60 YEARS AGO TODAY:
12/6/63 – The first Beatles Fan Club Christmas Record is sent out to members of The Beatles' fan club in England.
It was a five minute romp of clowning around and saying "thank you" to all the fans who supported them thru their first incredible year.
It would be an annual tradition that would continue thru 1969, making seven special holiday gifts in all.
Also on 12/6, Jacqueline Kennedy and her two children, Caroline and John, Jr., move out of The White House. (President Johnson and First Lady Lady Bird Johnson had told the Kennedys that they could take as much time as they needed to settle their affairs before vacating the premises.) The Kennedys celebrated John, Jr.’s birthday on their last day at The White House as his REAL birthday party, scheduled for November 25th, had to be postponed as that was the date of his father’s funeral.
*****
Irreplaceable ...
We lost one of the great ones on December 6th, 1988. ;-(
Mike Wolstein
Say it ain’t so. Denny Laine of the Moody Blues and later Wings passed away today. A great talent.
Clark
From FH Reader Brad Joblin ...
Here's a 2014 video I shot backstage of Denny Laine - posted tonight in his memory
I am sure you heard that Denny Laine passed. I was discussing the controversy of his go-fund-me page and the negative press of Macca not helping out with a few Beatles aficionados. I did get some information from a reliable source. I didn't need to know this, but I am aware others do. (I know he helped out.)
I think he was in a hospital in Italy and was not permitted to fly. If he was in England, he would have had free health care.
Shelley
My understanding is that Paul DID help and was in constant contact with Denny’s wife. He just did it all in a very low key manner - which is his style.
The fans were quite vocal about speaking out against McCartney, as if he should have just stepped in and bought his former bandmate the fountain of youth … but that was never McCartney’s obligation to do so. Still, I heard he did help out his friend … and told Denny’s wife Elizabeth that if there was anything else she needed, to just let him know. (Back when The Beatles first rose to the top of the entertainment stratosphere some people actually believed they had healing powers to have had this great an effect on society … they used to line up … as John Lennon used to say … “all the cripples in front of the stage thinking that we could some how cure them.”)
If Paul helped out (and I know that he did), he did so out of the kindness of his heart and the goodness of his soul … as well as his genuine love for his friend. (kk)
Sadly, yes, Denny Laine passed away on Tuesday, December 5th, the date of the 50th Anniversary of the US release of “Band On The Run,” Wings’ biggest album ever.
Denny was an original founding member of not only Wings but also The Moody Blues, and sang their very first chart it, “Go Now,” which went all the way to #6 in 1965.
He had been battling medial issues for quite some time, all triggered by his bout with Covid-19 last year.
His wife Elizabeth posted this shortly after his passing …
My darling husband passed away peacefully early this morning. I was at his bedside, holding his hand as I played his favorite Christmas songs for him. He’s been singing Christmas songs the past few weeks and I continued to play Christmas songs while he’s been in ICU on a ventilator this past week.
He and I both believed he would overcome his health setbacks and return to the rehabilitation center and eventually home. Unfortunately, his lung disease, Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD), is unpredictable and aggressive; each infection weakened and damaged his lungs. He fought everyday. He was so strong and brave, never complained.
All he wanted was to be home with me and his pet kitty, Charley, playing his gypsy guitar.
Denny was so very thankful to all of you who sent him so much love, support and the many kind words during these past few months of his health crisis - it brought him to tears.
I thank you all for sending both of us love and support. It was my absolute honor and privilege to not only be his wife, but to care for him during his illness and vulnerability.
Thank you to Denny’s surgeons, doctors, specialists, physical therapists and nurses at Naples Hospital for working so hard to help him. Thank you for your compassion and support for me during these past several emotional months.
My world will never be the same. Denny was an amazingly wonderful person, so loving and sweet to me. He made my days colorful, fun and full of life-just like him.
Thank you sweetie for loving me, for all the laughter, friendship, fun and for asking me to be your wife. I will love you forever ❤️
Please give Denny’s friends and family the time and privacy needed as we grieve our loss. 💔
Much love,
Elizabeth Hines
We ran links a few times to the Go Fund Me page Elizabeth had set up … and a sold-out fundraiser concert last weekend also helped to raise funds … but it sounds like no amount of money would have changed the outcome … he was already too far gone it was simply Denny’s time. Our thoughts are with you tonight as we remember all of the great music you gave us over the years. (kk)
Macca posted this after he heard the news of Denny’s passing:
I am very saddened to hear that my ex-bandmate, Denny Laine, has died. I have many fond memories of my time with Denny: from the early days when The Beatles toured with the Moody Blues. Our two bands had a lot of respect for each other and a lot of fun together. Denny joined Wings at the outset. He was an outstanding vocalist and guitar player. His most famous performance is probably ‘Go Now,’ an old Bessie Banks song, which he would sing brilliantly. He and I wrote some songs together, the most successful being ‘Mull of Kintyre,’ which was a big hit in the Seventies. We had drifted apart but in recent years managed to re-establish our friendship and share memories of our times together.
Denny was a great talent with a fine sense of humour and was always ready to help other people. He will be missed by all his fans and remembered with great fondness by his friends. I send my condolences and best wishes to his wife, Elizabeth and family.
Peace and love, Denny. It was a pleasure to know you. We are all going to miss you. Love, Paul
Denny was the only “constant” that made it thru every variation of Wings over the years … he was there from start to finish … and, by the time it came to fly to Africa to record the “Band On The Run” album, Wings’ greatest success, the band was down to just Denny, Paul and Linda. Between them, they created an absolute masterpiece that is celebrating its 50th anniversary right now.
In fact, if you ever feel the need to buy “Band On The Run” for the 15th time, Paul McCartney is trying to give you a reason to do so.
In honor of the LP’s 50th anniversary, a new 2-CD set is coming out on February 2nd in a variety of configurations. The first disc will use the US track listing (meaning that “Helen Wheels” will be included, the second disc will be what he is calling “The Underdubbed Mix.”
In Paul’s own words:
This is Band on the Run in a way you’ve never heard before. When you are making a song and putting on additional parts, like an extra guitar, that’s an overdub. Well, this version of the album is the opposite, underdubbed.”
Band on the Run (“Underdubbed”) presents Band on the Run’s nine classic songs for the first time without any orchestral overdubs, available digitally. The previously unreleased rough mixes were created by Geoff Emerick, assisted by Pete Swettenham at AIR Studios, on 14th October 1973. The tracklist, newly ordered as detailed below, mirrors the original analog tapes discovered in the MPL archives.
1. Band on the Run
2. Mamunia
3. No Words
4. Jet
5. Bluebird
6. Mrs. Vandebilt
7. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five
8. Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me)
9. Let Me Roll It
I think I’ll listen to this one before I buy it! (lol) One thing I’ve learned over the years is that I DON’T need EVERY copy of EVERY mix of EVERY rough draft … the final, released product is typically going to be the best version every time. While some of these tracks might be interesting for a listen or two, I don’t know that they’re the kind of thing I’ll ever reference back to. Curious? Yeah, a little … but only for a listen! (kk)
Ending on a somewhat happier note ...
All sorts of buzz now that Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” finally hit the #1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 Pop Singles Chart.
And here’s her new video again, featuring Brenda lip-synching to her 65 year old vocal … as well as cameo appearances by country stars Tanya Tucker and Trish Yearwood.
When told that her record had reached the summit this week, Brenda thanked the film “Home Alone” for pushing it over the top … but if THAT were the case, she would have reached this milestone DECADES ago.
No, this was a case of good old fashioned promotion … MCA worked their tails off to make this happen … and unseating Queen Mariah, who’s topped the chart EVERY years since 2019 (including this one), was no small feat.
Will it stay on top for more than a week? Time will tell (but I kinda doubt it … Mariah’s record is just too big … even when Brenda’s track was coming in second for the last several years, the sales differential was significant … something like six to one in favor of Mariah.) So this is a HUGE achievement. WTG, Brenda … MCA … and all the radio programmers and listeners out there who finally made it happen. Who knows … maybe it’ll be #1 again 65 years from now!!! (kk)
David Salidor, whose father worked for Decca and ran the PR-department, had this to say about the Brenda Lee record:
As you can imagine, that song was played a lot in my house. My father and Brenda were pretty close ... her manager, Dub Allbritten, and Decca's Owen Bradley also became close friends. I sort of grew up with that track and for a time thought that was the only Xmas song out there. Saying I knew it was a #1 record even back then might be a bit presumptuous, but it was a great track.
Congrats all!
DIS
We talk often about these great artists being recognized in their lifetimes ...
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is notorious about waiting until after an artist has passed to give them their rightful due. (Fortunately, Brenda was inducted way back in 2002 ... but her greatest competitor, Connie Francis, who virtually matched her hit-for-hit throughout the late '50's and early '60's, has STILL never been recognized.)
What a FINE, deserving honor to have Brenda Lee see, with her very own eyes, her record go all the way to the top of the charts some 65 years after she first recorded it.
Congratulations indeed! (kk)
