Tag: Louis Prima

Happy 79th Birthday, Pop!

If you have read my blogs in the past, you know that it consists of a mixture of pop culture things (like movie, TV and music thoughts) and personal things (radio stories, school memories, and things from my childhood).  As I thought about today’s blog topic, I realized that without this man in my life – this blog would probably not exist!  I guess I didn’t really realize it until now. As I scrolled back over the blogs of the past, I see just how much influence he has had in almost ALL of them!  I am talking, of course, about my dad.  Today – is his 79th birthday.  So here are some birthday thoughts for dad.

In the past I wrote a blog about his musical influence.  My musical taste is very broad, because I was introduced to so many different genres by him.  He introduced me to rock and roll with the music of Little Richard, Bobby Darin, Roy Orbison and Elvis.  He introduced me to the “Great American Songbook” with music from Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Bing Crosby.  He introduced me to Jazz with Louis Prima, and Ella Fitzgerald.  He played me music from Johnny Paycheck, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard to introduce me to country music.  The list goes on and on … but what about other influences?

Movies

I could spend an entire week writing about the various movies he introduced to me!  As far as the classic films, most of those were introduced to me because he saw that they were playing on the Monday Night Movie on regular TV or something.  You have to remember VCR’s and DVD players were not a staple in the home yet.  You also have to remember that I grew up at the time where “pay TV” was just being incarnated.  One of the first pay services was “ON TV”.  It came on channel 20 at like 8 or 9 at night.  They put an antenna on your roof and it unscrambled the signal so you could watch movies.  I remember one time I wanted to record Smokey & the Bandit – but as I said, VCR’s were not for home use yet.  The last showing of it on ON TV was at 1am one Friday night.  My dad actually stayed up with a cassette recorder in front of the TV and recorded the audio for me.  What makes this even better is there were scenes that were so funny to him, you could hear him laughing in the background as the movie played.

With Cable TV came The Movie Channel and HBO.  As more and more channels became available, American Movie Classics, Turner Classic Movies, and others were the way to watch them. So he’d tell me “You gotta watch AMC at 3 today – they’re playing ‘Angels With Dirty Faces’!”  Growing up, I remember hearing my dad talking with my grandparents, my Uncle Tom, or his friends about actors and actresses and the movies they were in.  “Great Movie!” or “What a great flick!” I’d hear him say.  Well, if he thought it was great – I wanted to see it!  Movies I remember watching – only because I had heard him talk about them included The Godfather, White Heat,  Little Caesar, Key Largo, Patton, Midway, The Maltese Falcon, and Night of the Hunter.  Many of these were films that I’d walk in to the living room and dad would be watching and he’d tell me about them and catch me up so I could watch it with him. I was introduced to Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, The Marx Brothers, The Three Stooges, Abbott and Costello, Alfred Hitchcock, Robert Mitchum, Burt Reynolds, and SO many actors just be casually walking into a room where he was watching TV!

The Godfather Part 1 & 2 and Patton are probably some of my favorite films.  I remember watching Godfather the first time trying to keep all the names straight.  Don Barzinni, Don Stracci, Luca Brazi, Sonny, Fredo, and Tom Hagen were all characters that I had to remember (amongst many more).  Dad was there to explain so many things to me as I watched this film the first few times through.  I have found myself doing the same thing when I sit and watch it with someone who has never seen it.  (On a side note, for one class I had to read books and write book reports for it.  I remember dad wrote a book report for me on The Godfather! He got an A!)

TV

Look through my DVD collection and amongst the movies are entire series of classic TV shows.  This, again, is a direct result from my dad’s influence.  I remember watching re-runs of The Honeymooners on channel 50.  I remember when dad told me that Ralph Kramden and Sheriff Buford T. Justice from Smokey and the Bandit were the same person!  I don’t know if I would have known that as a 7 year old!  I remember staying home sick and watching re-runs of the Dick Van Dyke Show on channel 9 out of Canada.  I knew about Carl Reiner because he was one of many cameos in the movie It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (which should have been mentioned in the movie section of this blog).  The other stars of “Mad World” were also known to me because of my dad:  I knew Mickey Rooney from a flick called Quicksand he rented.  I knew Milton Berle from The Dean Martin Roasts and other TV appearances. I knew Jonathan Winters from a classic Twilight Zone episode (Loved watching TZ with him).  Among the other “classic” TV shows he introduced me to:  The Untouchables, F-Troop, The Munsters, Car 54, Where Are You?, McHale’s Navy, Perry Mason, Combat, Star Trek, Hogan’s Heroes, Mission: Impossible, and Get Smart.

With the availability of video rentals, I remember dad bringing home TV shows that were not shown on TV anymore or shown late at night.  You couldn’t really watch The Little Rascals, Laurel and Hardy, or The Three Stooges on TV unless you stayed up late for comedy classics – which usually was on at 11pm or midnight.  With the VCR, though, we could go to the store and rent them!  I had listened to Jack Benny and Amos and Andy on cassette tapes of old radio shows (again, thanks to dad), but now I was able to see these TV shows – and they were amazing! I used to love watching these shows with him.  One thing I always love seeing is my dad laughing and these shows (and a couple I will mention in a minute) always made him laugh – I mean big belly laughs!

I guess you could say that I grew up at a time where some of  the “current” shows are now considered classics.  Those shows, my brother and I watched on a weekly basis and watched in re-runs.  These shows included The Love Boat, Mork & Mindy, Happy Days, Lavern and Shirley, The Dukes of Hazzard, Emergency!, Welcome Back, Kotter, All In the Family, The Jeffersons, The Carol Burnett Show, Barney Miller, Fantasy Island, and Charlie’s Angels.  Some of those dad introduced me to, while others he really couldn’t stand.

Sanford and Soupy

The one show that I will forever associate with my dad is Sanford and Son.  These shows, no matter how many times we see them remain funny.  I can be on the phone with my dad and say, “So last night I watched “the piano movers” and we will both start laughing!  Years later, we can quote this show to each other and still crack each other up.  Why do we and can we bond over this show? Perhaps it’s the fact that the show is about a father and son and their relationship.  I remember how I thought it was odd that Lamont always called Fred, “Pop”.  I never used to call my dad that, although somewhere over the years, dad has become “Pop” to me.  I call him that all the time now.  As a matter of fact, he still often calls me “Lamont”!  It is not used flippantly, I use it as a genuine term of endearment!  He’s my Pop – and I use it with much love and affection!

Another show that dad introduced me to was The New Soupy Sales Show.  He grew up watching Soupy at lunch time.  My grandmother often told stories of how Soupy would say “Tomorrow, we’re having bologna sandwiches for lunch” and if dad didn’t have them, he was pissed!  Soupy’s new show on channel 20 was pretty much just like the old show.  It was full of puns, bad jokes, clips of old movies, funny horoscopes on the radio, the Words of Wisdom, and his friends White Fang, Black Tooth, Pookie and Hippy.  It may have been on right after school and before dad came home from work, because I don’t recall him watching it too much with me, however, when it became available on video – we talked about it just like we talk about Sanford and Son.

Traits of a Good Dad

When I became a father, I remember reading something about what makes a good dad.  Let me say here that none of us is perfect.  My dad was not perfect and neither am I.  My point is that when you look at these things, we can assess things we are doing well, things we can improve, and things that we will start doing.  As I think back on those things – I can see where I strive to achieve those things and, at the same time, can see a lot of those things in my own father.

For example, a father must be a good disciplinarian.  All dad’s love their children, but you know and I know that you can’t let them get away with everything.  Dad was this way.  The old story about mom saying “Wait till your father get’s home” and the child being scared to death?  Yep!  That was me!  You didn’t want to make dad mad!  I would say I made him mad more than a few times.

One time in particular I remember telling him I was spending the night at a friends house.  I was out with my girlfriend at the time.  We were still in high school, and it was a weekend.  We had no money, so we weren’t going to a hotel or anything like that.  We just planned on staying out all night.  I don’t remember how he found out, but  I remember getting a page (remember pagers?!) from the friend who I said I was staying with and he asked why my dad thought I was there!  I think my girlfriend’s mom had called my house or something.  At any rate – I was in BIG trouble! Dad’s punishment was a fair one (even though I didn’t think so at the time).  He proved a point and I NEVER did that again.  He let me know that he was in charge.  Another time, I got in trouble at school for something.  We had a meeting with the teacher and he said what he would go on to tell every teacher afterward in parent teacher conferences, “If he gets out of line again, you have my permission to smack his ass!” (Yes, this was back before a teacher giving the kid a paddle was considered wrong).

A good dad allows his kids to make mistakes. Dad watched me make a TON of them, but he knew that if I was going to learn, I needed to make those mistakes.  He’d never let me make a mistake that was life threatening or would put me in danger, but he’d let me make mistakes that he knew, when all was said and done – I’d mature and learn from it.  While there were things he questioned, he never really interfered.  I learned a lot from that – even though there were times I wish he HAD said something!

A good dad has an open mind.  Times change.  The way that things were done when he was growing up, well, they may be handled differently now (the paddling in school is a good example).  He respected that and embraced it to a degree.  As someone who loved all kinds of music, I will never forget the time he called me into the living room to play me this “cool song” he heard and liked.  It was “Groove is in the Heart” by Deee-lite.  The song was not like anything he’s ever played for me, but he liked it and played it at DJ jobs!  He embraces change!

A good dad teaches his kids to appreciate things.  Those things can be anything.  My dad certainly taught me how to appreciate family and friends.  He taught me how to appreciate good music, movies and TV.  He taught me how to appreciate what you have and the importance of living within your means.

A good dad accepts that his kids aren’t exactly like him. This may or may not have been a lesson he learned from my grandpa.  My dad had always been very accepting of my brother and I.  While we all have a lot of similarities, we are all SO very different.  He respects that our religious and political views may not be the same as his.

A good dad spends quality time with his children. This is one of those things that is difficult to do in today’s society.  We spend so much time working and trying to get things done, that we often spend the hours we are not at work doing these things.  As a divorced father with limited time with my boys, I really try hard to make the time we spend quality time, even if it is just a car ride.  Some of my favorite memories with my dad are just him and I throwing the ball around in the front yard.  That meant more to me than he will ever know!

A good dad leads by example.  Dad was never really the “Do as I say, not as I do” kind of guy.  He was a hard worker and knew the importance of providing for our family.  I never once thought of growing up and not having a job.  Dad wasn’t always perfect in this area, but because of that, I was also able to take some of the things that I didn’t like him doing (like smoking) and not doing them.

A good dad is supportive and loyal.  I am sure that in my 30 year radio career, my dad probably thought “he needs to get out of that business and find something more stable”.  If he thought it – he never once told me that!  He was nothing but supportive!  If I ever came to him with something that he questioned, he might ask a question or two regarding the opposite viewpoint, but that was it.  He might ask “are you sure you want to do this” or “have you thought about what might happen if…”, and then he let me decide.  Whatever the decision, he supported it.  I have a great respect for that.

A good dad is someone who challenges his kids. I’m sure that there were many ways that dad challenged me.  I know there were times I wanted to quit something and he gave me the pep talk to keep going.  I cannot recall specific incidents, but I know they were there.

A good dad is a teacher.  While dad taught me how to throw a “submarine” ball and how to swing a golf club, he also taught me some valuable lessons.  One of the things I have hoped to do is to write down some of those lessons and pass them down to my own children.  To illustrate my point: there is a cartoon I saw once of two guys standing in front of three piles of stuff in a garage.  The one guy asked what they were.  The second guy says, “This stuff is the stuff my dad gave me.” He points to the first pile and says “This is the stuff I want to keep.”  He points to the second pile and says, “This is the stuff my dad gave me that I want to share with my kids.” He points to the third pile and says, “This is my stuff that I don’t need and will throw away.”  That’s the way it is – as a father, you take things that you learned from your dad and keep the stuff you want to share, throw out what you don’t, and then add stuff of your own.

A good dad protects and provides for his family.  When times were tough and money was tight, my dad would DJ or play in the wedding band to bring in extra money.  I remember as a young boy my dad going back to college to get a degree so he could move up in his place of employment.  It took me over 20 years, but I also decided to go back to school to better provide for my family.  I know that my dad would do anything for us, and I would do the same for my family.

Finally, a good dad shows unconditional love.  I read where this is the greatest quality of a good father.  Even though his child may let him down, upset him, make him mad, disrespect him, and disappoint him … the love remains constant.  Not to get theological, but it is one of the great principles spoken of about God in the Bible.  It says that no matter how much a child of God angers Him, ignores Him, or disappoints Him – His love is never ending and ever present.  THAT is the kind of love a father has for his children.

I am lucky that I have never had to question whether or not my dad loves me.  He has done so much for me during my lifetime and continues to do so.  I can only hope that he knows how much he is appreciated.  I can only hope he knows how thankful I am that he was chosen to be my father.  I can only hope that he knows of the impact that he has made on me.  I hope that he will never have to question how much I love him.

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Thanks, Pop, for being such an amazing man!  Thanks for being a wonderful example to me.  Thanks for everything you have done to support, encourage, accept, and love my family.  Today, I wish you a very happy birthday and wish you many more in the future!  I love you, Pop.

“Lamont”

Turntable Talk #37 – Turn It On Again

This was first posted on the A Sound Day blog hosted by Dave Ruch:

Once again, Dave from A Sound Day has invited me to participate in his month Turntable Talk feature. I truly appreciate the fact that he always comes up with great topics. Some of those topics are a bit more difficult to write (like last month), and some are quite easy. This month’s topic falls into the latter category.

Dave is calling this month’s round –Turn it on Again!  His instructions are very easy: “tell us about your favorite music video, or the one which impresses you most, and why you love it.” As a child who grew up with MTV, I had many that came to mind.

At this writing, I don’t know what the other contributors have chosen to write about. Has someone picked Michael Jackson’s Thriller? What about Take on Me from A-Ha or Buddy Holly by Weezer? I also wonder about Fatboy Slim’s Weapon of Choice, Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer and Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit. Each and every one of them stands out and have appeared on many “Best Music Video” lists.

I’m not sure that my pick would be considered my “favorite.” I also wouldn’t say it “impresses” me most, but I do enjoy watching the craziness of it. I suppose readers may be surprised at my choice, as I don’t really write about many “rock” songs. I suppose that this song wouldn’t fit into that category, but the singer qualifies as a rocker (at least most people think so).

“The band as you know it is over!” That is what Eddie Van Halen told Rolling Stone in mid-August 1985. This confirmed the rumors of division in the band with David Lee Roth. Eddie also made sure to add that “Dave left to be a movie star.” With that, Dave went on to explore a solo career. In late 1984, Dave released a cover of the Beach Boy’s California Girls. He followed that with another cover song (medley actually) from the great Louis Prima.

In 1956, Prima took the song Just a Gigolo and paired it up with I Ain’t Got Nobody. He used the song in his 1950’s Las Vegas act with Sam Butera and Keely Smith. The success of that act gained Prima a recording deal with Capitol Record, which hoped to capture on record the atmosphere of his shows. The first album, titled The Wildest! was released in November 1956, and opened with “Just a Gigolo”/”I Ain’t Got Nobody.” It became Prima’s signature number and helped relaunch his career.

Roth’s version is really almost a note for not copy of Prima’s record. By itself, it’s just an ok cover song. However, with an entertaining video that features celebrity look-alikes, beautiful women, and Dave being … Dave, it becomes something much much more.

The video for the song begins with Dave asleep at a news desk as his video for “California Girls” plays behind him on the monitor. The crew calls his name and he wakes up. After his talk, the freaky crew members begin to speak to him. They are right in the camera, so the viewer sees this from Dave’s perspective in this sequence. It’s actually kind of disturbing. The intro to the video is almost two minutes long before the song actually begins.

When it does, Dave is off dancing through the studio. We see him showing up at a talk show, walking through the backstage area among Vegas showgirls, astronauts, pimps, pirates, monsters, cheerleaders, hula dancers, and the police. All of this happens before you really get to the “meat and potatoes” of the video.

It is there that Dave begins parodying videos from Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, Billy Idol, Richard Simmons’s “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” videos (Davercize!), Willie Nelson, and Boy George. As he appears in each of the videos, he winds up wrecking them. It is almost like watching a cartoon. It’s utter chaos, but a fun chaos (unless you count the priest who has a heart attack because of Dave’s dancing.)

The video is like a snapshot of the 80’s. It’s funny to imagine Dave crashing into a Willie Nelson or Cyndi Lauper video. As the “Nostalgic Italian,” I appreciate the nostalgia that the video presents. It is more powerful now than it was in 1985.

Eventually, MTV edited the 2 minute intro out, and just played the song portion of the video in rotation. I think that is how I first saw the video. When I searched for it to post in this blog, I found the full video. I honestly had forgotten all about the intro, but seeing it again was a hoot. Watching Dave do his “over the top” announcer made me think of so many of those DJ’s on the radio who literally puke every thing they say.

Back in one of our first rounds of Turntable Talk, we discussed music videos and whether they hurt radio. To me, I love the fact that a music video can convey the story of a sad song or add a whole lot of fun to another. With this video, Dave pokes fun at other videos, which only makes his more enjoyable to see.

I could be wrong, but it is possible that Weird Al Yankovic looked back to this video as inspiration for his UFH video. In Al’s Video, (in between clips from the movie) he pokes fun at Guns and Roses, Prince, George Michael, Peter Gabriel, ZZ Top, Billy Idol, The Beatles, INXS and the Talking Heads!

Thanks again, Dave for asking me to take part in this feature. I know that I really look forward to your topics and enjoy writing my response to them. I am already looking forward to next month.

Thanks for reading!

The Music of My Life – 1998

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 1998, I turned 28. I was still working in the mail room at EDS and spent a lot of time driving and making deliveries. Most of my radio listening was to the morning show on the alternative station or the rock station. The gal I was dating at the time would go on to become my first wife. She also listened to the same stations and we’d talk about stuff we heard on the shows. I will have to talk about her in more detail in a few. But only because it ties in with a song, that I suppose had to be on this list.

Let’s dive into the music.

If you are a regular reader to this blog, you are familiar with the Turntable Talk feature. Dave, from the A Sound Day blog hosts it and gives us a monthly topic. This month is was to write about a song that was based on a real event or a real person. My first song was almost my pick, but I knew this week it was on my list. Surprisingly, not one of the other bloggers chose it.

Here is the story from Songfacts:

The Way, by Fastball, is based on the true story of Lela and Raymond Howard. They were an elderly couple from Salado, Texas who drove to the annual Pioneer Day festival 10 miles away in Temple and didn’t return. She had Alzheimer’s disease and he was recovering from brain surgery.

When they disappeared, a reporter from the Austin American-Statesman wrote a series of articles about the missing couple. Fastball bassist Tony Scalzo came up with the idea for the song after reading the articles (the band is from Austin). “It’s a romanticized take on what happened,” he said. Scalzo pictured them “taking off to have fun, like they did when they first met.”

Thirteen days after the Howards went missing, they were found in Hot Springs, Arkansas, about 400 miles from their destination. They were still in the vehicle (an Oldsmobile Delta 88), which had veered off the side of the road and was hidden in brush. Scalzo had finished writing the song when he learned that the couple had died.

The song itself has a sort of retro feel to it. It also incorporates a lot of little sound effects into the mix. “There was this brief moment in time when people were having hits with really weird stuff,” Fastball’s Miles Zuniga said. “We got lucky that we came around at that time. Even two years later was too late.”

I think that is what I loved about the song. It starts off someone tuning a radio dial. It has a hollow sound to it. All of a sudden, you are hearing a full produced cut. That change in sound really grabbed me.

Songfacts puts it this way, The song opens with the sounds of an analog radio going up and down the dial, briefly tuning in stations amongst the static. When “The Way” starts, it’s as if the listener has found a song he likes and is going to give it a listen. For the first 40 seconds, the dynamics are restricted to simulate the limited frequency of a radio signal. At the line, “they drank up the wine,” the full range comes in.

Despite the sad story of the song, it is one of my favorite 90’s songs.

Listen carefully: The guitar solo was inspired by the song Secret Agent Man. Guitarist Mike Zuniga was a big fan of 50’s and 60’s songs.

The Way

Before you hear the next song. Here is a vocabulary lesson for you.

Jiggy. (adj.) (1) To be cool and trendy. (2) Often associated with a style of dress. (3) Dancing effectively. (4) Making a name for yourself. (noun) (1) sex.

Will Smith’s Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It was a monster hit. It was a song that packed the dance floor when it came out and for years afterward. It was often the song I played as the first fast dance when I was DJing weddings.

This song has so many different things piled into it. For example, This samples the beat from “He’s the Greatest Dancer” from Sister Sledge. Now add the “na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na” hook, which is from a song called “Sang and Dance” by the Bar-Kays. Finally it also incorporates some lyrical elements from the 1980 song “Love Rap” by Spoonie Gee and The Treacherous Three. (Who?!) Because of all of that, 12 different writers are credited as composers on the song!

I’m not really into rap music. While many consider this song rap, I think of it as more a pop/rock/dance/rap song. My favorite lines in the song, which make me laugh every time:

Women used to tease me
Give it to me now, nice and easy
Since I moved up like George and Weezie

Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It

Prior to 1998, I was spending a lot of time at the karaoke bar. It was a regular thing to close the bar for me. This song became the “Bar Closing Anthem” in 1998 and beyond. Many DJ’s used it at the end of the night, too.

Closing Time was Semisonic’s only American hit. Dan Wilson told The Hollywood Reporter how he wrote this song in 20 minutes:

“My bandmates were tired of ending our sets with the same song, so there was kind of an uprising where they demanded something different to end our nights with. So I thought, ‘OK, I’ll write a song to close out the set,’ and then boom, I wrote ‘Closing Time’ really fast.

There was one little adjustment later, which I credit to our A&R guy, Hans Haedelt. He said, ‘It’s too simple. You need to break up the rhythm of the verses.’ So that line, ‘Gather up your jackets, move it to the exits, I hope you have found a friend’ is the first time it deviates from the rhythmic pattern. He was right – it’s a great moment in the song.”

I used this for a while as my last song of the night, but it never felt right to me to end a DJ gig with a semi-upbeat song.

Closing Time

The next song is one that could be featured on my Movie Music Monday feature. The song appeared on the Can’t Hardly Wait soundtrack.

Can’t Get Enough of You Baby is a song that was written back in 1966! Denny Randell and Sandy Linzer wrote the song for the Toys. It was also recorded by The Four Seasons and Michigan’s ? and the Mysterians. ?’s version of the song was the more Rocking/Swinging version. When Smash Mouth recorded it, they copied that sound. Smash Mouth became the first group to bring it into the Top 40. They released it as the lead single from their Astro Lounge album.

This is one of those songs that immediately makes you feel good. Well, it does for me anyway. I mean, it’s a love song, but it rocks!

Fun Fact: Running just 2:29, this was the shortest Top 40 hit of 1998.

Can’t Get Enough of You Baby

Speaking of love songs, Diane Warren sure knows how to write them! I could write an entire blog about all of the hits that she has written! Maybe one day I will.

This is another song that could be a Movie Music Monday song. It appeared in the film, Armageddon, which starred Liv Tyler, the daughter of Steven Tyler of Aerosmith.

Originally, U2 was asked to perform I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing. The idea for Aerosmith performing it only came after Liv was cast in the film. The song was “A grand production featuring a 52-piece orchestra. This was by far Aerosmith’s biggest hit on the US Hot 100, and their only chart-topper. It was #1 US for four weeks in September 1998, becoming one of the most popular songs of the year.” – songfacts.com

Diane Warren found inspiration for this song after hearing about an interview with James Brolin. He said that when his wife Barbra Streisand was away, he missed her even when he was sleeping. When she set out to write a song for Armageddon, she thought this was a good sentiment to express, since the film deals with the impending destruction of all on Earth.

This was another one of those “pack the dance floor” songs. Most of the time, it was used as the bridal dance. When it wasn’t I often played it in my first slow song set. As the DJ, it was always heart warming to see couples dancing to a song like this. Staring into each others eyes, or singing the lyrics to each other. I played this one a lot!

I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing

My introduction to Barenaked Ladies was If I Had $1,000,000. The more I heard from them, the more impressed I became. I remember the first time I heard One Week on the radio. It really was something to hear them rattling off the lyrics.

Songfacts says: The band has said that this song is about a big fight in a relationship. The lyrics are essentially meaningless, but wildly entertaining. It showed off their clever wordplay in a rapid-fire interplay between their lead singers, Ed Robertson and Steven Page. Robertson wrote the song.

Robertson said, “I wrote the chorus structure of the song, but I couldn’t figure out the verses at all. I got together with Steve a bunch of times and said, ‘I have this idea for a song, and I couldn’t figure out where to go with it.’ And finally Steve said to me at some point, ‘Just freestyle it! Just do what you do onstage every night. It’s gonna be great.'”

The song One Week was a number one hit for the band – for one week.

One Week

Trivia Question: What was the most-played radio song in 1999 in 11 different countries, including Canada, UK, Australia, Japan and Israel? Answer: Kiss Me from Sixpence None The Richer.

Here in the US, the song got a lot of help and exposure from the media. Songfacts explains: It was used on the second season of the WB TV show Dawson’s Creek, first on November 11, 1998 and then on another episode that aired April 28, 1999. In between, it was used in the movie She’s All That, which premiered January 29, 1999. With just about every teenage girl in America hearing the song on the TV show, the movie, or the many radio stations that put the song in rotation, it cracked the Top-40 on February 27, 1999 and made it all the way to #2.

TV soundtracks helped a lot of songs in the 1990’s. Shows like Ally McBeal, Friends, Mad About You, and Party of Five were just a few that released soundtracks.

To me, I love the sound of the song. The guitar and the vocal of Leigh Nash blend so well together. It’s no wonder that Taylor Swift says it was the first song she learned how to play on the guitar.

Kiss Me

Last week, I mentioned the Swing Revival that was taking place and mentioned Zoot Suit Riot. The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy were a part of that, but I believe that it was Brian Setzer who took it to a whole new level.

Brian Setzer had success with the Stray Cats in the 80’s. When he formed the Brian Setzer Orchestra and started covering jazz and swing songs, we saw a resurgence in his career.

The first album came out in 1994 and featured covers of Route 66 and Lady Luck. It also featured originals like the beautiful September Skies. The second album came out in 1996 and featured covers of Stevie Ray Vaughn, Roy Montrell, and Gene Pitney. In 1998, The BSO released the Dirty Boogie and the lead single was a Louis Prima classic.

Jump, Jive, an’ Wail originally appeared on a Louis Prima album called The Wildest. It was recorded live in Las Vegas in 1956. Setzer’s version went to #23 on the Hot 100 chart, but I always felt it was more popular than that. We used to get requests for it when we DJ’s so that people could swing dance to it.

I absolutely love this version. To me, Prima’s version sounds like the Demo and Setzer’s is the finished product! The song won Setzer a Grammy in 1999 for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

Jump, Jive an’ Wail

The next song is hard to include on this list. I almost skipped it, but in a feature that is called The Music of My Life, how could I not list it? Let me explain.

When my ex and I decided to get married, we didn’t have a wedding song. I had some suggestions that were pretty much shot down immediately. Looking back at this now, I understand why. I was never really going to have a say in the song. I had a list of great songs. I was a wedding DJ for crying out loud, I had all kinds that we could make work.

For weeks, I attempted to suggest song after song. For each song I would be told why it was a bad choice. I finally accepted that anything I offered up was going to be turned down for some reason. So when she came to me with Edwin McCain’s I’ll Be, I listened to it and told her okay.

That being said, I have to admit that I never really felt like this was a wedding song. Not surprising that Edwin didn’t feel it was either! In a songfacts interview he said the track was not intended as a love song at all: “It was kind of a Hail Mary prayer for me, personally. And it’s been obviously linked as a romantic song. It’s one of those things that I hesitate to say too much, because sometimes songs become what they were supposed to be, and it’s not really up to the songwriter to determine what that is.”

He went on to say that a break-up prompted him to pen this song: “It was the end of a relationship for me, and it was also an admission of my inability to function in a relationship, hence the love suicide line. And it was the hope that I would be better, grow and be better as a person. I was struggling with some personal problems at the time, as well, so it was all of those things. It was this admission of failure and this prayer that I could be a better person, wrapped up as sort of the end of a relationship kind of thought. And it was something that I said to a girl that I’d been going out with. I knew that she was waiting, and I always said to her, ‘Don’t ever look back on this in any other way than I’ll be your biggest fan.’ You know, ‘I’ll always be a fan.'”

So my first wedding song was about a break up. Maybe it was prohetic?

I’ll Be

The final song brings us back to Barenaked Ladies. It wasn’t until I researched this for this feature that I realized it wasn’t really a hit. It only got up to #44 on the charts, which is surprising to me. I almost like this more than One Week. For what it is worth, it did go to #1 in Canada.

As you watch the video, keep in mind that the band was not happy with it. They had a concept of what they wanted. It was to be seen from the point of view of various household pets. (A cat, a dog, a goldfish, and a bird). The band was disappointed with the filming of the video while it was being shot, as they did not feel it was fitting their concept.

Many times, a video helped a band with their song. This was not one of those times, obviously. I have to wonder how the release date played into the song’s poor performance. It was released in late December. The charts are pretty much done at that time, and you’ve got two weeks where nothing really changes. The song could have been dead in the water the week it was released. Sorry, that’s my radio mind spewing out thoughts.

It’s All Been Done

Did I miss one of your favorites from 1998? Let me know in the comments.

Next week, we’ll party like it’s 1999! On my list is a song that was so popular I played it 4 times at a prom. The list also features one of the songs that was shot down by my ex, movie music from two big animated films, an artist who waited 30 years for his first #1, a song that makes me think of Barbara Eden, and one of my favorite cover songs.

Thanks for reading! See you next week!

Make Some Noise – It Is May!

Welcome to May! Were you aware that May is International Drum Month? Cheers to the instrument that keeps the music in time.

Anyone who has played in a school band or any band really knows that there are plenty of jokes made about the percussionists and the percussion section:

What do you say to a drummer in a three-piece suit?
“Will the defendant please rise?”

Hey, did you hear about the drummer who finished high school?
Me neither.

What is the difference between a drummer and a savings bond?
One will mature and make money.

What is the difference between a bad drummer and a vacuum cleaner?
 You have to plug one of them in before it sucks.

There are hundreds of jokes like that. Honestly, though, without the percussion section (or percussionist) the rest of the group would fight to keep time. I can’t imagine marching in a parade without a solid drum cadence and so many great bands had well known drummers.

So in honor of International Drum Month – I wanted to share some of my favorite drum songs, drum solos, and songs about drums.

First, let’s head back to 1936 and the fantastic song by Benny Goodman – Sing, Sing, Sing. The song was written by Louis Prima and became one of Benny’s signature songs.

In 1941, legendary drummer Gene Krupa had a hit with Drum Boogie (with Irene Day on the vocals). There are many videos of him performing this.

Instrumentals were big in the 50’s and 60’s. My dad introduced me to 1958’s Topsy Part 2 by Cozy Cole. He worked with great artists like Louis Armstrong and Cab Calloway.

Preston Epps learned how to play the bongos when he was in the Korean War. His big hit was Bongo Rock, but I liked 1960’s Bongo, Bongo, Bongo a bit better (Though it never broke the top 40). I often used this as background music when I was on the radio.

If you have ever heard To Know Him Is to Love Him (Teddy Bears), Alley Opp (Hollywood Argyles), or A Thousand Stars (Kathy Young and the Innocents), then you’ve heard Sandy Nelson. He was a session drummer and played on a lot of songs. He even had some solo hits, including 1961’s Let The Be Drums.

Johnny Smith recorded Walk, Don’t Run in 1954. Chet Atkins covered it in 1957 and when the Ventures heard it, they recorded their own version in 1960. While many consider it more of a guitar tune, the drums are a key part of the song.

Probably one of the most famous drum songs was from 1963. The Surfaris took Wipe Out! all the way to #2 on the Hot 100 chart. It is a song that continues to pop up on TV and in movies and has even made a few reentries on the charts because of that.

In 1967, Michael Nesmith of the Monkees penned a percussion tune for Linda Ronstadt and her group The Stone Poneys. Linda has a birthday coming up and I was going to feature this song on that day, but it fits better here. This was her first single and it reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

In 1969, The Beatles released Abbey Road, which contains a song that has a drum lick that famous drummers everywhere still talk about. It is often called “genius” and I couldn’t agree more. The drum line from Come Together is just an amazing thing to listen to. Atta Boy, Ringo!

In 1972, Gary Glitter had a hit with the B-side of Rock and Roll Part 1, which was appropriately called Rock and Roll Part 2. Most folks remember this one as simply, “The Hey Song.” This was his only top 10 hit in the US. It used to be big at sporting events, but it went away after some sexual crimes in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. It was featured in the recent Joker movie.

1972 also brought one of my favorite drum intros by way of Stevie Wonder. I’ve written about this one before, but you know I had to hear it again as I wrote this.

1977 brought another great drum tune that is still used at sporting events today. I couldn’t do a piece about drum songs without Queen’s We Will Rock You.

So many songs can be instantly recognized by the drum intros and the next one from 1980 is no exception. It is a classic rock and party staple. I am, of course, talking about AC/DC’s Back in Black.

When you talk about drums and drum solos, there seems to be one song that always comes up – In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins. It’s not my favorite song, but you can’t deny the very cool drum solo.

The next drum song has become sort of a Monday morning anthem for anyone who works for a living. Todd Rundgren’s 1983 Bang On The Drum All Day is unique in that he plays every instrument on the track.

I am sure I could feature many more songs, but I have decided to conclude with a song that was very unusual. It was unusual, because there are very few songs that begin with a 30 second drum solo. In 1984, Van Halen did just that. Alex Van Halen kicks off Hot for Teacher with an amazing double bass drum performance and a song remembered not only for his drum work, but a steamy video.

This month, I salute drummers like Ringo Starr, John Bonham, Keith Moon, Buddy Rich, Sheila E, Dave Grohl, Alex Van Halen, Phil Collins, Charlie Watts, Gene Krupa, Questlove, Hal Blaine, Max Weinberg, Lars Ulrich, Neil Peart, Levon Helm, Chad Smith, Ed Shaughnessy, and so many others!! Thanks for keeping the beat!

What songs do you remember for drum solos or great drum work?

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!

Hello, Louie!

The photo above may be a bit deceiving, in that this blog is NOT about the hit song by the Kingsmen.

It is also not about other famous Louies (or Louis) like comedians:

Louie Anderson

Louis CK

Or trumpet players:

Louis Armstrong

Louis Prima

Or his animated alter ego:

King Louie

Or fictional TV characters like:

Louie the Lilac

Louie De Palma

So just WHO is Louie?!

Well, if you are a regular reader to my blog you know that over the past couple years, my daughter (and now my son, too) like to walk our neighborhood. There is one house where there is an old Bassett hound that is occasionally outside. That dog has been her “puppy friend” for a long time.

We never knew if it was a boy or a girl. We never knew its name. It has been a mystery for some time. Not any more!

Yesterday, as we were walking, her puppy friend was out in the middle of the yard soaking up the sun.

Ella asked to get out of the stroller so she could go up to the fence to say hello. She stood there saying, “Hi Puppy! Come here, Puppy!” The back door of the house opened and a young guy peaked his head out and said, “That’s Louie! He’s too old to be doing a lot of walking. He’ll be ten years old this week.”

I told the guy we had wondered what his name was and were glad to finally know it. Ella must have said, “He’s Louie!” about 40 times and “Hi, Louie!” another 40 times. She was thrilled (as was I) to finally know his name!

We took a family walk this evening when I woke up and got to see Louie again. I think I’m going to go to the store and buy a box of dog treats and a birthday card and have Ella hand deliver it to Louie’s owner for his birthday. That dog has brought many smiles to our walks and “10” is a special birthday!

Song Draft 2021 – Round 8 Pick – Jump, Jive an’ Wail!

With all the baby stuff happening here this week, I almost forgot to post my song draft pick!

This is my 8th pick for the 2021 Song Draft. As we come down to the final three picks, I have found it more difficult to select my songs. This one wasn’t even on my list of “possible” choices until a week or so ago. I was scanning through my iPod again, and from the opening notes, I thought, “How can I NOT pick this one?!” My pick – Jump, Jive an’ Wail by the Brian Setzer Orchestra.

I was introduced to Brian Setzer in the 80’s when he was in the band The Stray Cats. They had hits with Rock This Town, Sexy and 17, Stray Cat Strut, and I Won’t Stand in Your Way (among others). Their rockabilly sound really stood out on the radio, and while it was not a new sound, it was to many young people who listened.

At some point the Stray Cats broke up and Brian went solo. In 1990, he formed the Brian Setzer Orchestra which combined his rockabilly style with swing, big band, and jump blues. The year before, there was a “swing revival,” which some referred to as “neo-swing” or “retro swing.” At that time bands like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, and Royal Crown Revue were getting airplay on the radio.

In 1994, The Brian Setzer Orchestra (BSO) released their debut album. It included covers of Lady Luck, A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square, Route 66 and some originals. I was hooked from my first listen.

Jump, Jive an Wail!

Louis Prima was a trumpeter who had been playing in bands and combos since the late 1920’s. He wrote Benny Goodman’s hit “Sing, Sing, Sing.” In 1967, he voiced King Louie in Disney’s The Jungle Book.

Songfacts states that Louis Prima was “a popular nightclub singer/trumpeter in the 1930s and 1940s, by 1954 work had dried up for him. However his career revived after he joined with young saxophonist Sam Butera and secured a gig at the Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. They soon became the most popular act in that city and cut The Wildest! album live in April 1956 at the casino lounge.” The song Jump, Jive an’ Wail is featured on the album and the record is considered one of Swing music’s finest. It became Prima’s signature recording from the set.

In 1998, The Brian Setzer Orchestra covered it on their album “The Dirty Boogie,” and it became their biggest hit. The song was released as its lead single, it peaked at #23 on the Hot 100. Setzer’s cover won the prize for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the following year’s Grammy Awards.

While I love the Louis Prima version, it sounds weak compared to the BSO version. There is so much more “Oomph” to it! While the BSO arrangement is very true to the original, there are so many other little musical things in it that make it so much better. First, Setzer’s guitar solo is completely unique to it – and it rocks! Next, you have more musicians – and the orchestra makes it sound “full.” Then you have the amazing key change – to me this takes the song to the next level. Lastly, the three note “stabs” by the trumpets intermingling with everything else … I dig that so much.

Here is the BSO official video:

I love how the video has a cold ending. I wish the album version ended that way.

For comparison – here is Louis Prima’s version:

Jump, Jive an’ Wail Lyrics:

Baby, baby, it looks like it’s gonna hail
Baby, baby, it’ looks like it’s gonna hail
You better come inside
Let me teach you how to jive and wail

Oh, you gotta jump, jive, an’ then you wail
You gotta jump, jive, an’ then you wail
You gotta jump, jive, an’ then you wail
You gotta jump, jive, an’ then you wail
You gotta jump, jive, an’ then you wail away

Papa’s in the icebox lookin’ for a can of Ale
Papa’s in the icebox lookin’ for a can of Ale
Mama’s in the backyard learning how to jive an’ wail

Oh, you gotta jump, jive, an’ then you wail
You gotta jump, jive, an’ then you wail
You gotta jump, jive, an’ then you wail
You gotta jump, jive, an’ then you wail
You gotta jump, jive, an’ then you wail away

A woman is a woman an’ a man ain’t nothin’ but a male
A woman is a woman an’ a man ain’t nothin’ but a male
One good thing about him
He knows how to jive an’ wail

Jack and Jill went up the hill to get a pail
Jack and Jill went up the hill to get a pail
Jill stayed up, she wants to learn how to jive an’ wail

Oh, you gotta jump, jive, an’ then you wail
You gotta jump, jive, an’ then you wail
You gotta jump, jive, an’ then you wail
You gotta jump, jive, an’ then you wail
You gotta jump, jive, an’ then you wail away

You gotta jump, jive, an’ then you wail
You gotta jump, jive, an’ then you wail
You gotta jump, jive, an’ then you wail
You gotta jump, jive, an’ then you wail
You gotta jump, jive, an’ then you wail away

Oh, you gotta jump, jive, an’ then you wail
You gotta jump, jive, an’ then you wail
You gotta jump, jive, an’ then you wail
You gotta jump, jive, an’ then you wail
You gotta jump, jive, an’ then you wail away

You gotta jump, jive
Jump, jive
Jump, jive
Jump, jive

Happy 79th to Capitol Records

On this day in 1942, Johnny Mercer and Glenn Wallichs launched Capitol Records in the United States. Wallichs was the man who invented the art of record promotion by sending copies of new releases to disc jockeys. It wasn’t until 13 years later, in 1955, that the now famous Capitol Records building was built.

The first artist to record at Capitol was Martha Tilton in April of 1942. She recorded the song “Moon Dreams”

Capitol Records was home to some of the biggest musical artists in history! Here are just a few:

Nat King Cole –

(Mona Lisa, A Blossom Fell, Answer Me My Love, Unforgettable)

Louis Prima and Keely Smith –

(Just a Gigolo, Old Black Magic, Jump Jive & Wail, What is This Thing Called Love)

Peggy Lee –

(‘Deed I Do, Fever, Big Spender)

Dean Martin –

(That’s Amore, Return To Me, On An Evening in Roma)

Frank Sinatra –

(One For My Baby, I Get a Kick Out of You, Love & Marriage, All The Way, Young At Heart)

The Beach Boys –

(Help Me Rhonda, Fun Fun Fun, Surfin’ USA)

The Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney –

(TOO many to list!)

Stan Freberg –

St. George and the Dragonet, Yellow Rose of Texas, Heartbreak Hotel, The Great Pretender)

The Bee Gees, Garth Brooks, The Letterman, Jerry Lewis, Heart, Al Martino, Johnny Mercer, The Steve Miller Band, Katy Perry, Sammy Davis Jr., Tennessee Ernie Ford, Gene Vincent, Bob Seger …. The list goes on and on!

So many amazing singers and talents sang in the Capitol Records studios. Happy Birthday!!

Birthday Tribute to “Fred”

If you have read my blogs in the past, you know that it consists of a mixture of pop culture things (like movie, TV and music thoughts) and personal things (radio stories, school memories, and things from my childhood).  As I thought about today’s blog topic, I realized that without this man in my life – this blog would probably not exist!  I guess I didn’t really realize it until now. As I scrolled back over the blogs of the past, I see just how much influence he has had in almost ALL of them!  I am talking, of course, about my dad.  Today – is his 72nd birthday.  So here are some birthday thoughts for dad.

In March I wrote a blog about his musical influence.  My musical taste is very broad, because I was introduced to so many different genres by him.  He introduced me to rock and roll with the music of Little Richard, Bobby Darin, Roy Orbison and Elvis.  He introduced me to the “Great American Songbook” with music from Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Bing Crosby.  He introduced me to Jazz with Louis Prima, and Ella Fitzgerald.  He played me music from Johnny Paycheck, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard to introduce me to country music.  The list goes on and on … but what about other influences?

Movies

I could spend an entire week writing about the various movies he introduced to me!  As far as the classic films, most of those were introduced to me because he saw that they were playing on the Monday Night Movie on regular TV or something.  You have to remember VCR’s and DVD players were not a staple in the home yet.  You also have to remember that I grew up at the time where “pay TV” was just being incarnated.  One of the first pay services was “ON TV”.  It came on channel 20 at like 8 or 9 at night.  They put an antenna on your roof and it unscrambled the signal so you could watch movies.  I remember one time I wanted to record Smokey & the Bandit – but as I said, VCR’s were not for home use yet.  The last showing of it on ON TV was at 1am one Friday night.  My dad actually stayed up with a cassette recorder in front of the TV and recorded the audio for me.  What makes this even better is there were scenes that were so funny to him, you could hear him laughing in the background as the movie played.

With Cable TV came The Movie Channel and HBO.  As more and more channels became available, American Movie Classics, Turner Classic Movies, and others were the way to watch them. So he’d tell me “You gotta watch AMC at 3 today – they’re playing ‘Angels With Dirty Faces’!”  Growing up, I remember hearing my dad talking with my grandparents, my Uncle Tom, or his friends about actors and actresses and the movies they were in.  “Great Movie!” or “What a great flick!” I’d hear him say.  Well, if he thought it was great – I wanted to see it!  Movies I remember watching – only because I had heard him talk about them included The Godfather, White Heat,  Little Caesar, Key Largo, Patton, Midway, The Maltese Falcon, and Night of the Hunter.  Many of these were films that I’d walk in to the living room and dad would be watching and he’d tell me about them and catch me up so I could watch it with him. I was introduced to Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, The Marx Brothers, The Three Stooges, Abbott and Costello, Alfred Hitchcock, Robert Mitchum, Burt Reynolds, and SO many actors just be casually walking into a room where he was watching TV!

The Godfather Part 1 & 2 and Patton are probably some of my favorite films.  I remember watching Godfather the first time trying to keep all the names straight.  Don Barzinni, Don Stracci, Luca Brazi, Sonny, Fredo, and Tom Hagen were all characters that I had to remember (amongst many more).  Dad was there to explain so many things to me as I watched this film the first few times through.  I have found myself doing the same thing when I sit and watch it with someone who has never seen it.  (On a side note, for one class I had to read books and write book reports for it.  I remember dad wrote a book report for me on The Godfather! He got an A!)

TV

Look through my DVD collection and amongst the movies are entire series of classic TV shows.  This, again, is a direct result from my dad’s influence.  I remember watching re-runs of The Honeymooners on channel 50.  I remember when dad told me that Ralph Kramden and Sheriff Buford T. Justice from Smokey and the Bandit were the same person!  I don’t know if I would have known that as a 7 year old!  I remember staying home sick and watching re-runs of the Dick Van Dyke Show on channel 9 out of Canada.  I knew about Carl Reiner because he was one of many cameos in the movie It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (which should have been mentioned in the movie section of this blog).  The other stars of “Mad World” were also known to me because of my dad:  I knew Mickey Rooney from a flick called Quicksand he rented.  I knew Milton Berle from The Dean Martin Roasts and other TV appearances. I knew Jonathan Winters from a classic Twilight Zone episode (Loved watching TZ with him).  Among the other “classic” TV shows he introduced me to:  The Untouchables, F-Troop, The Munsters, Car 54, Where Are You?, McHale’s Navy, Perry Mason, Combat, Star Trek, Hogan’s Heroes, Mission: Impossible, and Get Smart.

With the availability of video rentals, I remember dad bringing home TV shows that were not shown on TV anymore or shown late at night.  You couldn’t really watch The Little Rascals, Laurel and Hardy, or The Three Stooges on TV unless you stayed up late for comedy classics – which usually was on at 11pm or midnight.  With the VCR, though, we could go to the store and rent them!  I had listened to Jack Benny and Amos and Andy on cassette tapes of old radio shows (again, thanks to dad), but now I was able to see these TV shows – and they were amazing! I used to love watching these shows with him.  One thing I always love seeing is my dad laughing and these shows (and a couple I will mention in a minute) always made him laugh – I mean big belly laughs!

I guess you could say that I grew up at a time where some of  the “current” shows are now considered classics.  Those shows, my brother and I watched on a weekly basis and watched in re-runs.  These shows included The Love Boat, Mork & Mindy, Happy Days, Lavern and Shirley, The Dukes of Hazzard, Emergency!, Welcome Back, Kotter, All In the Family, The Jeffersons, The Carol Burnett Show, Barney Miller, Fantasy Island, and Charlie’s Angels.  Some of those dad introduced me to, while others he really couldn’t stand.

Sanford and Soupy

The one show that I will forever associate with my dad is Sanford and Son.  These shows, no matter how many times we see them remain funny.  I can be on the phone with my dad and say, “So last night I watched “the piano movers” and we will both start laughing!  Years later, we can quote this show to each other and still crack each other up.  Why do we and can we bond over this show? Perhaps it’s the fact that the show is about a father and son and their relationship.  I remember how I thought it was odd that Lamont always called Fred, “Pop”.  I never used to call my dad that, although somewhere over the years, dad has become “Pop” to me.  I call him that all the time now.  As a matter of fact, he still often calls me “Lamont”!  It is not used flippantly, I use it as a genuine term of endearment!  He’s my Pop – and I use it with much love and affection!

Another show that dad introduced me to was The New Soupy Sales Show.  He grew up watching Soupy at lunch time.  My grandmother often told stories of how Soupy would say “Tomorrow, we’re having bologna sandwiches for lunch” and if dad didn’t have them, he was pissed!  Soupy’s new show on channel 20 was pretty much just like the old show.  It was full of puns, bad jokes, clips of old movies, funny horoscopes on the radio, the Words of Wisdom, and his friends White Fang, Black Tooth, Pookie and Hippy.  It may have been on right after school and before dad came home from work, because I don’t recall him watching it too much with me, however, when it became available on video – we talked about it just like we talk about Sanford and Son.

Traits of a Good Dad

When I became a father, I remember reading something about what makes a good dad.  Let me say here that none of us is perfect.  My dad was not perfect and neither am I.  My point is that when you look at these things, we can assess things we are doing well, things we can improve, and things that we will start doing.  As I think back on those things – I can see where I strive to achieve those things and, at the same time, can see a lot of those things in my own father.

For example, a father must be a good disciplinarian.  All dad’s love their children, but you know and I know that you can’t let them get away with everything.  Dad was this way.  The old story about mom saying “Wait till your father get’s home” and the child being scared to death?  Yep!  That was me!  You didn’t want to make dad mad!  I would say I made him mad more than a few times.

One time in particular I remember telling him I was spending the night at a friends house.  I was out with my girlfriend at the time.  We were still in high school, and it was a weekend.  We had no money, so we weren’t going to a hotel or anything like that.  We just planned on staying out all night.  I don’t remember how he found out, but  I remember getting a page from the friend who I said I was staying with and he asked why my dad thought I was there!  I think my girlfriend’s mom had called my house or something.  At any rate – I was in BIG trouble! Dad’s punishment was a fair one (even though I didn’t think so at the time).  He proved a point and I NEVER did that again.  He let me know that he was in charge.  Another time, I got in trouble at school for something.  We had a meeting with the teacher and he said what he would go on to tell every teacher afterward in parent teacher conferences, “If he gets out of line again, you have my permission to smack his ass!” (Yes, this was back before a teacher giving the kid a paddle was considered wrong).

A good dad allows his kids to make mistakes. Dad watched me make a TON of them, but he knew that if I was going to learn, I needed to make those mistakes.  He’d never let me make a mistake that was life threatening or would put me in danger, but he’d let me make mistakes that he knew, when all was said and done – I’d mature and learn from it.  While there were things he questioned, he never really interfered.  I learned a lot from that – even though there were times I wish he HAD said something!

A good dad has an open mind.  Times change.  The way that things were done when he was growing up, well, they may be handled differently now (the paddling in school is a good example).  He respected that and embraces it to a degree.  As someone who loved all kinds of music, I will never forget the time he called me into the living room to play me this “cool song” he heard and liked.  It was “Groove is in the Heart” by Deee-lite.  The song was not like anything he’s ever played for me, but he liked it and played it at DJ jobs!  He embraces change!

A good dad teaches his kids to appreciate things.  Those things can be anything.  My dad certainly taught me how to appreciate family and friends.  He taught me how to appreciate good music, movies and TV.  He taught me how to appreciate what you have and the importance of living within your means.

A good dad accepts that his kids aren’t exactly like him. This may or may not have been a lesson he learned from my grandpa.  My dad had always been very accepting of my brother and I.  While we all have a lot of similarities, we are all SO very different.  He respects that our religious and political views may not be the same as his.

A good dad spends quality time with his children. This is one of those things that is difficult to do in today’s society.  We spend so much time working and trying to get things done, that we often spend the hours we are not at work doing these things.  As a divorced father with limited time with my boys, I really try hard to make the time we spend quality time, even if it is just a car ride.  Some of my favorite memories with my dad are just him and I throwing the ball around in the front yard.  That meant more to me than he will ever know!

A good dad leads by example.  Dad was never really the “Do as I say, not as I do” kind of guy.  He was a hard worker and knew the importance of providing for our family.  I never once thought of growing up and not having a job.  Dad wasn’t always perfect in this area, but because of that, I was also able to take some of the things that I didn’t like him doing (like smoking) and not doing them.

A good dad is supportive and loyal.  I am sure that in my 30 year radio career, my dad probably thought “he needs to get out of that career and find something more stable”.  If he thought it – he never once told me that!  He was nothing but supportive!  If I ever came to him with something that he questioned, he might ask a question or two regarding the opposite viewpoint, but that was it.  He might ask “are you sure you want to do this” or “have you thought about what might happen if…”, and then he let me decide.  Whatever the decision, he supported it.  I have a great respect for that.

A good dad is someone who challenges his kids. I’m sure that there were many ways that dad challenged me.  I know there were times I wanted to quit something and he gave me the pep talk to keep going.  I cannot recall specific incidents, but I know they were there.

A good dad is a teacher.  While dad taught me how to throw a “submarine” ball and how to swing a golf club, he also taught me some valuable lessons.  One of the things I have hoped to do is to write down some of those lessons and pass them down to my own children.  To illustrate my point: there is a cartoon I saw once of two guys standing in front of three piles of stuff.  The one guy asked what they were.  The second guy points to the first pile and says, “this stuff is the stuff my dad gave me that I want to pass on to my kids.”  He points to the second pile and says, “this is the stuff my dad gave me that I don’t really need.” He points to the third pile and says, “this is my stuff that I want to pass on to my kids.”  That’s the way it is – as a father, you take things that you learned from your dad and keep the stuff you want to share, throw out what you don’t, and then add stuff of your own.

A good dad protects and provides for his family.  When times were tough and money was tight, my dad would DJ or play in the wedding band to bring in extra money.  I remember as a young boy my dad going back to college to get a degree so he could move up in his place of employment.  It took me over 20 years, but I also decided to go back to school to better provide for my family.  I know that my dad would do anything for us, and I would do the same for my family.

Finally, a good dad shows unconditional love.  I read where this is the greatest quality of a good father.  Even though his child may let him down, upset him, make him mad, disrespect him, and disappoint him … the love remains constant.  Not to get theological, but it is one of the great principles spoken of about God in the Bible.  It says that no matter how much a child of God angers Him, ignores Him, or disappoints Him – His love is never ending and ever present.  THAT is the kind of love a father has for his children.

I am lucky that I have never had to question whether or not my dad loves me.  He has done so much for me during my lifetime and continues to do so.  I can only hope that he knows how much he is appreciated.  I can only hope he knows how thankful I am that he was chosen to be my father.  I can only hope that he knows of the impact that he has made on me.  I hope that he will never have to question how much I love him.

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Thanks, Pop, for being such an amazing man!  Thanks for being a wonderful example to me.  Thanks for everything you have done to support, encourage, accept, and love my family.  Today, I wish you a very happy birthday and wish you many more in the future!  I love you, Pop.

“Lamont”

 

 

 

 

I’m With the Band ….

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Autumn/Fall is my favorite season. There is something about the cool crisp air and fall colors that I absolutely love. With fall comes sweatshirt weather, bonfires, and high school football games. Those high school football games remind me of marching band and the annual homecoming.

“Homecoming” is defined as “an annual tradition where people, towns, high schools, and colleges come together (usually in the fall) to welcome back former residents or alumni”. Over the past couple weeks, I have enjoyed seeing many of my Facebook friends posting Homecoming pictures. Many of them are pictures of their sons or daughters all dressed up for the dance while some pictures are from Homecoming parades. Some of the pictures were posted by former classmates who are now teaching at my old high school, and they brought back some great memories.

Prior to high school, our junior high band marched in the homecoming parades and played a song or two. I don’t ever recall staying for the homecoming game afterward. I don’t ever recall walking in the parade while I was in elementary school either, though that seems to be the thing nowadays. At my son’s parade last year, every single elementary school in the district had some sort of representation or float of some kind.

Our ninth grade band had something like 70-100 members if my memory serves me correct. Because of that fact, we stayed a separate entity. We were the Varsity Band and the 10th-12th graders were in the Concert/Marching Band. As Freshmen, we also marched in the parade as a “bonus” band. It was just a taste of what was to come as we entered 10th grade.

1985-1986 – Marching Band Season 1

Prior to school starting, we were given our music for the year’s Marching Band season. The music consisted of the four songs for our halftime show, music for the pregame, music that would be used for pep assemblies, and music that we might play in the stands or in a parade. The instructions were clear “Memorize these songs!” To be honest, this scared the hell out of me. I was never good at memorizing anything, but after playing along with the cassette tape that was available, I had most of it ready by band camp.

I will spare you the obligatory “this one time at band camp” line and just say that band camp was 1) hard work 2) hot and 3) a blast. We had all gotten the “charts” of what the pregame and halftime show were supposed to look like. It was neat to look at, but as a sophomore who had never charted a show, I had no idea what it meant. Basically, the chart shows where you are at one point in the song on one page and where you are going on the pages that follow. You might start on the 30 yard line, but in 12 measures, you are going to march in step to the 45 yard line and take your place there. Then over the course of another 24 measures, you are going to make your way over to the 25 yard line while marching side step (horn facing the stands) and playing the melody.

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You can imagine the amount of rehearsal time that something like this has to take. I can recall our band director asking us to do it over and over and over again. “Pick it up from measure 8″….”Keith was out of step, let’s do it again” … “The flutes need to be louder here”…. “Good! Let’s try it all the way through from the top – one more time!” Slowly, but surely, the show came together. It wasn’t until we saw a video of the show from one of the football games that I really came to know how cool the show looked on the field.

I’ll never forget the songs from the show. It opened with “Artistry in Rhythm”, which was Stan Kenton’s theme song. We were all lined up facing the visitor stands. Ronnie, the junior drum major faced us, while John, the head drum major was on the podium, waiting for us to turn around on the first note. We all stood with our heads down and as Ronnie counted to eight, we slowly raised our heads, brought our instruments to our lips and as he said “eight” we stepped off turning toward the home stands with the dramatic opening of the tune. Not sure how I remember that, but I can recall it like it was yesterday! It was a pretty tough song with some pretty high notes. Cathy played this amazing trumpet solo on the song and nailed it every show. She was one of two trumpet players who I admired in our band. As a young player, I hoped one day I could play as well as them.

Next, we played the Louis Prima song “Sing, Sing, Sing”, which of course was a big hit for the Benny Goodman band. I think of all the songs we played for marching band, it was my favorite. We had a solid percussion section and they really held this one together. This song had a bit for everybody. The melody was carried by the brass, the woodwinds, and the low brass even got to shine in this one. What I remember most about this song was that at the end of the song, the band formed a G-Clef on the field while the drums and majorettes formed a musical note. It truly was a very cool thing.

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Our third song was called Rock ‘n Roll Fever, which was a medley of songs like Heartbreak Hotel, At the Hop, and others. Carmelle was our first chair trumpet. She was the section leader. She had a pretty amazing solo in this number (as did Chad and Scott). She could nail high notes and they were clear as a bell. I remember I had only heard the solos on the cassette tape prior to us all getting together on the field. To hear Cathy and Carmelle knock those solos out of the park every time, truly stuck with me.

What I didn’t really care for was the fact that there was a dance that was created to go along with this song. We all stayed in the formation we ended with at the end of Sing, Sing, Sing and we did this dance. As silly as I felt doing it, the crowd seemed to like it a lot. We did a dance to at least one song every year I was in marching band…sadly. Maybe I just wish we had continued to do some more moving around on the field, but I kinda hated the dance numbers.

The final number of our show was “I’ll Be There”, which was a HUGE hit for the Jackson 5. It was the perfect show closer. It was a very soft and pretty arrangement and the movement of the band matched it perfectly. As the song ended, we all marched off the field to head back to the “band bleachers” to continue to root for our Football Team – The Abes (who were coached by the best – Jim Benefield. My Senior year – he helped coach them to an undefeated season!).

Other Random Marching Band Memories

  • Marching in a parade is always a cool thing. Marching in a parade through Disney, kind of tops them all! You’d stop in specific spots at times and play a song, then get back into ranks and march a bit more. Mickey, Goofy, Pluto and all the characters would be around dancing to your songs. Such fun times and great memories.
  • The Hall Football Hall of Fame Parade. We did this once … once! It had to be the longest parade EVER! I remember we were marching and we’d see a floating balloon in front of us start to come down. We’d be thinking “the end is near – we are almost done” and that damn balloon would jump back up in the air and mock us! By the end of the parade, our legs felt like jelly and our lips were basically dead.
  • Senior year I got to play a solo in the half time show. We did the George Gershwin song Rhapsody in Blue. One of my lifelong friends, Margaret, and I got to play solos. She stood on one side of me and we did a “question and answer” type solo. I played, she answered. The solo was quite easy for me, and nothing as complicated as the solos that were played by Cathy and Carmelle in my first year of marching band, but it was still a solo. It was exciting! I knew it and I had it memorized, but I was always nervous each time I had to play that thing in front of the crowd. It’s funny to think about that now, as I am quite comfortable being in front of a crowd (because of the radio work I did for so long). I guess, when you think about it, both scenarios are “performing” in front of a group, but with band – there are always the possibilities of playing a wrong note!
  • Doggin’ Around. We had this fun, bouncy and jazzy number called Doggin’ Around. I might be wrong, but I want to say it was a Count Basie song. Anyway, it was a damn fun song to play and I thought it would be fun to conduct it. Some of us were taking a conducting class and I asked the band director if I could conduct it at one of the games. I must have pestered him enough because he said yes. We played the song during our post game show. (This was done when the home team won a game – and we won EVERY game that year!) I knew that song inside and out. I knew where every brass sting was, I knew where the tuba line was important, and I knew where every crescendo and decrescendo was! I counted it off and the band played – how they were able to follow me, I am not sure. I was moving my hips all over the place in time with the song. I was dancing along while conducting. It was crazy. When I saw a video of it, I was embarrassed at just how silly I looked, but again, the crowd seemed to love it, and I was having fun.
  • The Washington and Lee Swing. The Lincoln School Song. I can still play this by memory! This is one of those “If I had a dollar for every time I played this song…” songs. It was a parade favorite, it was played at pep assemblies, it was played during pre-game, post-game, when the football team entered the field, and every single time the team scored! While in school, I think we kind of got sick of it … but now, when I hear it, I am reminded of some of the best days of my life!
  • The Star Spangled Banner. You hear the National Anthem before each and every sporting event. With high school events, it is no different. One thing I always remember is that whenever our band director conducted it, he played it pretty quickly. I think one time he said, “there’s no need to drag it out – we wanna get the game started”. Whenever I hear a band play it slow and drag it out … I always think about how fast we used to play it.
  • The Italian Number. We Got The Beat was a hit for The Go Go’s in 1980. I’m not sure when the LHS Band started playing it, but it basically became a tradition. It was a standard “must play” song every year. It is also another song that I can play by memory. In marching band, you play while at attention – feet together, back strait, horn level to the ground. With this song, all bets were off. You danced, you swayed, you “got down”, and had fun! It was a celebratory song that was a “staple” to every post game show. It was often called “We Gotta Da Beat” or “that Italian number”. I’m not sure if it is still a tradition at LHS, but deep down, I hope it is.

Times have changed

When I go to a high school football game today I get excited to watch the band! I walk in with the expectation of seeing lots of movement and hearing the full, loud sounds of the band. Recently, I have been somewhat disappointed. It seems that today, you need to have an entire pit full of xylophones, bells, and in some cases, electric guitars! I understand that these are all musical instruments, but I’m old school and I don’t think they belong.

At one recent performance, it took the band 3 minutes just to get all the stuff down in front of the gridiron for the show. To me, this is a waste of performance time. When that clock started to tick away the halftime break, we were entering the field, and within a minute, we were playing! I digress. Bottom line, I DO love to watch a marching band and it takes me back to a time in my life where I had a lot of fun.

Thanks to YouTube, there are many great college marching band shows available to view online. Recently the LSU Marching Band got a lot of attention doing a halftime show with a bunch of TV themes. OSU has also gained attention with some of their great shows as well. I am always amazed at the things these bands are able to do on the field. Kudos to the creators of these shows, they entertain in SO many ways!

After I graduated in 1988, we created an Alumni Band. Keeping with the Homecoming theme, it was a chance for band alumni to come back and march in the Homecoming parade again. We pulled out the school song one more time and played it with every ounce of school spirit we had. We were able to order a new piece of music to play in the parade as well. After our band director retired, the tradition of the alumni band returning began to fade. Part of the fun was rehearsing again with him and laughing like old times.

It’s been some time since the alumni band last played for Homecoming. Who knows if the interest is still there and whether or not the new band director would be open to welcoming us back. I do know this – Each and every fall I will always be reminded of those chilly days of fall where I’d suit up in my band uniform and march on to the field to play that school song loud and proud! I will remember with a smile how very special it was to be in the marching band!

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