Re: BethO song, "When I See Beth Smiling", mentioned in phillyBurbs news website

On 2007-11-28 15:25:58 -0500, Sue M. <batchild1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> said:

On Wed, 28 Nov 2007 09:52:52 -0500, "Locutus"
<locutus_atai@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

You're a retard. The guy who wrote the song doesn't do gigs, Shaw Blades
(Tommy Shaw), who redid the song, plays it at his gigs... In fact, he
doesn't do anything now, as he just passed from complications from liver
failure.

RIP sappy songwriter man.


From the Express-Times, "Man dies with his dream fulfilled", at:

http://www.pennlive.com/news/expresstimes/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-14/1196226434285360.xml&coll=2

==========

Man

dies with his dream fulfilled
Howard Stern plays local man's love song; rock duo covers also.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007
By Dustin Schoof
The Express-Times

Lonny Heckman spent his final days knowing he had finally made his
mark on the music world.

And it took radio shock jock Howard Stern to help make it happen.

A 38-year-old songwriter, resident of Northampton and longtime Stern
fan, Heckman died Tuesday from kidney failure complications.

Heckman's song, "When I See Beth Smiling," became a staple of Stern's
radio show after the radio personality began airing it in September.

Heckman had spent the past several years battling diabetes. But it was
music, and Stern, that kept him going.

"(Lonny) started listening to Howard when he was 15," his mother,
Linda Suranofsky, said Tuesday morning.

He had written the song around Valentine's Day for Stern to sing to
his fiancee, model Beth Ostrosky. Ultimately, Heckman hoped the song
would be performed during the couple's wedding next summer.

In preparation for an interview with The Express-Times about the song,
Heckman sent an e-mail to the paper the night before his death.

"I wrote (the song) from what I hoped would be Howard's perspective. I
wanted him to feel like if he could sing, this is the kind of song he
would want to sing for Beth," Heckman wrote.

Stern and his co-hosts initially poked fun at the recording for being
sappy, Heckman acknowledged.

"He had fun though with the idea of trying to sing it himself. The
song then disappeared, and I figured my 15 minutes of fame were over,"
Heckman wrote.

The song resurfaced a month later when co-host Fred Norris played it
on the air as part of Stern's apology to his fiancee after the two had
gotten into an argument.

Appearing on the show a week afterward, guitar duo Tommy Shaw and
Jack Blades performed, to Heckman's surprise, their own version of the
song. The pair even began to incorporate it into their live tour
shows.

"Lonny told me one night he went to sleep with Howard's show on. When
he woke up he heard Tommy Shaw singing his song. He was so excited he
said he almost hit his head on the ceiling," Suranofsky remembered.

On Nov. 6, Heckman received his call of a lifetime. On the other end
of the line was none other than Stern, who told Heckman the song
reminded him of Styx and asked if he had written any other songs
before.

"It was a dream come true for me," Heckman wrote in his e-mail. "I had
been listening to Howard for 21 years. To actually speak to him was
exciting. He told me that Beth loves the song and definitely wants it
in the wedding. It seems that it's grown on him, too. And (co-host)
Robin (Quivers)."

Heckman, who was also a fan of Shaw's former band Styx, was supposed
to see the Shaw-Blades on Thursday night concert at Crocodile Rock
Cafe in Allentown.

Suranofsky says her son was filled with hope his heroes would play his
signature tune.

"He was so excited about it. He was really looking forward to the
Shaw-Blades concert. He was hoping maybe he could let them know that
he wrote the song. At the last concert, someone (in the audience)
requested it, and they played it."

"He was so excited, because he was finally getting recognition for his
songwriting. He didn't want any money; he just wanted people to hear
his songs," Suranofsky said.

Attempts Tuesday to reach someone from the "Howard Stern Show" for
comment were unsuccessful.

Staff writer Dustin Schoof can be reached at
dschoof@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bummer....

Good night, sappy songwriter....

Jeremy>

.

Relevant Pages

  • Express-Times, PA: Howard Stern honors Lonny Heckman
    ... Howard Stern honors Lonny ... Lonny Heckman would have had plenty of reason to smile Wednesday. ... A lifelong Stern fan and resident of Northampton, Heckman died Tuesday ... Heckman penned the song "When I See Beth Smiling" around Valentine's ...
    (alt.fan.howard-stern)
  • Re: Got on Howard Stern once again!
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    (alt.guitar.bass)
  • Re: BethO song, "When I See Beth Smiling", mentioned in phillyBurbs news website
    ... Howard Stern plays local man's love song; ... Lonny Heckman spent his final days knowing he had finally made his ... And it took radio shock jock Howard Stern to help make it happen. ...
    (alt.fan.howard-stern)
  • Re: Small woohoo for Boomy
    ... The first was a Beverly Hillbillies parody that I recorded ... I started sending parody tunes to the Stern show this year because ... I've been thinking about wanting to get into radio, ... They'd then find a song they could re-work. ...
    (alt.guitar.bass)
  • Re: Got on Howard Stern once again!
    ... Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, ... loved and Howard added it to his regular rotation of parody songs! ... That's a tough room, that Stern show. ... The header to check for is "Boom song that killed on Stern ...
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