Here’s another exclusive for you!
Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon is returning to the Chicago area this fall. He had such a terrific time working with Arcada Theatre music maestro Ron Onesti, he’s returning with two of his close pals, original lead singer Jay Siegel’s Tokens and TV favorite Svengoolie!
Mark your calendar for Sunday, September 13th.
In the meantime, a video archivist in Boston has unearthed a rare TV video of Freddy performing one of his earliest hits. On the video, he’s being introduced by legendary Boston DJ Arnie “Woo Woo” Ginsburg of WMEX, who was the very first radio guy to air Freddy’s music at the beginning of his career. Arnie is still alive and in his 90s living in Maine.
Unlike a lot of the music TV shows of that time (1965) that requested the artists to lip synch, Freddy was singing live on this clip:
Kent, Freddy looks forward to seeing you again on this second visit to the Arcada.
-Tom Cuddy
This is GREAT news, Tom … Freddy, we can’t wait to see you again.
Further proof that you can’t keep a good man down … after another health issue sidelined the “Boom Boom” Rocker about a year ago, Freddy is back up on stage knocking ‘em dead again at the ripe young age of 83!!!
If you missed the show last time, you’ll definitely want to get onboard this time around! And Jay Siegel will blow you away as well! (kk)
On a recent rock and roll cruise, here’s Bowzer from Sha Na Na hangin’ with Jay Siegel (Tokens) and Freddy Cannon.
From Pam Pulice, the woman behind the Dick Biondi film documentary …
GREAT NEWS!
Dick has been inducted into the Illinois Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum! Congratulations to Dick from all of us here on the Dick Biondi Film team!
Here is the announcement made on Facebook on Friday by Museum Founder Ron Romero:
Here is the announcement made on Facebook on Friday by Museum Founder Ron Romero:
"And the votes have been tabulated ...
On Sunday, March 29th, 2020 the Charter Members of the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum on Route 66 will induct: Chicago, Cheap Trick, The Ides of March, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, The Buckinghams, REO Speedwagon, WLS Radio, Chess Records, Thirsty Whale, and Larry Lujack.
The Founder's Lifetime Achievement Award goes to Dick Biondi, who will also be inducted into the Hall of Fame."
For a man who dedicated his life to rock and roll, it is fitting for Dick to be honored with many of the artists he promoted during his legendary six decade career. And we are delighted to say that Chicago, The Buckinghams, and the Ides of March are all featured in the Dick Biondi documentary! Congratulations to all!
It's a Twin Spin Weekend this weekend on Me-TV-FM …
It's a Twin Spin Weekend this weekend on Me-TV-FM …
Rick O’Dell tells us …
It'll be "Deuces Wild" this coming Saturday and Sunday, our first ever "Twin-Spin Weekend." Twice every hour we'll be playing two songs back-to-back by a timeless and memorable artist. As a bonus, throughout the weekend, we'll also be shining our spotlight on a select group of artists -- those who had two and only two hit songs: Two-Hit Wonders! We'll be playing their only two hits back-to-back throughout the weekend, too! (Or is that two???)
You can Listen Live here …
https://www.radio.com/metvfmmke/listen#.W6oi2vZRfcs
And congratulations to Me-TV-FM here in Chicago, who just made another huge leap in the ratings to fall just outside The Top Ten ... a REMARKABLE feat for a low-wattage station difficult to pick up everywhere. (First you've got to find a car radio whose dial even goes down that far!!! It's getting tougher and tougher ... which is why I stream the feed out of Milwaukee when I'm at work, just to keep tabs on all the great music they're playing. (kk)
And congratulations to Me-TV-FM here in Chicago, who just made another huge leap in the ratings to fall just outside The Top Ten ... a REMARKABLE feat for a low-wattage station difficult to pick up everywhere. (First you've got to find a car radio whose dial even goes down that far!!! It's getting tougher and tougher ... which is why I stream the feed out of Milwaukee when I'm at work, just to keep tabs on all the great music they're playing. (kk)
Hey Kent
Just a heads up on an upcoming show ...
End of the month there will be a Davy Jones Tribute show and some very cool artists will be appearing.
I think it's about time for something like this to be done for Davy.
Ron Dante
Man, I wish I could go to all this stuff!!! VERY cool. (And they just had the recent Monkees Convention tied into Peter Tork's birthday.) Michael Nesmith posted a nice tribute to Peter on YouTube, too ...
Here’s a GREAT article and interview with Carol Kaye, submitted by FH Reader David Salidor. (Carol, of course, was the premier bass player for The Wrecking Crew … but don’t ever refer to them that way in front of her! Lol)
Another great interview … with Dave Clark … can be found here …
And an anniversary piece on Linda Ronstadt’s “You’re No Good” hitting #1 on February 15th, 175 …
OK … now that we’ve referred you to several OTHER great pieces on the music we love, here are a few comments we received on our recent postings …
Hey buddy,
I just wanted to stop by and say THANK YOU for the plug awhile back - was hoping to catch some of the listeners that have enjoyed the show when it was back on Y103.9.
Meanwhile, I just found out about this listener this morning as she was writing about a technical issue we had - this email was forwarded to me from out engineer, BUT I wanted to send it to you and once again thank you and your website for your dedication to preserving the music … it WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here is the email the station got:
As a former fan of Jeff James's awesome Saturday Night Live @ the 70's show on Y103.9, I was SO happy to find the show's new home on 101.5FM! A tip o'the hat to Kent Kotal and his "Forgotten Hits" blog for the news.
Jeff, you are THE BEST EVER (okay, a close tie with Rick O'Dell and Me-TV FM) and I am listening to the show on February 15th as I write this.
Jeff, you are THE BEST EVER (okay, a close tie with Rick O'Dell and Me-TV FM) and I am listening to the show on February 15th as I write this.
What a great mix of tunes, comedy, theme songs, etc.. Where else could you hear "Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys," "Ariel," "King Tut," Janis Joplin and "Dave's Not Here" all in the same show?? Love it!
One note to the station engineers, please ... I was not happy when the online feed quit twice tonight and took a while to return. Please do whatever is needed to make sure the music keeps on keepin' on - we need this show now more than ever.
Thank you, Jeff, for all the great music, and thank you Huntley Community Radio for keeping this show on the air!
Sincerely,
Audrey R.
Wheeling, IL
One note to the station engineers, please ... I was not happy when the online feed quit twice tonight and took a while to return. Please do whatever is needed to make sure the music keeps on keepin' on - we need this show now more than ever.
Thank you, Jeff, for all the great music, and thank you Huntley Community Radio for keeping this show on the air!
Sincerely,
Audrey R.
Wheeling, IL
That’s what we’re all about, Jeff … keeping the music alive … and (as you can see by our rant-out earlier this week) it’s gonna take a village to make that happen … so kudos to you for doing YOUR part to keep these tunes spinnin’.
There’s no happier music around … and I truly believe the whole world would be a happier place if we could all just lose ourselves in the sounds of the ‘50’s, ‘60’s, ‘70’s and early ‘80’s! (kk)
Hi Kent,
Here's a link to an article calling "Maybe I'm Amazed" Paul's wake-up song from his Beatles break up funk.
Without this one song, it's likely we'd not hear much from Paul for awhile yet.
The song was written 50 years ago this month. Remember, this was during the time of the "Paul is dead" rumour.
Dann
I still can’t believe that Paul didn’t issue this as a single back then … it was a sure-fire #1 Hit and would have made him the first Beatle to earn a #1 solo hit. Instead, no single was released from the album … and George took those honors for “My Sweet Lord” a few months later. (On the plus side, it did earn George some early street cred as a solo artist … I think everybody figured that John and Paul would each do fine on their own … but there were concerns that George and Ringo made fade into obscurity. As it turns out, Ringo also had a few #1 records under his own name on the national charts: “It Don’t Come Easy” (#1 in Cash Box and Record World in 1971), “Photograph” and “You’re Sixteen,” which topped all three national trades in 1973 and 1974 respectively, and “The No No Song,” which hit #1 in Cash Box in 1975. John Lennon also had four national #1 Hits: “Imagine” (incredibly, #1 in Record World only, 1971), “Whatever Gets You Through The Night” and “(Just Like) Starting Over,” #1 in all three trades in 1974 and 1980 respectively, and “Woman,” #1 posthumously in Cash Box.
George Harrison had three: “My Sweet Lord” (#1, 1970), “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)”, 1973 and “Got My Mind Set On You” (#1, 1988).
Macca, as expected, hit the top spot as many times as all of the others combined: “Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey” (1971), “My Love” (1973), “Live And Let Die” (1973), “Band On The Run” (1974), “Listen To What The Man Said” (1975), “Silly Love Songs” (1976), “Let ‘Em In” (1976), “With A Little Luck” (1978), “Coming Up (Live At Glasgow),” 1980, “Ebony And Ivory” (with Stevie Wonder,, 1982), “Say Say Say” (with Michael Jackson, 1983). (kk)
>>>RUBICON is a name I heard from my brother long ago. Weren't there guys in that band who went on to very famous ones? (Nikki)
>>>According to Joel Whitburn’s Top Pop Singles book, horn player Jerry Martini was a former member of Sly and the Family Stone and guitarist Brad Gillis and bassist Jack Blades would go on to form Night Ranger … quite a departure in sound from their hit single “I’m Gonna Take Care Of Everything.” (kk)
Johnny Colla, who played guitar, would become a founding member of Huey Lewis and the News.
Nikki
Whitburn’s book makes no mention of Johnny Colla in regards to Rubicon … he shows the rest of the band as being Greg Eckler on vocals and drums, Mike Haskett and Dennis Marcellino on horns and Jim Pugh on keyboards. Perhaps Colla was a latter-day member of Rubicon? But by 1978-1979, he had already teamed up with Huey Lewis and in 1982, Huey Lewis and the News were already hitting the charts on their own ... so the timing just doesn’t seem to work right. (kk)
UPDATE: I did a little more digging and can’t find a Rubicon connection … even Johnny’s own website makes any mention of them … but it DOES state that he also played with Sly and the Family Stone for a spell …
For close to four decades now, Johnny Colla has been a fixture on the San Francisco Bay Area music scene and beyond. Probably best known as saxman / guitarist / vocalist / songwriter with Huey Lewis and The News, Johnny's professional career goes back to the early seventies when Van Morrison picked his band up for a couple tours. No more than a year later, Johnny landed a seat playing with Sly and The Family Stone and, as he likes to recall, Sly "taught me everything not to do in the music business." Proof that if you look hard enough there's a life lesson in every experience.
There were other attempts at a career and success along the way, but throughout it all Johnny and Huey were conspiring to start something new back in Marin County. By the end of the seventies and several name changes later ("The Fools," "The Meteors," and "American Express" amongst others) the band settled on "The News." Over the next year or so the lads were feverishly writing, recording and performing whenever they could, for whoever would have them. By 1979 "Huey Lewis and The News" landed a record deal and they were off and running; the rest is a rich, intoxicating history, and a few chapters have yet to be written.
There were other attempts at a career and success along the way, but throughout it all Johnny and Huey were conspiring to start something new back in Marin County. By the end of the seventies and several name changes later ("The Fools," "The Meteors," and "American Express" amongst others) the band settled on "The News." Over the next year or so the lads were feverishly writing, recording and performing whenever they could, for whoever would have them. By 1979 "Huey Lewis and The News" landed a record deal and they were off and running; the rest is a rich, intoxicating history, and a few chapters have yet to be written.
-Johnny Colla
His very extensive discography doesn’t mention them either … so I’m thinking he was never a member. (kk)
And, speaking of Huey Lewis, he’s all over the “news” again, thanks to his new LP being released last Friday. (It’s the band’s first release of predominately new, original material since the band released “Plan B” in 2001!)
Check out THIS interesting interview with Huey:
Huey’s biggest album with the band was 1983’s “Sports,” which topped Billboard’s Top 200 Albums Chart for seven weeks in early 1984. The new LP is called “Weather” … so you’re now able to complete the ultimate Huey Lewis album collection with “The News,” “Weather” and “Sports.” (kk)
Kent,
That was a good breakdown you did of members of the Chordettes. Like you, I assumed that they had probably all passed on. And No, I did not know offhand that the Chordettes were one of the guests on the very first nationally broadcast show of American Bandstand.
I double checked my American Bandstand book that covers the history of the show and the first show was telecast on August 5, 1957. The Chordettes lip-synched JUST BETWEEN YOU AND ME and the other guest that day was Billy Williams doing I'M GOING TO SIT RIGHT DOWN AND RIGHT MYSELF A LETTER. Incidentally in case you didn't know or had forgotten, Jerry Lee Lewis' WHOLE LOT OF SHAKIN' GOIN' ON was the first record spun on AB.
You exclaimed that going from the Chordettes to Jimi Hendrix could only happen in FH. You know if this were the 1960's (mid to late) and the Chordettes were still putting out records that were worthy of playing and buying, probably on the traditional top 40 radio stations they would have been on the playlist. As you know, back in the sixties, variety was the word.
Larry
Oh yes … and those are the days WE all remember and cherish. THESE days everything is over-formatted to the point to sound like one big mega mix … it’s hard to tell where one song ends and another begins … but back in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s, we enjoyed and appreciated the blend and, as a result, were exposed to ALL different types on music within the same playlist … rock, country, soul … from Motown to The Beach Boys … from Jimi Hendrix to the psychedelia of Jefferson Airplane … and literally EVERYTHING (“They’re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haa!” anyone?) in between. (kk)
Larry also tells us …
I just saw a network commercial (twice) during the last hour and a half. It was for a GMC Arcadia. What was interesting was that in the background was a singer who was doing his worst impersonation of Chuck Berry doing a take-off on JOHNNY B. GOOD. Chuck probably is turning over in his grave.
Larry
I’m guessing you mean this one (???) …
Meanwhile, there’s also that OTHER commercial running right now with Chuck Berry singing a “Johnny B. Goode” rip-off” called “It Wasn’t Me” that I’ve never even heard before … and I have a pretty extensive Chuck Berry collection! (And I’m not the only one … I’ve heard from several other readers who have said the same thing!) kk
LAST CALL for Ides Of March tickets at The City Winery on Wednesday, March 4th …
We’ll be picking our winners this weekend … so enter NOW for your chance to win a pair! Just drop me an email at kk@forgottenhits.com and we’ll throw your name in the hat! (kk)
Hey, Kent!
Here's a Special Fashion Update to my equally Special Fashion Story you published back on Wednesday, June 14, 2017 …
Kent!
Chuck Buell here with this ‘just in time’ gift idea for Father’s Day for all our Special former “Child of the 60s” Father-Friends!
Wasn’t there such a “Fashion Forward” idea like this back in … 1967 or so?!
And why didn’t it stay there!
CB ( which stands for “Can’t Believe-It!” )
Well now, this week, after three years of disappointing sales, "RompHim," the brand that made rompers "for him," announced it's going out of business!
The company is selling off its remaining inventory for 75% off!
So, Kent, you still have a chance to nab one or two "RompHims" at super savings in your preferred design that you had said back then ( I'm thinkin' Tongue in Cheek! ) had caught your eye!
"OK, I've gotta admit ... I kinda like the Splatter Print version! (kk)
Romper Kent!
CB ( which stands for "Chic Boy!" )
Actually, yes - that’s one of six that I bought … but the Splatter Print version has ALWAYS been my favorite! (j/k)
I’ve always believed that men’s clothing should come with an expiration date … because otherwise we just don’t know! (I don’t care what anybody says - my denim Nehru suit will NEVER go out of style!)
Hey wait ... YOU had a few of those too, didn’t you?
kk
kk
Hey,
Kent!
Imagine
archiving Forgotten Hits Posts of the 1960s using 10MB Computer Media Storage
"Discs" of the 1960s!
One 10MB Disk in the 1960s
CB ( which stands for
“Computer Boy!” )
More funny stuff …
kk:
I never thought about it before … but I guess he's right.
BOBBY VEE RUINED MY LIFE!
Frank B.
And from Mike Wolstein ...
And from Mike Wolstein ...
