It sounds like Dusty Hill’s demise was not quite so unexpected by his band members. Discussions had already taken place regarding him leaving the tour, with Dusty insisting that the band go on without him after he was gone … and, in fact, hand-picking his replacement of long-time guitar technician Elwood Francis, who had already filled in on a couple of Dusty’s missed dates. (Dusty’s last show as part of ZZ Top took place on Sunday, July 18th, in Louisville, KY.) Francis has worked with the band for over two decades and is expected to fill in on bass, slide guitar and harmonica. Wednesday’s show in Simpsonville, SC was cancelled as a tribute to their fallen bandmate. The tour resumes on Friday (July 30th) and runs thru December 12th. (kk)
I worked with ZZ Top while at London Records back in the day; total professionals and eager to work and learn. Their sound, which was an amalgam of many genres, became a national favorite. Dusty in particular was always a gentleman.
Sad news for sure.
David Salidor
As expected, more names have been added to the New York City Mega-Concert happening August 21st.
In addition to headliners Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon and Jennifer Hudson, fans can also expect to see live performances by Santana (with Rob Thomas joining them for “Smooth”), Journey, Elvis Costello, Earth, Wind and Fire, LL Cool J, Barry Manilow, Andrea Bocelli and a few more surprises thrown in along the way.
Billed as a NYC Homecoming celebrating the city’s return to “normal” post-Covid (despite stories circulating that we may be going back to wearing masks again in the not-too-distant future), it now competes with a 20th Anniversary Concert remembering the events of 9-11, happening the same night on Long Island. That show will also feature Journey, along with John Fogerty, Steve Miller, Ann Wilson of Heart and others. (kk)
It sounds like that, in addition to rehearsing and touring with the Bachman Cummings Band, Burton Cummings has also been writing and recording a new solo album, the first in MANY years. (See, some good DID come out of the pandemic! All these stuck-at-home artists found the opportunity to get the creative juices flowing again … and we’re getting new releases from artists we haven’t heard from in AGES!)
Frannie sent me this Facebook post from Burton …
https://m.facebook.com/burtoncummings/posts/10151448397629991
Cousin Brucie talked to Richard Carpenter last weekend.
He worked on one of those Royal Philharmonic Albums that you like so much. What's he doing now?
Somebody wants him to record The Carpenters’ Hits, piano only.
Who in their right mind would want to remove Karen's voice from those recordings?
He also has a book coming out in October.
FB
Who in their right mind wants to hear The Carpenters’ catalog without Karen Carpenter? (When he says “somebody wants him to,” who exactly??? His mom???)
The truth is, the family relocated to California so that RICHARD could become a star … finding out that Karen could sing became an added bonus … because all of the original focus was on helping to build Richard’s career. (Not that he isn’t a talented guy, but to my mind, he’s been riding on Karen’s coattails since the whole thing began … and the fact that he’s STILL trying to cash in on the music that they created is more than just a little bit annoying and nauseating.)
As for the book, yes … this is supposed to be a good one ... but to be clear, it’s not HIS book … it’s a book ABOUT The Carpenters. (Unless he ALSO has a new book coming out in October that I’m not aware of.) I’m waiting for my advance “review copy” to arrive … and looking forward to reading it. (kk)
If you'd like to learn more about Karen Carpenter, this is actually a very good one, too …
I enjoyed the "Mas Que Nada" video.
I just finished reading Lani's book, which contains memoirs from her early
days growing up on the northwest side of Chicago (we lived about a block and a
half from each other). A couple of her stories got me misty, as I'd had
the same experiences and could envision the scenes she had put into words (late
1950s). We were at the same elementary school, but she's a few years my
senior, so I never knew her personally. I'd love to chat with her (and
her husband Herb!) some time. A friend of mine, who is a fellow vinyl
enthusiast, was in her 8th grade graduating class (1959). She even
did an LP in honor of our old neighborhood (1983).
Mike
>>>Bobby Vee jumped onboard after we featured his 1964 hit "Hickory, Dick And Doc" (#63 national but #18 here in Chicago). Now when's the last time you heard THAT one?!?!? (kk)
Actually ............ I heard that one yesterday!
I have made a series of CDs for each year from 1963 - 1974 (so far) that contain songs that did not make the National TOP 50.
"Hickory, Dick and Doc" was a good-sized hit in San Antonio in 1964, and I've had the 45 since then.
Brad
It’s one you NEVER hear and while not necessarily one of his greatest, it’s still a fun record to listen to. (I got my copy of the 45 from my next door neighbor, who had grown tired of the tune!) kk
Hi Kent,
What a great closer to your Thursday blog by Chuck Buell. It is no wonder his humor consistently ends up being one the headliners in Forgotten Hits.
I can't but think I wasn't the only fish that innocently got reeled in to his casual, interesting story wondering how it was going to end ... and then boom, getting hit with his hilarious ending. As they say in the septic-tank business: "That was some funny shit!" Thanks, Chuck!
Cheers,
Tim Kiley
Chuck Buell is a funny guy. I’ve come to expect excellence from him whenever his comments appear in Forgotten Hits … and he hasn’t let me down yet. Keep ‘em comin’, Cemetery Boy!
Tom
Kent,
Your ardent radio fans might enjoy a website I recently stumbled upon. It’s called Radio Garden and can be found with a simple Google search. When you open the site, you see a globe of the earth and you can drag a small circle to cities around the world. At the location you select, you use the +/- control to zero in on green dots that signify a station there. One station I have listened to is 60s Chicks Radio in West Hollywood. They play a mix of familiar pop tunes and some more obscure tunes. You can also listen to stations in foreign countries around the world, which is interesting in itself.
I believe this is a must-see for both the amazing technology but for the world-wide radio access.
Bob Verbos
We featured this link a while back and I remember a few readers writing in about how amazing it was (while a few others said it was frustrating trying to get the thing to play!!!)
I know I tried it a few times and it always worked fine for me … but it’s pretty “hit or miss” as far as trying to zero in on a specific station.
It’s actually run by a Dutch company. (Hey, I wonder if our new friend Ben can shed any light on this!!!)
Here’s a link to try …
It loads pretty quickly … and there are TONS of options as far as listening choices go … but for the most time, it’s kinda like radio roulette … you don’t know what you’re going to get until you click on it! (kk)
http://radio.garden/visit/lexington-ne/XhQ0IhEX
Interesting discussion on "request radio," Kent.
Maybe I'm unusual (I'm certainly weird!), but the few times I've bothered to request a song, I'm doing it mostly to "introduce" -- or re-introduce -- a forgotten song I like to a program's listeners -- and maybe momentarily help broaden a static, repetitive playlist, rather than just so I can hear it. (Most bizarre, of course, are the requests for Happy Together, Brown-Eyed Girl, Unchained Melody or any other overplayed song that either was just played or is about to be played (again)!)
With all the options today for hearing just about any song on demand, there's no real reason for most folks to wait eagerly by the radio to hear their request. And most stations' musical foot-dragging on playing "obscure" songs is even stranger, given the minuscule 2:30 or 3-minute "bites" of most songs. If I can sit through Lobo's irritating, overplayed Me and You and a Dog Named Boo almost every day, others can sit through something "new"/old that they may or may not like ...
The whole "channel-hopping" phenomenon, I think, is overrated, too. The only folks I can see still doing that is drivers pushing buttons -- and they're just as likely to quickly return to their usual choice when they're turned off by an annoying song on the other channel.
As usual, just sounding off.
Don Effenberger
Billboard Magazine remembers the 40th Anniversary of MTV …
It sounds like Frankie Valli is happy to be back out on the road. (Even at 87 years of age, he keeps it all in perspective … the performing, he loves … it’s the TRAVELING that wears you down!) He’s due back here at The Rosemont Theater on Saturday, October 2nd.
In this recent interview sent in by FH Reader Tom Cuddy, Frankie also tells us that a new Made-For-TV version of “Jersey Boys” is coming … with Nick Jonas playing Frankie Valli in the film. (Can’t wait to see that!)
The movie version sucked … here’s hoping the tv “remake” is good enough to become the definitive version. (Of course for THAT they should have filmed the show here in Chicago about ten years ago when our FH Buddy John Michael Coppola played the lead! What we saw here as part of the Broadway In Chicago package was outstanding … and blew Clint Eastwood’s movie version away. In fact, the entire cast was stellar … wish there was a copy of THAT version available out there somewhere!!!)
This is a good interview with Frankie Valli … and puts some perspective into some of the topics that seem to crop up most frequently regarding his live shows.
Thanks, Tom! (kk)
The Anthem is
back — and so is Frankie Valli
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/frankie-valli-anthem-concert/2021/07/28/44e151ba-ee06-11eb-a452-4da5fe48582d_story.html
And, speaking of upcoming shows, we’ve got quite a few of them to review with you!
Steely Dan has announced the remainder of their 2021 tour dates. (Tickets go on sale this Friday, July 30th here): https://www.ticketmaster.com/artist/736195?irgwc=1&clickid=0k-3H93jIxyLT5nwUx0Mo3Z2UkBUn5zJRwMt3g0&camefrom=CFC_BUYAT_166800&impradid=166800&REFERRAL_ID=tmfeedbuyat166800&wt.mc_id=aff_BUYAT_166800&utm_source=166800-
Steely Dan 2021 Tour Dates
October 5th,
6th, 8th and 9th – Miami Beach, FL – The Fillmore Miami
Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater
October 12th and 13th – Orlando, FL – Dr Phillips Center
for the Performing Arts
October 15th and 16th – St. Petersburg, FL – Duke Energy Center for
the Arts – Mahaffey Theater
October 19th – Jacksonville, FL – Times-Union Center for the Performig Arts –
Moran Theater
October 20th – North Charleston, SC – North Charleston Performing Arts Centre
October 22nd – Charlotte, NC – Ovens Auditorium
October 23rd – Richmond, VA – Altria Theater
October 25th – Baltimore, MD – Hippodrome Theatre at France-Merrick Performing
Arts
October 27th,
29th and 30th – Philadelphia, PA – The Met Philadelphia
November 1st – Red Bank, NJ – Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre at the Count
Basie Center
November 3rd, 4th, 6th and 7th – Morristown, NJ – Mayo Performing Arts Centre
November 9th and 10th – Port Chester, NY – The Capitol Theatre
November 13th – Wallingford, CT – Toyota Oakdale Theatre
November 14th – Bethlehem, PA – The Wind Creek Event Center
November 17th, 19th and 20th – Boston, MA – Orpheum
Theatre presented by Citizens
The tour picks up again in May of 2022 when the band will be joined on the road by Steve Winwood …
May 20th,
2022 – Portland, OR – Veterans Memorial Coliseum
May 21st – Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre
May 25th – Concord, CA – Concord Pavilion
May 27th – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl
May 28th – Chula Vista, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
May 31st – Phoenix, AZ – AK-Chin Pavilion
June 2nd – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena
June 3rd – Woodlands, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by
Huntsman
June 5th and 6th – Austin, TX – ACL Live
June 10th – Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP
June 11th – Memphis, TN – Location TBA
June 14th – Atlanta, GA – Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park
June 16th – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
June 18th – Clarkston, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre
June 19th – Tinley Park, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
June 21st – Saratoga Springs, NY – SPAC
June 23rd – Syracuse, NY – St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview
June 25th and 26th – Vienna, VA – Wolf Trap
June 29th – Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
June 30th – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
July 2nd – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
July 3rd – Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
Reminder: All dates are subject to change at this point … and new dates may be added
In addition, two brand new Steely Dan-related live albums will be released on September 24th. “Northeast Corridor: Steely Dan Live!” and a live version of Donald Fagen’s 1982 solo album ”The Nightfly” (performed live by The Steely Dan Band) will also see vinyl releases on October 1st.
“Northeast Corridor” is the first live Steely Dan album to be released in more than 25 years, and includes shows recorded at New York City’s Beacon Theatre, The Met Philadelphia, and more, and showcases selections from the band’s extraordinary catalog. (See the track list below for each release.)
“Northeast Corridor: Steely Dan Live! “
1.
Black Cow
2. Kid Charlemagne
3. Rikki Don’t Lose That Number
4. Hey Nineteen
5. Any Major Dude Will Tell You
6. Glamour Profession
7. Things I Miss the Most
8. Aja
9. Peg
10. Bodhisattva
11. Reelin’ in the Years
12. A Man Ain’t Supposed to Cry
“The Nightfly Live”
1.
I.G.Y
2. Green Flower Street
3. Ruby Baby
4. Maxine
5. New Frontier
6. The Nightfly
7. The Goodbye Look
8. Walk Between the Raindrops
August dates to keep an eye on at The Genesee Theatre include The Happy Together Tour (on Saturday, August 7th)
And The Little River Band (with special guest John Ford Coley) on Saturday, August 21st.
Tickets for both events are on sale now at The Genesee Theatre online box office … https://www.geneseetheatre.com/events/all?utm_source=Acoustic&utm_medium=Email
In addition, Christopher Cross returns on October 14th and Brian Wilson on October 23rd. Tommy James and the Shondells with special guests The Box Tops appear on December 4th and then on February 12th of next year America returns with special guests The Buckinghams.
Speaking of The Buckinghams, they’ll be making a total of FOUR Happy Together Tour Date appearances, including the one at The Genesee Theatre on August 7th. In addition, they’ll be an added bonus feature for the shows on July 30th at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg, PA, August 27th (my birthday!) at The Paramount Theatre in Denver, CO and August 28th at Las Colonias Park in Grand Junction, CO.
Carl Giammarese and Jim Peterik will perform another one of their “Songs And Stories shows at The City Winery on August 16th … and The Bucks have other dates scheduled for August 12th at IACH Amphitheatre in Oshkosh, WI, The American Music Theatre in Lancaster, PA on August 22nd, The Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, IL, on August 29th (part of the Cornerstones of Rock show), Hillside, Illinois’ City Festival on August 31st, The Hobart Theatre in Hobart, IN, on September 10th, two shows at The Belfry Theatre in Williams Bay, WI on October 1st and 2nd, The Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, NV, on Friday, October 8th, the newly remodeled Des Plaines Theatre in Des Plaines, IL, on October 9th, The Acorn Theatre in Three Oaks, MI on November 20th and then back to The Arcada Theatre on December 4th for another Cornerstones Show.
A few more key local shows now that live music is back in Chicago …
(Man, it’s just SO cool to be able to talk about upcoming shows again!!!)
THE ARCADA THEATRE:
September 9th – The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
September 12th – Bobby Rydell
September 18th – Tower Of Power (also appearing at The Des Plaines Theatre on September 17th)
September 25th – The Yardbirds with Big Brother and the Holding Company
September 26th- Chubby Checker
October 15th – Loverboy
October 17th – Tommy James and the Shondells
November 2nd – Paul Anka
November 18th – Michael Bolton
November 21st – The Association (with The Classics IV)
December 10th - .38 Special
THE CITY WINERY:
Saturday, July 31st (tomorrow): The Smithereens with special guest lead vocalist Marshall Crenshaw
Sunday, August 22nd – John Mayall
Sunday, August 29th and Monday, August 30th – Shaun Cassidy (both shows are sold out)
Monday, September 13th and Tuesday, September 14th – Justin Hayward (both shows are sold out)
*Note: The City Winery offers a “Wait List” for all of their sold out shows, should tickets become available for any reason
HELPING OUT OUR READERS:
Hi Kent,
I know this isn’t quite like finding the title of an oldie nobody can remember, but could I ask you if you could or would be kind enough to run the following at your convenience please.
A good friend of mine who runs an oldies sheet has a request to ask …
He says:
I've been posting the Billboard C&W / R&B charts
continuously since January, 1953 (previously at Yahoo Groups), but I've come to
a point where that sequence is about to be broken unless I can find someone who
has access to some back-issues as listed below. The existing online
Billboard pdf files don't contain the vital chart information.
If anyone can help, please get in touch.
The issue dates in question are:
21 August 1961
28 August 1961
4 September 1961
11 September 1961
18 September 1961 (an estimate can be made from
the published chart of the following week)
9 October 1961
16 October 1961
23 October 1961
30 October 1961
6 November 1961
13 November 1961
20 November 1961
27 November 1961 (an estimate can be made
from the published chart of the following week)
Would very much appreciate if any of you have this information or know someone who has it, especially bearing in mind he has been doing this since January, 1953.
Take care, stay safe,
Rockin’ Lord Geoff (In England)
Happy to run this past all of the collectors on our list! And wishing us all the best of luck in finding you this information. (Actually, I think this one should be doable … we’ve just got to reach the right sources.) kk
And another closer from CB …
The Olympics are definitely full of remarkable challenges, exciting performances, deep emotions and high drama, but in my opinion, they’ve always lacked one thing …
Humor!
I think it’d be great if, between events, they interspersed just a little occasional relatable escapism Fun!
Like this clip attached!
“On your Mark! Get Set! Go!!”
CB
