We saluted Bobby Darin with a month-long series a few years ago (now permanently posted on the other Forgotten Hits Website here : http://forgottenhits.com/the_bobby_darin_story) ...
Then earlier this year we spent a week saluting Bobby Rydell with our exclusive Forgotten Hits interview (coming soon to its new permanent home on the forgottenhits.com website) ...
Along the way, we've also run an in-depth feature on the mysterious death of Bobby Fuller ... http://forgottenhits.com/bobby_fuller ...
And, of course, after the third of June, we got ALL kinds of mail speculating the truth and innuendo surrounding Bobbie Gentry's big #1 Hit "Ode To Billie Joe" ...
So, today, we borrow a page from FUN Radio's Citizen Bill's playbook and dedicate this special Sweet 16 Edition to ...
The Bobbys!!!
(Boy, it was sure hard narrowing down THIS list ... so much great material had to be eliminated ... and that doesn't even begin to account for the simple things like "bobbies on bicycles two by two" from Roger Miller's big hit "England Swings"!!!)
Join us today as Forgotten Hits salutes THE BOBBYS!!!
Catch Citizen Bill's "Remember Then" program on Sunday Nights on WAFN here: http://www.fun927.com/
Friday, September 16, 2016
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Some Of Your Mid-Week Comments
It Could Be We're In Love:
Nice; good to have a lively discussion; keep up the good work.
James Fairs
I'll offer a little different perspective on this dialogue of "note for note exact" vs. artistic freedom - that of someone who has written many performance contracts.
Most promoters book "Oldies" acts with the expectation that the greatest hits of that act will be performed much as they were originally recorded. That expectation is based upon the correct assumption that the ticket buyers want to hear exactly that. I've actually added language to contracts to the effect that recorded tunes shall be performed with the artist's best effort to replicate the recorded version. That is usually not necessary, as the artists are well aware of that expectation and perform their shows accordingly.
However, some leeway has to be accorded the artist to do a "fresh rendering" to use James Fairs's words. I personally heard a classic example of this at Cornerstones. Can't You See Me Cry is one of my favorite New Colony Six songs. I love the original. But when Ray Graffia and Bruce Mattey undertake a "refreshed" acoustic version, the angst and sorrowful beauty of Ray's original words and music are brought home more fully in my view. That said, if Peter Noone and Billy Sullivan - both consummate performers - tried an acoustic ballad version of "Henry VIII" the Herman's Hermits audience would feel justifiable surprise and certainly disappointment.
There's room for change to the originals we love, if done with care and perspective.
Frank
Some good points ... quite honestly, Peter Noone can get away with just about ANYTHING on stage, his audience is so loyal ... but you're right, an acoustic, unplugged version of "Henry The VIII" would not go over well, especially since it's such a crowd-pleaser, sing-along to begin with.
That being said, I HAVE heard him do a totally stripped down, slow version of "Mrs. Brown, You've Got A Lovely Daughter" and it sounded fantastic ... which totally blows my "signature tune" theory out of the water. It was beautiful! (One big difference, of course ... the whole world knows "Mrs. Brown, You've Got A Lovely Daughter" ... it was a #1 Record all over the world. This is NOT the case with "It Could Be We're In Love" which, despite spending four weeks at #1 here in Chicago, only reached #85 on the Billboard Chart in 1967. A crime of nature to be sure ... but my concern ... with nothing but their best interests at heart ... was that now that they're going to be re-introducing the audience to this track as part of a national tour, why not put on your best possible rendition of your very best track and show that audience just what they missed back in the day ... strictly in a "seize the moment" sort of way.)
And, for the record, I like BOTH versions of The New Colony Six's "Can't You See Me Cry" ... in fact, it's funny ... I recently saw a video of them performing the song live on television back in 1968 on The Lloyd Thaxton Show ... and I swear he sings the song better today than he did back then!
I'm not so much advocating a note for note reproduction of "It Could Be We're In Love" ... it's still a slow, beautiful ballad with exquisite harmonies ... and, once it gets going, they pretty much leave all of that intact. Which begs the question, if you're going to leave MOST of the song pretty much alone anyway, why mess with the beginning??? (kk)
This from Tom Doody, lead singer of The Cryan' Shames ...
Hey Kent -
I appreciate your comments on "It Could Be We're In Love" and the way we performed it at the Arcada. Here's just a little insight into what our thinking was ...
We have heard from numerous fans over the years that that is their favorite Shames song. And quite frankly, to a man, I think you could say it is ours, also. I have often heard from many of the people who have come to see our concert that it would be very nice if we could lower the volume of the instruments so that they could hear the vocals more clearly. I guess this gave us a light bulb moment.
We had discussed various ways to highlight the vocals which I, by the way, considered to be the most important part of the song. While we were brainstorming, the idea came to do the first part of the song a cappella. This way people would definitely be able to hear the amazing vocal arrangement that James Fairs had created.
With this in mind, we rehearsed the song many different times. We came to the conclusion that just having one guitar accompany the voices up until the vocal break that Jim Pilster sings would be dramatic and impactful. Of course, after this break, the entire band comes in to finish the song. The structure and pacing of the song has in no way been changed.
I really love the rendition that we presented at the Arcada. To be truthful, when I sing and I hear the harmonies come in as full and upfront as they are, it gives me chills. One other thing. I've had many people comment to me how much they enjoy hearing the song done this way.
I do appreciate your concern and I know that it is your intent to help us make the best performance possible. I can assure you that none of us in any way want to deliver a performance that's not in keeping with what our wonderful fans want to hear. Thanks for hearing me out.
I have flooded Kent with Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone reviews and he says he just can’t print them all. I am so totally laughing about this as I type. I maintain that if you have not seen them, only seen them once, or seen them more times than you wish to admit; go again. When sound, lights and weather is good, they are marvelous. When there are sound or light issues, they work it out and keep going. Even in many terrible weather conditions, they perform. They always entertain at every performance. Go see them, too.
A couple of weeks ago we told you about the brand new Rolling Stones mono box set that was coming out from ABKCO Records.
Nice; good to have a lively discussion; keep up the good work.
James Fairs
I'll offer a little different perspective on this dialogue of "note for note exact" vs. artistic freedom - that of someone who has written many performance contracts.
Most promoters book "Oldies" acts with the expectation that the greatest hits of that act will be performed much as they were originally recorded. That expectation is based upon the correct assumption that the ticket buyers want to hear exactly that. I've actually added language to contracts to the effect that recorded tunes shall be performed with the artist's best effort to replicate the recorded version. That is usually not necessary, as the artists are well aware of that expectation and perform their shows accordingly.
However, some leeway has to be accorded the artist to do a "fresh rendering" to use James Fairs's words. I personally heard a classic example of this at Cornerstones. Can't You See Me Cry is one of my favorite New Colony Six songs. I love the original. But when Ray Graffia and Bruce Mattey undertake a "refreshed" acoustic version, the angst and sorrowful beauty of Ray's original words and music are brought home more fully in my view. That said, if Peter Noone and Billy Sullivan - both consummate performers - tried an acoustic ballad version of "Henry VIII" the Herman's Hermits audience would feel justifiable surprise and certainly disappointment.
There's room for change to the originals we love, if done with care and perspective.
Frank
Some good points ... quite honestly, Peter Noone can get away with just about ANYTHING on stage, his audience is so loyal ... but you're right, an acoustic, unplugged version of "Henry The VIII" would not go over well, especially since it's such a crowd-pleaser, sing-along to begin with.
That being said, I HAVE heard him do a totally stripped down, slow version of "Mrs. Brown, You've Got A Lovely Daughter" and it sounded fantastic ... which totally blows my "signature tune" theory out of the water. It was beautiful! (One big difference, of course ... the whole world knows "Mrs. Brown, You've Got A Lovely Daughter" ... it was a #1 Record all over the world. This is NOT the case with "It Could Be We're In Love" which, despite spending four weeks at #1 here in Chicago, only reached #85 on the Billboard Chart in 1967. A crime of nature to be sure ... but my concern ... with nothing but their best interests at heart ... was that now that they're going to be re-introducing the audience to this track as part of a national tour, why not put on your best possible rendition of your very best track and show that audience just what they missed back in the day ... strictly in a "seize the moment" sort of way.)
And, for the record, I like BOTH versions of The New Colony Six's "Can't You See Me Cry" ... in fact, it's funny ... I recently saw a video of them performing the song live on television back in 1968 on The Lloyd Thaxton Show ... and I swear he sings the song better today than he did back then!
I'm not so much advocating a note for note reproduction of "It Could Be We're In Love" ... it's still a slow, beautiful ballad with exquisite harmonies ... and, once it gets going, they pretty much leave all of that intact. Which begs the question, if you're going to leave MOST of the song pretty much alone anyway, why mess with the beginning??? (kk)
This from Tom Doody, lead singer of The Cryan' Shames ...
Hey Kent -
I appreciate your comments on "It Could Be We're In Love" and the way we performed it at the Arcada. Here's just a little insight into what our thinking was ...
We have heard from numerous fans over the years that that is their favorite Shames song. And quite frankly, to a man, I think you could say it is ours, also. I have often heard from many of the people who have come to see our concert that it would be very nice if we could lower the volume of the instruments so that they could hear the vocals more clearly. I guess this gave us a light bulb moment.
We had discussed various ways to highlight the vocals which I, by the way, considered to be the most important part of the song. While we were brainstorming, the idea came to do the first part of the song a cappella. This way people would definitely be able to hear the amazing vocal arrangement that James Fairs had created.
With this in mind, we rehearsed the song many different times. We came to the conclusion that just having one guitar accompany the voices up until the vocal break that Jim Pilster sings would be dramatic and impactful. Of course, after this break, the entire band comes in to finish the song. The structure and pacing of the song has in no way been changed.
I really love the rendition that we presented at the Arcada. To be truthful, when I sing and I hear the harmonies come in as full and upfront as they are, it gives me chills. One other thing. I've had many people comment to me how much they enjoy hearing the song done this way.
I do appreciate your concern and I know that it is your intent to help us make the best performance possible. I can assure you that none of us in any way want to deliver a performance that's not in keeping with what our wonderful fans want to hear. Thanks for hearing me out.
Blessings -
Toad
WLS / WCFL:
Toad
WLS / WCFL:
Hi Kent,
There was a website that sold WLS and WCFL t-shirts. Since I've gone through computer problems I've lost the address where I could possibly get a new one. Could you please help me out?
Thanks a lot,
Randy Anderson
It's so funny that you should ask this now ... I wore my WCFL T-Shirt to the Cornerstones Of Rock concert last week (and got quite a few compliments on it!!!)
The place you're thinking of is called Radio Logoland ... and they've got t-shirts from virtually EVERY radio station dating back to the Top 40 era.
A link to their home page is below ... and you'll find several pages devoted to both WLS and WCFL on their site.
I'm thinking quite a few of our friends and readers may be interested in these ... and it's been YEARS since we've run a link ... but they're absolutely beautiful collectors items. (Please tell them that Forgotten Hits sent you!) kk
http://radiologoland.com/index.html
There was a website that sold WLS and WCFL t-shirts. Since I've gone through computer problems I've lost the address where I could possibly get a new one. Could you please help me out?
Thanks a lot,
Randy Anderson
It's so funny that you should ask this now ... I wore my WCFL T-Shirt to the Cornerstones Of Rock concert last week (and got quite a few compliments on it!!!)
The place you're thinking of is called Radio Logoland ... and they've got t-shirts from virtually EVERY radio station dating back to the Top 40 era.
A link to their home page is below ... and you'll find several pages devoted to both WLS and WCFL on their site.
I'm thinking quite a few of our friends and readers may be interested in these ... and it's been YEARS since we've run a link ... but they're absolutely beautiful collectors items. (Please tell them that Forgotten Hits sent you!) kk
http://radiologoland.com/index.html
And, in OTHER Chicagoland News ...:
Carl Giammarese of The Buckinghams has just released a brand new solo album called "Living In The Moment" ... it is available through his website ... http://carlgiammarese.com/
Hey Kent,
I wanted you to hear my latest solo album, “Living In The Moment.” Most but not all of the lyrics are introspective and reflect my feelings and life experiences. It is not at all Buckinghams music.
Hey Kent,
I wanted you to hear my latest solo album, “Living In The Moment.” Most but not all of the lyrics are introspective and reflect my feelings and life experiences. It is not at all Buckinghams music.
“Living In The Moment” is also one of the cuts. It’s all about trying to think less about the past and stop worrying about the future … Let's live in the moment!
I have to write and record new music for my own sanity even if it never gets much recognition ... that's not why I record it.
Some of the songs could be have been Tufano & Giammarese if we had continued recording all this time. One song in particular, “I’ll Remember You”, are my feelings about John Poulos.
I released it myself on the many streaming and download sites, and made it available on my website carlgiammarese.com.
Check it out ... I have gotten quite a few orders. Maybe in the near future I’ll put myself out there and play some of these songs live.
Enjoy!
Carl
Kent:
As an authority on New Colony Six music, I thought you would be the perfect person to ask.
Who sang lead on the 1969 ballad by the NC6 called “I Want You to Know?”
Thanks!
Tom Cuddy
That would be Ronnie Rice ... another great track that reached #62 nationally ... but was a #11 Hit here in Chicago. (kk)
This And That:
Joe Jeffrey, who recorded the late-'60's classic "My Pledge of Love" (#9, 1969) passed away of cancer on September 4th. (kk)
Billy J ...
Billy J ...
I hope you got to the concert at Westbury. It was wonderful. Every performer and performance was at their top. My review will follow.
Meanwhile, here's a review of another show I attended this past week ...
LABOR DAY EYE CANDY or I JUST HAD A VERY BLOND MOMENT
Labor Day weekend always brings about the Woodstock Fair. This year, on Saturday, ‘Ricky Nelson Remembered, starring Gunnar and Matthew Nelson’ and ‘Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone’ appeared. AHA, you say! NOW I understand the title!
This is the first time I have seen Nelson doing this tribute to their father. Are they ‘Nelson’ in this case? Why not? You can perform any song and still be yourself. As they began, security guards, police with K9s, and state troopers came forward to stand by the stage. How did they know I’d be there? I have never seen so many precautions. At one point Gunnar went over to ask if the dog’s ears were being impacted being right in front of the speakers. Apparently not. No one moved. The show is done as a trio, like Ricky’s, and is educational … as well as entertaining. I really enjoy the way these brothers work together. They really connect and LIKE each other; bringing out the best from the other brother. Unconditional love is at play here. I counted 18 songs, so I will continue to edit this review as I type. Otherwise, it becomes as long as their performance.
Meanwhile, here's a review of another show I attended this past week ...
LABOR DAY EYE CANDY or I JUST HAD A VERY BLOND MOMENT
Labor Day weekend always brings about the Woodstock Fair. This year, on Saturday, ‘Ricky Nelson Remembered, starring Gunnar and Matthew Nelson’ and ‘Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone’ appeared. AHA, you say! NOW I understand the title!
This is the first time I have seen Nelson doing this tribute to their father. Are they ‘Nelson’ in this case? Why not? You can perform any song and still be yourself. As they began, security guards, police with K9s, and state troopers came forward to stand by the stage. How did they know I’d be there? I have never seen so many precautions. At one point Gunnar went over to ask if the dog’s ears were being impacted being right in front of the speakers. Apparently not. No one moved. The show is done as a trio, like Ricky’s, and is educational … as well as entertaining. I really enjoy the way these brothers work together. They really connect and LIKE each other; bringing out the best from the other brother. Unconditional love is at play here. I counted 18 songs, so I will continue to edit this review as I type. Otherwise, it becomes as long as their performance.
It was too light out for the video to be seen so they just forgot about it and focused on the live performance. A song I don’t hear often is ‘Milk Cow Blues’ and let me tell you, Gunnar Nelson is one hot, hopping guitar player. And speaking of hot, it is at times as if there are two Ricky Nelsons on stage, although when they stand together, I think one favors Dad, and one favors Mom more. ‘Lonesome Town’ is their favorite ballad of Dad’s and it is followed by ‘Travelin’ Man’ and ‘Hello Mary Lou’. These are songs 9 - 12 in the set so you can imagine all that has come before.
After ‘Fools Rush In’, they tell us that although they are 3rd generation performers, they really had a traditional upbringing. Let’s see … the hippie man who never seemed to go home was named Bob Dylan. Uncle George next door, had the last name Harrison ... AND Mama Cass was their babysitter. (“We were hungry for years”) Yep, yep … sounds just like my childhood. Except for every name I just dropped in the previous sentences.
They are able to entertain, eye the crowd and know how to handle us with the smoothness of Ricky, Ozzie and their own talent. They end with ‘Garden Party’. Go see it.
Next weekend I am off to Dick Fox’s Doo Wop in Westbury!
Shelley J Sweet-Tufano
A couple of weeks ago we told you about the brand new Rolling Stones mono box set that was coming out from ABKCO Records.
Now comes word that they'll be packaging a very special "singles collection", too. More details below:
LIMITED EDITION VINYL 7” SINGLE REISSUES
BUNDLED WITH THE ROLLING STONES IN MONO
CD / LP BOX SET
AVAILABLE SEPT. 30 ON ABKCO
BUNDLED WITH THE ROLLING STONES IN MONO
CD / LP BOX SET
AVAILABLE SEPT. 30 ON ABKCO
On September 30, ABKCO will release The Rolling Stones In Mono box set on CD, vinyl, digital and hi res formats and a special limited package that includes The Rolling Stones In Mono (15 CDs or 16 vinyl LPs) bundled with a set of nine extremely limited Rolling Stones 7” vinyl singles. Each single is an exact reproduction of a significant hit record from a different country with original art matching how the single looked in that specific nation at the time of release. After the bundles are sold out, the remaining individual 7”s will only be available in local record stores in their respective countries.
These 7”s are:
- Poison Ivy / Fortune Teller (UK, 1963)
- Fortune Teller / Sad Day (Australia, 1966)
- Tell Me (You’re Coming Back) / Carol (Japan, 1964)
- Time Is On My Side / Congratulations (Norway, 1964)
- Empty Heart / Around And Around (Netherlands, 1964)
- Not Fade Away / I Wanna Be Your Man (Canada, 1964)
- 2,000 Light Years From Home / She’s A Rainbow (Germany, 1967)
- We Love You / Dandelion (France, 1967)
- Street Fighting Man / No Expectations (U.S., 1968)
The American version of “Street Fighting Man” was the Stones’ first picture sleeve single without an image of the band. Instead, it features a black and white photo of riot police at a protest, one officer with his foot on a fallen man, and another photo of riot police restraining a man. Released the same month as the 1968 Democratic National Convention, where police brutalized protestors, the art was immediately withdrawn, thereby making it one of the most valuable picture sleeve singles in existence by any artist. ABKCO has restored the controversial art for posterity. The band’s R&B roots are underscored in their version of the Coasters’ “Poison Ivy” and Benny Spellman’s “Fortune Teller” that comprise the UK market 7” that is part of the bundle.
The Rolling Stones In Mono includes the entirety of the band’s studio output in the 1960s, many tracks of which are available in mono digitally for the first time ever. During that era, great care was put into mono mixes, which outsold stereo versions of the same records for the first half of the decade. Mixing in stereo was more of an afterthought, and as a result, mono is thought by many to be sonically superior.
Packaged as 14 separate albums, including Stray Cats, a newly conceived collection of non-LP singles and E.P. tracks, The Rolling Stones In Mono contains key releases from the band’s U.S. and U.K. discographies, organized to include every track from the era while minimizing catalog redundancies. Stray Cats, a single disc in the CD box set and a double album with the vinyl box set, ties up all loose ends, incorporating every 1960s Rolling Stones track that isn’t found on the other 14 albums, for a total of 24 tracks. It includes two versions of the aforementioned “Poison Ivy,” Barrett Strong’s 1959 hit “Money,” as well as “Fortune Teller.” Other rarities include “Con Le Mie Lacrime,” a version of “As Tears Go By” sung in Italian, “Stoned” (the instrumental b-side of “I Wanna Be Your Man”), and the 1965 outtake of Otis Redding’s “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,” now freed of the fake applause to disguise its studio origin when the track appeared on the 1966 LP Got Live If You Want It.
Stereo overtook mono as the dominant format by 1967. As a result, many mono versions of Stones releases from the latter part of the decade are extremely sought after and rare, and were not released in every territory. When the transition from analog to digital began in the 1980s with the advent of the compact disc, the stereo versions of songs were often the only ones that were reissued on the new format. Of the 186 tracks on The Rolling Stones In Mono, 58 will appear in a digital context (CD/download/streaming) for the first time ever.
The Rolling Stones In Mono [16 LP vinyl box set; 15 CD box set] (all tracks also available digitally)
1) The Rolling Stones (UK, 1964)
2) 12 X 5 (1964)
3) The Rolling Stones No. 2 (UK, 1965)
4) The Rolling Stones Now! (1965)
5) Out of Our Heads (US, 1965)
6) Out of Our Heads (UK, 1965)
7) December’s Children (And Everybody’s) (1965)
8) Aftermath (UK, 1966)
9) Aftermath (US, 1966)
10) Between the Buttons (UK, 1967)
11) Flowers (1967)
12) Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967)
13) Beggar’s Banquet (1968)
14) Let it Bleed (1969)
15) Stray Cats (a new collection of single A & B sides plus E.P. tracks)*
*Stray Cats tracklist
1) Come On
|
2) I Want To Be Loved
|
3) I Wanna Be Your Man
|
4) Stoned
|
5) Fortune Teller
|
6) Poison Ivy (Version 1)
|
7) Bye Bye Johnny
|
8) Money
|
9) Poison Ivy (Verison 2)
|
10) Not Fade Away
|
11) I've Been Loving You Too Long
|
12) The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man (single version)
|
13) 19th Nervous Breakdown
|
14) Sad Day
|
15) Con Le Mie Lacrime (As Tears Go By)
|
16) Long, Long While
|
17) Who's Driving Your Plane?
|
18) We Love You (single version)
|
19) Dandelion (single version)
|
20) Child Of The Moon
|
21) Jumpin' Jack Flash
|
22) Street Fighting Man (single version)
|
23) Honky Tonk Women
|
24) You Can't Always Get What You Want (single version)
|
Pre-orders are being taken via uDiscover (with or without 7" bundles) and Amazon (without 7" bundles) in advance of the Sept. 30 release date.
The Rolling Stones in Mono will be available via uDiscover and Amazon for the first 90 days after release (ending December 30, 2016) and thereafter will be sold everywhere.
LP Boxset - https://abkco.lnk.to/MonoBoxLP
CD Boxset - https://abkco.lnk.to/MonoBoxCD
Find out more information about The Rolling Stones In Mono and the albums that make up the set at https://abkco.lnk.to/home
And, speaking of new releases, FH Reader Bob Merlis tells us about this up-coming, career-spanning set spotlighting the music of Roy Orbison ...
And, speaking of new releases, FH Reader Bob Merlis tells us about this up-coming, career-spanning set spotlighting the music of Roy Orbison ...
FIRST CAREER-SPANNING ROY ORBISON ANTHOLOGY OUT OCT 28 ~ THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION
CD / 2 LP SET INCLUDES MATERIAL FROM SUN, MONUMENT, MGM YEARS, LATE SOLO CAREER AND TRAVELING WILBURY’S
Roy’s Boys LLC, the Nashville-based company founded by the sons of Roy Orbison to administer their late father’s catalog and safeguard his legacy, has teamed up with Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, to release Roy Orbison – The Ultimate Collection. The 26-track anthology, out October 28, will be available as a single CD and as a double vinyl LP set, spans four decades, from his start at Sun Records in the mid 1950s, all the way through his massive comeback in the late ‘80s. The collection chronicles Orbison’s work both as a solo artist and with supergroup Traveling Wilburys until his tragic death at the age of 52. The Ultimate Collection marks the first time ever that any Roy Orbison compilation album has incorporated tracks from all of the aforementioned sources.
Roy Orbison – The Ultimate Collection is available for pre-order now: http://smarturl.it/Orbison_Ultimate
Roy’s son, Alex Orbison, painstakingly selected songs that were most representational of his father’s vast catalog, which totals 27 studio albums, four live albums, and over 60 singles, 22 of which placed in the U.S. Billboard Top 40 chart. Narrowing it down was no easy task. "It is a great honor for me and my brothers, Wesley and Roy Jr., to finally and definitively distill our father's entire career onto a single disc as best one can possibly do and, certainly, as never done before," said Alex. "It is the result of years of research, archiving and listening, and it is with supreme and heartfelt pleasure that we will be able to share it with the world."
Roy’s Boys LLC, the Nashville-based company founded by the sons of Roy Orbison to administer their late father’s catalog and safeguard his legacy, has teamed up with Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, to release Roy Orbison – The Ultimate Collection. The 26-track anthology, out October 28, will be available as a single CD and as a double vinyl LP set, spans four decades, from his start at Sun Records in the mid 1950s, all the way through his massive comeback in the late ‘80s. The collection chronicles Orbison’s work both as a solo artist and with supergroup Traveling Wilburys until his tragic death at the age of 52. The Ultimate Collection marks the first time ever that any Roy Orbison compilation album has incorporated tracks from all of the aforementioned sources.
Roy Orbison – The Ultimate Collection is available for pre-order now: http://smarturl.it/Orbison_Ultimate
Roy’s son, Alex Orbison, painstakingly selected songs that were most representational of his father’s vast catalog, which totals 27 studio albums, four live albums, and over 60 singles, 22 of which placed in the U.S. Billboard Top 40 chart. Narrowing it down was no easy task. "It is a great honor for me and my brothers, Wesley and Roy Jr., to finally and definitively distill our father's entire career onto a single disc as best one can possibly do and, certainly, as never done before," said Alex. "It is the result of years of research, archiving and listening, and it is with supreme and heartfelt pleasure that we will be able to share it with the world."
Born in north Texas and raised in the western part of the state, Roy Orbison first made his mark on the national music scene when he recorded for Sam Phillips’ fabled Sun Records in 1956. It was during this era that the label was the launching pad for the careers of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis. Orbison connected with the rockabilly flavored “Ooby Dooby” for Sun, but his truly significant commercial breakthrough came with his string of hits on the Monument label, starting in the early ‘60s.
Around this time Roy adopted his trademark sunglasses and performed ballads and rockers with equal aplomb. He toured constantly both in the US and abroad, including a UK tour on which he headlined over the Beatles. Top 10 hits of the era included “Crying,” “Only The Lonely,” “In Dreams,” “Dream Baby,” the number one single “Running Scared” and the massive international chart topper, “Oh, Pretty Woman,” all of which are represented on The Ultimate Collection. The set also includes “Love Hurts,” “Blue Bayou,” “Falling,” “Leah,” “Mean Woman Blues,” “Blue Angel” and “It’s Over,” all from the Monument era.
Starting in 1965, Roy Orbison’s eight-year stint with MGM Records continued to yield hits, particularly overseas. Among these present on The Ultimate Collection are “Walk On,” “Crawling Back,” “Ride Away” and “Too Soon To Know.” These came out at the most emotionally turbulent time in Roy’s life, when his wife Claudette died in a motorcycle accident and his sons Roy DeWayne Orbison and Anthony King Orbison perished in a house fire. Towards the latter part of this period he met and married the German-born Barbara Anne Marie Wellhöner Jakobs, who is the mother of Roy Jr. and Alex.
After Roy’s career went through a fallow spell, David Lynch’s showcasing of his music in the surreal 1986 film Blue Velvet sparked new interest in the icon. By the following year, Roy’s career was in the midst of a renaissance, which led to his celebrity-studded live television concert special A Black & White Night. Taken from that performance is “Claudette,” a song written by Roy about his first wife, that had been a huge hit for the Everly Brothers.
Soon after, a supergroup was formed consisting of Roy and his friends Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne and George Harrison with whom he had first bonded back when he toured with the Beatles. In 1988, the Traveling Wilburys released their debut album that went triple platinum. “Not Alone Anymore” and “Handle with Care” from Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 are featured on The Ultimate Collection, the first time any of the group’s songs have appeared on a Roy Orbison release. "It was my favorite thing I ever did," said Jeff Lynne, referring to "Handle with Care," who co-produced the album with George Harrison. "I put in all these nice, Roy Orbison-type chords, to make his voice shine even more. I played it to the rest of the group, and they just went, 'Wow, that's fantastic.'"
Roy spent much of 1988 recording his solo comeback studio album Mystery Girl, produced by Lynne. In December of that year, he died unexpectedly from a heart attack, ergo the album’s early 1989 release was posthumous. It proved to be a huge commercial success, due in part to the tremendous single “You Got It,” later covered by Bonnie Raitt, as well as “California Blue” and “She’s A Mystery to Me” (written by Bono and the Edge of U2). These tracks are included in The Ultimate Collection, in addition to the later “Heartbreak Radio” (from 1992’s King of Hearts album) and “I Drove All Night,” a song written for Roy by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, but made famous by Cyndi Lauper. Her version was recorded after, but released before, the Orbison original.
"He came from nothing, but he had these amazing gifts and this amazing drive and, of course, that voice," said Alex Orbison to journalist Jeff Slate, who wrote liner notes for The Ultimate Collection and is also co-author of the forthcoming authorized Roy Orbison biography. Alex also said of his father, "I think it would be hard to imagine the story if you tried to write it."
The Ultimate Collection was produced by Alex Orbison, Chuck Fleckenstein and John Jackson, and mastered by Vic Anesini at Battery Studios in New York.
Around this time Roy adopted his trademark sunglasses and performed ballads and rockers with equal aplomb. He toured constantly both in the US and abroad, including a UK tour on which he headlined over the Beatles. Top 10 hits of the era included “Crying,” “Only The Lonely,” “In Dreams,” “Dream Baby,” the number one single “Running Scared” and the massive international chart topper, “Oh, Pretty Woman,” all of which are represented on The Ultimate Collection. The set also includes “Love Hurts,” “Blue Bayou,” “Falling,” “Leah,” “Mean Woman Blues,” “Blue Angel” and “It’s Over,” all from the Monument era.
Starting in 1965, Roy Orbison’s eight-year stint with MGM Records continued to yield hits, particularly overseas. Among these present on The Ultimate Collection are “Walk On,” “Crawling Back,” “Ride Away” and “Too Soon To Know.” These came out at the most emotionally turbulent time in Roy’s life, when his wife Claudette died in a motorcycle accident and his sons Roy DeWayne Orbison and Anthony King Orbison perished in a house fire. Towards the latter part of this period he met and married the German-born Barbara Anne Marie Wellhöner Jakobs, who is the mother of Roy Jr. and Alex.
After Roy’s career went through a fallow spell, David Lynch’s showcasing of his music in the surreal 1986 film Blue Velvet sparked new interest in the icon. By the following year, Roy’s career was in the midst of a renaissance, which led to his celebrity-studded live television concert special A Black & White Night. Taken from that performance is “Claudette,” a song written by Roy about his first wife, that had been a huge hit for the Everly Brothers.
Soon after, a supergroup was formed consisting of Roy and his friends Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne and George Harrison with whom he had first bonded back when he toured with the Beatles. In 1988, the Traveling Wilburys released their debut album that went triple platinum. “Not Alone Anymore” and “Handle with Care” from Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 are featured on The Ultimate Collection, the first time any of the group’s songs have appeared on a Roy Orbison release. "It was my favorite thing I ever did," said Jeff Lynne, referring to "Handle with Care," who co-produced the album with George Harrison. "I put in all these nice, Roy Orbison-type chords, to make his voice shine even more. I played it to the rest of the group, and they just went, 'Wow, that's fantastic.'"
Roy spent much of 1988 recording his solo comeback studio album Mystery Girl, produced by Lynne. In December of that year, he died unexpectedly from a heart attack, ergo the album’s early 1989 release was posthumous. It proved to be a huge commercial success, due in part to the tremendous single “You Got It,” later covered by Bonnie Raitt, as well as “California Blue” and “She’s A Mystery to Me” (written by Bono and the Edge of U2). These tracks are included in The Ultimate Collection, in addition to the later “Heartbreak Radio” (from 1992’s King of Hearts album) and “I Drove All Night,” a song written for Roy by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, but made famous by Cyndi Lauper. Her version was recorded after, but released before, the Orbison original.
"He came from nothing, but he had these amazing gifts and this amazing drive and, of course, that voice," said Alex Orbison to journalist Jeff Slate, who wrote liner notes for The Ultimate Collection and is also co-author of the forthcoming authorized Roy Orbison biography. Alex also said of his father, "I think it would be hard to imagine the story if you tried to write it."
The Ultimate Collection was produced by Alex Orbison, Chuck Fleckenstein and John Jackson, and mastered by Vic Anesini at Battery Studios in New York.
Roy Orbison – The Ultimate Collection
[release date: 10/28/16]
[release date: 10/28/16]
1 Oh, Pretty Woman
2 I Drove All Night
3 You Got It
4 Crying
5 Only The Lonely
6 In Dreams
7 Love Hurts
8 Claudette
9 Blue Bayou
10 Dream Baby
11 Walk On
12 Falling
13 Running Scared
14 California Blue
15 Leah
16 Mean Woman Blues
17 Crawling Back
18 Ride Away
19 Too Soon To Know
20 She’s A Mystery to Me
21 Blue Angel
22 It’s Over
23 Ooby Dooby
24 Heartbreak Radio
25 Not Alone Anymore (Traveling Wilburys)
26 Handle With Care (Traveling Wilburys)
>>>Also on this date, 9/10/67, Joel Horlen of The Chicago White Sox pitched a no hitter against The Detroit Tigers. No, I wasn't there at the ballpark ... but I was absolutely glued to the television set at my grandparents' house. It was the first no hitter I had ever seen in my life. (I HEARD Sandy Koufax no hit The Cubs a couple of years earlier on the radio when I just happened to be home sick from school that day ... but watching this live as it happened was mesmerizing.) Yet another moment I will never forget. (kk)
Survey Convention:
It's funny that you mention Joel Horlen.
I heard him give a talk on
baseball in probably 1969 or 70 in Dodge city, Kansas, when I was young. I
always had liked him, had his cards and was excited to hear him speak then. I
have never seen a baseball player speak about baseball in person before or
since, so it was fun just to see him mentioned.
Clark Besch
Survey Convention:
This weekend was the first survey convention. It was in Kansas City, Missouri. I already knew FH reader (and survey maven) Frank Merrrill, and I had corresponded with FH reader and my customer Clark Besch, on a number of occasions, but hadn't met him until Saturday.
Now keep in mind that this, more or less, piggy backed on a larger gathering of a Radio Club Conference. Apparently they meet once a year at various spots in the country. It made sense, in that if you were that much a devotee of AM radio, you might get into vintage radio surveys as well. There were attendees from California, Arizona, Tennessee, Nebraska, and even Canada. If you were one of those who locked themselves in the bedroom and tried fine tuning your radio to pick up far away radio stations, send in to the station for a verification card, you would have been in hog heaven.
However the survey event was Saturday afternoon. It was hosted by Gregg Ottinger, whom I introduced to FH. (He enjoys it, Kent). He gave a talk on the origin of top 40 surveys, showed some cool stuff from his collection, most of which he bought from me at some point, and then held a general discussion and a chance for the group to check out the surveys that Frank Merrill and I brought there. Keep in mind I brought 42 binders of charts with me, but if indeed Frank only brought the tip of the iceberg, as he says, I'm a distant second, as far as being the Kahuna of top 40 charts. Still it was fairly successful for me financially, and I did buy a couple hundred more surveys, and I'll be buying more from Frank this week. Others did express an interest in purchasing items, but I'm only set up for credit card purchases, thru Pay Pal, at home. I don't think they'll arrive here in time for the Chicago show this weekend. However if you're into surveys, records, music memorabilia, it's this Sunday at the Best Western Hotel in Hillside, IL. It's all Kent's fault ... he's the one who told me about them, back in the 70's.
Will there be another survey convention? Gregg would like to do one next year, but it's really dependent upon Frank and I attending, as well as some other folks. It would be held in Illinois. There also has to be a cost effective way to market it, so suggestions are welcomed.
Right now I have a few pictures but, as I have just a disposable camera, I've gotta wait until I finish the roll, and then wait for Walgreen's to call. I don't know if Clark took any pix ... hopefully I'll get some sent to me and I will forward them to you.
Jack (The distant #2 Survey Kahuna)
Frank Merrill's collection is mammoth ... and he's been at it for decades ... EVERY conceivable type of survey ... every genre, every era, every city known to man ... if there's something on Frank's "Want List", odds are NOBODY on Planet Earth has a copy!!! (lol)
Hopefully they will do it somewhere closer in Illinois next time as I'd like to experience it first hand. While I'm not the die-hard collector some of these guys are (a good, clean copy is sufficient for me ... all I want is the chart information), I'll bet folks who are seriously into this stuff would have a field day.
(So the BIG question now is: "What's the general consensus on WJJD Survey #2 ... does it exist or not???") kk
Kent,
I had a great time at the first national radio station survey convention! It was nearby in Kansas City. You might think there are few that would attend such an event and that may have been the case to many, but the 30 to 50 (?) attendees were not disappointed, IMO.
Two of the leading survey collectors / sellers (and long time friends of mine) were there with some great charts to view, sparking much radio station conversation as well. Both Frank Merrill and FH member Jack Levin had great surveys to peruse through and buy from the 50's to the 90's ???
Frank had a copy of the earliest survey he has ever seen, from 1941! Amazing stuff.
Jack had some great stuff, too ... especially from WLS and WCFL and Chicago. I did not plan to buy more surveys, as I have too many now, but when I eyed about 30 charts of the "Action Beat" Chicago surveys that replaced the well known "Top Tunes of Chicago" charts in about 65 or 66, I had to break down and buy em all! Since we have just spoken about the Cryan' Shames' song "It Could Be We're In Love," I will attach the chart I bought with it at #1 in Chitown. You'll even spot two FH member Davie Allen & Arrows 45s on here!
Here's also a photo of Frank (left) and me (right) but somehow I either did not get one of Jack with me or it did not come out, so you can just see Jack in the corner with hat by his surveys. I am sad to see I did not have one of me and Jack together. Maybe next show??
I did get a photo of another friend, who sells surveys and has always been fun to email with, John Johnson. His wife even typed radio surveys back in the day for a station! The attached photo of John is with the person who gave a great speech on the evolution of the radio surveys, Gregg Ottinger. Gregg gave many examples and a nice cover of the history.
Another I got to meet was legendary DJ Carl Mann, who even gave me and my brother Steve surveys from KOIL where we heard him in the early 70's from Omaha. He was very kind to tell me and Steve stories about his radio days.
There were other friends from KC that I had not seen for years there, so it was a great show and that was just the free part of the weekend! There were rumors of one next year in Reno, but who knows. It was a nice show and where else can you talk with so many knowledgeable about radio surveys??
Clark Besch
I've never seen (or even heard of!) these "Action Beat" surveys from Chicago before ... I asked Ron Smith (who literally wrote the book on the Chicagoland charts) what he knew about them. (As far as I always knew, after WJJD switched over to country, the publisher of these charts kept them going thru about February of 1966 as "Top Tunes Of Greater Chicago" ... to the best of my knowledge, I have them all ... but was never aware that someone else kept them going as "Action Beat" into 1967! (I wonder how many of these exist in all???)
If they do the show in the Chicago area next year, I'm going to make it a point to go. I don't imagine myself buying a bunch of ridiculously priced surveys ... but hopefully can make some contacts that will allow us to always run a fresh batch on the website. (You and Jack have both been VERY helpful in this regard over the years!) kk
No, I've never seen one of these before, but it looks like a rack jobber (distributor) put it out, probably for their clients. They might have even offered it branded to their big clients, the way EJ Korvette's had its own survey.
Good list, though. Clearly reflected Chicago sales.
If they do the show in the Chicago area next year, I'm going to make it a point to go. I don't imagine myself buying a bunch of ridiculously priced surveys ... but hopefully can make some contacts that will allow us to always run a fresh batch on the website. (You and Jack have both been VERY helpful in this regard over the years!) kk
No, I've never seen one of these before, but it looks like a rack jobber (distributor) put it out, probably for their clients. They might have even offered it branded to their big clients, the way EJ Korvette's had its own survey.
Good list, though. Clearly reflected Chicago sales.
Ron
And check out the #1 Record on this chart!!! (Don'tcha just love it when all this stuff ties together?!?!?) kk
Eagle Rock Entertainment Does It Again:
Last week we were singing the praises of the brand new Everly Brothers documentary "Harmonies From Heaven" ... then this week we viewed an advance screening of "The Beach Boys Pet Sounds" Classic Albums DVD ... 90 minutes of great music, great clips and interviews with Brian Wilson, Al Jardine, Mike Love and David Marks, done during their 50th Anniversary Reunion Tour.
It's top notch entertainment ... again ... from the good folks at Eagle Rock.
You can view the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTxfM-ltk8w
And you can order your copy of the DVD here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JACFFZI
Special thanks to Carol Kay for sending this along ... once again, we thoroughly enjoyed it! (kk)
And check out the #1 Record on this chart!!! (Don'tcha just love it when all this stuff ties together?!?!?) kk
Eagle Rock Entertainment Does It Again:
Last week we were singing the praises of the brand new Everly Brothers documentary "Harmonies From Heaven" ... then this week we viewed an advance screening of "The Beach Boys Pet Sounds" Classic Albums DVD ... 90 minutes of great music, great clips and interviews with Brian Wilson, Al Jardine, Mike Love and David Marks, done during their 50th Anniversary Reunion Tour.
It's top notch entertainment ... again ... from the good folks at Eagle Rock.
You can view the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTxfM-ltk8w
And you can order your copy of the DVD here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JACFFZI
Special thanks to Carol Kay for sending this along ... once again, we thoroughly enjoyed it! (kk)
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