The Music of Poland

LP: The Music of Poland

Artist: Polish Student Chorus

Song: "Jedzie Boat (The Boat Is Rocking)"

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Artist: Z. Krukowski

Song: "Gdzie Idziesz Wojtus (Where Are You Going, Walter?)"

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I was a little confounded by the odd cover design (which gave me a craving for peppermint) for this various artists LP featuring singers who fled Poland to settle in Paris in the mid 20th century—until I did a Google image search for the Polish flag. The first song, "Jedzie Boat," is a rollicking nautical number performed by an entire student choir that somehow evidently escaped Poland together. The next song, "Gdzie Idziesz Wojtus," is an oberek—a sort of crazy waltz that involves lots of shouting and stomping, probably similar to what we call the Virginia reel here in America. As far as I can tell, we never do find out exactly where it was Walter was going. The LP liner notes, a neat drawing, and some info about the two tracks are included below.

 [ The Map of Poland ]

Danièlle Oddera

Artist: Danièlle Oddera

LP: Danièlle Oddera

Song: "C'est Que Je T'Appartiens"

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I found this self-titled Danièlle Oddera LP in Montréal, Québec while attending a conference there several years ago for work. My French is pretty rusty, but from what I understand here, Danièlle Oddera met singer Jacques Brel at her very first party in 1965. Then, according to this, she and pianist-comedian Jean Marchand performed at a tribute concert in 2008 to honor of the 30th anniversary of Brel's death. You can find this lovely blonde chanteuse's discography by clicking here.

 [ Danièlle Oddera w/ Jean Marchand in 2008. ]

Cha Cha, Anyone?

LP: Cha Cha, Anyone?

Artist: Paquitin Lara and His Latin American Orchestra

Song: "Cha Cha Me Baby"

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Artist: Ramon and His Orchestra

Song: "Cuidado Con La Mano"

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Here's a bit of cha-cha-cha from two Latin masters circa 1959—Paquitin Lara, featured on the first side of the record, and Ramon and His Orchestra, featured on side two. My sister and I learned the basic steps of the cha-cha in our dance class at Brigham Young University back in 1991, but even when observing qualified professionals we never saw anyone do the cha-cha while sitting on the floor.

Hung Chung

Artist: Hung Chung

LP: "Love Song Over the Sea" [7" EP]

Song: "Happy Journey"

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Here's something short and snappy from a 6-track 7" single made in Singapore, probably in the early 1970s. I picked this one up in Boston a few years ago while attending a conference there for work. Singapore's official languages are English, Malay, Chinese, and Tamil, and the city-state's motto is the same as the title of its national anthem: "Onward, Singapore!" Here's hoping it's a happy journey.

Lenny Dee

Artist: Lenny Dee

LP: "Dee-Lightful! Hi-Fi Organ Solos With a Beat" [double 7" single]

Song: "Plantation Boogie"

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When I die, I want to get a black vinyl halo like Lenny Dee's! For over five decades, the popular and charismatic Lenny Dee delighted ladies and gentlemen alike with the magic of his fantastic organ. A Dee's original, "Plantation Boogie" was a top 20 hit in 1955, peaking at #18 on the singles charts. You can read all about Lenny's life and career on Wikipedia here, and notes and photos from the back of this double Decca 7" single are included below. Also, click here to find a tribute to Lenny Dee, posted after he died in 2006. There you'll see notes and musings from Lenny's friends and fans, along with a warning (in red, all caps) to be careful not to get the organ-playing Lenny Dee mixed up with the New York DJ of the same name who performs x-rated tracks!

 [ Lenny Dee: January 5, 1923 — February 12, 2006 ]

Kay Starr

Artist: Kay Starr

LP: 7" single

Song: "Allez-Vous-En, Go Away"

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This 1953 4-track "compact album" features Kay Starr's #1 hit "Wheel of Fortune," but I actually prefer "Allez-Vous-En, Go Away." I just love it when Midwestern Americans sing in French! Born on a reservation in Dougherty, Oklahoma in 1922, Katherine Starks' father was a full-blooded Iroquois Indian. Katherine began her music career by serenading Texas chickens, which led to radio work...and the rest, as they say, is history. You can read that history  here, see Kay being honored by the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters in 2009 here, and find the official Kay Starr website here—with discography, biography, photos, and more! Kay has been married to six different men (so far), and has this to say on the topic: "I've had the best time!"

Kansas

Artist: Kansas

LP: 7" single

Song: "Everybody's My Friend"

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When it comes to good old fashioned American rock 'n' roll, it doesn't really get much better than Kansas. After all, they're smack dab in the middle of the country! This follow-up to the group's modest 1983 hit "Fight Fire With Fire" (it reached #58 on the Billboard Hot 100) may have failed to make the singles charts, but it's got one of the best covers of any 45 in my collection. You can read about Kansas and all their many lineup changes over the years (I lost track at around 1981) on Wikipedia here, and go here to see the group's complete discography.

Fuse

I blew a fuse somewhere between Alberta and Macau, and it was wonderful.

side one:
01. Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair) - Sheena Easton
02. Sur Ma Mob - Lili Drop
03. Ocean Size - Jane's Addiction
04. Great Change Since I've Been Born - Stoneground
05. Pillow Talk - Sylvia
06. Man From China - Vivabeat
07. Love Comes Quickly - Pet Shop Boys
08. I Left My Sugar Standing In the Rain - Lee Wiley
09. Beauty Mark - Charlotte Gainsbourg
10. Dios No Lo Quiera (God Forbidden) - Lucho Gatica
11. Come Home With Me - No Slack
12. Get Up (Or Get Out) - Bloodstone
13. Let's Stay Together - Pat Benatar
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side two:
01. If I Were You - Lulu
02. Good, Good Lovin' - The Hardy Boys
03. Mon Amour Baiser - Jane Birkin
04. Us Against the World - Coldplay
05. African Echoes - Ferrante and Teicher
06. Vivere O Non Vivere - Milva
07. Lover - Zaccarias and His Orchestra
08. I.T.D. (Interstellar Tracking Devices) - Automatic Man
09. The Fall of Because - Killing Joke
10. It's a Wonderful World - Elvis Presley
11. Misguided Angel - Cowboy Junkies
12. I Will - Ruby Winters
13. While It's Cold Outside - American Gypsy
14. Tommib - Squarepusher
[ listen ]

Dexys Midnight Runners

Artist: Dexys Midnight Runners

LP: 7" single

Song: "Keep It Part Two (Inferiority Part One)"

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I've always found it kinda' sad that people in the USA (and Puerto Rico too!) can only name one song by Dexys Midnight Runners—this one, which was evidently the top selling single in America in 1982. But according to Wikipedia (see here), Dexys Midnight Runners leader Kevin Rowland might be partly to blame for this, since he belligerently chose the non-commercial "Keep It Part Two (Inferiority Part One)" as the follow-up single to the group's previous two top-ten UK hits in 1981. (The song didn't make the charts, but it's not really all that bad.) Rowland also imposed a Dexys Midnight Runners press embargo in 1980, he wouldn't release any singles from the group's third (and last) album, "Don't Stand Me Down," and he used to make the entire band go jogging together—probably at midnight. If you ask me, he sounds like one of those annoyingly eccentric, impossibly difficult genius types, the kind who makes wonderful and exciting music, but who's unbearable to sit next to on the bus.

 [ Dexy's Midnight Runners ]

Dimitri Dourakine et son Orchestre

Artist: Dimitri Dourakine et son Orchestre

LP: 7" single

Song: "Casatschok"

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This lively dance number held the top spot on the French singles charts for the entire first quarter of 1969! See here. The back of Dimitri's single contains instructions for dancing to "Casatschok," and the front features a set of eight photographs showing how each step should be done. I've included larger versions of all these below. Once you've got all eight dance moves up to speed, it should look something like this.

Sacha Distel

Artist: Sacha Distel

LP: 7" single

Song: "La La Song (I've Got That Feeling Again)"

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In honor of K.D. Lang's 50th birthday, I decided to post something by French singer Sacha Distel, who looks like he could be K.D.'s older brother (but only on the cover of this 1963 single, he doesn't look much like her in any of his other pictures). Born in Paris in 1933, Distel played piano before switching over to guitar. He's worked with Dizzy Gillespie and Tony Bennett, among others, and he had a brief romantic entanglement with actress/sexpot Brigitte Bardot in the late '50s before settling down to become a dedicated family man with wife and champion Olympic skier Francine Bréaud in 1963. You can read more about the life and career of Sacha Distel on Wikipedia here and visit his official website here.

[ Sacha Distel: January 29, 1933 — July 22, 2004 ]

Gregori Hunte

Artist: Gregori Hunte

LP: 12" single

Song: "Somebody Lied"

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Somebody lied when they told Gregori it was a good idea to stick a 60-second reggae interlude smack dab in the middle of his high-energy dance-club single.