The Friday giggle...

So what are people thinking when they approve a headstone like this?  I'm betting they're laughing inside!

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

"Pushin' Too Hard" by the Seeds wasn't a big hit in the normal sense, it reached #36 on the Hot 100 in February of 1967 and stayed on the charts for 11 weeks.  But the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame lists it as one of the 500 songs that shaped Rocked and Roll, and has an exhibit dedicated to the song.  Personally, I think it's classic "garage band rock", a GREAT song, and it deserves airplay!

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

Nashville Cats by the Lovin' Spoonful peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 on January 28, 1967.... 47 years ago yesterday.  John Sebastian wrote the song as a tribute to the guitar pickers in Nashville, and as a tribute to Sun Records.  It turned out to be the Spoonful's last top tenner.

Why do we live in Wisconsin?

Wellllll......

Here's a good idea...

All you need is a zippered hoodie!

I may not always ride my bicycle at Goose Island...

But when I do, I ride prepared!  (Come on summer!)

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

After the Beatles, the Animals were my favorite British Invasion band.  Despite a dizzying number of personnel changes, awful mismanagement, and (as near as I can tell) sixteen lineups, The Animals produced a fabulous library of music and a long list of hit records.  "Don't Bring Me Down" was a top twenty hit in 1966, and was the band's last hit before moving from London to Los Angeles and changing their name to Eric Burdon and the Animals. Personally, I think it's the best song the band did... but today it's forgotten.

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

The Four Seasons are an American rock group that banged out hit after hit between 1962 and 1975, and were easily the most popular band before the Beatles.  They've sold over 100 million records worldwide, are members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and still perform today with original lead singer Frankie Valli.  In 1965 they had four top 40 hits, my favorite "Bye Bye Baby", climbed to #12 yet today is pretty much forgotten.

That was a good idea...

Sure, put the bottle of soda outside to get cold when it's 11 degrees below zero... good idea!

The Answer - The Village People.

The Question - How did you learn about the YMCA?  Hilarious!

Does this count as playing outside?

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

Terry Stafford was a singer/songwriter from Amarillo, Texas.  In 1964 he recorded "Suspicion" and it shot up the charts reaching #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Despite his failure to score another hit with subsequent releases, Stafford wrote songs that scored big for other artists including George Strait's "Amarillo by Morning", voted the #12 country song of all time by CMT.  Stafford died in 1996.  I've always had a soft spot for the song "Suspicion" and have never understood it's lack of airplay today...

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

Mandy was a #1 song for Barry Manilow in 1975.  The song was actually a hit in England for Scott English in 1971, and in New Zealand for Bunny Walters in 1972... however the song was titled "Brandy" not "Mandy". Barry changed the name to avoid confusion with the Looking Glass song "Brandy (You're A Fine Girl).  It was Manilow's first number one, and is now largely ignored.

I wish I'd thought of this when the kids asked for one...

It's always worse somewhere else!

Sure we've had a NASTY winter so far... but what if we had the awful cold AND tons of snow?

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

Three number one records, twenty-one top forty records, 40 million records sold worldwide in five years... yeah, Three Dog Night was big.  So big, that programmers ignore several of their hits just because of the volume.  Here's my favorite, "Liar", which hit #7 on the Hot 100 in 1970.  Yup, another mostly-forgotten top-ten hit.

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

I met Hal Atkinson in August 2012 at Goose Island Campground.  I knew who he was right away, and he was shocked that someone remembered him, and his incredible song.  But I remembered playing "Kathy Believe Me" on the radio back in 1972, and I remembered seeing Hal perform with the Shy Guys about that time as well.  Producer Dale Menten had Hal record the song in Minneapolis, and it became a La Crosse hit record.  One of those marvelous "local" stories.  Anyway, I got to know Hal pretty well, spent a lot of time around the campfire chatting, and even got him to do a couple flute solo's at one of my band's gigs.  Hal was an amazing musician, and a Hollywood actor appearing in The Mighty Ducks, The BabySitter, and Bound and Gagged: A Love Story. He has a very incomplete page on IMDB under the name Hal Fort Atkinson III. He also had a recurring role as Elaine's doctor on Seinfeld.
Yesterday I heard Hal died in California of complications from pneumonia.  So today's forgotten oldie is my friend Hal Atkinson, and Hal's great local hit "Kathy Believe Me."

Facebookers...

Do you identify with this guy?

Keep your pets inside today!!

If you're cold, they're cold!

Friday!!

One long word to fit everything today... c-c-c-c-c-c-coooolllddd!!  So here's a Friday Funny to pick you up a little today!

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

The Electric Prunes are usually referred to as one-hit wonders because of the hit "I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night", however, their follow-up song "Get Me To The World On Time" was also a top-40 hit.  The band also had an underground success with the album "Mass In F-Minor" which was a psychedelicized Catholic Mass.  A great band, the Electric Prunes were one of my 60's favorites.