Kent,
The
cartoon you had at the bottom of Wednesday’s FH reminded me of an incident that
happened many years ago one morning at the breakfast table before my dad was
going to go to work. Every day on his way to work, my dad would pass Wilcox
Records where through the years I always bought my records. This one particular
day (in 1962), my mother asked my dad if he would stop by Wilcox and buy the
latest album of Ray Charles which was MODERN SOUNDS IN COUNTRY AND WESTERN
MUSIC. She wanted the album for the song which was on it, I CAN'T STOP LOVING
YOU. I remember my dad asking my mother why would she buy an album for just one
song with other songs she wasn't familiar with. I don't remember my mother's
response, only that that night my dad came home with the album. HAPPY
THANKSGIVING.
Larry
I wonder how
many people today download the whole album rather than just “cherry-pick” the
tracks that they want. Back then, you
didn’t have the choice … unless the song you were looking for was released as a
single, you had to buy the whole LP to get some of the songs you wanted.
Maybe this
wasn’t such a bad concept after all.
Back then albums sold well into the millions … and a great opening week might cause a hot new release to sell upwards of two million copies the week it hit the streets. Today, sales of 46,000 copies can earn you a
#1 Album. (Sounds to me that this could
be a contributing factor to why the record business has been in the toilet for
years now!)
Back then,
certain tracks were deliberately held back as a means of forcing fans to buy
the whole LP. Looks like the music
industry has done it to itself once again!
(kk)
Hi Kent:
Just an FYI ... I will be on Dewey's
Corner Radio Show on Friday Night (tonight) at approximately 6 pm. We will be
counting down a WRIT Survey from November of 1968. A few Chicago Groups will be on the countdown.
Doing our 50th year anniversary thing. As always, we play Records!
Ken Freck
Can you believe this???
Sirius XM is raising their rates effective January 15th
of next year because they now have to pay a higher royalty rate for the music they
offer ... meaning that after short-changing artists for years, getting caught, fined and penalized ... and now having to pony-up at a higher royalty rate, they're asking their listeners to foot the bill for their sins with a subscription rate increase.
This is the final straw for me. Unless they are planning on making me an offer so
unbelievably good that I couldn’t possibly refuse in December when my current
subscription runs out, I have absolutely no intention of renewing for another year. (And by incredibly unbelievable, I mean like
$5-$6 per month … their website shows prices as high as $275 per year for some
of their services!!!)
They're the ones who got themselves
into this situation in the first place by not paying proper royalties to music
featured that was recorded prior to 1967 … so now that they have to pay the piper, they’re
pushing this increased cost on to their customers instead in order to cover their wrong-doing!
The fact is, paying for a radio service that essentially gives you the exact same music you hear everywhere else these days for free holds little appeal to me anymore. I may miss some of the specialty features like interviews and countdowns on The Beatles Channel or limited-run featured artist stations like they've done this past year for The Beach Boys and Billy Joel channels ... but if I want to dive deep into the catalogs of these artists, I can just load the car up with all their cd's, as I already own all this music anyway!
So figure it out, Sirius XM ... otherwise, it's uh-uh … no thanks ... not me.
With
blue tooth streaming now available on the go, there are FAR better choices available to listen to in
the car than ever before … Rewound Radio immediately jumps to #1 in my vehicle,
followed by preferred streaming choices like WCFLChicago.com and Me-TV-FM out of
Milwaukee, which streams the same music that Me-TV-FM here in Chicago plays but
chooses not to make available to listeners on the go or wanting to listen to at
work. ALL of these stations play an
EXCELLENT mix of music from the ‘50’s, ‘60’s, ‘70’s and ‘80’s … without
excessive (and tolerable) commercial interruption.
When I consider how much I listen to Sirius XM these days,
it just isn’t worth the expense. (Plus
we still have great local radio options to choose from as well … even with all these other options available, I still find myself
listening to She-FM for Brooke and Jubal in the morning and The Drive for much
of the rest of the day anyway. (I have
an unwritten policy, however, of turning off The Drive the minute they play their
sixth AC/DC song … which happens nearly daily, in which case WXRT then becomes the station of choice!) kk
Hi there.
I don’t comment often
but I read FH all of the time. I’m from your generation and I just signed
up for Medicare.
I agree and disagree
with your Radio Edition post. I have always preferred the Classic Rock
era to all others and I don’t believe it’s because it’s the era I grew up
in. It’s the pure musicianship and experimentation that made it special.
You can read my thoughts in full at this post I wrote quite a few years ago for
my own blog.
But the real reason
I’m writing is because I hate it when people say that the era of music they
grew up in is the best and there is nothing good out today. A co-worker
in her 50s said there are no songs after 1990 that she likes. She should
stop listening immediately. She isn’t a music lover because she’s only
reveling in nostalgia.
Charlie Ricci
There
is a good amount of music that has come out since 1990 that I own and enjoy …
but there is also a greater amount of “music” (if one can even call it that!)
that’s just angry crap that will hold no redeeming value or emotional
attachment 25, 30, 40 or 50 years from now.
My
point is that there was FAR greater variety and, as you stated,
experimentation in the era of the ‘60’s and ‘70’s than there is today where
almost everything sounds as if it was churned out from the same mixing machine.
This
is not true of ALL music … there are dozens and dozens of artists whose work I
admire from the past 25 years … but within the context of Forgotten Hits, we
have an isolated era that we have chosen to focus upon … our whole existence is
based on a common love of oldies music … so while we may step outside the
“comfort zone” of 1954 – 1989 from time to time to share something by a new
artist that we think our readers would enjoy … or should be exposed to … the
“norm” for us has to be the era for which we are known to cover ... and provides the reason people come here.
One
of the greatest emails I ever got came about sixteen years ago from a guy who
simply said “Quit living in the past!” … but I can’t … because the past is
EXACTLY what we cover here. We provide a
place where readers can share their own special moments and memories with each
other. That’s EXACTLY who we are and
what we do.
With
our 19th anniversary right around the corner, we look forward to
continuing that tradition as we begin our 20th year.
Got
somebody new you’d like us to investigate?
We’d love to hear about it … and may even share this discovery with our
readers … as good music is good music, no matter WHEN it came out. But our MAIN focus will never change …
because we ARE Oldies Music … and that’s what people come here for. (kk)
Hello Friends!
Thanksgiving week kicks off the
season of giving, and I feel especially grateful this year, thanks to so
many great people who have supported the Dick Biondi Film through donations,
sponsorships, in-kind donations, and more. Thank you just doesn’t seem
enough for the dedicated community of people who have come together to honor
this wonderful man.
Meet Joe Farina
Actor, hands on dad, and all around
super nice guy, Joe is the new Director of Communications and Marketing
who's been reaching out to potential sponsors in order to complete our
tribute to a great Italian American hero.
You might remember Joe’s father, the late actor Dennis Farina, a former Chicago police officer who
starred in television's Crime Stories and Law
and Order. Joe is a sensational ambassador for the film
and we are honored to welcome him aboard! Joe
would love to hear from you! Joe@DickBiondiFilm.com.
Our Sponsors
This past Saturday, Joe and I
attended the annual IAET (Italian American Executives of Transportation) Dinner
Dance where we showed our official Trailer and met many wonderful people who
are excited about the project. AIET was our very first sponsor and we
thank President Vito D’Ambrosio and all members for their kindness and support.
We thank Paul Shaffer of Late Night With
David Letterman for his generous donation which
made it possible to edit our Screener and introduced the story to audiences
around the greater Chicagoland area this year. We give thanks to Ron Onesti of
Onesti Entertainment for his continuous support and encouragement, and for
taking the grand stage at Taylor Street’s Italian Festa this summer to lead
thousands of fest-goers who were singing On top of a
Pizza. This scene was recorded and
will become the perfect finale of our movie.
Save the Date— April 28,
2019
We’ve got a BIG EVENT planned to
inspire you to join in on the Biondi fun, featuring Chicago’s own 1960’s band,
The New Colony 6! This incredible group will get you feeling like a
teenager again, so stay tuned for details.
We need you!
If you’re a Biondi Subscriber, we
know how much Dick Biondi means to you, so please consider becoming a Biondi
Backer by making a Tax deductible donation. If you’d
like to have your business or group associated with the Dick Biondi
Film on broadcast television, at film festivals, streaming, and DVD, please
consider becoming a Sponsor. Your donation will help cover the cost of music and
media rights, post production, distribution, and preparing this documentary
film for broadcast.
After a lifetime of bringing joy,
fun, and love through his radio show, personal appearances, and humanitarian
activities, Dick quietly left the airwaves last spring due to a leg
ailment. Now is the time to share Dick’s incredible story. So
please, visit our Donate Page.
May this season inspire the joy of giving and make this
season about others.
Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!
Much love and gratitude,
Pam Pulice and the Dick Biondi Film
Team
