The Sunday Comments ( 03 - 28 - 10 )

Here comes another great batch of Comments and Memories submitted by our readers.
Got something you'd like to share?
Just drop us a line at forgottenhits@aol.com ...
And check back to the website often to see if your comments have been posted.

re: JOHNNY MAESTRO:
I suppose we all knew this day was coming ... but it's still difficult to have to report that Johnny Maestro has lost his battle with cancer. The legendary singer passed away Wednesday Night, March 24th, and once again we received an outpouring of love and memories from his many fans.
Johnny Maestro, lead singer of both the Crests and the Brooklyn Bridge, lost his battle with cancer Wednesday night (March 24) at his home in Florida. He was 70.
Brooklyn-born John Mastrangelo met the Crests -- an integrated doo-wop group formed by students at P.S. 160 Junior High on the lower east side of Manhattan -- in 1956. Polishing their act in the subway station, the group was heard by the wife of a noted song arranger, who arranged a contract for them with Joyce Records. Their recording of"Sweetest One" got to #86 in 1957 but it wasn't until a switch to CoEd Records the next year that the group took off with the legendary "16 Candles" (#2 - 1959). It was followed by "Six Nights A Week" (#26 - 1959); "The Angels Listened In" (#22 - 1959); "Step By Step" (#14 - 60) and "Trouble In Paradise" (#20 - 1960). At this point the group was known as Johnny Maestro and the Crests, a prelude to Johnny's solo career.
He left in 1961 and managed minor hits with "Model Girl" -- on which he was called Johnny Mastro -- (#20 - 1961), "What A Surprise" (#33 - 1961) and "Mr. Happiness"
(#57-1961). The Crests continued to perform, though with no more chart records, while Johnny went on to join the Del Satins (who had previously backed up Dion) in as lead singer 1967. When the Del Satins quartet merged with the Rhythm Method seven-piece band the following year, the Brooklyn Bridge was born. Their first single, "The Worst ThatCould Happen" (#3-1969), returned Johnny to the top of the charts. It was followed by six more chart singles, none of which unfortunately broke through the top 40. Johnny continued working in various incarnations of his two groups to the end. The Crests were elected to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, followed by the Brooklyn Bridge the following year.
In a message sent to fans just this past week, Johnny said, "I have been fortunate to be able to perform before the 'best audiences,' our loyal fans, for over seven decades dating back to the late 1950's. There have been no better times for myself and the Brooklyn Bridge than when we are performing, singing the music that brings back memories of times that we all cherish and hold dear to our hearts. I am very grateful for the opportunity that has allowed me to do something that 'I love' and to be able to share our music with so many people."
-- Ron Smith
www.oldiesmusic.com

Friday Night at 10 I'll be doing a special tribute to Johnny Maestro. We lost him just a couple of hours ago.
DJ Stu Weiss

Due to our Flock mini-series, we weren't able to post this announcement in time for fans to tune in and listen ... please let us know if this tribute is archived somewhere, Stu, so our readers can enjoy it! (kk)

RIP Johnny Maestro ... very sad
Renfield

Regarding the Crests, their great lead singer Johnny Maestro died last week. I saw him perform back in 1972 in NY when he was with the Brooklyn Bridge ... a heck of a singer he was.

Bagawire

Oldies Music Bulletin Board: Re: RIP Johnny Maestro
Kent ...
We knew it was coming. Still a shock. One of my All-Time Favorites.
Frank B.

Johnny Maestro has passed-away. This from the New York Times ...
NEW YORK (AP) -- Singer Johnny Maestro of the rock-and-roll and doo-wop band The Brooklyn Bridge has died.
Original band member Les Cauchi says Maestro died late Wednesday in Florida. Maestro was 70 and had been battling cancer. His last residence was in Cape Coral, Fla.
Maestro begin his career in the 1950s with The Crests, whose hits included ''16 Candles." He later joined The Brooklyn Bridge, which has continued to perform.
Cauchi said the group performed its hit, ''The Worst That Could Happen,'' on the Ed Sullivan Show.
Other well-known songs include ''Blessed is the Rain'' and ''You'll Never Walk Alone.''
KK,
It was a very sad note when we received word of the passing of Johnny Maestro.
We were all friends of Johnny’s and especially Jimmy Beaumont. The two of them did many tours together in the early years. We will very much miss doing shows with him as he was always a gracious gentleman and whether or not he had the time he always found some for his fans and fellow artists. I just know he would want The Bridge to continue on and keep HIS MUSIC ALIVE. I hope they do continue on and that the fans will continue to support them. If that happens then the memory of Johnny Maestro will “live on” within our music community.
I do recall a show that just the two groups (Skyliners & Bridge) did at the “Palace Theater” in Greensburg, Pa. just a couple of years ago on a Thursday evening, we shared some of the backline players, and it was to a “sold out” theater.
It seemed that anytime we were fortunate enough to share a stage with Johnny Maestro (and there were many) it was to a “sold out” show.
He sang from deep in his “soul”, his soul will live on, and the “Angels” will be his audience “listening in”. “SOLD OUT”
Nick A. Pociask (bass / baritone vocal)
The Skyliners

I just read in my local paper that Johnny Maestro passed away Wednesday. I am so sad – he was by far my favorite of all time and I think he had one of the best voices.

MJE

Yes, quite a bit of international coverage regarding the passing of one of the world's favorite singing voices. Far too many of our musical heroes have been leaving us lately ... fortunately the music they left behind lives on and on. (kk)

Their next release was "Beside You", but in Philadelphia Hy Lit played the flip side and soon "Sixteen Candles" became the first Top 10 hit for The Crests, peaking at #2 on The Billboard charts...
Johnny Maestro: May 7, 1939 - March 24, 2010

I am so sad to see Johnny Maestro's passing. He was always a Hy Lit favorite. He will be sorely missed. But he leaves us a legacy of music that will linger on until the end time, from deep in my mind. -Sam Lit
Log on to the HyLitRadio.com home page for more Johnny Maestro story's and pictures. HyLitRadio home page

VERY SAD NEWS! We learned today that JOHNNY MAESTRO -- the great vocalist and lead singer of the CRESTS and BROOKLN BRIDGE -- passed away at the age of 70. This is a great personal tragedy for Gracie Family ... as John and Charlie shared the bill several times over the years. See pic attached of JOHNNY with CHARLIE along with JOEY DEE. (By the way, Johnny also did a great doo-wop version of BUTTERFLY with the Crests in 1960.)

Our deepest and sincerest thoughts and prayers go out to JOHNNY'S family. This is a great loss for our musical family too.
Chas., JR.
Charlie Gracie, Sr. reacted from from his tour in England today:
Joan and I are deeply saddened and shocked -- really, over John's passing. We saw him not that long ago. What a great artist and a such a gentleman. I admired his talent and those wonderful early records with the Crests -- PERFECTION! God Bless his soul. He and his family will certainly be in our prayers this week. We've lost a wonderful artist!
Charlie Gracie

Kent ...
The last few weeks have been hard losing so many members of our generation. I’m deeply saddened by two more losses of some very extraordinary people. First there’s Johnny Maestro, my pal from the past, who was the lead singer of the Crests “16 Candles” and The Brooklyn Bridge “The Worst That Could Happen” INCLUDES RARE VIDEO FROM ED SULLIVAN SHOW! http://artiewayne.wordpress. com/2010/03/25/johnny-maestro- r-i-p-rock-in-perpetuity/
Artie Wayne

re: ALSO LEAVING US:
... Then there’s Jackie Mills who produced Teen Idol Bobby Sherman … and gave me my first hit when I moved from New York to California. http://artiewayne.wordpress. com/2010/03/25/jackie-mills-r- i-p-rock-in-perpetuity/
Regards,
Artie Wayne
http://artiewayne.wordpress. com/about-artie-wayne/

Jim Marshall, Photographer of Rock Stars, Dies
by Ben Sisario
Jim Marshall, a photographer who took some of the most famous images of rock and pop musicians, including Jimi Hendrix setting his guitar aflame at the Monterey International Pop Festival and Johnny Cash at San Quentin prison, died on Tuesday night in a hotel in New York. He was 74.
As Rolling Stone reports, Marshall passed away during his sleep last night (March 23). Marshall was due to take part at an event at New York's Morrison Hotel Gallery tonight (March 24), the show will now instead be a memorial of his work.
Collaborating with artists on over 500 album covers, Marshall worked late into his life taking portraits of people like John Mayer, Ben Harper, Lenny Kravitz and Velvet Revolver.
His death was confirmed by Peter Blachley of the Morrison Hotel gallery in New York, which represents him there. The cause was not immediately known.
Mr. Marshall, who lived in California, was in New York to promote “Match Prints,” his new book with his friend and fellow photographer Timothy White. Mr. Marshall had been scheduled to speak on Wednesday evening at an event at the John Varvatos store in SoHo, and an exhibition of photographs from that book is schedule to open on Friday at the Staley-Wise gallery, also in SoHo.
Mr. Marshall was as well known for the extraordinary images that he captured as the extraordinary access that he had to some of the most famous names in music. He was a favored photographer of Hendrix, the Rolling Stones and Janis Joplin, and he was the only photographer allowed backstage at the Beatles’ last concert, in San Francisco in 1966. He was also the chief photographer at Woodstock.
With his imposing figure and gruff, forceful personality, he was something of a rock star himself, and musicians respected him as much for his pictures as for his dedication in getting them.
“A lot of photography of music is about the look, the style, the celebrity image,” said Gail Buckland, who curated the exhibition “Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History, 1955 to the Present” at the Brooklyn Museum, which ended in January. “He wasn’t really manufacturing an image,” Ms. Buckland said, “he was trying to see who that person was, and understanding that we care about these people with the way that they touch our lives with music.”
Among Mr. Marshall’s pictures in “Who Shot Rock & Roll” were of the Beatles arriving in San Francisco in 1966 and Hendrix at Monterey Pop in 1967.
-- submitted by Ken Voss

And a very special memory from Carl Giammarese of The Buckinghams ...
In Memory, John Peter Poulos, March 31, 1947 – March 26, 1980
Five days before his 33rd birthday, we lost John Poulos, a dear friend who was like a brother to us, as well as The Buckinghams’ drummer. Often described as the heartbeat of our band, he was known to most Buckinghams’ fans of the 60s simply as Jon-Jon. To know John was to love him. With his outgoing personality, he never met a stranger. His talent is remembered best in the style he displayed on drum fills and riffs on our hits, including “Don’t You Care,” “Hey Baby, They’re Playing Our Song,” and “Kind of a Drag.” It’s not surprising that Jon-Jon was included as one of the Top 10 drummers in Modern Drummer Magazine. Contemporary MySpace profiles of aspiring amateur and professional musicians today include the name John Poulos among their musical influences. That’s an honor both fitting and accurate for a musician who was truly one of a kind.
Nick and I recall that one of John’s own musical influences was Bobby Elliot, drummer for The Hollies, whose signature beret and tossing of his head in time to the beat marked an external rhythm, which kept time to the beat he was sharing on the skins. Next, Ringo Starr had a similar distinctive trait that set him apart from the other 3 Beatles. It was a look, a style, an attitude that said, “I’m not exactly like the other ones. I’m following ... my own different drummer.”
As founding members of The Buckinghams, we had the chance to spend years together on the road, in recording studios, and in our family’s homes. John grew up the youngest child in a family of proud Greek heritage. His olive complexion and bright eyes set him apart on stage. He was insistent in wanting The Buckinghams to have “a look” just as importantly as “the sound” as dual components of who we were as a band.
When John was around, we truly were a band of brothers, though none of us were related. His wild sense of humor made the long days on the road bearable and his indefatigable spirit reminded us that optimism is a more powerful attitude than cynicism.
When The Buckinghams broke up and Nick departed for a career in R&B and Marty wanted to go a different direction, Dennis Tufano and I decided to form a duo, Dennis and Carl. We put together a demo CD, with the help of Peter Shelton and his wife, and John was determined to manage us and find us a recording deal. Reaching for the stars, he reached a zenith: John brought us to Ode Records, where we signed with Lou Adler, became “Tufano and Giammarese” and spent 7 years of our career together.
As we toured the country, John searched for a new identity and became a band manager, and saw he preferred the business side of the music industry, making friends, doing deals, and putting people together. One of his bands, “The Boyzz from Illinoizz” is still in concert, reunited by Michael Tafoya and friends. Coincidentally, before joining The Buckinghams, drummer Tom Scheckel had played for The Boyzz, though not when drummer John managed and promoted them. Everything comes full circle, given time.
John was a casualty of the rock music scene of the late 1970s. His strength was tested in his battle with drugs and alcohol, and the greatest tragedy in my life personally was to receive a call that he was simply ‘gone.’ Staring into blank space, searching for answers as to how, why, and what if, I experienced a turning point in my life. From that day forward I determined to make every decision count, to preserve and maintain friendships and business relationships that were positive and building. Determined — not to waste a minute in remorse, but instead to remember John, with love, and with kindness, in honor and tribute to a young life, most of which was lived well, with devotion to his friends and family, whose spirit stays with Nick and me, every time we take the stage.
John’s greatest dream, unfulfilled from 1970 when we broke up, until August, 1980, when Dennis, Nick and I reunited for ChicagoFest, was to get the band back together, at least one more time. John died only five months before his dream for us came true.
For the past 30 years, Nick and I have had the joy of performing for our fans, the way John could not. We feel like he’s with us at the best times of our career, and in the days and nights when we face challenges, our faith is such that we feel he is by our side, over our shoulder, like a big brother would be, and we feel his love.
This day marks 30 years we’ve been without him. In the autumn of our lives, as we reach back to remember him, we know that one day we will all be together again, and it’s not hard to imagine him counting us off, yet one more time, as we break into song.
Godspeed Jon-Jon, you remain forever in our hearts.
—Carl Giammarese
[Excerpted from “My Journey with The Buckinghams”, the forthcoming book by Carl Giammarese and Dawn Lee Wakefield]

Jon-Jon Poulos

re: ALSO ON THIS PAST WEEK IN ROCK HISTORY:

Kent ...
Here's an Anniversary that changed Music History. 3 / 24 / 58 = Private Elvis Presley (Serial # US53310761) is inducted into The U S Army.
Frank B.
YouTube - Elvis Presley - G.I.Blues
You just can't help but wonder how differently music might have turned out had Elvis' career NOT been interrupted right at its peak ... of course there's no way of knowing which direction he may have gone ... would the movie roles have gotten any better? (Let's not forget that Colonel Parker was still the driving force that was making Elvis' career decisions at this point.) Would the pandemonium have started to die down on its own at some point? We'll never know ... I can only equate it to Muhammad Ali being stripped of his right to box during his prime fighting years for taking the OPPOSITE approach to the military. We'll just never know. And while "G.I. Blues" is one of my favorite Elvis movies, it HAD to be hard to watch a clean-cut, uniform-clad Elvis up on the big screen the first time around for all of his earliest fans who dressed themselves in leather and tight-fitting jeans trying to emulate their hero! (Actually, I saw "G.I. Blues" at the drive-in with my parents back in 1960!!! They dressed us up in our pajamas, put down the back seat in the station wagon and carted me and my brothers off to the movies so my Mom and Dad could see the latest Elvis flick. Listening to the soundtrack on that tiny little speaker was a bit frustrating to say the least, even for a seven year old kid ... but incredibly this is ALSO the way I saw "A Hard Day's Night" for the first time ... my folks had read about the screaming crowds inside the movie theaters and just didn't want to deal with that ... so we saw The Beatles' first film at the drive-in instead! (I guess my Dad figured that we would actually enjoy the music a whole lot more in the comfort of our own car! No consideration again was given to the fact that we were listening to that music on a little 2" speaker!!!) I had to go see it in a REAL movie theater a few weeks later after the crowds had died down!!! (kk)

re: RADIO ROYALTY:
Columnist Robert Feder announced a "must see" event for any fans of Chicagoland Radio this past week ... here's the scoop:
Two of Chicago radio’s greatest living legends — Dick Biondi and Herb Kent — will share a stage for the first time and tell stories of their remarkable Hall of Fame careers next month at Columbia College Chicago.
Bob Sirott will host “Inside the Radio Studio: 100 Years on the Air with Dick Biondi & Herb Kent” at 7:30 p.m. April 10 at Columbia College’s Film Row Cinema, 1104 S. Wabash. The event is free and open to the public.
At 77, Biondi (aka “The Wild I-Tralian”) still plays the hits he made famous at the dawn of the rock ’n’ roll era from 7 to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday on Citadel Broadcasting oldies WLS-FM (94.7). And at 81, Kent (aka “The Cool Gent”), whose 65 years in Chicago radio landed him in the Guinness Book of Records in 2009, continues to share his beloved R&B classics from 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays and from noon to 7 p.m. Sundays on Clear Channel urban adult-contemporary WVAZ-FM (102.7).
Sirott is expected to interview them in a format borrowed from Bravo’s “Inside the Actors Studio,” including questions from the audience. A veteran Chicago broadcaster and Columbia alum himself, Sirott said: “Given the makeup of Chicago over the years — the separation of the city into ‘two worlds’ (the North Side and the South Side, the mostly white side and the mostly black side) — it seems that you either ‘grew up’ with Biondi or Kent. But for whatever reason, after starting out as a Biondi fan during my youth, I also became of fan of Kent’s once I got a little older. To have one of these nationally known pioneering radio legends in a city is remarkable. To have two — and both still on the air —is something unique and needs to be celebrated!”
-- Robert Feder

re: BILLBOARD MAGAZINE:
>>>Actually, Billboard started publishing music charts in 1940. The listings in Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories book for the years before that were from a variety of different sources. (Randy Price)
>>>The very first issue of Billboard Magazine was published in 1894 ... and Randy's right ... their focus on music didn't come until much later. (Wikipedia says they published their very first "Hit Parade" Chart on January 4th, 1936 ... and their first official MUSIC Chart on July 20, 1940. Prior to that I believe they did keep track of sheet music sales, which was a popular way of sharing music back in the day. (kk)
Following up on Randy Price's recent comment about Billboard's music charts, I thought I'd offer this. According to Whitburn's Pop Memories book, Billboard's first music chart was its short-lived sheet music chart from 1913. Later that same year, the magazine began its Top Songs in Vaudeville chart, which continued until 1918. Coverage of music continued throughout the magazine, but other charts began: in June, 1934, Most-Played Songs on Network Radio; November, 1935, weekly coverage of major record companies' best-seller charts; April, 1938, Record Buying Guide, which surveyed the most popular records in jukeboxes; and July, 1940, Best-Selling Retail Records. As always, thanks to Joel Whitburn for providing us with so much research on Billboard Magazine and the music industry. Guy Arnston in Algonquin

re: REBOOT:
Hi Kent,
It's amazing how many of my friends and musical compadres keep popping up here in Forgotten Hits! Unfortunately, all too often it's because they have passed away, that they appear in this newsletter (i.e., Wayne Allwine and Bobby Espinosa). But now, there's another musician that I am currently working with in my newly reformed band, Reboot. That is Peggy Foster, who was the original bass player for The Runaways! She isn't mentioned by name, but since the new movie about The Runaways is out, she is getting a lot of attention.
Reboot The Band has been totally reformed with all new musicians in the lineup over the last six months. We are just now, starting to gig. Check out our web site, you will see many of the songs featured here on Forgotten Hits are part of our play list! For some reason, many "oldies bands" don't play a lot of these songs either. So I decided why not play them with my band! These are songs that are seldom heard on oldies radio stations, too. Maybe the band can get a gig in the Chicago area and you can come out to hear us. We feature a lot of the "girl group" songs from the early '60s (My Boyfriend's Back, Da Do Ron Ron, etc.)
Here's our new web site: www.reboottheband.com
By the way, you asked about any tracks I might have with Bobby Espinosa. Unfortunately, we never got anything recorded during the several months he was with us in the band. I only have a video of us on a local TV show we did.
Preston Ritter
Hey, if you guys head out Chicago way, be SURE to give me a call so we can come out and see the band. Meanwhile, best of luck to you. Readers, check out the website and see if Reboot is playing anywhere near you! (kk)

... and, speaking of up-coming shows ...

re: UP-COMING SHOWS:
Just got this from our buddy Mitch Schecter of The Rip Chords:

Now THERE'S a Forgotten Hits Double Bill if I've ever seen one!!! Now you guys have to bring the show to Chicago so that WE can see it, too!!! (kk)

Hey gang:
My prayers have been answered, I've been bugging Rudy Bettancourt from Swallow Hill for years to book Roger McGuinn back to their incredible venue. Well guess what? My prayers have been answered. If you've never seen Roger by himself or with his historic band the Byrds, get off of your high horse and grab some tickets. I guarantee you they will go fast. It will be a night to remember for sure, and if by chance this is not one of the BEST concerts you've ever seen, I will personally refund the cost of your ticket(s). If you're from out of town, you are cordially invited to stay the night at the "Wild" Bill Cody 5 acre ranch (albeit probably on the floor with my 3 Big Red Irish Setters, but I'll feed you well and the adult beverages will flow freely!)
Again, get your tickets early, this baby will sell out quickly and you don't want to be on the outside looking in!!!
Any questions, let me know. Plus, just a chance to meet Roger's wife Camilla will be a breath of fresh air for all, she is a sweetheart AND drop dead gorgeous! Please feel free to check out Roger's website http://www.mcguinn.com/
WOW, I have dreams of a Rickenbacker 12 string running through my head!!! Let's all get together for this for a time to remember forever!
WOO-HOO!
"Wild" Bill Cody
Roger McGuinn / Sat, July 24 / L2 Arts & Culture Center, Colfax
How does one turn, turn, turn a fledging career with a successful band into a flourishing solo career? Just ask former Byrds guitarist Roger Mcguinn. After nearly a decade in The Byrds, McGuinn felt a solo career beckoning. In 1973, he released the self-titled solo debut, Roger McGuinn, featuring participation from former band mates including innovative country-rock guitarist Clarence White, Crosby and Hillman as well as a contribution from Bob Dylan who played mouth harp on the track “I’m So Restless.” Roger has since released several albums to critical acclaim, including his sophomore solo effort, Peace On You, and the autobiographical, Life from Mars. In 2002, McGuinn enjoyed a Grammy nomination in the category of "Best Traditional Folk Album" for Treasures from the Folk Den, a collection of favorite songs which featured collaborations from Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, and Judy Collins to name a few.

Beatles Expert and Author Jude Kessler To Speak at NJ Beatles Event
Jude Southerland Kessler will be returning to the Fest for Beatles Fans and reading from her much anticipated second novel about John Lennon – Shivering Inside.
Jude Southerland Kessler, author of the historically researched novel Shoulda Been There and a world-renowned Beatles expert, will be a featured author and speaker at The Fest for Beatles Fans in Secaucus, NJ on March 26 - 28 where she will be giving presentations and readings throughout the weekend from her much anticipated second book, Shivering Inside, which covers John Lennon’s life from Dec. 1961 to 8 April 1963.

Jude Kessler’s presentation schedule for the fest will be as follows:
Friday - 9 p.m. Reading and Beatles Show on “Shoulda Been There”
Saturday - 9:30 p.m. Reading and Beatles Show on “Shivering Inside”
Sunday - 4:00 p.m. Reading and Beatles Show on “Shivering Inside”
Ms. Kessler has spent over 20 years and made seven trips to Liverpool to research her comprehensive and thorough series about the life of John Lennon. Shivering Inside is the second installment of a five book series and is due for publication on 9 October 2010. Shoulda covers Lennon’s life from 1940 to December 1961.
Ms. Kessler will have copies of her first book available for sale and will be pre-selling copies of her second book. Each copy of Shoulda Been There comes with a 60-minute interview CD with Allan Williams, a collector’s bookmark and a ‘Shoulda Been There’ guitar pic.
For more information on Jude Southerland Kessler, go to: http://http://www.ontherockbooks.com/ or email her at: http://us.mc10.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=rjkess@comcast.net.
For more information on The Fest for Beatles Fans, go to: http://www.thefest.com/.

IF ANYONE IS FROM THE AREA or CAN GET HERE ... (Woodbridge, NJ ... a 35 minute train ride from NYC) ... This came in the mail from the township. Town Schedule ... Easter Parade ... Spring Art Show ... but I was shocked at the caliber of talent they were able to get for a relatively small venue ...
INDOOR - 250 SEATS $22 ... $25 at the door ...

I'm sure Johnny Maestro would have made the bill (RIP) ...
Woodbridge does an outdoor, summer concert series with some decent (well known) talent for the most part ...
(gary) RENFIELD
www.RIPRenfield.com
(the Al Stewart looks really good to me)
I would LOVE to see Al Stewart ... I've actually been listening to him quite a bit lately. I've seen Marshall Crenshaw a couple of times now ... in fact, way back when we were invited to his CD launch party for his very first release ... when NOBODY knew who he was. Then "Someday, Someway" hit the radio and he quickly developed the "cult" following he maintains today. Even Janis Ian would be interesting to see. Please report back to us with your concert reviews. Thanks, Gary! (kk)

re: GREAT CLIPS:
Thanks to Eddie Burke for turning us on to this website, featuring ALL kinds of GREAT, classic '60's music clips:
Click here: RoadOde Television, Music, and Commercials Nostalgia

... and, speaking of great '60's music clips ...

re: THE T.A.M.I. SHOW / SHINDIG / THE BRITISH INVASION DVD SERIES / et al:
We received a nice response to the mention of these up-coming releases ... seems our readers have ALSO been chomping at the bit to obtain high-quality copies of these very special performances. (I know WE sure have been!!!) Read on ...
Hi Kent
The Canada Shindig 30 DVD box set is ok ... its pricey ... and the quality is ok, too. Some of the clips have the numbers running through them. I think they got them from Video Beat, as their logo is on most of them. The cover art is great.
Shivaree is the same some with numbers running through them. If you already have any parts of the above, the quality has not been improved its the same.
It's still great to have then all in one package,
Another note on the Shindig set: for the price, they sure could have used better cases ... with six disc in a single DVD case, most of the discs won't stay in the case, so you get them scratched from shipping. There is a double six disc case that holds the disc much better. I'm transferring mine to those now, having to redo cover art to fit bigger case.
One more thing ... both of these (Shindig and Shivaree) are DVD-R's
Mickey
PS It might be these DVD's we collectors have been buying selling and trading for years are getting taboo in the USA. Warner Brothers shut down my store on ioffer and they kicked me off claiming copy right. My friend at Trash Palace had them go after him making him remove a lot of titles from his web site.
Makes me wonder if Canada and other non US places will be the future of this.
Mickey
There has been a HUGE market for collectors of these videos for as far back as I can remember ... instead of cracking down on the spot dealer here and there making them available, I wish the companies who own the rights to these clips would simply release them in a legitimate format and be done with it!!! For one thing, the fact that dealers are selling them on a regular basis proves that there is a market for this material ... plus EVERYBODY wins as we'd have much more pristine copies for viewing if the prints came from the original masters. We've been preaching this for YEARS ... if you make it available to us, we WILL buy it ... and so with thousands and thousands of OTHER music collectors out there trying to recapture a piece of their youth!!! (kk)

Kent ...
You were right about The Beatles on Ready, Steady, Go! They were on every show. They sing a couple of songs on Volumes 1, 2 & 3. Also on Volume 3 is a special edition "The Beatles Live." They sing Twist & Shout, Roll Over Beethoven , I Wanna Be Your Man, Long Tall Sally, Medley = Love Me Do, Please Please Me, From Me To You, She Loves You, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, Can't Buy Me Love, Shout. All You Need Is Love - It says rare recording unavailable on any Beatles Record.
I just got Hullabaloo Volumes 1 - 12. Haven't watched them yet.
I'll let you know how they are after I watch them.
That's all for now.
Frank B.

Kent,
It’s interesting that you covered both Shindig and The T.A.M.I. Show in the same column.
I’ve been reading a lot in the press this week-end about the DVD release (uncut) of the T.A.M.I Show, and learning not only about the singers and musicians who were billed on that concert, but also that actress Teri Garr and singer / choreographer Toni Basil were back-up dancers on the show. As coincidence would have it they also both appeared as dancers on Shindig.
Mike Ogilvie
Mississauga, ON
Don'tcha just love it when all this stuff falls together?!?! (lol) kk

THE T.A.M.I. SHOW now on DVD

Quentin Tarantino puts it “in the Top Three of all rock movies.” Steven Van Zandt calls it “the greatest rock movie you’ve never seen.” And, talking about James Brown’s dynamic segment of dance & soul, Rick Rubin said it was “the greatest rock and roll performance ever captured on film.”
High praise for a movie we’ve never seen, hey? But many of us have, in fact, seen The T.A.M.I. Show, a concert staged one long evening in October, 1964, in L.A. and featuring -- take a deep breath here -- The Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, the Beach Boys, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, the Supremes, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Lesley Gore, Gerry and the Pacemakers, the Barbarians, and hosts Jan and Dean. Seven of these acts went on to be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And there were more big names behind the scenes. The director, Steve Binder, went on to oversee the Elvis Presley comeback special four years later; the house band was led by Jack Nitzsche, who’d scored his own hit with “The Lonely Surfer;” the backup singers, the Blossoms, included Darlene Love; and recording engineer Dave Hassinger went on to work with the Jefferson Airplane and Grateful Dead and the Stones.
T.A.M.I., BTW, stood for “Teenage Awards Music International.” There never were any awards. No matter; the capacity crowd at the 3,000-seat Santa Monica Civic Auditorium got themselves a show. And within a few weeks, in late 1964, movie audiences got a chance to see it, in living black and white “Electronovision,” a Sixties version of high-def.
But after a short theatrical run, financial and legal problems rendered the film hard to find. It was never released on home video. Over the years, it’d show up on TV on occasion, but it’s been available mainly on bootlegs, truncated and grainy.
Now, it’s been lovingly restored and issued on DVD by Shout! Factory. For me, it’s a reunion. As a college kid, I was a fan of the movie. Now, I can look at the lineup and tick off the artists I’ve met (and ticked off): the Beach Boys, James Brown, Marvin, Smokey, Diana Ross, and the Stones. And the director, Steve Binder. Crazy.
And watching the mesmerizing performance that James Brown put on – years before his Apollo Theater shows put him on the pop music map – reminds me of my visit with him, when he happily claimed credit for influencing the dance moves of at least one fellow T.A.M.I. artist — that’d be Mick Jagger — as well as Tina Turner, Prince and Michael Jackson. I asked who influenced him. For example, the classic bit, during “Please Please Please,” when he’d repeatedly stagger off, and a valet would drape a leopard cape over his shoulders, and he’d shake it off, run back to the mike and sing some more.
That, he said, came from church – and from Gorgeous George, a colorful wrestler of the Fifties. “I used to come back on stage carrying a suitcase, and they threw a towel around me; I threw it off. And I thought of Gorgeous George. He had capes, and that was flamboyant, so I put that in the act.”
Ken Voss

By the way, The British Invasion DVDs are shipping next week ... if you buy the Box Set, you get a bonus disk that features over 90 minutes of additional interviews with Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits, Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers, Simon Bell, Madeline Bell and Burt Bacharach (talking about Dusty Springfield) and Kenney Jones and Ian McLagan of The Small Faces. You ALSO get NINE additional musical performances by Dusty Springfield and seven bonus cuts by Herman's Hermits! The complete series is available here:
Click here: Amazon.com: British Invasion: 5 DVD Box Set featuring Bonus Disc: Dusty Springfield, Small Faces, Herman's Hermits

Hi Kent,
So sorry to hear about Alex Chilton's passing. Hard to believe he was only 16 when he recorded for the The Box Tops. My favorite tune was Soul Deep. I have it in my juke box.
On a happier note, after hearing Casey of American Idol choosing to sing the Rolling Stones "Its All Over Now", brought back memories.
And then seeing it song by the Original Rolling Stones on the TAMI Show was GREAT!! Young Mick Jagger's choreography was on target with that great tune!!!! That is one song you never hear on the air waves.
Carolyn
Ooo ... and ANOTHER great "Remakes" song!!! (kk)

... Speaking Of Which ...

re: THE REMAKES:
Another strong edition of FH!
Just to clarify ...
>>>"I Can Hear Music" is a GREAT suggestion ... Brian Wilson covering his idol, Phil Spector ... (kk)
Brian's brother Carl, emerging in his own right as a producer, was the driving force behind the Beach Boys' version of "I Can Hear Music". Great song; great sound; great single!
Phil @ PrayForSurf

Regarding "My Ding A Ling," when the first promotional copy of that 1972 single arrived at the radio station I was then programming, I eagerly put it on the turntable in my office to audition, hoping it was good enough to broadcast. I was excited by the prospect of helping one of rock's most legendary masters earn yet another big hit after so many years without one (Berry had last made the charts in 1965). To be perfectly honest, I considered "My Ding A Ling" a huge disappointment -- as it's very juvenile crudity seemed not just embarrassing but way beneath my lofty view of the great Chuck Berry. Still interested in helping Chuck make a chart return, I decided to place in hot rotation the FLIP SIDE of "My Ding A Ling" -- a live version of "Johnny B Goode." We played that B side for nearly 20 weeks -- and got far more requests for IT than "My Ding A Ling" (which we eventually played as well). When compared to genuine Berry classics like "Maybelline," "Sweet Little Sixteen," "Nadine" and "Rock ' 'Roll Music," "My Ding A Ling" -- even today -- still makes me cringe.
Gary Theroux
I couldn't agree more ... and I LOVED Chuck Berry's music ... incredible to think that "My Ding A Ling" would become his biggest hit! (kk)

re: THE MONKEES:
I saw nothing wrong with "The Monkees"' version of "Yes I Will". Frankly, both versions were good; just one was done as a ballad and the other wasn't.
Diana
Bloomfield Hills, Mi

The Monkees' version was a VERY "Davy" sort of song!!! Even listening to it now, can't you just see those little glitter stars in his eyes as he's singing this??? (kk)

re: HEY JIMI!:
Let's hear it for the timeless power and appeal of Jimi Hendrix ... the brand new Hendrix release that we've been telling you about, "Valleys Of Neptune" just debuted on Billboard's Top Albums Chart at #4!!! That makes Hendrix the new "timeless" champion, earning a Top Ten Album FORTY YEARS after his death!!! In addition, four of Jimi's classic catalog albums ALSO returned to The Billboard Top 100 Album Chart this week ... amazing!!!
Here's the story as reported by Paul Grein of Yahoo's "Chart Watch" (kk):
The Jimi Hendrix Experience's Valleys Of Neptune enters The Billboard 200 at #4, putting the rock legend back in the top five nearly 40 years after he died at the tragically young age of 27. No other artist has cracked the top five this long after his death. Elvis Presley is in second place. His Elvis: 2nd To None debuted at #3 in October 2003, a little more than 26 years after his death.
Hendrix is the second music legend to make the top five posthumously in the past two weeks. Johnny Cash bowed at #3 two weeks ago with American VI: Ain't No Grave. But Cash died less than seven years ago. It's more remarkable for an artist who died four decades ago to make significant chart waves.
Valleys Of Neptune is, incredibly, Hendrix's 34th posthumous album to make The Billboard 200.
Hendrix was a star for just three years, from June 1967, when he played the Monterey International Pop Festival, to September 1970, when he died in London of a drug overdose. The guitar hero had four top five albums in his lifetime. This is his third top five album since his death. It follows The Cry Of Love, which hit #3 in 1971, and Crash Landing, which reached #5 in 1975.
Four of Hendrix's catalog albums re-enter The Billboard 200 this week. 1967's Are You Experienced? bows at #44, followed by 1968's Electric Ladyland at #60, the 1997 compilation First Rays Of The New Rising Sun at #63 and 1968's Axis: Bold As Love at #67.
Experienced? first cracked The Billboard 200 on Aug. 26, 1967. It was only the 10th highest new entry of the week (!), opening at an unimpressive #190. The album took 59 weeks to reach its #5 peak in October 1968. This week's debut of Valleys Of Neptune gives Hendrix a nearly 41-1/2 year span of top five albums.

re: AND ONE FINAL REMINDER:

You've only got a few days left to cast your vote in the Hz So Good / I.R.S. Poll. If you feel strongly about some of YOUR favorite records ... to the point that you honestly believe It Really Shoulda Been a Top Ten Hit, then get your votes and nominations in NOW!!! All the details are below (along with information as to where you can hear Rich count 'em down once the results have been tabulated.) Just a reminder that the filing deadline for this years’s Hz So Good I.R.S. (as in, It Really Shoulda been a Top 10 hit) Top 104 is March 31. That’s because on Friday, April 2 – Good Friday for some of you – we’ll be counting down the 104 on Bob Radil’s Friday Night 60s-70s Show starting at 6pm ET (hear it at www.wnhu.org).
If you really wanna file your Really Shouldas, all you have to do is email your list of as many as 40 songs (title and artist, to avoid any confusion) that ’shoulda been’ Top 10 hits in the U.S.
You don’t have to look anything up before you send – we’ll do that here. You can send less, you just can’t send more.
Every I.R.S. filer is automatically entered in a drawing to win a pretty neat prize, but in order to be eligible, we need your I.R.S. by March 31.
The Top 104 will also be featured in the next issue of Hz So Good, coming around mid-April.
Thanks…
-Rich Appel

Send your votes to rich.appel@hzsogd.com ... and, if you want Rich to email you the final results, just sign up for his awesome Hz So Good Newsletter!

TODAY'S MUSIC:
We all know Johnny Maestro's biggest hits ... "16 Candles" and "The Worst That Could Happen" went to #'s 2 and 3 on Billboard's Pop Singles Chart for The Crests and The Brooklyn Bridge respectively ... but Johnny Maestro ALSO scored a Top 20 Billboard Hit as a solo artist ... check out "Model Girl" from 1961!

And how about the original version of "It's All Over Now" by Bobby Womack and The Valentinos!!! Just a few weekss before The Rolling Stones put their permanent signature on this tune, The Valentinos snuck into the very bottom of The Billboard Charts with their original rendition, recorded for Sam Cooke's SAR Record Label. You don't EVER hear this one anymore ... unless you read Forgotten Hits!!! (Maybe we can get Scott Shannon to feature this one on the next True Oldies Channel Rock And Roll Remakes Weekend!)

The Monkees' version of "I'll Be True To You", from their first LP ... originally a hit for The Hollies in the U.K. under the title "Yes I Will".

Watch for another batch of comments tomorrow on The Forgotten Hits Web Page!

It's The Flockin' Finale To Our Forgotten Hits Mini-Series Spotlighting The Flock!

I hope you have enjoyed our little mini-series on The Flock ...

Here are a few concert poster photos we came across recently ... along with some of Fred's corrections and amendments to our article:

I collect bootleg recordings.I have a bootleg of The Flock playing on November 8, 1971.Also, I went to the Goose Lake Rock Festival in 1970 and they played there, too!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goose_Lake_International_Music_Festivalhttp://makemyday.free.fr/70/mc5_posters_1970_4.htm HWigoda

Wow ... look at that line up!!! Savoy Brown, Jethro Tull, Joe Cocker, Ten Years After, Mountain, Chicago, BobSeger, John Sebastian, Alice Cooper, The James Gang, Brownsville Station, The Flying Burrito Brothers ... and The Flock ... all on the same bill!!! Amazing! (kk)

In fact, here's another cool poster we received:

Incredible to think that you could see THIS line up ... The Grateful Dead, Fleetwood Mac and The Flock for five bucks!!! And look who's coming ... a virtual late-'60's / early-'70's Who's Who of artists: Chicago Transit Authority, Sly and the Family Stone, Iron Butterfly, Poco, Rotary Connection, Canned Heat, The Band, Three Dog Night, Johnny Winter, Country Joe and the Fish, Blues Image, Pacific Gas and Electric ... man, THOSE were the heady days of rock and roll music!!! (kk)

As Fred Glickstein read through our special mini-series he found a few corrections that he wanted to clear up ... keep in mind that Jeff Lind wrote his "History Of Chicago Rock" nearly 35 years ago and was using the information available to him at the time ... and since Jeff is no longer with us (he passed away a couple of years ago), we offer up these corrections as a means of setting the story straight and getting it right for future generations to come. (Hopefully our FH Buddy Guy Arnston is paying attention and taking notes so he can also right these wrongs, minimal as some may be, when he finally publishes his ultimate guide to The Chicago Music Scene!!!)

>>>At their inception, the Flock included Fred Glickstein on guitar (he later added trumpet and organ to his repertoire) and lead vocals; Rick Canoff on tenor sax and vocals; Rick Mann on guitar; Jerry Smith on bass; and Ron Karpman on drums. (Jeff Lind)

FRED GLICKSTEIN: I just want to say that everybody sang in the original band - in fact, Jerry Smith sang lead on "Can't You See", our first single.

>>>“Take Me Back” was rearranged by the group, with Bobby Whiteside producing. With a full horn section consisting of Posa, Glickstein, Webb and Canoff, the song never stopped its driving, frenetic pace (it had to be faded out). Sax solos by Webb and Canoff screeched over the rhythm section, as the group kept repeating the hook, “take me back.” It was two-and-a-half minutes of compressed energy. (Jeff Lind)
FG: Bobby Whiteside wrote the horn arrangement for "Take Me Back" and hired some outside STUDIO musicians to handle the brass parts. To the best of my recollection, The Flock members did NOT play brass on this track ... and this is ESPECIALLY true of me ... Fred! The sax solo was by Canoff only ... Webb was not featured during the solo on this track. By the same token, Webb did not write all of the horn arrangements on the first album ... Canoff and Posa also worked on these arrangements.

>>>A classically trained violinist (who played with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for several years), Jerry Goodman had been friends with the members of the group since their days at Sullivan High. He had been serving as part-time roadie, sound man, etc., with the group and was digging their musical evolution the whole time. Even with all of his classical experience, he had a yearning to try something different with the violin, namely playing the instrument in a rock contest. (Jeff Lind)
FG: Jerry Goodman was NOT a member of The Chicago Symphony Orchestra ... but both of his parents were. Jerry would have been too young ... he was younger than all of us ... eighteen maybe.

>>>They asked Jerry Goodman to sit in on the recording of their next record for the Destination - U.S.A. label. That session, in early 1968, was a landmark occasion, as it helped to define the musical direction that Chicago rock was to take during the next few years. The song they cut that day, “What Would You Do If the Sun Died?”, was the most advanced recording of its time, featuring Webb’s complex horn arrangements, electronic effects, vocal phrasing, haunting lyrics, and full-bodied production of the rhythm section. (Jeff Lind)
FG: "The most advanced recording of its time?" Lol ... what about "Strawberry Fields Forever"?!?! That's pretty flattering but it's not really true. As for the rest of this statement, Webb did NOT do the horn arrangements for this track ... my music teacher did the horn arrangements - Bob Resseger, a music teacher at Chicago's Teachers College (now Northeastern in Chicago) actually did these after he was approached by me. I wanted a real orchestra feel for this track so I asked my music teacher, Bob Resseger, if he would be interested in scoring something for us ... and he wrote all these really cool parts for all these different instruments. We did the recording at Chess Records. In fact, Jerry Goodman isn't even on this session ... he hadn't joined the band yet ... but get this, his MOTHER was on the session!!! She was one of the players that The Chicago Symphony Orchestra sent over for the recording session. (I don't know if I've ever told this story before!) So she comes walking into the studio and Jerry was there just kinda hangin' out and helping us get our stuff together and he looks up and sees his mother coming into the studio and calls out "Mom, what are YOU doing here?!?!?" She had been hired for the session ... so Jerry's Mom actually played on a Flock record before Jerry even joined the group!

>>>The release of the group’s second album, Dinosaur Swamps, in the middle of 1970, marked another change. Produced by Ron McClure, it showed a more unified group effort than the first. It was a concept album which attempted to link the spirit of the past and the present. Webb wrote three of the songs and was featured more often as soloist. He sang lead on the lively “Mermaid,” a song which brought folklore into the Flock’s rock. (Jeff Lind)
FG: First of all, "Dinosaur Swamps" was produced by JOHN McClure, not Ron McClure ... and Webb did NOT sing lead on "Mermaid" ... that's Fred Glickstein ... me!!!

We certainly welcome input from any of the other members of The Flock to help us keep the story straight. As one of the oft-forgotten bands to come out of the Chicago area during the '60's, The Flock achieved worldwide success with their own special brand of progressive rock and roll. Their albums all made Billboard's Top 100 List and they performed on the same stage along with some of the biggest names in music history ... yet when most people recall the hey-day of Chicago Rock, The Flock are typically left off the list. Hopefully we've introduced you to some of their music this past week in Forgotten Hits. (kk)

The Flock (Part 4)

In the liner notes for the oft-reissued anthology CD "Flock Rock: The Best Of The Flock", Fred Glickstein shares some of his other musical memories ... and thanks many of those who helped him along the way:
Once again, I, the Great and Powerful Fred "Shakespeare" Glickstein have been asked to pen liner notes for a Flock CD. I'm actually starting to like all of this attention. O.K., what the Flock was I talking about? Oh yes, The Flock, that highly unusual musical group from Chicago's 60s and 70s that did two record albums for Columbia in 1969 and 1970. Oh yeah, we had lots of fun with the name, like "who gives a flyin' Flock", or "let's get the Flock outa here", or "how the Flock are ya?" More info in next paragraph ... Shooting ahead a few years to 1992, I was working at The Hadley School for the Blind in Winnetka, Illinois, USA, when my office phone rang. It was a lady who asked if I was Fred Glickstein, THE Fred Glickstein who played in The Flock. I told her that I was and she said that she had Michael Caplan from Epic (Columbia) Records on the line and asked if I would like to talk to him. I said that I would so she asked me to hold the line for a moment. About three minutes later a voice said, "You guys are the reason I quit Law School!" Mr. Caplan went on to tell me about he and his buddies listening to Flock music while at college. Long story short, the company wanted to release a "Best of The Flock" package and asked if I would write the liner notes. Mr. Caplan also said that they had found some previously unreleased Flock music and was very excited about including it into the "Best Of ...", adding that it contained some awesome guitar solos and great jamming. Much of this unreleased stuff was from a third album we had done when the group was in the process of breaking up. It was to be called "Flock Rock" and consisted of all instrumental music. In 1970, Columbia rejected this album because it had no "real songs with vocals and lyrics." Now, in 1992, twenty two years later, I'm getting a call from New York telling me how awesome this once-rejected music is?!? Michael Caplan also described The Flock better than anyone had before. He said that "The Flock was a horn band with a sense of humor."
That reminds me of some of my favorite Flock stories.
We were playing in New York at a club called The Salvation. After just finishing a set, I heard a mellow voice saying," Hey man, I like the way you play guitar." The lights were low in the club so I had to look closer to see who had said this. It was Jimi Hendrix! I said, "Jimi?" and he said "Yeah, man". Well, that was it, freakin' Hendrix telling me that he liked the way I played. How long was I on Cloud Nine? Not sure ...
Then there was the time that we got busted in Oakland, New Jersey (is that related to Old Jersey)? Anyway, The State Troopers pulled us over for some reason or another, or did they even NEED a reason in 1969? One thing led to another and the Troopers decided to haul us into the station. Oh, did I mention that we were on our way to a gig? All of a sudden, four men wearing trench coats had appeared and began asking questions. The Troopers had called in the FBI. After all matters had been settled, The Flock was released and on its way to their performance, an hour and a half late. The audience had heard about our little visit with the authorities and waited for us to arrive.
And now, it's on to England's Bath Festival where Led Zeppelin was to go on after The Flock. It was early evening and the sun was beginning to set. Zeppelin's manager wanted them to go on during the sunset but The Flock hadn't finished their set so he pulled the power plug on us. I heard later that some punches were thrown between road crews. So much for Love and Peace. (Remember, this was 1969)
Another favorite story: In the 60's one could easily cross the border from Germany into Holland, but going from Holland into Germany was another story. The German security was very tight because, in Holland, things like hashish, marijuana and other drugs were almost legal. Germany, however, had a different view of these popular items of the day. When driving from Holland to Germany The Flock was told by agents at the German border, "ve are going to bring out ze dogs to check for drugs." We thought that they would bring out German Shepherds or Doberman Pinschers but were totally shocked when the agents came in with Cocker Spaniels. We had a good laugh from that and the little Cockers found nothing illicit in our possession.
Couldn't forget the story about meeting Canned Heat at the airport in Amsterdam. As Flock approached them, I couldn't help but notice something interesting about their vocalist Bob "The Bear" Hite. He looked exactly like me, or I him. I walked right up to Hite and looked him square in the eye. He looked and me and then went crazy. Everyone was going bananas!!! The funny thing about our looking like identical twins was that he was three times my size. Flock's bass player, Jerry Smith, told me last night that I was the first "Mini-Me". Funny that Hite also sounds like "height".
SOME FINAL THOUGHTS: A special thanks to Mike Gott at Gottdiscs for having excellent musical taste and deciding to reissue "Flock Rock - The Best Of The Flock". It means a lot to all Flockers that this little piece of musical history has been given new life. It was originally released in 1993 and in February of 2006, Sony deleted it from their catalog. Do I need this aggravation? So, now that "Flock Rock is available again, we hope that you enjoy !!!More special thanks to Rick Canoff for being my perfect musical partner starting in the mid 60s. Without Rick, the Flock would not have blossomed as it did. And forever thanks to Rick's mom Shirley Canoff for her support going all the way back to 1962. Also a shout to Mitchell Canoff, Rick's older brother who acted as Flock's road manager and protector.Much love and many thanks to Rick Mann, who was in the original Flock as singer / songwriter / guitarist. Rick, who was asked to leave the group in order that it could change musical directions, will always be remembered for his humor, kindness and the ability to exit gracefully.My daughter, Jennifer, would like to personally thank Jimi Hendrix, who she met backstage while she was in the womb. He seems to have had quite a colorful influence on her! :)O.K., that's going to wrap it up for the old new liner notes. I could go on for days as there are so many stories and memories to share. Maybe one day someone will write a book about The Flock. Here's a title, "WE SURVIVED THE 60s IN A ROCK 'N' ROLL BAND".
-- Fred Glickstein

I asked Fred what piece by The Flock he would most like to see me feature at the conclusion of our article ... ideally, I wanted something from the '70's to show the latter-day sound of the band ... but I also wanted to feature something that Fred personally felt would best represent the sound of the band during this era and deserved to be heard ... maybe something that never quite got the recognition he felt it should have or something that he was especially proud of ... and then, if he was willing, to share a short story about this particular song and / or these sessions. Here is what he came back with:

I would like to see the song "Clown" featured. It was the second track on the first album, "The Flock". I think that this was the strongest song on the album and really showed the world that the Flock had arrived and was offering something very new. Most Flock fans really remember "Clown" and can even tell you where they were when they first heard it!
The recording sessions for "The Flock" were amazingly exciting because they were at Studio A of Columbia Records New York, NY. This included sending out for corned beef sandwiches and all of the pickles we could eat!! The whole experience was priceless. I may die, but the Flock will live on!
Freddy Glickstein



You got it, Freddy ... and thanks for your time and help in putting together this article for Forgotten Hits! (kk)

FLOCK ROCK:
Here are a few Flock video clips currently circulating on YouTube that Fred sent along for our readers to check out:
From the early days:
Check out these YouTube Flock Videos ... CHICAGO'S VERY OWN - THE FLOCK
"Can't You See" (1966)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teVrwrOoYg4
"Are You The Kind" (1966-67)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7tqRJGn8ZI
"Take Me Back" (1967)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJVWPktILtQ
"What Would You Do If The Sun Died" (1968)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enSyIX2FUTM
And two songs from "The Flock" - our first Columbia album - 1969
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdtjKgZeiKA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaVEzBD4MlY
Enjoy!!!
FRED GLICKSTEIN
And be sure to check out the official Flock Website:
http://flockrock.com/

Forgotten Hits would like to thank Fred Glickstein for taking the time to talk with our readers, Guy Arnston, original publisher of "The Illinois Entertainer" for giving us access to the EXCELLENT Jeff Lind article quoted throughout this piece, profiling The Flock from his "History Of Chicago Rock Series", and Rick Barr of The New Colony Six and Dean Milano (Author of "The Chicago Music Scene, 1960s and 1970s") for their assistance in putting all these key people together. By the way, copies of this series were sent to some of the other members of The Flock ... who knows ... with a little bit of luck, we may hear back from some of these guys to help shed some light on a follow-up piece! (kk)

The Flock (Part 3)

Our Forgotten Hits tribute to The Flock continues this morning with more from The Illinois Entertainer series "The History Of Chicago Rock" by Jeff Lind (courtesy of Guy Arnston):

JEFF LIND: Goodman became a full-fledged member of the group, and as he gradually became the dominant figure, his ideas took the band to a higher plane. The Flock became a mini-orchestra, with violin, horns and rhythm section. Bassist Jerry Smith remembered, “We were just really trying to flow with whatever is happening. We just have so many ideas, we can’t confine ourselves to certain boundaries. We don’t want to prostitute ourselves to one category because it’s not really us. We were a big soul band before Jerry was in the group. He was way out. It was a little strange to get into his new thing.
Indeed, it was strange and new. Goodman’s solos showed a lot of classical influence, yet the form riffs were tinged with R&B feeling. Webb’s improvisations on sax and flute lent a jazz flavor to the music, yet at the same time, theirs was a basic rock beat underlying the entire endeavor. Some of the lyrics (i’e’ “The after-image of mental scrimmage” from “I Am a Tall Tree”) were pure acid rock in tone.
Soon, the group began lining up better gigs, one of the most important being a job at the Kinetic Playground in early 1969, sharing a bill with John Mayall’s band.
At that time, the Kinetic Playground was the most important concert hall in Chicago, and its owner / manager, Aaron Russo, was one of the more influential men in the concert business. He was so impressed with the Flock’s sound and performance during those three nights that he took the group under his wing, becoming their manager, and helping them land a recording contract with Columbia Records.
Material for the first album was selected with close scrutiny. The group considered reissuing previous material, but the songs sounded dated in comparison with the newer material. And what was settled on was five medium-length songs and one extended jam. And when the album made its appearance during the summer of 1969, it was a totally new listening experience. “Introduction” was Goodman’s tour de force on violin; “I Am a Tall Tree” talked about hallucinations and psychedelics, while “Tired of Waiting,” a rework of the Kinks opus, was a classic interpretation, even thought it bore little resemblance to the original. “Store Bought-Store Thought” featured heady lyrics, along with some fluttery flute by Webb and Goodman on 12-string guitar, with the album ending in the bluesy jam “Truth.”

KK: I have had in my record collection for YEARS now a white label promo copy of the Columbia single "Tired Of Waiting", The Kinks song that The Flock covered in the late '70's ... oddly enough on my copy, it credits The Flock with having written the song! Any idea as to the story behind that?!?! Was this single later commercially released or did it only make it to the promo stage?
FG: That was an obvious mistake as the Flock did NOT write it. The Flock covered "Tired of Waiting" in 1969 on their first Columbia album. I'm not sure if the single was commercially released ... but I did see it in jukeboxes here in the States.



JEFF LIND: By the turn of the decade, the Flock embarked on a major national tour which coincided with the release of the record. While most people in Chicago paid little heed, people on the West Coast were flocking to see them, and most were dazzled by their sound and technical virtuosity. Among those duly impressed was Mayall, who offered the testimony which appeared on the liner notes of the group’s first album:
“The date is July 9th, 1969. I’m sitting in the Whisky a Go Go Los Angeles, and the Flock are making their West Coast debut at last. It seems sort of strange that I should be writing a liner note for a band that I’ve only heard three times before this night. Those three times happened in Chicago earlier this year when we shared the bill at the Kinetic Playground. When I heard them then, I got close to going berserk over their prodigious and varied musical talent as a whole and individually.
“Unfortunately, sometimes in this day and age of hype and undeserved glory for the mediocre, really good musicians are often overlooked.”
There was, however, a creative rift forming in the band. Perhaps it was Tom Webb’s natural desire to find his own means of expression, but he must have been frustrated playing in Jerry Goodman’s shadow. It was Webb who wrote all the horn charts for the first album, as well as playing sax, flute, harmonica and maracas, as well as singing; but it was Goodman who was the dominant figure.
Jerry explained it to Sue Clark, the author of The Superstars in Their Own Words (published by Music Sale Corp., 1970). “I’m always experimenting with sounds. There are so many unused possibilities with amplifiers. If I find a new thing, I kind of play with it. The sound doesn’t stay outside of your ears, but it comes inside and starts pushing your eardrums in and out. I found it’s not really a sound that you hear, but it’s a sound that you feel. Like I find it funny sometimes that I actually get applause for hitting a note that’s blowing their ears off. I don’t have to generally, but that’s a weapon. I use it as an outlet sometimes.”
The release of the group’s second album, Dinosaur Swamps, in the middle of 1970, marked another change. Produced by Ron McClure, it showed a more unified group effort than the first. It was a concept album which attempted to link the spirit of the past and the present. Webb wrote three of the songs and was featured more often as soloist. He sang lead on the lively “Mermaid,” a song which brought folklore into the Flock’s rock. The album directed itself in a country vein. As Goodman recalls (again with Sue Clark), “Country music has been big for a long time. It’s just that other people are getting into it now. And realizing the value of it, and it’s a beautiful form. We have a tune called “Big Bird.” It has a country feel to it. We didn’t write it as a country tune. It just happened to be a country tune. We don’t like to put labels on it. It’s just an indication that we aren’t really into writing a rock & roll song and a country song and one that’s going to be classically oriented. But like this country tune, which it turned out to be, for instance, has in the middle of it, there is somewhat of a bridge that’s in 6/8. Tom Webb, our sax player, just improvised against a jazzy kind of rhythm thing, and then he goes tenor and I take over on violin, the same type of thing, and then, boom, ‘Big Bird.’” (The Flock also played a straight country tune, “Hoedown,” but it never made any of their albums.
The remainder of the album ran the gamut from soft, gentle melodies (“Hornschmeyer’s Island”) to rock (“Lighthouse”) to jazz (“Crabfoot”) and back again. But, they could draw no singles from the record, and their sales suffered accordingly.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: For the record, those first two Columbia Flock albums both made The Top 100 Albums Chart in Billboard Magazine ... "The Flock" reached #48 in 1969 and the following year "Dinosaur Swamps" went to #96. They are currently available as a Double-CD Set ... here: "THE FLOCK / DINOSAUR SWAMPS")
http://www.amazon.com/Flock-Dinosaur-Swamps/dp/B0000640AX/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1267323231&sr=1-3)

By late 1970, Fred Glickstein was already considering disbanding the group. According to the Jeff Lind / Illinois Entertainer article, "The Flock's record sales in the U.S. were discouraging; indeed, European sales accounted for over 40% of the total figures. As a matter of fact, Columbia Records’ international division released a double import album with material from The Flock and Dinosaur Swamps, thus making the group the only Chicago band with an import album at the time."

The group just couldn't seem to mutually agree on a musical direction ... and it eventually did them in. Again, Jeff Lind picks up the story:
The group broke up in the midst of disillusionment in late 1970. Webb split to the West Coast to study scientology; it was obvious he was still evolving musically. Glickstein took a sabbatical to Florida to decide his future. Canoff moved into the musical production and management field. Jerry Smith hooked up briefly with Aura. And, of course, Goodman went on to fame as the violinist with John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra. (McLaughlin was quoted once as saying he wanted Goodman more than many of the other well-known violinists because he was the only one doing anything original.)
The breakup of the Flock was symptomatic of what was happening to the entire Chicago rock scene during 1970-72 — things just weren’t happening.

But The Flock's story doesn't end in 1970 ... in 1972, Fred Glickstein decided to reform the group. He felt that by this time the audience was ready for a more "sophisticated" type of music ... so, according to Jeff Lind ...
He decided to reform the Flock, minus the horns this time. Webb was working with his own band (later to become known as the Eddie Boy Band) and had attracted the interest of several labels, while Canogg was producing the act, so they had to be written out of the picture. Smith and Karpman rejoined, but it still left the gap of replacing Goodman. The found Mike Zydowsky, another classically trained violinist who matched Goodman’s technical skills on the instrument, though his stage presence and ability to transcend sounds beyond the instrument were somewhat more restrained.
The new group premiered at a rundown dance club in Round Lake called Nowhere. Imagine that — the Flock starting Nowhere! It was autumn, 1972, and Glickstein beamed with new excitement and enthusiasm. And by the summer of 1973, the group was thriving again, thrilling audiences with their unique brand of music. A second European tour that fall saw sellout crowds all along the way.
Then, in May of 1974, keyboard specialist Jim Hirsen, who had previously been working with Jumbo, approached the group and asked to sit in. His keyboard / synthesizer skills and composing abilities were the right elements that really helped pull the whole project together.
As a quintet, the Flock began touring the U.S., again attracting the attention of major record companies. They finally chose their hometown-based Mercury and, in the summer of 1975, the new Flock emerged with "Inside Out".
Produced by Felix Pappalardi, the album had a feeling of flowing accessibility that was lacking on their previous records. Although no one song stood out, the album as a total concept worked quite well, and its general flavor was a laid-back mellowness in keeping with the group’s credo: “We’re not a super-amplification group. We do some loud things,but that’s not our thing. We have a lot of very dynamic changes.”
Unfortunately, there were no hit singles forthcoming from the album, and the songs only appealed to a small portion of hardcore Flock freaks that remained through the years of transition. It again appeared that nobody was ready for the music the Flock had to offer. A brief Midwest tour saw little reaction and their performances were erratic at best.
Mercury dropped the act in early 1976, and soon after, they disbanded. It seemed an appropriately sad ending foor an oft-lamented group.

A couple of other reincarnations also took place (Flock III anyone???) but The Flock never fully regained their audience (or themselves from the sounds of things). At the time of his original article published in The Illinois Entertainer, writer Jeff Lind recapped the latter days for the members of the band as follows:

Glickstein once again brought the group back to life, this time as a trio. The new aggregation met severe disapproval from their few local gigs, and it seems, at this writing, that the Flock has finally faded into oblivion.
What happened to the others? Jerry Goodman, after leaving McLaughlin, cut an album, "Like Children", with fellow Mahavishnu member Jan Hammer. The album displayed Goodman’s talents on mandolin and guitar as well as the violin. Since then, he has been living a private life, out of the public eye. Jim Hirsen had his own trio, and has been doing some work with the Temptations. Rick Mann, after leaving the Flock, spent some time with For Days and a Night, along with Baraboo, and is now playing pedal steel in studio session work. T.S. Henry Webb, after retreating into scientology, has returned, releasing "You Are a Star" on Dharma Records. He is presently working solo, after a brief stint with Jet Stream.

Lind also offered up these corrections and updates:
First, when the Flock regrouped in late 1972, the violinist who played with them was Arnie Roth, not Mike Zydosaki. But Roth only stayed with the band briefly, leaving when he found out the group was going to tour extensively. Roth had come to the band from Happy Day, and left to settle down and give married life a try. All this took place in the summer of 1973, and created the opening for Zydowski to step in.
Second, when Flock III was formed, the lineup consisted of Fred Glickstein on vocals, guitar and organ; Ron Karpman on percussion and special effects; and Tom Blecka on bass. Since this group started by doing old Flock material, it seemed logical to keep the old name, but Ron and Fred really wanted to shed the old image and try some new music.
A short time ago, they picked up bass player Arch Terrance and became Strategic Ear Command.
In a sense, however, they can never really leave the Flock behind, because the basic spirit of the Flock’s music, experimental and progressive, is still with them.
What happened to some of the other old members? Jerry Smith is presently a salesman for Hohner Music, the organization that is synonymous with harmonicas; Frank Posa is working for a data processing firm; and Mike Zydowski is currently a violinist with the Belgium Symphony Orchestra, living in Belgium and putting his background in classical music to good use.

Fred Glickstein, who has been following our tribute series very closely, has also offered up a number of correction and amendments to Jeff Lind's article. (Keep in mind that this piece first appeared in The Illinois Entertainer close to 35 years ago!) I'm hoping that we might also have a memory or two to share from some of the other original members of The Flock as well. We'll have many of these corrections posted on The Forgotten Hits website on Saturday. Meanwhile, we'll be wrapping things up on our little Flock Mini-Series tomorrow in Forgotten Hits ... hope you'll join us here! (kk)