TV THEMES:
Kent:
Since you have us readers focused on TV themes in recent weeks, I wanted to share with you a new interview done with a guy who is one of my favorite theme writers of all-time:
MIKE POST
A handful of some of his more remembered themes would include:
· Rockford Files
· Magnum P.I.
· Hill Street Blues
· The Greatest American Hero
· The A-Team
· L.A. Law
· NYPD Blue
Attached is an interview done recently for the iHeart station I program in NYC: WOR. “Len Berman and Michael Riedel In the Morning” called Mike at his home in L.A.
Here’s a fun piece of Mike Post trivia:
Mike won his first Grammy in 1968 as a Producer when he was 23 years-old. What Billboard # 2 smash did he produce?
Classical Gas by Mason Williams
-Tom Cuddy
Hi Kent,
As with the Top 3333 Classic Rock nominations, thank you to those who nominated the tv themes that had somehow escaped my memory. The result of that was, in about 5 minutes it became abundantly clear that I was not going to be able to do a top 20, lol. But the trip I took down memory lane was well worth it.
A huge thank you, Kent, for all you do for the forgotten music, even extending it to tv themes. This was fun!
Sher
Hey, Kent ...
When I saw the "Bonanza" theme in the list of TV theme songs, it
brought back the memory of this nasty little joke that the Cartwright boys
played on the View-Master© company. I wonder how long it took for the
public to discover this.
It's picture no. 1 on disk no. 1, from a set made from
the April 12, 1964 "Bonanza" episode "A Pink Cloud from Old
Cathay."
Mike
OK, I have to admit that it took me a minute or two to discover the joke …
Let’s see how quickly some of you out there discover it!
(How on earth does anybody KNOW this stuff?!?!) lol (kk)
Cast your votes for YOUR TV Themes Favorites here:
http://forgottenhits.com/2020_favorite_tv_themes_final_ballot
DONNY OSMOND:
Kent:
As Forgotten Hits has put the spotlight recently on some of the teen idols of our youth, another Donny Osmond memory popped into my head as I was driving home last night.
When I was VP of Programming at NYC’s WPLJ-FM, there was a time when Donny Osmond was going to swing by our studios above Madison Square Garden in 2007 to promote his new release at the time, “Love Songs of the 70s.”
When I received an advance copy of the disc, I noticed it included one of my favorites from the 70s, a cover of Dan Hill’s “Sometimes When We Touch.” Over the years when we had artists visit, I would try to make the visit memorable for the artist in any way I could think of. Many times, recording artists go on a promotion tour for a new release and they are asked many of the same questions at each media outlet, and they often put themselves on automatic pilot.
So I would encourage our DJs and Producers before an artist visits, do the extra research and surprise them. Ask them something they would enjoy talking about, but something that isn’t typical in most interviews. Do the unexpected! Make it fun for the artists!
Here’s an example of a surprise we pulled off on Donny.
I wondered whether Dan Hill was aware that Donny had re-done his ballad, and if so, had he heard it? I tracked down Dan’s rep in Nashville, who said he would check with Dan, who was living in Toronto. It turns out he had not heard it, so I offered to Fed Ex him an advance copy in Canada with the request that he listen to it and then call in to ‘PLJ during Donny’s in-studio interview. Donny is in the middle of the interview with afternoon drive talent Rocky Allen, when they start taking calls from listeners who had just heard the new version of “Sometimes When We Touch” for the first time.
Listeners are giving him all sorts of positive praise about the new release and then Rocky hits up the hotline with Dan patiently standing by. Rocky sets up the call like Dan is just another listener checking in.
And then, halfway through Dan’s call, he says something like ... ”Donny, I’ve heard a number of covers of this song over the years, but yours reminds me of the passion I had when I wrote the song.”
Donny turns red. He looks at Rocky and then me as he figures out what’s going on.
He says ... ”Wait a minute … am I speaking to Dan Hill?!”
Dan goes on to share with Donny how impressed he was with his rendition and Donny is beaming brightly, as he should be after such praise from one of the song’s composers.
When the interview was over, Donny said to Rocky and me that this was one of the most memorable moments he’s ever had on the radio.
-Tom Cuddy
New York, NY
Here’s a You Tube link to Donny’s version of “Sometimes When We Touch.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auebWuX_JLo
Hi Kent,
OMG! ... What an awesome birthday card! It is far and away the best card I've ever seen! Major props to Tom Cuddy for doing this for you. I can't think of anyone who deserves it more!
The card reminded me of something that I had wanted to mention.
While looking for something totally unrelated, I recently discovered a website called cameo.com. The site has thousands of athletes, actors, musicians, tv and reality stars, comedians, broadway stars, you name it, who will send anyone you want a video greeting of your choice.
Each celebrity charges a different price, and you can do anything ... a graduation, congratulations, happy birthday, etc. … you just provide them all the information and your 'star' will do a video with your message. The purchasers also give feedback and, from what I've seen, it's mostly very positive. Some of the videos are pretty cool and very creative.
Chances are, you're not going to find Donny, Bono or Madonna here, but I did see Alice Cooper, Lance Bass, Joe Montana, Randy Travis, Ice-T, Tommy Lee, Darlene Love, Brett Farve, Chaka Khan, Smokey Robinson, and Tommy Chong, just to name a few.
Be forewarned, when I say there are thousands to choose from, that is not an exaggeration. I spent hours going through the site. There are also a few downsides - one, nothing is in alphabetical order, so if you're looking for someone specific, say, Neil Sedaka, (he's there) use the search.
Secondly, out of all the names / photos available, I probably knew less than half of them.
Lastly, know that the chance of getting anything remotely like the video card you got from Tom isn't happening. But, if you want to surprise your aunt with a birthday greeting from her favorite soap star, or a friend with their favorite football player, this is the place to do it.
Aside from wishing I had thought of doing a site like this, I have no connection with cameo in any way. I just thought that because there are so many on this site who have 'forgotten hits' and were on shows with your 'favorite tv themes', (see what I did there? ;) that it would be a good fit for the group.
Have a great day!
Sher
I have seen this site before … (can’t remember if I ever mentioned it or not … but it IS pretty cool! And not particularly cheap either!)
Here’s the link if you want to check it out …
But like Sher says, do the search … because there are THOUSANDS of celebs (and semi-celebs) to choose from! (kk)
THIS AND THAT:
The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is FINALLY getting around to inducting this year’s Class of 2020 …
Premiering on November 7th on HBO, we will FINALLY get to see Depeche Mode, The Doobie Brothers, Whitney Houston, Nine Inch Nails, The Notorious B.I.G., T. Rex, Jon Landau and Irving Azoff get their just, due rewards. (Well, from a performers standpoint, I can justify a COUPLE of these acts … but I DO agree with the Amhet Ertegun recipients.
The special will also feature guests including Luke Bryan*, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Miley Cyrus*, Billy Gibbons, Dave Grohl, Don Henley, Jennifer Hudson*, Billy Idol, Iggy Pop, Alicia Keys*, Adam Levine, Chris Martin, Lin-Manuel Miranda*, Brad Paisley*, Bruce Springsteen, St. Vincent*, Ringo Starr, Gwen Stefani, Charlize Theron*, Nancy Wilson and more, all highlighting the importance and influence of the 2020 Inductees.
(* - Excuse me … Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame worthy??? How are these people even on the guest list?!?!)
Dave Grohl kicks off the show with a heartfelt introduction to this year’s class of inductees, and the special guests will speak further on how the 2020 Inductees impacted their personal and professional careers.
Still, if you want to catch the festivities, you can do so on HBO beginning on November 7th. (I think I’ll just wait for The Doobie Brothers segment to show up on YouTube!) kk
Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” album returns to The Top Ten this week on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums Chart. (Not bad for a 43 year old album, eh?)
Again, it’s all propelled by the sudden popularity of their #1 Hit “Dreams,” thanks to that Tik Tok skateboarding video. (The nice thing is that those who are discovering that song for the first time have found enough OTHER worthy material on this LP to purchase the whole thing!!!)
I guess they’re all liking it as much as we did way back when …
“Rumours” topped the album chart for a total of 31 weeks when it was first released in 1977. Amazing. (kk)
Hi Kent!
Please let your readers know about the re-airing of my Collector’s Call episode featuring my guitar collection and some hijinks from a visiting expert from Chicago Music Exchange.
Collector's Call recently began airing on WCIU-TV on Saturday mornings! This episode will air this coming Saturday, October 24th, at 10:30AM.
WCIU airs in Chicago on the following channels:
OVER THE AIR 48.1 HD, 26.2 HD
COMCAST / XFINITY 230/1171HD, 360/1169HD
RCN 610HD
WOW 170
DISH 48
DIRECTV TBA
SPECTRUM Charter 191
MEDIACOM 109
KRAUS CABLE 26.2 SD & 63
U-VERSE 24 check local listings
Thx! Jp
This is a really good episode … and ties in nicely with your “Guitars That Followed Me Home” calendar from a couple of years ago. (Not sure you can get WCIU outside of Chicago … but this program originally ran on Me-TV … and it regularly spotlights collectors from all over the country with unique collections. We’ve seen everything from Beatles collections to Superman collections to Pez dispenser collectors! Check it out if you get a chance. (And it’s hosted by Lisa Welchel, who starred as Blair on “The Facts Of Life,” yet ANOTHER TV Theme that’s been earning votes in our current TV Themes Favorites Poll.
(Did I mention that we’re doing a poll to determine your All-Time Favorite TV Themes?!?!)
Thanks to Scott Shannon, Rick O’Dell, Phil Nee and Sam Tallerico, all of whom have been referring their listeners to our site to cast their ballots.
You can find the final ballot here: http://forgottenhits.com/2020_favorite_tv_themes_final_ballot
And check out Collector’s Call here: https://www.metv.com/collectors-call
Episodes can be found online and on YouTube ...
LOTS of good stuff here. (Frannie and I visited that Superman Museum in Metropolis, IL, last winter!) kk
Thanks for posting YELLOW RIVER. I always did like that one hit wonder.
They had a follow-up called SAN BERNARDINO, I believe.
It seemed several months ago that Canned Heat's LET'S WORK TOGETHER was used in a commercial of some sorts. I also liked the original version by Wilbert Harrison, which he recorded the previous year ... though I believe Harrison recorded it before in 1962 as LET'S STICK TOGETHER.
You mentioned that the song by Bobby Trend did not chart on WLS but was a WCFL thing. That happened a few times here in OKC where one station, KOMA, would play a record and the competing top 40 station, WKY, wouldn't, and vice versa. One of the records that comes to my mind is the follow-up to the Music Explosion's LITTLE BIT OF SOUL, which was SUNSHINE GAMES. This record charted on KOMA but never charted on WKY.
Larry Neal
I think it was an Amazon Prime commercial if I’m not
mistaken.
Canned Heat did VERY well here in Chicago …
“On The Road Again” and “Going Up The Country” both peaked at #6 and “Let’s Work Together” at #4.
We would get quite a few songs that showed up as much more popular on one side of The Chicago River than it would on the other … but this one’s a TRUE mystery. It never made a national chart AT ALL … yet spent six weeks on the ‘CFL chart, rising to #19. SOMEBODY inside had to be making that happen! (kk)
Hey Kent …
Two interviews we recently published on Songfacts you might find of interest:
David Freiberg, last man standing from the original Jefferson Starship, who answers the question, "Who is Jane?"
https://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/david-freiberg-of-jefferson-starship
Don McLean on "American Pie." What's left to say about this song, you ask? McLean rarely explains specific lyrics, but he talked about why the "Father, Son and Holy Ghost" took that train. We also learned that he never owned a Chevy, but he did buy a Mercedes, which didn't endear him to the folk music community.
https://www.songfacts.com/blog/playingmysong/don-mclean-american-pie
Be Well,
Carl Wiser
Word is McCartney III will drop in December … another album of Paul playing all of the instruments just like his 1970 and 1980 efforts. (Wow … those two came ten years apart … this one’s FORTY years on!!!)
With the world on shut-down (and quarantine), he’s certainly had the time to pull this all together. (Word is Macca has recorded as many as 25 tracks!) kk
Best Classic Bands remembers the anniversary of the release of the first Traveling Wilburys album …
https://bestclassicbands.com/traveling-wilburys-review-7-4-20/
And look for a 50th Anniversary “Layla” box set November 13th …
Harvey Kubernik’s got the full scoop here:
And for all you Hendrix fans out there, you might find this one to be interesting reading …
The Story Behind All 84 Posthumous Jimi Hendrix Albums …
As shown in Ultimate Classic Rock! (kk)
Hi Kent,
Man, one more good read. Did not know about Jimi's early work ... very
cool, my friend.
Sure appreciate ya digging all this stuff up. Kudos!
Now that Wally World is shoving Christmas down our throats, can't even
find the Halloween stuff for the grandkids ... gotta love it. !
Be safe, be well my friend -
Barry
