Tonight’s the night!
Be
sure to be listening to Phil Nee’s “Those Were The Days” radio program this
evening as Phil and I count down The Top 40 Fan Favorites from 1971. Phil will also be featuring nearly 40 “extras”
that also earned votes in our recent Forgotten Hits Poll as well as vintage
interviews conducted with many of the artists represented on the countdown.
This
one should be a lot of fun. It airs from
6 pm till Midnight (Central Time) and you can Listen Live via this link … WRCO AM FM Radio Richland
Center Wisconsin
(Be sure to click on the
headphones for the 100.9 station) kk
Guys,
I
cannot promise I will hear this as weekends are usually HER time. haha
Hope
the show goes great and hopefully, I will catch at least SOME of it!
Kent,
most everyone knows that my personal KPTL weekly charts are
the OFFICIAL chart positions of songs in 1971. To that I offer up that
Mike Markesich is indeed the winner here!
However,
Paul cannot hold #1 on the LP charts.
It
IS hard to keep Chicago area artists out of #1 on my charts, so Paul did a good
job 50 years ago.
And
as to your chart commentary the other day (and baseball analogy), don't forget
the Majors have now added the black league numbers. Suppose Willie Mays
had had 300 HRs there?
The
best way to compare baseball is to watch the entire Ken Burns docs and realize
you just cannot compare decades in sports or music very well.
That
said, there IS one more official 9/11/71 source you CAN find that WAS made
then: KPTL!!! Haha
Clark
Besch
Although I can’t imagine that anyone anywhere would rather listen to any radio program other than ours this evening, Frank B. offers up that Cousin Brucie will have Bruce Milner of Every Mother’s Son on his program tonight …
kk …
Cousin Brucie and Bruce Milner Take Us Back To 1967.
FB
https://www.facebook.com/YourCousinBrucie/posts/405002204315696
The
excitement is building …
Now
officially less than a month away, we can’t wait for the brand new “Let It Be”
box set to hit our mailbox. (The
accompanying stand-alone book “Get Back” hits right around the same time.) And then, a month later, the full length
Peter Jackson “Get Back” film will finally premier on Disney+.
All
you’ve got to do is watch this latest promo to feel the excitement …
This afternoon at 2 pm Chicago Time, The Zombies will perform a live concert, Live From Abbey Road Studios. Your ticket gets you repeated viewings through October 3rd. There will also be a special Q&A session after the concert. (kk)
Well, Rod Stewart certainly managed to keep busy during lockdown …
In
addition to the much-awaited Faces reunion album (14 brand new tracks and rumor
of a 2022 tour featuring Stewart, Ron Wood and Kenney Jones), Rod has been
recording a solo album as well.
“Tears
Of Hercules” (announced earlier this week) will be released on November 12th
… and it sounds like he’s back to rockin’ on this one. (In fact, Stewart is planning a solo tour of his own beginning in July of next year.) Next
month he returns for a nine show residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace between
October 6th and October 23rd, where he'll be performing “Rod Stewart: The
Hits.”
Meanwhile,
here’s a video of the first track released from his new LP, “One More Time.”
(Actually,
he looks and sounds a lot like the OLD Rod Stewart on this one!!!) kk
The Faces album would be their first in 48 years … that’s even longer than the ABBA gap we’ve been talking about for the past few weeks!!! (I guess you could say that all three members have done all right for themselves since the group split in 1974. Wood went on to join The Rolling Stones and Jones became the new drummer for The Who, while Rod continued to enjoy a very successful solo career.) After the recent death of Stones Drummer Charlie Watts, it was revealed that Kenney Jones played drums on The Stones’ hit “It’s Only Rock And Roll” after Mick and Keith hired an impromptu recording session. Former bandmate Ron Wood rang Jones up and said he was needed in the studio right away. (Watts was out of town.) Kenney ran right over and the laid down the track that night (even ‘tho it was Charlie you’d eventually see in the video.)
Some
of the songs on the new LP date back to the late ‘60’s and early ‘70’s …
unfinished tracks at the time that the band went back and revisited. While that may give the new LP a bit of a vintage
feel, there is no denying that The Faces were definitely in the zone at the
time. Some of these tracks have
overlapped with Rod Stewart’s solo career over the years. (Stewart has continued to perform their
biggest hit, “Stay With Me,” for decades … and their version of “(I Know) I’m Losing
You,” #13, 1971, was actually released as Rod Stewart with The Faces. Their 1973 effort “Ooh-La-La” never even
charted in Billboard … but bubbled under in both Cash Box and Record World …
but when Rod revived the song for a solo single in 1998, it went all the way to
#37.) If these new tunes in any way
measure up to our last exposure to the band, we should be in for quite a
treat! (Keep in mind that all of these guys
have had decades of new experiences to draw from as well … so a fresh set of
eyes and ears just may very well be exactly what helped to inspire them to see this thing thru.) kk
Hi Kent,
I just finished reading a good book on the California Sound from
the 50's and 60's called "Hollywood Eden" by Joel Selvin. Very
interesting stories about how some of the hit records became to be. Much credit
given to Jan and Dean for their contribution to Surf Music, before the Beach
Boys ... Fun reading.
Any feedback why Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings cancelled their
concert twice (August and most recent September 10 in Rosemont)??? I know you were planning to go. The
Rascals were to open and now they will be at the Dick Biondi Bash. Was
looking forward to seeing them perform together one last time.
When in doubt, ask the master …
Carolyn
OK, here goes ...
In order …
“Hollywood Eden” is a GREAT book
with SO many behind-the-scenes stories that haven’t been told before … I’ve
described it as a look at “the underbelly” of the California Music Scene at the time. Jan Berry was a crazy man … the chapter on
how they molded Nancy Sinatra’s image as a seductress after her first few
records failed to make the charts … Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys seeing a
record company executive murdered right before his eyes ... fascinating stuff ... and very well written. Highly recommended.
It wasn’t so much that Randy and
Burton cancelled these shows … this was all dictated by Covid traveling
conditions … both for health and safety reasons, as well as Canadian border
restrictions. And let’s face it, we’re
all back to wearing masks again with no end in sight to this medical
madness. As we ALL get older, this was really the wisest decision that could be made.
Personally, I doubt that it’ll ever be rescheduled now that all ticket
purchases have been refunded … but you just never know. From what I understand, both guys were really
into the whole idea of giving it one more go ‘round.
And finally, to be PERFECTLY clear
(damn … I sounded just like Richard Nixon there for a second!) … and so that
NOBODY feels that anything was misrepresented or that they were in any way cheated by the reality … it was NOT a Rascals reunion
that was opening for Bachman-Cummings (after Dave Mason cancelled due his own
Covid concerns) … nor is it a full band Rascals reunion performing at The Dick
Biondi Birthday Benefit Bash tomorrow afternoon … but rather Felix Cavaliere’s Rascals, which is
HIS version of the band of which he is the only original member. (Without a doubt, the happening place to be tomorrow afternoon is The Arcada
Theatre, where The Dick Biondi 89th Birthday Benefit Bash kicks off beginning at 2:00 … and tickets are still available. There are also some pre-show VIP Passes still available as well.) Hope to see some of you there!
Felix will be joined on stage by some of Chicago's Rock Royalty, The Buckinghams, The Ides Of March, The New Colony
Six and Jimy Sohns of The Shadows Of Knight.
(Missing in action this time around are The Cryan’ Shames or we’d have a full
Cornerstones Of Rock mini-reunion up
there!)
Sadly, the chance to see the fully reunited
Rascals has passed … I know Gene Cornish was traveling as part of Felix’s band
for awhile a few years ago (in fact, that was when Gene had his heart attack on
stage) and a couple of decades ago Gene teamed up with original Rascals Drummer Dino
Danelli as “The New Rascals” (but in that neither of them sang any of the band’s
hits, it played as more of a tribute to the original band.) There are currently NO plans for any further
reunions at this time. (kk)
UPDATE #1: And
as fast as I was able to type all of this, I got an email from Tom Cuddy
stating that Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings DO plan on resume their tour
once it is safe to do so! (Damn! Then why couldn’t I just hang on to my second row
seats for a little while longer?!?! What are the chances of me scoring THESE again?!?!)
https://www.insauga.com/bachman-cummings-show-back-on-at-meridian-centre-in-st-catharines/
Well,
actually THIS article says that their show at The Meridian Centre is back on again …
which is a Canadian theater. My understanding
is that travel outside of Canada’s borders is still off limits … but the teaser
that “Bachman and Cummings will tour again next year” certainly looms out
there.
I
guess only time will tell.
Perhaps
even MORE confusing is that this “on again” show won’t take place until July of
2022 … or nearly a year away. I think that I’ll just
wait until something more concrete than one date is announced before I get my
hopes up! (lol) kk
UPDATE #2: Ron Onesti talks about HIS experiences with
Dick Biondi over the years in this loving tribute … https://www.dailyherald.com/insights/20210917/ron-onesti-dick-biondi-celebrates-his-big-89
UPDATE #3:
I mentioned above my
surprise at not seeing The Cryan’ Shames as part of the Biondi Bash bill. Typically, all the “Cornerstones Guys” stick
together for these special events.
Well, I heard from Jim (“Hooke”)
Pilster yesterday, who explained that The Shames already had a previous engagement on
that same date …
Hey
Kent,
Yes
the Shames were invited to play the Biondi Bash, but we had already contracted
to play a benefit in Bolingbrook that day.
This
benefit is to assist children who can't afford to acquire musical instruments.
We have done this for several years and that was our first responsibility (though
we all LOVE Dick Biondi and we wish them well.)
Of
course, you are welcome to attend a great show in the Bolingbrook Performing
Arts Theater (an excellent venue), featuring around six bands . We will be on
around 7:30, followed by the excellent Chicago Experience, a group that
features at least four current or former Shames members.
Kent, we
would love to see you soon.
Jim
Pilster
The
Cryan' Shames
So there you have it!
(I have been to the Bolingbrook Performing Arts Theater before and it is
a very nice venue … and you already know how much I love The Chicago Experience
… but between The Dick Biondi Birthday Bash, this new opportunity to see The
Cryan’ Shames and working 12-14 hours a day lately, I may end up just falling
asleep on the couch instead watching The Emmys!
Lol)
Thanks, Jim! (kk)
One final Local Heroes commentary …
I got a link to this brand new clip featuring Carl
Giammarese of The Buckinghams and Lisa McClowry, who recorded that stunning
duet remake of The Bucks’ “Don’t You Care” track a few months back during
lockdown …
Kent,
I thought you’d like to check out the latest song and video I did with Lisa McClowry.
Enjoy,
Carl
Very nice!
(kk)
Here’s another Monkees Farwell Tour Review
(from San Jose this time) …
The Monkees' Micky
Dolenz, Michael Nesmith play it again in SJ | Review (riffmagazine.com)
A couple of other rockers have postponed tours for their own personal medical
reasons.
Ozzy Osbourne announced (well, actually his wife SHARON announced …
I think Ozzy was busy chewing on a bat at the time) that he is in need of spine
and neck repair and won't be hitting the road until that is taken care of and he is out of pain … while Elton John has postponed his Farewell Tour AGAIN in
order to have much-needed hip replacement surgery. (Explain to me again how it is that Keith
Richards can just keep going and going on and on like the Duracell Bunny!!! The Stones kick off the US leg of their tour
next Sunday in St. Louis!) kk
(Yes, I believe that IS Keith all Pretty In Pink!) kk
The new Ken Burns documentary exploring the career of Muhammad Ali
begins tomorrow night on PBS stations all over the country. (Check your local listings for show times in
your area.)
I have been very much looking forward to this new series … eight
hours in all … airing over a series of nights (with streaming capabilities as
well)
More information on chapters and schedule can be found here:
Watch |
Muhammad Ali | Ken Burns | PBS
Imagine
running into these two guys while you’re out and about!
Spotted yesterday in Bay Head - two of your rock and roll heroes!
Bruce and John!
Danny Guilfoyle
Mark Bego's new Freda Payne book is out 11/2. She was heavily involved in the whole Motown story. Her sister Scherrie was in The Supremes - the last edition.
By
the way, you’re the first to run the cover!
Thanks,
D
Thanks, David. (Readers can look forward to a little Q&A
with Freda in an upcoming edition of Forgotten Hits!) kk
David Salidor also tells
us about a new book about Harry Nilsson …
HARRY
& ME! TO BE RELEASED
ON OCTOBER 14, 2021: Over 200
Memories of Harry Nilsson by the fans and musicians that loved him the most.
The first 1,000 copies come with a bonus
CD – Harry on Harry – rare recordings from the 60s, 70s and 80s of Harry
Nilsson talking about everything from Bertrand Russell to The Beatles.
Harry Nilsson was The Beatles’ favorite
recording artist but terrified of performing live. Consequently, only a tiny
minority of the hundreds of fans and musicians who contributed memories to this
collection of stories ever saw him play in front of any kind of audience.
But it’s the songs – “there’s nothing
like them” according to Jimmy Webb – and his vocal style – “the supreme singer
of any generation” says producer Richard Perry – that keep the love of Harry
Nilsson lingering so long after his death aged just 52 in 1994.
The publication of this book of memories
coincides with the 50th anniversary of the release of
album Nilsson Schmilsson and
the smash-hit single “Without You.”
Harry & Me started life as anecdotes, tales, stories and
adventures related by fans, friends and musicians. But mid-way through the
process of gathering the hundreds of interviews and quotes, author and Nilsson
fan Neil Watson discovered more than three hours of never-before read interview
recordings Harry had made back in the 60s, 70s and 80s.
These very personal reflections by Harry
on his career have been transcribed and added to the book and effectively make
it Harry & Me… &
Harry.
Illustrated with rare and personal
photos and memorabilia from the fans, Harry
& Me is a beautifully designed treasure trove of the
memories of a unique character who left an unforgettable legacy of some of the
most life-affecting songs ever recorded.
Pre order www.thisdayinmusicbooks.com
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1838379878?ref=em_1p_0_im&ref_=pe_2313360_604640180
The Authors:
David Roberts: Before becoming a freelance writer, David Roberts
was Editor of the annual Guinness
Book of British Hit Singles & Albums and Guinness Rockopedia. In 2006 he was
chief content writer and filmmaker for the British Music Experience at London’s
o2. He was General Editor for Quintet’s Rock
Chronicles encyclopaedia in 2012 before authoring his own
guidebooks to music locations, Rock
Atlas UK and US, and then the biography Stephen Stills: Change Partners and Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy, an
oral history of Free and Bad Company.
Neil Watson: Before his debut novel, Muddy Water and follow-up
Florida Key, Neil Watson had previously written about motor homes and boats and
his epic solo bike-ride across the USA. He has worked in marketing, magazine
publishing and even had a spell in the music business. But his lifelong music
passion is for the recordings of Harry Nilsson – he maintains that his proudest
moment came when he was asked to select the tracks for a Nilsson double CD
release. His third novel is a French farce titled Mr. Tap.
Full color - 400 pages
Hardback Price: £39.99
($49.99) Publication date: October 14, 2021
Audio links
Now here’s a switch …
A brand new Brian Wilson album, recorded with just him sitting at the piano (not unlike the upcoming Richard Carpenter LP that will feature his solo renditions of many of The Carpenters’ hits.
Read more about it
here: In
His Room: Brian Wilson's "At My Piano" Offers Solo Piano Renditions
of Beach Boys Favorites - The Second Disc
(Is
there really a market for an album like this?
And why do I immediately think of Lawrence Welk when I look at this LP
cover?!?!) kk
And
here’s an interesting compilation of “The Definitive Singles Collection” by
Sheena Easton.
You’ll
find all the hits here ... she charted 21 times here in The United States in
Billboard Magazine … along with a bunch of remixes, 12” mixes, etc., to fill
out a 3-CD set. (Honestly, there’s WAY
more here than I need … but it WOULD be nice to have all 21 single mixes
together on one CD.)
More
information here: Take
Another Home Again: Cherry Pop Collects Sheena Easton's EMI Singles On a New
Collection Out Today - The Second Disc
Kent,
In
Tuesday's FH, I told you I saw a commercial on television during the football
games over the weekend for Royal Crown Whiskey with a background song I
believed to be a song from 1958 called I'M ON MY WAY HOME, recorded by singer
Cliff Thomas. Well, I just saw the commercial again and am convinced it was the
record that I said it was. Now Kent, you gave info on that it never charted,
local hit, etc.
Kent,
I almost would pay good money to learn how this particular song was picked to
be played in the background. To me, this should never have been picked, but
was. Since this is the Fall Season approaching, one can’t help but wonder how
many more commercials we'll see with songs in background that we are familiar
with.
Larry
The logic behind who picked this particular track is
probably a story unto itself!!! Talk about rare!!!
My guess is it was some ad guy who’s father used to
play this tune around the house when he was a kid that it’s been with him his
whole life. (I’ve actually got one of
those of my own … my parents had an old 78 of “Pedal Pushin’ Papa” that I absolutely
LOVED … and while I’ve downloaded several versions of this song since, I STILL
haven’t found the one I grew up listening to at home.)
Wouldn’t it be a shocker if that ad guy was the son
(or GRANDSON!) of Cliff Thomas, who’s now in a position of power to make such a
selection!!! (kk)
