Sunday, November 11, 2018

The Sunday Comments ( 11 - 11 - 18 )

Last year, on November 10th, 2017, we went to go see The Orchestra at The Arcada Theatre.  It was a GREAT show.  (We absolutely LOVE these guys … and, in 2016, named them as the Best Concert Of The Year that we had seen.)

Last night … November 10th, 2018 … we went to go see them AGAIN … at The Arcada Theatre … and, even after seeing the real deal with Jeff Lynne out front earlier this year, they STILL managed to blow us away with their dedicated commitment to presenting and preserving this music.  (Jeff Lynne is an under-appreciated genius … and these guys, ALL of whom have, at one time or another, played under this tutelage … haven’t missed a step since!) 

The versatility and musicianship displayed by this 8-piece band is nothing short of phenomenal ... some of what they pulled off last night was nothing short of perfect ... and Jeff should be proud knowing that they pay the highest respect to his music and pull it off brilliantly from the concert stage.  (kk)



Well, the brand new deluxe edition of The White Album is finally out … and it’s a REAL treat to hear some of these gems that have been locked in the vault for the past fifty years.

After asking our readers to come up with the perfect pared-down 16-track version of The White Album as a single disc, we suggested that The Beatles Channel do the same and poll their extensive audience of major Beatles fans … and that's exactly what they did! 

On Friday, as part of the Release Day Celebration, they played back the Top 16 Fan Favorites as part of their regular weekly feature “Eight Songs A Week” … doubled-up this time around since The White Album was, after all, a two-record set. 

Here are the results of their survey, in rank order, not suggested programming sequence: 

#16 – I’m So Tired
#15 -Mother Nature’s Son
#14 – Glass Onion
#13 – Martha My Dear
#12 – Julia
#11 – Revolution 1
#10 – Rocky Raccoon
#  9 – Birthday
#  8 – Happiness Is A Warm Gun
#  7 – Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
#  6 – Helter Skelter
#  5 – I Will
#  4 – Dear Prudence
#  3 – Back In The USSR
#  2 – Blackbird
#  1 – While My Guitar Gently Weeps

How do these songs stack up against our own Readers Poll Ranking?

Well, pretty damn good actually. 

The results of OUR Poll showed your favorites this way: 

#1 - While My Guitar Gently Weeps
#2 - Back In The U.S.S.R.
#3 - I Will
#4 - Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
#5 - Blackbird
#6 - Birthday
#7 - Dear Prudence
#8 - Helter Skelter
#9 - Julia
#10 - Mother Nature’s Son
#11 - Rocky Raccoon
#12 - Glass Onion
#13 - Yer Blues
#14 - Sexy Sadie
#15 - Happiness Is A Warm Gun
#16 - Martha My Dear
(Missing our final tally by one vote was “Revolution 1”)

That makes 14 out of 16 titles similar … so I'd have to say that his represents a pretty definitive list of all-time favorites.  (Noticeably missing from the Sirius / XM list would have to be “Sexy Sadie,” a very popular Beatles tune over the years ... and perhaps another George song such as either “Piggies” or “Savoy Truffle” ... although only one George track made our list, too ... and that song, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," topped BOTH polls.)

Seems like most Beatles fans could have just as easily lived without “Good Night,” “Revolution 9,” “Wild Honey Pie,” “The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill,” “Don’t Pass Me By” and “Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey.”  (kk)

And check this out ...

>>>Unless, of course, they are finally able to pull off that Spice Girls / Backstreet Boys Tour that they were talking about doing a year or two ago … in which case, I’m in!!!)  kk 

OK, so it’s NOT a Spice Girls / Backstreet Boys tour … but it IS the biggest arena tour The Backstreet Boys have done in 18 years!!!

Just announced is a World Tour that kicks off in Europe in May and finally hits The States in July.  (They stop here in Chicago on August 10th

This is a VERY big deal … tied in with the release of their first new album in six years (“DNA” comes out January 25th … and fans who order tickets to any of the world tour concerts, which go on sale November 4th, will receive a free physical copy of the album in January when it’s released.

One of the very first concerts Frannie and I ever went to was a Backstreet Boys show at what is now called The United Center. (I can’t remember if it had switched over to that name yet in either 2000 or 2001 when we saw them play to a sold out, packed house on Valentine’s Day, during their prime.)  It was one of the loudest concerts I’ve ever been to … in terms of FAN noise in the audience. 

Vocally, they’re still among the strongest pop acts out there.  They just completed a year’s residency in Las Vegas … and last weekend we watched their appearance on Crossroads, sharing the stage with Florida Georgia Line, who were also outstanding.  (Yeah, that’s the “pop fan” coming out in me … but good music is good music … and these guys ran up a string of thirteen Top 40 Hits between 1997 and 2005, eight of which made The Top Ten, all the while giving N*Sync a run for the money during the Boy Band Craze of the late ‘90’s.)  The biggest difference is that N*Sync became known as Justin Timberlake’s band before he launched his own mega-successful solo career, whereas The Backstreet Boys have remained an intact unit (save a short departure … and then quick return by member Kevin Richardson) ever since … and they still sound every bit as good today as they did back then.

They just released a video for their brand new single “Chances,” which you can view below ... and judge for yourself.  (kk)
 



Backstreet Boys 2019 US Tour Dates:   

July 12 – Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena
July 14 – Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Bluesfest
July 15 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
July 17 – Toronto, ON @ @ Scotiabank Arena
July 20 – Minneapolis, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
July 22 – Winnipeg, MB @ Bell MTS Place
July 24 – Calgary, AB @ ScotiaBank Saddledome
July 25 – Edmonton, AB @ Rogers Place
July 27 – Vancouver, BC @ Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena
July 29 – Seattle, WA @ Angel of the Winds Arena
July 30 – Portland, OR @ Moda Center
August 1 – Sacramento, CA @ Golden 1 Center
August 3 – Los Angeles, CA @ STAPLES Center
August 4 – San Jose, CA @ SAP Center
August 5 – Anaheim, CA @ Honda Center
August 7 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Vivint Smart Home Arena
August 8 – Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
August 10 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
August 12 – Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
August 14 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden
August 15 – New York, NY @ Barclays Center
August 17 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
August 18 – Hershey, PA @ Hersheypark Stadium
August 20 – Raleigh, NC @ PNC Arena
August 21 – Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
August 23 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ BB&T Center
August 24 – Orlando, FL @ Amway Center
August 26 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
August 27 – Memphis, TN @ FedExForum
August 28 – Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center
August 30 – New Orleans, LA @ Smoothie King Center
August 31 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
September 1 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
September 3 – Lafayette, LA @ Cajundome Convention Center
September 4 – Birmingham, AL @ Legacy Arena
September 6 – St. Louis, MO @ Enterprise Center
September 7 – Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
September 8 – Omaha, NE @ CHI Health Center
September 10 – Indianapolis, IN @ Bankers Life Fieldhouse
September 11 – Milwaukee, WI @ Fiserv Forum
September 13 – Louisville, KY @ KFC Yum! Center
September 14 – Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena
September 15 – Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center


ChuckBuellHereonSpeedingUpRecords!!!  
One day in 1964 at KIMN in Denver, which was always on the cutting edge and an early adapter of the latest technology, I was shown some kind of small gadget that would attach over the capson, I think, on an Ampex Reel-to-Reel Tape Recorder that would speed up playback without noticeably changing the pitch. To us, it was amazing how it sounded! The idea in our case, particularly during morning and afternoon drive, was to more easily get in all the elements of 18 commercial minutes, two three-minute newscasts, four to five one-minute traffic reports, a couple of PSAs, three to four weather reports, station promos, contests show relatables, bits and whatever else all in an hour with the added bonus of our music sounding “brighter.” That was pretty much the content of my show each afternoon, and remarkably, we all were a dominant Number One Radio station throughout the day in our market by a large margin even with all that! 
OK, Test Time. It was thought best to start this speeding up idea with just one new record that was going to be added to our on-air playlist, and to see how far we could push it before we would begin to manipulate other records. “A Hard Day’s Night” by the Beatles was chosen because of its fast tempo. Its speed was pressed to around 10% faster before it started to sound a little weird. To our ears, and because we weren’t familiar with how it was supposed to sound in the first place, it sounded fine. Up and Bright! On the air it went with no second thoughts. 
Within a week or so, we started getting calls at the station from area record stores wanting to know “what version” of that new Beatles song we were playing. What was happening was kids were complaining to the record stores that after buying the record, taking it home and listening to it there that it sounded “slow” and “draggy” and not upbeat like they were hearing on our air. It was to them obviously a “defective” copy and they wanted a replacement. When all those returned records and all those exchanges didn’t “solve” the problem, we were called demanding to know what the Hell we were doing!
Sped up records. An idea at the time that was a disaster. We eventually replaced our fast on-air version with the as released record version. It took us all about a week to get used to playing and hearing the “slow,” but correct, version of “ Ah-h-h  Ha-r-r-rd  Da-a-a-ay’s  Ni-i-i-ght  a-a-nd  I-i-v-ve be-e-e-n  sle-e-e-ping . . . . "
Chuck Buell    
Here in Chicago, Top 40 Giant WCFL was taken to task for creating their tape cartridges at 48 rpm instead of the recorded 45 rpm speed issued by the record companies and thus programmed as such on other radio stations.  The idea was that the music would "sound fresher" and allow 'CFL to sneak in an extra song per hour, thus playing "more music" than mega-rival WLS.  It was prominent Chicagoland media columnist Gary Deeb who blew the lid off the whole deception idea ... and WCFL returned to playing records at their regularly recorded speed ... before switching to the vast radio wasteland known as "Beautiful Music" a short while later.  (See ... serves ya right!!!)  kk 

Forgotten Hits Readers on our “Locals” List were able to receive a 20% discount if they bought tickets to see Gladys Knight at The Arcada Theatre this Tuesday Night. 
It’s just one more perk of reading Forgotten Hits. 
If you live in the Chicago area and are not on this list, drop me an email and we’ll add you to the roster. 
Interested parties can still take advantage of this very special offer by going to The Arcada Box Office Website and typing in the code HITS20 at check-out.  (Offer is valid to the first twenty readers to purchase tickets only ... and only valid until midnight tonight!) 
Come on out and see a show-biz legend, live in concert, Tuesday Night!  (kk)  
http://www.arcadalive.com/event/gladys-knight/



Tickets are also on sale for several other interesting shows coming to the Arcada including … 

Petula Clark (TODAY, November 11th, at 5 pm)
America (November 16th and 17th)
Cornerstones Of Rock (November 24th)
Ronnie Spector  (December 9th)
Tony Orlando and Dawn (December 11th)
The Ides Of March Christmas Show (December 15th)
Bret Michaels (December 22nd)
The Marshall Tucker Band  (December 28th)
The BoDeans  (Decembe 29th)

And Denny Laine, Molly Hatchet, Foghat, Lou Gramm, Little Anthony and the Imperials, War, Micky Dolenz, The Little River Band, Morris Day and the Time, Jay and the Americans and Herman’s Hermits featuring Peter Noone have already been booked for next year.  (In fact, the Cornerstones show comes back in April, too!)  How’s THAT for variety in entertainment?!?!?   
http://www.arcadalive.com/upcomingevents/  
Use the link above to order tickets to any of these shows.  (kk)  

Christmas Music has already started on WLIT here in Chicago … it’s been a ratings bonanza for the station over the past several years and will now run 24/7 through the end of the year.  (Yes, Christmas Music AFTER Christmas is now an acceptable programming tool, too!) 
New FH Reader Carl Mann just sent us a list of this year’s Top 40 Christmas Tunes as determined by the P1 Media Group … and it’s pretty  depressing to say the least. 

The 2018 Top 40 Christmas Songs for radio this year.
Researched by P1 Media Group. 
Notable: 
Last year's #1 is down to #13 this year.   
14 of the top 20 testing songs are classics recorded between 1942 and 1970. 
Two versions of Rudolph and Jingle Bells Rock are in the Top Ten. 
The Carpenters didn't make the cut.  

Here is this year’s ranking / last year’s ranking: 

1 / 4 - BOBBY HELMS - JINGLE BELL ROCK - 1957 
2 / 2 - BURL IVES - HOLLY JOLLY CHRISTMAS – 1963  (This is the one that drove me crazy last year … seems like it was playing every time I changed the channel!) 
3 / 39 - BURL IVES - RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER – 1950  (Not quite sure how this one became so popular all of a sudden … it’s ALWAYS been Gene Autry’s song)  
4 / 6 - BRENDA LEE - ROCKIN' AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE - 1958 
5 / 3 - JOSE FELICIANO - FELIZ NAVIDAD - 1970 
6 / 38 - CYNDI LAUPER & FRANK SINATRA - SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN – 1992  (seriously?!?!  #6?!?!?) 
7 - 9 - ANDY WILLIAMS - IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR - 1963 
8 / 23 - HALL & OATES - JINGLE BELL ROCK – 1984  (I probably hear this version more often today than the original … sometimes the stations will even play the John Oates lead vocal that appeared on the other side when this record was first released) 
9 / 17 - GENE AUTRY - RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER - 1949 
10 / 18 - VINCE GUARALDI TRIO - LINUS AND LUCY - 1965 
11 / 33 - FAITH HILL - WHERE ARE YOU CHRISTMAS – 2000 (?????) 
12 / 27 - RONETTES - SLEIGH RIDE - 1963 
13 / 1 -MARIAH CAREY - ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS – 1994 (I find this one very hard to believe … betcha I hear it 200 times this holiday season just while button pushing!!!) 
14 / 11 - BING CROSBY - WHITE CHRISTMAS - 1942  
15 / 34 - MICHAEL BUBLE - LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW - 2003  
16 / 19 - BING CROSBY - IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS - 1945 
17 / 5 - NAT KING COLE - THE CHRISTMAS SONG – 1946 (Betcha this one still perform better than this … it’s a Christmas chestnut!) 
18 / 24 - PERRY COMO - HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS - 1954 
19 / 34 - DEAN MARTIN - LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW - 1964 
20 / 12 - JOHNNY MATHIS - IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS - 1986 
21 / 36 - LEROY ANDERSON - SLEIGH RIDE - 1952 
22 / 10 - TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA - CHRISTMAS EVE / SARAJEVO 12 / 24 - 1996 
23 / 21 - GENE AUTREY - HERE COMES SANTA CLAUS - 1948 
24 / 32 - JIMMY DURANTE - FROSTY THE SNOWMAN - 1952 
25 / 37 - RAY CONNIFF - RING CHRISTMAS BELLS - 1962 
26 / 7 - JOHN LENNON - HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER) – 1971 (a big fall for this one) 
27 / 35 - EURYTHMICS - WINTER WONDERLAND - 1987 
28 / 22 - ANDY WILLIAMS - HAPPY HOLIDAY / THE HOLIDAY SEASON - 1963 
29 / 8 - WHAM! - LAST CHRISTMAS – 1986 (They sure played the heck out of this one last year) 
30 / 29 - DAVID FOSTER - CAROL OF THE BELLS - 1997 
31 / 20 - ELVIS PRESLY - BLUE CHRISTMAS – 1957  (You’ll still hear this one a lot … hopefully more than anything by David Foster!!!) 
32 / 25 - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN - 1981 
33 / 14 - PAUL MCCARTNEY - WONDERFUL CHRISTMASTIME - 1979 
34 / 30 - THURL RAVENSCROFT - YOU'RE A MEAN ONE, MR. GRINCH – 1966  (Another one they play a lot … and will probably even more so with the new movie coming out this year) 
35 / 15 - BAND AID - DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS - 1984
36 / 31 - TAYLOR SWIFT - LAST CHRISTMAS - 2007
37 / 13 - EAGLES - PLEASE COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS – 1978  (No way this one should rank so low … you’ll hear it plenty!)  
38 / 26 - TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA - CHRISTMAS CANON - 2001 
39 / 28 - BEACH BOYS - LITTLE SAINT NICK – 1963  (Another one that should rank higher than it does, based on holiday airplay)  
40 / 40 - MADONNA - SANTA BABY – 1987  (I probably hear the Eartha Kitt original every bit as much as this Madonna remake)   

P1 Media Group conducted the survey the weekend of November 2nd - 4th, 2018. We sampled 25-54-year-old radio listeners in the Top 50 US Radio Markets that reported listening either “Frequently” or “Sometimes” to Christmas Music on a local radio station during the holiday season. The 40 songs tested were the most-played Christmas Songs from 2017 according to Mediabase monitored airplay. 

Where’s Harry Belafonte?  Der Bingle with David Bowie (another song they play to death during the holiday season ... it just isn't that great a record!!!)  And The Pretenders?  Where’s “Little Drummer Boy” and “The Chipmunk Song”?  Not a single mention of "O Holy Night," perhaps the most beautiful Christmas song ever written???  How about The Drifters’ version of “White Christmas”?  “Do You Hear What I Hear?” and “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” … “All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth” … “Baby It’s Cold Outside” … “Merry Christmas Darling” (Christmas without The Carpenters???) … Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Paper” … the haunting "I'll Be Home For Christmas" ... "Snoopy's Christmas" ... and those are just a few off the top of my head … I’ll bet I could easily come up with at least a dozen more if I really gave this some thought.

Hey, I’m all for variety at Christmas … especially if you’re going to play it for two months straight, ad nauseum … Sirius XM launched something like 16 Holiday Channels on November 1st!!!  The day after Halloween!!!  Nothing worse than hearing the same 20 songs 200 times each between now and Christmas Day. 

This may be the results of their research … but I just don’t find it to be the reality of holiday season programming.  (kk)

Got this email from Frank B (under the heading “Questions 67 and 68”)

kk: 
It's really Questions 1 & 2 ...
I just wanted to show you how clever I am, using a Chicago song title.
#1 = I was wondering if, after the debut of the Queen movie, did their old music appear on the Billboard Charts again.
#2 = Regarding the Memphis Music Hall of Fame, most of the artists you listed were single acts.  It’s cut and dry, either dead or alive.
In the case of the Box Tops --- was Alex Chilton included in the honor, or is it just current members?
Frank B.  
As far as Queen music showing back up in Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart, it may be a bit premature as those charts are calculated a week ahead of time and the film just first opened last weekend … but that’s not to say that we won’t see some new Queen activity when the new charts for this week are officially released on Tuesday.  (Actually, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least … after “Wayne’s World” and the passing of Freddie Mercury, Queen had resurrected hits with “Bohemian Rhapsody” (which charted higher the second time around) and “We Will Rock You” / “We Are The Champions.”) Just to give you some idea, Michael Jackson's "Thriller" made The Hot 100 again last week, thanks to all the new downloads generated from Halloween.

As to The Memphis Music Hall Of Fame, yes, Alex Chilton was most definitely inducted as part of The Box Tops.  In fact, he's in there TWICE, as he was previously inducted as part of Big Star, a group he fronted years after The Box Tops split up.  The current band (which still contains two original members) was there to accept the award and perform.  (kk)

>>>Jeremy also showed us how, when he and Chad decided to jump ship to a bigger label (Columbia), their old record company (World Artists) released a compilation album that featured (I kid you not!) a photograph of Peter and Gordon on the back cover by mistake (or was it?!?!)  kk    

Kent,
The album you showed with the Peter & Gordon photo on a Chad & Jeremy album was not World Artists, it was TO MY KNOWLEDGE a bootleg label, FIDU.  Still, maybe World Artists had SOMETHING to do with this, as one track I found to be quite interesting was an alternate version, thus most likely from the WA masters.  They certainly released records AFTER C&J signed with Columbia, so WA DID try to recoup some sales via the old "cash in" trick used by almost EVERY label when artists changed labels.  






In actuality, World Artists and Ember Records (UK C&J label) were not dealing C&J a fair hand in royalties.  Enter Allan Klein and a shady arrangement that put them on Columbia.  It is very possible that FIDU Records was just a pseudonym for World Artists,  but the black flat record album label and cover with P&G on it suggest a bootleg.  Maybe it was an attempt by WA to ruin C&J's career, since the attached file is certainly not worthy of being on an LP by the duo.

Since we were always looking for new stereo of fave artists, I found the "5+10=15" album pictured and bought it hoping for new tracks and stereo.  Instead, I was quite surprised and amused that an alternate of "If I Loved You" with the same backing track had been added as the last track.  The vocals are spot on over the same backing track until Jeremy's (I think) voice cracked at the end, leading him to basically say something like "Oh shit" as Chad continued on.  Anyway, for "shits" and giggles, here tis another FH exclusive (?)




BTW, one of my first CD projects for Sony was the C&J hits CD, so I have been enamored with both duos since day one.  I did work for the album reissues on Sundazed, too.  GREAT MUSIC!  Not surprisingly, NONE of these have the attached track!




Here's a photo of Chad & Jeremy's visit to the WLS studios in the mid 60's from the WLS 1967 Personality Album.  As mentioned before, they actually STAYED at Ron Riley's house when they were in Chicago playing.  I am still trying to find their comments on tape about the stay.  I have asked Ron for comment as well.  Stay tuned. 
Clark Besch
 

I've got to tell you ... I am SO proud to be a member of The Harvey Kubernik Book Of The Month Club!!!  (I swear this guys writes a new book every single month!!!  I don't know HOW he does it ... I can barely keep up with my daily sheet and even then typically only get it out three or four times a week these days!) 
The new one looks like an absolute gem ... "The Story Of The Band" is yet another BEAUTIFUL, coffee-table type book, beautifully written and illustrated from start to finish.
This one is a collaboration between Harvey and his brother Kenneth and takes the reader on a trip "From Big Pink To The Last Waltz," released just in time for the official 50th Anniversary of their debut album, "Music From Big Pink."  In it, you'll find lots of interviews collected over the years with the individual members of The Band, as well as commentary and behind-the-scenes observations by many of those closest to them. 
I can't wait to dig into this one ... available now through all the obvious places.  (kk)



https://www.amazon.com/Story-Band-Pink-Last-Waltz/dp/1454928905/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1541951879&sr=8-1&keywords=the+story+of+the+band  

Hi Kent –
Hope you’re doing well! 
Quick question …
I have a MacBook Air Laptop, and for some reason I am unable to open / listen to the audio clips you include in your newsletters. I’ve checked my Settings, but still can't figure it out.  Would you have any hints / instructions to open these? Sorry for any hassle.
I have loved your FH posts for so many years …
Thank you again!
Mike Stineman 
I’ve found these song snippets to be temperamental at best … but usually if I just refresh the page, the tracks seem to play perfectly, so I would try that.  
(SSomething like the 70 tracks we posted last Sunday will take a while longer than usual to load, but I was even able to get all of those to play in their intended sequence once I refreshed and waited.)  That’s about the best that I can suggest at this point.  Hope it helps.  (kk) 

Wish I would have had one of these!
John LaPuzza