Congratulations to Ella Langsley who has now officially tied Mariah Carey with the most weeks at #1 on The Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles Chart as "Choosin' Texas" claims its 22nd week on top.
Carey's tally took seven years to accumulate while Ella managed her feat in only seven months. Still, an unthinkable feat in an era when we grew up that for the longest time showed chart-toppers like "Theme From 'A Summer Place' and "You Light Up My Life" and "Physical," each of which ruled the roost for ten weeks, ahead of 9-week chart-toppers like Bobby Darin's "Mack The Knife" or The Beatles' "Hey Jude." Who would have EVER thought back then that a 22-week run at the top was even a possibility!But she did it and all we can say is "Congratulations." The world LOVES your song. (kk)
ROCK AND ROLL SUMMIT IN CONNECTICUT: DION AND BILLY GIBBONS REALIZE
THEY’RE BOOKED TO PLAY THE SAME VENUE AND FINALY GET TO MEET IN
PERSON
Photo credit: Pablo GamboaZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons has long
been an ardent admirer of Dion DiMucci, the first-generation rocker who
is still actively touring and recording. When Billy was
approached about collaborating with Dion for the latter’s 2020 album Blues
With Friends, he readily agreed and the result is the track “Bam
Bang Boom” that’s one of the highlights of that album that also
includes contributions by Paul Simon, Jeff Beck, Joe Bonamassa, John
Hammond, Van Morrison, Joe Louis Walker, Brian Setzer, Jimmy Vivino, Sonny
Landreth, Rory Block, Steven Van Zandt, Bruce Springsteen, Patti Scalfa
and Samantha Fish. Billy and Dion joined forces again the very
next year from a track titled “My Stomping Ground” that was featured on
Dion’s Stomping Ground album that also includes tracks with Mark
Knopfler, Eric Clapton, Boz Scaggs, Keb’ Mo’, Marcia Ball, Rickie Lee
Jones, Peter Frampton and others. Both albums were recorded amid
the pandemic so virtually all the efforts of Dion’s collaborators, including
Billy Gibbons, were recorded “long distance,” so to speak.
Earlier this week, Rich Nesin,
Dion’s tour manager realized that his client and ZZ Top were slated to
play the same facility on Saturday, September 12 with ZZ Top performing
at Mohegan Sun Arena and Dion playing the resort’s Sun Patio. When both
artists were informed of this cosmic confluence, efforts were made to
bring them together and it did come to pass just before Dion’s set that
a pajama-clad Billy Gibbons finally met one of his greatest
inspirations in person; it was Texas meets the Bronx via the blues.
Billy commented directly after
the tête-à -tête “I’ve admired Dion for just about as long as I can
remember. He has always been the ultimate rock ’n’ roller to me
and still is just that. While we’ve collaborated on some recordings, we
had yet to meet, and now it's, "live and in person" and a
truly fulfilling experience. Dion is as warm and genuine as I could
have imagined and, of course, we instantly bonded over our mutual love
of Jimmy Reed.”
For his part, Dion was equally
delighted and, just before hitting the stage, remarked, “Billy Gibbons
is one of a kind. The man has a distinctive sound on guitar; he is
unique and special in every way; the way he dresses; the food he eats;
the car he drives; the guitar he plays! The way he expresses himself
when he wants to convey something to me: he sends up a smoke signal!”
For the last twenty years it's been impossible to hear the name Ronnie Dove and not think of Tom Diehl. (Thanks to Forgotten Hits) And when I saw the news of Ronnie's passing, I instantly thought how devastating this must be for Tom. So we send heartfelt condolences
to Tom - and to all who loved and were close to Ronnie during his final years.
David Lewis
kk ...
There's A Great Ronnie Dove Clip On You Tube.
He's About To Sing "ONE KISS FOR OLD TIMES SAKE."
I Guess He Did This At All His Concerts.
The Ladies Line Up --
Soon, He's Singing & Kissing At The Same Time!
He Didn't Miss A Note or A Kiss!
And Tell Rick Springfield It Would Have Been A Lot Worse If He Killed A U.S. Soldier!
FB
FH Reader Bob Burns sent us this news clip about John Waite being pulled over for a speeding ticket in ... and turning it into a memorable moment for both himself and the arresting officer ...
https://www.upworthy.com/80s-singer-does-police-photo-shoot-ex1/ John will be appearing here on November 14th, along with John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band ... can't wait! (kk)
Don McLean Has Announced His U.K. & Ireland Farewell Tour --Starting May, 11, 2027, With Stops In Belfast + Dublin + Birmingham + Manchester -- Before a Final Concert At Royal Albert Hall On May 22nd.
McLean Made His U.K. Debut 55 Years Ago .
FRANK B.
Sorry about the tardiness on this notice. Several weeks ago we heard that Rockin John McDonald was possibly going to do a tribute to Jim Fairs on his Saturday night show. I had no idea what it was going to be like so I wanted to listen to it first. As it turns out, in my opinion it was excellent and very well done.
The replay of this show is available on the WORT FM website, although they couldn’t make it more difficult to access!
Please try as follows …
Google WORT FM
Scroll down the home page to Audio Archives located near the bottom and click on this.
Scroll down to Saturday, September 12.
The title to his show is “I Like It Like That.” Hit the Play button. There is a generic introduction and then it starts.
Note: The first thing that you hear is the tail end of the song from the previous show which is a Spanish program. The song that is playing is Groovin' by the Rascals, sung in Spanish, which is somewhat interesting. Then, after a few announcements, the show starts.
This show runs for two hours and not all of the songs on the program are Cryan' Shames songs, but a lot of them are. This is the type of tribute that I fully expected for Jim Fairs and I am really surprised that it had to come from Madison, WI.
Give a listen ... I think you will enjoy this program.
Robert Campbell
Another Death To Report –
We Lost An Original Member Of
Martha & The Vandellas -- Miss Rosalind Ashford-Holmes.
Her High Soprano Vocal Range
Served As The Top-End Blend That Locked The Group’s Tight Harmonies Above
Reeves’ Lead Vocals.
She Sang On "HEAT WAVE"
(1963) + "DANCING IN THE STREETS" (1964) + "NOWHERE TO RUN"
(1965) + "JIMMY MACK" (1967).
FRANK B.
Rosalind was
inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1995 along with Martha Reeves
and fellow Vandellas Annette Sterling-Helton, Betty Kelley and Lois Reeves. Between 1963 and 1968, Martha and the
Vandellas placed fifteen songs on The National Top 40 Pop Singles Chart … quite
the successful cross-over act to be sure.
In addition to the tunes Frank mentioned, they also hit The Top Ten with
tracks like “Quicksand” (1963) and “I’m Ready For Love” (1966), giving them SIX
Top Ten Hits on the pop charts in all.
Meanwhile, on Billboard R&B Chart, Martha and the Vandellas scored TWO #1 Hits ("Heat Wave" in 1963 and "Jimmy Mack" in 1967.) Incredibly, "Dancing In The Street," perhaps their best known kit overall, only reached #8 on the R&B Chart, while peaking at #2 on the Pop Chart. (kk)
We also lost
famed pop artist Peter Max this past week.
Peter’s bright,
inspiring artwork was all over the place in the ‘60’s … and he continued to
created pop art masterpieces for the next several decades, including the one
for the 1991 Grammys.
Max designed
six Grammy posters in all … and also had his artwork displayed as part of two
Super Bowls, a World Series and The World Cup.
In addition, he created pop art portraits of Presidents John F. Kennedy
and Barack Obama, world leaders like Nelson Mandela, music stars (Mick Jagger, Frank
Sinatra and many others), Disney characters and the Mona Lisa. One of his most
frequent subjects was the Statue of Liberty, which he first tackled in 1976 for
the U.S. Bicentennial. (kk)
In a totally
unrelated coincidence, Timmy sent us THIS portrait, created by underground
comic guru Robert Crumb in 1967 …
In 1967, in an effort to secure more commercial artwork, Robert
Crumb created this poster for a fictitious rock concert as a promotional
poster. For some reason, Crumb just couldn’t find any work as a rock poster
artist, and it’s one of the reasons he created Zap comics (underground comics),
because nothing else seemed to be working at the time.
Timmy
Thanks to ever-changing, ever-evolving chart methodology, songs that previously peaked on The Billboard Hot 100 Chart are now able to come back and re-chart again decades later.
In fact, the longest stretch now recorded between a song's first and most recent chartlife now spans over 67 years!!!
While this hardly seems fair to all of the tens of thousands of songs that filled the gaps between these policy changes, it DOES make for some interesting chart fodder.
This week, Billboard published a list of the greatest chart-spans in their chart history. If not enlightening, certainly thought-provoking and fuel for discussion!
https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/hot-100-longest-charting-spans-ask-billboard-1236342305/?bt_ee=vfhIMLy4G6cSqYMqLDNhTDO%2ByyLLYYlSwLIcY613vEh2GfsY25izEGGvNqK%2B2NBf&bt_ts=1789677498199
Say It Ain't So!
Our local FM "Boomer radio" plays this song about 50 times a day, it seems, and now it is Cliff Richard's new singl,e debuting at #31 on the Heritage Chart. Ugh!
Clark Besch
As if the ORIGINAL version of this tune isn't already still being played often enough, now we have to listen to a really lame remake by an aging British Rock legend! A totally unnecessary remake to say the least. (And this has always been one of my early '70's favorites!) At #31, I guess there are still enough others out who like it, too! (kk)
The legendary Micky Dolenz visited Amoeba Hollywood Wednesday for a special album signing. He met fans and signed copies of his new EP "Timeless," as well as two essential releases from The Monkees.
Micky Dolenz's "Timeless" is available on ruby red vinyl via Friday Music.
The Monkees' "Made For TV" LP + 2CD + Blu-ray set and "Good Times! (10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)" are out both available via Rhino.dis
Talk about your "mixed reviews!!!"
All our recent Monkees coverage due to the 60th anniversary of the debut of their TV show has spawned a wide range of comments and public opinion.
Here are the two extremes (names withheld to avoid any further debate!) Let the Tug Of War begin!
Digging the Monkees series in FH.
I have no interest in Michael Jackson nor the Monkees.
Still, I just can't help posting cool stuff when I see it! Like this shot that Timmy just sent me of Jimi Hendrix opening for The Monkees, plugging his ears in an effort to block out the high pitch screams of The Monkees' fans and chants of "We Want Davy! We Want The Monkees!" How'd you like to be responsible for opening THAT show every night?!?! (Obviously, he didn't ... he quit the tour after only seven gigs!!!)
But what's REALLY cool about this shot is The Monkees' drum kit sitting just behind Jimi, allowing for a quick set change-over for when The Monkees were ready to take the stage.
Thanks, Timmy ... this is awesome!!! (kk)
Best Classic Bands has run a selection of 15 Classic Rock Songs that define 1971.
(Some of you may recall that after a lifetime of picking 1969 as my second favorite year in music, following the incredible year of music offered up in 1967, I recently re-evaluated my choices and have since declared 1971 as the now proud holder of the runner-up spot.) It'd be pretty tough to argue with these 15 tracks ...
kk …
This
Week's On Wild Wayne’s 50th Anniversary Flashback He Ran His Interview With
Gene McDaniels From 2/23/2003.
1961
= His First Liberty Recording Was "IN TIMES LIKE THESE"
Gene
Said It Didn't Sell One Record. He Called It A "TURNTABLE HIT"
I've
Never Heard That Term Before ... Have You?
Wild
Wayne Invited Listeners To Send In Questions For Him To Answer.
I
Asked Him: “Of All The Interviews You've Done, Which One Did You Find The Most
Interesting?”
He
Answered: “June, 2000, I Did A 2-Hour Interview
With Les Paul.” He Called Him A National Treasure.
Gene
Pitney Holds The Record For Most Appearances On Wild Wayne’s With 9.
Wild
Wayne & Gene Pitney Are Both From Connecticut. They Were Close Friends And Fishing
Buddies,
FB
I’ve heard a few
interviews with Gene Pitney over the years and he was always a real
entertaining guy. Other artists that
toured along with him said he was quite the prankster. Wish I could have had the chance to meet and
talk with him. (kk)
James Holvay just
sent us this note …
Hi
Kent:
I
wanted to share this with you.
They
just released a 3rd “45” of my music.
Can
you believe it.
I
think I did what they call “the hat trick”. (haa)
James
And here it is, the
latest track from James, “Love Has Found A Way” on LRK Records. (kk)
Listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUpQr71G-TU&list=RDkUpQr71G-TU&start_radio=1
Harvey Kubernik
remembers the Toronto Rock And Roll Revival held at Varsity Stadium on September
13th, 1969, that featured the first (and only) live appearance by
John Lennon and The Plastic Ono Band … a historic moment to say the least! (kk)
The Toronto Rock and Roll Revival at Varsity Stadium - September 13, 1969
By Harvey Kubernik © 2026
It was on a suggestion from
record producer, songwriter and rock ‘n’ roll maverick Kim Fowley that John
Lennon and wife Yoko Ono hopped on a plane from England with guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist Klaus Voormann and
drummer Alan White to travel to the Toronto Rock
’N’ Roll Revival festival showcasing some of Lennon’s early rock ‘n’ roll
musical heroes — among them Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry and Little
Richard. The Doors and Alice Cooper were among the other acts at the outdoor
venue.
Author, broadcaster and music
historian Ritchie Yorke in his 2009 liner notes to the D.A. Pennebaker-directed
John
Lennon/Plastic Ono Band Live Peace In Toronto ’69 DVD retail release from Shout! Factory wrote, “At Varsity Stadium the jet-lagged
John was extremely nervous. He hadn’t been onstage in three years, and he
admitted to throwing up from nervousness before the show — with abundant
reason. ‘Imagine if you were in the Beatles from the beginning, and you were
never in any other band?’ he postulated. ‘Then all of a sudden, you’re going
onstage with this group who’ve never played live together, anywhere. We formed
on the plane coming over here, and now we’re gonna play in front of 20,000
people.’
“A quick backstage rehearsal,
and guest emcee Kim Fowley urged the audience to fire up their lighters and
matches — and in the process light their communal fire, the early uprising of a
collective consciousness — to welcome onstage the Plastic Ono Band, in their
debut performance.
“Back in London after the
momentous weekend in Canada, John was exuberant about the experience of being
onstage again.
‘“I can’t remember when I had
such a good time,’ he enthused. ‘We did all the old things from the Cavern days
in Liverpool. Yoko, who you could say was playing ‘bag,’ was holding a piece of
paper with the words to the songs in front of me. But then she suddenly
disappeared into her bag in the middle of the performance, and I had to make
[the words] up because it’s so long since I sang them that I’ve forgotten most
of them. But it didn’t seem to matter.’
“History has shown it was this
concert that finally convinced John there was indeed life beyond the Beatles.”
Academy Award-winning director
D.A. Pennebaker (Dont Look Back, Monterey Pop, The War Room), with this September 13, 1969 concert film from
Varsity Stadium in Toronto, Canada, serves as one of the important and
historical documents in the career and life of John Lennon. The moment has
become part of our global memory.
John Lennon & The Plastic Ono Band
Live In Toronto ’69 is
a rare look at one of the world’s most influential popular artists at a pivotal
time in his journey.
Pennebaker
documented Lennon and The Plastic Ono Band on
the eve of the release of the Abbey Road
LP — the last Beatles album to be recorded (although Let It Be was the last to be released) — this is the only
performance ever caught on film of John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band.
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band Live Peace
In Toronto DVD performances are:
Bo Diddley – Bo Diddley
Hound Dog – Jerry Lee Lewis
Lucille – Little Richard
Blue Suede Shoes – John Lennon
Money – John Lennon
Dizzy Miss Lizzy – John Lennon
Yer Blues – John Lennon
Cold Turkey – John Lennon
Give Peace A Chance – John
Lennon
Don’t Worry Kyoko (Mummy’s Only
Looking For Her Hand In The Snow) – Yoko Ono
John, John (Let’s Hope For
Peace) – Yoko Ono
Also included is an interview
from 1988 with Yoko Ono.
During 2000, 2008, 2018 and,
2019, I interviewed Kim Fowley, the Toronto promoter John Brower, drummer, John
Densmore, co-founder of the Doors, and filmmaker and documentarian D.A.
Pennebaker, and later implemented memoir text from Toronto-based writer Gary
Pig Gold about this landmark event. Here
is my interview with Kim Fowley for your enjoyment.
Q You were the
Master Of Ceremonies in Toronto, Canada, where John Lennon debuted The Plastic
Ono Band on stage, and your voice is heard doing the introduction of Lennon and
friends on the subsequent Live Peace In
Toronto gold album that was culled from The
Rock ‘n’ Roll Revival held that September of 1969.
A. It was a concert at The Varsity Stadium. Bo
Diddley, Junior Walker and The All Stars, Tony Joe White, Alice Cooper, Cat
Mother and the All Night News Boys, Lord Sutch, Chicago Transit Authority,
Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Gene Vincent, I was his record producer at the
time, Little Richard, Doug Kershaw and the Doors. Kim Fowley was M.C. and
compare on the poster.
Q. How did you get
the gig?
A: I knew some of
the promoters involved, like John Brower, Ken Walker and Thor Eaton. Brower was
a visionary and I dealt primarily with him and Ritchie Yorke. I got the Toronto job because I was the voice
of the Love-Ins in L.A. 1966, ’67, ’68 and ’69.
I did some pop festival shows with the Doors, the Seeds, Jimi Hendrix
and Jefferson Airplane.
I did all those shows and knew
what to do with a large audience like 100,000 people. Ritchie Yorke, Billboard editor in Canada, and a
contributor to Rolling Stone and NME at the time he knew about me and
persuaded the promoters to hire me.
$4,000.00 and a plane ticket. I also got a hotel room a week before the
gig. My job was not only to announce the date but also be a consultant and tell
them how things were going.
We had a problem: We only sold
2,000 tickets before and no one was interested in coming to Canada from America
via Detroit and the other cities. At the time, halfway through the week, I met
with the promoters, John Brower and Ken Walker, and Thor Eaton of Eaton’s
Department Store who financed the thing. It was my idea to bring John Lennon
over which John Brower executed the transaction. But I was the consultant / master
of ceremonies. And I was there suggesting the people to be there.
They threw in Cat Mother and the
All Night News Boys and somebody else came up with Lord Sutch, Chicago and
Alice Cooper, who also backed Gene Vincent. That mixture was great because they
were hillbillies and red necks from Arizona and Gene was king of the rednecks
in terms of music content. They knew all the songs. They put on the blue jeans,
grease and shades and showed up to do it. Gene had done stadiums before.
I told them to get John Lennon
to show up. I said, ‘The Beatles have just broken up, and John Lennon is the
most competitive in the most competitive group. So call him up on a ploy level
and invite him and Yoko on a chartered plane which Mr. Eaton can provide so
they can sit at the show on a Royal Box kind of thing.’
I wrote out the script, I had
Derek Taylor training, and had met the Beatles a couple of times in England,
once when John and Paul came to the hotel I was staying and promoting the soon
to be released Pet Sounds Beach Boys’
album. I knew the mentality to get a Beatle to show up.
So, John Brower called Apple
Records. John Lennon got on the phone and heard the pitch. Ritchie Yorke was in
the room with them and he further explained who I was and about the promoters
and the event. It was at a time when the Beatles would be at the Apple office.
Originally John was asked by
Ritchie if he wanted to come for free and sit there and enjoy seeing his
heroes. And he replied ‘He wasn’t a member of Royalty and would rather join in
and be a part of it and didn’t require any money. I wouldn’t feel right coming
down there as a member of The Royal Family just sitting there. I would want to
play. Is it OK to play? I want to try out this thing I’m putting together with
Eric Clapton, Yoko Ono, Allen White and Klaus Voorman.’
But Lennon did require film
rights and recording rights. John Lennon was in the music business. He was in
show business. Allen Klein showed up and D.A. Pennebaker showed up with the
film unit and this whole thing was recorded and a Gold album came out of it. So
they sent the plane and John and the band jammed and rehearsed on the way
across the Atlantic.
Yoko got sick on the way in. In
the morning, all the Apple people from New York under Allen Klein’s supervision
were already bringing in the recording equipment. I don’t think this was anyone
exploiting John Lennon. I think John Lennon was a bright guy who called his
then manager, Allen Klein, and told him to ‘do the paper’ with these promoters
and make sure ‘let’s make a live album.’
The recording stuff was all
brought in and then the documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker came to film it.
Pennebaker and I talked. Only 2,000 tickets were sold before Lennon was
formally announced. That’s a bad pre-sale. But people started driving across
the border and all over the world, pre-internet, then deejays got on the radio,
and everyone wanted to see what John Lennon would do after the Beatles.
Q: Any incidents
or problematic performers at the venue?
A: One thing that
happened was Chick Berry, Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard all
came up to me at the same time backstage and ‘We all think all four of us are
the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll and how you going to solve that problem in the
introduction?’
So, one became the King of
Jungle Rock, one became the King of Across the Tracks Rock, somebody became the
Grammar King of Rock, etc., and suddenly everybody had slightly different items
of introductions. They had concerns about billing since each one wanted to be
the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll that night so I had to amend each mention. The visual
of all four of them in front of me … Egomaniacs whose time had passed, demanding
to be Kings Of Rock ‘n’ Roll. And I was in a purple suit, white shoes and a
green shirt and under age 30 and felt superior to all of them.
Q: If John Lennon
and the Plastic Ono Band was the seismic moment that night, was there another
act that performed that ‘made the pizza wiggle’ as guitarist Elliot Ingber
would say.
A: At that Toronto
Pop Festival in 1969 it was Tony Joe White backed by Booker T. & The MG’s
at that stadium, leading up to the Doors and John Lennon & The Plastic Ono
Band. They blew everybody off. Seeing Tony Joe White with that Stax Band was
like if Elvis (Presley) had stayed at Sun Records in 1969 and had a better
version of Creedence Clearwater Revival behind him. With keyboard.
Remember, Tony Joe White is a
great guitar player, besides a great songwriter, so you had the two guitarists,
bass, drums and keyboardist up there, and it reinforced the musical
relationship that Toronto and Memphis always had. The soul and gospel thing. It
hits you. Even though Tony Joe White is from Louisiana, but by then he had been
out. It was the devil’s music in cinemascope live on stage.
It showed that Booker T and the
MG’s could work in a stadium. Al Jackson the drummer was tremendous. I mean,
Charlie Watts probably studied him.
The Booker T. and the MG’s with
Tony Joe White was one of the most astounding things I’ve ever seen on stage.
The best artist that night was Tony Joe White.
When he played ‘Polk Salad Annie,’ he had Booker T. and The MG’s behind
him. That moment of Tony Joe White doing ‘Polk Salad Annie’ was like Elvis
Presley. Like David Bowie and The Spiders From Mars at the Santa Monica Civic
Auditorium on his first American tour in 1972 or in 1966 Jim Morrison
pretending to be a heckler at Ciro’s nightclub in Hollywood from the audience
and heckling the rest of the Doors before he went on stage with them, before
anyone knew whom they were. It was part of the act.
Q. Detail the
concert environment and situation around the Lennon Plastic Ono Band
appearance.
A: Remember,
everyone was in a foreign country. And remember, Canada is not America. It
looks like it is because it’s on the same continent but it’s a different
country. Remember, most people in L.A. bands aren’t from L.A. They don’t have a
geographical link anyway. Because they are all carpetbaggers in California. And
then, here they all are in Canada. And all the white guys wouldn’t dare strut
with all the black Gods around who invented the stuff that the white people
stole from. White people stole rock ‘n’ roll from black people. And there were
too many rock pioneers around the room for any white guy to start strutting and
might have gotten his ass kicked. So the strutting was not going on or the
camaraderie. And musically, everybody was good that day. People were fascinated
to see a Beatle in a non-Beatle situation.
We showed up at noon at the
place. It was a pretty brutal situation because a police official came up to me
and said, ‘If there is a riot here, and you don’t stop it you will never leave
Canada Toronto alive.’ ‘Yes sir.’ That was pressure. The promoters said to me,
‘When you do the live album, make sure to include our names in the intro.’ They
also were to pay me the other half of the $4,000.00 promised. So, I had to
juggle.
Q: The time just
before John and the group came on stage
A: So I see the
Plastic Ono Band. Lennon was nervous. ‘Are you all right?’ ‘Yes.’
20,000 people showed up and the
big moment comes and the lights are blinding. Everything is on and John Lennon
summons me to the apron of the stage on the side by the canopy. I was dressed
in a purple suit. He was in a white suit. This was not the time to have a MIDEM
Publishing-like discussion
Then John threw up. And he
started to cry. He said ‘I’m terrified. Imagine if you were in the Beatles as
the only band you’ve only been in your life. The first time you are to step on
stage with people that weren’t in the Beatles. You’re about to go on stage
with your wife, a friend, a friend, and
a complete stranger’ with songs you had learned acoustically on an airplane on
the way over from England with jet lag. You would be terrified. Do something so
the kids don’t know how scared I am.’ He was that vulnerable.
That’s all he knew. ‘Do
something! Please so something so people won’t know how afraid I am to go out
there.’ He went ahead of his band. They were behind him. He was in a bad way.
Q: So naturally,
you saved the day and supplied the remedy, Dr. Kim.
A: I came up with
the following. So, I had seen a movie a
decade before, in Catholic grade school, Our
Lady Of Fatima based on The Blessed Virgin appearing in front of a bunch of
kids appearing in a cow pasture in Portugal in the early 20th
century. They had candles and matches lit to honor her presence.
So, I figured, and told
everybody in the place, they all think John Lennon is God and this is a
religious experience and a religious experiment. I said to myself, why don’t I
take this to the religious level by subliminally and recreating Our Lady Of Fatima with fire and say the
introductory words … ‘Plastic Ono Band please say hello to John and his friends
with your matches and your lighters.’
Kim Fowley can be credited with
inventing the idea of lighting matches and lighters at rock concerts. In 1969
at Toronto. It wasn’t as much a stalling tactic for John to compose himself but
to put an amber hue over the entire throng and suddenly it was a religious
spectacle. Because John Lennon had a religious position in the culture. And so
did the Blessed Virgin, so in my mind there was no difference between our Lady Of Fatima and the Plastic Ono Band
showing up, and he was dressed in white, by the way.
So the request to Varsity
Stadium to please turn off the lights and when I said the word ‘Plastic Ono
Band’ at the count of three I want everybody to light matches simultaneously.’
It was a welcome in a very friendly beatified way for John and his friends.
On the live album you’ll hear
‘Get your matches ready. Brower and Walker … Present … The Plastic Ono Band…’
20,000 matches were lit. It was a beautiful amber glow and everyone let out a
collective gasp and at that moment, Lennon, who was a Beatle, realized there’s
the moment that will take away from the nervousness of the moment and they went
up to the stage and went right into ‘Money.’ And it was clear sailing from him
and them all the way until the end. It seemed like an hour. Yoko sang in a bag.
So that helped the spiritual
subtext of the event. I had talked to
Lennon three years earlier but in 1969, everybody had gotten scruffier after
the Mod 1966 and the English version of psychedelic culture and Syd Barrett
came along and everybody got dirtier. The guys got dirtier and the girls all
threw away their bras away and didn’t shave their armpits or their legs. So
everybody was getting more ‘organic.’ John was a Beatle and larger than life,
so nobody was aware if he was tall or short. Yoko was in the band and went into
the bag at a certain point.
Q: Run down the
set list?
A: They just went
on and played. They didn’t sit there and kibbitz or talk to anybody. The
repertoire performed fit the theme of the event which was a rock ‘n’ roll
revival booking and appropriate to open with ‘Blue Swede Shoes’ and play
‘Money. And do ‘Dizzy Miss Lizzy’ from the Larry Williams’ songbook.
I had met Williams the year
before in Hollywood at an Epic Records party in Hollywood. He along with Johnny
‘Guitar’ Watson in who 1966 or ’67 produced my friend Chris Darrow’s band, The
Kaleidoscope at Columbia Studios. Chris in the very early ‘70s then met Lennon
one time at Liberty Records in Hollywood. I knew Eddie Cochran, produced Gene
Vincent, and Chris Darrow saw Ritchie Valens live and recorded with the
Crickets, Buddy Holly’s band. Like
Lennon, who met Gene Vincent, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and Little Richard so
on some level we’re all in this very exclusive club together.
That night, Plastic Ono Band did
simple rock and roll songs where sloppiness is a charm, the songs, it’s
nighttime outside and people are drunk and stoned. Klaus Voormann on bass was
fine. He had been in Manfred Mann before and did one of my songs. Alan White
was a member of Yes at the time or a bit later. Eric Clapton had been in Blind
Faith the year before and I was at their L.A. concert at the Forum in
Inglewood.
I had known Eric from England at
The Richmond Athletic Club days when he was in The Yardbirds. And, I had met
him again when Cream was forming. I had also ‘jammed’ a couple of months
earlier onstage with Blind Faith at The L.A. Forum, where in the dressing room,
Eric asked me to come on stage if I knew the words to ‘Sunshine Of Your Love.’
For the encore I went out there
with Bonnie Bramlett and didn’t know the words. I was bluffing, so I said into
the microphone ‘Legalize Marijuana.’ And they turned off the sound. And that’s
how we got away at the encore. So Eric was friendly. He knew Jack Bruce had
covered one of my songs during his earlier Manfred Mann days for an Australian
EP, ‘Long Hair Unsquare Dude Called Jack,’ that I had sung on the last every
Hollywood Argyles single, an anti-hippie song on Chatahootchie Records which
went top ten by the way in Saigon. At any rate, Eric and I connected.
Q: John Lennon on
stage …
A: John Lennon was a Beatle. You heard that voice and there
he was … A Beatle. It was Gandhi and a human jukebox showing up.
I had drunk some beer that day
and on the original vinyl pressing of the live album you can hear someone
saying, ‘Kim! You’re always on the wrong mike. Kim!’ And I fell off the stage
into the pit drunk because I could not believe what I had seen. Then I jumped
back up on stage. The Doors had to follow this and this was the first and only
time you had John Lennon and Jim Morrison on the same bill. I don’t think they
posed for photos.
Q: And what about
Lennon’s guitar playing that evening?
A: As far as
John’s guitar playing that night, there are four people who were great rhythm
guitar players in the history of rock and roll: Eddie Cochran, John Lennon,
Joan Jett, and Keith Richard. The four supplied the pulse of whatever band they
were in and they could build a whole rock and roll universe around the pulse of
their rhythm guitar playing. And their guitar was attached to their voice. And
those four people it’s beyond lead guitar and flashy stuff.
It’s the rhythm guitar driving
the engine of a rock and roll band. Jimi Hendrix did something else in his trio
as the Jimi Hendrix Experience as well as the Band Of Gypsys. He took guitar
playing somewhere else. In terms of strict guitar, bass and drums four piece or
five piece and that’s where I rate the four of them.
Q: You knew the
Doors well before Toronto.
A: The Doors’ John
Densmore was a jazz drummer. You also had a jazz keyboardist and a jazz
guitarist all playing the blues with a real great poet and actor fronting it.
It was tremendous. It was theater. Jim Morrison was the best white in person
performer. Better than Elvis. Better than Jagger. Because he did what Howlin’
Wolf and Lawrence Olivier did. He did it all at the same time. He did William
Shakespeare and gut bucket together. And only PJ Proby rivaled him and David
Bowie came in third.
Jim could sing in pitch, he had
the image and the poetry. He understood theater. Manzarek supplied a pulse, and
Robby the guitarist is never given the credit what he brought to the table in
1967. The Doors were not a rock ‘n’ roll band but gave you a rock ‘n’ roll
feeling. And the only band that did that was the original King Crimson. ‘Cause
they weren’t a rock ‘n’ roll band, either, but when you heard Court of the Crimson King, and Pink
Floyd ’67, they were the only bands who had some Wagner with a rock ‘n’ roll
attitude.
Q: How did you
bring the Doors to the stage?
A: After Plastic
Ono Band departed, I then said “Get ready for The Doors who are coming on
next!” Then there was an hour wait.
The Doors started doing their
thing. Around the third song of the set, out comes Chuck Berry, who saw the
movie cameras wanted to walk on stage and approached Jim Morrison on stage and
Jim Morrison stopped the show and said, ‘Chuck, you never let kids jam with
you. You can’t jam with us. Be nicer to kids and maybe someday we’ll let you
jam with us.’ And he was ordered off the stage by Jim Morrison. ‘Next time some
guys want to jam with you, remember. Get off our stage.’ The place went wild in
front of the whole stadium. They were the Doors.
The Doors had to follow
everything. The Doors were excellent that night. They had to be with all that
going on. They closed the show and had to follow John Lennon, the Plastic Ono
Band with Eric Clapton. That was hard.
This was the year of the Miami
Doors incident. So they did the Doors. This was going down in real time. It was
music of the moment. It was the Arctic Monkeys playing. Current bands. Whoever
was on the radio was suddenly in front of you. Or, what you remember from the
radio years before in front of you. No passing of the baton or the end of the
decade. Any of that. This is fun. Wow. I just saw a Beatle. I saw the Doors…
I remember a while afterwards,
Ray Manzarek, who I knew from L.A., felt Lennon’s appearance was some sort of
psychic release from the pressures of being a Beatle. In a non-paparazzi time
of 1969, no one had the brains to photograph John Lennon and Jim Morrison
together. Nobody has the picture, because no one thought of taking one because
there wasn’t a paparazzi culture there to document it. They did speak because
they had to. Because one followed the other.
Q: And then the
following day post-show encounter with John and Yoko.
A: The next day at
Thor Eaton’s house where John and Yoko were staying with the Plastic Ono Band.
I was sitting outside with the two promoters and they were happy. ‘Kim Fowley
you really earned your money. You’re gonna be on the album, maybe they’ll be a
movie someday. Isn’t life grand?’
Then, Eric Clapton came out. And
he said, ‘John and Yoko want to talk to you.’ Eric escorted me to the sitting
room of this mansion and a very quiet John Lennon who was dressed very casual
was sitting on the floor on a Gandhi position, looking at Yoko who was sitting
in a chair, and Klaus was next to them. And Eric said, ‘John and Yoko, Kim is
here.’ ‘Kim Fowley.’ And I was delighted. ‘Thanks for introducing us…’ We shook
hands. He was very gracious to me and Klaus Voorman was in the room and so was
Alan White.
And I had always promised myself
in my rock and roll journey when I was in the middle of it that I should always
ask the right questions because I got the historic part of it. Because previous
to this in 1965 I met Bob Dylan and asked him his concept of songwriting, and
he said, ‘Story telling and asking questions.’ And before that in 1963 I asked
Brian Wilson at Gold Star recording studio one day. ‘What is the basis of your
songwriting?’ And he said, ‘Well, school is nine months a year and the summer
holidays are three months and you write about that and getting in trouble with
your parents.’
So I had to ask the question to
John Lennon. ‘Why did the Beatles breakup?’ The whole room stopped, and Lennon
looked at me and said, ‘May I give you an example?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘It has nothing to
do with the wives and the women we married. He said the group was based on us
re-inventing our favorite records’.
I said ‘Give me an example?’ He
said ‘You know ‘Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?’ We were improvising on Canned
Heat and it was our message to Canned Heat and Norman Greenbaum who had’ Spirit
In The Sky’ at the time. When you do that type of music put more humour into
it. We liked Canned Heat but didn’t think they had enough humour. So we wrote
that song as taking the Canned Heat formula and doing something else with it.
When The Beatles stopped re-working or improving on the formulas of their
favorite songs that’s when we ceased being a band. Because that’s what we did.
Because we improved on formulas that we loved of our favorite records. We
stopped listening to records and improving on the formulas, the techniques and
expanding, and that’s when we ceased being a band.’
What that meant to me was that
the Beatles were the ultimate expanders and derivative detectives of the
essence of songs. In Hamburg they would play hours every night and must have
analyzed why a Chuck Berry or Little Richard song worked and when they started
writing their own songs those techniques they employed.
And the other thing that John
didn’t mention was that BBC Radio at the time would play all kinds of music
next to each other. You could hear Little Richard, Hank Williams, and Kenny
Ball back to back. You could hear Julie
Andrews singing ‘The Sound of Music’ and then Gary U.S. Bonds right after that.
So those guys had this tremendous musical palette to listen to and then if they
started doing covers it was obvious perhaps. So Bo Diddley and Maurice
Chevalier were equal to them.
So when John said to me that we
stopped improving on the formula of our favorite records. John was enjoying the
fact that he could go on stage and do something without whatever the
restriction of being a Beatle was. He didn’t say there was a restriction. He
didn’t say it, but it was like playing football after you leave Manchester
United team and you go play a football game in the park with your friends from
the neighborhood or pub. It’s gonna be different if you’re gonna be David
Beckham than if you’re in a jersey out on the pitch, or the field, you know.
He hadn’t played music outside
the Beatles. The last time he played as the Plastic Ono Band was that December
at the Lyceum in England when it was billed as the Plastic Ono Supergroup.
That’s when the Beatles stopped
being the Beatles. He didn’t mention all
the things they’ve written about since. To him the Beatles ended because they
didn’t want to reinvent music they liked anymore. I told him to have a nice
trip back. Goodbye. Never saw him again.
Q: Reflect on John
Lennon now.
A: Rock and roll
died with Elvis Presley in 1977 and rock died in 1980 with John Lennon. It
might have died again with MTV. What happened was, as Clive Davis told me in
his office, MTV assigned pictures to the music where you made your own pictures.
When you listened to music of a great record you would remember the day you
were when you heard it or what it meant to you, where you were sitting or the
car you were in. But once some guy put an expensive video on you always
remember the song by the visual image assigned to it, which ruined rock and
roll.
Same thing that has ruined
politics in America. The presidential elections are determined by who is good
on TV. Not who would be a good person to govern or to lead the country. So too
much media takes away the experience of listening to music. And Elvis was the
King of rock and roll and Lennon the next King of hard rock, or rock, what
happened, and then MTV showed up and after that and you had disco.
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