The "You Know Who" Group

Artist: The "You Know Who" Group

LP: First Album
Song: "Hey You and the Wind and the Rain"
[ listen ]

Here's another LP I picked up at Weirdo Records in Cambridge, Mass a few weeks ago. Why is it that every time I come up with a dynamite idea for a creative new novelty band, I discover that somebody else has already beaten me to it? Anyway, you can read about The "You Know Who" Group here.

Byanka y Maleza

Artist: Byanka y Maleza

LP: 20 Navidexitos
Song: "Sueño De Invierno"
[ listen ]
Song: "El Niño Del Tambor"
[ listen ]

The holidays are upon us. It's a frosty 22°F in Seattle this morning, so Christmas music makes perfect sense. This 1982 various artists Navidad LP from Mexico features holiday favorites by a variety of niños—including two tracks from Byanka y Maleza. The dynamic duo evidently kept singing together even as they outgrew their golden jumpsuits to become sexy Mexican cowgirls.

Richard Cocciante

Artist: Richard Cocciante

LP: Richard Cocciante
Song: "When Love Has Gone Away"
[ listen ]

This past Thursday my friend Nicholai invited me to join him for Seattle's "First Thursday" art walk in Pioneer Square—the old part of the city. We met at the Something Old Something New thrift store at 3rd and Washington (map), where I flipped through a bin of old LPs and found this 1976 treasure from French/Italian singer Richard Cocciante. We visited lots of galleries and saw lots of art that night, some good and some bad. At one point, Nicholai approached a tough, biker-type guy with a pointy, multi-faceted beard and gave him this compliment: "I love the amusement park you've created with your facial hair!" The man was not pleased, but his girlfriend answered his scowl with a whispered, "that was really complimentary!" It's fun hanging out with Nicholai.

Remo Germani

Artist: Remo Germani

LP: San Remo '67
Song: "La Rivoluzione"
[ listen ]

With Portland painted red, I said goodbye to my friend Alex and began the drive northward back to Seattle. Just after crossing the mighty Columbia River, I saw signs for the city of Vancouver, which I'd never been to before. I decided to have a look, and of course I stumbled upon a record store—Mermaid Music in this case. I found some neat things there, including this various artists LP from the San Remo song competition of 1967. "La Rivoluzione" didn't win the top prize, but it's one of my favorites on the record. You can find the LP liner notes below, along with a neat Remo Germani music video, also from 1967. You can read about Remo Germani on Wikipedia here and visit his official website here.

Remo Germani on YouTube:
[ "Al Chiaro Di Luna" ]

[ Remo Germani ]

The Mario Panas Sound

Artist: The Mario Panas Sound

LP: Bouzouki Dancing
Song: "Die Bouzouki Klang Durch Die Sommernacht"
[ listen ]

While visiting my friend Alex in Portland last weekend, we also painted Everyday Music red and I bought this beautiful and unusual bouzouki-themed LP while we were waiting for the paint to dry. To be honest, I wasn't exactly sure what a bouzouki was until I looked it up on the internet and discovered it's one of these. After some more research, I found out that Mario Panas was one of the writers of his daughter Vicky's Eurovision Contest-winning hit, "Apres Toi," which represented Luxembourg in 1971. (You can read more about that and see her perform the song here.) Also, I found out that Mario Panas is originally from Greece and is AKA Leo Leandros, and he's A sometimes KA Leandros Papathanasiou. I'd have to agree though that "The Leandros Papathanasiou Sound" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

[ Mario Panas, Leo Leandros, etc. ]

Patrick Hernandez

Artist: Patrick Hernandez

LP: Born to Be Alive
Song: "Show Me the Way You Kiss"
[ listen ]

After returning from Boston last week, I drove to Vashon Island for Thanksgiving dinner with my family and then headed down to Portland, Oregon to visit my friend Alex before he moved to Phoenix. We painted the town red, starting with the Mississippi District, where I found this 1979 Patrick Hernandez LP featuring the international disco hit "Born to Be Alive." I actually came across this LP in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in July for $5, but decided not to pick it up there. I'm glad, since the CD & Game Exchange on Mississippi had it for just a buck. You can read about Patrick Hernandez on Wikipedia here.

Eavesdroppings

Overheard when: 9:53pm on Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Overheard where: Piecora's Pizza at 1401 East Madison Street in Seattle, WA [map]
Overheard who: a cute and boyish 20-something-year-old fellow with blond wavy hair, speaking to his charming female dining companion in the booth directly behind me in the pizzeria's main front room.
Overheard what: "Sex is a really strong force and it lures people in. If two people are both good at it, it can be a lot of fun! But if one person isn't very good at it... It's like tennis: If two people are both great tennis players, they can have a really good game. But if one of the players has never even held a racket in their hands before, so they don't know what they're doing and they keep hitting the ball over the fence and into the net all the time... well that's not much fun for the other person, since they just end up standing around and waiting the whole time."

John Yam

Artist: John Yam

LP: 7" single
Song: "Our Love Is Over"
[ listen ]

A few blocks up Massachusetts Avenue from Cheapo Records is Weirdo Records, where I found lots of great used vinyl at good prices—including this groovy 1971 John Yam 4-track EP from Singapore. They have a little listening station where you can sample the records before buying them, and the owner is really friendly and helpful. I wasn't keeping track at the time, but I think she gave me a bit of a discount. Thanks!

Between Cheapo and Weirdo, I'd used up my entire record-shopping day and found more records than I could comfortably carry, afford, or fit into a suitcase. (My checked bag was so heavy I had to pay JetBlue $50 just to load it onto the plane. They must have had to hire a bodybuilder.) My web search turned up more neat-looking record stores in Boston and Cambridge that I didn't get to, so I'll have to go back soon.

Adriano Celentano

Artist: Adriano Celentano

LP: Supremo
Song: "E'Inutile Davvero"
[ listen ]
Song: "Il Mio Amico James Bond"
[ listen ]

I was in Boston for work last weekend, and as usual I managed to rummage through a few record stores during my visit. According to my Google maps, lots of stores were located on Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge, so I started there.

The first place I visited was Cheapo Records, where I found a bunch of neat stuff including this 1967 LP by Italian superstar Adriano Celentano. Some trivia: Adriano's daughter Rosalinda played the Satan character in Mel Gibson's THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. (I've never seen the film; I heard people in the audience were having heart-attacks.) Today's posting is dedicated to the folks at Trattoria Il Panino in Boston's old Italian neighborhood—especially the nice waitress with the beautiful Italian accent. I'd had a rough and draining weekend, but my relaxing and delicious dinner at Trattoria Il Panino on my last evening in Boston put everything right again. If you're ever in Beantown, do yourself a favor and go get some dinner there.

In the meantime, you can read more about Adriano Celentano on Wikipedia here and visit his official website here. I photographed the LP liner notes and have included them below, so just click on the image to make them bigger and easier to read.

Eavesdroppings

Overheard when: 8:51pm (Eastern) on Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Overheard where: seat 21-D on Jet Blue flight 497 from Boston to Seattle [map]
Overheard who: a pretty female flight attendant to the frumpy, middle-aged woman in seat 22-D who was blocking the aisle while clumsily trying to re-stow her bulky carry-on luggage in the over-head bins.
Overheard what: "Ma'am, you have two pieces of gum on your bottom. Do you mind if I try to take them off?"

Rod McKuen

Artist: Rod McKuen

LP: Songs For a Lazy Afternoon
Song: "Sinner Man"
[ listen ]
Song: "Aunt Louise"
[ listen ]
Song: "With a 'No' That Sounds Like 'Yes'"
[ listen ]

Rod McKuen is one of those prolific artists who, just when I think I probably own most of his albums, I suddenly find six or seven more at the Good Will in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood—including a Christmas album! "Songs For a Lazy Afternoon" isn't one of those though, I've had this one for a while; it's one of my favorites. I never knew much about Rod McKuen, but after reading the extensive liner notes on the back of this record (included below) and his bio on Wikipedia (here), I found out that Rod McKuen ran away from home when he was 11, he's worked as a logger and as a rodeo cowboy, he starred as Romeo in a production of some famous Shakespeare play, he served in the U.S. Army, he speaks Japanese and Korean and is a Japanese movie star, he was buddies with Jacques Brel and he's considered the best-selling and most widely-read poet of all time. He can also wiggle his ears, he has bionic legs and he can fly several feet off the ground simply by flapping his arms. For a full discography and more neat photos and things, visit the official Rod McKuen website here.

Songs For a Lazy Afternoon
—Notes by Mike Connolly

If late some evening you should drive down a deserted
Hollywood street, and notice a tall boy, slightly bent over,
with his shoulders pushed a little forward—walking along
whistling or singing to himself, chances are it might be Rod
McKuen, singing some of the songs he sings in this album.

You may ask, why are songs for a lazy afternoon being
sung at night? Well, the seemingly placid young man on
the other side of this album jacket doesn't have many lazy
afternoons anymore. At the age of 23, he is a busy and
successful actor, a published author, poet and
songwriter, and a folk singer who has toured
throughout the United States and Asia.

Rod's first professional break came along when just
after his sixteenth birthday, he joined the San Francisco
Young Players and appeared in their production of "Romeo
and Juliet." His role as Romeo was stirring enough to win
him several top acting awards and the offer of
two drama scholarships.

Between productions with the Young Players, Rod began
a radio disc jockey show for station KROW in Oakland,
California. The program, entitled "Rendezvous With Rod,"
ran for three and a half years, and had one of the
highest ratings of any show in the San Francisco Bay
Area. During this period, Rod was also author of a syndi-
cated newspaper column, "Scribbling on my Shirtcuff."
The Army intevened in 1953, however, and both
"Rendezvous" and the column were terminated.

Actually, it was in the service in Japan that Rod's talents
suddenly burst forth. His prowess as a folk singer was
well known among his friends, but it wasn't until the
owners of Maxim's, famed Tokyo night club, asked him to
appear there for a week-end, that Rod really developed
a style of his own. The "week-end" stretched into nearly
five months. During this period, the Army brass decided
that Rod would also be useful to the Armed Forces
as an entertainer.

His first assignment in that capacity was the television
show, "Pop Concert," which was shown over a Japanese
network. This show was so successful that the Army
sent Rod on a concert tour throughout the Orient. He
gave concerts to consistently packed houses in Hong
Kong, Tokyo, Seoul, Taegu, Bangkok, and
dozens of other cities.

When the tour ended, Rod returned to his original duties
as writer-producer with the Voice of the United Nations
Command in Tokyo, a program which broadcast psychological
warfare to Communist-dominated countries. He was later sent
to Korea to work as the Army's Civil Information expert
with the Korean Civil Assistance Command in Taegu.

Rod's concert tour brought him to the attention of a
prominent Japanese film producer, and the Army
granted him permission to appear in a number of
Japanese films. One of these, "The Boy and the
General," is due for release in the United States soon.
Language proved no barrier in Rod's foreign film roles,
for he speaks both Korean and Japanese.

During his Army tour of duty, Rod took time out to
write his first book, "And Autumn Came," a collection
of romantic poems in free verse published in 1954. The
book received unanimous critical acclaim, with one critic
labelling his works "among the finest of this generation."
Another book of poems and a novel are to be published
this Fall, and, recently, he completed his second novel.

Upon his release from the service, Rod returned to his
home in Oakland. Word of his success had preceded
him to the states, and he was immediately offered a
singing engagement at San Francisco's Purple Onion,
one of the city's most unique clubs.

It was during his stay there that he was "discovered" by
columnist-socialite Cobina Wright, who persuaded him
to come to Hollywood.

Though singing is considered his main musical talent, he
has had as much success writing music as performing it. No
less than eighteen of his folks tunes have been purchased
by many of the nation's most popular performers and
several have been recorded by major artists.

Since arriving in Hollywood, Rod has written songs for
several motion piuctures, individually, and in collaboration
with Les Baxter, Bobby Troupo, and Barney Kessel. In
his first American movie, now being filmed at Universal-
International, he sings two of these songs, "Picnic by
the Sea," and "Happy Is a Boy Named Me."

With all of his varied interests, Rod claims he hasn't
much time for anything else except "maybe being lonely
occasionally." If out of this loneliness some of the songs
in this album were conceived, then it has been a worth-
while solitude. Here is a young man with something
unique to offer—a sly wit for writing happy songs, and
a tenderness for the sad ones. Best of all, however,
is his sincerity which makes any of the songs
believable when he sings it.

The selections in this album are varied. For sheer rollicking
fun, listen to "Puttin' On the Style," or, "With a 'No' That
Sounds Like 'Yes'"; or, "Aunt Louise," a delightful little ditty
which consumes all of thirty seconds. "Sinner Man," and
the Negro slave song "Follow the Drinkin' Gourd" are serious
and dramatic in content. Rod's own songs "Jaydee" and
"Happy Is a Boy Named Me" are both haunting and beautiful.

Rod is ably assisted by Barney Kessel and Tommy Tedesco,
whose sterling guitars shine throughout. Occasionally you'll
find a harmonica, a drum or two and a chorus sneaking in.
In the final analysis, I'm sure you'll agree...it's
all pretty wonderful.

* * * * * * *

Mike Connolly's daily column in the Hollywood Reporter
can boast an audience of almost everyone in the film
industry—from star to stenographer, from grip man to
stockholder. In addition many millions read his magazine
articles and yet another syndicated column.

Surprisingly enough, with articles and columns, and all
the time he spends running around digging up information
for both, he found time last year to help write the
very successful book "I'll Cry Tomorrow."

* * * * * * *

Orchestra under the direction of Barney Kessel.
SONGS FOR A LAZY AFTERNOON was recorded in
Hollywood, Calif. April 12 and 26, 1956 and May 17, 1956.
Producer: Simon Jackson
Engineer: Val Valentin
Cover Photograph: Phil Howard

[ Rod McKuen ]

Texas Jim Robertson

Artist: Texas Jim Robertson

LP: Golden Hits of Country and Western Music
Song: "Slipping Around"
[ listen ]

This 6' 3" baritone was born in Texas either in 1909 if you believe his bio page at Hillbilly Music, or in 1916 if you'd rather trust the LP liner notes, included below. I bet it's 1909. In any case, lanky and amiable singing cowboy Texas Jim Robertson evidently slipped around between Texas, North Carolina and New York quite a bit before his stint in the Marines during WWII, after which he settled in Nyack, New York with his wife, Marianne.

Country and Western music has come a long way from
the back country barn dances to the small radio stations
right into the hearts of the city folks. This was not only
due to the quality and interest of the songs but also to
the high standards set by the performers in this field.
When we discuss high standards, we immediately
come to the name, Texas Jim Robertson.

Let's examine this 6 foot 3 inch baritone. Born in 1916 on
his folk's ranch in Batesville, Texas, he was christened
James Battle Robertson. Instead of a crib he used a
saddle. Tex claims he learned to ride a horse before
he knew how to walk.

He was such a big boy for his age that his dad put him
on as a top-hand for the summer of his eleventh birthday.
That's an awful lot of riding and roping for a boy that age.
No trouble for Tex, he took it all in his long steady stride.

When Tex turned 16, he went to visit an aunt in Bat Cave,
North Carolina. There was so much fun to be had that he
had it all and that included spending the money Tex had
put aside to get back to Texas. Needing money for that
return trip, he looked around. No one required a cowboy
on their tobacco farm. There just wasn't any rodeos he
could enter where he might win his passage home. The
want ads weren't enticing but he kept on looking till one
day a Goldsboro paper ran the following ad. "Wanted—
guitar playing cowboy singer—must be authentic and sing
songs of the west. Knowledge of radio technique helpful
but not necessary for the right man." The address
was a radio station in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Well, part of Jim's training included playing the guitar,
banjo and mandolin. His dad taught him all that plus
the kind of songs every cowboy had to know. Tex
visited with the Program Director of the radio station
in Charlotte. He never calls on anyone, he always visits
with people. Jim started work the next day. The radio
audience loved him. N.B.C. heard of this love and
brought him into New York for his first network show
where he remained. Then, he became an actor...re-
member the deep low male voice on "Lone Journey,"
"Against the Storm," "Death Valley Days" and the villain
on "Dick Tracy," they were great radio serials. The year
was 1937, he was popular, successful and in love—her
name was Marianne. The year is 1959, he is still popular,
successful and in love and she's still the same Marianne
he married in 1937. Finally, World War II, the Marine
Corps and the South Pacific, the area not the musical.

Back home again, the American people did
not forget a great talent.

[ Texas Jim Robertson: February 7, 1909 — November 11, 1966 ]

Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan

Artist: Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan

LP: 7" single
Song: "La Negra"
[ listen ]

Mariachi Vargas is the best mariachi band in the world! Founded in 1897 by Don Gaspar Vargas, the group has gone through five distinct phases throughout its 112-year career. You can read about Mariachi Vargas and its phases here (this 4-track EP must have been recorded during phase 3) and for more info and photos, visit the band's official website here. I've included the Spanish-language notes from the back of the record below, along with an English translation courtesy of Babelfish.

[ Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan — then ]

[ Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan — now ]

EL MARIACHI VARGAS DE TECALITLAN ha logrado al transcurso
de los años, colocarse en el envidiable sitio de ser el mejor
Mariachi de México. Los grandes intérpretes de la música folklórica
mexicana siempre escogen a este mariachi para servir de
acompañantes a sus mejores interpretaciones, y él siempre ha
respondido a esta confianza con bellos y originales arreglos e
impercable interpretación. Sin embargo, en donde verdaderamente
luce el MARIACHI VARGAS DE TECALITLAN, es en sus
interpretaciones de los alegres sones y polkas, cuatro
de las cuales hemos acoplado en este disco.

* * * * * * *

THE MARIACHI TECALITLAN VARGAS has obtained to the
course of the years, to be placed in the enviable site of being
the best Mariachi of Mexico. The great interpreters of Mexican
fokloric music always choose this mariachi to serve as companions
their better interpretations, and he always has responded to this
confidence with beautiful and original adjustments and impercable
interpretation. Nevertheless, where truly the MARIACHI shines
TECLATLAN VARGAS, he is in his glad interpretations of sones
and polkas, four of which we have connected in this disc.

Juan Torres

Artist: Juan Torres

LP: Para Esos Momentos...
Song: "El Cisne"
[ listen ]

It's 11:09am on a rainy and cold Sunday morning in Seattle, where autumn is now turning to winter. I think the sounds of Juan Torres' melodic organ were made especially for these moments... don't you?

Midge Ure

Artist: Midge Ure

LP: 7" single
Song: "If I Was"
[ listen ]

So it looks like Midge Ure probably got one of these for Christmas in 1984. A recovering alcoholic, Midge's passions are music and cooking. You can read more about the former Ultravox frontman on Wikipedia here, and if you want even more information, why not read his autobiography?

[ Midge Ure ]