John Lodge, formerly of the Moody Blues, is recuperating from what is being described as a “serious medical issue” during the Christmas holiday. While no specifics have been given, the health issue has forced him to postpone his “Days of Future Passed” U.S. tour that was planned for February and March. We wish him a speedy recovery.
Meanwhile, Tony Orlando has announced his final tour. (Orlando will turn 80 in April.) Remarkably, TWO of those farewell shows will be right here at The Arcada and the Des Plaines Theatres. (He and Ron Onesti are especially tight … so this will be a great, last opportunity to see him.)
Shelley Sweet-Tufano has been filling us in with details for the past couple of days …
Tony Orlando retires interview
My friend (and former employee) DJ Ken Michaels interviews Tony Orlando on his retirement ... and Tony takes over on correcting the record.
Shelley
TONY ORLANDO!!! (Pt. 1 -- Decision To Retire From Touring, Long Career, Dawn, Beatles): VIDEOCAST #143
Part 2: Where Tony Calms Down!: VIDEOCAST #144 –
TONY ORLANDO!!! (Pt. 2 -- Beatles, Tie A Yellow Ribbon, Gypsy Rose)
Word is he will continue to do his weekly radio show … so fans will still get the chance to tune in and listen to Tony and his guests. (kk)
Now here’s a statistic that’s tough to top …
According to Billboard Magazine one out of EVERY 15 albums sold last year in 2023 was by Taylor Swift!!! (Talk about dominating your marketshare!)
We’ve seen manias before … most of us have lived thru Elvis, The Beatles, The Bee Gees Disco Craze and Michael Jackson …
But I don’t know that ANY of them ever truly captured the market the way this young woman from West Reading, Pennsylvania has … it’s nothing short of remarkable. (kk)
Look for a new book on The Turtles, cowritten by our buddy Charles Rosenay!
https://notjusthappytogether.com/
Authors Mark Arnold (“Long Title: Looking for the Good Times; Examining The Monkees Songs, One by One” and “Headquartered: A Timeline of The Monkees Solo Years”) and Charles F. Rosenay!!! (“The Book of Top 10 Beatles Lists” and “The Book of Top 10 Horror Lists”) have joined forces to cover the entire careers of The Turtles … from their early days as The Crossfires, through their hit-filled years, into their break up that led to most of The Turtles members joining forces with Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention, on through Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan years as solo artists under the guise of Flo & Eddie, and even their forays into children’s records.
Arnold and Rosenay!!! have reviewed every song and album, and interviewed many of The Turtles‘ friends and associates along with most of The Turtles themselves, who have given startling new revelations that will surprise even the most hardcore fan.
This one sounds like a winner … and since I’ve already read the autobiographies written by the two principle players here, Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, it only stands to reason that I’m gonna wanna read this one!!! (These guys wrote the book on “Good Time Rock And Roll” … they always seemed to be having as much fun as their audience was having!)
You can order your copy here, right now: https://geniusbookpublishing.com/products/not-just-happy-together
Elton John became the 19th member of the EGOT Society when he snagged an Emmy for his Farewell From Dodger Stadium Television Rock Special last season. (That means that Elton has won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony … thus the EGOT certification.)
I was actually shocked that he wasn’t there to accept his award in person … but congratulations again for another career milestone. (Just last week he was crowned the Touring Box Office Champion of All-Time … the numbers are simply staggering! (kk)
A new biopic profiling Michael Jackson now has a release date … April 25th, 2025.
The film will star Michael’s nephew, Jaafar Jackson (Jermaine’s son) in the lead.
Director Antoine Fuqua can’t get over the similarities between Jaafar and his uncle …
“It’s uncanny how much he’s like Michael … sounds like him, dances like him, sings,” he told Entertainment Weekly.
The film is being made in conjunction with the singer’s estate. Michael’s career spanned four decades. His album Thriller became the best-selling album of all time after it sold more than 70 million copies worldwide. (It currently ranks second behind “The Eagles Greatest Hits, 1971 – 1975.”) The promotional material released by Lionsgate, the film studio, says that it will address all areas of Michael’s life …but it is unknown how the allegations of child sexual abuse around the star will be tackled.
Jaafar, 27, posted on Instagram when the film was first announced: “I’m humbled and honored to bring my Uncle Michael’s story to life. To all the fans all over the world, I’ll see you soon.”
Jackson died in 2009 aged 50. The autopsy declared his cause of death was an overdose of sedatives and the anaesthetic propofol, which were administered by his personal doctor. (kk)
I couldn’t quite place the timing of the picture I ran of John Lennon with the cast of “Happy Days” the other day …
I figured it had to be around 1975 … but originally mistakenly identified his son as “Sean” rather than Julian, figuring that Julian would have been right around 12 years old at the time … and this kid had a bit of an Asian look to him … never once stopping to fully rationalize the fact that Sean Lennon wasn’t even BORN until 1975!!!
Thankfully, Shelley caught the goof and I was quickly able to fix it. She then sent along this little blurb of information …
I just found this!
In a delightful and unexpected convergence of pop culture, the legendary John Lennon, co-lead singer of The Beatles, once graced the set of the beloved TV show “Happy Days.”
Let’s dive into this fascinating moment:
The Encounter:
During the show’s first year, John Lennon and his son Julian made an unannounced visit to the “Happy Days” stage. The cast was taken by surprise when they saw the iconic musician and his young son there.
Julian, who was just 10 years old at the time, joined his father for this memorable day on set.
So it was 1973 ...
Shelley
Thank you, Shelley, for allowing us to stick to our motto of always providing “the most accurate truth” possible!!! (kk)
Timmy sent us this shot of Bowzer
We just happened to be flipping thru the channels the other night … yet another case of 1750 stations but nothing to watch … when he stopped on an episode of “The Match Game” that featured Bowzer as one of the celebrities. It didn’t give a year, but boy, he SURE looked young! (And he was good, too … probably earned more matches than any of the other celebrities.)
And Tom Cuddy just sent us this clip of Pablo Cruise performing “Love Will Find A Way” on a recent Huckabee show …
https://youtu.be/L-M4dIfzP1g?si=jcWMzfGJxw77VzNq
I remember reading, many years ago, that 107
"lost episodes" of "The Honeymooners" were discovered. I don't
remember the exact story, but I remember seeing a few of them, when they were first
discovered. I believe they were shown on a local (Chicago)
station, but it escapes me now.
Mike
From a site called MPI Home Video, which sells old stuff on
CDs. (?):
THE LOST
HONEYMOONERS are a selection of rare sketches that originally
aired only once on the live telecasts of 'The Jackie Gleason
Show' from 1952-1957 and were preserved only as kinescope films.
These historic programs remain as hilarious now as when they
were first seen over half-a-century ago.
Yeah, I remember there being a big push for these at the time ... not "Honeymooners" episodes, per se, but sketches featuring the original cast that ran as part of "The Jackie Gleason Show." I was never a big enough fan to really follow them (kinda felt the same way about The Three Stooges) ... but the fact that these episodes hadn't been seen in DECADES caused quite a bit of excitement at the time. I think they truly believed them to be lost or erased tapes that suddenly surfaced. (kk)
Quite possibly the WORST break-in record of all time, can you believe that this thing actually charted?!?! (#91 in 1959!) kk
60 YEARS AGO TODAY:
1/17/64 – Future First Lady Michelle Obama is born
Also on 1/17, Astronaut John Glenn announces that he will run for the Senate as part of the Democratic Party
