Ask “Mr. Music”
Jerry Osborne



FOR THE WEEK OF APRIL 3, 2006

DEAR JERRY: I just made a $50 bet with my son about the rock band Kiss.

I claim Kiss performed on TV in 1969, but my son says there is no way it ever happened.

I hope you will settle our bet, in my favor of course.
—Jennie in West Haven, Conn.

DEAR JENNIE: Will you be paying by cash or check?

Knowing most anything is possible, writers are often reminded to never say never. But in this case, I have to side with your son and say it never happened — mainly because Kiss did not exist until early 1973.

In 1971 and '72, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, formed and fronted a band they called Wicked Lester. Other members came and went, but by January 1973 drummer Peter Criss and guitarist Paul “Ace” Frehley rounded out the Wicked Lester quartet that would very soon become known as Kiss.

They played their first Kiss concerts in early '73, and about one year later issued their self-titled debut album.

I don't know whose act you saw on TV in 1969, but it could not have been Kiss.

DEAR JERRY: My memory may be failing, but I swear I heard a country song in the mid-'60s by the Beatles that is probably titled “Falling.” If not that, maybe it's “I'm Falling.”

Regardless, I have not heard it in about 40 years, not even once!

No one I have spoken to about this remembers such a recording, and that includes some people who fancy themselves as knowledgeable about the Beatles.

My online searching has done nothing to support my claim. Most of the “Falling” songs I come up with are completely different, and are by singers like Roy Orbison, Connie Francis, Hank Locklin, Neil Sedaka, and LeBlanc & Carr.

Most of these are from years before the Beatles were even known to us.

Am I losing it? How could I be so wrong when my brain is certain about hearing the Beatles sing about “Falling”?
—Deena York, Huntsville, Ala.

DEAR DEENA: My diagnosis reveals the problem has more to do with jumbled lyrics than dementia.

As for your brain, it is in fact being quite logical by playing the percentages. You see, the correct title of this song — “I've Just Seen a Face” — is heard only twice during its two minute run, whereas “falling” is mentioned 12 times!

“I've Just Seen a Face,” which features Paul McCartney, is one of the tunes on the Beatles' 1965 album, “Rubber Soul.”

IZ ZAT SO? Ever notice how, unlike many acts, the Beatles rarely had an album titled the same as one of the songs it contains?

Beatles soundtracks are an exception, as they require a corresponding song to their film titles. They have five of these: “A Hard Day's Night; “Help;” “Magical Mystery Tour;” “Yellow Submarine;” and “Let It Be.”

Otherwise, of their nearly four dozen albums only “Hey Jude” and “Rock 'N' Roll Music” (a.k.a. “Rock and Roll Music”) have matching track titles.

The other LP titles that really lend themselves to song titles, but don't have corresponding songs, are “Rubber Soul;” “Something New;” “Revolver;” “Abbey Road;” and “Today.”

Because “Yesterday and Today” already includes “Yesterday,” all it lacks is a tune titled “Today.”





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