Paul Revere's Raiders

We received an email from Tommy Scheckel, Drummer for Paul Revere's Raiders, the other day, bringing us up to speed on the current events of the band.

Obviously, these guys have had to go through a WHOLE lot after the loss of their charismatic leader ... Paul Revere, "The Madman Of Rock And Roll", died last year.   

Many of us are still grieving over this loss ... fans, friends, family members, business associates (and most certainly) band members ... he touched ALL of us in different ways ... but it was Paul's dying wishes that the band continue on without him ... he did NOT want their music to die along with him ... he worked TOO long and TOO hard to keep these great rock and roll classics alive ... so we were absolutely THRILLED to get this update from Tommy (a long-time Forgotten Hits Reader and supporter), letting us know how the band is soldiering on without him.   

The revamped show launched recently in Las Vegas to rave reviews and enthusiastic audiences ... and will be coming back to The Arcada Theatre in May.  A full performance schedule can be found here:  http://www.pollstar.com/resultsArtist.aspx?ID=305989

(Check back often for updates!)  

Tommy tells us ALL about it in his own words below ...    

Hey Kent,   

I was just looking at the new blog post and it hit me to write you and catch you up. Interesting article, BTW, about the non-original Little River Band. We’re trying to avoid falling into that situation where people accuse us of trying to be Paul Revere and The Raiders without any original members. The band is Paul’s band, hand-picked and groomed by Paul to perform his slam-bam, thank you ma’am style rock and roll show. We’re keeping our promise  to Paul that we wouldn’t let it die with him. Just another example of the generous caring guy Paul was, always concerned about “his boys”.       

I know that you love any and all info about all the groups so I thought I’d share our Vegas trip with you.    

We had a fantastic weekend in Vegas! Our first outing with our somewhat retooled show without Paul. We’ve lengthened many songs to their original versions and added two “new” Raiders Top 40 hits, “Don’t Take It So Hard” and “Too Much Talk”. We produced a video of the “Best Of Paul’s Comedy” as well as a photo montage that had people laughing and crying (especially me). 

Original Raider Phil “Fang” Volk got up and performed “Kicks” with us and brought down the house, and Nick Fortuna (of The Buckinghams) and Fang both joined us for an encore. The next night, Righteous Brother Bill Medley joined us onstage. Bill told a couple of inside stories about his friendship with Paul and then performed “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” with us. People from all over the country showed up and really rocked the joint!   

We can’t begin to tell everyone how grateful we are for the continued support of fans and stars alike as the band enters a new era as “Paul Revere’s Raiders”. It’s been hard even thinking about performing without Paul, but after working everything out, we feel great about the show, and hope we get a chance to bring it to as many cities as possible this year. I walked away from this weekend feeling that people were grateful to have the chance to see Paul one last time, and pumped to celebrate The Raiders music along with Paul’s band. It’s a Love Fest to be sure.     

A big thanks also to Paul Shaffer who offered to perform with us at our first show after Paul passed away at crunch time. Paul Shaffer is a really wonderful guy. And on a side note, if you guys haven’t read his book, “We'll Be Here For the Rest of Our Lives”, pick it up. A fast, fun and funny read about Paul’s career and the music biz he’s been such a huge part of, from Vegas showrooms to prime time television. Fantastic inside showbiz stories. I recommend it to everyone, and they always thank me for it later.    

Hope to see you at our ARCADA show on Sunday, May 17^th.  

Happy New Year, buddy, and continued success to you!  

Tommy

 

Fang ... back on stage with Paul Revere's Raiders

at one of their comeback shows in Las Vegas

(photo courtesy of Tommy Scheckel)

Those are two of my long-lost Raiders favorites ... it'll be great to hear them again, especially performed live by the band.  Looking forward to The Arcada Show in May ... and please keep us posted regarding your other activities.  SO happy to hear that the fans are supporting Paul's Guys!  Thanks for thinking of us, Tommy!  (kk)

 

Paul Revere's birthday was last Wednesday, January 7th ... he would have been 77 years old ... and I've got to tell you that before he started having health problems he had the look and energy of a man half that age ... just a GREAT guy who really enjoyed life.

FH Reader Frank B sent in a couple of links worth sharing ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ8RdgHqk8U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lCIQ_v5LxE

More Heartfelt Joe Cocker Memories

Got this email from our FH Buddy Henry Gross the other day ... a close, personal friend of the late Joe Cocker.

Henry performed with Joe at Woodstock back in 1969 when he was part of Sha Na Na and, until now, has said very little about the passing of his friend ... and this music icon.

The cool thing about Forgotten Hits is that we give these artists the forum to express those feelings with an audience who will most appreciate it.  (Be sure to check out the site tomorrow for the latest regarding the evolution of Paul Revere's Raiders since the passing of the charismatic leader!)

But for now, please enjoy these comments from Henry Gross as he opens up his heart about his dearly departed friend ...   

Kent,  

A healthy and happy new year to you, yours and all of your readers. We love what you do and applaud your efforts to keep the memory of the great musicians, songwriters and producers alive.  

It was too soon for me to jump in and comment about the loss of the great Joe Cocker but after the holidays I feel like saying a few words.  

I stood maybe fifty feet away from Joe at “Woodstock” and had the privilege of witnessing his magical performance. I shared stages with him in the 70’s when, yes, perhaps at times he was having too much fun, but even on those shows, I never remember one night where there were no inspirational moments. He was a soul man and despite the often cruel and unforgiving words written about some of his performances from that time, he always did his best and often delivered, to quote Humphrey Bogart in the Maltese Falcon, “The stuff dreams are made of”. I know. I was there for several shows. 

I was again privileged to open a run of shows with him in Florida a couple of years ago. He was great, his voice awesome and he couldn’t have been kinder or more generous to me in his praise of my songwriting and performance and his sharing of random memories of times and places, several of which we shared. We did about a half dozen memorable shows. The best part for me was Joe taking the time to stop by my dressing room before he went on to talk about singing and the wonder of this life! 

I would have loved him forever if only for the joy his performance on “You Are So Beautiful To Me” brought my mom. But the time I did get to spend with him gave me enough of a glimpse of his heart to be certain I was in the presence of a giant … a truly gifted artist. For those precious times I will always be grateful and consider myself lucky.

I miss him. His passing truly saddened me as much as his presence brought me joy. To everyone who worked and made music with him, I offer my condolences. To his wife, I send the tears of sorrow and joy in my heart. To Joe I send love and thanks for making all of our lives a whole lot brighter. 

You will forever live in my memory.  
Henry Gross     


Hi Henry! 

SO good to hear from you again ... the very best to you and yours as well for the new year.

Thank you for the heartfelt remembrance of Joe Cocker ... 

Hopefully in addition to the one bad review you saw about a particular Cocker performance you ALSO saw our loving tributes as well ...  
http://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2014/12/joe-cocker
html http://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2014/12/mojo-or-perhaps-more-accurately-mo-joe.html    

I only saw Joe in top form when he appeared in concert ... after COMPLETELY blowing me away in Woodstock, I couldn't help but wonder if he "still had it" all those years later.  Believe me ... he did! 

Likewise, we've seen other (and might I add far LESSER) performers trying to make their way through a live show when, in truth, they were in absolutely NO shape or condition to be doing so ... I guess to a degree it comes with the territory of our generation, right?  To that degree, I think MOST fans have been more than "forgiving".  But artists also have to keep in mind that from the FANS' perspective, they spend good, hard-earned money to see these performers who have touched our lives ... and there will always be certain expectations that come along with that.  (By the same token, I've also seen FAR too many audiences who were so fucked up in their seats you have to wonder if they'll remember being at the show at all!!!)  

There is kind of the unwritten agreement between performer and fan, I guess ... maybe sometimes the fans' expectations are too high ... but I also believe that the performer has a certain obligation to put on the best show possible night after night, too, if only to say Thank You to all those fans for their on-going support that got them where they are.    

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts and memories of the great Joe Cocker ... I appreciate it and will share with our readers as well. 

Take care!
kk

Kent Kotal

Forgotten Hits   

Hi Kent, 

I wasn’t referring to this review you posted. Sadly, I read a couple of them in the 70’s. 

People have to understand that all performers give their word to do the best they can and deliver every night. Not everyone can live up to that promise every night. I get it, believe me. When I do a show it’s like I shook your hand ... you show up … I’ll give 1,000%. And believe me I do. But I’m forgiving of my fellow performers when they stumble. We’re only human - unless it becomes a habit. Joe was amazing damn near every night. My reaction was … the man gave so much ... remember the greatness and imagine your world had you never heard that voice.   

In life it very often seems that what we choose to remember and focus on defines who we are. Just sayin'.  

Much love, 
Henry

*****

I meant to run this the other day but ran out of time ...   

Here's The Joe Cocker Hit List!    

Quite an impressive body of work, I must say!  

1968 With A Little Help From My Friends - US = 49; Chi = xx; UK = #1
1969 Feeling Alright - US = 69; Chi = xx; UK = xx
1969 Delta Lady - US = 69; Chi = xx; UK = 10 
1970 She Came In Through The Bathroom Window - US = 30; Chi = 32; UK = xx
1970 The Letter (Live) - US = 5; Chi = 2; UK = 39
1970 Cry Me A River - US = 7; Chi = 7; UK = xx
1971 High Time We Went - US = 19; Chi = 8; UK = xx
1971 Black-Eyed Blues - US = 22 (B-Side); Chi = xx; UK = xx

1972 Feeling Alright (reissue) - US = 28; Chi = xx; UK = xx

1972 Midnight Rider - US = 26; Chi = xx; UK = xx

1973 Woman To Woman - US = 52; Chi = xx; UK = xx

1973 Pardon Me Sir - US = 48; Chi = xx; UK = xx

1974 Put Out The Light - US = 38; Chi = xx; UK = xx

1975 You Are So Beautiful - US = 4; Chi = 2; UK = xx

1975 It's A Sin When You Love Somebody - US = 5 (B-Side); Chi = xx; UK = xx

1978 Fun Time - US = 38; Chi - xx; UK = xx

1982 Up Where We Belong (with Jennifer Warnes) - US = 1; Chi = 1; UK = 7
1983 Threw It Away - US = 104; Chi = xx; UK = xx

1984 Edge Of A Dream - US = 63; Chi = xx; UK = xx

1986 Shelter Me - US = 80; Chi = xx; UK = xx

1987 Unchain My Heart - US = xx; Chi = xx; UK = 46
1990 When The Night Comes - US = 11; Chi = 4; UK = 76
1990 What Are You Doing With A Fool Like Me - US = 69; Chi = xx; UK = xx

1992 (All I Know) Feels Like Forever - US = xx; Chi = xx; UK = 25
1992 Now That The Magic Has Gone - US = xx; Chi = xx; UK = 28
1992 Unchain My Heart (reissue) - US = xx; Chi - xx; UK = 17
1992 When The Night Comes (reissue) - US = xx; Chi = xx; UK = 61
1994 The Simple Things - US = xx; Chi = xx; UK = 17
1994 Take Me Home (with Bekka Bramlett) - US = xx; Chi = xx; UK = 41
1994 Let The Healing Begin - US = xx; Chi = xx; UK = 32
1995 Have A Little Faith - US = xx; Chi = xx; UK = 67
1996 Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - US = xx; Chi = xx; UK = 53   

I will NEVER forget the first time I ever heard "You Are So Beautiful" ... a song that IMMEDIATELY grabs you ... and SO unlike anything else we'd heard Cocker do to date.  

And then when his voice cracks at the end on that last note ... an immediate cringe ... WHY on earth would he leave that in?!?!?  I can't believe he didn't go back and fix that!!!  This was the PERFECT record and he just ruined it.  ALL of those thoughts passed through my head when I heard it for the very first time ... then, about the next dozen times or so, I remember thinking (or even SAYING) "Here it comes" ... "Listen to this, he TOTALLY blows it" ... and then suddenly ... after about 25 or 30 listens ... it fits PERFECTLY!!!  

I was slow to get it at first ... that WAS the very essence of Joe Cocker ... it wasn't SUPPOSED to be perfect.  I've heard the song THOUSANDS of times since then ... and can't imagine it ever sounding any other way.  I've heard composers Billy Preston (credited) and Dennis Wilson (uncredited) sing it ... talk about a raspy, out-of-sync vocal, I don't know that ANYBODY could overdo Dennis Wilson's burnt-out vocal rendition!!!  Yet he made it a point to close out every Beach Boys concert with it.  Cringeworthy?  Almost unbearable.  Yet you still waited to hear him sing it every single show.   

Over the years, I've heard dozens of singers sing it perfectly ... cleaning up that last note ... and it just sounds wrong ... TOO perfect ... TOO clean.  Now, some 40 years later, it just doesn't sound right.  

But Joe nailed it ... TOTALLY nailed it.  It's what I can ONLY describe as "Imperfection Perfection".  He knew EXACTLY what he was doing.

ELVIS / 80

Can you believe that The King Of Rock And Roll, had he lived, would have been 80 years old today???   

(By the same token ... and maybe even harder to imagine ... is the fact that he's now been GONE for nearly as long as he was with us!!!)   

RCA (now Sony), never one to miss an opportunity to re-release Elvis material,  has a new 3-CD set out commemorating Elvis' birthday ...

Why this special "birthday box set" wouldn't include 80 tracks is beyond me.  (Doesn't that seem like it would have kept the whole symmetry going?)  Instead, it stops at 54, which includes a complete disc of Elvis "updated" remixes and alternate takes ... pretty familiar material overall.  (RCA / then BMG / and now Sony have always seemed to take this position with The King:  "For The Elvis Fan Who Has EVERYTHING ... Here It Is Again!!!")

Personally, I'd have a hard time narrowing down a "complete" Elvis collection to just 80 tracks.  Think about that for a second ... how many artists can you think of where, if you tried to compile a list of 80 all-time favorites, you'd still have to leave out at least another hundred great songs, just to get the count down that low? 

Elvis hit The Billboard Pop Singles Chart an incredible 165 times between 1956 and 2007 ... that's already TWICE as many hits as you'd have to allow yourself just to compile The Top 80!!! 

There was a time when Elvis music played regularly on oldies radio ... 

Yet today he seems to have been reduced down to a relatively minor artist ... 

Even Billboard Magazine, who tracked the entire reign of The King, has eliminated close to thirty of Elvis' biggest early hits with their new "Hot 100" philosophy, tracking only the music charted AFTER their Hot 100 Chart was launched in 1958.

And I'm not talking about just "any" hits here ... I'm talking MAJOR chart achievements and accomplishments that helped launch The Rock And Roll Era ... "Heartbreak Hotel", "Blue Suede Shoes", "Hound Dog", "Don't Be Cruel", "Love Me Tender", "Jailhouse Rock", "Teddy Bear", "All Shook Up" and nearly two dozen others ... music that help shape and inspire all that came after it. (Without Elvis, there would have been no Beatles ... and on and on and on.)

Radio seems to have adopted the same philosophy ... heck, listening to the radio today, you'd think Elvis' career started (and ended) in 1969.

Sure, you'll still hear "Suspicious Minds" several times a day ... and "Burnin' Love" half a dozen times a week ... and (don't ask me why) that God-Awful Remix of "A Little Less Conversation" (which barely even qualifies as Elvis) ... and, on some of the better stations, you might even hear "Return To Sender", "Can't Help Falling In Love" ... and maybe an occasional spin of "Kentucky Rain", "Viva Las Vegas" or "In The Ghetto" ... and then, of course, at Christmas time they'll play "Blue Christmas" enough times to make you sick of it ... but what about all of these OTHER great hits that helped define Elvis' career?  

SO many favorite and timeless tunes ... I couldn't possibly rank them all ... 

In fact, I couldn't even narrow it down to 80 of my favorites ... and (for the purpose of this article) I tried!!!  

After about an hour and a half, I got it down to about 180 and then finally gave up ... 'cause let's face it, I couldn't really feature all of them anyway!!!      

So instead I decided to just go with just eight ... EIGHT INDISPENSABLE Elvis tunes that you probably won't hear anywhere else today.  (Now granted, these are NOT your "everyday" Elvis tunes ... but each still strikes a nerve in me today ... and shows just how versatile his style really was ... the guy really could sing just about anything!)  

Now, with all of that being said, hopefully some of the jocks on the list will feel a little bit inspired stray from the usual play list a few times today and treat their listeners to some other great, long ignored Elvis classics ... and give their listeners a chance to remember just how incredible and revolutionary he really was. 

Scott Shannon will be featuring an Elvis song every hour today on The True Oldies Channel ... you can tune in and listen here:
http://trueoldieschannel.com/ 
A big Elvis fan himself, Scott is likely to play a few of these "off the beaten path" tracks I'm talking about. 

Kent ... 
Last night Wild Wayne did his Elvis 80th Birthday Tribute.  You can check it out here ---  Archive Section.   
http://wwuh.streamrewind.com/bookmarks/listen/105768/rock-roll-memory-machine-with-wild-wayne  

If you listen, let me know what you think.  Notice he doesn't give the title for each song, in order to squeeze in more music.
Frank B.   

This week on The Pop Shoppe (all times Eastern):

7:00 / 8:00      Music from the 50's and 60's!!!!          

8:00 / 12:00    Remembering  Elvis!

                       He would have been 80 years old on Thursday.

My tribute consists of the greatest songs by Elvis as well as many others who loved him. I'll have tribute songs as well as answer songs. Just wait till you hear the many sound alikes!! This is definately for Elvis fans. Those who aren't Elvis fans will be by the end of my program.

So don't miss this special evening!!!    

Stu's program goes on until 3 am (Eastern Time) ... and you can listen live here:

OldiesYour Way    (When you go to this site you will be directed to select the player of your choice.)

Talk To Jim Peterik!

Got this from our FH Buddy Clark Besch ... and wanted to pass it along!
 

Hi all, 

This Thursday, January 8, is Elvis' 80th birthday!  BUT, it is also a day for you to have the chance to talk with Jim Peterik about his career.  

The singer / songwriter / author / producer, etc., will be the guest of Radio Hall of Fame Broadcaster Jim Bohannon on this Thursday night's "Jim Bohannon Show" between the 10 PM and 11 PM hour (Central Time).  Jim will likely talk of his new book autobiography, "JIM PETERIK Through the Eye of the Tiger: The Rock 'n' Roll Life of Survivor's Founding Member."   

http://www.amazon.com/Through-Eye-Tiger-Survivors-Founding/dp/1940363160  

Callers from across the country will be able to talk with Jim Peterik about his days with Survivor, his song writing for his bands and others such as .38 Special, his book credits, his history, where he is today in music and his celebration of 50 years with the ORIGINAL Ides of March lineup this year! 

Jim Bohannon can be heard border to border and coast to coast, so your chances of hearing this show are pretty darned good. Here's a site to find a station in your area carrying the show.  Just click the state you are in and view the station list.  

http://www.jimbotalk.net/stationfinder?programID=309  

If you want to hear it on the web, try this for archived podcast after the fact:  

http://www.jimbotalk.net/pg/jsp/jimbo/jimbohome.jsp  

Jim encourages listeners:  

Join the conversation by calling 1-866-50-JIMBO / 1-866-505-4626 as we air live on weeknights between 10 pm and 1 am ET or e-mail us. 

Bohannon's radio career is among the top in the media today.  Having replaced Larry King's night show in 1993, he was inducted into the Broadcasting hall of Fame in 2003.  He has recently started featuring musical stars we don't get to hear from often on national radio, let alone get to speak with.  I have recently heard his conversations with the Zombies, Gordon Lightfoot and Gary Wright on my trips home from work at night.  I encourage fans of Jim Peterik that have always wanted to ask him a question to give this show a try.  

Go ahead and call in!  Jimbo B meets Jimbo P!! 

Jim will be happy to hear from you and answer your inquiries!  

Thursday, January 8, 10-11 PM Central Time!  Don't miss it!

  -- Clark Besch

Catch our review of Jim Peterik's book here:

http://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2014/10/through-eye-of-tiger-our-review-of-new.html 

 Photo by Tom Apathy

(By the way, we WILL be celebrating Elvis' Birthday tomorrow in Forgotten Hits!  Be there ... or be square!!!)

Tuesday This And That

re:  The Little River Band:

Got this email from at least a dozen Forgotten Hits Readers yesterday ... they all remember when we broke the story about the current line-up of The Little River Band a few months back ...

 

Now Vintage Vinyl News reports ...

 

Jimmy Fallon Books the Non-Original Little River Band

by Paul Cashmere, Noise11  

Whoever books the talent for the Jimmy Fallon show didn’t do his or her research. The non-original Little River Band has been booked on the show to celebrate 40 years of a band that hasn’t had an original member in decades.
The last man out of the original line-up was drummer Derek Pellicci in 1997. Current owner of the name Steve Housden joined in 1981.
Under Housden’s command Little River Band have not had a hit album or single except for his co-write with Graeham Goble of Little River Band’s last hit song was 1988’s Love Is A Bridge sung by founding member Glenn Shorrock and featuring founders Goble and Derek Pellicci still in the band.
Little River Band has never had a hit record without a founding member.
Jimmy Fallon has basically booked a “covers” band to come on and talk and play about a history they were not part of for January 12.
The original Little River Band, featuring Glenn Shorrock, Graeham Goble, Beeb Birtles, Derek Pellicci and David Briggs are inductees of the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame.
The founding members of Little River Band had bonafide Top 40 hits in America with It’s a Long Way There, Help Is On Its Way, Happy Anniversary, Reminiscing, Lady, Lonesome Loser, Cool Change, The Night Owls, Take It Easy On Me, Man On Your Mind, The Other Guy and We Two.
In the late 70s, early 80s, the original Little River Band rivalled the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac in the USA. Nelson’s current line-up had nothing to do with the legacy.
Night Owls (sung by Wayne Nelson) was written by Goble.
There are no Australians in the current line-up of LRB and have not been since Derek Pellicci left. It is true that Wayne Nelson legally owns the name and has done everything he can legally do to stop the founding members referring to their legacy. The fact is Wayne Nelson may own a brand name but he will never own the heritage of Little River Band.
Jimmy Fallon will be showcasing a line-up that has never had a hit but legally owns a brand name. That is pretty poor programming Jimmy Fallon.

Boy, if I received a dozen emails on this I can only imagine how many THOUSANDS of emails Jimmy Fallon must have received!  (lol)  January 12th is till a week away ... don't be at all surprised if this scheduled appearance mysteriously falls through the cracks.  (How do you go on national tv and talk about your 40th anniversary as a band when, in fact, NOBODY in this band was there at the beginning ... nobody contributed to their long-standing legacy ... and NOBODY has 40 years of memories to share?!?!)

Our piece became quite controversial at the time ... this should only help to fuel the fire.  (kk)

http://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-little-river-band.html

http://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-little-river-band-follow-up.html

http://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2014/12/reaction-to-our-recent-reviews-up.html

 

re:  The 50 Year Flashback:

>>>Will you still be doing the Saturday Surveys feature?  It’s hugely popular with a group of record geek friends of mine.   (Bob Merlis)

>>>I've revamped it for 2015 ... this year we'll only be featuring one chart per week from exactly 50 years ago ... we're calling it The 50 Year Flashback!  It'll run every Monday in 2015.  It's funny because what I found last year was that The Saturday Surveys had a VERY limited (but VERY loyal and faithful) audience ... but it was also a TREMENDOUS amount of work to put together every week.

Had the response been better overall, I might have kept it going ... but I'm hoping the one chart a week will still keep the faithful interested (and make my workload a WHOLE lot easier!!!  Lol)  kk

OK, I got it ... but we know that we had big fun talking about obscure ’50s and ‘70s non-hits as well as those from 50 years ago.  At any rate, can’t thank you enough for doing all you do.

Bob

 

Kent,

In today's FH, you asked the question "What is it with all the apostrophes on the WLS survey".

Kent, you mean you don't remember that group from the sixties? I believe they recorded for the ? record label with the lead singer being ! from parts unknown. LOL

Larry

You're right ... I vaguely remember now ... Whats on third!  lol  (kk)

 

Ever notice that as a young music fan you are first attracted to the SOUND of a record?  The meaning of the lyrics are secondary because they deal with experiences you have not yet had -- nor fully understand.  It's only later -- sometimes years later -- that you hear that song again, pay close attention to the words and suddenly realize, "So THATS what that song is all about."

Until I saw that January 1965 WLS Silver Dollar Survey I had never heard of the Eddie Albert single "Fall Away" -- which,  due to airplay on The Big 89 and a handful of smaller stations, managed to chart -- but just barely -- in Billboard.  (It bubbled under for three weeks in January 1965, cresting at only #119.).  Curious, I looked it up on You Tube and there is was, complete with a lot of surface noise and its last few seconds clipped off.  But what a record.

I didn't move within range of WLS until 1966, so I can only surmise that teenage fans of the Big 89 the year before must have fallen for the gentle SOUND of that single.  But today, now that we are all a whole lot older, the poignancy of that track really hits home.  It's as if it was released when we were teens with the intention that we wouldn't really "get it" until now -- half a century later.  Note that "Fall Away" was written by Boudleaux and Felice Bryant, the composers of "Love Hurts," "Bye Bye Love" and "All I Have To Do Is Dream" (among many others).  Here is "Fall Away" --https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARMg-3C6Juw

Gary Theroux

"Fall Away" was a sizeable hit here in Chicago, peaking at #10 on our WLS Chart.  (It did make The National Top 100, peaking at #92 in Record World only ... it "bubbled under" in both Cash Box and Billboard.)  Eddie, of course, would go on to most famously portray Oliver Wendell Douglas on the hit TV Series "Green Acres", becoming ALMOST as famous as Arnold Ziffel, the pig, in the process.  (Talking about '60's innuendo, think it was just a coincidence that gorgeous, clad in her nightgown Eva Gabor kept calling their new home town "Hootersville"???)  I always liked Albert as the warden in the original film version of "The Longest Yard" ... a TOTALLY different type of role for him after his television sitcom days.

"Fall Away" was most definitely lost on the youth back in '64 / '65 ... not the kind of thing we would have cared to listen to (and a guaranteed button-pusher, had there been anything else worth listening to on the dial at the time) ... but you're right ... it DOES take on a completely different feel when listened to with the benefit of life's perspective.  (kk)

 

1965?  Great year for pop and soul music, Kent!  I'll be sure to check in - and thanks once again. 

Bobster

 

>>>1965 was when I became a total top 40 survey-aholic!  It's when I started running home from school in winter to hear Dex Card as early as possible counting down the survey.  My real first home made radio station surveys began mid-65 with "Yes It Is" and "Stop In The Name of Love" being my top choices.  With my imagination, instead of the way KOMA did their charts, I chose to make #0 as higher than #1 and also PH (pick hit) second choice for the first charts I made.  By the time Freddy Cannon's "Action" was #1 on my chart, I was doing a full TOP 80!  I was nine years old!  Late in the year, the Hollies' "Look Thru Any Window" became my fave 60's song of the decade when it topped my chart for five weeks, dislodged early in 1966 for a week during that run by "Andrea."  Dex, Ron, Art all became my heroes instantly.  The rest is history that I continue to relive daily.  :)

(Clark Besch)

Ha!

I did the same thing as Clark, a weekly top twenty of my favorites. Good to know I wasn't the only fanatic top 40 fan!

Phil

PrayForSurfblog.blogspot.com

So did I ... although mine didn't really start in earnest until 1967 ... that's when Super AM Stations WLS and WCFL competed for the teenage audience and both issued weekly charts that could be picked up at your local record store.  (Remember those?!?!)  Despite both stations covering the exact same audience, their charts didn't always reflect the same results ... so I started COMBINING the two charts into one "consensus" survey in order to determine the REAL Top 40 Songs in Chicago.  (Back then, Chicago Radio was my whole world ... I didn't realize that other radio stations in other cities played different music ... or that national publications like Billboard and Cash Box even existed ... I had never SEEN one!!!)  Many years later, after I discovered Joel Whitburn's very first Record Research book in the library, I started my own ranking system, jotting down each record's peak position locally on index cards and cross-referencing them to how they performed in Billboard.  (Ron Smith evidently did the exact same thing ... only he turned HIS research into books which have proven invaluable to me once I launched Forgotten Hits!)

Eventually, after dozens and dozens and dozens of hours spent at The Chicago Public Library downtown, copying Billboard charts from microfilm, I started what I called "The Sound 60 Survey" ... a compilation of the biggest hits weighted between a given record's popularity on both the local and national charts ... factoring in that these NEW charts would represent The Midwest.  Typed 'em up and soon went back as far as 1956 ... and kept it all going until about 1975.

I still remember an assignment from what must have been April of 1965 where we had to create, from scratch, a graph-chart of some sort.  I had the most current surveys issued by both WLS and Top Tunes Of Greater Chicago, NEITHER of which charted The Beatles' "Ticket To Ride" at #1 at the time.  (It DID eventually top the Top Tunes Chart a couple of weeks later).  I couldn't understand how this record could possibly NOT be #1 ... they played it constantly on the radio ... it was consistently ranked as the most requested song of the day ... and everybody I knew LOVED it.  So I did a poll of about twenty students, giving them a Top Ten Hits list to choose from to see how the record might fare in a random popularity poll.  (Lo and behold, I had invented Radio Research without even knowing it!!!  lol)  Incredibly, "Ticket To Ride" STILL didn't rank #1 ... it was kept out of the top spot by Herman's Hermits who had THREE hit records out at the time:  "Mrs. Brown, You've Got A Lovely Daughter", "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat" and "Silhouettes"!  (How the hell do I remember this stuff ... yet can't remember key events from last week?!?!)

Anyway, it was a fun hobby ... and I wish I still had those charts today. (Ironically, in 1969 after seeing Sha Na Na and Ten Years After perform at Woodstock, and having recently been totally captivated by Elvis' comeback television special, I started a list that I called "The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame" ... yep, I invented that too!  It kicked off with ten artists and ten songs ... and each year I would add one new artist and ten new songs to the list ... all from what I would call "The Golden Age Of Rock And Roll" ... kept that up until about 1975, too.)  Back then ... in my mind ... a song or artist had to be at least ten years old to qualify ... let's face it, at the time, rock and roll history didn't reach back as far as it does today! ... so The Beatles weren't even eligible until 1974!  This practice helped introduce me to all kinds of music I had missed out on at the time due to my youth.  Then, when I saw "American Graffiti" in 1973, the whole oldies world opened up to me ... and five years later I had my own mail-order record business, selling out-of-print oldies to music fans ... like this very same Clark Besch! ... through publications like "Goldmine", "Discoveries" and my own mailing lists.  I remember my slogan at the time:  "Keeping Yesterday Alive Since 1978" (which looked a WHOLE lot more impressive in 1985 than it did at the time!)  I guess I just always had this need to share the love of this music with others ... because in 1999 I launched Forgotten Hits and have been doing it ever since!

Damn, Phil, all of that just spilled out of me ... but you now have a pretty good idea of why I do what I do ... for the love of the music ... and the common bond we all share by enjoying it right here in Forgotten Hits!  (kk)

50 Year Flashback - January 5, 1965

WLS kicks off 1965 with something old and something new ...

The Current Top 20 Hit Records here in Chicago ...

Along with the 20 Biggest #1 Hits of 1964.

Topping BOTH charts are The Beatles ... FIVE of the Top Eight #1 Records from 1964 belonged to The Fab Four ... that's over 60%!!!  And their latest two-sided hit, "I Feel Fine" / "She's A Woman" sits on top of this week's Silver Dollar Survey as well.  

(What is it exactly with all the "apostrophe s's" shown on these charts???)

The Beatle's
The Supreme's
The Waikaiki's (also spelled wrong!)
The Shangri-La's

I just don't get it!!!

Anyway, this year we'll continue to flash back 50 years and look at the biggest hits in any given city, hot new premiers, biggest movers, and (especially) Forgotten Hits that you just don't hear on the radio anymore ... no matter HOW big they were at the time.

As such, here are three such goodies from this week in 1965 ...

The aforementioned Waikikis ... along with Roger Miller (who was SUPER hot at the time) and Dick and DeeDee ... three songs that we DARE the disc jockeys on our list to play this week!!!  Enjoy!