re: DON'T MISS THE LABOR DAY 500:
The list officially hits the web this morning ... check it out to see where your favorites came in! (Ron Smith has been tabulating this list for ages now ... and it's an honest and accurate portrait of oldies music fans' favorite tunes. Votes come in from literally around the world!)
I think it's pretty safe to say that there aren't very many surprises in most of The Top 11 ... "Hey Jude" by The Beatles, "Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones, "American Pie" by Don McLean, "Like A Rolling Stone" by Bob Dylan, "In The Still Of The Night" by The Five Satins, "Rock Around The Clock" by Bill Haley and the Comets", "My Girl" by The Temptations and "Oh, Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison all seem to do well on these types of list year after year after year ... and, as such, are also regular oldies radio mainstays ... but check out #12!!!
"Ame Caline" ("Soul Coaxing") by Raymond LeFevre?!?!?
Actually, Ron tells us that this song has ALWAYS done well on his chart, probably due to so many foreign readers ... but when this song was first released back in 1968, it never climbed higher than #36 on the national charts. The Beatles placing THREE songs in The Top Ten were a bit of a surprise ... (besides "Hey Jude", you'll also find "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and "Get Back" there) ... and "I Feel Fine", "Yesterday" and "She Loves You" join these three in The Top 20, giving The Fab Four an incredible 30% of The Top 20 Favorite Tunes! By comparison, you won't find a single Elvis Presley tune posted there. (Elvis makes his first Labor Day Chart Appearance at #26 with "Can't Help Falling In Love".)
Sadly, nobody's counting down the list this weekend ... this would be a fun bit of radio to listen to ... but you can check it out in its entirety right here:
re: THE BEATLES:
At one time I had a complete set of those Beatles cards, too ... the black and white ones AND the color ones that came out a year later. Had the pins and buttons ... and I think I still have MY copy of that "Help" paperback book around here somewhere, too! The little plastic dolls and the blow-up dolls ... all kinds of stuff that today you'd have to pay a small fortune for to pick up again. All the old 16 Magazines (and Beatles Spectaculars) ... yep, they certainly were a money-making machine for an awful lot of people (if not always themselves!) Thanks, Clark! (kk)
More ... Beatles 1966 Cleveland WIXY concert ticket (HEY, I just realized I worked on CD reissues by two of the Beatles' opening acts from the '66 tour, the Remains and Cyrkle!), Denver "Help!" movie ticket, (Wild Bill comments about the Beatles concert in Denver. Would you like to see KIMN chart from then?), Dan Donovan of WMEX Boston (station Lujack came from when heading to 'CFL and a decades long stint on Chicago radio) stating that the Beatles run might be thru -- IN APRIL, 1964!!. Freddie Lennon photo. KC 1964 Beatles ticket. Charlie O'Finley, owner of the KC Athletics baseball team (later Oakland A's), wanted the Beatles to perform onstage in A's uniforms!! Did NOT happen! I have WHB KC concert contest audio for the event. KILT Houston concert ticket. This entire concert has been recorded and bootlegged. A 1963 Tommy Roe / Beatles poster. Butcher cover Capitol document.
Clark Besch
Kent,
I am glad you are featuring a few solo Beatle songs this week. Although I try to do my part and play them, I can't believe how radio has ignored many of the solo hits by the Fab 4. George Harrison's Crackerbox Palace, This Song, Blow Away, All Those Years Ago. Ringo's Oh My My, Photograph, or A Dose of Rock and Roll, John Lennon's #9 Dream, Mind Games, and Nobody Told Me. There are way too many Paul McCartney songs to mention. One of my faves came out on the London Town album and only charted at #25 in Billboard. I've Had Enough is one of his better rockers of the late 70s, along with Getting Closer (from Back To the Egg) which made it to number 20. Sir Paul doesn't seem to play many solo songs from that era. I did read that he played Coming Up on the recent tour.
Phil - Wrco
As you can see, we featured a few of your favorites this week. (I've always loved "I've Had Enough", too ... and it's a pretty obscure one ... but I think I came up with a couple of good Paul tunes!) When I saw McCartney in 1989, he still had Hamish Stuart in his back-up band ... and when they did "Coming Up" (another personal favorite, by the way!), the instrumental break morphed into "Pick Up The Pieces" by Hamish's old band, The Average White Band. Made for kind of a cool concert highlight. Paul now insists that it was John Lennon's hearing of "Coming Up" that inspired him to "get up off his arse and start making music again" ... the results of which became the "Double Fantasy" album. I'd never heard that story before ... but have heard Paul tell it two or three times now recently. (kk)
By the way, you'll find more on Paul below in the 9-11 section below.
Kent:
I don't think you should have "chickened out" on featuring the John Lennon song WOMAN IS THE "NIGGER" OF THE WORLD ... it could have been even "worse" -- Lennon could have titled the song WOMAN IS A "JEW" IN A "NAZI" WORLD ... an even racier metaphor to convey the same message with ...
Metaphors are what metaphors do, I guess -- but it's up to us to "lose the dogma".
Tal Hartsfeld
It really wasn't a case of "chickening out" ... actually, I've featured "Woman Is The Nigger Of The World" before ... and I guess simply printing the title serves as much purpose as the song ever did. Honestly, I like the music on this track ... while John Lennon is best known and remembered for creating his own distinctive melodies, I love tracks like "Woman Is The Nigger Of The World", "The Ballad Of John And Yoko" and "Starting Over" where John puts all of that to the side and just returns to his true rock and roll roots. While I don't know that ANY of those three songs would qualify as his best work, there's a certain "feel" to the sound of all three that harken back to what first hooked John in the first place ... the very raw essence of "Rock and Roll Music" ... another song he sang extremely well! Not great songs perhaps ... but great records.
In hindsight, I don't care for very much of John's political stuff. In effect all he really accomplished with these records was dating himself. I don't see any radio stations rushing to add tracks like "Power To The People" or "Woman Is The Nigger Of The World" to their playlists ... likewise his "primal scream" tracks like "Cold Turkey" and "Mother". (Honestly, save it's message and catchy chorus, even "Give Peace A Chance" is pretty much a throw-away.) Let's face it, for all his efforts, John did a whole lot more to change the world as part of The Beatles than he ever did as a political activist. In the process, really GOOD songs that could have potentially been hits were left as album tracks ... the "Imagine" album gave us "Crippled Inside", "Give Me Some Truth" and "How Do You Sleep", all big radio hits, but "Jealous Guy" could stand today as one of John's great classics had it been promoted and released as a single. (He probably didn't want to follow a ballad with another ballad, hot on the heels of his #2 record "Imagine".) Meanwhile, "Mind Games" gave us "One Day At A Time" and "Only People", songs that proved listener-friendly years later. Honestly, Lennon's single output from 1969 - 1973 yielded only three singles that can still be considered radio hits: "Instant Karma" (#3, 1970); "Imagine" (#2, 1971) and "Mind Games" (#10, 1973). Everything else ... the aforementioned "Give Peace A Chance", "Cold Turkey", "Mother", "Power To The People" and "Woman Is The Nigger of the World" ... will most likely remain "missing in action" for the rest of time. I just don't see any new generations discovering this music and saying, "Wow ... that was REALLY something!" (kk)
re: 9-11:
As we draw near the tenth anniversary of 9-11, I'm sure many of us will be reflecting on just how much the world has changed since that traumatic event. Here's a note from our old DJ Buddy Jim Shea ... along with a clip that clearly moved him. (kk):
Since I no longer have a radio show, I was hoping you could share with your vast readership a really amazing song that I would certainly play if I did. "The Reading of the Names", by Jon Morrell and Tony Leventhal, two brothers, NYC born and raised. It is currently posted on You Tube and getting wonderful reviews.
Not really sure what you had planned for 9/11 ... but, as I said, this is something I'd be sharing with everyone, so I'm hoping you will.
Jim Shea
Happy to pass this along, Jim ... I think our readers will appreciate it. Apparently collectively known as The Aldente Brothers, it's a powerful piece ... and well worth watching. (kk)
According to the new issue of TV Guide, there are already 20 television specials planned to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of 9-11 ... including a brand new, two hour documentary on Paul McCartney planning the benefit concert that took place shortly thereafter. Some updated specials about the rebuilding process ... and the permanent scars left on the hearts and souls of those closest to the victims. (kk)
THIS JUST IN!: In fact, if you feel like shelling out $15 per ticket, you can see a screening of the new Paul McCartney / 911 Showtime Television Special before it airs!
SPECIAL SCREENINGS - 8TH SEPTEMBER 2011
The Love We Make chronicles Paul's experiences in New York City following the September 11, 2001 attacks and how his experiences lead to the all-star Concert for New York City held at Madison Square Garden. Joining with legendary filmmaker and old acquaintance, Albert Maysles, this inspiring film is a unique study of how a person -- famous since he was twenty-one years old -- navigates a world with which he is determined to remain engaged.
The 8th September screenings will provide the first opportunity to view this incredible and intimate cinematic document, prior to its broadcast premiere September 10 on SHOWTIME. All proceeds from the screenings will benefit MyGoodDeed – the respected nonprofit organization which leads the 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance
New York, NY - Regal Battery Park Stadium 11
Los Angeles, CA - Regal LA Live Stadium 14
Boston, MA - Regal Fenway Stadium 13 & RPX
San Francisco, CA - Regal Hacienda Crossings Stadium 20 & IMAX
Houston, TX - Edwards Houston Marq'E Stadium 23 & IMAX
Chicago, IL - Regal Webster Place 11
Washington, DC - Regal Gallery Place Stadium 14
Atlanta, GA - Regal Atlantic Station Stadium 16 & IMAX Use any American Express® Card to purchase tickets for an exclusive screening for Paul McCartney’s The Love We Make! *Price $15.00 per ticket, limit 4 tickets per Cardmember
The Love We Make will be broadcast on Showtime 10th September at 9:00pm ET/PT
www.paulmccartney.com
Los Angeles, CA - Regal LA Live Stadium 14
Boston, MA - Regal Fenway Stadium 13 & RPX
San Francisco, CA - Regal Hacienda Crossings Stadium 20 & IMAX
Houston, TX - Edwards Houston Marq'E Stadium 23 & IMAX
Chicago, IL - Regal Webster Place 11
Washington, DC - Regal Gallery Place Stadium 14
Atlanta, GA - Regal Atlantic Station Stadium 16 & IMAX Use any American Express® Card to purchase tickets for an exclusive screening for Paul McCartney’s The Love We Make! *Price $15.00 per ticket, limit 4 tickets per Cardmember
The Love We Make will be broadcast on Showtime 10th September at 9:00pm ET/PT
www.paulmccartney.com
re: ON THE RADIO:
>>>Here in Chicago, one of the most popular radio features is when The Drive (WDRV - 97.1 FM) plays their A-Z collection ... it, too runs for about eight or nine days ... but their catalog is so deep that there are new additions and surprises every time they run this special. (kk)
Let's face some facts ... if their idea of a great radio feature was so great, it would spread like wildfire to other competing stations. Besides, you glorify these Chicago radio stations only because you reside there.
Jersey John
Jersey John
This from the guy who signs his emails "Jersey John" ... and uses ANY excuse to tell me which artists hail from the great state of New Jersey?!?! Come on ... play fair!!!
As a matter of fact, if you actually READ Forgotten Hits, you'll find that we have found PLENTY wrong with radio here in Chicago over the past twelve years ... and have noted (and suggested) ALL kinds of things that could be improved. (Read the posting below yours if you want to see a REAL "class act"!!!)
But the fact is, The Drive's version of A - Z and the way it's structured could play well ANYWHERE it aired ... and I made that very statement the last time I talked to Bob Stroud a month or so ago ... not because it's a Chicago Radio Feature ... but because it's an absolute FACT. Tell you what ... next time it's running, tune in for a few days ... and THEN write me back and tell me whether or not you agree. (kk)
And here's another example of a radio station doing it right. I got birthday card greetings from several stations this year ... but this one (pardon the expression) took the cake! (Nothing like making your listeners feel special and appreciated!!!)
Happy Birthday FirstName from 94.7 WLS-FM!
Thanks, guys ... the sincerity of your message really hits home with me! (kk)
Dashing out the door ... but it looks like we've already received enough comments to fill the entire holiday weekend ... so be sure to check back for more all weekend long! Have a nice, long weekend! (kk)
