British singer Maxine Nightingale had a smash hit in 1978 with "Lead Me On," but this fantastic follow-up only made it to #73 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Who knows what went wrong, but if I was going to end up stranded for the rest of my life on some deserted dance floor and I could only take one of these two songs with me, I would definitely choose "(Bringing Out) The Girl In Me." Wouldn't you?
Last night I wanted to put something on the turntable to help me relax and unwind after a long and arduous day at work, so I selected this 1973 LP by the brothers Tavares that I found in the dollar bins at Fat Cat Records a few weeks back. It must have worked, since I fell asleep at the kitchen table while trying to edit the photos of Tavares from the back of the record. According to sources close to the family, the title of the record refers to the stupendously detailed and out-of-this-world needlework that adorns the outfits of Butch, Tiny, Pooch, Chubby, and Ralph in the cover photo of this, their debut LP:
I'll betcha $24.80 that those dynamite duds were thrown together by Mama Tavares so her boys would make a good first impression! Lead vocals on "Mama's Little Girl" are handled by Ralph Vierra Tavares; "Check It Out" was produced by handsome musician Johnny Bristol; you can read about Tavares here.
I have nothing but unstained praise for this 1967 "Best Of" compilation from The Dixie Hummingbirds, who have been together, with various lineup changes, since forming in South Carolina in 1928. (I think I've found the group photo—included below—that was used to create the six Hummingbird portraits on the cover of the LP!)
We sure could use a prayer for peace right about now, eh? "It's a sin to hate your brother because of the color of his skin." (This includes orange.) It's a drag that we even have to make this point still in the year 2020...and I guess I'd throw in "because of the color of his state" too, in a brand new verse for our current times.
Last night I had my first session of listening to Christmas music for the 2020 holiday season. It was a CD of a live recording of some sort of "special evening" called "Count Your Blessings" with five singers. Two of them I've not heard of before (Holly Cole and Rebecca Jenkins), but the other three are favorites: Mary Margaret O'Hara, Victoria Williams, and this lovely lady, Jane Siberry. It's a beautiful recording.
I remember I first came across Ms. Siberry at Tower Records here in Seattle back in 1985. I was in the city from Yakima with my friend Denny Kibbe, and we were hunting 45s. The cover of Jane Siberry's "One More Colour" looked interesting, so I picked it up without having heard it...and that was the beginning of a life-long love affair. You can read about Jane Siberry here.
Just popping in to say Happy Veteran's Day and to post something randomly pulled from my collection. I found this one for just €2 on my trip to Barcelona back in the summer of 2018. My ears have loved everything they've heard by the Gibson Brothers. You can't really go wrong with a formula Wikipedia describes as a "mix of disco beats, Latin percussion, soulful vocals and a catchy tune." I'm very sad to learn that one of the three brothers, Patrick, died this past April from COVID-19.
Hibari Misora is a national treasure in Japan, and one can certainly see why. Hibari's parents reportedly realized early on that they had something special in their young Kazuo Katō (she changed her name to Hibari Misora, meaning "lark in the beautiful sky," with the advent of her recording career when she was 12) and her father, a fishmonger, spent a big chunk of family savings to launch her musical career. Her first hit single, released in 1949, was called "Kappa Boogie-Woogie." Hibari went on to release a whole slew of records, including the 1972 album I've posted here. She also appeared in more than 160 films, including this one:
From the picture on the cover of her "A Woman's Poem" LP and in the photo below, Misora reminds me of a Japanese Barbara Stanwyck! Does anyone else see that too? In 1957 Hibari was attacked with hydrochloric acid at the Asakusa International Theater by someone Wikipedia describes as "an overly enthusiastic fan." (I'd say I'm an overly enthusiastic fan of Doris Day... Is it strange that I've never considered throwing acid on her?) Song lyrics are included below, in Japanese.
This sealed copy of Bobby Bloom's "other" LP arrived in the mail today just in time to try to cheer me up. It's pure 1970 bubblegum pop! I mean sure, I'm a little bit giddy over the fact that Donald Trump will eventually have to face the "fake news" that most Americans prefer Joe Biden as President of the United States of America rather than suffering through another four years of Trump's teenage Twitter tantrums (plus we get Kamala Harris!), but my excitement has been dampened somewhat by a tragic personal loss. I can't find my favorite jacket!
That sounds silly, I know, but this is the vintage navy blue polyester jacket that I found years ago at a thrift shop and wore so often it began to come apart at the seams, lots of them. So last year I finally took it to a tailor and paid a bundle to have them stitch it up so it was just like new. I LOVED THAT JACKET SO MUCH!
If my jacket had caught fire after being struck by lightning or something, that would be one thing. I'd be sad, sure, but at least I'd know what had become of it. As it is, my favorite jacket seems to have simply vanished into thin air. I cannot find it anywhere. Call me Alex "OCD" Williams, but I just can't stand losing favorite articles of clothing. The pain from the loss seems to stick with me for years. Sigh. Anyway... guess I'll just sit here without a jacket on and listen to Bobby Bloom.
Someone I dated for a while back in 2003 told me that the guy he'd dated for a few months just before we met threw a tantrum when he broke up with him, ranting and raving and going nuts. I decided then that, whenever anyone ended a relationship with me, I'd simply say, "Okay, that's fine." ...and then go do all my ranting and raving and going nuts in the privacy of my own bathroom. My idea is that, when the relationship is over, I'd like my ex to look back later and worry that they'd made a horrible mistake, and that I was the one that they should never have let get away...as opposed to putting on an emotional pyrotechnics show that simply confirms that they made the smartest decision ever when they dumped me.
And now it looks like the USA is breaking up with Donald Trump. Will we ever look back as a country and wonder if he was the president that got away? I think probably the only thing he could do at this point to make me wonder if I'd cast my vote differently if I could go back and do it all again is this: Instead of offering a traditional concession speech if and when the 2020 Presidential Election is called in Biden's favor, Trump would slowly walk to the podium and stand perfectly still until the cheering crowd has gone silent. Then, suddenly, the opening notes of the piano would ring throughout the room, and Trump would launch into a heartfelt and wistful performance of ABBA's "The Winner Takes It All." As the vocals reach their end and the music crescendos before the final fade, Trump would slowly slink away, finally disappearing into the shadowy wings of the stage. So if he did THAT...maybe. Otherwise, I'm good.
