Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Channeling Karen Carpenter

re: THE CARPENTERS:
Truly incredible! I started the video and after about 15 seconds I asked my wife to come take a look at this Japanese girl channeling Karen Carpenter. Her immediate reply was "I thought it *was* Karen Carpenter."
David Lewis
Frannie did the exact same thing. I started playing the clip while she was in the other room ... I then began to describe what I was watching and she had to come in here to see it for herself. Nothing short of amazing! (kk)   

Kent,
Enjoyed the video of the singer doing the Carpenter's tune.
Larry   

Keiko Toge is simply amazing! With the exception of "Goodbye to Love" and maybe a couple of others, the Carpenter' songs are not among my favorites, but this made my eyes water.
Dube
"Goodbye To Love" is my all-time favorite Carpenters song, too ... we covered it quite extensively a while back in FH. Keiko Toge definitely has a talent in mimicking Karen Carpenter's voice ... but she'll have to prove she can do more than that to make a dent in this crazy business. That being said, it was quite remarkable to hear ... that's why I just HAD to share it! (kk)   

You'll find her official website here:  
Click here: OFFICIAL WEBSITE      

Richard Carpenter ought to snatch her up and present a program showcasing "The Music of The Carpenters" ... then all her fans could enjoy hearing these songs performed again they way they were meant to sound, with Richard's lush arrangements.  It would give him new purpose and give Carpenters fans worldwide the chance to experience that "sound" again.
Jo Ann
I think Carpenters fans (and perhaps even Richard) might find that just a little bit creepy.  There's really no replacing Karen, no matter how incredible this girl's voice sounds.  However, we DID find a pretty remarkable clip of Keiko meeting Richard Carpenter, performing what Richard says was Karen's favorite Carpenters song. Pretty amazing ... when you watch her talk before the song starts, you cannot help but wonder if she even understands what she's singing ... or if she's simply singing phonetically ... yet whatever the real case may be, she still nails it perfectly!  
Click here: Keiko Toge imitating Karen Carpenter with Richard's blessing | Video Youtube - NMETV Latest Music Videos and Clips
It's REALLY sad when Richard mentions that some of the younger Japanese fans buying The Carpenters' "22 Greatest Hits" album may not even be aware that Karen has passed on ... and that some are even hopeful that they'll come back to Japan and tour.  It truly was a unique and magical sound.  (kk)    

When I asked Karen Carpenter about their song "Sweet Sweet Smile" (which had sadly only climbed to 44 on the Hot 100 a few months earlier in 1978), her eyes lit up as she told me with great delight how she had found the song and considered it's writer a bright new talent with a very hopeful future. That writer turned out to be Juice Newton, whose career as a hitmaker in her own right did not take off until 1981 -- two years before we lost Karen.
Gary Theroux
It's a Forgotten Hit to be sure ... but one of my favorite up-tempo tunes by the pop duo.  Honestly, it sounded good hearing it again.  (As we recently discussed, when K-Hits counted down The Top 40 Artists of the '70's a few weeks ago, they removed The Carpenters from the list!  Why kind of "truth in broadcasting" is THAT?!?!?)
Like 'em or not, The Carpenters scored TWENTY Top 40 Billboard Hits!  Add the Cash Box and Record World charts into the mix and The Carpenters had an incredible SEVEN #1 National Hits:  "Close To You", 
"We've Only Just Begun", "Superstar", "Hurting Each Other", "Yesterday Once More", "Top Of The World" and "Please Mr. Postman".  How the heck do you take THEM off the list ... and pretend like they never happened?!?!?  More genius broadcasting!  (kk)  

When I found the Japanese Karen Carpenter sound-alike I also found this interesting story about the origins of The Carpenters' most famous Christmas song, "Merry Christmas Darling" ..

Richard Carpenter composed the music for this song in 1966 when he was 19 years old. Frank Pooler wrote the lyrics twenty years earlier, in 1946, when he also was only 19 years old. The song Pooler had written was to be a Christmas gift for his girlriend, whom he was missing while being away from her during a visit with his parents at Christmas time. Sadly, their relationship ended before he could present it to her.
Twenty years later, Pooler was the choir director at California State University in Long Beach, when both Karen and Richard Carpenter were members of the choir. Richard and Karen were performing locally and had tired of playing the usual Christmas fare. Richard asked Pooler, their favorite professor, if he had any ideas for different songs.
Pooler remembered the Christmas song he had written many years before and mentioned it to Richard, adding that he didn't think much of the melody anymore. Richard said he would try his hand at writing new music for the lyrics. Within about 15 minutes he was finished creating a song, written by two teenagers who were a generation apart, that was destined to become a Christmas classic.
The song was first released as a single (yes, a 45) on November 20,1970, and earned gold record status. This song sparked the idea of a Christmas album by The Carpenters, and on October 13, 1978, "Christmas Portrait" was released with this newly recorded version of the song. Karen re-recorded her vocals for the album version as she felt that she could give the vocals a more mature treatment. This newly recorded version was presented on their TV Christmas special in 1978, as seen here, and became a hit all over again.    

TODAY'S FORGOTTEN HIT: 
Radio programmers today have taught us that Carly Simon was a One Hit Wonder. Now granted, her chart-topping "You're So Vain" was a MONSTER hit ... but how do you ignore her other eleven Top 40 Hits?
Even before many of us were bringing her "No Secrets" album into the bathroom with us ... ya know, to read the liner notes ... Carly had scored with "That's The Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" (#7, 1971) and "Anticipation" (#10, 1972), which is probably now best remembered as a ketchup commercial instead of the sizeable pop hit it was.
Other hits followed "You're So Vain" up the charts:  "The Right Thing To Do" (#10, 1973); "Mockingbird" (#3, 1974, a duet with husband James Taylor); "Haven't Got Time For The Pain" (#7, 1974); "Attitude Dancing" (#21, 1975); "Nobody Does It Better" (her James Bond Movie Theme that peaked at #2 in 1977); "You Belong To Me" (#6, 1978); "Devoted To You" (another James Taylor duet that reached #34); "Jesse" (#6, 1980) and "Coming Around Again" (#18, 1987) were all radio staples back in the day ... but today have been completely forgotten.
To make matters worse, "You're So Vain" falls into the "over-played" category.  (We actually got sick of this song in 1973 because it was played so often, wringing every last drop of creativity out of it even then!  Yes, it's a great song ... but NOT one we need to hear four or five times a day ... for nearly 40 years!)
So today we're going to feature another Top Ten Hit that deserves a spin once in awhile.  (kk) 
 
Posted by at

Monday, November 12, 2012

More Great Forgotten Hits


re: ANOTHER PASSING:  
Got this from FH Reader Tom Cuddy:  

R&B Singer Major Harris Dead at 65
Helped make the 'Philadelphia sound' as solo artist and member of the Delfonics
Major Harris, an R&B singer who helped develop the silky, funk-inflected "Philadelphia sound" as a member of the Delfonics and in his solo career, died on Friday at the age of 65, the Associated Press reports. According to his sister, Catherine Thomas, he died of congestive heart and lung failure in Richmond, Virginia.
Harris was born in Richmond on February 9th, 1947, the son of a guitarist and a church choir leader. During the 1960s, he lent his voice to various doo-wop and R&B groups including Charmers, the Teenagers (of Frankie Lymon fame), the Jarmels and Nat Turner's Rebellion. He joined the Delfonics after founding member Randy Cain left the group in 1971, and sang on their albums Tell Me This is a Dream and Alive and Kicking. In 1974, Harris also left the Delfonics to strike out on his own as a solo singer.
Harris' solo hits include "Love Won't Let Me Wait," which went to Number Five on Billboard's Hot 100, and "I Got Over Love." He later joined the Delfonics again as they regrouped for new projects beginning in the 1980s, including providing the backing vocals for Ghostface Killah's 1996 track "After the Smoke is Clear." In 2008, Harris contributed his vocals to Best of the Delphonics. His final performance was at a Delfonics reunion show in 2011.
"Love Won't Let Me Wait" is one of my favorite Soulful '70's songs ... always loved it ... and we had the pleasure of seeing Major Harris perform this song live in concert at a Soul Spectacular Concert about ten years ago. (At this point, he was back performing with The Delfonics again.) It also makes for the PERFECT "Today's Forgotten Hit" tune. As stated, a #5 Pop Hit in Billboard (it reached #3 on both the Cash Box and Record World charts), it also topped Billboard's R&B Singles Chart for a week. (kk)




Major Harris, one-time member of the Delfonics who achieved solo success afterwards, died of congestive heart and lung failure at a hospital in his home town of Richmond, Virginia, Friday (November 9). He was 65. While still a teenager, he began singing in such groups as Frankie Lymon's Teenagers and the Jarmels. His big break came in 1971, though, when he replaced Randy Cain in Philadelphia's Delfonics. Like the other groups, the Delfonics were past their prime at this point ("Tell Me This Is A Dream" was his biggest hit with them, reaching #86) but served as a showcase for Major's vocal skills, enabling him to land a contract with Atlantic Records in 1974. "Love Won't Let Me Wait" the following year peaked at #5, spending 18 weeks on Billboard's Hot 100. He followed it up with "Jealousy (#73 - 1976) and "Laid Back Love" (#91 - 1976), then disappeared again from the charts. However, that hit kept him working onstage until last year, both as a solo artist and with the Delfonics.
-- Ron Smith  

And one more from Ron ...   

Cleveland "Cleve" Duncan, lead singer of the Penguins, died early Wednesday (November 7) in Los Angeles at the age of 77. Cleve started the group in Los Angeles with tenor Dexter Tisby, bass Curtis Williams and baritone Bruce Tate in 1954. They named themselves after the Kool cigarettes cartoon penguin, Willie. Signing with Dootone Records the following year, the made their mark with their first release, the legendary "Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)" (#8 pop, #1 R&B), becoming only the second doo wop group (after the Chords) to make the pop top ten. The song was intended to be the B-side of the release, but DJs flipped the recording of "Hey Senorita" over. The Penguins signed with manager Buck Ram, who convinced Mercury Records to pick up the group's contract (after insisting they also sign another of his groups -- the Platters). Ironically, other than a re-issue of "Earth Angel" that "bubbled under" the charts at #101 in 1960, the Penguins never had another hit, while the Platters charted 45 times. Though they broke up in 1962, Cleve -- who owned the name -- re-formed the group for performances on the oldies circuit. They were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004.
-- Ron Smith

re: TODAY'S FORGOTTEN HIT:
Kent ...
One more music story from Bob Greene's book "Chevrolet Summers, Dairy Queen Nights."
Chapter # 99 finds Bob Greene walking through a public building on a recent trip.
He's listening to Muzak ... lushly orchestrated string arrangements of classic American tunes.
Take a song like "The Sound Of Music," have a tepid and bland orchestra do a quiet version of it, and you have Muzak. The song I was hearing was, indeed, soft and lush and filled with string arrangements. And I was almost sure what the song was:
"Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)."
You have to understand --- "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love), "briefly popular in the summer of 1966, was a raucous, prototypical bar song recorded by a raucous, prototypical garage band known as the
Swingin' Medallions. Their only hit and with good reason.
"There were only two things you could do while listening to "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)":
drink beer and throw up.
That's what the song was made for. And here it was on Muzak.
Bob called Muzak headquarters in Seattle. How could "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)" have gone from being a drink and vomit song to something that was carefully logged in the Muzak master computer ?
Mr. Funkhouser told Bob "that in recent years we have expanded our repertoire."
Bob was still upset.
Frank B.
Another great "Today's Forgotten Hit" suggestion ... man there are SO many of these great songs out there that radio never plays anymore! "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)" was a #13 (RW) Hit in 1966 ... and is pretty much considered to be a party anthem. I would LOVE to hear the Muzak version of this one! (lol) You really gotta wonder what the heck they were thinking! (Makes me want to read Bob's book again!) kk




 Oldies radio rarely plays "Sugar On Sunday" by The Clique ... and certainly never plays "I'll Hold Out My Hand", this band's other outing. Has this wonderful track been discussed on FH?
David Lewis
One of Frannie's all-time favorite songs, I've featured "Sugar On Sunday" a few times before in FH ... both the hit single version by The Clique and the Tommy James original. GREAT track ... GREAT suggestion. (You'll hear Scott Shannon dig this one out once in a while ... it's truly a "fan favorite" ... much like "Yellow River" by Christie, another tune that ALWAYS gets a great response when we feature it in Forgotten Hits. Seems to be these ought to be featured a little more often on the radio, too ... if only to break up the monotony of the same old / same old, day in and day out!) kk




 Great Stuff!
It was great to hear Bill Deal & the Rondells, greatly underappreciated, underplayed and underrated. The song by Skeeter Davis, "The End of the World", has been one of my favorites ever since I remember my Mom playig her L.P.s when I was a child. It takes on a new poignancy when I remember that it was written by Sylvia Dee shortly after her father died and that event was a big influence and inspiration for the song.
Your forgotten oldies has caused me to remember a great song that I haven't heard since it was popular for a short time after it was released. It was "Goodbye" by Mary Hopkin. If you could find that for your readers, I guarantee an "Oh Yeah" moment.
Dube
Honestly, it isn't all that often that you hear Mary's chart-topping hit "Those Were The Days" on the radio anymore ... so her #18 follow-up "Goodbye" (written and produced by Paul McCartney) has fallen off the radar completely! Happy to oblige ... I always liked this one, too! (A pretty simple song really ... but Macca could always craft a stick-in-your-head melody!) kk




Kent,
I enjoyed hearing Mercy again as a FH and also the FH by Nancy Wilson.
And oh yes, I remember CALIFORNIA GIRL by Tompall and the Glaser Brothers.  Written by Jack Clement with a flip of ALL THAT KEEPS YA GOIN', it made our local top 40 radio station's weekly survey in April of 1969 and was on the
survey for a few weeks.  
Larry
This may have been more of a Southern States sort of thing (although Phil Nee wrote in from Wisconsin where, I imagine, "Put Another Log On The Fire" probably also got some airplay, as it did here in Chicago.  "California Girl" peaked at #92 in Billboard (and it took four weeks to climb that high!  lol) so a new one on me (and a pretty obscure hit.)  Honestly, there are enough Top 20 Hits to go around to keep this thing going for months without ever having to dip that low on the charts to come up with a Forgotten Hit.  Radio has scaled down their playlist so far that nearly ANYTHING we offer will come as a welcome surprise!  (kk)


How about a few Top 10 WLS Chart Hit forgotten hits!!
Rev-Up - Manuel & Renegades
Don’t You Know - Keith Everett
Midnight Hour - (Milwaukee’s) Messengers
Ken
All good suggestions ... but we can't even get radio to play the National Top 20 Hits ... so we're NEVER gonna get them to play these local favorites. (However one of our LOCAL station, if only as a means to tie themselves to the rich radio history of this great city, certainly could play one of these once in a while.) My vote would go to Michael and the Messengers' version of "In The Midnight Hour" because it's the best known of the batch ... although personally I much prefer the Keith Everett gem "Don't You Know". (Baby steps, Ken ... at least we're getting some good reaction ... and some great suggestions ... to our recently resurrected feature!) kk
re: THIS AND THAT:
WDRV-FM does some of us a great service with "The Drive A-Z." I mean, where else do I get to hear Space Cowboy by Steve Miller, Space Oddity by Bowie and Space Truckin' by Deep Purple all in a row??!! That's euphoria.
Thank you, Clark Besch, one of our online treasure troves of sixties pop knowledge, for that mimeograph WORD survey - what a "capsule countdown" that would have been!
Clark - the entire "God Bless Tiny Tim" LP is fantastic. I think Khoury pandered to the adult crowd at least as smoothly as he did to the kids. Check out Gordon Alexander's wonderful "Strawberry Tea". That gorgeous tune led me to "Record City" where, lo and behold, I found Alexander's long obscure singer-songwriter LP on Columbia circa 1969. Groovy penner.
Heard the Stones' latest "Doom & Gloom" courtesy of WXRT yesterday -- nice!! Reminds me most of their Exile on Main St / Goat's Head Soup recordings.
Finally -- does anybody know who did the original "I've Been Hurt"? I have the 1967 45 by the Sensational Epics from when they were signed by Cameo. It's about as interesting, if not more so, as Bill Deal's version.
Happy Holidays to all of you!
Bobster  

Kent,
Take this to the bank. Several doo wop legends have told me this. I love Gary U.S. Bonds. In fact he guested on my mid 90's new york TV sports talk show several times.
Gary's rough-street-tough-garage band sound is absolutely unmistakable.
But, think about this ... how often do you hear Gary reference "Daddy G', a mean horn player whose influence on Gary can never be overlooked. "Uh, Go Go Daddy!"
The book I get is that Daddy G motivated Gary, provided him with career direction, and championed his sound. Daddy G should never be overlooked. The cat can play ... I mean flat out play.
Chet Coppock
Notre Dame football-WLS
Video contributor: Chicago Blackhawks
Noozebox.com
While he seems to have been overlooked on the national scene, Daddy G charted big here in Chicago with the hit "A Night With Daddy G", recorded by The Church Street Five ... which was simply the instrumental backing track to Gary "U.S." Bonds' #1 Hit "Quarter To Three". (You'll find both artists mentioned in the song lyrics!) The Church Street Five single reached #7 here in Chicago and was released as Legrand 1004 ... Bonds' hit "Quarter To Three" was released as Legrand 1008 ... and they're essentially the exact same song, simply with ... and without ... lyrics! (kk)



Posted by at

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Karen Carpenter Reincarnated (???)

This was just TOO amazing not to share ... 

 Yes, the Japanese accent creeps in once in a while ... 

 But listen to this tone.

 Flat out incredible!  (She clearly did her homework, seriously studying of all of the little nuances and inflections of Karen's unique vocal ability!)  But she also TOTALLY nailed it!!!

 Definitely worth passing along.






And a Carpenters' Forgotten Hit to boot!


Posted by at

Saturday, November 10, 2012

The Sunday Comments ( 11 - 11 - 12)

re: THIS AND THAT:   
According to Ron Smith's book, 11/11 is Jim Peterik's Birthday. You better wish him a Happy Birthday if you expect to get free tickets to his next concert.
Frank B.
Works for me ... Happy Birthday Jimbo ... who DOES have a concert coming up at the Arcada Theatre on January 19th which I wouldn't mind at all going to see!!! (lol) kk 

Ron Onesti's got quite a few great shows coming up at the Arcada ... you can check out the complete list here: Click here: Arcada Theatre | Oshows   

And, speaking of upcoming shows, I heard from Dennis Tufano this week, who'll be appearing December 1st along with original Chicago Drummer Danny Seraphine with 25or6to4, a Chicago tribute band. It's all part of a fund-raising benefit concert for St. Viators Arts in schools. More information can be found here for this one ... sounds like a fun night out (and all for a good cause):

 
New York, NY (November 5, 2012) – The Doors newly released LIVE AT THE BOWL ’68 makes an impressive debut at #1 on the Billboard Top Music Video Chart. LIVE AT THE BOWL ’68 features a newly restored version of the band’s the legendary 1968 Hollywood Bowl concert. For the first time, the film from the historic performance has been painstakingly restored using the original camera negatives and the audio has been remixed and mastered from original multi-tracks by the group’s engineer and co-producer Bruce Botnick. This new restoration offers a stunning visual upgrade from earlier versions and will give fans the closest experience to being there live alongside Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek, who opined, “You can hear it as if you were at the Hollywood Bowl, on stage with us.”
LIVE AT THE BOWL ’68 is available now on Blu-Ray ($19.98), DVD ($14.98), and digital video ($12.99) from Eagle Rock Entertainment and on CD ($18.98) and digital audio ($11.99) from Rhino. A double-LP ($34.98) of the show will be released on November 13.
LIVE AT THE BOWL ’68 will also debut theatrically later this week with several exclusive “one night only” screenings. The first screenings are set to begin on November 6 and will continue in select markets across the U.S. throughout the month of November. For a list of specific theaters and dates, please visit www.thedoors.com/liveatthebowl.html.
A trailer for the film can be viewed at http://youtu.be/o5nQr7fzS9Y.

With the latest James Bond movie opening (and some recent discussion here in Forgotten Hits, courtesy of Vic Flick, who played the legendary guitar leads on both "The James Bond Theme" and "Goldfinger"), we thought we'd share this list of The Top 40 Bond Girls. Enjoy ... and let the debates begin!!! (kk)
 
And, speaking of movies ...
Kent ...
We used to call DJ Murray The K the fifth Beatle.
To be more accurate, he called himself the fifth Beatle.
Frank B.
The Tom Hanks film should be interesting ... he pretty much mimicked much of The Beatles' sudden rise to success in his "That Thing You Do" movie about the one-hit Wonders. (kk)


I appreciate the Chicago stories whether anyone else does or not. BTW, Bob Sirrott and his wife do an excellent Sunday night radio show on WGN AM at 10 PM -- always a Chicago story!!
Clark Besch
I was TOTALLY shocked to see an email from Bob Sirott, egging us on in our battle against boring radio. VERY cool. (I'm a long-time fan) You just never know who's reading Forgotten Hits these days! (It's really pretty amazing ... to come from work after a long day, sit down and watch Bob on Fox News at night, knowing that earlier that day he took time out of his busy schedule to shoot me an email!!! Guys like Chet Coppock, too, who once told me they were going over my list of two-sided hits in the broadcast booth for some football game he was covering! I grew up here hanging on these guys' every word ... so it's really pretty frickin' amazing!!! Who would have thought?!?!?) kk

My old friend James Marvell of the group Mercy is featured in a segment of My Raw Deal. Visit myrawdeal.com and click on "Celebrity Dirt." View James's story, and vote for him if you think he should win. In the video James mentions moving to Nashville along with bandmate Buddy Goode. This was fall, 1970. James and Buddy and their manager John Centinaro rented a room in the place a high-school friend of mine lived, and I enjoyed visiting with these guys, learning about having a number two hit 18 months prior and having no money. James and Buddy went into a Nashville studio and recorded a 45, calling themselves "Together", on the Cent Records label. I clearly remember the night in December, 1970, when we piled into my '64 Valiant and drove to the WMAK studio. Being a Saturday night, Scott wasn't on the air, but we hung out with Saturday night guy Mike Donegan. He listened to the record on the audition monitor, said he liked it, and aired it right then and there! It went nowhere, but it got played on the number one station in the market, and there's no way anything resembling that could happen on radio today.
David Lewis
Another GREAT Forgotten Hit suggestion ... "Love (Can Make You Happy)" was a #2 Smash ... and a beautiful song ... yet you rarely if ever get to hear it anymore. Great story by James by the way! (Now I want to hear "She's Got Bad Breath"!!! lol Carl Bonafide is a Forgotten Hits reader ... any chance you've got a copy of this to share with us, Carl?!?!?) Sadly this is a story that's been told FAR too many times in the music industry. (kk)



Kent,
I am sure everyone will love the video of Freddie Cannon doing "Tallahassee Lassie" on Bandstand circa 1964. That guy was just great!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk4iqt8B4Fw&feature=plcp


>>>Just last week we had Tiny Tim doing "Great Balls of Fire". (Jeff James)
Has anyone ever tried playing "The Other Side" from (appropriately) the B side of his 1968 Lp "God Bless Tiny Tim"?? Pretty psychedelic stuff from the guy! I opened my radio show with it once. Probably lost all my listeners!! It was a Halloween show, I believe. Of course, we now know that the ice caps really ARE melting. Tiny ahead of his time ... again. Try this on for size and imagine you are back smoking a joint again as you listen. Somewhere above, he and Frank Zappa are singing in unison!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1se9xbRRZL8
Clark Besch

Kent ...
As I told you before I'm reading Bob Greene's book "Chevrolet Summers, Dairy Queen Nights."
Have you read this one ? What I like about it is that each chapter is three pages long. Each chapter is a different human interest story. If you put it down and don't read it for a couple of weeks, you don't
have to try and remember what happened in previous chapters.
Chapter # 90: Gary U.S. Bonds was appearing at the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair in Maryland. Bob Greene got to meet Gary U.S. Bonds. He asked him about his number one song from 1961, "Quarter To Three. "
Bob asked Gary about a rumor he'd heard. It's about a phrase he supposedly murmured at the very beginning of "Quarter To Three." The song begins with raucous sounds of a party in progress, and underneath the party noise you allegedly could hear the words that were absolutely filthy. Gary
denies the story of X-rated lyrics in the song. Gary went on to say his mother was at the recording
session. Do you think I'd use that language in front of my mother ?
I've listened to it. I can't understand what he's saying. Do you know what they're talking about?
Frank B.
LOL ... no, I have absolutely NO idea what Gary is supposedly saying ... but thanks for reminding me! Yes, as a matter of fact, I HAVE read this book ... (all of Bob's books reflecting back on growing up in the '60's are amazing!) ... and a few years ago I was talking with Bob Greene on the phone and asked him point blank what this reference was about. He told me that he would tell me later ... and then never did!!! I had completely forgotten all about it until your email came today. (Probably exactly what Bob was banking on!!!) C'mon, Bob ... if you're reading this, spill the beans! We'll run Gary's denial right along with it ... or, if you prefer, whisper it to me in the strictest confidence and then I won't tell another  soul. (That'll drive Frank B. and number of other Forgotten Hits Readers absolutely bonkers!!!) I still wanna know ... and you promised you'd tell me ... so dish! (kk)
Would you believe that a few nights ago I got out Jan and Dean's 1965 song I FOUND A GIRL which was one of the 10 song suggestions you had listed on that one particular list.
The record by the Woolies, WHO DO YOU LOVE, out of 1967 on Dunhill, peaked at #15 here in OKC back in May of 1967. It was on the survey for several weeks.
You also mentioned THE RAINS CAME by the Sir Douglas Quintet. Who remembers the original version by Big Sam and the Wreckers, I believe, out of 1962?
Finally, you mentioned that one shouldn't play that one particular song you listed with hurricane in the title for a while. I thought immediately of two things related to music. In 1960 Paul Evans on Carlton Records had AFTER THE HURRICANE which did quite well here in the OKC area and, speaking of storms, remember singer Billy Storm from the late 1950's who recorded for Columbia?
Larry Neal


And, speaking of Paul Evans (who is ALSO a Forgotten Hits Reader ...)

re: PAUL EVANS:
To my "Oldies" community friends,
It will soon be Christmas programming time and I wanted to remind you all about "Santa's Stuck Up In the Chimney".
My "Santa's Stuck Up In The Chimney" video is on its' way to over 1,000,000 hits on You Tube this year.
It's now gone over 815,000 (Over 500,000 new views in the last 12 months)
Please click the link below to see the video
And here's a comment from my You Tube video site I thought you'd enjoy:  

Love this vid. I was telling my 3 yr old not to mess with the fire place because if he breaks it Santa wont be able to come. He watched the vid and he has not touched the fire place because he does not want santa to get stuck !!!!   

Have a great holiday season,
Paul
 
"Santa's Stuck Up In The Chimney" has been a Forgotten Hits holiday favorite for the last several years now. Since we're not going to do our annual "Twelve Days Of Christmas" this year, we suggest you hop on over to YouTube and take a look at Paul's clip. (He'll pass one million views this holiday season I'm sure ... which puts him a few [hundred thousand] views ahead of "Lonely Christmas" to be sure!!! lol) kk


Other Christmas music news ...

For the first time in the franchise's thirteen-year history, the hugely popular SpongeBob SquarePants animated TV series has spawned a holiday album. It’s A SpongeBob Christmas! Album is out this month from Nickelodeon Records, offering 12 tracks of original SpongeBob music in tune with the season. The album features vocals and songwriting by voice actor Tom Kenny. Kenny co-wrote ten of the album’s songs with producer Andy Paley, and has voiced the character since the show's inception. SpongeBob SquarePants was recently named "the most loved TV series in America" by USA Today.
Veteran songwriter, musician and producer Andy Paley has worked with such name artists as Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys, Jerry Lee Lewis, Debbie Harry, the Ramones, Madonna and many others. Kenny and Paley previously collaborated on THE BEST DAY EVER, (the critically acclaimed SpongeBob cast album released in 2006.)
The new digital album, available from all online music retailers including iTunes and Amazon, will be released to coincide with the new stop-motion animated TV special "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!" to premiere on CBS November 23 at 9:30 PM ET/PT with an additional showing on Nickelodeon December 9 at 7:30 PM ET / PT.    

And country music superstars Lady Antebellum sent us their brand new version of "A Holly Jolly Christmas" ... you can check it out right here:  
re: HALLS OF FAME:
Kent ...
It's not only the Rock-n-Roll Hall Of Fame that makes people unhappy with their choices.
Frank B.  
Click here: CMT : News : NASHVILLE SKYLINE: Ray Charles for the Country Music Hall of Fame
No, it sure isn't ... as we mentioned the other day, it doesn't matter WHAT Hall of Fame you're referring to ... there will ALWAYS be fans out there who believe somebody worthy has been overlooked. As for Ray Charles ... I absolutely believe he should be inducted. His "Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music" LP was a revolutionary concept at the time ... and showed just how similar some of the sounds of Country and Soul really were. (It topped Billboard's Pop Albums Chart for fourteen weeks!)
Back in the early days of rock and roll, it wasn't at all unusual for a new record to cross over to the Pop, R&B and C&W Charts ... many of the biggest names in Rock And Roll built their careers this way. (Elvis, Ricky Nelson, The Everly Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and many others.) And some of those artists (like Cash, Lewis, Perkins, Charlie Rich and Conway Twitty) were able to parlay that allegiance into very successful country careers after the moved on from the rock and roll arena.

re: DOO WOP and THE SAXONETTES:
I think they're very good. It's great to see such young people take an interest in old music. I've already sent this clip to some of my doo-wop friends.
I think the Saxonettes should add a classic girls group set to their act. For example: "Be My Baby" / "He's So Fine" / "Leader Of The Pack." What do you think ?
Frank B.
They're kicking around a number of ideas right now ... I suggested "Mr. Sandman", too, since it's playing so often in those TV ads these days ... this is one that should connect immediately with the audience. (Somebody made a comment last week that the music of the '20's, '30's and '40's died out and never came back so we should expect the same to hold true for the music of the '50's, '60's, and '70's. My argument has been that this music has been proven timeless ... and a good case in point is its constant use in commercials, tv and motion pictures ... blasting out at theme parks and restaurants ... at the pool and at the beach. That simply didn't happen with the music of the '20's, '30's and '40's, save a few proven classics. Much of that music sounds SO dated now ... it truly is from a different era. Now I'll agree that a good chunk of '50's and '60's music ALSO sounds extremely dated today ... that's why you've got to do some creative programming to find those songs that still "click" with an audience and haven't lost any of their appeal. So experiment once in a while by slipping in some of these "forgotten hits" and see how your audience reacts. Over time, you'll build a desirable, pleasing playlist without having to beat the same 300 songs into the ground ... and driving your audience away.) kk

I enjoyed your video of the Saxonettes.
Larry
I think they did a GREAT job ... quite unexpected. I can now reveal that one of the girls is our daughter Paige (she's the high voice and primary lead on "Lollipop".) She blew me away when she told me they were doing a doo-wop medley for the school variety show. 100% the girls' idea ... I had absolutely NOTHING to do with it! (And no input whatsoever into the song choices or arrangements ... they took this project on completely on their own.) And it went over like gangbusters. (Funny 'cause she'll always tell me how she doesn't like "my" music ... then a few days later she'll ask me to play "such and such" ... or I'll catch her walking around the house singing a '60's or '70's tune!  Lately it's been both "I've Told Every Little Star" and "I Can't Stay Mad At You", both recently featured in our revived "Today's Forgotten Hit" segment.)  Most recently she's been TOTALLY diggin' THIS great Forgotten Hit from 1964 ... now wouldn't this tune sound great coming out of your radio again once in a while??? (kk)



Here's the review of The Saxonettes as it appeared in The Schaumburg High School Newspaper, "The Sextant", written by fellow student Sania Zaffar:

Out of all the vocal sets, my favorite by far was The Saxonettes.
"I could not believe how amazing they were. I was drawn to their performance! It was so entertaining to watch how talented all four girls were," Kate Stanley states.
The four members of The Saxonettes -- Paige Brantley, Lana Fenkanyn, Sarah Mattioli, and Taryn Neubecker -- brought something new to the table. They sang 'The Best of Doo-Wop' with an a cappella ease that took the audience back to the sounds of the once very popular Doo-Wop.
Nevertheless, this throwback kept all ages in the audience engaged; everyone loved the harmonies by the four voices.
Also mentioned was the incredible performance of "Blackbird" (which was literally note-for-note perfect on the guitar). And this year Schaumburg's Marching Band is featuring a Beatles medley played at half-time during their football games. (Last year it was a Steely Dan medley.) More and more of these songs from the '60's and '70's are finding their way into their choral productions as well. And we couldn't be more pleased. I love the line about The Saxonettes bringing "something new" to the table ... something new to THIS generation, maybe, who are most likely discovering this music for the very first time ... once again my main point in encouraging radio stations not to ignore this upcoming demographic. Play to them right and they're yours for the next 30 years ... they will become the future demographic that you find so desirable ... so don't play down to them and ignore them today.


Kent ...
The Malt Shop Cruise is over.
Frank B.
Did any of our readers partake? Let us know! (kk) 

re: TOP 40 RADIO:   
Hi Kent,
Just wanted to pass along the link below. So glad that Jeff Davis is back on WLS FM!
Yes, I saw this ... it really IS like 1974 all over again at WLS! But read the comments to Robert Feder's posting ... if ANY of the jocks and programmers on our list want further proof of what their listeners REALLY want from a radio station, here it is again. (Drop down below and read some of our "Today's Forgotten Hit" comments, too!)
We've been told by some of the higher-ups in radio that our take on all of this is a bit too slanted as we cater to an audience that's far more oldies music savvy and particular ... and that this doesn't represent the average listener. (Once again, programming with blinders on ... it COULD represent the MAJORITY of your listeners if you simply gave them what they want ... instead of simply settling for whatever's leftover, shared amongst the four other stations in town that are also playing the exact same music!!!)
For thirteen years now we've been promoting more variety and more personality ... the way radio USED to sound instead of simply programming a computer to do all the work ... the human touch ... a real  connection between the listener and the broadcaster. We've said time and time again that there was an era where the deejays themselves were every bit as well-known and loved as the artists they were playing ... and it is THIS era that most likely inspired the current generation of knowledgeable jocks to get into the business in the first place.  But it's all become so mechanical now that any "connection" between the deejay and his audience has been broken.
Do yourself a favor and PLEASE READ THESE COMMENTS ... they MEAN something (if you'll simply pay attention to them) ... and this isn't OUR audience talking ... these are coming from real, every day listeners of the station. (I've reprinted the first few below ... you can read the rest by clicking on the link that Linda sent us.) PLEASE READ, COMPREHEND, DIGEST and REACT ... we need to SAVE RADIO!!! (kk)

Regarding the rehiring of Jeff Davis:
 
It's too bad he'll be restricted to reading liner cards and song lead-ins like the rest of the legendary crew. Brant Miller, although he has a pleasing voice, is very boring to listen to in the morning. I wouldn't be surprised if his shift is voice tracked much of the time. You can only tell that Jan Jeffries has the entire crew on a tight leash! It's really a disservice to the station, and the listeners. If they were allowed to unleash their inner talent, just think of how much better the station could be.
Joel Hacker

I totally agree Joel. I think (Program Director Jan) Jeffries should listen to how WLS-AM sounded on those Rewind Weekends in 2007 and 2008. Add the reverb and more jingles. The station still sounds too automated. The music is much better since Jan Jeffries took over to his credit.
Radio Tanna

Yawn ... another move that won't help the fact that the 'new' WLS is shooting itself in the foot. As long as the playlist sucks, these new moves won't help at all. Btw ... 'still in L.A. and come in periodically'? Heck they could have just moved Scott Shannon to weekends if we're going to have another 'out of town' jock. I had so much hope for this station but dumping Shannon, moving Dick Biondi to practically overnights, and messing up the playlist has now turned me off.
The Truth

Just what we need in Chicago radio ... another re-tread. Try playing some 60's music on that piece of crap station instead of all that late 70's horse bleep. Baby Boomers have more disposable income than any previous generation, and there are more of us. But radio programmers ignore the demographic, and Chicago radio is filled with the same buffoons who have been programming the stations for years. PLEASE! Play a Beatles or Stones song from pre-1970. PLEASE!
Jim Wyman

So now (we've got) four stations with nearly the same playlist. With this change, I can barely tell whether I'm listening to WLS, KHits, the Drive or the Loop. At least before I enjoyed hearing more pop oldies on WLS. But you're right about the tight leash they have on all that legendary talent.
Bariman

The message is loud and clear for anybody paying attention. Anybody in programming awake out there??? (kk)

Kent,
Here's a WORD chart from July 6, 1967 ... the Summer of Love! Note the Fifth Estate is top 5 and some obscure titles Mickey spoke of are showing here like the Kinks' "Mr. Pleasant" at #5 as well as Moving Sidewalks at #21. Lots of obscure titles if you can read the mimeograph sheet. #1 is even a surprise. Like the WLS "condensed" titles?? Would love to see more WORD charts!! Mickey??? BTW, Woolies 45 ROCKS!! Big in Cleveland too. 


As for your comments on the great early 1968 hits, why not have a current radio format featuring classic Top 40 instead of "the oldies channel" or "Classic Rock" ... why not try "Classic Top 40" featuring all the top 40 varying sounds??? Not just the happy sing a longs, or underground, but ALL the songs like FH likes to talk about?
Clark Besch
We've been pushing that idea for thirteen years now. In fact, after realizing absolutely no progress in this direction, I've dropped my expectations down to featuring The Top 20 ... because better than half of THOSE songs aren't getting played anymore either!!! (That's one of the things we're trying to focus on again with our revamped "Today's Forgotten Hit" segment.) There are SO many great Top 20 songs out there to choose from ... but I REALLY love the Top 40 concept. Call it "Classic Top 40" and then program it that way ... with all the clever drop-ins and manic deliveries. Ricky the K tried this concept on the Internet but was never able to reach a large enough audience to make a difference. Too bad ... because he REALLY nailed the sound of this era. They rerun Casey Kasem's American Top 40 Countdowns on hundreds of stations now anyway ... why not push it a little bit further and encompass the whole Top 40 of the Rock Era ... zero in on that 25 year period of 1955 - 1980 ... heck, that'd give you over 7000 songs to pick from right there! Put together special "on this date" countdowns. Do special "Top Tens" throughout the broadcast day, covering all 25 years of hits. Even airing old, vintage airchecks would be more entertaining than hearing some talented jock dish out nothing more than the time and call letters six times every hour. What kind of talent do you need to do that? (By the same token, how do you justify paying a "program director" when the station just keeps recycling the same 300 songs anyway? How much thought process is needed to accomplish that? You can just as easily set your CD player to "random  play" and achieve virtually the same results we're getting now if you're only going to put 25 Greatest Hits CD's in the changer!!!) How truly, truly sad what radio has become. (kk)


And check out THIS hot new programming idea ...

Hey Kent,
Check this out. Another bad idea by some "genius" radio programmers!
Eddie Burke,
Orange, CT   
I've been doing some "quick editing" of my only lately ... the instant "Jack And Diane", "Don't Stop Believin'", "More Than A Feeling" and some of the others on my list come on the radio now, I'm able to crop those down to about two seconds ... it's called "changing the channel"!!! On the plus side, if cramming in 24 songs per hour means more music and more variety ... and the chance to hear some things we haven't heard in a while ... there may be some merit to this. However, I don't think ANYBODY ought to be able to arbitrarily edit an artist's work without out their consent and input. That's just wrong! (kk)


>>>"Thank You And Goodnight" was NOT a hit record when it was first released back in 1963. In fact, it was the flipside of their Top 40 Hit "I Adore Him" and only rose to #84 on The Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles Chart. Yet when we featured it as part of our Favorite, Forgotten B-Sides Series a few years ago, fans came out of the woodwork, raving about how much they LOVED this song ... and how they remembered their favorite deejay using this as his signature sign-off tune on his program back in the early '60's. (kk)
>>>Your selection today, THANK YOU AND GOODNIGHT, as you mentioned, was sometimes used by certain DJ's as a going off air theme.I remember one DJ here using it as his going off air theme.
Which brings me to the question. Have you ever asked your readers what themes or songs as they remember, did certain DJ's use when they were going off with their air shift and or possibly going on with their air shift? (Larry Neal)
>>>Not specifically ... but the topic has come up from time to time. Certain deejays were most definitely identified with certain songs as their "themes" ... I'm sure our readers can come up with a number of examples. (kk)
Scott Shannon *always* signed off with Cherish.
David Lewis
I asked Scott if this was true ...
That is very true!
SS

Hi guys,
We thought you might want to know that a 'Route 66 Radio Tour' is in the works for a kickoff from Chicago to Santa Monica Pier, CA next year. The DJ favorite blog ForgottenHits.com has more about it, as does Route66News.com (see link below). A shout out is going to DJs everywhere along Route 66. Well known radio documentary producer Carolyn Travis ('Air Play', 'Rock Radio Revolution' and 'Rock Jocks: The FM Revolution') is planning to document the journey which will visit radio stations and interview radio personalities, who have been heard on car radios and in communities along the Mother Road over the years. We hope you can be a part of this once in a lifetime event.
- WRLR
WRLR 98.3 FM
RONDARADIO, INC.
P.O. Box 98
Round Lake, IL 60073

Come on out and be a part of history ... and now that Carolyn Travis is going to be filming and documenting the whole event, this thing should REALLY take wing! (We LOVE her "Airplay" documentary ... and be sure to check out HER radio website as well!) kk
 
And, speaking of great documentaries, be sure to check out Shawn Swords' "Wages Of Spin" ...
"The Wages of Spin" purchase thru ShopPBS: http://tinyurl.com/49q7n29
Entertainment Tonight Feature "Wages of Spin": http://www.characterdrivenfilms.com/trailers.html
Charlie Gracie "Fabulous" Original Film purchase thru Turner Classic Movies:  
http://tinyurl.com/9xwtq85
Rent thru Blockbuster: 
http://tinyurl.com/3qksz6z 
Rent thru Netflix: http://tinyurl.com/8ufeuwc Charlie Gracie "Fabulous" Special Edition purchase thru ShopPBS:  
http://tinyurl.com/8ck4mlm  
Both films are in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Archives: http://tinyurl.com/9sdh8gz
Check local PBS affiliates for airtimes, there have been over 500 affiliate airings combined of "WOS" and The Special Edition "Fabulous" since June....
Regards -
Shawn

And let's not forget The Wrecking Crew!!!

With the year winding down, there are still a few screenings left to catch this great flick. (Denny Tedesco tells us that 2012 was a big year in raising the funds to pay all of the licensing fees required with marketing this film en masse ... but there's still a long ways to go. He says):

I know you've heard this before, but I promise you, we are making headway. When we started this year, we were over $200K that was owed to the labels, publishers and other license owners of stock footage. Today we are under $100K and I will know by the end of the year where we stand. The donations were small to big from strangers and friends of the music, musicians and the film. Nothing was ever too small or too big ... it all adds up.
Word of mouth was as important to this film as a donation. Telling friends about the website, Facebook, YouTube and even Twitter has kept it alive and keeps the train moving forward.
Denny
Up-coming screenings include:
November 13th - Pickford Film Center in Bellingham, WA
November 15th - Princess Theatre in Prosser, WA

If either of these are near your area, do yourself a favor and check out this great film. Denny will be on hand at both screenings for a brief Q & A Session after the showing of the film. (kk)

re: TODAY'S FORGOTTEN HIT:
Readers are enjoying the return of our "Today's Forgotten Hit" feature ... and are coming up with some great suggestions of their own that they'd like to see featured. (Proof again ... to any deejays and programmers out there paying attention ... THIS is what the listeners want to hear!!!)
We'll feature a few of these today for your enjoyment ... and keep checking Forgotten Hits for more of the music that time and radio has forgotten. (kk)

Hi Kent.
Here is a Forgotten Hit for you. I am sending you a copy of Tompall and the Glaser Brothers' 1969 record California Girl (and the Tennessee Square). It was number 11 Country Number, 92 Billboard Pop. I thought I was the only one that remembered hearing Top 40 stations play it back in 1969. A few years ago I heard an aircheck of 'the Real Don Steele' playing it on KHJ in L.A.
Phil Nee - WRCO
OK, well I didn't know this one! This may actually be a little TOO forgotten ... even for our readers! (kk)

Continued great job on the FH website, Kent -
How about featuring some Bill Deal and the Rhondels? May I, I’ve Been Hurt, Nothing Succeeds Like Success, etc…
Greg F.
We've featured all of these at one time or another ... but these are GREAT suggestions ... talk about your catchy, up-tempo tunes ... so how come radio doesn't play any of these? "May I", "I've Been Hurt" and "What Kind Of Fool Do You Think I Am" were all Billboard Top 40 Hits ... and they were even bigger here in Chicago. How big? "May I" peaked at #39 in Billboard but went all the way to #8 here in Chi-Town. "I've Been Hurt" was a #35 Billboard hit and climbed to #9 here in Chicago. And "What Kind Of Fool Do You Think I Am" was their biggest national hit, peaking at #23 and reaching #17 in Chicago. "Nothing Succeeds Like Success" only made it to #62 in Billboard but succeeded at #16 on our local chart. (Memo to Bob Stroud: Any one of these would make a GREAT addition to the next Rock And Roll Roots CD if you're able to get that going again next year!!!) SOMEBODY ought to be playing these ... so we'll spin a couple today!





Selfish One sung by Jackie Ross is another One Hit Wonder you rarely hear. I don't know if you've played this one on Forgotten Hits before but I thought I would send it along anyhow. She sounds a lot like Mary Wells.
Carrie
Jackie Ross (born 30 January 1946, St. Louis, Missouri) is an American soul singer.  
Ross sang gospel music as a child, and performed on a radio show run by her parents, both preachers.[1] After her father died in 1954 she moved to Chicago and was signed to SAR Records by Sam Cooke. Her first single, "Hard Times", appeared in 1962, and following this she spent time singing in Syl Johnson's band.
In 1964, she signed with Chess Records and released "Selfish One", which reached #11 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart [2] and #4 on the Cashbox R&B chart. A follow-up, "I've Got The Skill" reached the Hot 100 but stalled at #89 and the following year, "Jerk and Twine", a re-working of "Everything But Love", the song on the other side of her big hit, peaked at #85.[2]
An album, Full Bloom, was released in 1965, which was followed by three more singles, but after disputes with her record label, she left Chess in 1967. She later recorded for several labels into the 1970s including Brunswick, GSF, Mercury, Capitol, and for Jerry Butler's Fountain Productions, but was unable to duplicate the success of "Selfish One".

She sure DOES sound a lot like Mary Wells.  Betcha folks out there recognize this one without even realizing that they knew it but had forgotten all about it!  (kk)


Hi Kent -
Thanks for the info on artists and songs you never hear on the radio!
I enjoyed seeing the photo of Brian Hyland. I saw him perform twice and he has a beautiful voice.
As you mentioned, hopefully TJ Lubinsky and PBS can locate Linda Scott to perform on one of the shows.
Other forgotten performers or songs who I would like to see on PBS:
Janie Grant - Triangle
Shangri-Las - Many Hits!
Robin Ward - Wonderful Summer
Marcie Blaine - Bobby's Girl
Keep up the Fantastic Work!!!!
Carolyn

Kent ...
When was the last time you heard this one on the radio? According to Ron's book, the late Doug Sahm was born 11/6/ 1941.
Is it just me? Doug always looks like he's having a great time when he's singing.
Frank B.
I can honestly say that I have NEVER heard this song on the radio!!! But it sure sounds an awful lot like "Mendocino" which we featured the other day! I heard Doug Sahm was a GREAT entertainer ... never had the pleasure of seeing him. (kk)

Hey, Kent,
Regarding Skeeter Davis' "It's The End of the World", depending on when you arrived at our show celebrating Jimy Sohns' 66th Birthday at Blues Bar recently, you may have heard Cindy Gotshall covering that song with us in the Shadows of Knight. I love that song, love playing it, and I've even got Cindy pronouncing the tag line correctly ... It's the IND of the world". Girl Power!
Thanks for all you do!
Rick Barr
New Colony Six / Shadows of Knight
"The End Of The World" is one of my all-time favorites, too. I remember it coming on the radio one night when I was in high school and my girlfriend at the time being SHOCKED to hear the song being sung by a GIRL!!! She only knew the Herman's Hermits version! (Even more incredible ... I had never heard THEIR version at that point in time ... but Peter Noone later told me it's one of HIS all-time favorites, too!) kk

'60's FLASHBACK: Let me give you a little background on Herman's Hermits’ recording of The End of the World -- Early days in The Heartbeats, Keith Hopwood and I (he was a telephone engineer and I was still at school) listened to the Skeeter Davis version and learned the chords and some of the words and added it to our repertoire. We also learned I'll Never Dance Again (a Bobby Rydell B-Side, I think) and many other songs that no other local bands played. I believe that I'll Never Dance Again and The End of the World were actually discovered by the original singer of The Heartbeats (Malcolm something) and I would like to commend him for his excellent taste in music and also for not showing up that fateful night when I replaced him forever. I doubt if much of Herman’s Hermits’ version resembles the Skeeter Davis version because after a song gets played live a lot it usually becomes a hybrid, which is why some oldies acts completely miss the plot and forget to listen to the original recordings. I wonder why it ended up as a B-Side anyway. We usually used one of The Hermits’ written songs for the B-Sides. The B-Sides were always left to The Hermits and we did what we could and I am proud of all of them except Truck Stop Mamma and I walked out of that session because Herman cannot sing about a Truck Stop Mama.
-- Peter Noone



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