Tune Tuesday – Happy 50th Anniversary

Today marks the 50th anniversary of (in my humble opinion) the greatest Christmas special of all time. On December 10, 1974 ABC aired The Year Without a Santa Claus for the first time. The plot focused on a fear of every child – Christmas being cancelled and Santa Claus taking the night off.

In 2019, I wrote a piece for The Happy Holidays Blogathon on the special. It goes into much more detail than I will in this blog. It remains one of my most read blogs to date. You can read that piece here:

The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974)

I don’t think anyone would disagree with me when I say that the characters who truly make this special are The Miser Brothers. The Snow Miser and Heat Miser are instantly recognizable to kids who were raised in the mid-70’s and early 80’s. These two also top the list of my favorite characters:

My Top 20 Favorite Christmas Characters

Their songs are the high points of the musical score. It only makes sense that I post those two songs for Tune Tuesday. Here is the great Dick Shawn as Snow Miser and George S. Irving as Heat Miser! After the video, read on for more 50th anniversary info.

My friend, Rick Goldschmidt, is the official Rankin/Bass Productions historian/biographer and has authored many books on their specials. This year, in celebration of the 50th anniversary, he has put out a book on The Year Without a Santa Claus (and the Night Before Christmas). It can be bought here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MISERBROS

You can learn more about him at his blog: https://enchantedworldofrankinbass.blogspot.com/

He was nice enough to even sign my copy!

The Year Without a Santa Claus is something I will watch every year. I will sing along with the Miser Brothers, cry at Blue Christmas, and (spoiler) rejoice that Santa decides to NOT take the day off.

Tune Tuesday – Blue Christmas

56 years ago today, NBC aired Elvis Presley’s 1968 Comeback Special. This was HUGE! Elvis hadn’t appeared live in about seven years because he was busy doing movies. Naturally, it topped the ratings!

The special was originally going to be a Christmas special. The special’s director didn’t think that would peak the interests of young people at the time. Instead, the special included a sit-down session that showcased Elvis in an informal setting, surrounded by fans and a small band.

The special was recorded in June of 1968, and despite it not being a Christmas special, it did include one of his biggest Christmas songs – Blue Christmas. Now I could easily play the Elvis version of the song that was a hit, or the new arrangement with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, or even the full 1968 Comeback version for you, but I decided not to.

What I want to play for you is the 1968 Comeback version with a twist. What would it have sounded like if a special guest joined Elvis in a duet of his famous hit? Well, Martina McBride (thanks to a green screen and modern technology) does just that. Check this out:

I LOVE THIS!

Just for fun, here is a behind the scenes video of how it was done…

Prior to this cut, an Elvis Christmas Duets album was released. Martina sings this with him on that album, but it is the “hit version” arrangement. Here is that, just because:

Tune Tuesday – A Pixar Classic

Robert Goulet was born on this day in 1933. He was one of those entertainers who seemed to do everything. He was cast as Sir Lancelot in the 1960 production of Camelot, which costarred Richard Burton and Julie Andrews. It was in that role that he sang If Ever I Would Leave You, which became his signature song. (In 1993, he would star in the revival of Camelot as King Arthur.)

In 1962, he began a recording career on Columbia Records. In his lifetime, he would record over 60 best selling albums!

Not everyone was a fan of Goulet. In 1974, he appeared on the Mike Douglas Show. Elvis Presley was watching that show from his suite at the Las Vegas International Hotel. He was so annoyed and irritated by Goulet’s performance that he shot the television set!!

He had his share of television roles, too. In 1966, he starred in Blue Light, as a journalist. He also starred in the Emmy winning show, Brigadoon. He has memorable guest starring roles on The Lucy Show, Alice, Mission: Impossible, Love Boat and Fantasy Island.

His movie roles include 1980’s Atlantic City, Beetlejuice, Scrooged, and the first sequel in the Naked Gun series. Goulet played a fantastic villain in Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear named Quentin Hapsburg.

Because it is Robert Goulet, I have to share how he “ends up” in that movie. It is one of my favorite scenes…

I cannot tell you how many times I have seen the Toy Story movies. My kids loved them. In Toy Story 2, Robert Goulet did not have a character with speaking lines in the film. However, he did provide the singing voice for Wheezy, the Penguin.

You’ve Got a Friend In Me will forever be connected with the Toy Story films. Personally, the Randy Newman version is just “ok.” The version that I absolutely love is the “Wheezy Version” that plays at the finale of Toy Story 2! Goulet’s swingin’ take on the song is just plain fun! The swinging arrangement is something that could have easily been a Sinatra chart!

Happy Birthday to Robert Goulet!

Tune Tuesday – Must Be Doin’ Something Right

Happy 51st Birthday to country singer Billy Currington! Billy was one of those artists who got lots of airplay when I was working in country radio. He hit the scene in 2003 with the serious debut single, “Walk a Little Straighter, Daddy.” The song was written about his alcoholic stepfather, and the chorus of the song was something he wrote when he was 12 years old.

He has released seven studio albums, and had eleven number one songs. He’s had some fun songs like “Pretty Good at Drinking Beer,” “People are Crazy,” and “Drinkin’ Town with a Football Problem.” Then there are the sultry songs like “Don’t,” and great loves songs like, “Must Be Doin’ Something Right.”

“Must Be Doin’ Something Right” was a song that struck a chord when it hit my desk in 2005. The first line is “A woman is a mystery a man just can’t understand.” If that didn’t hit home for all men who have ever been in a relationship, I don’t know what will!

It took me a very long time and a lot of relationships to get where I am today. Believe me, all I wanted to do was “get it right!” I always felt bad whenever I did something to upset my gal. I hated to disappoint her. I always wanted things to go perfectly, but they rarely did. With every break up, I couldn’t help but wonder what I did that led to it.

I could relate to exactly what Billy is singing in this song, and when he gets to the chorus, I rejoiced for him. He say, “I must be doin’ something right …” and explains why. As a guy, I was like, “Atta boy! Keep it up!!”

It is a great love song. Yet, even though things are going great, he still (like most guys) has no idea what he is doing to deserve this happiness. “Don’t know what I did to earn a love like this, but, baby, I must be doin’ somethin’ right!”

I had the chance to meet Billy a couple times and he is one of the nicest guys. He’s real down to earth and one of those guys you’d like to just hang out and watch football with.

Happy Birthday, Billy!

Tune Tuesday – Doom and Gloom

If you made a list of bands that helped define the 60’s and 70’s, the Rolling Stones would surely be on that list. From the moment they hit the scene, they continued to make records and tour and did so for decades afterward.

On this day in 2012, they released GRRR! another hits compilation album. It was intended to commemorate the band’s 50th anniversary. The album features two new songs titled One More Shot and Doom and Gloom. Both new songs were released as singles.

When Doom and Gloom was recorded, it marked the first time that Mick Jagger, Ronnie Wood, Charlie Watts, and Keith Richards had been in the studio together for seven years, since 2005. It didn’t exactly burn up the charts, but it did do well in some parts of the world.

Despite poor chart performance, Billboard magazine named “Doom and Gloom” the eighteenth best song of 2012.

In an interview with Esquire magazine Keith Richards said this was laid down very quickly. “I don’t think the Stones have ever cut a track so fast,” he said. “It was like three takes and – boom! We were like looking at each other and going, ‘Got anything else?’ It was amazingly quick. The Stones are amazing that way, their chemistry and their energy when they get together. The hard bit with the Stones is getting them together.”

He went on to say, “At first I said, Hey Mick, ‘Doom and Gloom’ is a kind of weird title for a 50-year celebration, you know? But you know what the Stones are like, it’s always against the grain. But he came up with it and it’s a great track and a really quite ‘funny’ song, actually – there are some great lyrics.”

For me, this sounds like a classic Stones song. Jagger is actually playing the guitar lick on it.

Tune Tuesday

Today we feature Leonard Franklin Sly’s music on Tune Tuesday. Who, you ask? Well, perhaps you remember him as “The King of the Cowboys,” Roy Rogers. He was born on this day in 1911.

He was one of the founders of the country western group, The Sons of the Pioneers. He would go on to become one of the most popular cowboys in America!

Wiki says, “He appeared in almost 90 motion pictures, as well as numerous episodes of his self-titled radio program that lasted for nine years. Between 1951 and 1957, he hosted the Roy Rogers Show on TV with his wife Dale Evans, horse Trigger, and dog Bullet. “

He was so popular that my blogger friend Randy’s favorite toys were his Roy Rogers action figures! (https://nostalgicitalian.com/2024/10/21/share-your-nostalgia-2/)

Randy’s write up reminded me of a 1991 song that Roy had with Clint Black. It was called “Hold On Partner.”

I had totally forgotten about it. I do remember playing it off of a vinyl 45 when I lived on the west side of the state. It had to be cool for Roy to be on the radio again. It’s a shame that the song never cracked the Top 40. It topped out at #42.

The video for the song is shot in black and white and is fun to watch.

Bonus track:

Roy and the Sons of the Pioneers had a song on the Smokey and the Bandit II soundtrack. It was called, “Ride Concrete Cowboy, Ride.”

Happy 113th birthday, Roy!!

Tune Tuesday

On this day in 1903, Jerome “Curly” Howard was born. He was a man who made – and continues to make – millions of people laugh! He is considered by many, myself included, to be a comedic genius. He, of course, is remembered for his role as the “third stooge” in the Three Stooges comedy team. He is easily remembered as the most popular, and favorite stooge.

His brother Moe was the leader and often delivered slaps and konks on the head with various instruments. Larry was the stooge in the middle and often overshadowed by the other two. Curly was a whirlwind! He was a ball of energy. He was a childlike force of physical comedy! He commands every scene he is in! Whether he is a “victim of coicumstances”, barking like a dog, “woo woo wooing”, or giving his standard “N’yuk, n’yuk, n’yuking”, he has rightfully earned a place in comedy history.

Ted Okuda and Edward Watz’s book, The Columbia Comedy Shorts, puts Curly’s appeal and legacy in critical perspective:

Few comics have come close to equaling the pure energy and genuine sense of fun Curly was able to project. He was merriment personified, a creature of frantic action whose only concern was to satisfy his immediate cravings. Allowing his emotions to dominate, and making no attempt whatsoever to hide his true feelings, he would chuckle self-indulgently at his own cleverness. When confronted with a problem, he would grunt, slap his face, and tackle the obstacle with all the tenacity of a six-year-old child.

Curly’s legend far outlived him when the otherwise-obscure country-pop Jump ‘n the Saddle Band scored one of the biggest novelty hits of the 1980s with their 1983 single, “The Curly Shuffle.” The video featured some of Curly’s best scenes. One band member claimed they had watched hundreds of hours’ worth of Three Stooges films to find the right clips.

In honor of his birthday, here is The Curly Shuffle

Tune Tuesday -The Untouchables

65 years ago today, The Untouchables premiered on ABC TV starring Robert Stack as Eliot Ness.

The show fictionalized the experiences of Eliot Ness as a Prohibition agent fighting crime in Chicago in the 1930s. Ness does this with the help of a special team of agents. He handpicked them for their courage, moral character and incorruptibility. This team was nicknamed The Untouchables.

The show had one of my favorite theme songs. It was composed by the great Nelson Riddle. In a biography of Riddle (written by Peter Levinson) it says that the theme song “was one of the most fitting and identifiable weekly television themes ever written.”

When the show won four Emmy Awards, Capitol Records decided to put out an album of music from the show.

The liner notes from the album describe Riddle’s effort as: “tabloid-headline music that evokes and reports on a bygone era of irresistible appeal,” including several tracks devoted “to the vintage jazz that punctuated the gunfire.”

I always loved this tune!

Tune Tuesday – International Coffee Day

Welcome to October! Every First of October the world celebrates International Coffee Day.

As a life long coffee drinker, this is the perfect day to offer up a tune or two about my blessed “bean water!”. There are a lot of songs about coffee, but today I will share my top 3.

Frank Sinatra was not known for his novelty songs, but he did record one or two. The Coffee Song pokes fun at they drink a lot in Brazil because no other drink is available.

Many covers of the song are out there, too. Louis Prima, Rosemary Clooney and even the Muppets covered that song.

—

Black Coffee is another song that has many covers. It was first recorded in 1949 by Sarah Vaughn. Peggy Lee was next to cover it as well as Ray Charles, Bobby Darin, Julie London and kd Lang.

The most popular version of the song is probably by Ella Fitzgerald. She really can sing this one

The Java Jive was done by the ink Spots. It was first written in 1940. It was first recorded by the Ink Spots, and The Manhattan Transfer did a great cover. I am partial to the Ink Spots, but the Transfer:a version is better sound quality

Whether you percolate your coffee, use a Keurig, or simply use a drip coffee machine, grab a hot cup of Joe today and celebrate with the world?!

Tune Tuesday – September Song

43 years ago today, I experienced the loss of a loved one for the first time. I was 11 years old when my maternal grandfather passed away after having a heart attack while on a business trip.

My grandparents had a trailer that they purchased up in Caseville, Michigan and we spent a lot of time up there in the summer. In September, we’d go up and they’d get ready to lock it up for the winter. I remember those days as being very chilly. When I would come back inside, my glasses would fog up.

At the trailer the first year they had it, they didn’t have a TV right away. So we had a radio to listen to. I don’t remember there being many stations, and that was probably the reason they had many albums on cassette.

The two that seemed to get the most play were Johnny Paycheck’s Greatest Hits Volume 2 and Willie Nelson’s Stardust. My grandpa loved that Willie album and once said that September Song was his favorite on the album.

When he passed away in September, the song and the album began to mean a whole lot more to me. I’d like to think that him and my grandma share heavenly dances to September Song today. I sure do miss them both.

Dancing in our basement at my first communion party.

The Stardust album is in my top five albums of all time. In honor of my Grandpa, here is Willie Nelson’s version …