HAPPY DISCOVERY: ANOTHER ARTHUR ALEXANDER CD!

This has been one of those mornings: a cup of coffee, a few white caps on the lake, and some quiet time before I start my day. What goes better with that than a little Arthur Alexander? So I went over to YouTube to browse around and see what was new. I’ve been waiting for someone to put up a video on Arthur’s hit song, “Where Have You Been” so we can enjoy it here. I got excited to see that one was finally there, but alas, it’s only a homemade cover. It may be a nice cover – I didn’t really listen to more than the opening bars, because today I wanted the real thing. While looking at what else was there, I found something unexpected: Arthur’s cover of the Neil Diamond song, Solitary Man. And it’s wonderful. If you don’t know Arthur’s voice, you’re in for a real treat.

Well, of course right away I wanted to know more about this song, especially where I could get my hands on it. Apparently, while I wasn’t looking, the CD (which I have) titled Arthur Alexander – Lonely Just Like Me, with a 12-song tracklist, has been reissued with 21 tracks, including some interviews (it's called Lonely Just Like Me - The Final Chapter, if you go looking for it) I wasted no time ordering it from Amazon already, and will be counting the days and hours til it gets here. Arthur Alexander never had the career and recognition he should have. Today he is best remembered for writing songs covered by the Beatles, The Stones, Dusty Springfield, and other 60s giants. He was a prolific singer/songwriter, and that’s what makes his cover of Solitary Man such a find. I also really like Neil Diamond; I’ve always liked his upbeat treatment of Solitary Man. But Arthur put the hurt into it as only he can.




Here's the Amazon notes:
Amazon.com
Admired as a songwriter but overlooked as soul singer, Alabama-born Arthur Alexander was in the early stages of a career revival in 1993 (the year he released Lonely Just Like Me on Nonesuch Records) when he died unexpectedly, aged 53, shortly after a performance. Believed to be the only songwriter whose songs have been covered by the Rolling Stones ("You Better Move On"), the Beatles ("Anna"), Bob Dylan, and Elvis Presley, Alexander abandoned music at age 40 after he grew disillusioned with the music industry after publishing deals yielded little return for him. He worked in Cleveland at a center for disadvantaged kids and drove a bus, which explains the disc's cover art. Musician/producer Ben Vaughn coaxed Alexander to record again and served as producer for Lonely Just Like Me, a warm, understated collection of storytelling tunes, mostly hard-luck tales of upright men struggling to find a niche in an unfair word. This disc includes the entire '93 Nonesuch recording plus an enlightening interview/live performance (tracks 13-20) originally broadcast on NPR's Fresh Air. Here, Alexander's genuineness and sincerity are memorably chronicled, and for Alexander devotees its inclusion makes this recording an especially inviting package. Alexander's voice did not have the broadest range, he rarely used backup vocalists, and he kept his instrumentation (often accented with a subtle country lilt) quite simple. His most endearing quality as a vocalist was the earnestness, clarity, and dignity of his singing, which deepened the poignancy of his songs' prevailing theme of heartbreak. Also included are five lo-fi hotel-room demos, a live version of "Anna," and liner notes from Vaughn. --Terry Wood



Video from YT member boogie2w
Photo from www.rhapsody.com

FUN WITH MUSIC

Over at one of my fave music blogs, Keep The Coffee Coming, we recently had a mystery artist to identify. It really had me goin’ for a while, and I have to admit I was stumped right up til the final ‘reveal.’ I highly recommend you head over there and have a listen to the Sunday, September 28 post titled “Blue Shadows on the Trail” aka “I Never See Maggie Alone” and see if you can guess who it is. And if you don’t want a spoiler, don’t look at the comments first!

All this guessing got me thinking about some of the more or less obscure oldies we don’t hear often enough. One of my favorites is a sweet little Brill Building number by Greenwich/Barry) and recorded by the girl group called The Butterflys. Happily there is a video of it on YouTube, so you can hear it again. The only thing better would be if it had footage of the gals performing it, but we can’t be too picky. So here it is – have a listen to the lyrics and remember your own early dating days.




Photo from www.fiftiesweb.com
Video by YT member VinylRecords60

THE FAB ONE

As you’ve no doubt seen and heard on the news, Israel has lifted its long-standing ban on the Beatles, and allowed former member Paul McCartney to play in concert there. Politically speaking (and we know we can never get fully away from that, anywhere!) I think Sir Paul did his level best to play it down the middle, bringing his music to both sides as a “message of peace,” and if you want all the 411 on that, you can easily find it online, so I won’t cover it here. Besides, what I think is most interesting is seeing news footage of all the grizzled old Boomer-age folks over there, all excited about seeing and hearing McCartney perform. I think it’s really a shame that those fans never had the chance to see all four of the mop-tops play together. But, I’m sure they are delighted to have Paul there, and no one is going to complain. The event is already being labeled the “Israeli Woodstock”

Here's a little clip of the concert. Even if it's long overdue, isn't it great to see everyone having such a good time?! That's the power of music, folks.




Video from YT member bartcase
Photo from Wikimedia Commons

WE ALL SCREAM ( like a baby) FOR ICE CREAM

In these uncertain times, we must be thankful for any displays of common sense and good judgment when we come across them. With that in mind, I want to applaud the Ben and Jerry ice cream company for declining to act on the request of animal rights group, PETA, who has called for B&J to exchange their usual cow milk for human breast milk in their recipes. Now, let me be the first to say that I don’t think there is anything wrong with HBM per se. In fact, I was told by my mother (who should know) that a very long time ago, when I was a newborn baby, it was my sole nourishment. I’m sure a lot of people could say the same. However, now that we are big, I think we would all agree that we don’t want HBM in our ice cream. I will say this about the PETA proposal, though. If Ben and Jerry had decided to add human breast milk to their ice cream, it would make for some hilarious (and doubtless rather rude) new flavor names. I’m sure you will have no trouble thinking up some real zingers for yourself, so I won’t offer any of mine here. Besides, this is G-rated blog.

You may be wondering how I am going to tie all this in with oldies. Well, B&J’s number one top ice cream seller (and my personal fave) is Cherry Garcia, named after the inimitable Jerry Garcia, of the Grateful Dead. Okay, so it’s 1987, and not the true vintage years (not by my definition, anyway) but it’s still over 20 years ago. Doesn’t that make all you Gen-Xers feel old? Well, none of us are babies anymore. So let's listen to "A Touch of Grey."






Photo of Denman Island ice cream store from Wikimedia Commons
Video by YT member NewOldVinyl

IN SEARCH OF AN ANIMATED MOUSE TRAP…

Okay, let me start by saying that it had never been my intention that this blog should be anything more than a celebration of vintage music and memories, and therefore should not take a strong political or any other kind of stand. In addition, before anyone thinks that I’m singling out Islam here, let me add that, IMHO, there isn’t a fundamentalist division of any belief system on the planet that is known for its self-deprecating humor or its ability to take a joke. Having said both those things, I find I simply cannot resist the urge to fudge on my own “house rules” just a bit today, in light of the recently issued fatwa against Mickey Mouse. Yes, as you may have already heard, a Saudi sheik has denounced the Mickey as a “soldier of Satan” and an “impure corrupter,” and called for his death. As I understand it, part of that has to do with the cultural view Islamists have of mice in general, which is pretty much that they are the lowest life form on earth. I know they (mice) are pests, but still, I personally don’t object to them in principle. Of course other people are welcome to their own views, but I have to wonder about a death threat being issued to a cute little mouse that…let me see, how shall I best put this…. DOESN’T REALLY EXIST!!! Personally, if you’re going to pick on some poor animated critter as a bad influence, I’d go for Donald Duck. At least Mickey wears some pants.

Anyway, for all the baby boomers out there, here is a short (and therefore only minimally corrupting) video for the Mickey Mouse club, so we can remember the good old days.







Photo from Wikimedia Commons
Video by YT member kaijueguy

FEATURE SONG – Sorry (I Ran All The Way Home) by The Impalas, 1959

I’m what you’d call a playoffs sports fan. I don’t really watch all my fave teams during the regular season, but if any of them advance, well, I’m right there cheering. I root for the following: Hockey – Red Wings, Pro football – Calgary Stampeders, College football – U of Michigan. That’s it; I don’t follow basketball or anything else. As you can imagine, I was pretty happy with last years Stanley Cup results, and the Wolverines, well, they need to pick it up a bit, but it’s still early. Most recently, I’ve been keeping an eye on the Tigers, a team capable of great things but who have admittedly had kind of a roller coaster season. I think it will pretty much take a miracle now, but what the heck, let’s give ‘em a boost, some musical encouragement anyway. Maybe they'll "run all the way home" a few more times before they're done for the season. And who better than these guys…and this is the perfect song. Speaking of perfect, I saw them perform this live on TV, wearing baseball uniforms. I can’t remember if they had a team logo on the uniforms, can’t even remember what show they were on, maybe Bandstand, or possibly Ed Sullivan. Unfortunately, that particular video isn’t currently on YouTube, so if anyone has any of the particulars, I would dearly love to know.




P.S. I’m taking my tower into the shop for some work, so if you don’t hear from me for a few days, fear not, I will return!


Video by YT member
Photo at www.hellowdetroit.com

BACK IN THE SUMMER OF _____(insert year or sexual activity of choice)

My fellow blogger, Kat, over at Culture Clips for Gen-Xers did a post yesterday (Sunday, Sept 14) about a fave movie of hers from 1969 – The James Bond flick, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. I responded with a couple of movie titles I recall from the same year, in different genres. Everybody has their own preferences, but what Kat’s post really made me think of is the Bryan Adams song, “Summer of 69.” Only whenever I listen to it, I’m mentally thinking “the summer of 65” since that was my senior year in High School, and really was one of the best times I ever had.

Since I like the song so much, I thought I’d feature it here at Papa Do Run. Why not – I mean, even if it was released in 1984, it’s about the joys of the vintage year 1969, right? Wrong. Well, sort of wrong. Let me be the first to admit that ever since I first heard this hard-rockin’ little tune, I have not doubted for a moment that it was about looking back to the good old days (and any numerical reference to anything else was purely coincidental). Never mind the fact that Bryan Adams was born in 1959, and thus would have been only 10 years old – if we are to think of this song as in any sense autobiographical, that is. Next, I decided to check out good old Wikipedia and see what they had to say. To my surprise, I discovered that this song that I have loved for over 20 years is not actually about the year 69. No, my friends, it’s actually about…ahem…that numerical coincidence after all…you know, the other definition. At least that's what Bryan Adams says he meant by it. Hoo-kay. But, my friends, Bryan Adams isn’t the sole writer of this song. It’s a collaboration between him and a fellow named Jim Vallance, and Jim says as far as he’s concerned, it’s just about the year. Well, I guess ultimately the meaning is up to the individual. For me, it’s still about ’65 anyway, and I don’t think that’s a nickname for anything racy.







Vid by YT member dito1981
Photo from Shutterstock