David Crosby is dead.
One could say it's been a long time comin' ...
And he's gonna be a long time gone
Another '60's survivor that most, if speaking honestly, wouldn't have expected to last this long (he was 81), Crosby first reached fame as a member of The Byrds ... and then broke away to join forces with Stephen Stills (of Buffalo Springfield), Graham Nash (of The Hollies) ... and sometimes Neil Young (also an ex-Springfield member) to create one of the first (and most prominent) Super Groups.
Together CSN(&Y) placed nine songs in Billboard's Top 40 (none of which were written by or actually featured David Crosby on lead vocals.) Yet it is said he had an impeccable ear for harmony and their voices just fell in together in a perfect blend the very first time they all sat down to give it a shot.
Crosby's prominence in both bands made him a two-time Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee.
His wife's statement said he was suffering from a long illness (although no exact details were released at the time) ... but we also read that he was still sending messages thru his Twitter account as recently as Wednesday. (One comment addressed heaven ... Crosby called it "overrated" ... and "cloudy.") New recordings ... and even a new tour ... had also been discussed recently ... so he must have been feeling well enough to undertake these taxing upcoming ventures.
When singer Melissa Etheridge decided she wanted to have kids, it was David Crosby who provided the seed to do so. (They ultimately had two children together.)
One of my favorite recordings of David's was the duet he did with Phil Collins in 1993. "Hero" spent a total of 20 weeks on the chart, peaking at #44.
Congratulations to Jeff Lynne, Gloria Estefan, Glen Ballard, Snoop Dogg, Sade, Liz Rose, and Teddy Riley, all members of The Class of 2023 just elected to The Songwriters Hall Of Fame.
I think I’m a bit more appalled by the list of nominees who did NOT make it in this year …Bryan Adams; Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson of Heart; Tom Johnston, Michael McDonald, and Patrick Simmons of the Doobie Brothers; Steve Winwood; Vince Gill; Patti Smith; and the songwriting teams of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart; Clem Burke, Debbie Harry, and Chris Stein of Blondie; and Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe of R.E.M. (That’s some pretty steep competition!)
From Tom Cuddy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHcmr_q9L1A
kk
It sounds like Graceland will go to Lisa Marie’s daughters Riley, Harper and Finley.
While Lisa sold off the majority of her rights to Elvis Presley Enterprises several years ago, she did still hold a 15% interest … and the physical property of Graceland, which will now move to her three surviving daughters, much as Elvis included Lisa as one of his heirs at the time of his passing. (kk)
Man, January's been a tough month ... and we're only 2/3 thru it. Meanwhile, we’re still getting emails singing the praises of the late Jeff Beck …
Here is a link to Part 1 of an excellent 2-Part interview with Jeff Beck pertaining to his other life, cars, and his music.
Robert Campbell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3v5XH91Q_8
Ever wonder where Todd Rundgren's early band, The Nazz, got its unusual name? Look no further than "The Nazz Are Blue," a 1966 Yardbirds' B-side featuring a rare Jeff Beck lead vocal. Rundgren once called Beck the greatest electric guitarist of all time.
Beck would go
on to have a couple of UK chart hits in 1967 as a solo artist, "Hi-Ho
Silver Lining" and "Tallyman."
The former would become an enduring UK sing-along party favorite. The
latter was written by Graham Gouldman, a freelance tunesmith responsible for
three of the Yardbirds' biggest hits.
Mike Gentry
And a couple from Todd …
>>>MOST of the songs on the list of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits, 1970 - 1989 don’t receive anywhere NEAR the airplay that the “heavy repeats” get on a daily basis! In fact, it’s hardly representative of what we’re actually hearing …
Truth be told, I’d put nearly every single one of these songs on Ross’ Lost Factor List! (kk)
I must listen to the wrong radio stations. I have not heard any of these songs, on the radio in decades. (Not that I’d want to anytime soon.)
Jack
Kenny Loggins has announced his final, farewell tour.
Appropriately titled “This Is It,” Loggins is kicking things off in March … and (so far anyway) has only announced eleven stops. (Dates are being spread out throughout the year, running from March 10th thru October 27th.)
Announced dates include:
March 10th – Van Wezel Performing Arts
Hall @ Sarasota, FL
March 12th – Florida Theatre @ Jacksonville, FL
March 26th – Good Life Festival @ Queen Creek, AZ
April 28th – Dickies Arena @ Fort Worth, TX
April 30th – New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival @ New Orleans, LA
June 15th – Wolf Trap @ Vienna, VA
June 17th – Virginia Arts Festival @ Williamsburg, VA
August 17th – Family Arena @ St. Charles, MO
August 19th – Ravinia Festival @ Highland Park, IL
October 14th - The Mountain Winery @ Saratoga, CA
October 27th – YouTube Theater @ Inglewood, CA
Madonna has also announced her “Four Decades” tour, kicking off this summer with stops all over North America before departing for a European leg
Saturday, July 15th – Vancouver, BC –
Rogers Arena
Tuesday, July 18th – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
Saturday, July 22nd – Phoenix, AZ – Footprint Center
Tuesday, Juyl 25th – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
Thursday, July 27th – Tulsa, OK – BOK Center
Sunday, July 30th – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
Wednesday, August 2nd – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse
Saturday, August 5th – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
Monday, August 7th – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena
Wednesday, August 9th – Chicago, IL – United Center
Sunday, August 13th – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
Saturday, August 19th – Montreal, QC – Centre Bell
Wednesday, August 23rd – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
Thursday, August 24th – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
Wednesday, August 30th – Boston, MA – TD Garden
Saturday, September 2nd – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
Tuesday, September 5th – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
Thursday, September 7th – Tampa, FL –
Amalie Arena
Saturday, September 9th – Miami, FL – Miami-Dade Arena
Wednesday, September 13th – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
Monday, September 18th – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
Thursday, September 21st – Austin, TX – Moody Center ATX
Wednesday, September 27th – Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com Arena
Wednesday, October 4th – San Francisco, CA – Chase Center
Saturday, October 7th – Las Vegas, NV – T-Mobile Arena
THE CELEBRATION TOUR EUROPE DATES:
Saturday, October
14th – London, UK – The O2
Saturday, October 21st – Antwerp, BE – Sportpaleis
Wednesday, October 25th – Copenhagen, DK – Royal Arena
Saturday, October 28th – Stockholm, SE – Tele2
Wednesday, November 1st – Barcelona, ES – Palau Sant Jordi
Monday, November 6th – Lisbon, PT – Altice Arena
Sunday, November 12th – Paris, FR – Accor Arena
Monday, November 13th – Paris, FR – Accor Arena
Wednesday, November 15th – Cologne, DE – Lanxess Arena
Thursday, November 23rd – Milan, IT – Mediolanum Forum
Tuesday, November 28th – Berlin, DE – Mercedes-Benz Arena
Friday, December 1s – Amsterdam, NL – Ziggo Dome
Another possible Spice Girls reunion? With Victoria Beckham onboard?
That’s the rumor. Although nothing definite is in the works, it sounds like all of the girls (who recently gathered to celebrate Gerri Halliwell’s 50th birthday) might be intune with the idea. (An appearance Glastonbury as their “Legends Act” has been bandied about … but according to Mel C, their schedules don’t align to make such a thing happen.)
Still, it sounds like all five Spice Girls seem to be open to the idea, the shocker being Posh Spice. (Sporty says it’s more a FOMO situation … Fear Of Missing Out on a great time! Lol) We’ll keep you posted. (kk)
All,
You can listen to the podcast of the New Colony Six tribute from last week here via the link below. It focuses on the Sentaur / Centaur / Sentar years. The NC6 part starts about 23 minutes into it so you can drop the cursor up there.
https://wfmu.org/archiveplayer/?show=123740&archive=229624
Graphics and comments by listeners below that:
https://wfmu.org/playlists/shows/123740
And, if interested in hearing MY show from two Saturdays ago, it has a mostly Chicago spotlight about 20 minutes. (No NC6 music, tho, except a backing track and an appearance in WCFL Top 10 countdown.)
That show can be heard here:
https://wfmu.org/archiveplayer/?show=123206&archive=229252
Graphics and comments of fans below here:
https://wfmu.org/playlists/shows/123206
Clark
Tom Cuddy tells us about a new memoir by Harvey Lisberg, former Manager of Herman’s Hermits, 10cc and more …
CB
Reelin’ In The Years Productions has announced that it has signed an exclusive contract with the legendary Friars Club Of New York to represent its archive of filmed and recorded private events spanning 70-plus years. The Friars Archive contains nearly 1000 hours of never-before-seen or-heard video and audio recordings of comedians, actors, sports figures, and iconic musicians.
Since its founding in 1904, the famed club has been honoring comedians, politicians, actors, musicians and other luminaires at its fundraising celebrity luncheons (aka roasts), testimonial dinners and at private events.
The Friars Archive dates back to 1950 and the list of comedians whose performances were preserved on both video and audio tape is truly staggering. Some of the legendary comics that appeared at these landmark affairs include Richard Pryor, Robin Williams, George Burns, Jack Benny, Don Rickles, Bob Saget, Buddy Hackett, Milton Berle, Lucille Ball, Norm Crosby, Dick Gregory, Jerry Seinfeld, Johnny Carson, Alan King, Amy Schumer, Flip Wilson, George Carlin, Jeff Ross, Will Ferrell, Carol Burnett, Sid Caesar, Gilbert Gottfried, Bill Maher, Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, Henny Youngman, Steven Colbert, Whoopi Goldberg, Bob Hope, Lily Tomlin, Jerry Lewis, Sacha Baron Cohen, Rich Little, David Letterman, Howard Stern, Joan Rivers, Billy Crystal, Steve Allen, Martin Short, John Oliver, Lewis Black, Sarah Silverman, Phyllis Diller, Redd Foxx, Ricky Gervais, Bob Newhart, Carl Reiner and a host of others. This collection clearly establishes the Friars Archive as the Holy Grail Of Comedy.
Many of Hollywood’s greatest actors, actresses and directors are also part of this one-of-a-kind archive. Such icons as Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, Tom Cruise, Sean Penn, Lauren Bacall, Samuel Jackson, Jack Black, Elizabeth Taylor, Burt Reynolds, Gregory Peck, Betty White, Harvey Keitel, John Travolta, Audrey Hepburn, Kirk Douglas, Meryl Streep, Cary Grant, Bruce Willis, Sharon Stone, Burt Lancaster, and Sylvester Stallone appeared at annual dinners to honor and celebrate their peers’ achievements in the world of film and television.
Along with famed comedy legends and Hollywood royalty that were filmed and recorded by the Friars Club, many of music’s greatest artists spoke or performed at these private events. Some who appeared were Stevie Wonder, Ella Fitzgerald, Sting, Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, The Bee Gees, Barry Manilow, Whitney Houston, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, The Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson, Liza Minelli, Tony Bennett, Diana Ross and Frank Sinatra who was also the Abbot at the Friars Club Of New York from 1975 to 1996.
Reelin’ In The Years Productions has spent the last five months meticulously digitizing and fully cataloging the archive, which exists on a variety of obsolete media formats. With hundreds of tapes left to transfer, this will take many more months to complete.
David Peck, founder and president of Reelin’ In The Years Productions said, “I’ve been representing archives from around the globe for over 25 years; it’s quite a thrill to find an archive where a treasure trove of content has been virtually untouched for decades. It brings out the ‘Indiana Jones’ in me. and I am so honored that the Friars Club has trusted us with such an important legacy.”
“For many years we’ve been looking for the right home for our recorded legacy of laughter and entertainment,” said Friars Club Creative Director Anthony Trombetta, “and we feel that Reelin’ In The Years Productions is the perfect company to work with us on this historic archive.”
For more information about the Friars Club Archive and other footage in their vast holdings, please reach out to Reelin’ In The Years Productions at www.reelinintheyears.com
Reelin’ In The Years Productions (winner of FOCAL’s 2020 “Footage Library of The Year Award”) is the premier source for footage of musical artists, entertainers and history makers. Its unique archive houses over 30,000 hours of music footage spanning 100 years. In addition to its music footage archive, RITY has available for licensing over 10,000 hours of in-depth interviews with the 20th century’s icons of film and television, politics, comedy, literature, art, science, fashion and sports, filmed between 1962 and 2012.
David Peck (founder and president of Reelin’ In The Years) has also directed and produced more than 70 historical music documentaries and programs focused primarily on the giants of jazz, blues and rock & roll, garnering many awards in the process as well as a a Grammy nomination. In 2020, David Peck was one of the Executive Producers on the critically acclaimed documentary on the Bee Gees, “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart” and is currently serving as one of the Co-Executive Producers on a multi-part documentary series on the famed record Memphis record label STAX that will air on HBO.
A question for the house …
In light of the many recent passings, so many of late that it seems even FH can't keep up with them all, two unrelated items sorta got related, as I was doing research for an upcoming project.
In the research, I noticed that Ray Anthony (Peter Gunn Theme) will be turning 101 next Friday. (He's still with us.)
This has probably been addressed before, but who, beyond Keith Richards & Willie Nelson, is the oldest performer with a charted record still with us. There's a few in their 90s, but I can't come up with anyone older than Ray.
Jack Levin
Wow, good question …
I’m wondering if someone like Gary Theroux or Paul Haney might know …
They’ve made it their life’s work to research these things.
(We were shocked to learn a few months back that Bill Hayes, who hit the top of the charts with his version of “The Ballad Of Davy Crockett” in 1955, was still with us ... AND still acting on "Days Of Our Lives!!!" Bill is 97 years old right now … still shy of Ray Anthony’s 101. I was also quite stunned to read the other day that actor Robert Wagner is now in his 90’s. And, of course, we just lost Gina Lollobrigida at the age of 95 a couple of days ago.)
Anybody got some theories about recording artists, still living and members of the 100+ club??? Let us know. Thanks! (kk)
Hi Kent,
Funny you should bring this up. We were just having a similar conversation at
the Record Research offices.
Here's a list of all the recording artists that I could think of that are 90 or older:
Mervin Shiner - 101 (will turn 102 on 2/20/23) - He had a few Country hits from
1949-69.
Ray Anthony - 101 (turns 101 on 1/20/23)
Johnny Pate - 99
Jane Morgan - 98
Billy "The Kid" Emerson - 97
Dick Van Dyke - 97
Mel Brooks - 96
Tony Bennett - 96
Harry Belafonte - 95
Doc Severinsen - 95
Ed Ames - 95
Cleo Laine - 95
Burt Bacharach - 94
April Stevens - 93 (we listed her birth year as 1936, it's really 1929)
Leroy Van Dyke - 93
Bob Newhart - 93
Berry Gordy - 93
Rolf Harris - 92
Caterina Valente - 92
Clint Eastwood - 92 (yes, he actually hit the Country charts!)
Sonny Rollins - 92
Kenny Burrell - 91
Petula Clark - 90
Joel Grey - 90
Clive Davis - 90
Johnny Thunder - 90 (we listed his birth year as 1941, it's actually 1932)
If any of your readers can add to this list, I'd love to know!
Paul Haney
Record Research
Hi, Kent -
I'm not really sure. Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and Lloyd Price used to come to mind as extreme elders, but all of those folks are now gone. Bruce Belland of The Four Preps (born 1936) comes to mind, as does Freddy Cannon (born 1939) and Wink Martindale (born 1933).
I don't really think about this subject much, as, to me, the music of ALL hitmakers remains forever alive -- even if they are not. Burt Bacharach is 93, Harry Belafonte is 94, Tony Bennett is 95, Mel Brooks (who sang as one of Three Haircuts) is also 95, as is Dick Van Dyke (who charted with Julie Andrews).
All the best,
Gary Theroux
"The History of Rock 'n' Roll"
Saw a T-Shirt the other day that read: "Boy, it sure is weird being the same age as all these old people"!!! (lol) Yep ... that's EXACTLY how I feel sometimes! (kk)
