I have been honored to take part in many features that are hosted by other bloggers and their sites. Honestly, writing for those features is really a lot of fun for me. Not to mention that you get some exposure for your blog on another site.
Themed blog-a-thons about movies are always fun to write for. Dave Ruch’s musical Turntable Talk feature is one of my favorites to participate in. Recently, Max at the PowerPop Blog did a week or two feature on the Kinks and their music. He said that he got a lot of positive feedback from that. Then, of course, we had our Song and TV Show Drafts which was a wonderful stroll down memory lane.
With that in mind, some of my blogger friends have said that I should host some sort of feature where my followers could join in and contribute a piece to be posted here. I have gone back and forth on whether or not this would be something that anyone might be interested in doing. Before making the decision, I thought I would ask for your opinion.
I called my site the Nostalgic Italian, because that’s who I am. I love the things of the past. I have no doubt that every reader of this blog has some sort of nostalgic memory that they could share. Let me say, without spoiling it for anyone, that I have a topic in mind. I randomly asked the question at work last week and was amazed at how passionate some of my coworkers were about it and how it led to about an hour long conversation.
So, if you think that you might be interest in taking part, I’d like to you comment here. Better yet, drop me an e-mail at: nostalgicitalian@yahoo.com. If you’d like to know the topic before deciding, I will e-mail it to you. I was thinking that this could be something that runs for a week or two (with every blogger getting a day devoted to their piece) in mid to late October.
If there is enough interest, I will compose an email with the topic and instructions. I’ll give a dead line to get your piece to me and then send out a schedule of when each piece will post. This works well with Dave and his Turntable Talk, so I see no need to do it any differently.
I’m not sure what to expect, but I really hope you will consider taking part. Why? Because I am truly interested in your answer to the question and it will let you explore your childhood a bit while coming up with that answer. If it turns out like I think it will, YOUR piece will not only bring back memories for you, but it will stir up memories for the other readers, too.
If you need more info – don’t hesitate to reach out.
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.
1988 was a very big year for me. It was the year I graduated from high school. It was also the year that I landed my first radio job. As graduation day grew closer, I began counting all of the “lasts.” The last marching band performance. The last band concert. The last final exam. To say that I was an emotional wreck would be an understatement.
After graduation, I had a full time radio gig (making a whopping $12 an hour) and so I gave up thinking about doing anything else. I was that clueless to think that I’d have this radio gig until I retired. Can you imagine? Typical 18 year-old!
I mentioned last week that 1988’s list would present some songs that may or may not seem out of place. I suppose that those who know me well will not be surprised by the songs I picked, and there certainly is a variety! Well, I suppose I should get right into the tunes …
I have to remind myself that it is not Movie Music Monday, because my list includes not one, but two songs from the soundtrack to Tom Cruise’s film, Cocktail. My buddy Steve and I cruised a lot our senior year. He was always bringing new music for me to listen to. I am almost positive that he was the one who told me about the Georgia Satellites’ version of the Hippy Hippy Shake.
The version I was familiar with was done by the Swinging Blue Jeans, and was a song we played at my first radio station. I had no idea that the song was written and recorded first by Chan Romero in 1959. Anyway, when I hear the Satellites’ version really rocks and it was a great song to cruise to.
Hippy Hippy Shake
In 1987, the song La Bamba was a hit again. This time it was Los Lobos from the soundtrack to the hit movie starring Lou Diamond Phillips. It made for the perfect parody song for Weird Al Yankovic. His version was called, Lasagna. Now, what Italian wouldn’t like this song?!
It is on my list because when my dad booked my graduation party, he also gathered up a few of his band friends. He had the sax guy, keyboard guy, and bass guy come. It was either my cousin or my uncle who brought their drum kit, and my dad brought his guitar. No rehearsal, all they had was some lyric sheets with chords on them and they jammed through the whole party. It was awesome!
My dad played so many great blues songs. Everyone seemed to take turns singing something. My dad called me, and my friends Steve and Joe up to the stage and handed us the lyrics to Weird Al’s Lasagna. I’m guessing it didn’t take much coaxing for us to sing, and it was probably awful. However, it is a great memory of me and my pals.
Lasagna
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, they say. Robert Palmer had great success with his Addicted to Love video. So he brought back the models from the previous music video for this one. Only this time they’ve multiplied! Five of them do choreographed dance moves, but another eight stand behind Palmer looking bored. It worked, though, as Palmer won the 1988 Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male for this song. It was the same award he won two years earlier for “Addicted To Love.”
Songfacts.com says: The big, sexy hook in this song is the pause after Palmer sings, “Now I find her.” After some drumbeats, he comes back with “…simply irresistible.” The song was in the works for three years before Palmer came up with this part, making the song complete. “A little thing like that makes the difference between an idea and the complete song,” he wrote in his Addictions: Volume 1 liner notes, adding, “I like the manic military rhythm and the strong counter melody.”
This was yet another song that made it to our “cruising cassettes.” It was another great sing along song for us.
Simply Irresistible
My next song is one that I always thought was very creative. I Hate Myself for Loving You is such a great line. I relate to in in a few ways. As a young punk, I kinda fell for gals pretty hard. I let many of them treat me bad and I just kept hanging on with them. I always felt that I would just keep on loving them through it all. Yeah, I was an idiot. Today, that title makes me smile and makes me think of young Keith, who just wanted to make someone happy.
Thanks to Songfacts, I learned that that wasn’t originally the title: Joan Jett’s producer Kenny Laguna told us that Joan came up with the guitar riff for this song and wrote it as “I Hate Myself Because I Can’t Get Laid.” She took it to the writer/producer Desmond Child, who thought the title would never fly and convinced Joan to change it to something with “Love” in the title. Child, who got a co-writing credit on the song.
I Hate Myself For Loving You
The next song is the only country song on my list. I am guessing that I never really heard this when it was released, and became familiar with it a year or so after when I had my first stint at a country station.
I was familiar with the Oak Ridge Boys, of course. I mean, who wasn’t? Elvira was all over the radio when it was out. They guys had great harmonies and when I first heard Gonna Take a Lot of River, that is what stood out to me. This would have been sometime in 1991, when my girlfriend had broken up with me.
That being said, the lyrics now really hit home. I spent a lot of time at the beach and on the pier watching the waves during that time. So the lines “Because my baby’s long gone and nothings going my way. I’m gonna let this muddy water just wash away my blues.” resonated with me.
Today, when I hear it I just love listening to the harmonies and fumble every time I try to say, “Monongahela.”
Gonna Take a Lot of River
The variety of songs continues …
1988 brought us the only acapella song to go to number one in the United States. It is the second song from the Cocktail soundtrack. Don’t Worry, Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin was unlike anything on the radio at the time. Bobby recorded it using only his body to make all the sounds. The simple message and unusual sound made it a surprise hit.
The inspiration for the song came from a poster that Bobby saw featuring the Indian guru Meher Baba. It simply said, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” Bobby says that when he saw it he thought it was “a pretty neat philosophy in four words.” If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say, Don’t Worry, Be Happy in 1988 alone, I’d be financially set for life.
The video was a silly one and a received lots of airplay on MTV. It featured Robin Williams and the lesser-known comedian Bill Irwin (who plays Mr. Noodle on Sesame Street). It is interesting to note that the video is a bit shorter than the single.
I always think of my best friend, Jeff, when I hear this one. He would always say the line, “I’ll give you my phone number, when you worry, call me, I’ll make you happy.” We found that line hilarious for some reason.
Don’t Worry, Be Happy
The next song was something I heard while cruising with my girlfriend. I’m sure we were listening to that Love Song show (Pillow Talk). It grabbed me from the intro. It was a smooth groove that reminded me of some old Atlantic or Stax soul songs. I was surprised to learn it was Glenn Frey.
Glenn’s Soul Searching album was his third solo album. I picked up the album because of the song True Love. My feelings about the song were justified when I read the liner notes. Frey wrote of the song “For those of you who have my previous albums, I apologize. I just can’t shake my obsession with this Al Green-Memphis thing. Like Wilson Pickett says, ‘Don’t fight it’.” Cash Box magazine even called the song: “a classic R&B tune replete with hornbreaks and soul-tinged arrangement and production.”
My favorite part of the song is the fake ending. After a second or two, the drum kicks back in and the sax wails away at a solo. Love this song. I wish the video would have started with the song instead of the cheesy acting by the actors … LOL
True Love
Who would have thought that Tom Jones would have a career boost in 1988?! Tom enjoyed great success in the mid 60’s and the 1970’s. He never really stopped making records and was always on tour. In the early 1980s, Jones started to record country music. From 1980 to 1986, he had nine songs in the US country top 40, yet failed to crack the top 100 in the UK or the Billboard Hot 100.
Prince had recorded Kiss in 1986. The song was a big hit and continues to be played in a regular rotation on Adult Contemporary stations all over the country. I know that many will not agree with me when I say that Prince’s version sounds weak compared to the Tom Jones/Art of Noise version. Tom commands the song and I cannot love it more!
According to Songfacts, after his country songs, he “made a left-field decision to cover this song, and in doing so revived his career. He told the Observer Music Monthly December 2008 how this came about: “If I hear a song I like I’ll do it in the show, so when I heard this I sang it (Kiss) in an R&B style. Then I was due to go on Jonathan Ross’s program in 1987 to perform the ballad ‘A Boy From Nowhere,’ and he wanted something upbeat too. My philosophy has always been: when in doubt, do ‘Great Balls of Fire.’ But Jonathan asked if I had anything new. Art of Noise were watching and they asked if I’d do a version with them. When they sent me the finished version I thought: ‘If this isn’t a hit, I’ll bloody well pack it all in.’ It was a busting hit.”
Tom tells a great story about Prince. When he met Prince and thanked him for the song, but didn’t ask what his thought of his version, as he wasn’t sure he would like the answer. “I saw a movie once that Bette Midler did called The Rose,” Jones said in a Songfacts interview. “She goes to see Harry Dean Stanton, a country singer, because she’d recorded one of his songs. She says she’s a big fan of his, and just before she walks out the door he says, ‘Could I say one thing to you? Don’t you ever record one of my songs again. ‘That hit home. I thought, s–t, I’m never going to ask a songwriter what he or she thinks of my version. I’ll leave that to them. That always sticks in my mind. So I just thanked him for writing it.”
Fun fact: Prince and Tom Jones were both born on the same day, the 7th of June (Prince in 1958, Jones in 1940)
Kiss
I am sure that I have talked about the next song before. I am also sure that I talked about the album before. It was truly a monumental event!
From Songfacts: Handle With Care was the first single from The Traveling Wilburys, a supergroup created by George Harrison and Jeff Lynne. Initially an informal grouping with Roy Orbison and Tom Petty, they got together at Bob Dylan’s Santa Monica, California, studio to quickly record an additional track as a B-side for the single release of Harrison’s song “This Is Love.” “Handle With Care” was the song they came up with, which Harrison and his record company immediately realized was too good to be released as merely a B-side. The five superstars decided to form a band and make an entire album, recording nine more songs at Dave Stewart’s (of Eurythmics) house in Los Angeles in a 10-day window when they were all available.
This was the only video that included Roy Orbison. A short time after the album was released, he passed away of a heart attack. I was working at the radio station the morning that news of his passing came across the news wire. I will never forget that.
Handle With Care
When I was DJing parties and weddings, I would often find out about new dance songs from people who made requests. Many of the songs were line dances like the Cupid Shuffle or Cha Cha Slide. Over the years, I was introduced to The Biker Shuffle, The Turbo Hustle, The Dougie and many others that way. I was always surprised at how they would fill the dance floor.
I remember someone asking for a song called Da Butt and I laughed. It was from a Spike Lee movie, but I had never heard of it. That week, I stopped by a DJ supply store and there on one of the many compilation CD’s they made was Da Butt by a group called EU. I bought it, took it home and gave it a listen.
It certainly had a funkiness to it and I could see how this might be something that people could dance to. It didn’t take long to find out because I had a wedding the following weekend. Once I started the song, the crowd screamed and got on the dance floor. Before I knew it, everyone was shaking their rear end. I would use this song a lot over the years.
I always think of one of my college instructors when I hear this because I DJ’d a birthday party for one of her kids and SHE was the one who asked me to play it.
I would often get out on the dance floor with these poster board signs I had made for my gigs. I had one that said “Oh-We-Oh. Whoa-Oh” and I would hold it up for audience participation during that part of the song. While it is not the most family friendly song, it did give me a chance to have some fun at a lot of DJ gigs.
Da Butt
I couldn’t let this year pass without touching on one of the big controversies of the year. In June of 1988, Gail Brewer-Giorgio released a book called “Is Elvis Alive?” Along with the book, there was a cassette tape with alleged phone conversations that Elvis had with someone long after he was supposed to have died.
This played right into the rumor in the music industry was that Elvis had faked his death. In the years following his death, there were many sightings of him (including my home state of Michigan – at a Kalamazoo Burger King), and in late 1988 record label LS Records released “Spelling on the Stone” to capitalize on the popularity of the phenomenon. According to LS Records owner Lee Stoller, who produced the song, his daughter Tammy received the recording in August 1988 from an anonymous man who arrived at the label’s offices in a limousine. After obtaining distribution rights, LS Records released the song on radio by the end of 1988, with the single’s release not crediting an artist. The song’s title refers to the fact that Presley’s middle name, Aron, is misspelled as “Aaron” on his tombstone, which was a common argument against his death at the time. The song features an uncredited vocalist with a delivery similar to Presley’s; it tells a first-person narrative, purportedly from his perspective, to suggest that he had faked his death.
Some people claim that the impersonator is actually a guy named Dan Willis, who recorded at LS Records. Others think it really is Elvis. I say Balderdash …
Bonus Song: Spelling On the Stone
1988 had so many great songs. There have been times I wonder if I should pick 15 instead of 10. I know that in future years, I will struggle to pick 10, so I won’t. What one of your favorite 1988 hits did I miss? Mention it in the comments.
Next week we move to 1989. The list isn’t as all over the place like this one and includes some great songs. Join me next week and we’ll give them a listen….
101 years ago today, the “Hillbilly Shakespeare” was born. I am, of course, talking about Hank Williams Sr.
Hank is regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century. He certainly was a prolific songwriter. He wrote (or co-wrote) 167 songs in his 29 years of life.
Of those songs, 55 singles reached the top 10 on the Billboard Country and Western Best Sellers chart. Five of those were released after his death and 12 of them hit number one.
The Country Music Hall of Fame has said that Hank “set the agenda for contemporary country songcraft” and the “standard by which success is measured in country music”. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame says that the “straightforward approach” of Williams’ songs, which they deemed “brutally honest” and written in the “language of the everyman”. That is some high praise for the entertainer.
Hank, the man, is another story.
From Entertainment Weekly’s TV critic, Ken Tucker: “despite being a pop-culture titan and rightly dubbed “father of country music”, Hank Williams was possibly the least likable — least warm and sympathetic — figure in modern music. Reeking of self-pity, he wrote and sang some of the greatest woe-is-me music of the century […] Brimming with an anger that regularly spilled over into misogyny, Williams was also a master of spite”.
Even Hank Jr. concurs. In his autobiography he says: “To hear the tributes, one would think that the entire city [Nashville] took turns kissing Daddy while he was still alive. […] While he was alive, he was despised and envied; after he died, he was some kind of saint.”
How do you pick one song when you have songs like Your Cheating Heart, Lovesick Blues, Cold Cold Heart, Mind Your Own Business, Move It On Over, and I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry to choose from?! It was difficult, but I opted to go with one of my favorites – Tear In My Beer.
The original version was written by Hank Williams during one of his Nashville recording sessions in the early 50’s. Hank’s producer was Fred Rose, and he was opposed to mentioning alcohol in songs. Big Bill Lister recorded it first.
Lister, who opened show dates for Williams for a time, needed a drinking song, and Hank gave him the demo he had recorded. Lister recorded it and released it in 1952 on the Capitol label. Lister gave the demo to Wiliams’ son more than 40 years later.
In 1988, Hank Williams Jr. recorded a version that is a duet with his father. It was created using electronic merging technology. The demo had been recorded with Williams playing the guitar as the sole instrument, his son and his band simply “filled in the blanks” and recorded additional vocals. The music video for the song combined television footage that had existed of Hank Williams performing, onto which also used electronic merging technology, impressed the recordings of Hank Jr., which then made it appear as if he were playing with his father. The video was both a critical and commercial success, and was named Video Of The Year by both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country music.
Yesterday, I posted about the premier of Columbo with Peter Falk. Coincidentally, today is the anniversary of his birth. He was born on this day in 1927, and is worthy of a two day celebration.
He stars as Guy Gisborne, alongside The Rat Pack in a spoof on Robin Hood. Falk convincingly plays his gangster character to perfection!
So, how does this tie in with my Movie Music Monday feature? Well, the film is a musical and features songs written by Sammy Chan and Jimmy Van Heusen. All the arrangements are done by the legendary Nelson Riddle.
The soundtrack features Sinatra’s hit, My Kind of Town, as well as catchy songs like Mr. Booze, Bang Bang, and Style. Each song was recorded for the film, but when it came time to release a soundtrack album, everything was re-recorded. According to Frank Sinatra Jr., this was because of the better quality attainable in a recording studio as opposed to the process used for film soundtracks.
The song for today is a short one. This may or may not be a good thing, depending on whether or not you think Peter Falk can sing. Yes, he actually sings in the movie!
In the scene, Big Jim (the leader of the crime organization) is dead. A group of gangsters is electing a new leader. Conveniently, the only nomination is Guy Gisborne. In true Robin Hood fashion, he talks of how things will now be “all for one and one for all.”
53 years ago today, on September 15, 1971, one of my favorite TV shows AND favorite TV characters debuted on NBC. In honor of this anniversary, here is a “summer rerun” (with updates) from our TV Draft in 2022. Here is a tip of the hat to Columbo.
Columbo was called a murder mystery where the murder was no mystery. The reason for this was that you know who the murderer is right from the start. The show pioneered the “inverted mystery” technique/format. Almost every show begins with a crime and the audience knows who the culprit is. Then enter the LAPD’s Lieutenant Columbo who spends the remainder of the show looking for clues, pestering the criminal, and eventually solving the case. The show was not a “whodunit” like Perry Mason, but rather it has been described as a “how’s he gonna catch him?”
The first season of Columbo began in September of 1971. Most episodes were featured as part of the NBC Mystery Movie rotation. It ran for 35 years with a total of 69 episodes.
The show was created by schoolmates Richard Levinson and William Link. The character first appeared in 1960 on The Chevy Mystery Show in an episode called “Enough Rope.” That episode was then adapted for a stage play entitled Prescription: Murder, which was then adapted for television in 1968. Columbo was played by Bert Freed in Enough Rope and by Thomas Mitchell in the stage version in 1962.
The writers of the show had originally wanted Lee J. Cobb to play Columbo, but he was unavailable. They next approached Bing Crosby, who turned down the role because it would take away from his time on the golf course. Peter Falk came across the script for Prescription: Murder and contacted Levinson and Link and said, “I’d kill to play that cop!”
They weren’t really sure about Peter Falk, who was only 39 at the time. They envisioned the character as being older. He won the role, and he plays him as a much straighter, cleaner, and firmer Columbo in the first episode. It was a huge hit! The Columbo quirks and mannerisms that fans came to know and love would develop as he continued to play the role.
Peter Falk really threw himself into the role. He wore his own clothes. The suit was one that he had dyed brown, because he felt that looked better. He wore his own shoes. The world famous raincoat was one that he purchased in New York City while caught in a rainstorm. It cost him a mere $15. One difference between Peter and Columbo – Columbo preferred cigars, while Falk enjoyed cigarettes.
There is a a fantastic book on the show written by David Koenig, that is full of great stories and information.
Columbo is like no other cop. Koenig says, “There was nobody or nothing like Columbo at all before him. All the detectives were these hardboiled, emotionless, tough guys. And he was the opposite of that in every way. He hated guns and violence.” He describes the show this way, “Columbo wasn’t really a cop show. It was a drawing-room mystery done backwards with a cop as the lead. It was an anti-cop show.”
Recently, Koenig released a second book that is on my “To read” list:
During the first few seasons of Columbo, it really set the standard for what some refer to as “event television.” There were some fabulous guest stars who played the murderer. Those stars included Gene Berry, Jack Cassidy, William Shatner, Dick Van Dyke, Ruth Gordon, Robert Vaughn, Anne Baxter, Janet Leigh, Robert Culp, Donald Pleasence, Eddie Albert, Leonard Nimoy, Johnny Cash, and Patrick McGoohan – just to name a few!!
After the murder, when Columbo finally shows up, his genius is hidden by his often confused look. It is also hidden by the way he is dressed and by his friendly demeanor. He is looked upon as a stupid fool. The killer has no idea what a brilliant man Columbo is and they are lured into a false sense of security. The killer becomes even more arrogant and dismisses Columbo as a dope, only to be caught in the end.
One of the things that certainly added to the character was his little idiosyncrasies like fumbling through his pockets for a piece of evidence, asking to borrow a pencil, or being distracted by something in the room in the middle of a conversation. Falk adlibbed those moments on camera while film was rolling as a way to keep the other actors off-balance. He felt that it really helped to make their confused and impatient reactions to Columbo more genuine. It really truly worked.
On the show, the murderer is often some famous person, or someone who is cultured or from high society. Either that, or some sort of successful professional (surgeon, psychologist, etc…). Paired up against Columbo, it is gold! The interactions between the two become such a marvelous part of the show and brings out Columbo’s character and cunning genius!
In those conversations Columbo is often confused. He doesn’t know anything about classical music, chess, fine wines, photography or pieces of art. One article on the show stated that his “ignorance” will often “allow him to draw in the murderer with a cunning humility that belies his understanding of human behavior and the criminal mind.”
The last episode of Columbo aired in 2003 and was entitled “Columbo Likes the Nightlife.” Falk had planned for one final episode. It was to be called “Columbo’s Last Case” which was to begin at his retirement party. There was a lack of network interest and with his age and failing health, the episode was never to be.
Columbo remains as popular as ever. It was one of the most watched shows on streaming platforms during the pandemic. Author David Koenig says about the show, “It has stood the test of time for 50-plus years now. That character is still vibrant and alive, appealing to people. People love that central character, that basic format, the fact that it’s not political, it’s not violent, it’s not all the things television shows are today, it’s something different. And that is charm. That’s what people love about it.”
Columbo Facts:
Steven Spielberg directed the first episode of Season 1 – Murder by the Book.
Peter Falk won 4 Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Columbo (1972, 1975, 1976, and 1990)
He also won a Golden Globe Award for the role.
Patrick McGoohan played a murderer more times than any other actor – 4 times. Jack Cassidy and Robert Culp each had 3 times, William Shatner and George Hamilton each played a killer twice.
Columbo’s name is never revealed – although a close up of his badge in the first season says it is ‘Frank.’ The creators of the show have stated that his first name was never known, so take that however you want to.
Columbo drives a 1960 Peugeot 403 convertible.
Columbo’s favorite food is chili and black coffee is his drink of choice.
In the 1972 episode entitled, “Etude in Black,” Columbo rescued a basset hound from the dog pound. The dog could be seen in many other episodes, and was as close to a sidekick/partner as Columbo ever got.
In 1997, the episode Murder by the Book was ranked #16 in TV Guide’s “100 Greatest Episodes of All Time” list.
In 1999, Lieutenant Columbo was ranked #7 on TV Guide’s “50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time.”
There is a bronze statue of Columbo (and his dog) in Budapest, Hungary. It was unveiled in 2017. Peter Falk is rumored to be a distant relative of the well-known Hungarian politician Miksa Falk (1828-1908).
I thought I would close with little treat for you. On one of the Dean Celebrity Roasts, Frank Sinatra was the Man of the Hour. Now, these roasts were often edited down to make sure all the best stuff was shown on TV. In Lee Hale’s book, he stated that there was only one performance that was shown in its entirety – Peter Falk’s appearance during the Sinatra roast.
Falk appears from the audience – as Lt. Columbo. The entire 11 minute bit is just priceless. It is a must see. Enjoy:
Boy, do I miss Peter Falk! Happy 53rd Anniversary to Columbo!
You know that I am always up for a good time travel story, and that was what I was hoping for with Maybe Next Time by Cesca Major.
A lot of times, when I see that a book was read by a “book club,” I will make sure to read what is about to see if it peaks my interest. From the cover, I thought it would be some sort of romance book, and in a way it was. However, it was not like those with the muscular guys with their hair blowing in the wind on the cover.
Here is the Goodreads synopsis:
One Day meets Groundhog Day, in this heartwarming and emotionally poignant novel about a stressed woman who must relive the same day over and over, keeping her family and work life from imploding as she attempts to spare her husband from an unfortunate fate.
It is an ordinary Monday and harried London literary agent Emma is flying out of the door as usual. Preoccupied with work and her ever growing to-do list, she fails to notice her lovely husband Dan seems bereft, her son can barely meet her eye, and her daughter won’t go near her. Even the dog seems sad.
She is far too busy, buried deep in her phone; social media alerts pinging; clients messaging with “emergencies”; keeping track of a dozen WhatsApp groups about the kids’ sports, school, playdates, all of it. Her whole day is frantic—what else is new—and as she rushes back through the door for dinner, Dan is still upset. They fight, and he walks out, desolate, dragging their poor dog around the block. Just as she realizes it is their anniversary and she has forgotten, again, she hears the screech of brakes.
Dan is dead.
The next day Emma wakes up… and Dan is alive. And it’s Monday again. And again. And again.
Emma tries desperately to change the course of fate by doing different things each time she wakes up: leaving WhatsApp, telling her boss where to get off, writing to Dan, listening to her kids, reaching out to forgotten friends, getting drunk and buying out Prada. But will Emma have the chance to find herself again, remember what she likes about her job, reconnect with her children, love her husband? Will this be enough to change the fate they seem destined for?
A moving “What if” story of what it is to be a woman in the modern world—never feeling we’re getting it quite right—about learning to slow down and appreciate life that is sure to resonate with women’s fiction fans.
That is not to say that it will only resonate with woman, in my opinion. It could have easily been told from the male point of view as well. That being said, let me give you my thoughts.
This really wasn’t a bad book. However, I found it going on a bit long at some points. It almost seemed like we relived the same day a few times more than was necessary. Eventually, though, Emma begins to see things a bit differently and things move along. When this happens, there are little things that happen with other characters that begin to really add to the story.
No spoilers here, but when you get to the end of the book, it ends in such a way where you stop and think about what is going to happen after that last period in the paragraph. To me, this can be a good thing or a bad thing. Some reviews raved about the ending while others absolutely hated it.
Admittedly, I thought it should have been more. As the book goes on, we get to know more about some of the minor characters in it. The problem I had with it was that I was left with questions about what happened next in their stories. This is where I felt that some of the “replays” of Emma’s Mondays could have been left out, while filling the reader in on what happened to those characters before (or after) Emma’s last scene.
I will let you decide for yourself. Let me know if you wind up reading this.
There are times when I really miss having a real picture to hold on to. Back when MySpace and Facebook first got off the ground, we all seemed to post our pictures on those sites not knowing that over time, they would lose quality and become more pixilated. That’s the case with my photo today.
I thought I had a hard copy of this photo, but I was unable to find it. I also looked through some of my flash drives with no luck, so, I pulled this one off Facebook.
I post this one today because Joe Don Rooney (the guy to the right of me in this photo) celebrates his 49th birthday today. He was the group’s lead guitar player and sang a lot of the high harmonies on their songs. He played in Chely Wright’s band before he was in Rascal Flatts. He was once married to model and 2005 Playboy Playmate of the Year, Tiffany Fallon.
This photo was taken at DTE Energy Music theater in Michigan when Rascal Flatts came through on a summer tour. I would guess that they probably only had 2 albums out at the time, and I think they were they headliners of this tour.
Depending on the artist, the radio people either went first at the meet and greets or last. At this meet and greet, the fans got to go first and I always enjoyed watching them interact with an act. The guys were very gracious to them, signing autographs and posing for photos, and making sure to chat a little, too.
I am holding what looks like some sort of poster here. I am sure that I had stuff for them to sign for our St. Jude Auction at the radio station. A lot of times, the folks working with a band or artist want to keep things moving and simple. They had to keep them on schedule for the show. Whenever I mentioned that I had stuff for St. Jude, they allowed the artist to sign as much as they could to raise money.
I am sure that I met the guys a couple times. I may have to dig into the radio stuff to see if there is a better photo to post. Until I find one, this one will have to do ….
It seems odd to do a week in review “highlights” post on Thursday, but it really is the day that I get an extra minute or two to look back, so here goes.
Kicking Kid
While the days leading up to it were extremely unorganized, Saturday morning Andrew got to play soccer. It was quite a mess in the days prior as we had no idea what time to be there until the day before. Next, there was confusion about whether or not they had to wear cleats (They did. Thankfully, Ella’s baseball cleats worked.) Then there was confusion about whether or not we had to purchase a uniform (We did at $75). To top it off, hours before we were supposed to be there, the coach texted to say that she wasn’t going to be there – and the assistant coach was also not going to be there!
Thankfully, the guy in charge had a couple people who were there to run the kids around doing drills. So, technically, there was no game, but they got to “dribble” the ball up and down the field and shoot at the goal.
It was pretty chilly that morning and I wish we had all dressed a bit warmer. As much as we thought he’d love running around, he (and the rest of the 2-3 year olds) were done about 30 minutes in. He did love when they sat up some cones in front of the net and he had to try to know them down.
Sam was the “pin setter” for the soccer bowling.
Sam was stylin’
When we got home, we all relaxed around the house. Sam was sitting on the couch and Ella asked if she could brush Sam’s hair. This led to an impromptu hairstyling session.
All I could see was the front, but Andrew and Ella said I really needed to see the back…
Holy Bows!
Ella was sad that I have no hair to put bows in. Sam suggested she put them in my chest hair. I will spare you from having to see that photo!
Will I Walk ‘Round in Circles?
Yes. Yes I will. 17 circles in fact. The indoor track I told you about at Ella’s preschool is not a full size track, and so you have to go around 17 times to walk a mile.
The track is on the second floor and goes around the top of the basketball court. The day we walked it without headphones on, it was weird. The track is almost like a plastic/vinyl type material. My shoes were very loud as I walked on it. Now, when I drop her off, I put on my headphones and don’t even notice it.
There is also a gym/work out center there that I could join if I wanted to. I’m thinking about it, but I’d have to do everything before I head into work and I am sure that my coworkers would not want to sit near me post workout.
For what it is worth, it is a nice 30-45 minutes lost in music, a book, or my thoughts. It is very nice!
James Earl Jones
It was sad to hear of the passing of James Earl Jones. Man, did he have a voice! What a great actor, too. He made every role his own. As a child, I had no idea that he was the voice of Darth Vader (who gave me nightmares after seeing Star Wars).
James doing comedy was funny because he almost always played it straight. There is a scene in the Naked Gun 33 1/3 where Leslie Neilsen’s character is mistaken for Phil Donahue. At one point he see’s something that makes him ill at The Academy Awards show and he runs out on stage as James Earl Jones and Olympia Dukakis are at the podium. He leans over the band stand and vomits into a tuba. When Olympia asks James “What is that?” James says, as serious and straight as possible, “It looks like Phil Donahue throwing up in a tuba.” That never ceases to make me laugh.
David Letterman always had him on his show to do silly Top Ten lists and more. Here are just some of them:
Of the many tributes to him this week, I loved this one:
He was such a part of the Star Wars Universe and to have him amongst those who had passed away before him is simply beautiful.
Speaking of beautiful
My baby girl not only started preschool this month, but she also started her dance class. She will be learning ballet and tap. She had her first class this week. I was at work, but Sam kept me posted on the happenings. Even though there are no parents allowed in the dance studio where they kids are, Sam said you could hear the tap shoes tapping away.
She called me at work after he first class and was so excited to talk about it. They got to dance with tambourines and maracas and she loved every minute of it! I can’t wait to see her perform!
I guess I am officially a “soccer dad” and a “dance dad” – and I’m ok with that!
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 would turn 17 in 1987. It was my junior year in high school and I did what I had to do to get by in all my classes except band class. I was completely devoted to band class. I was an officer in band class (I was one of the librarians who helped sort, catalog and distribute music). I often stayed late and practiced with a couple other band nerds.
It was also the year I dated a gal who was kinda sorta toxic. It was an 8 month relationship that really had me messed up. I won’t go into details. We had some good times, but the bad times outweighed them. As I have worked ahead for this feature, I began to notice how some songs really hold some big relationship memories. The power of a song and the memories attached to them aren’t always happy, but I have noticed that there are more happy ones than bad ones.
Off to 1987 and my ten picks …
One of the best concerts I ever attended was Billy Joel and Elton John. There were two piano greats and a night of fantastic music. I am always interested to find out an artist’s hero, or favorite artist. Billy has often said that his favorite was the great Ray Charles. Put the two of them together and you’ve got one very cool song.
According to songfacts.com, when Ray showed up at the session, they met for the first time, and Joel was in awe. To break the ice and get to know each other, they each played piano for a while before recording the song. Whenever Charles would meet someone for the first time, he would touch that person’s face. When he did this to Joel, he said, “relax,” since he could tell Billy was nervous.
In a 1986 promotional interview, Joel said he was sitting at home trying to find inspiration for the song in his surroundings when his baby grand sparked his imagination. “I began looking around at things that have been consistent in my life, and in this age of synthesizers and electronic keyboards the piano has almost become an old-fashioned instrument,” he recalled. “I glanced at the baby grand piano and realized that I had a lot of love for that thing. The piano has provided me with a nice living, a career, and happiness. It’s gotten me women, and it’s gotten me through some strange times.”
He continued: “Sometimes at night I’d sit down and give myself a concert, and it’s almost like the piano did it – I didn’t even have anything to do with it. When I was thinking about a theme for Ray and me, it seemed apropos: you know, Ray Charles, piano player. Billy Joel, piano player. Let’s talk about a real love in our lives – the baby grand. ‘Baby Grand’ is really a love song to an instrument.”
Personally, this is just one of those magical musical songs to me. It’s a bluesy love song played by two talents who love their instrument – and making music. And that is good enough for me.
Baby Grand
I’m sure that every radio market had an adult contemporary station that played love songs at night. Usually, it was hosted by a deep voiced DJ who would smoothly deliver requests and dedications over the air. In Detroit, we had “Pillow Talk” hosted by Alan Almond.
In 1987, I had my driver’s license and I would go out cruising around with my friends. When I began dating, I would often “park” and listen to the love song show. As I was going through songs for this feature, I was overwhelmed by just how many of those songs were nightly staples on that show.
While there were times that my girlfriend and I would make out in a parking lot, there were also a lot of times when we sat and listened to the music and talk. There were a lot of ballads that came out in the mid-80’s. Many of them continue to be played as wedding songs and such.
One song that really stood out on the radio was an instrumental by Kenny G. It was his hit, Songbird. It sounded so out of place, yet perfectly fit. Because it was an instrumental, the DJ would often use it to read those lovey dovey dedications. “Sarah wants Josh to know that she misses him so much tonight.” “William called in to thank Beth for a wonderful first date.” “Deborah wants Tim to know that she is very sorry for the argument they had tonight and wants to dedicate this one to him.”
Fun fact: “Songbird” is all Kenny G – he played every instrument on the track (including the drum programming) and recorded it in his home studio. “I created a whole sound based on what I was hearing inside me,” he told Vanity Fair. “It came out, and Whoa! That’s exactly what I wanted!”
When I hear Songbird, I am reminded of those nights where I thought I was really in love and had no idea what true love was at the time.
Songbird
MTV turned 6 in 1987 and as we have seen in the past few weeks, there were many creative videos to boost record sales. I could list about 50 videos that are forever etched in my brain, and up near the top would be the one for the next song – Doing It All For My Baby.
Mike Duke (who played with the Outlaws) cowrote the song with Philip Cody. They couldn’t get anyone to record it. Mike went on tour with Delbert McClinton and at some point was doing club gigs in Mississippi. Some guys from Huey’s band came in to see the gig and he was playing ‘Doing It All For My Baby.’ The guys in the band said, ‘Wow, we love this song. We’re going to bring it to Huey.’ And they brought it in, and three years after we wrote the song, Huey Lewis & the News recorded the song and put it on their biggest selling album ever.”
The band produced an extended video for the song that lasted almost 8 minutes and resulted an one of the iconic MTV images of the ’80s: the band’s heads on display in glass cases while they sing this song. In the video, the band gets stranded somewhere spooky, and end up in various Frankenstein scenes with Lewis playing Dr. Frankenstein. It was truly one of those “fun” videos!
This song features the Tower of Power Horns. I can’t imagine the song without them!
Doing It All For My Baby
When I used to DJ, I would often play music at the VFW hall that my dad belonged to. I met so many great people there and remain friends with many of them. It was here that I became familiar with a lot of songs that I hadn’t heard before. One of them was my next song.
Jimmy Mac, as he was known to all of us, used to always ask for stuff like Barry White, Deon Jackson and the Whispers. Rock Steady never failed to get people on the dance floor. I started playing it at other gigs afterward and it always worked.
According to songfacts.com, the song was written and produced by the team of L.A. Reid and Babyface. It was one of the first songs the pair worked on for another artist – they were members of the group The Deele at the time. In 1989, they formed LaFace Records and became music moguls as well as hit producers. TLC, OutKast and Pink were all signed to LaFace. It would be their biggest hit, reaching #7 on the chart.
Rock Steady
It has taken me 17 weeks to finally “Rickroll” you. Sorry. Of course, Rickrolling wouldn’t even become a thing until 2007, but you have to admit that the song was an earworm. Once you heard it, it was stuck in your brain for hours. (The same thing happens to me with his song, “Together Forever.” Which is almost the same song, really!)
At the time, however, this was a pretty big thing. I remember it playing at all the high school dances and all the kids dancing to it, well, not me, but you know what I mean. Astley’s story is actually a cool one …
He worked for the British production team of Stock, Aitken and Waterman’s studio for two years. While he was there he was operating tape machines, singing on recordings for other singers, learning the trade and famously making the tea before the production trio wrote and produced this song for him, which became his first hit. It was recorded in October 1986, but wasn’t released until July 1987, as the producers were waiting for the right environment to break a new artist.
It was inspired by a woman Pete Waterman had been seeing for three years. Rick Astley was staying with Waterman at the time, and after a three-hour phone call with the woman, Astley said, “You’re never gonna give her up.” Aitken and Waterman then changed the story a bit and made him the one who was vulnerable. It was the biggest hit of 1987 in the UK, and went to number one here in the states.
I guess the nice thing about this blog is that you don’t have to click on the video, but you KNOW you want to! Do it! Click it!
Never Gonna Give You Up
Time to clear your musical pallet of Mr. Astley. I’ll do it with the phenomenal blending of three beautiful voices.
The group Trio was made up of Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris. These three ladies were good friends with each other and admirers of each other’s work. The first attempted to record an album together in the mid-1970s, but scheduling conflicts and other difficulties (including the fact that the three women all recorded for different record labels) prevented its release. Record labels were real peculiar about that kind of thing, I guess.
The Trio album was released in March of 1987. One of four singles that was released was called Those Memories of You. This song was recorded by Bill and James Monroe in 1950! Mel Tillis’ daughter, Pam, released a version in 1986 (reaching #55), but the Trio version is the one that was the hit. It was a top 5 song on the Country charts. The video starred a familiar face – actor Harry Dean Stanton.
The Trio album won the Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
It is one of those songs that I could get lost in the vocals and the harmonies.
Those Memories of You
The next song is on my list because of my brother. He listened to a lot of music in his room, but I can distinctly remember Madonna and Debbie Gibson music playing a lot. If memory serves me right, he saw her in concert a few times. Shake Your Love seems to be the one song from this album that I always heard from down the hall.
Out of the Blue was Debbie’s debut album and Shake Your Love was the second single from it. What is impressive to me is that she wrote every song on this album and was only 16 when the album was released! This and her first single (Only in My Dreams) were both top 5 records for her.
Another 1980’s superstar helped Debbie with the dance moves in the video for this song – Paula Abdul.
Shake Your Love
Desmond Child has written and co-written some very big songs, including You Give Love a Bad Name and Livin’ on a Prayer for Bon Jovi. When a record rep suggested that Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith write a song with him, they were not thrilled.
Child told songfacts.com: Steven was much more friendly, as he is, and was very generous, really, and showed me a song that they had started called ‘Cruisin’ for the Ladies.’ I listened to that lyric, and I said, ‘You know what, that’s a very boring title.’ And they looked at me like, ‘How dare you?’ And then Steven volunteered, sheepishly, and said that when he first wrote the melody he was singing ‘Dude Looks like a Lady.’ It was kind of a tongue twister that sounded more like scatting. He got the idea because they had gone to a bar and had seen a girl at the end of the bar with ginormous blonde rock hair, and the girl turned around and it ended up being Vince Neil from Motley Crue. So then they started making fun of him and started saying, ‘That dude looks like a lady, dude looks like a lady, dude looks like a lady.’ So that’s how that was born. That’s the true story of how that was born. So I grabbed onto that and I said, ‘No, that’s the title of the song.'”
I have always loved the story of how the song came to be. It really became the comeback song for the group, as their last hit was back in 1978. When I first saw Mrs. Doubtfire with Robin Williams and they played this song, I laughed out loud.
Dude Looks Like A Lady
In 1982, George Harrison released his Gone Troppo album and it didn’t do well. It can be said that a lot of his work was well off the mainstream, using unusual instruments and based on Indian music. “Got My Mind Set On You” proved that he could release a song requiring very little thought and send it up the charts. Naturally, many of Harrison’s ardent followers can’t stand this song.
The song was written by Rudy Clark and originally recorded by James Ray in 1962. George had bought a copy of the single in the summer of 1963 when visiting his sister Louise in Illinois. Many years later when he was writing his Cloud Nine album, he remembered the song and decided to cover it.
Songfacts.com says that when Harrison conceived the Cloud Nine album, he looked for a producer who could carry some of the load and not be intimidated by working with a former Beatle. He sought out Jeff Lynne of ELO for the role even though he had never met him – he connected with Lynne by having their mutual friend, Dave Edmunds, get him the message. It ended up being a great fit. Lynne brought his distinctive production sheen to the tracks and helped out writing some of the songs. Lynne’s influence can be heard in the backing vocals of the “Got My Mind Set On You” chorus. Harrison and Lynne are responsible for bringing together Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, and Tom Petty, forming The Traveling Wilburys in 1988.
MTV played the video a lot for this song and VH1 had recently gone on the air, so it aired there, too. As simple as this song is, I’ve always loved this one by George.
There were two videos for the song, the first I was unaware of until I stumbled on it for this piece. Both were directed by Gary Weis. The first features a young guy trying to win a ballerina for a gal he sees in an arcade. She is watching the video of George on a kinescope. Here is that video:
Got My Mind Set On You
This second video is the one I am most familiar with. It was inspired by the then-recently released movie – Evil Dead II. As George sits in a study singing, furniture and knick-knacks (including a stuffed squirrel, sentient chainsaw, a suit of armor, and mounted stag and warthog) begin to sing or dance along with the song. FYI, the backflip is performed by a stunt double.
I have made it no secret that I love Roy Orbison’s music. I remember being thrilled that he was making a comeback in the late 80’s. His stuff with the aforementioned Wilburys is so good. His posthumous Mystery Girl album was a fitting sendoff for him.
The original version of crying was recorded in 1961. Roy claimed to have written this as the result of an encounter he had with an old flame with whom he was still in love. He refused to say how much she meant to him, and when he ran into her again it was too late. It has one of the most powerful endings in music, in my opinion.
He claimed the stunning climax at the end of the song was not contrived, but just happened in the course of the song. He told the NME in 1980: “Immediately I thought of a past experience and just retold that, was the way that came about. It was the retelling of a thing with a girlfriend that I had had. I couldn’t tell you right now what notes I hit at the end of the song, or anything.”
In 1987, shortly after he signed with Virgin Records, he recorded a duet of this song with kd lang which was released as a single and later used as the B-side to his 1989 release “She’s A Mystery To Me.” This duet won the 1988 Grammy award for Best Country Vocal Collaboration, and was re-released in the UK in 1992, where it hit #13. Lang said that when they met to do the recording, it was obvious that their voices had a “tonal connection.”
I do not disagree with her. To me, the 1961 version is perfection. When I hear it, I am mentally exhausted. It is so moving. How can you top it? Add kd lang. Wow. To say that I was blown away by this version is an understatement. The arrangement and the vocals are just powerful and beautiful at the same time.
There was a time in my life where I could relate to the lyrics of this song. It was a painful time, and the hurt conveyed in the song was very real to me.
Crying
Boy, this week I Rickroll you and end on a sad note. Sorry about that. Next week will be better.
We’ll travel to 1988 next week. It was my senior year, and there are some fun ones on my list. I hope you will come back and check out the list.
What was your favorite from 1987? Drop them in the comments ….
It was on this day in 1993 that we were told “The truth is out there,” as the X-Files debuted on Fox Television. It starred David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. They are FBI agents who investigate the eponymous “X-Files”: marginalized, unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena.
The theme song, entitled “Materia Primoris,” perfectly conveys the mysterious themes of the show. It is often just called “Theme from the X-Files” and it was written and produced by American film and television composer Mark Snow.
The composition was released as a single in 1996 and achieved chart success, particularly in France, where it reached number one. Believe it or not, it has been covered by many artists and has quite a few remixes.
Mark Snow created the echo effect for the song by accident. Snow said that he had gone through several revisions, but Chris Carter felt that something was not quite right. Carter walked out of the room and Snow put his hand and forearm on his keyboard in frustration. Snow said, “this sound was in the keyboard. And that was it.”
The whistle melody comes from an old sample from the Proteus line of synth products called “Whistling Joe” and the whistling of Snow’s wife, Glynn.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 