Overall, the response has been GREAT for our brand new feature
"TODAY'S FORGOTTEN HIT", which can be found Monday - Friday
in the upper right hand corner of the Forgotten Hits Web Page.
Here's a case where you TRULY "never know what we're going to play next" ...
Now all we need to do is get a few of the deejays on the list to add this feature to their daily programming ... but I think it's coming ...
It's FORGOTTEN HITS RADIO at its very best!
Here's what some of you have been saying so far:
I'm lovin' the new feature! I noticed it last week when you posted Star by Stealers Wheel and have been checking it every day since.
Keep up the good work!
Ed
It's a nice way to keep us focused on our original vision here ... we kicked off this brand new feature on January 3rd with "No Fair At All" by The Association, followed by "No Love At All" by B.J. Thomas, the aforementioned "Star" by Stealers Wheel (in conjunction with our Gerry Rafferty tribute), "Woman" by Peter and Gordon and, on Paul Revere's 73rd Birthday (last Friday, the 7th), "The Great Airplane Strike" ... seriously, when's the last time you heard ANY of these tunes played on conventional oldies radio???
We followed THOSE Forgotten Hits up with "We've Got To Get It On Again" by The Addrisi Brothers, "White Lies, Blue Eyes" by Bullet, "Birthday" by Underground Sunshine, "Third Rate Romance" by The Amazing Rhythm Aces and "Ressurrection Shuffle" by Ashton, Gardner and Dyke this past week ... and have five more surprises planned for you next week, too!
Hopefully, for some of the jocks on the list, this provides an excuse to step off the well-beaten path once a day and feature something that will make your audience perk up and listen. We'll see how it goes (because it's also one more weekday commitment on my plate to keep this up) ... but so far the reaction has been very good. Jocks, let us know if you've incorporated this feature into YOUR program ... and we'll tell the folks when and where to listen!!! (kk)
We've Got To Get It On Again should have been a much bigger hit!
Clete
I agree ... but, since we can't change history, perhaps at the very least, maybe this will spark a deejay or two to give it a spin on their program today! (kk)
Birthday by Underground Sunshine ... I own this 45. Truthfully, I always liked this one better than the Beatles. I think it's a little rawer sound and I like that. I did not know Underground Sunshine was from Wisconsin. Go Wisconsin ... my home state.
Stacee
>>>I like the new "Forgotten Hit Of The Day Feature" and I hope some of the jocks on the list pick up on this and schedule it as part of their Monday thru Friday programming. This week's candidates featured a few surprises -- but also reminded me that SOME songs are forgotten for a reason! (Dennis)
>>>Yeah, they're not all personal favorites of mine, either ... but I've found that just HEARING one of these "Wow! Factor" songs brightens up my day ... ANYTHING to break from the same old / same old being driven home on a constant basis. (I heard "Scorpio" by Dennis Coffey the other day ... again, not one of my favorites ... but when's the last time you heard THAT one?!?!? And, once again, it's a legitimate Top Five Hit!) kk
When was the last time? After I bought a CD that featured it. Personally thought it was a great song / instrumental. Interesting that you can hear someone yelling "Grab it, Babbitt!" to bass player, Bobby Babbitt, during the recording ... http://www.angelfire.com/empire/abpsp/images/scorpio.mp3
Best,
John
Proof again that if you want to hear some of these obscurities, you're probably going to have to play them yourself ... despite the fact that these were all legitimate hit records. Well, we're aiming to change all of that. Call your oldies radio station and tell them that you want to hear our brand new "Today's Forgotten Hit" feature ... maybe we really CAN fight city hall!!! (kk)
By the way, I found this regarding Dennis Coffey (and others) and Sussex Records ...
"The company folded in July of 1975 with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) padlocking the offices and auctioning off all the assets due to unpaid federal and state taxes amounting to $62,000. Sussex Records was the home of Bill Withers, Rodriguez, Gallery, The Presidents, Wadsworth Mansion, and others. Bill Withers' Sussex recordings were later purchased by Columbia Records, who he signed with in 1975."
Explains, to some degree, why a lot of Sussex Records material is ripped from vinyl, for CD editions. Makes me wonder where the session tapes actually went and who confiscated them and where they were possibly auctioned. Most CDs with The Presidents' hit record are mastered from vinyl and sound hideous. Other Sussex artists don't sound quite as bad, but could be better.
John
Kent,
I’ve taken the liberty of forwarding your mail “Calling all Dee Jays” to several of our DJ contacts. I hope you get some good feedback. That’s a novel idea.
Take care and stay healthy.
All the best to you and yours,
Nick A. Pociask (bass / baritone vocal)
The Skyliners
(Jimmy, Donna, Rick, Nick)
Thanks, Nick! In fact, we've already heard back from one of them! (kk)
Just wanted to let you know that I've already thanked Nick from The Skyliners for forwarding me this information. There is a lot of interesting stuff included in your column. Will have to check it out regularly.
Bill Howard
Wow!!!! I knew both of those songs by the Addrisi Brothers ... I just didn't know I knew them! Thanks for the direct deposit on Saturday and again on Monday. I check the FH site every day to see what interesting, entertaining and fun things you have for us but it is so nice to see the reminder in my email. At the risk of sounding like a pathetic loser that needs to get a life ... it's almost like getting a little present and it feels more special to get the reminder in my email than it does just to go to the FH site on my own to see what's new. Either way I am there.
Stacee
And that's EXACTLY what Forgotten Hits is all about. ALL this music is still locked away SOMEWHERE in the vault up there ... we're just here to stimulate those brain cells and make you sing along again!!! (Of course if radio was doing THEIR job, then there'd be no reason for us to do ours ... but since it doesn't look like that'll change anytime soon, I think we may still be in business here for a while!!!) Meanwhile, we'll continue to send out reminders from time to time when we can (for as long as the AOL Terms Of Service Police allow us to do so) ... but you guys REALLY have to get in the habit of checking the site on your own ... or you're bound to miss something ... hopefully, this brand new "Today's Forgotten Hit" feature will be one more incentive to do so. And your reaction is EXACTLY what we're looking for ... songs you haven't even THOUGHT about in ages that come rushing back to you as soon as you hear them again. It's what we've been preaching for going on twelve years now ... so now we're out to prove a point! (kk)
Kent,
I just checked out "Today's Forgotten Hit",and I think you have a winner!
If possible, would you repost them in the Sunday Comments,so most of us can add them to our playlists? Just an idea.
Keep printing out the blog,and I'll keep reading every word of it, and telling everyone else to sign on!
Happy days!
Don
I think part of the appeal of this feature is that they're there "for one day only" ... which forces folks to visit the website regularly during the week (our BIGGEST readership is ALWAYS The Sunday Comments Page ... and, quite often, that's where many folks catch up on whatever they may have missed earlier in the week). Of course, if we get a few jocks on board to start playing these as a regular feature on their programs, we can let listeners know where to tune in and listen ... and then it's a win / win for everybody! Honestly, our goal isn't to make these tracks available for downloading ('cause that would just be WRONG!) but rather to spark a memory bank or two ... and, if you're interested, have you search out some of these tracks and purchase them for your own collections. (Actually, it's REALLY designed to be played right from the website ... in MP3-quality sound ... so that ANY jock on the list can incorporate this feature right into their regular programming.) And, I believe it all makes for better radio ... the "Wow Factor" song we keep talking about ... and, if deejays play it smart and begin to schedule this as a new feature of their programming, "appointment radio" to get their listeners to tune in at a specific time of day to hear "Today's Forgotten Hit"!!! I really like the "immediacy" of it all ... like I said, if you miss it today, it's gone ... so you've just GOT to come to the site and check it out to see what we picked next! (kk)
OK, I'm hooked! I am LOVIN' this new "Today's Forgotten Hit" feature. I can't believe how many of these great songs I forgot about -- but the moment I hear them, it all comes back to me. Thanks again for everything you do to keep this music alive.
Dave
Hence the name ... Forgotten Hits!!! The memories are still there ... radio just hasn't CHALLENGED you for the past 25 years!!! C'mon, jocks ... what are you waiting for??? Get on The Forgotten Hits Bandwagon and start giving your listeners something they didn't even know they were missing!!!
(Side Note to Scott Shannon: Hey, maybe it's time to do The True Oldies Channel / Forgotten Hits Weekend again ... One You Know ... One You Didn't Even Know You Forgot!!!) kk
Isn't it amazing how you can not hear a song for 20 or 25 years and then the minute it comes on you can still sing along with every word? That just shows you how much a part of our lives this music truly was. Thank you for reminding us every day with your new "Today's Forgotten Hit" feature.
Ellen
Imagine that ... radio that STIMULATES your mind and challenges your memory banks ... what a concept! Let's face it, as much as we LOVE the oldies ... and you KNOW that we do ... at some point, after hearing the same songs over and over and over again, you DO start to drift off ... tune out ... or, worse yet, change the channel. It's just a simple fact of life. But if you knew that every few hours or so you were going to hear a song that you REALLY hadn't heard in a while ... or that once a day at 10 AM you could tune in to hear "Today's Forgotten Hit" ... I really do think your listeners will respond. Think I'm crazy? Then put it to the test. Try this concept for a week or two and see what kind of reaction you get. We've only been posting these now for the past two weeks and already have been swamped with positive responses. Seriously, what have you got to lose? Give it a shot and see what happens! (kk)
Kent,
I USED to be a radio DJ ... my moniker was "Your Boogie Buddie Billy Parker" ... and I was the midnite man on Ventura FM Country Station KBBQ. I kicked off every shift with Dave Dudley's 'Six Days On the Road', and I was actually 'spinning records' back then, around 1981, before digital tracks and all the electronic gadgetry the stations have these days. All I had was a board, two turntables, an eight track 'cart' player, and the old regular round knob pots to mix with. After I got fired at KBBQ for insubordination I went to work for Mike Thomas and Jim Barker at Ojai radio station KOVA, and, in fact, Roger Christian showed up one day there at the station to start work there, too, and what a great reunion we had, since he was the Moonrakers manager in the '60s. He got us a contract on Capital subsidiary Tower Records, and in those days he was a BIG TIME DJ in LA and he was also writing songs like Little Deuce Coupe and Don't Worry Baby with Brian Wilson, and Dead Man's Curve for Jan and Dean. I'm not on the air now. As you know I'm doing one-man shows for birthday parties in convalescent hospitals and senior communities, and I enjoy every day of my work.
Anyway, my reason for writing you is this ... over the years, I had to do some local ad sales as part of my DJ 'duties' and I'll tell you, if I was selling NOW, I'd grab that idea of yours for the "Today's Forgotten Hit" feature IMMEDIATELY ... TOMORROW ... and I'd find sponsors for at least one in every SHIFT and make the station and myself some extra money with those sponsorships, FOR SURE!!! That's a GREAT idea. Our mutual friend Wild Bill Cody is working as a DJ in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and I have a hunch HE'LL be running with your idea.
You're doing a super job with all your stories, comments, and ideas, KK, so here's to a VERY HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR for you, your family, the Forgotten Hits Newsletter, and everything else you're involved in this year. Veeder Van Dorn / The Moonrakers
Thanks, Veeder. (Hey, maybe you SHOULD go into radio sales!!! You've got ME convinced this is a hit!) kk
What a scam! First you get us to go to the website on our own every day without the friendly email reminders ... and now you've got us going back again to see what Today's Forgotten Hits is going to be! It's like you're pumping crack cocaine right into our veins ... and I, for one, don't want to miss a thing! We may all be oldies junkies but I'm lovin' every minute of it.
Keep up the great work ... and don't ever stop spinning those Forgotten Hits ... oldies radio needs you!
Rick
So it's working?!?!? Cool!!! (kk)
HOW ABOUT A SATURDAY BONUS:
The "Today's Forgotten Hit" feature is designed to run Monday - Friday on The Forgotten Hits Website ... that way deejays can tie it into the regular weekday programming. But here's a special Saturday Bonus for you today ...
In fact, it's a Two-Fer by The Dave Clark Five!
In 1964 they scored a Top 20 Hit with "Everybody Knows (I Still Love You)", which peaked at #15 on The Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. It was one of SEVEN Top 20 Singles the band would enjoy that year! (Incredible!!!) They had five more Top 20 Hits in 1965 (including their first and only official #1 Record, "Over And Over") and then added three more Top 20's in 1966.
In late 1967, they placed their final record on the charts ... with another song called "Everybody Knows"!!! (A completely DIFFERENT track, this is actually one of the best ballads the band ever recorded ... yet by then they had fallen out of favor with the more progressive, psychedelic sounds of the day ... as such, the record stalled at #41 in Cash Box Magazine.)
Today we give you BOTH versions of "Everybody Knows" ... certainly at least ONE of these deserves a spin this weekend!!! (kk)
