Thursday, June 9, 2011

Helping Out Our Readers

Just a few quick queries today ...

>>>My favorite movie is "Lords of Flatbush" which "introduced" several actors including Perry King, Sylvester Stallone, Susan Blakely and pre-Fonzie prototype Henry Winkler. At the end of the movie during the wedding scene a beautiful ballad was sung. I never could find the song or who sang it nor could I find any soundtracks from the movie. Can you help? (Steve Davidson)
>>>Definitely NOT one of MY favorite movies ... I remember all the hype when this first came out in theaters ... it was essentially a re-release trying to cash in on Sylvester Stallone's newfound "Rocky" fame and the fact that Henry Winkler was now a Pop Culture Icon for playing "The Fonz" on TV's "Happy Days".
According to IMDB, these are the songs featured in the film:
I can't say for sure that the song you're looking for is on this list ... and I was actually going to rent the movie to watch the ending just to see which song you were referring to ... 'cause I don't think I could make it through the whole thing again!!!  (lol)  But to each his own ... I consider Woody Harrelson's "Kingpin" to be a classic!  (kk)
Kent -
Thanx for your help even tho you didn't like the movie. I haven't done the research but I think that the movie preceded the "fame" of Sylvester Stallone and it certainly preceded Henry Winkler's Fonzie character on "Happy Days"
Anyway, the song is "The Wedding Song" by Jamie Carr and I was able to find it on youtube.
It's a bit slow but I still think it's worth a listen. It was especially fitting as the song in the wedding scene at the end of "The Lords of Flatbush"
Steve Davidson
The way I remember it, this movie pretty well tanked when it first came out.  Then when Winkler became a break-out star on the TV Series "Happy Days" (where he ALSO wore a leather jacket), people started to pay attention to this.  (The characters were radically different as I recall.)  Two years later when Sylvester Stallone became a MAJOR box office star, the film was re-released again ... but again fell victim to poor word of mouth.  (Let's just say that their roles in "The Lords Of Flatbush" were considerably less memorable than the iconic roles they would portray as Rocky and The Fonz!!!)  I supposed it's nostalgic in a way due to the massive success each would enjoy in the years to come ... but honestly, for me, this is a tough movie to watch.  (kk)

Hey Kent:
The Wind 45 is actually from 1969, not 1970.
Did someone actually have the Cool Heat version of Mr. Bloe on the back of the Wind 45? I always found the Wind version.
Ken
I've gone through at least three copies of that 45 (LOVE the song "Make Believe" and think it should have been a SMASH!) and could have sworn that ALL of my copies showed Cool Heat on the flipside.  However, Tom Diehl has since sent me versions shown as being by both "Wind" and Cool Heat ... and (believe it or not!) by "Mr. Bloe" himself!!!  (lol)  So now I don't know WHICH is the right answer!!! Does anybody out there REALLY know for sure?!?!?  (kk)
Wind

Groovin' With Mr. Bloe ... BY Mr. Bloe!

And the eventual "hit" ... by Cool Heat


>>>I seem to remember watching a television show called "Rollin'", which showcased rock and other musical acts.  I think it was syndicated.  this was back in the 70's when I lived in Lake Tahoe.  I'm sure it existed.  Over to you ... (Ed Pond)
>>>You remember correctly ... we used to watch it all the time, too.  Hosted by Kenny Rogers and The First Edition, I believe it was broadcast out of Canada ... but they had some pretty good musical guests on there as I recall.  (This was Kenny's "in-between" period ... the hits for The First Edition had pretty much stopped by now and he was still a few years away from relaunching his career into the stratosphere as a solo country artist.)  I think it had a steamboat setting, too ... and was probably based on (or took its name from) the popular Creedence Clearwater Revival song "Proud Mary" aka "Rollin' On The River".
Check it out!  We found a DVD compilation (called Volume 2 ... which means there MUST be a Volume 1 out there somewhere, too!)  kk
Cheap, too ... and a great way to see Kenny, Jim Croce, Bo Diddley and Ronnie Hawkins!  (kk)
Yep ... THERE it is!!!  With Ike and Tina Turner and Gladys Knight and the Pips!  (kk)
Glad to know I wasn't dreaming about "Rollin'".  I remember it being set on a boat or some kind of boat-like stage.  Canada ... interesting.  "Sweet City Woman" by the Stampeders is one of my fave songs from the 70's.  They were probably on there, too.
Ed
I tried to find an episode guide but, because this show was syndicated and didn't air in every market, I haven't had much success.  Neat to see that something IS available on DVD.  Let's see if anyone else out there can shed anymore light on this topic.  (kk)
UPDATE:  Just found this on imdb.com:

Let's see ... Andy Kim, Terry Jacks, Kris Kristofferson, Roger Miller, B.B. King, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Bruce Cockburn, Tony Joe White, Mac Davis, B.J. Thomas, Ian and Sylvia, Jim Croce, Bo Diddley, Ike and Tina Turner ... several episodes missing ... but I recall Kenny and The First Edition performing a couple of songs on each episode, too.  (kk)

Hey Kent,
My name is AJK and for a while I've been reading the wonderful articles on your site.
A while back I saw a video on youtube of my favorite DJ, Mr. Dick Biondi.  A song is played for a few seconds in the video (it sounds very 80's) but I can't tell what song it is.  I was wondering if you or one of your site members would be able to help me identify the song.
This is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLd-_-nl6U0The Song Plays from 2:10 - 2:16
It sounds very 80's.  It might be a big hit, that somehow I just don't recognize in the clip.
I've tried searching the lyrics but found nothing.  I hope you can help!
Thanks,
AJK the Youngest Oldies Freak Around
Glad you're enjoying Forgotten Hits.  I listened to it a couple of times and don't recognize it.  In fact, my first reaction was wondering if it was not a song at all but rather a commercial ... especially since Dick was spinning the oldies at that time ... not likely he'd be playing something as current as the '80's back then.  But hey, let's open it up to the readers and see if we can narrow something down for you.  Stay tuned!  (kk)

Ran across a blog that's from January, 2010, where Mary Ann was looking for a copy of Frankie Gracie and the Plastics 45. I've got it if she still wants it ... but I don't know how to get in touch with her. She's welcome to it for the cost of shipping.
Thanks ... and you've got a great website!
I've been collecting since 1959 but it's taken over the house ... so we are selling it off after putting it on cd's. I know, sacrilege, but times are tuff and we need the space and the money. Plus we can still enjoy the sounds.  I put them on cd but didn't clean them up ... this way it still sounds like vinyl!
Tony Imbimbo
lol ... thanks, Tony!  Unfortunately after all this time, I wouldn't know how to get ahold of Mary Ann either anymore.  All we can do is run your offer on the site and hope that somebody responds.  Meanwhile, I'm going to put another request out to Charlie Gracie, Jr. ... Frankie Gracie is his uncle ... maybe he can track us down another copy or two!  Believe it or not, this record has come up a few times now in Forgotten Hits!  (kk) 
Yes, that IS my uncle FRANKIE GRACIE.  I have one single that he and my uncle BOBBY GRACIE did in 1968 or '69 called I CAN"T STAND IT. I can't remember the flip side for the moment, but I'll get back to you on that.  I'll see if I can get a photo of the group, too.
My dad's brothers tried their hand in the rock circuit in the late 60s and played several clubs in PA, NJ, NY, MI and D.C.
FRANK, my dad's middle brother, eventually came over to play bass in my dad's band for nine
years. BOB got out of the business shortly thereafter. Both are musically inclined, as were many in the GRACIE family. My grandfather SAM inspired them all ... and, to a lesser extent, my grandmother. There was always music in their home in the 40s and early 50s. My grandfather played guitar and encouraged my dad to take it up in 1946. The rest is history as they say. Needless to say, holidays in the Gracie households were famous for "concerts" and "jam sessions", many of which I recorded on old reel to reel tapes. I should take them out and play them one day.
Charlie, JR.



Any of your participants know of any Blood, Sweat & Tears videos with Bobby Colomby (drummer) included?  All I find on YouTube is recreations of the group, with a lot lesser impressive drummer(s). 
I have to assume Bobby was an important integral part of BS&T. He's one of my top picks in drummers of Pop music!
Thanks!
Best,
John
I've a hunch the MAIN source is gonna be YouTube ... but let's see if anything else comes back.  (kk)

 
Hi Kent,
Being the Andy Griffith show freak that I am, I was excited to hear that someone had done a parody of 
"I Shot the Sherriff" and used Andy Griffith references. 
I believe this was done in the 70's but I don't seem to be able to find a copy.
Has all the marks of Doctor Demento airplay.
I'm wondering if someone out there could hook me up with a copy?
It would make this Andy, Barney, and Floyd fan very happy.
Bill
Wow, that's a new one on me ... and I think I'D enjoy hearing it, too!  Not sure if Dr. Demento will see this post or not ... (he has certainly helped us out in the past!) ... but we've got some pretty demented readers on the regular list, too ... so let's see what comes back!  (Who knows ... maybe between us we can nip this one in the bud!!!)  kk