Last week, Ultimate Classic Rock picked "The 40 Best Summer Rock Songs" …
And you’ll find this list to be quite a bit different than the lists that we’ve been compiling for the past twenty years … although you WILL find a number of common titles on both lists. (“Summer In The City” has topped our chart EVERY time we’ve ever done a poll … it comes it at #2 on THEIR list, behind Don Henley’s “Boys Of Summer” … which finished at #18 on our 2020 list.)
Naturally, The Beach Boys have a strong presence on BOTH charts …
UCR places THREE Beach Boys tracks in their Top 40 … while you guys voted SEVEN to that berth in our latest poll. (“California Girls” was the highest ranked tune on both lists ... and actually “Kokomo” just missed The Top 40 on our list, coming in at #41 … so they ALMOST scored EIGHT Top 40 Summer Favorites here in Forgotten Hits … pretty impressive for the Official “Boys Of Summer,” now celebrating their 60th Anniversary!)
You can compare BOTH lists via the links below …
http://forgottenhits.com/your_top_200_all-time_summer_favorites_2020_poll
Here’s how you ranked ‘em ten years earlier …
http://forgottenhits.com/your_all-time_summer_favorites_2010_list
Speaking of The Beach Boys, you may enjoy this review of the recently released 3-CD/80-track “Songs Of Summer” hits collection. (Personally, I was a bit disappointed by some of the track selections … FAR better songs could have replaced a lot of this filler … but again, how many copies of this same material does one need to own?!?! Yeah, I know, look who’s talking … because sure enough, I went ahead and ordered it anyway … I just figured it be cool to have ALL of this music right there in the car whenever I wanted to hear it. But these newly remixed tracks, boasting the promise that “you’ll hear things you never heard before” ALSO fell short of my expectations.
I can single out maybe four or five tracks where there was enough of a difference to make me take notice. (My favorite? “Time To Get Alone” from “20/20.”) kk
And David Leaf’s revamped 2022 edition of what he’s now calling “God Only Knows: The Story of Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys & the California Myth” had its official release this past week in the UK. We’ll see our copies here in The States in September. (It’s really supposed to be quite remarkable!) kk
https://outsideleft.com/main.php?updateID=2292
Best Classic Bands is pushing for the release of The Beatles’ live performance at Budokan in 1966. (The concert was filmed and later shown on Japanese television … and has been a staple at the Fest For Beatles Fans ever since … but this material has never officially / legally been made available for public consumption.)
As I recall, The Fabs weren’t in particularly good shape that night on stage … and it became painfully obvious why they needed to stop touring … between the fatigue and the inability to reproduce the sounds they were making in the studio on stage, it had to be frustrating for them to try and perform at top level.
Some of the material was challenging and difficult at best …
“Paperback Writer,” live on stage??? “Yesterday” performed by the full band with electric guitars? “Nowhere Man” without the safety net of the studio to edit out any vocal flubs? It just wasn’t a very pretty picture.
Sure, we’d love to have it in enhanced sound and video … and actually, the film footage would probably be more appreciated at this point (but they just weren’t all that great musically that night.)
Anyway, here’s BCB’s push to get Giles Martin to clean up these tracks and get them out there for public consumption …
https://bestclassicbands.com/beatles-budokan-5-8-155/
Hi, Kent,
I've been following your blog for many moons. Thanx for that.
Just wondered why there are rarely, if any, mentions about Bob Dylan?
He's still going very strong and has quite a fan-base out there ... Not to mention his historic career.
His latest stunt was announced earlier in June, that being his groundbreaking method of selling his newly recorded songs, via Christie's Auction.
Timmy
Dylan’s name comes up from time to time in FH … you have to remember that usually, we’re just reacting or responding to what YOU guy want to talk about, so if nobody out there wants to talk Dylan, he's nowhere near as likely to come up in our pages. I will say that as recently as last year we ran a week-long, 6-Part Series … and naturally we’ve covered all of his news-making events. (Go into the search at the top of the site, upper left hand corner, type in Bob Dylan and you’ll be AMAZED by how many pages will pop up!)
Still, I have to agree with you that for the incredible impact he had on the music of the ‘60’s, one would think his name might pop up more often.
I personally never got into the Dylan vibe at the time … I just didn’t see the appeal … and his music didn’t touch me the way it did some people … but I am trying to make up for that lost time now by listening to EVERY album Bob Dylan ever made IN ORDER to try and get a feel for just what I may have missed. It’s a slow process … because again, even in hindsight only certain tracks really click with me … but I’m trying. (I can’t listen to a solid diet of Dylan … that’s just a bit too much for me … and I'm struggling a little bit to get through them, even at the early stage. I find that I can't wait for some of them to end ... and yet some others I’ve listened to two or three times now if I found something especially interesting and absorbing. I most recently finished the “Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid” soundtrack. (Not much of interest here, other than the beautiful “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” … but everybody already knows that one!!! Lol)
That being said, if you feel you’d like to write a piece on Dylan for the website, here’s our invitation to do so. We’re always looking for new material … especially if it allows us to take an extra day off every now and again! (kk)
Very cool Graceland story!
Paul
That Graceland story was like something out of a movie. The only thing better would be if the King came driving through and invited you in!
I just got back from a retro event where I played only vinyl. I have not dj'd with only vinyl since about 1986!
Phil Nee
From Harvey Kubernik …
With the ELVIS biopic now screening, I thought your readers would dig the reflections of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller on Elvis, the Beatles, Stones, and the Coasters.
HK
One of the best biographies I have read in recent years is the one spotlighting the careers of Leiber and Stoller, two of the music prolific songwriters of the rock era.
Harvey’s piece is 67 pages long (!) so FAR to long to run here …
But if you’d like a copy, drop me a note and I’ll send it off to you! (kk)
A lot of people seemed to really like the new Elvis movie. Not me.
We (4 of us) made it through only about an hour of the movie before deciding to walk out (we weren't the first people in the theater to do so, either).
It's only the second movie I've ever walked out on in my life. I can't remember what the first was.
I did not enjoy one minute of it. There were several inconsistencies that bothered me, and the camera angles changing every one to two seconds was an extreme turnoff (it made my wife feel carsick, even), and the sound of modernized music (and hip hop) was completely out of place.
I have no interest in seeing the rest of the movie. I'm thinking the family only approved of the movie for one rea$on. I may be the only one on here to say so, but I definitely do not recommend it.
Tom Diehl
Wow … certainly the most negative review I’ve seen. I think most Elvis fans will find a few things they don’t like about the film … but that overall, they seem pleased with the way it was done, even with the over-abundance of glitz and glamour ... so it was a bit surprising to read your comments. But everybody has to judge the film for themselves. (We’ve walked out of a few movies over the years ... but this wouldn't have been one of them. That being said, I’m just pleased that I managed to stay awake for the entirety of this one ... which hasn't always been the case for me of late!) kk
Speaking of new movies …
We talked about this one a few weeks ago … but with the new Minions movie out in theaters just in time for the 4th of July Weekend we can see how OUR music is about to reach a whole new audience of kids out there who will hopefully soon be singing along with some of the biggest hits of the ‘70’s and ‘60’s before too long. (And then just wait till it starts playing on cable!!!)
Check out this track list: Shining Star by Brittany Howard featuring Verdine White of Earth, Wind & Fire who, of course, did the original in 1975; Funkytown by St. Vincent; Hollywood Swinging by BROCKHAMPTON; Desafinado, the old Getz and Gilberto track, done up here by Kali Uchis; a couple of versions of Cher’s hit Bang Bang (one by Caroline Polachek and the other by G.E.M.); Fly Like an Eagle by Thundercat; Goodbye To Love by Phoebe Bridgers (this is the one that got me to order the soundtrack); Instant Karma by The Bleachers; You’re No Good by Weyes Blood; Dance To The Music by H.E.R.; Black Magic Woman by Tierra Whack; Born To Be Alive by Jackson Wang; Cecilia (sung by The Minions themselves) … and who can resist a good remake of the Jim Peterik / Ides Of March classic Vehicle, performed here by Gary Clark Jr.!
You can sample or listen to the whole soundtrack here:
Big Jay Sorensen has been whispering in our ear for the past couple of weeks about a brand new radio station launch that he’ll be involved with …
And now Pop Radio 77 is a reality!
Launching this past weekend, the station promises the best music of the ‘60’s, ‘70’s and ‘80’s, taking a fresh look and approach to this music.
You can check it out here: www.popradio77.com
Looks like lots of special programming is also being planned. (kk)
>>>Here is an interesting question ... What recording artist whose early death have you found to be the saddest? (kk)
What a excellent question. In terms of unrealized potential, I would say Jim Croce's death was the saddest. He had so much more to give. He was the "everyman" that people related to.
The most upsetting death, though, was John Lennon. I remember where I was when I heard the news. It was a loss of innocence. Never again would recording stars feel safe among fans without an army of bodyguards. And although they weren't as well known, the murders of Selena Quintanilla and Christina Grimmie by deranged "fans" were equally as sad.
Ed #1
Over the past several years we have lost countless musical heroes of our youth … but most of these deaths can be attributed to the natural course of things like age. That doesn’t make them hurt any less … or make us angry like the “stupid deaths” of artists like Michael Jackson and George Michael.
But in terms of lost potential … artists right at the cusp of showing who they were and might yet become … none were probably more tragic than the deaths of Buddy Holly and Jim Croce. (Holly in particular when you consider how many times his short list of songs have been covered by big name artists since his untimely death in 1959.)
In some cases, after the death of a major artist we’ve been treated to expansive box set releases of unreleased or unfinished material … my findings have been that a good portion of this material was unreleased for a reason.
Lennon’s death was shocking … George Harrison’s death was sad. The fact that three of The Monkees are now gone is very tough for me to deal with because they were such a huge part of my musical landscape growing up during my most impressionable years.
As I said originally, the list goes on and on … I could easily list at least fifty others that broke my heart in one fashion or another. (Plane crashes have taken a number of great artist from us … Rick Nelson has always been one of my all-time favorites … while drug-related deaths fall into that “stupid” category I talked about earlier. These guys had it all … and still threw it all away because it just wasn’t enough. Sad … but stupid.
We’re open to hearing about some of the others you folks feel made an impression on you … and we’ll run them from time to time in FH. (kk)
And check this out ...
After all these years, Sha Na Na’s complete Woodstock appearance is going to be available as both a new CD and DVD release.
Picture this …
At 7:30 am on Monday, August 18th, 1969, Sha Na Na (virtually unknown outside of New York City and, at the time, including our FH Buddy Henry Gross) took the stage right after The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and did their set of ‘50’s covers.
It was the most unexpected acts one could imagine playing to a half-asleep audience of drugged-out hippies spread out across the landscape of Yasgur’s Farm as far as the eye could see. (Although to be fair, by this point the festival was essentially over and the crowd had thinned to some degree … which makes it even more of a shame when one considers that the act to close the show was Jimi Hendrix. That’s right … right after Sha Na Na performed, Jimi Hendrix took the stage … and blew away what was left of the audience with his incredible performance of “The Star Spangled Banner” and an assortment of his hits!)
Oldies weren’t a thing yet in 1969 … Sha Na Na was truly breaking new ground with their camp approach to the music THEY grew up loving in the ‘50’s when rock and roll was brand new. It started a new wave on nostalgia that eventually earned them their own TV show, now to mention paving the way for movies like “American Graffiti” and TV shows like “Happy Days” … much less HUNDREDS of Oldies Radio Stations that suddenly sprung up playing the music of the pre-British Invasion. (That wave would come again later and now, as oldies radio has continued to evolved it’s the music that came BEFORE The Beatles that has essentially been eliminated from their playlists … and that’s a real shame as THIS is the music that inspired it all.)
Sha Na Na introduced me to a number of songs I missed growing up and, once again, I sought out the original versions of these hits because (as we have touted here more times than I could ever possibly count) I was completely hooked on this music the moment I heard it. (The “American Graffiti” soundtrack was a MAJOR add to my record collection.)
I remember sitting in the theater watching the “Woodstock” movie and totally cracking up at their performance of “At The Hop.” (Never in my wildest dreams in 1970 could I ever have imagined becoming good friends with one of the writers of that song, John Madara!)
It was just so COMPLETELY out of place in a film that included Ten Years After, Joe Cocker, The Who, Sly and the Family Stone, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Jimi Hendrix and so many other music heavyweights (“Heavy” being the key word here – lol)
Call it Comic Relief, but they won me over … I even went to see them in concert a couple of times over the years, both as an opening act and as a headliner. ALWAYS a good show. (Bowzer was NOT an original member of the group … he would come later and become their main spokesman.)
Much more on the new Sha Na Na release here …
If you’re a fan of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, this just might something that you have to have!!!
A 44-Disc (plus one vinyl LP) plus 144-page book spanning the complete collected works of The Four Seasons as well as all of Frankie’s solo recordings can be had for right around $425 … and what a MASSIVE set it is!!! (Probably a bit too much to expect for … or to fit in … my Christmas stocking!!!) kk
The lowdown: https://theseconddisc.com/2022/06/28/new-four-seasons-mega-box-will-have-you-swearin-to-god/
Where to order: https://burningshed.com/store/madfish/frankie-valli_four-seasons_working-our-way-back-to-you_boxset
Even though Mercury's promotion department never marketed New Colony Six music as competently as they should have -- elevating the band into the national Top 10 over and over and over -- the undeniable effectiveness of their records at painting timeless heartfelt portraits of human emotion we all can all relate to still stands. (Incredibly, only "Things I'd Like To Say" cracked the Top 20 of Billboard Magazine's weekly pop singles charts.) To that end, when programming various CD collections for Reader’s Digest direct mail marketing, I always liked to slip a New Colony Six track in between the obvious national hits I'd license for inclusion in those sets. (I did the same thing with The Cryan’ Shames' "Sugar and Spice," despite the fact that it peaked at #49 on Billboard's national hit parade.) Chart positions were a rough estimate of the potency of hit singles compared to whatever other 45s were out at that very same point in time. It's fascinating, though, how in the long run, some tracks which charted very high when they were new quickly, or over the decades, lost their luster. At the same time, other tracks which charted lower at the time have not only proven to retain endless appeal but have actually soared in stature. Today I'm still weaving some of those Chicagoland favorites into episodes of "The History of Rock 'n' Roll."
Gary Theroux
“The History of Rock 'n' Roll" (heard twice a week on Chicago's ME-TV-FM and syndicated worldwide)
44 years ago THIS WEEK, my brothers and I attended the Omaha ELO concert 1978. It was a GREAT concert … and so cool to see the spaceship open and band rise up ... NEVER saw anything like that show before!!!
Here’s a copy of the July 1, 1978 Lincoln article of concert we saw!
Of note, ten years later in 1988, ELO Co-Founder Bev Bevan wanted to record a new ELO LP (their last had been in 1986 with Calling America), but Jeff Lynne declined. Bev wanted to continue the band and record and tour with or without Lynne. Lynne and Bevan agreed Bev could NOT use the ELO name, BUT the new band would be called "Electric Light Orchestra Part II" and would feature new lead singer Eric Troyer. In a twist of fate, we watched Eric sing that night in 1978. He was the lead singer for opening act Trickster, mentioned in the article! ELOII went on to tour and record 2 LPs.
Space ship:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgJxzXjCLi0
A 1978 concert:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9GzrRLXP3Q
And today, you can catch Eric Troyer as part of The Orchestra, featuring former members of the various incarnations of The Electric Light Orchestra. They put on an absolutely AMAZING set of music honoring Jeff Lynne’s ELO. They’re part of next year’s Rock And Romance Cruise, which also feature John Lodge of The Moody Blues, Don Felder, formerly of The Eagles, The Hollies, The Bay City Rollers, Jefferson Starship, Rick Wakeman of Yes, Foghat, The Grass Roots, and many, many more.
More information can be found here: https://rockandromancecruise.com/lineup/the-orchestra-starring-former-members-of-elo/
I saw ELO when they landed the spaceship on the stage of The Chicago Stadium ... but I wanna say it was around 1975. Their opening act that night was a couple of guys whose recording career was just starting to take off. I remember ELO as being too loud to truly enjoy ... and I was already a pretty big fan by this point. But those OTHER guys put on a pretty good show. (By the way, their names were Daryl Hall and John Oates!) kk
UPDATE: I can't find ANYTHING to back this up! But I definitely remember this pairing. Could it have been '78? Then I found this poster of the two acts sharing the stage in neighboring Indiana ... but that was in 1981! So now I'm really confused!
I just know that it was one of two times that I saw Hall and Oates (the other time they were the headliners) ... and Frannie and I went to see Jeff Lynne's two most recent Chicagoland appearances over the past couple of years pre-Covid ... and they were OUTSTANDING! But this is going to bug me now about the proper timeframe ... as I swear Hall and Oates were virtually unknown that first time I saw them. (kk)
Another one of our favorites, Alan Parsons, underwent emergency spinal surgery last week but seems to be on the mend. He has a new album coming out in a couple of weeks but has pushed off his upcoming concert dates until November so that he can properly heal after surgery.
One of the tracks on the new LP features David Pack, former lead singer of the group Ambrosia, and writer of that band’s biggest hits, “How Much I Feel,” “Biggest Part Of Me” and “You’re The Only Woman.”
Parsons and Pack teamed up for a live performance video duet for that all-day “confined to home” concert at the onset of Covid. They performed The Beatles’ tune “Tell Me What You See” for that show. (Parsons, of course, worked on several Beatles sessions as an engineer … and can be seen up on the roof of their Apple offices in the “Get Back” film. He also produced tracks for Ambrosia in the early stages of the group’s recording career.)
But they ALSO performed their version of “If I Fell,” which has NOT been widely circulated … so that’s the one we’re featuring here today. (Don't these guys sound great together?!?!?) kk
David Pack sings “I Won’t Be Led Astray” on the new Alan Parsons album “From The New World,” which also features guitar virtuoso Joe Bonamassa on guitar. It was due to be released on July 15th … but I just heard that date has been pushed back a couple of weeks. (kk)
Tom Cuddy sent us this recent interview with Billy Joel from 60 Minutes Australia …
In the first part of the new 4-part Rolling Stones docu-series "My Life As A Rolling Stone," premiering August 7th on the Epix Network, Mick Jagger says that Keith Richards wasn't all that keen on "Satisfaction" when they first wrote and recorded it. (Of course, it would go on to be their first of many signature tunes ... and perhaps their biggest over the years.)
Jagger says that he and Richards wrote the tune in a motel room in Clearwater, Florida ... and The Stones' Manage Andrew Loog Odlham knew instantly that "this could be a #1 Hit." (kk)
When all else fails, ask the Colonel of Forgotten Hits.
I’m trying to decide which of the Record Research books will give me the best bang as far as info goes. Would it be the Pop Annual or the Top Pop Singles book?
I’m blind so just off the shelf they won’t help me, but if I buy my Wife lots of Truffles, she might be willing to help me out. <grin>
It’s hard to decide from the descriptions as they all sound wonderful.
Bill
I can attest that they are, in fact, wonderful … I couldn’t do what I do without them.
As for which might be most beneficial to you, I guess it really depends on how you’d like your information sorted.
The Top Pop Singles book lists every single ever to make Billboard’s Top/Hot 100 and “Bubbling Under” Chart, in chronological order by artist. The Pop Annual gives you essentially the same information (for Top 100 hits only) … but it’s organized by year and then peak position within that given year … so you almost need to know in advance what song you’re looking for in order to be able to find it. It is, however, a good ranking of music for any given year. (Essentially, you’d really need both … Top Pop Singles to find the song and artist you’re looking for and the Pop Annual to see where that specific song finished in relationship to all of the other songs released that year.)
MY favorite book is the Chart Comparison book because it lists, side by side (also arrange by artists and then that artist’s hits in chronological order) how these songs performed in all three major trade publications at the time.
The three books combined might set you back $300 once you add in shipping costs and such … but they have proven invaluable to me for the past 50+ years. (kk)
Speaking of music surveys and chart information, longtime FH Reader Jack Levin is making this special offer to Forgotten Hits Readers as he prepares to clean out his collection of “overstocks” on WLS and WCFL surveys …
Kent -
When it comes to surveys, I have come to the reality that, even at giveaway prices, I am never going to get rid of 100 copies (or more) of the same survey for a given week … yet as my health deteriorates, I have few options … so I am making this offer for my extras only.
If you make it worth my while, I will sell my 10,000 extras for as little as a dollar each. It's mainly WLS & WCFL, but there are other stations, too. There is no list to be had, although I can say that complete years of WCFL, 1971-75, are available, and I think WLS 1978-79 as well. On some years, I may be missing just a couple weeks.
This is not an “all or nothing” deal. If somebody would like to come down and make the drive and pick and choose the ones they want … or they can send me their want lists and I'll just add the shipping costs. (Just know it's not cost effective to mail one survey, for one dollar, plus shipping ... so please gang your orders to fill the gaps in your own collections to make this worthwhile for both of us.) And also, please keep in mind that I will hold nothing for anyone. This must be a solid order and complete transaction.
This quite a collection of radio station surveys accumulated over many, many years … and they need to go to a good home. (Surveys from my private stash are a different story.)
This deal is for readers of FH only. At some point I'll list them on eBay and on FB, but you guys get first dibs.
Jack
If you’re interested in making a bulk purchase, you can contact Jack directly at
rockandrollneverforgets@yahoo.com (kk)
FH Reader Mike Wolstein tells us that Bill Withers would have turned 84 years old on The 4th of July ...
And then sent us this ...
WOW!
This week’s Wow Factor songs … and where we heard them …
KEEP ON RUNNIN' - The Spencer Davis Group (on "Jerry and Marge Go Large")
IN-A-GADDA-DA-VIDA - Iron Butterfly (Sirius XM’s ‘60’s Gold …
And I THINK it was on Peter Noone’s show!!!)
SPEEDY GONZALES – Pat Boone (on an episode of DARK WINDS – AMC)
and SEASON OF THE WITCH by Donovan (THREE TIMES last week - after not hearing it since forever!!!)
