HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

For those of you who operate on the Gregorian calendar (see my Dec 22nd post for further reference) here's wishing you a very happy New Year 2008! For those of you who use a different calendar than the one old Greg came up with, here's wishing you a very happy...regular day!! Starting on the first on January, we'll be back to our usual rock and roll oldies posts, starting a whole 'nother year of bringing you more about the GMOE (greatest music on earth). Meanwhile, like your mom told you, have a safe celebration, wear your seatbelt, don't drink and drive, or dance with a lampshade on your head.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U9zXXRiTVA&feature=related

!! HAPPY KWANZAA !!

Wishing a Happy Kwanzaa to all those of African heritage who are celebrating this warm family holiday! Here's a wonderful Xhosa lesson and song from Miriam Makeba - turn your speakers waaay up.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Mwh9z58iAU&feature=related

HAPPY DECEMBER

Well, my friends, here we are at the third and final of my special Holiday Posts for this season. In the New Year we'll be back to our regularly scheduled oldies blogging, but for now, it's time to par-tay!! In this post, we're going to acknowledge the spiritual celebrations, customs, and of course, the music from all the major belief systems in our great big ol' world. We have a lot that divides us these days, so my aim here is to find what unites us. Looks like a December whoop-up is pretty standard, no matter where you hail from. Just so you know, I've done my best to find YouTube vids that are directly connected to each festivity, but when that wasn't possible, I kind of faked it with something at least culturally relevant. I sincerely hope no one is offended. That said, here they are, listed in that politically and theologically neutral device: Alphabetical Order.

Atheists/Agnostics: Well, right off the bat, what kind of spiritual tradition are we going to find here? Hmmm. But I dug deep and found this delightful footage of Teegarden and Van Winkle doin' their bit hit, "God Love and Rock and Roll." To all of you out there who are on the A/A list, ya gotta love two outa three!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX6jc1RGI0I

Buddhists: Dec. 8 is Bodhi Day, the celebration of the day when the Buddha became enlightened. Scroll down and read the comments posted at YouTube for a little enlightenment of your own as to what's going on. Okay, maybe this ain't the wildest celebration on our tour, but hey, after all that crazy dancing you just did to Teegarden and Van Winkle, it's kind of nice to sit this one out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDe3LyByBss

Christians: Dec 25 is the day most Christians celebrate the birth of the Baby Jesus. Those who are Eastern Orthodox wait til January 7th. It's a calendar thing, don't ask me to explain. When they say "you do the math" they aren't talking to me. Hope you enjoy the lively Christmas carol, performed by one of my favorite groups.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg1kKyLc-14

Hindus: Diwali in December? Well, that's another calendar issue, even more complicated that the previous. Plus, I have to admit that I don't think we can stretch this date out any later than Nov. 9th or so. Just think of it as the November pre-party. It's a Festival of Lights, celebrating the victory of Good over Evil. Right on!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWhulKh6iNU

Jews: Another Festival of Light, and a miracle at the darkest time of the year. It shifts dates too, but being an 8 day event, it usually catches a number of days in December. This happy number is brought to us by those spiritual party animals, the Barenaked Ladies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeG7Y7LT51s

Muslims: Dec 20 or thereabouts. This one shifts dates all throughout the Gregorian calendar year, because of the Islamic lunar reckoning that...where's my calculator?...oh forget it, I can't keep up, just take my word for it, it's in December, but just this year. Anyway, I didn't find any music per se, so let's go with a pretty one from Yusuf Islam, the former Cat Stevens.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7wEctHyuc0&feature=related

Pagans: Dec 21 give or take. This is the Old world celebration of Yule, and the origin of those yummy frosted chocolate logs. It's also given us garlands of holly, bunches of (ahem) mistletoe, and, if I'm not mistaken, hot gin punch. Say, would anyone care for a little more roast boar?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcCk3u4kWHQ&feature=related


Well, that's it, my friends, we hit all the major faith-based December celebrations, and the not-faith based, too. As you can see, the whole world is having a special time about one thing or another. There's just no reason on earth for us not to all get along, right?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDlFHEMVW-c

WINTER SOLSTICE 2007

Welcome to the Winter Solstice, the shortest day (sob) and longest night (sigh) of the year. But the good news is, after this we start to get some of that daylight back. Bring- it- on! The word "solstice" comes from two old Latin words: sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), which is exactly what the sun appears to do, briefly, twice a year. It's like that moment when you were a kid and you tossed a ball up in the air, and then (if you could have seen it in slo-mo) the ball stops going up and starts falling back towards your waiting Al Kaline mitt. Anyway, in honor of the occasion, here is one of my favorite songs. And I'm guessing it's a fave of yours too, little darlin'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuUhZxkr194

A CHRISTMAS SAMPLER

Here are a few of my favorite holiday albums. I'll post links for YouTube videos wherever possible, but you can always go to Amazon.com for the audio bites.









Classic Vintage Rock 'n' Roll

"A Christmas Gift for You" - Phil Spector.
Back when he was still the Boy Wonder.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cY4WsQ68Tk

"Christmas With The Beach Boys"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKT5eUI333k

"The Jethro Tull Christmas Album"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAKjFxCx9SE
(not really a cut from the album, but who doesn't get a charge out of watching Ian Anderson!)

Country and/or Bluegrass

"Christmas" Chris Isaak
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ANvdIIYslw
(is he not one of the best musicians and funniest cut-ups on the planet??)

"Bluegrass and White Snow" Patty Loveless
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9I6GjLEAOQ

"Light of the Stable" Emmylou Harris
No videos from this album posted, but I'll throw in one of Emmylou buckdancing, just to keep you in your happy place...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLJa3iOnRrw


Celtic

"A Winter Garden" and "To Drive the Cold Winter Away" Loreena McKennitt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2SR_P-_98s

Happy Listening to all!

FEATURED ARTIST/RECORD: "Angel Baby" by Rosie & The Originals

After mentioning this song in my previous post, I decided to put the spotlight on this classic oldie, and the artist who sang it for us. "Angel Baby" may have been a one-hit-wonder, but it nevertheless put Rosie in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (she was the first Latina to have that honor) and left a little winged tattoo on the hearts of a lot of baby boomers, judging by the comments on various websites I've seen. The
"Readers Digest" condensed story goes like this: Coming from a musical family, Rosie had been performing since the tender age of 13 (back in the late 50s) when she lied about her age, dipped into her mom's makeup, and got herself a gig (when she was supposed to be babysitting) singing with some musicians. Later they went on to become Rosie and The Originals. Rosie wrote the lyrics to "Angel Baby" as a poem to a boy she was crushing on when she was a mere 14. Not long after that, Rosie and the group recorded "Angel Baby" in an old airplane hanger that happened to have some recording equipment in the corner (don't they all?). There they were: Rosie (check) the piano (check) guitar (check) drums (check) bass (check) and sax (ch...wait...where's Alfred??). Well, it seems that young Alfred's very strict mom wouldn't let him go until he finished his chores. But everybody else was there and all set to go. So, the guitarist just happened to know a teensy bit of sax (don't they all?) and gave a quick crash course to the bass player, and told him it was up to him to save the day. Gee, I wonder if he felt any pressure... Anyway, the resulting efforts on everyone's part sent "Angel Baby" to #5 in 1960. Recently I came across a quote from Rosie where she admitted that the sax playing wasn't the best in the world, and it really stunned me. I mean, that solo has always been one of my favorite musical moments ever. To me it would be like stumbling upon an old quote from Leonardo, saying "Oh that dumb Mona Lisa; I never did like the way that painting turned out!" Okay, maybe even to me (who is not, by any stretch of the imagination, musical) the sax did sound a bit wonky in places, but isn't that the complete and utter charm of it? I mean, wouldn't fancy studio production have taken away it's most endearing qualities? Personally, I love the whole heartfelt thing just the way it is. And, in case you didn't already know this, John Lennon agreed. He even recorded a cover of "Angel Baby" back in 1973, although I have to admit that, much as I like John Lennon, and really wanted to like his cover of "Angel Baby, " it just didn't do it for me. One other place you can find a cover is in a cameo by Jeanette Jurado, playing Rosie, in the 1996 movie "Mi Familia," and Rosie re-did the song herself with some nice Spanish lyrics, too. So there you have it - a salute to a great song, a terrific singer, and one very fearless sax player.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xm3qnh1sck

ON HITTIN' THOSE HIGH NOTES

Last weekend, veteran heartthrob Lou Christie ("Lightning Strikes," "The Gypsy Cried" etcetc) was in concert in The D (aka Detroit) along with other vintage era greats. I happened to catch him interviewed just prior to the show, on my fave oldies radio station, WPON.* He talked with the DJ about the upcoming show and reminisced about the good old days. When they got to the topic of his big hits, Lou (who is one of the '60s falsetto kings) rather proudly (and why not!) mentioned that he can still sing those songs in the original key he recorded them in. Ho-lee!

Have you noticed, all you boomers out there, that your voices have changed? The men, it would seem, have gone through this once before in their lives, when they hit puberty and their voices "cracked." Now, it's happening to us all. For quite some time now I've noticed (in my car karaoke sessions) that I can't quite sing along with Cathy Jean on "Please Love Me forever" or with Rosie on "Angel Baby." Heck, I can barely keep up with Frankie Valli and Brian Wilson! Seems like these days I'm much more comfortable growling along with Jack Scott... All this reminds me of another interview I heard a few years ago, with Joni Mitchell ("Big Yellow Taxi"). She was lamenting the fact that people who attend her concerts still expect to hear her do all her early hits every time. She said it's not so much that she's tired of singing them (although she kinda is) but she said she can't reach those heights anymore. And I said to the radio, "Amen, sister!"

Now, I realize there's a perfectly natural physiological explanation for why this is happening. I mean, we're all "getting on" in life, and everything else is heading south, so why not the vocal cords, too? But still, it's unfair. Couldn't we be spared just this one thing? And while we're on the subject, couldn't just one little thing be getting better? And please don't write me that it's all compensated by the gaining of wisdom. Whoever thinks wisdom makes up for it has never tried to change a ceiling light bulb in tri-focals. Well, never mind, at least I still have my hearing, and my radio. And Lou... good on ya!

*WPON - a terrific oldies station at 1460 AM in the Detroit area, and live on the Internet at www.wpon.com. You should be listening!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsRLObCJcuc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfzaQ42YQok

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iksyruTrYZc