We've already heard from enough of you to fill another Comments Page!!!
So let's get to it ...
Hi Kent -
Regarding bands who continue to perform without the original lead singer, many years ago I saw Guess Who (along with Strawberry Alarm Clock). I did not have high expectations, as I knew that Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman were both long gone. But they had the drummer and bass man from all the big hits and they set an instant groove. The lead singer sounded great and had a lot of showmanship, so it was an excellent show.
Gary Myers
Like I said, find what works for you and if you’re entertained by that and the music is properly presented, I say go for it. For me personally, I’m going to pick Burton Cummings every time … because NOBODY can sing ‘em like he does. (A few years ago The Guess Who, with drummer Garry Peterson and bassist Jim Kale, who own the rights to the name, were performing here about two weeks before Burton hit town to do his own show. I asked Burt if there was any chance he could come in early so we could check out this other show together … but he was unable to do so. In nearly immediate hindsight, I thought better of the whole idea as absolutely nothing good could possible come from that sort of confrontation!)
That being said, I cannot WAIT for Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman get together later this year to film a new Soundstage episode … because those are the two names most closely associated with the group and their legacy. (Here’s hoping they decide to film this at The Arcada … because no how, no way do I want to miss this show!!!) kk
UPDATE FROM RON ONESTI: Workin’ on it, Brother!
Kent,
Enjoy reading the back-and-forth comments regarding "originals" in groups from days gone by. I'm in the corner of preferring the "original" lead in a group.
With that in mind, I've wanted to see The Mystics since being a 16-year-old in Texas. Finally, the wish came true on January 11th in Leesburg, Florida, with two of the "originals" in the group.
With Phil Cracolici singing lead once again on "Hushabye" alongside nephew George Galfo, they were simply superb -- along with the vocal stylings of Rocky Marsicano and Ralph Varrone.
It makes no difference that both Phil and George are around the age of 80. They were brilliant, and with The Mystics band adding great instrumentation, it was a two-hour performance that went by much too quickly.
In summary, I feel very fortunate to have heard them just as I'd hoped they'd sound as the 60th anniversary of "Hushabye" approaches in May.
As a bonus, they were very friendly to talk to both before and after the performance!
Thank you,
Ron Spain
I think ALL of us would prefer to see and hear the original voice that was on the hit records we all know and love … but that is becoming more and more difficult as time marches on. If the option is available, I say by all means, go for it. If not, just make sure the guys up there recreating this music is doing it justice … and pays their respects to those who created it in the first place. (kk)
Hi Kent,
You recently mentioned a guy who would go to an "oldies" show only if at least one of the singers/musicians was a member of the original group. I feel the same way.
About 10 years ago, I went to a Lettermen concert. At the time, they had one member of the original group. The three singers did an excellent job of presenting the "Lettermen sound". I was pleased with the first half of the concert. I anticipated that the second half would include some of the lesser-known Lettermen songs, e.g. album cuts, that devoted fans would know. Instead they used the second half to sing songs made famous by OTHER singing groups. That's not what I paid for. I was disappointed. When I buy a ticket for a Lettermen concert, I want to hear Lettermen songs in Lettermen style.
-- Chris Astle, Jr.
Newport News, VA
We’ve seen too many shows lately where the headline artist does only a handful of their own hits and then performs other hits of that era for the rest of the show. I agree … we wanna hear the hits. (But I can also see the other side … if you’ve been singing the same 20 songs for 40-50 years, you probably want to mix things up for your own sanity a little bit, too!)
That being said, I believe there is a happy medium that can be reached … but if you’ve had 20 Top 40 Hits and only plan on singing three or four of them … or cramming six or seven in a poorly put together medley, you’re really not doing right by your audience … or accurately representing your legacy that drew them there in the first place. (kk)
kk …
Now that you're a Doo-Wop fan, I figure you want to know about this show.
FB
Bowzer’s Ultimate Rock ‘n’ Doo Wop Party tomorrow January 20th at the Mohegan Sun Arena featuring Little Anthony & Imperials, Charlie Thomas’ Drifters, Jay Siegel & Tokens, The Chiffons, Willie Winfield & Harptones, Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon, Kathy Young, Johnny Contardo (Sha Na Na), Bowzer & Stingrays and special guest 9/11 NYC Firefighter Frank Pizarro
Hope to see you there!
Wild Wayne
This is why we love lists …
Because unless they’re mathematically calculated, they’re all based on personal preference … which means they're truly subjective ... and nothing more.
Case in point …
Last week Ultimate Classic Rock listed THEIR choices for best and worst track on every Eagles album.
Then, later the same week, Rolling Stone Magazine posted THEIR choices for the 40 Best Eagles songs ever …
And the discrepancies abound.
Most obvious:
Among their “Worst Song” picks, Ultimate Classic Rock lists “Outlaw Man” from the “Desperado” album, “New Kid In Town” from “Hotel California” and the title track of their “On The Border” album.
Meanwhile, ALL of these songs make Rolling Stones’ list of Best Eagles Songs Ever.
“Outlaw Man” comes in at #36 on RS’s list … “On The Border” is listed at #19 and “New Kid In Town” is all the way up at #5!
I have always had a hard time picking my favorites for ANY artist … and, for the most part, I love nearly the entire output of The Eagles throughout their illustrious career … but I will say that nearly HALF of Rolling Stones’ list of 40 Favorites would NOT make mine … and some that are on their list would rank considerably higher if I were to do my own tally. (“Please Come Home For Christmas,” “Ol’ ’55” and “Those Shoes” are among my very favorites … yet they rank in the lower 15 on the RS list.)
You can read both charts for comparison’s sake here:
Thanks for the overall positive review ... ‘cept for Toby’s shirt.
One correction ...
The World Stage album coming out on April 26 is all new music collaborations with the artists you mention. Incredible co-writes with the best of the 80s best.
It’s called Winds Of Change - after the song I wrote with Don Barnes and Danny Chauncey Of .38 Special. Also a music video nearly done (by Greg Bizarro) on my collaboration with Dennis DeYoung called Proof Of Heaven. I’m really excited about this Frontiers release.
Thx again!
Jimbo
Just havin’ a little fun with Tubby … I mean Toby!!!
As a guy who deals with busting out of his own shirt on a daily basis, I can TOTALLY relate! It wasn’t mean-spirited … just a fun comment (with perhaps some constructive criticism to be applied to the next show.)
I don’t even know where you begin to find a guy who sings like that … his voice is simply incredible. As mentioned before, he doesn’t LOOK like a rock star … more like “The Singing Accountant” … but with a voice like his, he needs to “dress it up a bit” to look the part on stage. There are few singers out there who can compete with him vocally … he SOUNDS like a star … now he just needs to LOOK like a star. I truly do believe that Toby Hitchcock should be a household name … and you are the “vehicle” to put him there.
Sorry about the mis-info on the new World Stage CD … I was only going from your original notes so ASSUMED it was a collection of past performances with perhaps some new tracks mixed in. This sounds even better (although I also firmly believe that a 20 Year World Stage Compilation album and dvd are well worth looking into … plus you could sell them at future shows!)
Thanks for the update. By the way, Chet Coppock wants me to join him at City Winery for The Ides’ March 6th performance so I may see you there after all!) kk
Kent,
Since we are talking about the Ides a lot this week, how about this new stereo creation my friend Mike Hartman made recently for "You Wouldn't Listen"? I think it's a pretty good mix considering it was created from mono original.
Clark Besch
Thanks for running the Nat King Cole news.
Fact: The post office that serves our zip code (90004) is the Nat King Cole Post Office.
No wonder we got the job!
Bob Merlis
We love reading FH cover to cover, and still don't know how you find the time to do it.
Just so you know we're paying attention:
>>>>Cole was born on March 17th, 1919, in Montgomery, Alabama, but was raised right here in Chicago. Sadly, he died in 1965 at the young age of 65, due to lung cancer. (kk)
Nat’s age was 45.
David Lewis
My bad. Yes, Nat was only 45.
I think one of two things likely happened …
I had just typed that he died in ’65 and picked up on that number again … or I had just written the bit about recording the electronically produced duet with his daughter Natalie … who actually DID die at the age of 65. (Yeah, that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it! Lol)
Thanks, David.
“The Most Accurate Truth” … that’s what we strive for here in Forgotten Hits! (kk)
And, speaking of Nat King Cole, here’s a piece that we ran WAY back in 2005!!! It ran as part of our Month Of Sundays feature … and has always been one of my favorites. (kk)
NAT KING COLE
was a merry old soul...
(and a merry old soul was he)!
He was loved by the blacks, he was loved by the whites
And he started the KING COLE THREE.
(As KING COLE'S TRIO and then THE KING COLE TRIO, NAT, OSCAR MOORE and WESLEY PRINCE first hit BILLBOARD's Pop Charts in 1943 with the #19 hit ALL FOR YOU. 14 other TOP 40 HITS followed, included the ORIGINAL version of THE CHRISTMAS SONG, NAT's holiday classic, that has remained a "chestnut" for the past 60 years!!! NAT would re-cut the tune in 1954 as a solo artist and that's the one you generally hear to this day.)
NAT KING COLE
had his very own show
on and off for a year on NBC
But the ratings were poor,
sponsors boycotted the show
'cause they weren't ready for "colored" TV.
(In 1956, NBC gave NAT KING COLE his own television show ... it started out as simply 15 minutes ... truly his "fifteen minutes of fame," I guess ... which ran as part of NBC's MONDAY NIGHTLY NEWS Program. This format allowed him only enough time to sing a song or two ... there was rarely a guest star ... and then sign off the air. The program was later expanded to 30 minutes and moved to Tuesday nights in July of 1957 and NAT had a virtual "Who's Who" of black guest performers on his program ... COUNT BASIE, PEARL BAILEY, BILLY ECKSTINE, SAMMY DAVIS JR., ELLA FITZGERALD, HARRY BELAFONTE, THE MILLS BROTHERS, MAHALIA JACKSON and CAB CALLOWAY all appeared during the program's short six month lifespan, as did premier WHITE performers like MEL TORME, PEGGY LEE, TONY BENNETT and FRANKIE LAINE. Despite all this talent ... and the fact the COLE was LOVED by blacks and white alike ... the show never registered higher than a 19% audience share. It aired opposite ROBIN HOOD, which commanded 50% of the viewing audience.)
NAT KING COLE
had his first hit solo
way back in the year 1950 ...
and the hits kept on comin' ... MONA LISA was next ...
By the end, he had had 103!
(Between 1943 and 1966, NAT KING COLE hit BILLBOARD's Jukebox, Disc Jockey and Best Sellers Pop Chart an incredible 103 times!!! This total includes his 15 KING COLE TRIO hits as well as his 88 solo chart entries. By comparison, during that same timeframe, he hit BILLBOARD's R&B Chart just 47 times, proving once again his undeniable, universal across-the-boards music appeal. In fact, at the time our piece first ran, CAPITOL RECORDS had just released a 4-CD Box Set featuring 100 of NAT's Singles releases! His first solo hit, I ALMOST LOST MY MIND, was released in 1950 and went to #26 on BILLBOARD's "Disc Jockey" Chart.
It was HIS version of the IVORY JOE HUNTER hit, a #1 R&B Record, that would also be covered by PAT BOONE six years later and go on to hit #1 on the Pop Charts.
His follow-up hit was the classic MONA LISA, Number One on the Charts for five weeks.
He had four #1's, he had two #2's
and had one song that peaked at #3.
He was in CAT BALLOU, and in ST. LOUIS BLUES
and a daughter that was named NATALIE.
(NAT "officially" hit the Top Spot four times on BILLBOARD's Pop Chart: I LOVE YOU FOR SENTIMENTAL REASONS (in 1946), NATURE BOY (#1 in 1948) ... both of THESE hits were with the KING COLE TRIO ... and again as a solo artist in 1950 with MONA LISA and TOO YOUNG in '51. His two #2's include A BLOSSOM FELL (1955) and the eternal RAMBLIN' ROSE (1962). PRETEND was his one #3 hit in 1953. NAT was one of the singing narrators in the popular movie CAT BALLOU starring JANE FONDA and LEE MARVIN and starred in his own right in ST. LOUIS BLUES. COLE also had the lead-role in an All-Star Black cast that included a very young BILLY PRESTON playing COLE's character as a child! His daughter, NATALIE COLE, would go on to have a dozen pop hits of her own in the '70's and '80's. In 1991, she released a digitally produced duet with her father on his classic hit
UNFORGETTABLE, which went all the way to #14. (Believe it or not, NAT's original version peaked at the same position in 1952!)
And today's SUNDAY song,
THAT SUNDAY, THAT SUMMER,
was released back in 1963.
It stopped at #12 and (for now anyway)
Ends this poem and all your misery.
(whew!!!)
kk
And, speaking of age, how cool is THIS little tidbit that DJ Phil Nee just sent us …
I have had a couple of people send this to me.
The younger set wound not get this.
Phil
Hi Kent –
Attached is an MP3 of my song "Calling From A Star" with a spacey intro from the new U.K compilation release "Eklectia." The 2 CD set contains seventeen bands from U.S, UK and Canada that feel their music is influenced by ET's and UFO's. My song leads off disc one. The album cover is a parody of The Beatles’ "Sgt. Peppers" cover. I'm in the upper left corner below Neil Young. Down below where The Beatles stood are three gray aliens!
The album is available at online sources everywhere.
All My Best,
HI, Kent –
Reading that piece that Mr. Besch sent gave me goosebumps.
Between 1963 and 1970 (especially 1963 - 67) I was involved in exactly the same activity, sitting up nights, sometimes until 3 AM, scanning the AM dial on my Hallicrafters HQ-105 short wave receiver for DX, sometimes recording the really rare stuff. I'm glad that I kept my logs and QSL card collection from back then, as it brings back fantastic memories of those great times when we could pick up stations from LA to Boston (WBZ was a killer!), sometimes on our transistors radios!
In the late 60s and early 70s, as FM rock became more prominent on FM, I began searching for new and obscure stations. It was quite challenging, as FM is "local", and doesn't "skip", except for those times when we experience atmospheric events such as temperature inversions which will carry VHF signals much further than we would expect.
I've verified reception by US stations from coast to coast, a bunch of Canadian provinces, Costa Rica on 622 KHz after WTMJ Milwaukee shut down one night, and even a mega-station on 800 KHZ in the Netherlands Antilles, off the coast of New Guinea.
It's sad that over the past few decades,, so many stations are networked and play the same stuff, so the thrill of hearing a far-off station has all but disappeared.
I still treasure my QSL cards from stations like KIKZ ("KICKS") in Amarillo (250 watts), WHOT in Campbell (Youngstown), OH, which, the night I heard it, was running at about 25 watts power. I just learned that Dick Biondi did a stint there back in the late 1950s.
I still DX on the car radio when I get chance. And anyone who would like to relive the old AM sound, I highly recommend 740 KHz, CZMR in Toronto (Zoomer Radio), after dark. They have a different selection of music every evening, and you never
know what you'll hear next. One night it'll be all Frank Sinatra, the next will be Elvis, or female vocalists, or comedy, or ???
And I'd love to receive that file that Mr. Besch made!
Thanks,
Mike Wolstein
It’s on its way to you … and who knows, you may have some old files that Clark would love to hear, too! That’s what we’re all about here in Forgotten Hits … keepin’ those memories alive! (kk)
Hello, Kent!
Chuck Buell Here ~~~
Regarding the 1968 WLS Promo Film about which
Clark Besh recently wrote in Forgotten Hits that made “WLS sound like
an MOR,” you were absolutely correct in saying “it was clearly
developed for advertisers and not the 18 - 49 demographic that was actually
listening to the station.”
That was the whole marketing thrust of the
production that was directed solely
to the Chicago Advertising Community to help position the station as NOT totally being a “Top 40 Rock ‘n’ Roll Teeny-bop Radio Station.”
At least in the Mornings.
In those days of Music “Dayparting,” a station
such as The Big 89 could sound almost like two different radio stations starting
in the mornings with a calmer less rock, “more adult” sound transitioning through
the middays with a bit “more upbeat” music becoming more “rock infused” in the
afternoons to “full blown, no-holds-barred Rock ‘n’ Roll” music and presentation at nights.
So
the focus was only on the "Adult Listening Morning Hours" with Clark
Weber and not on the rest of the day and night times all of which
collectively, as the film proclaims,
"delivers the largest audience in Chicago Radio."
Maybe
if the younger rock 'n' roll programming that steadily built a strong
listener foundation following mornings wasn't talked about, perhaps the
older advertising buyers could avoid acknowledging those "dayparts," too ,
thereby defending their buys on a "young adult" station to their equally older clients.
But
then, maybe also it was because those later times of the day, from Art
Roberts, to Larry Lujack, Chuck Buell, Kris Erik Stevens and Jerry Kaye,
were pretty much automatically and already sold out.
BTW,
I don't know what year this film was actually made and released; some
say 1968. Kris Erik Stevens, who was mentioned as part of the On Air
lineup, joined WLS on Valentine's Day the following year. In 1969.
CB ( which stands for "Clearing-It-Up Boy!" )
The promo was clearly built around Clark Weber's slot ... and I certainly don't remember EVER hearing WLS playing tracks like The McGuire Sisters' version of "Sincerely"!!!
I can only surmise that the campaign wasn't very successful if only because Clark didn't make it thru the whole year at the station.
(And let's face it ... once the typical morning man became more of the Larry Lujack / Fred Winston ilk, radio was never really the same again!)
Did you see that one of our readers came up with a 16mm copy of this film? (Everything I've seen pegs it as late '68 ... but if you say it mentions Kris Erik Stevens, I could be wrong. Honestly, I don't think I watched it long enough to hear that part! lol) kk
