| May, 2011 Well folks..... after four years of writing and recording with my partner in crime, John Mclane, I'm delighted to say that this week I'm releasing two new CD's: "Right As Rain" and "Rhymes And Misdemeanors"- each with twenty one new songs! I feel the songs are among my best ever. John's engineering and playing of countless instruments was , as always, inspirational. Lee Brovitz' invaluable oversight on songs and mixes was truly appreciated and really contributed to both the final product and my peace of mind. Marilyn's patience and understanding of the "whirlwind of craziness" I function in creatively, certainly was the key ingredient in seeing these projects to fruition. I've got a great team together down in sunny FT. Myers, FL, where I feel the recordings we're making truly represent the way I hear the songs in my head when I write them. It's so amazing, after all these years, to feel even more excited than ever before about releasing new material. As my old song says: "Lucky me!" I'm also truly proud of the beautiful photos and CD designs done by my dear old friend Steve Satterwhile in Dallas Texas. Aside from being a gifted recording engineer, producer and label head, Steve is one of the greatest dreamer/ photographer/ designers I've ever met. He always manages to pull off whatever crazy Idea I bring him for the CD covers. I, of course, always manage to get one thing wrong in the writing credits no matter how many times I proof read them! I fear that one day Steve will pass away from neuroses..... MINE! So.... big thanks to all concerned who made these recordings possible and maximum love to all of you, who buy them and make it possible for me to continue on this wonderful journey! I truly hope the CD's bring you the same joy in listening that we all had in making them. I'm trying my hardest to get out there and perform more often than in the recent past. Tim Murphy of Gen-X Entertainment is booking my music shows, either solo, duo or with band, as well as my one man theatrical show: "One Hit Wanderer". When I performed the latter in Clearwater FL this past February the show seemed more relevant than ever so hopefully Tim will be successful in helping me get out there and do it! Tim can be reached for bookings at genxinc@aol.com. On another happy note, my dear friend Jonathan Edwards (Sunshine) has done inspired versions of my song "Everybody Works In China" as well as "Tomorrow's Gonna Come", a song I co wrote with Tommy Rocco and John Brannen. John's new CD is called "My Love Will Keep" and is available on Appleseed Records and on his website. Aside from performing, twice this week, as is often the case after finishing long projects, I'm feeling very inspired to write new songs. I have more than enough material for another double CD!!!! I know, I know... everyone says not to release so much music. They say people don't have the time or the interest. Some pundits and self appointed wise men say that you should only release one great track- and people barely have time for that! My experience tells me that for the folks who like what I do, 42 new songs is not enough and for the folks who don't.... one is too many! I tried to sequence the CD's for your maximum driving pleasure. I'm selling the CD's as cheaply as possible in the hope that people will buy 'em, love 'em, tell friends and give them as gifts. Word of mouth is everything today, as radio offers "Seasoned" artists almost no help in promoting new music, so any help in spreading the news about these CD's is tremendously appreciated. On a final note, My dear friend Tony Silliman has made some great videos of some of my past performances available on You Tube. Check out "Shannon unplugged" and "Foreverland" from his wedding to Charlotte a while back!! There are many videos put up by myself as well as fans so listen, watch & enjoy in the best of health, Henry AN IMPORTANT QUESTION FOR ANYONE VISITING THIS SITE!!! What kind of Jackass does
not update his website for three years while tirelessly writing and
recording what friends and loyal fans think is the best work of his
career? What kind of fool would see this as a clever marketing strategy
guaranteed to increase interest in his work and lead to increased sales
enabling him to finance more recording? OOOOPS! It's Me!!!!!
I apologize to all of you who continue to visit my site and faithfully
support my endeavors, old and new, despite my sloth like behavior. I
give you my word of honor no such laxness is being applied to my writing
and recording. I have literally been working around the clock in an
attempt to better my best work by finding a clear voice of my own by
combining my admittedly warped sense of humor with the often painful
realities of growing older. In my defense I must say I find it nearly
impossible to write without offering political opinion but have decided
for the benefit of my friends and myself to let my music and lyrics
speak for me. I feel what's missing in the world is not another blowhard
political pundit but rather an army of songwriters reaching the
mainstream with humor and pathos without regard to age. I, for better or
worse, am trying my best to bring something of value to those who've
stuck with me despite what may appear to be disregard for my audience. November, 2007 Greetings from Grossland! As thanksgiving approaches Marilyn and I have much to be thankful for. ‘07 has been a great year creatively for both of us. I completed my “Foreverland” CD with the help of the amazing John Mclane, who did such a great job on “One Hit Wanderer”. We recorded 13 new tunes and re- mixed two from “I’m Hearing Things” that I felt had room for improvement. I feel the lyric on “Tomorrow’s Gonna Come” is finally done and the mix on “Since I’ve Been Loving You” is now crisper and more exciting. I’ve also written a bunch of new songs I look forward to recording with John as soon as possible. Interest in “One Hit Wanderer” continues to grow and I look forward to performing it many times in ’08. The response to the CD of “One Hit Wanderer” has been overwhelmingly positive and I’d like to thank all of you that have continued to support my musical journey. As the music business changes and becomes more “Niche” oriented the relationship between Artist and fans is more important than ever. I thank you for you kind, thoughtful and encouraging letters and hope you’ll be as pleased by “Foreverland” as you were from my earlier work. I can’t tell you how much it means to me when people order my CD’s having heard about it by “Word of Mouth”. That’s the way of the future so hopefully that “Word” will grow and I’ll be able to bring you new CD’s for years to come. Marilyn has expanded her creativity by making some beautiful and original jewelry designs as well as tending to her ever growing Real Estate business in Nashville and Naples, FL. All animals, two dogs and six cats are in fine shape and continue to rule our roost. Occasionally they even let us sleep for more than three hours in a row! On the sad side, 2007 saw the passing of two of my oldest and dearest friends. Sandy Weissberg, the singer/drummer who played in many of my early bands helping me shape my musical direction died of heart failure. He was a physician in southern California, a brilliant man and a forever friend. He will be remembered by all who knew him for his honesty, dedication and unmatched sense of humor. Steven Massarsky, my lawyer, friend and consigliere for thirty eight years, died of complications from Cancer. He was one of the most brilliant men ever to have graced life’s stage. As a music business attorney his client list is too long to mention. As a manager he helped guide the careers of, “The Allman Brothers Band”, Dickie Betts, “The Wailers” and Cindy Lauper, who he discovered and brought to stardom. As an entrepreneur he co-founded Voyager Communications (Valiant Comics) which grew into the third largest publisher of comic books in the U.S. The creativity and decency of both these men was astonishing. Their lights will forever shine in the hearts of all who knew them and through their inspired service to the public good those lights will continue to shine for all time. Marilyn and I wish all of you and yours the healthiest and happiest of holiday seasons. Tell the ones you love you love them and treasure every moment.
January, 2007 Happy new year everybody! It's been the most exciting year creatively in some time. In January 06 I began working on a documentary film about the making of my one man show, "One Hit Wanderer" with two amazing filmmakers: Ed Greenberg and Mick Perry of M360 Studio in Irvington, New York. Ed took over as director of the show and with help from Mick we've worked it to a place where we're all extremely proud of it. Mick has done a marvelous job on the media while Ed took on the unenviable job of teaching me to act. The results at our first show, however, were truly encouraging. A splendid time was had by one and all when on December 15th we played the Town Hall Theatre in Irvington, NY. Since the show several powerful industry professionals have expressed an interest in helping to produce it. Hope springs eternal as I look forward to performing "One Hit Wanderer", my five year labor of love, in theaters around the world and with Ed and Mick, turning our countless hours of filming into a documentary or TV series about the making of a play and the re- invention of a career. On the recording front, working with the brilliant engineer / multi instrumentalist, John Mclane at his studio in Fort Myers, FL, I recorded 37 new tracks in 06. The first CD from these sessions titled "One Hit Wanderer" is a collection of all the songs that appear in whole or in part in the show. The CD is complete and available at our website now. The remaining 20 tracks will be on a CD called "Foreverland" that will be available in the first quarter of 07. John Mclane's heartfelt contributions to these recordings cannot be understated as he somehow survived my meticulous, neurotic, creative impulses to shine on Bass, Drums, Keyboards, even adding guitar and vocals occasionally on songs that touch nearly every musical genre of the past 50 years! Our collaboration has been refreshing and inspirational. I look forward to continuing our musical journey in 07! If John can stand it! On the home front, Marilyn continues her real estate activities in Nashville TN and Naples FL. She's been super busy as she's been helping with the details of putting on my shows as well. Our DOGHTERS, Tracy and Nanabelle and our six PUSHY CATS: Skeezix, Willie Hobbs IV, Zazzy, Jean Robie, Mr. Bones and Semba continue there lush life of snoozing, barking, meowing and disturbing our sleep patterns. Lucky us! We wish all of our friend’s health, happiness and prosperity in 07. See you down the dusty trail, Henry & Marilyn July, 2006 These days I am spending a great deal of time working on a documentary film about the making of One Hit Wanderer with two brilliant young filmmakers, Ed Greenberg and Mick Perry, at their studio, M360, in Irvington, NY. Ed, (a trained actor, juggler, mime and all around Vaudvillian, who has taken over the directing of the show) and I have begun working on another musical comedy they hope will see the lights of Broadway in the near future! In addition, over the past year I have been recording in Ft. Myers Fl, with multi talented engineer/ instrumentalist John Mclane, producing enough material for two new CDs. So, come one, come all and delight in One Hit Wanderer, a celebration of life and re-invention that will charm audiences of all ages. I promise to put every ounce of energy he has into making it an evening you'll remember. I'm working myway back to the top keeping in mind my moms words of wisdom: "The Impossible takes a little bit longer!" Henry April, 2005 To paraphrase a line from the movie "The Producers", I find myself incredibly guilty! I haven't updated my website for way too long. If you're a frequent visitor thanks for hanging in. Just about two years ago I was wondering what to do as gigs were few & far between. Though my last cd, "I'm Hearing Things", was well received by folks that bought it I was unable to expand my audience significantly beyond those who regularly visit this site. (Thanks a million, by the way, to all of you who do. You're encouraging letters keep me writing every day!) Being hopelessly addicted to the power of Rock & Roll I never stopped believing that somehow I'd find a way to get my message out there...when it hit me. Since my passion for music is equaled only by my love and admiration for comedy and fancying myself a reasonably funny guy, I thought why not put the two together? Clever bastard that I am I thought, Why not write an Off Broadway show about my experiences in music from my humble beginnings playing Mafia clubs in Brooklyn, starting Sha Na Na, performing at Woodstock, my relationships funny and sad with relatives, record companies, managers and Rock Stars! Nothing would be out of bounds and it would be a great outlet for many of my new songs as well. I decided to call it "One Hit Wanderer". Being notoriously lazy I thought, why write it if you have no outlet to get it produced? So I called Ed Strong at Dodger Theatricals in New York. Since I performed in a touring company of their first Broadway success, "Pump Boys and Dinettes", in the early Eighties he and partner Michael David had become among the most successful producers on Broadway. When I called Ed we had a great conversation and he said he'd love for me to come up & show them what I had. At that point it hit me.. I'd better get to work. This was two years ago in May. In the following months I received a great deal of help, criticism & advice from creative friends like Danny Wheetman (playwright extraordinaire), Nick Forster (E Town), Garry Tallent (E Street Band Bassist), Anthony Battaglia (Shine Down's producer), the late Jimmy Griffin (Bread) , England's legendary Joe Brown, Shawn Londin (Son of the late drummer Larry Londin), as well as the never ending support of my wife, Marilyn. November rolled around and the day finally came. I went to the Dodger offices on West 41st street to do the show for the forty or so people they had invited. I brought along my buddy, Felix Cavaliere, of "Rascals" fame, for moral support. Felix has always been generous and vocal in his support of my music and questionable humor and he laughs really loud! The audition went really well and with the enthusiastic support of "The Dodgers" I began rewriting and tightening the show, performing it anywhere & everywhere I could. Last spring the Dodgers introduced me to a remarkable young director named Jonathan Bernstein. He had an impressive track record and an immediately likeable personality. After a short period of initial fears and withdrawal symptoms that all artists go through before letting someone else share in shaping their creation, I realized the Dodgers had made a brilliant choice. Jonathan was a master of the nuts and bolts of playwriting. Something, it became painfully obvious, I knew little about. Under his direction I rewrote, or should I say wrote, what we felt was a great script. Not a word or lyric escaped him! Every line of dialog was carefully crafted and every song advanced the story line. What had been a pleasing nightclub act became a really amusing odyssey through the glory years of Rock & Roll as seen through the eyes of a "One Hit Wanderer." It felt cohesive, finely tuned and on target. In short, we felt we had a shot! Once the script was in reasonably good shape I began trying to memorize it. WOW! I can barely remember my song lyrics these days but after a week or two I began to see the show as a ninety minute story! I was starting to get it. I was working really hard honing every syllable and driving Jonathan nuts! What a guy! He tirelessly indulged my questions, somehow surviving my recounting every joke and anecdote I ever heard or thought of, trying to see if they'd fit in the show! Were he to send a bill for psychiatric services I'd never live long enough to pay it off! Last October I got a call from a friend asking me If I had that days New York Times. Unfortunately I did! It seems the mighty "Dodger Theatricals", The New York Yankees of theatrical producers had parted company with their financial backer. OY! Suddenly I felt like If I were an undertaker nobody would die! A month later I finally reached Ed Strong on the phone. He said it wouldn't affect my show. Relieved I went back to work and prepared to audition the new and improved script for them. In November I went to New York to do the audition. I went up a few days early to practice with Jonathan. I learned that when you finally memorize something it's not a simple task to start changing it around a day or two before a performance. Though all the changes were valid It was dizzying! If that wasn't confusing enough on Saturday afternoon while rehearsing for Monday's audition I begin having pain in an upper back tooth! I left the rehearsal and as I began to drive to Chappaqua, where I was staying the pain became unbearable. Through a friend I was able to reach a dentist by phone at 5:00 PM on a Saturday in Manhattan. He wrote a prescription and told me I probably needed a root canal. I had just been to a new Dentist in Nashville. My old one moved to St Pete and sold his practice. The young dentist who saw me told me when I'd complained of sensitivity in that tooth that I was probably grinding, nothing to worry about! Nothing for him to worry about! On Sunday I drove to Philadelphia where my brother in law, a dentist as fate would have it, confirmed my need for a root canal. Sunday night I drove back to Chappaqua and Monday drove back to the city for the audition. I thought it went well, despite the fact that the pain pills I was taking made me a little groggy. Every time I auditioned for the Dodgers it would take place in this large windowless room in their offices. I'd get there about noon and set up & then rehearse for awhile. About 3:30 everyone would arrive and I'd begin. As fate would have it, around four o'clock the heat went on in the building. That dry New York city heat that sucks every molecule of moisture out of the room. Singing in a high register becomes nearly impossible. I gave it my best shot & got through it pretty well I thought, given the circumstances. At the end of the performance Jonathan & I agreed it needed a few more changes but we both really believed in the show and felt strongly that it deserved its moment in the sun. About a month later Ed Strong called to tell me that they were under the gun financially & couldn't continue with the project. It was heartbreaking to say the least. It had been a year and a half of non stop work on a show that now found itself homeless. I needed a break! We left Nashville before Xmas, all eight animals in tow and went To Naples, Florida where we have a second home. I've been here all winter writing songs & trying to find a way to get the show going again. Fortunately Marilyn's Real Estate business has been strong and she's been shuttling between Nashville & Naples selling property. I'll be heading back to Nashville in a week or so and will continue my search for artistic fulfillment! Might do a garage band project with Garry Tallent & maybe an acoustic cd to be made available for download at my website. So to all of you I say thanks for staying tuned, Thanks for all your wonderful & encouraging e mails & hopefully when you hear my new songs you won't be disappointed! I've been working really hard. So Rock on & stay in touch. As the Travelin Wilburys said "We're going to the end of the line." Henry January, 2004 Happy New Year everyone! I hope you've had a great holiday and are looking forward to a wonderful year. So what's new at Grossland. Well…. Marilyn & I now have six cats and two dogs. We travel From Nashville to Naples, FL in our Toyota Arc with all animals present & accounted for. It's a riot! I'm playing all winter at The Naples Beach Hotel. It's a beautiful resort and I'm working on a one man show chronicling the highlights and funniest moments of my life in the entertainment business. The show is called "Oh! Henry" and I tell the story of my generation through my own exploits from second grade to the present. I've written what I consider the best collection of songs I've ever done mixed with some of my most popular oldies. The show is a lot of laughs and so far the reaction from audiences has been extremely encouraging. I am currently in dialogue with a very successful theatre production company in New York City and hopefully I will have the opportunity to perform the show off Broadway next fall. Hope springs eternal so I'll keep you posted. On the songwriting front leave it to me to be writing the best material of my life when the entire top 50 is hip hop, hard rock and teeny bop!!! There are several young bands out there I really love but overall the manufactured state of music is very uninteresting to me. What is good news is that many young bands are finding ways of promoting their music and bypassing the major labels that I believe are Pre- Pre historic in their approach! I want to thank everyone who has bought CD's from our website as you are making it possible to continue producing new music. After years of trying we finally have "Plug Me Into Something' & the "Yellow Album" on one CD and your response has been overwhelming. I must say special thanks to those of you who have ordered "I'm Hearing Things" with our special low price offer. While I'm glad to finally be able to get a great sounding CD of the old albums to my fans it's the new songs that keep me creatively motivated. I hope to make a live CD and DVD of "Oh Henry" in the coming year and a CD of other new material as well. I have songs that I honestly believe will matter to my fans but need an outlet like the show to revive public awareness of my music so we can market it. Hopefully all this hard work will pay off in the next year. As I wrote in the early nineties "Nothing But Dreams keep me hanging on"!!!! Love to all, Stay in touch & thanks for all your support. Henry Summer/2003 Last fall I did about 25 shows In England with one of my dearest friends, Joe Brown. He is a legendary performer over there and has been delighting audiences for over 40 years! Joe is arguably the funniest man in England. We went toe to toe with the bad jokes as we always do! The ear plug concession cleaned up! We had a great tour and one of the highlights was playing at The Cavern in Liverpool! Life at home is wonderful. We now have six cats and two dogs. Our newest, Mr. Bones is a winner.
And we have a gorgeous Bengal cat named Semba. (Swahili for Lion). The
breed is only 25 years old she is 75% Egyptian Mao and 25% Asian
Leopard. Very sweet but quite the talkative one! Marilyn continues to
do well in the residential real estate business here in Nashville.
Last year we bought a vacation home in Naples, Fla. We've been going
there for many years and now we can finally go there with all eight
animals! It's really fun! Marilyn is now a realtor in Naples as well
in the event any of you guys are moving to paradise! I went there for
the first time in about '92 or '93 to do a show with Steve Forbert and
fell in love with the place. In fact, I'll be playing there New Year's Eve. We finally took the plunge and we'll see
how it goes. That's all the news so stay in touch, stay healthy and be
happy. Thanks a million for ordering "I'm Hearing Things" and the CD of both my A&M lp's "Henry Gross" (The Yellow Album) and "Plug Me Into Something". It was a long, difficult struggle to make the latter a reality but based on your early response it was worth it! Marilyn & I continue doing our best to keep Zelda Records active as "the" place where all of my recordings are available. Your letters telling of how much pleasure you've had from these CD's have made all the time invested worthwhile to say the least! So again thanks and we hope to make another CD of all new material in the near future. I turned 51 April 1st! Whod'a thunk it? Life's great. I write new songs constantly and have done a few really special shows in the past year and a half. On my 50th birthday I performed in Paris, France at "The Hotel Du Nord", maybe the most beautiful club I'd ever been in, except for the cigarette smoke, Ah France! Last summer I got to fulfill a lifelong dream when I played with my old pals The Doobie Bros. At The Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Old Opry here in Nashville TN. This past May I played with The Doobies again at The Ruth Eckerd Theatre in Clearwater Florida. They were both wonderful shows. I played a lot of new, unrecorded songs as well as old favorites to an amazing response! The Doobies sound better than ever and are, as they always were, really great guys! I was particularly honored when my dear friend and Nashville neighbor, Garry Tallent, asked me to play at a benefit, "Alliance of Neighbors" for the families of 9/11 victims at The Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank New Jersey. It was really great to be able to help those families in any way possible. The show was really terrific. Everyone sang their hearts out! I did "If You Don't Believe In Me" from "I'm Hearing Things", Blue Moon, from my "Sha Na Na" days and, of course, "Shannon".
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