re:  THANK YOU!:
Yowzah, Yowzah, Yowzah!!!
 Yowzah, Yowzah, Yowzah!!!
Well, we did it  ... thanks to you!!!  
 Forgotten Hits  officially passed a million and a half mark on Thursday ...  
 So thanks to  everybody who has paid us a visit over the past three years!
 And  congratulations to the Million-and-a-Half(th) Visitor ...
 Guess that would mean all EIGHT of  you who claimed to be the one!!! (lol)
 We WERE going  to award a prize ... but now I'm so confused I have NO idea who it really  was!!!
(But thank you, WHOEVER you are!!!) 
 That's OK ...  it's all in good fun and great spirit ... which is what Forgotten Hits has  strived to be for the past 12 years, the last three of which have put us on the  web!
 So thank you,  thank you, thank you ... and let's keep it going!  (kk)
re:  COOL SHOWS:
Last Friday's gig in Clearwater, FL, was a  total success on all counts. It was great to welcome back John Hall to the stage  for that particualr show.  We did a brand new song of his called I  Told You So. Judging by the crowd's reaction, the message got across loud  and clear. 
You can see John's video of this tune posted  on his own site at JohnHallMusic.com
On Friday, October 7th  at 8 PM Orleans appeared with special guest, Felix Cavaliere (formerly of  The Rascals) at Art in the Garden VI; Wingard's Nursery & Garden Center  in Lexington, SC
One of the great pleasures of becoming elder statesmen of  Pop / Rock is that, at this point, we get to work with not only some of the best  talents out there ... we sometimes get to work with an icon who influenced our  own paths.
Larry and I can tell you that, as teenagers growing up on  Long Island, there was no cooler band than our own home-grown Rascals.  Personally, I played many of their hits in the 9-piece (horns included) band I  was in in high school (called The Koloring Book  :-).
This Friday, once again, we'll be joined on stage by none  other than the awesome Felix Cavaliere!
We get to be his back-up band, playing such hits as  Groovin', Good Lovin', People Got To Be Free, Lonely Too Long ... just to name a  few.
Geez! ... do awe have to play any Orleans songs?  OK ... we  will! 
Meanwhile, we are TOTALLY  stoked about returning to Holland at the end of October AND our first ever gigs  in Scotland in early November. You can see ALL the details about these dates and  venues on the Tour Dates page. 
More about these and other fall  shows soon!
More gigs are being added all the time now, so check for dates and  details at www.OrleansOnline.com/TourDates.html  
Lance  Hoppen
CHARLIE GRACIE  rocked Italy this weekend at the International R&R Festival at RAVENNA,  ITALY.  This marks  the 4th time Charlie has performed in the land of his ancestor's birth -- where  the ROOTS of R&R are alive and well. 
Next CHARLIE flies back to  the UNITED KINGDOM, where he has several shows to complete in ENGLAND and WALES  through the end of this month -- spotilghted by two shows with LINDA GAIL LEWIS  -- the rockin' sister of the "Killer" himself: JERRY LEE  LEWIS!  
ABKCO Records will release CHARLIE'S new CD: "For The Love of  Charlie!" produced by AL KOOPER on October 10th in the U.K., soon to be followed in the  U.S.A! Charlie's guests include GRAHAM NASH, PETER NOONE, JIMMY VIVINO, DENNIS  DIKEN, EDDIE ANGEL and more.
Charlie, Jr.
Last week we posted a link to a  review of a live Lindsay Buckingham concert ... and now comes word that his  recent appearance at The Small Machine in Los Angeles will be released as a live  DVD!  And there are still plenty of great chances to catch Lindsay in concert,  too.  Check out the details below!  (kk)
EAGLE ROCK ENTERTAINMENT TO RELEASE LINDSEY  BUCKINGHAM DVD
SONGS FROM THE  SMALL MACHINE: LIVE IN L.A. ~ON NOVEMBER 1~
New York, NY (October 13, 2011) — Rock’n’Roll  Hall Of Famer Lindsey Buckingham just may be one of the very few Americans who  most changed the face of British Rock. As the male lead singer for Fleetwood  Mac, this singer / songwriter / guitarist / producer took an underground blues  band and helped make it into one of the most respected and best-selling bands in  the universe. His voice … his intricate guitar playing … his compositional  prowess, they’re all instantly recognizable.
And he’s still going  strong.
On November 1, Eagle Rock Entertainment will release a DVD of  Lindsey Buckingham’s Songs From The Small Machine: Live In L.A., which was  filmed in high-definition with DTS Surround-Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1, and Dolby  Digital Stereo at The Saban Theater in Beverly Hills, California in April  2011.
The  two-hour 19-song show will be released on DVD, Blu-ray, and as  a DVD / CD set. [Pre-book Order Date October 7, MSRP $14.98 for DVD,  MSRP $19.98 for Blu-ray, $19.98 for DVD / CD set]. Filled with his most beloved  songs, including such Fleetwood Mac classics as “Go Your Own Way,” “Second Hand  News,” “Big Love,” “Tusk,” “I’m So Afraid” and “Never Going Back Again,” blended  with material from his new album Seeds We Sow (“In Our Own Time,”  “Illumination,” “Stars Are Crazy,” “That’s The Way Love Goes”) the DVD and  Blu-Ray also feature a Buckingham  interview.
Songs From The Small Machine: Live  In LA opens with a solo acoustic set that accentuate Buckingham’s nimble  fretwork and multidimensional voice. The band join him for the remainder of the  concert leaving the audience on their feet, shouting for more. The show closes  with an acoustic encore of the title song from Seeds We Sow– a final reminder  that this is one artist who refuses to rest on past laurels but, instead,  prefers to look towards the future.  
Lindsey Buckingham is out on the road in America touring with  his band in support of Seeds We Sow (Mind Kit Records).  Upcoming tour dates  include:  
10/14/11 – Las Vegas, NV – Aliante  Casino
10/15/11 – Palm Desert, CA –  McCallum Theatre
10/17/11 – Anaheim, CA – City  National Grove Of Anaheim
10/18/11 – Turlock, CA – Turlock  Community Theatre
10/19/11 – San Francisco, CA –  Regency Center
10/22/11 – Vancouver, BC – Centre  In Vancouver For Performing Arts
10/23/11 – Shelton, WA – Little  Creek Casino
10/25/11 – Napa, CA – Uptown  Theatre Napa
11/1/11 – Portsmouth, NH – The  Music Hall
11/2/11 – Albany, NY – The  Egg
11/3/11 – Red Bank, NJ – Count  Basie Theatre
11/5/11 – Salmanca, NY – Event  Center At Seneca Allegany Casino &  Hotel
11/6/11 – Lorain, OH – Lorain  Palace Theatre
11/8/11 – Royal Oak, MI – Royal  Oak Music Theatre
11/9/11 – Newark, OH – Midland  Theatre
11/12/11 – Salina, KS – The  Stiefel Theatre for Performing  Arts
11/14/11 – Catoosa, OK – The Joint  @ Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
TRACK  LISTING:1) Shut Us  Down*
2) Go Insane   
3) Trouble*   
4) Never Going Back Again*   
5) Big Love*   
6) Under The Skin*   
7) All My Sorrows*   
8) In Our Own Time*   
9) Illumination*   
10) Second Hand News*   
11) Tusk*   
12) Stars Are Crazy*   
13) End Of Time*   
14) That’s The Way Love Goes*   
15) I’m So Afraid*   
16) Go Your Own Way*   
17) Turn It On   
18) Treason   
19) Seeds We Sow*  
(* = tracks on  CD)
Hi Kent,  
 
 
 
 
 
If you haven't already mentioned  it, friends and fans celebrated what would have been Jimy Rogers' (The Mauds)  64th birthday on 10/6/11, at a Blue Road gig on 10/7/11 at Blues Bar in Mt.  Prospect (next town over from Arlington Heights, home of the Cellar). We had a  fun night of music, special guests including Jimy Sohns from the Shadows of  Knight, and photos of Rogers running up on one of the big TV's.  Thought you'd  enjoy this photo.
Joan Gand
Blue Road
Cool picture, Joan.  Sorry we  missed this ... would have been cool to see. (And hopefully an annual event to  keep Jimy's memory alive!)  kk
re:  THE WRECKING  CREW:
I'm not sure what Carol's key problem is, K - just  getting a feel from what she wrote. But I'm not sure who (musicians) deserves  recognition - you work, you get paid, they were obviously happy with that. If  someone feels they do deserve recognition, go for it. But, hey, 50% + of the Top  40 in the '60's contained musicians that weren't recognized ... for example,  look at The Buckinghams ... who were those fine horn players? Would have liked  the film to contain studio talk - you get the "real" feel what life what like  during recording sessions, rather than after the fact claims that are sometimes  sketchy. Thanks! Correct me if I'm in error, but the film went from profitable  to non-profit status. I'm sure the cost of acquiring music licenses lessen and  could be renegotiated when the film went non-profit. Would be nice if Denny had  stated a dollar amount needed to get the film released, but nothing is. Maybe  that's one of Carol's gripes. p.s. And I do owe Denny an apology, I THOUGHT I  had made a contribution to this WC film - my error!
How many Takes does it take The Wrecking Crew to record  one song? Count the Takes! :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wGW3PXD39k
From Hal Blaine's site "We Called It R&R ... http://www.halblaine.com/
"Reliability and Responsibility. We didn’t spend time rehearsing take after take, we just read the chart, played the tune and made gold records". Obviously, Hal stretches the truth a bit too far!Best,
John
From Hal Blaine's site "We Called It R&R ... http://www.halblaine.com/
"Reliability and Responsibility. We didn’t spend time rehearsing take after take, we just read the chart, played the tune and made gold records". Obviously, Hal stretches the truth a bit too far!Best,
John
Bottom line is, it's not how many takes it took you to  get there ... it's the end result that matters ... and these guys delivered the  goods time after time after time, again and again, throughout this era ...  placing literally HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of hit songs on the charts.  Producers  and artists back then were only interested in putting the best possible product  on the marketplace ... and The Wrecking Crew were the "go to" guys to make that  happen.  If you've seen the film, you already KNOW what their credits are ...  it's incredible to think that this same "core" batch of musicians played  together on so many of these hits ... and in every style imaginable.  Like I've  been saying for years now, it's a story that NEEDS to be told!   (kk)
re:  BACKGROUND  SINGERS:
Kent,
As I've told you before, I love pop music from the  70's.  And, being able to listen to it more closely over time, I  think, besides  the members of the Wrecking Crew, that there is a group of background singers  that deserve some kind of film of their own.  Two of those names are Ron Hicklin  and Jackie Ward (I believe), and these singers sang background on so many hits  of the 70's.  They were the background singers who sang along with Shirley Jones  and David Cassidy on the Partridge Family songs, on Bobby Sherman's singles like  "Easy Come, Easy Go" and, (as I just discovered after buying it), they sang  background on the ahead-of-its-time soundtrack for the Sid and Marty Krofftt  film "Pufnstuf", based on the T.V. series "H.R. Pufnstuf".  They have a familiar  sound that always takes me back to the early 70's.  Of course there were more  than just Ron and Jackie singing (I think the group was called "The Jackie Ward  Singers"), but I love their sound and would love to know more about  them.
Also deserving some recognition  would P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri, who did wonderful work for ABC / Dunhill with  the Grass Roots, Mama Cass, and others.  Again, their sounds always take me  back.  These people probably have all been profiled, and I just haven't found  the info.  I find myself listening to more and more of these old songs, which  are simple by today's over-production standards.  Have a great day!
Ed
It's a valid point ... as we all  learn more and more about what went on behind the scenes, we, too, would like to  see more profiles of these artists.  Ron and Jackie's names have come up a  number of times over the years in Forgotten Hits (in one specific context or  another), but we've never really delved deep into their massive amount of studio  work.  Anybody out there up to the challenge?  (kk)
re:  AND BACKGROUND  MUSIC!:
Kent,
While watching the NFL on  television this afternoon, I saw a commercial (don't ask me what the product was, I don't remember)  but I couldn't help but notice the song which was playing in the background. It was John Lee Hooker's  1962 recording of BOOM BOOM on  VJ, later remade by the Animals. First time I have seen, er heard, this commercial.
Larry
re:  THE BEACH  BOYS:
This one's for "Beach Boys" fans only!!!!
1932 Ford Little Deuce Coupe
Click here ... http://youtu.be/7klWRu5xDvk <http://youtu.be/7klWRu5xDvk>
1932 Ford Little Deuce Coupe
Click here ... http://youtu.be/7klWRu5xDvk <http://youtu.be/7klWRu5xDvk>
Dennis
re:  THE FEMALE  ELVIS:
Kent ... 
You wrote about Ann-Margret being  called the female Elvis.  I always thought that Wanda Jackson was called  the female Elvis. Maybe they both were female Elvises!
Frank B.
Frank B.
I've heard the  Wanda Jackson analogy before, too ... but Janis Martin???  Not so much!  (kk)
re:  FORGOTTEN HITS FACEBOOK  PAGE:
I had just finished posting my favorite flip  side on my wall in Facebook and then written a blurb about Forgotten Hits and  put the link up on the wall ... and I thought ... "I wonder if they have ever  gotten a page on Facebook?"   Then I looked ... and there it was! LOL
Hope this finds you both doing well!
Hope this finds you both doing well!
Doc
Actually, it's not our page ... I don't do  Facebook ... I can barely keep up with THIS!!!  But one of our readers (David  Lewis) started it and I guess a few people have stopped by from time to time so  that's kinda cool.  It'd be nice if it linked to each new posting on the website  so new readers could continue to discover what we do here ... of course if half  a million people showed up and "liked" our Facebook page we'd probably feel  differently ... but this week we passed a million and a half website visitors  ... so I can live with that!!!  (Considering that we started with a list of 35  folks, I think we've done all-right!!!  lol)  
Thanks, Doc ... good to hear from you ... and  thanks for the plug!  (kk)
Here's something from our FH buddy Alan O'Day (cowritten with Artie Wayne!)

 

