HELLO TO OUR READERS AROUND THE WORLD - FANS OF EARLY ROCK AND ROLL !

Hello to Sweden, Brazil, Austria, United Kingdom, Mexico, and Nepal! (Yes Nepal!)

As always, we hope you're listening along with us, reading along with us, and checking out some of the links to the artists that we blog about... Let us know if you read us in English, or use the Google Translator and what language you read this blog in.

(424) SINGER SONGWRITER BOBBY FREEMAN : DO YOU WANNA DANCE?: COVERED BY SO MANY ARTISTS!

With a song writer like Brian Wilson in your group, why cover a tune written by someone else? Because some songs are hits, and a hit is a song that's hard to resist. It can bring in a fortune. This is the 1965 recording.

For the SUMMER FUN of it, here are a number of other covers of the same Bobby Freeman song.

First BOBBY FREEMAN'S ORIGINAL! "Release in April 1958 while Bobby was still in High School and he became a singing sensation which helped this song moved right up the charts to Billboards Top 10." Thanks to the Youtuber who posted this one!

(UPDATE JULY 2012: Sadly we must remove the historical music Bobby Freeman Video as Frank Sinatra enterprises owns the video and made claims on it... We still want everyone to know how great Bobby was and were thrilled to have found the video in the first place! But now I, Christine, making it up to you by presenting the RAMONES version! Beleive it or not, I like it as much as I like Johnny Rivers!)

WHO COULD FORGET my old friend Johnny Rivers' slow, romantic version?



Did you ever think we'd post the Ramones on this blog? Surprise! Surprise!

The great thing about this Bobby Freeman song is that you can listen to all these versions and want more!

Linking to the BBC Music bio of Bobby Freeman!

AND NOW ELVIS CRYPT IS NOT FOR AUCTION

"Julien's Auctions announced in May that it would sell the empty tomb at the Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis, Tenn., at its "Music Icons" auction Sunday. Julien said the company won't sell the crypt "unti Forest Hills finds a plan that best suits the interests of the fans while respecting and preserving the memory of Elvis Presley."

(423) BEACH BOYS : PROMOTIONAL FOR GIRLS ON THE BEACH SHOWS OFF THE COMPETITION BETWEEN THE BEACH BOYS AND THE BEATLES

The competition between the Beatles, who lead the way of the British Invasion of America, and our home grown Beach Boys was a theme of the summer '65 movie "The Girls On the Beach," as this promo proves. ( Christine : Hey, are those girl guitarists? Who has more fans? Which Beatle or Beach Boy was on the poster on your bedroom wall ?) This might have been the height of the song writing competition between Brian Wilson and the Paul McCartney - John Lennon team.

You can link to the Beach Boys on our sidebar where we just listed their site as it is today, which features their band as it is and a new CD. On this post we're linking to the IMBd movie database about the film so you can learn more! The actress Ahna Capri, who we blogged about in the past, appeared in this film. Use the search feature of this Google Blogger to locate that post and read a little Wes Bryan history.

(422) JERRY COLE ON CAPITOL : SURF GUITARIST : STUDIO GENIUS

This Youtuber did a fine job of writing about Jerry if you go right to his link on that site. He was a great studio musician and had become known for surf music but in his case he got to be the vocalist for a couple songs.

"Come Over to My Place" was a Shindig TV show theme song. Capitol was the hot record label in Los Angeles summer of '65. Jerry became a life long friend of mine.

Linking to Jerry Cole on Rockabilly Hall of Fame!

Use the Search feature of this blog to locate other Jerry Cole posts, including the Interview with Wes Bryan.

(421) P.J. PROBY 1965 : RECORDING LENNON-MC CARTNEY SONGS WITH GEORGE MARTIN AS PRODUCER

As some of you know, P.J. Proby was up for some serious charges in Great Britain, but in March 2012 he walked free, acquitted of benefit fraud - all 9 counts. So on this post, because we've linked to his official sites in the past and they're always on our sidebar for you to link to, we're going to link to a news article about this legal issue. Friends of P.J.'s here in the United States were concerned but never lost faith that he would walk free and are hoping to hear from him soon.

On this YouTube video, of the song "That Means A Lot," we see a label that has many names familiar to this blog. P.J. was certainly a big part of the American Invasion of Britain. In fact, he loved the British as much as they loved him, which is why he went to live there and the whole legal issue was so upsetting.

"That Means a Lot," is written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, The Beatles, who were almost everyone's biggest chart competition in '65. The Producer is George Martin, the Beatle's producer, and this is on Liberty Records, the small record label that we've blogged about a lot.

To quote the article we've linked to: "In a statement read by his solicitor, Chris Hilton, PJ Proby said: "For the last four years I have lived in fear of becoming homeless - because my housing benefit was cut off - and of being wrongly sent to prison for a crime I never committed."

FLAG DAY U.S.A.

(420) BOBBY VEE : A TRUE INVADER OF BRITAIN : MUSICALLY THAT IS!

Bobby Vee had "Go Away Little Girl, and "Take Care of My Baby" and also "Run to Him." in the early 1960's. Since then he has a multitude of hits and gold records. His career has spanned 50 years, and in that time he truly invaded Britain, with top ten hits and albums. He appeared on television shows like, Hollywood A Go Go and Shindig, and is one of several Americans who gave the Beatles some good competition.

Recently it was in the news that Bobby, a few years younger than me, has a mild form of Alzheimer's. He announced that on his own web site and the news zipped around the world. Meanwhile, back home at Tuscan, Arizona, Bobby's been recording.

We're linking to his official site above, which will also take you to his sites on the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and the Hit Parade Hall of Fame,



Just a short excerpt from Bobby's own fine site, linked above.

" If "Susie Baby" served as Bobby Vee's entrance into the world of Billboards hot 100, then 'Devil or Angel' was certainly the foundation for a string of hit records reaching the nations top 20 throughout the entire 60's era. Bobby's hits were not limited to America. By 1963 he had collected seven top ten hits in England as well as a number 2 album called "Bobby Vee Meets the Crickets" and in 1963 shared the charts for forty weeks side-by-side with the Beatles. His tours took him to Japan, Australia and Europe as well as the United Kingdom, where he is still a yearly visitor. His thirty plus year recording career has produced over twenty-five albums including a Gold Album from England for his 1981 "Singles Album" release. Back in the US, Billboard Magazine called him, "One of the top ten most consistent chart makers ever."

I met Bobby when we was about 16 years old in New York City when he was on a promotional tour for his song "Rubber Ball." Wes

(419) WES BRYAN : LOST MUSIC : BOBBY DARIN TM MUSIC and THE OLD PROSPECTOR

After Bobby Darin had TM, his music publishing company which he started in about 1963, he bought a song from me called "The Old Prospector." He recorded it on a full session himself and he took it to Vegas to pitch it to Louie Prima and Keely Smith.

This is a song that has not been released by Bobby or his heirs and, like Elvis' version of my song "The Dying Ember," which was released on Dot Records by Randy Wood as recorded by Dorsey Burnett, it's a song that could be found in some archive somewhere and, due to the full production, could be released someday

There were a couple songs I was writer on that Bobby wanted to record but Sylvester Cross at American Music wouldn't split the Publishing with Bobby, so the business man Bobby walked away. He remained my friend though.

Bobby bought Trinity Music ("TM") from Ed Burton and Joe Csida, who'd managed Bobby, for about half a million. This move from entertainer to songwriter to music publisher is one I would someday make myself, with much less risk than Bobby had taken when I started U.S. International Records.

In previous posts we've talked about Bobby's early death and his desire to provide for his son Dodd and his heirs. You can use the search feature to pull up old posts and read more and listen to some music!

BOBBY DARIN : 1965 : WITH VIC DAMONE AND ANDY WILLIAMS ON ANDY'S SHOW

"BOBBY IF YOU COULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR PERSONALITY."

Lipsinking fun.

The "Act" on this Historical music video is Bobby Darin with the "Big Ego." Bobby was known for his confidence and ambition, but when we were all starting out, hanging out in diners and working around the Brill building, the Bobby I knew had a humble side, and he was a good, loyal, friend. Our plans to record together went by the wayside when he moved to Hollywood to act, met his wife Sandra Dee, and started a family.

KEVIN SPACEY : KATE BOSWORTH : BEYOND THE SEA

Christine here. As some of you know, these last few months I've been trying to catch up on old movies I've never seen before. So I got BEYOND THE SEA, the movie about Bobby Darin's life that came out a few years ago in 1994. I was so impressed! The movie didn't feel at all dated either. Kevin Spacey, who I learned had acquired the film rights along with Bobby's son Darin, and who also starred as Bobby (doing his own singing) as well as cowriting, coproducing, and directing, turned into Bobby Darin. But more than that, flashbacks and fantasy sequences were used to reveal what was going on in Bobby on the inside, the side that most entertainers hide.

Kate Bosworth as Sandra Dee had the vulnerability of the child star who was growing into a woman in front of the camera. The mothers were something else! The personal scandle Bobby comes to terms with is the news that his "sister" is really his mother and she doesn't know who his father is. It was a stunning, humbling, event, which Bobby came to terms with, along with finding his more serious side, a side that cared about the way the world was turning.

In short, I loved this film!

So if you, instead of me, haven't seen it yet... do!

Linking to the IMDb site on BEYOND THE SEA!

BARBARA KINGSOLVER Quotation on Friendship

"The friend who holds your hand and says the wrong thing is made of dearer stuff than the one who stays away." - Barbara Kingsolver