re: CB’s Way Back 1962
You old softy! I'm not the only romantic around here.
Shelley
Chuck’s response:
"Dear, Casey, Is it too late to have you ask Shelley if she'd be my long distance Valentine for this year? Signed, Curious Boy in Colorado."
Kent,
Thanks to you and CB for posting KOMA's "KISSING TONE." I always played that once when I was doing my weekly oldies Wax Museum on Sunday nights and when I could get away with it, I played it on early Saturday morning when I was doing my Koma Kountdown show. One final thing about the KOMA "KISSING TONE" … at the end of the jingle were the words, "MIGHTY PRETTY, IN OKLAHOMA CITY." Also, the posting of Bobby Vinton's and Ray Charles' songs were fantastic. That Ray Charles song (done earlier by Don Gibson) was one of those songs that were number 1 here in the OKC area for many weeks. Thanks again.
Larry
Loved Chuck Buell's "Kissin Phone" comments. We heard that as kids all the time, too.
As to Monkees, unfortunately, I remember seeing the NEW MONKEES on a 1988 New Years Rose Bowl Parade float faking their first 45. I bought it with pic sleeve and LIKED it, despite thinking the show would not work in 1988. It had some cool nah nah nahs and catchy music along lines of That Thing You Do, so I was surprised when it and the TV show evaporated.
You can see the sleeve and video here: https://www.45cat.com/record/728188
Clark Besch
I never bought into the whole “New Monkees” thing – never even gave it a second thought – there was NO way they could just pick four new random guys to replace the group … who clearly endured a 60+ year run “just the way they were.”
The Monkees (Micky, Davy, Mike and Peter) are frozen in time … they’ve never aged … and at least half a dozen new generations have discovered them and their music in the six decades since the show first went on the air.
I mentioned the other day their string of five #1 Singles and five #1 Albums in a two year run … think about all that they did and accomplished during that two year period …
In addition to recording FIVE new LPs worth of material, they filmed 58 episodes of their TV show … did numerous tours and live shows … and in ’68 after the television series was cancelled made their first full length motion picture! All this while fitting in non-stop newspaper, magazine, radio and television interviews and posing for countless photo ops with fans and for their publicity department. Where on earth they got the stamina to live this life style without a break for two straight years (after being virtual unknowns prior to that first episode airing) is unheard of. (Ok, well we know where they got SOME of that energy from … but still!!!) And to go out and meet other new artists (Jimi Hendrix among them) and give them a shot in the arm … travel to England to meet The Beatles (and listen to early tracks from “Sgt. Pepper”) … film at least a dozen professionally shot music videos (in addition to their usual episode romp scene) … and maintain a level of recording that allowed them to achieve those five #1’s (with “Pleasant Valley Sunday” just missing by peaking only at #2) … it boggles the mind.
Now consider that if the Billboard Hot 100 was calculated then as it is now, how many MORE Top 20 Hits might they have had? Nearly all their album tracks played as often as their singles … and particular cuts like “I Wanna Be Free,” “She” (a sure-fire #1 Hit that likely would have cut into “I’m A Believer”’s reign), “Look Out, Here Comes Tomorrow,” the original TV version of “Valleri” … not to mention “Theme from ‘The Monkees,’” “Saturday’s Child,” “Mary Mary,” “Your Auntie Grizelda,” “Sometime In The Morning,” “Forget That Girl,” “You Just May Be The One,” “Shades Of Gray,” “For Pete’s Sake,” “No Time,” “Randy Scouse Git,” “She Hangs Out,” “Cuddly Toy,” “What Am I Doing Hangin’ ‘Round” and at least half a dozen others all would have had an impact on the charts … The Monkees may have had as many as THIRTY chart hits those first two years had today’s methodology been applied back then! (Sorry, I know it sounds like I’m gushing … but the impact they had at the time cannot be overstated, especially since us “early teens” could no longer relate to the heady music The Beatles were now making.) kk
And Micky's still rockin' ... to rave reviews, sixty years later!
https://fanboynation.com/micky-dolenz-doesnt-monkee-around-at-cerritos-center-review/
Thanks for the excellent Good Vibrations post, Kent!
Phil
Just announced … Santana with The Doobie Brothers, pairing up for a summer tour that kicks off right here in Chicago on June 13th!!! That’s one hell of a line-up! (kk)
SANTANA & THE DOOBIE BROTHERS 2026 TOUR DATES:
Saturday, June 13th – Tinley Park, IL – Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
Monday, June 15th – Grand Rapids, MI – Acrisure Amphitheater
Wednesday, June 17th – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
Thursday, June 18th – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
Saturday, June 20th – Maryland Heights, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheater
Sunday, June 21st – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
Wednesday, June 24th – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
Friday, June 26th – Hershey, PA – Hersheypark Stadium
Saturday, June 27th – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
Monday, June 29th – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
Wednesday, July 1st – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Thursday, July 2nd – Wantagh, NY – Northwell at Jones Beach Theater
Saturday, July 4th – Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
Sunday, July 5th – Toronto, ON – RBC Amphitheatre
Wednesday, July 8th – Charlotte, NC – Truliant Amphitheater
Thursda, July 9th – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
Thursday, August 6th – Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre
Saturday, August 8th – Wheatland, CA – Toyota Amphitheatre
Sunday, August 9th – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre
Tuesday, August 11th – Chula Vista, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
Thursday, August 13th – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl
Friday, August 14th – Phoenix, AZ – Mortgage Matchup Center
Sunday, August 16th – El Paso, TX – UTEP Don Haskins Center
Tuesday, August 18th – Austin, TX – Moody Center
Friday, August 21st – The Woodlands, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Saturday, August 22nd – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
Wednesday, August 26th – Kansas City, MO – Morton Amphitheater
Thursday, August 27th – Shakopee, MN – Mystic Lake Amphitheater
Tom Cuddy sent me this trip down memory lane celebrating what was then Chicago’s 35th Anniversary … https://youtu.be/HxtZcKv3H9s
Tom also tells us about the passing of songwriter Billy Steinberg, responsible for the hits “Like A Virgin,” “Eternal Flame” and “True Colors.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/DU1a-X2kmth/?igsh=MWY4Zno2eTZsZjYwYQ==
Monkees TV trivia from TV Guide February 5th, 1966 … by the way, Charlie O'Donnell hosted Top Forty live!
The great actor Robert Duvall passed away at 95! Seen here in a casual mood and dressed up at a movie premiere on the red carpet at the director's Guild. Watched Robert dancing with Sandra Bullock. They were good 👍!
Jim Roup
