BITS AND PIECES - NEWS ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE ARTISTS By Michael McDowell

FLY WITH ME: His richly diverse musical career included three singles for Columbia in 1967-1968 with one time Bordermen bandmate Elkin Fowler as the ambitious duo, the Avant Garde.  Editor / Pubisher Michael McDowell salutes the fascinating career of the late CHUCK WOOLERY below  (Click on above image to enlarge).

TWO AND TWO:

REMEMBERING

AVANT GARDE CO-FOUNDER

CHUCK WOOLERY

(1941 - 2024)

True to form, Columbia Records in 1968 was all over the map.

In that year of tremendous change, Columbia endeavored to chronicle it all. In the process, such label mainstays as Paul Revere And The Raiders, Andre Kostelanetz, Ray Price, Simon And Garfunkel, Dave Brubeck, Percy Faith, the Buckinghams, Ray Conniff and Johnny Cash continued to deliver at optimum level. 

But where things got particularly interesting at Columbia was in their attempts to recruit and chronicle the works of some of the leading lights among the up and coming in rock and roll. To that effect, the label was successful in recruiting Big Brother And The Holding Company from Bob Shad's Mainstream Records, and in putting the much loved Chambers Brothers and Blood, Sweat And Tears on the map. 

In those endeavors, Columbia brought on board a number of artists who made brief but enduring contributions to the label's archives. Among them were Flavor, Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper, the Electric Flag, and (at year's end) the Chicago-based Flock and Texas guitarist Johnny Winter. 

Among the more curious within the latter group was the ambitious duo, the Avant Garde. The group was comprised of session musician Elkin Fowler and composer, bassist, vocalist, U.S. Navy veteran and Ashland, Kentucky native Charles Herbert "Chuck" Woolery. Fowler (who was also an ordained minister) and Woolery had previously worked together with Mike Tackett in the folk trio, the Bordermen. 

The Avant Garde made their debut for Columbia in late 1967 with the curious period piece, Yellow Beads. However, with the label devoting the bulk of its attention in 1968 to its leading lights, the Avant Garde remained lost in the shuffle for much of the year. 

Nonethelss, the label's propensity towards the completist perspective ultimately worked in the Avant Garde's favor. In the Fall of 1968, Woolery and Fowler returned with their signature single, Naturally Stoned. A basic love song that relied heavily on period jargon to state its case, Naturally Stoned was nonetheless charismatic enough to put the duo on center stage. 

The Avant Garde quickly followed up with the euphoric Fly With Me before calling it a career. Fowler continued briefly as a solo artist with Columbia, and subsequently played on acclaimed albums by Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen.

Meanwhile, Woolery's post-Avant Garde musical ventures found him continuing as a solo artist for Columbia and RCA Victor between 1969 and 1972. Along the way, he developed a growing interest in country music. That component of his musical mission statement availed itself most successfully with Painted Lady for Warner Brothers in 1977 and The Greatest Love Affair for Epic in 1980.

However, Woolery's most successful ventures came during his years hosting various television game shows. His genial personality and trademark "two and two" segue into commercial breaks were a natural fit for his presenter roles on Wheel Of Fortune, Love Connection, Scrabble and The Dating Game, amongst others. He also enjoyed a memorable film role alongside Roosevelt Grier and Cheryl Ladd in the 1975  production, The Treasure Of Jamaica Reef. 

In the early 1990s, Woolery hosted a New Years Eve celebration at Church On The Way in Van Nuys, California. At that congregational gathering, Woolery fielded various questions from those in attendance about his career highlights. In the process, he expressed a degree of surprise to inquiries about his work with the Avant Garde. 

In recent years, Woolery had relocated to Texas. He became increasingly active in various socio-political causes; championing those endeavors in a podcast and on his social media accounts. 

Sadly, Woolery passed away at his Texas home on 23 November. He is survived by his wife, Kristen, along with sons Michael and Sean and daughter Melissa. Woolery was 83.

LIVE WHILE YOU'RE YOUNG:

REMEMBERING ONE DIRECTION'S

LIAM PAYNE

(1993 - 2024)

In the world of music, pursuing one's art as both a thinker and a doer often makes a given musician a thinking people's artist.

In that respect, those who came through the ranks as part of the sub-genre whose participants were often referred to as boy bands were nontheless subjected to being part of a two-edge misnomer. In one respect, a misnomer in that by definition, the word "band" refers to an aggregation that plays instruments. In reality, the various artists in question would more accurately be referred to as vocal groups. 

Concurrently, among the more discerning musicologists, record collectors and music historians, those vocal groups often did not (in their estimation) deliver on a level that met their preconceived expectations.

However, in the first decade and a half of the twenty-first century, a group of ambitious artists who envisioned taking their art to the next level in that respect asserted themselves to the degree that they confounded expectations. In the process, they began to draw praise from the aforementioned discerning academics. Among the more noteworthy within those circles were Miley Cyrus, Rihanna, the Jonas Brothers, the Cheetah Girls, Colbie Caillat, the Plain White Ts and the ambitious sibling duo, Aly And AJ. 

Leading the charge within that movement among the vocal group contingent was the UK-based quintet, One Direction. The group was initially comprised of Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Liam James Payne and Niall Horan. 

One Direction came together in 2010. Their first widespread exposure came on The X Factor television series that same year. 

One Direction then signed with Simon Cowell's Syco Music (not to be confused with the Syco label that released the Northern Soul monster classic Sugar Baby by Jimmy Holland in 1965). Over the next six years, the quintet turned out an above the herd series of singles, including The Story Of My Life, Perfect, Live While We're Young and their signature track, What Makes You Beautiful. 

Although One Direction embarked upon a protracted sabbatical in 2016, the group members remained close. In recent years, Harry Styles has enjoyed a prolific solo career via his acclaimed solo albums. In turn, Liam Payne (who composed much of One Direction's material) continued to record and perform as a solo artist on a regular basis.

Sadly, on the afternoon of 16 October, Payne fell to his death from the balcony of his third floor hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Autopsy reports confirm that Payne succumbed to multiple internal injuries sustained in the fall.

Ironically, the Wolverhampton native's premature passing parallels that of musicians Rod Lauren and Donny Hathaway, both of whom died under like circumstances. Survivors include his seven year old son, Bear. Liam Payne was 31.

THIS ONE'S FROM THE HEART:

REMEMBERING

JAMES DARREN

(1936 - 2024)

"Let's stop by the record store. I want to get the new James Darren album".

Those words were spoken not in 1959. Nor in 1963 or 1966. They were said in 1999 by my late wife Audrey, in reference to Darren's album This One's From The Heart on the Concord Jazz label. 

Indeed the nineteen years of married bliss that Audrey and I shared felt in some ways  as though we were living out our own Camelot experience. To that effect, I have often said that it felt like we were married from 1948 to 1967, rather than the reality of 1995 until her sudden passing in 2014.

That thought had also crossed my mind when we returned to the car, as Audrey clutched her purchase with considerable delight. While of course not oblivious to the world in which we lived, the fact remained that an artist such as James Darren was as much a contributor to the current cultural landscape as anyone benefitting from the mainstream media spotlight at the moment.

That is as much of a testimony to the timelessness of Darren's art as it was our own preferences in the world of entertainment. Born James William Ercolani in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in June 1936, Darren was by virtue of geography in a position of considerable advantage, given that city's formidable contributions to rock and roll during its formative years. 

Indeed, after completing his studies in New York City with an eye towards a career in acting, Darren found himself co-starring in the motion picture, Rumble On The Docks in 1956. By 1959, he was in the spotlight for his portrayal of Moondoggie in the motion picture Gidget, as well as two sequels.

Darren's rendition of the film's title track for Colpix (his second 45 for the label) provided a tremendous kick start for his recording career. Numerous triumphs for Colpix followed, including I Ain't Sharin' Sharon, They Should Have Given You The Oscar, Goodbye Cruel World and the utterly stupendous Her Royal Majesty. Various collaborations with Colpix label mates Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen were also well received.

For much of the 1960s and 1970s, Darren continued to flourish in a variety of disciplines. They included a starring role in The Time Tunnel television series, an acclaimed album (All) for Warner Brothers and an appearance in the 1963 motion picture, The Lively Set. 

His various recordings for Kirshner and Private Stock during the 1970s were also well received, as was his work on the T.J. Hooker crime drama television series in the 1980s. By the 1990s, he was also working as a director, with episodes of the iconic Melrose Place and Beverly Hills 90210 series to his credit.

By the turn of the century, Darren had turned much of his musical attention towards the jazz that inspired the aforementioned This One's From The Heart album. Throughout much of the twenty-first century, he also weighed in frequently on his social media sites, concurrently keeping his profile high via the occasional live appearance, as well as a role in the 2017 motion picture, Lucky.

Sadly, Darren's This One's From The Heart album now comes full circle. He was recently admitted to Cedar Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for aortic valve surgery. Tragically, he passed away there in his sleep during the morning of 02 September. Survivors include his wife Evy, and several children. Darren was 88.

HOT SHOT:

BABE'S MARGA BULT'S

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

OF GRATITUDE

Birthdays can be a mixed blessing.

On one hand, a birthday can signify accomplishment and joy. Conversely, birthdays can also serve as a reminder of everything from loss to the aging process. 

In general, Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People does not chronicle birthday and / or anniversary celebrations, primarily because of the high volume of celebrants involved. Nonetheless, exceptions are made upon occasion when the event occurs in tandem with other developments in the career of a given artist. 

Such is definitely the case this year with Babe lead vocalist Marga Bult, whose recovery from injuries sustained in a fall at home several weeks ago has been chronicled extensively in Blitz Magazine. Thankfully, Bult's recovery has progressed to the degree that she has pretty much been able to resume her normal day to day routine.

Since succeeding outgoing lead vocalist Gemma Van Eck (who opted for a solo career) in the closing weeks of 1981, Bult and her Babe colleagues Rita van Rooy and Margot van de Ven spent the next half decade establishing the beloved Dutch trio as one of the premier vocal groups of the twentieth century. 

In the process, Babe also tirelessly championed the most essential attribute of relentless optimism in their mission statement. Not surprisingly, that virtue (along with her trademark sense of humor) continued to serve Bult well as she made plans for her 02 July birthday celebration in the wake of her recent challenges. 

"I notice now that I'm getting older that I'm getting much stronger", Bult said with tongue in cheek.

"I can lift 150 Euros' worth of groceries now! That didn't work before".

On a slightly more serious note, Bult opted to trransform her 02 July birthday observance into a combination celebration with her son (whose celebrated his own birthday on 01 July) and a family holiday.

"I turned a year older, but for the first time, I'm celebrating it in Altea", she said.

"You have to experience everything in life at least once, right? (My family and I) are making it a very sunny and cozy party together".

Meanwhile, Babe's legions of devotees continue to hold out hope that one of Bult, van Rooy and van der Ven's frequent reunion meetings will result in the most welcome news of  a return to the recording studio, to live performance or both. Babe has been on a professional sabbatical since 1986, although they remain in close contact with one another. 

"Sweet, thank you", said Bult, who is also a registered nurse.

And a reciprocal thank you to Marga Bult from Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People, with a benediction for birthday blessings in abundance.