Thursday, January 5, 2012

Helping Out Our Readers

re:  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 the bass voice in The Drew-Vels belonged to Carlton Black (who was married to Patti's sister Emma).  Maybe he stayed with her after she started her solo career???  (kk)  
Well, Patti was found singing with Carlton during an '80's event.  Logically, that tells me it's most likely Carlton has always been at Patti's side.
Best,
John 
My best guess would also give the honor to Carlton Black ... was just looking for some sort of "official" confirmation.  (kk)
 
Kent ...
You mentioned the fact that Charlie Gracie was appearing at the World Cafe in Philadelphia on 12/30/2011.  I checked Ron Smith's fine book "Eight Days A Week" and found out that Charlie Gracie recorded "Butterfly" on 12/30/1956. Maybe in some future edition of Forgotten Hits you can ask Charlie to compare those two days. I'd be interested in knowing what happened on both days.
Frank B.
I passed your note along to Charlie Gracie ... hopefully we'll hear something back from him soon (and I can include his comments and memories in a future edition of Forgotten Hits.) 
Meanwhile, here are a few comments about that most recent December 30th performance ... and a picture or two, too!  (kk)
THANK YOU ONE AND ALL!
We had a capacity crowd for Philly's Original Rocker, CHARLIE GRACIE, yesterday at the WORLD CAFE THEATER in Philadelphia ... and it went out "live" all across the UNITED STATES on N.P.R. (National Public Radio) and was heard here locally on WXPN 88.5 FM.  We are grateful to ALL who came out for CHARLIE GRACIE'S noon concert.
CHARLIE performed two new songs from his new ABKCO CD, "For The Love of Charlie!" ... as well as his new SONY SINGLE, "Baby Doll" ... both now receiving lots of airplay around the country!  In fact, BABY DOLL is # 6 this week on WXPN 88.5 FM's TOP TEN! Richie Scarlet of KISS is a fan and guest player on this new single, which can now be purchased at ITUNES.
Charlie's NEW CD, FOR THE LOVE OF CHARLIE on ABKCO, is on the rise too -- heartfelt thanks to all of you!
The NEW CD (For The Love of Charlie ... with special guests Al Kooper, Quentin Jones, Peter Noone, Dennis Diken, Graham Nash and Jimmy Vivino ... will soon be available in music and book stores -- BUT can be obtained RIGHT NOW at AMAZON.COM or ABKCO.COM.  
A Blessed Happy New Year To All!
Charlie Gracie Jr.

 
 
Hey Kent,
I need help finding an Eydie Gorme song on CD.  It's called "I Want You To Meet My Baby".  I believe I've seen it only once on a CD, but it was EXPENSIVE!  It is so hard to find any info about it.  I know it came out in the Spring / Summer of '64 and stalled at #43 nationally.  
I believe Weil / Mann wrote this one.  
Here's a YouTube clip -- (It sounds VERY clear)
I heard somewhere that Eydie and Steve purchased her back-catalog and have kept it from re-releases.  Is this true???  The song is so catchy -- it's a real golden oldie that would sound great on the radio!  Why would they not want any recognition on much of her work?
I also managed to run into this -
The song appears to be track #25 (although it is the only artist not listed).  I would like a nice, clean copy and was unsure if this aircheck would sound distorted or have any talking over it -- although it does look like a neat Biondi CD.  However, I've never bought or heard one of these old airchecks.  Basically, I'm stuck.  I don't know where else to get the song or anything about it.  Do you have any thoughts?
Thanks,
AJK, The Youngest Oldies Freak Around
I seem to remember Collectors' Choice Music offering the complete Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme catalog a while back ... I just checked their site and found several titles still available:
Based on this, I'd say there are a number of selections still available to choose from (but I couldn't find the particular song you were looking for listed amongst them.)
As for "I Want You To Meet My Baby", I wasn't familiar with it before ... but it's not a bad tune.  (My guess is it was the intended B-Side since the flip is called "Can't Get Over The Bossa Nova", an obvious reference to Gorme's biggest chart record "Blame It On The Boss a Nova", a #6 Hit the year before.)  kk
 
Hi Kent,
Well I'm wondering if anyone out there in forgottenhitsland would have a copy of The Cowsills In Concert album?  I used to have it, but it has disappeared.
I wanted to show my band mates the version of Good Vibrations that they did on that album.
Hey, it might be cool for the Forgotten Hits freaks to hear it, too, since one of the Cowsills is going to play drums in the Beach Boys' reunion tour, if it happens.
Thanks for any help you or the rest of the fab folks out there can provide.
Bill
That would be John Cowsill, who's been touring as part of The Beach Boys band for a few years now as their drummer.  (Most of the upcoming reunion band will be Brian Wilson's back-up band but John made the cut from the old guard.)
I checked online to see if there was a digital download for The Cowsills' live album but didn't see one.  Maybe someone out there has a copy and can send us a copy of their version of The Beach Boys Classic "Good Vibrations"???  (kk)
 
Kent;
Years back I purchased the LP 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong.
20 or so years later, I came upon a German pressing of same LP, but with six songs added.
Then along comes the CD and all but three Elvis LPs are issued in Canada.
A few years later, in order to entice purchasing, they issued the same LP, but added BONUS tracks.
Seems the songs on some soundtracks that were labeled BONUS are actually the issue edition of a song cut from the movie.
So what was originally issued on an LP is then issued on a CD (VARIED ARTISTS, I figure ) and then, a few more songs on there that weren't on, the LP.
And it's called a "Bonus."
I can DIG that.
Some varied labels issued a few 33 but mostly 45s with three tunes / songs per side.
NEVER did an LP contain only eight or nine songs.
But now they issue a CD with 8 to 10 songs ONLY ... or a CD with 8 songs numbered and THEN
2 or 3 more listed under "BONUS SONGS".
How are these songs issued as "BONUS" if the CD was never issued with less songs??
To me, the only PLUS in regards to the CD over the LP is that all the tunes / songs are on one side.
There were stories awhile back about RADIO djs, going out of their way to "MARK" up the
45 / LP, by scoring the recording ... by wearing the groove down, just before the sound started.
WHY??????????? would anyone do such a thing?
Also, it was less likely to mark a record at a radio station because the needles on those arms
were designed specifically for the CUEING act, being perpendicular whereas the needle on the
players for consumer use, the needle was angled.  
IF anyone had a player with a neutral spot on the player, they, too, could easily CUE a record for varied reasons, but this wasn't done as MUCH as at radio stations.
RAREST 78 I got?
Likely recorded in the early 1930s, as the guy speaking was killed in a plane crash in Burrow Alaska.  WILL ROGERS doing commentary.
Robert Black; 
Kincardine / Willowdale
The way record companies have taken advantage of the consumers for SO many years now is appalling. I personally have bought ... and rebought ... and rebought ... and bought again the EXACT same music in every new format that's become available, just to have the latest and greatest pressings and technology in my collection ... and then they go and make the old technology obsolete, giving you no choice BUT to re-buy your entire collection. (And some of this stuff STILL hasn't become available, either locked in vaults or having already been determined as being of no commercial value.)
It's a shame ... and really it breeds no loyalty for the fan or the artist.  (Seems to me that if I'm buying The Beatles White Album for the 15th time, I ought to get SOME sort of discount for doing so ... or, at the very least, be able to trade in my old copy toward my new, improved one!!!  But that ain't NEVER gonna happen!!!)  So much for "proven loyalty"!!!  (lol)
When they come out with these re-pressings, offering special "bonus tracks", that's the enticement to get you to buy it again.  Crazy thing is they'll sometimes do this AGAIN just a few months down the road ... after you've already upgraded to what you THOUGHT was the latest, new-and-improved edition ... only to find out that the brand new, DELUXE new-and-improved edition was released six months later with one or two more "goodies" not on the edition you just bought.  Or, they'll deliberately leave off a key track or two (especially on compilations) so that you have to buy Greatest Hits Volume 1, 2, 3 and 4 IN ADDITION TO the Deluxe Box Set in order to truly have ALL of an artist's hits.
Maybe that will all change now in the world of digital downloads.  Now you can pick and choose exactly what you want in your collection.  (Remember the old days of buying an LP, discovering the "bum" tracks and then having to get up out of your seat to lift the tone arm over the tracks you didn't care for?!?!?  Same way with cassette tapes ... you'd either have to fast-forward ... or listen!  At least with a CD you could program it to play ONLY the tracks you wanted to hear ... and even repeat a couple of them multiple times if you chose to do so.
Fact is, in the digital world, everyone becomes their own program director.  (Just another reason why radio is dying a slow, painful death.)  Now folks at home can listen to ANYTHING they want to, ANY TIME they want to, ANYWHERE they want to, and mix and match to whatever mood they happen to be in that particular day.  No more "duds" ... no more commercials (which sometimes nowadays go on for six or seven minutes, creating MAJOR breaks in the action ... long enough to check out what's playing on every other radio station on the dial.  I can remember a time when they didn't want you to turn away for 30 seconds for fear that you might not come back!!!)
Dylan was right ... the times, they are a-changin' ... and not necessarily for the better.  (kk)
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