Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Tuesday This And That

re:  The Saturday Surveys:
>>>I have discovered something here tonight in going over my past surveys. WALK TALL by the Two of Clubs apparently didn't make our survey. However, for one reason or another, I remember it being played a lot.  (Larry)
Larry and Kent,
"Walk Tall" was indeed a hit in OKC.  On KOMA, it debuted as a "KOMA Klimber" on Jan 26th on their "All American Survey" and stayed there a few weeks and slowly gained chart status reaching #24 peak on the March 9 survey before finally disappearing.  I looked at WKY and did not see it chart there.  Still, a GREAT hit overlooked by Billboard's charts.
Clark Besch  

Kent,
Viewing the surveys is fun, but for some reason it hit me today that THIS was my life at that time.  45s were displayed according to their rankings.  This also made them easier to find.  For me, buying records was a process of earning, saving, and then deciding how to spend money to my best satisfaction.  My best friend earned one Beatles album for every week she didn't eat chocolate. (bad for the skin) My parents wouldn't buy into any of that ... literally.  Looking back, it is amazing what The Beatles accomplished, but at the time it just made perfect sense.  The entire British Invasion was a tidal wave effect that was just as it should be.  At least in my world.  The Beach Boys and the surf sounds were what made summer, summer.  And winter, summer, too.  It was as it seemed it should be.  Now, I look back and realize ... WOW!  How did it all come together?  And WOW!  Look at the amazing facts it all produced.
Shelley
It was an amazing and very exciting time to be sure ... records seemed to come out at a high velocity pace back then ... it wasn't at all unusual for a HUGE hit to only last 8-10 weeks on the charts, quickly replaced by that same artist's follow-up climbing the chart, often overlapping and passing each other on the way up and down.  Looking back at some of these charts it's truly nothing less than astonishing that SO much great music shared the airwaves at the same time ... and virtually EVERYTHING fit!  (Incredibly, back then most stations built the bulk of their play lists around those 40 hottest, current songs ... yet today oldies radio ... with an available play list of literally 10,000 tracks from this era to choose from prefers instead to zero in on the same 2-300 hundred.  What a wasted opportunity THAT is!)  kk

Of course not EVERYONE agrees ... read on ...


OK, I've got to admit that THIS one hurt a little bit!  
Please remove from your mailing list.  You seem to be living in the past.  I’m more interested in the present and future.
Thanks,
Dex Card
Not so much living IN the past ... as much as reliving a bit of the past ... and all the wonderful memories this music gave us ... but clearly not for everyone.  (For those who don't know ... Dex Card is the guy who used to count down The WLS Silver Dollar Survey every afternoon the whole time I grew up listening to the radio here in Chicago in the '60's.)  Ouch!  (kk)

re:  50 Years Ago This Weekend:
Hello Chi-town,
I am curious as you chronicle the 50th anniversary of the British Invasion, about a long standing bit of trivia that I have subscribed to, that "Going To The Chapel" by the Dixie Cups is credited with breaking the hold on the #1 position on the Billboard Top 100 by the British groups in early June of 1964. (I.E. the first American artist #1).
I love the Top 40 listing from the various outlets throughout the country and happened to notice that "GTTC" was listed as a future pop hit on the Oklahoma City chart last week, which would give credence to its eventual rise to #1 by early June. I just was curious if this was in fact true, or maybe only applicable to particular city.
I relish each and every iteration of 'this week 50 years ago', the charts, the song clips the amazing scope of your musical knowledge and your dedication to Forgotten Hits Blog.
May I mention the pure enjoyment and chronicle of the times that 'The Cruisin' Series' offers by offering a different year from '55 through '70 featuring a different 'Nationally Famous' DJ to remind us of the crazy fun times we grew up in. The Increase Record Co. story should be discussed on your blog perhaps. The covers alone are display a historical timeline and add greatly to this collection.
Happy Spring ! (still chilly in Boston),
Keep up the good work,
CharlieOFD   
Regarding "Chapel of Love" ... not exactly ... there were actually several "breaks in the action" as far as British chart domination along the way ... and by some of the least-expected artists to boot.  Like Louis Armstrong ("Hello Dolly") and Dean Martin ("Everybody Loves Somebody") for example ... two "old-fogies" more of our parents' generation than our own.
Using the Billboard Hot 100 Chart as our benchmark (as this is the way history is most-often measured), here's a quick recap of the #1 Hits from 1964 during the initial run of The British Invasion ...
The Beatles took over the top of the charts on February 1st with "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and then never relinquished that spot for the next 14 weeks ... seven for their first US Hit followed by two by "She Loves You" and five more by "Can't Buy Me Love".
Then Louis Armstrong knocked them out of first place for a week with "Hello Dolly" ... and Mary Wells KEPT them there for two more with her monster hit "My Guy".
The Beatles bounced back for a week with "Love Me Do" before your Dixie Cups' Hit "Chapel of Love" took over the top spot for the next three weeks.
Then it was Peter and Gordon (with the Lennon - McCartney penned "A World Without Love") for a week before two of the biggest American Groups of this era ... The Beach Boys ("I Get Around", #1 for two weeks) and The Four Seasons ("Rag Doll", also #1 for two weeks) took over.
The Beatles bounced back with "A Hard Day's Night" for two weeks on August 1st, giving that song-writing team of Lennon and McCartney the #1 Spot for 18 weeks out of the previous 28 ... an incredible 64% (appropriately enough for 1964) of the time!
This time it was Dino who knocked them out for a week with "Everybody Loves Somebody", thus fulfilling his prediction that he had just recorded a song that would "knock the Beatles out of #1" ... which is exactly what he did.  A brand new group (for most of us anyway) then followed up with two weeks at #1 with their first major hit "Where Did Our Love Go" ... by The Supremes. 
The British were back on top for the next three weeks with "House Of The Rising Sun" by The Animals, followed by Roy Orbison's HUGE hit "Oh, Pretty Woman", which held the top spot for the next three weeks.  Manfred Mann then grabbed the top spot for two weeks with "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" before we experienced an American Domination of nine weeks on top, thanks to hits like "Baby Love" by The Supremes (#1 for four weeks), "Leader of the Pack" by The Shangri-Las (one week), "Ringo" (by Lorne Greene, also #1 for one week), "Mr. Lonely" by Bobby Vinton (#1 for one week) and "Come See About Me" by The Supremes (#1 for two non-consecutive weeks) before The Beatles closed out the year in fitting fashion, again on top with "I Feel Fine", which spilled over into 1965 riding the top of the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles Chart. 
Whew!!!  (kk)

re:  Recent and Up-Coming Shows:
Thanks, Ed, for clarifying some of the song titles performed at the recent doo-wop show put on by Dick Fox.  There is no doubt that The Skyliners were good.  I was obviously distracted by the melon color satin dress and the arms having to be crossed while dancing.  Apparently my Uncle Ray did not play The Skyliners around me as much as other 45's.  HIS fault!  It's ok though ... he just sent me the mono / stereo cd of The Early Beatles.  As for titles, I will get them wrong even on the songs I know, as many times the lyrics do not 'give away' that piece of info.  So, thank you Ed.  This review was totally what I heard from the MC and the performers, with no research prior or after.  Just a music lover's reactions.
Shelley
And please understand that information like this is helpful to our other readers who may wish to seek out this music for their own education purposes.  That's what makes Forgotten Hits so great ... everybody sharing their musical tastes and preferences ... often times with those who simply haven't discovered it yet.  (Thus my own recollection of how important "Since I Don't Have You" was for me, discovering it fourteen years after it first was a hit.  Remember ... we didn't HAVE oldies radio yet at that point in time ... films like "American Graffiti" and TV shows like "Happy Days" helped to rekindle that whole late '50's / early '60's craze!)  kk

Got an email from The Chicago Theater the other day announcing "We've Got Soul!" ... and they're not kidding!
Up-coming shows include Diana Ross (this week ... Tuesday and Wednesday, April 29th and April 30th), Aretha Franklin (on Saturday, May 3rd) and Gladys Knight (with special guest Dennis Edwards and his Temptations Review) on Friday, May 9th.
More information on their website if you're interesting in seeing any of these shows.  (Please report back to us if you do!)
Other big shows coming up:  Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band (June 28th), The Voice Tour (July 16th) and John Fogerty (July 27th)

re:  Chicago Gold:
Hi Kent -
Thanks so much for the info on Michael and the Messengers! I remember seeing Spanky tour with the Mamas and Papas you mentioned! I think it was at the old Berwyn Fest and another outside show.
One more question about the Chicago Groups ... what about including The Mob? I think one of the members was Jim Holvay, who was involved with the Buckinghams at one time.  I saw them perform and what showmen.
Lets hope the Chicago Group Show happens!
Carolyn
I don't know if The Mob are still performing or not ... I believe they reunited for a brief period of time a couple of years ago ... but with only one local hit ("I Dig Everything About You", #20, 1970 ... but only #83 nationally), I don't know if they had the momentum to keep things going.
Holvay was a member of The Mob ... and wrote four of the biggest hits The Buckinghams ever had ... "Kind Of A Drag", "Don't You Care", "Susan" and "Hey Baby, They're Playing Our Song".  (I think Murry Wilson would have slapped him deaf in BOTH ears for giving away this arsenal of hits rather than keeping them for his own band!!!)  Over the years, Holvay has explained that The Mob were really doing a completely different style of music back then ... and that this material was better suited for a group like The Buckinghams than his own.  Good news is, he still collected his royalties either way ... and in 1967, The Bucks were one of the biggest groups in the country! 
As for The Mamas and The Papas performing in Berwyn, I was there, too ... I believe it was their Italian Festival ... and sadly it was a pretty small crowd out to see them that day ... the only original member was Denny Doherty ... Scott McKenzie covered John Phillips' parts (and sang his own big hit "San Francisco"), Spanky filled the role of Mama Cass (and I believe sang at least a medley of Spanky and Our Gang hits ... and "Sunday Will Never Be The Same" all the way through as I recall) and the other girl was somebody I don't recall at all ... it wasn't Michelle OR MacKenzie Phillips at that show as I remember it ... but it wasn't a "name" player either.  Anybody else out there have any idea who it could have been?  (kk)

Hi Kent -
Perhaps this only makes it more confusing, but I'd to add a bit to your response regarding Michael & the Messengers.  
As you know, the story is way too complex to cover in brief (9-1/2 pages in my 1st book + some additions in the 2nd book) but:Michael and the Messengers were really the Del Mars from Leominster, MA, who came to Chicago to basically imitate the Milwaukee Messengers (who never used "Michael" as part of their name) and to tour regionally, purporting the Messengers' "Midnight Hour" as their record. (USA Records added the "Michael" when the Del Mars were brought in after the 1st pressing). The followup record, "Romeo And Juliet" was, indeed, Michael & the Messengers, with no more connection to the Milwaukee Messengers, who went through many personnel changes and charted nationally with "The Way A Woman Is" on Rare Earth in 1971. 
Regarding your question as to whether or not a version of the band is still together and touring, I'm pretty sure that the "Michael & " group hung up the masquerade and mostly went back to MA by sometime in 1968. One of the guys then had a band named Faith, billed as "formerly Michael & ... " but that was short-lived.  I'm pretty sure that the real Messengers ended in 1971 after touring Japan. As far as I know, no one has tried to claim the name and continued to gig anytime since then.-- Gary E. Myers / MusicGem

re:  This and That:
Our DJ Buddy Big Jay Sorensen recently launched his first podcast ... and it's now up for your listening pleasure here:  http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bigtomnj .   
Jay tells us ... 
It’s on-demand now … and I will likely do it semi-regularly … we were just testing the waters so to speak … and it went ok. NEXT time I’ll do video … and perhaps focus more on music … I had Ron Alexenberg call me … he talked about signing Michael Jackson to EPIC ... he also signed Kansas, Boston and other major acts … I had NO idea he was a fan … but he IS ... Wow!  And we just talked.  It was a good spur of the moment interview that I winged because I didn't know he was calling. 
I’m still regularly on CBS-FM every weekend overnight.  The station is doing better now than it ever has … but with very little ‘60s in the mix anymore. I don’t LIKE it, but it’s the reality of today’s radio. We do well in that 25-54 demo it seems … and that’s all Madison Avenue cares about.  Radio companies MUST make money and KEEP an audience that they can make money on. It’s that simple. There is no desire to eradicate an entire generation, but it’s the natural progression that happened with big band / MOR and beautiful music radio over 20 years ago.  
That’s why I have ALWAYS said YOU should partner with someone and DO oldies!  If you know of someone who REALLY wants to do it right, let me know. I even had the PAMS / JAM jingle guy Jonathan Wolfert make jingles for me … Sung: MusicRadio 45 RPM … it sounds FANTASTIC. And with my imaging and knowledge of the right way to blend songs from the ‘50s through the early ‘80s … it WILL work and be VERY pleasing to listen to.  
I read your column ya know … always interesting content from your buds. 
Keep up the great work.  
BE BIG! 
Jay

Furvus here of The Fifth Estate. 
Thanks Clark and Kent for all the great 60s and British Invasion info recently. Seems like yesterday to me. 
Listening to The Dave Clark 5 interview was very thought recalling for me, especially with my having been there as a drummer in an American Rock'n'Roll band releasing records right along with all these guys at the time - Beatles, Stones, Animals, DC5. 
As our other recently released material has done well enough, we seem to have caught on again and we now have two vinyl LPs coming out in the next couple of months ... one of our earlier material called I Wanna Shout! and another of our later material called The Best Of the Fifth Estate! Really BOTH of them together would be The Best Of The 5E we feel!!
AND if that isn't enough, we have another CD of some NEW material called TAKE THE FIFTH coming out in just about a month on Fuel 2000 / UMG.  Some of it was already on Time Tunnel. So when I heard Dave and his interviewer talking about older bands performing live - that really hit home, as we are going to again shortly. I think Dave is basically right that if bands, acts, performers wish to do it AND CAN and they enjoy it, then they should. The interviewer seemed to feel they usually just ended up looking rather sad.  Well that has happened at times.  I can't deny that. Hey, nobody is 16 anymore, not even the 16 year olds. I truly feel music is a lot more multi-generational these days. All for the best. But still if they are up there trying and enjoying it themselves and can somehow find a way to leave you Glad All Over - why not! 
Speaking of the DC5 Glad All Over, we have a live version of the B Side of that, I Know You, on our recently released Anthology 1 double CD set. We were playing in the midwest and although ours was just recorded with a couple of mikes on some cheesy little recorder so we could hear ourselves at the next rehearsal and certainly not in one of the better recording studios in England at the time, I'd still put it up against The DC5's version still today. But then again I'm the drummer on it?? So...?
But if you care to, you can probably hear those for free on Youtube and ITunes for comparison. 
Thanks again, 
Kenneth Evans
The Fifth Estate
Furv 

Styx 'Paradise Theater' Album To Be Released On Limited Numbered Hybrid SACD! 
“Styx's high-water mark...one of the greatest albums in rock history.”
Camarillo, CA - Styx fans rejoice with the release of the band's critically acclaimed album 'Paradise Theater' on limited numbered Hybrid SACD by Marshall Blonstein's Audio Fidelity. Styx's 10th album, the 1981 release, 'Paradise Theater' was the band's fourth consecutive triple-platinum album. A resounding success, 'Paradise Theater' was their greatest commercial triumph and their only #1 album. It remains one of the best examples of the convergence between progressive rock and AOR which typified the arena rock sound of the top groups of the late-seventies and early-eighties such as Journey, REO Speedwagon, Cheap Trick and Kansas.
Styx was a great group of talented musicians - Dennis DeYoung, Tommy Shaw, James Young, Chuck Panozzo and John Panozzo. The album included three Billboard Hot 100 hits, “The Best of Times,” “Nothing Ever Goes As Planned” and “Too Much Time on My Hands” considered among Tommy Shaw's finest singles ever. Another track, “Rockin' The Paradise” reached #8 on the Top Rock Track Chart.
The concept album is a fictional account of Chicago's Paradise Theatre from its opening to closing, used as a metaphor for America's changing times from the late 1970s into the 1980s.  
“ ... some of the best songs Styx would ever write!”
TRACKS:
A.D. 1928
Rockin' the Paradise
Too Much Time on My Hands
Nothing Ever Goes As Planned
The Best of Times
Lonely People
She Cares
Snowblind
Half-Penny, Two-Penny
A.D. 1958
State Street Sadie
Produced by Styx
Mastered by Kevin Gray
at Cohearent Audio

Here's a recent article written by Terry Kirkman of The Association, talking about their HUGE #1 Hit "Cherish" ... sent in by FH Reader Tom Cuddy ...

Kent ...

"Since I Don't Have You" ... ahhh ... I absolutely love this song ... this is one of my all time favorites. 
It defines the late 50's.  With so many artists covering this tune, it has become an American Standard.  There is an unexplainable magic in this song - it has that  "x factor" and puts chills up my spine.  The words, the arrangement, and the soulful way Jimmy sings has made this song a true classic. Thanks, Jimmy  Beaumont and the Sky Liners.   
PS - The song is so great that an awesome car was named after this band from the same vintage.  hmmm ... which came first the cool band or the great car? 
Thanks for the great pic, Kent.
Blossmwrld

The youtube posted by Phil "Fang" Volk that you showed was such a fresh breath of nostalgia, wasn't it?  In 1979, Dick Clark was being honored and remembered for his PAST.  And his future would continue on for 33 more years.  I loved watching the Paul Revere and The Raiders reunion, and catching sight of the performers (singers, actors,) in the audience.
Shelley J Sweet-Tufano 

ROY ORBISON DOCUMENTARY MYSTERY GIRL: UNRAVELED TO SCREEN IN NASHVILLE, LA AND TORONTO IN MAY
New York, NY – April 25, 2014 - A series of intimate screenings of Mystery Girl: Unraveled, a new documentary film that chronicles the recording of Roy Orbison's hugely successful Mystery Girl album and its resonance, 25 years after its original release, has been set for Nashville, Los Angeles and Toronto next month.  The film will be screened at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville on Monday, May 19, the actual release day of Mystery Girl – Deluxe, Mystery Girl and Mystery Girl Expanded releases through Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment. The film will be the centerpiece of a Grammy Museum program in Los Angeles on May 20 and will have a "sneak peek" promotional preview in Toronto on May 12, details of which will be announced soon.   Wesley, Alex and Roy Orbison, Jr. will be on hand at the Nashville and Los Angeles screenings for an onstage discussion of the film that they wrote and executive produced. Alex Orbison will be present at the Toronto screening.  They are Roy Orbison's sons and the principals of Roy's Boys LLC, the company that has spurred renewed interest in the life and work of Roy Orbison in recent months with an ambitious schedule of releases, of which Mystery Girl is a key component. It is expected that some of those who participated in the album's recording and are seen in the film will also be on hand at one or more of these special screenings. 
Mystery Girl: Unraveled, directed by Alex Orbison, offers unique insight into the song-by-song creation of Roy Orbison's Mystery Girl album through rare and intimate archival footage and the memories of those who were there captured in new, never-before-seen interviews.  Special appearances and on-screen commentary from Tom Petty, Bono, Jeff Lynne, Steve Cropper, Billy Burnette, Barbara Orbison, Jeff Ayeroff, John Carter Cash, Mike Campbell, Steve Cropper, Richard Dodd, Jim Keltner, David Malloy along with Wesley, Alex and Roy Orbison Jr, plus archival studio footage of Roy Orbison, as lensed, literally, in Mike Campbell's garage where much of Mystery Girl was recorded, makes this one of the most authentic and compelling music documentaries of our time.  Billy Burnette and David Malloy will participate in the discussion following the Nashville screening and it is expected that other notables who are seen in the film will also be on hand at the Grammy Museum program.  
The Nashville and Los Angeles screenings are open to the public; ticket information:  Monday, 5/19 - Belcourt Theatre, Nashville  
Tuesday, 5/20 - Grammy Museum, Los Angeles 
Through a promotion sponsored by the Nashville Scene, Orbison fans will have the opportunity to enter for a chance to win two tickets to the Nashville screening of Mystery Girl: Unraveled. Grand prizewinner will receive a flight for two, hotel accommodations, a dinner, plus two tickets to attend the Belcourt Theatre screening on May 19. Fans will get the chance to enter the contest via Roy Orbison page on Facebook. Additional prizes including CDs and merchandise from the Roy Orbison store will be awarded runners-up.
Roy Orbison would have been 78 years old last Wednesday, April 23, had he not died tragically at the age of 52, a few months before the 1989 release of Mystery Girl at a time when his late career comeback was in full flower. Mystery Girl capped that remarkable comeback that had begun just a few years earlier with the use of the song "In Dreams" in Blue Velvet, the David Lynch-directed surrealist mystery thriller.  In 1988, Roy Orbison joined with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne to form The Traveling Wilburys, underscoring his role as one of rock's keystone musical personalities and, arguably, its greatest vocalist.  As seen in Mystery Girl: Unraveled, Petty, Harrison and Lynne all played activist roles in the creation of the Mystery Girl album.   
Mystery Girl: Unraveled concludes with new documentary footage illuminating the creation “The Way Is Love” produced by John Carter Cash and engineered by Chuck Turner. Roy Orbison's "The Way Is Love" vocal was sourced from a newly discovered work tape recorded at the time of the Mystery Girl sessions.  That vocal was taken to Johnny Cash's Cabin studio in Hendersonville, Tennessee in 2013. Realizing a life-long dream to record with their father, Wesley and Roy Jr. played guitars on the song with Alex handling the drums and all three sons bringing background vocals to the mix. "Cutting a track with my brothers was more incredible than I can describe," said Alex. "I have been looking forward to this for my entire life." Roy Jr. noted that, "More or less the reason Alex and Wesley and I are musicians was to play in Dad's band when we got older" and Wesley summed it up nicely, "I think we really got something special."
Other voices heard (and seen) in Mystery Girl: Unraveled:  
Jeff Lynne: "When he sang it, it was absolutely magnificent. His voice, I had never heard a voice like that live, you know, in the studio, ever.... He had this wonderful spirit, almost like a kid in many ways. I love him.... One of the proudest things I've ever done is to have become his friend. I'd look at him and just go, 'Wow, it's him. The Big O.'"
Tom Petty: "I was just taken by how amazing this guy was.  Just sitting, singing softly, sitting on the sofa with an acoustic guitar, his voice was unbelievable. The music will live on, you know; it's very timeless music."
Bono:  "He was a real innovator, truly a great singer. The real rebels to me always had manners. Elvis, you know, and Roy, Roy was a true gentleman. And that's a scary thing in a man, do you know what I mean? A man that's so sure in himself that he can be polite."
Mike Campbell:  "Any time I hear one of Roy's songs, wherever I am, I just stop and listen to it and he's there, you know. His artistry and his voice and his spirit and the depth of his soul is so unique and it just connects with you in such a deep way....  He just had a way of getting into your heart."
Steve Cropper confided that, "I've only met basically three, maybe three-and-a-half, of what I call 'light bulbs' in my life. And what I mean by 'light bulbs' is they're the brightest one in the room and when they walk in the door every head turns. Every head. Not just a few, not some people still talking in the corner. It's like everyone stops what they are doing. Elvis Presley, Otis Redding and Roy Orbison. And I saw that happen to Bill Clinton. So, there you go and I've never seen that happen to anybody else, ever."
The Mystery Girl - Deluxe CD/DVD Edition may be pre-ordered at Amazon 
Mystery Girl - Deluxe CD/DVD brings together the album's original 10 songs in addition to premiering nine previously unreleased studio and work-tape demos and includes Mystery Girl: Unraveled as a bonus DVD.
Here is a link to a trailer for the new documentary: 

>>>Paul owns the coolest ice cream shop on The Jersey Shore  (kk)
Hey Kent -
I saw the website.   Looks like a ... pardon the pun ... 'cool' place. I will check it out the next time I am in North Wildwood.
Sandy
Year after year voted as Wildwood's best, Cool Scoops is THE cool place to go for ice cream and a trip down memory lane.
Frannie and I went a few years back and had a ball.  Here are a couple of shots from way back when ... as well as a link to the Cool Scoops website:
Hey Kent,  
The Dave Clark Five's movie, "Having a Wild Weekend", has been mentioned several times lately in FH. I thought it might be fun to talk about your readers' favorite movies, that feature single artists or bands. Are any of those made today? I don't think so. "Mama Mia" featured the music of ABBA, but wouldn't you rather see bands like that, doing their own songs on film? I know I would. It was always fun to anticipate when a group would show up on film, from the big band days of Glen Miller and Benny Goodman, to The Beatles' "Hard Day's Night", and all those beach movies! One of those, that comes to mind is "Pajama Party". It showcased a band called The Nooney Rickett 4. The group later appeared on "Shindig", but I don't know what happened to it after that, or if it made any records.   Several years later, I saw "Woodstock" in a three-projector, Cinerama theater. The huge screen made me feel like I was sitting right in the middle of the rain-soaked crowd! - John LaPuzza
We've got a brand new topic launching here soon ... but I'm sure we'll get some response to this, too.  (A much shorter list to draw from, I think, as there just haven't been that many good ones!)  As for capturing the real ABBA on film, check out "ABBA: The Movie" ... like I said, not that many good ones!  (kk)

And, speaking of The Dave Clark Five ...

re:  The Dave Clark Five:
I've been fortunate enough to interview both Dave Clark AND Mike Smith.  Dave Clark was in Toronto in the early 1990's when he was on a promo tour when the DC5 CDs were first released through his deal with Hollywood Records (aka Disney).  He was pretty open, although he did take a lot of credit for the DC5's success (and to a certain point, he was right).  He was a smart businessman, paying the other guys in the band only a salary as well as owning the master tapes and licensing them to the various record companies.  In the U.S., the DC5 were on Epic, here in Canada, they were on Capitol.
I did think (and I told Dave in the interview) that he waited too long to make a deal for the CD releases, but he didn't seem to think so.
Back in 1983 or '84 (I'd have to check the date on the tape) I had a wonderful time with Mike Smith, spending nearly half a day with him in London.  He was a great guy, very friendly.  At the time, Mike had a successful jingle writing / producing / singing career going for all the biggest clients - McDonalds, etc.  We had a lengthy lunch (he paid, although I offered, he insisted) at an outdoor restaurant near his agents' office, then spent an amazing hour and a half on tape with Mike telling great story after great story. 
I had always wanted to ask someone in the DC5 why the stomping at the beginning of "Bits and Pieces" sounded kind of 'off' in certain spots.  Mike told me that between the time they finished the vocals but before the stomping began (on a wooden board by the way), they'd been to the nearby pub for a 'pint or two or three' and the boys were, in Mike's word, "legless". 
He also told me about their first time in America and they performed in Washington DC.  After the gig, girls surrounded them for autographs and Mike was pinned against a plate glass door.  He said he started to hear the door crack and thought he was going to be pushed through it and cut to pieces ("Bits and Pieces"), so he made the fans move back.
Regarding the "Having A Wild Weekend" interview LP, Mike told me that one of the DC5, I think it was Rick Huxley, wasn't actually there for the interview so someone else had to pretend to be him using a slightly different voice than their own.  I've had that LP in my archives since it first came out.  I was at CHUM at the time and the production guy dubbed it onto tape and was going to throw the LP away.  I asked if I could have it and he said 'here ya go'.  Right place.  Right time. 
I'll have to dig out that Mike Smith interview from my archives and listen to the whole thing again.  Fun times.
Doug Thompson (Toronto)

re:  Last Chance:
Today is your last chance to enter to win a pair of free tickets to see Micky Dolenz live in concert (with The Cowsills) THIS FRIDAY NIGHT at The Arcada Theatre.  We'll be picking our five winners tomorrow ... so if you're able to go, please email me today so that you don't miss your opportunity to see this great show.  (A limited number of tickets are still available through the oshows.com website for any last-minute revelers!!!)  kk
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