CB (???):
>>>I came across this site that recalled several "trendy" and "fashionable" items from forty - fifty years ago, when Forgotten Hits were new and had not yet been Forgotten, some of which I DID have, about which was said would probably never appear again! (Chuck Buell)
Just because Chuck Buell and I have the same
name initials, that does NOT give him the right to take pictures in my house.
Clark Besch
Made ME laugh! (kk)
ABBA has their first Top Ten Hit in the UK in 39 ½ years thanks to their new, comeback single “Don’t Shut Me Down,” which comes in at #9 on the brand new British Chart. (For the record, their LAST Top Ten Hit there was in January of 1982 when “One Of Us” peaked at #3.) The group scored 19 UK Top Ten Hits between 1974 and 1982, including seven hits that went all the way to #1: “Waterloo” (1974), “Mamma Mia” (1976), “Fernando” (1976), “Dancing Queen” (1976), “Knowing Me, Knowing You” (1977), “The Name Of The Game” (1977) and “Take A Chance On Me” (1978). In addition, two singles peaked at #2 and four singles peaked at #3. Their new album, “Voyage,” drops on November 5th. (With the MASSIVE millions of downloads both sides of their new single generated a week ago, I expect a pretty impressive showing here in the US, too!!!) kk
And The Monkees’ Final Farewell Tour kicked off on
Friday in Spokane, Washington … with Mike Nesmith wearing a wool cap!!! The duo performed 31 hits, including
arrangements from the hit album “Dolenz Sings Nesmith.”
You’ll find more on the concert tour (and a few live
videos) here:
Monkees’
Dolenz and Nesmith Open Farewell Tour | Best Classic Bands
Oops … looks like we
missed one …
Late entry ... in honor
of what would have been Freddie's 75th birthday on September 5th …
And, speaking of The Beatles ...
Kent:
On Thursday you questioned if The Beatles shared a billing
with Joey Dee in Sweden since it wasn't specifically noted in Lewisohn's book.
I'm enclosing a partial page from Tim Hill's JOHN, PAUL, GEORGE & RINGO ... The
Definitive Illustrated Chronicle of The Beatles,
1960-1970, showing a ticket for the concert.
Mike Gentry
It’s not so much that I was doubting
the occurrence of such a billing, it’s just that The Beatles have been linked
with SO many American acts during the year before they finally caught on here
in The States, and Joey Dee’s name is hardly ever (IF ever!) mentioned. Lewisohn’s book documents their daily
milestones and I guess I just would have expected this to be one of them, since
their sharing the bill with Tommy Roe, Chris Montez, Roy Orbison, Little
Richards and so many others are so well documented.
Thanks for sending the documentation
and confirmation, Mike! (kk)
Harvey Kubernik reminds us that today is the 52nd Anniversary of The Toronto Rock And Roll Revival held on September 13, 1969. It was the first live appearance of The Plastic Ono Band (a "pick-up band" that included Guitarist Eric Clapton, Bassist Klaus Voorman and Drummer Andy White, who learned and rehearsed their set on the plane ride over from London!) The Lennon / Plastic Ono Band set was released as an album on Apple Records called "Live Peace In Toronto." (kk)
It
was on an invitation from record producer, songwriter and rock & roll
publicist Kim Fowley from promoter John Brower, who along with his partners,
Ken Walker and Thor Eaton, that made John Lennon and wife Yoko Ono hop on a
plane from England with guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist Klaus Voormann and
drummer Alan White to travel to the Toronto Rock ’N’ Roll Revival festival
that showcased some of Lennon’s early rock & roll musical heroes — among
them Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry and Little Richard. The Doors and
Alice Cooper were among the other acts at the outdoor venue.
Author
broadcaster and music historian Ritchie Yorke in his 2009 liner notes to the
D.A. Pennebaker-directed John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band Live Peace In
Toronto ’69 DVD retail release from Shout! Factory wrote,
“At
Varsity Stadium, the jet-lagged John was extremely nervous. He hadn’t been on
stage in three years, and he admitted to throwing up from nervousness before
the show — with abundant reason. ‘Imagine if you were in the Beatles from the
beginning, and you were never in any other band?’ he postulated. ‘Then all of a
sudden, you’re going onstage with this group who’ve never played live together,
anywhere. We formed on the plane coming over here, and now we’re gonna play in
front of 20,000 people.’
“A
quick backstage rehearsal, and guest emcee Kim Fowley urged the audience to
fire up their lighters and matches — and in the process light their communal
fire, the early uprising of collective consciousness — to welcome onstage the
Plastic Ono Band, in their debut performance.
“Back
in London after the momentous weekend in Canada, John was exuberant about the
experience of being onstage again.”
Academy Award-winning director D.A. Pennebaker
(Dont Look Back, Monterey Pop, The War Room),
with this September 13, 1969 concert film from Varsity Stadium in Toronto,
Canada, documented one of the important and historical moments in the career
and life of John Lennon. This has become part of our global memory.
John
Lennon & The Plastic Ono Band Live In Toronto ’69 is a rare look at one of the
world’s most influential popular artists at a pivotal time in his journey.
Pennebaker
documented Lennon and The Plastic Ono Band on the eve of the release of
the Abbey Road LP — the last Beatles album to be recorded
(although Let It Be was the last to be released) — this is the
only performance ever caught on film of John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band.
John
Lennon/Plastic Ono Band Live Peace In Toronto DVD performances are:
"Bo
Diddley" – Bo Diddley
"Hound
Dog" – Jerry Lee Lewis
"Lucille"
– Little Richard
"Blue
Suede Shoes" – John Lennon
"Money"
– John Lennon
"Dizzy
Miss Lizzy" – John Lennon
"Yer
Blues" – John Lennon
"Cold
Turkey" – John Lennon
"Give
Peace A Chance" – John Lennon
"Don’t
Worry Kyoko (Mummy’s Only Looking For Her Hand In The Snow)" – Yoko Ono
"John,
John (Let’s Hope For Peace)" – Yoko Ono
Also
included is an interview from 1988 with Yoko Ono.
(There is a music documentary now being produced in Canada about this landmark event)
HK
(poster courtesy of Gary Pig Gold)
And, since we're talking Beatles here, I just HAD to run this photo I received in my email the other day ... because it's Just Too Cool Not To Share!
I'm guessing that this was taken around the time of their “Revolver” album, circa 1966 … and all four fabs are decked out in their cool new shades. (Beautiful photo, too!) kk
Long-time FH Reader Frank B tells us about an upcoming CBS Kenny Rogers Tribute Concert television special, airing later this month on the 23rd.
Filmed with Rogers’
cooperation in 2017, it features a stellar line-up of performers saluting the pop and country icon by
performing some of his greatest hits.
(Kenny himself even joins in at the end to sing with Dolly Parton.)
More details (including
many of the song selections) via the link below: https://variety.com/2021/music/news/kenny-rogers-tribute-special-dolly-parton-gambler-cbs-1235058988/?fbclid=IwAR2uFPGH3ItJlBlPAE3ikzUmxnx-P5QU7CEG-yspiGWEP9kLD3fJHZlBFp4
kk
…
What's
Your Favorite Kenny Rogers Song?
You
Told Me What It Was.
I
Forgot What You Said But I Know I Liked It.
FB
I don’t know that I’d rank it as my all-time
favorite, but it’s certainly way up there on the list. The song that we talked about was “Twenty
Years Ago,” a #2 country hit that somehow alluded the pop charts but is
guaranteed to bring a tear to your eye as you reflect back on your own
memories.
Here it is again … because it is definitely worth
sharing and repeating …
And, speaking of new music television programming, AXS TV has some excellent music documentaries planned for every Wednesday Night beginning on September 29th.
In the event that you haven’t already seen them (or simply
want to enjoy them again), here is the schedule of events:
September 29th – Twenty Feet From Stardom
October 6th – Sound City
October 13th – The Wrecking Crew
October 20th – The Rainbow
October 27th – Muscle Shoals
November 3rd – Standing In The Shadows of Motown
I’ve never seen “Sound City” or “The Rainbow,” but
the others are all EXCELLENT representations of their subject matter … “Twenty
Feet From Stardom” profiles the background singers too often taken for granted
both on record and in concert. (The
Merry Clayton / “Gimme Shelter” segment will knock you right out of your seat!) We’ve been talking about “The Wrecking Crew,”
of course, for years before it was even released … an outstanding look at the
studio musicians who performed on hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of the
biggest hits of the ‘60’s. “Muscle
Shoals” is a remarkable profile of the Sound Studio, an absolute hit factory
located down in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, led
by Rick Hall, that produced some of the most memorable music to ever come out
of your radio … and “Standing In The Shadows Of Motown” is a similar “Wrecking
Crew” type tribute to The Funk Brothers who performed on all the Motown hits,
with brand new performances by contemporary artists of many of these Motown
classics, accompanied by some of the surviving members of the band.
After a long break from the studio, former Journey
lead vocalist Steve Perry has announced a new holiday / Christmas album, due out
November 5th.
Titled “The Season,” the mini-LP will feature eight
holiday classics: “The Christmas Song,” “I’ll Be Home For Christmas,” “Auld
Lang Syne,” “Winter Wonderland,” “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve,” “Santa
Claus Is Coming To Town,” “Silver Bells” and “Have Yourself A Merry Little
Christmas.”
The tracks represent his first new recordings since
his 2018 comeback album, “Traces.” (kk)
Hi Kent,
Was sorry to hear about Randy and Burton canceling their
concert again. Guess people are worried about the pandemic.
Was really looking forward to seeing them perform again together.
Do you think they will perform next year if things change?
Keep the Music Alive!!!
Carolyn
Yes, this past Friday
(September 10th) would have been the most recently rescheduled show
date prior to the official cancellation of the US tour. Too bad, really, as I had been looking
forward to this for such a long time, figuring it would likely be the last
chance to see these two great legends perform together again.
However, if you saw our
review of their Canadian concert a couple of weeks ago, we may have dodged a $300
bullet on this one. (At least when the
show was cancelled, we were able to get our money back.) Their performance was SO weak, I actually had
to turn it off. It just hurt too much to
see artists that I hold in such high stature failing at delivering the goods. I think the memories we have are best left
undisturbed in this instance. I really
doubt that they’ll wait a year and try it again. (And, with Covid running at crazy numbers
again and new restrictions being imposed almost daily, it may be best to just
stay home and be safe for a while longer.)
That being said, I
still haven’t had any luck being able to order the new Bachman Cummings
Collection Box Set that’s been advertised.
You may want to invest your money there instead, once it becomes available,
as every one of those performances will be top notch. (kk)
I am very concerned about Burton Cummings, based on what I
have read on FH.
Harvey Kubernik
Burton seems to be satisfied with these performances and if
HE’S good with it, then so am I.
I mentioned that I thought Paul McCartney should have hung it
up concertwise twenty years ago as he is just unable to deliver the goods
vocally anymore. The same is true of
Elton John. But what I find with some of
these iconic artists, it’s just the sheer presence of seeing them on stage and
remembering all that they gave us that the audience comes to see. They don’t care if the vocals are a little
shaky … this is Paul McCartney, goddamnit, and you don’t EVER say anything bad
about Paul McCartney.
And they may very well be right. Macca has had TWO #1 Albums in the last five
years … so that shows you just how much I know!!! And Elton’s back on the charts after a 21
year gap, too. Sometimes, the electric
appearance is enough to satisfy the concert goers. I prefer to remember these artists in perfect
voice. (Of course that’s not do say that
I didn’t go out and buy Paul’s latest release … or preorder Elton’s new Duets
CD!!!) kk
Back on the road are Kiss (after a Covid interruption … I
wonder where all of this is going to end up with Biden now declaring that
gatherings in confined places of 100 or more people now require proof of full vaccination
or a negative covid test … not really sure how anybody’s really going to
monitor this … which tells me that Covid is going to be with us for some time
to come) and Genesis, finally hitting the road for their big reunion tour. Sad news last week that Phil Collins will not
be drumming at all during these shows.
He says that he can’t even hold a drumstick in one hand so his son
Nic.
I love this line …
In describing his son’s drumming capabilities, Phil said “He
plays a bit like me when he wants to … he doesn’t when he doesn’t want to. But I’m one of his many influences, of
course, being his dad. But he plays like
me, and he kind of has the same attitude as me.
So that was a good starter.”
We never did get tickets to this show … too bad as I have
never seen Genesis live and consider this to be most likely the last
opportunity to do so. They’re due to hit
Chicago on November 15th and 16th, which is where the US
tour kicks off.
Meanwhile, The Doobie Brothers have had to cancel or postpone
seven more dates due to Michael McDonald and a crew member still being out with
Covid … which begs the question: Is this really the best time for a bunch of
old guys to be out on the road touring?
And a bunch of old fans like us heading into a croweded theater to see
them??? (kk)
Frank B. tells us about a new musical opening in New York
called “The Wanderer” … a look at the career of Dion DiMucci (who is still
going strong, by the way, releasing new music on a regular basis.)
Here’s an interesting
collection I just ordered …
It’s a Japanese 2-CD/1-DVD
collection of Chicago’s Greatest Hits,
featuring several Japan-only single releases (including a couple of Chicago
classics actually SUNG in Japanese!) and a DVD of many of the band’s
later-career David Foster tunes (along with four live cuts, first time on DVD)
Next time you’ve got a half hour to kill, check out
these vintage clips of the biggest songs of each month of the ‘60’s …
While not necessarily 100% completely accurate, it
still makes for a nice visual and musical experience. Some great vintage (although very brief) clips
here.
