I am just so happy I typed out a list QUICKLY at the beginning of this, because if I had taken the time to think about it for a few days/weeks, MY list would have looked like your list … and no way would I have been able to cut it down. Even in this closed down pandemic odyssey, I have emotionally and mentally broken out in summer songs.
Shelley J Sweet-Tufano
Ah yes ...
But I guess technically this gives you the chance to vote for 20 more that may have slipped your mind the first time around. (Good luck with that!!!)
When Scott first suggested that I run the list of most popular titles to date, I knew it was going to be overwhelming ... we’ve already had over 500 titles nominated (and I cut THAT list in half!!) …
But boy, what a great Top 100 we're going to end up with!!! (kk)
Or I can bang my head against the wall.
Shelley
Keep listening all weekend long as Scott Shannon plays the greatest hits and all-time summer favorites … on The True Oldies Channel …
Listen Live Here: https://www.iheart.com/live/true-oldies-channel-6691/
Or here: TRUEOLDIESCHANNEL.COM
And don’t forget to vote …
The final deadline is Friday, August 14th! (kk)
It was 54 years ago this week …
It was July 29th that I walked over to the local TV/Radio repair shop. They also sold records and I picked up these two surveys. From there, my life began a downhill slide from which I may never recover.
Because of this addiction, I would meet some dude named Kent Kotal, about 13 years later. Somewhere in that same time period, maybe earlier, I would meet FH member Mike Wolstein.
Of course, later on, I have met, or at least conversed with, many other FH members.
This all because of a fateful Friday afternoon walk with a friend of mine to that TV repair place. Who knew what course of events would have been different?
Jack Levin
Ah yes, but what an interesting run of events it has been. LOTS of chart-aholics on the list for sure … and we’ve been able to provide a great forum to share some of these regional surprises. (You’ll find more on this topic later in the week!)
And how fitting is it that the #1 song on both of our Chicagoland charts that week was "Summer In The City," the All-Time #1 Summer Favorite of All-Time!!! (kk)
Some interesting Elvis history and memorabilia can be found here:
Here’s a health update on Christopher Cross, who I know is very anxious to resume his 40th Anniversary Tour once concerts are back in full swing again …
Here is a GREAT piece I just came across on Emitt Rhodes … too late to include in Friday’s posting … but DEFINITELY worth sharing now.
Kent,
My partner Mark Dillon (“Fifty Sides of The Beach Boys” author) and I just posted our latest Surf’s Up: a Beach Boys Podcast Safari ~
The Beach Boys' touring band was hot throughout the 70s, in part thanks to Carli Muñoz's powerhouse contribution on organ and piano. He was also a skilled composer, and Dennis Wilson looked to use Carli's songs and have him co-produce his projected second solo album Bambu.
Here, Carli reveals the inspiration behind those songs, recalls his friend and group manager Jack Rieley, and recounts why he and Rags Baker deliberately got arrested after recording a demo of "Constant Companion"!
Here Today @ https://soundcloud.com/user-93394161/carli-munoz-a-decade-at-the-keys-writing-for-dennis
Phil
PrayForSurfBlog
One other error that happened on American Top 40 involved the song Got To Give It Up by Marvin Gaye, from 1977.
For the first three weeks that the song was on the countdown (Spring of 1977), the B-Side of the single was played, which is mostly an instrumental, before the correct hit version was finally played. I remember as a teenager shaking my head as I listened to what I thought was the wrong song being played; it wasn't until years later that I found out that the B-side was the mostly instrumental part of the original eleven minute version of the hit.
Just another part of an AT40 memory burned into my brain.
Keep up the good work of keeping the 'oldies' alive, Kent.
Sincerely,
Joe Cantello
Roswell, Ga
It's just amazing that some of this stuff wasn’t caught at the time … but I think they were just SO under the gun to get these shows ready in time, nobody was really checking anything. (Sadly, it also reflects how most of the people involved with the program really had no feel at all for the current, contemporary music sounds of the day.)
The more I read about the history of the show (at times they altered the real list considerably in order to avoid playing some of the hip-hop and rap that was starting to make its way on to the charts in order to keep with the format and original “feel” of the show), the more I cannot help but wonder how it was able to maintain any sense of credibility. Seriously, what kind of bogus countdown is that? Then they switched to other charts (most notably the AC / soft rock charts … and then eventually to using the Radio and Records instead of the ones published by Billboard. Actually, this move probably saved them a ton of money, as they were paying licensing fees to broadcast the Billboard chart information! Even though they were theoretically promoting Billboard in the process, which would have been GOOD for the company, especially in the way of new subscribers.) Some of this just go SO wild and out of hand! (kk)
A nice piece on Harvey Kubernik’s book on The Doors …
Here’s the latest sneak peek into what they’ve got planned next week for the YouTube Ed Sullivan Channel …
STREAM LAUNCH
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ARTIST
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PERFORMANCE
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AIRDATE
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FRI 8/7
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Slappy White
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Zookeeper Las Vegas Travelling
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May 20, 1962
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FRI 8/7
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Salvador Dalí
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Paint Gun
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January 29, 1961
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SAT 8/8
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Johnny Rivers
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Baby, I Need Your Lovin'
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March 19, 1967
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SAT 8/8
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Jack Jones
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Get Together
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November 9, 1969
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SUN 8/9
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Eric Brenn
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Novelty/Plate Spinner
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February 16, 1969
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SUN 8/9
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Bobby Darin
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Dream Lover
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May 31, 1959
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SUN 8/9
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Joan Rivers
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Housework, Kids & Dogs
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April 12, 1970
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SUN 8/9
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Buddy Holly & The Crickets
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Peggy Sue
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December 1, 1957
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MON 8/10
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Tommy Sands
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A Lot Of Livin' To Do
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March 4, 1962
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TUE 8/11
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Mort Sahl
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Politics
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June 4, 1961
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WED 8/12
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The Supremes
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My Favorite Things
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December 4, 1966
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THU 8/13
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Alan King
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Airline Disasters
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February 28, 1965
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*subject to change without notice
Two of Little Richard’s ‘70’s albums are being rereleased on CD with bonus tracks. More info here: https://t.e2ma.net/message/a0e1gc/ujrz9nb
And here’s some news about three Turtles LP’s that have just been released on vinyl … https://theseconddisc.com/2020/07/29/happy-together-demon-reissues-three-turtles-collections-on-vinyl/
And Eagle Rock has announced the release of The Rolling Stones “Steel Wheels Live” concert film, too. (SO much Stones activity of late!)
re details below …
THE ROLLING STONES – STEEL WHEELS LIVE - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED CONCERT FILM OUT SEPTEMBER 25th 2020 ON MULTIPLE FORMATS |
The Rolling Stones announced details of their previously unreleased 1989 concert film Steel Wheels Live – Atlantic City, New Jersey. This latest release from the band’s archives via Eagle Rock Entertainment has been restored, remixed and remastered and will be available on multiple formats from September 25. Pre-order HERE.
Additionally, a double A-sided 10” picture disc of “Rock and a Hard Place” (Live from Atlantic City) and “Almost Hear You Sigh” (Live from Tokyo Dome) will be released for Record Store Day’s second drop date of the year, on September 26. This format will be exclusive to independent record stores all over the world.
Their first tour hitting the US since 1981, Steel Wheels was famously one of their longest, and most ambitious, setlists. 2 ½ hours deep, The Rolling Stones not only played their hits, but dared to roll out several new songs from the then-newly released Steel Wheels album. Power-packed renditions of “Terrifying”, “Sad Sad Sad”, “Mixed Emotions”, “Rock and a Hard Place”, and “Can’t Be Seen” sizzle between “Jumping Jack Flash”, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, and “Gimme Shelter”. This was a statement - The Rolling Stones revisiting their vast body of work while confidently showcasing where they were going and the broad spectrums of music they’ve explored over their career.
“I would hate to come out with something that’s not startling” Mick Jagger stated about the launch of the 1989/90 Steel Wheels Tour. The Rolling Stones delivered on that promise in this Atlantic City Convention Center tour stop in December ‘89.
A highlight of this particular tour stop was the band being joined by special guests: Guns N’ Roses’ Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin accompany the Stones for the first-ever live performance of “Salt Of The Earth”, from their 1968 Beggars Banquet album. Eric Clapton brings his slow blues burn to “Little Red Rooster”, and joins the Stones in backing up one of their idols, blues legend John Lee Hooker, on “Boogie Chillen”.
All in all, Steel Wheels Live is a living testament to The Rolling Stones’ incomparable live shows.
Steel Wheels Live will be released as a limited 180gm 4LP coloured vinyl, DVD + 2CD, SD Blu-ray + 2CD and digital formats. Additionally, the set will be released as a special limited 6-disc version, which includes the Atlantic City performance on DVD, SD-Blu-ray, 2CD, a DVD of their Steel Wheels tour performance at the famed Tokyo Dome, as well as Steel Wheels Rare Reels, a CD featuring tracks which didn’t feature on the core tour setlist.
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There are so many different variations of this release being made available you’ll want to check out the website via the links above to see which one best fits your needs and budget. (kk)
Friends,
I am so sad to hear that Pepe Cardona, co-lead singer of Alive ‘n Kickin’, has passed away. He suffered for about a year with cancer. Thanks to Pepe, our End Polio Now concert in CT went beyond a success to become a small piece of Rock History, reuniting Pepe with Tommy James, 50 years after they created “Tighter, Tighter“ together.
Below is a Facebook post and a YouTube link to video I shot of the reunion at The Ridgefield Playhouse on April 13, 2018. Pepe became a friend since then, so his passing really hurts. Whenever Pepe called me at home, if my wife Barbara answered, he’d sing to her over the phone “Barbara Ann”.
Brad Joblin
One more post, by Pepe’s agent, Stuart Hersh, mentioning the night in Ridgefield, CT.
L-R: Tommy James, Agent Stuart Hersh (a FH Photographer) and Pepe Cardona
You know how TV seems focused on recycling the past into “new” television reboots???
Well, here’s a suggestion from FH Reader Frank B that just might work!
