The great Peter Sellers was born on this day in 1925. He was a very funny man who is known for films like Dr. Strangelove, Being There, Murder By Death and The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu. He is best known, of course, for his role as the bumbling Chief Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther series.
The first movie of the series was called simply “The Pink Panther,” which was released in 1963. The soundtrack of the film featured Henry Mancini’s musical score, and the instantly recognizable theme song.
The soundtrack entered entered the Billboard Pop Album Chart on April 24, 1964 and reached number 8 on the chart. It remained on that chart for 41 weeks. The album and title song were nominated for the Grammy Awards for Best Album or Original Score and Best Pop Instrumental Performance.
The Theme from The Pink Panther was released as a single and it was a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart. It starts with a soft minor piano chord followed by a triangle and a jazzy percussion rhythm. It is the melody that almost everyone knows from the moment they hear it. The tenor saxophone is played by Plas Johnson Jr.
The theme was also used for the Pink Panther cartoon show.
The soundtrack was called one of the greatest film scores of all time by the American Film Institute. All it takes is one listen to understand why ….
Here we go again, with another edition of Dave’s Turntable Talk, which is featured on his A Sound Day blog. This is the 41st round!
He titled this round ‘It’s Getting Better All the Time!” Our task this month was to “find something in music – either an album, or a single, or even a whole artist – who has gone up steadily in your estimation through time. That’s to say, one you didn’t like and now do, or one you thought was “ok” and now love.”
Most of Dave’s past topics required very little thinking on my part. This one, however, really made me think. I’m open to almost every genre of music. I also try to listen to music that is suggested by other bloggers. If I don’t like an artist or a song, it is rare that I would change my mind about them. However, there is one artist who falls in with our topic – Elton John.
When I started in radio in the late 80’s, I was at an oldies station. Before committing to a basic oldies station, they were a classic rock station. A lot of that classic rock stayed in rotation when it went oldies.
I spent hours listening to Kiss-FM before working there. One thing I noticed was that they seemed to be a bit heavy on Elton John music. I felt like I heard Crocodile Rock, Philadelphia Freedom, Honky Cat and Rocket Man every day.
When I started working there, I realized that there were many other Elton John songs that were in rotation at the station. There were a lot of requests for his songs, too. That’s how I met a gal I dated.
She called in often and one day, she and her friends brought coffee to the station for me. I thought she was cute and we started dating. She loved Elton John so much that for her birthday, she bought herself (and me) tickets to his show when he was touring with Billy Joel.
I certainly didn’t want to see EJ, but since Billy Joel was there I figured “at least I’ll enjoy half the show”. Billy came out first and was fantastic! I started to tune out when it was time for Elton.
There was some sort of audio/visual thing that played and caught my attention. The lighting on the stage changed and the smoke machines kicked in, making the actual stage hard to see. Then Elton and his piano rose from out of the smoke and he began to play Rocket Man.
I was impressed as I watched him. He sounded better live than on records to me. He was playing his hits and there was something different about each of them. When he played “Your Song,” it was a completely different arrangement and it blew me away. It was better than the recording!
That show and the music he played that night, Led me to open my mind a bit and dig deeper into the EJ library. I found many songs that were not singles that I liked a lot.
At that time, he was still releasing new music. I played Sacrifice and Club at the End of the Street when they were current singles and liked them so much, I bought the album.
Can You Feel the Love Tonight and Circle of Life were both big requests at weddings for bridal dances or parent dances. If they weren’t part of the wedding party dances, it was requested as a slow song that couples loved to dance to.
That concert was my first ever. As my radio career continued, I began to go to more shows. I really started to appreciate artists and their talent. I learned that you cannot let one bad song or one bad album prevent you from listening or taint your feelings about an artist.
Thanks to Dave for always presenting a great topic each month. I know that I always enjoy writing for Turntable Talk. Based on the others who participate with me say, they love it too.
Note: This blog is about my personal experience and is not intended to bash anyone’s religious beliefs. I am more than happy to share my faith with those who ask, but I also know that everyone has a right to what they believe. That being said, I will proceed.
I was born and raised Catholic. Isn’t that what all Italians are? When I was about 16 one of my coworkers and I were talking and he brought up the Bible. He was also raised Catholic. He questioned a lot of things in our shared religious background.
This led to more conversations. Over the course of the next few weeks we talked more and more about things that didn’t necessarily line up with what the Bible says. I already had questions about some things, and many of them were answered by our studies.
In the end, I found that I had enough information that I left the Catholic faith. I began to read my Bible more and found a lot of great studies online from a few pastors that helped clarify a lot of the confusion I was experiencing.
When I moved to the Flint area, I was searching for something in a local Christian book store. As I was looking through some commentaries, from the back of the store I thought I heard the voice of a pastor I was familiar with. It wasn’t him in person, but a recording of him.
I went to the cashier at the front of the store and asked about it. This led to being introduced to Al, a guy who shared my beliefs. He was also attending the same Bible School as I am in now (where the pastor I heard teaches). He would go on to graduate the school and become pastor of our local assembly.
Initially, we met in one of the classrooms at the Bible store. Over time we were able to buy a building, which he remodeled and became our meeting place. He really worked hard on it. I want to say that the building used to be a bank. He had done a ton of drywall work and when he was done we had a room for the main gathering place, a nursery, bathroom, and a small kitchen.
When we began our services there, Al asked me to teach the Sunday morning Sunday School class. At first I spoke on different topics every week. Then I began to do some series, which the members of our church really enjoyed. One of the series was on Manuscript Evidence and how the Bible came to be. That was a lot of fun to teach.
I tell you all of that because it leads me to today’s Photo Flashback.
The above picture is of me and my oldest son. It was taken in between Sunday School and Sunday Service. I would guess that this is around 2004. It very well may have been as Easter service because he is kind of dressed up.
He didn’t always stay still in the nursery and was often very loud. We had probably just gotten the diagnosis of Developmental Delay around this time. It wasn’t odd for him to walk up to me while I was teaching Sunday School. When he did that, I usually picked him up and continued teaching.
My ex (who is cropped out of this picture) had gotten to the point where she didn’t want to go anymore. I wound up going alone and teaching for a while. Then, my ex would plan things that made it hard for me to keep teaching. On top of that, I was working Saturday overnights and it was difficult to work 12 hours, drive an hour home, wait an hour or two before heading to church.
They stream online now, so I can watch him or other pastors all over the country from the comfort of my couch. The kids are not to the point where they will sit still long enough to listen, so they watch Paw Patrol or whatever while I listen to a message. I miss being there live and I certainly miss teaching. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to do that again soon.
I’ve never been a tequila man, but the picture fit the blog. This week the Nostalgic Italian reached 1800 posts! 1800 posts about music, television, movies, books, my wife and kids, and ME. I’m grateful that you find the things I post interesting enough to come back for more. Thank you.
My blog doesn’t have 20,000 followers or get mentioned much by other blogs, and I am ok with that. I have come to know you through your posts and I consider you a friend. I again thank you for making this site a “reading stop” every so often.
______
Over the weekend, I got to spend some time with the kids. On Sunday we went to the park, but they were the only kids at the playground. They played for a bit, but when no other kids came, they decided to take a walk on the trail that runs through the park.
It was a beautiful day with sunshine and nice temperatures. We walked down the trail looking for caterpillars, squirrels, birds, trees and flowers. Every once in a while, they’d walk ahead of me just talking about things. I love when they get along and treat each other good. Every once in a while, they get to a place that is perfect for a picture.
___________
Andrew started his Pre-K class this week. I feel bad for those teachers. There are 9 students and 6 of them are boys! I wasn’t sure how he would do with us leaving, but he actually has done really well. Many of the kids were all grabbing onto their parents screaming and crying. It was worse on the second day, which surprised me. Andrew, however, gave me a hug and said, “See ya later, Dad!” and walked right in.
All summer long he talked about not wanting to go to school. When my wife went to pick him up, he said he wanted to stay longer. Go figure.
One funny story: On the first day of school I was helping to get the kids dressed. I asked my wife if I should put Andrew in a collar shirt. He heard me and said, “A collar! I’m not a dog, Dad!”
Smart kid!
_______
I came across this on one of the social media pages this week. It is such an outlandish scenario that I truly wish that someone had made it happen! Ok, picture it with me:
I recently took the kids to Barnes and Noble to get a book. While I was there, I looked around at the new books. I always like to see what’s out and what I might want to add to my list.
They had a “Staff Recommends” shelf. There were a few on the shelf that I had already read, a few that were on my “to read” list, and some that were completely new to me. One of the new ones was by an author I had never heard of, but the title was enough for me to pick it up and see what it was about. It was called The Man Who Died Seven Times, and it peaked my interest so much, I bought it.
Over the holiday weekend, I took advantage of quiet moments and read. Most of the books I read are audio books in the car, so it was nice to sit with a physical book. From the moment I started reading it, I was hooked. I was able to read it over a three day span. Here is the Goodreads synopsis:
Hisataro, a young member of the wealthy Fuchigami family, has a mysterious ability. Every now and then, against his will, he falls into a time-loop in which he is obliged to re-live the same day nine times. Little does he know how useful this ability will be, until one day, his grandfather mysteriously dies…
As he returns to the day of the murder time and again, Hisataro begins to unravel its secrets. With a sizeable inheritance up for grabs, motives abound, and everyone is a suspect. Can Hisataro solve the mystery of his grandfather’s death, and prevent it, before his time-loop ends?
The hardest part about the book was keeping the various Japanese names strait. Thankfully, there is a helpful chart in the front of the book that keeps the family members organized and names the secondary characters. Every once in a while, I’d have to flip there to make sure I knew who I was reading about.
The story has sort of a Groundhog Day feel to it. It reminded me of Stuart Turton’s “The Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.” In that book the main character relives each day as a different character in the story. This one has the same character reliving each day.
I was surprised to learn that this book was written back in 1995 by Yasuhiko Nishizawa and recently translated to English for a 2025 release. Outside of the character names and a few Japanese references, it reads just like a good mystery.
Each day Hisataro learns something new about his grandfather’s death. Each day also presents in a way that shines the spotlight on someone who may be the murderer. I was guessing all the way through the book.
Admittedly, the ending had a nice twist to it, but I expected something a bit different. Because of the twist, it ended the way it had to I’m guessing. Don’t let my opinion keep you from reading this. It is a great book that makes you want to read “just one more chapter” before putting it down.
I should go back to Barnes and Noble and thank the staff member who recommended this one. I enjoyed it!
Preston was a keyboardist, singer, and songwriter whose work encompassed many genres of music. He was R&B, rock, soul, funk, and even gospel.
Preston started off at the age of 10 playing keyboards for gospel legend Mahalia Jackson. Later he joined Ray Charles’ touring band before recording with The Beatles on several of their tracks including “Get Back” and “Let It Be” (The Beatles considered him to be the fifth Beatle). He also played on a number of Sly & The Family Stone recordings and went on to have a successful solo career with five Top 10 US hits.
He was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, backing artists like Little Richard, Sam Cooke, the Everly Brothers, the Rolling Stones! He also made a name for himself as a solo artist. Today let’s look at two of his hits.
Will It Go Round in Circles
This funky soul number was Billy Preston’s first #1 solo single. The virtuoso keyboardist, who was credited on the Beatles’ “Get Back” and joined them for their iconic 1966 rooftop concert, was briefly signed to the Fab Four’s Apple Records but found success with a switch to A&M Records. Music Is My Life was Preston’s second album on the LA-based label; his first, I Wrote A Simple Song, yielded the Grammy Award-winning instrumental “Outa-Space, which narrowly missed the #1 slot.
This was born out of a joke Preston made to his songwriting partner, Bruce Fisher, about having a song but no melody. The comment inspired the opening refrain, “I got a song that ain’t got no melody, I’m gonna sing it to my friends,” and set up similar proclamations, such as having a story with no moral and having a dance with no steps.
Nothing From Nothing
Billy Preston started writing this one night in the dressing room of an Atlanta nightclub where he was performing. He wanted to write a song based on the saying, “Nothing from nothing leaves nothing,” a variation on Bob Dylan line: “When you’ve got nothing, you’ve got nothing to lose.”
“The saloon piano gave it character,” Preston explained, “and I had a feeling it would be a hit because it was a singalong kind of thing.”
Bruce Fisher, who was Preston’s songwriting partner (he co-wrote “Will It Go Round In Circles”), added a second verse.
Fun Fact: The B-side of the single was another song Preston wrote with Fisher: “You Are So Beautiful,” which was later a hit for Joe Cocker.
Bonus Fun Fact: “Nothing From Nothing” was the first song performed on Saturday Night Live. Preston and Janis Ian were the musical guests on the October 11, 1975 debut of the show.
The later years of his life were plagued by substance abuse, health issues and legal issues. In 1997 he was sent to prison on drug charges. He suffered from kidney disease and hypertension. In 2005, he voluntarily entered a drug rehab center where pericarditis led to respiratory failure. He was in a coma from November of 2004 until he died in June of 2006 at age 59.
Today we wish a happy 79th birthday to Barry Gibb!
As a songwriter, Barry shares with John Lennon and Paul McCartney the record for most consecutive Billboard Hot 100 number ones, each having six. In total, he has written or co-written sixteen Billboard Hot 100 number ones.
Barry and the Bee Gees had a ton of hits in the 70’s – many of them can be found on the soundtrack of Saturday Night Fever.
For a little history on today’s song, I turned to Songfacts:
In 1977, The Bee Gees manager Robert Stigwood was producing a movie about the New York disco scene. The working title of the film was “Saturday Night,” so he asked the group to write a song of that name. The Bee Gees thought it was a dumb title, but they had already written a song called “Night Fever.” They convinced Stigwood to use that and change the film’s title to Saturday Night Fever. The movie became a classic, telling a coming-of-age story in the disco era. It helped launch the film career of John Travolta, who starred as Tony Manero, the conflicted youth who escaped his troubles on the dance floor.
The soundtrack for Saturday NightFever sold over 30 million copies worldwide and won the 1978 Grammy for Album Of The Year. Night Fever was the third single from the soundtrack and its biggest hit, remaining on the top of the Hot 100 for eight weeks in early 1978. It also topped the British singles chart for two weeks and won a 1978 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance By A Group.
In America, it spent more weeks (eight) at #1 than any other song in 1978. For five of those weeks (March 18 – April 15), another Bee Gees song from Saturday Night Fever, “Staying Alive,” was #2. The last week it was at #1 (May 6), “More Than a Woman” by Tavares, which was written by the Bee Gees and featured in the film, reached its chart peak of #32. The following week, “If I Can’t Have You” replaced “Night Fever” at #1.
I was driving by the golf course earlier today. I noticed a lot of folks squeezing in one last round before summer ends. It reminded me of a joke:
Two dimwitted golfers are teeing off on a foggy par 3. They can see the flag, but not the green. Both golfers hit from the tee into the fog. They head to the green to find their balls.
One ball is about 6 feet from the cup, while the other one made it into the cup for a hole in one. Both players are playing the same brand of ball, and they can’t figure out whose ball is whose.
The golf pro is driving by and the men ask him to weigh in. He congratulated both men on their fantastic shots. Then he looked at them and asked “Which one of you was using the orange ball?”
Remember when the news was actually news? It seems to me that the word “newsworthy” means nothing today. It amazes me that there are some genuine news stories that need to be reported, but news outlets choose to offer nothing but “fluff.”
If they are not leading off with something geared toward scaring you to death (“Eating _____ could be killing you!”), they are reporting on a story that is days old (“Today we have a new development on the death of Gerald Ford…”). It always baffles me.
Every week I see on Facebook, MSN, or some other “news” outlet something about a new JFK conspiracy or a possible discovery of Amelia Earhart’s plane. If I could actually stomach it, I’d love to sit down and figure out how much time is spent on “fluff” during a 30 minute newscast.
Any time a story starts with, “A Florida man …” I tune out. It has become a joke really. Before writing this, I Googled “Florida man” and this is what came up:
Florida man wearing Batman pajamas thwarts burglary
Florida man stands trial for allegedly shooting date after arguing over dinner bill
Half naked Florida man crashed car into a jail
Florida man charged for attempting to cross Atlantic in giant hamster wheel
What is in the water down there in Florida!?
What brought about this rant? The fact that a restaurant logo and a celebrity engagement dominated every form of media over the last week or so.
How many times have companies changed logos in the past? Do a search on Burger King – there have been at least 4 logo changes that I remember. I doubt that hurt Whopper sales! I don’t care what the logo looks like. If the food still tastes the same, isn’t that what really matters? People are STILL talking about this … enough already!
Then there is travis and Taylor.
I’m glad that these two have found love together, but I don’t need to hear about it every day. Even before they got engaged, she was all over the TV and monopolizing the play by play of football games. This is NOT news. Way too much time is wasted discussing these two. The sad thing is that it will not stop any time soon. There will be stories about the centerpieces that they picked for the tables, her dress, what color the bridesmaid dresses are, and so on.
Even after the wedding it will continue. You and I will be subject to honeymoon pictures, what was in their hotel room fridge, and weekly updates on their life. Who sleeps on what side of the bed? Who gets to shower first in the morning? Blah Blah Blah!
It is SO annoying to me. What a society we’ve become …
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 