We lost a legendary blues icon this past week when John Mayall passed away on Monday. He was 90 years old.
While Mayall never really sought chart success, many of the artists who passed thru his band The Bluesbreakers went on to far greater heights on the pop charts.
Among them: Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce of Cream, Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie of Fleetwood Mac, Mick Taylor of The Rolling Stones, all of whom were so inspired by American blues artists that they wanted to pay tribute in the most authentic way possible.
Blues artists weren't SUPPOSED to be pop stars ... and during the course of his entire career, Mayall only placed one single on Billboard's Hot 100 Pop Singles list ... and that one stalled at #81 in 1969.
According to Noise 11, Mayall ... The Godfather of British Blues ... was:
Mentor to Rod Stewart, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Mick Taylor. Fleetwood Mac, Cream and Led Zeppelin all came from the Mayall mould.
In 1963, The Bluesbreakers featured John McVie (The Mac in Fleetwood Mac) on bass. In 1965, Eric Clapton was Mayall’s guitarist. Peter Green (also a Fleetwood Mac co-founder) was with Mayall’s band in 1965. Jack Bruce, later of Cream, was also in the line-up at the time.
Around 1967, Mick Fleetwood was Mayall’s drummer. Mick Taylor was 18-years old when he joined Mayall in the late 60s. Taylor left to replace Brian Jones in The Rolling Stones. 15-year old Andy Fraser, later of Free, was also a late 60s recruit. Harvey Mandel and Larry Taylor of Canned Heat were also early 70s band members.
He was an inspiration to play with ... and those who did welcomed and cherished the opportunity to do so. His music influenced British Invasion artists like Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Eric Burdon, all of whom infused their love of the blues into their own music. (kk)
Harvey Kubernik sent me this, along with a 12-page piece he put together on John Mayall. (It's too long to run here ... but if you'd like a copy, drop me a line and I'll forward it along.)
John Mayall, who was the “Godfather of the British Blues,” passed away on Monday, July 22nd, at his home in Southern California at the age of 90.
I followed Mayall's career in the sixties, saw his local debut at the Whisky A Go Go in 1968, and interviewed him several times for my books.
HK
It’s unfortunate that most people will never know the incredible contributions he made to our world of music. Glad I got to see him many times.
Jerry Miller, founding member of Moby Grape, also passed away this past week.
While not typically an artist on the radar of Forgotten Hits' Pop Hits Fanbase, Moby Grape had a very intense and loyal following back in the day. (kk)
Over the course of the past few days, I have read several nice tributes to The Four Tops and their contribution to the great soul music of the ‘60’s.
I’m not sure if we ever ran the official FOUR TOPS HIT LIST before or not …
But with the recent passing of Duke Fakir, this seems like a VERY appropriate time to do so now …
THE FOUR TOPS HIT LIST
(Billboard’s Pop Chart / R&B Soul Chart Peak)
1964 – Baby, I Need Your Loving (#11 / #4)
1964 – Without The One You Love (#43 / #17)
1965 – Ask The Lonely (#24 / #9)
1965 – I Can’t Help Myself (#1 / #1)
1965 – It’s The Same Old Song (#5 / #2)
1965 – Something About You (#19 / #9)
1966 – Shake Me, Wake Me (When It’s Over) #18 / #5
1966 – Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever (#45 / #12)
1966 – Reach Out, I’ll Be There (#1 / #1)
1967 – Standing In The Shadows Of Love (#6 / #2)
1967 – Bernadette (#4 / #3)
1967 – Seven Rooms Of Gloom (#14 / #10)
1967 – You Keep Running Away (#19 / #7)
1968 – Walk Away Renee (#14 / #15)
1968 – If I Were A Carpenter (#20 / #17)
1968 – Yesterday’s Dreams (#49 / #31)
1968 – I’m In A Different World (#51 / #23)
1969 – Don’t Let Him Take Your Love From Me (#45 / #25)
1970 – It’s All In The Game (#24 / #6)
1970 – Still Water (Love) #11 / #4
1970 – River Deep, Mountain High (with The Supremes) #14 / #7
1971 – Just Seven Numbers (#40 / #9)
1971 – In These Changing Times (#70 / #28)
1971 – MacArthur Park (#38 / #27)
1971 – (It’s The Way) Natured Planned It (#53)
1972 – A Simple Game (#90 / #34)
1972 – Keeper Of The Castle (#10 / #7)
1973 – Ain’t No Woman Like The One I’ve Got (#4 / #2)
1973 – Are You Man Enough (#15 / #2)
1973 – Sweet Understanding Love (#33 / #10)
1974 – I Just Can’t Get You Out Of My Mind (#62 / #18)
1974 – One Chain Don’t Make No Prison (#41 / #3)
1974 – Midnight Flower (#55 / #5)
1974 – Seven Lonely Nights (#71 / #13)
1975 – We All Gotta Stick Together (#97 / #17)
1976 – Catfish (#71 / #7)
1976 – Feel Free (#xx / #29)
1979 – H.E.L.P. (#xx / #38)
1981 – When She Was My Girl (#11 / #1)
1982 – Tonight I’m Gonna Love You All Over (#xx / #32)
1982 – Sad Hearts (#84 / #32)
1982 – I Believe In You And Me (xx / #40)
1983 – I Just Can’t Walk Away (#71 / #36)
1985 – Sexy Ways (#xx #21)
1988 – Indestructible (#35 / #57)
1988 – If Ever A Love There Was (with Aretha Franklin) #xx / #31
The
Four Tops often seemed to be Standing In The Shadows Of The Temptations
back in the '60's ... and in Motown Folklore ever since ... but BOTH
acts continued to score hit after hit after hit during this very
exciting time in music. (kk)
From Mike Duquette of The Second Disc …
https://theseconddisc.com/2024/07/23/in-memoriam-abdul-duke-fakir-of-the-four-tops-1935-2024/
>>>Songwriter Jerry Fuller passed away last Thursday (July 18th) of lung cancer. He was 85 years old. Fuller’s hits include “Travelin’ Man” for Ricky Nelson (#1, 1961), “Little Green Apples” for O.C. Smith (#2, 1968), “Show And Tell” for Al Wilson (#1, 1973) and a string of hits for Gary Puckett and the Union Gap that included “Woman, Woman” (#2, 1967), “Young Girl” (#1, 1968), “Lady Willpower” (#1, 1968) and “Over You” (#5, 1968) … not a bad portfolio of hit music! He also wrote Rick Nelson’s hits “It’s Up To You” (#6, 1963) and “A Wonder Like You” (#11, 1961.) In all, Nelson recorded NINETEEN songs written by Jerry Fuller, including MY personal favorite B-Side, “That’s All She Wrote.”
Frank B. tells us that we also lost Duke Fakir, the last original member of The Four Tops, last week, who died of heart failure. Duke was 88 years old. Fakir just recently retired from the group he helped to found in 1953. The Four Tops helped to define The Motown Sound in the 1960's, crossing over from the R&B charts to score an incredible twenty Top 40 pop hits as well. (kk)
I had heard of both of these passings before I read your notice this morning.
A quick thought on each …
Jerry Fuller had a release in 1961 of a song called "Guilty Of Loving You" that I have always liked a lot. Very clever lyrics to it. Can send it if you wish.
I saw the original Four Tops - opening for Frankie Valli and three other guys - in Reno in the late 1980's. Tremendous show, and the Four Tops really should have been the headliner over the Four Seasons.
The encore had all eight guys on stage, with the Tops starting a Seasons song, and all eight joining in. And then the Seasons starting a Tops tune, with all eight guys singing.
Nice memories in each case.
Brad
That would have been a GREAT show to see.
That Jerry Fuller song made the lower regions of all three major charts, peaking at #94 in Billboard, #95 in Cash Box and #97 in Music Vendor … it sounds very much like a Rick Nelson tune. (Fuller made The Top 40 in Music Vendor in 1959 with his version of “Tennessee Waltz,” oddly a hit he DIDN’T write!)
Jerry Fuller, Rick Nelson and Glen Campbell pal’d around together in the early ‘60’s and recorded a number of tunes that deliberately didn’t credit them as the artists to avoid any label conflicts. (Dave Burgess of The Champs was also part of their “secret group” … he and Glen Campbell knew each other from Glen’s short time with the group.)
I picked up this rare CD several years ago … and it’s a fun listen … other than Ricky, these others wouldn’t reach their prime for several years yet … still, there was a mutual admiration society going on. (kk)
In what may go down as one of The World's Worst Kept Secrets, Celine Dion is expected to perform at The Opening Ceremonies tonight at the 2024 Paris Olympics. It has been over four years since Celine last performed on stage, later going public with the announcement that she was suffering of Stiff Person Syndrome in 2022.
A recent television documentary has thrust Dion back into the spotlight again … so this would present the perfect opportunity to present herself to her HUGE legion of fans all over the world.
But the plan hardly stops here ...
Celine would next like to return to her own residency in Las Vegas ... roll this right into a brand new, permanent gig. (Can you even imagine the insurance policy the casino has to take out for this in order to cover and reimburse ticket holders on the nights that she may not be able to perform?)
Think about that for a second ... because there will be some. Fans shelling out $250 - $500 per ticket, some of whom likely planned whole trips around coming out to see her there, have just added one more gambling risk to their trip to Sin City.
And let's face it ... there HAS to be some sort of contingency plan in place ... or this would bring a whole new meaning to the idea of fans getting "stiffed" trying to see their music idol! (kk)
Meanwhile, while one contemplates THAT dilemma, Billy Joel closed out HIS residency last night with his 150th performance at Madison Square Garden!
Joel made his first appearance at The Garden on December 14, 1978, when he was just 29 years-old. In 2006, he set the house record for the most consecutive performances by any artist with twelve shows. His record-breaking residency began in January of 2014, with the idea of Joel playing one show there every month for, in Billy’s own words, “as long as the demand continues.”
The following year (January, 2015), Joel broke his own record of the “most consecutive performances by any artist” with the 13th show of the residency and in July of 2015, he set another record for the “most lifetime performances by any artist.
He performed his 100th lifetime performance there on July 18, 2018. (Bruce Springsteen joined Billy on stage that night to celebrate the milestone … Joel has been having celebrity guest performers join him throughout his residency there.)
Short of missing a few gigs due to the Covid 19 virus, Joel has become the one thing you can count on in New York City, the city he loves. It's sad to see it end, especially since Billy FINALLY released some new music a few month ago. (Hmm ... maybe he's just getting his Second Wind!) Meanwhile, the Piano Man is Movin' Out.
The Billy Joel Channel is back on Sirius XM, too ... and I am totally lovin' it ... he is SUCH an entertaining storyteller ... I look forward to this every time they bring it back.
We love ya, Billy! (kk)
After we ran that photo of Bob Newhart, Don Rickles and Mickey Mouse the other day, David Salidor had to send us THIS picture of Micky … and Mickey!!! (kk)
Six years ago, Cher announced that she was writing her memoirs …
And they’re apparently now done and ready to see the light of day.
“Cher: The Memoir, Part One” will be released on November 19th, with “Memoir, Part Two” due to arrive sometime in 2025.
Cher says that she will finally reveal some of the intimate details of her extraordinary life, with Part One focusing primarily on her years with Sonny.
Publisher HarperCollins promises that we can expect Cher’s trademark honesty and humor throughout. (THIS is going to be an exceptional read!) kk
Here's one we missed earlier this week on our 60 YEARS AGO TODAY Calendar ...
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/rolling-stones-blackpool-concert-1964/?lh_aid=1113205&lh_cid=x30afa2yh0&di=585f48385e5b562154298f2a535eddbaSo I wonder ...
When the judge came up with this random and total arbitrary ban of 44 years (God only knows where that number came from!) if anybody on God's Green Earth expected that The Rolling Stones would still be around 44 MINUTES from now, much less four years ... or 44 years ... or that some 60 YEARS later, they would still be out there touring the world and playing to sell-out houses and arenas everywhere they went ... well, except Blackpool anyway ... possibly more popular and certainly more respected than they ever were some 60 YEARS AGO TODAY!!! (kk)
Speaking of which ...
Happy Birthday to Mick Jagger ... who turns 81 today!
Thanks to Mike Wolstein for sending us that one ...
As well as a copy of this brand new Beatles Greatest Hits CD ...
After cancelling the rest of his 2024 Tour, citing illness plaguing his band, Neil Young announced this past week that he WOULD be performing at Farm Aid 2024, along with Farm Aid co-founders John Mellencamp and Willie Nelson.
60 YEARS AGO TODAY:
7/26/64 - Teamsters President and US Union Leader Jimmy Hoffa is convicted of fraud and conspiracy
Also on 7/26 – Actress Sandra Bullock is born
