Nominees for The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Class of 2022 were announced yesterday ... SEVENTEEN in all! (That's gotta be some kind of new record!) And, as usual, you'll find the annual head-scratchers on the list once again.
The Fan Vote has already started ... and you can vote once a day for your favorites here: Fan Vote 2022 (rockhall.com)
I cast my votes for the only two artists that I can justify in my own mind as being worthy as soon as the nominees were announced ... and I'm sure I'll vote again at some point in time ... and might even ultimately vote for the five nominees that you're allowed to vote for ... but for right now, I'm content with casting my votes for Pat Benatar and Eminem.
Pat Benatar is deserving and long overdue for recognition. (How on earth Joan Jett got in before her makes absolutely NO sense at all. Now consider that Bonnie Raitt was inducted YEARS ago!!!)
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.
As for some of the others, I can make borderline cases for a few of these artists ... but NONE of these musicians, talented as they may be, deserve entry before some of the DOZENS of artists that have already been overlooked for decades.
As I type this, The Top Ten shapes up as follows:
# 1 - Pat Benatar (39,000 votes)
# 2 - Dolly Parton (34,000 votes)
Dolly Parton??? Seriously??? Rock and Roll???
Don't get me wrong ... she's an AMAZING entertainer ... and has been a music icon for over fifty years ... and it's GREAT to see The Rock Hall finally branching out and recognizing Country Music's contribution to the development of Rock.
But how do you pick Dolly Parton over all of the other great female country artists who have come before her and helped to pave the way? Roots Artists like The Carter Sisters ... revolutionary artists like Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette ... even "trendier" artists like Emmylou Harris, Patsy Cline or Reba?
# 3 (tie) - Eminem and Duran Duran (32,000 votes each)
Duran Duran strikes me as more "pin-up rock" than actual rock ... and I've already told you how I feel about Eminem (By the way, he is the ONLY nominee making the ballot in his first year of eligibility this time around.)
# 5 - Eurythmics (24,000 votes)
When I expand my own ballot to allow for five candidates, I could see myself voting for them - they offered up a different enough sound
# 6 - Lionel Richie (23,500 votes)
Rock and Roll? Songwriters Hall Of Fame, yes ... Soul Hall Of Fame for sure, if only for his work with The Commodores ... but Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame??? I just can't justify it. (Let's face it, nearly every successful Motown act is already in The Rock Hall ... perhaps a nomination for The Commodores would have been a more logical way to go.)
# 7 - Judas Priest (22,000 votes)
Now there's no disputing the fact that they're rock and roll ... and I've heard a lot of rock purists advocating these guys for years ... the thinking seems to be that The Rock Hall has ignored Heavy Metal Bands ... but if they're going to start acknowledging them now, is this really the best and most deserving one to pave the way?
# 8 - Carly Simon (21,500 votes)
Love Carly ... but what new element did she bring to the game?
# 9 - Rage Against The Machine (19,000 votes)
Again, they have their legion of fans ... but have they really earned a spot in these hallowed halls?
#10 (tie) - Devo / Dionne Warwick (15,000 votes each)
Devo put on a great presentation and looked new, fresh and entertaining ...
But so did Freddie and the Dreamers ... and is there a single person on earth who thinks they're Rock Hall worthy?
As for Dionne, she's been nominated before ... again, not Rock And Roll ... and incredible artist for sure ... but this is not her wheelhouse.
As for the others, A Tribe Called Quest, Kate Bush and Beck (???)
Fela Kuti is back on the list again ... right now he's dead last in the voting ... but he actually led the pack for a good long stretch last year. Still, that wasn't enough to get him in.
And what's the deal with The New York Dolls and MC5??!?? How many times can these guys be nominated?!?! The fan votes have never supported either of them ... the voting committee has never seen fit to induct them (what is this, the sixth try for MC5) ... why do THESE guys continue to make the ballot while deserving artists like The Guess Who and Jethro Tull and so many others never get the nod?
If The Rock Hall wants MC5 in there so badly, then just induct them in some other "special" category and get it over with! Stop wasting a spot on the ballot for an artist that NOBODY seems to feel deserves a spot in The Hall!
The Class of 2022 will be announced in May. (kk)
Today, of course, marks the anniversary of the deaths of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper … rock and roll’s first great tragedy, February 3rd, 1959.
It’s now been 63 years …
Here is how we remembered
them last year:
Speaking of anniversaries, we also mentioned the 50th Anniversary re-release of the first Wings album, “Wild Life,” earlier this week. (The new collectors’ edition comes out tomorrow, 2/4)
Paul recently did an
interview where he talked about the closing track, “Dear Friend,” quite
obviously written about his relationship at the time with John Lennon,
admitting that he finds it difficult to listen to today without getting a bit
choked up every time he hears it … which he had to do numerous times while
putting the new anniversary release together.
He had this to say:
“With ‘Dear Friend,’ that’s sort of me talking
to John after we’d had all the sort of disputes about The Beatles break up. I
find it very emotional when I listen to it now. I have to sort of choke it
back.
“I remember when I heard the song recently,
listening to the roughs in the car. And I thought, ‘Oh God’. That lyric:
‘Really truly, young and newly wed’.
“Listening to that was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s
true!’ I’m trying to say to John, ‘Look, you know, it’s all cool. Have a glass
of wine. Let’s be cool.’
“And luckily, we did get it back together,
which was like a great source of joy because it would have been terrible if
he’d been killed as things were at that point and I’d never got to straighten
it out with him.
“This was me reaching out. So, I think it’s very powerful in some very simple way. But it was certainly heartfelt.”
Regarding the Wild
Life LP, “Some People Never Know” is the best for my money on that disappointing
LP.
Clark
If Paul was trying to knock our socks off with the first release by
his new band, it was (in the infamous words of Carl Wilson of The Beach Boys)
“a bunt rather than a home run.”
The tracks were very basic …
I think Paul was trying to get back to his roots and, if you recall at the
time, Wings was showing up unannounced at various college campuses and putting
on a show, just to gain experience playing together.
When one considers that “Red Rose Speedway” was supposed to be a
double album and Captiol told him they didn’t think he could sell enough copies
of a double album, I think it probably hit home that Wings had to pay their
dues before they’d be taken seriously.
(Singles like “Hi Hi Hi” … a GREAT tune … and “Give Ireland Back To The
Irish” … a real dog … getting banned for various reasons didn’t help his
cause. Neither did a recording of “Mary
Had A Little Lamb,” which I personally liked.)
However, once “My Love” was released (and went straight to #1),
McCartney had earned back his street cred … and “Band On The Run,” released
later that same year, put him over the top.
As much as I love McCartney’s music, I find it difficult to listen
to quite a few of his albums these days … but the earlier stuff like “Ram,” the
first “McCartney” album, “Band On The Run” and “Venus And Mars” still rank
amongst my favorites. (kk)
A couple more Beatles-related comments …
It sounds like both the DVD and Blu Ray releases of The Beatles
“Get Back” film have been delayed. No
new release date has been announced yet … but if you’re among the millions who
have already ordered copies, you may want to check with your distributor for
more details and updates.
>>>Here's a great Cher tune (as Bonnie
Jo Mason, 1964, on Cameo). I've only seen ONE copy of the record in my
life; borrowed it from a collector friend so I could record it, about 45 years
ago. That 45 will bring about $1000 today.
(Mike Wolstein)
Actually better than
many of those 1964 tribute songs, IMO.
Clark
>>>And now, many of those same artists are getting
together to perform selections from both “Rubber Soul” and “Revolver” live in
concert!
But can these guys still sing? I'm a little scared by this
below. Looks like Ringo's All Starr Band without Ringo? By what I
read, will we be hearing "I’ve Just Seen a Face" followed by "I Saw
The Light In Your Eyes" OR "Ride Like The Wind" followed by
"Run For Your Life" … OR "No Matter What" and then
"Think For Yourself" OR "Go Now" and
"Wait"??? The list is endless with these guys, but is it GOOD????
Clark Besch
I saw the White Album anniversary show
twice a couple of years ago and it was VERY good. (Concert review link below)
What’s cool is you not only get to hear
interpretations of Beatles classics (Christopher Cross was AMAZING … that show
also included Jason Scheff, Joey Molland and Todd Rundgren … as well as Micky Dolenz), but to hear these artists
perform two or three of their OWN biggest hits is a nice bonus treat. (Jason doing “25 or 6 to 4” was a concert
highlight … the guitar solo was nothing short of incredible! And having Denny Laine on board this time
around is an added incentive to go.)
I’ll definitely be attending this … if
only because songs from “Revolver” and “Rubber Soul” aren’t typically
performed! (I’m SURE Ron Onesti will be
bringing this show to either The Arcada and/or The Des Plaines Theater
soon.) kk
From Mark Lapidos and The Fest For Beatles Fans …
Just read that the Sunday Get Back: The Rooftop Concert IMAX event sold out
nationwide! And what an event it was.
We saw it in Paramus, NJ, and it was a theater
full of many fans we knew from past FESTs. It has been almost three years since
our last NY METRO FEST and fans were excited to be in a theatre full of fans.
It began with a Live Zoom with Peter Jackson,
with a Host in front of a live London audience. He fielded many questions and
Peter (a huge Beatles fan himself) revealed his takeaway from all the sessions,
was that they were truly a great tight band, got along with each other, and
loved one other. The Beatles did what they had to do in the time they had and
WOW, did they ever pull it off. The Rooftop Concert we saw on IMAX truly
brought it to life. The sound was incredible and, once they got past the first
version of Get Back,
they clicked and we saw why they were the greatest band ever. This version
showed many shots we had never seen before in numerous multi-screen images. The
Beatles were on screen all the time! You could see the pure joy in their
expressions.
If you missed this special showing, it will be in IMAX Theatres the weekend of
February 11-13. Some IMAX Theatres are starting on February 9th, so check your
local IMAX theatre. Tickets are selling very quickly. Get all your Beatles
friends together and purchase your tickets ASAP so you don't miss it. We do
hope this version get a home video release of its own.
CLICK HERE for IMAX Tickets.
Peace and Love,
Mark
The Fest also put the
word out about the delay in the releases of both the DVD and Blu Ray versions
of Peter Jackson’s complete 8-hour “Get Back” film that began airing on Disney+
over the long Thanksgiving Weekend …
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Here’s one for you …
Have you ever heard a song called "Hi, Hi Hazel"?
It was done in the 60's by a group of brothers called Gary and the Hornets.
They were just kids. It got quite a bit of airplay in Seattle back then.
Chuck Anderson
Here's a piece we did on Gary and the Hornets from 2012 ...
Different song ... but same group.
("Hi Hi Hazel" charted for a couple of weeks in late 1966, peaking at #92 on the national charts. Their version of "Kind Of Hush" bubbled under at #114 ... and only reached #127 in Billboard. Their last chart entry, "Baby It's You," hit #138 in 1967.)
‘60’s FLASHBACK:
From Forgotten Hits, August of 2012:
>>>I remember years ago running a story about Herman's Hermits' hit "There's A Kind Of Hush" ... the record label was concerned that another version by a teeny-bop boy band might steal some of The Hermits' thunder on this one ... so they released "No Milk Today," a previous Top Ten Hit in Great Britain, as the B-Side here in The States, just in case the other version of "Hush" eclipsed Herman's Hermits' version ... this way, radio could simply flip the record over and The Hermits would still be represented on radio. Of course, the concerns were completely unfounded ... nothing could have been further from reality ... Herman's Hermits scored yet another Top Five Smash with "There's A Kind of Hush" and the competing version was delegated to complete obscurity. Meanwhile, "No Milk Today", another sure-fire hit, was wasted as a B-Side. (kk)
You are talking of Gary and the Hornets' Smash 45 which was plugged in Chicago, as Smash was a Chicago label. Actually, "No Milk Today" was released in England in September, 1966, while "Hush" was released here in the States and UK as a single in January, 1967. "Milk" would have no doubt gone top 10 by itself if released here when it was in the UK. By the time the US 45 came out, number one, "Hush" was even better than "Milk" as a song and #2, "Milk" was already past much of its' airplay height. KIMN Denver charted it into the top 15 in 1966 as an "exclusive" without anyone being able to BUY it. I taped it off KIMN as an exclusive in November. The DJ talks in the middle just like stations did when they had an exclusive, even tho we now know in hindsight that they had just imported the UK single and were playing that as the new release. No doubt that "Milk" airplay must have hurt sales of "East-West" (which was a GREAT tune reaching only #27 during the "Milk" early airplay days) in some markets. Hermits songs were huge exclusives when stations got them in advance. In the summer of ‘65, many stations had "Wonderful World" and "Silhouettes" when airplay demanded "Henry VIII" to become a massive release, causing three top hits at once on some stations. In early ‘66, the "When the Boys Meet the Girls" movie and soundtrack came out, "Listen People" became a huge airplay hit before an inferior version was recorded and released as a 45. I still believe that the changed recording made the song that charted week one at #41 stop at #3 only a few weeks later in Billboard. Yet, it was the early airplay that caused its release as a 45. This airplay hurt "A Must to Avoid" sales most likely at the time.
Yet, when the Hermits records (and their B sides were TERRIFIC, too) seemed to be instant successes into 1967 in the States, by 1968, it was all over, much like the Monkees' 45s from 1968 into 1969. I loved the later Hermits hits, but again, time had passed them by. I wonder if Mickie Most saw this and tried to change things a bit for the US market. I never thought about this before, but I taped the early 1968 hit "I Can Take or Leave Your Loving" off radio when it came out and the DJ announcing made the comment that it seemed to him that this was the first time he had heard Peter Noone's vocal not sounding of such an English accent. If you listen, it does kind of sound that way. However, the follow-up, "Sleepy Joe," goes back to his normal voice again. Think so?? In the UK, the hits kept coming into the 70's.
Clark Besch
The Gary and the Hornets version (titled simply "Kind Of Hush") "bubbled under" on Billboard's Hot 100 Pop Singles Chart for three weeks, ultimately petering (get it?) out at #127. By then, Herman's Hermits were well on their way to their 13th US Top Ten single.
When I interviewed Peter Noone a few years back for Forgotten Hits, we ran a Herman's Hermits Hits List ... and you're right ... the hits in Great Britain kept coming long after they stopped here in The States ... but Herman's Hermits had BIGGER hits here in America than they were having back at home. (In fact, THREE of their U.S. #1 Singles, "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat", "Mrs. Brown, You've Got A Lovely Daughter" and "I'm Henry The VIII, I AM", were not even released as singles in the UK!)
If you haven't already seen it, it's a pretty entertaining read ... and has been picked up by numerous other publications over the years as well. Peter was quite forthcoming (and perhaps a little annoyed) throughout the interview process ... but we continue to hear comments about it all these years later! (kk)
Click here: Forgotten Hits - Forgotten Hits Interviews Peter Noone
ANOTHER '60's FLASHBACK:
Here's a short excerpt of Peter Noone talking about "No Milk Today" being delegated to a B-Side here in The States:
"No Milk Today" was released as a single in its own right back home in Jolly Ol' England back in October of 1966 ... four months before "There's A Kind Of Hush" hit the British Chart. It rose to #7 in the U.K. and, in Peter Noone's own words, is one of his favorite Hermits recordings. (He told me "No Milk Today is the PERFECT Hermits record.") Ironically, in concert, Noone most-often cites their version of "The End Of The World” as his favorite ... and he really DOES like their recording of this tune ... but he confided to me that, next to "I'm Into Something Good" for its pure pop genius, "No Milk Today" is his absolute FAVORITE Herman's Hermits recording. We also uncovered this little bit of Herman's Hermits / "No Milk Today" trivia during our talks:
FORGOTTEN HITS: The only "charted" Herman's Hermits B-Side here in America was No Milk Today", which was a BIG hit in its own right in Great Britain ... it's also one of my favorites. Would you have preferred that this was released as a single on its own here in the States?
PETER NOONE: "No Milk Today" was Herman's Hermits' best single and was put together by John Paul Jones, Mickie Most and me with Keith and Karl doing the backgrounds. It was our biggest selling record worldwide and was a B-side in the US because some boy band covered "There's A Kind Of Hush" and put it out in Ohio so we were afraid the radio wouldn't play "There's A Kind Of Hush" by us and we threw away No Milk in the US.
(EDITOR's NOTE: We later learned that the Ohio band Peter was referring to was a pre-teen trio of brothers called Gary and the Hornets. Ironically, THEIR version of "There's A Kind Of Hush" never even charted!!! As such, "No Milke Today" was wasted here in The States as a B-Side, ultimately peaking at #33 while "There's A Kind Of Hush" went all the way to #3.)
PETER NOONE: "No Milk Today" became a B-Side because Mick most didn't actually like the song that much. It had been turned down by The Hollies, so he thought it had something missing. Personally, I think it is Herman's Hermits best recording, and perfectly captures the moment and the feel of Manchester terraced houses and what was the end of a British era. I recall it was made at Lansdown Studios and that we recorded a few other songs that day ... probably "There's A Kind Of Hush," "Dandy" and "No Milk Today." This was in the period where we (Mick and I) had just stopped using The Hermits on the recordings and were using the best musicians available to us to try to keep up with what had suddenly become The British Invasion. We were supposed to deliver 48 tracks a year to MGM so we were always scrambling to catch up. I recall that John Paul Jones played bass guitars (an upright and a fender bass) on the tracks and was also responsible for the arrangements, which I dare say are brilliant on all three tracks … but I know he liked "No Milk Today" and I would suggest that his arrangement turned this perfect Graham Gouldman song into a hit. I think that after we had the tracks down, then I did the lead vocal and then Karl Green, Keith Hopwood and I did the backgrounds. The songs were mixed and that was it.
Speaking of '60's FLASHBACKS, here's what we were covering the first week of February, 2002 ... TWENTY YEARS AGO ...
That week, we spotlighted THREE different Forgotten Hits artists …
GEORGIE FAME, LAWRENCE REYNOLDS and STEVE
ALAIMO.
Here they are again, via one of our
trademark
‘60’s FLASHBACKs:
Over all the years and all the people that have been blamed for the break-up of THE BEATLES (most commonly YOKO ONO, LINDA EASTMAN and ALLEN KLEIN), I've never seen today's artist mentioned as a possible culprit. However, in 1968, at a GEORGIE FAME concert at a club called THE BAG OF NAILS, PAUL McCARTNEY met his future-wife LINDA EASTMAN for the first time. (Sounds suspicious enough to me ... had that not happened, who KNOWS how differently things may have turned out!!!) GEORGIE was hot at the time, having just scored a Top Ten Hit with his bouncy account of the careers of BONNIE AND CLYDE. Prior to that, however, he hit the Top 20 in 1965 with today's Forgotten Hit, YEH YEH, #17 in Cashbox in the spring of that year. (It hit #10 here, but stopped at #21 in Billboard.) It has become yet another hit song making the rounds in a current car-commercial, but you rarely hear this one on oldies radio. GEORGIE was born Clive Powell and got his start as the keyboard player for Britain's famed BILLY FURY AND THE BLUE FLAMES band. (In fact, THE BLUE FLAMES shared label credit with GEORGIE FAME on his first three Imperial releases here in the States.) Once FAME took over fronting the band, they moved into a very soulful/R&B groove and, in fact, became the house band at The Flamingo R&B Club in London. They even recorded and released a live album from there at the club. YEH YEH was originally done by soul artist MONGO SANTAMARIA and was a #1 hit in England for FAME where he charted a dozen times, three of which hit the top spot. (The aforementioned BALLAD OF BONNIE AND CLYDE and GET AWAY, a #58 U.S. hit were the others.) In the early '70's he teamed briefly with former ANIMAL ALAN PRICE with limited success.
This one should get you going this morning ... it's a great upbeat tune that just may have you dancing all the way to work for a change!
I'm not really sure why this song has stuck in my mind the way it has since I first heard it back in 1969 ... but at almost any given moment, I can start to hear JESUS IS A SOUL MAN ... a #28 Pop Hit ... for One Hit Wonder LAWRENCE REYNOLDS. I can't find any information listed about this guy at all. I do know that JOHNNY RIVERS also cut this song (it was the B-Side to his minor 1970 hit INTO THE MYSTIC) and that whenever I've mentioned it to anyone, if they recognize it at all, the one they're likely to acknowledge is generally the JOHNNY RIVERS version. JESUS IS A SOUL MAN was a #11 hit here in Chicago and I've yet to find it on CD. (Today's track was made from the original 45 recording.) Contrary to what some people believe, it is NOT a JOHNNY RIVERS composition ... LAWRENCE REYNOLDS wrote this one himself with Jack Cardwell. I'm curious to know if anyone else out there remembers this tune. As I said, I've sung this one in my head now for over 30 years ... and I've got a hunch it'll stick in your head, too! Give it a listen.
Here's a track that's been recorded by a number of
different artists over the years ... yet never really achieved "Hit"
status on the charts.
Written by ARTHUR ALEXANDER in 1963 (who didn't
release his own version of this song as a single until 1975), it came the
closest to making the Top 40 when it was covered by STEVE ALAIMO. His version of EVERY DAY I HAVE TO CRY SOME
peaked at #45 on the Cashbox Chart in 1963.
(ALEXANDER's version also peaked at #45. In 1966, THE GENTRYS' version stopped at
#77.) Along the way, artists as diverse
as RICK NELSON, IKE AND TINA TURNER, THE BEE GEES, THE McCOYS and DUSTY
SPRINGFIELD have also covered ... but not charted ... with versions of this
song.
According to JOEL WHITBURN's book, STEVE ALAIMO is
the artist to have hit
Billboard's Charts the most times (9) without ever having a Top 40 hit. This one was his biggest.
Yet it seemed that back in the mid-'60's, this guy
was ALWAYS on TV!!!
He was a regular on ABC's WHERE THE ACTION IS and
it seems to me he was
featured on some other DICK CLARK shows as
well. (I also seem to remember him from
the old LLOYD THAXTON Show.) He was
"Teen Idol" cute and hung out with MARK LINDSAY and PAUL REVERE AND
THE RAIDERS quite a bit. (In fact, with
his own group THE UNKNOWNS, he actually charted with a RAIDERS' instrumental
track called MELODY FOR AN UNKNOWN GIRL ... a very pretty song.)
DIDJA KNOW: PAUL REVERE AND THE RAIDERS first recorded MELODY FOR AN UNKNOWN GIRL on their album MIDNIGHT RIDE and even included it on their first GREATEST HITS LP. It was, other than a spoken recitation at the beginning and end of the song, a beautiful "saxy" instrumental. The RAIDERS started their career as an instrumental group with the cult-hit LIKE LONG HAIR, which went all the way to #4 here in Chicago. By the time they caught on nationally and had their own TV series (and a pin-up lead singer), it wasn't cool for them to release an instrumental as a single. MARK LINDSAY (who co-wrote MELODY with PAUL REVERE) believed in this song, however, so recording under the name THE UNKNOWNS (to avoid a conflict with his own record label, Columbia Records), he, STEVE ALAIMO and RAIDERS bandmate KEITH ALLISON released a nearly identical version on the Parrot label. It didn't do very well ... stopping at #74 on the charts.)
TALK ABOUT DIVERSITY ... CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS?!?!?:
STEVE ALAIMO cowrote the classic ALLMAN BROTHERS song MELISSA along with GREGG ALLMAN. He also was a founding member of TK Records, who launched the VERY successful career of KC AND THE SUNSHINE BAND in the mid-'70's.
