HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
Start your day with this smiler from Chuck Buell ...
Got this Valentine's Day Roses Medley from our FH Buddy Paul Evans and just had to share!
Paul tells us ...
Roses and Valentine’s Day go together, so here’s a medley of rose songs that I recorded in 1977.
The medley features Al Byron’s and my song, “Roses Are Red.”
I wrote the opening song, “Roses Always Remember” with Hal David (who is most noted for his collaborations with Burt Bacharach.)
The medley also includes “Rambling Rose” by Noel and Joe Sherman, and “Red Roses For A Blue Lady” by Sid Tepper and Roy Bennett.
The beautiful arrangement was written by my longtime arranger and producer, Jimmy Wisner.
Have yourselves a wonderful Valentine’s Day,
Paul
Yesterday we mentioned the large amount of comments and coverage The Beatles are receiving again in light of the 60th Anniversary of their invading America ...
Here are just a few more Beatles and Beatles-related pieces you may want to check out!
Harvey Kubernik offers some great commentary on the impact of The Beatles’ first appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” … along with some memories from other movers and shakers in the business at the time …
https://bestclassicbands.com/beatles-north-america-60-2-8-24/
Here’s are a couple of other great looks back …
A look at how The Beatles’ appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” inspired the next generation of rock and rollers.
(I heard over the weekend that after 73,000,000 people watched them on Ed Sullivan that magical night of February 9th, 1964, 63,000,000 million of them started bands the very next day! Lol) kk
Kent,
Since it's going to be all about The Beatles over the next week or so, I told myself I need to get this report in, so here we go!
The last weekend of January my girlfriend Alice and I attended the annual Beatles On The Beach Festival in Delray Beach, FL.
Delray Beach is a vibrant, lively town located on Florida's east coast, situated between Ft. Lauderdale to the south and West Palm Beach to the north. They held this festival for the first time in April, 2019, with Edgar Winter as the headliner, then took two years off for covid. The next time was December, 2022, with Micky Dolenz as the headliner.
The third time (two weeks ago) was with Cheap Trick as the featured act. We have been to all three and if you are a Beatles fan it is a fabulous time! There are many Beatles tribute bands playing around town in a four-block radius and they also have Beatles authors, historians, experts, vendors and etc. that is Beatle-related.
We arrived on Thursday night and checked into our hotel and missed a few activities, but it really gets going on Friday. We met up with an old friend of ours, Paul Davie, from Syracuse, NY, who has also attended each festival. Paul has performed in the past with Denny Laine, the Moody Blues, Mark Hudson, Rick Derringer and, for the past few years, has played in the group The Lads Of Liverpool with Joey Molland of Badfinger and Terry Sylvester from The Hollies.
Paul can play almost every Beatles song on the acoustic guitar. We caught his first show at 10 AM at The Aloft along with Ray Tabano, who was a founding member and the original rhythm guitarist of Aerosmith. Very cool time!
We then wandered down Atlantic Avenue and saw some exhibits (the town is all set up for the festival) and grabbed some lunch in a great Italian restaurant. Headed over to the Hyatt Place Hotel and caught the band Ticket To Ryde, led by Mike Kozak. Another hour or so of Beatles songs with Mike telling cool stories about each Beatle.
It was now time to head over to the Delray Beach Amphitheatre at the Old School Square. This was the outdoor place that held the main attractions. There were a lot of vendors hawking their Beatle and non-Beatle wares, which was a lot of fun to explore. I got to meet celebrated author Charles Rosenay, who had quite a few copies of his Beatles book Top Ten Lists … but what really caught my eye was his brand new book "Not Just Happy Together: The Turtles." I have always been a huge Turtles fan from back to the 60's and have already read Howard Kaylan's and Mark Volman's books. I knew I had to have this one!
Charles autographed a copy for me and told a couple of cool Turtle stories. We were talking about how it was interesting that the Turtles were one of the few bands back in the 60's that actually played on their records and didn't use the Wrecking Crew. Charles said the reason why was because their record label White Whale was too cheap to pay for backing musicians, so they told the band they would have to record it themselves, which they were happy to do.
I also asked him what is the real reason that Howard Kaylan is not performing on the Happy Together tour. He said that most people think it is due to health reasons, but that is not necessarily the main reason. According to Charles, the real reason is Howard just doesn't want to do it anymore since he has already done it and he is perfectly happy living at home. Makes sense.
Time for the show to start. There are two bands performing tonight.
First up is The Weeklings.
They are from New Jersey and have been playing together since 2014. They play Beatle-based music including Beatle songs and their own Beatles-sounding songs. They have released four albums and are constantly featured on Little Steven’s Underground Garage on Sirius and have been honored by having "The Coolest Song Of The Week" several times. They are led by Bob Burger on rhythm guitar and Glen Burtnik on bass, along with John Merjave on lead guitar and Joe Bellia on drums. All four sing. In case the name Glen Burtnik sounds familiar, he used to be in the band Styx in the early 90's and then also in the early 2000's and he is the current bass player in The Orchestra. I got to talk with him later on and he said that he plays currently in about five different bands. Imagine trying to keep all that straight!
The Weeklings put on a high energy show featuring, of course, mostly Beatles covers but managed to add a few of their own from their brand new album "Raspberry Park." As Glen explained later, the name comes from a take-off on their hometown of Asbury Park. They sounded fabulous and they are now a new favorite band of mine, having known nothing about them previously.
The headliners Cheap Trick were next.
They have been one of my favorite bands of all time since the 1970's and I have faithfully bought all their records and have probably seen them in concert over 20 times. I consider Robin Zander one of the Top 5 lead singers of all time. They opened up with, appropriately, Magical Mystery Tour and later on included Day Tripper and She Said She Said as part of their set. They played all the classics they are known for including I Want You To Want Me, Surrender, Dream Police and The Flame. Great high-energy 90 minute set!
For this show, it was just the four members: Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander, Tom Petersson and Daxx Nielsen (Rick's son) on drums. The last few years, Robin Zander's son Robin Taylor Zander has been adding rhythm guitar and backing vocals to the mix, but he was missing tonight. After the show, I got to speak to Daxx and asked him where Robin Taylor was and he replied that his own band had a gig that night and apparently that took preference. Meeting Rick and Daxx behind the theatre after the show was a huge thrill. They were very accommodating to the 20 or so fans that were hanging out hoping for the opportunity to meet the band.
Now it was time to head down a few blocks to The Blue Anchor to meet up with Paul Davie, as he was gonna play a short show on their stage. The Blue Anchor is a small club that holds maybe 50 or 60 people. But first a band from Finland that goes by the name She's Leaving Home were up.
The group consisted of a female singer, a male drummer, bassist and keyboardist, all in their 20s. They dressed up all in the same black shirts and colorful overalls with suspenders. They put what I would guess would be a modern pop vibe on Beatles classics songs. Interestingly enough, there was no guitarist in the band. You heard Beatle songs like you have never heard them before. But that is part of the allure of this Beatles festival. Finally, it was Paul's turn and now you heard Beatles songs LIKE you have heard them before. It was after midnight and it was time to call it a night.
Saturday morning, Rick Nielsen was doing a Rock 'N Vodka Bottle Signing at the Tin Roof across the street from the Amphitheatre. You buy a bottle of specially labeled vodka for $40 and Rick signs it. However, the best part is you can bring up all sorts of other personal stuff and he will sign anything you put in front of him AND you get five minutes of personal conversation with him. To me, that was all worth $40. I asked him why Cheap Trick does not do any Rock and Roll Cruises, which are becoming quite popular with a lot of classic bands, and he said that after a day, he just wants to get off the boat, so it just wouldn't work for him. After a few other questions, I thanked him for his time and as we were leaving, I noticed his son Daxx sitting at the bar. We went over to greet him and he invited us to sit with him for a few minutes. Great conversation about many topics and I mentioned that he could not have been more gracious with a couple of fans. He said it was his pleasure!
We headed across the street where they had set up a farmer's market in front of the Old School Amphitheater. They had also set up a small stage where who else but our buddy Paul Davie was playing. We grabbed a bite to eat and watched him play along with a few other bands afterward. At 4:00 the doors to the amphitheater opened and it was on to another night of entertainment.
The Joe Cotton Band was first, then Ticket To Ryde, and then She's Leaving Home. At 6:00, the classic power pop band from Chicago, E'nuff Z'nuff, hit the stage. I have always been interested in this band since the 1980s but have never had the chance to see them until now. Lead singer Chip Z'nuff, announced that they were going to concentrate on Beatles songs and that's what they did. Unfortunately, I cannot remember all of the songs they played, but they did play a great rendition of Eleanor Rigby, Jet, Live and Let Die, and With A Little Help From My Friends, etc. They did end up with two of their better well-known songs, Fly High Michelle and New Thing. They met all my expectations and more!
Now it was time for The Fab Faux.
Another band I knew nothing about previously, they were led by lead guitarist Jimmy Vivino. If that name sounds familiar, it's because you probably heard him on the Conan O'Brien Show from back in the 90's. He was in Conan's house band, along with Max Weinberg from the E Street Band. Will Lee from The David Letterman Show is normally their bassist, but not tonight. He couldn't make it for some reason so who else but Glen Burtnik (the man of many bands) filled in for him. The other three members are Rich Pagano on drums, Frank Agnello on rhythm guitar and Jack Petruzzelli on keyboards and guitar. All five took turns singing lead.
They roared through about 20 Beatle songs including A Hard Day’s Night, And Your Bird Can Sing, Drive My Car, Old Brown Shoe and many others. A special treat in the middle of the show, Max Weinberg and his wife made a special appearance and sat in on a couple of songs. Max's wife Becky played harmonica on I Should Have Known Better while Max played drums on the same and Twist and Shout. Apparently, Max lives on Delray Beach. Another great show and the band has a new fan, me. And about 5,000 people agreed!
After the show, Alice and I headed over to the Silverball Museum where The Weeklings were gonna play a special 11:30 show. After grabbing a bite to eat, we got to the museum about 11:15 and who is sitting on the porch outside killing time before their show starts? Yes, all four band members of The Weeklings. Alice had grabbed a special poster of The Weeklings somewhere and every member signed it and we got to talk to Glen for about 10 minutes. Great conversation about how he keeps up his busy schedule and then another great show afterwards in the concert hall in the museum. Wow, what a day, but time to call it a night at 1:00 AM.
Sunday morning we got to meet Gregg Bissonette.
Gregg has been the drummer in Ringo's All Star Band since 2003. Since 1980, he has played with many other artists such as David Lee Roth, Rick Springfield, Santana, Don Henley, ELO, and many others. At a place called The Aloft, he conducted a Meet and Greet. About 100 fans showed up and he gave a brief talk and took questions and then afterward posed for pictures. Afterwards, we headed across the street where Gregg was going to give a drum clinic at a place called Johnny Brown's, an open-air bar. After a short performance by Ray Tabano, Gregg took the drummer's seat and talked about his drumming career and how he invented some of the drum riffs that he uses. He showed us all sorts of drum riffs from well-known songs and how they are put together. Quite interesting. He then took questions again and I asked him what it was like playing with David Lee Roth. He said nothing negative about the guy … just that he was fun to play with. The highlight of the clinic was at the end when he gave Alice the drum stick he had been using and signed it for her. Wow, another great time!
It was around 4:00 and time to head home, which is Largo, FL, just north of St. Petersburg. I met the promoter of the show, Daniel Hartswell, and thanked him for the great time we had and told him we will be back for the next one. He mentioned to me that they are hoping to get Ringo's All-Star Band as the headliner next year. I said I can't wait for that! But first another stop.
We drove across the state through the Everglades along Alligator Alley and headed to a small town called Immokalee. It's most well-known landmark is the Seminole Hard Rock Casino. We weren't there to gamble but instead to see a concert by A.J. Croce, Jim Croce's son. After a quick dinner it was time for the show.
Croce and his band hit the stage at 8:00 and opened up with You Don't Mess Around With Jim, with A.J. on the piano. He alternated between piano and guitar throughout the show. There was a screen behind the stage which showed videos of the band playing and shots of Jim Croce playing with little A.J. He was killed in the plane crash when A.J. was two.
Croce was backed by a three-piece band and two female background singers. The sound was excellent and the playing was top-notch. Croce told a lot of great stories between the songs about his experiences growing up and life in the music world. He played around 20 songs in the two-hour show, consisting of mostly his father's songs and a few of his own. The last three were the perfect way to end the show …
A rousing version of Bad Bad Leroy Brown (with a great video of the song on the screen) and then I Got A Name. The band left the stage and then a video started playing of Jim Croce singing Time In A Bottle while the stage was dark. In the middle of the song, the stage lit up and there's A.J. and the band continuing the song without missing a beat. Wow, very effective! Very moving moment! The show was done and so were we. It was time to head home! If you ever get a chance to see A.J. Croce's show and you are a Jim Croce fan I highly recommend it!
What a great weekend and I can't wait to go back next year! Highly recommended for all Beatle fans, although after hearing all that Beatle music you probably won't be able to listen to a Beatles song for at least a week after, LOL!
Rich Turner
Largo, FL
PS All photos taken by my girl Alice
From Timmy …
Check out this Beatles Koss Headphones Ad
(Boy, I wonder if they ever even knew about this one!) kk
Timmy also sent us this cool shot of The Beatles rehearsing for their appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" ...
As you probably already know, George Harrison was sick when The Beatles first arrived in America ... and had to sit out the dress rehearsal ... so their road manager, Neil Aspinal, had to "stand in" to get all the lighting right. (SO sad to think that the Sullivan people had erected this BEAUIFUL, iconic stage for The Beatles to perform on ... only to have the whole thing televised in black and white!!!)
But here's Neil in his moment of glory on the Sullivan stage ...
John, Paul, Neil and Ringo!!!
(Incredibly, just a few months later, drummer Jimmy Nichol will have to stand in for Ringo for the first ten dates on The Beatles' world tour as Ringo was in the hospital having an emergency tonsillectomy!!!)
– Randy Price
I think most, if not all, of The Beatles' harshest critics came around and were won over by the band once they showed their staying power. Songs like "Yesterday" and "In My Life" showed their songwriting ability ... and albums like "Revolver," "Sgt. Pepper" and "Abbey Road" showed just how much they had grown (and how sophisticated they had become!) in the few short years since "From Me To You" and "Love Me Do!"
Seems like EVERYBODY's opinion turned around on this one ... except our own Jack Levin, who still stood his ground to his final day, declaring The Beatles as being nothing more than a manufactured fad. I have always felt sad that he never paused long enough to enjoy the magic. (kk)
From Clark Besch …
Guys,
I just posted the below in a chat room after reading the info at the top in italics.
Three Macca songs totally slighted here in the US by Capitol and a Glen Campbell, too.
Original info started it with:
Yeah, McCartney was incensed that Capitol didn't think "Mull of Kintyre" would be a hit, so they didn't promote it ... and it became a huge #1 hit all over the world except for the U.S. So the moment his Capitol contract ended, he bolted for Columbia and stuck there for I think five years (and got a massive raise.) When he finally returned to Capitol, he worked in a deal where he got a slightly higher royalty for Beatles reissues -- without telling the other Beatles -- and they were very upset when they found out about it. Paul's excuse was, "Well, it came out of Capitol's money, not your money, so your royalty wasn't affected." George in particular was really peeved.
ME:
That is very interesting. My two all-time fave Macca solo songs are "Mull" and "Amazed" (studio.) I guess Capitol continued their stupidity right thru the 70s. “Maybe I’m Amazed” is just the perfect song with all parts done by Paul on the studio take. It was being played along with "Every Night" as a pretend 45 by stations and even listed as a two-sided 45 on KADI-FM St Louis’ charts (see below, #7 up from #39!) when we were taking a vacation to the east in June, 1970.
It was a no-brainer to release that as a 45 vs. “The Long And Winding Road” … would have been a great battle! The highly inferior LIVE Wings 45 was a good idea when Capitol did not release the studio as a 45, but irritating to think what would have been.
Then,
"Mull of Kintyre" was again a fave at the end of the decade. Maybe
it would not have been big in the US, but what a great song … and I’m so glad
it became his biggest solo hit in most countries, ever! Certainly,
"Girls School," the A side in US, failed miserably compared to “Mull”'s
worldwide success being relegated to a B side here. I just put the song up to hear it again
and was amazed to see a video from 1979 for the song! I had never
seen it!! Maybe Capitol not pushing it kept it hidden from US
viewers. SO great with Denny Laine, Paul and Linda walking the place with
a cast of dozens! I'm sure most European listeners know the video, but I
had never seen this EXCELLENT piece before! Just awesome! The “Maybe
I’m Amazed” Studio Version video I have not seen before either. BOTH were
posted by Paul in past three years only. BOTH of these songs are just too
good!!!!
Wings - Mull Of Kintyre
Paul McCartney - Maybe I’m Amazed
I'll toss out another -- this time a Columbia failure similar to “Mull. “
"Pipes
of Peace" is just a GREAT song and video (MTV DID show this and I love it!)
but again it was relegated to B side status of "So Bad." I'm
gonna take a stab in the dark and ask who really remembers "So Bad"
or "Girls School" much compared to the B sides?
As it turned out, in the UK "Mull" was Wings’ biggest hit, a
#1. "Pipes" was Macca's biggest SOLO 45 of the 80s reaching #1
also. MAYBE both could have been hits here if they had been released as A
sides??? That makes THREE great Maccas that could have been more!
Paul McCartney - Pipes Of Peace
Maybe Capitol did not like bagpipes? It did not seem to bother them when
they released this great bagpipes 45 by the great Glen Campbell two years after
Mull.
I'm Gonna Love You (Remastered)
BTW, that GREAT studio version of Maybe Im Amazed was issued on a 45
finally in 1980 ON COLUMBIA as a reissue 45 and happily sits in my fave 45s
boxes.
WLSClark
David Salidor tells us that Bruce Spizer, who was one of the featured authors at New York’s Fest For Beatles Fans this past weekend, was also interviewed on CBS THIS MORNING. The interview will be broadcast Friday, February 16.
You
can also hear him being interviewed by Carol Ruth Weber on Medium here:
Beatles Expert Bruce Spizer
Talks Beatlemania Passion | by Carol Ruth Weber | Jan, 2024 | Medium
And while we’re talking Beatles, have you seen this video featuring Nancy Wilson of Heart, Davey Johnstone of The Elton John Band and John Stamos, having fun recording the George Harrison classic “Here Comes The Sun” …
Wanna see what you missed at last weekend's special 50th Anniversary Fest For Beatles Fans???
Well, now you can!
For just $12, you can get a "Zoom Ticket" and watch all of the events that took place on the main stage!
And in Beatles-related news ...
Badfinger Legend Pete Ham’s Legacy Shines On With the Release of “Gwent Gardens”, February 23rd on Y&T Music
Nearly 50 years after his untimely passing at the age of 27, Pete Ham is still giving the world beautiful music.
The iconic singer and guitarist for the beloved Welsh / English band Badfinger was a prolific songwriter. Released as a limited-edition CD from Y&T Music, “Gwent Gardens” includes 18 newly discovered home demos, many of them songs that were never recorded or released by either Badfinger or the group’s earlier incarnation, The Iveys. The album will also be available on all streaming services.
Recorded between 1966 and 1972 with guitar or piano accompaniment, the songs on “Gwent Gardens” are remarkably tuneful blueprints for what might have been. Often double tracking his vocals, Pete also overdubbed additional instruments onto the tracks, fleshing out his vision for what the final Iveys or Badfinger tracks would sound like.
The first act signed to the Beatles’ Apple Records label in 1968, Badfinger – through Pete Ham’s songwriting brilliance – scored massive global hits with “Day After Day,” “No Matter What” and “Baby Blue.” Co-written by Pete and his bandmate Tom Evans, “Without You” became an enduring classic, topping the charts in versions by Nilsson, Mariah Carey and others.
Among the many gems on “Gwent Gardens” is Pete’s soulful solo demo for “Take it All,” which would become the opening track on Badfinger’s masterpiece, the 1971 “Straight Up,” produced by George Harrison and Todd Rundgren.
Produced with the blessing of the Pete Ham Estate, the “Gwent Gardens” project began with the late Dan Matovina, the musicologist and historian whose book “Without You” is regarded as the definitive Badfinger biography.
Matovina produced several albums of Pete Ham demos. Before his death in 2023, Matovina marveled to a close friend about the treasure trove of material still unreleased. “I can’t believe,” he said, “there are still so many great Pete Ham songs that no one has heard yet.” With the release of “Gwent Gardens,” those great songs referenced by Dan will now be a permanent part of Pete Ham's legacy.
2023 also saw the release of a special Pete Ham tribute album, “Shine On – A Tribute to Pete Ham.” The album featured 35 artists covering all of Pete’s compositions recorded by Badfinger. Among the artists paying tribute to Pete are Shelby Lynne, Dan Baird, Melanie, Mary Lou Lord, Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby, Dennis Diken, Stan Lynch & The Speaker Wars, Amy Allison and many more. The album benefited the Southeast Florida branch of Mental Health America and is still available for a limited time.
THE SONGS
1. The Day Begins
2. Let The Sun Shine Through
3. Love Will Be
4. I’m Only Human
5. Happy Song
6. I Miss You (original demo)
7. Pete’s Boogie
8. Little Mary
9. Take It All (original demo)
10. Think It Over
11. Scarlett Willow
12. Blodwyn (original demo)
13. Stick A Line In
14. Something On My Mind
15. I Can Be
16. Walk Out In The Rain (original demo)
17. Stop Waiting For The Sun To Shine
18. Tulip
60 YEARS AGO TODAY:
2/14/64 - Mobster John Gotti is born (He died in prison in 2002)
