Is FH broken? ... No postings since Wednesday, February 23, 2011? C'mon ... I need something to read while at work!!!! :-) Best, John
Not "broke" exactly ... (unless you mean financially, of course!) ... but we've certainly been overwhelmed these past few weeks ... and especially these past few days ... my work schedule for the past four weeks has consisted of mostly 12-14 hour days, leaving precious little time to work on Forgotten Hits ... so we've thrown together a "Double Whammy" Weekend again, chock full of recent comments. Enjoy! (kk)
re: THE MONKEES: Are the 45h Anniversary Tour rumors true? We've been speculating about it for months now ... and then just heard this bit of news:
MONKEES RE-UNITE IN THE U.K.
New York – 60s TV sensations The Monkees, Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, and Peter Tork, will appear today on England’s The One Show, to confirm the rumors are true -- they will be uniting to tour together for the first time in 20 years. Prior to the press announcement, Jones confirmed a new round of shows to begin in the U.K., where they will rehearse and perform ten initial dates in May. A tentative 30-date U.S. is also in the works and is targeted to kick off on June 3, 2011. Why get back together, after all these years? According to author Eric Lefcowitz, author of the recently-released book Monkee Business: The Revolutionary Made-For-TV Band “they are always guaranteed box office. Especially in this day and age, when it’s difficult to sell tickets and legacy rock acts are disappearing. Plus, it’s just a fun brand. Hearing Micky belting out hits like “I’m A Believer” and “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone,” and Davy’s classic performance of “Daydream Believer,” is usually worth the price of admission."
On a human interest level, there is also Tork’s recent throat cancer ordeal and hard-earned recovery. "Peter's courage in the face of such a major health scare is also compelling this time around," continues Lefcowitz, noting that Tork battled the disease and went straight back to performing live shows with his band, Shoe Suede Blues, within months of completing treatment. "A Monkees tour always produces some drama," he goes on to say. "From 1967, when Jimi Hendrix opened for them, to 1997 when they last toured together as a foursome, there's always some intrigue. When you think about it, there aren't any other TV show casts touring, unless you include recent arrivals like Glee and American Idol. So The Monkees are a rare breed, indeed.”
While it certainly hasn't been 20 years since the THREE Monkees have toured together, it is ALWAYS a VERY entertaining show. Keep watching Forgotten Hits for more details as they become available. (kk)
Kent ... If I was a D J, right now I'd be playing "Monkey Time" by Major Lance, 1963. Frank B.
The Monkees' European Dates are causing quite the buzz ... they were INCREDIBLY popular over there (and I can't believe a U.S. tour won't follow closely behind.) But apparently a quote attributed to Micky Dolenz has been circulating in Jolly Ol' England that simply isn't true ... so we heard this from Micky himself: Micky Dolenz: I wanted to call Forgotten Hits this morning to set the record straight.
(Apparently, with the burst of press this past Tuesday surrounding the upcoming U.K. reunion tour, starting on May 14 in Manchester, one of the articles incorrectly stated that Micky ‘didn’t like working with songwriters Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart.’ The pair wrote “Last Train to Clarksville” and the theme for their TV show. Here’s Micky's clarification:
I want to make it clear that I DID NOT make the comment that has been reported in some of the press that I did not like working with Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. That comment was made by my friend, Peter Tork, and wrongly attributed to me. Peter is, of course welcome to his opinion but, any of you who know me and my career knows that Tommy and Bobby were two of my best friends and I always enjoyed working and playing with them.
-- Micky Dolenz
We know this to be the case ... in fact, just recently Bobby Hart was telling me that he probably stays in contact with Micky the most out of all of The Monkees ... and let's not forget their time together as Dolenz, Jones, Boyce and Hart ... "The Guys Who Sang 'em and The Guys Who Wrote 'em"!!! Happy to help set the record straight, Micky! (kk)
And, speaking of Micky Dolenz, we just received THIS piece of news from FH Reader Marlene O'Malley:
Monkees’ Dolenz to headline summer concert series
By Ken Manson (Special to the Tribune Feb. 8 at 6:26 p.m.)
Elk Grove Village is getting a partner – the Elk Grove Park District — to help pay for the third year of its Mid-Summer Classics four-week concert series. The concert series has been dubbed “Unity Within the Community” and ends July 26 with music by Micky Dolenz of the Monkees.
The free concerts will be held at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays in July on the Village Green, located between Village Hall and the public library on Wellington Avenue. This year’s schedule is as follows:
July 5: The Lovin’ Spoonful
July 12: The Chicago Gold Revue
July 19: Eagles tribune band Hotel California
July 26: Micky Dolenz
Without a co-sponsor, village officials had considered scaling back the concert series with fewer headliners and more tribute bands. The village similarly cut its three annual fireworks shows from 24 to 18 minutes to save money, Mayor Craig Johnson said. The fireworks shows are during Rotary Fest in July, the Fourth of July and tree lighting in November.
Johnson said he mentioned to park board members that he wanted to keep the concert series on the same level as the previous year and was looking for a sponsor. The cost of the concert series will be $70,000, the same as last year, Johnson said, with the park district providing $30,000 and the village paying $40,000 from tobacco licensing fee revenue. The village would have budgeted the concert series at $40,000, without a sponsor, Johnson said.
“With this lineup, we’ll have a bigger and better event than we had before. We’re very excited about it,” park board President Tom Cooke said.
“This is an A-plus lineup we put together,” Johnson said.
With other communities cutting events to save money, “we think it’s important to provide free or very low-cost events to go to,” Johnson said.
He said the concerts also draw people from outside Elk Grove Village who help the local economy by spending money at local businesses.
Parking for the concerts is available at the Town Center shopping center at the southwest corner of Arlington Heights and Biesterfield roads, and at the Park District Pavilion at 1000 Wellington Ave. Bring a blanket or lawn chair as no seating is provided.
Wow, this is about the earliest I've seen the summer concert line-up announced. (Kinda hard to think about sitting out in lawn chairs when we're in the middle of a Winter Storm Advisory!!! lol But hey, I'd probably go to ALL of these!) Thanks, Marlene.
(Hmmm ... does this mean that The Monkees WON'T be touring here in July??? Is this solo show just a break in the action ... or something that'll end up being cancelled and rescheduled???) Inquiring minds want to know ... so stay tuned to Forgotten Hits for all the details. (By the way, we're hoping that Micky will report back to us from the road so we can all share in the U.K. Experience!!!) kk
re: UP-COMING PBS SHOWS: Hi Kent, Thank you so much for the My Music: Rock Pop and Doo Wop information!!! I met TJ Lubinsky when I was at one of his shows. I thanked him for putting all these entertainers together to preserve their legacy to the music world!!! Carolyn Without question, T.J. has put together some AMAZING concerts for PBS, featuring SO many of our favorite stars from years gone by. (He's got a '60's Spectacular coming up that TOTALLY lives up to its name!) Stay tuned for more details. (kk)
Regarding "Airplay" does Wild Bill know when PBS will air it in the Denver area and does Marlene know when it will air in Chicago? I have people in both areas who would want to watch it. Sue Patterson
Unfortunately, neither of these folks are going to know anything any sooner than film producer Carolyn Travis ... the dates she gave me are the "confirmed" air dates at this time ... several other stations around the country have committed to airing the program as well ... they just haven't locked into an air date yet. We'll keep you posted as things develop. (kk)
re: THE WRECKING CREW:
Speaking of The Wrecking Crew Documentary, we just got notice of a few more upcoming screenings ... if any of these are in YOUR area, do yourself a favor and check out this great film ... you'll be glad you did! (kk) March 5th - Cleveland, Ohio Center for Creative Arts @ Cuyahoga Community College Metro Campus (Hosted by The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame) Everything kicks off at 4 PM and "The Wrecking Crew" screening will take place at 7:30 PM RSVP required: david.kennedy@tri-c.edu March 13th - New York, NY (Hosted by Industry City in Brooklyn) 220 36th Street - Brooklyn, NY 11232 5 PM - Wine / Cheese Reception 6 PM - Film "Suggested Donations" required March 20th - Los Angeles, CA (Hosted by Vitellos Jazz and Supper Club) 4349 Tujunga Avenue Studio City, CA 91604 "Suggested Donations" required Film: 1 PM March 25th - Carlsbad, CA (Hosted by Museum of Making Music) 5790 Armada Drive Carlsbad, CA 92008 "Suggested Donations" required Film: 7 PM March 27th - Los Angeles, CA (Hosted by A & S Case Company and S.I.R.) 6465 Sunset Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90028 "Suggested Donations" required Film: 4 PM April 2nd - Ojai, CA (Hosted by K'ilat Ha Aloneem, Jewish Community Center) 530 West El Roblar Meiners Oaks, CA "Suggested Donations" required Film: 7:30 April 9th - Newington, CT (Hosted by Connecticut Vintage and Custom Drum Show) Sphinx Shriners Center 3066 Berlin Turnpike More info at CTDRUMSHOW@aol.com "Suggested Donations" required Film: 7:30 PM April 16th and 17th - Dallas, TX Dallas Market Hall (Hosted by Dangerous Guitar / The 34th Annual Dallas International Guitar Festival) 2200 North Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX Visit the website for The 34th Annual Dallas International Guitar Festival for more details
And, for MORE great movie music this weekend, tune into The True Oldies Channel ... Scott Shannon is doing a "Hollywood Hits" Weekend ... and "Goldfinger" CERTAINLY belongs on the play list!!! (kk)
re: JIM PETERIK:
Enjoyed seeing the photo of Jim Peterik! Keep up the GREAT work.
Carolyn Jimmy's a hoot, isn't he?!?! Surprised to see he was at the Grammys ... but glad to see that he dressed for the occasion! (lol) kk
re: OTHER OLDIES FACTS AND COMMENTS: Kent, I don't know if this has ever been covered on FH, but just ran across the explanation for how the guitar solo was done on Marmalade's "Reflections of My Life." Fascinating! David Lewis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflections_of_My_Life Nope, we've never covered this before ... and, until today, I never knew the details. Always great to hear the "behind the scenes" stories of how this great music was recorded. Marmalade were MUCH more successful back home in Jolly Ol' England (where they had eleven Top 40 Hits, including a #1 with their cover version of The Beatles' tune "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da"). They also did an OUTSTANDING version of "Lovin' Things", the song WE best know as by The Grass Roots. Here in The U.S., "Reflections Of My Life" was their only Top 40 Hit. It reached #3 in The U.K.and stopped at #7 here in The States in Cash Box Magazine. (It was a #2 Hit here in Chicago!) Ironically, the original "radio version" of the single ELIMINATED the guitar solo you're referring to ... I absolutely LOVED the song and bought the 45 ... and was completely SHOCKED to hear the extended guitar solo when I brought the record home and played it. Honestly, I never liked it ... by this point, I was SO used to hearing the "abridged" version that the long version just never sounded right to me! Of course now, some 40 years later, the "long version" has been the ONLY version that's been played for so long that I imagine the "short" version would just sound wrong!!! I also always thought that Marmalade sounded an AWFUL lot like The Bee Gees on this song ... The Brothers Gibb had just recently gotten back together and, by years end, would be topping the charts with their comeback hit "Lonely Days". "Reflections Of My Life" is one of those songs that always seems to get that "Oh My God, I LOVE This Song!!!" reactions whenever it comes on ... which, quite frankly, isn't often enough to my mind. Even Paige (at the ripe old age of 14) LOVES the song and often asks me to play it for her when she's getting ready for school. (Oldies Radio ... you're ignoring another REALLY good one here!!!) kk
Kent, I was going through my library here at home and looking at some of my books and magazines. My books and magazines are of two types: Movies and / or television, and music and / or records. I don't know if you have discussed this in FH in the past, but have you ever had mention of collectors magazines in FH? I am familiar with KEEP ROCKIN' even though I don't subscribe to it. I know that you can only get it online. What I am talking about is two publications which came out in the seventies, RECORD EXCHANGER and BIM BAM BOOM (Hey, that sounds like a good title for a song). Both publications ceased publication years ago. I am fortunate to have all copies. Larry Music Magazine have come up from time to time over the years in Forgotten Hits, but we've never really devoted any special space to these ... although I know there are a number of readers out there who have built a sizeable collection. (At one point in time, I had EVERY single issue of "Goldmine" ... but ended up selling the majority of them because they just took up too much space and I never had the time to look at them!!! Even now, I've probably got about a dozen boxes jam packed with old Cash Box Magazine sitting in my garage that I just know I will NEVER go through ... they're in varying conditions and, at one point, I thought it'd be neat to scan old ads and articles and feature them in the newsletter ... I even went out and bought a custom-sized scanner to do so ... and then featured about three ads and never used it again!!! So if anybody has an interest in these, drop me a note!) Meanwhile, I'll also pass along the email address for Jack Levin, who has been selling music magazines for DECADES now, both at local record shows and on eBay. He, too, has an ENORMOUS collection so if you're into this sort of thing, drop him a note and let him know what you're looking for. I've known Jack for about 30 years now and, despite this fact, he's STILL talking to me!!! (lol) You can reach him at: rockandrollneverforgets@yahoo.com As far as collectors magazines are concerned, I only have a handful of Goldmines left, having donated all of them to ALS years ago. I have a couple boxes of the UK publication, Record Collector and some other odds and ends. The bulk of my collection is Rolling Stone, Illinois Entertainers, Guitar mags, Mojo & Q. There's Hit Parader, Circus, Creem, Trouser Press, Record, Song Hits, Uncut and a couple boxes of country magazines as well. Jack If any of this piques your interest, drop Jack a line at the email address above. (kk)
Here's a cool newspaper clipping sent into us by FH Reader Stacee ... AMAZING the capital being brought in by Branson's Entertainment Troups! (kk)
re: MORE GREAT FORGOTTEN HITS:
Here's one of my favorite Classic Hits, by Eddie Rabbitt, "Suspicions", 1979. Thought it did much better on the record charts, but I was probably listening to C&W radio stations, because that's what my ex and her brother liked. Sadly, while it sounded good on radio, it sounded sort of bland on CD, so I had to give it my Y2K sound enhancement. Bad enough I have to do this with your Oldies! (Can't believe I have to do it with music recorded in 1979!) :-) http://www.angelfire.com/empire/abpsp/images/suspicions.mp3 John Actually, this was a pretty big hit ... #1 on Billboard's Country Singles Chart and a #13 cross-over hit on Billboard's Pop Chart ... doesn't get much better than that! Eddie Rabbitt is one of those artists who deserved much better than he got on the pop charts ... MOST of his music had mass audience appeal ... too many folks just never got a chance to hear it. Even so, he still managed six Top 20 Pop Hits, including a #1 Single. ("I Love A Rainy Night", 1981). "Drivin' My Life Away" (my personal favorite) and "Step By Step" both peaked at #5 and "You And I", his duet with Crystal Gayle, reached #7. Eddie TRULY is an artist who was gone too soon. (He died of cancer back in 1998.) Another hit that absolutely should have scored pop, country and easy listening is 1978's "You Don't Love Me Anymore" ... featured today in Forgotten Hits. (kk)
By the way, after featuring your two custom remixed Beach Boys tracks the other day, I received this email from Phil Miglioratti, who runs the "Pray For Surf" website (and is a MAJOR, MAJOR Beach Boys Fan!) High praise indeed for your efforts! (kk) Love the Beach Boys cuts - they sound pristine! Phil Click here: Pray For Surf The Beach Boys - I Can Hear Music - w/countdown (1969) While this (studio work in progress) stereo mix sounds (vocal) unbalanced, its overall clarity is nice. Nice harmony. Love the vocal ending of this snippet! Edited ... http://www.angelfire.com/empire/abpsp/images/hearmusic.mp3 Stay tuned to Radio KKFH for other Top 40 rarities and oddities from Gene Pitney, The 4 Seasons and others. Best, Jersey John
Hi Kent, I don't know whether you have the Merry Clayton original of "It's In His Kiss", but I'm attaching it for you. Forgive me if you've posted this on Forgotten Hits - I'm still working my way through your archived posts. Thanks again for your wonderful blog - I check it every day. Best wishes, Marie Several people have done this song over the years (most notably Cher, who took HER remake all the way to #33 in 1991 after she included it in her "Mermaids" film) ... and the original HIT version, of course, belongs to Betty Everett, who scored a #6 Pop Hit with it back in early 1964. Merry Clayton cut her version (backed by The Blossoms and produced by the legendary Jack Nitzsche) about eight months earlier ... and it went absolutely NOWHERE! The song was written by Rudy Clark (while he was signed to Bobby Darin's TM Publishing Company) as "It's In His Kiss" but Everett's version charted as "The Shoop Shoop Song" (which confused a WHOLE lotta record buyers back in the day, much as "The Rain, The Park And Other Things" by The Cowsills would several years later.) That's because just a few weeks before Betty Everett's single was released, ANOTHER artist put out THEIR version of "It's In His Kiss" (Ramona King) and Vee Jay Records (who released the Everett version) didn't want to lose sales to a competing version ... so they changed the title hoping that record buyers would ask for it by name to insure sales being recorded to the proper version. (For the record, it worked ... King's version never charted either!) Believe it or not, this '60's classic was first offered to ... and rejected by ... one of the premier Girl Groups of the era ... The Shirelles! Nope, we've never featured the Merry Clayton version before ... so thanks for sharing ... and giving us a chance to talk a little bit about this tune! (kk)
Kent, You are the man and you are number one in my book. I just got home from work and played your FH for today, EVERYONE'S GONE TO THE MOON by Jonathan King. The first thing that came to my mind was the 1966 recording of IT'S GOOD NEWS WEEK by the group Hedgehoppers Anonymous aka Jonathan King, also on Parrot Records. Would you believe I just now played that record three times in a row. Always did like that record. I have a strange feeling (hey, that would be a great title for a song by someone like Billy Stewart) that IT'S GOOD NEWS WEEK was a bigger hit in Chicago than it was here in OKC. While playing IT'S GOOD NEWS WEEK, it reminded me of another record which came out in 1967 on Epic Records, RUN RUN RUN by the group Third Rail. Lyrics to both were about the same subject. A lot of times your FH reminds me or triggers my mind about another song which I haven't heard in ages. Larry Thanks again for the kind words ... this just means that we're doing our job, gettin' those wheels turnin'! "It's Good News Week" WAS a HUGE hit here in Chicago (#3, 1966) ... and "Run Run Run" by Third Rail did pretty well, too! (#19, 1967) We have featured BOTH of these tunes at one time or another over the past several years ... and ALWAYS get a good reaction. (kk)
Love Monday's Forgotten Hit choice...Everyone's Gone to the Moon has always been a favorite of mine. I did not know whose song it was though. I went on youtube to see what else Jonathan King had done. I was amazed to see what an accomplished man he is. Singer, songwriter, author etc. While I was checking him out another song came up ... Good News Week. I listened to it and it did not have a verse in it that I remember well ... the one about the sacred cows. I read some of the comments from the people and one person said that the version with Asia and the sacred cows was banned in the U.S. I live in the U.S. and that is where I heard it ... can you explain? Stacee It may have been banned in some areas (which hampered the record's national success) but it was played here in Chicago, too, and was a BIG hit ... #3 in fact! (kk)
Kent, I have mentioned to you before in the past that occasionally when I see a song mentioned on your website, that it sometimes reminds me of another song or two. Today's FH is no exception in a way. Here in OKC, Gene and Debbe's recordings were big, from the PLAYBOY which was your FH, to LOVIN' SEASON and GO WITH ME. PLAYBOY, of course, not to be confused with the song by the same title recorded earlier by the Marvellettes. Remember Gene Thomas' SOMETIME in 1961 on UA? Bigger record here in OKC than nationally I believe. Anyway, when I saw the artists' names of Gene and Debbe, a song but another group came to my mind. Remember Jon and Robin? Larry Lol - Jon and Robin's hit "Do It Again (Just A Little Bit Slower)" is TOMORROW'S Forgotten Hit - because I thought they sounded great together, too! You just beat me to the punch by about three hours - but I've had this "combo" planned for weeks now! (See, great minds really DO think alike!) kk Kent, In addition to Jon and Robin's "Do it Again (Just a Little Bit Slower)" which was big here in OKC, they also had two other records big here in OKC, "I Want Some More" and "You Got Style" from 1967 and 1968 respectively. Jon Abnor had a record in 1963 which made our survey with a song called "You're Losing That Old Feeling", all records being of course on the record label Abnak. In fact, Jon Abnor's record from 1963 was record label number 101. Now I just have one question to ask you. You mentioned that great minds really DO think alike. Mine and whose else? Lol Larry We featured the Jon and Robin Hit on Thursday. Strangely enough, their other two national chart hits were NOT the two you mentioned ... "Drums" spent two weeks at #100 later in 1967 and "Dr. Jon (The Medicine Man)" reached #87 in March of '68. Gene Thomas' "Sometime" went to #53 in 1961 ... but his follow-up charter sounds interesting ... according to Joel Whitburn's book, Gene's #84 Billboard Hit from 1964, "Baby's Gone", was written by Roy Orbison and Bobby Goldsboro! It'd be neat to hear THAT one!!! (kk) And, thanks to Tom Diehl, we can! (Sure sounds like a Roy Orbison tune to me!!!) Bobby Goldsboro played guitar in Roy Orbison's band back in the early '60's and, according to DeeJay Jim Shea, the opening guitar riff from Bobby's hit "Little Things" is simply a reworking of Roy's "Oh, Pretty Woman" riff played backwards! (kk)
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