Carl & Lisa! Beautiful reimaging of a great song.
Tasteful video that matches the mood. Wonderful arrangement and guitar work by
Mike Aquino. It’s a home run!
Jimbo
VERY positive feedback on this one thru all their social
media sites. Funny how a song you’ve
known backwards and forwards for 55 years can take on a whole new meaning with
just the slightest inflection that changes the whole tone … and meaning … of
the song. Very well done indeed. (kk)
Carl told me …
I am very pleased with the way
the video came out, especially considering the fact that Lisa and I had to work
virtually. (She’s in Alabama doing the
Legends show playing Cher) I think it came out great!
You always fear your fans might
react negatively, but everyone has really embraced it. The song and video was
her concept. We both worked on it separately and she put it together. We had
Greg Bizzaro clean it up a little. Lisa is very creative and a very talented
singer.
Carl
In addition to showcasing her own talents, Lisa has made
quite a career out of portraying Cher … check out all the info on her website …
https://lisamcclowry.com/
Hi Kent,
I loved, loved,
loved reading your entire blog, being a huge fan of The Beach Boys, Paul
McCartney and our own homegrown Rockstar, Carl Giammarese. Carl and Lisa
McClowery‘s video touched me deeply. Kudos on the new version of “Don’t You
Care” … the arrangement, the vocals, the presentation — Well done, guys!
It’s always a
pleasure to read forgottenhits.com. Thank you, Kent! And thank you, Clark,
for always putting your two cents in. Love you guys!
Pamela
Enzweiler-Pulice
Director “The
Voice That Rocked America: The Dick Biondi Story”
Kent
I hesitated
several times to send you this email, but for me, I like the original version
of DON'T YOU CARE rather than the one you posted on the video. I am one of
those that most of the time prefer the original recording than a remake of
years later.
Larry
No debate there … the
original will always be the preferred favorite … this is the arrangement that
made the song a hit … but what makes THIS particular reinterpretation so
special is that it has completely changed the context of the song and the
lyrics, arrangement aside. (Kudos again to Mike Aquino for his exquisite guitar
work here. We have singled Mike out
several times before in the past … he is another one of Chicago’s musical
treasures.)
Listening to the song
initially didn’t quite do it for me either … but the very first time I watched
the video, I totally got Lisa’s vision … and by the second time, I was already
having an emotional reaction. (Choked up
and teary eyed) I found it to be that
powerful … and subsequent viewings have inspired that same emotion each and
every time. It turns “Don’t You Care”
into a TOTALLY different song.
Sure, I love the original …
it has always been one of my favorite Buckinghams tunes. (In fact, I have always preferred it to their
National #1 Hit, “Kind Of A Drag.”) But
I can TOTALLY accept and appreciate this brand new interpretation and
reimagination. And the feedback we’re
seeing online definitely seems to be leaning that way. (kk)
Carl’s track is beautiful
Peter Noone
I agree with you on Carl and Lisa's new take on "Don't
You Care." I'm really impressed with how good it is and how 2021 it
feels. This sparse arrangement is as successful a makeover, in my
opinion, as any '60s song can get. Yes, you've got to watch the video to
get the entire effect of the song, but the song can stand on its own even without
it. Carl's amazing, of course, and Lisa's incredible. There's
nothing in music that's beyond her grasp.
Rick O’ Dell
Me-TV-FM
Hi Kent,
Much thanks to
you for featuring Lisa and I on our recording and video of Don’t You Care … I
really appreciate it. We wanted you to have the exclusive. I am so glad you
enjoyed it!
So far, the fan
response has been very positive. I’m really happy for Lisa … she is very
talented and works so hard in this business of music and deserves all the accolades.
Once again,
thank you for giving us the space on Forgotten Hits … it is much appreciated.
Carl
My pleasure, Carl. (kk)
Kent,
Got a question
for you ...
Have you ever
been, say, driving along in your car and you start singing or humming a song of
which you remember the artist or group but for some reason, you can't come up
with the title of the song? Or vice versa? Well, I hate it when that happens to
me. In other words, the song title or/and the artist or group. It's on the tip
of my tongue. (It's especially tough when it's an instrumental!)
Well, the songs
on DOCTOR CASEY, now, I knew in the back of my mind that John D. Loudermilk
recorded CALLING DR. CASEY, but didn't juggle my brain when I texted you last.
Now, John D. Loudermilk recorded a song in 1961 about a course I did not have
the opportunity to take in high school (or college for that matter). It was a
course on the LANGUAGE OF LOVE.
Finally, one
John D. Loudermilk, aka Johnny Dee, aka SITTIN' IN THE BALCONY. I am not sure,
but I believe he recorded those songs at a studio located on TOBACCO ROAD.
Larry Neal
John D. Loudermilk wrote SO
many great songs, many of which I include on my own list of personal
favorites. (“Then You Can Tell Me
Goodbye” immediately comes to mind … what a beautiful marriage of music and
lyric.)
He didn’t enjoy as much
success as a recording artist, however, although the two titles you mentioned
were, in fact, his biggest hits.
(“Sittin’ In The Balcony” hit #13 in 1957 in Music Vendor and #15 in
Cash Box … but only reached #38 in Billboard … and “Language Of Love” topped
out at #23 in Music Vendor as well, besting its Billboard showing by nine
places.)
Other hits written by John D.
Loudermilk include “Ebony Eyes” (the Everly Brothers’ hit), “The Pale-Faced
Indian” (which became “Indian Reservation’), the Glen Campbell hit “I Wanna
Live,” “Abilene” and “A Rose And A Baby Ruth” (both hits for George Hamilton
IV), nearly ALL of Sue Thompson’s hits (“Norman,” “Paper Tiger,” “Sad Movies
Make Me Cry” and “James, Hold The Ladder Steady”), “Talk Back Tremblin’ Lips”
for Johnny Tillotson, “Thou Shalt Not Steal” for Dick and DeeDee, “Waterloo”
for Stonewall Jackson and, of course, “Tobacco Road,” recorded by just about
everybody. (kk)
In regards to that other email I sent you earlier today,
this morning on the car radio a commercial came on of whose product or service
I don't know or can't remember, Well, towards the end of the commercial, the
announcer (female) told everyone to have a "bright sunshiny day." I said 'OH BOY! OH BOY! … Now what song is
that little phrase from??? It went over
and over in my mind until I had a little help with it. Took me about two
minutes but I want to thank Gilbert O' Sullivan for helping me.
Larry
And the very
first song I thought of was by The Brady Bunch!
(lol) kk
And, since you mentioned instrumentals, I’ve just gotta tell
ya that Me-TV-FM will be saluting the biggest instrumental hits this weekend on
their popular “Songs Too Good For Words” feature. (I love it because they’re so easy to sing
along with!) It all kicks off tonight at
7 pm Central.
Ironically, this week’s Satellite Survey on Sirius XM’s 60’s
on 6 Channel counted down The Top 50 Instrumental Hits of the ‘60’s as compiled
by our buddy Dann Isbell in his book, “Ranking The ‘60’s.” (Subscribers can listen whenever they want On
Demand.)
And, of course, many years ago, we ran TWO All-Time Top
Instrumentals polls of our own … one mathematically computing the biggest chart
hits based on their actual chart performance at the time … and a second poll of
your all-time favorites, as voted on by our Forgotten Hits Readers, thus
ranking in order the instrumental hits that have best stood the test of time.
You can catch both of these features here:
http://forgottenhits.com/top_50_instrumental_hits_1955_-_1979
Speaking of radio, congratulations and best wishes to our FH
Buddy Greg Brown who is calling it a career after 51 years on the air (most of
them right here in Chicago!)
Greg has been the constant voice on any variety of the
different oldies stations we’ve experienced here over the years … and a
mainstay at WLS for decades now.
We wish him the very best in retirement. (kk)
And, in other Chicago Radio news …
Ran
across this site a while back, and forgot it was in my list of tagged
sites. I'm almost positive you know about it already,
but just in case....
http://chicagoradiospotlight.blogspot.com/
Mike
Actually, yes … but I haven’t seen it in years so thanks for
the revisit.
Rick Kaempfer, of course, covered the Chicago Music Scene
for decades … so his archives run pretty deep.
LOTS to read and enjoy here.
Thanks, Mike! (kk)
>>>I
had one of those under-dash players in the late 60s. I'd love to find one
today.
(Mike)
I have never
seen this under dash player before. In 1966, we got a VERY SMALL portable
record player that we took on a trip, but the bumps in the road made it pretty
useless to try and play records, IMO. We only used it on one trip to my
memory. I don't think Mike M would want to play HIS expensive 45s on that
under dash player either.
Clark
Eric Records has four brand
new, all stereo releases of late ‘50’s and early ‘60’s classics, many presented
in true stereo for the very first time.
(You have to see this list of titles for yourself in order to appreciate
what a great collection this is!)
And you can do just that,
right here:
https://www.ericrecords.com/index.html
They’re calling the new
series STEREO EXPLOSION … and you’ll want to add these to your collection right
away! (kk)
You’ll find their Johnny
Crawford Collection here, too …
https://www.ericrecords.com/johnny_crawford.html
kk …
Some interesting
facts from Wild Wayne's 2013 interview with Lloyd Price ...
Lloyd said that
178 different people recorded "LAWDY MISS CLAWDY," including Elvis and
the Beatles.
He also said
that every four minutes it was played somewhere.
Before Lloyd
Price went in the Army, he was the big star for SPECIALTY RECORDS.
When he got out
of the Army, Little Ricard was the big star at SPECIALTY RECORDS.
Larry Williams,
Lloyd's driver, was now recording for SPECIALTY RECORDS.
FB
Yep … pretty much all facts
we covered in our obituary (although I don’t know that I would agree that The
Beatles officially recorded “Lawdy Miss Clawdy.” They certainly PERFORMED it back in their
early club days … and even used it as a “warm-up exercise” during the filming
of “Let It Be” … but they didn’t formerly record it. Chicago’s very own Buckinghams did, however,
and earned a #36 Hit. (#24 here in
Chicago.) kk
Here’s a link to our Lloyd
Price obit …
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2021/05/lloyd-price.html
And a couple of links to the
interesting story behind his #1 Hit, “Stagger Lee” …
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2009/01/story-of-stagger-lee-part-1.html
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2009/01/story-of-stagger-lee-part-2.html
(Now be sure to send Wild
Wayne copies of what WE’VE done!!! … Back in 2009!!! Lol)
kk
And, speaking of Little
Richard, some of you may find this interesting …
It is being billed as “Little
Richard’s Final Message” … and it runs about an hour …
But so strange to see Richard
Penniman “stripped down” and looking his age, while preaching from his heart.
I haven’t watched this yet, just
stumbled on it this morning while watching something else..
Larry White
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTXfx4h4iPs
And, since we’re now
officially in Golden Oldies Mode, check out this clip sent in by Frank B …
kk:
Fred Parris
Talks About His Inspirations And Early Career …
Fred Parris | Oral Histories | NAMM.org
https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/fred-parris
Frank B
Here’s an interesting piece
of information I learned from Diane Diekman’s Country Music Newsletter … I had
no idea that this had been going on for all these years! (And such a GREAT song, too!)
Authorship
of "Cathy's Clown," a 1960 hit for the Everly Brothers, has been
legally determined, the Tennessean reports. Brothers Don and Phil Everly
repeatedly said Don started the song and Phil finished it. But in the early
1970s, their relationship fractured, and they began arguing about which one
owned the rights to the song. In 1980, Don demanded Phil sign over rights to
royalties and public credit. Under protest, Phil eventually did, his family
says. After Phil died in 2014, his heirs insisted he wrote half of the song and
should have retained rights to it. In 2017, Don sued, asking the courts to
formally declare he was the sole author. The case went to the 6th Circuit U.S. Court
of Appeals and was sent back to the Middle District of Tennessee District Court
in Nashville for a bench trial. The judge ruled that Phil's heirs couldn't
prove they'd made their claims in a timely manner, thus barring their arguments
from carrying weight in the case. Don Everly is now the sole author of
"Cathy's Clown."
Diane’s newsletter also
reports that a poster advertising the Hank
Williams show in Canton, Ohio, on New Year's Day, 1953, has sold at
auction for $150,000 -- the highest price ever paid for a concert poster at
auction.
That was the show Hank didn't
make, because he died in the back of his Cadillac at age 29 while on his way to
Canton. Saving Country Music reports the authenticated and restored
cardboard poster was auctioned by Heritage Auction Galleries in Dallas, Texas.
It was discovered decades ago in a barn in Canton and has changed hands
numerous times over the years. It was featured in the recent Ken Burns
documentary on country music. Only two other posters from the concert are known
to exist.
Kent,
I just now saw
a commercial on television with the product being Heinz Ketchup. Now I may have
seen this one before, but don't really remember. To me, it was a new commercial
for Heinz. In the background were the Drifters singing their hit version of THIS
MAGIC MOMENT.
Larry
Yep, I’ve seen this one
several times, too … I think it may have been around for awhile … but still
always nice to hear our music being used in this way. (kk)
From FH Reader Tom Cuddy …
John Lodge Says Moody Blues ‘Won’t
Tour Again’
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/john-lodge-moody-blues-wont-tour/
Funnily enough, we get updates regularly regarding solo
projects by both John Lodge and Justin Hayward … too bad they can’t do a few
more projects together. (We were
fortunate enough to see them at one of The Drive’s Birthday Parties a few years
ago and were quite impressed. Frannie’s
the bigger fan and went to see them at Star Plaza with her sister a few years
back, too. They’ve downscaled some since
then, doing solo shows at places like The City Winery.)
All I can say is Never Say Never … both guys are making new
music … and have a legion of fans out there who would allow them to sell out
any theaters they chose to visit. (kk)
Tom also tells us …
Netflix Announces Docuseries on Pop
Music History
https://pitchfork.com/news/netflix-announces-docuseries-on-pop-music-history/
MUCH more “modern” pop than I would be interested in … not
quite sure how this qualifies as “pop music HISTORY” since they seem to be
leaving off the first 40-50 years of the story!
(kk)
On the other hand, I would be MUCH more interested in THIS
new release, coming in October …
First Official Authorized Biography
Of The Carpenters Coming This Fall
https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/authorized-carpenters-biography-announced/
Best Classic Bands ran segments on “One Toke Over The Line”
being performed on The Lawrence Welk Show and the universal appeal of the “I’d
Like To Teach The World To Sing” Coke commercials that permeated the early
‘70’s … BOTH topics covered here in FH in the recent past. (Naturally, we’re not mentioned in any way,
shape or form, which I only find aggravating as we ALWAYS give credit to THEIR
publication when running links to interesting articles they feature.) They even tied the Coke ad into the series
finale of “Mad Men,” another FH reference from a short while back. (We even had commentary from Chuck Buell, who
did the voiceovers for literally dozens of Coke radio ads over the years,
featuring all the latest and greatest pop music celebrities singing their own
version of the popular Coca-Cola jingle, incorporated into something that
resembled their OWN recent hit on the charts.)
But what’s that old saying … “imitation is the sincerest form of
flattery”??? Hey, WE all know what we
did here … so I guess it’s cool that OTHERS are discovering it, too. (kk)
Interesting story about the song "Little Latin
Lupe Lu"
If you haven't seen this interview, it’s sort of
interesting - with Bill Medley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgXxQrf99go
Radio Ted
Here’s a chance for you to nominate artists for The Illinois
Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame … complete information on the website …
https://www.roadtorock.org/hall-of-fame-2021?utm_campaign=ba420dd0-6c43-443d-8bc5-cd1f72f10e4b&utm_source=so&utm_medium=mail&cid=da769e21-1213-4c31-a45d-08c948e152b4
From
Second Disc, THIS for all the Emitt Rhodes fans out there …
Omnivore
Recordings has a special treat being released TODAY!!!
In 2016, the label released Rainbow Ends, the sublime final album by pop wunderkind Emitt Rhodes
(who sadly passed away in July 2020). Now, Omnivore is returning to the
earliest days of Rhodes’ career with The
Palace Guard’s All
Night Long: An Anthology 1965-1966. Rhodes, who would
burst onto the major-label scene with A&M’s 1967 release of The Merry-Go-Round from
his band of the same name, formed The Palace Guard out of the ashes of local
band The Emerals. Emitt, on drums, was joined by Rick Moser, Mike Conley,
Chuck McClung, and brothers David, John and Don Beaudoin. The Palace Guard,
all clad in the manner of the Queen’s Guards, never reached the same level of
fame as that other
band from their hometown of Hawthorne, California, but they did release six
singles that went on to become highly-coveted collectors’ items.
Following Rhodes’ departure to join The Merry-Go-Round, the group pressed on as
house band of The Hullabaloo Club and continued to gig until disbanding in
mid-1970. All Night
Long brings together all twelve Palace Guard sides (originally
released on Orange-Empire and Cameo/Parkway and including their lone single
backing Don Grady of My
Three Sons fame) as restored and remastered by Michael
Graves. Rick Moser shares memories of the Guard in his new liner notes as
well as photos from his personal collection. This slice of SoCal pop-rock
history is out tomorrow from Omnivore!
The Palace Guard, All Night Long: An Anthology
1965-1966 (Omnivore OV-424, 2021) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
1. All Night Long (Orange-Empire single OE-331, 1965)
2. Playgirl (Orange-Empire single OE-331, 1965)
3. A Girl You Can Depend On (Orange-Empire single OE-332,
1965)
4. If You Need Me (Orange-Empire single OE-332, 1965)
5. Falling Sugar (Orange-Empire single OE-400 (A-side), 1966)
6. Oh Blue (The Way I Feel Tonight) (Orange-Empire single
OE-401 (B-side), 1966)
7. Saturday’s Child (Parkway P-111, 1966)
8. Party Lights (Parkway P-111, 1966)
9. Calliope (Parkway P-124, 1966)
10. Greed (Parkway P-124, 1966)
11. Little People – Don Grady and The Palace Guard
(Orange-Empire single OE 9164-7, 1965)
12. Summertime Game – Don Grady and The Palace Guard
(Orange-Empire single OE 9164-8, 1965)
Speaking of new releases, I had a chance to listen to the
new “Dolenz Sings Nesmith” album and wanted to just jot down a short
review. I have listened to the new cd a couple of times now ... and it's
growing on me.
My first reaction, even
before putting it in the cd player was (sounding every bit like an American
Idol Judge here) "Song Choice, Song Choice, Song Choice."
Some of these are pretty
obscure Neztunes that MOST people will not be familiar with. (Let's face
it, Mikes BEST known tracks are the ones he wrote while he was with The
Monkees. He just never retained the audience he had as a solo artist, so
his post-Monkees tunes just don't roll off the tongue like "Mary
Mary," "The Girl I Knew Somewhere," "You Just May Be The
One," etc., do. But Micky has already sung a lot of those songs, so
I get why he wouldn't simply want to redo them.
Still, I SURE would have loved to hear Micky take on "Don't Call On
Me" in his "Since I Fell For You" voice ... that's one of my
all-time Monkees favorites.)
That being said, Micky sounds
great. I have always considered him to be one of the greatest pop/rock
voices of the '60's who never really got his due for that gift or the
appreciation he deserved. (Between you and me, I kinda wish he'd drop the
"Broadway Micky" voice 'tho, because unless it's used in the perfect
scenario, it tends to take away from just how good he really can sing ... and
in many cases he's even gotten better with age.)
The one thing that comes
across is the LOVE that Micky and Mike's son Christian shared in putting
together this project ... it's a huge selling point for the album.
"Carlisle Wheeling"
was the perfect choice to lead off the album ... and I did pick up a few new
favorites like "Keep On" and "Propinquity." I also
like "Only Bound" quite a bit.
The few reworkings that he
does do are complete revamps of the familiar ... the Indian interpretation of
the ever-popular "Circle Sky" sounds like it could have been on the
"Sgt. Pepper" album and again, grows on you after repeated listens.
"Tapioca Tundra" not so much. (That one was already strange
enough to begin with ... it didn't need any additional enhancements!!!
Lol) I also like the new recordings of "Different Drum" and
"Nine Times Blue."
Micky says he’s been wanting
to do this album forever … so I’m glad that he’s finally been able to get it
off his chest. (I’m not sure if any of
these new arrangements will find their way to the live stage when The Mike And
Micky Show … now being billed as The Monkees Farewell Tour … resumes later this
year. My guess is, probably not, as the
two do an admiral job of switching off on the lead vocals throughout the
performance as it is, already performing a few “deep tracks” along the way … so
this (along with last year’s live CD) make for fitting bookends of the Mike and
Micky years. (kk)
Micky’s PR Guy David Salidor
sent me a couple of other reviews on the new LP …
https://www.yahoo.com/now/micky-dolenz-monkees-farewell-tour-142646774.html
https://www.thenyindependent.com/music/206906/micky-dolenz-singing-michael-nesmith/
NEXT WEEK IN FORGOTTEN HITS: In honor of his 80th Birthday,
next week we’ll be rerunning our “Songs Of Bob Dylan” Series from 2004 in
Forgotten Hits.
The series features several of Dylan’s songs as sung and
interpreted by others (which, of course, offers the upside of not having to
listen to Bob warble these tunes himself!!!)
Despite the way that reads, it’s actually a tastefully done
series saluting some of Bob Dylan’s very best songs … and it has never run on
the website before … so be sure to check it out!
Be sure to check out Gary Pig Gold’s “80 Reasons To
Celebrate Bob Dylan’s 80th Birthday” list on Saturday (5/22), along
with the link to Harvey Kubernik’s EXCELLENT 50+ Page salute to Dylan
(featuring contributions from DOZENS of artists and contemporaries) running in
Music Connection … and Me-TV-FM’s salute to Dylan’s music, running all day long
on Monday (5/24) as their Day of Dylan.
(According to Rick O’Dell, the programming will feature about 30% of Bob
performing his own songs and 70% of his songs as interpreted by others.)
So LOTS of Bob coming your way over the next several
days. (kk)
