Some Of Your Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Comments

Whenever we tackle the topic of The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, a couple of things happen ... we tend to strike a nerve with those most passionate members of our list who feel strongly (one way or another) about the way things are currently structured within the selection process ... then we get a list of a couple of dozen of artists who you guys feel have been short-changed by this process ... along with a critique of the artists that are being inducted instead. Too often that passion turns to anger (and then things start to get ugly!) Quite honestly, our readers seem to be split 50 / 50 on this topic ... about half of you are fascinated by the insight and perspective some of the commentators bring to the table, especially regarding artists you didn't know were NOT in The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame ... most people just ASSUME that somebody of Chicago's caliber, for example, HAS to be there, when this clearly isn't the case. They're genuinely SHOCKED to learn that Chicago, Neil Diamond, The Moody Blues and (until this year) The Hollies have never been inducted.

The OTHER half are sick and tired of hearing us go on and on and on about The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, most often because you guys stopped caring about (or giving any credence to) the artists they select and continue to ignore long, long ago ... from THIS batch of readers, we get nothing but "Enough Is Enough Already" emails. (As such, I've got literally a couple of hundred of Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Comments that have never been run in Forgotten Hits, because you can only beat a dead horse for so long before you lose your audience ... and, let's face it, what we write here is never going to change anything anyway!!!)

So, with that thought in mind, we'll present just a few of your comments, followed by an "Open Letter To The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame" submitted by Y103.9 DeeJay Jim Shea (coming up TOMORROW on The Forgotten Hits Web Page) ... and then we'll put this topic back on the shelf for awhile. (I'm sure it'll come up again once the Induction Ceremony comes along in March ... but for now, we'll just give it a rest.)

I should start off by saying ... as I have said DOZENS of times these past few years ... that MY objection isn't so much to the artists being selected ... I've stated dozens of times that I'm not advocating UN-inducting ANYBODY ... whoever is in, STAYS in ... between ALL of us, I'm sure we can find at least SOME shred of validation as to why they were selected in the first place ... I just think that the nominating process needs an overhaul. FAR too many GREAT artists are continually overlooked in favor of newer acts who have really done nothing to further or expand the horizons of rock and roll. (Case in point: The Ventures waited 23 years to get in ... all THEY did was invent a whole new genre of rock and roll instrumentals ... and that's not what is routinely written off as a "popularity" comment by some of you "nay-sayers" out there ... truth is, The Ventures really only had a couple of "hits" ... but they influenced THOUSANDS of future musicians and revolutionized the way rock and roll music could be presented. Yet it took 23 years for The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame to recognize them.) Meanwhile, FAR less-worthy acts are being inducted on their very first ballot ... and it just doesn't seem right.

Over the past several years I've offered several suggestions that might help "streamline" the selection process (and help The Hall save some face along the way.) One way would be to have a "Mass Induction Ceremony", picking 25 acts heretofore ignored but certainly deserving, and hold a SEPARATE Ceremony (on PBS for example, who seems to be far more willing to cater to our age demographic, which would tune in to watch this program in DROVES I would imagine!) At least this way, they could recognize these artists while they're still HERE and able to APPRECIATE the acknowledgement.

Another idea was to have ONE Artist each year elected by THE PEOPLE ... go ahead and let The Hall pick from their list of Favorite Flavors Of The Month ... but allow the fans at least SOME say as to who REALLY belongs enshrined within The Rock Hall Walls. Sure, this'll take a lot longer to recognize some of this long-deserving talent, but at least artists like Neil Diamond and The Guess Who and Chicago and The Moody Blues and The Monkees would FINALLY get in!!!

I also wanted to mention again a website that we referenced several times in our original Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Series ... Click here: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame of the Future - News, Analysis, Voting & More - Future Rock Legends ... and strongly suggest, when you've got the time, that you pay this site a visit and spend some time there ... there are WAY more facts here than you'll ever digest in one sitting ... and what's REALLY neat is that they not only tell you who's in but they ALSO tell you everyone who has EVER been nominated ... who is eligible (and for how long they've been eligible ... and ignored) ... and then even handicap these artists by predicting the odds of them EVER being inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. All in all, VERY interesting, entertaining and insightful reading. Very special thanks to our new FH Buddy Neil, who hosts this incredible site.

And now, on to some of your comments ...

Remind me again ... why should we give a rat's ass what the RRHF thinks?
The idea that a self-appointed arbiter of taste can decree who is or is not worth listening to, is a contradiction of everything Rock And Roll stands for.
Ed Erxleben

>>>you can't HONESTLY tell me that Laura Nyro, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen,
Bonnie Raitt and / or Percy Sledge rocked harder than ANY of the artists mentioned above. (kk)
I don't think rocking hard has anything to do with who gets nominated or selected for the RocknRoll Hall of Fame. It's just who "they" decide to let in the club. One of the nominating board members even had the nerve to say in print, when asked about Linda Ronstadt, that he didn't think Linda ever was really a rock singer. But then in the next breath, he out of nowhere said that he would be more likely to support Emmylou Harris as a nominee. No further comment is necessary.
Tony Partridge

>>>As pointed out many times in these pages, there are no "right" or "wrong" opinions when it comes to music ... music works on SO many levels that it affects each and every one of us differently (kk)

Kent,
So true. There are so many arrogant music enthusiasts that believe just the opposite. If you disagree with them, you are wrong. I have been called a "bigot" (how original), and narrow minded when I disagree with some of them. They go into a fit of rage. Their identity is threatened when they realize their supposed music expertise is just an opinion.
Dwight Rounds

Regarding your Forgotten Hits Hall of Famers re-post of the most Deserving and Denied Artists, I have to take issue --
Number of R&B artists on the list: 1
But Paul Anka, Pat Boone and Peter Paul & Mary made the Top 40.
Back to drawing board.
Tom Lane
You have to understand that this is not MY list ... this list was compiled using the votes and opinions of our nationwide readers, all of whom are oldies music fans. The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame has inducted a TREMENDOUS amount of R&B acts over the years ... and, without question, they are all deserving of such an honor ... there is no QUESTION as to the impact that R&B had on what ultimately became known as Rock And Roll. But the people have spoken ... based on literally THOUSANDS of votes, the music fans selected THEIR Top 40 List of The Most Deserving and Denied Artists ... nearly a hundred others made the "Runners Up" list. We tend to listen to the votes and opinions of the "many" rather than accept the theory that Jann Wenner has ALL of our best musical interests at heart by handling the selection process himself. (kk)

Hoping one day the R&R HoF will recognize Jan & Dean - Tons of great singles while spanning several genres as they became the Monkees before there was such!

PhilPrayForSurf.net

KENT,
I RECOGNIZE THE FACT THAT I WILL NEVER EVER MAKE THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME! A LOT OF US HAVE BEEN PASSED OVER FOR SO LONG NOW IT DOSEN'T MATTER ANYMORE! POLITICS!! AND WHO LIKES WHO? WHAT A JOKE!
THANKS!
FREDDY "BOOM BOOM" CANNON
There seems to be a definite block out on the Philly Artists from the early days of rock and roll ... although latter day megastars like Daryl Hall and John Oates are being ignored, too. As it currently stands, just to be nominated you have to have released your first record 25 years ago ... once reaching that milestone, to keep so many of these artists waiting ANOTHER 25 years is RIDICULOUS!!! And the saddest part of all is that there are fewer and fewer of these artists around to enjoy and appreciate the recognition ... yet so many of the "new kids" are getting in on the first ballot! Not at ALL what we all thought The Hall was GONNA be! (kk)

>>>I still don't see Todd Rundgren on that list ... (Diana)

I understand your beef with the Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Fame. Diana bitches every now and then about Todd Rundgren not being inducted into the Rock Hall while Madonna is. My reply to her is that, since the RRHOF is operating the way it is, perhaps it's a blessing that he hasn't been inducted. Which brings me to this: I know who my heroes are and so it doesn't matter to me if the Rock Hall acknowledges them or not.
Ed
We're seeing more and more artists starting to denounce the ways and means of The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame for this very reason ... it just doesn't MEAN anything anymore to be a member. (Back in 2006, The Sex Pistols refused to attend the induction ceremony, calling the museum a "piss stain". I'm not even a Sex Pistols fan, but that's a pretty bold statement to make for an artist who WAS selected!!!) We've reported in the past that several of the voting members didn't even bother submitting their ballots because they didn't feel any of the candidates on the list were truly worthy ... what does THAT tell you about the caliber of the artists being selected ... even their own "team of experts" can't find anybody redeeming to induct!!! (This is because the NOMINATING Committee is an entirely different group of people than the VOTING Committee ... and, as has been addressed before, MANY petitions containing ten thousand signatures or more from the public demanding consideration for a particular artist have been routinely ignored.) We've ALSO addressed the issue before about the debate as to whether too many people are being denied induction ... or too many people are being inducted. Honestly, you can look at it both ways. Let's face it, once you've acknowledged Elvis and The Beatles and Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly and Ray Charles and Sam Cooke and The Everly Brothers ... The Beach Boys, Little Richard, Fats Domino, James Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis, Aretha Franklin, Bo Diddley, Carl Perkins, Eddie Cochran, Stevie Wonder, The Rolling Stones, The Supremes, The Temptations, Bob Dylan, CCR, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Santana, The Eagles, The Mamas and the Papas, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, Queen ... how on earth do you induct artists like Solomon Burke, The Flamingos, Bonnie Raitt, Percy Sledge, The Velvet Underground, Etta James, Ruth Brown, Leonard Cohen, Patti Smith or Grand Master Flash into the SAME Hall Of Fame?!?!? How on EARTH can you equate these artists to those who have gone before them ... claim that they helped to shape rock and roll music in the same way or on the same level or have had the same impact as the "first tier" of artists. Maybe they should have stopped a long time ago ... let in those 50 or 60 TRULY deserving artists and said, "That's It ... this is the BASE core of The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame ... now every year we'll induct another five or six artists that deserve SOME level of recognition ... but on a different 'tier' than these others." Honestly, if everybody out there made up their own list of the MAIN 50 who just could not be denied, setting all bias aside and simply weighting that list on those artists that are undeniably deserving ... we'd probably (for the most part) agree on 80-90% of these artists ... because they flat-out BELONG there. How many more could you list ... of "second tier" deserving artists ... before you'd find somebody like Percy Sledge on your list? 50 more? 100 more? 200 more??? 600 more?!?!? Miles Davis? Buddy Guy? GREAT artists to be sure ... in their chosen field of jazz and blues ... but Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame artists? Honestly, if you WERE to make such a list ... would you REALLY put Bonnie Raitt or Patti Smith or Leonard Cohen nearer to the top of that list than Chicago, The Guess Who, The Hollies or Neil Diamond? Forget the "Popularity Contest" aspect of this ... make your OWN list ... but be honest and subjective ... you can ONLY list 200 deserving artists. Would Laura Nyro or Solomon Burke or The Velvet Underground or Grandmaster Flash or The Red Hot Chili Peppers or Percy Sledge REALLY make your list ... or do you see where I'm going with all of this??? (kk)

>>>How about the top selling American Duo of the 70's - Carpenters? Karen and Richard made some of the finest recordings and sold in numbers that qualify them for induction. True, they didn't rock out ... but musically, it's hard to top what they produced from 1969-1983. (Chip Cogswell)
>>>Yeah, you'll get some arguments on that one ... Hit Parade Hall Of Fame, yes ... "Soft Rock" Hall Of Fame, definitely ... but The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame??? Ain't NEVER gonna happen!!! (kk)
Hey Kent:
As one who thinks the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame is Stupid, why not put The Carpenters in? Being Wenner and the rest of the politically motivated numbskulls have no real set criteria for getting in, put them in! They might put Donna Summer in! Neither belongs in because neither is Rock at all, but if you put one in, then why not the other. The Hall is filling up with nonsense every year anyway. I actually couldn’t stomach much of The Carpenters stuff when it was out, but after 35+ years of Radio dreck, they don’t sound half bad anymore. Why not! They actually should get rid of the hall of fame part of it and just have it as a museum of Rock n Roll, then everybody has a chance to be included that had some input in the culture.
Ken
The Museum is a BEAUTIFUL tribute and houses an INCREDIBLE collection of memorabilia representing the music we all know and love ... and ALL walks of musical history have been routinely represented. (They even had a "One Hit Wonders" section up for quite a while.) kk

Kent,
I agree with you on the Stooges. Things like this remind me of why I stopped reading Rolling Stone magazine years ago. I always felt like they tried to force groups like the Stooges down our throats. They made it seem that if you liked an act like the Guess Who, the Raspberries, Tommy James, or Neil Diamond you were a nerd that did not know anything about music. This nerd has not had many requests over the years for the Stooges or Afrika Bambaataa.
Phil Nee
WRCO

Yeah, remember when Rock And Roll Music was "Feel Good" Music??? Artists like The Guess Who, The Raspberries, Tommy James and the Shondells, The Turtles, The Monkees, Herman's Hermits, Paul Revere and the Raiders EXCELLED at giving us music that simply made us FEEL good ... and we reacted accordingly. Conversly, I don't think I've EVER had a song by The Stooges or Afrika Bambaataa stuck in my head ... nor would I want to!!! In fact, I honestly couldn't sing one if you ASKED me to!!! So much for THEIR long-lasting contributions to rock!!! (kk)

On the subject of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame: This subject has been beaten to a pulp, stomped on and left for dead. Nothing we are gonna say or do is gonna make a difference. However I've noticed that many of us have become as bad as our parents were when criticizing what music has come to. Keep in mind we always favor the music we grew up with. For most of us, that's from the mid 60s to mid 70s. 20 years from now, your kids will be bitching about the lack of Madonna, Mariah Carey, Justin Timberlake, or the flavor of the month songs from the radio, if indeed there is still music to be heard on the radio and that is a distinct possibility. Interesting that the Beatles "1" compilation was the top album of the past decade. It's the only one of the top 10 I bought. In fact it's the ONLY Beatles release I've ever bought. Those 2 million 1963 dollars that Capitol Records spent promoting them finally caught me. Did anyone notice that the top money making act of the decade was the Rolling Stones? One suspects if they have to wheel Mick & Keef out there, they'll still perform. I forget the dude's name, but I read a couple weeks ago that the guy who wrote the Hokey Pokey passed away at age 100.
Jack
Rock And Roll Never Forgets

A couple of years ago The Cryan' Shames did their "Gramps With Amps" Tour! (lol) And I still remember Mark Volman of The Turtles thanking security for keeping all the wheelchairs in the audience from rolling up to the stage. We're ALL getting older and, without question, our greatest affection will always be for the music we grew up with. (Hey, that's the whole basis for Forgotten Hits!!! lol) And Madonna, Mariah Carey, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears and any host of OTHER recent musical celebs will most likely find their way into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame some day, too. (Hell, Madonna's already there ... and she certainly DESERVES it.) But some of these recent nominees (like The Red Hot Chili Peppers and the aforementioned Afrika Bambaataa) just haven't earned the stripes that SO many of these other long-denied artists have. Honestly, how DO you measure a career in 20 years if Wenner has his way and has the eligibility criteria changed? Especially when sustaining a 40 year career seems to mean nothing!!! (kk)

Just read your post on the proposed RRHOF rule changes, and I agree with you 100%. Thought you might be interested in something we're doing over at: http://peoplesrockhall.blogspot.com/2010/01/nominees-for-first-election.html

Ted Cogswell

I appreciate where you're coming from, Ted, and I can only wish you a lot of luck. We've had numerous discussions with John Rook over the past couple of years regarding HIS alternative Hall Of Fame, The Hit Parade Hall Of Fame, recognizing artists who performed well on the charts ... a MUCH broader spectrum of recording artists in ALL fields of music ... with a reward system based on actual performance and statistics ... and a situation where the votes of the fans DO count toward the induction process. Yet, despite a Virtual Who's Who List of Prestigious Names attached to this committee, even THEY can't shake the whole "American Music Awards vs. The Grammys" stigma ... The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame was SUPPOSED to be IT!!! The Be All / End All ... and they CONTINUALLY abuse this privilege. (I swear they throw a "ringer" in there every year JUST to get everybody's fur up and earn a little bit more publicity ... that old adage that "there's no such thing as BAD publicity" seems to fuel this organization each and every election period! And I get that ... honestly, when else, other than nomination time and election time, do we even THINK about The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame during the course of the year??? Quite honestly, they seem to bask in the controversy ... let's pick at least one jaw-dropper each and every year to keep people talking ... and let's ignore these other artists, offering absolutely NO explanation as to what makes them unworthy of such an honor.) That being said, I went ahead and voted for MY Ten ... the real shame is that there's no way to AWARD these artists this honor. (Not sure how you came up with your "First 25" but picking ten was easy ... holding it to ONLY ten was the hard part!!!) Somehow I believe that ALL of these artists always knew what their contribution was to the evolution of popular music ... and it was SO profound that we STILL hear that contribution to this day. (kk)

More On The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame ... And The Moron Who Runs It

I first got this story a little over a week ago and didn't run it for two reasons:


1) I had other articles already planned to run last week that, for continuity purposes, had to run in a specific order

and

2) I wasn't sure I wanted to give this idiot ANY more space and coverage than we already had.


Apparently, I wasn't the only one who felt this way. During the past week I have not seen, heard or read ONE SINGLE WORD about this new policy consideration other than the original email I received from FH List Member Ron Smith, which tells me that nobody ELSE out there really cares what this moron is doing either!


I mean let's face it ... MOST of the REAL music fans out there stopped caring a long, long time ago about what Jann Wenner perceives The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame should be, after years and years and years of RIDICULOUS nominations, all the while continually ignoring acts far more deserving. But now he's gone out and done something even dumber than normal, proving once and for all where his head is at regarding recognizing the artists who truly helped to shape our musical culture.


In a move to elect more of what he considers Rock 'n' Roll (and less of the veteran artists he apparently hates), Jann Wenner now wants to make the waiting period from an artist's first recording until elibility for "his" Hall of Fame 20 years, instead of 25:
-- Ron Smith


Here's an article Ron sent me. written by former Fox News Reporter Roger Friedman ... let's just say that there's no love lost between Friedman and Jann Wenner and his Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame (and I stress the word "his" because it certainly doesn't belong to the people or the fans!!!) Friedman is the guy who broke the story a few years ago about some possible last-minute vote-tampering that knocked The Dave Clark Five out of contention for Hall Of Fame Induction in favor of Wenner's preferred "we've just GOT to recognize a rap act" Grand Master Flash.


Rock Hall May Jump Ahead Five Years to Get Stars
By: Roger Friedman
Sunday January 3, 2010

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is considering a move not unlike “Desperate Housewives.” In fact, you might call Jann Wenner the “desperate despot” of rock.

Sources tell me that Wenner is considering doing exactly what the TV show did a couple of years ago — jump ahead five years.

Currently, the RRHOF charter says that in order to be inducted, a band or act isn’t eligible until 25 years have passed since its first record release. But now that popular music has passed into its retirement, the number of possible new inductees has thinned considerably.

This winter, the Hall will induct Genesis, the Hollies, Iggy Pop and the Stooges, Jimmy Cliff and ABBA. They’ve all been the on the ballot for a long time and have finally made it mostly because the choices are diminishing.

I’m told that Wenner has looked at the next group of possible inductees, for 2011, and it’s not good: The only superstar who’s had a major career and influenced rock and roll is Sting. Otherwise, the perfectly nice but not exactly big game changers are ‘Til Tuesday, Chris Isaak, Suzanne Vega and Simply Red.

Of course, Wenner could do what many consider the right thing and induct the many missing names from Chubby Checker, Billy Preston and Mary Wells to Chicago, the Moody Blues, Todd Rundgren, Linda Ronstadt, Carly Simon, Carole King, Neil Diamond, Neil Sedaka, Rufus & Carla Thomas and so many more it’s hard to list them. But that’s unlikely.

The new idea is to change the charter so that it only takes 20 years to get in. That would move up a lot of acts on the ballot that are more current and carry some name value, which would be good for TV rights. Believe it or not, the following would then be eligible for the 2011 ceremony: Guns N’ Roses, Green Day, Public Enemy, Nirvana, Kid Rock and Smashing Pumpkins. Also a possibility right away: Keith Richards as a solo artist.

The fear, of course, is that with these new guidelines, the artists who’ve been snubbed previously will now never get in. Of course, one other solution would be just to shut the doors, stop inductions entirely and make the annual dinner a revisit of inductees. But TV doesn’t want Nursing Home Rock, so Wenner — who has no one to stop him — will probably not do that either.

http://showbiz411.blogs.thr.com/



Why Wenner, a pretty knowledgeable guy when it comes to music, rock and otherwise, feels this need to cater to those acts that'll play better at the TV Dinner / Ceremony is beyond me. Quite honestly, the whole concept of inducting five new acts each and every year has already worn a little thin, especially since so much emphasis has been placed on rewarding the NEWEST "eligibles" while ignoring many of the worthy and deserving artists who've been eligible for decades. Instead of recognizing some of this long-overlooked talent, it seems that The Nominating Committee is more interested in finding ways to double or even TRIPLE induct members who have already been enshrined in The Hall ... or more RECENT artists who have barely made a dent in setting The Rock And Roll World on its collective ear.

Does ANYBODY out there TRULY believe that each and every year, FIVE revolutionary acts come along that change the face of rock music forever?!?!? Yet that seems to be the mentality ... we need to induct five new artists each year and here's the list of "new eligibles" so we need to draw from that. Five Revolutionary Acts Per Year ... each and EVERY year?!?!?


C'mon ... there haven't been five Elvises of five Beatles in the past 50 years!!! Is it possible that the most WORTHY artists are already IN The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame?


We haven't seen the likes of Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Bill Haley, Ricky Nelson, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Jackie Wilson, The Beach Boys, The Drifters, Bob Dylan, The Supremes, Dion, The Rolling Stones, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, The Four Seasons, The Four Tops, The Kinks, Bobby Darin, Simon and Garfunkel, The Who, The Byrds, Booker T. and the MG's, Johnny Cash, The Isley Brothers, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Doors, Sly and the Family Stone, The Animals, Duane Eddy, The Band, The Grateful Dead, Elton John, Bob Marley, The Allman Brothers, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Jefferson Airplane, Pink Floyd, The Rascals, The Bee Gees, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, The Jackson Five, The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, The Mamas and the Papas, Santana, Eric Clapton, Earth, Wind and Fire, The Lovin' Spoonful, Aerosmith, Queen, Steely Dan, Ritchie Valens, The Police, The Righteous Brothers, Bob Seger, Traffic or ZZ Top in the last twenty years combined!!! Sure, certain newer acts come along that TRULY do belong ... U2, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Prince ... but come on ... Til Tuesday?!?!? Simply Red?!?!? Seriously!??!? That's the best you can come up with for the next possible ballot?!?!? This is your definition of "revolutionary talent that brought rock and roll music to new heights and made life-changing, long-lasting contributions" ... Til Tuesday?!?!?


So instead they'll DOUBLE-Induct somebody like Sting (who's already IN The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as a member of The Police) or Keith Richards (long inducted for his work with The Rolling Stones) rather than recognize any more of the "pioneers" who got us all here in the first place.


Wenner and his hand-picked committee of cronies continue to ignore and deny spots to artists like Neil Diamond, The Guess Who, Chicago, The Moody Blues, Linda Ronstadt, Hall and Oates, Yes, Neil Sedaka, The Zombies, Heart, Pat Benatar, The Doobie Brothers, Johnny Rivers, Electric Light Orchestra, Chubby Checker, Tommy James, Jim Croce, Glen Campbell, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Paul Anka, Three Dog Night, The Monkees, Pat Boone, Freddy Cannon, Bobby Rydell and Connie Francis, ALL of whom did more to advance and influence rock and roll music than legitimate inductees like Percy Sledge, Bonnie Raitt, Solomon Burke, Patti Smith, Leonard Cohen, Velvet Underground or Grand Master Flash ever did. Year after year after year we don't see ANY of these "Deserving And Denied" Artists showing up on the ballot ... many of whom have been eligible for 20 - 25 years now ... but we get The Rock Hall telling us that Afrika Bambaataa's name belongs there!!! And now Wenner wants to CHANGE the induction criteria to allow even MORE new artists on the list!!!


I thought the point of this organization was to recognize artists for their long-lasting contributions to rock music. How does ANY artist over the past twenty years compare with the works of the artists we've cited above whose music has stood the test of time for four and five DECADES?!?!? And how quickly would you push the button if it DID come on???

The music of these artists has never been OFF the radio ... it's part of ALL of us. How many times did you hear Solomon Burke, Leonard Cohen, The Velvet Underground or Grand Master Flash played last week?


Fact is, we really just don't care anymore ... and the ONLY point in today's latest raving is to let OTHER music fans out there know what's going on behind those coveted walls of The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Go visit the Museum ... some INCREDIBLY beautiful stuff is on display there ... in fact, you'll find a number of items pertaining to artists NOT inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, because the Museum seems to be more about the MUSIC ... but you need to turn a deaf ear to the practices of this nominating committee and its Head Of State ... because they REALLY don't seem to have a clue!!! (kk)

The Sunday Comments ( 01 - 10 - 10 )

re: MORE MUSICAL LOSSES:
Kent ... How ya' doin'?
Losing three music legends in less than a month is hard to deal with, especially if you’ve got a painful personal history with some of them. Here are my stories.
1>Songwriter/producer WILLIE MITCHELL (“Let’s Stay Together”, “Tired Of Being Alone”) includes a video of Willie and Ann Peebles talking about how they wrote “I Can’t Stand The Rain”. http://artiewayne.wordpress.com/2010/01/06/willie-mitchell-r-i-p-rock-in-perpetuity/
2>Publisher AARON SCHROEDER, who once tried to lock me in an office until I did a rewrite to his satisfaction. http://artiewayne.wordpress.com/2010/01/06/aaron-schroeder-r-i-p-rock-n-perpetuity/
3>Publisher FREDDY BIENSTOCK and what happened when I brought him Michael Jackson’s music catalog. http://artiewayne.wordpress.com/2010/01/06/freddie-bienstock-r-i-p-rock-n-perpetuity/
Regards,
Artie Wayne
http://artiewayne.wordpress.com/about-artie-wayne/

re: GLORIA:
I think in Boston we only had the Shadows of Night version. A Happy and Healthy New Year to you and the family, Kent!
Eileen
The chart performance of the two "hit" versions bears this out ... The Shadows Of Knight's version TOTALLY eclipsed the Them original on the U.S. Charts. In hindsight, Parrot Records may have blown it on the reissue ... chalk this up to another case of "timing is everything" ... by the time The Shadows Of Knight got around to recording "Gloria", Them had already placed TWO songs in The American Top 40, "Here Comes The Night (#18, 1965) and "Mystic Eyes" (#29, 1965) (Their original release of "Gloria" PRECEDED these two ... it stalled at #88 and another earlier release, "Baby Please Don't Go" didn't fare much better.) By the time The Shadows Of Knight released their remake (March of 1966), Them was already an "established" group. Had Parrot released the original version of "Gloria" IMMEDIATELY, it just might have overtook The Shadows Of Knight's version ... but they waited five weeks and by then The Shadows owned the commercially popular version. Even so, Them is WELL recognized as Van Morrison's first foray into the pop charts ... and both "Gloria" and "Baby Please Don't Go" still receive a fair amount of classic rock airplay some 45 years later! (kk)

Okay, this is the last I'll say on the matter. The Shadows of Knight's version was truly more commercial and granted, did place higher on the charts, than "Them". My point is "Long Tall Sally" by Pat Boone kicked Lil Richard's original version in the ass in sales and chart position. Now when I go to my collection and want to hear "Long Tall Sally" you'll have to guess real hard to determine which 45 I'm going to play. A matter of personal taste ... that's all it boils down to.
Alex Valdez
Noolab Wolley
EXACTLY ... the reason for my point / counterpoint was because you said MY "personal taste" was biased being from Chicago ... when, in fact, there IS no right or wrong answer to this one ... it's whatever floats your boat!!! (To quote that very wise man above ... yes, that would be me ... The Shadows Of Knight's version became the "commercially popular" take ... and remains the one you're most likely to hear all these years later. That being said, the same CANNOT be said about Pat Boone's version of "Long Tall Sally", however!!!) kk

re: ON THE RADIO:
An aside to Connie Szerzen: Even though I worked at WXRT during your time at WIND, I always listened to you. I often thought about asking you out, but I figured you had enough guys stalking you already. If I send you the best of WIND charts from 74, 75 & 76, will you autograph them?
Jack
Rock And Roll Never Forgets
Consider your autograph request passed along! (kk)

One of the biggest joys for me is doing shows with recording artists who don't do too many interviews. For that reason, many of these artists fall into the "Whatever Happened To" category.
A few weeks ago I decided to try to locate Frank Gari, a hit recording artist from the 60s, who had three successive national top 40 hits: "Utopia," "Lullaby Of Love" and "Princess." I was also aware that Frank was the lead singer of the City Surfers on "Beach Ball," one of the most popular records on my Record Page (it peaked at #2 on its popularity chart). Roger McGuinn plays guitar and Bobby Darin plays drums on that record and both do backup singing! My efforts to locate Frank proved to be successful and, I must tell you, I was absolutely astounded at what I found out about him. I was delighted that he agreed to do this show with me.
Probably most people know Frank just for those three hit singles mentioned above. But what he has accomplished in the past 40 years after "the hits stopped coming" is, to use an old cliche, "the stuff that dreams are made of."
Yes, you'll hear the aforementioned four records during this show because it represents his beginnings. But then we'll focus on, as the late Paul Harvey would have said, "the rest of the story." Frank's biggest success was to come beginning in the late 60s when he founded "Nitondo" Productions, a jingle company which became one of the most popular in the country and serviced more than 450 radio and TV stations. Frank and his company created the very first TV image campaign ever and that campaign, for Channel 5 in Cleveland, led to his company becoming one of the most successful radio - TV production companies in the country. Nitondo evolved into Frank Gari Productions, Gari Communications and currently the Gari Media Group. Frank's company created "Hello Milwaukee" which was and still is the most successful TV image campaign in the history of broadcasting, having been syndicated to 110 cities in the country and also overseas. And, oh yes, for good measure Frank wrote, produced and sang the very first Wendy's commercial ever. Remember it? (It's included in the show.) And, very important, Frank credits legendary TV personality Clay Cole for CHANGING HIS LIFE and it wasn't simply because Frank appeared on his show. That story is simply incredible!
Frank's story is inspirational and this was such a fun interview in every respect. This is a man who has truly found his own "Utopia" on so many levels.
Following are the tracks on the show in sequence.
1 Utopia -- Frank Gari (loop)
2 Lil' Girl -- Frank Gari
3 Utopia -- Frank Gari
4 Lullaby Of Love -- Frank Gari
5 Princess -- Frank Gari
6 Beach Ball -- The City Surfers
7 "Genie Automatic Garage Door Picker Upper by Alliance" -- commercial jingle
8 "Catch 5" -- image campaign jingle
9 The first Wendy's commercial ever -- Frank Gari
10 "Hello Cleveland" -- image campaign jingle
11 My Reverie -- Frank Gari
--------------------------------------------------
Bonus Track: Be My Girl -- Frank Gari
Bonus Track: Remember Then -- Frank Gari and the jingle singers
To access this Frank Gari radio interview show or any of my previous ones, please visit the "Jersey Girls Sing" website at http://www.jerseygirlssing.com. When that home page comes up, please click the "Ronnie Allen Theater" (the name has a yellow background) in the picture on the right-hand side. That will bring you to my index page. Please click on "Ronnie's Radio Page" and you will then be able to access the show (it's the first one listed under the blue heading "Current Radio Interview Shows") or any of my previous ones, which are listed in reverse chronological order.
Ronnie Allen

The interview with Joel Whitburn on Ronnie's Radio page was quite informative. I was especially amused at his statement that Billboard had tried to publish a Top Pop style book prior to Joel's efforts, but gave up because their charts were so full of errors. This tradition continues at Billboard.biz where the archive charts are so full of errors and omissions to be almost worthless. Some weeks are completely missing (whatever happened to January 13, 2001?), some are obviously the wrong chart, and many have errors in total weeks, peak or last week entry. I used to inform them when I caught a mistake, but they ignore me.
Ed Erxleben

re: AND ON THE WEB:
I thought this link may be of interest ... http://forgottenbands.blogspot.com:80/
... unless, of course, you already knew about it.
==Bill
Nope, haven't seen this one before ... my, what an interesting concept!!!! (lol) kk

Meanwhile, Clark Besch and I found ourselves up on a couple of Buckinghams websites after our piece on The Bucks' commercial for Mr. Norm's ran on The Forgotten Hits Web Page a few days back! VERY cool to not only make this rare discovery ... but to ALSO be able to share it with Buckinghams fans around the world! (kk)

Click here: The Buckinghams Concerts: Carl Giammarese, Nick Fortuna, Tom Scheckel, Bob Abrams, Bruce Soboroff

Click here: CARL BONAFEDE


re: BOOK OF THE MONTH CLUB:
I just finished reading Bob Greene's latest, "Late Edition", and found it quite enjoyable. FH readers who have been in the media business, whether radio, TV, or print, will especially enjoy this one from Bob. And, since Bob served time as a copy editor, his books contain absolutely no typos or grammar errors - ever. He personally checks them. Check it out!
And, since you're in the printing industry, I wanted to mention that Bob Greene's book includes the word "rotogravure." It's been a long time since I've seen that word in a book. Even longer since I've heard it in a song. Do you know what popular (not rock) song includes "rotogravure"?
David Lewis
I haven't read this one yet ... got a TON of new books here during the holidays ... it may be a while! (lol) But I've heard some REALLY good things about it! (kk)

re: HELPING OUT OUR READERS:
DID YOU EVER FIND OUT THE NAME OF THAT HAIRY DOLL THAT HELD UP THE SIGNS ON THE LLOYD THAXTON SHOW?
... MGB
I thought we did ... but of course I can't find it again now!!! (lol) Let's see what comes back on this one. (kk)

Dear Kent,
We are prayerfully searching for a forgotten hits category song. The title is “Leroy” by Norma Tracy & Cinderella Kid. The song is about a doggie named Leroy. The song will always be special for our family. Please, let us know if you can assist us in finding a recording of Leroy.
Many thanks,
Allan Waller
Edgewater, NJ
Strange how many times this one has come up here these past few weeks!!! We
just featured this one on the website:
Click here: Forgotten Hits
Scroll back and you'll find postings on 12/31/09, 12/26/09 and 12/21/09, all pertaining to this song!!! (kk)

By the way, watch for more HELPING OUT OUR READERS features later in the week!


re: HERE'S YOUR CHANCE TO VOTE FOR SOMETHING MAJOR!!!:
I'd have to guess that MOST of our readers have never been invited to vote for THEIR favorites for next year's induction of The Vocal Group Hall Of Fame. Well, we've got a link that'll allow you to do just that. You may be surprised by some of the choices offered this year ... keep in mind that a good number of acts have already been bestowed this honor ... it's still cool just to be able to have SOME say-so in the final election process. (Wow ... imagine that ... a Hall Of Fame that actually allows the opinions of the FANS to count for something!!! Whodathunk?!?!?) Anyway, here's all the info you need ... but you need to act quickly ... the deadline is next Friday, January 15th!!! (kk)

Your participation is requested to vote for new Vocal Group Hall of Fame Inductees. Voting is done online at the Vocal Group Hall of Fame website www.VocalGroup.org. Voting closes January 15, 2010.
Please visit the Vocal Group Hall of Fame website www.VocalGroup.org
for a full list of current Inductees and for Vocal Group Hall of Fame Foundation information and updates.

re: MORE COMMERCIAL COMMENTS:
The commercial piece in FH was terrific ... looks better than it did when it ran in Hz! I'm a major fan of "Heaven Scent" myself! Thanks so much again, Kent!

Rich Appel
Being able to feature your Hz So Good Top 100 Favorite Commercials segment only made it better ... thanks, Rich! (kk)

Thank you for the Jake Holmes piece. Jake certainly knows a thing or two about commercials, and should have had much better success with this nice 1972 release than he experienced. There's a YouTube clip of him doing this song live just last year, so he still gets requests for it 37 years after the fact.
David Lewis
Amazingly, I've never heard this song before! "So Close" never charted here in Chicago ... but was a #29 Hit in Cash Box Magazine in late 1970. (It reached #49 in Billboard.) This one ought to stir a memory or two for people in certain parts of the country ... I can't even imagine the last time they heard anybody on the radio play it!!! Thanks for sharing! (kk)



Kent:

Relative to the Bucks and seeing the piece and all the jingles, we did a radio ad for Topps Department Stores using "I Confess" - "I confess to have a willingness and wanting for Topps" and then it went downhill from there. Wish I had a copy of it to share but do not and don't think I ever even heard it played.

Will close with hopes for all of us to experience mo bettah 2010s!

Ray Graffia, Jr. / The New Colony Six

>>>"Happiness Is a Kent" (Kotal) Forgotten Hits Newsletter! The two are different songs. I do believe I also heard the jingle "Happiness Is" song on a Ray Conniff or Readers Digest album. The one I was referring to was off one of my old Association CD's put out, I think, in 1984, called "Songs That Made Them Famous". I also have this song on my old scratchy 1967 LP "Insight Out". This Association album features their big hit "Windy". The song was written by The Addrisi Brothers, Dick & Don. The brothers also wrote The Association's #2 hit "Never My Love". I always thought their own two mini-hits, Billboard #25 "We've Got To Get It On Again" and #20 "Slow Dancin' Don't Turn Me On" fell into my own They Should Of Been Bigger Hits category. Give "Happiness Is" a listen and see if it sounds familiar. Take care. (Jerry jfk)
I ran this comment the other day but was unable to run the song clip because it came in as an MP4 and my computer can only do MP3's!!! (Has this technology already passed me by?!?!? I just got this thing a year and a half ago!!!) Anyway, I wanted to feature it here today, so here goes (for all our Association fans out there!) kk





Does anybody else remember "Give me rival dog food ... arf arf ... arf arf."
To this day I can't hear Strauss' "Blue Danube" without thinking about those lyrics.
Ed Erxleben

Kent,
Here are a couple of commercial jingles most of your Forgotten Hits readers would never have heard, unless they were within hearing distance of Canadian radio stations.
They're both sung by David Clayton Thomas, who at the time fronted a band here in Canada called David Clayton Thomas & The Shays. David also had several Canadian charted hits in 1964 & 1965 ("Boom Boom", "Walk That Walk", "Take Me Back" and "Out of The Sunshine" and in the summer of 1966, he charted in Canada and the U.S. with the song "Brainwashed" (that one went Top 10 here in the 'Great White North').
The Coke jingle was part of the '60's series that included all the great hit makers singing for Coke - Tom Jones, Petula Clark, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Lesley Gore, Joe Tex, The Supremes, Jan & Dean, Nancy Sinatra, Gary Lewis & The Playboys etc. Here in Canada, Coke's agency, McCann Erickson, recorded commercials with The Guess Who, 5 Man Electric Band, Robbie Lane, The Mandala and quite a few other Canadian acts but they only aired in Canada. The Canadian ad agency producer was Jack Richardson. He was so taken with The Guess Who's sound during the Coke sessions, that he left the agency and became their long time record producer.
The second jingle is a 60 second one for Wildroot Formula 3. A few years later, David took his gravelly voice to New York and hooked up with Al Kooper's old group, Blood, Sweat & Tears and the rest, as they say, is ...
David CLayton Thomas is back living in Toronto and has written his autobiography which used to be available from his website www.davidclaytonthomas.com but I checked it earlier today and only CD's and DVD's are available.
Doug Thompson (Toronto)





Very cool ... thanks, Doug. (You're right ... most of us will NEVER have heard these before!) Now, if you can send me a couple of those Guess Who jingles, I'd LOVE it ... BIG fan here of these guys!!! Thanks! (kk)
OK Kent, here are two Guess Who for Coke jingles from 1969.
Doug







And what a fitting ending to all this ... I just received THIS note from our FH Buddy Ron Dante!

Hi Kent

Been out of town for the past few weeks and missed your "Jingles All The Way". Just caught up today with your column.

So happy to see a bunch of spots I sang on including your number one, "When You Say Bud". My friend Steve Karman wrote and produced all those spots and won a ton of Clios for his work. He also wrote the Beneficial Finance commercial among hundreds of other major spots. On most of his sessions the singers were me, Jerry Keller, Kenny Karen, Jeanie Thomas, Leslie Miller and Valerie Simpston.

Out of your top 50, I sang on at least 7 of them. Beneficial Finance, Coke "Coke Is It' ... written by the late Tom Dawes, Pepsi "Taste That Beats The Other Cold", Robert Hall, written by Charlie Fox, who also wrote the theme for "Happy Days". My biggest commercial was Pepsi's "You've Got A Lot To Live" written by none other than Joe Brooks ("You Light Up My Life").That one won the Clio for best spot of the year.

I had the honor of singing the lead on many of the Coke spots including "I'd like To Teach The World To Sing".

Your list and all the great comments brought terrific memories of those sessions.

Ronnie D.

Jingles All The Way!!!

Today we wrap up The Hz So Good Commercial Favorites Countdown from a few years back ... and then, after running a few more of your comments, we'll put this topic to bed for a while. (Rumors that we've permanently switched our focus over to "Jingles All The Way" are greatly exaggerated!!!) Thanks again to everyone who shared their memories with the rest of our readers ... it was fun looking back and seeing and hearing some of these again. (AMAZING what has stuck in our heads for all these years, isn't it?!?!? Yet most of us can't remember where we parked the car!!!)


Meanwhile ... on with the countdown!!!


50. Nescafe / ”43 beans” (1955) … This sounds like a duet of Wally Cox and Marilyn Monroe; ok, I’m exaggerating a little, but, trust me, it’ll help paint the picture here. “(Male:) Two beans times two beans is four beans / (Female:) Nescafe uses much more beans / (Male:) Ten beans times four beans / and add three more beans / (Both:) Make 43 rich coffee beans / (Female:) Yes, you get - / 43 beans in every cup - of Nescafe / real coffee beans / that’s all there is – in Nescafe / 43 beans in every cup - makes Nescafe / the all-coffee instant coffee / with the let’s-have-another-cup taste.”


49. Ballantine / ”A smile every time” (1963) … Maybe just another “better living through beer” ad, but I fell for it. The best was a summer ’63 male-female duet of “you get a smile every time / a smile every time / with the heads-up taste / of a Ballantine.” The :60 includes the “good taste, good time” bridge with an irresistible Al Hirt-esque horn.


48. Contadina / ”Eight great tomatoes” (1954) … This is the only Stan Freberg spot to make the “Crass 100,” but that’s only because it’s the only one he ever did for radio with a recurring jingle (at least best I know). There’s not much to it, either, but it’s all in the delivery, which suggests something I’m not sure even Stan intended. The casual male vocalist, if you will, warbles “who put eight great tomatoes in that little bitty can? / who put eight great tomatoes in that little bitty can? / who put eight great tomatoes in that little bitty can? / you know who / you know who / uh-huh, uh-huh.” The friendly announcer tells us who afterward, and he’s certainly got our attention by that point.


47. Schaefer / ”Schaefer City” (1980) … So, then, a terrific campaign in spite of itself. Jake created great little stories of urban irony to put our heroes in the land of what should have been great beer. Here’s one I particularly liked: “Your ball team hasn’t got a chance, they shouldn’t even play / so you pour yourself some Schaefer beer and bet them anyway / they pull an upset victory they said could not be done / and suddenly are winners / at 25 to 1 / (spoken:) we’re rich! / a-ha / sittin’ pretty / all together in Schaefer City.”


46. Carnation Instant Breakfast / ”Go-go” (1967) … At an opportune moment in pop history - that point when both the Mamas & Papas’ and Petula Clark’s hit streaks were coming to an end - this came onto radio to fill the gap. ”Go-go / breakfast gives you go-go / that early morning go-go / to make it through the day / time, timing, takes the prime time, the time you need to get underway / Carnation has the answer / with energy to go on / Carnation Instant Breakfast / never puts your slow on / you drink it / Carnation / the power-packin’ meal that’ll keep you up when you’re on the mooooooove / so put yourself into an early morning breakfast-drinkin’ groove.” And be sure to wear some flour in your hair.


45. Coca-Cola / ”Coke is it” (1982) … Not their best but still bigger than most radio ads that year. Plus I loved the little piano opening before it all blows up big time. “Coke is it! / the most refreshing way / to make the most of every day / and wherever you go and whatever you do / there’s something big waiting for me and you / Coke is it! / the biggest taste you’ve ever found / Coke is it! / the one that never lets you down / Coke is it! / the most refreshing taste around / Coke is iiiiiiit / Coke is it!” If there was any downside, it would have been that it could be interpreted that Coke therefore had cooties.


44. Pepsi / ”For those who think young” (1961) … Even though it was basically “Makin’ Whoopee” with new lyrics, the coquettish Joanie “Johnny Get Angry” Sommers gave this a fresh innocence that Britney Spears really couldn’t in her 2001 tribute version. I can’t decide which verse is best so I’ll run ‘em both here: “The lively crowd / today agrees / those who think young / say ‘Pepsi, please’ / they pick the right one / the modern light one / now it’s Pepsi / for those who think young / so go ahead / and pick the drink / that lets you drink / young as you think / yes, get the right one / the modern light one / now it’s Pepsi / for those who think young.” At one point Joanie must have recorded market-specific versions, as there’s one on a 1961 WWDC / DC aircheck.


43. Pontiac / ”Ride” (1987) … How easy can it be to sell the feeling you get driving a car on radio? Pontiac made it work with its “Born to Be Wild” update. Over hoofbeat-like guitars came “you feel the thunder, the call of the road / no time to wonder / youuuuuu’ve gotta go / you feel excitement / yeaaaah! / ride Pontiac / get on your Pontiac and ride! Pontiac ride! / ride! Pontiac ride! / ride! Pontiac ride! / get on your Pontiac / we build excitement / Pontiac ride!” That’s it? It’s over? Damnnnnnn.


42. Pepsi / ”Taste that beats the others cold” (1967) … In that it temporarily dropped the ‘Pepsi generation’ line, this seemed like a step backward after “Come alive!” But maybe that was just to me; John Mehno said, “this was as good as anything Coke did, [it] brought Pepsi’s sound up to date.” Most importantly, it sounded great on top 40, especially on hot summer days. “Taste that beats the others cold / Pepsi pours it on! / anytime a thirst takes hold / Pepsi pours it on! / Pepsi’s got that special taste created for the cold / the cold turns on that Pepsi drive / makes Pepsi-Cola come aliiiiive / taste that beats the others cold / Pepsi pours it on!”


41. Sheraton / ”800-325-3535” (1969) … Who here can’t sing it? Therein lies the genius. Did anyone even know what toll-free numbers were until this came along?


40. Jell-O / ”J-E-L-L-O” (1934) … This was born on Jack Benny’s radio show, written and performed by original orchestra leader Don Bestor. A few years later a longer jingle was done at the opening of “The Aldrich Family” which ended with Bestor’s lasting contribution, the trademark “J-E-L-L-O.” The rest, at least at one point, went like this: “Ohhhhhhhhhhh, the big red letters stand for / the Jell-O family / ohhhhhhhhh, the big red letters stand for / the Jell-O family / that’s Jell-O – yum yum yum! / Jell-O puddings – yum yum yum! / Jell-O tap-ioca puddings, yes, sir-ree!.” Voter Steve Thompson makes a good point: “this was the first radio jingle I can recall that spelled out the product's name"


39. Wrigley / "Hi ho, hey hey" (1966) … Not to be confused with a Ramones song (I know, as if). This one seemed to get better with age, benefiting from each newly-recorded version (and each harder rock hit top 40 ran close by it). Everybody, now: “Hi ho, hey hey / chew your little troubles away / hi ho, hey hey / chew Wrigley’s spearmint gum / work goes faster, smoother too / life seems brighter when you chew / hi ho, hey hey / chew Wrigley’s spearmint gum.” Mike Devich calls it “cheesy.” Mike, I don’t suppose you think the Velveeta ads are “gummy”?


38. 7Up / ”The Uncola” (1968) … This is the original one, the “ba-ba-ba-baaa” version, as in “7up, 7up / 7up, the Uncola / 7up, the Uncolaaaaa - / 7up goes wet and wild / like no cola can / a freah, clean taste, Uncola style / and we love it / the Uncolaaaaaa.” RC Price’s take: “As sung by the somewhat heavier, FM-version of the Mosquitoes (after their landmark ‘Rubber Sting’ LP). After awhile, the tune would get interrupted by that smarmy narc who'd suggest weird, counter-cultural things you could do with your soft drink. The Man can't stop our bubbles.”


37. 7Up / ”Un for all” (1972) … Maybe it’s 1up on #38 due to sheer lyrical strength. “It’s the nothing that makes us something / it’s what we miss that hits the mark / it’s what left out that leaves us in / it’s the light shining over the dark / it’s un for all, all for un / 7up, the Uncola.” Heavy, man. John Mehno: “lyrically beyond most of the Tin Pan Alley-type commercials: they weren’t just selling fizzy beverages twelve ounces at a time, they were promoting a way of life that challenged all conventions. Some of the best pop music of 1972, which was a tremendous year for singles.”


36. Brylcreem / ”A little dab’ll do ya” (1953) … Steve Thompson said, “I … still can sing ‘a little dab'll do ya ....” That’s reason enough to include it here. Go ahead, Steve, we’re all listening. “Brylcreem makes men’s hair look neat / smooth and lustrous, can’t be beat / use it daily, just a bit / Brylcreem always makes a hit / Brylcreem, a little dab’ll do ya / Brylcreem, you’ll look so debonair / Brylcreem, the gals’ll all pursue yaaaaa - / simply rub a little in your hair.” Of course, most of you may not be old enough to remember the radio ads and probably remember the animated TV spots, if anything at all.


35. Budweiser / ”But you know that” (1969) … Possibly the swingin’est of the A-B campaigns over the years, sporting the 5th Dimension sound on “Bud-weiser / is the king of beers / Budweiser / but you know that, but you know that / with all the beers there are today / Budweiser makes it all the way, all the waaaaay …” (insert key change here).


34. Sergio Valente / ”Uh-oh, Sergio” (1982) … There’s always extra points if you can cram into sixty seconds a song that segueways perfectly out of any hit. This track was surprising, as Sergios had a ‘disco image,’ and this was, well, not disco. From the insistent opening drumbeats to the Farfisa fade, it’s one fun ride. “Uh-oh, Sergio / uh-oh, Sergio / you caught my eye when you walked on by / uh-oh, Sergio / striped jeans to wear anytime, anywhere / uh-oh, Sergio / Sergio Valente, Sergio Valente (striped jeans!) / uh-oh, Sergio / ooooh, Sergio / you caught my eye.” Ok, so it wasn’t the lyrics here either.


33. Coca-Cola / ”I'd like to buy the world a Coke" (1971) … The only example I could come up with of a national radio commercial that became a hit song. Actually, it was Steve Thompson who came up with it, I just threw in that little tidbit. And, yes, this is the aforementioned exception to that self-imposed rule re artist-specific Coke jingles; let’s face it, this one took on a life of its own and for Coke became a campaign within a campaign (as “look up America” did in 1974 during the height of the Watergate scandal), so then it’s an understandable exception. Believe it or not, the original radio spot with the New Seekers was first heard late in the summer of ’71, not during the holidays, even though it quickly became associated with Christmas. Not that you need to be reminded, especially given the top ten hit the New Seekers had with it shortly after the spot hit, but here goes anyway: “I’d like to build the world a home / and furnish it with love / grow apple tree and honeybees / and snow white turtle doves / I’d like to teach the world to sing / in perfect harmony / I’d like to buy the world a Coke / and keep it company.” Another perspective from John Mehno: “the notion of world peace through carbonated soft drinks was a reach but the song was nice.”


32. Pepsodent / ”You’ll wonder where the yellow went” (1955) … Whether it was Billy Brown or Susie Q – or Richie, Potsie and Ralph, for that matter - every kid knew the way to whiter teeth thanks to this jingle that wouldn’t go away. Save for the actual sung slogan, this was one of the first ‘rap’ commercials. Here’s the BB version: “(whistle) / Billy Brown / the smoothest, coolest guy in town / the chicks all seem to dig his jive / hey, tell us, Bill – how can WE arrive? / ’it’s eeeeeeeeasy, Jack / any gal gets sent / when you flash a smile by Pepsodent!’ / you’ll wonder where the yellow went / when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent.”


31. Seagram’s / ”Two parts fun” (1984) … A throwback to the unabashed-pleasure-of-adult-social-drinking spots of the ‘60s, right down to the unapologetically-retro music track. Sample verse: “life should be – one part opera and two parts rock ‘n roll / life should be – getting wiser without growing old / a double bonus for a job well done / life should be one part Seagram’s, and two parts fun.” And then here’s where they get you – the ice-in-the-glass SFX. This WAS your father’s booze ad.


30. Peak Freans / ”Very serious” (1982) … ”Peak Freans are a very serious cookie / they're made for grown-up tastes / Peak Freans are much too good to waste on children / oh, they're serious / very serious / Peak Freans are extraordinarily serious - cookies / if you're a grown-up or plan to be one, you'll know what we mean / Peak Freans are a very serious cookie.” Beauty.


29. 101 / ”A silly millimeter” (1968) … As we’ve already seen, not all great radio ad campaigns need be set to original music. “La Bamba” was the basis for this irresistible ditty which was everywhere that summer. Pretty simple jingle: just replace “ba ba bamba” with “101” and “ba-da-ba-da-ba-da-bamba” with “a silly millimeter longer, 101.” Here was a product with an absolutely dumb premise: since longer 100mm cigarettes were all the rage, why not add an extra mm? Wonder if any loyal smoker ever sued these guys for having gotten lung cancer x% earlier than with the 100s?


28. Coca-Cola / ”Coke is it 2” (1984) … Eat your heart out, P. Diddy. Coke’s second (but not final) version of “Coke is it” was a winner, based on Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Waters of March” and sung to perfection by both Aretha Franklin and Phoebe Snow. “A field, a flight / it is totally now / it’s taking your shot / it’s showing ‘em how / the real things in life / a stop, a start / a hope, a friendship / it’s losing your heart / it’s just how you feel when you know it’s for real / it’s a hit / it’s a Coke / Coke is it / Coca-Cola is it.” For me it was always just a lot of belching, but I guess I’m always the guy who ruins it for everyone else.


27. Psssssst!/”P-S-S-S-S-S-S-T” (1968) … Who says there were no radio dramas left in the ‘60s? Every night for awhile there teenage girls faced down the problem of hair-washing with nothing on the clock. Take, for example: “Oh, drat! / why can’t he ever plan ahead? / I can shower and change / and put on my face / but what can I do / about washing my hair? / Psssssst! – there’s something new / Psssssst! – instant spray shampoo / Clairol freshens your hair – instantly / with P-s-s-s-s-s-s-t / Psssssst! – is not a wet shampoo / oh, no / Psssssst! – is not a dry shampoo / oh, no / spray and brush is all you do / then go / ’cause Clairol freshens your hair – instantly / with P-s-s-s-s-s-s-t.” RC Price weighs in: ”The chirpy little faux-Lulu's acoustic version around 1970 ranks right up there with ‘Love Grows’ and ‘Gimme Dat Ding’ as my fave pop moment of the new decade.”


26. Honda / ”You meet the nicest people” (1965) … Dare I say, the Hondells’ Honda ad was better and more fun on radio than their actual top 40 hit about Honda about a year earlier. Voter John Mehno says it best: ”It became so popular that the Hondells even stretched it out for a short single (Mercury) that didn’t chart. A nice piece of sun-splashed fluff that fit in nicely with ‘California Girls’ but seemed a bit anachronistic when it was anywhere near ‘Like a Rolling Stone.’ And the song? “You meet the nicest people on a Honda bike / it’s the world’s biggest seller and I know you’ll like / 200 miles per gallon and a rugged sale machine / and Honda prices start about 215 / go little Honda, go little Honda / you meet the nicest people on a Honda.”


25. Diet Coke / ”Introducing” (1982) … If you recall, one of the biggest new product rollouts ever, and this one was everywhere. “Introducing Diet Coke / you’re gonna drink it just for the taste of it / livin’ good with Diet Coke / this is the one from Coca-Cola / new cola taste with just one calorie / just for the taste of it / Diet Coke.” I guess splashy counts for something.


24. Volkswagen / ”Farvergnugen” (1990) … Maybe the word sounded like something I really didn’t want to be associated with, but … you gotta admit that after the first few times you heard it on the radio, you didn’t forget it or the car that allegedly gave it to you. Not sure the words really mattered, but here’s how one version went, as sung by “Helga”: “Exhilarating cruisin’ / the road to farvergnugen / flowing into smooth and curving / feeling great, nimble turning / zippin’ an’-a zoooooooo-min’ / (male:) 30-40-55-in’ / farrrrrr-verg-nuuuuu-gen / Volkswagen / farrrrrr-verg-nuuuuu-gen / say the word / farrrrrr-verg-nuuuuu-gen / say the word!”


23. Helena Rubenstein Heaven Scent / ”Suddenly” (1967) … It’s a hit, alright, even if she did sound like she was straining on the word “scent.” Which may explain why later versions featured a different vocalist. “Suddenly / there’s a heavenly fragrance that clings / it’s Heaven Scent / suddenly / you’re an imp wearing angel’s wings / in Heaven Scent / suddenly / you are all of the things that you want to be / a little bit naughty but heavenly / in Hea-ven Scennnnt.” 1967 translation: maybe second base but that’s about it.


22. Barrelhead / ”Don’t spare the ice” (1973) … Irresistible. You can just imagine the guys with handlebar moustaches tapping that ol’ barrel and spillin’ root beer on the floor during “for old-fashioned flavor / take our advice / drink Barrelhead root beer / and don’t spare the ice! / and it’s real draft-style root beer with real draft-style foam / ’cause Barrelhead has, Barrelhead has / brought old-style root beer home,” all over a great rinky-tink piano. Old-style, indeed. And, far as I know, never a TV campaign.


21. Bain de Soleil / ”For the St. Tropez tan” (1982) … There it was, you just read the entire jingle. For many summers during the ‘80s, I couldn’t decide if this was a commercial for tan lotion or tourism. It’s that girl I wanted, forget about the tan. I especially liked the spots when all she did was hum the thing. Oh, God. You can keep Donna Summer’s “Love to Love You Baby,” I’ll take this anytime. Don’t give me that look; based on your votes, I’m not the only one with this fantasy.


20. Doublemint / ”Double your pleasure” (1960) … So simple it’s great – even without seeing double, as in those twins. You voters seemed to agree, too. "Double your Pleasure, double your fun / with double good, double good, Doublemint gum / double delicious, double smooth too / Doublemint’s double-delightful to chew / so double your Pleasure, double your fun / get double everything rolled into one / oh, double your Pleasure, double your fun / with double good, double good, Doublemint gum."


19. Robert Hall / ”Where the values” (1959) … Best I can recall, one or the other version of this classic (“where the values go up, up, up / and the prices go down, down, down / Robert Hall this season / will show you the reason / low overhead / low overhead,” or “Robert Hall will show you / the reason they give you / high quality / economy”) ran throughout the ‘60s and until the chain closed its doors in the ‘70s. In the early ‘60s, the Les Paul & Mary Ford rendition seemed inescapable.


18. Army / ”Be all you can be” (1980) … What else needs to be said? Its longevity - and that it became a staple of syndicated programming - speaks for itself. With apologies to Jake, I couldn’t locate a copy of the original spot with that great opening verse before the one everyone knows: “Be / all that you can be (whoa, yeah) / keep on reaching / keep on growwwww-ing / be / all that you can be / ’cause we need you / in the Ah-ah-ahhhr-my.” Paid for … oh, sorry. See, you just don’t forget that stuff. Editor’s note: the line “’cause we need you” was eventually replaced with “you can do it” and even later with “find your future.”


17. Michelob / ”Weekends” (1976) … I never got a straight answer as to how some A-B :30s wound up in the cart box at my college’s AM carrier-current station. No matter: lucky for me, my show was on Sundays, so I could slip this one into breaks and sound at least semi-professional talking out of it (I mean, there had to be a tag, right?). Anyway, sit back and relax. “Weekends were maaade – for Michelob (repeat) / have a nice one, y’hear? (‘cause the time is your own) / 52 weeks a year (be with friends or alone) / don’t forget – remember to pick up some beer / it’s Michelob / weekends were made for Michelob.” And if you were lucky, this was followed by both John Forsythe’s A-B tag and that girl’s very breathy “yeah.”


16. Castro / ”First to conquer living space” (1962) … This should be remembered if only for having used the word “incontrovertible,” as in “Who was the first to conquer space? / it’s incontrovertible / that the first to conquer living space / is a Cas-tro Convertible / who conquers space with fine design? / who saves you money all the time? / who’s tops in the convertible line? / Cas-tro Convertible.” Why this sounds like the guy’s riding a horse in order to get modern furniture is beyond me.


15. Miller High Life / ”Welcome to Miller Time” (1983) … Or, what weekends were really made for. Kenny Rogers handled it nicely, but Southside Johnny really rocked the place. “Welcome / to Miller Time / it’s all yours / and it’s all mi-ine / bring your thirty self right here / you’ve got-the time, we’ve got the beer / for what you have in mi-ind / welcome – you know you’re welcome / welcome – everybody’s welcome / welcome / to Miller Time / yours and mine.”


14. Schlitz / ”When you’re out of Schlitz” (1966) … The first radio ad jingle I can think of which incorporated “yeah yeah,” as in “There’s just one Schlitz (yeah, yeah) / nothing else comes near / when you’re out of Schlitz / you’re out of beer / just one beer fits (yeah, yeah) / this great one here / when you’re out of Schlitz / you’re out of beer / if you like it light with a big taste, too / there’s only one brew that will do / when you’re out of Schlitz / you’re out of beer / re-al gusto with a great – light – beer / Schlitz!”


13. Beneficial Finance / ”You’re good for more” (1968) … Some votes came in for this with “toot toot,” others with “boop boop.” Here’s a case where I really know what it is, because there was a short-lived animated TV spot that spelled it out at the end. And here’s where I reveal that earth-shattering revelation: “At Beneficial – doot! doot! – you’re good for more / at Beneficial – doot! doot! – you’re good for more / at Beneficial – doot! doot! – where the money is / we want / to give you / the full amount / you have in minnnnnnd.” Price: “It's been thirty years, and I STILL can't get this one out of my head. At 23.9% APR, it's also taken 30 years to finally get down to the principal.”


12. Pepsi / ”You’ve Got a Lot to Live” (1970) … Don’t sit down, yet, RC: “Had to rate this stand-up-and-cheer rouser as the best of the Pepsi's (my fave was by Three Dog Night), although it happened to be from my most formative soda years. But, man, for me, that trumpet call will always open the gates of No Deposit, No Return heaven.” Roy Currlin: “Was so glad to see Pepsi bring back this underappreciated ‘70s jingle via the Super Bowl Britneyfest last year.” Should you need reminding, it was: “There’s a whole new way of livin’ / Pepsi helps supply the drive / it’s got a lot to give / to those who like to live / ’cause Pepsi helps ‘em / come ali-i-i-i-ive / it’s the Pepsi generation / comin’ at ya, goin’ strong / put yourself behind a Pepsi / if you’re livin’ / you belo-o-o-ong- / you’ve got a lot to live / and Pepsi’s got a lot to give.”


11. Miller High Life / ”If you’ve got the time” (1971) … Not sure I even have to remind you about this one, either, but here goes anyway: “If - you’ve got the time / we’ve got the beer (Miller beer) / Mil-ler takes too good to hurry through / but when it’s time to relax / Mil-ler stands clear (beer after beer) / if you’ve got the time (if you’ve got the time) / we’ve got the beer (Miller beer).” Just made you want to hang the transistor radio on the same hook as the hammock, slide in, and throw back a few.


10. Honda / ”Follow the leader” (1981) … Gets you right at second one. “The look / the feel / the power / of the leader / catch him if you caaaaaan / follow the leader / he’s on a Honda / he’s got the wo-orld / in / his /haaaands.” Not sure about you and me, brother, and the itsy bitsy baby, but you get the idea.


9. Pepsi / ”Hits the spot” (1939) … This was, so I’ve been told or have read, the granddad of the type of commercial jingles most of us hold dear. Yes, that’d be “Pepsi-Cola hits the spot / twelve full ounces, that’s a lot / twice as much for a nickel, too / Pepsi-Cola is the drink for you / nickel-nickel-nickel-nickel / trickle-trickle-trickle-trickle …” The earliest version I’m familiar with was performed in a light-swing style befitting the times. Steve Thompson reminded me that this campaign was born of the same thing just about all Pepsi campaigns that followed were: competition with that other cola. “It dates back to when Coca-Cola came in six-and-a-half-ounce bottles.”


8. Ford Mustang / ”Only Mustang makes it happen” (1967) … Back when car models got their own jingles, this really stood out of the pack and rivaled some of the best top 40 hits of that fall for effect. This in spite of the fact that it was basically a hootenanny, and probably didn’t best capture the feeling of riding in a Mustang. Even so, “only Mustang makes it hap-pen / only Mustang makes life great / Mustang moves you / Mustang grooves you / Mustang, Mustang ‘68 / only Mustang makes it hap-pen / only Mustang had the key / Mustang warms you / and transforms you / Mustang, Mustang sets you free.” was a winner of a jingle.


7. Schaefer / ”The one beer to have” (1961) … Kinda makes you sad how all of these beer companies ate – well, drank – each other up. Over all the years “Schafer / is the / one beer to have when you’re / having more than one / Schafer / pleasure / doesn’t fade even / when you’re thirst is done / the most rewarding flavor in this man’s world / for people who are having fun / Schafer / is the / one beer to have when you’re / having more than one” ran, nothing beat the original “marching band” arrangement.


6. Lowenbrau / ”Here’s to good friends” (1977) … Currlin: “Both [this and] Miller High Life’s ‘If you've got the time’ introduced catch phrases (‘Miller Time’ and ‘Here's to Good Friends’); you'll never hear such mellow tunes used to hump beer ever again.” Good point, Roy, but I wonder why, especially given the effect this one has. Singer Arthur Prysock scored his first album on the pop chart in eleven years thanks to this campaign, which still chokes me up. “Here’s to good friends / tonight is kind of special / the beer we’ll pour / must say something more somehow / so tonight, tonight / let it be Lowenbrau / it’s been so long / gee, I’m glad to see you / raise your glass / here’s to health and happiness / so tonight, tonight, let it be all the best.”


5. Pepsi / ”Come alive!” (1964) … When Pepsi kept Joanie Sommers aboard to kick off this campaign, it never sounded better: “Come alive / come alive / you’re in the Pepsi generation / drink light, drink great / drink right, up to date / young taste, young drive / young pace, come alive!” The piccolo and horns here are stellar and carry the message nicely. Not only was this the first use of the phrase “Pepsi Generation,” but the music and construction of this jingle represented a major leap from any soft drink’s advertising at the time.


4. Winston / ”Tastes good like a cigarette should” (1954) … One of the few jingles I can recall whose accompanying TV campaign – basically animated notes on a scale – proved how much more powerful it was on radio. For most of the ‘50s, anyway, the lyrics stayed “Winston tastes good like a cigarette should / Winston tastes good like a – (clap! clap! optional) – cigarette shoooooould / Winston gives you real flavor / full, rich, tobacco flavor / Winston’s easy drawing too / the filter lets the flavor through.” Might have inspired the most famous parody of a commercial, which every 10-year-old knew during the ‘60s (“Winston tastes bad like the one I just had / no filter, no taste, it’s a – 50-cent waste”). Ah, youth.


3. Coca-Cola / ”Things Go Better” (1964) … It was almost as if you couldn’t have a radio station without these ads. And nothing beat the original version by the Limeliters (although in all fairness, the rendition by the Caravelles, of “You Don’t Have to Be a Baby to Cry” fame, is nice, too). Either way, it’s “things go better with Coca-Cola / things go better with Coke / life is much more fun when you’re refreshed / and Coke refreshes you best / it’s the refreshing-est / food goes better with - / fun goes better with - / you go better with Coke / the real live one puts extra fun in you and everything you do, so - / things go better with Coca-Cola / things go better with Coke.” Price: “For my money, the most memorable of the Coke campaigns.”


2. Coca-Cola / ”It’s the Real Thing” (1969) … Let’s let the experts speak. Currlin: “I was always partial to The Fortunes’ version, which I think was the original; just a top notch, everything right about it campaign. I drink my weight in Coke every week (ok, Diet Coke) and these ads are probably the reason why.” Price: “This one sounded as great as anything on the radio back in the ‘60s (whoa-oh-oh-yeah!). Probably the ‘Lovin' Feeling’ of cola jingles.” No argument here. “It’s the re-al thing (Coke - is) / in the back of your mind (Coca-Co-o-laa) / what you’re hoping to find (whoa-oh-oh-yeah) / is the real thing / it’s the re-al thing (Coke – is) / that’s the way it should be (Coca-Co-o-laa) / what the world wants to see (whoa-oh-oh-yeah) / is the real thing (Coca-Cola is Coke!).” Ok, that’s a :30 edit, but you know the whole thing anyway.


1. Budweiser / ”When you say Bud” (1972) … To be honest, I had no idea what would top this list even as I was constructing it. I just assumed that the pile of suggestions and whatever inspiration I got while listening to all of these spots over again would lead naturally to an obvious answer. And I think it worked out like that. In its :60 form, this builds to such a great climax, and then it’s like everyone leaves the building at the very end. Even in its :30 versions, it still outclassed everything around it. Price: “it was an all-time classic melody, and the brassy arrangements with the tuba were great. Tubas rock.” Currlin: “once in a while, I'll hear that original version - a veritable anthem - and feel proud to be an American.” And here’s the whole darn thing: “when you say Bud / you’ve said a lot of things nobody else can say / when you say Bud / you’ve gone as far as you can go to get the very best / when you say Bud / you’ve said the word that means you’d like to do it all / when you say Bud / it means you want the beer that’s got a taste that’s number one / when you say Bud / you tell the world you know what makes it all the way / when you say Bud / you say you care enough to only want the king of beers / there is no other one / there’s only something less / because the king of beers / is leading all the rest / when you say Bud-weiser / you’ve said it all.” That’s like the “Stairway to Heaven” of ad jingles.


And there you have it!!! Thanks again, Rich --- (wonder how many of our readers were "You-Tubing" while reading this!) Remember, you can pick up Rich's Book Of Days (The '60's and / or The '70's) exclusively at Barnes and Noble!








Meanwhile, Hz So Good has a NEW topic they're taking on this month ... here are all the details:


Don't Touch WHAT Dial???
It’s long due, and now it’s just weeks away: the first Hz So Good devoted to off-road listening – Internet, satellite, HD, streaming terrestrial, Pandora, live365, you-name-it.

If you’ve gone over to the dark side, even for just a few hours a week, we’d like to know what got you there, what you listen to, and how it’s changed your ‘regular radio’ habits. We’ll cram as many of your comments as we can in this special Hz, the first of 2010.

And if by chance you operate an off-radio radio service, we’d like to hear from you too, and make you part of our special Hz “No Paper,” Going Tubeless. Just let me know you’re interested and I’ll send a round of questions under separate cover.

This Hz drops end of January, so you’ve got a little time to get your thoughts together.


Thanks, Kent ... and remember: if any of your readers would like to receive Hz So Good in their own email in-box, drop me a line and let me know: rich.appel@hzsogd.com


Happy New Year from
HzSoGood

P.S. Filing in the 3rd annual I.R.S. (as in, It Really Shoulda been a top 10 hit) has begun! You can declare as many as 40 songs this year, just send ‘em here. As always, don’t worry about actual charting info, we’ll handle all of that. The Top 104 will appear in the Hz So Good just before, that’s right, April 15th, so lots of time.