Book Recommendation: Where Have All the Pop Stars Gone?

DAVIS, CALIF., U.S.A. -- A singer-songwriter who had been a member of America’s most successful and influential musical group of the late 1950s and early ’60s and wrote one of the biggest-selling songs of the 1960s revealed late in his life that he was bipolar. One ’60s era singer who initially established himself as a rock-and-roller before re-emerging as a smooth balladeer recently divulged a secret that not even his mother knew: as a youth, he had spent a night in jail. Another popular teenage heartthrob who amassed 38 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 in the 1960s hired a then-obscure backup piano player by the name of Elston Gunnn (with three n’s) -- who later became known to the world as Bob Dylan. The guitarist for a record-breaking American band who severed part of his thumb in later life while building a boat was able to resume performing by switching to bass guitar. After the breakup of one of the most revered “British invasion” groups, its financially struggling lead singer reluctantly took a job with an insurance brokerage, then re-emerged as a singer under a different name before finally reverting to the name by which his fans knew him.

That's the first paragraph of the official press release for Where Have All the Pop Stars Gone? -- Volume 1, published in July of 2011. Written by Marti Smiley Childs and Jeff March, Where Have All the Pop Stars Gone? -- Volume 1 is a treasure trove of information on twenty-six artists from the 1950s and 1960s, catching up on the lives and careers of Bobby Vee, Chris Montez, and members of The Kingston Trio, The Spiral Starecase, Herman's Hermits, The Association, and The Zombies. Loaded with information and filled with quotes from most of the principals (including several who are no longer with us), the book is an entertaining read as well as an educational one. As of this writing, seven out of the seven reviews on Amazon.com gave the book a five-star rating.

To read more about Where Have All the Pop Stars Gone? -- Volume 1, including the rest of the press release, please visit Oldies Connection. Highly recommended for fans of the  music from rock and roll's golden era.

Week of 24 October 2011 - Arrivals and Departures

Birthdays for the week of October 24 - 30:

24 - Bill Wyman (Rolling Stones), 1936; Ted Templeman (Harper's Bizarre), 1944; J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper), 1930 (died 1959)
25 - Helen Reddy, 1941; Jon Anderson (Yes), 1944; John Hall (Orleans), 1947
26 - Keith Hopwood (Herman's Hermits), 1946
27 - Simon LeBon (Duran Duran), 1958; Byron Allred (Steve Miller Band), 1949; Garry Tallent (E Street Band), 1949; Lee Greenwood, 1942
28 - Thelma Hopkins (Dawn), 1948; Charlie Daniels, 1936; Wayne Fontana, 1940; Curtis Lee, 1941

29 - David Brigati (The Starliters), 1940; Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac), 1946; Leon Redbone, 1929;
Denny Laine (Wings), 1944; Randy Jackson (The Jacksons), 1961
30 - David Green (Air Supply), 1949; Timothy B.Schmidt (The Eagles), 1947; Otis Williams (The Temptations), 1949; Grace Slick (Jefferson Starship), 1939

In remembrance of those who left us:

25 Oct 1992 - Roger Miller
29 Oct 1971 - Duane Allman

Did I forget anybody?  If so, please let me know in the Comments.

Thank you and have a nice week!

Week of 17 October 2011 - Arrivals and Departures

Birthdays for the week of October 17 - 23:

17 - Jim Seals (Seals & Crofts), 1941; Gary Puckett, 1942
18 - Chuck Berry, 1926
20 - Tom Petty, 1953
21 - Eric Faulkner (Bay City Rollers), 1955; Manfred Mann, 1940
22 - Annette Funicello - 1942; Eddie Brigati (The Rascals), 1946
23 - 'Weird' Al Yankovic, 1959

In remembrance of those who left us:

17 Oct 2008 - Levi Stubbs
18 Oct 2008 - Dee Dee Warwick

Did I forget anybody?  If so, please let me know in the Comments.

Thank you and have a nice week!

Week of 10 October 2011 - Arrivals and Departures

Birthdays for the week of October 10 - 16:

11 - Darryl Hall (Hall & Oates), 1949
12 - Sam Moore (Sam & Dave), 1935
13 - Marie Osmond, 1959; Robert Lamm (Chicago), 1944; Paul Simon, 1941
14 - Justin Hayward (Moody Blues), 1946; Cliff Richard, 1940
15 - Tito Jackson (The Jacksons), 1953; Richard Carpenter (The Carpenters), 1946
16 - Bob Weir (Grateful Dead), 1947

In remembrance of those who left us:

10 Oct 2010 - Solomon Burke
12 Oct 1997 - John Denver
12 Oct 1971 - Gene Vincent
13 Oct 2009 - Al Martino
14 Oct 2006 - Freddie Fender

Did I forget anybody?  If so, please let me know in the Comments.

Thank you and have a nice week!

Release Party for Lost Pets 2 - Mark Wirtz

Mark Wirtz is going to be the guest of honor at a release party for his new CD, Lost Pets 2, at Rock and Roll Heaven in Orlando, Florida.  This will take place on Saturday, October 8, 2011, beginning at 12:00 noon.  Mark will be meeting and greeting fans and signing autographs.  If you live in the area (or even if you don't), here's a rare opportunity to rub elbows with the artist himself.  Be there or be square!

Week of 03 October 2011 - Arrivals and Departures

Birthdays for the week of October 3 - 9:

03 - Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac),1951; Chubby Checker, 1941; Eddie Cochran, 1938 (died 1960)
05 - Bob Geldof, 1954; Steve Miller, 1943; Richard Street (The Temptations), 1942
07 - John Mellencamp, 1951; David Hope (Kansas), 1949
09 - Jackson Browne, 1948; John Lennon, 1940 (died 1980); John Entwistle, 1944 (died 2002)

In remembrance of those who left us:

04 Oct 1970 - Janis Joplin
05 Oct 1992 - Eddie Kendricks

Did I forget anybody?  If so, please let me know in the Comments.

Thank you and have a nice week!