Jerry Lewis [1926-2017]

Artist: Jerry Lewis

LP: Just Sings

Song: "Shine On Your Shoes"
[ listen ]

I was sad to read today that Harry Dean Stanton died. He was 91 years old, which seems crazy since I swear he's been 71 years old for the past 30 years. Then as I was rummaging through one of my record piles this morning I came across this Jerry Lewis record that I'd forgotten about, which reminded me that he too had died recently, and he was also 91 when he died, though Jerry Lewis seems like he's been 91 for the past 30 years. 

I have to admit that I've never seen a proper "Jerry Lewis movie," though I have seen a film or two that contain a Jerry Lewis performance. One of them is Scorsese's THE KING OF COMEDY, which I thought I would like a lot more than I did. The other, one of my favorite oddities of the '90s, is Emir Kusturica's ARIZONA DREAM, also starring Johnny Depp, Faye Dunaway, and Lili Taylor. You can read all about Jerry Lewis here, find his New York Times obituary here, there's a Harry Dean Stanton obituary to be read here, and go here to see a neat picture of Faye Dunaway from one of the very best films of all time. 

Jerry Lewis

[ March 16, 1926 — August 20, 2017 ]

We will miss you, Jerry.

Magda Franco

Artist: Magda Franco

LP: La Rosa Negra

Song: "Pidele a Dios" (horns and organ version)
[ listen ]

Song: "Pidele a Dios" (guitar and vocals version)
[ listen ]

This is annoying. My crappy mp3 conversion turntable sometimes makes you choose between instrumentation or vocals, whereas on my living room console, the vocals and organ accompaniment blend together in perfect harmony. Anyway, the first version posted here features some nice organ and horn with Magda's muted murmurings, and the second version features Magda loud and clear with guitar good and strong...and if you listen with all your might, you might hear the faded organ and horns in the distant background, as if they're being played over at the neighbors. There's no information about Magda Franco on the internet. All we know is that she has incredible taste in clothes and hair.

[ Magda Franco ]

Dynasty

Artist: Dynasty

LP: Adventures In the Land of Music

Song: "Do Me Right"
[ listen ]

Uh-oh. Looks like somebody didn't pay their Dynasty dues.

Actually, when this LP was released in 1980, Dynasty only had three official members—keyboardist/lead vocalist Kevin Spencer and co-lead vocalists Nidra Beard and Linda Carriere. So who, then, is this mysterious "other man" perched so precariously on the B-line of that large metallic treble-clef stave that he's slid halfway off the cover of the LP? 

Could it be Dynasty's other co-lead vocalist, William Shelby, who the credits say contributed keyboards and synth, but who for some reason isn't officially a member of the band? Or perhaps it's producer Leon Sylvers III, who backs the band on bass and was reportedly romantically involved with singer Nidra Beard. In fact, Sylvers officially joined as a full-fledged Dynasty member the following year, so perhaps that mysterious figure isn't sliding off the cover at all. I'll bet you $23.80 that's actually Sylvers scooting his way onto the cover, inconspicuously inching his way, both literally and metaphorically, toward a key position amongst the other members of the group. When your band's producer also plays bass and makes out with one of your singers, it's awfully hard to tell them no when they want to put part of their body on the cover of your second LP. Or maybe it's Wardell Potts, the drummer.

You can read all about Dynasty here, and for a picture of a different Dynasty, go here. 

[ Dynasty ]

Musical Youth

Artist: Musical Youth

LP: 7" single

Song: "Tell Me Why?"
[ listen ]

Whenever I tell someone I've stopped buying records for a while because I have too many, I always feel compelled to instantly race out and buy some more. Today I told my friend Refugio this at lunch, and then my car drove itself to Jive Time Records in Fremont and found astoundingly good parking fight in front of the store. My vehicle must have intuitively known that this 1983 Musical Youth single and a few other 7" gems were waiting for me inside. 

After early success ("Pass the Dutchie," anyone?) the hits soon dried up and Musical Youth were mired in legal and financial troubles by the mid-1980s, calling it quits in 1985. One of the Youth, Patrick Waite, went on to a life of petty crime and died in 1993 at the age of 24. But on the bright side, two members of the group, Dennis Seaton and Michael Grant, have recently reunited to make more Youthful Music for us all to enjoy!

[ Musical Youth ]