Turntable Talk #23 – The Soundtrack of Our Lives

Once again, Dave Ruch from A Sound Day has offered up a gem of a topic for his monthly Turntable Talk feature! This month it is a topic that I have been hoping he’d get around to. Per his instructions:

“This time around, let’s look for THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES ! Pick a great movie soundtrack and talk a bit about it. It can be from a great movie or a dog of one (or anything in between), one made specifically for the film or one assembled from existing tunes as long as it’s one that works for you!“

There are certainly many fantastic soundtracks to choose from. Movies that are known for being a great film and also their great soundtracks include American Graffiti, Smokey and the Bandit, The Wedding Singer, The Sting, and Forrest Gump. Those aren’t even considered “musicals!” When I think about musicals, wow, that list is a long one.

Plenty of movie (and TV) soundtracks can be found in my collection. When I worked in radio, I would often buy soundtracks so I could uses some instrumental tracks as voiceover beds (music that plays underneath your voice as you are doing a bit or talking to a listener). I used a variety of cuts from Napoleon Dynamite, Stripes, The Three Amigos, Dragnet, and movies that were box office bombs! My pick comes from a movie that was far from a bomb. It was one of the biggest films of the 1980’s.

The one soundtrack that has always been a favorite for me (and it doesn’t even contain all the songs featured in the film) is The Blues Brothers. It has some fantastic cuts from Belushi and Aykroyd as well as musical legends like Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and Cab Calloway.

I had this soundtrack on vinyl and I played the heck out of it. Many of the songs were featured on my “driving mix tapes” when I had my first car! While the album contains 11 great tracks, the film included many other classics that I wound up searching for to add to my collection. The music doesn’t follow their chronological appearance in the film for some reason.

She Caught the Katy

The album opens with this Taj Mahal song. The Blues Brothers version has a lot more sound to it. It is so much fuller with the horns and guitars of the band. It is the song that the starring credits roll under. The opening guitar lick leads to the first big horn stab (and we see Belushi) then you have another horn stab (and we see Aykroyd) and the third big horn stab hits as we see the movie’s title card.

Belushi’s vocal on this is perfect. I like his vocal on this cut more than any other song on the album.

Peter Gunn Theme

This is the first of two TV themes on the album. This instrumental plays as the Blues Brothers are driving back to Elwood’s place. There are some really great shots of the city of Chicago in this scene. As you listen to this one, you can hear the talents of Tom “Bones” Malone, “Blue” Lou Marini, and “Mr. Fabulous” Alan Rubin. If I had a dollar for every time I used this as background music to introduce a wedding party I could fly to Italy!

Gimme Some Lovin’

Best known for being a hit for the Spencer Davis Group (and a young Steve Winwood), the soundtrack features the full song. In the film, the band begins to play this song at Bob’s Country Bunker (a country bar) and the owner shuts the lights off on them. If I had to choose between the two, I’d pick the Spencer Davis version over this one, but it is still a great jam.

Shake a Tail Feather

Originally done by the Five Du-Tones of Chicago in 1963, James and Bobby Purify had a bigger hit with it in 1967. This version tops them because of one man – the great Ray Charles. In the film, he owns a music shop and the band is buying new instruments. Ray is asked about a keyboard and Murphy Dunn tells him that the “action” of the keys is not that great. Ray sits down and says, “I don’t see anything wrong with the action on this piano” and launches into this song.

As Ray plays, a crowd gathers outside the store and dances along with the song doing all the dances mentioned in it (the monkey, the jerk, the boogaloo, etc…). This song is fantastic.

Everybody Needs Somebody To Love

The song was written by Solomon Burke and recorded by him in 1964. Wilson Pickett’s 1966 cover is probably the best known version. This song is featured at the Blues Brothers’ big concert toward the end of the film. Over the intro, Elwood (Aykroyd) speaks to the audience and thanks “the members of Illinois law enforcement” who are present and waiting to arrest them. We get to hear a big more of Aykroyd on this track.

The Old Landmark

When you mention the Blues Brothers to someone, they will often quote “We’re on a mission from God.” This song is performed by the Godfather of Soul, James Brown who plays a preacher. Jake and Elwood are attending this church service and it is a pivotal moment in the film (and what sets them off on their “mission from God.”

The Old Landmark is a gospel song written by Dr. William Herbert Brewster Sr. back in 1949. It has been recorded by the Staple Singers, Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick and many others. James Brown takes this to a whole new level. It’s hard to imagine anyone performing this. He performed/recorded this one live on set.

Think

The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, performs this one as she is telling off her husband Matt “Guitar” Murphy. The song was a hit for Aretha in 1968. For the film, they bump up the tempo and add some dancers. This track is SO good! ”Blue” Lou Marini grabs his sax midway through the number and really jams through the end.

This was one of the harder songs to do in the film. Aretha had recorded the song and found it difficult to lip synch to her vocals as they filmed. It was a scene that needed many takes to do. This version is far superior to her original version.

Theme From Rawhide

The second TV theme on the album takes place in that country bar. After the lights go out they band has to figure out something that the audience will like. They wind up performing this one. Aykroyd’s vocal is just awesome here not to mention the “call and answer” between him and Belushi. Add in a whip and you have a real country hit on your hands!

This scene always makes me laugh because they perform on a stage surrounded by chicken wire. Why? Because the crowd gets so excited they throw beer bottles at them!

Minnie The Moocher

This was a song that Cab Calloway had been singing for decades! He was the “Hi-De-Ho Man.” I just love this version of the song. The rumor is that Cab wanted to do the disco version of the song that he had recorded in the past. They insisted that it needed to be the jazz/big band sound.

The song itself send you right back to the 1940’s. The full sound of the band, the horn section, and the amazing trumpet solos by Alan Rubin. Without a visual, it is still fantastic. Watching it in the film only enhances the experience.

They band is on stage waiting for Jake and Elwood to arrive. The crowd is getting antsy. The band is dressed in street clothes and look sort of shabby. Cab asks if they know the song and the band says they do. He yells, “Hit it!” and the curtain opens. Out struts Cab in a white tuxedo backed by the band, wearing black tuxes and looking sharp. The stage now has an backdrop of famous 40’s places with neon signs and a sweet looking band stand.

As a trumpet player, I can’t NOT mention the spectacular trumpet playing of Alan Rubin on this one!

Cab was a scat singer and his call and answer with the audience is just priceless. I’m not sure how old he was here, but his vocals are right on! He was a legend!

Sweet Home Chicago

This is the longest track on the soundtrack. The original version was done by Robert Johnson in 1936. This is the second song the band plays at their big concert (and the one where they make their escape, hence the long instrumental ending). As they intro it, they dedicate it to the late, great Magic Sam (who was from Chicago) who recorded it in 1967.

This is such a fun song to listen to and to watch in the film. The looks that they give John Candy’s character and the other folks who have been chasing them always make me smile. The song serves as the background music as we transition from night to day and the ultimate finale of the movie.

Jailhouse Rock

Movie Spoiler: The entire Blues Brothers Band gets arrested at the end of the movie. Naturally, the final song of the movie is Jailhouse Rock, originally done by Elvis Presley. Trivia: In the film, the first “prisoner” to jump up on the tables and dance is Joe Walsh!

On the soundtrack, the song is a bit different than in the film. You have a complete cut on the album, while in the movie each band member has a little solo as their name appears in the credits. In the film version you also get a line or two sung by James Brown, Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and more. It’s a perfect capstone to wrap the soundtrack.

I have played the songs on this album over and over again on vinyl, cassette, on my iPod, and YouTube. It remains one of my favorite soundtracks of all time! What disappoints me is the many songs that were featured in the film that didn’t make the soundtrack. They are worth finding and checking out!

Of course, I can’t tease those without listing them, so here goes:

Somebody Loan Me a Dime – Fenton Robinson (Plays while Jake is escorted from his prison cell)
Shake Your Moneymaker – Elmore James (Plays while Jake and Elwood visit with Curtis at the orphanage)
Soothe Me/Hold On, I’m Comin’ – Sam and Dave (Plays on the 8 track in the Bluesmobile while Jake and Elwood are driving and get pulled over)
I Can’t Turn You Loose – The Blues Brothers – Originally done by Otis Redding (Plays while they drive through the mall and as they take the stage at the Palace Hotel Ballroom concert)
Let the Good Times Roll – Louis Jordan (Plays on the record player in Elwood’s place)
Anema e core (Until) – Ezio Pinza (The piece is playing the apartment that Tom Malone and Lou Marini used to stay – the “Are you the police?” scene)
Quando, Quando, Quando – Murph and the Magictones (Plays in the Holiday Inn scene)
Just the Way You Are – Muzak version of the Billy Joel song. (Plays in the Holiday Inn scene)
Die Romantiker (The waltz that plays at the Chez Paul restaurant)
Boom Boom – John Lee Hooker (Plays as the Blues Brothers are going to meet Matt “Guitar” Murphy)
Mama Lawdy/Boogie Chillen – John Lee Hooker (Plays when Jake calls Maury Sline and on the way to Bob’s Country Bunker)
Your Cheatin’ Heart – Kitty Wells (Plays as the Blues Brothers enter Bob’s Country Bunker)
Stand By Your Man – The Blues Brothers (Plays at Bob’s Country Bunker)
I’m Walkin’ – Fat’s Domino (Plays as Jake and Elwood and the orphans promote the concert)
Ride of the Valkyries – Richard Wagner (Plays as the Nazis are chasing the Blues Brothers toward the end of the movie)
The Girl from Impanema – Muzak version (Plays, naturally, in an elevator as the Blues Brothers go up the 11th floor with the tax money)

The Blues Brothers may or may not have been the first movie of “mine” that I made my wife watch with me. I’m sure that she made me watch one of her tear jerking chick flicks to get back at me afterward. To me, this movie remains a classic. As far as the sequel – not so much. It did have a decent soundtrack, but that is about it.

I have been wanting to write about this album for a long time and am glad that Dave finally gave me a reason to indulge myself with this blog. I am also excited to see what the rest of the bloggers have chosen for their soundtrack.

I’m already looking forward to next month’s topic! Thanks for reading!

Turntable Talk 21 – Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

Once again, Dave Ruch from A Sound Day has offered up an interesting topic for this month’s Turntable Talk. I see it as being a way for each of us writers to offer you a bit of ourselves. I mean, any time I write something, it usually has something that gives the reader a glimpse at who I am. In some blogs I read, there are a lot of facts and not much of the author. I’ve come to “know” many of the participants through their past submissions, but this month I feel we’re going to get a bit more personal.

This month, Dave presented us with the following instructions:

It’s almost time for Christmas dinner (even if you aren’t necessarily prone to celebrating Christmas, play along) and there’s one more seat at the table. Because of the magic that is Christmas, you can invite any one musician (or person from the music world) to be your guest. Even if they’ve passed away, they can be at your table for a meal, and a few stories. So, who would you invite? And any little musical gift you hope they might possibly come with?

As with past topics, one possibility jumped out immediately. I decided to think a bit more before I made that final decision. Oh! The list of names that I came up with! It was a long one that included Elvis Presley, Mel Torme’, Nat King Cole, Bobby Darin, Roy Orbison, Doc Severinsen, Louis Prima, Frank Sinatra, Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett, Reba McEntire, Michael Buble’, and so many more! In the end, I stuck with the first name that came to mind – Dean Martin.

To this day, Dean remains my favorite singer. His laid back, carefree, and effortless approach is part of the charm that makes him so likable to me. So many of his songs hold special memories for me.

I imagine him showing up dressed to the nines in his staple tuxedo, knowing he is the guest of honor. However, I also picture him as a humble man who gets along with everyone.

Naturally, on Christmas I’d make the dish that was always served by my grandma – Ravioli. I’d be sure to make the homemade sauce for him. I’d always seen pictures of him and John Wayne eating pasta together. I’d love to hear those stories.

I feel like we could easily talk about the similarities between his folks and my grandparents (both from the old country). I know he was a fairly private guy, but I would enjoy hearing his stories about growing up in that Italian family.

The conversation would naturally turn to music. I’d have so many questions for him. The recording process has always fascinated me. On some of the newer releases they’d include some of the in between take studio chatter. Dean always seemed to be joking around and I bet he’d have some great stories about that.

Not to mention all the stars he personally knew and hung out with. I bet he could have wrote a book full of Sinatra stories! If you look back on the guests who were on his TV show, on the TV roasts, or actors who were in movies with him – it is truly an amazing group. How could he just pick one or two stories to tell when he knew so many people!?

I certainly wouldn’t want to pressure him, but I think it would be very cool to be sitting around the table and for him to give us a few measures of a Christmas song. I remember watching how people often just sang with each other back in the day. Would Dean duet with me on Marshmallow World? Who knows?

As someone who really stinks up the golf course, I’d probably bug Dean for a few golf tips. He was SO good at it, I’m sure just one little piece of advice on my grip, my stance or my swing would help me tremendously!

I’m not sure what musical gift I would hope for him to bring, but I would certainly love to get my hands on one of two things. He once had his own brand of golf balls! I’d never use them, of course, but I would love to have a box!

I would also like to have a bottle of his spirits. At one time he had a few types of his own booze!

I don’t really drink, but I think it would be awesome to have these sitting on a bar.

I suppose I’d only have one more request – a photo with him. That may be pushing the limits, so I might just have to have the camera lying around so that someone could snap some candids of the the two of us together.

I’m sure he’d be the one to want to cut the evening short. “Look, pallie, I’d love to stay and answer all your questions, but I have a 7 o’clock tee time in the morning ….” I’d totally be ok with that.

Thanks to Dave for a great topic! I cannot wait to read the guests that our other writers come up with!

How about you? Who would you picki?

Wishing you and yours a VERY Merry Christmas and a blessed 2024!

Royal Rock and Roll Remembrance (and Other Orchestral Music)

August 16

On this day in 1977 – a King died. The King of Rock and Roll.

On this day in 2018 – a Queen died. The Queen of Soul.

Both were musical royalty. Did you know they both have a musical group in common? Both have “recorded” with the world famous Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Imagine what some of their songs might have sounded like with an orchestral background! Never mind. You don’t have to, because there are albums you can check out.

Here are a couple of my favorites from those albums (with some bonus cuts and artists later on)

Elvis

A Big Hunk o’ Love

Can’t Help Falling in Love

Steamroller Blues

In the Ghetto

Aretha Franklin

Respect

Natural Woman

Think

Until You Come Back To Me

Elvis has two albums with the RPO and a Christmas Album. Aretha has one. But there are other artists whose song’s have been reimagined by the RPO. The first being The Carpenters. Honestly, many of their songs already had some sort of orchestra background, but these new arrangements are neat to hear.

The Carpenters

I Just Fall In Love Again

We’ve Only Just Begun

The oddest pairing in my opinion is the RPO and the Beach Boys. Orchestral Surf??

Wouldn’t It Be Nice

Sloop John B

My favorite cut is this one – Fun, Fun, Fun

My favorite collaboration (besides Elvis) is the RPO and Roy Orbison. Wow! What an album! Simply amazing.

In Dreams

Crying

It’s Over

Only the Lonely

Running Scared

I have always loved Mean Woman Blues by Roy. However, I think the version with the RPO takes the original and beefs it up with some cool horns and makes it even better! My favorite cut!

Mean Woman Blues

So today we salute a King, a Queen, and some artists that would be considered music royalty – with a “royal” musical group that they all have in common. I hope you enjoyed listening. All of the Royal Philharmonic Albums can be heard on YouTube!

Turntable Talk #15 – My Home Town

It is time once again for one of my favorite blog posts – Turntable Talk, hosted by Dave at A Sound Day. If you are unfamiliar with this feature, Dave assigns the participants with a specific musical topic each month. This is the 15th installment. This month the topic is: My Hometown

Dave’s instructions for us this time read: “I’m leaving this one rather open-ended for your interpretation, but essentially if you’re in, write about either a song about your hometown, or highlight an artist from your hometown. Likewise, I leave it to you to define what your hometown is – it can be your literal one, or one you live in now or somewhere close by that you associate with.”

As many followers know, I live in Michigan. I was raised in the city of Warren, which is about 20 miles from Detroit (less than 20 miles in some places). When the topic was presented, my first thought was to pic the song Detroit City (which was done by numerous artists). I really don’t consider that song a favorite, so I started thinking about Motown Songs. There were SO many good ones to chose from, but I decided against that, too.

I then did a search of artists from Michigan hoping that one would jump out at me. One did. I wrote briefly about him in the past, but feel he is worth writing about for this topic. I will mention some of his biggest hits, which you will be familiar with, and maybe even include some YouTube links. There is one song that wasn’t a huge hit for him, but it is my favorite vocal by him. I hope you are ready for some excitement – Mr. Excitement, Jackie Wilson!

Jackie Wilson has ties to many other artists and groups, all prior to having a successful solo career. He was considered a master showman and one of the most dynamic singers and performers in soul, R&B, and rock and roll history. His story is really an amazing one to follow, although it does have a sad ending.

The iconic, soulful and energetic stage entertainer was born in Detroit on June 9th, 1934, and raised in the rough neighborhoods of Highland Park, Michigan (13 miles outside of Detroit). He actually began singing as a young boy, accompanying his mother, an experienced church choir singer. In his early teens he joined a quartet, the Ever Ready Gospel Singers, who gained popularity in local churches. Wilson was not very religious, but he enjoyed singing in public. The money the quartet earned from performing was often spent on alcohol, and Wilson began drinking at an early age.

Life was rough for him growing up. At age 15, he dropped out of school. He joined an area gang, which led to Jackie getting in trouble. He got locked up twice in juvenile homes where he eventually learned to box. He entered the amateur circuits around the Detroit area where he met fellow boxer and future Motown chief, Berry Gordy. Jackie would become a Golden Gloves boxer, but after his mother told him ‘that’s enough boxing’, and with a record of 2-8, he turned to music.

Forming the original Falcons, he would be discovered by Johnny Otis, who placed him in a group called the Thrillers. The Thrillers later became the Royals, the same group that backed another Detroit legend, Hank Ballard, but Jackie left before they made their big hits. Joining Billy Ward & the Dominoes in 1953, replacing Clyde McPhatter. He stayed with the group for 3 years, and cut their last real hit “St. Terese of the Roses.” It was after this (in 1957) that he decided going solo would be a better option. He was absolutely right and it paid off for him in a big way.

Signing with Brunswick Records, Jackie would have his first hit “Reet Petite” in 1957, co-written by Berry Gordy, who would become good friends with Wilson over the years, and co-writing a few of his early hits.

Jackie followed this with “To Be Loved,” “That’s Why (I Love You So),” and “I’ll Be Satisfied.” But it was “Lonely Teardrops” that would launch him to a whole new level!

Charting 54 hits from 1957-1974, his stage presence earned him the nickname “Mr. Excitement”! Audiences went wild for his stage show! Go to YouTube and watch some of his live performances! He was amazing. He sang while doing knee-drops, spins, the splits, back flips, one-footed across-the-floor slides, removing his tie and jacket and throwing them off the stage, basic boxing steps like advance and retreat shuffling. Jackie would sing anything from high-powered soul classics, to opera, to ballads – there wasn’t anything Jackie couldn’t sing.

One of those amazing ballads was a song called, “Doggin’ Around” from 1960. The vocal on this song blows me away every time I hear it! You can hear the pain in his voice as he pleads to this woman to stop playing games with him. There is that lone piano plinking along in the back ground and the back ground singers are just enough to enhance the “pain” Jackie is trying to convey. The song itself only went to #15, but I have always felt it should have gone MUCH higher.

Doggin’ Around – Lyrics

You better stop, yeah, doggin’ me around
If don’t you stop, yeah, I’m gonna put you down

Cause, I can’t take it
Much longer
My heart’s getting weak,
It’s not getting any stronger
You keep me so upset,
My head’s in a whirl,
But if you wanna be my girl

You better stop, yeah, doggin’ me around
Cause if you don’t stop, I’m gonna put you down

Now you know you go out nights,
To have yourself a ball
Sometimes you don’t, you don’t make it home at all
I don’t mind you having yourself a real good time,
But now what are you tryna do, tryna make me lose my mind

You better stop, yeah, doggin’ me around
If you don’t stop, I’m gonna put you down
Yes, put you down
I don’t want to do it, but I’ll have to put you down
I love you baby, but still, I’ll put you down…

Elvis Presley’s hairstylist, Larry Geller, once visited Jackie backstage with Elvis after one of his Las Vegas performances. He said that Jackie had a habit of taking a handful of salt tablets and drinking large amounts of water before each performance, to create profuse sweating. Wilson told Elvis, “The chicks love it.” This may not have been the healthiest thing to do, and may have contributed to his tragic end.

On September 29, 1975, Jackie was one of the main acts to be featured in Dick Clark’s Good Ol’ Rock and Roll Revue at the Latin Casino in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. While singing “Lonely Teardrops,” as he sang the words “My heart is crying” he collapsed on stage; audience members applauded as they initially thought it was part of the act. He had suffered a heart attack onstage. Dick Clark sensed something was wrong, then ordered the musicians to stop the music.

Due to the lack of oxygen, he fell into a coma, of which he never recovered. He was moved to a retirement community in Mt. Holly, New Jersey, where he needed constant care. Elvis Presley paid for a lot of his medical expenses. On January 21, 1984, Jackie Wilson died at the young age of 49.

So many great singers hail from Michigan, and the Detroit area. Jackie Wilson was an amazing talent who, despite a short career, left us so many great songs! He posthumously received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on September 4, 2019. He is buried at Westlawn Cemetery in Wayne, Michigan. His tombstone reads “No more lonely teardrops.” A bench in front of his grave says, “Jackie – The Complete Entertainer.”

Thanks again to Dave for allowing me to take part in this feature! I truly look forward to writing for it and reading the other participant’s entries. I am already waiting patiently for next month’s topic.

Turntable Talk – Cover Me

This blog is part of the next installment of Dave from A Sound Day’s Turntable Talk. This time around, the subject is “cover songs.” Per our instructions:

This time around, wanting to get your thoughts on Cover Songs…what makes a really good one, maybe what your favorite bold one is. Do you like ones really faithful to the original, or ones that spin it in an altogether direction? Or conversely, what one is atrocious to you & why.

By ‘bold’ I mean covers of songs that were already known, and hits. I won’t set any minimum guidelines but as examples, most people never heard The Arrows version of ‘I Love Rock n Roll’ or The Clique’s ‘Superman’ so it was easy for Joan Jett & REM respectively make them their own. But to do a Beatles song, like Joe Cocker did only a couple of years after the original was released… that took …something.

So what cover songs work great for you?

Cover Songs

If you do a Google search on “cover songs,” there are plenty of links to articles containing lists of “the best” ones. There are also links to video’s that feature countdowns and lists of “best and worst” cover songs. Those lists, no doubt, will include: Twist and Shout by the Beatles, Proud Mary by Ike and Tina Turner, Hurt by Johnny Cash, Last Kiss by Pearl Jam, Mony Mony by Billy Idol, All Along the Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix, and many many more!

Many people are unaware that some of their favorite songs are actually cover songs. A lot of the early Rolling Stones and Beatles songs were actually covers of songs they loved by other artists. In a way, a cover song is the ultimate “hat tip” to a band’s early influence.

Personally, I tend to love cover songs. If you were to grab my iPod, that becomes very clear! I recall a time when I was married to my ex-wife and her iPod was dead. She wanted to go walk and asked if she could take mine instead. Upon returning home, she said to me, “How many different versions of a song do you need?!”

Cover Song Example

Dave asked “what makes a good” cover song? He also asked, “Do you like ones really faithful to the original, or ones that spin it in an altogether direction?“

It is difficult for me to say what exactly makes a good cover song because I think it can be one that is faithful to the original, spun in a different direction, or a mixture of both of those elements. Take for example, the Rodgers and Hart song – Blue Moon.

The song was written in 1934. There were recordings made as early as 1935. One of the best known versions is the Doo Wop hit from 1961 by the Marcels. Dean Martin did a stripped down version with piano and drums that was performed as a slow ballad. Frank Sinatra’s version was more “swingy”. Sam Cooke’s “bounced” and in 1997 a swing band called the Jive Aces covered it as a bouncy boogie woogie sounding cover. Every single version I mentioned, I like for different reasons.

Some of My Favorite Covers

If I were to make a list of all the cover songs I have on my iPod and feature one a day on my blog, I would have enough songs to write about for about 6 months! Instead, I grabbed a piece of paper and off the top of my head started jotting down the cover songs that came to mind. I gave myself 5 minutes to do this and came up with about 18 songs. The reality is that I know that I will complete this blog and after it posts say, “Oh, man! I forgot (insert cover song here)!” That’s ok.

While it may be hard for me to tell you exactly what I love about cover songs, maybe by giving some examples of some of my favorites, the music will answer the question for both of us.

The first three I came up with are all from movie soundtracks. There is no shortage of cover songs in the movies. These covers will often give new life to old songs – examples include Sweet Child of Mine by Sheryl Crow from Big Daddy, Hallelujah by Rufus Wainwright from Shrek, Hazy Shade of Winter by the Bangels from Less Than Zero, Girl You’ll Be a Woman Soon by Urge Overkill in Pulp Fiction, and, of course, I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston in The Bodygaurd.

Johnny B. Goode – Marty McFly and the Starlighters

From Back to the Future, this is the song Marty McFly plays at the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance. In the movie, He goes off on a Eddie Van Halen type solo and the entire crowd looks at him stunned. On the soundtrack, however, there is a full version with an additional verse not in the movie. What I love about this version is the stripped down instrumentation, the saxophone and piano, and the whole feel of it. It really sounds like an “early” version of the song. It’s actually quite good.

https://youtu.be/RelL4BS2lEQ

All Shook Up – Billy Joel

From the soundtrack of Honeymoon in Vegas, which contains some very good Elvis covers. This one is my favorite. It has the feel of the Elvis version, with a little “boogie woogie” piano feel to it. Simple background vocals enhance the Billy Joel version. One addition I love is the bass drum hit after he sings, “I’m in love ….”

https://youtu.be/IsktHpH5QGk

I’m Ready – Taj Mahal

I stumbled on this by accident. This cut was used in the movie Little Big League. I’ve always been a fan of Fats Domino, but this version is just so much better. It has “meat” to it. The driving bass line keeps it moving, the piano is still there, and those saxes in the background – LOVE them. Add the electric guitar and Taj Mahal’s vocal to the mix and it is just perfect! This is one that I find myself listening to at work when I need a “pick up”

https://youtu.be/KZkRSP2oe8c

Sea of Love – The Honey Drippers

Phil Phillips did the original of this, but how can you NOT love this version?! First and foremost, you have Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and Jimmy Page as well as Jeff Beck in the group! Add a beautiful string arrangement and background singers to compliment them and you have a top 5 record!

https://youtu.be/2BoUzzFXuVU

Tainted Love – Soft Cell

Not many people are aware that this is actually a cover song. It was originally done in 1964 by Gloria Jones. The song was written by Ed Cobb, who was in the Four Preps, and was actually the B-side of a song called My Bad Boy’s Comin’ Home. The original had a “Motown” feel to it, while Soft Cell certainly has more of an 80’s feel to it.

Here is Soft Cell: https://youtu.be/22mYcScS_88

Here is the original: https://youtu.be/NSehtaY6k1U

Hard to Handle – Black Crowes

This one was written and recorded by the legendary Otis Redding. Otis’ version is already great, but I love this one equally. It certainly has a great feel to it. It doesn’t sound dated at all. It’s funky and a great jam!

https://youtu.be/BRcs_OzQb14

You’re Sixteen – Ringo Starr

The original was done by Johnny Burnette, who was known for rockabilly, in 1960. It’s not that I dislike the original, I just think Ringo’s version is … more fun. For years I thought Paul McCartney was playing Kazoo in this, however, one article says, “Michael Verity has quoted the song’s producer Richard Perry as revealing that it wasn’t actually a kazoo: “In fact, the solo on ‘You’re Sixteen,’ which sounds like a kazoo or something, was Paul singing very spontaneously as we played that track back, so he’s singing the solo on that.” Ringo’s version remains one of the few No. 1 singles to feature a ‘kazoo-sound’ solo. (It sure sounds like a kazoo to me!) I also love the driving piano bassline in his version.

https://youtu.be/vkR7u_sOtHI

I’m Down – Aerosmith

Originally done by the Beatles, this is almost a carbon copy of the Beatles version. I like it because I think Steven Tyler’s vocal perfectly fits the song.

https://youtu.be/oYGmtGnhdks

Look at Little Sister – Stevie Ray Vaughn

I picked this song in the recent song draft and you can read about it here:

https://nostalgicitalian.com/2021/08/10/song-draft-2021-round-3-look-at-little-sister-hank-ballard-stevie-ray-vaughn/

Steamroller Blues – Elvis

Elvis did his share of covers, and this is one that comes from his Aloha From Hawaii concert special. I have always preferred this version to the James Taylor version. To me, it is more “bluesy.” I love everything about this cut!!

https://youtu.be/4vAuXP4hIoo

Baby, I Love You – Andy Kim

This one was originally done by the Ronettes in 1963 and featured Phil Spector’s “wall of sound.” Andy Kim recorded his version in 1969 and had a top 10 hit with it. It mimics the “wall of sound” but if you listen in headphones, there is a lot of little stuff going on in the background – jingle bells, glockenspiel, castanets, and more. I remember hearing it a lot as a kid.

https://youtu.be/kdrpRKiVwi8

Since I Met You Baby – Dean Martin

This remake I stumbled on by watching MTV!! The original was done by Ivory Joe Hunter in 1956. I remember seeing the Title and Artist show up on the bottom left side of the screen when the video started and couldn’t believe that Dean Martin was on MTV. He recorded it for his The Nashville Sessions Album and I love that it stays true to the original, yet is purely Dean.

https://youtu.be/9Ls6X0-rgd4

Think – Joan Osborne

It better be good if you are covering the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, and this one is! Aretha did the original in 1968 and then covered herself for a version in the Blues Brothers. I don’t remember how I stumbled on Joan Osborne’s version, but it is different enough that I love it. It has such a cocky attitude to it. Dig it –

https://youtu.be/RNskLOOwvvI

Mustang Sally – Buddy Guy

Originally done by Wilson Pickett, this is one of greatest soul songs of all time! I heard this on the Blues channel on Sirius XM and fell in love with it. I’ve always dug Buddy Guy and while this stays pretty true to the original, it has a sound of its own!

https://youtu.be/eAyFynJXe4g

Blue Suede Shoes – Elvis

Carl Perkins seemed to have all of his songs covered and many times, his songs became associated with the other artist rather than him. That’s the case with Blue Suede Shoes – it is Elvis. Elvis’ version is so much better than Carl’s in my opinion.

https://youtu.be/HeXnFx7aPOE

Your Cheating Heart – Crystal Shawanda

Originally done in 1952 by the late Hank Williams Sr. this takes a whiney and twangy song and cranks it up about 10 notches. We had Crystal in for a show when I worked at the country station and she was fantastic. This was on her debut album. I’m not sure she isn’t a huge star. Her voice is amazing and she is very talented.

https://youtu.be/GLVYxAKT12g

Dirty Laundry – Lisa Marie Presley

Written by and a hit for Don Henley, I have always loved this song. The content of the song is about mass media and how they exploit just about everything. Henley had a top 5 hit with it. I didn’t even know that Lisa Marie Presley had done this song until I heard it on some Pandora playlist. Her vocal is sultry and sells the content lyrically. A great cut!

https://youtu.be/u9_Bf1pVWOk

As a bonus – here is a live and unplugged version:

https://youtu.be/8jUBEj_8x5s

Please, Please, Please – Delbert McClinton

A cover of James Brown’s classic! James has a hit with this in 1956 and it went top 10 on the R&B charts. I think Delbert McClinton is someone who just doesn’t get enough praise for all he does. He’s a singer songwriter who can play many instruments and has released many albums. This version comes from his Honky Tonk and Blues album, which is a personal favorite.

https://youtu.be/HCs8m27CiCM

Call Me Irresponsible – Michael Buble’

Jimmy Van Heusen composed this song in 1962 with lyrics by Sammy Cahn. According to Mel Torme’, the song was written for Judy Garland to sing on her TV show. It was written as a parody to her well-known problems. Many people have done versions on the song – Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Eddie Fisher, Julie London, and more. Michael Buble’ used this as the title track for his 2007 album. It get’s me right from the opening “walking” bass lick. Buble’ has made a career out of covering so many songs from the Great American Songbook, as well as many originals. He has a great band backing him and he sings this effortlessly.

https://youtu.be/oj_eUUaWBu0

Ok – Just One That I HATE

Lean on Me – Club Nouveau

I love Bill Withers. he wrote and recorded this for his 1972 Still Bill album. It was a smash and was a number 1 song. I never cared for the cover version. Yes, it stayed very close to the original, but I just never cared for the arrangement at all. It’s almost annoying to me. It is actually playing in my headphones as I am typing this. To me, the whole 80’s synth sounds just sound out of place. Not to mention the whole “We be jammin” part – URGH!! One good thing about this was that it won a Grammy for Bill Withers as the writer for Best R&B song.

I reluctantly post the link to the video here ….

https://youtu.be/kbyjaUJWWmk

Final Thoughts

So what can we say about cover songs? Are they done as a tribute to the original artist? Are they done because it’s a favorite to perform? Are they done to “improve” on the original? Are they done because an artist feels it should be presented in a different way? Who knows, really!? One could easily ask the same questions about all the crappy movie remakes that have come about.

Some of my favorite concert memories are hearing the singer do a song that is totally unexpected. My favorite memory of the Billy Joel concert I attended wasn’t Piano Man. It was when he talked about loving the Motor City and breaking into his own version of I Heard it Through The Grapevine! Magical!! Aaron Tippin played a county fair for us and one point he threw on a fedora and sang Fly Me To the Moon, which blew my mind! Very cool songs – never released – but covers, nonetheless.

In the end, a good song is a good song. I love listening to a great song done by many other singers. It says something about the song melodically and lyrically. I don’t always love the cover, but that’s ok. It’s fun to hear the artist’s take on it.

I want to thank Dave for allowing me to ramble on and on about this month’s topic. I’ve wanted to feature cover songs on my site, but just couldn’t figure out how to present it. I guess I better stop typing because the more I think about it … the more songs are coming to my head!

Thanks for reading!

Friday Photo Flashback

Recently, I did a blog based on a writing prompt that suggested finding a photo and blogging about the memories that it brings back to you. I enjoyed doing it and thought I would try to do one every Friday. I’m not sure I’ll have enough photos to post, but we’ll see.

The above photo is on my brother (left) and me (right) in our old house in Sterling Heights. The photo is probably taken around 1976. If I had to guess it is probably shortly after Christmas.

It is very easy to focus on the main action in the picture. We are obviously pulling on Stretch Armstrong. I remember seeing ads for Stretch as a kid and asked for it for Christmas or my birthday. It was one of my favorite toys. What I found interesting was looking at the things outside of the center of the picture.

At the bottom is a yellow airplane. I recognized it immediately. In one of my early blogs I talked about the Fisher Price “Adventure People.” The plane is from one of those sets.

What I remember about those “Adventure People” is that eventually, their heads wouldn’t stay up. They always fell down to the chest.

To the right of the plane are some boxes. I wish I could make out what they are. They certainly look like they may be from toys or gifts, which is why I think this might be around Christmas.

Behind me in the picture is yet another “Adventure People” set. It was hard to make out, but I remembered it once I realized what it was. It is the FP Rescue Truck. If you look carefully, you can see the red “bucket” ladder in the picture.

Behind my brother is a book case. On the bottom shelf, it looks like there might be some of my dad’s school books to the right. To the left of those is some series of books with white covers. I’m not really sure what those are.

On the next shelf up is a series of blue books which I remember well. I cannot remember if they were from Reader’s Digest or World Book or some company like that, but they had all kinds of historical stuff in them. Some were about cars, some where about movies and TV, and others were about politics. I loved looking through those and looking at pictures of old movie stars.

On the shelves above that one I can see book bindings from some of my mom’s “beauty” books, cook books, a three ring binder, a couple Bibles, and paperbacks. I’m not sure why there is a green teapot on there!

On the bottom left there was a cabinet. I want to say that is where you could find some of the family photo albums. One of them probably held the picture that is the subject of this blog.

Above the cabinet door is a shelf that is loaded up with 12 inch Vinyl records. Even though I can’t see them, I can name albums that are on this shelf! They were the ones my dad played often. The Beatles Let It Be, Roy Orbison’s Greatest Hits, Elvis In Concert, The Best of Lenny Dee, and about 20 compilation albums.

On top of the albums, there are some loose gloves (suggesting winter time), and what seems to be VHS tape holder. I know that is not what it is, because we didn’t even have VCR’s at this time. If I had to wager a guess, those drawers are probably holding 8-track tapes. (My dad used to record his own for us to listen to in the car.) The Phonograph turntable is probably on the shelf just above those albums with two speakers sitting next to it.

As I look at this picture I wish I could walk through it! While I don’t recall the layout completely, I do remember that my room was all the way at the end of the hall. I know behind me in the picture is the hall closet, my parents room would be at the end on the right, the bathroom is also on the right (you can kind of see the counter with a bottle of what looks like hairspray on it), and on the left across from the closet – my brother’s room.

I vaguely remember things about that house, as I was only there for 6 years of my life. I would love to be able to walk back through it and just take it all in. I’ve probably forgotten so much about it.

It’s actually neat to look beyond what was being captured on film. I wish that these old photos were clearer, so I could really dive into the things in the background.

Inspired by Blogmas

A few blogs that I follow, started to talk about “Blogmas” a week or so ago. From what I can tell it is a list of 25-31 Blog post ideas. Sort of a daily writing prompt that are all Christmas related. I did a search for “Blogmas” and read through a few of them. The list seems to vary a bit, but mostly contains the same prompts. The idea is to blog about each of these prompts daily. Some of the lists stop at 25 (Christmas Day) and some end at day 31 (New Year’s Eve).

The ones I read yesterday were under the title “Christmas Tag.” In essence, you answer the 20 questions and then tag a blogger to answer the same. I won’t tag anyone at the end of this blog, since I am technically not officially committed to “Blogmas,” but I liked some of the questions on the list and thought they would make for good reading (even though I may have answered a question or two in more detail in past blogs). So here goes:

When do you start getting excited for Christmas? I would say that I probably start getting in the Christmas mood right after Halloween. Many radio stations begin playing Christmas music then. I could listen to Christmas music any time of the year, but hearing it on the radio starts to get me excited for the season.
Is Christmas your favorite holiday? I would say yes. I have so many wonderful memories of past Christmases. I love that people’s attitudes tend to be happier during the Christmas season. There just seems to be a lot more joy around Christmas.
Do you prefer to stay at home or travel for the holidays? I guess I prefer to stay home – or close to home – for the holidays. When I read the question, travel seems to insinuate going out of state or a lengthy trip. Most of my family is within a 60-90 minute drive, so that really doesn’t seem like travel to me.
Be honest: do you prefer giving or receiving gifts? Definitely giving. I love to see the look on a person’s face when they receive a gift from me. I wouldn’t consider myself the best gift giver (trying to buy anything for my wife is SO difficult). I like to have some sort of idea of what a person wants before I shop for them. As far as receiving gifts – I never really feel comfortable when someone buys me something.
Do you open any presents on Christmas Eve? I have every year since I was a kid. We always went to my grandma’s house for Christmas Eve and opened all our gifts. During my first marriage, we always let my sons open one gift on Christmas Eve (usually Christmas pajamas). Today, my sons come over the day before Christmas Eve and Christmas Eve morning is our “Christmas.” They spend Christmas morning with their mom. My daughter and my son will have some gifts to open Christmas Eve morning with their brothers and then more for Christmas morning.
Have you ever built a snowman? Yes. Quite a few actually. I remember loving when the snow was “good packing” and you could build snowmen and snow forts. Just recently, my daughter and I started a snowman, but she was so excited to play in the snow, he was never finished. Can’t wait for our next opportunity to build one.
Do you decorate the outside of your home for Christmas? Yes. Usually the front and side porches. It is by no means the best on the block, but I’m happy with it. One day I hope to be courageous enough to climb up on the roof and do more. For now, I’m happy with it.
Is your Christmas tree real or fake? Fake. In all my years, we’ve never had a real tree. I enjoy them when they are at someone else’s house, though. I enjoy the smell of the pine tree. I am not sure that if we ever got a real tree that I’d be comfortable with it. You know, fire hazzards, bugs or animals possibly still being in them, the fact that you have to water it each day, and stepping on pine needles for months after….
Most memorable holiday moment? How does one even begin to answer this question?! I have so many from childhood, and now even more with each of my children. I just couldn’t narrow it down to one.
What do you like to do over Christmas break? What break?! I have a couple days off and work the rest of the days in between. I wish that I could stockpile vacation time up so I could actually take more time off during the holidays so I could spend it with family.
Which holiday traditions are you most looking forward to this year? One thing that I have come to really look forward to is driving through the Holiday lights display at Crossroads Village on Christmas Eve night. It doesn’t change too much every year, but I always love going through and seeing the lights.
Best Christmas gift you’ve ever received? Urgh – again, very difficult to chose one. Maybe it was the Atari 2600. It also could be the cribbage board my grandpa gave me. Or it could be the gold trumpet charm from my mom. Stretch Armstrong? I just can’t narrow it down.
What is your all-time favorite holiday treat? Toss up between Pignolata (loved when my grandma made this!) or cannoli. Both were staples at Christmas time (along with many many Christmas cookies).
Your favorite Christmas movie? I would say A Christmas Story or any version of A Christmas Carol. (Christmas Vacation could easily be in there, too!)
Your favorite Christmas song? Man, all of these “favorite” questions are just to difficult! Dean Martin’s Marshmallow World is a definite favorite! Santa Claus is Back in Town from Elvis, Mel Torme’ The Christmas Song, Doc Severinsen’s Jingle Bells, the list goes on and on!
What makes the holidays special for you? Family! Spending time with my family is all that matters! Sharing those special moments with them is everything!
What would be your dream place to visit for the holiday season? I’ve never really been away for the holidays, but I know some places go all out. Disney, Branson, and so many other places really have some amazing things going on. Maybe one day we’ll be able to check them out.
Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Do you stick to them? I used to. I don’t really any more. I shouldn’t need a new year to want to make changes in my life. For many years, I would make them and would fail miserably at them.
You have been granted one Christmas wish, what will it be? I would wish to make a difference. Included in the wish, I would wish to be a role model for my children, a good friend, a good husband, and a man whose faith helped lead others to the Lord.
Who’s “it?” At this point on the list you are supposed to pick someone to answer the same questions. If you are so inclined, you may do so. If not, I hope you enjoyed my answers.

A Holiday Dozen

I mentioned to my friend Max that I had hoped to post a Christmas song every day from December 1st through Christmas Day. When it comes to holiday tunes, I could probably post a favorite Christmas song for every day of the year …

At any rate, rather than spend the time to do that, I was asked by a friend to pick my Top 10 favorite Christmas Albums. How can I do that? I have so many! I could easily pick my Top 10 Christmas albums for each genre – pop, country, classical, jazz, etc… So here is what I decided to do. I took a piece of paper and jotted down the 10 albums I felt were “must have” albums for me every year. I couldn’t narrow it down to just 10, so I made it 12.

In no particular order, here is the Holiday Dozen I came up with:

Ok, you gotta have Bing! He was often referred to as “The Voice of Christmas,” and for good reason! It was an album that often accompanied us while we opened gifts.

A great album of great songs – Brenda Lee, Bobby Helms, Stevie Wonder, Roy Orbison, The Drifters, James Brown, and Aretha Franklin are all represented in this amazing collection!

When Charles Schulz was asked to write a Christmas Special, he said he would on one condition – it had to include the story of Christ’s birth. When he chose the soundtrack for the special, he wanted something that he felt could relate to everyone – so he picked Jazz. Vince Guaraldi’s songs are synonymous with Christmas for me.

Growing up, I always disliked The Christmas Song. I guess I couldn’t relate to it as a kid. As I grew up, it became more and more meaningful to me. This album is full of many other fantastic cuts that never get played on the radio.

This one represents the “novelty” side of Christmas! Yes, it includes the Chipmunks, but it also includes some classic novelty songs from Allan Sherman, Bob & Doug McKenzie, Cheech & Chong, and Weird Al Yankovic. It is also one of the few places you can find Stan Freberg’s Christmas Dragnet. Oh, yeah, and that dumb Hippopotamus song is on here, too (but I skip that one).

This is one that a friend told me about. The story goes that a couple of members of the Glenn Miller Orchestra were sitting around talking one day. They asked each other what they thought Glenn would be doing if he were still around. One of them said “Probably working on a Christmas album.” The idea was born. They contacted former members of the Glenn Miller Orchestra and they recorded this one. It is truly a great album and tribute to Miller.

Bing Crosby may have been called the “Voice of Christmas,” but Frank Sinatra was THE VOICE. This collection includes one of my favorites: Whatever Happened to Christmas. You also get his amazing version of Have Yourself a Marry Little Christmas and other classics.

Some great songs from Al Martino, Jo Stafford, Doris Day, Rosemary Clooney, and other pop singers of the 40’s and 50’s.

I have talked about this one before. It is just an amazing album with something for everyone. I love listening to Doc and the Tonight Show Band jamming on songs like Winter Wonderland, Let It Snow, and my favorite version of Jingle Bells! You’ll also love the Children’s Choir and Bell Choir on other numbers.

Mel, of course, wrote The Christmas Song, and I just love to hear his version of it. Nat King Cole’s version doesn’t include Mel’s extra lyric: “Love and joy come to you, and a Merry Christmas, too. And God bless you and send you a Happy New Year.” Known as “The Velvet Fog,” Mel’s voice is perfect on Christmas Time Is Here, The Christmas Medley, Sleigh Ride, and a Christmas version of The Glow Worm.

I have so many favorite Elvis Christmas songs that aren’t on this album, but I love how they have added the orchestra to his classics on this album. Santa Claus is Back in Town sounds so much fuller with them. I only wish that they had done If Every Day Was Like Christmas for this album.

Before both of his Christmas albums were made available, they took tracks from both his “Winter Romance” album and “The Dean Martin Christmas Album” and combined them for this collection. I have both of those albums now, but for one collection – I pick this one. Marshmallow World is one of my favorite cuts!

How about you? What’s your Holiday Dozen??

2 Years of Ramblings – A Reflection

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Two Years Old

Word Press informs me that this blog turned two years old yesterday! Two years and the blogging continues….

I wrote a blog reflecting on one year and some feelings remain the same. Rather than look back on the entire two years, I thought I would reflect on the last year, which had many milestones! Over the past year, I have gained many more followers, so for those new followers, let me give you a brief look at why this blog exists two years later.

The beginnings

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When I began this blog, I really didn’t have any idea of what it would be. In my head, I thought that I might blog about some things I liked. I also knew I would probably write about some favorite memories. I might also write tributes to important people in my life or just random thoughts to help me deal with emotions or life situations.

This blog was meant for me. It was to be a “sort of” therapy for me. I envisioned it as a way to keep track of thoughts, write down stories I didn’t want to forget, and occasionally just vent. I had often joked about writing an autobiography, and in a way, this blog has become “chapters”.

I never thought that anyone would actually want to read these blogs (unless, of course, the blog mentioned them)! Yet, here I am over two years later and I have “followers” – people who actually make it a point to read this no matter what the topic. It humbles me.

Looking Back

If I were to compare “year one” with “year two” I would say the blogs leaned a lot more happy. They contained many happy moments. Looking back, I see how I have grown and learned to deal with certain people, certain situations, and look at things more objectively. I have learned to think before reacting. I have learned to separate myself from those things that bring on stress and make me uncomfortable. I have gotten more in touch with the person I want to be. Looking back, I see much more happiness. Life has been very good to me over the last year.

Musical Blogs

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Much like last year, there were plenty of blogs about music. I began to post a song every Tuesday that held some special meaning. Maybe the song was prompted by a singer’s birthday or it was just something I heard on the radio. I admit toward the end of the year, I neglected the Tune Tuesday feature a bit. I hope to be a bit more consistent with it in the year ahead. Last year’s songs ranged from Dean Martin to Hugh Laurie to the Muppets! I look forward to this year’s selections.

Memories of the Past

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Nostalgic memories are often featured here. Many of them stem from things I see that bring back memories. Some writings stem from an idea I got from a fellow blogger. Some of the topics from last year included the ice cream man, toys I remember from my childhood, breakfast cereals from my childhood, memories of band class, the Sunday comics I used to read, books I read as a child and to my boys, and the summer baseball games I played in the neighborhood. There was also a blog about Muppets phased out of Sesame Street.

Guest Blogger

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I toyed with this idea, and my little brother stepped up to bat. It was fun to tell him to write whatever he wanted to and see what he came up with. I really like this idea, and I hope to get a few others to write occasional pieces for this blog. I am very open to this idea. Let me know if you would like to do this! You could write about me, our friendship, or expand on something I have already written.

Friendship salutes

This year I saluted my oldest and best friend on his birthday. I also saluted three of my friends from school/band in one blog because they all celebrated birthdays in October. Remembering some of the funny radio stories that involved my co-host Stephanie was a blast for sure! Some blogs were inspired by friends and their posts on Facebook. Year three I am already planning some overdue friendship blogs. Stay tuned!

Movies

This year, I did a series on my favorite movies by decade. The idea was to pick one favorite film from each year you have been alive. I was born in 1970, so I did a blog for each decade (70’s, 80’s, 90’s, and 2000’s). I neglected to do 2010-2019, but now that we have entered the new decade, I will have to make sure to wrap that series up. I really enjoy being able to write about my favorite films, and I found it a challenge to narrow it down to one each year.

Celebrities

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Last year I wrote about less celebrities than the year before. I wrote about The Three Stooges, in a round about way, as I went with the boys to the Stooges Festival in Redford. I devoted an entire blog to some of the very funny lines that Paul Lynde had from the Hollywood Squares. The great Jack Benny got an much deserved blog on his birthday. I also wrote about Elvis on the anniversary of his passing. I believe that there are a few other celebrities who I could easily devote an entire blog to, I just wonder if folks would read it.

Television

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Along with movies and music, TV tends to be a topic I love to write about. This year I wrote a blog about the classic 1966 Batman show. I also wrote about my favorite TV shows of the 1950’s. For Tune Tuesday, I picked Sanford and Son because of the theme song. I really need to write about that show and some of my other favorites. This year I blogged about the remake of All in the Family and The Jefferson’s which again brought me back to one of my original blogging ideas – “why must they remake everything!?” I also had a chance to talk about one of my favorite Christmas TV specials this year.

Serious Topics

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While many blogs tend to focus on entertaining things, some blogs wind up being of a serious nature. I am human. I can’t be upbeat all the time. I finally had the guts to write about the topic of divorce – just to see if I could do it. Death was also a topic. I lost some close friends this year. I also had friends of mine who lost loved ones. Just this week alone, my buddy Chris lost his mom and a co-worker lost hers. It’s a hard topic to write about, but I did.

Emotional Blogs

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As I look back over “year two”, there is no shortage of blogs that brought about strong emotions from me. One of those stemmed from a photo shoot for my oldest son. Senior pictures. I still choke up as I think about him being a senior and graduating. Speaking of graduation, my wife graduated with her Bachelor’s Degree in April. I felt so much pride for her as she walked that stage. She did all the work, so why it was so emotional for me, I don’t know. I sometimes think I can get too emotional. Rest assured – there are more emotional blogs in the year ahead!

Rants

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The blog also consisted of many personal rants. Some I have mentioned (TV and Movie remakes, missing Muppets, and such), but I also ranted (and whined) about having the “man cold”. That blog brought about much teasing from friends! I also ranted about how much I miss record stores (prompted by a record player I received for my birthday). I know I have other “rant” topics in my blogging notebook.

A Love Story

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Sam and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. I chose to take the occasion of our anniversary to tell “our story”. The people who were close to us knew the story, but many didn’t. As sort of a “love letter” to my wife, and as a way to tell just how our wonderful relationship began, I wrote a series of three blogs leading up to our anniversary. Those blogs talked of how we met and became close friends, how we began dating and how I proposed, and then how we got married. Those blogs were among my highest read last year. A blog followed about our anniversary trip. Sam makes me SO happy and I am sure there will be many more blogs about our amazing relationship.

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On Father’s Day, Sam told me that we were expecting a baby. It was SO hard to NOT blog about that!! We waited some time before spilling the beans with our big announcement. A series of blogs about expecting a baby, then finding out we were having a girl, and finally sharing the name we had picked for her remain the most read blogs in the history of this blog! The support from our friends and family has been SO amazing! Sharing stories of the baby shower and 3D ultrasound pics has been a thrill. We are closing in on the due date (February 16) and she can come anytime. The nursery is ready and so are we! We anxiously await her arrival and with it, I will have plenty of things to share with you about being a dad again!

The Future

As I said last year – Not so long ago, I was told my someone once close to me to stop writing. “Nobody wants to read about that crap! It is a waste of time. Stop trying to be creative. Nobody cares about what you like and don’t like!” If I have learned anything from Facebook and this blog, it is that people do care! People do like to read what I write! In the end, I don’t really write for others, I write for myself. The fact that other people read this blog and get some enjoyment out if it is a little bonus.

In future blogs, I will continue to write about things I love. I will write about things that people want to know about. I hope to do more Question and Answer blogs and I will continue to participate in Blogathons. I want to write about how Autism played a role on my life, which I never seemed to get around to last year. I also want to continue to write on movies and music. I will continue to write about things in my personal life (and how it is affected by the arrival of our beautiful daughter). I will continue to write – because I enjoy it. The minute this is no longer satisfying and I feel that I have written all I can write … I will stop. Until then, thank YOU for reading my “various ramblings”. I appreciate you!

Happy 2nd Birthday!!

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A week of Showers and Lights

It has been very busy week for us! It has been so busy, this is the first chance I have had to sit and blog. I won’t bore you with some of the busy stuff (like work, work meetings, and such). I’ll hit the high lights and try to bring you up to date.

We have a weekend routine. That routine was all jumbled up this week. The things we would normally do at certain times had to be done between things that we normally don’t do. I was all messed up.

Most of the week, we were doing last minute preparations for the baby shower. We had things to do Thursday night (after a call in meeting for work), and then Friday we had tons of running around to do. We had to drive an hour to Sam’s work to pick up new scrubs. After that we had our monthly appointment with the OB/GYN (and got to hear baby Ella’s heartbeat, again!). Then we had to go to the hall to set up for the shower. We were gone literally all day. Saturday, we had early errands to run before heading to the hall for the baby shower.

Baby Shower

What an amazing day for us! We were surrounded by family and friends and they showered our baby with so much love! My mother-in-law and sister-in-law hosted the shower for us. The theme was a “shower”. We had clouds and raindrops. It was perfect.

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Not everyone we invited was able to come. Some live out of state or out of town. Some of our friends/family who RSVP’d weren’t able to make it either, but we understand that sometimes things happen.

Some of the high lights for me:

Seeing my beautiful wife. The future mommy of our baby looked simply amazing! Her sister put a little braid in her hair, and she wore a very cute outfit. There were times I’d be chatting with someone and I’d catch her out of the corner of my eye and just smile! I am one lucky man!
Seeing my Godmother. I can’t even begin to tell you how much it meant that she was there. I LOVE just sitting and talking with her and she means the world to me.
Seeing my cousins. I was so glad to see cousins from my dad’s side of the family and my mom’s side of the family. I don’t get to see them often enough! Every year, my cousins from my dad’s side have a big holiday party, and I cannot wait to go!
Watching my dad and Sam’s dad chit chatting away at the “guy” table.
Being able to wish Rose a happy birthday a day early.
Having my old morning show partner, Steph, and her daughter there. She told me her gifts were so we’d think of Aunt Steph all year round, and she was right! She have us a beautiful Christmas blanket and about 8 Halloween costumes! I expected nothing less from her. She is really one of my truest friends!
Meeting some of Sam’s family that I hadn’t met yet.
Having Sam’s Grandma there. She had been praying for us to have a baby since we got married! She is so excited for us.

One of my cousins mentioned how much she loves reading this blog. Again, I was told what a good writer I am, not by one, but by a few of my cousins. I am always embarrassed by this. I am also humbled by the fact that people actually read what I write. I’m not sure why.

The hardest part of an event like this, is getting the chance to talk to everyone. Once everyone is there, you are being pulled this way and that way. You try to mingle while people are eating, but you never seem to make it to everyone. Then you are obligated to be up front to open presents. People sometimes leave before you ever get the chance to say hello. It’s not intentional, it just happens.

I guess I acted as the emcee for the gift opening. I was the one reading the cards and announcing who the gift was from. Our nieces were there basically opening them for Sam. It was unorganized chaos – LOL! They were opening things so fast, that we actually went through the gifts at home afterward, so that we could actually see some of the stuff that we missed at the shower.

As someone who talked on the radio for a living, I was given the responsibility of thanking everyone after all the gifts were opened. I was having such a hard time. With all that has transpired over the past three years, and to be there in front of those who love us, to have to come up with words was very difficult. I am sure Steph probably shot video of it. I was certainly fighting back tears! I know I wanted to share a dream I had the night before, but the emotions of everything took over, and I never did – so here it is:

The morning of the baby shower, I shot up out of sleep. Sam was already awake and asked if I was ok. It took me a second to kind of figure out that I had just woke up from a dream. The dream was so real and so vivid. I was dreaming that we were at the baby shower and the baby was already here. I was holding her. She was beautiful (just like her mother). She had dark hair. I was feeding her at one point. There were many people there. At one point I looked up and my mother was smiling. I was in the process of handing the baby to my mom when I woke up. I wish I could remember more about the dream!

After the shower, I stared at the table of gifts. I thought about how much our baby is loved and she has yet to be born. The outpouring of love and well wishes was truly overwhelming. Sam asked if we’d need someone else to bring stuff home. Well, I naturally took this as a challenge and put all those hours of Tetris to the test. It wasn’t easy, but I fit every last gift into the back of the car!

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Thank you Tetris!!!

Speaking of “thank you”, my dad gave me a huge laugh at the end of the shower. One of the things you have the guests do at the shower is address an envelope. This is the envelope that we will send the thank you card in. So my dad comes up to me at the end of the shower says, “Here’s my envelope.”

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This cracked me up so bad!

Wild Lights at the Zoo

Sam and I knew that the baby shower was going to leave us pretty wiped out, so we both took Sunday night off. It was opening weekend of Wild Lights at the Detroit Zoo. We decided to get tickets and go. We’d done this once before and loved it! They decorate the zoo with Christmas lights, play Christmas music, and it is something that we have decided will be a tradition for us.

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Every year, they add more lights. There are some areas where the lights are all synchronized to music and there is a light “show”. It is very cool. There are also lights shaped like animals. So we saw elephants, penguins, giraffes, and new this year – foxes.

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As you walk through, they have bonfires where you can stop and warm up. There are also places to buy hot chocolate, coffee, or alcohol if you wish. Some of the houses are open as warming stations – the Otter House was open, but they were busy sleeping and we didn’t get to see them. I love the Otters!

Some of the photo ops are just amazing. They have this huge Christmas ornament that you can stand inside of. While we were there, there was a wedding proposal inside the ornament. I probably drove Sam nuts taking all kinds of selfies while we were there! I always feel weird asking someone to take our picture, but we had someone take one of us by this huge star – it was pretty cool!

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The last time we went, it was very cold! Last night, it was about 39 degrees. It was the perfect night. It took us about an hour to get through, which was perfect, especially since Sam had been on her feet almost the entire day before, and now here we are walking the zoo. As you walk out there is a very cool tunnel of lights –

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There was still snow on the ground yesterday, so it was the perfect event to get you into the holiday spirit.

Christmas is coming …

I woke up today to see that one of the radio stations I work at flipped to all Christmas music. I got text messages from some people asking why we did it, and some from others who were thrilled that we did it. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, this kind of thing is very polarizing – you either love it or you hate it.

Sam loves Christmas and loves to sit in our living room with all the Christmas lights on. The tree is up after the first snowfall. So, yes, ours is up already! There are those who will say we are rushing the season, and they may be right about that. To those people I say, “So what!?”

The holiday season (which includes Thanksgiving and Christmas) is a time for thankfulness and happiness. It is that time of year when we are all a bit kinder to each other. We give a little bit more, we smile a little more, and we love a little more. I have quoted this song before, and I will again. Elvis sings:

“Why can’t every day be like Christmas? Why can’t that feeling go on endlessly? For if every day could be just like Christmas, what a wonderful world this would be!”

Spread the joy! Share a smile! Be kind! Be thankful!

I’m totally ok getting into the holiday spirit a bit early –

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