Shelley just saw a double bill featuring two of the biggest recording acts of the '60's ...
And she's here to tell you all about it!
Sixteen minutes east of Mohegan Sun there is another
casino. Foxwoods stands tall and turquoise as I drive into the parking
garage. I could say something snarky like everyone should enjoy both
Indigenous Peoples casinos before they send ICE to send us all back to
our homelands. Too late. I said it. Don't start hitting me with facts
that ICE does not work them, etc. I am just trying to add humor to
troubled times. I am also proud of this audience on June 26th that
looked past any possible quarrels and histories to fully enjoy, dance,
and sing through the night.
Two
powerful groups appear here in a three-hour non-stop (except for
intermission) high energy show. Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone
opens. The Beach Boys close. I choose to start with a narration of the
performers.
Herman's
Hermits starring Peter Noone not only boasts their front man and
namesake but is always supported by the high-quality musicianship of
Vance Brescia, Billy Sullivan (back from knee surgery) and Jimmy Herter
on guitars. Rich Spina on keyboards and (wild) Dave Ferrara on drums
complete a solid and tightly glued unit that never fails to impress. The
audience adores them. 18 songs, including Herman's Hermits hits, covers
and the arrival of Johnny Cash and Mick Jagger recreations have the
audience standing and cheering, while watching Peter intermingle with
the audience, (twice when ushers bring people to seats that require
walking in front of him while he is standing amongst us.) Has no one
(noone) ever joined the audience level before?
The Beach Boys have their front runners: Mike Love and Bruce Johnston. The complete stage band includes: Jon Bolton on drums and lead vocals on Wild Honey and California Dreamin', Tim Bonhomme on keyboards along with Bruce Johnston, Brian Eichenberger on guitar, high harmonies and vocals, Keith Hubacher on bass, Randy Leago on woodwinds, Christian Love on guitar and vocals for God Only Knows and Good Vibrations and John Wedemeyer on lead guitar.
Now
to address the elephant in the room ...
Brian and his wife openly admit
they gave Mike the license to use The Beach Boys name, and he pays fees
to them for its use. Brian figured it was best to allow a cousin its
use. This can be heard in a Larry King interview. So, we have jumped
over that hurdle. Next, the ill-will between Mike and Brian.
The
tribute videos to Brian and Carl are a love story. It shows Brian and
Mike laughing, working and playing together through the years. Carl's
video adds Christian Love to the mix as he is seen with his Uncle Carl, whom he now emulates. The first thing that comes into my mind is Lennon
and McCartney. So much is focused on their disagreements and fights, as
well as George and Ringo. Now that I think about it, there are more
groups who fought themselves apart than that have stayed together. For
news people, the row is the thing! For me, the love that was there, if
only for a moment, is the thing. The video salute to Dennis was not
present but he was constantly shown in video throughout the show. Mike
was not looking nor sounding as strong as he did last year. Did the
audience around me notice? Apparently not! The couple next to me (and
several years younger) reacted with, "Wasn't that all a great concert?"
as we stood up to leave.
I wax nostalgic. Too many good-byes recently. Too many "if onlys" in the air.
18
Hermits songs, 30 Beach Boys songs. A packed Premier Theatre. Not one
unhappy person leaving. Good vibrations and something good in
conversations around me. I can't ask for more. I accept there were
issues and problems. There may be regrets. God only knows there was a
wonderful world here tonight.
(I will admit that The Beach Boys portion of this video is very hard to watch ...
Mike Love looks like he's suffering up there as he struggles to squeak out anything resembling an in-tune vocal. [Shelley tells me that they sounded better than this live, but admits that the video isn't very flattering. Mike taking over the lead vocal on "Sloop John B." just may be the worst I've ever heard him.]
Peter Noone, on the other hand, is his usual entertaining self. I really hate to give in to the idea that we may have come to the end of the road with many of our '60's favorites. Some, like Peter, can still pull it off ... but it's downright painful watching some of the others. - kk)
I am not a SiriusXM subscriber,
but rely on others I know to keep up with what's going on there.
I discovered from one of them
that last week, Pat St John on Facebook verified that the 60s Gold channel
played "Happy Together" by the Turtles, apparently breaking a long
embargo either the channel or the organization had on either the song or the
group.
Kent, I don't presume you or
Frannie to be SXM listeners either, but as David Letterman used to periodically
ask about random stunt performances on his "Late Show," "Is this
anything?"
Thanks.
Bob Frable
Actually, we’re both Sirius XM subscribers and have been for many years … and Frannie is an avid listener to Pat St. John’s show but evidently didn’t
know or hear anything about this comment or posting.
YEARS ago (like 1999???) The Turtles / Flo and Eddie / Mark
Volman and Howard Kaylan filed suit against the satellite network for not
paying royalties for the Turtles music they were playing on their station.(Volman and Kaylan own the rights to all of
their recordings.)I can’t remember all
of the details, but Sirius XM took the platform that said royalties
for music recorded before 1972 was exempt from royalty payments by government
law.(In fact, new federal copyright law
was written at the time to protect all music recorded beginning in 1972 and
forward … but it ignored music recorded during the previous hundred years.)Flo and Eddie challenged this ruling and, once
a lawsuit was filed, Sirius simply stopped playing Turtles music, figuring (I
presume) that lack of airplay would show them who really held all the cards
here in this debate.
Mind you, it wasn’t just The Turtles’ music that was
affected here … Sirius XM wasn’t paying royalties on ANY of the music it was
playing from pre-1972 … thousands and thousands of records by hundreds and
hundreds of artists.
As such, Volman and Kaylan filed a class action suit which was
finally settled in 2016 with a ruling that the satellite network would have to
pay $99 million in back royalties to all of the artists that they had ignored.Except this, too, was appealed and eventually
overturned.To complicate matters even
further, there were different guidelines regarding royalty obligations in place for different states.It wasn’t until 2021 that things began to be
sorted out … but even at this point, it still took several more years before
Sirius XM would agree to start playing Turtles music again.(If you can imagine, this “Turtles Ban”
significantly messed up programing for regular ‘60’s Gold features like DJ Dave
Hoeffel’s “‘60s Satellite Survey” show, which plays the top forty hits of
selected weeks from throughout the decade … they literally had to go out of
their way when programming this feature in order to skip any week that included
a Turtles tune!)
Funnily enough, the whole incident was kept pretty well
under wraps during the 25+ year suit … very few listeners were any the wiser that
something like this was even going on.(And Sirius XM DID play some Turtles tunes from time to time during this
period … how could they not???The
Turtles were one of the biggest groups of the ‘60’s.)Still, that’s part of what makes it odd that
they are publicly acknowledging it now by letting listeners know they’re
playing Turtles music again.(A little bit of
gloating, perhaps???)
I won’t say that all is forgiven and forgotten at this point
… it sounds like Volman and Kaylan never actually got any money (and probably
spent a fortune litigating the case) … but at least The Turtles are back on the
‘60’s Channel again where they belong.
On a side not, the music of The Turtles hasn’t really waned
during all this time … The Happy Together Tour, covered extensively here for
decades now, is still one of the biggest drawing cards of the summer for fan
attendance … and their music is every bit as popular as ever.(kk)
>>>Aliens on other planets must be wondering if
there are any intelligent signs of life on Earth right now. (kk)
That’s because the intelligent
signs of life are quieter ... probably in shock.
Shelley
There's a future rumor going around that in the year 2525
The Who will still be trying to figure out the firing of Zak back in
2025.
David Lewis
Foreigner’s Farewell Tour is no longer a farewell tour …
The band announced that they will continue on with new lead
singer Luis Maldonado now that previous lead singer Kelly Hansen, who is
retiring from the road to spend more time with his family.
Their music holds up incredibly well … and now that they’re
officially Rock And Roll Hall of Famers, it will never die.(In our TOP 3333 MOST ESSENTIAL CLASSIC ROCK
SONGS OF ALL TIME, Forgotten Hits Readers voted fourteen of their songs on to
the list, including NINE that made The Top 500:
62
Cold As Ice
75
Juke Box Hero
146
Feels Like The First Time
199
I Want To Know What Love Is
224
Hot Blooded
249
Long, Long Way From Home
287
Waiting For A Girl Like You
312
Urgent
386
Double Vision
Want a copy of the list?Just drop me an email at kk@forgottenhits.com
and we’ll get one off to you.
PLEASE NOTE:I am currently in the process of revamping this
list … a VERY slow and tedious project … but when it’s done, you guys will be
the first to know.
>>>I think our friend Kristy/C-Gals, who we met
there for the show, may have gotten kisses from both Bobby Sherman and her teen idol
heart-throb, Micky Dolenz. (kk)
I didn't! I would have been
impossible to live with if I had! I'd be actively talking about it today if I
had. My life would have been consumed with it. Move over, Marcia Brady's
cheek!!
Kristy
Actually, I think that day as we were walking over to meet
them all, you said, "All I wanna do is lick Micky's cheek!"
lol (kk)
bwahaha YEP that was the day!
Kristy
Happy Birthday 🎈🎂!!! to Mick Fleetwood on June 24th.
Caught Mick at The Century Plaza hotel during The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Awards. Recall seeing Mick with Fleetwood Mac with Peter Green at The Whisky a
few times. First band I recall casually drinking beers on stage during the
show., 🍺🍻🍻!!!
Jim Roup
Speaking of Happy Birthdays, Happy Birthday to June Lockhart,
who turned 100 on Wednesday (June 25th)!
Lockhart was part of our lives growing up, appearing in 200
episodes of “Lassie” as Timmy’s mother, Ruth Martin, before taking off again in
the cult classic “Lost In Space.”(88
episodes as Maureen Robinson)
Both of her “Lost In Space” children posted birthday
greetings …
From Bill Mumy (of “Danger Will Robinson” fame):
Happy 100th Birthday to the
Mighty JUNE LOCKHART today!! What a gal! She is truly special! Onward.
And Angela Cartwright (my first school boy crush):
One hundred years!
What an extraordinary milestone —
what an extraordinary person.
Happy 100th Birthday to someone
who has touched generations with her wisdom, strength, and that rock and roll
unforgettable spark.
Here’s to the joy of celebrating
you today, June ... 100 Years Young
Me-TV posted this awesome tribute …
(Meanwhile, Mel Brooks just turned 99 yesterday!!!)
[or would that be 2099???] kk
Hi Kent.
In this busy month of June I'm
not sure you got this news on the death of singer Patti Drew. Here are some
links with the sad news. She passed on June 16th at the age of 80.
I heard about this shortly after it happened and meant to
post something but completely forgot with all the other deaths this month …
unreal!
Patti had a hit twice with the song “Tell Him,” firstwith her group The Drew-Vels in 1964 (#76) and then
again as a solo artist a few years later in 1967. (#81)
She
charted with “Workin’ On A Groovy Thing” a year before The Fifth Dimension took
it into The Top 20.(Patti’s version
stopped at #41 in Record World … and #62 in Billboard.
For
some reason, her records always did better here in Chicago than they did on the
national charts.The Drew-Vels’ version
of “Tell Him” went all the way to #19 here in Chi-Town while “Workin’ On A
Groovy Thing” peaked at #17 … so when I first heard The Fifth Dimension’s
version, it registered immediately as a remake for 16-year-old me!(kk)
Lalo Schifrin has died …
Will this ever end? He was
93.
He wrote many really great film
and TV scores, from Bullitt to TV'ers like Mannix (MY FAVE LALO SONG) and
Mission: Impossible, just some classic themes and songs.
Schifrin's movie and TV score resume was quite impressive indeed.
In addition to his most famous, "Mission Impossible" theme, Lalo's music could also be heard in landmark films like "Bullitt," "Dirty Harry," "The Amityville Horror" and "Cool Hand Luke" as well as TV series like "Mannix," "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.," "The Big Valley" and "Medical Center." Whether we knew it our not, his music was all around us growing up. (kk)
Among the great theme songs composed by Lalo Schifrin is
"Burning Bridges" for the movie "Kelly's Heroes." Mike Curb
is credited with the lyrics. For those few FH readers who ever heard of a group
called "Pink Martini," they adapted the same melody to their
wonderful track "Splendor In The Grass."
No question about it, The Celebrity Death Beeper has been in
overdrive this month …
There were three more show-biz related deaths to report on Thursday
/ Friday (6/26-6/27):
In the music world, Buster Poindexter / David Johansen, leader
of The New York Dolls. (He was the last original surviving member.)Johansen earned his biggest hit as a solo
artist under his alter-ego name in 1988 with “Hot Hot Hot.”
Actor Rick Hurst of “The Dukes Of Hazzard” and news
journalist Bill Moyers also left us.(kk)
The Beach Boys cancelled their show tonight ... no reason was given ... but we saw video of one of their performances last week and Mike Love looked and sounded exceptionally frail.
Meanwhile, Paul Simon has also cancelled a couple of shows, due to insufferable back pain. After reviewing all of the above, I hate to say it, but I think the days of seeing our '60's heroes live in concert many quickly be coming to an end.
Director Laurence Harlan Jacobs has put together a new music
video for Norman Greenbaum’s classic #1 1970 Hit “Spirit In The Sky.”It stars Conor Sherry (Happy Gilmore 2, Snack
Shack) and Abby Ryder Fortson (Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret, The Pitt) …
and Greenbaum even appears in the clip as the shop owner.
I’ll be honest with you, I don’t quite get the point of the story
here … but this is such a great song, you’ve just got to watch it all the way
through regardless.(kk)
Looking at this week’s chart and
seeing the two songs at number 4 and 5 (with Wonderful World just ahead of For
Your Love) reminds me that Herman's Hermits recorded For Your Love as well but
always thought The Yardbirds trumped them on this song. This is also the song
that made Eric Clapton leave The Yardbirds. I always loved the song, not
knowing there was any derision behind it.
Shelley
Herman’s Hermits are still holding strong on this week’s
chart with three entries, including the week’s highest premier, “I’m Henry The
VIII, I Am,” new at #23.“Wonderful
World” is still climbing at #4, while “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter”
has finally run out of gas at #81.(“Silhouettes
must have just slipped off this week … it was #51 last week.) kk
