I got the upsetting news yesterday morning that long-time friend, Forgotten Hits Reader and Contributor Jack Levin passed away on Tuesday (July 25th)
He suffered a stroke a few weeks earlier and just was never able to rebound.
I had known Jack for nearly fifty years. We first met in the mid-'70's when he responded to an ad I had run in The Chicago Tribune looking for copies of old WLS Surveys. He was shocked that there was someone else out there as crazy as him collecting these things! (Actually, we would come to find out over the years that there were quite a few of us in pursuit of this hobby!)
We weren't friends in the sense that we really "hung out" together ... it was more a shared love of radio, music and the charts that bound us. Over the years, we enjoyed many "finds" together ... and even had the opportunity to grab "pick of the litter" when a couple of well-known record shops closed in the area, boosting not only our own collections but also providing me with a very attractive and enticing inventory for my mail order record business at the time.
We went to each other's weddings ... and often met at the Record Collectors Shows held here at the Hillside Holiday Inn. Jack and his wife Laura eventually moved to downstate Illinois and although we saw each other less and less over the years, we still stayed in touch, even if it was only as each other's foils in Forgotten Hits. (Boy, he SURE loved to downplay the impact of The Beatles!!!) I couldn't even to begin to count the number of times he supplied photos of WLS and WCFL surveys for us to run on the website.
I knew he had been in poor health the last several years ... I believe the last time I saw him was at an Ides Of March appearance at a Barbara's Bookstore in Vernon Hills a few years ago. (He was at the original Cornerstones taping at the PBS / WTTW Studios several years ago, too ... I didn't even make it to that one!!!)
Most recently, he had stepped in as the brand new Grim Reaper of Forgotten Hits, posting notices as we lost some of our musical heroes. Sadly, he has now become one of those casualties himself. (When he first had the stroke, he wanted me to know that he met The Grim Reaper face to face ... and kicked him in the balls!!!)
Several readers on the list expressed their condolences after they saw Laura's posting on Facebook. She also sent me this special note that read in part:
Dear Kent --
I am sorry I had not been back in touch but things just kept happening in a rush. Jack took a turn for the worse and died early Tuesday morning at home. I know the two of you had been friends for many years and he told me that you were the first person he ever met who also collected surveys.
I also fondly remember entering a contest for Forgotten Hits (writing an essay involving Donny Osmond and psychedelic sno-cones, which garnered 2nd place) because he wanted whatever obscure item was the prize.
I haven't yet posted the news on Facebook, but I will shortly, so feel free to post the word on Forgotten Hits.
He always said that the song he wanted people to play in his honor was "Hit The Road, Jack," which, let's face it, sounds like Jack.
--Laura
VERY happy to send you off in style with that one, Jack! (kk)
Yesterday was Mick Jagger’s 80th birthday … and he’s still up there prancin’ around like a 20-year-old … and this despite a heart procedure that sidelined him for a little while a couple of years ago.
With a new album and yet another tour looming, The Stones are as active as ever. (I know it’s only rock and roll … but I like it!) kk
From Mike Wolstein ...
Harvey Kubernik sent us this rare, candid shot of Mick …
Mick Jagger in a rambler car outside Elektra Records 1969 La Cienega and Santa Monica Blvd. … I believe this is a Robert Altman photo
HK
Here’s another cool shot, sent in by Tom Cuddy …
Herb Alpert posted a short Tik Tok video congratulating Taylor Swift for tying his record of having FOUR albums in Billboard’s Top Ten Album Chart at the same time, a record that has stood since 1966! (Previously, he was the only living artist to do so.)
Alpert says in the clip, “Hi Taylor, this is Herb Alpert. I’ve been getting calls from all over the world from publications wanting to know how do I feel about you breaking my record of — I don’t know — 150 years ago. I feel great! I think you’re a wonderful artist, sincere, you’re gracious and you deserve it. You deserve it all. Congratulations.”
For the record, Herb Alpert accomplished his feat on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart dated the week of April 2nd, 1966, when his LP’s “Going Places” stood at #2, “Whipped Cream & Other Delights” sat right behind it at #3 (Have you ever seen that album cover??? It’s pretty cool!), “South of the Border” ranked at #9 and The Tijuana Brass’s first album, “The Lonely Bull,” still placed at #10. Pretty remarkable. (kk)
President Joe Biden released this statement regarding the passing of Tony Bennett:
The CBS Morning Show did a superb job encapsulating Tony Bennett, his life's music, and the support he gave and received that allowed him a full life, through hardships.
Shelley
FH Reader Bill Hayes sent in this nice little piece … and photo … remembering Tony Bennett …
One of our karate students was in NYC just a few days before Tony passed ...
He was walking thru Central Park and noticed this man in a wheelchair sitting basically by himself ... but there was a nurse nearby.
He recognized the man as Tony Bennet!!!
He asked the nurse and Tony if he could take a photo with him ... and they both said sure ...
This may be the last pic ever of Tony ...
Billboard Magazine ran a blurb this week reporting that Tony Bennett’s recordings were still generating about $3.4 million per year in global sales and streams at the time of his death. Pretty remarkable for a guy who was 96 years old! (kk)
Also leaving us this week ... Sinead O'Connor, who topped the charts with her version of Prince's "Nothing Compares 2U" back in 1990. (It was a striking performance and a striking video ... it's a shame that the thing she may be most remembered for was ripping up a picture of The Pope during her appearance on "Saturday Night Live.")
No cause of death was immediately reported ... and most of the stories I saw mentioned her bouts with mental illness. (She lost her 17 year old son last year.)
Billboard Magazine ran a piece on their Staff Picks for Ten Best Sinead O'Connor songs. (Really??? Were there ten?!?!)
Her only other Billboard Chart Hits was 1990's "The Emperor's New Clothes," which peaked at #60. (kk)
One year has gone by already ...
Sure flew past quickly.
We lost Jimy Sohns a year ago (7-29-22)
R.I.P. ;-(
Mike Wolstein
It sounds like Paul Simon isn’t enjoying retirement as much as he thought he would. He has recently reassembled his touring band and they’ve begun rehearsing again …
Not necessarily for anything specific … yet
Simon’s retirement was self-imposed a few years ago … but he did say that he would be open to doing some “one off” shows here and there … he just didn’t want to go back out on the road again. (Honestly, I don’t know what enticement there could possibly be, at that age, to be living out of airports and hotel rooms anymore! As Micky Dolenz has said many, many times before … “They pay us to travel … because we’d sing for free!”)
Simon is also battling some extensive hearing loss, making it difficult to perform in front of an audience … but it sounds like he’s looking for ways that might help alleviate some of this challenge and allow him to start performing live shows again.
More to come on this, I guess. (With a brand new album release … and a hit catalog that rivals the very best out there … I think Paul misses the roar of the crowd … even if he can’t hear it quite as well as he used to.) kk
Ultimate Classic Rock just ran a piece on classic rock artists who have successfully “rebranded” themselves as a means of continuing their career.
While Jefferson Airplane / Jefferson Starship / Starship may be the most successful in these transitions, I couldn’t help but notice that conspicuously absent from the list are The Rascals … who took on a more sophisticated sound once they dropped the “Young” from their name!
And, speaking of The Rascals, Best Classic Bands just ran this vintage piece by Harvey Kubernik spotlighting The Rascals’ talented drummer, Dino Danelli …
https://bestclassicbands.com/dino-danelli-interview-rascals-12-16-22/
I wasn’t aware of this … but apparently the Tom Jones hit “Delilah” has become a staple at rugby matches in the UK.
However, it has recently been banned at all Wales matches by The Welsh Rugby Union because the lyrics depict the murder of a woman by her boyfriend after she is caught cheating with another man.
Tom Jones hasn’t stopped singing it, however. At concerts this past weekend, he twice performed the song, telling fans “You can’t stop us singing ‘Delilah.’ Can you imagine? They may stop the choir from singing it, but they haven’t stopped the crowd. Keep on singing it – and I’ll keep on singing it, too.”
“Delilah” was a #15 Hit here in The States back in 1968 … and went to #2 on the British Charts that same year.
So WE’RE going to play it, too! (This song actually has a bit of sentimental value to Frannie and me, dating back to a time we were getting to know each other before even actually having met. So this one’s for you, Delilahbaby!!!)
Good morning, Kent:
Just a short note of thanks for your mention of MeTV FM in your Saturday Evening Post. The FCC gave 87.7FM stations a vote of confidence last week, and it’s a relief to 87.7FM operators around the country. These stations perform an important role in their communities, providing programming that no other station — especially those owned by the big media companies — would touch. Chicago is a great example of an 87.7 station filling a programming gap and, in doing so, filling a listener need.
Stay cool!
Rick
Rick O’Dell
Program Director
WRME-LD/Chicago – 87.7 MeTVFM
Noise 11 is reporting that Cher is launching her own brand of Jello. (No … that’s just too weird for me to have made it up!!!)
Called “Cherlato,” it is apparently a project she has been working on for the past five years. (And, as we all know, there’s always room for … Cherlato???) kk
>>>I would make a couple of changes right off tho. For instance, in looking at this old historic photo, I wonder why the wardrobe for these women back then didn’t include “sensible heels!” I can’t imagine any one of them, determined and efficient as they may be, service revolvers at the ready, wearing the shoes in this photo while chasing a perp down a cluttered back alley and when they attempt to escape by climbing a chain link security fence to have to jump up on them and forcibly slam them to the ground and handcuff them! (Chuck Buell)
My mouth dropped open when this photo came up. Every police woman must have been clerical or under-cover. Think back to the movie THE STING. Robert Redford was seduced and almost killed by his enemy's high-heeled, skirted, well-groomed hit person.
Shelley J Sweet-Tufano
(C'mon ... you knew it was coming!!!) kk
