More Of Your Garage Bands Comments

The last batch of Garage Band Comments seem to be trickling in ... so we thought we'd wrap them up here once and for all.

re: THE McCOYS:  
Do you know about the version of Hang On Sloopy that was not played on the radio? The radio play left out a verse. I have a copy of the verse attached. Maybe too racy or they shortened the song for radio play?

Bill

I've always thought that this was just an album version vs. a single version ... the single was punched up and edited for the old "under three minutes airplay" factor that was so predominate on the radio back then. Honestly I've always felt that this verse didn't fit ... you'll hear it every once in a while on an oldies station and it just sounds "wrong"!!!  (kk)

Kent,
I learned something today that I did not know. You mentioned that the McCoys took their name from the flip of the Ventures' 1960 hit WALK DON'T RUN. Something didn't quite seem right to me so I went and pulled my copy. The flip was a song called HOME. I did some research and apparently WALK DON'T RUN was issued twice with THE MCCOY on one record and HOME on the other, both records on Dolton (label #25). I do have a copy of a record they made in 1959 called the REAL MCCOY with a Walter Brennan sound alike on the record.
Larry

One of my earliest (and most-played) 45's was "Walk Don't Run" by The Ventures ... and "The McCoy" was DEFINITELY on the B-Side of my single 'cause I played the heck out of that one, too! The Whitburn book references both B-Sides, which happened once in a while. I'm not familiar at all with the "Real McCoy" track ... but the Walter Brennan tie-in is appropriate! Would love to hear it. (kk)

Hi Kent,

Rick Derringer produced Edgar Winter and played guitar in the White Trash, but the guitar player on his biggest hits was Ronnie Montrose. He was the guitarist on They Only Come Out At Night, which had Free Ride, Hangin' Around, and Frankenstein. He also was the touring guitar player for that album -- at least he was when I saw them. Rick produced that album, though, and I wouldn't be surprised if he played some guitar on it as well. He was also working some with Johnny at that time still I think -- either in production or touring or both. When the Next Edgar Winter group album, Shock Treatment, came out, Montrose was gone and Rick was the guitarist but still producing. The drummer in the Edgar Winter Group was Chuck Ruff and the bass player was Dan Hartman, who went on to have a few hits of his own. The Drummer on the White Trash albums was Bobby Ramirez and the bass player, at least on the live album Roadwork, was Randy Hobbs.

Bill
Derringer, of course, scored with his big solo hit "Rock And Roll Hoochie-Coo", a #15 Record in 1974.  Dan Hartman's biggest solo hit was another one of my favorites, "I Can Dream About You".  That one went to #6 in 1984, incredibly ten years after Derringer's big hit. (kk)

>>>Legend has it that the Steely Dan song "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" was written about none other than Rick Derringer!!! (kk)

I always thought that with that particular spelling, they were referring to a woman! Would be pretty creepy if it were in fact Mr Derringer!

-- BOB FRABLE

I dunno ... just something I heard ... and more than once, too!  (kk)

Then again, maybe we've been wrong all along ...

Thanks, Kent, for setting the record (so to speak) straight on The McCoys / Strangeloves. Great job!
Mike Dugo / 60sGarageBands.com

Well, we tried ... but not everybody got it ... and clearly not the guy who had the story all mixed up in the first place! We exchanged numerous emails afterwards to no avail ... he has evidently made up his own mind as to what the REAL story is and nothing I can say or do is going to change that. As far as he's concerned, The McCoys were a fabricated band who went out with faceless substitutes on the road and Rick Derringer simply dubbed his vocals and guitarwork on to tracks already laid down by other studio musicians. Whatever. All we can do is present The Most Accurate Truth we're famous for. As they say, you can lead a horse to water ... but you can't make him think.  (kk) 

re: OTHER GARAGE BANDS COMMENTS:  
Just a passing thought ... I saw on the site where someone made the comment that the phrase "garage band" was never used back then, and he was absolutely correct. Bands like the Music Machine, Count Five, The Standells, The Seeds, etc., were the ~original~ PUNK bands and THAT term was used in print at the time to refer to their style of music. So, yeah, bands like the New Colony Six may fit within the context of 'garage band', a band that probably started out together in one of the member's garages or basements, along with some of the other bands that were included in your top ten ... they would NEVER, IMHO, fall into being described as a 'PUNK' band ... angry, attitudinal, snarling, three chord, little wonders, that churned out stuff like 'Psychotic Reaction', 'Dirty Water', 'Talk Talk', 'Pushin' Too Hard', etc. There is a certain thread that ran through ALL of those songs that is lacking in anything that I ever heard by New Colony Six, for example. Where is the anger or attitude in 'I Will Always Think About You'? There is none. Great song, NOT punk.
Just my nickel's worth on the subject ;) 
DocRock  
That's because we (the masses) only know of The New Colony Six through their two Top 20 ballads ... but seriously, listen to some of the other tracks we put up there ... you just may be surprised by where they came from. (Some of us remember when Rod Stewart was a rebellious rocker called "Rod The Mod", wearing panty hose ... not the lounge singer he became re-recording soft rock standards from 60 years ago!!! And Phil Collins used to drum for a progressive art-rock band before he sang songs on the Disney animated "Tarzan" movie, too.) As we learned on Friday, the "garage band sound" is sometimes just a perception. The Strangeloves totally nailed the sound ... and scored three Top 40 Hits in the process ... when, in fact, they were fronted by three Jewish songwriters whose biggest claim to fame up to that point was having written the #1 Hit "My Boyfriend's Back" for The Angels! Typecasting aside, go back and listen to some of the early New Colony Six examples that we posted on the site ... and see if you don't agree that this material was light years away from the "I Will Always Think About You" and "Things I'd Like To Say" ballads that eventually gained them their greatest audience. (kk)     

Kent -- 
I thought the Kingsmen were going to come in at #1, like a lot of people. 
In my senior year at Lane Tech the school experimented with pop music in the lunchroom, and when "Louie Louie" came on it was practically a riot. That was the end of lunchroom music.
I learned something else recently: The melody to the Kingsmen's song "The Jolly Green Giant" wasn't original to the song, nor to them. In 1960, the Olympics charted a song called "Big Boy Pete" (Whitburn says it got up to #50) and sure enough, the melody was the same.
The Jolly Green Giant was a big cultural deal in our youth. The company gave away bazillions of free kites, and the giant was lampooned famously on Johnny Carson. ("Hey Green Giant, show us your niblets!") He taught a generation of Boomers how to hate vegetables.
-- Jeff Duntemann
Colorado Springs, Colorado

We'll "Ho Ho Ho" this one right into a Christmas Greeting! Thanks, Jeff! (kk)


>>>Michael L. Rabon, lead singer and writer for the hit 60's group, The Five Americans, has written a new book about these strange and exciting times called "High Strung."  We've already heard from several FH readers who ordered Mike's book ... and it seems to be playing to EXCELLENT reviews from just about everybody who's read it!  (kk)     

You can get YOUR copy here:  
Click here: Amazon.com: High Strung (9781608300471): Mike Rabon: Books

I ordered the book through the Five Americans website upon a strong recommendation for the book from a friend of mine, and I couldn't put the book down -- I finished it in two days time and the entire time I was reading it, I felt like it would make a fantastic movie.

Tom Diehl
You'll find more rave reviews here:

Click here: Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: High Strung

Go ahead and add THIS one to my Christmas list, too!  (kk) 

Here's another great Five Americans track ...  
"Zip Code", a #36 Hit from 1967! 

I'm ba-ack ... well, been back ... just finally something to say ...

Best garage band to make an appearance on 'EL MUNSTERS' ?
The STANDELLS !!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iFpomw5sDo

-- RENFIELD

Classic! (Gotta put this up with our Beau Brummelstones clip as amongst my favorites from this series!) kk

Hi Kent,

I’ve really enjoyed counting down the top garage band tracks. Please let me know how to access the recent installments of the survey, particularly the first few days of the survey that I don’t recall receiving via email.

Best,

Justin

St. Paul MN

The series kicked off on November 26th ... just scroll or click back to this date and you can enjoy it in order from the beginning. We'll be posting The Top 50 soon ... and, hopefully, an audio recap, too ... Phil Nee of WRCO did a GREAT job of counting these down, throwing in a ton of "extras" and peppering the whole thing with some great interviews ... we're hoping to have an audio link up for you soon. This series has proven to be quite popular! (kk)

THANK YOU FOR THE GREAT WORK ON THE GARAGE BANDS. IT WAS WORTH WAITING FOR!
MIKE
Thanks, Mike ... and I can assure you that listening to it back in radio form is even MORE fun!  We're working to get you guys that link later this week ... I think you'll really enjoy it!  (kk)
 

Kent,

A great job on the Garage Band series. You have an incredible knowledge of, and tremendous enthusiasm for, our beloved oldies; not to mention unbelievable stamina. Hope you can have some well deserved downtime over the next few weeks.

Mike Ogilvie

Mississauga, ON, Canada

Monday Morning Comments

re: THE 12-12-12 CONCERT FOR SANDY:  
It seemed to me that there were more British Acts on the  121212 Concert than American Acts. Nice of them to appear, since they weren't damaged by Hurricane Sandy. 
Frank B.  
It's true ... Mick Jagger even made a comment that if they get heavy rains in London, he hopes that Americans will come over to help them out, too! VERY top-heavy with British Rock Royalty ... The Rolling Stones, The Who, Roger Waters, Paul McCartney ... pretty amazing! (kk)  

Kent ...

The :25 review ...

Daltrey and Pete Townsend sounded better at "Sandy" then they did at the 9/11 concert in the Garden over a decade ago.

Alicia Keys did a marvelous job of winning over a crowd that had just been enthralled by Mick and the masters.

Eric Clapton, slow hands, looked like the Godfather of indifference. His set was listless.
Bon Jovi looked out of his league. Bruce's hair style now reminds me of a 63 year old actuary.

I loved the show. New York and the Garden know how to throw a party.
Here is the take home point ... contemporary rock / rap / hip hop will never have the staying power we saw on stage last night. I love Usher but he will not be drawing full boats when he's 66 years old.
Chet Coppock
Notre Dame Football - WLS

Couldn't agree with you more. These acts have some proven staying power, still playing to sold out houses everywhere they go ... that's why we keep arguing that this is TIMELESS music that deserves to be heard. It still feels just as good today as it did back then ... maybe even better ... and I believe that new generations discovering it for the very first time will come to feel the same! (kk)    

Hi Kent,  
I was there also, watching the entire show. The highlight for me was the Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam) and Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) “Comfortably Numb” duo. Their voices were strong and clear and the guitar work was simply amazing. I also liked the Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen duo of “Who Says You Can’t Go Home”. I was disappointed with the Rolling Stones and The Who segments. I thought that the Stones didn’t bring as much energy to the show as the previous acts and that Roger Daltrey’s voice seemed weak. Clapton was good, but I was hoping he’d do “Sunshine Of Your Love” instead of "Crossroads” (both Cream songs). Also, can you imagine if he would have fired into “Layla”. What did you think about the majority of acts being British? It would have been nice to see a few more American artists like Neil Diamond, The Beach Boys, Chicago, Aretha Franklin or Stevie Wonder (instead of Kanye West) I agree with your thoughts about West!  

Joel Whitburn 
Funny you said that ... I kept waiting for Clapton to bring the house down with "Layla" and it never happened.  That easily could have been a concert highlight.  I joked about The Beach Boys not being there ... coming off of their tremendous 50th Anniversary Tour, it would have been amazing to see them cap the year off with a performance at the Concert for the Victims of Sandy ... but good ol' Mike Love had to blow it by letting his ego get in the way. (For all I know, he offered to perform with Bruce Johnston and they turned him down ... 'cause who'd want to see THAT version of the group after their major 2012 comeback tour?!?!?) It IS a little surprising that the line-up was so British-heavy ... but I think we got a whole lotta bang for our buck with this concert, especially those of us watching at home without the thousand dollar ticket price tag! Great show for a very, very good cause! (kk) 

Kent,

I loved seeing the Stones on the 12 12 12 concert for Sandy. The concert was really awesome in all aspects including production.

It was truly shocking to see Kanye come out in a dreary setting with no audible message, as well as no backup dancers of vocal He is not strong enough to pull this off. His appearance was out of context, boring in what seemed like a dreary ego presentation. My wife hated his skirt.

Most performers on the star studded bill do not need any discussion as to the talent they bring to the table. My wife is a major Roger Daltrey fan but raised an eyebrow over his dress and moves.

Thanks for the overview and the great job you do.

Keep on Rockin', 

Denny Flannigan  

Baja, MX  

Kent,  
I, too, stayed up late to watch the 12/12/12 Sandy Benefit Concert.  
I'm pretty much in agreement with you. I thought the Who's salute to Keith Moon was touching and the way they incorporated his vocals brought back memories. And Baba O'Riley is also one of my favorites. I think Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend did a pretty good job all things considered. Who was that playing drums? Was that Richard Starkey, Ringo's son?  
Springsteen was also better than I expected but the first two song titles were unknown to me. Maybe one of your readers can tell us where those songs come from.  
Clapton did "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" on acoustic guitar and then plugged in for two more songs, the last being a great rendition of Crossroads.

Agreed, I never got that NIRVANA crap and Kanye West in a leather kilt was unbelievably terrible.

Brian Williams did windup apologizing for offending anyone by over using the "swinging a dead cat" reference.

The Stones did a solid job with You Got Me Rocking and Jumping Jack Flash though we'll have to wait for Pay per View to see Gimme Shelter, which would have been more appropriate for the occasion.

Billy Joel managed to deliver a decent set recovering from several health problems.

Paul also played Live and Let Die but I wanted to hear Hope Of Deliverance

I think Adam Sandler was a bit over the edge as was Paul Shaffer, on Hallelujah but at least the sentiment was fitting. I wonder what Leonard Cohen privately thought?

I was hoping for something a little closer to Concert For Bangladesh than Super Bowl half time shows but it was cool. At least no wardrobe malfunctions! 
... bdpoe 

Agreed ... that would NOT have been a pretty site!  (Although Roger Daltrey did manage to get his shirt open for the latter half of The Who's set.  Ringo's son Zak has been drumming for The Who for quite some time now ... interesting how they used their spot to pay tribute to former drummer Keith Moon.  (Kinda like what The Beach Boys did during their 50th Anniversary Reunion Tour, playing along with video clips spotlighting deceased members Dennis and Carl Wilson.)  Honestly, I was just thrilled that Sir Paul didn't fall back on the way-too-overdone "Let It Be" and "Hey Jude" for his segment ... closing with "Live And Let Die", ALWAYS a crowd-pleaser, brought the perfect ending to an amazing night of music.  (I still don't quite get the Nirvana thing, however ... had somebody else approached Paul, George and Ringo about staging a mock-Beatles reunion live on stage with somebody else filling John's role, they would have turned it down in a heartbeat.  Then again, maybe Macca will handle the guest lead vocal on a full-fledged Nirvana reunion album ... "Sir"vana???)  kk

By the way, for anybody who missed any part of the concert ... or just wants to know "what song was that?!?!?" ... here is the complete play list performed that night:   
Click here: 12/12/12 Concert Set List - 103.7 The Mountain - KMTT Radio, Seattle, Quality Rock  

Sounds like a couple of the British artists took advantage of their time in New York ... of course, The Rolling Stones were there anyway to do their big Pay-Per-View Concert ... and Paul McCartney hung around to appear on Saturday Night Live as the musical guest.   Here's Frank B's capsule review of The Rolling Stones Pay-Per-View Show, a concert many seem to feel will be their last:

Kent ...
They opened the show with "Get Off My Cloud."  2 & 1/2 hours and 23 Songs later , they closed the show with "Satisfaction."
They also performed
--- " A Shot Away " with Lady Gaga.
--- " I'm Goin' Down " with John Mayer & Gary Clark ,Jr.
--- " Who Do You Love " with The Black Keys.
--- " Tumbling Dice " with Bruce Springsteen.
Mick said we've got so many guests, I feel like David
Letterman!
Audience request = " Dead Flowers. "
In my opinion they were much better tonight than they were on the 121212 Concert.  At first I thought the price was high ... $44.95.
I feel that I got my money's worth & more.
Frank B.

Meanwhile, songs by many of the artists performing at 12-12-12 were featured virtually non-stop on all the radio stations in town for the whole week after ... in particular, we heard an AWFUL lot of Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, The Who and The Stones ... even more so than usual.  Of course these are all Rock And Roll Hall of Fame caliber acts ... just like Randy Newman and Public Enemy, right???  (kk)

re: THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME:  
>>>Life's too short ... so I've started a list of things I no longer care about ... like ... Who gets in The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame -- it simply doesn't matter ... because SO many great names have been ignored for SO long now, the process holds absolutely no meaning or value to me anymore. Most music fans ... and many of the artists themselves ... feel exactly the same way. (kk)  
All I can say is "It's about time". Halls of Fame and various awards say more about the selectors than the selectees. They are designed to promote debate and stir up interest where it would otherwise not even exist. The famous people in all arenas (music, movies, sport, etc) don't need the enshrinement. They've earned genuine stature by what they have done. I'll trade you all those "Who?" Oscar winners for one Cary Grant or Alfred Hitchcock who never won.

Hil  

Rock n Roll HOF - Null & Void. Put a fork in it - Somebody Please!

Remember all the Rockin’ & Dancin’ & Romancin’ to Randy Newman & Public Enemy. Sheesh! Gee, more disco! - God help us!

Ken

Hey, Kent, 
I think you’d agree that the Doobs are very much deserving of the Rock Hall of Fame. Maybe they could collectively apologize to that person who has power in the Hall, for ticking him off, so long ago. Life’s too short to hold grudges against each other, THIS long!  
Dave Wollenberg,
Wheaton, IL  

Hi Kent,

Here's a thought … and it’s about Public Enemy’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Do you think that, one day, when there’s a “Hip-Hop / Rap” Hall of Fame that they’ll consider inducting Aerosmith or Creedence??? Think about it.

Have a great Christmas, Kent.

Joel Whitburn

EXCELLENT point and well stated. (Although I'd next argue that Aerosmith is more deserving of a place in THAT Hall of Fame for their Run D.M.C. remake of "Walk This Way" than Public Enemy is for ANYTHING they ever recorded when it comes to The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Great to hear from you ... proving again that even some of the voting members are confused and confounded by the choices being made by The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame!  It's so far past ridiculous, it's downright ridiculous-er!!! (kk)

re: ON THE RADIO:  
Kent -

Many of us worked at thriving radio stations with very creative and talented people. Think about the best people you worked with and where they are now. Satellite Radio has become a haven for terrestrial cast-offs who understand that despite the research, "Jack and Diane" doesn't belong in hot rotation. Many of the best folks I worked with on the programming side are now at Sirius / XM. Even artists like Tom Petty and Bob Dylan have their own shows over there. As much as I'd like to see traditional (and free) radio make a comeback, I agree with your assessment that it has ceased to exist as an art form (with some notable exceptions).

Carl Wiser

www.songfacts.com

Kent,

I couldn't agree with you more about the pathetic state of pop music radio (current, oldies and "classic"). My radio pals and I recurrently talk about the way deregulation degraded radio as we remember it in its prime -- the '60s and 70s, before the "rule of sevens" ownership clause was dumped. With the exception of a few good, creative, independent outlet, the megalithic chains themselves have validated Newton Minow's "vast wasteland" assessment of broadcasting.

Best regards and happy holidays.

Jeff March

As for radio music, who really needs it?

Hil

Hi, Kent.

Thank you for letting your readers know about our upcoming "100 Greatest Christmas Hits" radio special. Running a show like this runs counter to the way far too many printout-controlled radio programmers think these days -- folks who are terrified of airing any track which has not gone through and passed their heavily flawed market testing procedures. In a nutshell (a fully appropriate term), they will test a handful of tracks to a small sample within their target demo and then pound the ones that test at the top into oblivion by airing them to death. Their inability to jump on a record simply because their gut and instinct tells them it's right for their audience is so acute one wonders if they have any ears at all. Worse, they only test a FEW tracks which span a very narrow category (such as the same era or musical style). From that they'll conclude that any track they did NOT test is one their audiences will hate. That's the mindset which led to the current craze of narrowcasting, where every song played sounds like a clone of the one before it and the one after. The result is broadcast boredom -- reducing good music to background noise that listeners only half hear (just like they also only half-hear the income-generating commercials). Listeners quickly realize that they can tune out for an hour, a week, a year or forever and NOT MISS A THING.

Once upon a time radio was essential in people's lives because it connected with them via compulsive content. When was the last time you were out driving with the radio on, pulled into your driveway, shut the ignition off, but then clicked the RADIO back on -- because you were convinced that if you didn't, you'd MISS SOMETHING GREAT? Been a while, hasn't it?

It's still possible to create radio fascinating enough to captivate listeners but you can't do it with audio wallpaper: an ultra-limited playlist of soundalike songs framed by announcers forced to hype the station and read spots while completely ignoring the MUSIC -- the very programming element which caused them to tune in in the first place.

Hope this is your merriest Christmas yet, Kent. Hopefully sometime next year my wife and I will return to Chicagoland to visit her family there and at the same time you and I can grab a cup of coffee someplace.

Gary Theroux

Perfectly said and executed, Gary ... too bad none of the right people are listening. What a different radio world we could be living in if they simply paid attention. Meanwhile, I'm convinced ... radio as we knew it ... and loved it ... is dead. I can't wait until I can have the unlimited choices that exist today at my fingertips in the car ... until then I'm finding other ways to entertain myself to and from work. (kk)

re: WE'VE GOT SOME WINNERS:  
Forgotten Hits Readers Christina West of Wichita Falls, TX, Jack Levin of Wayne City, IL, and Michael DiBella of Lawrence, New York, all won copies of the brand new Supremes 50th Anniversary Magazine put together by Mark Bego and Mary Wilson.   

They correctly identified two out of our three questions (as posed by author Mark Bego himself!):  

1) What 50th Anniversary event in the history of The Supremes does December of 1962 commemorate?

ANSWER: The release of their debut album, "Meet The Supremes"   

3) What were the four Top 40 hits The Supremes released in 1970?

ANSWER: "Stoned Love", "Up The Ladder To The Roof", "Everybody's Got The Right To Love" and "River Deep, Mountain High" with The Four Tops  

The puzzler seemed to be question #2 ... only Michael DiBella answered that one correctly ...

2) At the height of The Supremes' success in the late 1960's, what was Mary Wilson's big solo in the group's act?  

ANSWER: "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" ...

or as Michael put it ...

Mary Wilson's solo number was the dreadful "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You". (Her version is tolerable only because she is singing it.)     

Congratulations to all of our Supremes Magazine winners.  

Meanwhile, copies of the brand new Fifth Estate "Anthology Volume 1: The Witch Is Dead" CD are going out to Ed Salamon of Nashville, TN, Pasquale Severino of Hamilton, NJ and Steve Davidson of Scottsdale, AZ. 

Congratulations to all of the above! (kk)

TODAY'S FORGOTTEN HIT:  Since we're talking about The Supremes, how about their Top Ten 1971 post-Diana Hit "Nathan Jones".  When's the last time you heard THAT one on the radio???  (kk)

 

The Sunday Comments ( 12 - 16 - 12 )

re: THE RASCALS:  
Round One of The Rascals' Reunion Shows took place this past week. Here are a few articles sent in by FH Readers talking about this major musical event:

http://www.examiner.com/article/exclusive-the-rascals-gene-cornish-talks-about-the-group-s-reunion  

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2012/12/11/rascals-reunion-steven-van-zandt/1762533/  

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/rascals-back-steven-article-1.1218686   

Click here: Relive the '60s at The Rascals Reunion - Chappaqua-Mount Kisco, NY    

Click here: The Rascals return 40 years later: A reunion for pioneers of blue-eyed soul - NY Daily News   

And some GREAT concert reviews ...   

Click here: The Rascals Redefine Reunion Concerts With ‘Once Upon A Dream’ « WCBS-FM 101.1   

http://www.showbiz411.com/2012/12/14/the-rascals-reunite-triumphantly-after-40-years-of-feuding   

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/15/arts/music/the-rascals-at-the-capitol-theater.html?_r=0    

Just got home from the Rascals show ... After such a sad, horrible day, (God bless those children in CT), I was fortunate enough to experience one of the best live shows I have ever seen. Absolutely incredible! 
Sure, Eddie's voice is not what it used to be, but he makes up for it with his spirit & enthusiasm, and Felix is spot on with his voice and his keyboards. My vote for the star of the show goes to ... Dino Danelli, without a doubt one of the absolute greatest rock & roll drummers of all time. It was one hell of a show. What a great night in Port Chester!

Scott Shannon

 

The final bow ... photo by Mike McCann

re: SAY A PRAYER:  
Hey Kent,

Founding Letterman, Bobby Engemann is undergoing heart surgery today. Even in his fragile condition he needs to have this operation to avert a heart attack. He has pulled through some tough times before and hopefully he can do it again. Keep him in your prayers.

Thanks,

Lettermen / Reunion

Gary Pike 

Sending along our best wishes for a successful surgery and a speedy recovery to Bobby.

We recently read founding Lettermen Jim Pike's biography ... it'll be part of a series of book reviews we've got coming up in Forgotten Hits ... so stay tuned!  (kk)   

re: MERRY CHRISTMAS:  
Gary "US" Bonds has a brand new Christmas album out and it's a real family affair! Gary is joined by his wife and daughter (both named Laurie!) on this new holiday release called "Christmas Is ON!" 
The record company is pushing the track "Baby, Baby It's Christmas" by MY favorite is "Christmas Is A Phone Call Away", which has sort of a Bo Diddley-feel to it (with a touch of the old "yakety sax" Coasters sound thrown in for good measure, too!) It harkens back to Bonds' earlier days. The new CD features eight brand new tracks plus Gary's take on the Christmas Classics "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" and "White Christmas", done Drifters-style by the ladies. (Not a bad arrangement ... but honestly a little "auto-tune" would have helped the lead vocal on this track!!!) 
The CD is available through Amazon.com (and you can sample all of the tracks here as well!):  
Click here: Amazon.com: Christmas Is ON!: Gary U.S. Bonds: Music

 

Gary's autobiography will be released in January. Cleverly titled "By U.S. Bonds ... That's My Story", you can pre-order this one, too, while you're over at the Amazon site. (kk)

Kent,

Thanks so much for including that long, long mass email. You're always so supportive of my work. I hereby sentence you to a joyous Xmas and a wonderful new year.

Yers,
Bob Lind & Jill 
www.boblind.com

Rightbackatcha, Bob ... and congrats on all the great things happening for you right now. (kk)

Anyone looking for a Christmas CD that rocks and is full of fun, need not look any further than Freddy Cannon’s “Have A Boom Boom Christmas,” celebrating the 10th anniversary of its release this year. Here’s a review from 2002:

Each holiday season, listeners are treated to a barrage of perennial favorites, most of which fade harmlessly into the background. Rock & Roller Freddy Cannon seems to think he can do better. Why not make a holiday album that gets the listener's attention and, better yet, makes the listener want to dance? This is exactly what he does on Have a Boom Boom Christmas!!, taking a handful of well-worn songs and a few originals and giving them rock & roll -- circa 1956 -- treatments. Upbeat fare like "Run Rudolf Run," "Santa Clause Is Coming to Town," and "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer" will make one wonder why nobody has sock hops at Christmastime anymore. There are also good versions of "Feliz Navidad" and "Here Comes Santa Claus." Perhaps the most fun pieces, however, are Cannon originals. "Santa's Got Two Left Feet" offers an explanation of why the jolly old elf can't dance, while "Santa (You're Too Fat for Me)" presents a new way of looking at Kris Kringle's plumpness. Most interesting of all is "Mamacita," a song about Santa drinking margaritas in a south-of-the-border bar, enjoying a little downtime after the holidays. Cannon realizes, just like Jimmy Buffett, that even a North Pole native enjoys a Mexican holiday from time to time. The album is rounded out with a new version of "Palisades Park," making Have a Boom Boom Christmas!! the perfect gift for anyone who believes that rock & roll just ain't what it used to be.

~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhcVz9_Ldqk

Oldies.com is offering the CD this weekend as a “Santa Special” for $4.48

http://www.oldies.com/product-view/75232.html

-- Tom Cuddy

re: WOULD YOU BUY IT EVEN IF YOU COULD???:

The copy of John Lennon's 1980 comeback LP "Double Fantasy" that Lennon autographed for Mark David Chapman a few hours before he murdered him is up for sale. 

Originally confiscated as evidence when Chapman was first arrested, it sounds like this one has changed hands a few times now ... at a pretty hefty price tag. All the details can be found here:  
Click here: Mark David Chapman’s Own Lennon-Autographed Copy of ‘Double Fantasy’ Up For Sale « K-EARTH 101  
Seriously, though ... would you buy it, even if you could?!?! (Dave The Rave???) kk

re: THIS AND THAT:  
Kent,
In Iggy Pops' comment to you today, he mentioned that years ago he was part of a duo
called Megaton 2. It reminded me of and I had to get the record out to play it, an instrumental out of 1962 by the Megatons called SHIMMY SHIMMY WALK. This also reminded me, indirectly, of a somewhat similar record namewise by a group called the Megatrons, also an instrumental called VELVET WATERS out of 1959.
Don't know if you remember this two instrumentals but in Iggy Pop's comments to you, my memory was jarred about these two.
Larry Neal  
Actually, Iggy's message wasn't to me but came from that great new book "101 Essential Rock Records". We've been talking about it for a while now and it's AMAZING! Highly recommended. (That'll be part of our upcoming Book Reviews, too!)  As for the instrumentals you mentioned, no, I'm not familiar with either of these. The Megatons single peaked at #88 in Billboard ... and the Megatrons' "Velvet Waters" did even better, peaking at #51. (kk)  

THEY WILL HAVE A CLIP FROM 1964 OF DICK CLARK AND MYSELF ON THE ROCKIN' NEW YEARS EVE TV SHOW, HOSTED BY RYAN SEACREST ... HOPE YOU GET TO WATCH IT! 
THE CLIP WILL AIR BETWEEN 8 AND 10 PM PACIFIC TIME, BETWEEN 11 AND 1 PM EAST COAST TIME ON NEW YEARS EVE, 2013  
ROCK AND ROLL!  
THANKS, 
FREDDY BOOM BOOM CANNON  

Here's John Ford Coley singing "The Dreidel Song" at a menorah lighting event here in Nashville Tuesday night. 
David Lewis

>>>My cousin recently met Van Morrison aboard a cruise ship. She told him that one of her all-time favorite songs was "Brown-Eyed Girl." Van told her that as a young boy he had a female dog that had one blue eye and one brown eye, and that he wrote Brown-Eyed Girl for that dog. I had heard that story behind the song before, but this is the first time I had heard of Van telling the story himself.
(Roger Kirkpatrick)  
I recall hearing a story of a Brown Skinned Girl, as originally titled!  
Click here: Brown Eyed Girl - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia   
John  

re: BREWER AND SHIPLEY:  
DEAR KENT,

PLEASE MAKE A FORGOTTEN HITS CORRECTION FOR ME: THE TRUE OLDIES CHANNEL HAS PLAYED THE SONG "ONE TOKE OVER THE LINE", BY BREWER & SHIPLEY SINCE THE DAY WE SIGNED THE STATION ON. THE SONG WE DONT PLAY IS "TARKIO ROAD", WHICH NEVER EVEN BROKE THE TOP 50.

THANKS,

SCOTT SHANNON

DEEJAY

So noted ... "Tarkio Road" was a #12 Hit here in Chicago so we may be more familiar with it than other parts of the country. It stopped at #55 in Billboard, #49 in Record World ... but DID crack The Top 40 in Cash Box, peaking at #39. My guess is ... (especially within the context of the "One You Know ... One You Didn't Even Know You Forgot" theme) ... folks might enjoy hearing it again ... 'cause it ain't a bad tune ... pretty catchy in fact! (See email below!) kk 

Cool hearing Tarkio Road, as I travel it every so often ("headed up to Crete, Nebraska"). I never considered it a "mother" tho. haha. Brewer & Shipley helped shape Nebraskan Randy Meisner's career when with his group, the Poor, in 1968, by writing their local hit "Feelin Down." Of course, Randy went on to heights with the Eagles and writing their hit "Take it to the Limit."

Clark

That video of the singers on The Lawrence Welk Show performing the "modern-day spiritual" "One Toke Over The Line" was worth the price of admission right there! VERY funny stuff ... they clearly didn't have a clue! (kk)  

re: THE CHARTS:  
As many in FH know, I deal in top 40 surveys. I don't know how many thousands have passed thru my hands over the years, I just wished I had hung on to them if I knew such a thing like eBay was to be invented. However I also worked for record distributors for a number of years as well as managing a record store and I've worked in radio too. I feel I need to go into more detail on just how a record becomes a hit and how it gets on the charts. The music industry is a three headed monster. The performers, radio and the record industry itself all play a part and not necessarily very equal, as any number of the musicians here can attest to. Let's say you have written a song and you know it's a kick ass song. We've all heard songs like that on the radio. But you don't have a record label. You can distribute it yourself, but you don't have the time to pitch your record to every radio station that is formatted to your kind of music. You're better off(?) being signed to a label and let them worry about distribution and airplay. So you're signed to FH records and FH now has got to get radio stations to play your record. So the record reps start calling in favors to various stores and ask to report the song as a top ten seller that week. Now KENT radio calls the record store and asks what are the week's top sellers. They call me at Rock And Roll Never forgets and I say Lonely Christmas, by Kent Kotal (a bad example because it's a seasonal song, but you get the idea). Back before Soundscan, radio stations would base part of what goes on their playlist on selected store reports. Never mind that most stores had no clue on the exact records they were selling. Do you think that they had time to pour over countless receipts to tally sales? However they knew what was selling. So KENT radio now adds Lonely Christmas to the rotation and of course people hear it and say, HOW COOL!!!! Now the trade magazines, Billboard, Cashbox and Record World also poll selected stores and poll radio stations across the country for their input. However none of the trades use actual sales from the store to the consumer as the sole guide, nor do any of the local radio station surveys. Do you think there's some poor soul sitting in cubicle all day calling EVERY retail outlet in America, for store sales? No, they are tabulated more from the manufacturer to the distributor. And those numbers can be inflated. There's no way to know. Often times the label will send a distributor far more than it can reasonably expect to sell, in the hopes that maybe if radio sees a strong beginning showing, they'll add the record and then listenership will take over. There's also jukebox play to be considered. Labels are not above going down to local bar and popping quarters into the jukebox. Inside every jukebox is a device that shows the relative popularity of each song. Again, there are places that served only jukeboxes, and they too report sales. So what the chart numbers mean for Lonely Christmas, depends on the market, how the individual radio stations use the data and what data they are fed. We've now seen how it can be the biggest load of B.S. you ever heard. I've sat in on dozens of record meetings where the label would plead for a record to be reported top 5, 4 even #1. They will pull out all the stops with free concert tix, t-shirts, records, whatever they got. In the case of some 20 year old kid, it doesn't take much, for the owner of some major record store, maybe a little more. There's always that vacation for you and a guest (not necessarily your wife or significant other) to Jamaica during January to see some reggae artist who's is to be the next big thing. Payola doesn't necessarily mean cash. As the buyer of 45s & LPs in the early 80s, I got my fair share of goodies as a way of saying thanks, usually concert tix and t-shirts. Of course now Lonely Christmas is the top song of the season and Kent says, where's my money? Just because your 45 sold for 75 cents at the store then, doesn't mean you get 100% of that. The following people have their hand in your pocket. The label who foots the bill for the legwork, promotions and so on. (At least they claim they do). If the store sells it for 75 cents, they're probably paying about 60 cents for it. However the label pays for a lot of print & radio ads that the average record store has no money for. Then the label says they had to give X amount to radio stations and stores for airplay and for giveaways, knocking your take down further. Of course then there's damaged product, either the record itself was defective, the shipper damaged it, the warehouse and so one. You get that stuff back and charge you for shipping. OK, but Kent still want's his money. The label says OK, we will recall all copies of your record, that includes any records still set aside as promos, but haven't been designated yet. Figure at least 60 days. Record stores seeing a chance to earn credits toward their bill, jump at the chance to send stuff back in exchange for the next big thing. Now there are no copies left at the retail level, so when radio calls me up and asks about the status of Lonely Christmas, I'll tell them I haven't sold any. The same goes for all other stores. No sales, no airplay, no airplay no chart position. Now they ship all your records back to you, again at your expense. So what started out as an easy couple thousand dollars turns into losing money for you, but no one else. Moreover you now have a couple boxes of 45s you can show to your grandkids. We've gone over a couple examples of this in the past in FH. Even if your song sells in the millions, it doesn't mean you're a millionaire. 
Jack Levin / RockandRollNeverForgets  

re: FIRST 45's: 
I just heard about your site per a plug on Scott Shannon's True Oldies channel. 
Not counting kids records by acts like Captain Kangaroo or Burl Ives, the first 45 I ever heard and asked Mom to buy was from 1958 when I was a pre-schooler: The Purple People Eater by Sheb Wooley. 
For many years, though, I was more into my parents' music and school band music in the '60's until we began playing a lot of pop hits at football games in high school. I became acquainted with many songs the band played and "Classical Gas" by Mason Williams was the first one I bought. I also bought "The Horse" by Cliff Nobles, "Everyday People" by Sly & the Family Stone, "Hawaii Five-O" by the Ventures and "Scarborough Fair" by Simon & Garfunkel. 
It was really around March, 1970, when I began religiously following Top 40 radio and started buying heavily. Some of the early songs I bought follow: Celebrate by Three Dog Night, Travelin' Band / Who'll Stop the Rain by CCR, Love Grows by Edison Lighthouse, Easy Come, Easy Go by Bobby Sherman, Spirit In the Sky by Norman Greenbaum, Little Green bag by George Baker Selection, Love or Let Me Be Lonely by Friends of Distinction, Walking Through the Country by Grass Roots, Something's Burning by Kenny Rogers and First Edition ... well, you get the picture. I'll stop here. 
John Kier 
Atlanta, GA 
Those are some GREAT records, John ... bought most of those myself, too. We've posted your list on our www.forgottenhits.com website in the First 45's section ... SO many great memories ... 'cause EVERYBODY remembers their first! (kk) 

You'll also find the results of our Top 200 All-Time Favorite, Forgotten B-Sides posted there ...

Click here: Forgotten Hits - Your Top 200 Favorite, Forgotten B-Sides

 

Speaking of which ...  

re: AND FAVORITE, FORGOTTEN B-SIDES:  
Another Killer B Side is KNOW YOU by the Dave Clark 5 - Flipside of GLAD ALL OVER. 
Wayne Scott Sandifer  

re: DIGGIN' FORGOTTEN HITS:  
Love how you post pushback comments - Bravo!  
Phil 
PrayForSurfBlog

Hey, Forgotten Hits is all about sharing the memories and the love for this music ... let's face it, we're not always going to agree and, as Peter Noone once told me, that's why they have menus at restaurants ... so you can pick and choose what you really like. We always try to present all sides of a discussion ... my opinion is no more right than anyone else's when it comes to any given topic. It's all a matter of taste. Kind of what makes this whole thing work. (kk)   

re: TODAY'S FORGOTTEN HIT:   
Kent,
It was good hearing the SOMETHING STUPID song by the father and daughter whose last name is Sinatra. Reminds one of lots of records they made back in the sixties one doesn't hear on the radio anymore. Keep up the good work on this.
You mentioned that the other day you were in Arby's and heard the song by Chad and Jeremy which you posted and that you couldn't believe your ears. Let me tell you what happened to me just a few weeks ago.
I was in one of our malls and they were playing music in the background as most malls do. Some people would classify it as "elevator" type of music. When lo and behold, they started to play Frankie Laine's 1957 song MOONLIGHT GAMBLER. I couldn't believe my ears, just as what happened to you. I did go into the office and ask them where the music was coming from but the secretary on duty didn't know.
About a week later I was in our local grocery store Buy For Less in which they had overhead music playing as well. All of a sudden, they played the song RED HOT out of 1955 by singer Billy 'the kid' Emerson. I believe Sam the Sham recorded it as well some 10 years later. Again, I couldn't believe my ears when I heard that song coming out over the intercom. I probably was the only one in the store at the time who was familiar with the song.
Larry Neal   
We've run dozens and dozens of letters over the years from people who have been shocked, surprised, amazed and delighted by what they've heard playing (almost subliminally) as background music in their grocery stores. (Typically, this music is played so softly, you REALLY have to listen in order to be able to detect it ... it's not there to grab your attention but more as a "soothing" experience ... which makes it all that much more amazing when we pick up on what some of these tunes really are!) I, too, wonder the source of who is providing this music to them. Apparently somebody that doesn't believe in all the "research" stating that people don't want to hear this music anymore ... because the reaction we hear about here is always positive and pure delight. Too bad nobody in radio is paying attention to what people REALLY want to hear. (kk)

Speaking of which, here's another great Forgotten Hit ... and a #9 Record World Hit from 1965 for Bobby Goldsboro.  (He's one of the artists profiled in the brand new Jeff March / Marti Smiley Childs book "Where Have All The Pop Stars Gone, Volume 2", yet ANOTHER book we'll be reviewing soon on the website.

NEXT WEEK IN FORGOTTEN HITS:
TONS more of your comments.  (I'm still playing major catch-up now that our Garage Bands Series has ended ... watch for another great Comments Page tomorrow ... as well as the next installment of our "Helping Out Our Readers" series.)  Plus anything else I can get ready in time.  Enjoy!