It’s been a while since we’ve heard any updates on the Tommy James movie based on his book “Me, The Mob And The Music” … so I checked in with Carol Ross-Durborow, Tommy’s long-time manager (now aka Mrs. Tommy James) after I saw this blurb in an interview that Tommy did recently with “Noise 11,” stating that this project is now being developed as a television series.
“A movie wouldn’t be enough,” Tommy said. “A series lets you develop the characters, the fear, the humour – all of it. It’s a hell of a story.”
Per Carol: Many ideas are being discussed … tv series, movie for tv, etc. … lots of changes in the movie business so we are looking into the various options. CRD
Unfortunately, this just means more delays for this already long-overdue and this highly-anticipated project … and that’s a shame. This is a story that will lend itself well to ANY type of kinescopic telling … the underbelly of the music business, if you will. Hope they can come up with something soon (while we’re all still around to enjoy it!!!) kk
Kent,
Thanks for posting the video of the story of KING Records. I found it to be very informative and entertaining. One thing I noticed in that it didn't really mention any of the subsidiary labels that KING put out. For example, DELUXE, FEDERAL, etc.
Larry
I finally had the chance to watch it last week and it is a short but sweet synopsis of the Story of King Records ... and entertainingly told at that. Check your PBS listings ... or just catch it on YouTube whenever you want! (kk)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2joV4DtXaI
Here's a photo I snapped of Peter Noone, of course, at The Ridgefield Playhouse in Connecticut. Still looking great! And sounding great!
Brad
[Photo by Brad Joblin, used with permission]
And Shelley is definitely on a roll this week …
We just ran her Peter Noone concert review the other day …
And now we’ve already got a new one from The Fab Four show she saw the other night. (I can vouch for these guys … they put on an incredible show!) kk
I am seeing The Fab Four Friday night in Tarrytown on October 10th. Tarrytown is an hour away .. .except that this evening it became two hours away with nine accidents. I wonder if Washington Irving's headless horseman would have been affected by nine carriage crashes and never been able to scare Ichabod Crane out of town. BUT I made it to the Music Hall in time to sit, stand, and dance along with The Fab Four.
The audience is older than I am, the same age as me and also younger (some much, much younger). It is such a divergent range and yet they are all enjoying themselves whether they know the songs or not.
There is not just one Fab Four. There are several John, Paul, George, Ringo and Ed simulators that tour around the world presenting the music of The Beatles as The Beatles themselves performed it. Every one is professional, musically trained and committed to being the best representation possible on any given night. Tonight, I will see Jeff DeHart performing Ed Sullivan, Ron McNeil performing John Lennon, Neil Candelora performing Paul McCartney, Robbie Berg performing George Harrison and Joe Bologna performing Ringo Starr.
As well as different cast members, there are also different shows you can see. Some are advertised as specific album presentations; many are the stream of The Beatles and their songs from their beginning to their choppy ending and rebirths. Tonight, I thought I would be revisiting the soup to dessert show that I have seen before. Weeeelllllll ..... there are a few changes, Shelley.
We begin with The Ed Sullivan show …
She Loves You
All My Lovin'
I Want to Hold Your Hand
As "Paul" says, "The next song also just happens to be a Beatles song."
A Hard Day’s Night
Eight Days a Week
Can't Buy Me Love
I Saw Her Standing There
Twist and Shout
Now here comes a change ...
At this point, we need to have a costume change, so we generally expect "Paul" to do a solo version of Yesterday. Tonight, Paul comes to the front of the stage in a Shea Stadium jacket and performs FOUR of his favorite songs:
Michelle - the closest they came
to singing about me 
Here, There and Everywhere - one of MY favorites
Blackbird
Yesterday
"John" returns to the stage in a Shea Stadium jacket to add the orchestral parts of Yesterday on the keyboards.
"Ed Sullivan" returns to entertain us as The Fab Four dress for SGT PEPPER TIME!
Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
With a Little Help From My Friends
Sgt Pepper Reprise
A Day in the Life
A Day in the Life is an incredible song but to see it and hear it performed is AMAZING. The Fab Four add visual effects throughout the show and during Life the screen explodes with psychedelic bursts of color. This show is a complete visual and auditory joy!
After a T-shirt throw contest lead by "Paul" and "George," we all join in on Got To Get You Into My Life.
Silence. "John" has returned in the Abbey Road white suit and shoulder length hair. What is said now has been a script change that I find to be a brilliant move. While John's virtues and subsequent death have been the focus before, the message is now that it doesn't matter whether you agree with what John Lennon said, but it is important that he had the FREEDOM to say it, and that he fought to stay in a country that not only allowed that freedom, but was founded on freedoms for all.
Imagine - cell phone salute and "Paul," "George" and "Ringo" return in Let It Be clothing.
"George”'s turn to take the stage solo and bring on the applause with three songs.
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Something
Here Comes the Sun
Not only the sun is coming, but the remaining Fab Four emerge and shine together with the drum and strum of Here Comes the Sun.
Get Back
Revolution - Whoa! these last three songs have brought forth an emergence of dancers, clappers and people rocking the stage aisles. Again, these songs on records are phenomenal, but in live performance I cannot think of a word powerful enough to describe the feeling.
Hey Jude
Music draws together. There are small children, senior citizens with canes, autistic adults and other disabilities ALL communing together in movement and glee. Arms waving, posters being held up, voices blending as they sing the lyrics and love is filling the theatre.
The talk as I leave is about this show, the next music show people want to see, where the salutes to George Harrison will be and where and when they can rejoin The Fab Four for another life lift.
Shelley J Sweet-Tufano
NE Correspondent
Forgotten Hits
Here is one of our Fab Four reviews from a few years back …
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2019/10/meet-fab-four.html
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2019/11/concert-review-fab-four.html
(two of the four actor/musicians were the same when we saw them in 2019)
And a review from the previous year:
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-fab-four.html
One night I got an inside tip that Frank Sinatra was going to be dining at Jerry's Deli in Studio City.
Frank was a no show ... but low and behold, country star Alan Jackson was at Jerry's. Wishing a Happy 67th birthday 🎂 🎈 to Alan on Oct. 17th!
Jim Roup
