Don_Krider

Billy, I loved that earlier post, and I hope you get your Beatle gig one day. Paul, I'm just glad so many of my favorite musicians are still around and still connecting with the fans. I'll forever wish I had seen John Lennon, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley on stage when they were around. Don

Kind of off the posted topic, but I remember attending a record collectors show a decade back and a guy was selling a "sealed copy" of the "Side 3" LP for a large price (I have several copies of that LP). Thing is, the supposedly unopened album was sealed in "bubble wrap" (not what the original LP came in, so he had taken the "bubble wrap" used in mailers and heat-sealed it around the package to make it look unopened). Then the guy notices me looking at the album --- he says, "Smell it, it has the Raspberries-scent just as originally released." He obviously had not only confused the story of the scented sticker on the first "Raspberries" album, but he had obviously spray-scented "Side 3" with a Raspberry scent to make his package "collectable"! Let the buyer beware at record shows. Don

I remember reading (probably in one of Bernie and Ken's books) an interview where Eric mentioned that he had heard that Axl Rose loved "the ballads" on Raspberries' "Starting Over" album, which kind of surprised me (glad to hear it, just not what I would have expected). Actually, I can picture Axl singing a pretty good version of Raspberries' "I Can Hardly Believe You're Mine" with Guns 'n' Roses. Don

Bernie, Paul probably has another source, but the only reference I can find citing The Hollies as second to the The Beatles is a UK website at http://www.necgroup.co.uk/corporate/whatson/4120/ --- if I'm reading it correctly, it is actually saying The Hollies were second to The Beatles in singles sales "in the 60s" (but it doesn't say where the data comes from, whether it is UK only or worldwide, if it is just for "the 60s" or anything that I can check): ------------------------------------------------- Just two headlines from the many rave reviews from the Hollies recent British tour. It proves The Hollies are as popular today as they were four decades ago in the 60s when they were only just behind The Beatles in single sales. ------------------------------------------------- The RIAA certifies sales in the U. S., but there is *no* organization that certifies worldwide sales, and there are a number of countries that sell product without reporting sales and/or paying the artists and some record labels inflate sales figures, so a definitive worldwide sales list is something I haven't found. There are some interesting sources, though, that may come close: one is Reference.Com --- http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/List_of_best-selling_music_artists --- and it lists both The Beatles and Elvis Presley with combined worldwide (albums and singles) sales of 500 million each! Joel Whitburn's "Top Pop" book lists the (again, U. S. only) Top 5 Artists with the most Hot 100 Singles as Elvis Presley (149), James Brown (92), Ray Charles (74), The Beatles (68) and Frank Sinatra (67). The Beatles had 20 #1 singles and Elvis had 18 #1 hits (Paul McCartney solo has 8 #1 hits), but in the "most weeks at #1" on the U. S. singles charts, according to Whitburn, it's Elvis with 80 weeks and The Beatles with 59 weeks (The Bee Gees have 27 weeks and Paul McCartney has 24 weeks). On Elvis: spanning five pages in Joel Whitburn's "Top Pop" book --- Elvis Presley had 149 U. S. singles hits on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop charts from 1956 to 1982 (three of them released after the great man passed away; his first chart single, "Heartbreak Hotel," was #1 for eight straight weeks in 1956). In England, Elvis still "lives," charting as recently as 2005. Interesting British chart stats on Elvis and other acts at: http://www.everyhit.co.uk/record2.html Some quick notes (just if anyone is curious): In the U. S. (not worldwide), the second biggest British *singles* act (group-wise) of the British Invasion period (circa 1964-68) was probably The Dave Clark Five ("Glad All Over," "Can't You See That She's Mine," "Bits And Pieces," "Because," "Catch Us If You Can", "You've Got What It Takes"). In 1964, Ed Sullivan signed two British groups to three appearances on his show, The Beatles and The Dave Clark Five. As far as U. S. singles chart success in the 60s by a British group, according to the liner notes for their "History" anthology, The Dave Clark Five had 24 Hot 100 singles (eight of them in 1964 alone, including four Top 10 hits) in the USA between 1964 and 1968. The DC5, on Billboard's singles charts, had 15 consecutive Top 20 hits in 1964-66, second only to The Beatles (who had 25 Top 20 hits in 1964-66) in the same time frame; during the same time frame: Herman's Hermits had 12 Top 20 hits, The Rolling Stones had 10, The Animals had six and The Kinks had five). On the U. S. charts, The Hollies (their first U. S. hit, "Just One Look" in 1964, peaked at #98, followed by "Look Through Any Window" in 1965-66, which peaked at #32) had two Top 20 hits in 1964-66 with "Bus Stop" and "Stop Stop Stop" (they had two more Top 20 hits in 1967 with "Carrie-Anne" and "On A Carousel"). Their highest-charting U. S. single was "Long Cool Woman" (which I love), which peaked at #2 in 1972. I agree with Ira, Raspberries and The Hollies are both too good for "fussin' and fightin'" --- both acts made some great music (I agree with Bernie, though, Raspberries on Kirshner in 1973 were awesome and I suspect Raspberries would have blown The Hollies off the stage back then). While I haven't found any newspaper reviews of Hollies-Raspberries gigs, yet, there are plenty of press reviews from Carnegie Hall where reviewers expected Stories (riding high with a #1 single in "Brother Louie") to blow Raspberries off the stage at Carnegie Hall, but it was Raspberries who won that night in every review I've ever seen. Now, it would be awesome to see the reunited Raspberries hit Carnegie Hall in the future (and make a recording this time). Don

I think "All For Love" is brilliant --- the lyrics are fantastic and that chorus always blows me away. Don

Paul, sorry to hear your band won't be at the festival. Good luck at The Cavern! And, yes, somebody should shake The Cavern walls with "Go All The Way"! Thanks for the bio on Terry Sylvester, too. For anybody wondering about the Abbey Road On The River festival in Louisville, here's their website: http://www.abbeyroadontheriver.com Pete Best of the original Beatles will be there as a speaker. I watched his PBS-TV special "Best Of The Beatles" not long ago and it was quite interesting. The festival had 18,000 people watching 50 Beatle tribute bands Memorial Day weekend here last year (one of the bands this year is Revolution Pie from Cleveland --- http://www.revolutionpie.com --- I'm kind of curious to hear them). The band's performing are interesting in that some bands totally recreate various periods of The Beatles while others recreate single albums (one group did all of "Abbey Road" last year, for instance). The acts come from around the world. The Smithereens did a well-received all-Beatles set there last year. Don

Bernie, You're not alone --- I like many of The Hollies hits, but I really didn't know who Terry Sylvester was until I found his website. According to his website bio, Terry Sylvester replaced guitarist Rick Ellis in The Swinging Blue Jeans in 1966 (they had a #90 U. S. hit in 1964 with "Hippy Hippy Shake") and he later replaced Graham Nash in The Hollies circa December of 1968. I ran across the Q&A on his website while searching for newspaper articles (a failed internet hope) about the Hollies-Raspberries tour. LC, I agree --- those comments on success and longevity seemed like a dig at Raspberries that deserved a reply, but Paul's comments have given me a new perspective on the matter (rock star "posturing") that makes sense to me. Don

Paul, I appreciate your comments and I can tell they are from the heart. I imagine bands are somewhat like sports teams, kind of egging each other on over who's the best, and we fans tend to get a bit excited in defense of the "home" team. I see that your band is coming to my hometown for Abbey Road On The River and I hope you all have a fun time in Louisville. Don

There's a set list to Guns 'n' Roses 1993 Australian tour at http://www.gnrontour.com/setlistalm93.htm and for the Jan. 30, 1993 (listed as 01.30.93), GNR appearance at Eastern Creek Raceway in Sydney, Australia, there's an interesting note: ------------------------------------------------- "Axl plays 'Everything,' originally done by Eric Carmen, as an intro to 'November Rain.'" ------------------------------------------------- Don

Okay, New Jersey guys and gals, fill me in on Frank Truatt at WTBQ-AM in New Jersey. I just found his web page and he has a list of his favorite songs of all time --- http://www.wtbq.com/frank.html --- and that list includes "Go All The Way" and "Let's Pretend" by Raspberries. Apparently his morning "talk" show is streamed over the internet from 6 to 9 am Eastern Time, Monday through Friday --- there's a click on button for the internet stream at http://www.wtbq.com/station.html . It's really amazing the number of friends Raspberries now have among the media outlets. Don

I'd love to learn how Greg Cartwright discovered Cyrus Erie's music. My hope is that one day the Cyrus Erie and Quick singles are collected into a nice anthology on a good label. Songs like "Get The Message" and "Sparrow" deserve a wider audience. Don

Nice to see you posting, Mitch! Don

Interesting article in Detroit's "Metro Times" about the band Reigning Sound --- http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=6531 --- a band that Steve Van Zandt, Jack White and The Hives apparently like. The writer mentions that among the music the band's singer-guitarist Greg Cartwright plays on his stereo in his living room *during the interview* is Cyrus Erie (with future Raspberries Eric Carmen, Wally Bryson and Michael McBride): --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I’m sitting in the living room of Cartwright’s two-story brick house, located in the tidy middle-class Asheville neighborhood where he and his family moved just a few months ago. Dominating one corner of the room is a massive old jukebox and a couple of guitar cases; across from it is the stereo, which Cartwright frequently steps to during the interview, spinning everything from vintage Everly Brothers and Motown to Lords Of The New Church and Eric Carmen’s pre-Raspberries outfit Cyrus Erie. Lining one wall are bookcases overflowing with music biographies, while looking down upon us from another wall is a framed copy of the Big Bopper’s Chantilly Lace LP. The phone rings several times: a promoter wanting to book Reigning Sound for off nights during the Hives tour, the person taking care of merch for the tour, etc. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don

Congrats, Bernie! Here's the Goldmine magazine online site: http://www.collect.com/interest/periodical.asp?Pub=GM --- mainly subscription info, unfortunately. Don

I like some of The Hollies hits, but I'm not fond of one of that band's former members right now. He made some comments on his website about the ill-fated Raspberries/Hollies tour back in 1972 (check out Eric's memories of that tour in Bernie and Ken's "Marathon Man" book on pages 104 and 105 for the rest of that story). Terry Sylvester (I believe he was in The Hollies from 1968 to 1981) apparently doesn't like Raspberries --- http://www.terrysylvester.com/index.php?tmp=2&id=15 --- and says so on his website: -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- Question from B in Nevada: "There's a rumor flying about that the Raspberries blew the Hollies off the stage on a tour in the 1970's, is this true?" Answer from Terry Sylvester: "No, they were thrown off the tour because they weren't very good, & the promoter was getting complaints about them. Their subsequent lack of success & longevity suggests that it's highly unlikely they were capable of such a thing." -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- Now, I could make an editorial comment on Mr. Sylvester's comments. I really could. But it would seem that Terry Sylvester is unaware of the glowing reviews Raspberries got from music's best '70s music writers --- check out http://www.rocksbackpages.com/artist.html?ArtistID=raspberries for a wide selection of reviews, or that artists from Bruce Springsteen to Bon Jovi to Kiss to Rick Springfield are citing Raspberries as one of the most influential bands in rock 'n' roll, or that the Raspberries are back and showing that they do indeed have both success and longevity (and after reading his comments, they are probably ready to blow Terry Sylvester off the stage again). But I sense that Terry Sylvester is unaware of all of this, so I won't resort to the kind of mean comments he made about our beloved Raspberries. Nope, I won't do that. Here's why I won't do that: I was just checking the list of artists recently citing Terry Sylvester as an influence on their music ... hmmm, I can't seem to find such a list... Don ;-)

Billy, Fascinating info. I'm really enjoying this thread. Don

Dave, Thanks. Glad you liked the research. Here's some interesting Year-End charts (remember that in the 1970s 300 to 400 singles were released every week, meaning just charting on the weekly charts was a major achievement; making the Year-End Top 100 is a major accomplishment): 1972 --- Cash Box Top 100 Best Selling Singles http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/randypny2/cashbox/1972YESP.html --- Raspberries with "Go All The Way" at #39. 1972, Billboard Year-End Top 100 Singles --- http://longboredsurfer.com/charts.php?year=1972 : Raspberries "Go All The Way" at #33. 1973, Cash Box Year-End Top 100 Singles --- http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/randypny2/cashbox/1973YESP.html : Raspberries hit twice: "Let's Pretend" sits at #71 and "I Wanna Be With You" hit #100. (NOTE: Neither song made Billboard's Year-End list in 1973.) 1976, Billboard Year-End Top 100 Singles --- http://longboredsurfer.com/charts.php?year=1976 : Eric Carmen with "All By Myself" at #40. 1976, Cash Box Year-End Top 100 Singles --- http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/randypny2/cashbox/1976YESP.html : Eric Carmen with "All By Myself" at #41. 1988, Billboard Year-End Top 100 Singles --- http://longboredsurfer.com/charts.php?year=1988 --- Eric Carmen hits twice: "Hungry Eyes" at #25 and "Make Me Lose Control" at #38. 1988, Cash Box Year-End Top 50 Singles (for some reason Cash Box only counted the Top 50 in 1988) --- http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/randypny2/cashbox/1988YESP.html : Eric Carmen hits twice: "Hungry Eyes" at #30 and "Make Me Lose Control" at #43. Just for fun, go through the lists and see what artists/songs ranked below Raspberries and Eric on the lists --- pretty interesting in some cases. Don aka "the research guy"...

I've found wikipedia to be pretty inaccurate (for instance, it says that "Winter Dreams" was released stateside in 1998, which is actually the year it was released in Japan; it later was released in the USA without "Caroline No", as we all know, as "I Was Born To Love You" in 2000). The same with entries on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB). A lot of online sources are pretty bad. As far as "That's Rock 'n' Roll" --- it wasn't ever an A-side USA single, but it was the B-side of "Make Me Lose Control" in 1988. In Bernie and Ken's "Marathon Man" book (also known as "the precious" among EC fans) beginning on page 207, there's some interesting comments by Eric Carmen and Clive Davis on why they chose "All By Myself" as the first single over tunes like "That's Rock 'n' Roll" in 1975. Bernie's got a unique source on this site in his "Discography" section --- http://www.ericcarmen.com/music/discography01.htm --- it lists every Eric Carmen and Raspberries album and single by year of release. Tremendous resource. Don

Skip, interesting question on The Box Tops - might take me a while to research that one (more hits, longer period of time), but I'll see what I can do when I have some more spare time down the road. Don

Eric, that's a fascinating "Reason To Try" memory. I don't know if it helps, but I just did a search online for "missing royalties" and found several places that deal with such things, but had an actual hit for your name at http://sonybmg.com/missingroyalties/ --- just type in "Eric Carmen" (without the quotation marks) in the site's search engine and it comes up with two reference numbers that might lead you to some missing royalties. The BBC in England had an interesting article about some famous British composers whose royalties are unpaid: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/1796462.stm . Don

Eric might want to pull a Frank Sinatra one day and do a "Duets" album with a bunch of artists --- a mix of rock tunes and ballads, originals and covers (perhaps Raspberries' "I Can Hardly Believe You're Mine" with Joan Jett, or (start throwing stuff) a cover of "California Nights" with Lesley Gore). Don

Hi Billy, In the book I mentioned above, it does mention that Ann Wilson fell and broke her wrist in Chicago. According to the book, it was the only time the bands Heart and Loverboy weren't both touring, so the recording session needed to go on. The book says, "Ann Wilson, worried that drugs given to ease her pain could affect her singing, did the song with no painkillers whatsoever." Whichever story is true, it sounds like Ann Wilson is a real trooper in "the show must go on" tradition. Don

"Mike Reno's memory of the recording are out..." --- so much for my college education --- obviously should read "Mike Reno's memories of the recording are at..." Geesh! Don ;-)

JUST FOR FUN: The recording of "Almost Paradise (Love Theme From 'Footloose')" by Ann Wilson (Heart) and Mike Reno (Loverboy) peaked at #7 (for two weeks) in Billboard's Top Pop chart and also hit #7 (also for two weeks) in Cash Box in 1984. It peaked at hit #1 on Billboard's AC chart. Here's the fun part: Mike Reno's memory of the recording are at Rockforever.Com - http://www.rockforever.com/features/collaborations/collab-08082000.html - and Mike Reno says that his manager called him and asked him who he'd like to do the duet with. His quotes on the site are that he said, "Ann Wilson." Ann Wilson's memories of the same event, as recalled in Wesley Hyatt's book "The Billboard Book Of Number One Adult Contemporary Hits" (1999 edition), are that she was asked by the producers of the film soundtrack album for "Footloose" who she wanted to sing the duet with. She says, "And I said Lou Gramm, Paul Rodgers; I gave them this whole list of names." Then the producers told her she was singing with Mike Reno, who wasn't on her list of names, and she said, "Oh, okay." There is a neat comment from Ann Wilson about hearing Eric's demo (sung with a studio session singer) of the song: She says, "The demo was real amazing, Eric Carmen singing with just a piano. It was really gospelly." She added, "I thought it was a great song." Don

The Top 100 Pop Singles charts appearances for Eric Carmen's singles from Billboard, Cash Box (which folded in 1996) and Record World (which folded in 1982) - PLEASE NOTE: the "year" is the year it *peaked* on the charts, not the single's release year (for instance, "Hungry Eyes" was actually released as a single in 1987, but peaked in 1988): "All By Myself" (1976, Arista) - peaked at #2 (for three weeks) in Billboard, #1 in Cash Box and #1 in Record World. (Peaked at #6 in Billboard's Adult Contemporary (AC) chart.) "Never Gonna Fall In Love Again" (1976, Arista) - peaked at #11 in Billboard, #9 in both Cash Box and Record World. (Peaked at #1 in Billboard's AC chart on June 19, 1976.) "Sunrise" (1976, Arista) - peaked at #34 in Billboard, #38 (for two weeks) in Cash Box and #28 in Record World. "She Did It" (1977, Arista) - peaked at #23 in Billboard, #15 in Cash Box and #27 in Record World. "Boats Against The Current" (1978, Arista) - peaked at #88 in Billboard, #92 in Cash Box and didn't chart in Record World. For trivia buffs: hit the Billboard chart for three weeks beginning Dec. 24, 1977. Hit the Cash Box chart for five weeks beginning Jan. 14, 1978 (debuted in Cash Box *after* after the song had exited the Billboard chart!). "Change Of Heart" (1978, Arista) - peaked at #19 in both Billboard and Cash Box, #20 in Record World. "Baby, I Need Your Lovin'" (1979, Arista) - peaked at #62 in Billboard, #60 in Cash Box and #63 in Record World. "It Hurts Too Much" (1980, Arista) - Hit the Billboard Hot 100 as "the highest debut of the week" on July 12, 1980, at #75. Peaked at #75 for two weeks in Billboard (then dropped off the chart). #83 (for two weeks) in Cash Box and #71 in Record World. "I Wanna Hear It From Your Lips" (1985, Geffen) -peaked at #35 in Billboard and #37 (for two weeks) in Cash Box. *Record World ceased publication in 1982*. Reached #10 on Billboard's AC Chart. "I'm Through With Love" (1985, Geffen) - peaked at #87 in Billboard and #79 (for two weeks) in Cash Box. Reached #16 on Billboard's AC Chart. "Hungry Eyes" (1988, RCA) - peaked at #4 in Billboard and #3 (for two weeks) in Cash Box. Reached #2 on Billboard's AC Chart. "Make Me Lose Control" (1988, Arista) - peaked at #3 in Billboard and #4 in Cash Box. First charted in Billboard on May 21, 1988. Reached (drum roll please!) #1 for three straight weeks on Billboard's AC chart (beginning July 16, 1988). "Reason To Try" (1988, Arista) - Eric's last Top Pop Singles chart entry in Billboard peaked at #87. Didn't chart in Cash Box. Third single from the gold-selling "One Moment In Time" NBC-TV 1988 Olympics soundtrack album. Trivia buffs note: Backup vocals by Mark Hudson of The Hudson Brothers. Odds and ends: "The Rock Stops Here" (1986, Cool Records) - not a U. S. national hit, but it did go to #4 on WMMS-FM in Cleveland! "As Long As We Got Each Other" (1988, RCA) - Eric's second and last RCA hit, a duet with Louise Mandrell, didn't make the pop charts but reached #51 on Billboard's Top Country chart, making Eric the only Raspberries' member with a country chart hit. Trivia buffs: Mandrell's cover of "Maybe My Baby" made Billboard's Country Top 10 and her cover of "I Wanna Hear It From Your Lips" made Billboard's Country Top 40. For the trivia buffs: the Peter Cetera (the one-time lead singer of Chicago) and Crystal Bernard (she was "Helen" for seven on NBC-TV's "Wings" series) single cover of Eric's "(I Wanna Take) Forever Tonight" peaked at #86 in 1995 on the Billboard Top Pop Singles chart. Look for a seperate post on Mike Reno and Ann Wilson's recording of Eric's "Almost Paradise"... Don