Paul Simon kicked off his latest tour (yeah, I know, he gave
up the road for good in 2019 … but here he is, back again) in New Orleans,
playing first an acoustic set of his latest album, “Seven Psalms” in its
entirety before returning with a second set of “more familiar” numbers. (His wife, Edie Brickell, joined him on stage
for three songs as well.)
It provided for a varied set list:
Set 1: Seven Psalms
"The Lord"
"Love Is Like a Braid"
"My Professional Opinion"
"Your Forgiveness"
"Trail of Volcanoes"
"The Sacred Harp"
"Wait"
Set 2:
"Graceland"
"Slip Slidin' Away"
"Train in the Distance"
"Homeward Bound"
"St. Judy's Comet"
"The Late Great Johnny Ace"
"Spirit Voices"
"Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War"
"Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard"
"Under African Skies"
Encore:
"The Boxer"
"The Sound of Silence"
No “Bridge Over Troubled Water”??? How do you leave out your biggest hit? But even most of his biggest solo hits were
missing … “Kodachrome,” “Mother And Child Reunion,” “Loves Me Like A Rock” and
“50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” were nowhere to be found.
Simon’s tour takes him to Bass Concert Hall in Austin, Texas
(April 10th and 11th), The Paramount Theatre in Denver,
Colorado (April 14th, 16th and 17th), The
Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota (April 20th, 22nd
and 23rd), The Midland Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri (April 26th),
the Stifel Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri (April 28th and 29th), the AT&T Winspear Opera House in Dallas,
Texas (May 7th and 8th), The Ryman Auditorium in
Nashville, Tennessee (May 11th, 13th and 14th),
The Riverside Theatre in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (May 17th and 18th),
Symphony Center Orchestra Hall in Chicago, Illinois (May 21st, 23rd
and 24th), Massey Hall in Toronto, Ontario Canada (May 27th,
29th and 30th), Wolf Trap in Vienna, Virginia (June 6th
and 7th), The Boch Center Wang Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts
(June 10th, 12th and 13th), The Beacon Theatre
in New York City, New York (June 16th, 18th, 20th,
21st and 23rd), The Academy Of Music in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania (June 26th, 28th and 29th), The
Terrance Theater Long Beach Performing Arts Center in Long Beach, California
(July 7th), Disney Hall in Los Angeles, California (July 9th,
11th, 12th, 14th, 16th), Davies
Symphony Hall in San Francisco, California (July 19th, 21st,
22nd), The Orpheum in Vancouver, British Columbia (July 25th,
26th and 28th) and wrapping up at Benaroya Hall in
Seattle, Washington (July 31st, August 2nd and August 3rd) [That’s quite an extensive jaunt for somebody
who wasn’t ever going to tour again!!!]
kk
Speaking of retirement, Pete Best, The Beatles’ original
drummer, announced his last week. (I had
no idea he was still performing!) It
sounds like this is in regard to ALL personal appearances as well. Best, 83, had still been doing a bit of
drumming with his Pete Best Band as well as appearing at various
Beatles-related fests both in Europe and here in The States … but he’s
officially giving that up now for personal reasons.
Best’s brother Roag posted on Pete’s Facebook Page:
“Everything comes to pass.
“What an absolute wonderful ride we’ve had.” Roag indicated that it was
his brother’s daughter “who informed me it was for personal circumstances.” (kk)
In other Beatles-related news ...
The Estate of John Lennon is reportedly working on a 9-CD
Set of Live Performances!
(How on EARTH are they going to fill nine cd’s?!?! Lennon barely made ANY live appearances after
he left The Beatles!)
Well, this article explains where SOME of these recordings
may be coming from …
But it still sounds like a tremendous stretch to me! (kk)
https://www.noise11.com/news/john-lennon-reissue-for-2025-will-be-9-disc-live-box-set-20250407
The new Billy Joel HBO Documentary we told you about last
week, “And So It Goes,” will open The Tribecca Festival in New York City, June
4th - June 15th prior to airing on the cable network.
Two more deaths to report …
J.T. Carter, An Original Member
Of Crests …
And Jay North, TV’s Dennis The
Menace
FB
J.T. Carter was the last surviving member of The Crests, who
notched six national Top 40 Hits between 1958 and 1960. (Johnny Maestro was the
one who got all the attention … and deservedly so … his voice was amazing … and
why he’s still not in The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is just another one of the
great Music Mysteries that defines that organization … but let’s face it, it
takes FIVE voice to form a vocal quintet.
Crest was their bass vocalist … and it was he that started the group. Maestro, Harold Torres, Talmadge Gough and
Patricia Van Dross rounded out the rest of the band, who were discovered by
bandleader Al Browne. (Patricia Van
Dross is the older sister of Luther Vandross)
And, of course, EVERYBODY watched Dennis The Menace growing
up … Jay North always seemed to be part of all of those child actor groups that
came along later back in an era where we grew up with The Nelsons, The Cleavers
and the kids on Father Knows Best and The Donna Reed Show. Photographer Jim Roup shares a couple of
pictures of North below.
And you can add Clem Burke, original and long-time drummer of Blondie,
to the list. He died this past week
after a “private battle with cancer” ... not that this is a list ANYBODY
Blondie issued the following statement:
It is with profound sadness that
we relay news of the passing of our beloved friend and bandmate Clem Burke
following a private battle with cancer.
Clem was not just a drummer; he
was the heartbeat of Blondie. His talent, energy, and passion for music were
unmatched, and his contributions to our sound and success are immeasurable.
Beyond his musicianship, Clem was a source of inspiration both on and off the
stage. His vibrant spirit, infectious enthusiasm and rock solid work ethic
touched everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.
Clem's influence extended far
beyond Blondie. A self proclaimed "Rock & Roll survivalist,” he played
and collaborated with numerous iconic artists, including Eurythmics, Ramones,
Bob Dylan, Bob Geldof, Iggy Pop, Joan Jett, Chequered Past, The Fleshtones, The
Romantics, Dramarama, The Adult Net, The Split Squad, The International
Swingers, L.A.M.F., Empty Hearts, Slinky Vagabond, and even the Go-Go's. His
influence and contributions have spanned decades and genres, leaving an
indelible mark on every project he was a part of.
We extend our deepest
condolences to Clem's family, friends, and fans around the world. His legacy
will live on through the tremendous amount of music he created and the
countless lives he touched. As we navigate this profound loss, we ask for
privacy during this difficult time. Godspeed, Dr. Burke.
Debbie, Chris, and the entire
Blondie family
A couple of photos sent in ...
First, a solo shot from Timmy ...
And then this group photo, taken by Henry Diltz, courtesy of Gary Strobl at the Diltz Archives ...
From Harvey Kubernik, who interviewed Clem Burke on a couple
of occasions …
Clem Burke, the longtime drummer
for Blondie by Pete Townshend, Iggy Pop, and Bob Dylan, died at the age of 70.
I first met Clem on Blondie’s
first U.S. tour when they debuted at the Whisky A Go Go nightclub in Hollywood
in 1977. We went out and saw another band at Madame Wong’s in China Town after
the show as I recall. Burke is as vital to Blondie’s sound as Charlie Watts is
to the Rolling Stones’. The New Jersey born, New York raised Burke is now a
neighbor of mine locally and is a true and passionate fan of music. He’s a
student of rock ‘n’ roll and a record collector.
A couple of years ago I
interviewed him for a documentary on Gold Star recording studio. Over the years
I interviewed him for articles and books.
Clem was one of the nicest
people I ever encountered. He was always the first person to email me when I
had a new book out.
This decade I spent Thanksgiving
with Clem and his wife Ellen at their home in Southern California.
Q: We just saw a Neil Young
show.
A: As a teenager, I saw the Neil Young & Crazy Horse concert
debut when they opened for Deep Purple in New York at the Felt Forum. Seats in the back, but I sat on the edge of
the stage in the front. Two shows. I totally remember Neil coming out on stage
in a fringe jacket carrying the white Falcon Gretsch guitar, the side burns and
the great big head of black hair. It was definitely a rock star image, for
sure. Something a little different. We’re in New York and he’s coming out of
the west coast. He played the songs from his second album. The sound of the
garage drums, Neil’s voice, his folk singer stance, coupled with the extended
guitar solos and the obvious minimalism in the way they played well.
It was like weaving what Keith Richards talks about. It was, and
still is, a dynamic rock show. They play loud and aggressive. There is an
attitude or arrogance in a way in this pairing that kind of stands out. It’s
powerful. The initial band interactions between Neil and Danny Whitten. It carries on.
Afterwards, Total Environment and The Sweet Willie Jam Band, my
high school rock bands in New Jersey, played ‘Down By The River.’
The whole sound of Oasis, to my mind, I would go as far to say,
besides the Beatles, it’s kind of based on Neil Young & Crazy Horse. I
mean, the guitars are really loud, the bass playing and the drumming isn’t very
minimal.
I saw Oasis in Las Vegas at the Hard Rock and for an encore they
did ‘He Hey, My My.’ Fuckin’
brilliant. I particularly really rate
Noel Gallagher as a writer, performer, guitar player and singer. And it was
just phenomenal when they came out, with Noel singing it, not Liam. Aside from
Neil’s songwriting and solo career, CSN&Y, you hear his tremendous
influence on rock bands. The sound of Crazy Horse, the guitar playing has a big
influence on contemporary rock music. Pearl Jam, Oasis. Neil kind of goes on
both sides of the street: He’s a phenomenal folk singer and a phenomenal
rocker.
You’ve got to put in your 10,000 hours for success. I did a lot of
stuff to get to wherever I wound up being, and it wasn’t that every other
person I knew was willing to do what I’ve did. But talent and luck are
definitely involved. You really got to put in the time, like any profession.
Neil has had a good relationship and respect from his record company, with
Warner/Reprise. And that’s definitely
not to be overlooked as far as the key to success. I’ve always been a little
envious of his management relationship. Very important. Neil as a modern day Troubadour and he just
resonates with me and a lot of people. He’s in the top dozen greats of the
whole rock era. No question about it.
Q: Over the last quarter of a
century your group Blondie have had songs in TV commercials and over a dozen
tunes placed in feature length movies; “Call Me” was the title song of
“American Gigolo,” “Atomic” was in this year’s “Bend It Like Beckham,” and last
decade was covered by Sleeper in “Trainspotting.” “The Last American Virgin”
showcased “In The Flesh,” while “One Way Or Another” was put into “Little
Darlings.” Blondie music has been integral in “Gia,” an HBO film, while I know
your “Rapture” has also been heard on screen as well You even dance in the
music video Blondie did for “Rapture.” And “Rapture” in 2004 was in an episode
of Fox’s “Nip/Tuck” TV series. What are
your feelings about the relationship between music and film, and the usage of
your recording and publishing catalogue?
A: A lot of our songs are
lush and the imagery is basically cinematic. We’ve always been influenced by
film and, obviously, Andy Warhol. And the visual arts have always been an
influence on us. I mean, in our song, “Fade Away and Radiate,” Debbie (Harry)
sings “My dream is on the screen.” Our song “Platinum Blonde,” the only movie I
believe that was in has been Amos Poe’s “The Blank Generation.”
Q: I know when you recorded with
Blondie, especially the early years, you never knew some of these songs would
have a life independent of the album they were initially recorded for. I was at
the Whisky A Go Go when Blondie was being filmed for a few days by John
Cassavetes.
A: But Blondie appealed to screenwriters and film directors. And
Debbie has been cast in many movies. Again, in “Platinum Blonde,” she sings
about Marilyn Monroe, Jean Harlowe, Marlena Dietrich, and that’s a very early
Blondie song. And don’t forget, one of our biggest influences was composer Nina
Rota. We were put in the “New Wave” category, but we knew the term from French
movies from the 1950s. Our music gets licensed through Chrysalis Publishing. We did have a meeting coincidently last
December about them requesting or asking too much money for certain films. We
told them to ease up on that because there were certain films we wanted to be
involved with. For example, for the 2003
documentary on (DJ) Rodney Bingenheimer, we asked them to give a break on
“Dreaming” that’s on the soundtrack. We had a song in “Gia.” A lot of the music
was representative of a certain time and place although it seems to have
transcended that. Particularly when you are doing period movies. Like I knew
the real Gia. She was a friend of mine. First hand. The whole thing is kinda
like a dream sequence really when you start seeing the stuff on TV and the big
screen ... films about people that you know.
One of my favorite uses of our music was in the film “Muriel’s
Wedding.” A soundtrack that is exclusively ABBA songs and two Blondie songs.
ABBA is one of my all-time favorite groups and hearing our music with them was
fabulous. As I was saying before, the whole Andy Warhol philosophy within the
band, obviously he was not averse to commercial use of his art. Turning the
common place into iconic significance is a really brilliant thing and I think
maybe there’s a bit of that in Blondie as far as his influence.
Q: “Call Me” was the opening
track title for the movie “American Gigolo.”
A: That was the only song that was actually written for a film.
(Producer) Giorgio Moroder originally approached us to do one of his songs that
he’d completely written called “Man Machine.” It was a basic boogie, more
stripped down song, and then Debbie wrote the lyrics to “Call Me,” which was
more from a woman’s perspective. The recording process with Giorgio Moroder was
a little different, and he was a bit more particular as to how the track would
go down and how it was recorded. And so, in that respect, I played a little
differently because I was working with a different producer, and I try and work
with the producer, not against the producer. So I did probably play a little
differently on that. The weird thing about “Call Me” was that we did it and I forgot
about it and went on tour for six months and came back. I remember getting
picked up at the airport and the radio got turned on and there was this song
that came on and sounded kind of familiar, and wasn’t really sure, and it was
“Call Me.” That was like a real one off experience. In the studio for one day
recording that track, Richard Gere came down to the studio when we were
recording it and that was cool. He’s a good guy. He was doing the play “Bent”
on stage at the time. It’s amazing how many actors are musicians, and he’s one
of them.
Q: What are your feelings about
music videos in general?
A: It took me a long time to latch on to conceptual music videos. I
like lip-synching. I like the Monkees. I like all that kind of stuff. Many
bands lip synched on “Ed Sullivan.”
Performing in front of the camera as a pop musician I thought was
cool. That kind of stands to reason that a lot of the aesthetics that are
involved in the whole Blondie set up are sort of out of the box of what the
norm of maybe what punk rock was supposed to be. It had a lot to do with our
commercial success. Because we never really shunned commercial success, we kind
of embraced it and we kind of embraced the whole Warhollian aesthetic of art as
commerce. And especially in England and in Europe we were more active in music
videos and TV music shows where our music was on the screen.
We were sorta bailing out when MTV first hit. If anything, it was
probably one of the worst business moves we ever made, as the band was
fragmenting right with the advent of MTV. Had we been there … MTV came to us
early on. The bands in their ads, “I want my MTV,” and all that. I thought live
performance where you weren’t lip synching would be the best medium for video,
capturing a specific live performance. Like “The Last Waltz.” Or “Don’t Look
Back.” Something that preserved an honest performance, as opposed to a story
boarded thing.
We did our first couple of videos directed by rock photographer Bob
Gruen, who took John Lennon’s passport visa shot. We were also on quite a bit
the chart show in England, “Tops Of The Pops.” At that particular time, they
refused to use video. It shows you how much times have changed. They wanted you
in the studio, and you were actually supposed to re-record your track in a
studio in Great Britian. We had several “pretend” recording sessions for “Tops
Of The Pops” where an actual member of the British Musicians Union would be
sitting there in the control room, and we’d be in the studio pretending to
record the song, when in fact we were using the multi-track of the actual song.
One of the most embarrassing things was a song “Denis,” a number one song from
our second album. It’s all out of time, and when you isolate the tracks, it’s
very obviously out of time, for instance, the handclaps and the foot stomps
that were on it. So we were out in the studio going, “We gotta get that right.”
But in fact it was the hit record we were pretending to be re-recording but
everything was out of time on the hit. So that was an embarrassing situation.
Q: What about songs in
television commercials? You and the band don’t seem to be so righteous and
afraid of the corporate tie in when lending your music to overt commercials for
products.
A: We’ve licensed “Atomic” to Pepsi, “One Way Or Another” for
Mazda, and an irony of all ironies, the I.R.S!
Various members of the band have had serious tax problems over the
years, yet the I.R.S. licensed “One Way Or Another,” which has the line “We’re
gonna get you.” (laughs) From our point
of view, we’ve never had the big meeting about songs for commercials. It’s
kinda like pop art. Having the Ramones’ song “Blitzkrieg Bop” in the Mobil
commercial I think is tremendous. They come to us. There is a “pitching geek”
within the whole approach to the band to consider songs for placement. We’re
not Bruce Springsteen … I respect that … We don’t have the kind of money he
has. Our management did demographic research about all of that stuff to pitch
everything. It’s amazing how much of our stuff has been utilized in films.
Q: And Blondie has appeared in
movies ... like “Roadie,” where you perform a version of Johnny Cash’s “Ring Of
Fire,” that June Carter Cash co-wrote with Merle Kilgore.
A: That was definitely, in my opinion, way ahead of its time doing
“Ring Of Fire.” The tune wasn’t in the script … it came from the band. Debbie
has always come up with some interesting ideas for covers: “Denis,” “The Tide
Is High.”
Q: Blondie has been widely
documented and filmed over the decades, and a recent subject of the infamous
VH-1 “Behind The Music” series. I have some real issues with that program. I
watched it back to back with the BBC documentary on your band and it was like
two different sets of people were being chronicled. Too many bummers and sad
moments in “Behind The Music.” The romantic break ups, the drug problems, money
trips, the pending terminal illness, legal and management problems. You know,
“Don’t do blow, monitor your dough” lessons. Predictable story lines. What
about the music?
I did an interview with Patti
Smith last year, and we talked a bit about “Behind The Music” ‘cause I get
calls from them for archive and research, and I’ve stopped helping them. Patti
has always balked at participating in the series and told me, “I don’t have any
sob stories for those guys.” I want to see music shows about music, not heroin
or rehab. The de-construction of rock and roll bands in tales veering away from
the actual music and songs. But I also know it is a tremendous promotional
vehicle, and I’ve heard the bands are really involved in producing the show,
hence some cool early home movie footage and childhood photos. And naturally
some involvement in editorial control. But reality TV and tabloid mentality has
filtered through VH-1 and some MTV programming that has very little to do with
the music. Look, I also know, the viewers don’t want on their TV screen an
examination of the chord structure of your composition “Rip Her To Shreds.”
A: Well, the “Behind The Music” was a double-edged sword for us but
it was very much needed as promotional tool to highlight the resurgence of the
band. We had the “Behind The Music” thing in the pipeline as far as knowing
we’d be able to use that to promote the “No Exit” record.
Q: Is it true the band have
creative control and are very active in materials included in the show?
A: You get to see it and make suggestions and edit, and if there is
something you don’t like, you work with them. Chris (Stein) is usually at odds
with most people he needs to work with to begin with. (laughs) Yea, there was definite control by the band,
and an obvious “sob story” involved being Chris’ illness. But there’s a certain
misnomer that we’ve been completely ripped off, which is not true to the extent
that it gets portrayed by some people. It has more to do with people not really
being particularly responsible with their money. With the “Behind The Music” thing,
there was some reticence by some people in the band to expose things, but at
the same time we knew we needed “Behind The Music” to promote the new album and
the resurgence of the band. But the contrast of that and the BBC “Omnibus” TV
program came from much more a place of respect for the band and not for Blondie
as looking for the angle that is involved with the heart-wrenching sob story. I
don’t think the BBC were really out for that. I mean the BBC show begins with
images of Albert Einstein, John Lennon, Khruschev. ‘Omnibus’ is their version
of our A&E “Biography.” They are not looking for scandal but human
history.
To really answer your question, about scandals in music
documentaries, and portions of “Behind The Music,” I know both of us would like
more archive film footage and rare photos in the program, and no, I don’t want
to know more about the scandals behind the music, which is why it’s called
that. I think it kinda dilutes the persona of the band and feeds the cliché of
do you really want to meet your heroes and be disappointed. But I think you are
exposed to that and Blondie were as guilty as anyone who was publicity seeking
at that point.
Q: Why does Blondie work well in
the visual medium?
A: There’s a younger fan base discovering us and one of the main
attributes is that Debbie has a really huge head. That’s almost rule number one
for being a TV or movie star, ya know. There’s that whole thing of “I thought
they’d be much taller than that.” It’s not the height, but the dimensions of
the head, Debbie has probably one of the biggest heads in the business and I
don’t mean that factiously. She does. The band just has a charisma in general
and a lot of that is attributed to Debbie as well.
Q: What are the music
documentaries and rock movies that delivered and really impressed you?
A: I like the ABBA documentary. Bob Dylan’s “Dont Look Back,” with
Dylan being himself. The whole cinema verite concept. You kind of got the
feeling you were a fly on the wall and Pennebaker had access. I really liked
Madonna’s “Truth or Dare.” She went for
it, and it’s very parallel to “Don’t Look Back.” And there was a lot of black
and white and only the music concert scenes were in color. It was very much a
road picture. Madonna let us into her world as much as she wanted to but was
very aware of the camera. The things with her dad. I remember enjoying it at
the time but not something I could quote verbatim.
“The Last Waltz” was great. I went to see a screening of it at The
New School when it first came out and Martin Scorsese and Robbie Robertson
spoke at it. That is getting back to what I thought music videos should be.
There you have great performances captured for prosperity. You have a moment in
time that should have been captured. All those artists together in one place.
Levon Helm blew my mind. I liked “Bangla Desh,” but no behind the scenes stuff
at all, just about performance.
There’s a lot of movies that capture the mood of what it is like to
be in a rock band or what it’s like to be on the road. “Still Crazy.” You know
what movie really captured it, and I hate to say it, “Rock Star.” I think it
was very out of vogue when it was made, and I think the music was the least
enjoyable aspect in it. Also, the film was released right next to 9/11. “Boogie
Nights,” come on! The guy who directed it, Paul Thomas Anderson, then did
“Magnolia,” one of the greatest films last decade. Fabulous soundtrack. The
music was integral, and the use of Super Tramp in that movie made me re-think
that band. I mean I like those Super Tramp songs now. Profound philosophical
songs that carried the movie with the original Amie Mann songs in the
soundtrack. And I really like John Brion’s scores. I dig Anderson’s “Hard 8,”
and the opening is sorta like an homage to “Goodfellas.”
Scorsese is the original music in film guy as far as putting songs
in movies. “Be My Baby” opening “Mean Streets.” See, that’s the thing. He took
music almost out of context to what’s going on. Here’s a movie about the mob
and “Be My Baby” is playing … I like when Scorsese does a wall to all thing
with music packed in his films. I like the juxtaposition when a song in the
film has nothing to do with what is going on the screen in my opinion. I kinda
enjoy that. But I guess what he’s doing is trying to capture an era. But
lyrically … You see somebody getting their head bashed and hearing Cream’s
“Tales Of Brave Ulysses” and it’s kinda wild.
Q: What are some of the
soundtracks that you own?
A: “Super Fly” by Curtis Mayfield. Amazing soundtrack and amazing
record. “Privilege” is a great movie and
a great soundtrack. Paul Jones in the movie and the songs Mike Leander arranged
for it. “Free Me” and “I’ve Been A Bad, Bad, Bad Boy.” It was probably viewed as controversial
because it mixed religion and music. Sort of like Bono now. “High Fidelity” was
an entertaining movie. We understood that.
Hands down, my favorite soundtrack of all time would be “Blow Up” …
Herbie Hancock … ”Blow Up” is an endless source of inspiration … The Yardbirds
doing “Stoll On” … “Performance,” “Memo To Turner” … What about the first time
you heard something like that? Really great. Jack Nitzsche was making great
music for films.
“West Side Story” is one of my favorite movies and soundtrack
albums. The songs … What a glimpse into New York City street life. The Nice did
“America,” and PJ Proby covered
“Somewhere” from it. “The Thing You Do”
is really a great movie that captures what it’s like being in a band. The cast.
“Back Beat” was great. I cried at the end.
The Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night”’ blew my mind. The most enduring
thing about that movie was seeing the Beatles as human beings. Walking, talking
and eating … Funny human beings. I loved the way the Marx Brothers incorporated
music into their films, way before rock ‘n’ roll. I liked “Help!” a lot, too.
For me, I like the songs better than “A Hard Day’s Night.” 1966 come on! “Let
It Be” is essential viewing for anybody in a rock band. I think you have to be
in a band or involved in the music business to really get the dynamics of what
is going on in that film and all the baggage on display. I saw “Let It Be”
before I was ever in Blondie. “Let It Be” is a learning tool. Art is really
there to learn from generally, especially if you are in the arts. That movie
evolves as you evolve as a human being.
I like “Monterey Pop,” if nothing else for the Who, (Jimi) Hendrix
and Otis Redding footage. I liked “Woodstock” at the time but it’s not a film
that I go back over and over to watch it like “Performance,” “Privlige,” “Don’t
Look Back,” “Bangla Desh” or “The Last Waltz.” The music of the “Woodstock” era
has not endured for me the same way Iggy Pop or David Bowie has. The Monkees’
“Head” was hard for me to watch. I loved their TV show. More concise and
edited. It was under control. Maybe with “Head” they all were out to destroy
the Monkees. “The Harder They Come” is a great movie about the music business.
A phenomenal reggae music soundtrack. The Who’s “Quadrophenia” was terrific.
The soundtrack is just as good as the film.
I really like “The T.A.M.I. Show” and “The Big T.N.T.” The black
and white concert films. “T.A.M.I”. had
James Brown, The Supremes, Chuck Berry, The Rolling Stones. T.N.T. had The
Byrds, The Lovin’ Spoonful, The Ronettes, Ray Charles. Donovan. I really like
the Frank Sinatra movie “The Man With The Golden Arm” with the Elmer Bernstein
score. That’s brilliant.
“8 Mile” is great. Eminem was good on screen. I’m very familiar
with that part of the country. Eminem walked off the street into my friend’s
studio.
Elvis Presley … ”Jailhouse Rock,” “King Creole” and “Kid Galahad.”
The only one that is horrible is “Change Of Habit.” “Viva Las Vegas” was a great movie. Just
Elvis’ sexuality and all his interaction with all those cool chicks in it. His
movies were microcosms of an era, too, and out of synch with the times, in some
ways they still kinda reflect the times at the same time. The songs in the
movies. I really liked his concert movies. “That’s The Way It Is.” He didn’t
seem larger than life because in some ways he was before my time in a way. I
think people that are in one’s time seem to become mega larger than life more
so than people that are so more kind of mythical. Elvis was cool and had one of
the best voices. His films were movies inside of movies in a way. I think the
only time Elvis seemed bigger to me was when he died in 1977. When the whole
punk rock thing was going on and it added an extra meaning to me. Like all of a
sudden, there was no Elvis Presley only Elvis Costello, which was kinda strange.
Q: What is your best movie and
music collaboration?
A: Actually the soundtrack I’m probably the most proud of is “Repo
Man.” It’s Checkered Past, my old band, after Blondie, minus Michael des
Barres, with Iggy Pop. On the record we’re listed, but not the film. We did the
title a song with Iggy, who just blasted out the lyrics. I know I didn’t get
paid and we got the studio for free. I think in general movie soundtracks for
the creators, artists and composers is more of an outlet, more of a free reign
to be more creative, especially if you get to see the film and let your
imagination run wild and create music for a particular scene. There’s also some
background music that you can expand. I’m
like Phil Spector: I like to hear things coming out of a little five inch mono
speaker coming out of the radio anyway.
Q: Is looking at music films a
different experience now since you’ve been a professional musician and involved
in global music band for decades?
A: Any film that is about the entertainment business you’re able to
say this is genuine or this is not a real experience. This is too corny.
Q: It must bum you out when you
see wrong song placements in movies. When the songs are not time specific for
scenes.
A: That’s really bad … It’s weird enough when you see a 1985 Fender
head stack about a blues musician in 1964. Or when you see drums that obviously
weren’t around in the Sixties. I think our generation has come of age, and we
are in control, for better or worse. I think you see less of that.
The archival stuff … It’s gonna be a while before the next
generation picks up on it. Like compact discs … there’s gonna be less interest
in it. Less interest in catalogue. Less interest in Blondie. Maybe not the
Beatles. It might skip a generation until after our generation has bought the
CD’s, and seen all the DVD’s. The
evolution of pop music needs to be explained as time goes on and how it’s all
connected.
I’m doing some live shows with Nancy Sinatra between working with
Blondie, which is a lot of fun. (keyboardist) Don Randi is in the band. She
sings her theme song to the James Bond movie “You Only Live Twice.” So, I’m
around and involved with movie and music tunes.
This, too, from a conversation between Harvey Kubernik and Clem
Burke of Blondie, here are some of Clem’s thoughts on The Beatles:
As I sit here in my office listening to the Beatles’ album Revolver on
my laptop while holding the vinyl in my hand, Yes, it occurs to me that just by
looking at the cover art, you already knew the LP would be different, and it
was! As much as Rubber Soul influenced everyone from Brian
Wilson to the Byrds and on, Revolver was the real experimental
leap forward for the Beatles. Here is where they really began singing
about things other than love and girls. Songs like ‘Taxman,’ ‘Eleanor Rigby,’
and yes, ‘Yellow Submarine’ were taking their inspiration from a very different
place. Both lyrically and musically they were provocative, and who exactly was
‘Dr. Robert?’ Having Ringo play along to
a tape loop for ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ was extremely inventive and unheard of
at the time, not to forget the use of horns and strings and sound collage as
well. This is the Beatles pop art album, from the multimedia cover to the
eclectic points of reference in the sound and lyrics it is in my opinion the
sound of things about to change not only in music but in the world as we knew
it.
Please visit my article on Blondie's Clem Burke at www.cavehollywood.com
This is a really deep dive on music documentaries and soundtrack albums that Clem touted. FH readers will dig the action.
Harvey Kubernik
Remembering Jay North …
https://bestclassicbands.com/fellow-child-stars-offer-tributes-to-dennis-the-menace-star-jay-north-4-6-255/
Here’s Jay with Jeannie Russell, who played Margaret on
"Dennis The Menace" … and also with Lee Akker, who played Rusty on
"The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin."
And Happy Birthdays to TV star 🎂🎈! Marilu Henner of
"Taxi," John Ratzenberger from "Cheers" and Roy "The
Invaders" Thinnes, with his wife Katherine, all having birthdays on April
6th!
Happy belated Birthday 🥳🎂!!! to John Oates! April 7th
Remembering Carl Perkins on his Birthday 🎉🎂! April 9th
Jim Roup
And another ...
kk ...
Kojak Just Announced That Lenny Welch Died.
FB
He was way ahead of the curve on this one ... the news didn't show up on the Internet until well into the following day. (While, Welch really isn't a name that was high on anybody's radar, most of America fell for him in a big way when his recording of "Since I Fell For You" made The Top Five on all three national charts in late-1963.)
Lenny had three other Top 40 Hits along the way ... "Ebb Tide" (#20, 1964), "Darling Take Me Back" (#39 in Record World ... but only #72 in Billboard) and his version of the Neil Sedaka hit "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" (#29, 1970) which sounds almost exactly like Neil's remake version would sound when Neil released it six years later (putting Lenny way ahead of the curve on that one!) kk
From Tom Cuddy ...
A look at soul legends Little Anthony and the Imperials ...
https://youtu.be/eGBHXuNxoE0?si=vXQJAkXDciGXkxgE
Hey, guess what!!!
The Eagles have added more dates at The Sphere! (whodathunk?!?!)
They are claiming that these will be the final dates there
for 2025 (we’ll see)
Four more sets of weekend dates:
Friday, October 3, 2025 / Saturday, October 4, 2025
Friday, October 10, 2025 / Saturday, October 11, 2025
Friday, October 31, 2025 / Saturday, November 1, 2025
Friday, November 7, 2025 / Saturday, November 8, 2025
Mark Lindsay Retirement Sale???
Regards,
Uncle T. Jay
Wow ... moving to Hawaii! This is a GREAT chance for fans to pick up some one-of-a-kind memorabilia ... be sure to watch for the big sale! (kk)
Charles Rosenay! shared a few photos from Tommy James' wedding last weekend ...
Here's Charles with the bride and groom ...
Charles' gift to the happy couple was a case of SWEET CHERRY WINE!!!
But as you can see the drink menu featured all kinds of options!
And check out this vintage shot of Tommy!!!
He even sent a couple of short videos!
From Tom Cuddy …
The line between reality and
make-believe was a bit foggy when it came to the 1984 hit single “On the Dark
Side.” It was a smash for the fictional band Eddie and the Cruisers …
Source: American Songwriter
https://search.app/jbvR2VS9x5GfjuqF8
When the single was first released in October of 1983, it
was credited to Eddie and the Cruisers …
But the re-release in August of 1984 … and all of their
releases thereafter … were properly credited to John Cafferty and the Beaver
Brown Band … and THAT’S the one that went all the way to #7 and stayed on the
chart for 16 weeks.
I told him, this HAD to make for a severe identity crisis …
but John only saw it as an opportunity to showcase the band by securing a
record deal after playing the bar circuit for the previous decade … a good
attitude to have … and he capitalized on it while he could … but like he said,
the public’s taste in music changes from month to month … so they had their
moment in the sun and then went back to doing what they were doing before. Hopefully this new album will get them some
attention again. (kk)
Great interview Kent; excellent
David
You did a sensational job on this piece
Tom
I loved your Cafferty interview. I also loved their 80's stuff.
Ironically, this past Saturday I played Tough All Over which is truly a
forgotten hit.
Phil Nee
That's a great one ... and so is "C-I-T-Y" ... there's a lot more to these guys than just the Eddie and the Cruisers music.
(Phil is going to interview John Cafferty next week ... we'll let you know when and how to listen.)
And I'm told that Scott Shannon ALSO has a John Cafferty interview in the works. He was kind enough to post links to our piece on both his personal and his True Oldies Facebook pages. Thank you so much. (kk)
WOW!
Ken Voss
What an amazing interview Kent. Please give John (and Tunes) my very
best. Hoping we will be sharing a stage in the not too distant future!!
Rock on!!
Jimbo
>>> Forgotten Hits Interviews John Cafferty
(of The Beaver Brown Band ... !)
Interesting you chose to post this
today!
On International Beaver Day!
If only I'd known you were going to
do that, I would have informed you of today!
But with that in mind, I wanted
to re-share with you this from our Favorite Beaver Book Reader!
Brenda's Beaver
! ! !
CB
I had no idea today was International Beaver Day!!! Damn … I was just trying to tie everything
into the release of their new album. No
question this would have made it a more “timely” piece.
And, of course, Brenda’s Beaver is ALWAYS a tasty treat to share! (kk)
Hi Kent,
I thought you might enjoy this
visual and journalistic article in today’s Long Beach Press-Telegram newspaper,
given the “passive” interest you have expressed in the subject matter over the
years.
Nick Frankart
Long Beach, CA
https://www.ocregister.com/2025/04/06/can-a-woman-covered-in-whipped-cream-sell-albums/And two more from Timmy ...
First, this oldie but goodie ...
(I don't think that's the cover Nick was referring to above - kk)And then this ...
Speaking of offering feedback, we heard from quite a few of you out there after I apparently broke one of the cardinal sins of baseball the other day ...
>>>Also on 4/9, Mickey Mantel hits Major League Baseball’s
first indoor home run in an exhibition game against The Houston Astros at The
Houston Astrodome. President Lyndon
Johnson and his wife Lady Bird are in attendance. (kk)
I bet LBJ knew how to spell "Mantle."
– Randy Price
You may be a Chicago Cubs devotee/supporter/fan, but spell Mickey's name right! And I don't even like the New York Yankees!
Harvey Kubernik
Definitely my bad ... corrected immediately (before the next eight emails came in!!!) lol (kk)
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