Would You Believe You Can Get The TV Series That Inspired The Movie?

It's the old releasing the entire box set first trick. Most of the time they release the DVD's of tv shows season by season and then give you the entire series run in a boxed set. However, is releasing the boxed set first and then releasing the separate seasons. The box set has been out for a couple of years now and you can still get it if you click on the Time Life logo above. The complete series sells for $199.96. Just an FYI for Get Smart fans.

The Monkees Whole Wide World

Here is a pretty good amateur animated video for the Monkees song Whole Wide World

Monkees Fill In The Blank

Here is a panel from the Monkees Comic book from 1967. Fill in the word balloons andtell me what you think Mike, Davy and Peter are saying. I will post the best ones here on Sunday.

Happy Memorial Day

Wishing you a happy Memorial Day!

Plastic Who?

Knowing I am a big comic book fan fellow blogger Booksteve has recently sent me a link to a blog where a man said that he called into a talk show one day where the question was asked who was your favorite superhero when you were growing up? His answer was Plastic Man. To his surprise they had never heard of him. From what I read he would not have thought anything of it if they were younger then him but they were about his age. So why haven't they ever heard of him? He had a hit show on Saturday mornings. While he hasn't had a hit comic book in years he has had attempts and mini-series. He was recently even a member of the Justice League. He was a long overdue addition I might add. I always wondered why they went with Ralph Dibney and not Plastic Man. Back then Plas was better known then Ralph. Ralph's addition increased his popularity as Plastic Man sank into obscurity. With so much entertainment competing for our attention this trend may continue. Some people in their 20's don't know anything that happened before they were born. They may know the Monkees produced music but are surprised that they had a sit-com. They may think that Paul McCartney has always been a solo artist and are surprised to find he was the leader of Wings or a member of the Beatles. Lets hope that this doesn't spread to other areas like world history. As the old saying goes "Those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it." Can you imagine what would happen if the world forgot about Hitler? We could have another one on our hands. Perhaps our increasing need for vast amounts of entertainment may be what brings about the rise of the Anti-Christ. I know I made a huge leap with this one but who knows it might be true.

When I was a kid I drank soft drinks like they were going out of style. I was even worse in the summer. While I have cut back since then it isn't hard to understand that these commercials strike a certain cord with me. Swimming, comic books, soft drinks and bike riding mean summer to me. They always came together to make a good day in the summer.

YMCA Summer Camp Commercial

Summer is almost here and starting today and through out the weekend I will feature videos that remind me of Summer. I never went to summer camp but some people I know did. Here is a commercial from Camp Ernst that was the camp they attended. Almost makes me wish I did go to camp.

Pepsi Commercial

Here is a Pepsi Commercial I have never seen. It has Jimmy Fallon and Parker Posey in it.

1970's Mountain Dew Commercial

Here is another Mountain Dew Commercial from 1970's.

Mountain Dew...It'll Tickle Your Innards!

I was talking to some co-workers recently and some how, I don't recall how, but we started talking about the soft drink Mountain Dew. We'd already solved the problems of the world so we moved on to lighter stuff. Well at least one of them didn't know that Mountain Dew was really a nickname for moonshine and that a hillbilly was the logo for a long time. She sort of rolled her eyes and said "Whatever!" when I said their slogan was "It'll Tickle Your Innards!"
Anyway for others like her that aren't aware here are two commercials from the 60's that showcased their roots.

Americathon: We Have Arrived

Anyone remember the movie Americathon? It came out in 1979 and the star was John Ritter as the President and Harvey Korman as a television star. The energy crisis had gotten out of control and the President order that Harvey host a telethon to raise money to get America out of debt. Gas cost so much that most people were not driving anymore. They lived in their cars and either walked, jogged, skated, or rode a bike to where they were going. Well that movie took place in the future. We must have arrived at that point as I am always hearing of people riding bikes to work. Yesterday I walked to work. It took a half an hour but I saved gas. I even walked to church this morning. Why waste gas if it is within walking distance?
I wanted to show a video of the movie here but couldn't find one. I did find a video of a Beach Boys song from the soundtrack album. It is called "It's A Beautiful Day." Why this wasn't a hit for them I may never know. It has one of the best vocals Mike Love has ever sung.

OOPS! That wasn't Mike Love singing the parts I liked best. It was Al Jardine. Man! They should have let him sing more often.

Hulk TV Movie Poster

I was searching for something else when I came across this on the net. It seems to be a German movie poster of the Bill Bixby TV pilot film of the Hulk.

CBG on DVD

The Comic Buyer's Guide is now on DVD. At least 2 years worth of reading of one of your favorite hobbies has now entered the 21st century. Nothing wrong with still publishing it the old way and actually having it in your hands to read but this way is cheaper. According to them this is $140 worth of content for $24.95. You can order CBG on DVD if you click here.
Also from CBG you can get Retroviews Roundup. For $19.95 you get more then 2,000 reviews on past comics. A complete run of Amazing Spider-Man up to #538 and Dell, DC and Marvel complete run of Tarzan. Also, reviews from respected CBG writers including Craig "Mr. Silver Age" Shutt, Jim Johnson, Michelle Nolan, and Brent Frankenhoff. Order Retroview Round up by clicking here.

The Monkees and the Head Soundtrack

It was a little over a month ago that I told what other songs on the first five of the Monkees albums should have been released as singles. Each of those songs could have been major hits for the Monkees. That trend of not releasing good solid material for them as singles continued for them on the rest of the albums released until 1970. Actually by this time the Monkees were viewed as teenybopper music and even if the greatest song of all time had been produced by them it still may have flopped. Still they did the best with what they had.
Let's start with Head. This was the soundtrack to the only major film that the Monkees created. As 1960's movies and rock operas go it wasn't as bad as most remember. This is not to talk about the movie but the soundtrack. The soundtrack was very good. The dialogue of the actors in the movie between songs should be forgotten. You would have to see the movie to understand what they are talking about. The major song release from the album was the Porpoise Song and some DJ's and fans got it and knew they guys were trying to mature their musical productions.
Can You Dig It should have been a single. It was written by Peter Tork and is on the CD twice. Once with Micky as lead and the other with Peter. Either one could have done well on the charts but I prefer Micky's version.
The Carole King/Toni Stern penned song As We Go Along is beautiful and should have been an A side on a 45. It was released as the B side of the Porpoise Song which Carole King also co-wrote. The Porpoise Song was played on radio and if those DJ's had just flipped it over As We Go Along may have charted higher then the real A side.
Long Title: Do I Have To Do This All Over Again was the closing theme to the film and it was also written by Peter who sang lead. He did a great job and this should have been his first A side 45 with him as the solo lead. I think the song would have done well and perhaps Peter would have stayed long with the group seeing that his efforts were appreciated.
Now I haven't mentioned Circle Sky by Mike Nesmith. The reason for that is while I like the song I don't think it had what radio listeners were looking for back then. I don't think it would have done well on the charts but I could be wrong.
Sometime later I plan to have a posting about the other lesser known albums of the Monkees.

Con Ad

Here is an ad I got in the mail of more affordable comic cons to attend if you are in the area. So far I won't be but who knows.

The Defenders Fansite

Before you see the Hulk's new movie you need to go this new site. It is called The Defenders Fansite and it is about the comic book supergroup that the Hulk was one of its core members. Yes he was a founding member of the Avengers and will most likely be in the movie of that team. However, he soon quit the Avengers and years later helped to found the Defenders. He was on a more friendly basis with them so he stayed for quite awhile.

Fireproof

For those of you who liked the movies Flywheel and Facing the Giants here is the movie Fireproof from Sherwood Pictures. It stars Kirk Cameron. You can view the trailer below.

It seems that not much time can go by without me finding or thinking of something to post about the Monkees. I was reading an old magazine from Entertainment Weekly from 2000 and I saw this ad for the VH1 movie about them. The pose is from the cover of their Headquarters Album but the real Monkees weren't dressed that way. Thought you would like to see this if like me you missed it before.

Free Comic Book Day

Last year or maybe it was two years ago I can't recall but I wondered if Free Comic Book Day was helping to spread the hobby. Well after being there today I have to say that it is. Everyone at Comicbook World was buying something along with the free books and figures that the store was supplied. I was there to get some for myself and my young cousin who was not able to go with me this year. I was grabbing two of everything till I heard Mark, one of the stores employees, tell someone it was only 5 books per person. I showed him that I must have had over 20 books. Since they knew I was trying to get some for my cousin he said they might let me get 10. I decided not to violate their rules, well not too much as you will soon see, so I put most of them back. My cousin likes Star Wars and Iron Man so I got him the figures. He also likes Transformers and NASCAR so he got the comic books related to those hobbies. For myself I got an Iron Man figure as well as Archie comics Jughead, Dynamite's Devil and Justice League from DC. Now I also wanted something from Marvel but with the books I was already at the limit of 5. I decided to see if they would say anything about me having a 6th book so I chose Marvel Adventures with Hulk, IronMan and Spider-Man. Also, so I didn't seem like a freeloader, I bought a back issue of Marvel Team-Up #90. All in all it looked like a good free comicbook day at Comicbook World.
Also, in case someone links up to this posting since it is about Free Comic Book Day, please visit my other comic book sites Comic Book Letterheads Museum and Mail It To Team Up also Plastic Man Platitudes.

Happy 30th To SPAM

On May 3,1978 Marketer Gary Thuerk sent the first e-mail of what would come to be called SPAM over the Arpanet. The Arpanet would eventually become the internet. If you go to Templetons.com you can read the sales pitch he gave and the angry reactions that he got. So you know Spam hasn't been around so long because it was greeted with open arms. Also Brad
Templeton has a link there that takes you to an interview that he did with Mr. Thuerk about his accidental invention of SPAM. If you can't wait to read it then here it is just below.

DIGITAL WILL BE GIVING A PRODUCT PRESENTATION OF THE NEWEST MEMBERS OF THE DECSYSTEM-20 FAMILY; THE DECSYSTEM-2020, 2020T, 2060, AND 2060T. THE
DECSYSTEM-20 FAMILY OF COMPUTERS HAS EVOLVED FROM THE TENEX OPERATING SYSTEM AND THE DECSYSTEM-10 COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE. BOTH THE DECSYSTEM-2060T AND 2020T OFFER FULL ARPANET SUPPORT UNDER THE TOPS-20 OPERATING SYSTEM.
THE DECSYSTEM-2060 IS AN UPWARD EXTENSION OF THE CURRENT DECSYSTEM 2040 AND 2050 FAMILY. THE DECSYSTEM-2020 IS A NEW LOW END MEMBER OF THE
DECSYSTEM-20 FAMILY AND FULLY SOFTWARE COMPATIBLE WITH ALL OF THE OTHER DECSYSTEM-20 MODELS.

WE INVITE YOU TO COME SEE THE 2020 AND HEAR ABOUT THE DECSYSTEM-20 FAMILY AT THE TWO PRODUCT PRESENTATIONS WE WILL BE GIVING IN CALIFORNIA THIS MONTH. THE LOCATIONS WILL BE:

TUESDAY, MAY 9, 1978 - 2 PM
HYATT HOUSE (NEAR THE L.A. AIRPORT)
LOS ANGELES, CA

THURSDAY, MAY 11, 1978 - 2 PM
DUNFEY'S ROYAL COACH
SAN MATEO, CA
(4 MILES SOUTH OF S.F. AIRPORT AT BAYSHORE, RT 101 AND RT 92)

A 2020 WILL BE THERE FOR YOU TO VIEW. ALSO TERMINALS ON-LINE TO OTHER
DECSYSTEM-20 SYSTEMS THROUGH THE ARPANET. IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND,
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT THE NEAREST DEC OFFICE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EXCITING DECSYSTEM-20 FAMILY.

Iron Man Trailer

Here is the trailer for the Iron Man game to come out along with the movie. I can't see the movie this weekend but I will see it soon. You can go see it now to make it a hit. That way it will make sure it is still there for me to see when I have the time.

TV Show Openings

Here are some TV show openings that will bring back some memories. The first two I have never heard of. The first one stars a young actor from back then whose recent claim to fame has been dancing with the stars. Check it out and enjoy.

Good Bye Old Friend

Well I got some sad news today, I guess I should say yesterday since I am post dating this, it is that Showcase Cinemas was closed down today in Erlanger, Ky. I have lived in this town since I was 13 years old. It is sad as to me when I was a teenager and even into my adulthood it was like a second home. I was an Usher there in my high school years and kept going there when I could afford to see a movie. Each time I went I saw the crowds grow smaller and smaller. Today they closed to make room for a new and more expensive theater in Florence, Ky. The last movie I saw there was Fantastic Four:Rise of the Silver Surfer so you know I did my best to be a faithful former Usher of the staff. I hope Erlanger gets a new first run movie theater soon. I don't like fighting traffic near the Mall where the Florence Theater will soon be.

The first time I saw Star Wars with there with my cousin Steve. I had many dates there with the girls I dated. I become friends with people there that I would not have met anyplace else. For a short while my cousin Randy and I both worked there. The movie Harper Valley PTA with Barbara Eden had the world premiere there. I wasn't working that night as I had a school function to go to but later I was able to get me and a couple of friends in. The only world premiere that I ever was able to attend. Barbara wasn't there but Ronny Cox and Nanette Fabray were. When my date Linda and I were bored at a school dance we left to see Star Wars as she had not seen it yet. For me it was the 6th or 7th time and while I was getting tired of it I didn't mind taking her. When I quit to take another job my cousin Randy and I went to get my paycheck. We wanted to see the movie Rocky II but had no money. The manager on duty said I was still on the pay roll till tomorrow so I could still see the movie free as an employee. My last free movie at that theater. Not long ago when one of the new Star Wars movies came out I took my cousin and her son Josh to see it and he was thrilled as he had never seen a Star Wars movie on the big screen. I went there with my cousin Jeff and his family to see Toy Story 2 and with my cousin Jo to see the first Scooby Doo movie. The above picture is of the brightly lite marquee from a couple of years ago that I found on the internet. It is funny as is shows the new King Kong with Jack Black and the first movie I ever saw there was with my Dad was the King Kong version with Jeff Bridges. Goodbye to my second home and an old friend. Your lights may never shine so bright again but they will always be with me in my heart and in my memory. sniff!

I Love Woodburning

Those of you who visit me on Mail It To Team-Up have already seen this but I wanted to let as many people know as possible about the site I Love Woodburning. I am fascinated by people who have the ability to create works of art. Especially when they are so good at it that people are willing to pay them to do it. As you can see this person is good. So get some work for your business or perhaps birthday and Christmas gifts at I Love Woodburning.

Save the Credits TV Land and Forget the Commercials

I just got this from the Forgotten Hits news letter and thought I would post it here. This is not only for fans of the Andy Griffith Show but for fans of all TV classic and present. I am tired of wanting to see if someone is in the credits only to have them so small I can't read them just so they can sell one more item. Here is a part of what Kent of Forgotten Hits has to say on the matter.


Our Dee Jay buddy Jim Shea over at Y103.9FM here in Chicago has started a brand new campaign to reinstate the credits to the end of TV Land's airing of the 60's television Classic The Andy Griffith Show and , from the sounds of things, he's got quit a few listeners already on the team. In fact, he's even posted a petition on The Y103.9 Web Page: Click here: Y103.9 - The Greatest Hits of All Time - Save Andy Griffith!
Like many of the tv channels that air these vintgage programs, TV Land has now taken to completely omittin the credits from the end of the program!!! They used to just shrink them down so small that you couldn't really read them anyway while they snuck in an extra ad of two. Now they have simply wliminated them altogether! Jim says that he wants to know who played some of the minor bit characters and wants to see if Danny Bonaduce's Dad was involved with a particular episode. In short, he wants the full credits restored to the broadcast!!! Jim recently told his listeners that on the DVD's now available from the series, many even contain the original commercials intact, many of them include cast members from the series!!! I'm a little surprised that TV Land (Parent Company VIACOM) has taken this approach as they have always been about preserving the history of these classic television series and they have even run vintage TV commercials during their ad breaks all the time. They have always been all about the integrity of these shows and actors. So this news comes as a real disappointment. ...jump on over to the Y103.9 website and sign Jim's petition. We need to nip it in the bud right now!!!

The Sims Beatles

Here is a Sims version of the Beatles. Not bad except they have Paul as right handed.

Nez Bio On The BBC

This may only be up a few days as it was broadcast on the BBC last Friday so go there to listen to it today. They do a brief background on Nesmith and play some of his music. You can click here to listen to it.

Evening Shade and Newhart on DVD

Like small town comedy on TV. Well here are two of the best. Bob Newhart plays an Inn Keeper on the hit series Newhart and has to deal with a town full of carzies. Like George the handyman and the restaurant owner next door who is a compulsive liar.
Burt Reynolds in Evening Shade is in the same position as the local high school football coach. Like dealing with his inept assistant coach who has never played football and the crazy town Dr.
Evening Shade is available for pre-order before it is released on June 24th and Newhart season one is available now.

The Invaders on DVD

David Vincent is driving one night and makes a wrong turn but it turns out to be a right turn for mankind. He sees a spaceship land and it is full of aliens invading the planet. Now David must convince others of the invasion and that he is not insane. You see the invaders look just like us. Also they know that he is aware of the invasion and are trying to stop them. The series comes out on DVD soon and you can pre-order it at Amazon.com. Also they have recently added an extended 60 minute version. An interview with series star Roy Thinnes and episode introductions by him. Also an episode commentary by the series creator Larry Cohen. Above is the cover art that the box was recently changed to. You can preorder it if you click on the link above. Also, Amazon.com is showing the first cover that was poorly received when the public saw it. As one person said it looked like Roy Thinnes was being chased by a giant sombrero.

Christa Helm on 48 Hours

Booksteve has been working as co-author on a book about the death of the up and coming actress Christa Helm. 48 Hours has been contacting him about their work on investigation of her death. Some of which may turn up when it airs this Saturday. You can see the preview if you go to this CBS site.

Is it the Batmobile or the Batplane?

I can't tell if this is the Batmobile or the Batplane. My wife saw this outside a store in Loveland, Ohio and took a picture of it for me. While it hasn't shown up on Bat Blog I did e-mail it to Tommy over there. So it may appear there some time. Also, if you are interested you can hear one of Batman's radio adventures every Sunday on Mail It To Team-Up. He and Robin teamed up with Superman on his show for awhile.

TV Detectives on DVD

They kept the streets of television clean for decades. Now you can view them anytime you want. All you have to do is get them on DVD and you can order them or pre-order them from Amazon.com. Click on the widget below.

Ben Stein's Expelled

I just heard about this movie and thought I would spread the word if there are others like myself who have not heard anything about it. It opens April 18th. Above is one of the trailers for the film. Here is the home page for Ben Stein's Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.

From Beat to Beam and Nothing In-Between

It seems that in late 1967 DC Comics tried to get in on the teen gossip magazine by publishing their own comic book size version. It was called Teen Beat and look who were the cover boys. The Monkees! Now for some reason it only lasted two issues. The second issue to come out in early 1968 was called Teen Beam. Why the name change? I am not sure but I heard they were trying to avoid copyright infringment with Tiger Beat. Later in 1975 the company who published Tiger Beat started publishing another mag called Teen Beat. I guess they new a good name when they heard it.

Plastic Man meets the Super Friends

If this posting seems a bit out of place it is because I originally wrote it only to appear on Plastic Man Platitudes. Then I decided that I probably should put it on most of my other sites.

Wow! I didn't know that Plas made an appearance in this book. When I was a kid I watched the TV show but I only had the first issue of the comic book. So I never knew that it reached 36 issues. I tell you Plastic Man shows up in the doggonest places in the DC universe. Maybe one day I will post this on my other site Mail It To Team Up. Till then you can see the cover here.

Also, I have a name for anyone with a G rated comic site who submits anything about Plastic Man that I post here. It is P.A.L. and it stands for P.lastic Man A.dmiration L.eague. If you submit something that I post here I will also provide a link back to your site. I will not post everything I get. That goes for comments on this page. I recently saw something on the internet that showed Plas in the shape of what many may have considered innocent but it offended me so I won't do that as I think if I am offended then it may do the same to someone else. On another site I had someone comment about a person I posted a blog about. It made reference to their sexual practice and could have hurt that person and anyone who knew them if they read it. Things like that I will not post. I will also post this one my other sites. So I guess the cover will wind up on Mail It To Team-Up.

The Great Gildersleeve 1945

When I saw the title of this episode I had to post it. It is called An Old Flame Named Violet. That also happens to be my wife's name so I am posting it here in her honor.

The Six Shooter with Jimmy Stewart

Here is the audition show for the radio western the Six Shooter that had Jimmy Stewart as the star. Like you need an audition show if Jimmy Stewart is your star.

This Day In Music History: Elvis and All Shook Up

All Shook Up was the first #1 hit for Elvis. You thought Heartbreak Hotel was #1? Well it was. I am talking about England. Heartbreak Hotel and Hound Dog peaked at #2 in England. All Shook Up took him to the top in England and on this day in music history, April 13, 1957, it went to #1 on the Billboard charts in the USA where it stayed for 8 weeks.
Even though he was a huge hit in Britain Elvis never toured there. In fact he never toured out of the USA.
The reason why was because of his manager Col. Tom Parker. In the biography Elvis by Albert Goldman he tells us that Col. Parker wasn't from West Virginia as he always claimed. He was an illegal immigrant from Holland and his real name was Andres Cornelis van Kuijk and was born in 1909. He came to America for awhile when he was 18. He went back to Holland but soon returned. He wrote to his family and sent money but then stopped signing his letters with his real name and started signing them as Tom Parker. His family didn't know who this person was and not till 1961 when they saw his picture did they know it was their family member. He looked too much like them to deny it.
So since Col. Parker was not a US citizen he couldn't get a passport. If he left the country he was afraid he wouldn't be let back in the country. Since he traveled with Elvis he made sure that Elvis never toured outside of America.
All Shook Up as well as its flip side That's Where Your Heartaches Begin were recorded during a two day recording session at the Radio Recorders in Hollywood. It was from January 12, 1957 to January 13, 1957. All Shook Up was the top record of the year. It was the second year in a row that Elvis held that position.

A Date With Judy Guest Star Frank Sinatra

Here is the old family comedy A Date With Judy and with guest star Frank Sinatra.

Broadway Is My Beat

Your average person who didn't grow up with radio shows or anyone who loved those shows just think of Fibber McGee and Molly, Superman, the Lone Ranger etc. However, there is a wealth of other shows that the average person may never hear. This is one of them the drama Broadway Is My Beat. Listen and enjoy.

The Whistler

This weekend the Old Time Radio Convention comes to town. I won't be able to attend and for those like me I am posting links to some OTR shows. Here is one from the Whistler.

Donations Please

A word from the Comic Book Letterheads Museum.
Just another word that if you wish to donate any scans of letterheads from the letters pages of your favorite comic book you can e-mail them to me and I will post them here. If you have a "G" rated site I will post a link to it and list you as a benefactor as you will be helping to preserve what may soon be a forgotten art. At present from my small collection I have enough to post to the museum till April 18th of this month. So go to the "view my complete profile" to the right to get my email address and send them today. I would really like the ones from Nova in the 1970's as he was my favorite growing up and now I don't have them anymore.

What Should Have Been Released As 45's For The Monkees

Well over at Forgotten Hits as well as their e-mail newsletter they have gotten me to thinking about alot musically. Mostly they have gotten me to wondering what popular album cuts should have been released as singles. Many fans know them as well as the hits. Now Kent of Forgotten hits has said that She should have been a single. I agree and while it wasn't released in the USA as a 45 I believe it was overseas. As Kent said Words was released as an A side but quickly became the B side when Pleasant Valley Sunday proved to be slightly more popular and this gave the Monkees a double sided hit. Also they mention I Wanna Be Free as it was a popular song on AM radio back when it first came out. Enough recap of that now I am here to tell you what I believe should have been released from the albums. Forgotten hits has already covered the first two tunes.

First is the Monkees first album. I think they got it right with only releasing Last Train to Clarksville. Since it was #1 in the USA that goes without saying. If I had to chose any song as a possible follow up it would have to be Saturday's Child written by a young David Gates, Take A Giant Step or maybe, and it is a longshot, I'll Be True To You.

More of the Monkees was their second album and as She was mentioned above it isn't included here. However, Mary,Mary should not have been passed over either. Others are Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow) and the one I can't believe they missed was Sometime In The Morning. That is the song that could have let only radio listeners know the depth of Micky Dolenz's singing.

Their third album was Headquarters and the one that finally showed how well they could produce their own music. Nearly every song is worthy of hit single status but for some reason no single came forth in America. I won't include Randy Scouse Git as it was released in Britain. For me the two stand outs are Forget That Girl, with Davy's best vocal performance in my opinion, and can anyone believe they never released For Pete's Sake as a 45? It is a brilliant pop tune co-written by Peter Tork that sums up the flower child generation of the 60's and a wonderful vocal performance by Micky. To top it off since it was the closing theme of their sit-com in the 2nd season it was given more exposure then any of their songs as it was on TV once a week that year. This could have been one of their biggest hits. Another big hit could have been the song called Band 6...just kidding. No I think Shades of Gray should have been a single. Pop tunes were getting more introspective at that time and this would have been a great way to show the Monkees music was starting to grow up.

Their fourth album, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. also had a lot of potential hits. The biggest ones that I believe should have been released are She Hangs Out and Star Collector. They were played almost every other week on their TV show. Others that may have been hits are The Door Into Summer and Love Is Only Sleeping. Actually I heard that Love Is Only Sleeping was to be released but it was taking too long to re-mix and Daydream Believer was already done so that was released instead. Love Is Only Sleeping was to come out later but it was never released.

Their 5th lp, Birds, the Bees and the Monkees is really the weakest of their first 5 albums and the hits here are Daydream Believer that came out before the album and Valleri. They are the best songs on the album. The only possible other 45 could have been Tapioca Tundra. It is an odd little tune but it's catchy and enjoyable.

As you can see the Monkees could have had a lot of other hits. I wonder why Colgems never released them?

Neal Adams, Lee Majors and Santa

I know this isn't Neal Adams art but I saw the art for this Peter Pan record over at Neal Adams.com and it reminded me of a segment in the movie Scrooged. You can see it in the video below. Makes you wonder if they really thought about doing that Christmas Special.

SCTV's Perry Como Special

Yesterday I mentioned that Eugene Levy played Perry Como on SCTV in a funny segment. Well here is that segment.

Rest In Peace Charlton Heston

I heard early this morning that Charlton Heston died. Unlike some people I have reported on here whose works I like I actually met Mr. Heston. It was at Media Play in Florence, Ky. when he was promoting the book above. There were alot of people there and I was asked how far I came to meet Mr. Heston by a local reporter. Since I lived in the neighboring town I didn't make the cut for the news. The reporter seemed frustrated that most of the people there were locals. They wanted to get interviews with people who lived much farther away. I read the first chapter in line and when I got to talk to Mr. Heston he was very nice. He asked me if I liked the book. I thought perhaps he thought I bought it earlier and already read it. I told him I only read the first chapter in line and it seemed pretty good. He signed the book and said "I hope you like it." I told him I was sure I would and I moved on as I didn't want to hold up the line with a lot of questions.




Yesterday, I watched the movie I Am Legend starring Will Smith. It is another movie based on the book by Richard Matheson. Mr. Heston starred in the Omega Man that was also another movie based on the book. In a way I Am Legend is a remake of the Omega Man. Sad to say I didn't care for Omega Man but the new version is pretty good.

Later that night my wife and I watched an episode of The Big Bang Theory. You can see the streaming video of the episode if you go here. It has a scene where Leonard and some friends put on monkey mask to see a movie marathon of Planet of the Apes. It is all in order to stay away from Sheldon who is sick and not a very good patient. When I heard Mr. Heston died I thought that my Saturday afternoon was, without my realizing it, a tribute to Charlton Heston. It is nice to have a pleasant memory of meeting him and I can always enjoy his work when I see his classic movies again.

This Day In Music History: Perry Como and Round and Round

Perry Como was signed to one record label for quite a long time. In fact he was with RCA longer then most singers have been alive. He was signed to the label in June of 1943 and in 1983 RCA held a dinner in his honor to celebrate his 40th year with the label and his 50th year in show business.

Round and Round wasn't his first #1 hit but on this day in music history, April 6, 1957, it was his first in the Rock and Roll era. He had 8 #1 hits between 1945 and 1954. The first time he sang Round and Round was on his television show and the audience loved it so much RCA released it as a single.

Perry was the 7th son of the 7th son. He was the first of Pietro and Lucia Como's 13 children to be born in the United States. He was born May 18, 1912 in Canonsburg, Pa. It was a mining town but Perry avoided work in the mines by becoming an apprentice Barber. Soon he had his own barbershop where folks could get a shave, haircut and a song. He earned $125 a week as a barber. While on vacation he auditioned for Freddy Carlone's band. He was offered the job that paid $28 a week. He took the job.

Later Perry married Roselle Belline on July 31, 1933. Four days later he went on tour with with the band. Three years later Perry was singing in Warren, Ohio. Bandleader Ted Weems heard him and offered him a job on the spot as his lead vocalist for $50 a week. Perry accepted the job.
In 1942 Weems broke up the band because of the war and Perry returned home to Canonsburg. He intended to return to being a Barber. He was about to sign for a new shop when General Artists Corp. told him they wanted to give him his own radio show. He talked it over with his wife and they decided that if it didn't work out he could still return to barbering. So he signed on to host the Chesterfield Supper Club. He was also given some nightclub bookings and signed to RCA Victor as a solo artist.

Soon his first single Goodbye Sue was released and on NBC the Chesterfield Supper Club was a hit. He received rave reviews for his appearance at the nightclubs in New York. 20th Century Fox signed him to a movie deal. He made his first appearance in Something For The Boys with Phil Silver and Carmen Miranda and Vivian Blaine. He began to have a string of hits. The ones he had before Round and Round include Till The End Of Time, Prisoner Of Love, Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes and a huge hit with Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom).

Soon the radio show moved to TV. Between NBC and a move to CBS his show was on TV from December 24, 1948 to June 12, 1963. Perry was so popular that the title soon changed to The Perry Como Show. When it went off the air Perry was still popular on TV as the host of the Kraft Music Hall Specials till 1967 and had his own Christmas specials for years. Always known as being laidback and relaxed, it was rumored that he took a nap till he had to go on the air. SCTV even did segment with Eugene Levy as a barely awake Perry singing during a TV show.

On May 12, 2001 after a long illness, Perry passed away in his sleep at his home in Florida. He was 88 years old.

Below is a video of Perry singing the song on his show. They show a new way they have to preform the song and it seems that everyone enjoys the new way.

The Black Hood

Here is another for you old time radio fans. An episode from the short lived radio drama based on the MLJ/Archie comics character the Black Hood.

Forgotten Hits Boyce and Hart series

Well a happy April Fool's Day to you and this is no joke. I must have really been sick this weekend even more then I thought. As big a fan of the Monkees and Boyce and Hart as I am I completely forgot that Kent of Forgotten Hits started his Boyce and Hart series on Sunday. I just got an e-mail from his site reminding me and I have read the beginning and it is off to a great start. It has on line music one of which is I'll Remember Carol. I never heard that song before but it is the singing debut of Tommy Boyce. It also has comments from Bobby Hart so he can set the record straight. Bobby is also trying to get a publisher for his bio so if any of them read this site, I believe Ben Ohmart of Bearmanor Media stops by from time to time, you may want to get in touch with Bobby Hart or Kent Kotal. Go to Forgotten Hits right now and have fun reading and listening.

A hero returns

Not feeling well but I wanted to post this that Matt Maupin who lived less then an hour away from me and who has been MIA for about 4 years now has been found. Sadly it was his remains that have been found. While many of us have hoped for a safe return they have gotten less with each passing year. Still there was that glimmer that he would be alive. Today it came to a sad end as the public was told that Matt had been found dead. I am not to ashamed to admit that I shed a tear this morning as I heard the news.

At least now his parents have closure that there son died bravely serving his country. Today is the opening day of baseball season. Cincinnati had its parade and a tribute was appropriately paid to baseball and Reds legend Joe Nuxhall who died last year. While it may have been fun to watch Joe play and I had fun listening to him colorize the broadcast of a Reds game on radio he was not the biggest hero they paid tribute to today. A moment of silence was given in honor and memory to Sgt. Matt Maupin. It was men like him who have kept me safe so I could stay home to listen to Joe Nuxhall on radio. The hero will soon return home and while his mission is completed ours will continue. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.

Sad News

Well it's sad to me anyway. I have been under the weather this weekend and even missed time at work due in part to a cold and an allergy reaction. Not much could have been done about the cold except more to take more vitamin c and now I have to take steps about the allergy. I have known for years that I have been allergic to must and mold but it never got in the way of my hobbies of book collecting and record collecting. This weekend I had sever allergy headaches that were from going in to musty old books and records shops and buying old comic books that I wanted to read and share with you on my sites. Since most of them were team and team-ups they would have appeared on Mail It To Team Up.
Some of you may know that I have been trying to rebuild my collection. I had to sell all of it to pay some bills when I was laid off and had to take a lower paying job. Well some people I guess don't keep their books in places of the house that don't get musty as almost everyone smelled that way to me. If it was just one or two books it would not be so tough but it was all of them and since they are gathered together in one room I really should not have been in that room with them. So they all had to go for health reasons. Also, I will probably have to stop reading the black and white editions that Marvel and DC have released as the newspaper print they use has the same smell and also makes me sick. This was one of the reasons that I quit reading the newspapers and now get my news from TV and online. So if any of you know of where I can get my comic books on line from the golden age to the present where I can download them to a disc to read later, for free if possible, I would appreciate you letting me know. Normally I would not ask for free but I promise God, myself and my wife that I would not buy my comics with a credit card when the balance was starting to get too high due mostly to my purchases at comic book stores. Since most places I know what you to pay with a credit card on line that option is out.
I plan on keeping my sites up and running and will post at least the covers of the books that I had to get rid of at Mail It To Team Up. I will also post the letter heads at Comic Book Letterheads but if you have scans of the letterheads of your favorite comic books that you want to send for me to post there now is the time to do it. I really want to help preserve this part of the comic books as it will become a lost art since they have done away with the letters pages. Thank you all for your time and support.

Here is today's cover of one of the comic books I had to get rid of.

This Day In Music History: Buddy Knox and Party Doll

buddy_knox

[via FoxyTunes / Buddy Knox]

On this day in music history,March 30, 1957, Buddy Knox had the #1 hit in the country on Billboard with Party Doll. Buddy attended West Texas State University on a sports scholarship. There he met Jimmy Bowen and Don Lanier and they formed a group called the Serenaders. Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison performed on campus and Knox became friendly with them. He showed them his songs he wrote. They liked them and said he should go to Norm Petty's studio and record them. ONe of those songs was Party Doll. Buddy said he wrote the song in 1948 out on a farm behind a haystack. Buddy said other then Fats Domino he didn't know too many songs when he entered college. It was then that he started listening to Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry.
Buddy and his friends went to the studio and recorded their songs. It was with a makeshift band. They needed a bass player and hired a guy in town to play for them. Dave Alldred played drums but there wasn't a full set in the studio so they made one out of a cardboard box and stuffed it with cotton and a microphone. Buddy's sister and her friends sang background. It took 3 days to record them and Petty gave Buddy, Jimmy and Dan each an acetate of the recordings.

Buddy said that they didn't know anything about the business and didn't know what to do with the tapes. A farmer named Chester Oliver asked if he could press 1,500 copies and sell them locally. They let him and Party Doll was played on the local station KDDD and the song become a local hit.

Dan's sister called Roulette Records in New York City and they flew the 3 members to New York to sign the group to a contract. They called them the Rhythm Orchards. As soon as Roulette released Party Doll 3 other artist covered it. Two of them only charted in the bottom part of the hot 100 but Steve Lawrence's version went to #5.


With only a few months to go to get his Masters degree Buddy quit college to become a full time entertainer. He toured 11 months out of the year and lived on a farm in Canada with his wife. Buddy Knox passed away in February of 1999.

Below you can see a video of Buddy preforming the song and another hit Hula Love on the Alan Freed Show on WNEW in New York.

Buddy Knox - Party Doll/Hula Love (1957)

[via FoxyTunes / Buddy Knox]