Locals have the chance to see the final cut of the Dick Biondi Documentary ”The Voice That Rocked America” … at a special screening on January 25th at The Moonlight Theatre in St. Charles, IL. More details below from Pam Pulice …
Dear friends,
As we approach the busy holidays, here's a January outing guaranteed to chase
away the winter blues. Here is your chance to see the award-winning
documentary film dedicated to groundbreaking radio personality Dick Biondi and
Chicago rock 'n' roll radio, and enjoy live entertainment by Chicago rockers
Joe Cantafio and Bob Blom, emceed by DJ and Radio Historian Scott
Childers.
Date: Sunday January 25 2026
Time: 2:00 CDT, Doors open at 1:00 pm
Where: The Moonlight Theatre
7 S. 2nd Ave St. Charles, IL 60174
630-549-0072
Tickets are $25. Seating is limited so book now!
Proceeds will go to the Dick Biondi Film project.
A live music, comedy and entertainment venue located in historic downtown St. Charles, IL. Built in 1900, the theater has been lovingly restored by owners Joseph Mennella and Nancy Fioramonti-Mennella featuring professional theatre, music acts, cabaret, stand-up comedy, improv, and workshops. Their kitchen provides an assortment of delicious food and a full service bar which serves cocktails, beer and soda.
Hope to see you there! (kk)
Timmy sent us this cool Doors billboard from back in the day …
Nothing wrong with a little self-promotion, right??? (kk)
kk …
As You Can Guess, All My Favorite Shows Will Be Playing Christmas Music This Week.
TUESDAY = Ken Kojak's 1960's Jukebox Revue
FRIDAY = Brooklyn Billy's Memories Of Yesterday
SATURDAY = Glen Fisher's Doo-Wop Revival
SUNDAY = Wild Wayne's Memory Machine
SATURDAY = Cousin Brucie's Rock & Roll Party
Cousin Brucie Plays Top 50 Christmas Songs.
Don't Know About You, Kent, But I Love Countdowns.
Only One Problem ... Listeners Won't Be Able To Call In With Requests.
So Instead, Cousin Brucie Has His Listeners Call In And Announce Song And # On The Countdown.
BAD IDEA …
All The Callers Want To Say "MERRY CHRISTMAS" and "HAPPY HANUKKAH" and More.
Not One Of Them Calls And Gives The Song And # And Hangs Up.
My Favorite All-Time Christmas Show Was Norm N. Nite On WCBS-FM.
He Would Play All Original Versions Of Christmas Classics.
FB
Hot of the heels of The Happy Together Tour 2026 announcement, comes this from Tom Cuddy …
https://www.themygenerationtour.com/
The Lovin’ Spoonful with Terry Sylvester just played here last week … cool that they’ll be hitting a bunch of cities with this lineup, now including our FH Buddy Gary Lewis! (kk)
Another Moment in Forgotten Hits History thanks to our Forgotten Hits Historian, Chuck Buell!
Which brings to mind the attached clip from "Back to the Future!"
CB! ( which stands for "Curator Boy!" )
And here's more from Santa's Head Elf, our own Forgotten Hitter, Chuck Buell!
Well, I'm apparently and definitely not in the minority here for still liking Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You," because her song is once again dominating the 2025 Holiday Season Music Playlists! You go, Girl!
The charts certainly bear this out ...
As I type this, Mariah is #1 again!!! This week's Billboard Chart shows "All I Want For Christmas Is You" at #1, Wham!'s "Last Christmas" at #2, "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee at #3, "Jingle Bell Rock" by Bobby Helms at #4, "Santa Tell Me" by Ariana Grande at #8, "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire - Merry Christmas To You)" by Nat "King" Cole at #9 and "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" by Andy Williams at #10. You'll find 23 more Christmas-related song in this week's Top 40. That means that 30 of this week's Top 40 Hits are Christmas tunes! (kk)
Now, if you are one who has grown a little tired of hearing Maria each year-end, perhaps a Different, Fun presentation injection is what you might need. Attached, for instance, is the "Postmodern Jukebox's 1940s" interpretation with their signature style of her song.
And, funnily enough, what could be a better way for them to kick it off than with the familiar "Dum Dum Dum Dum" opening of the Chordettes' 1954 non-holiday hit, "Mr. Sandman!"
What?! you ask. What's the connection?! Well, here's why that works!
Songwriter Pat Ballard was so impressed with the success of “Mr. Sandman” that he was inspired to rework his lyrics into a holiday theme the following year, coming up with “Mr. Santa,” a song covered by any number of female country artists in the ‘70’s, ‘80’s and ‘90’s … But FIRST recorded by Dorothy Collins back in 1955. (Unfortunately, this one wasn’t a hit … in fact, it didn’t chart at all!) And now, because most of you in the majority are no doubt not be familiar with that song, I've also attached that for you too!So, hit 'em! And enjoy 'em!
CB ( which stands for "Christmas-Hits Boy!" )
May I propose one more???
The similarly titled "All I Want For Christmas Is You" ... which predated Mariah's hit by several years ... by Vince Vance and the Valiants, featuring an INCREDIBLE lead vocal by Lisa Burgess Stewart (who now records under the name Lisa Layne) ...
You rarely get to hear THIS one on the radio anymore ... and that's a real shame ... 'cause this is a killer record deserving of its own notoriety. (kk)
By the way, my FAVORITE use of “Mr. Sandman” comes from the film classic “Eight Heads In A Duffle Bag!!!” (kk)
And from Shelley ...
Amid the cold, the illnesses and the holiday rushes comes Peter Asher with his new show. Peter Asher, without video, but with stories and songs. The idea came from his recent European tour with Graham Nash. On December 12, 2025, I drove to one of my favorite places: Katherine Hepburn Performance Center OR SIMPLY The Kate. The museum is featuring wedding dresses connected to Ms. Hepburn in movies and the one she wore to her own wedding. Light displays are on the lawn. Village lamp posts are decorated in green and white lights, and the air is crisp. This is a Friday night after a school day of wiping noses, avoiding coughs and taking students to the nurse for temp checks. I am so ready for entertainment!
I have been trying to get the name of the piano/vocals/guitar player from last night. When Peter announced Aubrey Richmond, who was playing violin/mandolin/vocals, the audience began to clap, and the name of the talented piano player went unheard. They were both very impressive in talent and backing up our Peter Asher.
There is no better audience for a complete detailed review than Forgotten Hits. We love detail information and learning the particulars of the music. However, I will not be doing that because there is the possibility that many of you will go to the show and that will be better than anything I can write. I will pick one song and story here to give to you. And still there will be many who will already know it.
Del Shannon wrote and sang his own compositions, but he also wrote songs for others. One such song he specifically wrote for The Searchers. Great group and this would have been a great song for them, but ... they listened to it and turned it down. "Just don't think it is right for us." Really? (thought a young Peter Asher listening in another room backstage) He quickly got over the insult of not having the song written for Peter and Gordon and asked Mr. Shannon, "Could we record that song?" Del Shannon agreed and gave it to them, saying he would not give it to anyone else until they returned to the UK next month and recorded it. They were all in Australia at the time. The song?
I GO TO PIECES
Peter thinks The Searchers would have been wonderful on this with their twang guitar sound, but history shows that Peter and Gordon brought it to the top of the charts and nailed it.
Here are the songs we heard last night. Remember there are stories and writers connected with each one.
Crying In the Rain
A Paul McCartney demo recording
Nobody I Know
True Love Ways
Guess It Doesn't Matter Anymore
I Go to Pieces
Lady Godiva
You've Got a Friend
World Without Love
A captive audience at a very entertaining show. Thank you, Peter! PLEASE come back soon.
If there is anyone who absolutely must know more or all of the stories, have Kent let me know.
Shelley J Sweet-Tufano
NE Correspondent
Forgotten Hits
Hahaha! Yep! This show was just less than an hour and a half. He commented at the beginning that he says, "to make a long story short" and proceeds to lengthen it. However, tonight it seemed as though each piece fit together with little in the way of rabbit trails. He said he learned a lot touring with Graham Nash. (????)
Gotta tell you Peter's joke:
"It's a good thing The Beatles came when they did and not in our present time. They would never have been able to enter the US. Trump would've put a very high tariff on them."
