The Rolling Stones’ new album is out today and by many accounts, it just might be the best album they’ve ever done.
You can imagine all the press they’ve been getting over this …
So it wasn’t a great surprise to see that Mick Jagger told Mojo Magazine that the reported incident of Charlie Watts punching him out for Mick’s drunken comment several years ago regarding “Where’s my drummer?” Mick says it never happened, despite the fact that Keith Richards first made the story public in his autobiography several years ago.
I dunno … WE reported the story as well … which I happen to think is hysterical.
And since it now ranks as “skeptical,” I guess we have to make a decision here.
(But you know what they say … when the truth doesn’t quite measure up to the legend, print the legend!!!) kk
Even cooler ...
The Rolling Stones performed a seven song set at Racket, a New York City concert club, last night, where they premiered four songs from their brand new album, including "Sweet Sounds Of Heaven," the track they recorded with Lady Gaga, who was on hand to perform it live with the band!
The
"By Invitation Only" appearance opened with "Shattered" and also
included "Angry," "Whole Wide World" and "Bite My Head Off" as well as
the Stones classics "Jumping Jack Flash" and "Tumbling Dice." 650
invited guests were on hand to witness the spectacle ... which begs the
question:
Can a Rolling Stones tour announcement be too far away??? (kk)
Paul McCartney kicked off his Australian shows Wednesday
Night (10/18). [The day before he did a
brief six-song set for a small “by invitation only” crowd of thirty fans. These folks got to hear Paul play “Can’t Buy
Me Love,” “Coming Up,” “Drive My Car,”
“Let ‘Em In,” “Come On to Me” and “Birthday.”
It would prove to be quite a treat as “Coming Up” and “Drive My Car”
were not part of his opening night set list.
McCartney put on quite a show at his concert debut, performing 37 songs during his nearly three hour long concert. (We’re counting his encore-ending “Abbey Road” medley of “Golden Slumbers” / “Carry That Weight” / “The End” as one track.) These included 21 other Beatles classics, including “She’s A Woman,” a song he last performed live nearly twenty years ago in 2004.
Can’t Buy Me
Love (from The Beatles, A Hard Day’s Night, 1964)
Junior’s Farm (single, 1974)
Letting Go (from Venus and Mars, 1975)
She’s a Woman (The Beatles I Feel Fine b-side, 1964)
Got to Get You Into My Life (from The Beatles, Revolver, 1966)
Come On to Me (from Egypt Station, 2018)
Let Me Roll It (from Band On the Run, 1973)
Getting Better (from The Beatles, Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967)
Let ‘Em In (from Wings At The Speed of Sound, 1976)
My Valentine (from Kisses On The Bottom, 2012)
Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five (from Band On the Run, 1973)
Maybe I’m Amazed (from McCartney, 1970)
I’ve Just Seen a Face (from The Beatles, Help, 1965)
In Spite of All The Danger (recorded as The Quarrymen, 1968, first released on
The Beatles, Anthology 1, 1995)
Love Me Do (from The Beatles, Please Please Me, 1963)
Dance Tonight (from Memory Almost Full, 2007)
Blackbird (from The Beatles, The Beatles, 1968)
Here Today (from Tug of War, 1982)
New (from New, 2013)
Lady Madonna (single, 1968)
Fuh You (from Egypt Station, 2018)
Jet (from Band On the Run, 1973)
Being For The Benefit of Mr Kite (from The Beatles, Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts
Club Band, 1967)
Something (from Abbey Road, 1969)
Ob-La-Do, Ob-La-Da (from The Beatles, The Beatles, 1968)
You Never Give Me Your Money (from Abbey Road, 1969)
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window (from Abbey Road, 1969)
Band On The Run (from Band On the Run, 1973)
Get Back (from Let It Be, 1970)
Let It Be (from Let It Be, 1970)
Live and Let Die (from James Bond’s Live and Let Die soundtrack, 1973)
Hey Jude (The Beatles single, 1968)
ENCORE:
I’ve Got A Feeling (from Let It Be, 1970) (with John Lennon virtual from the
Peter Jackson Get Back documentary)
Birthday (from The Beatles, The Beatles, 1968)
Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (from The Beatles, Sgt Peppers Lonely
Hearts Club Band, 1967)
Helter Skelter (from The Beatles, The Beatles, 1968)
Golden Slumbers (from Abbey Road, 1969)
Carry That Weight (from Abbey Road, 1969)
The End (from Abbey Road, 1969)
He next performs tomorrow night (10/21) at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. (kk)
Noise 11 reported that these are the songs McCartney played during his soundcheck before the concert:
Jam
Honey Don’t (from Beatles for Sale, 1964)
Day Tripper (single, 1965)
Find My Way (from McCartney III, 2020)
Women and Wives (from McCartney III, 2020)
C Moon (b-side of Mary Had A Little Lamb, 1972)
Every Night (from McCartney, 1970)
From Me To You (from Please Please Me, 1963)
Midnight Special (tradition song from 1905, first made popular by Lead Belly in
1934)
Ram On (from Ram, 1971)
Snippet of Singing The Blues on uke (Guy Mitchell cover)
New (from New, 2013)
Lady Madonna (single, 1968)
We told you the other day about a few snafus in Madonna’s opening night shows in London …
But others are raving about the end result …
Taylor
Swift music sales are reportedly up 20% since her concert film opened
in theaters last week. (We actually may go see it this weekend.) Music suddenly feels exciting again! (kk)
Graham Nash is the latest rock star to sell his music catalog. Graham went with Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group. Iconic also represents the music of The Beach Boys, Linda Ronstadt, Nash’s former partners Stephen Stills and David Crosby, Dan Fogelberg, Nat King Cole, Joe Cocker, Dean Martin and Cher. All licensing agreements for the music of these artists … all of which will far outlive all of us … now goes through them. (kk)
Dwight Twilley, who scored the Top 20 Hits “I’m On Fire” back in 1975 and “Girls” in 1984, passed away on Wednesday, October 18th. No cause of death was revealed.
I used to love singing “I’m On Fire” back in the day … and “Girls” features Tom Petty on background vocals.
Dwight and his wife participated with Forgotten Hits a few times in the past, most notably after Dwight had recorded an album of Beatles covers, of which we were able to “sneak peek” a couple of tracks. (kk)
As to the passing of Rudolph Isley, SOOOO many original versions that so many made hits of later -- it's amazing. Sad about Dwight Twilley's passing as well. What talent between those two.
And, as to Kenny Loggins and Melissa Manchester doing "Wherever I Call You Friend" … FINALLY, it's just great! 45 years under the bridge.
Clark
I like it, too … and have listened to it countless times during the past week. A GREAT recording of a track that I always felt was so-so at best. Totally love the new vibe they bring to the song. (And man, Kenny Loggins sounds just GREAT on this record … he’s still got that same singing voice!) kk
I got the news release as I was typing today’s piece that “Rocky” actor Burt Young just died. (Of course Burt did SO much more than just the “Rocky” films … but these are probably what he’ll most be remembered for.) Not a day goes by lately where we don’t seem to have some more sad new to report. (kk)
Britney Spears’ new book snagged all the headlines this past week when she disclosed that she had an abortion while she was dating Justin Timberlake. (People Magazine is running an excerpt.) I’m on the fence about reading this one … but probably will … if only to see if she seems of sound mind while telling her story.
Meanwhile, talking about being of “sound mind,” a brand new press release went out this week promoting Joel Selvin’s upcoming book on Drummer Jim Gordon, “Drums And Demons: The Tragic Journey Of Jim Gordon.”
I preordered my copy the day the book was first announced a couple of months ago. (Without question, this will be a very tragic story to read … the tale of an incredibly talented man whose skills were in demand throughout his career. Gordon drummed for just about anybody who was anybody back in his hey-day … then tragically ended up murdering his own mother after succumbing to his own demons of mental illness. Jim passed away a few months ago.)
From the official release:
Diversion Books is set to publish Drums & Demons: The Tragic Journey of Jim Gordon by Joel Selvin on February 27th, 2024. Selvin’s riveting narrative follows the man who many consider the greatest rock drummer of all time, from his humble beginnings as a teenage touring musician, to his many landmark accomplishments in the studio and on the road, through his downward spiral into mental illness, matricide and incarceration. With the cooperation of the late rock legend’s family, and based on his trademark extensive, detailed research, Selvin uncovers one of the darkest stories in popular music, further cementing his reputation as a master of rock noir.
"Without downplaying the gruesome details of Gordon’s crime, Selvin gracefully portrays the musician as 'more than his disease,'” states Publishers Weekly. “This affecting account sheds new light on one of rock’s most complicated figures.”
Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, Jim Gordon got his start as a professional drummer touring with the Everly Brothers in the mid-1960s. His penchant for creative and astonishingly accurate musicianship earned him regular session work, joining the community retroactively referred to as The Wrecking Crew. His preternatural intuition and perfect sense of time can be heard on more than 30 Top 10 singles including several #1 hits including the Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations,” Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” and “I Got You Babe” by Sonny & Cher (he also supplied the literal beat for “The Beat Goes On” by the latter). He has been immortalized on albums by George Harrison, John Lennon and the Byrds, among dozens of other household name music acts. Gordon was notably the drummer for Derek and the Dominos and provided the piano coda for their evergreen anthem “Layla.” Joel Selvin details how Gordon didn’t merely keep time, but he was also instrumental in shaping compositions; whether it was his Latin-influenced rhythms on “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” by Steely Dan or his monumental drum break on the Incredible Bongo Band’s “Apache” (a staple of hip-hop from the genre’s inception, having been sampled on over 750 other records), he wasn’t just a player on hits, he made them hits.
Joel Selvin explores the mind of Jim Gordon and his long struggle with schizophrenia, which stayed undiagnosed for years while he self-medicated with alcohol and hard drugs, while trying to hold his career together throughout the 1970s. Gordon’s head became crowded with a hellish gang of voices screaming at him, demanding obedience, eventually taking him from the absolute heights of the rock world — playing with the most famous musicians of his generation — to working in a Santa Monica dive-bar band for $30 a night. His illness came to a head in 1983 when he brutally murdered his own mother, leading to incarceration for the remainder of his life. Jim Gordon passed away in March of 2023 at the age of 77. With the aid of first-hand accounts, medical records and court documents, Drums & Demons brings this horror to life.
Joel Selvin is no stranger to the seedy underbelly of the music world. He tackled similar subject matter in Altamont: The Rolling Stones, the Hells Angels, and the Inside Story of Rock’s Darkest Day (2016), he followed New York gangsters in Here Comes The Night: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm and Blues (2014) and Peppermint Twist: The Mob, the Music, and the Most Famous Dance Club of the ‘60s (2012), and covered kidnap and murder in Hollywood Eden: Electric Guitars, Fast Cars, and the Myth of the California Paradise (2021).
“Jim wasn't the beneficiary of much compassion during his life,” said Joel Selvin, “but nobody knew what pain and struggle he went through fighting his mental illness.”
DRUMS BY JIM GORDON: SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY
Joan Baez – Diamonds and Rust
Beach Boys – Good Vibrations / God Only Knows
Jackson Browne – Here Comes Those Tears Again
Buffalo Springfield – Expecting To Fly
Byrds – Goin’ Back
Glen Campbell – Wichita Lineman; Gentle On My Mind
Carpenters – There’s A Kind Of Hush
Eric Clapton -After Midnight
Joe Cocker – The Letter
Crosby, Stills and Nash – Marrakesh Express
Burton Cummings – Stand Tall
John Denver – Thank God I’m A Country Boy
Derek and the Dominos – Layla
Dino, Desi and Billy – I’m A Fool
Friends Of Distinction – Grazin’ In The Grass
Merle Haggard – I’m A Lonesome Fugitive
Albert Hammond – It Never Rains In California
George Harrison – What Is Life\
Hues Corporation – Rock The Boat
Incredible Bongo Band – Apache
Sammy Johns – Chevy Van
John Lennon – Power To The People
Gordon Lightfoot – Sundown
Dave Mason – Only You Know And I Know
Monkees – Mary Mary
Maria Muldaur – Midnight At The Oasis
Randy Newman – Have You Seen My Baby
Nilsson - Coconut
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Strangered In The Night
Mike Post – The Rockford Files
Gary Puckett and the Union Gap – Woman, WOman
Helen Reddy – I Am Woman
Johnny Rivers – Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu
Leon Russell – Pisces Apple Lady
Carly Simon – You’re So Vain
Sonny and Cher – The Beat Goes On
Steely Dan – Rikki Don’t Lose That Number
B.W. Sevenson – My Maria
Stone Poneys (featuring Linda Ronstadt) – Different Drum
Traffic – Low Spart Of High-Heeled Boys
Ike and Tina Turner – River Deep, Mountain High
Mason Williams – Classical Gas
Frank Zappa – Apostrophe’
This VERY cool Burt Bacharach documentary is great from 1965. IF you like his music or ANYONE who recorded his 60s songs, you will want to see this, posted yesterday to youtube. PLUS, you get to see him drive around London (I am guessing) on this, too!
The Bacharach Sound (ITV 1965)
Granada TV Special saluting US songwriter Burt Bacharach, featuring Bacharach hits sung by Dusty Springfield, The Merseybeats, The Searchers, Dionne Warwick and Chuck Jackson, accompanied by The Burt Bacharach Orchestra. With his lyricist Hal David. Recorded in Studio 10 (Granada's Chelsea Palace Theatre, King's Road, London) and broadcast on ITV on Wednesday 14th April 1965 at 9.40pm (38 minutes).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyOsv0c82qQ
Clever idea … but I still find it hard to laugh at anything to do with this event …
I just found this among my junk pictures ...
I didn't realize Lee had a rock band ...
Here he is, possibly doing "I Shot the Sheriff"???
Mike
Your story on Jack Ruby was fine, but did you know that Jack was best friends with PAMS jingle company exec Bill Meeks, too, in Dallas?
Bill was asked about this in a 1990s interview on KOMA with Ricky the K Kaufman (attached). Bill goes to say how Jack was truly a wonderful man and had a great love of JFK at the time of his passing. SO, maybe the innocent and not-premeditated verdict was true.
Maybe Larry Neal heard this, too (?)
Speaking of which, great WKY chart you sent in, Larry! As you know, former WKY/KOMA legend Ronnie Kaye was fired last week.
Clark Besch
MORE:
An Oklahoma City legend in radio was fired last week for an inappropriate comment he made on the air.
Ronnie Kaye is a DJ I have listened to since the mid-1960s when I first started recording off the radio one summer in 1965. He was on the #1 station in OKC -- NO, not 50,000 watt KOMA –
He was on 5000 watt WKY, but even tho KOMA programmed to the entire midwest, WKY topped the OKC local listeners! In Dodge City, we could get all the OKC stations and those two battled as if WLS and WCFL or WABC and WMCA did then.
SO, what did he say to get fired?
“It’s Columbus Day and
Indigenous People Day.
I don’t know what ‘Indigenous’ means and I don’t care.”
In this politically correct world today, he can’t say that. In 1965, he could say it because I don’t think the term even existed! Maybe it did.
It is sad he got fired for it, because a lot of worse things are said daily by a lot of people on air and in politics. Most people get a warning and apologize on the air and move on. It is worse for Ronnie due to Indigenous people having lived there and been put there against their will before OK was a state and so many slaughtered in Tulsa 100 years ago. He SHOULD know the term, but then again, he's 84.
He tried to apologize, but was not allowed to do so on the air.
Here are two stories about the decision last week:
https://www.distractify.com/p/why-was-ronnie-kaye-koma-fired
IF you were a fan of KOMA and/or WKY in mid-60's, you will recognize some of the great air names in the listed ones in Billboard 1965 and 66 ratings.
He had his own TV show, too:
Ronnie was a guest judge for a dance contest and even got his local OKC dancers a shot at the gold and appeared on the show. You can see him introduced and talking with Dick 40 minutes into the show here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEyTY8-n9LA&t=27s
Anyway, I guess there are rumors that he said his comment on purpose TO get fired so that he would not have to say goodbye in a special event, as he can get very choked up, but I am guessing it's just a case of old school.
You can hear Ronnie Kaye on WKY here 60+ years ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxPtV2wCdIc
A great legend of radio.
Clark Besch
This just in …
TONIGHT …
Harvey Kubernik will be a guest on Coast To Coast AM with host Ian Punnett on Friday, October 20th, from 10:00 pm - Midnight (PST)
Coast To Coast AM is the most listened to overnight radio show in the United States
Author, music historian and documentarian Harvey Kubernik has written twenty books on the history of popular rock music.
Tonight, Kubernik makes his 4th visit to Coast to Coast AM, and second booking with host Ian Punnett.
The program is syndicated to 620 AM radio stations in the U.S. and Canada by Premiere Networks. 4.5 million listeners. America's # 1 Audio Company. Reaching 9 out of 10 Americans every month. https://www.coasttocoastam.com.
KFI 640-AM is the Los Angeles affiliate ... https://qa.coasttocoastam.com/stations
Listen Live Coast to Coast AM | Free Internet Radio | TuneIn
https://tunein.com/radio/Coast-to-Coast-AM-p35675
Listen Live at https://www.coasttocoastam.com
Harvey and Ian will discuss in their two-hour interview a variety of subjects including Harvey's pop culture journalism, books, Jimi Hendrix, music documentaries, and a new book he penned the introduction for, The Rolling Stones: Icons, published by ACC Art Books, Ltd.
The Rolling Stones: Icons - ACC Art Books UK
https://www.accartbooks.com/uk/book/the-rolling-stones-icons
Title: The Rolling Stones: Icons, Pages: 300 Pages, Publish Date: 9th Oct 2023, Author: Edited by ACC Art Books Ltd, Introduction by Harvey Kubernik,
- Includes iconic, rare and unseen images of The Rolling Stones
- Each photographer has selected images for their chapter and written an introductory text about their time working with the band
- Produced to the highest quality – this will be the photography book of 2023
About Harvey Kubernik: Harvey Kubernik is the author of 20 books, including 2009’s Canyon Of Dreams: The Magic And The Music Of Laurel Canyon, 2014’s Turn Up The Radio! Rock, Pop and Roll In Los Angeles 1956-1972, 2015's Every Body Knows: Leonard Cohen, 2016's Heart of Gold: Neil Young and 2017's 1967: A Complete Rock Music History of the Summer of Love. Sterling/Barnes and Noble in 2018 published Harvey and Kenneth Kubernik’s The Story Of The Band: From Big Pink To The Last Waltz. In 2021 they wrote Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child for Sterling/Barnes and Noble. In 2023, Harvey and Kenneth signed a book deal with Insight Editions and are collaborating with Iconic Images for Images That Rocked the World (The Music Photography of Ed Caraeff).
Harvey Kubernik speaks onstage at Reel To Reel: https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/
Harvey Kubernik speaks onstage at Reel To Reel: The Last Waltz at The GRAMMY Museum on October 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Get premium, high resolution news photos …
Martin Scorsese's 'Last Waltz' Returning to Theaters … https://variety.com/2023/film/news/martin-scorsese...
Visit Harvey Kubernik’s website Kubernik's Korner at: www.otherworldcottageindustries.com
Where to Listen to
Coast to Coast AM: https://qa.coasttocoastam.com/stations
