Richie
Rollo
is the resident
Rock Historian
and one of your hosts on The Beatle Pilgrimage
Tour. His knowledge goes beyond the Beatles, he is a connoisseur of the Rock
era and a fine guitarist. From time to time, Richie will be passing on news and commentary about
the legends of Rock that you will find interesting. Please stop by
frequently and enjoy this special feature on www.beatletour.com. Richie would
also be glad to answer any
Rock
related questions via this webpage. To contact Richie, click below.
'Hey! Who's having their photo taken with
Richie Rollo?' [Click image to enlarge]
Hey Beatle People
Here is a shot of Yours
truly Tour Guide Richie with Tour Alumni Debbie D.
We met the lads from the
Tribute Band “Strawberry Fields” when they performed at the “Beatle Brunch”
at BB King’s Club in Times Square New York a couple of weeks ago..
The band plays there
regularly on Saturdays at noon they do three sets in costume and they sound
spectacular.
They were all members of
the “Beatlemania” show and have been performing as a tribute to the fab four
for many years.
If you live, work or are
planning a visit to the Big Apple, Check this Wonderful band out.
Cheers;
Richie
Rory
Best at The Casbah Coffee Club in Liverpool
Hi Beatle People
Just a short note about
the latest Tour. 2006
Once again an amazing
journey, a true
Pilgrimage
to the land of our favourite group the Fantastic Beatles. Just a few of the highlights for me this trip were, meeting Pete
Best, with his brothers Roag and Rory at the original Casbah club, seeing
Donovan performed at the Liverpool Empire theater, then meeting him the next
day to have him sign his new book for me, and then standing at the foot of
the Mersey river while watching Gerry and the Pacemakers perform “Ferry
cross the Mersey” live and in colour. The people on the tour were great; I
made many new friends and shared numerous adventures with them all. Each
night in Liverpool many of us visited the clubs to check out the many Beatle
tribute bands representing so many different countries, and we stood in awe
experiencing concerts at the Adelphi Hotel featuring the Legendary Tony
Sheridan, and so many other talented musicians. I hope to hear from anyone
who took the tour this trip and relive our memories and share our moments.
Yours in Rock n Roll
Richie
The Postal Service of England known as
the
Royal Mail,
will be issuing
commemorative stamps saluting the Beatles this coming January. The
stamps will includes images of the albums "With the Beatles," released
in 1963, "Help!" released in 1965, "Revolver" released in 1966, "Sgt.
Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" released in 1967, "Abbey Road"
released in 1969 and "Let It Be" released in 1970.
Arthur Lee, one
of Psychedelic Rocks greatest originals, the man who fronted the Classic
60's band "Love", died Thursday of leukemia in a Memphis, Tenn., hospital.
Arthur who had been treated since February of this year was 61 years of
age. "Love" had a minor early hit with "My Little Red Book" and then
followed it with "7 and 7 is..." They had signed with Electra
records and Arthur soon recommended the Doors to that label as well. In
1967 Arthur and "Love" released the wonderful and ambitious "Forever
Changes" album. Along with Hendrix, a friend of Lee's Jimi's band the
"Experience" and "Sly and the Family Stone", "Love" was an interracial
band fusing many different influences into one interesting and inspiring
blend. Robert Plant of Led Zep. had nothing but praise to say about the
band and there are many of our favorite rock stars today who site Arthur
and the group as a major influence. If you are not to familiar with Arthur
Lee, do yourself a favor and give "Love" a listen. Just remember ... All
You Need is ...Love.....
PETE BEST BAND SLAMMED FOR NOISE VIOLATION
Rock On, Pete
Original
BEATLES drummer PETE BEST is under fire after his
band made too much noise at a club in Athens, Georgia on Sunday (31AUG06).
The owner of Loco's Deli and Pub is having to appear in court as a result of
THE PETE BEST BAND's raucous performance at the venue which kickstarted the
careers of
REM and the B-52s. A neighbour had complained the
rockers were violating anti-noise laws, but a spokesperson for Loco's
insists only one person had expressed any objection.
Starr
Time Again
Hi Everybody !!!!! I
went to see Ringo
and his latest All Starr Band at Westbury Music Fair Wednesday, July 12.
The venue is great as I have mentioned in other essays...Very intimate
with great sound and a revolving stage making for a wonderful viewing
experience.
The show was really excellent,
each musician was in fine form and the camaraderie and joy was
overwhelming.
Every song was a highlight but
I will just mention a few standout performances:
Richard Marx
in a solo spot accompanied by Rod Argent did a beautiful and moving
version of his great song "Right Here Waiting"
Billy Squire who played
amazing guitar all night was fantastic along with
Edgar Winter
in a duo version of Robert Johnson's "Ramblin on My Mind"
the All Starr band
smoked on Edgar winter's "Frankenstein" and as usual
Shiela
brought the house down with her great Percussion solo. Ringo himself,
looking great, and singing his usual charming style, has added a few new
songs to the set and his Tribute song "Never Without You" for George was
especially moving.
I hope he releases a DVD and
or CD version of this tour {I've Got All The Rest)....I want to re-live
this Joyous and heartwarming concert again and again. ALL YOU NEED IS
LOVE..and a Lil Help From Your Friends.....CHEERS
Hello to all the Beatle
people
Well we have lost
another Rock n Roll Icon, this one a major tragic figure, and one who has
inspired many with his wonderful songs as well as his creative guitar
playing and distinctive voice. Roger "Syd"
Barrett was the original inspiration and
founder of Pink Floyd,
he along with Rodger Waters, Nick Mason and Rick
Wright created some of the most astonishing sounds and visuals of
the early Rock era. "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" was a landmark
album as were the singles "See Emily Play" and "Arnold Lane" recorded the
same year as Sgt. Pepper. The Floyd were at the vanguard of psychedelic
music and their shows were true happenings of both sight and sound. The
Beatles themselves were regulars at their festivities and they shared
common recording facilities at Abbey Road as well as the services of
Norman Smith at the recording console. Syd's well documented decline and withdrawal from Pink Floyd are parts of
some of the greatest legends in Rock culture. His cult status is
enormous, there are many books, recordings, and films about him and many
trace his story through later Pink Floyd recordings that note his still
lingering presence. Syd wherever you are I hope you have found Peace and I
thank you for the music that you have left behind.
Astronomy Domine
........
Good Bye, Billy
Another Beatle related tragedy.
So sorry to report that
Billy
Preston,
the great keyboards player who played beside both the Beatles and the
Rolling Stones and scored his own hit singles including "Outta Space" and
"Nothing From Nothing," died Tuesday June 6th, 2006 He was only 59 years
of age.
A heart infection back in November left him in a coma, and he never
regained consciousness.
Billy had received a kidney transplant in 2002. But the kidney failed
and he had been on dialysis since that time.
Billy was an early artist signed to the Beatles Apple records. Mr.
Preston had been a child prodigy playing organ for Mahalia Jackson when he
was just a young boy. He had been involved with bands supporting Ray
Charles, Little Richard and many other Rock and Popular artists. In 1973
he won the best instrumental Grammy award for "Outta Space" and he
followed this with hits like "Will it go round in Circles", and "Nothing
From Nothing". Billy also wrote "You are so Beautiful" for Joe Cocker.
He has appeared with the Beatles playing Keyboards for the film " Let
it Be", and joined George Harrison's band for a show stopping version of
That's the Way God Planned it during the "Concert for Bangla Desh". He
is distinguished as having the only outside credit listed on a Beatles
record. The Hit "Get Back" is credited as The Beatles with Billy Preston.
He played and toured with the Rolling Stones and was a Member of Eric
Clapton's band for several tours and album performances. Other film
credits include: "Blues Brothers 2000" and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts
Club Band."
A fantastic musician, performer and writer, known by many as the fifth
Beatle he will surely be deeply missed.
Freddie & the Dreamers were one of the very early bands of the British
Invasion. Unlike most of the other groups they were tongue n cheek playing
their type of pop music basically for fun. Like the Beatles Freddy
had also been influenced by the Skiffle craze, but soon joined the Rock n
Roll Bandwagon, also playing at the Cavern club in Liverpool. Lead
singer Freddy was born November 14, 1936. The group had several U.S. hits
but were more successful in the U.K. There only number one top of the
chart hit was "I'm telling You Now."
Sad to report Freddy passed away on Friday May 19 th, 2006 in
the Hospital at Bangor, north Wales.
Hi
Beatle People
once again PBS shares a wonderful Beatle related special with all of us.
This show titled Chaos and Creation at Abbey Road, was a real treat.
Sir Paul was the solo performer at the famous old studio where he along with
John, George and Ringo had recorded those classic songs so long ago. After
several anecdotes, and jokes about those ancient times and the equipment
used at the old Studio, Paul performs several tunes on acoustic guitar. The
version of "Twenty Flight Rock" he then plays is illustrated with an
explanation of how impressed John was on their first meeting, that he had
memorized all the lyrics. Paul who is a lefty, shows how he played the right
handed guitar, that day upside down. Paul demonstrates the old fashioned
technique of bouncing tracks on 4 track machines the way they must have
done during the recording of "Sgt. Pepper". He records a few separate
tracks and then, "live" sings "Band on the Run" along with these tracks. I
found this extremely interesting. Paul shows his various abilities on Piano,
Harmonium, drums and even plays Bill Black's original upright bass on a
version of Elvis' "Heartbreak Hotel". He carries on and plays Mellotron for
the intro to "Strawberry Fields" then an acoustic version for "I've got a
Feeling"...Lots more tunes are performed in a very intimate manner. Anyway,
if you get the chance to view Chaos at Abbey Road, check this very special
mini concert out. Cheers....Rich
William Joseph "Billy"
Cowsill, Jr.
January 9, 1948 - February 18, 2006
The Cowsill's from Newport Rhode Island, were a family and a band, they
had a giant hits back in 1967 with "The Rain The Park and other Things"
and "Indian Lake" in 1968.
They followed it up with a cover of "Hair" in 1969 this song from the Rock
musical of the same name. Billy passed away on the eve of a memorial for
Barry Cowsill, a brother who was also a member of the band. Barry drowned
in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in September.
The Cowsill's were the inspiration for the 1970s television sitcom The
Partridge Family. The act included parents Bud and Barbara, daughter Susan
and brothers William (Billy), Robert, Richard, Barry, Paul and John. The
family had reunited several times over the years and toured in the 90's.
A Big Hello to Everybody!!!
My girlfriend Mary and I went to see the Beatle Tribute band 1964 play at
Carnegie Hall last night Jan. 13, 2006.
I had the Pleasure of bumping into Tour friend Bill Harry as we walked
into the beautiful theater, He was happy to meet my girl, and I was
delighted that he remembered me from our tour dates in the past. Beatle
Tour Promoter Sid Bernstein, was also in attendance at the show. Well, it
was awesome to see this great act at this wonderful, landmark "Beatle"
site and it brought back so many memories of seeing them on some of our
past Pilgrimage Tours. I am sure many of you have seen this tribute band
in your own home towns, but if not don't pass up on any opportunity to
relive this recreation of "Our Lads" in all of their concert splendor. We
had a late dinner at the "new" New York Hard Rock Cafe and I was blown
away that they had the original Doors from Abbey Road Studio on display
there. I ate a Burger sitting underneath Ringo's displayed Drum set and
really had a laugh checking out the other memorabilia on hand. Here's to
another Great New Beatle Year.
Luv,
Richie
Hi Beatle People
Wishing you all a Very Happy New Year !!!!!
I am looking forward to ringing in the New Year On Jan 13, with
"1964"
the Tribute band many of us have seen during our Liverpool visits. They
are appearing at New York's famous Carnegie Hall, A beautiful and world
famous venue the Beatles themselves played during their first visit to the
States in hey guess what......."1964"
You can check out my Rock, CD and Book reviews as well as order some great
Beatle stuff at
Amazon.com...go
to R. F. Rollo
my profile page has links to my "lists" and my reviews.
Hope to meet all of you on the Beatle Tour.
Hi Again
Just a heads up about the
Cream
DVD and CD sets.
The shows were recorded at the Albert Hall May of 2005 in London, the
same site where the Cream ended their short career in 1968.
The coverage is beautiful, great camera work, awesome sound and of
course the performances by the best ....Are the best....this one was
worth the wait.
Cheerio
Richie
Just a short
sad note about Badfinger Drummer
Mike
Gibbins.
It is with deepest regret to inform all that he passed away October 4th,
in his sleep by natural causes.
Badfinger of course was
signed to Apple records and had several wonderful hits, Come and get it
penned by our Paul, Day after Day and No Matter What.
Badfinger played along with
George at the concert for Bangladesh.
All the best to his family
and friends.
Hey Everybody
I hope everybody got a chance to see the PBS broadcast of
"Best of The
Beatles".
The documentary about Pete and the rise of the Beatles in Liverpool was
very well done.
I know that those of us who have taken the tour and have spent time at the
Casbah with Rory and Roag
felt like we were having a visit with some old
friends.
After seeing the film, I had to find the DVD issue for my collection.
So as a suggestion....if you missed the showing, you either have to take
the Tour with us, or you might want to keep an eye out for the
rebroadcast of this amazing historical piece.
Cheers to one and all.......
Richie
MEET
CYNTHIA LENNON!
Cynthia
will be doing a VERY rare and VERY special talk, reading, and signing in New
York City from her new book about her life with John. This special event
will be held on Tuesday, Octobert 4, at 7 P.M. at the Barnes & Noble, Union
Square, 33 East 17th Street, New York City 10003. For more information,
contact: Adrienne Short at (212) 253-0810.
Sad duty once again to
report another loss to the British Invasion wave of 60's hit makers.
Searchers original drummer
and singer
Chris Curtis
passed away Monday February 29,
after a long illness.
Chris was on the hits
Needles and Pins, Sugar and Spice and Don't Throw Your Love Away.
He had at one point started
the band "Roundabout" with Jon Lord that later evolved into Deep Purple.
The Searchers took their name from the John Ford Western of the same name,
he left the band in 1966. The Searchers still perform these days and put
on a fab show, I caught them last year in New York City.
Beatles
producer George Martin
will oversee the music in a
Cirque du Soleil
production celebrating the Beatles' music legacy. "After spending more than
40 years of my life working with the Beatles and their wonderful music, I am
thrilled to be working with them once again on this exciting project with
Cirque du Soleil", says Sir George. "The show will be a unique and magical
experience."
The joint venture between
the Mirage in Las Vegas, Apple Corps, Ltd. and Cirque du Soleil will open at
the Mirage in 2006, replacing the Siegfried & Roy residency. The project,
with the working title of simply "The Beatles," was hatched out of a
personal friendship between George Harrison and Cirque du Soleil founder Guy
Laliberte, and has the approval of
Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono and
Olivia Harrison.
"In the past The Beatles
have been approached with theatrical proposals which never promised much
beyond a traditional presentation," says Apple manager
Neil Aspinall.
"However, in Cirque du Soleil,
Apple is fortunate to have found a creative partner with the same passion
for innovation and excellence."
"The Beatles and Cirque. I
think it's a great combination," adds Yoko. "The Beatles' agile mind and
Cirque's agile body."
"George and Guy shared the
same vision," says Olivia. "They planned to utilize the extraordinary
creativity of the Beatles and Cirque du Soleil to produce an uplifting
moment in time. We are all very happy to see this project come to fruition."
Hi to all my fellow Beatle
People
it is with great
sadness that I report the death of
founder Quarryman Eric Griffiths, who
passed away on January 29, 2005 at home after a battle with cancer. It was
on the Pilgrimage tour 2002 when we met the Quarrymen and played with Eric
and them on the Liverpool dock. Our thoughts are with his wife, Relda and
their three sons, Tim, Matthew and Daniel. Please see the pictures of
Eric in our photo gallery.
Rich
Hey Everybody:
I want to take a moment
to talk about the Beatle Box set of the four Capital released American
original albums. There has been a lot of reviews some Negative and some
Positive, it really is a matter of personal opinion so I just want to
express my own. To hear the albums the way we Yanks first did is so
striking because that is really all we knew. I can remember hearing each
one of these albums for the first time in Glorious Mono on my parents
wonderful Sears, Silvertone Stereo. I had no idea of the difference
between Stereo and Monaural until I visited a friend whose father was
a true Stereo buff what I learned later to be called an Audiophile. to
hear Paul shout out 1.2.3.4. in one speaker practically blew my
mind....Anyway, as many of us did I bought both the Stereo versions and
the mono versions then the British versions and eventually sought out any
rarity or deviation to the original mixes possible. I am probably the
worst person to ask whether or not it is worth getting this box set
since I have the 8 track, the cassette, the record, CD and in a few cases
even the Reel to Reel version of every track the Beatles ever cut. For me
the Box is wonderful even though I had long ago compiled the American
versions on my Computer. I agree with those who say the packaging leaves
a lot to be desired, actually it is pretty crummy, but it now occupies a
spot on my CD shelf and the disks have been played over and over again.
In closing, if you are a real collector this is essential, if you have the
British CD releases and are happy with them then you can pass on this
set. The best thing about the Box set is the fantastic music compiled
within. The songs in any order are sublime and to these aging ears
timeless and still magical....a Splendid time is still guaranteed for
all.....Richie.
Hi
again to my Music loving friends
Another sad foot note in
Rock History. Jim
Capaldi, drummer and
founding member of Traffic has passed away from Cancer.
Jim was a great
songwriter as well as a fine vocalist. he added percussion to the group
performing at the George Tribute, and will be sadly missed. Jim passed
away Sat. Jan 29.
Traffic was inducted into
the Rock and Roll hall of fame last year
i just wanted to say that a lot of people asked me who the
Hollies singer
who just recently passed away was....his name was
Carl Wayne....he was the
original singer for the Great British band THE MOVE....i didn't realize he had
been with the Holies for a number of years....in fact some friends had seen them
and didn't realize Carl had been performing with them....i am deeply sad to hear
of Carl's passing he was a true great, from a band seriously overlooked by
America......Cheers to my Beatletour friends...looking forward to hearing from
you all...Luv...Richie
Hi
to all my fellow Beatle fans
Although this review isn't
about the Boys, it has to do with the Invasion of great music they helped
start and totally inspired. On October 29th, 2004 I went to the Westbury
Music Fair' an intimate theater out on Long island, to see the "Hot Autumn
Nights " concert.
It was an amazing show
starting off with the Spencer Davis Group. Who dosen't remember dancing
wildly to those classics I'm a man and of course Gimme some Lovin? They
were followed by Gary Lewis and the Playboys (This Diamond Ring), and so
many other giant hits that I had all but forgotten.
Micky Dolenz
was next
and he along with a spectacular big band did total justice to the "Pre-fab-four" Monkees wonderful list of tunes. It was such a joy to see him and relive
those TV memories.
The headliner of the night
was
Herman's Hermits
and Ya Gotta believe me they were fantastic.
Peter Noone
is an incredible entertainer. He is funny, charming and the most
gracious musician I think I have ever seen. His voice is
outstanding and the Hermits had so many classics that unfortunately are
vastly overlooked by the radio these days. If you ever get the
opportunity to see him perform, do not miss it. On one sad note
Peter took time out to ask the audience to offer some prayers for
Mike Smith,
the Lead singer keyboardist for the
Dave Clark 5.
Mike was badly injured in an accident Sept 12, 2003 and is still not
recovered from this. I was very moved by Peter's sincerity and
honesty at this show and I was so glad that he very happily stayed for a
"meet and greet" till everyone wishing one got a handshake and an
autograph. A splendid time was had by all.
Keep on Rocking.
Richie
New York Dolls
bass player
Arthur "Killer" Kane
- known for his swaggering style on stage - was one of three
surviving members of a band credited with pioneering punk rock.
The
bass player for the New York Dolls died in Los Angeles, July 13,2004
aged 55 as a result of complications from leukemia. The Dolls were a
true New York "Image" band. Along with the Ramones and Kiss their
contribution to style and stage presence will keep them long remembered
in the list of influential Rockers. The Dolls had recently begun a
series of comeback tours and even though Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan
both passed away nearly 10 years ago there was a tremendous interest
with both Younger and older fans to catch some of the excitement still
generated by the remaining three guys.
The
influenced a generation of musicians. [front] Jerry Nolan & David
Johansen [2nd row] the immortal Johnny Thunders & Killer Kane, [top]
Sylvain Sylvain
reunite just prior to
Killer's death. [l to r, David Johansen, unknown,unknown,
Killer & Sylvain Sylvain]
I
have heard that
Terry Knight,
the famous or infamous manager of
Grand Funk Railroad
was
stabbed to death Monday night......
Richard Terrance Knight
was discovered by officers responding to a
disturbance call at about 10:30 p.m. Monday at the Chappell Hill
Apartments at 3009 Ira Young in Temple.
Knight, 61, had been stabbed several times, police said.
Officers attempted to perform CPR, but were unable to save Knight's life..
Terry came to
fame as the singer of "I Who Have Nothing" a regional hit for Terry
Knight and the Pack back in the early 60's. Don Brewer and Mark Farner
were members of this group, Terry became the manager for G.F.Railroad and
Don, Mark along with Mel Schacher from ? and the Mysterians took off as a
powerhouse Rock attraction.
Rory
Best at The Casbah Coffee Club in Liverpool
influenced a generation of musicians. [front] Jerry Nolan & David
Johansen [2nd row] the immortal Johnny Thunders & Killer Kane, [top]
Sylvain Sylvain 
Richard Terrance Knight
was discovered by officers responding to a
disturbance call at about 10:30 p.m. Monday at the Chappell Hill
Apartments at 3009 Ira Young in Temple.