When I was in high school I taught myself how to play the guitar and became part of a group called “The Somerset Three.”
In college — in Santa Barbara, California, at the time — I became enamored by the deep-luscious-voice of the electric bass and figured out how to play that, as well. From there I joined a four-piece rock group called “The Chances,” and played rollicking venues in California, Arizona, and Idaho. The band broke up in Pocatello when two of us got drafted, myself being one of them.
As I headed down to the the US Army induction center in Los Angeles, my draft board was busy reclassifying me as a sole survivor. A week after arriving in LA, I was released to fend for myself in Hollywood, where the best west coast music was born. Within a year I found myself in the company of genius, now a singer/songwriter in “The Ballroom” and soon after, “The Millennium,” working with a truly amazing gathering of talent.
A few years later, I recorded as a solo artist, produced by Curt Boettcher of “Along Comes Mary” and “Cherish” fame. I wrote over 100 songs during that dizzying time, and count myself as one of the truly lucky ones to have lived in that place at that time. I even had a Number One song … in the Philippines.
To this day, I can’t pass a guitar without picking it up and playing a few chords. My all-time favorite song was composed and performed by a three-person group just up the coast in Tacoma, Washington. “Come Softly to Me” knocks me out every time I hear it, even to this day. In my dreams, I know that I should have been a Fleetwood. Yes, that would have been the pinnacle.
Little Johnny Coconut: Rocket Ride
Little Johnny Coconut is on tour with his new four-song EP “Rocket Ride!” One of his stops is Honolulu, where he will see his son Calvin for the first time in four years. Calvin’s worried, wondering if Little Johnny will still like him. After Calvin gets on stage with his dad he pretty much knows the answer to that question.
Read Calvin Coconut: ROCKET RIDE to see how that all works out. But one thing Calvin and all his friends are sure of is that Little Johnny’s new song “Rocket Ride” is a bazookalolo monster hit!
Little Johnny Coconut: I Love Sunshinepop
Calvin’s dad, Little Johnny Coconut, changed the family name from Novio to Coconut when he decided to give his music a chance.
His first single “I Love Sunshine Pop” was a huge success for him, and he went on to fame and more big hits, while playing in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he now lives with his new wife, Marissa and their dog, Chewy. Though divorced, Calvin’s parents get along respectfully and peacefully, happily living their very different lives.
The Millennium: Begin
Did you know that I was a world-famous rock star?
Well WORLD and FAMOUS may be pushing it, but … okay, whatever ….
I did some solo recording and also played with the classic rock band Millennium (with Joey Stec, Lee Mallory, Dough Rhodes, Ron Edgar, Michael Fennelly, and Curt Boettcher), the Ballroom, and Sagittarius. (I’m in the front of this photo)
“From what I’ve heard of the sunshine pop of the 60s, the Millennium’s Begin could very well be the pinnacle of the genre.” – The Always Blue Society
My Solo Album: Sandy (my nickname)
Musically, the album is luminous, hallucinatory, and full of typically cherubic sweetness… simply joyous and celebratory, nowhere more than on the buoyant cover of the Beach Boys’ “With Me Tonight” (renamed “On and on She Goes”)… Salisbury’s performance is just as buoyant and accomplished throughout, and if it threatens to burst the album at its seams, it is also what makes this such a satisfyingly unforeseen delight.
-Stanton Swihart from All Music Guide
Available at: Amazon
Falling To Pieces
This is a Japanese release: 17 tracks, including two from my 1968 solo album that wasn’t released until 2000, the ballad ‘Cecily,’ and ‘Do Unto Others.’ Produced by Curt Boettcher (The Association), me, and The Millennium.
Available at: Amazon