FH Reader Rich Turner turns in this report of a .38 Special show he saw last week in Clearwater, Florida. (No concerts here yet ... Covid numbers are still extremely high ... and even shows that were originally rescheduled for next April are still suspect as to whether they'll actually come off on time or not.)
But it IS good to know that SOMEBODY out there is enjoying live music again. (Pollstar reported last weekend that revenue was down THIRTY BILLION DOLLARS due to all of the shows cancelled in 2020 ... the results of this pandemic have been absolutely devastating.)
Hey Kent,
I would like to submit an actual honest to goodness recent
concert review of a show my girl friend and I attended this past week.
As you know ever since Covid hit last March, the concert scene has
completely gone away. Shows were postponed and then postponed again with
a lot being totally cancelled.
Going to concerts has been a big part of
my life since I was 14 years old (I am 66 now) and I'm hoping it will
continue to be for some years to come. So not being able to attend any
kind of a major headlining act for the last nine months has been
disappointing.
Well, that finally all changed last Wednesday (December 9)
here in Clearwater, Florida, when .38 Special were allowed to finally
perform at Ruth Eckerd Hall.
They were originally scheduled to play last
May, then postponed to August, then postponed again to October.
Ruth
Eckerd Hall is one of the major concert venues here in the Tampa Bay
area and, like all other venues, they have been almost completely void of
shows since March. They have had a few very small acoustic shows on an
outside patio (for less than a 100 people) but no major act in their
2,130 seat auditorium since last March 8, when REO Speedwagon played to a
sold-out crowd (which I also attended.) Every show since then was either postponed or completely cancelled.
The Governor of Florida in October said he was permitting all venues and
restaurants to open at 100% ... however, to the best of my knowledge, no
venues or restaurants have actually let that happen. Most venues have
basically remained closed although some football stadiums are running at
about 20%. Ruth Eckerd finally decided to hold their first show at what
they claim was 50%.
So what precautions did they follow to hold a safe
environment for their patrons?
They had everybody line up in three
different lines (one for each entrance door.) They asked for social
distancing between parties as we entered. Everybody's temperature was
taken by some sort of scanner at each entrance. Then you were wanded one
at a time (still maintaining six feet apart.) And, of course, everybody
wore a mask. Your ticket or phone was scanned and then you were
permitted to enter the lobby.
Once you were seated, there were two empty
seats between parties in your row and the seats in the row in front of
you and behind you were also empty as they tried to create a zig-zag
effect. I hope I explained that well.
I am guessing that there were
maybe 700-800 in attendance in an auditorium that would hold 2,130 at
full capacity. There were people in seats all the way to the last row, so
about 30% capacity would seem right.
I can only speak for the men's
room but every other urinal was closed off as was every other sink. The
only area that beverages were sold was outside in two spots. Once your
ticket was scanned you were allowed to go outside to purchase a drink
through a different door connected to the lobby. You could also purchase
t-shirts and other concert memorabilia there.
I think that covers all
the Covid precautions and I think Ruth Eckerd Hall did an excellent job
in trying to make you feel safe. Anyway on with the show!
The
opening act was a local band that go by the name of The Greg Billings
Band. Billings has been playing in the Tampa Bay area since the '70s and
he seems to be the go-to guy if you need a concert opener for your
headline act. His band is top-notch as they have been playing together
for many years but for me, his talkative concert schtick has grown quite
tiresome.
I did enjoy his band's original classic southern rock
repertoire, so his 45 minutes went by fairly quickly. After missing
concert music for so long, almost anything would have sounded good (well
not rap.)
A few minutes after 9:00, .38 Special hit the stage.
I have seen
this band probably at least ten times since the '80's and have always
enjoyed their brand of melodic southern rock. I have noticed that in
previous .38 Special shows over the last ten to fifteen years that lead
singer Don Barnes' voice (in my opinion) has deteriorated slightly. NOT
TONIGHT! His voice sounded strong, crisp and on-key beautifully.
In some
of my other reviews I have mentioned the device called auto-tuning that
a lot of singers are using now and Barnes had to be using this. Ruth
Eckerd has always been known for having an excellent sound system and
tonight was no exception. In fact, the equipment that the band brought in
to augment Ruth Eckerd's sound made for an incredible listening
experience. I have seen probably 50 shows in this venue since the 1980's
and the sound has never been better than it was this night. This right
there was the high point of the night for me!
For
this concert, veteran .38 Special has never played a better show than the
one I saw tonight. Led by Mr. Barnes, they went through the whole history
of .38 Special songs. The concert set list was the same basic one they
have been using for years but if something is working, why screw it up?
From the opener, "Rockin' Into The Night," to the end with "Caught Up In
You" and "Hold On Loosely," they played every song with enthusiasm and
high-energy. You could tell they love what they are doing and obviously
have missed playing to live audiences of late. They played close to two
hours and over twenty songs.
Barnes did make a few references about being
glad to be playing again and how 2020 has been one screwed-up year, but
for the most part, he let the band do the talking by their outstanding
playing.
Yes, I know a lot of people consider this version of .38 Special
to not be much better than a tribute band because Don Barnes is the only
original member, but for me, as long as he is in the band they are .38
Special. After all, he wrote most of the music and sings almost all the
songs and
plays second lead guitar.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the
excellent job that keyboard player Bobby Capps does singing "Second
Chance." Let me mention also that .38 Special routinely during their
shows plays an eight song medley of some lesser-known hits with each one
being about one minute in length. But not tonight! They played the
usual medley but instead, each song was played to their full original
length. Loved this also!
They have a new guitar player named Jerry
Riggs. He joined the band near the end of 2018, replacing Danny Chauncey,
and he fits right in with the .38 Special sound. You would think he had
been in the band for years.
A mention should be made of bass player
Barry Dunaway (in the band since 2014), and drummer Gary Moffatt (with
the band since 1997), too. Moffatt had, for me, what I consider the perfect
drum solo (short but sweet.)
To
sum it all up, for the first concert that my girl friend Alice and I
have seen since last March, we could not have enjoyed ourselves more. A
surprisingly (for me) outstanding show in a well-prepared safe venue.
It
was great to be rockin' to live music again! I can't wait for more!
-- Rich Turner
We've seen .38 Special a few times now and, after reading your review, I wanna see 'em again!!! Sounds like you guys were definitely rockin' into the night!!!
Thanks so much for sending ... it's inspiring to think that we all may be enjoying live shows again in the not too distant future. (kk)
Rich also sent us a handful of photos from the show ...
I loved some of Chuck Buell's Christmas Gift-Giving Ideas from earlier this week,
all tied around Forgotten Hits product. I think there may be a few good marketing items in there!
Sandy
I loved it, too ... and I may have misspoke ...
Chuck tells me that all of these items actually DO exist ... and many can be personalized (although it's already too late for THIS Christmas.) Frannie says she DEFINITELY wants the Forgotten Hits face mask!
Which got me to thinking ...
After referring himself as a “Forgotten Hitter,” (I like that phrase!), it inspired me to
think that maybe we should sponsor a softball team (you know, if things ever
get back to normal again in this regard!) or, at the very least, come up with
some kind of Forgotten Hitters baseball jerseys … something a step beyond the traditional
t-shirt promotional idea that has been floating around here for many years now.
So I wonder …
What kind of creative design can you guys come up with that
might lend itself well to this concept … something that would still tie into the whole idea into
oldies music … yet create a fashionable statement that every reader will want
to own and wear???
Ideas???
Let us know …
Send us your sketches …
Who knows … this just may be a new marketing idea for
2021.(ANYTHING to put this past year
behind us!!!)
THE FORGOTTEN HITTERS CLUB …
Where will it go from here?(kk)
(By the way, one of our readers actually made me this desk plate several years
back, hand-crafted out of wood … it sits on top of my computer desk to this
very day! Thanks, Mark!)
And how about this one again from Bob Lind ...
To my loved ones who may not frequent FaceBook ...
I post this every year ... and I send it to the people I care about.
In
looking at this week’s WCFL chart, I see Elton John’s Your Song jumped up from
35 to 29 yet didn’t get a star for being a “Big 10 Climber.”I guess Super ‘CFL didn’t realize yet that
Elton was about to become a huge superstar and Your Song one of his most
beloved songs! We will see if he gets a star next week!
Mike
Hartman
“Your Song” will go on to peak at #7 on the WCFL Chart, one
of 13 Top 20 Hits he’ll have at the station before they switched over to a
“beautiful music” radio format.Seven of
those 13 will peak at #1, beginning with “Crocodile
Rock” in 1973 and then a string of six in a row starting in 1974: “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me,” “The Bitch
Is Back,” “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds,” “Philadelphia Freedom,” “Someone
Saved My Life Tonight” and “Island Girl.”He just missed with “Bennie and the Jets,” which peaked at #2 … but “The
Bitch Is Back” bested its national showing, where it only managed to hit #4 in
Billboard.
“Your Song” will, indeed, earn a bullet next week … and only
for moving from #29 to #27!!! … so go figure.Unfortunately, you won’t see it reach #7 because that won’t happen until
next year, by which time The Super Charts will return to Forgotten Hits as we
remember the biggest events of 1971!(kk)
And, speaking of WCFL switching over to a “Beautiful Music”
format …
Hi
there Kent,
You
wrote:
>>>Adult Contemporary Music seems to be making a
mark this week with Ray Price's "For The Good Times" landing at #26 and
Perry Como premiering at #37 with "It's Impossible." (Hey, wait
a minute ... WCFL wouldn't flip to a Beautiful Music Format until 1976!!!
What the heck is going on here?!?!) kk
As
Petula Clark sang in 1966, “It's A Sign Of The Times.”
Sorry
Kent, but that's the first thing that popped into my head, grin.
(Sorry
… I just couldn’t resist)
Sam
Ward
>>>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!(kk)
Indeed, this might be true, but I could
probably sing the song completely still.
I heard it so much and never really thought
about lyrics and such in 1968 as a 12 year old, so the melody was kinda nice
and after the intriguing hit "Laurie" from three years before, making
it interesting in an odd sort of way.
Clark Besch
Ron Dante has the right answer …
Listing “the worst songs ever recorded” is like using negativity
to raise children. Pointing out what you don’t like, rather than bringing
attention to what you do like, is degrading, deflating, and serves no positive
results. It is proven not to be an incentive to improve.
And in this case, the ability to improve has either happened
already or the recorders moved on.
Last point … art is subjective. It is ALWAYS based on opinion in
the final analysis.
If you have a radio show, it is your own opinion that is
expressed. If you write a book, it is your own opinion expressed. I have no
problem with that, just a problem with stating a negative opinion as a fact for
all.
Shelley J Sweet-Tufano
Couldn’t
agree with you more, Shelley.(Besides,
we ALL know that the only opinion that matters around here is MINE!!!“Cause that’s the only one that’s
correct!)kk
kk …
WCBS-FM = Zero For Twenty Years
WABC-AM = Two Weeks In A Row, Cousin Brucie
Played My Request.
This Week It Was "THE GREAT PRETENDER,"
The Platters’ First # 1 Hit - 1955.
Brucie encourages listeners to make requests.
He mentions the phone number and e-mail
address every five minutes.
He spoke to Darlene Love on the phone.
You might remember that every year she would
be on Letterman's Show to usher in the Christmas season.
This year, you can find her Christmas show, "LOVE
FOR THE HOLIDAYS," at www.Sonyhall.com,
streaming till Christmas.
There is also a NEW PROGRAM, starting tonight
and running every Sunday Night from 10 PM till Midnight …
Joe Piscopo playing Frank Sinatra music on WABC-AM.
First it was Tony Orlando and now it’s Joe
Piscopo. Station owner seems to find people who never worked in radio and turns
them into Disc Jockeys.
FB
Yes, but some very talented and knowledgeable people who
know and love their subject matter.Nothing wrong with that … and, I would imagine, quite entertaining to
listen to their spin on things.
Frank Sinatra would have turned 105 this weekend!Ron Onesti held a special streaming concert
event featuring 28 artists performing 22 Sinatra classics last Saturday Night at 6
pm.
And then, in a COMPLETE turn of events, presented a live
concert by The Pat Travers Band at 8:00 immediately after!(Now if THAT ain’t variety, I don’t know what
is!!!)
And, this Saturday Night, he’ll be presenting the Annual
Ides Of March Christmas Show.(This is
always a VERY special event … and who couldn’t use a little bit of Christmas
Cheer right about now???)kk
And guess what ...
This year it's a FREE SHOW!!!
All you have to do to see it is visit The Ides Of March Facebook Page at 8 pm (Chicago Time) THIS SATURDAY NIGHT ... CLICK HERE TO WATCH SATURDAY AT 8PM
Hey everybody!
Jimbo here of the Ides of March.
Be sure to watch our
free Christmas concert coming up this Saturday, December 19th at 8 pm cst.
You will have a front row seat at a typical Ides of March rehearsal - this one featuring Christmas songs, mostly original material and a few
standards. You’ll see how much fun the Ides have when we are together
making the music you love.
Hope to see you there!
Much love and good
cheers!
Jimbo
ALWAYS a special time ... and this is their 25th Anniversary Christmas Concert, too ... so a very meaningful and special event.
For those of you who have never seen The Ides Of March before (you hear us talk about them all the time ... but at some point, you've just gotta see them for yourself!), here is your chance to share some holiday cheer ... along with many of their biggest hits.
Please plan on joining us THIS SATURDAY NIGHT for The Ides Of March Sharing Christmas Concert. (kk)
Kent,
Great interview with Geoff and Jimbo Peterik!
Thanks for connecting them.
I'm looking forward to the Christmas Show ... and hope I win a copy of the new Pride Of Lions CD.
Clark
One last thing before we leave The Ides ...
Tomorrow (December 18th) is your LAST CHANCE to bid on this guitar signed by all of The Ides Of March members, other Cornerstones Of Rock artists, Mark Farner (formerly of Grand Funk Railroad), David Pack (formerly of Ambrosia) and many others.
The proceeds raised will go toward the funding of the Dick Biondi documentary being put together by Pam Pulice and the current bid is right around $1200 ... a steal for such a collectible piece.
Send your bid (along with your name, telephone number and email address) to Joe@DickBiondiFilm.com before 11:59 PM on December 18, 2020. The winner will be
announced on December 23, 2020.
Did you happen to watch the new Bee Gees documentary on HBO last weekend? (I guess it's streaming now on HBO Max, too.)
It was better than I expected and (as noted earlier), I wasn't expecting much based on the previews that I had seen. Still, there are better vehicles out there that show an overview of their remarkable career. (How many comebacks can one superstar artist have?!?!)
Regardless, I give it a 6 1/2 out of 10 ... and the music is great. It stops a bit short for me ... The Brothers Gibb continued to make great music well beyond what is shown in this film ... and their hit songs recorded by other artists are merely glossed over in less than a minute (and some of these were HUGE hits.) The "Sgt. Pepper" fiasco wasn't mentioned at all ... and yet Steve Dahl's Disco Demolition was given the spotlight treatment well beyond the allotment it deserved.
But the key, to me, has always been the music ... and we did see a few clips we hadn't seen before ... so I'll definitely be watching it again. (In fact, maybe as soon as Christmas Day!) kk
We enjoyed listening to Me-TV-FM’s salute to The Dave Clark
Five on Dave Clark’s birthday this past Tuesday.
The group had an incredible 17 Top 40 Hits between 1964 and 1967
here in The States.They were truly one
of the leaders in The British Invasion, once The Beatles knocked the door down …
and scored hits with both covers (“Do You Love Me,” “I Like It Like That,” “Over
And Over” (their only official #1) and “You Got What It Takes) … and originals
like “Because,” “Can’t You See That She’s Mine,” “Glad All Over,” “Bits And
Pieces” and “Catch Us If You Can.”
Noted Rock Historian Jeff Tamarkin recently interviewed Dave
Clark about the longevity of his music (despite the fact that it was kept off
the market for at least two decades!!!)
I became a serious fan of Dusty Springfield’s music while I
was putting together our special Forgotten Hits Series many years ago.(It first ran in 2004 … but has been posted
on our archive website for at least the past ten years.)
The series was originally intended to be a co-effort between
me an long-time FH Reader M.F. Ping … but when Michael had to drop out at the
last minute due to a family emergency, I went ahead and produced it on my own
as, by this point, I was too far vested NOT to tell her story!
So it was a nice surprise to read this week that Real Gone
Music is putting together a brand new release of ALL of Dusty’s Atlantic
Records single sides on one compilation CD … 24 tracks in all, covering a good
percentage of the time that she spent recording here in The States in Memphis,
TN, exploring her soulful side.(She was
QUITE successful in this regard!)
Although only three of these tracks ever made The Top 40,
there are several other gems here that probably deserved A-Side status rather
than the other way around.
Here’s the complete run-down from The Second Disc …
Ringo Starr has always gotten by with a little help from his
friends …
And the first single release from his new album is no
exception.
“Here’s To The Nights” was written by Diane Warren, who
hand-picked Ringo to handle the honors.
Listen closely and you’ll hear Paul McCartney, Joe Walsh,
Sheryl Crow, Lenny Kravitz, Dave Grohl, Eric Burdon, Chris Stapleton and Ben
Harper (amongst others) helping out on vocals, backed by a band that includes
Steve Lukather of Toto and Benmont Tench of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers.
More info (and a video sneak peek of the track) can be found
here:
When Ringo was first presented with the song, he released this
statement:
When Diane presented this song to me,
I loved the sentiment of it. This is the kind of song we all want to sing along
to, and it was so great how many wonderful musicians joined in. I wanted it out
in time for New Years’ because it feels like a good song to end a tough year
on. So here’s to the nights we won’t remember and the friends we won’t forget –
and I am wishing everyone peace and love for 2021.
- Ringo Starr
In
other Beatles-related news, Paul McCartney has announced a six part documentary
on his life that is being produced by Rick Rubin.
McCartney will also be interviewed by this evening at 10:45 PM
(Central Time) by Chris Rock as part of YouTube’s on-going “Released” series.The interview will conclude with the world
premiere of a video of a song from Paul’s new album, “McCartney III,” which arrives
on Friday.(Busy week for Macca!)kk
On Wednesday, December 23rd, at 9:00 p.m. ET, I'll be presenting my
Randy on the Radio Pop / Rock Christmas Special on Top Shelf Oldies (www.topshelfoldies.org).
The first half of the 2-hour show features mostly rock Christmas
songs from the '70s, and it then transitions to more-traditional pop (and
R&B) Christmas songs, mostly from the '50s and early '60s.
The second hour includes many new or recent stereo mixes of songs previously
available only in mono.
Christopher Cross
Releases Limited Edition Box Set
In a career spanning four
decades, Christopher Cross has sold over 10 million albums and been awarded
five Grammys, an Oscar, a Golden Globe and five Top 10 singles.
This year, Christopher Cross celebrates the 40th Anniversary of his
musical journey with a spectacular box set, Christopher Cross: The Complete
Works. The set contains 13 CDs – 12 previously-released albums plus a bonus
CD of 15 rare tracks. All the tracks have been digitally remastered by Bernie
Grundman.
Each set includes a special gift: a pink vinyl LP with one cut from
each of Christopher’s albums. Each track was chosen by Christopher and
digitally remastered for vinyl.
Christopher Cross: The Complete Works is elegantly bound into a stunning collector’s edition, a work of
art beautifully designed by Gary Dorsey of Pixel Peach Studios. This special
release is limited to 1000 copies and each box set is personally autographed by
Christopher.
Says Cross, “I am very excited to release this set which embodies
the work of a lot of wonderfully talented people and represents my legacy of
which I am profoundly proud.”
With all of the info you gave today on the
recording success of CCR, I wanted to point out that in 1971 when they came out
with the PENDULUM album, there was a cut on side one called MOLINA. This song
got a tremendous amount of air play here in OKC, and even made the weekly
survey. This was somewhat unusual in that the song wasn't released as a single
(to my knowledge) but was played and surveyed as an album cut. I don't really
remember if the DJ's said on air that if it was an album cut or not.
Larry Neal
It was always a very popular album cut (quite reminiscent of
“Hey Tonight” to my ears,” which was a bit unusual since it came from the same
LP!)A good track for sure!(kk)
Mariah Carey is back on top of Billboard’s Hot 100 Pop
Singles Chart again this week with her perennial Christmas Favorite “All I Want
For Christmas Is You.”
Having topped the chart last year as well (something it was
never able to do during its first chart run in 1994 … or in the other ten times
it charted again in re-release), naturally they now want to elevate the song to
“Twist” status as being the SECOND song to reach #1 twice in two separate chart
runs.(For the record, ANOTHER Christmas
Record also accomplished this feat BEFORE the start of The Rock Era … Bing
Crosby’s “White Christmas.”)
But is it even still “The Rock Era” anymore?I’m not so sure.
And the criteria on which these Hot 100 Pop Charts are based
is SO drastically different these days, who really knows how to compare apples
to apples at this stage of the game.
Still, proper props are due, so congratulations Mariah, on a
job well done.(kk)
But Mariah’s hit wasn’t the only seasonal tune to stir up a
fuss this past week …
In fact, this week’s chart brings 28 holiday songs into the
mix …
(Probably why for decades Billboard kept a separate holiday
chart to track these things, helping to ensure that these sudden bursts of
sales should be taken solely as such … something else they apparently now what
to throw out the window, too!)
This week’s Top Ten alone show “Rockin’ Around The Christmas
Tree” by Brenda Lee at #3, “Jingle Bell Rock” by Bobby Helms at #5, “It’s The
Most Wonderful Time Of The Year” by Andy Williams at #6 and “Feliz Navidad” by
Jose Feliciano at #10.(That makes HALF
of The Top Ten Singles this week Christmas tunes!)
But the list doesn’t stop there.You’ll find “Last Christmas” by Wham at #11, “A
Holly Jolly Christmas” by Burl Ives at #14, “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It
Snow” by Dean Martin at #15, “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open
Fire)” by Nat “King” Cole at #16, “Sleigh Ride” by The Ronettes at #20, “Underneath
The Christmas Tree” by Kelly Clarkson at #25, “Happy Holidays / The Holiday
Season” by Andy Williams at #29, “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)” by
Darlene Love at #31, “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby at #32, “It’s Beginning
To Look A Lot Like Christmas” by Michael Buble at #33, “Rudolph, The Red-Nosed
Reindeer” by Gene Autry at #34, “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas”
by Perry Como at #35, “Here Comes Santa Claus” by Gene Autry at #36, “(There’s
No Place Like) Home For The Holidays” by Perry Como at #37, “Santa, Tell Me” by
Ariana Grande at #39 and “Run, Rudolph, Run” by Chuck Berry at #40.(That’s 21 out of 40 so far!)
“Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney re-enters the
chart at #45, “Under The Mistletoe” by Kelly Clarkson and Brett Eldredge is at
#59, “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” by Justin Bieber is at #71, “Oh Santa!”
by Mariah Carey, Ariana Grande and Jennifer Hudson is new at #76, “Favorite
Time Of Year” by Carrie Underwood comes in at #80, “Take Me Home For Christmas”
by Dan and Shay is #88 and “Silent Night” by Carrie Underwood brings up the
rear at #100.(All told, that makes 28%
of this week’s chart Christmas tunes … and there are a good number of these
that we hear every day … “Happy Xmas” by John and Yoko, “O Holy Night” by Celine
Dion and “Little Saint Nick” by The Beach Boys immediately come to mind … not
to mention “The Little Drummer Boy,” “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” “I’ll
Be Home For Christmas,” Bruce Springsteen’s “Merry Christmas, Baby,” “Blue Christmas”
by Elvis, “The Chipmunk Song,” “Snoopy’s Christmas” … and SO many others that
evidently have registered enough sales or airplay to make the list … yet.(Don’t forget … Christmas is still another
week away!!!)
And where are The Carpenters (“Merry Christmas, Darling”),
Johnny Mathis, some of Elvis’ other seasonal hits, “Santa Baby” by Eartha Kitt
and/or Madonna, Cheech and Chong, Elmo and Patsy, The Drifters’ version of “White
Christmas” … the list goes on and on (and the “I would never be caught dead
playing so and so” mantra goes on the shelf for eight weeks or so, so that (as
we point out every year) all of these artists who can’t seem to get ANY airplay
during the rest of the year at all, no matter HOW many hits they may have had,
now fall on to the “completely acceptable” list according to these same
programmers for a few weeks, this time of the year. (Keep in mind, too, that
Christmas music used to air sporadically for about three weeks … and then heavy
duty for 48 hours … now we’ve got stations kicking off the holiday spirit by the
end of October!!!)
The truth is, MOST of us LOVE Christmas Music … it’s just the same old “beat
you over the head with it” saturation that turns us off.(To quote Me-TV-FM … “Not the MOST Christmas
Music … just the BEST Christmas Music.”I wish a few more stations would adopt that philosophy.(kk)
Lately I’ve been thinking ...
Which do I hate more ... the current Covid Virus or the 55 mph
speed limit enacted on New Years Eve, 1973/74?
This virus looks like it’s going to run its course in about 12 - 18
months … but that damn speed limit just seemed to last forever.
My vote is that I hated the speed limit more.
How does this relate to music?
Well, when I was driving over the 55 mph speed limit, which I did
all of the time, I was always listening to music, and we got one great song out
of it.
With the virus there’s hardly any music and I have yet to hear one
“I hate the virus” song, let alone a good one. There’s a lot of musicians on
this site … get busy!
And it’s got to have that “raw power” of hate … like the example I’ve
included below.
Robert Campbell
>>>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.
Gotta believe Bob Stroud might be up for this(???)
Bob????
Todd is a true music legend, in my mind, as
well.
Clark
I like this marketing campaign …
Sent in my PR Guru Bob Merlis …
BLUE PLATE SPECIAL OUT DECEMBER 18 FROM
THE OLD MAN DINNER BAND … LATE BLOOMERS’ DEBUT IS
A SIX SONG EP PRESSED ON BLUE VINYL
The Old Man Dinner
Band announces the release of Blue Plate Special, its first recorded
endeavor. The limited edition 45 rpm 10” EP, pressed on blue vinyl,
is a six-song collection that reflects the band members’ fixation with the
superannuated and the super soulful. The songs they chose to record
are associated with the repertoires and/or compositional talents of the Rolling
Stones, Arthur Alexander, Little Richard, The Drifters, Allen Toussaint, Irma
Thomas, Chris Kenner, the Dave Clark Five and Rosco Gordon, among others. Blue Plate Special took shape at
Redstar Recording in Los Angeles with Tim Sonnefeld producing, along with The
Old Man Dinner Band.
Each of the Old Man Dinner Band’s
members comes to the group from show biz careers that have been marked by
scores of accolades. The O.M.D.B. crew includes an Emmy nominee, a Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame inductee, a Grammy-nominee, a Grammy winner, an Indie
International Songwriting Contest winner and a BMI Award winner. These much
lauded and awarded players are, in alphabetical order, Peter “Petey” Andrews
(guitar), Sam Graham (guitar), Randy Poe (bass), Harvey Shield (guitar and vocals)
and Pete Thomas (drums).
In the pre-pandemic time, they found
themselves eating together for ten years of Tuesdays at The Park, a now defunct
restaurant on Sunset Boulevard in LA’s Echo Park neighborhood. What brought
them together so regularly, along with quite a few other enthusiasts, was an
abiding passion for music that dates back more than six, and in some cases,
seven decades.
That weekly gathering at The Park
was dubbed “Old Man Dinner” by the young twin sons of one of the regular
attendees and the handle stuck. One evening in 2018, a side conversation
between Harvey Shield and Pete Thomas resulted in the latter turning to Randy
Poe, and contending, “You look like a bass player.” As it happened, Randy
did own a bass which qualified him to be one half of the band’s rhythm
section. Randy, a leading music publishing executive and author (Skydog:
The Duane Allman Story) hails from Muscle Shoals so it only stood to reason
that he was up to the task thrust upon him by Pete and Harvey. The drummer/recruiter
is, of course, an enduring member of Elvis Costello and the Attractions and/or
Imposters as well as Jack Shit, the LA-based countrypolitan trio. Harvey has
fronted The Mighty Echoes, LA’s premiere acapella doo-wop group, for thirty
years and was part of Episode Six, the ‘60s British band that included Ian
Gillan and Roger Glover in their pre-Deep Purple days. Pete, Harvey and
Randy immediately asked Peter Andrews to join up. Petey, another OMD regular,
was mentored in his youth by Tiny Moore of Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys and
by jazz great Barney Kessel. Of late, he’s performed with Carlene Carter, Coco
Dolenz and Tammy Faye Starlite. The lineup was completed with the inclusion of
Sam Graham, another multi-dimensional talent who is not only a string slinger
of great note(s), heading his own Sam Graham Trio but, like Poe, is an author (Fleetwood
Mac: The Authorized History).
For their debut, the band chose to
record songs at least 50 years old, most of which are rooted in America’s
south, a region that all agree is a wellspring of soulfully honest expression.
Voluminous liner notes for Blue Plate Special were
written by Bob Merlis, co-author of Heart & Soul: A Celebration of
Black Music Style In America 1930 – 1975.
To purchase your copy of Blue Plate Special,
playable in mono and stereo (when you turn on both hearing aids), please go to
PayPal: https://rb.gy/ixn0fo and send a total of $20 ($15
for the platter, $5 for shipping) with your mailing address to
OldManDinnerBand @ gmail (dot) com
The Old Man Dinner Band
Blue Plate Special
Side 1
You Better Move On – written and
recorded by Arthur Alexander; also recorded by the Rolling Stones, Dean Martin
and The Hollies
Just A Little Bit – written by John
Thornton, Piney Brown, Ralph Bass and Earl Washington as recorded by Rosco
Gordon; also recorded by Little Milton and Roy Head
Can’t Believe You Wanna Leave Me –
written by Leo Price as recorded by Little Richard; also recorded by Ian Gillan
& Roger Glover with Dr. John
Side 2
Sweets For My Sweet – written by Doc
Pomus and Mort Shuman as recorded by The Drifters; also recorded by The
Searchers and C.J. Lewis
It’s Raining – written by Naomi
Neville, a/k/a Allen Toussaint, as recorded by Irma Thomas; also recorded by
Shakin’ Stevens and Freddy Fender
I LIke It Like That – written by
Chris Kenner and Allen Toussaint, as recorded by Chris Kenner: also recorded by
the Dave Clark Five as well as The Nashville Teens and Brinsley Schwarz
A couple of smiles ...
(Man, we're getting old!!!)
And
Finally …
This was just WAY too cool not to share!
It’s The Beatles … on Shindig! … from 1965 … IN COLOR!!! …
with the original advertisement intact as well!And in pretty darn good quality, too!
Enjoy!
On This Date in 1970: December 17th –
The Beach Boys play a
Command Performance for Princess Margaret at London’s Royal Albert Hall
