Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars

[Steadmund Brand]

I was lucky enough to see the 2nd last show Roy Orbison ever played... and he was amazing..didn't miss a note and I still get goose bumps thinking of that show....still to this day it is the best concert I ever saw, and I have seen thousands (I spent many years working concerts so I have seen just about everybody you can imagine from rock to jazz to blues to country to classical to hip hop etc) and if I had to put a top 10 list of shows together #'s 9-10 would take me a long time to decide but Orbison was far and away # 1

Steadmund Brand

[sdreid]

Hi Stan.

Did you see the PBS 4th of July special "A Capitol Fourth"? Little Richard performed live in Washington D.C. He looked fantastic, and when he belted out "Good Golly, Miss Molly!" he knocked it right out of the park!

It's on YouTube if you missed it.

Best regards,
Archaic

Thanks - no I didn't see it

[The Grave Maurice]

Clark couldn't have afforded most of those guys. Still, he put together shows like this which weren't a bad deal for the modest ticket price.

[Limehouse]

I was lucky enough to see the 2nd last show Roy Orbison ever played... and he was amazing..didn't miss a note and I still get goose bumps thinking of that show....still to this day it is the best concert I ever saw, and I have seen thousands (I spent many years working concerts so I have seen just about everybody you can imagine from rock to jazz to blues to country to classical to hip hop etc) and if I had to put a top 10 list of shows together #'s 9-10 would take me a long time to decide but Orbison was far and away # 1

Steadmund Brand

Orbison was, indeed, a superb vocalist - in some ways better than Elvis because his range was better and he was more independent in deciding how his career would develop.

In almost the same league, in my opinion, was Gene Pitney. Pitney was also a song writer and Orbison recorded songs written by Pitney, who also penned pop-rock classics such as Hello Mary Lou and Rubber Ball. i saw Pitney perform many times in the Uk and he always gave his all to every show.

Several years ago I was honoured to see and hear the great BB King. Not really a rock-n-roll star - but possibly the greatest blues performer alive today - and at over 80 years old - he also delievered a superb performance.

[Stephen Thomas]

In almost the same league, in my opinion, was Gene Pitney. Pitney was also a song writer and Orbison recorded songs written by Pitney, who also penned pop-rock classics such as Hello Mary Lou and Rubber Ball. i saw Pitney perform many times in the Uk and he always gave his all to every show.

A little known fact is that Pitney was employed by Andrew Loog Oldham to teach Jagger and Richards the mechanics of song writing (they had previously only been doing R&B cover versions).

[Limehouse]

A little known fact is that Pitney was employed by Andrew Loog Oldham to teach Jagger and Richards the mechanics of song writing (they had previously only been doing R&B cover versions).

That's right Stephen. Pitney worked closely with the Stones and became great friends with them. He recorded the Jagger/Richards song 'That Girl Belongs To Yesterday' and admitted that he fell briefly in love with Marianne Faithful, about whom he wrote and recorded 'Marianne'.

Pitney also worked with Phil Spector after writing the hit 'He's a Rebel' for the Crystals. In my opinion, this was the best song Pitney wrote. Long before Spector created his unique 'Wall of Sound' Pitney was playing around in recording studios, over dubbing himself singing, playing keyboard, guitar and drums.

As well as being a great musician, song writer and performer, Pitney was a very nice guy who is so greatly missed.