There was little cause for celebration in 2020 ...
But out of the ruins of the Covid-19 Pandemic and all the shut-downs caused by it ...
All the cancelled shows, tours and celebrations ...
It is reassuring to know that the fans got together in support of both the artists and the venues and demanded that Congress do something on their behalf to help right this uncontrollable wrong ...
And from those actions, SOS - Save Our Stages - was born.
And it is now being implemented as LAW in several states. (In fact, thanks to over 2.1 million emails, ALL 535 representatives heard from supporters of this act in all 50 states.)
So thank you to the thousands and thousands and thousands of you who got behind this campaign to help in some small way give back to all the entertainers out there who have given us so much enjoyment throughout the years.
We're not out of the woods yet ... and more support is needed ...
But we can ALL feel good about the progress we've made thus far with another round of "thanks" to all the entertainers and venues out there that have so enriched our lives.
The Save Our Stages Act just passed as part
of the COVID-19 Relief Bill!
Thank you for helping to #SaveOurStages! You
responded in an overwhelming fashion. NIVA thanks those across the
country who sent 2.1 million emails to their elected officials
expressing their support for the Save Our Stages Act. All 535
Congresspeople heard from their constituents through SaveOurStages.com.
Without your
support and continued attention, we could not have accomplished this
goal.
Our gratitude also extends to Sen. John Cornyn
(R-TX) and Sen.Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) in the Senate, Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT)
and Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX) in the House, champion leader Chuck
Schumer (D-NY), and 230 bipartisan cosponsors in Congress.
The Save Our Stages Act will provide emergency
relief to independent venues and promoters that have been devastated by
the pandemic’s shutdown. This legislation will enable these mom-and-pop
businesses to hold on until it’s safe to gather, reopen fully, and once
again return to serving as the economic engines for their communities.
Read NIVA's full statement and thanks here.
The legislation provides critical help to shuttered
businesses by providing a grant equal to 45% of gross revenue from
2019, with a cap of $10 million per entity. This grant funding will
ensure recipients can stay afloat until reopening by helping with
expenses like payroll and benefits, rent and mortgage, utilities,
insurance, PPE, and other ordinary and necessary business expenses.
WHAT’S NEXT
NIVA hopes to work with the Small Business
Administration to ensure the emergency relief is dispersed as Congress
intended, that the instructions and process to apply for grants ensure
that the process is implemented accurately, fairly and as expediently
as possible.
Since it could take many weeks, even months
for the funding to flow, the NIVA Emergency Relief Fund, with The
Giving Back Fund as its 501(c)3 fiscal sponsor, continues to raise
money to assist the venues at greatest risk of permanently going under
as we wait for the grants to be issued. Anyone wishing to donate can do
so here.
In keeping with our "It's Good News Week" theme, here comes this tidbit from Tom Cuddy, regarding our FH Buddy Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon ...
Kent:
As crappy as 2020 has
been, it ended on a high note for Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon.
As you know, until he can start performing again, he’s been spending a
great deal of time pursuing his love of drawing.
His art work caught the eye
of Florida’s Bilotta Gallery, that specializes in offering the works of
celebrities. They offer artwork by Billy Bob Thornton, Eve “Brady
Bunch” Plumb, Billy Dee Williams, Tina “Gilligan's Island”
Louise, Rosie O’Donnell, Tony “Leave It To Beaver” Dow, etc.
And now, fans can check out
a variety of Freddy’s works at:
https://bilottagallery.com/
-- Tom Cuddy
Tom also sent us this British Invasion tidbit ...
10 Classic Recordings that are Actually Cover Versions –
THE 1960s BRITISH INVASION
Tom Cuddy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58h5pY5l4_o&feature=youtu.be
Hi Kent,
MERRY CHRISTMAS to you, Frannie and your family. Let's hope for the best in 2021!
What this country needs is a late night music show! How many
boogie-men and surreal subject retreads can George Noory keep pushing, I
mean come on. You talk about beating dead horses.
There's a market a
mile-wide waiting for "Forgotten Hits Late Night Across America!"
Just
food for thought Kent.
Happy Holidays,
Tim Kiley
Wouldn't that be something? A weekly show dedicated to the great musical performances of our past ... with brand new live performances as well to round things out.
(I dunno ... it may all be a little too TJ Lubinsky for me ... but I know this is a program that I'D watch ... you know, if it wasn't on TOO late, being that we're all getting so old now!!! (kk)
What's this world coming to?
Amazon is promoting the new Paul
McCartney release. You can stream for free (with their app). But if you want it
on vinyl, it's $29.98!
https://www.amazon.com/McCartney-III-Paul/dp/B08L8PB15J/ref=tmm_msc_swatch_0?
Ken
Voss
Billboard reported record vinyl sales for the week before Christmas (with a lot of the credit for this surge going to the new McCartney III album ... guess a lot of Paul's fans are still very much "old school" in this regard!) It was released in several different configurations (actually, the blue vinyl LP looks pretty cool), but I just went with the standard issue CD. (I'm not going back to vinyl ... I don't miss it at all ... and really enjoy the convenience of being able to take my music with me wherever I go.)
They had a 3-day
sale to download the entire LP for just $3.99, too … of course AFTER I had
already spent $13.98 to buy the CD! (The
penalties for having to own things on the first day!!!)
But they DO give
you a free download of the album when you purchase it on CD … so that’s a
pretty good trade-off in my book. (On
releases like this, I have to have the “hard copy!!!”)
Vinyl sales outpaced CD sales for the fourth time since September, achieving a new record high since these stats started being compiled again in 1991. With 1.842 million vinyl albums sold, that becomes the new one week high since 1986. (Keeping things in perspective, McCartney III sold approximately 32,000 copies on vinyl.) His new album sold enough copies overall to debut at #2 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums Chart for the week. (kk)
Rewound Radio has been counting down THOUSANDS of songs that received votes in this year's Top 77 All-Time Favorites Countdown. (When all was said and done, 2513 songs made this year's list!)
Uncharacteristically, they ran a list of The Top 100 immediately ...https://musicradio77.com/voting2020.html
And have since put up the COMPLETE list, showing EVERY song nominated, listed in ranked order:
https://musicradio77.com/2020%20Top%202513.pdf
"Hey Jude" by The Beatles tops the list for the 22nd time in 23 years as your all-time favorite hit. Incredible! (In fact, The Beatles have TWELVE of The Top 100 this year.)
But that's not to say that there aren't a few surprises along the way.
When I turned the countdown on for the first time on Saturday, the very first song I heard was "Things We'd Like To Say" by The New Colony Six, which came in at #68 on this year's list.
A lot of our favorite "Forgotten Hits" also made the list, many of which have turned into real Fan Favorites over the years ... "Ariel" by Dean Friedman (#91), "Tonite Tonite" by The Mello-Kings (#63), "Can't Find The Time" by Orpheus (#40), "Mr. Dieingly Sad" by The Critters (#30) and "Morning Girl" by Neon Philharmonic (#24). Lots of standby favorites also made the cut ... most notably "Brandy" by Looking Glass (#22 in its 16th time on the list), "In The Still Of The Nite" by The Five Satins (#6 ... this one has made the list all 23 years ... and once peaked at #2), "Since I Don't Have You" by The Skyliners (#45), "Cara Mia" by Jay and the Americans (#64), "Go All The Way" by The Raspberries (#66), "One Less Bell To Answer" by The Fifth Dimension (#72) ... several of these songs would have made MY list, too.
They're playing EVERYTHING that received a vote straight thru the 3rd of January ... so tune in NOW to catch as much as you can before it's over till next year! (kk)
rewoundradio.com/instantonchromebook.html
[Very special thanks to Allan Sniffen, who gave me a VERY nice on-air mention earlier this week and said some VERY nice things about our Forgotten Hits website. We LOVE Rewound Radio, and have been letting readers know about it for over a decade now ... so this is DEFINITELY a mutual admiration society here!]
And, speaking of radio stations that we love, Me-TV-FM is playing "Firsts on the First" today ... the first Billboard Chart Hit by all your favorite Me Artists ... this should make for an interesting way to get reacquainted with some of your favorites! (kk)
On this weeks show, Ron Dante will discuss his newest release Ron Dante's Funhouse. It is always fun to have him join us. I think he should write a book.
Phil Nee - WRCO 100.9 FM and wrco.com
I
agree with you, Kent, regarding how the charts were compiled back in the day ... and how The Super Charts show a much clearer and more accurate representation of the REAL popularity of any given record at the time.
In a way, I wish I would have kept all the charts
that have passed thru my hands over the years. Not only would I have a
collection that would rival Frank Merrill's, but I would be able to
compose one hell of a super chart. We both know how full of holes all
three charts, as well as local charts are, but by combining them using
Randy Price's method, gives a much better overall view of how any song fares
in any given week. I know when I composed the 1967 Chicagoland charts, I
was a bit amazed at the status of some songs, but then it made a lot
more sense with the more data added.
Thanks, Randy, for sharing your
formula with me. I've never told a soul.
Jack Levin
Randy's chart formula, the well-kept secret behind KFC's herbs and spices, the ingredients of The Big Mac's secret sauce and a couple of other little known facts kept from the public, courtesy of Aunt Jemima (as well as the actual results of this year's presidential election) are all things that Jack will take to the grave with him ... keeping America safe for the rest of us to enjoy till the end of time.
Seriously, the concept behind The Super Charts may have all been mine ... but it was Randy who did ALL the legwork and heavy lifting ... and we are proud to share this with you at every opportunity possible ...
So stick around for an enlightening look back at 1971 ...
Kicking off on Saturday, January 2nd, and then continuing every Sunday throughout the year. (kk)
The Super Charts are back?
And you will have them every week on Sundays for 1971?? HOW COOOOL!!!
I love it!
Clark Besch
Yes, sir ... it all kicks off tomorrow with a double dose of charts ... Saturday AND Sunday ... EXCLUSIVELY in Forgotten Hits! (kk)
Just looked at WCFL's Year End Chart for 1970 ...
How
do they NOT have these local guys in their Top 40: "VEHICLE" is NOT in the Top 40
of year????????
TODAY, that song likely gets more plays than any of the Top 40 songs they've got listed!
As Jimbo would say: "WCFL is NOT the Vehicle that got us
here."
Clark Besch
Yeah, WCFL's Year End Chart leaves a little bit to be desired in the logic department ... LOTS of songs listed that didn't do as well as "Vehicle" did that year. (Just for fun, I checked WLS' Year End Chart, where "Vehicle" finished at #20 for the year ... still not as good as it should have shown in my opinion. Then again, they ranked B.J. Thomas' "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" way down at #31!!! That's a FAR CRY from the #1 Spot where 'CFL placed it! (The Ides Of March also won WLS' Annual Poll as Favorite Local Artist that year ... made sense as by then all of our '60's favorites ... The Buckinghams, The New Colony Six and The Cryan' Shames ... were no longer making the charts here or anywhere else for that matter. I didn't check but odds are the following year the hands-down favorite had to be Chicago.
"Vehicle" failed to make it to #1 on the WCFL weekly chart ... it peaked at #3 ... but DID top the WLS chart.
When Ron Smith published his WCFL Chart Book, he listed the biggest hits of each year based on each record's actual chart performance. "War" topped the 1970 list as it should have ... its six weeks on top bested every other #1 Hit that year. In fact, it was also #1 on his list of Top 40 Hits of All-Time, based on the 'CFL Charts. (For the record, "Vehicle" didn't make Ron's Top 40 Year-End mathematical chart either! It DID, however, come in at #55 for the year on our Official Forgotten Hits Year-End Chart, which combined year-end chart information from all three major trade publications. Nationally, "Vehicle" peaked at #2 in Billboard #3 in Record World and #6 in Cash Box.) kk
>>>Wow! I don't remember TV being so lame back then!!! (kk)
Well,
not as good as 1966-67, but still GREAT compared to today. I would MUCH
prefer an evening of those 1970 shows to a night of "Chicago CSI," "Chicago MD" and Chicago PSI" or whatever those three back to backs are. OR how
about NIGHTTIME "Supermarket Sweep"???? Fun to watch early morning TV
as a kid, but prime time 2020??? GIMME A BREAK. Today's TV is 10000
times worse than then.
Clark Besch
Many would agree that TODAY will be proven to be the TRUE Golden Age of Television ... only time will tell.
We are currently binging "Chicago PD" and thoroughly enjoying it. (The crossovers to "Chicago Fire" and "Chicago Med" are hit or miss ... but thanks to Dick Wolf's hand in all these shows, there are also episodes crossing over to "Law And Order SVU," "Chicago Justice" (since cancelled) and "The F.B.I.," another '70's reboot. This requires some pretty clever and creative writing and engineering ... a lot of high-end balancing going on here.
(I'll be the first to admit that when Frannie was watching PD and Med, I was rarely in the room ... but now that I've started PD from the beginning ... and have watched these stories and characters develop, I typically can't wait to come home and watch the next episode or two.)
I will agree that there is an awful lot of CRAP on TV today ... the best stuff is on the cable networks for sure ... just watch the awards shows and you'll see that network tv is rarely even nominated anymore ... but there are some EXCELLENT cable shows deserving of your attention. "Succession" on HBO and the recently aired "The Undoing" immediately come to mind. (kk)
Speaking of TV, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the death of Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann on Gilligan's Island. (I will confess to her being a lifetime crush of mine.) She was 82 years old and died of complications brought on by Covid 19 ... so very sad.
We've covered the "Who Is Hotter: Ginger or Mary Ann" contest numerous times over the years in Forgotten Hits ... but it was NO contest at all as far as I was concerned ... Dawn Wells captured my 11 year old heart the first time I laid eyes on her.
A former Miss America candidate, she was a bit of a tough sell as an innocent farm girl from Kansas ... but then not much that happened on Gilligan's Island fell into the logical and believable category!
I regret never meeting her ... I had the opportunity to do so twice over the course of time but other conflicts prevented it from happening. She is still in my heart after all these years.
We also lost one of my favorite songwriters from the '60's, Geoff Stephens, who passed away on Christmas Eve of undisclosed causes.
Stephens fronted The New Vaudeville Band and composed their #1 Hit "Winchester Cathedral" (as well as that single's B-Side, "Wait For Me Baby," which our band used to play all the time back in the '70's.)
You can also credit him with writing or cowriting the hits "There's A Kind Of Hush," "My World Fell Down," "Daughter Of Darkness," "Daddy, Don't You Walk So Fast," "Sorry Suzanne," "The Crying Game," "Doctor's Orders" and "Smile A Little Smile For Me." (Earlier on, he discovered Scottish folk singer Donovan, and produced his first album.)
While his name may not be familiar to most, his songs certainly are. Thank you for the music, Geoff. (kk)
kk:
I was listening to the Rewound Radio Countdown and heard a Sonny Geraci song.
Do you know if that guy who stole the money from his benefit concert paid it back.? I remember reading that he was out of jail.
FB
Wow, interesting question.
Back in September of 2014, Bill Thompson, the former owner of Stringz and Wingz in Streetsboro, Ohio, took off with $20,000 raised in a benefit concert to help pay for some of Sonny's medical bills.
Nearly a year later, he was given an early release from prison with the understanding that he had to pay back every penny at a rate of $500 per month until paid in full.
That means that this debt should have been cleared a couple of years ago. (In the meantime, Geraci died in 2017.)
I couldn't find anything on the web to indicate that the debt had been cleared ... but certainly hope that it has. (I even wrote to the Streetsboro Mayor's Office ... but didn't receive an answer.) Stealing money from a dying man has to be the lowest of the low.
Here's how we covered this story when it first broke in 2014 ...
From Chuck Buell to You for the Last Week of the Year!
( Timpani Roll! )
"Fifty Years Ago Today!"
From 1970!
The Personal Chuck Dah-Buell-Ell-Ess WLS Holiday Card as sent to Listeners!
And NOW to Forgotten Hitters Everywhere!
And finally, THIS from Frank B: (Tell me ... does this make you feel better ... or worse?!?!?)
Just in Case You Think You're Old!
Jeanne
Louise Calment had the longest confirmed human lifespan on record: 122 years
and 164 days.
It seems that fate strongly approved of the
way Madame Calment lived her life. She was born in Arles, France, on February
21, 1875. When the Eiffel Tower was built, she was 14 year old. It was at this
time that she met Vincent van Gogh. "He was dirty, badly dressed and
disagreeable," she recalled in an interview given in 1988.
When she was 85, she took up fencing, and she
was still riding on her bike when she reached 100. At the age of 114, she
starred in a film about her life; at age 115 she had an operation on her hip,
and at age 117 she gave up smoking, having started at the age of 21 in 1896.
Apparently, she didn't give it up for health reasons, but because she didn't
like having to ask someone to help her light a cigarette once she was nearly
blind.
In 1965, Jeanne was 90 years old and had no
heirs. She signed a deal to sell her apartment to a 47-year-old lawyer called
André-François Raffray. He agreed to pay her a monthly sum of 2,500 francs on
the condition that he would inherit her apartment after she died. However,
Raffray not only ended up paying Jeanne for 30 years, but died before she did
at the age of 77. His widow was legally obliged to continue paying Madam
Calment until the end of her days.
Jeanne retained sharp mental faculties. When
she was asked on her 120th birthday what kind of future she expected to have,
she replied, "A very short one."
Quotes and Rules of Life from Jeanne Louise
Calment:
"I'm in love with wine."
"All babies are beautiful."
"I think I will die of laughter."
"I've been forgotten by our Good
Lord."
"I've only got one wrinkle, and I'm
sitting on it."
"I never wear mascara; I laugh until I
cry too often."
"If you can't change something, don't
worry about it."
"Always keep your smile. That's how I
explain my long life."
"I see badly, I hear badly, and I feel
bad, but everything's fine."
"I have a huge desire to live and a big
appetite, especially for sweets."
"I have legs of iron, but to tell you the
truth, they're starting to rust and buckle a bit."
"I took pleasure when I could. I acted
clearly and morally and without regret. I'm very lucky."
"Being young is a state of mind, it
doesn't depend on one's body, I'm actually still a young girl; it's just that I
haven't looked so good for the past 70 years."
At the end of one interview, in response to a
journalist who said, "I hope we will meet again sometime next year."
She replied, "Why not? You're not that old; you'll still be here."
So long, 2020 ...
And Good Riddance!!!
