Questlove has put together another outstanding documentary … “Earth Wind And Fire: To Be Celestial vs. That’s The Weight Of The World” is currently streaming on HBO Max … and it tracks the history and legacy of the band from its inception thru its current state.
Frequent commentators throughout the film include Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie and both Michelle and Barak Obama, who fell in love with Earth Wind and Fire’s music when they first started dating in high school. (They even danced to their music when EWF performed live at one of their White House Governors Balls!)
Maurice White is given full credit for conceptualizing the band and then taking them to their peak by realizing all of his visions, thanks to unparalleled faith and determination. Band members speak highly of Maurice throughout the film, even after some of those ideals crashed and burned in the ‘80’s, by which time Maurice had essentially bankrupted the group due to poor investments and improper manipulation of funds. They later restructured themselves, bringing back five of the original members and soared to new heights from the late ‘80’s and beyond, into the current day. (It’s not a coincidence that Earth Wind And Fire are touring with Lionel Richie this summer and will be playing to sold out houses across America. This is a FAR cry from the depths they experienced in the early ‘80’s when they had to cancel several appearances due to poor ticket sales.)
All in all, it’s an excellent documentary and portrait of another Chicago music institution that doesn’t always get the credit it deserves. With great music throughout, this one is highly recommended. (kk)
After contributing to Forgotten Hits for over twenty five years, Clark Besch and I finally got the chance to meet face-to-face (or in our case would that be mug-to-mug???) a couple of weeks ago when he and his brother Bill passed thru Chicago and we were able to coordinate a quick meet for breakfast.
Brother Bill snapped this quick photo of us outside the restaurant …
(L-R: Kent / Clark … I know, it just doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it???)
Thank you, Clark, for all your many, many contributions over the years. Your collection of music archives never ceases to amaze me … thank you for allow us to share them with all our other readers. (kk)
Kent,
Here's one of the photos we took when we met up a couple of weeks ago.
Thanks SO much for getting together with us for breakfast and thanks for all you do with FH!
Sorry Frannie didn’t come. I always like how you showcase her on that LP cover as often as you can!
Thanks again!
WLSClark
Clark had planned to greet Frannie ahead of me at the restaurant and tell her how much she still looked like her “Whipped Cream” album cover photo from (more than) a few years ago! Unfortunately, she didn’t make it – gave us our “boys breakfast” instead – so we’ll have to run this old “solo shot” of her here this morning. (kk)
Speaking of old album covers, Timmy sent us this updated picture of the “Sgt. Pepper” album cover …
Showing the only remaining living participants …
Also from Timmy, this vintage shot of Jimi and Nez ...
And this, from Chuck Buell …
Who is ALWAYS on the look-out for stuff like this …
"Nothing says Lovin' Like Something Warm from the Oven!"
Pillsbury Funeral Home is a legit business that has multiple locations across Massachusetts ~~~
! ! !
CB
Kent,
In talking about the records that were short-changed in length in the early days, I was trying to come up with some that were lengthy for their time.
I came up with these:
Nina Simone with I LOVES YOU PORGY from 1959 -- 4:09
Stan Freberg with THE OLD PAYOLA ROLL BLUES (Parts I & 2) from 1960 -- 8:56
Bill Dana with THE ASTRONAUT (Parts 1 & 2) from 1961 -- 8:16
Now maybe some markets would just play only one side of the novelty records, but not so here in OKC as I remember. Normally a station or DJ would play a jingle at the end of part 1 and go into part 2.
Larry
Yeah, hearing the full-length of both sides I think was pretty rare back in the day – although a record like Ray Charles’ “What’d I Say” would likely be an exception to that rule … maybe “Fingertips” by Little Stevie Wonder, too.
But this tradition continued on for quite a while … even in in 1972 most radio stations were playing the full-length version of Don McLean’s “American Pie” (but likely off the album rather than a “spliced’ single.) Another exception would be those “segue tracks” like “We Will Rock You” and “We Are The Champions” (again, likely played off the album by this point) and a big one here in Chicago was “Switchin’ To Glide” / “This Beat Goes On” by The Kings. (kk)
Paul Haney of Record Research shares some of his record store memories of growing up in the Twin Cities area …
When I was eight years old, me and my older brother Kevin would ride our bikes about a mile to the local Target store. That’s where I bought my very first 45 in 1974, “Earache My Eye” by Cheech & Chong (complete with picture sleeve!). Most of my 45s were purchased at that same Target store until I turned 16 and got my driver’s license – that’s when a whole new world of record hunting opened up to me.
While in high school I bought my first Whitburn book and soon began looking for older titles, especially from the 1950s and 1960s. My best friends in high school, Mark and Tony, were also huge music fans and Tony especially was interested in old rockabilly singles. Almost every weekend we would hit the numerous record shops in the Minneapolis area looking for records. One of the first we discovered was named Oarfolkjokeopus (or “Oarfolk” for short). I remember one trip there in particular where Tony thought he recognized one of the guys working behind the counter. Turns out it was Peter Buck, lead guitarist of R.E.M., who just happened to be in town and was a friend of one of the shop owners! While Oarfolk was cool, the real oldies 45s I wanted were in a little basement shop right around the corner called The Record Collector’s Co-op, which stocked a great selection of original 45s from the 1950s and 1960s.
Some of the other shops in our regular rotation were Garage D’or Records, Hymie’s Vintage Records, Northern Lights, Uneeda Record, The Wax Museum and another shop of which I can’t recall the name, only that it was run by a very obnoxious guy we dubbed “The Bald Jerk”. I remember picking up a number of great novelty 45s from The Bald Jerk, including “The Astronaut” by Jose Jimenez and “Yogi” by The Ivy Three. We also hit a couple of the Salvation Army thrift shops, where I once found a stone mint copy of “Long Tall Sally” by The Kinks (on Cameo) for a quarter!
Another favorite shop was Don Leary’s Records. By the time we discovered him, Don Leary was an older man who had been selling records in the Twin Cities area for decades. My friend Tony warned me that Don was a cranky old man and wasn’t fond of teenagers. For some reason, he took a liking to me and would let me look through his new 45s before he even put them out on the sales floor. I think he was impressed by my knowledge of the oldies.
Eventually, the record shops started closing and I moved on to CDs. The best sources in the area for those were Cheapo Records and Down In The Valley.
I’m so glad that I got to grow up in the era when we actually had to go out and seek the music that we loved. Today’s music world is much more convenient, but a lot less fun.
Paul Haney / Record Research
Our long-time Forgotten Hits Buddy David Beard, publisher of “Endless Summer Quarterly,” the long-running Beach Boys fanzine (now in its 39th year!!!) has assembled a book of quotes by all of The Beach Boys over the years that allows them to tell their own story in their own words.
These quotes are supplemented by quotes of other Beach Boys-related artists and family members (such as Dean Torrence and Jan Berry, Van Dyke Parks, Honeys Marilyn Wilson-Rutherford and Ginger Blake, former manager-promoter Fred Vail, Wrecking Crew legends Hal Blaine and Don Randi, T.A.M.I. Show director Steve Binder, Pet Sounds lyricist Tony Asher, and others.) It even features a foreword written by John Stamos! (kk)
“All Summer Long: Conversations with The Beach Boys from Surfin’ to SMiLE” is available now thru Amazon … https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FRLHT1X6?ref_=ppx_hzod_title_dt_b_fed_asin_title_0_0
You’ll also find a glowing review from The Second Disc here:
https://theseconddisc.com/2026/06/12/release-round-up-june-12-2026/
We told you the other day about Freddy Cannon’s new single “All She Wants To Do Is Dance.”
Well, now we’ve got the YouTube video to share with you as well …
Carly Simon will release her first album of all new, original material since 2008 when “Comes In Waves” is released this August. The first single, “Howl,” was just posted to YouTube as a lyrics video … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTi2kk2Ocp0&t=5s
Two of Simon’s children contribute to the new LP … son Ben Taylor lent his talents as a singer, musician, producer, and songwriter on the record, while Simon’s daughter Sally Taylor provides vocals and designed the album artwork. (Shown here is the visual art for the new single “Howl” along with the album cover.) kk
Much is being made about the fact that with the #5 debut of “The Boys Of Dungeon Lane,” Paul McCartney has now appeared as an artist in 54 of Billboard’s Top Ten Albums on their Top 200 LP’s Chart. (32 of those appearances were with The Beatles … the other 22 are as a solo artist or with his post-Beatles band Wings.)
To put things in perspective, The Rolling Stones lead the overall category with 38 Top Ten Albums, putting them ahead of both The Beatles and McCartney’s solo work … but it’s the COMBINED total that is causing all this attention. It makes him far and away the most honored artist of the past 100+ years … no small feat when one considers how many trends have passed our way during this time. All I can say is “Congratulations, Macca!” (kk)
