After much delay, we are FINALLY able to publish the results of our popular All-Time Favorite Garage Bands survey, conducted just prior to the big Forgotten Hits Computer Crash and Burn of 2012!
Over the next couple of weeks, we'll be recapping the results ... so stay tuned to see where your favorites landed.
And watch for details about an official radio countdown of The Top 20 Biggest ... coming soon to a radio station near you!
Special thanks to all of you who voted ... and to Mike Dugo of 60sGarageBands.com, who threw his support behind this project ... and even contributed short biographies on all of the winning bands! (kk)
The Runners-Up:
Our original intention was to tabulate The Top 20 All-Time Favorite Garage Bands ... but once all the votes were counted, we found that we had thirteen additional artists who earned 100 or more of your votes ... so we decided to expand the list and feature these "Runner Up" positions as well, thus honoring and acknowledging every artist that received 100 or more votes. (Hey, if you guys felt a band was worthy of 100 votes or more, WE have to treat them as worthy, too!!! Simple as that!)
Therefore ... when all is said and done ... the list shapes up like this:
#33 - THE BALLOON FARM
Hailing from New Jersey, these guys scored big on our Top 20 Favorite Psychedelic Songs Countdown several years back, too. (Their best known hit, "A Question of Temperature" ... also spelled "Tempature" on some early pressings of the record! ... ranked at #15.)
Group member Mike Appel went on to write songs for The Partridge Family ... and later managed the career Bruce Springsteen! (How's THAT for some musical diversity?!?!?) Their signature song reached #37 on the national pop charts ... and burned its way all the way to #11 here in Chicago in the Spring of 1968 (where we clearly had Balloon Farm fever!) kk
By far the most obscure group on the list (at least as far as the amount written on them), the Balloon Farm completely epitomizes the term “one-hit wonder.” ‘Question Of Temperature’ made Billboard’s Top 40 and was later immortalized by appearing on the Nuggets boxed set. The core members of New Jersey’s Balloon Farm also recorded singles as Adam and Huck Finn (as well as ‘Hurry Up Sundown’, the follow-up to their hit). Member Mike Appel found later success managing and producing Bruce Springsteen.
Mike Dugo / 60sGarageBands.com
#32 - FIVE BY FIVE
Another One Hit Wonder, Five By Five (out of Arkansas) got noticed when they released a very credible cover of the Jimi Henrix rock classic "Fire". (Their follow-up hit, "Apple Cider", bubbled under on the Billboard Pop Singles Chart, but has proven to be a fan favorite here in Forgotten Hits due to its regional hit status in various parts of the country.) "Fire" reached #31 nationally but was a Top Five Smash here in Chi-Town. (We LOVED our Garage Band Groups in the '60's!!!) kk
How about a group from Magnolia, Arkansas, making the list? Five By Five had a minor hit with a cover of Jimi Hendrix' "Fire" in 1968 and also had some chart success in 1970 with "Apple Cider." If you haven't heard either song, you might be very surprised to learn that the group released eight singles on the Paula label, as well as a full album ("Next Exit", 1968).
Mike Dugo / 60sGarageBands.com
#31 - THEM
Chicago's very own Shadows Of Knight made "Gloria" THEIR very own when it went Top Ten nationally in the Spring of 1966 ...and believe me, they earned their share of votes in this friendly little Garage Band Competition ... you WILL be seeing their name as we work our way closer to the top of this list!
But "Gloria" originally came from the pen of Ireland-born Van Morrison (more than a few miles away from The Windy City), who'd go on to far greater fame as a solo artist in the late '60's and '70's ... and is STILL cranking out excellent music today. His '60's British Invasion Group Them recorded the original version of this tune ... and it earned them enough votes for a spot on our Runners Up List. "Gloria" didn't make much of an impact for Them, stopping at #71 on The Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles Chart in its second release, attempting to steal some of the thunder caused by The Shadows Of Knight's version. (When it was first released in 1965, it stalled at #93, and was actually considered the B-Side of Them's version of "Baby Please Don't Go". Despite never officially making Billboard's Hot 100, this track has also long been cited as a fan favorite.)
Their biggest hit was the Morrison-penned "Here Comes The NIght", which reached #24 in 1965. They would reach The Billboard Top 40 one more time with "Mystic Eyes" (#33, 1965) and then that was it. (kk)
The history books will always note Belfast, Ireland's Them as being the group Van Morrison was in before he struck it big with "Brown-Eyed Girl" and embarked on his solo career, but they (Them?) was so much more. They were the group to first record Morrison's garage band staple "Gloria" and fans of '60's music should also be well aware of their classic "Here Comes The Night". In addition, "Baby, Please Don't Go" and "Mystic Eyes" have earned the group a status well beyond that of simply being Van Morrison's first combo.
But the extra time ALSO gave me a chance to get caught up on a few things ... and put the finishing touches on our long-awaited / much-delayed TOP 20 ALL-TIME FAVORITE GARAGE BANDS Series ... which now officially kicks off tomorrow!!!
You'll definitely want to come back for this one ... as Forgotten Hits kicks off its 14th Year with yet another landmark series.
Meanwhile, here are a few more last minute loose ends! Enjoy!
re: TODAY'S FORGOTTEN HIT:
Hey Kent,
The Seekers' song,"World of Our Own" was good to hear. And it brought to mind another song that is NEVER heard on the "oldies" stations (excepting 1480 / 850, Grand Rapids / Muskegon). That would be one by the New Seekers, featuring Eve Graham: "Look What They've Done to My Song". Maybe WGVU checks out your website. The day after you featured "Hang on to Your Life", they played it.
Dube
That's really the whole point ... we've heard from numerous jocks over the years who have been inspired to play something because they saw it mentioned or heard it featured in Forgotten Hits ... "Oh yeah, I forgot all about THAT one!" And that's our goal. Sometimes it's just nice to hear something DIFFERENT ... that doesn't mean that it needs to be added to the permanent, heavy-rotation play list ... just something where the listeners perk up their ears for a moment and say "Man, I haven't heard THAT song in ages!!!" That's really what a "forgotten hit" is! We featured The New Seekers' version of "Look What They've Done To My Song, Ma" a while back ... but I'm up for spinning it again. Yesterday I heard "A Brand New Key" by Melanie (who wrote that New Seekers hit) and, quirky as they both are, it's really fun to hear them again every once in a while. (I also heard "Swearin' To God" by Frankie Valli yesterday ... further proof that, according to radio anyway, The Four Seasons were simply one of those '70's Disco Groups. According to this new "Classic Hits" / "Greatest Hits Of All-Time" format, The Four Seasons never had a hit before "Who Loves You" in 1975!!! That'd be like if you only ever heard "Miss You" by The Stones ... or, heaven forbid, "Here Comes The Night" by The Beach Boys!!! (Seriously ... what were they thinking?!?!?) Or, perhaps more appropriately, what is RADIO thinking??? (kk)
Kent --
I don't know how long it's been since The Riddles were mentioned in FH, but they used to play at the Teen Club dances at Immaculate Conception Church in Chicago circa 1967, and for a garage band were remarkably good. (They also played at The Hut in Des Plaines but I wasn't allowed to go there at 15.) Their lead singer Lee Adams wore bright red pants, and that seemed exotic at the time. Kiss was still a few years in our future, heh.
Their cover of "Sweets for My Sweet" remains my all-time favorite rendition of a really good song.
Some info and photos here: http://www.garagehangover.com/?q=riddles -- Jeff Duntemann
Old Chicago boy, now in Colorado Springs
If I remember correctly, you first discovered Forgotten Hits when we mentioned The Riddles' version of "Sweets For My Sweet", a Top 20 local hit here in Chicago in 1967, way back when. While we can't really classify this one as a Forgotten Hit (it never charted nationally), we CAN feature it again today for old time's sake. A great rendition, to be sure ... very much in the same vein as The Cryan' Shames' version of "Sugar And Spice", another big Searchers hit. (kk)
re: ON THE CHARTS:
About the "Top100 Hits of 1972" Countdown that you mentioned... did it also include anything by the Detroit Emeralds, Uriah Heep and Bobby Womack?Or even the Guess Who?
I pretty much figured on Neil Young, The Carpenters, America, The Stylistics, Helen Reddy, Gilbert O' Sullivan, Roberta Flack, Harry Nilsson, Elton John.
But I'm just curious as to just how thorough this particular survey was.
Tal Hartsfeld
I couldn't tell ya for sure ... because it's not my list ... it was put together by one of the jocks on the list who does an internet show ... but you can tune in today to catch the rest of it. As far as any of those artists on your listmaking The Top 100, I kinda doubt it ... the year-end charts typically only recap the year's very biggest hits. But I've sent your inquiry on to Rich Appel, who is hosting this countdown to see if he can offer any additional feedback.
kk
Since the Top 100 of 1972 was based on weekly radio station surveys across all major and not-so-major markets, the hits are gonna rise to the top. Songs that were regional hits are less likely to show up in a 100-position ranking. Of course, some of those artists did show up in the second or third 100 of the year.
Rich Appel
Honestly, I wouldn't have expected ANY of those artists that Tal mentioned to make a year-end Top 100 ranking. However, in the past we have featured hits like "Easy Livin'" by Uriah Heep and "Baby Let Me Take You" by The Detroit Emeralds because they both absolutely fall into our "Forgotten Hits" category ... legitimate hit songs that got played on the radio ALL of the time back then ... but seem to have disappeared forever ever since.
In fact, these are both GREAT suggestions ... so we're featuring them today. (But tune into Rich's countdown anyway, OK?!?!?) lol Thanks! (kk)
"Easy Livin'" by Uriah Heep reached #32 in 1972 ... and "Baby Let Me Take You" by The Detroit Emeralds is one of my personal, all-time favorites ... so I play this one all the time here at home. It was a #17 Hit that same year! (kk)
As I was preparing the Tommy James and the Shondells segment for our Top 20 All-Time Favorite Garage Bands series, I came across this chart analysis by Tommy from hisbook "Me, The Mob and The Music" and thought I'd run it by the group for feedback. I also sent a copy to Joel Whitburn and Randy Price, our resident chart gurus for their opinions.
The three big trade papers were Record World, Cash Box and Billboard. Cash Box had a slant toward retail ... it focused on the money generated from records. Record World had a slant toward radio airplay. Billboard claimed to be in the middle. The problem with that was that when you put out a record, things back then happened fast.
Every six weeks you needed a new record ... that's how quickly the turnover was if you wanted to stay constantly on the charts. If you put our a record and it generated some excitement, it immediately went on the radio. That would be reflected in Record World. But it would take two or three weeks after you heard a song on the radio before the sales figures would start to hit and the stores would report it. That was when your record would start charting in Cash Box. So there was a lag time between those two trade papers. Billboard claimed to chart records in between radio play and sales. But you would always be two to three weeks further ahead in radio airplay than you were in sales. You might start out in the Top 20 in airplay. Then, if the record was a hit, it would usually climb very fast, which meant you might be number one in Record World, but only number twenty in Cash Box. Billboard took the average ot the two and listed you as number ten in their paper. That sounded okay, and you might eventually go to number one in Cash Box and Record World ... but you would have to stay that way for three weeks to get a number one in Billboard.
There was always a controversy about Billboard's Top Five lists, because the whole industry was screaming at them over the discrepancies. And now, because the other trade paper collapsed over the years, Billboard, by attrition, became the keeper of the flame. When young researchers and historians go back to check the archives for a record's history, they inevitably get a skewed sense of how popular it really was
-- Tommy James
Interesting perspective ... and one of the reasons Forgotten Hits always shows the HIGHEST charted position of any record as reported by all three publications. And now that Joel Whitburn has officially published a history of both the Billboard and the Record World Pop Singles Charts (with a Cash Box book on the way in the not-too-distant future), hopefully there will be a better reflection of just how popular a given record was. (We've seen this for years with regional hits, too ... a record could be HUGE here in Chicago ... and then, just about the time that record is working its way down the chart, it takes off in a big way in another city. You find out that the record was a Top Five Smash in a dozen different cities ... but never all at the same time ... so the Billboard book ends up listing it at #70 overall because that was the best result of any given week's national input. SO many great songs were missed and ignored as a result of this ... which is why we also always try to factor in the results of our local charts.
I was curious what Joel and Randy might say about Tommy's comments, regarding the accuracies (and discrepancies) between the charts as recorded by three major national trade publications ...
Here's my take on the comments from the Tommy James book concerning the national music trades:
First of all, it should be kept in mind that the methodologies employed by the three magazines' chart departments changed over the years, so what might have been true during a particular time period wasn't necessarily the case before or after that period. Looking specifically at the period from the mid-'60s through 1970, when Tommy James had his string of hits with the Shondells, chart statistics would seem to contradict the assertions made in his book.
Using the Shondells' own singles as examples, almost all of them debuted on the three trade charts no more than a week apart. The biggest discrepancies came in 1968 when "Somebody Cares" debuted first in Cash Box, then a week later in Record World, then the week after that in Billboard. The group's next single, "Do Something To Me," debuted first in Record World, then a week later in Billboard, then the week after that in Cash Box. The next four singles by the group ("Crimson And Clover," "Sweet Cherry Wine," "Crystal Blue Persuasion" and "Ball Of Fire") all debuted the same week on all three charts. That streak was broken by "She," which debuted a week earlier in Record World than in the other two. So, there was no consistency in which chart was ahead of or behind the other two in those cases.
Also, many of the Tommy James & The Shondells singles peaked higher in both Cash Box and Record World than they did in Billboard. (This was also true for some other rock 'n' roll groups, particularly Paul Revere & The Raiders). So, if Record World's charts were indeed slanted toward radio airplay, it didn't prevent those charts from being more similar to Cash Box's (which were indeed based on retail sales at that time) than to Billboard's.
As for the assertion that an upcoming hit that reached #1 in Record World might have been at a substantially lower position in Cash Box or Billboard, that is not supported by chart statistics either. During the same period cited above, in an overwhelming majority of weeks, a record that was #1 on one magazine's chart was in the top 5 on the other two, usually in the top 3. In every one of the rare instances when a record was below the top 10 on one chart while at #1 on one or both of the others, it was a case of one magazine dropping the record more quickly than the other two; there were no instances of a record reaching #1 for the first time on one chart while not yet in the top 10 on the other two.
All of this only goes to underscore the fact that at that time compiling lists of the most popular records was more an art than a science. Each magazine's chart department had its own methodology for interpreting (and possibly manipulating) the data it collected from stores, one-stops and / or radio stations. (And that's not even taking into account the occasional mechanical or mathematical mistakes that might have been made when compiling, laying out and printing the charts each week with a tight deadline.) So any but the most general blanket statements about how the charts compared to one another could likely be refuted by specific examples to the contrary.
– Randy
Hi Kent,
I have read Tommy James' book and in many ways it’s similar to Jimmie Rodgers’ autobiography. Perhaps, that’s because they were both on Morris Levy’s label, Roulette.
Both are interesting looks inside the music industry that, indeed, expose some ‘seedy’ dealings with most of the young artists that broke through on independent labels in the early decades of the rock ‘n roll revolution.
Tommy’s analysis of the three major trades has some merit, but is flawed. There are just too many examples of chart debut dates and peak positions for various songs and artists from the three trades to blow-up his whole reasoning. Not only that, but each trade used a different formula to compile their charts, and they used different methods in ranking records. For instance, Cash Box and Record World, for a long time, combined all versions of a song into one chart position, resulting in higher peak positions for those songs and also the songs listed below them.
Back in 1970 I visited Billboard’s chart department in New York City and also in Los Angeles. Also, at that time I visited George Albert in his Cash Box office in New York. Billboard’s offices were a bee-hive of activity with one huge department devoted solely to approximately 40 staff members doing phone work to get the very latest data inputted into next week’s chart. Cash Box, on the other hand, had a very small staff and was relatively quiet. I never visited the Record World offices ... however, I have been in touch with several of their past editors, Greg Geller and Mike Sigman, and they’ve indicated to me that they plan on writing a book about that history.
To be honest, I respect all three trades and I think they all offer a wonderful reflection on America’s most popular songs and artists.
Joel Whitburn
Because of the different methodology used by the three different major music trades to publish their charts at the time, my feeling has always been that the COMBINED ranking, utilizing ALL of those resources available, would constitute the most accurate chart possible for this era. It was with this thought in mind that The Super Charts were born.
Knowing that Randy Price had already been compiling chart data from all three publications (but also knowing that none of the three would allow their statistics to be shared side-by-side with one another), we decided instead to focus on the research data collected during this era to see if we could compile what would, in effect, be the most comprehensive chart listing possible. (It's just too easy, with 20/20 hindsight, to "re-rank" some of these songs that have stood the test of time ... that's why it was important to us to collect this data as it was originally collected AT THAT TIME, thus eliminating all bias, prejudice and opinion. As such, The Super Charts are based exclusively on this mathematical data collected from that time with absolutely NO other factors weighing in with any impact.) We hope to someday be able to publish the results of all this research into what we believe will be the most accurate chart listing of all time.
This project began several years ago and since then, Joel Whitburn has published "recaps" of the pop singles charts for both Billboard and Music Vendor / Record World in the most complete volumes ever assembled by Record Research. (A Cash Box book is also in the works ... and we're hoping for a release sometime next year!) These are AMAZING and invaluable pieces of work and belong in the collection of ANYONE who has ever studied or researched the charts. Likewise, as part of our research, we considered collecting the local charts from six major markets (Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City and a few other key points across the country) to see what these charts reflected on the top Top 40 Radio Stations in the country. These regional statistics would have given added weight to Randy's research. However, we could never find a complete enough library to do so ... or one that would span the rock era from 1955 - 1985, which was our original target program. (Too many stations closed up shop or changed formats during this time period, thus leaving the charts from any given area with too many "holes" which, again, might lead to speculation rather than actual facts and figures.) As such, this part of the project was abandoned.
Over the years we have run sample charts on The Forgotten Hits Website ... and we will continue to do so from time to time. In the meantime, we're hoping to complete the research and then, year-by-year, begin to release The Super Charts for public consumption. (Who knows ... we just may rewrite chart history in the process!)
Stay tuned to Forgotten Hits for more on this as it develops. Meanwhile, VERY SPECIAL THANKS to Joel Whitburn and Randy Price for sharing their insight with our readers ... and for all of the invaluable research they have assembled over the years for our enjoyment and consumption! (kk)
(click chart to enlarge)
TOMORROW IN FORGOTTEN HITS ...
We're taking you out to the garage ...
And we're gonna KEEP you out there for the next couple of weeks!
That's because we're FINALLY running the results of our Top 20 All-Time Favorite Garage Bands Survey!!!
Lots of surprises (including a special list of "Runners Up" ... along with commentary from some of the winning artists themselves!)
You are NOT going to want to miss this series ...
We'll send out periodic reminders ... and any non-Garage Band-related news will go out in the form of emails so as not to upset the continuity of this long-awaited series. (Not signed up for email reminders?!?!? Then now would be the time to do so!!!)
We OFFICIALLY kick of Year 14 of Forgotten Hits TOMORROW, November 26th!!! Hoping that you'll join us for this very special series! (kk)
Here's one we missed in yesterday's radio column ...
I'm counting down the Top 100 of 1972 on Saturday's and Sunday's "The Rest Of The Week With Rich Appel," Saturday from 6 am -1 pm ET and Sunday from 10 am - 3 pm ET. Ranking is based on weekly surveys dated 1/1 - 12/31/72 from stations in all major U.S. markets, courtesy of survey statistician Tom Smith. Thanks!
Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving! - Rich
Hopefully most of you will see this in time to still be able to catch at least part of Rich's very special weekend countdown. (kk)
Glad you made the change of plans. We're enjoying the random stuff through the holiday weekend.
David Lewis
Congrats to our FH Buddy John Madara, whose 1964 Hit "You Don't Own Me" by Lesley Gore was featured on this week's episode of "American Horror Story" in a key scene. (American Horror Story has been resurrecting a number of songs from 1963-1964 this season, most notably "Dominique" by The Singing Nun, as it plays well into this year's storyline. "You Don't Own Me" ranks as one of my all-time favorites ... it's also being used in a series of NFL Jersey commercials ... and was recently used in a big anti-Mitt Romney political campaign. I just LOVE to see this one being passed to a whole new generation. (kk)
Kent ...
Paul McCartney and John Fogerty Perform at Billionaire's 70th Birthday Party in Las Vegas ...
I think you should print this as a public service announcement for your wealthy readers.
I heard about this last week ... man, what a show that would have been. (I heard Robin Williams was the opening act!!!) Nope, that'll never happen in my world ... unless this Powerball thing swings my way tonight! Since I know I'll never be able to throw a party this big, I'm going to concentrate on something else instead ... like how do you get on the guest list?!?!? (kk)
Here's a shot of John and Paul (as in "other John") taken in Las Vegas last weekend ... from John Fogerty's Facebook Page. (Jeez, you'd think for a million bucks payday they could have found a better camera!!!) kk
Happiest of HOLIDAY seasons to you and yours ...
peace, health, success,
joyfulness
from TOMMY ROE and the BAND ...
Mike Campbell ... Drums,
vocals
Lee Brovitz ... Bass. vocals
TOMMY ROE ... writer, vocals,
guitar
Rick Levy ... manager, lead guitar,
vocals
Mike Liddy ... keys,
vocals
We watched a new movie last week starring Steve Carrell and Keira Knightley called "Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World" ... not a box office smash by any stretch of the imagination ... it has much more of an "indie" feel to it ... but it was pleasantly surprising, even if it did take a little bit to get where it was going. The payoff at the end (the last 15-20 minutes turn the whole film around) makes it all worthwhile. The soundtrack is killer for oldies buffs like us ... The Beach Boys, The Hollies, Herb Alpert and THIS great track by The Walker Brothers that brings a whole new meaning to "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" within the context of this film. There's even some intelligent discussion of vinyl as they carry their favorite albums with them on their road trip to say goodbye to all that was meaningful to them. Highly recommended ... but be patient and give it time ... as it's well worth the wait. (kk)
Hi Kent -
I wanted to take a moment to let you know the latest about our films "Wages of Spin" and "Charlie Gracie: Fabulous".
There have been over 500 combined PBS affiliate screenings and both films have been added to The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Archives.
By the way, we should be done with the "Wages Of Spin" sequel in 2013.
Happy Holidays and Thanks Again for all your help over the years
We will performing a 69th B'day Celebration at BB Kings club in NYC on February 7th and 8th 2013. Tix are already on sale and going quickly so enough said.
Al Kooper
Hey Kent,
I just wanted to weigh in your recent radio ranting. While I am in agreement that commercial radio’s refusal to play a variety of the great oldies we all love and hold dear, is incredibly frustrating, I will play devil’s advocate and try to see the glass as half full. Fighting this trend is just futile. The average listener just has no interest in any music that preceded their adolescence. Many of those in our general age group (we’ll call us “aging baby boomers”) just prefer to hear the repetitive, overplayed, small selection of tunes played on the air ad infinitum. (No need to name those songs. We all know them – the usual suspects haven’t changed for years and years.) Of course, a Forgotten Hits subscriber is not an “average listener” and we want more. So why am I so optimistic? We have so many options other than commercial radio today. You can bring up almost any song you can think of on YouTube almost instantaneously. You can purchase virtually any song on I-Tunes from the privacy of your own home. I subscribe to Sirius Radio XM and there are several great stations to choose from, including 50’s on 5 (outstanding), Siriusly Sinatra, Little Steven’s Underground Garage, Elvis Radio, Willie’s Roadhouse and Soultown. There are forums like Forgotten Hits at our fingertips where we can talk to our fellow fanatics from anywhere in the world and hear and read about our fave artists and songs 24/7. Finally, if you’re a completist and want great sounding copies of these songs from back in the day, you can pick up a catalog or check the website of a company like Collector’s Choice Music and order great CD box sets which sound better than they ever have (no ER or scratchy mono like the old days) and usually include booklets with loads of information and photos. The songs are generally in stereo (sometimes glorious mono) and are lovingly remastered by people who love the music the way we do. I say - forget commercial rock radio (I did years ago) and embrace all the options we have today to enjoy the many nearly forgotten artists and songs we still cherish.
Cheers and Happy Holidays!
Greg Favata
New Colony Six (and former Electric Shoe)
Twelve previously unreleased Jimi Hendrix recordings available on March 5th November 20, 2012 9:00 AM ET
On March 5th, a collection of 12 previously unreleased recordings by Jimi Hendrix will see the light. People, Hell and Angels follows Hendrix in 1968 and 1969 as he works on material apart from the Jimi Hendrix Experience and suggests new, experimental directions. The legendary guitarist was considering these new sounds for First Rays of the New Rising Sun, the planned double-album follow-up to Electric Ladyland. Hendrix toys with horns, keyboards, percussion and a second guitar, exploring fresh diversions from his legendary guitarwork. The album artwork is simple, yet as distinct as Hendrix's signature guitar wails. Be experienced yet again.
Can you explain to me WHY I continue to get 'alerts' from Eventful about George Harrison, Davy Jones, and Rob Grill? To find out what they are talking about, I keep pushing the 'link' buttons but never get any answers. What kind of system is this one? And WHY won't they send me John Lennon alerts ... lol
Shelley J. Sweet-Tufano
You really gotta wonder about that. (Of course years from now if somebody can figure out a way to make money doing it, we'll probably see a "Stuffed Beatles" tour!!!) I've given up on Eventful. Last year when we got a number of FH Readers to write in requesting a Chicagoland appearance by Burton Cummings, Eventful picked it up and ran with it ... and now there isn't a week that goes by when I don't get at least a couple of announcements of Burton Cummings appearances in our area ... except there aren't any!!! Cummings performed here on The 4th of July last year ... and that was it!!! Yet not a week goes by without some brand new "non-announcement"!!! I just don't get it! (kk)
More on Burton Cummings in this link sent in by FH Reader Tom Cuddy ... similar to the one we ran a week or two ago, it sounds like a healthier and happier Burton has no plans for retirement anytime soon.
50TH ANNIVERSARY MAGAZINE ON SUPREMES OUT DECEMBER 8 --EDITED BY BEST-SELLING AUTHOR MARK BEGO
December 8 will see the official release of the full-color magazine “50th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION / MY SUPREMES / MARY WILSON” (Event Bookazines / Hudson News). The 128-page publication, edited by best-selling author Mark Bego, is a lavish and exciting remembrance of the top-selling female singing group of all time: The Supremes. The magazine will be available at Barnes & Nobel, Target, Walmart, Hudson News shops and wherever magazines are sold.
The Supremes were an American female singing group and the premiere act of Berry Gordy’s Motown Records during the entire decade of the 1960s. Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan in 1959, The Supremes’ repertoire included pop, soul, rock & roll, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco. They were the most commercially successful of Motown’s acts and are, and to date they are America’s most successful vocal group with 12 Number One singles on the “Billboard” Hot 100. Most of these hits were written and produced by Motown’s main songwriting and production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland. At their peak in the mid-1960s, the Supremes rivaled The Beatles in worldwide popularity.
Mary Wilson’s career has continued to prosper with a series of well received solo albums, the most recent being “Life’s Been Good To Me” which is due to be released in early 2013. She also wrote the New York Times best-selling memoir: “Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme” in 1986.
Best-selling author Bego, who this month also releases his 60th book (his first novel called “Murder at Motor City Records”) first came aboard this project due to his 35 year friendship with Wilson; the two have been friends for years and Bego helped her write her two memoirs. Adds Bego, “Mary and I had been talking about doing some sort of retrospective to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the release of the album ‘Meet The Supremes.’ When we received the offer to do this magazine, it seemed like the perfect way for us to celebrate everything Supreme!”
According to Mary Wilson, “Mark and I have worked on several projects together, and I am thrilled to celebrate the entire legacy of The Supremes in one publication. With this magazine we were able to salute every one of The Supremes, our entire history, every one of our albums, and all of the group’s incarnations from the 1960s to the 1970s -- and beyond. We cover several decades of wonderful memories, and of course dozens of our sequined Supremes gowns in this magazine!”
Watching the AMA awards the other night, I've just got to throw down. Taylor Swift is the bomb dot com. I can't get over the whole package, commercial songs, stage routines, and to top it all off, she's super fine. Will she ever slow down? I know I'm an old joker but she does have the goods.
Also I never thought I'd say this, but I have to give Beiber his kudos ... he is pretty good ... goofy but good. It seems like he's on some kind of accelerant but I know it's just youthful energy. There were others as well, but Taylor set it off. Good to see clean kids doing their thing with credibility.
Alex Valdez
Those megalopolis names were floating around in my head for a loooooong time, and NOW I know where they came from! EVERY school in our area used Weekly Readers!
-- BOB FRABLE, Easton, PA
I loved The Weekly Reader and Highlights Magazine when I was a kid. School Teacher Shelley J. Sweet-Tufano tells us that "Weekly Readers" have been replaced by something called "Time For Kids" ...
Kent,
Weekly Reader has actually been replaced in most schools by Time For Kids ... yep, a subsidiary of Time Mag. BUT the kids will certainly relate to this, as the Time For Kids is not only written for kids, but by kids. Just a title change for the elementary school child.
Shelley
FH Reader / Endless Summer Quarterly Publisher / and Beach Boys Examiner Columnist David Beard sends us TWO links to pass along to our readers ...
Hope this finds you, Frannie and your families well!!
I can't believe it's been this long. I remember the Oldies and Freakin Oldies chat rooms and miss the camaraderie and love of oldies we all shared. Here in Greensboro, NC, we haven't had an Oldies station for years. I just listen to my albums, cd's, cassettes, and youtube to hear the oldies. At least I have passed my love of music onto all six of my kids and so far my oldest grandson.
May you all have a wonderful Holiday!!
Bill McBee
Friday November 23, 2012: Jimmy Page Looks Back on Led Zeppelin’s Epic Ride
In the cover story for the new issue of Rolling Stone, Jimmy Page gives his deepest interview ever, speaking to Senior Writer David Fricke for more than eight hours about his post-Zeppelin drinking problem, the death of John Bonham, his life as a Sixties session guitarist, his favorite Led Zeppelin riffs, and much more. Here is an excerpt:
You formed the group and picked the players. Would you say Led Zeppelin was your band? There was no doubt about that. At that time, absolutely. I’m the one presenting the material and giving the ideas, how these things should be done. But the ruthless efficiency – everybody went into the first album with that. Everybody knew how good we were. And we were strict in that if we were writing something and it sounded like something else we’d done, we’d immediately drop it. There was one tipping of the hat: “Tea for One,” which was like “Since I’ve Been Loving You” [onLed Zeppelin III]. That was intentional, to apply a different feel to that blues.
Were you hurt by the initial, negative critical reaction? I was hoping you would ask that, writing for Rolling Stone [laughs]. There was a certain amount of acid poured on us. I could see it as venomous then. How I see it now? It went over their heads. I will give the reviewers the benefit of the doubt – each album was so different to the others. After Led Zeppelin and Led Zeppelin II, you get III: “What’s this about? Acoustic guitars?” There were crazy con clusions: “They’re doing a Crosby, Stills and Nash.” That’s because your ears weren’t open to the first album, when there was quite a bit of acoustic guitar too.
Did the reviews make you mad? It made me more determined. I knew what we had. We obliterated them in San Francisco on the first tour. [Led Zeppelin opened for Country Joe and the Fish at the Fillmore West for three nights in January 1969]. By the time we were moving on, through these other territories, everybody wanted to see what had come from the ashes of the Yardbirds. -- submitted by Bill Cody
I'm really glad someone noticed there are two versions of ALVIN'S HARMONICA, with different harmonica "riffs." This is partly speculation, but Liberty Records may have gotten into stereo later than some other labels. I understand that Martin Denny's EXOTICA was actually recorded twice; Denny and his group brought back into the studio to re-do the whole album in stereo, to satisfy dealer demands for a stereo version that didn't exist as the original had been recorded in monaural only.
David Seville / Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. recorded the Chipmunks on multiple 35mm magnetic film masters, one each for Alvin, Simon, Theodore, "Dave" and the instrumental backing. Being sprocketed and edge numbered allowed for easy and sure mixing, using a multi-roll "gang" synchronizer common in film editing. Several years ago, all the component parts of "The Chipmunk Song" were found in usable condition in Capitol's warehouses, and allowed the classic Xmas novelty to be mixed in true stereo for the first time.
Anyway, it's likely the stereo mix of ALVIN'S HARMONICA was made a couple years after the original mono single mix, and the track carrying the harmonica riffs was lost or destroyed and had to be re-made. The alternate version first appeared on the stereo LP LET'S ALL SING WITH THE CHIPMUNKS.
Some later pop singles I can think of that differ from the LP versions include Tony Orlando & Dawn's CANDIDA (additional brass on the LP) and STEPPIN' OUT, I'M GONNA BOOGIE TONIGHT (added chorus and strings on 45,) Cher's GYPSIES, TRAMPS & THIEVES (gypsy guitar audible on stereo LP. mixed out on mono 45) and the Carpenters' TOP OF THE WORLD (two completely different takes, and the "wrong" one re-issued on the oldies 45.) Collectibles Records and Columbia re-mastered Doris Day's EVERYBODY LOVES A LOVER in stereo, but forgot to over-dub the two tracks so she's no longer "singing with herself" at the end!
Jeff Missinne While it's true that it was quite common to have completely different mixes for mono and stereo singles back then (most record companies didn't press stereo singles early on because most consumers hadn't upgraded to stereo equipment yet ... for ages it seemed like you had the choice of which format to buy in the stores, with stereo typically being a buck or two more expensive than mono ... there are a number of instances where the record label simply "punched up" the mix for single release. Perhaps it was an album track that was never destined to go any further ... but then radio started playing it so the label decided to release it as a single after all, albeit with some "enhancement" to the mix. Two tracks that immediately come to mind are "Baby Blue" by Badfinger and "Keeping The Faith" by Billy Joel. Dunhill groups like Steppenwolf, The Mamas and the Papas and Three Dog Night ALWAYS seemed to have different versions between their singles and their LP counterparts, which made it VERY frustrating at times because you weren't always getting what you THOUGHT you were buying. (Most notable, perhaps, is the missing guitar solo on Three Dog Night's biggest hit "Joy To The World" on the LP version ... and yet any number of radio stations STILL play the wrong version today!) Then again, Karen Carpenter re-recorded a couple of The Carpenters' early works simply because she hated the way her voice sounded on a particular track and she felt she could do it better ... so any number of reasons come into play. You might not think so much time and effort would be spent on something by The Chipmunks ... but "Alvin's Harmonica" wound up being a #3 Record ... so ANYTHING to help sales would have been considered. Tapes being destroyed (or lost ... or even ERASED! over the years) would certainly be a valid factor as well ... all of which makes "collecting" that much more interesting and challenging sometimes! (kk)
I KNOW you, and know the picture will spur your interest since we were both raised on WLS and WCFL. It is from a cool website called 45cat and has about 700,000 45s listed, most with pictures and comments. This is only ONE of my contributions.
It is easy to do! You simply check out the listings. Add 45s that are not listed. Add images to those without images. Add your collection to the data base. Indicate which ones you WANT. RATE them 1-10. Check out everyone else's collection. Comment on the records OR just cruise though the site and go back to when you played 45s until you had to put a nickle on top of the arm to get it to play. There is no record too obscure to list. There is everything listed from the 45 that taught your parakeet how to talk to the five solo 45s I have listed by Ronnie Rice (one he even AUTOGRAPHED.) It will even let you know how to identify first pressings, second pressings, and where the records were MANUFACTURED on the many popular songs. Many of course complete with Youtube.
The cool thing is that you finally get to SEE the actual 45 you have been lusting for for all these years! I even posted my 45 of "Rosemary" by Brian Hyland that I hunted for for 45 years before I found it for a quarter at a Goodwill store half a mile from my HOUSE!
Allan
Wow! I'm sure the collectors on our list will LOVE this site! Thanks, Allan! (kk)
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/londoners-diary/lenny-kravitz-to-get-it-on-as-soul-legend-marvin-gaye-8328785.html Kent ...
According to the London Standard, Lenny Kravitz is supposed to portray Marvin Gaye in a new bio pic. He's also supposed to sing at halftime of the Patriots / Jets game on Thanksgiving.
Frank B.
P.S. Happy Thanksgiving to you, Frannie & The Saxonettes. (I figure if I'm nice to them now, they'll remember me when they're famous!) I like your "White Christmas" idea. Hope they do it.
The Marvin Gaye bio pic has been on again / off again so many times these past twenty years ... and several actors have been mentioned for the starring role. For me, Lenny Kravitz is one of the LEAST likely guys to pull it off. (I've always been partial to Jesse L. Martin of Law and Order who, from what I've read, has a really smooth singing voice ... and is a dead-ringer for Gaye in the looks department.)
The Saxonettes are scheduled to perform at the High School's Christmas concert ... but first have to learn "The Star Spangled Banner" in four-part harmony for the basketball home opener. I'm hoping they can keep everything going because it sure seems to be fun for them! (kk)
C'mon, kk, who are you kidding? Do you really expect us to believe this is a current photo?
C'mon, tell the truth ... this was taken back in the early 80's, right?
Today, you're actually bald, or balding ... or gray at best. No way this is a recent photo!
'fess up, your fans wanna know!
Just kidding, kk ...
Happy Thanksgiving!
PLQQKER
I just checked ... this photo was taken in November of 2007 ... so five years ago ... when we flew out to the East Coast, met with a bunch of FH Readers and Fans, did the Dave The Rave Radio Show (where we counted down The Top 20 Favorite, Forgotten B-Sides as voted on by our readers ... and had numerous artists call in to talk about their records) and (as this photo indicates) toured the Philadelphia International Recording Studio.
It's true, it's true! (From what I understand, Scott Shannon gets this all the time ... 'cause, as we all know, he's just GOTTA be over a hundred years old now, right?!?!?) WRONG!!!
But just to prove a point, here's a photo of me taken THIS November at something called "Scarecrow Fest" where we went to go see a band called Generation perform their '60's set. Naturally, I seemed to gravitate toward the scarecrow most befitting of a "'60's Chick" crown! (kk)
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