Today has proven to be an overwhelming day for news ... and not much of it GOOD news ... as such, we had to post an "afternoon edition" just to keep up!
From the GOOD NEWS Department, Freddy Cannon’s new Christmas tune “Red Coat Santa” has climbed to the #9 position on this week’s Heritage Chart …
So Mike Read, from the Heritage gang, produced the following video on the song, with several Cannon-easter eggs:
You’ll find Peter Noone on this week’s chart, too!!! (kk)
https://www.heritagechart.co.uk/xmas-chart-archive/week-282
More Freddy Cannon news from David Salidor …
ROCK ‘N’ ROLL ICON FREDDY ‘BOOM BOOM’ CANNON BACK ON THE U.K.’s HERITAGE CHART AT #9 WITH “RED COAT SANTA” AND NEW VIDEO
Legendary rock ‘n’ roll icon Freddy Cannon returns to the charts as his “Red Coat Santa” continues to climb on the U.K.’s Heritage Chart … it has now charts at #9.
https://www.heritagechart.co.uk/home-mobile
Mike Read, from the Heritage Charts, has also produced a video for the song, which can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJc4t5WyizQ
Adds Read: “It was a pleasure to do this … Freddy's songs have given me a lot of pleasure over the years ... so I am delighted to contribute a bit of rock & roll and a touch of ‘Palisades Park’ and some sax playing reindeer! And I’m thrilled that he's back on the chart and doing well.”
Written and recorded by Cannon himself, the festive track blends his signature high-energy style with the warmth and nostalgia of the holidays.
The track has also hit SiriusXM and become a new airplay addition for the holidays; in fact, Cannon was interviewed by Cousin Brucie (Bruce Morrow) two weeks back on his national WABC radio show.
Freddy Cannon, best known for his 1962 smash hit “Palisades Park” and his electrifying performances on American Bandstand (he holds the record for 110 appearances), brings his unmistakable voice and timeless rock 'n' roll flair to this original holiday tune. With sleigh bells, saxophones, and a toe-tapping beat, “Red Coat Santa” is poised to become a seasonal favorite.
“I’ve always loved Christmas music, and I wanted to create something that felt both classic and new,” said Cannon. “Red Coat Santa” is my way of bringing a little rock 'n' roll joy to the season. I hope it makes people smile, dance, and remember what the holidays are all about — fun, family, and music.”
“When I wrote this tune, I thought no one had really ever sung about Santa’s famous outfit. And I was inspired by my angel, my wife, Jeannette, who passed away earlier this year,” said Cannon.
This release marks Cannon’s return to the holiday music scene following his 2002 album Have a Boom Boom Christmas, which featured both classic covers and original songs. Now, over two decades later, “Red Coat Santa” proves that Freddy Cannon’s rock 'n' roll spirit is as vibrant as ever.
Bryan Adams, who released a Christmas single back in 1978, has a brand new Christmas album out now featuring special guests The Barenaked Ladies, Alessia Cara, Alan Doyle and The Sheepdogs.
Story and samples here:
kk …
You Mentioned Terry Syvlester In Forgotten Hits Today.
Terry Was Cousin Brucie's Saturday Interview.
7 PM = Interview Time, They Couldn't Find Terry.
They Finally Got Together.
Terry Was With The Swingin' Blue Jeans
He Joined The Hollies When Graham Nash Left The Group.
Cousin Brucie Asked Him About Upcoming Shows.
All That Terry Could Remember Was Connecticut, End Of December.
You Know You're Doing An Interview --- Why Wouldn't You Have A List Of Concerts You Could Talk About???
On Sunday, Wild Wayne Ran An Interview That He Did With Clarence “Frogman” Henry In March Of 1995.
Clarence Henry Was Born In New Orleans.
Started Taking Piano Lessons At 8 Years Old.
1956 = Late Night Gig At Joy Lounge (in New Orleans)
Clarence Started Working At 8 PM And Was Still Playing Piano At 8 The Next Morning.
Customers Wouldn't Leave. He Was Mad About It ‘Cause He Wanted To Go Home!
Instead Of Leaving And Going Home, He Stayed And Wrote The Song "AIN'T GOT NO HOME"
Another One Of Those A / B Side Stories ...
They Were Playing "TROUBLES, TROUBLES." DJ Poppa Stoppa Flipped It Over To The "FROGMAN" Side And Also Gave Him The Nickname.
FB
Clarence “Frogman” Henry is one of those forgotten voices of early rock and roll … which is pretty amazing when you consider just how distinctive his voice was!!!
He hit The Top 20 with his first three records: “Ain’t Got No Home” (#20, 1957), “I Don’t Know Why (But I Do),” #3, 1961 and “You Always Hurt The One You Love” (#12, 1961). (kk)
Me-TV sent out a Dick Van Dyke quiz on his 100th birthday this past Saturday (12/13) –
Now I don’t claim to be an expert … I really only watched his landmark sitcom “The Dick Van Dyke Show” … didn’t follow up on “The NEW Dick Van Dyke Show” or “Van Dyke And Company” … or his more serious role in “Diagnosis Murder” … (but I DID see his “Columbo” episode … watched it again, in fact, a couple of weekends ago during a “Columbo” marathon.)
As far as the movies go, I saw “Mary Poppins” as a child (but can’t call myself a fan) … never saw “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” or any of the others … so I don’t know how good a score I could have expected to get, especially with 100 Questions, one for each year of his life …
But I scored a 59 (not great, but not terrible … until I read that the average score was 58 … and then I felt kind of disappointed!)
Here’s the link so you can take the quiz itself …
Which we’re repurposing here as “YOU DON’T KNOW DICK!”
By the way, you can watch the same Dick Van Dyke special that I saw on Sunday (and paid $36 for!) FOR FREE this week on PBS ... (I give it a 5 on a scale of 1-10) … or watch the whole program right here, right now (or at the time of your choosing):
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/dick-van-dyke-documentary/37036/
Heavy emphasis on his best known, most successful work, “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” with glowing tributes to ALL of the cast members and Carl Reiner, who helmed the whole thing. (What a shock to come home from the movies Sunday Night and find out that Rob Reiner and his wife had been murdered by their own son!)
What an INCREDIBLE career Rob had as a director … some of my favorite films. The list includes “When Harry Met Sally,” “Stand By Me,” the two Spinal Tap movies, “The Princess Bride,” “Misery” and my all-time favorite, “A Few Good Men.” What a terrible, terrible shame. (kk)
UPDATE: Interesting …
While the whole world morns and grieves at this senseless death … and the outpouring of love comes in surrounding this man and his life’s work … we can ALWAYS count on our fearless leader to put things in proper perspective … in a demented sort of way … which, if I’m reading between the lines correctly, basically says “If you don’t agree with me, then you should brutally die.” Hmm … now THAT’S the kind of leadership Americans should expect, right???
Here is DONALD TRUMP’s POSTING: (and no, I’m not making ANY of this up!!!)
A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood. Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS. He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before. May Rob and Michele rest in peace!
Ah … what a sincere and deranged sentiment. (kk)
7 PM UPDATE: WAIT ... IT GETS BETTER
Thanks to the backlash to Donald Trump's earlier comment, reporters gave him the opportunity to "back-pedal" a little bit and clarify or amend his insensitive and ignorant statement ... but Trump wasn't smart enough to take advantage of this opportunity due to the amount of hate he holds in his heart for Rob Reiner. (Let's keep in mind here that Reiner didn't simply pass away at the age of 78 ... he and his wife were brutally murdered by a member of their own family. You'd think a guy who's been shot at a couple of times might display a little more compassion ... but that's just not what this guy is made of. He simply cannot allow for commentary from anyone who didn't drink the Kool Aid.)
Instead, Trump issued these additional statements ...
Well, I wasn't a fan of his at all. He was a deranged person, as far as I am concerned. He said that I was a friend of Russia, controlled by Russia. You know, it was the Russia hoax, he was one of the people behind it. I think he hurt himself, career-wise. He became like a deranged person — Trump Derangement Syndrome. So I was not a fan of Rob Reiner at all, in any way, shape or form. I thought he was very bad for our country.
Somebody's deranged, all right ... but I don't think it was Rob Reiner. Show an ounce of sympathy, for God's sake. (kk)
AND NOW BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAM ...
SAG-AFTRA, on the other hand, posted THIS classy tribute honoring the legacy of filmmaker, actor and SAG-AFTRA member Rob Reiner, who died today at the age of 78.
SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin said:
Rob Reiner is one of the most significant figures in the history of film and television. The impact he made on American culture simply can’t be overstated. Tributes will pour in and the impossibly long list of genre defining films and indelible performances will play in our minds and hearts. Rob Reiner was a member of our union for nearly 60 years. We send love and warmth to Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner’s families, friends and colleagues. Our entertainment community and audiences around the world will mourn deeply. On a personal note, so many of Mr. Reiner’s films and performances made me think, made me emotional and especially they made me laugh really hard. That’s how I will remember him.
>>>They sure are shaking things up a bit this year for The Happy Together Tour ... I guess Ron Dante now IS The Turtles (who aren't even mentioned as the headliners this time around ... who does that title fall to now? The Cowsills?) Jason Scheff will really rock thing up on stage - but it looks like he'll be performing the hits he wasn't on!!! (What a shame) Doesn't really matter to me - as long as he's still in fine voice, he will absolutely steal the show. The British touch with The Troggs and The Fortunes should be very interesting ... yeah, I think we'll probably go to this one. (kk)
Hi Kent,
They certainly are shaking up the Happy Together tour this year! Instead of the usual five or six acts, they will have eight. This means that, unless the shows run longer than usual (which would be fine with me), each act will likely only have time for three songs. Meanwhile, the choice of the Troggs and the Fortunes is curious, since each of those acts only had two memorable hits. Should be interesting!
Ian
It's enough of a shake-up / reason to go see it again … kinda got a little too predictable seeing the same acts year after year after year. (kk)
And this just in from Tom Cuddy …
Carl Carlton, ‘She’s a Bad Mama Jama’ and ‘Everlasting Love’
Singer Dead at 72
(Source: People.com)
https://share.google/lmHsc6VKFcwUjChRB
Wow, we loved BOTH of those songs and still play them quite often.
And now you can add Anthony Geary, the infamous “Luke” from “General Hospital” to this year’s tally. The year-end crunch of deaths to add to the already overwhelming 2025 list is upsetting. Very sad. (kk)
Regarding our recent “Mr. Santa” post, we got these …
Love it! Thanks for sharing. As you most likely know, none of the original Chordettes are still alive, but back in the 90s, we had them on WPLJ’s morning show (Scott Shannon and Todd Pettengill) and they sang some jingles for us based on the melodies of their two biggest hits.
Tom Cuddy
I know there was some speculation that The Chordettes recorded “Mr. Santa” as a follow-up to their “Mr. Sandman” hit, but I don’t think they did. I did a quick check to see if I could find it … but I can find zero, and I mean, z-e-r-o, evidence that the Chordettes ever recorded a Christmas version of Mr. Sandman.
I can find versions by Dorothy Collins (1955), The Lollipops (1959), Lenny Dee (1961), Shari Lewis (1965), and probably the most famous version being by Suzy Bogguss (1989), but not The Chordettes.
--Tom Diehl
I couldn’t find it either … so we went with the Dorothy Collins version as this seemed to be the first. The one by Amy Grant also seems to be quite popular … you can easily find it on YouTube. Thanks, Tom. (kk)
Tom Cuddy sent us this one …
Two great Canadians meeting for the first time …
David Clayton Thomas meets Burton Cummings
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DP4rw0nCZ7b/?igsh=MW1tN3E2bGR3aDVj
Hey, it's only 1:00 ... who knows what else is still going to happen today!!! Check back later as this page very well may be updated. (kk)
