Wednesday, March 15, 2017

March 15th

Chart Movers earning bullets this week include "Western Union" by The Five Americans (up 23 places from #67 to #44), "Sweet Soul Music" by Arthur Conley, up from #80 to #58, "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" by The Buckinghams, which climbs 24 places from #93 to #69 and "For He's The Jolly Good Fellow" by Bobby Vinton, up to #75 from #99.  (Does ANYBODY even remember this recording???)  

Tommy Roe and Sopwith Camel are back on "Where The Action Is".  

George Harrison begins recording the then-untitled "Within You, Without You".  It will ultimately bump the intended inclusion of his track "Only A Northern Song" from the "Sgt. Pepper" album.  No other Beatles appeared on this track, which was recorded exclusively by George along with numerous Indian musicians.  

Today is The Ides Of March, 1967 ... and although the group from Berwyn, Illinois, continued to record for Parrot Records well into 1967, none of these records made the national or local charts.

Here's one that absolutely should have ... it stands up there with their very best work ... "My Foolish Pride" from 1967. (Unique, too, for its early use of horns, something that would put them on top of the charts a few years later with the HUGE national hit "Vehicle".)  Notice, too, a similar guitar intro to the Jimi Hendrix song "Purple Haze" ... which wouldn't come out here in The States for another five months!  Hmm ... kinda makes you wonder ... which came first?!?!?  (Honestly, this track sorta feels like The Jimi Hendrix Experience Meets The Baja Marimba Band, no???)  All I know is this is a GREAT track that deserved a FAR better fate than it got!  It ranks amongst my all-time favorite Ides Of March tracks!



I've never seen The Ides Of March perform this song live ... but I think it would make a GREAT addition to their set list ... it really is unlike anything else they've ever done.
(You can catch our week-long, in-depth tour through The Ides Of March box set simply by scrolling back to July 7th of 2015 and then working your way forward from there.  Here's a quick link to take you there:  http://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-ides-of-march-50th-anniversary-box.html)

Don Kirshner files a $35.5 million dollar lawsuit against Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, Columbia Pictures' President Abe Schneider, Screen Gems' Executive Vice President Jerry Hyams and Monkees television show creator Bert Scheider, claiming breach of contract and conspiracy behind is discharge from all things Monkees-related on February 27th.

*****

While The Ides Of March failed to chart in 1967, that didn't mean they were sitting home twiddling their collective thumbs.


In fact, they recently came across an amateur recording of a Labor Day Concert that The Ides did on September 2nd, 1967, at Father Cornell's Corpus Christi Church in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.


Here's a shot of the glamorous stage at Corpus Christi Church in Sturgeon Bay where the Ides of March played the show you are hearing excerpts of on September 2nd, 1967. Thanks to Bill Knipfer for the recordings and the photos!
This was a lost chapter in Ides live history.  

Jimbo 

The recording was made by Bill Knipfer, a high school student, of Sturgeon Bay, who recorded it on his Sony model 530.  (Jim Peterik would like to thank Sherrill Blackman for hooking us up with Bill.)

In Jim's words, "It's rough - but the Ides are all there with harmony and vibe."  (It IS a little rough ... but for historic value alone, not to mention the sheer rarity that a tape like this still exists, definitely makes it worth a listen!)



Larry Millas of The Ides remastered and mixed the fifty year old tapes and the final results will appear on "The Ides Of March Lost Tapes, Volume 2", due out later this spring ... but we've got the World Premier right here in Forgotten Hits!


How fitting that we're featuring The Ides Of March ON The Ides Of March!!!