Sunday, February 12, 2023

The Sunday Comments ( 02 - 12 - 23 )

Most of us will be watching The Super Bowl later today …

 

(I don't particularly care who wins the game ...

 

I just want to win the football pool!!!  And this year, I've got sixteen chances to do so!)

 

However, Tom Cuddy sent us a list of every half-time performer going all the way back to the very first Super Bowl 57 years ago.  (Boy, it sure took a long, long time before the half-time show became cool and interesting!!!)

 

Check out this list of past performers!!!

 

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/super-bowl-halftime-shows-complete-list-performers/c7xy1j1oauc5lrsvnx8ubwuh

 

The glowing tributes to Burt Bacharach continue …

And probably will for some time to come …

ALL well-deserved … the man was a musical genius and his melodies will stay with us forever, just as they have touched our every day since we first heard them.

Here are just a few articles of interest I came across these past few days …

Billboard’s list of Burt’s most successful compositions on their Hot 100 Chart:

(Note:  Dionne Warwick owns eight of the Top 30 entries!)

https://www.billboard.com/lists/burt-bacharachs-biggest-billboard-hot-100-hits/christopher-cross-arthurs-theme-best-that-you-can-do/#recipient_hashed=fa7e92da6f6e66bffcf0bcbf863670c6eb37d7159eb4d0ea1e44fecd5ec87eeb&recipient_salt=3a1d6b09af3b92ad7e38f8327cf18febeb049fd1c9a251b66957a07d9375735c

Their ranking system varies from the one used by Fred Bronson, whose Top Ten we listed the other day …

Each ranking shows the same Top 7 … albeit in a different order … but after that, it’s all up for grabs!

(Bronson’s list only covered thru 2001 … I don’t know that I’d consider “Slow Jamz” by Twista, Kanye West and Jamie Foxx a Burt Bacharach tune … although it does sample Burt’s “A House Is Not A Home”)  kk

Billboard then goes on to pick their Top 10 Staff Favorites …

https://www.billboard.com/lists/best-burt-bacharach-songs/i-say-a-little-prayer-1967/#recipient_hashed=fa7e92da6f6e66bffcf0bcbf863670c6eb37d7159eb4d0ea1e44fecd5ec87eeb&recipient_salt=3a1d6b09af3b92ad7e38f8327cf18febeb049fd1c9a251b66957a07d9375735c

And here’s a nice tribute from The Second Disc:

https://theseconddisc.com/2023/02/09/in-memoriam-burt-bacharach-1928-2023/

Burt’s transition is like losing a family member. These words I’ve been asked to write are being written with sadness over the loss of my Dear Friend and my Musical Partner.

On the lighter side, we laughed a lot and had our run ins, but always found a way to let each other know our family, like roots, were the most important part of our relationship.

My heartfelt condolences go out to his family, letting them know he is now peacefully resting and I, too, will miss him.

Dionne Warwick

I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of one of the great composers of our time, my dear friend, Burt Bacharach. 

In the ‘60s, he and his writing partner Hal David wrote hit after hit, capturing the spirit of the times. Songs like “What the World Needs Now is Love,” “Walk on By” and my favorite, “Anyone Who Had a Heart.” Their music was sophisticated and innovative with unique feelings, timing and rhythms.  They had to find the perfect vocalist and they did exactly that in Dionne Warwick, who made it all look easy.  

Over the years, no matter who Burt collaborated with, there was always a recognizable “Bacharach” sound and magic to his songs. He was a unique writer whose music always touched my heart.

I will miss him, but I know Burt’s amazing legacy will live on forever.

Berry Gordy

I’m so sad to hear about Burt Bacharach. Burt was a hero of mine and very influential on my work. He was a giant in the music business. His songs will live forever.

Love & Mercy to Burt’s family.

Brian Wilson

I’ll never forget that day. I was such a big fan of Burt Bacharach and was so excited that he was going to produce a recording session for me. As we were rehearsing a few songs one stood out the most. 

I sang it a few times for him and he exclaimed that we were magic together. So off we went to New York to Bell Sound studios to record one of the greatest songs ever written – the original “What THE WORLD NEEDS NOW IS LOVE.” My life was never the same.
Thank you Hal David,
Thank you Burt.
You will be missed.

Jackie DeShannon

It’s a sad day with the passing of Burt Bacharach.

The first week that I took over KIIS to switch the format to top 40, I added some specialty features and programs on the weekend, the first of which was a 12 hour special on Burt Bacharach and Hal David with the music, the people, and their stories. Really sweet and memorable segments with Angie.

It was produced by former AFTRA rep Harvey Palasch who went on to form a company called Diamond P Productions,  later producing for NHRA and eventually becoming their legal counsel.

I am unable to locate Harvey recently, and I am in hopes that anyone reading this may know of an archived copy of that 12 hour special.

Distributed through a barter arrangement with Doubletree Hotels, The title was “The Bacharach Bio.” 

Sincerely,

Don Elliot, Owner 

Schwab MultiMedia, L.L.C.

If anyone is able to help with this, please drop us a line so we can pass the information along.  Thanks!  (kk)

 

>>>"CATCH A FALLING STAR" / PERRY COMO  (kk)

First Song Ever To Receive A "GOLD RECORD"

FB

‘Tis true …

From the official RIAA Certification site …

The very first Gold Award was earned on March 14, 1958 to Perry Como for his hit single, “Catch A Falling Star” and followed four months later by the first Gold Album Award, the cast album to “Oklahoma!,” sung by Gordon Macrae.

But with time, music changes — and as technology advances, more and more people are exposed to music.

When the popularity of disco music led to a huge boom in music sales in the seventies, RIAA created the Platinum Award to celebrate more than one million sales of a single or album — and the first Platinum Single Award was earned by Johnnie Taylor’s “Disco Lady.”

[Betcha didn’t know THAT one, Frank B!!! – kk]

In the eighties, the development of CDs increased music sales once again and popular music went Platinum more than once. So we developed the multi-Platinum Award.

The nineties led to even greater heights for music sales, and so we released the Diamond Award to celebrate the sale of 10 million copies or more of a single or album.

And in the early 2000s, the rise of the Internet led to a boom in digital music sales. So we developed the Digital Single Award, and added digital sales to the Album Award, to recognize the rise of online formats.  A decade later we added on-demand music streams to awards.

RIAA is committed to celebrating the pinnacle of musical success, and we’ll continue to evolve the Gold & Platinum Program to showcase the best in the business.

From Timmy C …

Radio Hall Of Fame nominations are currently open for submission. 

Please, go to the web-site and fill it out with someone who deserves recognition.

You may make multiple nominees.

Thank you,

Timmy

Link:  https://www.radiohalloffame.com/

Be sure to check the complete list of inductees before making your nominations!  (There are still an awful lot of good and deserving jocks not on this list!)  kk

Ross On Radio takes a look radio’s current blend of ‘60’s and ‘70’s music … and the lost factor of some of these hits … looks like the Forgotten Hits and “Wow Factor” songs we’ve been preaching about for the past 25 years are finally on everybody’s radar.  (Special kudos for the shout-outs to our buddies Rick Appel and Me-TV-FM!)  kk

https://radioinsight.com/blogs/248475/how-the-60s-and-70s-became-one-era/

Today is February 12th

Happy 71st to Mike McDonald!

Here's a shot I took at one of those great concerts at the Elk Grove Village Library, in July of 2016.  And yes, Danzman was "Danzing" right next to me.  ;-)
Mike

Also from Mike …

I took this shot at Elston and Francisco in Chicago back in February, 2013. I wonder if it's still there.
The song came out on February 8, 1965.

I just heard that Peter McCann died last week.

Peter hit The Top Five with "Do You Wanna Make Love" in 1977.  He also wrote "The Right Time Of The Night," which became a Top Five Hit for Jennifer Warnes that same year.  (kk)

>>>Kent, you probably already know this, but the posted version of George Jones' WHITE LIGHTNIN' is not the Mercury Records version. (Larry Neal)

>>>I knew the “White Lightnin’” track didn’t sound right to me – but I just posted what Mike sent me … I just figured there must have been some reason he selected the tracks he did and I didn’t want to mess with them … nor, quite honestly, did I have the time.  (kk)

Kent:

When Larry pointed out that the George Jones music file was a re-recording, he was spot on. It came from an Epic Records budget release. You would think an old deejay like me, who grew up in North Carolina, where it was a massive hit, would have known better. But it made me think of a record that always brings back fond memories of being stationed in England in the late Sixties. It was a magical time for pop music and I was living the dream. The song was "Jesamine", by The Casuals (not the US band.)  Written by Marty Wilde (Kim's dad), an early UK rock 'n roll idol himself, it peaked at UK#2 on October 19, 1968, behind Mary Hopkins' "Those Were The Days."  "Hey Jude" was UK#3 that week, so the competition couldn't be stronger. It was originally by another UK group, The Bystanders, as "When Jesamine Goes" (did not chart.)  Anyway, I found it on a compilation album I remember buying in the record department at Selfridges on Oxford Street. I wore the grooves down on that one playing it so much, so it's not worth converting to compact disc. About twenty five years ago, I happened upon the song on a compilation cd at Media Play (does anyone remember them? A music nut's paradise sadly long gone). While I'm sure it was the original lead singer, Howard Newcombe, it just wasn't the single as originally released. But it's very close and still a great song. If you've never heard it, you wouldn't know the difference anyway. It never charted on Billboard. The original can be found on YouTube.
Mike Gentry

 

Look for a new Leon Russell biography, written by Bill Janovitz, due out next month.  Titled "Leon Russell: The Master of Space and Time’s Journey Through Rock & Roll History," it is being described as “the definitive biography of the legendary musician, composer and performer, a profound influence on countless artists, including George Harrison, the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Willie Nelson and Tom Petty.”

Russell passed away in 2016 after a storied career as a session artist, writer and producer as well as a hit recording artist in his own right.  ("Tight Rope" and "Lady Blue" both became Top Ten Hits in 1972 and 1975 respectively ... while his compositions "Superstar" and "This Masquerade" have both become bona fide classics.)

You can read our tribute to Leon, written by FH Reader Steve Sarley, here:

https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2016/11/leon-russell.html

The Pretty Things Announce Career Spanning Thirteen-Album Set

 


Seminal British Rock and Roll Band To Release Exclusive Retrospective Vinyl Collection Over Five Decades of Music

Madfish are proud to present, for the first time in one set, the complete studio album recordings of The Pretty Things.

Led by founding vocalist and guitarist Phil May & Dick Taylor, The Pretty Things, iconic first wave R&B cult heroes, created some of the most exciting and innovative records of the sixties, early seventies and beyond. Winners of the very first Mojo Hero Award, the band have been a massive success and an immeasurable influence on decades of artists as diverse as David Bowie, Aerosmith, The Ramones, Bob Dylan, The Sex Pistols, The White Stripes, Kasabian and so many more.

Housed inside a deluxe, slipcase style box; every album has been remastered especially for vinyl release with the original artwork faithfully recreated throughout. Each album within the set comes with an individual, record specific four-page insert with rare photographs, original single sleeves and words from Dick Taylor, Mike Stax and Mark St. John. Fans will also find an exclusive, high quality pull-out print of the band in their prime.

From the chaotic beginnings of the band’s self-titled debut in 1965 through the experimental, turbulent times of the rock opera masterpiece ‘S.F. Sorrow’ to their more reflective, contemplative latter day output in ‘Bare as Bone, Bright as Blood’; this deluxe, thirteen LP box set contains every studio album  the iconic band released over five decades.

Invaluable to the development of British music as we know it, The Pretty Things’ outrageous behaviour and incandescent stage performances were fundamental to their ground-breaking songwriting with the band’s extensive and eclectic musical archive now a cultural and creative touchstone for generations to come. Still recording music until the passing of frontman Phil May two years ago; this box set, limited to just 1,000 copies worldwide, follows the bands’ whole astonishing journey until those final, formidable recordings in 2020.

The Pretty Things - The Complete Studio Albums: 1965 - 2020

1. The Pretty Things (1965)
2. Get The Picture? (1965)
3. Emotions (1967)
4. S. F. Sorrow (1968)
5. Parachute (1970)
6. Freeway Madness (1972)
7. Silk Torpedo (1974)
8. Savage Eye (1976)
9. Cross Talk (1980)
10. Rage Before Beauty… (1999)
11. Balboa Island (2007)
12. The Sweet Pretty Things (Are In Bed Now, Of Course…) (2015)
13. Bare as Bone, Bright as Blood (2020)

The Pretty Things - The Complete Studio Albums: 1965 - 2020 is available to preorder now: https://theprettythings.lnk.to/completestudioalbums

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kzqk3y3HE4g

To Be Released March 31st, 2023

The Pretty Things were the biggest influence on us … They invented garage bands.” - Joey Ramone

The Pretty Things completely bent my head.” - Noel Gallagher

The Pretty Things made The Stones look tame.” - David Gilmour

Press quotes:

Certainly, they seem to have existed in a state of chaos from the moment they began. They were a genuinely groundbreaking band.” - The Guardian

...the very wonderful ‘Bare As Bone, Bright As Blood’ now serves as a fitting, if unintentional, epitaph to their late singer [...] these 11 covers hum with the kind of vitality that only age and experience can bestow.” – Uncut

I was listening to a site I found the other day, which plays a few seconds (with accompanying video) of what THEY claim was the "most popular song during every month of the 1960s" (in chronological order.)  It's 25 1/2 minutes long, and sort of fun to watch. I don't remember if I found this on your site or not.  I listened to the whole file, and found one tune that I'd never heard before, called "Wonderful Land" by the Shadows (April, 1962).  Really nice!
Worth a listen - 2 min, 6 sec.  

The site is kinda cool, in spite of what appears to be some inaccuracy.

Overall, I don't know where they got their info from, but it didn't sound totally legitimate.

We mentioned Micky Dolenz being the featured covered story in the new issue of Goldmine Magazine … and now have a copy of the cool Monkees photo that accompanies it.

The article talks about Dolenz hitting the road this year to perform the band’s “Headquarters” album in its entirety … and interesting prospect since Micky only sang have the songs on the original release.  (Mike Nesmith really came into his own on this LP … this was The Monkees’ first after they wrangled control of their material away from Don Kirshner and each of The Monkees played their own instruments for the first time on record.  It’s still one of my favorite LPs of all time.)  kk

ABKCO has launched a new Rolling Stones six-part YouTube series called “The Rolling Stones Chronicles,” each featuring a different ‘60’s-era hit songs by The Rolling Stones as its soundtrack.  The music is combined with thematically relevant interview clips from the band and contemporaneous historical figures, interspersed with historical documentary footage of related world events. Each episode (six documentary shorts) will be released one week apart, every Thursday between February 9th and March 16th, kicking off with Episode 1 – The Last Time.  (You can watch the first episode via the link provided below)  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L14m1ghrtaA 

From Bob Merlis ...

Set to The Rolling Stones’ 1965 hit single “The Last Time” (US #9; UK #1), Episode 1 explains the influence of early rock and roll and Chicago blues on the band, and the irony of the British Invasion being the selling of American culture back to its country of origin. Featuring footage of B.B. King, Little Richard and many other heroes of the Stones, as well as audio of Marshall Chess telling the story of meeting the Londoners and inviting them to record in Chicago, one of the highlights of Episode 1 – The Last Time is Keith Richards describing the day he met future musical partner Mick Jagger on a train holding classic-yet-still-obscure R&B and blues records. “What you’ve got under your arm is worth robbing,” Richards gleefully remembers thinking. 

Future episodes of The Rolling Stones Chronicles are based around the seismic cultural shifts between 1965 and 1969, of which The Rolling Stones themselves were emblematic. Episode 2 – (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (release date: Feb 16), set to the intercontinental #1 hit, follows the theme of sexual liberation, with a brief nod to David Bowie’s (then Jones) Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Long-haired Men.  

The explosion of psychedelics and the infamous “Redlands bust,” wherein Jagger, Richards, singer Marianne Faithfull and other friends were arrested for drug possession at Richards’ home in ’67 is the theme of Episode 3 – She’s A Rainbow, being released Feb 23.  

The Rolling Stones Chronicles Episode 4 – Street Fighting Man (release date: March 2), set to the song partially inspired by the 1968 student upheaval in Paris and elsewhere, focuses on the intense social unrest in the latter part of the ‘60s, centered around the struggle for racial equality, gay rights, the movement against the Vietnam War, student demonstrations and the Troubles of Northern Ireland. Among the featured audio/visual clips are Martin Luther King Jr. and Muhammad Ali, the latter of whom states, “My people first deserve freedom, justice and equality.”  

The theme for Episode 5 – Jumpin’ Jack Flash (release date: March 9), is the dual nature of technology and its hyper-acceleration during the birth of the computer age. The Cold War, the space race, and innovation in recording techniques are threaded together with footage of nuclear testing, astronauts and The Rolling Stones recording Olympic Studios as featured in Jean-Luc Godard’s film Sympathy for the Devil). 

The final installment of The Rolling Stones Chronicles (Episode 6 – Gimme Shelter) will be released on March 16. The haunting 1969 track that opens the Let It Bleed album provides a backdrop for the theme of revolution and the turmoil that ended the decade. The hippie movement, the funeral for original guitarist Brian Jones and the Hyde Park tribute concert, and the tragedy of Altamont are all captured. At one point, Jagger explains to an interviewer, “Most young people are dissatisfied with the generation which they think is running their lives.” He is then asked, “What things are you dissatisfied with?,” to which he responds, “The generation that runs our lives.” 

“The Rolling Stones Chronicles puts the band’s music in context with history,” said Robin Klein, exec producer of the series. “While they were very much of that time, The Rolling Stones themselves served as a vehicle for, and reflected and inspired change. 

Samira Choudhury, Producer for BBC Motion Gallery said: “This project provided a unique opportunity to unearth contemporary and authentic voices from the BBC's rich archive to give deeper meaning to the Rolling Stones' most influential records, and show how the cultural and societal shifts of the 60s still resonate today”. 

The Rolling Stones Chronicles release schedule: 
Feb 9   The Rolling Stones Chronicles - The Last Time (EP1) 
Feb 16   The Rolling Stones Chronicles - (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (EP2) 
Feb 23   The Rolling Stones Chronicles - She’s A Rainbow (EP3) 
Mar 2   The Rolling Stones Chronicles - Street Fighting Man (EP4) 
Mar 9   The Rolling Stones Chronicles - Jumpin’ Jack Flash (EP5) 
Mar 16   The Rolling Stones Chronicles - Gimme Shelter (EP6) 

They say you often can be judged by the company you keep …

So I was QUITE honored to see this post by G.H. Harding in “The Glorious Corner” this week … https://t2conline.com/the-glorious-corner-433/

And finally, this announcement from the Manager of the Forgotten Hits Wardrobe Department, Chuck Buell … who just always seems to know these things!!!

 

New York Fashion Week, one of the most coveted shows within the Fashion Industry, began Friday, February 10th … and runs through the 15th!

 

And it’s Huge! This is one of four major runway shows and presentations in the world, along with those in Paris, London, and Milan!  Its purpose is to introduce international fashion designers' exclusive collections for the current and upcoming fashion seasons.

 

So, in acknowledgement of our Award-Winning Forgotten Hits Fashion Plate himself, Kent Kotal, here’s my Chuck Buell Fashion Designers Minute Medley!

 

 

CB ( which stands for Fashion “Coordinator Boy!” )

 

You missed one!!!  (kk)


 

Some strange and unusual photographs from Day One of this year’s event can be found here …

https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/entertainment/celebrities/2023/02/10/new-york-fashion-week-day-1-fw-2023-nyfw-photos/11201901002/

But then again I’m one of those guys that fits the notion that expiration dates should be sewn into every item in my wardrobe!!!  (kk)