Friday, February 5, 2016

Maurice White

Photo by Ed Perlstein

It has become almost impossible to preplan anything for Forgotten Hits these days.

I can't remember ever having gone through this kind of rash of celebrity deaths like we have already in 2016.  Maurice White, founder of Earth, Wind and Fire, is the latest casualty ... but in the last 90 days we have lost Natalie Cole (December 31st), Robert Stigwood (January 4th), Troy Shondell (January 7th), David Bowie (January 10th), Gary Loizzo of The American Breed (January 16th), Glenn Frey (January 18th), Paul Kantner and Signe Anderson, both original members of The Jefferson Airplane (January 28th) and now Maurice White of Earth, Wind and Fire (February 4th).

And that's not all.  Also gone during that same 90 day timeframe are Andy White, the session drummer who appears on The Beatles' first single "Love Me Do" / "P.S. I Love You" (November 9th), New Orleans legend Allen Toussaint (November 9th), Martin Beard of Sopwith Camel (November 10th), songwriter P.F. Sloan (November 15th), Cynthia Robinson of Sly and the Family Stone (November 23rd), Ronnie Bright, the bass voice on the hit "Mr. Bass Man"  (November 26th), Luigi Creatore, one half of Hugo and Luigi who produced a number of acts like Sam Cooke, Perry Como and The Stylistics and wrote Elvis' big #2 Hit "Can't Help Falling In Love" (December 13th), Producer Snuff Garnett, who produced hit records for Bobby Vee, Gary Lewis and the Playboys and Cher (among many others) December 17th, William Guest (one of the Pips), December 24th, Little Stevie Wright of The Easybeats (December 27th), Jerry Dwyer, who owned the plane that crashed and took the lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper (January 16th), Mic Gilette of Tower of Power (January 16th) and Dale Griffin of Mott The Hoople (January 17th)

Once again, losing Maurice White hits close to home, having lived in Chicago my whole life and had a couple of personal run-ins with Earth, Wind and Fire back in the early days of their career.  (More on this later)

I have mentioned several times before in the past that somehow ... for SOME reason ... Earth, Wind and Fire always seem to be overlooked when people talk about the great music that came out of Chicago, Illinois.  They were, however, recognized by The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2000, the first "contemporary" act from Chicago to be inducted.  (Several Blues Greats have "Early Influence" honors ... but EWF got in on their driving and innovative sound.  That fact that Chicago is finally being inducted this year after decades of snubs makes it all so much sweeter.  These two bands are performing together in one of the biggest tours of the summer ... and it'll be a KILLER show ... but White wouldn't have been participating anyway due to health issues that have plagued him for years.)

Maurice White was a session drummer for the legendary Chess Records here in Chicago in the 1960's.  (It's his drumming you hear on the Billy Stewart hit, "Summertime" ... and he's backed up many a soul superstar along the way.)  When Isaac "Red" Holt left The Ramsey Lewis Trio (along with Eldee Young) to form The Young-Holt Trio (later Young-Holt Unlimited), Maurice was brought in to fill Red's spot on the drums ... and he appeared on the next nine Ramsey Lewis Trio albums.

White left in 1969 and, along with his brother Verdine formed a group called The Salty Peppers.  It didn't last very long, however ... the two brothers moved to Los Angeles to try and make it there, dumped everyone else in the band, hired singer Philip Bailey and evolved into Earth, Wind and Fire.

They eventually landed a contract with Warner Brothers Records in 1971 ... and then scored a few minor chart hits after a move to Columbia Records two years later including The Top 50 Hits "Evil" (#50, 1973); "Keep Your Head To The Sky" (#34, 1974); "Mighty Mighty" (#29, 1974); "Devotion" (#33, 1974); and "Hot Dawgit" (#50) and "Sun Goddess" (#44), both recorded (ironically) with Ramsey Lewis.

The group exploded in a VERY big way in 1975 with the release of their "That's The Way Of The World" album, which produced the #1 Hit "Shining Star".  Several other hits followed, including the album's title track (and still my personal favorite, #6, 1975); "Sing A Song" (#5, 1976); "Can't Hide Love" (#39, 1976); "Getaway" (#10, 1976); "Saturday Nite" (#21, 1976); "Serpentine Fire" (#10, 1977); "Fantasy" (#32, 1978); "Got To Get You Into My Life" (#9, 1978); "September" (#4); "Boogie Wonderland" (#5, 1979, with The Emotions); "After The Love Has Gone" (#2, 1979); "Let Me Talk" (#42, 1980); "You" (#48, 1980); "Let's Groove" (#3, 1981); "Fall In Love With Me" (#17, 1983) and "Sunday Morning" (#40, 1993).

White had been battling Parkinson's Disease since 1992.
He reportedly died peacefully in his sleep early Thursday Morning, February 4th at the age of 74. 

*****

Growing up here in Chicago, I had the opportunity to cross paths with some of the members of Earth, Wind and Fire back in the early-to-mid '70's, right before they became a pop sensation.

We would run into the band from time to time at Monty's Music on St. Charles Road in Berkley, IL ... Monty's was our favorite place to shop for musical instruments and, although many of these memories are now fuzzy at best, I'm guessing this would have had to have been sometime in 1973.

Whenever EWF would come into Monty's they were the center of attention.  They had already been out to California and landed a record deal ... but there was a certain camaraderie between musicians that allowed you to always cheer for the other guy ... tell 'em to "keep on practicing" and "don't give up the dream" ... so when we would see them it was always kind of a nod and "How ya doin'" sort of thing.

The most memorable time of all was the night we pulled in to pick up our brand new Kustom PA System ... all shiny and glittery bright blue with all the foam padding everywhere ... it was our dream PA (and, in hindsight, not a very good one) ... but it SURE was cool to look at.  We took a bit of ribbing from the EWF guys as we carried it out the door in multiple trips ... I mean this sucker was HUGE (and, again in hindsight, not at all practical!!! lol)

Flash forward about a year or year and a half and we had the opportunity to play a show at McCormick Place where Earth, Wind and Fire would be the headliners.  The name of my band at the time was Kumsah ... (our banners and posters read "Come See Kumsah" ... pretty clever to my 20 year old mind.)

I'll never forget this part because the show was being put on by "The Church Of What's Happening Now" ... for real!!! ... and it was (in hindsight ... LOTS of hindsight creeping in to tonight's posting) a bit of a scam really.  The idea was that each band booked to play had to sell tickets to the show.  Tickets were priced at $5 each ... not bad little fund-raiser considering that, when all was said and done, the agency had booked something like 40 back-up bands in addition to the headliners.  Each band had to buy their blocks of tickets in advance ... in effect, PAYING for the right to perform on the same stage as EWF.  We paid $2.50 a pop ... then when you sold them for five bucks, the band got to keep the difference.  The number of tickets you sold determined how much you got paid for your performance that night.  (And any unsold tickets were YOUR loss because the promoter had already been paid his money upfront.)

We didn't care ... we were kids playing at McCormick Place ... between us we probably sold twenty tickets, which meant that the band split $50 five ways.

We had to get there around 11 am and each band would set up the bulk of their equipment backstage so that you could do faster change-overs between acts.  Every band was allowed to play three songs so we went through the tough backstage ritual of trying to determine what were our best three songs that might make an impact on this crowd.  (With 40 bands selling tickets the audience was pretty full!)

Turns out we had plenty of time to argue (and rehearse) backstage ... cramming 40 bands through this ritual took forever ... but hey, we were going to be backing up Earth, Wind and Fire at McCormick Place, dammit, and that meant that we were on our way to becoming stars in our own right.

Our band kept getting pushed back ... I can't state with 100% certainty that we were the only white band there that day ... there may have been two or three others ... but the predominantly black crowd drawn in by The Church Of What's Happening Now's television preacher tipped the scales quite a bit.

By the time it was 8:00 even our own guests were ready to leave ... but we hung in there, assuring them that we'd be going on stage any time now.  Also getting frustrated were the headliners.  Although Earth Wind and Fire hadn't spent the whole day in the backstage trenches with all of us wannabes, they wanted to take the stage at 8:00 and get their set over with ... so that's exactly what they did.

They played their half hour to 45 minute set and then they were gone ... and with them went about 90% of the audience ... who (other than each band's closest friends and family) had only come out to see Earth Wind and Fire perform in the first place.

By the time we FINALLY took the stage there may have been 30 people left in the audience ... and maybe two of them were Kumsah fans.  Exhausted, we played our three songs, packed up the equipment and left.

All in all a pretty low, defeating moment ... until one considers that ... on THAT particular day anyway ... Earth Wind and Fire opened for US in concert.  (At least that's the way WE chose to remember it.)

*****

Rest in peace, Maurice ... and thank you for the music.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

For The Locals: LOTS More Great Shows Are Coming Your Way!

re:  Up-Coming Events:
We told you the other day that Chicago's City Winery has booked Graham Nash for a couple of shows in May.  (May 11th and May 12th to be exact)  Tickets go on sale today at noon.
 
Photo by Amy Grantham

Actually, they have several "Baby Boomer Friendly" shows coming up that "locals" on the list may be interested in ...
 
February 4th and 5th - Judy Collins and Ari Hest
February 9th - Albert Lee
February 14th (two shows) - B.J. Thomas
February 15th and 16th - Eric Burdon and The Animals
March 3rd - Rickie Lee Jones
March 4th - Delbert McClinton (with Amy Black)
March 21st - Shooter Jennings and Waymore's Outlaws  (members of the late Waylon Jennings' back-up band team-up with Waylon's son Shooter to perform a tribute to the music catalog of Waylong Jennings along with tracks from the upcoming live album by Waymore's Outlaws)
April 2nd and 3rd - Marc Cohn
May 11th and 12th - Graham Nash  (performing many of his solo hits and hits recorded with The Hollies and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young ... as well as selections from his brand new studio album "This Path Tonight".  Graham will be accompanied by Shane Fontayne, who also produced the new album)
June 4th - American Idol Winner Kris Allen (with Sean McConnell)
 
The Genesee Theatre in Waukegan has some great shows coming up ...
 
February 6th - Vicki Lawrence and Mama - A Two-Woman Show
February 13th - Dennis DeYoung performing the music of Styx
February 19th - Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone and The Buckinghams
February 26th- Joel McHale
March 5th- The Price Is Right - Live
March 10th - Jennifer Nettles
March 19th - Jerry Seinfeld
April 1st - The Music of Jethro Tull - written and performed by Ian Anderson
April 6th - Meatloaf
April 7th - David Sanborn
 
And, of course, there's NEVER a shortage of great entertainment on hand at The Arcada Theatre ...
 
February 12th - The BoDeans
February 13th - The Voices of Rock:  Chuck Negron (formerly of Three Dog Night) and Mark Farner (formerly of Grand Funk Railroad)
February 20th - Creedence Clearwater Revisited (featuring original Creedence Clearwater Revival members Stu Cook and Doug Clifford)
March 4th and 5th - UFO
March 6th - The Hit Men - featuring former members of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and Tommy James and the Shondells)
March 10th - Bret Michaels
March 11th - Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes
March 13th - Tommy Roe, Chris Montez and a Beatles Tribute Band, recreating the magic of the tour they did together in 1963
March 19th - Cornerstones Of Rock - featuring The Ides Of March, The Cryan' Shames, The New Colony Six, The Shadows Of Knight and The Buckinghams (plus additional surprises and tributes) 
NOTE:  THIS SHOW IS ALREADY SOLD OUT
March 24th - An Evening with Sophia Loren (an OShows Production at the Copernicus Center)
March 25th - Blue Oyster Cult
April 2nd - Echoes of Pompeii (the ultimate Pink Floyd tribute show)
April 8th - Rock of the '80's (starring The Smithereens, The Motels and The Tubes)
April 9th - Steven Wright
April 14th - Don Williams
April 16th - Randy Bachman
April 17th - John Waite
May 1st - Cornerstones Of Rock at The North Shore Center in Skokie (same line-up as above and again, VERY limited ticket availability)
May 6th - Crystal Gayle
May 7th - The Alan Parsons Live Project
May 8th - Frankie Avalon
May 13th - The Orchestra (former members of ELO)
May 19th - Paul Anka
May 29th - The Zombies
June 4th - Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone
July 10th - Debby Boone
July 14th - Don Felder
July 16th - Vince Neil of Motley Crue
July 17th - Rita Coolidge
July 29th - Tower of Power
 
Joliet's Rialto Square Theatre has Pure Prairie League with Firefall on February 13th (this is the rescheduled date from an earlier postponed appearance), Jeff Foxworthy and Larry The Cable Guy on April 8th (two shows), Saturday Night Fever: The Musical on April 27th and Vince Gill on May 5th.
 
"Hairspray - The Broadway Musical" will continue performances at The Paramount Theater in Aurora through February 21st.  Donny and Marie return to The Paramount for a total of seven shows between May 25th and May 29th.  (These are also make-up dates)
 
Alice Cooper hits The Star Plaza on May 5th and on May 7th you can catch Dennis DeYoung performing the music of Styx.
 
A few more shows of interest ...
 
Chicago and Earth, Wind and Fire - April 1st at The United Center
Bonnie Raitt - March 22nd at The Chicago Theater
James Taylor - May 29th at The Peoria Civic Center
and The Who - March 11th at The United Center 
 
Meanwhile, I got a concert announcement the other day that Three Dog Night would be performing in our area this Friday, February 5th, at The Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, WI ... this is the make-up date for a concert postponed in October, most likely because due to the passing of Cory Wells right around that time.
But incredibly the new concert advertisement has Cory and Danny Hutton pictured in the photo ... and that's just WRONG!!!!
As it is, I can't imagine (under any circumstances) going to see Three Dog Night with Danny Hutton and new stand-in / replacement David Morgan.  (At least Chuck Negron ... who has no legal rights to the Three Dog Night name ... bills himself as Chuck Negron ... which is who he is.  How does one-third of Three Dog Night ... performing with a replacement singer whot had absolutely NOTHING to do with the band's success ... have the nerve to bill "himself" as Three Dog Night?  I just don't get it.)  kk
 

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

The Day The Music Died

We've honored the sad date of February 3rd several times before in Forgotten Hits ...

Here are links to a couple of pieces we've run dating back as far as 2009:

http://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/search?q=the+day+the+music+died

My guess is that today it will be all-right for radio to play the music of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper again (and I'm sure you'll hear Don McLean's "American Pie" at least half a dozen times today as well.)  Then, come Thursday, all these great tracks will disappear from the airwaves until they drudge them out next Feburary 3rd to spin them again.  What a shame ... this is music that deserves to be heard on a regular basis.

For something new this time around, we've got a link to a piece one of our favorite Chicago deejays, Bob Dearborn, did many years ago analyzing the lyrics to McLean's song ... you can read all about it ... or even listen to his radio special via a link on the site.    
http://user.pa.net/~ejjeff/pie.html

Frank B sent along these YouTube links as well, pushing for a new live Buddy Holly release ...  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mw2XlTEWK4o&app=desktop

And, for more of what it's all about ...
http://dreamingforest.weebly.com/the-buddy-holly-project.html

And of course one of the big stories last year was the efforts of L.J. Coon trying to get the NTSB to reopen the investigation into the circumstances of that fateful plane crash.
http://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2015/01/hey-buddy.html

LJ has sent us a whole new appeal which is WAY too long to run here ... but if you'd like us to email you a copy, just drop me a line at forgottenhits@aol.com and I'll send it along.

Meanwhile, one of our FH Readers made the local news yesterday ... (notice how the newscaster erroneously reports February 2nd as the anniversary of "the day the music died") ... incredibly a coworker asked me on January 29th about "the day the music died" because he heard it on the radio on his way to work that morning that THIS was the anniversary of the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper.  As I've mentioned here numerous times in the past, I shudder to think the way these important dates in rock and roll history will be remembered ... or, perhaps more accurately, FORGOTTEN ... in the future.  So sad.  (kk)

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Tuesday This And That

re:  From the "Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction" Department:
Paul Kantner's passing on January 28th made headline news around the world. He was a founding member of The Jefferson Airplane ... but when the group first got together, they had a different female lead singer.  (Grace Slick, then with a band called The Great Society, wouldn't join The Airplane until their second album, "Surrealistic Pillow", which became a HUGE hit in 1967 thanks to the hit singles "Somebody To Love" and "White Rabbit", two songs Slick brought along with her from her days with The Great Society.)
The ORIGINAL female lead singer of The Jefferson Airplane was a girl by the name of Signe Anderson and, on the VERY SAME DAY as Kanter's passing, Signe Anderson died, too ... apparently without any fanfare whatsoever.
It's Signe's voice you hear on the group's first LP, "The Jefferson Airplane Takes Off" but after getting married and having a child, she found life on the road to be more than she could handle ... so after a series of shows here in Chicago in July of 1966, she informed Bill Graham that she was leaving the band.  Graham asked her to stay with the band through their October shows at Winterland in San Francisco to give the Airplane time to find a suitable replacement ...which is how Grace Slick came to join the Airplane.  (Signe's final appearance with The Jefferson Airplane was at The Fillmore on October 15th, 1967.  Slick joined them on stage for their very next show.)
Without question, Grace's addition pointed the band in a hit-making direction ... by 1967 everybody in America would know who they were ... and two years later they were one of the many acts performing at Woodstock.
Slick and Kantner eventually hooked up (but never married), producing a daughter named China ... and Grace was on hand to watch the band evolve from Jefferson Airplane to Jefferson Starship to simply Starship.  She announced her retirement in 1990 and has only made sporadic appearances since then.  (Her autobiography is a fascinating read, by the way.)

 The Original Jefferson Airplane - 
With Signe Anderson as Lead Female Vocalist
re:  This And That:
Thanks so much for mentioning the Goldmine Hall of Fame Induction. It was quite an honor. I am pleased and proud to be included on their list of performers.
Lou Christie
And we're very happy for you.  Congratulations again, Lou!  (kk)

Kent ...
I got my "Bobby Darin Sweatshirt" yesterday ... wearing it now.
Taking it to the Pub for tryout.
I have one rule when playing Bobby Darin in the Jukebox -- must play "Mack The Knife" every time.
After that, its a combination of Hits and Album Cuts.
Sometimes I follow "Mack" with "Hello Dolly" (same ending).
I'll be thinking of you when I play "Rainin'."
Frank B.

That Peter Noone / Micky Dolenz special interview CD we talked about on Sunday is now available for preorder in the UK ... just click on the link below to reserve your copy now.  (I definitely want a copy of this!!!  In fact, ALL of the 7A material is right up my alley, with special emphasis on unreleased Monkees-related material.  Check out their website to see the first official Bobby Hart solo album too!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01B51HK5A/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1453932549&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=peter+noone&dpPl=1&dpID=51W6Z4cVTAL&ref=plSrch

PBS / American Masters is putting together a special series profiling early rocker Fats Domino.  Word is that after the 1-hour television version airs (February 26th), it will be made available for home dvd along with a 90-minute director's cut featuring additional material.  (kk) 

PHILADELPHIA MUSIC ALLIANCE MOURNS THE LOSS OF ‘ONE OF OUR OWN,’
‘SOUND OF PHILADELPHIA’ MUSICIAN T.J. TINDALL
‘King of Soul’ Guitar Was Inducted Twice into The Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame as Member of both MFSB and the Salsoul Orchestra  

PHILADELPHIA (Jan. 27, 2016) — The Philadelphia Music Alliance is heartbroken to report the passing last night of guitarist Thomas Joshua “ T.J.” Tindall, who was inducted twice into the PMA’s Walk of Fame during 2013 ceremonies as a member of MFSB and the Salsoul Orchestra.  
“He was a vital member of MFSB’s famed rhythm section, which laid the foundation for the Sound of Philadelphia,” said PMA Board Chairman Alan Rubens. “You can hear his guitar on so many great hits out of Philadelphia from the ‘70s and ‘80s, from ‘Disco Inferno’ to ‘You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine.’ We truly lost one of our own.”   
Tindall played on over 30 gold and platinum hits produced by legendary “Sound of Philadelphia” architects Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff (Gamble & Huff) for artists such as the O’Jays, the Trammps, Lou Rawls, Teddy Pendergrass, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, the Intruders, and the Three Degrees. He also played and recorded with Bonnie Raitt, the Chambers Brothers, the Jacksons, Robert Palmer, the Temptations, and many others. Most recently, the Trenton, NJ, native was brought out of retirement to play and record with In the Pocket, the all-star Philly tribute collective led by drummer David Uosikkinen of platinum Philly recording artists The Hooters.   
“We just lost one of the greats,” said Uosikkinen. “He was the King of Soul Guitar, the northern version of Steve Cropper. No one played like TJ.”   
Tindall’s roots were in the well-regarded Trenton music scene of the 1970s, primarily as guitarist of local legends Duke Williams and the Extremes. Drummer Charles Collins, who played and toured with Tindall in both Duke Williams and the Extremes as well as MFSB and the Salsoul Orchestra, was shocked to hear of the loss of his musical “brother,” who he said “had a natural feel for the music.” Collins, now based in Texas, would always make a point to visit Tindall at the lighting shophe owned in Princeton “just to hang out” every time he returned to the area. 
“We definitely had a brotherhood,” said Collins. “With TJ, the glass was always half full, not half empty. He always had a smile, always had something positive to say. And if you were feeling sad, he could always say something to take you out of it,. When you spoke to TJ, you felt like you were the most important person in the room, because he listened thoroughly.”

re:  Helping Out Our Readers:
Last week we ran a request from a FH Reader looking for vintage video of the original Drifters from 1953 - 1964 when they lost Rudy Lewis.  (Still no responses to that one)

Today we received a request looking for a particular Eagles concert from 1977 ...

Hi Kent,
I was wondering if you know whether or not a home video was ever available of the fantastic Eagles concert from 1977 at the Capital Center in Washington? I've seen a number of videos from the show, each one a top notch performance. I have searched several site to no avail. I have the Hell Freezes Over and History of the Eagles DVDs, but would love to find that particular '77 concert. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
P.S., I found an excellent video of Glenn Frey singing Desperado with harmonies from two members of the Little River Band on a 1988 tour!
Thanks Kent!
Eddie,
Ashley, PA
That IS an especially nice video of Glenn Frey with The Little River Band ... I didn't even know that one existed so thanks for sharing.
I'm happy to put the word out ... I'm not aware of any specific commercially released video of this particular show ... but we've got some folks on the list who put these videos out for a living (and others who have quite extensive libraries of, shall we say, "collectible home-use" video as well ... so let's see if anything comes back.  Good luck, Eddie!  (kk)

And here's another place fans and collectors can pitch in and help out.

Eagle Rock Entertainment by way of Banger Films is putting together a ZZ Top documentary ... and they're reaching out to fans of the band for archival footage.  Read on below ... 

Banger Films Announce Upcoming Full-Length ZZ Top Documentary - Looks to Fans of the Band for Rare Visual Material 
January 28, 2016 - Toronto, ON, Banger Films, in association with Eagle Rock Entertainment, is set to produce the first-ever feature length documentary exploring the fascinating, mysterious tale of Texas band, ZZ Top. The filmmakers, Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn, are calling out to fans for help finding rare photos, videos, and audio to tell the story.  
“We’re big admirers of ZZ Top, so we’re thrilled to be working on this film. ZZ Top is rock’s longest-standing power trio and have influenced legions of rock, pop and country artists, but there’s very little archival material documenting this band’s past. So we need their fans to help us out!,” says Sam Dunn.  
ZZ Top’s Billy F Gibbons noted, “We’re excited that Banger Films have undertaken the challenge setting the ZZ Top story into motion. The band is enthusiastic about the effort. Yes, it’s going to be a fact-based documentary yet considering the subject matter, we expect there to be a continuing element of the band's infamous surrealism.”  
ZZ Top, guitarist Gibbons, Dusty Hill on bass and drummer Frank Beard, ascended the rock ladder through a combination of infectious boogie-blues riffs, restless experimentation, and blistering live shows to become one of the most celebrated and successful bands of all-time. And yet for many music fans they remain a mystery. In the 1980s, when the group was at the top of the MTV heap, with fur-lined guitars, foot-long beards, a bevy of babes, and selling upwards of twenty million records, they remained shrouded in a gumbo of conjecture, folklore, and downright leg pulling. As 2016 dawns, with the band still beloved by fans and musicians alike, ZZ Top’s story remains untold – until now.  
Leveraging on Banger Films’ own trailblazing documentaries, Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage and Super Duper Alice Cooper, the yet-to-be-titled ZZ Top documentary will be an unblinkered, uninhibited film featuring the band, their friends and intimates—stuffed with unseen footage and photos and never-before-heard audio tracks, detailing the band’s history. Viewers will witness the extraordinary story of three friends, each musical purists and master bluesmen on a lifelong mission to show music lovers a Texas-style good time.  
As Banger FIlms digs deep into the vaults, the filmmakers are calling on fans to do the same by giving fans and collectors alike the opportunity to send descriptions of their ZZ Top footage, photos and audio to: zzfans@bangerfilms.com with the subject “ZZ Top Fan Submission.”

Hi Kent -
Can you put a note to Bill  who asked a question on your website about The Wrecking Crew?
Bill - .
The two people to ask first would be the great Hal Blaine, legendary drummer with The Wrecking Crew, who played on 35 000 pieces of music including 1000 hits and 100 number one hits ... his memory recall is fantastic about The Wrecking Crew ... he has been on my radio show twice and each time was a real pleasure ...
Plus Denny Tedesco, who made the movie.
Hope that helps, Bill!
Regards ~
Geoff Dorsett
Radio Presenter 
Kent -
Thanks for posting for me. 
I hadn't checked out the box set -- I just figured it would contain songs that I already had.  However, there are some good extras to at least look at, so it's now in the mail via Amazon. 
I saw the film at a film festival here in the twin cities when Denny was trying to raise money, and then, because I'm a music freak like you and all the Forgotten Hits readers, gave to the cause online. Thanks for the tips. Can't wait to get the box set in my eager fingers. 
Bill
Honestly, that last disc is a little bit hard to get thru ... definitely for the die-hard fanatics ... but the rest reflects that nearly every time these guys got together it was music history in the making ... and INCREDIBLE body of work.  Anybody who considers themselves to be a music fan that has not yet picked up a copy of this amazing documentary owes it to themselves to order a copy now.  (I've worked very hard with Denny Tedesco for over eight years now to help get the word out about this remarkable film ... it is SO rewarding to finally see the fruit of all that labor finally come to be as the dvd, BlueRay and soundtrack are now available for purchase worldwide.  (kk)
(Not shown on this page but well worth seeking out is the EXCELLENT book "Sound Explosion" by Ken Sharp.  It'll run you about fifty bucks but it features some AMAZING photographs along with interviews, comments and memories from all of the key players of this incredible era.)  kk