In this Nov. 13, 2012 photo released by Guy Oseary, singer Madonna, left, performs onstage with South Korean rapper PSY during Madonna's MDNA concert at Madison Square Garden in New York. Psy joined the Madonna and her troupe of dancers onstage to perform his hit song Gangnam Style . ((AP Photo/Guy Oseary))
McCartney's copter almost crashed
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It has been revealed that the helicopter carrying Paul McCartney and his wife Nancy closely escaped crashing while landing at his English estate in East Sussex earlier this year, reports Britain's Mail.
The pilot became "disoriented" while flying at night in bad weather and missed crashing into a group of trees on the property by only two feet. England's Dept. of Transportation is looking into the incident, which took place in May.
At the time of the incident, the McCartneys were reportedly unaware of how close they came to catastrophe. A McCartney spokesman said, "Paul has been spoken to. It has been put to him, everything. It's a no comment."
McCartney and his longtime four-piece band played shows in St. Louis and Houston this week, where he delivered his usual three-hour classic-laden show that included choice gems like "The Night Before" from "Help!," "And I Love Her," from "A Hard Day's Night," and a medley of Lennon-McCartney's "A Day in the Life" that segued into Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance."
The 70-year-old McCartney will spend the last week of the month in Canada, playing concerts on Nov. 25 in Vancouver, and on Nov. 28 and 29 in Edmonton.
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The Rolling Stones add U.S. show
The Rolling Stones have added a third American gig on Dec. 8 at the new 19,000-seat Barclays Center in Brooklyn. This date falls between the band's London shows
at the 20,000-seat O2 arena on Nov. 25 and 29 and its Dec. 13 and 15 performances at the 19,500-seat Prudential Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. There were more than 1 million online ticket requests for the London shows. The scuttlebutt is that The Stones will perform a ton of shows in 2013.?
Rush gets Hollywood honor
On Tuesday, Nov. 20, Rush will be honored with a plaque featuring their hand prints, signatures and images of their faces on the Rock Walk in front of Guitar Center on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood. However, the event is closed to the public. When calls to Guitar Center were placed, management representatives could not be found in the store to come to the phone. When asked why the public wasn't invited, the representative that answered the phone said, "Because that's just the way it is."
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Van Halen reschedules Japan tour
Van Halen has rescheduled three shows in Japan that were originally set for later this month because guitarist Eddie Van Halen underwent emergency surgery for diverticulitis, according to Japanese promoter Udo. The new dates are June 21, 2013 at the 42,000-seat Tokyo Dome, and June 24 and 36 at the 8,200-seat Osaka Municipal Central Gymnasium.
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Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade lineup
Among the artist performing along the route during the 86th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City will be Don McLean, Mannheim Steamroller, Chris Isaac, Jimmy Fallon and his house band The Roots, country singer Trace Adkins, and the Radio City Rockettes. Newbiess appearing include The Wanted, Neon Trees, Malibu-based folk and pop singer Colbie Calliat, dance popper Flo Rida, pop star Carly Rae Jepsen, pop duo Karmin, country pop singer Jenette McCurdy, pop girl band twins Megan & Liz, and teen Aussie pop singer Cody Simpson. NBC will telecast the parade Thanksgiving morning from 9 a.m. to noon on Thursday Nov. 22 and repeat it later from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
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Inxs break up after 35 years
Mid-way through its concert in Perth in its native Australia, where they were the opening act for Matchbox Twenty, Inxs drummer John Ferris told a stunned crowd that the concert they were watching would be its last, according to news.com.au. Ferris then added, "I'm getting teary." The group that formed in Sydney in 1977 performed its only American No. 1 single, its signature song from 1987's "Need You Tonight."
The band managed to survive for almost 15 years after the suicide death on Nov. 22, 1997 of its superstar frontman, singer Michael Hutchence.
Worldwide, the band sold more than 30 million records. Six of its albums were certified platinum here, including the 1987 album, "Kick" that went 6x platinum.
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Jackson Browne's West Coast tour
Jackson Browne will begin the new year with a month-long, 15-date acoustic concert tour up and down the West Coast. According to the announcement posted on his website, the 64-year-old who grew up in Southern California and was briefly an early member of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, will play piano and guitar and be "collaborating with musicians on stage."
The 2013 Acoustic Tour kicks off on Jan. 19 in Portland and wraps on Feb. 16 in Reno. In between, Brown scheduled stops on Jan. 26 at Copley Hall in San Diego, Jan. 28 at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, Jan. 29 at the Terrace Theatre of Long Beach, Jan. 31 at the Majestic Theatre of Bakersfield and on Feb. 1 at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula.
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Cancelled by Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy forced the cancellation or postponement of concerts by Aretha Franklin and former Supertramp co-leader Roger Hodgson as well as Journey, Aimee Mann, Phish leader Trey Anastasio, John Legend, Mos Def (now called Yasiin Bey), and experimental country folk band Blitzen Trapper with Brandi Carlile, and a benefit marriage equality benefit with Rufus Wainwright and The National, as well as all Broadway shows.
Billboard says the postponement and cancellations could cause the concert business millions in lost marketing and promotion costs.
On the flip side, fans at Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell's acoustic concert at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC benefitting the Mayor's Fund to aid victims of Sandy got a surprise when the remaining Soundgarden members joined Cornell onstage for six numbers, including the group's biggest hit, "Black Hole Sun," according to Blabbermouth.
At a relief benefit at Brooklyn Bowl, young hotshot blues-rock guitar wizard Gary Clark, Jr. donated $20 per ticket and collected canned goods and household items.
In other Sandy news, 37-year-old Staten Island resident Lori Gjenashaj lost her home and virtually all her possessions to the hurricane, but managed to attend Justin Bieber's concert at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Thanks to the kindhearted ticket vendor who sold her eight tickets on eBay, she was able to go after he made her copies of the tickets.
"I'm homeless, I'm broke ? but I'm here," she said, explaining that her original tickets were in her kitchen but were lost when her home flooded, reported the New York Daily News.
At a Madonna gig at Madison Square Garden, the 54-year-old Material Girl did what's almost always does, i.e., flashing her rear end for her 20,000 fans in attendance. However, this time it was for a good cause, as Entertainment Weekly reports, as she asked the attendees to throw money on stage; the money would be donated to the Sandy relief effort. How much money was raised was not reported. Earlier that day, she visited Queens where she met with victims and lent support.
She had one bodyguard and only a few people around. It was pretty cool seeing her there," a relief volunteer told the New York Daily News.
Meanwhile, country music's Carrie Underwood donated all the proceeds of her sold-out show at the 14,700-seat Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City to the hurricane relief effort.
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All-star mega-benefit set for Sandy victims
Clear Channel Media, the Weinstein Company and the Madison Square Garden Company are planning a mega-benefit for relief victims on Dec. 12 at the Garden that they compare to Paul McCartney's 2001 Concert for New York City that benefitted victims of the 9/11 attack that featured Eric Clapton, Elton John and a titanic performance by The Who. Like McCartney's show, the "12-12-12," concert will be televised and is also expected to draw an incredible roster of superstars. Details to come soon.
On a smaller scale, Contemporary Christian hitmaker Sandi Patty will play a benefit for the victims in the New York and New Jersey areas on Nov. 24 at the Calvary Baptist Church in the Big Apple.
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Journey postpone shows
In addition to the cancellation of its show at Brooklyn's Barclays Center because of Hurricane Sandy, Journey postponed five shows in Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Illinois after singer Arnel Pineda came down with a bad sore throat and laryngitis. The band says the shows will be rescheduled for January or February.
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Def Lepperd get Vegas residency
English hard rockers Def Leppard are heading to Vegas for a short residence. The quintet that formed in Sheffield in 1977, and who's fourth LP, "Hysteria," that was released in 1987 and went No. 1 here while being certified 12x platinum, will present "Viva Hysteria" over nine shows at the 4,000-seat Joint at the hard Rock Hotel and Casino from Mar. 22 through Apr. 10. The Joint's big selling point is that the furthest seat back is only 155 feet from the stage.
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Bono meets Biden
U2 singer and activist Bono met with Vice President Joe Biden at the White House. The pair discussed AIDS, fighting poverty and global development, according to a tweet from Vice President's office. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney joked with reporters, saying, "You witnessed the formation of a new band."
While he was in D.C., the 52-year-old Irishmen delivered the keynote speech at the Global Social Enterprise Initiative at Georgetown University, where he discussed the same topics. He also praised President Obama, saying, "Congratulations are in order not just for turning out in record numbers ? but for electing an extraordinary man as president."
He will meet with members of Congress and the Obama Administration, urging them to support a variety of existing foreign aid programs, rather than cut them as they deal with the "fiscal cliff" issue, according to Reuters.
Before arriving in the nation's capitol, Bono joined the throng enjoying legendary lounge pianist Billy Stritch and singer Jim Caruso as they ran trough the Great American Songbook of standards mostly from the `30s and `40s in the famed Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle Hotel in New York City, NBC News reported.
Bono and his party entered the bar. "Bono walked in. It was impossible not to recognize the guy ? the glasses alone gave him away," Caruso told the Huffington Post. "They were seated in the corner, where they rocked, bopped, swayed and snapped. He kept giving me the thumbs-up when he'd like a tune and singing along quietly."
Before leaving, without saying a word, Bono walked up on stage and joined the pair on the song he sang with Frank Sinatra on the Chairman's 1993 triple-platinum album, "Duets," Cole Porter's 1936 classic, "I've Got You Under My Skin."
Caruso said, "The room was stopped cold. Just another miraculous Bemelmans moment! As the last note was crooned, Bon flew out the door, waving to everyone. Billy looked at me and said dryly, "Well ? that happened!"'
Bono wasn't the only activist rock legend in Washington. The Who's Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend held court at a jammed lunch at the National Press Club, where they promoted Who Cares: Teen Cancer America, a domestic extension of Daltrey's 22-year-old British Teenage Cancer Trust. They were joined by teenage cancer survivors and medical professionals. The pair hopes to raise finds and join with US hospitals to create facilities as well as support programs for cancer patients between 13 and 24 years of age.
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Tim McGraw surprises veterans
Tim McGraw crashed an Army lunch in a mess hall in Brentwood, Tennessee, where he thanked about 30 male and female soldiers for their service, reports the Nashville Tennessean. McGraw, 45, has taken an increasing active role in supporting the troops. Earlier this year, on his and Kenny Chesney's Brothers of the Sun Tour, he awarded 25 military families mortgage-free homes.
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Clapton's $3.6 million watch
Eric Clapton is on a roll. Last month, an abstract painting by German artist Gerhard Richter was auctioned for $32.4 million, a record for a painting by a living artist.
Now, a Swiss platinum chronograph Patek Philippe wristwatch, made in 1987 in Geneva and one of only two cased in platinum, that he bought a decade ago, was auctioned for $3.6 million by Christie's in Geneva. The price is a world record for what's termed an "ultra rare" reference 2499/100. An unidentified Asian was the buyer, according to Reuters.
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Bruce Springsteen & Roger Waters perform at veteran's benefit
In a rare occurrence, Bruce Springsteen opened for former Pink Floyd leader Roger Waters at the 6th annual Stand Up For Heroes benefit for the Bob Woodruff Foundation at Beacon Theatre in NYC, reports Rolling Stone. John Mayer began the concert by silently walked onstage and, without saying anything, delivered a soaring instrumental take on The Beatles' "Long and Winding Road" on his electric guitar.
Springsteen's four-song set included "We Take Care of Our Own," "Land of Hope and Dreams," "Working on the Highway" and "Tougher Than the Rest." A package that included the guitar and harmonica the Boss played during his set, along with six tickets to an upcoming Springsteen concert and a backstage tour was auctioned off for $110,000.
Headliner Waters, a 69-year-old Englishman whose grandfather was killed in 1916 during World War I and whose father lost his life during Word War II in 1944 and who said that he, "shares enormous empathy for the men," was backed by 14 singing and guitar-playing wounded soldiers and also former "Saturday Night Live" band-leading guitarist G.E. Smith as he ended the evening with a set that included his own Floyd smash, "Wish You Were Here" and Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door."
Waters met the wounded soldiers during a visit to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. They play in a band there as part of their rehabilitation. He rehearsed with them at the hospital and spent several more days rehearsing with them after they arrived in New York.
The foundation raised pledges to help soldiers combating the mental and physical hardships of life after they returned home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Comedians Jon Stewart, Ricky Gervais, Patton Oswalt, Mike Birbiglia and Robin Williams also performed.
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Jermaine Jackson to change name
Jermaine Jackson filed a petition in a Los Angeles court to change his name to Jermaine Jacksun, according to the Associated Press. He said it was for artistic reasons.
Jackson's friend and spokesman, Steve Dennis, said, "Phonetically, it changes nothing." A hearing is set for Feb. 22 in L.A.
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Bon Jovi concert film to hit theaters
"Bon Jovi Inside Out," a new concert film, will play in theaters nationwide for one night only, Nov. 27. There will be one show time, at 8 pm.
The film was shot on last year's tour during the New Jersey band's 12-night stand at London's O2 Arena, the inaugural shows at the New Meadowlands Stadium and at Madison Square Garden.
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Delfonics Major Harris dies
Major Harris, a leading practitioner of the lush string-laden "Philly Soul Sound" as singer for The Delfonics and later as a solo hitmaker, died at age 65 of congestive heart and lung failure after being rushed to a hospital in Richmond, Virginia, according to VVN.com.
Harris was a member of The Delfonics from early in 1970 until the time he quit to try to make it as a solo artist in 1974 ? and make it he did. He released a succession of six R&B hits, topped by "Love Won't Let me Wait" that made it to No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart and was certified a gold record. The last time he took the stage was at a reunion show with some of the members of The Delfonics in 2011.
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Cleve Duncan of The Penguins dies
Cleveland Duncan, an original member of The Penguins, died at age 77 on Election Day when he collapsed at a voting machine in Los Angeles while in the process of voting. No other details were available.
Duncan co-founded The Penguins in 1953 in Los Angeles and sang lead on the doo-wop quartet's only Top 40 hit, "Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)," in 1954. The song spent three weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's R&B chart in early 1955. It also hit No. 8 on the pop chart and is ranked at No. 152 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2004, it was added to the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry as a historically significant record. In 2004, Duncan and The Penguins were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.
In 1962, The Penguins split up, however, Duncan continued to record as The Penguins using The Viceroys as his backup singers. Duncan's group was billed as The Fabulous Penguins in the late `60s. Returning to simply The Penguins, Duncan's group, which also included longtime members Walter Saulsberry and Glenn Madison continued to perform until this year.
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Health updates
Mark Farner, the 64-year-old lead singer and guitarist for `70s hard rock trio Grand Funk Railroad on and off from the time of it's founding in Flint, Michigan in 1969 until 1998, had a pacemaker installed, according to a post from his wife Lesia on his website. He's doing well and participated in a discussion at the For the Touring Conference with Allman Brothers and Gov't Mule guitarist Warren Haynes this week in New York.
Lesia did write that he going to take it easy for the remainder of 2012, but added that he plans on "coming back strong in 2013."
Henry McCullough, the 69-year-old lead guitarist for Joe Cocker's Grease Band when they played their iconic set at Woodstock in 1969 and, in 1971, was Paul McCartney's first guitarist in his newly created post-Beatles band, Wings, is in critical condition after suffering a heart attack, according to the BBC News. He is resting in a hospital in Northern Ireland.
In between Cocker's and McCartney`s bands, he was briefly in Gary Wright's group, Spooky Tooth. It's his voice that heard saying, "I don't know, I was really drunk at the time," at the end of Pink Floyd's "Money," from 1973's "Dark Side of the Moon."
Country singer Sammy Kershaw was shaken up but otherwise unharmed after his tour bus was hit by a car in Nacona, Texas, he told E! News. He said that he and nine members of his group were "traumatized" by the 11:30 pm accident that did severe damage to the tour bus. The car was driven by an unidentified woman. Her car was totaled and the 54-year-old crooner said he believed that she suffered a broken ankle.
Three of Kershaw's `90s albums have gone platinum and 11 of his singles released that decade went Top 10 on the country chart, including "She Don't Know She's Beautiful," that hit No. 1 in 1993.
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New Releases
Among the recently released albums, digital reissues and deluxe box sets are the 14-song, "On The Air: Her Best TV Performances," from country legend Patsy Cline that includes "Crazy" "I Fall to Pieces" and "Walkin' After Midnight"; a 2-CD import, "The Amsterdam Concert ? December 1960" from Judy Garland; a 2-CD, "Trouble Man: Expanded Edition," celebrates the 40thanniversary of the soundtrack from Marvin Gaye; "Smart Bar Chicago 1985," 14 live tracks from NYC alt rock pioneers Sonic Youth; a 2-CD, "Elvis: As Recorded At Madison Square Garden," a 46-song package of the King's 4-concert stand at the Garden in June 1972, a Presley import, "Greatest Live Hits of the 50's"; an expanded 2-CD import of Ritchie Blackmore and Rainbow's third album, from 1978,"Long Live Rock N Roll" and an expanded 2-CD edition of their 1977 live album, "On Stage"; a bargain-priced two-LPs on one CD, "Baby Elephant Walk/Young World" from Lawrence Welk.
The 16-song "Darker Than Light," 77-year-old Bobby Bare's second album in 14 years, sees the country veteran covering "House of the Rising Sun," the traditional folk song that The Animals took to No. 1 in the U.K., U.S. and Canada, and U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"; a re-release, "Round about Midnight" a 1956 LP from legendary jazz trumpeter Miles Davis; "Last Concert in Japan (Original Recording Remastered/Limited Edition)" from Deep Purple's 1976 tour; a batch or re-releases from country singer Mickey Newbury, who died in 2002 at age 62; and 28-song compilation from the 78-year-old star of "West Side Story," "George Chakaris Sings."
"Dos!," the second of three albums released within a few months of each other by Green Day; the 16-track "King Animal," the first album in 16 years from singer Chris Cornell and his Seattle grunge rock band Soundgarden; "Koi No Yokan," from Sacramento alt metal outfit, Deftones; a 14-song, "I Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston"; "Lux," a 76-minute composition, is former Roxy Music keyboardist, experimental rock music artist and noted producer Brian Eno's first solo album in seven years; an import, "Take the Crown: Deluxe CD/DVD Version," from Robbie Williams, a superstar in the UK and a reunited member of Brit outfit Take That; and "Oui Oui Si Si Ja Ja Da Da," the 10th studio effort from British ska kings Madness.
Holiday albums include "This Christmas," from reunited "Grease" stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John and their pals Barbra Streisand, Kenny G, Sir Cliff Richard, Chick Corea, James Taylor and Tony Bennett and The Count Basie Orchestra; a 2-CD, "Complete Music of Christmas" by Percy Faith and his orchestra; "Christmas Songs," a re-release of Roberta Flacks 19976 CD with one new song, "Cherry Tree Carol."
Box sets include "a 4-CD box, "My Life in Music," from TV and film composer Lalo Schiffrin that includes his hit theme from "Mission Impossible" and music from "Dirty Harry" and "Bullitt"; "GRRR!," a 3-CD/50-song or 5-CD/85-song 50th anniversary package from The Rolling Stones; a 2-CD/1-DVD set, "Prince From Another Planet," RCA's concert LPs from Elvis Presley;
New on vinyl is a 15-disc box set, "The Beatles Stereo Vinyl Box Set," that includes all the Fab Four's 13 British LPs plus the American release of "Magical Mystery Tour" and the 2-LP volumes 1 and 2 "Past Masters" collections containing mostly non-album cuts. These remastered Beatles albums are also available individually on vinyl.
Among the DVDs and Blu-rays are "Musicares Tribute to Barbra Streisand," from 2011, featuring performances by Diana Krall, Herbie Hancock, Jeff Beck with Leeann Rimes and Bebe Winans, Faith Hill, Barry Manilow, Tony Bennett, Stevie Wonder with Arturo Sandoval and Streisand herself; and "fca 35: An Evening with Peter Frampton," that sees the former Humble Pie singer-guitarist on tour last year, celebrating the 35th anniversary of one of the best-selling live albums ever, "Frampton Comes Alive" (also available on CD); and "50th Anniversary Collectors Edition ? Ladies &
Gentlemen / Stones in Exile / Some Girls: Live in Texas 3DVD (2012)" from The Rolling Stones
Also, "Live Kisses" sees Paul McCartney performing live at the famed Capitol Records studios in Hollywood a dozen beloved songs he grew up with in Liverpool, plus "My Valentine" that he wrote for his bride Nancy; "Let the Music Play: The Story of The Doobie Brothers" with nine bonus live performances; "Frank Sinatra: Primetime," includes three of the Chairman of the Board's TV specials from 1968-1977 with guests Diahann Carroll, The 5thDimension, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Natalie Cole, Loretta Lynn, and John Denver; "Live at Montreux 2005" from Patti Smith; "Live at Austin City Limits" from Steve Miller; and a bio, "Woody Herman: Blue Flame: Portrait of a Jazz Legend," documents the reed-playing big band jazz leader's half-century career from 1936 until his passing in 1987.
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Now Playing
Classic acts from the `50s, `60s and `70s continue to perform. Here's what one of them is doing.
In the late `60s, a form of pop music emerged that countered acid rock of the psychedelic bands form the Bay Area like The Jefferson Airplane and hard rockers like Vanilla Fudge and blues-rock jam bands like Cream.
It was called Bubblegum Rock and it was as lightweight as can be; and upbeat both in tempos and lyric content guaranteed to be sung by millions of teens and pre-teens, while driven by irresistible melodies.
Bubblegum rock groups included The Ohio Express and its No. 4 hit from 1968, "Yummy Yummy Yummy (I've Got Love in My Tummy)"; The Royal Guardsmen and their series of Snoopy songs that began with "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron, a huge No. 2 hit in 1966; The New Vaudeville Band," that saw "Winchester Cathedral" soar to No. 1 in 1966; and Ron Dante's fictional band The Archies, that had the biggest record in all of 1969 with "Sugar, Sugar."
Bubblegum's solo artist king Tommy Roe scored with four Top 10 hits in the late `60s, including "Hooray For Hazel" and "Dizzy."
But, The 1910 Fruitgum Co. that formed in Linden, New Jersey in 1965, was the king of Bubblegum groups. In 1968-1969, the quintet notched five Top 40 hits, including "Goody, Goody Gumdrops.' Three of those records, "Simon Says" (that sold 3.5 million copies), and "1, 2, 3, Red Light" and "Indian Giver" (that each sold more a million copies) all went Top 5.
During that time, they toured with such acts as The Beach Boys, Lou Christie, The Buckinghams and even Sly & The Family Stone, before breaking up late in 1969.
In 2007, three of The 1910 Fruitgum Co.'s original members, Frank Jeckell, Mick Mansuetto and drummer Floyd Marcus, reunited. They've pretty much been performing ever since. After performing a dozen gigs in 2011, the had nine shows on their calendar this year, including a Back to the `60s bash in Hershey, Pennsylvania with Ron Dante and former Ohio Express lead singer Joey Levine. The band is taking the holiday season off, but the guys have shows set on Jan. 13 in Long Island, New York, and on Jan. 20 in Bordentown, New Jersey.
Steve Smith writes a new Classic Pop, Rock and Country Music News column every week. Like, recommend or share the column on Facebook. Contact him by email at Classicpopmusicnews@gmail.com.
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