Wednesday, January 8, 2014

More Tributes to Phil Everly ... And All The Latest Details About Some GREAT Up-Coming Shows

re:  Phil Everly:
Kent -
So sad to hear about Phil Everly's passing Friday. For a primer on the roots of rock and roll go to "you tube" and listen to the Everly Brother's reunion concert at the Albert Royal Hall, an hour well spent, as I never got a chance to see them in person.
Mike De Martino
President of the Lovejoy Music Club
 
Truly one of the great harmony singers of the rock (or any other) era is gone. Phil Everly passed away at a Burbank, CA hospital on Friday. He was 74.
I'm lucky to have seen them several times, including 'live' in their KY hometown ten or twelve years ago -- and at the California State Fair, Sacramento, in 1959. Between '57 and '60, their record sales were only rivaled by Elvis and Pat Boone (even though the RRHOF continues to snub Boone). They had four #1's in their first seven or eight releases and over thirty Top 30 hit records -- at one time averaging a hit single every three to four months.
There is simply nothing greater to us music junkies than true sibling harmonies -- be it the Andrews Sisters of the WW2 years, the McGuire Sisters in the early and mid-50's, The Beach Boys -- at their height -- in the 60's, and the Bee Gee's in the late '60's and 70's. To be fair, I'd have to add the Jackson Five and The Osmonds to the list, but there is really no comparison in my opinion as some of their biggest singles featured Michael and Donny.
Don may have gotten a lot of the credit, being the older brother and lead singer, but if you take away Phil's incredible harmonies, there simply wouldn't be that great 'sound.' (Note: Two great country singers who were not related but whose sound 'fit like a glove,' Buck Owens and Don Rich, also had great vocal harmonies, and their duel lead guitar rifts pretty much made the Buck Owens 'sound.')
Whenever I give a tour of historic RCA Studio "B," I always play two or more of Don and Phil's greatest hits, including "All I Have To Do Is Dream" and "Cathy's Clown," both recorded there. It just doesn't get much better than that. And to think all these artists of that era -- including Elvis, Orbison, Cline, Brenda Lee --were recording two tracks (an "A" and a "B" side) in less than three hours. No overdubs, no vocal tuning, and mixing it on the fly. Now, we're typically spending 35 to 50 hours, or more, per song, including a day and a half -- and upwards of six days -- to mix it.  It was strictly God-given talent that ruled the early rock era.
Rip, Phil. We're gonna miss ya -- but we are truly blessed by the great musical legacy you leave behind.
Fred Vail / Music City, USA 
 
The loss of Phil Everly is personal one for me. Was there ever any singing duo greater or who achieved as much musical perfection as Don an Phil Everly? I can close my eyes and still see us all hanging back stage at the Alan Freed Shows swapping stories and guitars with Eddie Cochran, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry and others! Those are days I will treasure until my life on this earth is finished. It was a magical time and none of us kids really knew if R&R would last -- or if we'd have to eventually leave the music industry and get a day job! Phil was a great talent and I will sorely miss him. God Bless His soul!   
Charlie Gracie  
 
Charlie Gracie, standing second right with pal, Eddie Cochran, the Everlys (Don & Phil) and Singer / pro-golfer, Don Cherry (Band of Gold, fame) in Chicago in early 1957.
 
My heart is so incredibly saddened by the passing of Phil Everly. The Everly Brothers' music was a huge inspiration for me growing up. As brothers, those harmonies just sound so sweet and tender. I think it's a family thing. I could never get enough of their voices.
-- Brian Wilson
 
Vintage Vinyl News ran several other celebrity tributes on their site the other day ... here are a couple ...
 
Phil Everly is gone. Touring with Phil and Don was one of the thrills of my life. I love you Phillip - Godspeed.
Nancy Sinatra
 
Phil and Don were the most beautiful sounding duo I ever heard. The Everlys were there at the crossroads of country and R&B. They witnessed and were part of the birth of rock and roll.
Paul Simon
 
I always admired the Everly brothers. Now, Phil has passed. He wrote "When Will I Be Loved". I'd say always!
Paul Williams
and you can read the rest here:   
 
Kent,
With all the banter about Phil's passing and the Everly Brothers, I'm surprised there wasn't a mention of their 1966 release titled "GONE GONE GONE".
They performed it on Shindig and, for a moment, some thought this would be a comeback song, but it didn't chart well, despite the hint of Bo Diddly and other influences in the guitar work.
These are among several You Tube links that'll take you there.
Enjoy!
Peace.
Bill Fortune
(Bussiere)
"Gone Gone Gone" has long been a Forgotten Hits favorite ... we've featured it a few times and I agree, it felt like a "comeback hit" of sorts at the time ... but we were just too deep into The British Invasion to appreciate it at the time.  (It actually charted in '64, peaking at #31 but reaching #11 here in Chicago.)  I remember being completely blown away when they featured it on "American Dreams" a few years ago as part of an American Bandstand segment ... showed the musical staff to have a pretty deep appreciation for more than just the usual "tried and true" hits.  Betcha quite a few radio stations around the globe featured it this weekend in Phil's memory.  (kk)
 
A real fine blog post a out Phil that stretches further from most of the obit write-ups:
musicisinmysoul
 
re:  Some Great Up-Coming Shows:
Ron Onesti seems to have cornered the market when it comes to "must see" shows in the Chicagoland area.  Just wait till you see who he's added to the agenda now!!! 

FEB 6 & 7 CHEAP TRICK 

FEB 14 GROOVIN THE SIXTIES starring Gary Puckett & The Buckinghams with a full orchestra

FEB 23 A HARD DAY'S NIGHT
(Beatles film) Sing-A-Long to Benefit Open Door Clinic

MAR 1 AIR SUPPLY 

MAR 15 GORDON LIGHTFOOT

MAR 16 Former Members of ELO

MAR 28 THREE DOG NIGHT

MAR 29 EDDIE MONEY

MAR 30 Ricky Nelson Remembered (starring Matthew and Gunnar Nelson ... and a tribute to their father)

APR 12 LITTLE ANTHONY & THE IMPERIALS*

APR 13 Paul Revere & The Raiders

APR 18 CTA Tribute to CHICAGO with Danny Seraphine, Billy Champlain and Larry Braggs (Tower of Power)*

APR 19 FOGHAT

APR 26 SURF CITY ALL STARS with Dean Torrence (of Jan & Dean) and the original Beach Boy band

MAY 2 THE MONKEES' MICKEY DOLENZ

MAY 3 ECHOES OF POMPEI (an incredible tribute to Pink Floyd)

MAY 17 BLUE OYSTER CULT

MAY 30 HERMAN'S HERMITS (starring Peter Noone)

JUN 7 LOU GRAMM (of Foreigner)

SEPT 13 EXILE

SEPT 20  FELIX CAVALIERE'S RASCALS WITH SPECIAL GUESTS THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE

OCT 3  JOHNNY RIVERS

OCT 5 AL STEWART 

OCT 24 GARY WRIGHT 

OCT 25 TOMMY JAMES & THE SHONDELS

NOV 7 BJ THOMAS

NOV 15  LITTLE RIVER BAND

NOV 22 THE SPINNERS

Full details on the OShows Website: