Ampersand
May, 1978
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Allman in No Man's Land
"Right now, I'm very much into Sea Level,
and I don't wanna have anything to do with
it." Such was the emphatic reply from ex
Allman Brothers keyboardist Chuck
Leavell, now leader and mouthpiece of Sea
Level, when questioned by writer Stephen
Peeples about the latest Allman reunion
rumors. Dickie Betts wasn't available for
comment, but his manager Steve Massarsky
sxke for him: "Dickie hasn't closed any
d(xrs, but the timing just isn't right," Mas
sarsky said.
According to Leavell, the wounds left by
Gregg's damanaging testimony at former
Allman Brother road manager Scooter Her
ring's drug trial a couple years ago have
pretty much healed. Herring, in fact, has
been Sea Level's road manager for the last
several months, out on bond pending an ap
peal for a new trial.
So Gregg's ice-testing seems to be nothing
more than poor timing. It'd probably be
great timing for him, though his checker
board relationship with Cher has apparently
died the last of many deaths, and that duo
album they did recently was met with criti
cal catcalls and no sales. Gregg's latest ef
forts to find somebody to play with centered
on a D.C. bar band called the Night Hawks;
when they played Rosie's Cantina in At
lanta, Georgia recently, they arrived one
night to find a Hammond organ on stage.
1 hey don't use an oigan. It was Gregg's sub
tle way of asking to jam, and they let him.
What Price Integrity
Rock manager Irv Azoff is by his own
account so dismayed with the film FM that
he's asked that his credit as executive pro
ducer be pulled from the picture. According
to Azoff, the film doesn't represent what
really hapx-ns at a typical FM station. For
example, during one scene a d.j., played by
Cleavon Little, shows up for a 6 a.m. shift
dressed in a snappy 3-piece suit. Azof!" is
apparently of the opinion that deejays don't
dress that well, especially at six in the morn
ing though what the Eagles' manager is
doing checking out radio stations at that
hour is beyond our ken. Anyway, many of
AzofFs clients remain in the film, and will be
heard on the two-disc soundtrack album.
And, according to a source at his office,
Azolf doesn't plan to relinquish any finan
cial participation in the flick he may have
principles, but he isn't stupid! . . . From the
same office comes a report that Aerosmith's
managers, Steve Leber and David Krebs
(the money behind Beatlemania), may be
producing a film based, loosely, on the
Eagles' Desperado. If any Eagles are seen on
screen, the source cautions, it'll be in minor
roles . . . And, speaking of Beatlemania,
Ringo Starr is telling rejxirters that the late
lamented Fab Four aren't getting any
money as a result of the production other
than what relatively little they receive
(Ringo, of course, next to none) from
songwriting royalties.
Television Discovers Radio
IF YOl) HAVF.VT I.FARNF.D MORE than you
reallv wanted to know about radio alter se
eing the albreincniioncd film FM, stay home
with your tube. Two TV production com
panies are pitching radio-oriented pilots at
the networks; one is from the Mary Tyler
Moore folks, starring no one you've heard
of, based on a "mythical Cincinnati station
and titled WKRP. The second pilot, yet unti
tled, follows a female disc jockey through life
at a "major metropolitan station." If either
of these shows gets on the air and shows any
semblance of reality, radio may receive the
same sort of revised attitude that the Mary
Tyler Moore show brought to local TV
news. Serve 'em right, too! (Meanwhile,
we're waiting for someone to make a suc
cessful film about life at a magazine, so that
we can see our zany selves spun ofTon televi
sion . . .)
Woosome Twosomes
Aretha Franklin married actor Glyn
TURMAN (Cooky High) in her father's De
troit church on April 1 1. They've both been
married before he has two children, she
has four . . Anjelica Huston and Jack
Nicholson are back together again . . . War
ren Beatty and Diane Keaton are still an
item . . . and Cher is serious about Kiss'
blood-drooling bassist Gene Simmons.
Honest. Cher just signed with Casablanca,
Kiss' label, which may explain everything.
She was married to Sonny Bono when they
both recorded for Atlantic, and to Gregg
Allman when they were both on Warner
Bros. Records. Maybe her next move will be
to Takoma Records so she can date John
Fahey.
Bilbo the Dildo?
Any minute now you'll be able to buy
cute little dolls that look like Bilbo, Gondalf
and Frodo, but if dolls are a bit jejune for
you, there will be posters, t-shirts, games,
jewelry, maybe even marital aids, all based
on J. R. Tolkien's characters. The dolls are
patterned after the characters in Ralph Bak
shi's animated film Lord of the Rings, due in
November.
La-De-Da
Looks like ol' Bob Dylan may have a
CRUSH on Diane Keaton . . . even though
they haven't met. He's written a song for
her, which she might include on her first
album if she ever gets around to signing a
recording contract (Carilwu via Columbia
looks closest). Bobby has also talked about
writing a part for Diane in his next movie,
which will start shooting this September and
which will not be four hours long, like Renaldn
and Clara. Of course, just because he w rites
her in doesn't mean she'll he in, especially
now that she's a big-time Academy Award
winner.
Is Anyone Else Tired of
This Stufl?
In THE WAKE Of Star Wars and Close Encounters
come two big-budget sci-fi projects. Best
known, of course, is the return oi Star Trek,
at last as a film. All of the original series
characters have been signed to appear in the
project, with Leonard Nimoy holding out
longest and probably getting the most. A
large chunk of the $15 million budget is as
signed to special effects, natch; the bulk of
live-action filming will in fact take place
over a few weeks' period and the remaining
months will be spent with models, anima
tion, etc. Star Trek is slated to hit the first
run houses next summer. In the meantime,
it's entirely possible that all of the sets and
effects could be used in a new, updated tele
version series. Sooner still next season, to
be specific are seven television movies, an
hour each, under the "series" title, Galactica.
Lome Greene will star as the space ship
commander; each episode carries a $1 mil
lion budget, twice the industry average for
TV movies.
Orbison Still in the Saddle
Never underestimate the power of
"The Big O": A fifteen-year-old English
schoolgirl, in a coma for nearly two weeks,
opened her eyes for the first time when she
heard a taped get-well message from singer
Roy Orbison. The singer's records had been
played at her bedside in the London hospi
tal's intensive care ward as well. Orbison's
last hit was "Cry Softly, Lonely One," in
1967; the girl is a big fan nonetheless. He
still records, of course, and is enjoying con
siderable royalties from Linda Ronstadt's
version of "Blue Bayou," which he wrote in
1963.
Maverick & Monty Ride
Ag.
am
Upcoming from ABC is a two-hour TV
MOVIE, The New Maverick, with a possible
spin-off series. The original comedy western,
which played first-run from 1957-1962 and
can still be seen in syndication, introduced
James Garner, Jack Kelly, and Roger
Moore to TV audiences as brothers Bret
and Bart Maverick, and their English
cousin, Beau; Garner also played Bret and
Bart's father, "Pappy." Efram Zimbalist, Jr.
appeared fairly regularly as con-man Dandy
Jim Buckley. Kelly and Garner will appear
in the two-hour version, which stars Charles
Frank as Ben Maverick (Beau's son) and his
real-life wife, Susan Blanchard, as the love
interest. Trivia to amaze your friends with:
there was yet another Maverick in the origi
nal series, brother Brent. He was played by
Robert Colbert, and lasted but 2 of the
series' 124 episodes.
The one, the only, the original Monty
Python's Flying Circus has regrouped for a
movie. Called Brian of Nazareth, it's about a
saint who was born one manger over from
Jesus and subsequently had a rough time of
Shorts
Unconfirmed rumor: former Cream
drummer Ginger Baker may be starting his
own polo school in England. Or maybe it's a
soccer team . . . Our First Annual Award for
Gushy Teen Journalism goes to Time Maga
zine's John Travolta cover story (April 3)
. . . Neil Young's proposed title for his next
album, Gone with the Wind, has been changed
to Give to the Wind. Maybe he found out
about the movie. The record is due in May,
but don't hold your breath . . .Every Day,
Every Night, the new album from Flora
Purim (Down Beat's top female jazz singer
for five years straight), is produced by
Rufus' helmsman, Bob Monaco. Purim, by
the way, will no longer tour with husband
Airto. Separate careers make happier mar
riages, or so they say . . .
4 ? - ViC
Lou Reed's appearance on TV's
Midnight Special on Friday, April 28,
will be strictly a speaking role, thanks
to program censorship, Reed's ada
ment attitude, and an unusual com
promise. The problem began when the
show's producers asked Reed to host
Special. When somebody got a look at
the lyrics of what Reed expected to
sing "Heroin," from the Velvet
Underground days; "Walk on the
Wild Side," a top-20 record in 1973;
and "I Wanna Be Black" and "Street
Hassle" from his current album all
hell broke loose. The producers, ap
parently ignorant of what Reed's been
up to for the last decade, asked him to
rewrite (shades of "Let's Spend the
Night Together"!). Reed refused, but
said that the "offensive" words could
be bleeped. The producers evidently
felt that would make Reed's perform
ance largely pantomime.
What will happen is a discussion on
censorship, with Reed interviewed by
rock's token intelligentsia, Howard
Kaylan and Mark Volman (Flo and
Eddie.) The interview, lasting 40
minutes, was held on April 5, and will
be edited for broadcast. The set con
sisted of three chairs, one of them
slightly tacky Naugahyde, a small ta
ble, semi-Oriental lamp, and a huge
Midnight Special sign hanging in back.
Reed, dressed in black leather and
minus his dark glasses for most of the
time, was coherent and deadly ear
nest, much like a Scientologist making
his pitch.
Among the rather less than start
ling revelations: the FCC is prohib
ited by law from censoring anything,
and Reed plays his records for his
mother, who likes them.
The show's producers, who made
all of the decisions, are looking for
viewer feedback. If you have any
opinion of all of this, particularly if
you see the program, feel free to write
to Burt Sugarman Productions,' 9000
Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA
90069.