MUSIC IS LIFE

Music is life? What kind of garbage is that?

For me, it’s not garbage at all – it’s reality. I was raised in a musical family – my father and my brother both played guitars, my sister played a mandolin. She was disabled, but she was a good singer and loved music.  I loved her.  By the time I was born, my mother already had congenital heart disease, and six other kids before me, two in wheelchairs and unable to walk or stand. So my biggest influence was my sister, seventeen years older than me. She taught me to read before Kindergarten, and if I was good, she’d let me operate her record player for her. I could play her singles – pop, rock, country, she loved everything.

A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation by Marty Robbins.

My Happiness by Connie Francis.

As Far As I’m Concerned by Faron Young.  

Send Me the Pillow That You Dream On by Hank Locklin.

And her very favorite song, Angel Baby by Rosie and the Originals.

When she let me put records on her player, that was almost always the first one we chose.  My sister sounded a lot like Rosie.

I started school in the fall of 1962, as a half-day Kindergarten student. My favorite part of the day? Singing time, of course. After singing, it was nap time.  I never could get to sleep, so while the other kids dozed, I laid on my nap mat and went through the songs we sang, memorizing the lyrics.

First grade was the same, more new songs, more music and I loved it all. But in the spring of my first grade year, specifically April 1, 1964, came the day that my life became hell. My dear oldest sister went into the hospital with pneumonia. I was scared and walked the ¾ mile to school as I always did, but this time I was in tears. I just knew that she was going to die.  I told this to my teacher when she asked why I was crying, and she said, “Oh, your sister will be okay.” Early in the afternoon,  one of my older sisters appeared in the classroom door and handed the teacher a note.  I stood up and walked to the door with her.

I remember very little of the next ten years. I know I went to school, I know I did well in my classes, I think I had some friends, but not many and the ones I did have were pretty tolerant, because I didn’t talk much. In second grade, my parents got called in for a meeting with my teacher because I avoided playing with the other kids at recess. Instead, I walked around and around the inside of the playground fence, alone and quiet. But parts of the day were okay – when time for music came, I felt better. I paid attention. I can almost remember those times.

When I got home, I did my chores, then I went into my bedroom.  I put on records and listened while I read books or comic books.  Or I watched TV, especially if variety shows were on. I loved the variety shows, because they had singers. I loved the singers. This is the part of my life that I remember best – being alone, reading, listening, watching. Anything that didn’t require me to move around, that didn’t require me to play. That didn’t require me to cooperate with others.

When I was nine, I remember that a new television show was about to start. I loved the idea that it would combine two of my favorite kinds of TV – sitcoms and music shows. The show, of course, was The Monkees.  More and more, the pieces of my life that I felt best were times when I was enjoying music. I sang at school, I was always in the school choirs, and I was told I had a pretty good voice. The rest of the time, though, I didn’t communicate well, I had few friends. The only extra-curricular things I did involved – okay, you get the idea.

Well, the idea saved me. In 10^th grade, my choir director encouraged me to get involved in the school musical. It wasn’t a standard Broadway type show – It was a show that was written by one of our history teachers about the history of the school – our 100 year old school.  I’ll get to that another time. 

VIC DANA - IF I NEVER KNEW YOUR NAME

VIC DANA

Vic Dana was born in Buffalo, NY in 1942. He began his entertainment career as a Tap Dancer and was spotted by Sammy Davis, Jr., who encouraged him to move to California to further his career. His family did, but eventually he decided to focus on singing rather than dance. His first chart hit was in 1961 with the Christmas song, “Little Altar Boy.”  Following that, he stayed in the middle regions of the chart until 1965 when he recorded “Red Roses For a Blue Lady” which finally propelled him into the Top Ten for the first – and unfortunately only – time. His songs were all from the Bobby Darin / Frankie Avalon / Fabian school, generally teenage romance ballads. He was a solid, if unspectacular seller.

In 1969, Vic switched labels from Dolton to Liberty and issued a new, hipper, “edgier” album called “If I Never Knew Your Name.” The album included two cover versions of Neil Diamond songs, the title track and “Red Red Wine” both of which charted, the first reaching #45 and the second reaching #72. (Both made the Top 30 of the Adult Contemporary chart.)  The other tracks on the album, mostly never issued as singles, (Sad Day Song and Another Dream Shot Down were issued as “B” sides) were undiscovered gems.

“Mama Come and Get Your Baby Boy” is a country rocker by DeWayne Blackwell, writing songs since the 50s, but it wasn’t until the 90s that he had his biggest hit –  called “Friends In Low Places”. This song is from a genre that appeared more than once in the late 60s, the “I ran away and boy am I sorry now” school, but very well done.  Add a third harmony, you would have early 70s Byrds. What is unique about this song is the way it plays with words:

I was just sixteen when I quit school

Learned just enough to be a fool

Mama cried when I left home with my guitar

Mama, I won’t stop pickin’ ‘til I’m a star

I picked potatoes in Washington, beans in Oregon

Honeydew melons in Oklahoma and in Chowchilla, California

Picked cotton up to my adam’s apple

Speaking of apples, I picked them too.

Mama, that ain’t what I set out to do

Mama, if I’m still your pride and joy

Mama, come and get your baby boy

“Good Woman” is a loving ballad about the woman who done him right! “This time I know I’m gonna make it, There ain’t no way to stop me now. Whatever happens I can take it, I got a good woman now.” This one is written by a pretty interesting trio, starting with Dana himself, along with Robert Velline and Thomas Glasser. (If those names don’t sound familiar, their professional names might – Bobby Vee and Tompall Glaser.)

“Everything” is another love song, and my favorite track from the album. Written by Kenny Nolan (“Lady Marmalade”, “My Eyes Adored You”)

“Everything she does works its way into my heart

And with every word she speaks

I know she knows I can’t help but care

She knows I know love is ours to share

Yes, everything she does turns me on.”

The song ends with a long, high note that is held for about eight bars.  I used to be able to match the note and the length. I also used to be 20.

The first side continues with a song that Vic Dana wrote all by himself, although it sounds as good as Neil Diamond’s work from the same period. It’s called  ”Another Dream Shot Down”  Here’s a version that was posted on YouTube, when the song was used as the B side of Red Red Wine

<video removed becuse it was some bizarre thing in Japanese. Sorry!>

And the last song on the side is called “Who Would Ever Think That I Would Marry Margaret” a bright and upbeat song written by Ralph Dino and John Sembello.

Side two starts with Neil Diamond again, Red Red Wine, sounding a lot more like Diamond’s original than by the rather bizarre UB40 version from a couple of decades later.

Angeline by Buzz Clifford comes next, the required Earth Mother song that seemed to be on every album at the time “Angeline lives in the forest where the shadows creep, She turns the fireflies on, sings the owls to sleep.”

Then comes “Sunshine On a Cold Morning” written by Bob Stone who would later have a huge hit called “Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves.

Half and Half by Mac Davis (about twelve million hits) was next on the list. Davis’ own version of this did rather well a few years later.

Sad Day Song by Martin Kosins is essentially a song about a man’s conversation with God – “Then he asked me the question – What’s the reason for this war? And I swear I couldn’t tell him, just what the war was for.” This album, of course, was issued during the Vietnam debacle.

The last song was once again made more famous later when recorded by it’s composer. In this case, the song was called "Rebecca", the composer was Glenn Frey and he recorded it with Longbranch Pennywhistle.

Researching for this post, one thing that strikes me was the number of early works from composers on the album who really didn't make it big until years later. Frey, Stone, Davis, and Nolan all fall into that category.

I bought this album in a cut-out bin somewhere around 1971 or 1972. I still have my original copy which you can certainly tell by the condition of the scan (that scan is from my copy) above. Over the years, I have recorded it onto 8-track tape, cassette, cd and now mp3. Still love the album, still one of my favorite over 40 years after I first heard it!.

I Love To Singa

I've thought for years about starting a blog, but kept getting stopped by the thought that I really don't have much to say.  What would I blog about that 33 million other bloggers haven't already blogged about?  So what is even slightly unusual about me?

And then the answer came to me. The answer that is the same as all the other answers in my life (okay, most of the other things) - MUSIC. 

To me, music is life. Always has been, always will be. And yes, I do love to sing, but not in public. Trust me, you're happier that way. But at the same time, I have musical tastes that are literally all over the map.  From Easy Listening to rock, from Big Band to vocal jazz.  About the only thing you can say is common to all of my favorite music is that it involves human voices. I love great guitar playing, but a guitar-only album will put me to sleep in no time. It's not about understanding the lyrics, I have many songs in my collection that aren't in English and I can't understand a damned word of!  It's just that to me, the perfect instrument for music is that human voice I mentioned up there.

The title of this blog comes from a wonderful Tex Avery cartoon from 1936 about an owl kid who wants to sing jazz instead of the classical music his parents want him to learn. Remember it?

If you want to see the cartoon, you can find it on Youtube. (I love cartoons too, but one blog at a time...)
So, back to the start - what do I blog about?  How about some of my favorite singers, talk a little about them, what I can learn about them on the web, what some of their great albums are, how I discovered them, what I like the most about them. I'll warn you right off the bat, I'm not generally a guy into "singles" - if I like something, chances are pretty good that I am going to want a bunch of them, so my emphasis has always been on albums.

One last thing for today - I don't plan to do this on any schedule, just when I get around to it. On some days, I may do two posts in a day, other times it may well be a couple of weeks between posts.  Or I may forget that I started this thing altogether. Who knows?  Well, let's find out!  See you next time!