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:
-- 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
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!]
(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!!!
