Kent,
Great feature on CBS News this
morning.
Richard Carpenter on documenting
the Carpenters' musical legacy in his new book (yahoo.com)
Nick
More on the new Carpenters biography:
Carpenters’
Approved Biography, ‘Musical Legacy,’ Published | Best Classic Bands
Seems like everybody got their copies of the book
this past week … I’m just a slower reader than the rest of them! (lol)
Truth is, between all of my daily commitments, I have SO little reading time, so I have to take advantage whenever I
can … let's face it ... if I’m reading that, then I’m not writing this!!!
I guess I spoke too soon the other day about Richard glossing over
his and Karen’s demons … because he finally addresses his Quaaludes addition (on page 201!!!) and Chapter 8 (all of two pages) is devoted to Karen’s eating disorder. I have also since heard Richard say that he
did not want this to become “another anorexia book” … because that’s what had been hitting the market ever since Karen died. But once the book was underway, he also reportedly told co-authors Chris May and Mike Cidoni Lennox that
he wanted to devote more time to discussing it, feeling it wouldn’t be fair to
all the Carpenters fans out there if they pretended like it never happened.
As such, this makes it much more of a “Recorded
History” book as I mentioned earlier … but still delightfully entertaining
thanks to Richard’s engaging demeanor during the interview segments. (This hasn’t always been the case with Richard
… and my initial fear going in was that with Richard having this much input
into the final product … over 100 hours of interviews were conducted … we would
be getting a very distorted view of their story … Carpenter has never had a
problem accepting the lion’s share of the credit for the duo’s success … but
this simply isn’t the case this time around ... so it was quite enjoyable to read ... and I really do believe the siblings deserve a "shared credit" for their success, thanks to Richard choosing and arranging the lion's share of the material they recorded. He knew EXACTLY what The Carpenters' sound was ... and how to best showcase it.)
His memory is impeccable and whenever he does have
any doubt, he is able to refer to his EXTENSIVE library of clippings for more
details.
I am thoroughly enjoying the book and think it will become
the definitive research guide moving forward for all things
Carpenters-related. (kk)
And, speaking of books I’ve still gotta read …
To my Oldies champions,
I’m delighted to let you know that Happy
Go Lucky Me - a Lifetime of Music has been released in
America and is now available on Amazon and in most bookstores.
To celebrate, I’m attaching a copy of my
song, “Half Man - Half Music.”
The song is a reflection of the way I felt
during my most productive songwriting years.
And from The Diversity of Classic Rock’s
review:
“His
approach to writing is one that is conversational, like he’s talking to
you over a cup of coffee or tea.”
Enjoy a cup of coffee or tea with me,
Paul
And, more praise for a
book I just finished …
Over the last several
months there seems to have been a lot of TV trivia on the site that I have a
hard time relating to as I did not have a TV when I was a kid. My parents felt
that a TV was unnecessary. I did, however, win the school year and summer book
reading contests every year in school. So, when I saw your recommendation on
Hollywood Eden, I jumped on it and ordered it on my Kindle.
This has got to be
one of the most enjoyable books I have read recently and provided a lot of
insightful information on the individuals and recording entities that produced
the early California sound. I especially like to read about The TAMI show,
which I was fortunate enough to see when it was released.
They only had one
showing on a Saturday morning at 11:00 am at the local State Theater. Very few
people actually saw the show and for years I kept telling people about it, but
there was no information on it, as if it never existed.
You are correct … I
would highly recommend the book. What a good read.
A seamless addition
to the story as Jan and Dean performed Sidewalk Surfing on American Bandstand
in 1964. I was at a friend’s house watching it as, I did not have a TV at my
house. We saw them skateboarding on the show. We were determined to get a
skateboard, but they were not available in the Midwest.
We went down in my
friend’s basement and found an old pair of metal skates that you strapped to
the bottom of your shoes. The only tool we had was a hammer and the skates were
not held together with bolts, only rivets. We literally beat the hell out of
those skates until the wheels and axles fell off. We then cut a 16” to 20” end
off of a 2 x 4 with a hand saw and nailed the wheels to the bottom with 8 penny
nails. 16 penny would have gone through the wood.
My friend lived at
the top of one of the steepest hills in the neighborhood. We took our new
skateboard outside, but it had snowed the night before and there was about 8”
of snow on the sidewalk. We shoveled the entire block down to the bottom of the
hill. We then attempted to skateboard or kill ourselves depending on how you
look at it. You would wipe out at almost every crack and then you had to land
in the snow so you did not hit the concrete. I think after several hours we
made it 3/4 of the way down. None of us ever had a “store bought” skateboard.
Robert Campbell
And yet ANOTHER book I still have to
read …
(And, based on this recent announcement, apparently a good one!)
Paul McCartney … The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present is Barnes & Noble's Book Of The Year |
|
Barnes & Noble, with bookstores in every state across
the United States, today announced that the booksellers chose Paul
McCartney’s The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present as the winner of
Barnes & Noble’s 2021 Book of the Year. |
|
I’m beyond honoured to receive
this recognition. My team and I are extremely proud of The Lyrics and
it means so much to us that you like it as much as we do. Thank you to all
the amazing team at Barnes & Noble in helping to launch the book. Paul McCartney |
|
Paul recounts his life and art through the prism of 154
songs from all stages of his career - from his earliest boyhood compositions
through the legendary decade of The Beatles, through Wings and his solo
career to the present. The Lyrics is the closest to a memoir we can expect to
see from Paul McCartney and the definitive gift not only for every Beatles
fan this year, but for bibliophiles and everyone interested in the culture of
the last 65 years. |
|
I think I’ve gotta finish the “Get Back” book first, ‘tho,
before the movie airs … but then I may move on to Macca! (Man, I swear, EVERYTHING McCartney touches
turns to gold!!!) kk Paul McCartney discusses his bestselling new book, THE
LYRICS, with James Daunt, CEO of Barnes & Noble, here … |
But if I do THAT, then I can’t read
Harvey and Kenneth Kubernik’s new Jimi Hendrix tome, “Voodoo Child!!!” (What to do, what to do, what to do! I think I need to find somebody to read to me
on my way back and forth from work!!!)
kk
With the Kubernik Brothers’ latest
tome, Voodoo Chile, readers
finally are treated to the real James Marshall Hendrix.
Told through both new and familiar
voices, the Kuberniks present a fresh account of his legendary life and time. A
standout classic.
--Jan Alan Henderson, author
of Speeding Bullet and The Legendary Lydecker Brothers
In an interview with Best Classic Bands, Producer
Jack Douglas says that there is still a considerable amount of music left from
John Lennon’s “Double Fantasy” sessions that has never seen the light of day …
including him playing around with some Beatles songs in the studio.
With all the commemorative box sets being released
(this LP celebrated its 41st anniversary last Wednesday), might a
new deluxe edition be in the offering for its 50th?
It sounds like that decision remains with Yoko.
From that interview:
BEST CLASSIC BANDS: So, there’s nothing else that might come out of those sessions?
JACK DOUGLAS: There’s plenty of other material bouncing
around. Some people have heard it, other things no one’s ever heard. There’s a
lot of material from the Double
Fantasy sessions, a ton of things — nothing really complete. A
lot of jams, a lot of Beatles songs. That’s all up to Yoko, what she wants to
do with it. As it gets later and later in her life, I’m doubting [anything will
come out]. I keep asking — she and I are in touch all the time — and I keep
asking if we can go back to the [Nov. 28, 1974] Madison Square Garden concert
and dig into that thing and make it work. It was released, but doesn’t sound
all that good. There’s a lot of footage that wasn’t used. There’s all kinds of
gems there that fans would love. It’s an important statement, that concert, and
she’s like, “Let’s do it next year, let’s do it next year.”
A new British Chart showing the biggest selling
albums in history in the UK has just been released … and some of the results
may surprise you …
For example, long-standing US best sellers like
Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water” fall outside The Top
Ten … while “The Eagles’ Greatest Hits,” recognized as the Biggest-Selling
Album of All Time, doesn’t even make The Top 50!
Meanwhile, albums by The Spice Girls, Shania Twain
and Amy Winehouse are represented.
It is Queen (and not The Beatles) who book-end The
Top Ten … and Adele and Oasis place ahead of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and
Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side Of The Moon” on the countdown.
The Top Ten are as follows:
1) Queen – Greatest Hits
2) Abba – Gold – Greatest Hits
3) The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts
Club Band
4) Adele – 21
5) Oasis – What’s the Story Morning
Glory
6) Michael Jackson – Thriller
7) Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon
8) Dire Straits – Brothers in Arms
9) Michael Jackson – Bad
10) Queen – Greatest Hits II
You can
view the complete list of The Top 60 here:
The
best-selling albums of all time on the Official UK Chart (officialcharts.com)
And there's some brand new / old Classic Rock coming from a couple of Classic Rock’s best …
It has just been announced that Bruce Springsteen’s
complete No Nukes concert from 1979 is being released …
And long-forgotten tracks recorded by Aerosmith in
1971 (a couple of years before their big breakthrough) will be packaged for a
Record Store Day vinyl compilation.
Springsteen’s concert will span two CD’s and include:
CD1
1. Prove It All Night
2. Badlands
3. The Promised Land
4. The River
5. Sherry Darling
6. Thunder Road
7. Jungleland
CD 2
1. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
2. Born To Run
3. Stay
4. Detroit Medley
5. Quarter To Three
6. Rave On
He was just one of the big name rock acts to perform
over two nights on September 21st and 22nd of 1979. The concerts were organized by Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Bonnie
Raitt and John Hall, who also performed, along with James Taylor, The Doobie
Brothers and Carly Simon.
The Aerosmith LP (which is also being released on cassette!) will
be called “The Road Starts Hear” and features several tracks that the band
would later rerecord when signed to Columbia Records a couple of years later …
SIDE A:
1. Intro – Somebody
2. Reefer Head Woman
3. Walkin’ The Dog
SIDE B:
1. Movin’ Out
2. Major Barbara
3. Dream On
4. Mama Kin
Teen heart-throb Keith Allison has passed away.
Keith was the Paul McCartney look-alike from “Where
The Action Is” and was a sometimes member of Paul Revere and the Raiders. He also toured with Dolenz, Jones, Boyce and Hart for their "The Guys That Sang 'Em and The Guys That Wrote 'Em" tour ... and again with The Monkees, when they
regrouped to tour after MTV jumpstarted their career in the ‘80’s by airing
every episode of their television series.
Over the years, Keith also recorded with Tommy Roe,
Johnny Rivers, Al Kooper and several others.
In 1967, he even recorded his own solo album, produced by Gary Usher. (kk)
And a couple of quick thanks ...
From Chuck Buell …
Happy Anniversary, Kent and Frannie ...
Being old isn't so bad.
After all, didn't you two meet in an Oldies
Chatroom?
Ed #1
‘Tis true, ya know. A love of oldies music grew to a
love for each other. (And I’ve gotta
tell you, I used to really kick ass in that oldies chatroom!!! Lol)
kk
