One of the songs that has ALWAYS received a good response here in Forgotten Hits is "American City Suite" by Cashman and West. Despite the fact that this was not a big hit record, it got a TON of airplay on the soft-rock stations here in Chicago in the early '70's ... particularly the end piece, "A Friend Is Dying," which was often edited and played as a stand-alone tune. "American City Suite" peaked at #27 on both of the National Charts in 1972 and was strung together as a medley of sorts ... (thus the "suite" idea) ... three very distinct, separate tunes: "Sweet City Song", "All Around The Town" and "A Friend Is Dying".
Listening to the lyrics of the "A Friend Is Dying" segment, it's hard to grasp at first that this is not a song written about a personal friend who is dying ... but, in fact, it was actually about their concerns regarding the deteriorating state of New York City in the early '70's. In effect, Cashman and West were declaring their love for the city (in an almost "Be all that you can be" sort of way!) In view of all that has happened to this great city in the nearly 40 years that have passed since this song was first released, it makes for some pretty poignant and interesting listening today. Despite anything you may have thought about The Big Apple in the past, the city certainly has pulled itself together after facing one of its greatest tragedies ... compounded all that much more in these post 9/11 days.
Terry Cashman and Tommy West first tasted chart success in the late '60's as members of The Buchanan Brothers. (Their hit "Medicine Man" was one of our earliest Forgotten Hits features way back in 1999!) Terry Cashman, a former baseball player who went on to write and record several tributes to the sport (as well as write the Top Ten Spanky and Our Gang hit "Sunday Will Never Be The Same), adopted his stage name while still a member of The Chevrons in the late '50's. (His real name is Dennis Minogue.) Tommy West's real name is Thomas Picardo, Jr. Together, they produced ALL of Jim Croce's chart hits and even started their own record label (Lifesong).
SOME OF YOUR ORIGINAL COMMENTS:
American City Suite was a HUGE hit in the Boston area. I have their album, and have always loved this song. Moving around the country, it seemed like nobody else had ever heard this song! I used to request it on the radio, but nobody had ever heard of it! I'm glad you chose this song-I certainly haven't forgotten it!
EShanks
Although it's not all that well known (and is RARELY if ever heard on the oldies stations anymore), American City Suite hit #21 here in Chicago, too, but I can't really remember ever hearing it on the AM dial...WBBM FM (our soft-rock station) played the hell out of it, however. (kk)
I don't live in NYC, but my daughter and I visit this magnificent place as often as we can. We were in the city, about a month after 911. It tore our hearts apart ... watching those people standing there, waiting for some word; the church with all the signs, flowers, ribbons and pictures; the odor in the air (they tried to cover it up with some perfumey stuff, which, to me, made it even worse), the peep holes, the cameras from the TV News, the sound of the firemen and other workers digging, all the police and service men, and those poor dogs, with bandaged paws ... and the smoldering buildings, still untouched. The food stands for all the workers, the veterinarians (my vet being one of them) ... such a sad waste of lives. Now, when we go to NYC, we see a big difference. The people walk at a slower pace ... they aren't in such a big hurry any more; they smile, and talk ... offer a chair, they will stop, and give directions, instead of turning away. These people have learned to SEE what they look at, and HEAR what others say. The men shake hands, and the women aren't afraid to hug. What a terrific place NYC is!!
Vicki
I had always wanted to visit NYC, but never had a chance until a few months after 9/11/01. Several of us from my office at United Airlines took a day trip to try and get the feel of what the city was experiencing post 9/11. We went directly to Ground Zero, and the debris was nearly gone. However, the surrounding buildings were draped in black and American flags. It was hard not to be emotional at such a sight. The NY'ers were very helpful in explaining the wall erected around the platform used to view Ground Zero. The wall was filled with mementos, scrawled epitaphs and messages, stuffed bears, flowers, blankets, etc. Even the street hucksters kept their business at a distance. I hope that the next time I visit is a pleasure trip with you, hon. We will go and visit Ping and see a coupla shows :)
Cherricat
It's a date ... I'd love to go to New York with you ... see the shows on Broadway ... visit Ping (and listen to him complain about Joe Cocker ruining his favorite Julie London song!!!) lol (kk)
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
Yellow Balloon
Another TOTALLY inspired, creative band took their name from their big hit record when Yellow Balloon ... by The Yellow Balloon ... climbed its way up the pop charts in 1967, eventually peaking at #25. (This one, too, was a much bigger hit in Chicago, where it rose to #12 during The Summer Of Love.)
The band's BIGGEST claim to fame may be the fact that Don Grady, who portrayed Robbie Douglas on the hit television series "My Three Sons" for twelve years, was a member. But, the fact is, the "band" came later.
According to the liner notes of "Sunshine Days, Volume 3", the hit single was recorded by a bunch of studio musicians. Once the song became a hit, a touring band was quickly assembled to cash in on the hit. Since Don Grady was already a recording artist for the label (Canterbury Records), a good looking guy, AND a television star, HE was selected to front the band. (Actually, that's not quite true ... Grady was stuck in the back on the drums and had to wear a blonde wig and fake mustache so as NOT to be recognized by the fans!!! You can read all about it in the two links provided below.)
Grady was a pretty good musician, proficient on piano, guitar, bass, trumpet and drums. (In fact, much of his post-television career has been spent creating music for TV, movies, multi-media events and animated films!) In an interview with Noell Wolfgram Evans of Digital Media FX, Grady recalled the day "the jig was up", putting an end to his hiding behind a wig, a hat, a mustache, sunglasses and the drums.
"I would work during the week portraying Robbie on 'My Three Sons,' and on weekends, I would hop on a plane and travel to the city where the band was performing. To keep my identity a secret, I would wear a wig, mustache, shades and a big hat. I was on drums and harmonica, and sang too. One weekend, we were gigging in Denver, onstage for at least two hours. All sweated up while playing my harmonica, the fake mustache fell off. Immediately I was recognized by the fans, who stormed the stage and ripped off my wig. The jig was up." (In an effort to milk this sudden wave of publicity even further, Canterbury Records then sponsored a "Guess The Drummer" Contest in some of the teen magazines!!!)
Here are a couple more little known, interesting facts about The Yellow Balloon:
DIDJAKNOW?1: Ken Handler, the head of Canterbury Records, was the real-life model for the "Ken" doll. His parents founded the Mattel Toy Company and developed the Barbie and Ken dolls! In fact, Ken used HIS share of his parents' Mattel fortune to form Canterbury Records in 1966.
DIDJAKNOW?2: Yellow Balloon was written by Gary Zekley and Dick St. John ... who was one half of Dick and Dee Dee. It was first recorded by Jan and Dean (although Jan Berry was actually laid up in the hospital at the time after his infamous Dead Man's Curve accident ... Dean Torrence handled ALL of the vocals on the track but it was still released as a Jan and Dean record!)
Click here: The Yellow Balloon: Yellow Balloon Story!
Click here: http://www.digitalmediafx.com/Interviews/don-gradyp.html
After we ran our Yellow Balloon piece in Forgotten Hits the first time, we heard
from Cass Kessler, who runs the official Yellow Balloon website, and then from two of the original members of the band: Alex Valdez and, by way of his brother, Don Braucht! All three of them have been Forgotten Hits list members ever since and have shared a number of interesting memories with our readers during that time.
In fact, I asked Alex if he might want to say a few words to the fans out there in honor of this piece going up on the web page this morning ... and here's what he had to say:
Right after the song took off, a group was formed to accommodate the requests for appearances. This group was made up of Mark Andes (pre-Heart and Firefall), John Beck (The Leaves), Darryl Dragon (Captain & Tenille) and I think Dave Andes (Mark's brother) ... and some guy with the last name of Rubin on drums. As I understand it, they wanted a better deal than was offered and pressured the label for more money. (I'm not 100% sure of all of this but the essence is there.) The label, not willing to be held hostage, asked Don Grady to take over the group and form a band. That is how myself and the rest of the guys came into being. Of course Mark and Darryl proved to be better off going in their different directions. Darryl (The Captain) has a brother named Dennis who went on a small southern tour with us ... he was a monster drummer who I have a great memory of ... he gave a drum clinic to all the hopefuls that came to our shows. He has done lots of studio work and had a group called "Surf Punks" whom I believe did fairly well.
There is also something that I'd like to clear up that is on some of the sites that are dedicated to the Yellow Balloon ... not yours ... but there's misinformation out there. Some of these sites mention that when the Yellow Balloon broke up, they went on to become the "Popcorn Explosion". This is entirely not true. Our guitar player, Paul, has a younger brother who brought his band out to L.A. and they were given the name "Popcorn Blizzard", by the Yellow Balloon's ex-manager. Nobody from the Yellow Balloon ever played in this group and for that matter never saw them perform. They eventually became disenchanted and returned to Tucson shortly thereafter.
The Yellow Balloon broke up primarily because we had nothing new to offer in the way of songs. We did some TV appearances around L.A. , but the guys were almost embarrassed to keep playing songs from our album that were just not catching on. We had released four singles from the album but it became evident that we needed something fresh and we just didn't have that. Besides, the label wanted to go in other directions.
I did some solo material after the Balloon burst. We had done the orchestra thing with big productions trying to jump on the Scott Walker model he was doing in England. The label was going big bucks with some other new artists as well and I think we may have been on the verge of coming up with something. BUT, all good things can come to a screeching halt sometimes. The label owner, Ken Handler, being the son of the Mattel Toy Co. owners was forced to close the label due to Mattel's financial problems starting to manifest. As I understood it, he lost some major money and was forced to curtail his life. There is a new book out called "Toy Monster" ... the big, bad world of Mattel ... that outlines that world and the family. I worked at Mattel while doing my solo album and had the privilege of working in R & D under Jack Ryan (the smartest man I've ever known). Of course I was treated somewhat special due to the fact that I was there because of the Handler family's interests. So my fellow workers were the actual people that invented and developed "Hot Wheels", 10 speed bike "Caps", Barbie"Slime", etc. A great part of my life.
The Yellow Balloon bass player, Don Braucht, had gone home to Oregon when the Yellow Balloon came to a halt, but later returned and became my roommate . I was in the process of starting a group which I was going to name "Smoke". We had auditioned and come up with a couple of monster players, one of which was a badass guitar player in the navy. Well, he went AWOL with one of his sailor buddies and we got 'em an apartment and they hid out. Smokey eventually turned himself in and did his time. His buddy, though, had applied for ID with the name I gave him, Jack Daniels, and got a job and later married. He eventually went back, too. Don Braucht joined a group called "The Relatives" which featured a young, unknown singer named Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman). That group ended up playing Caesar's Palace in Vegas for a long stretch.
Today we are all still alive, thank God. Don Grady, of course, will always be the success story. You can visit his website and hear the music he is putting out these days. It really is quite good, but then again he always was talented. Paul is an insurance investigator living in the L.A. area last I checked. Frosty, I believe, lives in the Carolinas and every few years I'll make an effort to track him down and have a short visit telephonically. Other than that the group does not stay in touch and, although I get calls to put something together, even if it's just me, to do some casino gigs, I just don't know if I'll ever muster up that kind of energy again. Although the people around me say I can still sing my A-- off ... so who knows!
Alex Valdez
Thanks, Alex ... you can visit Don Grady's website here:
Click here: DonGrady.com - Home
Be sure to check out some of the new music he's got posted here ... REALLY good stuff!
The band's BIGGEST claim to fame may be the fact that Don Grady, who portrayed Robbie Douglas on the hit television series "My Three Sons" for twelve years, was a member. But, the fact is, the "band" came later.
According to the liner notes of "Sunshine Days, Volume 3", the hit single was recorded by a bunch of studio musicians. Once the song became a hit, a touring band was quickly assembled to cash in on the hit. Since Don Grady was already a recording artist for the label (Canterbury Records), a good looking guy, AND a television star, HE was selected to front the band. (Actually, that's not quite true ... Grady was stuck in the back on the drums and had to wear a blonde wig and fake mustache so as NOT to be recognized by the fans!!! You can read all about it in the two links provided below.)
Grady was a pretty good musician, proficient on piano, guitar, bass, trumpet and drums. (In fact, much of his post-television career has been spent creating music for TV, movies, multi-media events and animated films!) In an interview with Noell Wolfgram Evans of Digital Media FX, Grady recalled the day "the jig was up", putting an end to his hiding behind a wig, a hat, a mustache, sunglasses and the drums.
"I would work during the week portraying Robbie on 'My Three Sons,' and on weekends, I would hop on a plane and travel to the city where the band was performing. To keep my identity a secret, I would wear a wig, mustache, shades and a big hat. I was on drums and harmonica, and sang too. One weekend, we were gigging in Denver, onstage for at least two hours. All sweated up while playing my harmonica, the fake mustache fell off. Immediately I was recognized by the fans, who stormed the stage and ripped off my wig. The jig was up." (In an effort to milk this sudden wave of publicity even further, Canterbury Records then sponsored a "Guess The Drummer" Contest in some of the teen magazines!!!)
Here are a couple more little known, interesting facts about The Yellow Balloon:
DIDJAKNOW?1: Ken Handler, the head of Canterbury Records, was the real-life model for the "Ken" doll. His parents founded the Mattel Toy Company and developed the Barbie and Ken dolls! In fact, Ken used HIS share of his parents' Mattel fortune to form Canterbury Records in 1966.
DIDJAKNOW?2: Yellow Balloon was written by Gary Zekley and Dick St. John ... who was one half of Dick and Dee Dee. It was first recorded by Jan and Dean (although Jan Berry was actually laid up in the hospital at the time after his infamous Dead Man's Curve accident ... Dean Torrence handled ALL of the vocals on the track but it was still released as a Jan and Dean record!)
Click here: The Yellow Balloon: Yellow Balloon Story!
Click here: http://www.digitalmediafx.com/Interviews/don-gradyp.html
After we ran our Yellow Balloon piece in Forgotten Hits the first time, we heard
from Cass Kessler, who runs the official Yellow Balloon website, and then from two of the original members of the band: Alex Valdez and, by way of his brother, Don Braucht! All three of them have been Forgotten Hits list members ever since and have shared a number of interesting memories with our readers during that time.
In fact, I asked Alex if he might want to say a few words to the fans out there in honor of this piece going up on the web page this morning ... and here's what he had to say:
Right after the song took off, a group was formed to accommodate the requests for appearances. This group was made up of Mark Andes (pre-Heart and Firefall), John Beck (The Leaves), Darryl Dragon (Captain & Tenille) and I think Dave Andes (Mark's brother) ... and some guy with the last name of Rubin on drums. As I understand it, they wanted a better deal than was offered and pressured the label for more money. (I'm not 100% sure of all of this but the essence is there.) The label, not willing to be held hostage, asked Don Grady to take over the group and form a band. That is how myself and the rest of the guys came into being. Of course Mark and Darryl proved to be better off going in their different directions. Darryl (The Captain) has a brother named Dennis who went on a small southern tour with us ... he was a monster drummer who I have a great memory of ... he gave a drum clinic to all the hopefuls that came to our shows. He has done lots of studio work and had a group called "Surf Punks" whom I believe did fairly well.
There is also something that I'd like to clear up that is on some of the sites that are dedicated to the Yellow Balloon ... not yours ... but there's misinformation out there. Some of these sites mention that when the Yellow Balloon broke up, they went on to become the "Popcorn Explosion". This is entirely not true. Our guitar player, Paul, has a younger brother who brought his band out to L.A. and they were given the name "Popcorn Blizzard", by the Yellow Balloon's ex-manager. Nobody from the Yellow Balloon ever played in this group and for that matter never saw them perform. They eventually became disenchanted and returned to Tucson shortly thereafter.
The Yellow Balloon broke up primarily because we had nothing new to offer in the way of songs. We did some TV appearances around L.A. , but the guys were almost embarrassed to keep playing songs from our album that were just not catching on. We had released four singles from the album but it became evident that we needed something fresh and we just didn't have that. Besides, the label wanted to go in other directions.
I did some solo material after the Balloon burst. We had done the orchestra thing with big productions trying to jump on the Scott Walker model he was doing in England. The label was going big bucks with some other new artists as well and I think we may have been on the verge of coming up with something. BUT, all good things can come to a screeching halt sometimes. The label owner, Ken Handler, being the son of the Mattel Toy Co. owners was forced to close the label due to Mattel's financial problems starting to manifest. As I understood it, he lost some major money and was forced to curtail his life. There is a new book out called "Toy Monster" ... the big, bad world of Mattel ... that outlines that world and the family. I worked at Mattel while doing my solo album and had the privilege of working in R & D under Jack Ryan (the smartest man I've ever known). Of course I was treated somewhat special due to the fact that I was there because of the Handler family's interests. So my fellow workers were the actual people that invented and developed "Hot Wheels", 10 speed bike "Caps", Barbie"Slime", etc. A great part of my life.
The Yellow Balloon bass player, Don Braucht, had gone home to Oregon when the Yellow Balloon came to a halt, but later returned and became my roommate . I was in the process of starting a group which I was going to name "Smoke". We had auditioned and come up with a couple of monster players, one of which was a badass guitar player in the navy. Well, he went AWOL with one of his sailor buddies and we got 'em an apartment and they hid out. Smokey eventually turned himself in and did his time. His buddy, though, had applied for ID with the name I gave him, Jack Daniels, and got a job and later married. He eventually went back, too. Don Braucht joined a group called "The Relatives" which featured a young, unknown singer named Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman). That group ended up playing Caesar's Palace in Vegas for a long stretch.
Today we are all still alive, thank God. Don Grady, of course, will always be the success story. You can visit his website and hear the music he is putting out these days. It really is quite good, but then again he always was talented. Paul is an insurance investigator living in the L.A. area last I checked. Frosty, I believe, lives in the Carolinas and every few years I'll make an effort to track him down and have a short visit telephonically. Other than that the group does not stay in touch and, although I get calls to put something together, even if it's just me, to do some casino gigs, I just don't know if I'll ever muster up that kind of energy again. Although the people around me say I can still sing my A-- off ... so who knows!
Alex Valdez
Thanks, Alex ... you can visit Don Grady's website here:
Click here: DonGrady.com - Home
Be sure to check out some of the new music he's got posted here ... REALLY good stuff!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Sweet Inspiration
Over the years we've run into a few artists who've named their act after their new single ... or vice versa. Yesterday we covered The Boys In The Band. Other artists / songs that might immediately come to mind might be Bo Diddley or Bad Company. Tomorrow we're going to turn the spotlight on our Forgotten Hits buddies The Yellow Balloon once again ... but TODAY our featured song AND artist is Sweet Inspiration by The Sweet Inspirations!
The group's origins date back to the late '50's when a gospel group calling themselves The Drinkard Singers did some traditional gospel recordings for RCA Records. Led by Cissy Houston (mother of Whitney), along with her nieces Dee Dee and Dionne Warwick and sisters Judy and Sylvia Guions, they slowly began to develop more of a "pop" sound as their love for rock and roll music grew. (Early on, Doris Troy, who had the first big hit with "Just One Look" back in 1963, also sang with the group.)
Dee Dee and ESPECIALLY Dionne Warwick went on to have big, solo careers after leaving the group. Judy Guions hit the charts a couple of times as Judy Clay, singing duets with Billy Vera and Sylvia Guions (now calling herself Sylvia Shemwell) stuck with Cissy Houston as The Drinkard Singers continued to change personnel.
In the process, they became one of the highest regarded (and most recorded) group of background singers on record. Their first real "rock" record came when they were asked to sing back up for Ronnie Hawkins and the group that would later become known as The Band. Before being signed to Atlantic Records (and being renamed "The Sweet Inspirations" by the legendary Jerry Wexler), the girls (Cissy and Sylvia, now teamed with Estelle Brown and Myra Smith) recorded background vocals for everyone from Neil Diamond to Aretha Franklin to Dusty Springfield to Wilson Pickett as well as literally DOZENS of other well known pop acts. (According to Wikipedia, they also sang background on Van Morrison's big hit "Brown Eyed Girl" and did some selected vocals on the Jimi Hendrix / Electric Ladyland LP!)
In 1967, Wexler decided to let them cut their OWN recordings ... and, after a couple of minor chart successes, "Sweet Inspiration" became a Top 20 Hit a year later. After none of their other singles reached The Top 50, The Sweet Inspirations were soon back to singing back-up, gaining a whole new allegience of fans once they started singing behind Elvis Presley in Las Vegas during his late '60's / early '70's comeback.
Cissy Houston left the quartet in 1970 to pursue a solo career but, when nothing really materialized, she soon found herself on the road singing back-up for her niece Dionne Warwick. Meanwhile, Estelle Brown and Myra Smith are still recording (along with Portia Griffin) as The Sweet Inspirations today. (Original member Sylvia Shemwell, who used to sing with the group as well as introduce them on stage, suffered a stroke in 2001 and, as such, is no longer able to perform with her "soul sisters".)
Meanwhile, The Sweet Inspirations have a brand new song posted on their website ... and you can check it out here:
Click here: Sweet Inspirations On The Web!
The group's origins date back to the late '50's when a gospel group calling themselves The Drinkard Singers did some traditional gospel recordings for RCA Records. Led by Cissy Houston (mother of Whitney), along with her nieces Dee Dee and Dionne Warwick and sisters Judy and Sylvia Guions, they slowly began to develop more of a "pop" sound as their love for rock and roll music grew. (Early on, Doris Troy, who had the first big hit with "Just One Look" back in 1963, also sang with the group.)
Dee Dee and ESPECIALLY Dionne Warwick went on to have big, solo careers after leaving the group. Judy Guions hit the charts a couple of times as Judy Clay, singing duets with Billy Vera and Sylvia Guions (now calling herself Sylvia Shemwell) stuck with Cissy Houston as The Drinkard Singers continued to change personnel.
In the process, they became one of the highest regarded (and most recorded) group of background singers on record. Their first real "rock" record came when they were asked to sing back up for Ronnie Hawkins and the group that would later become known as The Band. Before being signed to Atlantic Records (and being renamed "The Sweet Inspirations" by the legendary Jerry Wexler), the girls (Cissy and Sylvia, now teamed with Estelle Brown and Myra Smith) recorded background vocals for everyone from Neil Diamond to Aretha Franklin to Dusty Springfield to Wilson Pickett as well as literally DOZENS of other well known pop acts. (According to Wikipedia, they also sang background on Van Morrison's big hit "Brown Eyed Girl" and did some selected vocals on the Jimi Hendrix / Electric Ladyland LP!)
In 1967, Wexler decided to let them cut their OWN recordings ... and, after a couple of minor chart successes, "Sweet Inspiration" became a Top 20 Hit a year later. After none of their other singles reached The Top 50, The Sweet Inspirations were soon back to singing back-up, gaining a whole new allegience of fans once they started singing behind Elvis Presley in Las Vegas during his late '60's / early '70's comeback.
Cissy Houston left the quartet in 1970 to pursue a solo career but, when nothing really materialized, she soon found herself on the road singing back-up for her niece Dionne Warwick. Meanwhile, Estelle Brown and Myra Smith are still recording (along with Portia Griffin) as The Sweet Inspirations today. (Original member Sylvia Shemwell, who used to sing with the group as well as introduce them on stage, suffered a stroke in 2001 and, as such, is no longer able to perform with her "soul sisters".)
Meanwhile, The Sweet Inspirations have a brand new song posted on their website ... and you can check it out here:
Click here: Sweet Inspirations On The Web!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
How About A Little Hand???
Film critic Leonard Maltin describes "The Boys In The Band", one of the first openly-marketed gay films released as a major motion picture as " an excellent filmization of Mart Crowley's landmark play about nine men at a birthday party; eight are gay, the ninth insists he's not ... often hilarious, frequently sad, but always thought provoking, and sensationally acted by the original stage cast." (He gave the film 3 1/2 stars.) Other critics called it revolutionary for its time, portraying gays in a realistic light for the first time before a mass audience.
Having never seen the movie, I can't really comment any further ... but in 1970, a song called "(How 'Bout A Little Hand for) The Boys In The Band" ... by a band CALLED The Boys In The Band ... started making its way up the pop charts. Naturally, I assumed at the time that THIS must be the title song from this hot new film I'd been hearing so much about.
Incredibly, despite the timing, I later learned that the song was NOT from the film of the same name ... but instead came from a movie called "The Phynx" ... which Maltin describes as "A BOMB!!!" (An online imdb.com movie review refers to it as an "all-star celebrity bomb of epic proportions".)
The premise of THIS motion picture was (what Maltin describes as) "a way-off-base satire about a rock group recruited to spy behind the Iron Curtain ... and the kidnapping of America's pop-culture heroes." As such, the film features cameos by such noted American icons as Ed Sullivan, Richard Pryor, James Brown, Huntz Hall, Guy Lombardo, Joe Louis, Johnny Weissmuller, Colonel Sanders, Ruby Keeler, Xavier Cugat, Dick Clark, George Jessel, Rudy Vallee and many, many others.
The artists on the record (recording as The Boys In The Band) were under the direction of Herman Lewis Griffin, who assembled a band of studio musicians and singers to complete the soundtrack. Griffin holds the distinction of recording the very first song held by Berry Gordy's Jobette Publishing Company. And that's not his only tie to Motown ... he was also married to Mary Wells.
The Boys In The Band ... by The Boys In The Band ... went to #41 on the Cash Box Chart ... but was a Top 20 Hit here in Chicago.
Having never seen the movie, I can't really comment any further ... but in 1970, a song called "(How 'Bout A Little Hand for) The Boys In The Band" ... by a band CALLED The Boys In The Band ... started making its way up the pop charts. Naturally, I assumed at the time that THIS must be the title song from this hot new film I'd been hearing so much about.
Incredibly, despite the timing, I later learned that the song was NOT from the film of the same name ... but instead came from a movie called "The Phynx" ... which Maltin describes as "A BOMB!!!" (An online imdb.com movie review refers to it as an "all-star celebrity bomb of epic proportions".)
The premise of THIS motion picture was (what Maltin describes as) "a way-off-base satire about a rock group recruited to spy behind the Iron Curtain ... and the kidnapping of America's pop-culture heroes." As such, the film features cameos by such noted American icons as Ed Sullivan, Richard Pryor, James Brown, Huntz Hall, Guy Lombardo, Joe Louis, Johnny Weissmuller, Colonel Sanders, Ruby Keeler, Xavier Cugat, Dick Clark, George Jessel, Rudy Vallee and many, many others.
The artists on the record (recording as The Boys In The Band) were under the direction of Herman Lewis Griffin, who assembled a band of studio musicians and singers to complete the soundtrack. Griffin holds the distinction of recording the very first song held by Berry Gordy's Jobette Publishing Company. And that's not his only tie to Motown ... he was also married to Mary Wells.
The Boys In The Band ... by The Boys In The Band ... went to #41 on the Cash Box Chart ... but was a Top 20 Hit here in Chicago.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Jim Weatherly
Last week Forgotten Hits reader David Lewis sent us a copy of Jim Weatherly's original version of "Midnight Plane To Houston" ... which Gladys Knight and the Pips recorded as "Midnight Train To Georgia", turnng it into a HUGE #1 Hit Record back in 1973.
In fact, Gladys Knight and the Pips had success with SIX of Weatherly's songs: "Neither One Of Us" topped The Cash Box Chart (as well as Billboard's R & B Chart) in 1973, "Where Peaceful Waters Flow" went to #23 in 1973 (just before the aforementioned "Midnight Train To Georgia" topped the charts), "Between Her Goodbye And My Hello" hit #57 in 1974, "Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me" shot up to #3, also in 1974, and "Love Finds Its Own Way" peaked at #33 in 1975.
In between, Jim Weatherly, a former All-American University of Mississippi / Ole Miss Rebels quarterback, squeezed in his OWN hit when "The Need To Be" went to #11 in 1974.
Jim also had quite a bit of success placing his songs on the country charts ... Vince Gill, Glen Campbell, Kenny Rogers, Marie Osmond, Eddy Arnold, Lee Greenwood, Charley Pride, Steve Wariner and England Dan Seals have all recorded his songs ... and Ray Price reportedly recorded about FIFTY of Weatherly's compositions! Between 1975 and 1980, Weatherly placed half a dozen songs on Billboard's Country Chart under his own name. (For a very impressive, complete list of Jim's songs ... and who recorded them ... be sure to check out his website here: Click here: Jim Weatherly)
In fact, Gladys Knight and the Pips had success with SIX of Weatherly's songs: "Neither One Of Us" topped The Cash Box Chart (as well as Billboard's R & B Chart) in 1973, "Where Peaceful Waters Flow" went to #23 in 1973 (just before the aforementioned "Midnight Train To Georgia" topped the charts), "Between Her Goodbye And My Hello" hit #57 in 1974, "Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me" shot up to #3, also in 1974, and "Love Finds Its Own Way" peaked at #33 in 1975.
In between, Jim Weatherly, a former All-American University of Mississippi / Ole Miss Rebels quarterback, squeezed in his OWN hit when "The Need To Be" went to #11 in 1974.
Jim also had quite a bit of success placing his songs on the country charts ... Vince Gill, Glen Campbell, Kenny Rogers, Marie Osmond, Eddy Arnold, Lee Greenwood, Charley Pride, Steve Wariner and England Dan Seals have all recorded his songs ... and Ray Price reportedly recorded about FIFTY of Weatherly's compositions! Between 1975 and 1980, Weatherly placed half a dozen songs on Billboard's Country Chart under his own name. (For a very impressive, complete list of Jim's songs ... and who recorded them ... be sure to check out his website here: Click here: Jim Weatherly)
Monday, March 2, 2009
Run Run Run by Jo Jo Gunne
We talked a little bit about Spirit last week in Forgotten Hits ... and mentioned the One Hit Wonder act, Jo Jo Gunne, who scored a #27 Hit back in 1972 with a song called "Run, Run, Run". (We LOVED it here in Chicago ... where it went all the way to #2!!!)
Jo Jo Gunne (named after the Chuck Berry hit Joe Joe Gun from 1958) featured Spirit alumni Jay Ferguson and Mark Andes. (The line-up was rounded out by Mark's brother Matt Andes on guitar and vocals and Curly Smith on drums.)
Mark Andes left after their first album and only hit single ... he later performed as part of Firefall and Heart. Ferguson stuck around for a couple more LPs and then went on to have a couple of solo hits in the late '70's with "Thunder Island" (#6, 1978) and "Shakedown Cruise" (#27, 1979).
DIDJAKNOW?: Jay Ferguson wrote the theme to our favorite TV comedy, "The Office".
Jo Jo Gunne (named after the Chuck Berry hit Joe Joe Gun from 1958) featured Spirit alumni Jay Ferguson and Mark Andes. (The line-up was rounded out by Mark's brother Matt Andes on guitar and vocals and Curly Smith on drums.)
Mark Andes left after their first album and only hit single ... he later performed as part of Firefall and Heart. Ferguson stuck around for a couple more LPs and then went on to have a couple of solo hits in the late '70's with "Thunder Island" (#6, 1978) and "Shakedown Cruise" (#27, 1979).
DIDJAKNOW?: Jay Ferguson wrote the theme to our favorite TV comedy, "The Office".
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Wonderful World, Beautiful People
Before he became a reggae legend, Jimmy Cliff hit the Pop Charts with Wonderful World, Beautiful People, a #18 hit in early 1970.
An international, worldwide star, Cliff probably had his LEAST amount of success here in the United States, where his only other Top 40 Chart Hit was a remake of the Johnny Nash song, I Can See Clearly Now, released 24 years later. (It ALSO peaked at #18.)
Born in Jamaica in 1948 (his real name is James Chambers), Cliff had his first #1 Jamaican Hit in 1962 at the age of 14, when Hurricane Hattie (a song about the recent Caribbean storm) topped the charts. He later dropped out of college to pursue a music career and, in 1965, moved to Britain. Three years later, Cliff represented Jamaica in the International Song Festival held in Brazil, and won an award for his composition Waterfall. By now, reggae music was becoming the latest rage in England ... I remember John Lennon stating in a teen magazine interview back in 1966 that he thought reggae would be the next big thing ... and today's featured Forgotten Hit, Wonderful World, Beautiful People hit #6 in Britain.
Other reggae acts started to hit the charts as well, including the previously mentioned Johnny Nash (who moved to Jamaica in the late '60's) and Desmond Dekker and the Aces, who scored a big U.S. hit with Israelites (another former Forgotten Hit.)
In 1972, Cliff starred in the semi-autobiographical film The Harder They Come,
winning critical acclaim (and introducing reggae music and the music of Bob Marley to the rest of the world at large when it was FINALLY released here in the States in 1975!)
Cliff continues to record and tour all over the world (and also appears in films from time to time as well.)
Meanwhile, this is a song that deserves a spot back in oldies rotation ... give it a listen and see if you don't agree ... a nice, uplifting song ... catchy ... easy to sing along with ... and promotes a positive message ... let's get this one back on the air!!!
An international, worldwide star, Cliff probably had his LEAST amount of success here in the United States, where his only other Top 40 Chart Hit was a remake of the Johnny Nash song, I Can See Clearly Now, released 24 years later. (It ALSO peaked at #18.)
Born in Jamaica in 1948 (his real name is James Chambers), Cliff had his first #1 Jamaican Hit in 1962 at the age of 14, when Hurricane Hattie (a song about the recent Caribbean storm) topped the charts. He later dropped out of college to pursue a music career and, in 1965, moved to Britain. Three years later, Cliff represented Jamaica in the International Song Festival held in Brazil, and won an award for his composition Waterfall. By now, reggae music was becoming the latest rage in England ... I remember John Lennon stating in a teen magazine interview back in 1966 that he thought reggae would be the next big thing ... and today's featured Forgotten Hit, Wonderful World, Beautiful People hit #6 in Britain.
Other reggae acts started to hit the charts as well, including the previously mentioned Johnny Nash (who moved to Jamaica in the late '60's) and Desmond Dekker and the Aces, who scored a big U.S. hit with Israelites (another former Forgotten Hit.)
In 1972, Cliff starred in the semi-autobiographical film The Harder They Come,
winning critical acclaim (and introducing reggae music and the music of Bob Marley to the rest of the world at large when it was FINALLY released here in the States in 1975!)
Cliff continues to record and tour all over the world (and also appears in films from time to time as well.)
Meanwhile, this is a song that deserves a spot back in oldies rotation ... give it a listen and see if you don't agree ... a nice, uplifting song ... catchy ... easy to sing along with ... and promotes a positive message ... let's get this one back on the air!!!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Sutherland Brothers And Quiver
The band with the unusual name GOT that name when two totally separate bands merged in the early '70's.
Real-life brothers Iain and Gavin Sutherland had some minor British chart success recording as a band called "A New Generation" in 1968 with a song called "Smokie Blues Away", which reached #38 on The U.K. Chart. In late 1970, after submitting a demo to former Traffic bassist Muff Winwood, they earned a new recording contract with Island Records as The Sutherland Brothers Band, a folk / rock (but mostly folk) duo and released a couple of albums and singles for the label that really didn't make much of an impact on the British charts.
Looking to diversify their sound (they were for all intents and purposes performing folk duets and were never happy with their sound doing live performances), The Sutherland Brothers joined forces with Quiver, a local rock band consisting of guitarist Tim Renwick, bassist Bruce Thomas, drummer John "Willie" Wilson and keyboardist Peter Wood. (The fact that Quiver lead vocalist Cal Batchelor had just left the band certainly helped to cement this merger!!!)
Billing themselves as Sutherland Brothers And Quiver (and probably having one HECK of a time finding marquees large enough to accommodate this new name ... jeez, it was probably just as difficult to fit it all on the record label!!!) the newly formed sextet had their GREATEST chart success in 1973 with their Top 40 U.S. Hit "You Got Me Anyway", which hit #20 on The Cash Box Chart, made the Chicagoland Top Ten and JUST MISSED The Billboard Top 40, where it peaked at #48.
They wouldn't hit the U.S. charts again until 1976 when "Arms Of Mary", a Top Five British Hit, made the lower region of the Cash Box and Billboard charts, peaking at #71 and #81 respectively. A year later, they had already disbanded.
The Sutherland Brothers released a couple more singles as a duo (and even attempted solo careers in the early '80's) before hanging it up for good ... but the guys from Quiver continued their musical dream a little bit longer, albeit NOT together as a group ... instead, each found success on their own. Tim Resnick went on to play guitar for Al Stewart and a latter-day incarnation of Pink Floyd. Drummer Willie Wilson (who had also hit the charts as part of the band Cochise, another group we featured a while back in Forgotten Hits when we spotlighted their reworking of the Buddy Holly tune "Love's Made A Fool Of You", a Top Ten Chicagoland hit in 1971) worked with Pink Floyd for a while, too, during the period when the band was touring to promote "The Wall". Peter Wood (as Peter Woods) went on to work with Cyndi Lauper ... sadly, he died in 1994. And bassist Bruce Thomas went on to join Elvis Costello and the Attractions.
You Got Me Anyway is catchy as hell ... and you probably haven't heard it in AGES!!! Maybe we can get a few of the jocks on the list to give this one a spin today!!!
Real-life brothers Iain and Gavin Sutherland had some minor British chart success recording as a band called "A New Generation" in 1968 with a song called "Smokie Blues Away", which reached #38 on The U.K. Chart. In late 1970, after submitting a demo to former Traffic bassist Muff Winwood, they earned a new recording contract with Island Records as The Sutherland Brothers Band, a folk / rock (but mostly folk) duo and released a couple of albums and singles for the label that really didn't make much of an impact on the British charts.
Looking to diversify their sound (they were for all intents and purposes performing folk duets and were never happy with their sound doing live performances), The Sutherland Brothers joined forces with Quiver, a local rock band consisting of guitarist Tim Renwick, bassist Bruce Thomas, drummer John "Willie" Wilson and keyboardist Peter Wood. (The fact that Quiver lead vocalist Cal Batchelor had just left the band certainly helped to cement this merger!!!)
Billing themselves as Sutherland Brothers And Quiver (and probably having one HECK of a time finding marquees large enough to accommodate this new name ... jeez, it was probably just as difficult to fit it all on the record label!!!) the newly formed sextet had their GREATEST chart success in 1973 with their Top 40 U.S. Hit "You Got Me Anyway", which hit #20 on The Cash Box Chart, made the Chicagoland Top Ten and JUST MISSED The Billboard Top 40, where it peaked at #48.
They wouldn't hit the U.S. charts again until 1976 when "Arms Of Mary", a Top Five British Hit, made the lower region of the Cash Box and Billboard charts, peaking at #71 and #81 respectively. A year later, they had already disbanded.
The Sutherland Brothers released a couple more singles as a duo (and even attempted solo careers in the early '80's) before hanging it up for good ... but the guys from Quiver continued their musical dream a little bit longer, albeit NOT together as a group ... instead, each found success on their own. Tim Resnick went on to play guitar for Al Stewart and a latter-day incarnation of Pink Floyd. Drummer Willie Wilson (who had also hit the charts as part of the band Cochise, another group we featured a while back in Forgotten Hits when we spotlighted their reworking of the Buddy Holly tune "Love's Made A Fool Of You", a Top Ten Chicagoland hit in 1971) worked with Pink Floyd for a while, too, during the period when the band was touring to promote "The Wall". Peter Wood (as Peter Woods) went on to work with Cyndi Lauper ... sadly, he died in 1994. And bassist Bruce Thomas went on to join Elvis Costello and the Attractions.
You Got Me Anyway is catchy as hell ... and you probably haven't heard it in AGES!!! Maybe we can get a few of the jocks on the list to give this one a spin today!!!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Natural High
Since we're in a soulful mood, here's another one of my favorites that CERTAINLY deserves a spin every now and then.
Bloodstone, a five-man soul group out of Kansas City, Missouri, hit The Top 40 on The Pop Charts three times in 1973 - 1974. Their biggest pop hit was Natural High, which hit #10 on The Billboard Chart and went all the way to #5 on The Cash Box Chart. (Other Top 40 Singles included Never Let You Go, #35, 1973, and Outside Woman, #31, 1974.)
The group first formed as The Sinceres, an a cappla vocal quintet, back in 1962. Ultimately, they all learned to play instruments and became a full-fledged band, playing the club scene in Los Angeles and the casino lounges in Las Vegas. Founding members included Charles McCormick (who sang, played bass and wrote Natural High), Willis Draffen and Charles Love (both on vocals and guitar), Harry Williams (drums) and Roger Durham (keyboards). When Durham died in 1973, the group carried on as a quartet.
In 1975 the group financed and starred in a film musical called "Train Ride To Hollywood". In the film, they performed a number of older tunes, including their versions of As Time Goes By, Toot Toot Tootsie, Yakety Yak and Sh-Boom. According to the liner notes to Rhino's "Didn't It Blow Your Mind" CD Series, the best track was the title cut, Train Ride, "an exuberant celebration of railroading".
While the film bombed at the box office, noted music critic Dave Marsh called it "witty" and "underrated" ... "arguably the funniest picture of the whole '70s blaxploitation film boom." Between the slapstick and the reefer jokes, "Bloodstone wedges in a fairly complete history of black vocal harmony music from the Mills Brothers to the Coasters to their own bad selves. They do it even better on the soundtrack album." (Hmmm ... we'll have to watch for THIS one!!! We seem to catch the unintentionally (yet HILARIOUSLY!) funny "Can't Stop The Music" every time it's on lately ... and ALWAYS at the "Y.M.C.A." segment!!! OMG ... and you think Bruce Jenner is funny on The Kardashians?!?!?!!!)
Bloodstone, a five-man soul group out of Kansas City, Missouri, hit The Top 40 on The Pop Charts three times in 1973 - 1974. Their biggest pop hit was Natural High, which hit #10 on The Billboard Chart and went all the way to #5 on The Cash Box Chart. (Other Top 40 Singles included Never Let You Go, #35, 1973, and Outside Woman, #31, 1974.)
The group first formed as The Sinceres, an a cappla vocal quintet, back in 1962. Ultimately, they all learned to play instruments and became a full-fledged band, playing the club scene in Los Angeles and the casino lounges in Las Vegas. Founding members included Charles McCormick (who sang, played bass and wrote Natural High), Willis Draffen and Charles Love (both on vocals and guitar), Harry Williams (drums) and Roger Durham (keyboards). When Durham died in 1973, the group carried on as a quartet.
In 1975 the group financed and starred in a film musical called "Train Ride To Hollywood". In the film, they performed a number of older tunes, including their versions of As Time Goes By, Toot Toot Tootsie, Yakety Yak and Sh-Boom. According to the liner notes to Rhino's "Didn't It Blow Your Mind" CD Series, the best track was the title cut, Train Ride, "an exuberant celebration of railroading".
While the film bombed at the box office, noted music critic Dave Marsh called it "witty" and "underrated" ... "arguably the funniest picture of the whole '70s blaxploitation film boom." Between the slapstick and the reefer jokes, "Bloodstone wedges in a fairly complete history of black vocal harmony music from the Mills Brothers to the Coasters to their own bad selves. They do it even better on the soundtrack album." (Hmmm ... we'll have to watch for THIS one!!! We seem to catch the unintentionally (yet HILARIOUSLY!) funny "Can't Stop The Music" every time it's on lately ... and ALWAYS at the "Y.M.C.A." segment!!! OMG ... and you think Bruce Jenner is funny on The Kardashians?!?!?!!!)
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
I'm Doin' Fine Now
While going through the archives the other day, I came across a couple of Frannie's old "Forgotten Soul Hits" from many moons ago. (Some of you "old-timers" on the list might remember that we'd run this series a couple of times a year or so and give Frannie a chance to spotlight some of HER favorite soul hits from the early '70's.)
I'm going to resurrect a few of these from time to time (including this one) today. I've updated some of the information when possible ... and I think some of the jocks on the list might like to feature a few of these on their "Forgotten 45's" segments.
First up today ... a band called New York City. (Hey, why not?!?!? A group calling themselves "Chicago" did pretty good for THIS fine city!!! And, speaking of "fine", that's what today's hit is all about!)
I'm going to resurrect a few of these from time to time (including this one) today. I've updated some of the information when possible ... and I think some of the jocks on the list might like to feature a few of these on their "Forgotten 45's" segments.
First up today ... a band called New York City. (Hey, why not?!?!? A group calling themselves "Chicago" did pretty good for THIS fine city!!! And, speaking of "fine", that's what today's hit is all about!)
***
R & B quartet New York City was composed of 4 high school buddies: Tim McQueen, John Brown, Edward Schell, and Claude Johnson. They sang for their church and Brown gained professional experience singing with The Cadillacs and The Five Satins.
In 1973, New York City went to work with producer Thom Bell and the result of that union was "I'm Doin' Fine Now," which reached # 17, and was sold to Wes Farrell's Chelsea label. Two additional releases in the following months barely cracked the Top 100. By the mid-seventies, New York City had disappeared from the charts. (Frannie)
I'm Doin' Fine Now performed a little better on the Cash Box Chart where it peaked at #12. (Now how is THIS song missing from the oldies airplay lists?!?!?) kk
DIDJAKNOW?: Prior to recording their biggest hit, studio whiz-kid Thom Bell recorded a number of instrumental backing tracks for the guys to overdub their vocals on. This process made getting their records made in a hurry a whole lot easier ... McQueen, Brown, Schell and Johnson simply came in and added their voices to these pre-recorded tracks, including I'm Doin' Fine Now. When the record became a hit, a back-up band was quickly assembled so that they could take their act out on the road. That back-up band was called "The Big Apple Band" ... and two of its members were Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards ... future founding members of Chic, who helped to define their OWN soulful sound just a few years later!!! (kk)
In 1973, New York City went to work with producer Thom Bell and the result of that union was "I'm Doin' Fine Now," which reached # 17, and was sold to Wes Farrell's Chelsea label. Two additional releases in the following months barely cracked the Top 100. By the mid-seventies, New York City had disappeared from the charts. (Frannie)
I'm Doin' Fine Now performed a little better on the Cash Box Chart where it peaked at #12. (Now how is THIS song missing from the oldies airplay lists?!?!?) kk
DIDJAKNOW?: Prior to recording their biggest hit, studio whiz-kid Thom Bell recorded a number of instrumental backing tracks for the guys to overdub their vocals on. This process made getting their records made in a hurry a whole lot easier ... McQueen, Brown, Schell and Johnson simply came in and added their voices to these pre-recorded tracks, including I'm Doin' Fine Now. When the record became a hit, a back-up band was quickly assembled so that they could take their act out on the road. That back-up band was called "The Big Apple Band" ... and two of its members were Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards ... future founding members of Chic, who helped to define their OWN soulful sound just a few years later!!! (kk)
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Speak To The Sky
Last week we promised to feature Rick Springfield's debut American Hit "Speak To The Sky" ... but we got side-tracked along the way, doing a couple of other features ... so we had to push ol' Rick back a week.
Springfield's name first came up during our Bruce Springsteen Tribute a couple of weeks back. (Believe it or not, we're STILL getting emails about Springsteen's performance at this year's Super Bowl!)
We featured the Rick Springfield song "Bruce", recorded back in 1978 when Rick's
career was in limbo but released in 1984 when Bruce Springsteen's career was going through the roof.
It didn't have much of an impact, peaking at #26 on The Cash Box Chart. (Mercury, Rick's old record label, was trying to take advantage of both The Boss' rise in popularity as well as Rick's OWN string of early '80's hits.)
But before ALL of this '80's success ... in fact, even before Rick signed on as a regular (and teen heart-throb on "General Hospital") Springfield hit The American Charts with his Top 20 Hit "Speak To The Sky".
Coming off of a bit of success "down under" in his native Australia via the pop band Zoot, Springfield attempted a solo career here in The States and released "Speak To The Sky" on the Capitol label back in 1972.
It peaked at #14 on The Billboard Chart ... but after that, Rick couldn't buy a hit. Instead, he perfected his acting chops and landed the role of Dr. Noah Drake and the popular soap opera, "General Hospital."
Springfield stuck with the show from 1981 to 1984 but he never gave up his dream to be a singer. (Some say he only took the acting gig in the first place because he had no reason to believe his latest album, "Working Class Dog", would be a hit either!) But in 1981, his record "Jessie's Girl" (from the "Working Class Dog" LP) exploded on the charts, rising all the way to the #1 Spot. Top 40 follow-up hits included I've Done Everything For You (#8, 1981); Love Is Alright Tonight (#20, 1982); Don't Talk To Strangers (#2, 1982); What Kind Of Fool Am I (#19, 1982); I Get Excited (#32, 1982); Affair Of The Heart (#9, 1983); Human Touch (#18, 1983); Souls (#23, 1983); Love Somebody (#3, 1984); Don't Walk Away (#26, 1984); Bop 'Til You Drop (#20, 1984); Bruce (#26, 1985); Celebrate Youth (#26, 1985); State Of The Heart (#22, 1985) and Rock Of Life (#22, 1988). Springfield returned to television (and to General Hospital) in 2005 but still makes concert appearances all over the world. (Frannie and I saw him in Las Vegas a few years back when he was starring in FX, a role originated by fellow teen idol David Cassidy!)
Whereas most of his '80's hits have more of a "power rock / power ballad" feel to them, Speak To The Sky almost sounds like a "folk song" ... with a bit of a Dixieland piano and horn arrangement thrown in for good measure. Springfield wrote all of his own hits (except I've Done Everything For You, which was penned by former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar). He also starred in the 1984 film "Hard To Hold", which included ALL of his 1984 pop hits.
Click here: rick springfield.com
Springfield's name first came up during our Bruce Springsteen Tribute a couple of weeks back. (Believe it or not, we're STILL getting emails about Springsteen's performance at this year's Super Bowl!)
We featured the Rick Springfield song "Bruce", recorded back in 1978 when Rick's
career was in limbo but released in 1984 when Bruce Springsteen's career was going through the roof.
It didn't have much of an impact, peaking at #26 on The Cash Box Chart. (Mercury, Rick's old record label, was trying to take advantage of both The Boss' rise in popularity as well as Rick's OWN string of early '80's hits.)
But before ALL of this '80's success ... in fact, even before Rick signed on as a regular (and teen heart-throb on "General Hospital") Springfield hit The American Charts with his Top 20 Hit "Speak To The Sky".
Coming off of a bit of success "down under" in his native Australia via the pop band Zoot, Springfield attempted a solo career here in The States and released "Speak To The Sky" on the Capitol label back in 1972.
It peaked at #14 on The Billboard Chart ... but after that, Rick couldn't buy a hit. Instead, he perfected his acting chops and landed the role of Dr. Noah Drake and the popular soap opera, "General Hospital."
Springfield stuck with the show from 1981 to 1984 but he never gave up his dream to be a singer. (Some say he only took the acting gig in the first place because he had no reason to believe his latest album, "Working Class Dog", would be a hit either!) But in 1981, his record "Jessie's Girl" (from the "Working Class Dog" LP) exploded on the charts, rising all the way to the #1 Spot. Top 40 follow-up hits included I've Done Everything For You (#8, 1981); Love Is Alright Tonight (#20, 1982); Don't Talk To Strangers (#2, 1982); What Kind Of Fool Am I (#19, 1982); I Get Excited (#32, 1982); Affair Of The Heart (#9, 1983); Human Touch (#18, 1983); Souls (#23, 1983); Love Somebody (#3, 1984); Don't Walk Away (#26, 1984); Bop 'Til You Drop (#20, 1984); Bruce (#26, 1985); Celebrate Youth (#26, 1985); State Of The Heart (#22, 1985) and Rock Of Life (#22, 1988). Springfield returned to television (and to General Hospital) in 2005 but still makes concert appearances all over the world. (Frannie and I saw him in Las Vegas a few years back when he was starring in FX, a role originated by fellow teen idol David Cassidy!)
Whereas most of his '80's hits have more of a "power rock / power ballad" feel to them, Speak To The Sky almost sounds like a "folk song" ... with a bit of a Dixieland piano and horn arrangement thrown in for good measure. Springfield wrote all of his own hits (except I've Done Everything For You, which was penned by former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar). He also starred in the 1984 film "Hard To Hold", which included ALL of his 1984 pop hits.
Click here: rick springfield.com
Monday, February 23, 2009
Nostalgic Nausea
Yep, we're REALLY gonna do it!!!
With YOUR help, we're going to put together a list of
"The Top 20 Guaranteed Gaggers Of All-Time"!!!
Normally, we run polls like "The Most Over-Played Oldies" on the Radio ... aka "Your Quickest Button-Pushers" ...
But this time around, I'm not talking about songs you're tired of hearing ...
No ...
THIS time we want you to send us YOUR list of songs you don't EVER need to hear again in this lifetime!!!
Songs that NEVER should have been the king-sized hits they became in the first place!!!
Songs like "You Light Up My Life" by Debby Boone ...
which INCREDIBLY topped the charts for TEN WEEKS back in 1977 when it was first released ...
or "Honey" by Bobby Goldsboro ... a FIVE WEEK #1 chart-topper!
How about "Run Joey Run" by David Geddes ...
or the cringe-inducing "The Candy Man" by Sammy Davis, Jr. ...
or the God-awful "Playground In My Mind" by Clint Holmes ...
In order words, songs you JUST CAN'T STAND!!!
Guaranteed Gaggers!!!
We're trying to get at least one of the disc jockeys on the list to partner with us as we put together a special countdown ...
And create the ultimate "Nostalgic Nausea" Hour if you will!
(Now all we need is someone to help us count 'em down on the air!!!)
We've got you off to a good start here with five songs SURE to make the list.
Now we need you to send us YOUR nominees ...
Just send an email to forgottenhits@aol.com ...
And keep watching these pages for updates on the countdown.
With YOUR help, we're going to put together a list of
"The Top 20 Guaranteed Gaggers Of All-Time"!!!
Normally, we run polls like "The Most Over-Played Oldies" on the Radio ... aka "Your Quickest Button-Pushers" ...
But this time around, I'm not talking about songs you're tired of hearing ...
No ...
THIS time we want you to send us YOUR list of songs you don't EVER need to hear again in this lifetime!!!
Songs that NEVER should have been the king-sized hits they became in the first place!!!
Songs like "You Light Up My Life" by Debby Boone ...
which INCREDIBLY topped the charts for TEN WEEKS back in 1977 when it was first released ...
or "Honey" by Bobby Goldsboro ... a FIVE WEEK #1 chart-topper!
How about "Run Joey Run" by David Geddes ...
or the cringe-inducing "The Candy Man" by Sammy Davis, Jr. ...
or the God-awful "Playground In My Mind" by Clint Holmes ...
In order words, songs you JUST CAN'T STAND!!!
Guaranteed Gaggers!!!
We're trying to get at least one of the disc jockeys on the list to partner with us as we put together a special countdown ...
And create the ultimate "Nostalgic Nausea" Hour if you will!
(Now all we need is someone to help us count 'em down on the air!!!)
We've got you off to a good start here with five songs SURE to make the list.
Now we need you to send us YOUR nominees ...
Just send an email to forgottenhits@aol.com ...
And keep watching these pages for updates on the countdown.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Goody Goody Gumdrops
One more "Goodie" for you this week ...
The 1910 Fruit Gum Company were one of the PREMIER Bubblegum Bands of the late '60's. Unlike many of the other artists signed to the Buddah Record Label, these guys were, in fact, a complete band and (for the most part anyway) played on their own records. (Many of you will recall that it was Chicago's own Shadows Of Knight who performed much of this material as Buddah's "House Band" ... with Joey Levine on lead vocals.) Artists like The 1910 Fruit Gum Company, The Ohio Express and The Lemon Pipers regularly hit the top of the charts in the late '60's with "Feel Good" pop songs like "Simon Says", "1, 2, 3 Red Light", "Yummy, Yummy, Yummy", "Down At Lulu's", "Chewy Chewy" and "Green Tambourine" under the guidance of bubblegum whiz-kids Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz.
The 1910 Fruit Gum Company consisted of Frank Jeckell on Guitar, Floyd Marcus on Drums, Mark Gutkowski on organ, Pat Karwan on Lead Guitar and Steve Mortkowitz on Bass. While all of the guys sang and wrote their own music, studio musicians (and guest vocalists) were used on some of their later recordings.
In quick succession, the band scored five Top 40 Hits: Simon Says (#2, 1968); 1, 2, 3 Red Light (#3, 1968); Goody Goody Gumdrops (#31, 1968); Indian Giver (#4, 1969) and Special Delivery (#31, 1969). May I Take A Giant Step and The Train just missed, peaking at #45 and #52 respectively. In addition, THREE of these hits ... Simon Says, 1, 2, 3 Red Light and Indian Giver ... sold over a million copies each ... rare for a bubblegum group back in the day!
Keeping with our little mini-theme, it's "Goody Goody Gumdrops" that we're featuring today, along with a few words from some of the key players of the so-called Bubblegum Era.
We are fortunate to have both an original founding member of The 1910 Fruit Gum Company on our list ... Floyd Marcus ... as well as a member of the CURRENT band, Mick Mansueto. Each of these guys have agreed to share a few words with our FH Readers today!
For me, the period from around 1964-1970 was a great time for music. Of course the Beatles arrived, and there were the Stones, The Young Rascals, all the wonderful Motown artists, besides The Jefferson Airplane, The Buffalo Springfield, Vanilla Fudge, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Blood Sweat and Tears, The Byrds, Jimi Hendrix. I mean, what other period included such an acceptance of such a diversity of styles, sounds, along with great song writing.
The group that became The Fruitgum Company started out not only covering a wide variety of artists but also began doing original songs. My Uncle Sol (my dad's twin brother) had hits with songs he had written, including "Till Then" by The Classics and The Mills Brothers and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" by Nina Simone and later, The Animals. My Dad put up the cash and my uncle, along with his partner, Bennie Benjiman, took us to Dick Charles' studio in NYC. We recorded four of my originals. Jeff Katz and Jerry Kasenetz got hold of the demo and came to see us.
They of course liked the band, but already had a hit with "Little Bit Of Soul" by the Music Explosion, so they had different plans for us. We didn't set out to be a Bubblegum band. We weren't those kind of kids, but after negotiating with Jeff and Jerry we decided to take the ride.
Like other successful producers of that era, Super K had a good plan. They knew the market. Parents didn't want their 12 year old kids listening to Hendrix, The Stones, or Dylan. Jeff and Jerry knew their market. "Simon Says", "123 Red Light" and "Indian Giver" all achieved gold. Remember when a gold record was at least 1 million record sales?
With all the 'heavy' music out then, talking about drugs, sex and rebellion, it made parents uncomfortable. Most parents were aware of what was going on. Remember the older entertainers like Sammy Davis wearing Nehru jackets and beads and some letting their hair get a little longer? Bubblegum music became an alternative to the serious, political, sexual, drug music of the period. A certain part of the public was ready for music that was just fun, without thought provoking content. That's what Bubblegum music represented. A departure from that music.
Floyd Marcus
(original member of The 1910 Fruitgum Company)
Hi Kent,
Thank you for your interest. Goody Goody Gumdrops is a very happy song. Frank Jeckell does the lead on it these days and we re-recorded a number of the hits with a little more energy than the originals. We are doing well and performing wherever we can. We will be heading to Vegas again soon and have a number of gigs lined up for this season. The act consists of original member and founder, Frank Jeckell, his friend and partner Mick Mansueto on lead vocals, Glenn Lewis, Bass player and vocals, Bob Brescia, keys and vocals, Oscar Dominguez on keys, and Phil Thorstenson on Drums and vocals.
We are alive and well and looking to get to the UK for a tour ...
Thanks so much for the help.
Mick,
WWW.1910FRUITGUMCOMPANY.COM
A revamped version of The 1910 Fruit Gum Company (with original member Frank Jeckell) are still recording and performing today. You can find ALL of the latest information on these guys at their official website:
Click here: 1910 Fruitgum Company
During their hey-day, The 1910 Fruit Gum Company toured with big name acts like The Beach Boys and Sly and the Family Stone. (Remember ... this was a time when ALL this great music was heard side-by-side on the radio! And really, why not??? These guys had three Top Five million selling hits under their OWN belts!!!) We also found a great bit of trivia that's sure to make you smile in an interview that Floyd Marcus did with Carl Wiser, our buddy from Songfacts:
Before we became the Fruitgum Company, we used to do everything from Hendrix and Cream and The Rascals, and Motown, and Steppenwolf, and The Stones, Marvin Gaye. We did all of that. We did Vanilla Fudge, for instance. And there was a time when we came to a town and Vanilla Fudge was supposed to be playing at this venue, and they cancelled, and who do they put in there but The 1910 Fruitgum Company. So when the local DJ announced that we were going to perform, there was a lot of booing. They didn't like the fact that Vanilla Fudge "You Keep Me Hanging On" was going to be replaced by us. But the DJ was a nice guy, and he happened to go out and he said, "Well, give these guys a chance. You know, really." And we decided to do "You Keep Me Hanging On" because we had done it a long time. And by the time we got through that and did a few other songs, we really surprised the audience. We won them over and they were really on our side.
(You can read the COMPLETE Songfacts / Floyd Marcus interview here):
Click here: Songfacts Interviews: Floyd Marcus (1910 Fruitgum Co.)
DIDJAKNOW?: The 1910 Fruit Gum Company first formed as "Dr. Jeckell and the Hydes". It makes sense ... since the guitarist / founding member's name was Frank Jeckell!!!
The 1910 Fruit Gum Company were one of the PREMIER Bubblegum Bands of the late '60's. Unlike many of the other artists signed to the Buddah Record Label, these guys were, in fact, a complete band and (for the most part anyway) played on their own records. (Many of you will recall that it was Chicago's own Shadows Of Knight who performed much of this material as Buddah's "House Band" ... with Joey Levine on lead vocals.) Artists like The 1910 Fruit Gum Company, The Ohio Express and The Lemon Pipers regularly hit the top of the charts in the late '60's with "Feel Good" pop songs like "Simon Says", "1, 2, 3 Red Light", "Yummy, Yummy, Yummy", "Down At Lulu's", "Chewy Chewy" and "Green Tambourine" under the guidance of bubblegum whiz-kids Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz.
The 1910 Fruit Gum Company consisted of Frank Jeckell on Guitar, Floyd Marcus on Drums, Mark Gutkowski on organ, Pat Karwan on Lead Guitar and Steve Mortkowitz on Bass. While all of the guys sang and wrote their own music, studio musicians (and guest vocalists) were used on some of their later recordings.
In quick succession, the band scored five Top 40 Hits: Simon Says (#2, 1968); 1, 2, 3 Red Light (#3, 1968); Goody Goody Gumdrops (#31, 1968); Indian Giver (#4, 1969) and Special Delivery (#31, 1969). May I Take A Giant Step and The Train just missed, peaking at #45 and #52 respectively. In addition, THREE of these hits ... Simon Says, 1, 2, 3 Red Light and Indian Giver ... sold over a million copies each ... rare for a bubblegum group back in the day!
Keeping with our little mini-theme, it's "Goody Goody Gumdrops" that we're featuring today, along with a few words from some of the key players of the so-called Bubblegum Era.
***
We are fortunate to have both an original founding member of The 1910 Fruit Gum Company on our list ... Floyd Marcus ... as well as a member of the CURRENT band, Mick Mansueto. Each of these guys have agreed to share a few words with our FH Readers today!
For me, the period from around 1964-1970 was a great time for music. Of course the Beatles arrived, and there were the Stones, The Young Rascals, all the wonderful Motown artists, besides The Jefferson Airplane, The Buffalo Springfield, Vanilla Fudge, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Blood Sweat and Tears, The Byrds, Jimi Hendrix. I mean, what other period included such an acceptance of such a diversity of styles, sounds, along with great song writing.
The group that became The Fruitgum Company started out not only covering a wide variety of artists but also began doing original songs. My Uncle Sol (my dad's twin brother) had hits with songs he had written, including "Till Then" by The Classics and The Mills Brothers and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" by Nina Simone and later, The Animals. My Dad put up the cash and my uncle, along with his partner, Bennie Benjiman, took us to Dick Charles' studio in NYC. We recorded four of my originals. Jeff Katz and Jerry Kasenetz got hold of the demo and came to see us.
They of course liked the band, but already had a hit with "Little Bit Of Soul" by the Music Explosion, so they had different plans for us. We didn't set out to be a Bubblegum band. We weren't those kind of kids, but after negotiating with Jeff and Jerry we decided to take the ride.
Like other successful producers of that era, Super K had a good plan. They knew the market. Parents didn't want their 12 year old kids listening to Hendrix, The Stones, or Dylan. Jeff and Jerry knew their market. "Simon Says", "123 Red Light" and "Indian Giver" all achieved gold. Remember when a gold record was at least 1 million record sales?
With all the 'heavy' music out then, talking about drugs, sex and rebellion, it made parents uncomfortable. Most parents were aware of what was going on. Remember the older entertainers like Sammy Davis wearing Nehru jackets and beads and some letting their hair get a little longer? Bubblegum music became an alternative to the serious, political, sexual, drug music of the period. A certain part of the public was ready for music that was just fun, without thought provoking content. That's what Bubblegum music represented. A departure from that music.
Floyd Marcus
(original member of The 1910 Fruitgum Company)
Hi Kent,
Thank you for your interest. Goody Goody Gumdrops is a very happy song. Frank Jeckell does the lead on it these days and we re-recorded a number of the hits with a little more energy than the originals. We are doing well and performing wherever we can. We will be heading to Vegas again soon and have a number of gigs lined up for this season. The act consists of original member and founder, Frank Jeckell, his friend and partner Mick Mansueto on lead vocals, Glenn Lewis, Bass player and vocals, Bob Brescia, keys and vocals, Oscar Dominguez on keys, and Phil Thorstenson on Drums and vocals.
We are alive and well and looking to get to the UK for a tour ...
Thanks so much for the help.
Mick,
WWW.1910FRUITGUMCOMPANY.COM
A revamped version of The 1910 Fruit Gum Company (with original member Frank Jeckell) are still recording and performing today. You can find ALL of the latest information on these guys at their official website:
Click here: 1910 Fruitgum Company
During their hey-day, The 1910 Fruit Gum Company toured with big name acts like The Beach Boys and Sly and the Family Stone. (Remember ... this was a time when ALL this great music was heard side-by-side on the radio! And really, why not??? These guys had three Top Five million selling hits under their OWN belts!!!) We also found a great bit of trivia that's sure to make you smile in an interview that Floyd Marcus did with Carl Wiser, our buddy from Songfacts:
Before we became the Fruitgum Company, we used to do everything from Hendrix and Cream and The Rascals, and Motown, and Steppenwolf, and The Stones, Marvin Gaye. We did all of that. We did Vanilla Fudge, for instance. And there was a time when we came to a town and Vanilla Fudge was supposed to be playing at this venue, and they cancelled, and who do they put in there but The 1910 Fruitgum Company. So when the local DJ announced that we were going to perform, there was a lot of booing. They didn't like the fact that Vanilla Fudge "You Keep Me Hanging On" was going to be replaced by us. But the DJ was a nice guy, and he happened to go out and he said, "Well, give these guys a chance. You know, really." And we decided to do "You Keep Me Hanging On" because we had done it a long time. And by the time we got through that and did a few other songs, we really surprised the audience. We won them over and they were really on our side.
(You can read the COMPLETE Songfacts / Floyd Marcus interview here):
Click here: Songfacts Interviews: Floyd Marcus (1910 Fruitgum Co.)
DIDJAKNOW?: The 1910 Fruit Gum Company first formed as "Dr. Jeckell and the Hydes". It makes sense ... since the guitarist / founding member's name was Frank Jeckell!!!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Goody Goody
Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers scored one of rock and roll's first teenage anthems (and created a doo-wop classic) when "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" hit the pop Top Ten (and topped Billboard's R & B Chart) back in the early months of 1956.
Lymon was all of 13 years old at the time ... but he was quickly livin' large, dating 25 year old women and building an insatiable drug habit that would ultimately take his life just thirteen years later.
Seems like EVERYBODY wanted a piece of Frankie ... women wanted to mother him, make him a man, or catch a free ride on the Frankie Lymon Express to sex, drugs and rock and roll. When he died, no less than THREE women claimed to be his rightful heirs ... AND his WIFE!!! (If you've never seen the film "Why Do Fools Fall In Love", you NEED to check it out ... it's about as fun-filled a romp through one of the saddest stories of rock and roll as has ever been told.)
Although "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" would be their biggest hit, it was not their ONLY Top 40 Hit on the pop charts. The follow-up single, "I Want You To Be My Girl" went to #17 on Billboard's Top 100 Chart, "I Promise To Remember" hit #33 in Cash Box, "The ABC's of Love" just missed, peaking at #42 in Cash Box and today's featured hit, "Goody Goody", hit #20. (Despite this chart success, the Frankie Lymon clip you're MOST likely to see in any good rock and roll documentary is of The Teenagers performing "I'm Not A Juvenile Delinquent", featured in the film "Rock, Rock, Rock". The group also appeared in the film "Mister Rock 'n' Roll" and were inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1993.)
"Goody Goody" was a remake of a song that first hit #1 for Benny Goodman way back in 1936. It was promoted as Frankie's first solo single but, despite its familiarity and its Top 20 chart status, you'll RARELY hear it featured on oldies radio today.
But here in Forgotten Hits, it's just another one of this week's "Goodies" ... so enjoy!!!
The Frankie Lymon Story: Other than a remake of "Little Bitty Pretty One", released in 1960, Frankie Lymon would never hit the pop charts again. (Once his voice changed ... and the drug use started ... he was no longer the "cute" little teenager whose undeniable appeal helped launch the group's success in the first place. For all intents and purposes, Frankie was the ORIGINAL Michael Jackson!) The group's initial success spurred controversy right from the start ... virtually EVERYBODY connected with the group claimed at least part ownership and writing credit of "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" ... variously published accounts credit everyone from a girl named Dolores, who had written a poem called "Why Do Birds Sing So Gay" that the band reportedly reworked into their signature street corner serenade to band members Jimmy Merchant, Herman Santiago and Frankie Lymon ... to label A & R Man George Goldner (who reportedly changed the title of that poem-set-to-music to "Why Do Fools Fall In Love") to renown Roulette label chief (and infamous con man) Morris Levy, whose name ultimately ended up on the publishing alongside Lymon's. (At various times, ALL of these folks received at least SOME amount of songwriting credit. In fact, it was the release of Diana Ross' 1981 remake of "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" ... and the potential royalties thereof ... that promoted THREE of Frankie's "widows" to come out of the woodwork swinging, each looking to stake THEIR claim for the legal share of the new songwriting royalties that Diana's Top Ten hit might generate!)
One has to wonder if The Teenagers ever really had a chance ... as early as their first recording session, the record company powers that be were trying to single Frankie out as the star of the group, immediately starting dissension amongst the band members, who felt that too many people were already whispering in Frankie's ear. (Reportedly, the song was originally sung by Herman Santiago at the group's initial audition. Goldner asked Frankie to give the lead vocal a shot and then signed the group that same day based on what he heard. The record was released as "The Teenagers featuring Frankie Lymon" with Frankie's name TWICE as large when printed on the label, fueling even MORE friction between his delegated "background singers".) Nevertheless, "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" became an immediate hit and the band was soon all over the radio, on TV, touring as part of Alan Freed's road show and then very quickly appearing in the two aforementioned Alan Freed films. Two tours of The U.K. in 1957 helped to solidify the group's popularity there, where "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" had topped the charts the year before. (They even did a special "Command Performance" for Princess Margaret in The Queen's Chambers!) While in England, Frankie went into the studio alone to cut some new tracks ... without The Teenagers. (Reportedly, the band was led to believe that they would add THEIR voices upon their return to The States ... but this never happened.) A live album recorded in London, originally to be titled "Frankie Lymon And The Teenagers At The London Palladium) was later released as simply "Frankie Lymon At The London Palladium". To help soften the blow, Roulette Records (now their new record label) kept The Teenagers on as recording artists but they never had another hit record. (At one point, they were encouraged to find a new lead singer ... Billy Lobrano filled the bill on the single "Flip Flop" ... which is EXACTLY what it did!) By 1959, Frankie's voice had changed so much that the label was rejecting more material than it was releasing ... in fact, his last charted single, "Little Bitty Pretty One", had actually been recorded two years EARLIER for the "Rock 'N' Roll" album ... most likely, Roulette was hoping to capitalize on the "old" Frankie Lymon sound. It worked to a degree ... the single peaked at #45. Meanwhile, The Teenagers continued to try new lead singers (Kenny Bobo, Johnny Houston) in search of new success, but it never happened. By 1964, Frankie was regularly being busted for drug use ... at various times, he claimed that he first smoked marijuana in grade school, started heroin in 1959 (at the age of 17) and was introduced to any variety of drugs during the first major Teenagers tour of 1956. One of his most famous arrests came after he broke into a recording studio and stole the drums, trying to turn them into some quick cash to support his habit. In 1966, it looked like Frankie was trying to turn his life around. He enlisted in the U.S. Army and even entered a rehab program. A brand new manager booked him for an appearance on the hot new television show "Hullabaloo". (Prior to this, Frankie's TV appearances the past several years usually consisted of him lip-synching to recordings of his old hits as he could no longer hit those notes after his voice ... and life-style change.) By all outward appearances, it seemed that Frankie was on the road to recovery ... he had even landed a brand new recording contract. It seems all that much more of a shame that, while home on leave in 1968 ... and on the night before his scheduled "comeback" recording session, Frankie gave himself a celebratory injection ... for the very last time.
DIDJAKNOW?: Back in 1957, while on tour in Canada, a young kid approached Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers backstage with a song he had written that he thought would be PERFECT for them. The band wasn't interested ... so sixteen-year-old Paul Anka went ahead and recorded "Diana" himself instead!!!
Lymon was all of 13 years old at the time ... but he was quickly livin' large, dating 25 year old women and building an insatiable drug habit that would ultimately take his life just thirteen years later.
Seems like EVERYBODY wanted a piece of Frankie ... women wanted to mother him, make him a man, or catch a free ride on the Frankie Lymon Express to sex, drugs and rock and roll. When he died, no less than THREE women claimed to be his rightful heirs ... AND his WIFE!!! (If you've never seen the film "Why Do Fools Fall In Love", you NEED to check it out ... it's about as fun-filled a romp through one of the saddest stories of rock and roll as has ever been told.)
Although "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" would be their biggest hit, it was not their ONLY Top 40 Hit on the pop charts. The follow-up single, "I Want You To Be My Girl" went to #17 on Billboard's Top 100 Chart, "I Promise To Remember" hit #33 in Cash Box, "The ABC's of Love" just missed, peaking at #42 in Cash Box and today's featured hit, "Goody Goody", hit #20. (Despite this chart success, the Frankie Lymon clip you're MOST likely to see in any good rock and roll documentary is of The Teenagers performing "I'm Not A Juvenile Delinquent", featured in the film "Rock, Rock, Rock". The group also appeared in the film "Mister Rock 'n' Roll" and were inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1993.)
"Goody Goody" was a remake of a song that first hit #1 for Benny Goodman way back in 1936. It was promoted as Frankie's first solo single but, despite its familiarity and its Top 20 chart status, you'll RARELY hear it featured on oldies radio today.
But here in Forgotten Hits, it's just another one of this week's "Goodies" ... so enjoy!!!
The Frankie Lymon Story: Other than a remake of "Little Bitty Pretty One", released in 1960, Frankie Lymon would never hit the pop charts again. (Once his voice changed ... and the drug use started ... he was no longer the "cute" little teenager whose undeniable appeal helped launch the group's success in the first place. For all intents and purposes, Frankie was the ORIGINAL Michael Jackson!) The group's initial success spurred controversy right from the start ... virtually EVERYBODY connected with the group claimed at least part ownership and writing credit of "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" ... variously published accounts credit everyone from a girl named Dolores, who had written a poem called "Why Do Birds Sing So Gay" that the band reportedly reworked into their signature street corner serenade to band members Jimmy Merchant, Herman Santiago and Frankie Lymon ... to label A & R Man George Goldner (who reportedly changed the title of that poem-set-to-music to "Why Do Fools Fall In Love") to renown Roulette label chief (and infamous con man) Morris Levy, whose name ultimately ended up on the publishing alongside Lymon's. (At various times, ALL of these folks received at least SOME amount of songwriting credit. In fact, it was the release of Diana Ross' 1981 remake of "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" ... and the potential royalties thereof ... that promoted THREE of Frankie's "widows" to come out of the woodwork swinging, each looking to stake THEIR claim for the legal share of the new songwriting royalties that Diana's Top Ten hit might generate!)
One has to wonder if The Teenagers ever really had a chance ... as early as their first recording session, the record company powers that be were trying to single Frankie out as the star of the group, immediately starting dissension amongst the band members, who felt that too many people were already whispering in Frankie's ear. (Reportedly, the song was originally sung by Herman Santiago at the group's initial audition. Goldner asked Frankie to give the lead vocal a shot and then signed the group that same day based on what he heard. The record was released as "The Teenagers featuring Frankie Lymon" with Frankie's name TWICE as large when printed on the label, fueling even MORE friction between his delegated "background singers".) Nevertheless, "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" became an immediate hit and the band was soon all over the radio, on TV, touring as part of Alan Freed's road show and then very quickly appearing in the two aforementioned Alan Freed films. Two tours of The U.K. in 1957 helped to solidify the group's popularity there, where "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" had topped the charts the year before. (They even did a special "Command Performance" for Princess Margaret in The Queen's Chambers!) While in England, Frankie went into the studio alone to cut some new tracks ... without The Teenagers. (Reportedly, the band was led to believe that they would add THEIR voices upon their return to The States ... but this never happened.) A live album recorded in London, originally to be titled "Frankie Lymon And The Teenagers At The London Palladium) was later released as simply "Frankie Lymon At The London Palladium". To help soften the blow, Roulette Records (now their new record label) kept The Teenagers on as recording artists but they never had another hit record. (At one point, they were encouraged to find a new lead singer ... Billy Lobrano filled the bill on the single "Flip Flop" ... which is EXACTLY what it did!) By 1959, Frankie's voice had changed so much that the label was rejecting more material than it was releasing ... in fact, his last charted single, "Little Bitty Pretty One", had actually been recorded two years EARLIER for the "Rock 'N' Roll" album ... most likely, Roulette was hoping to capitalize on the "old" Frankie Lymon sound. It worked to a degree ... the single peaked at #45. Meanwhile, The Teenagers continued to try new lead singers (Kenny Bobo, Johnny Houston) in search of new success, but it never happened. By 1964, Frankie was regularly being busted for drug use ... at various times, he claimed that he first smoked marijuana in grade school, started heroin in 1959 (at the age of 17) and was introduced to any variety of drugs during the first major Teenagers tour of 1956. One of his most famous arrests came after he broke into a recording studio and stole the drums, trying to turn them into some quick cash to support his habit. In 1966, it looked like Frankie was trying to turn his life around. He enlisted in the U.S. Army and even entered a rehab program. A brand new manager booked him for an appearance on the hot new television show "Hullabaloo". (Prior to this, Frankie's TV appearances the past several years usually consisted of him lip-synching to recordings of his old hits as he could no longer hit those notes after his voice ... and life-style change.) By all outward appearances, it seemed that Frankie was on the road to recovery ... he had even landed a brand new recording contract. It seems all that much more of a shame that, while home on leave in 1968 ... and on the night before his scheduled "comeback" recording session, Frankie gave himself a celebratory injection ... for the very last time.
DIDJAKNOW?: Back in 1957, while on tour in Canada, a young kid approached Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers backstage with a song he had written that he thought would be PERFECT for them. The band wasn't interested ... so sixteen-year-old Paul Anka went ahead and recorded "Diana" himself instead!!!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Another Week Of Forgotten Hits Goodies
We've got another week of Forgotten Hits goodies planned for you ... kicking off with this one BY The Goodees!!!
Judy Williams, Kay Evans and Sandra Johnson formed their all-girl trio in Memphis ... and in early 1969 they took their ONLY Top 40 Hit, "Condition Red", up to #38 in Cash Box Magazine ... and all the way to #15 here in Chicago. (It "stopped short" in Billboard, peaking at #46.)
One of the last of the "Girl Group" records, it pretty much recycles The Shangri-Las' "Leader of the Pack" theme ... misunderstood teenage love, ended by a fatal car crash. (Only problem is, it wasn't NEARLY as good or commercial sounding as the #1 original it seemed to mimic!)
I'm honestly surprised the record did as well as it did ... it's pretty cheezy sounding, right down to the ripped-off "Leader Of The Pack" sound effects. By 1969, we'd already "been there, done that" ... but, with that said, doesn't this deserve at least ONE play per year on an oldies station??? Hopefully some of the jocks on the list will see fit to feature "Condition Red" on one of their programs this week!
Judy Williams, Kay Evans and Sandra Johnson formed their all-girl trio in Memphis ... and in early 1969 they took their ONLY Top 40 Hit, "Condition Red", up to #38 in Cash Box Magazine ... and all the way to #15 here in Chicago. (It "stopped short" in Billboard, peaking at #46.)
One of the last of the "Girl Group" records, it pretty much recycles The Shangri-Las' "Leader of the Pack" theme ... misunderstood teenage love, ended by a fatal car crash. (Only problem is, it wasn't NEARLY as good or commercial sounding as the #1 original it seemed to mimic!)
I'm honestly surprised the record did as well as it did ... it's pretty cheezy sounding, right down to the ripped-off "Leader Of The Pack" sound effects. By 1969, we'd already "been there, done that" ... but, with that said, doesn't this deserve at least ONE play per year on an oldies station??? Hopefully some of the jocks on the list will see fit to feature "Condition Red" on one of their programs this week!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Wrapping Up Boss Week (Part 6)
I added a chapter to our 2003 "Boss Week" Special this time around so that I could feature ANOTHER great Springsteen "Tribute" track.
This one has become quite a Forgotten Hits Favorite over the past several years. It's done by a band called Big Daddy ... and we've recounted the premise of THEIR existence several times in the past.
In a nutshell, the whole idea was that this '50's cover band (called Big Daddy, naturally) was out on tour when (as explained on their debut album):
"While on a USO tour of Southeast Asia in 1959, Big Daddy was captured by Communist forces and held captive until the mid-'80's, at which time they were rescued by C.I.A. forces and subsequently returned to the United States. While being held at Camp David for de-briefing, they were given sheet music of contemporary hit songs so that they could rebuild their repertoire and get back to the only work they knew ... making music. Of course, not having heard the evolution of rock music during the quarter century they spent imprisoned in the jungles of Laos, they arranged and performed these songs the only way they knew how ... in the classic styles of the 1950's. Rhino Records got wind of the recordings made by Big Daddy at Camp David recording studio and immediately signed them and released the album ... hey, it could've happened!!!"
It was a VERY clever concept that I ALWAYS thought would have made for an EXCELLENT movie! (Of course, that never happened ... but Big Daddy DID develop quite a "cult" following over the years ... including THIS very big fan right here.)
NOTE: I found out later that in 1991, screenwriter Ira Hefler wrote a script based on the whole captivity story ... and "Big Daddy ... Stranded In The Jungle" ran for eight weeks at The Groundlings Theatre in West Hollywood.
One of their first releases was Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing In The Dark". While the single never charted here in The States, it DID reach The Top 20 in Great Britain, where Big Daddy was touring at the time.
(If you've never heard this before, you're in for a real treat ... incredibly, they imagined this with a "Pat Boone Treatment" ... and it actually WORKS!!!)
Sit back and enjoy the Big Daddy version of Dancing In The Dark ... and thanks again for sticking with us all week long for our Tribute to Bruce Springsteen!!!
This one has become quite a Forgotten Hits Favorite over the past several years. It's done by a band called Big Daddy ... and we've recounted the premise of THEIR existence several times in the past.
In a nutshell, the whole idea was that this '50's cover band (called Big Daddy, naturally) was out on tour when (as explained on their debut album):
"While on a USO tour of Southeast Asia in 1959, Big Daddy was captured by Communist forces and held captive until the mid-'80's, at which time they were rescued by C.I.A. forces and subsequently returned to the United States. While being held at Camp David for de-briefing, they were given sheet music of contemporary hit songs so that they could rebuild their repertoire and get back to the only work they knew ... making music. Of course, not having heard the evolution of rock music during the quarter century they spent imprisoned in the jungles of Laos, they arranged and performed these songs the only way they knew how ... in the classic styles of the 1950's. Rhino Records got wind of the recordings made by Big Daddy at Camp David recording studio and immediately signed them and released the album ... hey, it could've happened!!!"
It was a VERY clever concept that I ALWAYS thought would have made for an EXCELLENT movie! (Of course, that never happened ... but Big Daddy DID develop quite a "cult" following over the years ... including THIS very big fan right here.)
NOTE: I found out later that in 1991, screenwriter Ira Hefler wrote a script based on the whole captivity story ... and "Big Daddy ... Stranded In The Jungle" ran for eight weeks at The Groundlings Theatre in West Hollywood.
One of their first releases was Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing In The Dark". While the single never charted here in The States, it DID reach The Top 20 in Great Britain, where Big Daddy was touring at the time.
(If you've never heard this before, you're in for a real treat ... incredibly, they imagined this with a "Pat Boone Treatment" ... and it actually WORKS!!!)
Sit back and enjoy the Big Daddy version of Dancing In The Dark ... and thanks again for sticking with us all week long for our Tribute to Bruce Springsteen!!!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Boss Week Continues (Part 5)
In 1983, when the movie "Eddie And The Cruisers" was first released in theaters, it got very little attention. In fact, the first singles released from the soundtrack, "On The Dark Side" and "Tender Years", both bombed, peaking at #64 and #75 respectively. However, when the movie began running on cable (at up to six or seven times a week), it found a whole new audience. The soundtrack album started selling like crazy, eventually peaking at #9 and going triple-platinum!
Scotti Brothers Records quickly re-released the singles "On The Dark Side" and "Tender Years" and THIS time both records made The Top 40. In fact, "On The Dark Side" went all the way to #7! ("Tender Years", MY personal favorite, stopped at #29.)
The movie told the tale of a rock band from New Jersey that found overnight fame once Satin Records signed them to a recording contract. Led by actors Michael Pare and Tom Berenger, the movie takes us through the fictitious career of Eddie and the Cruisers. All of the musical numbers are provided by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, a Bruce Spingsteen sound-alike outfit from Rhode Island who, prior to recording the movie soundtrack, made a career of playing Springsteen covers (and sound-alike originals) in the bar circuit up and down the East Coast. (The truth is, the music from the film, with its wailing Clarence Clemons-like sax solos, sounds a WHOLE lot more like 1983 than 1963, when the whole Cruisers phenomenon was supposed to have taken place ... but the intriguing premise of Eddie disappearing ... his car went off a bridge but the body was never found ... along with the search for the missing tapes of their unreleased "Season In Hell" follow-up album ... and the fact / hope that, since Eddie's body was never found, he just MIGHT still be alive ... made for an interesting documentary of speculation, ala Jim Morrison of The Doors. In fact, the scene where the record label executive tells Eddie Wilson that the new music was crap ... the fans won't want this new stuff ... they want more "On The Dark Side" ... plays exactly like the Brian Wilson / Beach Boys real-life "Pet Sounds" scenario we told you about a few months back ... all the way down to the band members telling Eddie that even THEY don't "get" the new music ... in fact, a classic line by Sal, the bass player, proclaims "We ain't great ... we're just some guys from Jersey!")
The truth is, quite a few folks out there thought the story was true. I had a mail-order record business at the time, and received SEVERAL orders for the original "Eddie and the Cruisers" album. When I shipped the soundtrack, people mailed it back saying that they already had THAT album ... they wanted the original LP shown in the movie! I had a heck of a time convincing these customers that the movie was FICTION ... that the only album that existed WAS the soundtrack! If I had a nickel for every angry, disillusioned customer whose bubble I burst with this reality shock, I'd probably have an extra forty-five cents in my pocket right now!
John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band managed a couple of other hits under their own name: "Tough All Over" went to #20 and "C-I-T-Y" peaked at #18, both in 1985. A horrible movie sequel ("Eddie Lives!") also featured the band's music and both a live LP as well as an album of movie soundtrack left-overs were also released under the Eddie and the Cruisers pseudonym.
Cafferty also went on to score a couple of movie music / minor hits with songs featured in Sylvester Stallone movies. ("Hearts On Fire" from "Rocky IV" hit #69 and "Voice Of America's Sons" from "Cobra" went to #52 .)
"Tender Years" is a personal favorite of mine from the original "Eddie and the Cruisers" film. The movie shows the song take shape as they first work out the original arrangement and then later appears in its fully realized form in a concert sequence. (It's also sung again later in the film by Eddie's girlfriend after their sax player Wendell dies and Eddie is too broken up emotionally to perform on stage that night.) It just may be the prettiest ballad ever that Bruce Springsteen didn't write!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Boss Week Continues! (Part 4)
After his first U.S. hit single Speak To The Sky went to #14 in 1972, Australian-born Rick Springfield had to wait nearly ten years to place another hit in the American Top 20. But when he finally did, it went all the way to #1.
Jessie's Girl topped the charts in late spring / early summer of 1981 and started a string of comeback hits that included The Top 20 Hits I've Done Everything For You (#8, 1981); Love Is Alright Tonight (#20, 1982); Don't Talk To Strangers (#2, 1982); What Kind Fool Am I (#19, 1982); Affair Of The Heart (#9, 1983); Human Touch (#18, 1983); Love Somebody (#3, 1984) and Bop 'Til You Drop (#20, 1984).
During the in-between years, he carved out quite a teen-idol career for himself playing Dr. Noah Drake on the daytime soap opera General Hospital. And, in 1985 (as his pop chart career was just starting to slow down), Mercury Records released the very cleverly written track "Bruce" as a single.
Bruce was first recorded back in 1978 at a time when Springfield couldn't buy a hit. It told (in a humorous way) of his frustrations of constantly being mistaken for Bruce Springsteen who, at the time, was in the midst of launching an ENORMOUS career.
Springfield wrote the track with tongue planted firmly in cheek, yet it was never officially released at the time ... in fact, the picture sleeve came with a disclaimer explaining that, although the original 1978 vocals were used, "all new contemporary music tracks" were recorded "without Rick's involvement."
Imagine Springfield's surprise, then, when the single went all the way to #26!
It's all part of our "Tribute to Bruce Springsteen Week" here in Forgotten Hits!
Jessie's Girl topped the charts in late spring / early summer of 1981 and started a string of comeback hits that included The Top 20 Hits I've Done Everything For You (#8, 1981); Love Is Alright Tonight (#20, 1982); Don't Talk To Strangers (#2, 1982); What Kind Fool Am I (#19, 1982); Affair Of The Heart (#9, 1983); Human Touch (#18, 1983); Love Somebody (#3, 1984) and Bop 'Til You Drop (#20, 1984).
During the in-between years, he carved out quite a teen-idol career for himself playing Dr. Noah Drake on the daytime soap opera General Hospital. And, in 1985 (as his pop chart career was just starting to slow down), Mercury Records released the very cleverly written track "Bruce" as a single.
Bruce was first recorded back in 1978 at a time when Springfield couldn't buy a hit. It told (in a humorous way) of his frustrations of constantly being mistaken for Bruce Springsteen who, at the time, was in the midst of launching an ENORMOUS career.
Springfield wrote the track with tongue planted firmly in cheek, yet it was never officially released at the time ... in fact, the picture sleeve came with a disclaimer explaining that, although the original 1978 vocals were used, "all new contemporary music tracks" were recorded "without Rick's involvement."
Imagine Springfield's surprise, then, when the single went all the way to #26!
It's all part of our "Tribute to Bruce Springsteen Week" here in Forgotten Hits!
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