There they are folks. The first 10! The first 3 were chosen for various reasons but after that, believe me, as you will see, they are as random as random can be!
1. Some Enchanted Evening - Jane Olivor 3:15 This goes out to my friend Jeffrey. It is a white label, one-sided, promotional record from Columbia Records that says BONUS RECORD across the top. The needle is about to hit the record folks!!! Ok, it is cued up and..........ahhhh! Those first scratches! Sweet! This was never a favorite song of mine. That is until I heard Jane sing it. There is a magical purity to her voice that very few singers have ever had. The version on this 45 is completely different from the version on her first album "Jane Olivor - First Night". I would link you to her site but it doesn't seem to exist at the moment!
2. Party Lights - Claudine Clark 2:20 (Chancellor Records) A bouncy little song that kinda sounds like Monster Mash! This was recorded in the 60s and was covered by my friend Laurie Beechman in 1980 with her band Laurie and the Sighs. The Sighs gave it a harder edge and it remains one of my favorites with Laurie at the helm. Click on the link to hear clips from the album and read a story by Derek Fox of The Sighs!
3. Let's Stay Together - Pat Benatar 3:41 (Chrysalis Records) This one goes out to Shane who was just here for New Year's weekend. We had been playing a bunch of Pat stuff (surprising....NOT) and this was left on my desk so I thought...let's make it number 3. This was the 3rd single released from Pat and Neil's amazing album, "Wide Awake In Dreamland" in 1988 and was the start of a 21 year Shane/Gary/Pat/Neil concert-going extravaganza. Shane and I have been going every summer to see Pat and Neil and folks, they get better and better every year.
ok, onto the randomness.....
4. I'm Sitting On Top Of The World - Four Aces (featuring Al Alberts) (Decca Records) For some reason this was my first grown-up record sandwiched neatly between the aforementioned Winnie-The-Pooh records and Close To You!!! I can't remember how or why but I do remember I picked this record at a store in Long Island when I was 5 years old. It was one of those that were shrink wrapped to the over-sized cardboard in the bins! It is barely audible at this point but man, do I remember loving it!!! Steve, do you remember?
5. Boogie Wonderland - Earth, Wind & Fire with The Emotions 4:55 (ARC Columbia Records) WOW "DANCE! boogie wonderland HA! HA!" Full-tilt disco but what a great party song...STILL! Tell me you didn't hear it in your head as soon as you saw the title? Come on, admit it!
6. Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves - Cher 2:36 (Kapp Records) 1971 The one year of my Grammar School career that I was cool! We had a party in class and I brought in a bunch of records. It was the only time that Jeffrey Ruiz, John Marino, Mike Russo, Joey DeLucca and Al Almendola ALL came over and talked to me and told me that my music choices were cool! For 5 minutes I was no longer the skinny geek that they made fun of! Not that I even remember it now! LOL Oh and guys, I am still a geek and I have an even more impressive record collection. (Oh crap, they are soooo gonna beat me up for that!)
7. This Night Won't Last Forever - Michael Johnson 3:37 (EMI Records) I forgot all about this song! It has such a great sound but is kind of on the ridiculous side lyrically. He sounds like a poor man's Rupert Holmes. This is a song about a poor pathetic guy at a party where no one is talking to him but he wants the night to last forever. Oh wait, it gets worse....he is pining after this scank that lied to him the whole time they were together and he is wondering who she is going to take home from said party!!! Get a life! HUH? Scratching my head and cueing up the next record.
8. Cherchez La Femme/Se Si Bon - Dr. Buzzard's Original "Savannah" Band 3:33 (RCA Records) GOOD LAWD! It took half the song just to type out the title and the band name! LOL Man, I love this song! Yes it is disco but it has such a classy, original sound to it. And the lead singer's voice is sooooooo smooth.
9. You Take My Breath Away - Rex Smith 3:14 (Columbia Records) Oh my GOD did I love this song!! I wore the single and the album OUT! Do you remember the tv movie it was from, "Sooner Or Later"? I used to wait for everyone to leave the house on Battery Avenue, bust out my little Panasonic recorder and record myself singing to this song over and over and over again!! I was completely tone-deaf! My mom would come home from work and see that recorder in my hand and RUN cause she knew I had been "singing" again. I am very proud to say that I am no longer tone deaf (I taught myself how to hear the notes) and am a pretty decent singer. Now, where is that Panasonic recorder....excuse me, I'll be right back!
10. Proud Mary - Ike & Tina Turner 3:15 (Liberty Records) Great way to end for today! This was another of the songs I brought into St. Pat's that day! I believe my Aunt Bobbie gave me this one and I love it and her!!!!
Well, the first 10 are safely digitized and stored. This was alot of fun but, I think I need to only do this at night. Way too many distractions today. Thanks for reading and please remenisce with me about any of these songs. See ya tomorrow.
I love the commentary! I have a few of those diddies. The Dr. Buzzard and the Savannah Band (Cher Chez La femme)one, I remember using my allowance at Korvettes on Bay Parkway to buy it. This was my first cassette purchase! I actually like the album.
ReplyDeleteBTW, those boys in grammar school were obnoxious. Marino terrorized me all through grammer school. Later on, I met up with him in my 20's and we actually went out on a few dates. He told me he terrorized me because he liked me! Imagine that! I still have mixed feelings about that one.
ReplyDeleteWOW You dated John Marino? Now, let's apply his logic here. He terrorized you because he liked you. So, what did that mean for me? LOL Thank you for posting your comments. I am loving sharing this with you. You were there with me through the WABC years and the brilliance of Bay Ridge. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I remember Aunt Bobbie giving us "Proud Mary"
ReplyDelete"Boogie Wonderland" is my favorite in this group - great production! It reminds me of 99X!
Here's where I totally embarrass myself and say how freaking OBSESSED I was with "Sooner or Later". I have the book somewhere. And there was a sequel, in novel form, and I heard a rumor at some point that there was a THIRD book. Every once in a while I get a wild hair to track down that elusive third book.
ReplyDelete