re: This And That:
With word last week that Glen Campbell had been checked into an Alzheimer's
Facility, I wondered how Mark Bego was coming with his new book, first mentioned
here several months ago in Forgotten Hits, written with Glen's daughter (and
band member) Debby.
Here's the latest news from Mark himself ...
Kent:
Thank you so much for asking about an update on one of
my favorite subjects, Glen Campbell. You just so happen to have caught me
at the right moment, and I am happy to make a statement to you about my new book
on Glen.
My new book (my 61st published book!), "Life With My
Father: Glen Campbell", which I have written with Glen's daughter Debby
Campbell, has been one of my most rewarding experiences I have had as a
biographer. It is published by Omnibus Press in London, and it was just
recently released in bookstores in the United Kingdom on April 14, 2014. It
is also available globally on both Kindle (Amazon.com) and Nook (Barnes &
Nobel) as of that date as well. Here in America, the print version of the
book will be in US bookstores on September 11, 2014, where it will be released
via a sublicensing deal with Overlook Press. Until that time it can be
purchased via British Amazon.com if anyone in America wants a hard copy of it
before September of this year. While it sounds a bit confusing, I am thrilled
that it is out, and people in the US can get copies on the internet.
Now, with all of that being said, it is interesting and
timely to note that while the British edition of the book was being released
this past week, it was also announced that Glen Campbell has been admitted to a
Nashville area facility for Alzheimer's sufferers, and is no longer living at
home. This has been sad and upsetting for Glen's family, and his millions of
fans around the world. His oldest daughter, Debby, visited with him on Saturday
in Nashville at this facility, and found him to be comfortable and in good
spirits. I am so happy to have been a part of helping Debby tell her touching
story about her life with her father.
Most people don't realize that Glen has had four
separate families, from each of his four wives. He had one child (Debby) from
his first marriage, three children from his second wife, one from his third, and
three from his fourth wife. For Debby, this has made it especially challenging
to have had a strong relationship with her father. However, she always made an
extra effort to remain actively involved in her father's life no matter who he
was married to at the time. And, in the middle of all of this was Glen's highly
publicized affair with Tanya Tucker. Debby had the extremely gratifying
pleasure of singing and performing in Glen's act for 24 years. She was his duet
vocalist, and at times she was his opening act. She can even been heard on some
of his recordings, most notably her touching duet version of the song "Let It Be
Me" that she sang with Glen, which appears on the incredible 2002 boxed set:
"Glen Campbell: Legacy." That being said, I am happy to have this touching new
book out on the marketplace at this time. It is a beautiful, heartfelt, and
often heartbreaking account of a daughter's struggles to remain in her father's
life. However Glen's fans find this book -- via Kindle, Nook, Amazon, or
bookstore -- I am proud to have this book as part of my writing catalog. Debby
Campbell has become a dear friend of mine, and for me, writing this book with
her has been a labor of love. I hope everyone enjoys it, and finds it to be a
gratifying and in-depth look at one of our truly great singing legends: the
incredible Glen Campbell.
Happy Easter! Eat lots of chocolate and Peeps! I will
too ... LOL!
Cheers,
Mark
I finally had a chance to catch up on some TV over the Easter Holiday
Weekend ... and was pleased to see our FH Buddy Tony Hatch featured with TWO
songs in a recent episode of "Glee". The show kicked off with Rachel being
picked up in her new limo and heading "Downtown" ... and then, after Artie had
been robbed in the subway, she accompanied her former classmate for a ride on
the subway while performing Tony's "Don't Sleep In the Subway". BOTH songs were
HUGE hits for Petula Clark back in the mid-'60's. ("Downtown" topped the charts
in early 1965 ... and "Subway" peaked at #5 a couple of years later.)
"Glee" has a way of reviving some classic '60's and '70's hits, often
introducing a whole new generation to this music for the very first time. For
this reason, I applaud it ... and history has shown that once the kids discover
this "new" music, they will often seek out the ORIGINAL versions and download
those, too. I asked Tony if "Glee" was a big hit in England ... and here's what
he sent me back:
Hi Kent,
Thanks for your Easter Greetings.
Thanks for your Easter Greetings.
I knew about DOWNTOWN and SUBWAY in GLEE as a result of
receiving a copy of the sync details from Universal Music last year and, of
course, I was delighted. (I'm always pleased when a show like GLEE or AMERICAN
IDOL features one of my songs which, as you rightly observe, keeps the younger
generations up to date.)
It's in Series Two and I don't think we have had that episode yet. The show is on Channel 4 here which is one of our five 'terrestrial' TV channels. It's not on at the moment. The show has a big following.
DOWNTOWN will be 50 later this year. The song was conceived in New York in October of 1964 and recorded in London the same month. It topped the US charts in January of 1965. SUGAR AND SPICE has already celebrated its 50th anniversary, but DOWNTOWN is the special one.
Best wishes,
TONY
It's in Series Two and I don't think we have had that episode yet. The show is on Channel 4 here which is one of our five 'terrestrial' TV channels. It's not on at the moment. The show has a big following.
DOWNTOWN will be 50 later this year. The song was conceived in New York in October of 1964 and recorded in London the same month. It topped the US charts in January of 1965. SUGAR AND SPICE has already celebrated its 50th anniversary, but DOWNTOWN is the special one.
Best wishes,
TONY
Can you believe it? Chicago's next album (coming out in July) will be
called Chicago XXXVI -- that's 36 for those of you who didn't grow up in the age
of Roman Numerals like we had when this band first started way back when!
(lol)
You can hear sneak peeks of ALL of the new tracks right here:
And, speaking of new releases ...
ABKCO has announced three significant additions to its
Rolling Stones “Clearly Classic” vinyl series that launched last year. Set for
reissue on clear 180-gram vinyl on May 6 are Get Yer
Ya-Ya’s Out! The Rolling Stones In Concert, 12
X 5, and Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol.
2). The titles join Beggars
Banquet, Let It Bleed, and Hot Rocks:
1964-1971, which received resoundingly positive critical and consumer
response upon release in 2013. All releases in the Clearly Classic series have been meticulously
mastered from high resolution audio files sourced from the original master
tapes, assuring optimal sound quality that exceeds both conventional CD audio
and digital downloads.
Looks like another music documentary is in the works ... and this one's a
book, too!
Just got this from Tom Cuddy:
Just got this from Tom Cuddy:
Kent,
Today they announced Sir Paulie is coming to
Lincoln for the first time ever on July 28. Competition to the Chicago Ringo
event. BUT, Ringo AND Riley and Weber sounds better to me. :) I may end up
paying for Macca tickets IF I can even buy any when they go on
sale.
Clark
Besch
Macca's Chicago date was announced today, too ... July 9th at The
United Center. (Kinda tough on a Wednesday Night ... and I'm sure they'll add
at least another date or two.) Paul's plane containing all of the band's
equipment was delayed on Monday and they had to cancel their scheduled show in
Santiago, Chile. He immediately rescheduled the show for Wednesday Night,
honoring all of the Monday Night tickets so that fans could still catch the
concert.
More and more dates are being added all the time ... and it sounds
like McCartney has revamped the set list a little bit again this time to keep
things fresh and new. He also released another single from his "New" album ...
but I've yet to hear ANY of these tracks featured on the radio more than once or
twice. Too bad as the LP has been critically acclaimed since it first hit the
streets a few months back.
I'm really looking forward to the Clark Weber / Ron Riley / Ringo
Starr thing at The Hard Rock Cafe ... these guys were my IDOLS back in the '60's
... and anybody who grew up listening to WLS at the time (which, with their
50,000 watt signal meant virtually everybody in about 42 states!) knows exactly
what I'm talking about. It is SO cool to still hear from these guys all these
years later ... Weber, Riley, Bob Hale, Dex Card, Dick Biondi, Bob Dearborn,
John Landecker, Bob Sirott, Kris Erik Stevens, Chuck Buell, Tommy Edwards, Fred
Winston, and several others have embraced the efforts of Forgotten Hits for
trying to keep this great music ... and this great ERA ... alive. It was such a
HUGE part of our lives. (kk)
When I was 11 years old in 1958 I had a paper route. And
the first thing I did when I got my very first paycheck was buy a small
transistor AM radio ... so that I could listen to the radio while I did my
route. (Of course I also listened to it well into the night with my little
earplug under my pillow just like so many others who have written to you over
the years.) I would fall asleep listening to Dick Biondi and Art Roberts and
Ron Britain and Barney Pip ... Larry Lujack when he was still on at night ...
Bob Hale ... Clark Weber ... Don Phillips "East Of Midnight" ... great
memories ... and all these years later, I still remember all of those guys. It's great to see so many of these names come up again and again in your pages
... and exciting to think about how much they meant to us then ... and how
they've stayed involved for all these years. Obviously these years meant a
great deal to all of them, too.
Ed K
re: Chicago Gold:
That sounds like a great idea that Jim Pilster has suggested
for decades. I agree on those artists and singers, but we need an emcee for
every act! Bring in Bob Stroud, Dick Biondi, Ron Riley, Clark Weber, Dex Card,
Ron Britain, Chuck Buell! How about some soul with Jerry Butler, Mavis Staples
emceed by Herb Kent??
Clark
It does sound like a great event ... but you have
forgotten one (at least) group from your list ... Chicago. Though very popular
and still touring, they should be included in the mix.
Scott Schultz,
McHenry
Actually, I DID mention them ... or, more specifically, the Chicago
Horns ... but then added "Wouldn't it be nice to feature a couple of songs by
them, too?" And Styx ... and several others.
The main focus era for The Chicago Gold idea would be the music of
the '60's ... and that's why names like The Buckinghams, The New Colony Six, The
Cryan' Shames, The Ides Of March, The American Breed, The Shadows Of Knight, The
Mauds, etc., come up most frequently. Chicago, Styx and several others ushered
in a new era of Chicago Gold, starting in the '70's ... and the odds of getting
any of THEM to participate in an event like this are pretty slim. Then again if
you DID turn this into a week-long event ... with a different headliner every
night ... you could have your "core group" making sure all the hits are heard
for every performance ... but then spotlight one act as the headliner ...
meaning Dennis Tufano could sing all of The Buckinghams hits one night while
Carl and Nick did them on another. (Even cooler would be a full-blown reunion
... maybe even get Marty Grebb to come in for this ... but I just don't know if
we could pull that off. Then again, preserving this moment for all posterity by
filming it??? Who knows!)
This would be true of several of these acts I would think ... get
at least three or four of The Cryan' Shames back up there for one more night ...
maybe the current version of The New Colony Six one night and then a special
reunion concert with several of the original members on another ... and Ronnie
Rice and Skip Griparis on yet another. Really, the possibilities are endless
... but first we've got to get everybody onboard ... get PBS involved ... (The
Arcada Theatre photographs BEAUTIFULLY, by the way ... there are several
concerts filmed there currently showing on cable right now!) ... I dunno ... I say let's get this ball in motion and see how far we
can roll it! (kk)
re: The Saturday Surveys:
If you're diggin' our new Saturday feature (and it sounds like
quite a few of you are) and you'd like to see WAY more surveys than we could
ever possibly post, our FH buddy Clark Besch suggests you check out this site
...
It allows you to search by radio station, song and
artist, and any number of other ways to find exactly what you're looking for ...
and they've got a HUGE collection of charts from all over the country.
(WARNING: Be prepared to spend some time here ... 'cause once you get started,
you're going to want to keep on going!!!)
The example above was used to help out Alex Valdez of
The Yellow Balloon, who was looking for chart information on their big hit
"Yellow Balloon" from 1967. Here's what Alex thought of this incredible
site:
Thanks a million, Kent!
I spent the whole day pouring over this
site ... what a great outlet.
Alex
Actually (and I just LOVE saying this!!!) thanks should
be directed to that SUPER Survey Team of Clark / Kent on this one!!!
(kk)
