60 YEARS AGO TODAY:
9/26/64 – “Gilligan’s Island," starring Bob Denver as Gilligan, Alan Hale, Jr. as The Skipper, Jim Backus as Thurston Howell III, Natalie Schafer as his wife Lovey, Russell Johnson as The Professor (who couldn’t seem to actually fix or invent anything!), Dawn Wells as country farm girl Mary Ann and Tina Louise as Hollywood starlet Ginger Grant, premiers on CBS-TV. Their three hour tour is still going strong some sixty years later.
(Do the math … 60 years = 525,960 hours!!!)
My favorite episode is the one where they try to get off the island (kk)
THIS AND THAT:
Farm Aid, 2024, closed with three of its founding members performing.
Held in Saratoga Springs, New York, this year, John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Willie Nelson all took to the stage for the event, the 39th annual.
Dave Mason has cancelled his remaining shows for 2024 in order to have an urgent heart matter taken care of.
According to a press release, "Doctors detected a serious heart condition during a routine appointment that requires immediate medical attention."
It goes on to say that Mason's doctors "expect a full
and successful recovery," and that he plans to get back on the road in
2025. "I’m heartbroken to have to cancel these dates, but it's doctor’s
orders. I’ll be back, and better than
ever, in 2025."
We’ve seen Dave a few times now and he always puts on a good show. Wishing you a speedy recovery.
Meanwhile, Heart continues to add dates to their tour when it resumes in February of next year. They’ve now got two dozen shows booked.
And it sounds like Heart Sister Ann Wilson has completed her chemo treatments ... and is rarin' to go!
Billboard has a new sales certification called “Double Diamond” status …
That means an album has in excess of 20 million sales or streams … and, as of right now anyway, only THIRTEEN albums meet the criteria.
They are:
DOOKIE by Green Day and COME ON OVER by Shania Twain (both with 20 million); RUMORS by Fleetwood Mac (21 million); CRACKED REAR VIEW MIRROR by Hootie and the Blowfish (22 million); GREATEST HITS, VOLUME 1 and VOLUME 2 by Billy Joel; DOUBLE LIVE by Garth Brooks; THE WALL by Pink Floyd (all with 23 million); LED ZEPPELIN IV and THE BEATLES (White Album) by The Beatles (both with 24 million); HOTEL CALIFORNIA by The Eagles (26 million); BACK IN BLACK by AC/DC (27 million); THRILLER by Michael Jackson (34 million) and GREATEST HITS, 1971 – 1975 by The Eagles (with 38 million!)
Those are some pretty amazing stats if you ask me!
And, speaking of the “elite,” the new 2024 Class of Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Inductees who will be performing at the ceremony on October 19th are: Mary J. Blige, Cher, he Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Kool and the Gang, and Dionne Warwick.
Additional performers and presenters include: Busta Rhymes, Chuck D., Dr. Dre, Demi Lovato, Dua Lipa, Ella Mai, James Taylor, Jelly Roll, Julia Roberts, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Lucky Daye, Mac McAnally, Method Man, Roger Daltrey, Sammy Hagar, Slash and The Roots.
It all airs LIVE on DISNEY+ on Saturday, October 19th.
Dick Diamonde (born Dingeman van der Sluijs), founding member and bass player of Australia’s legendary rock band The Easybeats, has died at age 76. His passing was revealed on Friday, September 20th, 2024.
Dick was born in The Netherlands in 1947. His parents migrated to Australia when Dick was four and lived in the Sydney suburb of Villawood at the migrant hostel.
It was at the Villawood Migrant Hostel that the five Easybeats met. Johannes van den Berg (Harry Vanda), also from The Netherlands, became their lead guitarist. George Young from Scotland was on guitar, Stevie Wright (from the UK) was lead singer and Snowy Fleet (also an English migrant) was on drums. (George Young is the older brother of Angus and Malcolm Young of AC/DC.)
Although The Easybeats are best remembered for their Top 20, 1967 hit “Friday On My Mind, they had fifteen Top 40 hits in Australia starting with “For My Woman (#33, 1966) through to “St Louis (#21, 1969). They twice topped the Australian chart, first with “Sorry” in 1966 and then again with “Friday On My Mind” in 1967.
Hot on the heels of their recently released live concert at The Hollywood Bowl comes word of a brand new 3-LP live America set from The London Palladium!
This is a VERY limited edition triple vinyl LP set, being released next month.
More details below:
AMERICA “Live at the Palladium Deluxe Limited Edition Triple Vinyl LP Released October 25, 2024
Includes a reproduction tour programme!
First 250 copies in PURPLE 180gms vinyl. Contains the full show.
Deluxe Limited Edition of 1000 units.
America, the band that is, will have been together for half a century next year. Dewey Bunnell, Dan Peek, and Gerry Beckley were sons of US Air Force personnel stationed in London, where they began performing live. Their signature song, “A Horse With No Name,” in many ways sums up what the band are all about; close vocal harmonies, acoustic guitars, and – if I may misquote Pete Atkin – a journey through “mythical America” and a vaguely rural ethos. “A Horse With No Name” was their first international hit, and was taken from their debut album, a self-titled record which came out on Warner Brothers in 1971. Since then, there have been over thirty more records, but the one that I want to talk about today is a very special live album, recorded on stage at one of London’s most iconic venues.
The Palladium became a major rock music venue in the years to come, and last year, this message was plastered across the internet: “The Multi-Platinum and Grammy Award-Winning band America will be giving an exclusive performance at the London Palladium on Friday, 19th October, 2018. With huge hits including ‘A Horse With No Name,’ ‘Tin Man’ and ‘Ventura Highway,’ forty plus years later Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell are still making music, touring the world and thrilling audiences with their timeless sound. The combination of Beckley’s melodic pop rock and Bunnell’s slinky Latin-leaning rhythms has proven that America’s sound can transcend borders with their uplifting music and positive message.”
... and this release serves as an invaluable document of an extraordinarily transcendent evening of peerless music.
To pre-order: https://www.musicglue.com/america-palladium/products/live-at-the-palladium-triple-vinyl-lp
The power of music …
Thanks to the success of the Ryan Murphy new series “Monsters” (the story of The Menendez Brothers), the music of Milli Vanilli is alive and well again!
The duo was exposed as being a fake (and had to give up their Best New Artist Grammy Award) after placing FIVE consecutive Top Five Hits between January, 1989, and March of 1990. THREE of those records went all the way to #1: “Baby, Don’t Forget My Number,” “Girl, I’m Gonna Miss You” and “Blame It On The Rain.” A recent cable documentary about the act also helped to spark sales again … but their music isn’t always readily available.
And finally, a nice tribute to Paul Carrack, courtesy of Tom Cuddy …
(This guy has given us SO much great music over the years!!!) kk
