Tuesday This And That

Kent,

As the winner of the Jim Peterik & World Stage “Winds Of Change” cd in the recent Forgotten Hits giveaway, I would like to give everyone a few of my thoughts about this really excellent cd. 

As Jim does in his annual World Stage concerts, this cd has a number of well-known and some not as well-known guests to share the spotlight.  Each of the 12 tracks has a different guest singer. 

The songs all are great rockers or great power ballads.  The hooks are there in each song that pull you in and you can’t get them out of your head.   And that’s not a bad thing!  

My favorite tracks right now are “Proof of Heaven” featuring Dennis DeYoung, “The Hand I Was Dealt” featuring Danny Vaughn with a great Mike Aquino guitar solo, and “I Will What I Want” featuring Night Ranger’s Kelly Keagy with a fine organ solo from Eric Levi.  

Highly recommended cd from these classic rockers!!  

Thanks again to Kent and to Jim for this great cd.

Robert Coleman

I, too, found this to be a very enjoyable listening experience.  Some of my immediate favorites were the lead-off track and title track, “Winds Of Change” featuring Don Barnes of .38 Special.  This is a hit song were radio still playing tracks like these.  Unfortunately there’s no home for this as radio just doesn’t have a means to salute “vintage” artists who are still creating great music in this day and age … so we have to rely on good word of mouth to get the message out there. (Classic Rock Radio won’t play anything new … unless it’s perhaps a new Bruce Springsteen track … so GREAT music like this tend to go unnoticed … and that’s just wrong.  Twenty years ago, .38 Special would have had a Top 20 Hit with this song.)

I also love the Dennis DeYoung track, “Proof Of Heaven” … we premiered the new video for this one a few weeks back … another track that deserves some attention.

And it’s great to hear Jason Scheff’s voice again on “You’re Always There” … he’s been absent from our consciousness for far too long since leaving Chicago … but he’ll be part of that all-star salute to The Beatles’ White Album heading out on tour shortly that we recently told you about.

And how cool is it to hear Matthew and Gunnar Nelson singing a contemporary rock song again!!!  These are two of the most talented artists out there who just never found their nitch ... and that's a shame because they can do it all ... SO much more than the tribute to their father that’s been touring for the past twenty years or so now.  Two VERY talented young men with incredible skills.

And finally, Jimi Jamison, Jim Peterik’s old cohort from Survivor, has never sounded better than he does on the album’s closing track, “Love You All Over The World.”

This is a VERY solid CD from start to finish (and it had to be tough narrowing it down to just twelve tracks as I believe several other tracks were also recorded for this project that didn’t make the cut, featuring other big name guest vocalists.)

Highly recommended … by not only me and Robert, but by everyone else who’s heard it.  (Check out the reviews on Amazon … outstanding praise across the boards!)  kk

Kent,

Am I the only guy who listens to AM 750 WNDZ radio out of Portage, IN?

WNDZ is a 15000 watt station that features a myriad of English-language and foreign-language programming but plays commercial-free oldies music on weekend mornings. The music tends to be on the “softer” side from the 60s to the 80s, and almost totally free of the same old music heard on other stations. Chicago groups are occasionally included, like New Colony 6, Cryan’ Shames, and one of your favorites, “Lake Shore Drive.”

I’m in a southwest suburb of Milwaukee and am able to listen on my portable radio (often in bed!). On Sundays, the music seems to be on pre-8am and today (Saturday), I listened from 9 to 10am, when a golf show came on.

Bob Verbos

New Berlin, WI      

Detroit Music Legend MITCH RYDER Reimagines 14 Soul & Rock Classics With The Help Of An All-Star Cast Of Friends!

Featuring guest appearances by Cherie Currie, James Williamson, Wayne Kramer, Brian Auger, Sylvain Sylvain, Walter Lure, Arthur Adams, Big Joe Louis & others! 

After wowing audiences with a rollicking Christmas-themed release at the close of 2018, the icon of Detroit rock and soul, Mitch Ryder, returns with this superb collection of all-new recordings - Detroit Breakout! The album celebrates both the music of Detroit as well as the classic, timeless songs of Ryder’s generation. From a smokin’ new version of Ryder’s own blockbuster hit single “Devil With A Blue Dress On” to The Capitols’ “Cool Jerk” to Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay, Detroit Breakout! has something for every true rock n’ roller including special guest performances by fellow Motor City alumni James Williamson of The Stooges and Wayne Kramer of MC5 as well as blues legends Joe Louis Walker and Arthur Adams PLUS the New York Dolls' Sylvain Sylvain, The Runaways' Cherie Currie, daughter of B.B. King, Shirley King and more!

Many of the guests who contributed to the project sang the praises of both Ryder and the project as a whole: 

“I love Mitch Ryder and I love ‘Devil With A Blue Dress On.’ Always one of my favorite songs. I had fun playing on the track. The finished version with Mitch sounds really current. Wow…just killer!" - James Williamson (The Stooges) 

“I’ve been smitten with Mitch Ryder since I first heard ‘Devil With A Blue Dress On.’ When asked if I’d like to back this legend? Heck! I’ve worked all my life for this!” - Cherie Currie (The Runaways) 

“[Mitch Ryder] is among the greatest soul singers of our generation and the opportunity to play guitar on his version of ‘Cool Jerk’ is a distinct honor for me. It's one of the greatest songs in recording history. Perfect in every way. I count this as a high-point in my career.” - Wayne Kramer (The MC5) 

“‘Dirty Water’ is such a garage classic. It’s the kind of music I’d listen to all the time as a kid and played in my earliest bands. Mitch’s vocals kicked ass and I really like how my guitar part turned out. I could play this kind of music all day long.” - Sylvain Sylvain (New York Dolls)

“It’s always a dream come true when you get an opportunity to be part of a project with one of your heroes!! I find myself in that situation, performing with Mitch Ryder.” - Joe Louis Walker

“This has been an incredible experience for me. Mitch Ryder was one of my favorite singers/bands growing up and he greatly influenced my tastes in music His songs were almost Punk before it ever existed. I feel incredibly lucky just to be a small part of his new album and I love it that he’s still doing this stuff to this day. He’s even older than me and still at it. Hope it lasts forever!” - Walter Lure (Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers)

“I felt absolutely chuffed to be asked to play on Mitch Ryders’ cover of ‘Have Love Will Travel.’ Upon listening to his awesome vocals, I was truly inspired to get my amp up to Warp 16 and let ‘er rip—so much FUN. Thanks for having me on board, Mitch!” - Paul Rudolph (The Pink Fairies / Hawkwind) 

Detroit Breakout! will be available everywhere starting June 14 on CD in a special digipak, on a limited edition RED vinyl pressing, and on digital!

Track List:

 1. Devil With A Blue Dress feat. James Williamson

 2. Cool Jerk feat. Wayne Kramer & Brian Auger

 3. Dirty Water feat. Sylvain Sylvain

 4. Turn Back The Hands Of Time feat. Shirley King

 5. Have Love, Will Travel feat. Paul Rudolph

 6. (I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone feat. Walter Lure

 7. Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream) feat. Cherie Currie

 8. (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay feat. Arthur Adams

 9. Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) feat. Lee Oskar

10. Bad, Bad Leroy Brown feat. Joe Louis Walker

11. You Send Me feat. Linda Gail Lewis

12. Twistin’ The Night Away feat. Joe Louis Walker

13. If I Had A Hammer feat. Linda Gail Lewis

14. Shout feat. Linda Gail Lewis
 

Buy the CD: https://cleorecs.com/store/shop/mitch-ryder-detroit-breakout-cd/
Buy the vinyl: https://cleorecs.com/store/shop/mitch-ryder-detroit-breakout-limited-edition-red-vinyl/
Download/stream: https://orcd.co/detroitbreakout

Robert Feder ran this blurb in his column last Friday, the 14^th …

It contains the first public statement made by the woman who was driving the car in which Chet Coppock was killed several weeks ago … 

The woman who was driving the 2004 Lexus in which Chet was riding released her first public statement on the incident.

Amy Louise Williams, 50, a former Chicago TV producer who now lives in Charleston, South Carolina, wrote in a Facebook post Saturday that she was still recovering from her injuries.
Here is the text of her post:
It’s been almost three months since my dear friend Chet Coppock and I were in a car accident together near Savannah, Georgia, [on] April 6.
Sadly, Chet passed away in the same hospital as I was in.
I’m still here, and will most likely be hospitalized for another four to six weeks due to two broken legs, two broken femurs, four broken ribs, a broken arm, and most importantly a broken heart.
I knew Chet for over 20 years, and we always found a way to communicate every week somehow.
I miss him terribly.
If you were lucky enough to have known him, I’m sure he would say now to the world, PLEASE WEAR YOUR SEATBELT!!!!
CHET COPPOCK, please rest in peace, I love you.

It was weird to see the song at #40 on this week's Top 40 survey from 1969 - "The Minotaur" by Dick Hyman, a veteran keyboard man, who was most likely the first artist to have a chart record using a Moog Synthesizer.  Very rare for that time ... the next one that comes to my mind was "Lucky Man" in 1972, I believe, which  was also a big first work for Emerson, Lake and Palmer.  The "Switched-on Bach" LP that hit about the same time as "Minotaur" (1969) really gave the Moog a huge push into the pop music arena.
Mike Wolstein   

HERE IS A STATEMENT ON THE PASSING OF ‘BANDSTAND’ CREATOR LEW KLEIN WRITTEN BY KAL RUDMAN, LIFELONG FRIEND, FELLOW BROADCAST PIONEER, AND PHILANTHROPY PARTNER

Kal Rudman, fellow Philadelphia broadcast pioneer, philanthropy partner, and publisher of the influential music industry trade Friday Morning Quarterback, issued the following statement on the passing of his lifelong friend and mentor, Lew Klein, whom Rudman credits for launching his career when they were both teenagers in the 1940s, a decade before Klein did the same for a young Dick Clark on American Bandstand.

“Lew Klein was beyond the word ‘Legend,’” said Rudman. “We’ve shared so many things and commonalities over our 75-year friendship, including our philanthropic vision as broadcasters, and to see it culminate in our joint philanthropy effort with the students at our beloved Temple University, and its TV station, TUTV, is a beautiful, and fitting end to our incredible journey together over these many decades.”

Temple University's (Lew) Klein College recently presented its first Klein College Tribute Award to Rudman, a fellow Temple graduate, in recognition of his significant contributions to the college, creating a number of programs that provide students with significant experiences in television through TUTV, the student station. And in 2011, Rudman was named to the Klein College Alumni Hall of Fame as a distinguished alumnus whose achievements bring honor to the Klein College of Media and Communication at Temple University.

“I met Lew Klein when I was 15 years old and he was 17,” Rudman recalled. “My dream in 1947 was to be a radio announcer. Lew, with help from his father, had his own radio sports show on the powerful WPEN Philadelphia. I would go there and hang around in what was Heaven for me. One day Lew came out of the studio, saw me, and asked ‘What are you doing right now?’ I replied, ‘Nuttin’.’ He responded, ‘You’ll follow me.’ And he walked me to Broad Street, and we took an elevator, and we were at the powerhouse radio station, WFIL, the ABC Network. My jaw dropped. And we walked into the studio and the radio show on live was the incredibly infamous Eddie Fisher. I saw Lew walk over to the director and speak into his ear. The next thing I knew, Lew came back to me and said, ‘It’s all set, Solomon. You’re going on this radio show. In the quiz portion. I was ready to faint.’ I won the quiz show, and my prize was six pairs of beautiful socks.”

Rudman remained close with Klein while ascending through the broadcasting ranks, from his first job at WCAM in Camden, NJ, through his multiple appearances as a music industry expert on The Merv Griffin Show, The Today Show and The Tomorrow Show. They also shared philanthropic efforts together with the Police Athletic League, among others.