We lost another music legend when Ronnie Hawkins passed away this past weekend.
While fronting a band called The Hawks, Hawkins had a hit called "Mary Lou" in 1959. (#26 Billboard) Perhaps more famously, The Hawks evolved into The Band, who went on to have a remarkable career of their own. (After backing Hawkins, they would go on to back-up Bob Dylan!)
Hawkins was born in Huntsville, Arkansas, in 1935, but relocated to Canada in 1958 ... and that's where his career took off, becoming one of the top-drawing acts on the circuit. (His cousin Dale Hawkins also had a memorable hit in 1957 when he cut the original version of "Susie-Q," #27, later covered with greater success by Creedence Clearwater Revival.)
Our FH Buddy Harvey Kubernik has done extensive writing on The Band, covering their formative years with Hawkins in great detail. He sent us a few words of remembrance ...
Ronnie Hawkins wasn’t just a hell-raiser who kept a step ahead of the competition. Yonge Street was filled with brutal, ass-kicking soul-style revues and other young bucks with windswept hair and itchy guitar licks were vying for his gig, his audience, and, most importantly, his ladies. Over the course of four years he kept trading out players, like a ball club drawing from its farm club, to find the right combination. By 1961, he had them .., a murderer’s row of talent that kept the Toronto music scene buzzing with excitement and anticipation. Ronnie had assembled a team to match his wildest ambitions ... maybe they were too ambitious for their own good.
Hawkins and the boys were at the eye of a hurricane; all hell was breaking loose around them, the tempo punishing. He practiced the band during the days, striving for a level of perfection in a music celebrated for its rough, gnarled edges. And no one in the band was safe from being replaced by someone better.
At this time, Hawkins was scuffling for gigs around Memphis; a few session dates and the promise of a career seemed tantalizingly within reach. He decided to form his own band to put his own spin on rockabilly, and that required a special kind of drummer: Levon Helm. An Arkansas razorback to his very marrow, raised in the implausibly named hamlet of Turkey Scratch, Helm imbibed deeply from the smoky admixture of ham hocks and front porch guitar pickin’, where men with names like Memphis Slim and Son House held court.
Levon was about to graduate from high school, which was a big deal for his family; no one in his clan had ever earned that diploma. His parents were never going to agree to let him go out on the road with a seeming reprobate like Hawkins without that parchment. But after graduation, Helm’s real education began, playing roadhouses and juke joints — “every shithole-and-a-half” — the kind of places where if they didn’t like you, you used your guitar like a bayonet to get out alive. When the word came down that the show was heading north, to Canada, it sounded crazy.
From Larry LeBlanc ...
In the early 1960s, as rock and folk was beginning to take hold in North America, Toronto was still a ... backwater city. The scene changed when Ronnie Hawkins, backed by Levon and the Hawks, began holding court nightly at the Concord Tavern, and especially later at the Le Coq d’Or club on the city’s downtown Yonge Street strip ... Clubs alongside Le Coq d’Or [and] on Queen Street nearby began buzzing with nightly entertainment.
In Ronnie's own words (as told to Larry LeBlanc) ...
When I was young, I listened to a lot of country and a lot of country blues — B.B. King out of Memphis, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Lightnin’ Slim. Muddy Waters hadn’t moved to Chicago yet. I picked cotton with Ellas McDaniel, who later changed his name to Bo Diddley.
Well, I first cut in 1952, when I was sixteen — but it was only in the Memphis circuit, one of those little fly-by-night companies — I cut a country tune, Eddy Arnold’s ‘I Really Don’t Want to Know’ and ‘Bo Diddley.’ I cut ‘Bo Diddley’ six times in the old days.
Music was a little more country then, what we called rockabilly. Carl Perkins was the one that started to swing. All he did was add a drummer to a hillbilly band, kinda jazz it up a bit. Elvis was copying Carl. Then, of course, Colonel Tom [Parker, Presley’s manager] came in and took over and Elvis skyrocketed to the top.
I came out of the army in ’58. Jimmy Ray Paulman called and told me he’d like to start a little band and [asked if I] would like to front the group. I didn’t have anything to do until the second semester was over in school.
On our first night [in Canada] there were three people in the club. ‘Man,’ the owner said, ‘this is a jazz place. You can’t play that racket here.’ But we did. Tuesday, there were about ten people. I phoned around to some people Conway [Twitty] knew and we got a few more in Wednesday. Friday we were nearly full and the same Saturday. So the owner gave us another week. The crowd on Monday beat Saturday, and by Wednesday they were lined up outside the club.
I brought the first blues here. Nobody had ever heard of Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, B.B., or anyone in Canada. But for the first three or four years, we only played up here a bit. Then as time went by, we played more and more and more — staying a month at one club.
Without Yonge Street, none of us would’ve been any good, you’d never have heard of any of us. That whole strip was the only place you could get any entertainment or booze at the time.
Our music was brand new. They hadn’t seen that Memphis style of rockabilly. Over time we chiseled out a little circuit between Windsor, Montreal, and Toronto.
Gary Pig Gold wrote this review of Hawkins' "Ronnie Hawkins: Sold Out" album ...
This Sunday, the doors will open at 4:00 PM at the beautiful Rialto Square Theatre in downtown Joliet for an amazing evening celebrating Illinois music history in various categories.
Artists scheduled to appear this year include Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon, who was inducted in the Hall of Fame last year. Kevin is returning to provide a very special induction presentation and performance in tribute to Gary Loizzo of American Breed and Pumpkin Studios. Also scheduled to appear is Dennis DeYoung from Styx, Jim Peterik from the Ides of March and formerly of Survivor and of .38 Special fame, the New Colony Six and many more.
The Class of 2022 Hall of Fame Band or Solo Artist inductees include Styx, Chuck Berry, Sam Cooke, Dan Fogelberg and the New Colony Six. Songwriter inductees feature Dennis DeYoung and Jim Peterik. The legendary John Records Landecker will be inducted in the DJ category, trailblazing WXRT-FM will be inducted in the Radio Station category, Gary Loizzo will enter the Hall of Fame in the Recording Studio category and Mercury Records, founded in Chicago in 1945, will be inducted in the Record Label category. Hall of Fame Inductees are selected by total votes cast each year by Charter Members of the Illinois Rock and Roll Museum on Route 66.
The event will be held at the Rialto Square Theatre, 102 North Chicago Street in downtown Joliet. Doors will open at 4:00 pm and the show begins at 5:00 pm. Ticket prices are $68.50, $58.50 and $48.50. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster and links on the museum’s website at www.RoadToRock.org.
A well-deserving group of inductees this year to say the least! (kk)After trying for over a year, I
finally discovered the identity of he keyboardist on Sandy Posey's hits of the
mid-60s. It was a fellow named Larry Butler, whose style was very much
like that of Floyd Cramer's.
His rendition of "Yesterday", which I found on YouTube, is
beautifully performed ("Larry Butler Tribute #2").
Now I can go back to my regularly-scheduled life ...
Mike
>>>1990 … "GOODFELLAS" … My Favorite Movie ... In My Collection: Boxing Glove Signed By Henry Hill; Cops Hat Signed By Henry Hill; Sun Glasses Signed By Henry Hill; Shoe Shine Brush Signed By Henry Hill; Ice Pick Signed By Henry Hill … (I Hope It Wasn't Used!) FB
So when you say “signed by Henry Hill,” are you referring to the REAL Henry Hill? Or Ray Liotta (who PORTRAYS Henry Hill in the movie)? (I’m thinking you’re probably referring to movie props … but I wanted to be sure!!!) kk
I MEAN THE REAL HENRY HILL.
FB
>>>Frannie estimates that this had to be the fourth or fifth time that she's watched it all the way through ... (she considers it to be a classic) ... and also describes it as one of those films that she has to stop and watch every time it comes on, no matter which scene it is at that moment in time. (kk)
I AGREE WITH YOUR WIFE ABOUT WATCHING "GOODFELLAS" EVERY TIME IT’S ON. I WAS BORN IN BROOKLYN & DIDN'T LIVE FAR FROM WHERE THEY WERE HANGING OUT.
FB
We finally watched the new Sheryl Crow Showtime Documentary Sunday Night … it was pretty good … and in it she mentions how Michael Jackson’s Manager, Frank DiLeo, was a real-life gangster … and also portrayed one in the “Goodfellas” film. (He played Tuddy Cicero in the film.) An actor before he got into management, he also appeared in the two “Wayne’s World” movies.
Story goes that in 1991, Youngstown, Ohio, Mob Boss Joseph "Little Joey" Naples, a member of the Genovese crime family, was killed outside the home he was having built in Beaver Township. He was driving DiLeo's Ford Mustang Convertible at the time.
DiLeo managed Jackson’s career from 1984 – 1989, some of Michael’s biggest years. Crow got her first big break working as a back-up singer in Michael Jackson’s band … and DiLeo reportedly made unwanted advances toward her, promising that he would also manage HER career and help get it off the ground. She did not appreciate his unsolicited advances and in her song "The Na-Na Song," she addresses DiLeo by name with the lines “Clarence Thomas organ grider Frank DiLeo's dong / Maybe if I'd let him I'd have had a hit song." After managing Jackson’s career exclusively, DiLeo went on to business associations with Prince, Laura Branigan, Taylor Dayne and Ritchie Sambora of Bon Jovi. He died due to complications after heart surgery in 2011.
Now that the "Top Gun" sequel is finally being released, this makes for a fun read regarding Kenny Loggins' involvement with the classic hit "Danger Zone" from the first flick (and reprised in the sequel as well.)
Let's just say that Kenny wasn't necessarily the producer's first choice to sing this track!!!
https://www.vulture.com/2022/05/kenny-loggins-danger-zone-top-gun-making-of.html
Alan Parsons has announced a new album to be released in July …
Titled “From The New World,” it returns Parsons to his “guest artists” territory …
Tommy Shaw from Styx and David Pack, former lead singer of Ambrosia, both make appearances … as does guitar virtuoso Joe Bonamassa and former American Idol contestant James Durbin.
The official release date is scheduled for July 15th. (I already have EVERY Alan Parsons album release in my collection … so I’ll be adding this one shortly!) kk
We tried several times and several different ways to get you this answer (including attempting to contact Sandy Posey herself!) but still came up empty … so I’m glad you finally got your answer.
Larry Butler worked for years as a crackerjack studio musician in Nashville, performing on hit records by Bobby Goldsboro, Conway Twitty, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and many others. (He even performed as part of Ronny and the Daytonas and The Gentrys in the ‘60’s … and played on Goldsboro’s #1 Hit “Honey.”) Other feathers in his cap include producing the hits “It’s Hard To Be Humble” for Mac Davis, Don McLean’s version of the Roy Orbison classic “Crying” and “Some Days Are Diamonds” by John Denver.
But where he REALLY made his mark was as Kenny Rogers’ producer in the ‘80’s, producing hit after hit after hit for the country and pop music superstar. (He was the guy calling the shots on virtually all of Rogers’ records from 1976 thru the late ‘80’s.) Sadly, he passed away ten years ago in 2012. (kk)
Could one of Charles Manson’s murderers actually be granted parole?
According to this article, Patricia Krenwinkel vividly described stabbing coffee heiress Abigail Folger to death the night of the Sharon Tate murders, only to take part in the murders of elderly couple The LaBiancas the following night, writing the words “Healter Skelter” (her misspelling, not mine) on the wall of their home.
Krenwinkel has been denied parole 14 times previously – but now, at the age of 74, may suddenly find herself pardoned for her actions after serving over fifty years in prison. (There are some who believe that the Manson-ordered slayings were so heinous that parole should NEVER be granted to anyone who participated in these savage slayings.)
Definitely some mixed emotions on this one …
She was a 20 year old, mixed up kid at the time … and is now a 74 year old woman who has spent her entire adult life behind bars. Is she rehabilitated? (She certainly can’t be the same person she was 54 years ago.) But what she and the others did during that rampage is unforgivable … so it’ll be interesting to see if somebody actually gets released after all this time. (kk)
From Chuck Buell ~~~
(For others like me, who may have missed this Historic Date)
You do doubt heard it was coming, or rather ending, but it’s now been Official since May 10, 2022 …
Apple has discontinued production of the last iPod model it still sells (while supplies last.)
The original iPod ~~~
introduced on October 23, 2001, for $399, was the first MP3 player to hold 1,000 songs with a 10-hour battery into an impressive, portable and hand-friendly 6 ½ ounce pocket unit.
AND, it came with earbuds all in a “moon gray” color.
For years, an extensive personally curated audio library of Forgotten Hits could be easily carried in a pocket with one’s favorite songs easily available wherever one might be whenever one might want to listen.
I still have my almost first-generation iPod that I still listen to from time to time today! I never bought an upgrade replacement. (It’s actually nearly as white as it was when it was new; the photo doesn’t do its color justice.)
Now for my on-the-go music desires, I just have to master this other pocket-size thing I have that takes photos, sends texts, receives emails and calls up any piece of information I need at a moment's notice.
Kent's told me that I can also make phone calls with it. Imagine that!
CB ( which stands for “Continue-on Boy!” )
One year for Christmas, Frannie and I decided to splurge and get each of the kids an iPod … they were $499 at the time (obviously, times were considerably better for me back then financially! … because SHE got one, too!) So we laid out $2500 on this still somewhat new gadget. (I have personally never owned one … but have investigated numerous times how I might be able to carry along MY music collection with me wherever I go and be able to call up ANY song at a moment’s notice … but even the geekiest member of Best Buy’s Geek Squad couldn’t offer me a solution to easily transport my four terabyte music collection! And I'm nowhere near done ... I haven’t even transferred everything over digitally yet!)
Joel Whitburn once told me that he had his entire collection on a series of iPods … and his has got to be one hundred times larger than mine!!! Amazing!
Vintage originals (and early upgrades that allowed you to store even more music) have always been a big resale item on eBay, usually fetching FAR more money than what a new 2021 model would set you back (offering far less capacity) – but then there’s also the risk of damage or them simply flat out not working anymore. (I would venture to say that NONE of those original five that we purchased back in the early 2000’s are still around today, much less functional and operational.)
Still, it was a great concept at the time.
(I have yet to move any music to my phone. I’m still popping CD’s in my car’s CD player and now, with a much longer ride to work, will typically listen to at least two complete CD’s per day during my commute. And then, of course, there’s also BlueTooth listening options, our usual radio stations and Sirius/XM to enjoy … so I am never at a shortage for tunes. Now if we could just get some of these stations to stop playing the same songs every single day!!!) kk
I have mentioned before that I am slowly (VERY slowly!) making my way thru the COMPLETE Bob Dylan album collection (in chronological order) … just finished up 1970’s “Self Portrait” LP … so it was nice to see Ultimate Classic Rock run this list of their favorite songs from each album. (Can’t say that I necessarily agree with them on many of the ones I’ve listened to so far … how does ANYTHING beat “Lay Lady Lay” from “Nashville Skyline,” for example???)
But it’s still an interesting take … and some other opinions to consider. (What I’ve found so far is how impressed I was by Dylan’s sense of humor on some of his earlier albums … not quite what I expected … and how extremely “rough” many of these cuts are … often just him accompanied by his guitar and harmonica … but I think that lends toward the overall charm of some of these early recordings.)
Some I’ve listened to three times thru … others, I couldn’t wait for them to end, perhaps liking a track or two, but that’s about it.
But having no real history or appreciation for Dylan’s music at the time, I thought it would be an interesting journey … in 50+ years’ hindsight … to see just how well some of this material holds up.
It could be a year (or more!) before I finish my journey … but this list will show you what Ultimate Classic Rock thinks of the best tracks on each of these LP’s …
Meanwhile, Billboard Magazine has ranked The Top 56 Movie Songs of All-Time …
But I stopped reading when I saw that classics like “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Jailhouse Rock” didn’t even make the list!!!
Seriously?!?!
I’m sure “Jailhouse Rock” was eliminated because it was released BEFORE they changed the name of their weekly chart to The Hot 100 … which is what has been distorting their published facts ever since …
But the opening chord alone from “A Hard Day’s Night” should have placed it near the top of the list. Has there ever been ANYTHING so immediately ear-catching???
Their criteria says it’s a countdown based on actual chart performance … so once again, anything from the past twenty years is going to FAR outweigh all that came before it since songs now stay on the chart for a year and a half.
But seriously, “Jailhouse Rock” topped their chart for seven weeks … “”Teddy Bear” (from “King Creole”) for seven weeks, “Love Me Tender” for five weeks … “A Hard Day’s Night,” which DID chart during The Hot 100 era, was #1 for two weeks … “Help!” for three and “Let It Be” and “The Long And Winding Road” for two weeks each ... yet NONE of these made the list.
Other early smashes like “Tammy” by Debbie Reynolds, “Love Letters In The Sand” and “April Love” by Pat Boone and “Rock Around The Clock” by Bill Haley and the Comets were also left off Billboard’s list.
What a shame that they are deliberately going out of their way to erase this key and critical part of rock and roll history. (kk)
Hold on …
Did I just read that Justin Timberlake sold his song catalog for $100 Million?!?!
How on earth is this possible?
And what about it could possibly make it worth this much?
This seems to be the new trend indeed … and vintage artists have found it to be a way to provide for their families for generations to come … but Justin Timberlake?
Now don’t get me wrong, we LOVE Justin … think he’s great … but what body of work has he produced that could justify such a financial decision?
There must be a WHOLE lot more to this story that I am picking up on! (kk)
Hey, Kids!
It’s the Forgotten Hits Space Patrol!
With Chuck Berry and Chuck Buell - Interplanetary Adventurers!
First in 1977, Chuck Berry joined a very elite group of Earthlings by having one of his most recognizable Forgotten Hit Songs, Johnny B. Goode,” blasted off into Space on a Special Gold Record aboard two spaceships, Voyager One and Voyager Two.
Now, in 2022, Chuck Buell will join another select group of Earthlings by having his Name included on a Select List of Names blasted off into Space on a Special Flash Drive aboard the Spaceship, Artemis One!
His Buell Boarding Pass Also Confirming Being Awarded One Million, Three Hundred Thousand Bonus Mileage Points!
Expected to take place in August, Orion and the Space Launch System will lift off for the first time from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida paving the way toward landing the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon.
Artemis One will be the first uncrewed flight test of the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft and the first in a series of complex missions to build a long-term human presence on the Moon for years to come. ( And, no doubt, providing an abundant source of Future Forgotten Hit Songs! ).
Meanwhile, here are some Notable Forgotten Hits Space Milestones;
1969 David “Major Tom” Bowie
1969 Creedence "Bad Moon Rising" Clearwater
1972 Elton “Rocket Man” John
1977 Chuck “First Space Gold Record” Berry
2022 Chuck “Space Cadet” Buell
What a Crew!
CB
Well, at least they got your title right! You just may be the biggest Space Cadet I know!!! (lol)
One more for fun ...
If you were a fan of the "Bosom Buddies" TV show, you'll love this clip put together by Adult Swim a few years ago ...
Bosom Buddies (Full Episode) | The Greatest Event | Adult Swim
And today's closing smiler …
OK, now THIS had to be a fun photo shoot!!! (Found it quite by accident while looking for those Ed Rudy Beatles interview discs we talked about on Sunday!)
Oops ... one more ...
Harvey Kubernik sent us this from David Leaf’s Facebook Page …
God Only Knows: The Story of Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys and the California Myth
David Leaf knows story-telling and music like few others.
He possesses the rarest kind of talent – he’ll shine a light on the great works of the past, while also creating new works of magic and soul himself.
--Cameron Crowe –
Award-winning writer / director of “Almost Famous,” “Jerry Maguire,” “Fast Times At Ridgemont High”
When I championed the first edition of this book in 1978 in the UK music weekly "Melody Maker," I wrote, “The definitive story. Probably the best book ever of any aspect of music history. A one of a kind effort, a new genre of journalism by going behind the scenes without sensationalizing.”
In our world, the sequel is almost never better than the original. But in the rock biography universe, David Leaf’s God Only Knows: The Story of Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys and the California Myth is akin to The Godfather Part II. In this massive update, Leaf reveals deeper truths about Mr. Wilson that make his adventures with Brian feel like a page-turning novel.
Author and music historian, Harvey Kubernik
I’ve got MY copy on order … can’t wait to see what he’s done with it.
In this 60th Year Anniversary of The Beach Boys, I find that I currently have FIVE items on pre-order with Amazon right now …
And FOUR of those five are Beach Boys related.
Look for our review of the Al
Jardine Family and Friends Show tomorrow in Forgotten Hits! (kk)
