The Friday Flash

A few quick odds and ends to round out the week ...
(Watch for a brand new, Super-Sized Sunday Comments Page, too!)

re: LOCAL STUFF:
Just got this from Dennis Tufano ... hopefully still plenty of time for some of you to still get tickets!

Hi Kent,
Please re-register me on the Forgotten Hits ... and belated Birthday Greetings!
I saw Paul Revere and the Raiders at Westchester Fest and they were great. Enjoyed seeing Tommy Scheckel with them.
Hope to see the 'new Buckinghams". It will be hard to replace Bob Abrams and Tommy Scheckel. I only wish all of them the best.
I will be at the dedication of "The Ides of March Way" on September12th. I am also a graduate of Piper School and Morton West High!!!!
Keep up the Great Work,
Carolyn
I'm a Morton West alum, too ... Class of 1971 ... and The Ides played at our High School a number of times, even after we all had left school and moved on with our lives. We caught them at Schaumburg's Septemberfest with The Buckinghams (and their new line-up) this past weekend ... I thought The Bucks sounded great and they've updated their set list quite a bit to accommodate the addition of new players Dave Zane and Rocky Penn. We all miss long-time Bucks Bob Abrams and Tommy Scheckel ... these guys performed with the band for 25 years! But the NEW guys sounded great, too, and the horn section was in top form the other night at Septemberfest.
In my opinion, The Ides tried to cram too much new and / or unfamiliar material into the beginning of their show ... they lost the audience early on to a degree ... when the familiar stuff came up ... "You Wouldn't Listen", "L.A. Goodbye" and some of the Survivor material like "Eye Of The Tiger", "The Search Is Over" and "High On You" ... the crowd responded accordingly ... but save an encore performance of "Rockin' Into The Night", Peterik eliminated covers of some of the material he cowrote for .38 Special ... I think mixing some of THAT familiar material into the early part of the set would have done a lot to liven things up and hold the audience's attention.
That being said, The Ides Of March have ALWAYS put on one of the most rocking, entertaining shows out there ... which made THIS particular performance all that much more disappointing. We had RAVED to friends about how good these guys are in concert and then witnessed about 40 minutes of shoulder-shrugging until the "hit" material kicked in.
But we couldn't be more proud of Berwyn's Most-Famous Sons ... and are looking forward to the ceremony ... and hopefully some musical highlights from the past! (kk)


... and, speaking of The Ides, in addition to the big street-dedication ceremony on Sunday (corner of Home Avenue and Riverside Drive in beautiful downtown Berwyn), you can catch Berwyn's finest at The Forest Park Ribfest on Saturday (along with one of our local favorites, The New Invaders) ... here's the scoop from FH Reader Mike De Martino:
This Saturday the Ides will be at the Forest Park Ribfest, 7824 Madison.
I called the Village of Forest Park, who were of limited help.
The Ides start at 8 PM ... of course I will have my famous record spindle hat on.
There is parking but the lady at the village did not know exactly where.
I would bring chairs just in case there is no seating.
If you can make it, please let me know.
THIS IS THE BEST SHOW OF THE SUMMER!!
TheDude
Here's a little more information about the fest:
Click here: Welcome to The Village of Forest Park - - - RIBFEST
Good food ... good music ... and, if the weather holds out, a GREAT way to spend the weekend! Thanks, Mike. (kk)



And don't miss the tribute to former New Colony Six Guitarist Mark Eskin being held TOMORROW at The Morton Grove Civic Center. They're calling it MARKAPALOOZA and all the details are below:
Click here: Markapalooza - tribute to BeatleMark at the Morton Grove Civic Center
Earlier this year, the Chicago music scene lost a great man -- BeatleMark Eskin -- who passed away in April. We miss him. FIVE BANDS, of whom he was a member, have joined together to play Tribute to him on Saturday, September 11, at the Morton Grove Civic Center, 6140 W Dempster, Morton Grove, IL. The bands participating are Stingrays, the New Colony Six, Instant Karma, BYTE, and the Chauffeurs. Each band in this amazing line up will feature songs reminiscent of Mark -- the ultimate Tribute to a man that made us all better musicians. We would love you to attend. We have been lucky to find a sponsor for all expenses and all proceeds will go to Mark's family. There will also be a cash bar with a percentage going to Mark's Memorial Fund. Tickets are $10 and available online through the Tribute webpage www.beatlemark.com. Doors open at 6:30 and the Tribute will start around 7:15. The first 176 tickets sold will have reserved seating. We expect to fill the hall to the roof. We hope you can come to pay tribute to our dear friend Mark Eskin.
Greg Favata
See you at Markapalooza Saturday?
Peace,
Ray
I'm sure that a number of our readers would like to attend this event. Sorry for the short notice but we hope to see some of you there. (kk)


This Saturday, Sept. 11
Blue Road Band - Special Soul-Jazz Party
featuring special guest Scott Van Wagner on sax
Lovell's Restaurant
915 S. Waukegan / Lake Forest
8:30 - 11:30 - upstairs
Blue Road is back at Lovell's for a soul-jazz party featuring special guest Scott Van Wagner on sax. Come and groove in the upstairs lounge at Lovell's with comfy couches, great food, our own private bar, room to dance, and NO COVER!
And, Coming Up ...
Saturday, September 25 at 9:00 p.m.
Blue Road at Chuck's Southern Comforts Cafe & Voodoo Lounge
Love the BBQ at this place!
6501 W. 79th in Burbank


re: OTHER RECENT SHOWS:
Hey guys:
I'm sorry, I couldn't find anyone from ANY radio stations at the site yesterday (Sunday) at Copper Country. I will try this week to contact the Program Director again and see if a recording is available. I didn't see any radio station vans or recording type equipment set up including any mardi units (that you would need to send the signal back to the radio station)???
Now the inside info on the show(s). This would have been every Desert Rose Band Fan's delight! It was an absolutely beautiful day up in the high country of Colorado except for a little wind. The crowd was suprisingly sparse, maybe 300+ people? The DRB did their soundcheck at approx 10 am ... and they sounded GREAT! They all looked relaxed and refreshed, I guess that high country Colorado air will do that to you.
Now here's the thing ... as most of you know, the first group up, "The Long Players with Bill Lloyd", was going to perform the "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" album in its entirety, Chris Hillman was scheduled to perform it with them, since he was one of the original Byrds that put that historic album together.
Well, I'm watching the stage and notice that J.D.Maness (who played pedal steel on the original Sweetheart album) was setting up. Then John Jorgeson appears on stage tuning a number of instruments. Herb Petersen then walks up with a banjo and is testing a mike ... WHAT ... ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
Chris Hillman then takes the stage, the lame announcer this day introduces the Long Players and sez that Chris, J.D., John and Herb would be joining in ...
GET OUTTA HERE!!!
So they kick it off with "You Ain't Going Nowhere" with the genius of the DRB front and center. The only thing that would have made this better would have been to see Roger McGuinn walk out onstage with his signature Rickenbacker 12 string, but unfortunately Roger wasn't there. The Desert Rose Band then performed the entire album, and you could tell they hadn't practiced at all, because after a couple of verses on nearly every song Chris would say, "Who wants to do a lead?" John or J.D. or both of them would break into some incredible leads, even Herb would break in with a lead on his banjo or Chris would dive into a searing lead on his mandolin.
The harmonies were incredible. Whoever the Long Players were, they pretty much were in the background as the Desert Rose Band performed "Sweetheart of the Rodeo". What a great feeling knowing that they then would be back up on stage a little more than an hour later for the "last" DRB Show EVER!
After a memorable rendition of this incredible historic album (the first Country Rock album ever produced), the guys got off the stage and made way for Radney Foster (who invited Chris up to play on a number of tunes). Then the stage belonged to Richie Furay and his group ... it was indeed a "Good Feelin' To Know" that the DRB would be next.
At approx 4:10 pm the Desert Rose Band took the stage and didn't disappoint. Even though I had no paper and pen to write down each and every song, it was an extended playlist that featured every DRB tune imaginable. The harmonies were heavenly as were the instrumentals. I was awestruck, sitting on one of the most beautiful places on God's Great earth seeing one of the greatest groups ever. It wasn't until near the end of the show that a sadness grew in your heart knowing this could very well be the LAST TIME they ever perform together again! When the group hit the first few notes of "The Price I Pay" I knew this was it. John put together one of the most memorable leads I have ever witnessed on this tune!
After the show, everyone was accessable behind the stage, I asked John about all the guitars he lost in the Nashville flood and it nearly brought a tear to his eye as he reinterated the devastation. I then asked him point blank, "Is this it for DRB?" He said with a wink and a smile, "You never know" as he was whisked away in a golf cart :-)
All in all a most memorable experience ... those that were there were treated to an incredible and most memorable show ever AND to top it off ... it was FREE!!!
"Wild" Bill Cody


We saw an oldies show over the weekend featuring Herbie Cox and Shirely Alston of Shirelles fame. It sounded great. Those "vintage performers" sure know how to rock ... LOL ... just kidding.
Speaking of which, you know that Creed Braxton from the original Grass Roots is on the show "The Office?" right? He's the older "gentleman" on the show. LOL I am a big fan of the show.
By the way, at the concert there was a petition to nominate Johnny Maestro for the Rock and roll Hall of Fame, which many signed.
Hope all is well. It's phenomenal how your site has grown. Kudos! :))
Best regards to you and the "fam."
And thanks for doing such a good job on your research for this site.
Blossmwrld
"The Office" has been one of OUR favorite shows for years, too ... and we just LOVE Creed! (He often only has one line per episode ... but it's usually a classic. Sometimes it's just a look or an expression ... but it STILL gets the point across. Wonder how much he gets paid for that contribution!!! lol)
I've heard GREAT things about Shirley Alston in concert over the years ... never had the chance to see her (other than on some of those PBS Oldies Shows.)
Thanks for the kind words ... yep, it's hard to believe sometimes how much the word has spread. (Figure we must be doing SOMETHING right!!!) kk

I spent three days at Lead East. They aren't kidding when they say it's the World's Biggest Rock & Roll Party. So much music, so much fun. What a great time.
With the possibilities of Hurricaine Earl, many of us thought that Labor Day weekend at Lead East would be drowned out. Oh how wrong we were. The weather all weekend in Parsippany, New Jersey was great.
Lead East comes but once a year and is the biggest oldies party there is. Bringing you back to the 1950's.
Many years ago it started as a car show and got bigger each year and finally combined with the late Ronnie I who brought Doo wop and oldies music to the event.
Once a year the Parsippany Hilton is transformed into that fantastic era that we can't forget.
Each year is better than the last. Jerry / The Wolfman from topshelfoldies has been their Dee jay for 27 years and this year was no exception. The Wolfman never stops talking and playing the music. I'm lucky enough to sit in for him when he takes a rare break.
There were many old cars, lots of music shows inside and out of the hotel. There were plenty of dealers in all types of nostalgia and plenty of CDs for sale. Roving accapella groups, plenty of food could be purchased.
To many people it's like a yearly reunion. Something was happening all weekend including drive in movies, classes on writing songs to 50's dancing.
There was a Sock Hop Saturday night and a Prom Sunday Evening. Saturday night turned into Sunday morning with Dee Jay Golden Gup playing and entertaining the folks from midnight till 6 am.
I can't forget the Idol contest that they ran too. The winner walked away with $300.00 dollars and got to sing at the big concert that night on stage in the ballroom.
With all that I've mentioned, I know I've left things out, but I guess you had to be there.
It is sad to see the weekend go so fast and realize that we can't do this again until next year.

The only sad thing about Lead East is that once it's over, it signals pretty much the end of summer too.Can't wait till next Labor Day.
The site is available at www.LeadEast.com
Maybe we'll all get together next year.

DJ Stu Weiss

re: THE CBS-FM TOP 1001 COUNTDOWN UPDATE:

Kent ...
Big Jay Sorenson is back in New York Today and Tomorrow, helping us with our 1001 Countdown. He just played # 212 = Late In The Evening by Paul Simon. I like Big Jay. Wish he was here on a permanent basis.
All day long they've been saying that there's a new # 1 song. They say we'll be extremely surprised when we find out what it is. I don't like the sound of that. It can't be good. We'll find out tomorrow.
Frank B.
Keep us posted Frank! (OMG, watch it be "Boogie Oogie Oogie" by A Taste Of Honey!!! You'll FLIP!!!) Big Jay's a big fan and supporter of Forgotten Hits ... we wish him the very best ... 'cause we dig him, too! (kk)
Kent ...
It didn't turn out to be as bad as i thought it would.
# 1 = Rag Doll - 4 Seasons. I can understand that, with the popularity of Jersey Boys.
Interesting to note - A couple of weeks ago K C & Sunshine Band did a free concert in one of our parks. They come in at # 5.
35 songs on countdown = Beatles + Paul & Wings.
18 songs on countdown = 4 Seasons
17 songs on countdown = Rolling Stones
16 songs on countdown = Billy Joel
14 songs on countdown = Elvis
# 2 was a surprise to me. What do you think?
Frank B.
NO idea on #2. (It was "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey ... can't say I'm totally surprised by THAT one either ... it's rare to go ten consecutive minutes without hearing it SOMEWHERE!!!) A little disappointing to see Elvis with only 14 entries out of a possible 1001 ... shows you how much the "youth movement" has taken over.
By the way, you can now check out the COMPLETE Top 1001 Countdown list on the WCBS-FM Website: Click here: CBS-FM’s Top 1001 Countdown « WCBS-FM 101.1#more-16342

re: AND, IN OTHER RADIO NEWS:
Greetings, KK!
So sorry to hear of Jim Shea's demise at Y103.9 ... can't believe he'll no longer be holding court ... it has always been a pleasure to talk to him -- and to be a guest on his show. I hope he lands at another station shortly ... he's a rare 'treasure chest' of knowledge -- and, perhaps, even more important -- has a true passion for the great music that dominated our lives in the 50's, 60's, 70's. Good luck, Jim! Keep us posted on your whereabouts.
Fred Vail
Jim Shea was a good radio friend so we're sorry to see him go, too ... it just keeps getting tougher and tougher out there for radio guys who've devoted their whole lives to the business. (I think you and I were once on the same show with Jim if I'm not mistaken!) I know Forgotten Hits helped expand his listening base thanks to worldwide streaming ... we would both get emails from readers literally all over the globe who tuned in to hear a particular special feature. (Jim once told me that we jammed the live stream one time because SO many people had tuned in to listen ... don't know if that's true or not but it's pretty damn flattering if it is!!! lol) I will pass your greetings along ... and Jim has also encouraged other former listeners to drop him a line at sheamistro@hotmail.com to stay in touch. And you can be sure that any updates regarding is landing will be published here in Forgotten Hits. (kk)


Kent,
Starting next week I'll be contributing a 25-30 minute music interlude for a friend's internet blog show. I'm not really clear on how it works, but each week will deal with a theme, much like the syndicated Flashback series did. The inaugural show deals with going back to school / end of summer / beginning of fall and summer love. Anyways suggestions are welcome.
Jack
Then next week's Biggest Songs Of Summer Theme should fit right in ... LOTS of great ideas can be found there. (Of course since you're the guy who helped to compile all the Chicagoland Charts we used, you've got ALL kinds of resources to draw from ... or simply hop on over to The Forgotten Hits Top 100 All-Time Favorite Summer Hits on the website! kk):
Click here: Forgotten Hits - Your All-Time Summer Favorites

re: PAUL REVERE AND THE RAIDERS:
Great reading all those wonderful stories -- and memories -- of my dear friend, Paul Revere, and The Raiders. Best darn $150 band I ever booked!!
Let me explain:
Back in the 'dark ages' of the early 60's -- when Paul was on Gardena Records -- and I was promoting Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, Ray Peterson, Dick Dale, Johnny Burnette, Freddy Cannon, Dick and Dee and other great artists of the era -- I would occasionally get a call from Pat Mason, a Seaside, OR promoter and agent, asking me if I could use The Raiders for a 'pick up' date. Pat, who lived well into his 90's, had worked with Elvis, Johnny Cash, Gene Vincent, Bill Haley and The Comets, Jerry Lee Lewis and a number of other great artists of the 50's and 60's.
Back in those days it was common to book a band for union scale against a 'piece of the house' if they were trying to fill in a few dates. These 'pick up dates' were usually mid-week -- which was fine in the summer, but a real gamble the rest of the year. Since I was doing a lot shows in Sacramento, Stockton, Reno, Fresno -- mostly small or secondary markets -- I would often be offered an act that had played San Francisco and were on their way to Portland or Southern Cal. Pat would offer me the Raiders for $150 -- which was the union rate for a five piece band, and we'd work out a percentage split of the door -- after I'd covered the hall, advertising and lights and sound.
I could do an entire show (or 'dance and show') for $750 to $1,500 (for the larger venues), so we only needed a few hundred kids at $2.00 to $2.25 to break even.
I saw Paul when he played the Tennessee State Fairgrounds grandstand here about seven years ago -- Peter Noone and he co-headlined. Both gave exceptional performances. Freddy Weller, an 'ex' Raider, showed up backstage and we all had a great time chatting about the 'good old days.' I had little doubt that the Raiders would not put on a great show. After all, they were the best damn $150 a night band I'd ever booked!
Glad to be back in the loop, Kent. Enjoying Labor Day Weekend. Hope you're doing the same!
Fred Vail
Treasure Isle Recorders, Inc.
"Music City, USA"

Passed your note along to Paul Revere (by way of Tom Scheckel) and I think he got a good chuckle of out it. SO great to share these memories with those of us who missed all this really cool stuff the first time around. Thanks, Fred! (kk)

By the way, The Raiders are back in Branson at The Andy Williams / Moon River Theater where Tommy tells me they have REALLY been enjoying watching Andy's rehearsals for this year's big Christmas Show. (Anybody who grew up in the '60's remembers these!!!) He says the only thing missing is the TV cameras ... the show is put together just like one of his holiday television specials. (Having just recently finishing Andy's auto-biography ... a GREAT read, by the way ... and sharing MANY Christmases together, our family and his ... [of course we were on opposite sides of the TV glass but you know what I mean!] ... I can honestly say that this show is something that WE would like to see at least once in this lifetime!!!) kk

More to come this weekend! See you then!

Helping Out Our Readers

Another edition of HELPING OUT OUR READERS!

>>>One of my listeners on The FLip Side sent me an email to ask if I recognized a song. It's not the normal "cheek to cheek" song by Fred Astaire. I don't have the record, so I'm hoping one of your forgotten hits members will recognize it. See below, and thanks!
(Mr. C)
>>>I have been searching desperately for a song that was a flip-side of a 45 back in the early 60's (around 1962 or 63). The name of the song is "Cheek to Cheek" and the lyrics I remember are: "Cheek to cheek, I want to dance with you. Arm in arm (or could be "hand in hand") Just like we used to do. Day by day, (day for day?) There's no reason for this broken heart." It was done by a girl group. I thought perhaps it was the flip side of "Tell Him" by The Exciters, but that's "Hard Way to Go" ... so now I'm stumped. Can you help? Thanks! (Liz)
>>>Have at it, readers ... let's see what you can come up with! (kk)
>>>Kent, the version Liz is seeking might well be the flip side of "What Are Boys Made Of" by the Percells on ABC-Paramount from 1963. Unfortunately, I don't have a copy to share. Perhaps another FH member has the 45? (Randy Price)
>>>This was on ABC-Paramount 10401-B in 1963. (Tom Diehl)
Well KK,
I have a very happy listener! I sent the mp3 to Liz and just got an email saying that this IS the song she remembered from many years ago. I'll plan to play it on my show on September 7, with a another plug for ForgottenHits.com!! Thanks again for your help ... your FH members really came through! And a big thanks to Randy Price and Tom Diehl, who helped track this one down.
Mr. C
WTG, FH Team!!! You've done it again! (kk)

Here is an incredible email we received last week:
Hi,
My name is Dick Monda and I wrote "Soul Drippin's" and "Drown In My Broken Dreams".
I just wanted to thank Jimy for his incredible readings of my songs.
It changed my life and gave me the impetus to go on with my career.
-Dick Monda, 8/24/10
Thank-you Dick! This Saturday's performance will be dedicated to you.
Jimy Rogers, Joan Gand and the Mauds
Thanks for sharing, guys! Interestingly enough, we broke the story about Dick Monda several weeks ago right here in Forgotten Hits after we heard him being interviewed on Jim Shea's Y103.9 Radio Program. (Scroll back to July 3rd). Monda is BEST known to musical audiences as Daddy Dewdrop ... it was under THAT name that he scored a Top Five Hit with the novelty tune "Chick-A-Boom" back in 1971. (In fact, we invited him to talk with us further on The Forgotten Hits Web Page but never heard back.) You can catch the complete story here (kk):
'60's FLASHBACK:
I just happened to catch Jim Shea interviewing Daddy Dewdrop the other morning on Y103.9 ... what an interesting background this guy has had ... I had NO idea!!! (I guess I've always just thought of "Chick-A-Boom" as one of those great, one-hit wonders ... I mean, I've ALWAYS loved the song ... and played it non-stop back in the day ... but I never realized how far back the career of Richard Monda (Daddy Dewdrop's real name) went!
From late vaudeville dates that included dancing with Frank Sinatra at the age of five (Monda's age, not Sinatra's! lol) and appearing on stage with the likes of Danny Kaye and Abbott and Costello ... to a lead role in the film "The Eddie Cantor Story" (he played Eddie as a young boy ... and even sang in the movie!) ... to auditioning for the part that ultimately went to James Dean in "Rebel Without A Cause" ... this guy's done it all at one time or another. (But I was perhaps MOST impressed by finding out that Monda wrote The Mauds' big Chicagoland Hit "Soul Drippin'" back in 1969 ... how is it possible that I never knew this?!?!? I mean, we've spent YEARS discussing how a young Tony Orlando co-wrote The New Colony Six's big local hit "I'm Just Waiting, Anticipating (For Her To Show Up)" ... but I had absolutely NO idea that Daddy Dewdrop was involved with writing THIS Chicagoland classic!)
And The Mauds aren't the only artists to record Richard's music ... everyone from Tom Jones to Engelbert Humperdinck to Gary Puckett to Sammy Davis, Jr., to Kenny Rogers to Ringo Starr have recorded songs penned by Richard Monda over the years!
You can check out all the details on The Daddy Dewdrop Website:
Click here: Daddy Dewdrop Welcome
I wish I had known in advance that Jim was going to have him on his program ... I think Daddy Dewdrop would have enjoyed hearing one of my favorite "Grade School Frannie" stories from years back:
When I was a fifth grade elementary student in Fort Worth, Texas, our music teacher, Mrs. Mitchell, allowed us to bring our own records from home and play them in her class each Friday. Since I used my allowance to treat myself to one 45 a week, I always provided the Friday music.
One particular Friday, I brought Chick-A-Boom to play. My classmates were quite excited about this since it was our favorite song and we sang it every day at recess. I gave the record to Mrs. Mitchell, she put it on to play and then sat down at her desk to read Good News For Modern Man, which was not out of the ordinary back in 1971 Texas.
Mrs. Mitchell was engrossed in her bible studies and not paying much attention during the opening of the doors 1 and 2 in the song, so she did not hear of the bikini parts located behind each door. At the point of, "I opened the third door ... " my whole class sang as loud as they could, " ... and she whispered so sexy and low ... oooooo!!" THAT caught Mrs. Mitchell's attention and she jumped up, went to the record player, removed the record and exclaimed, 'Frances Elizabeth..you are never again to bring such dirtiness to my classroom ever again! This is not the way of our Savior!" She then sealed the record in a manila envelope, taped the back shut, and put my mother's name on the front. That was also the end of Friday Record Day, and we went back to singing Waltzing Matilda and My Grandfather's Clock.-- Frannie Kotal
LOL ... I LOVE it!!! One of my favorite childhood stories from Frannie's adolescence!!! (Not sure which left deeper emotional scars ... the lyrics to "Chick-A-Boom" or Mrs. Mitchell's reaction to them!!! lol) kk

>>>Hi Kent,
My name is Murray Walding. I'm a writer from Australia and I'm doing some research on sixties night clubs in Melbourne, Victoria.
I'm trying to find out anything about a really obscure track that got minimal airplay out here around 1965. I don't even know the title but its refrain went along the lines of - 'We're not movie stars, We're just the boys with the big guitars.' (Ka-Chang!!!) I always felt that it might have been a Boyce and Hart song ... does it ring any bells with you? Maybe I'm looking for something that's so obscure that its only in my memory banks, however I recall the song as being sung by a duo with a name reminiscent of Boyce and Hart.
I do recall talking to other kids at school about the track and there was a general consensus that it would be a hit. Guess we were wrong about that. There also may have been a clip shown on local television in Melbourne Australia, and again my guess is around 1965.
Any info would be great.
Kindest Regards,
Murray Walding,
Noosaville -- Australia
>>>Not off the top of my head ... but let's run it up The Forgotten Hits Flagpole and see what comes back. Thanks, Murray! (kk)
This was issued in Australia, on W&G WG-S-1948. It was also issued in America on the Ford record label.
This copy isn't the greatest but it was the only one I could find ... it certainly is better than nothing!
Chip Taylor and Ted Daryll were the Town and Country Brothers.
The Town And Country Brothers - The Boys With The Big Guitars.mp3
Tom Diehl
Hmmm ... must have missed this one in the Chip Taylor Series we ran a few years ago! Thanks, Tom ... hadn't heard this one before ... and I can see why there might have been some confusion with Boyce and Hart ... it DOES sound quite a bit like them! (kk)


On this Labor Day weekend, about the only record I can think of to get out and play is Herb Alpert's 1966 recording of THE WORK SONG.
Also, I don't know if you remember it or if it was playing on your favorite rock and roll station at the time, but there was an alternate vocal version. It didn't chart nationally, I believe, but it was by the Bobby Vee sound-alike, Trade "THAT STRANGER USED TO BE MY GIRL" Martin on RCA.
Larry Neal
The Wax Museum
The Herb Alpert instrumental was the big hit version of this song ... it reached #18 on The Billboard Chart in The Summer of 1966. (The tune dates back to 1960 and was written by jazz great Nat Adderley, who played in his brother Julian's combo for years. Julian, of course, was better known as "Cannonball Adderley" and he charted with the first pop hit version of "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", a #11 instrumental hit that would go on to even greater success when Chicago's own Buckinghams added vocals, taking it from jazz to blues to pop!)
Going back to "The Work Song", it was recorded as a vocal track by a number of artists at the time. (The one I'm most familiar with is Bobby Darin's rendition.) Trade Martin is a regular Forgotten Hits Reader ... so I asked him about HIS version (kk) ...
Kent ...
Larry is correct about my RCA vocal version of the Ramsey Clark Work Song recording (I don't believe Herb's recording was as extensive as Ramsey's was.) Mine never charted ... but the DJs liked it (including my buddy Murry the K) so it was a moderate turntable hit.
My record is tagged as a big 'Northern Soul' sound in England. I don't have an mp3 of my Work Song version (I've since enhanced, re-recorded and mixed some of it) but I'm sure someone out there has it. At times, I see it available on Ebay and I believe it's definitely on YOUTUBE.
At that time, Kent, I had the ONLY special deal to be able to arrange and produce myself as an artist without answering to any A&R man there. Besides being an RCA artist, they were trying to hire me for some pretty interesting money as one of their A&R directors at the time. I still had my own label, and didn't want to be tied to them in a corporate capacity.
And yes, one other thing, (I'm not sure if he likes mine) but I love all the Bobby Vee records ... still, I've never heard anyone say that we even 'slightly' sounded alike. With all due respect, Larry may have our vocal sounds mixed up. Actually, Bobby and I are both very close friends with Rewind's Jimmy Jay. Jimmy and I do a weekly talk show, "TODAY IN NEWS", on Monday afternoons (not on Labor Day) at approximately 3:35 pm EST on KAHI 950 AM out of Auburn, California, with the lovely Mary Jane Popp which follows the LAURA INGRAHAM program. It's a very controversial, humorous and informative show. You can Google it on line and hear us LIVE …. or use the link provided here: http://www.kahi.com/
Keep in touch and warmest regards,
Trade
PS ... Kent, my latest 'political' recording (with over 180,000 hits on YOUTUBE in three weeks) is titled, "WE'VE GOT TO STOP THE MOSQUE AT GROUND ZERO."
Click here: YouTube - "We've Got To Stop The Mosque At Ground Zero"
In the meantime ... Steve Malzberg said he will debut my latest record (title is secret until tomorrow) on his #1 drive-time show Tuesday (tomorrow) between 4 and 6 pm on WOR in New York. WOR streams on line. Please listen if you can. THANKS...!!!
Best regards,
Trade
Thanks, Trade. We ran a link for your Mosque video a week ago or so ... congrats on the new single ... and thanks for the info on "The Work Song" ... we appreciate it! (kk)

A copy of Trade's version of "The Work Song" appears today, courtesy of the ever-reliable Tom Diehl ... this is a really good version of this song!!! (Darin did a bluesier take when he cut it ... and I really like that one, too ... but I kinda dig this rockin' version ... no, not quite Bobby Vee ... but maybe just a little Johnny Rivers?!?!?)

Thanks Kent ... I appreciate that very much. (Now that REALLY sounds like Bobby Vee! And he probably wrote the arrangement and produced the session, too!) All kidding aside, thanks for getting the word out about my latest adventures. Please check these links out, too, if you haven’t as yet. I think your Forgotten Hits friends will like them too. (And these don't sound too much like Bobby Vee either.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK7Nmm-fDJ0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQGwglXSCVQ

Now how weird is that?!?!? Not ten minutes after responding to your "Work Song" email, I received this note from FH Regular Frank B:
Kent ...
Happy Labor Day.
I'd like to share my favorite "Work Song" with your readers.
It's sung by the great Bobby Darin.
Frank B.
YouTube - Bobby Darin Sings Work Song

The Last Blast Of Summer

Summers have ALWAYS gone by too quickly for me ... for as far back as I can remember, it seems that as fast as they're here, they're gone. (Throw in a couple of rainy weekends and they disappear even faster!)
Much like The Sunrays, I Live For The Sun ... so it's sometimes depressing to blink and find it gone.


We've been ALL about the Summers recently in Forgotten Hits. This year we polled our readers (and The Oldies Nation) to once again determine Your All-Time Favorite Songs Of Summer. (The results can be found here:
Click here: Forgotten Hits - Your All-Time Summer Favorites )


In fact, elsewhere on that same website you'll find our official countdowns of The Top 50 Songs Of Summer, 1967, 1968 and 1969!


This year, on the Official First Day Of Summer (June 21st), Scott Shannon counted down Your Top 20 Summer Favorites on The True Oldies Channel as determined by The Forgotten Hits Readers. Other jocks on the list counted down various segments of our list, too, including both The Top 40 AND the complete Top 100! This special summer treatment really warmed our hearts (pun intended) ... and apparently caught on with oldies fans all over the country, too. That's just another reason we hate to see it end.


Summer officially began on June 21st ... and doesn't officially end until September 21st ... yet for many of us, we continue to abbreviate our favorite season by considering The 4th of July the summer kick-off and Labor Day (or back to school) as the grand finale ... sadly, this scenario cheats us out of three or four more weeks of summer bliss! (Now some will say that summer begins for them on Memorial Day ... and, in fact, many folks use that weekend to "open" their pools ... and yes, that is a LITTLE bit better ... although here in Chicago you just never really know for sure what type of weather you're likely to run into come the end of May ... it's pretty "hit or miss" here in Chi-Town!)


In any event, much as we did to kick-off Summer, we've put together a very special Last Blast Of Summer Series here in Forgotten Hits this year. (With a little bit of luck, The True Oldies Channel will once again jump on the bandwagon and help us countdown these Summer Favorites come September 21st, the "Official" Last Day of Summer, 2010 ... and we're hoping to get one of the local Chicago stations to participate as well, to show the Chicago side of the musical story, summer-style ... so stay tuned!)


What WE'LL be doing is adding to our website list of Summer's Greatest Hits ... beginning on Monday, September 13th, we'll publish The Top 50 Songs Of Summer for 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966 and 1970 ... one list per day that week ... bringing our website tally current from 1963 - 1970. With the help of Randy Price and Jack Levin, you'll see The 50 Biggest Songs Of Summer (June, July and August) for each of these years ... on both a national level ... and as ranked by our very own Chicagoland charts.


You'll find them here first ... and then, after the series has run its course, they'll be moved to their new permanent home at www.forgottenhits.com ... where they'll join our similar countdowns for 1967, 1968 and 1969.


So please check back with us next week ... and join us in our 2010 final summer celebration ... it's The Last Blast Of Summer in Forgotten Hits!

(More Forgotten Hits pieces are planned for later this week ... so please check the website ... or your mail boxes for email reminders. Not on the list? Well, it looks like we're back to emailing new web posting announcements. If YOU'D like to receive a copy, too, just drop us an email at forgotttenhits@aol.com and ask us to: PUT ME ON THE LIST!!!)

The Sunday Comments ( 09 - 05 - 10 )

A few quick comments to carry us through the long holiday weekend ... and watch for a special "End Of Summer" Announcement on Monday!


re: SUMMERTIME BLUES:
Kent ...
After reading Ron Smith's revue, I bought and read "Summertime Blues", written by Sharon Sheeley. Here's what I learned reading this book:
--- Sharon Sheeley wrote "Poor Little Fool". She tricked Ricky Nelson into recording this song. Ricky did not like this song. Sharon told Ricky that Elvis was going to record this song when he got out of the Army. Ricky wanted to record it first. Went to #1 for Ricky.
--- Eddie Cochran, Buddy Holly and Phil Everly were close friends. More like Brothers. They always tried to go on tour together whenever possible.
--- January, 1959, Buddy just got married. He didn't want to go on the Winter tour. Eddie talked him into going. Then Eddie had to back out of the tour, 'cause he was going to appear on the Ed Sullivan Show. Because of this, Eddie was devastated after the plane crash.
--- After reading this book, I'm sure that if Eddie was on the Winter Tour, he would've been on that plane with Buddy. He probably would've taken Ritchie Valens' place.
--- Eddie Cochran recorded "Three Stars", a tribute to Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. After recording it, Eddie had second thoughts. He didn't want to make money off of his friend Buddy's death. He refused to allow the record company to release this song. It was released after Eddie's death.
There are also lots of great pictures in the back of the book.
--- Frank B.

re: TIMING IS EVERYTHING ... ESPECIALL IF IT'S THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE!:
Last week we ran a blurb about a special release of "Dirty Dancing" demos, a one year anniversary tribute to Patrick Swayze after his sad passing and a fund-raiser to help rebuild and revitalize Kellerman's Resort, all coming courtesy of Franke Previte, the guy who wrote the songs "(I've Had) The Time Of My Life" and "Hungry Eyes" for the film. Well now, with the announcement that Jennifer Grey will be competing on next season's edition of "Dancing With The Stars", I don't think he could have timed it any better!!! Here's the latest (along with another reminder about Franke's efforts):
How will Jennifer Grey do on 'Dancing with the Stars?' Will she have "The Time of Her Life?" once again? Ask the man whose iconic "Dirty Dancing" songs sparked the dance floor heat between Jennifer and Patrick Swayze! Behind-the-scenes observations from the Oscar-winning songwriter of "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" and "Hungry Eyes".
JENNIFER GREY IS JOINING 'DANCING WITH THE STARS' AS WE REMEMBER PATRICK SWAYZE: ONE YEAR LATER -- ‘The Time of His Life’ Recalled with Special Honor On the 1st Anniversary of ‘Dirty Dancing’ Star’s Death through the Offical Swayze Pancreas Cancer Charity.
ORIGINAL DEMO RECORDINGS OF ‘DIRTY DANCING’ SONGS THAT LAUNCHED A CULTURAL PHENOMENON TO BE RELEASED SEPT. 7
ICONIC MOVIE'S OSCAR-WINNING SONGWRITER BEGINS MISSION TO HONOR FRIEND’S LEGACY:
Franke Previte, Oscar and Golden Globe-winning writer of “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” and “Hungry Eyes,” wants to remember his friend Patrick Swayze and their incredible two-decade “Dirty Dancing” journey with YOU and your audience!
ON THE EVE OF HIS PILGRIMAGE TO PRIMARY FILMING DESTINATIONS IN VIRGINIA AND NORTH CAROLINA TO HELP BOOST AILING ‘KELLERMAN’S RESORT’ LOCATION AND DELIVER CAUSE TO FANS, this new CD will feature the actual recording that Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey danced to during filming of unforgettable grand finale dance scene will Support Patrick Swayze Pancreas Cancer Research Fund at Stanford
SAYS FRANKE: “When my friend Patrick was ill, I watched his courageous battle against pancreatic cancer with so much admiration. And, when we lost him, it reminded me again of how much his immense talent and heart contributed to the success of Dirty Dancing.”
DIRTY DANCING: THE ORIGINAL DEMOS will be released Sept. 7. The first anniversary of Swayze’s untimely passing is Sept. 14. That week, Previte will be driving from his NJ home to the Mountain Lake Conservancy & Hotel in Pembroke, VA to survey the troubled “Kellerman’s Resort” filming location with which he has now teamed to aid in its preservation. Previte’s trip will extend to Lake Lure, NC for charity appearances Sept. 17-18 at the first annual Dirty Dancing Festival.
THE FACTS: 48 MILLION RECORD-BUYERS CAN’T BE WRONG!
“(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” was featured on Dancing with the Stars, as a poignant tribute performance to Patrick Swayze.
At 48 million sales worldwide The Dirty Dancing original soundtrack it is one of the best selling albums of all time.
18 weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 album sales chart and 230 weeks in the Top 30. After 23 years, it continues to occasionally enter charts overseas to this day.
“(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” – and Previte, John De Nicola and Don Markowitz - won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.
“(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and earned its writers a Grammy Nomination for Best Song In A Motion Picture.
“(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” won the ASCAP Song of the Year Award for Most Played Song in the World and was named one of the Top 100 Songs of the Last 100 Years.
“(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” also has become famous as the long-running theme song in Sandals Resorts radio and TV advertising.
“Someone Like You,” the other original recording on Dirty Dancing: The Original Demos (written for Bill Medley shortly after the movie’s completion), is currently featured with “Time of My Life” and “Hungry Eyes,” in the worldwide stage musical, currently breaking box office records around the world en route to Broadway in 2011.

re: ALSO COMING UP:
Join HyLitRadio LIVE for an Exquisite Night of Dancing
Friday September 10, 17, 24
7 - 11 pm @ The Riveredge
2017 Bernville Road
Reading, PA 19601
610-376-6711
Just off Rt 183 just south of the Reading Airport

Saturday, September 11, 2010 is Patriot Day
We will be there to show them we care
ROUTE 66 DANCE CLUB
WILLOWBROOK BALLROOM (BUNKERIS)
8900 ARCHER AVE.
WILLOW SPRINGS, IL 60480
(708) 839- 1000
DOORS OPEN 7 PM
Please come join us to celebrate and honor our military service men and women ...
also to remember our fallen heroes and the events that took place on 911.
Music provided by The Del Souls
Please view our online slideshow for more details at:
http://www.go2album.com/album/t/h/e/d/e/thedelsouls/

re: ON THE RADIO:
Hi Kent ...
It's 9:00 AM on 9/2/10
Here in New York, the WCBS-FM Labor Day Top 1001 Countdown just starting.
Song 1001 = FM by Steely Dan from 1978.
#877 = Let's Dance by Chris Montez
#828 = Stay by the 4 Seasons
#804 = Eleanor by the Turtles
#803 = Teenager In Love by Dion & the Belmonts
#800 = Wedding Bell Blues by the 5th Dimension
#789 = Touch Of Grey by the Grateful Dead
I thought your readers might like a sample of the countdown.
This is a listener voted countdown. "In The Still Of The Night" by the Five Satins was always
#1 on the old WCBS-FM countdowns. Now, I couldn't even guess what #1 might be.
(I'll give you the Number One Song on Monday.)
If you want the rest, you'll have to listen at WCBSFM.com
Frank B.
Ron Smith runs HIS Labor Day Countdown on his OldiesMusic.com website every other year now ... last year's winner was "Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones ... in fact, it also was the #1 Song of 2007. The overall fan-favorite (from the past eleven years of voting) seems to be "Hey Jude" by The Beatles ... but "In The Still Of The Nite" topped HIS chart, too, back in 2005 ... and, other than last year when it inexplicably fell to #52, has finished in the Top Ten EVERY year since his tabulations began back in 1997. (kk)

Hi Kent!
Just a quick reminder ...
On Monday, September 6th, Carl Giammarese takes the controls as Guest DJ on Sirius / XM’s 60s on 6 channel, playing his “Favorite 45s”. The show will be broadcast at 11 am CST, 12 noon, EST on Monday, and they’ll tape it to rebroadcast on Thursday, September 9th, at 5 pm CST/ 6 pm EST, and then one more encore at 11 pm CST Friday night, September 10th, Midnight EST Saturday morning, Sept. 11th. The Guest DJ playing Favorite 45s is a very popular 60s on 6 segment — prior Guest DJs for this new show have included Neil Sedaka, Petula Clark, Lou Christie, and Peter Noone. Check out www.sirius.com/
Dawn Lee Wakefield
Thanks, Dawn! Hoping to catch this show on Monday! We saw The Bucks in concert last night with The Ides Of March at Schaumburg's 40th Anniversary Septemberfest ... great show and the "new kids" sounded great ... they've put a TON of new / "old" material into the act in the way of oldies medleys and they really sounded really good, ESPECIALLY their tribute to Chicago, the band Buckinghams' Producer James William Guercio moved on to next after leaving The Bucks in the late '60's. (In fact, The Buckinghams' horn section was spot on last night ... it added SO much to their overall sound and they totally nailed the sound of early Chicago ... and kudos to Dave Zane, too, who really livened things up both musically and vocally.) A couple of surprises guests rounded out the night ... original Buckinghams Manager Carl Bonafede was on hand ... (loved his line about The Bucks being the best band at the time ... right up there with Baby Huey and the Babysitters) ... and even Ronnie Rice popped out for a minute to shout out a quick "Day-O" and congratulate The Bucks on how good they sounded last night. First time I've ever been to a Schaumburg Septemberfest and complained that it was too cold ... usually, quite the OPPOSITE is the case!!! (kk)

After we ran our short piece on Y103.9's Jim Shea the other day, I got this note from Jim:
Kent,
That was marvelous ... and much appreciated.
If you could do me a favor and post my personal e-mail address at some point, I would really appreciate it: sheamistro@hotmail.com
This way I get to say goodbye to so many that I missed.
Thanks buddy ~ You have been an amazing resource and an amazing friend. I will let you know where I land.
Jim
Happy to pass the info along, Jim ... and please DO stay in touch with us. Best of luck in the meantime! (kk)

re: WEBSITE ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Due to overwhelming demand, we ARE going to start sending out Website Announcements again ... check your email for more details ... but if you'd like to be added to this brand new "announcements list", you MUST respond to the email in order to be included. More details to come shortly.

re: AND ONE FINAL REMINDER:
Have you registered yet to win a pair of tickets to see Peter Noone and Micky Dolenz together in concert on October 23rd at The Star Plaza in Merrillville, Indiana? Thanks to Peter Noone himself, we've got a pair to give away to one lucky Forgotten Hits Reader. But time is running out ... we'll be picking our winner next week after Labor Day ... so get your entry in now to qualify. (But please ... DO NOT REGISTER unless you are available to go to the show!!!) Just drop me an email at forgottenhits@aol.com and we'll throw your name into the hat! Good Luck! (kk)

This And That

re: THE IDES OF MARCH:
Looks like The Ides Of March have got a pretty big month ahead of them. In addition to opening for The Buckinghams at this weekend's kick-off concert for Schaumburg's 40th Anniversary Septemberfest, NEXT weekend they will be honored with a street-dedication ceremony in Berwyn where "Ides Of March Way" will officially be unveiled. (And, just like Jim Peterik was on hand when The City Of Chicago dedicated Dick Biondi Way a few months back, the legendary Biondi will be there in Berwyn, too, for this ceremony ... and we hope to see some of YOU readers out there, too!!!

More below from Ron Smith, who sent in this "official" announcement from Jim Peterik's Facebook page:
The City of Berwyn will dedicate Home Avenue between Riverside Drive and Cermak Road "Ides Of March Way" Sunday, September 12, 2010, at 4 pm.
Corner of Home Avenue and Riverside Drive.
Honorary Guest Speakers:
Berwyn Mayor Robert J Lovero
Joseph Keating - School District 201
Joanne Zendol - School District 100
Dick Biondi - WLS Radio legend
Father Dan Mayall - Pastor of Holy Name Cathedral
and of course, The Ides, who will be bringing along their guitars and horns, etc.(it's not a concert, but a few unplugged tunes might be in order!)
Hope to see you all there!!
-- Jim Peterik

And this correction from FH Reader Mike DeMartino ...
>>>The Ides of March will be in Forest Park 10/11,doing all the Ides, Survivor and .38 Special stuff ... all original members. It is a great show! As Mikey sez "Try it, you'll like it!! Any takers? (Mike De Martino)
There must be something in the water ... I meant 9/11.
Mike
That's the day before the big street dedicating ceremony ... another great chance to hear these guys rock out in concert! (kk)

By the way, The Ides of March also have a brand new CD out ...
Called "Still 19", it's their first release of all new material in 27 years!!! And, it's available through their website: www.theidesofmarch.com

re: MORE ON THE LOCAL SCENE:
In OTHER local music news ...

As we mentioned earlier, you can catch The Buckinghams at Schaumburg's Septemberfest this Saturday Night (September 4th) ... they'll be performing from 8:30 - 10:00 PM, following The Ides Of March, who will open that Concert Doubleheader at 6:00 and perform until 7:30. (Talk about some great "Chicago Gold" musical memories!!!) As well documented here in Forgotten Hits, The Buckinghams are boasting a newly revamped line-up ... while The Ides are probably the only band left on the planet still boasting ALL of their original members from 1965 up on stage together!!!

And you can catch ANOTHER pair of Chicagoland "Local Heroes" that same night when The Mauds and The New Colony Six perform together as a very special "Two-Fer" at WXRT's Garage Band Rock Fest, held at Reggie's Music Joint at 2105 S. State Street in Chicago. (The Mauds take the stage at 9 PM followed by The New Colony Six at 10 PM) ... Jimy Rogers' OTHER band, Blue Road, will open the show at 8:00.

re: DARREN DOWLER:
>>>Lead vocalist / guitarist Darren Dowler (aka "Baby Raider", since he's the newest member of the band) has only been onboard for about a month now but he fits right in with the high-impact, high intensity, energetic show that Paul Revere and the Raiders put on night after night. (I've never seen a band work so hard up on stage! lol) Dowler does an outstanding job handling the lead vocals. In fact, his resume is quite impressive ... he also sang with The Lettermen for ten years ... within the context of this new gig, he's finally able to let out his inner demon performer and he absolutely excels at it. (kk)
I'm hoping to run an interview with Dowler and Drummer Tommy Scheckel as the "two newest Raiders" in an upcoming issue of Forgotten Hits. Meanwhile, I couldn't help but wonder about Darren's days with The Lettermen ... this just seemed like such an opposite extreme to the laid-back, soft-rock sounds of this other band ... so I asked former Letterman Gary Pike about it. (Interestingly enough, a special Lettermen Christmas Show is coming to the same venue where we saw Paul Revere and the Raiders perform the other night! I wondered if Gary would be taking part in that show, too!)
Hey Kent,
Darren's stint with the Lettermen was from about 1995 to 2005. Back in about 2003 he was experiencing some vocal problems and his doctor ordered vocal rest, so I filled in for him for a while. Darren is like me in the sense that he is an actor and can fit in. Just because The Lettermen had a majority of ballad hits didn't mean that's all we did in our show. We put all of our hits into medley form and did some up-tempo stuff, too. We all did solos, some comedy, and some audience participation. We did an all around variety show.
Officially, Jim (Gary's brother ... and Lettermen founding-member Jim Pike kk)
sold the Lettermen name to Tony Butala, the last remaining original, in 1976 and left the group because of vocal problems. While Jim was resting his voice, he got our younger brother Donny to fill in. I left in early 1981 and Donny left in late 81. Since Tony inherited the group, he has had quite a few guys come and go. Donovan Tea has been the longest replacement so far ... he started in the late 80's.
Quite a few years ago, Jim and I started singing together again with a fella from the King Family and King Sisters show by the name of Ric de Azevedo. His mother is Alice King of the "King Sisters". They had a very successful variety TV show in the 70's on ABC. We call ourselves "The Reunion" Our web site is: reunionthesingingroup.com (NOTE: One "g" between singing and group) ... I've attached a picture.


In the current bio of the Lettermen you will read Tony's spin on the early history of the formation of the group, but that is not exactly how it happened. Jim was the catalyst in bringing everyone together in the beginning. He did the vocal arrangements and was the creative force in the group. (It's kind of turned into a "Herman's Hermits" thing, but you can ask anyone who was there in the beginning and they know.)
The Lettermen do a Christmas show every December and it's not too bad. The group now consists of Tony Butala, Donovan Tea and Mark Preston. They are entertaining and sing the same vocal arrangements but it doesn't sound quite the same.
I hope I have answered all your questions. I know it sounds like some sort of soap opera but if you would like more clarification I can give you a little more detail.
My Best,
Gary
Unfortunately, there seems to be some element of "soap opera" attached to virtually EVERY recording act in history ... glad to see that The Lettermen ... and The Reunion ... can co-exist in the performing arena these days. Thanks for all the details, Gary ... as we always say, we're all about getting "the most accurate truth" out there to the fans at large! (kk)

... and, speaking of Paul Revere and the Raiders, we got this "thank you note" from new drummer Tommy Scheckel after he received OUR "thank you note" for the tickets to last week's show at The Arcada Theater ...

re: PAUL REVERE AND THE RAIDERS:
Hey Kent,
You're most welcome for the tickets, glad you had a blast. Loved your review and so did Paul. I pulled it up on my iPhone on the way back to Chicago and he thought you captured a perfect snapshot of the concert. He also said, "This guy really knows his stuff!"
The show steamrolled across IN and MI after playing St. Charles, IL and played to some more amazing audiences. 60s fans kick ass! The good news is that the band will be playing out a lot more this coming year. We can't wait, we had such a good time that it should be illegal to have this much fun and get paid too. (it's not is it?)
Thanks to everyone who traveled out to see us and thanks to the promoters, DJs and journalists for covering these shows. We all wanted to say a special thanks to Ron Onesti for one of the best Italian meals any of us has ever had, and for the cool "Playboy After Dark" style hang in his awesome restaurant after the show in St. Charles, IL. It's built into this cool old church - I mean, come on!
Hope we make it out this way again soon, the Midwest always did know how to let loose and get wacky.
Thanks again Kent for helping keep the 60s music train firmly on the tracks.
Tommy Scheckel
PS We kept seeing Big Boy restaurants on the road. Paul is convinced that Rod Blagojevich was the model. He renamed him, Rod BigBoy-avitch.
The guy kills me! LOL ... he DOES kinda look like him, doesn't he?!?!? (Paul Revere got off a couple of good Blagojevich lines during the concert, too ... and then, when asked about his own hair ... and as to whether or not it was real ... he said, "Are you kidding me? I'm RICH!!! You think I'd buy THIS?!?!?" GREAT line!!! All kidding aside, Revere looks 25 years younger than he is ... he appears to be in great shape and has a VERY full head of hair at 73 ... and he was up there rockin' right alongside all you youngins!!! Great to hear that the band'll be touring more ... which'll give more oldies fans a chance to see you guys. Please check in with us from time to time and let us know what's going on. Thanks, Tommy! (kk)

re: THE ARCADA THEATRE:
The Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, IL, home to both The Lettermen Christmas Show (on December 17th) and the Paul Revere and the Raiders concert that we just saw last weekend, has some OTHER great shows coming up that you might want to check out ...
On September 24th it'll be KC and the Sunshine Band ... we were there a couple of years ago to see these guys and it was a VERY entertaining show. (Of course that's ALSO the night that the air conditioning went out, making The Arcada literally the "hottest disco in town"!!!)
October 1st you can catch Matthew and Gunnar Nelson's Tribute to their father, Ricky Nelson, a show recently reviewed right here in Forgotten Hits by one of our East Coast Readers.
On October 8th you'll be saying "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore" ... that's because Kansas will be right here in St. Charles, IL, performing live in concert at The Arcada.
Big show on October 14th ... America is out celebrating their 40th Anniversary ... these guys ALWAYS put on a great evening of music and memories. (We caught them at their Soundstage taping a few years back.)
Lots of other big shows between now and the end of the year, too ... you can check out all of the details at www.thearcada.com.

re: THE 100 GREATEST BEATLES SONGS:
Now that I've finished reading both The Rolling Stone Magazine List ... and the 2004 Book written by Stephen J. Spignesi and Michael Lewis ... side-by-side, I can honestly say that I'm more than just a little bit surprised at the similarities between the two lists ... particularly in the writers' commentary and Beatles quotations used to support each entry. Far be it from me to accuse anybody of anything here (after all, Forgotten Hits is often not much more than a consensus of four or five research sources accumulated and then rephrased into our own words as a means of reporting some facts that the average oldies music fan might not have been privy to ... kind of a "we do all the reading so that you don't have to" attitude, I guess!) ... but some of this stuff is virtually WORD-FOR-WORD IDENTICAL!!! (Yet nowhere in The Rolling Stone article to I see Spignesi and Lewis credited ... or so much as even mentioned!!!) I dunno guys ... it'd be tough to convince anybody that their 2004 Book ... published six years BEFORE Rolling Stone's take on the same subject matter ... wasn't used as at least a "point of reference" in preparing this "special collectors' issue". Seems to me the LEAST they could do is give Spignesi an Lewis a "nod" of appreciation. (kk)

As per your question on "Are The Beatles Still Relevant in 2010", I vote "No!"
If someone were to spend two million 1963 dollars promoting your Christmas song. Lonely Christmas, it would be even more of a holiday standard then it already is. 47 years later, the investment is still paying huge dividends. You've stated more than once in FH, how many configurations of the same album are you gonna buy? It's like any other product on the market, it was the right band at the right time. The only reason I own The Beatles 1 CD is that upon occasion if I'm asked to DJ a party, people request them. Otherwise I would not own any Beatles music. It is the only Beatles CD I've ever bought, or will buy. I know I could easily be a minority of one on this, but someone has to be.
Jack
I think we've got to go with "Majority Rules" on this one, Jack ... witness the mass hysteria last year on 09-09-09 when the entire remastered Beatles catalog was released on CD ... and the demand was so high they had to go back and press more copies! (They also couldn't keep copies of The Beatles Rock Band Game on the shelf either!)
Whatever Capitol Records did to insure a successful initial push to launch the band here in The States might have accounted for the majority of the screaming teen age fans out looking for the latest new teen idol those first few weeks of Beatlemania hysteria ... but the music soon took over ... and it's been all about the music ever since. Otherwise, The Beatles would have faded away like so many other flash-in-the-pan acts we've witnessed in the nearly 50 years since. (I can also pretty much guarantee you that not ONE kid screaming the night of The Beatles' first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show ... or The Beatles themselves for that matter ... could have EVER predicted that music like "In My Life", "Yesterday", "A Day In The Life", "Michelle" and "Eleanor Rigby" ... or albums like "Revolver", "Rubber Soul", "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "Abbey Road" ... could have POSSIBLY been in the band's future ... not at a time when the simple, catchy melodies of "I Want To Hold Your Hand", "She Loves You" and "Please Please Me" were turning the entire world on its ear. (Your Capitol Records financial theory really doesn't explain the mass hysteria that was going on a full year in advance around the REST of the world either!!!)
The plain and simple fact is that these songs have stood the test of time ... they not only paved the way and set the standard for popular music way back when but they have grown in stature ever since. NOT including them in your personal collection may make a statement of choice in your own mind but all you're really doing is depriving and denying yourself the pleasure and enjoyment of some of the finest music made in our lifetimes. (kk)

“Beatles 107.3” in Corpus Christi begins the Labor Day week of format changes.
There are rumors about other flips, such as the speculation about a CBS Radio client party in Tampa Thursday night. But one of the first actual flips is in Corpus Christi, Texas, where Convergent-owned KRSR, Ingleside (107.3) just grounded the “Star” AC format on a permanent basis. Through Friday morning at 9 am, the station is a fresh-sounding “Beatles 107.3”, featuring the lads from Liverpool. You can be a Beatlemaniac by listening to the stream here. The ever-lively discussion boards at Radio-Info.com turn up one other example of pre-holiday stunting – or maybe two, in the same market .
-- (From Tom Taylor On Radio)

re: AND IN OTHER RADIO NEWS:
We were sad to hear that our FH Radio Buddy Jim Shea is out at Y103.9, our other oldies outlet here in Chicago. Jim has been a GREAT friend and supporter of Forgotten Hits (both on and off the air) for the past several years. (My very first on-air radio interview was with Jim several years ago when our Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame piece first ran in FH.) He's a VERY knowledgeable music guy who truly loves this music ... and he's also just a fun guy to listen to! Ironically, for the past several weeks, Y103.9 has been airing episodes of "The Best Of Jim Shea" while Jim was on vacation ... it was especially flattering to hear back-to-back-to-back interviews with Jock Bartley of Firefall, Dennis Tufano (former lead singer of The Buckinghams) and Peter Noone ... all of whom FH was instrumental in helping to set up for the station. Budget cuts and a 30% decrease in sales are the reasons being cited by the station regarding making this decision ... and it's really not getting any better out there in radioland ... so it's especially tough to see a talented guy like this taken off the air. Let us know where you land, Jim ... and if any of you radio folk out there might have a lead to throw our way, please let me know so that I can pass the info along. Meanwhile, another of our Y103.9 Buddies, Jeff James, has taken over the role of the new morning guy. Simply put, he's ANOTHER one of the most knowledgeable oldies jocks I know out there ... I just hope the tightly regimented format of doing a morning show doesn't completely cramp his style when it comes to playing some of the GREAT, obscure tracks he typically features on his show. (Jeff is the guy who started the "Windy City @ 6" program a while back, featuring an hour a night of Chicago-flavored music.) My understanding is that he will continue to host "Saturday Night Live At The '70's" for the station, too ... a genuine potpourri of musical gems airing from 7 PM till Midnight every Saturday Night! Tom Kent fills Jeff's old spot from 2 - 7 PM weekdays (and takes over the "All-Request Live Drive at Five" segment, too!) Best of luck to ALL the vocal talent out there reading this today during these EXTREMELY difficult broadcasting times. (kk)

Meanwhile, it sounds like True Oldies is back in Knoxville ... this piece comes from Tom Taylor's "Taylor On Radio" column:
Knoxville AM WMTY (670) is dropping talk to go “True Oldies.”
It's apparently using Scott Shannon’s True Oldies Channel from Citadel Media, returning the format to the local airwaves. That was the original message from the Eastern Tennessee Board of Radio-Info.com about Horne Radio’s WMTY, Farragut. One poster says that since Citadel’s own WOKI (98.7) dropped True Oldies, there should be a hole for Shannon’s deep, eclectic playlist and fun announcing style. In the meantime, “Metrotalk 670” is definitely gone from WMTY and the station’s no longer streaming. But if you scroll down through the board posts and the speculation about an FM partner for daytimer WMTY-AM – you discover that sister WLOD-FM, Sweetwater, TN (98.3) has apparently already ditched the classic rock to add “True Oldies.” Follow the action on the Eastern Tennessee Board.

I know Scott Shannon was actively pursuing another Knoxville outlet to feed all the True Oldies music fans out there ... great to see that he found one so quickly. The oldies are bigger than ever ... and we're proud to be doing OUR part to help keep all this great music alive. (kk)

Helping Out Our Readers

Hi Kent,
My name is Murray Walding.
I'm a writer from Australia and I'm doing some research on sixties night clubs in Melbourne, Victoria. I'm trying to find out anything about a really obscure track that got minimal airplay out here around 1965. I don't even know the title but its refrain went along the lines of - 'We're not movie stars, We're just the boys with the big guitars.' (Ka-Chang!!!)
I always felt that it might have been a Boyce and Hart song ... does it ring any bells with you?
Kindest Regards,
Murray
Not off the top of my head ... but let's run it up The Forgotten Hits Flagpole and see what comes back. Thanks, Murray! (kk)
Thanks Kent...
Maybe I'm looking for something that's so obscure that its only in my memory banks, however I recall the song as being sung by a duo with a name reminiscent of Boyce and Hart. I do recall talking to other kids at school about the track and there was a general consensus that it would be a hit. Guess we were wrong about that. There also may have been a clip shown on local television in Melbourne Australia, and again my guess is around 1965. Any info would be great.
Also, are you aware of the Bill Cosby track- Little Old Man ... a reworking of Stevie Wonder's Uptight? My guess is that it was recorded on the west coast ... I'm trying to find out who the session players were.
Regards and thanks for your reply.
Murray Walding,
Noosaville.
Australia
"Little Ole Man" was a HUGE hit here in The States ... #4 nationally and #2 here in Chicago (where it still gets played from time to time.) The musicianship on this record is outstanding ... in fact, it sounds JUST like the Motown record (which makes ME wonder who's on it, too!!!) Any ideas out there? Proof??? Let us know. Thanks! (kk)

>>>One of my listeners on The FLip Side sent me an email to ask if I recognized a song. It's not the normal "cheek to cheek" song by Fred Astaire. I don't have the record, so I'm hoping one of your forgotten hits members will recognize it. See below, and thanks! (Mr. C)
>>>I have been searching desperately for a song that was a flip-side of a 45 back in the early 60's (around 1962 or 63). The name of the song is "Cheek to Cheek" and the lyrics I remember are:
Cheek to cheek, I want to dance with you. Arm in arm (or could be "hand in hand") Just like we used to do. Day by day, (day for day?) There's no reason for this broken heart.
It was done by a girl group. I thought perhaps it was the flip side of "Tell Him" by The Exciters, but that's "Hard Way to Go" ... so now I'm stumped. Can you help? Thanks! (Liz)
>>>Have at it, readers ... let's see what you can come up with! (kk)
Kent,
The version Liz is seeking might well be the flip side of "What Are Boys Made Of" by the Percells on ABC-Paramount from 1963. Unfortunately, I don't have a copy to share. Perhaps another FH member has the 45?
– Randy Price
And then, literally SECONDS later ...
My pleasure ... Thanks for asking me ... (or not) ... this was on ABC-Paramount 10401-B in 1963.
Tom Diehl

re: 'S WONDERFUL:
More from legendary deejay Bob Hale on this one (courtesy of Clark Weber):
It was "S'Wonderful." I began using it in Mason City having heard KTHT in Houston late-nights using it as bumper for music and news. They did a non-DJ all-night show called "Downbeat." And bumpers and announcements were tagged with snippets of Ray Coniff.
"On we go with our musical show. More music on DOWNBEEEEAAAATTTTTTT"
(S'Wonderful cut for about 10 secs.)
I adapted it for East of Midnight.
It lasted one week. Sam (Holman, WLS Program Director at the time) said, "Hale, kill the theme ... we don't need them. Get to music!"
"Right Sam!"
End of theme!
For someone to recall that brief period is a wonder! Good listener, I'd say!
Bob Hale

Hiya Kent,
While researching "Back To School" Songs for Mystery Lyrics next month I came across this ...
"Graduation Day," Stark Whiteman and the Crowns ... Certainly the rarest of the items on this list, this classic 45 isn't available on CD anywhere that your Guide is aware of. Recorded by an obscure New Orleans outfit, this sad Fifties ballad was a hit in the region but never made the charts. It's one of the best odes to the day in question, expressing a real, tangible sadness at the idea of leaving your friends behind forever.
This has intrigued me so much that I wondered whether any of the Forgotten Hits readers had any more information about this song and maybe a sound file to go with it?
Cheers
Dave
www.mysterylyrics.info

Cool ... let's see what we get back on this one. Thanks, Dave! (kk)

>>>Kent ...WOW! How do you go from "Lullaby Of Birdland" (1952) to "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (1961)? (Frank B.)

While George David Weiss is a songwriter of note, one song he did not write was The Lion Sleeps Tonight. The song dates back to the 1930s in South Africa, exported to England and then the U.S. I recall reading somewhere that the writer's decendants were presented with a very tidy sum not too many years ago for back royalties. Jack (Rock And Roll Never Forgets)

While you're MOSTLY right, there's more to the story. Check out our '60's FLASHBACK below for a short piece we did on the history of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" a few years back in Forgotten Hits. The song DOES date back to the 1930's ... and prior to landing in The Tokens' hands, had already been recorded with a fair amount of success by The Weavers. But Weiss was brought in to write English Lyrics to the African tune, thus making him one of the writers of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" ... previously, the tune had been known as "Mbube" and then "Wimoweh". Check out our recap below ... along with the way they addressed it in the New York Times obituary.

'60's FLASHBACK:

The origin of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" dates back to 1939, when a South African singer named Solomon Linda first recorded a Zulu chant called "Mbube". Thirteen years later, The Weavers got ahold of the tune and recorded it (with a few new lyrics) as "Wimoweh", and scored a #14 Pop Hit in the process back in 1952. When Record Producers Hugo and Luigi learned that "Wimoweh" was actually a song about a lion hunt, they recruited songwriter George Weiss to write new English lyrics and, for the first time, the song became "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", which went on to top the U.S. Charts ten years after The Weavers' Top 20 single. (The following year, that same songwriting trio penned one of Elvis Presley's biggest hits, "Can't Help Falling In Love", this time inspired by an old FRENCH tune!!!)

The Evolution Of A Song: On first listen, you'll see that "Mbube", a 1939 recording by Solomon Linda, is really not much more than a Zulu chant. In 1953, The Weavers took it to another level when they added a few lyrics to the African beat and released it as "Wimoweh". When The Tokens auditioned for RCA Records with their rendition of "Wimoweh", producers Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore liked it enough to call in songwriter George Weiss and commissioned him to write a complete set of English lyrics, taking the song to its final state. In hindsight, it's truly amazing to think that each enterprising new producer heard enough of a magical melody in the previous rendition to push it to another level ... but "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" has stood the test of time ... it truly is a rock and roll classic! (kk)

George David Weiss, of ‘Lion Sleeps Tonight,’ Dies at 89 - Obituary (Obit) - NYTimes.com

“The Lion Sleeps Tonight” (1961), based on a South African Zulu song first recorded in the 1930s, was given a reworked melody and new lyrics (“In the jungle, the mighty jungle / The lion sleeps tonight”) by Mr. Weiss, Mr. Peretti and Mr. Creatore.
Their adaptation, which kept the refrain — “Wimoweh, wimoweh” — popularized in a 1950s version by the Weavers, became a million-selling hit for the Tokens. Widely recorded since, the song has been used in many motion pictures, including “The Lion King” (1994).

By the way, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" returned to the top of the charts in 1972 when singer Robert John cut a version ... produced by none other than The Tokens, Hank Medress and Jay Siegel! Recording a very faithful (and similiar) version to The Tokens' own hit, it peaked at #2.

It's one of the songs that was just featured on Scott Shannon's "Rock And Roll Remakes" Weekend on The True Oldies Channel ... which got another GREAT response by the way. (I'm telling you ... music fans really LOVE "The Stories Behind The Songs"!!!) kk
Scott - I don't know where in the world you obtained all that info on the remake weekend but it was both informative and very entertaining. Please do this again often. This one ranked right up there or perhaps even higher than the forgotten oldies weekends.
Steve Davidson