This is as close to a live blog as anything I have done in this project.
I was driving home from the Feb. 22 Mavericks game when my phone battery went dead. I have been recording my impressions almost exclusively on my Samsung Galaxy S4. (An endorsement possibility?) I partially charged the battery a couple of times Sunday, but I took it off the charger when we went to the movies in the afternoon and again in the evening while I was in the media room at American Airlines Center. So it didn't get fully charged, or even half charged.
Then after I got home, a glass of wine was spilled on the chair, the carpet and my sweater, so I lost some time and some ideas about what I wanted to say.
I did remember most of the information about the last three songs I heard, which were from the iHeart Radio Top 20 for this very week from KIIS-FM, which is Sirius XM Channel 11. I'm not sure it's just a Top 20 because it's very exclusive or (as I fear) there aren't enough good songs to go around. The guest hosts were Imagine Dragons, and I'm pretty sure there "Radioactive" wasn't part of the survey.
Maroon 5?, "I Lived", 2015 or maybe '14. This is No. 20. I have recorded observations about this song at least once. Not sure when I'll catch up with those observations on the blog thread. I think this was about 4,600. It's a fairly good song, and it doesn't have the unrelated unibeat of most current songs.
One Direction, I believe it's "Night Changes", also '14 or '15. I'm pretty sure I've commented on this one too. Tonight it came in for me at 4,650.
Imagine Dragons, "Radioactive", '14. My recollection of what I wanted to say about this one (or it might have been "Night Changes") is that it has the characteristic steady beat. It's so steady that it doesn't even change when the song goes in different directions. So I'll take away some points because the tempo doesn't vary, but add some for having a different approach. 4,675.
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Monday, February 9, 2015
Bridging the gap to rock music
Voice recording #253, Jan. 7.
Bill Haley and His Comets, "Dim Dim the Lights (I Want Some Atmosphere)", probably early '50s. This was not so much rock as jazz. He used horns instead of guitars. It wasn't very good. 4,900.
Big Dee Irwin, "Swingin' on a Star", year? This song goes back at least to the '40s, when it was a No. 1 hit for Frank Sinatra. I'm pretty sure there was another incarnation during the '50s and probably some since. It's a bit of a novelty song. Above all, it's a happy song. 4,600.
Bobby Vee, "Take Good Care of My Baby", late '50s. Instead of being a song about unrequited love, this one is post-requited. He's asking the guy who snaked away his girlfriend to send her back because the snake doesn't really love her the way Bobby does. There was a time when I thought Bobby Vee was the same guy as Bobby Vinton. 4,350.
Accents, "Wiggle Wiggle", year? A weird song. 4,950.
The Coasters, "Poison Ivy", late '50s. It was probably about the time when I had a case of poison ivy practically from head to toe after crawling around a cliff bank on Seneca Lake. I remember my eyes were swollen almost shut and I missed sixth-grade classes for more than a week. Another story at the time was about a school bus ride when the guys were poking fun at a girl with two syllables in her first and last name with lewd (for the '50s) lyrics about her to the tune of "Poison Ivy". Movies also have featured a Poison Ivy character, in the Poison Ivy (Drew Barrymore/Alyssa Milano/Jaime Pressly/Miriam McDonald) and Batman (Uma Thurman) franchises. Another joke/parody song by The Coasters was "Charlie Brown". They were an early rock band with guitars and drums. Not a lot of imagination, but they kept a good beat. 4,550.
Phil Phillips, "Sea of Love", year? I don't believe Phillips is related to Phillip Phillips, who had some post-"American Idol" success two generations later. This one is kind of doo-wop underneath the melody. Not a bad song. 4,500.
Jimmie Rodgers, "Bimbombay", year? He also had hits in the late '50s and early '60s. This was not his best. But it does have lyrics that are similar to the song about the woman who swallowed a fly, and I don't know why she swallowed that fly. "There's a girl in the house on the hill on the way to Bimbombay." It also has nonsense syllables: "Jing-a-ling-a-lie-ay." It is a bit of a toe-tapper. I said 4,800 at the time, but I hadn't turned off the recorder at the time, and I did get into the toe-tapping mode when I heard it again. So, 4,700.
Roy Orbison, "Crying", year? The thing about Crying" is that there's great power both in his singing and the background orchestra. It builds to a crescendo. 3,500 or higher.
Buddy Holly, "Think It Over", year? I appreciate what Buddy meant to at least a generation of music makers who followed him with some great songs. This one must have been from his early years. It doesn't have much rock inspiration. I don't remember hearing it from anyone else. It has a boogie-woogie piano in the background. 4,800.
The Times, "Somewhere", sometime in the mid-'50s. This has a simple melody and rhythm laid out on piano and drums with what sounds like finger snapping. 4,850.
Elvis Presley, "(Now and Then) There's a Fool Such As I", year? Elvis shows some vocal range, there are deep bass voices in the background, some of the time is kept by hand clapping and foot tapping rather than the finger snapping of the previous song. Elvis is pretty dramatic with it. 3,900.
James Darren, "Goodbye Cruel World", year? Not Bobby Darin, but James Darren. This can go on the listing of songs about clowns or the circus because the singer is going to go off and join the circus because he's having trouble with his girlfriend. The song was fairly popular at the time. It includes some circus-type calliope music. 4,400.
Brenda Lee, "All Alone Am I", 1962? It's a power ballad. She has some keyboard that sounds like a harpsichord, a lot of power in her voice, changing tempos, pretty dramatic. I just bought gas for $1.719, and filled the tank for $17.52. That was nice. 4,500.
Bill Haley and His Comets, "Dim Dim the Lights (I Want Some Atmosphere)", probably early '50s. This was not so much rock as jazz. He used horns instead of guitars. It wasn't very good. 4,900.
Big Dee Irwin, "Swingin' on a Star", year? This song goes back at least to the '40s, when it was a No. 1 hit for Frank Sinatra. I'm pretty sure there was another incarnation during the '50s and probably some since. It's a bit of a novelty song. Above all, it's a happy song. 4,600.
Bobby Vee, "Take Good Care of My Baby", late '50s. Instead of being a song about unrequited love, this one is post-requited. He's asking the guy who snaked away his girlfriend to send her back because the snake doesn't really love her the way Bobby does. There was a time when I thought Bobby Vee was the same guy as Bobby Vinton. 4,350.
Accents, "Wiggle Wiggle", year? A weird song. 4,950.
The Coasters, "Poison Ivy", late '50s. It was probably about the time when I had a case of poison ivy practically from head to toe after crawling around a cliff bank on Seneca Lake. I remember my eyes were swollen almost shut and I missed sixth-grade classes for more than a week. Another story at the time was about a school bus ride when the guys were poking fun at a girl with two syllables in her first and last name with lewd (for the '50s) lyrics about her to the tune of "Poison Ivy". Movies also have featured a Poison Ivy character, in the Poison Ivy (Drew Barrymore/Alyssa Milano/Jaime Pressly/Miriam McDonald) and Batman (Uma Thurman) franchises. Another joke/parody song by The Coasters was "Charlie Brown". They were an early rock band with guitars and drums. Not a lot of imagination, but they kept a good beat. 4,550.
Phil Phillips, "Sea of Love", year? I don't believe Phillips is related to Phillip Phillips, who had some post-"American Idol" success two generations later. This one is kind of doo-wop underneath the melody. Not a bad song. 4,500.
Jimmie Rodgers, "Bimbombay", year? He also had hits in the late '50s and early '60s. This was not his best. But it does have lyrics that are similar to the song about the woman who swallowed a fly, and I don't know why she swallowed that fly. "There's a girl in the house on the hill on the way to Bimbombay." It also has nonsense syllables: "Jing-a-ling-a-lie-ay." It is a bit of a toe-tapper. I said 4,800 at the time, but I hadn't turned off the recorder at the time, and I did get into the toe-tapping mode when I heard it again. So, 4,700.
Roy Orbison, "Crying", year? The thing about Crying" is that there's great power both in his singing and the background orchestra. It builds to a crescendo. 3,500 or higher.
Buddy Holly, "Think It Over", year? I appreciate what Buddy meant to at least a generation of music makers who followed him with some great songs. This one must have been from his early years. It doesn't have much rock inspiration. I don't remember hearing it from anyone else. It has a boogie-woogie piano in the background. 4,800.
The Times, "Somewhere", sometime in the mid-'50s. This has a simple melody and rhythm laid out on piano and drums with what sounds like finger snapping. 4,850.
Elvis Presley, "(Now and Then) There's a Fool Such As I", year? Elvis shows some vocal range, there are deep bass voices in the background, some of the time is kept by hand clapping and foot tapping rather than the finger snapping of the previous song. Elvis is pretty dramatic with it. 3,900.
James Darren, "Goodbye Cruel World", year? Not Bobby Darin, but James Darren. This can go on the listing of songs about clowns or the circus because the singer is going to go off and join the circus because he's having trouble with his girlfriend. The song was fairly popular at the time. It includes some circus-type calliope music. 4,400.
Brenda Lee, "All Alone Am I", 1962? It's a power ballad. She has some keyboard that sounds like a harpsichord, a lot of power in her voice, changing tempos, pretty dramatic. I just bought gas for $1.719, and filled the tank for $17.52. That was nice. 4,500.
Where it started for me
Voice recording #249 from Jan. 6, on Sirius Channel 5.
The Essex, "Easier Said Than Done", 1956. The Essex were a trend setter in that they copied baseball's Sox by becoming perhaps the first musical group whose name didn't end in S. This was a pretty good song. It has some changes in tempo. One of the better '50s songs, but I couldn't understand what I said for a score.
Gene Vincent, "Lotta Lovin'", '58. 4,850.
Roy Hamilton, "You Can Have Her", no year listed. It's unusual in that the backup singers sound like a church choir, so there's a gospel feel. The singer doesn't want his wife or girlfriend anymore, so you can have her. 4,825.
Bill Haley and His Comets, "Mambo Rock", year? This is considered the original rock 'n' roll group, but this is not among their best. Part of it sounds like a later song, "Mambo Italiano", and it has what sounds like electric guitar picking. So it had some groundbreaking elements. This song did not create a dance craze, in the manner of the Twist or the Macarena. 4,810.
Ben E. King, "Stand by Me", late '50s. This song was revived 20-30 years later when the movie "Stand by Me" came out. The movie is supposed to be set in 1959, but imdb.com notes that there are a lot of anachronisms in it. I noticed the first time I saw it that a 1960 Topps baseball card was on the bulletin board of Will Wheaton's character's brother, who died in '59. Good movie, though, and good song. Good beat, good percussion. 4,100.
On most of these for the '50s I might be splitting hairs at the lower 4,000s among songs that might not even make the final 5,000.
I'm just about finished with the final entries in the database, at least for song names, artists and where they fit in their own year's Top 100. I still need to add information as we go along. I have more than 6,000 listed, so obviously they all couldn't make the top 5,000, and I'll be adding other songs that weren't in any year's Top 100 but still deserve mention. Songs that I like, mostly.
Lou Christie, "Two Faces Have I" from the late '50s. The late '50s into the early '60s was one of the best eras for falsetto singing, and Lou had his best in "Lightning Strikes". This was a good one too, in the same style: "One to laugh, and one to cry. Ah-Ahk." 4,350.
Larry Williams, "Dizzy Miss Lizzie", year? He had a fair number of hits in the '50s, with some early rock. His singing has a Little Richard feel. One that I couldn't remember or didn't remember who did it was by Larry Williams. (I forget which one as I write this.) 4,700.
The Schoolboys, "Please Say You Want Me Again", year? This one is painfully slow. There is some kind of chorus/background singers, but nothing really to commend this one. 4,950.
The Crickets with Buddy Holly, "Oh Boy", year? This is one of the many Buddy Holly songs that was covered by British groups. However, it wasn't Holly but Sonny West who wrote and first performed this song and "Rave On". "Oh Boy" has a lot of guitar, moves quickly and is forward-looking for its time even though the guitar play is simple in comparison to what we now expect. Buddy Holly also did things with his voice -- "ah-uh-ho" -- that almost added another instrument. 3,950.
Bonnie? Sisters, "Cry Baby", sounds like fairly early '50s. I'm imaging that this song would have been sung in jazz clubs. The sisters were pretty much drowned out by the saxophones and percussion. 4,975.
The Caravelles, "You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry", year? This has in common with "Cry Baby" the words "cry" and "baby", and probably a similar time frame. Mid-'50s? The lead singer has a nice voice -- high, very breathy, but hard to pick up over the little bit of drumming and cymbals. That probably points out the fairly primitive sound engineering of the time. There probably weren't many microphones, if even more than one, and there might have been one by the drums. And of course they didn't have today's digital equipment to remix. 4,850.
Thurston Harris, "Little Bitty Pretty One", late '50s? The song moves pretty well. 4,450.
I remember the songs from the late '50s. My late sister Carolee was 3 years older, so I remember some of her records and songs she would listen to on the radio. Pat Boone was her favorite. She also had records by Guy Mitchell and Jim Lowe's "Green Door". I got my first radio for Christmas in 1958, about 6 weeks before The Day the Music Died. I remember very distinctly listening to the radio the next day, which was pretty much 24/7 talking about Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. To my 10-year-old mind, that was very significant. Looking back, I guess that was akin to listening to a weekend sports-talk announcer a couple of years out of college saying that one of today's quarterbacks must be the greatest ever without regard for, or possibly even any knowledge of, Johnny Unitas or Joe Montana. My musical starting frame of reference was really the late '50s.
Kalin? Twins, "When", year? I will say that these '50s songs tend to be even shorter than those today or even a decade or two after the '50s. This song was not out of the ordinary or out of its time. The singing was not very good. 4,900.
The Olympics, "Big Boy Pete", year? I don't remember this one, but I think that The Olympics might have had a plagiarism case against whoever did "Jolly Green Giant". It's almost an identical tune, and similar subject matter about how you don't mess around with this guy. However, "Jolly Green Giant" was a better song, in part because there were better tools at the group's disposal. Forgot to give Pete a score.
The Platters, "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", 1958. Anyone who lived through the '50s and '60s or has seen "Mad Men", would understand the idea of smoke in the eyes. Not just around the campfire, in those days. I'm pretty sure this is a remake of an older, classic song. The Platters had a lot of good hits during their time. Their style was mostly slow, romantic ballads. There were a lot of strings and backup singers harmonizing in the background. 4,550.
Annette, "O Dio Mio", maybe '56 or '57. Annette was the late Annette Funicello. "Mickey Mouse Club" came on TV about 1955. Not much after it debuted, I started watching it, and a lot of other kids did too. Annette, 13 at the time, was one of the first females who taught boys my age that teenage girls actually had breasts. In a way, she was the Britney Spears of her day, taking herself from "Mickey Mouse Club" to music and movies, but not as successfully. My 5,000 has to have room for an Annette song, if only for her groundbreaking activities and sweaters. And this probably isn't even her best. It does have Italian in it: O dio mio, oh my God. 4,700.
Del Shannon, "Runaway", the song was released in 1961, but somehow it got on Sirius XM Channel 5 with '50s songs. Again there's a falsetto theme: "I'm a walkin' in the rain." He did that more with this song than his others. The music has a penny whistle or maybe a piccolo. I checked, and neither of those instruments was in the song. I might have been hearing a Musitron, an electronic keyboard invented by Max Crook, who sang on the record with Shannon. The sound was similar to what we heard on Crispian St. Peters' "Pied Piper" in '66. "Runaway" was ahead of its time. 3,700.
Brenda Lee, "Sweet Nothin's", year? Brenda was pretty big in the '50s and early '60s. 4,600.
Brenda Lee, "As Usual", year? There's a lot of country in her singing. There seemed to be quite a bit more country crossover into popular music in the 50s. Certainly, cowboy shows were a big part of television programming then -- Roy Rogers, Gabby Hayes, The Lone Ranger, Wild Bill Hickok, The Cisco Kid and others -- and Western movies also were popular. 4,800.
Cadillacs, "Woe Is Me", year? 4,900.
Percy Faith, "Theme from a Summer Place", maybe '59? Very much lost in this era, but prevalent in the '50s and '60s, were orchestral songs that would make it on to the charts. This one I believe was No. 1 overall in the year it came out. There were words to the song that Percy Faith's orchestra made with lots of strings and horns. "The sweet secret of a summer place, is that it's anywhere where two people share all their hopes, all their dreams … all their love." Percy did OK on this one. 4,600.
Rolf Harris, "Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport", year? This was a folk song from Australia that played more as a novelty number here. One line that wouldn't go over well today was "Let me abos go loose," with "abos" a pejorative slang term for aborigines. Another thing I remember about this song was that my girlfriend for most of high school was Nancy Sullivan, whose dad called her "sport." Her sister, Mary, always kidded her about "Timmy kangaroo down sport."4,650 just for the song's originality.
Fabian, "Tiger" from 1959. Fabian was a heartthrob for about 10 minutes of fame at the time. No, he probably got in a full 15 minutes, but he didn't have the staying power of even Justin Timberlake. 4,900.
Next: Voice recording #253 from Jan. 7.
The Essex, "Easier Said Than Done", 1956. The Essex were a trend setter in that they copied baseball's Sox by becoming perhaps the first musical group whose name didn't end in S. This was a pretty good song. It has some changes in tempo. One of the better '50s songs, but I couldn't understand what I said for a score.
Gene Vincent, "Lotta Lovin'", '58. 4,850.
Roy Hamilton, "You Can Have Her", no year listed. It's unusual in that the backup singers sound like a church choir, so there's a gospel feel. The singer doesn't want his wife or girlfriend anymore, so you can have her. 4,825.
Bill Haley and His Comets, "Mambo Rock", year? This is considered the original rock 'n' roll group, but this is not among their best. Part of it sounds like a later song, "Mambo Italiano", and it has what sounds like electric guitar picking. So it had some groundbreaking elements. This song did not create a dance craze, in the manner of the Twist or the Macarena. 4,810.
Ben E. King, "Stand by Me", late '50s. This song was revived 20-30 years later when the movie "Stand by Me" came out. The movie is supposed to be set in 1959, but imdb.com notes that there are a lot of anachronisms in it. I noticed the first time I saw it that a 1960 Topps baseball card was on the bulletin board of Will Wheaton's character's brother, who died in '59. Good movie, though, and good song. Good beat, good percussion. 4,100.
On most of these for the '50s I might be splitting hairs at the lower 4,000s among songs that might not even make the final 5,000.
I'm just about finished with the final entries in the database, at least for song names, artists and where they fit in their own year's Top 100. I still need to add information as we go along. I have more than 6,000 listed, so obviously they all couldn't make the top 5,000, and I'll be adding other songs that weren't in any year's Top 100 but still deserve mention. Songs that I like, mostly.
Lou Christie, "Two Faces Have I" from the late '50s. The late '50s into the early '60s was one of the best eras for falsetto singing, and Lou had his best in "Lightning Strikes". This was a good one too, in the same style: "One to laugh, and one to cry. Ah-Ahk." 4,350.
Larry Williams, "Dizzy Miss Lizzie", year? He had a fair number of hits in the '50s, with some early rock. His singing has a Little Richard feel. One that I couldn't remember or didn't remember who did it was by Larry Williams. (I forget which one as I write this.) 4,700.
The Schoolboys, "Please Say You Want Me Again", year? This one is painfully slow. There is some kind of chorus/background singers, but nothing really to commend this one. 4,950.
The Crickets with Buddy Holly, "Oh Boy", year? This is one of the many Buddy Holly songs that was covered by British groups. However, it wasn't Holly but Sonny West who wrote and first performed this song and "Rave On". "Oh Boy" has a lot of guitar, moves quickly and is forward-looking for its time even though the guitar play is simple in comparison to what we now expect. Buddy Holly also did things with his voice -- "ah-uh-ho" -- that almost added another instrument. 3,950.
Bonnie? Sisters, "Cry Baby", sounds like fairly early '50s. I'm imaging that this song would have been sung in jazz clubs. The sisters were pretty much drowned out by the saxophones and percussion. 4,975.
The Caravelles, "You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry", year? This has in common with "Cry Baby" the words "cry" and "baby", and probably a similar time frame. Mid-'50s? The lead singer has a nice voice -- high, very breathy, but hard to pick up over the little bit of drumming and cymbals. That probably points out the fairly primitive sound engineering of the time. There probably weren't many microphones, if even more than one, and there might have been one by the drums. And of course they didn't have today's digital equipment to remix. 4,850.
Thurston Harris, "Little Bitty Pretty One", late '50s? The song moves pretty well. 4,450.
I remember the songs from the late '50s. My late sister Carolee was 3 years older, so I remember some of her records and songs she would listen to on the radio. Pat Boone was her favorite. She also had records by Guy Mitchell and Jim Lowe's "Green Door". I got my first radio for Christmas in 1958, about 6 weeks before The Day the Music Died. I remember very distinctly listening to the radio the next day, which was pretty much 24/7 talking about Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. To my 10-year-old mind, that was very significant. Looking back, I guess that was akin to listening to a weekend sports-talk announcer a couple of years out of college saying that one of today's quarterbacks must be the greatest ever without regard for, or possibly even any knowledge of, Johnny Unitas or Joe Montana. My musical starting frame of reference was really the late '50s.
Kalin? Twins, "When", year? I will say that these '50s songs tend to be even shorter than those today or even a decade or two after the '50s. This song was not out of the ordinary or out of its time. The singing was not very good. 4,900.
The Olympics, "Big Boy Pete", year? I don't remember this one, but I think that The Olympics might have had a plagiarism case against whoever did "Jolly Green Giant". It's almost an identical tune, and similar subject matter about how you don't mess around with this guy. However, "Jolly Green Giant" was a better song, in part because there were better tools at the group's disposal. Forgot to give Pete a score.
The Platters, "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", 1958. Anyone who lived through the '50s and '60s or has seen "Mad Men", would understand the idea of smoke in the eyes. Not just around the campfire, in those days. I'm pretty sure this is a remake of an older, classic song. The Platters had a lot of good hits during their time. Their style was mostly slow, romantic ballads. There were a lot of strings and backup singers harmonizing in the background. 4,550.
Annette, "O Dio Mio", maybe '56 or '57. Annette was the late Annette Funicello. "Mickey Mouse Club" came on TV about 1955. Not much after it debuted, I started watching it, and a lot of other kids did too. Annette, 13 at the time, was one of the first females who taught boys my age that teenage girls actually had breasts. In a way, she was the Britney Spears of her day, taking herself from "Mickey Mouse Club" to music and movies, but not as successfully. My 5,000 has to have room for an Annette song, if only for her groundbreaking activities and sweaters. And this probably isn't even her best. It does have Italian in it: O dio mio, oh my God. 4,700.
Del Shannon, "Runaway", the song was released in 1961, but somehow it got on Sirius XM Channel 5 with '50s songs. Again there's a falsetto theme: "I'm a walkin' in the rain." He did that more with this song than his others. The music has a penny whistle or maybe a piccolo. I checked, and neither of those instruments was in the song. I might have been hearing a Musitron, an electronic keyboard invented by Max Crook, who sang on the record with Shannon. The sound was similar to what we heard on Crispian St. Peters' "Pied Piper" in '66. "Runaway" was ahead of its time. 3,700.
Brenda Lee, "Sweet Nothin's", year? Brenda was pretty big in the '50s and early '60s. 4,600.
Brenda Lee, "As Usual", year? There's a lot of country in her singing. There seemed to be quite a bit more country crossover into popular music in the 50s. Certainly, cowboy shows were a big part of television programming then -- Roy Rogers, Gabby Hayes, The Lone Ranger, Wild Bill Hickok, The Cisco Kid and others -- and Western movies also were popular. 4,800.
Cadillacs, "Woe Is Me", year? 4,900.
Percy Faith, "Theme from a Summer Place", maybe '59? Very much lost in this era, but prevalent in the '50s and '60s, were orchestral songs that would make it on to the charts. This one I believe was No. 1 overall in the year it came out. There were words to the song that Percy Faith's orchestra made with lots of strings and horns. "The sweet secret of a summer place, is that it's anywhere where two people share all their hopes, all their dreams … all their love." Percy did OK on this one. 4,600.
Rolf Harris, "Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport", year? This was a folk song from Australia that played more as a novelty number here. One line that wouldn't go over well today was "Let me abos go loose," with "abos" a pejorative slang term for aborigines. Another thing I remember about this song was that my girlfriend for most of high school was Nancy Sullivan, whose dad called her "sport." Her sister, Mary, always kidded her about "Timmy kangaroo down sport."4,650 just for the song's originality.
Fabian, "Tiger" from 1959. Fabian was a heartthrob for about 10 minutes of fame at the time. No, he probably got in a full 15 minutes, but he didn't have the staying power of even Justin Timberlake. 4,900.
Next: Voice recording #253 from Jan. 7.
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Voice recording #246, Jan. 4.
Beach Boys, "Good Vibrations", 1966. I'm pretty sure I've done this one before and was in the range of 1,500-1,700. Maybe higher.
Bobby Goldsboro, "It's Too Late", '66. He had a fairly large number of hits in the '60s, mostly pretty sappy ballads. In this one, he tries to go up-tempo and I think it was a not-very-good cover of an earlier song. 4,800.
Shocking Blue, "Venus", '68 maybe? I've done this one before, probably 3,200 or slightly higher.
Freddy and the Dreamers, "I'm Telling You Now", I think '64 or '65. Freddy and the Dreamers were on the coattails of the British invasion. Their schtick was a dance called The Freddy. Dancers stood in one place and put their arms up at shoulder height while kicking one leg out to the side. Then they'd lower their arms and leg, and repeat, but raising the other leg. It was not imaginative when compared to other '60s dances. It's a better song than "Do the Freddy", which introduced the dance and was probably their other biggest hit. 3,900.
Marvin Gaye, "Heard It Through the Grapevine" from '68. The '60s icon was one of several to record this song in a similar time period. Marvin did a really good job with it. The song received extra legs in the '90s, when the California Raisins, animated wrinkled grapes -- I think for Post Raisin Bran -- used it in their advertising. 2,300.
The Yardbirds, "For Your Love", '65. I think I've done this before, and I think I mentioned that it might have had a harpsichord. Might have been a dulcimer, and I'll look that up. It was a harpsichord, but only because there was no piano or organ at the recording studio. Eric Clapton played guitar before leaving The Yardbirds to go with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. About 3,700.
Four Seasons, "Ronnie", 1964. This was one of their songs about girls, along with "Dawn" and "Rag Doll" and others. It's very typical Four Seasons. 3,950.
Steppenwolf, "Born to Be Wild", '68. I'm pretty sure I've reviewed this one. It's hard rock with a driving rhythm and some psychedelic moments. I'm to sure whether I like it or "Magic Carpet Ride" best among Steppenwolf songs. I think 1,200.
The 5th Dimension, "Wedding Bell Blues", 1966ish. This is some of the best of Marilyn McCoo with The 5th Dimension. It's somewhat overlooked in the group's catalog. On "Gilmore Girls", when the grandparents, Emily and Richard, renewed their vows, this was the song Richard (played by the late Edward Herrmann) picked for their one dance, and for that night he wanted her to call him "Bill." 2,900.
B.J. Thomas, "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head", '69. When I think of this, I think about how it was used in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". There was a montage or filler or tension breaker with Paul Newman and Katharine Ross riding one of those new-fangled bicycles. This was one of B.J.'s best with "Hooked on a Feeling". 2,100.
Reflections, "Just Like Romeo and Juliet", '64. I would have guessed that this was earlier. I don't really remember the Reflections, but I remember that the song isn't bad. 4,100.
Dave Clark Five, "Do You Love Me", 1964. A number of other people have done this, going back to The Contours in '62. I was thinking the Beatles had, but couldn't find it list for them. Dave Clark Five was good in a brief heyday. 3,100.
Mamas and the Papas, "Monday Monday" from '66. 1,600.
Gene Pitney, "It Hurts to Be in Love" from '64. I think I remember writing about this one, about how I didn't remember it but heard it a lot after I returned from Italy that September. Girls seemed to like the fast part when he sings, "who'snotinlovewithyou." 3,900.
Dusty Springfield, "Wishin' and Hopin'", early-to-mid '60s. 4,200.
Four Tops, "I Can't Help Myself", also '64 or '65. 1,900.
Spencer Davis Group, "I'm a Man", this was '63 or '64, I believe. 4,050.
Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, "I Wonder What She's Doin' Tonight", 1968. 2,550.
Beach Boys, "Good Vibrations", 1966. I'm pretty sure I've done this one before and was in the range of 1,500-1,700. Maybe higher.
Bobby Goldsboro, "It's Too Late", '66. He had a fairly large number of hits in the '60s, mostly pretty sappy ballads. In this one, he tries to go up-tempo and I think it was a not-very-good cover of an earlier song. 4,800.
Shocking Blue, "Venus", '68 maybe? I've done this one before, probably 3,200 or slightly higher.
Freddy and the Dreamers, "I'm Telling You Now", I think '64 or '65. Freddy and the Dreamers were on the coattails of the British invasion. Their schtick was a dance called The Freddy. Dancers stood in one place and put their arms up at shoulder height while kicking one leg out to the side. Then they'd lower their arms and leg, and repeat, but raising the other leg. It was not imaginative when compared to other '60s dances. It's a better song than "Do the Freddy", which introduced the dance and was probably their other biggest hit. 3,900.
Marvin Gaye, "Heard It Through the Grapevine" from '68. The '60s icon was one of several to record this song in a similar time period. Marvin did a really good job with it. The song received extra legs in the '90s, when the California Raisins, animated wrinkled grapes -- I think for Post Raisin Bran -- used it in their advertising. 2,300.
The Yardbirds, "For Your Love", '65. I think I've done this before, and I think I mentioned that it might have had a harpsichord. Might have been a dulcimer, and I'll look that up. It was a harpsichord, but only because there was no piano or organ at the recording studio. Eric Clapton played guitar before leaving The Yardbirds to go with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. About 3,700.
Four Seasons, "Ronnie", 1964. This was one of their songs about girls, along with "Dawn" and "Rag Doll" and others. It's very typical Four Seasons. 3,950.
Steppenwolf, "Born to Be Wild", '68. I'm pretty sure I've reviewed this one. It's hard rock with a driving rhythm and some psychedelic moments. I'm to sure whether I like it or "Magic Carpet Ride" best among Steppenwolf songs. I think 1,200.
The 5th Dimension, "Wedding Bell Blues", 1966ish. This is some of the best of Marilyn McCoo with The 5th Dimension. It's somewhat overlooked in the group's catalog. On "Gilmore Girls", when the grandparents, Emily and Richard, renewed their vows, this was the song Richard (played by the late Edward Herrmann) picked for their one dance, and for that night he wanted her to call him "Bill." 2,900.
B.J. Thomas, "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head", '69. When I think of this, I think about how it was used in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". There was a montage or filler or tension breaker with Paul Newman and Katharine Ross riding one of those new-fangled bicycles. This was one of B.J.'s best with "Hooked on a Feeling". 2,100.
Reflections, "Just Like Romeo and Juliet", '64. I would have guessed that this was earlier. I don't really remember the Reflections, but I remember that the song isn't bad. 4,100.
Dave Clark Five, "Do You Love Me", 1964. A number of other people have done this, going back to The Contours in '62. I was thinking the Beatles had, but couldn't find it list for them. Dave Clark Five was good in a brief heyday. 3,100.
Mamas and the Papas, "Monday Monday" from '66. 1,600.
Gene Pitney, "It Hurts to Be in Love" from '64. I think I remember writing about this one, about how I didn't remember it but heard it a lot after I returned from Italy that September. Girls seemed to like the fast part when he sings, "who'snotinlovewithyou." 3,900.
Dusty Springfield, "Wishin' and Hopin'", early-to-mid '60s. 4,200.
Four Tops, "I Can't Help Myself", also '64 or '65. 1,900.
Spencer Davis Group, "I'm a Man", this was '63 or '64, I believe. 4,050.
Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, "I Wonder What She's Doin' Tonight", 1968. 2,550.
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Past and present
Before I resume my comments from a month or so ago that haven't been recorded in the blog, I'll discuss a couple of songs I heard today on the way back from getting Samantha's car inspected.
In real time, I'm on my sixth or seventh day reviewing songs from the '40s, before even my time.
Vincent Lopez, vocals by Sonny somebody, "If I Only Had a Brain", no year on the display. Yes, the song from "The Wizard of Oz". The Sirius XM display in her car wasn't wide enough to include the singer's last name. A well known song, even if this wasn't the most familiar rendition. 4,700.
Duke Ellington, "Moonglow", year not listed. This song was the reason I wanted to write about it now before I forgot. Also, I wasn't recording my thoughts in the car on the short drive, maybe 2 miles, from Kwik Kar. After I was found, I found myself whistling the melody from this song. I might have heard it and reviewed it a few days ago. And if I did, I probably just dismissed it as "another typical '40s song." But in whistling it, I realized the tune still has some life. 4,600.
And on the way back after dropping M-Tex off at her school for tonight's concert:
Bing Crosby/Andrews (I assume Andrews Sisters), "Route 66", not sure of the year. I remember the TV show from the late '50s or '60s, and had assumed that the song was written for the show. Apparently not. 4,700.
Johnny Davis, "College Rhythm", no year given. I was writing this one off until I got back in the house and started whistling this song. It has the feel of a song written for a movie. In this case, the singer would probably be the skinny guy wearing his sweater as the lone male cheerleader, much smaller than the burly football players in their letter sweaters at the malt shop. There were far fewer colleges there, but I'm guessing the students did some jumping and jiving. Not sure what the campus fad was in the days before swallowing goldfish and stuffing phone booths. 4,750.
In tonight's concert, M-Tex and the McKinney North orchestra were the opening act for Susan Egan, best known for her work on Broadway. Listening to her singing and incorporating the songs into her life story made me realize that I have to include musical-theater songs in my survey. I'm pretty sure Sirius has a Broadway channel. Once I've finished going through the decades, I'll be monitoring the other Sirius channels, so I will be including music from genres other than pop.
I recorded my impressions of a few songs I heard tonight while driving to the concert, and I'll transcribe that recording as I catch up on songs I've heard during the past month or so. I will not include any of the karaoke songs I heard post-concert at the VFW, where we went to relax and play pool.
In real time, I'm on my sixth or seventh day reviewing songs from the '40s, before even my time.
Vincent Lopez, vocals by Sonny somebody, "If I Only Had a Brain", no year on the display. Yes, the song from "The Wizard of Oz". The Sirius XM display in her car wasn't wide enough to include the singer's last name. A well known song, even if this wasn't the most familiar rendition. 4,700.
Duke Ellington, "Moonglow", year not listed. This song was the reason I wanted to write about it now before I forgot. Also, I wasn't recording my thoughts in the car on the short drive, maybe 2 miles, from Kwik Kar. After I was found, I found myself whistling the melody from this song. I might have heard it and reviewed it a few days ago. And if I did, I probably just dismissed it as "another typical '40s song." But in whistling it, I realized the tune still has some life. 4,600.
And on the way back after dropping M-Tex off at her school for tonight's concert:
Bing Crosby/Andrews (I assume Andrews Sisters), "Route 66", not sure of the year. I remember the TV show from the late '50s or '60s, and had assumed that the song was written for the show. Apparently not. 4,700.
Johnny Davis, "College Rhythm", no year given. I was writing this one off until I got back in the house and started whistling this song. It has the feel of a song written for a movie. In this case, the singer would probably be the skinny guy wearing his sweater as the lone male cheerleader, much smaller than the burly football players in their letter sweaters at the malt shop. There were far fewer colleges there, but I'm guessing the students did some jumping and jiving. Not sure what the campus fad was in the days before swallowing goldfish and stuffing phone booths. 4,750.
In tonight's concert, M-Tex and the McKinney North orchestra were the opening act for Susan Egan, best known for her work on Broadway. Listening to her singing and incorporating the songs into her life story made me realize that I have to include musical-theater songs in my survey. I'm pretty sure Sirius has a Broadway channel. Once I've finished going through the decades, I'll be monitoring the other Sirius channels, so I will be including music from genres other than pop.
I recorded my impressions of a few songs I heard tonight while driving to the concert, and I'll transcribe that recording as I catch up on songs I've heard during the past month or so. I will not include any of the karaoke songs I heard post-concert at the VFW, where we went to relax and play pool.
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Visions of a parade; memories of a fair
Voice recording No. 240, Jan. 2.
Buffalo Springfield, "For What It's Worth", '65 or '64. Buffalo Springfield was kind of a pacesetter in those days. Some band members went on to bigger and better things. A good group. 2,400.
Peter and Gordon, "I Go to Pieces", 1965. 4,150.
Junior Walker and the All Stars, "Shotgun", 1965. 3,950.
Tommy James and the Shondells, "Hanky Panky" from '66. 3,200.
Beatles, "Hey Jude", 1968. 600.
Cannibal and the Headhunters, "Land of 1,000 Dances", 1965. This might have been the original. It's not nearly as good as Wilson Pickett's version. 4,200.
Jefferson Airplane, "Somebody to Love", I think '66 or '67. A really good song. Great vocals by Grace Slick -- I first said Stevie Nicks; wrong group. Great guitar work. 1,200, could go higher.
Blood Sweat & Tears, "Spinning Wheel", '69. This has some similarities to the Jefferson Airplane piece, mostly in that I liked it more as it went on. There was more in it than I remembered. It has horns in it, a calliope sound near the end, some psychedelic effects in trying to keep up with the drug culture of the times. 3,600.
Jan and Dean, "Little Old Lady from Pasadena", year? They had a number of surfing hits. I guess Southern California's car culture of the '60s counts as a subset of surfer music. This might be their best hit. The instrumentation isn't much to speak of, but the lyrics and the harmony were really good. "She drives real fast and she drives real hard. She's the terror of Colorado Boulevard." You should be able to picture driving down that street crashing into the floats in the Tournament of Roses parade. "Go, Granny, go, Granny, go, Granny, go!" 1,950.
Charlie Rich, "Mohair Sam", I think '65. This seemed out of place with its times. 4,800.
Herman's Hermits, "I'm Into Something Good" from '64. I've done this before, and I'm guessing I scored it on either side of 3,000, I'll say 3,100 now.
Sly and the Family Stone, "Stand", 1969? Not Sly's best, 4,400.
Shocking Blue, "Venus", I think '68. Later done by Bananarama, which I think had the better version. This one isn't bad. 3,800.
Sonny and Cher, "The Beat Goes On" from '64. 3,200.
The Kinks, "A Well Respected Man", '66. 2,050.
B.J. Thomas, "Hooked on a Feeling" from '68. I've done this before and I'd say it was rated 2,100 or 2,200.
Dave Clark Five, "Over and Over", '64 or '65. Not sure whether I've done this one before. I really like Dave Clark Five. This had some harmony, some harmonica and some good lyrics. I'm disappointed that major league baseball player-turned-coach Dave Clark never seems to wear uniform number 5. 1,750-1,800.
Rolling Stones, "Get Off of My Cloud", 1965. I remember this one as a freshman in college, when we'd have dances and mixers at the Phi Delta Theta house and this song would come on, my roommate, Tom Lindstrom, and I would be telling each other to get off our clouds. That was kind of weird, I know. I didn't give it a score, will have to hear it again.
Sam and Dave, "I Thank You" from '68? Not their best. I think I've done it before and gave it 4,100 or 4,200.
Flaming Ember, "Mind Body and Soul" from '69. Not very good. 4,600.
1910 Fruitgum Company, "Indian Giver", 1968. A song would not be made with this name at this time in our history, probably shouldn't have had it anyway. It's about what you'd expect. The drums play kind of a cliched version of what European immigrants would expect from Native American drumming. The group's name indicates that it's bubblegum music. There's an organ. 4,300.
Herb Alpert, "This Guy's in Love with You", 1968. Herb was better as a songwriter and orchestra leader than as a singer. This orchestra has piano, horns and strings. It's a good song, but very slow moving. 4,150.
Gary Lewis and the Playboys, "Everybody Loves a Clown" from 1965. This is not one of the best clown songs, which would be good to have: "Tears of a Clown", "Cathy's Clown" and others. I'm pretty sure this was during my senior year in high school, and his last words pretty well expressed where I was in my development: "Dreamin' of your love, and not knowing where to start." 4,350.
Martha and the Vandellas, "Jimmy Mac" from '67. I did this one a few nights ago, and probably gave it 4,300 or closer to 4,400.
Neon Philharmonic, "Morning Girl" from '69. The steady drumbeat in this one doesn't seem to play very well with the orchestral part. There are strings, keyboards and horns. Not very good. 4,750.
Neil Diamond, "Cherry Cherry" from '66. 2,200.
Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Green River", 1969. 4,400.
Four Seasons, "Workin' My Way Back to You", '66. That was about the time when I saw the Four Seasons at the Chemung County Fair in Elmira. I went with a group of my friends from high school; I think it was '66, after my freshman year of college. While waiting for the show, we did the usual fair things for late-teen boys. We saw the girly show in one of the tents. I don't remember anything about the woman, which would confirm my suspicion that they were nothing to write home about. I do remember we could buy a box of stale popcorn for a dollar and have a chance to win a prize. Can't remember whether there was a prize in every box or just "big" prizes like a cheap, sparkly ring. There was s shill planted in the audience who actually found a ring is his box. We might have been hicks, but we weren't stupid. It wasn't too much after this that Frankie Valli went off on his own for a bit. 2,100.
Tom Jones, "Delilah", 1968. I was not a big Tom Jones fan, probably because I wasn't the right demographic. I didn't have any panties to throw at him, as women used to do. I'm pretty sure he took his name from the Henry Fielding novel that became a popular movie that was racy for its time. The most risque movie I'd seen, but that wouldn't be saying much. 4,100.
Next: voice recording #243, Jan. 3.
Buffalo Springfield, "For What It's Worth", '65 or '64. Buffalo Springfield was kind of a pacesetter in those days. Some band members went on to bigger and better things. A good group. 2,400.
Peter and Gordon, "I Go to Pieces", 1965. 4,150.
Junior Walker and the All Stars, "Shotgun", 1965. 3,950.
Tommy James and the Shondells, "Hanky Panky" from '66. 3,200.
Beatles, "Hey Jude", 1968. 600.
Cannibal and the Headhunters, "Land of 1,000 Dances", 1965. This might have been the original. It's not nearly as good as Wilson Pickett's version. 4,200.
Jefferson Airplane, "Somebody to Love", I think '66 or '67. A really good song. Great vocals by Grace Slick -- I first said Stevie Nicks; wrong group. Great guitar work. 1,200, could go higher.
Blood Sweat & Tears, "Spinning Wheel", '69. This has some similarities to the Jefferson Airplane piece, mostly in that I liked it more as it went on. There was more in it than I remembered. It has horns in it, a calliope sound near the end, some psychedelic effects in trying to keep up with the drug culture of the times. 3,600.
Jan and Dean, "Little Old Lady from Pasadena", year? They had a number of surfing hits. I guess Southern California's car culture of the '60s counts as a subset of surfer music. This might be their best hit. The instrumentation isn't much to speak of, but the lyrics and the harmony were really good. "She drives real fast and she drives real hard. She's the terror of Colorado Boulevard." You should be able to picture driving down that street crashing into the floats in the Tournament of Roses parade. "Go, Granny, go, Granny, go, Granny, go!" 1,950.
Charlie Rich, "Mohair Sam", I think '65. This seemed out of place with its times. 4,800.
Herman's Hermits, "I'm Into Something Good" from '64. I've done this before, and I'm guessing I scored it on either side of 3,000, I'll say 3,100 now.
Sly and the Family Stone, "Stand", 1969? Not Sly's best, 4,400.
Shocking Blue, "Venus", I think '68. Later done by Bananarama, which I think had the better version. This one isn't bad. 3,800.
Sonny and Cher, "The Beat Goes On" from '64. 3,200.
The Kinks, "A Well Respected Man", '66. 2,050.
B.J. Thomas, "Hooked on a Feeling" from '68. I've done this before and I'd say it was rated 2,100 or 2,200.
Dave Clark Five, "Over and Over", '64 or '65. Not sure whether I've done this one before. I really like Dave Clark Five. This had some harmony, some harmonica and some good lyrics. I'm disappointed that major league baseball player-turned-coach Dave Clark never seems to wear uniform number 5. 1,750-1,800.
Rolling Stones, "Get Off of My Cloud", 1965. I remember this one as a freshman in college, when we'd have dances and mixers at the Phi Delta Theta house and this song would come on, my roommate, Tom Lindstrom, and I would be telling each other to get off our clouds. That was kind of weird, I know. I didn't give it a score, will have to hear it again.
Sam and Dave, "I Thank You" from '68? Not their best. I think I've done it before and gave it 4,100 or 4,200.
Flaming Ember, "Mind Body and Soul" from '69. Not very good. 4,600.
1910 Fruitgum Company, "Indian Giver", 1968. A song would not be made with this name at this time in our history, probably shouldn't have had it anyway. It's about what you'd expect. The drums play kind of a cliched version of what European immigrants would expect from Native American drumming. The group's name indicates that it's bubblegum music. There's an organ. 4,300.
Herb Alpert, "This Guy's in Love with You", 1968. Herb was better as a songwriter and orchestra leader than as a singer. This orchestra has piano, horns and strings. It's a good song, but very slow moving. 4,150.
Gary Lewis and the Playboys, "Everybody Loves a Clown" from 1965. This is not one of the best clown songs, which would be good to have: "Tears of a Clown", "Cathy's Clown" and others. I'm pretty sure this was during my senior year in high school, and his last words pretty well expressed where I was in my development: "Dreamin' of your love, and not knowing where to start." 4,350.
Martha and the Vandellas, "Jimmy Mac" from '67. I did this one a few nights ago, and probably gave it 4,300 or closer to 4,400.
Neon Philharmonic, "Morning Girl" from '69. The steady drumbeat in this one doesn't seem to play very well with the orchestral part. There are strings, keyboards and horns. Not very good. 4,750.
Neil Diamond, "Cherry Cherry" from '66. 2,200.
Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Green River", 1969. 4,400.
Four Seasons, "Workin' My Way Back to You", '66. That was about the time when I saw the Four Seasons at the Chemung County Fair in Elmira. I went with a group of my friends from high school; I think it was '66, after my freshman year of college. While waiting for the show, we did the usual fair things for late-teen boys. We saw the girly show in one of the tents. I don't remember anything about the woman, which would confirm my suspicion that they were nothing to write home about. I do remember we could buy a box of stale popcorn for a dollar and have a chance to win a prize. Can't remember whether there was a prize in every box or just "big" prizes like a cheap, sparkly ring. There was s shill planted in the audience who actually found a ring is his box. We might have been hicks, but we weren't stupid. It wasn't too much after this that Frankie Valli went off on his own for a bit. 2,100.
Tom Jones, "Delilah", 1968. I was not a big Tom Jones fan, probably because I wasn't the right demographic. I didn't have any panties to throw at him, as women used to do. I'm pretty sure he took his name from the Henry Fielding novel that became a popular movie that was racy for its time. The most risque movie I'd seen, but that wouldn't be saying much. 4,100.
Next: voice recording #243, Jan. 3.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)