Friday, December 6, 2013

The Friday Flash

Just a few as I'm running out the door this morning ...

re:  THE GRAMMY HALL OF FAME:
Have you seen the new list of this year's inductees for best singles and albums?  An incredible 27 releases have just been enshrined ... and what a list it is! 
 
Singles:
Fortunate Son - Creedence Clearwater Revival (1969)
Georgia (On My Mind) - Hoagy Charmichael and His Orchestra (1930)
Get Up - I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine - James Brown (1970)
Honky Tonk Women - Rolling Stones (1969)
Jolene - Dolly Parton (1973)
Low Rider - War (1975)
Nobody Know the Trouble I've Seen - Louis Armstrong and the All Stars (1938)
Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head - B.J. Thomas (1969)
Rapper's Delight - Sugarhill Gang (1979)
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised - Gil Scott-Heron (1970)
Strange Things Happening Every Day - Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1945)
Sweet Home Chicago - Robert Johnson (1937)
3 O'Clock Blues - B.B. King (1952)
Under the Boardwalk - Drifters (1964)
Walk This Way - Run DMC (1986)
Wonderful World - Sam Cooke (1960)
Yardbird Suite - Charlie Parker (1946)
 
Albums:
After the Gold Rush - Neil Young (1970)
All Things Must Pass - George Harrison (1970)The Chicago Transit Authority - Chicago (1969)
Cosmo's Factory - Creedence Clearwater Revival (1970)
Doc Watson - Doc Watson (1964)
The Joshua Tree - U2 (1987)
Kristofferson - Kris Kristofferson (1970)
Mary Poppins (Original Cast Album) - Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke and Various Artists (1964)
Relaxin' With the Miles Davis Quintet - Miles Davis (1958)
Woodstock: Music From the Original Soundtrack and More - Various Artists (1970)
 
re:  GARTH:
Hi Kent,
I am still catching up on Forgotten Hits upon returning from our trip, but wanted to comment on the Garth Brooks Special, too.  I agree with you ... it was GREAT!  I was going to watch it for about five minutes and ended up watching the entire show.  The energy in his performance was like watching something out of the 60's -- whereas a lot of performers today incorporate a lot of bells and whistles, lights, and pyrotechnics -- the energy in his show comes solely from him.  Back around 1990, when he first began to take off, he was performing free at a band-shell at the Colorado State Fair, and he was the same way -- his music is great but what really make his act a home run is his energy in his shows.  I saw him perform several times in the early days and every performance was like it was going to be his last, and it was the same with this show.  I had heard his Wynn-Encore shows were simply he and his guitar, and I always thought, well how good could that be without a band -- well, I saw how good it could be -- and that's pretty damn good! 
Regards,
Tim Kiley
Yeah, he blew me away.  I kind of went into it with the same attitude ... figured if nothing else it'd make for some tolerable background noise while I did other things ... but he sucked me in right from the git-go.  GREAT special ... great approach to not only his own career retrospective ... but how he was inspired to get into music in the first place.  (Plus he must have made a killing at the Wynn these past three years ... virtually NO overhead!!!  lol)  VERY entertaining ... this is the kind of thing that if they released it on DVD, I'd have to buy a copy so I could watch it again and again.  Meanwhile, his WalMart exclusive box set that he was pushing sold like gangbusters after his tv special aired.  (kk)
 
re:  THIS AND THAT:
The popular teen clubs in Des Plaines and Park Ridge were the The Green Gorilla, The Hut and The Cellar.
Cindy Horning
 
To my Oldies friends,
My co-writer and friend, Jack Reardon, who co-authored our 1958 hit, "When", passed away yesterday.
Jack also wrote the lyrics for "The Good Life".  Every major artist including Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles have covered the original hit by Tony Bennett.
TIME KEEPS ON TICKIN', TICKIN'.  
The Kalin Twins, the original "When" recording artists, have also passed on to Rock 'n' Roll Heaven.  
Jack's passing leaves it up to me to keep "When" on the public's minds.
Jack's death coincides with a new commercial use of "When". The song has just been chosen by a major UK furniture chain for its new ad campaign due to hit the air on December 22, 2013.  I'm sorry that Jack died before he knew about this new use of our song.
I thought you'd like to know,
Paul (Evans)
Sorry to hear about Jack's passing ... but SO cool to hear that "When" is being picked up for commercial use.  And don't forget Paul's recent Christmas favorite:
 
Hi Kent, 
Well, because of your interview with Burton Cummings, I finished regathering my Guess Who stuff on CD. I bought a few of the early solo albums again as well. I also took a look around on the WWW and found some interesting reads. 
Maybe you've seen all these, but if you haven't here they are.
Dynamic Sounds ... Winnipeg Rock 'n' Roll ... Flourishing in the 60's: Burton Cummings and The Deverons
Burton Cummings | Juliette Jagger | Rock and Roll Journalist
and Finally THE DEVERONS (COPYRIGHT 2000) PERSONAL USE ONLY -- Burton Cummings
Hope I've sent something of interest.
Bill
We're still getting rave reviews for our interview with Burton ... and have heard from several other readers who were inspired to either dig out some of their old Guess Who stuff ... or download brand new tracks as well after reading it ... which is always cool!  (kk)

re:  CONGRATULATIONS:
Congratulations on 15 years, Kent! 
May you have more years and may we have more music coming our way!
Suzanne
 
Happy anniversary from one of your initial members.  It has been a GREAT 14 years.  Thank you for your commitment to keep the music alive!
Allan0318
 
Congratulations!!!
Hil
 
VERY cool to receive these three emails during the same 24 hours ... as all three of these folks were original members of the "First 35 Club" way back on November 26, 1999!!!  Thanks for stickin' with us all these years!  (kk)
 
Kent,
A long overdue thanks for the great 60’s segments that you did earlier in the fall.  The segment dealing with the early 60’s hits (before the British invasion) gave me the idea for a Rockword puzzle (attached for
you or Frannie’s Christmas enjoyment is my latest Rockword puzzle on that particular theme.)
Keep up the good work.  I don’t know where you get the stamina to keep at it as hard as you do.  Clearly a labor of love.
Have a great Xmas and may Forgotten Hits go on to even better things in 2014.  
Mike Ogilvie
Thanks, Mike ... wasn't sure if I could post the puzzle or not but it turned out not to be an option ... the website only accepts JPEG photos!  But I have run off a copy to play around with here at home.  (kk)