Friday, July 23, 2010

Helping Out Our Readers

ANOTHER HEALTHY DOSE OF HELPING OUT OUR READERS:
>>>I have been trying to trace an instrumental which I can remember from back in the 1960s. I think the title in the UK was "Imago", or something close to that, and was recorded by an orchestra leader with (again - I think) a french sounding name. Very sketchy details I'm afraid, but can anyone remember any such recording? It was never what one could call a hit, but it got a few playings on the airwaves for a while then "disappeared". (Robin Cavaghan)
>>>Just a wild guess: could it be "Image" by Hank Levine? Charting at #37 on WLS and #98 nationally, this just barely missed my "WLS Only" collection.
(Ed Erxleben)
In reference to the instrumental called "Image" by Hank Levine ... I am originally from Los Angeles and back in the days of top 40 radio, there was a station there called KFWB. I believe that this was the same theme that they used for the jingle on KFWB ... in fact, they used to play it all the time. I have a copy of this on my reel to reel tapes ... it's a good instrumental ... actually, it's one of my favorite instrumentals! Not sure if this info helps any.
Ken
I never heard anything back from Robin as to whether or not the song we featured on the website (scroll back to July 14th) is, in fact, the one she's been looking for. Hopefully she'll drop us a line and let us know! (kk)
Regarding "Image" by Hank Levine ... when have you heard anything that captures the early-sixties instrumental "feel" better than this track? I can almost hear the Route 66 theme blending into this one. The visuals and the sounds from several sources kinda merge in my head, and I see Troy Donahue driving along "Seeing the USA in his Chevrolet."
David Lewis

>>>In the late 60s, I frequently heard two specific commercials for Tab Cola. As I recall, both had the same ad-lyrics, (though I'm not 100% sure of this) . The difference between the two commercials was that the first one was slower and had kind of a hippie-dippy mellow sound that was very typical of this era ... the second spot was faster and more rocked up. Are these specific commercials available? It would be wonderful to hear these again. Both commercials along with other ads from the 60s were sometimes featured on Tv Land in the mid 1990s. (Justin McDevitt)
Hey, regarding those Tab commercials ... if you're talking about the infamous "mind-sticker" campaign, I know of three variations, slow, medium, and heavy ... (well, heavy in the ford-babababa-the-going-thing vein) ... that one is on my stolfpod.podbean.com mini-tunes #14 (non-PC) ... couple are on youtube ... i could e-mail you mp3s, but gotta warn ya, sound quality is so-so.
-- stolf

Do you remember the Hai Karate Seasonal Sounds of Self Defense"? I'm not sure of the year but I'm certain it was between 1967 and 1969 and may have been aired all three years.Also - going back even further, to the early 60s, do you recall the Robert Hall commercial? There were three I remember. One was recorded by Les Paul and Mary Ford and I guess it was a generic for any time of year. The others were for back to school and Christmas. I think I heard the former sometime in the last year or so.
Thanks very much,
Bob Paine
We've run a couple of Hai Karate youTube clips on the website before ... type it into the "search" and it should take you there ... I remember any variety of Robert Hall commercials from the '60's ... heck, my Dad used to take us there whenever we needed a suit for some family occasion ... but I don't recall the specific series you're referring to ... but I'll bet SOMEBODY on the list will! (kk)

Hi, Kent ...
I know that I sent this to you once before, but I'd really appreciate another mention. I'm in the hunt for Gold Records, circa '57 thru the early '80s. If you have any, would you be interested in selling? Know of anyone who might have one or more? I'm brokering for a guy near Philly who has collected over 3,500 so far. Willing to pay, depending on certain criteria, anywhere from $50 to $1,000 each. He'll consider ALL but is most interested in those with a wooden frame, a white matte background and an RIAA logo on the front. Doesn't care who they were awarded to: artists, stations or PDs / MDs. Doesn't really care about the song title or the artist. If you've any interest, please furnish me a list ASAP and I'll put you in touch with my guy on the phone. At one time I had nearly 75, but during my many radio moves they just slipped away except for eight that I have displayed. He offered me $1,900 for them, but I'm keeping them for the time being anyway. I have a little Rock 'n Roll museum here at home and each one means a lot to me. If you don't want to part with any of yours, I'll certainly understand, but if you are interested, please let me hear from you. The buyer will pay half the shipping costs and will provide specific packing instructions. I've nabbed quite a few for him to this point. Also interested in certain old radio shows on disc or tape.Please feel free to pass this along to anyone you think might have some records. By the way ... one gold record I retained I considered my least significant: "Put Your Hand in the Hand" by Ocean. My man offered me $350 for it. Go figure.
Kindest regards ... and keep up the great work!
Ted Atkins
(former PD of KIMN, CKLW, KFRC and KHJ / former GM of WTAE, Pittsburgh)
kruzers@msn.com
Happy to run this again, Ted, in the hopes of helping you with your quest!

And, speaking of rerunning a request from a reader, here's one we wanted to try again ... first time around, we got virtually ZERO response ... which, I suppose, isn't all that surprising in that Joel Whitburn has been looking for this record for over fifty years!!! But maybe one more mention will help do the trick:
Hi Kent,

This note goes out to all of your readers in CLEVELAND. I’ve always enjoyed collecting unusual novelty records, however, there is one that has eluded me for over 55 years. At the end of 1954 a record titled “Otto The Staggering Drunk” enjoyed a brief stay among the top selling records in Cleveland. I believe that the record was an import on the Polydor label and that the artist was “Crazy Otto”, “Happy Otto”, Der Schrage Otto” or simply “Otto”. I’m offering $150 to the first person that gets me this 45 rpm record. If anyone has a copy or may know of an old Top 40 station in the Cleveland area that may still have a copy, please send me a note at joel@recordresearch.com. Thanks to any reader in Cleveland who will finally end my 55 year search!
Joel Whitburn
We did get ONE response ... from FH Reader Tom Diehl ... who told us ...
It appears to me that "Otto, The Staggering Drunk" is the artist credit, not the song, on the 45. I say this because he has had records issued as Crazy Otto, The Oblique Otto (Der schräge Otto), etc. ... and the song itself may just be called Otto. That said, I sadly don't own the 45 (it would be on Polydor, yes), nor do I know anyone who has even heard of it. Good luck finding it, Joel!

-- Tom Diehl

We love your site, we here at
www.joccosautoworldpublication.com will allow our Hot Rods, Custom Cars, and Replicas to be placed on display at your Reunion or Oldies But Goodies Show or Stage production at no cost to you or them. Must supply certificate of insurance for total value and supply to and from transportation. Some of our clients are PBS, Oldies But Goodie Shows, ABC, CBS Canada etc.
JOCCO'S AUTO WORLD PUBLICATION SINCE 1976
Happy to pass this along! (kk)

>>>I just read Gary Renfield's comments on The Nickel Bag, but the group summary that he provided attributed band history to the incorrect "Nickel Bag." It looks like he took the bio info from my interview with Bill Brackin
(http://www.60sgaragebands.com/nickelbag.html) but that was an entirely different combo (who never recorded). I haven't located any info yet on the Kama Sutra group.
(Mike Dugo)
60sgaragebands.com

NICKEL BAG? - I just googled them for a pic for the item the other week and got all the other WRONG information. http://mygeneration60s.blogspot.com/2009/07/nickel-bag-doing-their-love-thing-1968.html
This might be better ... http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:IXNUIIa1l2EJ:www.redtelephone66.com/2010/06/the-nickel-bag-doing-their-love-thing-1968/+the+nickel+bag+kama+sutra&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a
(gary) RENFIELD
www.RIPRenfield.com

STEREO: The Four J's - Here I Am Broken Hearted - 1962

Can't claim I know anything about the group, but my eyes and ears lit up when I heard Stereo! Maybe Harvey Holiday who plays this, but maybe in Monophonic!? Must have been a regional hit!!!Later learned that they're a Philly group! Jerry, Joe, Jimmy and Jeffrey???? Charted? Reminds me a bit of The Bongo Stomp! Who has the master tape!? Great song! http://www.angelfire.com/empire/abpsp/images/hereiam.mp3
Best,
John
Well, it didn't chart nationally ... but I'll bet between our hundreds of Philly readers, SOMEBODY may recognize this one and be able to fill in some of the blanks. Stay tuned! (kk)


Back in about '65 there were several clubs for teens in the NW 'burbs. The Cellar in Arlington Heights, a place called "The Hut" in Des Plaines, and another club that was on the north side of Rand Road in either the NW side of Des Plaines or Mount Prospect. I'm looking for the name of that club. Any ideas???

Eric Johnson

A little before my time (for most of 1965 I was only ELEVEN!!!) ... so I referred your inquiry to Guy Arnston, who used to publish The Illinois Entertainer (and has been known to visit a club or two back in the day!) He's also hard at work (or is that hardly working?) on the DEFINITIVE History Of Chicago Rock Book. Here's what he came back with (kk):

Hey Kent,
I've been compiling a list of teen venues from back in the Sixties / Seventies for my never-ending History of Chicago Rock project. Here's what I have so far:
Chicago area teen clubs
The Cellar - Arlington Heights
The Pink Panther - Deerfield
The Deep End - Park Ridge (Papa Joe’s)
The Green Gorilla - Des Plaines
factory west of 294
The Jaguar - St. Charles
The New Place - Algonquin, burned down 12/20/1968
The Exit - Northbrook Park District
The Hut - Des Plaines
The Bank - Palatine
The Mother Duck - Glen Ellyn (North Ave., now a tattoo parlor)
The Pynk Phynk - Sheridan Road, Chicago (Ken Freeman)
Chipper Regalmuto ran and booked
The Blue Village - Cass Ave., Westmont (Bob Chiappano, retired Westmont police officer), house band Cryan’ Shames and Wild Honey, owner Jerry Hess (also It’s a Gass Records)
The Coffee Break (The CB) - Elmhurst
Crimson Cougar - Aurora
The Pit - Glenview
The Rolling Stone - Winnetka owned by Bob Medel ?
Bat Cave on Oliphant off NW Hwy. just in Chicago
The Blue Moon Ballroom - Elgin
The Wonderland Ballroom - Elgin (early 1970s)
Captain Rivers Waterfront
Wild Goose - Waukegan (in an old Jewel), Oak Lawn outdoors
VFW or something in Lincolnwood
Guy Arnston in Algonquin

I don't know if any of these will provide the answer you're looking for but that's one heck of a list! (Hmmm ... I'm gonna have to listen to my "Starbeat Presents What's Happening" commercials again to figure out which clubs are missing!!! lol ... Actually I worked for Steve Cronin, the genius behind that whole ad campaign, for a couple of weeks in the '70's!!!) Right off the top of my head I can think of at least a couple dozen more (including, Renfield might like to know, a club up on River Road called "The Nickel Bag"!!! lol) And let's not forget The Thirsty Whale, Haymakers, Beginnings and downtown clubs like Mother's and Rush Up ... how about The Cheetah? What was the name of that REALLY big club in Park Ridge? That's where I first saw Styx before they were called Styx!!! I'm sure that between all of the local band members on our list ... and those who visited the club scene back then ... we can add a HUGE number of names and locations to your list ... so send in your memories and we'll be happy to pass them along! Thanks, Guy! (kk)

Can you please help me find a Sam Cooke song entitiled "You You You"? I really want to hear it
Julio Sorondo
Since he repeats the word "you" about two hundred times during the course of the song, I'm guessing that you're looking for "You Send Me", a #1 Hit from 1957. Happy to feature it today ... it truly is a classic. (kk)





And, for more on Sam Cooke, be sure to check out THESE features on The Forgotten Hits Website:
Click here: Forgotten Hits: Forgotten Hits Remembers Sam Cooke
Click here: Forgotten Hits: The Sam Cooke Tribute Continues Today In Forgotten Hits

Hi Kent ...
Just finished the Tommy James Book, Me, The Mob And The Music.
Morris Levy, the Godfather of Rock-n-Roll, owned Roulette Records. He wanted to sign Tommy James. When Morris wanted to sign someone, he would let it be known. The other labels would back off or else.
From Tommy James' point of view --- one of the pluses of being on the Roulette Label -He was left alone, as long as he kept making hit records. If he was on RCA or Columbia, he'd have agents, writers, producers, etc. telling him what to do. Tommy loved this freedom. One of the minuses of being on the Roulette Label - Tommy never got paid! It says in the book that Morris Levy owed Tommy James between $30 and $40 million. Towards the end of the book, Tommy and Morris are having a heated argument. Tommy says, "You're not going to have your men beat me up, the way they beat Jimmie Rodgers up."
First time I ever heard that. I was wondering if anybody knew anything about this accusation?
Frank B.
The circumstances surrounding a VERY mysterious altercation Jimmie Rodgers had with an (reportedly) off-duty California Policeman on The San Diego Freeway back in 1967 has never "officially" been solved. While I'm quite certain that this is what James is referring to ... and there has always been at least SOME level of speculation in this regard ... Tommy's book was the first instance I'd ever seen of somebody SPECIFICALLY tying this back to Morris Levy. (Rodgers left Levy's Roulette label and signed with A&M and had just had what would turn out to be his last real chart hit for the label with "Child Of Clay".) We've covered this incident several times over the years ... way too lengthy to recap here ... but if you go back to The Forgotten Hits Web Page and check out our entries for May 7, May 8 and May 9 of 2009 ... you'll find not only these astounding details but also one of the most remarkable recovery stories you'll ever hear!
Click here: Forgotten Hits: Jimmie Rodgers
Click here: Forgotten Hits: Jimmie Rodgers - Part 2
Click here: Forgotten Hits: Jimmie Rodgers - Part 3


A SUGGESTION FOR ALL OF OUR FORGOTTEN HITS READERS:
When we get into a lull like this where we're unable to post regularly due to other obligations, do yourself a favor and revisit the Forgotten Hits Websites and catch up on some of what you may have missed. You'll find over 400 postings on the main blog page, going all the way back to February of 2008 ... ALL kinds of interesting stuff (like this very special Jimmie Rodgers feature) that's come up over the past few years. (Or, simply type a topic into the search feature on the main page and see if we've covered a particular subject before ... odds are, at SOME point in time, we have!)
And be sure to check out the OTHER Forgotten Hits Website, too ... that's where you'll find all kinds of archived articles and interviews, FH Poll Results and just about everything else ... believe me, you'll NEVER run out of stuff to read between these two sites!
Click here: Forgotten Hits
Click here: Forgotten Hits - Home