Rudolph Isley, founding member of The Isley Brothers, passed away on Wednesday, October 11th. He was 84. (Rudolph had a hand in writing some of their biggest hits, including “Shout,” “It’s Your Thing” and “That Lady.”)
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
We recently reported (back on August 26th), that Rudolph and his brother Ronald were involved in a dispute as to the rights to the “brand name” The Isley Brothers. (Rudolph last performed with the group in 1989, at which time he left to become a Christian Minister.)
‘60’s FLASHBACK:
There seems to be a little lost brotherly love between Isley Brothers Ronald and Rudolph.
After the passing of brother O’Kelly in 1986, the two reportedly shared the rights to the Isley Brothers name … but Rudolph has not performed as part of The Isley Brothers since about 1990. As such, Ronald feels that HE has been the only one keeping the family name (and family business) alive … and, as such, should own the full rights to the “brand” name. (Rudolph, of course, feels otherwise … which is what has landed the brothers in court right now.)
Last week, Rudolph testified that even though he stopped performing as part of the act, he did not technically leave the group, but “instead took on the sort of continuing managerial role that creates a continuing ownership right in the mark.”
Meanwhile, for the past 30+ years, it is Ronald Isley’s name that everybody is familiar with, both as a founding member of The Isley Brothers and also as a solo artist. (Ronald Isley scored a Top 10 Hit in 1990 when he teamed with Rod Stewart to record a new version of The Isley Brothers’ hit “This Old Heart Of Mine,” besting The Isley’s original recording by a couple of places on the chart.)
This one may take a while to resolve!
MORE:
At
one point in time, original founding members (and brothers) Ronald, Rudolph and
O’Kelly invited their younger brothers Ernie and Marvin into the family
business. Ernie and Marvin would eventually leave to form a new group
with their brother-in-law Chris Jasper in 1984 and scored a couple of minor
chart hits.
In all, between 1962 and 2006, The Isley Brothers placed 78 hits on Billboard’s
R&B Chart. Some of their biggest cross-over hits to the Pop Chart
include “Twist And Shout” (#17, 1962), “This Old Heart Of Mine” (#12, 1966),
“It’s Your Thing” (#2, 1969), “That Lady” (#6, 1973) and “Fight The Power” (#4,
1975). As recently as 2001, The Isley Brothers hit the Pop Top 20 with
their song “Contagious,” which was released as The Isley Brothers Featuring
Ronald Isley aka Mr. Biggs! (kk)
Phyllis Coates, TV’s original Lois Lane, also passed away last week on October 11th (at the age of 96.)
I was a major fan of “The Adventures of Superman” as a kid growing up, when the program aired weekday afternoons just in time for getting home from school, often airing two back-to-back episodes. It was also standard weekend fare … and over the years, I probably saw every episode at least 40 or 50 times. (Today, I own the complete television series on DVD … yet have never bothered to watch it as I already know each episode by heart!)
Phyllis’ first season Lois was never my favorite … although she probably came closer to the character described in the comics. (When a second season renewal wasn’t forthcoming fast enough, Coates had already signed to do another series … and she was replaced for the remainder of the series’ run by the far more familiar and memorable Noel Neill, who herself died in 2016. (Coates was the last surviving member of the cast … Jack Larson, who played Jimmy Olsen, passed away in 2015. John Hamilton, who played Daily Planet Editor Perry White, died in 1958, six months after the television series ended; Robert Shayne, who played Inspector Henderson died in 1992, while George Reeves, Superman himself, infamously and tragically committed suicide in 1959, proving that even Superman could not survive a bullet to the head in real life. Reeves’ guest shot on “I Love Lucy” is also a TV favorite amongst fans.)
The original season was a much more serious “Superman” … while once it returned with the recast Lois, the series took on a much lighter tone, sometimes even a bit camp. (I still maintain that it was the success of this approach that helped ABC decide to eight years later define “Batman” in much the same way … but it was taking that concept completely over the top that made it the HUGE initial success it became!)
Prior to the ABC television series, Coates appeared in the Superman feature film “Superman and the Mole Men” in 1951. In all, she appeared in 24 episodes of the series and then, in a clever bit of casting, played Teri Hatcher’s Lois Lane’s mother in an episode of “Lois And Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman” in 1994, some forty years plus later.
The first season of Superman was filmed in black and white …
and while the others were filmed in color (an unheard of concept for a
syndicated children’s television program in the ‘50’s), many of these also
aired in black and white simply because most of America didn’t have color
television sets yet! They have aired in
color over the past 70+ years of syndication.
“The Adventures Of Superman” has never really been off the air. A “colorized” version of “Superman And The
Mole Man” was also made available several years ago. (kk)
Some almost-useless info for ya ... but since you mentioned the
Kennedy assassination 60th anniversary the other day …
Jack Ruby and his mom are buried at Westlawn Cemetery, just west of
Harlem-Irving Plaza. I tripped over the graves by accident while searching for
a relative of mine. I also noticed that Shel Silverstein is buried 660
ft. to the west of the Rubys, and Mike Royko is at 600 feet to the southwest
. Always surprises to be had.
Mike Wolstein
Hmm … another Fort Worth / Chicago connection! We’ll have to check this out for ourselves!
I’ve been to Al Capone's grave many times before … in fact, my parents are buried virtually across the street in another cemetery.
One day, when I was showing Capone’s grave to my brother (we were probably in our 20’s at the time), we were TOTALLY freaked when, while we were standing there, three big limos pulled up and parked at the same spot!
Needless to say, we very nonchalantly left quickly and quietly!!! (kk)
I’ve gotta find a way to go see Queen + Adam Lambert when they appear here in Chicago on October 30th and 31st …
This Billboard review reaffirms everything I’ve heard about their current show … and I really don’t know how many more shows they’re going to do once this tour wraps up. (kk)
UPDATE: Well, we bit the bullet and purchased Queen + Adam Lambert tickets for the October 31st show ... and honestly, we can't wait. Very excited to finally be able to see them ... and even MORE excited that it didn't cost $2500 to do so! (kk)
We talk often about how our Forgotten Hits keep finding a new audience with each new generation thanks to use in television commercials and movie and television soundtracks.
Well, this week Billboard Magazine (who actually charts such things), tells us that HALF of this week’s Top Ten TV Tunes Chart are from OUR era of music, thanks to recently being featured in programs like “Virgin River,” “The Continental” and “Winning Time.” (kk)
Rank,
Song, Artist, Series (Network)
1. “September,” Earth, Wind & Fire, Virgin
River (Netflix)
2. “Baker Street,” Gerry Rafferty, The
Continental (Peacock)
3. “In the Shadows,” Amy Stroup, Virgin
River (Netflix)
4. “Gold,” Kiiara, Wilderness
(Amazon Prime Video)
5. “La Grange,” ZZ Top, The Continental
(Peacock)
6. “Let’s Groove,” Earth, Wind & Fire, Winning
Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (HBO)
7. “Blue Monday,” New Order, The
Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (AMC)
8. “Somewhere Only We Know,” Lily Allen, Virgin
River (Netflix)
9. “Sacrilege,” Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Wilderness
(Amazon Prime Video)
10. “Crimson and Clover,” Tommy James and the Shondells, The Continental (Peacock)
Harvey Kubernik looks back on the 50th Anniversary of The Rolling Stones’ album “Goats Head Soup” …
https://bestclassicbands.com/goats-head-soup-interview-rolling-stones-8-30-23/
>>>He had no idea at the time his impromptu video would become an Internet sensation with literally over a gazillion million views and still counting and is one of the most watched Internet videos of all time. (CB)
Chuck Counting …
I gave you credit for your research skills, but I hope you have someone else handling your finances. You made me laugh using literally, which is an absolute, and gazillion, which is an unspecified amount in the same sentence. So, you meant you can absolutely not count over this number ... and still add to it. I give you creativity and yes, I know, I am probably the only one who broke up laughing over this statement more than the video. Remember though that I have student music videos that can hold up to what you see on youtube.
Keep on keeping on
Shelley
From Tom Cuddy …
Kent:
Have you seen this?
No, I had not … but I loved it!
Which is really saying something since I never particularly cared for this song. (The new, upbeat tempo arrangement brings a whole new feeling to this tune.)
Over the years, I have expressed my resentment of Kenny Loggins (who cowrote the song with Melissa Manchester) choosing to release it as a single with Stevie Nicks instead, who was hot at the time thanks to her Fleetwood Mac success. (In all fairness, Loggins was on tour as Fleetwood Mac’s opening act at the time, which is how I saw them both for the very first time at a concert at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois that year.)
Their duet went to #5 in 1978 … and as such, I always felt Melissa Manchester was cheated out of a Top Five Hit on her own song. (I was also a HUGE Melissa Manchester fan at the time and had seen her several times during this same time period, including a show where Burton Cummings, out touring for the very first time as a solo artist, was her opening act.)
And, speaking of Tom Cuddy …
>>>Kent: Had I known that Forgotten Hits Royalty, East Coast Correspondent Shelley Sweet-Tufano, was going to be attending the same concert as me in Tarrytown, NY, featuring the Association and the Grass Roots, I would have made arrangements to say hi! As they say ... so close, but so far away. I also could have provided the attached picture to her review of the Grass Roots current lead singer Mark Dawson. (Tom Cuddy)
Tom –
Where Were You When I Needed You
Shelley
Chuck Buell tells me that he’s come across something he thinks is kind of Fascinating …
That I did! And for that reason, I just wanted to share this with everyone ~~~
For those who may not be aware of Theo Jansen, he’s a Dutch artist and inventor, who in my opinion, has taken the “Recycle, Reuse, Repurpose” mantra to a new amazing higher level!
Using yellow plastic PVC tubing, zip ties, rubber rings, recycled plastic bottles and other similar items, he combines art with engineering and creates his remarkable larger-than-life kinetic sculptures called “Strandbeests.” His creations actually move on their own in a life-like manner using just wind power.
Since 1990, in his long line of his Strandbeests, this is his latest for 2023. And I just thought it would be Fun to add an appropriate Classic Forgotten Hit to this video as background music!
So, here then is a Special Video Version of my “Chuck Buell Fascinating Minute Medley!”
CB which, using a “hard C” as in “Cat,” stands for “Cinetic Boy!” )
Chuck also sent us this little clip … which he refers to as “a rare "Chuck Buell Unplugged Forgotten Hits Eye Roller!"
[PLEASE NOTE: FH is NOT responsible for the content of this video – kk]
That’s funny -
A while back I ran a picture of a birthday candles display at Walmart ...
Somebody had arranged them to read 8 6 7 5 3 0 9 ... wonder how many shoppers got that!!!
And then, about a year ago I stopped for a gyro at lunch and they gave me number 909 while I waited for my order ...
Me, being me, the VERY first thing that crossed my mind when I saw it was, "If there had been just ONE more person ahead of me, I could have been the One After 909."
The power of a musical mind!!!! (lol)
Yeah . . . I wonder if it was from your unsung FHs hero in 2019 . . . me!
You can order a pizza from "Totally 80s Pizza" just north of Denver in Fort Collins, CO, at 970 - 867-5309!
CB
True Confession:
I was SO inspired by your message that tonight, when I had to stop at Jewel/Osco to pick up a prescription after work, I rearranged their birthday candles to read 867 5309 while I waited for my prescription to be filled ... and one of their floor clerks caught me ... walked up and said "Jenny" ... and then walked away. (Too funny! I'll bet he wasn't more than 25 years old!) kk
And here's a vintage Forgotten Hits piece from 2010 that we just stumbled across while looking for something else …
Der Führer Sings …
