Monday, August 27, 2012

A Monday Morning Quickie!

Running out the door ... but wanted to share a few more quick comments from our readers ...


re: MAN ON THE MOON:

OK, by now EVERYBODY has heard about the Neil Armstrong / NBC News goof (or would that be guffaw?!?!?), right??? 



But personally I don't see what the problem is ...
I found this photo on Ron Smith's oldiesmusic.com website... 


Hey, we've all done it ... you have certain names that are always on the "tip of your tongue" / brain consciousness ... and, in a rush, those are the ones that come out. The other night I told somebody I was headed over to the Jimy Rogers Birthday Bash ... I know of only TWO guys named Jimmy who spell it Jimy ... Jimy Rogers (lead singer of The Mauds, who passed away a couple of years ago) ... and Jimy Sohns, lead singer of The Shadows Of Knight, whose birthday party / concert I was actually going out to see. Obviously, I knew where I was going ... but my brain / fingers typed "Rogers" instead "Sohns".  So I get where the NBC boner came from ... still pretty funny 'tho!   
At least they didn't credit Lance Armstrong ... who made a few headlines of his own this weekend. And I suppose they COULD have erroneously saluted Andy Kaufman ... wasn't HE the "man on the moon" in the REM song? (kk)





re: TAYLOR SWIFT / THE RED ALBUM:
Now THIS is kinda cool ... I just got an email from Tom Doody, original lead singer of The Cryan' Shames ... in response to all our Taylor Swift / Red Album discussions of late!
Hey Kent,
I think it is a hoot that Taylor Swift has found the power and the mystery of the red album. I think she is a remarkable young lady, with amazing talent. I am sure all the guys who were on three red albums with me wish her God speed.
Toad


Kent,
In regards to what Clark Besch said about Taylor Swift in that he said "I first saw her in a magazine", if I had seen her, I don't know if "I WANNA MEET (her)YOU. That record wasn't all that big a record here in OKC, but has always been one of my all time favorites by that group. It was a 'cryan' shame' it wasn't a bigger hit nationally.'
Larry Neal
Absolutely one of MY favorites, too ... another record that deserved a much better fate. (So let's feature it today!) #65 Nationally, #6 in Chicago ... 1966 (kk)



re: JIMY SOHNS:
>>>The band treated us to a wide array of music styles, including the completely UNexpected (a GREAT rendition of "Stealin'" by Uriah Heep ... and '60's classics like "Downtown", "Sunday Will Never Be The Same" and "I Fought The Law".) kk
Another big surprise Saturday Night was a couple of British Invasion tunes the group ... including a rollickin' version of "Glad All Over" by The Dave Clark Five. When a band announces in advance that "the next song we're going to do is a Beatles tune", the computer in my brain automatically kicks into overdrive, rapidly trying to guess WHICH song they're going to do before they hit that first note ... but I can honestly say that I would have mentally scanned through at least a hundred Beatles possibilities before I hit upon "Octopus' Garden", the Ringo tune off their "Abbey Road" album. Definitely NOT a most-anticipated live track, The Shadows Of Night medley'd it with "I've Just Seen A Face" for a rather interesting combo. (kk)

re: NO MILK TODAY:
Hi Kent,
No Milk today always stood out in the Hermits catalogue of tunes. I think the beginning was just so different and the first time you'd hear it you just stopped and went huh? That was probably especially true for young guitarists. Plus the production on the whole thing was and still is great. I love the bridge.
Bill

It's a GREAT tune that, in hindsight, certainly deserved a better fate on the charts. That being said, it clearly remains a "fan favorite" ... and Herman's Hermits released one hell of a catalog of fan favorites! (kk)


 

re: THE IOWA ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME: 
Hi Kent,
I had just gotten hooked on Forgotten Hits when the computer issues hit you. Glad to see that you're back on track.
You might want to mention the induction activities this coming weekend at the Iowa Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame. I'm not a spokesperson for the organization but have included the link for anyone who might be interested in the event. www.iowarocknroll.com
Among this year's inductees is Tommy Roe. He's also appearing at a casino just south of Sioux City this weekend.
I finally decided to do a long term loan of my New Colony Six autograph from the late sixties and a few of the groups radio promo 45's to the museum. As you are aware, the NC6 was previously inducted into their Hall. Connie Mueller, the curator, has a few vintage pictures of the group and plans on putting together a display. Wouldn't it be great if one of the guys would loan the museum one of those old jackets?!? What do you think Ray? :-)
Steve Hotvedt
Actually, I suggested that maybe Ronnie Rice ought to donate HIS jacket ... it probably doesn't fit him anymore anyway!!! I've never quite understood the criteria for induction into The Iowa Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame ... The New Colony Six were inducted years ago ... but they're from Chicago. Meanwhile, it's great to see Tommy Roe (who was born in Georgia!!!) earning his spot. (Huh???)  kk


re: ANGIE BABY:
VERY cool to hear from Alan O'Day after he read our coverage of his surprise on-stage appearance with Helen Reddy to sing the #1 Hit he wrote for her back in 1974 ...
Hey Kent!
Thanks for sharing the YouTube URL. If my Canyon Club appearance was pre-arranged, I certainly wasn't in on it. I came as a guest of Helen's son and I was already delighted to hear how great she sounded, after some ten years away from performing. However I had been cautioned NOT to expect any of her hits to be part of the program.
Then (before the video rolled), she said she hoped the writer of the "next song" was here, mentioned me, and praised the "Angie Baby".
That would have been enough to make my evening (after all, this was about the artist, not one of her writers!). But when she forgot the lyrics (not urprising as she hadn't rehearsed the song) and asked me to come up, I was astonished and thrilled.
I barely even met Helen back in the day when she recorded Angie Baby. But in two more recent "hangs" with her, I have come away as an admirer, not only of her singing, but of her intelligence and survival skills (her book "The Woman I Am" is shocking and revealing of what she went through).
In fact, I'm considering following her to all future shows (
http://helenreddy.com/), hoping she'll forget the lyrics again and invite me up! (haha ... )
Thanks again, Kent (and David Lewis)
Alan
Without question, this is a haunting song ... and Alan recorded his own version of the tune, too, which we featured some time back in Forgotten Hits. DEFINITELY worth another spin today! (kk)



re: EDUCATING EACH COMING GENERATION:
I'M GONNA SIT RIGHT DOWN AND WRITE KENT A LETTER ...
I dropped the 'kisses on the bottom' McCartney title explanation to FH a while back ...
The 25 year old 'woman' I had brought it up to didn't have a clue. (I prefer the data-base-in-MY-head that I draw from)
YOU seemed 'startled' that such a classic standard would need explanation.
In a later conversation, I was told she'd never seen many classic movies ... including CASABLANCA!
How do you AVOID that one? (and so many others! So many pop culture references there!)
On the one hand, I'm sad for her (and us all), but on the other?
SHE HAS SOME GREAT THINGS COMING HER WAY (if she looks) THAT I'LL NEVER EXPERIENCE FOR THE FIRST TIME AGAIN!
RENFIELD
It's true ... learning about it after the fact just isn't the same as experiencing it first hand ... but learning it, loving it and developing a deep affection and appreciation for it can't be beat ... which has always been part of OUR goal with Forgotten Hits. SO many great tunes aren't played on the radio anymore that they soon leave our consciousness, NEVER to be discovered by the future generations ... and that's just wrong ... a REAL shame. We're just doing our part to help keep this great music alive. Like I keep saying ... "We're Saving The Oldies ... One Song At A Time."
(By the way, what did you think of the Barry Manilow version? I think it blows Macca's away ... and there's absolutely NOTHING wrong with the way McCartney did it ... I just REALLY like Barry's interpretation.) kk

Speaking of which ...

I have a teacher friend who wants to do something with music, primarily Rock & roll. I have noticed through your newsletter that Shelley J. Sweet-Tufano does a Music in the 20th Century reading program. I would love to talk to her about what she does. Whenever I see her posts, it always sounds fabulous. What an interesting way to teach today's kids about the music of the past that we all grew up with.
BTW thanks for the great response to my chart info question.
Bill
Yeah, I would LOVE to teach a class like that, wouldn't you? Hey, maybe Forgotten Hits could write the book on the curriculum?!?!? Ironically, I'm working with Shelley on another project right now. As a final assignment, she had her fifth grade students write an essay regarding what they learned about the music of the '60's in her class ... and we're going to be running some of those essays right here in Forgotten Hits! (This series is in the editing process right now ... I had hoped to kick it off as sort of a "Back To School" special ... but we're still playing major catch-up here so this, too, has been slightly delayed.) We may even turn it into a bit of a contest ... have the readers vote on the best response and award some sort of prize to the winner.
Sadly, one student's essay had to be disqualified because of heavy plagiarism ... wouldn't it have been funny if he had copied his information from The Forgotten Hits Website?!?!?
Anyway, watch for it soon. Meanwhile, I have forwarded your email to Shelley ... maybe she can tell you how she sets up her class studies and you guys can compare notes. (kk)

And then THIS just in from Shelley:

Sounds like the fun is spreading around. 
I will love sharing my info. 
Thank you, Kent.
Shelley