O'Shaughnessy Accolade

The great William O'Shaughnessy, author of many books including his newest Vox Populi, the O'Shaughnessy Files has complimented my writings in his new book. He autographed it " For Richard Grudens-America's great historian of all the great music makers of our time."  Well I'm genuinely honored by someone who has succeeded in radio and the press. In every O'Saughnessy book, there is stunning and powerful wisdom and brilliant observations from Governor Mario Cuomo whom he so admires. Howard Stern calls him the white-haired mogul and Brooke Astor says his writings are marvelous.

RICHARD GRUDENS-INTERVIEWS OVER THE YEARS

115 COUNT AS OF 4/23/12 

GUY MITCHELL FRAN WARREN BEA WAIN

RED NORVO LARRY ELGART HERB JEFFRIES

BENNY GOODMAN W.B. WILLIAMS CLINT EASTWOOD

WOODY HERMAN CONNIE HAINES BILLY GRAHAM

COUNT BASIE JANE RUSSELL SHIRLEY JONES

ANN JILLIAN RHONDA FLEMING PAT BOONE

BOB HOPE KATHRYN CROSBY FRANCES LANGFORD

LIONEL  HAMPTON JOHNNY MINCE LARRY GELBART

TEDDY WILSON JOHNNY MATHIS ED MCMAHON

HARRY JAMES ARTIE SHAW SID CAESAR

BILL CHALLIS LES BROWN BUDDY HACKETT

JOE FRANKLIN JOE WILLIAMS DIZZY GILLESPIE

MARGARET WHITING TONY B. BABINO SARAH VAUGHAN

HELEN O’CONNELL DORIS DAY KITTY KALLEN

FRANKIE LAINE KAY STARR HELEN FORREST

LENNON SISTERS ROSEMARY CLOONEY TERESA BREWER

BRIAN SISTERS BILLY ECKSTINE LYNN ROBERTS

WARREN COVINGTON BUDDY MORROW EDDY ARNOLD

CHARLES DURNING MITCH MILLER PHILIP CROSBY

LOIS HUNT PATRICE MUNSEL DICK CLARK

EARL WRIGHTSON BEVERLY ROBERTS JANET CANTOR

JO STAFFORD AL MARTINO DIANA KRALL

PATTY ANDREWS TONY BENNETT AL COLLINS (JAZZB)

MILLS BROTHERS JIMMY ROSELLI DOLLY DAWN

LARRY O’BRIEN JULIUS LA ROSA ANITA O’DAY

RAY ANTHONY CARMEL QUINN GLORIA JEAN

JERRY VALE VIC DAMONE LES PAUL

DON CORNELL DOM DE LUISE JOHN MILLER

MICHAEL FEINSTEIN CHARLTON HESTON WILLARD ALEXANDER

SKITCH HENDERSON TOM POSTILIO BUDDY RICH

PHYLLIS DILLER SALLY BENNETT DARYL SHERMAN

RICHARD SUDHALTER PEGGY LEE CY COLEMAN

TEX BENEKE JAY LEONHART JULIA RICH

ERVIN DRAKE JACK LAWRENCE BILLY MAY

VAN ALEXANDER LEE HALE DON RICKLES

TONY MARTIN BUDDY GRECO MEL TORME

SYBIL JASON JACK JONES HUGH HEFNER

CRISTINA FONTANELLI GIA PRIMA DIANA ROSS

The O'Shaughnessy Touch

Well another honor has crossed my desk, and since life is really short, honors are always appreciated, especially coming from William O'Shaughnessy, recent author of Vox Populi. Bill has dubbed me "America's great historian of all the great music-makers of our time..." He should talk. He is the greatest of all that and more being one of the best known broadcasters in America. He has written 5 books about all the people he has interviewed and they are the greats in politics, media, the arts and people in the popular culture. Even author David McCullough says that he always looks forward to reading Bill's newest book. Boy,that is an honor. In Vox Populi he talks about departed friends Tim Russert, Robert Merrill, and Ossie Davis, among many others who are still with us.  You'd love his books. They are vast and interesting.

Dick Clark is gone. Unhappy new year.

I knew Dick Clark, as he appeared in several of my books for one reason or another. He was always among the first to order my newest book, usually three of them. He always called his order in, unlike most who mailed in solicitations sent to my regulars on the mailing list. Once he sent back a signed and addressed photo that I cherish. I first was introduced to him when we talked by phone about bandleader Larry Elgart who wrote the American Bandstand theme. Dick was always a nice guy in every sense of the word. I wish I would have known him better which is hard to do when you are 3000 miles apart and both busy with different projects.Dick Clark will appear in my next book in a full chapter. The book will be about those people who were always behind the scenes promoting and building careers of singers and musicians, people like Dick, Ed Sullivan, Major Bowes, Ted Mack Martin Block, MItch Miller, John Hammond, Arthur Godfrey, Steve Allen, William B. Williams, Willard Alexander, Alan Freed, Jan Murray and others who advanced the performers. It will be caled THE MUSIC MAKERS. See you then. And may God bless Dick Clark.

The Wonderful Brian Sisters

Recently, we discovered three singing sisters who sang mostly in the movies, in fact they sang in 15 movies and their voices were extraordinary. From the earliest time the girls had God-given talents and were able to sing in Perfect Harmony. They appear in my new book Perfect Harmony along with over 50 other groups that are profiled. The girls are Doris, Betty and Gwen. The girls began singing at the of 4, 6 and 8 being guided and tutored by their young mother, Meda, who drove them to Hollywood in their 1929 Model T Ford. She brought them to radio and film studios and landed work for them. Lately I have talking with Doris, now in her late 70s. she has contributed information and photos for the book and I urge you not to miss this book. Everybody is in it. Patty Andrews wrote the foreword, and she is 94. You will meet the Lennon Sisters, The Boswell Sisters, The Four Freshmen, the Pied Pipers, the Beatles, the Temptations, the Beach Boys, and so much more. See you in Perfect Harmony.

In our quest for current talent with respect to singing groups, we ran across three wonderful girls from England. They call themselved THE THREE BELLES. They are ike the reincarnation of the great Andrews Sisters. They make no bones about it. They are the new Andrews Sisters. I spoke to Anneka Wass, the group leader on the phone while they were traveling by car to a singing gig and learned of their sincere singing tributes to the Andrews girls. The Three Belles  even sing the very tunes that made the Andrews girls world-famous and still the biggest record selling singers of all time. Some of their tunes were "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar," "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree," " The Boogie, Woogie, Bugle Boy of Company 'B'." and many other great Andrews Sisters songs.

The Three Belles are very young, Anneka (Betty) is 22, Gail (Sally) who is 21 and Dorothy ( Isabelle), "Who is also 21 and sings aout love and scolds the others when we get carried away," she says.

The girls got started in college as part of their project for their Creative and Performing Arts Course.

They are booked into 2012 and will attend and perform at the commemoration of "D" Day Landings in Normandy this Summer.

The girls are a feature alongside the Andrews Sisters story in my new book "Perfect Harmony," due out by April 2012 and celebrates the singing groups from the 1920' to the present. If you like  singing groups you'll love this book.

Patty Andrews has written the foreword for this book and is excited about the entry of The Three Belles, who will coninue the Andrews Sisters legacy. Patty Andrews and I have been friends since 1982 when I wrote press releases for her when she was performing solo in California with the Tex Beneke Orchestra and other musical venues.

Patty will be 94 in February. Hope she likes the bouquet if flowers me and my wife Madeline will send her.

Welcome to America Three Belles. We'll be listening!!!

Goodbye Beryl

I received word from Melinda Moore that her mom, known to the world of entertainment and song,  passed away today. peacefully and without pain. Beryl Davis sang with her father's band in England, and later with Glenn Miller's Army Air Force Band before his fatal trip to France in 1944.  Beryl came to America and hooked up with Frank Sinatra,  singing with him shoulder to shoulder on the radio show Your Hit Parade. Later, Beryl, my friend Connie Haines, Jane Russell ( who helped me with Bob Hope's book), Rhonda Fleming formed a quartet and sang Bible songs ( Included "Do, Lord") from coast to coast on every important radio show of the time. ( Andy Russell's wife Della, also sang with this group when they first started). They sang on Ed Sullivan's show, Abbott & Costello's show, Bob Hope's show, Red Skelton's, Milton Berle's and even Arthur Murray's show. Beryl Davis appeared many times in my books and deservedly so. I lost track of her after her husband passed away, and her friend Connie Haines passed, but we reunited together a few years ago.