Thursday, October 30, 2025

Thursday This And That

Sting has been added to this year’s Super Bowl festivities (although he’ll be performing two nights BEFORE Bad Bunny takes on the Half Time Show.)  This comes after a wave of controversy and protest surrounding the choice of Bad Bunny … and now promises a “weekend of music events” with more names expected to be announced shortly (as it sounds like all of these details are being very quickly worked out.)

No word yet as to whether this will mark the return of Up With People from Super Bowls past.  (kk)

I was very sad to hear that The Stray Cats have had to cancel their tour due to a “serious illness” suffered by front man Brian Setzer.

(When this tour was first announced, I contacted Brian to see if he felt certain that he was up for the grueling toll a tour like this would take, but never heard back.  My guess is that he’s clearly not … and may have even taken a turn for the worse.)

Setzer had announced earlier this year that, due to an autoimmune disorder, he was having difficulty playing his guitar.  (He also had a crippling effect going on with his fingers which contributed to this difficulty.  He said at the time that his attempts to play the guitar made him feel “like I am wearing a pair of gloves.”)

Brian posted this to the fans when announcing the tour cancellation …

“I’m heartbroken to share, due to serious illness, I am unable to perform and very regrettably have to cancel our Stray Cats tour. I know this affects so many people and I am devastated to have to deliver this news. I’ve been trying everything I can to go on and do these shows, but it is just not possible. I’ve been looking forward so much to being on stage with my band mates again and playing for all of our amazing fans, and I’m gutted.”

Very nice interview, Kent! It's good to see FH covered on other websites.

Tommy James credited FH with some content included on his Facebook page today. 

David Lewis

The interview he’s referring to is on the Pray For Surf website – kind of a history of Forgotten Hits (along with a few Beach Boys references)

https://prayforsurfblog.blogspot.com/2025/10/75-million-visits-my-interview-with.html 

What did Tommy refer to?  I didn’t see it (and I don’t do Facebook)  I know we mentioned recently that his long-awaited movie may now be a television mini-series instead.  (I just want to see it!!!)  kk

It's the story about Tommy's appearance on Ed Sullivan. I see now it was posted by Ron Wells, the admin for the Facebook page. 

DL

UPDATE:  During the course of the interview, I responded that I couldn’t possibly name my ten favorite Beach Boys songs … there are just too many to choose from and no matter what I'd pick, they’d likely change depending on the day you asked me.

Looking over a list of their songs, I picked out 25 that I love the best … and then ranked them in order, based on how I feel today.  Please note that this ranking is only valid for the time it takes you to read it … as the order will likely shuffle by the next time I review the list.  Still, these are 25 of their tunes that will ALWAYS make my list, even if several others pop in from time to time.  (kk)

 1. Do It Again

 2. I Can Hear Music

 3. Surfer Girl

 4. God Only Knows

 5. 'Til I Die

 6. Don't Worry Baby

 7. Sail On Sailor

 8. Forever

 9. I Get Around

10. California Girls

11. This Whole World

12. Livin' With A Heartache

13. Fun, Fun, Fun

14. Caroline, No

15. Dance, Dance, Dance

16. Kokomo

17. Kiss Me Baby

18. The Warmth Of The Sun

19. Darlin'

20. Good Timin' 

21. Wouldn't It Be Nice

22. Don't Go Near The Water

23. She Believes In Love Again

24. Marcella

25. Surf's Up 

Honorable Mention:  Please Let Me Wonder; Break Away; Everyone‘s In Love With You; Getcha Back; It’s Gettin’ Late; 409; Do You Wanna Dance; 

Barbara Ann; Happy Endings; Sloop John B.  (kk) 

In addition to the John Lennon / Yoko Ono “One On One” concert film (lovingly produced by their son Sean) airing later this month on Max … and The Beatles Anthology series (featuring a brand new chapter) airing over Thanksgiving week on Disney+, we can now also look forward to a brand new Paul McCartney documentary coming to Prime in February.  (A teaser trailer has just been released)  kk

Macca’s new book and a definitive Wings collection are also being released in November (hot on the heels of the 25th anniversary release of “The Beatles Anthology” book … along with reissues of both George and Ringo solo albums.  It’ll be a very Beatles Christmas this year indeed!  (kk)

Speaking of John Lennon …

FH Reader Clark Besch sent in this clip of Petula Clark being interviewed about her participation in the making of The Plastic Ono Band’s hit single “Give Peace A Chance.”

(We just told you the other day about Petula’s new biography … ok, maybe I will read it after all!  Lol)  kk

My fave female singer has her own Beatles story to relate from 1969!  You can click thru front blocking if you don’t have facebook and play and unmute the sound on speaker at lower right.

816K views · 14K reactions | An unforgettable night in Montreal! 🎶✨ Watch the full story on BBC iPlayer! | The One Show

Billboard Magazine is reporting that this is the first week since 1990 that no rap songs have appeared in The Top 40!  (35 years of Top 40 Rap?!?!  Who knew!!!)  kk 

Hope to see some of you at the John Cafferty show this Sunday at The Arcada Theatre.  Tickets are still available at oshows.com.

Meanwhile, John just did a really great Retro Rock Roundup Podcast interview with Mike Wiles that you can listen to here:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/retro-rock-roundup-with-mike-and-jeremy-wiles/id1545753693?i=1000733645106

John is also doing a Zoom Video Interview with Arcada Theatre CEO Ron Onesti but we didn't receive it in time to post here this morning ...

Please continue to check the oshows.com website later today and tomorrow to catch this exclusive chat.  (kk)

Chuck Buell sent us this memento after the passing of June Lockhart …

Also, from Chuck Buell (now that Fall has fallen) …

It's Fall! Time for Fall Fun! But ~~~

How did we ever survive?!

Did you ever jump into a pile of fallen and raked up leaves when you were a Kid?!  I certainly did!  I can smell their dusty dryness and hear them crumble as I write this truly Fun Remembrance Thing-to-Do!

But for kids today?  Not so much! These warnings blow that Fun! 

"Leaf piles are the perfect environment for ticks to thrive. When jumping in, a kid may inadvertently present themself as their next meal!

Other animals may also have find it a perfect place to call home. Like spiders and snakes! There’s no telling what may be dwelling in a pile of leaves until a kid is actually in them. 

If the leaves have been raked into a pile onto a concrete driveway or similar, they may not provide enough cushion to soften a kid's jump and the ground underneath certainly won't be very forgiving."

Sheesh!  Trample on my Fun!  It's enough to drive me to drink!  Where's the nearest Garden hose?!

Wait.  What?!

"Garden Hoses can contain lead or be made from materials that leach chemicals into the water, especially when heated by the sun.

They're often left outside in unsanitary conditions, making them susceptible to bacteria and insects.

Such hoses are treated with chemicals so they stay flexible. These chemicals may be toxic.

However, there are garden hoses that are safe to drink from if properly maintained.  If a garden hose is NSF/ANSI 61 or NSF/ANSI 372 certified, it means they meet certain safety standards and can be used for drinking water.”

That's the Good News?! 

Sheesh!  I don't remember stopping to check to see if a hose was NSF/ANSI 61 or NSF/ANSI 372 safe, or whatever hose minimums were in the days when we were kids, before quenching my thirst!

Shoot!  I'm just going to go off in a corner of a room and shine up a bunch of dimes with liquid Mercury from an old broken thermometer!

Yeah, I know you know what they say about playing with Mercury today!   Nevermind!  Those dimes just look too cool afterwards!!

CB!  ( which stands for your "Caretaking Boy!" )

Don’t forget to set your clocks back this weekend.  (kk)