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.
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. “
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.”
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
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.”
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.
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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?!
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.
Grandpa and me
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.
Grandpa and Grandma
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 …
101 years ago today, the “Hillbilly Shakespeare” was born. I am, of course, talking about Hank Williams Sr.
Hank is regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century. He certainly was a prolific songwriter. He wrote (or co-wrote) 167 songs in his 29 years of life.
Of those songs, 55 singles reached the top 10 on the Billboard Country and Western Best Sellers chart. Five of those were released after his death and 12 of them hit number one.
The Country Music Hall of Fame has said that Hank “set the agenda for contemporary country songcraft” and the “standard by which success is measured in country music”. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame says that the “straightforward approach” of Williams’ songs, which they deemed “brutally honest” and written in the “language of the everyman”. That is some high praise for the entertainer.
Hank, the man, is another story.
From Entertainment Weekly’s TV critic, Ken Tucker: “despite being a pop-culture titan and rightly dubbed “father of country music”, Hank Williams was possibly the least likable — least warm and sympathetic — figure in modern music. Reeking of self-pity, he wrote and sang some of the greatest woe-is-me music of the century […] Brimming with an anger that regularly spilled over into misogyny, Williams was also a master of spite”.
Even Hank Jr. concurs. In his autobiography he says: “To hear the tributes, one would think that the entire city [Nashville] took turns kissing Daddy while he was still alive. […] While he was alive, he was despised and envied; after he died, he was some kind of saint.”
How do you pick one song when you have songs like Your Cheating Heart, Lovesick Blues, Cold Cold Heart, Mind Your Own Business, Move It On Over, and I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry to choose from?! It was difficult, but I opted to go with one of my favorites – Tear In My Beer.
The original version was written by Hank Williams during one of his Nashville recording sessions in the early 50’s. Hank’s producer was Fred Rose, and he was opposed to mentioning alcohol in songs. Big Bill Lister recorded it first.
Lister, who opened show dates for Williams for a time, needed a drinking song, and Hank gave him the demo he had recorded. Lister recorded it and released it in 1952 on the Capitol label. Lister gave the demo to Wiliams’ son more than 40 years later.
In 1988, Hank Williams Jr. recorded a version that is a duet with his father. It was created using electronic merging technology. The demo had been recorded with Williams playing the guitar as the sole instrument, his son and his band simply “filled in the blanks” and recorded additional vocals. The music video for the song combined television footage that had existed of Hank Williams performing, onto which also used electronic merging technology, impressed the recordings of Hank Jr., which then made it appear as if he were playing with his father. The video was both a critical and commercial success, and was named Video Of The Year by both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country music.
It was on this day in 1993 that we were told “The truth is out there,” as the X-Files debuted on Fox Television. It starred David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. They are FBI agents who investigate the eponymous “X-Files”: marginalized, unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena.
The theme song, entitled “Materia Primoris,” perfectly conveys the mysterious themes of the show. It is often just called “Theme from the X-Files” and it was written and produced by American film and television composer Mark Snow.
The composition was released as a single in 1996 and achieved chart success, particularly in France, where it reached number one. Believe it or not, it has been covered by many artists and has quite a few remixes.
Mark Snow created the echo effect for the song by accident. Snow said that he had gone through several revisions, but Chris Carter felt that something was not quite right. Carter walked out of the room and Snow put his hand and forearm on his keyboard in frustration. Snow said, “this sound was in the keyboard. And that was it.”
The whistle melody comes from an old sample from the Proteus line of synth products called “Whistling Joe” and the whistling of Snow’s wife, Glynn.
Today is Sarah Chalke’s 48th birthday. She is probably best known as the “second” Becky Connor on the sitcom Roseanne. She also appeared on How I Met Your Mother, Firefly Lane on Netflix, Cougar Town and many appearances doing voice over work. I, however, loved her as Dr. Elliot Reed on the comedy Scrubs.
Scrubs was one of a few shows that made me laugh out loud. It had a great ensemble cast and had characters with well defined personalities that led to great comedy scenarios.
She would be a cast member for all nine seasons until the series ended its run in 2010. The theme song to the show showed a quick montage of the docs looking at charts while walking and finally throwing an X-ray up to show the show’s title. It takes like 12 seconds.
I was surprised to learn that there is a full version of the song. It can be found on the soundtrack for the show and it is done by Lazlo Bane.
According to songfacts.com, Zach Braff actually wanted the song as the theme song to the show:
“The guys were reluctant when Braff pitched the theme song idea. Frontman Chad Fischer recalled on the band’s MySpace page: “At first I said, ‘Over my dead body, bitch! The Bane will never, ever sell out to those corporate whores! We would rather die in cold dirty ditches than pimp our masterpiece to the corporate machine!’ But Zach had been a Lazlo fan for a while, and he had all the cool Lazlo Bane T-shirts and hats. So then I said, ‘You bet!’ Zach pushed to get the song on the show, and we were thrilled.”
Again, from songfacts.com:
Lazlo Bane bassist Chris Link thought the song was a good fit for the comedy-drama series, which follows a group of medical interns trying to cope with their tough career path through humor and fantasy. He explained: “The song is our way of saying there are certain things in life that are more important that the fast-paced job and the race for achievement that everybody gets caught up in from time to time things like a bag of crunchy Cheetos on the ride home from seeing your buds. Or, cranking your favorite song in the car and wondering how loud it is for the people outside. And that seems to be what the show is all about.”
Zach Braff directed the video for the song. Check it out. Happy birthday, Sarah Chalke!
Scrubs Theme – I’m No Superman
Out the door just in time Head down the 405 Gotta meet the new boss by eight am
The phone rings in the car The wife is working hard She’s running late tonight again
Well, I know what I’ve been told You’ve got to work to feed the soul But I can’t do this all on my own No, I know I’m no Superman I’m no Superman
And you’ve got your love online And you think you’re doing fine But you’re just pluged into the wall
And that deck of Tarot cards Won’t get you very far There ain’t no hand to break your fall
Well, I know what I’ve been told You’ve got to know just when to fold But I can’t do this all on my own No, I know I’m no Superman I’m no Superman (that’s right)
You’ve crossed the finish line Won the race but lost your mind Was it worth it, after all
I need you here with me Cause love is all we need Just take a hold of the hand that breaks the fall
Well I know what I’ve been told You’ve to break free to break the mold But I can’t do this all on my own No, I can’t do this all on my own I know, that I’m no Superman I’m no Superman I’m no Superman
Someday we’ll be together I’m no Superman Someday Someday we’ll be together Someday I’m no Superman
Today is the 76th birthday of a legend who quit his training as a chartered accountant immerse himself in the England Midlands blues scene. One can only imagine the classics we would have missed out on had the great Robert Plant continued to work with numbers!
Plant, of course, rose to fame as the vocalist and songwriter of the classic rock band Led Zeppelin. I had my share of Zeppelin songs I could have posted today. The Immigrant Song, Whole Lotta Love, Black Dog, Kashmir, When the Levee Breaks, All My Love, Good Times Bad Times, Rock and Roll, and Stairway to Heaven – just to name a few! However, I decided to go with a song that may be totally unknown to many readers.
After Zeppelin broke up, Plant recorded as mainly as a solo artist. In 2007, he teamed up with one of the greatest voices in country music, Alison Krauss, to record a critically acclaimed album entitled Raising Sand. The album itself stands out as an exceptional work of art. It would go on to win Album of the Year in 2008 at the Americana Music and Honors Awards and at the Grammy Awards.
Allmusic called it “one of the most effortless-sounding pairings in modern popular music,” JamBase called it “subtle, focused and full of life,” and the Village Voice in New York called it “powerfully evocative” and “utterly foreign, oddly familiar, and deeply gratifying.” Critics praised Krauss and Plant’s vocals; one critic saying that the “key to the magic is the delicious harmony vocals of the unlikely duo.”
One of my favorite cuts is Please Read The Letter. Fans of Robert Plant may know this song because it was written by Plant and Jimmy Page and recorded back in 1998 for their Walking Into Clarksdale album (They recorded it as Page and Plant). Plant said of the song in an interview that it is a song about yearning for someone, adding that the lyrics are about “unfinished business.”
I read where one critic said that the Plant/Krauss version was a HUGE step up from the original. I truly agree. There is something about the way their voices blend together on this song and on the album that is worth checking out. Give it a listen and tell me what you think…
Please Read The Letter
Caught out running with just a little too much to hide Maybe baby, everything’s gonna turn out fine Please read the letter, I nailed it to your door It’s crazy how it all turned out we needed so much more
Too late, too late a fool could read the signs Maybe baby, you’d better check between the lines Please read the letter, I wrote it in my sleep With help and consultation from the angels of the deep
Please read the letter that I wrote Please read the letter that I wrote
Once I took beside a well of many words My house is full of rings, and charms, and pretty birds Please understand me, my walls came falling down There’s nothing here that’s left for you But check with lost and found
Please read the letter that I wrote Please read the letter that I wrote Please read the letter that I wrote, oh
One more song just before we go Remember baby, you gotta reap just what you sow Please read my letter and promise me you’ll keep The secrets and the memories we cherish in the deep Please read the letter, I nailed it to your door It’s crazy how it all turned out we needed so much more
Please read the letter that I wrote Please read the letter that I wrote Please read the letter that I wrote Please read the letter that I wrote
Oh no, oh, oh no
Please read the letter Please read the letter Please read the letter
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 