BITS AND PIECES - NEWS ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE ARTISTS By Michael McDowell
GOIN' HOME:
REMEMBERING
BOBBY SHERMAN
(1943 - 2025)
Q): What do you call a man who amassed an extensive legacy in film, television and the recording studio, played multiple musical instruments and who then went on to invent a number of life saving medical devices and become a decorated member of one of the largest police departments in the United States?
A): A teen idol.
Despite his extraordinary accomplishments, such is nonetheless apparently destined to be the legacy in the eyes of some of one time composer, vocalist and Santa Monica, California native, Robert Cabot "Bobby" Sherman.
Sherman's first venture of consequence into the world of music came about in 1962, when veteran actor and musician Sal Mineo composed a pair of songs for Sherman to record. One off singles for Parkway, Starcrest and Dot followed, with Sherman finally settling in at Decca in 1964 (augmented by occasional stops at Cameo and Epic). Along the way, Sherman earned key roles on the Shindig and Here Come The Brides television series.
By 1969, Sherman found himself as a part of the artist roster on the ambitious Metromedia label, which was then the recording home of the Winstons, Wayne Fontana, the Three Degrees, Lester Lanin and a variety of up and coming artists. At Metromedia, Sherman continued to soar into the early 1970s, turning out such acclaimed singles as Little Woman, La La La (If I Had You), Hey Mister Sun, Julie Do You Love Me, Easy Come Easy Go, Cried Like A Baby, Waiting At The Bus Stop and the magnificent The Drum.
It was with Waiting At The Bus Stop that Sherman's ambitious nature began to avail itself in earnest. With that single, Sherman took command in the studio, playing the bulk of the instrumentation himself.
However, a 1974 guest appearance on the Emergency television series further inspired him in a decidedly different way. Sherman went on to pursue a new career as a paramedic, and a member of the Los Angeles Police Department.
By 1999, Sherman assumed a new role as deputy sherriff in neighboring San Bernardino County. He also continued as a medical training officer well into the twenty-first century.
Throughout much of the decade of the 2010s, Sherman and his wife, Brigitte Poublon were active in charity work. Sadly, their endeavors in that respect were sidelined in March 2025, when Poublon announced that Sherman had been diagnosed with the stage four cancer of the lungs and kidneys that claimed his life in the early hours of 24 June.
If that is what defines a "teen idol" to some, so be it. In reality, Bobby Sherman was a hero to many. He also leaves behind two sons and several grandchildren. Sherman was 81.
OUTSIDE THE GATES OF HEAVEN:
REMEMBERING
LOU CHRISTIE
(1943 - 2025)
It was a dream line up that had joined forces to comprise one of the premier music festivals of the day.
The site was the Magic Moments Theatre at Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park in Southern California. On that 1986 bill were such acclaimed greats as the Youngbloods, Peter Noone, Billy Preston, the Beau Brummels and Country Joe And The Fish front man Joe McDonald.
Among the artists, humor and relentless optimism were the order of the day, as typified by some of their observations.
"Now I know how Perry Como feels", said Noone, in reference to the theatre being named after one of the beloved RCA Victor giant's signature singles.
"I haven't had a hit in fifteen years, either!"
McDonald responded in kind.
"This is a family friendly facility", he observed.
"I was told that I had to watch what I said. What the heck: Gimme an F!"
That familiar introductory line from Country Joe And The Fish's signature single, I Feel Like I'm Fixing To Die Rag earned McDonald a standing ovation from the highly appreciative capacity crowd.
Blitz Magazine was on hand for the entire festival, and spoke at length with the Beau Brummels, Peter Noone and Joe McDonald. Blitz had also made prior arrangements to interview the festival's headliner.
That headliner was composer, vocal vitruoso, musical visionary and Crescent Township, Pennsylvania native Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco, professionally known as Lou Christie. However, that initial meeting was scheduled to take place after Christie's set. So for the moment, Blitz Magazine settled into a front row center seat to enjoy a tour de force performance.
Not surprisingly, Christie stood in solidarity with his fellow artists by peppering his between numbers banter with a generous helping of his unique brand of humor. Shortly into his set, Christie directed one of his earliest such remarks to Blitz Magazine.
"Where'd you get that shirt?", he asked.
"I last saw a shirt like that on Paul Anka. In 1957!"
Later that afternoon, Christie emerged from the trailer that doubled as his dressing room, only to find that Paul Anka shirt waiting for him. Blitz Magazine and Christie both enjoyed a good laugh over his observation, when Blitz suddenly turned the tables on him.
Anticipating at first a generic set of questions that would focus on perhaps his three or four most obvious singles (such as Two Faces Have I, Painter, Rhapsody In The Rain and Lightning Strikes) while trying to reassess his place in the overall scheme of things at that juncture, Christie was most taken aback when Blitz Magazine opened with a series of observations about his earliest work, from his time with Lugee And The Lions to his magnificent vocal group harmony-inspired single, Have I Sinned.
With that, Christie rose to the occasion and gave the interview of a lifetime. That two hour conversation, which was documented at length in Blitz Magazine, touched on everything from his early outings with the great Morris Levy at Roulette Records (including the utterly stupendous Mister Tenor Man), as well as his vast body of work for MGM, Colpix and Columbia, his collaborations with such beloved session vocal greats as Bernadette Carroll and the Delicates' Denise Ferri, through his stunning Outside The Gates Of Heaven and You May Be Holding My Baby for Co&Ce, his brief stop at Buddah Records, his game changing, spot on cover of Michael Nesmith And The First National Band's arrangement of George Olsen's Beyond The Blue Horizon for Three Brothers and his 1980s collaborations with fellow visionary Lesley Gore.
Suffice to say that Blitz Magazine's summit meeting with Lou Christie proved to be mutually beneficial. For the duration of the twentieth century and well into the twenty-first century, Christie remained a much in demand live performer, including a brief stint with Fabian Forte and Frankie Avalon as part of the Golden Boys in the wake of group co-founder Bobby Rydell's passing in April 2022. Christie had also maintained a solid social media presence since the 2010s, and often held court with the faithful on a wide variety of topics.
Although Christie had been in poor health in recent weeks, his sudden passing on 17 June nonetheless came as a tremendous shock to family, friends and colleagues. Christie was 82.
IN THE BACK OF MY MIND
REMEMBERING THE BEACH BOYS'
BRIAN WILSON
(1942 - 2025)
You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone.
That track from the Beach Boys' May 1972 So Tough: Carl And The Passions album was as much a commentary on the Beach Boys collectively as it was an assessment of their bassist, resident visionary and Inglewood, California native, Brian Douglas Wilson. In the wake of some well publicized personal challenges and creative differences, the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson had begun to operate independently of one another at that point.
That fork in the road turned out to be a tremendous boon for the Beach Boys themselves the previous year. During their 1971 Surf's Up tour, the Beach Boys (sans Brian Wilson) proved themselves to be a formidable force on the concert stage. In turn, their creative prowess had reached unprecedented heights during that era, as evidenced by their Sunflower, Landlocked, Surf's Up, So Tough: Carl And The Passions and Holland albums.
While Brian Wilson continued to contribute to the Beach Boys' recordings throughout that pinnacle period, he had already established enough of a legacy as a composer in the years prior to that to afford being able to embark upon a healing sabbatical. From such enthralling early cuts as In The Back Of My Mind, Let Him Run Wild and Guess I'm Dumb (composed for occasional Beach Boys sideman Glen Campbell as a solo single) to such game changing albums as Beach Boys Today!, Pet Sounds and the Smile / Smiley Smile project, Wilson had irrefutably found himself front and center among music's most impacting visionaries.
By the late 1970s, Wilson had rebounded enough to become a frequent participant in the Beach Boys' studio ventures, as well as in occasional appearances on stage. The band's creative momentum continued to soar well into the twenty-first century, highlighted along the way by such essential albums as Fifteen Big Ones, The Beach Boys Love You, Keepin' The Summer Alive and That's Why God Made The Radio.
However, it was at the turn of the century that Wilson once again found his muse to the degree that his attention was most productively directed towards his solo ventures. Aided and abetted along the way by such capable colleagues as the Wondermints and Beach Boys Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin, Wilson irrefutably cemented his legacy as a visionary of the highest order from the mid-1990s and throughout the first quarter of the twenty-first century via such triumphs as Smile, Imagination, That Lucky Old Sun, No Pier Pressure and his utterly stupendous Orange Crate Art collaboration with Van Dyke Parks.
In recent years, much of Wilson's return to form stemmed from the ongoing support and encouragement of his wife, Melinda, whom he had married in 1995. However, the former Melinda Kae Ledbetter's sudden and tragic passing in January 2024 ultimately proved to be the final straw for the increasingly fragile Wilson.
Hence the sad but not altogether unexpected news that came on the morning of 11 June 2025 of Brian Wilson's passing. Survivors include daughters Carnie and Wendy (of the vocal trio Wilson Phillips), Wilson's first wife and Honeys cofounder Marilyn Wilson and cousin (and Beach Boys front man) Mike Love. Brian Wilson was 82.
LET ME HEAR IT FROM YOU:
REMEMBERING
SLY STONE
(1943 - 2025)
The Kinks once sang of being on a Low Budget. But one other prominent artist once used a unique low budget beginning as a springboard to one of the most remarkable careers in music history.
In 1963, Bob Blythe's Hollywood, California-based Sutton Records released a Various Artists album, Jumpin! With Pop Hits Of Tomorrow. Included were memorable tracks by several up and coming artists, including Dal Cory, the Sparkplugs, the Sims Sisters and Diane Coley.
But the highlight of that Sutton collection was an irresistible original by a Bay Area sextet that had called it a day months earler. That track was the sublime You're My Only Love by the Viscaynes.
The group had come together as the Viscounts while its members were attending high school in Vallejo. However, upon learning of the New Jersey-based band, the Viscounts (who had recorded the classic instrumental, Harlem Nocturne), the Vallejo sextet became the Viscaynes, a play on Viscounts and on Chevrolet's popular Biscayne model.
Among the Viscaynes' ranks was a prodigious guitarist, pianist, producer, vocal arranger and Denton Texas native, Sylvester Stewart. The eldest son of Alpha and K.C. Stewart, Sylvester Stewart spent his formative years perfecting his multi-faceted musical mission statement as part of the worship team at his church. In 1956, Stewart and his three siblings released a Gospel single, On The Battlefield / Walking In Jesus' Name as the Stewart Four.
At the Viscaynes' first rehearsal, Stewart immediately focused upon fine tuning their vocal harmonies to perfection. They recorded several promising sides, resulting in a hit single with Yellow Moon for the VPM label.
The Viscaynes' tight vocal harmonies made them an immediate sensation in the wake of their debut appearance on Dick Stewart's Dance Party television series. However, their time in the spotlight was limited, as each of the members had plans to go their separate ways upon graduation.
Meanwhile, Sylvester Stewart's overall musical prowess made an impression on Dick Stewart, who retained his services for the Dance Party broadcast. By 1964, Sylvester Stewart was recruited as staff producer for the late Tom Donahue's short lived but ambitious Autumn label, the recording home of Bobby Freeman, the Mojo Men, the Vejtables, the Tikis (later known as Harpers Bizarre) and the Beau Brummels.
When Autumn ceased operations in late 1965, Stewart (by then professionally known as Sly Stone) slowly but steadily turned his attention towards the home front. He began recruiting friends and family members to form the visionary supergroup, Sly And The Family Stone.
By 1967, Sly And The Family Stone had signed with Epic Records. The game changing singles followed in rapid succession over the next six years. They included Underdog, Dance To The Music, Life / M'Lady, Everyday People, Stand / I Want To Take You Higher, Hot Fun In The Summertime (which was covered by the Beach Boys), Everybody Is A Star / Thank You, Family Affair, If You Want Me To Stay and Running Away. The band also headlined at the Woodstock Festival in August 1969.
Sadly, a series of personal challenges resulted in Sly And The Family Stone being put on hiatus by the mid-1970s. Group cofounder Rose Stone went on to direct the New Song vocal choir at Church On The Way in Van Nuys, California during the early 1990s.
Meanwhile, Sylvester Stewart recorded sporadically into the twenty-first century. He also made occasional live appearances with Family Stone members.
In recent years, Sylvester Stewart had battled the lung disease COPD, which claimed his life in Los Angeles on 09 June. At his bedside were his three children, son Sylvester Junior and daughters Sylvyette and Novena. Stewart was 82.
THE NIGHT OF LUV':
PATTY BRARD'S
PANTER PARTY
REUNITES THE GREATS
Sometimes a summit meeting is answered prayer.
Such was the case in Amsterdam on 14 March, when nine of the giants of the Netherlands' most treasured vocal groups joined forces to celebrate Luv' co-founder Patty Brard's seventieth birthday.
With such monster classics as Trojan Horse (issued on Polydor in the U.S.), Casanova, You're The Greatest Lover and Saint Tropez to their credit, Luv' (Brard, Jose Hoebee and Marga Scheide) and their producer, the late Hans van Hemert firmly established themselves as one of the twentieth century's premier vocal trios. Sadly, Hoebee's health challenges have prevented them from persevering as a unit for the time being.
Undaunted, and with her seventieth birthday approaching, Brard called upon veterans of several other pioneering vocal units to join forces for a one-off summit meeting. That event, Patty's Panter Party took place before a capacity crowd at Amsterdam's Ziggo Dome on 14 March.
Chief among the other participants was Babe lead vocalist Marga Bult. Together with Rita van Rooy and Margot van de Ven, Babe established one of the most impressive legacies in all of music with such game changing singles as Dolly The Doll, Explosive, (Don't You Ever) Shop Around, Boomerang, Shocking, Indian Habits and their utterly stupendous Together In Love Again. While Babe has been on a professional sabbatical since 1986, Bult, van Rooy and van de Ven remain close.
Also participating in the summit meeting were veterans of several other beloved vocal groups. They included Rowan Moore of Centerfold, Caren Wood of Maywood, Anita Heilker and Esther Oosterbeek of the Dolly Dots (whose 1981 Keep On Doing It single saw release on Atlantic in the United States), Caroline De Windt and Jetty Weels or Mai Tai, and Laura Vlasblom and Mandy Huydts of Frizzle Sizzle.
"Thank you for a fantastic birthday party", said Brard.
"Nothing but love!"
"You and your entire production team threw a great birthday party", Bult added.
"Made so many people happy!"
To quote a classic cut from the 1978 debut album by Luv', it was a Dream Dream come true.
posted by BlitzMagazine at 8:47 PM
<< Home