Friday, February 12, 2016

The Friday Flash

re:  Coppock's Topics:    
Kent ...    
#1 = I heard that Wayne Cochran is currently a minister in Florida.  Does Chet know if this is true?    
I'm sure he does ... and we've covered that several times in Forgotten Hits as well.  My understanding is that he doesn't really talk about his rock and roll days anymore ... and yet I found this clip on YouTube from a couple of years ago ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwRD1Bc_LpA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1vBPPjdveE    
I never had the chance to see him ... but when Chet Coppock was roadie-ing for The New Colony Six, he would don a huge white pompadour wig and do his best Wayne Cochran impersonation as part of the show.  
#2 = I agree with his Cousin Brucie observation.  I'm still trying to figure out how Cousin Brucie has more hair today then he did during his Palisades Park days.    
He's never really been one of MY particular favorites either. #7 = Bobby Darin on the Dick Clark Beech-Nut Show . Great. I agree.  
We ran a couple of clips during our Bobby Darin Tribute Series back a the first of the year.  

Here are the two Chet mentioned ...




#10 = Pat St. John left New York radio when he moved.  I know what he's talking about.  

#12 = Who's got more soul than Eric Burdon? Nobody.  
#13 = Lady Gaga at the Super Bowl.  There was a Las Vegas bet about Lady Gaga.  Exactly how long will it take her to sing the National Anthem?  Will it be over or under 2 minutes & 20 seconds.  I thought  it would be under. Haven't seen the official time.  I think I was wrong.  
Kent , could you ask Chet a question for me?  
I know him before Forgotten Hits but I can't remember why.  Did he ever have a show that was on in the New York area?  If I remember correctly, he always wore suspenders.  Thanks for giving me another clip of the week to add to my resume.  
Frank B. 
Chet has been a part of the Chicagoland Sports Scene for many decades now ... but he also did a stint in New York, hosting "Newsport", a two hour sports talk show on Cable Vision in New York.  So yes, you probably DO know him from that.  (He also used to host wrestling matches back in the day!)  
As for the suspenders?  A picture's worth a thousand words!  (kk)



Yes, I hosted Newsport, a two hour sports talk show on Cable Vision in New York, for about three and a half years. C.V. is owned by the Dolan family, which also owns the New York Knicks, The Yes Network and the New York Knicks.  
Among many great thrills I enjoyed during my time in the apple was taping video commercials for my show at the historic Brill Building.  
I kept on waiting for Carole King to come walking in to hand me an updated version of "The Loco-Motion."  
However, N.Y. rock is a drag compared to Chicago. Guys like Cousin Brucie are third stringers compared to legends like Dick Biondi, Jerry G., Joel Sebastian, Jim Stagg and on and on and on.  
Chet Coppock        

>>>How much bread did "New Radicals" leave on the table when they disbanded back in '98 or '9? "Wake up kids you got the dreamer's disease."  (Chet Coppock)     
In response to Chet's musings above ... not much ... the rest of the "New Radicals" album was crap. They blew their wad on that one great song!     
Cory Cooper 

Hi.      
I’m a long time subscriber and first time responder.  I love your newsletter and although I sometimes don’t agree with opinions expressed, none have irked me as much as Chet Coppock’s most recent posting.   
I’ve listened to rock and roll from the beginning.  Living in cities like New York (WABC, WINS, WMCA) Detroit (WXYZ, CKLW) Chicago, Philly (WIBG), Atlanta (WQXI) and, in recent years, Phoenix. Everyone’s entitled to his opinion, But Chet, sorry to say,  is an imbecile.  His derogatory comments about Cousin Brucie (who at 75, still sounds very similar to the way he did back in the early 60’s on WABC) and Pat St John, (who remains the only on air D-J on XM’s 60’s on 6 to play “Other” songs besides those same 200 played on every oldies station in America),  are unacceptable.     
Then to top it off he wants to remove Lou Reed from The R&R Hall Of Fame, to make room for Jewell???? Had he said make room for The Moody Blues, Yes, the Guess Who or even Connie Francis ... then I’d also say move aside Lou.
Time for Chet to retire.      
Jeffrey Gallen      
Phoenix, Az     
Love him or hate him ... agree or disagree ... Chet can ALWAYS get the conversation (debate?) going!  (Which, is, by the way, his whole intention!  You do know the Jewel thing was a joke, right???)  kk       

>>>Unless another major rock star dies tonight ... hey, it could happen ... watch for the latest edition of Coppock's Topics tomorrow morning on the Forgotten Hits website!  (kk)


--submitted by Ken Voss     

 re:  The Monkees:   
Hey Kent –  
I’m enjoying the coverage you’re giving to The Monkee’s 50th Anniversary.  In the spirit of the occasion, Bobby Hart and I wrote a new Monkees tribute song called Rear View Mirror.  We also put together this rough video slide show.  We’re probably too late for it to be considered for their “Good Times” CD, but it’s never too late to share with the Forgotten Hits family.  I hope you like it!   
As always, thanks for all you’re doing at Forgotten Hits!  Dick Eastman




Thanks, Dick ... I appreciate it ... and thanks for sharing!
Too bad this couldn't be included ... it would have made for a neat track on the new LP.  (Who knows ... we've got some pretty well connected people on this list ... never say never!)  
And it's SO good to hear that you and Bobby Hart are writing together again!)  
I can definitely hear Micky singing this one, can't you??? Thanks again!  (kk)  

re:  Chicago / Peter Cetera:  
RIGHT ON KENT - - You hit the nail on the head.   
Peter is one disillusion individual.  I've never had patience for people with egos and the boy seems to have a large one.  Sheesh, even though he made some good money after going solo from the group - - I sure as hell did not buy  any of those cheesy “all sound the same” ballads he did.  
Jeff James   
Hey, I'm all for bettering oneself when the opportunity to do so presents itself ... but you still don't forget what got you to where you are today ... you can't ever lose sight of that. This isn't a case of "the band is reforming to go out on the road and make a ton of money so everybody's got to swallow their pride and stay focused on the prize" ... this is the chance ... and a ONCE IN A LIFETIME CHANCE at that ... to FINALLY be recognized and rewarded for living and fulfilling your dream.  If you can't suck it up long enough to make it through a four hour dinner with your former bandmates, then do it for the fans who have supported you for SO many years.  You owe your success to your talent ... you owe your career and longevity to the fans who have stood beside you every step of the way.  Can't you set all of this aside for just one night to give the fans what they most want to see ... and remember and enjoy (even if only for a fleeting moment) what you did it all for in the first place?  So sad to think that all of this ... and all of US ... mean so little to you.  (kk)  

You nailed it - your assessment of Peter Cetera was spot on.  Chicago was NEVER about any one individual (and even if it was, it would have been Terry Kath and not Peter Cetera!) - and they did just fine after Kath was gone, thank you very much.  
Man, what an over-inflated ego.  Does he not even realize how he comes across to his fans with a bonehead move like this?  He clearly doesn't care - which makes ME care even less.  
Frank  
To paraphrase Robert Lamm ...  
Does anybody really know what the hell Peter Cetera is talking about?  
Does anybody really care?  
If so, I can't imagine why ...  
We've all moved on and will not cry. (kk)

re:  Van Morrison:   
CONGRATS to our good friend VAN MORRISON who picked up his official KNIGHTHOOD Medal at Buckingham Palace before the close of the week!  
Not Bad For A Blue Eyed Soul Singer From East Belfast!  
-- Van Morrison   
What else can I say except I love the man and he deserves all those honors!  I will never forget what he did for me -- as one of the very few artists he's ever asked to tour with him!   
Van attended a handful of my shows in the UK over the years and it's still my dream to cut even one tune with him before I leave this earth. God Bless Him!  
-- CHARLIE GRACIE  
STAND BY ... 🎸☘🏆  
See pics of Charlie & Van ...   
(photos submitted by Charlie Gracie, Jr.)











re:  Fat Tuesday / British Rock:  
Kent ...  
Here's another "Fat Song" for you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeWmMJ-J45c  
Frank B.  

There's also "Take Me To The Mardi Gras" by Paul Simon. It was a Top 10 in the UK, but escaped notice in America.   
Carl Wiser  
www.songfacts.com  
Yeah, I kicked around the idea of several other "Fat Tuesday" related track but decided to stick with the "short but sweet" / Tuesday Short Stack instead.  I figured we'd already done one Fats Domino song (Walkin' To New Orleans ... which killed two birds with one stone) so I opted for the Chubby Checker tune instead.  
I'm very familiar with Paul Simon's "Take Me To The Mardi Gras" ... a great track ... was just listening to "There Goes Rhymin' Simon" the other day as a matter of fact!  
Another one dropped at the last minute from consideration was "Tuesday Afternoon" by The Moody Blues.  (I mean you gotta draw the line SOMEWHERE!!!)  kk

Loved your list of the”sweet 12” british invasion tracks ... most of which you NEVER hear on the radio.  Too sad!  
Also ... for Fat Tuesday there was Freddy Cannon’s “Way Down Yonder in New Orleans” or Gary US Bonds’ “New Orleans”.  
Keep up the good work,  
Ted  

Kent, 
Loved the 12 British Invasion tunes you posted today. I always liked the original version of BUMBLE BEE as opposed to the Searchers' version. Fairly big record here in OKC back in 1960 by Lavern Baker. Personally speaking, I always liked the Overlanders' version of  YESTERDAY'S GONE over Chad and Jeremy's. The Adam Faith tune was fairly big here as well in OKC.  The version of IT'S GONNA BE ALRIGHT by Gerry and the Pacemakers is not the original studio version as released on vinyl in 1965 on 45 rpm I believe.  
The 45 version's TOV (time to vocal) is 5 seconds compared to 19 seconds on the version you posted. The version you posted may have been an LP version, that I don't know.   Again, thanks for the posting of the 12 songs, they were all great.  
Larry   

re:  This And That:  
The Eagles will reunite to perform during next Monday's Grammy Awards ceremony as a tribute to Glenn Frey.   Joining Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit on stage will be original founding member Bernie Leadon and Jackson Browne, who cowrote The Eagles' first hit, "Take It Easy", with Frey back in 1971.  The ceremony airs Monday Night, February 15th, on CBS Television.  (kk) 



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Kent, 
One thing I like about FH is that I read obituaries of artists who have passed away in which the news of their death does not make our local paper. A good example is Joe Dowell in today's FH. Always did like his 1962 LITTLE RED RENTED ROWBOAT which did turn out to be a SMASH hit. 
Today for the first time I saw a commercial on television which I had never seen before. Now I don't know how long it has been running, so maybe you have seen it, maybe not.  The product in question, I believe, was Expedia. The background music was from 1957 recorded by the Valiants with a tune called THIS IS THE NIGHT. I have just seen the commercial this one time and I believe it was the original song by the Valiants. What say you if you've seen it? 
Also, if you are like me, you are watching the Super Bowl right now. They just showed a commercial for Prius. Did you happen to hear the music playing in the background? It was the tune APACHE but not the Jorgen Ingmann version. 
Funny how us fans of FH recognizes a familiar tune in the background of a commercial but sometimes can't remember the commercial itself. 
Larry 
As we've discussed many times before you've got to wonder who the marketing guys are who keep coming up with ways to use this older music ... especially when all we keep hearing is that the target buying audience is that 25-45 year old age group.  SOMEBODY out there recognizes the fact that the catchy music of our generation just might stick in their heads and get them to investigate a product they otherwise wouldn't.  Would love to get into that mindset for a few hours to hear how they are able to justify such a double-sided philosophy.  (kk) 

Hi Kent,  
Still loving your blog, with especially fond memories of the incredible roast beef sandwiches we had together in your beautiful city of Chicago.  
I felt compelled to send you this photo when I saw the picture of the Kustom amp in your February 7th edition.
This is me back in 1971 (I still have that '68 Fender P-bass; and, come to think of it, I think I still have the baby boom mic stand!) with my band, Smile.  I used a Sunn Sonaro with two 15" cabinets, and this cool black Kustom amp.  The amps are, sadly, long gone, but my P-bass (which is shaved blond since 1976) is still my go-to axe.  
Good times, my friend! 
Warm regards,  
Bob Rush

From Diane Diekman' Country Newsletter comes this tidbit about Joe Stampley ... Joe was the former lead singer of the group The Uniques back in the '60's who charted eleven times on the national pop charts between 1965 and 1970.
Two of those chart hits were the song "All These Things", one of Frannie's all-time favorites growing up in Texas where it evidently was a #1 Hit.  The Uniques' version peaked at #44 in 1966 and a reissued version in 1970 bubbled under at #112.  Joe also cut a solo version when he became a country artist years later ... in fact, it peaked at #1 on Billboard's Country Chart in 1976.  (He would hit Billboard's Country Chart 62 times between 1971 and 1989.)
Six of those hits would come when Joe teamed up with Moe Bandy in the early '80's as Moe and Joe.  In 1984 they cut a GREAT novelty record making fun of Boy George with their #8 hit called "Where's The Dress?" 
Sounds like Joe's been having some health issues lately ... first time he's been in a hospital since he was six years old having his tonsils removed!!!  

Diane's got the whole story below ...  

Joe Stampley is recovering from unplanned heart bypass surgery. He had just returned from a tour and was carrying a fifty-pound sack of corn out to feed the deer on December 21, when his chest started hurting enough to make him drop the bag off his shoulder. It was a warning, not an actual heart attack, and there was no damage to his heart. The doctors at first thought a stent would be sufficient. But further tests showed five blockages, with one artery 99 percent blocked, and they scheduled bypass surgery.  
The morning after surgery, the staff already had Joe up and walking down the hall. He did that three times a day for the remaining six days he was hospitalized. He spent both Christmas and New Year's in the hospital, and went home January 4. He diligently follows his book of exercises, and he is up to three 18-minute walks per day. He will soon be starting rehab. 
He told me during our telephone conversation, "I have a little pain once in a while in my chest." Not surprising, since his chest was cut wide open, and stainless steel staples are now holding it together. The bone will grow around the staples. When I commented about airport security, he told me he quit flying years ago. "You couldn't pay me to get on an airplane," he said. 
Joe is 72 years old, and the last time he'd spent a night in a hospital before this was to have his tonsils removed at age six. He doesn't smoke or drink. His heart trouble is caused by hereditary high cholesterol. His father and grandfather had bypass surgery, as did several cousins, and his brother died of a heart attack at age 46. 
"I'm worried about Mel Tillis," he told me. He was in the same hospital as Mel, who went in for colon surgery and has since been hit with an infection and double pneumonia. Joe says Mel is taking "high-powered antibiotics."   
I asked Joe if the bypass surgery caused him to cancel any shows, and he said no. He's semi-retired, had already completed his 2015 schedule, and doesn't start his 2016 schedule until this fall.    
He and Moe Bandy have a show in Branson on October 5. Then, they will be doing a Good Ole Boys Reunion show on the 2017 Country Music Cruise next January. Vince Gill, Charley Pride, The Oak Ridge Boys, Brenda Lee, Lee Greenwood, Tanya Tucker, and Jimmy Fortune are some of the other entertainers, along with Lorianne Crook as host. They will be traveling from Tampa to Key West, Cozumel, and Costa Maya. "I'm looking forward to that," Joe says.  
"I've had three careers in the music business," Joe told me.  He started at age 15 in Louisiana as a pop / rock singer, where he formed a band called the Uniques and recorded on Imperial Records and Paula Records. They backed Nat Stuckey on his recording of "Sweet Thang." I asked if Joe gets royalties, and he said they were paid $100 per person for doing four sides.   
That career lasted from 1960 - 1970, and Joe became a country singer when Al Gallico brought him to Dot Records in 1971. He recorded "The Most Beautiful Girl" before Charlie Rich worked it up off Joe's album. Joe had his own share of hits, with "Soul Song," "Roll On Big Mama," and "All These Things" reaching number one in the 1970s.  
His third career began when he hooked up with Moe Bandy, and they hit number one with "Just Good Ol' Boys" in 1979. Joe continued with top ten hits, both solo and with Moe, into the mid-1980s. He had 72 charted country records.  When Joe tours solo now, he is backed by the Jeff Griffith Band. "It's a real good band, and they know all my stuff," he says. When he performs with Moe, he is backed by Moe's band. Joe does a segment of his hits, Moe does a segment of his hits, and then they come out on stage together as Moe & Joe.    
Not a user of email or the Internet, Joe does have a website to sell his merchandise: http://joestampley.com 
He talked about his son, Tony Stampley, who wrote "Where's the Dress" for Moe & Joe. Tony has written hits for Randy Travis, John Anderson, and Hank Williams Jr., and he has two songs on Hank's new album, It's About Time. Tony's songs are "The Party's On" and "Club U.S.A." 
Joe plans to spend the following years enjoying life -- doing some hunting, going out for some shows, and having a good time. 

Get on Diane's country list here:  
diane@dianediekman.com







Hey Kent,  
I know the media has its own opinion about the meaning of Don McLean's "American Pie", and I know it has been discussed here a lot. I also know that I may piss off some Buddy Holly fans, but based on all I have read in print, interviews, etc., I really believe that "The Day the Music Died" was not Feb. 3, 1959, but Feb. 9, 1964. Yes, Holly's death was part of the song, but McLean was missing his classic rock 'n roll days, and that's what he tried to say in his song. I just brought it up, because of the anniversary of The Beatles first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show; the night that changed popular music forever. Stephen Colbert brought up the anniversary last night, on his late night show. Nothing against The Beatles, 'cause I love the guys and their music, especially Ringo! 
- John LaPuzza  
I've met many people over the years who firmly believe that rock and roll music died the moment the British Invasion hit our shores.  For me personally, that's the day that music BEGAN.  And it was through that music that I began to learn more about the influences that came first and inspired it.  Music continues to evolve over time ... I love '50's and '60's rock and roll as much today as I did then ... and, in some cases, even more so.  Everyone thought Disco would kill music ... years later it was going to be the Punk Rock Movement and then Rap ... but music ... GOOD Music ... lives on.  Thankfully we can distinguish that which works best for us and ignore the rest.  Like Sly Stone said,
"Different Strokes For Different Folks".  (kk)