Oldies News for 26 February 2012

I know I've been a bit errant in posting recently, but I've been putting the finishing touches on my first book -- and have just received word that it's being considered for publication!!
Now ... let's get on with today's oldies news, okay?:

IT'S NOT UNUSUAL: Welsh superstar Tom Jones is currently filming his role as an aging British Teddy Boy in a television drama there. "King Of The Teds" is scheduled to air in the spring.

Famed guitarist, composer/arranger and singer Billy Strange (in the pic on your left with some unnamed singer ...) died this past Wednesday in Nashville from an unnamed illness at the age of 81. As a member of Hollywood's famed "Wrecking Crew" (the best of the best studio musicians), Billy played on sessions for Frank and Nancy Sinatra, the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds", the Everly Brothers and others. He also arranged the Partridge Family's "I Think I Love You." As a composer, he co-wrote Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation" and "Memories." Billy was enshrined into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Musicians Hall of Fame two years later.

Congrats to the newest inductees into the Songwriters Hall of Fame! These were announced this past Wednesday: Gordon Lightfoot, Bob Seger, Jim Steinman (Meatloaf's "Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad"), country writer Don Schlitz (Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler") and Harvey Schmidt & Tom Jones (not the singer mentioned earlier) of Broadway's "The Fantastiks." Ceremonies will take place on 14 June in New York City.

Al DeLory, who gave us 1970's "Song From M*A*S*H" and co-wrote the hit, "Please Mr. Custer" (and, to answer a longstanding question: No, it wasn't Slim Pickens who sang that song. The performer was Larry Verne), died on 5 February, aged 82. An amazingly-talented producer and arranger, he worked with such varied artists as Glen Campbell (with whom he won two Grammy Awards), The Turtles and The Lettermen.

And Elton John was forced to cancel concerts at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas this past weekend after coming down with a case of food poisoning. The Rocket Man denied reports that he cancelled to attend Whitney Houston's funeral. He's expected to be okay for his next concert later this week-- in Guadalajara, Mexico (psst ... hey, Elton, remember: don't drink the water!).

LIFT THEM UP, PEOPLE:  This week, two of the most angellic people whom God ever allowed to walk on this planet will be leaving Music Mountain on a lonnnng trip -- to reunite one with her husband who is returning after a year's stint with our forces in Afghanistan.  Do this Eagle a favour and keep both of them in your prayers, thoughts and send out those good vibrations you're known for, okay??

Thanks ...
I'll see you on the flip side ...

New Hour, More Oldies News ...

Yep ... even MORE news to report:

As you probably have already heard, the rock duo of America received their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on 6 February. These guys still sound as good as in their hayday back in the 1970s!

Of course, Sir Paul McCartney unveiled his star on the Walk three days later. Oddly, he's the last of the Beatles to be honored with a solo star. (Oh, yeah ... Ringo -- the only other surviving member of the Fab Four -- was scheduled to attend but was feeling under the weather.)

And get this: It's just been announced that Paul will have a walkon role soon on the AMC cable TV show, "Mad Men"!

BTR also sends condolences to Cher, whose adopted father, Gilbert LaPiere, died 14 February in Oklahoma City, aged 88.

Now, this is good: As you know, one of the premier fight songs in football has been Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll Pt. II".

You know I have no use for anyone who molests children, including Paul Gadd (the guy's real name) -- and, apparently, the New England Patriots agree!

They normally use that song whenever they make a touchdown, right?? But, for the Superbowl, they refused to use it because they thought it was inappropriate to reward Gadd with tens of thousands of dollars in royalties in light of his past child sexual abuse convictions!
"Inappropriate" is right ... especially since there he's still being investigated for perhaps more charges!!
 And, suddenly, the Eagle, he is a Patriots fan (though he knows nothing about football himself) ...

And most classic rock fans already know that Reg Presley, lead singer of the Troggs ("Wild Thing", "Love Is All Around"), who was hospitalized with his second stroke in December, has now been diagnosed with lung cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy. According to the wild front man, "I've had to call time on the Troggs and retire."
Get Well wishes can be sent to Reg in care of his fan club secretary. Here's the address:

Jacqueline Ryan
56 Waite Davies Rd.
London SE12 OND

Now ... whaddya say we meet back here tomorrow at ... ohh, around this time, okay??

Until then, I'll ... see ya on the flip side ...
Great Britain

In Oldies News At This Hour ...

Whilst the world mourns the loss of Whitney Houston and also is still savouring last week's Grammys® , there are other things going on in the music world:

Singer/songwriter Dory Previn -- one-time wife of composer/conductor Andre Previn-- who gave us the lyrics for Dionne Warwick's hit, "Theme From The Valley Of The Dolls" and the Oscar-nominated "Come Saturday Morning" from the movie "The Sterile Cuckoo" (a hit for the Sandpipers), died this past Tuesday at her home, aged 86.

Geez ... one day we'll be shocked when a performer doesn't sue their record label for underpaid royalties on the new digital downloads! The latest one to do it is Kenny Rogers, who filed his lawsuit against Capitol/EMI in Nashville the day before yesterday. He's seeking at least $400G!

Congrats to all the "oldies" artistes who won at the Grammys® on Sunday night! They included Tony Bennett (who won 2 ... at, I believe, 86 years old?), Booker T. Jones, Bruce Springsteem, Paul McCartney and Levon Helm. Of course, Bruce, Paul, Glen Campbell and the Beach Boys all performed live on the telecast!
Whilst everyone was digging the "Good Vibrations" of the re-formed BB (yes, even Brian Wilson!!), the place went postal when Glen Campbell (who's suffering from early stages of Alzheimer's) took the stage during a tribute to him. He sang "Rhinestone Cowboy" perfectly!

The Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame made a mistake during their induction ceremonies (D-UH!) but corrected it this past Thursday! They've included six groups previously ignored when their lead singers were inducted. Bill Haley's Comets, Buddy Holly's Crickets, Gene Vincent's Blue Caps (PS the named themselves after President Eisenhower's famous golf cap), Smokey Robinson's Miracles, Hank Ballard's Midnighters and James Brown's Famous Flames will all enter the Hall officially on 14 April.

I'll continue our trip around the rock world tomorrow, so, until then (huh?? Yes, I'm real busy today ... very special assignment!!), remember:
Keep your eyes on the skies, your feet on the ground, watch out for telephone poles ... er, your heart with the Good Lord and ...

I'll see ya on the flip side ...

The Thaxton Effect (Pt. 2)

In January, 2003, a neat little book hit the market. From a distance (without glasses), looked like just another self-help novel, wrapped in a cheery red-on-white cover.

Then, as you got closer, you saw the authors' names at the bottom -- and just knew that this wasn't going to be just any book. It had ... Lloyd Thaxton as a co-writer!
I'd already gotten a copy of Stuff Happens (full name: "Stuff Happens [and then you fix it!"] 9 Reality Rules to Steer Your Life Back in the Right Direction" See, they still had some blank space on the cover ...) and within a few months it was already worn out. Not only did I read it from cover to cover but took notes, shared it with friends, then got on the interweb and told others about it!
Anyway, it was so worn-out that Uncle Lloyd sent me a brand new, autographed copy -- and now its pages are getting dog-eared (nothing against dogs, by the way. If they're reading this, they'll understand ...).
It's a mix of some great inspiration and ideas and that inimitable Thaxton style of writing (he always wrote like he talked-- in such a casual, upbeat, positive style, as if the reader/listener were his closest friend). My favorite sections? To Change Your Life (Change Your Mind) and Choose: The Power to Choose Comes From Within immediately come to mind ...
Now, if I were to count the number of people he and John (Alston, co-writer) helped through this book, we'd be here for the next year or two, at least. I toldja the man really knew how to make a positive impact.

Lloyd Thaxton, the blogger, was no different from LT the teen host, producer or writer. He was personable, alive with ideas, witty, and completely, 100% authentic (a quality rarely seen in personal pages these days).
Now, if you have a blog or site, you'll know there's a page editor called a WYSIWYG, meaning What You See Is What You Get. In other words, "the real deal".
That was Lloyd. What we "saw" on our monitor screen was the actual, bonafide man himself. No additives, no artificial color or flavor. And each of his posts were actually riveting. Not only was the man an excellent word-weaver, but each entry was so interesting that we couldn't wait to see what he'd write next!
He was a true friend to all his readers (again, the impact!), and told me once that, if one had a problem, loss or worry, he felt it. He'd even make a point to personally email some of them, as well. Talk about an authentic heart ... Uncle Lloyd had it ...

Soon, the Chief decided to make even more of his growing blog ("growing". As in "leaps and (no)bound(arie)s") by introducing a unique and fun webside kaffeklatsche we eventually called The Mouse Clique (in honor, I worked up that little logo you saw at the top of this segment).
Here's what Lloyd said in an email from April 2, 2006:

"I want to keep the dialogue going. Though there are already
4,567,532,936,001 bloggers on the web. I've decided to make it
4,567,532,936,002 by starting up my own exclusive group. Based on 'The
Frank Sinatra-Dean Martin-Sammy Davis Jr, RAT PACK' of the 60s, I've
named my little ensemble 'The Lloyd Thaxton MOUSE PACK'"

A little later, he figured, out of respect for Frank, Dean, Sammy, Peter and Joey, he'd rename our little confab "The Mouse Clique" instead. Besides, what do you do but click a mouse, right? (provided it's the computer type. Otherwise, it can get messy ...)
And many came, from near and far, to hear the words of the wise one. Then they'd stop by the Clique and enjoy themselves ...
Today, it's an honor to continue the Mouse Clique in Uncle Lloyd's memory. As Cliquers begin to return to the fold (and tell others about the blog! From social groups and email addresses to MySpace to Twitter and Facebook, send out the invites, mousers!), we can keep Lloyd's words, thoughts and persona alive for many clicks (not "-ques". That's ours!) to come!
A special thanks to the lovely Barbara Thaxton and my main man Gary Belich for their help and inspiration in getting TMC online.
Lloyd Thaxton was more than a friend, more than a writer, more than a producer or TV host.
Thaxton ... was a man who had more positive IMPACT than we ever imagined! And the world's all the better for it ...

Stay tuned ...

The Thaxton Effect

Recently, a reader messaged me on Facebook® and said he'd heard me talk about Lloyd Thaxton. Well, since he's only in this thirties and Uncle Lloyd was my mentor and best friend until he passed, I thought I'd bring a couple of articles out of the archives for his, and others', enjoyment. RIP, Chief ... we all still miss you!:


Awwww ... who wouldn't just love to have that little, streetwise kid come stay with you?
Of course, it was just Uncle Lloyd, dressed to the nines (okay ... to the threes, then) and on calloused knees, cutting up as always.
And it was that type of zaniness, combined with the most awesome emceeing in teen showdom, that won everybody -- from studio to TV and radio audiences -- over.

Recently, I did a little snoopin ... er, researching around and found something that doesn't really surprise any of us long-time fans and friends (but it might to some of the newbies who read this): Lloyd Thaxton has had a tremendous impact on our society -- then and now!!

Okay, the Show was one -- and, if you wanna know how impactive, let me share a comment received by Mouskiteer David just today:
"I found Lloyd again just a little more than a year before he left us...There was so much more i wanted to know...I was just a little kid 6-8 years old when i watched his show...Seeing the fun he had changed me...I wanted to be like him...And years later...When i was in high school...Lloyd Thaxton was still on my mind...Pictures in my high school yearbook of a skit done in the high school gym testify to the influence of someone i should have been much too young to really remember...I wanted to be fearlessly fun...Not afraid to let it all hang out...And the essence of Lloyd Thaxton brought that out in me...

For a long time i wondered where he had gone...Then the internet gave me a chance to briefly interact with the man who made me wanna be a DJ...I'll never forget him."

The bold type was mine, mousers -- but the words and soul of that note was strictly David's.

Here's an article from Met News. It just brings it home a little more ...



That "fearless fun" took TV to new limits with the 200 segments he produced for the Today Show from 1985 to 2008 (check out his IMDb profile for more on his accomplishments) and Fight Back! with David Horowitz, a consumer-oriented show that included legendary wrestler Prof. Toru Tanaka testing Timex watches!

So many of us made our shopping choices and learned a lot thanks to LL's superb productions -- and we're still applying them today! It made us a bit more consumer-conscious ..

But Lloyd wasn't done yet:

He turned millions of kids on to reading the teen magazines, rather than just watching the tube! His Tiger Beat!® magazine kept everyone up-to-date on the teen idols of the day, and was chock-full of interviews, insider stuff and, of course, those dreamy pics!
I believe the first part of that pic was the Chief's second issue. The other half of the photo is of Tiger Beat! today. Between us, mousers, it's not even close to Lloyd's quality writeup! Mostly, you've just got glossy pages full of photos and a few words scattered throughout. Definitely not the original's style ...

Now, I haven't begun to touch on one book that Lloyd, along with his friend and colleague John Alston, put together. I'll get to that in the next post (strangely enough, called "Pt. 2"!). But it was/is that book that changed/is changing thought patterns and improving lives around the world! So ...

stay tuned.

ROCKIN' WITH THE FAMILY ...

People, you've heard me talk about 'em here ... you've heard him as core member of Paul Revere and the Raiders ... you've heard his WIFE on radio and "Where The Action Is" ... their new band has members of OTHER well-known groups in it ...
Now ... add their lovely, harmonizing daughters to the mix and what have you GOT??

"Now, LLLLadiesss an' CHENTlemennnn ... RRRRRRIGHT here, on are ... VERRRRRY SHHHHTAGE (like my Sullivan impression?? Oh .. okay. I'll stop ...) ..."
 FANG AND FAMILY AQUARIUS HOTEL,
LAUGHLIN NEVADA 31 DEC 2011

LEANIN' INTO IT ...

I was goin' through the old REAL (Relic Electric Audio Library, for the uninitiated) while gettin' my mornin' work done today and realized that, if ya really wanna get those magical, musical minerals and vibratin' vitamins into yer psychsystem, you've gotta lean into the good, clean Sixties-oriented music!

Yeah, it's cool to hear it, but, heck ... there's a lotta difference twixt "hearin'" (getting the earpans turned toward the album or radio that's playing) and "listenin'" (digging the music 'til it gets down into your very being)! When ya really start listening, you feel livelier, walk faster, laugh more, become more productive, vote for Obama and just feel better about yourself all 'round.

Here are some of the reasons that psychologists give that make Sixties-style music so infectious-in-a-good-way:
First, it's consistently rhythmic. No choppiness or tempo changes for the most part. And that has a way of smoothing out our daily biorhythms, to make us feel more comfortable.

It has a solid, consistent backbeat (are we seein' a pattern here with consistency?) No fancy "fills" (unless you're related to Keith Moon). That adds to our biorhythmic timing.
It's bouncy and lively (pronounced: N-er-G). That adds the life to those rhythms.
And, believe it or not, even the megahertz with which the music was played on radio/CD/turntables had a lot to do with feelin' healthy!
This is true!! And it was usually 50-60 MHz (So, if "hertz" really does put you in the driver's seat, I suppose megahertz puts you into overdrive!).

Best of all, it's clean!  Sure, there are a few tunes from that era that could turn you into a Lawrence Welk fan, but, when you're talkin' 1963-'early '67 music especially, you're talking about good, clean, lyrical rock!

So, before anybody "knocks the rock" of our generation, I would recommend they get off their backsides, throw on some Beatles, Beach Boys or Paul Revere and The Raiders -- and lean into it ... rock wit' it!!

FLOORING IT!

If there's one thing that makes every room in your house stand out, it's the beauty of the flooring you use!  Of course, most people today seem to prefer a good laminate floor -- and for great reasons: hot only is it beautiful, but also easier to clean and maintain!
Now, you've seen this type of flooring in stores, but -- even if you get one of those hard-to-find salespeople -- you back away from it because either the selection is limited or it's too expensive!
But by clicking that link I gave you a moment ago, you'll find one of the widest selections anywhere!  More than that, though, are prices that will certainly make your wallet breathe a little easier.  And, on top of that, you'll be able to "read up" on laminate flooring, from basic information to the different types -- even installation!
So, if you want to want to bring just the right amount of beauty to your rooms, just click on that link now -- you'll be glad you did!