Now that I’ve been on my soapbox the past two columns, it’s time to get back to writing about music. Being an avid VH-1 viewer, I always watch "Where Are They Now," a show that gives you updates on the popular bands of yesteryear. I wish some of these bands could have stayed lost. For instance, I could have done without the updates on Loverboy , Dead or Alive and Night Ranger, among many others. I remember reading the last column by Wayne Robbins, former rock critic for Newsday. He was so incensed when he heard Meat Loaf was making a comeback that he actually quit music writing! You gotta love a guy with that much integrity! Alas, Yours Truly is far too much of a whore to do anything that classy!.

Anyway, having seen most of these shows by now, I think there have been several oversights. Here are some bands I want to come back, and I hope you do, too. They are:

1. The Beatles.

I think it would be the blockbuster concert/tour of this or any other century. "But John is dead," I can hear you purists whining. Get over it. A lot of the old bands are touring without one or more of their original members, and they don’t even have offspring that sound just like them!

Think about it. Paul, George and Ringo reunite with Julian and Sean Lennon to perform. Get lots of special guest stars like Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, and anyone else who was in their circle. Get lots of guest vocalists to do the "John" songs. Can’t you hear Rod Stewart doing "Lady Madonna?" Or Peter Gabriel doing "Revolution?" Let them do half the songs and let Julian sing the other half. Get Sean involved. Get lots of people involved but for God’s sake, DON’T LET YOKO ANYWHERE NEAR THE STAGE!!! OK, maybe you can let her come out for the finale of "All You Need is Love" and "I Am the Walrus." The more I think about it the better it sounds.

2. Bachman-Turner Overdrive

From 1974-1977 you couldn’t turn on the radio without hearing these guys. The band was formed by former Guess Who guitarist Randy Bachman, his brothers Rob and Tim, and bassist C.F. Turner. They totally rocked in their day. During that four-year stretch they did so many great songs, such as "Takin Care of Business" (that kewl piano part was actually played by a guy delivering pizza to the studio!),"Let it Ride," "Lookin’ Out #1, " "Hey You," "You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet." BTO were all over the charts and radio, both on AM and FM.

Having done my research on the Web, this is rather a sad case. They broke up, reformed, reconfigured, wound up hating each other. Randy Bachman quit, then came back, then quit again. C.F. Turner and Rob Bachman are still touring as B.T.O. but they are doing small venue/state fair type gigs. I wonder how much they get these days. Wouldn’t it be kewl if you could get them to play "Takin’ Care of Business" at your company picnic or trade show booth? They may have fallen on hard times, but Randy Bachman is still a monster guitar player and I think they still have one more good album in them if they can ever put their differences aside and go for it again.

3. Cream

This one is my all-time dream concert. I have seen the old Royal Albert Hall footage of these guys over and over (sigh). Cream embodied the best (also some of the worst )of the experimental, psychedelic spirit of the Sixties. When they broke up, I expected all three of them to do equally well. Ginger Baker has never really gotten his due as one of the immortal rock drummers. For cross-sticking and double bass technique he might have been the greatest ever. You hear musicians talk about John Bonham and Keith Moon, but he belongs in that pantheon as well.

Jack Bruce did some excellent though unappreciated, albums. His post-Cream resume is impressive, although not very successful commercially. After Cream he formed Lifetime with John McLaughlin and Tony Williams. His album "Songs for a Tailor" is an obscure gem. (Long out of print, good luck finding it) Bruce came close to recapturing the raw power of Cream by teaming with guitarist Leslie West and drummer Corky Laing, previously of Mountain. Their "Why Dontcha" album was another LP that deserved something better than obscurity. Likewise, Bruce did a very good LP with guitarist Robin Trower and drummer Bill Lordan, entitled "B.L.T," which was also universally ignored.

And Eric Clapton… well we all know about Eric, don’t we? He’s done so many great albums over the years. No, he doesn’t need the money or the acclaim. Even so, wouldn’t it be great to see Eric come full-circle and revisit Cream with a Nineties slant on it this time. Please guys, come back! I implore ya!

4. Vanilla Fudge

They might have been the best band Long Island ever produced. While everybody was freaking out to the sounds of West Coast music, they were spreading their own brand of East Coast psychedelia. I always think of Frank Zappa’s famous story about when The Mothers played Westbury Music Fair on Long Island, warming up for Vanilla Fudge. An irate concertgoer heckled, "Youse guys stink! Bring on the Fudge!" Well, I agree wholeheartedly with that sentiment. "Bring on the Fudge," indeed!

They came out with some excellent albums, even though they were never equaled the commercial success they enjoyed with "You Keep Me Hangin’ On." The battery of bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice is one that never got the acclaim it deserved. Guitarist Vince Martell is still out and about, playing gigs in the New York Metro area. He’s playing real well, too. He was recording an album last year, although I haven’t heard whether or not it got released.

There has been much talk of a Fudge reunion over the years, but nothing ever seems to come of it. Supposedly this is because organist Mark Stein doesn’t want to do it. On behalf of Fudge fans everywhere I say, "Hey Mark! C’mon man, rock us one more time!"

5. Edgar Winter's White Trash

Quite simply, the best white R&B band ever! Just check out the classic "Roadwork" CD, which features performances at the Apollo Theater. It features some of the most amazing soul vocals ever recorded by anyone, black or white. They rocked, they funked; they conquered. It was hard to tell whose vocals were more amazing, Edgar Winter's or Jerry LaCroix's. They were one of the few white acts to really do justice to the music and give it that proper "Soul" flava. Also, you KNOW any band with Rick Derringer on guitar is gonna cook! Sadly, drummer Bobby Ramierez died some years back, but as long as Edgar and Rick are in the band you know they’ll be into something good.

6. Sly & The Family Stone

A great artist is rare enough but a great artist leading a great band is something special indeed. Everybody knows about Sly Stone. His music is some of the most popular for sampling, second perhaps only to James Brown. I have heard parts of "Fun," "You Can Make it If You Try," "Stand" and numerous other Sly songs on the radio. It is sad that the man who brought them to life has faded into self-imposed obscurity.

Sly and the Family Stone were the first integrated, multicultural band. They recognized no musical boundaries; changing genres and mixing musical metaphors at will. Often their music had elements of Rock, Gospel, Soul and Jazz… all in the same song! Sly of course was the primary songwriter and mastermind, but there was also a great band behind him. Cynthia Robinson, Larry Graham, Jerry Martini, as well as siblings Rose and Freddie Stone brought their own magic to the songs. Greg Errico remains one of music’s most underappreciated drummers. Few people know about him although his recorded playing has been sampled all over the place.

Sly’s many fans believe that after 20 years he has an amazing album in the can somewhere. We wanna hear it!!! Consider that The Artist Formerly Known as Prince has made a career out of following Sly’s concept, so there is obviously still a market for it. How about it Sly? Come back …and bring the Family too, wouldya?

7. Cat Stevens

Come back only if you’re gonna do Cat Stevens music. No one wants to hear that Yussef Islam stuff.

There are many others, and I would love to hear from my readers which bands you’d like to see. Email me and maybe we’ll publish your suggestions.

Peace, man.

Originally Submitted to Goldport.com 1999

Last Updated 12.9.04