Bill Cosby

Artist: Bill Cosby

LP: Wonderfulness

Song: "Niagara Falls" 
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"Wonderfulness." Hmm. I can't say for certain whether or not Bill Cosby is a serial rapist, but if he isn't, then he's the victim of one of the most elaborate and bizarre smear campaigns in the history of popular entertainment. Poor Bill Cosby! But if he is a serial rapist and sexual assaulter who's been drugging, then raping and molesting women for nearly 50 years, then gross. Bill Cosby, through his work on the "Fat Albert" children's show, is the guy who showed millions of kids each week how to treat others with dignity and respect. He made kids want to eat pudding! He was the epitome of fatherhood perfected on "The Cosby Show," on TV from 1984 to 1992. It seems inconceivable that this icon of good, wholesome American entertainment could actually be a monster—which is likely what's kept Cosby relatively unscathed by the accusations of sexual misconduct that began bubbling up in the early-to-mid 2000s. But in the past ten years we've had to wrap our minds around numerous political sex scandals, as well as things like this and this and this, so now we have to admit that anything is possible. Over the past few weeks, the allegations against Bill Cosby have been pouring in like...Niagara Falls. My heart goes out to all who've been sexually preyed upon by those they trust, particularly to the women who've been preyed upon by Bill Cosby—you know, if he's guilty, since I can't say for certain. 

I do feel a civic responsibility, however, to make public a series of photos that have come into my possession from an anonymous but reliable source. The four photographs included below capture Bill Cosby's facial expressions in the very moments that he first heard radio news reports of sexual misconduct allegations leveled against him. Guilty? Not guilty? A picture is worth a thousand words.

 [ "...has come forward with some startling allegations 
against comedian Bill Cosby." ]

 [ "...claims the entertainer slipped drugs into her drink, 
and only when she awakened did she..." ]

 [ "...hold on! More details are just coming in..." ]

[ "...similar reports against Cosby by 19 women, 

with incidents dating back to 1965." ]

Cuban Dance Orchestra

Artist: Cuban Dance Orchestra

LP: Cha Cha

Song: "Negrita" 
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Happy Black Friday! I don't usually go shopping on Black Friday, but the Goodwill near my place was having a 40%-off sale on everything in the store (except yellow tag items) so I stopped by to rummage through their records. This scratchy Cuban jazz LP is one of the things I found. There aren't any liner notes on the back of the sleeve (Plymouth stuck their entire catalog listing there instead), and it's impossible to find info online for a group called simply "Cuban Dance Orchestra." What we do know is that a talented bunch of musicians got together about 60 years ago (this album was probably released in 1956) and made some terrific Cuban dance music! Someone recorded it, Plymouth released it, someone bought it, then they died (probably) and it was my good fortune to find it at Goodwill (for .60¢; regularly $1!). Plus we know that this record was also available in red.

Danny Guglielmi w/ Dena

Artist: Danny Guglielmi w/ vocals by Dena

LP: Adventure In Sound

Song: "Out of Nowhere" 
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Song: "Mosquito Festival" 
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Here's something colorful, spacey and exotic from a grey and rainy November morning in Seattle. Danny Guglielmi and his pipe-smoking wife Dena worked primarily behind the scenes in the music and film industry, but Danny briefly held the spotlight when he used early multi-track recording techniques to create this spectacular collection of atmospheric and slightly experimental tunes that showcase his remarkable musical talents. (This record is reportedly particularly soothing to US presidents recovering from heart trouble.) "Adventure In Sound" was released in 1956 on the budget Tops label and unfortunately failed to make either of the Guglielmis a household name. Their songs do hold up remarkably well nowadays though, and Danny and Dena have become household names in my apartment ever since I first listened to their spellbinding record. You can read more about the Guglielmis on the Space Age Pop Music website here and go here to visit the Ambient Exotica blog where you'll find more album details and reviews. Notes from the back of the LP are included below.

Joan Rivers [1933-2014]

Artist: Joan Rivers

LP: Presents Mr. Phyllis & Other Funny Stories

Song: "Gift Coming" 
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While rummaging around to find my Mike Nichols/Elaine May LP this weekend, I discovered that I actually did still have this 1965 Joan Rivers comedy album. (I remember now that it was a lackluster Erma Bombeck record I got rid of several years ago, not my Joan Rivers LP. How could I have gotten these two women mixed up?) Though I've never really followed her career, I enjoyed getting to know Joan through the film Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, in theaters a few years back. Also, I recall being delighted to see her pop onto the screen in the bizarre 1968 film THE SWIMMER, starring Burt Lancaster as a man who decides to swim his way home through his neighborhood's backyard swimming pools. I just learned today that Ms. Rivers starred in a short-running Broadway play in the late 1950s called "Driftwood," in which she played a lesbian with a crush on Barbra Stereisand! I realize I'm a few months late with this tribute, since Joan died in early September from complications during throat surgery, but better late than never! (My tribute, I mean, not Rivers' demise.) You can read more about Joan Rivers' life and career here, go here to find her obituary in the New York Times and there's a piece here about the dreadful errors the clinic made during Joan's surgery that likely caused her death.

Joan Rivers

[ June 8, 1933 — September 4, 2014 ]

We will miss you, Joan.

Mike Nichols [1931-2014]

Artist: Mike Nichols & Elaine May

LP: Improvisations To Music

Song: "Mysterioso" 
[ listen ]

I was bummed to hear that Mike Nichols died suddenly from a heart-attack earlier this week. Awarded a closet-full of Tonys for directing Broadway shows like "Barefoot In the Park," "Luv," "The Odd Couple" and "The Prisoner of Second Avenue," Nichols made a huge splash in Hollywood with his very first film, the controversial WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? in 1966. He made another splash in 1967 with his next film, THE GRADUATE, which ultimately defined a generation. He went on to make a bunch more terrific (and some just okay) films over the following four decades, including this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, this one and this one. And don't forget this one, this one and this one. And, of course, there's this one and this one too. But what about this one, you ask? Yes, I suppose he made that too.

But before any of those movies there was improv comedy duo Mike Nichols & Elaine May. They met at school in Chicago and were arch enemies until Mike saw Elaine sitting in a train station one day. He assumed an odd accent from another land and asked if he could sit down. She, also adopting a foreign accent, said okay and the two played out an impromptu spy routine that both could tell was the seed of something good. (The duo employed this same scenario for "Mysterioso," the track posted above from their debut 1959 LP.) Their rocky relationship eventually caused the partnership to split in 1961, but they joined forces again for several film projects in the 1990s (she as writer, he directed) and the two remained lifelong friends. You can read all about Mike Nichols' life and his influential career in both Tinsel and Tony towns on Wikipedia here; there's more about Elaine May here and go here to read about the work Mike and Elaine did together. There's a moving obituary for Mike Nichols in the New York Times that you can find right here.

Mike Nichols

[ November 6, 1931 — November 19, 2014 ]

We will miss you, Mike.

Sister Power

Artist: Sister Power

LP: Sister Power

Song: "Gimme Back My Love Affair" 
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Song: "Love Potion" 
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You're probably as disappointed as I am to discover that the ladies of Sister Power aren't actually related at all. Nope, they're just a trio of gals that famed producer and arranger Paul Sabu (spawn of Sabu—yes, that Sabu—and Broadway actress Marilyn Cooper) randomly threw together to showcase the vocal power of lead singer Gwen Jonáe. Considered a one-hit-wonder ("Gimme Back My Love Affair" was reportedly a disco hit), Sister Power only ever released this lone LP. Born in 1957 or 1960, Paul Sabu was only 19 or 22 years old when he assembled Sister Power, after which he went on to work with the likes of David Bowie, Alice Cooper, and Elvira while also appearing with his metal band, Only Child, and having remarkably lovely hair. There's more to read about Paul Sabu here and here, and you can find his website here.

[ Sister Power lead vocals: Gwen Jonáe ]

Keith Stewart

Artist: Keith Stewart

LP: Jamaica Calling

Song: "Last Thing On My Mind" 
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Song: "Young Man" 
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I wanted to post something a little bit zippier today, but I've been feeling under the weather and Keith Stewart's warm voice is like a calming Caribbean bubble bath. He's like the Jamaican John Denver. After a ten year stint as half of Keith and Enid, Keith Stewart went solo in the late 1960s, working the hotels on the north coast of Jamaica. His version of "The Last Thing On My Mind" is one of the loveliest things I've heard in quite awhile. Sadly, Keith, who was also a talented painter and played a mean game of cricket, died of kidney cancer about four years ago; you can read more about Mr. Stewart in the Jamaica Observer here. 

[ Keith Stewart: July 1, 1938 — November 3, 2010 ]

The Phoenix Singers

Artist: The Phoenix Singers

LP: The Phoenix Singers

Song: "Lovely Choucoune" 
[ listen ]

I found this 1962 self-titled folk LP by The Phoenix Singers at Used Kids Records in Columbus, Ohio back in the summer of 2011. It's the group's only album, aside from a recording of them playing live at The Shadows (later called The Cellar Door) in Washington, DC. The Phoenix Singers (did they ever actually sing in Phoenix?) were musical guests for Johnny Carson's first gig hosting "The Tonight Show." Originally members of The Belafonte Singers, Ned Wright, Arthur Williams and Roy Thompson are hard to track down once they got out of Phoenix. According to an obituary in the Toledo Blade, Ned Wright, a native of Rossford, Ohio, died at age 55 on September 29, 1981. (Go here to listen to Ned's jazzy version of "Route 66," performed in Russia in 1955.) This recent Facebook post at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston indicates Arthur Williams is alive and in need of support. I can't find any post-Phoenix info about Roy Thompson. You can read more about The Phoenix Singers here; a photo of the trio and Johnny Carson's liner notes from the back of the LP are included below.

[ The Phoenix Singers on "The Tonight Show w/ Johnny Carson" — October 1, 1962 ]

[ L-R: Ned Wright — Roy Thompson — Arthur Williams ]