forgottenhits.com
If anybody out there has tried to visit forgottenhits.com (our archive site) during the last three weeks, you’ve likely run into a message that says something to the effect of “A New Website Is Coming” … which, I suppose, is indirectly true.
For the past 3-4 years, the existing site has been “frozen in time” … due to numerous take-overs by at least three different website hosts, anything and everything we had posted there was “locked” in … no changes or updates could be made which, quite honestly, was quite frustrating … as it also meant that we couldn’t add any new signature series to the list.
We finally had to go with the most basic of websites, which will now act as more of a “hub,” directing visitors to the blog site you’re currently reading (which continues to offer “damn-near daily” postings) … and each of the individual pages from the former site are slowly being recreated and reconfigured as “stand-alone” pages with new links to take you to any topics of interest you may wish to explore.
Needless to say, it’s been a very slow and tedious project, not the least of which has been hindered by Turbify (the current web hosting service) being down itself for the past three weeks with what would seem to be the most elementary of issues … yet they’ve still been unable to solve them.
Once it’s all back up and running, we’ll let you know …
But in the meantime we will periodically post links to revised pages that ARE available for viewing. (I have to admit that this has been quite a rewarding experience in the long run as I can FINALLY make some of the changes and updates that I’ve been wanting to make for the past four years … and it’s a real kick to read some of this stuff again.) With only the slightest hint of modesty, I’ve got to tell you that we’ve written and researched some pretty damn interesting projects over the past 25 years … and it’s kinda cool to be able to revisit some of them again.
With that being said, the FIRST post we’d like to direct you to is our JIMI HENDRIX Page.
This was first assembled back in 2007 under the heading of 12 THINGS YOU PROBABLY NEVER KNEW ABOUT JIMI HENDRIX … which I thought was quite enlightening at the time … as these were all facts that I learned along the way of reading and researching SIX Jimi Hendrix biographies in attempt to put together the most COMPLETE overview of his career (with an emphasis on the rare and surprising.)
Several years ago (2019??? 2020???) I asked Ken Voss, who publishes the excellent Jimi Hendrix fanzine “Voodoo Child,” to review our page with the benefit of all new hindsight as new facts about Jimi’s career continued to be disclosed over the twelve years or so since our series was first published. He made a series of insightful notes which are now being published for the very first time simply because the “frozen” site wouldn’t allow me to do so until now. (It has always been my intention to bring this series up to date … and now I can finally do so!)
Which means I think you’ll all find it quite interesting and insightful to revisit again, too!
More updated postings will follow …
But for now, please enjoy 12 THINGS YOU PROBABLY NEVER KNEW ABOUT JIMI HENDRIX, the 2025 edition! (With special thanks to Ken Voss ... and much more to come!)
https://fhjimihendrix.blogspot.com/
A link to Ken's Facebook Page (which offers more information about his VOODOO CHILD Newsletter):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/jimihendrixinformationmanagementinstitute
THIS AND THAT:
From Tom Cuddy (by way of Rolling Stone):
BEACH BOYS: A Subsidiary Tour
With Brian Wilson no longer performing due to dementia, his Beach Boys bandmate Al Jardine is taking out Wilson's band, now called the Pet Sounds Band, for a tour.
Jardine tells Rolling Stone, “I’ve been gathering up the troops, Brian’s excellent band. We’re all just dying to get back to work, and I thought I’d take the reins.”
He's also hoping former Beach Boy Blondie Chaplin, who toured with Wilson and Jardine, joins in.
While no dates have been announced, Jardine hopes to be out in June, July and August. He'll play some Beach Boys hits, but also plans to play songs from their overlooked '70s albums 15 Big Ones, The Beach Boys Love You, and M.I.U Album, which are being assembled into a box set later this year.
Jardine says, “There’s a lot of material to draw from that people haven’t heard before. And we’re going to have some fun.”
Jardine is also promising a video component like he did on tour a few years with his son Matt Jardine and keyboardist Debbie Shair. "I could discuss a particular song or a particular time or a memory that I had of something and share it with the audience. It helped set up the songs and the environment for the next song. And we’re going to have to find some fresh video, of course, and maybe get a testimonial from Brian.”
In addition to preparing for the tour, Jardine will soon release a four-song digital EP, Islands in the Sun. “It has several different kinds of music on it. I have a testimonial to my favorite songwriters of the '50s, Leiber and Stoller, called ‘Highway 101.’ I also have a song with Neil Young that I like a lot called ‘My Plane Leaves Tomorrow.’ We recorded it together when I did my [2010 solo album] Postcard From California. I thought, ‘Well, that didn’t fit the theme for that album very well.’ But it resonates now with the political unrest over in the Middle East. It’s about a service person who goes overseas and has to serve his country.”
Jardine is 82 and adds that after he and fellow Beach Boy Mike Love can no longer tour, Jardine's son Matt and Love's son Christian should carry on the name. “Why not? My son Matt and Christian both have great voices. It would be on a different level than now. But it would still be doable because the music is the star of the show.”
Jesse Colin Young, leader of The Youngbloods, has passed away. He was 83.
The Youngbloods only had one Top 40 hit … but it was a biggie …
“Get Together” went all the way to #4 in 1969. (It was originally recorded and released in 1967 but stiffed, climbing no higher than #82 during its 1967 eight-week run. But after it was used in a television ad campaign for Brotherhood Week, RCA re-released the single in '69, and this time it took off.)
Their first chart hit did pretty well here in Chicago …
“Grizzly Bear” charted just outside The Top 40 in 1967, peaking at #42 in Record World … and ten spots below that in Billboard …
But here in Chicago it was a #13 smash on The WLS weekly survey and got quite a bit of airplay on both of our local Top 40 stations.
“Darkness, Darkness” was released as a single twice, too, peaking first at #121 during its initial run in 1969 and then climbing to #83 as the follow-up to the re-release of “Get Together.”
One of Jesse's most beautiful songs, “Sunlight,” fizzled out at #85 … but Three Dog Night cut an immaculate cover the tune and it fit Chuck Negron’s voice perfectly. (kk)
From our IT AIN'T OVER TILL WE SAY IT IS Department ...
After The Eagles finish their April date commitments at The Sphere in Las Vegas, they'll take a few months off to play some other dates on their Farewell Tour ... only to RETURN to The Sphere for four more dates in September!!!
Yes, that's right ...
You've STILL got a chance to see The Eagles at The Sphere!
Remaining dates (until they add more):
Friday, April 4, 2025
Saturday, April 5, 2025
Friday, April 11, 2025
Saturday, April 12, 2025
Friday, September 5, 2025
Saturday, September 6, 2025
Friday, September 12, 2025
Saturday, September 13, 2025
60 Years of the Beatles in America
I bought my ticket as soon as Charles Rosenay sent me the email. "Rare Beatles Films You Can't See Anywhere Else." Even if I have seen some of them before, what a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Going back in time and reliving the times and songs that made my life!
Listening to radio reports on the news while riding in the car, I blurted out, "Why are the girls screaming? They're just boys, and goodness knows there are enough of them around." I didn't watch the first Ed Sullivan show. I don't remember what, if anything I did watch that night, but the next day in school, that is all my friends talked about. I teased them for going "ga-ga" over some English boy singers, and they agreed it was silly, but they just couldn't help it! My best friend, who lived across the street, felt the same as I and had also not watched the first show, AND had experienced the same reactions I did at her conservative parochial school. Oh, what to do? Oh, we might as well watch the next show, so we have more ammunition to throw back at school.
Like a movie set, I burst out of my house the next day, running into the dead-end street to meet my best friend who was also running out of her house. As we faced each other in the middle of the street, WE SCREAMED! Yep! The Beatles had drop-kicked us into puberty. A place we had no intention of ever going until then. It was the music! It was more than the music! It was the personalities! It was more than each personality! They were a cohesive group! They were more than a cohesive group - they were four parts of the same being while maintaining separate identities, lifestyles and abilities.
March 16th, I drove to the Danbury, CT Palace Theater to watch a two-hour presentation that filled my heart with new memories from clips I had never seen before and the five minutes of clips that I remembered made it real.
Eric Taros has worked with EMI and Apple records for years. He has dug up home movies and uncovered reels of footage that he has painfully cleaned and restored (not remixed) to their original condition or better. He, along with Charles Rosenay, narrate the footage we watch today. It is beautiful and difficult to imagine that much of it originated 55-60 years ago.
Rosenay has taken many people on his Liverpool/Beatles tours, but they have never gone to Newcastle. Why? "I can't understand the accent." Eric has remastered a Newcastle Q&A with fans and the original Fab Four BUT also added text of each question so that anyone outside Newcastle can understand what is being said. There were a couple questions I understood and a few more that would have become clear with repetition. However, most were like listening to a language I did not know. Even The Beatles looked confused at times before they answered.
The clips ended with Canned Cream of Beatles, a 15 minute composite of 11 years of work on music. In between the opening of this show, showing the Washington DC concert, and the Canned Cream ending, we saw blips showcasing highlights and lowlights of the years. A side-by-side comparison of the 'Something' video showing rough first try and finished product was striking. Hearing details of their movies and cartoons from the creators while we watched the specifics onscreen was educational even though it was presented in a fun dimension.
Eric has restored the full Shea Stadium 1965 concert and will be bringing it to us in the fall for viewing. This will include before stage, backstage, on stage and after stage film from several sources.
Eric will have showings in the Boston area and does tours as well. On the off-shot that you see his name: ERIC TAROS - go see and meet the man.
A splendid time was had by ME!
Shelley J Sweet-Tufano
NE Correspondent
Forgotten Hits
In other Beatles-related news, The Royal Mint has revealed the impending issue of a John Lennon Coin.
Much as they did last year with their series of Paul McCartney coins, these new releases will follow the exact same formula as the McCartney
series. They range from the John Lennon 2025 UK £5 Brilliant
Uncirculated Coin for £18.50 (approx.. $AUD37) up to the John Lennon
2025 UK 2oz Gold Proof Coin for £6,420.00 (about $AUD12,900).
The coins are available to order from the Royal Mint ...
https://www.royalmint.com/stories/commemorate/john-lennon-an-icon-of-peace/
The new John Lennon coin is part of the Music Legends series. Previous editions by Elton John, Queen, David Bowie and The Rolling Stones are no longer available. This is actually the SeCOND series of Lennon coins. The Royal Mint produced a John Lennon coin in 2010 to mark the 30th anniversary of his death. (kk)
Tom Cuddy also sent us this clip spotlighting the career of Charles Calello …
Behind the Hits with Charles Calello | Sizzle Reel
https://youtu.be/IpZdcOPQrRs?si=Y5oGpnGc1TY7oMAy
From Jim Roup ...
Happy Birthday 🎂🎈! to Vanessa Williams, seen here with her daughter on The Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank, Calif.
JOHN CAFFERTY & THE BEAVER BROWN BAND RELEASE FIRST NEW ALBUM IN 37 YEARS-SOUND OF WAVES
Rhode Island’s multi-platinum John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band, will be celebrating 50+ years in the business with the release of “Sound of Waves,” a new 13 song album, their first in 37 years.
In 1982, John Cafferty was commissioned to write and perform the soundtrack for a film that turned out to be “Eddie and the Cruisers,’ a rock cult classic with a triple platinum soundtrack. Cafferty’s soulful, raspy voice propelled the movie’s theme “On the Dark Side” to # 1 on the Billboard Rock charts and the MTV video charts, while the movie’s second hit “Tender Years” rose into the Top 10 of the Billboard AC charts.
Today John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band continue to tour around the world. That tour will bring them to NYC for an album release concert at the Cutting Room on Thursday, April 10th, the day before the album release, from Moonstone Music.
According to Cafferty, the new album almost didn’t happen. After almost four decades of not writing and recording new music, he was encouraged by Bruce Springsteen to do it again.
Over the years, Cafferty and company have jammed on stage with many of the greats of rock and roll, including Bob Seger, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Dion, and opened on tour with the Beach Boys, Foreigner, and Bryan Adams.
Starting May 28th, Cafferty joins Rick Springfield on his "I Want My 80s Tour" for selected dates, along with John Waite and Wang Chung.
“The ‘Sound of Waves’ album is a celebration of a lifetime legacy as musicians and 50+ years as a band. The songs are newly written with a respectful reflection of colors from an era of music’s diverse history and the precious life moments and loving relationships that have served as our hearts’ inspiration,” said Cafferty.
The title track from the group’s 1985 album, “Tough All Over” became their second # 1 on the Billboard Rock Charts and the song “C-I-T-Y” reached the Billboard Top 20.
Over the years, John has placed 35 songs in major motion pictures. They included Sylvester Stallone’s “Rocky “IV,” and “Cobra.” The Farrelly Brothers hit films “There’s Something About Mary” and “Dumb and Dumber Too,” & Eddie and the Cruisers I and II.
The lead single from the group’s upcoming album is “Day In the Sun,” which was spotlighted in Peter Farrelly’s film “Rick Stanicky.” Here’s a video link of a live performance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1xHCR8BDus
All songs on the new release were written by Cafferty.
The Rhode Island rockers put out their first “Greatest Hits” album in 2022 on Iconoclassic Records.
In addition to band founder Cafferty, two original members remain in the group. They are guitarist Gary Gramolini and saxophonist Michael “Tunes” Antunes.
In NYC John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band will be appearing at the Cutting Room on Thursday, April 10.
DIS
