February 25th, 1964

60 YEARS AGO TODAY:

2/25/64 - Cassius Clay wins the World Heavyweight Boxing Title at The Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida, when Reigning Champion Sonny Liston fails to come out for Round 7.

 

 

 

Muhammad Ali (then still fighting as Cassius Clay ... although he would change his name immediately after winning the title) went into the first Sonny Liston fight as an 8-1 underdog.

He was a brash, loud-mouth kid, prone to bragging (and poetry!) ... but he was charismatic as hell ... you either loved him or you hated him ... and even if you hated him, odds are you would learn to love him ... as he truly was one of a kind.

Perhaps the most exciting sports figure the world has ever known, Ali was recognized the world over.  He would be stripped of his title after refusing to report for the draft in 1967, taking six of the best years of his boxing career away from him.

But he would come back and win the Heavyweight Title a total of THREE TIMES ... the only man to ever do so.  He was as quick on his feet as he was quick-witted ... ALWAYS an entertaining interview, Ali was pure showbiz.

But the fact of the matter is, the man could box!  He was almost scientific in his approach to boxing ...

And on February 25th, 1964, when Liston couldn't answer the seventh round bell, Clay was declared The Heavyweight Champion of the World.  (The look of joy on his face in the photo above says it all ... although some would argue that it was more a state of shock ... both analysis might be true!)

The following month, a new single of Cassius Clay singing "Stand By Me" was released ... and actually charted! (#86 in Music Vendor and #102 in Billboard)

In a rematch with Liston in March of the following year, Ali would knock Liston out in the very first round with a phantom punch that legendary sportscaster Howard Cosell would later describe as:  "I saw the punch ... it wouldn't have split a pea."

Ali never ducked anybody ... he fought all comers ... and even when he lost (which he did five times in his professional boxing career), he earned the respect of all that covered the sport.  He started out as an Olympic Champion ... then became known as "The Louisville Lip."  By his own proclamation, he was also known and accepted as "The Greatest" ... and when he was exiled from boxing, he became known as "The Peoples' Champion."  In this capacity, he traveled the world on both speaking engagements and missions of peace and harmony, meeting with country leaders still able to earn an elite living when boxing afforded him none.

His fights with Liston, Joe Frazier and George Foreman are legendary ... listed amongst the greatest boxing matches (and sporting events) in history.

Muhammad Ali died on June 3rd, 2016, at the age of 74.  The world has been a sadder place ever since.

Also on 2/25/64, The Beatles have a very productive day in the recording studio.

For starters, they finish up "Can't Buy Me Love," a song they first started recording in France on January 29th.  They also knock out "You Can't Do That."  Those two tracks will make up the A-Side and B-Side of their next single, the first to be released simultaneously in Great Britain and America.  (Advance orders for "The Beatles' Next Single" ... WHATEVER it may be ... already exceed 2.1 million copies.)

Before they call it a day, they also record "I Should Have Known Better," a track that will end up on the soundtrack to their first motion picture, to be released later this year ...

ALL of this on what was George Harrison's 21st birthday!

The Saturday Survey

BRITISH INVASION WATCH:

The Beatles now have THREE records in The Top Ten as "I Want To Hold Your Hand" holds on to the #1 spot for the SIXTH straight week, "She Loves You" remains at #2 and "Please Please Me" finally cracks The Top Ten, moving from #24 to #8.

Dusty Springfield loses her bullet but still manages to creep up two more spots to #16.

Beatles tunes "I Saw Her Standing There" (#43) and "My Bonnie" (#47) continue to rise ... while Cliff Richard is on his way out, now sitting at #44 with his version of "It's All In The Game."

The Dave Clark Five make an eleven point leap from #56 to #45 with their first US Hit, "Glad All Over" ... 

And way down at #98 we find The Searchers, another British Invasion band, premiering on The Super Chart Countdown with a song written by Sonny Bono, who hasn't even had his OWN first hit yet!!! (Right behind it is proof positive that The Beatles have made a lasting impression on pop culture ... a new novelty tune, "My Boyfriend Got A Beatle Haircut" by Donna Lynn premiers on the chart!)

And, after falling off the list for a week, The Beatles are back on "The Next Ten" list with "From Me To You," where it now sits at #108.

February 23rd, 1964

60 YEARS AGO TODAY:

2/23/64 - The Beatles make their third appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show.”  (These performances were actually taped on February 9th, prior to their television debut, as by now The Beatles were back in England.)  For this appearance, the boys performed “Twist And Shout,” “Please Please Me” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand.”  Sullivan gave them a very nice send off ... it was most definitely a win/win situation for all parties concerned!

A Once In A Lifetime Opportunity

For those of you who are passionate about this sort of thing ...

Or perhaps have built your own collection of radio air checks ... or would love to START one ...

This is the kind of opportunity that only comes along once in a lifetime.

We heard from a Forgotten Hits Reader over this past weekend who has come into possession of a treasure trove of old radio tapes from the '60's, '70's and early '80's.

They come from an avid collector who did most of his own recording ... and over the course of a lifetime, assembled a collection of literally hundreds and hundreds of tapes ... but has sadly passed on.

Far too often we have seen someone's life-long passion ... and life's work ... simply hauled out to the garbage because other family members had no appreciation for this hobby and didn't want to deal with the clutter.

We don't want to see this happen again ... so we offered to try and find these recordings a good home.

There are reel-to-reel tapes, cassette tapes and even some on CD ...

An absolutely MASSIVE collection of radio audio, most of which are full length segments of 45 minutes to an hour, complete with music, commercials, jingles, news spots ... and reportedly in excellent condition.  (Since he built this library for his own collection and enjoyment, he wanted it to include top quality tapes that he could listen to again and again.)

Nobody has the time to sort thru all of this material and catalog it ... 

This is a "take it all off our hands" opportunity ... no sorting, no cherry-picking ... just Winner Takes All.

Listed below are just SOME of the radio stations included in this collection ...

CHUM, CKLW, CKOC,

KACY, KBBQ, KBVM, KCBQ, KDAY, KDES, KDWB, KEWB, KEZY, KFI, KFRC, KFWB, KFXM, KGB, KGBS, KGIL, KHJ, KIIS, KKDJ, KLOS, KLOU, KMET, KMIN, KNEZ, KPFK, KPPC, KRLA, KROQ, KRTH, KSFO, KWIZ, KYMS, KYW,

 

WABC, WCBS, WGRD, WGRT, WHK, WIL, WIND, WJIM, WJJD, WJW, WKYC, WKNR, WMAX, WOID, WOIO, WONE, WOPA, WRLL, WTIX, WVON, WXYZ, WYW, WZZM,

XERB ...

 

And there are LOADS more!

 

SERIOUS INQUIRIES ONLY ...

 

And be sure to budget in the fact that you will have to move these tapes from Southern California to wherever you choose to house them.  (If you find it more convenient, a personal pick-up can also be arranged.)

 

Please help spread the word on this to any other collectors you feel may be interested in such a collection ... but again, it's a TAKE ALL option only.  (I will tell you that nobody's looking to get rich quick here ... so ALL reasonable offers will be considered, with the understanding that you're basically buying sight unseen ... and unheard!)  But I'm told this is quite and extraordinary collection  (Heck, you could start your own Internet Air Check Radio Station with all of these!!!)

 

We'll wait a week or two to see what kind of response we get and then get back to you if you're genuinely interested. 

 

Just drop me an email at kk@forgottenhits.com ... but don't wait TOO long ...

 

I've got a feeling these will end up in some pretty creative hands real soon!  (kk)

 

A Few More Goodies

Check out this new PBS Special starting this Friday …

 

And, speaking of great music television, here’s another endorsement for the new “We Are The World” documentary airing on Netflix as “The Greatest Night In Pop” …

 

Upon your recommendation, I recently watched the 'We Are The World' documentary the other night (not that I hadn't planned to anyway ... but you brought it to front of mind!)

I knew it was an all-night recording affair, but I never gave it the thought of just how concentrated, intense and focused on detail it really was.

Amazing.

CB

When word came out earlier this week about four separate films, each featuring a Beatle reflecting back on THEIR version of what it was like to be in the most famous band in history, my first thought was The Rolling Stones documentary that aired last year with each of the four episodes profiling ONE Stone, trying to offer a broader spectrum of what it was like being in The World’s Greatest Rock And Roll Band.”

But it sounds like these four new Beatle films will be full-length, individual biopics, developed with the full cooperation of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and the estates of John Lennon and George Harrison.  (This marks the first time that Apple Corps Ltd. … and all four Beatles ... have granted access to their full life stories and music rights for a scripted film.)

Conceived and Directed by Sam Mendes, we’re still at least three years away from seeing them … and it sounds like these are planned for theatrical release (although what isn’t clear is whether or not all four films will drop at once or if they’ll be staggered throughout 2027.)

The press release says: “We intend this to be a uniquely thrilling, and epic cinematic experience: four films, told from four different perspectives, which tell a single story about the most celebrated band of all time.”

For me, one of the most entertaining things about The Beatles’ own “Anthology” history that they put together was the way all four Beatles remembered the same event or milestone differently … perhaps most notably their meeting with Elvis.  (Ringo says he “jammed with Elvis” … which totally tickled the other three!)

Of course I’ll watch them all … but three years is a LONG time to wait … so somebody please remind me as we get closer to the date!  (lol)  kk

Harvey Kubernik sent in this article announcing the films from “Variety” …

https://variety.com/2024/film/news/beatles-movies-sam-mendes-directing-four-films-2027-release-1235916841/#recipient_hashed=cb1fa0032addcfdb730f717f527f301d7f591bddae516591375953126c7fa463&recipient_salt=fdcde0102878ab3c1e53ecbcfbb0eaba79c60c270580241efc15cc4c9850dd7f

And look what else Harvey’s got going on …

Gold Star Recording Studio Exhibit at the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame 6th Floor Opens

The Gold Star Recording Studio Exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio is now up. A four minute film I wrote, edited and produced with director Chris M. Allport is on display at the venue that accompanies the legendary studio console. Chris and I are currently working on the Gold Star documentary. Think of all the hit records cut on that board during 1951-1984.

HK

Hi Kent,

This link is attached to a story that appeared in Monday’s Las Vegas Sun. It has to do with "a former Rock & Roll Hall of Fame curator and memorabilia seller charged with conspiring to own and sell manuscripts of 'Hotel California' and other Eagles hits without the right to do so.” 

The article could be of interest to your readers.

Jerry Reuss

Thanks, Jerry … I had not heard about this one … happy to share!  (kk)

 

60 YEARS AGO TODAY:

2/21/64 - Three classic British singles were released on this date:  "Not Fade Away" by The Rolling Stones, "Just One Look" by The Hollies and "Little Children" by Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas.

Despite the tremendous force in music that both The Rolling Stones and The Hollies will become during this generation of rock (and beyond), it is the Billy J. Kramer hit that scores the best results on the pop charts, peaking at #7 (and going all the way to #1 here in Chicago, which you'll see as our 60 YEARS AGO TODAY calendar progresses.) 

Neither "Not Fade Away" or "Just One Look" even made The National Top 40 at the time!