re:
SUPERJOCK:
Rewound
Radio will be saluting “Superjock” Larry Lujack this Saturday Afternoon as part
of their regular weekly Dee Jay Hall Of Fame Series.
The
program kicks off at Noon Eastern and will include Larry’s farewell broadcast
on WLS.
re:
ED KING:
Sad
news about the passing of Guitarist Ed King.
King
first reached fame in 1967 with the chart-topping hit “Incense and Peppermints”
by The Strawberry Alarm Clock. (This
song was voted as The #1 Psychedelic Hit of All-Time” by Forgotten Hits Readers
back in 2005.)
In
the early ‘70’s, he joined Lynyrd Skynyrd, where he co-wrote their biggest hit “Sweet
Home Alabama.”
Ed King 1949 - 2018
Former Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist dies
By Kristin Hall
Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Ed King, a former guitarist for
Lynyrd Skynyrd who helped write several of the group’s hits including “Sweet
Home Alabama,” has died in Nashville, Tennessee, according to a family friend.
He was 68.
Scott Coopwood said King died Wednesday due to cancer.
Funeral arrangements had not yet been announced Thursday.
King joined the band in 1972 and was part of its first
three albums with its distinct three-guitar sound.
He is credited on several of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s songs,
including “Saturday Night Special” and “Workin’ for MCA,” and his voice can be
heard providing the opening count on “Sweet Home Alabama.”
“Ed was our brother, and a great songwriter and guitar
player,” said Gary Rossington, a founding member of the band. “I know he will
be reunited with the rest of the boys in Rock and Roll Heaven.”
King left the band two years before a plane crash killed
singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines in 1977. He rejoined the
group 10 years later when it reunited with Johnny Van Zant taking his brother’s
place and played with the band until he retired in 1996 due to heart problems.
He had a heart transplant in 2011.
King was also an original member of the California psychedelic
group Strawberry Alarm Clock, which had a hit that King co-wrote called
“Incense and Peppermints” in 1967.
I was so sorry to hear
today of the death of Ed King as we have lost another of Rock's legendary
guitar players. He first came to fame as lead guitarist of The Strawberry Alarm
Clock ( I know everyone can hum the melody of his famous guitar break in their #1
hit "Incense and Peppermints"). He later became part of the three
guitar front line of Lynyrd Skynyrd where he wrote the iconic intro to
"Sweet Home Alabama."
Ken Voss
re:
ARETHA FRANKLIN:
The
other day we told you that Mark Bego’s Aretha Franklin biography was being
quickly updated and rush-released in light of her recent passing. (I’ve been listening to the special Sirius-XM
Aretha / Queen Of Soul Tribute Channel this week.)
Well,
here’s the official release … and the good news that Mark has yet another Best
Seller under his belt with this one … before it even hits the streets!!! (Stay tuned, Aretha fans … this is a GREAT
book … and we may have a couple of copies to give away to our readers.)
Anyway,
here’s the latest scoop …
MARK
BEGO’S NEW “ARETHA FRANKLIN: THE QUEEN OF SOUL" "TRIBUTE EDITION" ALREADY HITS NUMBER ONE IN AMAZON
Celebrity
author Mark Bego had only days to update his in-depth biography, “Aretha
Franklin: The Queen of Soul” / “Tribute Edition,” and it has already hit
Number One on one of Amazon.com’s
Best Seller lists! The moment Bego heard that Aretha was “gravely ill”
last week, he started work on a new beginning and a new ending to this
engrossing biography. This is the fourth incarnation of Mark’s popular
book which was originally published in 1989.
The book “Aretha Franklin: The Queen of Soul” / “Tribute
Edition” is being rushed to bookstores by Skyhorse Publishing in New York. It
has updated photos, an updated discography, and several new elements.
Although the book won’t be officially released until September
18th, pre-sales put Bego’s new edition of his Aretha biography at the top of
the charts on Amazon’s “New Release” best-seller list in pre-sales for the
Kindle version.
This gives Mark Bego three best-sellers in a row:
following “Life With My Father: Glen Campbell,” written with Debby
Campbell (Top Ten “The Tennessean”) in 2014, and his 2017 Skyhorse Publishing
celebrity cookbook “Eat Like a Rock Star” (Top Ten Amazon New Cookbooks
List). The cookbook features Bego’s recipes along with the recipes of 46
rock & roll stars.
According to Bego, “I’ve been a fan of Aretha’s music since I
first wrote about her ‘Young, Gifted and Black’ album in my record review
column in the campus newspaper while in college. I can legitimately say,
I have been writing Aretha’s story since 1972.”
What sets this book apart is that Mark was able to interview
Franklin at her Bloomfield Hills, Michigan home at the height of her “Freeway
of Love” recording resurgence. “It wasn’t just an interview,” recalls
Bego, “it felt like an official visitation with the Queen of Soul. She
even gave me a tour of her garden.”
Then Mark was able to personally interview dozens of Franklin’s
co-workers, producers, and friends. In addition, he spoke to Aretha’s record
producers from each area of her recording eras. From the Columbia Records
days in the ’60s is Clyde Otis, from her Atlantic Records years, it is Jerry
Wexler, and from the Arista era he interviewed Clive Davis. Bego also
spoke to longtime friends of Aretha’s including Mary Wilson, Martha Reeves,
Freda Payne, and Sarah Dash. Adds Bego, “This book has been a true labor of
love for me.”
This
is a GREAT book … you can preorder your copy thru Amazon right now … and stay
tuned for your chance to win a copy thru Forgotten Hits! (kk)
And
if you don’t already have a copy of Mark’s best selling “Eat Like A Rock Star,”
be sure to pick up a copy of this one, too!
(And don’t be surprised if Mark has a “Second Course” book up his very
creative sleeve, too!!!) kk
From
Frank Merrill …
This belongs as a post for sure!!!
"R – O – Y – G – B – I - V, Find out what it means to me..."
This is friggin' amazing!
Whatever one believes, God ... or, to some, whatever's out there ... gave
a collective reassuring hug to a lot of Detroiters.
Aretha Franklin: A Celebration Of Life will be held next Friday (August 31st) in Detroit. Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Hudson, Faith Hill, Ron Isley, Chaka Khan, Fantasia, Jennifer Holliday and others and others are slated to perform and speak about the ways that Aretha touched their lives. (Hudson was hand-picked by Franklin to portray her in a planned biopic that's been in the works for a while now.) Clive Davis is also putting together a tribute concert, scheduled to take place on November 14th in New York City. (The performing line-up has yet to be announced.)
re:
DEFINING THE ROCK ERA:
Hi Kent,
With all the talk about Billboard lately I was wondering when
the first year of Rock and Roll really was?
Growing up, I thought it was 1954 -- in fact, I thought the
first History of Rock and Roll documentary that was hosted by Humble Harv said
1954.
I also thought Dick Clark did a 20 year anniversary special in
1974 that had among others, Cheech and Chong.
I know Rock Around the Clock didn't get huge until 1955, but the
original release was 1954, plus Elvis' That's Alright Mama was in 1954, or am I
dreaming that?
Thanks for any help you or the readers can give me on this. I
always figured the reason it changed must have had something to do with
Billboard's charts somehow.
Bill
No
less an authority than Joel Whitburn told us that he dedicated the distinction
of the start of The Rock And Roll Era with "Rock Around The Clock"
hitting #1 on the Billboard Chart. (This,
of course, predates their Hot 100 Chart that has been the focus of so much
discussion of late.)
Of
course there is no absolute defined “start date” of rock and roll … it evolved
over time, the hybrid of all that came before it in the way of pop, rhythm and
blues and country. (If you’re going to
pick a date, then “Rock Around The Clock” hitting #1 is as good as any … things
certainly changed worldwide after that.)
But
we all know that tracks like “Shake, Rattle And Roll” and “Good Rockin’
Tonight” and “Rocket 88” and others like “That’s All-Right, Mama” by Elvis
(which was never really what one would consider a chart success but absolutely
launched his career and put him on the map, at least in terms of the country
charts) were among the earliest examples.
(Other R&B hits from ’54 and ’55 of note include “Gee” by The Crows,
“Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight” by The Spaniels, “Sh-Boom” by The Chords,
“Hearts Of Stone” by The Charms, “Work With Me Annie” by The Midnighters,
“Sincerely” by The Moonglows, “Earth Angel” by The Penguins, “I Got A Woman” by
Ray Charles, “At My Front Door” by The El Dorados, “Smokey Joe’s Café” by The
Robins, “Only You” by The Platters, “Bo Diddley” by Bo Diddley, “Ain’t It A
Shame” by Fats Domino, “I Hear You Knockin’” by Smiley Lewis, “Maybelline” by
Chuck Berry (whose original lyric to “Johnny B. Goode” said “My, but that
little COLORED boy could play”) and “Tutti Frutti” by Little Richard, many of
which were covered by white artists, which allowed them to gain airplay and be welcomed
into people’s hearts and homes at a time when many still called music produced
by black artists as “Race Music.” (If
I’m not mistaken, at some point in time before Billboard launched their R&B
[Rhythm and Blues] Chart, a phrase coined by Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records,
they actually had a chart CALLED the Race Music Chart!)
We
give things a little leeway here in Forgotten Hits. If the Rock Era began in 1955 with the
success of “Rock Around The Clock,” we also acknowledge some of the other
R&B track that helped rock and roll music develop and grow that came prior
to that date.
Remember
… everything influenced everybody … where would Elvis had gotten “Hound Dog” (a
#1 Hit for eleven weeks) were it not for Big Mama Thornton??? Elvis begat The Beatles … The Beatles
launched Garage Rock (and four piece combos) from coast to coast. James Brown and Jackie Wilson inspired
Michael Jackson … it’s all relative … but without one, you wouldn’t get the
other. (kk)
