So if you haven't voted yet for YOUR All-Time Favorite Garage Bands, this is your LAST chance to do so!
Here again is the list of bands that made the final ballot ...
? and the Mysterians
13th Floor Elevator
Amboy Dukes
Balloon Farm
Barbarians
Beau Brummels
Blues Magoos
Bob Seger and the Heard
Bobby Fuller Four
Bubble Puppy
Buckinghams
Cannibal and the Headhunters
Castaways
Chartbusters
Cherry Slush
Chocolate Watchband
Choir
Count Five
Cryan' Shames
Cyrkle
Davie Allan and the Arrows
Dino, Desi and Billy
Electric Prunes
Fifth Estate
Five Americans
Five By Five
Gants
Gentrys
Hombres
Human Beinz
Ides Of March
Illusion
Kingsmen
Knickerbockers
Leaves
Little Boy Blues
Love
McCoys
Merry-Go-Round
Michael and the Messengers
Mouse and the Traps
Music Explosion
Music Machine
Nashville Teens
Nazz
New Colony Six
Nightcrawlers
Novas
Outsiders
Palace Guard
Paul Revere and the Raiders
Peanut Butter Conspiracy
Premiers
Rationals
Richard and the Young Lions
Rivieras
Robbs
Sam The Sham and the
Pharaohs
Seeds
Shadows Of Knight
Sir Douglas Quintet
Sonics
Standells
Strangeloves
Strawberry Alarm Clock
Swingin' Medallions
Syndicate of Sound
Terry Knight and the Pack
Thee Sixpence
Them
Tommy James and the
Shondells
Trashmen
Troggs
Trolls
Get your votes in now ...
The polls will officially close at 10 PM tomorrow, Friday, June 1st.
The Top 20 will be announced soon ...
Exclusively in Forgotten Hits!
***
Mike Dugo of 60sgaragebands.com has been gracious
enough to donate a couple of cd's to give away to some of our readers who participated in
helping us to prepare the final ballot. (Don't worry ... there's no need to
register ... if you voted, your name is already in the hat!)
We'll pick a couple of winners this weekend and get you
a copy of either the "Those Guys" CD or "The Chains" CD. (You can read more
about them both at the link below ... and, of course, you can also order your
own copy through Mike's amazing website! Browse around and learn more about some of the best known ... and UNknown garage bands of this era.) Mike is also preparing short bios on each of The Top 20 Finalists ... and we may have another surprise or two in store, too. WRCO Disc Jockey Phil Nee will countdown The Top 20 on his program later in June ... more details on that coming soon! (kk)
Hi Kent!
This is a really great list of finalists ... that's for
sure! I will be giving away copies of Those Guys and The Chains. Your
readers will need to be real die-hard garage band fans to know either group, but
I think they'll enjoy the music.
Love your site..Just found it tonight thru 60sGaragebands.com ... My Favorite 60's Garage bands from the list would have to be
in order: 1. Blues Magoos 2. Knickerbockers 3. Cyrkle 4.
Standells 5. Five Americans 6. Electric Prunes 7. Buckinghams 8.
Love 9. Shadows of Knight 10. Merry-Go-Round I would have rated the
Merry-Go-Round higher had they had more than one lp ... I thought Emitt Rhodes
was brilliant. I also would have liked to have seen the "Critters" on the
list (Mr. Dieingly Sad is one of my favorite songs ever) Beatman
Glad you're enjoying Forgotten Hits. Actually,
I don't think The Critters were ever even nominated! (Wish you would have found
us sooner! Lol) kk
A couple of weeks ago we told you about former Outsiders and Climax lead singer Sonny Geraci going through two brain surgeries. Well, we are happy to report today that Sonny seems to be on the mend. Certainly it's a slow process ... but here's the latest word from his daughter Bri ...
My dad is just now starting to open both of his eyes and move them together!! And he is trying to talk in syllables with his throat! It is unbelievable! He actually answers back to what we are saying. It is amazing that he is comprehending! Still, we have to take it day by day. But it is very amazing that he is finally tracking us with his eyes! I will let you know anything more. Thanks for your message.
re: AND SOME SAD NEWS:
We just heard that Burton Cummings' mother passed away this past weekend. Naturally, we've been anxiously awaiting his appearance here at the Arlington Heights Frontier Days Festival on The 4th of July ... so it's especially sad to know that he's grieving right now.
From the Winnipeg Free Press:
The beloved mother of former Guess Who frontman Burton Cummings has died.
In a post on his Facebook page, Cummings said his mother Rhoda died Friday night shortly after 10 p.m. following a stroke earlier in the week.
Cummings, who has been by his mother's side in recent days, credited her with fostering his music career. She started him in piano lessons at a very early age and encouraged his passion for music even when he dropped out of high school.
"She was a wonderful, strong woman," wrote Cummings. "My father was abusive to her, and yet way back in the 1940s she had the strength to grab me and leave him." Cummings said there will be no funeral service and asked that no flowers or donations be made in her memory.
re: ON THE RADIO:
>>>Just saw in Chicagoland Radio and Media that last Saturday was the last show of Mike Baker's Forgotten 45's, after broadcasting it on WJJG for 17 years. How is it even REMOTELY possible that this is the FIRST TIME I've EVER heard about this program?!?!? (kk)
I just wanted to say I, too, have never heard of the "Forgotten 45's Show" on WJJG. Wonder what we were missing??? In an effort to fix my oldies cravings I have been listening to lots of Herb Kent on V103. He'll pull on some real rare ones that don't ever get played. Also, looking forward to the Jeff James collaboration!!!!
AJK (The Youngest Oldies Freak Around)
I tried to listen to Mike's last program on Saturday ... but had all kinds of difficulties doing so. First of all, neither the Chicagoland Radio and Media article OR the station's own website told what time Mike's show was on the air. Then, after giving it a shot every hour from noon until three, it finally came on ... but the online stream for WJJG is absolutely HORRENDOUS!!! It kept cutting out repeatedly ... and then back-tracking and overlapping with the same material on top of itself ... making it nearly impossible to listen to. So I figured I'd just drive around for an hour and listen to it in the car ... but the radio couldn't pick up the signal for AM1530 either. VERY annoying!!! Mike kicked off his show with some real local flavor ... "Lake Shore Drive" (including a little bit of a "custom version" like Skip Haynes made for us a couple of years ago), "Sugar And Spice", "Vehicle" ... but then he played a couple of things that I wouldn't really consider Forgotten 45's at all. ("Best Of My Love" by The Emotions??? I probably hear that one three or four times a week!) Anyway, I sent Mike an email and told him about what WE do here in Forgotten Hits ... and invited him to join in on the fun. Haven't heard anything back yet, but hopefully he'll check us out and maybe even provide a few tidbits in the issues to come.
I'm excited about the Jeff James broadcast, too. I blew my first chance to do this when my work schedule got RIDICULOUSLY out of hand again ... 12-14 hour days and weekends ... made it impossible to get anything together in time to do Jeff's program ... but we're going to give it another shot in a couple of weeks and hopefully I'll soon be able to report when and where you can check these out. Meanwhile, do yourself a favor and visit Jeff's YouTube Page, where he has TONS of old episodes of "From The Vault" available for your perusal!!! (kk)
The Disco Nights circa late 70’s / early 80’s consisted of the gang heading to a Gin Mill for 2 or 3 hours of pounding pitchers of beer & shots. Sufficiently plastered, onward to the dance joints to find pretty ladies. Women in the 70’s looked nice in their dresses at the Discos, but the Guys! What a hideous sight that was! Yeesh! Leisure Suits, Polyester suits, Ugly shirts, Platform Shoes, Bad Flares, Ugly Chains, Permed hair! Christ, What a Mess! It was cooler hanging out with Punks!
As for The Bee Gees, they had great stuff in the 60’s, especially 67 & earlier. Great Beatles influenced Pop Rock. Their early 70’s music is pretty decent, but the stuff from Jive Talkin forward was almost all an unlistenable falsetto hell. Some of that era of music had an impact, but mostly a bad impact. I would have put them in to the RR HOF for their 60’s music, but I probably would have penalized them 10 more years for the later stuff! Getting extremely drunk to listen to the Disco hits of the day was the only way you could stand it. LOL
Ken
I just never got into the whole disco scene ... I never played "dress up" in order to fit in ... and, simply put, I didn't dance ... so the whole era was lost on me. It all looked so fake and superficial ... but, at the time, if you were out to meet women, that's where you had to go. I hung out with a couple of guys who were truly into the scene ... as such, I found myself bored, hanging out at the table, most often alone ... it didn't really bother me ... but I couldn't help thinking how we used to PLAY at this joint (or something along those lines). As such, I, too, drifted more toward real rock and roll ... and there was a TON of great stuff coming out in the late '70's and early '80's of that genre ... the stuff we all call "classic rock" today.
As for The Bee Gees, I will admit to overdosing on the over-usage of falsetto by the time of the "Spirits Having Flown" album ... I always felt that they should have used it more as a special "novelty treat", pulled out of the hat now and again to liven things up, rather than define their whole new sound around it ... but up until then I had the utmost respect for the way they re-invented themselves with this whole new sound. (Points taken off for their foray into "Sgt. Pepper" ... which kinda killed any early Beatles-comparisons I might have had for the band back in the "New York Mining Disaster" days! I mean, they were singing with Alice Cooper and Steve Martin for Christ's sake!!!)
All-in-all, I still have to consider myself to be a MAJOR Bee Gees fan. Their consistent catalog of material for the past 40-some years is virtually unmatched ... and throws them into a VERY exclusive, elite club that includes The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones ... and virtually no one else. For that alone, I give them MAJOR kudos. (kk)
I was rocking along nicely in the 70's and as a non-clubbing, non-dancing, long-hair, who wouldn't wear the club 'clown suits' but mostly I wasn't happy at all with the 'sound' ... (that ONE pounding beat behind every song drove me nuts)!
A musician friend told me of the 'cycle' ... ie ... when rock is needing a 'rest' (not the best material coming out) ... music turns to dance ... and then back again, re-discovered ... (like yo-yo's being popular every other generation) ... original rockers taken over by the dance crazes of the early 60's ... then the folk and rock (with The Beatles leading the way) driving dance out ... and then back again with disco ... and now we have hip-hop.
With the information overload these days, you might be able to have multi-formats at the same time (both dancing and listening music) ... but time will tell if they 'split' and we go to less-dancing-listening-rock again.
THE BEE GEES??? I consider their career pre-Saturday Night Fever. They DID put out a fantastic GREATEST HITS pre-1980 that it still one of my favorite albums. I thought THEIR disco was a step-down and out-right silly (but profitable). I can listen to disco as oldies ... (Donna Summer had some that 'overcome' disco, as did others, and I listen to them fondly) ... but I never warmed up to the disco, falsetto, white-suited, Bee Gee brothers. I'm sorry their legacy isn't the pre-disco greats they had ... I'm just sayin' ...
Gary Renfield
I hated the exceptionally long dance mixes the discos played, too ... take a three or four minute song and stretch it out for 20 minutes of the same, repetitive beat which ultimately just morphed into another song that offered more of the same ... a lot of today's music reminds me of that ... where you can't really distinguish one song from another because they're all made to sound so similar so as to "blend" into this whole listening mix. I guess I've always been more of one for "originality" ... and songs that can stand alone on their own merit.
Most of the '60's and early '70's Bee Gees music has been overlooked by radio of late ... you might hear "I've Gotta Get A Message To You" once in a while ... or maybe "To Love Somebody" ... but that's about it. ALL of the focus seems to be on the 1975 - 1979 era of "Main Course" and "Saturday Night Fever" ... and, as such, in many people's minds, that's all they've become ... when, in fact, The Bee Gees contributed SO much more.
Kent,
Do you have occasional flashbacks that are so clear and precise that they could have happened yesterday ... or this morning? I experienced one of those while reading today's FH. I'm certain I haven't heard the song "Mr. Natural " since the spring of '74, but Clark's mention of it transported me to the day we received it and decided to add it to our playlist. I was thinking it was March of '74, so I looked it up to see if I was close. I found that it was indeed March, 1974, and was only on the Hot 100 chart for three weeks, peaking at number 93. We played it for a good six - to - eight weeks. As I type this, I am "seeing" the 45 spinning on the turntable, thinking this should be a big hit. But it wasn't. It's a major IRS, to use Rich Appel's term.
David Lewis
By this point The Bee Gees had fallen off the radar a couple of times already ... their last really big '60's hit was "First Of May", which reached #18 in the Spring of 1969. We wouldn't hear from them again in Chicago until late 1970 when "Lonely Days" shot up to the top of the charts. It was a WHOLE new sound ... and I LOVED it. A few more Top 20 Hits followed ... "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" (#1, 1971); "My World" (#15, 1972) and "Run To Me" (#11, 1972) ... and then they were gone again until "Jive Talkin'" took them back to the top of the charts in 1975.
Being COMPLETELY bowled over by the "Main Course" album ... (it remains to this day one of my all-time favorite LPs) ... I was naturally curious to see what took them there ... what had I missed between the lushly produced and heavily orchestrated "Run To Me" to the unmistakable beat of "Jive Talkin'" ... so I picked up a copy of "Mr. Natural" to see just what kind of stepping stone it really was. Try as I might, I could NOT get into this album ... it was COMPLETELY lost on me ... and I found no appeal whatsoever between the grooves ... making the brilliance of "Main Course" even that much more dramatic to my ears. And they kept it going ... from "Children Of The World" to "Saturday Night Fever" to "Spirits Having Flown", The Bee Gees stepped into a zone of non-stop success ... pretty amazing for a band that had already been around our consciousness for a decade! But my how they had changed.
I've tried listening to tracks from "Mr. Natural" since ... and they still don't work for me ... although I will admit that the title track sounded pretty good when I played it today! That's OK ... to each his own. For me "Main Course" is pure magic ... and the caliber of that album stands the test of time ... and that's good enough for me! (kk)
re: ON THE ROAD AGAIN:
With Eagle bandmates Glenn Frey and Joe Walsh both putting together solo tours this spring and summer, bassist Timothy B. Schmit has lined up some solo dates as well. (We hear that Walsh ... who'll be performing here at Naperville's Rib Fest ... has reunited The James Gang for this tour!)
Here's a look at Timothy's itinerary ...
May 28th - The Hamilton (Washington, DC)
May 29th - B.B. King's Blues Clube (New York, NY)
May 31st - Keswick Theatre (Glenside, PA)
June 2nd - Ridgefield Playhouse (Ridgefield, CT)
June 4th - Rama Head On Stage (Annapolis, MD)
June 6th - Three Rivers Arts Festival (Pittsburgh, PA)
June 8th - The Paramount (Huntington, NY)
June 9th - The Newton Theatre (Newton, NJ)
After a successful run of winter shows, groundbreaking vocalist, songwriter and bass player TIMOTHY B. SCHMIT -- well-known for his work as a member of the EAGLES and Poco -- is gearing up for a Spring U.S. Tour with his band starting May 19. For the three-week trek, TIMOTHY and his full band will perform songs from his fifth solo album EXPANDO as well as gems by the EAGLES and Poco.
TIMOTHY B. SCHMIT explains the impetus for the spring run of dates:
"What I like best about doing solo shows is it gives me a chance to interact with the audience in a smaller, more intimate setting. But, don't get me wrong. I very much enjoy being a part of the Eagles and all it implies. For instance, as of this writing, I find myself in a hotel in the exotic city of Dubai where we (the Eagles) will end a short tour that started in South Africa. After a few more scattered shows in the U.S., I look forward to taking my own band out on the road and having a completely different experience. I'm a fortune man. I get the best of both worlds."
The spring trek will take TIMOTHY and his bandmates to clubs offering an intimate vibe.
See above for a full list of dates and details.
It looks like Glenn Frey's scheduled solo dates may have already passed ... but here's the lastest from Joe Walsh ...
May 27th - Riverfront Park (Little Rock, AR)
May 31st - Toledo Zoo Amphitheater (Toledo, OH)
June 2nd - Stage AE (Pittsburgh, PA)
June 30th - Ribfest (Naperville, IL)
July 3rd - Summerfest (Milwaukee, WI)
July 4th - Dublin Coffman High School (Dublin, OH)
July 10th - Common Ground Music Festival (Lansing, MI)
July 13th - Stiefel Theatre For The Performing Arts (Salina, KS)
July 14th - Riverside Casino and Golf Resort (Riverside, IA)
July 28th - Sioux Falls Jazz Fest (Sioux Falls, SD)
August 1st - Cape Cod Melody Tent (Hyannis, MA)
August 3rd - South Shore Music Circus (Cohasset, MA)
August 7th - Mayo PAC (Morristown, NJ)
August 10th - Hampton Beach Casino (Hampton, NH)
August 11th - Seneca Allegany Casino And Hotel (Salamanca, NY)
August 13th - The Filene Center At Wolf Trap (Vienna, VA)
August 18th - Belly Up (Aspen, CO)
August 19th - The Hudson Gardens Events Center (Littleton, CO)
August 21st - Gallivan Center (Salt Lake City, UT)
August 24th - Little Creek Casino Resort (Shelton, WA)
August 25th - Oregon State Fair (Salem, OR)
August 30th - Tuslip Resort Casino Amphitheatre (Tulsip, WA)
September 1st - River Rock Casino Resort (Richmond, BC, Canada)
September 2nd - Mill Bay Casino (Manson, WA)
September 30th - Montalvo Arts Center (Saratoga, CA)
Hi Kent,
Hope you're having a pleasant holiday weekend.
I just wanted to let you know that I was recently asked to join the Dovells
(Bristol Stomp, You Can't Sit Down, Bristol Twistin' Annie, Hully Gully) on bass and vocals. I've know them since I mc'd the opening act for their / our 1975 Steel Pier (Atlantic City) show when I led the Jill Babylove (disco) band. The Rip Chords, which I also led, were / are in the same management office so our friendship grew. It's nice to be out there playing once again in this arena. I played my first show with them on May 20th and I'm looking forward to a good summer.
All the best to you and all your readers,
Bob Rush (Dr. Robert, American Correspondent for "The Beat" Magazine, U.K.)
re: THE BEACH BOYS:
I think your daughter did a great job on Beach Boys review.
You should give her a raise in pay . LoL !!
I'll get you in trouble if I keep writing.
Frank B.
Actually I wasn't going to disclose this ... but since she did such a great job, I gave her 100% of EVERYTHING I made doing Forgotten Hits this past week ... now how's THAT for a big-hearted Dad?!?!? (Of course 100% of zero is still zero ... but it's the thought that counts, right???) kk
re: AND, SPEAKING OF GOOD REVIEWS ... :
You just gained a ton of additional credibility for shooting straight with us on Irene's "book".
David Lewis
I had to ... uncomfortable as it was, people have to know that they're going to get the real lowdown in Forgotten Hits ... good, bad or otherwise. And I seriously hope that Irene keeps an open and objective mind, reviews her work to date and then kicks it up a notch before she releases her Jonathan Frid book. (Don't know that that'll happen ... but it was worth a shot!) kk
re: NEW RELEASES:
Here's something for Motown fans to rejoice about -- Diana Ross' legendary Central Park concert from 1983 has finally made it to DVD. The disc is produced by Shout Factory and includes both days from the event. Day 1 of her free concert was rained out, and she promised to return the next day to finish the show. Indeed she did, causing herself to foot the bill for most of the unplanned second day. At last, both days can be seen on the DVD set.
And now fans of Diana, Mary, and Florence have something more to add to their lists ... The Supremes At the Copa is finally released by Hippo-Select as an expanded 2-disc set. The legendary appearance by America's top group of the 1960's marks the only live album from the group's "classic" line-up.
Add to these the recently released compilation of The Supremes' performances on The Ed Sullivan Show and you've got three VERY supreme additions to your collection! (kk)
Just listened to the new Eric Burdon track. It sounds like "Take The Long Way Home" to me. No? John Harrold
Kent ... Just listened to Eric Burdon's "Memorial Day" again. "A rich man's war, but the poor will pay." Reminds me of "Sky Pilot." I like it. Frank B. For some reason, I cannot get this track to play!!! I've tried it over a dozen times now and each and every time, nothing!!! I even wrote to Bob Merlis (who provided us with a link to the site) but he says he's not aware of any problems. Meanwhile, I got emails from six other Forgotten Hits Readers who were having the same problem I was ... so who knows!!! Obviously some of you got to hear it ... and the counter kept increasing once we ran the link ... so I'm not quite sure what's up here! If I can sang an MP3, I'll rerun it on the site later this week so that others can enjoy it, too. (kk)
Today Forgotten Hits reviews the Irene Brodsky book "Sixteen Candles Shine Forever In Memory of Johnny Maestro".
re: "SIXTEEN
CANDLES SHINE FOREVER IN MEMORY OF JOHNNY MAESTRO" BY IRENE
BRODSKY:
To recap, here are some of the original reviews we received for Irene Brodsky's book on Johnny Maestro ... you'll find them less than flattering and kind.
I noticed that you are giving away a copy of the
book by Irene Brodsky about Johnny. Have you read it?
I immediately bought this book as I had never
seen the picture of Johnny that was on the cover of the book.
Unfortunately, that was it. This is the worst
excuse for a book that I have ever, ever seen. Not just bad but pathetic. I am
dumbfounded as to how a college professor could think that this garbage
constitutes a book. Other than the cover picture, there is absolutely nothing
positive about this. It took me seven, that's right, seven minutes to read it
and it was a wasted seven minutes.
What a bad joke.
Danny
Nice tribute to a great performer but I was
looking for a biography about his entire life from birth to the end. I read the
entire book in about 15 minutes.
Ruth
I would advise people not to
buy Irene Brodsky's book, unless you're a die hard Johnny Maestro fan.
The book is 49 pages long. Most of
it - better than half - are pictures, illustrations and thank-yous. It does
contain statements from Johnny's wife and
niece. It will take you about 15 minutes to read this book. I would sum it up as
a short biography and a short revue of his
music career.
Frank
B.
After we ran these reviews in Forgotten Hits, we received this response from Irene Brodsky:
>>>I must
say there was a lot more to writeabout
Johnny, but it was gossip, rumors, his illness, lack of proper treatment,
etc. When I received Mrs. Maestro's blessing to write this book, I took that
blessing very seriously and put together what I felt was acceptable to all ages,
to libraries and to book stores and out of the greatest respect to Mrs. Maestro,
who has been more than kind to
me.The info in my book is everything that I
was able to obtain that did not contain gossip, innuendo or rumors. Mr. Maestro
was a private person ... and very humble ... and did not share details of his
personal life. I tried to get his children to share their memories of their
father, but that did not happen. I tried to get his background group to meet me
for an interview of their memories of being on the road with Johnny and that did
not happen. I also had to spend many months searching for people who owned
rights to the 11 original photos in this book ... some were as far away as
Australia. I tried to meet members of the Crests and was told they were no
longer alive, etc. This
was a 13 month labor of love. My next book is about Jonathan Frid
(also known as Barnabas Collins of Dark Shadows) and there will be no gossip, no
rumors, or how he died ... it will be about how he rose to fame from his college
days as an actor of Shakespeare Plays. It should be even harder to deal
with because he never gave interviews and never talked about his former life
before Dark Shadows ... and he had no wife for me to "butter up" ... but I will
give it my best try with the help of his fan club of 70,000 people from all over
the world and one nephew from Canada.
(Irene Brodsky)
And then this from FH Reader Frank B, a HUGE Johnny Maestro fan ...
Kent ...
Where did Irene Brodsky get the idea that
we wanted her to write about gossip, rumors, his illness, lack of proper
treatment, etc., as it pertains to Johnny Maestro? She said that his children
wouldn't talk to her. She didn't talk to members of the Crests or the Brooklyn
Bridge. I can't believe that Les Cauchi and other Brooklyn Bridge members
wouldn't talk to her. Maybe she should've canceled the project.
If I was writing the book, I would've
talked to DJ's Don K. Reed, Bobby Jay, Cousin Brucie and Norm N. Nite. I
would've also contacted fellow performers ... Jay Black and Kenny Vance, for
example. How about songwriters like Jimmy Webb? Record Label Executives
from Joyce and CO-ED. I don't think she tried hard enough to get more
information. And now she's already making excuses about her next book about
Jonathan Frid "(also known as Barnabas Collins of Dark Shadows ). He should be
even harder to deal with because he never gave interviews. He didn't have a
wife."
Frank B.
I'm going to leave Irene alone ... on the
PLUS side, it sounds like some of this "negative publicity" has actually helped
her to sell more books ... and, now that MY copy of the book is finally on its
way, I'll be able to see first hand what all the fuss is about. (And I'll try
to be as objective as I possibly can when reading it ... I'm right in the middle
of Mark Bego's INCREDIBLE book on Aretha Franklin ... HIGHLY recommended to all
of our readers out there ... scroll back to May for a brief Q & A with Mark
on our website.) Mark sets the benchmark pretty high ... and Irene ... and
anybody ELSE for that matter documenting Rock And Roll History ... need to know
what the die-hard fans expect. You're right ... we DON'T want rumors and
innuendo ... but we DO want facts, interesting tidbits and more than 49 pages
on our musical heroes ... especially if you're going to call it a "booK"!
(kk)
Kent ...
Irene Brodsky just left me a message
... she wants to be my friend. What should I do? Maybe we are helping her
sell books. LoL!! Frank B.
That's your call. Just don't marry
her, Frank ... or you won't be allowed to testify against her in a court of law!
(kk)
Talk
about putting you in a tight spot ... so now Irene sends you a copy of the book
and you'll be forced to perform your diplomatic review and comment after all
that's been said about it. This entire episode illustrates the challenges of the
new world of online bookselling; the buyer doesn't have the opportunity to flip
through the book before purchasing. With Irene's book, much of the negativity
could have been avoided if there was advance info that this was more a
biographical sketch than a deeply researched work (such as Tim Riley's 800-page
"Lennon", which I'll be finishing soon).
David Lewis
And let's face it ... not
everybody out there is up to the challenge of reading an 800-Page tome to John
Lennon either ... there must be a happy medium somewhere in between. I don't
feel that I've done our readers justice if I don't speak honestly and openly
when doing a review ... and I can tell you that there have been a number of
occasions over the years where I've chosen to say nothing at all about a
particular piece of work, resorting instead to the old adage that "If you can't
say anything nice, then don't say anything at all" ... and sometimes at the
expense of some near and dear musical colleagues. I am NOT going to publicly
bash a work of art just for the sake of bashing it ... but this book has already
caused SO much controversy and discussion, that I feel obligated to voice my
opinion, too ... but ONLY after I've read it from cover to cover ... so check
back with me in about fifteen minutes! (kk)
Enough already. You've played this to the hilt ...
and now you owe your readers an honest review of the book. We need to know what
you REALLY thought of Irene's book on Johnny Maestro ... and we expect you not
to pull any punches. What say you?
Dan
AWKWARD!!! But you're right ... it really is time to address this issue head-on, once and for all.
And let me tell you, this is a tough spot
indeed ... as I've exchanged numerous emails with Irene regarding her book over
the past several months ... and I have every reason to believe that she was
completely sincere in her reasons for writing it ... and in NO way intended to
"rip off" any unsuspecting readers who didn't know what they were getting
themselves into when they bought the book.
It makes writing this review even
more difficult because it's impossible not to factor in the information that I
now know and judge the book solely on its own merits objectively.
Suffice to say that in these scant
49 pages we learn precious little about Johnny Maestro. I still have difficulty
qualifying 49 pages (the bulk of which are blank or photo pages) as a "book" ...
honestly, in my opinion, the sum of all of the information collected between
these two covers barely qualifies as a long article ... and it doesn't stay "on
topic" much of the time. (Forgetting the fact that Irene says you can purchase
the book cheaper than the $11.95 price published on the back cover, it's hard to
feel that you've received a "good value" for you money had you purchased a
copy.)
Written by a Professor and
Brooklyn College faculty member, I cannot help but wonder how Irene would have
graded this work had it been turned in by one of her students. If the
assignment were to provide a brief but detailed biography of singer Johnny
Maestro, I believe that (were she being totally objective) she, too, would have
found this work to be terribly off target. (Even worse, the spelling errors and
punctuation mistakes are ATROCIOUS ... and hardly what one would expect to pass
the watchful eye of a college professor. Some of it is downright
embarrassing!)
As I said, we learn precious
little about Johnny Maestro ... in fact, I believe that if you actually
condensed the material contained as it pertains to Maestro's career only ...
forgetting photographs, a poem about Johnny Maestro, a career discography (which
is nothing more than a photocopy of a previously published work ... and not all
that good of one at that, in that part of the lettering has been cut off!) and
personal praise about how much Johnny's music meant to the writer ... you'd be
hard-pressed to fill three or four pages of actual Johnny Maestro biographical
information.
Instead we learn where Irene used
to work (at The Federal Building on lower Broadway near China Town) and how the
New York City Subway System changed and labeled its routes. We're provided with
a list of songwriters who held offices at the 1650 Broadway Building (none of
whom seem to have any direct connection to Johnny Maestro or The Crest, who
simply recorded AT that building) and how her brother bought some of these
Crests recordings from Sam Goody Music and played them endlessly for his younger
sister, Irene Betty Kerschman.
Honestly, we get more of Irene's
biography here than we do Johnny's ... which is fine if this was simply a memoir
of "What Johnny Maestro's Music Meant To Me" ... and perhaps that would make for
a fitting article in a music fan magazine ... but again, there's just not enough
substance here to sustain itself as a "book".
We also get the lyrics to a couple
of songs that Johnny recorded (credited to Johnny Maestro and The Brooklyn
Bridge, for example, on "You'll Never Walk Alone" ... when, in fact, this work
should have been credited to the SONGWRITERS, Rodgers and Hammerstein, who
included it in their musical "Carousel" in the 1940's ... all Johnny did was
sing it ... the credit as shown is misdirected, something else I would think a
college professor would know better than to do.)
As mentioned by several readers
thus far, I, too, am concerned that SO many people directly connected to Johnny
Maestro turned Irene down when they were approached about making comments or
sharing stories for the book. (As Frank B. suggests above, I may have been
inclined to throw in the towel right there ... yet so many OTHER potential
sources of information were never pursued.) As such, I don't hold much in the
way of high hopes for Irene's next work, a biography of Jonathan Frid, in
that she's already explaining away what the book WON'T contain, rather than
touting what it DOES.
I remember my daughter being
totally enamored by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John after she saw them
together in "Grease" ... and in the fifth grade, I believe, she wrote a
biography piece on each of them for a school assignment. I can honestly say
(with perhaps the SLIGHTEST sense of bias) that the research and detail that
went into those two pieces far exceeds what I see here in Irene Brodsky's
piece. Don't get me wrong ... I believe both parties equally shared their
passion for their subject matter ... the difference is my daughter as a fifth
grader wasn't going to have the opportunity to interview anyone close to these
two celebrities ... so she had to do the bulk of her research from
previously published works ... but in doing so, she completely captured the
story of their lives in the process. We got the whole story ... a time-capsule
picture of their careers up to that point in time. Sure, the "fan" showed
through ... how could it not? She wasn't a seasoned writer and was truly
smitten with her subject matter. It's what you would expect to read from a
talented fifth grader. But it is NOT what we expect to read from a four-time
published author / professor. When Irene writes "From 1939 - 1942, it was a
most difficult time. Young men were drafted daily to fight for their county
(her typo, not mine), many of them returned home disabled or died in action.
(her punctuation, not mine) For most of the veterans who thought their jobs were
waiting for them when they returned home, many of those businesses were gone or
their jobs were given to someone else. But sometimes miracles happen! YES,
THEY DO!" (her capitalization, not mine)
Irene goes on to
write "One of those miracles was a young boy named Johnny Mastrangelo. Just
barely 5 years old, Johnny was discovering beautiful music on the radio that
would inspire him to become a great entertainer from 1956 - 2010."
I'm not quite sure what one paragraph has to do
with the other ... or what the "miracle" was (in relationship to the heartbreak
and disappointment of the war), but much of the book is written the same way ...
offering more personal opinion and observation than fact. Again, great for a
"What Johnny Maestro Means To Me" article ... but not a book or a biography of
the singer.
The book also includes a few brief fan
testimonials written by others (reducing the actual page count of Irene
Brodsky-written pages to 18 ... and many of those are just lists of names and/or
accomplishments), including one written by Michael Boguski, (with absolutely no
explanation as to who Michael is or what his role may be in relationship to any
of this). It serves again as nothing more than a "fan letter" ... honestly, a
couple of the letters we received from our readers about "Favorite Johnny
Maestro Moments" or "The Impact of Johnny's Music", all of which ended up
qualifying for a free copy of the book, held more substance and were more
heartfelt. Michael DOES bring up one good point, however, when he writes
"Johnny Maestro has done so much for the history of rock and roll ... so why
isn't he in The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame?" While I'm sure that the intentions of
all of these letters were sincere, they add nothing to The Johnny Maestro Story, other
than extensions of the "What Johnny Maestro Means To Me" theme that seems to be
so prevalent throughout the book.
Irene lists a multitude of awards Johnny has
received over the years ... and even talks briefly about the recent
street-naming ceremony held in New York City. She mentions Johnny's time with
The Crests, The Del-Satins and The Brooklyn Bridge ... but doesn't do much more
than provide a list of songs recorded with each group. There's no history here
... we gain no sense of what it took to make it back in the '50's ... and then
make it again and again, reaching new peaks in the late '60's with The Brooklyn Bridge ... and then sustain an audience of an incredibly loyal
fan base decades later. ALL of this information would have made for a far more
interesting read.
I'm sorry, Irene ... but as a self-professed
educator at The Rock And Roll College Of Musical Knowledge, I feel forced to
give this effort a failing grade. Johnny's long-time, die-hard fans expected
... and deserved ... more. (kk)
Irene Brodsky was kind enough to give away
an autographed copy of her book to the Forgotten Hits Reader who came up with
the best "Favorite Johnny Maestro Memory". The
winner of our little FH contest was Nate Mehdi of West Palm Beach, Florida ...
and here is what Nate had to say of HIS
Johnny Maestro experience:
Some years ago I attended an outdoor Brooklyn Bridge
Concert, sponsored by a local politician, at Mt. Lorretto Playground in The
Bronx. It was scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm but they started at 7 PM because of
threatening weather. At about 7:15 there was a lightning and thunder storms
and they had to stop.The politician arrived at about 7:30 and saw that the act
had changed into their street clothes and asked what had happened. Johnny
explained that it was too dangerous to perform with electronic
equipment under the existing conditions. The politician threatened to stop
payment on the check and asked Johnny to sing a few songs for the people. John,
Les, Freddie, Marty and Jimmy Rosica ... all in street clothes ... commenced to
do an a cappella set that lasted about an hour. It was one of the greatest
concerts I ever attended! It was reminiscent of back in 1956-7 when Johnny
& the Crests, including Patrica VanDross, used to sing a cappella at the
Henry St. Settlement House in lower Manhattan. This was before they had
recorded anything and John was still a student at Textil High School (now
Charles Evans Hughes H.S.) Everyone who heard them knew that John was destined
for greatness.
I guess I had a proclivity for attending Brooklyn
Bridge concerts in inclement weather. One summer night I went out to John Burns
Park in Massapequa, NY, but the concert was moved to a local school
because of bad weather. Due to limited seating, they were only allowing local
residents into the venue. I did not qualify and had to sneak in through a back
door to see another memorable concert. I was fortunate to attend John's last
public performance at Mohegan Sun Casino
in Connecticut in January, 2010. Even though he was very sick at the time, he
gave his usual excellent performance. My favorite memory in watching and
listening to Johnny for over a half a century is that he was a consummate
professional who always gave a 100%. In all those many years his voice never
wavered and he never gave a bad performance. Thanks for the memories John ...
RIP.
Nate Mehdi
For some of our original coverage of Johnny's passing in 2010 (and the fan reaction to this sad, sad news) check out this link below:
Last week, our daughter Nicki had the chance to see The Beach Boys' 50th Anniversary Tour live in concert at The Chicago Theater. (No, we didn't get to go ... but we're living vicariously through her review ... and sharing it with you today!)
For those of you who have been following Forgotten Hits for the past several years (this is our 13th, you know!), you're already well aware of Nicki's long affection for (and connection to) The Beach Boys. Do a Forgotten Hits website search for The Beach Boys and you'll see some of those stories recounted here ... all you have to do is click or scroll back to read them.
She saw her very first Beach Boys concert at the ripe old age of four!!! And we sat in second row seats to see them! (When "The Boys" came back through town again nine months later, I scrambled like mad to get second row seats again so she could relive the experience!) During that first show, Mike Love actually presented her with a beach ball from the stage.
Of course by then she was already a seasoned Beach Boys fan ... a member of their fan club (she even had a Beach Boys bumper sticker on the back of her bicycle!!!) ... and knew virtually all of their hit songs by heart and could sing them at will ... and along with the band during their concerts, which caught Love's attention from the stage.
Then, at the age of six, she declared that she wanted to marry Mike Love. (I wasn't too concerned ... because by then, knowing Mike's taste in women, she was probably already too old for him! lol) He was always her favorite ... and while, until last week, like me, she had never seen Brian perform with The Beach Boys either, she WAS able to catch Brian Wilson's solo show last summer at The Arcada Theatre in St. Charles. (Brian's back-up band, most of them from The Wondermints, is worth the price of admission alone ... add a top form Brian Wilson to the mix and you're going to see a concert every bit as good or better than ANY Beach Boys show you've ever seen ... and that's exactly what we were treated to that night!) Many of those same musicians are part of this very special 50th Anniversary touring band as well.
She has seen The Beach Boys numerous times since that first concert so many years ago ... ALL good shows, she says ... but it sounds like this special reunion concert was amongst the very best.
Here is her review:
If you’ve ever questioned whether the Beach Boys still got it, after listening to the
first 30 seconds of their 50th Anniversary Tour you’ll have your
answer. Fittingly opening the show with “Do It Again”, original members Brian
Wilson, Mike Love , and Al Jardine, along with David Marks and Bruce Johnston,
proved to Chicago that despite how long it’s been, they could in fact get back
together and do it again. And they
did it gooooooood.
With beach balls bouncing throughout the audience and each
member of the group adorned in a Hawaiian shirt, the Beach Boys proved that age
will not prevent this group of 70 year old men from putting on a great show.
Brian stayed at the piano for most of the night,
acknowledging his constant applause with occasional waves and smiles. He even
got up at the end of the show and held a guitar! Mike looked comfortable front
and center and also acted as MC. Al and Bruce each got a chance to sing their
own song, and they both sounded fantastic! But I also have to give credit to Jeffrey Foskett, who sang all the falsetto notes that the
band can’t hit anymore and he totally killed on his performance of “Don’t Worry Baby”.
Jeffrey isn’t the only person from Brian Wilson’s band on
this 50th Anniversary Tour; we recognized that about half of the
Beach Boys’ band is a part of Brian’s individual tour band. Kudos to the entire
band for putting on an amazing show!
All in all, I’d say this show was worth every penny, and I
think the entire audience would agree based on its reaction to each song.
They
made us laugh while trying to act like teenagers by jumping and kicking on
stage …
They made us cry during the tribute to Dennis and Carl Wilson …
They made us
wonder what the heck was going on while showing pictures of their merchandise
on the JumboTron during intermission … But most importantly, they made us SMiLE.
-- Nicki (Kotal) Carlson
(photo by Nicki Carlson)
For another GREAT review of The
Beach Boys' concert at The Chicago Theater, be sure to check out Jeremy Roberts'
latest column. (You'll even find the complete set list here!) Sounds like it was a
FANTASTIC show!
You could've left at intermission and you still would've got your money's
worth. Wild Wayne
For a little taste of what it must have been like, check out this link featuring their live show in Texas. (Like the note says, "be patient" ... this sucker took FOREVER to load when I tried to play it!)
We recently took a
trip to Bethlehem, PA, to see The Beach Boys' 50th Anniversary Tour. Al Jardine
was kind enough to make it possible for us to attend the soundcheck and spend
time backstage before and after the show. I highly recommend seeing their show.
It was an emotional experience for me, and many others in the arena. With fifteen musicians onstage, there was not one part left out of any song they performed.
It was flawless. I've attached a photo of Richie Rotkin, myself and Freddy Brog
posing with The Beach Boys after their VIP photo sessions, with thanks to
Photographer Jeff McEvoy for taking the photo. It was good to see Bruce Johnston
and Richie talking about the old days, and great spending time with Al. Good
Vibrations for sure.
