THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME (2022 NOMINEES)
Kent:
This might be my favorite headline of the week!
Tom Cuddy
>>>My endorsement of Eminem may come as a surprise to some of you ... but for the first time in a LONG time, Marshall Mathers represents the criteria upon which The Rock Hall was founded. He brought something new to the game and single-handedly took the rap genre to a whole new level, in the process, establishing a new standard for others to aspire to. The truth is, The Rock Hall has been pushing for Rap Artists to get in for some time now ... and quite a few have made it ... but to my ears, NONE of them have ever been as clever, talented and original as Eminem ... he redefined the genre.
Think about this for a
second ... when Eminem first reached the masses on the mammoth level that
he did, the world experienced a phenomenon it had never seen before.
For the first time in music history, the best Rapper in the World was
WHITE!!! (And, as if that wasn't crazy enough, at the very same time, the
best GOLFER in the world was Black!!!) It was unheard of ... and for that
reason alone, he is Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame worthy. (kk)
I fully
agree with everything you said about Eminem, but the other true groundbreaker
in this bunch is Kate Bush. She was the first woman in music to write and
produce her own songs at that level, and they hold up really well. Of course,
she's facing an uphill climb (running up that hill?) to The Hall because she's
not American, male, or rock and roll.
Carl
Wiser
Just saw the list of this year’s Rock And Roll
Hall Of Fame Nominees …
When any of
these artists below get in the RNR Hall of Fame, it will FREEZE OVER!!
Ohhhhhhh ... LOOK
what just happened via Weather Channel!!!
The ghost of
Alan Freed has risen!!!
As my brother said "Are we not
Men?"
Clark
As expected, once the
nominees were announced, I was hearing Devo all over the radio again. These days it seems something shocking or
earth-shattering (usually a death, unfortunately!) has to happen to get radio
to step outside the box and play something that DESERVES to be played but has
been ignored for decades.
As I said, I don’t know
that Devo is Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame worthy … but they DO deserve some
airplay … especially on the oldies, pop and classic rock stations! (kk)
Kent,
Once again Tommy James has been snubbed by the so-called
Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
Tell me, after you read below, if he isn't worthy
of recognition for his continued contribution to rock and roll.
Carol Ross
CRYSTAL BLUE PERSUASION, CRIMSON & CLOVER, MONY, MONY, I THINK
WE'RE ALONE NOW, SWEET CHERRY WINE, HANKY PANKY, MIRAGE, THREE TIMES IN LOVE
and DRAGGIN' THE LINE are just a few of the many hits he’s had ... 23 GOLD
SINGLES, 9 PLATINUM ALBUMS and over 100 million records sold worldwide ... 32
BILLBOARD HOT 100 CHART HITS ... BMI lauded Tommy for his success with the
presentation of a FIVE MILLION-AIR AWARD for his songs being played more than
21 million times on air.
Numerous artists around the world have and continue to cover
Tommy's hits ... BILLY IDOL, JOAN JETT, BILLY JOE ARMSTRONG, CARLOS SANTANA,
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, REM, DOLLY PARTON, KELLY CLARKSON, TOM JONES, CHER and even
THE BOSTON POPS ... check the complete list on tommyjames.com
Tommy's music is featured in over 65 films, 53 tv shows and numerous
commercials ... again, the total list can be found on tommyjames.com
The prestigious NEW JERSEY HALL OF FAME inducted Tommy with the
award presented to him by his friend Stevie Van Zandt. His life-size
hologram can be viewed at The New Jersey Hall of Fame exhibit at Newark Airport
Terminal C in New Jersey ... Tommy's image is also displayed, along with other New
Jersey celebrities, at The Molly Pitcher Rest Area and The Atlantic City Rest
Area off The Garden State Parkway in New Jersey. Tommy has been a resident of
New Jersey for over 35 years.
Tommy also received the PITTSBURGH LEGEND AWARD, THE JUKEBOX ARTIST
OF THE YEAR AWARD and was recently inducted into THE LAS VEGAS ENTERTAINERS
HALL OF FAME.
Tommy's critically acclaimed autobiography ME, THE MOB AND THE MUSIC,
listed on Rolling Stone's TOP 25 MUSIC MEMOIRS, is now in pre-production for a
film with producer Barbara De Fina, whose credits include GOODFELLAS, CASINO,
CAPE FEAR, AGE OF INNOCENCE, SILENCE and THE GRIFTERS ... she also produced
Michael Jackson's BAD video. The
screenplay is by Matthew Stone, whose credits include INTOLERABLE CRUELTY and
BIG TROUBLE. TONY AWARD WINNER Kathleen Marshall
has been signed to direct the film.
Tommy is now enjoying more success with his own show on SIRIUS/XM Radio
- GETTIN' TOGETHER WITH TOMMY JAMES - 60s GOLD on channel 73, Sundays, 5 – 8 pm
est.
Tommy released a new album, ALIVE, last year after ten years with
two tracks hitting the BILLBOARD AC CHART ... and now, a new compilation cd, ROCK
PARTY, has just been released.
Now entering his 51st year in the music business, he continues to
tour the USA and hopefully Canada in the near future.
Follow him on facebook, instagram and twitter - visit his website TOMMYJAMES.COM for all other pertinent
information.
I dunno, Carol … he’s no Devo!!! (lol)
Seriously, this repeated snubbing is why
The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame has lost ALL credibility with the REAL music
fans out there … and it’s a real shame.
(kk)
Carol -
The thing is, ya
can’t take it personally … or professionally.
We’ve learned that
it is a Rock and Roll Hall of Politics and Opinion … not one of impact or
influence or achievement or popularity.
Of course, Tommy
belongs in the same ranks as those who are in the Hall.
Instead, he joins
artists like Jethro Tull, Blood Sweat & Tears, Joe Cocker and others who
are invisible upon a visit to Cleveland.
We love Tommy and we
all know that as a writer, producer, performer, risk taker and hit maker he
should be honored, as such.
All the best
Lou Simon
Sirius XM
When
we visited The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame a few years ago, Tommy’s JACKET was
there … on display … but HE wasn’t anywhere to be found. Now explain the logic of THAT thought process
to me!!! (At one point, I had heard that he was actually pulling this out of the museum and taking it back ... anyone out there know if that ever happened???) kk
A Chicago Connection …
Did you know Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine was from Libertyville
High School?
Electric Sheep: When Libertyville “tooled” up for a “rage”
with Electric Sheep
ABOVE: Here’s a picture of
Electric Sheep during a high school battle of the bands (photo originally
posted by Tom Morello). Morello is on the riser while Jones is on the far left.
Electric Sheep was a
band that featured Libertyville High School students Tom Morello and Adam
Jones. Jones played bass, eventually going on to a career with Tool; and
guitarist Morello ended up with Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, Prophets
of Rage along with numerous side projects.
Of his days in
Libertyville, Adams played violin in elementary school. He was accepted into
the Suzuki program, and continued to play violin through his freshman year
in high school. He then played a
upright bass for three years in an orchestra.
Morello was raised
by his mother in Libertyville. A U.S. history teacher, she was the homeroom
teacher for both Morello and Jones. During his time in high school.
Morello sang in the school choir and was active in the speech and drama clubs.
Morello became
interested in music and politics while in high school. In one story about
his high school days, “Morello developed leftist political leanings early, and
has described himself as having been ‘the only anarchist in a conservative high
school,’ and has since identified as a nonsectarian socialist. In the 1980 mock
elections at Libertyville, he campaigned for a fictitious anarchist candidate
named Hubie Maxwell, who came in fourth place in the election.” He ended up
graduating from high school with honors and went on to study political science
at Harvard.
After college,
Morello moved to Los Angeles. Around that time, Morello re-united with Adams,
who was also living in Los Angeles. Morello introduced Jones to drummer Daniel
Carey, and along with vocalist Maynard Keenan they would go on to form Tool. As
Tool, they have gone on to pull down four Grammy Awards between 1998-2008 recognized
for Best Metal Performance. The group is still influential today, you can
follow them on their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ToolMusic
You can do the same
for Morello on his Atlas Underground Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TomMorello/ where
he acknowledges that he is “living proof of the transformative power of
rock’n’roll.”
Regarding Electric
Sheep, both have said nothing more than they were quite unpopular at the time.
(Story from Illinois
Rock & Roll Music Archives:
www.facebook.com/groups/illinoisrockandrollmusicarchives)
Ken Voss
HERMAN’S HERMITS:
Hey, Kent!
I’m reading with Great
Memorable Interest your spotlights on one of my Favorite Groups of the
mid-1960s, Herman’s Hermits. It was always so much Fun playing their records on
the “Big CB Show!”
During that time, they
performed in concert outdoors one afternoon under a Beautiful Clear Blue, Mile
High Denver, Colorado Sky. Great Show, I remember, yet one minor memory of that
day was when the woman who I asked to join me coyly commented (after watching
Peter Noone dance around the stage a bit), “He certainly is wearing
tight pants, isn’t he?”
Well, yeah, after she
mentioned it, I did notice they did look like they were made
from a special white material that had very similar properties to that of
“Cling Wrap” with its main feature to keep his . . . ah .
. . “package” fresh!
Clark Besch triggered
another Fun Memory for me that in 1966, we at KIMN Radio in Denver charted
their “No Milk Today” (I think that was the song he was referring to) in the
top 15 as an ‘exclusive’ without anyone being able to BUY it. He said he taped
it off KIMN in November of that year. He correctly pointed out a voicer
appeared in the middle of the song, just as we stations often did when we did
have an exclusive. And while he’s probably correct when he added, “even
tho we now know in hindsight that they had just imported the UK single and were
playing that as a new release,” Yep! Quite probably so!
And we were the
Biggest Radio Station in town at the time, the Highest Rated, the most exciting
and no other station was playing that song from a pretty hot group! Because we
just simply had the record, and no one else apparently did and
we were the only station who did, our justification for
categorizing it as an ‘exclusive’ was, it was definitively, a “K-I-M-N
Exclusive.”
I learned so much about
staging, positioning and promotion in my KIMN days then!
Fun Times!
Exclusively Yours,
Chuck Buell!
LOL … perhaps it was the
fashion statement of the times??? (Then
again, every self-respecting Teenage Idol had to dress to please their fans
when performing in concert, right???)
We checked with Clark to
see if we could share that KIMN taping so others could hear the “exclusive”
nature of their broadcasting this record … and he kindly obliged. (You have a copy for your own collection now,
too!)
“No Milk Today” still
reached #29 on its own as the flipside of “There’s A Kind Of Hush” … but I
still maintain it would have been a MUCH bigger hit (huge, in fact!) had it be
released and promoted on its own. By
this point (February of 1967), Herman’s Hermits already had 18 US chart hits …
and 14 of those made The Top 20 … so these guys were HOT!!! (A couple of other B-Sides charted as well,
but nowhere near as successfully as “No Milk Today” … “I Know Why,” the
flipside of “Can’t You See My Heartbeat,” spent one week at #142 in Record
World, “The End Of The World” (a song Peter Noone still performs in concert)
peaked at #113, and their version of “Sea Cruise” (and a great one at that!)
made it to #108. (kk)
It took a
little digging, but it was HAL MOORE on KIMN that we taped playing "No
Milk Today" as an exclusive, months before it was a US 45. Of
course, KIMN says "KIMN EXCLUSIVE" twice during the playing and
promotes such on their playlist (#12 below) but, as with many songs back then,
we never knew where these unreleased things came from but "keep on playing
them!"
I was 10, so I
didn't care. I just wanted it on tape, as many things disappeared from
airwaves shortly after they were first played.
You'll note me tuning the dial to try and get better reception for this
awesome new song, which they likely told us was coming up shortly.
[The sound quality is absolutely AWFUL … but it’s being presented
here more for historical value … and the fact that former KIMN Jock Chuck Buell
asked for it. After all he’s done for
us, how could we possibly refuse!!!]
890 WLS
Chicago playing Chi sounds as well as Brit Invasion
900 KEYN-AM
Wichita and 910 KLSI Salina, KS, BOTH playing national top 40 PLUS
regional bands
930 WKY
Oklahoma City playing national and Okla / Texas band records
940 KIXZ
Amarillo, Tx also the same
950 KIMN
Denver not only national top 40 but also great regional Colorado music as well
as west coast
990 KNIN
Wichita Falls, Tx More Texas area top40+
1000 WCFL
Chicago
Many of these
had TOP DJ's with great personalities and some not so much.
Then, add in
all the other stations cross the dial like 770 WABC (special occasions of
Skip), 800 CKLW Windsor / Detroit, 990 KTKT Tucson (on occasion), 1020 KDKA
Pittsburg, 1030 WBZ Boston, 1060 WNOE New Orleans, 1090 KAAY Little Rock, Ar,
1100 WKYC Cleveland, 1200 WOAI (MOR usually), 1480 KLEO Wichita, 1520 KOMA Ok
City, 1550 KEDD DODGE CITY, KANSAS and more!
PLUS, if a top
band was to be on TV, one of us muscular brothers might haul the reel to reel
upstairs to plop down by the TV and plug in a phone jack to back of it and
record off Sullivan or Bandstand.
Talk about a
whirlwind of music and radio fun that makes a kid adore AM radio to this day,
even without top 40 music.
BTW, I haven't
checked lately, but KIMN's 950 station in Denver with different call letters
WAS playing top 40 oldies within last 10 years and we do get it here in Lincoln
some.
Clark Besch
And then from Chuck Buell ...
I thought about sending that along to Hal (he and I have been friends since those fabulous mid-1960s daze) and he also lives in the Denver area - for most of his radio career actually!), but his part was so brief and the sound quality was so bad, I decided against it.
CB ( which stands for “Clinical Boy!” )
Love It!!! (kk)
Hi Kent:
Some confusion over the Hermits ...
I have heard the main reason NO MILK TODAY got bumped to a
B side here was because the Kinks did not follow up SUNNY AFTERNOON in the
States with “DANDY,” as they did in Europe. Hearing that, the Hermits cut it,
and got it out here thinking it would be a huge hit. That pushed NMT to the
flip of KIND OF HUSH. The timing seems right anyway.
Also, the group has always maintained that they play on all
their records except for a bunch of the early “Covers” while they were out being
heavily promoted and touring. Session guys knew SILHOUETTES, WONDERFUL WORLD,
etc., so the tracks were all ready for the vocals to be added.
Ken Freck
In my conversations
with Peter, he told me that "No Milk Today" (a huge hit in England)
was stuck on the flipside of "There's A Kind Of Hush" here in The
States because “some teenage boy band” was releasing THEIR version of
"Hush" and the record company wanted to be prepared to have DJs flip
the record over, should the other version start to take off. It ended up
being a no brainer ... nobody ever heard of these other guys (Gary and the
Hornets) again ... which meant that "No Milk Today" was kind of
wasted here as a B-Side, when I'm sure it could have been a MUCH bigger hit had
it been properly promoted on its own. As
to The Hermits jumping on “Dandy,” this very well may also be true as they were
ready to take advantage of any opportunity to score another hit record. (They also cut “For Your Love,” The
Yardbirds’ hit, first … and, as we covered recently, also “Where Were You When
I Needed You,” which became the first big hit for The Grass Roots. And there were others, including later recording "Museum," a tune written by Donovan.)
The timing for your "Dandy" theory also works ... "No Milk Today" was released as a single in England in October of 1966, where it peaked at #7. Here in The States, we got "Dandy" as a single in October of 1966, which went on to become a #5 hit. As such, "No Milk Today" was pushed back until February of the following year, where it was stuck on the B-Side of The Hermits' "There's A Kind Of Hush" single.
As for studio
musicians being used on their recordings, cover all of that to a great extent
in our interview as well. While there is
certainly not love lost between Peter and original Hermits drummer Barry
Whitwam, Peter DID point out that “it was fortunate that all of The Hermits
played on the group's biggest hits.” The
main reason for using studio musicians on some of these other tracks was to
better compete with the other records coming out at the time, offering up the
best possible recordings in the timeliest manner. Don’t forget, back then the demand was for
new material every three months or so and during this time, Herman's Hermits
were often out on the road or making television appearances (or films!) promoting
their other records at the time.
You can read
our interview with Peter Noone here for more fascinating details … Forgotten Hits - Forgotten Hits Interviews Peter
Noone
Desperate for
concerts, I am watching my Pop, Rock and Soul Concert Series. My phone beeps a
"FB message waiting." Then,
another FB message beeps. I pick up my phone and see that Peter Noone is Live
on Facebook. Also, Dennis Tufano is Live on Facebook. I turn off my DVD player
and put Dennis on my phone and simultaneously, Peter Noone on my computer. They
are at the same location! Dennis is performing onstage. Peter and The Hermits
are cavorting backstage getting ready to go on afterward. Is this quadrophonic
sound at its root core? I can hear Dennis on the backstage speakers as well as
see and hear him onstage. I think the concert was in Florida, but my office in
Connecticut was hopping just as sprightly.
Comments from
fans of both performers are flying past on the screens. I add a few myself, but
I am confident none of the artists will see them. They are far too busy having
a good time in their respective places. Then I spy a comment under my
daughter's name as it flies by. AHA! She also received a FB message. Fate steps
in and Peter sees it, calling her "a blast from the past." He also pronounces her name incorrectly. BUT
given that typing the German / French umlaut over the "e" is
impossible here, we are forgiving it. (It is pronounced NO-EL, Peter.) What a
blast texting my daughter, watching DT perform and eyeing the Hermits dancing
and miming to The Buckinghams songs. This is MY kind of multi-tasking.
I love Dennis'
longer hair look. It looked classy with his white sport jacket and dark slacks.
He sounded great, and I know that the sound is so much better in the theatres
than hearing it online so Floridians must have been hit between the eyes with
that sound. Afterward he told us, through Peter's phone, that he "killed
them. I hurt them badly." That was a response to Peter saying "he
killed it."
Although the
HHSPN performance was not shown live, I had a real joy watching the five of
them backstage. Dave is a perpetual drumstick in motion. Billy may have hung up
his tap shoes, but his toes are still dancing, adding enhanced body
gyrations. Rich pops out ideas, runs to the piano to demonstrate, and
then mugs in the camera. Vance TRIES to stay calm and cool (and out of the
picture) but Peter catches him and he finally mimics facial warm-ups before
setting up the stage. Peter is being the host with the comic personality that
people associate with him onstage.
It was a
boring Thursday night wondering if ice would close school on Friday (It did.) Just in case school was open, I only wrote
the introduction and made my notes for later. As it turned out, I was able to
pop this out today after achieving some enjoyable (
Shelley J
Sweet-Tufano
Since there has been so much Herman's Hermits talk here lately, I asked Peter Noone about some of these comments to see if he could help to shed any additional light ... but unfortunately, I never heard anything back. (kk)
Herman's
Family Grows!
David
Lewis
Peter Noone’s new Grandbaby!!!
Congratulations!!!(kk)
Regarding Hi Hi
Hazel, I remember that song also being on The Troggs’ first album.
It’s not a great
song, no matter how drunk you are when you’re listening.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGvor_zQTz4
Bill
Makes you wonder what
connection Gary and the Hornets had to get their hands on these songs recorded
by British Invasion artists! (kk)
While
reading all of your material about "remakes" over the past few days,
I noticed the mention of a group called Gary and the Hornets.
I
don't remember them that well, but the name triggered my memory in regard to a
tune by a group called The Hornets, on VIP in 1964, called "Give Me A
Kiss". It had to have been one of the biggest rip-offs of all
time.
George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" got
him into deep doo-do, but I don't think anything ever became of the Hornets' tune
sounding very much like a Beatles' tune that was immensely popular at the time.
Whaddya think?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZbJd3wiEaM
Mike Wolstein
I think it’s
God-Awful!!! (lol)
The fact that this is a
Motown Production is even crazier!!!
I can only speculate
that it failed because it DESERVED to fail!!!
(And quite honestly, I think Motown held their own quite well during the
whole British Invasion … and beyon!) kk
THIS AND THAT:
After
hyping the new Beatles-tribute show spotlighting their “Rubber Soul” and
“Revolver” albums, we got this correction from FH Reader Billy James …
Due to scheduling
conflicts Jay DeMarcus will not be featured on this tour. Please find the
correct line-up and tour poster.
Thank you!
Billy
Speaking of The Beatles, Paul McCartney was celebrating the release of the 50th Anniversary Half-Speed Remastered Vinyl Edition of Wings’ first album, “Wild Life” this past Friday.
Here’s
a photo of the initial line-up of Wings, celebrating and saluting the completion of their first
LP …
And from writer Garry Berman, here’s another quick history lesson regarding The Beatles “Get Back” / “Let It Be” / “Abbey Road” recording sessions and album releases. (Garry, as you know, LOVES Forgotten Hits … and quit the list after we ran a negative review of the new Peter Jackson film!!! But WE’RE still good sports here in FH Land … and are always willing to share a good article when we see one!) kk
For The Last Time: “Let it Be” was NOT The Beatles’
Break-up Album | by Garry Berman | Medium
Just
a thought …
But
wouldn’t it be cool if the release delay in the Peter Jackson / Disney+ /
Beatles “Get Back” film allowed them time to put in some of the two hours of
“extras” that Jackson wanted to include on the dvd release (including more
complete performances of the songs that made up the “Let It Be” album) … as well as the official rerelease of the
“Let It Be” film itself?!?! (kk)
Speaking of which, there seems to be no shortage of new Beatles product on the market ... (how could ANYBODY keep up!!!)
First, this from Chuck Buell ...
click here: Beatle Bank
"Ceramic?!" Does that mean to get to your money, you'd have to BREAK it?!
Well then again, it is a "Smash" Album!
CB ( which stands for “Chuck BeatleBoy!”)
I'm not so sure how practical this really is ...
At that size, there's not even enough room to save enough coinage to replace once you DO break it open to take your money out!!! (kk)
I've seen ads for this one, too ...
A Beatles turn-table / record player that they're offering through TheBeatles.com and The Fest For Beatles Fans ...
Scott Shannon Show
6:30AM Contest -- First Contest Of The Day.
He Plays A Snippet Of
A Song & You Have To Guess Name Of Song --
& You Win Nothing
-- What Genius Came Up With That Idea?
I Better Set My Alarm
So I Don't Miss It!
Problem # 2 = Sports
Gambling Is Now Legal In New York.
Lots Of Gambling Ads
-- They Try To Get You To Make A Deposit & Open An Account.
This Guy Brad Has Been
Picking Playoff Games & Is Going To Tell You Who's Going To Win The Super
Bowl.
I Understand The Paid
Announcements – But To Have Brad Pick The Games Is Going Too Far.
I Keep Lowering My
Expectations.
They're Making Money
On Gambling Ads & Giving Away Less Prizes .
EDITORIAL IS OVER –
I'll Just Wait For
Cousin Brucie On Saturday Night & Wild Wayne On Sunday Night.
FB
Kent,
Concerning the
Ballad of Davy Crockett being number 2 on 5-5-55, did you know that Bill Hayes
is still alive and still appears on Days of Our Lives soap opera? That’s what I
call longevity!
Bob Verbos
I did NOT know that!!!
According to Joel Whitburn’s book, that puts Bill at almost 97 years old
right now! He was born right here in
Harvey, IL, on June 5th, 1925, and joined the cast of “Days Of Our
Lives” (as Doug Williams) in 1965. IMDB
says he left the show in 1984 but then rejoined the cast in 1999 … nearly 23
years ago! Amazing! (kk)
>>>Damn,
Clark, you were charting “Dedicated To The One I Love” by The Mamas and The
Papas NINE MONTHS before it was released as a single!!! How’d you manage
that?!?!? (kk)
I gotta dig
out my original chart and look again. I am betting I misread or mistyped it
and meant to type "Dedicated Follower of Fashion!!!” Probably in a
hurry and did not look good at my chart. I will try to check Monday when
home.
Clark Besch
I think you’re right … the new Kinks single, “Dedicated Follower Of
Fashion,” premiered on the national charts in mid-May, 1966 … so the timing
lines up precisely with our 6-6-66 chart.
(kk)
Kent,
I was curious
when you talked about JESUS IS A SOUL MAN by Lawrence Reynolds. Here in the OKC
area, it initially made the weekly survey for the week of September 11, 1969,
at the bottom of the survey listed as one of the records HIT BOUND. For the
week October 2, 1969, it peaked in the #5 position. It was on the survey
for a total of 9 weeks.
I did not
check to how high the Unknown's record got.
(I didn't check on the Steve Alaimo record ... I didn't have to ... it
was a very big record in the OKC area, probably making it into the top 10. As
far as I know, he is still with us.
I wonder if
the higher ups at Columbia Records knew that the Raiders came out with MELODY.
This reminds me somewhat of the Comets, who backed up Bill Haley … they came
out with a couple of records in the late fifties under the name The Kingmen.
Larry
Lawrence Reynolds scored a #11 Hit here in Chicago with his
recording of “Jesus Is A Soul Man.”
You’ve rarely heard it played for the past 53 years … but I still love
it!
Here in Chicago, Steve Alaimo charted seven times. My favorite, “Every Day I Have To Cry,” only
charted as an Extra. Too bad … it’s a
great version of a great song! (kk)
kk …
I Bought The Steve Alaimo 45 "EVERYDAY I HAVE TO CRY" … He Did Some Funny Skits With The Raiders On You Tube.
You Printed A WABC Countdown Survey With Ron Lundy As "ALL AMERICAN OF THE WEEK." I Listened To His Whole Show Everyday (Monday - Friday), 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM At Work. Ron Opened His Show "HELLO LOVE -- I GOT A SONG FOR YOU." No Set Closing Theme.
I Wrote To Him (via Fax-Machine) ...
How Come Harry Harrison and Big Dan Have Closings and You Don't?
One Day He Gathered A Bunch Of People In The Studio To Say Good Bye To Me.
How Could You Mention WABC and Not Mention "COUSIN BRUCIE???" --
I Think It's Against The Law!
FB
A
little shout-out to one of the greatest drummers who ever lived, Hal Blaine ...
the Drummer of Drummers. Hal played on
thousands of songs, hundreds of which became Top 40 hits.
Now
that it's on YouTube, I HIGHLY recommend seeing "The Wrecking Crew"
film. It's a landmark work. He'd have been 93 this weekend.
Here's the first of his five solo albums, from
1963. I bought it over 50 years ago. ;-)
Mike Wolstein
I was fortunate enough to talk with Hal Blaine a few times over the years … great guy … everybody who ever met him, loved him. (Well, Carol Kay maybe not so much in recent years … but he truly was one of a kind.)
He and I were working on
putting together a special project to run in Forgotten Hits shortly before his
death. Sadly, he had to beg off for
health reasons and we never got to do it … but as you say, his work lives on in
literally THOUSANDS of songs, many of which are rock/pop classics. (kk)
Willie Leacox, drummer for America for 41 years, passed away earlier this week.
Longtime America Drummer Willie Leacox Dies at Age
74 (rockcellarmagazine.com)
From
Clark Besch …
America's drummer Willie Leacox has passed
away--an Iowa native
Iowa's first
week of February will now sadly be known for the death of not only Buddy Holly,
but legendary Shenandoah drummer Willie Leacox. He passed away on
February 2, 2022. Willie was 12 when Buddy Holly passed away near Clear
lake, Iowa on February 3, 1959. Willie would have been 75 this coming
March 31st. He went on to be the drummer for the major rock band of the
70's, America!
How legendary Shenandoah radio station KMA radio reported the story:
https://www.kmaland.com/news/shen-native-america-drummer-wil-leacox-passes/article_bc2c626e-8465-11ec-8d41-b3a813cbc351.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=user-share
Nebraska Rock
N Roll Hall of Famer Mike Semrad of Nebraska's Smoke Ring informed me of the
death of legendary drummer who went from his early local band, the Echoes, to
the regionally popular Green Giants, who recorded a 45 in 1966 of the new
Beatles song "You're Gonna Lose That Girl," backed with Bob Biers
band original, "Pity Me" with 19 year old Willie on drums.
This from the
group America's youtube page, "Pity Me":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKivbn7Qg6o
From MY
youtube channel, unreleased live Green Giants in Shenandoah, 1967 featurning
the drumming of Willie on "Steppin Stone"! Audio courtesy GG
keyboardist and great friend Rick Bell:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Otc2sIwryeQ
From there, he
became drummer for the popular Kansas band, the Jerms. Their record, an
updated great cover version of the 50's hit "Green Door," became
quite popular in that state and was even played on Dick Clark's national
American Bandstand TV'er on the Rate-a-Record segment.
From MY
youtube channel, with Dick Clark announcing it on his Rate A Record segment on
American Bandstand. Note it is followed by the other contestant, Lou
Christie. Dick gets the title of Lou's song wrong, as he calls it by the
name of a big recent RNB hit instead. Lou's 45 went top 10. I
recorded this in our living room in Dodge City direct line from TV provided by
my dad to our reel to reel next to the tube on the floor 1969. I was 12
then.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pX5IYwuszEs
The true
greatness of this Iowa drummer came when he joined the already popular British
band, America, in 1973. The band's first 3 albums featured session great,
Hal Blaine, on drums. With the Wrecking Crew behind them in the first
three LPs, they won the Grammy for best new group, but as seen below at 14
minutes into the video below, they did not show to get their award or sing live
at the presentation show. Maybe they needed a good permanent drummer and
George Martin knew about drummer issues dating to 1963. A drummer he
eventually chose for the Beatles is also on the below show as a presenter at 54
minutes in, with Harry Nilsson.
Grammy awards
1973:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7I-tmYz4LY
That year of ‘73,
America held a drummer audition before the fourth album and Willie won it right
away. He was in the band for another 41 years before leaving in
2014. The first America Lp he worked on ("Holiday") became
their biggest yet featuring the hits "Tin Man" and "Lonely
People." By coincidence, this was the first album of the next 6 to
be produced by Beatles' producer, George Martin, with Geoff Emerick as
engineer, just as they'd BOTH been together for Beatles albums stretching from
1966 "Revolver" thru 1969's "Abbey Road." The magic
of those two and the songwriting of the main trio of singers and maybe a little
from their new drummer, gave them a continuing success story thru the 80's.
The first single of America's that Willie would be featured on was "Tin
Man" which had a unique drum sound captured here by Earl Bennett quite
well over the original single:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvmbLZZ7sCk
The band moved
their home base to LA and continued making hits. Their next album with Willie
would contain their national number 1 hit "Sister Golden Hair."
Below, you can hear them singing and playing LIVE on Midnight Special with
Willie showcasing his talent well as the drums are UP in the sound mix and
close up 2:30 into video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzUQZw3wfro
Below, America
accepts the Hollywood Walk of Fame Star in 2012. Willie is mentioned 2:30
in and Geoff Emerick is also present!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKr2b6X4dx0
Willie was
added to the Shenedoah Walk of Fame in 2009:
https://www.shenandoahiowa.net/attractions_fame.asp
Video with
Willie from Iowa to America days:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M3rGiYIRLk
Willie would
also play as session drummer for Silverado and Ian Mathews.
Some inner
thoughts from Willie: "Life is but a dance to the music of
time."
More on Green
Giants inducted into Iowa Hall in 2003:
https://www.iowarocknroll.com/halloffame
More on The
Germs:
https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/the_jerms
More on
Willie's life story:
http://www.accessbackstage.com/america/bio_will.htm
https://www.discogs.com/artist/521303-Willie-Leacox
More on
America:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_(band)
https://patch.com/california/hollywood/photos-america-inducted-to-hollywood-walk-of-fame
How the UK
press reported Willie's passing:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/breaking-america-willie-leacox-dead-26130713
From Noise 11 …
Record label owner, arranger, producer, songwriter and music
industry legend Morton ‘Morty’ Craft has died at the age of 101.
Morty played sax during the big band era before starting his own
label, Lance Records, in 1957. His first hit was ‘Alone’ by the Shepherd
Sisters. (Morty wrote the song.) Soon after,
Craft was at MGM Recordings, working as Record Chief and Director of Single
Record Sales. Under his direction, he championed “Who’s Sorry Now” for Connie
Francis, Sheb Wooley’s “The Purple People Eater,” “It’s All In the Game” by
Tommy Edwards and “It’s Only Make Believe” by Conway Twitty. Two of his signings were the very
young Jerry Landis (Paul Simon) and Artie Garr (Art Garfunkel). Morty is
survived by his children, son Alan Craft and daughters Chris Weinberg, Carrie
Craft and Tiffany Craft.
Billy Idol had to drop
out of the upcoming Journey / Toto tour, scheduled to commence on February 22nd.
He developed a bad sinus
infection back in mid-December that is still causing him problems, despite
attempts thru several different medications to alleviate his discomfort.
Idol says he now has to
have a procedure to correct the issue …
In a statement, Billy
said, “It has worsened to the point where I have no choice but to have a
procedure. The last thing I ever want to
do is cancel shows and I am absolutely gutted that I won’t be able to perform.” (kk)
Hi Kent –
I just had to
share this with you …
This is a message
from former drummer Dusty Watson referring to one of my tunes
("Axecentric") from my latest album, "Cyclelogical":
I just heard one of your new tracks on Clint
Beachwood's podcast / DAAAMMMMMMMNNNN I loved it! Was like Black Sabbath in
space.
Great Work, Davie.
Happy New Year to you and Janine.
-
Dusty
Davie Allan
Download Davie’s new CD on Amazon or iTunes now! (kk)
And now that Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young have publicly banded
together once again by taking their music off Spotify, Chuck Buell files this
most recent report …
CB ( which stands for "Counterfeit Boy!" )
