Showing posts with label groovy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label groovy. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Crosby, Stills and Nash - "Teach Your Children" (1970)

"Teach Your Children" is a song by Graham Nash. Although it was written when Nash was a member of The Hollies, it was never recorded by that group, and first appeared on the album Déjà Vu by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young released in 1970.  The recording features Jerry Garcia on pedal steel guitar. Garcia had made an arrangement so if that he played pecal steel on Teach Your Children that CSNY would teach Bob Weir. Released as a single, the song peaked at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts that year.

The song was also used in the 1971 comedy film Melody.

Nash, who is also a photographer and collector of photographs, has stated in an interview that the immediate inspiration for the song came from a famous photograph by Diane Arbus, "Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park." The image, which depicts a child with an angry expression holding the toy weapon, prompted Nash to reflect on the societal implications of messages given to children about war and other issues.

In 1984, Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale used the song in a campaign commercial on arms control.

In 1994, Crosby, Stills & Nash re-recorded the song with guest vocals from country music artists Suzy Bogguss, Alison Krauss and Kathy Mattea, crediting the recording to "The Red Hots". This version was included on the album Red Hot + Country, a release by the Red Hot Organization benefiting AIDS awareness. The Red Hots' version of the song spent one week on the Hot Country Songs charts in October 1994, peaking at #75. The song was performed by Michael and Dwight on the 2006 Office episode "Take Your Daughter to Work Day".

Thursday, September 22, 2011

djisar's Top 10 House Hits of 2011

Here rounds off my list of the 2011 best electro and progressive house tracks. I spent a good amount of deliberation on this list; I hope you all enjoy!


Honorable Mention #2) Britney Spears - I Wanna Go (DJ Frank E & Alex Dreamz Remix)





Honorable Mention #1) Calvin Harris - Feel So Close (Nero Remix)









#10) Kaskade ft. Mindy Gledhill - Eyes





#9) Kaskade - Turn It Down





#8) Alex Metric & Steve Angello - Open Your Eyes ft. Ian Brown





#7) Nero - Me & You (Dirtyphonics Remix)





#6) Kelly Osbourne - One word (Chris Cox Remix)





#5) Morgan Page, Sultan + Ned Shepard, and BT - In the Air feat. Angela McCluskey





#4) Calvin Harris - Bounce feat. Kelis





#3) Avicii - Levels





#2) Benny Benassi ft. Gary Go - Cinema (Skrillex Remix)





#1) Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks (The Knocks Remix)

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Edison Lighthouse - Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes (1970)

"Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" is a popular song by "one-hit wonder" Edison Lighthouse. The single hit the number one spot on the UK singles chart on the week ending on 31 January 1970, where it remained for a total of five weeks. "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" was written by Tony Macaulay, Barry Mason and Sylvan Whittingham. Essentially they were a studio group with prolific session singer Tony Burrows providing the vocals. When the song became a hit, a group needed to be assembled rapidly to feature the song on Top Of The Pops, a popular TV show. Sylvan Whittingham found a group called Greenfields and brought them to the auditions a week before their appearance on Top of the Pops. Once chosen and rehearsed, they appeared on the show as 'Edison Lighthouse' to mime to the fastest climbing number 1 hit record in history. Burrows sang the song on the programme during his third appearance on the same show with three different groups. It reached number 5 on US pop chart, number 3 in Canada, and number 1 on the UK Singles Chart for five weeks in January and February 1970.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Spooky - Classics IV (1968)

The Classics IV were a band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, in 1965, given credit for beginning the "soft southern rock" sound. The band and its lead singer Dennis Yost are principally known for the hits "Spooky", "Stormy", and "Traces", released in 1968 and 1969, which have become cover standards.


The group grew out of a local cover band called The Classics, consisting of Buddy Buie, JR Cobb, Walter Eaton, Dennis Yost, and Robert Nix. Buie, Cobb, Nix and Dean Daughtry went on to play in The Atlanta Rhythm Section; and Nix on the first two Lynyrd Skynyrd albums. The band played Ventures covers, instrumental versions of "Misty" and "Summertime". People started requesting songs that required vocals, so Dennis would say "I can sing that", and that was the beginning of the group's changing direction. In addition to playing a rendition of The Tornados "Telstar", they started playing songs with vocals, such as "Sherry" by The Four Seasons. When Dennis Yost joined Wally (Walnut) Eaton's group they became The Classics. Dennis had been a member of the band "The Echoes". The name "The Classics" came from the "Classic" drum set Dennis Yost had. He was well known in the Georgia/Florida area, as the "stand up drummer". He said he played drums, sang lead, M-C d, and sometimes drank a beer at the same time! When Wally Eaton discovered Dennis could sing, The Classics recorded a Four Seasons sounding, regional hit called "Pollyanna", a song written by Joe South, with Dennis Yost singing lead. Shortly after they received a letter stating that another group had the name, "The Classics" and had a hit call "Till Then". Not wanting to change the name they added IV because there were only 4 members. Kim Venable was hired after the name change. The Classics IV members were Dennis Yost (vocals & drums), James B. Cobb, Jr. (guitars), Wally Eaton (Bass) and Joe Wilson (guitar & keys). During live shows, Yost would stand in the front of the stage and play drums while singing the lead vocals. Cobb and Wilson left the band and Wilson was replaced by Dean Daughtry.


The Classics IV moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 1967 and were discovered by Bill Lowery who produced their first national hit in 1968 with "Spooky", a song they recorded in 1967 on the Imperial Records label. Guitarist James Cobb and producer Buddy Buie added lyrics to an instrumental called "Spooky", a regional hit for saxophonist Mike Sharpe. The song made it to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S., and #46 in the UK. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Have You Ever Seen The Rain (1970)

"Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" is a song written by John Fogerty and released in 1970 on the album Pendulum by American roots rock group Creedence Clearwater Revival. The song peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1971. On Cash Box pop chart, it peaked at number three. Billboard co-listed the b-side "Hey Tonight". In the UK, it reached number 36. It was the group's eighth gold-selling single.


Some have speculated that the song's lyrics are referencing the Vietnam War, with the 'rain' being a metaphor for bombs falling from the sky. In his review of the song for Allmusic website, Mark Deming suggests that the song is about the idealism of the 1960s fading in the wake of events such as the Altamont Free Concert and the Kent State shootings and that Fogerty is saying that the same issues of the '60s still existed in the 1970s but that people were no longer fighting for them. However, Fogerty himself has said in interviews and prior to playing the song in concert that the song is about rising tension within CCR and the imminent departure of his brother Tom from the band.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

The Monkees - "Daydream Believer" (1967)

"Daydream Believer" is a song composed by John Stewart shortly before he left the Kingston Trio. The song was originally recorded by The Monkees, with Davy Jones singing lead vocals. The single hit the number one spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 1967, remaining there for four weeks, and peaked at number five in the UK Singles Chart. It was The Monkees' last number one hit in the U.S. It was also recorded by Anne Murray in 1979, whose version reached #3 on the U.S. country singles chart and #12 on the Billboard Hot 100.


Producer Chip Douglas introduced the Monkees to the song. It was recorded during the sessions for their 1967 album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. but was ultimately included on their 1968 album The Birds, The Bees & the Monkees (it proved to be bandmember Peter Tork's only appearance on the album). All four Monkees appear on the track, with Michael Nesmith on lead guitar, Peter Tork on piano (he also came up with the arrangement), and Micky Dolenz on backing vocals. Davy Jones wasn't sure of the song's potential at first, and admitted later that he'd recorded the vocal with a hint of annoyance at the ongoing takes. His feelings changed when the song became a hit.


John Stewart's original lyrics in the second stanza were "You once thought of me as a white knight on a steed, Now you know how funky I can be". When the Monkees recorded the song, "funky" was changed to "happy."

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

We Five - "You Were On My Mind" (1965)

We Five was a 1960s folk rock musical group based in San Francisco, California. Their best-known hit was their 1965 remake of Ian and Sylvia's "You Were on My Mind", which reached #1 on the Cashbox chart, #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The original group split after recording their second album in 1967, but a re-formed band produced three more albums between 1968 and 1977. The original group is probably best remembered for the vocal qualities of its lead singer Beverly Bivens.


"You Were On My Mind" is a song written by Sylvia Tyson in 1964. It was originally performed by her and Ian Tyson as the duo Ian & Sylvia and they recorded it for their 1964 album, Northern Journey. It was published in sheet form by M. Witmark & Sons of New York City in 1965.


The song was covered in an up-tempo version, with slightly altered lyrics and melody, the following year by the California pop quintet We Five. Their recording reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in September 1965 and topped the Billboard easy listening chart for five weeks. The performance by We Five is noteworthy for the gradual buildup in intensity, starting off somewhat flowing and gentle, increasing in intensity in the third stanza and remaining so through the fourth stanza. The fifth and final stanza starts off gently and concludes very intensely, ending with a series of guitar chords.


Other notable recordings include versions by:


Barry McGuire covered the song on his 1965 album, Eve of Destruction, as a rare solo vocal performance
Joe Dassin recorded a french language version, called "Ça M'avance À Quoi" on his 1966 album A New York
Crispian St. Peters, who had a number two hit with it in 1966 in the United Kingdom. The song was released in the United States in 1967 and went to #36 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Nanci Griffith included the song in her album of covers Other Voices, Too (A Trip Back to Bountiful) in 1998
Les Fradkin covered it on his 2006 album Jangleholic
Italian group Equipe 84, who recorded a successful version in Italian under the title "Io ho in mente te" ("You Are On My Mind")
Paul Anka, who also recorded it in Italian
Susanna Hoffs

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Tiny Tim - "Tiptoe Through The Tulips" (1968)

"Tiptoe Through the Tulips" is a popular song originally published in 1929. The song was written by Al Dubin (lyrics) and Joe Burke (music).


‘Crooning Troubadour’ Nick Lucas’ recording of "Tip-Toe Through The Tulips" hit the top of the charts in May 1929. The song he introduced in the 1929 musical talkie Gold Diggers of Broadway held the #1 position for 10 weeks. Other artists charted the song in 1929, including Jean Goldkette (#5), Johnny Marvin (#11), and Roy Fox (#18).


The song was revived in 1967 by the California rock group The Humane Society and popo the clown in 1968 by Tiny Tim, whose version charted at #17 that year.


Herbert Buckingham Khaury, better known by his stage name "Tiny Tim", (April 12, 1932 – November 30, 1996) was an American singer and ukulele player. He was most famous for his rendition of "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" sung in a distinctive high falsetto/vibrato voice (though other performances reveal a broader vocal range). While Tiny Tim was sometimes regarded as a novelty act, his recordings demonstrate a wide knowledge of American popular songs, particularly of the early 20th century.


Khaury was born in New York to Butros Hanna and Tillie (née Staff) Khaury and grew up in an old apartment building in Washington Heights in Manhattan. When he was five years old his father brought home a wind up gramophone and a 78 rpm record that featured a 1905 recording of Henry Burr singing "Beautiful Ohio".   Young Khaury immersed himself in the music of the past, listening for hours in his room to Burr, Rudy Vallee, Al Jolson, Irving Kaufman, Billy Murray, Ada Jones, Byron G. Harlan, and Bing Crosby.


In a 1968 interview on the Tonight Show, Khaury described the discovery of his ability to sing in an upper register in 1952: "I was listening to the radio and singing along as I was singing I said 'Gee, it's strange. I can go up high as well." He then entered a local talent show and sang "You Are My Sunshine" in his newly discovered falsetto, and it brought the house down. From there Khaury began to experiment with different stage names such as Darry Dover, Vernon Castle, Larry Love, and Judas K. Foxglove. He finally settled on Tiny Tim in 1962 when his manager at the time, George King, booked him at a club that favored "midget" acts.


Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, Tiny Tim developed something of a cult following. In the 1960s he was seen regularly near the Harvard University campus as a street performer, singing old Tin Pan Alley tunes. His choice of repertoire and his encyclopedic knowledge of vintage popular music impressed many of the spectators. One admirer, Norman Kay, recalled that his outrageous public persona was a false front belying a quiet, studious personality: "Herb Khaury was the greatest put-on artist in the world. Here he was with the long hair and the cheap suit and the high voice, but when you spoke to him he talked like a college professor. He knew everything about the old songs."


Between 1962 and 1966 Tiny Tim recorded a number of songs at small recording companies, with several of them being made as acetate discs and one actually released as a 45 record.


Tiny Tim appeared in Jack Smith's Normal Love, as well as the independent feature film You Are What You Eat (his appearance in this film featured him singing the old Ronettes hit, "Be My Baby" in his falsetto range; also featured was a rendition of Sonny and Cher's I Got You Babe, with Tim singing the Cher parts in his falsetto voice, along with Eleanor Barooshian reprising Sonny Bono's baritone part. These tracks were recorded with Robbie Robertson and the other members of what was going to become known as The Band. The latter performance led to a booking on the massively popular Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, an unpredictable American television comedy-variety show. Dan Rowan announced that Laugh-In believed in showcasing new talent, and introduced Tiny Tim. The singer entered carrying a shopping bag, pulled his soprano ukulele from it, and sang a medley of "A Tisket A Tasket" and "On the The Good Ship Lollipop" with a dumbfounded Dick Martin standing near. In his third performance on Laugh-in, Tiny Tim entered, blowing kisses, preceded by an elaborate procession of the cast, and after a short interview, sang "Tiptoe Through the Tulips".


In September 1996, he suffered a heart attack just as he began singing at a ukulele festival at the Montague Grange Hall (often confused in accounts of the incident with the nearby Montague Bookmill, at which he had recorded a video interview earlier that same day) in Montague, Massachusetts. He was hospitalized at the nearby Franklin County Medical Center in Greenfield for approximately three weeks, before being discharged with strong admonitions to no longer perform, due to his frail health and the difficulty of proper dietary needs for his diabetic and heart conditions. While playing at a Gala Benefit at The Woman's Club of Minneapolis on November 30, 1996, he suffered another heart attack on stage. He was led out by his third wife, Susan Marie Gardner ("Miss Sue", whom he had married on August 18, 1995) who asked if he was okay. He responded, "No, I'm not."


He collapsed shortly thereafter and was rushed to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he died after doctors tried to resuscitate him for an hour and fifteen minutes. He is interred in the mausoleum of Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Nena - "99 Red Balloons" (1982)

"99 Luftballons" is a protest song by the German pop-rock band Nena. Originally sung in German, it was later re-recorded in English as "99 Red Balloons".


While at a June 1982 concert by the Rolling Stones in West Berlin, Nena's guitarist Carlo Karges noticed that balloons were being released. As he watched them move toward the horizon, he noticed them shifting and changing shapes, where they looked nothing like a mass of balloons but some strange spacecraft (referred to in the German lyrics as a "UFO"). He thought about what might happen if they floated over the Berlin Wall to the Soviet sector.


Both the English and German versions of the song tell a story of two children who buy a bag of red balloons in a toy shop in Cold War era Berlin and release them into the air at dawn, where they are spotted by the military who don't recognize them as balloons but instead think they are some kind of incoming weapon. They immediately put their troops on red alert and call out jet fighters to intercept which ultimately triggers a nuclear war between the two Cold War adversaries. In the apocalyptic aftermath, one of the children stands in the rubble of the city and finds a single remaining red balloon. Thinking of the other child, he or she then lets the balloon go. The music was composed by Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen, the keyboardist of Nena's band, while Karges wrote the original German lyrics.


Having achieved widespread success in Germanic Europe and Japan, plans were made for the band to take the song international with an English version by Kevin McAlea, titled "99 Red Balloons". The English version is not a direct translation of the German and contains a somewhat different set of lyrics.


VH1 Classic, an American cable television station, ran a charity event for Hurricane Katrina relief in 2006. Viewers who made donations were allowed to choose which music videos the station would play. One viewer donated $35,000 for the right to program an entire hour and requested continuous play of Nena's "99 Luftballons" and "99 Red Balloons" videos. The station broadcast the videos as requested from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. EST on 26 March 2006.


The translation of the title is sometimes given as "Ninety-Nine Air Balloons", however "Ninety-Nine Balloons" is also correct. A Luftballon is a colourful toy balloon, rather than a balloon for transport or research. The name is derived from Luft, German for air, but the meaning of Luft does not qualify the type of balloon. The title "99 Red Balloons" almost scans correctly with the syllables falling in the right places within the rhythm of the first lines of lyrics, with "red" replacing "Luft"; the only difference is that neunundneunzig has one syllable more than ninety-nine. The 2002 re-release also features lyrics in French.

THE GERMAN VERSION: 

Friday, July 15, 2011

The Spinners - "Games People Play" (1975)

"Games People Play", also known as "They Just Can't Stop It the (Games People Play)", is a song recorded by American R&B vocal group The Spinners. Released in 1975 from their Pick of the Litter album, featuring lead vocals by the group's main lead singer Bobby Smith, the song was a crossover success, spending a week at number one on the Hot Soul Singles chart and peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. Female backing vocals on the song were by Barbara Ingram.


In 1954, a group of friends who grew up together in Royal Oak Township, Michigan, just outside Detroit, came together to make music. For a time, several of the band members resided in Detroit's Herman Gardens public housing projects. Billy Henderson, Henry Fambrough, Pervis Jackson, C. P. Spencer, and James Edwards called themselves The Domingoes, however James Edwards lasted only a few weeks. He was replaced by Bobbie Smith, who sang lead on most of the Spinners' early records (and many of their biggest Atlantic hits). C. P. Spencer left the group shortly afterwards, and would later go on to be a member of the Voice Masters and The Originals. He was replaced by George Dixon. The group renamed themselves The Spinners in 1961. This name was chosen after looking at popular car hubcaps and noting how they spun around on a car's wheel.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Abba - "Dancing Queen" (1976)

"Dancing Queen" is a pop song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in August 1976, but was first performed two months earlier, on 18 June 1976, during a Royal Variety Show in Stockholm the evening before the Swedish royal wedding. It was the follow-up single to the hit "Fernando" and is commonly regarded as one of the most successful singles of the 1970s. "Dancing Queen" was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, and Stig Anderson and is considered by many to be ABBA's signature song, as it reached the number 1 position on popular music charts in 13 countries. Recorded in 1975, it was released on the group's album Arrival the following year and as a single with "That's Me" as the B-side.


The song was re-released as a single in 1992 to promote the compilation "ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits".


In 2009, the British performing rights group Phonographic Performance Limited celebrated its 75th anniversary by listing the 75 songs that have played most in Great Britain on the radio, in clubs and on jukeboxes. "Dancing Queen" was number eight on the list.


"Dancing Queen" features the shared lead vocal performance of Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. Dancing Queen" was a massive hit. It became ABBA's only #1 in the United States in April 1977. It also hit #1 in at least 13 other countries worldwide: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, West Germany, United Kingdom, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Sweden and Rhodesia. "Dancing Queen" also reached the Top 5 in Austria, Canada, Finland, France and Switzerland. The track peaked at #14 in Italy, where ABBA never achieved the same degree of popularity as elsewhere. The song sold over three million copies.


"Dancing Queen" was the last of three consecutive #1s the band had in the UK in 1976, following "Mamma Mia" and "Fernando" earlier in the year.


On December 5, 2010, Britain's ITV broadcast the results of a poll to determine The Nation's Favourite ABBA Song, in which "Dancing Queen" placed at #2.   The song is featured in the video clip above from the Australian classic film "Muriel's Wedding".

Monday, May 9, 2011

Zager and Evans - "In The Year 2525" (1969)

"In the Year 2525" is a hit song from 1969 by the Lincoln, Nebraska duo Zager & Evans which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks commencing July 12.


The song was written by Rick Evans in 1964 and originally released on a small regional record label (Truth Records) in 1968. A year later, an Odessa, Texas radio station popularized the disc, which RCA Records quickly picked up for nationwide distribution.


The song describes a nightmarish vision of the future as man's technological inventions gradually dehumanize him. It includes a colloquial reference to the Second Coming (In the year 7510, if God's a-coming, He ought to make it by then.), which echoed the zeitgeist of the Jesus Movement.


The song also references examples of technologies and concepts that were not fully developed but were known to the public in 1969, such as robots, as well as future technology that would come into existence long before their prediction in the song, the science of In vitro fertilisation and genetic selection by parents of their future children.


The song has no chorus. Amid ominous-sounding orchestral music, the final dated chronological verse is, "In the year 9595, I'm kinda wonderin' if Man is gonna be alive.He's taken everything this old Earth can give, and he ain't put back nothing in, whoa-whoa...,"

Friday, May 6, 2011

Mama Cass Eliot - "Dream A Little Dream Of Me" (1968)

"Dream a Little Dream of Me" was recorded by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra with vocal by Nelson on February 16, 1931 for Brunswick Records.


"Dream a Little Dream of Me" was recorded for the Mamas & the Papas April 1968 album release The Papas & The Mamas. The group had often sung the song for fun, having been familiarized with it by member Michelle Phillips, whose father had been friends with the song's co-writer, Fabian Andre, in Mexico City where Michelle Phillips' family had resided when she was a young girl. "Mama" Cass Elliot suggested to group leader John Phillips that the group record "Dream a Little Dream of Me"; according to him she was unhappy while recording the song, objecting to its campiness, but Elliot herself would later tell Melody Maker: "I tried to sing it like it was 1943 and somebody had just come in and said, 'Here's a new song.' I tried to sing it as if it were the first time."


By the time of the album's release, there were strong indications that the "Mamas & the Papas" were set to disband, a perception strengthened by the failure of the lead single "Safe in My Garden". Having an opportunity to promote the group's best-known member as a soloist, Dunhill Records gave a June 1968 single release to the "Dream a Little Dream of Me" track credited to Mama Cass with the Mamas & the Papas; the UK release simply read "Mama Cass". Promoted in the US press and on billboards with a photograph of a discreetly but obviously nude Elliot lying in a bed of daisies, "Dream a Little Dream of Me" peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 that August (its Cash Box peak was #10 and in Record World it reached #8). The Billboard Easy Listening chart ranked the single as high as #2. In the UK "Dream a Little Dream of Me" reached #11 that September, staving off competition by a cover from Anita Harris that reached #33. In Australia the Go-Set Top 40 chart ranked "Dream a Little Dream of Me" at #1 for the weeks of 4 & 11 September 1968.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Isley Brothers - That Lady, Pts. 1 & 2 (1973)



"That Lady, Pt. 1 & 2" is a 1973 R&B and soul hit song for The Isley Brothers, released on their T-Neck imprint. The song, one of the group's most well known, was originally performed by the group nearly a decade before in 1964 (released as "Who's That Lady?") inspired by The Impressions. After signing with Epic Records in 1973, the eldest members of the group (O'Kelly Isley, Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley) had included younger members, guitarist Ernie Isley, bassist Marvin Isley and keyboardist/pianist Chris Jasper, as official members. In a response to this transformation, the group gave themselves the moniker of 3 + 3, describing the three original vocalists in the group and three recruited instrumentalists, inspiring the aptly-titled album that came out that year.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Sid Raimin/Robert Wells - Patty Duke Show Theme Song (1963)

Themes songs from old TV shows and jingles from nostalgic TV commercials are very much a part of our history. They bring back many fond memories. The theme song for "The Patty Duke Show" is one of them. "The Patty Duke Show" is an American sitcom which ran on ABC from September 18, 1963, until May 4, 1966, with reruns airing through August 31, 1966. The show was created as a vehicle for rising star Patty Duke. A total of 104 episodes were produced, mostly written by Sidney Sheldon.
Patty Lane (Duke) is a normal teenager living in the Brooklyn Heights section of New York City, who is into boys, ice cream, and sleepovers (and as the lyrics to the theme song point out--"Patty loves to rock 'n' roll, a hot dog makes her lose control!"). Her father is the managing editor of the New York Chronicle. In the unaired pilot episode, her "identical cousin" Cathy Lane (also played by Duke), whose father also works for the Chronicle as a foreign correspondent, arrives in the United States from Scotland to live with Patty's family and attend school.
The show's premise is that Cathy is more worldly and demure than identical looking cousin Patty. However, most storylines were standard sitcom fare where wacky teenager Patty encounters a problem at the top of the show only to experience a resolution by the end of the half-hour. In actuality, few storylines required two identical-looking, different-personality girls sharing the same family, home, and school. The remarkable physical resemblance that Patty and Cathy Lane share to each other is explained by their fathers being identical twin brothers.


THEME SONG LYRICS:
Meet Cathy, who's lived most everywhere,
From Zanzibar to Barclay Square.
But Patty's only seen the sight.
A girl can see from Brooklyn Heights ...
What a crazy pair!
But they're cousins,
Identical cousins all the way.
One pair of matching bookends,
Different as night and day.
Where Cathy adores a minuet,
The Ballet Russes, and crepe suzette,
Our Patty loves to rock and roll,
A hot dog makes her lose control ...
What a wild duet!
Still, they're cousins,
Identical cousins and you'll find,
They laugh alike, they walk alike,
At times they even talk alike ...
You can lose your mind,
When cousins are two of a kind.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The Byrds - Turn! Turn! Turn! (1965)



"Turn! Turn! Turn! (to Everything There Is a Season)" is a song adapted entirely from the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible (with the exception of the last line) and put to music by Pete Seeger in 1959.

Seeger waited until 1962 to record his own version of it, releasing the song on his The Bitter and the Sweet album on Columbia Records. In Seeger's own words, "I did write six words."

The song became an international hit in late 1965, when it was covered by The Byrds, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #26 on the UK Singles Chart. Thus, the song easily holds the record as the #1 song with the oldest lyrics.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Minnie Riperton - Lovin' You (1975)



According to the liner notes from Riperton's compilation CD Petals, the melody for "Lovin' You" was created as a distraction for her daughter (Maya Rudolph) when she was a baby so that Minnie and her husband Richard could hang out. Maya was in the studio with her mother on the day the song was recorded and Riperton can be heard singing her daughter's name at the end of the song, but only in the unedited or album version of the song. The song fades out early in the single edit, because the disc jockeys felt that the repeated "MAYA" was being overdone and too misunderstood, thinking that it was a "Mayan Chant".

Chart (1975) Peak
Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 1
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks 3
U.K. Singles Chart 2

Monday, April 11, 2011

War - H2Overture (1973)



"H2Overture" was released on the album 'Deliver the Word' by 'War' in 1973 on United Artists Records. The album featured two singles, "Gypsy Man" backed with "Deliver the Word" (US #8), and "Me and Baby Brother" backed with "In Your Eyes" (US #15).

"H2Overture" was a hidden little gem that was perhaps the best song on the album, but never gained much popularity.

I like to close my eyes and have the flute take me to a higher state.