Good article about Chuck Berry today!
Unlike most people out there, I've long (going back at least forty years) considered him, not Elvis Presley, to be the true King of Rock and Roll.
Admittedly,
Elvis Presley's releases on the Sun label were incredibly ground-breaking,
but those releases weren't noticed much at the time, other than a couple of the
songs being noticed by country-and-western audiences mostly in the South.
Also admittedly, it was Chuck Berry, along with Little Richard and Bo Diddley,
who blasted rock and roll WIDE OPEN in 1955.
Bill
Haley and His Comets did get some airplay before 1955 - I actually can REMEMBER
hearing his 1954 release of Shake, Rattle and Roll. (Yes, guys and gals,
I'm old - LOL!) Two years later, the movie "Blackboard Jungle"
would bust THAT song wide open - along with Elvis beginning to have his own
massive chart successes. Thus 1956 was the year that it finally became
"cool" for White artists to do rock and roll which, other than that
early Bill Haley airplay, was nearly exclusively the domain of Black performers.
Rock
and roll historians recognize that rock and roll existed well before
1954. Some in-the-know attribute Jackie Brenston’s "Rocket 88"
in 1951, as the first rock and roll song. Even farther back, in the
middle 1940s, Louis Jordan had some releases (Caldonia, Choo Choo Ch'Boogie,
et. al.) which can easily be argued to be rock and roll. For me, though,
"Rocket 88" has always made me ask why Fats Domino "The Fat
Man" is rarely or never mentioned as rock and roll, but "Rocket
88" is. I consider "The Fat Man" as the first TRULY rock
and roll song. It was recorded at the tail-end of 1949, and did
reasonably well on the R&B Charts in 1950.
In
my younger years, it was always "Sh-Boom" (and usually the Crewcuts
version rather than the Chords!) from 1954, that was considered the first rock
and roll song. No, not even close.
Frank
Merrill
The debate of the first
rock and roll song will never be resolved … we’ve traced its roots to the
1920’s!!! Literally HUNDREDS of titles
have been suggested as being the first … all with some element of
legitimacy. But the first rock and roll
song that mattered and made a difference was “Rock Around The Clock,” thanks to
“Blackboard Jungle.” That’s the song
that ushered in The Rock Era. It was
literally the shot heard ‘round the world … and every act that has come around
since has at least some element of dna in their make-up.
The fact that Chuck
Berry was WRITING these songs that were so revolutionary is a key factor as to
why his contribution was so important.
Yes, Elvis was the poster child … pretty … and WHITE … a BIG factor back
then. (There was NO way they were going
to let a goofy-looking guy like Bill Haley … or a Black Man like Chuck Berry or
Fats Domino or Little Richard … lead the rock and roll revolution!)
I have long maintained
Rock and Roll Music done FAR more to erase bigotry than any politician or
movement in history. For the very first
time, this was OUR music … and we LOVED all the R&B influences that helped
mold rock and roll. (kk)
We just lost one of the greatest actors of our time …
Sidney Poitier passed
away this week at the age of 94.
It’s hard to even begin
to count the number of films that he made that touched my life in some fashion
… truly one of the all-time greats.
His work as an activist
took him well beyond the silver screen … and he was beloved around the world.
He was the first Black
Man to be nominated for … and then later win ... an Oscar … and was also the
recipient of The Presidential Medal of Freedom.
He marched alongside Dr. Martin Luther King at a pivotal time in our
nation’s history. He fine-tuned his
craft as an actor to become the consummate best in his field. (As such, we can almost forgive him for “Uptown
Saturday Night!”)
If I were going to list
my ten personal favorites from his incredible body of work, the list would
probably shape up something like this … in some cases more because of the
impact these films made on me at the time than perhaps a gauge of Sidney’s best or most
meaningful performances …
1. IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1967)
2. GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER (1967)
3. THE DEFIANT ONES (1958)
4. THE SLENDER THREAD (1965)
5. LILLIES OF THE FIELD (1963)
6. TO SIR, WITH LOVE (1967)
7. A RAISIN IN THE SUN (1961)
8. BLACKBOARD JUNGLE (1955)
9. PORGY AND BESS (1959)
10. PRESSURE POINT (1962)
The fact that he made
THREE of my all-time favorite movies in the same year (1967, the year that also ranks as my all-time favorite for music) is nothing short of remarkable …
and in such drastically different roles, too.
We love you, Sidney …
thank you for enriching our lives. (kk)
Best Classic Bands ran a beautiful tribute to Elvis Presley yesterday on what would have been Elvis' 87th birthday. It gathers quotes from some of the biggest names in music, collected over time and pays tribute to and shows appreciation for The King Of Rock And Roll ...
Elvis Presley: What They Said About the King | Best Classic Bands
With a number of television shows suspending production again due to the crazy new Covid numbers, expect more concert events to be impacted as well.
Frank B.
tells us that Billy Joel just moved his scheduled January Madison Square Garden
date back to July …
"Nothing is more important to me than the safety and
well-being of my band, crew, and the fans; so due to unfortunate COVID-related
circumstances, we made the decision to reschedule the January 14th concert at
MSG"
--Billy Joel
And yet The Eagles have just added a
dozen new dates to their Hotel California Tour (and yes, Chicago is FINALLY on
the list with a March 19th stop at The United Center.)
I’ve really got mixed emotions about
this whole thing … would love to see them one more time (as we’ve never seen
the band with Vince Gill and Deacon Frey) … but the expense of doing so … not
to mention the health risk … just may make this one of the shows we hate to
miss. (kk)
NEW DATES (with tickets going on
sale January 14th … note:
some of these tickets will NOT be available thru Ticketmaster – see **):
Thursday, March 17th - Cleveland, OH - Rocket
Mortgage FieldHouse**
Saturday, March 19th - Chicago, IL - United Center
Tuesday, March 22nd - Indianapolis, IN - Gainbridge
Fieldhouse
Thursday, March 24th - Detroit, MI - Little Caesars
Arena
Saturday, March 26th - Pittsburgh, PA - PPG Paints
Arena
Monday, March 28th - Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo
Center**
Tuesday, April 19th - Columbus, OH - Nationwide
Arena
Thursday, April 21st - Buffalo, NY - KeyBank Center
Saturday, April 23rd - Belmont Park, NY - UBS Arena
Thursday, April 28th - Nashville, TN - Bridgestone
Arena
Monday, May 16th - Tulsa, OK - BOK Center
Wednesday, May 25th - Salt Lake City, UT - Vivint
Arena
Tickets for these previously announced dates are still on sale:
Saturday, February 19th - Savannah, GA - Enmarket
Arena
Monday, February 21st - Charlotte, NC - Spectrum
Center
Thursday, February 24th - Orlando, FL - Amway Center
Friday, February 25th - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - FLA Live
Arena
Monday, February 28th - Tampa, FL - Amalie Arena
Wednesday, March 2nd - Raleigh, NC - PNC Arena
Friday, March 4th - Atlanta, GA - State Farm Arena
Saturday, May 14th - Houston, TX - Toyota Center
Thursday, May 19th - Austin, TX - Moody Center ATX
Friday, May 20th - Austin, TX - Moody Center ATX
More info here: Eagles
- Official Site (kk)
Also announcing spring tour dates this past week was Bon Jovi …
Tickets
for most shows will go on sale on January 21st …
And
right now they’re only showing April, 2022 dates …
But
here is the list as it currently stands:
Friday, April 1st
- Omaha, NE - CHI Health Center
Sunday, April 3rd - St. Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
Tuesday, April 5th – Milwaukee - WI Fiserv Forum
Friday, April 8th - Charlotte, NC - Spectrum Center
Saturday, April 9th - Raleigh, NC - PNC Arena
Monday, April 11th - Greenville, SC - Bon Secours Wellness Arena
Wednesday, April 13th - Savannah, GA - Enmarket Arena
Friday, April 15th - Tampa, FL - Amalie Arena
Saturday, April 16th - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - FLA Live Arena
Tuesday, April 19th - Indianapolis, IN - Gainbridge Fieldhouse
Thursday, April 21st - St. Louis, MO - Enterprise Center
Saturday, April 23rd - Austin, TX - Moody Center
Tuesday, April 26th - Houston, TX - Toyota Center**
Thursday, April 28th - Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
Saturday, April 30th - Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena**
**On-Sale date
February 4th
More dates are
expected to be announced. (kk)
I just got
a lifetime membership into the Illinois Rock N Roll Hall of Fame Museum.
Thank you for the info. Illinois Top 40 music and radio has been most of
my life and this is a great tribute. Thanks to all for making Illinois
music and radio my dream world.
WLSClark
What station will
Ken Kojack's countdown of January 4,1964 be on as WRTR says that that show is
on Tuesday nights. Let me know so that I
can hear it tonight.
Thomas Goodell
The program aired on Tuesday Night
(January 4th) … checking the WRTR website, I don’t see any archive
or podcast options for this program … but I have reached out to Ken to see if
there are other ways listeners can still catch his show. (You’re not the only one to ask!) As soon as I hear something back, I’ll post
the info here. (kk)
UPDATE: There is evidently
no archive show currently in place … but I CAN tell you that THIS Tuesday’s
show will celebrate what would have been Elvis’ 87th birthday!
Again, you can tune in here to listen … but you’ve got to catch it LIVE!
8-11 pm Eastern: WRTR - WRTR Remember Then Radio - The Soundtrack of Our Lives (kk)
The Beatles DVD Of Get Back By Peter Jackson Is A Disappointment
Peter
Jackson’s The Beatles’ Get Back will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray February 28th
and it is going to disappoint.
Beatles fans have been expecting
an extended edition of the Disney+ documentary but instead will get just the
Disney+ documentary over three discs. There are no bonus features and there is
no bonus addition of the original Let It Be movie. It is a disappointment.
Disc 1 – The band gathers at
Twickenham Film Studios to rehearse for a concert.
Disc 2 – Rehearsals continue at Apple Studios and the mood lifts.
Disc 3 – The Beatles perform on the roof of the Apple Offices
The Beatles: Get Back is issued
on blu-ray and DVD on 28 February 2022.
We
certainly were expecting a lot of extra footage on the DVD release. (At one point I heard there could be as much
as 16 additional hours available!) At
the very least, it would have been nice to package this along with a cleaned-up
version of the original “Let It Be” movie … but I think this was rushed out for
release so quickly that all of this fell by the wayside. My hope is that “Let It Be” will still get
its own special promotional release package at some point in time … but some
feel it may be lost to the ages due to the current powers that be at Apple ...
and that’s a shame … because THIS is the cut that was originally approved for
theatrical release … and in many ways shows additional footage not included in
the Peter Jackson cut. Also, the U.S release date that I've seen published is February 8th ... and not the 28th ... so if Paul Cashmere is correct, you'll have an extra three weeks to hate it before Great Britain and Australia get their copies! (kk)
From our FH Buddy Paul Evans …
To my friends,
Amazon is using my 1960 recording of “Happy Go Lucky
Me” on an advertisement for Amazon Photo.
See the ad here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtL0B_--sLI
And just what is my book, Happy Go Lucky Me –
a Lifetime of Music, about?
The Beginnings of the Popular Music Industry: Tin Pan Alley and New York’s Brill Building super writers.
The Stories Behind My Early Hit Records: From my recordings of “Seven Little Girls Sitting in the
Back Seat” and “Happy Go Lucky Me” to my songs, “When” by the Kalin Twins,
“Roses Are Red” by Bobby Vinton and four by Elvis. How we early “teen-age
sensations” loved the glamour of having a hit record. But wait! Weren’t we
supposed to be paid? How we were all taken advantage of.
The Jingle industry: The
very talented and successful jingle singers. The super stars. From jingles to
hit records and vice versa. Some way out decisions made at the advertising
agencies. The whole world seems to know the word “residuals.”
The Opportunities and Challenges That Music Offered: I learned how to produce and arrange musical sessions and
I toured as a member of a jazz quintet, Group 5ive. I wrote the original theme
for the CBS This Morning show and spent time as a ship singer
aboard the beautiful S.S. France. I wrote an off-Broadway show and finally
broke into the UK’s Top Ten with “Hello. This Is Joannie” – 20 years after my
early American hit records were “stolen” by British recording artists.
There you have it. 60 years filled with music and a book to top
it off. Not a bad way to spend a lifetime.
Have a safe and happy 2022,
Paul
NEW MUSIC:
HI TO
MY FRIENDS AND FANS,
It's
official: My new album, SOMETHING WORSE THAN LONELINESS, is
due out on February 25th.
As most
of you know, this will be my third album of new music over the last ten years.
As with the last two (FINDING YOU AGAIN and MAGELLAN
WAS WRONG), this one will be coming out on ACE Big Beat Records. And
once again, the incredible Jamie Hoover is producing.
The
liner notes are provided by the venerable Jeff Tamarkin, arguably the most
highly respected music journalist in America.
I can
tell you that IMO, this one is my best yet.
Here's
one of the songs: https://youtu.be/mOeit0Dlh-w
I'm
sending this email to let you know you can reserve your copy in advance
by clicking this link: https://acerecords.co.uk/something-worse-than-loneliness
Yers,
Bob
Lind
More great music coming …
New releases from Kim
Wilde, Hawkwind, Howard Jones and many more! (mailchi.mp)
Lots of great titles coming from Cherry Red Records. (Check out the Complete Elektra Recordings
Box Set by Harry Chapin!) kk
Status Quo were not a one hit wonder in
Kansas! Besides the excellent "Pictures of Matchstick Men" and
"Ice in the Sun," our great KEYN-FM in Wichita played both "Down
the Dustpipe" and a fave of mine today still, "In My
Chair." I looked for a survey with the latter on it but could not
find one. I am sure it reached #15 or so. Personally, from their
later 70's recordings, I love their redo of Hank Thompson's "Wild Side of
Life" as well! ALL sit in my fave 45s boxes today!
Clark Besch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpdT93mQuOE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59KG7G5MlJI
Hi, Kent,
Your statement “satisfaction guaranteed” brings
to mind a line from the Atlanta Rhythm Section’s sublimely mystical 1978 hit
“Imaginary Lover.” Now I want to play that. I’m gonna enjoy it.
Best regards,
Jeff
Every once in a while I
get bold enough to offer that “Triple Your Money Back” Guarantee! Lol
(kk)
Kent,
Did you know that Harvey Kubernik is going to
be the guest on Coast to Coast next Thursday, January 13th ? He is scheduled to
be on during the second half of the show, which runs from midnight to 4 am CST.
Bob Verbos
I did not … but now
EVERYBODY knows, thanks to you!!! (kk)
UPDATE: I see that Harvey’s and
Kenneth’s new Jimi Hendrix book DID make The Top Five for the year according to
Loud Magazine …
2021: The Year in Review | Features | Loud (loudmag.com.au)
Look for a brand new 1972 Survey tomorrow in Forgotten Hits ...
(this week we stop in Minnesota!) ...
And then lots more survey and countdown related comments in next week's TUESDAY THIS AND THAT column. (kk)
