March 5th

The Supremes earn a second week at #1 with their latest, "Love Is Here And Now You're Gone" while "Ruby Tuesday" by The Rolling Stones also holds at #2.  "Baby, I Need Your Lovin'" climbs five more notches to #3 for Johnny Rivers and "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" by The Casinos and "Sock It To Me, Baby" by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels also continue to climb the ranks … from #7 to #4 and from #10 to #5 respectively.  

The Beatles leap 22 places (from #28 to #6) with "Penny Lane" in only its third week on the chart while Herman's Hermits make an impressive move from #17 to #8 with their latest, "There's A Kind Of Hush".  Rounding out The Top Ten we've got "Kind Of A Drag" by The Buckinghams falling from #3 to #7, "Gimme Some Lovin'" by The Spencer Davis Group falling from #6 to #9 and sneaking into The Top Ten for the very first time, "My Cup Runneth Over" by Ed Ames, which climbs from #14 to #10.  

The Turtles just miss The Top Ten as "Happy Together" leaps sixteen places from #27 to #11.  Other big movers within The Top 40 include "Strawberry Fields Forever" by The Beatles (up to #14 from #30), "Dedicated To The One I Love" by The Mamas and the Papas, up sixteen places from #31 to #15, "Ups And Downs" by Paul Revere and the Raiders, who climb fourteen spots from #40 to #26, "The Return Of The Red Baron" by The Royal Guardsmen, up to #30 from #55, a leap of 25 places and "No Milk Today", a Herman's Hermits B-Side that climbs from #52 to #39, an impressive move of thirteen places.  

The Monkees hold on to the #1 spot on the album chart as "More Of The Monkees" notches its fifth week on top.  In a ten hour session at RCA Studios on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California, they continue to work on "I'll Spend My Life With You" and "Randy Scouse Git".  

Paul Revere and the Raiders appear on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.  

An hour earlier, Dionne Warwick sings "The Way You Look Tonight" on The Ed Sullivan Show.  

Number One at the Box Office:  Hurry Sundown

*****

One of the very first artists we ever talked to in Forgotten Hits were brothers Gene and Ron Hughes of The Casinos, who scored a Top Five Smash with their version of "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye".  It remains one of my all-time favorites ... not just of 1967 ... but of all-time ... it is such a well-written song.

kk / FH:  "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" is a GREAT song ... one of my personal favorites from 1967 ... and it STILL sounds great today!  And it's been a hit a few times since then, too ... Glen Campbell, Toby Beau, Eddy Arnold; it's just a great song! 
Ron Hughes:  After our hit, it was redone by many other artists and put onto many an album for sure.

FH:  It was written by John Loudermilk, right?
RH:  Right.

FH:  And how did you guys come across it?
RH:  Johnny Nash first recorded it ... we had heard his rendition of it ... and decided to do it on stage in our own style.  The Casinos started out as pretty much a doo-wop band with my brothers Gene and Glen and some friends from school ... Joe Patterson (who we lost a little while back), Pete Bolton (who could sing falsetto) and Ray White.  They cut a few records that made a little noise on the local scene like "Maybe" and "She's Outta Sight", etc., but nothing really happened outside the Cincy area.  In the mid-'60's, they decided to expand the group to include a complete brass section ... this is when I joined and we became known as The Casinos "Show" Band ... we played several local clubs and started to build a following.  When we added "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" to the line-up, the crowds went crazy ... especially the girls.  One night, Harry Carlson of Fraternity Records came by and heard us perform ... and saw the crowd's reaction ... and he signed us up.  We put out "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye", a song we had heard Johnny Nash do, backed with "I Still Love You", written by our guitar player, Mickey Denton ... ironically, it was "I Still Love You" that started to get the airplay ... we had to tell the radio stations to turn the record over and play the A-Side! Once they did, the record took off.  Soon we were touring with Paul Revere and the Raiders and The Beach Boys ... one-night stands all over the country!  It was like a one-year paid vacation for me.  Unfortunately, it was over almost as fast as it started.  They released a song called "It's All Over Now" as the next single, featuring Pete's falsetto lead vocal ... big mistake!  (We should have saved "I Still Love You" as our second release.)  I hung up my horn and never looked back.

FH:  Who did your arrangement?
RH:  Our arrangement was done by our guitarist and organ player in the group, Mickey and Bob ... in fact, Mickey wrote the flip side of  Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye, I Still Love You which, at first, was getting as much air play as the A side until it went national.

FH:  The Casinos had been around quite a while before this song hit ... why do you think THIS particular song was so different? 
RH:  LOL ...because the girls in the clubs loved it!

FH:  I've heard it compared to some of the things The Association were doing at the time. 
RH:  Good group ... good songs ... The Association ... if we're being compared to that, it's a compliment to us.

FH:  Not a bad "association" at all, I guess!  (LOL) 
RH:  At the time, I believe the Association had nine members, same as us.

FH:  A nine-member group wasn't really in fashion back then ... everything was starting to turn psychedelic right around that time. 
RH:  And we looked "odd" in suits and short hair, I reckon!

FH:  It always seems to be stressed (more by Gene, I guess, from what he's told me) how the band HAD to remain "clean-cut". 
RH:  True, very true ... he  maintained "short hair / nice dress" on stage.

FH:  Was that a very conscious thing to appear "different" than what was going on? 
RH:  To this day, he still performs like that ... lol ... it was just "our" choice to appear as we did.

FH:  So, is Gene the only member of The Casinos still performing today? 
RH:  He sometimes uses Ray White, the bass player and Pete Bolton, the falsetto, for local Nashville oldies shows.
(EDITOR'S NOTE:  Please keep in mind that this interview took place several months before GENE HUGHES passed away ... in fact, we talked to him a few times on the phone down in Nashville, pretty much his "home base" at the time, to be sure that HE was happy with the way the interview had gone ... and to check and see if he had anything else to add to the mix.  In fact, I probably have one of a VERY select few promo / advance copies of their proposed GREATEST HITS CD ... and CERTAINLY one of a VERY limited number of SIGNED copies, which he sent me as a "Thank You" for featuring THE CASINOS here in FORGOTTEN HITS!!!)

kk:  Did you do much in the way of television appearances?

RH:  Not local TV stuff, no ... You can check ... Go to Boston ... Cleveland for shows on at the time ... I don't remember the call letters of the tv stations which taped us  : (
Once we showed up at radio station ... they looked at us surprisingly and said ... YOU'RE WHITE!!!!!!!!

FH:  lol 
RH:  lol   we blusheddddddd ... unwhitened us fast

FH:  That's actually a pretty good compliment right there!!!! 
RH:  Blue-Eyed Soul!

FH:  You mentioned in one of our earlier conversations that you toured with The Beach Boys ... being a HUGE Beach Boys fan, I've got to ask you, what that was like?
RH:  The Beach Boys ... Carl and Mike and Al Jardine ... great guys ... nuff said   : ) : ) : )  Touring was funnnn butttttt tiringgggg!!!  Especially the Beach Boys tours ... different city every night!

FH:  So you haven't stayed involved with music at all?  Were there opportunities after The Casinos called it quits? 
RH:  Laid down the horn ... turned my back .... sing in shower .. no regrets.  Got into country record promotion in Nashville.  Worked with Gene in that for a couple years.

Here's a photo of us taken in 1968 ... 

From left to right:  Mickey Denton  (lead guitar);  Bob Armstrong  (organ and vocals);   ahem, moi ... Ron Hughes  (trumpet and vocals);  in front, Ray White (bass guitar and vocal arranger);  in back, Pete Bolton  (vocals and falsetto); in front, Tom Matthews  (drummer);  in back, Glen Hughes  (vocals);  against the tree, Joe Patterson, now deceased, (sax and vocals) and in front, Gene Hughes, (lead singer.)

Not pictured:  Bill Hawkins, who joined us on tour and played the trombone. 

(EDITOR'S NOTE:  Lead Vocalist Gene Hughes passed away shortly after our Forgotten Hits Interview ran.  He was kind enough to send me an autographed CD of The Casinos' Greatest Hits while we were talking, which I still have in my personal collection.)

 

March 4th

On the local scene ...

Tommy James and the Shondells hold on to the top spot on both of our local charts this week ... but I remember a heated battle between "I Think We're Alone Now" and The Turtles' "Happy Together" ... seems like they kept bumping each other out of the #1 spot ... we may see more evidence of this in the weeks to come.



WCFL's "Think Green" campaign is still fresh in my mind 50 years later!  (You had to answer your phone this way to win the prize money.) 

Meanwhile, WLS is pushing their brand new "Personality Magazine", which has become a real collectors' item.  (I've gone thru several copies over the years.)  

Britain's New Musical Express reports that The Monkees will perform three concerts there in July.  In the same issue, Davy Jones tells this story to reporter Keith Altham: 

"A reporter came up to me in the U.S. and asked what I thought about John Lennon's 'Jesus' quote, when he said he thought The Beatles were more popular.  I said that there was some talk about us being more popular than The Beatles at the moment, so where does that put US!?!?  I can imagine this guy going away now and writing, 'Davy Jones says he's God.'"

March 3rd

New on the charts this week are "Beggin'" by The Four Seasons (this week's top debut at #69), "This Is My Song" by Petula Clark (premiering at #77), the novelty hit "Mairzy Doats" by The Innocence, brand new at #85, the stick-in-your-head "Western Union" by The Five Americans, premiering at #89 and "Bernadette" by The Four Tops, bringing up the rear at #99.  

Aretha Franklin debuts with her first soul hit for her new label, Atlantic Records, as "I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You") premiers at #81.  

And, speaking of Petula Clark, she performs before England's Princess Margaret at The London Palladium tonight.  

The Jeff Beck Group, featuring bass player Ron Wood, drummer Aynsley Dunbar and former Long John Baldry vocalist Rod Stewart, make their performance debut in London.  Virtuoso Guitarist Jeff Beck, a former Yardbird, would go on to have a stellar career as both a solo artist as well as performing with a who's who of rock superstars over the years.  Rod Stewart and Ron Wood would (Wood-would … now that's kinda cool!) go on to join Faces a couple of years later.   

While still working with Faces, Rod Stewart would launch a HUGE solo career in 1971 with his #1 hit (the first of four) "Maggie May.  In 1976 Ron Wood would join The Rolling Stones.  Aynsley Dunbar (who reported lost his spot with The Jimi Hendrix Experience to Mitch Mitchell on a coin toss) would also go on to great success with Frank Zappa's Mothers Of Invention, in addition to playing and / or recording with John Mayall, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Nils Lofgren, Journey, Jefferson Starship, Whitesnake, UFO, Sammy Hagar, Ronnie Montrose, Herbie Mann and several others.  

The Young Rascals are back on "Where The Action Is" performing "I've Been Lonely Too Long" and "Mickey's Monkey".  Mrs. Miller is also on hand.  (Weren't her 15 minutes of fame up a couple of years ago?!?!?)  

The Monkees are in the studio today working on tracks for their upcoming "Headquarters" LP.  Mike Nesmith's "You Told Me" and the group effort "Zilch" are the focus of their attention this evening.  Meanwhile, a pre-Monkees Micky Dolenz solo single, "Don't Do It", is released in the UK.  It will premier on Billboard's Hot 100 Pop Singles chart the following day, eventually peaking at #75.

March 2nd

The Supremes are in the studio today putting the finishing touches on what will be their next two singles … "The Happening" (started back on February 24th) and "Reflections", which incorporates a little bit of the current "psychedelic sound" into the intro, a nice departure from the standard Motown formula.  (They will also see their name change to "Diana Ross and the Supremes" when that track is released later this year.)  

At the ninth annual Grammy Awards Ceremony, Frank Sinatra wins The Record Of The Year Award for "Strangers In The Night" as well as The Album Of The Year Award for "Sinatra: A Man And His Music".  John Lennon and Paul McCartney win The Grammy for Song Of The Year ("Michelle") and The New Vaudeville Band win the award for Best Contemporary Rock And Roll Recording for "Winchester Cathedral".  At the last minute, Davy Jones stands in for the absent Bob Newhart and ends up presenting two of the evening's biggest awards, "Song Of The Year" and "Record Of The Year".   

Although The Monkees have two nominations of their own (Best Contemporary Group Performance and Best Contemporary Group Recording, both for their "Last Train To Clarksville" single), Davy goes home empty-handed.  

Earlier that day The Monkees are in the studio recording tracks for their upcoming "Headquarters" LP.  Today, "Randy Scouse Git", a Micky Dolenz composition and the group instrumental effort "Band 6" are worked on.  

Engelbert Humperdinck moves into the #1 Spot on the UK Singles Chart with "Release Me", his first hit record.  It will stay there for the next six weeks, thus denying The Beatles a number one record for "Penny Lane", their first British single NOT to hit the #1 spot since "Please Please Me" in 1963.  (The Fab Four racked up eleven #1 Hits in between … and would score six more British #1's before calling it quits in 1970.)  "Release Me" will go on to sell nearly 1.4 million copies in Great Britain alone … and remain on the chart for the next 56 weeks!  (Here in The States, it peaked at #3.)

Tommy Roe is back on "Where The Action Is" this afternoon, performing "Kick Me Charlie" and "Everybody".  Also on hand … The Young Holt Trio who do their hit "Wack Wack".

March 1st, 1967

Other big movers on the chart this week include "The Return Of The Red Baron", up from #82 to #55, a jump of 27 places.  (Looks like another big hit for The Royal Guardsmen who peaked at #2 with their debut record "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron" at the beginning of the year.)  Meanwhile, "Jimmy Mack" by Martha and the Vandellas climbs 26 places (from #86 to #60).  

The Beatles begin recording "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" this evening for their new LP.  (In one of the fastest recordings for "Sgt. Pepper", they will finish this track the following night.)  

John Lennon maintained his whole life that the song title was based on a drawing his son Julian did in school and had absolutely NOTHING to do with any sort of reference to LSD, the very popular mind-expanding drug at the time.  Lucy was one of Julian's classmates and he drew a rather abstract picture of her.

When John saw it, he basically said, "That's lovely son … what is it?" to which Julian replied "It's Lucy in the sky with diamonds".  Regarded as one of Lennon's better lyrics (often compared to Lewis Carroll at the time), Paul McCartney later said that several of those psychedelically colorful couplings were his.  

Johnny Rivers sings "The Poor Side Of Town" on "Where The Action Is" this afternoon.  

Since they hadn't been paid, Eric Burdon and the New Animals were a no-show at Ottawa, Ontario's Coliseum … causing fans to riot after waiting for an hour for the band to take the stage.

February 28th

A couple of tracks from this week's Super Chart ...

February 27th

Looks like we called this one right last week … as we head into March, The Supremes take over the top spot on this week's Super Chart as "Love Is Here And Now You're Gone" displaces "Ruby Tuesday" by The Rolling Stones after just one week.  

We've only got two new entries into this week's Top Ten … "Baby, I Need Your Lovin'" by Johnny Rivers jumps from #15 to #8 and "Sock It To Me, Baby" by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels climbs from #13 to #10.    

Other bullets within The Top 40 include "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" by Cannonball Adderley (up from #16 to #12), "My Cup Runneth Over" by Ed Ames (up from #20 to #14), "There's A Kind Of Hush" by Herman's Hermits (up from #33 to #17), "Darling Be Home Soon" by The Lovin' Spoonful (up to #18 from #32), "The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game" by The Marvelettes (up to #20 from #25), "For What It's Worth" by The Buffalo Springfield (up from #28 to #22), "Happy Together" by The Turtles (first week in The Top 40, leaping from #44 to #27), "Penny Lane" by The Beatles, now passing "Strawberry Fields Forever" with a 34 point jump from #62 to #28 ... meanwhile "Strawberry Fields Forever" climbs from #49 to #30 ... "Dedicated To The One I Love" by The Mamas and the Papas" climbs 24 places from #55 to #31, "Niki Hoeky" by P.J. Proby enters the Top 40 for the first time, climbing from #41 to #34, "California Nights" by Lesley Gore is up ten places (from #45 to #35) while Tommy James and the Shondells are up eleven spots (from #48 to #37) with "I Think We're Alone Now".  (This record has already hit #1 here in Chicago!)  Paul Revere and the Raiders climb 16 spots (from #56 to #40), a great showing after their Top Ten Hit "Good Thing".  

The Monkees continue their run at the top of the album chart as "More Of The Monkees" notches its fourth week in the #1 position.  Meanwhile, Don Kirshner is officially dismissed today as music coordinator for The Monkees and head of Colgems Records.  This move has been building for some time as The Monkees wanted to assume creative control of their music.  

Smokey Robinson and the Miracles perform three songs on "Where The Action Is" this afternoon:  "The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage", "The Hard Times" and "A Well Respected Man".

February 26th

Nancy Sinatra is on The Ed Sullivan Show tonight but instead of performing any of her own hits, she sings "My Buddy" and "Sweet Georgia Brown".  (I don't quite get that one!!!)

Buffalo Springfield appear on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour 

Elvis Presley postpones (for the second time) his trip to Hollywood to begin filming his 25th motion picture, "Clambake".  Although he was paid a guaranteed one million dollars for this role, Elvis has been very unhappy with the churn-'em-out movies he's been making and, depressed and distressed at the thought of making yet another carbon copy, has been over-eating regularly. (While on hiatus, his weight ballooned from 170 lbs to over 200 lbs). 

It also seems that The King has been doing an extensive amount of horseback riding of late, causing him an extensive amount of pain, so on this date, Barbara Little, the girlfriend of Elvis' Memphis Disc Jockey Buddy George Klein, suggests that Elvis call her doctor to help with his saddle sores.  It was that appointment that began a doctor - patient relationship that would last until Presley's dying day.  The doctor?  George Nichopoulos … Dr. Nick … who overfed Elvis a MASSIVE amounts of "prescription drugs" for the next ten years to keep his mood up, down, and occasionally, on an even keel. 

It gets worse … once filming finally began on March 22nd (after yet another nearly two week delay when Elvis fell in his bathroom causing a minor concussion), Elvis didn't look good in the dailies due to his excessive weight gain … so producers ordered him to lose some weight quickly in order to protect their investment.  Enter Dr. Nick to prescribe some "diet pills" to help bring his weight down. 

To complicate matters further, the film (which opened on October 18th) tanked at the box office … and thus became Elvis' last guaranteed million dollar salary.  Although he would make a few more films, it was clear that Elvis' heart just wasn't in it anymore.  (Elvis tried a more dramatic role, starring opposite Mary Tyler Moore in "Change Of Habit" a couple of years later but by then music had changed so much that only his most die-hard fans were still buying movie tickets to see him on the big screen.) Thankfully his NBC Comeback Television Special next year would put Elvis back on the Show-Biz Map … it would generate the support of countless new fans, make The King relevant again and launch a series of tours and Las Vegas appearances right up until the time of his death. 

Number One at the Box Office This Week:  Hurry Sundown