Kent,
A very nice tribute to Hank Aaron, back when ball players still had to work in the off season to help feed their families.
By the way, my dad and I were in attendance in 1973 when Hammerin' Hank hit home run #700. I recall the team gave out a certificate to those of us in attendance saying that we were there for that historic occasion.
Lots of tributes on Atlanta radio yesterday, as most remembered Aaron as a quiet and humble man who did his job without any fanfare.
Sincerely,
Joe Cantello
Not being a Cubs fan, I never got to see Hank Aaron play live … but certainly watched his career from afar on tv. He was an AMAZING player … humble as you say and, for the most part, keeping his thoughts and feelings hidden when some of the cruelest things were being said about him by prejudiced fans.
Hi Kent,
With all the Glenn Miller buzz, I'm surprised this version of "In The Mood" wasn't featured.
This CD called "The Glenn Miller Orchestra - In The Digital Mood" and it is a kick-ass, out of the park home run! It’s done by a studio group that uses the original Glenn Miller sound and arrangements.
If you like Glenn Miller, this is your baby! Really excellent production!
But if somebody writes in and says they like Eddie Howard, we're all in trouble! Ha!
Peace,
Tim Kiley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vMTZBVBkPU&list=PLjF-Ps_KLsDfI6_BSumnzzCL-uzQ3Cl6O
Funnily enough, I had planned to run a follow-up piece on the brand new Tommy James and the Shondells career retrospective box set that’s coming out at the end of the week, packaging ALL of their albums (and assorted single mixes) into a 6-CD box set ... 141 tracks in all, covering all 13 albums released on Roulette (by Tommy with The Shondells as well as his solo LPs for the label. (According to the article, the release date must have been moved up from February 5th to January 29th.)
This is something that I’ve been REALLY looking forward to … in fact, I pre-ordered it a few months back on the day it was first announced … and, incredibly, it is right now the ONLY pre-order I have open with Amazon.com … which is something that NEVER happens.
But then I got this link from Tom Cuddy talking about the very same thing I had planned to talk about … but in much greater depth than I could have done … so I just decided to share THIS with you instead … because this is a CD collection that you’ll want to add to your own library. (kk)
‘Crime doesn't pay!’
Tommy James, the 100m-selling pop star robbed by the mob
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/jan/22/tommy-james-pop-star-robbed-interview
Here’s a link to the original piece we ran, announced by The Second Disc …
German Jimi Hendrix Fan Eckhard B., curator sent us this bit of news about a brand new African-American Museum going up in Nashville to celebrate the music of Black Artists from Rock to Jazz …
Eckhard B. / Hendrix-Fans.de
NEWS: National Museum of African American Music in Nashville, Tennessee, including
a tribute to JIMI HENDRIX
The "Music City" informs about African-American music. 1500 exhibits
are on display, including many of the artists' memorabilia.
Jazz and More: The "Music City" informs about African-American music.
1500 exhibits are on display, including many of the artists' memorabilia.
Blues, soul, jazz, hip-hop or R&B: there is a new place of pilgrimage for
music fans. Music City is a museum of African-American music in Nashville,
Tennessee, United States. Visitors can find out more than 50 music styles on
more than 900 square metres of exhibition space.
Artists such as Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, Usher, Louis Armstrong, Whitney
Houston and Ray Charles will be honoured. The museum houses more than 1500
exhibits, including many artists' memorabilia and colourful stage costumes. The
context of politics, the struggle for equality and the music of black people in
the USA are also discussed.
The museum is located in the heart of Nashville, just off The Lower Broadway.
From January 30th, it will be available to the public, with adults paying $24.95
US dollars regular admission. Holidaymakers from Europe have to wait until
further notice for a visit, because it is still unclear how long the entry ban
in force in the USA will continue due to the Corona pandemic.
Website: NMAAM
National Museum of African American Music
We’ve started work on the reconstructing of our month-long Phil Spector Series from 2008.
This is a HUGE undertaking so it may be a while before we’re ready to unleash it for the world to see …
But I can promise you that you will be ASTOUNDED by the results once we finally get there.
So please be patient … and watch here for updates.
In the meantime, Harvey Kubernik has sent along a couple of Spector-related pieces he has been working on to share with our readers …
On this week's home page we have little option but to consider the life and music of the monstrous Phil Spector, the megalomaniac producer who built the "Wall Of Sound" behind the Ronettes, the Righteous Brothers, and Ike & Tina's 'River Deep, Mountain High'. A chilling snippet of 1975 audio and three pieces spanning 40 years tell the story of the disturbed narcissist who, almost 18 years ago, murdered actress-hostess Lana Clarkson.
Harvey Kubernik interview with Tina Turner and the recording session of "River Deep, Mountain High" https://www.musicconnection.com/kubernik-tina-turner-documentary/
>>>HOW Amazon chose THIS particular song for their new campaign (it really doesn’t have ANYTHING at all to do with what they’re selling) is anybody’s guess … but it is probably safe to say that it was somebody who actually remembered hearing the song back in ’65 and it’s stayed with them for all this time. (kk)
The reason Amazon has "It Wasn't Me" for one of their ads was not the result of someone who heard the song back in 1965 and still recalls it today. No way.
No one of that elderly age is still working in the ad industry.
What
many radio and trade mag chart "geeks" fail to realize, being stuck
in your like-minded passion, is that there are many, many younger music fans
out in the world who now collect old records. 45s are highly sought
after, mainly if they fit into current retro collectible genres, like soul and
its various sub-genre offshoots, rockabilly / rockers, ‘60’s garage sounds,
even, (egad!) doo-wop! I recently met a young female in her early 30s who
avidly collects doo-wop and does a podcast as well. Chart placement or git
status has ZERO relevance to these people. Who cares if Chuck's "It
Wasn't Me" was not a national hit? I don't!
Non-chart 45s are often musically more exciting - I say, BETTER than many of
the hit singles from the same time period. I, and other active, mostly younger
collectors refuse to limit our passion, knowledge and preferences to only
popular chart hit 45s. When I last DJ'd at a venue, pre-covid era, younger
people were dancing to cool non-hit 45s. And many of the people who attended
were already familiar with these obscurities that never even made a trade mag
review when originally released. In contrast, the vast majority of 45s I spun
would be unrecognizable to a chart-only / pop hits baby boomer.
Anyway - someone YOUNG who works at an ad agency most likely came up with the Chuck Berry tune and NOT some old chart geek fossil! The music world, especially for music of long past decades, is a free-flowing river full of potential discovery in 2021. People not tied to the music when it was originally recorded and released are the future of keeping the music alive, and they do not care if a song was a chart hit or a stiff, as the old radio and music folks did. Same thing with the obscure tunes used in advertising TV commercials. I am sometimes hired freelance (hint: hit me up industry FH folks!) by an agency in Los Angeles to research old music copyrights at the Library of Congress copyright archive, especially if a current copyright owner or claimant cannot be located easily via on-line methods. For example, I had a little bit of a hand in eventually getting a 1967 45 rpm obscurity used in a television show (Mad Men on the AMC channel). Obscure to anyone who knows or collects '60s garage rock & roll, "Found Love", recorded in the summer of 1967 by the Fly-Bi-Nites, a (then) Atlanta teenaged high school aged combo was selected for use in an episode, to the amazement and delight of the surviving group members. I always profess that it is far better to hear an obscure, non-hit, cool song than some overplayed, over-saturated 'Big Hit' tune from the same era.
Mike Markesich
Many of the most popular online “oldies” shows have expanded their horizons to include more and more non-hits and “shoulda been hits” to their play list … and to positive results. Let’s face it, as great as this music is, we’ve now been hearing some of it for 50+ years. Just doing some simple math, you’re pretty likely to hear a song like “Happy Together” by The Turtles every single day … just as you have ever since it was first released in February of 1967 … or 54 years ago. Assuming that you only heard it once a day (and we all know it gets played WAY more often than that on any number of radio stations as this particular song defies all formats), that means that you have now heard it played AT LEAST 20,000 times since it was first a hit. Doesn’t matter HOW great a song it is, I welcome some relief from time to time by hearing some of their other, lesser-played hits like “You Know What I Mean” or “She’s My Girl” or “You Showed Me.” Other legitimate Top 20 Turtles hits like “You Baby,” “It Ain’t Me Babe” and “Elenore” don’t get as much airplay as “Happy Together” does. In fact, I’d venture to say that even if you threw “She’d Rather Be With Me” into the mix, those seven songs COMBINED don’t get played as often as “Happy Together” does all by itself! At some point, it’s really about song burn-out. Much as I love it, and have ALWAYS loved it, I find myself turning “Happy Together” off more often than not these days, rather than listening to it again for the 20,000th-plus time! (kk)
HELPING OUT OUR READERS:
Greetings from the Great White North,
I know that there are a lot of folks that collect both radio and TV commercials out there. Since Kent is reviewing the year 1971, and also since this commercial has to do with a hit song from a couple of years earlier, I just thought I'd ask if anyone possibly has this. It's something that I've been looking for now for well over forty years.
In the spring of 1969, a group called Shango had a song out called Day After Day (It's Slipping Away), which I believe has even been discussed on past FH blog posts. Well, in 1971, Shango came out with a modified version of the song, except it was used for a Chevrolet commercial. I remember that instead of singing "Day after day, more people come to LA" they sang "Day after day, more people drive chevrolet." Naturally what I hoping for is a nice clean copy of this commercial in the clear. But at this point, I'd even take a copy of this commercial from a 1971
aircheck. I'm just wondering, does anyone have this?
And speaking of memorable commercials, Lulu recorded a memorable commercial back in 1968 for Gentle Care hair products. The RKO General stations like KHJ Los Angeles, KFRC in San Francisco, KGB San Diego, KYNO in Fresno California, KING in Seattle, CKLW in Windsor Ontario and WRKO in Boston played this commercial in heavy rotation back in 1968. I'm sure you remember it, with Lulu singing "A young girl's hair needs gentle care, to keep it soft and shining." I do have a copy of this
commercial taken from a Real Don Steele aircheck on KHJ, but I'd love to find a nice copy in the clear because the string section of this commercial is absolutely beautiful.
Anyway, just a couple of things that I'm looking for that I'll probably never ind. But then again, all it takes is one person to have this stuff.
By the way, I do have quite a few high quality commercials for trading purposes.
Sam Ward
Anyone able to help out with these long-time searches? Drop me a line and I’ll put you in touch with Sam. Thanks. (kk)
From FH Reader Tom Cuddy …
Perry Botkin Jr. Dead:
Grammy-Winning Arranger of "Nadia's Theme," Dies at 87
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/perry-botkin-jr-grammy-winning-arranger-of-nadias-theme-dies-at-87
Add to the already growing list of departures for 2021 …
Talk Show Host Larry King, Actor Gregory
Sierra (“Barney Miller”), Actress Mira Furlan (“Lost”) and James Purify (one half
of James and Bobby Purify, “I’m Your Puppet” fame) and we're already off to a pretty depressing start to the new year.
HOLLYWOOD EDEN FROM BEST SELLING AUTHOR JOEL SELVIN OUT APRIL 6 THE STORY OF THE RISE OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA’S MUSICAL MYTHOS WITH THE BEACH BOYS, JAN & DEAN, THE BYRDS, MAMAS & PAPAS
House of Anansi Press publishes Hollywood Eden on April 6.
Pre-order: shorturl.at/qFKL6
In his new book, Hollywood Eden, author Joel Selvin tells the story of a group of young artists and musicians who came together at the dawn of the 1960s to create the lasting myth of the California dream. Central to the story is a group of sun-kissed teens from the University High School (Uni High) Class of ’58, a class that included Jan and Dean, Kim Fowley, Sandy Nelson, Nancy Sinatra (serving on the dress code committee) and future members of the Beach Boys. They came of age in Southern California at the dawn of a new golden era when anything seemed possible. These were the kids who created the idea of modern Southern California, complete with surf music, hot-rods and electric guitars, that the rest of world saw as a teen-age paradise on earth.
Their private struggles belied the utopia portrayed in their music and what began as a light-hearted frolic under sunny skies. It came crashing down to earth just a few short but action-packed years later as, one by one, each met their own destinies head-on. Hollywood Eden is, in a sense, the libretto of a rock ‘n’ roll opera loaded with violence, deceit, intrigue, low comedy and high drama. The cast of characters includes the Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, the Byrds, the Mamas and the Papas and others who bumped heads, crashed cars and ultimately flew too close to the California sun.
Selvin’s previous books include Atlamont: The Rolling Stones, the Hells Angels, and the Inside Story of Rock’s Darkest Day; Here Comes the Night: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm and Blues; The Haight: Love, Rock and Revolution; Fare the Well: The Final Chapter of the Grateful Dead’s Long, Strange Trip (with Pamela Turley); Summer of Love: The Inside Story of LSB, Rock & Roll, Free Love and High Times; Monterey Pop (with Jim Marshall) and Ricky Nelson: Idol For A Generation.
The Beach Boys’ Bruce Johnson, (Uni High Class of ’58), wrote, ““Hollywood Eden beautifully captures our sixties California music scene — a time when life was truly fun, fun, fun.”
Linda Ronstadt commented, “Hollywood Eden is a detailed look at the hugely influential California music scene just before the arrival of folk rock and psychedelic music -- a vital link in the chronicles of the American popular song. I found this fascinating. I love the book.”
Steven Van Zandt, founder of radio’s Little Steven’s Underground Garage and a five decades member of the E Street Band remarked, “Growing up in the Darwinian slaughterhouse of New Jersey, we couldn’t have imagined the paradise so accurately described by Hollywood Eden. Through the years I became familiar with most of the characters in this book, yet I learned something on every page. Mr. Selvin’s special gift is putting you in the room to witness these unlikely events that became essential Rock history.
Van Dyke Parks whose collaborations with Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys begat “Good Vibrations” and the songs that comprise the group’s Smile album, endorsed the book, noting, “Hollywood Eden is a keeper. Startlingly moving, its somehow sympathetic characters are all looking for a fast buck, some luck of the draw, or intimations of immortality. I know full well most of the subjects in this tumultuous time. I was there, in also a hedge-row cameo. So I read the book through and through. I now warrant every word of it is true.”
Other notables have evinced admiration for Selvin’s work. Bette Midler tweeted, “"Ok, just finished the book on Bert Berns "Here Comes The Night" and it was great. Anyone who loves early Rock and Soul will love it."
Stephen King has called Selvin “a rock legend.”
Kent:
This is reported to be the last time Chubby Checker publicly did “The Twist” since the pandemic began in March. The video below was shot days before arenas and theatres closed down across the country. He was the Wolf Den in the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut, March 14, 2020.
-Tom Cuddy
It’s amazing how good Chubby still looks and sounds … and the crowd just loves him! Checker was due to FINALLY make an appearance at The Arcada Theatre last year but, as you know, the pandemic shut EVERYTHING down, forcing shows to be rescheduled … in some cases, numerous times. As of right now, there is no new concert date … but we will keep you posted once some of these clubs are able to safely open and entertain again. (kk)
