Did you get a chance to listen to Phil Nee’s program Saturday Night?
As I was listening to the countdown of our 1972 favorites, it hit me like a thunderbolt when I realized that I left one of my VERY favorite songs from that year off my Top 40 List!
The minute I heard Phil play his #32 pick, “You Wear It Well” by Rod Stewart, I came to the realization that I had left “Stay With Me” by Faces off my list. (In fact, I jumped up to double check my Joel Whitburn Pop Annual book because I couldn’t believe that I missed it!) This song ABSOLUTELY would have made my Top Ten. (In fact, it’s funny because while listening to the show I came up with several instances where on that particular day, I liked THIS song more than I like THAT song … but when you put together a program like this, you have to go with your gut instinct at that exact moment of time … and this show was taped several weeks ago ... and our lists were chosen a month or two before that!)
A few others that may have deserved a little better ranking
from me would have to be “Go All The Way” by The Raspberries (I had it just
outside The Top Ten a #11 when it really should have been IN The Top Ten … but honestly, you can only have ten songs in your
Top Ten! Lol And I just late-added “Stay With Me” to that
exclusive club! So SOMEBODY's gotta end up at #11!)
“Day After Day” may have ranked a little bit higher, too, because boy, I sure loved this song when it first came out … played the heck out of it … and with Phil ranking these two tracks (“Go All The Way” and “Day After Day”) back-to-back as his two biggest favorites from ’72, this may have influenced me a little bit, too, to kick them both up a bit, once I saw the final standings.
But I stick by my picks because that’s exactly how I felt at the time that I picked them.
And since I can, I’m gonna feature Faces today as a “bonus countdown track” … because it definitely deserved a spot somewhere on that program! (kk)
From frequent Forgotten Hits Contributor Shelly Sweet-Tufano ...
A special Thank You to Herman’s Hermits starring Peter None …
I won't give it a full review. It was grand. It was glorious.
I am ever so thankful to Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone for presenting my hometown, Milford, CT, with a benefit concert for our family homeless shelter, Beth-El Center.
I have been involved with the shelter from an educator's stance and in providing Christmas presents for the children at times.
They traveled from Alexandra Bay, NY, to Milford and now are on the road to Derry, NH.
People do not always express their appreciation, but I want to do just that, right now.
THANK YOU, Peter, Vance, Rich, Billy and Dave!
From my heart, and from the "Small City with the Big Heart" we thank you for everything you did for our community last night.
The glowsticks were a thank you and a pay-back to my community.
Shelley J Sweet-Tufano
Peter Noone does a fair amount of charitable work each year (and always has.) It’s always low-key because that’s the way he likes it. He doesn’t do it for the attention … he just genuinely cares and has made quite an impact with those in need over the years … and his satisfaction comes in knowing that he helped … and that it made a difference. Pretty commendable traits, don’t you agree.
So while I’m sure he’ll find my comments today totally unnecessary (and perhaps even a little bit embarrassing), it IS nice to stop and say “Thank You” once in a while … as well as a hearty “We Appreciate You” every now and then.
So thank you for your letter today. Hopefully he’ll see it and feel a warm spot in his heart, even for just a moment, for this very minor bit of recognition for all he’s done. (kk)
So let me get this straight …
You put the lime in the coconut …
No wait …
Start over …
So let me get this straight …
Bob Dylan, who some might say (and many have) just may be the most prolific songwriter of our time, has a new book coming out on November 1st called “The Philosophy Of Modern Song” …
But in it, he salutes OTHER songs by OTHER songwriters, breaking them down to the most basic analysis …
According to the press release, "He analyzes what he calls the trap of easy rhymes, breaks down how the addition of a single syllable can diminish a song and even explains how bluegrass relates to heavy metal." (They also found his essays and analysis to be "mysterious and mercurial, poignant and profound, and often laugh-out-loud funny.”
The list of songs and artists that he profiles is really quite remarkable … there are 66 in all! (Many times it’s the artist most associated with the recording rather than the songwriter who created it that gets the spotlight) … you’ll find a partial list of titles below … and there’s not a Bob Dylan song on the list! (You’d think if Dylan was writing a book about songwriting, he’d use his own work as examples … and then get into the intricacies that distinguish a good song … and a remarkable one.)
Still there is something interesting and enticing about this whole concept.
“My Generation” (The Who), “Tutti Frutti” (Little Richard), “Poor Little Fool (Ricky Nelson), “Mack The Knife” and “Beyond The Sea” (Bobby Darin), “The Pretender” (Jackson Browne), "Detroit City" (Bobby Bare), "You Don’t Know Me" (Ray Charles), "Ball of Confusion" (The Temptations), "If You Don’t Know Me by Now" (Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes), "El Paso" (Marty Robbins), “You Don’t Know Me” and “I Got A Woman” (Ray Charles), "Truckin'" (The Grateful Dead), "Volare" (Domenico Modugno), "Your Cheatin' Heart" (Hank Williams), "Blue Bayou" (Roy Orbison), "Midnight Rider" (The Allman Brothers Band), "Blue Suede Shoes" (Carl Perkins), "My Prayer" (The Platters), "War" (Edwin Starr), "Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves" (Cher), "Witchy Woman" (Eagles), "Big Boss Man" (Jimmy Reed), "Long Tall Sally" (Little Richard), "Black Magic Woman" (Santana), "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" (Glen Campbell), "Come On-a My House" (Rosemary Clooney), "Don't Take Your Guns to Town" (Johnny Cash), "Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood" (Nina Simone), "Strangers in the Night" (Frank Sinatra), "Viva Las Vegas" (Elvis Presley) and many, many more.
And as much as I might like to READ this book … I’m might be equally tempted to LISTEN to it …
Check this out …
There will be a seven-hour audio book available, narrated by Dylan himself, as well as a host of others …
Jeff Bridges, Steve Buscemi, John Goodman, Oscar
Isaac, Helen Mirren, Rita Moreno, Sissy Spacek, Alfre Woodard, Jeffrey Wright
and Renee Zellweger have already recorded some of Bob’s interpretations for the
tapes! (kk)
Harvey Kubernik ran an EXCELLENT piece on the story behind the Johnny Cash smash “A Boy Named Sue” that we’d like to share.
It just goes to show you that sometimes even the biggest stars can’t always pick a winner. Any reluctance that Cash may have felt about recording the song was immediately proven unfounded as “A Boy Named Sue” went on to become the biggest hit of his career.
Check out the story behind the song … and the recording … and of Johnny’s first performance of the tune at San Quentin Prison in 1969 (where he literally had to read the lyrics off the paper up on stage to get thru it.) Wife June Carter Cash insisted he give the song a chance … she was SURE it could be a big hit for him … and then stashed the lyrics in his travel bag prior to his trip to San Quentin. (Be sure to watch the video, too, to see what we mean!)
“A Boy Named Sue” went to #2 on Billboard’s Pop Chart and stayed there for three weeks in September of ’69 (some 53 years ago this month) … and it topped the chart in Record World. (It DID reach #1 on Billboard’s Country Music Chart, where it remained for five weeks, the third of three consecutive #1 Records for Johnny on the Country Chart. (“Folsom Prison Blues” reached the top in 1968 and remained there for four weeks, followed in early 1969 by Cash’s version of “Daddy Sang Bass,” a Carl Perkins tune that ruled the roost for six weeks, and then “A Boy Named Sue,” #1 for another five. (Not a bad run for a guy who hadn’t had a #1 Hit since 1964’s “Understand Your Man” and 1963’s classic, “Ring Of Fire.”) “A Boy Named Sue” would go on to win Grammys that year for Country Song and Country Male Vocal … and was also voted CMA’s Single Of The Year. (kk)
https://bestclassicbands.com/johnny-cash-boy-named-sue-shel-silverstein-1-29-211/
