Rascals Drummer Dino Danelli passed away on Thursday, December 15th.
He had not been well for a while …
Felix Cavaliere disclosed a few months ago that he had first approached Dino about joining him and original Rascals Guitarist Gene Cornish for a 2023 tour. (Singer Eddie Brigati had no interest in reuniting … and Dino declined for health reasons.)
Sadly, a full Rascals reunion will never happen again now that Dino is gone … all the more reason we’re thankful to have seen their “Once Upon A Dream” show a few years ago.
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2013/11/forgotten-hits-reviews-rascals-and-once.html
The Rascals ran up a string of sixteen Top 40 Hits between 1966 and 1970, including three #1 records (“Good Lovin’,” 1966, “Groovin’,” 1967 and “People Got To Be Free,” 1968.) “A Girl Like You,” “How Can I Be Sure” and “A Beautiful Morning” also made The National Top Five.
Dino Danelli was quite the showman on stage, in a group most often cited for their unique brand of blue-eyed soul. It truly is the end of an era. (kk)
The day that Dino Danelli died, Harvey Kubernik sent us this excerpt from an interview he did with Dino in 2012, after The Rascals’ “Once Upon A Dream” stage show began. Because we had other post commitments, we haven’t been able to address this sad news until today, by which time Best Classic Bands took Harvey’s story and weaved it into a fitting tribute piece, which we are happy to share here today:
https://bestclassicbands.com/dino-danelli-interview-rascals-12-16-22/
Here is the original obituary they ran on Thursday after the story broke:
https://bestclassicbands.com/dino-danelli-rascals-obituary-12-15-22/
And, from Dino’s former band mates, Gene Cornish and Felix Cavaliere …
It is with a broken heart that I must tell you of the passing of Dino Danelli.
He was my brother and the greatest drummer I’ve ever seen. I am devastated at this moment.
Rest In Peace, Dino …
I love you brother.
Gene Cornish
We received word that we lost Dino Dinelli today. My mind is flooding with memories of his talent, humor, friendship and commitment to the music that he loved. It’s fitting that Dino played drums – he moved to the beat of his own drum. Still, he was the strongest beat for The Rascals. His artistry as a painter captured that same zest for life and rock and roll attitude.
I will miss him dearly.
Rest in peace, my brother.
Felix Cavaliere
And here's a photo of Dino Danelli taken by FH Reader Stuart Hersh at Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun in 2013
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Best Classic Bands also just ran a list of the 50 Biggest Selling Rock Albums of All-Time, including accumulated sales thru the end of 2022.
You’ll find a few surprises on this list, for sure … but the stats don’t lie.
The Eagles hold down two of the top three spots on the list. (Only Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” just re-released as part of a 40th Anniversary campaign, stands between the original Eagles’ Greatest Hits album from 1976 (with 38 million copies sold) and their most popular, “Hotel California” (#3 with 26 million copies sold.)
“Thriller” and “The Eagles’ Greatest Hits” have kind of teeter-tattered the top position a number of times over the past couple of decades … with The Eagles coming up on top (for now anyway!) with about four more million copies sold than “Thriller.” (The anniversary reissue WILL count toward the album’s total sales, however.)
Mega acts like The Beatles and Led Zeppelin have multiple titles listed (with four and three respectively) but The Beatles’ sales numbers are a bit deceiving … THREE of those for albums were two-record sets, which earned credit for TWO sales for each set sold. “Abbey Road” made the cut (with what sounds like a disappointing twelve million copies sold) while their landmark LP, “Sgt. Pepper,” didn’t make the list at all.
Garth Brooks’ stats may surprise you … he has two titles listed (at #13 and #30)
Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” (which topped the pop charts for 31 weeks) came in at #11 with twenty million copies sold … while The Monkees don’t appear on the list at all (despite FOUR #1 LPs) … yet The Backstreet Boys do … TWICE!!!
You can check out the complete list here:
https://bestclassicbands.com/biggest-us-albums-all-time-sales-2-4-211/
And, speaking of The Eagles, incredibly, they have just now FINALLY started their own YouTube Channel!!!
In the past, one of the biggest bands in rock history policed YouTube relentlessly, ordering down any and all videos that might have popped up from time to time. This even included much of their solo work.
But now, a new channel exists, monitored by them … and they kicked it off by posting eight videos to launch their new network. (More to follow, I’m sure)
I remember when I was putting together the posting for THE TOP 3333 MOST ESSENTIAL CLASSIC ROCK SONGS OF ALL TIME a few years ago, we tried to illustrate a number of these titles with videos … and The Eagles (and Don Henley) were noticeably “off limits.” Cool to see that they are FINALLY sharing their work with all their fans out there. (The “Hotel California” video had over a million views within the first four days of being posted!!!)
Also posted are videos for “Take It Easy,” “I Can’t Tell You Why,” “Hole In The World,” “In The City,” “How Long,” “No More Cloudy Days” and “Busy Being Fabulous.” (kk)
Congratulations to Tommy Roe. He just keeps rollin’ along and I love it!
Paul Evans
Thanks for all the Beach Boys stuff you’ve posted lately –
It’s been great!
Spud
And how about this …
Most Beach Boys fans (and Three Dog Night fans) already know that before they were calling themselves Three Dog Night, Danny Hutton, Chuck Negron and Cory Wells had a band called Redwood and Danny, being a long-time friend and associate of Brian Wilson, was working with Brian on picking some new material to help get the band noticed.
Brian, being Brian, just wrote a couple of songs for them himself … and all of a sudden, the totally unknown Redwood were in the studio recording their versions of Wilson’s “Time To Get Alone” and “Darlin’,” two songs that would ultimately be released by The Beach Boys themselves when the other band members pitched a fit about Brian giving away good songs to another band. (The idea at the time was to sign Redwood to their Brother Records label, much as they had done with The Flame.) “Time To Get Alone” wound up on The Beach Boys’ “20/20” album … while “Darlin’” became a Top 20 Single for the band in 1968. (#10 in Cash Box)
Redwood found themselves without a contract, a label or a song … and kicked around for another year before they became recognized (and world famous) as Three Dog Night, arguably the most popular band on the planet from about 1969 – 1974. (They made their career by recording songs by relatively unknown songwriters and turning them into monster hits.)
While Redwood’s version of “Time To Get Alone” ended up on a couple of different greatest hits collections, their version of “Darlin’” has never really seen the light of day as a commercial release.
That’s why it was so cool that The Beach Boys (who basically took the song away from them!) invited them to perform on their 25th Anniversary television special! (OMG, can you believe that was already 35 years ago?!?!?)
Sadly, by this point Three Dog Night was down to just a duo, with Chuck Negron left on the outside looking in … but Danny and Cory do a VERY respectable job on this track nonetheless. You can check it out below! (kk)
And once again David Leaf’s book has reminded us of another great video …
I remember running this on the site when it was first released …
But had forgotten all about it until reading Leaf’s book.
Beautifully done, please enjoy the BBC’s tribute to Brian Wilson’s “God Only Knows” …
>>>And we've been seeing "Because Of You" by Kracker on the last several charts we've run, too. That's one I'm not familiar with ... it "bubbled under" in both Billboard and Cash Box but reached #72 in Record World. The record wasn't played here in Chicago ... but I was curious enough about it to check it out ... and share it with all of you today. (kk)
Kent,
The song by Kracker “Because of You (The Sun Don’t Set)” was played in Chicago on WBBM-FM. It’s a great song and should have charted higher. You posted the album version, which is a little over 4 minutes. The 45 was edited to 3:29. By the way, ‘BBM-FM also played another single from them called “A Song for Polly,” which was on their next album. They would announce that Kracker is a Chicago group. They were on ABC-Dunhill. Both of these track are on my iPod to this day … thanks to ‘BBM-FM for playing them!
Mike Hartman
From Wikipedia:
The band was originally formed in South Florida in 1970, but moved to Chicago in April, 1971, where they were introduced to producer Jimmy Miller. With Miller, they recorded their first album, La Familia, which was released on ABC Dunhill in 1972. The single Because of You (The Sun Don't Set) reached number 104 on the Billboard Bubbling Under chart; it would be their only charted single. Their second album, Kracker Brand, was produced and released the next year on ABC Dunhill.
Hi Kent –
So as 2022 wraps, so will your weekly posts of the 1972 music surveys. Thanks for doing that. What's on tap for 2023? I know 1973 isn't your fave year for Top 40 tunes (unless the recent LAFOS made you a convert.)
About that Maryland WINX survey ... I was surprised to see The Guild's "What Am I Gonna Do" plunked right smack dab in the middle of the chart as a "Pick" … Weird.
But it's a great Elektra 45 and I was thisclose to featuring it on this week's December, 1972 Lost And Found Oldies Show: LAFOS's Shows | Mixcloud See what DID make the cut, which features only seven records from the WINX chart ... but NOT Kracker. Nor Dottie West, for that matter. Never heard that one.
PS - I loved that new Tommy Roe song you posted AND the 30+ weeks at #1 from Billboard was fascinating. It's features like those that keep me coming back to FH.
Sam Tallerico, LAFOS
Kent,
After reading (and even before I got through reading) Chuck Buell’s Wednesday's FH post on Cat Herding, I thought of three records: Petula Clark's THE CAT IN THE WINDOW, Gale Garnett's THE CATS I KNOW (1967), a big record here in the OKC and Norma Tanega's WALKING MY CAT NAMED DOG.
Larry
That’s the cool thing about music … it always inspires you to dig a little deeper.
Now as Elvis might say, Go, Cat, Go!!! (kk)
And, speaking of Elvis ...
Kent,
Saturday's FH interview reminded me of when I was a kid, one day at the breakfast table we had our radio on as usual. They came out of a break with Carl Perkins’ BLUE SUEDE SHOES. My dad asked me who was singing that song and I replied “Carl Perkins.” He asked me again who was singing it and I again replied, “Carl Perkins.” Then my mother asked me in somewhat a higher voice level, "Larry, who's singing that song?" Again, I replied, “Carl Perkins.” Then my dad looked at me somewhat sternly and again asked me who was singing that song. I somewhat meekly replied again, “Carl Perkins.” At that time the song ended and the DJ on the air said “That was Carl Perkins doing BLUE SUEDE SHOES.” My parents immediately became quiet. You see, they thought it was Elvis singing the song.
Larry Neal
>>>And, finally, after a little more digging, I have found that "A Letter To Mom" was a track on Biondi's "Teenagers" album, issued in 1963 - all the more reason for me to think that Minuteman Records just reissued this track as a single trying to cash in on the success of the Victor Lundberg record. (In the "Notes" section after this LP listing it says: "Legendary disc-jockey Dick Biondi recorded this album in 1963 in Nashville between his jobs at WLS radio in Chicago and KRLA in Los Angeles. Recording engineer: Billy Sherrill, Piano - Ray Stevens (yes, THAT Ray Stevens!), Guitar - Wayne Moss, Drums - Ken Buttrey) kk
Kent –
All those guys were well-known in Nashville as some of the best studio guys around. I'm friends with Wayne Moss and am reaching out to him to see what he remembers about this. Wayne invented and played the signature riff on Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman" which was subsequently "copied" on "Day Tripper." The similarities can't be missed: Roy was touring the UK and close to the Fab Four.
David Lewis
The titans of American classic rock ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd have announced their first co-headlining tour – The Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour – taking over twenty-two cities in North America this summer. Produced by Live Nation, the tour kicks off on Friday, July 21st at iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, FL, and continues with stops in Fort Worth, Phoenix, Chicago, and more before wrapping up in Camden, NJ at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion on Sunday, September 17th.
TICKETS: Tickets go on sale starting Friday, December 16th at 10 am local time on LiveNation.com
LYNYRD SKYNYRD & ZZ TOP:
THE SHARP DRESSED SIMPLE MAN TOUR DATES:
Fri Jul 21 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
Sun Jul 23 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
Fri Jul 28 – Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP
Sat Jul 29 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena
Sun Jul 30 – Woodlands, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman
Mon Aug 7 – Denver, CO – Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre*
Thu Aug 10 – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre
Fri Aug 11 – Wheatland, CA – Toyota Amphitheatre
Sun Aug 13 – Phoenix, AZ – Ak-Chin Pavilion
Thu Aug 17 – Maryland Heights, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre - St. Louis, MO
Sat Aug 19 – Tinley Park, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre - Chicago, IL
Sun Aug 20 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
Fri Aug 25 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
Sat Aug 26 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
Sun Aug 27 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
Fri Sep 01 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
Sat Sep 02 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion
Sun Sep 03 – Burgettstown, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake
Fri Sep 08 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Sat Sep 09 – Hershey, PA – Hersheypark Stadium
Sun Sep 10 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
Fri Sep 15 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
Sun Sep 17 – Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
*Not A Live Nation Date
Uncle Kracker will also be on the bill for this eight week tour.
Tickets are on sale now. (kk)
FH Reader Mike Gentry sent us this …
News of the recent surge of influenza made me think of Roger Miller's 1964 album track, "Lou's Got The Flu." His Mercury Records' Smash label debut, ROGER AND OUT, won the Best Country Album Grammy for that year. It also yielded the top ten hit singles, "Dang Me" and "Chug-A-Lug," making Miller an unlikely cross-over pop star, despite it being the year of the British Invasion.
Miller and his musical mentor,
Sheb Wooley, both grew up in the small Oklahoma town of Erick, very near the Texas
Panhandle. Wooley, fifteen years his senior, was married to Miller's cousin
Melva. Wooley started giving an eleven year old Roger Miller guitar lessons,
bought him a fiddle, and possibly instilled him with a wacky sense of humor,
too. In 1958, Wooley would reach number one on pop charts with his silly UFO
spoof novelty hit, "The Purple Purple Eater," one of MGM Records'
biggest singles ever with over three million copies sold. In addition to
supporting actor roles in films and tv, he stayed relevant well into the
Sixties doing parodies of current country hits as his alter ego, Ben Colder, an
inebriated goofball character, even making the pop charts. He was sort of the
Weird Al Yankovic of his day. In 1968, he won the CMA's Comedian Of The Year
Award and was a Hee Haw cast member in its inaugural tv season. If laughter is
the best medicine, Miller and Wooley could fill the prescriptions.
Mike Gentry
And if you WERE feeling a bit under the weather or just needed a little bit of a pick-me-up, there was ANOTHER comedy / novelty king out there to prescribe just the thing you needed to get back up on your feet again …
How about Ray Stevens doing “Jeremiah Peabody’s Poly Unsaturated Quick Dissolving Fast Action Pleasant Tasting Green And Purple Pills”?!?!? (Look at that … there’s even a purple tie-in!!! lol) kk
For fans of the Smothers Brothers, they were on CBS Sunday Morning this past week and I was SO happy to see them again and that they are on the road again. I wish I'd have known they started their come back this year in Norfolk, but had no idea. I woulda killed to see them live. We loved growing up with their 60's show and I taped their 80's show with Yo Yo Man and Super Dave every week on BETA. Their music guests were fabulous, of course.
Here's the CBS segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r_cFJUQXd0
You can watch the Pete Seeger song from the show here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXnJVkEX8O4
A friend of mine sent this to me yesterday and I loved it. So funny and Neil Young was not too happy about it. Presumably 1972 and Neil had his cameraman filming. Not sure where this was filmed. I loved the guys coming in with 8 tracks to trade. We all know Neil can get a bit irritable about things like this, so it is funny to see.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-3rFhXVrvI
Clark Besch
I’ve never understood why they decided to release The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour television season highlights in reverse order … and then never made it to Season One (and probably never will), which was their strongest season of all.
I had NO idea they were taking their act out on the road again … I’m truly shocked by the very concept … but I, too, was a HUGE fan … had all their record albums, too. (kk)
We got LOTS of emails regarding the passing of Kim Simmonds, founding member of Savoy Brown.
(While Savoy Brown may not have shown much on the hit parade … their best known track “Tell Mama” only made it to #83 in 1971 … they had a huge cult following, particularly in the live concert market.)
First in with the news was FH Reader Ken Voss, who sent us this …
Dave Clark celebrated a birthday last week …
And Best Classic Bands reran an interview they did with him here …
https://bestclassicbands.com/dave-clark-five-interview-12-28-199/
Meanwhile, you can hear excerpts from WRCO’s Phil Nee’s interview with DC5 Lead Singer Mike Smith here …
http://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2022/12/phil-nee-talks-to-mike-smith-lead.html
A new Carole King biopic is in the works. Based loosely on the very successful stage musical “Beautiful,” the film will star Daisy Edgar-Jones (best known for her roles in the TV miniseries “Normal People” and “Under The Banner Of Heaven” and recent films ”Where The Crawdads Sing” and “Fresh”) in the lead role.
We thoroughly enjoyed the stage play … and King’s story deserves telling … so now we’ve got one more film to look forward to! (Tom Hanks will be one of the producers of the film … but a release date has not yet been announced.) kk
The upcoming Grammy Salute to Paul Simon will feature performances by Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Sting, Dave Matthews, The Jonas Brothers, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, Susanna Hoffs, Brandi Carlile, Eric Church, Little Big Town, Rhiannon Giddens, Billy Porter, Take 6, Irma Thomas, Angelique Kidjo, Ledisi, Trombone Shorty, Brad Paisley, and Shaggy featuring musician Jimmy Cliff. Paul Simon is also scheduled to appear. The special will air this Wednesday, December 21st, on CBS. (kk)
CNN premiers a brand new Dionne Warwick documentary called "Don't Make Me Over" on New Year's Day at 8 pm Central. (kk)
Tom Cuddy sent us this list from Variety, spotlighting the most-played Christmas songs of 2022. (All I can say is, this has not been MY experience … and you also have to keep in mind that this list only shows songs published and administered thru ASCAP … so all those great Christmas Caroles you hear that fall under the umbrella of their competitor BMI are NOT shown on this list.)
Still, it makes for an interesting conversation piece … especially seeing Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” so far down on the list. Anybody turning on their radio already knows that THIS isn’t the case!!! (lol) Ditto for “White Christmas.” And where’s “Last Christmas”??? I hear that one EVERY time I flip to a holiday station.
Keep in mind, too, that these titles represent ALL recorded versions of these songs, as many multiple versions are aired regularly during the holiday season. And, since this is a publisher's list, the songs are listed by the songwriters and not any of the many artists who have recorded them and made them so popular. (kk)
THE TOP 25 MOST PLAYED ASCAP HOLIDAY SONGS OF 2022:
1. “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” by Meredith Willson** (1951)
2. “Sleigh Ride” by Leroy Anderson** and Mitchell Parish** (1948)
3. “A Holly Jolly Christmas” by Johnny Marks** (1962)
4. “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow” by Sammy Cahn** and Jule Styne** (1945)
5. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” by Johnny Marks** (1949)
6. “Jingle Bell Rock” by Joseph Carleton Beal and James Ross Boothe (1958)
7. “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Edward Pola and George Wyle (1963)
8. “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” by Fred Coots** and Haven Gillespie** (1934)
9. “All I Want for Christmas Is You” by Walter Afanasieff and Mariah Carey** (1994)
10. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Johnny Marks** (1958)
11. “White Christmas” by Irving Berlin** (1941)
12. “The Christmas Song” by Mel Tormé and Robert Wells (1946)
13. “Feliz Navidad” by José Feliciano (1970)
14. “Winter Wonderland” by Felix Bernard and Richard B. Smith (1934)
15. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” by Ralph Blane** and Hugh Martin** (1944)
16. “Frosty the Snowman” by Steve Nelson and Walter E. Rollins (1950)
17. “Here Comes Santa Claus (Down Santa Claus Lane)” by Gene Autry and Oakley Haldeman (1947)
18. “Jingle Bells” (Frank Sinatra version), arranged by Gordon Jenkins** (1958)
19. “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” by Dr. Seuss and Albert Hague (1966)
20. “Deck the Halls” (Nat King Cole version), arranged by Nat King Cole and Leland Gillette (1960)
21. “Santa Baby” by Joan Javits, Anthony Springer and Philip Springer (1953)
22. “Underneath the Tree” by Kelly Clarkson and Greg Kurstin (2013)
23. “Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney** (1979)
24. “Blue Christmas” by Billy Hayes and Jay Johnson (1949)
25. “Silver Bells” by Ray Evans** and Jay Livingston** (1950)
(The double-asterisks after writers’ names indicate those whom ASCAP has indicated are members of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.)
As Billboard continues to recap the Year In Music, 2022, we are constantly reminded by how little charts mean today.
Among the MANY records that were broken or set this past year, here are some of the most ridiculous …
LONGEST GAP BETWEEN TOP TEN SONGS:
The Ronettes’ “Sleigh Ride” reached the Hot 100’s Top 10 for the first time, ending a 58-year and two-month break since the group’s previous top 10, the No. 2-peaking “Be My Baby” in 1963. The act broke the record for the longest wait between Top 10s, previously held by Burl Ives: 56 years, seven months and two weeks between “Funny Way of Laughin’” in 1962 and his own holiday classic “A Holly Jolly Christmas” in 2018.
For a good percentage of that time, Billboard didn’t chart holiday tunes as part of their Hot 100 Pop Singles list. Then, over the past decade or so, this policy has changed … so it’s not at all unusual today to find 25-40 Christmas songs scattered amongst those two or three holiday weeks’ worth of charts.
Because now they’re determined by number of streams, YouTube views and downloads … so NATURALLY everybody’s in the Christmas Song Spirit during the holiday season. (It’s also why Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” has reached #1 on Billboard’s Pop Chart over half a dozen times now, eclipsing the long standing records of Bing Crosby and Chubby Checker. (When “All I Want For Christmas Is You” was originally released in 1994, it didn’t chart at all … because this was Billboard’s policy at the time. It has since topped their Hot 100 Singles Chart FIVE TIMES … including again this year. It is estimated that Mariah has earned in excess of $60 Million in streaming royalties alone for this song.)
HOW MANY WEEKS …
Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves” hit No. 1 in its 59th week on the Hot 100, the longest stretch EVER for a record (song) to climb to #1. When all was said and done, this song remained on Billboard’s Top Pop Singles Chart for a total of 91 weeks … or nearly two years straight.
Meanwhile, Harry Styles’ “As It Was” held down the #1 spot on this same singles chart for FIFTEEN weeks
THE HIGHER YOU CLIMB …
We’ve talked many times about how, based on today’s method of calculating the charts, every song from a new LP release can easily hit the chart … but that MOST drop off after a week or two as they don’t sustain an audience. (They were more likely “bulk-downloaded” by somebody purchasing the entire album … but enough people did so, that every track ON that album earned a chart position.)
It got ridiculous …
For example, The Cast From “Glee” was able to earn 283 chart entries over a four year period because every song performed on that week’s program was available for immediate download as soon as the episode finished airing. That’s more songs than Elvis charted with during his entire career! (So The Cast of “Glee” is bigger than Elvis, right???)
What happens to these fast-rising shooting stars after that week or two is up?
Well, this year Billboard’s two biggest falling entries belong to Kendrick Lamar and Taylour Paige’s “We Cry Together” (No. 16 to No. 97) and Drake’s “Texts Go Green” (13-94), each of which plummeted 81 positions on the Hot 100 in the weeks after their respective debuts. Yet BOTH of these records have earned the status of being a Top 20 Hit because of their original peak position … before the bottom fell out!
THE RECORD NO ARTIST WILL EVER BREAK:
We’ve already covered this one …
When Taylor Swift’s latest album “Midnights” was released in November, TEN tracks from that album occupied all ten positions of Billboard’s Top Ten … meaning the best that any other artist can hope to ever do is TIE that record … because it simply can’t be broken.
(Although once somebody comes along and scores all TWENTY Top 20 Hits, you can bet it’ll still make headlines … and it conceivably could happen, I guess. That’s why we really don’t pay attention to any of the chart positions past The Top 40 Era … because they’re simply meaningless.)
Not that Swift’s stats aren’t impressive …
For the week of October 21st – October 27th, here is how her new music performed and captivated the world:
# 1 - “Anti-Hero”: 59.7 million
streams / 32 million in airplay audience / 13,500 sold
# 2 - “Lavender Haze”: 41.4
million / 2.4 million / 2,800
# 3 - “Maroon”: 37.6 million /
471,000 / 2,900
# 4 - “Snow on the Beach,“ feat. Lana Del Rey:
37.2 million / 615,000 / 2,600
# 5 - “Midnight Rain”: 36.9
million / 449,000 / 2,200
# 6 - “Bejeweled”: 35.5 million
/ 1.6 million / 16,100
# 7 - “Question…?”: 31 million
/ 425,000 / 21,400
# 8 - “You’re on Your Own, Kid”:
34.1 million / 498,000 / 1,500
# 9 - “Karma”: 33 million / 1.9
million / 3,400
#10 - “Vigilante Shit”:
32.2 million / 424,000 / 6,400
How do these tracks hold up nearly two months later?
Well, “Anti-Hero” is this week’s #6 song as it finally falls out of the top spot on the chart. “Lavender Haze” has fallen to #61 in its 7th week on the chart … “Bejeweled” now sits at #86, “Midnight Rain” at #88, “Maroon” at #93 while the other five tracks are already gone.
(Again, to keep it in perspective, “Anti-Hero” was a legitimate hit, holding down the #1 position for six weeks … but “Lavender Haze” fell from #2 to #52 to #61, and the others had similar fates: #6 - #70 - #86; #5 - #71 - #88 and #3 - #73 - #93.)
These are “flash-in-the-pan” hits with a VERY short shelf-life … that won’t live on fifty years from now if radio even still exists then. (kk)
As we celebrate the 54th
anniversary of The Beatles’ so-called “White Album” (it was REALLY titled “The
Beatles”!!!) hitting #1 on Top 200 LPs chart, I am reminded that several years
ago we put this question to our readers:
“What would have made the PERFECT single album White Album?”
In hindsight, everyone seems to agree that there was too much mediocre material
to stretch this into a two-record set … seriously, did we need to sit thru
seven minutes of “Revolution 9”?!?! We
would have been happier if they just stuck their “Hey Jude” single in that
spot!
But, that being said, NOBODY can seem to agree on just what the perfect mix
might have been.
So … we asked our readers …
How would you sequence the perfect single disc album?
You can read some of the commentary here:
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2018/10/revamping-white-album.html
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2018/10/revamping-white-album-part-2.html
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2018/10/revamping-white-album-part-3.html
And then, if you feel like chiming in, tell us YOUR thoughts, too! (kk)
[By the way, on a somewhat related note, Mary McCartney’s television special “If These Walls Could Sing,” a tribute to the legendary Abbey Road Studios, is now playing on Disney+!] kk
'If These Walls Could Sing' honors Abbey Road, where The Beatles made magic, as a place 'full of love'
https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/12/16/if-these-walls-could-sing-abbey-road-beatles-documentary/10868966002/
Davie Allan, The King of Fuzz, sent us a copy of his new cd, “Turn It Up!” to give away to a Forgotten Hits Reader.
It’s an interesting concept …
The first twelve tracks are brand new recordings …
And then there are twelve MORE tracks, one from each of Davie’s previous twelve albums … personal favorites that he wanted to share again on this special collection.
He even signed the liner notes for us!
So, if you’d like YOUR chance to win a copy, just drop me an email with “Davie Allan CD” in the subject line, and we’ll throw your name in the hat. (Disc will be awarded right after Christmas.) kk
Sad news, something else only (us) old people will remember ...
Eddie Burke
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I was sad to read this the other day as well …
The end of an era for sure … although the era REALLY ended some 40+ years ago once FM Radio took over the airwaves … AM Radio still exists today, but it’s pretty much all talk / sports / politics these days … not the music stations we all grew up with. (Man, I used to HATE driving downtown in the ‘70’s and losing the radio reception to all the tall buildings and parking garages! Lol)
Still, there was just something about being able to take your music with you back then, limited as it may have been. (Even most big cities only had one or two legitimate Top 40 stations.) But if electric cars are finally the wave of the future, it just may spell the end of AM Radio once and for all. (kk)
Speaking of AM Radio, I’m still making my way thru this past Labor Day Weekend’s Rewound Radio salute to WLS and WCFL, the two Top 40 Giants I grew up listening to here in Chicago.
This week I happened upon an hour of Bill Bailey’s Morning Show from October of 1972, almost exactly fifty years ago … and it’s just SO cool to hear these songs from when they were NEW – yes, most of these have weathered oldies radio pretty well and still get a fair amount of airplay – but that’s hearing them as oldies … listening to them when they were brand new and fresh is quite a rush … and it was pretty much a non-stop Top 40 cavalcade of hits during the hour that I just listened to.
“Dialogue, Parts 1 and 2” by Chicago, “Ben” (this week’s #1 song) by Michael Jackson, “Listen To The Music” by The Doobie Brothers, “Use Me” by Bill Withers, “I Believe In Music” by Gallery, “Don’t Ever Be Lonely” by Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose, “American City Suite” by Cashman and West, “Burning Love” by Elvis Presley and “Garden Party” by Rick Nelson (along with a commercial for “this week’s” issue of Newsweek Magazine, spotlighting the comeback of the ‘50’s (with Marilyn Monroe on the cover), “Tight Rope” by Leon Russell, “Everybody Plays The Fool” by The Main Ingredient, “Go All The Way” by The Raspberries, “Get On The Good Foot” by James Brown (I don’t even remember WLS playing this song!), “Loving You Just Crossed My Mind” by Sam Neely (along with two commercials for his new LP of the same name), “I’ll Be Around” by The Spinners, “Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues” by Danny O’Keefe, “Play Me” by Neil Diamond … and ALL of this in the same hour of broadcasting! (Along with a ton of commercials, news headlines, weather reports and more.)
Their version of playing an “oldie” by then was dipping back a couple of years … and that’s exactly what they did that hour … playing “American Woman” by The Guess Who and “25 or 6 to 4” by Chicago, both hits in 1970. (Other broadcasts I’ve listened to go back considerably further, in many cases playing music from before they were even Top 40 stations of their own … but during this pivotal hour of Bill’s morning show, we were treated to these much more recent former hit records.
As this segment ended, it segued into a Larry Lujack program from 1974 … so I guess I’ll be listening for awhile longer. (First song Super Jock played??? “Spiders and Snakes” by Jim Stafford. Man, radio was great back then! Lol) kk
UPDATE: Listening to the Lujack show, I was reminded as to just how much WCFL charted its own course back then. Back to back, I heard two of my favorite songs from 1974, “Simone” by Henry Gross and “Virginia” by Bill Amesbury, neither of which enjoyed particularly great national chart success despite being Top 40 Hits here in Chicago. Amesbury’s “Virginia” only peaked at #59 in Billboard but went to #11 here in Chicago … Henry Gross’ “Simone” climbed to #25 here in Chi-Town, while only managing a #94 national showing (and not making Billboard’s chart at all.) Ironically, despite their exposure on ‘CFL, NEITHER of these two songs charted on WLS.
But the “rare tracks” didn’t stop there … within the same half hour, Lujack also played “Standing At The End Of The Line” by Lobo (#37 Billboard) and “Let It Ride” by Bachman-Turner Overdrive (#23, Billboard), not your typical “go to” songs by these artists. Rather than simply following the trend of playing only the “proven hits,” WCFL was still in the business of trying to create some hits of its own by playing songs that THEY felt had potential, all the while staying one step ahead of the curve. (Don’t get me wrong … he still played the obvious hits, too … during that same half hour stretch I also heard Blue Swede’s version of “Hooked On A Feeling,” “Seasons In The Sun” by Terry Jacks, “I’ll Have To Say I Love You In A Song” by Jim Croce, “The Loco-Motion” by Grand Funk and “The Show Must Go On” by Three Dog Night. ALL of these records mentioned above were part of WCFL’s Top 40 Playlist in March of 1974.)
And, along with all of that, we were also treated to Lujack’s incomparable wit and demeanor, once again serving as just another great reminder of how much fun radio was back then. (Lujack could even making reading a commercial you’d already heard six times that day sound fun and entertaining. This is a talent that is sorely lacking in broadcasting today.) I still say that an oldies radio station today striving to capture the whole magical feel of the Top 40 era would be a huge success … all that great music surrounded by PERSONALITY would make for a great departure from just computerized programming of the hits. Radio seems to have forgotten how big of a role the deejays played in its success back then. Today you’re lucky if you hear anyone so much as identify the songs you’re hearing. (kk)
And, speaking of great radio, past AND present, check out THIS news from Ted Smucker and Rewound Radio …
Ho Ho Ho!
A Special Christmas Gift for all good little (and not so little) boys and girls.
Santa is delivering The Big 89 of 1969 to your listening device. It was found at the bottom of one of an old “Santa’s Bag” in a storeroom at The North Pole.
While it may be nearly 53 year old, it’s never too late to enjoy great music and two of the best personalities to hit WLS in the late 60s.
Larry Lujack and Chuck Buell bring you the original countdown that aired on WLS on January 1, 1970. Tune into RewoundRadio.com Christmas Day at 12 noon Eastern / 11 am Central Time and hear The Big 89 of 1969, all over again. This will be one of the best “re-gifts” ever.
Then … the very next day, The 2022 Edition of The Top 77 of All Time will be counted down beginning on Monday, December 26th, at high noon. After the countdown, Rewound Radio will be playing ALL of the nominations over the course of the next week, with live request shows every day at Noon Eastern Time / 11:00 am Central.
In the past, there have been over 3000 songs voted on, so talk about a deep playlist!!!
Don’t miss it, because you are going to hear a lot of songs that you haven’t heard or thought of in years.
REWOUND RADIO … Your All-Time Favorites … and The Big 89 of ’69, as it was originally broadcast … all coming to you beginning at Noon Eastern on Christmas Day! (kk)
And here’s another “Golden Oldie,” sent in by FH Reader Mike Wolstein and shared in honor of Keith Richards’ 79th Birthday today ...
