Thursday, August 8, 2019

THURSDAY THIS AND THAT

UH-OH!   VOTERS FOUND A PROBLEM WITH BALLOT #33 …
AND THEY’RE NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT!   

MAJOR OMISSION - RUNAWAY BY DEL SHANNON!!!
RON LANGE 
Can you believe it wasn’t nominated?!?!  Unreal!  (A GLARING omission for sure.)  kk   

Here are my votes for Ballot #33:
#1 Runaway - Del Shannon
#2 Rock Me – Steppenwolf
#3 Rock This Town - Stray Cats
#4 Rock'n' Me - Steve Miller Band
#5 Ruby Tuesday - Rolling Stones
#6 Rockin' All Over the World - John Fogerty
#7 Rock & Roll Band – Boston
#8 Rock & Roll Never Forgets - Bob Seger
#9 Running On Empty - Jackson Browne
#10 Runnin’ Down a Dream - Tom Petty
End of day 33 with a Note: I am assuming that Del's version of Runaway was nominated and was a mistake in its missing listing.  If I am wrong, I leave vote #1 empty in protest!
Keith Brodkorb
I think most everyone out there would agree that Del Shannon’s “Runaway” belongs on this list … but this puts me in a difficult position.
By the time I sorted thru all of the Ballot #33 votes, I found that I had received a total of 39 emails DEMANDING that “Runaway” be added to the list … insisting that it MUST have been an oversight on my part.
The explanation (simple and unsatisfying as it may be) is the cold hard fact that EVERY single person out there reading this had the same opportunity to nominate this song and yet NOBODY did.
I can’t really run a “By a show of hands, how many of you out there think that ‘Runaway’ by Del Shannon belongs on the list?”, as that wouldn’t be fair to the other titles that weren’t offered up for an onslaught of votes.  (Is there anybody out there who thinks it DOESN’T belong on the list?!?!)
So I’ve come up with a possible solution.
I will take the first five answers to this question:
“I think ‘RUNAWAY’ by Del Shannon deserves at least the same number of votes as (fill in the blank)”. 
You’ve all seen the first 33 ballots … so you have a pretty good idea as to the songs that’ll make the final list … and what great titles (S-Z) are still to come.  Let me hear where you think this song should rank amongst the others.
I will then take the average number of points earned to date for the five titles suggested by our readers and then award those same number of votes to “Runaway” and add it to the list.
But this is it … this is your last and ONLY shot at adding a title to the tally.
So answer quickly, faithful followers, as only the first five suggestions will be allowed.  (kk)

And, while we’re on the topic of Classic Rock Radio, hearty congratulations to The Drive (97.1 FM, WDRV), who are now the #1 Radio Station overall here in Chicago (with jocks Bob Stroud and Seaver and Janda also winning their respective time slots)
The station first signed on the air eighteen years ago and has had fluctuating ratings over the course of time … but this is the FIRST time they’ve ever hit #1 overall in the ratings.  (Many feel much of this can be attributed to the demise of The Loop, Chicago’s other long-standing Classic Rock Station that flipped to a Contemporary Christian format several months back.  I, of course, prefer to think that at least SOME of this increase in listenership has to be the result of all the favorable mentions the station has received here in Forgotten Hits!  Lol)
Anyway, congratulations to the whole gang at WDRV, many of whom ARE, in fact, Forgotten Hits Readers.  Great to see that all this talent is FINALLY being recognized in the ratings book!  (kk)     

THE NEW COLONY SIX:
Kent –
I thought I would give you a quick review of the concert in Addison, Illinois with the New Colony 6 and Jimy  Sohns.
I loved the opening Shadows Show! Jimy still has his problems on stage due to his stroke and had to take several breaks ... but hell, half a Jimy is better than no Jimy!  The guy gives his all! But the REAL surprise was a group called the Michael Weber band backing him up. Remember that name! These young turks (could be my grandkids!) brought an energy to the Shadows songs I have not seen in a long time.  Wow!
Then came a very emotional moment for myself as I have been a diehard NC6 fan for ages!
I see Ray on stage, sitting. I thought, Oh God … What is wrong.
From my vantage point, it was hard to see everything. After a few songs, Ray told us what happened.
If I understood correctly, the doctors thought he may have a brain aneurism ... but it sounds like he received a clean bill of health.
I know he reads your web site, so any clarification and more exact info from Ray is appreciated. I am not noisy, but more concerned.
As always, Ray, Bruce, Greg, Bill, Rick, Greg and Mike gave a great show. A great mix of their tunes (although I would love a melody of more of their ballads) plus the music of the Raiders and the Chicago groups we know and love.
Once again, I certainly hope Ray is completely healthy.  We need him and Jimy more than ever.
I will always champion my hometown heroes and we are so fortunate to still hear them LIVE!
Mike De Martino 

Kent,
My wife Barbara and I took a little two day trip from our suburban Milwaukee home to the Chicago area for the primary purpose of catching the New Colony Six in Addison on Thursday evening with Jimmy Sohns and a great back-up group as openers. Jimmy and the current Shadows of Knight put on a hard-driving 55 minute show, featuring garage band rock and no ballads. Jimmy was in good form but the unannounced “star” of the show was his guitarist Mike Weber. Weber is a 21-year-old ball of fire from Akron, Ohio who, I have now discovered, is developing a wide reputation as a “shred guitarist” after winning the “Amazingest” contest on MTV. Backing Sohns, Weber was non-stop energy and impressive guitar playing. Giving Sohns a mid-concert rest, Weber also sang one song and displayed a good singing voice.
The New Colony Six did their usual great job on their own hits, a medley of other Chicago group hits, and several other covers. Ray Graffia started the concert sitting on a stool and, after the first song, explained why.
Ray stated he has not been doing well lately and saw his doctor that day. Thankfully, a suspected brain aneurism was ruled out, but Ray said he was feeling quite weak and his very presence at the show had been in doubt. Happily, Ray only spent the first few songs … and songs he was not singing … seated, and his singing voice was fine. Ray is such a great guy and Bruce Mattey is such a pro.
The large crowd seemed to thoroughly enjoy both groups and we left glad we had made the trek to be there. We have been coming down to Chicagoland for years to see the Cornerstones acts at community fests in the area. Sadly, these events have increasingly featured local acts.
I still have a few upcoming events on our calendar this summer, including a Cryan’ Shames concert August 20th in Hillside and a couple of Ides appearances.
Bob Verbos
New Berlin, WI
We received letters of concern from several Forgotten Hits Readers who were at The New Colony Six show in Addison last Thursday Night.  (We had every intention of going but once again real life got in the way of the fun stuff and I ended up working a 14 ½ shift that day, not getting out of work till nearly 9:30 that evening!)
From what I’ve heard across the boards, it was a GREAT show, with The Colony (and opening act Jimy Sohns and The Shadows Of Knight … or would that be The Michael Weber Band???) playing to a packed house in what turned out to be VERY nice weather.  (Chicago has been experiencing a series of EXTREMES this year for some reason in the way of Hot and Cold … but Thursday Night was actually a BEAUTIFUL night to sit outside and listen to music … which it sounds like a TON of you did!) Throughout the evening I received numerous texts and emails asking if I was there and where they might find me … but, sad to say, I missed the show.
That being said, I didn’t want to comment on anything until I had the chance to speak with Ray Graffia, Jr. myself, which I did Monday Night.
Ray told me that he hasn’t been feeling “just quite right” for about 90 days now … some days worse than others … and wasn’t even sure if he could perform that night, so opted to start the show sitting down, not taking to standing until later in the show (and even then, without the usual prancing about the stage that is typical of a New Colony Six show.)
He didn’t want to let the fans down and, knowing this was the last NC6 event scheduled for the year (save November’s appearance at the Cornerstones show at The Arcada), he didn’t want to miss it.  Certainly, the adrenaline of performing in front of such a large audience had to make him feel a whole lot better, even if it was masking whatever it was that was truly bothering him on the inside.
When he got home that night after the concert, he was getting a few things ready for work the next day when he literally fell … and couldn’t get up.  His wife Bonnie told him that he had to find out what all of this was and got him to the hospital by ambulance, which is where he still was four days later when I spoke to him Monday night.
They’ve been running a series of tests ever since, ruling out several things that it ISN’T (such as the brain aneurysm that both Mike and Bob alluded to above) while trying to zero in on what it IS so that they can treat it accordingly.  He sounded weak but optimistic and in relatively good spirits considering the situation.
His message to the fans is that “The road is not wide open and bump free right now.  There are still two or three bumps in the road that we have to get over … but I have every intention of getting through all of this, getting better and performing at the Cornerstones show in November.”
The Cornerstones Crew have gone thru some rough patches of late … PBS performers Gary Loizzo of The American Breed and Skip Haynes of Alliotta, Haynes and Jeremiah have both passed on since that program was taped and aired … Front men Jimy Sohns of The Shadows Of Knight and Jimmy Pilster (Hooke) of The Cryan’ Shames have both experienced strokes in recent years (but are back up and performing again … I’m telling you, rock and roll keeps you young!) and now Ray Graffia, Jr. of the New Colony Six has his own battle to win.
I cannot believe that I haven’t been to a Cornerstones in over two years!!!  For a while there, I was going to every single one!  So I sure don’t want to miss this one … a chance to visit again with our local heroes who made the music scene here in Chicago so exciting in the ‘60’s and early ‘70’s.
If you’ve never seen the show, this is one you don’t want to miss … Saturday, November 26th, at The Arcada Theatre in St. Charles.  See you there!  (kk)

And, speaking of the local guys …

THE IDES OF MARCH:
I've been going to the Ides’ live performances since I was 16 years old in high school. You can still watch them play at the Morton East Auditorium and in the Morton West gymnasium. I photographed them for the school newspaper. Yes, you can say I'm an extreme fan  Great article. Thanks for the opportunity to win their new cd.
Mel H
I am also a Morton West Alum (Class of ’71) and saw The Ides perform there MANY times over the years (including what was then billed as their “farewell concert” … how cool that they decided to do it there, where it all began for them in 1966!)
Have seen them many, many times since (includes several times this year already) and I swear they just get better and better each time.  Amazing!
Your name has officially been thrown in the hat.  We’ll be picking the winners later this week and mailing out the cd’s on Monday.  Good Luck!  (kk)

I prefer vinyl, but CD is acceptable.
BTW, which track is the "single"?
Jeff Watz
The one I posted the video for ... "Friends Like You" ... it's awesome.
The album IS available in vinyl ... but we only have CD copies to give away.
Good Luck!  (kk)
We’re accepting entries thru noon tomorrow … and will pick the five winners over the weekend.  (Actually, Jim Peterik will have a hand in that.  This is one of the best responses we’ve EVER had to a Forgotten Hits give-away … so he will randomly be picking five numbers which will then be assigned to all of the scrambled entries received.  The plan is to mail all of the CD’s on Monday … so you truly will have it before you can buy it!) 
Thanks again to Jim Peterik and The Ides Of March for their ongoing generosity and support of Forgotten Hits.  (kk)

Once Upon A Time … In Hollywood:
Got this from our FH Buddy Barry Winslow of The Royal Guardsmen …
Hi Kent,
I still don't know how you keep going, my friend ... but I'd sure like a sip of whatever that is ... LOL!  Smashing job, Bro.
I haven't seen the flick yet but I guess Snoopy and DiCaprio did a duet in one scene ... hope it was good.  We're quite honored to have the song included.
Try to find a little rest somewhere, Amigo!
Take care and be safe.
Bless ya
Barry
The scene featuring Leonardo DiCaprio floating in the pool while listening to “Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron” is one of the more amusing bits in the movie … you’ll totally dig it!  (Too bad the song didn’t make the soundtrack … but then again you guys probably aren’t making money on any of that anymore anyway, right?!?!  SO many artists got used and abused in the music business!  They created the music and somebody else received the profits.)
Still, it IS cool to know that your music is still making its mark some 50 years after it was recorded.  The hope (and MY purpose here) is that a new generation of music lovers will discover it and want to hear more.  (kk)

I’m not a fan of Quentin Tarantino, but I enjoy his movies well enough. "Hollywood" is no exception as I recall those special good times and fond memories.  
As for the list of songs, I see no mention of one of my favorite songs, "Beep Beep" by the Playmates. I agree with the opinion that Chris Farlowe's version of "Out Of Time" should have been the one used in the film.  
Another element Quentin left out, probably because he never experienced it, was this guy named Gypsy Boots. He would drive this old piece of shit bus filled with trim up and down the strip. It was painted with all the hippie stuff of the period … flowers, peace signs, etc.  He was a fixture and I'm sure he and Charley ran into each other.  One funny thing about him I'll never forget, is when I attended a concert at the Whiskey with The Buffalo Springfield and The Doors.  
As was common during a Doors song, Jim had his back to the crowd when Gypsy leapt on stage and was dancing his hypnotic gyrations, when Jim turned around and violently shoved him off the stage onto the tables below. The stage was high enough and Gypsy was high on acid (I guess) because he didn't skip a beat.
Do not mess with Jim's show … it was funny as shit!
Alex Valdez
Hmm … sounds a bit like Chicago’s own Danzman!  (lol)
The film captures the essence and the look of Hollywood, 1969 … but Tarantino would have been all of six years old that year … so how much could he POSSIBLY remember???  (I turned 16 that summer and remember following the story with morbid fascination, reading up on it in much greater detail years later.)  Truth is, Sharon Tate was HARDLY an A-List, in-demand actress at the time … barely a blip on the radar of what was really happening … but it was still the idea that such a gruesome crime could be committed in the valley of peace and love that made it all the more shocking.  (Then again, I remember being irrationally scared shitless that Richard Speck was roaming the streets of Chicago after murdering eight student nurses two years earlier so who knows what goes thru the mind of an impressionable, creative child!)  kk

Much more from Harvey Kubernik on the “Hollywood” soundtrack … and “Out Of Time” in particular …

>>>Interesting to note that they refer to the film using “The Rolling Stones’ original version” of the song “Out Of Time” … which really isn’t true.  Instead of the original from 1967 (one of my all-time favorites), which probably would have fit the timeline of the film a whole lot better, they used instead the far-inferior orchestrated version that appeared on the “Metamorphosis” album, which was released as a single by Allen B. Klein as a means of cashing in on The Stones’ catalog in 1975 after they formed their own record company, Rolling Stone Records.  (Again, something that just doesn’t fit into the timeline presented in the film and the events of 1969.)  kk

Hello Kent: 
Just back from seeing this movie.  
I first encountered Quentin Tarantino circa 1987 at the video store he was working in, then chatted with him around 1989 at the Club Lingerie in Hollywood when comedian and monologist Rudy Ray Moore performed. I had arranged a radio interview for Rudy on KPCC-FM in Pasadena and drove him to the venue from the Hotel Dunbar in downtown Los Angeles.  
Haven't talked to Tarantino this century, last was sitting with him at museum in L.A. film tribute to director/producer Roger Corman. Loved his soundtracks to "Pulp Fiction" and "Jackie Brown," and will always give him kudos for licensing my neighbor Bobby Womack's "Across 110th Street" for the front and back end screen credits to "Jackie Brown."  
Thought you might like to read some background about the Rolling Stones' "Out of Time" heard in QT's latest film but not on the retail soundtrack. 
Best, 
Harvey Kubernik 

QUENTIN TARANTINO’S ONCE UPON A TIME … IN HOLLYWOOD SOUNDTRACK  The Rolling Stones "Out Of Time" 
By Harvey Kubernik © 2019
Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood showcases 1969 Los Angeles and planet Hollywood. 
Highly effective on screen and the soundtrack are era-specific deejay intros from famed KHJ radio personalities The Real Don Steele and Humble Harve dovetailing product advertisements and weather reports from 1969.
There are several recordings broadcast in the movie but not incorporated in the soundtrack:  Aretha Franklin’s “The House that Jack Built,” Otis Redding’s “I Can’t Turn You Loose,” “Soul Serenade,” courtesy of Willie Mitchell, Billy Stewart’s rendition of “Summertime,” and the potent screen-only inclusion of The Rolling Stones’ “Out of Time.”
The “Out of Time” heard in the movie’s score takes on prophetic significance and is a telling musical sequence foreshadowing the celluloid tale’s murderous task ending. The initial media announcement earlier in 2019 of the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood soundtrack album had listed the addition of the Rolling Stones’ “Out of Time” culled from the epochal Stones’ Aftermath UK edition, cut in Hollywood at RCA Studios in 1966, produced by their manager and liner note flapsmith, Andrew Loog Oldham.  An edited version also appears on the Stones’ 1967 album Flowers.  
The actual “Out of Time” eventually implemented in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is from their Metamorphosis compilation album of 1964 - 1970 outtakes, tracks and alternate versions, produced by Andrew Loog Oldham and Jimmy Miller, issued in June 1975 by ABKCO Records.
This “Out of Time,” was done in England at Pye Studios April 27 - 30, 1966, produced by Mick Jagger for Oldham, featuring singer Chris Farlowe, for which Jagger recorded a reference vocal for the artist he was producing on a backing track comprised of English session musicians including guitarists Jimmy Page and Big Jim Sullivan, and overdubbed horn section assembled from the Ronnie Scott jazz club bandstand.  
The result featuring Chris Farlowe was a number one UK hit single for Oldham’s Immediate Records label.
In July of 2018, I interviewed Andrew Loog Oldham and he reminisced about both his “Out of Time” studio endeavors.  
In one of my dreams that did not come true, Mick and Keith and I were gonna be Holland-Dozier-Holland for Immediate. That was the original idea. But it didn’t work out. Everybody got extra busy, whatever. But that was one of the original thoughts behind it. Mick did a wonderful job on Chris Farlowe’s ‘Out of Time’ and his album. Expensive. 12, 000 pounds. A lot of money then. The price of a Rolls Royce Phantom V.
“It was also Mick’s first production with me for my label Immediate. The only reason Mick, Keith and I started to produce together was that we like to do things the Beatles hadn’t done.
“There came a settlement between the Rolling Stones and Allen Klein in the early seventies that I didn’t know much about. 1973 or ’74.  I was living in Paris with my wife Esther. We got together with Mick and Bianca. Mick was meant to be settling with Allen Klein. Mick was gonna deliver great tracks and stuff that would make a great last album of the deal between the Stones and ABKCO. And then Mick and I were supposed to get together in New York to mix it and this was the album that would become Metamorphosis.
 “I was not privy to what was going on. But Mick obviously changed his mind and delivered a bunch of lesser stuff to Allen Klein. It was just abysmal.
“In an attempt to not only rescue the album but make it complete, a full album, when I used to do Andrew Loog Oldham Orchestra recording sessions for Decca, when say 2 hours and 10 minutes was gone out of the 3 hours allotted, I would have done the tracks, whether it be a Four Seasons album, Beach Boys, Rolling Stones' songbook, and I would have 50 minutes left with, you know, 16 musicians. Which included Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and I would then record anything I wanted, something new I was working on, or more often than not, doing elaborate demos of songs that Mick and Keith had written. So that makes up five or 6 things that are on side one of Metamorphosis. The Rolling Stones are not playing on them. It’s just Mick and Keith doing some vocals. Same is true of ‘Out of Time.’
“Then I remembered that Mick had done a reference vocal for Chris Farlowe for ‘Out of Time.’ So I let Allen have it for Metamorphosis ‘cause we needed a decent song. I mixed that and added a lot of people from Connecticut, bass players and background vocals that I used on a Donovan session. Same year. And that went onto the album with the Jimmy Miller-produced ‘I Don’t Know Why.’  
“Stuff they worked on and not bothered to finish. For example, the version of Stevie Wonder’s ‘I Don’t Know Why’ which was recorded on the night Brian Jones died. The ‘I Don’t Know Why’ that they recorded at Olympic, the night that dear Brian died, was like 1:30.  Right?
“When I was putting together Metamorphosis in New York at the Record Plant in 1975, John Lennon was next door. Right? And I borrowed the horn people from Elephant’s Memory. Stan Bronstein. And John Lennon said to me, ‘Use him, man.’ And I just suggested, ‘I want a Jimmy Miller horn section.’ (laughs).
“And they did that on ‘I Don’t Know Why.’ And if you listen to it, Mick Jagger repeats the same verse and chorus three times. I just made it 3:40 with the addition of the horn section and the Connecticut musicians. And Allen Klein’s classic words to me at the time were ‘Don’t worry Andrew. I’ve done the research. You could put shit on a Rolling Stones’ record and it would still sell a quarter of a million in America alone.’   
“As for the Stones’ ‘Out of Time’ in this movie, maybe Quentin Tarantino is so vinyl anal he was familiar with Metamorphosis. Right? Good for him.”   
In a July 26, 2019 story on Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by Armond White in the National Review, contrasts the powerful exhibition of the Rolling Stones’ “Out of Time” off the UK Aftermath in an earlier film from director Hal Ashby, Coming Home, with the “Out of Time” utilized in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.  
“Tarantino’s pop sadism vents the undigested frustration of the juvenile mentality. The hit parade of half-obscure pop tunes is a mere distraction, proof that Tarantino’s understanding of pop music — like his understanding of movies — is far shallower than we imagined. The Mamas and the Papa’s trenchant ‘Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon)’ has been used more felicitously elsewhere, as was The Rolling Stones’ ‘Out of Time,’ which Hal Ashby scored in Coming Home so that it expressed the forgotten romance and regret behind Sixties political anxiety.”  
In a 2004 interview for my book Hollywood Shack Job: Rock Music In Film and on Your Screen, Andrew Loog Oldham was enthusiastic about the placement of his Aftermath master recording from RCA in Coming Home
‘“Out Of Time’ I love. It’s used twice in the Coming Home movie. I do remember, we all have our way of looking at it, survival mode, I am sure I reached Hal Ashby outside the cinema. I got (producer) Lou Adler, who knew him, to connect me. ‘I want you to hear me while I still have a lump in my throat. Great. You just blew me away….’
“Not like I had never been moved. I’ve had a moment that will be with me forever. The double use of ‘Out Of Time’ as a political statement and a love statement was just incredible.
“Hal was on location and I reached him.  If a piece of art has affected you like that either you want the person to see your eyes or the sound of your voice. And I was able to do it.” 
There’ve been a lot of complaints that “Out Of Time” isn’t included on the official film soundtrack CD, especially since it is so prominently featured in such a key scene (and nearly in its entirety in the film.)  
Interesting background.  I first heard this song during the film “Coming Home,” starring Jon Voight and Jane Fonda back in 1978 and it absolutely blew me away.  (“What IS this?!?!” I remember saying out loud in the movie theater!  Lol  I had to find out what it was … and I had to have it!)
Never heard it on the radio back in ’67 … and wasn’t really buying Stones albums at the time … so it was a completely new discovery for me … and I have loved the song ever since (and rank it right up there near the top of my all-time favorite Rolling Stones songs.)
The orchestrated version has always bothered me because it just seems to distract from the essence of the song … although I have mellowed in this regard over the years … I can actually listen to it now without spastic convulsions … and thought it sounded REALLY good in the new Tarantino film.  (I certainly would have preferred this over the Christ Farlowe version … it just doesn’t have the same impact.)  Too bad for me I found myself tuning out the movie to listen to the music … for MOST people, I think it primarily works the other way around!  (kk)   

MONEY BURNING A HOLE IN YOUR POCKET?: 
From Diane Diekman’s Country Music Newsletter (by way of Variety): 
The Beverly Hillbillies mansion is for sale. Variety reports the Chartwell Estate in the Los Angeles suburb of Bel Air, California, is on the market for $195 million, a $50 million drop from last year's asking price of $245 million. 
Featuring 11 bedrooms and 18 bathrooms, the 20,000-square-foot French Neoclassical limestone chateau was built by architect Sumner Spaulding in the early 1930s. The late billionaire Jerry Perenchio, a talent agent who became chairman and CEO of the Spanish TV conglomerate Univision, bought the estate in 1986 for $13.5 million and added several surrounding properties. 

MADE ME SMILE:
I found this in an old interview that Paul McCartney had done with Francis Wyndham of “London Life” magazine in 1965, just prior to the release of “Rubber Soul.”
In it, Paul looks to the future, saying “The songwriting thing looks the only thing you could do at 60.  I wouldn’t mind being a white-haired old man writing songs … but I’d hate to be a white-haired old Beatle at The Empire Stadium playing for people.”
77 year old Paul is still doing both.  (Kinda like Mick Jagger saying that he wouldn’t want to be prancing around the stage singing “Satisfaction” when he’s 40 all those years ago!)  kk