Billy Joel, back on his own Sirius/XM Channel, took a few moments to speak to his fans last week, offering up a pretty candid health update.
While it hadn't been widely circulated, Billy now admits that he did have brain surgery to implant a shunt designed to help offset and hopefully correct the pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) brain disorder diagnosis that he went public with last year.
The good news is that he is already seeing an improvement on his balance and his memory. (During the segment below, Joel admits it's sometimes hard to distinguish between a change due to your age or what may be a condition. Bottom line is that he reassures all of his fans that "I’m okay. I just want people to know, don’t worry about me. I’m not going anywhere. I’m here. I’m still here.”)
Also on the Billy Joel front ...
Kent,
The first Beatle Cds were released in February of 1987, not 9-9-99. Thanks.
Dave
Hoffman Estates
Yep … I totally blew this one … the date I actually had in mind was 09-09-09, which is when The Beatles version of “Rock Band” came out. It was ALSO the same day that The Beatles’ Entire Catalog was re-released as remastered stereo and mono box sets … the first major upgrade to their digital sound in over 20 years. (Naturally, I had to have both!) Sorry about that! (kk)
From Timmy ...
The First Annual "WILDWOOD DAYS FESTIVAL" Will Be Held In Byrne Plaza, Wildwood, New. Jersey On Saturday, October 10th, 2026 From 11 AM To 7 PM.
Special Guest Russell Thompkins, Jr. / Stylistics Will Appear.
FRANK B.
Stay tuned ...
We'll have some reviews of this year's Monkees 60th Anniversary Convention later this week as well. (kk)
Speaking of The Monkees, on Monday, September 21st, Rhino Records is presenting a Live Stream Event with Micky Dolenz. It’s your chance to hear all about The Monkees’ 60th Anniversary … and you’ll hear it all directly from him about the show and the songs … and he’ll also answer fan questions.
It all kicks off at 5 pm Eastern … and you can listen live here:
https://bio.to/GQwrAu?eml=2026September10/7180770/6422593&etsubid=39494943
And Gary Strobl sent us THESE Monkees anniversary pieces to share with our readers ...
Hey! Hey! It was 60 years ago today! (September 11, 1966)
The Monkees got on board the "Last Train To Clarksville" and it never stopped ...
and then ...
Hey! Hey! It was 60 years ago tonight (9/12/55) that The Monkees TV show premiered at 7:30 PM on NBC ...
It premiered the night before on CTV in Canada …
Lisa Manekofsky archives
More from Frank ...
A new honor for Dolly Parton …
Starting On March 28, 2027, American Airlines Is Renaming Their Flight #1396 to #925 (for her song)
It’s A Regular Run From DALLAS / FORT-WORTH to NASHVILLE.
FRANK B.
VERY cool! And, when that flight lands in Nashville, you'll be arriving at Dolly Parton Airport! Further proof that EVERYBODY loved Dolly!
In other Dolly news, ABC reran the movie “9 To 5” in prime time last week … and this week Dolly’s former #1 title song hit from 1981 holds at #8 on Billboard current Country Singles Chart, effectively passing “Jolene,” which fell to #9. “9 To 5” also moves into the top spot on Billboard’s Digital Sales Chart. “Jolene” holds at #2 while “I Will Always Love You” slips to #3.
All three of these songs remain in the Top 50 of Billboard’s Hot 100 Pop Singles Chart for the second straight week, despite a slide in popularity this week. “9 To 5” ranks at No. 19, down from No. 18, “Jolene” falls from #16 to #22 and “I Will Always Love You” dips from #27 to #45.
In another week, all of this will probably be old news … but right she's now glowing in that posthumous spotlight. (kk)
Welcoming Tom Natoli to the Forgotten Hits Family. I just met Tom last week and he runs a fun site that relies on his readers to determine (with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight) the biggest hits for any given era of rock and roll history. (His current poll covers October of 1978 ... link attached: https://tunemagic.net/tomslist/)
Rank your favorites and cast your votes ... and then listen back to the playback of the results. I think quite a few of you might enjoy participating ... so check it out. (You can also see the archives of some of the previous polls he's run to see the outcome ... as well as his broadcast schedule ... just click on the links provided on the website shown above.) Once you vote, you'll get updates and the next poll ... give it a shot! (kk)
A Friend and I were talking about WKRP and, knowing what a Big Fan I was and am of the show, he sent me the attached (shown below)
I had not seen it before but then it is a recent compilation.
Anyway, I thought it was pretty cool and I just wanted to share it with you along with an emoji I designed and had created.
So, with the famous word from Johnny Fever, "BOOGER!"
CB!
There are quite a few of these “then and now” videos going around … I guess an example of “good AI” (for the purposes of entertainment.)
I didn’t realize so many of the crew had already left us. And I don’t know that I would recognize a single one of the survivors if I passed them on the street, save Les Nesman, of course, who literally looks the same. (Wonder if he’d be wearing a band aid somewhere if I saw him today???) kk
What??? They couldn’t use the WKRP music for this video??? Guess I’ll have to provide it … still heard regularly on Me-TV-FM, Sirius / XM and Rewound Radio. (kk)
(By the way, I want you to know that I've now had this song stuck in my head for the last 48 hours!!! Thanks, Chuck!!!) kk
LAST CALL:
This is your last chance to register to win a pair of tickets to see the MICHAEL LIVES FOREVER stage show, coming to you all the way from Brazil.
It's been called one of the greatest tributes to one of the greatest artists of all time. The production has already toured more than 200 cities across eight countries and four continents, captivating over one million spectators.
Don't miss your chance to see this amazing show, featuring a live band, dancers, special effects, iconic costumes, and faithfully recreated choreography.
You'll hear all your Michael Jackson favorites, including some of his greatest hits like “Billie Jean,” “Thriller,” “Beat It,” “Smooth Criminal,” “Black or White” and more, all delivered as part of an emotional and faithful concert experience.
"Locals" on the list have their chance to see this music extravaganza at either The Arcada Theatre (September 30th) or The Des Plaines Theatre (October 1st) Both shows start at 7:30 pm.
Just drop me an email at kk@forgottenhits.com with MICHAEL JACKSON in the subject line and you'll be automatically entered to win. (Please specify if you have a venue preference when entering.)
This truly is your LAST CHANCE to enter ... we'll be drawing our winners later this week. (And for anyone else interested in seeing this production, good tickets are still available for both performances thru the OShows website: oshows.com.
Hope to see you there! (kk)
>>>9-9-99 ... the day the first Beatles CDs were released ... (they were kinda late to the game so this was considered a very big deal at the time when their first four albums were released on compact disc).
HELPING OUT OUR READERS:
(or in this case, ME!)
I'm looking to compile a complete collection of KPOI Weekly Top 40 Charts. These were apparently issued between 1959 and 1975 (although I've also heard they continued thru 1979 ... but have yet to find any proof of this.)
I've already look at every chart list on the ARSA website, so those weeks are covered ...
But in an effort to compile a Whitburn-like book that makes any sense, I really need to see every chart.
Mind you, I don't need to OWN every chart ... I'm only interested in having access to them to complete my research.
So, if anybody out there knows of anybody who might have access to these (or a collection of their own), please let me know. (I've already heard from many of you that I reached out to earlier ... but right now I'm just trying to expand my area to draw from ... so please let me know if you might know of someone who could help me in this quest. Thank you! (kk)
