After a lengthy break from current events (and a bit of traveling) … and then being locked out of my account for four days (which still makes absolutely NO sense at all!!!), we’re finally back home and settling into our usual frantic state of playing catch-up …
Which we’ll attempt to do over the course of the next few days!
Meanwhile … Enjoy!
Barry Manilow is the latest artist to cancel some live appearances due to unexpected health reasons.
Monday’s May 27th concert was cancelled on very short notice, just a few hours before the curtain was due to go up. Fans were told that Barry was sitting this one out under doctor’s orders and that arrangements would be made for a make-up date, soon to be rescheduled.
No official cause of illness was given (although rumors of his face melting cannot be ruled out.) OK, I just made that last part up! (kk)
More distressing news, was Heart cancelling the European leg of their big reunion tour. (Man, I’m SURE glad we got to see them when we did!!!)
The show was nothing short of outstanding … and a lifelong dream come true.
Without giving away any real specifics, their official announcement simply states that Ann Wilson requires a “time sensitive but routine” procedure .. and recovery time is expected to be a minimum of six weeks. Ann apologized to her European fans and says the band hopes to be able to reschedule these dates soon. (kk)
And Robin Trower has just cancelled his US Tour due to health issues. (kk)
Cyndi Lauper is the latest artist to announce their farewell tour.
The shows will kick off in October in Canada and wrap up right here in Chicago on December 5th. (kk)
Meanwhile, a couple of superstar pairings have already kicked off The Summer of ’24 …
John Fogerty and George Thorogood … and Daryl Hall with Elvis Costello.
And Fogerty and Hall are relying heavily on their past glories as part of their set lists.
Fogerty performs "Bad Moon Rising,"
"Up Around the Bend," "Green River," "Born on the
Bayou," “Who'll Stop the Rain," "Lookin' Out My Back Door,"
"Rock and Roll Girls," "Keep On Chooglin'," "Have You
Ever Seen the Rain?," "Centerfield," "Up Around the
Bend," "The Old Man Down the Road," "Fortunate Son,"
"Travelin' Band" and "Proud Mary." (And to think there was EVER a time when John
said he wouldn’t play Creedence music again!!!)
While
John Fogerty is embracing his past glory days, Daryl Hall is no slouch …
You’ll find him playing “Maneater,” "Dreamtime," "Did It in a Minute," "Out of Touch," "Say It Isn’t So," "Every Time You Go Away," "Sara Smile," "I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)" and "You Make My Dreams," among other Hall and Oates favorites.
While it’s now pretty well accepted that the two long-time bandmates may never play together again … Daryl is certainly relying on their hit catalog to pack them in! (Hey, let’s face it … HIS was the voice you heard on all those hit records!!!)
And, speaking of never playing together again, it sounds like Justin Hayward and John Lodge are going to continue on with their solo careers.
In a recent interview, Hayward said that The Moody Blues have had their time … and it was now time for him and John to pursue the next phase of their careers. “I think it’s our time now to do what we want to do.” (kk)
Meanwhile, you can now order tickets for the ABBA avatar “Voyager” show all the way thru May of next year … so THAT show is still doing gang-busters. (And THESE performers can’t get sick and miss a show!) kk
Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer Cher just won a lawsuit against Sonny Bono’s widow over copyright payment. (I didn’t even know they had a case going on!!!)
But, apparently royalties for the songs that Sonny recorded WITH Cher were supposed to go to Cher directly … and all other royalties to the family that Sonny left behind.
As such, a judge has ruled that Cher is due $418,000 in unpaid royalties per an agreement reached in 2021.
According to People Magazine, shortly after Cher and Sonny divorced in 1978, the couple agreed that she would get a 50% stake in their Sonny & Cher publishing catalog. When Sonny died in a skiing accident in 1998, his current wife Mary was appointed as the administrator of his estate, and she and his four children (known collectively as “the heirs”) entered a partnership over the songs. It sounds like "the heirs" have been recouping the FULL amount of royalties ever since, rather than having Cher’s share (get it) split out and separated from the rest. (kk)
Randy and Tal Bachman have been added to the Chicago Fest For Beatles Fans Line-Up …
It looks to be quite a to-do!
They join Micky Dolenz, Freda Kelly, Billy J. Kramer, former Wings members Laurence Juber and Steve Holley, Chris Carter of The Beatles Channel (and host of Breakfast With The Beatles), Apple insider Chris O’Dell, Julie and Gary Evans (Mal’s children!), Bruce Spizer, Jude Kessler (and many of your other favorite Beatle authors), LOTS of live entertainment and much, much more.
The big event takes place FRIDAY,
SATURDAY & SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 10, 11, 2024 at THE HYATT REGENCY O'HARE ROSEMONT, IL
This is the Fest’s 50TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR … so all the
MORE reason to try and attend. (I know I'm certainly planning to do so!) kk
Speaking of Randy Bachman, Shelley Sweet-Tufano files this report regarding “The Vanishing Guess Who” …
It is interesting to note that I got notices that The Guess Who would be appearing in Ridgefield, CT, on June 2, 2024.
Not wanting to experience a natural disaster that close to me (does not matter what quality you may consider the concert to be ... it would be a volatile situation), I ran to the theatre's site to see if ticket prices reflected their current legal situations.
There is absolutely no appearance by anyone on June 2nd, and The Guess Who are not listed as appearing at any time through December, 2024.
So, the cart is now behind the horse, and alerts of their appearances seems only due to the fact that programing from Ticketmaster and Eventbrite, etc., has been set up previously and will go out when it is scheduled, whether it is correct or not.
Shelley
Great to hear that Burton’s and Randy’s efforts are working and having the desired effect. (I mean what are the “fake” Guess Who supposed to perform it they can’t play Guess Who songs?!?!)
NOW would be the time for Randy and Burton to regroup and tour The States as they had planned to do before Covid turned everything upside down. My guess is they could sell out shows across the country for many, many months to come. (kk)
And, at a time when EVERYTHING is coming up Beach Boys again, Timmy sent us THIS vintage poster …
Good article on new Beach Boys documentary. Hope you all got to see it.
Clark
Mike Love makes a good point during some of his commentary on Sirius XM’s Beach Boys Channel …
Hopefully some of the kids who regularly tune in to Disney+ will see some of this and find the music catchy and want to hear more …
Especially if the radio stations they currently listen to aren’t playing any Beach Boys music. (Assuming you can even FIND a radio station playing Beach Boys music anymore … you almost HAVE to subscribe to something like Sirius XM or listen to Internet Radio in your car to oldies stations playing this music as you’re not likely to find many oldies stations on your terrestrial radio dial anymore these days.)
My guess is that, as infectious as
it is, The Beach Boys’ music will continue to find new fans each and every time
somebody new discovers it. Their live audience today consists not only of their original fans, but also the next two or three generations of fans as well. It's not at all unusual to find parents, children and even GRANDchildren attending these shows together!
I need to watch the documentary again … truth be told, I’ve listened to SO much Beach Boys music over the past few weeks that I’m hearing it in my sleep … to the point that I can’t sleep!!! The Beach Boys Channel is great … but SO incredibly repetitive … and then every once in a while I’ll hear something that I haven’t heard in ages that makes it all worthwhile again. Still, despite any small annoyances, I’ll never grow tired of it. (kk)
UPDATE: The Sirius XM Beach Boys Channel completed its run on June 5th.
My guess is that it'll be back before the Summer is over ... it only makes sense, especially since the documentary is still streaming on Disney+
By the way, I just finished their new coffee table book "The Beach Boys BY The Beach Boys." It's quite extensive ... and a beautiful piece that immediately went to my own coffee table when I was finished ... primarily because it's just too damn big to fit on the book shelf! (lol)
Still glad I got it ... a very nicely done piece. (kk)
Reactions to some of our recent posts …
>>> ARSA (the surveys site) considers the Hits of Greater Chicago sheets to be WJJD surveys. Really would like a true answer (I mean, SOMEBODY still knows!) to this weird quandary. I just find it so bizarre that, other than on ARSA and the (erroneous?) Wikipedia entry, the internet seems to think that there was NO SUCH THING as WJJD for those few years?? (Frank Merrill)
ARSA may change that. Gary Pfeifer from ARSA asked me recently why they were getting both Top 40 and Country surveys for WJJD from the same time period. They were posting them as they got them. I told him the reason. I also referred him to your Tuesday article. They may make some changes.
Ed Erxleben
Kent,
When I first played LIZZIE BORDEN, it didn't sound like I remember it. Must have been an LP version, because I checked and the 45 rpm single is only 2:35 long. Here in OKC, it peaked at #14 for the week ending April 4, 1962.
Larry
I’m sure I just downloaded my copy online (probably iTunes) because I don’t remember ever buying this record.
I checked and here in Chicago it peaked at #25. (kk)
>>>The Beatles have charted with a number of cover tunes, too ... but they all seem to have a much "slicker" sound to them. Still, I wouldn't write The Rolling Stones off just yet ... Something tells me they may be around for a while! (kk)
You just may be right, Kent! (Isn't hindsight wonderful???)
I am loving all the magic of 60 Years Ago Today.
Shelley
Some of the jocks on the list have picked up on the concept and have been sharing memories from “60 Years Ago This Week” (since it’s almost impossible to keep up with the daily posts … especially in advance!)
I think it’s great … that’s what they’re there for.
And, of course, Sam Tallerico is broadcasting a weekly one hour look back at The Super Chart from 60 Years Ago This Week as well on MixCloud …
So LOTS of great press and reaction for this year’s feature. (And it’s only June!!!) kk
UPDATE: Sammy announced this past week that the Forgotten Hits Super Charts Program will now be a bi-weekly feature on MixCloud ...
You can check out ALL of his recent programs here ...
The other day we shared some personal insight from Harvey Kubernik regarding basketball legend Bill Walton’s unwavering love for rock and music … and The Grateful Dead in particular.
Apparently, this was well know within inner circles … The Dead even paid tribute to Walton after hearing of his passing.
Here are just two articles we came across the very next day …
Picking up on our 60th Anniversary postings …
From The Fest For Beatles Fans …
IT WAS 60 YEARS AGO TONIGHT, JUNE 7, 1964, BILLY J. KRAMER & THE DAKOTAS PERFORM BAD TO ME LIVE ON THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW
BILLY J. was a guest on this week's Beatles Fab Fourum on SiriusXM's The Beatles Channel. He is celebrating 60 years since he first appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, June 7, 1964. It was only four months after The Beatles first appearance on that show, which is the most historic and most watched musical appearance of any artist on TV EVER!! Billy already had a top hit in the UK with Do You Want to Know a Secret in 1963. Then John sat down on a piano in Studio 2 and played Bad To Me to Billy and it was recorded right away and became a smash hit there and in 1964 became part of a two sided smash hit - Little Children & Bad To Me in the States!
We are honored to call Billy a personal friend of ours, and has been a special guest at our FESTS many times over the past 40 years to share his stories and perform his hits on our stage, including this summer at our Chicago FEST. Please check out this special offer below that Billy has arranged for us for his amazing new CD, Are You With Me?
1715 - BILLY J. KRAMER ARE YOU WITH ME? CD BRAND NEW $35.00 INCLUDING SHIPPING.
Billy's CD is being released officially today, Friday, June 7th, on the exact 60th anniversary of Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. This wonderful CD consists of 10 new songs written by Billy and friends, who mostly appear on the album, produced by Laurence Juber & Jeff Perholtz.
Of course,
Billy will be performing some of his new songs live on our stage this Summer at
the Chicago FEST with
both Laurence and Jeff in attendance. SPECIAL
OFFER: FOR A LIMITED TIME, Billy will be Signing AND Personalizing copies of
this New CD for our customers. For now, they will be sent directly from
Billy's studio. When ordering your copy, be sure to let us know who Billy
should make the dedication to (in the comments box). If you just want a signed
copy, not personalized, please mention that in your note. Most of the earliest
orders will likely arrive before the release date!! Billy wants to stay ahead
of the demand, so his team has already started shipping them out!
We are honored to receive one of the first signed and personalized copies of Are You With Me?. It is a really
terrific album on the first few listenings. - nine original songs plus John's Jealous Guy, which Billy has performed
on our stage numerous times over the years. I enthusiastically recommend
Billy's new CD, especially for first generation Beatles fans, as there is a lot
of poignancy on it, in addition to the great music.
Don't miss tomorrow's great posting featuring The Rolling Stones ... then and now ...
And a brand new Tuesday This And That featuring lots more of your recent comments, coming up later this week!
See you there! (kk)
