Me and the beauty queen...

This past Tuesday we had the Logger Fan Fest party, and there was a celebrity softball game. I was the coach/head honcho for one of the teams sponsored by Miken. My team won 5-3, and we had a great time. And guess who was on my team... Reanna Johnson, the current Miss Wisconsin. Eat you hearts out boys...

Wednesday's Forgotten Oldie...

The Shadows of Knight are an American rock band from the Chicago suburbs, formed in the 1960s, who played a form of British blues mixed with influences from their native city. At the time they first started recording, the band's self-description was as follows: "The Stones, Animals and Yardbirds took the Chicago Blues and gave it an English interpretation. We've taken the English version of the Blues and re-added a Chicago touch," to which noted rock critic Richie Unterberger commented: "The Shadows of Knight's self-description was fairly accurate." Their first big hit, released in December 1965, was "Gloria", which made it as high as #7... maybe. Most rock historians agree the song probably reached as high as number one or two on the charts, but because their label was not a national one (Dunwich Records) the song suffered a staggered national release as well as little credit from Billboard because it was a cover of Van Morrison/Them's single from a year earlier. Their follow-up single "Oh Yeah" suffered the same staggered release issues. It was also a cover, this time of a Bo Diddley song. Although it only reached #39 nationally, Oh Yeah flew off the shelves and was actually hard to find in many markets... quite simply the demand exceeded the product. If a bigger company would have had the record, it easily could have been a top 20 song.

Wednesday's Forgotten Oldie...

Bob Lind's "Elusive Butterfly" was a smash hit in 1966, going to #5 in both the USA and the UK. It turned out to be the only hit for Lind. He wrote "Elusive Butterfly" as the sun was coming up after staying up all night. He says the song is about "The magic of the quest, the thrill of searching, even when that which is sought is hard to see." After signing a deal with Metro Music, Sonny Bono was assigned to work with Lind, but got busy and passed him off to Jack Nitzsche, who was known for his work with The Rolling Stones. "Elusive Butterfly" was one of the first songs they recorded, and Nitzsche came up with an innovative string arrangement, making this one of the first Folk-Rock songs to feature a string section. Los Angeles in the '60s was a great place to find talented session musicians, and some of the best appeared on this track, including Leon Russell on piano and Carol Kaye on bass. This was originally the B-side in America of the 23-year-old Bob Lind's recording debut. The A-side was "Cheryl's Goin' Home," and when a DJ on the Florida station WQAM flipped the record and started playing "Elusive Butterfly," it kickstarted the song's success. The song gave World Pacific Records its one and only big hit, however Bob's solo career lost impetus as World Pacific's choices for follow-up singles were terrible, and squandered the momentum of "Elusive Butterfly". Also plagued by drug and alcohol problems, Lind gained a reputation in the business for being "hard to work with." In 1969, Lind severed ties with World Pacific and dropped out of the music industry.

Lind returned to music in 2004 when, at the urging of his friend Arlo Guthrie, he played The Guthrie Center in Beckett, Mass. Since then Lind has been touring nonstop, playing England, Spain and Canada, as well as all over the USA.

Memorial Day is Almost Here!

I don't need a Fortune Teller... my future is full of camping, relaxing, bags (or cornhole if you prefer), a beer or two, and fishing! I also have this Friday off to get a head start on the fishing. Did I mention I'll be fishing this weekend? Does it sound like I need a day off and some R&R? Hey we all do! Plus I get to use my favorite fishing picture again... ;)

Cheater!

A lady in Superior had a weird garage sale this week... she put all of her husband's personal belongings on the yard with a "free" sign. Then she painted "cheater" on his vehicle and let the air out of his tires. Tough luck for the cheater... gee, I can hear the song play every time I look at

this picture!

Wednesday Forgotten Oldie....

The Rolling Stones are true rock and roll icons, often referred to as "the greatest rock band of all time". But do you remember the first song you ever heard by the Stones on the radio? "Tell Me" is the song by The Rolling Stones, featured on their 1964 self-titled album (US title: England's Newest Hit Makers), that I remember as the first. It was released as a single A-side in the US only, and was the first Jagger/Richards song released as a single A-side, and their first record to enter the US Top 40. The single reached #24 in the US and #1 in Sweden. It was never released as a single in the UK. They had released "Not Fade Away" earlier in 1964, the Buddy Holly cover reached #48 on the hot 100, but I don't remember hearing it on the radio. Then came "Tell Me", which got my attention big time. After that, "It's All Over Now" was released. Many people believe "It's All Over Now" was the Stones first monster hit, and I agree to a point... but even though it was #1 in the UK, it was only #26 in the USA, supporting my contention that "Tell Me" should not be a Forgotten Oldie!

Survivor Finale...

Last night's wrap-up of the Survivor One World series turned out exactly as I predicted last week... Kim won. Again the producers went out of their way to convince us that Kim would betray her original alliance of Chelsea and Sabrina, but nope... didn't happen. It was the first time the last five were all women, and front-runner Kim (picture) received seven of the nine jury votes. The only surprise last night was Kat's maturity at the last tribal council and the reunion show... everyone expected her to be childish and bitter, but instead she was gracious and understanding. Anyhow, I predicted Kim... but so did everybody else.