‘Anticipation’ for ‘The Conners’ Fall Premiere on ABC Is Noteworthy for The Hit Men’s Jimmy Ryan and His Integral Role in Original Carly Simon Recording
‘Real Deal’ Musicians to Classic Rock Superstars Paul McCartney, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Mick Jagger, The Who, Cat Stevens, David Bowie, Lou Reed, dozens more, Ready Fall Leg of ‘Don’t Stop’ Tour
“The Hit Men are musicians in a class all their own” – M Music & Musicians Magazine.
NEW YORK (Sept. 4, 2018) ― You’ve seen ABC’s new TV teaser for the October premiere of The Conners, the new Roseanne-less Roseanne spinoff, released to kick off Labor Day weekend, using Carly Simon’s “Anticipation?”
Well, true to THE HIT MEN’s new hashtag, #TheHitMenAreEverywhere, lead guitarist Jimmy Ryan was integral to seeing the creation of that iconic 1971 recording from the inside. He was Carly Simon’s musical director for two decades, including her classic period. And he was all over “Anticipation,” not only as a player but as the song’s vocal arranger. Ryan’s “Anticipation” experience perfectly exemplifies what makes THE HIT MEN the popular “real deal” musicians who’ve separately delivered dozens of hits to the classic rock superstars of the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s.
“Yep, that’s me, Andy Newmark on drums, Paul Glanz on piano, and Carly on acoustic guitar,” says Ryan, who also reminds us of the song’s unforgettable inclusion in a classic 1979 Heinz ketchup TV ad. “We did the track as a band and overdubbed the vocals, though Carly gave us a guide vocal as we did it.”
Ryan played bass on “Anticipation” and worked closely and carefully with Newmark to make a solid groove between the bass and the bass drum. In the end, he reverted to being a guitar player and started playing guitar riffs on the bass in the last verse which, he says, you can hear on the record.
“I used my Dan Armstrong clear plastic bass,” he says. “It was designed by my old boss Dan Armstrong, who introduced me to Carly in the first place.”
True to the name of their latest album, Don’t Stop, THE HIT MEN, classic rock’s unique Supergroup of legendary sidemen, will be back on the road this Fall with an extensive U.S. tour aimed at delivering the hits they first played with the original superstars. Following a final warm-up date at Friends of the PAC in Middleton, WI (Sept. 29), the Fall tour kicks off in earnest Oct. 12 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT, and continues through the Northeast, Midwest, and further west into Utah and Texas through the holiday season, before wrapping over New Year’s Eve with a three-night celebration at the Black Bear Casino in Carlton, MN.
After decades performing or recording with Paul McCartney, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Mick Jagger, The Who, Carly Simon, Cat Stevens, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Cheap Trick, The Ramones, and dozens more, THE HIT MEN have become a Supergroup unlike any other. What the Wrecking Crew meant to the pop music revolution of the ‘60s, THE HIT MEN have meant to some of the most indelible hits of the ‘70s, ‘80s and beyond. It’s only now that the evolution of THE HIT MEN’S story – fueled, in part, by their countless first-hand experiences as eyewitnesses to rock history – has become a revelation.
From transistor radios, vinyl, 8-track tapes and cassettes to the Sony Walkman, CD's, digital downloads and the Apple iPod, THE HIT MEN ― Jimmy Ryan (lead guitar/vocals, and Carly Simon’s former musical director), Lee Shapiro (keyboards/vocals, and Frankie Valli’s1970s musical director), Jeff Ganz (bass/vocals), Russ Velazquez (vocalist/keyboardist/percussionist), and Steve Murphy (drummer/vocalist) ― have seen and heard it all. And they have the stories to go with it! The Don’t Stop U.S. Tour, having already crisscrossed the U.S. with an all-new production features the most recent chapters in THE HIT MEN’s “Hits-tory.”
THE HIT MEN recently took another major step toward stardom on their own terms, with the release of their first original music video from their first original single, “You Can’t Fight Love,” off the DON’T STOP album.
THE HIT MEN continue to recreate their classics while proving again and again that you absolutely can teach old dogs new “tracks.”
THE HIT MEN “DON’T STOP” 2018 TOUR DATES
September 29: Friends of the PAC, Middleton, WI
October 12: Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, CT
October 13: State Theater, Easton, PA
October 20: Vinegar Hill Music Theater, Arundel, ME
October 27: Honeywell Center, Wabash, IN
October 28: The Holland Theater, Bellefontaine, OH
November 10: GSU PAC, University Park, IL
November 15: Cox Performing Arts Center at Dixie State Univ., St. George, UT
December 2: Katherine Hepburn Theater, Old Saybrook, CT
December 8: Glenrose Auditorium, Glenrose, TX
December 29-31: Black Bear Casino, Carlton, MN
More dates to come!
THE HIT MEN ON THE WEB:
www.thehitmenlive.com
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