The Beach Boys seem to be everywhere these days ... resurrected once again, proving just how truly timeless (and memorable) their music really is ... spanning at least six new generations of fans.
You've got the brand new, beautiful coffee table book that tells the history of The Beach Boys in the band's own words ... you've got the return of The Beach Boys Channel (Channel 79) on Sirius / XM ... you've got the Disney+ Channel's brand new Beach Boys Documentary, premiering THIS FRIDAY (the 24th) ... attention to the group is at a premium high right now ...
So why not put the band back together???
Wait ... WHAT?!?!
After reading all the information about Brian being put into conservatorship and his deteriorating health, how could this even be possible? (And no, I'm not suggesting AI!!!)
Well, Mike Love seems to think it could happen!
In a recent interview with the BBC, Mike Love said that he and Brian had re-connected during the filming of the Disney+ television special and that despite his numerous health issues, Wilson's musical abilities are still intact.
"We got together at Paradise Cove [in Los Angeles] at the end of the documentary and he was remembering things I'd forgotten about our high school days. His long-term memory is right there. His musical abilities, as long as he’s alive he'll have those – but he does need medical supervision and care. His wife did take care of that.
"He knows that he needs the help but we're still able to get together and we're going to see each other soon. It's not so negative as it sounds, as long as he's cared for properly. He's seeing his children. ... He's being well taken care of.
"It's a brand-new day now and I'm hoping we can do something together – all of us – and it'll be great."
Apparently, bandmate Bruce Johnston agrees, saying that he is very much looking forward to that, if it can happen ...
"I think once Brian and Mike sit round the piano – and just the magic, you can't stop it."
The Beach Boys' 50th Anniversary Tour didn't end on a very positive note, despite the surviving members reuniting to not only hit the road together, but also record a brand new album for the first time in decades.
I'm not sure Brian is really up for such a thing, emotionally or health-wise ... but who knows, it may be EXACTLY something like this that might rejuvenate him and bring some joy into his life which is now filled with so much darkness and sadness. Put on The Beach Boys Channel ... I don't care what they're playing, within the first five or ten minutes you'll be totally captured by the magic of their music once again.
Meanwhile, The Beach Boys (WITHOUT Brian Wilson) will be performing here in Elk Grove Village on The 4th of July this year. (kk)
We mentioned the other day about Disney+ catering to the “Baby Boomer Market” with some of his musical programming. (The Beatles, The Beach Boys, etc.)
And now comes word that they have a brand new Bruce Springsteen Documentary in the works. (You may not want to cancel your subscription just yet, Timmy!)
They’re promising an in-depth look at The Boss’ on-going 2023-2024 tour … as well as vintage footage of Bruce and The E-Street Band from the early days.
The new Rock Doc is expected to premier in October. (kk)
And, speaking of Rock and Roll Documentaries, the long-awaited Led Zeppelin flick, “Becoming Led Zeppelin” is reportedly being readied for theaters. (They’ve been talking about this one for at least the last five or six years.)
Apparently, Sony Pictures has acquired the rights and although an official release date has yet to be announced, is planning to have this in movie houses around the world. (kk)
Beatles Channel “Breakfast With The Beatles” host Chris Carter has been added to the line-up for this year’s Chicago Fest For Beatles Fans. This will be Chris’ first Chicagoland appearance at The Fest. (kk)
Randy Bachman has added more dates to his Bachman-Turner Overdrive reunion tour … these are now the remaining 2024 dates:
June 13th – Niagara Falls,
ON – Fallsview Casino
June 14th – Windsor, ON – Caesars Windsor
June 16th – Nashville, IN – Brown County Music Center
June 19th – Clear Lake, IA – Surf Ballroom
June 20th – Mayetta, KS – Prairie Band Casino & Resort
June 21st – Newkirk, OK – First Council Casino
June 22nd – Tulsa, OK – The Cove Margaritaville at River Spirit Casino Resort
July 19th – Henderson, NV – Lee’s Family Forum
July 20th – Layton, UT – Kenley Centennial Amphitheater
July 22nd – Idaho Falls, ID – Mountain America Center
July 24th – Airway Heights, WA – Northern Quest Casino
August 20th – Vancouver, ON – Pacific Coliseum
August 22nd – Greenville, OH – Great Drake County Fair
August 23rd – Northfield, OH – MGM Northfield
August 30th – Saint Michael, ND – Spirit Lake Casino & Resort
September 13th – Atlantic City, NJ – The Borgata
September 16th – Port Chester, NY – The Capitol Theatre
September 17th – Carteret, NJ – Carteret Perf. Arts & Events Center
September 20th – Staten Island, NY – St. George Theatre
September 22nd – Greensburg, PA – Palace Theater
September 23rd – Bloomsburg, PA – Bloomsburg Fair
November 24th – Winnipeg, MB – Canada Life Centre
November 27th – Saskatoon, SK – SaskTel Centre
November 29th – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place
November 30th – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome
(On those four November dates, BTO will be opening for Heart when they hit the Canadian leg of their tour. We saw them Friday Night … with Cheap Trick … at The Allstate Arena … and they put on an incredible show.)
And, as mentioned before, the band is also writing, rehearsing and recording brand new material with the help of Fred Turner, who is unable to tour. (kk)
The YouTube Channel Pop Goes This 60s has just posted the history of the New Colony 6 and did fine job. I commented as "Dodge Boy" (from Dodge city of course).
The NC6 are BIG faves of mine fer sure from 1965 to TODAY -- and I am talking from garage to mellow 70s and RJM too!
History of the NEW COLONY SIX | #221
Just great music, 65-74! Funny, he plays the EVA import LP. Both sides of Marmaduke charted on WIRL Peoria separately!
This guy seems to think success was failing the NC6 if they did not hit top 10, tho. They were BIG time, IMO. Things I’d Like to say was top 10 on the #1 station in the country -- WABC New York City!
Interesting to see Muddy Feet listed as a 45! Long Time To Be Alone / Never Be Lonely was one of best 2-siders of the 70s.
I guess I never realized "I Could Never Lie To You" was different on 45 from LP, so will have to listen! Nice story and retrospective, tho.
Clark
I’ve seen several of his ‘60’s profiles before … and this is a good one. Check it out if you’re a fan of The New Colony Six, too … ALWAYS good music to listen to. (kk)
From Tom Cuddy …
John Oates admits fallout with Daryl Hall was 'ruining my life'
EXPERIENCE THE ANIMALS LIKE NEVER BEFORE:
ABKCO
RELEASES EARLY CATALOG IN DOLBY ATMOS FOR 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF "HOUSE OF
THE RISING SUN"
US Albums The Animals, The Animals on Tour, Animal Tracks and Animalization, As Well As Best of Collection The Animals Retrospective, All Newly Remixed In Dolby Spatial Audio, Will Be Available On Apple Music, TIDAL, Amazon Music
On May 17, ABKCO Music & Records will release five albums by Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees The Animals in the Dolby Atmos® audio format for the first time ever. These include the British rock band’s first four US full lengths The Animals (1964), The Animals on Tour (1965), Animal Tracks (1965) and Animalization (1966), as well as the 22-track career-spanning collection The Animals Retrospective, originally released in 2004. Every title will come out simultaneously on the streaming platforms Apple Music, TIDAL and Amazon Music. This will happen 60 years almost to the day of the recording of their intercontinental chart-topping single “House of the Rising Sun” on May 18, 1964.
Developed by Dolby Laboratories in 2012, Dolby Atmos® is a patented technology that is a leap forward from surround sound. It goes beyond the ordinary listening experience and puts you inside the song in a spatial way, revealing every detail of the music with unparalleled clarity and depth. Grammy-nominated recording engineer Kenta Yonesaka helped mix The Animals albums in Dolby Atmos® with the utmost attention to detail. Yonesaka has worked with a wide range of artists including The Rolling Stones, Buddy Guy, Mark Ronson, Mariah Carey, Pharrell Williams and Kendrick Lamar.
“The idea of hearing our earlier work in Atmos spatial audio, it’s like stepping into a whole new dimension for me,” said The Animals frontperson Eric Burdon. “It’s like rediscovering the magic all over again. I mean, we poured our hearts and souls into those recordings, and now to hear them brought to life in such an immersive way, it’s like a dream come true. The quality and depth of the playback experience, it’s everything.”
Formed in Newcastle by Eric Burdon from the ashes of the Alan Price Rhythm and Blues Combo, The Animals were known for their hard driving, R&B-influenced sound and became a hit-making machine on both sides of the Atlantic right out of the gate. Their self-titled 1964 album includes the #1 US and #1 UK charting “House of the Rising Sun,” and was made in an era when they were “the most important and successful British export after the Beatles,” as asserted by Rolling Stone’s David Fricke. Despite its title, their February 1965 follow-up The Animals on Tour contains studio recordings and features the Top 20 single “I’m Crying.” Animal Tracks was released just six months later, in the same calendar year. As was customary for American versions of British records, hit singles were packed into it — “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” (originally recorded by Nina Simone the previous year), Sam Cooke’s “Bring It On Home to Me” and the Mann/Weil-penned “We Gotta Get Out of This Place,” the latter of which became a de facto anthem for U.S. Armed Forces G.I.s deployed to Vietnam. 1966’s Animalization, released during the band’s final year of existence, saw original producer Mickie Most replaced by Tom Wilson (Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, the Velvet Underground, The Mothers of Invention). There is no shortage of Top 40 material, from “Don’t Bring Me Down” (written for The Animals by Gerry Goffin and Carole King), Ma Rainey’s “See See Rider” and the Animals’ re-imagining of a prison work song originally recorded by American folklorist Alan Lomax, “Inside-Looking Out.”
Spanning the years 1964-1970, The Animals Retrospective contains all fourteen US Top 40 hits by The Animals and late ‘60s lineup Eric Burdon & The Animals, including “When I Was Young,” “San Franciscan Nights,” “Monterey” and “Sky Pilot.” The set is capped by the 1970 smash hit “Spill the Wine” by Eric Burdon & War.
The Animals (US, 1964)
House of the Rising Sun
The Girl Can’t Help It
Blue Feeling
Baby Let Me Take You Home
The Right Time
Talkin’ ‘bout You
Around and Around
I’m in Love
Gonna Send You Back to Walker
Memphis, Tennessee
I’m Mad Again
I’ve Been Around
Talkin’ ‘Bout You (unedited) (Bonus Track)
The Animals on Tour (US, 1965)
Boom Boom
How You’ve Changed
Mess Around
Bright Lights, Big City
I Believe to My Soul
Worried Life Blues
Let the Good Times Roll
I Ain’t Got You
Hallelujah, I Love Her So
I’m Crying
Dimples
She Said Yeah
Baby What’s Wrong (Bonus Track)
F-E-E-L (Bonus Track)
New Year’s Radio Spot (Bonus Track)
Animal Tracks (US, 1965)
We Gotta Get Out of This Place (US single version)
Take It Easy
Bring It On Home to Me
The Story of Bo Diddley
Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood
I Can’t Believe It
Club A-Go-Go
Roberta
Bury My Body
For Miss Caulker
Roadrunner (Bonus Track)
Don’t Want Much (Bonus Track)
We Gotta Get Out of This Place (UK Single Version) (Bonus Track)
It’s My Life (Bonus Track)
I’m Gonna Change the World (Bonus Track)
Animalization (US, 1966)
Don’t Bring Me Down
One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show
You’re On My Mind
Cheating
She’ll Return It
Inside-Looking Out
See See Rider
Gin House Blues
Maudie
What Am I Living For
Sweet Little Sixteen
I Put a Spell on You
The Animals Retrospective (2004, containing material from 1964-1970)
House of the Rising Sun
I’m Crying
Baby Let Me Take You Home
Gonna Send You Back to Walker
Boom Boom
Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood
Bring It On Home To Me
We Gotta Get Out of This Place (US single version)
It’s My Life
Don’t Bring Me Down
See See Rider
Inside-Looking Out
Hey Gyp
Help Me Girl*
When I Was Young*
A Girl Named Sandoz*
San Franciscan Nights*
Monterey*
Anything*
Sky Pilot*
White Houses*
Spill the Wine**
*Eric Burdon & The Animals
**Eric Burdon & War
Frank B is probably all over these!!! (kk)
Timmy sent us this Interview Of The Day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oiRaJgYyHg
He also sent us this …
This 15-year-old girl did a science experiment in 1964. It seems like your typical run-of-the-mill science fair experiment. She had boxes of radishes and played different boxes with different records. Some she played classical, some she played jazz, and one box she played Beatles records. Which box of radishes grew the most? You guessed it! The box that she played Beatles music to!
From David Salidor …
SIGHTING: BILL MURRAY at Friday's Rascals (Felix Cavaliere and Gene Cornish) show at NYC's SONY Hall
It isn’t often that I’M the one writing a “fan letter” to an online publication … but this one was just too unique not to help draw attention to it.
I sent this note to Diane Diekman earlier this week regarding the brand new Randy Travis release. (Diane wrote a biography on Randy Travis a short while back.)
“I still check out your newsletters and keep up with your publications ... but it isn't often these days when country music ties into the oldies market that we cover. Still, I am absolutely blown away by the fact that Randy Travis has created new music again ... for the first time in over ten years ... thru the dreaded technology of AI ... perhaps the FIRST time I've heard it touted in a GOOD way ... I think it's just amazing what they've done.”
Here is what Diane wrote about this breakthrough technology:
Randy Travis has a song on Billboard's Country Airplay chart for the first time since 2009, when he and Carrie Underwood reached No. 2 with "I Told You So." The AI-generated recording of "Where That Came From" debuted at No. 45 on May 10, one week after the song's release, with over 3.3 million global streams. A press announcement from 117 Entertainment explains how the song happened ...
When artificial intelligence exploded in early 2023, bringing concerns about copyright infringement and protecting artists' rights, Warner Music Group executives discussed what "AI for good" would look like. Cris Lacy, Co-Chair & Co-President of Warner Music Nashville, said, "AI for good would be giving Randy Travis his voice back." She contacted Randy and his producer of forty years, Kyle Lehning, and they agreed to try. They chose the song, "Where That Came From," written by Scotty Emerick and John Scott Sherrill and recorded by James Dupre, who does the singing on Randy's More Life shows. Kyle pulled 42 Randy Travis tracks from the vault and stripped away the music, leaving only the vocals. He then used an AI program to overlay Randy's voice on Dupre's singing. He and Randy spent months working with the vocals and putting Randy's inflections on every note of "Where That Came From." This is not to be confused with songs Randy recorded years ago that are still sitting in the vault. The Travis/Lehning team sometimes recorded as many as twenty songs for an album. It's been a decade since Kyle chose and re-mixed enough of those songs to make an album. Copyright issues have prevented the album from being released. The last I heard, the legal owners of some of the songs still haven't been identified.
The Randy Travis touring company is still out there doing its thing (it was just here recently at The Arcada and Des Plaines Theatres … and will soon be playing at The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville … with Randy onboard in consideration of this brand new recording.)
Travis ruled the country charts between 1985 and 2001, earning SIXTEEN #1 Hits on Billboard’s Country Music Singles Chart. Although he never made much of a presence on the pop charts, he was hard to ignore, scooping up every country music award possible during the process. Songs like “On The Other Hand,” “Diggin’ Up Bones,” “Forever And Ever Amen” still found their way into our musical consciousness … and his unique and distinctive vocal style made everybody know, from the very first note, that that was Randy Travis singing.
I hope he scores another hit with this new one … he’s got to be elated to hear his voice on the radio again. And nobody could be prouder than me that finally portray the art of AI recording in a GOOD way. (kk)
Now you can build your own Lego radio station! Check this out!
What album cover, you ask?
I think it's time you start running anniversaries of my reviews and Chuck's "day in history" stories.
Shelley
And here's a fun closer from Ultimate Classic Rock ...
