Great story today!
Ken Voss
Ken Voss
Hi Kent,
Thank you - Thank you – Thank you for your fabulous stories and photos of the One and Only NEW COLONY SIX!!! THE GREATEST GROUP TO COME OUT OF CHICAGO.
They had the Best Album Covers ... Their Variety of Music is truly entertaining and they will always be SPECIAL to me.
Keep Rockin' Kent,
Carolyn
Kent,
I agree with you on this awesome song I had no idea about. It has Grass Roots sound written all over it. More cowbell please!!
It sure doesn't sound like Ronnie Rice singing, but gives an idea of his future country vocals on Capitol shortly afterwards. Just one more clue of the move by 60's Chicago artists towards country for a short time in the early 70's. If this were out today, we would call it country, not a rocker, like we would call it in 1972/3.
Clark Besch
Kent –
Love chatting with you in any fashion and always smile whenever the band gets a mention in FH ... such as today’s much, much, much appreciated edition of Forgotten Hits.
First up a few corrections and clarifications:
Greg Nashan was RJM Band's guitar player but never part of NC6
Nobody has been with New Colony Six its "entire duration" but Gerry Van Kollenburg was the last founder present at the time of initial demise
The re-formed NC6 which is now 32 years old, with the band name in existence from summer of 1964 through Coronavirus 2020 and still going, albeit not recently due to the pandemic ... has had a quartet of us active over that entire 32-year time span = Rick Barr (drums), Bruce Mattey (guitar and vocals), Gary Greenman (keyboards), and me (whatever it is I do and did first go around)
Typo re: "Let There Be Love" --- "Signs" CD should read "SIDES" CD
Bruce Gordon also spanned both "editions" of NC6 as he was among the bass players first go around as well as the re-formed band's original bass player until he decided to dedicate full-time to his business ventures - Bill Szostek has been NC6 bass and vocals ever since
The photo above the Beach Boys pic was not from the Mike Douglas Show, rather from our appearance on "Showcase '68," an ABC TV network offering hosted by Lloyd Thaxton - You Tube video (with some stupid added graphics for some reason)
Besides performing “Things I’d Like To Say,” our second tune on the Mike Douglas Show was "Groovin' Is Easy", a cover song, which we did for goodness knows what reason, but it was our second selection for that TV appearance!
Did I tell you that RJM’s recording of “Let There Be Love” is going to be included in a soon to be released CD compilation out of Australia?
http://playbackrecords.net/ is in the midst of finishing up and releasing a collection of other artists covering Bee Gees music. They currently have it listed as COMING SOON on their website, but they have not shared any official release date information with me as of yet ... but love being included.
(Thought you might get a kick out of the quartet of RJM pics I have on this computer… please pardon if redundant from years past when I may have sent these to you!)
Also, a wee bit more on the RJM Band!
We had more founding NC6ers than did the Colony and RJM actually opened for NC6 once, but only Gerry and Pat (and Ronnie who was not a founder) remained in the band by that time, while Chic, Craig and I were three of the five RJM Band crew.
Here's a clip of RJM's cover of The Bee Gees' tune "Let There Be Love"
Here's a clip of RJM's cover of The Bee Gees' tune "Let There Be Love"
For the sake of the Playback Records' folks, please grab a copy of the entire tribute CD whenever SOON arrives, okay? Love ya, man!!!!!!
Ray
P.S. Finally ... I just loved your clever use of (W)Rap-A-Tap = thank you! Found two You Tube Rap-A-Tap version videos - one from my younger brother using blurry but pretty cool family scrapbook photos methinks, but you can only get there by searching under User Name Channel "dickeyboyz" and search Ron's, errr dickeyboyz's channel by typing Rap-A-Tap in the search space on that channel. For some unknown reason, his multi-picture posting has the same YouTube address as this one below, which featured horns and a different drum track. Frankly, I do not recall which version was released. Maybe one of the FH readers, or you, will know the answer to that question?!?! Regardless, here is the version with horns and the different drum track - as there is no easy link to the much more garage band-like version me bro' posted!
Kent ...
I don't know whose memory is at fault here ... but it ain't mine!!
I never recorded the above tune. I was out of the group by ‘71... early ‘72 at the latest. I never heard of the Muddy Feet song until this letter. It's a good song, but not the Colony's thing ... we tried a couple of rockers that flopped. The ballads were getting stale.
I only recorded at Ter-Mar studios on S. Michigan Ave. Skip Griparis was in a band that Pat McBride was producing.
We had a great shot at the big time ... but Chicago seemed to be the most loyal. After 4 years, I had had enough of rock and roll and moved on. I'm still going, right up to this plague and even thru it. What the future will be is anyone's guess.
I believe I last wrote to you concerning the authorship of the hit 'I Will Always Think About You' ...
It was written by Les Kummel and Ronnie Rice. I was there when they were tossing it around. Ronnie and I were next-door neighbors at 6228 Winthrop. Bruce Mattey was nowhere around.
While Billy Herman was trying to kick everyone out of the band, I recommended Bruce Mattey because I worked with him and Bruce Gordon in the Revelles prior to being asked to join the NC6 and considered him a great musician and friend. Ultimately, he got in.
I wish you the best and thanks for keeping a great era alive.
Sincerely,
Chuck Jobes
There has always been a fair amount of debate regarding Bruce Mattey’s involvement (if any) with The New Colony Six’s Chicagoland #1 Hit “I Will Always Think About You.” He has always indicated to me that it was a song that he and Les Kummel had started while still in The Revelles and that Les took it with him when he joined The Colony, ultimately finishing it off with Ronnie Rice. I don’t know that we’ll ever really know for sure since Les is no longer with us and Ronnie likely wouldn’t have known the song’s true origins. What annoys me is when Bruce performs the song in concert and introduces it as his own (as a song he has written), as this just isn’t portraying history accurately. Knowing now that The New Colony Six often used friends and side musicians on some of their latter day recordings, it does seem more likely that guys like Bruce and Rick Barr, who are currently still with the band today, some 35 years later (!) contributed to some of these sessions. Groups like The Revelles and a few others have often been regarded as The New Colony Six Farm Club … I know The Cryan’ Shames similarly brought on new members from some of the other bands who were performing around town locally at the time. Good players always seemed to know other good players. Honestly, I think you’d need a score card FROM THE TIME to accurately paint the complete picture.
But now we have to figure out WHO played the keyboards on the “Muddy Mississippi” track. (I’ve got to tip my hat to you there … as we’ve seen countless times over the years of producing Forgotten Hits, FAR more musicians take credit for what they DIDN’T do … it sure is refreshing to see someone deny involvement with a great track like this, simply on the basis of honesty! Lol) Just so weird to see that both Bruce Gordon and Gerry Van Kollenburg BOTH remember you being on the session! Guess we’ll throw it back to both of those guys to see if they can offer a moment of fresher clarity! Thanks, Chuck! (kk)
Muddy Feet was recorded before our last date in May of 1972 - our last show together was at The Brat Stop in Kenosha, WI.
I believe Chuck was there - Ronnie and/or Skip. could verify. We also had recorded LONG TIME TO BE ALONE and NEVER BE LONELY not at Ter-Mar.
At the MUDDY FEET session, we also recorded another tune written and sung by Billy Herman named RAINDROPS. There were only demo acetates cut per my recollection. I lost mine in apartment building gas explosion.
Perhaps Ronnie or Skip can add to the history.
Bruce Gordon
We know the band continued past 1972 due to new recordings made and released thru 1974. (“I Don’t Really Wanna Go” and “Run” immediately come to mind, by which point The New Colony Six were signed to MCA Records, who also re-released “Long Time To Be Alone” and “Never Be Lonely,” this time with “Never Be Lonely” as the designated A-Side.) I have always loved BOTH sides of that single and, since PERFECTLY cast in the NC6 ballad mode, these should have been HUGE chart hits … but it just never happened (although, like “Roll On” before it, “Long Time To Be Alone” DID go to #4 in Hawaii … which is better than it did here in Chicago, where it peaked at #13!!!) Nationally, it crapped out at #93 … and deserved a FAR better fate than that! Even listening to it today, this still has “hit record” written all over it. (kk)
Hey Kent!
Regarding the later-day member line-up of The New Colony Six, after my many, many years of being the group's historian, I still cannot come up with exact timelines of which members were involved at what point in time and for how long, because after The NC6 were dropped from Mercury Records in 1970, the group line-up rapidly became a proverbial revolving door in terms of how many membership changes took place.
Ray Graffia, Jr. and Chic James departed in 1969 and, after that point, Gerry Van Kollenburg remained as the only continual original member.
It's still not clear to what extent original NC6 member Pat McBride continued to contribute as an active member ... I do know that Pat produced some of the songs that the Colony recorded as single sides during their stint with Pete Wright's Sunlight record label in the 1971-72 timespan.
But, getting back to the ever-changing group membership around that time, many names come to mind that you haven't previously mentioned ...
Steve Eddington, John Camelot, Ron Wilson (who actually wrote the 1970 NC6 single "People And Me"), Rick Barr (who is now, and has been, the drummer for the current incarnation of the NC6 since 1988), and a black female Jamaican singer named Yvonne Brown.
Somewhere in my massive NC6 archives, I have a photo of the group from 1974 which shows both John Camelot and Yvonne Brown included in the group line-up.
I'm certain that there are a few more later-day replacement members who also briefly went through the ranks of the New Colony until Gerry Van Kollenburg finally pulled the plug on the group in late-1974.
One last thing ...
When I was commissioned to co-produce, compile the songs and write the liner notes for the 2007 New Colony Six / Raymond John Michael "Sides" CD, "Muddy Feet" was the very first track on my choice list for the CD ...
That song completely blew me away the very first time I heard it many years ago, and it still stands as one of my ALL-TIME favorite NC6 recordings.
Unfortunately, it was recorded at the wrong time frame of the group and, because the New Colony Six had been type-casted as a ballad band, only added to the fact that the incredible tune would remain a complete secret until decades later, when I made sure to include it on the "Sides" CD.
Jerry Schollenberger
Thanks for chiming in, Jerry! As the band’s official historian, I know your frustration of not being able to pin down all of the details of the final incarnation of the band (prior to its current revival, of course!)
I’m thinking of revisiting my month-long series from 2005 to see if there any other minute details that might crop up after all this time. How cool would it be the revamp and rerun that series with input from ALL of the guys who performed under that banner over all this time?!?! Hoping that I can get some input from all known members … who may in turn be able to connect me with a few of those more obscure artists who passed thru the night! (kk)
This group's album was something left in my brother's things once upon a time. I was very young, but I wondered what in the world happened to them? Do you know?
Your blogs have been a great education for me during this shelter-in-place situation.
This Texan by way of Mississippi appreciates you!
Nikki Sloane
The Mob was one of the earlier pioneers of horn rock here in Chicago … and they deserved a better fate than only a couple of low-charting hits in the early ‘70’s. (Some would argue that they helped paved the way for several of the other horn bands to enjoy greater chart success ... including The Buckinghams, The Ides Of March, Chase and even Chicago themselves!)
“I Dig Everything About You” was their biggest (aka ONLY) Chicagoland hit, peaking at #20 on the WCFL Chart. (WLS passed on this one) But it was “Give It To Me” that charted the highest nationally, peaking at #71 in Billboard in the Spring of 1971. (“I Dig Everything About You” only managed a #83 Billboard showing. We featured it again recently in Forgotten Hits.)
“I Dig Everything About You” was their biggest (aka ONLY) Chicagoland hit, peaking at #20 on the WCFL Chart. (WLS passed on this one) But it was “Give It To Me” that charted the highest nationally, peaking at #71 in Billboard in the Spring of 1971. (“I Dig Everything About You” only managed a #83 Billboard showing. We featured it again recently in Forgotten Hits.)
Mob member Jim Holvay wrote FOUR Top Ten Hits for The Buckinghams … “Kind Of A Drag” (#1, 1967), “Don’t You Care” (#5, 1967), “Hey Baby, They’re Playing Our Song” (#5, 1967) and “Susan” (#6, 1968) … and has chimed in any number of times over the years. Might The Mob have enjoyed similar national success had they kept those songs for themselves? We’ll never know … but the feeling at the time was that they didn’t really fit the mode of what they were doing, going for a bigger, harder-edged sound.
Burton Cummings is just another of the AMAZING artists who are coming together to raise funds and awareness for Covid 19 through our Canadian partners.
More details below. (The event airs TODAY!)
Exciting news! It has just been announced that Burton Cummings is joining an impressive list of almost 50 Canadian performers for “Stronger Together / Tous Ensemble,” a national salute to frontline workers combatting COVID-19, which will be airing on television and streaming on a number of platforms this Sunday.
Click on this link for all the details:
https://www.bellmedia.ca/…/stronger-together-tous-ensemble…/
https://www.bellmedia.ca/…/stronger-together-tous-ensemble…/
Also on the bill … Amy Poehler, Andre De Grasse, Avril Lavigne, Cirque du Soleil, David Foster, Geddy Lee, Justin Bieber, Kiefer Sutherland, Mike Myers, Robbie Robertson, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine O’Hara, Chris Elliott, Barenaked Ladies, Bryan Adams, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Céline Dion, Eric McCormack, Howie Mandel, Jason Priestley, Michael Bublé, Sarah McLachlan, Shania Twain, Will Arnett and many, many more.
OK, now THIS one sounds pretty cool!!!
DION RECORDS WITH PAUL SIMON, VAN MORRISON, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND 14 OTHER SUPER STARS ON HIS NEW STUDIO ALBUM, BLUES WITH FRIENDS, TO RELEASE JUNE 5th - THE 14 ORIGINAL SONGS ALSO INCLUDE MUSICAL CONTRIBUTIONS FROM JEFF BECK, RORY BLOCK, JOE BONAMASSA, SAMANTHA FISH, BILLY GIBBONS, JOHN HAMMOND JR., SONNY LANDRETH, JOE MENZA, PATTI SCIALFA, BRIAN SETZER, STEVIE VAN ZANDT, JERRY AND JIMMY VIVINO and JOE LOUIS WALKER
“Dion knows how to sing, and he knows just the right way to craft these songs, these blues songs. He’s got some friends here to help him out, some true luminaries. But in the end, it’s Dion by himself alone, and that masterful voice of his that will keep you returning to share these Blues songs with him.:
- Excerpt from Bob Dylan’s liner notes for Blues With Friends
Dion’s Blues With Friends CD, out June 5th, represents the fulfillment of a lifelong vision.
Dion explains the album’s impetus, “I wanted an album of songs that were strong and memorable and told stories that were worth telling.” His songwriting efforts were supported by a cadre of great players, each of whom jumped at the chance to collaborate with a music legend they think of in heroic terms. He’s quick to point out just how enduring this creative relationship has been, “The blues have been at the heart of my music since the early 1960s. ‘The Wanderer’ is a twelve-bar blues and I was covering Willie Dixon and Jimmy Reed in my early years at Columbia — much to the dismay of my corporate masters.” That’s the way it’s long been for the man Lou Reed inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame more than thirty years ago. That night the normally taciturn Reed exalted, “And then there was Dion — whose voice was unlike any other I had heard before — a voice that stood on its own, remarkable and unmistakably from New York. Bronx soul.”
As one of the very few first-generation rock ‘n’ rollers still seriously pursing new avenues of expression, Dion’s Bronx soul is very much in evidence on this new album, a full-tilt blues offering. The blues songs therein are not “covers” nor Dion’s versions of blues standards. These compositions are, in fact, blues originals, destined to become classics in their own right. He came up with the music and words for twelve of them and finished those with co-writer Mike Aquilina. The two exceptions are “Hymn To Him” which Dion wrote with Bill Tuohy and “Kickin’ Child,” written with Buddy Lucas.
To tell those stories, Dion recruited help from a few notable friends and admirers. He thought, “I needed to round up the best guitarists and musicians alive and pick them from every generation, every variation of blues.” And that’s just what he did, surrounding himself with those who feel the blues spirit as he does.
The album’s guests include the cream of the contemporary scene’s blues-rooted slingers including Jeff Beck, Billy Gibbons, Joe Bonamassa, Brian Setzer, Sonny Landreth, Samantha Fish, John Hammond Jr., Joe Louis Walker, Rory Block , Jimmy and Jerry Vivino, vintage guitar guru Joe Menza as well as icons Stevie Van Zandt, Patti Scialfa, Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison and Paul Simon. Yes, that’s a whole lot of star power but each participated not because of his or her marquee appeal but because of what each could add musically. The result is one reflective of nuanced devotion to the blues rather than a gratuitous display of individual virtuosity. It’s very much Dion’s album and those bold face names participating are most convincingly there for him.
For this outing, Dion worked with producer Wayne Hood in whose Florida studio the basic tracks were recorded. “From the first day, I was at home. We hit it off like brothers on a mission. We caught the same vision and sound and off we went.” Over the course of the last part of 2019 and the first part of 2020, the album began to take shape. Dion had the songs and the collaborators began to reveal themselves. As Dion tells it, he ran the album’s first track, “Blues Comin’ On,” past Joe Bonamassa. He noted, “It’s funny how a song evolves. For me it usually starts with a few words. In this case it was “If I didn’t know better" I wanted to sing those words, so I wrote a song around them. Joe Bonamassa is a monster and took the song to a whole new level.” Joe would be the first of many of Dion’s Blues With Friends co-conspirators.
Ever the no-nonsense sage, Dion bottom lined just what makes Blues With Friends a project for the ages: “Great songs, great guitarists. What more do you need?” he asks.
Dion’s Blues With Friends will be released on June 5th through Keeping The Blues Alive Records, a new label started by Joe Bonamassa and his manager Roy Weisman and is an offshoot of Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation, Bonamassa’s non-profit that aims to conserve the art of music and the rich culture and history of the blues. The label’s objective is to provide a platform for musical talent in blues and blues-rock based music and to help encourage the careers of extraordinary musical talent. 10% of all profits from the label will be donated back to the Non-Profit for promoting music education to students and schools in need.
The album will be preceded by a staggered release of album singles as follows:
April 24 – “Blues Comin’ On” with Joe Bonamassa
May 1 – “Hymn To Him” with Patti Scialfa & Bruce Springsteen
May 8 – “Bam Bang Boom” with Billy Gibbons
May 15 – “I Got Nothin’” with Van Morrison & Joe Louis Walker
May 22 – “Can’t Start Over Again” with Jeff Beck
May 29 – “Song For Sam Cooke (Here In America)” with Paul Simon
In addition to the aforementioned “Blues Comin’ On,” Dion provided some analytical introspection for the album’s other thirteen tracks, all guests on guitar unless otherwise indicated.
“Kickin’ Child” (with Joe Menza) “I was the first rock-and-roll artist signed to Columbia Records, but they thought rock was a passing fad and wanted me to be the next crooner of standards from the Great American Songbook, but I wasn’t going there. I recorded what I wanted, and it mostly stayed in the vault. I first wrote and recorded this song in 1965; Tom Wilson produced a version of it. In 2017 I released an album with “Kickin'’ Child” as the title track but it wasn’t where I wanted it, so I re-recorded in here. Joe Menza knew where I wanted it to go.”
“Uptown Number 7” (with Brian Setzer) “I wanted to write an old-fashioned gospel number in the style of the Golden Gate Quartet. I wanted this one to be about moving forward in the spiritual life… having a goal... facing temptations along the way. So, I put it all on a train, because that’s what New Yorkers do if they want to get anywhere: they take the train. I can never leave well enough alone, so one day I tried the melody in a minor key. I loved the way it turned out and that’s what you’re hearing.”
“Can’t Start Over Again” (with Jeff Beck) “My earliest influences were country blues, especially Hank Williams. Any money I earned I took to the neighborhood record store, where the owner used to razz me about my “hillbilly” tastes. I guess I still have that hillbilly inside. For my last album I wrote a song called ‘I Can’t Go Back to Memphis,’ but I go back there with this number. It’s about love and loss and heartache, the classic themes. I believe it's a true blues song. I asked Jeff Beck to play something on it, he said yes! What can I say, it's Jeff Beck.”
“My Baby Loves to Boogie” (with John Hammond Jr., harmonica) “John Hammond and I go back to the ’60s at the Gaslight coffee house in Greenwich Village. I’ve always admired John. He’s a dear friend. I played him this song and he said he heard harp on it. Well, friends, now you could hear exactly what he was talking’ about. It sounds like “Boogie Beyond.”
“I Got Nothin’” (with Van Morrison, vocals, and Joe Louis Walker, guitar) “You know when you sit down and you want to write a song, but nothing comes to mind? I was having one of those days. So, I went with the feeling and this is what I got. I got nothin’, and nothing is enough! It’s more than enough, actually, when you’re singing it with Van Morrison and Joe Louis Walker complemented us perfectly.”
“Stumbling Blues” (with Jimmy Vivino and Jerry Vivino, sax) “This is one of those melodies that came out of nowhere and it feels like it’s been drifting on the wind since the beginning of time. It’s built on a classic blues progression. I didn’t really hear it till I was sitting in Van Morrison’s dressing room and he asked me to play something new. For whatever reason, I knew while I was singing it that it was something extraordinary.”
“Bam Bang Boom” (with Billy Gibbons) “This is another song that started as phrases I wanted to sing. ‘I stepped into love.’ The lyric does a good job of describing what happened when I first met Susan. We were both teenagers. She was new to my very Italian neighborhood in the Bronx and she was a redheaded transplant from Vermont. Bam bang boom! Billy Gibbons was a joy to work with on this. There’s nobody like him.”
“I Got the Cure” (with Sonny Landreth) “The blues aren’t always about being down and out. When you aren’t crying, you’re bragging about what you can do. It’s what I did in songs from ‘The Wanderer’ to ‘King of the New York Streets’ to “Gangster of Love.’ Here I go again.”
“Song for Sam Cooke (Here in America)” (with Paul Simon, vocals) “I wrote this tune back many years ago. At first I just had the melody and the refrain ‘Here in America.’ A friend suggested I use an episode from my memoir about walking southern streets with Sam Cooke in 1962. I finished the song, but it felt too personal, so I put it aside. Then in 2019 I saw the movie Green Book and after that I couldn’t shake the song. My friend Paul Simon wanted to record it what he was hearing on the tune; it’s a story we both share. Thank you Paul. Rest in peace, Sam.
“What If I Told You” (with Samantha Fish) “Same old story: suspicion. The challenge is to make it new and fresh and I think I did. If I put out the same amount of energy and emotion that Samantha Fish put into this song, I wouldn’t be able to walk for three weeks. EPIC!!!”
“Told You Once in August” (with John Hammond, slide guitar on right, Rory Block, slide guitar on left and vocals) “One of my favorite guitars is a little Cordova travel model that I bought for practically nothing. One day I was fooling around on it and I got this sound that reminded me of those old backwoods Appalachian blues recordings. I tried to capture the slow anger of a man who gradually realizes he’s been done wrong by his woman.”
“Way Down (I Won’t Cry No More)” (with Stevie Van Zandt) “It started with a rhythm. It got me and wouldn’t let go. My dear friend Stevie Van Zandt just rocked it with his grit and nasty grunge guitar. We had a lot of fun in the studio and then we went out to eat to celebrate.”
“Hymn to Him” (with Patti Scialfa, vocals, and Bruce Springsteen, guitar) “I first recorded this song for my 1987 gospel album Velvet & Steel. But songs are never finished... I kept hearing this with Patti’s voice, so I asked her to help me remake the song. When she started singing and layering her vocals down, I got a big surprise. Bruce walked into the studio with his guitar and asked to play a solo. They made it something sublime.”
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About Keeping The Blues Alive Records: Joe Bonamassa along with his long-time manager, Roy Weisman, have taken the next step by creating a new record label, Keeping The Blues Alive (KTBA) Records. The label is an offshoot of Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation, Joe Bonamassa’s non-profit that aims to conserve the art of music and the rich culture and history of the blues, recognized as a true American art form. KTBA Records’ objective is to provide a platform for musical talent in blues and blues-rock based music and to help promote the careers of extra ordinary musical talent. The label works synergistically with the non-profit’s mission of supporting musicians to continue the legacy of the blues. 10% of all profits from KTBA Records will be donated to the non-profit. The label is an important step in the co-evolution of the music and the business of making it. It represents another of Bonamassa’s continuing efforts over the last 25 years in supporting the artistic community. It reflects the philosophy of paying it forward just as so many others did for Joe in the hope of paving the way for blues-rock stars in the future. www.KTBArecords.com
I have really enjoyed Dion’s recent albums … he is still in fine voice and really seems to be enjoying himself, making all of this new music.
This one sounds like no exception.
I was given an early listen (Thanks, Bob Merlis!) and this is a spirited outing with some pretty high-profile celebs along for the ride. My early favorite is “Can’t Start Over Again,” featuring Jeff Beck … but even after just one listen I get the feeling that most, if not all of these songs will “grow on you” after repeated listens, just like his last couple of albums did. Definitely worth a listen! (kk)
More on this new release here:
The other day we told you about what would have been Roy Orbison’s 84th birthday (April 23rd) and let you know about the new re-release of Roy’s landmark television concert special “A Black And White Night,” now available for permanent streaming here …
Well, here’s a picture of Roy celebrating his 27th birthday with a few of his famous friends …
Well, here’s a picture of Roy celebrating his 27th birthday with a few of his famous friends …
(By the way,, that’s Roy’s young son Roy DeWayne, one third of “Roy’s Boys,” beaming out from the lower right.)
And some more information about the new site devoted to preserving this historic event …
April 23rd is Roy Orbison’s birthday; the legend was born in Vernon, TX, on that day in 1936, meaning this year marks The Big O’s 84th birthday.
To celebrate, Wesley, Roy and Alex Orbison, a/k/a Roy’s Boys, invite you to attend The Roy Orbison Black & White Night Watch Party on Facebook. Click here and you’ll be treated to a showing of Black &White Night 30 in its entirely. You’ll see and hear Roy Orbison at the very height of his powers, joined by admirers Jackson Browne, T Bone Burnett, Elvis Costello, k.d. lang, Bonnie Raitt, J.D. Souther, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits and Jennifer Warnes. They’re all backed by veterans of Elvis Presley’s phenomenal TCB Band including James Burton, Glen D. Hardin, Jerry Schef and Ronnie Tut.
Burton has fond memories of working with Roy Orbison and especially being part of Black & White Night. "Whether it was playing live or recording, it was always so much fun working with Roy. Black & White Night is one of my all time favorite shows with amazing musicians and a star-studded audience. Roy and I keying off of each other was always thrilling and he was such a pro and a wonderful entertainer. What a night that was!"
For the 30th Anniversary of this landmark concert event, Roy Orbison’s “Black And White Night 30 DVD, Blu-ray and audio CD’s were released in February of 2017, featuring never-before-seen performances, camera angles and a new mini-documentary.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Roy Orbison’s renowned 1987 televised comeback concert at the Cocoanut Grove night club in Los Angeles, Sony Music’s Legacy Recordings has teamed up with Roy’s Boys LLC, the Nashville-based company founded by the late icon’s sons to administer their father’s catalog and safeguard his legacy. Together, they have released Black & White Night 30, a re-imagined, re-edited, remastered and expanded version of the original television special, available both as a CD/DVD set and as a CD/Blu-ray set.
By the mid-1980s, Roy Orbison had been out of the limelight for quite some time, but his song “In Dreams” was prominently featured in David Lynch’s landmark 1986 noir film Blue Velvet and helped reignite interest in the ‘Big O.’ On September 30, 1987, Orbison, then 51, staged a remarkable comeback with the help of guest musicians whom he had influenced: Jackson Browne, T Bone Burnett, Elvis Costello, k.d. lang, Bonnie Raitt, J.D. Souther, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits and Jennifer Warnes. The all-star concert at the Ambassador Hotel’s Cocoanut Grove night club was turned into a television special and broadcast as Roy Orbison & Friends: Black & White Night on Cinemax the following January, less than a year before the icon’s untimely passing.
Black & White Night 30 is NOT a reissue. Because the concert had been shot using seven separate cameras, there were hundreds of hours of footage that went unused and unseen. Roy’s youngest son Alex Orbison and his co-editor Luke Chalk went back and re-edited the entire performance so that while the look will be familiar to those that have seen the original version, the vast majority of footage in Black & White Night 30 has never been seen before by the public. Furthermore, the program has been restored to reflect the correct set order, so that viewers can see Roy, brilliantly backed by Elvis Presley’s TCB Band (James Burton, Glen D. Hardin, Jerry Scheff, Ron Tutt), blast through massive Orbison hits such as “Only the Lonely,” “In Dreams” and “Crying” just as the star-studded live audience witnessed them on that very night.
The bonus features included in Black & White Night 30 are remarkable in both size and scope. These include a previously unseen alternate version of Orbison’s biggest hit “Oh, Pretty Woman” and a previously unseen “Blue Angel.” Then, unbeknownst to just about everyone but those that were there in 1987, Roy and friends and the full band regathered onstage after the show had ended and after the audience had left. A ‘secret concert’ of five songs followed and is presented here for the first time. The “secret concert” features alternate takes of “Dream You,” “Comedians,” “Candyman,” “Claudette,” and “Uptown” with shooting stopped only after film ran out in the middle of the latter song. These ‘secret’ performances have been highly sought after by fans for decades. All tracks, including all ‘secret concert’ alternate versions have been freshly remastered by Richard Dodd. The audio for the concert is available on CD with buyers of Black & White Night 30 receiving a download code for access to the audio records of the ‘secret concert.’
Also included is a brand new 33-minute mini-documentary consisting of rehearsal footage and pre and post show interviews with Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, k.d. lang, Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne from that night. Absolutely none of this content has ever been released commercially, and until recently, has only been rumored to exist.
Black & White Night 30’s bonus features are capped with a montage consisting of 20 still photos from the show and new photos of show memorabilia, mostly unused and unseen in any context. Liner notes written by son Roy Orbison Jr. are included in the brand new, yet thematically consistent, packaging.
Roy Orbison: Black & White Night 30 DVD/Blu-ray tracklist
1) Only The Lonely
2) Leah
3) In Dreams
4) Crying
5) Uptown
6) The Comedians
7) Blue Angel+
8) It’s Over
9) Running Scared
10) Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)
11) Mean Woman Blues
12) Candy Man
13) Ooby Dooby
14) Blue Bayou
15) Go Go Go (Down the Line)
16) (All I Can Do Is) Dream You
17) Claudette
18) Oh, Pretty Woman (ALT Version)*
19) Oh, Pretty Woman
Secret Post Show
1) (All I Can Do Is) Dream You (Alternate Version)*
2) The Comedians (Alternate Version)*
3) Candy Man (Alternate Version)*
4) Claudette (Alternate Version)*
5) Uptown (Alternate Version)*
*Previously unreleased
+First time on DVD
DVD/Blu-ray bonus features:
- Bonus Rehearsal & Interview Footage
- Photo Gallery
This one got truncated the other day … so here it is again …
Hey Kent,
You've witnessed the scene in downtown Nashville. It's like the Las Vegas Strip or New York's Times Square; but for the last five weeks it's been empty. A ghost town! It's crazy and scary with so many jobs tied to music and entertainment. We're hoping it will begin to open up soon.
David Lewis
I feel for ALL of the musicians and entertainers who have been put out of work by this thing. The Nashville Strip, The Las Vegas Strip … silenced and deserted. Thank God for organizations like Music Cares that are helping some of these artists survive during this crazy, crazy time. (Add to that all the bars and restaurants workers … this disease has crippled us in SO many ways beyond health issues. It’s like we’re all living in the worst horror movie ever made. (And yesterday the Governor declared another full month of lock-down.) kk
CALL ON ME! CALL ON ME!
OK, thanks, Kent ...
My hand has been raised for the longest time.
I just wanted to give you a couple personal experiences of how things are being handled with schools closed and social distancing learning.
My district has an initiative to incorporate chrome books in learning on a regular basis and so 3rd-12th grade all had been issued these computers for the year 2019-2020. We have been adding an additional year at the start of each fall term. So next year, 2nd-12th grade will each have a Chromebook. (Yes, I had many questions on “why” and “need” for this, but I have now shut my mouth during this new normal) So, since we had three days notice that schools were closing (for SOME period of time), IT Dept. gathered up as many Chromebooks as needed to issue to every 1st and 2nd grader before we closed. After closing, IT made more raids on their supply system, and parents of Pre-K and K were able to do drive-by pick ups for their children. They also found enough chromes for the staff, which were also picked up by drive-by. I have one from our administrative office.
So our plan is one child = one computer. Each school has a morning message, followed by a morning meeting with their teacher and the schedule for the day, including their special (music, art, media, PE) The rest of the day is student/parent run, with teachers available for phone calls, live online interactions and emails.
My granddaughters in a neighboring state have a one Chromebook per household distribution, with class meetings being scheduled throughout the day and lesson postings available for the week so parents can plan ahead if they desire.
I have heard several other scenarios, but these are the two I work with. We were told to send our kids home on the last day with EVERYTHING; as if they were going home for the summer. With such short notice, it took trashbags to handle the transport.
And lest you think this is vaca for anyone, I am required to take an online course; 3 modules a week / 26 total; exam after each module. We also ride in the vans to distribute Food To Kids Program and help pack breakfasts/lunches for drive-by pick up.
We will do the best we can. It is important.
Shelley J Sweet-Tufano
No question that this thing has turned EVERYONE’S world upside down. This doesn’t even touch on the difficulty of homecare for so many of these kids whose parents may still be working. I am just glad to hear that allowances have been made to give every student an equal chance to learn and succeed. With so many proms and graduations already scheduled, this will make for some GREAT stories for these kids’ grandchildren someday. (Back when I was in school, we had to … yada yada yada)
This is also a chance for educators to shine … show why they got into teaching in the first place which is, exactly as you said, because you CARE. They’re instituting a new ordinance here that any person over the age of TWO must now wear a face mask when they’re out in public!!! We have a two year old grandson (with a baby sister on the way) who may come to know this as the ONLY way of life. That’s just sad and scary.
How on earth this thing spread as widely and as quickly as it did is beyond comprehension … and there’s a part of me that cannot help but wonder what the world will be like when Covid 23 comes around, speculating the damage that Covid 19 has already done and the potential harm that could come in between. (kk)
>>>Dobkins also hit The Top 40 with a track called “Lucky Devil,” which also performed better in Music Vendor (#20) than Billboard (#25). Anybody remember that one??? (kk)
A 45 my brother had when I was small, so I really love the song.
Clark Besch
Kent,
You asked the rhetorical question if anyone remembered the Carl Dobkins, Jr. song LUCKY DEVIL. Well, you know by now that I remembered it for the main reason it was played and charted here in OKC. Also, he had a record in 1960 called TAKE TIME OUT which I liked, also on Decca.
Since I learned the passing of Ian Whitcomb in FH, I have played a few versions of his YOU TURN ME ON, primarily when he was on the television show Shindig. Each version seemed to be different in length but I also played the original 45 which came in at 2:45.
Now, Kent, when I hear of Ian Whitcomb, I think of a couple of follow-ups that he had. One was called N-E-R-V-O-U-S (any relation to N-O-R-V-U-S?) and another one in which the song title itself is almost as long as the song itself. The title was, I believe, WHAT DID ROBINSON CRUSOE AND HIS SERVANT FRIDAY DO ON A SATURDAY NIGHT? or something like that. Kind of reminds me of that song Ray Stevens made in 1961 in which the title was longer than the song itself (lol).
Larry Neal
I seem to remember “N-E-R-V-O-U-S” getting a minimum amount of airplay here in Chicago. It actually made The Top 40 (well, #40) in Record Word … but only peaked at #59 in Billboard. I can’t find any national chart data of “Take Time Out” charting, so that must have been a regional hit in Oklahoma. “Where Did Robinson Crusoe Go With Friday On Saturday Night?”, however, “bubbled under” in all three trades, scoring highest in Billboard at #101 in late 1966. This song actually dates back to the Al Jolson days!!! (kk)
The British Are Coming - Paul Revere and the Raiders – YouTube
kk:
I don't think Paul Revere is singing about The Beatles.
FB
I wouldn’t be so sure, looking at the images shown in this video!!! A rare one, indeed … I never even knew it existed! Thanks, Frank. (kk)
UPDATE: I sent this link to the guys in Paul Revere’s Raiders which, even all these years later, still include Doug Heath and Ron Foos, part of the band when they first recorded this song back in 1976. (Actually, as part of The Spirit of ’76, this all makes perfect sense, right???) kk
Doug was in Paul Revere & the Raiders with Paul and Mark Lindsayfrom 1973 on. Ron joined 8 or 9 months later I believe. I’ve forwarded this to both of them and asked them to send you some background.
Tommy
We look forward to hearing about The Raiders of the early to mid '70's! Thanks, Tommy! (kk)
We look forward to hearing about The Raiders of the early to mid '70's! Thanks, Tommy! (kk)
Congratulations to our FH Buddy Merrell Fankhauser, recent recipient of The Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award …
Merrell Wayne Fankhauser Presented with the Albert Nelson Marquis
Lifetime Achievement Award by Marquis Who’s Who
Mr. Fankhauser has been endorsed by Marquis Who’s Who as a leader in the music field ARROYO GRANDE, CA, April 22, 2020, Marquis Who’s Who, the world’s premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Merrell Wayne Fankhauser with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Mr. Fankhauser celebrates many years’ experience in his professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field.
As a child growing up in Kentucky, Mr. Fankhauser was inspired by his mother’s love of song. Watching her as a singer in big bands and seeing his father sing and play the guitar as well, he found that music was in his blood and pursued a career in the field himself. After his parents bought him a ukulele, he started writing songs before they moved to California and he received an electric guitar. By 15, he was performing in local theaters and wrote songs for his band called The Impacts. Del-Fi Records found the group and invited them to Los Angeles, where they recorded an album of instrumental surf music called "Wipeout," which launched his career. Through his work with a number of bands, he has parlayed his love of music to others. Backed by his extensive expertise, Mr. Fankhauser served as a music teacher for Lancaster Music from 1963 until 1966, and as a writer for Winston Lansdowne Publications from the late 1960s to the early 1970s. Today, he channels his vast experiences and lifelong love of music into his work as leader of the Merrell Fankhauser Band, president and producer of Ocean Records, president of Fankhauser Music Publishing since 1990. From 1990 to 1995 he hosted a national satellite TV show "California Music." For the past 20 years he has hosted a popular TV show that airs in California and Hawaii called "Tiki Lounge." Although his career has been filled with highlights, he is especially proud of following his dream. A number of his songs have been selected for special honors, including "Tomorrow’s Girl," which was included in the Rhino Records Grammy- nominated compilation CD set "Where the Action is 1965-1967," and "Lila," which was featured in the movie "Chappaquiddick." While starting his musical career, Mr. Fankhauser studied at Allan Hancock College and retains professional alignment with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Throughout his career, he has sung and written a plethora albums, including "Message to the Universe," "Rockin and Surfin," "Doctor Fankhauser," "A Day in aradise," "Calling From a Star," "The Maui," and the songs "I Saw Susie Crying," "When I Get Home" and "Oceans of Intelligence." He now has over 40 albums releases and countless singles, re-issues and compilations of 128 releases. Additionally, he had the honor of publishing an autobiography titled, "Calling From a Star: The Merrell Fankhauser Story." He was also featured in the 1992/1993 edition of Who's Who in entertainment. Over the years he's had the privilege to perform with Willie Nelson, John Cipollina, John McEuen, Ed Cassidy, Peter Noone, Nicky Hopkins, Jane Russell and many others.
With wild animals now walking thru big cities, it may be time for comebacks from Three Dog Night, Steppenwolf, Stray Cats, Crazy Horse, Buffalo Springfield, Monkees, Country Joe & the Fish, Byrds, Yardbirds, Eagles, Turtles, Adam Ant, Beatles, Animals, T. Rex and more!!!
Clark Besch
The summer of the Midwest Rock Festivals kicked off exactly 50 years ago today, April, 24, 1970, with The Sound Storm Rock Festival held in Mt York, WI, near Poynette and just north of Madison, WI.
In total there were five regional rock festivals within an approximate 150 mile radius of Chicago, the first being The Midwest Rock Festival held at the WI State Fairgrounds in West Allis, WI, on July, 25 - 27, in 1969. After Woodstock, plans were in the works for four more festivals in 1970 ... Sound Storm, Incident at Kickapoo Creek / Heyworth, IL / Memorial Day Weekend, The People’s Fair / Iola, WI / July 26 - 27, and The Goose Lake Rock Festival / Goose Lake Park, MI / August 7 - 9. Sound Storm was the first one of 1970 and some of the bands scheduled to play were ... The Grateful Dead, Crow, Illinois Speed Press, Rotary Connection, Mason Profit, Fuse and Baby Huey. Also rumored to play was REO Speedwagon. With full disclosure, this was the only one of the five festivals that I did not attend. I was still in college and working full time, cold weather was predicted and, quite frankly, I did not feel like freezing my butt off. One of my best friends attending UW did attend and his only memory of the event was freezing his butt off. There is very little information available on this festival and the only reports are that it warmed up on Sunday and The Grateful Dead played.
Note: The average person who attends a rock festival can only remember seeing 3 bands.
Meanwhile, as Sound Storm is going on, David L. Lewis of Heyworth, IL, about (15) minutes south of Bloomington on old route 51, has refrained from planting crops on his mother’s farm and instead has planted a grassy ground cover. He is currently battling court orders that would bar him from folding a rock festival on the farm. The festival is The Incident at Kickapoo Creek and is scheduled for the Memorial Day Weekend.
Robert Campbell
Boy, I haven’t heard some of those
band names in DECADES!!! Thanks for sharing,
Robert! (kk)
