Thursday, March 2, 2017

1967 Bonus #11

Can you believe we've just flipped another calendar page?

We're already into March as we flashback to 1967 ...

Don't miss the daily posts here:  http://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/

Start your day with Forgotten Hits!

And check THIS out ...

We've got another great offer for Forgotten Hits Readers ...

The Genesee Theatre has set aside a select number of seats for the May 25th performance of Tommy James and the Shondells, featuring Special Guests The Association which will become available tomorrow morning beginning at 10 am.  Full details are below ... but hurry ... we've only got a total of 20 seats in each price bracket and we would LOVE to be able to sell them all at this VERY special Buy One, Get One Free.

The hits didn't come much bigger than what these guys were crankin' out in '67 ... "I Think We're Alone Now" ... "Mirage" ... "Windy" ... "Never My Love" ... you'll hear 'em all (PLUS LOTS MORE!) in this killer concert event.

It's a Buy One, Get One offer that's too good to pass up!
The Genesee Theatre has set aside a total of 80 tickets (20 tickets - 10 pairs - in each price level) for this very special offer ... but you've got to hurry!
This is a limited time offer ...
The Promo kicks off on Friday, March 3rd at 10 am and ends on Monday, March 20th at 10 am.
Don't miss your chance to see two of the biggest acts of the '60's ... performing together in one exceptional concert.
Available online only at http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0700522AE22871D0?brand=genesee&camefrom=CFC_GENESEE 
Use promo code: FORGOTTENHITS when ordering

Speaking of great concerts, it sounds like we missed an exceptional one last night at The City Winery where The Ides Of March were performing.  (Another marathon work session kept me from being able to attend ... again ... but Forgotten Hits Reader and contributor, noted commentator and our FH Buddy Chet Coppock WAS able to catch the show and files this incredible report):

Dear Kent:
I have this vision.
Turn back the hands of time to 1958.
A scrawny 18 year old kid from, Brooklyn ... or maybe the Bronx ... (anywhere but Berwyn) ... is earning his bones while churning out songs at the fabled Brill Building, rock 'n roll's original Mecca, at 1619 Broadway - right in the heart of Times Square.
To the young guy's left sits Carole King. Leiber and Stoller are laying chords for what will become "Stand  By Me." Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil are gabbing with Neil Sedaka or maybe Phil Spector. 
This boy's name is Jim Peterik.
A fable? Of course. But, let’s keep in mind that over the years in a variety of capacities Jimmy has been associated with no less than 19 top 20 records.
J.P., our local rock 'n roll reverend (worth an estimated 12 million dollars) and his beloved Ides of March brought the congregation together for yet another revival meeting this past Wednesday night at the City Winery on Randolph St.
You don't review the Ides. That's too easy. You simply make observations about a two hour slice of musical frenzy that leaves an audience exhausted but yearning for just one more riff of "Eye Of The Tiger."
Indulge me for a moment. Ex-Bears Otis Wilson and Dan Hampton play damn good garage band rock 'n roll as the Chicago Six.  Otis and I are long time pals and I just recently completed work on his biography. The 98,0000 word epic will be released this fall.
During a gab session with the Big O, he mentioned meeting Jim and asking him how much money he figured he'd made off "Eye". According to Wilson, Jim's response was, "Otis, I haven't stopped counting."  Jeez, I love the respect and gratitude Jim displays to the three original band members who are still by his side. I heard "L.A. Goodbye" for the umpteenth time and still marvel at how this poetic tune makes me smile and almost cry at the same time.
Peterik, with what's now his trademark purple hair, relates stories of songs written while touring in China and Germany. He speaks like a testosterone driven 14 year old getting his first kiss as he relates a session jamming with Memphis Godfather Steve Cropper.
Jim is given a big lift from the harmony provided by his background singers and the thunder from his horn section while his keyboard seems as blissful, yet, pleasing, as a summer night's walk on Oak Street Beach.
Yes, this band could easily be BS&T or Traffic.
Jimbo, you made us smile as you arrived on stage in your silver on silver outfit with your beloved cowboy boots. Your guitar with the orange tiger stripes makes me wonder if you're under contract as a walking billboard for the Clemson football team.
You and your team dare to be different.  You cover "High on You" as a combo reggae / calypso song. That took guts. As you began to explain the concept, I wasn't sure you guys could pull it off, but you did to the delight of smart phones illuminating the winery. 
Your extended version of "Eye" had the house on its feet as you prowled off stage into the audience at once looking like a strutting peacock as you savagely beat the hell out of your guitar. 
You made me laugh out loud when you sang about the greaser you dug during your high school days who drove that De Soto. But again, you also made me reflective as we all know a guy like that who's wrist watch and lust for life entered menopause as Ike gave way to JFK. 
What can I say about your Hendrix oriented solo?  It would make Clapton proud.
This must be mentioned.  I love, downright love the Rolling Stones. But over the years, it has bothered me that during their concerts, as the Stones riff through "Jumpin' Jack Flash", "Brown Sugar and, perhaps,  "Bitch" or "When the Whip Comes  Down," that the beat on the songs seems painfully repetitive.
Dare I say that the world's greatest rock 'n roll band has left me feeling a bit cheated the last two or three times I've watched Mick struggle to knock out "Gimme Shelter." 
Book it, The Ides honor their songs and their audience. No tempo is over-energized from 45 to 78 and counting. No passion is misplaced by chords that don't fit. You specialize in recording studio quality backed by a remarkably spontaneous vibe. 
Jimbo, your vocal on "Is This Love" was a highlight on an evening that was non-stop highlights.
The toughest critic in the world, my girlfriend Suzy, said, "These guys aren't as good as they were 53 years ago … they're better. Can they play Vehicle again?"
Concert rating:  4-Stars.
Chet Coppock: Host: Chicago Blackhawks Heritage Series
Suzy's right ... I've seen The Ides about fifty times now and I swear they just sound better and better with every show ... and I love the fact that they're still experimenting and reinventing themselves with new material and new arrangements all the time.  They keep it fresh for themselves and their audience.  Damn, I wish I could have seen this show ... I knew it was going to be a great one.  Thanks for the excellent review, Chet!  (kk)

Did you watch the Academy Awards Ceremony Sunday Night?  (It's about all they've been talking about this week!)
I couldn't have been more surprised ... and pleased when it was announced that Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, stars of one of 1967's biggest pictures, "Bonnie And Clyde", would be presenting the Award for Best Picture ...
How cool to have them do this fifty years after "Bonnie And Clyde" reigned at the Box Office.
They seemed to get off to a rather awkward start ...only to have things turn ten thousand times worse when Warren Beatty blew it by announcing the wrong picture!!!
In front of a worldwide audience well into the billions (!) Beatty gave the Best Picture Award to "La La Land" ... and the entire cast and grew came up to accept the award ... only to find out mid-acceptance speeches that the REAL winner was a movie called "Moonlight"!!!  HOW EMBARRASSING!!!  After a short moment of chaos (it truly was, as Jimmy Kimmel stated, a Steve Harvey moment!), things settled down and the proper cast and crew came up to make their own acceptance speeches. 
Oh My God!  They'll be talking about the 2017 Oscars for the next fifty years!!!!
With all the technology in the world today, how does a mistake like this even happen?!?!?  
(It wasn't Beatty's fault ... all he did was read the envelope they handed him ... but that long pause and bewildered look on his face said it all ... he didn't think it was right either but read what he was given ... which was a duplicate of the "Best Actress - Emma Stone - La La Land" award from moments before.  Absolutely unreal!
By the way, you'll find TONS of "Bonnie and Clyde" photos coming up as our 1967 calendar continues ...
But here's how the Dynamic Duo looked Sunday Night up on the podium (kk) ...
Hey Kent -
I dug up a few more of my 60s rock group photos at 'LS and I'll post them first chance I get.  
Speaking of the Coca-Cola spots as Chuck was, I did a few of them as well in the 60s - 
I think it may have been at Chess Studios -
The only one I really remember was with the "Up Up and Away" group, The 5th Dimension. They were live cutting the jingle - great talented people - I spent the day with them just so I could do my tag line which was "the fabulous 5th Dimension having a golden day with Coke."
Yep, the copy really ended "with Coke" innocently enough. Wow ... if you used that line today, you'd be Twittered to death!
Ron Riley
Thanks, Kent ...
Sure would like to see Tommy and the guys again ... been quite a while ...  :O)
Later, my friend.
Barry
[Barry Winslow - The Royal Guardsmen]
Local fans can see Tommy live at The Genesee Theatre on Saturday, March 25th - be sure to check out our Buy One, Get One Free Ticket Offer at the top of this email.
By the way, I can assure everyone that Tommy sounds just as good today as he did back then ... and performs just as enthusiastically.  It's an incredible, high-energy show that'll have you on your feet for most of the night.  Add in the fact that the opening act is The Association and it just doesn't get much better than this.  A top-notch night of '60's music is guaranteed.  (Wish you could come in for the show, Barry ... it would blow you away!)  kk


Anyone remember this show?  MALIBU U?
It wasn't great but I did watch it back when I was 10.
If my memory is correct, Ozzie and Harriet had just gone off the air the year before.
Bill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZILEXvvGAM
I vaguely remember it ... but can't say that I actually watched it.  It was VERY short-lived ... but Rick had some GREAT guest stars on the program during its short time on the air. 
The program only ran for seven short episodes ... but check out this guest list along the way:
Episode One - Frankie Valli, Don Ho and Annette Funicello
Episode Two - Leonard Nimoy, Engelbert Humperdinck, Bobby Rydell, Mrs. Miller  and The Buffalo Springfield
Episode Three - James Darren and Harpers Bizarre
Episode Four - The Turtles, Lesley Gore and Lou Rawls
Episode Five - The Fifth Dimension, John Astin and The Sunshine Company
Episode Six - The Doors, Marvin Gaye, Chad and Jeremy and Lou Christie
Episode Seven - Dionne Warwick, Sandy Posey and Peter and Gordon
Naturally, Rick sang something every episode, too ... but by 1967 his chart hits had already stopped a few years earlier, thanks to The British Invasion.  Still, it WOULD be cool to see all these shows again!  (kk)

Kent,
I agree with what you said in today's FH. Why would Nancy Sinatra not sing two songs that she currently had out on the charts and were currently playing on the radio? Might be an interesting story behind that. Maybe trying to reach the audience of her dad?
Your WLS survey dated February 24th can be summed up in one word like every survey out at the time and that one word is VARIETY. What a variety of music being played on the radio back in the day.
The first thing I noticed on the survey was song positions 40 and 34, those being held down by Frankie Laine and Al Martino, respectively. Frankie Laine and Al Martino, not your traditional rock and roll singers, but singers nevertheless, that made records that made the surveys back in the day.
The only type of record missing from WLS that week were a country crossover and one designated as novelty. Here in the OKC area, there was no Frankie Laine or Al Martino, but Jack Jones was on the survey with a song called LADY. There was a country crossover from singer Jack Greene with THERE GOES MY EVERYTHING. The novelty? The record THE RETURN OF THE RED BARON made it's initial appearance on our survey at the bottom of the page. Our #1 record was AMY by Bobby Darin, the Pick Hit of the Week was LET'S FALL IN LOVE by Peaches and Herb with the Pick Album of the Week being IN CASE YOU'RE IN LOVE by Sonny and Cher.
One final thing speaking of Frankie Laine ... later on in 1967 he recorded the tune the Platters did called TO EACH HIS OWN, a version I completely liked.
You mentioned you might do a similar work in FH for the year 1971. I'd vote for that as well.
Larry
1967 was quite a year for Nancy Sinatra ... Sugar Town (#4), Love Eyes (#12), Lightning's Girl (#18), the theme song to the James Bond flick You Only Live Twice (#44) and hit duets with her father (Somethin' Stupid, #1) and her Producer Lee Hazlewood (Summer Wine, #49, Jackson, #13 and Lady Bird #20) ... so yes, VERY strange to have her singing OTHER people's music in a TV spot.
"Lady" by Jack Jones is a favorite of mine from '67 ... it reached #33 on the WLS Chart.
The thought of doing 1971 crossed my mind but I'm nowhere near ready to commit to it yet, now that I've seen just how much work putting this series together was.  Whereas I originally thought that by devoting an extensive amount of time to pre-writing the entire year last year would afford me the luxury of tons of free time THIS year, that just hasn't happened.  Periodic adjustments and corrections here and there, keeping the 1967 Bonus Material (like this one) coming and other incidental features like The Sunday Comments (covering topics other than 1967) as well as special announcements and features is probably now taking up MORE of my time than ever before!  But who knows ... I may get REAL ambitious some day ... and start putting together a series on 1971 while all the rest of you are sleeping!  You just never know.  (kk)

Hi Kent,
While thinking about the Sunday comments and pondering how to get Coppock in the same year as the rest of us, I remembered hearing Mother Weber’s Oldest Son Clark play “Do I Have To Come Right Out And Say It?” by Buffalo Springfield a few times.  It was the B-side of For What It's Worth.  It’s a great tune in its own right and showed another side of this band.  
Clark was part of my morning routine before heading off to high school.  Thanks, Clark, for being part of my life and having good set of ears.  
I’m sure Chet has some great 1967 stories to tell.  I’d like to hear one or two.
Tom
"Do I Have To Come Right Out And Say It" is a GREAT song ... hard to believe that was an example of early Neil Young writing ... great vocal, too (although I'm betting NOT by Neil!)  I don't recall ever hearing it on the radio ... but I played the heck out of it on my 45!  (Seems others liked it, too ... when we did our Favorite, Forgotten B-Sides Poll several years ago, this one came in at #65!)


I think it was a bit later on ... probably the following year ... that Chet Coppock became a roadie for The New Colony Six ... and he has told MANY stories of this exciting time ... being with the band in the studio at Chess Records while they cut their two biggest national hits, "I Will Always Think About You" and "Things I'd Like To Say" ... being called up on stage, wearing a white Afro wig to do his Wayne Cochran imitation ... and lots more.  Hopefully, he'll continue to chime in as we hit more highlights (sports and otherwise) as the series continues.  (Check out his Ides Of March review above ... outstanding!)
Damn!  It's already March!!!  We're just crankin' through this thing, aren't we???  (kk)

Our appearance on Mark Dawson's radio program "Making Noise With Mark Dawson" on OurGenerationRadio.com originally scheduled for tonight has been pushed back to next week ... please join us next Thursday Night when each of us will be picking ... and playing ... some of our favorite tracks from 1967 ...
You can check it all out right here ...
~ "Making Noise with Mark Dawson" featuring Kent Kotal and his best of 1967,
Thursday, March 9th, at 9 pm eastern time on OurGenerationRadio.com ~
We'll send you another reminder as we get closer to show time!  (kk)
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