TIME HAS COME

April 10, 2011

2008 SHOW DVD UPDATE
The full amount of money required to manufacture the DVDs of the 2008  Black Swan concert was in hand in November 2010.  But, to make a long story short - In late November the U.S. Internal Reveue Service put a hold on my account, freezing the funds.  To get them off my back I paid them a lot of money. I received in February a notice from them that the IRS took 3 times the money I owed. I have an attorney dealing with this now.

On February 14, 2011 I signed a settlement with my auto insurance that is paying me 100% of what my insurance policy stipulated. This was supposed to go to trial in November 2011, but the insurance company's attorney advised them that my case was a winner and to pay me the full amount due me rather than incur additional legal fees. 

ALL OF THE MONEY to make the DVDs is being forwarded to me on April 22 and by May 1 all of the DVDs are going to the manufacturer.
The following DVDs are being manufactured:
-  Five 2008 DVDs
- One DVD featuring the March 1986 Black Swan concert
                                     - One DVD featuring the Five Keys performance re-edited with a stereo soundrack & the Five Keys interview that I conducted on video on September 10, 1983
 - One DVD featuring the in-studio session featuring STREET CORNER FIVE from August 2009
- One DVD featuring the in-studio session featuring the CONTINENTALS from December 2011.

In addition, I am paying for a 3rd remix of the FLAMINGOS audio as Terry Johnson was not happy with the first two mixes - hence the Flamingos are not included in the five 2008 show DVDs. If Terry is happy with these audio mixes then these will be included on the 6th 2008 DVD.

I am also going to be putting out CDs of the 2008 and Five Keys concert performance.

I am seriously thinking about putting out 45rpm records of selected songs from these performances. These 45s are truly unique in that they will be made on a new kind of colored wax with a new vinyl process - more on this later.
I am thinking of putting out on LIGHT BRIGADE label MY SADDEST HOUR and THE GLORY OF LOVE
and on the BLACK SWAN label two songs by the SOLITAIRES featuring Herman Dunham.


I have also spoken to my partner and my band leader from California with the idea of putting out the amazing audio tracks from one 1989 show I produced featuring a quartet comprised of Don Julian, Richard Berry, Tony Allan and Gaynell Hodge:
DON JULIAN doing HEAVEN AND PARADISE with a musical bridge by RICHARD BERRY
RICHARD BERRY singing RIOT IN CELLBLOCK NO. 9
TONY ALLEN singing NITE OWL
GAYNELL HODGE singing I KNOW
The only sang together on this show - we did two nights and they did 2 shows and the only other time they had sung together was in high school fooling around in the school yard.

Also, I am negottiating with the ROBINS to put out on DVD their reunion set plus rehearsals from from 1990, which included GRADY CHAPMAN,  BILLY RICHARDS. TYRELL LEONARD, and H.B. BARNUM

THE DVDs will be manufactured and sent to the folks who participated in the advance sale in April. The DVDs will also be available for sale to the general public in May 2011.

THIS  SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY FROM MY INSURANCE WILL PAY FOR THE DVDs OF THE 2008 CONCERT in addition to paying off all outstanding bills. BLACK SWAN will be financially whole. I will be out $50,000 plus but shows like the 1983 and 2008 Burlington seem to make history not money. I have no regrets.

In addition, I had surgery on my throat on December 23, 2010 and while it was successful I had some after effects that caused me pain and discomfort that I haven't had before. The doctors solved what turned out to be an infection in February and I'm back to full speed - well - 75% maybe!

On December 4, 2011 I did a studio session with the Continentals. We recorded on audio and video the Continentals performing 10 songs. This performance is part of the VOCALION project.



FUTURE DVDs?!?

Many folks have been bugging me to release my old shows on DVD and/or CD.

I am talking to some of the singers to clear the rights to release them. What I won't do is release them without their permission.  This includes the ROBINS 1990 DVD.

I recorded either video and/or audio of all but a couple of the many shows that produced on the West Coast in the 1980s and 1990s. I also recorded shows on the East Coast including the first 4 Black Swan shows in 1986, 1991 and 1994. More information about these will be forthcoming.

FUTURE SHOWS?!?

Well, I am planning on continuing with the Vocalion projects and will be bringing in singers and groups - most of whom no one has seen in decades -for recorded singing sessions, interviews and maybe a public concert.  As part of my appreciation for those who trusted me to pull off the 2008 Concert and who participated in the advance sale of the DVDs, I will be inviting you to these events.

 

FUTURE MONSTER SHOW?!?
Well, I'm up for it but at this time I am not sure it's wise to produce one that will like the 1983 and 2008 show lose a lot of money. I have to figure out how to do these in a way that will enable me to break even or incur an insignificant loss. $50k is not insignificant.
There are over 50 lead singers or in a few cases full groups out in the world that none of us have seen since the 1950s. This is not fiction. It is a FACT. More information about them will be posted in May 2011.

OTHER PROJECTS

PHOTOGRAPHS
I have approximately 100,000 negatives and slides of over 1000 bands, groups, musicians and  performers that I have taken since the mid 1960s. I am in the fourth year of scanning them. I will have a new website up, which will contain over 3000 of them. In addition I will be posting on this website some high resolution cleaned up and sometimes colorized photographs from my collection of Doo Wop groups and individual musicians and performers that you will be able to copy for your own enjoyment.

VIDEO PROJECTS
"MAGNIFICENT SOUL" My editor has done a terrific job for producer, Dave Zang, on the MAGNIFICENT MEN feature documentary. There are some really rare live performances, interviews and photos in this film. Some of them absolutely floored me. I have to do a couple of additional interviews with two big superduperstars and this thing should be a wrap.  
This film should be finished by the summer 2011.

On Saturday April 9, 2011 we did a great interview with Eddie and Walter from the O'Jays for the MAGNIFICENT SOUL Documentary film. I asked them about their MASCOTS recording LONELY RAIN. Turns out they LOVE IT. They both wrote it. Wouldn't it be great to hear and see them sing it again!!!

"VOCAL HARMONY aka DOO WOP Documentaries" I've been working on these for 40 years. I have to do approximately six or seven princicpal interviews and we will have what we need to finish the first Philly Doo Wop Documentary. Notice I said, "first". I think we will have the funding thie year to do documentaries on Chicago, Los Angeles. This is a monster project but many, many film and video professionals want to work on this, and the only way it's going to be done quickly is for a group of professionals to work on it - not just 2 guys.

More info on this will be forthcoming.

In May 2011 there will be an email address for anyone interested in BLACK SWAN projects and products published here.

Those few dozen who've paid in advance for the DVDs and only those folks will be receiving a very special video present from me.

Thanks for your great patience.
MdC
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Again, thanks to everyone who've been waiting impatiently I'm sure these past two years for the DVDs.
The past 18 months have been trying for sure. I've had my computers stolen, a basement flood, my first auto collision, first broken ankel and hopefully my first and last stroke. I'm literally not the same person I was 18 months ago - I've lost 40 plus pounds. And just last month I had my first house fire.

[I lost a number of boxes containing semi-important documents that can be replaced. One box that I saved contained six original photos of the Students from the sixties.]

It's been a real Season of the Witch for me. But, as a number of singers have said, "God must have something else planned for me."
 Anything I'm more determined to finish what I started over 40 years ago. That includes doing more shows and releasing more DVDs. More on those later.
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FREE
CLICK ON THE PHOTO OF THE FIVE KEYS
TO GO TO A PAGE WITH
SOME THINGS THAT ARE FREE TO COLLECTORS AND FANS

There are 27 unique photos up and free for you to copy
Click on the photos below to see them

     

GREAT LOSSES
The 13 months have seen the passing of men who I considered friends
and, more importantly for me, they considered me their friend.
For that I was blessed.

STEVE APPLEBAUM
GRADY CHAPMAN
HERMAN DUNHAM
DAVE FISHER
HARVEY FUQUA
JOHN WESLEY HAYES
JOHNNY MAESTRO
BILLY TAYLOR

We are all poorer in their passing. All were talented, vital men and are sorely missed.
In such circumstances words can never alleviate grief nor fill the void left by their absence.

"The Creator has a master plan"

Click on the Rock Hall Icon below to go to the page about the Rock Hall on this site


Thanks to Terry Stewart and the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame and
Museum for their continuing support of me and Black Swan.


click on this Rock Hall Icon to go to the main website of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum


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COMING SOON

Over 3000 photos taken by M. del Costello from the 1960s - Present
Plus over 1000 photos - some rare - from the collection of M del Costello
Like the only known photo of the Robins - Coasters as a six man group
and the Penguins live on stage in 1955.

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There are two DVDs featuring the great 60s
Soul Group - the MAGNIFICENT MEN - in the works.

One is almost done and the other is ready to go. The documentary on the group and their career entitled MAGNIFICENT SOUL is almost finished.

Information about purchasing the Mag Men DVDs will be posted here when they are available. All sales of the DVDs and any other new Mag Men stuff will be via the Mag Men and their representatives directly. Black Swan is not a distributor of Mag Men DVDs. That contact information is listed on the main Mag Men page on this site.  Info about these sales is listed here only as a service to them.

Producer, Dave Zang, and post-production supervisor and editor, Don Grosso are almost done with this film which Dave has been working on for over 6 years.

For more info on these DVDs and the MAGNIFICENT MEN click on either the logo above or ticket below.



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By the end of 2010 I will have over 4000+ photos up on this site featuring over 1000 groups, singers, bands etc. from the 20th and 21st Centuries. Most were taken by me. Others are from my collection. Most have never been seen before.

As of today I've uploaded over 1000 photos to this site's private pages. By the end of the year information as to how to access these pages will be posted on this site.

There will be approximately 300+ unpublished, unprinted and unseen photos from the 1983 BURLINGTON CONCERT. I have over 2000 photos taken before, during and after the concert and I've had almost 1000 scanned. I'm having the other 1000 b/w & color shots scanned now. Besides myself. the other photographer were Mark Langer, Jim McCintyre and Dennis  MacDonald. Hopefully, I can have them up on this stie by Christmas, 2010.  

Tnere are over 300 photos from the 2008 Burlington Concert and literally hundreds from other shows I've produced and thousands that I shot as a professional from 1970 [Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young] to 2009. In addition I will be putting up photos whose negs and copyrights I have acquired including the Beatles 1959 to 1963, Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry 1949, the Kinks 1964, the Yardbirds with Eric Clapton 1964 and Jeff Beck 1965, the Animals 1963 and many, many more.

To view these photo pages you will have to register with me via this site. A new email address is being set up specifically dedicated to this website. These pages will not be available to the web surfer unless they take the time to register first!

All of the images will be for sale in archival, gallery quality prints.

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I've had a ton of requests for Black Swan shirts and shirts from my other shows. I've had the shirts made. A few of the prototype with a typo got out. Instant collectible!!
The stuff I have available for sale will only be avaiable AFTER I have sent out the DVDs of the 2008 Concert

By they way the credit card company requires that the purchased goods be received by the buyer within 21 days of the purchase. So, only those things that are on hand will be sold

 *More by December 1st *

A few samples [there are more] of the shirts:









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As I said above, 100% of the money required for the manufacturing of the 2008 CONCERT DVDs with copyguard is on hand. And the DVDs are being sent to the manufacturer on Tuesday November 16, 2010 and will be shipped to advance buyers in early December.

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The first VOCALION session of 2009 featuring STREET CORNER FIVE singing 14 songs is DONE and ready for manufacture. 

The concept of VOCALION is that each session is videotaped using at least five cameras and professionally recorded. The sessions feature vocal groups performing Acapella or with minimal instrumentation and that when the mixing and editing is completed the group will own the final product - not me nor Black Swan.

On December 4, 2010 the 2nd VOCALION session was held featuring DANNY HICKS & THE CONTINENTALS.

Photos of this event will be posted by April 1, 2011


Danny Hicks

Future sessions in 2011 will be held at least once a month - sometimes more then one a month. Some of the biggest names in Doo Wop and I are talking about their participation in this project.

The end result is a DVD and CD. The DVD will have an additional track featuring an interview with the singers. On each DVD/CD the singers will do a minimum of 10 songs.


For more on the VOCALION sessions click on the photo of STREET CORNER FIVE below:



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To view programs from some of my major shows on both the East and West Coast plus Chicago click on the icon above. On the new photo pages each show will be represented by a page of photos featuring the acts on the show.

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A number of folks have inquired about my personal and professional background. Some folks have expressed skepticism about my past work experience and the fact that I have - whenever I'm ready - the opportunities to write TWO books about my life in the film world. Below is a photo that has never before been seen by the public. In the middle is the man for whom I worked from July 1979 to February 1983. On the right is his other assistant who won an Academy Award in 2000 for producing the best film. On the right is me. It was during my first year as his employee that he and I  concocted the idea for doing live Doo Wop shows and documentaries featuring the history of Doo Wop. The man loves the music. In fact, he went with me to a UGHA show in Scheutzen Park in the summer of 1980 and he even became a member that year.

So, I'll be posting a bio on this site soon.


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 CLASSIC URBAN HARMONY SITE
of
Charlie & Pam Horner

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE GREAT WEBSITE OF CHARLIE & PAM HIORNER
II FEATURES THE UP TO DATE INFO ON WHAT'S HAPPENING AND THE HISTORY
OF CLASSIC URBAN HARMONY.


click on the icon to go to
http://www.classicurbanharmony.net/