Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Tuesday This And That

re:  Billboard's New List of the Biggest Hits and Biggest Artists of All-Time:
>>>Not enough space here to even BEGIN a debate about how ridiculous this list looks, even with the benefit of nearly 60 years of hindsight ... but definitely fodder for another day!  (kk)
I agree Kent (full disclosure: I am a rapid Beach Boys fan) ... The Beach Boys long-term influence on music (as well as the nations emotional status) is far greater than their #30 spot on the list. Their songs and sounds will far out distance most of the list.
Phil
Again, my biggest objection to a list like this is the fact that it's not comparing apples to apples ... the criteria for a "hit record" drastically changed from decade to decade.  How do you compare a hit like "Yesterday" by The Beatles (which spent an average of 12 weeks on the national charts, four of them at #1) with a song like "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO, which charted for 68 weeks, six at #1?  In 1965, a legitimate hit record stayed on the charts for about 10-12 weeks ... by 2011 (when "Party Rock Anthem" first charted), it was not at all uncommon for a record to stay on the charts for a year or more.  That's party because the '60's were so INCREDIBLY competitive that artists were releasing three, four or five singles per year ... and, in some cases, as many as two or three albums as well ... while today the competition isn't nearly as severe and an artist can take up to three or four years to deliver their next release.  Plus how many more people might have bought "Yesterday" (which doesn't even make The Top 100 List) had they had access to it for downloading ... or in an age where YouTube views counts toward a record's point total?  It's apples and oranges ... and SOME method of continuity MUST be applied to put together such a list.  (Jewel's "Foolish Games", Nickelback's "How You remind Me" and LeAnn Rimes' "How Do I Live" bigger than "I Want To Hold Your Hand"???  Even recent monster hits like "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen and "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke ... bigger than "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston???  Seriously?
 
If you break things down to "The Forgotten Hits Era" (roughly 1956 - 1985, thirty years of Top 40 Hits), the new Top Ten Biggest Hit Records of All-Time become:
 1. THE TWIST - Chubby Checker (1960 and 1962)  3 (combined)
 2. MACK THE KNIFE - Bobby Darin (1959)  9
 3. PHYSICAL - Olivia Newton-John (1981)  10
 4. YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE - Debby Boone  (1977)  10
 5. HEY JUDE - The Beatles  (1968)  9
 6. BETTE DAVIS EYES - Kim Carnes  (1981)  9
 7. ENDLESS LOVE - Diana Ross and Lionel Richie  (1981)  9
 8. TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT - Rod Stewart  (1976)  8
 9. THEME FROM "A SUMMER PLACE" - Percy Faith (1960)  9
10. LE FREAK - Chic  (1978)  6
(Weeks at #1 on the Billboard Chart follow each entry in red)
Even here you can see a bit of a shift as THREE records from 1981 each spent 9 or 10 weeks in the #1 spot ... a feat virtually unheard of before.  "Le Freak" (with six weeks at #1) outranks "Night Fever" by The Bee Gees (which had eight weeks at #1 that same year) and "Shadow Dancing" by baby brother Andy Gibb, who spent seven weeks on top of the chart.
"I Want To Hold Your Hand" (seven weeks at #1 ... and the record that launched Beatlemania and the entire British Invasion) sits at #45, behind Paul McCartney solo hits like "Silly Love Songs" (#37) and "Say Say Say" (#41). In fact, McCartney has THREE hits in The Top 100 ("Ebony And Ivory" is the other one at #73) while The Beatles only have two.  ("Hey Jude", #10 and "I Want To Hold Your Hand", #45).  And the COMPLETE disregard for Elvis is TOTALLY unacceptable.  Billboard was charting the hits WAY before they released their first Hot 100 Chart in August of 1958 ... at the very least, recap "The Rock Era", long designated as records released beginning in 1955 when "Rock Around The Clock" (also missing from this list) forever changed the way we listened to music.
Madonna bigger than Elvis?  And Mariah Carey nipping at his heels?  And how does Janet Jackson rank higher than her brother Michael when Michael revolutionized the music world with his MAMMOTH string of success in the early '80's?  It just doesn't make sense.  Again, it's because the points are fairly accumulated to represent the shifts in music and purchasing over the past sixty years.  But hey, Billboard is considered to be "The Music Bible" ... so who are we to argue???  That'd be like us saying we don't always agree with the act inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame ... and we would NEVER dream of doing that!!!  (kk) 
 
After looking at that Top hit list, I have concluded that people buy a lot of rubbish! Also, I’m not sure how some of this stuff is calculated. I don’t know if a comparison of purchases from 1960 coincides with 2015. There are more than 100 Million more people around today. I would have to see the variables.   
Ken
 
Tom Cuddy sends us THIS list ... another Billboard Magazine ranking, this time combining the overall point total accumulated by both singles and albums points ...
 
The ranks are based on a new tabulation Billboard released last week.  It combines an artist’s performance on both the Hot 100 singles charts and the Top 200 album charts from 1958 through last month.
Tom
 
re:  The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame:
Another interesting take on who should be in there ... courtesy of FH Reader Frank B ...
 
re:  This And That:
Kent ...
Can you believe it's the 30th Anniversary of the Golden Boys!http://www.courierpostonline.com/story/entertainment/2015/11/10/rydell-and-pals-serve-up-50s-hits/75531782/Frank B.
Wow!  Incredible.  Of course these guys first started hitting the charts back in 1958 ... so even MORE amazing that 30 of their 57 years have been spent doing these "Golden Boys Reunion Shows"!!!
 
Check out this hit list ... 41 Top 40 Hit between them!:
 
#  1 - 1959 - Venus - Frankie Avalon (#1)
#  2 - 1959 - Why - Frankie Avalon (#1)
#  3 - 1960 - Wild One - Bobby Rydell  (#2)
#  4 - 1959 - We Got Love - Bobby Rydell  (#2)
#  5 - 1959 - Tiger - Fabian  (#3)
#  6 - 1960 - Volare - Bobby Rydell  (#4)
#  7 - 1963 - Forget Him - Bobby Rydell  (#4)
#  8 - 1960 - Swingin' School - Bobby Rydell  (#5)
#  9 - 1959 - Bobby Sox To Stockings - Frankie Avalon (#6)
# 10 - 1958 - DeDe Dinah - Frankie Avalon (#7)
# 11 - 1959 - Just Ask Your Heart - Frankie Avalon  (#7)
# 12 - 1959 - Turn Me Loose - Fabian  (#8)
# 13 - 1959 - Hound Dog Man - Fabian  (#9)
# 14 - 1958 - Ginger Bread - Frankie Avalon (#9)
# 15 - 1959 - A Boy Without A Girl - Frankie Avalon (#10)
# 16 - 1962 - The Cha-Cha-Cha - Bobby Rydell  (#10)
# 17 - 1961 - Good Time Baby - Bobby Rydell  (#10)
# 18 - 1959 - Kissin' Time - Bobby Rydell  (#11)
# 19 - 1960 - Sway - Bobby Rydell  (#12)
# 20 - 1959 - This Friendly World - Fabian  (#12)
# 21 - 1962 - I'll Never Dance Again - Bobby Rydell  (#14)
# 22 - 1958 - I'll Wait For You - Frankie Avalon (#15)
# 23 - 1960 - Togetherness - Frankie Avalon (#15)
# 24 - 1961 - The Fish - Bobby Rydell  (#16)
# 25 - 1961 - That Old Black Magic - Bobby Rydell  (#17)
# 26 - 1963 - Wildwood Days - Bobby Rydell  (#17)
# 27 - 1960 - Ding-A-Ling - Bobby Rydell  (#17)
# 28 - 1962 - I've Got Bonnie - Bobby Rydell  (#17)
# 29 - 1960 - Don't Throw Away All Those Teardrops - Frankie Avalon (#19)
# 30 - 1960 - Little Bitty Girl - Bobby Rydell  (#19)
# 31 - 1961 - Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Rydell and Chubby Checker  (#20)
# 32 - 1961 - I Wanna Thank You - Bobby Rydell  (#21)
# 33 - 1960 - Where Are You - Frankie Avalon (#22)
# 34 - 1963 - Butterfly Baby - Bobby Rydell  (#22)
# 35 - 1962 - You Are Mine - Frankie Avalon (#26)
# 36 - 1959 - Come On And Get Me - Fabian  (#29)
# 37 - 1959 - I'm A Man - Fabian  (#31)
# 38 - 1960 - About This Thing Called Love - Fabian  (#31)
# 39 - 1976 - Venus (Disco) - Frankie Avalon (#32)
# 40 - 1960 - String Along - Fabian  (#35)
# 41 - 1959 - Swingin' On A Rainbow - Frankie Avalon (#39)
 
Ron Onesti has booked Frankie Avalon for an appearance at The Arcada Theatre next May ... check out the COMPLETE list of upcoming shows hitting our area between now and the end of the year at the end of today's posting!  (kk)
 
From The Golden Boys to The Rat Pack ...
DJ Stu Weiss just sent us this vintage clip from 1965 ... 
 
This is supposed to be the ONLY time Johnny Carson sang in public!    
This show is at Kiel Opera House in St Louis in June, 1965, when Johnny Carson hosted the Tonight Show. The Rat Pack were playing Vegas, but visited Carson for this wonderfully entertaining performance. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Johnny Carson, and to top it off Quincy Jones was conducting the Count Basie band, and he is visible in the background.  http://biggeekdad.com/2011/02/birth-of-the-blues/
 
Hey kk!
Couple of things ...
The group "Steam" ... that was another street name for PCP (Angel Dust) back in the day. They were on the Arthur Smith Show in Charlotte, NC, in the heyday of their prime hit. So if the book is discombobulated, maybe it should be! I really love that tune until the drunken football team enters in and ruins it! Don't get steamed at my opinion! Gary Glitter was the quarterback perhaps. They later crashed the Hey Jude sessions and Journey's Lights offering.
And Walter Egan ... with his new hip replacement I wonder if a magnet will stick to his buttock now? He's a surf guitarist which makes him great in my heart of hearts!   
Vibeman 
Will  anyone ever decipher what Davie Allan is yelling into his pickups on "Cycledelic"?
 
Kent,
While watching a football game on television, they played a commercial I have never seen before. It was for Amazon with the background music being TWEEDLE-DEE. I believe it was Lavern Baker's version in lieu of Georgia Gibbs' version. I can only imagine that the younger viewers have no idea where that song came from.
Larry
Don'tcha just love it when these pop up?  Hopefully a younger audience, hearing these tunes for the very first time, will seek them out and download a ditty as catchy as this one!  (kk)
 
Kent,I had posed this question for another internet forum, but had tepid response.In a world where many popular classic tunes are considered unlistenable nowadays because of their continued overplaying on the radio, there are some songs I have come across where I can't stand hearing them like I once could because of overkill from another source.
This could be from use in multiple movies or commercials, or that it is regularly heard on a TV Show, or is used at darn near every sporting event or venue in the country.What once-great song(s) do you and your readers now despise, not because of overkill on the radio, but because of another form?Here are a couple of mine to start:•  Hang On Sloopy -- The McCoys:  Blame the hating of this song because of *THE* Ohio State University making this *THE* song their marching band plays after darn near every play when *THE* Ohio State Football team plays a game.  Not to mention the frequent spellings of O-H-I-O during the chorus.
•  Sweet Caroline -- Neil Diamond:  You can thank the Boston Red Sox and their fans for ruining this song for me -- making this their official 7th-inning stretch song, and the insertions of sung BA-BA-BAHHH's and "So Good, So Good, So Good"  during it's chorus.Others???Uncle T.Jay
I can't make it past the third note on "Sweet Caroline" anymore ... and I used to love that song.  Between the very situation you describe above (and fans seems to LOVE singing along with it in this fashion now ... no matter how or where it's being performed ... it's like these "add-ons" have become part of they lyrics) and the fact that Neil admitted lusting after a then twelve-year-old Caroline Kennedy as his inspiration for this tune (OK, lusting is MY word and not his ... but still, I find it rather creepy!), I find it difficult to listen to this song in ANY fashion today.
The first live concert I ever saw was Neil Diamond at Chicago's Civic Opera House back in 1970 ... this was a LONG time ago (back when Neil used to actually SING his lyrics instead of recite them) and I was a big fan at the time.  Really until about 1972 I enjoyed most of what he did ... but then his vocals became over-the-top dramatic readings instead.  Still, post 1972, I'll admit to liking "Forever In Blue Jeans" and "Yesterday's Songs" ... but not many others.  I do, however, to this day consider "Tap Root Manuscript" and "Beautiful Noise" amongst my favorite albums of all-time.  (kk)
 
Kent ...
Wild Wayne just played this interview ...
Interview Date:  August 1 , 2005 =   Jack Scott
In 1958 they were playing "Leroy" on the radio. Jack said it was doing well ... sold about 250,000 copies. Cincinnati DJ wanted to flip it over and play "My Own True Love.  He even called Joe Carlton (the label owner) in New York and told him he was making a mistake pushing fast side ... ballad would be a bigger hit. Joe Carlton told him not to do it.
DJ went ahead and played "My Own True Love." He was right.
"Leroy " was a #11 Billboard hit ... "My Own True Love" was a #3 hit.
Frank B.
 
re:  Three Dog Night / Ribfest:
FH Reader Rich Turner told us last week that he was still planning on attending this year's Ribfest down in St. Petersburg, Florida.  Three Dog Night was scheduled to appear and, despite the recent death of founding member Cory Wells (and to quote one of their big hit records), "The Show Must Go On".
Then the official announcement came through the other day ... Danny Hutton had named David Morgan as Cory's official replacement in Three Dog Night.
Rich sent us this concert review along with a ton of photos, some of which are shown below.
 
Kent,
Here is my review of the Three Dog Night concert I saw just last Saturday, November 14th, at our annual Ribfest event here In St. Petersburg, Fl. Along with them I will mention the other bands on the bill that day.
It was simply a beautiful day weather-wise with the temperature at around 80 degrees under a completely cloudless blue sky. And that was actually about five degrees cooler than it had been over the previous five or six days. Yes, Florida in November is hard to beat! 25,000 fans certainly enjoyed that.  
The music started off at 12:15 PM with Robby Steinhardt playing the music of Kansas. Steinhardt played the violin and was an occasional lead singer of a couple songs per album back in Kansas' heyday. He left the band in the mid-80's, rejoined ten years later and left again in 2006. He lives down here in the Tampa Bay area and after the first time he left Kansas, he joined up with local guitarist Rick Moon to form the well-known local group Steinhardt - Moon Band. They had a few successful years around here in the late 80's until Robby rejoined Kansas. Flash-forward fifteen years and I guess Steinhardt was looking to get back on stage again. He joined up with Tampa Bay area legends Stormbringer, whose lead guitarist just happens to be ... yes, Rick Moon and presto ... the Robby Steinhardt band. This was their first gig playing together.
Stormbringer is one of our most well-known local bands and have been playing together in the area for close to twenty years. They specialize in classic rock from the 70s and 80s and many times when a rock and roll legend comes to our area and they need a backup band, Stormbringer takes the gig. Just last year this was the case with Mark Farner. Stormbringer has always incorporated Kansas songs in their set list and with the Rick Moon connection they were perfect for the gig.  
So we heard about an hour of Kansas songs with Steinhardt playing the violin and singing backup vocals along with the lead on one song. Everything else was Stormbringer. Steinhardt is probably in his mid 60s and looked pretty rough ... still has his big wild hair and beard, and probably has gained another fifty pounds and appeared healthwise to be somewhat out of shape. Several times he had to sit on a speaker to catch his breath and even played his violin from that perch a few times. Stormbringer presented their usual outstanding musical approach to Kansas music but disappointingly in my opinion for them was not even given a mention by Steinhardt even though about 95% of what we heard was Stormbringer. IMHO should have been billed as Stormbringer featuring Robby Steinhardt playing the music of Kansas. Great sounding show ending of course with Carry On Wayward Son.   
Next up at 2:00 was .38 Special, which, in my opinion, should have been the headliners and closed the show. What followed was an hour and a half of high-energy rock and roll in the middle of the afternoon with no light show. .38 Special is led by their one original member, lead vocalist and guitarist Don Barnes, although two other members have been with the band for over 25 years, lead guitarist Danny Chauncey and keyboardist Bobby Capps. The group is rounded out by Gary Moffatt on drums (who has been with the band for close to 20 years) and recent addition Barry Dunaway on bass. Long-time original member Donnie Van Zant was forced to retire a couple of years ago due to health issues and apparently has not been replaced. He was always a very entertaining presence who brought a good Southern Rock vibe to the band along with contributing background vocals, rhythm guitar and an occasional lead vocal. I think he's missed.  
The band opened with the same song that they have opened up every show with for the last twenty years, Rockin' Into The Night. In general, their setlist has not changed much over the years, maybe modified slightly here and there. In the middle of the show they do a medley of ten of their hits, which I personally think is a great idea. Some fans don't approve of the medley form and would rather hear the entire song but I say it's better to hear some of the tune and hear more songs than to have to cut a few out due to time constraints. So basically through the entire show you probably heard 20 - 22 songs and just about every song they recorded that made the Top 40. They closed with the two songs you hear on classic rock radio constantly, Caught Up In You and Hold On Loosely. A very entertaining and rockin' show and even though .38 Special has played these same songs at every show for years and years, they still made them sound fresh and appeared to be having a good time.  
At 4:00 and 5:00 we had performances by a couple of tribute bands, one named China Grove playing Doobie Brothers music and Supernatural, playing Santana music. Except ... it turned out to be the same band playing the music of both bands. I need to give a shout-out to the lead singer (whose name escapes me) who was outstanding. He sang Tom Johnston songs, Pat Simmons songs and Michael McDonald songs and made each one sound very similar to that particular singer. How he can sound like Johnston singing Long Train Runnin' and then, on the very next song sound like McDonald singing What A Fool Believes, was very impressive. And then when the band came back out as Supernatural (after changing their shirts and adding some hats and the guitarist put on a Carlos Santana wig and mustache) the singer sounded just like Gregg Rollie ... and even Rob Thomas when they played the hit Smooth. Whether you are a fan of tribute bands or not, you had to be impressed by the versatility and playing of the band. An excellent decision by the promoters to place them late in the afternoon to give concert goers time to get their ribs and beer, although the beer was flowing constantly from 11 AM till almost closing time.  
At 6:30 it was time for America to hit the stage. After a fifteen minute delay, they finally hit the stage while the instrumental Miniature was playing so you were reasonably certain that Tin Man was going to be the opening song since those two tunes open the Holiday album. And Tin Man it was followed by You Can Do Magic and then Don't Cross The River. Let me just say this right now:  this is not your daddy's America. This band now ROCKS! Two new additions in just this past year, Ryland Steed on drums and Bill Worrell on lead guitar have brought much-needed new energy to this band. I'm not here to criticize former long-time members Willie Leacox and guitarist Michael Woods but their retirement (?) is the best thing that could have happened to this band. No, they are not Metallica now, but the show is much more rocking with these guys pounding the skins and wailing away on the guitar. Even Gerry Beckley mentioned more than once to keep your eye on Bill Worrell because he will be a superstar someday. And speaking of Beckley, the band is, of course, still led by him and Dewey Bunnell. And longtime member Richard Campbell is still playing the bass guitar and contributing the very important background vocals. However I would be remiss not to mention this ... Gerry Beckley's voice seems to have some issues. Everybody sitting around me were commenting on this. It was quite rough and he had a hard time hitting any kind of high notes and this affected not only his lead vocals but the harmonizing that went on with the entire band. Now I saw America just last year here at the Capitol Theater in Clearwater and his voice was just slightly off then but nowhere near as bad as it was during this show. I really want to give him the benefit of the doubt because I knew that this was America's sixth show in six days, which nowadays most bands never attempt to do. Maybe his voice was shot from all those performances in a row and rather than cancel in front of over 25,000 people their belief was On With The Show. Anyway I was wondering if any of the Forgotten Hits readers or even you, Kent, who might have seen the band in the last year or so had noticed the same thing about Gerry's voice. Just curious. Maybe the fifteen minute delay had something to do with that. Who knows?  
Anyway America played all the hits and several key album tracks (probably around twenty songs). They finished up with the usual three ending songs and that is Sandman (and wow did this rock with Worrell just jamming on the guitar), Sister Golden Hair (another song heard millions of times on radio) and finally with A Horse With No Name. Hopefully America can hold onto Bill Worrell and Ryland Steed for a few years. They really have helped make this the best sounding version of America you will ever hear and see. Hopefully Gerry can get his voice issues straightened out.  
And now for the headliners, Three Dog Night (or is it Two Dog Night or even One Dog Night?). By now everybody knows that longtime and original lead vocalist Cory Wells passed away just a few weeks ago and it was questionable as to whether Three Dog Night were even going to continue. Well I am here to let everyone know that continue they did as I witnessed their performance here Saturday night. Before the band came on stage an announcement was made that "This show is being dedicated to the memory of Cory Wells and Jimmy Greenspoon." The group came out and who do we have here? Well, I see, of course, Danny Hutton and some new guy standing next to him and the next to him is longtime bassist and singer Paul Kingery. About four songs in the new guy was introduced as David Morgan and yes, he was singing the Cory Wells leads. Anyway I'm getting ahead of myself here.
The group opened up with Family Of Man sung by the entire band and then came One Man Band, again sung by the entire band with the one verse sung by Hutton. Next up was one of the two hit songs that Hutton originally sang the lead on, Back And White. And now we had the introduction of Morgan and he sang Never Been To Spain. How did it sound? If your eyes were shut you would have thought it was Cory Wells up there. Great performance. Next up was perhaps my favorite Dog song, Out In The Country. A great, just great group vocal. Everybody on stage contributed to this tune. Now would be a good time to mention new keyboard player Eddie Reasoner, who took over following the death of original member Jimmy Greenspoon last April. He did a great job, especially on this song and also sung background vocals. The band is rounded out by Paul Bautz on drums (who has been in the band over 20 years) and original lead guitarist Mike Allsup.   
At this time Hutton made the announcement that tonight all we are going to play is songs that made the Top 40. Nothing else. And so the hits came ... Shambala, One (sung by Paul Kingery who sounded very similar to the long-departed Chuck Negron), Sure As I'm Sitting Here (Morgan), An Old-Fashioned Love Song (sung by Hutton), Let Me Serenade You, Liar, Mama Told Me Not To Come and Celebrate among a few others. The band left the stage after Celebrate and then came back for two encores. Before the first Hutton said just for one song  we are backing away from the Top 40 announcement and we are playing this song for the tragedy that happened just the night before. It was called Prayer For The Children and it was simply a beautiful a capella version sung by the entire band. This was absolutely one of the highlights of their show and possibly of the entire day. It sounded outstanding, which proved, if nothing else, that this band of performers can sing. Then, of course, the finale with Joy To The World sung by Danny Hutton. It turned into a huge sing-a-long with the entire crowd. An then they were done.  
Final opinion:  with David Morgan contributing the Cory Wells vocals, this band can prosper a few more years, although they are getting a little long in the tooth. One suggestion I would have would be to allow Paul Kingery to contribute a few more of the Chuck Negron vocals (because lets face it, Chuck ain't coming back). He did a great job on One and probably would have sounded better than Hutton on Old Fashioned Love Song and / or Joy To The World. Fun fact; when Kingery joined the band in 1996 as the bassist, who did he replace? None other than Richard Campbell the current bassist for America. It would have been cool if Campbell had come out to join the Dogs for a few songs but, alas, he did not. I did want to mention that at no time during the performance was Cory Wells name even mentioned by Danny Hutton which really surprised me. I thought he would say something about the passing but no. Just the mention by the announcer before the band hit the stage.   
The show wrapped up at 10:00. After seeing six bands (I'm counting the tribute band twice) and almost ten hours of music by bands playing absolute complete sets, I was extremely musically satisfied. And what did it cost? The amazing price of just $20 admission. A great time was had by all!  
Rich Turner
Safety Harbor, Florida
That sounds like one hell of a line-up for twenty bucks, Rich!  What a great day of music!
Quite honestly, I think it's pretty unlikely that we'll go see Three Dog Night again now that it's down to just Danny ... but at some point, curiosity may get the better of me, especially if David Moran sounds as good as you said he does.  I find it completely unacceptable that Danny wouldn't recognize his 40+ year partner from the stage, especially coming so closely after his passing.
Chuck Negron is coming to The Arcada Theatre next spring with Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad ... now that's a show I WOULD like to see.
As for Gerry Beckley, I have always loved his voice ... but he has been struggling for several years now to not only hit the high notes but also keep the tonality of what we've come to expect when we hear him sing.  I've mentioned several times that he's trying so hard now that it comes across as fake and affected ... and quite nasal if I'm being totally honest.
We get it ... we've ALL gotten older since your first hits some 40+ years ago.  We'll cut you some slack if you just get to those notes on your own, even if they don't sound exactly the same.  (There are times where you almost feel as if he's trying to do a Gerry Beckley impersonation!)  America is also appearing at The Arcada later this month ... we're on the fence on that one, having seen them SO many times over the years.  But again you've piqued my curiosity with your comments about their rockin' new band.  Time will tell.  (kk)
 
Meanwhile, enjoy some of Rich's pictures from his all-day concert event ...
 

 Above two:  .38 Special

 Danny and David, Three Dog Night

 Danny Hutton

 David Morgan
 
 America:  Dewey and Gerry

 Dewey Bunnell

Gerry Beckley
 
re:  Passing On:
Heard about this yesterday from a coworker ... and FH Reader Tom Cuddy just sent us the Rolling Stone Magazine clipping ... 
 
P.F. Sloan, 'Eve of Destruction' Songwriter, Dead at 70  - 
Singer-songwriter penned hits for the Turtles, Jan & Dean, Herman's Hermits and more
 
P.F. Sloan, the songwriting great behind classic singles like Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction" and Johnny Rivers' "Secret Agent Man," passed away Monday night after a short bout with pancreatic cancer, the musician's representative confirmed to Rolling Stone. Sloan, who was born Philip Schlein, was 70. 
"Phil was a key element on the music that became the sound of the Sunset Strip. Phil was a true prodigy, signing his first record deal with Aladdin Records when he was thirteen," Sloan's reps said in a statement. "P.F. Sloan's 'Eve Of Destruction' was an anthem for a generation. It is as relevant now as it ever has been." 
After recording his debut single "All I Want Is Loving" / "Little Girl in the Cabin" for the Aladdin Records label, the still-teenaged Sloan got a job with music publisher Screen Gems, who hired Sloan to work with surf rock duo Jan & Dean; Sloan is heard on that group's 1964 hit, "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena." Sloan then moved to Dunhill Records, where he penned hits for artists like Herman's Hermits, the Turtles, the Searchers, the Grass Roots and Barry McGuire. 
It was McGuire who was the recipient of Sloan's most enduring song, "Eve of Destruction," an ominous, apocalyptic and catchy single that prophesized the anti-war protests and civil rights movement percolating in the United States in the mid-Sixties. Despite its political undertones, "Eve of Destruction" hit Number One on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1965.  
Bob Dylan once said of "Eve of Destruction," which was originally penned with the Byrds in mind, "There are no more escapes. If you want to find out anything that's happening now, you have to listen to the music. I don't mean the words. Though, 'Eve Of Destruction' will tell you something about it." 
"I was a songwriter and my record label really didn't want me out there in the public," Sloan told Rolling Stone in 2014. "The label thought if I knew how popular I was, I'd want more money. I was literally destroyed three months later. The label told me to sign away everything I'll ever earn and earned and sent out word that I was persona non grata. They wanted to destroy me and this kind of music. They thought Bob Dylan was an idiot and a communist." 
Sloan was also a singer in his own right, recording a pair of albums of Dunhill (1965's Songs of Our Time, 1966's Twelve More Times) alongside a handful of other solo LPs spread across the past decades. However, after branching out on his own, Sloan claimed the music industry shunned him. "I wasn't taken seriously as a talent," Sloan told American Songwriter. "Except by Dylan. Dylan told me that the word was out and they were out to destroy me." In 2014, Sloan released his last album My Beethoven as well as his memoir, What’s Exactly The Matter With Me?. 
Sloan took part in the Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival, the first ever rock music festival that took place in the Bay Area in June 1967, a week before the Monterey Pop Festival. The singer-songwriter was also the subject of a song titled "P.F. Sloan," penned by fellow songwriter Jimmy Webb.
Read more (and catch some cool videos of some of Sloan's best-know hits) here: 
 
I expect you know Kent but just in case you don't -  
Charlie Dick, the widower of Patsy Cline and the man who kept her legacy alive over the years, died earlier on Sunday the 15th at the age of 81. Dick was a linotype operator for the Winchester Star in Winchester, VA, when he went to a 1956 concert by Cline. The two met and hit it off right away, marrying the next year. They had two children, Julie (born 1958) and Randy (born 1961). Their marriage was rough at times, Dick said they were both hard-headed and hot tempered, but not as rough as was portrayed in the 1985 biopic Sweet Dreams. They remained married until Cline's death in 1963 in a plane crash. After Cline's death, he used the contacts from being with Patsy to enter the record business, working as a record promoter. He remarried in 1965 to Jamey Ryan but they divorced in 1970 after having one child. Throughout his life, Dick remained involved in protecting Cline's legacy, including the boom in interest in her recording output that was spurred by the 1980 film Coal Miner's Daughter and the 1985 Cline biopic. He worked with Hallway productions on two documentaries on Cline's life that he dedicated to setting the record straight on their marriage and her career to counteract some of the inaccuracies in Sweet Dreams. He also was active on the fan circuit.
Take care,
Rockin' Lord Geoff (In England)
 
Who?
Hoh.
Who?
Hoh ... read on ...
Edward “Fast Eddie” Hoh, age 71, passed away Saturday, November 07, 2015, in Westmont, IL.
An American rock drummer who was active in the 1960s, he played the drums on several well-known rock songs and albums, including those by Donovan and the Monkees. He also performed at the seminal 1967 Monterey Pop Festival as a member of the Mamas and the Papas touring band.
In 1968, he participated in the recording of Super Session, the highly successful 1968 Mike Bloomfield / Al Kooper / Stephen Stills collaboration album.
Hoh first became known around 1964 on the Los Angeles club circuit as a drummer for the Joel Scott Hill groups the Strangers and the Invaders. Hill recorded several singles and the Strangers were an opening act for the 1964 T.A.M.I. Show, headlined by the Rolling Stones and James Brown. His flurry of activity came to an end by the early 1970s and has since remained out of the public eye.
-- submitted by Ken Voss
 
Again, I ask ... who???
Kent ...
On 10/16/2015 George McCannon III died.
I can see you shaking your head, Kent.  Who the heck is this guy?
He's a local Connecticut talent. He recorded a version of Roy Orbison's "Lana."
The rest comes from a 5/19/1991 interview he did with Wild Wayne ...
For ten years George was the announcer for Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars.
George talks about this one tour when Paul (Ray Hilderbrand) and Paula (Jill Jackson) were the headliners.
Ray decided to quit and went home to Houston, Texas. What to do?
For one night Dick Clark became Paul and sang with Paula.
For the rest of the three month tour George McCannon III played the part of Paul.
George's biggest hit came in 1970 ... "Birds Of All Nations."
George told Wild Wayne that Glen Campbell and The Wrecking Crew backed him up on this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0Fcw4OdmpY
Not bad, if you don't compare it to Roy Orbison.
Frank B.
 
re:  Up-Coming Shows:
LOTS of great entertainment coming our way between now and the end of the year ...
Check out THIS incredible list!  (kk)
 
THE ARCADA THEATRE:
November 21st - Christopher Corss
November 25th - Carl Palmer
November 28th - America
December 1st - Todd Rundgren
December 5th - Michael McDonald (Christmas and Hits Show)
December 6th - The Lettermen (Christmas Show)
December 11th - Felix Cavaliere's Rascals  (Christmas and Hits Show)
December 13th - Ronnie Spector's Christmas Show
December 18th - The Ides Of March (Christmas and Hits Show)
purchase tickets:  www.oshows.com
 
THE GENESEE THEATRE:
November 17th - The Brian Setzer Orchestra  (Christmas Show)
November 22nd - Christopher Cross
December 4th - Richard Marx  (Forgotten Hits Free Ticket Give-Away ends Friday, November 20th!)
December 8th - Michael Bolton
purchase tickets:  http://www.geneseetheatre.com/events/all
 
THE RIALTO SQUARE THEATRE:
December 6th - Tony Bennett
buy tickets:  http://www.rialtosquare.com/box_office.asp
 
THE CITY WINERY
November 29th - Eric Burdon and the Animals  (sold out ... add your name to the wait list)
December 7th - JD Souther
December 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th - Los Lobos  (Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame nominees)
order tickets:  http://www.citywinery.com/chicago/tickets.html#/page/6
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