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]

Three Ring Circus Ending

Three Ring Circus Sad Girl

Fan Page

Here is the letters page to Amazing Fantasy #15 that contained the first appearance of Spider-Man in 1962. I got this from the DVD of The Amazing Spider-Man the Complete Collection so that will explain the big Marvel insignia in the background. I was taking the letterhead of the page and posting it on my site Comic Book Letterheads and thought I would cross-promote a little bit by posting the full page here.
As most comic book fans know Stan Lee has said that his publisher at that time thought the idea of Spider-Man was a bad idea. Stan said they were going to cancel Amazing Fantasy with issue #15 so they let him do Spider-man's origin there to get it out of his system. That was suppose to be the end of it but Spidey got a lot of letters from that issue so they gave him his own book. If you click on and read the important announcement from the editor you will see that it sounds like Spider-Man was going to be the main star of Amazing Fantasy. Why Marvel gave Spider-Man his own book or why Stan has been telling a completely different story for decades we may never know. You might as Stan but after all these years he may not remember. If you like comic books and would like to see more of the letterheads then you should take a look at Comic Book Letterheads right now.

Three Ring Circus Dean Sings

Three Ring Circus Poor Jerry

Even if it is by accident, some clowns don't like to be upstaged.

Three Ring Circus Lunch Time

You don't have to understand the language to know what they are saying in this clip.

Erlanger Baptist "Guys In The Garden"

Every once in awhile I will post some sermons that were done at my church Erlanger Baptist. Here is the one from March 16, 2008 called Guys in the Garden.

Three Ring Circus Dean & Jerry Sing " Hey Punchinello"

Here is the big musical scene from the movie. I still wonder why they left this movie out of the Martin and Lewis DVD Collection Volumes 1 and 2? Aren't there any copies left to make a DVD of it? I heard that the tension between Dean and Jerry reached a head during the filming of this movie and that Jerry was starting to get interested in directing the films himself. Perhaps this may have had something to do with it if Jerry himself was involved in the selection process.

O Sacred Head, Now Wounded (Happy Easter)

He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with the bitterest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way when he went by.
Isaiah 53:3 NLT

O sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down, now scornfully surrounded with thorns Thine only crown; how pale Thou art with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn!
How does that visage languish which once was bright as morn!

What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, dearest Friend, for this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end? O make me Thine forever; and should I fainting be, Lord, let me never, never outlive my love to Thee.
O Sacred Head, Now Wounded
attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153)

A profoundly personal and awesome vision

Although Bernard was one of the most influential Christians of the Middle Ages, settling disputes between kings and influencing the selection of popes, he remained a devout monk, single-minded in his devotion to Christ.

In his own day Bernard was known as a preacher and churchman; today he is remembered for his hymns of praise. "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded" comes from a poem originally having seven sections, each focusing on a wounded part of the crucified Savior's body—His feet, knees, hands, side, breast, heart, and head. The text of this hymn compels us to gaze at the cross until the depth of God's love overwhelms us. Bernard's hymn pictures God's love, not as an abstract theological statement, but as a profoundly personal and awesome vision of the suffering Christ.

Three Ring Circus Like a Cannonball

Forgotten Hits Unabashed Plug

I wasn't asked but being the big Monkees fan that I am I have to give this plug to Forgotten Hits. Beginning Sunday March 30th Forgotten Hits will be running their interview with Bobby Hart. With his business partner Tommy Boyce he was a producer and songwriter for the Monkees and many others. They even had there own career as performers and had a few hits. There biggest was "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite?" They even appeared on shows like "Bewitched" and "I Dream of Jeannie." When casting for the Monkees they were even considered to be made members of the group. Instead they produced the first album for them and wrote their theme song and the beautiful "I Wanna Be Free." To hear it from Bobby himself go to Forgotten Hits starting on March 30th.

Maybe next time I will give someone a bashed plug instead of an unabashed plug.

Martin and Lewis in Three Ring Circus

As readers of this blog know I have recently watched many of the Martin and Lewis films. These were from the library edition of the Martin and Lewis Collection vol. 1 and 2. However, these collections are not complete. I know they are missing At War With the Army and Three Ring Circus. I have recently seen At War With the Army so I wasn't looking forward to that but I was hoping to see Three Ring Circus as it has been years since I have seen it. These are glaring omissions and needed to have been included. I have found AT War With the Army on some cheap DVD's but I can't find Three Ring Circus anywhere. Well I can't find the complete movie but I have found some clips on You Tube. I will post one here each day. Now the talking in the scenes are in a foreign language so these posts will stick to the slapstick comedy and the singing. Perhaps I will post videos of both singing as these movies reminded me of how well both men could sing. No surprise with Dean but I forgot how good a voice Jerry had when he did sing. Even in his funny voices he could harmonize well. Here today is a clip from You Tube called My Favorite Clown from Three Ring Circus.

The Batman Mystery Club

Superman had his own radio show and it was a huge hit. He even met Batman and Robin on his show. So was the Batman Mystery Club a spin off of that show. Hardly, it came years later and this is the only episode of the show produced. It says on the show it is the 103rd meeting of the club but the first 102 meetings as well as #'s 104 and on were never produced. This episode was a pilot for a series and it never got beyond that. Superman has been a hit on radio, TV, movies and even been the subject of a Broadway play. Batman has been a hit on TV and in movies but never on radio or to my knowledge been a Broadway play.

Anyway if you want to hear the only radio show that starred Batman and Robin click on the player to listen.

Classic TV Commercials and PSA's

Here is a video with clips of different old TV commercials and PSA's.

Clean Your Monitor Screen

Here is a site that will help you efficiently clean your monitor screen. Click here to try out this revolutionary new cleaning system or click on the title above.

Banana Splits Club

The Banana Splits were sponsored by Kellogg's and their comic book adventures were published by Gold Key. This ad was in all Gold Key comics in 1969 as a way to judge how popular the group was with children.

Mr. Terrific Opening

Here is the opening to the late 1960's superhero sit-com Mr. Terrific.

The Jerry Lewis Show

I am a student of broadcasting and have long heard that Jerry had his own talk show. I have always wanted to see it but never been able to. Thanks to the internet and You Tube I now get to see episodes of many shows that were canceled before I could see them. Over at Classic Television Showbiz you can see the above clip of Jerry's talk show and more. It was the episode that aired the day it was announced that the show was canceled and Jerry is not happy about it. Thanks to WFMU's Beware of the Blog for pointing this out.

Anniversary

Well today is my wedding anniversary so don't expect more postings then this on here. I will say if you need a slipcover and live in the Cincinnati, Ohio area then you can click on Custom Slipcovers and see if they can help you. That is my wife's business and you can consider that an anniversary gift if you will by just clicking on the site. If you use their services or or link to it on your site that would be great also.

Believe it or not

Believe it or not I have started another blog. I was looking for a letterhead to use on Plastic Man Platitudes. I was having a hard time finding it and I thought I may not be the only one. So I decided to start Comic Book Letterheads. Not much there right now but I hope it will grow.

Martin and Lewis on radio

It seems I am in a Martin and Lewis mood this week. So here they are on their own radio show. Oh by the way don't play the first one. It didn't turn out too good and it sounds like the chipmunks. The second one is pretty good.

Martin and Lewis Scared Stiff

I have been watching a lot of Martin and Lewis movies on DVD lately. Not only did it provide me with some good clean fun but I also saw that Scared Stiff, their obligatory comedy team meets ghost movie, is full of pop culture icons. Not only does it have Dean and Jerry but it also stars Lizbeth Scott, Carmen Miranda, George Dolenz (Father of the Monkees Micky Dolenz) and a cameo by Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. I never thought that many pop culture icons would be in Scared Stiff as it is one of the least known of the duos films. Above is the film trailer.

Here is a scene where Dean sings with Carmen.



Here is a scene with Dean singing to Lizbeth Scott. The man he is talking to at the beginning of the scene is George Dolenz.



I tried to find a video where they met Hope and Crosby in the film but no luck there. If I do find it I will post it here.

Blue Beetle On Radio

For those of you old time radio fans here is the origin of the Blue Beetle on radio from 1940.

A message from DC Comics Publisher

Here is a message from DC's publisher in 1977. She explains why they started putting out their Dollar Comics at that time. That was a huge price jump at the time and it also shed some light on why some of the writers and artist at the time thought comics wouldn't be around in the 21st Century. Click on the picture and read it.

Showcase Presents: The Suicide Squad Vol. 1

I just found out that Suicide Squad, the version written by John Ostrander and art by Luke McDonnell and Karl Kesel, is coming out in May. I believe that it will be in the middle of the month.
I read almost the entire series that lasted 66 issues and it was great. The stories were usually continued into each other so to have them all in one is a good deal even if they are in black and white. The artwork for the paperback edition has not been released yet but I have given you a look at the cover of the first issue in the series.

For those of you who have never read or heard of the series here is the idea behind it. Some mission are too dangerous to risk the lives of good men. So they offer criminals a chance at freedom. They take on the mission and, if they live, they get to go free and they have to keep the squad secret from the public. They never did trust Captain Boomerang so they always tried to find ways to keep him in the squad. It was sort of like the Dirty Dozen meets Mission: Impossible. I highly recommend this book.

Larry Norman and I Wish We'd All Been Ready

I said if I ever figured out how to make embedded music on this site that I would make the first one to be of Larry Norman's song I Wish We'd All Been Ready available. Well here it is. I would like to thank Kent of Forgotten Hits for pointing me in the direction of Divshare. However, I wasn't able to make that work with their free service and my funds are limited. This one with Google I think will work quite well for my finances.

Archie's Funhouse

Here is a video of the just released Archie's Funhouse. This was really the TV version of Archie's Joke Book. Now was the Joke Book selling so well they gave it a TV show or did they do it to boost circulation of the book? I always loved how they superimposed the real live kids coming into the theater and Archie and his friends were on stage preforming.

I Am Legend

I Am Legend with Will Smith arrives on DVD on March 18th. You can pre-order it at Amazon.com today.

Monkees Promo Material and Merchandise

Here are some Monkees Promo material and merchandise I found on Foxytunes.com.

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

The Monkees Poster

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

DID THE MONKEES REALLY PLAY THIS GUITAR?

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

The Monkees Game

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

the Monkees car

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

The Monkees

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

The Monkees Season 1 DVD

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

The Monkees at Hard Rock Cafe in Atlantic City!

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

The Monkees at Hard Rock Cafe in Atlantic City!

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

The Monkees

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

the monkees newest set!

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

Hey Hey, its the Monkees

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

The Monkees

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

Hey Hey Were the Monkees Earrings

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

IN MY HOUSE: Tiger Beat featuring The Monkees

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

The Monkees

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

Part of My Monkees Collection

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

Secrect Society of Super-Villains

You can pre-order the Showcase Presents: The Secret Society of Super-Villains Volume 1. It comes out later this year. I have heard that it is coming out in May. The above is the cover of the first issue of the book when the comic book came out. I don't have any info on what the Showcase Presents artwork will look like yet.

Complete Collections on DVD-Rom

For those of you who have been planning on buying these DVD-Roms from Marvel time is running out. I heard from a reliable source that Marvel didn't renew with the company that puts them out and will only rely on the digital downloads from their site. Those downloads I have been told are only good to be read on your computer. You can't burn them onto a DVD-Rom. If you want to you can buy them at the Amazon.com link below.

Color Guide

I found this on E-Bay. A color guide for an issue of Daredevil.

Ron Dante and The Archies's Mr. Factory

Social commentary in song by Ron Dante and the Archies.

Mannix introduction

The posting of the TV show Mannix coming to DVD got me to thinking about the the intro to the show. So I looked it up on You Tube and was surprised that there wasn't that many postings there on it. Here is the one I did find for season one. It had a wonderful jazz tune that you can't get out of your head.

Archie's Funhouse: The Complete Series on DVD

I just found out that Archie's Funhouse is going on sale tomorrow. It is a 3 disc set of the complete cartoon series. You can still pre-order it now if you click on the Amazon link below. Won't it be great to hear all of those wonderful Ron Dante tunes again?

Larry Norman Video (PG-13)

I still can't embed audio only but here is a video that someone made of the Larry Norman song "I Wish We'd All Been Ready." If you are younger then 13 you may want your parents to view this with you if any part of it needs explaining.

This Day In Music History: Tab Hunter and Young Love

When the rock era started out it was not uncommon for the same song to be recorded by more then one artist. On this day in music history the song Young Love was #1 on the Billboard charts by Tab Hunter and #4 by Sonny James. It became a signature song for both artist. By having as many artist cover a song as possible it provided more income for the publishers and the songwriters.

The first person to record Young Love was its co-writer Ric Cartey for RCA Records. His version didn't make the charts. Later he played it for Sonny James and he liked it enough to record it.

The president of Dot Records thought Sonny's version would only be a hit on the country charts and wanted it to hit the pop charts at the same time. So he contacted actor Tab Hunter who at that time had not recorded a song. He told him he had a record he wanted him to hear and if Tab could carry a tune at all, he would like him to record it.

As it turned out Tab had a pretty good voice and had sang in his school choir. He liked the song and agreed to record it. Ten days later it was in record stores. Sonny's version also hit the pop charts and it was climbing. However, Tab's was right behind him. On March 2, 1957 Tab's version peaked at #1 and later Sonny's hit #2.

Tab's recording career was short lived at Dot. Warner Brothers had him under contract to make movies and wanted him to concentrate on that. When they sent him on a promotional tour for the movie The Spirit of St. Louis no one asked him about the movie. He mostly got questions about his record. Warner Brothers was furious. Eventually Warner Brothers started their own record label and Tab Hunter was one of the artist they signed first. Tab feels that he was the reason they started their own label. Warner Brothers would rather have their artist earn money for them and not other record labels.

Tab Hunter had a long but sporadic career in films which range from Island of Desire to Grease 2. He was the star of his own sit-com in 1960 called "The Tab Hunter Show." I only lasted one season as it was against the last 30 minutes of "The Ed Sullivan Show." In 1977 he played George Shumway the father of Mary Hartman when he joined the cast of "Forever Fernwood." It was the spin-off show of "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman." He later formed his own production company to produce his own independent films.

Rest In Peace Larry Norman

----------------
Listening to: Larry Norman - I Wish We'd All Been Ready
via FoxyTunes

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Listening to: Larry Norman - I Wish We'd All Been Ready
via FoxyTunes Larry Norman

[via FoxyTunes / Larry Norman]

I heard that one of the founders of Contemporary Christian Music, formerly known as Jesus Rock when it first started, Larry Norman died. One of the first Christian Rock songs I heard played and my youth department even sang in church was his song "I Wish We'd All Been Ready." I hope when the Lord returns that we all are. The one reason I have taken longer then usual in posting this, as Mr. Norman passed away last week, is because I was trying to find a way to embed the song here so others could listen to it. I have not had much luck in doing that with the audio only version of Larry Norman singing. So below you can see the video of DC Talk preforming the song. You have to hear it. There version is beautiful.



In the 1960's and 1970's not too many people were producing rock music with Christian lyrics as rock and roll music was closely associated with the Devil and to some people it was called the Devil's Music. Larry Norman was one of the first to show you can still love the Lord Jesus and enjoy rock and roll. He had tried making a career in the secular world of rock and roll but it didn't work out as well as he had hoped, even though his group did have a top 40 hit with a song called "I Love You." He then left the group to release his first solo Christian Rock album called "Upon This Rock" in 1969. It was from this album that "I Wish We'd All Been Ready" was released.
Here is a link to his site Larry Norman.com. Also, here is what Kent at Forgotten Hits has to say about Larry Norman.

Chicago and the Beach Boys

Here is a video of Chicago and the Beach Boys singing "Wishin' You Were Here" and "Surfer Girl."

Top 40 Radio A Blast From The Past

Here is a video of a man with his own show that takes people back to the way top 40 radio use to be.

Superman and Hostess in the Ionic Storm

Love-Man Beast

Normally this is not something I would post here but it is just plain funny. Here for your listening pleasure, or something close to it, is the one, the only (thank goodness), Love-Man Beast.

Teardrop City on Peyton Place

Nighttime soap operas have become a staple on network television. One of the early ones was a show in the 60's called Peyton Place. Here is a video of a group playing the Boyce and Hart song Teardrop City, made a bit more famous by the Monkees, on the night club set of the series Peyton Place.

Bobby Hart Interview

I know that Rhino had 2 parts of a three part interview with Mike Nesmith on their site. However, now I, after a long wait, I finally checked back in and saw that part three of the interview with Nez is up and also they have an interview with Bobby Hart. Bobby is the one on the right in the picture above in case you have never seen him before. That is what he looked like back in the later 1960's. The other is of course his show business friend and partner Tommy Boyce. You can listen to the interviews if you click here or on the title above.

Monkees Kellogg's Commercial

Here is a Monkees Cereal commercial that looks to be from season one. Enjoy!

Orson Welles' Batman

While searching the internet today I came across something I found astounding but before posting found it was a hoax. Orson Welles liked comic books. If this were true it whould not have been too surprising as he was the voice of the Shadow on radio. Welles was known for his painstaking research in to whatever he was working on. Perhaps he would have read the Shadow pulps and that would have lead him to read comic books. According to the hoax, he even said that he loved the Green Lantern/Green Arrow stories from Denny O'Neil in 1973 and attended an early comic book convention. In 1946 he was even talking over with National Periodicals, who later became DC Comics, with making Batman into a movie. This movie may well have been along the lines of what Michael Keaton's Batman movie followed.

The casting was Welles was to be Bruce Wayne/Batman. The Villains were to have been...

Basil Rathbone as the Joker...

George Raft as Two-Face...


James Cagney as the Riddler...

and Marlene Dietrich as Catwoman.

Yes it is a hoax but on You Tube I found the fan movie trailers that showed what the Orson Welles version of Batman may have been like.


Here is Part one.


and this is part two.

I had a hard time deciding if I should put this here or on my comic books site Mail It To Team Up. I decided to post it here and direct the readers of Mail It To Team Up to this site to view it.