Saturday, February 7, 2015

The Sunday Comments ( 02 - 08 - 15 )

re:  This And That:  
If you've been listening to Rewound Radio this past week, you already know that the balloting has begun for the 2015 IRS - It Really Shoulda Been A Top Ten Hit Poll that Rich Appel does every year.  The list of 1040 (get it?) favorites will be compiled over the next couple of months and then counted down on Rewound Radio on April 10th and 12th.  Oldies fans can vote for as many as 100 of their favorites that THEY feel never got the respect they deserved ... and REALLY shoulda been a Top Ten Hit.  
More details below ...  
Click here: Send In Your IRS Form!   
And be sure to listen to Rewound Radio here ... you'll be glad you did!  
Click here: Rewound Radio: It's not how old it is... It's how GOOD it is!!   

And, if you haven't already taken advantage of the pre-publication sale discount, you're about to run out of time!!!  Joel Whitburn's brand new Comparison Chart Book will begin shipping early next week ... and that $5 discount order will expire once books begin shipping.  
However, I'm VERY happy to announce that Joel has just extended this special offer EXCLUSIVELY TO FORGOTTEN HITS READERS through next Friday, the 13th ... but in order to take advantage of this very special order, you've GOT TO ACT FAST!!! 
Believe me, you're not going to want to miss THIS one ... a comprehensive look at the biggest pop hits in the country as measured by Billboard, Cash Box and Record World, the three leading industry trades ... compared side by side for the very first time, showing the peak position of each and every record to make the pop charts between 1954 and 1982. 
In order to take advantage of this VERY SPECIAL EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT, you have GOT to place your order by Friday the 13th ... so take advantage of this one-of-a-kind GOOD LUCK OFFER and order your discounted copy NOW!!!  (We appreciate this special consideration ... but have to warn you that after Friday the 13th, your luck returns back into your own hands ... SORRY!!!) 
After Friday the 13th, all books will return to the regularly published price of $79.95 ... so GET YOUR ORDER IN NOW!!! 
(Be sure to enter the special code FORGOTTEN when checking out to take advantage of this special discount.) Click here to Order today! 

By the way, apologies to our Official FH Book Winner Santiago Paradoa ... these books took a little bit longer than anticipated to ship ... so hang in there!  All I can tell you is that I can't wait to get MY copy either!!!  This is going to be a good one ... and well worth the wait!!!  Those of you who DID take advantage of the pre-order sale price will be happy to know that all of the pre-orders will start shipping next week!    

Sounds like our FH Buddy Howard Kaylan of The Turtles underwent some surgery this past week ... got this from Tom Cuddy ... 
TURTLES: Lead Singer Howard Kaylan Recovering from Spinal Surgery 
He's long suffered from a bad back and underwent eight hours of spinal surgery. 
Let's send get-well wishes to Turtles front-man Howard Kaylan. The voice of such iconic hits as "Happy Together" and "You Showed Me" is recuperating from eight hours of spinal surgery in a suburban Seattle hospital. 
His wife Michelle posts on Facebook: "That damned bad back is one big step towards being history!! Rods and fusions in his lumbar spine, inserted by two surgeons, one on each side." 
She closes by noting, "We don't even want to THINK about the months of rehabilitation ahead. Hallelujah, Sleep Number Bed." 
The 2015 Happy Together tour -- starring The Turtles, along with Mark Lindsay, The Association and The Cowsills, kicks off in June with dates already announced.
We wish you a Speedy Recovery, my friend ... having had any number of back problems of my own over the years (2 1/2 discs removed 26 years ago!), I can definitely sympathize.  Follow your doctor's orders and do what you need to do ... you've got a BIG tour coming up!!! (kk)  

RIGHT AGAIN!  --  I've said it a thousand times during the past 15 years of doing Forgotten Hits ... if you simply expose them to it, a whole new generation will come to love and embrace our music ...
No greater proof of point came last week when a brand new commercial for Android started running last week on all the major networks, featuring the Roger Miller song from the Disney film "Robin Hood" ... everybody I know was talking about this the next day.  (It's already had over 2 1/2 Million Hits on YouTube over the past four days!  For a TELEVISION COMMERCIAL!!!) 
And it doesn't hurt that it's just as cute as can be ... 



Unfortunately, radio today prefers to just give you the same 200 songs by the same 30 artists, meaning that most of this great music will be lost forever.  Don't get me wrong ... never in a million years would I ever have thought of resurrecting THIS one ... but boy, talk about your immediate response and connection!  (kk)
I said it the very first time I heard it ... Sam Smith's "Stay With Me" was a blatant, note-for-note rip-off of Tom Petty's hit "I Won't Back Down".  Apparently, the copyright judges agree ... and Petty's name (along with cowriter Jeff Lynne of ELO) are being added to the song-writing credit and royalties.  (Not sure if this will be a retroactive move or not ... the song was an absolute MONSTER last year and is up for three Grammy Awards as well.)

Examiner columnist Jeremy Roberts has done it again, this time snagging an exclusive interview with Mark Lindsay, former lead singer of Paul Revere and the Raiders.  The subject matter this time around is quite interesting ... Jeremy asks Mark about Elvis' influence on his career.  Naturally, like MOST teens at the time, Lindsay was bowled over by Elvis when he first hit the scene and this experience certainly gave his future career a boost in the right direction.  But Lindsay also talks about meeting The King back in 1968 when Elvis was in Hollywood filming what would come to be known as his Comeback Television Special.
A few years later, Mark was fortunate enough to work with Elvis' band when he cut a remake of the Aretha Franklin classic "Chain Of Fools", a track for what was supposed to be The Raiders' final studio album.  (To this day it sits in the can in the Columbia Records vaults somewhere.)
Lindsay explains that he was the only Raider on this track ... but the accompanying musicians included Jerry Scheff on bass, Ronnie Tutt on drums, Glen D. Hardin on keyboards and James Burton on guitar.
Mark tells Jeremy:
I actually recorded a cover of Aretha Franklin’s R&B classic, “Chain of Fools,” with Elvis’ TCB Band for the Raiders’ still-unreleased final album [tracked between 1972 and 1973]. Jerry Scheff was on bass, Ronnie Tutt on drums, Glen D. Hardin on keyboards, and James Burton supplied lead guitar. There are no Raiders on the recording except me.
You can read the full interview ... and even listen to this rare track ... here:
Click here: 'Heartbreak Hotel' knocked him flat on the ground: Mark Lindsay salutes Elvis - National Pop Culture | Examiner.co

Hey Kent - I just published an interview with Bob Gaudio on Songfacts, where he answered questions like "Is there a real Dawn?" and "Did 'Who Loves You' come from Telly Savalas?"He also told a great story about producing the Neil Diamond / Barbra Streisand duet "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." This was a huge deal - the DJ mashup of the song was getting radio play, so they had to get the single out quick. Bob was in charge of somehow making it all come together to the satisfaction of both Diamond and Streisand - very powerful personalities and very particular in their musical tastes. Bob says he over-prepared a bit (full orchestra standing by in the lobby), but they realized early on that the key was not interfering with the vocals. 
Here's the interview:  
http://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/bob_gaudio_of_the_four_seasons/  
Be Well,  
Carl Wiser  
www.songfacts.com   

We heard from our new FH Buddy Barry Winslow of The Royal Guardsmen, who found this track by the band on his computer and wanted to share it with our readers ... boy, sure doesn't sound like that "Snoopy" band, does it?  A nice little track that he says goes back to their "clubbin' days" ... I can see THIS one going over REAL well in a bar setting!  Check it out.  (kk) 
Mornin' Kent,
Bud, I just found this as I was cleaning out some folders on the puter.  I don't remember when we did it, but it was at the time of the clubbing era.  It's a fun tune.
Have a large weekend my friend.
Later -
Barry