Sad to report the death of Bob Uecker, Mr. Baseball, yesterday. He was 90 years old.
A career .200 hitter over only six seasons (and not the best defensive catcher you were ever going to see either ... he once led the league in passed balls - 27 - and errors by a catcher - 11 - during the same season), he DID manage to play in the 1964 World Series while he was a member of The St. Louis Cardinals. (During that six year career, Uecker was traded three times, playing for The Milwaukee Braves, The St. Louis Cardinals, The Philadelphia Phillies and then back to The Braves who, by then, had relocated to Atlanta.)
Yet despite all of this, he was still inducted into The Major League Baseball Hall Of Fame ... as a broadcaster ... and it is his career AFTER baseball that made him one of the most beloved men in show business. (Uecker was a natural-born comedian who set the bar when it came to self-deprecation humor. Appearances on The Tonight Show, movies, television commercials and even a few TV series followed.)
Whether it was pitching beer from the nosebleed seats or calling the game from the broadcast booth on "Major League" (with a pitch that was "jusssst a bit outside"), Uecker endeared himself to us all.
He was a Milwaukee Brewers broadcaster for 54 seasons, including last year's finish as Central Division Champs.
And while we were still trying to digest this sad news, just an hour later we heard that movie-maker David Lynch had also passed away. Lynch, creator of the cult-hit television series "Twin Peaks" and the films "Blue Velvet," "Eraserhead," "Mulholland Drive" and the original "Dune,” built both a film cult following and earned the respect from the motion picture industry. A sad day for sure. (kk)
And here's another one ...
OCTOBER 14, 1938 -- JANUARY 15, 2025
Country Singer & Songwriter Melba Montgomery Dies At 86.
Check Out Her #1 Country Hit "NO CHARGE"
WARNING: You Need Tissues To Listen To This One .
FB
Lots of talk about The Village People performing at Trump's inauguration on Monday ...
The Donald has used their hit "Y.M.C.A." (uncharacteristically WITH their permission … although not initially!) on the campaign trail in 2016, 2020 and 2024 ... which has been "good for business" financially for the disco phenomenon ... but the band DOES admit to having some reservations as to how this appearance may impact their long-standing fan base.
Oddly enough, Village People frontman and songwriter Victor Willis filed a cease-and desist order against Trump for using the song without his permission back in 2016 … Trump DOES have a tendency to do that ... but then had a change of heart when he saw how much money he was marking due to the increased exposure it was getting, leading to record breaking streams.
He now says that he has benefited greatly from its use by the President Elect.
“The financial benefits have been great as ‘Y.M.C.A.’ is estimated to have grossed several million dollars since the President Elect’s continued use. Therefore, I’m glad I allowed the President Elect’s continued use of ‘Y.M.C.A.’ And I thank him for choosing to use my song.”
But he also acknowledges the fact that the band may disappoint and even lose some of their long-time fans by supporting the controversial President Elect.
“We know this won’t make some of you happy to hear; however, we believe that music is to be performed without regard to politics. Our song ‘Y.M.C.A.’ is a global anthem that hopefully helps bring the country together after a tumultuous and divided campaign where our preferred candidate lost.
Wow! And Trump still wants them there anyway?!?! After a statement like that?
(I swear if he comes out topless wearing an Indian headdress, that’ll be the final straw!)
Country Music Superstar (and former American Idol Winner) Carrie Underwood is also taking part in the ceremony. She’ll be singing “America The Beautiful.” Lee Greenwood, Jason Aldean, Rascal Flats, Kid Rock and Billy Ray Cyrus are also onboard. (Sounds like a Country Music Celebration!)
And Rapper Snoop Dogg is expected to perform at the “Inaugural Crypto Ball.” (kk)
Officially performing at FireAid, a fund-raising concert to benefit those affected by the raging fires in LA, are Stevie Nicks, Rod Stewart, Joni Mitchell, Stephen Stills, Sting, Earth, Wind and Fire and The Red Hot Chili Peppers ...
And, for the "under 60" crowd, you'll also get the chance to see Billie Eilish, Dave Matthews, John Mayer, Gwen Stefani, Jelly Roll, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Pink.
Slated for January 30th, the shows will
begin at 6 p.m. PST, and will be streamed live on Apple Music and the
Apple TV app, Max, iHeartRadio, KTLA+, Netflix/Tudom, Paramount+, Prime Video
and the Amazon Music Channel on Twitch, SiriusXM, exclusively on “LIFE with
John Mayer,” Spotify, SoundCloud, Veeps, and YouTube, and at select AMC Theatre
locations in 70 US markets.
In addition to this star-studded fund-raising event, Ringo Starr put together a couple of benefit concerts in Nashville this past Tuesday and Wednesday Night ...
And David Grohl pitched in personally to help (on his 56th birthday no less!), all to help raise funds for all of the victims affected by the disastrous fires raging thru California.
Ringo was joined on stage by Sheryl Crow, Rodney Crowell, Mickey Guyton, Emmylou Harris, Sarah Jarosz, Jamey Johnson, Brenda Lee, Larkin Poe, Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, The War And Treaty and Jack White and, in contrast to his usual All-Starr Shows (wherein rock celebrities perform their own hits alongside Ringo and Beatles classics), these concerts (Starr’s first ever at The Ryman Auditorium) were devoted to ALL Ringo music, including several tracks from his brand new “Look Up” LP …
(Photo: Jill Jarrett)
Ringo Starr’s setlist opening night, January 14th,
2025 at The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN
Set 1:
Matchbox (with Jack White) from The Beatles’ Long Tall Sally EP, 1964
It Don’t Come Easy (Ringo’s solo hit single, 1971)
Time On My Hands (from Look Up, 2024)
Octopus’ Garden (with Molly Tuttle) from The Beatles’ Abbey Road album, 1969
Don’t Pass Me By (with Jack White) from The Beatles’ White Album, The Beatles,
1968
Thankful (from Look Up, 2024)
Honey Don’t (with Billy Strings) from The Beatles’ Beatles for Sale album, 1964
Without Her (with The War and Treaty) from Ringo’s Beaucoups of Blues album,
1970
I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party (with Sheryl Crow and Molly Tuttle) from The
Beatles’ Beatles for Sale album, 1964
Boys (from The Beatles’ Please Please Me album, 1963)
Set 2:
Have You Seen My Baby (with Jamey Johnson) from Ringo’s Ringo album, 1973
You Don’t Know Me at All (with Mickey Guyton) from Ringo’s Rotogravure album,
1976
Act Naturally (with Rodney Crowell and Sarah Jarosz) from The Beatles’ Help
album, 1965
I Wanna Be Your Man (with Larkin Poe) from The Beatles’ With The Beatles album,
1963
What Goes On (with Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle) from The Beatles’ Rubber
Soul album, 1965
Look Up (with Molly Tuttle) from Look Up, 2024
Photograph (from Ringo, 1973)
Yellow Submarine (with Jack White) from The Beatles’ Revolver album, 1966
Finale: With a Little Help From My
Friends (with Emmylou Harris, Sheryl Crow, Brenda Lee, Billy Strings, and Jack
White) from The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album, 1967
Ringo's concerts were filmed to be aired as television specials on both CBS and Paramount+.
Read Billboard's review here:
Grohl, meanwhile, volunteered with a Nonprofit Organization to help cook meals for Families Displaced by the LA wildfires.
And, speaking of David Grohl, Jim Roup, sent us this photo in honor of Grohl’s recent birthday …
Dave Grohl of The Foo Fighters had a 🎂🎈! Birthday. He is seen here with his late drummer Taylor Hawkins at a Music Event in West Hollywood. Other people at the event included Garbage, Sarah McLachlan and the notorious P-Diddy.
And, speaking of Jim Roup, we received this piece right after we ran his photo of Julia Louis-Dreyfus the other day …
I did not add that sadly Julia lost her home in the Palisades fire.
Jim
SOOO much damage and devastation …
It’s been over a week now and the fires are still spreading.
We feel for everyone affected by this grave tragedy. (kk)
kk ...
Just Heard From Legacy Recording --
SONY MUSIC CORP Is Donating $5 Million To LA Emergency Aid & Re-Building
FB
And, speaking of Frank B ...
>>>A New Death To Report Today … Buck White (12/13/1930 - 1/13/2025) - He Was The Oldest Living Member Of Grand Ole Opry. I Guess We Might Have To Look This One Up -- Unless You Know Something About Him? (FB)
>>>Nope, can’t say that I do! I remember Buck Wheat (from even before Eddie
Murphy discovered him!) And I remember
Pat Boone wearing White Bucks …But Buck White the Country Singer and Grand Ole
Opry Star, I do not know! (Nor can I find a single charted record for him on
Billboard’s Country Music Charts from 1944 and beyond.) kk
Kent,
If you (and Frank Buongervino, and anyone else) need to find out about Buck White, y'all need to first look up the country-music trio The Whites, in which he was joined by his daughters Cheryl and Sharon (Sharon would later marry fellow musician Ricky Skaggs, who co-produced one of their albums); in their earlier years, Buck's wife Pat was also a member of the group, which was called the Down Home Folks, after an earlier group Buck and Pat were in before the daughters joined.
(Source: https://www.opry.com/artists/the-whites, at the Grand Ole Opry site)
Bob Frable
Frank evidently did some digging, too ...
kk ...
Buck White & His Two Daughters Formed The Grammy-Winning Blue Grass Trio, The Whites.
My Favorite "LOUIE LOUIE" Clip Is The One Showing Jack Ely In A Barn, Singing The Song To His Horse. Check It Out.
You Can Even Understand The Lyrics.
In An Article I Read, It Said There Is A Curse Word In The Original Recording. The Drummer Dropped One Of His Drum Sticks & Dropped The F-Bomb. Even I Missed It.
FB
As read in Forgotten Hits ~~~
>>>"Timmy sent us this article about Mike Korgan, the guy who produced the legendary Kingsmen’s recording of “Louie Louie." (kk)
The only problem is the text of the story is pretty much illegible and is as hard to decipher as a former Governor of Indiana once tried to do with the song's lyrics itself! {:~}!
CB ( which does not stand for "Censorship Boy!" )
Harvey Kubernik sent us this very cool audio link to Dick Biondi “thru the years” …
1964 07 24 / WCFL Chicago / Dick Biondi
Wham's "Last Christmas" video just passed the one billion views plateau ... congratulations! (It also topped the British charts this holiday season.) kk
