Author: nostalgicitalian

I'm just a guy who likes the classics. I love Old Time Radio Shows. I love Classic TV. I love Classic Movies. I love songs from the "Great American Songbook". I dig songs from the first decade of Rock and Roll. Don't get me wrong, I am not opposed to newer things. My musical taste ranges from Classical to Classic Rock and Country to Rap. I love a good book and am always looking for something to read. I tend to lean toward historical fiction, biographies, mysteries, and more. I have always believed that our past (and the things we've experienced in it) make us who we are today. That being said, after reading through some old My Space blogs (yeah, that's about how long it's been since I blogged regularly), I decided that I should once again write. Welcome to my blog. I hope you find it interesting, thought provoking, and entertaining in some way. CONTACT ME AT - nostalgicitalian@yahoo.com

The Music of My Life – 1986

Welcome back to The Music of My Life, where I feature ten songs from each year of my life. In most cases, the ten songs I choose will be ones I like personally (unless I explain otherwise). The songs will be selected from Billboard’s Year-end Hot 100 Chart, Acclaimed Music, and will all be released in the featured year.

I turned sweet sixteen in 1986. MTV was 5 years old and music videos were becoming more and more iconic. To make that point, we kick off my list with a video that is often listed as one of the best of the 1980’s.

Robert Palmer released Addicted to Love in January of 1986. It was accompanied by a video where he is singing in front of a “band” of beautiful women who look exactly alike. They wear lots of makeup and identical outfits as they pretend to play the instruments.

According to songfacts: the funny thing about the video is that the models posing as a band were selected precisely because they did NOT know how to play the instruments. As a result, each girl is keeping her own time and moving to a different beat. The video is constantly parodied, including in a Pepsi commercial with Britney Spears.

You might say the song came to Palmer in a dream. It all started with a guitar riff that came to him in a dream one night. He told Q magazine in 1988, “That noisy riff woke me up. I went downstairs, got out the tape recorder, then went back to bed. Next morning, I thought, Phew, caught one there!”

From the “What Might Have Been” file: Palmer wanted this song to be a duet with Chaka Khan, and he almost got his wish. He recorded it with her, but Chaka’s label, Warner Brothers Records, would not allow her voice to be used on the record, so Palmer had to erase her part and re-record her high notes before releasing it.

If you’re going to be addicted to something, love is a good thing, wouldn’t you say?

Addicted to Love

Next, we have a song whose video was like nothing that had been done before. Depending on the source, some say it was the 4th most played video on MTV. The video is so fun to watch, you may actually forget that the song is full of sexual innuendos.

Sledgehammer was a BIG number one song for Peter Gabriel. It was his first solo number one. It actually bumped his old band, Genesis, out of the number one spot.

The song was influenced by the ’60s soul music Gabriel listened to as a teenager, in particular Otis Redding, who Peter saw perform at the Ram Jam club in London in 1967. The horn section was typical of this sound. As a matter of fact, the horn section that he used was the legendary Memphis Horns, who played on several hits from Stax Records.

The wildly innovative video was directed by Stephen R. Johnson and featured stop-motion claymation techniques. It swept the MTV video music awards in 1987, and is considered a major breakthrough. It was a bit hard for Gabriel, though. He once remembered how he spent 16 hours lying beneath a heavy sheet of glass for the video, while each frame was shot, one after the other.

I’ve always felt that this song had at least some influence in the blues. It just sounds like a great blues song to me.

Sledgehammer

Songfacts says that this song has a lot of haters and has appeared on various “worst of” lists over the years. An example: it was listed #1 on VH1’s 40 Most Awesomely Bad Metal Songs. As a Michigan guy, I can tell you that they used this song as the Detroit Pistons theme song for years. Heck, they use this song at all kinds of sporting events.

Europe’s The Final Countdown is like an anthem. The iconic keyboard riff was composed by lead singer Joey Tempest five years before the song was recorded. The band’s keyboard player Mic Michaeli had lent him the instrument.

Despite writing the song, Tempest still cannot believe the success. He said, “It was quite a surprise that the song ‘The Final Countdown’ became such a big hit because it was written for the band, it was written for our concert, it was written to be the opening song in our concert. It was almost six-minutes long, it was never intended to be a short pop hit or anything, it was very much a surprise and its been used for all kinds of events, anything from Formula 1 to boxing. It’s been used a lot.”

I liked this song before Arrested Development aired on Fox, but came to love it even more because of the way they used it on the show. Will Arnett is a magician on the show and they often used the song as background music as he performed his “illusions.” The song only made a very funny scene, even funnier for me.

The Final Countdown

The next pick is not quite a duet, but it brought back a legendary voice and put her back in the spotlight. It almost didn’t happen, but Eddie Money stepped in and made it happen.

My favorite track on Eddie Money’s Can’t Hold Back album is Take Me Home Tonight. The song is based on The Ronettes’ 1963 hit “Be My Baby,” and features their lead singer, Ronnie Spector, on the chorus performing her famous line, “Be my little baby.”

At first, the song was going to be a duet with Martha Davis, lead singer of The Motels. Eddie, however, wanted “the real thing” (Ronnie) on the song, so he called her to ask, telling her, “This is a tribute to you. The song is all about you.” According to Spector, she got on board as soon as she heard the lyric, “Listen honey, just like Ronnie sang… be my little baby.”

“When they said that, I was sold,” she told Entertainment Weekly. Spector says Money was very excited when she showed up to record it. “He was a crazy person – freaking out in the studio, going, ‘I’ve got the real Ronnie Spector singing ‘Be My Baby’ on my record!,'” she said.

This cracks me up because I can see Eddie going crazy. He was a bundle of energy. Every time I interviewed him on the radio, it was hard to get a word in because he would just chat away with that “Eddie Money” energy!

Take Me Home Tonight

It must have been the summer of 1987 when our band took a trip to Cedar Point. I am not a ride person, so I hung out with guys who also didn’t ride them. As we walked the streets of the Point, we saw a “You Be The Star” booth. I suppose you would call it an early form of Karaoke.

There was a book that listed a bunch of songs that they had a music track from. They ushered you into this little recording booth with a microphone and headphones. I don’t remember if you got to rehearse the song first, but I thought that was the case. At the end of the session, they played your song on the speakers for all to hear and you got a cassette of the tune to take home. It cost a pretty penny to do and the music tracks were very cheap sounding.

I had some money and made a tape of Mack the Knife for my grandma (which was awful). I sounded so bad on it. Then, me and my three friends chose Hip To Be Square. I had heard the song before, but didn’t know it well enough to sing the lead. My buddy, Steve knew it and sang it like he had a record deal! Chris and I were satisfied enough to be the “Here, there and everywhere” guys.

The music video was directed by the team of Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, who made some of the most innovative videos of the ’80s. They got a distinctive look by using a medical camera – the kind doctors use to see inside the human body. They had the band perform the song a few times a few feet away from the camera, and did the heavy lifting in post production – the band loved it because it was so easy for them. The resulting video contained angles previously unseen on MTV, including one from the point of view of the drumsticks. It was nominated for Best Experimental Video at the 1987 Video Music Awards.

Hip To Be Square

The next pick is one that didn’t mean much to me in 1986, but two years later it sure did. I remember early in my senior year receiving a ballot in which I was to vote on our class song. Honestly, I don’t remember what songs we were picking from, but I do recall some of them being not very “class song-like.”

Our class chose Time to Remember by Billy Joel. It was the third single from his The Bridge album. The chorus is about looking back on the good times with appreciation and gratitude, making it a perfect song for proms, graduations, and just about any occasion where memories are shared:

This is the time to remember
‘Cause it will not last forever
These are the days to hold on to
‘Cause we won’t, although we’ll want to

Our teachers told us that the high school years would fly by. We never really felt that, especially during some boring lecture. Of course, the senior years goes by the quickest. Those lyrics should have been posted somewhere for every one to see, because by the time I heard them, and the meaning sunk in, it was graduation day.

I’m reminded of a quote from Ed Helms’ character Andy on the final episode of NBC’s The Office:

“I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.”

I don’t have to tell you, especially if you are a regular reader, that those days are definitely a time I remember, and remember them fondly!

Time To Remember

The group Cameo was formed in 1974, however, it wasn’t until 12 years later that they had their first Top 40 Hit. Word Up was the title track from their 13th album! The song was written by band members Larry Blackmon and Tomi Jenkins.

“Word Up” is a saying that was popular in New York and other urban areas in the US that acted as an affirmation of what was said, kind of a hipper “you bet.” Blackmon said this about the song:

“It just sounded good, and it was before its time. You can play “Word Up” anyplace anywhere, and someone is going to be grooving and bobbing their head. Our sound was unique, as well. I haven’t heard another one like it, and we probably won’t hear another one like it in the future. It was that significant for us.“

This was one of those songs that everyone at school seemed to be singing as they walked down the hall to class. We all seemed to know the words.

It got a lot of radio airplay and MTV played the video a lot. I’ve seen the video many times before, but I had forgotten about a neat cameo. (LOL – a cameo in a Cameo video!) Watch for Star Trek: The Next Generation’s LeVar Burton as a policeman.

Word Up

I am almost 100% against remaking movies. I feel the same way about television shows. Music on the other hand is a bit different. When an artist covers a song, they bring to it their own interpretation of the song. Think of all the different versions of an old standard like “Georgia on My Mind.” Off the top of my head I can throw out 5-8 versions that I absolutely love.

I remember the first time I heard the Art of Noise doing Peter Gunn. I was in the car and I thought, “What in the world is this?” The more I listened the more intrigued I was. I was impressed with how close the guitar sounded like Duane Eddy. Of course, I was even more surprised to hear that it WAS Eddy!

It didn’t do much on the charts, but the sound was so different and unique that I had to go pick up the tune. The video was a private eye parody with comedian Rik Mayall as the detective. The song was a Grammy winner, as it took home the award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

Peter Gunn

I mentioned that Sledgehammer had a bit of a blues sound to it earlier, and so does this one. Take a little blues and mix in some rock and you get some good stuff from The Fabulous Thunderbirds.

The title track from their Tuff Enuff album was a top 10 record for the group in 1986. They are often considered to be a one hit wonder band, but their song Wrap It Up was a minor hit. Kim Wilson wrote it and sings lead on the song.

The song is about a guy who will do pretty much anything for his gal, including wrestling with a lion or a grizzly bear, swimming the sea, put out a fire, and fight Ali. He’d even walk ten miles on his hands and knees, which really isn’t walking I suppose, but walk sounds better than crawl.

There is so much I love about this song, the syncopated guitar lick, the lyrics and the attitude. It made for a perfect sing along driving song.

Tuff Enuff

My last pick is another cover song, and this one I think tops the original and most of the other versions. That is saying a lot, because I am not the biggest Beach Boys fan.

California Dreamin’ was a hit for the Mamas and the Papas. It was written by John and Michelle Phillips. Barry McGuire (who had a hit with Eve of Destruction in 1965) actually recorded it first with the Mamas and Papas singing backup. They, of course, recorded their own version of the song soon after.

The Beach Boys recorded it for their Greatest Hits album, Made in U.S.A. The song was produced by the great Terry Melcher and had Roger McGuinn of the Byrds playing the 12-string guitar on it. Naturally, there was a video which featured McGuinn along with every living member of The Beach Boys and the “California Dreamin'” songwriters, John and Michelle Phillips. This primed the group for a big comeback two years later with their #1 hit “Kokomo.”

There are so many things about this song that I just love. That opening 12-string is fantastic. With the opening line, you get it and an echo of it which I thought sounded cool. Even cooler, after the line “and the sky is grey” there is that rumble of thunder that makes you feel the chill of the wind and the anticipation of a storm. Then there is that fantastic harmony! It is perfect for this song. Finally, their version opts for a jamming sax solo and loses the wimpy flute solo used in the Mamas and Papas version. That sax aids in conveying a “haunted sounding ending” as the song begins to fade away.

The song never hit the Top 40 on the Hot 100 chart, but on the Adult Contemporary charts it went to number 8.

California Dreamin‘

Next week, we’ll take a look at 1987. I’ll feature two fantastic duets, we’ll shake, rock, and roll, and hear about 6 beautiful ladies … er, 5.

What was your favorite from 1986? Tell Me about it in the comments. See you next time….

Tune Tuesday – Wash Out

Today is the birthday of one of the “Three Kings of Blues Guitar.” The best known of these three is most likely B.B. King, followed closely by Albert King, and last but not least, the birthday boy, Freddie King. All three Kings – but no relation to each other. Freddie was born today in 1934.

Freddie was not just a great guitarist, he was also a songwriter and singer. His voice has been called “soulful and powerful,” but today I’ll focus on his guitar playing.

He was taught to play by his mother and uncle as child and eventually moved to Chicago. There he formed a band called the Every Hour Blues Boys. He tried many times to get a record deal at Chess Records (the home of Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf), but was rejected every time. They told him that he “sounded too much like B.B. King.”

Persistence paid off for him as he finally landed a record deal with Federal Records in 1960. In August of 1960, he recorded his debut single, “Have You Ever Loved a Woman.” At that same session, he recorded an instrumental that has gone on to become a blues “standard,” “Hide Away.”

Hide Away reached number five on the R&B Chart and number 29 on the Pop Chart, an unprecedented accomplishment for a blues instrumental at a time when the genre was still largely unknown to white audiences.

While at Federal Records, Freddie became good friends with Sonny Thompson, a pianist, producer, and A&R man for Cincinnati’s King Records. Federal Records was a subsidiary of King Records. After the success of Hide Away, Thompson and Freddie recorded over 30 instrumentals (including today’s pick). Yes, they recorded vocal tracks throughout this period but often released the tunes as instrumentals on albums.

On the last day of local broadcasting at Honey Radio, my partner Rob Main and I were given 6 hours of the day to play whatever we wanted. We had decided to do have each hour focus on something different. Hour 1 was songs with Male names. Hour 2 was songs with Female names. Hour 3 had songs with body parts in the title. Hour 4 focused on instrumentals. That hour got a ton of requests for more and we did an extra hour of them.

Rob was a guitar player and he was the guy who introduced me to today’s Freddie King song. He had the “Let’s Hide Away and Dance Away” album his favorite cut was called Wash Out. I remember he told me he thought it had an “early Elvis” feel to it. The repeated guitar lick does remind me a bit of Elvis’ Blue Christmas.

He handed the song to me on a cart (what we played songs off of before CDs) and I played it on air without ever hearing it. We both sat with our headphones on listened. When it was done, we cracked the microphone and he asked me if I liked it. I remember telling him that it sounded like I was just listening to a couple guys sitting in a room jamming together. That’s what it felt like to me, improvising the blues.

Freddie was always out on the road. He toured with guys like Sam Cooke, James Brown, and Jackie Wilson. He was on the road almost 300 days out of the year. All the touring caught up with him. In 1976 he began suffering from stomach issues. Painful ulcers and acute pancreatitis led to failing health and he passed away just after Christmas in 1976 at the young age of 42.

In 2012, ZZ Top inducted him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A year later, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him 15th on their list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

Happy Birthday to Freddie King!

Movie Music Monday – Back To School

While many schools started before Labor Day, the majority of them will start their school year tomorrow. I thought it would be fitting to feature Rodney Dangerfield’s comedy Back to School. This ties in with this week’s Music of My Life post which will feature 1986, the year that the film was released.

The plot centers on a wealthy but uneducated father (Rodney Dangerfield) who goes to college to show solidarity with his discouraged son Jason (Keith Gordon) and learns that he cannot buy an education or happiness. The film also stars Sally Kellerman, Adrienne Barbeau, Sam Kinison, Ned Beatty, and a young Robert Downey Jr.

The Dean of the college that Rodney goes to is played by Ned Beatty. His last name is Martin. When Rodney comes in and calls him Dean Martin the first time, I belly laughed. This was probably a nod to the real Dean Martin who featured Rodney on some of his variety shows.

Those familiar with the movie will perhaps be disappointed that the song I have picked from the soundtrack is not from Oingo Boingo who appear in the film. (Fun Fact: Their frontman, Danny Elfman, wrote the musical score for the film. He went on to write music for the Simpsons, Batman, Tales from the Crypt and more!) Instead, I have picked one that is so obscure, you have to laugh at it!

Michael Bolton really hit it big in 1989 with his Soul Provider album. It featured the hits: When I’m Back on My Feet Again, How Can We Be Lovers, and How Am I Supposed to Live Without You. Many are unaware that this album was actually his SIXTH album. His first was released in 1975 – 14 years earlier. That was when he was known as Michael Bolotin.

In 1985, Bolton released an album that didn’t even chart in the US (or anywhere else, unless you include Sweden, where it reached #45). Everybody’s Crazy was the title track from the album and was a minor hit on hard rock radio stations. Yes, you read that correctly – hard rock radio stations. What makes this even better is that MTV played the video for this song and a young Michael Bolton is rocking his best “hair band” look.

I have NO idea how this song made it into the soundtrack of the film, but it did. What I do know is that the songs from this “rock” album never really made it to any future compilations (except the title track which showed up on his Playlist compilation album). The reason for this was the contrast in musical style between this album and the majority of Bolton’s later (and more successful) musical output. Someone must have felt that those familiar with his Adult Contemporary stuff might not be able to handle his “rocker” side.

I anxiously away your comments on this one, especially my musical blogger friends…

Take it away, Michael…

Historical Amazing Discovery

I do not remember how I first heard the story of Titanic, but it has been one that has fascinated me almost all of my life. The world’s most luxurious (and “unsinkable”) ocean liner strikes an iceberg on her maiden voyage and sinks taking with it the lives of over 1500 people. The story has led me and millions of others with questions.

Why were there not enough lifeboats? How could a ship built to be unsinkable, sink? Why didn’t more ships hear their distress calls? The list of questions goes on and on. For many years, one question went unanswered – Where is the final resting place of Titanic? That question was answered 39 years ago today.

In 1985, aboard the R/V Knoll, a joint French–American expedition led by Jean-Louis Michel of IFREMER and Robert Ballard of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, found the first evidence of the wreck on the ocean floor with this photo:

This mundane-looking photo of what turned out to be one of the ship’s boilers is what the crew first noticed. Excitement over the discovery among the crew and scientists was tempered by the knowledge that they floated above the final resting place of more than 1,500 people who were lost at sea 73 years earlier. (Photo ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

I remember when the news broke that the wreckage had been found. I couldn’t believe it. I remember watching the news, seeing the above photo. I can only imagine what must have been going through the minds of the people on board. One video showed their joy when they found it, and how everything went silent as the reality of what they had found set in. That was powerful to watch.

In the weeks and months ahead, more and more photos were shown on TV and eventually in many magazines. I remember picking up National Geographic, Time, and other magazines that I would not normally read, just to see the photos and read the story.

To this day, one of the most amazing photos for me was the one of the crow’s nest.

By this time I was well aware of the story, having read “A Night to Remember” by Walter Lord and other books about the tragedy. As I looked at this photo, I could see Frederick Fleet there in the crow’s nest and calling the bridge with the warning, “Iceberg! Right ahead!” (Photo ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

The debris field photos showed some interesting things, too. Wine bottles, deck chairs, coal, and dishes were strewn all over the ocean floor. (Photos ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

The photo that really took my breath away and made the tragedy all the more real was this one:

The position of these shoes tell a very tragic story. While they cannot say for certain whether these came from a passenger’s cabin or luggage, at the same time, they cannot say whether these were on the feet of a passenger as they came to rest on the ocean floor. The photo is just chilling and moves me every time I see it.

Since 1985, there have been many expeditions and dives to the ship. Many of them have brought up artifacts that are on display in Titanic exhibits around the world. One of the local museums had some Titanic artifacts on display a few years back and Sam and I went to it. I was awestruck. I hope to get to Tennessee to see the museum there and a trip to Belfast is on my bucket list.

The story of Titanic will forever be of interest to me. In 1985, her discovery has led to answers to many questions while also raising others.

Book Recommendation: The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared

Recently, on one of the Facebook “book” groups I am in, someone posted, “Thank you to whoever recommended The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared! I just finished it and loved it. If you love a good story and a few laughs, check this one out!”

The thing that caught my attention was the title of the book. It literally had me wanting to know just what it was all about. Was he kidnapped? Was he on the run for some crime? What makes an elderly man, climb out a window and run away? My curiosity led me to Goodreads to find out just what this story was all about.

The Goodreads synopsis:

After a long and eventful life, Allan Karlsson ends up in a nursing home, believing it to be his last stop. The only problem is that he’s still in good health.

A big celebration is in the works for his 100th birthday, but Allan really isn’t interested (and he’d like a bit more control over his alcohol consumption), so he decides to escape. He climbs out the window in his slippers and embarks on a hilarious and entirely unexpected journey.

It would be the adventure of a lifetime for anyone else, but Allan has a larger-than-life backstory: he has not only witnessed some of the most important events of the 20th century, but actually played a key role in them. Quirky and utterly unique, The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared has charmed readers across the world.

Another website offered this synopsis, which peaked my interest even more.

The 100-Year-Old Man centers on a man who, on the night of his 100th birthday, escapes from his nursing home and hits the road, with the ensuing inadvertent adventure involving criminals, a bag of cash and an elephant. But his time on the run reveals that the former explosives expert was involved in some of the defining moments of the 20th century and that he crossed paths with figures such as Joseph Stalin, Sir Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle. Before long, past and present are on a collision course.

I listened to the audio version of the book and there were quite a few times that I laughed out loud. One time, in particular, I laughed so much that I had to “rewind” the story because I had missed it while I was laughing.

This book reminded me a bit of the Fredrik Backman books in the way they were written. Jonas Jonasson is a Swedish author, just like Backman. There is a bit of dark humor in the story, and the dialogue really helps to deliver that.

The book starts, naturally, with the old man (Allan) climbing out the window. The adventure then bounces from present to past, filling in some of the many details of his life. Allan has certainly influenced a lot of people and played a role in some historic events. The characters he gets involved with on his present day adventure have their own quirks and when you add them to Allen’s, make for a very fun story.

I will say that if you’re not really into politics/history, there are a few spots where the story may seem slow to you. I love history, so it was neat to hear how they worked Allan into some of those events.

I was made aware that there was a Swedish movie based on the book. I found it on Tubi and watched it. It wasn’t bad, but there was a lot that was edited out to make it fit into a 2 hour film. There were some minor changes to the plot and some characters were deleted (some that were really important in the book), and the movie held its own. The book, however, was better.

On the American movie front, IMDB reports that Will Ferrell is set to star in the US adaptation of the book. There is no word on co-stars and it is apparently still in the works. News of this film version go back to 2017.

The book’s author, Jonas Jonasson is on board with the idea, too. “My character, Allan, knows the art of being funny just by being,” said Jonasson in a statement. “That is something Will Ferrell masters to perfection. Great humor with small measurements. I am happy that Allan is now in his hands.”

The new onscreen adaptation of The 100-Year-Old Man has been described as being akin to the 1994 Tom Hanks classic Forrest Gump, but more darkly comedic. The book has sold over 10 million copies worldwide, and the Oscar-nominated local-language feature adaptation became one of the highest-grossing Swedish movies of all time.

While I’d be interested to see the American take on the movie, I don’t think I’d be wrong in assuming that the book is better. They usually are.

Friday Photo Flashback

I’m not trying to rush into Fall, because Lord knows most of us want to enjoy what is left of Summer! This is that time of year when you start seeing the posts about summer not being over and to stop talking about pumpkin spice lattes!

I was looking for a specific photo this week for another piece and stumbled on some early Ella photos. I probably blogged about this when it happened, but it is worth a repost for those newer followers.

My wife is the Tik-Tok-er and Pinterest-er in our house. She is always saying “I saw this great idea on Pinterest” or sending me Tik-Tok videos on how to do a home project. That being said, She had seen a baby photo shoot on Pinterest and thought we should do it with Ella. We needed apples, small pumpkins, a tub, and milk.

Ella is about 7 to 8 months old in this picture.

We have this huge tree in our yard, which allowed for the “fallen leaves” look on the lawn. We filled the tub with warm water, added a splash of milk for the effect and floated some apples and gourds in the water. This photo is one of my favorites from this session.

I have to be honest with you, I’m having a really rough time this week. I shouldn’t be, as I have been through this twice before with my two oldest boys. My brain just can’t comprehend that Ella is starting pre-school next week. How did this happen so fast?

Wednesday night, she was awake when I got home from work. I’m not sure if she had a bad dream or what, but Sam told me to go check on her. When I walked into her room she was on her tablet. Mommy had told her that I was close to home and that she could wait up for me.

She smiled when I walked in. I crawled into bed next to her and asked if she was ok. She told me she was and asked if she could finish what she was playing on her tablet. I told her she could play for 5 minutes and then it was time for bed.

When I told her that her time was up, she turned off her tablet, snuggled up close to me and asked me to hold her. I kissed her on her forehead and she asked me to sing songs for her. Her new thing is to hold my hand while I sing to her. I sang all of her favorites: The Alphabet Song, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Mr. Golden Sun, Let Me Call You Sweetheart, You Are My Sunshine, and our song, Vieni Su. She was still awake and asked for more, so I pulled out some other ones that I used to sing to my older boys: Cruising Down the River, Watching the World Go By, On An Evening in Roma, Bouna Sera, Blue Shadows on the Trail, and more. I think I had to go back to sing songs from the first list again before she fell asleep.

As I sang those songs, I was painfully reminded that my little girl is becoming a big girl way too fast. I am still blessed that she wants to snuggle with me, sit on my lap, and hold my hand. All too soon, those things slip away. As I laid there next to her, I took in the love that was in her eyes every time she opened them to look at me. When she fell asleep, I continued to hold her and thanked God for bringing four amazing children into my life.

The emotional state I am in may or may not have been kick started by the barrage of “First day of school” photos on social media this week. My old radio boss posted a photo of his daughter who is now in 5th grade and talked about how he couldn’t believe it. I wrote under the picture, “With each passing year, Kenny Chesney’s song Don’t Blink takes on a whole new meaning.”

As I posted that, I realized that I wasn’t just saying that to him, I was reminding myself of just how precious time is. I was also reminding myself of just how fast time can fly.

“Don’t Blink.”

Life’s Little Moments

Good Mood

This week, Andrew woke up in a particularly good mood. He was talkative, silly, and a very joyful boy. My wife, Sam, said to him, “You’re in a really good mood today!” He looked at her and said, “That’s because I didn’t wake up with my mean eyebrows!”

I’m not sure where he gets those from!

The Joy of Reading

Bedtime at our house always seems to be crazy. It got a little crazier this week when I walked into the bedroom with books to read, only to find that Ella was already reading … to our kitten!

She seemed to enjoy it, despite the lack of kittens in the story.

Flip Flopping Around

Speaking of the kitty, Bitsy is making herself right at home. She has no problem standing up to our pup, Daisy. It’s quite humorous to see her swat her itty bitty paw at Daisy’s nose.

Watching her this week has only enforced the phrase, “Playful as a kitten.” She loves to play. We definitely have to get her a few more kitty toys. Until the, I guess she will continue to wrestle with Sam’s Flip Flops.

Special Shopping Trip

This week, Andrew graduated from his speech class. His speech teacher, Miss Christa, has been instrumental in helping us get the right services for him. She has been become more than a teacher to us, she is a friend. We told the kids that they could go to the store to pick out gifts especially for her.

We told each of them that they could pick five things for her. When we walked into the store, they were off. They did a great job. They got her a calendar, new pens, a pumpkin solar light, plastic cups with their favorite things on them (Disney Princesses and Paw Patrol), nail polish, and a couple fall figurines. They also made sure to get her some pretty flowers.

The fall figurines they got her were a fox holding an apple and a squirrel holding an acorn. When she pulled out the squirrel (which was from Andrew) she said, “Oh wow! What a cute squirrel! What should I name it?” Andrew, without hesitation says, “Pickle Nuts!!”

At the end of the day, she sent us photos of where she placed her gifts around the house …

Pickle Nuts looks happy to be there.

Summertime Imagination

Despite the humidity, the kids loved being outside this week. They love to ride their scooters up and down the street and play in the backyard. I usually pull up a lawn chair and grab a spot in the shade and watch them play.

They must have been hot, to, because they were a bit more stationary than usual. They grabbed four of their chairs and put two in front and two in back. Next thing I know, they were “driving” to the store, to the park, and to go get ice cream. Naturally, they had to have their butterfly nets with them…

I love listening to them play together.

Doggin’ Around

Monday was National Dog Day. As much as she drives me crazy, Daisy is a good pup.

Now What?!

As I was walking to my car to go to work today, an Amazon truck slowly passed my driveway. My wife is always ordering things from there, so I never know what is coming. I thought I’d survived another delivery when the truck stopped and started backing into my driveway! All I could think was, “What the heck did she order now!? And why do they have to back in to delivery it!?”

My fears went away as the guy walked out with a simple little package with a shirt or something in it. Whew! I truly was expecting the two back doors to fling open and the driver come out with a huge box on a dolly or something!

You gotta love life’s little moments!

The Music of My Life – 1985

I turned 15 in 1985. It was sophomore year and I had moved up from the Freshman band to the Concert/Marching band. It is the year that consisted of many of my favorite songs that I recently posted about in this week’s Turntable Talk blog. It was also the year that I went on my first date and my first dance. How did the music of 1985 play into my life? Let’s find out…

My first pick is a soulful tribute to two amazing singers who passed away in 1984. It is also the only hit that the Commodores had after Lionel Richie left the group. I am talking, of course, about Nightshift.

The song is a tribute to singers Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson. Marvin was 44 when he passed away, while Jackie was only 49. In 1974 the Righteous Brothers had a hit with Rock and Roll Heaven, where they picture fallen stars like Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin forming a band in heaven. This was supposed to be a soul version where Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson are on heaven’s nightshift, playing some sweet sounds.

I love how the intro starts with that percussion lick and the smooth bass line that works its way to the vocal. It is such a funky, soulful and loving tribute to Marvin and Jackie – two legends!

Nightshift

As a sophomore, I ventured out of my comfort zone a bit and decided it was ok to go to high school dances. Mostly, the guys just hung out at a table and talked. However, after my first official date, I began actually wanting to go to dances with a female date. While I cannot remember for certain, I am pretty sure that one of my first dances ever with a girl was to Crazy For You by Madonna.

Admittedly, I am not a huge fan of hers. My brother, on the other hand, loved her! There are a few songs that I do like by her, and this is one of them. What I remember most about dancing to this song was that she was singing “crazy for you” and I wasn’t sure what kind of message that may or may not have been sending to my date. I was also thinking about making sure I was swaying the same way she was and NOT stepping on her toes. It had to be a very uncomfortable dance for her.

Fun Fact: Madonna reportedly only took one take to record this song.

This was recorded for the soundtrack to the wrestling film Vision Quest, which also featured a guest appearance by Madonna herself, who played a singer at a local restaurant. After the success of this song, the film was renamed Crazy For You in some European countries to capitalize on the song’s popularity.

Crazy For You

How does that saying go? Everything old is new again? I don’t know. What I do know is that Netflix is currently airing the 4th installment of the Beverly Hills Cop Franchise and I hear it is doing well. It was back in 1984 that Eddie Murphy first played Detroit Cop Axel Foley. The character’s name is what led to the title of my next song, Axel F.

Before the title was settled on, it went by a different name. During production of the movie, it known as the “Banana Theme,” as it was slated for a scene where Axel Foley shoves a banana in the tailpipe of police officers intending to pursue him. The composer was German musician Harold Faltermeyer and truly, this song was all him.

According to Wikipedia, he recorded the tune using five instruments: a Roland Jupite-8 provided the distinctive saw lead, a Moog modular synthesizer 15 provided the bass, a Roland JX-3P provided chord stab brasses, a Yamaha DX7 was used for the marimba sound, and a LinnDrum was used for drum programming. Faltermeyer played every single instrument.

He was also the musical director on Beverly Hills Cop and did the score for the film. The soundtrack went to #1 in the US and won a Grammy for Best Album Of Original Score Written For A Motion Picture Or A Television Special. The song topped out at #3.

We played this at a concert one year in band, and though it sounds pretty easy, it was a bit tougher than I anticipated. It may have been in a weird key. It was one of many fun numbers we played.

Axel F

There are some songs that when you hear them, you cannot help but feel happy. My next pick is one of those songs. I have rarely played this at a party or wedding where it didn’t cause people to just get up and dance.

Remember the feeling you got when you first found out that someone truly loved you? There was that feeling of joy that just overflows from you! You can feel that joy and excitement in the vocals by Katrina Leskanich in Walking on Sunshine. It just makes you feel good!

The wife of one of my second cousins threw him a birthday party I DJ’d. The song was on the “must play” list. I remember having a conversation about the song and she said that it was the kid of song that you should play the minute you wake up in the morning. She said that it would just set the mood for the day. She always seemed to be in good mood when I saw her, so maybe she did just that!

Songfacts says, The video got a lot of airplay on MTV. It shows the band hanging around London, with Katrina very colorful and bouncy, and her bandmates more subdued. She had to make her own sunshine, as there was none in London – it was a typically cloudy and cold day.

Katrina’s look was anti-glam, with tennis shoes and the kind of fashions you’d find at the mall. In interviews from this time, she often took shots at singers like Madonna and Pat Benatar for adopting more suggestive looks.

Teen boys didn’t seem to mind….

Take four major country superstars, all who are friends with each other, pitch them an old song and tell them they should record it together and you get one really neat song. That’s the basic story of how Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, and Johnny Cash became The Highwaymen.

Country legend Jimmy Webb wrote the song about a soul with incarnations in four different places in time and history: as a highwayman, a sailor, a construction worker on the Hoover Dam, and finally as a captain of a starship. Webb released his version in 1977, it was covered in 1979 by Glen Campbell, who took the song to Johnny Cash, who was recording with Nelson, Jennings and Kristofferson.

The story goes that the four were all together in Switzerland doing a television special and decided that they should do a project together. While the four were recording their first album, Johnny’s friend Marty Stuart played the song for Cash, saying it would be perfect for them. It had four verses, four souls, and four of them.

The song led to the name of their supergroup, their album, and of course, their first single. Each of the four verses was sung by a different performer: first Nelson as the highwayman, then Kristofferson as the sailor, then Jennings as the dam builder, and finally Cash as the starship captain. Webb later observed, “I don’t know how they decided who would take which verse, but having Johnny last was like having God singing your song.”

No personal story to go with this one, I just like it!

I am embarrassed to say that up until 1985, I had never seen a James Bond movie. I was familiar with the fact that Roger Moore played Bond. My mom would rent Bond films on occasion and also watch them on cable. Moore played a Bond-like version of himself in Cannonball Run in 1981, but I had never really seen him AS Bond.

So when a friend of mine asked if I wanted to go to the show with him we saw A View to a Kill. It was actually neat to see this in the theaters. I had often seen the Bond movie intro being parodied, but to see it kick off the film and to hear the song was all new to me. I was grateful to be able to see it.

Knowing Duran Duran and some of their songs, I was surprised that they did the theme song. The story of how they got it is interesting. Songfacts says: “according to the bassist John Taylor, was that he approached the longtime Bond producer, Albert R. ‘Cubby’ Broccoli, while extremely intoxicated when they were both at a party. He stated that he was a long time fan (Major Bond geek would be more accurate. An Aston Martin was said to be one of his first “rock star” purchases, and he frequently mentioned his Bond video collection in interviews) of the series, but the music for the last few movies had been mediocre. He then offered to have his band fix the problem and Broccoli took the idea under advisement. Being asked to perform the theme song for a James Bond movie is a great honor, but the requirement to include its title in the lyrics can be challenging. Just ask John Taylor. “To this day we are forever grateful that we didn’t get Quantum Of Solace,” he said.

It is the only theme from a Bond movie to hit #1 in America.

A View To A Kill

I’ve made it all the way to 1985 and have yet to feature a Prince song. Not that I don’t like him, he was a musical genius. I am still blown away by his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame performance and his Superbowl Halftime Show. He was a talent, no doubt. My only real connection to him was that we play Let’s Go Crazy in Marching Band one year.

However, I can connect this one to me because it was on my 15th birthday that Prince released Raspberry Beret. Prince originally recorded “Raspberry Beret” in 1982, but re-worked it with his newly re-formed Revolution backing band.

At the time this was released, Prince was under fire from Tipper Gore during the notorious PMRC witch hunt, which placed two of his songs on the list of the “filthy 15.” So this is one of the songs where Prince started making his lyrics more family friendly. But if you really listen closely, you know that Prince still slipped in a “filthy” reference.

Raspberry Beret

1985 was the year that one of my favorite movies was released – Back to the Future. If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, I reference the movie a lot and have read my fair share of time travel novels. It is a masterpiece and I will always watch it when it is on.

When Marty realizes he’s going to be late for school and he leave’s Doc’s place on his skateboard, Huey Lewis and The News’ The Power of Love makes the perfect song to accompany the scene. How did Huey become involved?

The film’s director Robert Zemeckis wanted Lewis to do the song – Huey Lewis & the News were rising stars with a modern sound that worked well in the movie, which takes place in both 1955 and 1985. Lewis had never done film work and hesitated at first, since he didn’t want to write a song called “Back to the Future.” When Zemeckis told him that the song didn’t have to be about the movie, Lewis accepted the challenge.

All Back to the Future fans know that Lewis has an uncredited cameo in this movie. Lewis has an uncredited cameo in this scene, where he plays a teacher who is judging the auditions. An early scene in the film has Marty McFly and his band The Pinheads auditioning for the high school dance. Huey plays a teacher who is judging the auditions. The group plays the beginning of “The Power of Love,” but before Marty can sing a note, Lewis cuts them off, telling them, “I’m afraid you’re just too darn loud.”

The music video doesn’t contain scenes from the film, but does feature an appearance by Christopher Lloyd in character as Doc Brown. We see him pull up in the DeLorean outside of a club where Huey Lewis & the News are performing.

The Power of Love

Yesterday marked the 34th anniversary of the passing of Stevie Ray Vaughn. I debated posting one of his songs for Tune Tuesday, but opted for a more uplifting post.

I was late to the SRV party. I was introduced to him after he passed away. I marveled at his playing and his vocal abilities. I really fell in love with his music.

I wrote about this song before, probably for one of the Song Drafts we were doing. It is Stevie’s cover of the old Hank Ballard song, “Look at Little Sister.”

Look At Little Sister

My final pick is another fun song. It reminds me a lot of the Kinks Come Dancing (which I just wrote about for Max’s PowerPop blog) because of the sound of the opening keyboards.

The Dire Straits were coming off the success of Money For Nothing which really established the band on MTV and on Top 40 radio in America. The fourth single from their Brothers In Arms Album was Walk of Life.

Mark Knopfler wrote this song to celebrate the street buskers of London, hence the references to “Be-Bop-a-Lula” and “What’d I Say,” which were two standards that might be part of a singer’s repertoire in the mid-’80s. Before the lyrics kick in, Knopfler does a few “who-hoo”s, which help create a whimsical vibe. When he spoke with the BBC in 1989, he expressed some “woo-hoo” remorse. “There’s too many ‘woos’ at the beginning of ‘Walk of Life,'” he said. “I heard it on the radio the other day and thought, Oh my God! What was I doing that for?”

Walk of Life (US)

Walk of Life (UK)

What song defined 1985 for you?

Next week we’ll share some songs from 1986. As I look at the music from that year, there were some great music videos! The year will feature my high school class song, my first attempt at Karaoke – before there was Karaoke, and two fantastic cover songs!

See you then!

Tune Tuesday – I’m No Superman

Today is Sarah Chalke’s 48th birthday. She is probably best known as the “second” Becky Connor on the sitcom Roseanne. She also appeared on How I Met Your Mother, Firefly Lane on Netflix, Cougar Town and many appearances doing voice over work. I, however, loved her as Dr. Elliot Reed on the comedy Scrubs.

Scrubs was one of a few shows that made me laugh out loud. It had a great ensemble cast and had characters with well defined personalities that led to great comedy scenarios.

She would be a cast member for all nine seasons until the series ended its run in 2010. The theme song to the show showed a quick montage of the docs looking at charts while walking and finally throwing an X-ray up to show the show’s title. It takes like 12 seconds.

I was surprised to learn that there is a full version of the song. It can be found on the soundtrack for the show and it is done by Lazlo Bane.

According to songfacts.com, Zach Braff actually wanted the song as the theme song to the show:

“The guys were reluctant when Braff pitched the theme song idea. Frontman Chad Fischer recalled on the band’s MySpace page: “At first I said, ‘Over my dead body, bitch! The Bane will never, ever sell out to those corporate whores! We would rather die in cold dirty ditches than pimp our masterpiece to the corporate machine!’ But Zach had been a Lazlo fan for a while, and he had all the cool Lazlo Bane T-shirts and hats. So then I said, ‘You bet!’ Zach pushed to get the song on the show, and we were thrilled.”

Again, from songfacts.com:

Lazlo Bane bassist Chris Link thought the song was a good fit for the comedy-drama series, which follows a group of medical interns trying to cope with their tough career path through humor and fantasy. He explained: “The song is our way of saying there are certain things in life that are more important that the fast-paced job and the race for achievement that everybody gets caught up in from time to time things like a bag of crunchy Cheetos on the ride home from seeing your buds. Or, cranking your favorite song in the car and wondering how loud it is for the people outside. And that seems to be what the show is all about.”

Zach Braff directed the video for the song. Check it out. Happy birthday, Sarah Chalke!

Scrubs Theme – I’m No Superman

Out the door just in time
Head down the 405
Gotta meet the new boss by eight am

The phone rings in the car
The wife is working hard
She’s running late tonight again

Well, I know what I’ve been told
You’ve got to work to feed the soul
But I can’t do this all on my own
No, I know
I’m no Superman
I’m no Superman

And you’ve got your love online
And you think you’re doing fine
But you’re just pluged into the wall

And that deck of Tarot cards
Won’t get you very far
There ain’t no hand to break your fall

Well, I know what I’ve been told
You’ve got to know just when to fold
But I can’t do this all on my own
No, I know
I’m no Superman
I’m no Superman
(that’s right)

You’ve crossed the finish line
Won the race but lost your mind
Was it worth it, after all

I need you here with me
Cause love is all we need
Just take a hold of the hand that breaks the fall

Well I know what I’ve been told
You’ve to break free to break the mold
But I can’t do this all on my own
No, I can’t do this all on my own
I know, that I’m no
Superman
I’m no Superman
I’m no Superman

Someday we’ll be together
I’m no Superman
Someday
Someday we’ll be together
Someday
I’m no Superman

Movie Music Monday – Grease

46 years ago today, the title song to the blockbuster movie Grease hit number one in America. It was a huge smash for Frankie Valli, but did you know he almost didn’t record it?

The title song is one of four songs that were written specifically for the movie and obviously did not appear in the stage production. It was also recorded later than any of the other songs.

Bee Gee Barry Gibb was asked to write the song. At first, the thought was that Barry would sing it as well. However, it was felt that when people thought of Barry, they thought of disco. The Disco genre was obviously not the vibe of the film.

With Gibb out as the lead singer, they began to think about someone who would better fit the 50’s/60’s feel of the film. Frankie Valli was approached because his vocal range was very similar to Gibb’s. He also represented the “Pre-British Invasion” era that they were looking for.

The title song was the only song in the movie that was not sung by a cast member. Valli was actually given the option of singing the theme or having a role in the film as the Teen Angel. He opted for the theme song and Frankie Avalon was given the role as the Teen Angel.

Even though Barry Gibb didn’t sing lead on the song, he did sing background vocals. Oh, and Barry had his friend Peter Frampton play guitar on the song.

Grease was is last top 40 record for Frankie Valli to date.