Happy Together - 2015

Our on-going coverage of The Happy Together Tour, 2015, continues today in Forgotten Hits ... 

Along with a VERY special announcement!!!

Read on! 

So great to read Carl's comments in FH! 

Last summer I attempted the 'glamour' part of the road by 'traveling like a rock star'.  Strange thing is, I would do it again.  So I can understand why our showstoppers continue this pattern.

Well Kent, I know that YOU Know What I Mean!  Maybe that song is not fun to sing, but it

certainly is fun to listen to and dance to.  It has strong love lyrics and a slinky melody that switches those same lyrics from love to passion.

Shelley

Then you'll REALLY enjoy the fact that we heard from Carl again this past week "from the road" as the tour hit the west coast!  (kk)

Hi Kent,

We are now enjoying a much needed day off in beautiful San Diego. Tomorrow night we are at Humphrey's on the Bay ... it's a beautiful outdoor setting, right on the water. This is our California / Vegas / Arizona part of the tour.

I am blown away by how well received the tour is so far, but its not really a surprise considering the talent that is on the tour this year.

I personally am looking forward to The Paramount in Aurora ... hope to see you there.

Carl  

Hey Kent, 

Where would one go to get ticket info for the "Happy Together" tour? If Ticketmaster is the only source, I guess I'll have to swallow the overcharge and go for it.

As for "And the Grass Won't Pay No Mind", absolutely my all time favorite Mark Lindsay song and one of maybe 12 covers that I like more than the original.  I get to hear it once in a while on WGVU-1480/850 (WGVU-Real oldies.com), but not nearly enough. My 45 is old, overplayed and skips, but I still love it. You should be able to receive 850 out of Muskegon, Mi. in Chicago. Good Sh.. ,er stuff.   

Dube

Ticket information can be found through the usual sources ... Tickemaster ... Pollstar ... or The Turtles' website (which provides links right to the venues themselves, which just might save you the cost of some of those expensive "surcharges" typically added to the ticket price you refer to above.

However, if you're catching the Happy Together show in the Chicagoland area you've now got a couple of choices ... 

Forgotten Hits has learned EXCLUSIVELY that, in addition to their announced performance at The Paramount Theatre in Aurora on Friday, August 21st, these very same '60's Superstar Headliners will ALSO be appearing at The Bolingbrook Performing Arts Center as part of the city's 2015 Jubilee Celebration on Sunday, August 16th, five days EARLIER, for a show that is absolutely FREE to the public!!!   (NOTE:  This show has NOT been officially announced to the public ... not even by the City of Bolingbrook ... just ANOTHER reason why Forgotten Hits is your personal lifeline to the oldies universe!)   

We normally go to the Paramount show every year but have run into some "cooperation" issues with the venue this year for some reason ... I'm really not quite sure why, since we have helped to promote these shows for the past seven years running ... so THIS year I'm opting to check out the FREE August 16th show in Bolingbrook instead ... and hope that ALL of our local Forgotten Hits Readers will join us there for this very special event as Bolingbrook celebrates their 50th Anniversary by throwing this VERY special Birthday Bash!  (Quite honestly, The Paramount has indicated that our FH List simply isn't big enough to draw a desirable amount of fans to their venue ... so with that line of thinking solidly in place, our announcement of this Bolingbrook show should pose absolutely NO threat to them whatsoever ... I mean, seriously ... how many people REALLY get their oldies news from Forgotten Hits these days anyway?!?!)

[A:  over 4 million website views to date ... but who's counting???] 

Besides, this now leaves us open on August 21st to go see Jay and the Americans at the Addison Italian Festival instead ... and head back there on the 23rd to catch Lou Christie at the same event!  That makes EIGHT ... count 'em ... EIGHT ... major oldies attractions in one week.  (The Turtles - Mark Lindsay - The Association - The Buckinghams - The Cowsills - The Grass Roots - Jay and the Americans and Lou Christie!!!)  Heck, even Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars didn't offer THAT much entertainment!!!  (lol)  

As for ticket prices, I hear ya ... the service charges KILL you on some of these shows.  You can typically buy them through the theater box office without having to pay these fees.  (Or, if it's convenient, stop by the box office ahead of time and pick them up weeks before the show so you can just walk right in at show time!) Then again, NOTHING beats a FREE ticket ... so we'll be looking for the Forgotten Hits Cheering Section in Bolingbrook on the 16th!  (kk)   
 

*****  

Last week at a dinner get-together I met a woman who was telling me about the time that she saw The Turtles perform here in Chicago back in 1967.  (Coincidently, I saw The Turtles here in '67, too, when they performed at my high school ... my SECOND live concert as The Association, currently on The Happy Together Tour again this year, had performed there a few months earlier.  BOTH groups were at their absolute PEAKS in popularity ... so it was a rare treat for a kid like me ... all of 13 or 14 ... to see two of their VERY favorite acts performing at our school.  Man, those were the days!)   

In any event, she told me how, after the concert, she happened across The Turtles' limousine and, after approaching it, received the very first kiss of her life from Mark Volman.  

I just HAD to share this story with Mark ... who then proceeded to blow her story to smithereens ...  read on ... 

Hi Mark - 
I met a woman last night who saw The Turtles back in 1967 when they appeared here in Chicago. 
She was 16 at the time and apparently hung around after the show trying to get a glimpse of the band.  When nothing happened, she and her mother started walking back to the parking lot when a limo appeared. 
"It's them!  It's them!" she screamed ... and ran up to the car ... at which point you rolled down the window and gave her what turns out to be her very first kiss! 
She's been telling this story now for 48 years!!!  A lifetime of memories all thanks to one magical moment. 
You guys have been part of our lives for so long now ... you almost forget the impact you've had on each and every one of us.  (Coincidently, The Turtles played my high school in 1967, too ... "She's My Girl" had just come out so it was already a hits-filled set.  No, I never got a kiss ... but that's ok ... I can live with that!!! lol) 
Hoping you'll share some of YOUR "from the road memories" once the tour resumes this weekend.  We featured a few words from Carl Giammarese this past Friday as part of our on-going Happy Together Tour Coverage.  Please encourage the other artists to do the same. 
Thanks much ... 
Just had to share this with you. 
kk 
Kent Kotal 
Forgotten Hits  

To which Mark replied ...  
Why do people believe those stories. Oh yeah, Ernie Banks gave me a car. 
(Oh well ... shrug!)

UPDATED SCHEDULE:

TONIGHT - Wednesday, August 5th - Bergen Performing Arts Center - Englewood, NJ

Friday, August 7th - War Memorial Auditorium - Nashville, TN

Sunday, August 9th - Wisconsin State Fair - West Allis, WI

Wednesday, August 12th - Indian State Fairgrounds - Indianapolis, IN

Thursday, August 13th - Missouri State Fairgrounds - Sedalia, MO

Saturday, August 15th - Little River Casino Resort - Manistee, MI

Sunday, August 16th - Performing Arts Center - Bolingbrook, IL

Wednesday, August 19th - Fraze Pavilion For The Perfroming Arts - Kettering, OH

Thursday, August 20th - Hard Rock Live - Northfield, OH

Friday, August 21st - Paramount Theatre - Aurora, IL

Saturday, August 22nd - Casino Rama Entertainment Centre - Rama, ON

Sunday, August 23rd - Foelinger Theatre - Fort Wayne, IN

Wednesday, August 26th - Effingham Performance Center - Effingham, IL

Thursday, August 27th - Kentucky State Fairgrounds - Louisville, KY

Friday, August 28th - Oaklawn Racetrack - Hot Springs, AR

Saturday, August 29th - Riverside Casino and Gold Resort - Riverside, IA

Sunday, August 30th - Bluestem Center For The Arts - Moorhead,MN

Monday, August 31st - Minnesota State Fairgrounds - Saint Paul, MN

Wednesday, September 2nd - Mahoning County Fairgrounds - Canfield, OH

Another Forgotten Hits Shelley Sweet Tufano Review ... This time around she takes us to a Gary Puckett Concert!!!

Dear Ms Tufano,

Blue is a sky

Green is a tree

Let's all dance and sing for LIBERTY!

OUR singers - they're drunk

Their lyrics - they flunk

Henerey the 8th

Does NEVER stunk!

(and never will)

Watching TV on the big screen

Playing hopscotch in the lab

(you know what I mean)

Everything we did was truly FAB!

Beach Boys, Elvis, (Kellie's favorite)

In your reading group we never wanted to quit!!!!

We went and read outside in the hot sun

WOW, you really know how to have fun!

Well, now it's time to 'rap' this up! (Get! Get it!)

I loved your humor

With you there was no loss of wit.

Sarah O'

I received this at the end of one of my 'music in reading and history' courses.  It is a combination of rhyming and free-form poetry, but she was only in 5th grade then (10 years old).  I LOVE teaching with theatrics.  Opening class with a video on a large screen of Elton John as the Pinball Wizard, or Ed Sullivan shouting out "The Beatles!" followed by deafening screams pops us into focus and gives an adrenaline rush like no other.  So Gary Puckett wowed me with his big screen video of live appearances to open his show Sunday night at The Mohegan Sun!  'Woman Woman', 'Young Girl', 'Over You', and 'Lady Willpower' ringing out from a group of Beatle-cut young men in mock vintage military garb.  Remember it?  Even if you have not ever seen these videos, you remember it.  Somehow, somewhere, on TV or blaring out of a radio or HiFi / stereo system -- you are now remembering.  In 1968 Gary Puckett and The Union Gap, outsold all other performers.  To quote Gary, "I am a HUGE Beatles fan.  I just believe they had a quiet year."  So, TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!  I'M GONNA HAVE A GOOD TIME! with my friends at this concert.

I have not seen Gary since Happy Together Tour 2013, and not as a solo act in several years.  I do remember his signature entrance ... beginning backstage in song and emerging full force, mic in hand, onstage.  He is opening with 'Lady Willpower', wearing the Union Gap coat he wore on his 1968 album cover.  Oh yes, the very same one!  He verifies this before he removes it under the hot strobe lights of The Wolf Den.  Gary performs non-super hits from his albums such as 'Now and Then', and 'You Better Sit Down Kids'.  When he picks up his guitar to give tribute to The Beatles with 'Lady Madonna', I remember my daughter's words when we first saw Gary together 13 years ago, "He sure can play a mean guitar."  He sure can.  Oh, the hits you love to hear are here as well!  'This Girl Is a Woman Now' from 1969, 'Over You' from 1968, and 'Don't Give Into Him' from 1969.  A rendition of Gary Puckett and the Union Gap singing 'Who Do I Turn To' from The Roar of the Greasepaint, is up on youtube, but was never put on an album.  Gary sings it now.  It has now been recorded on a new Live In Vegas cd which is available.  Gary is full of stories of people we all know.  He and Glen Campbell went out cruising together long ago, and Gary gives him a tribute with 'By the Time I Get to Phoenix'.  In Jack Webb's biography (Dragnet), it is mentioned that his favorite song was 'Over You' by Gary Puckett and the Union Gap.  Nice addition to my information.  Gary Puckett's favorite is 'Woman Woman' which is now over 16 million in sales volume.  To go along with his Veteran's tribute of 'Home' a touching video presentation appears on the screen.  Remember vets:  Gary has that "special' VETERAN button on his website that can help you get the assistance you each deserve. 

Gary and his band perform an a cappella Doo-Wop tribute to Johnny Maestro that combines 'He Doesn't Love You' with 'Hey, Kiss Him Good-bye' (Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah).  My favorite story is of Elvis.  "I'm Gary Puckett" ... "I KNOW."  Gary's Elvis tribute is the haunting 'Battle Hymn of the Republic / Dixie' medley that provides proof to Elvis' statement, "The boy shore can sing!"  Remembering the Happy Together Tour of 2013, we finalize the concert with a tribute to Gary Lewis, Mark Lindsay, Chuck Negron, and The Turtles.  Did I say "finalize"?  You know better!  The final song MUST be 'Young Girl' which we have not yet heard.  Powerful Gary and band:  Woodrow Alexander Lingle, Michael J. Candito, and James Robert Hillboldt.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Shelley J Sweet-Tufano

50 Year Flashback - August 3rd, 1965

Sonny and Cher are hot this week in Hartford, CT ... in addition to having the #1 Record with "I Got You Babe", they each have solo hits on the chart as well ... Cher shares (cool!) the #4 spot with The Byrds with her version of the Bob Dylan tune "All I Really Want To Do" ... and Sonny's holding down the #39 spot with his solo shot "Laugh At Me".

The Pop 14 (they were 1410 on the dial after all) also includes The Rolling Stones, Tom Jones, The Dave Clark Five, Peter and Gordon, Petula Clark and The Beatles ... nearly HALF the chart is dominated by British Invasion Artists again!

I've got a couple of favorites a little lower on the list ... Lesley Gore's "Sunshine, Lollipops And Rainbows" comes in under two minutes but still hooks you right away.  Chad and Jeremy's "I Don't Wanna Lose You, Baby" is one of my all-time favorites by them ... and "A Little You" is a GREAT, overlooked Freddie and the Dreamers tune.

The Friday Flash

re: Radio News Of Note:
More comments about Chicago's new radio station sensation ... and a few OTHER radio comments as well ...

Neil Sabin, I owe ya one, pal. 87.7 ME-FM has won me over. Any station that ships out "Tough of Grey" and "Sail on Sailor" back to back earns my trust. Please forgive me for previous transgressions.
Why is it every time I see a Dead Head I feel like screaming, "Get a Life." Of course, I say the same thing about most soccer fans.
Chicago's majestic "Beginnings" off their Chicago Transit Authority album resonates as much with me today as it did 45 years ago. It may well be inch for inch and pound for pound the best overall rock song of the 70's with horns that are overwhelming. However, I know people who will argue that it's not even the 4th or 5th best song on the album. 
Chet Coppock 


Kent,
Bob form Bolingbrook ...
It was such a nice surprise to hear Forever Autumn by the Moody Blues on Monday at around 9:10 am on Me-TV-FM. I actually have the album and soundtrack from War of the Worlds (I believe it's a collectors' item and quite rare) where some of the songs are narrated by Richard Burton. Nice change of pace and music format.
Have you and Forgotten Hits ever done a piece on this double album? The story and all is interesting. My grandfather, who has since passed away, recalled packing their belongings up for fear of being taken by these aliens. 
Bob

Big story out of Chicago this week was that John Records Landecker is leaving WLS-FM. Not "retirement", he says ... and he wasn't fired ... he's simply leaving of his own free will to pursue other interests (whatever they may be).  
According to Robert Feder's column, this is the first time Landecker has ever VOLUNTARILY left a radio station without having another job lined up. He told Feder: “I’m not leaving 94.7 WLS with the intention of going on another radio station at all,” he said. “If I do somewhere, fine. If I don’t, fine. But if I do, it’s definitely going to be on my terms 100 percent.”  

Landecker was quoted as saying that, even though he made his mark in a VERY big way in the '70's, the music of the '70's and '80's (and now even some of the '90's now playing on WLS-FM) was never his favorite ... that he would prefer playing '60's music ... meaning that he won’t miss is the music he’s been playing night after night: “I graduated from high school in 1965. All I really want to hear is the ’60s.  I’ve had it with the ’70s, the ’80s, now and all that. I don’t want to hear any of that stuff anymore. In about 10 years, maybe I’ll want to hear it again.” 
(That's kinda how I feel about "Jack And Diane"!!! - kk)

Will John be back on the radio anytime soon? Only time will tell. He seems happy to be hanging things up on his own terms ... and maybe he just wants to "enjoy life" for a little while ... (his daughter Amy stars on the popular new Amazon television series "Transparent" ... and a visit to the
west coast to visit with her fall into his immediate plans) ... but don't be surprised if we still hear his voice from time to time. John left that part of his future pretty vague ... but also open for any number of possibilities. (A Podcast perhaps???)  

Meanwhile, you can pick up a copy of his excellent biography here ...   

http://eckhartzpress.com/shop/records-truly-is-my-middle-name/  

Spring for the deluxe edition with the bonus CD offering radio highlights from his illustrious career!   (kk)


John Landecker isn't the only WLS-FM name making radio headlines this past week ... Program Director Jan Jeffries has departed the station (and is off to Washington, DC) ... and, according to Chicagoland Radio and Media headlines this morning, new on-again / off-again morning man Jack
Diamond is also out the door. (I wonder if anyone will notice ... he has spent more time OFF the air than on the air over the past year!) It'll be interesting to see what direction the station takes once newly named Program Director Brian Thomas takes over the reigns. Stay tuned!  (kk)     

Talk about WLS big-wigs, you'll find a WHOLE bunch of them in this vintage clip I received from Chuck Buell last week ...   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omKG4aQNI-o

Somebody just brought to my attention this old TV Video Clip of all us On-Air Guys at WLS in 1972 being interviewed. Check the Guy at the Far Left! Is he rockin' the 70s Image or what?! And be sure to listen to his astute comments later in the interview about why there are no "Girl" Disk Jockeys!
1972 WLS On Air Guys
 
re: I've Often Heard It Said That Most Instrumentals Are Simply Too Good For Words:   
The list we ran the other day, supplied by Bill Oakley, has a few of our readers buzzing (in "Which Came First ... The Chicken Or The Egg" fashion) about some well-know instrumental hits and their vocal counterparts. (For me, I've RARELY heard a vocal version of an established instrumental hit that made me think the vocal arrangement SHOULD have been the one to make it ... but, as we see here SO often in Forgotten Hits, to each his own.)   

Anyway, here's more from Bill ... and one of his new constituents ...   

Kent,    
Just got through reading Sunday's FH. While I was reading it, I went through the first half of Bill Oakey's list of instrumentals-vocal songs. Needless to say, I didn't know that most of these vocal versions existed.  
In 1961, Conway Twitty recorded C'EST SI BON on MGM and it did quite well here in OKC. Billy Vaughn had an instrumental version of that same tune, but I don't think either charted nationally.  
I probably played some twenty songs from the first half of the list to see what the vocals sounded like. I didn't play them all the way through, however, maybe no more than half the length of the song.    
Larry  

Here's more from Bill ...  

Hello Kent, 
Thanks so much for publishing the list of instrumentals with vocal versions. And thanks to the readers  who have suggested new titles to add.  
With regard to the many entries on the list that were recorded first as hit vocals, I established a criteria that the instrumental version had to be released as a 45 rpm single in order to be included.  Otherwise, you are quite correct that the “Muzak” album cuts would number into the thousands.  
There are a small number of exceptions to that criteria. I did include a few jazz standards that were not released as singles. I did that because very few jazz hits got played on Top 40 AM radio, and I felt  like the vocal versions by folks like Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae, etc., were quite interesting to listen to. There are also a few movie and TV instrumental themes that may not have been released as singles.  
Here are a few more to add to the original list:  
312. ’Til Tomorrow - Oscar Peterson Trio. Vocal by The Four Aces, Eileen Rodgers 
313. Theme From The Wild Angels - Davie Allan & The Arrows. Vocal by The Visitors 
314. Tuxedo Junction - Ray Anthony / Earl Bostic. Vocal by Ella Fitzgerald, Frankie Avalon 
315. Theme From The Thomas Crown Affair (The Windmills Of Your Mind) - Michael Legrand / Arthur Lyman. Vocal by Dusty Springfield, Noel Harrison and many others 
316. Midnight Oil - Charlie Blackwell. Vocal by Dickie Pride
317. Soul Finger - The Bar-Kays. Vocal (Soulfinger) by Oscar Hamod & The Majestics 
318. Angela Mia - Ralph Flanagan. Vocal by The Crew Cuts 319. Straight, No Chaser - Thelonious Monk. Vocal by Gene McDaniels and Vocal (Get It Straight) by Carmen McRae 
320. Theme From The V.I.P.’s - Bill Evans. Vocal (The Willow) by Roy Hamilton 
321. A Night In Tunisia - The Modern Jazz Quartet. Vocal by Ella Fitzgerald and Vocal (Love Was Just An Interlude) by Anita O’Day 
322. Theme From Rio Conchos - The London Symphony Orchestra. Vocal by Johnny Desmond 
323. America - Arthur Lyman Group / Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass. Vocal by Trini Lopez 
324. 55 Days At Peking - Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen. Vocal by The Brothers Four 
325. Velvet Waters - The Megatrons. Vocal by Bruce Gillespie, Tony Worsley, Jimmy Little Dickens

re:  This And That:   

Thanks for the heads up on the Zombies tickets.  I got 17th row, just left of center.  Four of the five original members will be together to play for this special show.  Out of all the shows you let us know about, this may be the one that will be the most important. I first saw the Zombies live at the Abbey Pub in Chicago a long time back, when they first reformed.  After the show I was able to meet Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent and they were two of the nicest people I ever met.  Don't miss this concert!  It will be one of the best 60s shows you have ever seen.  (Bill Mulvy)

 

If you check out my website ... www.softrockshow.co.uk ... I've had Colin Blunstone on the show  four times, Rod Argent twice.  Also, members of Moody Blues and, recently,  Gunnar Nelson. 

Regards - 

Geoff Dorsett

Radio Presenter

The Soft Rock Show  |  Kick Up the '80s  |  Supersonic '70s  |  Solid Gold '60s  |  All Our Yesterplays

 

Hey Kent,  

What a great summer for concerts!   I just learned that in December Darlene Love is bringing a Christmas show to the Genesee Theatre.  If by any chance you get tickets for that, remember us if you can ... would love to see her.   Since we missed out on our free tickets to Engelbert recently, this

would make a great substitute.  In the meantime,  enjoy the music this summer. 

We loved loved loved loved Air Supply in Elk Grove Village this week.  They blew us away ... what a great surprise! The man sitting next to me has seen them 25 times and made the concert all the more fun with his passion and enthusiasm.  

Janet   

I don't know if we'll have access to any Darlene Love tickets ... but we'll see what happens.  Ronnie Spector is also expected to bring her Christmas Show back to The Arcada Theatre, too ... so stay tuned!  (Ron Onesti already has holiday shows lined up featuring Felix Cavaliere's Rascals, The Ides Of March, The Lettermen and Michael McDonald.  Check out the www.oshows.com website for more details.) kk  

 

We went to go see Christopher Cross and Air Supply in Elk Grove Village this past Tuesday night.  

Yes, it was hot.   

Yes, it was crowded.  

But Air Supply COMPLETELY blew us away ... what a great show!  

Incredible to think that they have been together for 40 years already ... and their voices sound as fresh as ever.  Hope you got to see this fantastic show.  

Dean  

Actually, no, we missed the entire Elk Grove Village Concert Series this year ... and this was one of the ones I really wanted to see.  (Tuesday Night we were at the Graham Nash show at The Arcada ... which was ALSO an incredible show ... but it would have been nice to see both of these incredible '80's artists.) 

I've seen Christopher Cross before ... (he's coming to The Arcada in November, too) ... but have never seen Air Supply.  Based on these two glowing reviews, I'm going to have to make it a point to get to one of their concerts next time around!  (When they played The Arcada a few months back we couldn't go due to other plans that evening.)  kk 

 

Dear Kent; 

Random thoughts of a kid who always wanted to be a full blown rocker: 

Whispers growing in volume: Isn’t Ronnie Onesti planning a bigger, bolder "Chicago High School Rock Party" than the blast he had for Marty Grebb a while back. Yes, he is. I don't know how a rematch could possibly top the show we saw several months ago. However, if anybody can make that kind of magic, it's Ronnie.  

Jimy Sohns is guesting with me at the VIP party to kickoff the national Sports Collectors show at the Stephens Center on Wednesday. How many copies did G-L-O-R-I-A actually sell - 6-7 million? 

Who is the greater female vocalist: Barbra Streisand or Aretha Franklin?  I'll hang up and wait for the answer.

Who is the most overrated female vocalist in rock history? Madonna by knockout. She makes Tom  

Waits sound like John Lennon. 

Chet Coppock

author: Buffone - Monster of the Midway  

 

>>>The times, they have a-changed ... and not necessarily for the better.  (kk)   

Yes, Kent ...it's seems to be a "sign of the times" as Petula Clark used to sing. Now in this "enlightened age" it's more about life style choices and the corresponding radio station that reflects that choice.  Many times it's about what the dj or sponsors want to play rather than what the audience wants to hear. I think you are right that the surveys are useless because the people they survey are not thoughtful about their music and just think off the top of their heads. It may be a random sample of listeners who are surveyed but us fans of good music and "forgotten hits" are particular listeners with interesting taste and know that there are better selections to hear. 

Blosswrld 

 

>>>I would have expected (this is my opinion, of course), to have  him sing at least one of the two following songs, his 1961 recordings HALFWAY TO PARADISE   (Larry) 

He's sung them when I've seen him in concert!!!

Eileen (his #1 fan)