Monday, December 16, 2019

Some Of Your Recent Classic Rock Essentials Comments

>>>Hello kk – Applause, for doing the research … I’m sure it’s an arduous task!
It was interesting to see that four of my songs were in the top 200 of the 3333! 
Now I’m curious to see all the songs which were higher on the survey than #123!
Taking into account the millions of rock tracks generated since, let’s say, the 1950’s, it gives us pause.  I am grateful for all music lovers.  (Robert Lamm / Chicago)

>>>Now how cool is THAT?!?!  (kk)  

How cool was the shout out from Robert Lamm, you asked?
As my daughter would say, COOL BEANS!!
Now if that doesn't make you feel validated, then I don't what to tell you!
I'm so happy for you and pleased that I'm along for this momentous ride!
No one is forgetting you kk, NO one!
Bob Seger says " Still like that old-time rock n' roll …
That kind of music just soothes the soul … 
I reminisce about the days of old … 
With that old-time rock n' roll"
With each day the excitement builds!
When it is finished, we all will have awesome playlists to build with 3333 to choose from.
Thanks again for doing this!
(This is so exciting!!!)
With ongoing respect,
Nikki Sloane

I have to admit that it WAS pretty cool to get this … and see that he’s been following along with the countdown.
I did get the chance to meet all of the Chicago guys a few years ago when we were invited to their show at Ravinia … got to have dinner with the band before the concert and then hang out with them all a little bit backstage after the show … but you’re right … getting something like this lends great credibility to our efforts here … so yes, it was a VERY nice surprise.  (kk)

As was this from Jim Peterik, who had songs by both The Ides Of March AND Survivor fall within our Top 150 …

Hi Kent!  
What a great way to wake up on this cold Burr Ridge morning!
Two songs from my career in music making the essential list!!
Thank you all!  
And to you, Kent, for this amazing feature.
This is kinda like your Eye of The Tiger achievement!  
And the Ides will always remain Your Vehicle, baby.  
Jimbo

Checking out #’s 100 thru 80 on the classic rock list, one song so far that I NEVER hear on OUR classic rock station that is indeed good, but I never hear it on classic rock, is "The Weight" by the Band.  I personally would not include it in my Top 1000, but it is good.  
I DID have to look up "Pour Some Sugar On Mme" (would not play on your video) and I DO hear that one, but it came out in ‘87, two years after my semi-self-imposed music cutoff when I quit buying every song that came out just to keep my collection up.  Luckily, oldies stations and my old tapes filled the gap where new music always was.  :)   

I was watching this video below ...



... and the opening commercial reminded me of one of my first records, Del Shannon's "Runaway".  

Due to my overplaying on my old clunky heavy record player as a five year old, it developed a skip.  One day, I decided to fix it and went down to dad's tool room and grabbed the thinnest blade screwdriver I could find and ran it meticulously thru the part that was bad to get the dirt or whatever out.  The result was that I now had a white area in the grooves and when played, still had the skip, but now had a loud swish noise thru that part. 
I learned from that? 
Well, kinda. 
25 years later, I was cue burning great 45s occasionally on my 60's radio show.  Maybe I never learned?
Anyway, I loved this commercial and remembered it always from my OWN incident.  Too bad that BIC pens do NOT write every time these days.  I throw SO many away.
Clark Besch

Unfortunately several of the videos were no longer available by the time the countdown finally ran ... VERY frustrating as you can imagine, as I spent HUNDREDS of hours auditioning a wide variety of available videos to post on YouTube only to find that they have seen been taken down or those YouTube accounts had been cancelled.  But I think you all still get the jist.   (Besides, most of the time if you just wait a few days, they're back up there again anyway!!!)
"Pour Some Sugar On Me" happens to be one of the most over-played classic rock songs out there right now ... this one and a couple by Bon Jovi seem to fit the mold of what "consultants" are telling radio stations they need to play in order to maintain a "hip" audience.  (Yeah right ... go after the folks who weren't even born yet simply because it fits the "perfect and desirable age demo" every radio station and advertising agency is looking for ... whether they know and love the music or not.  THAT makes sense!!!)
Why not just define your audience for who it is ... and give them a play list that will keep them tuned in ... and then market and advertise to THAT demographic to sell them the types of products that they would be interested in.  (What???  60 year olds don't buy new cars???  Or electronic gadgets?  Or take expensive vacations?  They spend money too ... and plenty of it.  I'm thinking it's gotta be hard for these advertisers to see the world as it really is with their heads shoved that far up their butts!  All I know is you're leaving a TON of money on the table by NOT marketing to this audience ... because they WILL respond to the products and opportunities that fit their life style.)  kk 

As a final note, I'm sensing a little bit of disappointment from the bleachers as we move ever closer to the top ... 

Good Morning!
I'm still excited about the countdown, but I'm finding it harder and harder to repeat my mantra of "it's the people's countdown" as we get closer to the top.
Some of these weren't even on any of my lists nor did I vote for them.
Some for me would've been better forgotten forever. 
HOWEVER, I respect the process and will continue to share, discuss, and pass on to my DJ friends as Forgotten Hits and this is what the people want.
Have a wonderful Sunday!
With respect!
Nikki

As much as the ten songs, from 51-60 were great, the ten from 41-50 were mediocre at best. I just can't hold my tongue any longer. More than one should have had a three & a zero in front of them.you sure you don't have a typo or two there? In The Air Tonight at #41? Higher than Let It Be? What's next? A Groovy Kind Of Love? You Can't Hurry Love? Kansas? Bon Jovi? All of these songs  ahead of Runaway? For the most part while I may not like the song, but I can see it being placed there, with a reasonable deviance. I've made a list of what I perceive is still on the board. Hopefully there are no more "typos". 
Jack

You have to remember that as we get closer to the top, the songs that you’re currently hearing now in heavy rotation will take over the countdown.  (I’ve said from the beginning that the most interesting part of this countdown will be the BOTTOM 2500-3000 … those are the songs that radio is ignoring and deserve the occasional spin now and then … we’re already hearing these other ones near the top of the chart every day now!)
But even as predictable as many of these titles may be, you still may be surprised at the finishing order of some of these.
I think we can STILL keep you interested and intrigued as we move closer to the top.  (Besides, you CAN’T give up on us now!!!  Lol)  kk



FH Reader Dann Isbell (who knows a thing or two about countdowns … he’s already published a couple of books ranking the biggest hits of the ‘60’s and ‘70’s) sent us a list of songs that HE thought would end up in The Top 100.
Well, he got 47 of them right … so maybe there are a few surprises left for ALL of you!
Just like everybody else, you’ll have to wait until the countdown finishes up on December 30th … (but what a GREAT New Year’s Eve Countdown this will make!!!)
We’ve had everyone from deejays on the list to the ever-reliable Frank B., who wanted to count them down on Larry’s Pub’s Jukebox, asking for an “advance copy” of the rest of the list.
Nope … ain’t gonna happen … WE need to count them down first!
Here’s hoping ALL of you have fun with these results …
Remember to email your favorite Classic Rock Stations and DEMAND that these songs be heard … there are SO many great “Forgotten Hits” on this list that TRULY deserve to be played every now and then.
In the meantime, enjoy the countdown!  (kk)

On the plus side …

Dann has agreed to compile the final list in ways that can be analyzed several different ways … including (but not limited to) the final ranked countdown (#1 - #3333), the actual countdown as it happened in reverse (and the way it would happen if broadcast in any portion, #3333 - #1), an alphabetical list by song title, a list of songs by artist … and he’s even going thru all of the extra steps to review where these songs can be found as they first appeared and the year of that release.  Quite a task (and more than I’m up to at this point!   Lol)

So stay tuned for that, after the first of the year.

Then all of you who have been asking for it can download your own copy as a personal keepsake … and reminder to keep emailing your favorite classic rock radio stations and DEMAND that they play something other than those same 250-300 songs every day!!!  Let’s make Classic Rock Radio interesting again!!!