The Nostalgic Italian would feel terrible if he did not honor the birthday of another Italian. So today, we wish Jasper Cini a Happy Heavenly Birthday. We know him as Al Martino. Al was born on this day in 1927.
Long before his days as a popular singer, he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He was wounded when he took part in the Iwo Jima invasion. In 1949, he won Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts singing a Perry Como song. This is how he got his first recording contract.
Mario Lanza was a family friend of Al’s. Mario was having great success as a singer and Al took notice. Mario, who changed his name from Alfredo Cocozza, encouraged “Jasper” to change his name too. So Jasper became Al Martino.
In 1965 he recorded one of his biggest hits – Spanish Eyes. The song was originally called “Moon Over Naples” which was a song composed by Bert Kaempfert. The song was first recorded by Sergio Franchi and was a Neapolitan song and contained the original lyrics. However, a second set of lyrics were written
Martino said Kaempfert was interested in him recording the song, and sent him a copy of the instrumental version of “Moon Over Naples”, which Martino thought had the potential to be a hit. However, Martino did not like the lyrics of a vocal version he later heard, and told Kaempfert’s publisher so.
Charles Singleton and Eddie Snyder, the original lyricists, were employed to rewrite the lyrics. Martino, satisfied with the new lyrics, contacted Bert to request that he come and help with the recording in New York because he liked the sound of Kaempfert’s recording. Martino recorded the song as “Spanish Eyes”, with Bert also playing on the record.
“Spanish Eyes” was released in the late 1965 in the United States, and it reached number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. It also spent four straight weeks at number 1 on the Billboard Easy Listening Chart.
Welcome back to The Music of My Life, where I feature ten songs from each year of my life. In most cases, the ten songs I choose will be ones I like personally (unless I explain otherwise). The songs will be selected from Billboard’s Year-end Hot 100 Chart, Acclaimed Music, and will all be released in the featured year. I turned three in 1973, so let’s see what music had some influence on me ….
In January of 1973, The Four Tops released their second song on the ABC label. They had left Motown the year before and this song became their biggest post-Motown hit. Ain’t No Woman (Like The One I’ve Got) was originally recorded by Hamilton, Joe Frank, and Reynolds in 1972. It’s hard for me to hear anyone else but Levi Stubbs on the vocal. It reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Ain’t No Woman (Like The One I’ve Got)
In March of 1973, Elvis released one of my favorite live cuts – Steamroller Blues. I did a piece on the song for Tune Tuesday a few months back. You can read that here:
Elvis added the song to his concert set list and this recording was from his Aloha From Hawaii show. It reached #17 on the charts.
Steamroller Blues
In April of 1973, Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan’s song about a music industry party was released by their band The Stealer’s Wheel. “Well, I don’t know why I came here tonight” is the opening line of Stuck in the Middle and it makes you want to hear the rest of the story.
It was a top ten hit for the group, reaching #6 on the charts. The band was surprised at the success of the song, especially since Gerry’s vocal was meant to sound like a funny Bob Dylan. Many people thought it actually was Bob Dylan singing!
Stuck in the Middle
Also released in April of 1973, the last Top 40 hit for a singing barber. This song actually seems out of place on my list, but I have a reason it’s here.
Don McLean wrote And I Love You So for his debut album in 1970. It was the B-side of his single Castles in the Air. Crooner Perry Como used it as the title song for his 1973 album. It would peak at #29 on the charts.
I include it here because when my old morning show partner and I would go out and sing karaoke, he used to sing this one. I had never heard it before then and I loved the lyrics and melody.
And I Love You So
Another great opening line for a song was from Paul Simon. “When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school….” Kodachrome was released in May of 1973. The song was originally written as “Going Home,” but he didn’t think it worked. Kodachrome sounded similar and he went with that.
It has been said that the song is a sort of admiration for all the things that brighten the world. After his lamenting about high school, his world becomes alive with memories.
Kodachrome
Also released in May of 1973, a song that is based on real events and has one of the greatest opening riffs of all time. Smoke on the Water is the story of how Deep Purple was getting to record in a mobile studio they rented from the Rolling Stones. The night before they were set to record, someone fired a flare gun during Frank Zappa’s song King Kong and set the casino venue on fire that destroyed it. Deep Purple watched the fire from their hotel room and the smoke from the fire across the water led to the song’s title.
The opening riff which was written by guitarist Richie Blackmore, was inspired by “an interpretation of inversion” of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. That intro remains something I love hearing, especially in headphones. The guitar riff by itself, then the hi-hat cymbal, snare drum kicks, bass guitar and finally the vocal. SO cool.
The next song has an interesting story. It has it’s origins in a song that I almost picked for my list. From Songfacts.com: In February 1973, Stevenson released the song “Shambala” which was written by the composer Daniel Moore. Two weeks later, Three Dog Night released their version of the song, which became the much bigger hit, charting at US #3 while Stevenson’s version stalled at #66. Stevenson and Moore then got together and re-wrote “Shambala” as “My Maria,” changing the lyrics so the song became an ode to a beautiful woman. The ploy worked, and Stevenson had by far his biggest hit. (It went to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100.)
Brooks and Dunn enjoyed a number one country song with their cover of the song in 1996.
My Maria
Another song that was inspired by real events was from Jim Croce. In 1970, Jim Croce wrote Time in a Bottle the night that he found out his wife, Ingrid, was pregnant. Songfacts.com says: The couple had been married for five years, and Ingrid found out she was pregnant when she went to a fertility specialist. She recalls a mix of terror and delight in Jim’s reaction when she told him the news. The child was a boy named Adrian, who grew up to become the singer-songwriter A.J. Croce.
The song was released in November of 1973, and it hit #1 in America 14 weeks after Croce was killed in a plane crash in September.
For the record, I have never been to a whorehouse. The next song is a classic rock standard about the aforementioned establishment. The boys of ZZ Top based La Grange on John Lee Hooker’s Boogie Chillin’, and there is even a vocal tribute to Hooker as Billy Gibbons sings “Ho Ho Ho Ho!”
Again from Songfacts.com: The place in this song is the subject of the 1982 movie The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, starring Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds, which was adapted from a 1978 Broadway play.In a 1985 interview with Spin magazine, ZZ Top bass player Dusty Hill explained: “Did you ever see the movie, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas? That’s what it’s about. I went there when I was 13. A lot of boys in Texas, when it’s time to be a guy, went there and had it done. Fathers took their sons there.
La Grange
We wrap 1973 with another great classic rock song. “I was cutting a rug down at a place called the Jug with a girl named Linda Lou…” the story begins and right from the get go trouble is brewing! Lynyrd Skynyrd released Gimme Three Steps in November of 1973.
From Songfacts.com: This song is based on a true story. As Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington tells it, lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, who was about 18 at the time, used a fake ID to get in a bar while his younger bandmates Rossington and Allen Collins waited for him in a truck. Van Zant danced with a girl named Linda, whose boyfriend, who was not too happy about it, came up to Ronnie and reached for something in his boot. Figuring he was going for a gun, Van Zant told him: “If you’re going to shoot me it’s going to be in the ass or the elbows… just gimme a few steps and I’ll be gone.” He ran to the truck, and he, Rossington, and Collins wrote this song that night.
This was one of the few songs Skynyrd released as a single. It was their first major-label release, and it didn’t chart, which simply amazes me. It is a song that has truly become a party classic. I think I got more requests for this one than Sweet Home Alabama at weddings. Maybe it wasn’t a hit, but I have certainly heard this a lot throughout my life, and I always sing along!
Gimme Three Steps
That wraps up 1973 for me. Did you have any favorites from that year? Next week, we move on to 1974. See you there!
As the Nostalgic Italian, it only makes sense to feature one of the great Italian American singers on his birthday – Lou Monte. Many people will have no idea who he is until you mention the Christmas song Dominick the Donkey. Yep, he sang that one. Personally, it saddens me that he will be remembered for that one more than his other hits.
Musician Lou Monte recording at a Reprise Recording Session on October 30, 1961 in New York. (Photo by PoPsie Randolph/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
Much of this is taken and adapted from the biography at his official website loumonte.com.
Lou Monte was born as Louis Scaglione today in 1917 He was born in Manhattan, New York. He played the guitar and started singing as a child beginning his professional career as a singer, comedian, and musician as a young man just prior to World War II. After a stretch in the military, Monte settled in Lyndhurst, New Jersey and his first real break came when he had a radio show in Newark, New Jersey. Eventually, Monte was given a television program on that same popular station, WAAT.
Entertainment journalist June Bundy notes, “although Lou had been singing professionally for fifteen years, it wasn’t until he recorded an Italian-English version of “Darktown Strutter’s Ball” at the end of 1953, that he hit the big time.” After that, his records, both comedic and not, sold in the millions. He appeared regularly at many famous nightclubs and, unlike most Italian-American comedians of the era, he was seen frequently on national T.V. At the pinnacle of his popularity, he was promoted in various press releases as “The Godfather of Italian Humor” and “The King of Italian-American Music.”
Here is the 1953 song that Bundy mentions:
The medium of most of Lou Monte’s comedy is song, although his extensive and impressive night club act also contained a good deal of stand- up. Many of his songs were sung, and nightclub acts performed, in English with a liberal interspersing of Italian dialect (of Neapolitan and Calabrian). As one commentator has noted, “He translates American music into Italian and Italian music into English.” As was stated in a past nightclub review, Monte’s “songalog is heavily laden with pizza pieces, including Italo verses of his American numbers with emphasis generally on comedy tunes.” Monte’s appeal to the Italian-American audience can be understood in both emotional and social terms. Emotionally, his humor provided some Italian Americans with a sense of comfort, of one-upmanship, or the sense of being a part of an inside joke, and, socially, of having a slice of their world recognized by others. His appeal to other ethnic groups was based upon their perception that his humor related to their own experiences in associating to American society.
An important theme in Monte’s Italian-American humor is his tendency to Italian-Americanize American history and life. Such a technique served this marginal ethnic group by making it feel a part of America’s early historical development. It also served to heighten a sense of in-group solidarity by the ludicrous layering of Italianicity on things supposedly rock-solid Anglo-Saxon. In one song, he asks the question, “What did Washington say when crossing the Delaware?” The answer: “Fa un’fridd! (It’s cold!).” This bit is a take-off on a joke which was popular in the Italian- American community, although Monte sanitized the coarser punch line.” In this way, he played to the Italian-American audience, knowing its members would enjoy and relate to the reference.” In another example, according to Monte, the name of Paul Revere’s horse was Baccigallup. The hit song, “Please Mr. Columbus” offers yet another of Monte’s unique historical interpretations.
I love Please, Mr. Columbus! I’ve seen many men’s vocal groups perform this on stage, but the song loses something when you lose the “Italian” in it.
A lot of Lou’s music dealt with the common themes of marriage, courtship, sexual relationships, and food. In his food song, “My Rosina – The Menu Song,” the lyrics include: “She is so good looking when she is cooking, what a beautiful sight among the pots and pans.” In collaboration with Ray Allen, Monte wrote, “Who Stole My Provolone?” (sung to the tune of “Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley”) a song parody, making use of the double entendre. Originally, my thought was just to post one song, neither of which I have mentioned yet, but as I read through the biography, I thought I would share the above songs, too.
The song I originally wanted to feature is a song that means a lot to me. When I got married the first time, I wanted to be sure to share a dance with my Italian grandmother. Looking back, I probably should have picked a Dean Martin song, as she loved him, however, I wanted to have some fun. So I chose an Italian Tarantella that was popular at weddings (and is even featured in the wedding scene in the film The Godfather) – Lazy Mary.
The song is a remake of the Italian song “Luna Mezzo Mare.” It tells the tale of a conversation between a young woman who wishes to be married, and her mother. The somewhat risque song mixes English and Italian verses. The two use double entendre to compare the occupations with the sexual appetites of the various suitors. The song goes back to the mid-1800s and the lyrics got a bit raunchier by the end of the century.
Monte’s 1958 version of the song peaked at number 12 on the U.S Pop Singles chart. Believe it or not, it was banned initially by British radio because of the innuendos in the song. That obviously doesn’t bother Americans, as the song has played during the seventh inning stretch at almost every New York Mets home game since the mid-1990s.
Unlike most Italian-American comedians of his time, Lou Monte received much national television exposure on such programs as the Perry Como Show and The Ernie Kovacs Show. Monte’s records sold in the millions. As a matter of fact, Reprise records had its first smash hit with Monte’s “Peppino The Italian Mouse” recording. Monte also made appearances at prominent feasts and festivals it is said that had a role in the comedy hit film, “Robin and the Seven Hoods” (1964), although I cannot find proof of that.
Lou Monte died in Pompano Beach, Florida in June of 1989. The Nostalgic Italian wishes Lou Monte a happy heavenly birthday!!
It has been some time since a “Daily Writing Prompt” moved me enough to use it as a blog idea. Today’s though, was definitely one I could use. The Prompt? “What is your ‘go to’ karaoke song?”
I have to admit, I have sung a lot of karaoke. I did this mainly when I was in my mid 20’s to early 30’s. My friends and I had a couple places that we’d go and sing at. Looking back at it, I have to laugh because they were all dive bars.
I started singing karaoke with my old morning show partner, who actually COULD sing. He had a great voice and often sang ballads from the Great American Song Book. It was always funny because you’d have these people up there singing Johnny Cash, The Rolling Stones, Queen, and Prince. Then he would get up and sing something from Robert Goulet!
At one point, between radio jobs, I actually hosted karaoke, which I thought would be fun, but it really wasn’t. It was then that I realized there were plenty of people who “thought” they could sing, but couldn’t. They come up to you with requests like, “Put some reverb on my voice” or “Pitch the song up or down” or “Give me more volume on my microphone” … It was crazy! These people are up there thinking their Shania Twain or John Lennon or something.
I have never claimed to be a good singer. I have a handful of songs that I can sing and sing them well. I know which songs my voice will never be able to handle. I stick with the ones I know I can do without embarrassing myself. In my repertoire were songs like: The Wonder of You (the Elvis version), Bad Bad Leroy Brown, Bad Case of Loving You (Robert Palmer), The Lady is a Tramp (Sinatra) , Mack The Knife (Bobby Darin), And I Love You So (lol – yes! The Perry Como song!), and That’s Amore (Gotta do some Dean Martin!).
If I had to pick the 3 karaoke songs that people would associate with me, they would be:
#3 – Tutti Fruiti by Little Richard
The reason for this is that back in the day, I used to change the lyrics to this. The lyrics were … well, not clean. People always laughed when I did this, however, today, I couldn’t do that any more. It’s just not who I am. I actually kind of cringe when I think of some of the lyrics I sang.
#2 Delilah – Tom Jones
I’m not going to lie, this was always a hard song to sing. Tom has such a great and powerful voice. The end of this song is tough. The night is fairly high – and you have to hold it for some time. That high and long note was nothing for my old morning show partner. He used to do this song a lot. I am not sure how or why I started singing it, but it became one I was always asked to sing.
#1 – Secret Agent Man – Johnny Rivers
By far, one of my favorite songs to sing, and hence, my “go to” karaoke song. It was always a favorite of mine growing up. The Johnny Rivers single was recorded live (I think at the Whiskey A Go Go). I probably heard my dad play this hundreds of times on his guitar. It has such a great intro and awesome solo. I remember one time I brought a fedora and a trench coat to the place we were singing so I could wear them when I sang this. Yeah, I was quite the dork in my 20’s!
While I loved singing karaoke, eventually it got old. I felt like I was going out and wasting money on alcohol, and being forced to sing the same things every time. There were plenty of other songs I would have loved to try, but the people I was with always made me sing the ones they wanted to hear (“It’s my birthday! You HAVE to sing Bad Case of Loving You!” etc…) The karaoke “scene” just wasn’t were I wanted to be anymore.
If there was karaoke at a work party or back yard BBQ, would I get up and sing today? Yeah, probably, but I would leave the fedora at home!
Sirius XM Radio has a few holiday music channels. They each kind of fall into a category – Country Christmas, Uptempo Holiday favorites, etc… I often find myself listening to the channel they call Holiday Traditions. This channel focuses on songs and artists from the 1940’s through the 1960’s. I hear a lot of my favorite artists on there like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, etc… They also play instrumental favorites, too.
On my way into work this week I noticed they will often play Christmas songs from the Ray Conniff Singers. As kids, I think my folks had two Christmas albums from them. I don’t really recall being a fan of them.
Listening to their version of Frosty the Snowman, I began to think. I wondered why they play so much Ray Conniff, but never play any Christmas songs by another singing group we had on LP – Mitch Miller.
Among the many Christmas albums we had (Johnny Mathis, Perry Como, Bing Crosby), the above Mitch Miller album got a TON of play at our house. If memory serves me right, this album was one that my dad put on when we opened Christmas gifts. Mitch Miller had a TV show in the 1960’s where his singers sang songs and the lyrics were on the screen so viewers could sing along. He had many albums, too. I’m not sure just how many holiday albums, but I know we had that one!
Must Be Santa
Of all the holiday songs on the album, there is one that really stands out from my childhood – Must Be Santa. This song was not on any of the other holiday albums we owned. It was not a song that you ever heard on the radio. It was, in a sense, a Mitch Miller exclusive! As a matter of fact, Mitch was the first to record it, as far as I can tell. He released it in November of 1960.
The song is based on a German drinking song (the Schnitzelbank song) and is a “call and response” song. The lead singer sings a question and the singers answer back (Full Lyrics below).
I remember as kids loving this song. We often sang along with the “answer back” lines. As I grew older and heard the song, I remember noticing something I hadn’t really before. There was one voice that screamed through as they sang “Must be Santa” and it was awful!
It was a piercing voice. It almost sounds like a kid whose voice is changing. I cringe when I hear it now. It always seemed like that voice always sang a second longer that every other voice. Plus It was almost like some sort of fake vibrato in that voice. Give the song a listen in the YouTube video and see if you can’t hear the voice….
Now that I think about it …. maybe that voice is why they don’t play more Mitch Miller on the radio ….
Who’s got a beard that’s long and white? Santa’s got a beard that’s long and white Who comes around on a special night? Santa comes around on a special night
Special Night, beard that’s white
Must be Santa Must be Santa Must be Santa, Santa Claus
Who wears boots and a suit of red? Santa wears boots and a suit of red
Who wears a long cap on his head? Santa wears a long cap on his head
Cap on head, suit that’s red Special night, beard that’s white
Must be Santa Must be Santa Must be Santa, Santa Claus
Who’s got a big red cherry nose? Santa’s got a big red cherry nose
Who laughs this way: “HO HO HO”? Santa laughs this way: “HO HO HO”
HO HO HO, cherry nose Cap on head, suit that’s red Special night, beard that’s white
Must be Santa Must be Santa Must be Santa, Santa Claus
Who very soon will come our way? Santa very soon will come our way
Eight little reindeer pull his sleigh? Santa’s little reindeer pull his sleigh
Reindeer sleigh, come our way HO HO HO, cherry nose Cap on head, suit that’s red Special night, beard that’s white
Must be Santa Must be Santa Must be Santa, Santa Claus
I spent a lot of time in the car with my sons this past weekend. My oldest son asked me if I remembered some of the shows he used to watch as a kid. We began listing the shows he and his brother watched and had many laughs as we remembered specific episodes. This led to us talking about songs from shows. With every song we recalled, the more I thought about the possibility of it being a topic for a blog.
The picture above may be a little misleading. The Beatles cartoons all featured a Beatles song. There were cartoons that were about bands like Josie and the Pussycats, Jabberjaw, Butch Cassidy, The Banana Splits, The Archies, and The Chipmunks. I am not talking about these cartoons. This blog is about songs that were featured in cartoons NOT about bands.
The songs I wrote down are all songs that I remember instantly when I think about these cartoons. They are NOT the theme songs to the cartoons themselves, although many of those theme songs are just awesome. Some of these songs will stem from cartoons my kids watched, while many will be from toons I watched growing up.
I also want to point out that these songs are NOT from movies. Almost every Disney film has 2-5 songs that come from them. Yes, they are animated cartoons, but I am specifically talking about non-movie songs.
Let me start with a classic. In the Bugs Bunny cartoon “Hillbilly Hare”, an innocent square dance becomes a physical brawl between two brothers (thanks to Bugs). This scene and song was something my morning show partner and I talked about on the air one day!
My brother grew up watching Animaniacs. We always laughed that they had a character based on Perry Como, who they called Perry Coma. Anyway, they have a few songs that stand out – one naming all the countries in the world, another naming all the presidents (up to Clinton, if I remember right), and one naming the all the states and their capitals. I wish I had this song to memorize when I was growing up.
There was a season of Scooby Doo where they would play songs during the “chase scenes”. There was always one song that stood out for me. I never knew the name of it until I found it on an album of Scooby Doo songs. It was called “Tell Me, Tell Me”. Remember this one?
My boys watched a lot of SpongeBob Squarepants. There were some episodes that were very funny, and others I found extra annoying. One song from this show that my boys just loved was “Sweet Victory”, which they performed at the “Bubble Bowl”
They weren’t all “Rock” songs, but the Flintstones certainly had a few that stick out to me. Hoagy Carmichael (one of the great songwriters of all time) appeared as himself on the show and sang “Yabba Dabba Doo”, there was the Soft Soap jingle, “Listen to the Rockin’ Bird”, and my favorite – The Bedrock Twitch, sung by Rock Roll (or in this clip, Fred).
There are some who would argue that the best song from the Flintstones came from Pebbles and Bamm Bamm, so here is that one.
There was one song from the Jetsons that I always remember. Judy loves singer Jet Screamer (played by Howie Morris). Elroy’s secret code gets sent into a song writing contest and becomes his next hit record. Remember Eep Opp Ork Ah Ah?
An earworm that drove parents everywhere crazy came from the Ren & Stimpy Show. Time to get Happy Happy with Stinky Wizzleteats…
The Simpson’s has had their share of amazing music in their over 30 years on the air. There have even been albums of just music from the show. There is one little gem that I can’t get enough of – and it is only about 45 seconds long. Homer becomes a Stonecutter and they have their own song! Yes, I often hit repeat when this comes on the iPod.
Ok, technically, this entire cartoon is a song. I have to include it on my list, because, well, it’s my list and I love this! Stan Freberg tells the story of the Three Little Bops with music by Shorty Rogers!
If I had to pick one cartoon that I LOVED watching with my kids, it would be Phineas and Ferb. If you have never seen the show, its just plain fun with a new song in almost every episode. Candace is always trying to bust her brothers (Phineas and Ferb – who make the most out of every single day of summer) while Perry (their pet platypus – who is also a secret agent) tries to save the Tri-State area from the evil scientist Dr. Doofenshmirtz.
There are many songs I could pick from (My Undead Mummy and Me, My Nemesis, My Goody Two Shoes Brother, Busted, S.I.M.P – Squirrels In My Pants, and Perry’s Theme), but I will turn to one of their early episodes for my favorite.
In one episode, Flop Starz, they decide to write a hit song. Their mom explains what a “one hit wonder” is and they are off to write it! The result – Gitchee Gitchee Goo. The song itself has been reviewed by critics who have said that the song could have easily been a hit song!
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 