Haley's Comets for the Rewind Monster Jam Sock Hop. If some of your readers are in the area and plan to come out to see the show, please let me know by e-mail. (My e-mail is JayJayDJ@aol.com and now with over 10 million hits on my web site www.RewindShow.com )I will also be in Indiana this Sunday, September 26 - 30, for concert promotion personal appearances. I am attaching the poster for the Monster Jam. Thanks, Kent Jimmy Jay
Jimmy Jay is also a part of the Paul Revere and the Raiders Concert Cruise we told you about a few weeks ago. They set sail on January 29th ... and you not only get The Raiders, but also Gary Puckett, Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night, Danny and the Juniors and Bill Haley's Original Comets! Full details can be found at www.concertsatsea.com
Kent ... The season just started and we're already talking about the Super Bowl. Black Eyed Peas At Halftime « WCBS-FM 101.1 Frank B. Actually, I'll bet The Black Eyed Peas will put on one heck of an entertaining half-time show ... lately this special entertainment line-up seems to be much more dedicated to the music more of the "rock dinosaur" variety. (Not that we have a particular problem with that ... and let's face it, too often the "new kids" end up causing some kind of a ruccus anyway!!! (But seriously, will ANYTHING ever really top Janet Jackson's nipplegate episode???) kk
Off the wall question: The (lovely) girl who appeared on The Knack "My Sharona" 45 picture sleeve is actually the real Sharona Alperin, the song was written about? Thanks! Best, John Yep, it sure is ... and I imagine that provocative sleeve helped to sell a few copies of this single all by itself, even if you hadn't already heard a catchy note of this monster hit record! Knack leader Doug Fieger (who we just lost earlier this year) was dating Sharona and told Jeff Tamarkin of "Goldmine Magazine" that he "fell very deeply in love with her ... she was inspirational and moved me on a very basic level." He knocked the song out in one afternoon, putting his lyrics to a melody / guitar riff that bandmate Berton Averre had been playing around with for quite a while ... and the biggest song of 1979 was born. It's been a classic ever since. (By the way, according to one of Fieger's obituaries that we ran at the time, Sharona Alperin is now a high-end real estate agent in Los Angeles.) kk
Trade Martin put out several 45's while he was at COED. One of my favorites is "Hula Hula Dancing Doll", which got a fair amount of airplay on WBZ. Sadly, (to me anyway) the only TM song that shows up on CD is "That Stranger Used to Be My Girl". It's also a great song, one of the few Top 40 songs featuring a tuba, and does show up in stereo! Are there any Trade Martin collections avaliable, or planned? Thanks, Phil Beckman
I've always enjoyed Trade's song "Hula Hula Dancing Doll" ... have played this one before on Topshelf Oldies! Sending along a couple of others, as well ... Lucky Boy, Happy Girl, Lonely Me, and his version of Hot Diggity, which I have up on YouTube as well. Tom Diehl I asked Trade if a "career retrospective" might be something we could look forward to in the future ... here's what he had to say: Kent, Please thank Phil for me. You know, I do plan on eventually releasing a collection down the road (maybe this Spring or Summer) ... and I'll include most and maybe even all of my Coed, RCA, Toot & Buddha releases. I've noticed the Hula Hula Dancin' Doll 45 on Ebay a number of times in case Phil is interested. I've got one somewhere in my files. It's always nice to be remembered in a positive way. THANKS AGAIN Kent & Phil!!! Please check my YOUTUBE audio-visuals. Warmest regards, Trade
And, speaking of Trade Martin ... >>>A copy of Trade's version of "The Work Song" appears today, courtesy of the ever-reliable Tom Diehl ... this is a really good version of this song!!! (Darin did a bluesier take when he cut it ... and I really like that one, too ... but I kinda dig this rockin' version.) kk Since nobody has mentioned the man who wrote those lyrics and recorded the first vocal version, I will. He is the late Oscar Brown Jr., long associated with jazz and adding lyrics to jazz instrumentals. Knowing you to be a completist, I am sending you his version. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Brown_Jr There is more at that link than you could possibly use but you might find it interesting reading. Hil
Thanks, Hil ... actually, I think quite a few folks on the list will enjoy hearing this ORIGINAL version ... thanks for sending! (kk)
Kent, What am I missing here? There is a DVD (finished or still in the works?) about The Wrecking Crew. I really can't wait to see it. I see it is being screened here and there, but it is not yet for sale. Apparently they are trying to raise more money for it? Why don't they just sell it and get the funds back from sales? I'm usually on top of these issues, but here I am at a loss to explain this plan. What am I missing? All the best, Dr. Robert (The Beat) The film's been done for a couple of years now ... and it really IS outstanding. However, as you can imagine, the cost of licensing the rights to all this music is phenomenal ... these guys played on virtually EVERY hit of the '60's!!! Trying to get both a movie deal and a soundtrack CD has proven to be quite the struggle and, as such, the film has only been shown at various film festivals around the country thus far. It's a movie that DESERVES to be seen ... as such, we're willing to do anything we can do to help to help drum up interest, excitement and fund-raising. If you're able to catch one of these screenings, do it! You will not be disappointed. (kk) Here's an update from "The Wrecking Crew" film producer, Denny Tedesco, whose father Tommy was one of THE key members of this studio artistry! Hi Kent! As always, thanks so much for your help and interest in this project ... here is the latest info: Even though we've won awards all over the world in festivals and have garnished amazing reviews, the 'industry' doesn't take kindly to music documentaries. They feel there isn't a market for it. Obviously, we feel differently ... and audiences in 50+ festivals will also contest this point of view. The record companies and publishers are not the 'bad guys' in this. There are no bad guys. They have made amazing deals but we have a $250K nut to crack with music and stock footage licensing. Once the licensing is paid for we'll be able to release the film and DVD. So now we are working through the International Documentary Association which helps documentary film makers as a 501C. We are able to receive donations through the IDA and donors are given a charity tax deduction. When the donations come in, we start knocking down the bills. We created a whole donor section that shows how folks can donate any amount. Donors have donated from $5.00 to $5000.00 from all over the world. If a person or business donates $1000.00, they're able to dedicate a song for the DVD / Web-site.http://www.wreckingcrewfilm.com/donations.html We are coming up with all kinds of ways of raising funds. We are now having concerts and private screenings as fund raisers. It's donations only. We have had it in a library, living rooms and museums. Even though we haven't released the film, I am still interviewing crew members and artists of the era for excerpts of the film. We have shot Al Jardine, Peter Tork, Petula Clark, Richard Carpenter, Jackie DeShannon, and many more. Every few weeks, we keep releasing out-takes on the web-site. Our goal is to show a distributor or investor that we have the audience that is ready to buy as soon as it comes out. The blogs and web-sites like Forgotten Hits have helped us tremendously. It keeps us going. Our biggest hurdle is to remind people that WE HAVE NOT BEEN RELEASED! Thanks again for your support over the years and hopefully something will happen very soon. Take care, Denny
Best of luck to you, Denny, and continued success ... this is a film that NEEDS to be seen! (kk)
Hi, KK, This is Liz from New Jersey. I'm the person who was looking for "Cheek to Cheek" ... by The Percells, not Fred Astaire ... and I can't thank you enough for finding it for me! I literally searched for it for years and I hadn't actually heard it in well over 40 years. When Mr. C sent it to me, I listened to it over and over again, with an ear-to-ear grin on my face ... it brought back wonderful memories of youth, being relatively carefree and, of course, first love ... the worst case of puppy love the world has ever seen. I've slowed down just a bit on listening to it, but am still enjoying the heck out of it! Thanks so much again ... and please pass my thanks on to Randy Price for identifying the song for me and Tom Diehl, who I believe was the person who provided it. How great that they shared their knowledge and the song ... and caused someone they will never meet to have a really great day spent grinning ear-to-ear while listening to an old-time favorite. Sincerely, Liz Nilsen Thank you for your sweet email ... I've passed copies on to both Randy Price and Tom Diehl. It's what we do here in Forgotten Hits ... I'll think you'll find this a GREAT place to share your memories! (kk)
>>>I'm trying to find out anything about a really obscure track that got minimal airplay out here in Melbourne, Australia, around 1965. I don't even know the title but its refrain went along the lines of - 'We're not movie stars, We're just the boys with the big guitars.' (Ka-Chang!!!) I always felt that it might have been a Boyce and Hart song ... does it ring any bells with you? Maybe I'm looking for something that's so obscure that its only in my memory banks, however I recall the song as being sung by a duo with a name reminiscent of Boyce and Hart. I do recall talking to other kids at school about the track and there was a general consensus that it would be a hit. Guess we were wrong about that. There also may have been a clip shown on local television in Melbourne Australia, and again my guess is around 1965. Any info would be great. (Murray Walding)
>>>This was issued in Australia, on W&G WG-S-1948. It was also issued in America on the Ford record label. Chip Taylor and Ted Daryll were the Town and Country Brothers and the song is called The Boys With The Big Guitars.
(Tom Diehl) Thanks Kent ... and thanks too, to Tom, for his help this has been a wonderful discovery. Once I found that out, I was able to discover that The Town and Country Brothers had a reasonable sized hit here with another track, Sandy, Sandy ... it's my guess that Boys with the Big Guitars was to be the follow up. Once again fantastic help you've provided me, so please put me on the list. I've attached a small image of some of my archive ... might be of interest? Kindest Regards, Murray Glad we could help ... and you'll find those programs photos up on our other Forgotten Hits website ... in the SCRAPBOOK MEMORIES section. (kk)
Hi! I don't know if you will be able to help me but in about 1967 / 1968 my boyfriend (later to be come my husband but we divorced a long time ago), bought an imported record with a B side which just had 1969 in numbers on the back. As we did not speak and have not spoken in over 35 years I cannot ask him about the artist or the A side of the record but I know it was a girl singer and I think her name started with S but I cannot be sure. I know it was on a black record label and I think it was RCA Victor but not sure. I know this is a long shot but the song keeps going round in my head every now and again and I would like to get a copy if I could.Some of the lines are: "Hey I hate to picture 1969" if that helps. Thank for you help and if you cannot, thanks for trying.Grace Anybody out there recognize this one? Being an import, it may be even tougher to track down ... but let's see what you come up with! (kk)
Here's one for "Helping Out Our Readers":
When I was 13 in the summer of 1965, my friend Art and I built a "wireless broadcaster" out of some radio parts we bought at the Six Corners Olson Electronics, all screwed to a piece of scrap 1 X 6. We hooked it up to his shortwave listening antenna (about 30 feet of wire strung from his house to his garage) connected it to his record player, and grabbed a 45 from the pile of records he had just sitting on a basement shelf. Then we took a transistor radio and ran around the neighborhood seeing how far away we could hear it. When the 45 ended, we went back to the basement and put it on again and then ran in the other direction. You could literally hear it a block away, west past Overhill and east past Oriole. The 45 was "Rocket Ride," but it was not (obviously) the 1978 Kiss song, nor the 1963 doo-wop piece by Johnny Greco. It was a pounding instrumental, all drums and guitars, and so up-tempo it was borderline manic. I have no recall of the artist, and think it may have been a B-side. I just don't know, but it was a fun stunt and I've always wondered if anyone else in the neighborhood swung past the frequency then and heard it too. I'd love to know the artist, and certainly hear the song again if anybody has it.
Jeff Duntemann
Colorado Springs, Colorado
(Chicago boy from birth to 1979)
OK, THIS should be an interesting one!!! (I thought you were going to ask if anyone on the list happened to be cruising through your neighborhood that afternoon and heard your "pirate" broadcast!!! lol) So I guess we're probably more likely to get an answer to the "mystery artist" than a positive response to the OTHER question! (lol) Have at it readers ... I'm betting that somebody out there knows EXACTLY what song Jeff is talking about! (kk)
It's The Official Last Day Of Summer ... Here are some of your Summer Countdown Comments that we received after last week's feature ran on the website.
(By the way, you'll now find ALL of our Summer Countdowns posted on the OTHER Forgotten Hits Website: www.forgottenhits.com!)
re: BIGGEST SONGS OF SUMMER: >>>Incredibly, here in Chicago, "Shut Down" was the higher charting side of thissingle, NOT "Surfin' U.S.A."!!! (kk) Kent, More draggin' than surfin' in Chitown! Phil@PrayForSurf.net I don't know about that ... "Surf City" and "Wipe Out" both finished in The Top Ten here, too! (kk)
Kent Thanks for printing the lists. It's fun and sure takes me back! I was amazed by how many local 1964 hits weren't on the national list. I was also amazed by how few songs on the 1963 list were ones I want to hear today. I would say there were only 15 I still want to hear. I think part of it is because the songs were actually pretty awful but I also think that I don't want to hear many of them because they've been played over and over again on oldies radio. I especially think this because when I looked at the ones that only made the local chart I said to myself "Wow, I haven't heard that one for a long time!" and would love to hear them again on the radio. Frankly speaking, I rarely listen to oldies on FM anymore except for the weekends when Scott does his forgotten oldies or fantastic remake shows. I listen now to XM / Sirius, whose playlist must be at triple the FM stations and include lots of songs that I haven't heard for 40-50 years or never heard at all. Thanks for keeping the oldies alive Kent! Steve Davidson Chicago, IL
Hi Kent: Just curious how "I Will Follow Him" by Peggy March would qualify for a Top 50 hits of Summer when it comes out in March? Nothing wrong with the song, but it's not from the Summer! Another curious choice that makes me wonder what the criteria is for a “Summer” Song? Curiously “A Summer Song” by Chad & Jeremy doesn’t even make the list even though it’s probably one of the top late summer classics of ’64, and “Hello Dolly” by Louis makes the list even though it’s released in January!! I don’t get this. Ken The lists were compiled based on points earned during the months of June, July and August ONLY for each given year. On a national level, all three major trade publications were consulted ... Billboard, Cash Box and Record World ... thus creating, in effect, our "Super Chart" that we have talked so much about these past few years ... I don't know that there could be a more accurate ranking of this music other than a compilation of these three sources ... at least on a national level. Locally, depending on the year in question, we used the surveys distributed by our two AM Radio Giants, WLS and WCFL or (in the case of 1963, 1964 and 1965, which was BEFORE WCFL became a Top 40 Radio Station), a widely circulated "street sheet" called simply Top Tunes Of Greater Chicagoland. Assigning points to each Top 40 Record on each list, we then calculated each record's strength based solely on its performance during the Summer Months of June, July and August. In the case of "I Will Follow Him", yes, it first charted in late March of 1963 ... but it stayed on the charts for 14 weeks ... so any points accumulated in June would have been from the end of its chart run ... and apparently that was enough to make our national list. (Quite honestly, it didn't chart very high ... it was the #50 Song of Summer '63!) Notice, too, that it didn't make our local list. Louis Armstrong's version of "Hello Dolly" may have debuted in February of 1964 ... but it stayed on the charts for 22 weeks! That's nearly HALF A YEAR!!! So it certainly WAS still earning points during the summer months. (It peaked at #1 on May 9th ... but stayed in The Billboard Top 40 for 19 of its 22 charted weeks!) Chad and Jeremy's summer classic "A Summer Song" was and is, indeed, a summer favorite ... but it didn't even debut on the charts until August 15th ... which means that, at best, it had two or three weeks to accumulate points during the eligibility period as dictated by our countdown. (See, there really IS a reasonable explanation for everything! lol) What's significant about these countdowns is that they accurately reflect the popularity of these records at the time based on their actual chart performance. While we all had and have our favorites and associate certain songs with certain summer memories, the charts don't lie, especially with the benefit of 45 years hindsight. Let's face it ... you (just like everybody else) probably turned off the songs you didn't like, changing the channel or whatever, making the songs you DID like seem even MORE significant in your memory. (I, for one, HATED Barbra Streisand's recording of "People" ... I can still barely get through it ... and couldn't understand what THIS song was doing taking up time on my favorite rock and roll radio station ... in my mind, it just meant that something that I DID want to hear wasn't getting played so that this dreck could get on the air instead ... and it drove me mad! I wanted my British Invasion music ... and Motown ... and The Beach Boys and The Four Seasons!!! As such, the WORST summer memory I have of 1964 was being at some hotel restaurant with my parents that summer and somebody playing "People" over and over and over again on the jukebox ... I'll bet they played it at least eight times in the short while we were there (which I'm sure in hindsight only fueled my hatred of this song!!! lol) But something like "She's The One" by The Chartbusters I could listen to 14 times in a row and STILL not get enough! And, I still love that track today! (This is why a track like Barbra Streisand's "People" is PERFECT for Scott Shannon's "Cheezy Easy Listening Song Of The Day" Feature ... it had absolutely NO place on our Top 40 Radio Stations back then yet STILL became a major chart hit!) kk
I love these summer look backs. It just so happens that I'm making my soon to be 18-year-old Son a disc of tunes from the year 1966. Thank goodness I still have my vinyl. It's interesting to me that the midwest does seem to have a different taste than the national charts. When I look at the Chicago lists, they are much more reminiscent of what I heard growing up in North Dakota. Sting Ray was one that I heard a lot. How do I find the archived summer charts for 1967 - 1969? Bill ALL of these summer charts can now be found on the OTHER Forgotten Hits Website: www.forgottenhits.com ... and, in addition to The Top 50 Summer Charts we recently ran from 1963 - 1970, you'll ALSO find "The Best Of The Rest" ... Summer Top 10's for 1955 - 1962 and 1971 - 1980! It's all just a click away! (kk)
Thanks for these lists -- they bring back great memories. I certainly was cut from a different cloth though, as I was buying not only Beatles, Four Seasons and Beach Boys, but lots of Motown, Little Anthony, tons of R&B (Irma Thomas, Jimmy Hughes, Drifters, Gene Chandler, Major Lance, Impressions, Soul Sisters, Exciters, Tymes, Garnett Mimms, James Brown, Sapphires, Willie Mitchell, Jerry Butler, Solomon Burke, B.B. King, Jackie Ross, Ovations, Lenny O'Henry, Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, Tams, Bobby Bland, Chuck Jackson, Rufus Thomas, Walter Jackson & Otis Redding), any Phil Spector stuff, still buying Elvis and even Gloria Lynn, Frank Sinatra and Los Indios Tabaharas. Believe it or not, by the end of '64 I already had about 10,000 records of which about 1,500 were albums. By the end of the 60s I was up to around 60,000. I hit my peak in around 1995 with almost 155,000. Thank God I never fell for 8-tracks! Keep up the great work -- this sure has mushroomed for you, hasn't it? Danny Wow, by 1964 I hadn't even really started buying my own 45's yet! I had a few ... remember those old 45 cases you used to buy through the Sears catalog that had the little number stickers on 'em? I didn't have enough singles in my collection yet to play a Top 40 ... which is how I discovered B-Sides!!! (kk)
Hello Kent, Great Herman's Hermits write-up that you added to the top 50 for 1965.When my students listen to Harry Champion singing "Henry the 8th" at the beginning of the 20th Century and then listen to Herman's Hermits singing it, they invariably ask, "How did the second verse become the same as the first?" I tell them the story that you are probably aware of: Peter Noone learned the song from his Grandfather who sang it while standing on the piano at family do's. As you can imagine, the state that created his confidence to sing / stand on the piano also created an inability to remember more than one verse. Therefore, Peter only fully learned the first verse.Which, in 1965, didn't matter because the "second verse ... same as the first" gave the song notoriety and my father a headache, every morning hearing it on the radio while driving to work. Shelley J. Sweet-Tufano People sometimes forget just how HUGE Herman's Hermits were here in '65 ... The Stones hadn't REALLY made a major impression until "Satisfaction" topped the charts here in The States that summer. (In all fairness, The Rolling Stones had five Top 40 Billboard Hits prior to "Satisfaction" reaching #1, the biggest of which had been "It's All Over Now", which hit #6 in 1964. In that same timeframe, Herman's Hermits also hit The Billboard Chart six times ... but FIVE of those hits made Billboard's Top Five ... and two of them topped the chart!) Once "Satisfaction" paved the way, there was no stopping The Rolling Stones (and let's face it, a rolling stone gathers no moss!) By the time the '60's ended, Herman's Hermits had scored 18 straight Top 40 Hits in Billboard ... that's exactly the same tally The Rolling Stones had accomplished ... but FIVE of those Rolling Stones' hits went all the way to #1. (Peter Noone does a spot-on imitation of Mick Jagger by the way!!! I think part of the bit involves the admission that Mick is his father!!! lol) kk
One of the biggest songs of summer, 1964 was "First Night of the Full Moon" by Jack Jones ... with a tune, large portions of which, were appropriated from Pearly Shells, of all things. Hil You don't hear ANY Jack Jones on the radio anymore these days ... but the guy had a GREAT voice ... one of my all-time favorite Forgotten Hits is his 1965 version of the George Jones Hit "The Race Is On"! (kk)
The biggest hits of summer, 1965 and no "Liar, Liar" on the list? Sheesh! Ken "Liar Liar" peaked at #12 in late October of that year ... so no, you're NOT going to find it on any of The Biggest Songs Of Summer lists! (kk)
Kent - Your observations on the 1963 summer charts are very informative and quite accurate. Shut Down by the Beach Boys was a big hit in a LOT of cities and charted high in many markets. Del Shannon's From Me To You also had a lot of airplay. The other songs you listed, such as Hootenany by the Glencoves (Select Records, part of Joy), Sting Ray by the Routers (WB), Tamoure by Bill Justis (Smash) and I'm Afraid to Go Home by Brian Hyland (Am-Par) were all played in a lot of markets including WKBW in Buffalo. The flip of the Brian Hyland song is "Save Your Heart For Me", which is the 3rd big hit for Gary Lewis & the Playboys (still have my white promo copy after all these years). Clay Pasternack
KK, Kudos goes out to you and to the others who helped you compile the top fifty songs for the Summers of years in the 1960's. What I found interesting and was looking at mostly, was the top fifty for Chicago. I was interested in seeing what records were big during the Summer locally there as opposed nationally. Personally, I always went by what a record did locally here in OKC than what it did nationally. For example, the year 1970: the Pipkins, Miguel Rios, Watts 103rd Rhythm Band, just to name a few. These are, of course, records I remember with the Pipkins record being the bigger of the three here in the OKC area. In 1966, you had Evol Not Love, Day For Decision, Land of Milk and Honey (one of my alltime favorites by the Vogues). In 1964, you had Farmer John by the Premiers which was recorded live. (Did you ever stop to think that all records were recorded live?) Whether in a studio or club. The Grateful Dead excluded. I have got to be honest with you. From 1963, Bill Justis' record of Tamoure on Smash was not played here. Correction! It didn't make the weekly survey. I was told years ago that just because a record didn't make the weekly radio survey didn't mean it wasn't played on the air. Now in the back of my mind, I knew that Bill Justis recorded for Smash records, but had forgotten all about it. In fact I had to go online and find a video of it to hear it. New one on me. Finally I checked a while ago and you alluded to this in your paragraphs on the top 50 of Summer in Chicago. In the mid seventies, WKY radio here in OKC cut their weekly radio surveys down to just 20 records. Period. There might have been, I repeat might have been, maybe 4 or 5 listed at the bottom as extras. I understand a record had to be a powerful hit to be played and to make the top 20. Some final notes while I am thinking about them. Without going in and playing the original 45 of Hitching a Ride by the Vanity Fare, it seems to me that through the years the radio version's ending is different than the original 45. Likewise, Steppenwolf's Magic Carpet Ride. Also, I could be wrong, but in your comments on Bill Justis, I believe you misspelled his last name wrong. Larry We've been told by a number of radio people over the years (many of whom were program directors during Top 40's Hey-Day) that it was really only The Top 20 Records that mattered ... this is where the REAL research was exhausted ... everything else were records that either the station was trying to push or the listeners were calling in to request. That's why it just seems so ridiculous to me today that oldies radio continues to ignore so many of these LEGITIMATE Top 20 Hits in favor of playing the same 200-300 songs over and over and over again instead ... I just don't get it. If it MADE The Top 20, people remember it ... and would most likely enjoy hearing it again. (Other than "People" by Barbra Streisand, of course !!! lol ... but that's just me!) Far too many of the songs being circulated on CD today (and in many oldies radio station libraries) are NOT the original single versions of the songs we all grew up listening to back in the day ... and this is a REAL shame. I have campaigned for YEARS now for somebody to release the ORIGINAL SINGLE MIXES for all these tunes once and for all, label by label, so that we can all add these to our collections. (Dunhill was NOTORIOUS for always having a different single mix than album mix ... this is true of ALL of their big-name artists! VERY frustrating if you're a collector ... and I liked an awful lot of Dunhill acts!) And finally, for the record, Bill Justis spelled his name JUST like you see it here ... so if it was spelled wrong on the web page, I apologize! (kk)
Several of you wanted to pay tribute to The Ides Of March regarding their recent Street Dedication Ceremony ... in fact, we even heard from Jim Peterik himself!
>>>Our heartfelt congratulations go out to Jim Peterik, Larry Millas, Mike Borch, Bob Bergland, Chuck Soumar, John Larson, Scott May and Dave Stahlberg, still performing today as The Ides Of March (with all four original members since 1964!!!) Way To Go, Guys ... we love ya!!! (kk) Hey Kent! Jimbo here. Thanks for the great article. I so appreciate your long time support and encyclopedic knowledge of Chicago rock. Good times indeed. Hope you get a chance to hear the Ides' new one, Still 19. Thanks again, brother! Keep Rocking!! Jimbo It was a VERY powerful day for all of us who grew up in the Berwyn area with The Ides Of March during this very exciting time. To think that some 40+ years later the guys are still together and still rocking the house is nothing short of amazing ... and I swear they sound better NOW than ever before! Thanks, Jim! (kk)
By the way, their new CD is available through The Ides Of March website: Click here: The Ides Of March Flash Intro Hi Kent - First of all, thank you, for devoting your time on honoring the Ides of March. I did see the street dedication for them and it was great ... I really enjoyed it. I can't wait to see the sign when it's up on Home Avenue. Good to see Morton West High again, too! I especially liked the photo presentation on the big screen and the individual stories from all the guys ... they were very touching. How wonderful to have a local group who stayed together all these years. When each one of them spoke, they considered themselves "family". They are not only a good vocal group but good musicians as well. And cheers for Jim Peterik and his talent for writing so many hit songs! Long live the Ides of March! All their songs are great, but "You Wouldn't Listen To Me" is my sentimental favorite. I have it on my jukebox! They may have recorded "You Wouldn't Listen", but evidently everyone did and they have lasted all these years! Carolyn It was a VERY moving ceremony and you could see that ALL of the guys were emotionally touched by this honor ... I'd go so far as to say it ranks right up there with any of the biggest accolades they've received throughout their career. Glad we could be there to witness it! (kk)
Great blog! I went to elementary school and Morton with Bob B and Larry M (Piper School) and to High School with Jimmy (good friends with my sister Laura in his class). EYE have a copy of the Shon Dels' "Like it or Lump it" !! Nancy Cunov Chicago
I WAS VERY PROUD TO HAVE BEEN THERE TO SHARE THAT SPECIAL MOMENT WITH MY ROCK N' ROLL FRIENDS AND ADD A FEW MORE VERY SPECIAL PIX TO MY COLLECTION ... CONGRATULATIONS, IDES BRETHREN, IT WAS AWESOME!!! MICHAEL G. BUSH
Kent - The Ides of March give the best show bar none of the working 1960-70 Chicago area groups I have seen. With the creative force of Jimmy Peterik, the Ides perform all their great hits and all the songs Jim wrote and perforned with Survivor and wrote for .38 Special. Plus the Ides are always re-inventing themselves with original songs they perform. To say Jimmy is a showmen is an understatement and you can tell the guys have a blast performing after all these years. If you see one Chicago group, this is the one! Mike De Martino President of the Lovejoy Music Club
Kent - Just wanted to convey my congrats to The Ides Of March on their recent wonderful honor. Next to The New Colony Six, the Ides Of March are my OTHER all-time favorite 60's / 70's band from the Windy City. It's really amazing that after 45 years, The Ides continue to rock with all of their original members intact ... that in itself, is truly a major accomplishment. I was fortunate to meet Jim Peterik back in the early 1980's at the 60's Chicago Band Reunion at the Holiday Inn in Hillside, IL. I had a chance to sit down and chat with Jim at this record convention / band reunion. This was at the time when he was riding high with his stint in Survivor ... I never thought that he would take time with me to answer all of my questions about The Ides Of March, but ... instead of wanting to talk about his then-current Survivor group, he anxiously sat down with me for nearly an hour, and we talked about nothing but The Ides Of March. I was floored that he was kind enough to personally sit down with a nobody like me, and recall the old days with The Ides ... it became immediately apparent that Jim was still very proud of the Ides Of March ... What a great guy! I'm proud to say that I own every "promo" copy and "store-stock" Ides Of March 45 on Parrot, Kapp, Warner Bros. and RCA, along with all of The Ides albums on W.B and RCA. I even own a copy of the hideously-rare Shondells (pre-Ides) single titled, "Like It Or Lump It' on the Epitome label ... mow, how's that for being a "die-hard" Ides Of March fan?? Anyways, congratulations to The Ides Of March for this fantastic honor! ... They REALLY deserve it! Jerry Schollenberger
Wasn’t that awesome of Berwyn to recognize their home boys and a fine bunch of guys to boot? Jealousy and envy aside, lads, this honor could not have been bestowed on a finer group of guys. Looking forward to touching base again in November when the WDRV Charity CD release parties happen, I consider myself fortunate to be one of your peers and hope to have the New Colony Six share the stage with y’all again soon. (Hey Jim – how ‘bout petitioning Mr. Duchossois to have us both kick off the 2011 Arlington Million weekend as we did a couple years ago?) Thanks for your great music and heavy competition for airplay and chart position in the day and your friendship ever since. Blessings to you and yours; kudos from Berwyn and your countless fans, myself among ‘em, are truly well deserved. Ray Graffia, Jr., New Colony Six
Kent, I cannot tell you how much I have enjoyed the Ides of March (and Jim Peterik's) music over the decades! When I was able to meet Jim and talk with him personally in 2006 (courtesy our own FH member Marlene) for awhile before their concert, the guy was just so nice and remembered all the obscure stuff I wanted to talk to him about in the 60's. It was so cool. The Ides deserve their own street in Chicago! They helped pave the way just as the Cryan' Shames, New Colony Six, Buckinghams, Mob, Styx, Chicago and so many others did in their own way! How about streets for them too!! Clark Besch
Story has it, the guitar solo on the "hit" take version of Vehicle was damaged, but the recording people managed to splice in a previous take portion!!! Thanks! Best, John I hadn't heard that story before, but since Peterik has probably played that riff 40,000 times since, I wouldn't think it would have been all that big a deal to splice in a quick fix! Meanwhile, intrigued by your story, I did find this ... In the liner notes to the Limited Edition Rhino Handmade CD "The Ides Of March - Friendly Strangers: The Warner Brothers Recordings", Jim Peterik told Bill DeYoung that the "Vehicle" album was recorded at CBS Studios in Chicago, which had previously only been used for radio and television voice-over work. "They didn't know rock 'n' roll from a hole in the wall," Peterik said. "They did a good job but it was a learning curve. We were all learning together. "I remember that kind of feeling of experimentation. I also remember 14 seconds of the master of 'Vehicle" being erased! We were doing background vocals and suddenly 14 seconds were gone from the master! No way to retrieve it. The second engineer had hit the wrong button. We spent two hours thinking 'Our career is over!' because at this time we knew we had something. "Luckily, there was a Take One. They inserted 14 seconds of Take One and I redid the vocals. And now I hear it every time. From the second 'Great God in heaven' all the way up to the guitar solo -- when you hear how abrupt that first note of the solo sounds - that's the edit. Actually, it sounds real cool!" (kk)
Enjoyed the post on the Ideas of March dedcation - Well done Kent! As a pastor who loves the Beach Boys, I smiled when I read about the closing prayer ... Phil@PrayForSurf.net
Kent, Nice seeing the Ides of March receiving acclaim for their contribution to pop music. Jim Peterik should have a street named after him, too. In the early 70's, promotion man Bob Destocky (sp?) and Frankie Rand begged me to add "Vehicle" to the WLS playlist. It would be the very last record that, as program director, I would make "Pick Hit of the Week" ... giving it airplay every hour for the first week. I was on my way to Los Angeles to become president to Bill Drake's company but within a few weeks Vehicle was all over the airwaves in Los Angeles as well as Chicago and the nation. A great record ... and a great band. John Rook It truly is a rock classic ... how cool that this was your last Chicagoland "Pick Hit"!!! While Jim Peterik has certainly blazed his own path not only with The Ides Of March and with other ventures like Survivor, .38 Special, The World Stage and as a solo artist ... not to mention as a published songwriter (in more ways than one ... in addition to all the hits written for and recorded by the aforementioned artists, it was also Jim Peterik who wrote the "Songwriting For Dummies" book!!! lol) ... it says a lot that he would want to include his lifelong com padres in this honor ... friends and bandmates literally since grade school and STILL the way he chooses to spend his summer, making music with these life-long friends. That's a sign of loyalty and respect you don't often find amongst musicians, most of whom seem to spend their "after careers" trashing their former bandmates and partners. It also speaks volumes about his character as a person ... suffice to say he's one hell of a man. Thanks, John! (kk)
re: COMING UP: I'll be doing Michael Stock's FOLK AND ACOUSTIC radio show this Sunday, September 19th, sometime between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Tune in and listen to me shamelessly hawking the screening of the brand-new documentary: BOB LIND Perspective. If you live in South Florida, you can hear the show on WLRN 91.3 FM. If you're out of range, you can listen live online here: http://live.friendsofwlrn.org/ The first-ever public showing of the film will be at THE CENTER FOR SPIRITUAL LIVING in Boca Raton. For more about BOB LIND Perspective, by director Paul Surratt, visit my website: www.boblind.com Info on buying the DVD: http://www.boblind.com/merchan.html Info on the world premiere screening in South Florida: http://www.boblind.com/tour.html or call (561) 368-8248. I hope to see you there. Yers, Bob Lind
PAUL McCARTNEY AND WINGS' Landmark #1 Album "Band On the Run" To Be Reissued Paul's Epic #1 Album From 1973 Will Be Available In Multiple Configurations Featuring Remastered Rare Bonus Audio & Video Content With Special Exclusive PackagingNovember 1st in the UKNovember 2nd in the USGet a free download of A Trip To Lagos featuring Paul McCartney & Wings - CLICK HERE MPL and the Concord Music Group are pleased to announce the re-release of Paul McCartney & Wings’ iconic Band on the Run. Heralded as one of the greatest albums of all time, the GRAMMY winning, smash # 1 album - originally released December of 1973 - yielded the immortal title track and world-wide hit “Jet” becoming Wings’ most successful and celebrated album ever. Paul personally supervised all aspects of the Band on the Run reissue. The remastering work was done at Abbey Road using the same team who recently remastered the complete Beatles’ catalog. Band on the Run will be available in a variety of formats originating with the single disc digitally remastered, essential 9-track standard edition. The 3 disc (2 CD, 1 DVD) special edition features nine bonus audio tracks (including the top 10 smash “Helen Wheels”), rare footage of the McCartneys in Lagos and behind-the-scenes at the famous album cover shoot, original Band on the Run promotional video clips, the One Hand Clapping television special (highlighted by studio performances filmed at Abbey Road in 1974) all with beautifully enhanced packaging. Collectors will be especially thrilled by the 4 disc (3 CD, 1 DVD) deluxe edition which adds an extraordinary 120-page hard bound book containing many unseen and unpublished photos by Linda McCartney and Clive Arrowsmith, album and single artwork, downloadable hi-res audio versions of the remastered album and bonus audio tracks, a full history of the album complete with a new interview with Paul and expanded track by track information for all four discs. The deluxe edition also includes a special Band on the Run audio documentary (originally produced for the 25th Anniversary edition.) The original remastered album and bonus audio content will also be issued in a 2 disc 180gm audiophile vinyl edition that comes with an MP3 download of all 18 tracks. Lastly, the standard and deluxe versions of Band on the Run will be available digitally worldwide. The musical achievement of Band on the Run is nearly matched by the amazing story behind its creation. Intrigued with recording abroad in the summer of 1973, McCartney searched for a list of studios around the world. Spotting one in the remote location of Lagos, Nigeria, he became enthralled with the idea of recording in Africa. Days before departure, lead guitarist Henry McCullough and drummer Denny Seiwell quit the band, leaving the entire project to the three core members, Paul, his wife Linda McCartney and band-member Denny Laine (along with recording engineer Geoff Emerick). Recorded in August and September of 1973 (with further work done at AIR Studios in London in October 1973), they persevered through a tumultuous, yet creatively invigorating two month recording process, battling difficult studio conditions, oppressive heat and a dangerous mugging at knife point. The thieves made off with the demo tapes (among other valuables), forcing the band to record the entire album from memory. Band on the Run triumphed both critically and commercially. The album topped the US album chart 3 separate times, won a Grammy and went on to sell more than 7 million copies. Upon the release of Band on the Run, then Rolling Stone reviewer Jon Landau famously gushed, “The finest record yet released by any of the four musicians who were once called The Beatles.” Paul is currently playing five songs from the album on his ‘Up and Coming Tour’. Live favorites over the last 8 years of touring have included “Jet”, “Band on the Run” and “Let Me Roll It”. In 2008 when Paul played a free outdoor show to over 500,000 people in Kiev, a Ukrainian poll listed “Mrs Vandebilt” as their all time favorite Paul McCartney song. It’s been included in the set ever since. At the start of this tour Paul added “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five” to the set. Band on the Run marks the first release from the Paul McCartney Archive Collection, an ambitious reissue program that encompasses 40 years of cherished, classic material from the most successful songwriter and recording artist in music history. It’s also the initial physical release of the recently announced agreement between McCartney’s MPL and Concord Music Group to globally market and distribute Paul’s venerated solo and Wings catalogue.
Rhino Handmade To Release Three Disc Deluxe Edition Of The Monkees’ Album, Head, In Tandem With Criterion Collection Box Set As many Criterion fans are surely aware, the cult film Head, starring The Monkees, will soon be released as part of the box set America Lost And Found: The BBS Story. Preceding this cinematic bonanza by a month, Rhino Handmade will be releasing an expanded 3-CD edition of the film’s soundtrack on October 26, chock-full of previously unreleased goodies and rarities. While this will certainly appeal more to hardcore Monkees fans than the average Criterion collector, it is worth noting that The Monkees’ music is not without merit, and the Head soundtrack in particular was one of their more adventurous albums. From the get-go as a pop band manufactured for television in 1966 by Bert Schneider and Bob Rafelson, The Monkees chafed under the control of music coordinator Don Kirshner, who commissioned songs to be written (by professional songwriters such as Neil Diamond, Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart, and Harry Nilsson) and recorded the instrumental tracks largely without the participation of the band members who, although not lacking in musical ability, were dismissed by Kirshner as mere actors. (Their second album, 1967’s More Of The Monkees, was released without the band’s knowledge of its very existence; legend has it they had to go out and buy copies for themselves like everybody else since the record company didn’t even bother to give them one.) Tired of being dismissed by the rock cognoscenti as the “Prefab Four”, they eventually wrested control of their music away from Kirshner, and promptly set about recording an album written and performed largely on their own; the result, Headquarters, shot straight to number one on the charts … and was knocked off its perch just one week later by an obscure cult album of dubious renown, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. (Kirshner, meanwhile, moved on to a more cooperative group: The Archies. Cartoons can’t argue.) By 1968, The Monkees’ TV series had been canceled, and Head was conceived by Rafelson and co-writer / co-producer Jack Nicholson to explode the band’s clean-cut, safe-for-all-ages image (guitarist Mike Nesmith — the one whose mother invented Liquid Paper and thus had enough money to skip every Monkees reunion of the last thirty years — has stated that Rafelson and Nicholson intended to “kill” the band for good and all). The movie pretty much did the trick: after its November 1968 release, The Monkees had been largely written off, and indeed began disintegrating as a band shortly thereafter. Regardless of what one may think of the film, however — and the opinions may soon beflying hither and yon on THAT topic — the soundtrack album is pretty catchy. Assembled by Nicholson, the Head album is a somewhat unique collage of songs and dialogue snippets from the film spoken by band members (“I’d like a glass of cold gravy with a hair in it, please”), several performers who made cameo appearances such as Victor Mature and Frank Zappa, and seemingly random citizens of the world (“Are you telling me that you don’t see the connection between government and laughing atpeople?”). I say “somewhat” unique because the album is clearly influenced by Zappa’s mindbending 1967 album Lumpy Gravy, which was even more daring in its avant-garde, seemingly haphazard collage of rock, orchestral music, strange sounds, and improvised dialogue from a group of people who live in a piano. You heard me. The songs are a solid lot, from Peter Tork’s psychedelic “Can You Dig It?” to Harry Nilsson’s rollicking “Daddy’s Song”, from Nesmith’s burning rocker “Circle Sky” to the absolutely sublime “Porpoise Song (Theme From Head)” — written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, authors of such pop classics as “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” and “TheLoco-Motion” — which is arguably one of the loveliest songs The Monkees ever recorded. And, in spite of the band’s desire for more control over their music, these songs were recorded with the assistance of some of the finest musicians lurking round Los Angeles studios at the time, including Jerry Scheff (bass player for Elvis Presley’s TCB band), Dewey Martin (drummer for the Buffalo Springfield), guitarist Ry Cooder (composer for another Criterion title, Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas) and Neil Young (not to be confusedwith Young Neil). The deluxe edition of the Head soundtrack has been compiled with the participation of Andrew Sandoval, mastermind of many previous Monkees reissues for Rhino Records, as well as producer of several wonderful Rhino collections such as the recent Big Star box set Keep An Eye On The Sky and the deluxe reissue of Love’s immortal album Forever Changes. Pre-orders commence on September 20 at Rhino’s website (www.rhino.com), and everyone who pre-orders from their website will also get a bonus 7” single (hey kids, remember 7” singles? You don’t? Crap, I’m old). For those who still enjoy physical media, it would be a nice way to support Rhino Records, a label that has produced innumerable outstanding collections of classic rock and pop, but nevertheless were forced to lay off many of their employees last year … and, rumor has it, are expected to lay off more very soon due to the increasingly precarious condition of the major label music industry. Again, for the casual Monkees fan and even for many a die-hard Criterion fan, it may be a bit much — especially at $60 a pop — but for the devoted Head-heads out there, it’s a must. So you better get ready — they will be coming to your town …. From the Press Release: Rhino Handmade Expands The Cult Classic’s Soundtrack Into A Three-Disc Boxed Set With 21 Unreleased Tracks, Outtakes, Rarities, And Live Performances Pre-Order Beginning September 20 Exclusively At Rhino.com And Receive A Bonus 7" With Two Previously Unreleased Instrumentals Boxed Set Arrives October 26 LOS ANGELES – Ahead of its time when it was released in 1968, Head has emerged over the years as a cult classic from the psychedelic era. Produced by Bob Rafelson and Jack Nicholson, the surreal odyssey stars The Monkees — Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. While the film did not achieve commercial success, its soundtrack contains some of the quartet’s finest and most daring work. Rhino Handmade expands the superbly strange soundtrack, originally compiled by Jack Nicholson, as a three-disc boxed set that features 21 previously unreleased tracks, outtakes, rarities, and live performances, plus an entire disc containing a rare interview with Jones recorded in 1968 for radio broadcast. All those who pre-order, will receive a bonus 7" that includes unreleased instrumental versions of “Porpoise Song” and “As We Go Along.” The collection comes in a 7" x 7" deluxe box with a mirrored finish like the original vinyl release. Due out October 26, HEAD (DELUXE EDITION) will be availablefor pre-order beginning September 20 exclusively at Rhino for a suggested list price of $59.98. Later this year, the Criterion Collection will release Head as part of America Lost And Found: The BBS Story, a compilation of innovative films produced between 1968 and 1972 by Rafelson and Bert Schneider (cocreators of The Monkees) and Steve Blauner. The BBS Story boxed set will be available on Blu-ray November 23 and DVD December 14. Head features a new, restored high-definition digital transfer (with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and uncompressed monaural soundtracks on the Blu-ray edition). The extras include new audio commentaries by Dolenz, Tork, and Jones, and an interview with Rafelson. HEAD (DELUXE EDITION) begins with the original soundtrack remastered, including “Porpoise Song” the film’s theme written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, Nesmith’s rocker “Circle Sky,” Tork’s “Can You Dig It,” Jones singing Harry Nilsson’s “Daddy’s Song,” and Dolenz singing “As We Go Along,” a track penned by Carole King and Toni Stern (who later composed the chart topper “You’ve Got A Friend”). Also included from the original soundtrack are bits of dialogue from the film and incidental music conducted by Ken Thorne, who composed music for The Beatles’ film Help! The first disc’s bonus tracks present alternate stereo mixes for nearly every song, except “Can You Dig It” which is featured as a rough stereo mix with Tork singing instead of Dolenz, and “Daddy’s Song” which is remixed with a section that was never originally used in the film or soundtrack album. The disc also features an unreleased stereo mix of the album’s closing audio collage: “Swami – Plus Strings.” Disc two is dedicated to outtakes and rarities, including mono mixes for every track along with unreleased mono movie mixes for “Can You Dig It” and “Daddy’s Song.” The unreleased gems include an alternate version of “Ditty Diego – War Chant,” a satirical send-up of the theme to The Monkees television series written by Nicholson and Rafelson, plus “California, Here It Comes,” a song heard briefly in 1969 playing over the credits of The Monkees’ television special 33 Revolutions Per Monkee. The disc also includes a rare live set from the Valley Music Hall in Salt Lake City from the spring of 1968. The performances were recorded for the film, but ultimately only one track (“CircleSky”) was used. The unreleased live tracks from this set include the Headquarters-era gems “You Just May Be The One,” “Sunny Girlfriend,” and “You Told Me.” The final disc contains a radio interview with Jones about the album that was issued in 1968 by Colgems as a promotional LP. The disc also includes full tracks and excerpts from the Head soundtrack that were interspersed throughout the interview. Deluxe booklet features new liner notes by Andrew Sandoval and Rachel Lichtman highlighted by brand-new interviews with Michael Nesmith and director Bob Rafelson about Head, in addition to dozens of unpublished color photos. HEAD (DELUXE EDITION) Track Listing Disc 1 – Original LP … Plus 1. Opening Ceremony 2. “Porpoise Song” (Theme From Head) – The Monkees 3. “Ditty Diego – War Chant” – The Monkees 4. “Circle Sky” – The Monkees 5. “Supplicio” 6. “Can You Dig It” – The Monkees 7. “Gravy” 8. “Superstitious” 9. “As We Go Along” – The Monkees 10. “Dandruff?” 11. “Daddy’s Song” – The Monkees 12. “Poll” 13. “Long Title: Do I Have To Do This All Over Again” – The Monkees 14. “Swami – Plus Strings (Ken Thorne), Etc.” Bonus Material: 15. “Porpoise Song” (Theme From Head) (Alternate Stereo Mix) – The Monkees 16. “Ditty Diego –War Chant” (Alternate Stereo Mix) – The Monkees 17. “Circle Sky” (Alternate Stereo Mix) – The Monkees 18. “Can You Dig It” (Peter’s Vocal – Stereo Rough Mix) – The Monkees *19. “As We Go Along” (Alternate Stereo Mix) – The Monkees 20. “Daddy’s Song” (Remix with slow verse) – The Monkees *21. “Long Title: Do I Have To Do This All Over Again” (Alternate Stereo Mix) – The Monkees 22. “Swami – Plus Strings (Ken Thorne), Etc.” (Alternate Stereo Mix) *23. “Happy Birthday To You” (Alternate Stereo Mix) – The Monkees *24. “Ditty Diego” (Session) – The Monkees *Disc 2 – Outtakes And Rarities 1. Head Promo “Coming Soon” 2. “Porpoise Song” (Theme From Head) (Mono Single Mix) – The Monkees 3. “Ditty Diego – War Chant” (Mono Mix) – The Monkees *4. “Circle Sky” (Mono Mix) – The Monkees *5. “Can You Dig It” (Mono Mix) – The Monkees *6. “As We Go Along” (Mono Single Mix) – The Monkees 7. “Daddy’s Song” (Mono Mix) – The Monkees *8. “Long Title: Do I Have To Do This All Over Again” (Mono Mix) – The Monkees *9. “Porpoise Song” (Theme From Head) (Rough Mono Mix) – The Monkees *10. “Ditty Diego” (Alternate Version) – The Monkees *11. “Circle Sky” (Alternate Mono Mix) – The Monkees *12. “Can You Dig It” (Peter’s Vocal) – The Monkees 13. “Daddy’s Song” (Mike’s Vocal) – The Monkees 14. “Long Title: Do I Have To Do This All Over Again” (Rough Mix Acetate) – The Monkees *15. “Can You Dig It” (Mono Movie Mix) – The Monkees *16. “Daddy’s Song” (Mono Movie Mix) – The Monkees *17. Head Promo “Now Playing” 18. Introduction To Live Show – The Monkees *19. “You Just May Be The One” (Live) – The Monkees *20. “Sunny Girlfriend” (Live) – The Monkees *21. “You Told Me” (Live) – The Monkees *22. “Circle Sky” (Live) – The Monkees 23. “California, Here It Comes” – The Monkees *Disc 3 – Head Open-End Radio Special Interview Platter With Davy Jones 1. “Circle Sky” (Excerpt) – The Monkees 2. Davy Jones Interview, Pt. 1 3. “Can You Dig It” (Excerpt) – The Monkees 4. Davy Jones Interview, Pt. 2 5. “Daddy’s Song” – The Monkees 6. Davy Jones Interview, Pt. 3 7. “Long Title: Do I Have To Do This All Over Again” – The Monkees 8. Davy Jones Interview, Pt. 4 9. “Porpoise Song” (Theme From Head) – The Monkees 10. Davy Jones Interview, Pt. 5 11. “Can You Dig It” (Excerpt) – The Monkees* Previously Unissued http://criterioncast.com/2010/09/10/rhino-handmade-to-release-three-disc-deluxe-edition-of-the-monkees-album-head-in-tandem-with-criterion-collection-box-set/http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=147688&catid=204http://www.rhino.com/article/its-coming?eml=rn/090710/headtexthttp://theseconddisc.com/2010/09/08/its-monkee-mania-head-soundtrack-expanded-as-deluxe-box-set/
re: FROM YOUR ALL-TIME FAVORITE INSTRUMENTALS ... : Hi Kent, I really liked the article. Johnny Farina Santo & Johnny www.santoandjohnny.com
re: ... TO THE ONE HUNDRED WORST SONGS EVER: The worst 100 songs list is not too bad as those things go. There are a few decent tunes on it, but the great bulk of the list is indeed horrible. I would take off a couple of the alternative style tracks and put more rap stuff on, which is mostly hideous! Ken
re: CONGRATULATIONS: >>>And our VERY SPECIAL CONGRATULATIONS go out to Janis Johnson of Chicago, IL, who won a free pair of ticket to see Peter Noone and Micky Dolenz at The Star Plaza in Merrillville, Indiana, on Saturday, October 23rd ... courtesy of Peter Noone himself! Have a GREAT time at the concert! (kk) >>>Ohmygosh, Kent! You are kidding me, right????? Okay, got to tell you what a fan I am but before I say another word: THANK YOU!!!!!!!! I have been his fan 4Ever, am the age of an original fan, and have entered every Herman concert every time he has had one! I don't win, but I just sit and daydream (used to be to win a kiss from Herman, date from Herman, jacket from Herman ... modern day contests have been concert tickets, or backstage passes ... I have NEVER won, but then, most people don't of course! He has a zillion fans who enter!!!!! I am stunned!!!!!! And I couldn't believe when I read your site and also the email updates and saw that he had given tickets! I just thought, how beyond cool! Yes, I am absolutely able to attend this concert, I mean, come on!!!! Are you kidding me????? I feel like driving there tonight and "queuing" up! (I always start throwing British words around when I think of 'erman!!!! I always wanted to be his fab bird!!!!!) Totally, totally thrilled. Can't believe it. Thank you!!!!!!!! Best, Best, Best!!!!! (Janis) Janis, you lucky dog!!!! Congratulations, you deserve it. I got a kick out of this email. Have fun at the concert. : ) Carrie I am really happy that this went to a true, long-time fan ... I think Janis felt a little guilty ... but she's going to the concert anyway!!! (lol) And she ABSOLUTELY deserves it! (kk) Talk about a last blast of summer!!! (okay, the concert will be in fall, but I heard the news as summer is waning!) You really did thrill me!!!I would imagine that Herman would like to attract new fans with his contests (and he gathers new fans well and often, of course!) so a pinch of me felt guilty that I am just same-old, same-old, but that being said, I have entered every Herman contest, everywhere, every radio station, every magazine, and finally, finally won!!!!! Thank you, again (and again, and again!!!!!) Janis Have a BLAST at the concert ... and I know you will! (kk)
re: PAUL REVERE AND THE RAIDERS: Once a Paul Revere and the Raiders fan, always a Raiders fan. If you are interested in having the four hour special that Hoss did on RockandRollHeaven.net, please contact Mason Ramsey and tell him that you would like to purchase a copy of the interview. Thanks Hoss America's Coast to Coast Entertainment Network http://www.RockandRollHeaven.net re: THE BUDDY HOLLY FOUNDATION: Kent,
Thank you so much for posting those two items. Regarding the Buddy Holly Foundation, they've picked eight recipients so far, I'm anxious to see who the other ten will be!
Davie Allan http://www.buddyhollyguitarfoundation.org/ re: AND, SPEAKING OF FOUNDATIONS NEEDING YOUR HELP ... : Pepsi is listing the Sixties Museum on the Pepsi Refresh America Project at refresheverything.com/sixtiesmueum. You can vote every day in September, that is 30 votes for the museum. If we get enough votes, Pepsi will contribute $250,000 dollars toward getting a building for the museum in the NW suburbs. That means about 300,000 people coming to town, jobs and at least something happening. Please tell family and friends. We need more votes to make the museum a reality. Please vote and help spread the word. George Pedersen / VP Sixties Museum, Inc.gpedersen@60smuseum.org This is GREAT news, George ... we have been campaigning for this dream to become a reality for quite some time now. (Obviously, we have a vested interest in preserving the '60's!!! lol) Happy to pass this info along ... and hoping that all of our readers will visit the website and do what they can to help. (kk)
We had difficulty finding the proper place to vote when we visited the Pepsi website ... so I asked George if he could provide a little better direction on how to do so ... here's the scoop:
They don't make it easy. Go towww.refresheverything.com/sixtiesmuseum. Or you can put sixties museum in the search box on the top of the site. I just voted so it takes you right to the vote spot. Thanks for the support. You aren't the only one who has had problems.
re: LESLEY GORE: Speaking of Lesley Gore, this is probably my all time favorite that she sang. I think it was in a movie also but can't think of the name of it. ("Young And Foolish") Carrie
Lesley had one of the most distinctive voices in pop music at the time ... VERY powerful yet perfectly suited to virtually everything she sang. She was able to branch out into both television and movies. (Who can forget her appearance on Batman as Pussycat, one of Catwoman's hench-women?!?!?) I'm not sure if "Young And Foolish" is from one of those movies or not, but it IS a very pretty song! (kk)
I loved that Lesley Gore track you featured today!!!! (You've Come Back) David Yep, one of MY all-time favorites by her, too. Lesley could REALLY sing ... and although most of her biggest hits were up-tempo pop tunes, she could send shivers up your spine when she tackled a ballad. (kk)
re: ANOTHER LOSS: Wow, I remember being a card carrying member of Pogo's KIMN Hi-Fi Coke Club in the late 50's early 60's, and I made my parents take me to Zale's Jewlers in Downtown Denver to see him in the snake pit, then again on S Broadway to Pappy Fry Plymouth to see him high atop a flagpole for days! He's the one that inspired me to do a bunch of goofy stunts and break a couple of world records during my radio career ... Pogo will be missed! Wild Bill Obituary: Stunt-spinning DJ Pogo Poge kept teens tuned to rock 'n' roll By Virginia Culver The Denver Post Pogo Poge would do almost anything to get people to listen to KIMN radio. Sometimes that included setting a world record for sitting on a Ferris wheel. Or spending two weeks in a snake pit with more than 100 snakes, some poisonous, a stunt that put him in the hospital. Poge, whose real name was Morgan Branch White, died of heart problems Sept. 2 in a Provo, Utah, hospital. He was 86. Poge was in Colorado and later in Honolulu during the heyday of disc jockeys doing wacky things to get attention. In 1984, Denver Post television critic Clark Secrest called him "Denver's favorite disc jockey ever." "There was some ham in him," said his son, Steve White of Austin, Texas. "He always had to be the center of attention." White lived in Denver from 1957 until 1964. After moving to Honolulu in 1964, he did amateur theater and appeared on TV's "Hawaii Five-0." When Secrest was a reporter, he was sent out on a slow-news Saturday night to 16th Street by an editor who told him "to see what was going on." Secrest listened as teen-laden cars cruised 16th and 17th streets downtown and "every one of them had their radios tuned to KIMN and Poge," said Secrest. "It was like a gigantic stereo system," said Secrest, of Laguna Niguel, Calif. Secrest called White "personable," someone "who connected with the kids. No one who heard him ever forgot him, as they did other DJs." White and the snakes were on 16th Street at the dug-out site of a Zale's Jewelry store for 13 days. White was bitten by a water moccasin and was hospitalized because the antidote was given incorrectly, said Steve White. Known for his outrageous costumes, White once bounced on a pogo stick from Denver to Boulder and another time sat atop a flagpole at a South Broadway used-car lot for days. Another time, he broadcast while sitting on a giant block of ice. On one April Fool's Day, he played "Tom Dooley" for the entire day, although at the end of each playing he would announce another number. It always turned out to be "Tom Dooley," said his daughter, Tonya Riches of Murray, Utah. He was a hero to many teens because he gave them advice over the air, according to a 1976 Denver Post story. He also emceed gigantic "sock hops" at Mammoth Gardens (now the Fillmore) that featured some of the era's leading rock 'n' roll figures. In Hawaii, White was a fixture on a popular television show, "Checkers and Pogo" a kids' program that ran two hours after school weekdays. Morgan Branch White was born in Monroe, Utah, on July 25, 1924, and earned a degree in speech and drama from Utah State College. He married Mildred Tanner on June 5, 1951. White was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and as a young man, served on a church mission to Sweden. He hosted many events for charitable organizations. In addition to his wife, son and daughter, he is survived by three other sons: Morgan White of Sevier, Utah; Kimo White and Keoni White both of Salt Lake City; his sister, Beth Nordgren of Salt Lake; 18 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; and one great-great- grandchild. Read more: Stunt-spinning DJ Pogo Poge kept teens tuned to rock 'n' roll - The Denver Posthttp://www.denverpost.com/obituaries/ci_16053274#ixzz0zWhJav8W re: COMING SOON TO A MOVIE THEATER NEAR YOU: Last week it was announced that Borat has been cast as Freddie Mercury, the dynamic lead singer of Queen. Strange as this may seem, I can kinda see it ... from a looks perspective. (But Sacha Baron Cohen is so much taller than Freddie Mercury was ... and I'm sure the singing will all have to be dubbed in from the original recordings ... unless they can convince Adam Lambert to give it a go!) Of course from a bare-butt trousers perspective, Cohen's a shoe-in. And this just days after the announcement that Brad Pitt has been cast to play Jerry Lee Lewis in another new bio-pic. (OK, I can buy Borat ... but this one not so much!) Dennis Quaid has already portrayed The Killer before on film ... and, with other faux Jerry Lee's stealing the show in "The Million Dollar Quartet" all over the country on stage, I suppose this was a natural ... but Brad Pitt??? I don't think ANYONE has ever accused Jerry Lee Lewis of being a pretty boy! (kk)
Kent ... I just heard a Tommy James interview on the radio. He said his book "Me, The Mob & The Music" is going to be made into a movie and a play in the next two years. Frank B. Yes, of course, we broke that story about three months ago here in Forgotten Hits ... but it's great to see that WCBS-FM is finally catching up! (kk)
Happy to pass the info along, Dave. We've done two lengthy series on Cameo / Parkway in the past (so long ago that neither are on the website anymore ... but you WILL find our interviews with John Madara there ... as well as our coverage from the recent Philadelphia International fire) ... hopefully still enough to interest some of YOUR website visitors, too! (kk)
re: DIGGIN' FORGOTTEN HITS: KK,
We would fade away without your site! Most people spent this morning doing the NY Times crossword puzzle. We spent our precious time reading every inch of Forgotten Hits. Your passion, for getting this info out to us is a gift from the heart. Forgotten Hits is our discovery of the fountain of youth!.
Thanks, you are the BEST!
Mare V.Z. and Family
I LOVE Forgotten Hits. I’m a retired (now in IT) jock from So Cal, but Chicago is my home, so you have probably never heard of me. But Biondi and Doremus got me interested in radio, and I kept it up for 20 years. Tom (aka: T. Michael Jordan … followed by 20 stations) Glad to have you on board, Tom ... share some of those radio memories with us from time to time! (kk)
re: NEXT WEEK IN FORGOTTEN HITS:
You'll find more of your comments in the days ahead ...
Tomorrow, we take one more look at The Ides Of March ...
On Tuesday, it's your "Last Blast Of Summer" / Summer Countdowns Comments ...
And then on Wednesday, another edition of our "Helping Out Our Readers" feature.
Kots of neat stuff in the days ahead ... so please stop back and visit! kk
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