The Brits maintain control of The Top Ten this week with six entries on the chart, four by The Beatles (#1 - "Can't Buy Me Love," #2 - "Twist And Shout," #6 - "Do You Want To Know A Secret" and #9 - "She Loves You") and two by The Dave Clark Five (#7 - "Glad All Over" and #10 - "Bits And Pieces," up 17 spots to crack The Top Ten.
The other four positions are held by Louis Armstrong (#3 - "Hello Dolly"), Terry Stafford (#4 - "Suspicion"), Betty Everett (#5 - "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)") and #8 - "Don't Let The Rain Come Down (Crooked Little Man)" by The Serendipity Singers.
Monitoring The British Invasion, we find NINE more Beatles tracks on the list ("I Want To Hold Your Hand," #13, "Please Please Me," #19, "All My Loving," #39, "Thank You Girl," #51, "Love Me Do" (up 35 places from #88 to #53), "Roll Over Beethoven, #54, "I Saw Her Standing There," #75, "You Can't Do That," #78 and "From Me To You," #89, and one track ABOUT The Beatles ("We Love You Beatles," #43), by The Carefrees.
Holding down other Top 100 Hits are the British acts The Searchers (#12 with "Needles And Pins"), The Swinging Blue Jeans (#28 with "Hippy Hippy Shake"), Dusty Springfield (#44 with "Stay Awhile") and, new on the chart, "Little Children" by Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, another artist in Brian Epstein's stable, who'll be flying across the pond to make and appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in a couple of months. (The flip side of Billy's first US Hit is a Lennon and McCartney composition called "Bad To Me," which will also chart.)
60 YEARS AGO TODAY:
4/13/64 – The 36th Academy Awards are held at The Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Big winners include "Tom Jones" for Best Film) Patricia Neal for Best Actress for “Hud” and Sidney Poitier for Best
Actor for “Lilies Of The Field.” Poitier
is the first Black actor to ever win an Oscar in a lead role.(By the way, during these same ceremonies,
Bobby Darin will lose the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his role in
“Captain Newman, MD” to Melvyn Douglas “Hud.”
4/12/64 – Arnold Palmer wins the 28th US Masters Tournament,
Augusta National GC, by six shots, beating Dave Marr and Jack Nicklaus to
become the first 4-time winner of the Masters.This is his 7th and final major victory.
Also on 4/12, Chubby Checker marries former Miss World
Katerina Lodders.
They are still married today, sixty years later.
Thursday, April 11, 2024
The first official trailer for the Disney+ Beach Boys Documentary finally came out on Tuesday ... which, of course, was 4/09 ...
This is gonna be a good one!!! (kk)
It looks like it’s going to be an AMAZING Fest For Beatles
Fans this year here in Chicago!!!
On hand to perform with the “house band” Liverpool will be
Micky Dolenz, Randy and Tal Bachman, Billy J. Kramer, Laurence Juber and Steve
Holley, both formerly of Wings, The Weeklings and more (with more surprise
guests expected.)
Also on hand will be Freda Kelly, President of The Beatles
Fan Club back in their UK hey-day, Apple Employee Chris O’Dell, Julie and Gary
Evans (Mal’s kids), immortalized in the new Ken Womack book, “Living The
Beatles Legend,” which I’m right in the middle of reading right now,
Terri Hemmert will do her annual Master Of Ceremonies duties
(she’s been doing it now since the very first Beatlefest was held here back in
1976!)
Numerous Beatle authors will be on hand (Bruce Spizer, Jude
Kessler and the aforementioned Ken Womack, to name just a few) … as well as the
usual Collectors’ Displays and Beatles Flea Market … with non-stop movies running throughout
the weekend.
The Fest runs from Friday, August 9th, thru
Sunday, August 11th, at The Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Rosemont … and
tickets are on sale now.(This sounds
like a good one!!!Gonna have to check
it out!)kk
Speaking of The Beatles, there’s been lots of talk regarding
Beyonce’s new “country” Texas Hold ‘em album … drawing particular attention has
been Beyonce’s cover of the Dolly Parton hit “Jolene,” which has proven to be a
hit all over again.
But her cover of “Blackbird” features the actual Beatles
track as the backdrop.(Paul McCartney,
who was the only Beatle present on the track, is credited on Beyonce’s new
album on guitar.)It sounds great … and
Macca loves what she’s done with the arrangement.This could breathe new life into the already
classic Beatles track.
(Hey, “Fast Car” just shot up the charts again for Luke
Combs … so once again, everything old is new again!And as each new generation discovers this
great music, it’ll just continue to cycle again and again!)
Beyonce became the first black woman ever to occupy the #1 spot on Billboard's Country Albums Chart with this new release. (I'm not exactly sure how they measure her sales against the country audience ... personally, I don't see her winning a CMA Award anytime soon ... but it definitely has proven to have had an impact.) And I can remember all the outrage fifty years ago when Olivia Newton-John, an AUSTRALIAN artist, was winning Country Music Awards!!! Things certainly have changed in that regard! (kk)
At least 66 never released Marvin Gaye demos have been found
in Belgium (of all places!!!)
The
previously unheard recordings have been stored on 30 tapes at the Ostend, Belgium,
home of musician Charles Dumolin, with whom Gaye had been staying at the
time.They’ve been sitting dormant for
42 years.Notebooks, letters and
costumes were also found there.
No word yet
as to when some of these will start to see the light of day.(kk)
This from David Salidor ...
DOLENZ AT THE TROUBADOUR –
Doug Weston's Troubadour club in LA is
a most storied venue. Back in the day, that was the club to be at and to play
at on Santa Monica Blvd. Elton John's US debut occurred at the club in 1970
when he was a mere 23. Other acts such as Bob Dylan, The Byrds, Joni Mitchell,
Poco, Neil Young, James Taylor, Eagles, Neil Diamond, Kris Kristofferson, Linda
Ronstadt, Waylon Jennings, Tom Waits and so many more appeared at the club.
Somehow The Monkees never played the club (though Micky Dolenz was in the
audience for Elton's debut back then.)They
hung out there and Mike Nesmith actually played there under the name of Mike
Blessing during his Monkee-auditions.
That all changed Friday night when Micky
Dolenz and his 6-piece band, with his sister Coco, performed there. It was
sold-out (and a benefit for Make-A-Wish) and it was indeed history
in the making.
The evening began with Dolenz's sister Coco
(it was her birthday) doing a short set with the band. Dolenz entered the stage
and began with "That Was Then, This Is Now" and "Last Train To
Clarksville." Dolenz peppered the show with many personal reminiscences
and his crack-band shone, especially guitarist Wayne Avers, drummer Rich Dart
and bassist John Billings. Dolenz's voice remains as strong as ever; it's been
said that his is a cross between Freddie Mercury and Roy Orbison, which is a
spot-on description.
Dolenz and crew then did "Good Morning, Good Morning" and
"Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," which was preceded by
Dolenz's memories about his time with The Beatles. "Johnny B. Goode"
(his Monkees-audition song) and "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone"
followed with the crowd singing along.
Buffalo Springfield's "For What Its
Worth" and Elton's "Your Song" followed, again peppered with
Dolenz's poignant memories
Make no mistake, The Monkees had just terrific
material to work with … songwriters like Neil Diamond, Harry Nilsson, Tommy
Boyce and Bobby Hart, Neil Sedaka, Gerry Goffin and Carole King … but the
synthesis of the four of them was pure magic. Dolenz is carrying on that spirit
in fine fashion.
Dolenz and band encored with "Gimme Some
Lovin'," “No Time" and "I'm A Believer."
Just a terrific show from start to finish.
Bravo!
Seen in the SRO crowd, Alison Martino; Goldmine's
Ken Sharp and Tone Scott; Breakfast with The Beatles' Chris Carter ;
Craig Newman from Paladin Artists; Art Rutter; Michelle Grant; Jane
Blunkell; Micky's daughter Ami Dolenz; and Roy Trakin from Variety.
(Photos: Tyrone Biljan; Alison Martino; April Hayes)
Look for a
new Rascals box set coming out May 31st.
The 7-disc
set encompasses their entire recorded output with Atlantic Records, 1965 –
1971, including mono and stereo copies of their albums, special singles mixes
and some previously unreleased tracks.(I remember shelling out big bucks for an earlier CD edition of this set
… but I’ve gotta tell you, this one has got the COOLEST looking cover!!!)
“The Rascals:It’s
Wonderful: The Complete Atlantic Studio Recordings features 152 remastered songs,
including 14 previously unreleased tracks. The first four albums are presented
in both stereo and mono, along with significant single edits and foreign
language versions. The collection includes a 60-page booklet with detailed
notes and rare illustrations from The Rascals archives.
Amazon’s got
it for $69.99 (I paid 2 ½ times that much way back when for the original!) so pre-order
now.This is quite the collection!(kk)
Mike Wolstein noted that last Monday (April 8th)
marked the 24th anniversary of a momentous music moment …
Today is the 24th anniversary of the "Gotta
Have More Cowbell" skit on SNL.
Just thought I'd toss that at ya. ;-)
Mike
Clarence “Frogman” Henry passed away last
week … he was 87.
Henry posted three Top 40 hits between
1957 and 1961 … “Ain’t Got No Home” (#20, 1957), “I Don’t Know Why (But I Do)”
(#3, 1961) and “You Always Hurt The One You Love” (#12, 1961)In 1964, he was one of the opening acts for
The Beatles when they first toured America. (kk)
Kent,
You were right when you said that FH reader
Timmy sent in his "song of the day," that being BIG IRON by Kingfish.
That was a new one on me.
As for the soap opera DARK SHADOWS, and the
theme from such, Charles Randolph Grean's QUENTIN'S THEME peaked at #12 for the
week of July 17, 1969 here in OKC.
Larry
“Quentin’s Theme” proved to be a surprising hit in 1969,
reaching Top Ten Status in both Record World (#6) and Cash Box (#8) … but only
peaking at #13 in Billboard.
Here is Chicago, it went all the way to #3 on the WLS
Chart!(kk)
Some of you know I'll be back in
North Miami at the Luna Star this Saturday Night (April 13th).
And they’ve just
instituted a Massive Price-Slash on the Lind-at-the-Luna Cover Charge
Three things to bear in mind ...
1.The food is great ...
So I suggest getting there early
and having dinner before the show.
2.
Remember that they don't take credit cards. So bring a big wad of cash.
3. And
we're offering a special discount off the already insanely low, low, low $20
cover charge. Anyone who brings a friend or family member who has never seen me
live, will get in for a mere $15! And your guest will also get in for the same
cheapo price.
So bring a bunch of fresh meat.
I need more Lind virgins to play for.
LOL .. wish we were going to be in
Florida this weekend … this sounds like a fun time!
But, for those of you who ARE, why not
take advantage of this great opportunity to see Bob performing live in
concert!Please report back to us if you
happen to see the show! (kk)
Speaking of live gigs, here’s one you may
want to check out …
According
to a recent post on Neil Young’s website, an album of live performances by
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, recorded at New York’s Fillmore East in 1969,
is in the works.
At
this point, CSNY had only performed a handful of concerts (including the biggie
at Woodstock the month before.)They
played a total of four concerts that September (two per night on September 19th
and 20th)
Young
says that their set was “full of great songs and then-unknown gems ... with staggering
harmonies.
“I was new in
the band, having been brought in by Stephen Stills, my Buffalo Springfield
band-mate. We didn’t know much material to sing together yet. They had the
historic CSN album with tracks created largely by Stills, full of great songs
and singing by all members. When we took the stage, CSN would play their
favorites along with some brand new songs that would later [become] classics.
Some, like ‘Our House,’ were so new that only the writer-singer would perform
them.”
It's great to
hear that this vintage performance will now be available for all to hear …
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young at the infantile stage of their career …
documented for all time.(kk)
This became a
bit of an on-going debate last week between a small circle of oldies fans.
I chose not
to comment at the time because I thought it might make for some interesting
fodder here …
Especially at
the ludicrous notion that ANYONE ANYWHERE could POSSIBLY consider Herb Alpert
to be a One Hit Wonder!!!
Now Herb
Alpert has been one of the most successful and generous show-biz personalities
in the HISTORY of show business.He
carved a REMARKABLY successful career in the ‘60’s with The Tijuana Brass,
charting TEN Top Ten Albums between 1963 and 1968, six of which went all the
way to #1, matched only by The Beatles in total album sales during this era.
(Some of you
may recognize this one)
As if it
wasn’t insulting enough that Alpert was inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall Of
Fame in the NON-PERFORMER category, receiving The Ahmet Ertegen Award in 2006
along with partner Jerry Moss for founding A&M Records, one of the most
successful independent record companies in the history of popular music, NOW
Frank B’s buddy Kojak has decided that he’s going to refer to Herb Alpert as a
“One Hit Wonder” because he only had one #1 Hit as a singing solo star.(I guess the fact that he ALSO topped the charts
with his instrumental hit “Rise” … and placed nearly twenty OTHER hits in The
National Top 40 doesn’t matter in our buddy Kojak’s book!)
I was shocked
when I got this from Frank B last week:
EXPERTS -- SETTLE THIS ARGUMENT FOR ME – PLEASE!
Tonight,
My Pal Kojak's "1960's JUKEBOX REVUE" Is About "ONE HIT
WONDERS."
He's
Planning To Call Herb Alpert A "ONE HIT WONDER" -- Because He Had One
Solo (Singing) Hit.
He’s
Not Counting The Millions Of Records He Sold With The Tijuana Brass.
It’s
Mis-Leading.
It
Makes It Sound Like He Had Only One Hit In His Entire Career.
This
Should Be Different Category, In My Opinion.
I
Don't Want To Sway Your Decision ... BUT
Glen
+ Dr. Bop + Billy + Wild Wayne = I'm A Loyal Listener Who Listens To Your Show
Every Week.
Kent
= I Read "FORGOTTEN HITS" Often / Glen = I Read Your Newsletter Every
Sunday.
KOJAK
= Never Reads "FORGOTTEN HITS" & Sometimes Reads "DOO - WOP
RAMBLINGS."
KOJAK
= Never Listens To The "MEMORY MACHINE" & Pops In & Out Of
Dr. Bop’s & Billy's & Glen's Shows.
Thanks
FRANK
B
TRIVIA
-- Herb Alpert Is The Only One To Have #1 Hits With Both An Instrumental
("RISE") And A Vocal With Lyrics ("THIS GUYS IN LOVE WITH
YOU")
Well, right
off the bat I don’t like the guy … Kojak never reads Forgotten Hits?!?! This is
especially disheartening since I’ve helped him book guests on his show!(But in all honestly, I don’t listen to HIS
show either!!!So I guess that makes us
even.)
But to just
blatantly provoke an argument and controversy over one of the most successful
recording artists in the history of pop music makes me like him even less!
There isn’t a
nicer or more generous man than Herb Alpert … he has donated MILLIONS in the
way of scholarships and aide to music organizations over the years … all the
while creating a timeless catalog of songs of his own.He truly is one of a kind … and a genuinely
nice and sincere man.Even if I WAS a
listener of Kojak’s show, I wouldn’t have tuned in for this one … it’s just
disrespectful.(kk)
He had a hit
under his name, many under his group name, Herb Albert & the Tijuana Brass,five #1 hits, nine Grammys and he was the A in A&M Records.
I lose a little respect for Kojak’s thinking
if he says Herb is a one-hit wonder.And
he better be reading Ramblings every Sunday. What’s up with that🥴
Thank you for your continued support, Frank. Maybe you should be
doing Ken’s show🤪
Glen Fisher / Doo Wop Revival
Saw this
beautiful photo in Best Classic Bands the other day and just had to share …
Yoko Ono
Lennon, Julian Lennon, Sean Ono Lennon and Cynthia Lennon, out to dinner and
posing together looking just as happy as can be.(Who would have ever thought?!?!)
BEAUTIFUL
shot!(kk)
And how about this picture sent in by Timmy?
Jackson Browne and Laura Nyro ... twins separated at birth (???)
