Friday, May 31, 2013

The Friday Flash

re: RECENT PASSINGS:
Ed Shaughnessy, whose mutton-chop whiskers and swinging rhythms made him one of the most famous drummers in jazz during his nearly three decades with Doc Severinsen's "Tonight Show" band, has died. He was 84. Shaughnessy had a heart attack Friday (May 24, 2013) at his Calabasas home, said William Selditz, a close family friend.
While his nightly gig on "The Tonight Show" brought him the kind of drumming fame previously bestowed on giants such as Gene Krupa, Shaughnessy also delved into more far-reaching musical realms. He studied for three years with legendary Indian tabla player Alla Rakha and played with such cutting-edge artists as bassist / composer Charles Mingus and trumpeter-bandleader Don Ellis.
"Ed's one of the only guys I know from his generation who's open-minded enough to try something new," Ellis once told an interviewer.
Buddy Rich called Shaughnessy "one of my all-time favorite drummers" — high praise from a musician whose dynamic, virtuosic style contrasted with Shaughnessy's profound belief in the drummer as a vital member of a band's rhythm section.
Times critic Leonard Feather agreed, writing in 1992 that Shaughnessy "does what jazz drummers were originally called on to do: Keep a firm swinging beat and play a supportive role."
An early advocate of bebop, Shaughnessy performed with Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, John McLaughlin, Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic, and George Balanchine and the New York City Ballet. For decades, he taught privately as well as conducting more than 600 clinics at high schools and universities.
Edwin Thomas Shaughnessy was born Jan. 29, 1929, in Jersey City, N.J. His father was a longshoreman and his mother sewed in a garment factory.
At 12, Shaughnessy started taking piano lessons and continued until his father brought home a drum set two years later.
Still in his teens when he became a regular participant in New York City's thriving jazz scene, he worked with Jack Teagarden and the popular bands led by George Shearing and Charlie Ventura before he turned 20.
He also played in numerous small jazz groups with such big names as Billie Holiday, Horace Silver and Gene Ammons. His big band career began in the 1950s with the Benny Goodman and Count Basie bands. He replaced Buddy Rich in Tommy Dorsey's band.
In the mid-1950s, he was a staff musician at CBS, performing on the Steve Allen and Garry Moore shows. From 1963 to 1992, Shaughnessy was the drummer with Severinsen's band on Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show." In Shaughnessy's 2010 memoir "Lucky Drummer," Severinsen called him "the superb engine that drove our Tonight Show Band for thirty years … with spirit and immense skill."
In the early 1970s, Shaughnessy helped a young singer named Dianne Schuur, who had been blind since birth, arranging for her to appear at the prestigious Monterey Jazz Festival. Her career soon took off.
He was inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame in 2004.
Shaughnessy married Ilene Woods in 1963. A singer, she was the voice of Disney's Cinderella in 1950. She died in 2010.
He is survived by his son Daniel Shaughnessy, his daughter-in-law Nicah Shaughnessy and three grandchildren. Another son, Jimmy, died in a 1984 traffic accident. (LA Times obituraries)
-- submitted by Ken Voss 
 
Found this on the Internet while listening to the Doors. Really tells you how good Ray Manzarek was.
TOP TEN ROCK KEYBOARDISTS
Keno's List (first complied, November 1998)
TOP TEN ROCK KEYBOARDISTS
As voted on by fans (Week of May 28, 2007)
1 Ray Manzarek (organ) 1 Billy Preston (organ)
2 Keith Emerson (synthesizer & organ) 2 Brian Jones (mellotron, harpsichord & organ)
3 Elton John (organ, synthesizer & mellotron) 3 Ray Manzarek (organ)
4 Stevie Wonder (organ & synthesizer) 4 Elton John (organ, synthesizer & mellotron)
5 Billy Preston (organ) 5 Garth Hudson (organ)
6 Steve Winwood (organ & synthesizer) 6 Stevie Wonder (organ & synthesizer)
7 Gregg Allman (organ) 7 Jon Lord (organ) (tie)
8 Brian Jones (mellotron, harpsichord & organ) 7 Steve Winwood (organ & synthesizer) (tie)
9 Richard Wright (organ & synthesizer) 9 Al Kooper (organ)
10 Rick Wakeman (organ & synthesizer) 10 Billy Joel (organ)
Vinnie C
 
 
Evidently folks missed our blurb over the weekend about the passing of original Comet Marshall Lytle ... we received dozens of news articles from readers this past week telling us about it! (Thanks to FH Reader Tom Diehl, first in with the news, and a heads up from Ron Smith and his www.oldiesmusic.com website, we were evidently one of the first in the country to break the news.)
 
>>>Marshall Lytle, bassist with Bill Haley's Saddlemen -- later re-named the Comets, died Saturday (May 25) of cancer. He was 80. Marshall joined Bill while a teen in 1951, playing "slap bass" with an upright instrument that created percussion (many rockabilly bands had no drummer for this reason, though the Comets had a good one in Dick Richards). He evolved a comedic style of performing with the bass (such as riding it like a horse) that was emulated by many others, including Elvis' bassist, Bill Black. Marshall co-wrote Bill's 1953 hit, "Crazy Man, Crazy" (#12) and performed on such classics as "Rock Around The Clock" (#1 - 1955), "Shake, Rattle & Roll" (#7 - 1954), "Dim, Dim The Lights" (#11 - 1955) and "Birth Of The Boogie" (#17 - 1955). He left Bill in 1955 over his meager salary and helped form the Jodimars, who recorded for Capitol Records with no chart success but became a Las Vegas staple. When the band broke up for good in the early '60s, he changed his name to Tommy Page and got into real estate and interior design. He re-joined the Comets on a reunion tour in 1987 and played with them for the next twenty years. Marshall was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame with the rest of the original Comets in 2012, correcting an oversight when Bill was inducted solo in 1987. (Ron Smith)
>>>We talked with Marshall a few years ago in Forgotten Hits, shortly after having much of his leg amputated. Incredibly, he continued to perform and remained in high spirits. Sad to hear that he has left us. One of the original greats. You can read an interview with Marshall Lytle (conducted by Bob Rush and first published in "The Beat", a UK publication for which Bob is the US correspondent, here: Click here: Forgotten Hits: The Forgotten Hits Interview - Marshall Lytle (kk)
 
Many considered Marshall Lytle The Father Of Rock and Roll. He passed away Saturday.
~ Marshall Lytle along with his friend Bill Haley sat around with Alan Freed 60 years ago to create the catch phrase Rock and Roll. Now 60s million selling artist James Marvell formerly of Mercy pays tribute in video to friend Marshall (original Comet and bassist of Bill Haley). This new video is from a song Marvell recorded back 40 years ago (see video below and MP3 attached).
Title: Remember Those Sweet Yesterdays
Artist: James Marvell ( formerly of Mercy, million seller "Love Can Make You Happy )
Writers: Charlie Black and Tommy Rocco
Length: 2:54
Label: LML Records ( Indie )
 
Marshall Lytle - A Founding Father of Rock n’ Roll
2012 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame bassist, Marshall Lytle (a/k/a Tommy Page) of Bill Haley’s Original Comets has now joined countless music legends in paradise. Marshall passed on Saturday May 25, 3:30 AM at his home in New Port Richey Florida. He was 79 years old. Lytle along with Haley paved the way for thousands of bands, singers and musicians including the Beatles. It was Marshall Lytle, ‘the ultimate showman’ who lifted the slap back bass to new levels on stage with his crazy antics of standing on top of it, playing it like a regular guitar and spinning his bass like a top. In addition to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame he was also a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
The book “Still Rocking Around the Clock” was published in 2009 that revealed the history of Lytle and is now in pre-production for a major motion picture. Bill Haley’s Comets song “Rock the Joint” was being broadcast over the airwaves when Alan Freed coined the term “Rock & Roll”. The distinctive bass playing of Marshall Lytle can be heard on many Rock & Roll Classics including Rock Around the Clock and Shake Rattle & Roll. In regard to his playing and super showmanship ... his influence on thousands of aspiring bassists who have studied the instrument is incomprehensible.
In the days before his passing, Lytle had been undergoing extensive treatments, due to stage four lung cancer.
Lytle services will be private.
-- submitted by Scott Shannon
 
From David Lewis:
 
Dear Forgotten Hits:
Another recent arrival in Rock And Roll Heaven, on Sunday 19 May, is Ronnie Splinter, lead guitarist and co-song writer for Amsterdam's garage and beat legends The Outsiders.
Who?
Anybody who is unfamiliar with The (Amsterdam) Outsiders, but digs the genre, ought to spend some ear time with some of their songs like "Filthy Rich" or "Misfit" -- or "Lying All The Time" and "Thinking About Today", which Mr. Splinter said were his two favorites. Their final album CQ, which has been available in re-release in both CD and vinyl format in recent years, is considered by some critics and reviewers to be at the same stratospheric altitude as The Zombies' Odessey & Oracle and The Pretty Things' SF Sorrow.
E. Briggs


re: HOODAT?
Wow! Only one response to this?!?!?
Tom Cuddy sent us an awesome backstage picture of the '70's Spectacular Line-Up from back in the '90's ... and wondered how many of our readers could identify some of the artists in the photo. Here's all we've got so far:
 

Sonny Geraci is guy right in the middle next to the guy in the yellow jacket in Tom Cuddy's photo ... that's a pretty cool group to get together!
Marlene
We know that Three Dog Night, Robert John, Andrew Gold, David Naughton, Ian Lloyd and the Stories, Rupert Holmes, Elliot Lurie and Looking Glass and the recently-departed Alan O'Day are also pictured here ... we're just wondering if you guys can pick them out. Not sure? Wanna take a stab? We'll run a photo-key on Sunday. (kk)
 
 
re: THIS AND THAT:
Kent ...
Just read this in my newspaper. Paul McCartney made his first visit to the one-time home of the King of Rock-n-Roll and left behind a gift. The lifelong Elvis fan toured Graceland. The former Beatle dropped a
personal guitar pick on Elvis' grave and said it was "so Elvis can play in heaven." Nice touch.
Sir Paul was in Memphis to play a show on the North American leg of his "Out There" tour.
Frank B.
Hard to believe Paul had never been to Graceland before. Of course, back in 1965 when The Beatles met Elvis, it was at his Bel Air mansion ... although Ringo later seemed to recollect hanging out in Elvis' jungle room. (The others joke about this on the "Anthology" video ... Ringo says he jammed with Elvis ... everything I've ever read said they barely spoke ... at one point, Elvis was going to go back upstairs if the guys weren't going to loosen up a bit. When they got there, Elvis was playing a bass guitar ... and Charlie Rich's "Mohair Sam" played over and over and over again on Elvis' jukebox!) 
This landmark event took place on my 12th birthday ... August 27th, 1965.  Here's a more detailed accounting I just found in "The Beatles Bible"  (kk)
 
TOP 30 SUMMER SONGS
Interesting list.
Wipe-Out is on twice (two versions).
Good representation of 60's tunes ...
Phil
We've posted your All-Time Summer Favorites quite a few times these past 14 years ... in fact, Scott Shannon has counted them down on The True Oldies Channel the past few years, too, in conjunction with our tandem poll. Here's our official posting: Click here: Forgotten Hits - Your All-Time Summer Favorites
 
A few days ago we talked about the 1968 Status Quo hit "Pictures Of Matchstick Men", a one-hit wonder here in The States (despite a pretty decent chart track record back home in the UK).
So imagine my surprise when I received word the other day about a brand new Status Quo release ...  
earMUSIC / Eagle Rock proudly announces STATUS QUO - BULA QUO!
More than “just” a new studio album by British rock icons Status Quo!
One CD with Quo’s new album ... Second Disc with all their hits as heard in the spy-comedy movie Bula Quo!, starring the band ~ 2CD and Digital Audio Out July 9 ~
New York, NY (May 29, 2013) — Experience classic rock artists Status Quo as you’ve never encountered them before. On July 9 2013, the band will release their new double album, Bula Quo! via earMUSIC/Edel/Eagle Rock Entertainment [MSRP $17.98].
Bula Quo! has been inspired by their incredible adventures filming their first ever feature-film of the same title. The first disc features nine brand new tracks, written as the soundtrack for the duo’s madcap escapades in the movie. Disc 2 contains exclusive reworked studio songs or live versions of 10 classic Quo hits, which are also featured in the film (including an amazing Fijian-style rendition of “Living On An Island”).
Status Quo is enjoying an exciting phase in their long and successful career, after the critical acclaim and the support received by their loyal audience for their previous studio album Quid Pro Quo and the relative tour. The 90-minute action movie Bula Quo! features the band as themselves and stars Craig Fairbrass [Cliff Hanger, Rise Of The Footsoldier, Eastenders] and Laura Aikman [Keith Lemon The Movie, Freight, Surviving Picasso] with Jon Lovitz [Saturday Night Live, The Critic, Friends, The Wedding Singer]. The film was directed by Stuart St. Paul, who has worked on projects ranging from Duran Duran’s seminal “Wild Boys” video, to Aliens, Batman and three James Bond films. The movie will hit the stores and theaters soon after summer.
“Making the film in Fiji was a fantastic experience and we couldn’t help but be inspired by our surroundings,” states vocalist/lead guitarist Francis Rossi. “We had no plans to write and release a new studio album as well as filming our parts for the movie, it just happened.”
Adds singer/rhythm guitarist Rick Parfitt: “We hope that Quo fans will enjoy the film, which is certainly something new for the band, but we know they are going to love the music.”
As the new material sounds inspired and fresh, it is one album not to be missed and the film is destined to become a cult for Quo fans. For everybody else… Bula Quo! will “simply” be one of their strongest releases ever!
TRACK LISTING
CD 1 – THE NEW ALBUM
1. Looking Out For Caroline / 2. GoGoGo / 3. Run and Hide (The Gun Song) / 4. Running Inside My Head /
5. Mystery Island / 6. All That Money / 7. Never Leave A Friend Behind / 8. Fiji Time / 9. Bula Bula Quo (Kua Ni Lega)
CD 2 – STUDIO AND LIVE
1. Living On An Island (Fiji Style) / 2. Frozen Hero / 3. Reality Cheque / 4. Rockin' All Over The World (Bula Edit) / 5. Caroline (Live) / 6. Beginning Of The End (Live) / 7. Don't Drive My Car (Live) / 8. Pictures Of Matchstick Men (Live) / 9. Whatever You Want (Live) / 10. Down Down (Live)
 
ABKCO RECORDS TO RELEASE SOUNDTRACK TO IFC FILMS
FRANCES HA FROM NOAH BAUMBACH ON MAY 28TH
INCLUDES MUSIC FROM PAUL MCCARTNEY, DAVID BOWIE, T REX, HOT CHOCOLATE, AND MORE!
ABKCO Records will release the soundtrack to Frances Ha, the newest film from writer-director Noah Baumbach whose screenplay for The Squid and the Whale earned an Academy Award® nomination. Frances Ha joins The Squid and the Whale and other critically lauded works that Baumbach has written and directed in recent years.
The soundtrack album, available for digital download on May 28, includes music from Paul McCartney, David Bowie, T Rex and Hot Chocolate. Music from previous Baumbach film collaborators Dean and Brita is also included as is a collection of romantic and evocative pieces from French composers Jean Constantin, Antoine Duhamel, and Maurice Jaubert that are heard throughout the film.
Frances Ha from IFC Films premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in September of 2012 and was subsequently screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival. Frances Ha is now playing nationwide; it achieved the highest per screen average of any film during its opening weekend in New York and Los Angeles.
Frances, played by Greta Gerwig, who co-wrote the screenplay, lives in New York, but she doesn't really have an apartment. Frances is an apprentice for a dance company, but she¹s not really a dancer. Frances has a best friend named Sophie, but they aren't really speaking anymore. Frances throws herself headlong into her dreams, even as their possible reality dwindles. Frances wants so much more than she has but lives her life with unaccountable joy and lightness. Frances Ha is a modern comic fable that explores New York, friendship, class, ambition, failure, and redemption. The cast also features Mickey Sumner, Adam Driver (Girls, Lincoln), and Michael Zegen (Adventureland, Boardwalk Empire).
In a film set in black and white, Baumbach chose to add color to the life of his energetic yet troubled heroine Frances by using music “that felt big, lush, and romantic.” Bookended by the rich compositions of Academy Award®-winning French film composer Georges Delerue, the soundtrack serves as the roadmap for Frances’ travels. She blissfully meanders through New York, takes melancholy strolls through Paris, wanders the woods of Poughkeepsie, and circles back again to the sounds of Paul McCartney, David Bowie, T Rex, Hot Chocolate, and Dean and Brita, making the music heard in Frances Ha a very integral component of the film’s narrative. Kenneth Turan, reviewing for the Los Angeles Times, named the film “a miracle of a movie” while Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers called it “Profanely funny. A glorious sight to see.”
Track Listing:
1. Camille- Georges Delerue
2. Chrome Sitar – T Rex
3. King Of Hearts La Pavane Polka - Georges Delerue
4. L’Ecole Buissoniere- Jean Constantin
5. Blue Sway – Paul McCartney
6. Domicile Conjugal- Antoine Duhamel
7. Modern Love- David Bowie
8. Million Dollar Doll- Dean and Britta
9. Every1’s A Winner- Hot Chocolate
10. Miss Butter’s Lament- Harry Nilsson
11. Negresco’s Waltz- Georges Delerue
12. King of Hearts Le Repos- Georges Delerue
Download the Album: http://bit.ly/FrancesHaSoundtrack
Official Movie Website: http://www.franceshamovie.com/
 
 
Check out Gary Pig Gold's new Cowsills list ... 45 Things I Bet You Never Knew About The Cowsills ...
Have you seen the documentary yet? Coming soon to home DVD. (kk)
 
 
And one more quick reminder ...
 
To all my Florida friends and fans ... I'll be playing the Luna Star Cafe in North Miami one week from tonight.
Here are the specifics:
Friday, June 7th at 8pm
Luna Star Cafe
775 NE 125th St
N Miami, FL
305-799-7123LunaStarCafe.com | lunastarcafe@aol.com
Call the club or my manager Jill Guerra (561-445-1370) for more information.
The usual Luna caveats:
1. It's a tiny, tiny place. So get there early to make sure of getting a comfy place to sit.
2. They don't take credit cards.
Hope I see you there.
Yers,
Bob Lindwww.boblind.com


re: FIRST 45:
My first singles? Good question.
As far as I can remember ... believe it or not, it was "The Exodus Song (This Land Is Mine)" by Pat Boone.
Yeah ... I wasn't much of a swinger at 11 years old ... keep in mind this was with my OWN money from doing errands around the house.
My first 45 that my folks got me was at age 8 and that was "The Chipmunk Song"
Do you at least see a bit of progress from 8 to 11?
No?
Well, by 1963 I was purchasing many more records ... (my allowance had increased) ... even though my folks had a hiss fit every time (especially my mom ... dad could have cared less) mom heard a new song being played from my closed bedroom.
It came to the point when I was smuggling records up under my shirt and down my pants (don't ask).
I remember on her birthdays and Christmas gave me a really good reason to buy HER a record of HER choice ... so I ended up purchasing "Red Roses For A Blue Lady by Bert Kaempfert, "Dear Heart" by Henry Mancini ... yep, she loved plenty of elevator music ... however these songs WERE hits on the local / national charts.
The Beatles changed my entire way of thought about music ... I STILL loved The 4 Seasons, Beach Boys and had a GREAT appreciation for Phil Spector and his "family" of singers ... I must have played "Be My Baby" and "Baby, I Love You" a million times.
My collection blossomed to 14,000 and probably many more throughout the sixties, seventies ... and some eighties (I was a mobile disc jockey for awhile during the 80's) and was forced to purchase a LOT of music that I did not like ... it mostly was garbage.
So, that is that ... the beginnings.
Gary Peters
P.S. I forgot to mention "Love Kitten" and the GREAT B side "Why Can't A Boy and Girl Just Stay in Love" by Noreen Corcoran (who starred in the old tv sitcom "Bachelor Father"). This record is AMAZING ... produced by Nino Tempo and sax played like a crazy man, also by Nino. I thought for SURE this was another Phil Spector-produced recording, but when I bought it, it was on The 4 Seasons label "Vee Jay"
WOW!!
Of course many years down the pike I learned that Nino was one of many who played in the "Wall of Sound" grouping that Phil launched for his own company Philles.
IF you've never heard this record, seek it out ... it's one of the best ever recorded in my book ... IF you're a "Wall of Sound" fan.
Gary
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