Torme’ Centennial

Happy 100th birthday to the late, great Mel Torme’!!

Melvin Howard Tormé was an American musician, singer, composer, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He was a jazz icon. He won two Grammy Awards and was nominated a total of 14 times.

Mel grew up in a largely black neighborhood and was heavily influenced by jazz. He was a child prodigy, who performed professionally at age four with the Coon-Sanders Orchestra. He would sing “You’re Driving Me Crazy” – a song he had learned on the radio, at Chicago’s Blackhawk restaurant. He was invited back and sang every Monday night for six months. It wasn’t a bad first gig. He was paid $15 a night with a free dinner for his family.

From 1942 to 1943, he was a member of a band led by Chico Marx. He was the singer and drummer and also created some arrangements for the band. In 1944, he formed a vocal quintet called Mel Tormé and His Mel-Tones. His group was modeled on Frank Sinatra and The Pied Pipers. The Mel-Tones had several hits while fronting Artie Shaw’s band and on their own. The Mel-Tones were among the first jazz-influenced vocal groups.

In 1947, he started a solo singing career. His appearances at New York’s Copacabana led local disc jockey Fred Robbins to give him the nickname “the Velvet Fog” in honor of his high tenor and smooth vocal style. Mel detested the nickname. He self-deprecatingly referred to it as “this Velvet Frog voice”.

As a solo singer, he recorded several romantic hits for Decca records and with the Artie Shaw Orchestra for Musiccraft (1946–1948). In 1949, he moved to Capital records, where his first record, “Careless Hands”, became his only number-one hit.

Though he spent most of his career singing jazz, Tormé had a deep appreciation of classical music. As for Rock and roll … he considered “three-chord manure”.

In the ’60s and ’70s, Tormé covered pop tunes of the day, never staying long with one label. He had two minor hits: his 1956 recording of “Mountain Greenery”, which did better in the United Kingdom where it reached No. 4; and his 1962 R&B song “Comin’ Home Baby”, which reached No. 13 in the UK. “Comin’ Home Baby” led the jazz and gospel singer Ethel Waters to say that “Tormé is the only white man who sings with the soul of a black man.”

He gained popularity among a younger generation when he made nine guest appearances as himself (and one as a guardian angel) on the 1980s situation comedy Night Court. The main character, Judge Harry Stone, played by Harry Anderson, was depicted as an unabashed Tormé fan, an admiration that Anderson shared in real life. Anderson would deliver the eulogy at Tormé’s funeral.

Mel also appeared in Mountain Dew commercials and in a 1995 episode of the sitcom Seinfeld as himself. This is in one of my favorite episodes – “The Jimmy.”

During the 1980s and 1990s he performed often with piano great George Shearing. They recorded six albums together for Concord Records. It was about this period Shearing wrote:

It is impossible to imagine a more compatible musical partner… I humbly put forth that Mel and I had the best musical marriage in many a year. We literally breathed together during our countless performances. As Mel put it, we were two bodies of one musical mind.

Mel Tormé wrote more than 250 songs, several of which became standards. He often wrote the arrangements for the songs he sang. He collaborated with Bob Wells on his most popular composition, “The Christmas Song”(1946). They wrote the song on a swelteringly hot and sunny day in California, sitting down and coming up with all the most ‘mid-wintery’ things they could think of, in an attempt to cool themselves down; it was recorded first by Nat King Cole. Tormé said that he wrote the music in 45 minutes and that it was not one of his favorites, calling it “my annuity”

I had the chance to see him when he toured with Doc Severinsen. He was fantastic! He owned that stage and had the audience in the palm of his hand. That concert remains one of the best concerts I have ever been to. He blew me away when he joined Doc for Sing, Sing, Sing and played the drums. It was amazing.

On August 8, 1996, a stroke ended Tormé’s 65-year singing career. In February 1999, he was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He died from another stroke on June 5, 1999, at the age of 73

In his eulogistic essay, John Andrews wrote:

Tormé’s style shared much with that of his idol, Ella Fitzgerald. Both were firmly rooted in the foundation of the swing era, but both seemed able to incorporate bebop innovations to keep their performances sounding fresh and contemporary. Like Sinatra, they sang with perfect diction and brought out the emotional content of the lyrics through subtle alterations of phrasing and harmony. Ballads were characterized by paraphrasing of the original melody which always seemed tasteful, appropriate and respectful to the vision of the songwriter. Unlike Sinatra, both Fitzgerald and Tormé were likely to cut loose during a swinging up-tempo number with several scat choruses, using their voices without words to improvise a solo like a brass or reed instrument.

They were two of the best scat singers. Watch this magical improv moment with Ella and Mel:

Happy 100th birthday, Mel!

Source: Wiki

Tune Tuesday

Happy 50th birthday to Michael Buble’!

Michael is often referred to as a crooner. This is because he helped to renew public interest and appreciation for the Great American Songbook and those traditional pop standards.

He readily admits that he is a “great cover artist.” His albums feature him covering the likes of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, and Mel Torme’. But he is also a great songwriter and the songs he has written have done well on the charts, too.

Bublé has sold over 75 million records worldwide, and won five Grammy Awards. He has also won fifteen Juno Awards.

His first album was released in 2003. It did well in Canada and the UK. In 2005, his album It’s Time brought him more world wide attention. In total, he’s recorded nine albums. He’s about due for a new one since his last one was released in 2022.

Right around the time of his first album, he made the rounds at radio stations. My buddies Tim and Jeff had them on their show in Arkansas. They said he was a blast.

They said he was very funny and down to earth. They hung out with him that evening, I think they all went to a hockey game together. They said he was one of the coolest artists they’d ever met.

He seems like a pretty cool guy. He has no problem poking fun at himself and always seems to be having fun. I would love to meet him one day.

I have featured his music a few times on this blog. Feelin’ Good, The Theme From Spiderman, and Cry Me a River are some of my favorites. Today I picked another one that I like – Call Me Irresponsible.

I was hooked as soon as I heard the opening bass line. When the drums and band join in, it’s just “smooth.” He has a Dean Martin vibe here – relaxed and effortless.

Let’s swing together and wish Michael a Happy 50th!

The Music of My Life – The 2000’s Part 2

This is sort of a continuation of the Music of My Life feature. It focused on music from 1970-2025. It featured tunes that have special meaning to me, brought back a certain memory or a tune that I just really like. I found that with the first three decades, there were songs that I didn’t feature. So I sat down with my original lists and selected some songs that “bubbled under,” so to speak. Songfacts.com helped me a lot with stories and background info.

I figured a good way to present them was to focus on a decade. 10 years = 1 song per year = 10 songs. Last week we looked at the 2000’s and we’ll so that again this week. You may remember that the more current I got, the less music I connected with. Perhaps there will be enough to look at the 2010’s next week. So, let’s check out a few “Decade Extras.”

2000

I used to love VH1’s Behind the Music and Pop-Up Videos. You could always count on trivia or a great story. That’s the case with Kryptonite from 3 Doors Down. From Songfacts…

Picture this: 3 Doors Down lead singer/songwriter Brad Arnold at 15 years old, sitting in math class bored out of his skull, begins tapping on his desk. The tapping turns into drumming, and pretty soon he’s unknowingly written the first monster hit for his future band.

He laughs at the memory: “Thank God for the little dude that sat in front of me, that dude deserves credit on the album! I was so bad in math. So bad. But my teacher knew I was not good, not paying attention, but he just kind of let me go. I believe I wrote the lyrics to some other songs in that same class. I wrote probably about half of that Better Life album sitting in that math class.”This song is also, according to Arnold, only the 3rd or 4th song he’d ever written, period. “The skippy little drumbeat in the song was just me beating on my desk. It’s almost exactly the beat we played to, just kind of drumming, just skipping along with it.”

Brad says this song is a question. As it turns out, it was a rather prophetic one. “Its question is kind of a strange one. It’s not just asking, ‘If I fall down, will you be there for me?’ Because it’s easy to be there for someone when they’re down. But it’s not always easy to be there for somebody when they’re doing good. And that’s the question it’s asking. It’s like, ‘If I go crazy, will you still call me Superman?’ It’s asking, ‘If I’m down, will you still be there for me?’ But at the same time, ‘If I’m alive and well, will you be there holding my hand?’ That’s kind of asking, ‘If I’m doing good, will you be there for me? Will you not be jealous of me?’ And maybe throughout the years of singing that song, I might have come up with more meanings for it than it actually might have originally had,” he laughs.

The fact that he wrote this song when he was only 15 doesn’t seem remarkable to Brad, because, he says, “every 15-year-old has those questions in their head. They might not know quite how to say it, or they might not feel like it’s acceptable to say something. And the biggest thing that I’ve had as an honor to be able to do is to be able to say something, and after I say it, it’s okay. After an artist says it, if a rock star says it, okay, it’s fine. That really boils down to why rock and roll inspires pop culture so much, or just music in general, not just rock and roll. Because artists push the envelope, and they go out on a limb to say something else. But it also comes with responsibility; you gotta watch what you say, because kids listen. And I try to watch what I say, too.”

Here are the deep thoughts of a 15-year old….

Kryptonite

2001

I remember hearing Turn Off The Light on the radio and kind of liking it. When they said the artist’s name, I actually chuckled. It sounded like something I’d order at a Mexican restaurant. “I’ll have a Furtado with a side of beans and rice….”

The song is part of Furtado’s debut album, Whoa, Nelly! It was released when she was just 21. She wrote the song herself and produced it along with Gerald Eaton and Brian West. People in the business took notice of her right from the get-go.

She was born in British Columbia to Portuguese parents. At 17, she moved to Toronto and started a trip-hop band called Nelstar. Pop music at the time was dominated by Disney-bred singers like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Furtado stood out from this crowd with an underground sensibility and terrific songwriting skills. In “Turn Off The Light” she was able to take a pretty much universal experience – the outgoing public persona that is a lot more insecure in private – and flesh it into a compelling song.

I can’t speak for everyone, but I can tell you that I could relate to the song. I have always felt insecure when I wasn’t out in the public. I was radio guy with big personality out there, and at home I felt like I was never enough or couldn’t do anything right.

Turn off the Light

2002

I really liked a lot of Carlos Santana’s later stuff. I loved that his music was still being played and that he was having hits all these years later. One of the songs I really liked was The Game of Love which featured him and Michelle Branch.

Branch is the lead vocalist on this song. She earned an audition through the song’s writer, Gregg Alexander, who suggested her – members of his band The New Radicals also played in Branch’s touring band. “I didn’t think I got it,” Branch told Songfacts: “I was really nervous. I went on tour and thought that was the end of it, and then I got a call saying they loved my version and they had decided that I was the singer. The next thing you know, I was going to Chicago to film the music video. The first time I met Carlos was on set for ‘The Game Of Love.'”

Branch was still a teenager when she recorded her vocal, but she had the poise and confidence to suggest a change to the lyric. Instead of “a little bit of laughs,” she wanted “a little bit of lust,” and the line “I’m telling you my babe” changed to “I’m turning in my bed.” Her suggestions were politely declined.

In her Songfacts interview, she said: “I was thinking of being lovesick, unable to sleep, turning in the bed. Like lusting after someone. But they wanted it a little more lighthearted. But I love the song and I’m honored that I was chosen to sing it.”

Michelle Branch was an excellent pairing for Santana. She was a TRL favorite with a young, female fanbase, but sounded great to the ears of Santana fans, who were much older. Branch wrote her own songs and was a student of emotions, able to sing convincingly about romantic love before she had experienced it herself. She could also play acoustic guitar, providing a nice symmetry in the video while Carlos Santana played electric.

The Game of Love

2003

When I worked in country radio, it always seemed that there were 5-10 new artists trying to get a spot on the play list. Many of them were just average, but there were some who really “fit” what the station wanted to sound like.

Pat Green was a singer-songwriter who released an album in 2003. The first single was also the title of the album – Wave on Wave. The song was written by Green, David Neuhauser and Justin Pollard. I admit that I didn’t care for the song at first. After a few listens, I began to change my mind. We played it quite a bit. It became his first and, to date, only Top 10 hit. I find that crazy because he has recorded at least 7 or 8 studio albums.

I can’t for the life of me remember one of the follow ups to Wave on Wave, but I can remember that one sounded almost exactly like it – only faster.

Wave on Wave

2004

I’m sure that this next song was one that I heard on Christian radio. The message struck me and reminds me that when all is said and done, All I Need is Him.

Bethany Dillon began singing when she was thirteen years old. Three years later, she released her self-titled 2004 debut album. It was the highest selling female solo debut for that year, and attracted Gospel Music Association nominations for both Female Vocalist and New Artist of the Year. All I Need from that album was released on April 20, 2004.

I try to begin each day thankful to God for another day. Her words would be appropriate for any time of the day.

You are all I need when I’m surrounded
You are all I need if I’m by myself
You fill me when I’m empty
There is nothing else
You’re all I need

All I Need

2005

By 2005, I had met Martina McBride at least once. I have always loved her voice. When I heard she was going to be releasing an album of classic country songs, I was intrigued. I wondered what songs she might cover.

The album was called “Timeless” and it featured Lynn Anderson’s Rose Garden. Anderson almost didn’t sing it, though. Because of lyrics like “I could promise you things like big diamond rings,” Anderson’s producer (and husband) Glenn Sutton considered this a man’s song and tried to dissuade her from covering it. Only when they had some extra studio time left did he consider it for an album cut, but with some changes. They reworked the track with an uptempo arrangement that included a string section and mandolin. When Columbia Records’ exec Clive Davis heard it, he insisted it be released as a single.

Martina’s version landed at #98 on the pop chart and #18 on the country chart.

Rose Garden

2006

I was introduced to Lips of an Angel while working in country radio. It was covered by Jack Ingram. I had no idea that the original was done by Hinder. The song has an interesting backstory. From Songfacts:

Sometimes inspiration for songs comes quickly. Hinder singer Austin Winkler wrote this song in just 20 or 30 minutes with drummer Cody Hanson while the two sat in Hanson’s living room. Winkler came in with the first line – “Honey, why you calling me so late?” – And the rest of the song just flowed out naturally.

The story in the song about having trouble letting go of a former love is real – it’s what Winkler was going through with an ex-girlfriend. He told the story to Hanson, who already had a guitar progression in mind, and the two finished the song very quickly.

“Lips Of An Angel” sold over 3 million ringtones – more than any other rock song. It was popular at a time when everyone was buying up ringtones for their new phones. Man, how much money did I waste to have those 20 second ringtones?!

Lips of an Angel

2007

The next song is from back when Taylor Swift wasn’t “pop-a-fide.” It was also a peak into how she would toss real people into her songs, often to call them out on something. Teardrops on My Guitar really stuck out as a great song and did very well on country radio.

Written by Taylor Swift and Liz Rose, this song of unrequited love is based on a true experience during Taylor’s schooldays when she had a crush on a boy she was friends with. However there was no chance of him reciprocating her feelings as he already had a girlfriend whom he was madly in love with and he used to tell Swift all about her.

In an interview with the HMV magazine, Taylor revealed that this song was written for a boy named Drew, who only ever saw her as a friend, despite Taylor having feelings for him. She went on to explain what happened when he realized the song was about him. Said Taylor:

“About two years after the album came out in the States, he showed up in my driveway. Apparently he and his girlfriend had broken up so that was his first stop when he was back in town. I was like ‘you are so late, y’know. If you’d stopped by right after the album came out then that would be one thing, but…’ I remember reading on his MySpace page one time ‘My name’s Drew and I have a famous song written about me. Email me and I’ll give you details.’ I was like, right, wow, note taken.”

MySpace!! Remember that?! If you’re wondering about Drew, things didn’t go too well for him. In 2015, he and his wife, Joni, were arrested in Hendersonville, Tennessee on charges of child abuse.

Teardrops on My Guitar

2008

I love Mel Torme’. Once I discovered him, I went looking for his albums. He did quite well in the time of the Crooners, but his chart presence faded with the birth of a new type of music. With the advent of rock and roll, the Velvet Fog fell out of favor with the younger crowd and was reluctant to try to fit in. “Rock music is heinous,” he claimed. “I’m not a teenagers’ singer. My steady market is the Young Marrieds.”

Mel was absent from the charts for 10 years. However, there was one song that brought him back to the Top 40 in 1962. That song was one that Torme’ did not really want to record. In the early ’60s he joined Atlantic Records. It was there that producer Nesuhi Ertegun convinced him to record the beat-centric R&B scorcher “Comin’ Home Baby.”

It took a fair bit of arm-twisting to get Tormé to agree. The singer recalled: “It was a minor-key blues tune with trite repetitious lyrics and an ‘answer’ pattern to be sung by the Cookies, a girl trio that had once worked for Ray Charles.” To his surprise, his rendition – arranged by Claus Ogerman – peaked at #36 on the Hot 100 and notched a #13 entry on the UK chart. It proved to be a bittersweet success in the long run, as it marked his final appearance on both charts.

But Keith, we are supposed to be talking about 2008. Yes, that is true. As much as I love the Mel Torme’ version, Michael Bublé recorded a version featuring Boyz II Men for his 2007 album, Call Me Irresponsible. It isn’t as cool as Mel’s, but I love that this great song came back so many years later. Buble’s version was released as a single in Germany, where it peaked at #17.

Comin’ Home Baby

2009

DJing high school dances was sometimes difficult because of song content. Many of them had references to sexual acts, profanity, violence or drug use. There were a few artists that all the kids seemed to love. The screams from girls when I first played a Justin Bieber song still has my ears ringing. Another artist who always seemed to work was Miley Cyrus.

Party in the USA was scheduled to make its radio debut on August 4, 2009. However, due to an illegal leak of a demo version, it was released early on July 29 for airplay. The song’s producers, Katy Perry and Kelly Clarkson collaborators Dr. Luke and Claude Kelly, broke the news to Miley about the leak. The teenage singer expressed irritation but seemed more concerned about the response of the audience to the earlier than expected release of the song.

Director Chris Applebaum told MTV News that in the song’s music video, Miley wanted to pay tribute to her favorite movie, Grease. He explained: “Miley did have an idea – one of her favorite movies is Grease. Everything kind of sprang forward from that scene in ‘Grease’ where John Travolta is singing… and he gets out of the car and goes to jungle gym and sits in one of the swings and sings the song at night as projections go in the background – she came to me [with that].”

In addition to the Grease tribute, Miley also wanted to pay tribute to her parents’ courting days. He explained: “Interesting enough, Miley’s parents Tish and Billy Ray, when they were first dating they went to a drive-in in Kentucky, I think, called the Corral Drive-In – so we named the drive-in after that as an homage to them. In addition, Miley’s mom Tish used to drive ’79 black Pontiac Trans Am, Smokey and the Bandit style, and obviously that’s the car that Miley arrives in.”

Miley Cyrus began to disassociate herself from the song a few years after recording it. “That’s not where I want to sing, that’s not what I want to sing, and that’s not what I want my voice to sound like,” she told V magazine. I’m not sure, but did any of her other songs do as well as Party in the USA? I don’t know, but why distance yourself from it? To each his own, I suppose.

Party in the USA

That wraps up the 2000’s. As I said earlier, if there are enough songs from the 2010’s worth featuring, the feature will return next week.

Thank you for listening and for reading. I really hope you enjoyed this trek through the decades.

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!

Music Memory Monday

Jazz legend Mel Torme’ passed away on this day in 1999. He began performing when he was just 14 years old. While he had some success with his group, The Mel-Tones, and some solo work in the 50’s and 60’s, it wasn’t until late in his life that his career really soared.

He was introduced to young audiences when he appeared as himself on Night Court. In interviews he said people would go see him perform because they wanted to know what Harry Anderson’s character found so amazing about him.

I was lucky enough to see him perform once in the early 1990’s. He was touring with Doc Severinsen and the Tonight Show Band. It remains, hands down, the best concert I have ever attended. He blew me away!

He came on stage and I was immediately caught up in his presence. He literally grabbed the audience and kept us mesmerized by his singing, his scatting, and his banter. When Doc’s band joined him toward the end of the show, he got up on the drums and played Sing, Sing, Sing. He was phenomenal!!

There is one song that I absolutely love by him. I suppose it would be one of the many that belong in the “Great American Songbook.” It is called More Than You Know. There are live versions by him that are just captivating, but I will share the studio version, which is just as beautiful.

Thanks for your music, Mel, and thanks for a performance that I will never forget!

More Than You Know

Whether you are here or yonder
Whether you are false or true
Whether you remain or wander
I’m growing fonder of you

Even though your friends forsake you
Even though you don’t succeed
Wouldn’t I be glad to take you
And give you the break you need

More than you know, more than you know
Girl of my heart I love you so
Lately I find you’re on my mind
More than you know

Whether you’re right, whether you’re wrong
Girl of my heart, I’ll string along
I need you so
More than you’ll ever know

Loving you the way that I do
There’s nothing I can do about it
Loving may be all you can give
But, honey, I can’t live without it

Oh, how I’d cry, oh how I’d cry
If you got tired and said Goodbye
More than I’d show
More than you’ll ever know

More than you’ll ever know

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.

Song Draft 2021 – Round 10 – Final Pick – Superstition – Stevie Wonder

We have reached the final round of the 2021 Song Draft hosted by Hanspostcard. I want to thank Hans for allowing me to be a part of it, and also thank the other participants who welcomed me into the draft. I have truly enjoyed being a part of this!

Prior to the draft, I made a list of possible song choices. As the draft continued, each round I would look at my list (and at the songs picked by the others) and decide which one would be my next choice. Some of the picks were easy, while others were more difficult. A few of them were spur of the moment picks that weren’t on the original list.

As I looked at that list in preparation for my last pick, I see many artists that I’d love to have featured: Aretha Franklin, The Honeydrippers, Big Joe Turner, Bob Seger, The Go-Go’s, Bill Withers, Johnny Lang, Queen, Buster Brown, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Buddy Guy, Neil Diamond, Mel Torme’ and so many more! I stared at my list for a long time and thought about it. Since I began the draft with a Michigan artist, I should wrap up with a Michigan artist. So my final pick for the draft is – Superstition by Stevie Wonder.

Stevie was born a little over 100 miles north of Detroit in Saginaw, Michigan in 1950. He would forever be associated with Detroit and Motown records. In a 1990 Detroit appearance at Tiger Stadium, Nelson Mandella said, “It is motor town that gave the world a great singer – Steve Wonder!”

In 1963, when he was known as “Little” Stevie Wonder, he had his first #1 song with a cut called Fingertips Part 2. Personally, I could never stand that song. It was in a heavy rotation at the first radio station I worked at, and I found it annoying. It would be 10 years before he received his next #1 song – Superstition.

The song was released on his fifteenth studio album, Talking Book.

Guitarist Jeff Beck was a fan of Stevie’s music and Stevie heard about this just before recording the Talking Book sessions. Though at this point he was playing virtually all of the instruments on his songs by himself, Stevie preferred to let other guitarists play on his records, and he liked the idea of a collaboration with Beck. An agreement was quickly made for Beck to become involved in the sessions that became the Talking Book album, in return for Wonder writing him a song.

According to legend, between the album sessions, Beck came up with the opening drum beat. Stevie told Jeff to keep playing while he improvised over the top of it. He improvised most of the song, including the funky riff. They wound up creating a rough demo of the song that day.

After finishing the song, Wonder decided that he would allow Beck to record “Superstition” as part of their agreement. Originally, the plan was for Beck to release his version of the song first, with his newly formed power trio Beck, Bogert, and Appice. Their album’s release, however, was delayed.

From Songfacts.com: When Stevie turned 21, he was no longer obligated to Motown Records, and used his clout to sign a deal with the label giving him unprecedented control of his music. He got a large share of royalties and publishing rights, and Motown was not allowed to alter the albums once they were delivered. One thing Motown did control, however, were what songs they released as singles. Knowing Jeff Beck was about to record his version, Motown head Berry Gordy made sure this was the first single and released it before Beck could get his out.

This was recorded at Electric Lady Studios, which is where Jimi Hendrix recorded. The studios stayed active after Hendrix’ death, with artists like Miles Davis and Deep Purple also recording there.

At the time, Wonder would keep the studio booked so he could record when inspiration hit. Stevie’s bass player at the time, Scott Edwards, told Songfacts this was not always convenient for his band. “Because he does not have sight, he’s not controlled by daylight,” said Edwards. “So he may begin his night at midnight. Which is bad, because if they want you to come do an overdub or something, he may call you at 4 a.m. and say, ‘Come on in.'”

I always loved the funky feel of this song, and I always played it when I was DJing Halloween parties.

Aside of Jeff Beck’s version, many others have covered this song. None made much of an impact until Stevie Ray Vaughan released a live version as a single in 1986 on his album Live Alive. His version still gets radio airplay today on many Classic Rock stations.

In 1974, the song earned Stevie his first Grammy Award.

Superstition – Lyrics

Very superstitious,
Writing’s on the wall,
Very superstitious,
Ladders bout’ to fall,
Thirteen month old baby,
Broke the lookin’ glass
Seven years of bad luck,
The good things in your past

When you believe in things
That you don’t understand,
Then you suffer,
Superstition aint the way

Hey

Very superstitious,
Wash your face and hands,
Rid me of the problem,
Do all that you can,
Keep me in a daydream,
Keep me goin’ strong,
You don’t wanna save me,
Sad is the soul

When you believe in things
That you don’t understand,
Then you suffer,
Superstition ain’t the way,
Yeh, yeh

Very superstitious,
Nothin’ more to say,
Very superstitious,
The devil’s on his way,
Thirteen month old baby,
Broke the lookin’ glass,
Seven years of bad luck,
Good things in your past

When you believe in things
That you don’t understand,
Then you suffer,
Superstition ain’t the way,
No, no, no

As a bonus – here is the official video of Stevie Ray Vaughn’s cover….watch for a cool cameo at the end ….

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??

“Made in 1938”

Introduction

Since I started blogging about a year ago, I have stumbled on some great blogs that focus on old movies, film noir, music, books, and various other things that I find interesting. Some of these blog sites have hosted Blogathons, and I have participated in a few of them. A while back, the “Pop Culture Reverie” and “In The Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood” sites announced their “Made in 1938 Blogathon”. The only real rule that was that whatever you wrote about had to be something “made” in 1938. This blog is my contribution to this blogathon. I am posting a day early, but you can read the other participants blogs by clicking:

https://popculturereverie.wordpress.com/

https://crystalkalyana.wordpress.com/

At first, I began to look at movies from that year, hoping there would be one of my favorites from that year. Then, because of the celebrity birthday page I had on Facebook, I wondered if there were any famous people born in ’38 that I might find interesting to write about. In looking over the list of celebrities, three stood out as having a significant part in my life, so I chose to write about them. I hope you find this blog interesting and entertaining. What follows is a brief salute to a great impressionist/comedian, a great radio personality, and a great actor.

Rich Little (Born November 26, 1938)

Rich Little shares the nickname “The Man of a Thousand Voices” with the great Mel Blanc (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, etc). While they both have many voices that they do, Mel’s were more original voices and dialects for cartoons, while Rich did impersonations or imitations of real celebrities. He claims to be able to do about 200 voices, and he has had quite a career “being” other people! He even eludes to this in the title of his 2014 book “Little by Little: People I’ve Known and Been…”

I remember when we first got cable TV. HBO often featured stand up comedy shows and specials. One of the first specials I ever saw was Rich Little’s A Christmas Carol. I was mesmerized by this guy! This special was like an awesome dream come true – all these big celebrities playing the different roles of the Dickens classic – except, they were all done by one man, Rich Little. Can you imagine WC Fields, Jack Benny, Peter Sellers, Humphrey Bogart, Peter Falk (as Columbo), Jimmy Stewart, Richard Nixon, Johnny Carson, Laurel and Hardy, and Groucho Marx all in the same show?! He made it happen!

As a kid, not knowing what I really wanted to do with my life, and thinking I was funny, I thought maybe I could do what he did. After watching him often, and listening to him, I began to try out voices on relatives. I really thought I did an excellent Richard Nixon, but in reality, I was doing a bad impression of Rich Little doing Richard Nixon. (Later on in my radio career, while on Honey Radio I did create a few generic voices that I used on our morning show, but never anything close to what Rich has mastered!)

I was always excited when there was some new Rich Little Special on HBO, whether it was his stage act or his take on Robin Hood (which is where I first saw him do his Carol Channing, which blew me away). Every time he did a new celebrity I hadn’t seen him do, I would watch in awe. There was no shortage of people he could do.

One surprising fact that I was unaware of was one of my favorite singers played a big part in his American TV debut. He was asked by singer Mel Torme’ to audition for the Judy Garland Show in 1964. He did, made an impression (pun intended) and made his first appearance on American TV on her show. He stated in an interview that if you watch this appearance, you should watch Judy. She had never seen him perform before they taped the show and her reactions are very genuine. He went on to appear on other TV shows like Love on a Rooftop, That Girl, The Flying Nun, and Petticoat Junction in guest roles. He is probably best known for his appearances on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, The Kopycats (a show featuring impressionists), and The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts.

Rich is often asked which impressions are his favorites. He says he has many, but the two that stand out are Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Stewart. His Reagan is just wonderful and President Reagan loved it too! He did two albums as Reagan – “The First Family Rides Again” and “Ronald Reagan Slept Here”. I owned them both, and they are very funny (one of them features a pre-Seinfeld Michael Richards)! His Reagan is a great example of how Rich can find something unique about someone and use it in his imitation. I’ll be honest, I never knew how many times Reagan started a sentence with the word “Well…” until I saw/heard Rich doing it in his act!

Jimmy Stewart was the first celebrity impression he worked on (and it is amazing). Rich was on the dais of The Dean Martin Roasts when Jimmy was the “Man of the Hour”. He got to the podium and began to school Jimmy Stewart on how to do Jimmy Stewart! After Jimmy tries to do all the things Rich is telling him, Rich finally tells him that there is no hope for him and that Jimmy was doing “The Worst Jimmy Stewart” he’d ever heard! Rich even went as far as to have the audience stand up and do Jimmy, to which Rich tells Jimmy that everyone does a better Jimmy Stewart than he did! Word is this was all ad-libbed and Jimmy, being the amazing guy that he was, went along with it all.

It would be hard for me to pick my favorite Rich Little Impressions, because they are all so good. Among his best, in my opinion, are Reagan and Stewart (just mentioned), Richard Nixon, Jack Benny, Don Rickles, Raymond Burr, Truman Capote, James Mason, John Wayne, Paul Lynde, and Johnny Carson. His Carson was so good, he was asked to play him in the movie about the David Letterman/Jay Leno feud called “Late Night”. After seeing Rich do an impression of him, Jack Benny sent him an 18 karat gold money clip that was engraved; “With Bob Hope doing my walk and you doing my voice, I can be a star and do nothing!”

How good are his impressions? When David Niven was ill, he actually dubbed in lines for Niven in a couple Pink Panther movies. He did the same for James Cagney in the 1984 film Terrible Joe Moran and for Gene Kelly in a 1991 Christmas special. I’m not sure how true it is, but some people say that there was some fierce competition between Rich and Frank Gorshin (The Riddler on TV’s Batman), who was also a good impressionist. Those sources say that this little rivalry only made Rich work even harder to perfect his voices.

In researching for this blog, I came across a quote from Rich that really made me admire him even more. He said, “I don’t like it when people imitate someone for political reasons or if they hate somebody. I’ve never imitated anyone that I’ve really hated. Usually, it’s people I admire.”

Thanks Rich, for the many laughs you provided throughout my childhood. Sorry about my Nixon impression!

Wolfman Jack (Born January 21, 1938)

Radio Legend! What more can I say?! He was one of the best. He knew what people wanted and gave it to them. He was a master at talking to his audience. He could be making you laugh out loud one minute, and crying the next. I never had the chance to hear a live show of his, but I was lucky enough to hear some of his syndicated stuff growing up. I can tell you this, I can only WISH to be as good and as talented as he was! In my 30 year radio career, I have never come close!

With the creation of the Internet and access to YouTube and other radio websites, some of Wolfman’s radio stuff is available to listen to and enjoy. I’m no dummy, I know that he must have done a lot of prep for his shows, but everything seemed so spontaneous and ad-libbed! Maybe it was, I don’t know, but I do know that it was good. His interactions with listeners were always entertaining. His random thoughts about peace, love, and brotherhood always hit the nail on the head. In this world where hatred runs amuck, we could use more people like Wolfman spreading the “love” on the air.

I got into radio because of the guys I listened to growing up (Paul Christy, Jim McKenzie, Richard D., Boogie Brian, Dick Purtan, etc…), and so did Wolfman Jack. To keep him out of trouble, his parents bought him a radio and he fell in love with R&B music. He listened to Jocko Henderson from Philadelphia, Dr. Jive from New York, the Moon Dog from Cleveland, Alan Freed (who coined the phrase “Rock and Roll”), and his mentor John Richbourg from Nashville. He spent a year at The National Academy of Broadcasting and landed a radio gig in Virginia where his on air name was “Daddy Jules”.

Three years later, he took his “Wolfman” character to XERF, a Mexican radio station that broadcast at 250,000 watts (5 times the power of any US radio station), and people listened! The station pretty much covered most of the US. The music he played (lots of great R&B) and his vocal stylings started to make news. His popularity grew and there were feature stories about him in Time magazine, Newsweek, and Life magazine. Newspapers from all over the country all wrote about him, too, wondering, “Who is this guy and where did he come from?!”

In 1972, he became the host of an NBC show called “The Midnight Special” where he co-hosted and interviewed musical guests. Director George Lucas grew up in North Carolina and was a fan of Wolfman’s show growing up. In 1973, he cast him in the film “American Graffiti” and made sure that he got a small percentage of the profits from the film. The success of the film brought Wolfman to New York to do a radio show on WNBC, but the commuting back and forth to do TV and radio became a hassle, so he moved back to California.

Wolfman Jack became the first radio DJ to nationally distribute his radio show. The show was heard on over 2000 stations nationwide and in 53 countries! Along with his radio work. he continued to do movie work and appeared on TV shows like The Odd Couple, What’s Happening, Vega$, Wonder Woman, Hollywood Squares, and Married…With Children. He also appeared as himself in the 1974 hit single by The Guess Who entitled “Clap for the Wolfman.”

In 1995, he wrote his autobiography (a must read for people in radio) “Have Mercy: Confessions of the Original Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal,” which received good reviews in The New York Times and LA Times. On July 1, 1995, after finishing a broadcast from The Hard Rock Café in Washington DC he boarded a plane and flew home. He had been away from his family for days promoting his book. He told his limo driver as they pulled in front of his house that he was happy to finally be home. He walked inside, hugged his wife, and collapsed after having a massive heart attack. He was 57 years old.

To close this section of my blog – here are some of my favorite Wolfman quotes:

“We are put on this earth to have a good time. This makes other people feel good. And the cycle continues.”

“I know it may sound corny, man, but I like to bring folks joy and I like to have a good time. I know folks like to be with someone who’s having a good time. You sure as hell don’t want to be with somebody who’s having a bad day.”

“Love is not a matter of counting the years – it’s making the years count.”

“If you do right. Everything will come out right.”

And my favorite quote, which I often used (giving him credit, of course) to close my own radio show:

“Remember to keep smiling because a smile is like a light in the window letting people know your heart’s at home”.

Thanks, Wolfman, for being an inspiration to young DJ’s like me, and for being a positive in a world full of negativity!

Christopher Lloyd (Born October 22, 1938)

When I first saw the trailer for Back to the Future, I was filled with anticipation. It was everything a 15 year old boy could ask for, action, adventure, and time travel! I’ve always been a fan of time travel stories. I have a collection of old radio shows that all have time travel as a theme. What kid didn’t wonder, “What would it be like to see my parents as kids? What would it be like to go back to the past?” I had to see this movie!

The Back to the Future trilogy remains one of my favorites (second only to the Godfather). Looking back now, I can’t imagine anyone but Christopher Lloyd playing Doc Brown. While there are great characters (and actors) in the film, Lloyd makes it all worth watching! He’s the epitome of a crazy scientist! He’s everything you expect one to be! He’s manic! He’s constantly moving! He’s always thinking and processing! In an interview he said that there were times he was so into the role that he didn’t know exactly what he had done until he saw it on screen! Believe it or not, he almost passed on the role!!

In an interview I found, he said that when he was initially contacted about playing the role, he had some doubts about it and seriously considered passing on it. He was in Mexico when his agent called to tell him that the producers wanted to meet with him. “I was anxious to do a play that I had been offered back east, and I wasn’t sure this was something I wanted to get involved in at that point.” Luckily, his future wife Carol reminded him that “I always told myself never to turn anything down without at least checking it out.” After the meeting he says he was “ready to put on the wig and hop into the Delorean!”

Doc Brown is probably one of two roles that Christopher Lloyd will forever be identified with. The other is that of “Reverend” Jim Ignatowski on the TV show Taxi. That character won him two Emmy Awards! I have always appreciated when a TV show has a great ensemble cast – Taxi was one of them. Each character stands out in their own way, and Reverend Jim never ceased to make me laugh! One of the greatest scenes in this show is when Jim has to take his driver’s test. Almost all of the gang is there while he is taking it and trying to help him. If you’ve never seen it – it’s comedy gold! Here is the link:

Christopher is one of those actors who is believable in comedy roles as well as dramatic roles. I have always felt that is what makes a great actor. He reminds me a lot of Robin Williams, in that he can play comedy for comedy, play straight for comedic effect, and nail a dramatic role perfectly. In his first movie role, as a psychiatric patient in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, he is brilliant! It is one amazing performance!

He is one of those actors that has so many memorable roles. It would be impossible to give space to each one of them. One movie that sometimes gets over looked is the 1985 comedy Clue. As Professor Plum, we are treated to Christopher playing straight for comedic effect. In one of my favorite scenes, the characters are paired off to search areas of the house. Plum is paired with Mrs. Peacock (played brilliantly by Eileen Brennan) and he looks at her and says, “It’s you and me, honey bunch.” As strait as he says it, that line cracks me up every time! What an amazing cast in this film!

As someone who doesn’t care too much for movie remakes, I was pleasantly surprised at the Addams Family films. I loved Christopher as Uncle Fester. I always felt like the TV show was more comedy than dark comedy. The films were closer to the comic strips and I thought Christopher captured that dark comedy and mischievous aspect of the character in his portrayal of Fester. This is probably because he was a fan of the comic strip and claims to have always read the New Yorker Magazine (where the strip was featured in every issue).

Two of Christopher’s roles were so powerful they scared me! The first being that of Klingon Commander Kluge in the 1984 film Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. He is just so vicious, and over the top in this film. One of my favorite scenes is where one of his crew destroys a ship and he yells that he wanted prisoners. The crew member says it was a lucky shot. At this, his anger boils over and Kluge kills the crewmember. After this, he simply says “Animal.” He really does a great job of showing us how crazy the character is.

The other role that scared me was his role as Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? As much as I hated him throughout the movie, when he snaps and goes nuts at the end, wow! When he is run over by the steamroller you are almost happy! When he melts, you are ecstatic! When an actor makes you hate a character he is playing that much – he’s done it right! He says that people come up to him often and mention how much this character scared them, so I am not alone. He also says that he loves playing villains, because it’s a “license just to be as bad as the script allows you to be”.

There are many other movies that Christopher has played in that you may be familiar with, like The Dream Team, Dennis the Menace (Switchblade Sam is an awesome villain), and My Favorite Martian. He has done so much more that I wish I had been able to see. For example, in 2010, he starred as Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman in a Weston House Production. I can only imagine how well he played this iconic role. In 2008, he played Scrooge in a production of A Christmas Carol with John Goodman and Jane Leeves. WOW – I would LOVE to see him as Scrooge!!!! Many have played Scrooge, and played him well…but I know that Christopher’s interpretation would have been off the charts!

He continues to do voice work (my kids loved him as the Hacker on Cyberchase), television, and movies and is very active on social media. If you don’t already, follow him.

Thanks, Christopher for entertaining so many over the years! You are a treasure!

In Closing

I want to thank the hosts of this blogathon, “Pop Culture Reverie” and “In The Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood”, for allowing me to participate. It was a lot of fun for me to think about these three influential men and their work, and ultimately write about them. I hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.