As the devastating wildfires continue to spread thru the LA Hills, we wish ALL of our west coast readers and artists safety … because it has to be safety first.
I can’t even imagine what the end result will be in the way of loss … as I type this Wednesday morning, the fires are raging out of control and they can’t even seem to come up with a way to contain them.
(I heard that EVERY live event in the LA area was either cancelled or postponed on Wednesday … but wait … Disneyland stayed open!?!?!? I guess they must need the money. And the Hollywood sign … which has been taken down by disaster before … and now the legendary Hollywood Bowl … are also in danger.)
Please know our hearts and prayers are with you. (kk)
Garth Brooks and his wife, Trisha Yearwood, performed an acoustic version of John Lennon’s “Imagine” at Jimmy Carter’s funeral on Thursday (1/9) Our five remaining living Presidents were all on hand for the service: Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Carter died at the age of 100 on December 29th, making him the longest living president in the history of The United States. (kk)
kk …
Just Heard That Peter Yarrow Died.
I Remember Him Denying That "PUFF" Was About Drugs.
He Was In College At The Time.
Drugs Were Popular On The West Coast -- Hadn't Reached The East Coast Yet, According to Him.
FB
I don't know why Yarrow's indiscretions weren't big news until the last 10 years. I know he went to jail, but a lot of people would have found that their career was over. Perhaps it was the times. Abuse was not often talked about back then. He had multiple allegations against him. Even today a lot of his obituaries don't mention it. Yours is one of the few that do. Here's a news story with details. https://www.insidehook.com/music/peter-yarrow-sexual-misconduct
Charlie Ricci
Yarrow’s story quickly became “old news” at the time when the US prisoners being held in Iran were freed the following day. Carter was out, Regan was in … his “misstep” fell by the wayside, which likely allowed him to continue on with his career unfazed. (I wasn’t aware of all these OTHER allegations ‘tho! Perhaps even more will come to light now after his passing. We’ve kinda learned over the years that once a predator, always a predator.) kk
Here's a great piece on Peter Yarrow …
https://theseconddisc.com/2025/01/08/in-memoriam-peter-yarrow-1938-2025/
We’re less than two weeks into the new year and already have a couple more deaths to report …
Sam Moore of Sam and Dave fame passed away on January 10th. The soul duo placed four songs in the Pop National Top 40 between 1966 and 1968, including the #1 Hit “Soul Man” in 1967. (A couple of others that just missed, like "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby," have gone on to become ‘60’s soul classics.) His vocal partner Dave Prater died in a car accident in 1988.
The duo always had a bit of an acrimonious relationship. Their first split in 1970 was a bitter one ... but when The Blues Brothers revived their "Soul Man" hit in 1979, they teamed up again to cash in on their newfound popularity. (ZZ Top covering "I Thank You" didn't hurt either!)
Unfortunately, by then Moore was a heroin addict ... and although they were able to secure bookings for the next several years, at some point Moore wanted out. And this blew things up for good.
As Sam told it in an interview in 2002, several years after Prater's passing:
“When I left him in 1981, I told him I wanted to get off drugs and then we could play some specials or something like that. But he was so hurt, he went and got an impostor and called it Sam & Dave. Word got out that I was dead or had throat cancer or that I had retired ... all kinds of stuff. So from that time until Dave died in 1988, I hadn't spoke to him. That's how the whole thing played out.”
One of MY favorite Sam Moore duets wasn't done with Dave Prater, however. It paired him with Country Music Superstar Conway Twitty on a new version of "A Rainy Night In Georgia," a #2 Hit for Brook Benton (and composed by Tony Joe White of “Polk Salad Annie” fame.) Twitty and Moore recorded their version in 1993 for a various artists compilation album called “Rhythm, Country And Blues.” Sadly, Twitty passed away shortly after this recording was made.
And the death of former beauty queen, pop vocalist, Florida Orange Juice pitchwoman and anti-gay rights activist Anita Bryant was announced this past week as well …
Bryant was crowned Miss Oklahoma in 1958. A year later, she was hitting the pop charts with Top 20 Records like “Till There Was You” (#14, 1959), “Paper Roses” (#3, 1960), “In My Little Corner Of The World” (#10, 1960) and “Wonderland By Night” (#2, 1961). She sang at The White House for LBJ (as well as at his funeral service), entertained the troops alongside Bob Hope and, in 1971, even performed at The Super Bowl.
As the spokesperson for the Florida Orange Growers / Florida Citrus Commission, she was regularly in TV ads promoting their product … (surely you must remember her pitch: “Breakfast without orange juice is like a day without sunshine”) … and for nine years even co-hosted The Orange Bowl Parade.
After her divorce from deejay Bob Greene, she married former astronaut Charlie Hobson Dry … and achieved even more notoriety (although not necessarily in a good way) by speaking out against gay rights, something that would sit even less politically correct in today’s times. (It even sparked a pie in the face at one appearance!) kk
Kent,
I just found out that former Miss Oklahoman in the Miss America Pageant, Anita Bryant, has passed away at the age of 86. She passed away on December 16th in Edmond, Oklahoma. I don't know why it took so long for her passing to be announced. Back in the late fifties and early sixties, she had hits on Carlton Records like TILL THERE WAS YOU, IN MY LITTLE CORNER OF THE WORLD and PAPER ROSES (eat your heart out, Marie Osmond). She also had a vocal version of WONDERLAND BY NIGHT. I believe she recorded very briefly for Columbia after Carlton. At one time I believe she was married to DJ Bob Greene, who was working at the time for radio station WINZ in Miami, Florida. He presented Little Anthony and the Imperials with their gold record for TEARS ON MY PILLOW.
Larry Neal
And Chuck Buell has another death to report …
The donkey who inspired Eddie Murphy's character in the Shrek films, has died at the age of 30.
Perry resided at the Barron Park in Palo Alto, California.
His memorial plans will be announced soon. (All True)
A Video Notice is Attached
CB
For what it's worth, I stayed up late and made waffles in his honor last night. (kk)
Respect for The King on what would have been Elvis’ 90th birthday …
https://bestclassicbands.com/elvis-presley-influence-8-15-17/
As read in FHs ~~~
>>>If Elvis were still with us, January 8th would have been his 90th Birthday!!! (kk)
Whaddya mean, "IF he were still with us?!"
He still IS!
Ask anybody who's spotted him over the last few years!
Why, here's his official 90th Birthday Photograph!
Elvis at 90
[OK, I came across this, which is just one artist's rendition of what Elvis might look like at around 90 today!]
CB
From Frank B …
And, also from Frank, Elvis at 90 … and then at just 18 …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6wkwkp2PIE
When I was a freshman in junior high school in 1962-63, I listened to Dick Biondi on WLS in Chicago from my home in Des Moines, Iowa. I had an old tube-style radio that I liberated from my dad and did some clean-up and tube replacement For much of my everyday life, it was the centerpiece. I distinctly remember in the late winter/early spring of 1963 listening to Dick in the evening and he was playing his usual top 40 songs.
He said, "Here's a group that's hot in England, The Beatles," and played "Please Please Me."
I was transfixed. I didn't know what I was hearing, but I knew it was new, it was different, and it was GOOD!
He played it a few more times in the next weeks, but then they went away, and we got our regular diet of The 4 Seasons, Dion, The Chiffons, Elvis ... none as different or as good as the Beatles. Same old, same old.
Of course, I got caught up in the Beatles, the British Invasion, Ed Sullivan, and all the rest, but I still remember hearing that first song from them on WLS.
Now I'm old (77) and have lots of memories, but I still remember that late winter evening, hearing the Beatles for the first time. I've told my family the story many times. I think they're sick of it by now. But I am a living, breathing, hearing witness to the Beatles first plays on WLS in February/March, 1963. It was a watershed moment for me - the stake in the ground for my life, before-and-after. Before, I was just a 9th grader, trying to survive in a tough school. After, I had a different vision and dream - different music, a new freedom, something that was mine (and lots of other kids), and something that the grown-ups didn't understand.
Scott Moore
Long Beach, California
Great piece – thanks, Scott! (When you heard them again in early ’64, did you instantly remember them from that brief moment the year before?)
I was only ten when Beatlemania hit in 1964 … wasn’t even listening to the radio yet (other than Chicago White Sox games!!!) I discovered WLS in May of that year … but even before that, you couldn’t avoid hearing The Beatles … they were everywhere! (kk)
Looks like Billy Joel is doing two concerts per month this year … and he’s already booked thru August!
And nearly all of these are superstar pairings with either Sting, Stevie Nicks or Rod Stewart.
Here’s the schedule so far:
Billy Joel 2025 Concert Dates (so far):
January 17th – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
February 8th – Indianapolis, IN – Lucas Oil Stadium (with Sting)
February 22nd – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
March 15th – Toronto, ON – Rogers Centre
March 29th – Detroit, MI – Ford Field (with Stevie Nicks)
April 11th – Syracuse, NY – JMA Wireless Dome (with Sting)
April 26th – Milwaukee, WI – American Family Field (with Sting)
May 10th – Charlotte, NC – Bank of America Stadium (with Sting)
May 23rd – Salt Lake City, UT – Rice-Eccles Stadium (with Sting)
June 7th – Edinburgh, UK – Scottish Gas Murrayfield
June 21st – Liverpool, UK – Anfield
July 5th – Pittsburgh, PA – Acrisure Stadium (with Rod Stewart)
July 18th – Bronx, NY – Yankee Stadium (with Rod Stewart)
August 8th – East Rutherford, NJ – Metlife Stadium (with Stevie Nicks)
Timothée Chalamet, who's been earning rave reviews (if not any official awards so far) for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in the new biopic "A Complete Unknown," has been tapped to host the January 25th edition of Saturday Night Live. Surprising to me is that this will be Chalamet's THIRD time hosting the program ... only THIS time, he'll also be appearing as the program's musical guest.
Even harder for me to believe (as I really don't watch the program ... and never really have) is that SNL is now celebrating its 50th Anniversary!!! In all fairness, some incredible names have appeared on that stage over the past five decades ... I've personally just found the show only "hitting its mark" about 10% of the time, so it's never really caught on for me.
Still, congratulations on all that's coming your way, Timothée - I thought it was a great performance. (kk)
More from the Jim Roup archives …
Kent,
Here’s a photo I snapped of Kenny Loggins and friend at Spago one night. He just had a January 7th birthday 🎂 (Maybe Kenny was with his friends The Easter Bunny or The Pink Panther?)
In the meantime, Happy 84th 🎂 🎈 to Joan Baez, seen here in West Hollywood.
And, Rod Stewart just had his 80th 🎂!!! birthday. Here he is at Mr. Chow in Beverly Hills.
Jim Roup
Joan is getting a lot of attention lately, thanks to the new Bob Dylan film …
And that’s a GREAT shot of Kenny Loggins …
No matter who he’s partying with!!! (lol) kk
And here's today's closer from our Forgotten Hits Travel Director, Chuck Buell ...
60 YEARS AGO TODAY:
1/12/65 – Hot on the heels of "Shindig!'“s success, Hullabaloo” premiers on NBC-TV.
Opening night guests include The Zombies and Gerry and the Pacemakers (yes, The British Invasion is still going strong!)
