Friday, July 28, 2017

1967 BONUS #35

We just hit the week where Davie Allan's "Blues' Theme" hit its peak of #3 on the WCFL Chart.

Incredibly, this record stayed on the chart for something like 23 weeks ... nearly HALF the year! ... yet only peaked at #27 nationally (#37 in Billboard) because it never had enough of the same momentum at the same time in all the necessary cities to make it as big a national hit as it should have been - yet it made The Top Five (and even #1) in a good many of them.  As such, it really shoulda been one of the biggest records of the year. Instead, it's just one of those songs that everybody remembers when they hear it - but an otherwise forgotten hit - the perfect example of what we do here!  (kk)


You really said it all here!!!
I have the chart from 8/24 that also shows it at #3. That means it did the same as it did here on KHJ. It went to #3 (from #19) and stayed there for four weeks. 
I'm actually doing another album. (I pulled myself back up after the nightmare that occurred with the previous one).
Thanks again, Kent -
Davie
And think about that ... August 24th is a full month LATER than the Chicagoland Chart we just ran!  And this is FOUR MONTHS after the record first starting charting back in April, where it also did very well in certain cities!!!  A perfect illustration of what I'm talking about.  
SO many artists got cheated out of enjoying the success of songs that should have been MUCH bigger hits than they were simply because of missing this "unified" momentum.  (We've got more than a few of them from right here in Chicago ... with perhaps none bigger than The Cryan' Shames' hit "It Could Be We're In Love", a #1 Record in Chicago for FOUR WEEKS ... yet a #85 record in Billboard.  It did reach #52 in Record World, however ... another 30-point spread ... which is why we still say there are NO charts more accurate than our Super Chart, which takes the data from ALL of the resources used to calculate the Billboard, Cash Box and Record World charts ... and compiles our own unique representation of what was REALLY going on on the music scene at the time.)  kk



Just a quick  reminder about the WLTL-FM radio special airing next Wednesday Night, August 2nd at 8 pm (central), celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Mod Night at Ravinia, which featured a then record-breaking crowd on hand to see The Association and The Mob perform live in concert.




RAVINIA’S MOD NIGHT 50TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2ND AT 8 PM ON WLTL-FM 88.1 AND STREAMING AT WLTL.NET.  (There will be a rebroadcast on Saturday, August 5th at 8 pm.)

For the 50th anniversary, Lyons Township High School’s radio station WLTL will present a special hosted by former WLS Program Director Michael La Crosse.  Note that a founding member of The MOB, Jim Holvay, is a Lyons Township alum from the class of ’63, an LT Hall Of Fame inductee and songwriter of some of The Buckingham’s biggest hits (including “Kind Of A Drag,” "Don't You Care," "Hey Baby, They're Playing Our Song" and "Susan".)


Chicagoans grew up enjoying Chickenman (He's everywhere! He's everywhere!) on Super 'CFL back in 1967.  
Well, noted media columnist Robert Feder is reporting that all of these episodes (can you believe there were 273?!?!?!) will be available thru a new podcast series starting on August 2nd!  (The series was created by Dick Orkin, who has done literally THOUSANDS of classic commercials in the years since.)  He came up with the idea of "The Most Fantastic Crime Fighter The World Has Ever Known" while working for WCFL in 1966.  His voice is instantly recognizable.
Twenty episodes of the classic serial spoof about The Winged Warrior will be available through the Earwolf Comedy Podcast Network (http://www.earwolf.com/), starting on August 2nd. The full 273 episodes of the original series will be available through Stitcher Premium Podcasts.  (http://www.stitcher.com/premium
And, you can catch over seven hours of Chickenman here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B863IdiQWMw  (That's a WHOLE lotta Chicken!!!)  kk

Rhino Records is celebrating The Summer Of Love in a very big way ...
They've started a 4-Part Summer Of Love Podcast ... and placed a number of items associated with The Sounds of '67 for sale on their website.  (This includes GREAT music by The Monkees, The Young Rascals, Arlo Guthrie's timeless classic "Alice's Restaurant", The Electric Prunes, Vanilla Fudge, Love, The Association and more.
You can check out all of the details here:

 

TUNE IN: SUMMER OF LOVE PODCAST, EPISODE 1

http://www.rhino.com/summer-of-love?cmpid=rn/2017July19/

RhinoNewsletter-TuneInSummerLov-main-image-

1&eml=2017July19/4052606/6134371&etsubid=39432925



It was a musical renaissance. It was a political awakening. It was the birth of the counterculture.
It was ... the Summer of Love.
In the first edition of our four-part podcast celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Summer Of Love, we'll dig in to the origins on both East and West coasts of the United States and set the mood with music from the Grateful Dead, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Arlo Guthrie, Love, and The Beau Brummels. Tune in here.
Feeling the groove?
Check out all the Summer of Love offerings here and head to your local record shop every Tuesday in July for new releases.

Speaking of The Summer of Love, our British DJ Buddy Geoff Dorsett has just recorded another Radio Special on the subject ... (this is fourth such special over the past six months!).  You can download the link through Dropbox and listen to it for yourself here:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/qlefx4q2itwoj4x/solid%20%20gold%20sixties%20_180717%20%20summer%20of%20love%20%204.mp3?dl=1

I've also heard that there's a "Summer Of Love" special running on PBS right now, too ... exploring the migration to San Francisco and the Haight / Ashbury area ... the beginning of the "hippie" movement ... the change to the music and the new concentration on peace and love ... and psychedelic colors and fashions.  (I haven't personally seen this one yet ... but check your local PBS listings to see if it's airing in your area.  It may even be available "On Demand".)

And be sure to check out the Decades Channel - available thru most cable outlets ... every Friday they're taking a look back at 50 years to 1967 ... this week (as in tonight!) they'll be profiling the music of The Beatles and the appeal of Batman.  (Check local listings for channel numbers and airtimes)  kk

Have you see the advertisements for the new film opening August 4th called "Detroit"?  It depicts the out-of-control riot scenes of 1967, deemed by many as the worst riot in our country's history.  Obviously a dramatized perspective but this looks like some pretty powerful stuff, intercut with actual footage from actual events.  Looks to me like something worth checking out ... again, despite all of the "Summer of Love" stuff going on, there was also a fair amount of hate and protest.  Hopefully this film puts all of this into perspective.  (kk)




Hi Kent:  

Didn’t know I had this one. Might save it for later. Should be familiar to you Chicago-ites!

Ken




Wow ... "Ode To Billie Joe" a Top Ten Hit on the SOUL Chart?!?!  (kk)


This week's 1967 chart of WLS is just so awesome, with SO many local band songs packed in, especially since most of them are in the top 20!  Time for the Shames to bypass the Bucks to the top.  Seeing "You Need Love" listed as #15 must mean that a typo took place, listing The Beatles as the artist.  Everyone knows "You Need Love" is an Ides song! Haha.

Is it time for a lawsuit, Jim?  When at the movies last week, I was "treated" (for lack of a better word) to the trailer of "My Little Pony: The Movie."  When the music kicked in, I took notice that it was another "Eye of the Tiger" ripoff. Check about a one minute into the trailer below.  

Clark Besch




Wow.  Thx for the heads up, Clark. 
Sounds like they dodged the bullet.  Just ...

You Need Love by the Beatles. Lol!  

Jimbo 


For some inexplicable reason, WLS listed "All You Need Is Love" as "You Need Love" and "It Could Be We're In Love" as "We're In Love" for each song's entire chart run. Never made sense to me - especially since these were both HUGE summer hits in '67.  (kk)

More good press for Harvey Kubernik's book ...






1967: A Complete Rock History of the Summer of Love, by Harvey KubernikSterling Publishing Co. 

The name Harvey Kubernik undoubtedly rings a bell with anyone who is moderately interested in rock history; as a journalist, he’s covered music for national — and international — publications for decades, additionally working in A&R for the MCA label and producing numerous records over the years. More recently, he published handsome coffee table books about Neil Young (Heart of Goldreviewed here at BLURT) and Leonard Cohen (Everybody Knowsditto here). With 1967, issued not-so-coincidentally just ahead of the much-ballyhooed 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love, he extends his authorial winning streak, once again in a colorful, graphics-rich 9 ¾” x 11 ½” coffee table format and once again well-stocked and – organized with text, commentary, archival, and interview materials that belie the general stereotype of “coffee table” book-as-mere-eye-candy.

In a nutshell, Kubernik, a longtime California resident who was making the nature(al) hippie scene back in the day, traces that epochal year, first introducing numerous major players of the era such as LSD prophet Timothy Leary, concert impresario Bill Graham, Elektra Records founder Jac Holzman, and members of the Jefferson Airplane, then pushing the narrative forward month by month via media accounts and firsthand quotes. Key events are highlighted, from the release of the Doors’ self-titled debut in January to the release of D.A. Pennebaker’s Bob Dylan documentary Don’t Look Back in May to the arrival of the first issue of Rolling Stone magazine in November. Along the way sundry key moments deserving of extended navel-gazing get their props — the Monterey Pop Festival, of course, which Kubernik previously documented in detail in a 2011 book, A Perfect Haze: The Illustrated History of the Monterey International Pop Festival; and, uh, a little album called Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band — but Kubernik puts plenty of energy into, and sets aside plenty of space for, smaller items on his sunshine checklist that he feels wielded an impact upon the times and the culture worth documenting.

To wit: The hippies of San Francisco may have dominated the conversation that year, but there was a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on in nearby L.A., where the Seeds were laying the, ahem, seeds for the eventual Nuggets-ian rediscovery of garage rock; across the continent in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where a collection of studio rats who would one day be known as “the Swampers” were creating sonic magic behind some of the Sixties’ greatest funk/soul voices; and halfway across the world, where a conflict in the split country known as Vietnam was steadily growing, and along with it, American G.I.s were learning how to leaven their terror and stress with marijuana and underground records.

One of my favorite tangents in the 266-page book arrives on page 206, where Kubernik details the rise of the underground press, including the aforementioned Rolling Stone, the Berkeley BarbRamparts, and The Realist. The latter wielded a huge influence on yours truly, ensnaring me in its us-against-The-Man!, oftentimes surreal / silly aesthetic. Meanwhile, Kubernik rightly points out that the mainstream (relatively speaking) media likes of Playboy provided plenty of coverage to the emerging counterculture and the people behind it, with musicians in particular leading the pack. Among all the naked women and bachelor pad gear reviews was coverage of Jimi and Otis, Janis and Grace, Ravi Shankar, Chris Darrow of the Kaleidoscope, and others.

Did I mention the graphics and layout? Oh boy. Suffice to say that the hot-pink-yellow-green neon-day-glow outer cover of this hardback is clue enough that a visual feast awaits one inside—as do stunning photos and eye-catching fonts, along with respondents’ quotes blocked off into their own sections, effectively allowing the reader to graze and skim at will, should that be desired, over start-to-finish consuming. That’s the coffee table-book factor working nicely in Kubernik’s favor alongside the hungry rock-geek effect.

Kubernik includes a four-page appendix, an alphabetized “Playlist” of tracks that no so-called self-respecting Scholar of Summer of Love would be caught dead without on their personal mixtape or Spotify roundup; for all you newbies out there, it gives you a chance to delve into far more than the usual suspects, given the presence of The Hombres (“Let It All Hang Out”), Friend & Lover (“Reach Out of the Darkness”), The Wild Cherries (“Krome Plated Yabbie”), and a slice of classic soul by the eternal James Carr that messes my mind up every time I hear it (“You Got My Mind Messed Up”). Throw in exhaustive quote sourcing for each chapter and an equally comprehensive bibliography that proves Kubernik is, first and foremost, a veteran reporter who personally interviewed most of the quoted individuals cropping up in his book’s pages, and you’ve got a scholarly tome that should be on the required reading list of any college course that purports to delve into the cultural history of the Sixties. [ —FRED MILLS]

And this one's coming up right around the corner (man, we are FLYING through 1967, aren't we?!?!)

FH Reader Fred Glickstein sent in this link to a newly enhanced mono mix of The Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour" soundtrack, available on Amazon.com.  (He says to be sure to read the comments ... you'll really appreciate them!)  kk

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

1967 BONUS #34

Hello, Kent!  
Chuck Buell here.
I was in a Bookstore over the weekend ...    
A Bookstore?!    
Yes, there still are a few of them around ...  
And I was just browsing their media section for fun ... when I  saw a prominent center display there which reminded me of you!    


For those who don't have their glasses handy  ~~  
The Dirty Dozen
The Graduate 
In The Heat of the Night 
Thoroughly Modern Millie 
Cool Hand Luke 
Bonnie and Clyde! 
I saw them all!   
When they were First Run in Movie Theaters!  
Whew!  
CB  ( which stands for “Charlie Bibliotheque!” )
1967 was an INCREDIBLE year for movies ... movies that have stood the test of time and still hold up very well today.  Some of my all-time favorites were released this year ... in addition to the ones you've listed above you can add "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" and "Jungle Book" to this list ... and those are just the ones that went to #1 on The Box Office List.  Also released that year were "To Sir, With Love", "Born Losers" (the first Billy Jack film), "In Like Flint", "Doctor Dolittle", the campy "Valley Of The Dolls", The X-Rated "I Am Curious ... Yellow", "Hombre", "In Cold Blood", "Hotel", "Warning Shot" (one of my favorites, starring David Janssen), "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly", "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying", "A Guide For The Married Man" (my first boob shot!), "Barefoot In The Park", "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre", "Wait Until Dark", "Up The Down Staircase" and "The Flim Flam Man".
We also had "The Ambushers" (Dean Martin's first Matt Helm film), the James Bond spoof "Casino Royale" (as well as the REAL James Bond film "You Only Live Twice") , "Camelot", The Bob Dylan Documentary "Don't Look Back", John Lennon's solo film, "How I Won The War" and at least three or four forgettable Elvis movies.  (kk)

It's almost time for Tommy James' "Real Girl" commercials to start splattering the airwaves.  Expected to likely be a two sided winner, the commercial won for more played one minute side (as a commercial) and "Getting Together" won as the hit single soon now to follow the great "I Like The Way." I usually played the heck out of Tommy James' B sides anyway. 

Here's what we heard over and over on AM top 40 starting about now
 

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Talk about some groovy looks ahead below in August 19, 1967, Billboard!





Just some amazing music on the WLS chart this week in '67!  I can't look at this chart enough and see how cool that was.  A note also on "Blues' Theme" as aired on WLS.  
When they played the record on air, they completely cut out the motorcycle opening.  Mr. Weber, do you know why?  WLS did do a few edits occasionally, such as "Those Were the Days" by Mary Hopkin.  One that WLS played the whole version and WCFL edited was "Ballad of Bonnie & Clyde."  For some reason, 'CFL edited the gunfire part.  Of course, 'CFL was all about more music via mini spins and twin spins and short edits that kept the songs changing faster. 
"Excerpt from a Teenage Opera" was an absolute fave of mine when it was out.  WLS played it on the Brit Billboard show and WKYC Cleveland also played it in regular rotation then.  The DJ 45 here in the states featured a full and 2+ minute edit.  It took quite a while to find it in stereo and I was so happy to finally get it.
Also mentioned this week in Forgotten Hits ...
I got to see Eddie Matthews play for the Astros in the Astrodome just a month from now, in August, 1967!  
Cool, since he hit most of his HRs with Braves and I am a lifelong Braves fan.
Clark Besch 

Hi Kent: 
Found another Summer of ’67 survey from North of The Border!!! 
Ken

Looks pretty reflective of what was going on here in Chicago at the time ... a few of our locals are represented (The Buckinghams, The American Breed, The Mauds, Michael and the Messengers) ... and it looks like they didn't spend a lot of time proof reading their charts either ... "Pleasant Valley SUNSHINE" by The Monkees ?????  (kk)

>>>Wednesday, August 2nd will be the 50th anniversary of the first “Mod Night” at Ravinia.  Mod is a term used in the sixties for young people subculture and liking of soul music.  On August 2, 1967, Ravinia featured The MOB the first hour and The Association the second hour.  The MOB is the first group from Chicago to incorporate a full horn section and are now known as Chicago’s original horn rock band.  At the time, The Association had the number one song “Windy” to add to their hits “Along Comes Mary” and “Cherish.”  This event set an all-time attendance record of 17,320. The previous record was 14,142 on July 24, 1959, with the Kingston Trio and Gerry Mulligan.  The attendance record was mentioned in the Chicago Tribune and suburban newspapers.  For the 50th anniversary, Lyons Township High School’s radio station WLTL will present a radio special -  RAVINIA’S MOD NIGHT 50TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL WILL AIR ON WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2ND AT 8PM ON WLTL-FM 88.1 ... AND STREAMING AT WLTL.NET.  http://www.wltl.net/   (Mike Baker)  
>>>Thanks, Mike!  We actually commemorate The Association breaking the attendance record that night on our August 2nd calendar page as well.  (I didn't know, however, that The Mob were the opening act for this event so I have quickly added this information to our posting.) kk Have you heard of the TV show “The Mod Squad”?  The term “mod” was used in the sixties.  This concert was Ravinia’s first attempt to attract the youth to their venue.  And attract, Ravinia did.  The all-time attendance record was published in the Chicago Tribune on August 3, 1967, and a review August 4, 1967.  Analysts thought because of The MOB being a show band and The Association a pop band, was the formula for the attendance record.  Many suburban newspapers also published the attendance record the day after (Daily Herald, Roselle, Kenosha, etc) 
Included is the Chicago Tribune clipping along with the WLTL splash. 
Mike






Still being 13 on August 2nd, 1967, I wasn't even aware of who, what or where Ravinia was ... but other folks sure knew as the venue packed them in to see this special line-up.  (Considering that in 1967 The Mob hadn't even charted yet and there were several other far more successful local bands to choose from at the time who had hit records on the charts during this era, it's a bit surprising that The Mob were selected above all the others ... and this very well can be another perfect example of them not being able to capitalize on a golden, high-profile opportunity to leap ahead of all the others ... especially since member Jim Holvay was already writing Top Five Hit Songs for The Buckinghams at the time.  It sounds like those involved with the Chicago Club Scene certainly knew who they were ... including many of the members of these bands who would go on to be influenced by them like The Ides Of March and Chicago.  The Mob deserved a better fate ... check out Carolyn's letter below, too.  (kk)

Dear Kent,  
Great to see the photo of "The Mob" when they opened for The Association!.  
When they first came out, I saw them play at the old" GiGi A Go Go" in Lyons, IL, and did they ever put on one FANTASTIC show ... I was sure they would become more popular than they did!  
I am fortunate to have their album with their only hit "I Dig Everything About You".  Every song on that album was "Groovy", as we used to say!!!    
A true bunch of talented guys. 
Thank you for the memories of them!!!  
Carolyn  
The Mob's record only reached #83 on The Billboard Chart but was a Top 20 Hit here in Chicago on WCFL.  (Surprisingly, WLS, who ALWAYS supported our local talent, didn't play the record.)  As popular as they were and as big a draw as they were, I've never understood why they didn't score bigger on the national scene.  (Maybe folks just couldn't accept the idea of Mob Hits on the musical level.)  kk
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Here are a couple of Mob stories to add to your Ravinia special!  Wish I could have been there with Mr. Holvay!  
Of course, I would ask (see attached) how Uncle Lar treated the Mob AND how the Vogues could ever follow the action packed Mob set?

How cool ... we were just down in Bloomington / Normal this past weekend to see The Cornerstones Of Rock show. 
It sounds like all these guys (The Shadows Of Knight, The New Colony Six, The Cryan' Shames, The Buckinghams and The Ides Of March) all have fond memories of playing in and around Illinois State University back in the day ... and this was a nice nostalgic trip for them again after all these years.  (And they had a BEAUTIFUL night for an outdoor concert ... couldn't ask for better weather ... and a packed, enthusiastic crowd.)  kk   

The Romantics Guitarist / Vocalist / Songwriter 
Michael Skill To Release New Solo Single “67 Riot” 
New song evokes time when Detroit burned during“Summer of Love”

Detroit - From the man who crafted such hit singles as “What I Like About You,” “Talking in Your Sleep,” and “One In A Million,” comes a new gritty blues-rock single about the riots that forever changed his hometown of Detroit in 1967. Michael Skill, who has played both bass and guitar for the power-pop rock 'n' roll band The Romantics, was a budding teenager in 1967 when five days of racially charged riots tore apart Detroit in July. When it was over, 43 people lay dead, 1,189 had been injured, more than 7,200 had been arrested and more than 2,000 buildings had been destroyed. 
Skill lived on Detroit's East Side and says that although the violence took place several miles from his home, he nonetheless saw its effects up close. “I remember the National Guard right down the street from my house,” he says. “People watching the riots on TV were afraid that rioters would come into our neighborhood. People were freaked out.” The riots changed his beloved Motor City forever. “A lot of my friends' families took off for the suburbs after that,” he says, noting his family chose to stay in the city.
The riot's effects – and the fact that many of the issues they raised, from police brutality to economic decay – stayed with Skill, culminating in his desire to write “67 Riot.” Loud, powerful and evocative of tough tunes by such rockers as Link Wray, Jimi Hendrix and Skill's fellow Detroit rockers, The MC 5, “67 Riot” is both a haunting look at the past as well as a timely allusion to the present, in a world where racial and social tension still threaten to rend our nation in two. 
“I wrote the song from a sense of frustration that people never came together after the riots to really address what happened, to look each other in the eye and say, 'How can we repair this? How can we move forward?'” The song's lyrics are written from this point of view. “4 AM / Down the street / Cops roll in / With all the heat / Blind pig roaring / Kickin' their heels / Soldiers home / Just gettin' real,” the song opens. “Rooftop sniper / Set the sight / Burning cocktails / Flash in flight / Broken city / Broken dreams  / Things aren't always what they seem/67 Riot!” 
Recorded in Skill's own studio, the song features him on guitar, bass and vocals, and also features drummer Russell Ayers, who engineered the tune. The co-producers sought to create an aural equivalent of what it was like to live through this violent time, Skill says, but he adds that he wanted the song to end on a note of hope because Detroit has rebounded in recent years. 
“Try to warm your heart / Dream your dreams / Break the chain / Let's start clean,” he adds in his song, noting it’s time to break the chain of racism that has shackled generations before, during and after “67 Riot.” 
“'67 Riot” first single solo release from upcoming Debut LP.
The Romantics are still touring, still recording and currently feature three original band members on the front line up, Rich Cole, Wally Palmar and co-founder Michael Skill. Drummer Brad Elvis joined The Romantics in 2004 and has been the longest seated drummer with the band. Rich Cole rejoined the band in 2010, reviving the band's 3-part harmony allowing The Romantics to perform songs from their first two albums live for the first time since his departure. 
To purchase Michael Skill's “'67 Riot” single:
Social Media:
Interviews:



Much has been done over the past fifty years to romanticize The Summer Of Love (no Romantics pun intended) ... we tend to only want to remember the good that happened ... the happy sounds ... the flowers in your hair ... but it was also a very turbulent time in America.  There was a war raging halfway around the world that more and more Americans were beginning to describe as "senseless" and "unwinable".  And there were problems right here at home, too, with race riots breaking out in cities across the country ... perhaps none worse than Detroit.  The devastation there was tremendous.
Skill's song has an angry feel to it ... but imagine being a young boy at the time, watching your streets being torn up right before your eyes ... a truly helpless and confusing feeling.
Our 1967 calendar celebrates the joy of 1967 ... but also touches on some of the hate that was going on during The Summer Of Love.  It's embarrassing in hindsight to think that so many Americans acted this way.  Over the last couple of decades, we seen Americans rally together to show the world "the heart of America" with a renewed patriotism thanks to others around us trying to have their way with our great country.  As such it's almost impossible to believe that at one point we were willing to tear it apart from the inside out with some of the senseless acts going on right here at home.  Some of the footage shown in this video should help to bring some of this home to you, some fifty years later.  America needs to stand together.  Hopefully we're smarter than this now.
The big catch phrase of the '60's was "We're Gonna Change The World" ... and we did ... just not always for the better.  (kk)