"Stray Cat Strut" is the eighth track on the Stray Cats' debut album, Stray Cats, released in 1981 in the UK. In the US, the song was first released in 1982 on Built for Speed. The song became a hit in the US, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, over a year after it had reached its number eleven peak in the UK. The music video for the song received extensive airplay on MTV during the channel's early days. The video featured scenes from the 1949 MGM cartoon Bad Luck Blackie, and a bass line derived from The Cat Came Back.
In the October 1998 issue of Guitar World magazine, Brian Setzer's solo from "Stray Cat Strut" ranked #92 on the "Top 100 Guitar Solos of All Time" list.
Stray Cats are an American Rockabilly band formed in 1980 by guitarist/vocalist Brian Setzer (Bloodless Pharaohs/Brian Setzer Orchestra), bassist Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom (drums) in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in the UK, Australia and the U.S. including "Stray Cat Strut", "Sexy and 17", "I Won't Stand in Your Way", "Bring it Back Again", and "Rock This Town", which the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has listed as one of the 500 most important songs in the history of rock and roll.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
The Style Council - "My Ever Changing Moods" (1984)
The Style Council were an English band, formed in 1983 by the ex-The Jam singer and guitarist Paul Weller, with keyboardist Mick Talbot. The permanent line-up grew to include drummer Steve White and Weller's then-wife, vocalist Dee C. Lee. Other artists such as Tracie Young and Tracey Thorn (Everything but the Girl) also collaborated with the group. As with Weller's previous band, most of this London based outfit's hits were in their homeland, although the band did score six top 40 hits in Australia, and seven top 40 hits in New Zealand.
In 1984, the single "My Ever-Changing Moods", backed with the Hammond organ instrumental "Mick's Company", reached #29 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. The song remains Weller's greatest success in the US (including his efforts in The Jam and as a solo artist), while the group reached the peak of its success in the UK with the 1985 album Our Favourite Shop.
In 1984, the single "My Ever-Changing Moods", backed with the Hammond organ instrumental "Mick's Company", reached #29 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. The song remains Weller's greatest success in the US (including his efforts in The Jam and as a solo artist), while the group reached the peak of its success in the UK with the 1985 album Our Favourite Shop.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Patsy Cline - "Crazy" (1962)
"Crazy" is a ballad composed by Willie Nelson. It has been recorded by several artists, most notably by Patsy Cline, whose version was a #2 country hit in 1962.
Partly due to the genre-blending nature of the song, it has been covered by dozens of artists in several genres over the years; Nevertheless, the song remains inextricably linked with Patsy Cline.
Nelson wrote the song in early 1961; at the time he was a journeyman singer-songwriter who had written several hits for other artists but had not yet had a significant recording of his own. Willie Nelson originally wrote the song for country singer Billy Walker, but Walker turned it down. The song's eventual success helped launch Nelson as a performer as well as a songwriter. Musically the song is a jazz-pop ballad with country overtones and a complex melody. The lyrics describe the singer's state of bemusement at the singer's own helpless love for the object of his affection.
Patsy Cline, who was already a country music superstar and working to extend a string of hits, picked it as a follow up to her previous big hit "I Fall to Pieces". "Crazy", its complex melody suiting Cline's vocal talent perfectly, was released in late 1961 and immediately became another huge hit for Cline and widened the crossover audience she had established with her prior hits. It spent 21 weeks on the chart and eventually became one of her signature tunes. Cline's version is #85 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[3]
According to the Ellis Nassour biography Patsy Cline, Nelson, who at that time was known as a struggling songwriter by the name of Hugh Nelson, was a regular at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge on Nashville's Music Row, where he frequented with friends Kris Kristofferson and Roger Miller, both unknown songwriters at that time. Nelson met Cline's husband, Charlie Dick, at the bar one evening and pitched the song to him. Dick took the track home and played it for Cline, who absolutely hated it at first because Nelson's demo "spoke" the lyrics to a faster tempo than what Cline later recorded as a ballad. Cline's producer, Owen Bradley, loved the song and arranged it as the ballad it was recorded as. Still recovering from a recent automobile accident that nearly took her life, Cline had difficulty reaching the high notes of the song at first due to her broken ribs, so she came back the next day to record the vocal, which she did in one take. Another story has it that Cline tried to record the song for hours one night with no success. After visiting Willie Nelson and listining to how he would have sung it she made it within a few attempts the next recording session.
Loretta Lynn remembers the first time Cline performed it at the Grand Ole Opry on crutches, she received three standing ovations. Barbara Mandrell remembers Cline introducing the song to her audiences live in concert saying "I had a hit out called 'I Fall to Pieces' and I was in a car wreck. Now I'm really worried because I have a new hit single out and its called 'Crazy'."
Willie Nelson stated on the 1993 documentary Remembering Patsy that Cline's version of "Crazy" was his favorite song of his that anybody had ever recorded because it "was a lot of magic."
Partly due to the genre-blending nature of the song, it has been covered by dozens of artists in several genres over the years; Nevertheless, the song remains inextricably linked with Patsy Cline.
Nelson wrote the song in early 1961; at the time he was a journeyman singer-songwriter who had written several hits for other artists but had not yet had a significant recording of his own. Willie Nelson originally wrote the song for country singer Billy Walker, but Walker turned it down. The song's eventual success helped launch Nelson as a performer as well as a songwriter. Musically the song is a jazz-pop ballad with country overtones and a complex melody. The lyrics describe the singer's state of bemusement at the singer's own helpless love for the object of his affection.
Patsy Cline, who was already a country music superstar and working to extend a string of hits, picked it as a follow up to her previous big hit "I Fall to Pieces". "Crazy", its complex melody suiting Cline's vocal talent perfectly, was released in late 1961 and immediately became another huge hit for Cline and widened the crossover audience she had established with her prior hits. It spent 21 weeks on the chart and eventually became one of her signature tunes. Cline's version is #85 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[3]
According to the Ellis Nassour biography Patsy Cline, Nelson, who at that time was known as a struggling songwriter by the name of Hugh Nelson, was a regular at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge on Nashville's Music Row, where he frequented with friends Kris Kristofferson and Roger Miller, both unknown songwriters at that time. Nelson met Cline's husband, Charlie Dick, at the bar one evening and pitched the song to him. Dick took the track home and played it for Cline, who absolutely hated it at first because Nelson's demo "spoke" the lyrics to a faster tempo than what Cline later recorded as a ballad. Cline's producer, Owen Bradley, loved the song and arranged it as the ballad it was recorded as. Still recovering from a recent automobile accident that nearly took her life, Cline had difficulty reaching the high notes of the song at first due to her broken ribs, so she came back the next day to record the vocal, which she did in one take. Another story has it that Cline tried to record the song for hours one night with no success. After visiting Willie Nelson and listining to how he would have sung it she made it within a few attempts the next recording session.
Loretta Lynn remembers the first time Cline performed it at the Grand Ole Opry on crutches, she received three standing ovations. Barbara Mandrell remembers Cline introducing the song to her audiences live in concert saying "I had a hit out called 'I Fall to Pieces' and I was in a car wreck. Now I'm really worried because I have a new hit single out and its called 'Crazy'."
Willie Nelson stated on the 1993 documentary Remembering Patsy that Cline's version of "Crazy" was his favorite song of his that anybody had ever recorded because it "was a lot of magic."
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell - I Only Have Eyes For You (1934)
"I Only Have Eyes for You" is a popular song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin, written in 1934 for the film Dames where it was introduced by Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler.
According to Billboard magazine, the song was a #2 hit for Ben Selvin in 1934. The orchestras of Peter Duchin and Anson Weeks also figured in the song's 1934 popularity. This song was recorded in 1950 by Peggy Lee, and most notably by The Flamingos in 1959, becoming one of their most popular hits. Rolling Stone magazine ranked the Flamingos' version #157 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. This version peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
A remake of the song by Art Garfunkel was a number one song on the UK Singles Chart in October 1975 for two weeks. The song was his first hit as a solo artist in the UK. In the US, the song reached #18 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the adult contemporary chart. Garfunkel performed the song on the second episode of Saturday Night Live.
The Flamingos version was included on the soundtracks for the 1973 film American Graffiti and the 1983 film The Right Stuff.
It is also used as a recurring theme in a Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies cartoon of the same title, released 3 years after the original song, and directed by Tex Avery.
The Flamingos version:
According to Billboard magazine, the song was a #2 hit for Ben Selvin in 1934. The orchestras of Peter Duchin and Anson Weeks also figured in the song's 1934 popularity. This song was recorded in 1950 by Peggy Lee, and most notably by The Flamingos in 1959, becoming one of their most popular hits. Rolling Stone magazine ranked the Flamingos' version #157 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. This version peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
A remake of the song by Art Garfunkel was a number one song on the UK Singles Chart in October 1975 for two weeks. The song was his first hit as a solo artist in the UK. In the US, the song reached #18 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the adult contemporary chart. Garfunkel performed the song on the second episode of Saturday Night Live.
The Flamingos version was included on the soundtracks for the 1973 film American Graffiti and the 1983 film The Right Stuff.
It is also used as a recurring theme in a Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies cartoon of the same title, released 3 years after the original song, and directed by Tex Avery.
The Flamingos version:
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
John Lennon - '(Just Like) Starting Over' (1980)
"(Just Like) Starting Over" is a song written and performed by John Lennon for his album, Double Fantasy. The B-side was Yoko Ono's "Kiss Kiss Kiss". It was released as a single on 24 October 1980 and reached number one in both the USA and UK two weeks after he was murdered. It is his biggest solo American hit, staying at #1 for five weeks. (When Lennon was shot in New York City on 8 December 1980 the single was at #3 in the US and reached the summit for the week ending December 27, making it the fourth posthumous number one song on the US chart.) In the UK it had peaked at #8 in the charts and had fallen to position #21 before Lennon's death propelled it to #1, making an unprecedented #21 to #1 move. By 6 January 1981 there were three Lennon songs in the UK top 5, a feat never achieved before or since.
This was the first single released from Double Fantasy, and the first new recording Lennon had released since 1975. It was chosen by Lennon not because he felt it was the best track on the album, but because it was the most appropriate following his five year absence from the recording industry. He referred to it during production as the "Elvis/Orbison" track, as he "tongue in cheek" impersonated their vocal styles. The uplifting bell at the intro of the song serves as the antidote to the morose bell sound which opens Lennon's first solo album, Lennon seeing it as his having come full circle.
Although its origins were in unfinished older compositions like "Don’t Be Crazy" and "My Life", it was one of the last songs to be completed in time for the Double Fantasy sessions. “We didn’t hear it until the last day of rehearsal,” producer Jack Douglas said in 2005. Lennon finished the song while on holiday in Bermuda, and recorded it at The Hit Factory in New York City just weeks later. The original title was to be "Starting Over". "(Just Like)" was added at the last minute because a country song of the same title had recently been released by Tammy Wynette. Inspirations for the song include similarities in melody to a section in the Beach Boys song "Don't Worry Baby".
While commercial releases of the song (original 45rpm singles, LP's and Compact Discs) run a length of three minutes and 54 seconds, a promotional 12" vinyl single originally issued to radio stations feature a longer fadeout, officially running at four minutes and 17 seconds. This version is highly desired by collectors. It is listed at #53 on Billboard's All Time Top Songs. The Flaming Lips recorded a version for the benefit album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. On 8 October 2010, in honor of his birthday, iTunes released remastered albums, iTunes LPs and a free track, the 2010 remix of "(Just Like) Starting Over".
This was the first single released from Double Fantasy, and the first new recording Lennon had released since 1975. It was chosen by Lennon not because he felt it was the best track on the album, but because it was the most appropriate following his five year absence from the recording industry. He referred to it during production as the "Elvis/Orbison" track, as he "tongue in cheek" impersonated their vocal styles. The uplifting bell at the intro of the song serves as the antidote to the morose bell sound which opens Lennon's first solo album, Lennon seeing it as his having come full circle.
Although its origins were in unfinished older compositions like "Don’t Be Crazy" and "My Life", it was one of the last songs to be completed in time for the Double Fantasy sessions. “We didn’t hear it until the last day of rehearsal,” producer Jack Douglas said in 2005. Lennon finished the song while on holiday in Bermuda, and recorded it at The Hit Factory in New York City just weeks later. The original title was to be "Starting Over". "(Just Like)" was added at the last minute because a country song of the same title had recently been released by Tammy Wynette. Inspirations for the song include similarities in melody to a section in the Beach Boys song "Don't Worry Baby".
While commercial releases of the song (original 45rpm singles, LP's and Compact Discs) run a length of three minutes and 54 seconds, a promotional 12" vinyl single originally issued to radio stations feature a longer fadeout, officially running at four minutes and 17 seconds. This version is highly desired by collectors. It is listed at #53 on Billboard's All Time Top Songs. The Flaming Lips recorded a version for the benefit album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. On 8 October 2010, in honor of his birthday, iTunes released remastered albums, iTunes LPs and a free track, the 2010 remix of "(Just Like) Starting Over".
The Zombies - "Time of the Season" (1968)
"Time of the Season" is a song by The Zombies, featured on their 1968 album Odessey and Oracle. It was written by keyboard player Rod Argent and recorded at Abbey Road Studios in August 1967.
"Time of The Season" is frequently used in pop culture to represent the late 1960s. In that sense, it is featured in the films 1969, Awakenings, A Walk on the Moon and Riding the Bullet, all of which depict the year of 1969. "Time of the Season" is played in the background of The Simpsons episode "D'oh-in In the Wind", in which Homer decides to follow the footsteps of his mother and become a hippie. In the South Park episodes "The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka" and "201" it is used in flashback scenes portraying the Vietnam War. It was also featured in the 2005 film Dear Wendy, it is also referenced in the final words of Dick's letter addressed to Wendy. The song was also featured on the HBO series, Big Love.
The NBC series American Dreams, which depicts the mid and late 1960s in American society, featured the song in its third season episode "So Long, Farewell". "Tell Her No" and "She's Not There", The Zombies' other major hits in the U.S., were also used in the show, the latter being included in the soundtrack of the series.
It is also common for the song to appear in romantic scenes, such as the mentioned above in the film 1969. In the Friends episode "The One With the Flashback", the song is played in a dream sequence where Rachel fantasizes about Chandler. In the final scene of the Will and Grace episode "Marry Me A Little", it is used to represent Grace's joy after getting married with Leo.
"Time of the Season" is also featured in a scene of the 1999 NBC miniseries The '60s. The usage of the song in this particular scene was rather anachronistic, since it was supposed to portray 1965. The film Shanghai Knights, which is supposed to depict 1887, also features the song.
"Time of the Season" has been featured in several TV commercials, such as a 1999 Tampax ad taking place at Woodstock. In a 2006 ad for Sprite, a chorus of flowers with human faces performs an a cappella version of the song. In that same year, it was featured in an ad for the Irish beverage Magners Irish Cider. It was also used in the advertising campaigns of Nissan Tiida in Greece in 2007 and of Crest in Mexico in 2008. In sports, it was featured in Free Your Mind, the 16th video in the Transworld Skateboarding series. During the 2006 playoffs, the song was played in the Shea Stadium as the home-team New York Mets took the field. The song appears on the video game Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore and DJ Hero.
"Time of The Season" is frequently used in pop culture to represent the late 1960s. In that sense, it is featured in the films 1969, Awakenings, A Walk on the Moon and Riding the Bullet, all of which depict the year of 1969. "Time of the Season" is played in the background of The Simpsons episode "D'oh-in In the Wind", in which Homer decides to follow the footsteps of his mother and become a hippie. In the South Park episodes "The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka" and "201" it is used in flashback scenes portraying the Vietnam War. It was also featured in the 2005 film Dear Wendy, it is also referenced in the final words of Dick's letter addressed to Wendy. The song was also featured on the HBO series, Big Love.
The NBC series American Dreams, which depicts the mid and late 1960s in American society, featured the song in its third season episode "So Long, Farewell". "Tell Her No" and "She's Not There", The Zombies' other major hits in the U.S., were also used in the show, the latter being included in the soundtrack of the series.
It is also common for the song to appear in romantic scenes, such as the mentioned above in the film 1969. In the Friends episode "The One With the Flashback", the song is played in a dream sequence where Rachel fantasizes about Chandler. In the final scene of the Will and Grace episode "Marry Me A Little", it is used to represent Grace's joy after getting married with Leo.
"Time of the Season" is also featured in a scene of the 1999 NBC miniseries The '60s. The usage of the song in this particular scene was rather anachronistic, since it was supposed to portray 1965. The film Shanghai Knights, which is supposed to depict 1887, also features the song.
"Time of the Season" has been featured in several TV commercials, such as a 1999 Tampax ad taking place at Woodstock. In a 2006 ad for Sprite, a chorus of flowers with human faces performs an a cappella version of the song. In that same year, it was featured in an ad for the Irish beverage Magners Irish Cider. It was also used in the advertising campaigns of Nissan Tiida in Greece in 2007 and of Crest in Mexico in 2008. In sports, it was featured in Free Your Mind, the 16th video in the Transworld Skateboarding series. During the 2006 playoffs, the song was played in the Shea Stadium as the home-team New York Mets took the field. The song appears on the video game Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore and DJ Hero.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Dave Dee Dozey Beaky Mick & Tich - "Bend It" (1966)
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich is an amalgam of the band members' nicknames. The distinctive name, coupled with well produced and catchy songs like "Bend It", quickly caught the UK public's imagination and their records started to sell in abundance. Indeed, between 1965 and 1969, the group spent more weeks in the UK Singles Chart than The Beatles and made the odd tour 'downunder' to Australia and New Zealand, where they had also experienced some marked chart success during this period.
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.
‘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.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
The Ink Spots - "The Gypsy" (1946)
"The Gypsy" is a popular song written by Billy Reid, and published in 1945. "The Gypsy" was originally introduced in the United Kingdom by Reid's orchestra and vocalist Dorothy Squires. In the United States, the song was recorded by The Ink Spots, by Dinah Shore, and by Sammy Kaye's orchestra, becoming a hit for all three.
The recording by The Ink Spots was released by Decca Records as catalog number 18817. It first reached the Billboard chart on May 2, 1946 and lasted 18 weeks on the chart, peaking at #1 and was also number one on the R&B charts for three non consecutive weeks.
The Ink Spots were a popular vocal group in the 1930s and 1940s that helped define the musical genre that led to rhythm and blues and rock and roll, and the subgenre doo-wop. They and the Mills Brothers, another black vocal group of the same period, gained much acceptance in the white community.
Their songs usually began with a guitar riff, followed by the tenor, who sang the whole song through. After the tenor finished singing, the bass would either recite the first half, or the bridge of the song, or would speak the words, almost in a free form, that were not part of the song, commonly using the words "Honey Child", or "Honey Babe", expressing his love for his darling in the song. This was followed by the tenor, who finished up singing the last refrain or the last half of the song.
The Ink Spots formed in the early 1930s in Indianapolis. The original members were:
Orville "Hoppy" Jones (b. 17 February 1902, Chicago, Illinois – d. 18 October 1944, New York City) (bass) (Played cello in the manner of a stand up bass).
Ivory "Deek" Watson (b. 18 July 1909, Mounds, Illinois – d. 4 November 1969, Washington, DC) (tenor) (Played guitar and trumpet).
Jerry Daniels (b. 14 December 1915 – d. 7 November 1995, Indianapolis, Indiana) (tenor) (Played guitar and ukulele).
Charlie Fuqua (b. 20 October 1910 – d. 21 December 1971, New Haven, Connecticut) (baritone) (Played guitar).
The recording by The Ink Spots was released by Decca Records as catalog number 18817. It first reached the Billboard chart on May 2, 1946 and lasted 18 weeks on the chart, peaking at #1 and was also number one on the R&B charts for three non consecutive weeks.
The Ink Spots were a popular vocal group in the 1930s and 1940s that helped define the musical genre that led to rhythm and blues and rock and roll, and the subgenre doo-wop. They and the Mills Brothers, another black vocal group of the same period, gained much acceptance in the white community.
Their songs usually began with a guitar riff, followed by the tenor, who sang the whole song through. After the tenor finished singing, the bass would either recite the first half, or the bridge of the song, or would speak the words, almost in a free form, that were not part of the song, commonly using the words "Honey Child", or "Honey Babe", expressing his love for his darling in the song. This was followed by the tenor, who finished up singing the last refrain or the last half of the song.
The Ink Spots formed in the early 1930s in Indianapolis. The original members were:
Orville "Hoppy" Jones (b. 17 February 1902, Chicago, Illinois – d. 18 October 1944, New York City) (bass) (Played cello in the manner of a stand up bass).
Ivory "Deek" Watson (b. 18 July 1909, Mounds, Illinois – d. 4 November 1969, Washington, DC) (tenor) (Played guitar and trumpet).
Jerry Daniels (b. 14 December 1915 – d. 7 November 1995, Indianapolis, Indiana) (tenor) (Played guitar and ukulele).
Charlie Fuqua (b. 20 October 1910 – d. 21 December 1971, New Haven, Connecticut) (baritone) (Played guitar).
Stevie Wonder - "Isn't She Lovely" (1976)
"Isn't She Lovely?" is a song by Stevie Wonder, from his 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life. In it he celebrates the birth of his daughter, Aisha. There are three verses, each ending with the phrase "isn't she lovely, made from love" (or "so very lovely..."). The song opens with the audio of a baby being born, and a lengthy outro featuring samples of Aisha playing with Wonder.
The song, musically constructed over a standardized circle-of-fifths, is considered an example of the fusion of fundamental jazz and pop elements. Although the song was very popular and has received much radio airplay, it did not chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 because Stevie Wonder would not allow it to be released as a 45 RPM single even though requested to do so by Motown.
Numerous other artists have performed "Isn't She Lovely". A cover version by vocalist David Parton was a UK top ten hit in 1977. The song was also covered by the punk rock band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes on their album Take a Break. It was covered by the a cappella group The Idea of North on their album Evidence. Saxophonist Sonny Rollins included a cover of this song on his 1977 album Easy Living, rendered on soprano sax.[1] Jazz fusion artist Lee Ritenour also covered the song in his 1977 album, Captain Fingers. Frank Sinatra recorded the song in 1979. Urban jazz saxophonist Najee covered the song from his Stevie Wonder tribute album "Songs from the Key of Life."[2] Blues musician Keb' Mo' has also covered the song on his 2001 album Big Wide Grin. Another saxophonist, David Sanborn covered the song from his 2003 album "Time Again." Clay Aiken performs a cover on Scrubs at the end of the Season 4, Episode 17 episode My Life In Four Cameras . An instrumental version of the song was played after Michelle Obama's speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.[citation needed]
In 2011 the song was covered on the television series Glee by Artie with Sam, Finn, Puck and Mike backing him up in the episode Prom Queen.The song is directed towards Brittany in Home Economics class as an apology and a prom proposal.
The song, musically constructed over a standardized circle-of-fifths, is considered an example of the fusion of fundamental jazz and pop elements. Although the song was very popular and has received much radio airplay, it did not chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 because Stevie Wonder would not allow it to be released as a 45 RPM single even though requested to do so by Motown.
Numerous other artists have performed "Isn't She Lovely". A cover version by vocalist David Parton was a UK top ten hit in 1977. The song was also covered by the punk rock band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes on their album Take a Break. It was covered by the a cappella group The Idea of North on their album Evidence. Saxophonist Sonny Rollins included a cover of this song on his 1977 album Easy Living, rendered on soprano sax.[1] Jazz fusion artist Lee Ritenour also covered the song in his 1977 album, Captain Fingers. Frank Sinatra recorded the song in 1979. Urban jazz saxophonist Najee covered the song from his Stevie Wonder tribute album "Songs from the Key of Life."[2] Blues musician Keb' Mo' has also covered the song on his 2001 album Big Wide Grin. Another saxophonist, David Sanborn covered the song from his 2003 album "Time Again." Clay Aiken performs a cover on Scrubs at the end of the Season 4, Episode 17 episode My Life In Four Cameras . An instrumental version of the song was played after Michelle Obama's speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.[citation needed]
In 2011 the song was covered on the television series Glee by Artie with Sam, Finn, Puck and Mike backing him up in the episode Prom Queen.The song is directed towards Brittany in Home Economics class as an apology and a prom proposal.
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