Another Rock Icon has left us …
Robbie Robertson of The Band died on Wednesday (August 9th) at the age of 80, after a long illness.
Robertson was The Band’s principle songwriter (he wrote their early chart hits “The Weight,” #46, 1968, “Up On Cripple Creek,” #25, 1969 and “Rag Mama Rag,” #44, 1970 … as well as the Joan Baez #1 cover of “The Night They Drove Ole Dixie Down.”) The Band was a fixture of the Rock And Roll Cool Kids Club, especially after hooking up with a now-electric Bob Dylan in the late ‘60’s and early ‘70’s.
Their Martin Scorsese film “The Last Waltz” captured The Band performing their swan song in concert with a literal “Who’s Who” of guests … Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Neil Diamond, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan and others.
With Robbie’s passing, the only living original member today is Garth Hudson. (kk)
You can read Billboard’s tribute here: https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/robbie-robertson-remembered-the-band-guitarist-mythic-songs-1235388803/#recipient_hashed=fa7e92da6f6e66bffcf0bcbf863670c6eb37d7159eb4d0ea1e44fecd5ec87eeb&recipient_salt=3a1d6b09af3b92ad7e38f8327cf18febeb049fd1c9a251b66957a07d9375735c
And Harvey Kubernik’s interview with Robertson here: https://www.musicconnection.com/kubernik-r-i-p-robbie-robertson/
Also leaving us this past week was David LaFlamme, leader of It’s A Beautiful Day, who recorded the rock classic “White Bird.” He was 82.
It’s A Beautiful Day was a bit of an “art rock” band in the late ‘60’s, pushing the limits of the ever-expanding world of what was now passing for rock and roll. As lead singer and violinist (a concept totally new to the rock and roll genre at the time), they brought an element of sophistication to their long-winded jams and became a popular act on the west coast … and in San Francisco in particular.
Although it was all over FM radio at the time (and well into the next couple of decades), “White Bird” was never really a pop hit. (It bubbled under in all three trades, ultimately peaking at #110 in Cash Box and Record World and at #118 in Billboard.) It’s not on most Classic Rock playlists anymore … yet OUR readers remember it fondly enough to have voted it into the #763 position on our TOP 3333 MOST ESSENTIAL CLASSIC ROCK SONGS OF ALL TIME list. LaFlamme also cut a solo version of their signature tune that actually did a little better on the charts (#85) when it was released in late 1976. (kk)
Congrats to The Zombies, who finally (after sixty years!) now own their back catalog.
And it’s a precious commodity, as many of these songs still resonate today. (“She’s Not There,” “Tell Her No” and “Time Of The Season” have literally never been off the radio since they were first released in the ‘60’s. “She’s Not There” and “Time Of The Season” both became #1 Hits (in 1964 and 1969 respectively) while “Tell Her No” peaked at #6 in 1965. Their album “Odessey & Oracle” is considered a rock classic by critics, well ahead of its time in 1967.
In this article sent in by FH Reader Tom Cuddy, Ashley King in Digital News tells us …
The Zombies Acquire the Rights to Their 1960s Catalog
By Ashley King
August 8, 2023
The Zombies, one of the pioneer bands of the “British Invasion” during the ’60s, has acquired the rights to their classic 1960s recording catalog, including hits like “She’s Not There” and “Time of the Season.”
Psychedelic pop-rock legends and 2019 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductees, The Zombies, have acquired the rights to their classic recording catalog of the 1960s. The deal includes their hits like “She’s Not There,” “Tell Her No,” and “Time of the Season,” as well as their 1968 album Odessey & Oracle — an oft-featured entry in publications’ “best albums of all-time” lists, including Rolling Stone.
With a new partnership between the four surviving original members of the Zombies, singer Colin Blunstone, keyboardist Rod Argent, bassist Chris White, and drummer Hugh Grundy, along with Helen Atkinson, the widow and estate trustee of late guitarist Paul Atkinson, the band secured their catalog rights from Marquis Enterprises, the independent UK production company with whom they signed as teenagers in 1964.
Zombies Partners LLP will house the band’s shared interests in their recordings, merchandise, and life rights, to be overseen by Chris Tuthill and Cindy da Silva of The Rocks Management in New Jersey, which has managed the group for the past decade.
“It is so gratifying to feel that 60 years later, our music still has relevance, and we are now in the position to own our own recordings,” said keyboardist Argent.
The band’s first incarnation enjoyed only a short period of recorded content before parting ways in 1967 due to a “perceived lack of success.” Public interest in their harmony-laden recordings increased over the following decades, boosted by prominent film, television, and advertising placements. These have included a global Chanel campaign starring Keira Knightly (“She’s Not There”), Disney’s movie “Cruella” (“Time of the Season”), and the final scene in the series finale of “Schitt’s Creek” (“This Will Be Our Year”).
The Zombies boast well over 3 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and more than 3.5 million people have used their Shazam app to identify “Time of the Season” alone. Physical reissues of their music regularly appear on vinyl sales charts.
The announcement comes on the heels of the film festival premiere of Hung Up On a Dream at Austin, TX’s SXSW in March. The new Zombies documentary is slated for public release later this year, following the band’s unusual six-decade journey to becoming part of the 2019 Class of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame alongside Janet Jackson and Radiohead. The film is directed by musician and filmmaker Robert Schwartzman and co-produced by Schwartzman’s Utopia Films, The Ranch Productions, and Tom Hanks’ Playtone.
Also at SXSW, the recording lineup of The Zombies debuted their latest album, Different Game, followed by a five-week UK tour in the spring and a North American leg on sale for October.
More on the 40th Anniversary of “Breakfast With The Beatles” …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHfNNnCHbGg
>>>Just a reminder that 42 years ago today was the launch of MTV (August 1, 1981.) Until then, we would hear the music. With the launch, we finally got to see the artists. Initially the videos were mostly footage of “live” performances, but creativity came about very quickly in the videos. And the rest is music history. (Gary)
Gary/Kent,
Those 1979-84 years of MTV were just awesome! In the beginning, my brother (an electrical engineer) had these two satellite dishes in his back yard in 1979 and I could go over and watch pay per view fights and football games live for free including the announcers commentating during the commercials -- which was very funny sometimes. Granted, the shows were also snowy sometimes.
Best was that he got MTV early on and I could have him tape songs on BETA and I could watch at home first two years. Lots different from when they got on all the cable outlets by ‘81 or so. Back then, artists like Andrew Gold and lots of pop stuff were on all the time. It was still great thru at least ‘84, I think.
My next radio show in two weeks will have a few of those early days MTV gems I loved in it, too.
Clark Besch
And, speaking of up-coming radio shows …
kk:
On 8/16/2023 Dr. Bop Is Re-Playing The Show I Programmed For Him from 8 – 11 PM Eastern on REMEMBER THEN RADIO (WRTR.NET)
On 8/22/2023 You Can Hear The Show I Programmed For Ken Kojak's "1960's JUKEBOX REVUE." It airs from 8 - 11 PM Eastern on REMEMBER THEN RADIO (WRTR.NET)
Kojak Came To My House With All Of His Equipment. This Time I Programmed The Music & Co-Hosted The Show.
We Talk About The Music Before Playing The Songs. Double-Sided Hits. We Play Both The A & B Side.
FB
WATCH OUT COUSIN BRUCIE --- HERE I COME!
Here’s a great cheat sheet for you, Frank …
The Top 200 Biggest Two-Sided Hits Of All-Time!
http://forgottenhits.com/the_top_200_two-sided_hits_of_all-time
Of course, if you just happened to mention Forgotten Hits … you know, even by accident … that’d be ok with me! (lol) kk
And tomorrow we’ll have another update for you on the much-anticipated Second Annual WLS / WCFL Rewound Labor Day Weekend coming up on Rewound Radio … including a couple of new promos recorded by some of the jocks whose vintage air checks you’ll be able to hear again all Labor Day Weekend long. (kk)
Drummer Carl Palmer has a new show on the road called: “ELP – Welcome Back My Friends: The Return Of Emerson, Lake and Palmer”
From the announcement:
Welcome Back, My Friends: The Return of Emerson, Lake & Palmer reunites members of this legendary supergroup through modern technology.
As the sole survivor of the band, drummer Carl Palmer continues to keep ELP's legacy alive. He and his current group will take the stage alongside two massive video walls featuring the late Keith Emerson and Greg Lake in concert. The live footage was filmed at London's Royal Albert Hall in 1992 and digitally remastered.
Imagine the unmistakable voice of Greg Lake, the keyboard wizardry of Keith Emerson and the phenomenal drum work of Carl Palmer together again.
Don't miss this rare concert featuring great music, great memories and the most epic songs of the rock era.
It hits The Genesee Theater here in Waukegan later this year. (kk)
From Mike Wolstein …
(Ain't it the truth!!!) kk
