Haven't done one of these in a while!!!
Here's what I could pull together quickly this morning before I had to run out the door!
re: Elvis:
Heard about this too late to include it in yesterday's piece on The King ...
Elvis' Grand-daughter Riley Keough (Lisa Marie's daughter from her first marriage) is marrying Australian stunt man Ben Smith-Petersen. Riley's an actress who met her future husband on the set of the film "Mad Max - Road Fury". Ironically one of the other stars of this new film (out in May) is Zoe Kravitz, daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet. (OMG! The second ... and now THIRD generation of some of our favorites are now taking over!!!)
Check out this photo of Riley Keough ... an UNCANNY resemblance to both mom Lisa Marie ... and Elvis and Priscilla! (kk)
Kent,
Thanks a million for posting Elvis' tune BLACK STAR, later on to become FLAMING STAR. Your posting of it is the second time I have ever heard it, the first time being when the man with all the individual Elvis tunes came to visit our local oldies stations periodically during the 1990's on Elvis' birthday.
I do have the song FLAMING STAR on that RCA Camden label album which you did mention.
The man who visited our local oldies station with all the Elvis tunes did bring in various suitcases, briefcases, etc. with supposedly every Elvis tune available at that time. He drove a station wagon as I recall.
Also during this same time, there was a DJ in Tulsa, Ok, on station KAKC 970 AM, who did an oldies show on Saturday mornings called OKLAHOMA BANDSTAND. John Henry was the DJ's name and he was on for six hours, from 6 am - 12 noon.
On the weekend closest to Elvis' birthday, he did the same thing in that if anyone called in and requested an Elvis song that he did not have in the control room, he would buy them a car. I believe he would have bought them a Cadillac.
I always got a laugh out of these people who called in and thought they were going to get a new car by requesting an Elvis song that they thought said DJ wouldn't have in the control room. John Henry used his own personal record collection on the air and and had every rock and roll record imagined. Kind of like Joe Donovan on WHAS' 840 AM in Louisville, who did overnight for years.
Larry Neal
>>>Country Superstar Garth Brooks made headlines this past week when his total album sales once again surpassed those of Elvis Presley. Garth has been absent from the music scene for a number of years ... but his comeback spelled MEGA bucks for the performer. The two have teeter-tautered back in forth for several years now ... and I don't think Elvis' latest release, "80", is going to break any sales records ... although Presley's records continue to sell decades after his death ... so who knows! (kk)
When Garth and his first wife Sandy moved to Nashville, they bought a house about a mile from us here on "the wrong side" of Nashville, away from the other famous people. We'd see Garth driving by in his pickup truck, and eventually a few fans would stop us and ask how to find Garth's house. After his breakup and "retirement" from performing, he lived mostly in Oklahoma while his daughters grew up. He never sold the house near us and, in fact, bought up much of the semi-rural land around it. He and his wife Trisha (Yearwood) recently decided to move back to the area, and again settled here in the northern 'burbs. My wife became addicted to Zumba in 2011, and came home from her Zumba class last Monday night, announcing that one "Trisha Brooks" had joined her Zumba class. A somewhat different form of "dancing with the stars."
David Lewis
re: This And That:
I couldn't be happier than to report that Glen Campbell's incredibly moving song "I'm Not Gonna Miss You" has been nominated for an Academy Award.
For whatever reason this film never opened here in Chicago so I still haven't seen it ... I guess we'll have to wait for it to turn up on cable or dvd ... kinda like the Boyce and Hart documentary I've been waiting to see that is nowhere to be found.
I'm telling you ... Forgotten Hits is the PERFECT place to review these films ... you couldn't find a more "targeted audience" than ours ...
To any of the "powers that be" out there ... PLEASE send us "screeners" and we will help you to get the word out!!!
And, speaking of new documentaries, I got this from FH Reader Tom Cuddy last week ...
This new music documentary on Kansas looks good:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bJuKsxGZJc
Tom Cuddy
And for fans of the '60's garage band / psychedelia / garage band / early punk / pop scene (that pretty much encompasses everything, doesn't it???), here's the latest on that new Seeds documentary "Pushin' Too Hard", courtesy of Harvey Kubernik:
Filmmaker Neil Norman will be interviewed this Saturday early morning on KXLU-FM (88.9) from 3:30 - 4:30 am on deejay Rev. Dan's Music For Nimrods radio program late Friday night / early Saturday morning.
GNP Crescendo Records label owner Norman will be discussing the recent label CD reissues of the Seeds as well as his new music documentary Pushin' Too Hard on the seminal Hollywood band.
www.pushintohard.com
www.neilnorman.com
www.gnpcrescendo.com
www.musicfornimrods.net
www.kxlu.com
Last week Barry McGuire and P.F. Sloan reunited at a club called The Coffee Gallery in Altadena, California, and performed their #1 Hit "Eve Of Destruction" on the 50th anniversary of its release.
That memorable evening is recounted here:
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2015/01/14/p-f-sloan-and-barry-mcguire-quietly-reunite-after-50-years-for-eve-of-destruction/
(submitted by David Lewis)
Speaking of anniversaries, FH Reader Ken Voss tells us that 51 Years Ago This Week, the FBI opened their investigation into the "dirty" and suggestive lyrics to "Louie Louie". (Can you believe the government actually got involved with this?!?!) Unreal!!! (kk)
Hi Kent,
Next week on January 23rd DOWNTOWN will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of hitting the No 1 spot on the Billboard chart.
TONY HATCH
Congratulations, Tony, on this special anniversary. After a successful career in Europe for years, Petula Clark finally won over the American audience with this '60's classic. She'd go on to hit The US Top 50 fifteen more times between 1965 and 1968, including seven Top 10's: "I Know A Place" (#2, 1965); "My Love" (#1, 1966); "A Sign Of The Times" (#9, 1966); "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love" (#8, 1966); "This Is My Song" (#3, 1967); "Don't Sleep In The Subway" (#5, 1967) and "Kiss Me Goodbye" (#10, 1968).
Somehow she, too, seems to have fallen off the oldies radio radar ... and that's just wrong ... my favorite amongst the bunch is "Don't Sleep In The Subway" ... but I really like THIS one, too! (kk)
Kent,
Thanks for posting the Elvis, Roy and Colonel Parker autograph.
I'm working on the 50th anniversary album of "The Arrows" ... not sure how to release it yet (looking for a label or I'll just download it on CDBaby, etc.).
Davie Allan
WHATEVER he decides to do, you can count on finding out about it right here in Forgotten Hits. Thanks, Davie! (kk)
Here's a SUPER deal on a couple of Pop Charts Classics ...
Joel Whitburn is letting his "Packer Pride" show with this VERY special offer for a limited time only.
Now through January 19th, you can pick up Joel's best seller "Top Pop Singles, 1955-2012" for $20 off ... and Joel will throw in a FREE copy of Pop Top 10 Hits to go along with it (a $17.95 value)
As the road to Super Bowl XLIX continues, we're letting our Packer Pride show through by saving you some GREEN on our GOLD seller, Top Pop Singles 1955-2012, now at $20 OFF (reg. $79.95, now $59.95) plus a FREE Top 10 Pop Hits 1955-2011 (reg. $17.95)!
A FREE Top 10 Pop Hits 1955-2011 book will be included with every Top Pop Singles 1955-2012 print book ordered now through 1/19/15, 11:59 p.m. CST. Inclusion of free book will not show up on your online order but will be included in shipment. This offer does not apply to prior orders.
Get complete details at the Record Research website:
Click here: Top Pop Singles 1955-2012 | Joel Whitburn's Record Research
Hi Kent,
Happy New Year to you, out there in Chicago. I'm out here in Davis, CA ... I know at least one other Davisite, Jeff March, who gets your updates.
I saw the piece on lyric changes, and I think one of the top ones is "My Boomerang Won't Come Back".
It was the first 45 I bought, around 1962. It has the words "Practiced 'till I was blue in the face". In the mid-90's I bought a juke box,and ordered some new 45s, including My Boomerang. The original version has "practiced 'till I was Black in the face" (like the aborigines that the song is based on).
The change to "blue" is probably an obvious nod to the emerging civil rights struggles of that time. The original also is longer and has a plane crash ending (the boomerang hit the plane, causing deaths). The shorter version, which was played in the states, just ends with the kid throwing the boomerang and it "won't come back".
Both versions were pressed onto 45s.
And, as for the R&R Hall of Fame, the Buckinghams should be in there, as they were the first to lay the "horn based" groundwork for Chicago, etc ... as you know.
Thanks for doing Forgotten Hits,
Billy Fair
Jeff's a great guy ... we're big fans of his work. ("Echoes of the '60's and "Where Have All The Pop Stars Gone".) Word is he and Marti Smiley Childs are already compiling the next edition of this excellent series.
"My Boomerang Won't Come Back" is a excellent example an "altered" recording. "Black in the face" became an objectionable phrase ... over the years, I've heard it played both ways. (Kinda like watching some of those old, uncut Three Stooges shorts ... those could get pretty "politically incorrect" too from time to time!)
When one considers that Chicago and Blood, Sweat and Tears are not in The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame ... and each of these bands took the horn pop sound to the top of the charts, it's pretty unlikely The Buckinghams will ever get the nod. Incredibly, although the horns were a big part of their records and hit songs, they never performed with horns on the road back in the day. (That blows me away to this day ... how did they capture their sound live in concert?!?!?) Speaking of The Buckinghams,look for some VERY big news regarding these guys coming to these pages shortly. No doubt about it ... Forgotten Hits is the place to be! (kk)
Hey Kent,
Today's column hit home for me when you mentioned your version of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame which you referred to as “THE GOLDEN AGE OF ROCK AND ROLL".
Flash back to 1974 and the MOTT THE HOOPLE song by the same name. Well worth a listen. Great song totally forgotten by radio. So sad.
Gary
We can listen to that ... (kk)
On your list of Joe Cocker hits, you showed "The Letter" as a live recording. It actually is a studio recording. It is very similar to his live version from Mad Dogs and Englishman, which was his hit album at that time but you can hear a number of differences including the sax solo and no crowd. Back in 1970 many stations played the live album version but AM stations WLS and WCFL played the hit 45 version.
In more recent times, Classic Rock stations played the live version forever, but Bob Stroud did switch to the 45 hit version when the song was finally mixed to stereo for the first time for the deluxe version of Mad Dogs and Englishman live album a number of years back.
On your Joe Cocker list you should put "live" for his follow-up single Cry Me A River.
Mike Hartman
I took my chart information from Joel Whitburn's book, which shows BOTH of these singles as live recordings. A quick look at the record label of the original 45 pressing (A&M 1174) for "The Letter" shows it as a live recording as well. (Ironically, the record label for "Cry Me A River" does NOT show it as a live recording ... but says that it comes from the A&M Album 6002, which is his live "Mad Dogs And Englishmen" LP ... probably why Whitburn went that route.) Weird! (kk)
Came across this by chance on Detroit's PBS. Interestingly, it's not listed on the PBS Homepage. Seek it out. It's wonderful.
Warren Cosford
EYE ON THE 60s is an authentic piece of American History … an intimate portrait of former LIFE photographer Rowland Scherman and how his photographic eye captured the essence of America's most remarkable decade.
Experience candid recollections with seldom seen moments of major celebrities, politicians, and breathtaking events. Follow the path of a self-driven man who became the first Peace Corps photographer, an insider to the Kennedy and Shriver families, and who created an astounding record of The March On Washington. Travel with Scherman through time to witness the young Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Arthur Ashe, Barbara Walters, Joni Mitchell, and Judy Collins.
From Washington, D.C. to the site of the 1969 Woodstock Festival-- and to the healing vistas of Cape Cod, EYE ON THE 60s is the story of a man that despite technological change and the great passage of time, moves in a space of peace, humor, and hope… while remaining forever driven by the need to create.
http://www.szwedo.com/sixties.html
Legendary Chicagoland Newscaster Bill Kurtis is also launching a new program called "Through The Decades", a daily look back over the years that will utilize archive footage from the CBS News and Entertainment Tonight archives. This one hour daily program will launch in May on sixteen CBS-owned stations across the country and spotlight "a different year or day, trend or event through the unique lens of 'Decades'."
Billed as "The Ultimate TV Time Capsule", the official press release says "From moon shots to galvanizing events to pop culture snapshots in time, 'Through The Decades' will unlock our shared history, exploring the decades of the 1950's through the 1990's, reimagined and relived each day."
Andy Kim's remake of "Shoot 'em Up, Baby" is quite nice ... well worth a listen. It's on his new album.
David Lewis
I thought so, too ... he just may wind up with a "comeback" hit on his hands! You can catch it again here:
https://soundcloud.com/artsandcrafts/andy-kim-shoot-em-up-baby/s-MN2s0 (kk)
Kent,
I heard on a network news that it's been quite cold there in Chicago lately with temperatures no higher than 0 degrees on some days. Again, what FH does to me is it reminds me of a song or songs I haven't heard in a long time, likewise, things I see and hear during the day. When I heard the news about your 0 degree temperatures, for some reason, it reminded me of two songs. The first is Johnny Horton's 1959 song, WHEN IT'S SPRINGTIME IN ALASKA (IT'S 40 BELOW), so it could be worse, and the second is country singer Merle Kilgore's 1961 tune 42 IN CHICAGO, though I believe the 42 in question is above 0 degree and not below. Good luck and stay warm.
Larry
We went through a MAJOR cold spell ... actual temperatures of -6 to -11 ... with windchills down to -35!!! One day, they closed all the schools 15 hours in advance of classes just to be safe. Then the next day we got about six inches of snow and the schools were open! (Go figure!) And, believe it or not, our furnace went out the week before ... thankfully, it's fixed and running now!!!
Things have warmed up some now ... in fact, they're saying we could be in the low 40's tomorrow (which will feel like summer after what we've been through recently!) kk
You also stated in today's FH, second paragraph from the end, how in the world could you remember certain items from the songs out years ago, but couldn't remember key events from the week before. Well, I was the same way, so to speak. Through the years I could tell you key events or things about certain songs or groups or artists from years ago, but yet had a tough time remembering certain things from days or weeks gone by. This kind of proves that this rock and roll music is definitely embedded in our minds.
Here's another one of those unsung heroes of rock and roll ... you already know most of his work ... but may not know him by name!
Rock Sax Legend From The Beatles to The Eagles, Phil Kenzie Tours to Save Our R&R Sax Solo and Releases New Album
(The Last Of The Great Rock Sax Players Phil Kenzie! Saxophonist With The Beatles, John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Al Stewart, Black Sabbath, David Bowie, Rod Stewart, The Eagles and many Others!)
Nashville, TN - With the recent passing of Bobby Keys, the last of the legendary rock sax players still remains - Phil Kenzie! Phil has the great distinction of playing sax on The Beatles legendary 'Let It Be' album! Along with The Beatles, Phil's impressive resume includes recording sessions and tours with such iconic music groups and artists as John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Black Sabbath, David Bowie, Rod Stewart, The Eagles and many others. It's easy to be familiar with Phil Kenzie's superb sax work. Just recall the soaring solos on Al Stewart's “Year of the Cat” or “Time Passages”, still enjoying favored airplay to this day ... or the punchy brass intro to “Jet” by Paul McCartney ... or the inspired solo on “The Long Run” from “The Eagles Live” album. In fact, this gifted sax player / arranger has lent his masterful touch to hits by everyone from Rod Stewart to Jackson Browne, Stevie Nicks and Rosanne Cash to David Bowie, and in the process amassed some nineteen gold and platinum albums! Phil also holds the world record for the highest note ever played on Alto Sax on a solo on a top ten hit record (entry note on the first solo on “Time Passages” by Al Stewart). A documentary of Phil's incredible musical journey is in progress and is 99% finished. With 120 minutes in length, it is produced by Harry Jarvis an Independent video producer from Nashville TN.
Phil relates, “I'm originally from the Liverpool area in England and in my first band, The Pressmen, I played many of the clubs made legendary by The Beatles, even occasionally sharing billing with the 'Fab Four', including The Cavern and Hamburg's famous Star Club. So it was totally appropriate that I should be asked later to play on the most classic 'swan song' of the century, 'Let It Be'. This connection continued with my work on recordings for Apple Records, most notably John and Yoko's 'Plastic Ono Band' at Lennon's home in Ascot and all of the horn section work and solos on George Harrison’s 'All Things Must Pass' and playing in the massive sax section on 'Jet' for Paul McCartney and Wings. Through these sessions, I also worked with such notable stars as Eric Clapton, Steven Stills, Peter Frampton, Delaney & Bonnie, Leon Russell, Doris Troy and Billy Preston.
“As a session man, I was doing gigs around London with Manfred Mann's 'Chapter Three', arranging and performing shows for Jack Good's psychedelic update of Othello entitled 'Catch My Soul', finding time to appear on Paul McCartney's 'Band On The Run' album and to be heavily involved in the hit cult classic 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show', playing and recording both the show and the movie; supplying the screaming rock sax for Meatloaf's portrayal of 'Eddie'. During this time I also worked with Alan Parsons, David Essex, Joan Armatrading, Ian Gillan, Alex Harvey, Leo Sayer, Black Sabbath, Steve Harley, Marc Bolan, Wishbone Ash, Annie Lennox, David Bowie, The Coasters, The Temptations, Arthur Connolly, Mick Ronson, Ian Hunter and Roger Daltrey appearing on his 'Ride a Rock Horse' and 'One Of The Boys' albums and on both David Bowie's 'Diamond Dogs' album and his wildly inventive television special 'The 1980 Floor Show'. At this point I was asked by Alan Parsons to record what would become a legendary hit, 'Year of The Cat' by Al Stewart. In the subsequent tour of America and another hit for Al, 'Time Passages', I caught the attention of Rod Stewart and was asked to join his band, recording with Rod what would turn out to be his biggest album to date 'Blondes Have More Fun'. I would ultimately appear on five albums for Rod including 'Footloose and Fancy Free', 'Foolish Behaviour', 'Rod Stewart Truly Live' and 'Greatest Hits'.”
Now, much to the excitement of his fans worldwide, Phil is releasing a CD titled 'A Night With The Cat'. The album, recorded between 1998 and 2008, has never been released before and is an instrumental depiction of the lyrics / story of “The Year Of The Cat” hit single by Al Stewart, in which Phil plays the world acclaimed hit saxophone solo. Titles on Phil's new CD reflect the lyrics of the song. Phil is backed on 'A Night With The Cat' by Peter White “king of the soft jazz charts”and legendary session players Bob Babbitt and Larry Knechtal.
Says Phil, “The album's listed producers are Phil Kenzie and Michael Snow and the album was recorded partially in Los Angeles and partially in Nashville Tennessee. It was done in my personal recording studios using analog and digital methodology and myself being the recording, mixing and mastering engineer. I am Industry recognized in these fields. My daughter Anna Pauline Kenzie did all the hand drawn and digitally colored artwork for the CD sleeve which is exceptional. Apart from both composition and musical artistic performances by current top 'Soft Jazz' star Peter White. There are what well might be the final recording performances from two of the biggest iconic pop/rock session artists of our age, Bob Babbitt ( Motown, “Poppa Was A Rolling Stone” etc) and Larry Knechtel (Bread, The Wrecking Crew, “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” etc.). These two legends both passed away in recent years. The album contains a composition and a performance by Larry called 'Amazing' which I co-wrote with him.”
In support of his new CD release, plans for Phil's S.O.S.S (Save Our Sax Solo) tour is currently in the works. The show will premier at Jazziz Nightlife on Jan 15th, 2015 in Boca Raton, Florida.
For more information: www.jazziznightlife.com
Considered one of the greatest rock 'n; roll sax players of all time, Phil Kenzie has worked with The Eagles, Rod Stewart, Graham Nash, David Crosby, Rodney Crowell, Roseanne Cash, Brian Wilson, Vince Gill, Stevie Nicks, Jackson Browne, Karla Bonoff, America, Boy George, Carly Simon, Randy Meisner, Steven Stills, Poco, The Pointer Sisters, Kenny Loggins, Tom Petty, Ronnie Spector, David Lyndley Eric Carmen and Debbie Gibson etc. At his latest sell out concert appearance with Al Stewart at The Royal Albert Hall on October 15, 2013, Phil received a standing ovation from a more than 6000 strong audience. Also, The Eagles have recently posted two songs on their official website featuring sax solos by Phil!
For more information:
www.philkenzie.com
https://www.facebook.com/phil.kenzie.7
From the "Things That Make Old Music Buffs Cringe" Department:
Forgotten Hits reader Eileen mentioned the song "They Call The Wind Maria" but spelled it as "Mariah". Yikes! That Carey singer's name has muddied the waters and probably forever. I know I can't change anything but here's the sheet music with the sign over the I indicating how it should be pronounced. You might label this as a pet peeve.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Call_the_Wind_Maria
Hil
Hey, I get it. (I didn't know, however, that Mariah Carey was named after this song!) One of my early favorites, I remember having versions sung by Pernell Roberts (Adam Cartwright) and The Smothers Brothers (who had a bit of fun with this song, as they usually did). Although the Wikipedia article mentions several recorded versions (including a "hit" version by Vaughn Monroe) this song never officially charted in Billboard Magazine for ANY artist ... yet, as I said, I do remember being familiar with it when I was growing up. (It was probably in one of my "fake" music books that we had at the time, between my mom taking organ lessons and me fiddling around on the guitar.)
Speaking of which, here's a golden goodie ... a photo of me and my hippie mom (I'm guessing that I'm probably about 13 in this picture as I still had my cheapo Japanese first electric guitar at the time ... I wouldn't get my 1968 Cherry Red Gibson ES335 until 1968). Check out my Beatle hair-do, the love beads, the shades and the suede jacket ... man I had to be one of the coolest kids around!!! (lol) I always said that if we had only lived in one of the Northwest Suburbs instead of Brookfield, we probably could have been the original Park Ridge Family!!! (kk)
And, speaking of Mariah Carey, it was announced this week that she's the next hot pop artist to be taking up residency. A deal has been struck with Caesar's Palace where Mariah will perform her #1 Hits (18 of them anyway!) for the next year as the "house act". (kk)
The first 45 I bought was an instrumental called "Scratchy" by Travis Wammack. I first heard it on a jukebox in a little hamburger place in Charlotte around 1964. I wore that record out!
The first LP I bought was Telstar by the Ventures in 1965. I earned the money to buy that album by painting the outside of our house. Since those days, I now have more than 10,000 albums, more than 2000 45's, and I don't know how many collectable 8-tracks (many sealed), cassettes, and even CDs. I have many 78's and also some Edison 1/4" thick discs. Just for kicks and giggles, I just had to have an Edison cylinder (with cardboard tube) and a 16" V disc. I think I have all formats and I have came to the conclusion that ( to me ), the BEST sound comes from a 45 that is in good condition!
Hooked on vinyl!
Doug Venters
North Carolina
re: Diggin' Forgotten Hits:
Hi Kent ...
It has been a long time since I have written and I am here to say that even though you don't hear from me regarding Forgotten Hits, I am here and I appreciate all that you do. I am nobody special, just a reader who wants you to know that your newsletter means so very much to me. I love the oldies and hearing about the songs and the groups who made my world, as I was growing up, a better place to be.
Love, Love, Love ... Forgotten Hits.
FORGOTTEN HITS FOREVER :)
Thanks Kent!!!!!
Kathy :)
Thanks, Kathy!!! I appreciate it! (kk)
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