And we'll have New Year's related pieces Friday and Saturday, too ...
But today we're clearing the decks for the end of the year.
Here are a couple of comments we've received in the past 24-48 hours:
re: REMEMBERING THOSE WE LOST IN
2011:
These year-end wrap-ups are always so sad ... and there
were times this past year where it seemed as though all we were doing was
publishing rock obituaries ... but here's a list put together by VintageVinyl.com and sent in to us by FH Reader
Tom Cuddy:
Saluting those veteran musicians, songwriters
and executives who passed away in
2011.
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January 4 - Gerry
Rafferty (Stealer's Wheel, Baker
Street)
January 17 - Don
Kirshner (promoter, TV host)
January
26 - Gladys Horton (Marvelettes)
March 17 - Ferlin
Husky (Wings of a Dove,
Gone)
March 21 - Loleatta
Holloway (Hit and Run, Love
Sensation)
March 31 - Mel
McDaniel (Baby Got Her Blue Jeans
On)
April 9 - Randy Wood
(founder of Dot Records)
April 26 - Phoebe
Snow (Poetry
Man)
May 22 - Joseph
Brooks (songwriter, You Light Up My
Life)
May 27 - Gil
Scott-Heron (Godfather of Rap, The
Revolution Will Not Be Televised)
June 3 - Andrew Gold
(Lonely Boy, Thank You For Being a
Friend)
June 8 - Steve
Popovich (executive for Columbia, Cleveland International, Mercury
Records)
June 12
- Carl Gardner (Coasters)
June 18 - Clarence
Clemons (Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street
Band)
July 11 - Rob Grill
(Grass Roots)
July 24
- Dan Peek (America)
August 22 - Nick
Ashford (Ashford & Simpson)
August 22 - Jerry
Leiber (Leiber & Stoller)
August
24 - Frank Dileo (manager of Michael
Jackson)
September 13 - Wilma
Lee Cooper (Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper)
September 22 - Vesta
Williams (Congratulations, Once Bitten,
Twice Shy)
September 29 - Sylvia Robinson (Mickey & Sylvia,
Sugar Hill Records)
September 30 - Marv Tarplin (Smokey Robinson & the
Miracles)
October 8 - Roger
Williams (pianist, Autumn
Leaves)
November 7 - Andrea True (More, More,
More)
November 24 -
Charlie Douglas (DJ at WSM, announcer for the Grand Ole
Opry)
December 6 - Dobie Gray (The In
Crowd, Drift Away)
December 6 - Barbara
Orbison (publisher and widow of Roy Orbison)
December 14 - Billie Jo Spears (Blanket on the
Ground)
re: CHARLIE
GRACIE:
Philly's original R&R Pioneer, CHARLIE GRACIE,
performs 'LIVE' this coming FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30TH, at NOON from the WORLD CAFE
in Philadelphia, PA., to be heard on NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO all across the UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA!
CHARLIE'S new SINGLE, 'BABY DOLL', which is taking off
nationally, will be performed as well! The show can be heard in the
Philly-Region on WXPN, 88.5 FM!
Those in the Philly region may attend this special free
performance at the World Cafe (30th & Walnut) by going to the link provided
here: Link for Free Tickets: WWW.XPN.ORG
If any of our readers are able to attend this special
free concert, please drop us a line and let us know what you thought. (What a
GREAT way to ring out 2011!!!) kk
re: THE BEACH
BOYS:
Every day we're getting more and more reports about the
upcoming Beach Boys Reunion Tour ... there really is QUITE a buzz going
on!
Here's another "Set Suggestion" by one of our readers,
Phil Miglioratti, who also runs the Pray For Surf website. (A few surprises
here, to be sure ... and personally, I can probably think of about 500 songs I'd
put ahead of "Cassius Love vs. Sonny Wilson" ... but hey, to each his own!!!)
Be sure to check out the link at the end of this piece and vote for your own
"Heroes and Villains" of Beach Boys lore! (kk)
Beach Boys 50th Celebration Concert Tour - My Top
Ten List
By Phil Miglioratti
None of the Beach Boys have asked me, but if they did,
here are a few suggestions for the upcoming tour celebrating their 50 year
anniversary as a band:
1) Open with "Meant For You"
It is a perfect way to set the stage (pun intended) to
send out the core message of the Beach Boys: peace and love. They can play
"California Girls" later in the show.
2) Followed by "Friends"
A reunion for the fans but more importantly may this
tour be a measure of reconciliation for the group that started with brothers, a
cousin, a neighbor and a friend. All the lawsuits, power struggles, tarmac fist
fights, stolen royalties and more than we fans will never know of, may each be
forgiven. Maybe not forgotten but no longer standing in the way of giving the
world joy of a live concert by a band of friends.
3) Then rock on with "Do It Again"
This was the perfect tune to re-record. The lyrics beg
for a reunion. The texture of the song straddles the surf & street era and
the progressive stage of the Beach Boys career.
4) Reprise the band intro from the Beach
Boys' Concert album.
"And now, from Hawthorne, California, to entertain you
tonight, with a gala concert and a recording session, the fabulous Beach Boys!"
Fred Vail, back then a teenager brash enough to promote a concert and bold to
couple it to a recording that became the first live concert album of a rock
group to hit #1 on the charts, is the perfect choice to bring them onstage.
5) Honor David Marks
Give him a guitar solo on "Break Away" so we can hear
what the original 6 would have sounded like had he not been dismissed from the
band. The guitar solo inserted for the single version of this song sounded
forced and unrelated to the feeling and flow of this great Brian Wilson song.
Maybe David can fill that break with a Beach Boys inspired sound. Murry Wilson
may have been greedy (when he engineered David's departure) and David may have
been immature in his too-quick reaction to Murry's taunts but it is not too late
to make the song a more complete Beach Boy tunes.
6) Keep the break in "Little Girl I Once
Knew"
No general managers worrying someone may change from
their station when you go into that glorious break - Give us the full song,
silence and all! Every second of it! Just like Brian imagined it.
7) "'Cassius' Love vs 'Sonny'
Wilson"
Few listeners realize this album-filler, though not an
example of a Beach Boys classic, is a grand example of Brian Wilson's
understanding of humor and how it can augment the rock ethos. And now, almost a
lifetime later, our naivete when first listening to "Our Favorite Recording
Sessions,'' and "I'm Bugged at My Old Man" has given way to the realization of
how revealing the Love vs Wilson banter was and how painfully accurate was the
"I'm Bugged" story-line. I'm not suggesting they perform this cut onstage .. I'm
hoping Mike, who has identified his humor as sarcastic, will stay away from
anything that sounds sarcastic or causes Brian to feel fear or hurt. I'm not
picking sides, just hoping everyone stays with the positivity that Mike preaches
in his interviews.
8) Dennis and Carl, please
Bring more than their memory by reminding us of how "Do
You Wanna Dance" was a great Dennis lead and how Carl's voice on "God Only
Knows" is considered one of the best in rock and roll history. Let their
recorded voice take the lead while they are shown bigger than life on a video
screen and as the band plays and sings live. They did it for Elvis; why not the
most energizing rock band of our time?
9) The Alan Jardine Album
Most of the night will be Brian Wilson - Mike Love
tunes (Amen!) but how about a set of songs on which Al sang lead or pushed to
the forefront? "Help Me Rhonda" (a #1 hit), "Sloop John B" (Brian took his good
idea and turned it into greatness), "The Times They Are A-Changin" (...yet, here
are the Beach Boys on world tour!), "Cotton Fields" (Alan's version, please),
"Then I Kissed Her" (his lead helped Brian out Spector, Spector), and "Susie
Cincinnati" or "Come Go With Me" or Heroes & Villains, or ...
10) "Love & Mercy"
What would it be like to end the concert with the Beach
Boys semi-circled behind Brian at the piano singing "Love & Mercy" as the
closing hymn, I mean song. A fitting benediction to what will be an amazing live
experience and what was an unparalleled career bringing joy to millions across
the globe and generations.
P.S. I need your help identifying the 50
heroes & villains who shared the lives and shaped
the careers of the Beach Boys - Cast your vote and share your comment
at:
Jeffrey Roberts has a great new Beach Boys piece running in his Examiner
column ... here are the links:
re: THE HOLLIES:
Without question, one of the highlights of 2011 was the
new Reeling In The Years home video production of "The Hollies: Look Through Any
Window". HIGHLY recommended, here are links to two more reviews (including our
own!!!):
re: THIS AND
THAT:
Kent,
In Tuesday's Comments upon the
passing of Sean Bonniwell and him being a member at one time of the group The Wayfarers, I don't really
know or remember much about that
group. They did however, have a record that made our local top 40 radio station's weekly survey here in OKC
back in 1960. Said record was
RUN, COME SEE on Mercury. Without getting it out and playing it
again, I think they sounded a lot
like the Kingston Trio.
Larry
I'm thinking this may be an all-together
different group, especially if they were more in the folk-vein ... but maybe one
of our readers knows for sure (???) kk
I got Amy Winehouse's new CD for
Christmas. You know until she died I really didn't know much of her work. You
would see the tabloid stories and I really thought she was just a joke. I had no
idea how talented she was. I really love the new CD. "Tears Dry On Their Own" is
beautiful. I had never heard it before. If you haven't already ... check it
out.
Stacee
I just noticed Amy's name missing from the list of those artists we lost in 2011 ... maybe she wasn't considered "veteran" enough??? (kk)
Kent ...
Wanna Jam with Steven Tyler at the
next Rock And Roll Fantasy Camp?
You also get to partake in a 10
hour recording session.
And, your final performance is at the Playboy Mansion.
They don't give a price ... so you know what that means!!!
Frank B.
And, your final performance is at the Playboy Mansion.
They don't give a price ... so you know what that means!!!
Frank B.
And a quick dose of "Helping Out Our Readers"
...
Who's the deep-voiced male background singer on Patti's
songs?
-- BOB FRABLE
Anybody know for sure? Joel
Whitburn's book says that in addition to her sisters Lorranie and Emma (who made
up The Drew-Vels), the bass voice belonged to Carlton Black (who was also married to
Emma). Maybe he stayed with her after she started her solo career???
(kk)
re: TODAY'S FORGOTTEN
HIT:
Kent,
Good choice as usual for the FH of
the Day. I just had one question to throw out and something that kind of threw me. I have the record filed
here at home under Dottie West.
Nowhere on the label and the flip is Kenny Rogers name mentioned. You
are correct about it peaking at
number 14 on the charts. I notice that Kenny Rogers' name is in parentheses under the song title when the title
is given.
Larry
I don't have the 45 anymore (although I
definitely bought it when it came out in 1981) ... like much of my vinyl
collection, it has been replaced by CD. Joel Whitburn's book lists the artist
as officially "Dottie West (with Kenny Rogers)" which is probably why it's shown
in parentheses on your copy. While certainly a duet, I always found Kenny to be
the more dominant artist on this track, even though it was officially released
as Dottie West's record. Hard to believe Dottie's been gone over 20 years now.
Great tune 'tho!!! (kk)
Kenny and Dottie ... thanks ...
forgot all about this song but always loved it. Thanks for posting
it.
Stacee
