He’s Everywhere! He’s Everywhere!
For years now we’ve been calling Micky Dolenz “The Hardest Working Man In Show Business” … I mean seriously, he never lets up!!!
So after an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon … and then a very interesting and in-depth interview in Rolling Stone, we can now also provide this Rock Cellar link …
And let’s not forget about his new book celebrating his own collection of memorabilia …
Or the re-release of the Mr. Rogers tribute CD in honor of what would have been Mr. Rogers’ 95th birthday that Micky contributed a track to …
Or the fact that he'll then be hitting the road to do his “Headquarters” tour (not to mention the upcoming Flower Power Cruise) …
And, if all of this still isn’t enough, he'll also be back on the radio next week, hosting his own radio show on Sirius XM …
MICKY DOLENZ GUEST HOSTS ON 60’s GOLD ON SIRIUS / XM / CHANNEL 73
MICKY DOLENZ will be the guest host on 60’s GOLD on SiriusXM – Channel 73.
The first airing will be on Monday, March 20th, at 7:00 PM EST.
Additional airings will be on Wednesday, March 22nd at 1:00 PM EST; Thursday, March 23rd at 11:00 PM EST; Saturday, March 25th at 10:00 AM EST; and Sunday, March 26th at 3:00 PM EST.
Dolenz chose all the music (Buffalo Springfield; Beatles; Jimi Hendrix; Animals; the Everly Brothers) for the show and tells some never-before-heard stories about the music and the artists.
Plus on the SXM App – Search 'Micky Dolenz'
Micky, of course, hosted his own radio program for awhile on WCBS-FM in New York City (before they flipped to the Jack-FM format) and is totally at ease behind the mic. Spinning some of his favorites (and telling stories as only he can tell them, this should be quite a program)
Micky is also doing a couple of collectibles shows … I mean, the guy never stops!!! (kk)
Keep up to date with all the latest and greatest news …
Brian May gets knighted! (Bravely brave Sir Brian set forth for Camelot!)
Too bad it wasn't the Queen knighting a Queen member, but that's how it goes. Good for Brian. His guitar work is unquestionable awesome.
Clark Besch
https://apple.news/AvlJP-y51QU-tJ65rYFxYVQ
Staying in Great Britain for just a while longer …
In honor of the 25th anniversary (OMG, HOW on earth can this be possible?!?!?), of their 1998 single “Stop,” The Spice Girls have just released an alternate video of this Top 20 (#2 in the UK) tune, which has ALWAYS been one of my favorites. (This song has all of the elements of a great ‘60’s pop song … it was just released 33 years too late! Hard to watch this one without flashing back to The Supremes’ performing “Stop! In The Name of Love” in 1965 … although I think The Spice Girls’ tune is even more of a universal pop offering ... it’s virtually impossible not to tap your foot to this one!)
The Spice Girls have always been one of my guilty pleasures … and I was able to catch them live during their rare US tour in 1998. (Of course it was all under the pretense of taking my then nine year old daughter … but I’m thinking I was far more excited about the show than she was!)
While this video isn’t anywhere near as much fun as the original (the girls basically just stay in one spot … although they DO manage to “stop” traffic to complete the shoot), it SURE was great to see them all looking so young and happy again
Every few years or so talks of a reunion crop up … Victoria Beckham typically being the lone hold-out these days (even Geri Horner / Halliwell has returned to the fold … she bailed right before their world tour kicked off in ‘98) … and they bring the topic up again in this recent interview with “Extra,” as picked up by Noise 11:
Here is the original clip from 1998:
As you know, there is no shortage of books about The Beatles … but this one sounds surprisingly unique …
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I’ve known about this book for a couple of years now (and even helped to steer a few artists Charles’ way so that their commentary could be documented) … so I am REALLY looking forward to reading the final results.
Sound cool???
You’ll find more info here: https://bookoftop10beatleslists.com/
From FH Reader Mike Wolstein …
Here’s a photo of the new Beatles Greatest Hits CD!
But will it fit in the dashboard?
Unfortunately, it's not all good news out of the UK ...
Seriously?!?!
Just five weeks after being released from prison for deviate sexual assault charges, One Hit Wonder Gary Glitter is back in prison!
The Sun is reporting that Glitter had been a model prisoner, where he had been serving time on and off since 1999. (A repeat offender, Gary has spent numerous stints behind bars in minimum security prisons over the past 24 years.) Each time he earned a release, he was brought back in on similar charges for having sex with minor girls. (He was originally brought in for having child pornography on his computer.)
The Sun reports that this latest arrest on March 13th brings the disgraced singer back to prison “for an unidentified violation of the terms of his February 3rd release from a low-security prison, HMP The Verne, in Dorset.”
The Ministry of Justice issued a statement on March 14th, noting that “Protecting the public is our number one priority. That’s why we set tough license conditions and so when offenders breach them, we don’t hesitate to return them to custody.”
Prior to earning his most recent release, they reported a source told The Sun “Glitter has kept his nose clean in prison and toed the line and now his sentence is almost over. The nature of his determinate sentence means the case won’t go to the Parole Board. It simply means that as soon as his sentence is over, he is free to walk out of the prison gates.” On February 3rd, the paper’s website noted that the “sex predator will also have to wear a tag and tell police if he enters into a relationship with someone who has a child under 18.
After violations in 2005 and 2015, it might be time to finally determine that there is really only one place this guy can safely be. (kk)
Due to on-going health issues within the band, Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band have had to postpone a few of their shows on their current US tour. (Guitarist Steven Van Zandt stresses the word “postpone” ... “We do not cancel shows)
Although the group is being pretty tight-lipped about who has contracted what, these kinds of issues have been major concerns these past few years due to things like Covid, RSV and the age of many of the band members currently out on the road, hopping from town to town.
Van Zandt tweeted: “No need to be anxious or afraid. Nothing serious. Just a temporary situation. We will all be back in full force very soon. The concerts are just postponed … We don’t cancel.”
As this goes to press, the group has officially postponed three dates … and we wish them all a speedy recovery. (kk)
And, speaking of tours, there's been LOTS of talk about the Stevie Nicks / Billy Joel concerts happening here in The States, but down under in Australia you can also find Cyndi Lauper and Rod Stewart performing on a double bill. And the Superstar Two-Fer Pairings don’t stop there …
Willie Nelson will be back out on the road again … and he’s taking John Fogerty with him this time around. Meanwhile, we are most looking forward to seeing Lionel Richie with Earth, Wind and Fire when they come to town together this summer! (kk)
Bobby Caldwell, who scored a Top Ten Hit in 1979 with the soulful “What You Won’t Do For Love,” has passed away. He was 71.
[Three Things I Didn’t Know About Bobby Caldwell: In addition to his own hit, he also wrote the #1 Hit “The Next Time I Fall” for Peter Cetera and Amy Grant …
His first big break in music was playing guitar for Little Richard …
And he was WHITE!!!!! I had NO idea!!! Now that’s some SERIOUSLY Blue-Eyed Soul!!!]
Caldwell had been having health issues for years …
In fact, we found this on his Facebook Page …
In January of 2017, Bobby was given an
antibiotic. After taking the drug for several days he experienced bilateral
Achilles tendon ruptures, and developed peripheral neuropathy. Despite these
injuries, Bobby continued to perform with the aid of a wheelchair, cane, and
his helpers. Unfortunately, Bobby’s condition continues to worsen. He has a
great deal of neuropathy pain, and his mobility is limited.
Bobby had always planned on performing and
making music for the rest of his life. He never could have anticipated what
happened to him. It’s truly heartbreaking.
As our tribute, I just HAVE to run what is perhaps my favorite video clip of the past several years …
YOU DON’T KNOW BOBBY!!!
Also passing away on Monday was legendary rock drummer Jim Gordon, who played with just about everybody who was anybody back in the early ‘70’s …
Including (and certainly not limited to) Derek and the Dominoes (he cowrote “Layla”!!!), John Lennon, George Harrison, Harry Nilsson, Joe Cocker, Steely Dan and so many, many more.
In between, he worked on sessions and tours with Delaney and Bonnie, Gordon Lightfoot and as diverse a clientele as Merle Haggard and Frank Zappa.
As a studio musician, his drumming can be heard on records by The Beach Boys, Carly Simon, Nancy Sinatra, Glen Campbell, Sonny and Cher … and the beat goes on.
Sadly, despite all this greatness, he will also be remembered for his losing bouts with mental illness that caused him to take his own mother’s life, forcing him (since 1983) to be incarcerated until the time of his death of natural causes. (Today, we, of course, prefer to focus on the incredible gift of music he gave us over the years.) kk
The new Leon Russell biography we told you about is out …
Harvey Kubernik sent us this review from The Los Angeles Times …
Born Claude Russell Bridges in Oklahoma in 1942, he showed an early genius for piano; by 14 he was already gigging at Tulsa nightclubs and briefly toured as the opening act for Jerry Lee Lewis, whose scorching Pentecostal playing style made an impression on the young Russell. In 1960, he moved to Los Angeles and found steady work as a studio musician, playing on recording sessions for such luminaries as Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Herb Alpert and Barbra Streisand. He and fellow Southern transplant Glen Campbell were part of the now-legendary Wrecking Crew, who were responsible for some of the biggest hits of the decade and formed the core of Phil Spector’s famed Wall of Sound.
Skyhill Studio — the four-bedroom house and home recording studio Russell purchased on Skyhill Drive in Studio City — hosted L.A.’s best session musicians, fellow Tulsa expats and such international superstars as Harrison, Starr and Clapton. The house also was a den of bacchanalia; drugs and orgies were as common as jam sessions. At the center of it all, like a reclusive king in his sun-drenched court, was Russell: shaggy hair, top hat, flowing beard and faraway eyes behind reflective sunglasses.
By the beginning of the 1970s, Russell had all the makings of a bona fide rock god. The success of Cocker's “Mad Dogs and Englishmen” tour in 1970 established Russell as an inimitable composer and arranger; his original composition “A Song for You” (from which his “master of space and time” nickname derived) would be covered by Donny Hathaway, the Carpenters, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and many others. His sophomore album, 1971’s “Leon Russell and the Shelter People,” went gold in the U.S. — the first of five albums to reach that milestone before the decade was out. (His sixth wouldn’t come until 2010, after longtime devotee Elton John dragged him out of relative obscurity for their collaborative album, “The Union”). But as Janovitz shows in his book, Russell had an infuriating habit of squandering opportunities, turning friends into enemies, and seemingly doing everything he could to torpedo his career and sabotage his legacy.
Rock biographies typically follow a familiar formula: the road to success, the fame and riches, a spectacular crash and burn (the inevitable result of drugs and hubris) and — if he or she is lucky to survive this ordeal — the long and heroic road to recovery, culminating in a late-in-life renaissance. “Leon Russell” solidly hits the first two stations of the cross, but Russell didn’t so much crash as slowly fizzle away.
The causes: poor artistic, business, and personal decisions. He sank large sums of money into houses and old cars, only to quickly abandon them; seemed to disdain performing; became curiously obsessed with the troubled actor Gary Busey. Russell also quietly suffered from mounting health problems and an all-around cantankerousness, possibly stemming from autism and/or undiagnosed bipolar disorder. These tidbits make for some drama, though perhaps not enough to fill out 600 pages.
Janovitz, author of two books on the Rolling Stones and a musician in his own right — a founding member of ’90s-era alternative rock band Buffalo Tom — writes as a rock enthusiast addressing fellow rock enthusiasts rather than casual readers. He draws from scores of personal interviews with titans as well as otherwise anonymous session musicians, recording engineers, business partners, friends, family, and lovers. Quotes, musings, and reminiscences abound, leaving the impression that “Leon Russell” might have worked better as a straight oral biography.
Indeed, the author rarely interrupts the flow of such rock trivia as recording sessions, touring dates and sidemen. He offers little context on the turbulent times in which Russell and his contemporaries were creating and perfecting their art, and he seems reluctant to look too critically at Russell’s more repellent behavior.
As a Southern-born white man who’d become rich and famous performing music heavily influenced (or appropriated) from such Black art forms as gospel, blues and rock ‘n’ roll, Russell could seem oblivious to racism in his own orbit. The most disturbing example came after he married his backup singer, a Black woman named Mary McCreary, who faced racist abuse night after night from Russell’s audiences while he declined to defend her.
“Leon dealt with these racists in his own indirect way,” writes Janovitz. Which seems to mean, as singer Maxayn Lewis unhelpfully explains, “just let[ting] the music speak for itself.”
This might be the best advice on how to appreciate the subject of this biography. While it will satisfy Russell’s legions of loyal fans — the self-styled “LeonLifers” — and rock biography completists, what matters most in the end is the music, which at its best remains beautiful, exciting and magical.
Holley is a journalist and author of the forthcoming book “An Amerikan Family: The Shakurs and the Nation They Created.”
This story originally appeared in The Los Angeles Times
And, on the local front ...
Hey Kent,
I, too, played at most if the venues you write about. Started playing good gigs at 14 years old. Not as strict back then.
I mostly wanted to tell you that the place where you couldn't remember the name of, at 47th. and Ogden, was probably "The Purple Twig." I played there in the 70's. It's amazing the number of "joints" you remember.
Good stuff. Keep it up.
Mark Smith from Melrose Park
We missed The Ides Of March yesterday …
But FH Reader Mike Wolstein remembered …
He sent us this …
Hi, Kent!
I could say:
Beware!
... but this is funnier.
Mike
A few weeks ago, a former listener who lives in Elgin, IL, and from back in my early WLS Chicago Radio Days reached out to me.
He had a collection of WLS Music Surveys from then and asked if I'd join a few others in autographing a couple he had for a display he was putting together in his basement.
I thought he did a really great job and just thought you might appreciate seeing what he did, too!
Yeah, so he's got a Jukebox with a bunch of old Forgotten Hits on it!
Whaddya want me to do about it?!
Give him a medal or something!!
! ! !
CB
Wow, that’s quite a shrine!!! VERY cool. Thanks, Chuck! (kk)
