Monday, December 23, 2019

Just Another Manic Monday ...


… as we get ready for the holidays.

No new postings on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day (other than our holiday greetings to all) …
But we kick off a flurry of posts to cap off the year (and our on-going salute to 1969), beginning on Thursday, December 26th … and running straight thru to January 5th (so far!) 

So please make plans to join us then … and throughout 2020!

Meanwhile, we got this from Mark Lindsay’s wife Deb after she read Rich Turner’s concert review of Mark’s show down in Clearwater, Florida …

Thanks, Kent!
But Mark never has and never would use auto tune. He has perfect pitch and does vocal exercises 365 days a year for at least an hour a day ... unlike some artists, he does it the old-fashioned way ... talent and practice.
Regards,
Deb

I don't want to sound rude, but 'Start Me Up'!!! Top Ten???
Wow, you lost me there, Kent!
The Stones got redundant and boring after the mid-70's, and this coming from a youngster who started buying them way before 'Satisfaction'!
I just sold 1500 old LP's, but kept the first two Stones albums.
Yep - I love the old Stones!!
Keep up the wonderful work keeping our 'old' music in the ears of new listeners - and us old listeners!
Owen Mahon
Lewisburg, PA

Remember … not my call where everything finished … this list was left entirely up to the classic rock music fans out there (with airplay and downloads factored into the mix.)
I always looked at “Start Me Up” as a bit of a “comeback” record for The Stones in the sense that it returned them to that classic opening guitar riff that set them apart from all of the other bands over the years.  (After “Brown Sugar” in 1971, we got ballads like “Angie” and “Fool To Cry” and “Miss You,” which was damn near disco … “Start Me Up” represented a return to their old rockin’ sound again … and I loved it.  (As I recall, they had the basic track in the can for years but didn’t finally getting around to finishing it until a new album was needed.)
There are still a couple more great Stones tracks coming up in The Top Eight … so stay tuned!  (kk)

Checked out latest in the countdown.  Of the two songs that get played endlessly on classic rock or anywhere, two that I never tire of are "Satisfaction" (which I THINK must still be coming up) and "Dream On" at #9. 
The biggest surprise in The top 60 or so for me is "Already Gone."  It wasn't a huge hit and altho it gets played some on stations, I just am amazed by its high status here.  Maybe it is the "anti-Eagles hits" methodology that I go thru with many bands like the Eagles and Journey and ELO.  I REALLY don't care to hear "Hotel Cal," "Don't Stop Believing'" (Wow, amazed it was so low) or "Evil Woman."  I'd much prefer hearing some of the lesser played tracks by these bands.  It's not that many of us dislike the songs, we just tire of them all the time when so many others should get same play.  It's like when oldies stations became popular in the 80's and we heard the Supremes nonstop.  NOW, I never hear them and it is a breath of fresh air hearing those classics again.
Clark Besch

That’s been our biggest beef over the twenty years of doing Forgotten Hits.  Radio has ruined songs that we absolutely LOVED thanks to over-saturation and repeated airplay.  There are certain artists I can’t even listen to anymore as a result of this … and these were songs and artists that were among my favorites.
Yet I have also found that if I turned off “Jack And Diane” or “Night Moves” or “Brown Eyed Girl” every time it came on for a couple of years, it became a pleasure hearing them again … in moderation.  The love for the music is still there … but these short 250-300 song play lists have made listening to some of it insufferable. (kk)


kk …
I'm saving up to play your countdown in the JUKEBOX.  Can you lend me a few $100?
The Rolling Stones seem to be beating the Beatles.   Or am I wrong?
Frank B
The Beatles had more total songs ... but The Rolling Stones kicked ass on the top end, earning FIVE of the Top 13 spots to The Beatles' two Top 20's ...
Without question, it was The Rolling Stones who dominated the top end of our survey, even surpassing many of the obvious classic rock favorites like Led Zeppelin, Queen, Aerosmith, The Who and The Eagles. 
Radio airplay may not reflect it ... but The Stones were the hands-down favorites once we hit the nitty gritty part of the countdown.  (kk)
 

There was a possibly a 'blink-and-you'll-miss-it' moment in the first ten
minutes of the Kennedy Center Honors show … an apparent visual cheap shot by someone against Linda Ronstadt.
Variety originally broke the story of a photo of her (still very cute) album cover from "Living In The U.S.A.," digitally altered to remove the title, replaced with the words "ROLLERSKATE HOOKER."
It's likely that this part was never shown at the Center during the live ceremony, but added in post-production before its airing on CBS. The network said it would replace the doctored image, but I'd have to go find the online stream of the program to verify if it had been.
Bob Frable
(experiencing a Chicago-esque Arctic blast in Pennsylvania)

Wow, I’d not heard anything about this (nor did I notice it in what had to be a split second photo montage) … but here’s the story Bob is referring to from Variety …

Linda Ronstadt ‘Rollerskate Hooker’ Graphic Slips Into ‘Kennedy Center’ Telecast

By Chris Willman
Of all the plaudits Linda Ronstadt expected to receive when she was bestowed with kudos at the Kennedy Center Honors, “Rollerskate Hooker” was probably not among them. Yet that was one of the captions in a Ronstadt photo montage when CBS broadcast an hour of highlights from the annual Washington, D.C. ceremony Sunday night.
The modified image took the iconic album cover photo of Ronstadt standing in a hallway on a pair of rollerskates — from “Living in the USA,” a No. 1 LP in 1978 — and replaced the album title with the none-too-flattering moniker in question.
As of Tuesday morning, the image was still in the version of the show streaming on the CBS website, but that will quickly change. Now that it’s been brought to light, the errant cover image will be replaced in the master tape as well as the streaming version. The Kennedy Center Honors are produced by CBS and White Cherry Entertainment. CBS has yet to comment on the situation.
Assuming that the vandalized image was probably retrieved in error off the Internet, it’s not clear where anyone involved with supplying resources for the production would have come across it. When Variety did Google searches for the phrase “rollerskate hooker” and for images of Ronstadt on skates after the broadcast, the fake cover in question did not show up in any initial lists of top search results.
Among the eagle-eyed viewers who spotted the bizarre “cover” as it appeared on screen Sunday during Don Henley’s introductory narration was Portland writer and radio host Jeff Rosenberg. “Seriously, #KCHonors?” Rosenberg tweeted. “You let some dumb intern assemble graphics for the #LindaRonstadt tribute, and instead of Living in the USA’s cover, show a meme where someone’s replaced the album title with ‘Rollerskate Hooker’?! #qualitycontrol #sorryLinda #KCDishonor #rollerskatehooker”
Ronstadt being the subject of a Photoshop prank could have been random, but her outspokenness might also have made her a target for trolls, as the singer has rarely been shy about speaking up on social and political issues over the decades.
At a dinner for Kennedy Center honorees Dec. 7, Ronstadt responded to a quip made by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that referenced one of her signature hits:  “As I travel the world, I wonder when will I be loved” Later in the dinner, Ronstadt got up and said, as her sole remarks for the evening, “I’d like to say to Mr. Pompeo, who wonders when he’ll be loved, it’s when he stops enabling Donald Trump.”

Hi, Kent!
When I saw that Christmas cartoon about the air guitar, I decided that I HAD to send this one in.
This roo really knows how to rock!
Happy holidays to you and yours!
Mike Wolstein

 

Here are a few more holiday cartoon funnies, courtesy of the ALWAYS funny Chuck Buell ...


Once Upon a Time in Christmas Fantasy Land Circa the 1960s!  
The Kotals Strolling Chicago’s Magnificent Mile During the Holidays!



You’ll find a very interesting profile of our FH Buddy David Salidor, who handles PR for Micky Dolenz, in this write up we just found …

http://www.digitaljournal.com/entertainment/entertainment/david-salidor-talks-dis-company-micky-dolenz-and-digital-age/article/564018?fbclid=IwAR1w3FkXS_lSQhtUu3xEqcSHVZZKl78KC_tq5QFgdttDUEqnGsiDkaN6t6I

Hi Kent –
I just finished a superbly researched book with a long title: "The History of Rock & Roll, Vol. II, 1964 – 1977 (The Beatles,The Stones & The Rise of Classic Rock" [Ed Ward, 2019].
This highly enjoyable, tightly written book covers the waterfront: most sixties artists (and quite a few Forgotten Hits / Artists), Woodstock and other festivals and the record biz way back then.
The only glaring omission -- no mention of our great Chicago bands (other than Chicago (one paragraph) and H.P. Lovecraft (one-half sentence)!
Still ... highly recommended.
Clive Topol
I haven’t seen or heard about this one … thanks for the info!  (Obviously, Volume I is still available, too.)  kk
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=ed+ward+history+of+rock+and+roll+vol+2&i=stripbooks&crid=12CKDS1G47NDO&sprefix=ed+ward%2Caps%2C175&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_7 

Here's something all you Jack Scott fans out there may find interesting:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/music/article-jack-scott-was-canadian-rock-n-rolls-forgotten-star/

And a great last minute gift idea from Chuck Buell ... 

For Forgotten Hitters who Dream of a White Christmas!
How about a Beatles White Album Cover on a Metal Lunch Box!
Raised Lettering on the Front.


Photo Pictures and Song Titles on the Back like the Album Sleeve.

Metal Latch Closure and Collapsible Plastic Handle.


Carry Lunch anywhere or put it on Display.
9 Inches Wide by 7½ Inches High by 3½ Inches Deep.

Size Suitable to Store CD’s, Cassettes, or Forgotten Hits 45’s.
Number 11221968 on the Front is the Original Album's Release Date.
Genuine, Officially Licensed by Apple Corps.
Limited Edition with its Hand Numbered Certificate of Authenticity.
CB ( which stands for “Chuck BeatleBoyBuell!” )
Cool - and I’m sure very expensive -
But shouldn’t the ad company more appropriately have filled the box with green apples for the photo shoot?
(Not LITTLE green apples, mind you - ‘cause then it would be an OC Smith lunch box)  kk
HA!  I get it!  And it's presently priced at a very reasonable five bucks ... not a vintage box or anything ... brand new product.
CB
It WOULD make a nice display piece.
I actually DO own this lunch box ...

And this one, too!



We told you last week about Me-TV's Sweet 16 Countdowns to determine the 16 Favorite Songs, Movies and TV Shows of the '60's.  ("California Dreamin' won for Best Song ... and "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" for Best Movie.)

Well, now they're down to the last round in order to determine The Best TV Show ... and it's been a neck-and-neck battle between "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Star Trek," who have fallen within just a couple of percentage points between the two.  (They've changed leaders numerous times already ... but as I type the, "Star Trek" has a slight edge.)

With that thought in mind, here are The Top 16 as determined by Me-TV Viewers as they current stand.  (NOTE:  Only positions #1 and #2 are yet to be determined ... all other positions are final):   

 

Kent,
I really enjoyed the Bowzer piece!  Talk about a talented guy - he also plays concert piano and I believe he even writes music.
In 1990, my girlfriend asked if I'd like to go to Beloit Fest, on the Rock River.  She told me who was playing, and I was ready to go in three seconds.  Turns out she was close friends with Jon.  
He put on a great show, doing lots of classic 50s and early 60s tunes.



Afterwards, we met up with him outside his dressing trailer, where I just HAD to do his famous "Bowzer pose" with him.


We met up at the restaurant in the motel where he was staying and chit-chatted for about three hours.  He's a great guy … and very intelligent and talented.
And I don't want to forget his great opening act!   Everyone recognize this gentleman?  One of the greats!


Happy holidays to all!
Mike Wolstein
Although we've communicated numerous times over the years via email, I've never had the pleasure of meeting Jon "Bowzer" Bauman ... I was introduced to the early days of rock and roll thanks to groups like Sha Na Na and films like "American Graffiti" (which you'll also find referenced in one of the emails below.)
I grew up in the '60's during The Beatles / British Invasion era ... and each week brought new trends in music, along with brand new favorite rock and roll artists ... but I grew up too late to enjoy and appreciate the music that started it all.  It was Sha Na Na (who I also saw live in the mid-'70's durin gone of their rare Chicagoland appearances) and the soundtrack to "American Graffiti" (as well as an incredible 4-record '50's album collection that was advertised on TV that soon made its way into my personal collection) that opened this door for me and allowed me to love all this great music that came BEFORE The Beatles hit our shores.
This sounds like an EXCEPTIONALLY fun night!!!  Thanks so much for sharing with our readers.  (Love the Bowzer pose picture, by the way!!!)  kk


>>>How can anyone in the music business not think that TOMMY JAMES qualifies for the ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME  (Carol Ross)

>>>Many people in it wouldn’t know Rock ‘n’ Roll if it reared up and bit their arse.  I’ll state my case (of which I’m certain) … Why the hell is Freddy the great Boom, Boom Cannon not in this shambles of an organization? (Rockin’ Lord Geoff in England)

I agree on BOTH Tommy James and Freddy Boom Boom Cannon.  They are totally different, but BOTH are totally ROCK 'N ROLL thru and thru!  I will give my old buddy Morris Levy a call about this travesty!  He can get some strong arm tactics going on Jon Landow.  Then, I'll call Abigail Beecher and have her give Jon a lesson on the history of RNR!
Clark  Besch

Hi, Kent ...
Funny you should mention Tommy James being snubbed.  Found this in some old stuff I had laying around – coincidence that it's almost exactly 53 years old.
Notice the top entry of biggest selling records.
Mike


Hi there everyone,
First of all, I would like to wish all of you the happiest holidays possible, whatever your beliefs are.  To me, it's a real shame that political correctness has gone so far overboard that nobody dares wish anyone a Merry Christmas anymore. 
When I was growing up, clerks never hesitated to wish me a Merry Christmas as I was leaving their department of their store.  Now, because I might be Jewish or some other religion, and might not believe in Christmas, the best I can hope for is "Happy Holidays" or "Season's Greetings" … and that really is sad to me.
Well, enough about that. 
I want to emphasize first that, while it may seem like I am defending the organization’s decision not to induct Tommy James into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame, I don't feel that I'm doing that at all.  I just hope I am able to give you a slightly different view of things here, which might perhaps help give you a bit more of an understanding of what might be going on here.  I'm not saying it is, but it is a possibility.
Let's face it, rock and roll has been around for a very long time now, although much of society has only enjoyed the last thirty or forty years of this music, if that.  It isn't called rock and roll anymore and hasn't been called that for decades.  Sometime during the mid-sixties, rock and roll was shortened to just rock, and as time has continued passing on, rock historians, many of whom weren't even born yet when the music they are writing about were hits, keep rewriting rock music history and categorizing the music into more and more narrowly defined categories. 
It started with the split between AM and FM stations.  AM rock stations played the top forty, while FM stations played the longer album cuts that might even have some naughty words in them, and weren't suitable for the AM top forty format.  This music heard only on FM stations was first called underground music or psychedelic music if you will. 
Since that original split around 1966 or '67, people have been inventing more and more sharply defined categories of rock music. 
Unfortunately, songs like Hanky Panky, I Think We're Alone Now and Mony Mony have been placed in the bubblegum music category, and for people that grew up on Ted Nugent, Alice Cooper, Led Zeppelin and Lynyrd Skynyrd, they are not going to have much use for bubblegum music.  Sure, it was great for nine to twelve year old girls, but not the kind of music you would want to have to listen to a lot.
Of course, not everything that Tommy James recorded could be placed in the bubblegum music category.  Certainly Crystal Blue Persuasion is a nice ballad, and Crimson And Clover is Tommy's attempt to get into the psychedelic mold of music.  But perhaps because it was so different from his other hits, the people at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame felt that he was just trying too hard to get in a genre of music that didn't fit him, that he didn't really belong in.  In any case, certainly with his great success, Tommy James should be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But I am just looking at the question perhaps from their viewpoint.
This, of course, is by no means the first rock artist that has come up about being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  One artist in particular that caused a really hot debate on Jerry Osbourne's Ask Mr. Music column was Connie Francis.  Now, whether you like her music or not, you have to admit that both Connie Francis and Brenda Lee were real trail blazers in their day, and no other female artists before them had anywhere near the amount of success in such a totally male dominated industry that they did.  And yet, I found some of the responses to this Connie Francis debate very interesting and revealing. 
One person wrote that Connie Francis should NEVER be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because she never recorded any rock music at all ... all of her
songs were pop.  But, back then, she was definitely a singer in the rock and roll field because she was a teenager, and pop songs were recorded by older, more established singers like Kay Starr, Teresa Brewer, Doris Day, Gail Storm, Eddie Fisher, Frankie Laine, Perry Como and the Ames Brothers.
Anyway, obviously the age of the person in question has a lot to do with how they view rock music at any given time in its history.  Of course, Happy Days hasn't done a whole lot to contribute to the early days of rock and roll in a very positive manner.  To avoid the cost of using the original versions on the show, the jukebox on Happy Days always played some bogus cover of the hits they were supposed to be playing. 
I have quite a few friends that lost their interest in rock and roll when the Beach Boys started having hits on the charts because to them, rock and roll was the wonderful harmony heard on doo-wop tunes, and increasingly sax solos were being replaced by guitar solos, and these folks didn't like the direction that rock music was going, and just hated it when the Beatles spearheaded the British Invasion. 
Now, that's pretty early to lose interest in rock music, but by 1969, I sort of lost interest in it myself. 
I just couldn't understand or identify with Jimi Hendrix, I hated Janis Joplin's voice, and Iron Butterfly didn't do a thing for me. 
In February of 1969, I had just heard the Drake Chenault History Of Rock And Roll on WRKO in Boston, and that got me into a period of time in which I totally immersed myself in the music of the fifties. 
I hated so many songs that came out in the summer of 1969.  The song that spoke
the loudest to me was Good Old Rock And Roll by Cat Mother And The All Night News Boys.  But then later, I suffered through disco, I suffered through punk, I actually embraced new wave but didn't like rap music at all.  So now, fifty years after I rejected so many songs from the summer and fall of 1969, they are sounding pretty good to me again, compared to all the crap that's passing for music now.  Of course, I guess this is what our parents felt about Little Richard, Fats Domino and Elvis.
I must admit though, that I was really disappointed when the number 1
song on WDRC in Hartford Connecticut during the week I graduated from
high school, was The Candy Man by Sammy Davis, Jr. I was hoping so much
that it was going to be School's Out by Alice Cooper.  But that song
didn't come even close to being number 1 on the charts.  Oh well, you
can't fault a guy for dreaming!  (grin) 
Anyway, I hope in these ramblings that I've given you some things to
think about. 
Think about the fact that in the fifties, the Platters were considered a rock and roll group, but by the nineties, if they were played on radio stations at all, they were usually being heard on the nostalgia radio stations that were playing the second generation of the music of your life.  Here again, this was people re-inventing the
history of rock and roll music, years later, and deciding that the Platters should be designated as a pop group, and not a rock group. 
Anyway, just some things to think about.
Sam Ward
There are several points I want to address here …
Tommy James transcends any specific genre with this music … he’s done it all.  “Hanky Panky” and “Mony Mony” are just flat out, feel good rock and roll … “Crimson And Clover” took the new element of psychedelia to a whole new level. (When we did our Top 20 All-Time Favorite Psychedelic Songs Poll back in 2005, it came in at #9.)  “Crystal Blue Persuasion” is in a league of its own … I don’t know that you can classify it as any particular type of music.  “Sweet Cherry Wine” has gospel influences while “I Think We’re Alone Now” is feel good pop.  (I’ve never heard Tommy’s music referred to as bubblegum before … but if that’s the way you wanna go, I can accept that for this one and maybe a few others like “Say I Am” and “I Like The Way.”  And, by the way, The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame has previously held spotlight exhibits saluting Bubblegum Music … yet we all know they wouldn’t DREAM of ever honoring and inducting any of these artists … which goes COMPLETELY against their original credo of saluting artists who took rock and roll to new levels and dimensions.  (By the same token, I can assure you that Tommy’s music appealed to a MUCH wider audience than just “9-12 year old girls”!!!  Tommy is respected by fans and artists of every age and gender.  And his music has proven timeless, with new acts like Billy Idol and Joan Jett loving it enough to record their own versions some twenty years later.
“Hanky Panky” was a complete flop upon first release … but when Tommy James and the Shondells reinvented it, it became a #1 coast-to-coast smash and launched their career.  Every garage band in America went on to learn that song and add it to their repertoire!
For as long as we’ve been doing Forgotten Hits, we’ve heard from the original rock and roll purists that The British Invasion killed rock and roll.  Your Beach Boys example above became a major part of the plot in “American Graffiti” when John Milner proclaimed “I hate that surfin’ shit!”  Disc Jockey Steve Dahl rocketed his career into the stratosphere when he launched his Anti-Disco campaign … and many of us felt (and still feel) the same disdain for rap music.
But The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame was designed to honor ALL kinds of music … all new expressions and all new avenues taken to advance the concept of rock and roll to new levels of acceptance.  They may not call it “rock and roll” anymore, but that’s the very foundation of all of the music that has come since.
The Connie Francis / Brenda Lee debate has existed ever since Brenda was inducted and Connie wasn’t.  The two posted nearly identical stats in the late ‘50’s and early ‘60’s and music’s two premier female artists.  Both certainly belong in The Rock Hall and when we ran our big 2008 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Series, declaring the first of many Top 40 Deserving and Denied Artists, Connie was right up there near the top of the list.
But in several conversations with the folks who ran The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame at the time, the point was made that inducting Brenda Lee was a mistake … and inducting Connie Francis behind her would only further the mistake.  You can’t “un-induct” somebody, so they felt it best to just leave things along as they were.  (Keep in  mind, there was quite a bit of outrage when Bobby Darin was inducted, too … he was a “lounge singer” … not a rock-and-roller (even though that was the music he used to launch his career, feeling he had  his best shot at reaching a much larger and accepting audience by recording what he considered “drivel” like “Splish Splash.”  To a degree, he was right … it allowed him the opportunity to record timeless pop classics like “Mack The Knife” and “Beyond The Sea” a few years later … and become one of the top drawing acts on The Las Vegas Strip.  (Does THAT qualify for Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction?  Not in the minds of many … but can you even imagine him NOT being in there???)
As for me, I think Bobby DOES belong, as does Connie Francis, if only because of the TREMENDOUS impact she had on music at the time.  Brenda Lee may have rocked a little harder on some of her early tracks but these two ladies DEFINED rock and roll from the female point of view.
I also believe Pat Boone belongs in there … because HE brought rock and roll into homes that never would have accepted artists like Elvis Presley, Fats Domino and Little Richard that he was covering, making rock and roll acceptable for pure, white bread America.  (By the same token, how is it even REMOTELY possible that Ed Sullivan has never been inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame?!?!?  This guy brought every major rock act into our living rooms for 21 years!!!  And he’s never been inducted?!?!  Further proof that something is VERY wrong with The Rock Hall’s selection process.)
Ditto for Chubby Checker (who we have also campaigned for for twenty years) and Freddy Cannon … Checker launched a worldwide sensation with “The Twist” … no, maybe it wasn’t Beatlemania … but for it’s time, it was pretty damn close!  And Freddy represents The Sound Of Philadelphia and early television giant “American Bandstand.”  (Dick Clark is in The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame and Ed Sullivan isn’t???  What’s wrong with THAT picture?!?!)
As for The Platters, “pop” as they may be, they WERE inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame … and deservedly so.  They brought a whole new element to the sound of rock and roll … and had a VERY successful career doing so.
As you can see, I’m pretty passionate about this whole process … and will say that since we first went head-to-head with The Rock Hall in 2008, about half of the artists that made our original Top 40 Deserving And Denied List have since been inducted.
But there are still a lot of “wrongs” that need to be righted … and now, with SO many of these artists being gone, we may be enjoying the last wave of enjoyment and appreciation for this music.
Our commitment here in Forgotten Hits is to never let this music die … to prove that it really IS timeless and transcends all ages and generations.  Go to a Peter Noone concert and you’ll find an audience filled with 6-60 year olds, all singing along with every word.  It’s FEEL GOOD Music … and we haven’t seen or heard the likes of it ever since.
The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame needs to wake up and make things right.  I have said for YEARS now that they need to do a special induction ceremony where they mass induct all of the artists that they have so wrongfully overlooked over the years … because let’s face it, with all the focus on the “new eligibles” each year who are reaching their 25-year recording milestone, there is absolutely NOBODY on board thinking about the artists who paved the way for these new acts to have careers.
Seriously … Soundgarden, MC5, Depeche Mode, Kraftwerk, Thin Lizzy and Motorhead ahead of Tommy James, The Guess Who, Chubby Checker, Connie Francis and Freddy Cannon?!?!?  In what universe does THAT make sense?!?!  (kk) 

A direct yes or no question ...
Have you ever seen the MC5 live and in person?
My guess is that you have not primarily because they had a short-lived regional career and most of the people who actually saw them are most likely in their late 60s or possibly early 70s.
In addition, due to poor recording quality, but not poor songs, they were never properly captured on audio or video.
I was amazed to read that they charted so much as one song. But then again, I never cared whether the music I enjoyed charted or not.
The only MC5 song that was every properly captured was “Sister Ann,“ which was on their third album. But then the recording engineer had to screw that up with a “Susan” styled psychedelic interlude at the end. If you skip that, it’s a great song.
Based on the format the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame uses, they will never be inducted. The only people voting would be the ones who actually saw them, and that is a small minority. But they still deserve to be in there. You just have to take our word for it. We have no valid recorded proof, but we are “ready to testify”.
Now I am 100% behind you when it comes to Paul Revere and the Raiders and The Guess Who. The Raiders put out some of the best, quality, hard rocking records ever recorded in the mid-‘60s. I would like to see a “sea of hands” of bands from the ‘60s, including those in the HOF, who did not cover a Paul Revere song at one time or another. It would be more like a dry creek.
And it all comes down to integrity, which apparently there is little of in this institution.
About a week ago one of my favorite basketball players, Bill Russell, finally got around to accepting his basketball Hall of Fame ring in a private ceremony. Now how can a player with his accomplishments, on and off the court, not be in the Hall of Fame? 
The answer is that he refused to enter due to the fact that there were lesser known, deserved black players at the time who had not been inducted. He was not going in prior to these players going in. Now he did not publicize this or take a knee. He just wasn’t going in until things were right. That’s the integrity that it’s going to take to correct this wrong and get these deserving bands in. And I don’t think it’s there. Surprise me.
I also think there should be a new category. Due to poor record management available to Chicago bands in the mid-‘60s The Ides, The Shadows Of K, The Flock, The New Colony 6, The Cryan’ Shames, The American Breed, etc., will never get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But I think they collectively deserve to be inducted as the Cornerstones of Rock.
What other city in the world has put together an all-star team of their best bands from the ‘60s and put them out on the road to perform studio quality music 50+ years later? The answer is none. United I say, they all go in as The Cornerstones of Chicago Rock.
Robert Campbell
A direct answer to a direct question ...
No, I have not ... but here’s the thing about the MC5 … 
They’ve had FIVE chances to get in … and nearly every time (if not EVERY time), they’ve finished dead last in the voting ... which means that even their own team of so-called experts doesn't think they deserve to get in.
It’s time to step over the body and move on … and open up a spot that will give another far more deserving artist a chance to, at the very least, make the ballot.
Nobody ever thought The Doobie Brothers were ever going to get in … yet we’ve campaigned for them for over a decade.  This year, they FINALLY made the ballot (and are currently in third place.)
Maybe someday artists like The Guess Who, Tommy James and the Shondells and Paul Revere and the Raiders will FINALLY get the recognition they deserve … and then earn their well-deserved spot within those hallowed Hall of Fame walls.
(Let’s not forget the Dave Clark Five story … and how, at Jann Wenner’s insistence, they were passed over to allow a rap act to get in instead, figuring that they’d just induct them the following year instead.
And then guess what … Mike Smith died and yet another artist in what’s becoming and increasingly long list of artists wasn’t around to accept their award or reap the glory of FINALLY being recognized.
I say enough already …
I’ll betcha we could EASILY come up with a dozen well deserving acts that could be mass-inducted during a special ceremony …
Air it on HBO (or PBS as a fundraise for that matter) and make things right.  (Sometimes you just have to own up to the error of your ways and apologize to the music fans out there in order to earn back and shred of credibility again.)  kk 

A suburban Chicago tradition dating back to 1995 continues. 
“A Hometown Holiday” airs Christmas Day 7 am – 4 pm on WLTL-FM 88.1 and streams at wltl.net.  Mike Baker And The Forgotten 45s hosts the annual Christmas special with favorites from the golden age of top-40
First heard on the Chicago AM dial, the holiday broadcasts also includes groups and artists whose only hit single is a Christmas song.  This list is available at https://mikebaker45s.wordpress.com/a-hometown-holiday/.
Thanks, 
Mike Baker
WLTL-FM 88.1 


LOTS of cool radio specials kicking off at and around the holidays …

Me-TV-FM will be broadcasting Wink Martindale’s Top 100 Christmas Classics all day long, beginning at 8 am on Christmas Eve and running straight thru midnight Christmas Night.

The Drive will kick off their latest addition of their enormously popular A to Z list, featuring THOUSANDS of songs from their extensive radio library (including numerous classic rock favorites that made our Top 3333 list) at 6 am on December 26th.  The special will run for over a week (and each night they'll pause it at midnight and resume things again the following morning at 6 am, so that you don't have to miss any of your favorites while you're sleeping!)

Rewound Radio will be broadcasting the results of their own annual Top 77 poll … which in and of itself is a bit misleading … 
'Cause it's really a WHOLE lot cooler than that!
Yes, they WILL be counting down The Top 77 …

But they’ll ALSO be playing ALL of the songs that got nominated … some 3000+ in all, running the entire week between Christmas and New Year’s, which makes for the widest variety imaginable as there are no limits as to what might get played during this annual event.

And while we’ll personally be taking a break on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, our own Top 3333 Most Essential Classic Rock Songs Of All-Time Countdown will continue with The Top Five beginning on December 26th and running thru the 30th … 

And we can ALSO promise you brand new Forgotten Hits postings every day from December 26th thru January 5th!

Plenty of opportunities to enjoy the holidays … AND the music!

Coming up in Forgotten Hits …

We wrap up our salute to 1969 with a flurry of special posts, beginning on Thursday, December 26th … and running straight thru to the end of the year.

Be sure to stop by as we salute the biggest music, movie and tv shows of 1969 …

And then help us flip the calendar page on Wednesday, January 1st, as our Fifty Year Flashback Salute begins for 1970.

And don’t forget to catch the remaining tunes on our TOP 3333 MOST ESSENTIAL CLASSIC ROCK SONGS OF ALL TIME Countdown as we unveil The Top 5 beginning on December 26th as well!
https://classicrockessentials.blogspot.com/
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