Jackie Wilson, aka Mr Excitement, singing "Lonely Teardrops" on Bandstand, circa 1959. The song was writen by the Dee-troit duo of Tyran Carlo (Roquel Davis) and a young, pre-Motown Berry Gordy Jr. The moves are by Jackie himself. If you want the dictionary definition of "moves" just watch the video, there's two minutes and thirty-seconds of definition. What more is there to be said...?
I was just over visiting my friend Kat at her musical Keep The Coffee Coming blog. One of the songs she's recently featured is Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue." Now, that's a good one, to be sure, and I stopped and had a listen at the MP3 she posted. For some inexplicable cosmic reason, a number of my favorite oldies mention the color blue. The one I wanted to hear next was this one, so after leaving Kat's place, I made a beeline to YouTube to see if they had it. And they didn't let me down!
When I was in high school, I taught myself the finger alphabet that deaf people use, just because I thought it was really cool. I can't actually sign the gestures, however. If I wanted to speak with a deaf person, I would have to laboriously (and excruciatingly slowly for them, I'm sure) spell out every word. But when I have this one on in the Tamale, and am tooling down the road, I sometimes take the wheel in one hand and spell the letters out as the boys sing them. If I ever get in an accident doing that, it's going to be a very strange explanation. No, office, I wasn't eating or drinking or texting or talking on my cell...
Here is a no doubt incomplete list of other "blue songs" I like: Tangled Up In Blue (Dylan) Blue Bayou (Orbison/Ronstadt) Blue Moon (The Marcels) Blue Angel (Orbison) Bell Bottom Blues (Derek and the Dominoes) Devil in a Blue Dress (Mitch Ryder) Behind Blue Eyes (The Who) Summertime Blues (Eddie Cochrane) Blue Kentucky Girl (Emmylou Harris)
Video from YT member billylee1949 Photo from www.zebramatts.com
...not to be confused, of course, with Roy O's huge hit, "Only the Lonely," although it does have a kind of Orbisonian feel to it. You know, like a slow dramatic "rock ballad" with a gently swaying melody and long plaintive notes - if it was a waltz, you could waltz clear across Texas to it. Well, he may have been born in the Motor City, but he was raised in Amarillo. Later in the 60s, Souther teamed up with another Detroit boy, the future Eagles memeber, Glenn Frey and formed his first musical partnership, the very country-sounding duo called Longbranch Pennywhistle. Souther's collaborations and associations sound like a who's who of early SoCal rock and country - Jackson Browne, Richie Furay, Chris Hillman to name a few. And then there was The Eagles.
This is really the only solo hit that I recall from J.D. Souther, but he's been there writing and co-writing some of my favorite songs for a long time, going back to early Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor, right on up to his work with The Eagles, co-writing well-known songs like "New Kid in Town" and "Best of My Love." All the artists mentioned here are scattered throughout my CD shelves, including this one from. And I heard that just last year, Souther released his first new work in 25 years! I just might have to check that out, but for now, let's here "You're Only Lonely" one more time...
Video from YT member soulbrofunkytom Photo from www.last.fm
Fellow blogger DON over in San Fran mentioned this song in a recent comment here, and so we just had to go back and hear it again. Don posts gorgeous photos of his city, so go there and check it out. Just be sure to wear a flower in your hair, 'kay.
So here we go, The Marvelettes with "Too Many Fish in the Sea." It’s the best possible advice on the subject. And while we’re listening, we can check out the great moves the girls are puttin’ down, like that little fanny-pat right at the beginning. And every girl needs a tambourine, right?!
Video by YT member live4motown Photo from Wikimedia Commons
This one is so infectious that just one listen in your youth (or at any stage in life, for that matter) can give you a serious case of rockin’ rhythm that never goes away. It can lie dormant for years in your feet and your shoulders and especially your derriere, only to burst forth gloriously the very moment you hear the opening bars of those boss horns. No matter where you are – pushing a cart in the grocery store or loading the dishwasher in the privacy of your own kitchen, this song will get you groovin’ in a heartbeat.
Eddie Floyd is one of those artists who may not be a household name, but is a giant in the music industry. He’s written for, played, sung and toured with all the soul greats, from his early days in Detroit (he was born in Memphis in 1937, but the family moved to the Motor city when he was only six weeks old) where he founded the Falcons, to his Stax days in Memphis in the 60s and 70s, and he’s still going strong today. All that wood-knocking must be good for you.
Here he is, a young, adorably cute EDDIE FLOYD - just hang in there, the dumb intro is only 28 seconds. (I have to give you the link because embedding on this vid had been disabled) Now go dust off your old moves!
Estelle Bennett (photo R) one of the original members of that signature 60s Girl Group, The Ronettes, has passed. Along with her sister, Ronnie (Bennett) Spector, and their cousin, Nedra Talley, she gave us so much to dance and cry and sigh about. I don’t know about you, but I can’t imagine where we’d be musically without them. After the break-up of the Ronettes, Estelle recorded a single on the Laurie label, called “The Year 2000/The Naked Boy.” I never heard that one, but the title sure makes me curious. I’ll bet if you have a copy of that today you really have something collectible. After that one single, Estelle quit the music business completely. She even declined to sing with her sister and cousin in 2007 when they were inducted into the rock and Roll Hall of Fame, giving only a few words of thanks instead.
The Ronettes share the top of my Girl Group pinnacle with The Shangri-Las. I know I learned more about life, love, and angst from them than from any other source. So, our condolences go out to Ronnie and Nedra and their families. And thanks to Estelle and the girls for all the good advice and handed-down girl wisdom. Here’s a sample of it:
Who still has their original LP of The Velvet Underground & Nico with the Andy Warhol. You remember, the one you kind of kept facing backwards so your mom wouldn’t see the cover with that big ol’ banana by Andy Warhol when she put off your clean clothes on your bed? Or maybe you put it right at the front of the stack, in a prominent place along your bedroom wall so she would see it. Oh yes, I see you nodding your head, you wild thing you! Well, anyway, who is going to argue that the banana album is a true classic? One of my enduring faves on it is our feature song, “All Tomorrow’s Parties.”
Here, for a refresher, is a YouTube video of Nico with the 1967 original. You just can’t beat Nico’s Marlene Dietrich-y monochrome vocals against that relentless guitar-driven, heroin-laced dirge – hey, you gotta have some purple prose to go with this song!
Okay, fast forward to 2007, and what I consider to be one of the Great Voices of Our Times – Johnette Napolitano, formerly of Concrete Blonde. I have some old Blonde albums for the early days (that would be the early 80s-90s), and more recently, Napolitano’s first (2007) solo album, titled Scarred. It’s got a lot of terrific original songs and great covers, including, again, our feature song (with a cameo by Lou Reed himself). Too bad there isn’t a video of it on YouTube, but heck, you’re probably better than I am at tracking down songs in other places, so I’m sure you can find all or part of it somewhere. But if you haven't updated this section of your CD shelf in a while, check this album out. Meanwhile, we’ll console ourselves with another fave of mine, and one that will be instantly familiar to all of you, too, “Joey” – Napolitano’s paean to loving someone who isn’t in the program but who should be.
Video by YT member tomorrettisgay (Nico) tearecords (JN) Photo from Wikimedia
...a spin-off from the award-winning book, bringing you a "blogfull" of musical memories and trivia from the 50s, 60s, 70s, sometimes beyond. More music! More laughs! No curfew!
I'm a baby boomer who grew up dancing in the streets of Detroit during the classic Motown years, lived beside the Rocky Mountains for many years, now retired and living (and writing full time) in S. Ontario. I have one blog for rock 'n' roll oldies, and one for nature, poetry and life along the Lake.
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