MARCH, '99 ISSUE

Those we remember

The Story Behind the

Hall of Fame Invite!

It all happened in such a whirlwind that C.A.’s head was spinning. Back in June of ‘99, C.A. was attending a teachers’ conference at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and met up with Terry Stewart, the recently appointed CEO.  After chatting a bit about why many Pittsburghers, while they enjoy the Hall of Fame, are a bit disappointed because there is so little about vocal group harmony and "do-wop" there, Terry indicated that he was a huge vocal group harmony fan and wanted to bring a balance to the Hall of Fame and include more of this "forgotten third" of Rock and Roll.

CONVERSATION TURNS TO RADIO!

Terry indicated he knew of the Charlie Apple Show and told C.A. that during February, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of "do-wop," the Hall of Fame would present a major exhibit and wondered if C.A. would be willing to broadcast his Saturday show from the Hall of Fame some Saturday in February; C.A. said, "Sure!"

And that began the ball rolling!

The Charlie Apple Show, Music Power-104, did broadcast LIVE from the studios of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, Ohio, over 103.9 FM and the M.P.-104 Web site at WLSW.com from 12 noon until 6 PM (on February 12.)

"Have Music, Will Boogie"

DeBolt Bus:

Way to Go to Hall of Fame!!

Thanks to George DeBolt and his ability to be flexible and put together plans in short order, all those who wanted to go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame saw the C.A. Show Broadcast Live on February 12.

Charlie, himself, did not ride the bus on the way up to Cleveland, but did go on the bus on the way home.

Magnificent Saturday at the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

That Saturday was magnificent at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Uncle Stan was there, Porky was there, Percy Wharton of the El Capris was there, Terry Stewart, CEO of the Hall of Fame, was there... and 72 FANTASTIC OLDIES FANS (many of them members of the Apple Corps) were ALSO there. And what a bus ride HOME it was. (Plus lots who drove up in their cars!)

C.A. spent time on each bus...and there were PRIZES (thanks to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for over $400 worth of prizes) and there was SINGING...and in one of the busses a TRIVIA contest...and IT WAS A BLAST.

CHARLIE'S WIFE SHANE was there all day and did a LOT to help C.A. out including bringing him a lunch. And SPECIAL thanks to Jeannie Chedwick for the great support she gave to the whole broadcast. Rock and Roll LIVES!

Also, thanks to our very capable engineering staff at Music Power-104, particularly Doug, for excellent work in putting the technical details together. And thanks to all the other staff members at MP-104.

Thanks to all! (And especially Uncle Stan who makes it all happen!)

Many thanks to Juan Tejada, Terry Stewart, and other Folks at the Hall of Fame for their help in pulling this off.

And thanks to all the other staff members at MP-104....

Music Power 104 has the GREATEST oldies D.J.'s in the world: JEFF ALLEN, JERRY BRAVERMAN, NICK LAMIA, UNCLE STAN, D.J. GERMANY, LARRY CONN, JAN ROBERTS, AND, OF COURSE, PORKY CHEDWICK!!!

Although they could not ALL make the trip to Cleveland, Charlie was certainly thankful to all of them for their excellent support and encouragement.

Thanks to all! (And especially Uncle Stan who makes it all happen!)

eMail. eMail?
Charlie is really interested in gathering as many eMail addresses as possible to add to the Apple Corps address book so that announcements of interest can be send out to lots of folks in a short time.

Even non-Apple Corps members who are interested in Pittsburgh-style oldies might enjoy being on the list.

Please eMail C.A. at CARocks177@aol.com and give him your eMail info so that you (and any friends if you’d like to include them) can get in that all-important Apple Corps Address Book.

Thanks...from the Gang in Cyber Space!!!

...go to next column...

Henry DeLuca Does It Again!

The Roots of Rock and Roll Vol. 26 was WINNER! Henry put together a bill that features Apple Corps member Jerry DiBernardo’s favorite New Orleans Star, Clarence "Frogman" Henry of Ain’t Got No Home fame and I Don’t Know Why I Love You, But I Do fame.

PLUS: He had the soaring sound of Herb Reed & the Platters (Herb being the only remaining member of the ORIGINAL PLATTERS and the creator of the name), the Tokens, the DUBS (who can forget Chapel of Dreams?.) {every time the Dubs come to town they ask C.A. to play One Eye Open, an obscure but fun soul sound from the late 60’s-early 70’s}, the Chiffons, and, of course, the Pride of Pgh., Pure Gold. C.A. had a Bar Mitzvah that night, but got down afterwards. Way to go, HJD!)

Did you know ...

... the owner of VeeJay records, Ewart Abner, turned down Bo Diddley when he auditioned with his self-titled initial offering Bo Diddley; so Bo marched to Chicago’s Chess brothers who knew a GREAT song when they heard it and signed him up right away and the rest is history.

HEY...check out the most fantastic web site of all time devoted to Bo Diddley... http://originator_2.tripod.com/ It is SUPERB! (Patty Winters thought so, too!)

SOC and PORCC

Continue to "WOW" 'em!!

How lucky Pittsburgh is to have SOC and PORCC, two organizations dedicated to preserving the sounds of Rhythm and Blues.

In several recent shows PORCC welcomed the Edsels and the El Dorados, and Earl Lewis and The Channels.

SOC had its Second They Sang In Pittsburgh Show 2/13 featuring JR and the Attractions, The Holidays, The El Venos, The Four Dots, The Laurels, and William Dell and Wee Jams. It was spectacular!!

For info about PORCC call Freddy at the Attic: 1-412-821-8484; to find out about SOC call Ron at 1-412-751-3432)

Porky Chedwick

It’s a Special Welcome to Porky Chedwick, who joins the staff of Music-Power 104 every Sunday night of each month.

And...good thing to remember, he’ll be playing HIS sounds, not Herman’s Hermits!!!

Here’s a tip on a great C.D.:

The Crows and the Wrens, Strictly for the Birds, The Rama and Gee Recordings 1953-56 on West Side, # 604!

This is one spectacular C.D.:

Gordon Skadburg, George Povall, Lee & Chris Buccola, and the rest of the American gang have given the great West Side label out of London, England, one hard-to-believe C.D.:

• 30 tracks
• Unreleased version of songs like Perfidia, I Really Really Love You, and Hey Girl
• Each tune by The Crows and The Wrens written up so lucidly and concretely in liner notes. ("Gee #1 featured Lorraine Ellis backed by the Crows on her version of "Perfidia." This one side was recorded at the second Rama session and initiated Goldner’s new Gee label (crediting only Lorraine Ellis) in May 1954..." (quoted from Gordon Skadburg’s notes!)
• Graphically well-done: pictures of various labels including Rama, Gee, and Roulette and trade magazine ads
• Contains one of my personal favorite songs of all time, The Crows’ Betty Jean, which was Rama 175 which was withdrawn and did not really re-surface until the re-issue craze of later years; the mastering on this one makes it absolutely glisten.

A must C.D. for the Bird Group Fans!

Important to the Whole

Rock and Roll Congregation Out There
 

Facts about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, taken from their information sheets sent to new members:

• 150,000 square-feet facility
• designed by I.M. Pei, the building rises above the shores of Lake Erie
• 55,000 square feet of exhibition areas
• 8/85: Foundation founded
• 1/86: First Hall of Fame Induction in NYC
• 6/7/93: ground-breaking
• 9/95: opening
• sampling of museum artifacts:
  • Fats Domino’s stage shirt
  • Howlin’ Wolf’s money case
  • Tina Tuner dresses designed by Gianni Versace
  • Eddie Cochran’s 1955 Gretsch guitar
  • Chuck Berry’s electric guitar
  • Muddy Water’s Fender Telecast guitar posters from many early rock and roll concerts
• the opening movie in the lower floor of the Hall of Fame is a Masterpiece, visually highlighting the development of the white/black musical hybrid using the train motif.
• membership info and more on the Web site: www.rockhall.com
• in 1999 Curtis Mayfield (of the Impressions) was inducted as a solo artist; Curtis died this Winter...Thank heavens he was given this honor before his sad and untimely death.
• Bo Diddley was inducted in 1987 in the SECOND round on inductions, much to HIS upset...and TO OURS, too. Bad oversight on the part of the Committee.
• The late Charles Brown was inducted as an Early Influence in 1999.
• in 1995, the Orioles were inducted as an Early Influence.