WELCOME TO BLITZ MAGAZINE'S WEB SITE!

UP FROM THE SKIES: More than fifty-five years after the passing of the vaunted trio's front man and guitarist, the JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE catalog continues to reap dividends with the release of heretofore largely unavailable material. The late 2025 release of the lavish Experience Hendrix / Legacy box set, Bold As Love embellishes the stereo and mono mixes of the band's late 1967 second album for Reprise, along with a wealth of bonus tracks. Editor / Publisher Michael McDowell takes a deep dive in the Reissues / Anthologies column under the Previous Posts heading at right (Click on above imae to enlarge).

WELCOME TO THE INTERET HOME

FOR BLITZ MAGAZINE
SINCE 1975 -
THE ROCK AND ROLL MAGAZINE
FOR THINKING PEOPLE

Welcome to the official web site for Blitz, The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People. Since 1975, Blitz has been the leading voice for the discerning music enthusiast. Blitz Magazine was also one of the first magazines of its kind to embrace the internet, having also been online since January 1996.

Here you will find news and updates about all of the key artists essential to the growth and development of rock and roll music and related genres, including rhythm and blues, country and western, jazz and easy listening. For highlights from recent past editions of the Bits And Pieces and Shape Of Things To Come columns, click on the archival postings on the right hand side of this page. Be sure and check back frequently for regular updates.

If you have any questions, please e-mail us at BlitzMcD@aol.com.

Michael McDowell
Editor/Publisher
Blitz Magazine
Since 1975 - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People
E-Mail us at BlitzMcD@aol.com for a list of available back issues.

Be sure to follow Blitz on Twitter:

@BlitzMagazine

and

on Facebook at:

Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People

AUDREY'S MUSICAL JOURNEY:

Follow the fascinating and unfolding tale (through her favorite music) of the life and times of Blitz Magazine's late and beloved Photo Editor, Audrey McDowell, as told by her husband, Blitz Editor/Publisher Michael McDowell. A Facebook exclusive! "Like" us on Facebook at Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People, and watch for further installments.

IN THE BITS AND PIECES COLUMN:

In a free standing article under the Previous Posts heading at right, we pay tribute to one of the absolute giants, visionaries and masterminds of the broadcast industry; a man who was also one of the three major inspirations in the development of the mission statement of Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People. Editor/Publisher Michael McDowell salutes the great BOB GREEN of WKNR KEENER 13, who succumbed to a lengthy illness at his Texas home on 02 January.

In a free standing article under the Previous Posts heading at right, CINECYDE founder, front man and principal visionary Gary Reichel celebrates the band's fiftieth anniversary with the release of an ambitious new single. 

In tandem with Jeff Katz, he amassed one of the most impressive legacies in all of music and a producer and visionary. Editor / Publisher Michael McDowell salutes the great JERRY KASENETZ, who succumbed to injuries sustained in a fall at age 82.

It may not always be easy rooting for the Anti-Hero, but Editor / Publisher Michael McDowell makes an academic case in a free standing article under the Previous Posts heading at right for The Life Of A Showgirl, the all new Republic label album by TAYLOR SWIFT.

He was a consummate showman, an extraordinary vocalist, a brilliant humorist, an avid record collector and a college professor. Editor / Publisher Michael McDowell salutes CROSSFIRES, TURTLES and FLO AND EDDIE cofounder MARK VOLMAN, who succumbed to a lengthy illness on 05 September at age 78. 

Their 1969 signature single, Maria Isabel earned the ultimate high praise from Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People as absolute, utter perfection, and finished in a multi-disc tie for Best Single of that most productive year. Editor / Publisher Michael McDowell salutes LOS PAYOS cofounder JOSE' MORENO HURTADO, who succumbed to a lingering illness on 19 July. 

IN THE REISSUES / ANTHOLOGIES SECTION OF

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME COLUMN:

More than fifty-five years after the band's legendary guitarist's passing, the JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE catalog continues to reap dividends. This time around with the late 2025 deluxe four CD and blueray box set, Bold As Love.

Gear Fab Records CEO ROGER MAGLIO emerges triumphant with Songs From The Rocks, a collection of his own early endeavors as a recording artist.

Archivist and historial Zev Feldman continues his acclaimed deep dive into the legacy of the legendary keyboard virtuoso BILL EVANS, with a deluxe edition of Evans' landmark 1970 concert at the Kongsberg Jazz Festival in Norway.

Bob Seger And The Last Heard, Dion DiMucci, Bobby Darin, Eric Andersen, Donovan Leitch, Dino Valenti, Billy Joe Royal and P.F. Sloan are among the artists featured on Bear Family's twenty-five track He Took Us By Storm collection, featuring classic original recordings inspired by BOB DYLAN.

Pioneering rocker, Gospel witness extraordinare and virtuoso guitarist SISTER ROSETTA THARPE is the subject of a magnificent collection of heretofore unavailable live recordings from 1966, which are now available on the Deep Digs label.

IN THE NEW RELEASES SECTION OF

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME COLUMN:

The Burbank-based Big Stir label has done much to bring proven methodology into the modern day setting with an eye towards the future. Its all new twenty-five track sampler, The Big Stir Records Hit Machine sustains that momentum with new offerings from the Strawberry Alarm Clock, Graham Parker, the Spngetones, the Jack Rubies and others. 

Prolific New York composer and vocalist BRIAN GARI revisits the formative stages of his creative vision with The Teenage Years (1964 - 1971), a thirty-five track collection of new recordings of his earliest compositions. 

Any resemblance therein to the inspiration of Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, June Christy, Eydie Gorme, Doris Day or Chet Baker was probably intentional. Composer, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and producer LAUFEY soars accordingly in her latest release, A Matter Of Time. 

The JONAS BROTHERS bring lessons well learned full circle with their latest Republic Records release, Greetings From Your Hometown.

Her Manchild single has proven to be one of 2025's most acclaimed releases to date. SABRINA CARPENTER sustains that momentum in abundance with her latest album, Man's Best Friend.

Even Dozen Jug Band cofounder and veteran solo artist MARIA MULDAUR pays tribute to her beloved mentor in her latest Nola Blue release, One Hour Mama: The Blues Of Victoria Spivey. 

After a decade in the spotlight, MORGAN WALLEN has perfected the ability to draw from the best of both worlds with his ambitious new album for Big Loud, I Mean Business.

TAYLOR SWIFT'S THE LIFE OF A SHOWGIRL

ACTUALLY ROMANTIC: The self-proclaimed Anti-Hero has remained on top of the industry for the better part of the twenty-first century by remaining one step ahead of the curve. Editor / Publisher Michael McDowell takes an academic look at The Life Of A Showgirl, the all new Republic label album by composer, vocalist and Pennsylvania native TAYLOR SWIFT below (Click on above image to enlarge).

ROOTING FOR THE ANTI-HERO:

A CLOSER LOOK AT

TAYLOR SWIFT'S

THE LIFE OF A SHOWGIRL ALBUM

By Michael McDowell

"A Hard Day's Night? Never heard of it!"

The above reaction comprised more than ninety percent of the responses to a question posed by Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People in a recent informal survey directed towards the presumed intended target demographic of this album. The multi-part question cited several of the 1964 motion picture's signature lines, with the survey participants then polled on their level of familiarty with that dialogue, the film's cast and the film itself.

True to form, that response brought more than a few self-aggrandized reactions from the participants in a concurrent Blitz inquiry. The focus group in this case was a cadre of seasoned musicologists and record collectors. Perhaps not so surprisingly, more than ninety percent of the respondents (pretty much all of whom regarded the likes of A Hard Day's Night as an indispensible component of their own mission statements) summarily dismissed the album with this generic assessment: 

"I don't listen to new music".

To be certain, that dichotomy speaks to a larger issue than just a cultural impasse. While the general lack of familiarity among one group of the impact of a landmark cinematic moment on an entire generation suggests the need for that group to have done a better job of paying it forward, it is also within reason to assert that the generation doing the paying may have had greater success in that respect had they not approached their charges with an out of hand dismissal of that group's own spheres of interest. 

Meanwhile, as the rank and file continues to debate the peripheral issues, the artist gets the job done. 

Since making her recording debut in 2006, composer, vocalist and West Reading, Pennsylvania native Taylor Alison Swift has never bowed the knee to the demands or expectations of the lowest common denominator. Blessed with a gift for a unique turn of phrase, Swift composes with the candor and savvy of the most seasoned veterans. That attribute is arguably a key factor behind her ability to sustain her extraordinary momentum at the highest levels. 

The Life Of A Showgirl is a marked departure from Swift's two most recent releases  (Midnights and The Tortured Poets Department) in terms of general atmosphere. While those two earlier outings both espoused an overall moodiness that was in part borne of the various impasses and unrelealized visions articulated therein, The Life Of A Showgirl maintains a relatively more upbeat outlook. That change in perspective is reflected impeccably via judiciously constructed verse, chorus and bridge templates that underscore each piece accordingly. 

To wit, the Shakespearean opening track, The Fate Of Ophelia augments its minor key variations on Colbie Caillat's Falling For You with a matter of fact proclamation of, "If you'd never come for me, I might have drowned in the melancholy". Swift takes that candor to the next level in Actually Romantic, in which she confronts  unresolved issues with a decisive, "Like a toy chihuahua barking at me from a tiny purse, that's how much it hurts". 

In turn, the relatively pensive Eldest Daughter offers a more vulnerable tidbit of introspection than suggested in her previous two releases: "I have been afflicted by a terminal uniqueness, I've been dying just from trying to seem cool". Swift brings that wisdom borne of experience full circle in the closing title track, in which she is accompanied by Sabrina Carpenter (whose utterly stupendous, tongue in cheek Manchild single is likewise a fitting testimony to lessons well learned).

That said, one caveat herein remains a potential point of concern between the two aforementioned demographics. As was the case with Midnights and The Tortured Poets Department, The Life Of A Showgirl finds its lyrical content interspersed with copious amounts of what Ephesians 4:29 referred to as "corrupt communication". That assessment will no doubt resonate to a degree among those with first hand experience of the rank and file reaction upon the release of the likes of the Kingsmen's Louie Louie and the MC5's Kick Out The Jams. 

However, among the aforementioned target demographic, such vernacular has long been in widespread, general use and is not regarded in that manner. As such, it remains an issue that is up to the discretion of the individual listener. 

On the plus side, Swift has overlooked no detail in maximizing the impact of this project. Just as the sports card industry has long benefitted from the pursuit by its hardcore audience of the so-called chase card, The Life Of A Showgirl was released in a wide variety of high demand limited editions, including the So Glamorous Cabaret Version, the Life Is A Song Acoustic Version, the Dressing Room Rehearsal Version and the Alone In My Tower Acoustic Version. 

"I can't tell you how proud I am to share this with you", Swift said.

"An album that feels so right. If you thought the big show was wild, perhaps you should come and take a look behind the curtain".

And once again, the self-proclaimed Anti-Hero has built upon her End Game by turning The Albatross into more fuel for her already formidable Reputation.

CINECYDE / GARY RECIHEL INTERVIEW

WHO GOES THERE?  CINECYDE founder and front man Gary Reichel (pictured above with Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People Editor / Publisher Michael McDowell in Royal Oak, Michigan in October 2022) celebrates the visionary band's fiftieth anniversary with the release of a new single, Everyday / I'm Gonna Look (Click on above image to enlarge).

I'M GONNA LOOK:

CINECYDE PREPS

FOR A MILESTONE

By Michael McDowell

Where does an ambitious band go when it has created one of the definitie anthems of a musical movement?

In the case of the Michigan-based Cinecyde, that anthem was the 1977 Tremor label single, Gutless Radio. A hard hitting look at the state of the mainstream media of the day, Gutless Radio became one of the premier rallying cries of the so-called punk/new wave movement that rescued rock and roll from a protracted aesthetic slump. 

In 2026, Cinecyde will celebrate the half century mark as a band. Since that initial triumph, the band has sustained its momentum magnificently with such duly inspired singles as Tough Girls and Burn The Crack House Down, as well as such acclaimed albums as I Left My Heart In Detroit City and 2021's magnificent Vegetable Or Thing.

In anticipation of their forthcoming milestone, Cinecyde closed out 2025 with the release of a new Tremor label single, Everyday / I'm Gonna Look. True to form, the band challenged itself to surpass its own high standards and has succeeded magnficently in that respect.

"Everyday is about my regrets about not doing enough for friends in my life", said band co-founder, front man and principal visionary, Gary Reichel.

"People who got off track, and then things got much worse. I wish I could have stepped in more".

Sadly, Reichel drew from first hand observation in this case.

"I think of our late bass player, Chris Girard", he said.

"A slo-mo train wreck".

Girard's passing in July 2019 marked the band's first change in personnel. Reichel recalled those difficult moments in a September 2021 interview in Blitz Magazine.

"Chris Girard was appreciated, loved and a great player", he said at the time.

"His health took a huge turn downward and we lost him".

True to his altruistic nature, Reichel drew inspiration from that tragic turn of events and paid it forward accordingly.

"I'm currently helping a homeless friend", he said.

"He's now in subsidized housing. But if I could have guided more several years ago, he wouldn't be in this mess. 

"I know that ultimately it's his own responsibility. But my wife and I have watched this slow motion train wreck for years".

Not surprisingly, continuing to create hard hitting and thought provoking original music has proven to be therapeutic, as evidenced by their current single. Cinecyde's current line up (which includes Reichel and founding guitarist Jim Olenski, along with bassist and Flirt co-founder Skid Marx and drummer Diane Schroeder) has done much to sustain the band's front runner status in the present decade. 

"We have a nice group of songs recorded and mostly completed", said Reichel.

"I'm Gonna Look. I appreciate it as a good rockin' song with garage influences. I also wanted to be a bit politically incorrect, because that's just the way I am!

"The recording engineer said it reminded him of the Cramps. Jim's lead at the end has echoes of (the Stooges' late guitarist) Ron Asheton."

However, in recent weeks, health concerns once again threatened to sideline (if not derail) the band's momentum.

"Things sure can be difficult", said Reichel.

"Skid has some issues he is dealing with. We have a show scheduled for January at Bowlero with the Flipsters. Skid is confident he will be back in action".

That Royal Oak, Michigan venue has hosted a wealth of front running artists throughout the current decade, from the supergroup the Rearrangements to Dream Syndicate co-founder and front man, Steve Wynn. Cinecyde's repeat performances there have long been a top draw, inspiring the band to challenge itself to even greater heights in spite of the aforementioned day to day concerns.

"(Our) next release will probably be Nutzology!", Reichel noted, with tongue in cheek.

But if a near half century of first rate creative vision is any indication, Cinecyde's legacy is certain to be a continuation of an observation the band made in 2007: Today The World Will Rock!"

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

ZIG ZAG: In tandem with Jeff Katz, his legacy as a producer and visionary had few peers.  Editor / Publisher Michael McDowell salutes the great JERRY KASENETZ (pictured above at left with Katz), who succumbed to injuries sustained in a fall at age 82  (Click on above image to enlarge).

FLOWERS TO SUNSHINE:

REMEMBERING PRODUCER

JERRY KASENETZ

(1943 - 2025)

Sometimes a summit meeting leads to landmark accomplishments.

In 1968, producers and Brooklyn, New York natives Jerrold "Jerry" Kasenetz and Jeffry "Jeff" Katz brought a trio of prominent rock bands (the Music Explosion, the Ohio Express and the 1910 Fruitgum Company) along with five up and coming and/or studio bands (including the Teri Nelson Group and the 1989 Musical Marching Zoo) into the studio to form a supergroup. The resultant Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus album featured an ambitious mix of original material and covers of classics by the Righteous Brothers, the Beatles and Stevie Wonder.

But in the song that ended side one of the LP, the Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus rose to the occasion in unprecedented manner. With lead vocals by the Ohio Express' Joey Levine, that track, Down In Tennessee soared with relentless optimism at a time when such attributes were found in short supply. It ultimately earned accolades from Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People as one of the three best singles of that pivotal year.

Kasenetz and Katz went on to produce a number of first rate singles for the Ohio Express, the 1910 Fruitgum Company and Ram Jam. Their Super K Productions also boasted an impressive legacy of singles by Question Mark And The Mysterians, Professor Morrison's Lollipop, the Shadows Of Knight and Crazy Elephant. Ultimately, their 1977 Heart Get Reay For Love single for Epic was covered the following year by Heman's Hermits for the great Morris Levy's Roulette label; once again earning accolades from Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People as Best Single of the Decade of the 1970s.

Sadly, Jerry Kasenetz passed away in early December in a Tampa, Florida hospital from injuries sustained in a fall at home. He is survived by his brothers, sons and grandchildren. Kasenetz was 82.

TOO MUCH HEARTSICK FEELING:

REMEMBERING THE TURTLES'

MARK VOLMAN

(1947 - 2025)

"Twelve bucks for the Crossfires? I wouldn't give you twelve cents for it!"

The scene was the monthly record swap meet in Hollywood, California in late 1980. Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People was on hand as an exhibitor, with recent issues of the magazine and a rich variety of 45s and albums available for sale.

Business was brisk that morning. So much so that several of the more collectible items (of which the Crossfires' 1964 One Potato Two Potato / That'll Be The Day single on the Lucky Token label was one) that had been on display at Blitz Magazine's exhibit had sold in short order. 

As such, Editor / Publisher Michael McDowell reached underneath the exhibit table to retrieve a few items from stock to replace the ones that had been sold. Concurrently, two of the convention's attendees stopped at Blitz Magazine's exhibit to say hello and to peruse inventory. It was at that point that one of them made the above observation about the Crossfires single. Editor / Publisher McDowell looked up to find none other than Crossfires cofounders Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan greeting him with big grins. Each was also carrying large bags full of 45 and LP acquisitions from other vendors. 

Volman and Kaylan were both avid record collectors. Over the course of the next half hour, they were eager to share their wealth of knowledge about some of the morning's acquisitions, as well as a few of the highlights of their time as the Crossfires. 

By 1965, the Crossfires had changed their name to the Turtles. They made their debut for the White Whale label that summer with their sublime (and definitive) rendition of the Bob Dylan-penned It Ain't Me Babe, and as a result were catapaulted to center stage in short order. That October, as their follow up single, Let Me Be was garnering similar accolades, the Turtles released their debut White Whale album, It Ain't Me Babe. 

To say that the album exceeded expectations would be gross understatement. Augmented by an ambitious and spirited cover of Kenny Dino's Your Maw Said You Cried in deference to their roots, the It Ain't Me Babe album boasted an extraordinary level of creativity and assertiveness via such hard hitting material as Let The Cold Winds Blow, Wanderin' Kind, Last Laugh, A Walk In The Sun and a thought provoking interpretation of the Kingston Trio's It Was A Very Good Year (also recorded by Lonnie Donegan, Chad And Jeremy and the Modern Folk Quartet) that preceeded the high drama Frank Sinatra rendition by several weeks. The It Ain't Me Babe album remains one of the folk rock hybrid's definitive masterpieces.

For the Los Angeles native born Mark Randall Volman, that change in direction from the Crossfires to the Turtles necessitated a bit of revision of his personal musical mission statement. A mutli-instrumentalist whose gifts in that respect were well suited to the garage and surf rock leanings of the Crossfires, the transition to the Turtles found Volman increasingly directing his attention towards developing and perfecting the band's impeccable gifts for vocal harmony. 

To be certain, that vision remained a work in progress throughout the band's second album. You Baby / Let Me Be largely expanded upon the direction of the first album via such memorable tracks as Down In Suburbia and Pall Bearing Ball Bearing World. 

But as 1966 continued, the singles Outside Chance and Grim Reaper Of Love found Volman's gift for rich vocal harmony bearing fruit in abundance. The release of their signature single, the monster classic Happy Together in early 1967 forever cemented their legacy in that respect. 

The resultant Happy Together album and its ambitious mix of the introspective (Like The Seasons) and the visionary (Rugs Of Woods And Flowers) helped sustain the momentum as the band found itself in transition. During that season, bassist Chip Douglas was recruited by the Monkees to produce their landmark Headquarters album. Drummer Don Murray eventually found himself replacing Ron Wilson in that capacity in the Surfaris. And Leaves co-founder Jim Pons came on board to reinforce the band's unwavering commitment to musical diversity. 

Through it all, Volman's vocal gifts, quick wit and commanding stage presence helped catapault the Turtles to an even higher level with a rapid fire series of tracks that (in some cases) defy categorization. They include She's My Girl, Sound Asleep, Can't You Hear The Cows, Umbassa The Dragon and The Story Of Rock And Roll. The Turtles arguably reached their finest moment in that respect in late 1968 with the country rocker, Too Much Heartsick Feeling. Volman's counterpart harmonies therein are nothing short of absolute, utter perfection.

At that Hollywood record convention in 1980, Volman mentioned that the one Turtles release that he (for whatever reason) did not have in his archives was their 1969 Turtle Soup album. Blitz Magazine presented him with a gift copy of the album that morning. 

By the early 1970s, the Turtles had gone on hiatus for a season. Volman and Kaylan took on the stage names the Fluorescent Leech And Eddie (later abridged to Flo And Eddie) and joined forces with the Mothers Of Invention at group front man Frank Zappa's behest. Volman and Kaylan were prominently featured on the group's Just Another Band From L.A. album, appeared in Zappa's motion picture 200 Motels and persevered for a season as Flo And Eddie for Columbia. 

Interest in the Turtles remained strong for the remainder of the twentieth century. Rhino Records undertook a long term reissue process with them that in part saw the release of many heretofore unavailable Crossfires and Turtles tracks. In turn, Bob Irwin's Sundazed label kept the band's White Whale albums in print (initially in the CD configuration) with a generous helping of bonus tracks. 

In the 1990s, Volman returned to the world of academia. He graduated as class valedictorian from Loyola Marymount University and pursued a graduate degree there in 1999. He eventually became a Professor at Los Angeles Valley College and Nashville's Belmont University, teaching a wide variety of subjects from the music business to theology. 

Concurrently, Volman pursued his love for music well into the twenty-first century. He and Kaylan headlined for years as the Turtles in the annual Happy Together tours. After ill health forced Kaylan's retirement in 2018, Volman persevered as the Turtles with legendary Detergents, Archies and Cuff Links co-founder and front man, Carmine "Ron Dante" Granito. 

Sadly, Volman was diagnosed in 2023 with Lewy's Body Dementia. Nonetheless, he bravely forged ahead, performing with Dante in the Happy Together tour one last time in the spring and summer of 2025.

Tragically, Volman's courageous fight came to an end on the morning of 05 September, as he succumed to complications from the disease. Tributes poured in immediately from many of his esteemed musical colleagues.

"I'll always remember his humor, kindness and that incredible voice that helped give us so many timely songs with the Turtles", said Monkees drummer Micky Dolenz.

"We had a lot of great times over the years".

Blues Magoos guitarist Peppy Castro concurred.

"The Magoos and the Turtles were constantly thrown together", he said.

"We were on the same bills. It spawned a lifetime friendship. They inspired the Blues Magoos' version of Tobacco Road".

Mark Volman's survivors include his daughters Sarina Marie and Hallie Rae, as well as his former wife, Emily. Volman was 78.

DAVE EDMUNDS

SUFFERS

CARDIAC ARREST

On the morning of 29 July, beloved rock and roll giant Dave Edmunds suffered major cardiac arrest at home. According to his wife Cici, a nurse edministered CPR to the 81 year old Edmunds, although he passed away in the arms of his wife.

However, Edmunds was transported to a nearby medical facility, where he was intubated and miraculously revived. Nonetheless, the medical staff has advised that there may be brain damage and memory loss. It was also said that Edmunds would not survive another cardiac incident.

Dave Edmunds' 1977 Get It! album for the Swan Song label was Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People's decisive pick for Best Album of the Decade of the 1970s. He is widely admired as one of rock and roll's absolute masters. 

Cici Edmunds has stated that she welcomes prayer and words of encouragement for both herself and her husband of forty years. Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People will report any further developments.

COMO UN ADIOS:

REMEMBERING

LOS PAYOS'

JOSE' MORENO HURTADO

(1944 - 2025)

By decade's end, the rich diversity that had characterized the musical landscape of the 1960s had begun a slow but steady decline into what visionary composer Michael Nesmith would soon astutely refer to as the Grand Ennui. 

Thankfully, there was still much to be found in the way of groundbreaking musical work in 1969. Artists as diverse as Johnny Cash, the Archies, the MC5, Steve Lawrence And Eydie Gorme, Funkadelic, Harry Nilsson and the Friends Of Distinction all turned in career highlights that year. 

However, one unlikely and unique single by a highly ambitious trio from Seville, Andalusia made such an impact during that year, that it ultimately drew high praise from Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People as part of a mutli-disc tie for Best Single of 1969. 

That single, Maria Isabel became an instant classic, as well as the signature single for the band, Los Payos. Comprised of Eduardo Rodriguez Rodway, Luis Javier Moreno Salguero and Jose' Moreno Hurtado (endearingly known as "Josele" to his bandmates), Los Payos brought a healthy and inspired dose of relentless optimsim into an increasingly despondent musical landscape with that single (their third for the Hispavox label). 

Therein, the three protagonists endeavored to gain the attention of the song's main character, only for her to dismiss them out of hand as they took it all in stride. That landmark moment was captured on a sublime black and white video in 1969. Renowned composer, guitarist and vocalist Jose Feliciano was inpsired by Maria Isabel to the degree that he recorded his own rendtion of it for his El Fantastico! album in 1970. 

Over the next several years, Los Payos added to their impeccable legacy with such first rate singles as Pequena Anita, Un Tipo Raro, Senor Doctor and Vuelve Junto A Mi before calling it a day in 1976. Meanwhile, Rodway had cofounded the highly influenial band, Triana in 1974, while Salguero concurrently made his mark in the like minded Alameda. 

In turn, Hurtado went on to enjoy a long and prolific career in comedy. Hurtado eventually worked for a season as a sports commentator on the radio program, El Pelotazo. He also became a record producer, primarily directing his attention towards up and coming artists. 

Towards the end of the twentieth century, Los Payos reunited to reprise Maria Isabel before a highly appreciative television audience. Sadly, that reunion proved to be short lived. 

Tragically, Hurtado had suffered from various health concerns in recent years. He succumbed to a lingering illness on 18 July.

"Rest in peace, dear colleague Josele", said Rodway.

"I will never forget (you) and the times lived, as well as the work we did together. My condolences to family and friends".

Memorial services for the beloved musical visionary were held at the Cemeterio de San Fernando in Seville on 20 July. Hurtado was 81.

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.