This past week we were FINALLY able to set up an interview between Jim Peterik here in Chicago and Geoff Dorsett in the UK …
And by all accounts, it went swimmingly!
You can listen to the full 45 minutes results (a Forgotten Hits Exclusive!) via the link below, the day before a shorter segment officially airs on Geoff’s Soft Rock Show …
I just finished a 45 minute interview with the great Geoff Dorset. Wow. Loads of fun. Thank you sooo much for the set up!
(We talked about you and your productivity off the air.)
Thx again, kk! You’re the best!
Peace.
Jimbo
Hi Kent -
The interview went perfectly. Jim was in great form with tons of stories as we looked at his career.
Once again, huge thanks for fixing it with Jim, which was a good 45 minutes
And I mean GOOD,!
Regards -
Geoff
Here's the full-length 45 minute interview:
https://www.mixcloud.com/SoftRockShow/jim-peterik-interview-8th-december-2020/
The Mutual Admiration Society continues …
Hi Jim –
Just a quick email to thank you again for your time today. Your career has been so rewarding and with 240 guitars, you must have the most understanding wife!
Kent, (the hardest working guy in the industry), thanks again for setting this up.
Geoff
Fantastic, Geoff! I haven’t enjoyed an interview more. You are a fountain of rock knowledge. Peace.
Jimbo
It sounds Geoff is going to run this on both his Soft Rock Show as well as a program he hosts on 85 stations worldwide called Kick Up The ‘80’s. (Must be nice to have so many options!!! Lol)
If you want to hear the 18-minute edit, The Soft Rock Show airs on Express 93.7 FM and worldwide on the net from 7 to 9 pm UK time THIS MONDAY (December 14th). You’ll have to do your own time conversion to see what that means to you, depending on where you live, as we have readers all over the world who may wish to tune in. (kk)
What I’m probably going to do is feed it into a show I do called Kick Up The ‘80’s or Supersonic ‘70’s. These shows are weekly heard on 85 stations in 23 countries and have the worldwide appeal. (I’ll work out best “Vehicle“ to get the max out of this interview!)
The Soft Rock Show is currently recorded in my home studio and we are playing a lot more new music. In fact, in the last few weeks I played “Lion Heart” and next Monday, the 14th I’ll be playing “Carry Me Back,” Jim’s favourite track off the album, again.
Geoff
My radio website is: www.softrockshow.co.uk …
As you can see, we have done lots of interviews -
From Freddy Cannon to Dennis DeYoung …
The Searchers to Kansas …
Deep Purple to members of Queen / Dire Straits
An update on another place where you hear the interview …
Thought you might like this preview segment from the radio show broadcasting next Monday, December 14th …
It has a lot of content: Pride of Lions, an AC/DC reference to Brian Johnston (courtesy of Dave Quiz), a Billy Joel song and reference to his greatest tribute artist, Elio Pace (courtesy of Chunky) and more.
The show is broadcast in the UK, Africa and Las Vegas
Hope you like it!
Regards,
Geoff
LAST CALL: This is your last chance to enter for a chance to win a copy of the brand new Pride of Lions CD featuring Jim Peterik and Toby Hitchcock.
Just drop me an email at kk@forgottenhits.com and put PRIDE OF LIONS in the subject line and we’ll throw your name in the hat to win a copy of this hot new CD.
(I told Jim the other day that this CD makes me envision what Survivor might sound like today, had they stuck together for another 30+ years! It’s definitely got that ‘80’s vibe … with some incredible high-octane vocals and musicianship … yet still maintains a contemporary and current sound that makes you want to see the band live on stage.)
Good Luck to all! (kk)
We want to wish you and your family a "Merry Christmas, mein friend!"
Enjoy the time with peace and love.
Bless ya -
Barry & Teena Winslow
LOL … you made my day!
Thanks, Barry … and the same to you and yours.
Make this Christmas count … in the ways we can. (kk)
Interesting that with all the great Sam Cooke songs and others from that era, the creator(s) of the trailer for the new film “One Night In Miami” felt compelled to use a rap track as its musical backdrop.
Ed Osborne
When you look at the soundtrack album track list, there is a relatively low percentage of well known Sam Cooke tracks represented here … and I agree, the rap track came as a bit of a surprise since the film is supposed to represent 1964 … but it may also be used to help draw in a younger audience for a film that represents an important time in American history … especially since we seem to STILL be going thru some ridiculous race issues in 2020. (kk)
My first record?
Ah, yes, I remember it well.
It was July of
1960; my mother dragged me with her to Miami to visit a sick relative.
What a horrible time to be in Florida.
We stayed at a little motel off Arthur Godfrey Blvd., a few blocks from where a
houseboat was moored, the one they used for the TV series "Surfside 6."
My mother didn't drive and I was 11 ... so we did a lot of walking. My favorite place was the Fountainbleu Hotel, the classiest place in the area ... lots of great pinball machines.
They were just wrapping up filming a Jerry Lewis movie there, called "The Bellboy."
On an average day,
I listened to the hits on the #1 rock station in town, WCKR. I vaguely
remember that one of the DJs's names was Rick Shaw. Great air name. But my fondest memory was that they played
"Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka-dot Bikini" about three times an
hour - at least it seemed that frequently. Everywhere we went, any time
of day, there it was … blasting out of car
radios, in the hotel, at restaurants ... everywhere! I had it memorized
within 8 hours. It grew on us.
When we got back home, I ran over to Little Al's Records on Lawrence Avenue in
Albany Park, and that became my first hunk of vinyl. 98 cents plus 4
cents tax. I had become a Vinyl Junkie.
Mike Wolstein
How cool! That just happens to be MY First 45, too! (On the original Leader record label!)
You’ll find ALL kinds of First 45’s memories on our other Forgotten Hits website …
There are already four full pages posted there. (We finally stopped adding to the list … but have received literally HUNDREDS of new entries since then.)
I still think this would make for a great, daily, on-going feature for an oldies station …
Because not only would they be able to share the thousands of memories that we’ve collected …
But will also start to build a library of their own, as I absolutely GUARANTEE you that once your listeners start enjoying this feature, they will start to send in their own First 45 memories. (Tell a friend, who’ll tell a friend, who’ll tell a friend … you guys know how the whole thing works!)
Along the way, we even had a few celebrities chime in with THEIR First 45’s!
You can check ‘em out here:
http://forgottenhits.com/first_45s
http://forgottenhits.com/more_of_your_first_45s
http://forgottenhits.com/even_more_of_your_first_45s
http://forgottenhits.com/omg_can_you_believe_it_even_more_of_your_first_45s_memories
Sadly, we've got a few more names to add to the list of folks who have left us this year:
And worse, the year’s still not over yet … so unfortunately, we will still have a bit more grieving to do …
Kenny Jeremiah, lead singer of The Soul Surivors (who scored the Top Five Hit “Expressway To Your Heart” in 1967), died on December 4th, from Covid 19.
Famed Pilot Chuck Yeager (12/7), the first human to break the sound barrier
From FH Reader Ken Voss - Joseph “Mojo” Morganfield – December 10 – heart attack - Son of Muddy Waters
Country Legend Charley Pride (12/12), also due to complications from Covid 19
(Charley was Country Music’s first Black Superstar)
https://www.bet.com/music/2020/12/12/charlie-pride-county-music-legend-death.html#!
In addition, Frank B. tells us about two more losses …
kk:
Two members of The Earls died in the last week …
Bob Coleman died a few days ago … and John Wray, an original member of the group, died a week ago.
On the original recording of "REMEMBER THEN," John was the guy who starts it off with “Rem-Rem-Remember Then.”
Frank B.
>>>Well, I just had to comment on Rollye Jame's WGN Top Ten Worst Songs of All Time List. Of course, a list like this is totally subjective, and a song that one person absolutely hates will be another person's favorite song. (Sam Ward)
>>>I’ve never actually sat down and made a Worst Songs Of All-Time List … but there are quite a few titles that have been mentioned during all of this that would most certainly qualify. (Many, many years ago, when Forgotten Hits was brand new, the idea of having our readers compile a list of the Worst Records Ever came up … and we did get quite a few suggestions … but the guy who convinced us to abandon the idea, believe it or not, was none other than Ron Dante … who said that it was insulting to both the recording artists and the songwriters to lump them into such a category. Besides, songs like “Honey” by Bobby Goldsboro and “You Light Up My Life” by Debby Boone were both #1 hits … and for 5 and 13 weeks, respectively … so SOMEBODY was sure as hell buyin’ ‘em!!! (kk)
Ron Dante was right ... I would rather call them disappointing songs.
You said it yourself when you mentioned John Lennon's disinterest in music as the 70's moved forward.
But I would like to clarify things.
To me, a bad song is not something like Disco Duck. Novelty songs were not made to be taken seriously, so that's out.
To me, the worst songs are those done by established artists.
They were meant to be enduring classics, in some cases, they were #1 for many weeks. My top example was #1 for five weeks. My #2 was #1 for two weeks. One made sense at the time, but six months later, it was dated. The other was dumb then and just as dumb now.
A question I would have for Ron, would be about Sugar Sugar.
While many would lump it in the "worst" song lists, I would not, simply because it was meant to be a fun song. It was not meant for anyone beyond the age bracket of those who bought it.
My question for him is, was he surprised at the song's success?
By the way, for those in need of a chuckle, I would suggest looking for a copy of Dave Barry's Book Of Bad Songs.
Jack
I think “Sugar Sugar” was perfectly calculated to be a hit … it had ALL of the elements that make up a great pop song … and it has stood the test of time. It still sounds as fresh (and infectious) today as it did back in 1969 when it was first released … and EVERY generation since then has fallen in love with the song.
You don’t mention any of your specific picks, but there are plenty of undeserving #1 Hits over the course of time. But that being said, as it was explained to me one time by none other than former President Barrack Obama, Pop Music is, by its very definition, a snapshot of popular music at that moment in time … a reflection, if you will, of what best strikes a common chord with our society at that moment of time. And so, songs that were downright inspirational in the ‘50’s may not feel quite as comfortable 60-70 years on. Still, they resonate better than any of the music that came before it. (Hey, in 1960, “Mr. Custer” went straight to #1, and I can’t think of ANYBODY who’s just dying to hear that song today … nor do I believe it would catch the ear of a brand new 2021 audience. However, I would take a song like “Sixteen Tons” from five years before and defy ANYBODY hearing it now for the first time to try and make it to the end with out snapping your fingers and singing along. Is it dated? Sure, it is … but there’s just something about the overall sound of that record that draws you in … yet try to find any radio station … short of the ‘50’s Channel on Sirius / XM … that’s still playing it.)
It’s not how big it was at the time … it’s how does it sound NOW??? Just because a record was a big hit 50+ years ago doesn’t mean it’ll appeal to a wide variety mix today, even if it DID stay #1 for five weeks way back when.
#1 Hits from 1955-1956 that I flat out GUARANTEE you would still catch the ear of an audience today include (besides “Sixteen Tons”), “Rock Around The Clock,” “Memories Are Made Of This” (yes, Dean Martin!), “The Great Pretender,” “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Only You,” “Ain’t That A Shame,” “Singing The Blues,” “Hound Dog” and “Don’t Be Cruel” …
Songs that today would like become “button pushers” would be tracks like “The Ballad Of Davy Crockett” (#1 for five weeks then!), “The Yellow Rose Of Texas,” “Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing,” “Autumn Leaves” (a four week #1 hit), “Hot Diggity,” “I Almost Lost My Mind” and “My Prayer.”
Borderline (?): “Rock And Roll Waltz” (more as a novelty than anything else), “The Wayward Wind,” “Love Me Tender,” “The Green Door,” “Sincerely,” “Hearts Of Stone” and “Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White.”
Then again, I can’t believe that ANYBODY would get excited about a song like “Honey” today … it would NEVER make it in 2020 … yet was the #1 Song in the Country for five weeks back in 1968 … and the ridicule began nearly overnight!
I just don’t think there’s any coming back from that …
Nor do I think that there is ANYTHING about that song that would appeal to an audience today. (kk)
TODD RUNDGREN ANNOUNCES FIRST-EVER MULTI-CITY VIRTUAL CONCERT TOUR … CLEARLY HUMAN TOUR CONSISTS OF 25 GEO-TARGETED ONLINE SHOWS BEGINNING FEBRUARY 14
Legendary recording artist, producer, songwriter and tech pioneer Todd Rundgren has announced his 2021 Clearly Human virtual tour, featuring 25 performances, each geo-fenced and tailored to a different US city. With each performance emanating from a Chicago venue (the most convenient time zone to allow for 8pm showtimes in every market), the shows will be “localized” to give both the band and the fans a sense of place (e.g. local landmarks will appear on the video wall, catering for the band and crew will feature dishes associated with each city, etc). Single-ticket purchases within the US will be limited to fans with zip codes corresponding to that show’s greater metropolitan area. US-based fans not living in a designated tour market can also “attend" any or all dates via multi-show ticket bundles, which, like internationally-based fans purchasing single-show tickets, will exempt them from geofencing restrictions. In Chicago, there will be a licensed COVID compliance officer on staff at all times, with both the band and crew testing regularly throughout the duration of the virtual tour.
The virtual box office is now open: ToddRundgren.NoCapShows.com
Emulating a traditional routing itinerary, the Clearly Human Tour will kick off February 14 “in” Buffalo, NY, and wrap up March 22 “in” Seattle, WA. Single tickets are priced at $35, with an array of premium add-ons and multi-date bundles available.
Produced by NoCap, the live streaming company recently launched by Cisco Adler, and Panacea Entertainment chairman Eric Gardner, Todd’s longtime manager, each show will feature Rundgren and an expanded 10-piece band performing standouts from his 50-year-plus catalog, as well as his entire 1989 classic album ‘Nearly Human’, which Warner Music Group will also be re-releasing on CD and colored vinyl. Remote meet-and-greets with Todd will be available at every show, as will options to select viewing from multiple camera angles and to be featured on several rows of video screens that will serve as the real-time “virtual audience” for the evening. Subject to Chicago’s COVID policy regarding public gatherings in force at the time, there will be a handful of tickets available to attend in person and sit safely distanced amongst the virtual audience, with each attendee required to show proof of a negative test within 72 hours of the event.
Todd sat down with Rolling Stone recently (https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/todd-rundgren-announces-clearly-human-virtual-tour-1097199/) to discuss the origins of the Clearly Human tour and to share the world premiere of his holiday single from Cleopatra Records - his interpretation of the 1978 Christmas tune “Flappie,” originally by Dutch comedian Youp van ’t Hek. Ever the contrarian, it’s suggested that one listen/watch at one's own risk….
Watch the video for “Flappie”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnPZ32r_-fI&feature=youtu.be
While the concept of Clearly Human lends itself naturally to our current socially-distanced world, Todd actually conceived of the idea years ago as a solution to the growing challenges of touring amidst climate change and a way to reduce his own carbon footprint. Seeing this as “setting the gold standard” for what he predicts will become a new touring paradigm, it’s not the first time Todd has been out front with a tech-savvy new idea. he designed the first-ever graphics tablet for Apple in 1979; other “firsts” include the first-ever live interactive television concert (1978), the first live national cablecast of a rock concert (1982), the first commercial music downloads (1992), the first online direct artist subscription service, “PatroNet” (1998), and the first full-length concert shot with multiple Virtual Reality 360º cameras (2016).
Todd's band for the Clearly Human Tour will feature Kasim Sulton (Bass), Prairie Prince (Drums), Eliot Lewis (Keys), Gil Assayas (Synth), Bruce McDaniel (Guitar), Bobby Strickland (Sax), Steven Stanley (Trombone), plus the erstwhile “Global Girls” : Michele Rundgren, Grace Yoo, and Ashle Worrick (Background Vocals).
CLEARLY HUMAN TOUR ROUTING
February
14: Buffalo, NY
February 16: Albany, NY
February 17: New York City, NY
February 19: Virginia Beach, VA
February 20: Pittsburgh, PA
February 22: Cleveland, OH
February 23: Detroit, MI
February 25: Indianapolis, IN
February 26: Chicago, IL
February 28: Madison/Milwaukee, WI
March 1: Minneapolis, MN
March 3: Kansas City, MO
March 4: St. Louis, MO
March 6: Nashville, TN
March 7: Dallas, TX
March 9: Houston, TX
March 10: Austin, TX
March 12: Denver, CO
March 13: Salt Lake City, UT
March 15: Phoenix AZ
March 16: San Diego, CA
March 18: Los Angeles, CA
March 19: San Francisco, CA
March 21: Portland, OR
March 22: Seattle, WA
About Todd Rundgren:
“A Wizard, A True Star.” The title of Todd Rundgren's 1973 solo album aptly foreshadows the contributions of this multifaceted artist to state-of-the-art music. As a songwriter, video pioneer, producer, recording artist, computer software developer, conceptualist, interactive artist, and author, over the past 50+ years Rundgren has made a lasting impact on the form, content, and delivery of popular music. His seminal album “Something/Anything?” (1972), on which he played all the instruments, sang all the vocal parts and acted as his own producer, catapulted Rundgren into the superstar limelight, prompting the press to unanimously dub him “Rock's New Wunderkind.” His 21 solo albums, plus 14 with his prog rock/power pop ensemble Utopia, spawned such hit singles as “I Saw The Light,” “Hello It's Me,” “Can We Still Be Friends,” “Bang The Drum,” and with his band Utopia, “Love Is The Answer.” As a producer, Rundgren has brought his creativity to bear on nearly one hundred albums, including with Patti Smith, Cheap Trick, The Psychedelic Furs, The Tubes, XTC, Grand Funk Railroad, Hall & Oates, The Band, and Meat Loaf’s 50-million-selling “Bat Out Of Hell.”
About NoCap:
NoCap, the brainchild of Roxy Theater co-owner and musician Cisco Adler along with an all-star list of partners in the music and tech industries, is both a platform and promoter of venue-based livestream concerts giving fans around the world access to intimate live performances with unlimited capacity. With its easy-to-use text-based ticketing technology and custom concert streaming solution, NoCap is providing a much-needed lifeline for artists, crews and venues suffering during the Covid-19 pandemic that will remain a viable outlet post pandemic while becoming the new general admission creating unlimited profit potential for a new live music model. NoCap gives fans globally a chance to experience live shows by top-tier talent in storied venues, including The Roxy (Los Angeles), Belly Up (Solana Beach, CA/Aspen, CO), SOhO (Santa Barbara), Sony Theatre ( NYC ) and even Drive-In Concert Venues across the country , from home or on the go with visually stunning concert-quality sound, creating unforgettable performances.
For more info, visit www.nocapshows.com.
Kent –
Back in the ‘70’s, a computer company, the housing for the machines were all blue … I wonder how many teens then wondered who was doing the singing?
Today, to hear an Elvis song is to bring out a rhythm in a teen’s soul.
The song was Elvis, wailin’ out BLUE SUEDE SHOES.
The computer people must have paid mucho, mucho for that song!
Robert Black
Denny Zager, half of Lincoln's own 1969 hitmaking duo Zager & Evans, is giving back to the community.
These days, he's been a guitar maker with his son, and they just donated nearly 700 guitars to Lincoln Public Schools! He toured the world performing "In the Year 2525" with partner Rick Evans in the early 70's.
Zager Guitars donates 700 instruments to LPS | Education | journalstar.com
Clark Besch
Clark also told us about this new United Top 30 Heritage Chart …
Here's the most exciting radio countdown show since the 70's.
It's called the "Heritage Chart"!!! I just found out about it last month when Nik Kershaw had #1!!! This week, Graham Gouldman is #1!!!!
Short interview on the countdown before the song. #2 if new CLIFF with lyrics about being older that are cool. #3 is the VAPORS of Turning Japanese days and supposedly their first record in 39 years! Great lyrics with talking about music from "the greatest century" (last one, of course). Lots of both known and unknown artists from the past and those that FIT THAT MOLD now! So cool!! Chart AND countdown show!!!
Here's what it is about and how to get it:
The show is Sunday 5 - 7 PM London time (Sunday 11 AM - 1 PM US Central time) weekly!
A radio station in the UK has been
compiling a chart of brand new music by established artists, most of which are
very good (far better than the 'official' chart!) but don't get much
airplay. Many of the solo artists are former members of well-known groups
such as Badfinger, The Glitter Band, etc.
They've been featuring quite a few US acts (Dion's new song was #1 some weeks
ago and recently Jefferson Starship, the Go-Gos, Springsteen, etc., got
airplay, too.)
Listeners are invited to nominate songs and to comment on them on the FB page
when they're played so that the DJs compiling it can gauge our response to
them.
The broadcast of this week’s chart is below and here's the site for listening to it and all the songs on the top 30 countdown:
https://www.mixcloud.com/TheStationoftheStars/the-united-top-30-sunday-06th-december-2020/
A copy of the actual chart below is found below. Just click on the chart and expands: https://m.facebook.com/groups/uniteddjsthestationofthestars/?__tn__=%2Cg
I THINK that the next chart will be on https://www.uniteddj.com/ Sunday. From tomorrow it will also include some new artists whose songs meet the quality threshold 👍
The chart just moved to a more widely-heard platform two weeks ago. You can listen to previous weeks here. I could not find how to copy the site I use, but if you go to below site and type in "Heritage chart" in search at top, it gives you options of previous shows.
https://www.mixcloud.com/TheStationoftheStars/heritage-chart-with-dr-fox-sunday-25th-october-2020/
Here’s an example chart for reference.
Clark Besch
Hey, I printed out The Top 100 TV Themes of All Time and was wondering if, by chance, you also tallied anything past 100 ... such as 101-120 or 130, etc.
If you did or you know them, could you sent them to me?
Thanks much
Eddie Spencer
We kept track of every vote we received … but only published The Top 100 (which was already TWICE as many as we originally committed to sharing.) In all, 213 eligible songs made the final list. In addition, another 177 themes earned votes, bring the total to 290 overall.
However, after a few weeks in, we eliminated any titles that had earned (by that point), ten votes or less, knowing that none of those themes had a chance of making the final countdown. (By this point, the leads were so commanding that eventually 141 titles earned 50 votes each or more.)
Then, to complicate matters further, some folks kept voting for titles that were no longer on the list … meaning that these titles earned additional votes that we could not count in all fairness as they had already been eliminated.
And, as if THAT wasn’t enough, another SEVEN titles received Write-In Votes! (The Office, Game Of Thrones, The Drew Carey Show, Cops, Scrubs, Will And Grace and Louie)
Should these titles have been on the master list from the start and thus eligible to be voted on by EVERYBODY???
Sure they should have been …
But NOBODY out there nominated them until it was too late and the Final Ballot had already been posted.
Rather than complicate things any further than they already were (and run the risk of creating all new controversy which, quite honestly, takes ALL the fun out of doing these polls), we simply left them as ineligible, suggesting that if we ever ran this program again, you could vote for them then. (I can already tell you that I have absolutely NO intention of running another poll at this point!)
If you watched us countdown The Top 50, you already saw ALL kinds of “extras” along the way, including the tunes that came in at #51 - #55. Many of thse “extras” are titles that potentially COULD have made The Top 100 but didn’t, simply because there weren’t enough votes cast to earn them a spot on the countdown.
You have the complete Top 100 List to go by … let’s just leave it that.
(But, just for fun … #101 was “The Mickey Mouse Club”!!! And #213, which was also pointed out in the countdown reveal, was “Adam 12.”)
Time to move on to new fun for 2021! (kk)
Here’s
a cool programme sent in by Eckhard B., who heads up the German Jimi Hendrix
Appreciation Society ...
A quick review of McCartney III, out next Friday …
And it looks like Paul’s gone back to his given name …
The tracks on his new CD all show a songwriting credit of James Paul McCartney!
(Which was also the name of his 1973 television special!)
More on the new LP here:
Can’t get over the WVON survey Mike Wolstein found for Friday’s post …
Golly gosh, SEVENTEEN DJs?? That has to be a record for ANY music station, at least in America!
Bob Frable
HELPING OUT OUR READERS:
A few more inquiries came in since we last posted …
Hi –
I am a collector of American Top 40 shows on CDs.
I am trying to build my collection of year end shows from the Shadoe Stevens era. Do you or anyone that you know of who worked for ABC Radio that might happen to have the year end CDs from 1989 and 1990 ... Dates: 12/30/89 and 12/29/90?
Thank you so much! Any help is appreciated.
PunchOutFan1
I’ll put it out there. (I’m assuming you’re looking to purchase copies of these programs???)
We do have some ABC folks on the list …
Let’s see if anything comes back. (kk)
Hello -
I hope everything is well.
Looking for some information, I found your Blogspot and I wonder if you have archives from Radio & Records Magazine, mainly 2000s
Best --
Rodolfo Ovalle
Marketing & Digital Manager
Cabeza de ratón Music Entertainment
Bogotá – Colombia
I will ask the question … Again, assuming you are looking to
purchase copies (???)
If all you are looking for is chart information from this era, Joel Whitburn’s
Record Research recently published a volume of stats covering the Radio And
Records Pop Charts from 1973 – 2009. (It’s
more of a recap like many of his other publications … listing every artist and
then song title by that artist that made the chart.)
If this will help get you the information that you are looking for, you can order a copy online here:
https://www.recordresearch.com/books/radio-records-top-pop-hits-1973-2009/
Let us know if this worked for you.
Thanks, Rodolfo! (kk)
Kent,
I like it when you post questions from readers who want to know if any of us know who did a certain song or record that they remember from years past.
I don't have any ideas of the songs that Sam Ward and Ambrose are referring to. But Kent, when I saw that Ambrose wanted to know the name of that snippet of a song which you posted, the first thing that came to my mind was the somewhat novelty record out of 1959 called AMBROSE (Part Five).
Now Kent, I don't know how old reader Ambrose is, but when I saw her name, that is the record I immediately thought of. Don't know if reader Ambrose is familiar with that Linda Laurie song or not. She did have a follow-up called FOREVER AMBROSE. Incidentally is her record AMBROSE, listed after is Part Five in parentheses. Don't have any idea what that means since I don't think she did AMBROSE (parts 1-4).
Larry
“Ambrose (Part Five)” was a favorite of The Dr. Demento Show. It was a minor pop hit in 1959, rising to #46 in Cash Box and #52 in Billboard. An unusual track, for sure … but worth another listen.
And, being Forgotten Hits, we’ve even included a special bonus for you today! (kk)
DIDJAKNOW?: Linda Laurie (whose real name was Linda Gertz) wrote the Helen Reddy Hit “Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)”
She passed away in 2019 … and (naturally) we covered her hit before in FH. (kk)
Just lifted this bit of sad news from Ron Smith's oldiesmusic.com web page ... about Linda Laurie, whose novelty hit "Ambrose (Part 5)" we recently featured in Forgotten Hits:
Linda Laurie, singer / songwriter best known for the novelty hit "Ambrose (Part 5)," died Thursday (November 19) from cancer at a hospital in Santa Barbara, California. She was 68. Linda (whose real last name was Gertz) was a senior at Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn when she recorded "Ambrose," providing both her voice and the caustic title character, who constantly replied, "Just keep walking." Linda had already recorded with her friend Linda Yellin as the Knott Sisters in 1958 -- "Sunglasses" on Big Top Records failed to chart. And "Ambrose"? "It was just a party routine I used to do to amuse my friends. We played around with the idea of making some records of the routine and made a few tapes." Ambrose, by the way, was the name of her rag doll. Picked up by Glory Records in late 1958, the song made it to #52 early the next year. While there were no Parts 1 through 4 (though an instrumental version was released by the Hal McKusick Quartet), there was a "Forever Ambrose" follow-up. That, and her song "Jose, He Say," both missed the charts, as did more serious songs like "Prince Charming." After attending New York University, Linda became a songwriter, most notably composing the Helen Reddy hit "Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)". She also wrote the title song for the original Saturday morning TV version of "Land Of The Lost." It was reprised for the Will Farrell movie this year.
Here's a recap of our recent piece on "Ambrose", which also features a link to Linda's appearance on the "To Tell The Truth" television program:
'60's FLASHBACK:
Kent –
I dimly recall a song I believe was titled "Ambrose, Part 2" and I want to say it was sung by Sue Thompson. But in surfing the web, I couldn't find it. It was funny in a macabre way as the female singer keeps asking why they are walking in a dark place and the man just keeps saying "just keep walkin". I recall it was only played a few times on Chicago radio and then quickly disappeared either because no one liked it or because it was so demented. Can you provide any clues on this one?
Steve Davidson
It was actually called "Ambrose, Part 5", a novelty hit that was done by Linda Laurie, and became a #46 Cash Box Hit, #52 Billboard Hit and a #36 Hit here in Chicago on the old WJJD Chart in those pre-rock-and-roll-WLS days. It's a CLASSIC novelty track that gets a VERY rare spin on the radio now and again (unless, of course, you happen to be listening to "The Dr. Demento Show", where it's been a favorite for DECADES!!!) Linda Laurie's real name is Linda Gertz, but under her stage name, she went on to write The Top Three Helen Reddy hit "Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)" many years later. According to Joel Whitburn's "Top Pop Singles" book, she ALSO sang the theme to the popular Saturday morning television series "Land Of The Lost." Linda was still a high school student when she began writing and recording demonstration records ... and, when "Ambrose Part 5" was released as a single, her OWN recording career started to take off. Incredibly, that's her doing BOTH parts on the record ... playing the part of the girl AND her boyfriend!!! (Nope ... contrary to what you may have heard, it wasn't Hugh Downs OR Rod McKuen ... they did their little voice contributions to Betty Johnson's "Little Blue Man" and Bob McFadden and Dor's "The Mummy"!!!) As to why it was called "Ambrose Part 5" ... and what happened to Ambose Parts 1 thru 4, Linda explained at the time, "Well, we were working backwards!!!" The truth is, there ARE no other "prequels" or "sequels" ... Ambrose, Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 do not exist ... but there WAS a follow-up record called "Forever Ambrose" that never charted. We found a VERY rare clip of Linda on the TV Show "To Tell The Truth" ... where she was there both as a contestant and to promote her new record ... and she ultimately went on to stump half the panelists! (lol) In fact, watch closely and you'll even hear her DO that low "Ambrose voice" at the end of this clip: Click here: YouTube - Linda Laurie on "To Tell the Truth" (kk)
I forget the movie title, but it starred Nancy Sinatra and Peter Fonda ... it had a motorcycle theme song by The Hands of Time … "You left me lonely in the chapel."
Was he trying to sound like Elvis,? (he did a good job!) or was that how he sounded?
I googled them and can find nothing.
I wanna know what info you have.
Thanks.
Robert Black
KINCARDINE & WILLOWDALE
Well, doing a bit of digging, I find that the movie is most
likely “The Wild Angels” (1966), which starred Peter Fonda and Nancy Sinatra
(along with Bruce Dern and Diane Lane.)
This is the same film that gave us the Davie Allan and the Arrows’ hit
“Blues’ Theme,” a big hit here in Chicago in 1967. (Hi Davie!)
My first thought when I saw your email was if you were confusing “You left me lonely in the chapel” with the Elvis hit “Crying In The Chapel” …
But I have since found this track … by The Hands Of Time, exactly as you said … and yes, there is a definite Elvis vibe to this tune, especially there in the middle.
Here it is again for all to enjoy! (kk)
Not that often that I get to successfully handle a “Helping Out Our Readers” on my own … normally that’s what I need YOU guys for … but I just love it when we can reunite our readers with a special memory from their past. It really is what Forgotten Hits is all about! (kk)
CLIP OF THE WEEK:
Yeah, I’d say that this one wins it hands down!
From FH Reader Geoff Lambert …
Husband: “I changed a light bulb today.”
Wife: “That's it? I did the laundry, vacuumed the house, washed windows, cooked three meals, and the list goes on and on ...
And you changed a single light bulb?”
Husband: “Yep, that’s what I did today. Watch this; I filmed me doing it.”
