I just can't get enough!
I mean, I've always been a fan ... well, maybe not as much of their first two albums ... but pretty hard core from "On The Border" and beyond. Meanwhile (with the exception of "Take It Easy", which I still turn off nearly every time it comes on the radio today) I loved all the singles ... and even bought the "Desperado" album for the title track alone.
I've followed their career faithfully ever since ... even bought all of their solo albums. (Well, Don and Glenn's anyway!) Their story (not always a pretty picture) has been well documented over the years ... but this new Showtime Documentary Special, "The History Of The Eagles", REALLY delves deep into telling the behind-the-scenes story of the evolution of this landmark band ... all of which is told with great intensity by the band members themselves.
If you watch it from start to finish, it'll take you just over three hours to do so. I've already watched it three times! It's that fascinating and entertaining. (And available now on Showtime On Demand.)
And then I've loaded up the car with nothing but Eagles CDs this week ... like I said, I truly can't get enough.
The documentary is fascinating and entertaining to watch. Vintage videos and performances ... interwoven with current, up to date reflections by all of the current and past members of the band.
Talk about "warts and all" ...
They go into the drug problems ... the final hour's reflection of Joe Walsh's journey into excess and then rehab is heart-breaking to watch ... but thankfully he came out on the winning end of that journey ...
The groupies backstage ... (and the famed "third encore" ... or, perhaps more appropriately, the "after The Eagles concert spread-eagle party"!!!)
They interview all of the past members of the band and EVERYBODY speaks in complete candor. (Watching Don Felder leave his seat after becoming emotional at the end, realizing what a great gig he had given up simply for having higher expectations for his personal rewards is also very touching, especially after reading his compelling biography, "Heaven And Hell: My Life With The Eagles".) And you've really got to love the "mutual admiration society" between The Eagles and original producer Glyn Johns. (You'll also enjoy the story behind the photo shoot for the band's first album, where high on peyote, they spend the day in the desert where REAL eagles soared above them. And David Geffen's shrug regarding the messed up album cover photo is priceless!)
The film is clearly Glenn Frey's baby, who spends much of his screen time presenting himself as "Yeah, I'm an asshole ... but I'm a damn successful asshole". But he also stresses that they wanted to hear from everybody ... and encouraged everybody to tell the truth ... because he really didn't care what anybody said ... he just wanted to tell the true story of The Eagles as it happened ... the good, the bad and the ugly. The film successfully does so ... in fact, it captures it perfectly.
Their music is timeless ... there really aren't any "Forgotten Hits" by The Eagles because radio still plays them all ... and sometimes to great excess. The band themselves have only improved in time ... in every fashion, they sound better today than they did 40 years ago ... and seem to be appreciating it more, too. (Sobriety will do that for you!)
Their landmark LP "Hotel California" became a tough act to follow ... the follow up album, "The Long Run", took nearly two and a half years to complete ... and by the end, they were barely speaking to each other.
Their first greatest hits album went on to become the biggest selling album of the 20th Century, moving over 26 million copies. (I still remember watching, with a sort of Sammy Sosa / Mark McGuire excitement, the battle between "The Eagles Greatest Hits" and Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album ... the two LP's duking it out for first and second place on the all-time best sellers list, changing positions regularly!) Now think about THIS for a second ... that Eagles Greatest Hits Album only covers 1972 - 1975 ... they hadn't even achieved their greatest success yet ... "Hotel California" wouldn't come out until two years later! Yet even their earlier material was inspiration enough for 26 million fans to shell out their hard-earned cash to pick up a copy ... and that's just in America alone!
And then in 1980, they split up ... "out with a whimper" they said ... "a horrible relief" according to Don Henley ... and wouldn't even consider getting back together until hell froze over ... which it apparently did in 1994. But the fact is they never really left us. At just about the same time The Eagles went their separate ways, Classic Rock Radio became a brand new FM Radio Format ... and its been thriving ever since. And who did they play the heck out of??? Why The Eagles, of course! Their music became more popular than ever, and has been pounding out of our radios non-stop ever since. They won over a whole new generation of fans ... to the point that when they finally did decide to put their differences aside fourteen years later, they couldn't schedule enough performances to satisfy the overwhelming demand for tickets.
The "Hell Freezes Over" MTV Television Special / Concert was an unparalleled success ... and world tours followed ... and continue sporadically today. (Don Henley has a new solo album coming out and will most likely tour as a solo act again ... but at any point in time, the four current members ... Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit could decide to climb back into The Eaglesmobile again and the fans will come out in droves to see them ... because good music like this is timeless ... and will never die.)
We've been fortunate enough to see The Eagles perform live several times now since the reunion ... and been treated to nothing short of pure excellence on stage ... letter-perfect renditions of their biggest hits, so familiar to us all. (Don Henley comments during the documentary that one critic accused the band of "loitering on stage" ... no, they're not a "flash act" ... these guys are all about the music and the execute it with pure perfection. Thankfully, along the way we're also treated to some comic relief by Joe Walsh.)
A few years ago, they released a brand new album "Long Road To Eden", which they marketed themselves through the WalMart Stores ... another #1 success all these years later. In the process, they managed to stay true to themselves ... by sounding the same ... and yet fresh and relevant at the same time.
Thank God for Irving Azoff, Bill Szymczyk and the seldom-credited Travis Tritt, who reunited the entire band for a video shoot of his cover version of "Take It Easy" for the "Common Thread" album. These folks never gave up on seeing The Eagles perform their magic again ... and magic it is. Nothing short of magic could explain what we've all been able to witness these past 40 years.
Check out the Showtime special. (A DVD release has not been announced yet on Amazon ... but you know it's coming soon.) Hopefully, it'll have another hour or two of "extras" Seriously, I just can't get enough!!! (kk)
Friday, February 22, 2013
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Thursday This And That
Kent,
I posted the following message on a couple of oldies-related boards. It relates to the decision that Billboard has made to include YouTube views in compiling their Hot 100.
Just wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed seeing the video of Rick Nelson on What's My Line!!!
I posted the following message on a couple of oldies-related boards. It relates to the decision that Billboard has made to include YouTube views in compiling their Hot 100.
The message speaks for itself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gone! The Billboard Hot 100 as we have known it! It's not as if I have been following the Hot 100 much lately. In fact I have not, for the past maybe 20 years or so.
But this news is unbelievable, at least to me.
My personal view is that if wants to use YouTube then they should consider doing a chart based purely on YouTube views, if that's possible. But I do not think that YouTube should be part of the Hot 100. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not EVER!
In the back of my mind I can envision a hotshot computer programmer (not ME, LOL!) who will figure out a way to create software to artificially make YouTube videos increase to astronomical levels. If this is done (and I don't believe it's at all beyond the realm of possibility, than record charts in the future could become more fraudulent than ever before.
If this were happening around April 1st I would think it might be an April Fool's joke. But that is not the case.
Please forgive any typos on my part. They may occur because I feel somewhat emotional about this.
To put it concisely: I think this is a lousy idea and that's putting it mildly.
Do you agree or disagree?
Either way, here's the info, for what it's worth.
And by the way, if you don't recognize any of the titles mentioned within the article below, don't feel bad. I am sure that you are not alone!
The importance of this to me is this decision on the part of Billboard to do make what I consider to be this absurd move rather than the specific hits mentioned below.
But this news is unbelievable, at least to me.
My personal view is that if wants to use YouTube then they should consider doing a chart based purely on YouTube views, if that's possible. But I do not think that YouTube should be part of the Hot 100. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not EVER!
In the back of my mind I can envision a hotshot computer programmer (not ME, LOL!) who will figure out a way to create software to artificially make YouTube videos increase to astronomical levels. If this is done (and I don't believe it's at all beyond the realm of possibility, than record charts in the future could become more fraudulent than ever before.
If this were happening around April 1st I would think it might be an April Fool's joke. But that is not the case.
Please forgive any typos on my part. They may occur because I feel somewhat emotional about this.
To put it concisely: I think this is a lousy idea and that's putting it mildly.
Do you agree or disagree?
Either way, here's the info, for what it's worth.
And by the way, if you don't recognize any of the titles mentioned within the article below, don't feel bad. I am sure that you are not alone!
The importance of this to me is this decision on the part of Billboard to do make what I consider to be this absurd move rather than the specific hits mentioned below.
This week the Billboard Hot 100, the magazine’s 55-year-old singles chart, takes a evolutionary step by incorporating YouTube plays into its formula. The move comes just in time for Baauer’s song "Harlem Shake," the latest viral video phenomenon, which will make its debut at No. 1 this week thanks to the change. "Harlem Shake," a bass-heavy hip-hop track with no lyrics beyond a few samples, got little mainstream attention when it was released in May as a free download. But this month its popularity exploded on YouTube, as thousands of fans uploaded videos of themselves dancing — some might say simply flailing — along to the song. By last week more than 4,000 videos were going up each day. Download sales and Spotify streams of the track also skyrocketed. But the remarkable trajectory of "Harlem Shake" led Billboard to move forward right away on its methodology update, something it had been in discussions with YouTube about for nearly two years, Bill Werde, the magazine’s editorial director, said on Wednesday. "The notion that a song has to sell in order to be a hit feels a little two or three years ago to me," Mr. Werde said. "The music business today — much to its credit — has started to learn that there are lots of different ways a song can be a hit, and lots of different ways that the business can benefit from it being a hit." The move is Billboard’s latest step in modernizing the Hot 100, which besides sales and airplay now also incorporates data from streaming services like Spotify. YouTube has taken on an essential role in propelling songs to the cultural forefront, often long before they are picked up by radio programmers. Psy’s "Gangnam Style" and Carly Rae Jepsen’s "Call Me Maybe" are the most prominent examples of this trend, but plenty of other recent hits — like Gotye's Grammy-winning "Somebody That I Used To Know" — also owe much of their success to video virality. The rise of "Harlem Shake" is all the more remarkable because of its speed. With only 18,000 downloads the song did not make the last Hot 100 chart at all. But last week it caught fire online, and across the tens of thousands of its scattered YouTube dance videos the song had 103 million views in the United States, according to YouTube, and sold 262,000 downloads, making it the third-most downloaded track of the week. (Even without the YouTube data, "Harlem Shake" would have charted in the Top 15 this week, Mr. Werde said.) Billboard's charts are based on data collected by Nielsen SoundScan, which has also been modernizing its data. When the service started in 1991, it gave the music industry its first reliable, third-party sales data, transforming the way record labels, retailers and others did business. Now Nielsen also tracks radio plays and most major streaming services. "We want to measure how much consumption is going on, in whatever form a consumer chooses to consume something," said David Bakula, a senior analyst at Nielsen. Also on the charts this week a number of acts benefited from their exposure at the Grammy Awards. Mumford & Sons rose three spots to return to No. 1 with "Babel" (Glassnote), the album of the year, which sold 185,000 copies last week. And a compilation of this year’s Grammy nominees is No. 2 with 88,000 sales. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’s track "Thrift Shop" was once again the most-downloaded track of the week, with 412,000 sales. But with the arrival of "Harlem Shake," it falls to No. 2 on the Hot 100. I read the same thing and was a bit surprised. I kind of get it ... remember in the old days when their chart (pre-Hot 100) used to include jukebox plays ... heck, at one point they even included sheet music sales. So if they're trying to fully encompass the scope of just how popular a given piece of music is, then this makes sense ... more people listen to music on youTube these days than through any other source. (I like the fact that Werde acknowledges that without including youTube views "Harlem Shake" would have placed at #15 on this week's chart ... that's a pretty amazing percentage factor to propel it all the way to #1 ... especially after not being on the chart at all a week ago!!!) But I also see the point to where a label with a big budget to spend could simply have THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of people click "play" on any given track to help distort its actual amount of viewership. (Then again, some of the more popular videos on youTube have upwards of 40 million views already ... so there's no denying the impact.) What this does (and has continued to do for some time now) is to greatly distort any kind of comparison regarding how popular a piece of music is today vs. a hit from 30, 40 or 50 years ago. It's not a level playing ground. Music comes and goes much more quickly now. (I think I heard that on the next episode of "Glee", they'll be performing their 500th song!!!! In the first 18 months of the series, 130 titles by the "Glee" cast charted on Billboard's Hot 100 Pop Singles Chart. Did any of them really matter? No ... but because downloading music is the way we purchase today, the charts HAVE to reflect the current buying trends of any given era. Look at the music department in any of your big chain stores ... assuming they even still HAVE a music department ... and you'll see that this is NOT the way most people buy music today. How many stand alone, "new" record stores are you aware of? Where they sell nothing else but the latest releases? Like it or not, the times have changed ... and I believe Billboard simply wants to reflect those trends on their chart. How accurate will they be? That's a tough call. Like I said, the points seem pretty weighted if youTube views can propel a record from #15 to #1! (kk) |
Just wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed seeing the video of Rick Nelson on What's My Line!!!
I have been a huge fan of the whole Nelson family. I never got to see Rick in person, but have enjoyed seeing Matthew and Gunnar several times. I grew up watching Ozzie and Harriet.
Thanks for posting the video!!
LeAnn Zerck
Albert Lea, Minnesota
From FH Reader Frank B (by way of the WCBS-FM website):
From FH Reader Frank B (by way of the WCBS-FM website):
Paul McCartney just posted a message to his official website regarding the death of musician Tony Sheridan: “Tony was a good guy who we knew and worked with from the early days in Hamburg. We regularly watched his late night performances and admired his style. He will be missed.” Sheridan died over the weekend.
It's not working ...
It's not working ...
Fans have been leaving WLS-FM in droves since their recent format change. I still don't get it ... they've hired back some of the biggest names from their old roster ... and then don't let them talk and display any personality during their program ... which consists of the same 200-300 songs by the same 20-30 artists over and over and over again. Gee, I wonder why people got bored listening.
In the latest Arbitron ratings released this week, WLS-FM has fallen to 16th place in overall listeners. In the desirable demographic, they don't place in the Top 15 at all ... although WJMK-FM / K-Hits HAS creeped in now at #15. Most of us don't even stop by the station anymore to see what they're playing ... because we already KNOW what they're playing ... which is EXACTLY the same thing they played earlier today, yesterday and will play again tonight and tomorrow ... there is no entertainment value or reason to come back. We've already switched to The Drive or The River or The Loop or K-Hits because we're finding more of what we want to hear there (and everywhere ... sorry, I just couldn't resist!!!)
And the ratings only show a specific group of listeners ... a "target group" if you will ... my guess is the REAL numbers are far more dramatic. I don't know ANYONE who used to listen to WLS-FM that still does. Sure, I still have a button set for them in the car ... but they are now my SIXTH choice if I'm surfing the dial because there's nothing on anywhere else. (And, as promised, I'm listening to more CD's than ever in the car ... I typically have half a dozen with me every single day!!!)
To quote one of our local heroes (who WLS-FM also doesn't play anymore) ... "you wouldn't listen to me"!!! Too bad ... "historic" WLS is now just a boring wasteland of wasted on-air talent and broadcast legacy. (kk)
>>>Is there a definitive answer if Billy Joel played on Remember Walking in the Sand? Seems as though he'd have been too young? I didn't know he produced Iron Butterfly or Vanilla Fudge. (Bill)
>>>As far as I know, that whole Billy Joel / "Remember (Walking In The Sand)" was just a rumor ... unless he did the session when he was just 15 years old! (I know it's come up a few times now in FH). But if you read that Goldmine interview with Morton, who knows. (Then again he says that the piano player later turned out to be who he believes to be Billy Joel ... or so he's heard ... so it sounds like even Morton himself wasn't sure ... he was just going with the flow of what everybody else had been telling him. I seem to remember disproving that story quite some time ago. Anybody else able to weigh-in on this with any certainty???) Meanwhile, I've got to admit that that's quite a wide range of musical talent for Shadow Morton ... from The Shangri-Las to Iron Butterfly and Vanilla Fudge?!?!? (kk)
With regard to Billy Joel playing on "Remember Walking In The Sand", the man to ask is Don Casale ... he was there. He says yes. Twenty years ago I worked on a Nickelodeon show called "Hey Dude". Our sound guy, who I became friends with, was Jim Hilton. He told me that he produced The Iron Butterfly's album "In A Gadda Da Vida". Though the album bears his name as producer, he wasn't even in the studio. As it went, a young Don Casale was at the board and instructed the band to play something so he could set levels. The band played for 17 minutes and, unbeknownst to them, Don had pushed the record button. That is how the record came to be. The band wanted that 17 minute version to take up the entire side of the album but Hilton was agin it. After alot of foot stompin by the band Hilton relented.
To quote one of our local heroes (who WLS-FM also doesn't play anymore) ... "you wouldn't listen to me"!!! Too bad ... "historic" WLS is now just a boring wasteland of wasted on-air talent and broadcast legacy. (kk)
>>>Is there a definitive answer if Billy Joel played on Remember Walking in the Sand? Seems as though he'd have been too young? I didn't know he produced Iron Butterfly or Vanilla Fudge. (Bill)
>>>As far as I know, that whole Billy Joel / "Remember (Walking In The Sand)" was just a rumor ... unless he did the session when he was just 15 years old! (I know it's come up a few times now in FH). But if you read that Goldmine interview with Morton, who knows. (Then again he says that the piano player later turned out to be who he believes to be Billy Joel ... or so he's heard ... so it sounds like even Morton himself wasn't sure ... he was just going with the flow of what everybody else had been telling him. I seem to remember disproving that story quite some time ago. Anybody else able to weigh-in on this with any certainty???) Meanwhile, I've got to admit that that's quite a wide range of musical talent for Shadow Morton ... from The Shangri-Las to Iron Butterfly and Vanilla Fudge?!?!? (kk)
With regard to Billy Joel playing on "Remember Walking In The Sand", the man to ask is Don Casale ... he was there. He says yes. Twenty years ago I worked on a Nickelodeon show called "Hey Dude". Our sound guy, who I became friends with, was Jim Hilton. He told me that he produced The Iron Butterfly's album "In A Gadda Da Vida". Though the album bears his name as producer, he wasn't even in the studio. As it went, a young Don Casale was at the board and instructed the band to play something so he could set levels. The band played for 17 minutes and, unbeknownst to them, Don had pushed the record button. That is how the record came to be. The band wanted that 17 minute version to take up the entire side of the album but Hilton was agin it. After alot of foot stompin by the band Hilton relented.
That's how I understand it, and welcome any info to the contrary.
Alex Valdez
>>>Here's one you might enjoy. If you've been watching any of those Pawn Stars and/or Antique Road Show programs on the History Channel (where you find out just how much some of your "worthless" junk is really worth), then I think you'll love this brand new show starting on VH-1 Classic next week on February 21st. With a musical slant, it'll showcase rock and roll and other pop culture memorabilia, vintage albums and much, much more. Cleverly titled "For What It's Worth", this show is bound to be a hit with all the collectors on our list who have made places like eBay and Gemm regular stops during the course of their average week. More details here: Click here: For What It’s Worth To Premiere On VH1 Classic On February 21st – | VH1 Blog (kk)
Hi Kent,
CMT has also been filming a similar show, Rock Raiders, set to debut this year.
Hi Kent,
CMT has also been filming a similar show, Rock Raiders, set to debut this year.
Forgotten Hits contributor Fred Vail and I have met with Robert and Stephen at Rockology, a store they have set up near Music Row, but they haven't put us in the show, or bought any of our stuff, yet. http://www.leftfieldpictures.com/news/cmt-orders-redneck-intervention-chainsaw-gang/ Rock Raiders (w/t) is a 10-episode series that follows music memorabilia collectors Robert Reynolds and Stephen Shutts as they scour flea markets and garage sales across the country in search of prized possessions, such as a jukebox that once belonged to Johnny Cash and items connected to Hank Williams Jr., Cheap Trick and Nirvana. It is produced by Tom Forest and Thom Oliphant for Taillight TV, with Dinsmore and McCabe serving as executive producers for CMT.
Ed Salamon
Ed Salamon
Kent,
On our ten o'clock news last night as well as our local paper this morning, it was announced that longtime radio and television personality Danny Williams passed away at the age of 85. Death was due to complications from a heart attack he had this past October.
Danny had been in this market since the very late 1940's. He was the main morning man for WKY 930 AM radio for many years. The last few years of his on-air work were done at KOMA 1520 AM where he retired in 2008.
Kent, I mention this to you because even though probably the majority of our readers may not be familiar with Danny, there may be one or two who remember him from years ago if they were living here in the OKC area or close by where they could pick up the radio stations' signals.
Probably needless to say, this is not the same Danny Williams (singer) who had the song WHITE ON WHITE back in 1964.
Larry Neal
On our ten o'clock news last night as well as our local paper this morning, it was announced that longtime radio and television personality Danny Williams passed away at the age of 85. Death was due to complications from a heart attack he had this past October.
Danny had been in this market since the very late 1940's. He was the main morning man for WKY 930 AM radio for many years. The last few years of his on-air work were done at KOMA 1520 AM where he retired in 2008.
Kent, I mention this to you because even though probably the majority of our readers may not be familiar with Danny, there may be one or two who remember him from years ago if they were living here in the OKC area or close by where they could pick up the radio stations' signals.
Probably needless to say, this is not the same Danny Williams (singer) who had the song WHITE ON WHITE back in 1964.
Larry Neal
OK, so I'm guessing that it's ALSO not the same Danny Williams who used to sing at The Copa on "Make Room For Daddy" all those years ago either!!!
Sorry to hear of Danny's passing ... the deejays we grew up with still hold a very special place in our hearts ... they were SUCH a HUGE part of our growing up ... even if we never met them, they were still part of our lives.
Meanwhile, "White On White" is a GREAT "Today's Forgotten Hit" track ... so we've got that one to share today. A #9 Hit in 1964, this is one of the records I "inherited" from my old next door neighbor when she felt that she had "outgrown" her record collection. Obviously, her tastes had changed ... I remember "The Race Is On" by Jack Jones and "A Fool Never Learns" by Andy Williams ALSO being in that batch she just handed over to me one day. Obviously they made an impression on me ... I've since featured BOTH of these tracks in our "Today's Forgotten Hit" feature! (By the way, THIS Danny Williams ... the "White On White" guy ... passed away in 2005 ... and Danny Williams, the Copa Singer ... played so brilliantly by Danny Thomas for so many years ... passed away in 1991.) kk
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Some Of Your Mid-Week Comments
LOTS of catching up to do after running a week of Kenny Rogers and the First Edition ... and then no Sunday Comments so that we could tell you about our "Forever Dusty" ticket give-away. (Have you answered our two-part trivia questions yet??? We've already got about two dozen correct answers ... and one of those lucky folks will win a pair of tickets to see "Forever Dusty" during its Off Broadway run! We'll pick the winner by the end of the week ... so if you HAVEN'T entered yet ... and want a shot at the tickets (you must be able to attend a performance between March 1st and April 7th in New York City), then scroll down below to Saturday, February 16th, for all the details! (kk)
Meanwhile, let's get down to it ...
re: THIS AND THAT:
OK, THIS one takes the cake!!! Next time someone mentions Chubby Checker, you might want to ask them WHICH Chubby Checker they're talking about!!! Check this out!
Chubby Checker, Legendary Singer, Sues Hewlett-Packard Over Their Penis-Measuring App With The Same Name ...
Click here: Chubby Checker, Legendary Singer, Sues Over Penis-Measuring App With Same Name
Meanwhile, let's get down to it ...
re: THIS AND THAT:
OK, THIS one takes the cake!!! Next time someone mentions Chubby Checker, you might want to ask them WHICH Chubby Checker they're talking about!!! Check this out!
Chubby Checker, Legendary Singer, Sues Hewlett-Packard Over Their Penis-Measuring App With The Same Name ...
Click here: Chubby Checker, Legendary Singer, Sues Over Penis-Measuring App With Same Name
Kent ...
Check out Wild Wayne's Clip of the week. I think you'll like it.
Frank B.
Yep, sure do ... I've seen this one before ... but posted below for others to enjoy, too! (kk)
Hi Kent -
Love the newsletter as always.
Someone mentioned Gilbert O'Sullivan. He is alive and well and on my radio show. Attached is a "voice drop".
Regards
Geoff Dorsett
Love the newsletter as always.
Someone mentioned Gilbert O'Sullivan. He is alive and well and on my radio show. Attached is a "voice drop".
Regards
Geoff Dorsett
Here's one you might enjoy. If you've been watching any of those Pawn Stars and/or Antique Road Show programs on the History Channel (where you find out just how much some of your "worthless" junk is really worth), then I think you'll love this brand new show starting on VH-1 Classic next week on February 21st. With a musical slant, it'll showcase rock and roll and other pop culture memorabilia, vintage albums and much, much more. Cleverly titled "For What It's Worth", this show is bound to be a hit with all the collectors on our list who have made places like eBay and Gemm regular stops during the course of their average week.
More details here:
Click here: For What It’s Worth To Premiere On VH1 Classic On February 21st – | VH1 Blog
Kent,
Have you and Gary considered collaborating to write the penultimate multi-volume encyclopedia of music of the rock era? Seriously, both of your contributions to the DC5 story Monday are very well-written and informative. In fact, Monday's FH was jam-packed with great music and info despite covering the deaths of several important participants in the greatest era of music.
David
PS: Need a copy editor? (peddled)
Gary's already done the ultimate history of rock and roll ... meanwhile, I guess I've dabbled in it, too ... I've just spread mine out over 4800 chapters and the past 13 1/2 years!!! But thanks for the kind words. (Honestly, I'd love to work with Gary on a project ... and have been kicking around a few ideas in my head for quite some time now ... it's just tough to devote an enormous amount of time to something that doesn't offer a financial payback of some sort ... but we'll see what develops!!!) kk
By the way, you'll find info on Gary's latest project below ...
COMING IN MARCH: The audiobook version of Wes Smith's
THE PIED PIPERS OF ROCK 'N' ROLL -- the 225-page inside
stories of rock's most legendary DJs of the '50s and '60s --
everyone from Alan Freed and Jocko Henderson to Dick
Biondi, Wolfman Jack and many, many more. Narrator Gary
Theroux knew and worked with a lot of them. The
audiobook version will be available through Audible.com,
Amazon.com and iTunes.
The Library Journal on THE PIED PIPERS OF ROCK 'N'
ROLL: More than a collective biography of famous radio
disc jockeys, this occupational history traces the influence
of the profession on postwar music, the rise of the
advertising industry and the governmental and social
regulation of broadcasting. DJs were instrumental in
launching the rock 'n' roll movement by acting as
middlemen between record company execs and a bourgeois
post-World War II record-buying public. They also played a
role in the integration of U.S. society by attracting white
teens to black rhythm and blues. Smith's work is as
anecdotal as the patter of the profession he documents.
Author WES SMITH: WES SMITH is the author and
collaborator on more than 45 published books, many of
them best-sellers spanning the spiritual, motivational,
health, medical, business, sports and current events
categories.
Narrator GARY THEROUX: Telly Award winner and Emmy
nominee GARY THEROUX started in radio at age 11. As a
local and national DJ, programmer and music historian,
Gary got to know and work with many of the broadcast
legends featured in “The Pied Pipers of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” The
longtime Music & Entertainment Editor of Reader’s Digest
and author of books himself (“The Top Ten,” etc.),
Theroux has not only interviewed several thousand
hitmakers but compiled and annotated more than 300 CD
box sets with cumulative sales topping 39 million copies.
He’s also created, written and produced programming for
Disney, PBS, CBS and syndication, including the Billboard
award-winning 52 hour “History of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Gary is
available for interviews at (203) 847-3085.
Congratulations to Jimi Hendrix, who just scored his first #1 Single! (What?!?!?)
Hi Kent,
I was a bit surprised about the stats for the Kenny Rogers
posts.
I loved the First Eddition and thought you did a great job. I
was one of the folks that did read it every day. <grin>
Nice job once again.
Bill
Thanks, Bill ... I think that makes eight of us!!! (lol) kkKent,
Have you and Gary considered collaborating to write the penultimate multi-volume encyclopedia of music of the rock era? Seriously, both of your contributions to the DC5 story Monday are very well-written and informative. In fact, Monday's FH was jam-packed with great music and info despite covering the deaths of several important participants in the greatest era of music.
David
PS: Need a copy editor? (peddled)
Gary's already done the ultimate history of rock and roll ... meanwhile, I guess I've dabbled in it, too ... I've just spread mine out over 4800 chapters and the past 13 1/2 years!!! But thanks for the kind words. (Honestly, I'd love to work with Gary on a project ... and have been kicking around a few ideas in my head for quite some time now ... it's just tough to devote an enormous amount of time to something that doesn't offer a financial payback of some sort ... but we'll see what develops!!!) kk
By the way, you'll find info on Gary's latest project below ...
COMING IN MARCH: The audiobook version of Wes Smith's
THE PIED PIPERS OF ROCK 'N' ROLL -- the 225-page inside
stories of rock's most legendary DJs of the '50s and '60s --
everyone from Alan Freed and Jocko Henderson to Dick
Biondi, Wolfman Jack and many, many more. Narrator Gary
Theroux knew and worked with a lot of them. The
audiobook version will be available through Audible.com,
Amazon.com and iTunes.
The Library Journal on THE PIED PIPERS OF ROCK 'N'
ROLL: More than a collective biography of famous radio
disc jockeys, this occupational history traces the influence
of the profession on postwar music, the rise of the
advertising industry and the governmental and social
regulation of broadcasting. DJs were instrumental in
launching the rock 'n' roll movement by acting as
middlemen between record company execs and a bourgeois
post-World War II record-buying public. They also played a
role in the integration of U.S. society by attracting white
teens to black rhythm and blues. Smith's work is as
anecdotal as the patter of the profession he documents.
Author WES SMITH: WES SMITH is the author and
collaborator on more than 45 published books, many of
them best-sellers spanning the spiritual, motivational,
health, medical, business, sports and current events
categories.
Narrator GARY THEROUX: Telly Award winner and Emmy
nominee GARY THEROUX started in radio at age 11. As a
local and national DJ, programmer and music historian,
Gary got to know and work with many of the broadcast
legends featured in “The Pied Pipers of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” The
longtime Music & Entertainment Editor of Reader’s Digest
and author of books himself (“The Top Ten,” etc.),
Theroux has not only interviewed several thousand
hitmakers but compiled and annotated more than 300 CD
box sets with cumulative sales topping 39 million copies.
He’s also created, written and produced programming for
Disney, PBS, CBS and syndication, including the Billboard
award-winning 52 hour “History of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Gary is
available for interviews at (203) 847-3085.
Congratulations to Jimi Hendrix, who just scored his first #1 Single! (What?!?!?)
It's true, it's true! Check this out (from FH Reader Bob Merlis):
Just a quick note to let you know that "Somewhere," the new single from the forthcoming Jimi Hendrix album People, Hell and Angels (out 3/5), has just gone to #1 on Billboard's Hot Singles Sales Chart.
Just a quick note to let you know that "Somewhere," the new single from the forthcoming Jimi Hendrix album People, Hell and Angels (out 3/5), has just gone to #1 on Billboard's Hot Singles Sales Chart.
We've pasted the credits below and you'll find John McDermott's liner notes about the track that are included in the People, Hell and Angels package below the cover art.
Somewhere 4:06
Recorded At: Sound Center, NY, March 13, 1968 Producer: Jimi Hendrix
Engineer: Vincent Gagliano, Tom Mucchio, Lenny Stea, Angel Sandoval
Mixed By Eddie Kramer
Capitol Studios, Hollywood, CA
Vocal, Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: Stephen Stills
Drums: Buddy Miles
Somewhere 4:06
Recorded At: Sound Center, NY, March 13, 1968 Producer: Jimi Hendrix
Engineer: Vincent Gagliano, Tom Mucchio, Lenny Stea, Angel Sandoval
Mixed By Eddie Kramer
Capitol Studios, Hollywood, CA
Vocal, Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: Stephen Stills
Drums: Buddy Miles
“Somewhere” was created during Hendrix’s first session in America where he assumed the dual role of artist and producer outside the direct control of Chas Chandler — his co-manager and producer of both Are You Experienced and Axis: Bold As Love. Jimi seized an opportunity in March 1968, squeezing in time at New York’s Sound Center Studios between performance dates on the extensive North American tour that the Experience had undertaken. Hendrix called upon friends Stephen Stills and Buddy Miles for this recording. This would not be a Jimi Hendrix Experience session, but instead an opportunity to explore new creative possibilities.
Work on “Somewhere” began with just Hendrix and Miles and no bass guitar. Stills, normally a guitarist, accepted Jimi’s request to play bass. The trio ran through the song numerous times in an effort to perfect the arrangement and tempo Hendrix desired. This effort led to more structured takes and an exceptional song began to take shape. Jimi then separately overdubbed lead guitar and vocals before work concluded.
Despite its obvious promise, “Somewhere” was not put forward for inclusion as part of Electric Ladyland when sessions for that album resumed at the newly opened Record Plant in April 1968. The master reels created at Sound Center [which would also include “My Friend,” later featured as part of Cry Of Love and more recently, First Rays Of The New Rising Sun] were simply tucked away within the guitarist’s fast expanding tape library.
After Hendrix’s death in September 1970, Eddie Kramer, Mitch Mitchell and assistant engineer John Jansen began to comb through the hundreds of multi-track reels the guitarist had recorded. The first two posthumously issued studio albums — 1971’s Cry Of Love and Rainbow Bridge — drew largely on material Hendrix had been working on at Electric Lady Studios prior to his death. “Somewhere” was instead considered for War Heroes, the planned third album of studio recordings by Hendrix slated for release in 1972. Alerted to the song by Jansen, Mitchell overdubbed new drum parts at Electric Lady Studios onto take three from reel one in an effort to upgrade the master. Mitchell’s endeavor was hampered by a loping bass guitar part by Stills on that particular take that struggled to maintain time consistently throughout the song. Mitchell and Jansen ultimately abandoned the effort and set the overdubbed master aside. Mitchell’s effort remained unreleased for nearly two decades until it was included as part of the Jimi Hendrix Experience box set in 2000.
Producer Alan Douglas assumed control of the Hendrix tape library in 1974. His first project was the controversial compilation Crash Landing. For that album, Douglas removed nearly all of the original performances by Hendrix’s band members in favor of new overdubs from session musicians. Douglas located the third take of “Somewhere” that featured Mitchell’s overdubs and assumed this to be the working master. Douglas stripped the recording of everything from the original session save for Hendrix’s guitar and lead vocal and added all new instrumentation. This overhauled version of take three from reel one was then issued as part of Crash Landing in 1975.
The master of “Somewhere” presented here is wholly different than either of these previous versions. This is the sixth and final take from reel two. One of the most distinctive aspects of this particular recording would be Hendrix’s wah-wah drenched guitar tone and the assured rhythmic foundation established by Miles. The bass part by Stills is more precise and the playing by both Hendrix and Miles is more forcefully delivered than on any of the preceding takes.
And congratulations to our FH Buddy Billy Hinsche, too ... he's now one of the counselors at the Rock And Roll Fantasy Camp! More details here:
And congratulations to our FH Buddy Billy Hinsche, too ... he's now one of the counselors at the Rock And Roll Fantasy Camp! More details here:
Click here: Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp / Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp - YOU on Stage with Rock Stars
Here's a very cool piece on Paul McCartney, Carl Perkins
and John Lennon that FH Reader Frank B. found on Ron
Smith's OldiesMusic.com website: Click here: loveall.
And, after you read the article, you'll surely want to watch
Here's a very cool piece on Paul McCartney, Carl Perkins
and John Lennon that FH Reader Frank B. found on Ron
Smith's OldiesMusic.com website: Click here: loveall.
And, after you read the article, you'll surely want to watch
Here's an update on the Sparkletones.
My bass player for Liberty Street Blues Band, Randall Lark, is now in the Sparkletones playing guitar and singing.
Mickey
http://www.goupstate.com/article/20130214/ENT/302141007/1098/ent05?Title=Sparkletones-Welcome-to-the-Spartanburg-Music-Trail
http://www.goupstate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?category=PHOTOS06 http://soundobservations.blogs.goupstate.com/11043/the-sparkletones-of-black-slacks-fame-on-spartanburgs-wealth-of-homegrown-talent/
Kent,
While perusing the comments made today ( Tuesday), the group Baja Marimba Band was mentioned. It reminded me once again of their version of GHOST RIDERS IN THE SKY which incidentally peaked at number 11 here in OKC back in December of 1966. Always did like their version though it was not my favorite version of that song.
Larry
Got this from Tom Cuddy ... here's a recent interview with David Clayton-Thomas, talking about what it was like to step into the lead singer role in Blood, Sweat and Tears after the elimination of Al Kooper: http://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/2013/02/01/the-replacement-singer-interview-with-david-clayton-thomas/
http://www.goupstate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?category=PHOTOS06 http://soundobservations.blogs.goupstate.com/11043/the-sparkletones-of-black-slacks-fame-on-spartanburgs-wealth-of-homegrown-talent/
Kent,
While perusing the comments made today ( Tuesday), the group Baja Marimba Band was mentioned. It reminded me once again of their version of GHOST RIDERS IN THE SKY which incidentally peaked at number 11 here in OKC back in December of 1966. Always did like their version though it was not my favorite version of that song.
Larry
Got this from Tom Cuddy ... here's a recent interview with David Clayton-Thomas, talking about what it was like to step into the lead singer role in Blood, Sweat and Tears after the elimination of Al Kooper: http://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/2013/02/01/the-replacement-singer-interview-with-david-clayton-thomas/
And, speaking of Al Kooper ...
re: HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY:
Stuffed full of wrapped chocolates, kisses, and trying to come down from Viagra?
It must be February 15th then, eh?
By the way, I have added a Mike Bloomfield Tribute Concert featuring Jimmy Vivino on March 16th, at The Egg in Albany, NY. Tix are on sale at: http://www.theegg.org/events/music
Al Kooper
re: ANOTHER REASON WHY YOU NEED TO READ FORGOTTEN HITS EVERY SINGLE DAY!:
re: ANOTHER REASON WHY YOU NEED TO READ FORGOTTEN HITS EVERY SINGLE DAY!:
I have NO idea what prompted it ... but this weekend I got at least four emails announcing the death of songwriter Tandyn Almer ... what happened?!?!? Did the rest of the world just catch up?!?!? We first reported this news back on January 16th ... and even that was a week after his passing!!! Yet I received several links to a Washington Post article that covered his death this weekend! Not quite sure what's up with that but ... to paraphrase Chevy Chase ... Tandyn Almer is still dead. Almer had a hand in writing two rock and roll classics ... "Along Comes Mary", a hit for The Association, and "Sail On Sailor", a Beach Boys classic. (We also reported that he wrote "Marcella", another one of my Beach Boys favorites ... and even featured the track that day.) Anyway, for the benefit of any of you who may have previously missed it, there's the news again ... along with a bit of The Washington Post article that everybody seems so fond of!!!
Tandyn Almer, enigmatic composer of ‘Along Comes Mary,’ dies at 70
By Matt Schudel,
When Tandyn Almer was 23, he wrote a catchy pop song that topped out at No. 7 on the Billboard charts. Great things were expected of him as a songwriter, and some thought he might even become a star in his own right. But in all the decades that followed, there were few triumphs, and certainly nothing like the acclaim he received for composing the words and music of “Along Comes Mary.”
In 1966, the bouncy, enigmatic song became the first hit for the Association, one of the most popular bands of the era. Mr. Almer was praised as a musical mastermind who brought a fresh sophistication to the sun-dappled pop-rock of the time.
He was interviewed on national television by Leonard Bernstein, the conductor of the New York Philharmonic, and recorded an album of his own music. He became a close friend of Brian Wilson, the troubled creative force of the Beach Boys, with whom he collaborated on a couple of tunes in the 1970s.
And then he disappeared.
When vague desire is the fire in the eyes of chicks
When vague desire is the fire in the eyes of chicks
Whose sickness is the games they play ...
And when the morning of the warning’s passed, the gassed
And flaccid kids are flung across the stars.
Was the song about a girl named Mary, the Virgin Mary or, as many thought, the effects of smoking marijuana? Even today, Jim Yester, who sang “Along Comes Mary” on the Association’s original recording, occasionally reads the lyrics to audiences before singing the song.
“It is mind-blowing when spoken, as opposed to being sung,” Yester wrote in an e-mail. “An amazing set of lyrics. What it is saying . . . your guess is as good as mine.”
If anyone asked Mr. Almer, he wasn’t coy about the meaning: Yes, of course, it was about marijuana.
You'll find the complete Washington Post article here ... a full six weeks after his passing! (Incredibly, they presented this as "news" on February 16th ... Almer passed away back on January 8th!)
Click here: Tandyn Almer, enigmatic composer of ‘Along Comes Mary,’ dies at 70 - The Washington Post
You'll find the complete Washington Post article here ... a full six weeks after his passing! (Incredibly, they presented this as "news" on February 16th ... Almer passed away back on January 8th!)
Click here: Tandyn Almer, enigmatic composer of ‘Along Comes Mary,’ dies at 70 - The Washington Post
re: TODAY'S FORGOTTEN HIT:
We lucked out again here in Chicago weatherwise last week. Although at one point we probably had somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 or 9 inches of snow on the ground, it virtually all disappeared on one very rainy, 50-degree day.
And believe me ... NOBODY in the entire city was happier than our dog Cha Cha to see the GREEN GRASS again!!!
Let's just say that no matter what Frank Zappa may have taught us way back when, Cha Cha just never really "warmed" to the idea of peeing in the snow!!! (Let's just say we have several "Clean Up On Aisle Nine" moments in the house as a result of this inconvenience!!! lol)
But this whole experience DOES allow us the chance to feature a GREAT Gary Lewis and the Playboys track that's been missing from the radio for far too long.
Yet another legitimate Top Ten Hit that has all but disappeared from the airwaves.
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