Ok, I went so far off on a tangent, I am sorry. Back to family!! Brothers and sisters, brothers, sisters, parents and children. When I looked at todays 10, well actually 11 cause I decided I would make Thursdays a bonus night, the majority of the songs are song by families. As you all know, I would not be doing any of this if it were not for my brother and his family, so, let's all thank Steven! He will always be my protector and my hero.
Ok....on to todays 10. DOH!!! I mean 11! I am going to start with the bonus song because it is my favorite.
1. (They Long To Be) Close To You - Carpenters 3:40 (A&M Records) This is probably one of my two favorite songs in the whole world. (The other being "A Song For You" as recorded by the Carpenters) I know I have said this before but if it were not for Aunt Bobbie, I may not have ever known or loved the Carpetners as much as I do. She called me up and told me to put on American Bandstand because there was this brother and sister group performing and SHE (the sister, not my Aunt) was playing the drums. I fell in love. Also, when Dick Clark talked to them, Karen was wearing the white dress she has on on the cover of the album Close To You. He said how refreshing it was to see her dressed the way she was. She promptly raised up her dress to reveal that she was wearing jeans under it. Gotta love her! My other favorite memory of this song is of course, my best bud, my Mom. When we lived in Long Island, it was usually just her and I at home during the day. Steven was at school and Dad was at work. So, we did everything together. She would strap me into the car (and I was not allowed to talk when she drove) and we would go to Ethan Allen or go shopping or just hang out in the backyard (and she would make little meatballs in a brown gravy....yum! See, Family, Music and Food). Anyway, she would sing this song to me and ALWAYS changed the lyric, "eyes of blue" to "eyes of brown" and I really thought, she had them change the lyric just for me! Best days of my life. Yesterday was a day that reminded me of that! WOW that was a lot of words. NEXT.....................
2. It's My Turn - Diana Ross 3:53 (Motown Records) Well, I guess Diana is a family onto herself. LOL Diana Ross made a career out of recording very self-affirming songs after the Supremes. This is one of the first she did as a ballad and not a disco anthem. Man, the lyric is beautiful and her voice never sounded stronger and more self-confident. "This time's just for me!" Good on you DR! The strings are sooooooo gorgeous. I am a sucker for a well orchestrated song and this is right up there with the best. I just looked to see who wrote the song and it was Michael Masser and Carole Bayer Sager (co-writer with Melissa Manchester on so many amazing songs)! Great team. Great song.
3. Something Stupid - Nancy and Frank Sinatra 2:35 (Reprise Records) I think this may be Steven's favorite pick for tonight, I know it is one of my favorites. I told you my whole family loves music and my Dad's favorite has always been Francis Albert. Mom and Dad not only got to see him perform several times at places like Carnegie Hall but my Dad actually met Frank! Mom used to play "My Way" on the piano and I can remember her explaining the lyrics to us and how important they were. The few times I have sung that at Karaoke, I got choked up. This song, Something Stupid, is so simple and so wonderful, although the lyric is a bit odd for a Father to be singing with his Daughter, but, eh, what do I know?
4. Temptation Eyes - The Grass Roots 2:35 (Dunhill/abc Records) Ok, maybe this one will be Steven's pick. WOW From the driving beat in the beginning of the song to very end, this is such a strong song. Great vocal, great horns!!! "Temptation Eyes looking through my my my soul" aw man, that guitar solo in the break! Amazing. LOL ok,this is embarrassing but we all have had these moments. I used to think the lyric was "looking through my my my door!" LOL After 150 years, I sit here corrected and realize how stupid I must have sounded when I was a kid singing this!! And for those keeping track, this is another one I brought into St. Pat's that day!
5. Our Day Will Come - Frankie Valli 3:58 (Private Stock Records) I think this was Frankie's (I feel close enough to him to call him Frankie) follow-up to Swearin' To God! Do I own that? I love that song! Very much disco, with a great back-up vocal and horn arrangement! One of the few break out solo songs without the 4 Seasons. I am trying to find out who sang that amazing back-up for him. Anyone know?
6. Chase - Giorgio Moroder 3:38 (Casablanca Records) This is the theme from Midnight Express. WOW I totally forgot about this song. It is instrumental and brilliant. Giorgio Moroder had a way with a synthesizer that no one else has ever had. Howard Jones and Vince Clark come close but they had great vocals to rely on.
7. Remember (Walkin' In The Sand) The Shangri-Las 2:18 (Red Bird Records) Such drama!!! WOW "Oh no. Oh no. Oh no no no no no!" Girl meets guy, guy leaves for two years to go over seas and then he sends girl a Dear Jane letter. Ah, the 60s. By today's standards we have an obsessive compulsive girl who is clinging too tightly too what might have been and has a flock of seagulls (no not them......actual seagulls) at her beck-and-call so she can record this melodramatic song. A nice bit of fluff. Next.......
8. Turn Around, Look At Me - The Vogues 2:43 (Reprise Records) Oh, good, more drama! "there is someone, walking behind you!" Stalker? (He really should have met the chick that sang the previous song. In bizarro world, they would have cancelled each other out!) "Watching your footsteps"? "Here's my heart, in my hand"? Isn't that messy? Sorry. I couldn't resist. This is a very sappy song and I can not believe that I am saying that!!!! Me! The king of SAP! I got nuthin' folks. LOL Next.....Ok, wait. I got something. The one great thing about this song is the vocal. It is very reminiscent of groups from the 50s like the Four Lads and the Four Aces. Ok, now...cue it up.
9. I Think I Love You - The Partridge Family 2:28 (Bell Records) AHHHHHHH!!!! I LOVE THIS SONG! I always sing this at Karaoke. I do have alternate lyrics for this song that stem back to my piano bar days with Amy and Gerry, but they are not suitable for the chillruns! Oh that harpsichord break followed by the really deep voice! "I don't know what I'm up against (tssst) I don't know what it's all about (tssst) I got so much to think about HEEEEEYYYYYY!" This was another HUGE debate in the 70s....Bradys or Partridges. My loyalty was always with Keith...I mean David. Yeh, that's it, David! So good!!!!
10. Da Doo Ron Ron - Shaun Cassidy 2:46 (Warner Borhter's Records) Ok, you can't plan this stuff folks, but now you understand where the whole family theme came from. Following in David's well-coiffed footsteps was step-brother Shaun. High on his success in The Hardy Boys, he released a couple of singles that did really well on the pop charts in the late 70s. Growing up, people always compared me to Shaun. I guess it was the hair? Well, I finally got to meet him one day. My friend Laurie Beechman was doing a show with Shaun as her co-star called Dangerous Music. I flew to Florida to surprise her and she in turn introduced me to the entire cast. I felt so SPECIAL that day!!! In the show, Shaun's voice was surprisingly powerful and commanding. You would never know it from listening to this single but, this was a lot of fun in the day!
11. Cherish - David Cassidy 3:48 (Bell Records) Again, what are the odds of this???? It is a Cassidy musical orgy! This was David's break-out single without the Partridge Family. A great idea with one major misstep! It is produced by the same people that did the PF songs and includes a choral back-up that sounds very much like the rest of the flock! On the plus side, it is a wonderfully produced song and he sounds amazing. I saw him in concert a few ago and he still sounds GREAT and looks amazing! I really have a lot of respect for this man! Go check out his site. It opens with a remake of "I'll Meet You Halfway", a song that is on the block for Sunday with Annette!!! Very ironic if you ask me.
Well, we can't all be fortuate enough to have musical siblings that either travel around in a bus together or played Vegas together or sold millions of records together but we do all have family. Like I said in the beginning of this post, related by blood or circumstance, they are our families and I for one would be lost without mine. Good night peeps. See you tomorrow!!!
So I happen to think that "Close To You" is one of THE most perfect songs ever. Just that simple voice. And the way Karen come back in the pause in the music with "that is...why...". And that little cymbal hit right before the "wahhhhs". You know what I'm talking about Gary!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you that "Walkin' in the Sand" on a 45 though. Oh the Shangri-Las had some WEIRD songs. Someone needs to write a show with all their crazy songs in it. It would probably need to take place in a mental ward.
Sorry for the delay in commenting, it's been busy week. We are indeed blessed with the best family ever!
ReplyDeleteWow, this is the best ten (oh yeah, eleven) yet! I like the bonus once a week. It's a tie for favorite this time - "Close to You" and "Something Stupid". Both songs have so many childhood memories. I can remember riding around in our first family car, a 1960 Rambler, listening to WABC playing "Something Stupid" - sitting in the back seat looking at all the buses and elevated trains and wondering why did we ever get this car - it's cutting into my bus and train rides!!!