The Sunday Comments ( 08 - 12 - 18 )

I got this from Carol Ross, Tommy James' long time manager, after we ran Shelley Sweet-Tufano's review of Tommy's concert …

Hi Kent -

I was just going thru so many covers of Tommy's songs - the one that stands out is SANTANA's version of CRYSTAL BLUE PERSUASION - which is also one of Tommy's favorite covers ... you gotta hear it … just incredible.  Go to YouTube and click Santana/Crystal Blue Persuasion -  Carol

Here, we'll save you the trouble … and now you don't have to leave OUR site to go to theirs!  (lol)

And, speaking of Tommy James, we just got this from Barry Winslow of The Royal Guardsmen …

Hey Buddy,

Tommy James will be playing at the Welks Resort Theater September 14th in Branson MO.  My wife and I are surely going to be there ... maybe you could break away and come. It'd be good to meet and chat if you could.
Take care my friend -
Barry

Boy, wish that we could … but that's just not in the cards for us right now.  (September 14th just happens to be my wife's birthday!)

Once you know for sure that you're going, let me know and maybe I can arrange a face-to-face with Tommy before or after the show!

Have fun … and be sure to report back to us on the concert.  (kk)

UPDATE:  Thanks to Tommy's manager, Carol Ross, Forgotten Hits is going to help reunite Barry Winslow of The Royal Guardsmen and Tommy James at this Branson, Missouri show!  (Thank you, Carol!)
And Barry couldn't be more thrilled ... 

This is awesome, Kent!  Thanks!
Here's a pic of the first tour we did with Tommy, Sam the Sham, and Keith.  I was hoping Tommy would remember.  It was a blast. 
I think Zack Glickman was the tour manager at that time setting on the ground in front of us left in the pic.
Love ya, man!
Thanks -
Barry

You're in for a real treat, my friend ... wait till you see Tommy's show ... it's like he hasn't changed a bit!  Please be sure to send us back a photo this great Photo Op that we can run in Forgotten Hits after the show!  Enjoy!  (kk)

And check out this news about our FH Buddy Freddy Cannon (courtesy of FH Reader Tom Cuddy), which also has a great free ticket offer included (if you happen to live in the New Jersey area!)

Kent: 

Just when you thought Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon might be taking a short break for a summer vacation, he keeps rockin’ from coast to coast. 

Not long after meeting you in Chicago before a concert, he received an invitation from Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom to join him on his Sirius XM radio show “Rockabilly Rave-Up.”   Turns out Slim Jim heard Freddy’s new rockabilly tune, “Boppin’ the Blues.” It’s become popular in the U.K. , and he wanted to start airing it on his radio show.    

Freddy and Slim Jim recorded an interview that will debut on Sunday, Aug. 19th at 8 pm, eastern, on Sirius XM.  Slim Jim’s show is heard on Channel 21, which is Little Steven’s Underground Garage Radio. 

Your east coast readers might want to check out the free concert  Freddy will be doing in New Jersey next month, hosted by NY radio icon Cousin Brucie Morrow. 

PNC Bank Arts Center Holmdel, NJ, has a capacity of 15,000.  It will be the venue hosting Freddy, along with:

The Cowsills, The Buckinghams and The Orlons

 7:30 pm concert on Friday, September 28th.

The event is underwritten by the Garden State Arts Foundation.

To request free tickets:

Please send a note requesting the performance you wish to attend and the number of tickets you are requesting with a self-addressed, stamped envelope (#10) to the:

Garden State Arts Foundation, Inc., 
Attention: (Cousin Brucie / Freddy Cannon show), 
P.O. Box 5013, 
Woodbridge,  NJ 07095-5013,

Phone: (732) 888-0550 x7057

- Tom Cuddy

New York, NY

Hope a few of our readers can get in on this … and if you do, please let us know all about it!  (kk)

Kent,
My niece just saw ELO in Denver last night and sent one minute clips of a few of their songs.  They sounded great to me and the crowd sang along well, too!  "Can't Get it Out Of My Head," "Do Ya" and "Don't Bring Me Down" were clips she sent. 

Here's a view from her seat.  Gotta be awesome concert.  I wonder if he made any mention of the Move, as "Do Ya" was his early 45 with them originally.

Clark Besch

I doubt it … this is all about Jeff Lynne and ELO … and after not touring The States for over thirty years, a VERY highly anticipated tour.  (This shot is amazing, by the way!)

Check out his two recent live concert videos … they're both excellent (Hyde Park and Wembley Stadium) and Jeff and the band pull out all the stops to give you a perfect show.  Only three more days … and we can't wait!!!  (kk)

TONY BURROWS:

I have interviewed Tony Burrows.    He had a lot of great performances. 

I can even forgive him for being the low voice on the Pipkins record

'Gimme Dat Ding'.

Phil - WRCO

Actually both Edison Lighthouse and The Brotherhood of Man had follow-up singles to their signature songs ... Edison Lighthouse with IT'S UP TO YOU PETULA and Brotherhood of Man with WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO MY LOVE? … thus making Mr. Burrows' record that of "being a 'one-hit-wonder' four times" instead of six.

Tal Hartsfeld 

Still a pretty amazing track record.

Neither of those songs made The National Top 40 and, while "It's Up To You Petula" did chart here in Chicago, I wonder how many people could hum a line from "Where Are You Going To My Love?" … I'm guessing not a single one.  (A better Brotherhood Of Man example would have been "Save Your Kisses For Me" which did reach #27 in Billboard in 1976 but fell short of The Top 40 in the other national trades … but perhaps Tony Burrows was no longer the lead singer at this point so maybe that's not a valid entry either.

I'm content to give him the distinction of six One Hit Wonders.

(And let's not forget our FH Buddy Ron Dante, currently out on the road singing his own hits as well as the leads on The Turtles' hits during this year's Happy Together Tour.  Ron hit The Top 40 as The Detergents, The Archies and The Cuff Links … and sang background and produced many of Barry Manilow's earliest hits.  He certainly deserves a nod for SOMETHING!!!  lol)  kk  

JIM PETERIK:

The incurable romantic in me that says love will win out emerged when I listened to the story behind Jim Peterik's Ides Of March song "Vehicle" … Good job, Jim!

Shelley J Sweet-Tufano

And, speaking of Jim Peterik, he sent us a bunch of goodies to share this weekend, too, including a bunch of photos from his own personal collection …

Thanks for another great edition, Kent. When do you sleep?

That Harliquin single is super rare.  I have one.

And an even rarer one on the Ginny label under our very short lived name Batt Mann and the Boy Wonders!

The Ides are getting ready for our opening slot for the great Chris Isaak on Saturday at the New Lennox outdoor amphitheater. We only get an hour set so we really got to pack it with the best stuff we got. 

This show signals the first show with Ides veteran Scott May back on the B3 throne after a heart issue. We are so thankful he is back at full strength.  Hope to rock with y’all on Saturday night. 

Also, we will soon be announcing a newly added Cornerstones of Rock show. Stay tuned!  

Thanks again for keeping the good rock alive Kent!!  Rock steady.

Also …

Feel free to post any of these. 

JP in front to my 1953 Seeburg with a copy of Training Wheels, an ultra rare single by original WLS jock Kris Eric Stevens. I wrote it for Kris and the Ides did the track back in 1971.  Thanks to super fan Steve for presenting me with a framed copy signed by Kris Eric himself. 

Photo of Dave Grohl and my buddy Rick Nielsen from a few weeks ago when they shared the stage ... Courtesy of our friend, Marlene O'Malley. Two thugs for sure!

Me with my grade school pal Laura Strama, who came out to see me in her town of Colorado Springs for David Packs Legends Live Show.

Great to reconnect!!

Me with the great Rodney Crowell and David Pack when Legends played the TrouBeliever concert in Snow Mass near Salt Lake. Also appearing was Shawn Colvin, Monty Powell (10 number ones with Keith Urban) and Emmylou Harris. And more!

Poster below. 

The Ides take a bow at the packed show at Brookfield Zoo. 

JP onstage in Colorado Springs with David Packs Legends. 

Jimbo

Wow!  I had no idea about Scott … glad to hear he's back to full strength.  Our thoughts go out to him and Chris.

We found a copy of that Batt Man single in our archives (toldja we've covered just about everything at one point of another!) as well as the Kris Erik Stevens track.
 

Thanks for all the cool shots!  (Wish we could have seen the Brookfield Zoo show! Check out this crowd shot ... The Ides are still packin' 'em in ... Lions and Tigers and Ides ... Oh My!!!)

And please sure to keep us posted once you can announce the new Cornerstones gig.  (kk) 

Yes ... he had to miss a few Ides shows. Tommy Leershan, a good friend of Scott’s and a Hammond Endorsee, filled in admirably.  

JP

THE CHARTS:   
How great was the music in the 60's? I'd say at least 30 of the songs on this week's survey from 1966 are stone cold classics.  It was really really tough to get a Top-10 record in 1966.
Randy Monk

>>>I think the individual year end rankings of how a record performed that year are better suited as "at the time" reports as hindsight tends to distort some things.  (kk)

I concur with ya, Kent … you need some type of mathematical formula to accurately rank songs across all decades, no matter what kind of chart you are researching, be it national, trade magazine, local surveys, etc.

The mid 1960s had so much change and activity, songs rarely lasted more than 10 weeks on the Hot 100.  For example, how can anyone fairly compare a song that hit #1 but only stayed on the charts for 12 weeks with a song that spends 60 weeks on the chart in 1997? What??

While I enjoy the Whitburn and Company books (top props for the Comparison Charts book!), their vanilla ranking method used to rank year-end or top XXX songs is not an accurate methodology.
My own personal go-to official rankings would be the Kent Kotal and Randy Price charts as displayed here on Forgotten Hits - bring on some more!!!
Mike Markesich

Kent,

I tend to agree that all-time hits or year end charts are best IN THEIR own era.  IF anyone would say that "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" has been #1 on many or most of the all-time hits charts thru the oldies radio era (today, there is no such radio genre on the dial, unless Me-TV FM counts), I'd have been surprised.  Same with "Unchained Melody."  I don't think that song in any way was as popular BEFORE the "Ghost" movie as after.  In the summer / fall transition of 1968, WCFL produced their own "all time hits list."  THIS is what top current all-timer songs would look like back in 1968, as compared to today -- especially in Chicago. 

"Cherish" is #1.  From 1966 to 1968, look at how much music changed and you still find THAT one song at #1.  The Association still owned Chicago music fans with three songs in the top 11 and tack on two more in the top 100!  The Beatles had seven (including the LP cut "Michelle"), but the Association were SOOO big in Chitown.  Because of THAT sound, it is likely that it helped my faves, the Cryan' Shames, rank #9 with a year old somewhat Association sounding vocal harmony sound.  The top 15 songs (leaving out the Shames song AND "Hey Joe" probably) could easily have been what ANY top 40 station would have had then.  THESE are what should be there if looking at the late 60's all-timers chartings.

Of course, being a HUGE Chicago 60's fan, I'm so happy to see the Shames,  American Breed, Shadows of Knight, Buckinghams, and New Colony Six all with a song in there.  The Ides were lurking in the shadows a bit in '68.

On my PERSONAL (KLGR pretend radio) chart as a 12 year old, I also listed MY all-time chart, actually on my 50 year old August 16, 1968 chart.  I've attached it to show how my faves were. 

The Cryan' Shames claimed four of the top 6 songs.  The list is 220 long, but in the top 110 attached, you find the Shames with seven overall, the American Breed (two songs), Buckinghams (three) and the  Shadows of Knight (with one). 

The top 103 were all #1 songs on weekly chart starting in 1963 when I was 7.  The Beatles had 13 songs overall with the biggest, a BIG surprise at 31.  The Monkees get seven.  My THEN current #1 comes in at #80 -- I was UP TO DATE and did not need a CREW to figure out the chart by allowing a month chopped out before publishing.  Haha.

IF I were to do a chart today, it would leave MANY out, but MOST would still be near the top 100 even in revisionist 2000's.

Clark Besch

Wow, I've never seen that WCFL Top 100 Chart before … where did you get that?  (I immediately printed a copy for my own collection!)  kk

I actually have two copies of it now.  It is a yellow original but I had already had it scanned in B&W and ran across it searching my computer for something else and thought of sending it along.  I actually have a sound clip or two of the countdown somewhere from probably October, 1968, I think, from memory.  This would have been after Ken Draper left and a Lew Witz era thing, following the end of the weekly store surveys.  

Clark

Anybody out there have the audio for the full countdown?  I would love to hear this!  (JR:  Wouldn't THIS be a cool thing to run on your WCFLChicago.com website?!?!?)  kk

I bought the first U.S. Hot 100 four cd set a few years ago.  It was an

import through Acrobat / Trapeze music.  It has all 100 songs of that

August of 1958 chart and they are the original recordings.   It works

well for a countdown show and I don't even have to go digging 100 times for cds and records.

Phil Nee - WRCO

This And That:  
>>>I won't be able to make it out to the Dick Biondi fund-raiser / film screening but please report back so that we can share your experience with our readers.  (kk) 

We started out with Pam Pulice and some of the people who are involved with the film explaining to the audience about the film and answering some questions. Special guest John Records Landecker came out and entertained the group for a while with stories about his friendship and professional involvement with Dick Biondi and then we showed the newly-edited 17-minute "teaser" film of "The Voice That Rocked America." 

Afterwards, Scott Childers from Star 96.7 Joliet, came out and spoke for a while about his radio experiences and friendship with Dick. 

Side note: I highly recommend Scott's book about the history of WLS.  I learned that one of the big stars during the WLS "Prairie Farmer" era was George Gobel, who graduated from my high school (Roosevelt HS, Chicago) 30 years to the day before I did.  ;-)

We had an audience of about 100, of all ages. We hope to get the movie on the air before the end of this year.  It's gonna be a winner! 

Mike Wolstein 

P.S.  Sorry for the poor quality of the first shot - the flash wouldn't light up the very dark stage.  ;-(

                    Pam and Landecker

 

Me and Landecker

We can't wait to see the whole thing, Mike … please keep us posted!  (kk)

Wow, I feel like a superstar!  I really appreciate your posting all the stuff about the Biondi film and the Ides 45.  Now all the guys I know throughout 60 years of record collecting and all the record shows will know that I'm still alive.  ;-)
One more little tidbit, which you may already know about: 

While I was down in Beverly, I happened to drive past the Original Pancake House on Western Avenue.  It brought back the interesting story about how the "Rich Girl," in the tune by that title, was Victor Walker, one of the owners of the many Walker Brothers Pancake Houses in the Chicago area.
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/entertainment/music_nightlife/Hall--Oates-Rich-Girl-wasnt-about-a-girl-after-all.html
Mike

A VERY cool story that I knew absolutely nothing about ... to think that the inspiration for that great Philly Sound started right here in Chicago blows me away!  (We still go to Walker Brothers for breakfast all the time now that they've opened up a location in Schaumburg!!!)  kk

Talk about your Chicagoland memories … check this out from FH Reader Clark Besch …

Here's a blast from the past for Chicago record store buyers.  Do you remember Lowe's records selling records with this type of hand written messages on the wall with a hand written slip inserted into each position of a 45 on the WLS Hit Parade???  How funny.

You can see a potential buyer scouting out what 45 he wants to buy from the May 27, 1968 WLS chart.

Upon closer examination, you can see that cards are apparently removed when the store is out of stock on a record.

Up close, you can slightly make out some of the titles and the writing on the cards.  Kent could get his #25 People record and #26 "Brooklyn Roads," fave by Neil Diamond, but as often was the case when I wanted certain titles, I will not be buying "Tip Toe Thru the Tulips" (30) OR "She's a Heartbreaker" (31) or more importantly, "I Need Love" by the 3rd Booth (#34) and the new Buckinghams (#35) from Lowe's, but hey, I was going to ALL of the shops today anyway.  I'll find it SOMEWHERE!!!  Besides, I CAN get the new Cryan' Shames at 27 and Association at 28.  I'll be outta money by the time I FIND the others.  At least I taped them last night (June 5 to be exact -- listen to attached), so I have them forever WITH some nice Dodge City static.  Summer listening was always a trial.

Of note, as well, is the fact that the list goes beyond the 40 songs on the WLS weekly printed chart!  #41 is the Beach Boys' "Friends."  I'm not sure that that record ever made WLS' Top 40.  I don't see that it did.  I wonder where the other lower ranked titles came from.  IF we could only ask someone who would know -- LIKE the guy (pictured looking for his car in the Lowe's parking lot) on the WLS survey we are talking about!  I think he might be our "Countdown Boy?"

Clark Besch

Very cool.

And just an FYI … According to Ron Smith's book, "Friends" by The Beach Boys DID chart on WLS … it peaked at #37.  (kk)

Since you mentioned our buddy Chuck Buell, we've just GOT to share this with you ... 
It's called "GoFundMe / Fundraising '60's Style: ... 

Just thinkin' back to my Rapid City, SD, Summer of 1960.

 

Chuck Buell's 1960 GoFundMe Minute Melody is Attached!

Yep ... that's how WE used to do it!!!  (kk)

And this story was all over the news last week …

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/original-aerosmith-tour-van-found-in-small-massachusetts-town-by-american-pickers/

What are the odds of finding this thing … 40-something years later, abandoned in a wooded area for decades???
And imagine having this rusted old pile of metal just sitting on your property for all this time!

And then what are the odds of somebody coming out of the blue and paying you $25,000 for it?!?! 
Damn!  (kk)  

I reconnected with an old friend / former coworker / one-time fellow musician / and just all around good soul last week, who discovered Forgotten Hits (and my connection to it) and contacted me.  We hadn't spoken to each other in a good 40 years … just lost touch with each other … but she's now a Forgotten Hits fan, too.  (Eons ago, we each took our younger siblings to see The Jackson Five at the old Mill Run Theater In-The-Round in Niles … had to be around 1974 maybe?  The place wasn't even half full … and this was a small theater!)  Nobody cared anymore at the time about The Jacksons.  I remember them bringing a very young (maybe five or six year old) Janet Jackson out on stage with them for a segment … and there truly was nothing at all memorable about the show.

Fast forward ten years and Michael Jackson is the biggest star on the planet (and one of the absolute biggest of all time!)

Anyway, we shared a few exchanges … and then I got this …

OMG!!   When do you find the time to put this together?  Too extensive to look at quickly.  Was looking for the Young Rascals but haven't made it all the way through the different lists.  Checked out Dusty Springfield - jeesh.  So much info.  Loving it.

Betty

I have found sleep to be greatly overrated!

Actually, if you type "RASCALS" into the website search engine ALL kinds of articles will pop up, including my review of their Reunion Show here in Chicago a few years ago.

We're hoping other readers will do the same … it is UNREAL how much ground we have covered.  I can't tell you how many times I've done a Google Search when trying to research a particular topic … and Google brings me right back to my own page because it's something I wrote about eight years ago!!!  Just no way to remember (or catalog!) it all!

Enjoy Forgotten Hits.  It's our love of the music that keeps our thousands and thousands of readers around the world connected … and sometimes sharing those memories with other like souls is the perfect medicine for whatever ails you!  

Oh yeah … here's a link to that Rascals review … but seriously, type in "Rascals" and you won't believe all the stuff that'll come up!  (kk)

https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2013/11/forgotten-hits-reviews-rascals-and-once.html

Nice try, Kent, but you can’t get rid of me simply by not notifying me that you are still there.   

Shelley

Hey, I'm hoping not to lose anybody … quite the contrary … but everybody out there has to take some responsibility of keeping tabs on all that we've got going on … 'cause we don't plan on slowing down any time soon!

Simply make us part of your daily routine … or, if that's asking to much, then plan to catch up on the whole week's worth of postings when you read The Sunday Comments.

Our regular features won't change … we just hope to become a bit more "immediate" by posting some of this news when we get it rather than wait for it to tie into our next "regularly scheduled programming."  But we may find that we change very little in the process … I don't know … hopefully, that uncertainty will keep Forgotten Hits new and exciting for ALL of us to enjoy!

Speaking of which …

I should point out that we will still maintain our Locals List, featuring upcoming concert information and any special ticket offers that may pass our way that we can share with our readers.  (Watch for one next week, in fact, after we touch base with some of the local promoters we deal with on a regular basis.)

And concert reviews for these shows will continue to be part of our regular routine … so for all of you artists out there, we are happy to share your tour schedules with our readers, because we are read coast to coast and around the world (Whew! That was a real Casey Kasem moment!) … stay in touch with your fans and let them know what you've got going on.  As I've said for many, many years now … Forgotten Hits is a GREAT source to let the oldies nation learn all of your latest news … so USE US!!!  (kk)

THAT'S A WRAP!  See you next time!