I posted this week about our little getaway to my father-in-law’s cabin. As I mentioned, there were many things about that trip that reminded me of our trips to Caseville when I was a kid. Coincidentally, I stumbled on a picture I had not seen in some time from one of those trips. As a matter of fact, it may be from one of the last ones we took up there.
In 1981, my grandfather passed away after having a heart attack while he was on a business trip. I don’t recall how long we kept the place after he passed, but it had to be a few years later. He really loved that place and so did our family. I know it never felt the same for me after he had passed away, so I can only imagine what it felt like for my mom, my aunts, and my grandmother.
If I had to guess, my dad is probably the one who took this picture, of course, it could be my Aunt Jodi, I’m not sure. The Ford Aerostar on the left was my folks. When I moved away, my dad let me take it because it was more reliable than my crappy van. The van on the right has to be my Aunt Linda’s, I vaguely remember them having a van. Directly in front of the van is our trailer.
I was just having a conversation with a coworker about our place in Caseville and I had mentioned that there was very little grass when we were there. There was plenty of sand, however. When Sam and I went up a few years ago, I was surprised that all the places had lush green lawns! You can see the patchy grass and sand in this picture.
Speaking of sand, behind us is the red shed that always seemed to have 10 bee hives in it. We’d always dodge the bees when we went in to get out the minibike we’d ride around the neighborhood in. All the roads were dirt at the time and at the end of our street was a wooded area with trees and trails – with sand. I remember how I’d always seem to get stuck in the sand back there when I rode it.
When I look at this photo I remember fondly some very special people. The lady on the left lived across the street from our place. They lived there all year. Her husband used to stock the lake behind our place and we loved fishing back there.
Next to her is my mom. This is the way I like to remember her, when she was healthy and cancer free. She looks so good here. I chuckle at the fact that she is wearing a hat, and wish I knew what it said.
Next to my mom, in front, is my cousin Melissa and behind her is my cousin Arin. I always loved when everyone got together at the trailer. We used to pull out all of the toys and stuff that my Aunt Jodi had up there and trash her room. She had this thing called Fashion Plates where you put the plates together and shaded a piece of paper over them and I seem to remember my cousins always playing with that.
It has been too long since I’ve seen my cousins. Melissa lives out of the country and Arin is about an hour or so South of me, so it is difficult for us to get together. I really miss being with them.
Next to my cousins is my grandmother, my mom’s mom. I have great memories of going to the Belle Isle Aquarium and Greenfield Village with her. I was a teenager when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. I didn’t want to see her sick, so I avoided going to a lot of family functions. It remains one of my biggest regrets. I miss her so much.
Behind my grandma is my brother, who has written a few guest blogs for me, and was the fourth and final member of the “Let’s Break Aunt Jodi’s Stuff Club!” He suffered through the 2 hour drive to Caseville with me as we listened to ballad after ballad (and mom’s singing) on the infamous red 8 track tape. We have so many great memories together there.
Next to grandma and in front of my brother and me, is my Aunt Linda (Arin and Melissa’s mom). Before she moved out of state, she and my uncle would host a summer family party. I loved those parties so much. It was always great to see those relatives from my mom’s side of the family who we didn’t get to see too often. My uncle would put on his captain hat and take folks for a spin around the lake on his boat. The older folks would be drinking home made Italian wine and playing bocce ball.
My aunt has been a wonderful support for me. We’ve talked bible and prayed together. She offered advice through my divorce and attended my college graduation. She continues to be someone who I can talk to about anything and she will be completely honest with me. I am so blessed to still have her in my life.
The first thing I notice about me is my huge hair, cheesy mustache and big glasses. Ah, the 80’s!
In front of my grandma is my Aunt’s dog. It was such a sweet dog. I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong, but I thought they called it Cocoa. Over by the van is my grandma’s dog, Mindy. Mindy was around for as long as I can remember. After seeing the way our dog ran around at my father-in-law’s this past weekend, it is amazing to see these two dogs just laying around! LOL
This photo instantly brings back memories of our summer Caseville trips for me. It stirs up sadness as I think of my mom and grandma. It brings smiles as I remember how lucky I was to have shared some wonderful times with my cousins and family. I am so glad someone decided to take this photo.
I had a few days off over this past weekend and I got some much needed family time. The time started on a sad note, as Thursday morning, my wife’s family gathered at the National Cemetery where there was a small service for her grandma. They chose her grandfather’s birthday to go and have her ashes placed inside the wall with him. After the service, her dad said a prayer and everyone left.
Her grandparents are buried at the same cemetery as my mother, and my daughter asked to go see grandma. Last time we were there, she placed a heart shaped rock on the headstone. It was not there this time and she said, “Grandma must have liked it so much that she took it.” Who am I to argue with my daughter?
Friday afternoon, we loaded up the car, the kids, and the dog and made the two hour drive to my father-in-law’s place up north. I had been there once with him, but it was only a few hours. This time, we were all going to spend a couple days there. We were all looking forward to it.
The Michigan scenery on the drive up was so nice. I love those farm houses on the side of the road, the horses and cows in the fields, and the beauty of tall green trees. I love when you have to go from 55 mph down to 30 mph because you are driving through a small town. It takes me back to those drives up to Caseville with my parents when I was a kid.
We arrived at the cabin around 7pm on Friday night and we just relaxed for a while. It is just the way a cabin should be, cozy and peaceful.
We were all up early Saturday and the view from out the front window was exactly what I needed to see as I stood with a cup of hot coffee.
My mother-in-law made biscuits and gravy for breakfast. They were delicious! After breakfast, my father-in-law and I went to work. He has about 18 acres of property. He doesn’t mow it all, but there is quite a bit to mow. I hopped on the zero turn and he grabbed the weed whacker and we went to work on the yard.
I never saw the family leave while we were out, but after we finished I went inside to get some water and my phone rang. It was my wife. She said, “I need you and dad to bring the truck up to the merchandise outlet to get something.” I said ok and told my father-in-law. His response was, “What did they buy that won’t fit in your car?!” Well, I found out soon enough – and my son couldn’t be happier.
He got a Mustang long before I ever did! These things are like $200-$250 online and she got it (brand new) for $30! Yeah, what a deal!! There was a sale going on and there was also a 50% off sticker on it, so by the time the thing was rung up – $30! He was so mad that it had to charge before he could drive it. (The thing has a working radio in it!!!) Ella wanted to ride, too, so we went to the barn and got them one of the cars that were there.
We had hot dogs for lunch and then the fun began. My father-in-law brought out the four wheeler! To say that the kids were excited was an understatement.
I had never rode on one, so my father-in-law gave me a quick lesson in where the gas and brakes were, he placed Andrew in front of me and I was off on the trails and into the property with him.
Naturally, I went a lot slower than I would have liked, because I didn’t want him to fall off. He was so content to just sit there and ride. I’d ask if he was ok and he’d say he was and ask for more.
When I came back, Ella was raring to go. I really thought that she would be the one who was too scared to ride on it, but I was wrong. She hopped up and off we went. As we drove down the trail to the open area on the property she yelled, “Whoo-hoo! This is amazing!!” This filled my heart more than I can explain. Once we got to where the trail opened into the large open area, I drove her around and made little jumps on hills and such. She kept yelling, “Faster, daddy! Faster!!” She was a true daredevil.
As we were out in the field, we heard another four wheeler. Papa had pulled out the other one and had Andrew in front of him. Then it became a game. The two of us “chasing” each other, “racing” each other, and laughing the entire time! “Daddy, they are chasing us! Don’t let them catch us!” What a hoot!!
Daisy, our dog, was chasing us as we rode around, too. It was so hot and I can’t believe that she kept running after us. As soon as we’d pull away from the house, she’d be right on our tail. Running and chasing and occasionally barking at us. It was ridiculous.
As it got closer to dinner, Sam and I ordered pizzas from a place in town. It was expensive, but worth every cent. It was so cheesy and you could tell it was hand tossed and made fresh. They had these bread sticks, which were more like rolls, that had garlic and cheese on them. Oh, man! They were sinfully good.
It was a day full of fun. So much fun that we called it a night early. The kids were out like a light almost immediately. There was a huge car show in town that night, but there was absolutely no energy to go see it.
We woke up Sunday, Father’s Day, and coffee was already made. My mother-in-law made up some eggs and sausage. I was drinking my coffee on the porch and could smell the sausage from outside. This took me back to those days at my grandma’s place in Caseville. We’d be outside and we could smell the bacon or sausage from outside.
After breakfast, my father-in-law and I went out and finished up the weed whacking we didn’t get to on Saturday. After that we had to take apart some bunk beds that he was bringing home when we left. He had a rototiller that I needed to borrow and we loaded that up on the trailer, too.
While we were doing that, my wife was packing up and loading the car. My mother-in-law wasn’t going to let us leave hungry, so she made up some turkey burgers and we all had another meal together. When they were in town the day before, they had picked up a chocolate cake for the “dads” for Father’s Day. Before we could even slice it, Ella was eating sprinkles off the top of it!
We had promised the kids another ride on the four wheelers before we left, and they couldn’t wait! Each kid got a few turns riding with me and Papa. Before I put it away, I just had to go and take it for a spin by myself – so I could see just how fast it would go. Man, this one I was on really clipped! I can see how easy it would be to get hurt on one of them. It was extra fun for me to just let loose and be a kid again for a few minutes.
Just before we left, it began to sprinkle. There was a storm on the way and we wanted to head out before it hit. The kids kept asking all the way home when we would be heading up to the cabin again. After the fun we had there, I would imagine the answer is “Soon. Very soon.”
Next trip, however, I will be sure to wear sunscreen!
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 five in ’75, so let’s give a listen together…
Why not start off with a song that soared to number one? Shining Star was released by Earth, Wind and Fire in January of 1975. Maurice White was taking a late night walk while recording the album That’s the Way of the World and was inspired by the stars in the sky. He took the idea back to other members of the band and wrote the song.
The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008 and still sounds great today! One music critic called the song, “sweaty funk” … So let’s get funky!
Shining Star
Honestly, I wasn’t really into KISS when I was five. I suppose I was in my teens when I came to appreciate some of their songs. We played one or two at the first oldies station I worked at and I heard them a lot when me and my buddies would go play pool together. One that always played was Rock and Roll All Night.
Originally released on their Dresses to Kill album, the studio version only went to number 69 on the singles chart. Later, the live version would go all the way to number 12. I would guess that it has become their “theme” song. It has been the song that the group has used as a closing concert tune in almost every show since 1976.
The song was written by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons in Los Angeles, but on January 26, 1976, Stanley told an audience at Cobo Hall in Detroit that the song was written in and for Detroit! I like that, so I’ll go with it…
Rock and Roll All Night
(Studio version)
(Live version)
Speaking of Detroit, the next song comes from hometown hero Bob Seger. Bob released his Beautiful Loser album in ’75 and Katmandu was a cut from it. Katmandu wasn’t a huge hit, but it has always been one of my favorite Seger tunes. It was later featured on his Live Bullet album.
Seger says that the song was written at a time in his life where he wasn’t sure if he was going to make it. He said, “It’s an exasperated song. It’s like: ‘I’m never gonna make it, I’m just gonna go to Katmandu.'”
He says that Glenn Frey and Don Henley pulled him aside and “told me that the Beautiful Loser album was the first little step in the right direction for me. Then the next step after that was Live Bullet, which was a huge step. And the next step was Night Moves, which was an even huger step. By 1980 both records were at six million, and they kept selling continuously. Beautiful Loser was a transitional album, and in the song “Katmandu” I still had some of that defeatist mentality and you can hear it in there.”
Katmandu
The next song was released one day before my fifth birthday. Low Rider appeared on War’s Why Can’t We Be Friends album.
From song facts.com:
The group’s sax player, Charles Miller, came up with the idea for the song. Harold Brown told Songfacts: “What happened on ‘Low Rider’ was in the studio, we were jamming, and I was supposed to have been on the downbeat. But all of the sudden I was on the upbeat. And I said, ‘Oh, boy. I got the beat turned around.’ I didn’t panic. I said, ‘Wait a minute. Stay there. Don’t change it. Stay.’ Because as long as you keep doing it over and over and over, it won’t be a mistake.
We were just messing around, you know. Then the next thing I know, Charles started just singing, ‘Low ri-der drives a little slower. The low…’ he was just pumping it. And then the next thing I know Lee’s over there putting that harmonica on, because Lee is a melody man all the time. And then – boom.
If you’d hear the original version of it, all with that jam, that would be worth a million right there. When we finished it, all of us looked at it, ‘That’s a hit.’ We didn’t know that it was going to be an icon.
Low Rider
In June of ’75, Bad Company released a classic. Did you know that Feel Like Makin’ Love is actually a combination of two separate songs?
Several years after Paul Rodgers wrote the song, he played it to Bad Company guitarist Mick Ralphs, who came up with some big chords for the chorus. Ralphs recalled:
“I came up with the riff, and I suggested we put the two together to create a song. I think that’s the feel of the song, the verses are very appealing to the ladies, probably more than the men; and then the riff comes in which is all bloody macho. It’s a big chorus and it worked out really well.”
It reached number 10 on the Hot 100 Chart.
Feel Like Makin’ Love
Despite being a song of their second album, Orleans scored their first Top 40 hit with “Dance With Me.” The song was released in July of ’75. It was written by group member John Hall and his then wife Johanna. John told Songfacts.com:
“I started playing it on acoustic guitar and developed it, just jamming by myself in the living room. The whole song – the verses, the bridge, the ending – was all complete coming out of my acoustic guitar. Johanna yelled from the other room, ‘That sounds like ‘Dance With Me.” And I went, ‘Can’t we come up with something a little bit more unusual than that?” And she said, “I don’t know, it really sounds like ‘Dance With Me.”
She couldn’t get past that and I couldn’t get past that any further, so I played the instrumental version for Larry Hoppen and he said, ‘Boy, you really need to finish that, that sounds like a hit song.’
So coming back from a show in Ithaca, New York, on the western part of the state, through the Woodstock area again, Johanna and I were riding in the car, and suddenly she says, ‘Pick the beat up and kick your feet up.’ She starts scribbling on another one of those envelopes, and by the time we got home, we had kicked the ideas back and forth and finished the lyric.
I love the guitar work and harmonies in it.
Dance With Me
I was probably about 4 years away from my introduction to Willie Nelson in 1975. When I was finally introduced to him, it was thanks to my dad and my grandfather. They had a cassette of Willie’s Stardust album and they played the heck out of it. It drove us kids crazy! After my grandfather passed away in 1981, I began to listen to more and more from Willie and came to really love his music.
Willie is a fantastic song writer, having written hits like “Crazy,” “Hello Walls,” and so many others, but he did NOT write Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain. It was written by Fred Rose in the late 1940’s. It was recorded by Roy Acuff, Hank Williams Sr., Ferlin Husky, Bill Anderson and Conway Twitty all before Willie recorded it in 1975 for his Red-Headed Stranger album.
In October 1975, the song became Willie’s first Number 1 hit as a singer, and at year’s end, was the third-biggest song of 1975 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. It got Top 40 airplay, too, reaching number 21 on the Hot 100 Chart. At the 18th Annual Grammy Awards, the song won Willie a Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance.
Fun (but sad) Fact: Elvis Presley recorded a version of the song in the Jungle Room at Graceland in 1976. The song would be the last one he played before he died. In the early morning of August 16, 1977, he played it on his piano in Graceland. Later that day, he died.
Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain
Earlier I mentioned playing pool with some my friends in my teens and many of the songs I mention will be ones that played on the jukebox while we were there. One of those songs was Tush by ZZ Top. Before the song’s release in 1975, they were well known in Texas, but Tush became their first nationwide hit.
According to Dusty Hill, the song was written in under ten minutes during a soundcheck in Alabama. Billy Gibbons said “We were in Florence, Alabama, playing in a rodeo arena with a dirt floor. We decided to play a bit in the afternoon. I hit that opening lick, and Dave Blayney, our lighting director, gave us the hand [twirls a finger in the air]: ‘Keep it going.’ I leaned over to Dusty and said, ‘Call it ‘Tush.’
So what does it mean? In a 1985 interview with Spin magazine, bass player Dusty Hill explained: “Tush, where I grew up, had two meanings. It meant what it means in New York. Tush is also like plush, very lavish, very luxurious. So it depended on how you used it. If somebody said, “That’s a tush car,’ you knew they weren’t talking about the rear and of the car. That’s like saying, ‘That’s a cherry short.’ But tush as in ‘That’s a nice tush on that girl,’ that’s definitely the same as the Yiddish word. I don’t know how we got it in Dallas. All it could have took was one guy moving down from New York.”
Tush
The next song is one that comes from my family’s infamous red 8 track tape. It was one of the first things I blogged about when I started this site. You can read that blog here:
Songfacts.com says: In the DVD Hell Freezes Over, the Eagles discussed this song’s origins. When they were a struggling band in Los Angeles, they saw a lot of beautiful women around Hollywood who were married to wealthy, successful men, and wondered if they were unhappy. One night they were drinking in a bar (their favorite watering hole: Dan Tana’s) when they spotted this stunning young woman; two steps behind her was a much older, fat, rich guy. As they were half laughing at them, Glenn Frey commented, “Look at her, she can’t even hide those lyin eyes!”
Realizing they had a song title, the band members began grabbing for cocktail napkins to write down lyrics to go with that great observation.
The song reached number 2 on the Hot 100 Chart.
Lyin’ Eyes
In 1975, Capitol Records couldn’t seem to make up their mind about which song to release first from Linda Ronstadt’s Heart Like a Wheel album. It was a toss up between You’re No Good and When Will I Be Loved and the prior won out. Linda’s Everly Brothers cover would be the second single, released in March of ’75.
Both the Everly’s and Linda had top ten hits with the song, but Linda’s went to number 2 while the Everly Bros peaked at number 8. Linda’s version also went to number 1 on the country chart. Singing with Linda on this single are Kenny Edwards (from her band the Stone Poneys) and Andrew Gold (Who later had success with Thank You For Being a Friend). I absolutely love the harmonies on this one.
And there are my picks for 1975! What did I miss?
Next week, I’m sure there will be a shiny disco ball hanging over the dance floor as we head to 1976! See you then.
To celebrate the birthday of a living legend, I thought I would choose a song that he’s NOT known for. Sir Paul McCartney is 82 today and while he is known for his work with the Beatles and Wings, he’s had quite a solo career, too.
It’s amazing that he is still out touring at his age, but he still looks and sounds as great as ever. Every review I have read about one of his shows says it is fantastic!
The McCartney song I picked is from an album from 1988 but the song’s roots go back to 1940 and the legendary Duke Ellington. He wrote Don’t Get Around Much Anymore in 1940. Lyrics were added to the song in 1942 by Bob Russell and it became a hit.
The song has been covered by just about everyone! Bing Crosby, The Ink Spots, Micheal Buble’, Willie Nelson, Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole and so many others have offered up their personal take on the song. McCartney’s version is a rocker with some “oomph” to it.
Back in 1988 Paul released what most call “The Russian Album.”. CHOBA B CCCP was his seventh solo studio album. It was originally released in October 1988 exclusively in the Soviet Union. The album consists entirely of live-in-studio recordings of covers, mainly of rock and roll oldies.
I was working at WKSG, Kiss-FM when a bootleg of the album began to circulate. It was pretty big news to have new stuff from McCartney. We were an oldies station, so when we got our hands on Paul’s version of Kansas City from the album, we played the heck out of it.
I don’t remember if I got a copy of the bootleg or the official worldwide release in 1991 but I really loved this album. Don’t Get Around Much Anymore really stuck out to me. Paul must really like it, too, because I’ve seen him do it on talk shows like Letterman.
Give his version a listen and grab the album if you can. I think you’ll like it.
This month in 1999 that Adam Sandler’s Big Daddy opened in theaters. Recently this movie came up in a conversation my wife and I were having.
Our son Andrew will be there in October and he is at the age where he has meltdowns over things. Those things are usually related to his safety (“No, you can’t put the screwdriver in the electrical socket!” “Buddy, you can’t hit the living room window with your monster truck!”)
There is a scene in the movie where the child that Adam Sandler wants to adopt wants to hear “the kangaroo song.”. He starts crying and yelling, “Kangaroo song! Kangaroo song!” until Sandler’s character yells, “ALRIGHT!” to stop the meltdown. There are SO many times that we feel like Sandler’s character with Andrew!!
As difficult as Andrew can be, he can also be one of the sweetest kids! Which ties into the cut from the Big Daddy Soundtrack featured today: Sweet Child O Mine by Sheryl Crow.
The song, of course, was originally done by Guns N Roses. I am obviously in the minority because I absolutely love her version of the song. I think it is a great cover, but not everyone felt that way.
When it was released for the Big Daddy Soundtrack, it was also released as a bonus track on her third album The Globe Sessions. The website Ultimate Classic Rock actually features the song as part of their series of “Terrible Classic Rock Covers. Taking it a step further readers of Rolling Stone Magazine named it the fourth worst cover song of all time!
That seems a little harsh to me. I think Sheryl’s voice sounds great on her version. The song only went to number 29 on the charts in the US, but it did earn her the Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance in 2000. So there!
If you’ve been a follower of my blog for longer than a year, you’ve probably noticed a bit more “routine” to it. In the past, I kind of wrote about whatever was on my mind and there was no real format to it. I could write about my kids one day, music the next and some silly movie the day after that. Now, I have forced myself into more of a schedule. I wanted to know your thoughts on it.
Understand that if the mood hits me and I have something I want to blog about, I will still do it, maybe even on a day I have already posted something. The “schedule” gives me a bit of more preparation and an opportunity to feature some things in a different way. By doing this, I realize that the newer features (Music of My Life, Movie Music Monday, Tune Tuesday, Turntable Talk) are music heavy. I hope that there is enough variety to those features to be enjoyable.
Outside of music, there are my posts about books or photos. With the books I read, if I find one that I really enjoyed or think my blogger friends might enjoy, I will post a review or recommendation. I have had a few books that weren’t worth talking about. The audio feature in my car has really helped me to enjoy more reading. I get some good feedback from the Friday Photo Flashback. It is fun for me to look back at those old pictures and hope to find some fun ones in the weeks ahead.
Naturally, if I have some news to share, an opinion about something, a problem I am sorting through, or just need to write to clear my head, I will continue to do that. I like knowing what I am going to write about and the schedule has allowed me to plan something without spending a lot of time trying to find something. It also helps me to write daily.
So by saying all of that, I turn to you, my follower. Are there things you like/dislike? Is there something you’d like to see more/less of? I’d love to figure out a way to incorporate some blog cross promotions like I have done in the past. Guest bloggers or interviews with another blogger, etc… What do you think?
I ask because I figure you are the one who comes to this site and reads what I write. I want to continue to present things that you find interesting and at the same time write about things that are important to me (as well as document things for my family and kids to enjoy in the future). Please feel free to let me know your thoughts either in the comments or by email: nostalgicitalian@yahoo.com
I do appreciate you following this site and thank you for doing so.
I had a day off this week and had a chance to see my daughter play T-ball. Before the game, we had to take a drive down to get my son’s leg braces looked at. The whole family was in the car and Ella asked my wife to play “I am a C” song. I had no idea what that was. She proceeded to pull up a YouTube video of a Christian song for kids. Ella knew all the words.
Sam was surprised I had never heard this one before. I’d been in Vacation Bible School and certainly had sung many of the familiar Christian kid songs, but never this one. It warmed my heart a bunch to hear her singing along.
She did pretty good at T-ball, too, this week! I snapped this one and love it.
She’s all SASS!
Meanwhile, my son Andrew is learning all about house repairs with my father in law. My brother in law bought a house recently and they are working on all kinds of repairs and updates. Andrew is in heaven because “Pa” is letting him help!
He’s right at home with tools! I will have a helper for life!
This was one of those weird finds on the hard drive. All I remember about this photo is that it was taken at a time where my dad and mom were really into photography. They had bought some high tech camera and were taking pictures of just about everything. I remember they told us we were going to the “Flower Show” which was happening somewhere in Detroit. My brother and I did not want to go!
I want to say right here that this picture kind of freaks me out. Why? Because I really don’t think that this looks like me or my brother! I’m not sure if it is because we both are in need of a haircut or what! It’s odd to look at myself in it.
I do remember that jacket I am wearing, However, I don’t ever recall having a Jim Morrison shirt (at least I think that is Jim Morrison). Another reason why this doesn’t look like me – I don’t ever remember parting my hair in the middle! What exactly is that?!
My brother obviously looks thrilled in the photo, too! I don’t recall that jacket at all. How old are we in this picture? I just don’t know! If I had to guess, I’d say this might be 6th or 7th grade for me, but I’m really clueless.
And now for the elephant in the room – From what I remember, my mother or father (whoever had the camera) thought their two boys would look good standing with Miss Piggy in the middle of them. Urgh. Maybe I should have picked another photo…..
Growing up, one of the things that is forever etched in my mind was waking up on Sunday mornings and Abbott and Costello movies would be playing on Channel 7 (WXYZ/Detroit). It was on those Sunday mornings that I was introduced to classic films like Buck Privates, Who Done It?, Africa Screams, The Naughty Nineties, and Hold That Ghost. Of course I loved all the Abbott and Costello “meet” pictures, too (Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and more)!
It wasn’t long after I first discovered them that I found one of the other stations played the Abbott and Costello cartoons after school. Even as a child, I could tell that Bud Abbott’s voice was his, and that someone else was voicing Lou Costello. I had no idea at the time that this cartoon was made in the late 60’s and that Lou had passed away in 1959.
In fact, I learned this week that there were a whole lot of things I didn’t know about him! I just finished a truly wonderful book about him, written by his youngest daughter, Chris Costello. A few years back, we became Facebook friends and she had posted that the audio version of her book was now available. I searched for it and got it to listen to on my drive to and from work.
I have had this book for sometime in printed form. It was on my “To Read” shelf for way too long. With all that I had going on in life, I found it difficult to actually sit and read for very long. So it sat on the shelf. When I recently discovered some of the audiobook platforms, I began to go back and search for audio versions of books on that shelf. When Chris said it was available, I was ecstatic.
Here is the Goodreads synopsis:
This intimate portrait of Lou Costello (1906-1959) offers a rare look at one of the most talented comedians of all time. Starting in the 1930s, Costello attained enormous fame touring the burlesque circuits with straight man Bud Abbott (1895-1974). Their live skits (including “Who’s on First?”), radio programs, and films made comic history. Behind the scenes, however, Costello faced numerous a bout with rheumatic fever that left him bedridden for months, the drowning death of his young son, and constant haggles with Universal Studios over its reluctance to adequately finance productions of Abbott and Costello films. Lou’s on First goes beyond Costello’s clownish persona to explore his Pagliacci, the private demons behind the happy public face, the heartbreaking moments in an otherwise storybook marriage, the business ventures soured by unscrupulous managers, and the true nature of the breakup of his twenty-one-year partnership with Bud Abbott.
I heard one comedian say, “The comedy community has a lot of trauma and pain.” A look at comedians throughout history will certainly show this to be true. Lou Costello had his share of tragedy and health problems.
Chris Costello was around 10 or 11 years old when her father died. She shares her memories of her dad, as well as stories and memories from those who knew him. As I listened to Chris share these stories, I learned about her father’s kindness to just about everyone he met that was in need. I learned that he truly did pay for Dean Martin’s nose job (and was sad to hear that he never really came around after that). I learned about the gambling that went on while making movies with Bud Abbott. I learned on the tragic death of his son and what that event did to Lou and his family. It was such an enlightening book.
I never really knew what brought the duo to their ultimate split. It was interesting to be able to know what was going on during the filming of certain movies as Bud and Lou’s partnership got close to an end. They were certainly professionals, because I would have never known that they were on the outs while some of those films were being made. They never looked like they were at odds with each other.
There are pros and cons to audiobooks. The pros of this one was that there are occasional audio clips from Bud and Lou and even audio from home movies. I don’t care how many times I hear Who’s on First – it will NEVER NOT be funny! It is a masterpiece!
This book made me laugh and made me cry. It is the perfect love letter to a comedic legend from his daughter. The “bad boy” from Paterson, NJ touched many lives, and his memory lives on there with a beautiful statue and memorial park.
Thank you, Chris Costello, for sharing these stories about your dad with me and the world.
I highly recommend this book to fans of Abbott and Costello! 5 stars!
For those who want to listen to the audio book, you can find it on all the major audio book platforms. You can also order through Chris the limited-edition 10-CD Collection with 8-pg “Costello Family Photo Album” which she will gladly autograph. You won’t find this set on Amazon or elsewhere as she self-funded this collection. For more info or to order email: accollectibles@aol.com
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 four in ’74, so let’s venture back there and give a listen….
Bob Marley wrote I Shot the Sheriff and recorded it in 1973. Eric Clapton covered in for his 461 Ocean Boulevard album. Billboard magazine called his version a “catchy goof of a winner.” Clapton softens up the reggae a bit and it went straight to the top spot on the Hot 100 Chart.
I Shot the Sheriff
June of 1974 was a hot month for music releases as the next five songs all hit the radio in that month. First, we have a soul hit from the Three Degrees – When Will I See You Again.
Before I go on, let me explain why it is on my list. I was dating my prom date, Karen, and we often spent evenings driving around and listening to the radio. There was a “love song” show called Pillow Talk that aired at night. It always seemed to play on that show and throughout the day on the Adult Contemporary stations.
I think we both thought the name of the song was “Precious Moments” for some reason. All I can recall is that we both laughed at the “Hoo” and “Hah” at the beginning. I don’t know about her, but every time I hear it, I think of her and us laughing at that song.
The lead singer on the song, Sheila Ferguson, hated it the first time she heard the demo. She said she’d never sing it because she felt it was insulting to be given a song that “took no talent to sing.” Her thoughts obviously changed after the song’s success, and the group had a #2 hit!
When Will I See You Again
Canadian singer Andy Kim hadn’t had a hit record since 1971 and has lost his record deal in 1973. He never gave up and created his own label (Ice Records) and used his own money to record Rock Me Gently.
The song was released in June and hit #1 in September of 1974. The B-side was an instrumental version of the song and some stations played that, too. Rock Me Gently was the last Top Ten hit for him.
Rock Me Gently
Long before I was a radio DJ, I was introduced to Wolfman Jack by the Guess Who. The Guess Who’s Burton Cummings explained that the song began as a jam and was originally called “Clap For Napoleon.” As they were appearing on NBC’s Midnight Special a few times in 1973 (they hosted the show in ’74), they changed the lyric as a tribute to the show’s host, the late Wolfman Jack. The Wolfman can be heard throughout the song.
In his autobiography Have Mercy!: Confessions of the Original Rock ‘n Roll Animal, Wolfman Jack singles out Burton Cummings for adding his name to the song and taking him on tour to promote it. According to the Toronto Sun, the Wolfman quit his job at WNBC (where he enjoyed “$350,000 – plus a secretary, a chauffeured limousine, a bodyguard, and a well-ventilated private room at Rockefeller Center for the smoking of dope in”) to go on tour with The Guess Who.
Clap For The Wolfman
You would think that if someone wrote a song called Sweet Home Alabama, they’d be from there, right? Nope. None of the writers hailed from that state. Ronnie Van Zant and Gary Rossington were from Florida and Ed King was from California.
Lynyrd Skynyrd enjoyed a top 10 Hit with the song that will forever be recognized by that wonderful guitar intro. Gary Rossington explained the writing process: “I had this little riff. It’s the little picking part and I kept playing it over and over when we were waiting on everyone to arrive for rehearsal. Ronnie and I were sitting there, and he kept saying, ‘play that again’. Then Ronnie wrote the lyrics and Ed and I wrote the music.”
Sweet Home Alabama
You can blame my mother for the next entry on the list. She loved listening to “easy listening” stuff and this was one that she always sang along with (when she remembered the words).
Annie’s Song was written by John Denver for his wife, Annie. She explained, “It was written after John and I had gone through a pretty intense time together and things were pretty good for us. He left to go skiing and he got on the Ajax chair on Aspen mountain and the song just came to him. He skied down and came home and wrote it down… “
The song was on his album Back Home Again and was his second number-one song in the US, occupying that spot for two weeks in July 1974.
Annie’s Song
Everlasting Love was originally a hit in 1967 by Robert Knight and there are plenty of cover versions. My favorite version has to be by Carl Carlton.
Carl himself chose to record the song as he liked David Ruffin’s version from 1969. It was originally released as a B-side in 1973, but it was remixed with a disco beat and released as a single in 1974. It was a disco staple at discotheques all across the country.
Everlasting Love
In 1964, Chuck Berry wrote Promised Land basing it on the melody for Wabash Cannonball. He wrote the song while he was in prison. He borrowed an atlas from the prison library and he plotted out all the stops from Norfolk to California.
In 1974, it was Elvis who recorded a version of this great story song that is faster and makes even the hardships experienced by the “poor boy” sound fun. It became the title track for Elvis’ 1975 album.
Promised Land
I certainly cannot imagine the next song as a country song, but believe it or not, that was the intention. In 1953 Peter Radcliffe wrote You’re the First, My Last, My In-Between but it was never recorded. That is until Barry White rewrote the lyrics in 1974 and recorded it with a disco beat as You’re the First, My Last, My Everything.
Most of the lyrical changes came to Barry during a rough recording session when it didn’t seem like the song was going to pan out. “I went into the studio and made up my own melody all the way through. Half of the words in it I changed right in front of the microphone.” When Peter Radcliffe heard the final result, he cried. The song went to #2 on the charts.
I always loved how Barry always seemed to have some sort of seductive talk before he sang. One morning we discussed this on our radio show. My partner dismissed it by saying, “Hey, there ain’t nothing better than two minutes and forty two seconds of Barry White saying cool things!”
You’re the First, My Last, My Everything
My final song from 1974 comes from Michigan’s own Grand Funk Railroad. This would be a bigger hit in 1975 because it wasn’t released until December of 1974. It actually went on to become the sixth biggest hit of 1975.
Some Kind of Wonderful was originally recorded by the Soul Brother Six in 1967, but it barely cracked the Top 100, only reaching 91. Grand Funk recorded it for their album All the Girls in the World, Beware! It would reach #3 on the charts.
Grand Funk drummer Don Brewer explained, “We used to listen to a station called WAMM, which was a black station in Flint (Michigan). We all grew up on R&B, gospel and soul music, and they used to play the Soul Brothers Six version of that song all the time on WAMM radio in the ’60s. When we were traveling around the country, I used to start singing that song in the back of the car a cappella, and everybody would just kind of jump in and sing along with me – ‘I don’t need a whole lots of money, I don’t need a big fine car.’ We’d kind of shear off on the choruses and stuff, and our manager said, ‘That’s a great song, why don’t you record it,’ so we recorded the song and it became a huge hit.”
I love stories like that!
Some Kind of Wonderful
That wraps it up for 1974. Did I miss one of your favorites? Tell me about it in the comments.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 