April 21, 2008 Al Wilson, 68, 'Show and Tell' singer dies

R&B Singer Al Wilson, best known for his hit single, "Show and Tell," died this morning at Kaiser Permanente in Fontana, according to a family spokesperson. He was 68.

Born June 19, 1939 in Meridian, Miss., Wilson moved to the San Bernardino area in 1958, where he worked odd jobs as a mail carrier, a janitor, and an office clerk before touring for four years with Johnny Harris and the Statesmen. After a two-year stint in the Navy, Wilson moved to Los Angeles and toured local clubs performing with groups The Jewels and The Souls before he was signed with manager Marc Gordon in 1966. He released his first single, "The Snake," in 1968. With 8 Billboard chart records his biggest was "Show And Tell" in 1973.

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April 5, 2008 New Bobby Vee CD coming soon
Thanks to Bob Celli, we have a "sneak preview" of the new Bobby Vee TV CD to be released in the UK.

Play 30 sec video

The following tracks have been earmarked for the upcoming CD:

RUBBER BALL MORE THAN I CAN SAY TAKE GOOD CARE OF MY BABY THE NIGHT HAS A THOUSAND EYES STAYIN' IN (double A side with TGC) RUN TO HIM HOW MANY TEARS PLEASE DON'T ASK ABOUT BARBARA SHARING YOU A FOREVER KIND OF LOVE BOBBY TOMORROW WHAT DO YOU WANT DEVIL OR ANGEL CHARMS

COME BACK WHEN YOU GROW UP MY GIRL / HEY GIRL TEARS ON MY PILLOW RAINING IN MY HEART BABY FACE SUMMERTIME BLUES OH, BOY! SWEET LITTLE SIXTEEN EVERYDAY TRUE LOVE WAYS IT MIGHT AS WELL RAIN UNTIL SEPTEMBER WILL YOU LOVE ME TOMORROW POETRY IN MOTION

The release date is scheduled for May 5th 2008.

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March 26, 2008 Legendary DJ Jack Armstrong Passes Away
Jack Armstrong, who once held the Guinness world record for the fastest talking human, died over the weekend in his home in North Carolina. He was 62.

John Larsh began his radio career at WCHL in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in 1960 at the age of 14. Personable, friendly, young, and possessing the ability to talk at speeds beyond that of most humans, Larsh was well liked and well received by audiences. He developed 2 imaginary sidekicks - the Gorilla, who speaks in a raspy bass, and likes women, banana juice, and whiskey, in that order - and the Old Timer, who wheezes, tells lame jokes, and was always getting shot after one of them.

Larsh worked at several stations in the Deep South in the early 1960s, including WCOG in Greensboro, NC, and WAYS in Charlotte, North Carolina. His first big break came in 1966, when he landed a job at WIXY-1260 in Cleveland, OH. The evening disc jockey at this station was always called 'Jack Armstrong,' after the 1930s radio serial Jack Armstrong the All American Boy. With his fast talking, young, friendly approach, Larsh became a huge hit in Cleveland - so huge that floundering WKYC-1100 asked him to break his WIXY contract, and come to work for the 50,000 watt blowtorch in January of 1967.

'Jack Armstrong' was a copyrighted moniker in the market, so Larsh adopted the alias 'Big Jack Your Leader,' and went to work for WKYC. He also occasionally taunted WIXY by calling himself Jackson W. Armstrong.

With WKYC being heard all over the Eastern half of the US, Larsh finally went national. He attracted fans all over the region, and became a huge hit. WKYC was listed as the #3 record buying influence in Miami, Florida in that era, no doubt due to 'Big Jack' and the 50,000 watt night time signal that was so strong over the East Coast of the US.

Larsh moved on, working at other 50,000 watt stations like WMEX-1510 in Boston, MA; CHUM-1050 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; KFI-640 in Los Angeles, KTNQ-/1020 in Los Angeles and WKBW-1520 in Buffalo, NY. It was at the latter that he developed his 'Motormouth' character, and was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1971 as the world's fastest talking human. Larsh was one of the original disc jockeys hired for the all new 13-Q in Pittsburgh, PA in the early 1970s.

Larsh was working for WWKB-1520 in Buffalo, N.Y. when the sudden format change in 2006 to liberal talk put him in the unemployed ranks. He passed away on March 22, 2008 at his home in North Carolina.

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February 1, 2008 Bobby Vee on BBC Tees tonight
Bobby Vee will be a live guest on the radio station BBC Tees from Middlesbrough tonight, Friday Feb 1, around 10:30 pm UK time. If you can pick up the broadcast it is on 95.00FM and digital.
bbc.co.uk/tees

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January 20, 2008 Bobby Vee and The Vees will be on a Music Cruise in 2009
Bobby Vee and The Vees along with The Original Comets, The Drifters, Fabian, The Chiffons and David Summerville of The Diamonds will be rockin' the ship. Sailing January 10 - 17, 2009 onboard the new jewel of the seas MSC Orchestra, Key West, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Cayo Levantado. Come join in the fun.

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January 11, 2008 Rod Allen, lead singer of British band The Fortunes, has died following a short illness
London, Rod Allen, lead singer of British band The Fortunes, has died following a short illness, the group said on its Web site. He was 63. The Fortunes were formed in Birmingham, England, in the 1960s, and scored early hits with "You've Got Your Troubles" and "Here It Comes Again". Their success continued into the 1970s with "Storm in a Teacup" and "Freedom Come, Freedom Go."

I am shocked and deeply saddened to hear of Rod's passing. My heart goes out to his family, band members, friends and of course, his forever fans. He was one of the good guys and without a doubt...an exceptional singer. And special to me...wonderful memories of the UK tours we did together.

Bobby Vee

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January 4, 2008 Vote Bobby Vee into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame
Bobby Vee was nominated in 2007 to the Hit Parade Hall of Fame. Once nominated an artist has a three year period to be inducted. Bobby needs your vote please go the Hit Prarde Hall of Fame and go to Vote for 2007 nominees and vote for Bobby Vee.

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November 15, 2007 Saima Rose Velline Photos