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Today, "Come Softly To Me"
and its writers are cited as BMI "Million Airs" with
nearly three million USA
radio air-plays logged by Broadcast Music, Inc. The
now-classic song appeals to all ages and has gained
new fans through inclusion in such motion pictures as STAND
BY ME; CLEAN AND
SOBER; and
CROSSING DELANCEY, in which it is the recurring love theme.
Among movies of the new millennium,
28 DAYS includes "Come Softly To Me"
and its writers in the credits.
"Mr. Blue" and "(He's) The Great Imposter"
enliven the soundtracks of AMERICAN GRAFFITI;
DINER; RETURN TO
MACON COUNTY;
NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION; and
AMERICAN HOT WAX in which The Fleetwoods are portrayed.
Today, The Fleetwoods remain the first group in the world to
have two #1
Records top Billboard's Hot 100 in a single year.
An accomplishment held exclusively
by The
Fleetwoods
for the first seven years of Rock & Roll history,
according to author(ities) Fred Bronson's THE BILLBOARD BOOK OF
NUMBER ONE HITS,
and Joel Whitburn's THE BILLBOARD TOP 10 SINGLES CHARTS
1955-2000.
Among legendary
network television appearances, The Fleetwoods
are now featured on DICK CLARK'S BEST OF BANDSTAND video,
and
AMERICAN BANDSTAND'S
40TH ANNIVERSARY television special. Taped live in the '90s,
Nostalgia Network
captured
The Fleetwoods'
DANCIN' TO THE OLDIES
performance.
THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW is currently
licensing to share The Fleetwoods' performance with the world,
in this new millennium.
Such
CDs as THE BEST OF THE FLEETWOODS (Rhino), THE VERY BEST OF THE
FLEETWOODS
(EMI/ERG), GREATEST HITS (CEMA), and MR. BLUE (Vanmeter) are
becoming collector items.
A limited number of MR. BLUE CDs are now available at the
website (TheFleetwoods.com) and concerts, for signing.
TIME/LIFE is currently flashing vintage video clips of The
Fleetwoods on TV,
to promote their inclusion on the newest TIMIE/LIFE
compilations.
Gretchen Christopher's autobiographical solo CD is a concept
album which includes new recordings of the first hits she
cowrote,
"Come Softly To Me" and "Graduation's Here", and a wealth of her
new songs.
They create an intimate soundtrack of her life, from age 16 to the present,
when, as a leap year baby, she celebrates,
Gretchen's SWEET SIXTEEN! (SUITE 16). Naming
it as a Billboard Critics' Pick for 10 BEST ALBUMS of 2007,
BIllboard 'Chart Beat' Columnist Fred Bronson writes (for the
bible of the industry, Billboard.com), "The former Fleetwoods
singer, born Feb. 29, celebrates her '16th birthday' by turning
her life into a stunning suite of 16 songs."
Through
more than four decades, 11 hit singles, 15 albums and 6 CDs, The
Fleetwoods' Founder, Female
Lead Vocalist, Arranger and BMI Million Airs Songwriter, Gretchen
Christopher has remained the one
constant performer of the trio. Following the success of her solo
concerts, in 1982 the group contracted
Gretchen to reorganize The Fleetwoods and serve as Manager with
"the sole authority to bind the Original
and Replacement Fleetwoods by contract for any performance
commitment as manager deems appropriate
to carry out the business of THE FLEETWOODS."
She
expanded the typical Oldies Concert repertoire (top three Hits) to
a 20-song show, fully choreographed,
fast-paced, complete with dialogue and costume changes. Noted as a
"class act," that quality has been maintained
nationally and internationally; from the Hollywood Bowl to Madison
Square Garden; from Canada's biggest
supper club (drawing 4,000 - double the legal capacity - despite
Michael Jackson's opening his Victory Tour
just 60 miles away) to the World's Fair in British Columbia: from
the Marina del Rey Music Festival to Vegas in the '90s
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The
Fleetwoods, West |
Of the Originals, Barbara Ellis retired in 1974, Gary
Troxel gave his written resignation in 1983
and only Gretchen Christopher is authorized to carry on
the name "The Fleetwoods" per their
legal Agreement. She has trained Replacements on both
coasts (including one who truly has
Fleetwood blood in her veins: Christopher's "cute cousin
Karen Cone from Connecticut," >>-->
as first introduced at the World's Fair, Expo 86, and of
whom Barbara Ellis says approvingly,
"She sounds just like me!"). |
The
Fleetwoods, East |
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Click photo
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In Seattle, delighting the NAMA Awards audience by wearing the same gown she'd worn
29 years earlier
(on network television when Dick Clark presented the teenagers with their first two Gold Records),
dancer-trim, blonde and blue-eyed Gretchen, in 1988, accepted another Gold Record for the trio
as
The Fleetwoods were inducted into the Northwest Music HALL OF FAME.
Today,
along with a costume from the trio's first tour, The
Fleetwoods' multi-million seller Gold Records
(now equivalent to multi-Platinum) are prominently
exhibited (at the Seattle Center) in the Northwest Passage at
the
EXPERIENCE MUSIC PROJECT (EMP). For the EMP's grand opening,
June of 2000, Gretchen performed "Come Softly To Me"
a cappella with audience participation, causing an upsurge of
engagements for The Fleetwoods' timeless hits and
Gretchen's new songs.
Booked
together and separately, Gretchen Christopher and The
Fleetwoods carry on the name and music,
interspersing The Fleetwoods appearances with solo concerts.
To
benefit survivors of the September 11, 2001, terrorists attacks on
America, Gretchen dedicated one of her solo
concerts to an evening of fundraising. October 13th, (chosen in
memory of the birth date, life, love and loss of her
niece, Dawn Christopher, 1964 - 2001), Gretchen temporarily
transported the audience beyond the tragedies, with
grace, spontaneity, gentle humor, and two hours of her new music
and Fleetwoods hits, contributing (through the
Salvation Army and American Red Cross) all proceeds of her work,
"Come Softly To Me" For Peace on Earth.
FOR BOOKING
INFORMATION CONTACT Bookings@TheFleetwoods.com |
