Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Tuesday This And That

Sorry for the reduced number of posts here lately.  (I just checked and I see that I've got mail dating back to July23rd that I haven't even opened yet ... not even sure how relevant any of it is anymore ... but I've got to sort thru it all in order to find out.)

Suffice to say that the Classic Rock balloting is once again kicking my ass ... it's been nearly impossible to keep up but we're committed to doing so.  However, believe it or not, today we begin the home stretch, with only one more week of ballots to go.  (Of course then I've still got to do all of the final tabulations in order to determine the final outcome of your TOP 3333 MOST ESSENTIAL CLASSIC ROCK TRACKS OF ALL-TIME ... but I think that'll be the fun part!)

Add to that a GREATLY increased work schedule these past few weeks, and we have left little time for anything else ... but we will try to whittle away at this one chip at a time (as whittling time permits!)

So, without further adieu, here's what I've been able to uncover so far ... 

ONE MORE WEEK OF BALLOTS:
Yep, it's true ... just one more week of posting ballots on the Classic Rock Essentials Website ... and then the final tabulation process begins.  (The goal is still to start posting the results over Labor Day Weekend but I won't lie to you ... it's going to be a challenge to make that happen.  Still, that's what we're shooting for.)
Check out any ballots you may have missed here:
https://classicrockessentials.blogspot.com/
Go down to the bottom of the page and click the "Older Posts" tab and you can scroll back thru all 40 ballots that we have posted to date.
And keep watching for a special voting announcement in the days to come.

THISCLOSE:
As I type this we are less than 700 visitors away from reaching the FIVE MILLION MARK on the Forgotten Hits Web Page.  This TRULY blows me away.  (Our goal was to reach it in time for our 20th Anniversary in November ... but it looks like we're going to pass that mark three months early!!!  Thanks again to anyone and everyone who has EVER stopped by our site to see what the heck we're talking about.  Please know that your ongoing support makes it all worth while ... and that's what keeps me going ... so thank you, thank you, thank you.  (kk)

THE ABBEY ROAD BLITZ IS ON:
The "Abbey Road" 50th Anniversary buzz is everywhere you turn these days!
Last week marked the anniversary of the taking of the cover photo ... and then photographer posted a series of cover photo outtakes ...


(Yeah ... I'd say they used the right one!)

Sounds like some of the EMI bigwigs were unhappy with the album cover because it didn't show the name of the artist on the front cover ... a VERY unusual tactic for the time ... to which The Beatles basically replied, "If they don't know who we are by now, sod 'em!"  (Their name DID appear on the back cover.)  Considering the stark white cover (with the embossed, barely detectable name) on what became known as "The White Album" ... and the elaborate event that became "Sgt. Pepper," one could say The Beatles were quite revolutionary when it came to their cover art.  "Abbey Road," for all its simplicity ... just The Beatles crossing the street on their way to work ... inspired COUNTLESS tributes and parodies over the years (including one by Paul himself!)
Scroll down at this link to see some of the best:
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/abbey-road-artist-destroyed-beatles/?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=newsletter_4572276


Meanwhile the track listing was also released for the 3-CD Deluxe Edition (I've already preordered my copy ... the official release date is September 27th), which sparked immediate controversy between Beatles collectors and purist wondering why "this" or "that" wasn't included when they've had these recordings on bootlegs for decades already.
Honestly, I'm pleased to hear ANYTHING new they're going to offer us.

I will never forget coming home that very first day with a copy of the brand new LP.  We had an old turn table / record player in the basement so I went down there and put it on and then laid down on the couch beside it to listen.  (It had one of those automatic tone arms so I just plopped it on the turn table and let 'er rip.)
By then I was already familiar with "Something" and "Come Together," as they were playing the new single non-stop.  (I always preferred "Come Together" as the A-Side, although it was issued as the B-Side with George's "Something" up on top.)  For that matter, I always thought "Something" was a Paul song when I heard it on the radio, since Paul was ALWAYS the one who sang the pretty ballads. (With that thought ... and stereotype in mind ... imagine my first reaction when I heard him belt out "Oh! Darlin'" the very first time!)  Truth be told, I LOVED it ... it immediately became my favorite cut on the whole LP ... and still is 50 years later!
Anyway, when the album abruptly cut off at the end of Side One during what I thought was the fade out of "I Want You (She's So Heavy), I jumped out of my lying position to see what had gone so terribly wrong.  I played it a few more times just to make sure my record wasn't skipping ... no, The Beatles had fooled us once again ... the ending was deliberately cut off!  (Now that was a first for me!!!)
When I flipped the album over, I was amazed by the medley that made up most of Side Two. Simply phenomenal.   Brilliant, in fact.
And then the OPPOSITE surprise.  When it appeared that the album was over, out popped a hidden bonus track ("Her Majesty," now credited on the CD cover.)  Again, just another case of The Beatles having a little fun with us!
The album immediately became my all-time favorite Beatles LP ... and it still is today.  I've listened to it housands of times and have never grown tired of it.  What an incredible way to go out as a band and keep the legacy alive. (Of course Apple had to muck that up by releasing the "Let It Be" soundtrack AFTER "Abbey Road," although it had been completed MONTHS before the boys went back into the studio to start cutting these new tracks for what now proves to be a VERY well thought-out editing process (with a goal of eventually stringing together a long enough "medley" to fill the entire second side of the album.

Here is the complete track list for the deluxe 3-CD set.  (NOTE:  The anniversary release is also available as a 2-CD set ... with fewer bonus tracks ... as well as a single CD straight reissue of the remixed original album ... and single and double vinyl editions as well.)

The Beatles, Abbey Road: Anniversary Edition [Super Deluxe 3-CD/Blu-ray] (Apple/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Disc 1: 2019 Stereo Mix
1. Come Together 
2. Something 
3. Maxwell’s Silver Hammer 
4. Oh! Darling 
5. Octopus’s Garden 
6. I Want You (She’s So Heavy) 
7. Here Comes The Sun 
8. Because 
9. You Never Give Me Your Money 
10. Sun King 
11. Mean Mr Mustard 
12. Polythene Pam 
13. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window 
14. Golden Slumbers 
15. Carry That Weight 
16. The End 
17. Her Majesty 

Disc 2: Sessions 
1. I Want You (She’s So Heavy) (Trident Recording Session & Reduction Mix) 
2. Goodbye (Home Demo) 
3. Something (Studio Demo) 
4. The Ballad Of John And Yoko (Take 7) 
5. Old Brown Shoe (Take 2) 
6. Oh! Darling (Take 4) 
7. Octopus’s Garden (Take 9) 
8. You Never Give Me Your Money (Take 36) 
9. Her Majesty (Takes 1-3) 
10. Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight (Takes 1-3 / Medley) 
11. Here Comes The Sun (Take 9) 
12. Maxwell’s Silver Hammer (Take 12) 

Disc 3: Sessions 
1. Come Together (Take 5) 
2. The End (Take 3) 
3. Come And Get It (Studio Demo) 
4. Sun King (Take 20) 
5. Mean Mr Mustard (Take 20) 
6. Polythene Pam (Take 27) 
7. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window (Take 27) 
8. Because (Take 1 – Instrumental) 
9. The Long One (Trial Edit & Mix – 30 July 1969) (Medley: You Never Give Me Your Money, Sun King, Mean Mr Mustard, Her Majesty, Polythene Pam, She Came In Through The Bathroom Window, Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight, The End) 
10. Something (Take 39 – Instrumental – Strings Only) 
11. Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight (Take 17 – Instrumental – Strings & Brass Only)

Can't wait!!!

And from The Beatles "Learn Something New Every Day" Department ...

How is this even possible?!?!

How can it be that we are STILL learning new things about The Beatles some 50-60 years on?!?!

Yet last week for the very first time I learned that if you listen VERY carefully to John's and George's background vocals beginning with the second verse of "Paperback Writer," you'll hear that they're actually singing "Frere Jacques" and not "Paperback Writer."  (You've got to listen VERY closely to hear it ... but once you do, you'll hear it every time!)  I've heard this song a THOUSAND times ... and NEVER had even the slightest inkling that this is what they were singing!  (Another little studio in-joke amongst The Fabs I guess!  lol)





In Hunter Davies' book "The Beatles Lyrics," he puts on display a wide array of hand written lyrics he has collected over the years, including the ones for this #1 Hit.
What's particularly interesting about these hand-written lyrics is the fact that Paul actually wrote it out as a letter ... not as lines or verses ... 
It looks like an actual letter written to a potential publisher:
Dear Sir or Madam,
Will you read my book?  It took me years to write, will you take a look?  Etc.
(I had hoped to have time to scan it this morning but am already running late so hopefully another time!)
Still ... a VERY cool idea and concept, right from the start.  He knew EXACTLY what he was looking to do. (kk)

THIS AND THAT:
Kent,
I just saw a commercial on television which I believe I have seen maybe once or twice before. It was a national commercial for those persons who may have diabetes or symptoms there of. A woman was leading a high school band on the field for practically the entire commercial. Now the band members were playing the song APACHE. in the background. What persons other than people like me and you would notice something like this?
Larry

I don't think I've seen this one yet ... but I DID see a new commercial last week (couldn't tell you what product it was for) that featured nearly the entire recording of Rick Nelson's "Travelin' Man".  SOMEBODY out there is discovering this music and finding new uses for it ... and I just LOVE the idea!  (kk)

FOUND IT!
Here's the short version anyway ... even Matthew and Gunnar had to comment "Great to hear Pops on TV again.  Thanks, Toyota!" 



Got this from a couple of readers (including Jim Peterik himself) ... a new interview explaining the origins of Jim's smash hit "Vehicle" ...
https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/story-behind-the-song/2019/08/09/vehicle-ides-march-story-behind-song-jim-peterik/1936905001/

And, speaking of The Ides ... 

The Ides concert at Elmwood Park Fest last Friday was a killer!  There appeared to be a few thousand people there.  Jimmy and the guys put on one helluva great show, doing some oldies and some great new material.  The food was great, too!
Mike Wolstein




FROM THE STROUD CROWD:
My congrats to Bob Stroud and the Drive on the #1 ranking!!!  Well deserved!!!  
Clark Besch
Let's hear it for the boy!  (kk)
Kent,
Not sure if I let you know about this ...
Phil
From #PrayForSurf archives: 
My interview with legendary Chicago "Rock & Roll Roots" DJ, Bob Stroud  on The Beach Boys 40th Anniversary https://prayforsurfblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/interview-rock-roll-roots-host.html?m=1

A COUPLE OF CLOSING SMILES FROM FRANK B:


 

Sunday, August 11, 2019

August 11th


"Honky Tonk Women" by The Rolling Stones enters its third week at #1 ... while Underground Sunshine reaches its peak of #2 this week with their cover of The Beatles' tune "Birthday."  The Lettermen move up four spots (from #10 to #6) with their version of "Hurt So Bad" ... but the rest of The Top Ten remains pretty much unchanged, other than two new entries this week ... "Soul Deep" by The Box Tops (up from #11 to #9) and "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" by Tom Jones, which makes a sizable leap from #18 to #10.

It looks like Bob Dylan may have a major chart hit on his hands with "Lay Lady Lay" ... it climbs from #28 to #13, a jump of fifteen places.  It comes from his "Nashville Skyline" LP and offers a new side to Dylan, both musically and vocally.

"Green River" continues to climb, this week moving from #20 to #14 ... while John Lennon's Beatles off-shoot group, The Plastic Ono Band, seems to have stalled at #17 with "Give Peace A Chance."

"Easy To Be Hard," the latest from Three Dog Night, jumps ten places this week (from #29 to #19) while the much-hyped Illusion climb from #32 to #23 and The Archies' "Sugar Sugar" leaps twelve places from #40 to #28.

New on the charts is Chicago's very own New Colony Six, who premier at #40 this week with their latest, "I Want You To Know," another pretty Ronnie Rice ballad.



THIS WEEK IN 1969:

August 8th – The Beatles are photographed (by Iain MacMillan) walking across the zebra crossing on Abbey Road.  (A white Volkswagon Beetle bug is parked behind them with the license plate 28 IF … the age Paul McCartney would have been had he not died the year before in that fatal car crash where he blew his mind out in a car … except that McCartney was born June 18th, 1942 … meaning he was just now 26 years of age … proving all of this to be just as ridiculously false as all those other “Paul Is Dead” rumors that would soon be circulating!)


August 9th – The Haunted Mansion attraction opens for the very first time at Disneyland in Anaheim, California.


Also on August 9th, followers of Charles Manson kill five people in Terry Melcher's old house (now the home of Film Director Roman Polanski and his young, pregnant wife, Actress Sharon Tate) in the Hollywood Hills.  Tate, along with Folgers Coffee Heiress Abigail Folger, Hollywood Hairstylist Jay Sebring and friend Wojciech Frykowski were all murdered that night inside the house.  Another visitor, Steven Parent, is shot to death outside.  Sharon Tate’s unborn baby was cut out of her body in one of the most brutal, terrorizing crimes in history.  The term “Helter Skelter” will never be viewed the same way again. 



August 10th – The killing spree continues as The Manson Family kills husband and wife Leno and Rosemary LaBianca

August 11th – At a press party held in Beverly Hills, Diana Ross introduces The Jackson Five, starting the rumor that she had something to do with discovering and lobbying for the band when, in fact, Motown Big Wig Berry Gordy asked Ross to do it because he felt she was the most recognizable artist on the Motown label to do so.  (Her name would also be attached to The Jackson Five’s first album and a television special!)  Gladys Knight and Bobby Taylor (of The Vancouvers) have also been given credit for first bringing the Gary, Indiana, group to Gordy’s attention.

Thursday, August 8, 2019

THURSDAY THIS AND THAT

UH-OH!   VOTERS FOUND A PROBLEM WITH BALLOT #33 …
AND THEY’RE NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT!   

MAJOR OMISSION - RUNAWAY BY DEL SHANNON!!!
RON LANGE 
Can you believe it wasn’t nominated?!?!  Unreal!  (A GLARING omission for sure.)  kk   

Here are my votes for Ballot #33:
#1 Runaway - Del Shannon
#2 Rock Me – Steppenwolf
#3 Rock This Town - Stray Cats
#4 Rock'n' Me - Steve Miller Band
#5 Ruby Tuesday - Rolling Stones
#6 Rockin' All Over the World - John Fogerty
#7 Rock & Roll Band – Boston
#8 Rock & Roll Never Forgets - Bob Seger
#9 Running On Empty - Jackson Browne
#10 Runnin’ Down a Dream - Tom Petty
End of day 33 with a Note: I am assuming that Del's version of Runaway was nominated and was a mistake in its missing listing.  If I am wrong, I leave vote #1 empty in protest!
Keith Brodkorb
I think most everyone out there would agree that Del Shannon’s “Runaway” belongs on this list … but this puts me in a difficult position.
By the time I sorted thru all of the Ballot #33 votes, I found that I had received a total of 39 emails DEMANDING that “Runaway” be added to the list … insisting that it MUST have been an oversight on my part.
The explanation (simple and unsatisfying as it may be) is the cold hard fact that EVERY single person out there reading this had the same opportunity to nominate this song and yet NOBODY did.
I can’t really run a “By a show of hands, how many of you out there think that ‘Runaway’ by Del Shannon belongs on the list?”, as that wouldn’t be fair to the other titles that weren’t offered up for an onslaught of votes.  (Is there anybody out there who thinks it DOESN’T belong on the list?!?!)
So I’ve come up with a possible solution.
I will take the first five answers to this question:
“I think ‘RUNAWAY’ by Del Shannon deserves at least the same number of votes as (fill in the blank)”. 
You’ve all seen the first 33 ballots … so you have a pretty good idea as to the songs that’ll make the final list … and what great titles (S-Z) are still to come.  Let me hear where you think this song should rank amongst the others.
I will then take the average number of points earned to date for the five titles suggested by our readers and then award those same number of votes to “Runaway” and add it to the list.
But this is it … this is your last and ONLY shot at adding a title to the tally.
So answer quickly, faithful followers, as only the first five suggestions will be allowed.  (kk)

And, while we’re on the topic of Classic Rock Radio, hearty congratulations to The Drive (97.1 FM, WDRV), who are now the #1 Radio Station overall here in Chicago (with jocks Bob Stroud and Seaver and Janda also winning their respective time slots)
The station first signed on the air eighteen years ago and has had fluctuating ratings over the course of time … but this is the FIRST time they’ve ever hit #1 overall in the ratings.  (Many feel much of this can be attributed to the demise of The Loop, Chicago’s other long-standing Classic Rock Station that flipped to a Contemporary Christian format several months back.  I, of course, prefer to think that at least SOME of this increase in listenership has to be the result of all the favorable mentions the station has received here in Forgotten Hits!  Lol)
Anyway, congratulations to the whole gang at WDRV, many of whom ARE, in fact, Forgotten Hits Readers.  Great to see that all this talent is FINALLY being recognized in the ratings book!  (kk)     

THE NEW COLONY SIX:
Kent –
I thought I would give you a quick review of the concert in Addison, Illinois with the New Colony 6 and Jimy  Sohns.
I loved the opening Shadows Show! Jimy still has his problems on stage due to his stroke and had to take several breaks ... but hell, half a Jimy is better than no Jimy!  The guy gives his all! But the REAL surprise was a group called the Michael Weber band backing him up. Remember that name! These young turks (could be my grandkids!) brought an energy to the Shadows songs I have not seen in a long time.  Wow!
Then came a very emotional moment for myself as I have been a diehard NC6 fan for ages!
I see Ray on stage, sitting. I thought, Oh God … What is wrong.
From my vantage point, it was hard to see everything. After a few songs, Ray told us what happened.
If I understood correctly, the doctors thought he may have a brain aneurism ... but it sounds like he received a clean bill of health.
I know he reads your web site, so any clarification and more exact info from Ray is appreciated. I am not noisy, but more concerned.
As always, Ray, Bruce, Greg, Bill, Rick, Greg and Mike gave a great show. A great mix of their tunes (although I would love a melody of more of their ballads) plus the music of the Raiders and the Chicago groups we know and love.
Once again, I certainly hope Ray is completely healthy.  We need him and Jimy more than ever.
I will always champion my hometown heroes and we are so fortunate to still hear them LIVE!
Mike De Martino 

Kent,
My wife Barbara and I took a little two day trip from our suburban Milwaukee home to the Chicago area for the primary purpose of catching the New Colony Six in Addison on Thursday evening with Jimmy Sohns and a great back-up group as openers. Jimmy and the current Shadows of Knight put on a hard-driving 55 minute show, featuring garage band rock and no ballads. Jimmy was in good form but the unannounced “star” of the show was his guitarist Mike Weber. Weber is a 21-year-old ball of fire from Akron, Ohio who, I have now discovered, is developing a wide reputation as a “shred guitarist” after winning the “Amazingest” contest on MTV. Backing Sohns, Weber was non-stop energy and impressive guitar playing. Giving Sohns a mid-concert rest, Weber also sang one song and displayed a good singing voice.
The New Colony Six did their usual great job on their own hits, a medley of other Chicago group hits, and several other covers. Ray Graffia started the concert sitting on a stool and, after the first song, explained why.
Ray stated he has not been doing well lately and saw his doctor that day. Thankfully, a suspected brain aneurism was ruled out, but Ray said he was feeling quite weak and his very presence at the show had been in doubt. Happily, Ray only spent the first few songs … and songs he was not singing … seated, and his singing voice was fine. Ray is such a great guy and Bruce Mattey is such a pro.
The large crowd seemed to thoroughly enjoy both groups and we left glad we had made the trek to be there. We have been coming down to Chicagoland for years to see the Cornerstones acts at community fests in the area. Sadly, these events have increasingly featured local acts.
I still have a few upcoming events on our calendar this summer, including a Cryan’ Shames concert August 20th in Hillside and a couple of Ides appearances.
Bob Verbos
New Berlin, WI
We received letters of concern from several Forgotten Hits Readers who were at The New Colony Six show in Addison last Thursday Night.  (We had every intention of going but once again real life got in the way of the fun stuff and I ended up working a 14 ½ shift that day, not getting out of work till nearly 9:30 that evening!)
From what I’ve heard across the boards, it was a GREAT show, with The Colony (and opening act Jimy Sohns and The Shadows Of Knight … or would that be The Michael Weber Band???) playing to a packed house in what turned out to be VERY nice weather.  (Chicago has been experiencing a series of EXTREMES this year for some reason in the way of Hot and Cold … but Thursday Night was actually a BEAUTIFUL night to sit outside and listen to music … which it sounds like a TON of you did!) Throughout the evening I received numerous texts and emails asking if I was there and where they might find me … but, sad to say, I missed the show.
That being said, I didn’t want to comment on anything until I had the chance to speak with Ray Graffia, Jr. myself, which I did Monday Night.
Ray told me that he hasn’t been feeling “just quite right” for about 90 days now … some days worse than others … and wasn’t even sure if he could perform that night, so opted to start the show sitting down, not taking to standing until later in the show (and even then, without the usual prancing about the stage that is typical of a New Colony Six show.)
He didn’t want to let the fans down and, knowing this was the last NC6 event scheduled for the year (save November’s appearance at the Cornerstones show at The Arcada), he didn’t want to miss it.  Certainly, the adrenaline of performing in front of such a large audience had to make him feel a whole lot better, even if it was masking whatever it was that was truly bothering him on the inside.
When he got home that night after the concert, he was getting a few things ready for work the next day when he literally fell … and couldn’t get up.  His wife Bonnie told him that he had to find out what all of this was and got him to the hospital by ambulance, which is where he still was four days later when I spoke to him Monday night.
They’ve been running a series of tests ever since, ruling out several things that it ISN’T (such as the brain aneurysm that both Mike and Bob alluded to above) while trying to zero in on what it IS so that they can treat it accordingly.  He sounded weak but optimistic and in relatively good spirits considering the situation.
His message to the fans is that “The road is not wide open and bump free right now.  There are still two or three bumps in the road that we have to get over … but I have every intention of getting through all of this, getting better and performing at the Cornerstones show in November.”
The Cornerstones Crew have gone thru some rough patches of late … PBS performers Gary Loizzo of The American Breed and Skip Haynes of Alliotta, Haynes and Jeremiah have both passed on since that program was taped and aired … Front men Jimy Sohns of The Shadows Of Knight and Jimmy Pilster (Hooke) of The Cryan’ Shames have both experienced strokes in recent years (but are back up and performing again … I’m telling you, rock and roll keeps you young!) and now Ray Graffia, Jr. of the New Colony Six has his own battle to win.
I cannot believe that I haven’t been to a Cornerstones in over two years!!!  For a while there, I was going to every single one!  So I sure don’t want to miss this one … a chance to visit again with our local heroes who made the music scene here in Chicago so exciting in the ‘60’s and early ‘70’s.
If you’ve never seen the show, this is one you don’t want to miss … Saturday, November 26th, at The Arcada Theatre in St. Charles.  See you there!  (kk)

And, speaking of the local guys …

THE IDES OF MARCH:
I've been going to the Ides’ live performances since I was 16 years old in high school. You can still watch them play at the Morton East Auditorium and in the Morton West gymnasium. I photographed them for the school newspaper. Yes, you can say I'm an extreme fan  Great article. Thanks for the opportunity to win their new cd.
Mel H
I am also a Morton West Alum (Class of ’71) and saw The Ides perform there MANY times over the years (including what was then billed as their “farewell concert” … how cool that they decided to do it there, where it all began for them in 1966!)
Have seen them many, many times since (includes several times this year already) and I swear they just get better and better each time.  Amazing!
Your name has officially been thrown in the hat.  We’ll be picking the winners later this week and mailing out the cd’s on Monday.  Good Luck!  (kk)

I prefer vinyl, but CD is acceptable.
BTW, which track is the "single"?
Jeff Watz
The one I posted the video for ... "Friends Like You" ... it's awesome.
The album IS available in vinyl ... but we only have CD copies to give away.
Good Luck!  (kk)
We’re accepting entries thru noon tomorrow … and will pick the five winners over the weekend.  (Actually, Jim Peterik will have a hand in that.  This is one of the best responses we’ve EVER had to a Forgotten Hits give-away … so he will randomly be picking five numbers which will then be assigned to all of the scrambled entries received.  The plan is to mail all of the CD’s on Monday … so you truly will have it before you can buy it!) 
Thanks again to Jim Peterik and The Ides Of March for their ongoing generosity and support of Forgotten Hits.  (kk)

Once Upon A Time … In Hollywood:
Got this from our FH Buddy Barry Winslow of The Royal Guardsmen …
Hi Kent,
I still don't know how you keep going, my friend ... but I'd sure like a sip of whatever that is ... LOL!  Smashing job, Bro.
I haven't seen the flick yet but I guess Snoopy and DiCaprio did a duet in one scene ... hope it was good.  We're quite honored to have the song included.
Try to find a little rest somewhere, Amigo!
Take care and be safe.
Bless ya
Barry
The scene featuring Leonardo DiCaprio floating in the pool while listening to “Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron” is one of the more amusing bits in the movie … you’ll totally dig it!  (Too bad the song didn’t make the soundtrack … but then again you guys probably aren’t making money on any of that anymore anyway, right?!?!  SO many artists got used and abused in the music business!  They created the music and somebody else received the profits.)
Still, it IS cool to know that your music is still making its mark some 50 years after it was recorded.  The hope (and MY purpose here) is that a new generation of music lovers will discover it and want to hear more.  (kk)

I’m not a fan of Quentin Tarantino, but I enjoy his movies well enough. "Hollywood" is no exception as I recall those special good times and fond memories.  
As for the list of songs, I see no mention of one of my favorite songs, "Beep Beep" by the Playmates. I agree with the opinion that Chris Farlowe's version of "Out Of Time" should have been the one used in the film.  
Another element Quentin left out, probably because he never experienced it, was this guy named Gypsy Boots. He would drive this old piece of shit bus filled with trim up and down the strip. It was painted with all the hippie stuff of the period … flowers, peace signs, etc.  He was a fixture and I'm sure he and Charley ran into each other.  One funny thing about him I'll never forget, is when I attended a concert at the Whiskey with The Buffalo Springfield and The Doors.  
As was common during a Doors song, Jim had his back to the crowd when Gypsy leapt on stage and was dancing his hypnotic gyrations, when Jim turned around and violently shoved him off the stage onto the tables below. The stage was high enough and Gypsy was high on acid (I guess) because he didn't skip a beat.
Do not mess with Jim's show … it was funny as shit!
Alex Valdez
Hmm … sounds a bit like Chicago’s own Danzman!  (lol)
The film captures the essence and the look of Hollywood, 1969 … but Tarantino would have been all of six years old that year … so how much could he POSSIBLY remember???  (I turned 16 that summer and remember following the story with morbid fascination, reading up on it in much greater detail years later.)  Truth is, Sharon Tate was HARDLY an A-List, in-demand actress at the time … barely a blip on the radar of what was really happening … but it was still the idea that such a gruesome crime could be committed in the valley of peace and love that made it all the more shocking.  (Then again, I remember being irrationally scared shitless that Richard Speck was roaming the streets of Chicago after murdering eight student nurses two years earlier so who knows what goes thru the mind of an impressionable, creative child!)  kk

Much more from Harvey Kubernik on the “Hollywood” soundtrack … and “Out Of Time” in particular …

>>>Interesting to note that they refer to the film using “The Rolling Stones’ original version” of the song “Out Of Time” … which really isn’t true.  Instead of the original from 1967 (one of my all-time favorites), which probably would have fit the timeline of the film a whole lot better, they used instead the far-inferior orchestrated version that appeared on the “Metamorphosis” album, which was released as a single by Allen B. Klein as a means of cashing in on The Stones’ catalog in 1975 after they formed their own record company, Rolling Stone Records.  (Again, something that just doesn’t fit into the timeline presented in the film and the events of 1969.)  kk

Hello Kent: 
Just back from seeing this movie.  
I first encountered Quentin Tarantino circa 1987 at the video store he was working in, then chatted with him around 1989 at the Club Lingerie in Hollywood when comedian and monologist Rudy Ray Moore performed. I had arranged a radio interview for Rudy on KPCC-FM in Pasadena and drove him to the venue from the Hotel Dunbar in downtown Los Angeles.  
Haven't talked to Tarantino this century, last was sitting with him at museum in L.A. film tribute to director/producer Roger Corman. Loved his soundtracks to "Pulp Fiction" and "Jackie Brown," and will always give him kudos for licensing my neighbor Bobby Womack's "Across 110th Street" for the front and back end screen credits to "Jackie Brown."  
Thought you might like to read some background about the Rolling Stones' "Out of Time" heard in QT's latest film but not on the retail soundtrack. 
Best, 
Harvey Kubernik 

QUENTIN TARANTINO’S ONCE UPON A TIME … IN HOLLYWOOD SOUNDTRACK  The Rolling Stones "Out Of Time" 
By Harvey Kubernik © 2019
Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood showcases 1969 Los Angeles and planet Hollywood. 
Highly effective on screen and the soundtrack are era-specific deejay intros from famed KHJ radio personalities The Real Don Steele and Humble Harve dovetailing product advertisements and weather reports from 1969.
There are several recordings broadcast in the movie but not incorporated in the soundtrack:  Aretha Franklin’s “The House that Jack Built,” Otis Redding’s “I Can’t Turn You Loose,” “Soul Serenade,” courtesy of Willie Mitchell, Billy Stewart’s rendition of “Summertime,” and the potent screen-only inclusion of The Rolling Stones’ “Out of Time.”
The “Out of Time” heard in the movie’s score takes on prophetic significance and is a telling musical sequence foreshadowing the celluloid tale’s murderous task ending. The initial media announcement earlier in 2019 of the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood soundtrack album had listed the addition of the Rolling Stones’ “Out of Time” culled from the epochal Stones’ Aftermath UK edition, cut in Hollywood at RCA Studios in 1966, produced by their manager and liner note flapsmith, Andrew Loog Oldham.  An edited version also appears on the Stones’ 1967 album Flowers.  
The actual “Out of Time” eventually implemented in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is from their Metamorphosis compilation album of 1964 - 1970 outtakes, tracks and alternate versions, produced by Andrew Loog Oldham and Jimmy Miller, issued in June 1975 by ABKCO Records.
This “Out of Time,” was done in England at Pye Studios April 27 - 30, 1966, produced by Mick Jagger for Oldham, featuring singer Chris Farlowe, for which Jagger recorded a reference vocal for the artist he was producing on a backing track comprised of English session musicians including guitarists Jimmy Page and Big Jim Sullivan, and overdubbed horn section assembled from the Ronnie Scott jazz club bandstand.  
The result featuring Chris Farlowe was a number one UK hit single for Oldham’s Immediate Records label.
In July of 2018, I interviewed Andrew Loog Oldham and he reminisced about both his “Out of Time” studio endeavors.  
In one of my dreams that did not come true, Mick and Keith and I were gonna be Holland-Dozier-Holland for Immediate. That was the original idea. But it didn’t work out. Everybody got extra busy, whatever. But that was one of the original thoughts behind it. Mick did a wonderful job on Chris Farlowe’s ‘Out of Time’ and his album. Expensive. 12, 000 pounds. A lot of money then. The price of a Rolls Royce Phantom V.
“It was also Mick’s first production with me for my label Immediate. The only reason Mick, Keith and I started to produce together was that we like to do things the Beatles hadn’t done.
“There came a settlement between the Rolling Stones and Allen Klein in the early seventies that I didn’t know much about. 1973 or ’74.  I was living in Paris with my wife Esther. We got together with Mick and Bianca. Mick was meant to be settling with Allen Klein. Mick was gonna deliver great tracks and stuff that would make a great last album of the deal between the Stones and ABKCO. And then Mick and I were supposed to get together in New York to mix it and this was the album that would become Metamorphosis.
 “I was not privy to what was going on. But Mick obviously changed his mind and delivered a bunch of lesser stuff to Allen Klein. It was just abysmal.
“In an attempt to not only rescue the album but make it complete, a full album, when I used to do Andrew Loog Oldham Orchestra recording sessions for Decca, when say 2 hours and 10 minutes was gone out of the 3 hours allotted, I would have done the tracks, whether it be a Four Seasons album, Beach Boys, Rolling Stones' songbook, and I would have 50 minutes left with, you know, 16 musicians. Which included Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and I would then record anything I wanted, something new I was working on, or more often than not, doing elaborate demos of songs that Mick and Keith had written. So that makes up five or 6 things that are on side one of Metamorphosis. The Rolling Stones are not playing on them. It’s just Mick and Keith doing some vocals. Same is true of ‘Out of Time.’
“Then I remembered that Mick had done a reference vocal for Chris Farlowe for ‘Out of Time.’ So I let Allen have it for Metamorphosis ‘cause we needed a decent song. I mixed that and added a lot of people from Connecticut, bass players and background vocals that I used on a Donovan session. Same year. And that went onto the album with the Jimmy Miller-produced ‘I Don’t Know Why.’  
“Stuff they worked on and not bothered to finish. For example, the version of Stevie Wonder’s ‘I Don’t Know Why’ which was recorded on the night Brian Jones died. The ‘I Don’t Know Why’ that they recorded at Olympic, the night that dear Brian died, was like 1:30.  Right?
“When I was putting together Metamorphosis in New York at the Record Plant in 1975, John Lennon was next door. Right? And I borrowed the horn people from Elephant’s Memory. Stan Bronstein. And John Lennon said to me, ‘Use him, man.’ And I just suggested, ‘I want a Jimmy Miller horn section.’ (laughs).
“And they did that on ‘I Don’t Know Why.’ And if you listen to it, Mick Jagger repeats the same verse and chorus three times. I just made it 3:40 with the addition of the horn section and the Connecticut musicians. And Allen Klein’s classic words to me at the time were ‘Don’t worry Andrew. I’ve done the research. You could put shit on a Rolling Stones’ record and it would still sell a quarter of a million in America alone.’   
“As for the Stones’ ‘Out of Time’ in this movie, maybe Quentin Tarantino is so vinyl anal he was familiar with Metamorphosis. Right? Good for him.”   
In a July 26, 2019 story on Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by Armond White in the National Review, contrasts the powerful exhibition of the Rolling Stones’ “Out of Time” off the UK Aftermath in an earlier film from director Hal Ashby, Coming Home, with the “Out of Time” utilized in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.  
“Tarantino’s pop sadism vents the undigested frustration of the juvenile mentality. The hit parade of half-obscure pop tunes is a mere distraction, proof that Tarantino’s understanding of pop music — like his understanding of movies — is far shallower than we imagined. The Mamas and the Papa’s trenchant ‘Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon)’ has been used more felicitously elsewhere, as was The Rolling Stones’ ‘Out of Time,’ which Hal Ashby scored in Coming Home so that it expressed the forgotten romance and regret behind Sixties political anxiety.”  
In a 2004 interview for my book Hollywood Shack Job: Rock Music In Film and on Your Screen, Andrew Loog Oldham was enthusiastic about the placement of his Aftermath master recording from RCA in Coming Home
‘“Out Of Time’ I love. It’s used twice in the Coming Home movie. I do remember, we all have our way of looking at it, survival mode, I am sure I reached Hal Ashby outside the cinema. I got (producer) Lou Adler, who knew him, to connect me. ‘I want you to hear me while I still have a lump in my throat. Great. You just blew me away….’
“Not like I had never been moved. I’ve had a moment that will be with me forever. The double use of ‘Out Of Time’ as a political statement and a love statement was just incredible.
“Hal was on location and I reached him.  If a piece of art has affected you like that either you want the person to see your eyes or the sound of your voice. And I was able to do it.” 
There’ve been a lot of complaints that “Out Of Time” isn’t included on the official film soundtrack CD, especially since it is so prominently featured in such a key scene (and nearly in its entirety in the film.)  
Interesting background.  I first heard this song during the film “Coming Home,” starring Jon Voight and Jane Fonda back in 1978 and it absolutely blew me away.  (“What IS this?!?!” I remember saying out loud in the movie theater!  Lol  I had to find out what it was … and I had to have it!)
Never heard it on the radio back in ’67 … and wasn’t really buying Stones albums at the time … so it was a completely new discovery for me … and I have loved the song ever since (and rank it right up there near the top of my all-time favorite Rolling Stones songs.)
The orchestrated version has always bothered me because it just seems to distract from the essence of the song … although I have mellowed in this regard over the years … I can actually listen to it now without spastic convulsions … and thought it sounded REALLY good in the new Tarantino film.  (I certainly would have preferred this over the Christ Farlowe version … it just doesn’t have the same impact.)  Too bad for me I found myself tuning out the movie to listen to the music … for MOST people, I think it primarily works the other way around!  (kk)   

MONEY BURNING A HOLE IN YOUR POCKET?: 
From Diane Diekman’s Country Music Newsletter (by way of Variety): 
The Beverly Hillbillies mansion is for sale. Variety reports the Chartwell Estate in the Los Angeles suburb of Bel Air, California, is on the market for $195 million, a $50 million drop from last year's asking price of $245 million. 
Featuring 11 bedrooms and 18 bathrooms, the 20,000-square-foot French Neoclassical limestone chateau was built by architect Sumner Spaulding in the early 1930s. The late billionaire Jerry Perenchio, a talent agent who became chairman and CEO of the Spanish TV conglomerate Univision, bought the estate in 1986 for $13.5 million and added several surrounding properties. 

MADE ME SMILE:
I found this in an old interview that Paul McCartney had done with Francis Wyndham of “London Life” magazine in 1965, just prior to the release of “Rubber Soul.”
In it, Paul looks to the future, saying “The songwriting thing looks the only thing you could do at 60.  I wouldn’t mind being a white-haired old man writing songs … but I’d hate to be a white-haired old Beatle at The Empire Stadium playing for people.”
77 year old Paul is still doing both.  (Kinda like Mick Jagger saying that he wouldn’t want to be prancing around the stage singing “Satisfaction” when he’s 40 all those years ago!)  kk