Don Efenberger
We continue to see these false “facts” being repeated …
although I have to admit that more and more sources are now citing our landmark
article from 2002 that traced the origins of the first Beatles record being
played in America to Dick Biondi and WLS in February of 1963.
A quick Google search of this topic pops up SEVERAL
sources now crediting our research for the most accurate (and exhaustive)
search into this topic …
After Beatles Historian Bruce Spizer
acknowledged our research in his book “The Beatles Are Coming,” we started to
see it recognized in more publications.
Here’s our original (and exhaustive!) piece from 2002:
And our Ten Year Anniversary piece … as the debate
continues …
50 Years Ago This Week, The
Carpenters had the #1 Single in the Country as “Close To You” climbed to the
top of the charts everywhere.
Tom Cuddy sent us this piece taking
a look back at the incredible sound of this incredible act.
The Carpenters’ “Close To You” And Herb Alpert’s Fateful Note
https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/carpenters-close-to-you-herb-alpert/
https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/carpenters-close-to-you-herb-alpert/
The
duo would top the charts six more times over the next five years: “We’ve Only Just Begun” (1970), “Superstar”
(1971), “Hurting Each Other” (1972), “Yesterday Once More” (1973), “Top Of The
World” 1973) and “Please Mr. Postman” (1975).
In addition, they would send six other records into The Top Ten. (kk)
>>>I wonder what motivated
this recording attempt, apparently around 1980 … how far it got and why it
never got any further. (kk)
KENT,
You certainly have
valid questions as to if he stockpiled songs on tape. When I watched the
documentary, it sounded to me like he went across the street to his mom and
collected "his songs" in whatever form they were in and brought them
back for making the new CD in 2016. If not for his mom storing them,
because they were apparently precious to HER (and maybe NOT him?), we might
never have had the 2016 CD.
Varese's 1995 CD,
"Listen, Listen" contained the 1980 "Isn't it So" as a
bonus track and it was also put on Emitt's 2016 CD, so many of these songs must
be 30 years old! STILL, they sound really good in their new setting, too.
"I'm
Schizoid." That's how Emitt described himself in the 1983 interview
below. I remembered I had this OLD "Flipside" issue somewhere
that had been a great read and found it online just now ... a very intricately
detailed story on Emitt. The interview was conducted by Mike Quercio (of
3 O'Clock) and Sue Hoffs (of The Bangles) and Pat "Pooch" DiPuccio
(apparently, the Flipside editor) after driving around asking people where
Emitt lived. Emitt shows more interest in Sue than the interview.
It's easy to see why.
Some highlights
include:
The Palace Guard, as
the Hullaballoo house band … he could "hang out and get all the pizza he
could eat."
He just learned to
play the guitar on his own. He mentions having a mentor, Russel Show, who
worked in the mailroom at A&M Records!
"Live" was a
demo that A&M released as is. He
seemed VERY enthused in that period as a performer on the strip in
LA. He loved having "girls ripping clothes and grabbing body
parts."
The "American
Dream" album was him in the studio with "anybody who was
anybody."
Some A&R guy at
Dunhill came out to his parent's house (studio) and Emitt played the backing
tracks to the songs he wanted to release for an LP and Emitt sang over the
tracks LIVE for the person. MAN, how I would have loved to have been THAT
guy at THAT moment!
About going to
England, he had the great hilarious comment "Over here (US) I was the
American McCartney. Over there I was the ... American
McCartney." When asked about his start, he basically gave another
funny, but true, answer … "Basically, I've spent my whole life in a
garage."
It gives insight into
how much his mom must have loved him and kept clippings as well as, apparently,
his later unreleased songs.
He talks about why
"Farewell To Paradise" took so long to release.
Emitt wanted to go to
the Bangles' session when they recorded "Live" for their first
Columbia album.
The most exciting
thing of his life in 1983? His children being born. Fast forward 26
years to the 2009 documentary and he has no contact with his children. So
sad.
He bypassed anything
about recently doing any songs or for the future.
In the end, I don't think
I have ever written so much about someone in my life! Emitt musta had SOMETHING
I liked.
You can now read the
entire two page article from "Flipside" 1983 via the link below.
Just enlarge print with magnifying glasses in grey in lower right corner.
This is a VERY hard article to read
(not made any better by the fact that all of the type is reversed out of a
black background!) Even blowing it up
only helped a little bit. And I couldn’t
get it to stay on the second page of the interview for some reason … it kept
drifting back to what I had already read.
Hopefully, some of you will have better luck with it than I did. (I also couldn’t get it to print out for some
reason.)
All of that being said, Emitt
doesn’t come off looking any better in this context. He was a strange bird, for sure … doesn’t
really seem to have it all together … and even when he’s trying to be funny, it
comes off as being a little off the mark.
(His need to keep coming back to the subject of drugs … and then saying
how he did very little drugs because he was a good boy seemed extremely odd to
me, too.)
The end result is, I’m almost
inclined not to read any more by him or about him as I’m afraid it will start
to change the image I have held for him for all these years.
A VERY talented man … who wasted
many, many years by not pursuing his God-given craft. It’s a shame.
The “One Man Beatles” documentary only serves to drive that point home
even farther. I think I’ll just listen
to the music … as I have been doing all week long … to the point that I can’t
even sleep at night because it’s still playing non-stop in my head!!! The music lives on … and brings back many
happy memories and moments for me … that’s what I choose to hang on to. (kk)
Original Fleetwood Mac Founding
Member Peter Green passed away yesterday, July 25th, at the age of
73. He reportedly died peacefully in his
sleep.
Originally founded as a blues band, Green wasn’t around to
enjoy the massive commercial success of the band in the late ‘70’s after
Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham came on board. (Green quit the group in 1970, fifty years
ago, due to excessive drug use and increasing mental health issues. He would be institutionalized a few years
later.)
Under his reign, Fleetwood Mac
earned their first US Chart Single with the instrumental “Albatross,” a song
voted in as your #3192 in our recent Top 3333 Most Essential Classic Rock Songs
of All-Time Poll. He also wrote “Black
Magic Woman,” a song that he and Fleetwood Mac first recorded … that would go
on to become a MAJOR hit for Santana in 1971.
Kent,
I would like to tell
you what immediately came to my mind after reading Friday's FH.
Casey Kasem's A LETTER
FROM ELAINA reminded me of a record in 1963 called A LETTER FROM SHERRY by Dale
Ward. Both songs are quite different, but it still reminded me of the Dale Ward
record.
Singer Jake Holmes was
mentioned with a song called SO CLOSE. The only thing I remember about him is a
song he came out with in 1969 called HOW ARE YOU? Part 1 on Polydor Records.
Reader Geoff Lambert
reported that singer Rod Bernard died at the age of 79. I always did like his
THIS SHOULD GO ON FOREVER. I have two copies of his record, one being on the
original Jin Record label. Also, he had a record in 1961 which I don't know if
you or any of your readers will remember. It was called COLINDA on the Hall
Record label I believe. Big record here in the OKC area … Top 10 I believe.
You are right in
saying that Jerry Lee Lewis looked barely alive in that picture you posted. I
really had to look twice at the picture to see if it was really him. How sad.
Larry
Dale Ward’s record was a BIG hit
here in Chicago, reaching #5 in 1964 on our Top Tunes Of Greater Chicagoland
chart. (It peaked at #7 on WLS) Nationally, it was a #25 record.
By all appearenaces, Jake Holmes’
biggest claim to fame was erroneously scoring a Top 40 Hit (on American Top 40
ONLY) due to the error described in our piece.
This really wasn’t the case,
however.
Despite peaking at #49 in Billboard
(on which the AT40 chart was based), it actually WAS a Top 40 Hit in both
Record World (#27) and Cash Box (#29) … another one of those 20-point spreads
we keep coming across in the way of measuring a record’s relative popularity.
It is these types of discrepancies
that inspired us to start The Super Chart many, many years ago … a reflection
of the popularity of these hits as gauged by all three major trade
publications.
Randy Price put the whole thing
together for us and Super Charts now exist from 1955 to 1982 when Record World
stopped publishing. For me, it is the
most accurate representation of how these records REALLY performed on the
charts as they take into consideration the research and resources of all three
major trades, thus widening the spread of data collected considerably.
I am happy to report that The Super
Charts will return next year when we take our look back at the music of 1971 …
so stay tuned for that.
Meanwhile, we would STILL love to
get these things published so that the whole world can enjoy them. If somebody out there is interested in
helping to put this deal together, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
OK … commercial over.
As for the other tunes you
mentioned, “How Are You? – Part One” bubbled under in Record World and Cash Box
in 1969 … it never even got that far in Billboard. Officially, its peak was #105.
As for “Colinda,” IT bubbled under
in Billboard at #102 in 1962 … but got as high as #76 in Music Vendor, making
it another one of those records with a 20+ point spread that we see so often …
which is why WE support The Super Charts put together by Randy Price … oh wait
… didn’t I just tell you about these?
Well these two simple, totally random examples prove once again WHY
these charts are so valuable! (kk)
A couple of weeks ago we told you
about a new release spotlighting the best of the PBS Rock, Pop and Doo Wop
television concerts … a 7-DVD / 2-CD box set being released on August 17th.
This set is already being advertised
for the price of $59.98 plus shipping and handling ... but if you order RIGHT
NOW, it can be yours for just $39.98, postage paid!
The track list is nothing short of phenomenal
and features over 200 songs and performances.
But you’d better act quickly! This special pricing won’t last.
Watch for brand new posts Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
next week in Forgotten Hits … (and don’t be surprised if we don’t come up with
a few more along the way!!!) Make us
part of your daily routine … so you never miss a thing! (kk)
