Kristin & Danny's shout out to America and some of their favorite cities and states!
July 3, 2017
by Rollye James
and
Claude Hall
Chuck Buell: “Happy Fourth of July to you! (The above video) has been around for a couple of
years, so it's more than possible you've seen it before, but it's still fun!”
Rollye: “If the featured lip syncing duo isn’t familiar to you, you haven’t been paying much
attention to Facebook and YouTube. It’s the work of Kristin & Danny Adams who are
dedicated to making fun, family friendly videos. They have well over 700,000 Facebook likes
“Stateside we’re celebrating the 4th on Tuesday, but today (Monday July 3rd) it’s the statutory
holiday for Canada Day (which is actually July 1st, but when it falls on a Saturday or Sunday
the official day off is the following Monday). Either way, North America is celebrating as I
type.
"And I can't leave out this tidbit: Philadelphia is
also celebrating Jerry Blavat's birthday today.
The Geator With The Heator was born on
July 3, 1940. Happy Birthday, Jerry!
At 77, he hasn't slowed down a bit. Tonight
he'll be at the club he owns at the Jersey
Shore, Memories in Margate. I think his next
gig-free night falls on Labor Day. If you
haven't already, you might wantto read his
book. There are more than a few
revelations that will make you chuckle.
Click on the cover to your left for a good
price from Amazon.
“I’ve heard a lot of people mention this Canada Day as being special being it’s the 150th. But
it’s not. Far be it from me, an American, to debate this, but growing up, I vividly remembered
celebrating Dominion Day north of the border. The internet backs me up on this. It is the
150th anniversary of Canada becoming a self-governing dominion of Great Britain, but the
name change from Dominion to Canada day came shortly after July 1, 1982 with the passage
of the Constitution Act. Read about why Canada Day is not the same as Canadian
Independence Day here and let the discussion begin. Warren Cosford has a more personal
take. In addition to his many accomplishments, Warren has a huge mailing list (actually more
than one). And not surprisingly, a number of folks on both sides of the border partake in his
forum:”
Warren Cosford: “A few List Members have, in one way or another, a special relationship with
both Canada and the U.S. Bob Segarini calls himself a ‘Canarican’. Bob in TO is one of
quite a few on The List. Others that I know of are Kathie and Nance in Toronto. They are
Americans living in Canada. On the other hand, there are a couple of List Members who came
to Canada and then went back home to the U.S. They are Michael in Boston, Tom in
Nashville and Scott in Virginia. Then again, there are other Canadians who have gone to the
U.S. and stayed. They are Wayne in N.Dak, George in Fl, John in NY, Denise in San Fran.
AND two Canadians who have gone to the U.S. and come back to Canada. Bob in Kitchener
is one and I am the other. And finally....there are many Canadians who have homes in both
Countries usually because they live in the U.S. in the wintertime....almost always in Florida or
Arizona. I have no idea how many there are but.....many.
“Bob the Canarican and I have a relationship that goes back to 1977. I was the Program
Director of CHUM-FM and Bob Segarini was the lead singer in a band that came to Canada
from California. Ironically we first met when Jack Scott, a Canadian who moved to the U.S.,
came to perform at a Club in Toronto called The Edge. Jack had always thought of himself as
a Country Singer who became successful as an early Rock & Roller. Many of Jack's Fans
though, thought of him as a Rockabilly Star. But now in 1977, one of his songs, The Way I
Walk, had been covered by both Robert Gordon and The Cramps. Suddenly Jack discovered
he was a Punk Rock Pioneer and was invited to perform at a New Wave Club. Go figure.
“Segarini and I first met at a lunch for Jack. We hit it off. So when, a little later, CHUM
purchased City-TV and I became co-Executive Producer of the CHUM-FM/City-TV Concert
Simulcasts, I figured that, after his years in Canada, Bob was Canadian enough for us to
produce a show with him. It was fabulous. So....when I needed to hire a new announcer for
CHUM-FM I thought Bob might be the ideal choice for an experiment. Might a Lead Singer of
a Rock Band become a great D.J? He did! Now.....in his Curmudgeon Years, Bob has also
become an excellent writer of Essays. Happy Canarican Day!”
Rollye: “Check out Bob’s take on Canada Day here. But wait, there’s more. Particularly
when it comes to Jack Scott….”
Warren Cosford: “Everyone here has OPINION on The Greatest Canadian Rock and Roll
Performers. But if we are talking about "competition" shouldn't it be decided by "criteria"?
In other words.....what does it take to be considered great? What are your
ACCOMPLISHMENTS? In Music, doesn't that begin with the number of records you have
sold and how many of your songs have been charted? Let's see if we can come up
with Criteria..... For PERFORMERS:
“1) Career Dates: The earlier you began your success, the more points you achieve. Making
Rock and Roll Records in The '50s when many churches were burning them and many radio
stations were smashing them......did not appear to be a long term career option. [5 points for
Pre-1955 (true pioneer), 4 points for 1956-1959 (Elvis takes it Mainstream), 3 points for
1960-1963 (post Payola Hearings), 2 points for 1964-1975 (contributing to The Beatle Wave
or succeeding in spite of it), 1 point for 1975-Present (being inspired by Everyone)
2) Number of Top 40 Chart Records (Billboard) One point for each record.
3) You ALSO wrote/co-wrote (one point for each Top 40 record)
4) You ALSO Produced (one point for each Top 40 record )
5) You ALSO played a Musical Instrument (one point for each Top 40 record)
6) If Canadian shouldn't we also give you an extra point for each Hit Record you had prior to
The Canadian Content Regulations?
7) And finally....shouldn't we give you a point for each decade that you were able to earn a
living as a Musician?
“Under that criteria.....in The Canadian Top 10 FOR SURE.......would be a man who had 19
Billboard Magazine chart records in the 41 months from June 1958 to November 1961. 4 of
them were Top 10 Gold Records. In the years since he has toured the world and most recently
Headlined Shows in England, France, Spain and Las Vegas. He also has a new album
produced in Finland in 2016. In August 2017....at the age of 82....he will be performing an
annual show before thousands in Warren Michigan.......he will then be boarding a plane to,
once again, perform in Hemsley England.
“At other times over the years he was just one of The Headliners. This year he is the only
Headliner. Because, with the deaths of The Chucks, The Bobbys, The Buddys and too many
more..... As a true Rock & Roll Pioneer..... He may well be..... The Last Man Standing. He is
Windsor Ontario born Jack Scott.
Rollye: “I got a kick out of seeing “Charlie Rich Jr.” on the bill. When I worked with
Charlie, his namesake young son was a good looking, talented kid who went out of his way to
separate himself from his dad. Professionally, Charlie Jr. was known as Allan Rich. I’ve still
got one of the albums Epic released. I don’t know if Charlie Sr. was still alive when Allan
became Charlie Jr., on stage, but I know he’d be proud.
Ron Brandon: “Hi Rollye...saw you mention couple weeks ago re working with Charlie
Rich. The enclosed promotional item was given to my by the Epic rep about 1972 or so when
I was OM at WJDJ (WSAI-FM) Cincy. Recall going out to a famous supper club about mid
afternoon and sharing a few cocktails with Charlie as he sat at the piano and plunked a few.
Just a great opportunity to chat..really enjoyed it. This was about the time of ‘Behind Closed
Doors.’
Ron Brandon: “And the actual LP included in the cover was a Charlie Rich album.”
Rollye: “I’ll bet that was the work of Julie Godsey. She would have been the local Epic
promo person in Cincy back then— the first female that Epic hired in that role anywhere. By
that time she would have been about 50 years old with a ton of local radio, tv and performing
experience behind her. And no doubt about it, Julie is responsible for “Behind Closed Doors”
crossing over to pop. Johnny Randolph, the legendary WAKY Louisville PD was a big
Charlie Rich fan. When “Behind Closed Doors” came out, she remembered and quickly sent
him a copy. Randolph was equally quick to play it. Ron’s reminiscence of Charle playing
and drinking in an intimate setting was the real Charlie Rich. He eventually got used to the
large venues, but his heart was always at a smoky, rundown, out of the way piano bar.
“So sorry to note that Paul Berlin passed away after a brief
illness. He was well known to Houston radio fans for over 60
years, coming to KNUZ there in 1950. A big money offer from
KILT in the latter 50s could not lure Paul, who remained on
1230 AM until 1974 when he shifted to the FM side of the
operation, KQUE. (In 1997, he went to KSEV, then to KBME
(790, the former KULF among others) in 2001, and back to
KSEV for a weekend show until last year.) ‘Household name’
is a hackneyed phrase, but to long term Houstonians, he was
that and more. Here’s the obit from the chronicle.
“In conjunction with a study on the growth of smart speaker use, last week I was musing about
the unlimited possibilities for fun that jocks could have by prefacing commands or remarks
with “Alexa” (and her ilk). Jay weighed in:”
Jay Melnick: “So you have the TV on late night and on comes a spot for one of those late
night sex talk phone numbers. Hello.. my name is, you guessed it, "Alexa”… please call 1
800-555-1212 , now and me or one of my friends will be happy to talk with you....... Hell,
they could tell Alexa to call one of those very expensive off shore numbers… Just a thought.”
Rollye: “There’s really no limit to the frivolity. But while I was writing about it in Vox Jox for
6/26/17, Tom Taylor Now on the same date had some very interesting insight from Dick
Taylor:”
Dick Taylor: “As I study the Voice-Activated Devices, I see a problem for radio of its own
making.” Which is – branding. The blogger and educator observes that consolidation and the
PPM tempted radio operators into thinking they could worry less about branding (and spending
money to market and promote). But now, with Amazon, Google and soon Apple offering smart
speakers for the kitchen counter, unaided recall is back. How is your Kiss, Frog, Hog, Jack
etc. different than other such brands all over the world? When you say ‘Hey, Siri,’ that
matters.” Read the latest from Dick Taylor here.
Don Whittemore: “Rollye & Claude: Thanks to you--both--for keeping the darkness that
results from dim memories out of our lives.
Claude Hall (answering Peter McLane’s question from last week): “Dr. Bob has finished his
book "Hitbound," but now is doing a final edit on it. I'll keep you posted. He mentions me
and Woody Roberts and Joey Reynolds all over the place! Lee Baby Simms is the hero, of
course. Although it focuses mostly on the WDRC v. WPOP bout, it's really about all radio and
all such radio battles. A damned good book. Entertaining as well as informational in nature.
I've been a bit ill of late. Getting better though and hope to take my charming wife Barbara out
for eggs benedict in the next few days. It's just that it's difficult to plan things definitively at
age 84. Keep up the good work.”
Rollye: “It’s also hard to plan anything in this unrelenting heat. I hope Claude is able to stay
cool (and I wish I could take that advice myself— my air conditioning is out again at home—
down for the final count, I’m afraid. Had to happen just before the long weekend with
temperatures around 110. This time I’m uploading the column from the LaQuinta in
Scottsdale. That way both Jon and Cleo (our last remaining Bernese Mountain Dog of the five
we’ve had) can join me for a few nights of decent sleep). It’s great to hear from Claude Hall
any time he’s up to joining in, but even when he’s not, know that you’re on his mind and in his
heart. As far as I’m concerned, this will forever be his column.”
Mel Phillips: “I love those photos of the WC reunion, especially Bob Wilson's beard. Hey
Bob: You're supposed to grow that in the winter, not the summer... Had a long conversation
with Art Vuolo who teased me by playing some of the audio of his WRKO 50th video. Not
only did he capture the dinner but he also was in studio for the 4 hour broadcast we did on June
3. Art is sending a sample DVD to me this week. As soon as it's finalized I will send out
pricing and ordering details…”
Rollye: “A follow up email from Mel came almost immediately with good news. The 2 CD
set is already available. Here’s a 5 minute preview of what you’ll see:
Can't see it? Click here.
Mel Phillips: “Radio's best friend, Art Vuolo has delivered on his promise of completing a
souvenir DVD of the WRKO 50th Anniversary Weekend before the end of June. If you were
there July 2 & 3, 2017, you'll want a memento of two special evenings. Highlights of both the
dinner & 4-hour broadcast on WRKO have been captured in this once-in-a-lifetime event. We
said that by the end of June we would have it done and ready to order, and it is! The
WRKO 50th Anniversary Reunion Video! The best parts of the entire June 2 & 3, 2017
weekend are on TWO DVD's in a special double disc set. Here is what it looks like:
Mel Phillips: “The videos of both came out very well, with direct clean audio and the picture
is 16X9 wide-screen from an HD feed. It will play on any standard DVD player. To order
your copy simply click on this link. We have decided to donate $5.00 from every order to
The Broadcasters Foundation of America, a non-profit organization to provide financial aide to
retired broadcasters in need. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Art Vuolo
via e-mail here or phone at (248) 926-1234. We hope this video composite will bring back
many happy memories of an unforgettable weekend in Boston! Don't get shutout. Order
NOW.”
Rollye: “Truly a collector’s item, and I’m sure that everyone involved with WRKO over the
years who couldn’t make it last month will be there in spirit thanks to Art Vuolo’s work.
“Can’t close the column without a plug for the Late Joey Reynolds’ show. If you missed last
night’s episode…”
“And if you missed any other show, they’re all online at SundayNightLive.com —I still don’t
have an answer as to why the second online-only hour isn’t archived along with the radio show
and I’ve had a few people rattle my cage about it. So Joey, Jay, anybody?… Maybe we’ll
find out in time for next week’s column. Until then, enjoy the holiday, no matter where you are
or what you're celebrating.”
