Chuck Buell digs deep into his personal archives to share with us his Rare Historical copy of this 23-year-old Chicago Newspaper!
Because this year's FHs anniversary is on a Saturday, Forgotten Hits World Headquarters will be "Partying Like It's 1999!"
( Some may have to do the math to get this reference. )
So, Kent, to you ~~~~~ !
CB ( which stands for "Circulation Boy!" )
And I don't know what to do with this information other than pass it along to you.
I just learned tonight that the Rockette that has been with the show the longest has been dancin' for 23 Seasons!
So she first started kickin' up her legs about the same time you've started kickin' up the oldies!
CB
Well, as you saw on your recent visit here, Kent Kotal and Forgotten Hits are pretty well loved and revered here in Chicago ...
Kent,
Congratulations on your 23rd anniversary. I know you started with 35 peeps. What was the latest number the blog has gone over? I know it's a big number.
Again, congrats,
Glen
Glen Fisher
Doo Wop Revival
Once the website started (2008), we pretty much did away with the regular mailing list. (It had gotten so large that even with an AOL Bulk Mail Account that allowed us to email up to 500 people at a time) we were having to send out up to sixteen mailings a day at one point, just to remind people to check the site.
Nowadays, we only send out about 800 reminders to the folks who have asked us to keep them on our “send it all” list when something special goes up on the site … and even at that, we only do this once or twice a month at most … it just got WAY too out of hand trying to keep up … not to mention all the bounce backs we’d receive because email accounts were either over-quota or folks were no longer using that particular account. (To send out an email reminder as a service and then get 200 bounce backs just wasn’t worth all the effort!!!)
So today we just tell people to check the site regularly (incredibly, we still publish something nearly every single day … or at least several times a week) … and then have to trust that folks will go there on their own without any kind of reminder from us. As of this morning, we are closing in on 6,320,000 views … so, thankfully, folks are still going, even after all these years! (kk)
And new people are discovering it all the time …
As attested by the following email …
kk,
I was part of the back-up band for the Sonny Geraci Benefit in Streetsboro, OH. It was such an honor to be a part! I owe many thanks to Dennis Tufano for inviting me! Those two days were definitely two of the most memorable performances of my musical career.
To be a part of being on stage again with many old friends and new ones was such a thrill! To see the love shared by all the performers made me so proud of a musical era that I am so blessed and proud to be a part of! I’m not sure today’s rock n rollers have the same compassion we feel for each other. I hope so.
As for me, I will always be available when asked to a part of any benefits that need me.
Kindest regards,
Steve Jarrell
GREAT to hear from you, Steve!
What a shame such a special event had to be marred by somebody’s greed and lack of compassion for the very nature of the event.
What we find is that even now, all these years later, people will randomly search for virtually ANY topic of interest and, if at any point in the past 23 years we happened to cover it in Forgotten Hits, a link to our site will pop up and new folks will discover what we do every single day.
And yet earlier in the week we got an email from our old buddy Mike Wolstein who said he was talking up Forgotten Hits at the last Chicagoland Record Convention and NOBODY there had a clue what he was talking about … and that’ right here at home!
I guess until you happen across us on your own, we’re still oldies music’s best kept secret.
So what we’re going to ask everybody to do, in honor of our 23rd Anniversary, is to once again help to spread the word but contacting people who you just KNOW would love reading Forgotten Hits.
If they’re oldies aficionados, music fans, radio fans … whatever …
If you think they would dig what we do here, let them know about us … friends, family, folks on your own social media sites …
Let’s do one last big blast to get the word out there (and maybe we’ll pass the 7,000,000 readers mark next year!!!)
Thanks, folks … we’re counting on you to get the word out! (kk)
Irene Cara, who enjoyed three Top Ten Hits in the early ‘80’s (including the #1 smash “Flashdance … What A Feeling,” which topped Billboard’s Hot 100 Pop Singles Chart for six weeks in 1983) passed away this weekend at the age of 63. “Flashdance” also won an Oscar for Best Song that year, as did her #4 hit version of “Fame” (from the film of the same name) three years earlier. (Cara also starred in the film.)
Paul Haney of Record Research sent us this first-hand memory of Irene Cara ...
Kent:
In June of 1995 I produced a dance concert for NYC radio station WPLJ at the Theatre of Madison Square Garden.
Irene
Cara was featured on the bill, along with Vickie Sue Robinson, Tavares,
Rose Royce, Alicia Bridges, and our headliner: the Village People.
It
wasn’t a touring show. It was a one night only special salute to disco
and I wanted to track down one or two acts who seldom played NYC.
The
mission was accomplished with Alicia Bridges and Irene Cara. I’m not
aware of either artist playing NYC again after this engagement.
The
concert sold out so fast that we added a second show the following
night with all the same artists. 5,700 attendees each night.
At the time, Irene was not on tour and it was challenging to track down who represented her.
Once she agreed to return to her hometown and perform three songs at each show, she was a delight to deal with.
I found her to be on the shy side until you got to know her.
Without
any technical enhancement, her voice at the PLJ concerts was
incredible. She hadn’t lost any of her vocal quality or power.
- Tom Cuddy
Two totally contrasting personality profiles! (lol) I love it!
There is no question Irene was a very talented artist ... and the fans loved her!
Saw this posted from Jennifer Beals, who starred in the movie "Flashdance" ...
Thank you, brilliant Irene, for your open heart and your fearless triple threat talent. It took a beautiful dreamer to write and perform the soundtracks for those who dare to dream.
Jennifer Beals
Happy Birthday, Tina Turner!
It's always a bit difficult to describe what it was like hearing and witnessing the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in the sixties around Southern California, and then seeing Tina on stage in the seventies and eighties.
I will always fondly remember interviewing Tina in 1975 for "Melody Maker" at Bolic Sound studio in Inglewood, and having dinner with her at Chasens restaurant afterwards.
In the late seventies, David Bowie and Rod Stewart complimented me on this piece when I interviewed them, and both of these gents later played instrumental parts in her career renaissance. Tina: I will always remember your words, "it's not really about coming back. It's about a continuation."
My last glimpse of Tina was probably 20 years ago. She was visiting family locally, flew in from Switzerland, and made a stop at my cousin Shelia's beauty and cosmetics store in Encino. Tina stayed in a car while one of her sons picked up some supplies. She looked regal parked on a curb on Ventura Blvd. I felt no need to re-introduce myself. My friend Heidi said "to look at it as a wink."
Happy birthday to the public dancer.
I've received many kudos from this multi-voice narrative story I did on the duo and Tina's solo career. So thought I would share it.
https://www.musicconnection.com/kubernik-tina-turner-documentary
Harvey Kubernik
Our FH Buddy Bob Lind celebrated his 80th birthday this past Friday (the 25th) – Happy Birthday, Bob! (kk)
Bob Dylan made what can only be described as a lame excuse for not signing the books Simon and Schuster were selling at a premium (and are now having to refund full payment on for misrepresenting the fact that these are NOT authentically signed copies!)
Deep down inside, I was hoping that Dylan was unaware of what was going on … but the world-class poet instead said that he was in on the decision to use an autopen signature instead of his own as, due to vertigo, he found it impossible to sign the 900 copies he committed to … even with the help of five able-bodied assistants at his disposal. (Seriously … you had a frickin’ year to sign these things … if you only signed three a day you could have held up your part of the agreement and looked like a king. Got a bad day here in there in the mix? Fine, don’t sign any that day. Got a particularly GOOD day in the mix? Excellent … sign a dozen … 25 … 50 … whatever … to stay ahead of the demand. But to say that you couldn’t sign ANY is just ludicrous!)
In an official statement, Dylan essentially said that he had made “an error in judgment” in using machine technology to affix duplicate signatures to artwork and books that were advertised and sold as hand-signed over the past three years.
He says the use of autopen signatures only occurred since 2019, when he was afflicted with a case of vertigo, and the practice went on through the pandemic, when he was not able to have staff assist him with the hand-signing he had previously done. Dylan says that he was given “the assurance that this kind of thing is done ‘all the time’ in the art and literary worlds.” Now that all of this has come to light, the singer-songwriter-poet says, “I want to rectify it immediately. I’m working with Simon & Schuster and my gallery partners to do just that.”
Dylan’s official statement reads as follows:
“To my fans and followers,
"I’ve been made aware that there’s some controversy about signatures on some of my recent artwork prints and on a limited edition of ‘Philosophy Of Modern Song.’ I’ve hand-signed each and every art print over the years, and there’s never been a problem.
“However, in 2019 I had a bad case of vertigo and it continued into the pandemic years. It takes a crew of five working in close quarters with me to help enable these signing sessions, and we could not find a safe and workable way to complete what I needed to do while the virus was raging. So, during the pandemic, it was impossible to sign anything and the vertigo didn’t help. With contractual deadlines looming, the idea of using an auto-pen was suggested to me, along with the assurance that this kind of thing is done ‘all the time’ in the art and literary worlds.
“Using a machine was an error in judgment and I want to rectify it immediately. I’m working with Simon & Schuster and my gallery partners to do just that.
"With my deepest regrets, Bob Dylan.”
I couldn’t have afforded a hand-signed edition anyway … and Dylan’s work just never meant enough to me to even consider it … although I do believe his new book is VERY interesting and very well done … and I am curious enough to want to read it (albeit in the more traditional “over the counter” edition! Lol)
After selling the rights to his music catalog a couple of years ago, Dylan is set for life … and for many generations to come … so it’s not like he needed the extra money by selling limited edition, signed copies (at $600 a pop!)
Then again, never underestimate a millionaire rock star …
Paul McCartney just sold out of his limited edition solo singles box sets … and Ringo Starr is now marketing signed, life-size bronze and stainless steel statues of his hand flashing the peace signal for $2000 - $5000 …
And let’s not forget concert tickets to see The Boss for five thousand bucks, too!!!
Here is Variety’s take on the whole Dylan book controversy …
Kent,
I enjoyed Phil Nee's talk with David Gates. Always did like LET YOUR LOVE GO. One of the earlier records by him I have is his 1959 SWINGIN' BABY DOLL on East West Records.
And I almost forgot about the song MY ONE AND ONLY JIMMY BOY he wrote for the Girlfriends in 1963 (Colpix). I liked that one as well.
Larry
This one sneaked into Music Vendor’s Top 40 in early 1964, peaking at #39. (It placed ten spots lower in Billboard … and way down at #77 in Cash Box.)
David also mentioned up his follow-up release with The Murmaids in 1964. It was a tune called “Heartbreak Ahead” and once again fared better in Music Vendor than it did elsewhere, reaching #96. (It bubbled under in both Cash Box - #110 – and Billboard - #116.)
“Popsicles And Icicles” was also a #1 Record in Music Vendor, peaking at only #3 in Cash Box and Billboard … so they were definitely looking at these records’ success from a different perspective.
Still, it’s been awhile since we did a full-blown Girls Group Feature … so here’s a rare double-feature for you! (kk)
Great interview with David Gates. Thanks to Phil Nee for all the great interviews he has been presenting throughout the past year. I’ll miss them.
Ted
David Gates and Bread have always been amongst my all-time favorites … so I was VERY proud to run this week’s clips.
To think that these guys … on a reunion tour no less! … were having so much fun together again that they would actually head on down to the bar after their show and play a few more songs for their fans says a lot about what great guys they really were.
Sadly, Gates is the only one remaining at this time … and he’s long since been retired … but he sure left us with a great legacy of music to cherish. (kk)
Dick Clark would have been 93 this coming Wednesday,
November 30th.
Mike Wolstein
And how wild is this ...
FH Reader Tom Cuddy sent us these great American Bandstand clips starring Neil Sedaka and Freddy Cannon …
Tom also shares these incredible chart milestones …
Bruce Springsteen and Elton John's Latest Chart Feats: Ask Billboard
https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/bruce-springsteen-elton-john-ask-billboard-1235176492/
Kent,
In today's FH, you mentioned you co-wrote a song called NICKELODEON on Cash Records. Was this the same Cash records that Dickie Goodman made JAWS (1975) on and I believe out of New Jersey
Larry
Actually, yes, it was - and they had a local studio here in Chicago as well run by a Group of guys out of Nashville. In fact, they had a framed gold record of the Dickie Goodman hit proudly displayed on their wall. (Mr. Jaws went to #1 here in Chicago!) kk
That's interesting to hear. You also mentioned you dropped Brenda Lee's THANKS A LOT at the last minute because you didn't know how many people would have remembered it. Kent, don't under-estimate your readers.(and I know you don't). I am going to go out on a limb and say that the majority of your readers would have remembered it or maybe just rang a bell with them. Now, I could be wrong. You also mentioned you didn't have a copy of the song(record) you made I am assuming on vinyl. I know of at least one local recording artist and or group here in the OKC area that made at least one record that got air play but for some reason do not have a copy of said record.Sometimes that boggles my mind. I know if I had made a record either individually or with a group, I'd have at least one copy of it.
Larry
I don’t have a physical copy of the record … but somewhere buried in the garage I have a reel-to-reel tape of the original demo I made of the song (just me on the piano), followed by the record release (by, I believe, The Lendrian or Lendrien Sisters … which I thought was about the WORST possible name they could have come up with, since it was so close to The Lennon Sisters … but I cannot help but wonder, in hindsight, if perhaps that was the strategy all along, since the song itself reckoned back to that 1920’s era sound), followed by my OWN version of the song, which we took to Nashville in 1976, trying to see if we might be able to interest a record company there in either releasing it or having me record it myself. (Needless to say, NONE of this ever happened … but I DO still feel a certain fondness for the song, even after all this time. My cowriter, Mike Votava, a VERY close high school friend, passed away quite unexpectedly a few years ago … he would have really gotten a kick out of the fact that we were still talking about this tune, written in 1972!, all these years later!)
I’m just going to have to find a way to dig this thing out, burn an MP3 and play it for you all … because now I want to hear it again, too! (lol)
Meanwhile, here’s Brenda Lee’s 1965 mini-hit, “Thanks A Lot.” (kk)
And finally, from Harvey Kubernik ...
In the Chicago region ... on Huntley Radio ... Harvey Kubernik discusses the "Jimi Hendrix:Voodoo Child" book on the Jim Summaria and Mark Plotnick-hosted radio program and podcast "That Classic Rock Show."
