Betty Wright [1953-2020]

Artist: Betty Wright

LP: Danger High Voltage
Song: "Where Is the Love"

[ listen ]

I was bummed to hear today that Betty Wright passed away yesterday from cancer. (I'm also sad that Little Richard has died, but I don't have any of his records). Betty's biggest hit, "Clean Up Woman," broke into the top ten on both the R&B (#2) and the pop (#6) charts in 1971, when she was just 17 years old.  

This 1974 LP includes "Where Is the Love," linked to above, for which Betty won the Grammy for Best R&B Song! It peaked at #2 on the Disco charts, and #15 on the R&B charts, but only went to #96 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop charts. Where Is the Love, indeed. You can read all about Betty Wright on Wikipedia here, and go here to find her obituary in the New York Times.

 Betty Wright

[ December 21, 1953 — May 10, 2020 ]

We will miss you, Betty.

#39 - El DJ

When I played records out at some bars a few years ago, I used the name 'DJ Buffalo Star.' At first I considered calling myself 'DJ J-K, L-M-N-O-P,' but it was a moot point, since nobody asked my name anyhow. What El DJ name would you use?

side one:
01. DJ Hit That Button - Dead or Alive
02. Wait For the Sound - Algiers
03. August - Kristin Hersh
04. Un Mondo Raro / Adelita - Los Charrasqueados
05. Love Potion - Sister Power
06. No More Words - Berlin
07. This Chain Won't Break - Wild Nothing
08. I Come From Jamaica - Chris Powell and His blue Flames, feat. Clifford Brown
09. Take Me Home Country Roads - Brad Swanson
10. Brass In Pocket - Pretenders
11. Dancing At the Blue Lagoon - Cayucas
12. Thank You For the Music - Cornelius
[ listen ]

side two:
01. E.S.P. - Deee-Lite
02. In the City - Angel Vladković Group
03. Batucada - Walter Wanderley
04. Powiedz Kim Jestes (Tell Me Who You Are) - Troubadours
05. It's Not Unusual - Little Richie Varola
06. American Guilt - Unknown Mortal Orchestra
07. Mariana - Gibson Brothers
08. Do It All Night - Prince
09. Darkest Dreams - His Name Is Alive
10. It's Good to Want You Bad - Julie London
11. Love Alone - Count Bernadino
12. Mon Amour M'a Baisé - Benjamin Biolay
13. Waste - Foster the People
14. Never Took a Penny - The Tom Tom Club
[ listen ]

The Mountain Goats

Artist: The Mountain Goats

LP: 7" single

Song: "See America Right"
[ listen ]

Like everyone else, when I'm not working I'm stuck at home with nothing to do but order things online—things that I don't really need. I already collected all the 4AD releases from the label's first ten years last year when I was depressed, so now that I'm bored, I'm filling in some of the gaps from the ten years after that.

 

The Mountain Goats weren't initially one of my favorite 4AD bands, but I still bought each of their CDs when they were released. Their music has kinda' grown on me, so now they are also growing in my collection. My copy of this 2002 single arrived last week from The Netherlands. Its artwork was designed by 23 Envelope's Vaughan Oliver, recently deceased.

 

[ The Mountain Goats ]

Olga Guillot

Artist: Olga Guillot

LP: La Mejor Voz Cancioonera de Cuba

Song: "Vivir De Los Recuerdos"

[ listen ]

Song: "Sin Mi"

[ listen ]

Song: "Estamos En Paz"

  [ listen ]  
 

I'm not 100% sure, but I think "I-Tunes" is the alternate title of this 1950s Olga Guillot LP, on which the lovely and talented Cuban songstress is accompanied by the Orchestra Hermanos Castro. 

As a music critic, the previous owner of this record sure was a tough nut to crack, finding just one five-star song in the bunch. As you can see, they somehow managed to enjoy one other track enough to assign it a three-star rating, but all of Olga's other tunes earned only one lone star apiece. To be honest, I can't tell the difference. I've included "Vivir De Los Recuerdos," the five-star number, here, along with two of my favorite one-star Olga Guillot songs. See what you think. 

Born in Santiago de Cuba in the autumn of 1922, Olga traveled to Mexico in 1948 and hit the big time there with her recording of "Mienteme" a few years later. She went on to travel the world, once performing in Cannes with the legendary Edith Piaf. In 1964, Guillot became the first Latin artist ever to sing at New York's Carnegie Hall. You can read more about Olga Guillot on Wikipedia here, and LP liner notes in Spanish and English are included below.

 [ Olga Guillot: October 9, 1922 — July 12, 2010 ]

An Emotional Sponge

My good friend Eduardo often calls me Patrick, and I call him SpongeBob. Sometimes he really can be such an emotional sponge, that guy. 

side one:
01. No, I Don't Believe - Eyes on Fire
02. You're My Magician - Lime
03. Painted Bird - Siouxsie and the Banshees
04. Two of Everything - Torres
05. Two Different Worlds - Robert Goulet
06. Walk On the Moon - Asobi Seksu
07. Count On Angels - Breathless
08. Imagining My Man - Aldous Harding
09. If It's In You to Do Wrong - The Impressions
10. Spacewoman - The Breeders
[ listen ]

side two:
01. It's Her Factory - Gang of Four
02. Orange Flip - Book of Love
03. The Trolley Song - Eddie Layton
04. Your World - Tei Shi
05. Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven - Love and Rockets
06. Jimmy - M.I.A.
07. Drink Me - Belle Epoque
08. C'mon Baby - Chilly
09. The Most Beautiful Girl In the World - (Prince)
10. Stop That Man - Tune-Yards
11. Too Busy Thinking About My Baby - Mardi Gras
12. See Jungle! (Jungle Boy) - Bow Wow Wow
[ listen ]

Kenny Rogers [1938-2020]

Artist: Kenny Rogers with Kim Carnes

LP: 7" single
Song: "Don't Fall In Love With a Dreamer"

[ listen ]

I'm a little late with this, but wanted to pay my respects to country music legend Kenny Rogers, who passed away last month at the age of 81. Kenny was on the radio a lot when I first started listening to pop radio in Yakima, WA back in 1981. I especially enjoyed Kenny's collaborations with Dolly Parton, Sheena Easton, and this one with Kim Carnes. And, um, has anyone seen SIX PACK? I'm afraid I've never managed to set myself down in front of that one. You can read all about the life and career of this particular Mr. Rogers here. 

 Kenny Rogers

[ August 21, 1938 — March 20, 2020 ]

We will miss you, Kenny.

Doris Day

Artist: Doris Day w/ Jack Smith

LP: 7" single

Song: "Cuddle Up a Little Closer"
[ listen ]

I think what Doris and Jack mean is that if you're like 9 or 10 feet away, cuddle up until you're only six feet away to create the greatest possible amount of intimacy while still maintaining adequate social distancing. Oy vey. A global pandemic. 

The only good thing about Doris Day passing away last May and not being around to turn 98 today is that, if she WERE still alive, I'd constantly be worrying that this goddamn virus was gonna' get her. She's too dignified for that. Happy Birthday, Doris Day. I miss you.

[ Doris Day: April 3, 1922 — May 13, 2019 ]

Tony Orlando & Dawn

Artist: Tony Orlando & Dawn

LP: Greatest Hits

Song: "Candida"

[ listen ]

One of my mail-carrying colleagues at the Wallingford Post Office is named Don. He delivers mail on route 4. The other day I asked him if he's ever worked with someone named Tony Orlando, but he says he has not. I found this gem at The Junk Drawer tonight on my way to get a chicken caesar sandwich at Palermo Pizza and Pasta. 

[ Tony Orlando & Dawn ]

Harry Belafonte

Artist: Harry Belafonte

LP: 7" EP

Song: "Venezuela"
[ listen ]

This 1954 4-track 7" EP is one of the treasures I found at Ballard's Sonic Boom Records on my day off work yesterday. I've heard people refer to this emoji as the "face hug" emoji...

...but I've always thought of it as the emoji that represents whatever it is Harry Belafonte is doing on the cover of this record.

The Wolfgang Press

Artist: The Wolfgang Press

LP: Scarecrow EP

Song: "Ecstasy"
[ listen ]

Beacon Cinema in the Columbia City neighborhood of Seattle assembled a tribute to my favorite record label—4AD! The 100-minute program, which screened last night at 7pm, included music videos by iconic groups that were on the label (Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, Clan of Xymox, etc.), along with interview clips and concert footage. (The show was sold out; I barely squeaked in! They're showing it again at 8:30pm on Sunday, February 16.) The tribute begins with clips of Bauhaus and The Birthday Party, who were on 4AD shortly after it was started in 1980, and covers roughly up to the early '90s, with bits from Pixies, Lush, Spirea-X, Pale Saints, His Name Is Alive, and Red House Painters from around that time. 

Of course they couldn't include EVERY band on the label, or the film would have been 500 minutes instead...but still there were three groups in particular that I'd like to have seen featured, perhaps instead of Pale Saints, Dif Juz, and Spirea-X. Two of them are Modern English and Colourbox. They barely got a mention, though both were prolific on the 4AD label in the formative years. The third is The Wolfgang Press, whose members were parts of other 4AD bands before starting The Wolfgang Press and releasing their first LP, "The Burden of Mules," on the label in 1983. They became progressively more danceable over the years, and released their final LP, "Funky Little Demons," on 4AD in 1995. More than any other, The Wolfgang Press represent the label's transition from their post-punk goth roster of the early '80s to the more accessible dancefloor-friendly sound the label moved toward on into the 1990s. ("Pump Up the Volume," anyone?)

The Wolfgang Press 3-track "Scarecrow" EP, released in 1984, was already out of print by the time I learned about it from the listing in the 4AD catalog on the inner sleeve of the 1987 label compilation album "Lonely Is An Eyesore." On the lookout for all things 4AD, I remember being ecstatic when I found my copy of "Scarecrow" at Randy's Records in Salt Lake City in the spring of 1988, after taking the bus up from Provo, Utah to record hunt in the big city for the day. (I didn't have a car...or a job...or any friends.) On the bus on the way home that night, the woman sitting next to me saw my bags and asked me what I'd bought. I excitedly showed her, and she began ranting about how my music was Satanic and I was going to go to Hell. I changed seats, but it still made for an awkward and longs bus-ride home.

Anyway, thanks to The Beacon Cinema for putting this tribute together. It brought back lots of memories, as the music of 4AD was basically the soundtrack of my life between ages 16 and 24.

[ The Wolfgang Press ]

John Doté

Artist: John Doté

LP: 12" single

Song: "Gypsy Jane"
[ listen ]

There's a dog named Gypsy on Wallingford Route 75 that barks ferociously at me from behind the gate of her yard when I deliver the mail, but she's a sweetheart when I meet her on the street when she's on walks with her owner. Her owner told me that Gypsy speaks Spanish, so when I deliver mail there, I try calming her nerves by greeting her in her own language: "Hola, Gypsy. ¿Como estás, perra bonita?" It doesn't really seem to make any difference, probably because of my accent. I've tried singing "The Gypsy" to her, which seems to briefly confuse her, but then she goes right back to barking at me again. This week I'm going to try singing "Gypsy Jane," since I have a hunch she prefers late-'80s disco to classic ballads by The Ink Spots.

John Doté was born in the Bronx (why do I feel like I could have guessed) in 1955 and then moved to San Francisco in the '70s (why do I feel like I could have guessed) and became a popular drummer in the music scene there, working with Buddy Miles and Gregg Allman. Doté had a knack for music production, with credits including the theme songs for the popular TV shows "Dallas" and "Dynasty." He also handled promotions for big hits by both Janet and Michael Jackson...but not for Elmo and Patsy. You can read more about John Doté here.

Los Carabelas

Artist: Los Carabelas

LP: Los Carabelas

Song: "Asi Se Baila La Cumbia"

[ listen ]

Well, rats. I found all sorts of neat stuff in the Christmas used vinyl bins last month, but with six-day work weeks, the bustle of the holidays, and 11-to-12-hour workdays, my plan to regularly post things throughout the month of December failed to materialize. Guess I'll save them for next year, when I'll hopefully have two days off each week.

Here's something else I found in the bins last month—the dollar bins at Daybreak Records, to be exact. I figured I'd get an early start at my resolution to post here more regularly in 2020, and as a bonus it's nice to have at least one solid idea for my Halloween costume in the bag so early in the year! You can read (in Spanish) about Los Carabelas here.