Mark Gruenwald

Over at the Fred Hembeck Show Fred gives this sad but touching reminder that in August this was the 10th year since the sudden passing of a great writer. Mark Gruenwald. Notice that I didn't say comic book writer. While that is what he was known for Mr. Gruenwald had the talent and skills for any kind of writing. He just chose to use them in the comic book format. His long run on Captain America is the best that character has ever had. In the 80's I was buying mostly Marvel comics. I was not shy of buying books by other publishers and started to wonder why I was drawn to Marvel. Then I noticed that all the books I was buying were either written or edited by Mark Gruenwald. I wasn't a Marvel fan. I as a Gruenwald fan. I started to feel I knew the man through his stories and it came as a shock when I read of his death. The comic book industry got alot darker for me after the passing of this quiet star.

This Is Tom Jones!

Earlier I did a series on pop music stars that got their own variety show. Last night I watched Dancing with the Stars and Tom Jones was the guest singer. How could I have forgotten that this man who had a lot of hits also had his own show from February 7, 1969 to January 15, 1971 on ABC? Tom Jones is a Welsh singer who is a son of a coal miner. Tom is a former door to door salesman. He was named Thomas Jones Woodrow and later shortened it to Tom Jones. He had a lot of hits in the 60’s like It's Not Unusual, What’s New Pussycat? and She’s A Lady. He also sang the theme song to the James Bond movie Thunderball. In 1966 Tom’s popularity started to slip. His manager suggested that he change his image a little bit by wearing a tux. This helped to make him seem more mature and changed him from a pop singer to a crooner. The new image worked and Tom Jones returned to the top 40 in England and America. In the late 60’s Mr. Jones started concentrating more on his club appearances then on his recording career. During this time he also started his variety series. His show was a hit in the UK and the US. The series was filmed in London and in Hollywood allowing it for a wide range of American and British guest stars from Peter Sellers, Dusty Springfield and Herman’s Hermits to Edward G. Robinson, Tanya Tucker, Debbie Reynolds, Bob Hope and George Carlin. After the show was canceled he continued to have hits in the UK but none in America until the late 80’s. It was then when he joined with the group the Art of Noise and recorded the song Kiss that was written by Prince. In 2000 he preformed at the Millennium Celebrations in Washington. Since then he has turned up on various shows like he did last night on Dancing with the Stars. It’s not unusual for Tom Jones to show up when you least expect him. 

The Mighty Heroes Movie?

Remember this cartoon? Diaper man led this band of heroes into battle. Ropeman, Strongman, Cuckoo Man, Tornado Man etc. made up the membership. The villian was always getting the upperhand and usually tied up the heroes with Rope Man. They would get free and finally work together to defeat the bad guy. Now at Jump the Shark a person has posted that they are making a movie based on them. Ryan Styles is to play Rope Man and Greg Poops is to play Cuckoo Man. If this is true it should be a very funny movie.

Happy 40th Anniversary to the Monkees!

It was 40 years ago today Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider taught the band to play. They’ve been going in and out of style but they’re guaranteed to raise a smile. So may I introduce to you Bob and Bert’s pre-fab four get no respect club band. The Monkees! Ok so I paraphrased the lyrics of a Lennon- McCartney song but the description fits. On September 12th of 1966 NBC aired the first episode of the Monkees TV series. The idea for the series came to Bob Rafelson in 1962. It was to be about the life of a struggling folk music group. It was based on a group that he had been in earlier. He couldn’t get anyone interested in his idea until The Beatles movie “A Hard Day’s Night” was released. With changing the group into a pop rock band and help from Bert Schneider he was able to sell his idea to Screen Gems, the television division of Columbia Pictures.
They placed a now famous ad calling for all “Ben Frank types” to audition for parts in their project. Ben Franks was a popular restaurant in the area where a lot of teens and 20 somethings hung out at in the evenings. Of those chosen only one saw the ad. Another was already under contract to Columbia Pictures. One was set up for a private audition by his manager and the fourth was referred to the auditions by a friend who had tried but failed his audition. They were in order Mike Nesmith, Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork. So with a recently discharged from the military guitar player, a former amateur Jockey turned Broadway star, a former child star and a full time dishwasher part-time musician all signed to the show and the series was under way. It sounds like a recipe for disaster with four very different personalities trying to blend together but the show was a hit but it looked more like a TV version of "Help!" then it did "A Hard Day's Night". Rafelson said they tried at first to cast existing groups like the Lovin’ Spoonful into the roles but they found thier memebers to have almost the same personalities. TV audiences like to watch personalities that are in conflict with each other. So they decided to cast four different personalities.
The pilot was filmed in November of 1965. There was a fifth member of the cast in the pilot. An actor was hired to play their manager in order to give them some parental authority. When it was screened for test audiences the pilot failed. The producers noticed that most of the poorly rated parts were the slow scenes with the manager. Also the audiences seemed to be getting the four younger band members mixed up. They edited out most of the managers scenes and added on Davy and Mike’s screen test at the beginning. They hoped this would solve any confusion and tested the pilot again. This time it became one of the best tested pilots in the history of television at that time. The show was on the air in the fall of 1966 and was a big hit. It was such a big hit that the Monkees even had an influence on Star Trek. Star Trek was not doing very well in the ratings. In order to get some of the teenage television audience Roddenberry created the character of Ensign Chekov in 1967 and hired Walter Koenig to play the part because he resembled Davy Jones. This didn’t help ratings much but it did add to the Star Trek legacy that is still felt to this day. Trouble started to come early on when the four stars had been promised to play their own music but Don Kirshner, the musical supervisor for the series, would only allow them to sing on the records but not play their own instruments. While Micky was probably happy with this as he was not a real drummer, Mike and Peter were not. The music press got hold of this. Mike got furious and spearheaded a campaign that in the end got Krishner fired and The Monkees got to produce their next album themselves. Credit has to be given to Micky Dolenz for learning to play the drums so fast in such a short period of time. He was now competing on the charts with drummers like Ringo Starr, Dennis Wilson and Keith Moon. These men had been playing the drums almost all their lives. Micky had only been playing them a few months and was expected to hold his own in that competition. I think he did pretty well.
No one had ever expected Leonard Nimoy to become a Vulcan or for Richard Chamberlain to perform surgery or for Raymond Burr to defend a client in a court of law. However, the Monkees were expected to become a real group and they did. By 1971 after many gold records, sold out concerts, Emmy awards, a movie and a television special, the Monkees were over. The show was a hit in syndication and radio stations still played their hit records. Mike Nesmith had a successful country music career, Peter Tork was teaching and Davy and Micky were trying to get their show business careers back on track. They were the two most identified with the Monkees and were severely typecast. It’s hard to escape a role you were typecast in when you and the character you played on the show have the same name. Micky did voice acting in many cartoons and even tried out for the part of Fonzie on Happy Days. Henry Winkler said that when he saw Micky Dolenz trying for the part he thought Micky would get the part instead of him. Micky himself said when he went up for roles the producers would ask him “What are you doing here? You’re a drummer.” He had to remind them he was only playing a drummer. Micky and Davy formed another group with Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart and released an album and did a brief tour of the U.S.A. and Japan and did a television special. Later they disbanded too.
By the 1980’s it was coming to light that just as the Beatles influenced the Monkees, the Monkees had an influence on bands that were emerging in the 80’s. The Bangles was a huge all female group at that time and have said they were influenced by the Monkees music. Micky, Davy and Peter reformed the group. Micky said that over the years people have asked what it would take to get him and the others together. For him he said it would take a huge amount of money. Usually they went away shaking their heads. This time they didn’t. With the help of MTV running the old shows the Monkees reunion tour and album was a success. They even had another hit song on the charts with “That Was Then, This Is Now.” Eventually the group members went their separate ways again. In 1996 all four members reunited for their 30th anniversary for a tour of England, a TV special and a new album called “Justus.” Fans in America were saddened when only 3 of the Monkees toured there as they had been waiting for a complete reunion for years. Bootleg copies of concerts in England have surfaced in the States but so far no complete reunion concert tour live or otherwise has happened here.
Today is the 40th anniversary of the Monkees TV show. No special concert has been announced but Rhino records has released special CD’s of their first two albums and the show is back in syndication. You can catch the four members in separate concerts from time to time. So happy 40th to the Monkees! Long may your music and TV show play.
The above photo is from TVGUIDE.com and you can go to their fan club site if you click here.

A Mama's Rant

If you are a Mother or a writer or a Star Trek fan you need to take a look at A Mama's Rant.
It's a nice little site that is dedicated this week to the 9/11 victims.

DC Comics In House Advertisement

 

For western fans a Marvel comics in house ad for the Two-Gun Kid

 

Blessings come from applying God's Word

How well do you apply God's Word to your life?

He replied, "But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice."

Luke 11:28 NLT

You should behave instead like God's very own children, adopted into his family—calling him "Father, dear Father."

Romans 8:15 NLT

An eloquent testimony

Actions speak louder than words. Our behavior is eloquent testimony to who we are and what we think. Holy thought and corrupt behavior cannot coexist. It is a lie to say follow Christ if you are disregarding his Word and ignoring him. And is it surprising and disappointing when we hear people give a clear Christian testimony and yet see that they have a questionable lifestyle? The Bible calls us all to holy living. We are to make every effort to live according to its guidelines. First, if we are truly a new creature in Christ, then God's Holy Spirit is living within us, helping us want to do what is right. Second, godly living is an example to unbelieving friends, neighbors, and co-workers that we are different. People are attracted to others who are consistently kind, gracious, and loving. When they ask what makes you different you will have a wonderful opportunity to tell them of God's love. Third, godly living is a confirmation that you are, in fact, living for God and not yourself. It is a barometer of your relationship with him. And fourth, godly living means that you are emulating Christ, who is our ultimate example of how to live.

Are You Following Jesus' Final Instructions?

How well are you doing at following Jesus' final instructions?

Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere.

Mark 16:15 NLT

"'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

Matthew 22:37-38 NLT

The real work

On October 20, 1968, a dramatic moment took place at the Mexico City Olympics. A few thousand spectators remained in the almost-dark Olympic Stadium awaiting one last runner.

Finally the wail of police sirens ripped the air. As all eyes turned to the gate, a lone runner wearing the colors of Tanzania staggered into the stadium. John Stephen Akhwari was the last contestant to finish the 26-mile contest. He had injured his leg in a fall and entered the track bloodied and crudely bandaged. While he hobbled the final, lonely lap, spectators rose and applauded him as if he had won.

After the race, someone asked him why he had refused to quit. "My country did not send me 7,000 miles to start the race," he replied simply. "They sent me 7,000 miles to finish it."

To help us achieve a strong finish in our race of faith, Jesus Christ promised that "Whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man will also confess before the angels of God."

You too can finish the race well by eagerly confessing Christ before others.

Happy 40th Anniversary Star Trek!

In the 1960’s there was a former policeman, Gene Roddenberry,who was also a part time writer. He wrote many short stories for science fiction magazines and sold some scripts to some television shows. Roddenberry said that his experience as a policeman helped his writing as he got to see first hand the human emotions during times of crisis. In 1963 he produced a show called The Lieutenant. It starred Gary Lockwood as Marine Lieutenant Bill Rice and Robert Vaughn as his superior officer Captain Ray Rambridge. The Captain gave the Lieutenant a hard time. Not because he didn’t like him but he thought he would be a good officer and tried to show him how to be a good officer. The show was on NBC from September of 1963 to September of 1964. Roddenberry had no new show ready but started thinking of his first love, science fiction. Since science fiction is mostly futuristic the plots can be more flexible and he could showcase the more touchy subjects in modern society with little worry if he would anger anyone. So in 1964 he developed the idea and wrote a script for what would become Star Trek. Science fiction was a hard sell to the networks. Especially one that the creator wanted to appeal to adults. In the 1950’s and early 1960’s science fiction was low budget shows that was aimed at children. Every company and network he took the idea to turned him down. He heard that CBS was having producers come in and pitch their ideas for new shows and went to them. He was there quite along time telling them about the science fiction show he wanted to produce and how he had ideas to cut the cost of what would be an expensive show to make at that time. When he was done they said thanks but we already have a science fiction show in mind that we are going to produce. In 1965 he saw CBS use many of his ideas on that show. It was called Lost In Space. Roddenberry still kept trying. Then Desilu studios showed interest and produced the pilot. The pilot was screened for NBC executives and was almost passed over but one executive said the episode actually made him feel like he was on a spaceship. A second pilot was ordered. However, a lot of time had lapsed between the two pilots. As a result the first star of the pilot was unavailable as were some of the other actors. I have read that even if Jeff Hunter, Capt. Christopher Pike in the first pilot, was available they would still have recast his role. The producers liked Mr. Hunter. His wife was his manager and she didn’t get along with the producers so they didn’t want her around. So Mr. Hunter was out and Mr. Shatner was in. The first show aired on September 8th 1966 on NBC. The producers tired hard to get the ratings and to show that it was a program that adults could watch. However, when reporters were on the set to see what made this a series for adults they arrived on the day when the scene that was being shot was one of Dr. McCoy reviving Mr. Spock who described how he was attacked by "the monster." It didn’t come off sounding like a show that many adults would want to watch or let their children watch. Ratings were poor and NBC was losing faith in Roddenberry and company. The show was only saved from cancellation by write in campaigns from die hard fans. This didn’t mean that the network gave them the best facilities to work in. The worse the ratings got the more the floor squeaked and the pipes dripped. The sound man had his work cut out for him in covering up those sounds on what was suppose to be a top of the line ship of the future. While the show was on the air Mr. Roddenberry tried for a spin off that would have been more grounded on earth. It was to star Gary Lockwood from The Lieutenant as Gary Six and Terri Garr as his assistant. The pilot was filmed as an episode of Star Trek but the network was not interested in a spin off from what they saw as a failed series.
On September 6th, 1969 their five year mission came to an early end when another write in campaign failed to save the show and NBC canceled the series. This should have been the end but it wasn’t. In his book Star Trek Movie Memories William Shatner recalled in July of 1968 being asked to appear at a celebration for the scientist and astronauts involved with Apollo 11. He said he was greeted with much more attention then he deserved as he was a pretend hero and Neil Armstrong and the others were real heroes. Other members of the cast echoed this when they have been told that they were role models for many who later went to work for NASA as astronauts and scientist. One of the space shuttles was even named the Enterprise after the ship on Star Trek. When Mr. Shatner left he was to begin filming the third season of Star Trek and felt the show would be around for a long time. Since that was Star Trek’s final season it would be years before Mr. Shatner’s feeling would prove to be true.
During the 1970’s Mr. Roddenberry tired to get other science fiction series like Planet Earth, Genesis II or Strange New World going but had no luck. Paramount bought out Desilu studios and owned the rights to shows like Star Trek and Mission Impossible. Paramount wanted to start a new TV network and asked Roddenberry to produce a new 2 hour pilot film for a Star Trek series. The pilot was given a lukewarm response and the idea for a new network was forgotten. However, since the film was already made so it was released as a feature film to get some of the money back. Because of syndication the fans of Star Trek had grown and were eagerly waiting on a movie based on the series. The film made a small profit. I felt it was ironic that this film was given a G rating and the Disney produced science fiction film, The Black Hole, was released the same day with a PG rating. During the filming of the movie there was tension between Paramount and Roddenberry so they got a new producer for the 2nd film when they hired Harve Bennett. The result is one of the most successful film series in the history of film and many spin off series. Mr. Roddenberry had finally gotten the spin-off from the show that he created with Star Trek: the Next Generation. However, it was in name only. He lent his name to the series but had very little to do with the production of the shows.
After Mr. Roddenberry died his widow, Majel Barrett, kept producing shows based on scripts that he had written but never produced. It resulted in long running syndicated shows like Earth: Final Conflict and Andromeda. After he passed away Mr. Roddenberry’s ashes were sent into space. Recently Paramount has been talking about the 11th film in the Star Trek series. Not too bad for a failed show. So Happy 40th Anniversary to a show that doesn’t know when to quit.

Happy 40th Anniversary That Girl!

As TV Land has reminded us another show began a long run on September 8th 1966as well. It was That Girl starring Danny Thomas’ daughter Marlo Thomas. Many people have said that the Mary Tyler Moore Show was the first to show what life was like for the single woman in the city. It was really That Girl that showed that part of life first from September 8th 1966 to September 10, 1971. That Girl was the first of the new wave of shows that showcased an independant woman as the main character. That wave included MTM, The Doris Day Show and Rhoda. Miss Thomas played Ann Marie who moved from a small town to New York City to become an actress. She met Donald Hollinger played by Ted Bessell who became her boyfriend. Lew Parker played Lou Marie Ann’s father. Other comedy greats and future greats showed up from time to time. Like George Carlin, Ronnie Schell, Bernie Kopell, Ruth Buzzi and Dabney Coleman. Many of Ann’s big breaks came in the form of TV commercials, Soap Operas or as an understudy for a Broadway show. In one I remember her being upset when she was suppose to play a woman who was just killed and her eyes were open as the camera came in for a close up. The show was live and it could not be edited out. I couldn’t understand why she was upset. I had just learned in school that when a person died the muscles contracted and the eyelids sometimes would open. I thought she was playing the part accurately. Another stand out episode was when she was an understudy in a play that starred Ethel Merman. It was funny to see what she went through to meet Miss. Merman and introduce her to her friends. Now some people who have not seen the show may wonder where they got the title of the show. Well imagine a producer looking to cast a role. He says he is not sure what he wants but will know it when he sees it. Suddenly he sees Ann Marie and knows she is what he is looking for and says “I want That Girl!” Cue the theme music.
Ann and Donald dated the entire run of the show and did get engaged. However, they never got married. I guess they thought it would end any hope for syndication success. Syndication was starting to become a big player in contracts with actors and producers of TV series. This was a fun series to watch for all ages. You can get the first season on DVD at Amazon or catch it in syndication on a local station.
Miss. Thomas did show up on other TV shows from time to time but never had her own series again. She became a spokesperson for her fathers charity and later married Phil Donahue. Mr. Bessell had been on Gomer Pyle USMC as Gomer's friend Frankie Lombardi before he was cast on That Girl. In 1972 he got his own series called Me And The Chimp. He played Mike Reynolds. He was married with two kids and his kids found a chimp named Buttons in the park. His kids kept it as a pet. Mike never got along with Buttons and the show centered on how Buttons got the Reynolds family into trouble. It was Mike's duty to get them out of trouble. The show was never a big hit and only ran from January 13, 1972 to May 18, 1972. Later, he had a summer series of his own called Good Time Harry. He played sportswriter Harry Jenkins. Harry was also a playboy and his adventures in that area always got in the way of his assignments for the paper. He kept getting fired but he was such a good sportswriter that they always kept hiring him back. The show had a steller cast that included Eugene Roche, Marcia Strassman and Barry Gordon. It was a very funny show that I had hoped would graduate to become a regular series. Unfortunately it did not. The show only ran from July 19, 1980 to September 13, 1980.
Mr. Bessell became a respected TV director. They were in the planning stages of doing a TV reunion movie for That Girl with him as the director when he passed away. Others would have recast his part and gotten a new director but they decided not to do the movie. It was better to leave how good the show and Mr. Bessell was to the memories of fans of the show.

The Official Website of Pierce Brosnan

Fans of Remington Steele, James Bond and/or Pierce Brosnan here is where you can go to visit his official site on the internet. http://www.piercebrosnan.com/menu.php?mm=1&sm=1&pn=1
I just thought you would like to know. 

This Day In Music History: Mitch Miller and The Yellow Rose of Texas

On this date in music history the Yellow Rose of Texas by Mitch Miller was the #1 song in the country on the Billboard charts. It was the 2nd #1 song in the history of the rock era. Mitch Miller was a critic of rock music but was a major influence of rock in his position as one of the heads of Columbia records. He was thrust into the limelight when his song, a new version of an old Civil War tune, went to #1. When Miller produced the record he liked it so much he ordered 100,000 to be pressed. One of his executives disagreed with the order and Mitch said he would buy back any unsold copies. He didn’t have to buy any of them back. The song was #1 for 6 weeks. His next project was an album called Sing Along With Mitch and was one of the first albums that included the lyrics so the listener could sing with the record. It was a huge hit. NBC gave him a special on TV. It did so well that they gave him his own show, Sing Along With Mitch, which ran from 1961 to 1966. 

Who Wants To Be A SUPERHERO?

When I first heard about this show on the Sci Fi channel I thought they had to be kidding. They weren't. I could not figure out how they were going to turn ordinary people into superheroes. Well they did. By focusing their efforts on the values of honesty, integrity, courage etc. They showed what it took to make a person a superhero. It is your morales and values not your superpowers. Along the way they also made it fun. They started out with their real names but eventually used their code names for most of the series. Stan Lee would give them a series of challanges and the person who he thought did not preform up to superhero standards would be asked to turn in his or her costume. Now you would think that this would all be filled with comic book geeks who want to be in a comic book. Well they were represented very well but there was also Fat Mama a woman who wanted to send a positive message to children. Major Victory who was trying to get back in touch with his daughter by becoming a hero to her. There was also Levity a toy maker who wanted to win to get the toy manufacturing contract and Monkey Woman who was an actress who wanted to win the prize of starring in the movie made on her character to jumpstart her career. Both of them were asked to turn in their costumes when this was found out about them as superheroes are to be selfless not selfish. The one who did win was Matthew aka Feedback. He was big comic book fan who said that when his Father died he felt that Stan Lee helped to raise him by concentrating on the values that the Marvel comics characters that Stan created had. He eventually installed them into himself. Were all these people on the level about the selfless reasons they were on the show or were they just better actors then Levity and Monkey Woman? I hope they were telling the truth. Still it was a fun show to watch. Each week when they met to confront Stan about who was about to be booted from the show I felt like I was watching a comic book come to life. Like I was at a meeting of the JLA or the Avengers. For the most part I have stopped buying new comic books but I will look for this one and the made for TV movie that will come out based on Feedback. I just hope this was all done months ago so that the book and movie are ready to come out anytime now so they will be a hit. If they wait too long the audience may cool off and forget. For now congratulations to Matthew aka Feedback. It is nice to see that one comic book fans dreams came true. 

The Biggest Two Sided Hit of All Time

The people at The60sshop@aol.com have done a survey on the best two sided hits of all time. After a long search this is the #1 two sided hit. If you would like to subscribe to their newsletter you can write to them here The60sshop@aol.com. Tell them Rick Phillips sent you.

In Billboard Magazine, HOUND DOG hit the charts first. Always a fan favorite, it debuted at #24 on the chart for the week ending July 25, 1956. ELVIS already had three other records in The Top 100: I WANT YOU, I NEED YOU, I LOVE YOU was perched at #3, HEARTBREAK HOTEL was still holding on at #38 and MY BABY LEFT ME (featured earlier in this countdown) was in at #59.
The following week, HOUND DOG shot up to #11 and DON'T BE CRUEL debuted at #28. For the week ending August 8th, HOUND DOG rose to #6 and DON'T BE CRUEL hit #17. Next week, HOUND DOG moved to #3 and DON'T BE CRUEL joined it in The Top Ten at #6. A week later, HOUND DOG went to #2 and DON'T BE CRUEL to #4. The following week, HOUND DOG held the #2 spot (kept out of the #1 position by THE PLATTERS' hit MY PRAYER) and DON'T BE CRUEL crept up a notch to #3. For the week ending September 5th, DON'T BE CRUEL leap-frogged to #1 and HOUND DOG fell to #3. Both records held those positions for the following two weeks. Then on the chart dated "Week Ending September 26th," HOUND DOG moved back to the #2 spot, right behind DON'T BE CRUEL, which was now in its fourth week at #1. The following week, DON'T BE CRUEL held on to its top spot, but HOUND DOG fell to #6. A week later, HOUND DOG was down to #9 but DON'T BE CRUEL was still poised at #1, now for the sixth consecutive week. Both titles held their positions the following week. For the week ending October 24th, DON'T BE CRUEL finally fell from #1 (replaced by THE GREEN DOOR by JIM LOWE) and HOUND DOG fell out of The Top Ten to #12. Both recordings then began their descent down the charts, replaced by a brand NEW ELVIS PRESLEY hit, LOVE ME TENDER.
By all appearances, DON'T BE CRUEL was the clear-cut winner, holding down the #1 Spot for seven consecutive weeks. In addition, it spent a total of 16 weeks in Billboard's Top Ten. However, over at Cash Box Magazine, a slightly different scenario occurred. (It should be pointed out that in 1956, Billboard Magazine ran SEVERAL different charts. HOUND DOG DID go to #1 on both Billboard's Sales Chart and their Jukebox Chart. Officially, however, based on Billboard's Top 100 Chart, it peaked at #2.)
For the week ending July 28, 1956, HOUND DOG debuted at #50 on the Cash Box Best-Selling Singles Chart. A week later, it shot all the way up to #6 and DON'T BE CRUEL was shown for the first time as a "tag-along" B-SIDE. The following week, HOUND DOG went to #2 and DON'T BE CRUEL debuted on its own strength at #29. For the week ending August 18, 1956, HOUND DOG was OFFICIALLY The Number One Record in the Country according to Cash Box Magazine. DON'T BE CRUEL, at this point, was still climbing the charts at #13. A week later, HOUND DOG held the top spot while DON'T BE CRUEL rose to #5. HOUND DOG spent its THIRD week at #1 the following week, while DON'T BE CRUEL crept to #4. A week later, HOUND DOG was still the #1 song in the nation while DON'T BE CRUEL moved up a notch to #3. The following week (on the chart dated "Week Ending September 15, 1956), DON'T BE CRUEL finally reached #1 on the Cash Box Chart and HOUND DOG fell to #2. DON'T BE CRUEL held the #1 position for the next five weeks while HOUND DOG bounced around The Top Ten. (#3, #2, #5, #6 and then down to #14.) Ironically, ELVIS replaced himself at the top of the heap when LOVE ME TENDER went to #1 for the week ending October 27th. It stayed on top for five weeks, giving ELVIS PRESLEY the Number One Record In The Country for 15 CONSECUTIVE WEEKS, spread out between those three titles! Add in HEARTBREAK HOTEL's four weeks at #1 and ELVIS PRESLEY held down the top spot in Cash Box Magazine for 19 WEEKS in 1956 alone!
That makes DON'T BE CRUEL / HOUND DOG without question the BIGGEST TWO-SIDED HIT OF ALL-TIME. NO other record EVER had BOTH sides hit the #1 spot during the rock era. (Remember that we eliminated ROSEMARY CLOONEY's 1954 Hit HEY THERE / THIS OLE HOUSE at the outset of this special new series.)
So there you have it ... THE TOP 200 BIGGEST TWO-SIDED HITS OF ALL-TIME. Some surprises? Some disappointments? For Sure ... but we believe that we came up with the FAIREST way to rank these records, setting all personal prejudices aside ... you know, other than all of our own biting commentary!!! (lol)
We hope you have enjoyed this very special countdown ... certainly the most ambitious we've ever undertaken here in FORGOTTEN HITS. Thanks for stickin' with us! I also want to pass along my HIGHEST thanks to RANDY PRICE, without whom this list may have never seen the light of day (as I'd still be bouncing off the walls in some rubber room somewhere, trying to rationalize how on earth THE CREW CUTS could have a couple hits bigger than ELVIS, THE BEATLES and THE BEACH BOYS!!!) Thank you from the bottom of my heart, RANDY ... I couldn't have done it ... and passed this list along ... without you.
***
What's next??? How about our long-delayed interview with PETER NOONE. (It's coming up right after our Annual Labor Day Vacation.) And then, the much-anticipated FAVORITE, FORGOTTEN B-SIDES SERIES. There's plenty more to come in FORGOTTEN HITS ... those of you who need to use the bathroom should probably go now!!! 
Don't Be Cruel

Hound Dog

Rest In Peace Glenn Ford

Not long ago I wrote a couple of pieces on Glenn Ford's television career with such shows as Cades's County and the Family Holvak. I did not realize that in a few weeks I would be reporting that he died. I don't have much to say but the man who brought happines to generations to those who watched those shows and those who saw him in Blackboard Jungle and other films will miss him. To many people he was Pa Kent as he was the most famous actor to play the character when he took on the role in Superman: The Movie. To Mr. Ford's family and friends you have our deepest sympathies. 

Birthday Party Time!

Well today is August 29th my birthday. Welcome to the party. As you can see Hugh Downs is here. He is over in the corner reminding everyone that it is also the 45th anniversary this week of when he appeared on the cover of TV Guide. Booksteve is taking people’s coats while telling them that yesterday was Jack Kirby's birthday. If you want to see who might have been born on this day you can go here. I say might as they have Jack Kirby being born today but he was born on the 28th. Our local politician Randy Blankenship is in the dining room handing out drinks from the punch bowl as well as talking politics. My friend Paul from Comic Book World is taking care of any gifts that you might have brought. I said gifts weren't necessary but you know some people can't come to a party without gifts. My pastor friends Dan Francis from Erlanger Baptist Church, Joel Urshan from First Apostolic Church of Cincinnati and Fred Hartley from Lilburn Alliance Church have said they might stop by. You might even run into Fred Hembeck, Marv Wolfman, or Mark Evainer. In a few minutes my wife will be bringing out the cake. Later,Joe Dowell will take the stage to sing us a song. What? You don’t know who Joe Dowell is? Well read below and I will fill you in.

This Day In Music History: Joe Dowell and Wooden Heart

I have a book as I posted earlier that tells of what songs were #1 on the charts called The Billboard Book of #1 Hits. Sometimes I have looked up what the #1 hit song was on the birth date of friends and family members. For today I looked up my birthday. Did I get The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, Elvis or even a one hit wonder that was so huge that you still know the song to this day? No I got Joe Dowell with his version of Wooden Heart (Muss I Denn). I sort of came close to having an Elvis song as a hit on my birthday as Elvis sang the song in the movie G.I. Blues and it was a hit overseas. That’s Joe pictured above in what looks like it was taken from his high school yearbook. Joe was born in January of 1940 in Bloomington, Indiana but raised in Bloomington, Illinois. Joe learned to play the guitar and sang and wrote his own songs. He made his first public performance in the 9th grade when he preformed in a talent show. He competed in contest while majoring in radio and television at the University of Illinois. With the dream of being on radio he drove to Nashville and rented a room at the YMCA. On his last day he went to see Teddy and Doyle Wilburn who were regulars on the Grand Ole Opry show. They liked him and introduced him to Shelby Singleton Jr. of Mercury Records. He liked Joe’s voice and his all-American boy look. Joe went back to school to finish his studies then returned to Nashville where he recorded songs that were released on Smash Records. He had 3 songs that entered the hot 100 so he is not a one hit wonder. The songs were The Bridge of Love that reached #50, Little Red Rented Rowboat at #23 and his biggest hit Wooden Heart reached #1.
Joe recorded Wooden Heart because his producer Shelby Singleton Jr. had seen the movie G.I. Blues and heard the Elvis version. He noticed that Gus Bacchus had a hit with it in Germany. Elvis had the song I Feel So Bad on the charts already and thought RCA would not release the Elvis version of Wooden Heart. He decided to have Joe cover the song.
Part of the song is in German and Joe had to be taught how to sing the German lyrics and Joe said he didn’t know what he was singing. A tuba and an accordion were used in the original version. To update the sound Jerry Kennedy played the bass guitar for the tuba part and Ray Stevens played an organ to sound like an accordion. Joe was then sent out on a barnstorming tour. It was a good thing too as it turns out that not only had Elvis covered the song but Joe had 4 others who had also recorded the song. With the tour Joe helped to send the song to #1.
Joe completed his education. When his recording career ended he found a new career in writing commercials. He had his own local radio show and wrote jingles for his sponsors. Later he was a spokesperson for financial institutions. When the 80’s came Joe gave up advertising and devoted his time to writing a book and recording songs that he wrote.
You can go to his site by clicking here 

The Jim Nabors Hour

This is the last in the series of cast members of the Andy Griffith Show who got their own variety series. Of the three Jim Nabors was the most successful. On the Andy Griffith Show Jim astounded the world when he opened his mouth to sing and out came this great baritone voice. It added a new depth to his character Gomer Pyle and to his spin off show Gomer Pyle USMC. Whenever Gomer or any of his friends needed money and he wanted to help he could always sing and someone would pay him. In the 60’s it seemed like people couldn’t get enough of Jim Nabors. He had two hit shows under his belt by 1969 and had started a recording career. Just as Gomer Pyle USMC was canceled in September of 1969 Jim Nabors new variety show first aired on September 25, 1969. It didn’t leave him much time to shift gears from a sit-com mentality to start thinking of how to host a variety show. However, he had familiar company as Frank Sutton and Ronnie Schell came along with him. On the show Jim had a segment, like many variety show hosts did, where he took comments and questions from the studio audience. The only part of this that I remember is when Jim seemed almost embarrassed when a young girl said how happy she was for him that his Christmas Album went gold. Back then that was the highest that an artist had ever gone till they started giving out platinum records. One of the best continuing sketches from the show was the Brothers-in-Law. The three of them were the brothers-in-law when Frank married Jim’s sister played by Karen Morrow. Frank was always trying to tell his wife and Jim that the world was an eat or get eaten world and Jim always did better then Frank when he smiled and treated others the way he would want them to treat him. Ronnie was the brother-in-law who drank too much and would stumble in drunk. He made a lot of noise trying to get upstairs and thought no one saw or heard him. Usually Frank and Jim did see him. Ronnie Schell deserved a hit show with him as the star. He was a good mimic. Almost as good as Rich Little or Frank Gorshin. He proved he could do physical comedy and also was a good straight man when he played Duke on Gomer Pyle. After this variety series he was hardly seen. He did show up in a few movies from time to time. I remember seeing him in the Disney movie the Devil and Max Devlin but nothing after that. The Jim Nabors Hour fared better then Don Knotts or Ken Berry did with their variety shows. His was renewed for a second season. I don’t know if the ratings were bad or if Mr. Nabors wanted out of the show but it ended its run on May 20, 1971. On June 28, 1974 Frank Sutton passed away of a heart attack. In August a pilot for a new TV show that he was to be in aired. It was called Ernie, Madge and Artie. Also, in September of that year the last TV movie he stared in, Hurricane, was aired. It was the last time his fans would see him. Click here to see a fan site for Frank Sutton. 

God's Promise: God will help you understand His Word!

How well do your undersand God's Word?
But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds so they will understand them, and I will write them on their hearts so they will obey them. I will be their God, and they will be my people!
Hebrews 8:10 NLTAbove all, you must understand that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophets themselves or because they wanted to prophesy. It was the Holy Spirit who moved the prophets to speak from God.
2 Peter 1:20-21 NLT
About this week's promise:How remarkable that the God of the universe would actually want to communicate with us! We are creatures of a material, physical world to which we relate through our five senses. God is a spiritual being. We in our physical state cannot see him, hear him, or touch him, so how can he communicate with us? Through the Bible. Over several centures, God inspired a select number of people to write down what he felt we needed to know about him and how he expects us to live. These writings have been collected into this book, called the Holy Bible. In a miraculous way, the Bible speaks to each of us. Its truths apply across generations, across cultures, across all life experience. When it comes to reading the Bible, most of us read just enough to get by. Read God's Word daily so you can thoroughly understand all God wants you to know.