http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/music/20110803/US.Obit.McDaniels/
'Hundred Pounds of Clay' singer Gene McDaniels dies
CLARKE CANFIELD
From Associated Press
August 03, 2011 5:03 PM EDT PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Gene McDaniels, who recorded the 1961 hit "A Hundred Pounds of Clay" and later wrote Roberta Flack's chart-topping single "Feel Like Makin' Love," has died. He was 76.
McDaniels died Friday at his home in Kittery after a brief illness, his wife, Karen McDaniels, told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
During his career, he has had hits as a producer, writer and artist.
McDaniels' first hit was "A Hundred Pounds of Clay." The song, which featured his take on the Biblical account of the creation of the first woman, peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard pop chart in 1961, the same year his song "Tower of Strength" hit No. 5. McDaniels also recorded other hits, including "Point of No Return" and "Another Tear Falls."
As his success as a pop singer faded, McDaniels emerged as a successful songwriter. His most famous song, "Feel Like Makin' Love," went to No. 1 for Flack in 1974 and was also nominated for a Grammy. McDaniels' songs were also recorded by top artists like Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Johnny Mathis and Ray Charles.
In 1986, McDaniels received an award from BMI for his work on "Feel Like Makin' Love." His website says the song has achieved more than 6 million performances and has been recorded on 400 albums.
His song "Compared to What," received new life recently when it was re-recorded and released by John Legend and The Roots on their 2010 album, "Wake Up." Its socially conscious lyrics also led it to be used in eight motion pictures, including "The Ice Storm" and "Casino."
Even though McDaniels is best known for music that made the pop charts, his wife, Karen, says her husband's first love was jazz and he continued into the genre long after his pop career ended. He was working on music projects as a singer, writer and producer until his death, releasing an album of his own as recently as 2009.
"He is music. He cannot not do music. Every day was about music and his family," Karen McDaniels said.
McDaniels also branched out into movies in his later years. According to his website, 15 years ago he got involved in writing and producing film and video. He also did video game and audio book voiceover work.
Born in Kansas City, Kan., McDaniels was raised in Omaha, Neb. His father was a minister and he sang in church choirs before leaving home for Los Angeles as a young man to break into the music business.
He moved to Maine about 25 years ago, his wife said.
McDaniels is survived by his wife, five sons, one daughter and a sister.
Hi, Kent.
When I interviewed Roberta Flack for my book "The Top Ten" in a recording studio in 1981, a guy walked in, sat down and listened intently to my questions and her answers. I assumed he was her publicist or manager. After we finished, Roberta turned to him, smiled and said, "Hi, Gene."
He replied, "Hi. Do you know where the rest rooms are around here?"
After Roberta told him and the man strolled out of sight, Roberta turned to me and said, "That's my friend Gene McDaniels."
"Gene McDaniels!" I said with surprise.
"Oh," replied Roberta. "You know who he is?"
"Well, YEAH," I said. "I had no idea where he was. Do you think he'd be willing to let me interview him?"
"I don't know," said Roberta. "He doesn't like to talk about the old days."
When Gene returned, Roberta told him who I was and suggested that he let me interview him. As she predicted, he was quite reluctant, but finally did consent. Ordinarily I do a great deal of research before I interview anybody -- so this one I had to entirely wing. Fortunately I knew enough of Gene's story to surprise him. He felt that no one cared at all about his time in the spotlight -- or knew anything about it at all. He was also more than a little embittered about his two-year run through the star-making machinery. Gene felt that the music business cheated him, failed to allow his talents to fully blossom and abandoned him way too early. (Despite a Top 40 run of less than 24 months, Gene managed to pile up seven Top 40 hits, three of which went Top 10.)
Just recently TCM ran "It's Trad, Dad" a/k/a "Ring-A-Ding Rhythm" (1962), one of only two movies Gene was given billing in (the other was 1963's "The Young Swingers"). Both were ultra low-budget drive-in garbage, except for the novelty of seeing Chubby Checker, Del Shannon, Gene and a few music stars allowed a few moments to act. (Gene also appeared unbilled as a choir member in 1974's "Uptown Saturday Night.")
Although mostly forgotten by radio and the public, Gene McDaniels won a lot of respect among his peers for his songwriting prowess, which showed off his enormous love of jazz ("Feel Like Making Love," "Compared To What," "Reverend Lee," etc.) McDaniels' biggest hits as a pop singer, though, have transcended time and still work: "A Hundred Pounds of Clay," "Chip Chip," "Tower of Strength" and "Point of No Return."
Here's Gene McDaniels performing "A Hundred Pounds of Clay" the year before his passing:
Gary Theroux
re: CHEAP TRICK:
Did anyone ever comment on the Cheap Trick concert where the stage blew over in Canada two weeks ago? Hmm. They are coming to our Nebraska State Fair next month. I hope they realize that the wind blows hard here too!
Clark Besch
You know, I started to write about this a couple of times but kept getting interrupted ... and finally just skipped it all together. Pretty amazing (and scary)!!! We have had an incredibly wild summer here weather-wise this year ... extreme winds, rain, storms, temperatures ... many are convinced it really is the end of the world!!! (So I guess I'd better post that Bobby Darin Series pretty quick, right Frank???)
By the way, Drummer Bun E. Carlos was at the Brian Wilson concert last weekend ... and got a couple of nice mentions from the stage! (kk)
And, speaking of Brian Wilson ...
re: BRIAN WILSON:
Hi Kent -
What a thrill for you and your family to see the Brian Wilson Concert and in such an intimate place!! So he still has that falsetto voice. Did he sing Caroline No? One of my favorites.
The Beach Boys, Beatles and Rolling Stones will always be my favorite groups. How great to be there with your daughter and near the front row!!
Enjoy reading your Forgotten Hits very much! What a double whammy Brian Wilson and Paul
McCartney in Chicago!
Carolyn
Nope, no "Caroline No" (one of MY favorites, too ... I was hoping he'd sing it ... you have to check out the new America version ... it's great!) And, for the most part, Brian's beautiful falsetto is gone ... most of those parts were handled by Jeffrey Foskett (or, when she's there ... which she wasn't Saturday Night ... back-up singer Taylor Mills) ... but the band is SO amazing that literally EVERY note (musically and vocally) is filled in to perfection. (kk)
That is great that Brian did so many songs including all the "lesser known" even tho MOST musical 60's "laymen" know "Salt Lake City" and the others as much as the Beach Boys' hits. Certainly, "Sail on Sailor" was a fave of Larry Lujack, as he was STILL playing it in 1986, just as the sun was setting on the big 89! Here's a real oldie jingle that Brian did in 1964 for the Big 89! He might have had a few problems popping the P's, but fun to hear him "searching the radio dial for a station that swings on this special version of "Dance Dance Dance"! Dex Card called his WLS show "Swingding" back then!!
WLSClark
Kent ...
Let me see if I got this right ...
We can go see Al Jardine & Endless Summer Band.
We can go see Mike Love & Beach Boys.
We can go see Brian Wilson.
Brian Wilson's house currently listed for $1.5 million.
I guess it pays to write & sing about Surfing, Cars & California Girls.
Frank B.
Sad, but true ... and EACH of these bands will play MOST of the same songs in much of the same way. A sad case of where music is at today ... but rumors are still running rampant that Beach Boys Al Jardine, Mike Love, Bruce Johnston and Brian Wilson will ALL reunite for a series of shows commemorating their 50th year in the music business. (Time will tell!) kk
I wish we'd had the chance to visit a little bit more backstage with Brian Wilson and Jeff Foskett, but it was SUCH a rushed affair ... would have LOVED to ask Brian about the tour ... the upcoming 50th Anniversary of The Beach Boys Tour ... the release of "Smile" ... so many things. And Jeff Foskett, too ... a long-time part of Brian's (and The Beach Boys') touring band ... plus he just produced Micky Dolenz's "King For A Day" CD (Micky's tribute to Carole King). Would have loved to spend just 30 minutes with these guys but it wasn't to be. (Even the picture they snapped of all of us together backstage before the show hasn't come through yet!!! What's up with that anyway?!?! I've talked to several people who were there that night and had their photograph taken with Brian Wilson backstage before the show and have tried to contact the photographer but received absolutely NO response from him whatsoever. What's the point of taking pictures ... and then passing out your information as to how to view them ... and then never getting back in touch with the people who may actually be interested in purchasing them?!?!? What kind of sense does THAT make?!?!? Jeez!)
Oh well ... still a pretty amazing night! (kk)
re: THE LOSER:
>>>I think it is cool that Gary started singing his own leads when "The Loser" came out. Great song! Speaking of "The Loser," there was another song with that title that KOMA played a lot in 1967. I think it was done by a young kid, but a groovy song, as I remember it. Larry Neal must have it, because I first heard it on his KOMA countdown one early Saturday morning. Larry? (Clark Besch)
Clark Besch mentioned that one Saturday morning on my Kountdown show on KOMA I played a song called THE LOSER but not the Gary Lewis song. The song was by Peter Courtney on Viva Records (#609). The song was written by Mason Houghland - Betty Russell. The flip was the song PICTURES ARE MY ONLY SOUVENIRS written by Al Capps - Thomas L. Garrett - Glen D. Hardin.
Larry
I believe you’re thinking of “The Loser” by Peter Courtney, issued on Viva in 1967. It bubbled under nationally at #121.
Best,
Michael
Kent,
I was a bit disappointed that my memory did not relate to what I hear today. It's ok, but not as good as I thought. Still, hearing a song on Larry's countdown that I did not know was always a treat!!
Thanks,
WLSClark
re: NEW RELEASES:
New York, August 2, 2011 - ABKCO Records and HDtracks are pleased to announce the addition of The Animals Retrospective and Herman’s Hermits Retrospective to their catalog of super high definition digital downloads. These two new ABKCO releases are offered in 88.2K / 24bit, 176.4K / 24bit and are DRM-free. They follow in the footsteps of the highly successful ABKCO Records / HDtracks campaigns for the Rolling Stones and Sam Cooke catalogs.
The Animals Retrospective features twenty-two tracks, spanning the years 1964 - 1970 and documents the group’s changing sound, from the early R&B productions by Mickie Most through the psychedelic tinged productions of Tom Wilson. The Animals Retrospective covers the evolution of the group, both in name (from The Animals to Eric Burdon & The Animals) and personnel. The album features many hits that were well received on both the U.S. and U.K. charts: “House of the Rising Sun” (U.S. & U.K. #1), “I’m Crying” (U.S. #19, U.K. #8), Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” (U.S. #15, U.K. #3), “Bring It On Home To Me” (U.S. #32, U.K. #7), “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place” (U.S. #13), “It’s My Life” (U.S. #23, U.K. #7), “Don’t Bring Me Down” (U.S. #12, U.K. #6), “See See Rider” (U.S. #10), “Help Me Girl” (U.S. #29, U.K. #14), “When I Was Young” (U.S. #15), “San Franciscan Nights” (U.S. #9, U.K. #14), “Monterey” (U.S. #15) and “Sky Pilot” (U.S. #14, U.K. #40). The Animals were noted for their interpretations of classic R&B, blues, soul and folk tunes. Among the band’s best known hits included on Retrospective are “House of the Rising Sun,” “Baby Let Me Take You Home,” “Boom Boom,” “Bring It On Home To Me” and “See See Rider.” The legendary Brill Building songwriting team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil wrote "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," especially for the band; the song became the defacto anthem of US troops serving in Vietnam. The U.S. single version of the song is included in the release; it has been sought after by fans in digital format as it differs from its UK counterpart. Also notable is the fact that “House of the Rising Sun" is the unedited album version. Following his departure from the Animals in 1970, Eric Burdon joined forces with the U.S. based multi-cultural band War. Eric Burdon & War's smash hit "Spill the Wine" (U.S. #3) is also included on this Retrospective.
The Herman’s Hermits Retrospective features twenty-six tracks spanning the years 1964 - 1969 and the group’s work with producer Mickie Most. The album features sixteen U.S. and U.K. top ten hits: “I’m Into Something Good” (U.K. #1), “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat” (U.S. #2), “Silhouettes” (U.S. #5, U.K. #3), “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter” (U.S. #1), “Wonderful World (U.S. #4, U.K. #7), “I’m Henry The Eighth, I Am” (U.S. #1), “Just A Little Bit Better” (U.S. #7), “A Must To Avoid” (U.S. #8, U.K. #6), “Listen People” (U.S. #3), "Leaning On A Lamp Post" (U.S. #9), "Dandy" (U.S. #5), "No Milk Today" (U.K. #7), "There's A Kind Of Hush" (U.S. #4, U.K. #7), "Sunshine Girl" (U.K. #8), "Something's Happening" (U.K. #6), and "My Sentimental Friend" (U.K. #2). Retrospective includes songs written by 10cc’s Graham Gouldman, the Kinks' Ray Davies, Donovan and the great songwriting teams of P.F. Sloan & Steve Barri, John Carter & Ken Lewis, Gerry Goffin & Carole King, and John Carter & Geoff Stephens. It’s notable that tracks from the album feature studio work from Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones long before the founding of Led Zeppelin.
ABOUT The Animals: The band’s origins can be traced back to Newcastle upon Tyne in 1962 and 1963 when Eric Burdon joined the Alan Price Rhythm and Blues Combo. The original line-up was comprised of Eric Burdon (vocals), Alan Price (keyboards), Hilton Valentine (guitar), John Steel (drums), and Bryan "Chas" Chandler (bass). They were dubbed "animals" because of their wild stage act and the name stuck. The Animals' moderate success in their hometown and a connection with Yardbirds manager Giorgio Gomelsky motivated them to move to London in 1964, just in time to be part of the British Invasion. Their major label debut was a rocking version of the folk classic "Baby Let Me Follow You Down,” retitled "Baby Let Me Take You Home" which was their first single. It was followed in June 1964 by the transatlantic #1 hit, "House of the Rising Sun". The Animals' initial chart run was masterminded by legendary producer Mickie Most who paired them with such innovative repertoire choices as Sam Cooke's "Bring It On Home To Me" and Nina Simone’s "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood.” Burdon's powerful, deep voice and the band's use of keyboards as much as, or more than, guitars were unique elements that made The Animals' sound stand out from the rest of the British Invasion pack.
ABOUT Herman’s Hermits: Herman’s Hermits (Peter Noone, Keith Hopwood, Karl Green, Derek Leckenby and Barry Whitwam) were at the forefront of the “British Invasion” and were the top selling pop act in the U.S. in 1965, even beating out the Beatles. The Hermits were unique in melding a traditional British music hall influence with good time rock ‘n roll. The Hermits were among the younger musicians on the Manchester band scene in 1963 when they started playing together as the Heartbeats. The city was home to dozens of promising bands, most notable among them the Hollies, the Mockingbirds, and Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders. Later that year, the Heartbeats got a new member in 16-year-old Peter Noone (born November 5, 1947), who filled in one night when their regular vocalist failed to turn up for a gig. Noone was already a veteran actor who had trained at the Manchester School of Music and Drama. He had been a child star on television in the late '50s on the popular British television series Coronation Street, but he always had musical aspirations. As a vocalist with the Heartbeats, he initially worked under the name Peter Novak. Accounts vary as to the origins of the name the band ultimately adopted — some say that their managers remarked on the facial resemblance between Noone and the character of Sherman in the Jay Ward cartoon show "Mr. Peabody & Sherman"; others credit Karl Green with mentioning it. In any case, "Sherman" became "Herman" and the group, in search of a more distinct name, became Herman & His Hermits and then Herman's Hermits.
ABOUT HDtracks: HDtracks.com is a high-quality music download service offering a diverse catalog of independent music from around the world. Developed by musicians for musicians, HDtracks provides a listening experience with an emphasis on purity, tone and expression. HDtracks’ catalog is comprised of uncompressed CD and DVD-audio-quality recordings of world-class musicians, vocalists and ensembles. HDtracks offers consumers a variety of file formats: AIFF, FLAC loseless files and 320 kbps files that exceed the quality of a standard MP3 file. Currently, HDtracks has available select titles in ultra-high resolution up to 192kHz/24bit FLAC files. This is a true DVD-audio sound quality. Additionally, each download includes complete PDF liner notes. http://www.hdtracks.com/ ABOUT ABKCO: Founded over 50 years ago, ABKCO Music and Records is one of the world’s leading independent entertainment companies. It is home to iconic catalog assets that include compositions and recordings by Sam Cooke, The Rolling Stones, Bobby Womack, The Animals, Herman’s Hermits, Marianne Faithfull, The Kinks as well as the Cameo Parkway masters by such artists as Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell, Clint Eastwood, The Orlons, The Dovells, ? & The Mysterians, The Tymes and Dee Dee Sharp. Soundtrack releases include Our Idiot Brother, the international blockbuster Fast Five, Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Wes Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited and the 2010 Academy Award® nominated Fantastic Mr. Fox, the director’s first animated feature based on Roald Dahl’s book, Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, The Men Who Stare At Goats and the soundtrack to the first season of the hit Showtime® series, Californication. ABKCO is active on many fronts including the release of critically lauded compilations and reissues from its catalog, film and commercial placement of its master recordings and music publishing properties in all media. ABKCO is at the forefront of new technologies in the entertainment field and is in active development of several multi-platform projects, theatrical productions and innovative educational tools to ensure its catalog is enjoyed by generations of fans for years to come. ABKCO Films is in development of a biopic on Sam Cooke’s life. www.abkco.com -- submitted by Bob Merlis
Just wanted to let you know that my book -- "Eight Days A Week: Births, Deaths & Events Each Day in Oldies History", is now available in an expanded and updated Kindle edition. That means you can take it with you on your Kindle, PC, Mac or smart phone.
-- Ron Smith
Hello,
If you're interested in oldies remakes, hooyoosay have just released the album "In dekay", containing 22 tracks of mid-sixties guitar-pop, rock and rhythm and blues cover songs.
For samples, you can audition and view the track listing at songrila, amazon or iTunes.
Thanks for sharing this on your site,
hooyoosay
re: CALLING ALL COLLECTORS:
If anyone is interested in a couple of record collector's mags from the 70's:
re: GOD, LOVE AND ROCK AND ROLL:
Now, this is interesting!
Best,
John
re: DION:
>>>While I can't state this with 100% certainty, I've heard that this version ALMOST made the single release ... it was between this early take and the final version. When producers couldn't decide which track to release, Dion himself personally oversaw the coin toss to determine the song's future. (kk)
I actually liked the sax solo on the alternative version of Ruby Baby.
Mark The Shark
By the way, did you see that there is now a SECOND Buddy Holly Tribute album coming out? We talked about the first one a couple of weeks ago in Forgotten Hits ... but this NEW release will feature Holly tributes by Fleetwood Mac, Ringo Starr, Jeff Lynne, Jackson Browne, Brian Wilson and more. Tentative release date is the week of Labor Day. (kk)
re: REMEMBERING ELVIS:
Of course August 16th is a pretty sad anniversary for most of us ... that's the day we lost Elvis. (Actually, we were supposed to run an interview with Jerry Schilling this week in conjunction with the release of the new 2-DVD Set of "Great Performances", but we just couldn't pull it together in time. Meanwhile, those DVD's are now available at a VERY affordable price ... and include some of the COOLEST Elvis videos you're ever gonna see!):
Recording Artist (and FH Reader) Trade Martin has a new song / video up on YouTube this week, too, commemorating The King ...
re: ON THE RADIO ... :
>>>Ballroom Blitz by Sweet = 220 Beats Per Minute; Walking On Sunshine by Katrina & The Wave = 220 Beats Per Minute. (Frank B.)
I'm curious as to the beats per minute of Rip This Joint by the Rolling Stones.
Mark The Shark
Anybody know how to accurately measure that??? (kk)
Atomic Cocktail’s Hotter-Than-Hot August Nights: 4th, 11th, 18th
For a trifecta of terrific radio shows, it’s going to be hard to beat the all-new, all-live Atomic Cocktail slate for Month Eight. Post-time for Show Number One: tonight, Thursday, Aug. 4th, 5 p.m. California time at www.luxuriamusic.com. Fall in with DJ host Vic Tripp for an hour of wow sounds from the Stooges, Eydie Gorme, the Kingsmen, Gene Pitney, Velvelettes and more. Plus: in-studio guest, ex-Angry Samoan Gregg Turner with TWO record premieres, a birthday salute to Little Orphan Annie, Woodstock anniversary tribute, real-time Action House Chat-room. “Well, they ate their food out of little tin cans/ ’Cause they didn’t have any pots and pans.”
Thursday, Aug. 11: A Tribute to Vulcanized Rubber
Thursday, Aug. 18: Howard Tate, Velvet Underground, Caesars, The Like, Nairobi Trio
Even Big Daddy gets the blues. Like when he misses the live Thursday broadcast of the Atomic Cocktail program. But he needn’t. All he has to do is visit the LuxuriaMusic homepage, select “Podcast,” then download all the Atomic Cocktail shows he wants. Leapin’ Lizard Kings!
THE POP SHOPPE
Listen to your favorite Oldies plus other tunes that you won’t hear anywhere else!
Featuring Staten Island’s own STUART WEISS …
Playing the music of the 50’s and 60’s with a touch of the 40’s.
Every Friday evening from 7 PM to 3:01 AM (EST)
Pull up a chair and join our chat room with people around the world as they all listen to … THE GREATEST SONGS THAT EVER LIVED!
Play “guess the artist” and “guess the song title”
Relive old memories with the classics and hear conversations with phone in guests.
Feel free to email me at djstu43@verizon.net for requests and dedications.
And now, on Sunday nights ... from 11 PM till 1:00 AM ...
It's Stu's Sunday Night Doo Wop Party!!!!!
This is besides my regular program on Friday nights.
Hope you can join me ... 'cause I don't want to be alone!
DJ Stu Weiss
By the way, our long-time FH Buddy Ronnie Allen now has a program airing on Oldies Your Way, too! You can catch him on Friday nights right before Stu Weiss' show. "Ronnie Remembers", featuring Ronnie Allen and his interviews, will be on from 6 PM till 7 PM (EST) preceding Stu's show each week.
This Friday night Ronnie will air his past interviews with Ronnie Dove and also Kathy Young.
Here's the full scoop:
I am delighted to announce my new affiliation with Internet station
Oldies Your Way . The address of their Home Page is
http://www.oldiesyourway.com . Clicking on any of the links within this message will take you to their Home Page, where you can instantaneously with simple mouse-clicks listen to the station and / or visit their chat room which is open during all of their broadcasts.
Starting tonight, Friday, August 5th, I will be hosting a "Ronnie Remembers" show every Friday evening from 6 to 7 PM Eastern Time, immediately preceding Stu Weiss's world-famous "Pop Shoppe" show, which will be heard from 7 PM till 3:01 AM Saturday morning.
Each week I will present one or two interviews. They may be older ones that are also available on my Radio Page or they may be ones that are not available publicly anywhere. I may eventually do world-premieres of interviews that will subsequently be posted on my Radio Page and I may also do live interviews.
On tonight's debut show I will be presenting my fascinating interviews from a few years back with Ronnie Dove and Kathy Young.
During the airing of the show I will be in the chat room. It is very easy to enter. So while my interviews are playing, you can enter chat and make comments about Ronnie or Kathy or ask me questions or simply converse with other listeners. It's "Oldies Your Way" and also "Chat Your Way"!
I am so pleased about all of this and I would love to see many of you join me for our debut show and every Friday thereafter.
The station has so many great programs and I suggest that you bookmark it for convenient future reference:
Thanks so much for reading this and hopefully joining me tomorrow and/or in the future!
Ronnie Allen
And we're hearing REALLY good things about Scott Shannon's new Sunday Night Program, "Cruisin' America", featuring songs from the first decade of Rock And Roll. You can always "Listen Live" on The True Oldies Channel: Click here: WPLJHD2
re: ... or MTV:
http://fresh1027.radio.com/2011/08/01/happy-30th-birthday-mtv-the-first-10-music-videos-ever-played-on-mtv/Kent ...
"I want my MTV"
Frank B.
Hey, remember when M-TV actually play MUSIC on Music Television?!?!? Man, those were the days, eh? Now it's all this fake reality crap ... you're hard pressed to find a song in the bunch. I think MOST people probably know that MTV launched their network by playing "Video Killed The Radio Star" by The Buggles ... but I think nearly everybody would be hard-pressed to name the first TEN videos they ever played!!! (Even today I don't know a couple of these tunes!!!) kk
re: LADY GA GA:
Thanks for bringing our attention to the Lady Ga Ga appearance on the Howard Stern show.
I totally loved it. When Lady Ga Ga first came on the scene she reminded me of a cross between Cher and Madonna. I have always loved Cher and Madonna who, for the times, were very cutting edge. But Lady Ga Ga can out sing either or both of them. She doesn't need all the outlandish stuff. I know she probably does that stuff to attract that younger crowd. I saw her interview with Barbara Walters last year and I was very impressed with her. She is very well spoken and interesting. Thanks again.
Stacee
Lady Ga Ga has pure, raw talent ... too bad she had to market herself the way she did to get noticed ... her voice and songwriting talent alone makes her a one-of-a-kind superstar. But now that "the fame monster" has kicked in, I'm glad she's letting her guard down just a little bit to allow us to see the TRUE talent within. That song ... stripped down of EVERYTHING in a bare studio, with just her voice and the piano, gives you chills. (Frannie said she literally had goosebumps all over her body the first time I played it!) That's the real deal ... forget the meat dress and the prosthetic shoulders ... this girl can SING!!! (kk)
Kent ...
Don't know if you caught Lady Gaga on Jimmy Kimmel. She has a good sense of humor.
Jimmy Kimmel = If you ever get married & have kids - and they turn out not to be gay - will you still love them?
Lady Gaga = NO.
Frank B.
re: CANYON OF DREAMS / HARVEY KUBERNIK:
Have you picked up the book "Canyon of Dreams, The Magic and Music of Laurel Canyon" by Harvey Kubernik? It's a beautiful hard cover book with a buttload of pics. In it you'll find about ten pages written by Randy Meisner about how the Eagles got together after the Poor and Poco ... (Randy's ex-wife Jennifer is writing a book about the Eagles right now!) ... plus stories about the Byrds, CSN&Y, Linda Ronstadt, the Mamas and Papas and the list goes on. I got this from Amazon and it was less than $10.00.
This is a MUST READ! Have you seen it? If you haven't picked this up yet, you need to!
Wild Bill
We ran Harvey Kubernik's lengthy essay on "The Concert For Bangla Desh" earlier this week on The Forgotten Hits Website. I haven't seen this book yet ... but now I've gotta read it!!! (kk)
Give my best to Harv ... he did a GREAT job with this book and I'm pushing it for him!
Wild Bill
Harvey Kubernik and I were both rock journalists and interviewers in L.A. at the same time (in my case, from 1973 to 1982). We crossed paths a few times and, as noted in my previous email, he sat in on a few of my classes while I was teaching rock and pop history at UCLA. At one of those he brought along a few friends, one of whom had a camera, and a few shots were taken of Harvey and I along with some of his pals in front of the blackboard. It's kind of unfortunate that no audio or video recordings were ever made of any of my lectures (as far as I know) and the only photographs ever taken were the ones taken at that particular time. I still have all my class notes, though, plus some students' essays, the audio tracks I played (off a reel to reel tape deck) plus the slides I showed those assembled. It would be great to get a print of one of those photos if Harvey still happens to have them.
A quick Google search includes a little bio of Harvey on the Huffington Post website. According to that article, he's written a couple of books, a number of articles for various periodicals, a few liner notes and worked as an A&R man for MCA Records around 1979.
Gary Theroux
Well, obviously he's still writing ... and was kind enough to send us his "Bangla Desh" piece to run on our website. (It truly is QUITE an honor to keep such esteemed company here ... Gary Theroux ... Harvey Kubernik ... Bob Greene ... some of the best known authors in the country ... and they have ALL participated with Forgotten Hits in some capacity over the years. (And, even cooler still, take the time to read MY stuff!!!!! lol) kk
re: BUDDY HOLLY:
I am a little surprised ... but then again maybe not ... that me in England has to inform the readers of Forgotten Hits, an American publication, about one of America’s finest artists getting a place on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Well, here is the full story:
Rockin' Lord Geoff
Perhaps even MORE shocking is the fact that it took them THIS long to recognize this guy!!! (kk)
