What are the chances???
Fans taking The Magical Mystery Bus Tour thru Liverpool yesterday had a chance encounter with Paul McCartney, who just happened to be driving by in a passing car.
But wait ... it gets even better than this ...
Paul rolled down his window to greet the fans ... and then show them that he was currently face-timing with Ringo Starr at that exact moment!!!
(Photo: Neil Morton, the tour bus driver):
The Magical Mystery Tour is Liverpool’s original Beatles
sightseeing tour. Established in 1983 by Cavern City Tours, the owners
of the world‑famous Cavern Club, it has played a pioneering role in
shaping the Beatles tourism industry, offering scheduled tours to all the key sites in Beatles / Liverpool folklore.
It had to be a one in a billion chance happening ... imagine being onboard for the momentous occasion! (kk)
The new Rolling Stones album “Foreign Tongues” went to #1 in
the UK in its second week on the chart.
It became their 15th album to top the British album chart,
which ties them with The Beatles for second place on the all-time list.
Wait … what?!?! SECOND
place?!?!? Who comes in ahead of The
Beatles and The Stones on the UK chart???
Would you believe Robbie Williams?!?!
Robbie scored his 16th #1 LP across the pond earlier
this year. (Here in The States, he’s had
ZERO #1 LP’s. In fact, his highest
charting album to date, “The Heavy Entertainment Show,” peaked at #100 in 2016.)
For the record, The Beatles have topped the Billboard Top
200 Albums Chart 19 times, which is enough to lead the pack. (They also lead the list with 20 #1
Singles.) The Stones trail them with
only nine #1 LP’s: Out of Our Heads
(1965), Sticky Fingers (1971), Exile on Main St. (1972), Goats Head Soup (1973),
It's Only Rock 'n Roll (1974), Some Girls (1978), Emotional Rescue (1980), Tattoo
You (1981) and Hackney Diamonds (2023).
As I type this, “Foreign Tongues” sits at #7, where it premiered this
week. Now that could quickly change, I
suppose, but will it hit #1??? That still
remains to be seen. (kk)
Hi there Kent,
If you were in the Boston area like I was, you would have
heard this song a whole lot. Bend It was a major hit in Boston and both
AM top 40 stations, WBZ and WMEX, played that song quite a lot, and it was
probably also played on WRKO FM. But by the time WRKO 680 AM was launched
on March 13 of 1967, it would have been a recent oldie. Anyway, this song
was never a rare song to me.
The song entered the charts on WMEX 1510 in Boston the week
of December 11, 1966, at #25. On December 18th, it rose to
#15. During Christmas week, it rose to #12. During the first week of 1967, Bend
It went all the way to #3, and that was its highest position on the WMEX
survey.
On the chart for the week of January 8, it slipped down one
notch to #4. During the week of January
15, the song dropped to #8. That was the final week that Bend It was on
the charts on WMEX.
On WBZ, the song entered the charts the same week on
December 10 at #24. On December 17, it rose to #17. On the December
24th WBZ survey, Bend It rose to #8. On the December 31 survey, it rose
to #4. On the January 7, 1967, survey, the song rose to #3. ON
January 14, it slipped down to #6. During the January 21 survey, it
slipped a couple of points down to #8, which is pretty respectable for a song
that had been on the charts for six weeks. It was still hanging on on the WBZ
survey the week of January 27 at #18. It was still on the survey of
February 4 at #25.
Even on February 11, the song was still hanging in there at
#27. Finally, during the week of
February 18, Bend It dropped off the charts.
And yet, even though this song was in the top five on both
radio stations in Boston, which was a major radio market, it didn't even make
the top 100 in any of the three national trade publications. I guess not very
many other U.S. cities shared Boston's enthusiasm for Bend It. This just
shows how very different local radio station's surveys were at the time.
During this same time period, both of Boston's top 40
stations were playing a version of Gimme Some Lovin' by the Jordan Brothers
which went all the way to #2. I always liked this version much better
than the Spencer Davis Group's version, possibly because I heard it first, but
to my ears, it was just a better version.
Now WBZ had a top 30 survey and WMEX had a top 25.
You may be asking yourself, "Why would WMEX want to have five fewer songs
on their survey than their competition?” That's a fair question, but they
tied their survey to their frequency of 1510, so they called their survey, the
top 15 and 10. So that's why they only had 25 songs on their survey.
There were a couple of interesting differences between the
two stations. For example, WMEX had the New Vaudeville Band's version of
Winchester Cathedral featured on their survey, but WBZ was playing the New
Happiness's version.
Well, for you Bend It fans out there, I hope this has been
interesting.
Sam Ward
Due to the heavy competition between our own Top 40 giants,
we found that WLS and WCFL often featured different versions of the same songs
on their respective surveys. (The first
couple that come to mind are “Son Of My Father” by Giorgio (WLS) and Chicory
(WCFL) and “Beautiful People” by Bobby Vee (WLS) and Kenny O’Dell (WCFL).
We did a long feature on The Jordan Brothers 20-something
years ago in Forgotten Hits. It was the
first time I had ever heard of them and/or their version of “Gimme Some
Lovin’.” In fact, one of the Jordan
Brothers even contacted me about featuring their tune.
I found this after a quick search of the website …
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2009/05/gimme-some-lovin.html
And this link will take you to several mentions of The
Jordan Brothers (along with quite a few other obscure memories) …
https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/search?q=jordan+brothers
CBS Sunday Morning ran a piece
on Freddy Cannon this morning but I have to wonder … is this insane or another
huge CBS mistake?
They played a Freddy song in
mentioning his passing on their national Sunday Morning show that I had NEVER
heard! "You Know" from 1959. Turns out it was the B side
of his hit "Tallahassie Lassie," which reached #6. What the hell
did they play this unknown song for him? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDWUE_hNGMw
When I worked with Varese, they
did a Freddy greatest hits CD. I told Cary I could supply stuff, but he
said Freddy wanted all mono, he owned the tapes, he controlled the booklet info
and everything. Partly why he seldom allowed his music for CD comps, I
suppose.
A good friend sent me what he
considered one of Freddy's rarest songs, even ‘tho the 2-sided A side only DJ
copies are easily found.
Below attached is a B side very
hard to get on 45 and not on CD. Not sure why as it's good and
incorporates his song titles into a look back at Freddy's glory
years. The 45 came out in 1972.
He even works in a couple of his "whoo"s.
The song was written by Michael
Z. Gordon, who also wrote "Out of limits" and the oft recorded
(Astronauts, Gary Lewis, etc.) cool A side 45, "Main Street"!
Interesting also, MZG was the co-writer of Sagittarius' "Hotel
Indiscreet"! He had no idea where the spoken word part came from in
the 45 issue. Likely due to the success of such in "My World Fell Down."
The LP version did NOT have it.
The A side of the attached is
"If You've got the Time," a rewrite of the Miller beer commercial
crediting Michael also along with a Miller ad exec for good measure, I suppose.
I think they chose the WRONG A side here. Song attached.
"Take Me Back," the
B-side of his sole 45 on Metromedia
Clark Besch
No telling how they ended up running such an obscure track ... didn't look like it was their intention since the caption under Freddy's picture said "Palisades Park!" It almost seems like a mistake that nobody on their end caught (or was knowledgeable enough to catch in the first place!)
Freddy was always very proud of the fact that he owned all
of his own masters. That’s why it was
such a shock when we uncovered a 78 pressing of his demo recorded BEFORE
“Tallahassie Lassie” but using essentially the same backing track. Freddy didn’t even have a copy in his own
collection … so was VERY pleased to be reunited with it thanks to FH Reader
Eric Lee. (kk)
UPDATE: Clark googled (which is now just an automated A.I. response) the reason for selecting "You Know" for the CBS segment ... and here is the response he got ...
Why did CBS Sunday Morning play "You Know" for their Freddy Cannon tribute?
The song "You Know" was played during the CBS Sunday Morning tribute to Freddy Cannon because of a production oversight by the show's staff, who mistakenly selected it instead of one of his iconic hits. [1] The Mix-Up
- Obscure Selection: "You Know" is a largely unknown B-side track from the single release of his famous breakthrough hit, "Tallahassee Lassie." [1, 2]
- Viewer Backlash: Fans and music historians criticized the segment on platforms like WFMU, pointing out that the show featured a completely obscure song rather than honoring Cannon's massive signature hits like "Palisades Park" or "Tallahassee Lassie". [1, 2, 3]
Odder still that the caption that ran with Freddy's picture said "Palisades Park," which was probably their intended track. Amazing that no one on staff was sharp enough to catch the mistake before letting it go out on the air. (That's always been one of my biggest fears ... who's going to ensure that our music is properly presented to the public once all of us are gone!) kk
During all the years I worked at West Coast Music, Freddy
was the sales rep for one of the major labels ... he would come in like once a
week or so ... easily one of the nicest guys ever in that business!!!!!
Bill Hayes
Another passing … this from Tom Cuddy …
Joe Melson, 91, Dies; Wrote
‘Only the Lonely’ and Other Hits With Roy Orbison
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/18/arts/music/joe-melson-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.y1A.TZsQ.HOpBL704goUQ&smid=nytcore-ios-share
Freddy Cannon (89) & Joe
Melson (91) -- two legends gone now. Despite Joe's great success with Roy
Orbison, his composing "Run Baby Run" by Newbeats is better than
those. Joe even had ties to the Kansas group, the Classmen, writing and
producing this 1967 B side shown below!
Clark
The article above says that Melson wrote over 200 songs with Roy Orbison ... so clearly that is what he was known for ... so I'd consider this one to be a rarity for sure! (kk)
DJ Bobby Jay Said That Cleveland
Still Of The Dubs Died Last Night.
FRANK B.
Kent,
I have been neglectful in
letting you know about Vern Shank of The Cherry Drops and Flagler Beach radio.
He has been hospitalized for almost a month now, having been released and
readmitted a week ago. His current condition is that he is on dialysis.
His words ... “My kidneys are
shot.” He is also scheduled for open
heart surgery as soon as he is stabilized.
Shelley
David Salidor sent me this link regarding author Mark Bego …
https://www.thenyindependent.com/music/1708419/mark-bego-qa-village-people-madonnamichael/
We’ll be running a very special piece with Mark regarding
his following The Jacksons on their Victory Tour … more detail to come! (kk)
Kent,
Considering YOU are the pied
piper of Forgotten Hits, can you in any way explain HOW “Pied Piper” has risen
to #4 in six weeks on Super Chart this week? Don’t get me wrong, the song
is OK and maybe top 40 worthy at best, but "Where Were You When I Needed
You" is #36 after six weeks (where Pied Piper SHOULD REACH), The Ides Of March
are #44, also six weeks in! I guess when you look at the huge number of
novelty songs on the chart this week, it tells us anything is possible.
Maybe, even, The Cryan’ Shames could reach the Super Charts one day!!! ;)
Clark Besch
The stats are correct … it’s your “guestimation” as to where
these songs should land that’s incorrect.
Nationally, “The Pied Piper” peaked at #2 in Record World
and at #4 in both Billboard and Cash Box … it wouldn’t be the #36 song in your
analogy … “Where Were You When I Needed You” only made it to #26 nationally
(again, in Record World) and #28 in Billboard and #33 in Cash Box … so it’s
right where it ought to be on The Super Chart.
As for The Ides, what SHOULD have been a Top 40 Pop Classic (“You Wouldn’t
Listen) only made it to #41 in Record World, #42 in Billboard and #47 in Cash
Box.
As for The Cryan’ Shames, you absolutely WILL see them on
The Super Charts in the weeks to come. (If
you look closely, you’ll see that they premiered this week at #98.) Their first
chart hit (“Sugar And Spice”) reached #39 in Record World, #49 in Billboard and
#52 in Cash Box. (Odd that ALL of the
songs you’re asking about peaked highest in Record World … our Chicago charts
must have had a much greater impact in their popularity calculations!!!
Just to keep things on the up and up, I checked each of the
weekly charts for these tunes for the week ending July 23rd, 1966,
as depicted by this week’s Super Chart and this is what I found:
THE PIED PIPER – BB #4 / CB #5 / RW #3 / SC #4
WHERE WERE YOU WHEN I NEEDED YOU – BB #29 / CB #44 / RW #37
/ SC #36
YOU WOULDN’T LISTEN – BB #42 / CB #50 / RW #41 / SC #44
SUGAR AND SPICE – BB #92 / CB #xx / RW #86 / SC #98
All of these tunes seem to rank at a perfect average of the three
major trades …
Again, as I have stated for 20+ years now, making The Super
Chart the most ACCURATE representation of the music scene at the time,
factoring in ALL of the data collected by all three major trades and then
publishing the REAL rankings of where these songs fell in the mix of any given
week. (kk)
From Harvey Kubernik ...
Happy Birthday to Bernard Matthew Leadon III, Born July 19, 1947, in Minneapolis, Minnesota
ByHarvey Kubernik
A founding
member of the Flying Burrito Brothers and later the Eagles,
Bernie Leadon previously was in the country rock group the Corvettes with
Chris Darrow and toured and recorded with Hearts & Flowers,
Linda Ronstadt; the Corvettes; and Dillard & Clark.
Leadon is a multi-instrumentalist (dobro, guitar, banjo, mandolin, and
steel guitar,) owing to his bluegrass music background.
Eagles’ co-founder, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, Bernie
Leadon, never lived in Laurel Canyon but did reside in Beachwood Canyon,
below the Hollywood sign, down in the flats.
“I also lived on Fountain Ave, down below Sunset Blvd, and then moved
to Topanga Canyon as soon as I could, by 1969. I moved to L.A. in August, 1967,” Leadon told me in a 2008 interview for my book, "Canyon of
Dreams: The Magic and the Music of Laurel Canyon."
“Henley and Frey shared an apartment over off Cahuenga, just below theHollywood Bowl, when I got to know them well in 1971. I don't remember
Meisner in Laurel Canyon - seems like he always had a place in the San
Fernando Valley, around Studio City.”
The Eagles’ first rehearsal was at Studio Instrument Rentals (S.I.R.), paid for by John Boylan, Linda Ronstadt's producer.
“The Jackson Five were in the next room, and racks of their costumes
were in the hallway. This day was when Glenn and Don were trying out
Randy and me. I clicked, and that was that. ‘You guys want to be a band?’
“They were not a team yet. Henley only wrote half a song on the first
album, with me - ‘Witchy Woman.’ Frey proclaimed Don and I a songwriting
team. Henley's first complete song was ‘Desperado,’ which I still find
amazing. He had taken English and composition (writing) in college. So,
he must have practiced some - but, damn good song.
“I was in the Flying Burrito Brothers with Gram (Parsons). ‘My Man’
was about him - He died the week after I did an overdub session for him
down at Capitol Hollywood studios. I flew to London to start the third
Eagles album, and we found out about Gram dying right after we woke
up from jet lag in London. I was really bummed out, as Clarence White had
also died recently, and I had gone to his funeral with Gram, and we had
sung "Farther Along" at the grave site. Now Gram was gone. So, I
started the song there.
“Those sessions in London with Glyn Johns didn't result in much - only
two complete recordings (but one was the Eagles' first #1 - ‘Best of My
Love.’) I finished it in the studio in L.A. after we changed producers to
Bill Szymczyk. Henley suggested a line in the second verse, 'Hickory
Wind’ reference.
“‘Bitter Creek’ was the name of an associate of the Dalton Gang,
which the "Desperado" album was mostly about. Glenn Frey suggested I
write a song about that guy, and so that was the beginning of that song.
The bluegrass songs from the Eagles’ repertoire, “"Twenty-One,"
"Doolin' Dalton" and "Saturday Night" showcased Leadon's skills and
abilities on the banjo.
“I was a pretty good banjo player, as I had mainly done that instead of
going to school after I was 15. The band liked it, and supported using
that tool.”
I remember several years ago going to see The History of the Eagles Tour ... and Bernie Leadon was a special guest, brought out on stage early in the set as the band ran through their history chronologically. It sure changed their sound up on stage that night!
I personally didn't care for the first two Eagles albums, other than a few assorted tracks. For me, the band didn't kick into high gear until the "On The Border" album ... and then they just kept getting better and better from there ... but Leadon was a key element into their "country rock" roots. (I think a lot of that came from playing with Linda Ronstadt for so long.) kk
We've been telling you about the upcoming Monkees convention to be held in North Haven, CT, from September 4th - September 6th.
Now comes word that to coincide with the date of The Monkees' 60th Anniversary, a new brand Monkees
book is being released with a book launch at the convention.
Here are all the details from Charles Rosenay!
THE MONKEES COMIC BOOK BOOK TO BE RELEASED ON THE MONKEES’ 60th ANNIVERSARY
“Here we come …
Hey Hey! It’s The Monkees!”
2026
marks the 60th anniversary of The Monkees’ first television episode,
which aired on NBC TV September 12, 1966. With The Beatles growing up
musically and socially, pop music and pop culture was ripe for a new
musical force with personality, and some very astute producers created
an entertainment entity based around four actors and musicians: Micky
Dolenz, Davy Jones, Mike Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Like any network
sitcom or AM radio hit band, the story should’ve ended there, right? Not
even close. The songs were too good, the members of the band were too
talented and charismatic, and the fan base was too large. Not only didn’t it
end there, but the four members continued on as a true band, touring,
recording, and winning over new generations of fans. Their legend lives on as
new releases come out, and lead singer Micky Dolenz is enjoying another
successful national tour.
Not
unlike The Beatles, Monkeemania saw the band members gracing the covers
of all the teen magazines, with endless merchandise. Out of print and
out of circulation for more than half a century, The Monkees’ comic
books were iconic pop-culture gems that graced newsstands during the
silver age of comics. Alongside classic titles of Superman, Spiderman,
and the rest of the DC and Marvel Universes, the Monkees comic books
presented readers with the energy and joyous personalities of the
foursome, while capturing their likeness and zaniness. At three stories
per comic, and at twelve cents a copy, the comics were true treasures
for Monkees fans and collectors, each issue delivering the fun,
innocence, and good times of the era. However, they have been out of
print for nearly six decades and are very scarce.
Other
books have been written about the history of The Monkees, and other
works have analyzed their sustained popularity, but this book takes one
aspect of their history, and depicts the fans' love of their phenomena.
THE MONKEES COMIC BOOK BOOK Reference Book and Price Guide from
authors Mark Arnold and Charles F. Rosenay!!!, examines the 17
editions, 16 of which were completely original, and one of which was a
reprint. Seventeen celebrities, including a few Monkee superfans and
archivists, analyzed and shared their opinions on either specific comic
editions, or on The Monkees in general. Included in the list of
celebrity contributors are: Butch Patrick, best known as television’s
“Eddie Munster,” who appeared in one of the Monkees’ TV episodes;
musician/composer (and Monkees songwriter/musical director) Bobby Hart
of “Boyce & Hart,” who just recently passed away; Monkees producer
Chip Douglas; child actor/singer Paul Peterson; actress Valerie Kairys
Venet, who appeared in more Monkees episodes than anyone aside from the
Monkees themselves; musician/composer Bill Chadwick, whom many
considered to be the “5th
Monkee;” actress/singer Deana Martin (Dean Martin’s daughter), who
appeared in a Monkees TV episode; child actor Jon (“Lassie”) Provost;
film and media maven Jerry Beck; Victor Willis, lead singer of the
Village People, who also recently passed away; Monkees author and expert
Ed Reilly; and others.
Another
dozen notables – from famed DJ Cousin Brucie to rocker Suzi Quatro to
rapper Darryl McDaniels (Run DMC) to MTV’s Martha Quinn to musician
Thomas Dolby – offer further commentary on the success and unique
musical history of The Monkees.
Along
with the chapters, readers will not only view examples of how the
original comics appeared when they came out from 1966 through 1968, but
what they look like now with today's state-of-the-art digitized
remastering. The book will also feature unpublished sample master sheets
of art, a timeline of the band, an original Monkees comic page designed
exclusively for the book, plus a never-before-published interview with
the late artist Jose Delbo, who illustrated these treasured Monkees
comic books in the mid-sixties. There is a comprehensive index, complete
price guide, and a Foreword by a Monkees’ friend and contemporary,
singer Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits.
Authors Mark Arnold (Long Title: Looking for the Good Times; Examining the Monkees Songs, One by One and Headquartered: A Timeline of The Monkees Solo Years) and Charles F. Rosenay!!! (The Book of Top 10 Beatles Lists and The Book of Top 10 Horror Lists)
have collaborated again to cover the music and memories of The Monkees
in this deluxe release. The two authors previously collaborated on
another music book, Not Just Happy Together: The Turtles A-Z (AM Radio to Zappa).
A must for Monkees aficionados, pop-culture collectors, and comic book appreciators, THE MONKEES COMIC BOOK BOOK Reference Book and Price Guide, will
be enjoyed by fans worldwide. Published by Genius Books, it will be a
treat for both first-generation Monkeephiles as well as newer fans who
are discovering what the hoopla was all about.
The 320-page deluxe release will be available from Amazon on the exact date of The Monkees’ anniversary, September 12, 2026.
Open
the doors to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and to your library to
add this book. This Monkees compendium is as unique as The Monkees
themselves.
This sound awesome! Can't wait to see a copy! (kk)
From Timmy …
THRIFT SHOP APPAREL OF THE DAY
Oh man, that shirt's a gas!!!
I THINK THEY DID THE COVER VERSION ... STEVIE WROTE THE SONG ... SO MOST LIKELY HAD THE ORIGINAL ... WOW ... A PRETTY TITE PLAYLIST IN LANCASTER, PA ... TWO BIG REGIONAL HITS ... THE KIT KATS FROM PHILLY AND THE MAGNIFICENT MEN FROM VEGAS ... MOST OF THE REST STUFF ... BIG HITS ... UNUSUAL FOR A SMALL MARKET BACK THEN ... SCOTT SHANNON 
