Tag: DJing

The Music of My Life – 2000

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.

In 2000, I turned 30. It was one of those big milestone birthdays that people joke about. “You start to fall apart at 30,” I was told. I was lucky. Right around my 30th birthday I achieved my 30 pound weight loss. I was on my way to better health and actually felt good. I was married, had a steady full time job, was doing radio part time, and still DJing on the side.

It has been interesting to look back year by year to see the changes in music. It’s funny to see how certain things come and go. For example, “Boy Bands.” When the New Kids on the Block faded away in the early 90’s, many folks thought the boy bands were done. However, in 1999, two new boy bands brought the genre back into the spotlight.

When the Backstreet Boys stormed on the scene in 1999, they helped pave the way for ‘N Sync. ‘N Sync’s No Strings Attached album would go on to be the best selling album of the 2000’s according to Billboard magazine. Bye Bye Bye was one of the songs from it that helped the sales of the album.

The song is on my list because it was one of my “go to” songs at parties. It never failed to get all of the younger females out on the dance floor. It always made me laugh because when it started to play, you’d hear a bunch of high pitched screams. I liked it to the girls you’d see watching the Beatles or Elvis!

Bye Bye Bye

Next, it’s a one hit wonder that really stuck out on the radio. The group Nine Days took Absolutely (The Story of a Girl) to the top ten on the charts, but wound up being a “one and done” group.

The song was written by lead singer Josh Hampson. The song is actually an autobiographical song about him and his wife. In an interview with Impose magazine, he says, “I exaggerated things and used tons of figurative language to express something, but it’s about me, and it’s about my wife – who was then my girlfriend – and her wanting to get engaged. I just wasn’t ready. I was basically stalling her and making her cry. I was good at that.”

Their first album didn’t produce any further hits. They recorded a second album, but their label dropped them and said that the album would not be released. They said that there were “no hits” on it.

John left the music business and became a teacher.

When a song opens cold (with no musical intro), that first line really has to grab you. The first time I heard this on the radio, it grabbed me. I thought, “Okay, tell me more about the girl who cried a river and tried to drown the whole world…”

Absolutely (The Story of a Girl)

We’ve seen throughout this series how tough times can often lead to amazing songs. That is the case for the country cross-over hit, I Hope You Dance.

The was written by Tia Sillers and Mark Sanders. Sillers told Songwriter Universe magazine:

“For ‘I Hope You Dance,’ I had written the opening line, ‘I hope you never lose your sense of wonder.’ I had just broken up with someone, going through a brutal divorce. I needed to get away, so I went to a beach on the Florida Gulf Coast. Sitting on the beach and reflecting about the breakup, I felt so small and inconsequential. But out of this difficult time came the inspiration to write ‘I Hope You Dance.’ As I was leaving the beach, I remember thinking that things weren’t really so bad, that I would get through it. That’s when I came up with the line, ‘I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean.'”

In a Song facts interview, Bill Withers talked about this song. He stated that this is a song that says something that everyone can understand and remember: “There are lines that are so profound… ‘And when the time comes for you to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.’ Come on man, you can’t say that any better.”

This was a song that became big for Daddy/Daughter and Mother/Son dances at weddings. It wasn’t odd for it to be the bridal dance either. I think Lee Ann Womack’s voice is perfect for this song and I was thrilled to see it get pop airplay.

It really is one of those songs that is a “wisdom song.” It could easily be something someone would tell a loved one if they knew it was the last time they’d see each other in my opinion. It’s just a really great song.

I Hope You Dance

it would be two years before my first child would be born. I won’t lie, the thought of being a dad scared me. The next song is one that was still being played on the radio when my son was born. It struck a chord and I know now, why.

According to Song facts, Creed’s lead singer, Scott Stapp was due to be a father. Once he found out that he was going to have a son, Stapp wrote this song because he didn’t want his child facing the same problems he faced while growing up. He was from a very strict, very devout Christian household and he didn’t want his son to grow up questioning himself and his faith like Scott did. Stapp told us: “Don’t we always want our kids to be better than us? Don’t we always want them to have a better experience in this life and this journey than we did? So I think that from my point of view I’m beginning to see why that song struck a chord with multiple generations: because it touches on a feeling and sentiments that are universal for fathers, and for parents in general.”

Scott says that he still connects with the song when he performs it. He says he remembers the fear of being a father, but also knows with time, the fear has gone and he loves being a dad.

The song would be Creed’s only #1 on the Pop chart.

With Arms Wide Open

Next is a song that I hated to include. I never really cared for the song, but it was a part of my life. Heck, it was a part of everyone’s life. It seemed like you couldn’t go anywhere without hear it or a reference to it. It may surprise you to know that despite this, it barely did anything on the charts.

Songfacts says, “Considering what a sensation this song was in America, it had a surprisingly low chart position, peaking at just #40. While the song seemed to be everywhere, its omnipresence was due more to cultural references than to record sales or airplay. Few radio stations put the song in rotation, and in this pre-download era, consumers had little interest in owning the single.”

So just how did it get so popular??

Songfacts answers that, too. “Knowing most radio stations would have no interest in this song, it was marketed through sports, with the single sent to various baseball, basketball, football, hockey and soccer teams in hopes that they would play it at games.

Most of the music played during sporting events is during lulls in the action – after a foul ball in a baseball game or when a football team is in the huddle – which is only room for about 12 seconds of a song. Songs with quick, high energy, easily understood hooks work well, and “Who Let The Dogs Out” fit the bill for these jock jams.”

Who Let The Dogs Out?

I was working in Country Radio when Tim McGraw released “My Next Thirty Years.” Talk about a song that hit home at the time. I think when you hit any milestone birthday you think about the past and the future. The lyrics conveyed things that I was feeling at the same time.

The song mentions focusing on “where I go from here,” and forgetting about “the crazy things I’ve done.” He says he is going to “cry less” and “laugh more!” He’s going to “eat more salads” and watch his weight. Then he says he’ll try “not to stay up too late.” Can you relate? I know at the time I did.

Actually, I found myself pondering those exact same things when I hit forty and fifty. You look back and hope that you’ve learned from your past experiences. You look forward with a plan to make what lies ahead the best yet. I know so many people who connected with this song. Rightfully so, it went to number one for Tim McGraw.

My Next 30 Years

How can a song that starts with the lines, “Hey, Mr. DJ, put a record on! I wanna dance with my baby!” not make my list? Music from Madonna was a song that a lot of people asked for when I was DJing. It was almost like the song was doing the talking for the crowd.

Madonna has always been a complex sort of person. This album brought back the “fun” Madonna, if you will. She told Billboard magazine, “Everything in life moves in cycles… there’s a period where you’re quiet, and there’s a period where you explode. In the time leading up to Ray of Light, I was in a quiet space – making lots of discoveries and going through lots of changes. It was an introspective, questioning time. Then, almost without warning, I felt like I needed to explode. I didn’t feel the need to be so introspective. I felt like dancing. And that’s reflected in these songs.”

When Madonna shot the video for this song, she was expecting her son. She hides it by wearing a lot of coats and such. There is one section of the video that was difficult for her to shoot due to her pregnancy, so it was animated.

Music

My next song was one that I heard first from my ex-wife. She had Beth Hart’s CD and listened to it often. I was very familiar with LA song and my pick, Delicious Surprise because of her. When I heard it on the radio, it struck me a bit differently. I can’t explain why. Maybe it was because it was just her singing (and not my ex joining in).

We all like to dream. Many of us dream big. “What if I won the lottery?” “What if I was the President?” “What if I was a movie star?” Those are questions pondered by the singer in this song. Then she offers up the advice to “see and believe” those dreams.

Jo Dee Messina did a country version of the song in 2005.

Shortly after the song was released, Beth was dropped from her record label. While it was never given as a reason, many believe it was because of her drug addiction. She battled this and bi-polar disorder for some time yet continued to make music. Today, she has been long sober and lives in California.

Her last album was a Led Zeppelin tribute album in 2022.

Delicious Surprise

The world can always use a bit more gratitude. Don’t we spend the first few years of their lives teaching our children to say “please” and “thank you?” Sadly, we don’t say it enough.

I love Dido’s song, Thank You. I love the simplicity and complexity of it. The song features all of the troubles and and stress of life in general. It also features how that all goes away when that special someone is there.

According to Songfacts:

“Dido wrote “Thank You” after meeting her boyfriend, a lawyer named Bob Page, in 1995 and falling for him hard. She thanks Page for giving her the “best day of her life,” which is when they met in a club and had their first encounter. Page sparked a creative fire in Dido, who also wrote the song “Here With Me” about him. They got engaged in 2001, but broke up a year later, inspiring another Dido song: ” White Flag.”

Dido owes a lot of thanks to Eminem. He sampled the song for his song, “Stan.” He did not ask permission to use this on “Stan” until after the song was produced. However, Dido loved it agreed to let him use it. She recalled to Billboard magazine in a 2013 interview: “I just got a letter saying, ‘We heard your track. We love it. We’d like to use it for this track ‘Stan.’ Can you take a listen? I hope you like it and can we use your song?’ It was completely out of the blue. I put it on like, ‘I wonder what he could have done.’ You just don’t know. And I was a big Eminem fan, so it was pretty cool. And then I heard it. I remember because I had some friends staying in the same hotel. They were literally running down the hall, like ‘You gotta listen to this; it’s just brilliant!'”

Thank You

The final song for this week’s list is one that never cracked the Hot 100. It was the second single and title track from Green Day’s Warning album. Songfacts says, “by this time they were mellowing out a bit, with lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong playing more acoustic guitar. This was a product both of the band getting older and the pop-punk sound they ushered in falling out of fashion. The album sold poorly, but the band was well established by this point and wasn’t watching the charts.”

Billy Joe Armstrong has said that the original concept was to create a song whose lyrics were made up of all of the everyday warning signs and labels and the idea grew from there. I love his description of the content.

“The world is being filled with warnings and instructions of what not to do. The song states that it’s important to trust your instinct and do what you believe is right, but also to not be stupid enough to be the cause of another warning sign to be established. Take risks and question your surroundings, but don’t fall victim to your own stupidity.”

Well, alrighty then….

It wasn’t the words that made me like the song. It was actually the guitar and bass licks. It was so simple, but I loved the chord progressions. Someone compared it to the Kink’s Picture Book. I can hear that …

Warning

Well, that wraps up Y2K! I’m sure your list looks different than mine. What were your favorite songs from 2000? Let me know in the comments.

Next week, I may play the theme from 2001, just because, ha ha! My list only includes 2 cover songs, a must have party song, movie and TV music, a song that moves me and a song that moved the entire country.

Thanks for listening and reading! See you next week.

The Music of My Life – 1999

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.

In 1999, I turned 29 years old. In September of that year, I would venture into a marriage that would fail years later. Two great sons came out of it though, and that was a great thing.

1999 was also the year that I began receiving monthly CDs with new music on them. It was a great was to always be sure to have clean edits of songs and be current. I received my first CD in May of that year and thankfully so!

I had been hired to DJ a prom. It was the first one I had ever done. I had been able to scrounge up some of the “newer” songs thanks to friends. However, a lot of the brand new stuff not in stores yet. (This is probably before I got my iPod and iTunes). Two days before the prom, that CD had the hottest song on the radio at the time. The song was Ricky Martin’s Livin’ La Vida Loca.

That night, I had requests for it and was surprised (and thankful) it was on the CD! I played it at least three times that night and knew my investment was a good one. Those CDs saved me plenty of times.

Frank Sinatra died on May 14, 1998, which was around the time this song was conceived. Co-writer Desmond Child told Songfacts that Sinatra’s music was a strong influence on this song. He said, “Frank Sinatra’s music was coming out of the airwaves, and we were all of a sudden into this Rat Pack idea, and also the Latin Elvis concept that we had for him. So we put that into the songs, as well – there was a swing aspect to it. So the verses were more like that, and then the choruses were all out rock anthems, with horns. Because horns had fallen out of favor, we brought horns back.”

Paul McCartney’s guitarist, Rusty Anderson, played on the song. Co-writer Robi Rosa asked him to put some guitar on some sections that were blank slates. He remembers: “I was thinking more of a James Bond vibe actually. But I kinda liked the way it counter-balanced the song.”

Anderson recorded his guitar work at his studio intending it to just be a demo. “I didn’t have a reverb to print that I was happy with so I figured the mixer would have the perfect reverb in mixdown,” he explained. “That recording turned into the single. When I heard it on the radio, I was shocked that they left it dry!”

Many years later, the song re-entered my life when I took my son to the movies. In Shrek 2, Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) and Donkey (Eddie Murphy) sing it as the credits roll.

Livin’ La Vida Loca

Next is a song that I always felt should have been a bigger hit. I Know How The River Feels was a song that was recorded first by country singer Ty Herndon in 1996. His version was never released. Diamond Rio recorded it for their Unbelievable album and it was their third single from it.

I liked it because it gave Diamond Rio a different sound. This was the first song of theirs to feature outside instruments as they added a string section to the arrangement. The song, however, was met with some negative reviews from critics. It only went to #33 on the Country charts.

I love the way the song uses a river with its twists and turns to describe the search for love. Finally, when it reaches the sea – the search, the twists, and the turns – you reach the final destination.

Now I know how the river feels
When it reaches the sea
And finally finds the place
It was always meant to be
Holding fast, home at last
Knowing the journey’s through
Lying here with you
I know how the river feels

I Know How The River Feels

Hey Leonardo by Blessid Union of Souls is a song that I liked for a few reasons. First, the parenthetical title is “She likes me for me.” Isn’t that what love is about? It’s not about the physical things, the status and such. It is about loving a person because they are that person. Next, I like when a song tosses in some pop culture references.

Songfacts says: This song is written in the form of a letter to someone named Leonardo – a reference to actor Leonardo DiCaprio. In the song, the singer lists many celebrities and the qualities they possess making them attractive to women. He emphasizes that while he does not have the same qualities, his girlfriend loves him just the way he is.

The celebrities that are referenced include: Tyson Beckford, Robert Redford, Steve Buscemi and the movie Fargo. It also references opera singer Pavarotti, model Cindy Crawford, Clint Eastwood’s characterization of Dirty Harry, and Jim Carrey in the movie The Cable Guy.

Hey Leonardo

For the longest time I had only ever heard the clean edit of the next song. When I downloaded “Why Don’t You Get a Job” by the Offspring, it was the album version. It certainly was not edited. As I think of the words that are edited from it, I chuckle. They seem tame compared to what words are allowed on the radio today.

Offspring’s Americana album was a concept album. It examined the unpleasant side of life in America. Songfacts says, The song fits the concept by examining how so many people get by in the country without being productive and contributing to society.

If you listen closely, the melody might sound familiar. That is because it is based on The Beatles song “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” with some elements of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Cecilia.”

Why Don’t You Get A Job

I’ve told this story before. When the Dixie Chicks first hit the radio, I did not think they would last. I felt that they had too much of a traditional sound and that listeners would not like it. I was wrong and I am glad that they went on to have radio success.

Their album Wide Open Spaces was full of hits. I came to really love the harmonies of the Dixie Chicks, especially on the last single from the album.

The Chicks’ version of “Tonight the Heartache’s on Me” was released in April of 1999. It had been recorded in 1994 by singer/songwriter Joy Lynn White, whose version was much slower. The Chicks version has a tempo and attitude that conveys all the feelings of the lyrics.

I love the play on words in the title. “The next round’s on me” is something you might hear in bars all over the country. The story of the song takes place in a bar. A gal sees her ex walk in with another woman and “Boom” – the hurt is there. “Bartender, pour the wine, ’cause the hurtin’s all mine. Tonight, the heartache’s on me!”

The song is a guilty pleasure, I suppose.

Tonight The Heartache’s On Me

I hate to say that Sheryl Crow is a cover artist, because she is not. However, her cover songs are really good! Take for example, her cover of 1987’s Sweet Child ‘O Mine.

It was originally done, of course, by Guns N’ Roses. The lyrics came from a poem Axl Rose was working on. Songfacts says that “he wrote the song about his girlfriend, Erin Everly, the daughter of Don Everly of the Everly Brothers. After dating for four years, they got married at a quickie wedding in Las Vegas on April 28, 1990, but just nine months later, the marriage was annulled, with Everly claiming abuse.“

The Sheryl Crow version appeared in the Adam Sandler movie Big Daddy. It earned her the Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance in 2000. Her version appears near the middle of the movie right after they take the kid away. The Guns N’ Roses original is also played in the movie (at the end with the credits.)

I think her voice compliments this song very well. Her voice is much better than some of the folks who attempted to sing this when I hosted karaoke!

Sweet Child O’ Mine

The aforementioned green ogre, Shrek, ties in with my next song. I think this is the one that most people associate with the Shrek films. I’m talking, of course, about All Star by Smash Mouth.

Like most Smash Mouth originals, it was written by their guitarist, Greg Camp. He said in a Songfacts interview:

“When we were on tour for the first record, it’s still when people were writing fan mail, like, in the form of paper and pencils and typewriters and stuff,” said Camp. “We would get these big bags of fan mail and we would take them to the Laundromat and do our laundry and read all this mail while we were sitting around waiting for our clothes to get dry. And about 85-90 percent of the mail was from these kids who were being bullied or their brothers or older siblings were giving them s–t for liking Smash Mouth or liking whatever they’re doing or the way they dressed and stuff. So we were, like, ‘We should write a song for fans.’

Before I stopped DJing a couple years ago, this song was still being requested at high school dances.

All Star

It is always great to see an artist from the past make a come back. 1999 was a great year for Carlos Santana!

Most music people are aware of Clive Davis. He is a legendary record executive who has worked with many artists and even appeared on American Idol. He was the mastermind behind Santana’s Supernatural album.

Santana hadn’t had a hit since “Hold On” in 1982, so Davis teamed him with contemporary musicians like Wyclef Jean, Everlast and Lauryn Hill to make sure the younger generation took notice. The result was a wildly successful album that went over well with Santana’s old fans and created a legion of new ones. “Smooth” was the first single; it spent 12 weeks at #1 in the US.

Rob Thomas sang lead on “Smooth,” but that wasn’t the plan. He had never written a song for someone else before, so he jumped at the chance to write a song for Santana. When he finished it, Thomas suggested George Michael, one of his musical heroes, as the vocalist. Arista Records ended up asking Thomas to do the vocals, and when he did, it was in Michael’s style. “If you listen to the melody and the cadence, it’s an attempt to emulate his style in so many ways,” Rob said.

Smooth” won Song Of The Year and Record Of The Year at the 2000 Grammy Awards. Supernatural also won for Best Rock Album and Album Of The Year. Santana picked up a total of eight awards that night.

Fun fact: Santana has the distinction of waiting the longest between his first charting single and first #1 hit. In 1969, “Tango” hit #56 in the US, and 30 years later, “Smooth” was #1.

Smooth

The next song was probably THE ear worm of 1999. It was certainly one of those songs that got into your head. Believe it or not, Lou Bega’s “Mambo No 5” was a cover song! The song was originally done in 1952 by the Cuban-Mexican bandleader Perez Prado. Known as the “King of the Mambo,” Prado recorded numerous mambos. When he ran out of inspiration, he would simply number them. “Mambo No 5” was one of a series of eight.

The difference between the two versions? Perez Prado’s version was instrumental. In 1999, Lou Bega added lyrics to it. By doing so, he transformed it into a love song for several women. Those women: Angela, Pamela, Sandra, Rita, Monica, Erica, Tina, Mary and Jessica. It was reported that the girls he mentioned were all Lou’s former girlfriends. It is probably beyond coincidence that eight of the girls in the song have names that end in “A,” making them quite singable.

Why is it on my list? Because I will forever link it to Barbara Eden. Let me explain. My buddy Steve said to me one day, “Hey. Did you know that you can sing the I Dream of Jeannie Theme song to Mambo No 5 and it fits perfectly?” I looked at him like he was nuts…until I heard it.

So, when you give it a listen, when Lou says, “A little bit of (Girl’s name)…” when he says the girls name, start singing the theme song and watch how it fits. It’s uncanny and it is ridiculous! Now, every time I hear it, that is ALL I hear!

If you’d like me to punch my friend for you, I will.

Mambo #5

Finally, this week a song that I literally just mentioned because of a birth anniversary. Last Tuesday, I featured this for Tune Tuesday and Robert Goulet’s birthday. I didn’t realize that it would coincide with this week’s list. You can read about that here:

Tune Tuesday – A Pixar Classic

…or you can just listen to it here.

You’ve Got A Friend In Me

Alright, which one of your favorites did I miss from 1999? Tell me about it in the comments.

Next week, we enter a new decade with the year 2000. It was a year that seemed SO far away for many of us. We all breathed a sigh of relief when the world didn’t shut down at midnight on January 1st (the Y2K fiasco!). Remember that?

My list next week is straight forward, and has no cover songs on it (I may have to double check to be sure). There are a few songs that strike a chord with me, especially as I celebrated birthday #30. Another good mix comes your way in 7 days.

Thanks for reading.

The Music of My Life – 1997

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 have found it interesting to do this feature every week. First, I am reminded about the things that were going on in my life at the time. Second, I find it funny how an old song can apply to my future life events. This feature has been like therapy for me. I don’t always write down everything that these songs bring to mind, but I am made aware of them. I appreciate you letting me indulge myself by sharing these songs.

I would turn 27 in 1997. I had gone through a break up that hurt me bad. I was spending a lot of time at the karaoke bars and drinking much more than I should. I felt lost and alone. Alcohol numbed a lot of the pain. It was a very dark time.

When I wasn’t singing karaoke, I was hosting it or DJing a wedding or party. I enjoyed doing that because it was almost like being in radio again. There was interaction with people and that was something that I desperately needed.

1997 was a decent year for music. Many of the songs on my list were first heard while I was driving for EDS. I would play many of these songs while DJing. Some of them bring back memories of bad times, but most of them have a good memory attached to them.

I will stop rambling now and jump right into 1997 –

I like the next song because it was so different from what people were used to hearing from them. Green Day was known for some pretty heavy sounding songs that were “in your face.” So an acoustic song from them comes from out of left field. Believe it or not, the song could have been on their first album, but wasn’t.

Songfacts.com explains: “Billie Joe Armstrong wrote this song in 1993 and submitted it for the band’s first major-label album, Dookie, which was released in 1994. Both the band and their label felt it was a great song but didn’t fit on the album, which was loaded with punk blasters. The song was held back and didn’t make their next album, Insomniac (1995) either. It was finally included on the Nimrod album in 1997.

In 2010, Armstrong told Spin Magazine, “That was really the first time we attempted a ballad. The first time we ever played that song was during an encore in New Jersey – I had to pound a beer backstage to get up the courage. I knew we were gonna take a tomato to the face.” A very poignant song, this is quite popular at graduations and weddings despite the kiss-off title “Good Riddance.” Billie Joe Armstrong wrote it about a very specific event in his life, but he’s thrilled when others relate it to their own experience.

This song was played over a montage of clips in a “look back” Seinfeld special. The special aired before the finale of the show. I would have never expected that this song would work for something like that. But it certainly did.

This song is very poignant and gives me chills when I hear it. The blending of the guitar, the strings, and his voice is just beautiful to me.

Good Riddance

In Good Riddance, Green Day sings about the “photographs and still frames in your mind.” Believe it or not, that kind of fits how the next song was described by one of the members.

You either like or dislike Hanson. That like or dislike probably comes from the song MMMbop. Why? It is one of those songs that sticks in your head forever after you hear it. It is very catchy and the lyrics make you think. But just what in the world is this song all about?

Drummer Zac Hanson says,  “What that song talks about is, you’ve got to hold on to the things that really matter. MMMBop represents a frame of time or the futility of life. Things are going to be gone, whether it’s your age and your youth, or maybe the money you have, and all that’s going to be left are the people you’ve nurtured and have really built to be your backbone and your support system.”

Zac tells the story of how the song happened, “That song started out as the background part for another song,” he said. “We were making our first independent album and we were trying to come up with a background part. We started singing a slightly different incarnation of what is now the chorus of ‘MMMBop.’ That sort of stuck in our heads but never really worked as a background part. Over a couple of years, we really crafted the rest of the song – the verses and bridge and so on. It was something we almost stumbled upon.”

Zac made me laugh when I read that because the song even got stuck in THEIR heads!

What is truly amazing to me is that the song was released as their first single in 1997. At the time, Isaac Hanson was 16 years old, Taylor was 13, and Zac was 11. The song quickly became a huge worldwide hit. It was getting constant airplay on radio stations and MTV, and going to #1 in 27 countries.

It is on my list because I was DJing a high school dance once and a student asked for it. He was very shy and didn’t dance much. He may have had autism, I am not sure. When I played it, this boy came out of his shell and danced like crazy! The students formed a circle around him as he danced. It was one of those things I will always remember.

Mmmbop

Before you listen to the next song, I need you to hear this. I had no idea that this song was sampled for the 1997 hit.

I had never heard of the Andrew Oldham Orchestra. I had no idea that there was an instrumental album of Rolling Stones songs. The Verve did, however, and sampled it for the song Bittersweet Symphony.

The Verve took the sample and added vocals, strings, guitar and percussion. This led to trouble. After a lawsuit by the Rolling Stones’ former manager, Allen Klein, the Verve had to relinquish all royalties from the song. Rolling Stones members Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were added to the songwriting credits. Things worked out in 2019. After Klein died, Jagger, Richards, and Klein’s son ceded the rights to the Verve songwriter, Richard Ashcroft.

If I had to put why I like this song into words, I would find it hard to do. There is something about it. It is mesmerizing to me. MTV’s Gil Kaufman wrote “Bitter Sweet Symphony” was “built on a slow-rolling fat beat, a pomp and circumstance violin loop.  And (was like an) … elliptical, snake-swallowing-its-tail lyrics” Rolling Stone magazine wrote that it “intertwines baroque strings worthy of Pachelbel with sedated vocals and shimmering guitar lines”.

The song is built around one simple chord.

Bittersweet Symphony

Much like Bittersweet Symphony, I was hooked on the next song as soon as I heard the intro. Again, the intro was “borrowed” from another song. This time it was from Perrey and Kingley. They were considered pioneers of electronic music. They were together from 1965-1967. Smash Mouth interpolates the keyboard line from their 1966 single, Swan’s Splashdown. You don’t need to listen to but 15 seconds of the song to know the Smash Mouth song …

Smash Mouth’s guitar player Greg Camp wrote Walkin’ on the Sun. He said, “The song was basically a social and racial battle cry. It was a sort of ‘Can’t we all get along?’ song for the time when I wrote it. It was just about all the things that were going on around me as a young person. And I’m, like, God, what is going on? I don’t understand why this is happening. It’s like we might as well be walking around a planet on fire.”

The songs has a 1960’s sound to it, which made the song stick out on the radio. It was their first hit song. The song itself was never sold in stores as a single, so it never made the Hot 100 chart. However, it went to #1 on the Modern Rock chart and #2 on the Airplay chart. Because it was not released as a single, the album Fush Yu Mang sold over 2 million copies. The album was the only way to get it.

I was one of those 2 million people who bought the album.

Walking On the Sun

Kevin Sharp’s story is a moving one. He was born in 1970, the same year as me. In school, her performed in musicals and was an active musician. When he was 19, he started to feel tired and dizzy. This led to a diagnosis of a rare form of bone cancer. His chance of recovering was not good.

Through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses, Kevin met the record producer David Foster. They became friends fast. He went through two years of chemo and radiation therapy, which caused him to lose his hair permanently.

While in remission, he recorded a demo that wound up in the hands of his friend David Foster. Thanks to him, Kevin was signed to a record deal in 1996. His first album was Measure of a Man. The first single was a cover of Tony Rich’s Nobody Knows, which went to #1 on the Country Charts. His next two singles were both top ten hits for him.

He would go on to became a motivational speaker and spokesperson for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He was awarded the foundation’s Wish Granter of the Year award, in 1997. Sharp wrote a book, Tragedy’s Gift, and published it in 2004. Despite releasing two more albums, he never ever matched the success of his first album. He died at age 43 of complications from stomach surgeries and digestive issues in 2014.

If You Love Somebody is one of his three top 10 songs. Deborah Evans Price, of Billboard magazine reviewed the song favorably. She said that the record grabs the listener immediately and doesn’t let go thanks to the “energetic percussion that opens this track and gives way to a spree of sassy fiddle lines.” She goes on to say that the song is a fine example of the “vibrancy and passion he can bring to a great uptempo cut.”

The song is a fun love song that speaks of all the things you would do because you love someone.

If You Love Somebody

In 1997, there were still music videos being made – and played on MTV. While I love the next song, it is the video that really stands out. More on that in a second.

The Backstreet Boys were very big in Europe. When they returned to the US, no one really knew them. In 1997, they released their first album in the states. Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) was the band’s choice for a single. However, because they had been in Europe, the record label felt that the song wouldn’t make sense to audiences and it wasn’t even on the US release.

The song was the first single from the international release. It started gaining steam on Canadian and nearby US stations. The label finally added the song to the US album after a million units had already been produced. It was released as the fourth single.

Joseph Kahn was approached to do the music video for the song. When he met with BSB and saw their smooth dance moves, he thought they were more like “little Michael Jacksons.” This led to him thinking about the Thriller video which had the singer leading a choreographed dance with zombies. Kahn developed a similar concept for the Backstreet Boys.

In the video, the boy band’s tour bus breaks down near a spooky mansion. It is where they’re forced to spend a harrowing night. The haunted manor has a transformative effect on the boys, and each one changes. (Brian Littrell changes into a werewolf; AJ McLean into Erik, The Phantom Of The Opera recluse; Kevin Richardson into the two-faced Dr. Jekyll & Hyde; Howie D into Dracula; and Nick Carter into a mummy.) They converge in the ballroom and bust out “Thriller”-esque moves with a group of dancers. At the end, they’re relieved to discover the whole experience was just a nightmare – that is until their driver turns out to be a monster. The driver? Antonio Fargas, who was known for his role as Huggy Bear on the ’70s cop show Starsky & Hutch.

Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)

Up next, a group who got its name from a story created by one of the members. In the story, the men were Chumbas and the women were Wambas. Tubthumping was the first single from Chumbawamba’s eighth album – Tubthumper.

I suppose it is important to point out a few “vocabulary” words here. In England, a tubthumper is a politician. Here in the US, tubthumping is like “campaigning.” “Pissing” has a very different meaning in the UK. “Pissing the night away” would translate to “Drinking alcoholic beverages all night.” To be pissed in England is to be drunk, while in the US it is to be angry.

Whenever we played this song DJing, we’d go out on the floor and do a dance that we made up. It was basically an easy thing that matched the lyrics. “I get knocked down (crouch down), but I get up again (jump up) you’re never gonna keep me down (stand shaking our heads and wagging our finger side to side). Easy and no instruction needed because of the lyrics.

We had empty booze bottles that we’d pretend to swig when the band said, “He takes a whiskey drink, he takes a vodka drink”. It was silly and stupid, but it always got a laugh from the crowd.

At 54, I doubt that I could crouch down and jump up again like I did when I was 27!

Tubthumping

The next song was the debut single for the group Everclear. Everything to Everyone is true of many of us. I remember when I was with my ex, that I would do things that I didn’t necessarily want to do because I wanted to please her. I spent a lot of time in my life trying to please people and never really standing up for myself. It’s like the Sheryl Crow song – “If it makes you happy….”

In an interview with Songfacts, lead singer Art Alexakis says:

“It’s kind of an angry song. That person is within everybody, I think everybody has this ability to try and be everything to everyone, to try to please. I think there are 2 aspects of it – there’s the pleaser, who doesn’t always show his true self, always plays nice and as time goes on shows more and more of himself, but there’s also the people who are everything to everyone who are manipulators and users.”

When asked if the song had “anything to do with the record business”, Alexakis replied, “Oh yeah. Anything in the entertainment business you’ll find people who are slimy.”

I believe that you will not only find them in the entertainment business, but in much more than that!

Everything to Everyone

You cannot say that country music doesn’t have some great song titles! Take the next song on my list. Did I Shave My Legs For This?

Deana Carter’s father was a songwriter. The legendary Dean Martin recorded one of his songs, and perhaps as a thank you, named her Deana. Another legend, Willie Nelson, heard one of her demo tapes and invited her to play Farm Aid in 1994. That same tape, led to her being signed to Capitol Records.

Did I Shave My Legs For This is also the title track of the album. The album gave Deana three #1 songs (Strawberry Wine, We Danced Anyway and How Do I Get There?). The title track was the fourth single released from the album. It didn’t fair as well as the previous songs as it only went to #25 on the Country Charts.

I have learned from DJing and hosting karaoke that just because a song wasn’t a hit, doesn’t mean it isn’t liked. I always got requests for this song and people were always singing it. At weddings or parties, groups of women would sing along at the top of their lungs to it. It reminded me of what people did when Friends in Low Places would play.

Back in the day, we used to play Karaoke Roulette. This was where a friend would pick a song for you to sing. You wouldn’t know what song until you got to the microphone. My friends always made me sing songs like “I Am Woman,” “I Touch Myself,” and such. This was one they gave me one night and I nailed it! I knew the song and hammed it up all the way through it.

Did I Shave My Legs For This?

My final song is one that brought back a genre of music that overtook the nation in the 1930’s and 1940’s. I grew up listening to Benny Goodman, Harry James, and other swing bands. It was almost mind blowing to hear swing music on the radio in 1997.

The 1996 movie Swingers and t he Cherry Poppin’ Daddies are credited with the “Swing Revival.” Other groups like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and The Brian Setzer Orchestra had success in the genre, too. The BSO’s version of Jump, Jive and Wail turned the revival into what songfacts called “a full-fledged craze!”

Zoot Suit Riot was a song that was inspired by real events. Songfacts explains:

The Zoot Suit Riots began in Los Angeles in 1943, triggered by conflict between the American servicemen stationed in Southern California and the Los Angeles Mexican-American community. Tensions had been building since the 1942 murder of a Latino man named Jose Diaz, a case referred to as the Sleepy Lagoon murder case.

The riots took place when swing music was the hot sound and everyone was doing the jitterbug. Lead singer Steve Perry says, “I wrote it inspired by the Zoot Suit Riots. I guess it seemed like a Pachuco rallying cry that could double as a dance anthem for those of us interested in swing music and culture at a time when nobody else was. It was an expression of a proud marginalism. That’s not that deep, but there you go.”

It wasn’t odd around this time to have a bride and groom request a swing song as their first dance. Most had taken a dance class and had a routine for that dance. It was always cool to watch that.

One day, I hope to get around to seeing Setzer, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, or any swing band live. I love the energy that they put out as they play.

Zoot Suit Riot

That’s it for 1997. There were many songs that didn’t make my cut, maybe your favorite is one of them? Let me know what your picks are in the comments.

1998 is on the horizon and we’ll check out my tunes from that year next week. They include a song that I almost picked for this month’s Turntable Talk Topic (songs based on historical events or people), a song that is often played as the last song of the night at DJ gigs, a song I mentioned in this week’s post, and a great song I can barely listen to anymore. Find out why next week

Thanks for reading!

The Music of My Life – 1991

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.

1991 saw big changes for me.  In April, a former coworker called to ask if I wanted a full time radio job at his station.  It was a small market on the west side of the state (In Ludington). My girlfriend at the time and I had just had a big argument and I figured “Why not?!”

I was all by myself, in a place where I really only knew one person, at a job that decided to pay less than what I was told when I moved.  It was lonely and I struggled a lot.  The day I turned 21, I went to the store to buy beer and they never even carded me!

That summer would be one of my favorite summers.  Michigan’s West side is just beautiful.  I had never seen sunsets like those before!  They were breathtaking. 

Musically, there were some powerful tunes released in 1991.  Some of them wouldn’t play into the events of my life for a few years, but when they did …

The first pick from ’91 is a song that I have found people either love or hate.  I’m not sure why. Personally, I love the guitar sound and the harmonies in it, and I love the lyrics.

More Than Words is a song that was written by Gary Cherone and Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme.  Nuno says, “The word ‘love’ itself gets really diluted, so we just wanted to say, ‘It’s not really about saying it,’ because everybody gets really worked up when somebody says that to each other. They say, ‘I love you,’ and everybody goes, ‘Oh my God! It must be serious. It must be heavy.’ It’s like, ‘Eh… it’s easy to say that.’ It’s really about showing it constantly and continuously in a relationship. We knew that was the message.”

The song was a huge hit for them.  People who rushed out to buy their albums were quite surprised when they heard that the band primarily played Rock music.  The band has called the song “both a blessing and a curse.”

More Than Words

R.E.M. had released the very thought provoking Losing My Religion from their Out of Time album as their first single.  Their follow up was a song that could not be more different! That song was Shiny Happy People.

Michael Stipe calls this “A really fruity, kind of bubblegum song.” In an interview with The Quietus, he said that he was a bit embarrassed when it became a big hit, but it’s an important song because it shows a different side of him. Said Stipe:

“Many people’s idea of R.E.M, and me in particular, is very serious, with me being a very serious kind of poet. But I’m also actually quite funny – hey, my bandmates think so, my family thinks so, my boyfriend thinks so, so I must be – but that doesn’t always come through in the music! People have this idea of who I am probably because when I talk on camera, I’m working so hard to articulate my thoughts that I come across as very intense.”

Kate Pierson from the B-52s sang backup. She was in demand for her distinctive vocals after the B-52s achieved mainstream success with Love Shack.

In 1999, R.E.M. performed this on Sesame Street as “Furry Happy Monsters.” Kate Pierson’s part was performed by a Muppet that looked like her, voiced by Stephanie D’Abruzzo, a Muppeteer who was also a huge fan of the band.

Guitarist Peter Buck has two daughters who were big fans of the show. “You just looked around,” he recalled to Mojo in 2016, “going, Man this is a weird way to make a living.”

I had heard the song on the radio but it wasn’t until I was sitting at home watching Sesame Street with my oldest that I gained an appreciation for it. 

Shiny Happy People

My next one had been on my iPod for years before the lyrics really hit me.  My ex and I were at a point where all we did was argue.  It was a very unhappy situation. 

It was after an argument that I was in the car and heard Mariah Carey’s “I Don’t Wanna Cry.” Those lyrics were something I could have wrote;

Once again we sit in silence
After all is said and done
Only emptiness inside us
Baby look what we’ve become
We can make a million promises
But we still won’t change
It isn’t right to stay together
When we only bring each other pain

It stung, but it was true.  The end was upon us.

This was Mariah’s fourth consecutive #1 hit on the Hot 100, making her the first solo artist and female artist in Billboard history to have their first four singles top the chart.

I love her vocal and the guitar work in this one

I Don’t Want to Cry

Long before I stood next to a very drunk Hank Williams Jr at a urinal in Nashville, he had put out an album in ’91 entitled Pure Hank.

One of the singles that was released was If It Will It Will.  It’s very easy for us to get caught up in worry, but worry isn’t good for us.  Hank’s simple advice is something we should all remember,

“If it will, it will.  If it won’t, it won’t.”

The weirdest thing about this song is the video.  Right at the beginning, Little Richard shows up.  To me, he’s out of place and isn’t utilized very well. Even when he does sing along, you can barely hear him. The song, however, is a favorite.  It starts off with a  bluesy vocal/introduction and then kicks.

If It Will, It Will

As I compile these lists for each year, I always seem to stumble on one that could be used for another feature. The next song would certainly work for my Movie Music Monday feature. It was a big hit from the Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves soundtrack.

(Everything I Do) I Do It For You was written to order for the movie. It was initially written by American film composer Michael Kamen. The middle eight, break, outro and arrangement added by Bryan Adams and producer Mutt Lange. Adams used a line in the movie, “I do it for you…” as the basis for the song, and they had it written in about an hour.

The song didn’t meet with Hollywood approval. The film company wanted the song to have an instrumentation that was in line with the film’s era. Can you imagine the song featuring lutes, mandolins, and the like? The film company eventually relented, but still buried the song midway through the credits. They were obviously unaware of the huge hit they had on their hands.

The reason it made my list is because of an ex-girlfriend. It is not because it was “our song” or anything like that. She asked me if I knew the song. Naturally, I did. It was a big bridal dance song. She told me to listen to it again, but to listen to it as if God was speaking the words (making changes to tense and such).

You can’t tell me it’s (your) not worth dying for
You know it’s true
Everything I do (did)
I do (did) it for you

I had never thought of it that way before. I always remember that conversation when I hear the song.

(Everything I Do) I Do It For You

I love Bonnie Raitt. I love listening to her sing and watching her play. She is blues. She is country. She is pop. She is folk. She is something!

She was no stranger to the music scene. Her first album came out in 1971! She also did some session work. She’s collaborated with artists like John Prine, Jackson Brown, The Pointer Sisters, Warren Zevon and Leon Russell. She finally had some success in 1989 with her award winning album Nick of Time.

The first time I heard Something To Talk About on the radio, it stuck out to me. It was so different. As a blues fan, I could hear that blues influence and I feel in love with the song. The song would go on to be her biggest chart hit in the United States, rising to #5.

She was never a singles act, but after her four Grammy wins for the album Nick Of Time, her songs started getting radio play. With radio play, they began showing up on the chart. “Something to Talk About” was the lead single to her next album, Luck of the Draw. Because of her prior success, the song was highly anticipated and radio jumped on it. The song won a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Bonnie beat out Oleta Adams, Mariah Carey, Amy Grant and Whitney Houston.

Sadly, it is also a karaoke favorite that is destroyed by many a “wanna be” singer in pubs everywhere! I’ll take the original, thank you.

Something To Talk About

The next song is on the list not because of the content, but the title. “Things That Make You Go Hmmm” became a sort of catch phrase. Arsenio Hall used it on his show all the time. I still hear people using it today!

C+C Music Factory was a dance floor staple when I was DJing. “Gonna Make You Sweat” is still one that I hear when I go to weddings. “Things That Make You Go Hmmm” was a huge dance song when it came out. It had a cool dance beat and some catchy lyrics.

Songfacts says this:

In the early ’90s, before gangsta rap took hold, rap songs were often lighthearted and clever, telling self-deprecating stories over dance grooves. Examples of this would be “Bust a Move” and “Funky Cold Medina.”

I think that is why that early 90s rap is still popular today. They really were very clever. They were also light on profanity. It isn’t odd to see “MF” and other profane words right in the titles as time goes on. That always made me laugh because how can anyone like a song where 75% of the lyrics are bleeped out? I guess that’s one of those … Things That Make You Go Hmmm….

Things That Make You Go Hmmm

The next song was one that was never released as a single. I became familiar with it after my grandfather passed away in 1994. I was extremely close to my grandpa and was heart broken when he passed. I received Reba McEntire’s For My Broken Heart album from my dear friend Allyson.

We both have birthdays in May and when life wasn’t so complicated, we’d meet for coffee or lunch to celebrate. She gave me this CD as a gift. She mentioned that she knew I was still grieving the death of my grandpa. She told me she thought of me when she heard the song, If I Had Only Known.

Quick background on the album. Reba recorded this album after losing many members of her touring band in an airplane crash. In her liner notes she says the album is “a form of healing for all our broken hearts.”

When I listened to this song for the first time, I thought about my grandpa (as Allyson had suggested). It moved me to tears. A decade later, I would hear it and think of my mom, too.

The lesson of the song? If we were aware that we were experiencing the “last” of something, we’d live life a bit differently.

If I Had Only Known

I always love to hear stories about how a song almost didn’t happen. That was the case for I Can’t Dance by Genesis. It came from a mix of a Jam session and writing session.

The lyrics are made up of bits that Phil Collins improvised in the studio. When they started working on it, they decided to just write spontaneously to keep from over-thinking it. Mike Rutherford first created the main riff of the song he called “Heavy A Flat.” Which led Phil to suddenly improvise the basic concept for “I Can’t Dance”. The riff was actually inspired by a Levi Strauss & Co. television commercial.

Originally, the band did not think of it as anything more than a joke recording that would be discarded quickly. They felt this way because the song was too simple, too bluesy, and unlike Genesis’ style. Tony Banks said, “It was one of those bits you thought was going to go nowhere. It sounded fun but wasn’t really special.”

When Banks decided to add keyboard sound effects to complement Rutherford’s playing, “I Can’t Dance” took on an entirely different feeling. The band came to appreciate the sly humor inherent in the song and chose to not only record it properly, but to put it on the album as a single.

The video created a lasting image thanks to the “silly walk” the three band members did. This walk was something Phil Collins did from time to time. He got the idea for it when he attended drama school and noticed that the worst dancers would always lead with the hand and foot on the same side. The dance has become sort of iconic.

I think that I relate to this song in that I can’t really dance. I sway when slow dancing. Fast dancing? HA! Forget it. I can’t. When I try, I look like Elaine from Seinfeld.

I Can’t Dance

When I was DJing at the local VFW, line dancing was a pretty big thing. There were all kinds of country line dances. At one point I had to make a list so I knew what dances people were doing to certain songs.

“Can you play Moo Moo Land?”

That was what someone came up and asked me one day. Moo Moo Land? What in the world was that!? Naturally, my dad knew it because there was a dance they did to it. It was called “Justified and Ancient” by the KLF and featured Tammy Wynette! What a weird pairing!

But it gets weirder! According to Songfacts:

The title “Justified & Ancient” refers to the KLF’s pseudonym and earlier incarnation, “The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu” (The JAMs). The JAMs took their name from Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson’s sci-fi tinged, conspiracy theory-laden Illuminatus! Book series in which The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu are a fictional subversive cult who have been around since pre-history. The song lyrics describe the Justified Ancients making their way to Mu Mu Land in an ice cream van.

Huh?!

Even Tammy was unsure about it. She originally thought the song was called “Justified and ANXIOUS.” She said, “As it was, I didn’t understand what some of the words meant. I know about ice cream vans, but I’d never heard of a 99 before,” she added. “Bill explained it to me and now it makes perfectly good sense. I’m still not sure about Justified and Ancient though.” (A 99 is an ice cream with a flake in it).

Really, it is a great dance record. It’s neat to hear Tammy Wynette on it and it really revitalized her career.

Justified and Ancient

Last week I threw in that crazy Bingo Boys song at the end of my list. This week, I have to throw in another totally ridiculous song at you. Again, it is one that my best friend Jeff and I laughed about – a lot.

The group 2nu (pronounced “two – new”) was a pop group out of Seattle, Washington. When they first hit the scene, they has yet to come up with a name. A radio DJ said that the band was still too new to have a name, and they decided that worked. They have only released three albums, the first in 1991. What makes them unique (if that is the right word) is that their songs consist of sound effects, rhythmic beats, and a spoken word lyric. Their first single was “This is Ponderous.”

The song is more bizarre than ponderous. My buddy and I used to laugh at the “language the narrator doesn’t understand.”

Feel free to file this in the “What the heck was that?” folder…

This Is Ponderous

And with that silliness, we wrap up 1991. I mentioned that I can’t dance this week. Next week, as we dive into 1992, it contains the only fast song that I will dance to. It is an interesting list. It includes three cover songs, one parody song, three movie songs, a song about a royal feud, a song for the hard workers, and a song for the poor. I think you’ll enjoy it.

Did I forget one one your favorites from 1991? Drop it in the comments. I’d love to see if it was one that was on my radar.

I truly hope you are enjoying this series. Thanks for reading!

The Music of My Life – 1988

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….

The Music of My Life – 1978

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 8 years old in ’78 and much like in ’77, there is an interesting mix of tunes.

In January of 1978, Kansas released a song that was what Steve Walsh said, “defies the basic formulas that most (rock) groups try to follow,” and it paid off in spades! Dust in the Wind has one of the greatest guitar intros! The story of how it came to be is fantastic.

Kerry Livgren devised what would be the guitar line for “Dust in the Wind” as a finger exercise for learning “fingerpicking.” His wife, Vicci, heard what he was doing, remarked that the melody was nice, and encouraged him to write lyrics for it. Livgren was unsure whether his fellow band members would like it, after all, it was a departure from their signature style. After Kansas had rehearsed all the songs intended for the band’s recording sessions of June and July 1976, Livgren played “Dust in the Wind” for his bandmates, who after a moment’s “stunned silence” asked: “Kerry, where has this been? That is our next single!”

Dust in the Wind

In February of 1978, a song that will forever be associated with a geriatric sitcom was released. Even though Andrew Gold’s version was not the version used as the Theme to the Golden Girls, the song was (A jingle singer named Cynthia Fee sang the TV version). It is one of my ten picks because there are so many female friends that love the show. My wife is a big fan of the show as well, so here it is.

Andrew Gold says that the song was “just this little throwaway thing” that took him “about an hour to write.” Writing is was obviously a breeze, however, recording it was a different story. They recorded 40 different takes of the song, finally releasing take number 40!

If you listen closely, you can hear sleigh bells in the instrumentation of the song.

Thank You For Being a Friend

In March of 1978, the great Warren Zevon released what some call a Halloween classic, even though it was intended to inspire a dance craze. Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers had seen the 1935 film, Werewolf of London on TV and joked to Zevon that he should adapt the title for a song and new dance. He played with the idea with his band members, who wrote the song together in about 15 minutes, all contributing lyrics that were transcribed by Zevon’s wife Crystal. However, none of them took the song seriously.

The song had been written long before it was recorded. It finally appeared on Warren’s third album, Excitable Boy, which was produced by Jackson Browne (who had already been performing the song at shows.) Although 59 takes were recorded, Browne and Zevon selected the second take for the final mix. The record label really pushed for Werewolves to be a single, but Zevon liked a couple other songs. The label released it and it became Warren’s only top 40 hit.

Werewolves of London

Three of my picks from 1978, all were released in my birthday month of May. The first one is by a group that was lucky enough to get a radio station to play a demo of one of their songs on air – and have it lead to a record deal. As a former radio guy, let me tell you, that just does not happen! It did, however, for the Cars.

Just What I Needed was written by Ric Ocasek. The band recorded a two track demo of the song and My Best Friend’s Girl. In Boston, in 1977, DJ Maxanne Sartori, who was given the tapes of these songs by Ocasek, recalled, “I began playing the demos of ‘Just What I Needed’ and ‘My Best Friend’s Girl’ in March during my weekday slot, from 2 to 6 p.m. Calls poured in with positive comments.” With a song on the radio in a major market, The Cars were a surefire success and had their pick of record labels. They went with Elektra, who had them re-record the song and released it as their first single.

Benjamin Orr sang lead on the song and it was a top 30 hit for the band.

Just What I Needed

The next May release is a song that will always remind me of shooting pool with my best friend, Jeff. He always picked songs for the jukebox and Life’s Been Good by Joe Walsh was always a pick. We always laughed at the lyrics. Even Walsh says the song was meant to be a humorous look at fame and fortune.

In a 1981 interview with the BBC, Walsh explained: “I wanted to make a statement involving satire and humor, kind of poking fun at the incredibly silly lifestyle that someone in my position is faced with – in other words, I do have a really nice house, but I’m on the road so much that when I come home from a tour, it’s really hard to feel that I even live here. It’s not necessarily me, I think it paraphrases anyone in my position, and I think that’s why a lot of people related to it, but basically, that’s the story of any rock star – I say that humbly – anyone in my position. I thought that was a valid statement, because it is a strange lifestyle – I’ve been around the world in concerts, and people say ‘What was Japan like?’, but I don’t know. It’s got a nice airport, you know… so it was kind of an overall statement.”

The song first appeared on the soundtrack to the movie FM and later on Walsh’s But Seriously, Folks album. The album version is over 8 minutes long, but the radio single clocked in at about 4 and a half minutes. Made after Walsh had joined the Eagles, “Life’s Been Good” was incorporated into that group’s concert repertoire, appearing in shows at the time as well as reunion tours.

Life’s Been Good

The last May 1978 song on my list was one that three years later would hit me a bit more personally – not because of the content of the song, but because of the title. Only the Good Die Young was a top 30 hit for Billy Joel, and as controversial as it was, the attempts to censor the song (or have it banned from radio) only helped it to gain spins and popularity.

Virginia, as mentioned in the first line is a real person. Virginia Callaghan was a girl Billy had a crush on when he first started playing in a band. She didn’t even know he existed until she saw him at a gig, but 13 years later he used her as the main character in this song about a Catholic girl who won’t have premarital sex. In a 2008 interview, Joel also pointed out one part of the lyrics that virtually all the song’s critics missed – the boy in the song failed to get anywhere with the girl, and she kept her chastity.

In 2023, Joel said of the song “It’s occurred to me recently that I’m trying to talk some poor innocent woman into losing her virginity because of my lust. It’s kind of a selfish song – like, who cares what happens to you? What about what I want?… But on the other hand, it was of its time.

In 1981, my grandfather died suddenly of a heart attack. He was only 58. It was the first time I ever experienced death. At the funeral, I would hear people saying nice thing about him, and I often heard, “He was too young,” or “He was a good man.” Yes, he was, and only the good die young …

Only the Good Die Young

Earlier I mentioned how Dust in the Wind was a totally different sound for Kansas, and my next song also was very different for the artist who recorded it. The Commodores were really known for being a funk band, but when Lionel Richie brought them Three Times a Lady, they knew it was going to be a hit.

This was a breakthrough song for the Commodores and for Lionel Richie as a songwriter. It crossed over to pop, easy listening and even country formats, setting the stage for further Commodores hits and Richie’s massive solo success. In a Blues & Soul interview, Richie said: “The song has given me so much personal satisfaction. I think it is every songwriter’s dream to be totally accepted. And from the masses of awards that the song has won, it seems that the whole world really does love that song. It’s a great feeling.”

It entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart on June 18, 1978, at number 73. Eight weeks later, it reached number 1, where it remained for two weeks. It became the Commodores first number one on this chart.

There are two reasons I have this on my list. First, it was one of those songs that was on my mother’s famous red 8-track tape. Lastly, it always reminds me of the first time I saw Eddie Murphy on SNL. He was doing a phony commercial for an album called “Buckwheat Sings” as Buckwheat from the Little Rascals. “Unce. Tice. Fee Tines a Mady!”

Three Times a Lady

For readers of this blog, you know that I have blogged about Willie Nelson’s Stardust album many times. Making a long story short, my grandparent’s place didn’t have a TV at first, so we listened to the radio and two cassette tapes. One of those was Stardust.

In July of 1978, released the song Blue Skies from that album. The song was written by Irving Berlin way back in 1926 and has been covered by many great singers. Those singers include Bobby Darin, Al Jolson, Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye, Johnny Rivers and the great Ella Fitzgerald. Willie Nelson took the song to the top of the Billboard Country Chart and crossed over to the Adult Contemporary chart, too (where it peaked at 32).

Blue Skies

In October of 1978, a group of guys released a song that would go on to be named the 7th Greatest Dance Song of the 20th Century by VH1. It is a song that was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2020 and was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” Believe it or not, that song was Y.M.C.A. by the Village People.

There is only one reason why it is on my Music of My Life list. If I had a dollar for every time I have played this at a wedding or DJ event, I could probably retire! I am probably on about 100 Facebook pages where videos of me, a groom and his groomsmen are dressed up as the Village People leading the crowd in the dance. It is totally ridiculous, but true.

The song went to number one in countries all over the world, but it only reached number 2 here in the US. It continues to be played at parties and sporting events throughout the world.

Y. M. C. A.

I certainly do not want to wrap the year on that song, so instead, I will end with another party classic. I’ll also end with a “feel good song.” How can you NOT love September by Earth, Wind and Fire? The song has a tendency to make people happy when they hear it. Allee Willis, who wrote the song with Maurice White and Al McKay from Earth, Wind & Fire, describes it as “Joyful Music.”

Every year, on September 21st, you will hear this song all over the radio! There are many theories as to the significance of the “21st night of September” in the opening lyrics, and until 2018, even the song’s co-writer was in the dark – Maurice White told her it had no real significance and was chosen because it sang well phonetically. White died in 2016; two years later, Willis was having lunch with his widow, Marilyn, who told her that September 21 was the due date for their son, Kahbran, and that Maurice put that specific date into the song as a secret message. Kahbran ended up being born early on August 1, which definitely wouldn’t have the same ring to it as a lyric.

Although many people hear the first words in the chorus as “Party On,” it’s really “Bah-dee-Ya.” Allee Willis explained in a Songfacts interview: “I absolutely could not deal with lyrics that were nonsensical, or lines that weren’t complete sentences. And I’m exceedingly happy that I lost that attitude. I went, ‘You cannot leave bada-ya in the chorus, that has to mean something.’ Maurice said, ‘No, that feels great. That’s what people are going to remember. We’re leaving it.’ We did try other stuff, and it always sounded clunky – thank God.” She went on to say, “The main lesson I learned from Earth, Wind & Fire, especially Maurice White, was never let a lyric get in the way of a groove,” she added. “Ultimately it’s the feel that is the most important, and someone will feel what you’re saying if those words fit in there right.”

The first appearance of the song was on The Best of Earth, Wind and Fire – Volume 1. It is a great groove that still fills the dance floor!

Next week, we’ll take a look at the final year of the 70’s. 1979 promises to be a good mixture of genres and will feature one of my first television heroes, who starred in a couple TV shows, many movies, and is still popular today.

See you next time in 1979!

A Beautiful Celebration

This weekend was just wonderful! My Goddaughter and her fiancé got married on Saturday. I was honored to be able to DJ the wedding for them.

Before I tell you more, I want to give a little backstory. Just after we rang in the year 2020, and before Covid closed everything, I blogged about my Goddaughter and her mom. I think in order to fully understand what I was feeling this weekend, it is worth revisiting:

January 1, 2020

Today, we met one of my oldest and dearest friends for lunch. Margaret and I have been friends since junior high. We are both Italian. My folks loved her, and her folks loved me. I think they probably both thought that we would date or something, but that never happened. We both went to a few dances together, but that was about as close to “dating” as it got. We were just really good friends and that made us both happy. We were officers in band together, we dressed up as twins for Twin Day, she and I both took a senior picture together, and spent many hours on the phone. She was/is one of my best friends!

When her daughter, Marissa, was born she asked me to be her Godfather. I was honored to do it. A Godfather is a very important role for an Italian. When I got married the first time, sadly, I saw less and less of Margaret and my Goddaughter. Whenever I was supposed to get together with them, I was always informed that we couldn’t go or we had something to do with my ex’s family. (If you have followed this blog for any length of time, you are well aware of the narcissism that I dealt with and how miserable my life had become.)

After the divorce, Margaret was one of the first to reach out to me. She completely understood what was going on. Her forgiveness meant everything to me. I hurt her. I was hurt, too. I lost many years of our friendship, and I lost so many moments with my Goddaughter. After all of that, Margaret (and many other friends) had every right to just stop talking to me, but our friendship meant so much, that we have picked up where we left off.

When I attended my Goddaughter’s 21st birthday party, I pulled her aside and apologized for missing so many important things in her life. How do you explain that to someone? As I looked back on the past, my stomach was in knots. I was sickened to think of how I must have made so many people feel. She didn’t bat an eye, however, and told me she loved me and we all enjoyed a great evening! I remember driving home from her party crying my eyes out. It wasn’t fair to her that I missed so many things. It makes me angry to know that I missed so much, but I am also happy that I can try to make up for lost time with her!

Sam and I were going to see what Margaret and her husband, Walt, were doing on New Year’s Eve and found out she was working that night. So they met us at one of the nearby bars for lunch on New Year’s Day. We enjoyed some amazing burgers, and enjoyed good conversation. There is always a lot of laughter when we get together, story telling with wild hand gestures (it is the Italian in us!) and usually some profanity! It was truly a wonderful afternoon. We hope to be able to do it more often!

During lunch, Margaret said something that struck a chord. It was something that made me sad, and happy at the same time. She said, “I have seen you more and talked to you more in the past two years, that the entire time you were married.” This made me sad, because of what I touched on early – a great friendship almost destroyed as well as the relationship between my Goddaughter and me, all because of the stupidity of someone else. It made me happy to know that our friendship remains and will grow even stronger in the years ahead.

Shortly After That

My daughter Ella was born just over a month later. Margaret and Walt made the drive up to the hospital that night with Olive Garden dinners for Sam and me, and also a ton of soup and breadsticks for the hospital staff on our floor!

Ella loves her Aunt Margaret. Margaret has shown so much love to her and Andrew. Ella thanks God for her every night when she prays. Margaret refers to them as “my babies!” Thanks to technology, they love being able to video chat with her anytime!

Last week, Margaret and I got into one of those deep conversations. The years I missed came up. The deep regret that I hate thinking about . The “What Ifs” and such. We had been talking about my kids. She told me that she had always wanted to do that for my older boys, too! Thanks to my ex, that was never to be. All the hurt I felt about missing time with Marissa and I never really realized just how much hurt Margaret felt about missing time with my boys.

Sigh. On to happier stuff….

September 23, 2023

Saturday, I arrived at the breathtaking tree farm where the wedding was to be held. The first person I saw was the groom to be, Connor. He’s a great guy and I know that he is going to be a great husband. I asked him if he was nervous, and he said he was. Marissa and Connor have been together for 7 years. They are perfect together. I don’t remember what I told him, but I assured him all would go well.

When Marissa arrived, they shuffled Connor into the lodge area so he couldn’t see her. She came over and embraced me for a hug. She didn’t even have her dress on yet, and she was just stunning. We talked a briefly and then she was off to get ready.

I saw Margaret out in front of the lodge as I parked my father-in-law’s truck (which he let me borrow so I could fit everything in it!). She was busy putting out fires on the cell phone and with people at the venue.

It didn’t take me too long to get set up. It was hot, so I was glad I hadn’t arrived in my suit. I went to change and by then, we were about an hour and a half away from the ceremony. The families all came out and the photographers got pictures done before the ceremony, which you don’t see too often. But I get it, the sun was perfect and I know that they got some amazing pictures. I, however, only got two. One of Margaret and me, and the other with Marissa.

The ceremony was just wonderful. I was sitting next to Chris, a mutual friend of Margaret and me. She asked if I was going to need a tissue. I told her probably, but I passed her back the tissue pack. Once Marissa and her dad began walking down the aisle, I could feel those tears well up.

Their officiant knew both of them very well and shared some very funny stories. At the same time, he was very professional. Marissa and Connor each wrote their own vows. They read like a love story. Wow, the looks that they gave each other throughout the ceremony and the sharing of their vows….. It was a powerful example of true love. Again, I held back tears.

I’ve DJ’s many weddings, but this was the first where a grand entrance was timed down to the second! They entered to Natalie Cole’s This Will Be (An Everlasting Love). I had a cue sheet with the time and the lyrics along with the couples that were entering at that time. They had it timed perfectly.

After the grand entrance, Marissa and Connor had put together a dance for their first song. It was such a joy to watch these two execute their moves to perfection. I was glad that a little hiccup that could have meant me not having their song was an easy fix. In all my years doing weddings, this was only the third time the bride and groom had choreographed their first dance. It was beautiful.

It was after this that I saw Margaret become “that Italian mom.” Let me explain. No one had filled the glasses of the head table and when we went to do toasts, there was nothing to toast! They decided to let people eat and they would toast during dinner while someone filled glasses. That someone – was Margaret. She came busting out of the lodge with bottle of wine in each hand. She walked to every person with an empty glass and asked, “White or red?”

She was the first table called to eat after the head table. Yet, she was like the last in line to eat! I had to tell her to get a plate. She naturally swore at me and moved through the buffet line.

Toasts from the Best Man, Maid of Honor, and the fathers of both the Bride and Groom followed. The Best Man impressed me with a perfect line. He stated that he and Connor had been best friends forever. He stated that he was happy to give up that title, because Marissa would now forever be his best friend. Good stuff!

After dinner, Marissa danced with her dad and Connor danced with his mom. Then the dance floor opened for the night. Music was not an issue, as they had given me plenty of songs to choose from. There is never enough time to get through the entire list. There were plenty of requests and the crowd seemed to be having a good time.

I naturally brought out the groom and the groomsmen, who had no idea why I called them out to the floor. I passed out a cowboy hat, and Indian head dress, a policeman’s hat, a sailor hat, and a biker hat. I led them through some silly moves and we did the YMCA together. This is always silly and they guys had fun. I even got to embarrass myself as I walked through the crown lip synching “Can’t Help Falling In Love” by Elvis with my terrible Elvis wig.

There were so many things from the evening that I will remember, but the one thing that will stick with me forever is just how beautiful Marissa looked.

I am so happy for her. I am excited to hear about all the things that are ahead for her and Connor. Random thought: Is he now my Godson-in-law? I’d be ok with that.

On my hour drive home, there was a lot of time to think about the day. I smiled again as I recalled the vows, the first dance, the last dance, and more. I had to pull over when the sadness crept in with the memory of the lost time with her. I had to remind myself that that is all in the past, and there will be more happy days ahead. Plenty of happy days, I am sure of it!

Congratulations to Marissa and Connor. Your love for each other will carry you through the tough storms … and God will get you through the rest!

I love you both!

A Musical Childhood Christmas Memory –

I love Christmas Music. I have blogged about it in the past. I have Christmas songs on my iPod that I can listen to at any time of the year, just because they make me feel good! I usually give my wife a hard time when she plays her Pandora on shuffle when she is getting ready for work and it plays Christmas music, however, deep down, I am ok with it.

In the many years I DJ’d weddings and parties, I used to love DJ’ing Christmas parties. As people were coming in, and as they ate dinner, I would just sit and play many of my favorite Christmas songs. I had a huge tote full of nothing but Christmas CD’s. I had everything from instrumental Christmas songs, country Christmas songs, children’s Christmas songs, classic Christmas songs, novelty Christmas songs, jazz Christmas songs and everything in between.

At some point I decided to try to put the songs I played most often on a hard drive to cut down on all the stuff I was bringing to DJ gigs. I came across the hard drive in a box of our Christmas stuff and there were a lot of albums on it. I wondered if it would play in the USB in my car, and sure enough it does. I will go from folder to folder and play track by track.

I came across a folder that brought me back to when I was just a little kid. Here I was driving home listening to this album and laughing at the cuts I had forgotten about. Every year on the radio, they over play one of their songs, and while this album was geared more toward kids, I was pleasantly surprised at some of the songs on it.

Admittedly, you either love or hate the Chipmunks. That being said, if you base your opinion on the Chipmunk Song that plays every hour on stations throughout December, I can see where you might lean toward disliking them. Now, if high pitched voices annoy you, then you probably won’t like anything they do!

Growing up, their Christmas album was one that my brother and I played a lot. We played it on my dad’s stereo and on our little portable record player. I remember it had a yellow label – why I remember that I don’t know.

The Chipmunks First Christmas Album

I’m not sure, but I’m sure that this album came about because of the success of the Chipmunk Song (Christmas, Don’t Be Late). It’s a pretty straight forward album. There is interaction between the rodents and David Seville on some songs like Rudolph )where they take him to the North Pole to meet the famous reindeer), and White Christmas (where Dave is sad because there is no snow).

What’s interesting is that when I looked at the folders my CD’s were in, there were actually 3 Chipmunk Christmas CDs. I wondered why, and then I realized that years ago, when I bought them, not all the songs from Volume 2 were actually on the Volume 2 CD (and it actually had many of the songs from the first album, too).

At any rate, the original album starts basically the same way as the first one – with Dave introducing the boys and straight into Jingle Bell Rock. This volume is more “playful” than the first album. There is a “copy cat” song that is reminiscent of the Chipmunk Song called Wonderful Day in which Alvin drives Dave crazy with a harmonica. In the 12 Days of Christmas, Alvin gets more and more anxious for the song to end, and even sings about how tired he is getting. Theodore laments about his two front teeth, the listener can sing along with Deck the Halls, Dave does a swinging rendition of The Night Before Christmas, and it’s a lot of fun to listen to (even as an adult.)

The whole point of me writing this blog is because of one song that I had forgotten about. Greensleeves is a traditional English folk song. The album contains a Christmas song sung to the melody of Greensleeves. I’m not sure why I was so moved by this song when I heard it. I love the instrumental arrangement and yes, the rodent harmonies. The lyrics are what really got to me, they kind of hit me. I will post a YouTube link to the song, but first, here are the lyrics:

Christmas Time (Greensleeves)

Oh, Christmas time, oh, time of joy
A wondrous day for each girl and boy
The fire is warm and the spirits bright
What a beautiful sight, it is Christmas

Raise up your voice and sing
Fill the room with joy
Let the laughter ring
Sing out with word and rhyme
It’s a wonderful time
It is Christmas

The children gathered around the tree
How they look and wonder and laugh with glee
Their hearts are filled with a hundred dreams
And they’re counting the moments ’til Christmas

Raise up your voice and sing
Fill the room with joy
Let the laughter ring
Sing out with word and rhyme
It’s a wonderful time
It is Christmas

Come sit you down and eat your fill
It’s a time for happiness and good will
May all good thoughts and dreams come true
And we wish you all Merry Christmas

Raise up your voice and sing
Fill the room with joy
Let the laughter’s ring
Sing out with word and rhyme
It’s a wonderful time
It is Christmas

___

I began to think about lyrics in general and out of a holiday context. How often do you find yourself happy enough to raise your voice and sing? Shouldn’t every day be a time for happiness and good will? Shouldn’t laughter ring out every day? These questions took me back to the Elvis Presley song where he asks “Why can’t every day be like Christmas? Why can’t that feeling go on endlessly? ‘Cause if every day could be just like Christmas, what a wonderful world this would be.”

Well, here is the song. I hope you enjoy it.

Three Birthday Tributes

oct-800x400

Today I would like to salute three of my closest friends.  I guess, in a way, I am taking the easy way out by including all three of them in one blog.  I am doing it this way because they all celebrate birthdays this month.  So here are some thoughts on three great guys.

Joe – October 15

Joe is my Polish brother.  He says that I am his Italian brother.  The great Red Buttons used to joke that “there is only one difference between the Polish and the Italians – One year of high school!”  We truly are like brothers.  Joe and I met in junior high school.  We had band 1st hour.  It was in this class that I also met Steve K, who you will hear about shortly.  We all hit it off immediately, and have been friends ever since.

In high school, I used to pick Joe up and drive him to school.  He used to run out of the house with a bowl of cereal in his hand.  I remember that cereal was Fruit Islands.  They don’t make it anymore, but the commercials had some guy saying “Ayumma yumma”.  Not sure why, but I will always remember that.

All of the guys I am talking about were in band.  Steve K, Joe, and I all graduated the same year.  Steve M, graduated before us.  Joe and I were band officers.  We were both librarians.  That meant we were responsible for all the music.  We copied it and made sure the parts were placed in the right folders for band members.  Our senior year, Joe was head librarian and I was band president.  We spent many hours after school working on music and hanging with the band director and custodian.  We were probably more of an annoyance than anything!

Bill, the custodian, was such a cool guy!  He invited us to his wedding!  We used to pick a day and he would make sure not to bring lunch that day.  We’d order a pizza from Sorrento’s and eat it in the band room.  We’d sit around telling stories and laughing.  Such fun times!

There was a brief period where I switched from trumpet to tuba.  Joe was the lone tuba player.  I played tuba at the commencement ceremonies for the class of 87, and then played it briefly for marching band.  I was asked by the band director to switch back to trumpet.  He said we needed more trumpets – but now that I think about it, maybe I was just a real crappy tuba player!

It seems like Joe and I have been golfing and bowling together for as long as I can remember.  I remember bowling at this little hole in the wall dump in St. Clair Shores with Joe.  It was always such fun there, and we are still friends with many of the folks we met there.  Eventually we joined a league at Pastime Lanes.  It was there we made more friendships, and I watched him bowl a 300 game.  Pastime is long gone, but we still have many memories there.

Steve K, Joe and I all golfed for Senior Skip Day.  Steve borrowed our buddy Wayne’s golf clubs.  On the first tee, he hit the ball, but the club head broke off the driver.  The club head went farther than the damn golf ball!  Joe and I laughed like hell!  One time Joe and I were golfing in Lapeer and there was an electrical wire that went across the fairway.  What are the odds that one of us would hit that?  Joe did.  He teed off – it hit the wire and dropped like a stone in the fairway.

We used to play pinochle over at Joe’s parents house till all hours of the night.  Their house was just one of many houses that hosted pinochle nights.  Eventually, he and his sister moved into their own place and the card games moved there.  We’d sit around drinking Bud Light listening to 580 CKWW or WCXI and play cards all night.  So many nights of crazy conversations about music, movies, and TV.

Steve M – October 19

Steve and I had probably met before, but we really got to know each other because of Alumni Band.  I remembered that alumni had played once or twice at homecoming while I was still in school.  When I graduated, I wanted to make sure that the tradition continued.  So I bugged the band director and we threw it together.  The first year was a small group.  The second year it was a little bigger. It was a way for us to get together and play and have fun.

Steve and I hit it off immediately.  We both were trumpet players.  I knew his younger brother, Jeff, because he was my brother’s age.  He was also a DJ and did weddings and we loved to talk music.  He hosted some alumni band BBQ’s and was a key part in the success of the group.

I am not sure exactly how we ended up DJing together.  I think it was because he had a light show and I didn’t.  I brought him along and we ended up having so much fun, we kept doing it.  Little by little we added things to the gigs we did.  We both did this stupid Blues Brothers intro to kick off dancing.  I had this bad Elvis wig and would go out and sing to a female wedding guest (story about the wig in a sec).  We had blow up instruments and silly cardboard things we’d hold up while we danced.  We had a friggin blast!!

One time, Steve had his truck backed into the garage.  He had the tailgate glass up and I went inside to comb the Elvis wig down.  I used to put it on my head and comb it down before I put it on this stupid Styrofoam head I had.  I was in his bathroom combing and I heard the truck start and all of a sudden a huge crash.  I walked to the door of the garage and saw that the tailgate glass had caught the garage door and shattered all over the place.  I stood there, wearing that dumb wig, and asked what happened.  At the time, it wasn’t funny (It was raining, we were running late, when we got the gig, Steve had forgotten his shoes, so I went to Kmart to buy him a pair, it was a mess!).  We look back now and Steve will still laugh, “You were standing there wearing the King’s hair!”  After weddings, it was tradition to grab White Castle hamburgers!  Some of my favorite gigs were DJing for cancer benefits or VFW steak outs. When Steve M was living in his apartment, his crazy neighbor (who we called Fruit Loops) used to always come out when we were loading or unloading for DJ gigs.  I wonder what happened to her….LOL

Steve M, Steve K, Joe, and I spent many nights singing karaoke.  We used to have so much fun.  We’d go to these two dive bars – McGee’s and Grady’s.  We’d drink, sing songs and laugh like hell.  We all had specific songs we used to do.  We used to have these guys who’d get up and sing that we’d make fun of.  There was a guy who looked and sounded like Bela Lugosi!  He’d sing Let Me Call You Sweetheart with that accent!  Then there was “Opera Man”.  We called him that because every song he sang, he’d sing it like he was one of the Three Tenors! I would sing harmony for Steve M on Losing My Religion a lot.  We’d have such a fun time!  Now, he is actually hosting karaoke every week at a few places.  I’m over due to get out and sing!

Steve K – October 28

Steve and I became friends in junior high, in the same class as Joe.  Here’s the thing – we almost didn’t stay friends.  Admittedly, we all kind of picked on Steve.  We razzed him – a lot.  Steve and I both played trumpet.  Now I am not sure why he found my trumpet to be better than his.  I do know that he would often switch his with mine.  Well, one day he was walking in the band room and he dropped “his” horn and bent the bell.  I laughed.  We all did.  I probably said something like “You idiot!  Nice job!” or something like that.  He looked at me sheepishly while I laughed and said, “Uh, Keith….this is YOUR trumpet.”  My laughter stopped and I grabbed him by the throat!  Our band director, Mr. Mest, came running over and pulled us both into the office.

Steve and I were in 2nd hour with each other.  After the “incident” we went to the next class.  I was still upset about the whole thing and kept egging him on throughout the class.  I was calling him names, and just being an ass.  He finally got up and walked over to me as I was talking to our buddy Warren.  He grabbed the desk I was sitting in and literally flipped it over – with me still in it!  It totally took me by surprise! Needless to say, we both were sent to the office.  I don’t know if detention was given or not, but I know we both got “yellow slips”.  This was bad, I just don’t know or remember how bad.

I think our dad’s ended up having to talk to each other about the incident and arrangements were made to take care of the horn. I think we both got a “talking to” by our dads and we stayed friends.  We always seemed to be together.  We sat next to each other in band for as long as I can remember.  I often call Steve “Norton” because he reminded me so much to Ed Norton on the Honeymooners.  He’d say some of the silliest things.  We’d laugh all the time.  That Senior Skip Day, he even golfed like Norton did in that episode of the Honeymooners!

The only real time I got in trouble in band class was with Steve.  The other trumpets always waited for us to bring up our horns.  They never seemed to count the rests.  So Steve and I were talking and saying “Let’s bring up our horns early and fool those guys.”  Well, we were rehearsing for band festival and the band director was in no mood for jokes.  He stopped the music and asked what we were talking about.  When I told him he simply pointed to the door and said “Bye.”  We were told to wait until after rehearsal and then talk to him afterward.  We both felt like crap.  You just didn’t tick off the band director – not when festival was the next day!  We were allowed back to rehearsal shortly afterward, but we both still felt stupid!

We’d spend hours in the car driving around.  I would make “driving tapes” and we’d pile in and spend the night driving around the neighborhood.  We’d cruise Gratiot and look at girls.  We’d drive with the windows down, jamming to our favorite songs and singing at the top of our lungs.  We’d harmonize to Huey Lewis & the News, Jerry Lee Lewis, Frankie Ford, and so many other artists.  It was what we did!

He was with me when I got my first speeding ticket (on my way to Sam’s Jams) and he was with me when I had my first car accident.  I was driving in my ’79 Caprice Classic (ok, my dad’s ’79 Caprice Classic) and it had rained.  I was going to his house to drop him off.  I made the left turn and the roads were wet.  I began to go into a skid (rear wheel drive).  I remembered Driver’s Ed class “turn into the skid”, and I did.  Too bad I was literally in front of a parked car when I turned into the skid.  I slammed into the front of this car!  Steve’s mom called my dad.  I was in shock.  I knew I was a dead man.  My dad drove over and walked right past me and looked at the car.  I heard him mumble under his breath “There’s about $1500 worth of damage here.”  I later said, “You didn’t ask about me at all!” to which my dad replied, “I saw you standing there – I knew you were ok!”

I don’t recall if it was our senior year or not, but we had a band trip to Cedar Point.  I am not a ride person.  Steve, me and Chris walked around most of the day probably looking at girls.  We stumbled on this “You Be the Star” booth.  This was LONG before karaoke was a thing.  You went into a sound booth, put headphones on and sang to an instrumental track of a song.  Then, you got a cassette tape of your recording.  I think we did Twist and Shout, Steve did Mack the Knife (which would become his karaoke theme song), and we all did Hip to Be Square by Huey Lewis.  The song had just come out and he said he knew it, so he sang lead on it.  Chris and I sang the “Hip.  Hip.  So Hip to be Square” lines in the background.  I think I may still have that tape!

At my graduation party, my dad and some of his band buddies set up and played music at the party.  My dad had typed up the lyrics to Weird Al’s parody of La Bamba (Lasagna) and his band played it while me, Joe and Steve all sang it.  Steve was leaving to go to basic training soon after we graduated.  It was sad to know my buddy was going to be leaving.  I’m not sure what happened, but he never ended up staying in the navy.  He did, however, move to one of the Carolinas for awhile.  I’d get in trouble for long distance calls to him talking about stupidity…LOL.  He would tell me all about these silly sweepers he’d hear on a station called The Frog out there!

When he moved back to Michigan, Steve also used to DJ with me.  He would bring these crazy songs I had never heard before and want me to play them.  Sometimes they’d work, sometimes they didn’t.  One day, Steve M and I were DJing at the VFW right by Steve K’s house.  He came to the event.  He was dancing like crazy on the dance floor.  I think his wife wanted to go home and he wanted to stay.  She left and went home.  He had to call her later to come pick him back up because while he was out on the floor dancing he split his pants!  Typical Steve.  Stuff like that happened to him all the time!  That is one of my favorite Steve stories.

He was always my pinochle partner when we played with my grandparents (and when we played with Tonya, Michelle and the gang).  You could always count on him having the Ace of Clubs!  A trickless is when you and your partner take every possible trick in the hand.  Steve and I pulled one against my grandparents once.  It pissed my grandpa (who was very competitive) off!  The next hand, we pulled another one!  That was the end of the card playing that night!  Grandpa was done!  Somewhere, I still have the yellow legal pad with those back to back trickless hands written on it!

One day, we were all playing cards at Tonya’s house and the “F You’s” were flying around the table.  Steve meant to say, “F You and the horse you rode in on”, but instead said “the horse you rode on in.”  I am not sure why that made us all laugh so hard, but it did.  To this day, I say it wrong – because of Steve!  I am sure I could devote an entire blog to some of the silly things Steve has said.

He recently had a stroke.  That being said, he is recovering well.  I have to tell you though, when I heard the news I was scared!  This is my buddy and I can’t imagine not having him around.  When I went to the hospital to see him, I was like all emotional.  I hid it very well, but here is a guy, one of my closest friends,  who was my age (not even 50!) and this happened to him.  I was happy that he was ok, and that the prognosis was good, but just knowing that it could have been a very different outcome freaked me out.  It was an eye opening experience.  I guess that’s why I am writing this blog.

I want these three guys to know how glad I am to have their friendship.  We all share a love of music.  We all have the same taste in movies.  We all love a funny joke or pun. We have all shared silly conversations, as well as deep serious conversations.  I have one blood brother, but I am blessed to have these guys as brothers and friends.  In 30+ years, I have been lucky enough to share laughter and tears with these guys.  All of them stood up in my first wedding and I stood up in Joe’s and Steve K’s weddings.  We can go months without chatting and then pick right up where we left off.  Conversations always include laughter, movie quotes, and a whole lot of love.

Even though two of them have already celebrated theirs, and one is a few days away – Happy Birthday, Boys.  I love you guys!  Thank you for being such amazing friends for so many years!

Wedding Page 3

Joe, my brother Chris, Me, Steve M. Jeff, and Steve K at my first wedding.

birthday-freebies

Beers are overdue!