re: PALISADES PARK:
The other day we told you about the big Palisades Park Concert that Cousin Brucie was hosting for Sirius XM. Now here come a few pics from Mitch Schecter of The Rip Chords ... one of the acts who performed on the bill!
Hey Kent ...
Had a great time at Cousin Brucie's First Annual Palisades Park Reunion Concert at The Meadowlands, just outside of NYC. It was an amazing lineup of artists ... all of whom had performed at Palisades Park for Cousin Brucie back in the 60's. We did two songs ... most everyone did two songs ... a concert just like the old days. I've enclosed a photo of the poster, a photo of Richie and Bobby with Ronnie Spector and a photo of us with Cousin Brucie. Next up for us is a big show in Simi Valley, California ... more on that later.
Mitch Schecter / The Rip Chords
I was there. Excellent show. Several hundred people sitting. Many more standing. Many people clapping. Some dancing in the aisles here and there. The audience really seemed to be enjoying the show. Brucie wore his leopard jacket. To me the high point was definitely Ronnie Spector, who closed the show. She still has a great voice & looks fantastic. Also the Rip Chords sounded great doing "Hey Little Cobra" and a movie soundtrack song of theirs. Lesley Gore also did an excellent short set. The Crests singing the Righteous Brothers song "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" was also a highlight for me. Neil Sedaka was sick and didn't make the show. From what Bruce was saying, this is going to be an annual event. Couldn't beat the price: free with $9.00 admission to the fair & $4.00 parking.
Tommy Withatee
re: FREDDY CANNON: |
You can't really talk about Palisades Park without mentioning Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon! This rock and roll pioneer is STILL rockin' ... playing around the globe to devoted audiences trying to recapture the magic of those early days of rock and roll ... and still sounding great, I might add!
Freddy has a brand new single release ... on 7" VINYL no less! It's a rockin' recording of "Keep Movin'" backed with "Move It On Over", recorded with The Gears, an LA Punk Group ... and you can pick up YOUR copy here: www.wondercaprecords.com ... or download the tracks on iTunes. (kk)
In fact, we may have an autographed copy to give away to one lucky Forgotten Hits Reader in the weeks to come ... stay tuned for more details! (kk)
re: ANOTHER PASSING:
Ron Smith tells us of another recent passing ...
Bobby "Blue" Bland, whose blues recordings hit 18 times on the top ten R&B charts from 1960 to 1966, died Sunday (June 23) at his Memphis home from complications of an ongoing illness. He was 83.
Born in Rosemark, Tennessee, in 1930, Robert Calvin Bland sang with the gospel group, the Miniatures in the late '40s. In 1949, he sang with B.B. King, Rosco Gordon and Johnny Ace in the Beale Streeters. After a stint in the Army, he supplemented his solo career by serving as B.B.'s valet and chauffeur before eventually singing in Johnny's revue. He signed with Modern Records in 1952, but it was on Duke Records in 1957 that he finally charted with "Farther Up The Road" (#43 Pop, #1 - R&B). That was the first of 64 R&B hits, 44 of which crossed over to the pop charts, including "Turn On Your Love Light" (#28 Pop, #2 R&B - 1962), "Call On Me" (#22 Pop, #6 R&B - 1963), "Ain't Nothing You Can Do" (#20 Pop, #3 R&B - 1964), "I Pity The Fool" (#46 Pop, #1 R&B - 1961) and "That's The Way Love Is" (#33 Pop, #1 R&B - 1963). Bobby was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Memphis Music Hall of Fame last year. He received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy award in 1997.
I really got into the blues in high school in the late 50s, amassing everything I could find by Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker, Lightnin' Hopkins and B.B. King.
I found that there were no albums by another of my favorites, Bobby "Blue" Bland, but his singles were great ... but hard for me to find. "Further On Up the Road" was the first one I bought in 1957 and it was a different kind of blues, with much fuller orchestration than Jimmy, John Lee and Lightnin's, but still blues. His first album came in 1961 and then they started really coming and by the end of the seventies I must have had at least 20 of his albums.
He began to cross over to the pop charts in the sixties with "That's the Way Love Is", "Call On Me", "Cry, Cry, Cry" and "Ain't Nothin' You Can Do". His "Turn On Your Lovelight" is the definitive version and nothing in the blues rocks quite like "Don't Cry No More". Bobby became more unique as he grew older because of his "squall" and his many appearances and releases with B.B. King, including their classic version of "Let the Good Times Roll", brought him a larger audience.
One of a kind, Bobby "Blue" Bland.
Danny Guilfoyle
re: PAUL REVERE AND THE RAIDERS:
>>>Back in HS ('64 - '68) I could go to the on-campus Youth Center and have lunch. Eventually, I noticed on the juke box "Ain't Nobody Who Can Do It Like Leslie Can" by Paul Revere and the Raiders. It wasn't a real winner, but I played it a lot (apparently I was the only one who did), and finally the manager got tired of it and rejected it. I never did notice what the flip side was. Can you tell me? (Skipper)
I found that there were no albums by another of my favorites, Bobby "Blue" Bland, but his singles were great ... but hard for me to find. "Further On Up the Road" was the first one I bought in 1957 and it was a different kind of blues, with much fuller orchestration than Jimmy, John Lee and Lightnin's, but still blues. His first album came in 1961 and then they started really coming and by the end of the seventies I must have had at least 20 of his albums.
He began to cross over to the pop charts in the sixties with "That's the Way Love Is", "Call On Me", "Cry, Cry, Cry" and "Ain't Nothin' You Can Do". His "Turn On Your Lovelight" is the definitive version and nothing in the blues rocks quite like "Don't Cry No More". Bobby became more unique as he grew older because of his "squall" and his many appearances and releases with B.B. King, including their classic version of "Let the Good Times Roll", brought him a larger audience.
One of a kind, Bobby "Blue" Bland.
Danny Guilfoyle
re: PAUL REVERE AND THE RAIDERS:
>>>Back in HS ('64 - '68) I could go to the on-campus Youth Center and have lunch. Eventually, I noticed on the juke box "Ain't Nobody Who Can Do It Like Leslie Can" by Paul Revere and the Raiders. It wasn't a real winner, but I played it a lot (apparently I was the only one who did), and finally the manager got tired of it and rejected it. I never did notice what the flip side was. Can you tell me? (Skipper)
>>>The track comes from The Raiders' "Revolution" album ... but I don't show it ever appearing on a single. (Maybe it was on a jukebox EP???) kk
Hi Kent,
Regarding Paul Revere and the Raiders’ “Revolution” LP (1967) – What a wonderful album that was! Here’s a review of the CD reissue I found on amazon. The reviewer offers some information on the session musicians and also believes that "Ain't Nobody Who Can Do It Like Leslie Can" was issued on 45. However, like you, I can find no evidence of that. Here’s the review:
“Although this fine album contains one authentic "Paul Revere & The Raiders" cut, "Ain't Nobody Who Can Do It Like Leslie Can", a 1966 B-side (featuring a rare lead vocal from Revere), the rest of the album is performed by Mark Lindsay and producer / co-writer Terry Melcher. Melcher even does much of the lead vocal on the song "Tighter".
The instruments are by Terry Melcher & Van Dyke Parks (keyboards), Jerry Cole, Ry Cooder and ex-Raider, Drake Levin (guitars), Hal Blaine and Jim Gordon (drums) and an unidentified bassist.
The techniques used during recording (live during mix down overdubs) means that half of the songs can be presented only in mono; though the stereo remix of "Him or Me - What's it Gonna Be?" that debuted on the "Essential Ride" CD is included, as are several good bonus tracks, including an extended / unedited version of "The Legend of Paul Revere”. Too bad that Sundazed couldn't give us liner notes with complete details about who played what.
Paul Revere's involvement in the studio obviously ended in late 1966. Mark Lindsay would, from this point onwards, make the records with whomever he wished, whether that meant session men or a combination of session men and some Raiders (but not Revere himself).”
Best wishes,
Mike Edwards
Hi Kent:
Hi Kent:
For the Raiders Juke box player. I did see that the flip side of “Ups And Downs” is called “Leslie” ... maybe that’s what he played.
Ken Freck
Hmmm ... I didn't see that one ... but you may be right. Anybody have a copy of the single who can say for sure? (Scroll back to Monday's posting to listen to the track to be sure) kk
re: JAMES BROWN:
>>>The other day I heard "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" and it reminded me of something that Bob Slade mentioned years ago on his WRKS 98.7 - New York Sunday night "Soul Beginnings" show. He said that the original recording of the James Brown was actually 'sped up', when it was released as a single. Was wondering if you are familiar with the story and does anyone have the 'slow' version that we might be able to hear? (John)
>>>I did a little bit of digging around on this but didn't really come up with much. However the B-Side of that single (Part II) definitely has a slower feel to it ... I wonder if this is how the whole song originally started out. Anybody know for sure? (kk)
I recall that James Brown's uptempo hit "I Got You" was previously recorded in a slow arrangement as "I Found You" by Yvonne Fair, who was part of his revue. It wouldn't surprise me if he experimented with slow and fast arrangements of other songs as well.
re: JAMES BROWN:
>>>The other day I heard "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" and it reminded me of something that Bob Slade mentioned years ago on his WRKS 98.7 - New York Sunday night "Soul Beginnings" show. He said that the original recording of the James Brown was actually 'sped up', when it was released as a single. Was wondering if you are familiar with the story and does anyone have the 'slow' version that we might be able to hear? (John)
>>>I did a little bit of digging around on this but didn't really come up with much. However the B-Side of that single (Part II) definitely has a slower feel to it ... I wonder if this is how the whole song originally started out. Anybody know for sure? (kk)
I recall that James Brown's uptempo hit "I Got You" was previously recorded in a slow arrangement as "I Found You" by Yvonne Fair, who was part of his revue. It wouldn't surprise me if he experimented with slow and fast arrangements of other songs as well.
Ed Salamon
Hi Kent,
I saw where you were looking for the original slowed down version of James Brown's "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" -- on his Star Time album released in 1991 he has both versions -- an extended "slow version" and the "single" version. Another favorite of mine by James Brown is "I'll Go Crazy" -- the best version of this song is by the Buckinghams, off their "Kind Of A Drag" album -- Clarence Clemons' "Live In Asbury Park" sounds pretty incredible, too, with his version that features a killer horn section.
Hi Kent,
I saw where you were looking for the original slowed down version of James Brown's "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" -- on his Star Time album released in 1991 he has both versions -- an extended "slow version" and the "single" version. Another favorite of mine by James Brown is "I'll Go Crazy" -- the best version of this song is by the Buckinghams, off their "Kind Of A Drag" album -- Clarence Clemons' "Live In Asbury Park" sounds pretty incredible, too, with his version that features a killer horn section.
Another song the Buckinghams kicked up a notch was their 1967 version of "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" which was a hit a year earlier for Cannonball Adderley. Just a brief footnote ... was certainly surprised Rolling Stone did a couple page article on Darlene Love in a recent issue. Darlene Love's voice, though credited to the Crystal's, on the Gene Pitney-written song of "He's A Rebel" is one of the all time great pop songs. Was surprised the article didn't make note of her also being in the group Bob B. Sox & The Blue Jeans with their hit "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Da." She and her group the Blossoms, I am pretty sure did a lot of backing vocals for Elvis during his Vegas gigs too.
Tim Kiley
Tim Kiley
The Buckinghams' version of "I'll Go Crazy" was their first chart hit here in Chicago, peaking at #19 in 1966, a good nine months before the group caught on nationally with their #1 Hit "Kind Of A Drag".
Darlene first started singing background on Elvis sessions back in the '60's ... in fact, she was part of Elvis' 1968 Television Comeback Special, too. While there is something familiar-sounding about Love singing with Elvis during the Las Vegas years, I can't find anything to substantiate it. (I think that role was filled more by The Sweet Inspirations than The Blossoms at this point ... but I'm sure one of the may Elvis experts on the list can verify this for sure.) kk
re: VIDEO CLIPS:
re: VIDEO CLIPS:
If you like to dance or ever wished that you could ... you'll enjoy watching this.
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.
Gary Pike
You'll find more than a few favorites here! (kk)
FH Reader Tom Cuddy tells us about a new Chicago remake ...
FH Reader Tom Cuddy tells us about a new Chicago remake ...
The legendary Chicago have recorded a cover of the old Spiral Starecase hit More Today Than Yesterday with the Les Deux Love Orchestra for what may be the start of an entire album of songs of classic R&B.
Spiral Starecase were an American ‘one-hit wonder’ band whose only hit was More Today Than Yesterday in 1969. The song has been covered by Diana Ross, Sonny & Cher, Goldfinger and was featured in the movies My Girl (1991) and The Waterboy (1998) as well as an episode of Ally McBeal.
Chicago’s Robert Lamm was introduced to Bobby Woods of the Les Deux Love Orchestra by Gerry Beckley of the band America. “Woods had an idea for Chicago and Les Deux to revisit the great music of the era (mostly Classic R&B) – when Chicago was in its formative stage. More Today Than Yesterday loosely fit the concept as I’ve always loved this record by Spiral Starecase,” Lamm said in a statement.
Woods says, Sometimes you have to do things for the fun of it. When Robert suggested More Today Than Yesterday, my immediate response was, ‘Definitely!’ I had a blast working the horns out with Chicago co-founder and trumpet player, Lee Loughnane. It goes without saying that Jason Scheff (bass, backing vocals) is a monster – the guy can do anything”.
Click here: "More Today Than Yesterday" -Chicago (feat. Les Deux Love Orchestra) - YouTube
Chicago and the Les Deux Love Orchestra’s version of More Today Than Yesterday is available exclusively through iTunes.Read more: http://www.vintagevinylnews.com/2013/06/listen-more-today-than-yesterday-by.html#ixzz2X5H266ug
Spiral Starecase were an American ‘one-hit wonder’ band whose only hit was More Today Than Yesterday in 1969. The song has been covered by Diana Ross, Sonny & Cher, Goldfinger and was featured in the movies My Girl (1991) and The Waterboy (1998) as well as an episode of Ally McBeal.
Chicago’s Robert Lamm was introduced to Bobby Woods of the Les Deux Love Orchestra by Gerry Beckley of the band America. “Woods had an idea for Chicago and Les Deux to revisit the great music of the era (mostly Classic R&B) – when Chicago was in its formative stage. More Today Than Yesterday loosely fit the concept as I’ve always loved this record by Spiral Starecase,” Lamm said in a statement.
Woods says, Sometimes you have to do things for the fun of it. When Robert suggested More Today Than Yesterday, my immediate response was, ‘Definitely!’ I had a blast working the horns out with Chicago co-founder and trumpet player, Lee Loughnane. It goes without saying that Jason Scheff (bass, backing vocals) is a monster – the guy can do anything”.
Click here: "More Today Than Yesterday" -Chicago (feat. Les Deux Love Orchestra) - YouTube
Chicago and the Les Deux Love Orchestra’s version of More Today Than Yesterday is available exclusively through iTunes.Read more: http://www.vintagevinylnews.com/2013/06/listen-more-today-than-yesterday-by.html#ixzz2X5H266ug
re: TONIGHT:
Tonight at 10 PM (Eastern) I will be trying out a two-hour folk music program. I am calling it RETURN TO BLEECKER STREET! Lots of music from the 1960's plus some of today!
There aren't enough folk music shows around so I am going to try this out.
