MY MEDICAL MIRACLE!
December 29, 2011
A year and a half ago since I moved to the California desert, I’ve been to see ten different specialists at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage for my extreme scoliosis (a severe curvature of the spine I’ve had since birth). Even though I had discs put in my upper spine and neck 14 years ago, my pain increased as well as my tolerance to huge amounts of Vicodin and all kinds of steroids!
The pain got worse in recent years when my right leg started turning around in its socket, making me feel like I was being ripped apart 24 hours a day! All the doctors could do for me was prescribe more pain killers which I refused to take with their mind numbing side effects, so I helped develop a deep meditation to go below my pain level and I never gave up hope.
Five months ago my primary physician, Dr. Lynn Messner sent me to see Dr. Albert Lai the head of Pain Management at the Eisenhower center. When I met the doctor, I felt an immediate psychic connection with him. I asked my friend Allan, who has taken me to every doctor appointment I’ve had so far, if he would mind leaving the room so I could speak to Dr.Lai privately. I knew that Allan and his lack of belief in the Metaphysical and the Spiritual would question what I was about to talk the Doctor about and I didn’t want to deal with any skepticism.
As doctor Lai was reviewing my case on his computer, I felt I was getting weaker and weaker…but I started to feel safe. The voices from the other side that have guided me my whole life started saying things like, “he’s the one…he’s the one who could help you! Soon an echo-y chorale inside my head started chanting…”Ask him to do stem cell therapy… Ask him to do stem cell therapy”
I took a deep breath I asked Dr.Lai if he would perform the controversial stem cell procedure on me (using my own adult cells). He smiled, and said that it could probably help along with physical and occupational therapy. He also prescribed a top of the line electric power wheel chair, custom-made leg, back, and hand braces then he gave me a cortisone shot in my hip and rescheduled another appointment.
Over the past few months I’ve had PRP shots (plasma replacement platelets) from blood taken from my arm, purified and injected into my spine as well as more cortisone shots. I’ve physically gone up and down for two or three hours every day at a time every week , with my painful episodes diminishing over time.
Last week I had a minor setback when two of my four therapists had to stop seeing me because I still wasn’t strong enough to even lift the leg brace I was prescribed. That’s when my two occupational therapists doubled their efforts to get me able to at least walk in a walker.
As Joyce was massaging my neck, we determined that this was the source of my problem of not being able to use my hands and fingers which she also massaged. We talked about and even sang all kinds of music from the ‘60s to the present and I suggested playing music during our therapy sessions. Although Joyce went back east for the holidays, she sent her assistant Karen three times this week…who loved the idea of using music!
On our second session as Karen was massaging and limbering up my fingers I clicked onto Lady GaGa’s video of “BAD ROMANCE”…by the time the vocal started, Karen had me moving each wrist up and down with the music, she laughed when I did a few movements with my neck and shoulders I learned from watching “SOUL TRAIN”. Then I threw a few punches at the air like Muhammad Ali, started lifting my legs up and down and started marching in my wheelchair. I emulated the upper body movement I’d seen in GaGa and Usher videos finishing by standing up and down 15 times in front of my wheel chair (while holding on to my arm rests)…then taking a deep bow with head below my knees to my therapists wide-eyed amazement!
I couldn’t wait to show Dr. Lai what I was able to do when I saw him for my shot yesterday. I started by moving my wrists up and down and performing the routine I described above (but without music). I watched his mouth drop open as he looked at his assistant Christine. And exclaimed, “I don’t believe it…I’ve never seen anything like this! Less than five months ago you came in barely able to move…and now you’re dancing;”
I thanked him and smiled, as he asked if I ever was ever a professional dancer. I told him, “No, but I was compared to Jackson”
“Michael Jackson?”
“No, Jesse”
We both laughed as he scheduled my next appointment.
(to be continued)
Copyright 2011 by Artie Wayne http://artiewayne.com
NOW YOU CAN BUY MY NEW BOOK ,“I DID IT FOR A SONG” AT AMAZON or Barnes & Noble or from Smashwords
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SPECIAL NOTICE…Next month I’ll be posting an article The Blunt Truth about Medical Marijuana and an exclusive interview with Laila Kabhi from Oasis Wellness and Living in Palm Springs, California. if you have any questions for her please email me at artiewayne@gmail.com
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MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HANUKKAH FROM ARTIE WAYNE ON THE WEB!
December 23, 2011
I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE WHO HELP MAKE MY SONG “LITTLE CHRISTMAS TREE” (CLINTON, JR./WAYNE) BY MICHAEL JACKSON ONE OF THE MOST REQUESTED SONGS OF THE SEASON. TO SHOW MY APPRECIATION I’M GIVING YOU 99 CHRISTMAS AND HANUKKAH MUSIC VIDEOS ABSOLUTELY FREE!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HANUKKAH…ENJOY TO THE WORLD! from ARTIE WAYNE on the WEB! http://artiewayne.com
1. FOR 99 CHRISTMAS MUSIC VIDEOS https://artiewayne.wordpress.com/2007/11/13/the-top-the-best-and-the-greatest-christmas-music-videos/
2. FOR HANUKKAH MUSIC VIDEOS https://artiewayne.wordpress.com/2006/12/22/nookies-top-holiday-video-picks/
3. THE STORY BEHIND MICHAEL JACKSON’S “LITTLE CHRISTMAS TREE” https://artiewayne.wordpress.com/2009/06/29/michael-jackson-and-the-story-behind-little-christmas-tree/
4. EXTRA…THE STORY BEHIND FESTIVUS (FEATURING THE GEORGE COSTANZA TRIO) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KIMRsTu12g&feature=related
Copyright 2011 by Artie Wayne http://artiewayne.com
NOW YOU CAN BUY MY NEW BOOK ,“I DID IT FOR A SONG” AT AMAZON or Barnes & Noble or from Smashwords
TO READ A CHAPTER OR TWO FOR FREE CLICK HERE
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It’s hard to believe that it’s been 50 years when we first heard “THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT” and the incredible falsetto of Jay Siegel of the Tokens. One of the defining records of the sixties that is still so fresh it could have been recorded yesterday. I talked to my old friend Jay a few days ago, and was amazed when he told me that he hasn’t lost the stratospheric top notes in his vocal range, which is probably why i guess Jay Siegel and the New Tokens do so incredibly well on the oldies circuit…they sound like the hit records!
The original group, Hank Medress, Jay, Phil, and Mitch Margo in addition to making hit records themselves produced classic hits for other artists, The Chiffons (“He’s So Fine”, “One Fine Day”) Tony Orlando and Dawn (“Knock Three Times”, “Candida”). Although I never got a single cut with any of their artists I enjoyed playing material for them and engaging in the knock hockey tournaments they held in their offices at 1697 Broadway.
When I interviewed Hank Medress, for Spectropop, just before he passed away, I asked him how the group got together and how they came to record “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” 
Hank said, “I knew Jay Siegel from school, and Neil Sedaka, who was still halfway in our group, thought Jay sang great! Then I heard about these two brothers, Phil and Mitch Margo. I went down to Ocean Parkway to check them out. Right away we all started writing songs together, which included ‘Tonight I Fell In Love’. I borrowed $60 and we made a demo of the song. I was riding the subway home to Brighton Beach, some lady overhears me talking about the record we just made, says she and her son have a record company … they release it and we have our first hit! On that same session, we recorded ‘Wimoweh’, before it became ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’. That was the song we used to sing on street corners. Jay Siegel was the one who turned us on to that song. He was a big Pete Seeger fan and he loved his version of ‘Wimoweh’.”
Hank continued, “We had an audition with Hugo and Luigi at RCA. First we played them our original songs, but they weren’t very interested. Then they asked if we had anything else? I said there’s a song we sing on the beach. It’s a chant and it doesn’t have words. They wanted to hear it. They said, “That’s a hit! What does the lyric mean?” We told them Jay had checked with the African consulate and it was about a lion hunt, etc. Hugo and Luigi said they wanted to put a lyric to it. When we came to the recording session, they handed Jay the lyric as he was about to go on microphone. Jay changed the melody to make the lyric fit the meter … and the rest is history!”
FOR THE TOURING SCHEDULE OF JAY SIEGEL AND THE NEW TOKENS VISIT THEIR WEBSITE http://jaysiegelandthetokens.com/
top photo left to right- Jay Traynor, Jay Siegel, and Bill Reid
bottom photo Hank Medress, Jay Siegel, Phil and Mitch Margo
RON ANTON…ROCK IN PERPETUITY!
December 11, 2011
The first time I met Ron Anton was in 1966 when I was living in NYC. He was a lawyer at BMI, who was young enough to relate to the songwriters who were making the popular music of the day. My partner, Kelli Ross, and I administered the publishing for some of those popular music makers, who included Joey Levine, Artie Resnick (“Chewy, Chewy”), Leslie Gore (“She’s A Fool”, “California Nights”), Janis Ian (“Society’s Child”), Jazz greats Bobby Scott, and Quincy Jones!
It was always a pleasure to deal with Ron on behalf of our clients, he treated Kelli Ross and me with the upmost respect, during a time when there were no black song pluggers at any major publishing company, and few women owned their own businesses. I never thought of Ron as being part of the establishment because of his sensitivity to the needs of songwriters, composers, and publishers.
In the early ‘70s, when I moved to LA and went to work as General Professional manager for Warner Brothers Music I’d run into Ron, who was running BMI’s west coast office, at industry functions, concerts, openings, etc. and occasionally share a lunch, but I never imagined I had such a strong ally.
In 1975, I remember Ron coming to my aid, when I went into business for myself after running Irving-Almo Music and BMI wouldn’t give me a $5000 advance against my future songwriter and publishing company royalties. It was standard procedure, when I was at Warner Brothers music, that every new artist David Geffen would sign to his record company would get a $5000 advance from BMI, so I thought I should at least get the same consideration.
When BMI turned me down I was livid, but Ron calmed me down and not only got me the advance I was asking for, but he named my new publishing company, WayneArt Music.
I remember, it was a cloudy afternoon the Wednesday before thanksgiving I was waiting up in Ron’s office up at BMI, for a my check to arrive overnight from NY…but it never came. As the office workers started to leave early for the long weekend, Ron saw me sitting dejected in the outer office, sat down with me and asked, “What’s wrong?”
I told him that I needed that certified check in order to buy a classic 1965 Mustang hardtop at half it’s value by tomorrow or lose the opportunity. He smiled, wrote me a personal check for $5000 and took me to his bank downstairs to cash it, wished me “Happy Thanksgiving” and walked out to his car!
I thought to myself as I returned the money to him on Monday, when my check came in up at BMI, how lucky I was to have a friend like Ron.
Over the years as I drifted away from the music business I lost touch with Ron and his lovely wife Dene, who was my occasional songwriting partner. Then I ran into them unexpectedly at Rick Bolsom’s Cakewalk restaurant in Nashville in the mid-nineties, where I was guest hosting for the evening. We were all so happy to see each other, even though Ron introduced me to the rest of the dinner party as Artie Shaw in the excitement of the moment, Dene hit him on the arm and corrected him. We all had a good laugh and proceeded to have a great evening!
In October of 2000, I was stunned to hear that Ron lost his life in a fire at his home. I’ve stayed in touch with Dene over the years, who has done a remarkable job of keeping Ron’s memory alive.
As we get older, we look back and appreciate the people who made a difference in our lives and Ron certainly made a big difference in mine!
Thank you my friend and may you ROCK IN PERPETUITY!
Respectfully, Artie Wayne http://artiewayne.com
Copyright 2011 by Artie Wayne https://artiewayne.wordpress.com/about-artie-wayne/
NOW YOU CAN BUY MY NEW BOOK ,“I DID IT FOR A SONG” AT AMAZON or Barnes & Noble or from Smashwords
TO READ A CHAPTER OR TWO FOR FREE CLICK HERE
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DOBIE GRAY R.I.P. ROCK IN PERPETUITY!
December 8, 2011
Although I haven’t seen Dobie Gray in many years, I was especially saddened to hear of his passing. He was the kind of person you can’t forget.
I first met him in 1965 at the Goldbug, a night club in NYC’s Greenwich Village, where he was appearing shortly after “THE IN CROWD” became a hit.. We spent a little time talking about the differences between East Coast vs. West Coast music, I gave him a demo of one of my songs, and then I left. About six months later I ran into him up at Billboard magazine, and was shocked that he not only remembered my name, but he remembered the title of the song I gave him!
As years passed, through “DRIFT AWAY”and beyond, we stayed in touch. The last time I saw him was when he opened at the WHISKEY-AU-GO-GO with his new group Pollution featuring Tata Vega. I thought he had a smash with “THE NIGHT THEY DROVE OLD DIXIE DOWN”, but it was never to be.
So many artists have been influenced by Dobie’s style and phrasing, it’s time to honor the original. I think we all should re-examine Dobie Gray’s body of work, I’m sure we’d all be surprised at the undiscovered gems we’d find.
Dobie Gray, may you ROCK IN PERPETUITY
Respectfully, Artie Wayne http://artiewayne.com
CLICK HERE TO WATCH DOBIE ON SHINDIG” DOING “THE IN CROWD” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOWO--z1S8A
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE ORIGINAL MUSIC VIDEO OF “DRIFT AWAY” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIuyDWzctgY
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT DOBIE AND THE FINAL ARRANGEMENTS BEING MADE GO TO HIS WEBSITE http://dobiegray.com/
Copyright 2011 by Artie Wayne https://artiewayne.wordpress.com/about-artie-wayne/
NOW YOU CAN BUY MY NEW BOOK ,“I DID IT FOR A SONG” AT AMAZON or Barnes & Noble or from Smashwords
TO READ A CHAPTER OR TWO FOR FREE CLICK HERE
TO READ SOME OF THE COMMENTS CLICK HERE
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ARE BRITNEY, KATY, ADELE, AND KELLY, “TOO FAT FOR VH1?”
December 3, 2011
After watching the VH1 VIDEO COUNTDOWN this week I noticed an alarming trend. Four of the female divas in the top ten are a little overweight and three of them are using special optic effects to make them look slimmer. Britney Spears has gone to the extreme in her new video “CRIMINAL”, and at times I thought I was watching Taylor Swift! Katy Perry uses the same thinning effect in “THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY”, and Adele uses it on “SOMEONE LIKE YOU”.
The only one who lets it all hang out (so to speak) is Kelly Clarkson in her video “Mr. KNOW-IT-ALL”. Personally, I like a woman with a little meat on her! I’ve seen candid paparazzi photos of them all, and I don’t think the reinforcement of a false body image does anything but perpetuate the myths about what beauty is.
What do you think?
You can see all the videos at VH1 http://www.vh1.com/ Then make your comments below
Copyright 2011 by Artie Wayne https://artiewayne.wordpress.com/about-artie-wayne/
EXTRA! EXTRA! NOW YOU CAN BUY MY NEW BOOK ,“I DID IT FOR A SONG” AT AMAZON or Barnes & Noble or from Smashwords
TO READ A CHAPTER OR TWO FOR FREE CLICK HERE
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CONGRATULATIONS DIANE WARREN ON YOUR GRAMMY NOMINATIONS!
December 1, 2011
In 1982 after giving my friend Allan Rinde, a name for his new chinese restaurant Genghis Cohen, Allan backed me in THE ARTIE WAYNE SONGWRITING MOTIVATIONAL COURSE.
I didn’t expect anybody to learn how to write songs, but how to write better songs that would help get them a deal with a publisher or a record company. I advertised, “I’ll show you how to make your package so strong that only a fool would turn you down” (with a disclaimer at the bottom, “Not responsible for all the fools in the industry!”) I knew that newcomers rubbing elbows with the top people in the music business, would not only give them more self confidence, but also give the pros a chance to discover new talent on the way up.
In a dance rehearsal studio above a dry cleaner on Fairfax and Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood, we had three hour meetings, once a week for six weeks that turned into ten. I charged each person attending $100 or the publishing rights to one song they would write during my course. We started off with 25 people and ended up with almost 100.
I brought guests in every week like producer Bob Monoco who listened to songs from our group for Chaka Kahn. We had Ron Miller (“For Once in my Life”) tell us that, “Rewriting is just as important as the writing of the song”. Ron brought Charlene with him who was currently #1 on the charts with “Never Been To Me”, which Ron Co-wrote with one of my discoveries Kenny Hirsh. Buddy Kaye (“Speedy Gonzalez”) stressed the importance of music and lyrical hooks in songs. I also teamed up professional songwriters like Patti Dahlstrom (“Emotion”) with newcomers like David Plenn.
My longtime friend and sometime collaborator, Alan O’Day (“Undercover Angel”, “Angie Baby”) was my musical director and videotaped the entire ten weeks. When he asked if he could bring in two new songwriter friends as his guests for the course…how could I say no? One was arranger John Barnes, who went on to co-write most of the “Bad” album with Michael Jackson, the other one was Diane Warren (“Unbreak My Heart”, “How Can I Live Without You?”) Since then Diane has been recognized six times ASCAP Songwriter of the Year and four times Billboard’s Songwriter of the year. She has had her songs in 70 films and TV, received 6 Grammy nominations , 6 Academy Award nominations and has just received a Grammy nomination for the Best Song written for visual media. “Born To Be Somebody” – from “Never Say Never” by Justin Beiber...as well as a nomination for "You Haven't Seen The Last Of Me" from "Burlesque" by Cher.
Diane...I wish I could say that THE ARTIE WAYNE SONGWRITER MOTIVATIONAL COURSE could take credit for any of your successes, but I’m just happy for you and to have been around at the beginning, when your talent was starting to emerge and I was lucky enough to have a front row seat!
CONGRATULATIONS…and keep it up!
Regards, Your friend Artie
Copyright 2011 by Artie Wayne https://artiewayne.wordpress.com/about-artie-wayne/
To reach Diane Warren http://www.realsongs.com/
COMING NEXT WEEK AT ARTIE WAYNE ON THE WEB…THE DIANE WARREN VIDEO JUKEBOX!
EXTRA! EXTRA! NOW YOU CAN BUY MY NEW BOOK ,“I DID IT FOR A SONG” AT AMAZON or Barnes & Noble or from Smashwords
TO READ A CHAPTER OR TWO FOR FREE CLICK HERE
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Artie Wayne On The Web 