re: THE WCBS-FM TOP 500
COUNTDOWN:
>>>All weekend long
WCBS-FM will be playing their Top 500 Countdown starts on WCBS-FM. Maybe you
can listen now and then. (I'm gonna go out on a limb and say neither one of us
will like the #1 song.) Frank B.
>>>What??? You don't think "Boogie Oogie Oogie"
will win the top honors this year?!?!? (kk) >>>"I Love The Nightlife" by Alicia
Bridges is song #500 on the WCBS-FM Top 500.
We're just getting started and already I'm upset. (Frank B.)
We're just getting started and already I'm upset. (Frank B.)
UPDATE:
#1 = "Billie Jean" by Michael
Jackson
DJ said everybody was calling in and guessing
"Hotel California", which came in at #2. All of a sudden "Boogie Oogie Oogie"
is starting to look better to me. (Frank B)
Big Jay Sorensen (who broadcasts on WCBS-FM) didn't take kindly to our
commentary on this year's countdown ...
I'm intrigued by the comments about WCBS-FM and the Top 500 Countdown. I can't speak for management**, but the station is quite successful. No ... really. To whine about "Billie Jean" being No. 1 doesn't compute with a 45 year-old TODAY. To YESTERDAY'S 45 year-old (20 or 30 years ago) it should be blasphemy! Where's "In The Still Of The Night?"
While I have been reading Kent's wonderful
column for years now (congrats on the anniversary) I must say (in my opinion)
that we are serving the target audience with pin-point accuracy. If we wanted to
super-serve today's 65+ audience, we could play all those great late '50s and
early '60s songs that are largely lost on AM / FM radio ... but that would
be BUSINESS suicide. What I find most interesting, is the continued feeling of
holding on to something that simply can't be done NOW.
It made sense 20 or 30 years ago to play the
music the station USED to play then ... but this is 2015. I even grew out of the
"demo" and I miss the oldies -- personally. But it ain't about ME. But the music
CBS-FM and most other "Classic Hits" stations today DOES resonate with today's
45 year-old. I get calls (years after we stopped playing those "oldies") asking
if I can play the Harptones. Uh ... no. Sorry. But I am never rude. I try to
briefly explain why. Most people (regardless of age) understand. And then I
point out that there are literally thousands of places to FIND their oldies. I
know it sounds awful for someone ON the radio to say that, but it's purely
business. PURELY. Advertisers generally want 25 - 54 demos. Of course, there are
exceptions. But it is reality! So to immediately claim that "I Love The
Nightlife" was No. 500 and, "OMG, the world just ended," seems silly. I heard
plenty of songs we don't usually play all weekend. And it was great. But the
majority of our audience today need not hear "California Girls" on a
regular basis ... 'cause it's not THEIR music! It's the oldies of a different
generation. Of course, there is anecdotal evidence that younger people (18 - 34)
love oldies. Prove it to me with REAL ratings information, please? There are
exceptions, but my kids are in their 30s — just outside of 18 - 34 demographic
now) and MY music ain't the stuff they wish to hear on a regular basis, if ever.
Period. Sure, an occasional sing-along with “Twist And Shout” may happen, but
mostly it’s indifference at best.
I don't wish to get into a pissing match with
any of Kent's wonderful readers and supporters. His work DOES serve a wonderful
purpose ... to keep OUR music alive. Happily, it IS available in droves, and
likely always will be. But just as "Big Band" formats disappeared by the time MY
parents were in their '70s, so went "Oldies" radio ... except for a few rare
exceptions. One day, "Tainted Love" will be gone as the music of the '00s will
be the new "Greatest Hits!" It's evolutionary and necessary. I hope I didn't
ruffle too many feathers, but I felt compelled to comment.
Oh ... and to READ about the '60s, '70s and
'80s hits, go to my website: www.BigJaySorensen.com and click on Big Week in Pop Music History. I
update it usually weekly. There is an archive there complete with videos and the
stories about our music, chart history, etc.
I relish your comments at BigJaySorensen@gmail.com.
Thanks.
BE BIG!!
Big Jay Sorensen
CBS-FM
101.1 NYC
**Comments are my own and don't reflect even
the sun
Here's the complete list of songs that made WCBS-FM's Top 500 List ...
http://wcbsfm.cbslocal.com/2015/11/16/cbs-fm-thanksgiving-countdown-top-500/
Here's the complete list of songs that made WCBS-FM's Top 500 List ...
http://wcbsfm.cbslocal.com/2015/11/16/cbs-fm-thanksgiving-countdown-top-500/
re: THIS AND
THAT:
Passing it along to all you collectors out there ...
Despite the fact that Dee Mitchell, widow of legendary Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell, has pointed out that unscrupulous parties have attempted to sell bogus items and drum kits as having belonged to and played by her late husband, the practice has cropped up again. "The deplorable practice of auctioning 'Mitch Mitchell' drum sets which he supposedly played while with Jimi Hendrix seems to be ongoing," she noted. "All of the drums Mitch played with Hendrix and later are accounted for and not up for sale. We hope that anybody who might be interested in buying one of these kits will take warning and not fall for this artifice."
>>>When I was just starting my career in radio back in the
day as a young, pre-driver's license, teenage disk jockey playing the Hits in
South Dakota that have since become those Great Oldies and Forgotten Hits we all
love today, it would have been just too cool if this would have been my
bike to ride from home back and forth to those KRSD Rapid City radio
studios! (Chuck Buell)
>>>This custom BIKE radio
is to DIE for!!! (I don't think I've EVER seen one of these before!)
kk
I needed
this bike in the 60's!!!
Clark Besch
I wonder what one of these goes for today (assuming you could even find one! ... and
if you did, if it would still work!!! (kk)
I found this vintage ad on EBay ... looks like these
bikes first came out in the '50's!
I also asked I guy I know who works in a bike
shop if he's ever seen or come across one. Nope ... this was a new one on him, too!
More from the Wild Wayne 40th Anniversary
celebration, courtesy of Forgotten Hits Reader Frank B ...
Interview Date: May 7 1978 - Fred
Parris (Lead singer of The Five Satins)
They had the A-side recorded, "The Jones Girl" and needed a B-side.
They had the A-side recorded, "The Jones Girl" and needed a B-side.
Fred Parris was in the National
Guard in Philadelphia. He was walking guard duty at 3 AM. He decided to work on
that B-side song the group needed and came up with "In The Still Of The Nite."
First recorded for the Standard
Label, it was recorded at St. Bernadette's Church basement in Easthaven,
Connecticut, on a 2-track machine. If you listen to the original recording,
you'll hear a truck horn in the background. Once again they get it wrong, making
"In The Still Of The Nite" the B-side instead of the A-side.
On the old WCBS - FM
Countdowns,this song was #1 ten years in a row.
Interview Date: October 17, 1982
- Danny Rapp (Lead singer of Danny and the Juniors)
After their 1957 #1 Hit "At The Hop," they were signed by ABC-Paramount . The label said they wanted a song that was similar to "At The Hop" for the group's next release. Dave White wrote "Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay." It was a Hit.
After their 1957 #1 Hit "At The Hop," they were signed by ABC-Paramount . The label said they wanted a song that was similar to "At The Hop" for the group's next release. Dave White wrote "Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay." It was a Hit.
Danny said he thought it would've
been a bigger hit if it wasn't so close to the first hit.
Danny also said in the late 50's
Danny and the Juniors were appearing on American Bandstand about twice a
month.
Frank B.
Frank B.
Whatever happened to Joey
Scarbury?
Tom Cuddy
Scarbury actually topped
both the Cash Box and Record World charts with his 1981 TV Theme / Hit Single
"Theme from 'Greatest American Hero' (Believe It Or Not)" ... it peaked at #2 in
Billboard where it charted for 26 weeks. And yep, ya gotta love that Seinfeld
answering machine episode! (lol) kk
BTW, for Larry, I have one mini survey that is about two inches high and one inch wide from the 60's!!!
Clark Besch
You know the more
I thought about this, the more I realized that the original WCFL "Big 10"
Surveys were designed to fold in thirds an fit into your shirt pocket ... and
they were pretty cool, too, typically depicting the picture of a current hot
artist on the front cover ... and often promoting new album appearances, live
concerts and radio station promotions. (kk)
And, speaking of
the charts ...
Kent,
Really enjoyed
perusing the weekly survey for WIBG. The first thing I thought of when I saw the
call letters was the second volume of the LP's that were made years ago in which
certain DJ's shows were reproduced on vinyl LP. The second volume of the
Cruisin' Series was from the year 1957 and featured DJ Joe Niagara. Of the 14
or 15 albums that were made, it just so happens that the one of Joe Niagara
happens to be my favorite. In WIBG's "Future 49", I counted right at just 7
records that would turn out to be hits as we know them today.
Larry
Hi
Kent,
Just
an interesting note ... Burton Cummings is playing at the Orleans Showroom in
Las Vegas January 14th - 17th with a one night break on the 15th and I see where
the Guess Who are playing in Las Vegas on that night at the Golden Nugget. I
wonder if any of these former band-mates will catch each other's
performances?
Also,
I know how you love Oldies radio, so enclosed is a station high in the mountains
of Colorado that is not saddled by the confines of the big city consultants and
as a result you'll get to hear quite an extended library and
variety.
Peace,
Tim
Kiley
http://hippieradio975.com/
Honestly, I can't see EITHER party bothering with checking out the other ... but if pressed to buy just one ticket there is absolutely NO question who I'D go to see ... I'll go for the "real deal" every time! (kk)
Honestly, I can't see EITHER party bothering with checking out the other ... but if pressed to buy just one ticket there is absolutely NO question who I'D go to see ... I'll go for the "real deal" every time! (kk)
We've
told you about this one a couple of times now ...
Well,
we finally hit the official release date this Friday, December 4th
...
LOST ROY ORBISON
ALBUM FROM 1969 TO BE RELEASED DECEMBER 4th:
One of the Lonely Ones
Will Finally Be Available After Being Shelved For 46
Years
December 4th marks the anniversary
of Roy Orbison’s last ever performance (The Front Row Theater, Highland Heights,
OH, 1988), a mere two days before his passing. In recognition, Universal Music
Enterprises (Ume) has teamed up with Roy’s Boys LLC, the Nashville-based company
founded by the late icon’s sons to administer their father’s catalog and
safeguard his legacy. Together, they are releasing One of the Lonely
Ones globally on December 4, available in CD, 180-gram vinyl and digital
form.
Recorded between January and
August of 1969, One of the Lonely Ones is a complete Roy Orbison
studio album that has never before been released in any form. The 12-track album
was recently discovered by Roy’s sons when they were preparing for the release
of The MGM Years box set (also available digitally and on CD and 180-gram
vinyl Dec. 4). Born from tragedy, One of the Lonely Ones is a
testament to Roy’s unparalleled ability to turn heartbreak into
art.
Things were looking up for ‘The
Big O’ in 1968. In the middle of the summer, Roy met Barbara, the woman who
would be his wife for the remainder of his life. With a new album due out, Roy
was on tour in the UK promoting “Walk On” for his forthcoming album Roy
Orbison’s Many Moods. Then on Sept. 15, tragedy struck when his home in
Hendersonville, TN burned down, killing his two oldest sons Roy DeWayne (age
ten) and Anthony (age six).
To recover from the tragedy, Roy
went back to work, recording a new album in January 1969. After taking a break
in March to marry Barbara (and go back on tour), recording resumed in July and
finished in August. The album never saw the light of day, however. Due to his
self-imposed exile during the latter part of the previous year, Roy’s label MGM
Records had pushed back the release of Many Moods to May of ’69, thereby
knocking his aggressive release schedule out of whack. MGM ultimately made the
decision to shelve One of the Lonely
Ones.
Now 46 years later, the world will
get to hear One of the Lonely Ones – an album featuring full band,
choir and orchestra, with Roy Orbison sounding his strongest. The album does NOT
contain demos, outtakes or alternate versions of previously released songs. One
of these tracks has recently gained a lot of attention in the UK. Roy’s cover of
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “You’ll Never Walk Alone” is a tribute to his friends
Gerry and the Pacemakers, who had a hit with it in 1963, and subsequently toured
with Roy and the Beatles. “You’ll Never Walk Alone” has also been the theme song
for Liverpool Football Club and other soccer teams around the world for half a
century. A music video for Orbison’s “You’ll Never Walk Alone” is currently in
the works.
Another standout on One of
the Lonely Ones is a cover of Don Gibson’s “I Will Always,” a track that
was quite literally lost for several decades. Roy’s son Alex Orbison explains,
“Roy was picking these deep love songs for his love of Barbara and starting over
again. The song was listed as ‘missing,’ and was truly lost for 45 years. When
we went through all of the source tapes we found ‘I Will Always’ in the middle
of seven or eight takes of another song. It seemed like they were not getting
the other song perfect so they tried a run-through of ‘I Will Always,’ which
they did nail on the very first try, and then they went back to the other song.
‘I Will Always’ was not listed on that reel, so if we had not searched through
all the source tapes - about 100 hours of listening - then it likely would have
been lost forever.”
Five songs were co-written by Bill
Dees (co-writer of “Oh, Pretty Woman” and “It’s Over”). The guitar-heavy “Child
Woman, Woman Child,” an ambiguous tale of a man hung up an immature woman, is a
little sister of sorts to “Oh, Pretty Woman,” and was the very first track laid
down for One of the Lonely Ones. “Sweet Memories,” a Mickey
Newbury song Roy had attempted to record two years earlier, but didn’t release
it as he felt the earlier version had not been up to par. A lyric video for
“Sweet Memories” was recently made using old family photos, many of which have
never been seen by the public until now.
One of the Lonely
Ones was transferred from the original tape at the famed
Blackbird Studio in Nashville, TN, and the tracks were individually mixed by
Chuck Turner (whose credits include Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Alison Krauss and
Marty Stuart) at the Cash Cabin under Alex Orbison’s supervision. Finally, the
restored-to-stereo tracks were put in the capable hands of Richard Dodd for
mastering.
Roy Orbison - One of the
Lonely Ones [vinyl LP; CD; digital album]
(recorded 1/21/69 – 8/2/69, all tracks previously
unreleased)
1) You’ll Never Walk
Alone
2) Say No
More
3) Leaving Makes the Rain Come
Down
4)
Laurie
5) Sweet
Memories
6) One of the Lonely
Ones
7) Child Woman, Woman
Child
8) The
Defector
9) Give
Up
10) Little Girl (In the Big
City)
11) After
Tonight
12) I Will
Always
“Sweet Memories” lyric
video:
Preorder links:
RoyOrbison.com/MGMYears
instagram.com/officialroyorbison
Rick Vittenson
I'm not sure how many more concerts we'll see in 2015 (we've got Richard Marx coming up on Friday ... and had talked about making The Ides Of March Christmas Show a "Forgotten Hits Get-Together" at The Arcada Theatre on December 18th ... but that one just never came together) ... but not to worry ...
Ron Onesti has already started booking an all-star line-up for 2016 ... and tickets for some of these show are already on sale at their online box office ...
www.oshows.com
January 17th - The Osmonds
January 29th - Billy Gibbons (of ZZ Top)
February 13th - "The Voices Of Rock" starring Chuck Negron (formerly of Three Dog Night) and Mark Farner (formerly of Grand Funk Railroad)
February 20th - Creedence Clearwater Revisited
March 4th and 5th - UFO
March 6th - The Hit Men - featuring artists who have formerly performed with Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, The Critters, Tommy James and the Shondells, Jim Croce, Carly Simon and more
March 11th - Southside Johnny and the Asbury Dukes
March 13th - Tommy Roe and Chris Montez
May 6th - Crystal Gayle
May 7th - The Alan Parsons Live Project
May 8th - Frankie Avalon
May 13th - The Orchestra (featuring former members of The Electric Light Orchestra)
May 19th - Paul Anka
June 4th - Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone
Lots more shows will be added ... so check back often!
re: On The Local Scene:
Hello Kent:
I thought you might be interested in this event that is
occurring this Thursday, December 3rd, at the Empty Bottle in
Chicago:
Chicago music lovers are familiar with the column, “The
Secret History of Chicago Music.” This free event celebrates the publication of
a compendium of all of the columns.
Steve Krakow (AKA Plastic Crimewave) says
this about the evening:
ok folks, THIS IS THEE BIG ONE! The official release
par-tay of the Secret History of Chicago Music Book Collection is this Thursday
at The Empty Bottle, if
you RSVP up til the day of the show it is FREE! Copies of the Curbside Splendor
Publishing over-200-page hardcover will be available for the FIRST
TIME at this event! So stoked to have the first-time-ever set by the FULL BAND
version of Athanor, one of my
fave 70s windy city psych-pop bands, as well as the 2nd ever perfor...mance in
35 years by electronic soundscapers VCSR (featuring William Vermette),
plus the full-tilt avant genius of ONO, and David
Bowie-approved auteur Bobby Conn is doing
a special "My Chicago" performance that is bound to confound and delight! I'll
be signing books and it's gunna be gas!! Can't believe this is finally
happening,..yow.
Athanor’s band includes Chris Drehobl of The Mauds on drums
and Harry Reinhart (father of American Idol runner up Haley Reinhart) of
Midnight on lead guitar.
Best regards,
I'm not sure how many more concerts we'll see in 2015 (we've got Richard Marx coming up on Friday ... and had talked about making The Ides Of March Christmas Show a "Forgotten Hits Get-Together" at The Arcada Theatre on December 18th ... but that one just never came together) ... but not to worry ...
Ron Onesti has already started booking an all-star line-up for 2016 ... and tickets for some of these show are already on sale at their online box office ...
www.oshows.com
January 17th - The Osmonds
January 29th - Billy Gibbons (of ZZ Top)
February 13th - "The Voices Of Rock" starring Chuck Negron (formerly of Three Dog Night) and Mark Farner (formerly of Grand Funk Railroad)
February 20th - Creedence Clearwater Revisited
March 4th and 5th - UFO
March 6th - The Hit Men - featuring artists who have formerly performed with Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, The Critters, Tommy James and the Shondells, Jim Croce, Carly Simon and more
March 11th - Southside Johnny and the Asbury Dukes
March 13th - Tommy Roe and Chris Montez
May 6th - Crystal Gayle
May 7th - The Alan Parsons Live Project
May 8th - Frankie Avalon
May 13th - The Orchestra (featuring former members of The Electric Light Orchestra)
May 19th - Paul Anka
June 4th - Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone
Lots more shows will be added ... so check back often!
