Tuesday This And That

re:  THIS AND THAT:

kent,
mary poppins in the rock n'roll hall of fame?!
wtf?!
bob

Actually, it's the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame ... as a "must own" soundtrack album.

Finding that to be a hard pill to swallow???

Well, a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down!  (kk)

Hi kk,
You'll be pleased to know that Lou Simon's "Home for the Holidays" special countdown received more than the usual amount of positive feedback for his shows.  That was great to hear because it seemed like he was taking a bit of a gamble on this one by playing a good number of forgotten hits in sequence that didn't reach the weekly top 50, like the two brought up in this week's FH editions by Jan & Dean and the Joiner, Arkansas Junior High School Band.
The warm response to this countdown may be taken as proof that there is "a hunger" among listeners keen on hearing these lost gems.
Dann Isbell

Great to hear ... and proof again that programmers and consultants who believe the audience will only accept the same 200-300 "tried and true" oldies really do appreciate something OFF the list once in awhile, too!  (kk) 

Please tell Paul Evans, who wrote about Jack Kalin's passing (of Kalin Twins & 'When'), that there are those of us who still love his 'Happy Go Lucky Me.'  (Also 'Hambone Rock' & '7 Little Girls.')  I defy anybody to listen to 'Happy Go Lucky Me' & not smile or at least want to have a reason to smile.   He had such a lively lilt to his voice.   I was a fan.   

Pttibg

Did you check out Paul's video for his "Santa's Stuck In The Chimney" new release?  This guy is still crankin' 'em out!  (kk)

GREAT news ... Dick Biondi's name has been reinstated (thanks to all the shake-up going on at WLS-FM regarding Jan Jeffries) ... so once again they're calling it The Annual Dick Biondi Toy Drive.  The location is new  (downtown now for the first time after years at Stratford Square and Yorktown Mall) ... and the big event will be next weekend (Saturday, December 14th to be exact!)  You'll find all the details here thanks to Chicagoland Radio and Media:  Click here: Dick Biondi's Annual Toy Drive Returns This Month

And be sure to check in this Christmas / Jingle Bells video sent in by Gary Pike, formerly of The Lettermen: 

If you’ve never seen him before Tony does a great job.  

Gary 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGjcNVD07FQ

Kent,

Reading the comments about Garth's concert reminded me that the year The Beatles Anthology showed on TV (at Thanksgiving) there was a commercial for Garth's newest cd at Walmart or Kmart.  (do not remember the particular 'mart')  It pictured a family eating Thanksgiving dinner and then rushing out to get the cd.  At the time, I thought the commercial was funny, and I think Garth Brooks worthy of the 'rush'.  But now that these stores are remaining open over ALL family holidays ... I am not laughing anymore.

Shelley J Sweet-Tufano

Garth's new box set premiered at #3 on The Billboard Album Chart last week ... and is expected to reach #1 ... not bad for a guy who's been out of the limelight these past several years.  It was a KILLER special ... the girls watched the live Carrie Underwood version of "The Sound Of Music" last week ... and Garth's live show blew this one away.  (kk)

Belated congratulations kk!

Thanks for all the fun facts and stories.

Bravo! and blessings,

Phil

PrayForSurfBlog.blogspot.com

Kent,

Wow! 15 years ... how Pond! ;-) 

I'd send you a"Whipped Cream" cover, but having trouble finding hot men to bathe in whipped cream!  Later.

Ed Pond

Then I guess we'll have to run this spaghetti shot again!  Thanks, Ed!  (kk)

 

Hi Kent,

Has the documentary "Searching For Sugar Man" been discussed on FH? I strongly recommend you see it if you haven't.
David

Actually, yes, it's come up NUMEROUS times now ... and always to stellar reviews ... yet (incredibly) I STILL haven't seen it yet.  (Saw that it was on this past weekend but at the point I caught it, it was already half over.)  Will have to make it a point to check this one out ... VERY good reviews nanimously thus far.  (kk)

How wild is this?!?!?

For his wife's 54th birthday part, Paul McCartney hired a Japanese Beatles sound-alike band to perform!

Despite the fact that they can barely speak a word of English, The Parrots are Japan's top Beatles copy-cat act ... yet they mimic the exact sound of The Fab Four when performing their songs.

Even wilder?  McCartey got up and joined them on stage to perform "I Saw Her Standing There"!!!

Now THAT would have been cool to see!!!  (kk)

The other day we mentioned some new Beatles titles that might make for great holiday gifts.  Now FH Reader Ken Voss sends us some OTHER holiday book suggestions ... "heavy" in the Jimi Hendrix arena!

Looking for that perfect Christmas gift. How about a new Hendrix book? Let’s take a look at the books that have come out in the last year:

• Jimi Hendrix: A Brother’s Story by Leon Hendrix with Adam Mitchell (Thomas Dunne Books / St. Martin’s Press ISBN 978-0-312-66881-5) – This is the family story as told by the one living person that spent the most time with Jimi growing up – his brother Leon. It’s as much as autobiography of Leon, who admits to the demons that ostracized him from the family, but gives us another personal view of Jimi Hendrix. A must read.

• Jimi Hendrix FAQ by Gary J. Jucha (Backbeat Books ISBN 978-1-61713-095-3) – Subtitled as “all that’s left to know about the Voodoo Child,” I expected this paperback to be a list of facts – chronology, itinerary, concert dates, etc. None of that can be found here (although certainly can be found in other books). What we get is Jucha telling a series of stories documenting the facts about the particular topic (i.e. a topic on Eric Clapton covers all different times Clapton and Cream were involved with Jimi. Similar pieces on Paul McCartney, John Lennon, etc.) While it’s an interesting read and ties things together, breaks no new ground and will be disappointing to those who buy looking for the lists.

• Jimi Hendrix: Made in England by Brian Southall (Clarksdale Books ISBN 978-1-905959-4-19) – This paperback looks specifically at the 15 month rise to fame of the Jimi Hendrix Experience providing additional insights from many of the musicians and music industry personnel who crossed paths with Jimi during that period. Provides some interesting new perspectives and tidbits of information.

• Jimi Hendrix: Staring At Zero (Bloomsbury ISBN 978-1-62040-331-0) – This is the story of Jimi Hendrix – in his own words. As described by Peter Neal, to all intents and purposes this book has been written by Jimi Hendrix,” a dossier of Hendrix conversation, stage banter, interviews all compiled from dialogue culled from records, interviews, articles and other sources.

• Hal Leonard Guitar Tablature Books
    o JIMI HENDRIX: BLUES PLAY-ALONG (HL00843218 - ISBN 978-1-4584-0269-1) Guitar tablature volume that is part of the Blues Play-Along series of Hal Leonard books. Designed for use with all B-flat, E-flat, Bass Clef and C instruments. The volume provides easy-to-read lead sheets and tablature with lyrics of eight Hendrix compositions – “Fire”, “Foxey Lady”, “Jam 292”, “Little Wing”, “Red House”, “Spanish Castle Magic”, “Who Knows” and “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)”. Also include is a CD featuring two tracks for each song – one a full stereo mix with all recorded instruments present on the track, and one split track where bass or guitar parts can be removed. The CD is also enhanced so MAC and PC users can adjust the recording to any tempo without changing the pitch.
    o JIMI HENDRIX: ESEENTIAL ELEMENTS (HL00865013 - ISBN 978-1-4584-0086-4) Guitar tablature volume that is part of the Essential Elements series of Hal Leonard books for guitar ensembles. Considered a “mid intermediate” skill level, the tab book features 15 songs arranged for three or more guitarists (guess it takes three or more to equal Jimi). Each arrangement features the melody, a harmony part, and bass line in standard notation with chord symbols. For groups with more than three or four guitars, the parts can be doubled.

• Legends of Music: The Life and Legacy of Jimi Hendrix (Charles River - ISBN 9781492393245) This short 32-page paperback reads more like a lengthy magazine article or college thesis summarizing Jimi’s life and career, slightly skewing historical information and injecting the author’s theories and reasonings tracing Hendrix from birth in 1942 to the how the legacy he left behind is being managed. Not much here to warrant paying any attention to. And while published in paperback, won’t be surprised to see an e-book edition.

• Star Guitars by Dave Hunter (Voyageur Press - ISBN: 9780760338216) These are the guitars so famous that their names are often household words: B. B. King’s Lucille, Eric Clapton’s Blackie, Stevie Ray Vaughan’s First Wife, Billy F Gibbons’ Pearly Gates, Neil Young’s Old Black, and many more. Author Dave Hunter documents those instruments with this illustrated history of the actual guitars of the stars that made the music. While other volumes on guitar histories look at the rank-and-file models, this book is unique in profiling the actual “star guitars”— the million-dollar babies, such as the 1968 Stratocaster that Jimi Hendrix burned at Woodstock, which sold at Sotheby’s auction house in 1993 for $1,300,000. If you're into guitar history, this book is great. The volume is a beautiful coffeetable-like art book with over 700 photos of the famous guitars Hunter explores.

• Voodoo Child: A Jimi Hendrix Novel by Jon Caven Atack (Kid Menthal Music - ISBN 978-1482658040) First off, this is a novel – a fictional story. According to author Atack, “the following pages at last unveil the untold secret of the death of Jimi Hendrix. This revelation is set in a dream arising from a long meditation upon his too brief life, the constant illumination of the blues, the voodoo truth and the myth and history of the Cherokee people, with whom Jimi Hendrix was identified both through blood and belief.” While amazing the factual information Atack wove into this tale, it is a tremendously difficult book to meander through as he interlaces Cherokee pantheon, Chinese philosophy, Christian mysticism, Buddhist beliefs, Astro-physics, Oriental Theospophy, and a combination of allusions and illusions in creating this story that is either an angelic dream of Ecstasy trip.

• Forever 27 by Joe Guse (Crown Publishing – ISBN 978-1449487994) – Author Guse explores the “27 Club” of msucians who died at age 27 with “a psychological profile of Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix.”

• 27: A History of the 27 Club Through the Lives of Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse by Howard Sounes (DeCapo – ISBN 978-03068221684) Much of the book's power lies in its refusal to pander to the romantic-melancholy notion of the tortured young artist who lives fast and dies young. Instead the squalor and chaos of their everyday existence is exposed in uncompromising detail…. This book is not about more rock star mythologizing. It's about skewering the mystery of the 27-connection, by exposing its all-too-tragic reality. Sounes goes on to say The 27 Club is a truly a coincidence – a major one, true, and terribly sad, but a coincidence nonetheless. Still, in addition to commonality of age, the musicians experienced other parallels which Sounes explores. If you want to believe the myth of The 27 Club, it’s an interesting read.

• Woodstock Experience by Michael Lang and Shepard Fairey (Genesis Publishing - ISBN 978-190566-2-098) – This set actually came out a couple years ago, but we thought we would revisit at the “ultimate” Christmas present. The British publishing house prides itself on providing not just a book, but a treasured volume. With direct artistic collaboration, they create an artistic package with unique graphic design, craft bookbinding and exclusive packaging. This is more than another book recapping the Woodstock festival, but a well-researched bundle that becomes a cherished edition. The printing is limited to 1,000 numbered copies, hand signed by Lang himself. We call it an “ultimate” present because of the price - £395.00 ($650 U.S.)! This is a multimedia box set that celebrates the history and 40th anniversary of Woodstock created with the assistance of original festival producer Michael Lang as the “official” book to celebrate the festival. The two large format books in the set contain over 300 pages retelling the story of Woodstock. Volume One is the authorized history by 60 musicians, staff and audience members, illustrated by photographer Henry Diltz. Volume Two presents the unseen photography of Dan Garson, capturing the complete Woodstock environment and atmosphere. Printed on 200 gsm matt art paper, the two cloth-bound volumes are highlighted with gold and silver page edging and blocking. The books are housed in a hand-made case with artwork featuring Jimi Hendrix silkscreened on the front. The case also includes a drawer that holds five new essays in a facsimile Woodstock press pack, a reprint of Lang’s hand-drawn festival map, a 7” vinyl record featuring Santana’s “Favor” and Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit”, and a fine art print by famed artist Peter Max. A leather pocket contains an original Woodstock ticket.

• John Varvatos: Rock in Fashion by John Varvatos (Harper Fashion – ISBN 978-0062009791) – From Jimi Hendrix to Lady Gaga, an art book of a look at Rock in Fashion. Another expensive, large volume, coffeetable book – 272 pages, over 4 ½ pounds, $60. As review posted on Amazon notes, “In John Varvatos, the legendary designer reveals his perspective on how rock & roll music and style have influenced his own designs and fashion worldwide. Varvatos’s personally curated collection of more than 250 images are some of the most provocative ever shot by top rock photographers from the late 1960s to today, from the Rolling Stones to the Kings of Leon. The featured photographers are among the world’s finest, including Mick Rock, Bob Gruen, Elliott Landy, Danny Clinch, Lynn Goldsmith, and more. Also included are select images from Varvatos’s own advertising campaigns, featuring artists such as Slash, Iggy Pop, Scott Weiland, and Miles Kane. Varvatos’s captions and incisive commentary on the artist and his or her look accompany each image. Every chapter also contains numerous quotes from the musicians themselves, including Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Iggy Pop, Jack White, Pete Townshend, Robert Plant, Steven Tyler, and Patti Smith. An extraordinary anthology of some of the finest images in rock & roll and the most influential rock looks in fashion and popular culture, this volume will delight music lovers, and fans of music photography, fashion, and fashion history.”

FH Reader Dave Barry sent us this article from Jesse Hamil of The San Francisco Chronicle talking about a brand new tribute film remembering the late, great Tower Records ...

Walking into a Tower Records store in the rocking 1980s was an eye-grabbing experience, whatever city you were in or whatever music you were after. You'd be met by those big, blazing-colored 3-D displays promoting the latest record by Prince or the Stones, Ozzy Osbourne and his bloody cross, a white-gowned Linda Ronstadt, posed provocatively as a 1940s songbird. 

The wild young graphic artists who hand-crafted each of those dazzling displays - for the Berkeley, San Francisco and other Tower outposts during the high-flying heyday of album cover design and record retailing - talk about that bygone world in the documentary "Art Gods: An Oral History of the Tower Records Art Department." It premieres at San Francisco's Balboa Theatre Dec. 6 and 7, followed both nights by a Q&A with the filmmakers and their subjects. On Jan. 26, the film screens at the Crest Theatre in Sacramento, the city where Russ Solomonopened the first Tower store in 1960. 

Written and directed by Strephon Taylor, a Berkeley metal-rock musician and filmmaker who worked as a Tower artist in the late '80s and early '90s and heard tales about the crew that preceded him, "Art Gods" is a fun, low-budget 70-minute production that mixes interviews, music, archival images and footage and a few cartoon graphics to tell its nostalgia-laden story. 

Tower, which was known for the wide range of music it stocked and the varied expertise of its music-mad employees, expanded from that single Sacramento store into an innovative global chain, with stores from Fresno to London to Tokyo, before eventually declaring bankruptcy in 2006 and liquidating its assets. It was a victim of the Internet, big-box discounters and apparently its own mismanagement. 

Like millions of other young folk, Taylor, who grew up in Richmond, spent hours on end in Tower - in his case, the big Berkeley store on Durant Avenue, where Steve Pollutro developed and ran the original art department - browsing the bins, digging the sounds and admiring the artwork on the album covers and the big displays that riffed on them. 

"As a kid shopping for records, it was the cover art that grabbed me. Now with the Internet, you can listen to samples of the tracks, but the artwork is the size of thumbnails," says Taylor, 46. He remembers being blown away by seeing Van Halen's name - accompanied by a giant image of Western Exterminator's top-hatted bug killer, which the band used as its 1984 tour icon - painted boldly on the exterior and interior walls of the Berkeley store. 

"That was outrageous. Those displays were just so cool," says Taylor, who produced three other local documentaries: "Remembering Playland," "Sutro's: the Palace at Lands End" and "The Complete Bob Wilkins Creature Features." He was initially approached by two of the Tower artists, Mark Devito and Zak Wilson, both of whom helped produce this film, to document how they crafted those displays, which set the standard for other retailers (they did wonders with foam core, X-acto knives and air-brushed paint). But when he met some of the colorful characters, like Craig Long and Andrew "Skip" Peterson, Taylor decided to tell their stories, and in the process capture a little slice of the culture.

"It was 1980. Everybody was drinking and doing cocaine," says Long, now a metal sculptor. As a fledgling artist with a passion for music, he thrived in the freewheeling Tower environment where artists could run with an idea. 

In the movie, Tower founder Solomon - who was not interviewed for this film but was for an unfinished documentary about Tower by Colin Hanks, son of Tom, who raised $95,000 on Kickstarter for it in 2011 - is heard on an audio clip talking about the Tower culture, which encouraged employees at each store to have a say in the identity of that particular store. 

"The ideas came from the kids, the employees in the field," the boss says. "I just let them happen." 

That piece of our musical culture "is gone forever," says Taylor, who, unlike many of the people featured in the film, never wore his hair in that '80s rock 'n' roll shag. "I was a big Ramones fan. I had straight hair and long bangs." 

For more information, go to www.novemberfire.com.

Jesse Hamlin is a Bay Area writer.

E-mail: 96hours@sfchronicle.com

He also sent us THIS "book report" from the San Francisco Chronicle, spotlighting Greg Kihn's new book on The Beatles: 

Greg Kihn has been a staple of the San Francisco music scene since the 1970s with his band, the Greg Kihn Band. He also spent more than 15 years as the morning DJ for KFOX (KUFX). In the 1990s, he had his first novel published.   

"I have always written. Back in high school I wrote a couple of bad novels that never saw the light of day," he says. "Back in the '80s, when we were on the road, I read a lot of Stephen King novels. Then I started writing in my spare time, short stories and different horror ideas." 

Kihn's early novels reflect his love of the horror genre. His first novel, "Horror Show," was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for best first novel.

After not releasing a book in more than a decade, Kihn released his fifth novel, "Rubber Soul," this year. The book steers away from Kihn's horror roots, instead featuring the Beatles as main characters in a murder mystery. The central character is called Dust Bin Bob, and "Rubber Soul" is based on the lives of the Beatles, before they were famous.

"When I got the idea for Dust Bin Bob and projected him into the Beatles' world, that sucker just wrote itself," Kihn says. "Dust Bin Bob is a composite character, but really he's me, he's kind of like me projecting into the story."

Over the years, Kihn has interviewed surviving band members and those close to them. He says he was intrigued by how they developed their sound and how they were getting R&B records from the United States.

"They all told me the same thing: 'We got them from friends of the merchant marines' because Liverpool is a big port. These guys come back from Philly, Baltimore and New York and they bring the latest R&B singles with them, and they trade them to a guy like Dust Bin Bob, who has a stall at the flea market. Then the Beatles walk by one day and suddenly they become best friends with Dust Bin Bob because he's got the records. What separates all of the Merseybeat bands in the early days was material, repertoire."

This isn't the first novel where Kihn, who's currently working on the next Dust Bin Bob novel, has brought in his experiences as a musician.

"You bring certain things to the party. And one of the things I bring to the party is I'm a writer and I know rock 'n' roll and what it's like to be on the road and in the studio."

And Kihn's enthusiasm for the Beatles is infectious.

"I've been to Abbey Road. I sat in the studio and I actually went into the stall, in the men's room after hours and smoked the only joint in all of London, which I brought specifically with me, to smoke in the sacred stall where the Beatles used to smoke after hours when they were working on 'Sgt. Pepper.' I had the guy show me: 'What was the stall that they went into?' 'Oh, it's that one.' And later when everybody left, I snuck back in there and did the deed," he says.
-- Tony DuShane is a freelance writer who hosts the radio show "Drinks With Tony." E-mail: 96hours@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @tonydushane

A few new shows at The Arcada Theatre worth mentioning ...

Thursday, February 6th - A Second Show has been added for Cheap Trick!  (The FIRST show sold out in about 45 minutes!)  Don't miss your chance to see one of The Midwest's Finest!)

Saturday, February 15th - 10,000 Maniacs

Saturday, March 29th - Eddie Money

Sunday, March 30th - A Tribute to Ricky Nelson (by his twin sons Matthew and Gunnar) ...

    WHOA!  Put me down for THIS one, Ron!!!

Sunday, April 13th - Paul Revere and the Raiders ... THIS ONE, TOO!!!

    You're not going to see a better show than this one ... a guaranteed night of non-stop, fun entertainment!

Saturday, April 19th - Foghat

Saturday, May 17th - Blue Oyster Cult

Saturday, June 7th - Lou Gramm of Foreigner

As always, check the OShows website for updates and more ticket information!

www.oshows.com

re:  SPEAKING OF CHRISTMAS: 

The annual “A Hometown Holiday” with Mike Baker And The Forgotten 45s will air Christmas Day December 25th, 7 am - 4 pm, on WLTL-FM 88.1 and stream.   

The history of the annual holiday special:  http://www.mikebaker45s.com/page7/Forgotten45s.html   

Mike Baker And The Forgotten 45s broadcast the first "A Hometown Christmas" on Christmas Day, 1995. Carol and Joe Gentile on WJJG-AM 1530 brought the holiday special to listeners commercial-free. The annual special included Christmas one hit wonders, holiday hits from the golden age of top-40 and more. The holiday music oldies show was all live and local, year after year for 16 years.

The current info and listen live:  http://mikebaker45s.wordpress.com/a-hometown-holiday/   

Chicago Christmas favorites include:  

(Sweet Angie) The Christmas Tree Angel - Fran Allison (host of Kukla, Fran & Ollie)

Pretty Little Dolly - Mona Abboud  

At the above website is a list of Christmas one hit wonders that was originally published by Jerry Osborne in the Chicago Sun-Times

re:  THE SONNY GERACI BENEFIT CONCERT:

We've heard from a few folks who have made donations to The Sonny Geraci Fund set up by Streetsboro Family Days.  As soon as we get more information about the Live Concert DVD, we'll pass it along.  Meanwhile, here is that information again, courtesy of Dennis Tufano, former lead singer of The Buckinghams:

 

Make checks payable to: Streetsboro Family Days.

In the lower left corner memo you must write in SONNY GERACI BENEFIT.

SEND CHECKS TO: Benefit For Sonny Geraci, PO BOX 5266, Willowick, OH 44095

For information email at: benefitforsg@gmail.com

Merry Christmas and a great New Year to you and your family. Hope to get back in the Chicago area next year. It's been a while!!!

The Sonny Geraci Benefit went very well. It was the "Woodstock" of Streetsboro, Ohio for sure. 25 acts non-stop live ... a hit maker jukebox concert.  And we raised some $$$ for our friend Sonny and his family. 

Be well. Thanks again Kent.

Dennis

Current Buckinghams Guitarist and Vocalist Dave Zane sent us a link to a great blog report of the concert from his keyboardist Steve Hoye.  Dave and Steve (along with several other members of their Bigger Picture band) provided all of the back-up music for the cavalcade of stars who entertained that weekend.

You can read Steve's full report here:  http://thebiggerpictureband.com/myblog/?p=30

(And how cool is it that Dave can perform regular with the current Buckinghams line-up, featuring key members Carl Giammarese and Nick Fortuna ... and still play and support original lead vocalist Dennis Tufano in his efforts to help raise money for Sonny Geraci's family and medical bills.  Pretty damn cool in my opinion!)  kk

 

(Here's a shot of Dennis performing on stage with Dave Zane at 

The Sonny Geraci Benefit Concert, courtesy of photographer 

Tom Apathy ... thanks, Tom!)

And, speaking of The Buckinghams, our FH Buddy Al Kooper gave them a shout-out in this week's "Music For Old People" column ... dedicated to great Beatles covers recorded over the years.  (He singled out their version of "I'll Be Back" from their "Time And Charges" album.)

You can view the complete list here ...

Click here: New Music for Old People: Borrowed Beatles | The Morton Report

And, if you're not already on his email list, sign up for the weekly jukebox sends.  (kk)

 

re:  THE JOEL WHITBURN '50's TRIVIA CHALLENGE:

Working on your answers to our Joel Whitburn Trivia Challenge?  (Scroll back to Sunday's posting to find our 50 Questions About The '50's.)  

Send us your answers by Friday, the 13th ... and on Sunday we'll announce the winner of Joel's latest book "Billboard's Best Sellers and Hot 100 Charts of the 1950's"!  (kk)

 

THE JOEL WHITBURN / RECORD RESEARCH / FORGOTTEN HITS '50's TRIVIA CHALLENGE

As announced yesterday, we've got a brand new trivia contest for you ... and the grand prize will be a copy of Joel Whitburn's brand new book "Billboard's Best Sellers And Hot 100 Charts", available now through The Record Research website:

Click here: Billboard Best Sellers & Hot 100 Charts: 1950s | Joel Whitburn's Record Research   

One lucky Forgotten Hits Reader will win a free copy, delivered just in time for Christmas!  All you've got to do is answer Joel's trivia questions below.  (That's right ... 50 Questions About The '50's!!!)  

Hey, we didn't say it was going to be easy!!!  You're going to have to work a little bit to win this contest! 

We'll compile all of your answers ... and then the person with the most correct answers will win a copy of Joel's new book.  In the event of a tie, we'll draw a winner from all of the eligible leaders.  

So get crackin' ... the contest ends this Friday ... which is Friday the 13th, by the way!!!  We'll announce the winner in next Sunday's Comments Page.  (We've got to cut it tight in order to get the book delivered in time!)   

Good Luck to All ... Have Fun With This ...

(no small animals were harmed in the creating of this quiz!)

Hi Kent,  

I really hope your readers have a lot of fun with this contest.  Good luck to all with this trivia adventure ... I hope it brings enjoyment to all Forgotten Hits readers, even those who may know nothing about one of the most revolutionary and exciting decades in music history.

Joel

We'll run the answers ... along with the winner's name ... in next week's edition of The Sunday Comments.  As always, thanks so much for your generosity, Joel ... it means a lot ... a what a GREAT Christmas gift this will make for somebody!  (kk)

And now, get ready to dust off some of the cobwebs ... or hit the search engines ...

Forgotten Hits proudly presents ...
 

THE JOEL WHITBURN / 
RECORD   RESEARCH  
1950’s TRIVIA CHALLENGE  
(all questions are taken from data in my new book 

Billboard Best Sellers and Hot 100 Charts 1950s)

 
1.  What movie theme had two versions holding down the #1 and #2 spots for seven consecutive weeks in 1950? 

2.  Matty Matlock’s All-Stars backed this duo on their 2-sided smash record – the two sides switched back and forth, holding down the #3 and #4 spots for ten consecutive weeks in 1950!  Name the two titles.   

3.  “The Duckworth Chant” is the sub-title of this army marching cadence song that peaked at #4 in 1951.  Name that tune.    

4.  In the summer of 1951 (June - August) six girl’s names were featured in titles on the charts.  Name at least 4 of the 6.   

5.  Les Paul and Mary Ford said “The World Is Waiting For” what in September of 1951 hit?   

6.  This male vocalist held the #1 position for 14 consecutive weeks with back-to-back hits in 1951.  Name the singer and the two titles.  

7.  On the January 12 & 19, 1952 charts, Johnnie Ray had the #1 and #2 songs with “Cry” and “The Little White Cloud That Cried”.  What vocal group did the backing on both songs?  

8.  This male vocalist had a string of 40 Hot 100 & Bubbling Under hits from 1959 - 1978 ... however, his   only #1 hit was back in 1952.  Name the artist and the #1 hit.  

9.  The first issue of Billboard in 1950 featured a #1 Christmas song: “Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer” by Gene Autry.  Name the other two Christmas songs that hit #1 during the '50s decade.  

10.  From 1948 - 1950, Jo Stafford had ten hits with her duo partner, Gordon MacRae.  From 1951 - 52, she had five “Best Selling” hits with what other duo partner?  

11.  On the May 16, 1953 “Best Selling” chart, this famous actor / comedian had a two-sided hit, one at #10 and the other at #15.  Name the actor and the two similar sounding song titles.  

12.  A cabaret in Paris and a European country were the subjects of the #1 and #2 songs for three consecutive weeks in 1953.   Name these two song titles.  

13.  This #6 hit in 1953 was written by a legendary movie actor for a movie that he directed and starred in.  Name this actor and the song title.  

14.  On consecutive weeks in 1952, foreign language words were used in these #1 hits:  “Delicado” and “Auf Wiederseh’n Sweetheart”.  Name four more #1 hits of the '50s that had foreign language words in the titles.  Novelty titles such as “Hot Diggity”, “Hoop-Dee-Doo”, “Sh-Boom”, “Yakety Yak” and dances such as “Bolero” and “Tango” do not count. 

15.  What #1 novelty hit in 1953 was a parody of one of the year’s top rated TV shows? 

16.  Which two Canadian vocal groups had a combined total of thirteen top 20 “Best Sellers” hits in the '50s?    

17.  This 19-year-old singer had her only chart hit rocket up the charts to #1 after being featured six times on a CBS-TV production in 1954.  Name the singer and the song title.  

18.  This TV series produced a song that had three versions within the top 10 for nine consecutive weeks in 1955.  Name the song and the three artists. 

19.  What song released on May 10, 1954, finally debuted on the “Best Sellers” chart on May 14, 1955? 

20.  What ‘part of a flower’ word was used in two song titles that were together in the top 10 “Best Sellers” chart for twelve consecutive weeks during the summer of 1955?

21.  On November 12, 1955 these song titles at #8 & #9 make up a perfectly logical sentence when read  together.  Name these two ‘cover’ songs (R&B songs covered by pop artists). 

22.  What song that hit #6 on January 14, 1956 would become the theme song for a TV series beginning in 1987? 

23.  Name the two blockbuster movies that both produced multiple hit versions of their theme songs during the Spring of 1956.  

24.  What do these three R&B groups have in common with their recordings in the Spring of 1955:  The Jewels, Gene and Eunice, and The Moonglows?  

25.  What consecutive numbers (between 1 and 20) were in two song titles that were on the “Best Sellers”  chart on November 12, 1955?  

26.  What artist captured the “Best Sellers in Stores” #1 spot for 16 consecutive weeks in 1956?

27.  Name the only two songs with the word “Rain” in the title that made the top 10 of the “Best Sellers” charts from 1955 - 1959.  [“Train” does not count]  

28.  What popular candy bar was a top 10 hit late in 1956?  

29.  In February of 1957 which two colors charted side-by-side?  Actually, two of the same color peaked at # 9 & #10 and a different color at #11. 

30.  What folk song, featuring an original version and an alternate version, peaked side-by-side in 1957 at #6 and #7? 

31.  Name the black songwriter that wrote two of Elvis Presley’s biggest chart hits of the '50s.  

32.  In May of 1957 there were three songs that had multiple hit versions in the Top 25 “Best Sellers’ Chart:  “Party Doll”, “Butterfly” and what other one? 

33.  Put these Rock And Roll Hall of Fame legends in chronological order by debut date on the “Best Sellers” chart:  1. Jerry Lee Lewis  2. Little Richard  3. Chuck Berry  4. Fats Domino 

34.  Put these #1 “Best Sellers” one-word titles from 1957 in chronological order by debut date:  “Honeycomb” / “Diana” / “Tammy” 

35.  On the January 6, 1958 “Best Sellers” Top 50 chart, the #1 and the #50 hits had very similar titles with a theme that could read as a sentence when put together.  Name these polar opposite titles.  

36.  In January of 1958, no less than eleven girls names were featured in “Best Sellers” titles.  Not counting these five: “Bony Moronie”, “Ivy Rose”, “Little Sandy Sleighfoot”, “Honeycomb” or “Wake Up Little Susie”, name the other six.  

37.  “Silhouettes” was a popular word on the February 3, 1958 “Best Sellers” chart.  In fact, it came up twice in the Top 20 at the same time.  One was a title of a song and the other was the name of the group.  Name both the artist and the title for the two entries.  

38.   The March 10, 1958 “Best Sellers” chart featured a polka and a march.  Besides those, what two teen dances were in the Top 20 that week?   

39.  What song in the summer of 1958 was named after a highly sought after prize at county and state fairs?   

40.  The “Hot 100” chart debuted on August 4, 1958.  Not counting The Coasters, who are the only two artists still alive from the top 10 of that first chart?  

41.  What chart feature, still used today, was introduced on the second “Hot 100” chart?

42.  What was the very first Star Performer on that second “Hot 100” chart?   

43.  The first “Hot 100” chart was occupied primarily by male vocalists.  Only seven female solo vocalists made the tally: Peggy Lee, Patti Page, Doris Day, Eydie Gorme, Toni Arden, Connie Francis and Kitty Wells.  Which one had two entries on that first chart?   

44.  What dog and bird exchanged places at the #2 & 3 spots on the “Hot 100” in October 1958?    

45.  In addition to the dog and bird and the “Pussy Cat”, what two summertime bugs had places on that “Hot 100” chart?   

46.  The December, 1958 charts saw four different wedding songs make their entrance.  Not counting “The Wedding” by June Valli, name the other three songs with wedding in the title.    

47.  What revolutionary music industry sound development was given notice for the first time on the May 18, 1959 “Hot 100” chart? 

48.  What other chart enhancement appeared on that same chart for the first time ever? 

49.  Bobby Darin’s “Mack The Knife” held the #1 spot for nine weeks late in 1959.  However, those were not consecutive weeks at #1.  What song interrupted his string between the 6^th & 7^th weeks? 

50.  The very last “Hot 100” chart of the '50’s decade saw the debut of what song that has recently been a part of TV history?    

Some toughies on here to be sure ... again, good luck to everybody out there ... remember, the deadline is this Friday, the 13th ... so get your answers in as soon as you can!  (kk) 

  

The '50's

Joel Whitburn's brand new book saluting the Billboard Charts of the '50's is out ... and it's another winner!!!

For the first time ever, Joel is treating us to the entire decade of '50's music.  (Previous editions, dating back now over 40 years, have centered around the dawn of The Rock Era, primarily acknowledged as the event of "Rock Around The Clock" reaching #1 on the Billboard Chart.)  But THIS time around, Joel is running pristine copies of those charts dating all the way back to the Best Sellers List published on January 7, 1950 ... right on through the premier of the very first Hot 100 Pop Singles Chart released on August 4, 1958. (Billboard also ran a Top 100 Chart during this era ... from November 12, 1955 - July 28, 1958 ... but Joel tells us that it was Billboard's "Best Sellers" Chart that provided the definitive ranking of the most popular music in America at the time.  Regardless, you'll find those Top 100 Charts in a special section of the book, too.  Billboard also ran Airplay and Juke Box charts during this era ... the data collected from ALL of these sources ... along with the Best Sellers In Stores information ... is what begat The Hot 100 Chart in 1958.) 

The '50's started out without much fanfare ... the sounds coming out of your radio really didn't sound much different than they did in the late '40's ... and many of the same artists were still scoring hit after hit after hit.  As such, #1 Records by artists like Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Perry Como, Patti Page, Nat "King" Cole, Johnnie Ray, Rosemary Clooney, Eddie Fisher, The Andrews Sisters, The Ames Brothers and Teresa Brewer were the norm ... and many of these artists carried over that success well into the decade. 

For the first time, you can watch the charts evolve ... and then change forever when that "new-fangled fad" that was "never gonna last" ... rock and roll ... hit the charts in the mid-'50's. 

Previously, the song was almost as important as the singer.  As such, multiple versions of the same song recorded by as many as half a dozen different artists, charted simultaneously.  That would all change mid-decade when teenagers became the principle buyers of music ... because we made our OWN stars since this was OUR music.  I have maintained for the past thirty years that popular music did more to mend race-relations than ANY politician or government program EVER has ... we liked what we heard and we were buying it, regardless if it was rock, R&B or country.  In fact, it was that very hybrid of all these styles that bred rock and roll in the first place! 

"Rock Around The Clock" may have kicked it off, but soon we had a whole new set of artists setting the pace for what radio was playing.  Elvis Presley hit the charts 17 times in 1956 alone!  And soon, R&B Music (then still referred to by many as the politically-incorrect term "race music") started to cross over and take hold.  Thanks to disc jockeys like Alan Freed, white kids were "dirty dancing" to the hottest black artists of the day, preferring the original spirit of these recordings over the watered-down, washboard versions that were being covered why "acceptable" white artists like Pat Boone, Gale Storm and The Crew Cuts. 

Meanwhile, artists like Elvis and Chuck Berry and Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis and even The Everly Brothers were soon crossing over to the other charts, scoring not only pop hits, but R&B and country hits as well.  

Mainstream artists were still making their mark ... Kay Starr had a #1 Hit with "The Rock And Roll Waltz", the first time a record with the phrase "rock and roll" in it hit the top of the charts ... but a record that had little if ANYTHING to do with rock and roll ... or the new sounds it was creating.  Meanwhile, it was the primitive, sexual tone of rock and roll that was spurring on the youth of the day, getting us to move and groove in ways never previously dreamed acceptable ... and still shocking to most of those around us.  (It may not have been the free-spirited, free-lovin' '60's yet ... but Little Richard was right when he said that the kids of the '50's "sure love to ball" ... the sexual revolution had begun!!! 

Watch it all evolve in Joel's new book, available NOW through the Record Research Website ...  
Click here: Billboard Best Sellers & Hot 100 Charts: 1950s | Joel Whitburn's Record Research   

And be sure to check back tomorrow for your chance to win a free copy of this hot, new book! 

That's right ... Joel Whitburn has put together another amazing trivia challenge EXCLUSIVELY for our Forgotten Hits Readers ... 50 Questions About The '50's ... and they'll premier on the website tomorrow ... so don't miss it!!!

The Friday Flash

Just a few as I'm running out the door this morning ...

re:  THE GRAMMY HALL OF FAME:

Have you seen the new list of this year's inductees for best singles and albums?  An incredible 27 releases have just been enshrined ... and what a list it is! 

 

Singles:

Fortunate Son - Creedence Clearwater Revival (1969)

Georgia (On My Mind) - Hoagy Charmichael and His Orchestra (1930)

Get Up - I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine - James Brown (1970)

Honky Tonk Women - Rolling Stones (1969)

Jolene - Dolly Parton (1973)

Low Rider - War (1975)

Nobody Know the Trouble I've Seen - Louis Armstrong and the All Stars (1938)

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head - B.J. Thomas (1969)

Rapper's Delight - Sugarhill Gang (1979)

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised - Gil Scott-Heron (1970)

Strange Things Happening Every Day - Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1945)

Sweet Home Chicago - Robert Johnson (1937)

3 O'Clock Blues - B.B. King (1952)

Under the Boardwalk - Drifters (1964)

Walk This Way - Run DMC (1986)

Wonderful World - Sam Cooke (1960)

Yardbird Suite - Charlie Parker (1946)

 

Albums:

After the Gold Rush - Neil Young (1970)

All Things Must Pass - George Harrison (1970)The Chicago Transit Authority - Chicago (1969)

Cosmo's Factory - Creedence Clearwater Revival (1970)

Doc Watson - Doc Watson (1964)

The Joshua Tree - U2 (1987)

Kristofferson - Kris Kristofferson (1970)

Mary Poppins (Original Cast Album) - Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke and Various Artists (1964)

Relaxin' With the Miles Davis Quintet - Miles Davis (1958)

Woodstock: Music From the Original Soundtrack and More - Various Artists (1970)

 

re:  GARTH:

Hi Kent,
I am still catching up on Forgotten Hits upon returning from our trip, but wanted to comment on the Garth Brooks Special, too.  I agree with you ... it was GREAT!  I was going to watch it for about five minutes and ended up watching the entire show.  The energy in his performance was like watching something out of the 60's -- whereas a lot of performers today incorporate a lot of bells and whistles, lights, and pyrotechnics -- the energy in his show comes solely from him.  Back around 1990, when he first began to take off, he was performing free at a band-shell at the Colorado State Fair, and he was the same way -- his music is great but what really make his act a home run is his energy in his shows.  I saw him perform several times in the early days and every performance was like it was going to be his last, and it was the same with this show.  I had heard his Wynn-Encore shows were simply he and his guitar, and I always thought, well how good could that be without a band -- well, I saw how good it could be -- and that's pretty damn good! 
Regards,
Tim Kiley

Yeah, he blew me away.  I kind of went into it with the same attitude ... figured if nothing else it'd make for some tolerable background noise while I did other things ... but he sucked me in right from the git-go.  GREAT special ... great approach to not only his own career retrospective ... but how he was inspired to get into music in the first place.  (Plus he must have made a killing at the Wynn these past three years ... virtually NO overhead!!!  lol)  VERY entertaining ... this is the kind of thing that if they released it on DVD, I'd have to buy a copy so I could watch it again and again.  Meanwhile, his WalMart exclusive box set that he was pushing sold like gangbusters after his tv special aired.  (kk)

 

re:  THIS AND THAT:

The popular teen clubs in Des Plaines and Park Ridge were the The Green Gorilla, The Hut and The Cellar.

Cindy Horning

 

To my Oldies friends,

My co-writer and friend, Jack Reardon, who co-authored our 1958 hit, "When", passed away yesterday.

Jack also wrote the lyrics for "The Good Life".  Every major artist including Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles have covered the original hit by Tony Bennett.

TIME KEEPS ON TICKIN', TICKIN'.  

The Kalin Twins, the original "When" recording artists, have also passed on to Rock 'n' Roll Heaven.  

Jack's passing leaves it up to me to keep "When" on the public's minds.

Jack's death coincides with a new commercial use of "When". The song has just been chosen by a major UK furniture chain for its new ad campaign due to hit the air on December 22, 2013.  I'm sorry that Jack died before he knew about this new use of our song.

I thought you'd like to know,

Paul (Evans)

Sorry to hear about Jack's passing ... but SO cool to hear that "When" is being picked up for commercial use.  And don't forget Paul's recent Christmas favorite:

Click here: ? Santa's Stuck up in the Chimney - YouTube

 

Hi Kent, 

Well, because of your interview with Burton Cummings, I finished regathering my Guess Who stuff on CD. I bought a few of the early solo albums again as well. I also took a look around on the WWW and found some interesting reads. 

Maybe you've seen all these, but if you haven't here they are.

Dynamic Sounds ... Winnipeg Rock 'n' Roll ... Flourishing in the 60's: Burton Cummings and The Deverons

http://claire-earlydays.blogspot.com/2010/05/burton-cummings-and-deverons.html

Burton Cummings | Juliette Jagger | Rock and Roll Journalist

http://juliettejagger.com/tag/the-deverons/#/interview-burton-cummings/

and Finally THE DEVERONS (COPYRIGHT 2000) PERSONAL USE ONLY -- Burton Cummings

http://www.voy.com/4204/1936.html

Hope I've sent something of interest.

Bill

We're still getting rave reviews for our interview with Burton ... and have heard from several other readers who were inspired to either dig out some of their old Guess Who stuff ... or download brand new tracks as well after reading it ... which is always cool!  (kk)

re:  CONGRATULATIONS:

Congratulations on 15 years, Kent! 

May you have more years and may we have more music coming our way!

Suzanne

 

Happy anniversary from one of your initial members.  It has been a GREAT 14 years.  Thank you for your commitment to keep the music alive!

Allan0318

 

Congratulations!!!
Hil

 

VERY cool to receive these three emails during the same 24 hours ... as all three of these folks were original members of the "First 35 Club" way back on November 26, 1999!!!  Thanks for stickin' with us all these years!  (kk)

 

Kent,

A long overdue thanks for the great 60’s segments that you did earlier in the fall.  The segment dealing with the early 60’s hits (before the British invasion) gave me the idea for a Rockword puzzle (attached for

you or Frannie’s Christmas enjoyment is my latest Rockword puzzle on that particular theme.)

Keep up the good work.  I don’t know where you get the stamina to keep at it as hard as you do.  Clearly a labor of love.

Have a great Xmas and may Forgotten Hits go on to even better things in 2014.  

Mike Ogilvie

Thanks, Mike ... wasn't sure if I could post the puzzle or not but it turned out not to be an option ... the website only accepts JPEG photos!  But I have run off a copy to play around with here at home.  (kk)