TUESDAY THIS AND THAT

>>>We went to our first concert in a long time this past Thursday Night (10/5) when we saw Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band at the beautiful Chicago Theater.  (kk)

Billy J was there!

Shelley

Thank you, RINGO STARR, for an ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC ALL STARR SHOW at the BEAUTIFUL CHICAGO THEATER!!!

BILLY J KRAMER

That is SO weird!!!

About six weeks ago or so I extended an invitation to Billy to go to Ringo’s concert when it hit Chicago and never heard anything back.  He only lives about 75 minutes away from me now and I thought it might make for the perfect evening / reunion.

 

(I will admit that part of me wondered if maybe HE could get us backstage so we could videotape that short clip of Ringo for The Dick Biondi Film ... but I never actually asked him that question because I just thought it would be great to see him again!  It has been a few years and I didn't make it to this year's Chicago Fest For Beatles Fans.  The fact that he ran a photo of himself and the sign ... rather than one of him and Ringo ... tells me that HE didn't get to visit with him either!  lol)

 

In fact, because our birthdays are only a couple of weeks apart (and he was turning 80 and I was turning 70 ... both milestone birthdays), I suggested we meet somewhere in between for dinner to celebrate ... but that, too, kinda fell by the wayside and never happened.  (We both liked the idea ... but neither of us ever followed up on it!)

 

Damn ... it would have been nice to say hello!

 

(Hey Billy, if you’re seeing this, we love ya!  Let's figure out a time and place to get together!!!)  kk

 

Speaking of The Dick Biondi Film, Pam got to ride on the float (along with The Ides Of March and a couple of longtime FH Readers Marlene O'Malley and Mike Wolstein) honoring Biondi's career in this year's Chicago Columbus Day Parade.  

 

Here are a couple of pictures she posted on her Facebook page ...

 

https://www.facebook.com/1177718413/posts/pfbid0F2JZYLdSNHwHByhNLPNBvagoHfLib5enuG9SbwyN4KXinpteC2VkXN5Kkn4Ltevkl/?mibextid=cr9u03

 

WGN will replay the parade this Saturday (October 14th) for those (like me!) who missed it.  (kk)

 

Tom Cuddy saw The Association at Tarrytown Music Hall in Tarrytown, NY, on Sunday, October 1^st, and sent us these shots of original members Jules Alexander and Jim Yester.

 

It was to be the group’s first appearance since the passing of founding member Terry Kirkman …

 

But according to Tom, the audience would have been none the wiser …

 

 

Kent:

One Fan’s Opinion:

As all fans, I was saddened to hear the news that original member of the Association, Terry Kirkman, had passed away a couple of weeks ago at 83 in California.

Days later, I was scheduled to see the Association in their first concert since Terry’s passing.  It was October 1^st in Tarrytown, New York, at the Tarrytown Music Theatre.

Terry was the only member of the band who had written two Top 10 Hits for them (“Cherish” and “Everything That Touches You.”)  Although Terry had not toured with the group for many years, he would show up for a Hall Of Fame Induction or a TV Special, and was still in touch with original Association members.

I very curious what the current original members of the Association (Jim Yester and Jules Alexander) might say during the concert as a small goodbye or tribute.

Much to my surprise they said NOTHING.

And I’m not sure why.

I asked the promoter of the show had there been any discussion before the show about the passing of Terry and how to address it.  He told me there had been none that he was aware of.

The promoter went on to tell me that many of the old-timers believe the set should always remain upbeat and you don’t want to give the audience a downer, like sharing one of our best buddies left us last week.

I wasn’t expecting any long or dragged out tribute, but even something as short as ...

“We lost our musical brother Terry Kirkman last week.  He was with the Association from day one and we’ll greatly miss him.  But we’ll always have his incredible songs, like this one … it was # 1 for us in 1966 … ‘Cherish.’”

Again, it’s just one fan’s opinion.

On a positive note, it was a treat to see original Jim Yester back with the band.  He now lives in New Jersey. Jim sang lead on their first hit, “Along Comes Mary.” During the 2022 “Happy Together Tour,” he came down with a bad case of Covid and had to leave the tour. From what I’ve been told, he was on the sidelines for quite some time, but I was thrilled to see 83 year-old Jim back singing, smilin’, playing his guitar and telling anecdotes, likes he’s been doing for decades. 

Tom Cuddy

New York, NY

It just doesn't seem right that they wouldn't acknowledge their recently fallen compadre ... especially one as important as Terry Kirkman.  His contributions to the success and longevity of the band are pretty much unmatched.  They could have ... and SHOULD have ... said something to pay tribute to that contribution.  Any one of the songs he wrote for the group could have been dedicated to him when they performed it that night ... most particularly "Cherish" ... with something as simple as:

"We cherish the memory ... and the legacy that you brought to The Association.

And we do ... cherish you."  (Would that have been so hard ... would it REALLY have turned off the audience?  Or might it actually have allowed them the opportunity to acknowledge the fact that they all felt exactly the same way.)  kk

Then this, from someone else who was there that night ...

A station wagon filled with teenagers, taking the back-roads from the church hall to my house to drop me off. The Association is playing on 8-track. As we approach a well known bump in the road, a brash boy in the back cargo area yells, "FLOOR IT!" "NOOOOO!" I counter, but toooooo late. Air born kids and open bags of chips fill the inside of the car ... and someone's father is not going to be too happy about his suspension repair. The Association sings on.

The Association are an electric rock group of sorts. As were many 60's bands, they sang about love, lost and gained; war and peace; and social injustices. And to see them tonight WITH JIM YESTER AGAIN, is bringing me back to that bump in the road, where they just kept on singing.  

Who's peekin' out from under a stairway
Callin' a name that's lighter than air?
Who's bendin' down to give me a rainbow?
Everyone knows it's Windy

THAT Windy is me as a child.

Who's trippin' down the streets of the city
Smilin' at everybody she sees?
Who's reachin' out to capture a moment?
Everyone knows it's Windy

THAT Windy is me now ... capturing every moment.

And Windy has stormy eyes
That flash at the sound of lies
And Windy has wings to fly
Above the clouds (above the clouds)
Above the clouds (above the clouds)

THAT Windy has been me forever. I hate lies and my eyes will tend to storm when I hear them. Windy was a man, however. The lyricist, Ruthann Friedman, saw this man enter the room and she really felt he was just going to blow her away. Amazing isn't it?

Jim Yester seems to be back in a leadership role and takes over lead singing with Everything That Touches You. 

In my most secure moments, I still can't believe
I'm spending those moments with you
And the ground I am walking, the air that I breathe
Are shared at those moments with you

I am so glad to have The Association back up and running. The lyrics they sang, no matter the topic, touch my heart and pull memories to the forefront that I have been able to push aside.

Jordan Cole is the son of original member, Brian Cole. Everyone in The Association sings AND plays various instruments. It is Jordan's turn to sing Here They Come and Enter the Young. Remember when we were the young entering and planning to change the world for the better? I still am. Don't know what happened to some of you along the way. Come back!

NEVER MY LOVE! Oh, time to just slide out of my seat onto the floor.

You ask me if there'll come a time
When I grow tired of you

Never my love
Never my love

You wonder if this heart of mine
Will lose its desire for you

Never my love
Never my love

What makes you think love will end
When you know that my whole life depends on you? (On you)

I am a romantic, but rightly so, did not believe every promise made to me. Also, thankfully, I have forgotten most of them. I have a feeling that all eras experienced idle promises to get personal results.

Flip over Never My Love and Requiem for the Masses can be heard. As The Association stands in a line, reverently lowering their heads, or with eyes raised to the heavens, we remember the impact that songs like this had on our lives and the lives of our veterans. Veterans wrote to The Association, thanking them for this piece and they even received recognition from the president. He wanted them to take it off the airwaves. It was ruining his war. Too late, Mr. Nixon. Everybody had already heard it.

Six Man Band

No Fair at all ... which was a big hit in the Philippines, unknown to the band. So, when they visited that country, they had forgotten all about it. Yes, forgotten all about it. When they were asked to sing it, they couldn't! 

There were so many demos sent this band over the years that it was just impossible to listen to them all, let alone perform them. Jim Yester tried to talk the band into recording several, but he lost out each time, UNTIL he convinced them to record ...

Avocado!!

With mood lighting added and a spotlight on Jim ...

It is still Avocado.

Cherish and then:

The naughty song: Along Comes Mary, and an encore of Windy completes the night. Jules Alexander, Jim Yester, Del Ramos, Jordan Cole, Bruce Pictor and Paul Holland have shared stories and events of their songs and lives to enhance the evening. I haven't posted them all here on purpose. They are best heard first-hand in order to be appreciated and enjoyed.

Cherish is a word I use to describe
All the feeling that I have hiding here for you inside
 

You don't know how many times I've wished that I had told you
You don't know how many times I've wished that I could hold you
You don't know how many times I've wished that I could mold you Into someone who could cherish me as much as I cherish you

Their biggest hit! Remember to Cherish the music.

INTERMISSION

 

Shelley Sweet-Tufano 

Hi, Kent ...
Today's piece about Frankie Valli brought back an interesting memory.
I became a broadcast-band "DX" nut back in the 60s. Over a period of about 15 years I'd racked up quite a collection of stations I'd heard and verified all over the western hemisphere, including about 42 states and a few Canadian provinces (and even a station on 800 KHz in the Netherlands Antilles!).
There was one experience that will always remain #1 on my charts.
One night in the late 90s, at around 1:00 AM, I was in the car, and as usual, I had one hand on the tuning knob.  I heard a fading station on 1440 KHz playing a tune from 1956 called "You're the Apple of My Eye" by the Four Lovers. I was stunned.

That group, a few years later, became the Four Seasons. I knew it wasn't our "local"
(Rockford, IL) station, because they were daytime-only.  Just as I got home, I heard the DJ announce the phone number to call for making requests, but they faded out just before the ID. So I called them; the DJ was a college student. I told him about the Four Lovers / Seasons thing and he was shocked. He asked where I was calling
from, and when I told him I was three miles east of O'Hare Field, there was a deadly silence - he didn't believe me.
I asked where HE was, and it turned out he was at WJJL in Niagara Falls, NY, at which time they were running about 16 watts of nighttime power.  The next day, I wrote up a reception report and mailed it to the station and asked for a QSL card.  Never got one.
Mike

That Four Lovers record earned enough sales and airplay to chart at #62 in Billboard in the late Spring / early Summer of 1956 … SIX YEARS before The Four Seasons would hit it big with “Sherry.”  The B-Side of that record, “The Girl In My Dreams” and a follow-up single “Honey Love,” charted of a week each in Music Vendor only, reaching #’s 85 and 82 respectively, and then they were gone ... seemingly just a flash in the pan.  (That hit single DID earn them a spot on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1956, however.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHnfiFkAams

I am SO glad the guys kept at it rather than throwing in the towel after their first, very limited success.  Think of all the great songs the world would have been cheated out of if they had.  (By the way, the only two members of the original Four Lovers to make the transition to The Four Seasons were Frankie Valli and guitarist Tommy DeVito.  Tommy’s brother Nick played bass on their first chart hit.)

In all, they would release seven singles under that name … but when each subsequent release failed to make The Top 100, RCA Records dropped them from the label. 

Two years later, they met Producer Bob Crewe, who signed them to a new contract.  They primarily did background vocals on records made by other artists, not officially jelling until keyboardist and composer Bob Gaudio came on board.  (By then they had replaced Nick DeVito with Nick Massey … and the original Four Seasons were born.)  After signing with the small Vee Jay label right here in Chicago, they watched their first three releases all go to #1 on the charts:  “Sherry” (1962), “Big Girls Don’t Cry” (1962) and “Walk Like A Man.” (1963) 

As you saw by our Four Seasons Hit List, other #1’s followed, including “Rag Doll” in 1964, “Let’s Hang On” in 1965 and then “December, 1963” in 1976.  (kk)

Kent,

In your last posting today of NAME THAT TUNE, it reminded me that through the years people have either called me up on the phone or talked to me in person and wanted to know the name of a particular record or song. They might know a lyric or two or what is sometimes funnier, they hum it if it's an instrumental. But your cartoon there at the end reminded me of CLAP YOUR HANDS by the Beaumarks from 1960, a top ten record here in OKC.

Larry

Hmmm … I’m guessing the REST of the world probably (correctly) guessed “We Will Rock You” by Queen!!!  (lol)  kk