January 8th, 1965

60 YEARS AGO TODAY:

1/8/65 - OMG ...

Elvis turns 30!!!

(That's right, folks ...

If Elvis were still with us, today would be his 90th Birthday!!!) 

Elvis '65

I was talking with our FH Buddy Sam Tallerico the other day, just kind of recapping the 1964 Super Charts we both featured throughout the past year, and he commented that he was surprised by how many hits Elvis was still having in 1964.

(Keep in mind this was also the year of Beatlemania and The British Invasion) 

According to Joel Whitburn's Comparison Chart Book, Elvis made The National Top Singles Charts THIRTEEN times in 1964 alone! 

Only three of these were movie soundtrack hits ... "Kissin' Cousins" (#9 in Music Vendor, #12 in Billboard), "What'd I Say" (from "Viva Las Vegas"), #13 in Cash Box (but only #21 in Billboard) and the film's title track, "Viva Las Vegas," which peaked BELOW the B-Side at #16 in Cash Box and #29 in Billboard.  (Pretty amazing when one considers what a key, signature song of Elvis' it is today.)

One of my favorites of his from that year was the flip side of "Kissin' Cousins," "It Hurts Me," which got as high as #29 in Billboard.  

(DIDJAKNOW future rock and country superstar Charlie Daniels cowrote this one???)

 

(Elvis' version of "Suspicion" also bubbled-under that year at #103 ... its A-Side, "Kiss Me Quick," released on RCA's Gold Standard label, got as high as #29 in Record World and #34 in Billboard.)  I have always felt that Terry Stafford's Super Charts #1 Hit version blew Elvis' original away.

Perhaps because the soundtrack material was already so weak at this point, RCA instead dipped into the vaults for some of The King's other single releases.

For example, "Such A Night" (perhaps my all-time favorite Elvis song) came from his 1960 album 'Elvis Is Back." It went to #13 when RCA released it as a single in 1964 in Cash Box (and #16 in Billboard.)  "Ain't That Loving You Baby" (#12 in Record World and #16 in Billboard) dates back to 1958, but for whatever reason, RCA held that one back at the time.  The intended B-Side (and infinitely inferior) "Ask Me" somehow outshone this one, peaking at #10 in Cash Box and #12 in Billboard.  Personally, I think they were trying to recapture some of the youthful spirit of Elvis' earlier hits and keep him relevant in '64, especially in light of this sudden change in music.  The new material Elvis was recording was pretty much all movie soundtrack fluff.  It would be four more years before he proved he still had it with his 1968 comeback television special.

For Elvis' last single of 1964, they paired a couple more "oldies" to see if they might spark some new interest.  "Wooden Heart" (from the 1960 film "G.I. Blues," never released as a single by Elvis, but a #1 hit for Joe Dowell in 1961, sounding an awful lot like Elvis' version) was coupled with "Blue Christmas" as a holiday release ... but neither cracked The Top 100.

 

And, if you're burned out by now with Elvis' version of "Blue Christmas," perhaps THIS rendering will have you squealing ...

 

You can listen to Sammy's LAFOS (Lost And Found Oldies Show) here ..

https://www.mixcloud.com/LAFOS/

And get caught up on any you may have missed!

cont'd.

Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary fame has passed … he was 86. (FH Correspondent Shelley Sweet-Tufano warned us a few weeks ago that Peter had postponed and then cancelled all of his upcoming gigs … so this should have served as a forewarning that all was not well.)

In the early ‘60’s, PP&M were giants in the folk genre, earning several hits on the pop charts in the process:  “Lemon Tree,” #35, 1962; “If I Had A Hammer,” #10, 1962; “Puff, The Magic Dragon,” which Yarrow co-wrote, #2, 1963; “Blowin’ In The Wind,” #2, 1963; “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” #9, 1963; “Stewball,” #34, 1963; “Tell It On The Mountain,” #31, 1964; “For Lovin’ Me,” #2, 1965 ... all of these made The National Top 40.

They then scored two big comeback hits: “I Dig Rock And Roll Music” (#9, 1967) and “Leaving On A Jet Plane” (their only #1 record, in 1969.)  “Day Is Done” (also co-written by Yarrow) made The Top 20 in 1969.

The trio also scored very well on the album chart, taking two of their LPs to #1 in Billboard Magazine.  They were early supporters of a young singer/songwriter named Bob Dylan and recorded several of his songs, two of which are listed above.  Along the way, they also won five Grammy Awards.

Mary Travers died in 2009 but Peter and Paul (Stookey) have continued to entertain audiences for most of the last two decades.

(Shelley has given them a couple of good reviews recently):

https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2023/08/another-concert-review.html

https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2024/07/peter-paul-and-shelley.html

In addition to his career as a performer, Yarrow also worked as a social activist, quite often staging benefits for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. … but his career was not completely untainted …

In March of 1970, he was arrested in Washington, DC, for “taking immoral liberties” with a 14 year old girl.  Yarrow plead guilty and was sentenced to three months in jail.  He served a month of that sentence in prison.

Perhaps most ironically, the folk trio had just won a Grammy Award two weeks earlier for Best Recording For Children for their album “Peter, Paul And Mommy” … and Yarrow would go on to write several childrens’ books.)  Years later, Yarrow was pardoned by US President Jimmy Carter (who also just recently passed) in what would be his last day in office.

In 1969, he married Mary Beth McCarthy, Presidential Candidate Eugene McCarthy’s niece.  The couple met the year before while both were campaigning for her uncle in Willmar, Minnesota.  They eventually divorced … but then remarried years later.

Tuesday This And That

Carlos Santana has had to push back his Las Vegas residency at The House Of Blues after breaking his finger in a fall at his home in Hawaii.  The injury was serious enough to require a pin to be inserted into his finger … and although he is expected to make a full recovery, it makes him unable to play the guitar in time for his scheduled January 22^nd opening.  Doctors expect the recovery to take about six weeks.  (kk)

Best wishes to Carlos Santana who broke a finger in a fall recently! Heal up! 💪!!!!

Carlos is seen here is at a Century City Grammy party.

Jim Roup

Lots of talks this past week about the interview John Sykes, Chairman of The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, did with Vulture Magazine, peeling back the curtain as to the selection process of the nominating committee.

https://www.vulture.com/article/rock-hall-of-fame-ceremony-2024-john-sykes.html

It was a bit of a surprise (and a disappointment) to see the new Bob Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown" shut out at the Golden Globe Awards Sunday Night.

Based on the seemingly unanimous positive reviews, the film seemed to be a shoe-in to clean up at this year's awards ceremonies ... but in fact did not win a single award.

It'll be interesting to see how it fares at The Oscars on March 2nd.  (Dylan's music ... and character ... pales in comparison to Freddy Mercury's ... so I wasn't expecting a repeat of "Bohemian Rhapsody" success ... but I WAS expecting it to win SOMETHING!!!)

Here’s a little background story about just how involved Bob Dylan was with the making of the new biopic “A Complete Unknown”

https://rockcellarmagazine.com/bob-dylan-a-complete-unknown-producer-interview-approval-script/

In fact, on a related note, Bruce Springsteen sounds like he couldn’t be more pleased with the way award-winning actor Jeremy Allen White (from “The Bear”) is portraying him in HIS upcoming biopic …

https://rockcellarmagazine.com/bruce-springsteen-biopic-jeremy-allen-white-impressions-springsteen-interview/

Wayne Osmond of The Osmond Brothers passed away on New Year’s Day.  It was he and his three brothers, Alan, Merrill and Jay, that started it all as a barbershop quartet back in 1958.  When they were discovered performing at Disneyland a few years later, they were booked for an appearance on “The Andy Williams Show” and the rest, as they say, is history.

Their career took off like crazy in 1971 after little brother Donny joined the group and their version of a song turned down by The Jackson Five, “One Bad Apple,” kicked off a string of ten Top 40 hits.

Wayne has battled a variety of health issues over the past 27 years.  In 1997, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor which, despite successful treatment, left him mostly deaf as a result. He retired from the Osmonds in 2007 and then a stroke in 2012 left him unable to play guitar. His final public performance with his family took place in 2018.  He leaves behind a wife and five children.  He was 73.  (kk)

And then just a few days later we lost Brenton Wood, whose 1967 hit “Gimme Little Sign” still shows up EVERYWHERE in ad campaigns, tv shows and movies and is still all over oldies radio.  While “Gimme Little Sign” was an across-the-boards Top Ten Hit, he was NOT a one-hit wonder … “The Oogum Boogum Song” reached #34 before it … and “Baby You Got It” reached #34 right after it!  He died of natural causes at the age of 83 on January 3^rd.  According to published reports, his last words were “Catch you on the rebound” … which just also happened to be the name of the B-Side of that “Baby You Got It” single.  All three of his Top 40 singles were released in 1967 … and although he would go on to chart five more times, none of those subsequent releases ever rose above #99.  (kk)

Hey Kent - 

Was sorry to hear about the passing of Brenton Wood 😢 

They played a few songs of his on KNX, which is now an all news station in Los Angeles. 

Here he is at B.B.King's club in Universal City.

Jim Roup

Tom Cuddy sent us this article about The Isley Brothers ...

Heard of The Isley Brothers? The Legendary Group is the Only Musical Act in History to Achieve This One Feat
https://www.theroot.com/heard-of-the-isley-brothers-the-legendary-group-is-the-1851732498?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=TheRoot/magazine/Entertainment

There’s a pretty well-known story that Stephen Stills once auditioned for The Monkees but didn’t get the part because he had bad teeth.  Stills said, “Well, I have a roommate who looks just like me and his teeth are fine” … so he went home and sent down his buddy Peter Tork who, of course, got the gig.

I have often speculated that if Stills HAD gotten the role, that means that he would have written Buffalo Springfield’s biggest hit “For What It’s Worth” while he was under contract.  It was making its way up the charts just as The Monkees’ #1 smash “I’m A Believer” was heading down …

And my running joke for all these years has been, “Yeah, but they probably would have given it to Micky to sing,” since he and Davy pretty much got to sing all of the lead vocals.

Well, now on Micky’s new “Live At The Troubadour” album, he does exactly that!  (It’s a good, solid concert … and Dolenz spices things up between tunes with stories from back in the day.)

And I have to say that he sounds particularly good on this one …

You can order your copy thru Amazon or iTunes or any of the other services out there …

But if you buy it thru Micky Dolenz’s website, he’ll even autograph it for you.  (kk)

https://micky-dolenz.myshopify.com/products/presale-alert-20-discount-until-12pm-12-16-micky-dolenz-live-at-the-troubadour-cd-copy?variant=48774148194497

And, speaking of Stephen Stills (who just celebrated a birthday on January 3^rd), here’s a photo that our resident photographer Jim Roup snapped of him at Jack Nicholson's trendy Monkey Bar.  (Hmm … TWO more Monkee references / tie-ins!!!  Now THAT'S pretty cool!!!)  kk

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January 5th, 1965

60 YEARS AGO TODAY:

1/5/65 – The Supremes record “Stop! In The Name of Love”

It will go on to become their fourth straight #1 hit

 

THE SATURDAY SURVEY

The Beatles hold on to the #1 spot for a second straight week (after two weeks at #2 prior to that)

Looking at The Top Ten, the only songs that even resemble a threat are "Love Potion Number Nine" by The Searchers, still on the rise moving this week from #7 to #4, "Downtown" by Petula Clark (up 12 places from #22 to #10) and The Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," now resting at #11, up from #20.

Other big countdown movers include "The Name Game" by Shirley Ellis (it jumps twenty spots from #48 to #28), "I'll Be There" by Gerry and the Pacemakers (a move of twelve from #41 to #29), "Give Him A Great Big Kiss" by The Shangr-Las (#62 to #48), "Let's Lock The Door (And Throw Away The Key)" by Jay and the Americans (#65 to #50) and "All Day And All Of The Night" by The Kinks, up fifteen places from #71 to #56.

In the way of hot new premiers, we can attribute three of these to British acts ... 

The Rolling Stones debut at #81 with "Heart Of Stone," Peter and Gordon are back on the chart with their version of a Del Shannon tune, "I Go To Pieces," new at #86, and The Zombies are back as well, with a very bouncy number called "Tell Her No," this week's #93 hit.
 

 

60 YEARS AGO TODAY:

1/4/65 – Poet T.S. Eliot dies