Mud

Artist: Mud

LP: 7" single

Song: "Dyna-Mite"

[ listen ]

So it turns out that that having my 7" copy of Bow Wow Wow's "The Man Mountain" get lost in the mail somewhere between England and Northgate was a blessing in disguise! When I finally determined I could wait no longer, I went back online to Discogs to order another copy—one that was even better than the first one! I found one, but of course the seller had to inform me that it was the same price to ship six 45s from The Netherlands as it was to ship one. I ended up ordering seven, including five Prince singles with picture sleeves I didn't already have, and this cool 1973 Mud thing that I ordered based solely on the neat photo of the band sitting around there on the cover. My records arrived today!

I'd never heard of Mud before, but I'm really stuck on them! You can read all about the band here, and someone even threw together one of those colorful bar graphs that shows all the lineup changes over the years. From what I can tell, Mud was a hot commodity in England, but I wonder if they ever got any airplay here in the USA.

Guylaine Guy

Artist: Guylaine Guy

LP: French Doll
Song: "Paris est un Accordéon"
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Song: "Madame Bertrand"
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"French Doll" Guylaine Guy is a Canadian! Born in the spring of 1929 in Montreal, Guylaine got her start singing in some of her city's cabarets. Charles Trenet discovered her there in 1955 and began writing songs for her...and the rest, as they say, isn't history. That's because after touring the world and having a hit record in 1963, Gylaine retired from music to focus on her art. I've been sifting through my French-language LPs and am getting rid of quite a few, but this 1957 delight is definitely a keeper.

[ Guylaine Guy in 1957 ]

 [ Guylaine Guy in 2015 ]

Los Pasos

Artist: Los Pasos

LP: 7" single

Song: "Te Quiero Porque Te Quiero"
[ listen ]

It was my last full day in Barcelona and I was feeling melancholy. I'd rented a bike at Ajo Bike the day before so I could be swept away on a bike ride with some new Spanish friends. 

[ My Barcelona Bike ]

We rode for miles up the coast to lay on a much-less-crowded beach than the ones that are located in the heart of downtown Barcelona. 

[ My Barcelona Beach ]

We didn't get back from the beach until after 7:30pm, and since the bike shop closed at 7, I had to cram my bike into my bedroom and then still had it to use the next day. One of my favorite Spanish adventures was riding my bike alone through the early-morning cobblestone streets of downtown Barcelona. I rode to a little shop and bought some candy to take back to my colleagues at work, and also visited the post office so I could send off some postcards I'd written over the course of my vacation. The post office in Barcelona is way fancier than the one in my neighborhood back home.

[ Barcelona Post Office — Outside & Inside ]

Later that evening, it was finally time to visit the last and final record store of my trip to Spain, though it was actually a store I'd already tried going to a few days before. According to the sign on the door during my first visit, the vacation was over at 10,000 Records and they would be open from 5-8pm that evening. Of course they didn't open at 5pm, so I walked around the block. They were open when I got back at 5:15, and in I went. 

I poked around in the LP bins for a bit and found a fairly outrageous 12" single worth keeping, but then I found a group of bins full of singles tucked into the corner and, since my time was limited, I turned my focus there. A friendly fellow was running the place that evening, and he had set up a little listening station on the counter by where he was standing. I picked up a bundle of singles (nearly 10,000 I'm sure), wondering all the while how on earth I was going to get all the records I'd purchased onto the plane without paying a number of substantial bribes. (I managed somehow, of course—thank god for the heavy-duty frozen-food shopping bag I picked up in Schenectady back in 2016.) 

One of the 10,000 Records I found is this 1969 release by Los Pasos, a Spanish band that was only around from 1966 to 1972. You can read about Los Pasos on Wikipedia in Spanish and English, where their style is characterized as a delicate balance of vocal games and instrumental predominance. 

[ Los Pasos]

[ 10,000 Records — Barcelona, Spain ]

Belle Epoque

Artist: Belle Epoque

LP: Miss Broadway

Song: "Miss Broadway"
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"Me and You" 
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♫♪ ♫ "Uh-huh. I like it. Uh-huh. I like it." ♫ ♪ 

Based in Paris, France, Belle Epoque caught the disco wind in their sails in 1977 and rode it all the way to the end of the era, which was more or less 1979. Looking here at the three Belles, I can't help but wonder if anyone ever considered putting them on French television as a Parisian Charlie's Angels. Pierre's Angels, maybe? If I were in charge of casting, Belle Epoque would be Kelly, Jill, and Sabrina, from left to right. 

This trio of lovely ladies enjoyed their biggest success in Europe and Australia, but here in the USA the title track to their 1977 "Miss Broadway" LP hit #92 on the Billboard Hot 100, #26 on the Billboard R&B chart, and #21 on Billboard's "National Disco Action Top 40" (!) in the summer of that year. I finally got my hot little hands (and ears) on it last year at Råkk og Rålls in Oslo, Norway.

[ Belle Epoque ]

Al Jarreau [1940-2017]

Artist: Al Jarreau

LP: 7" single

Song: "Trouble In Paradise" 
[ listen ]

True, Al Jarreau isn't my usual bag when it comes to '80s pop music. Yet there's always been something about his 1983 "Trouble In Paradise" single that's drawn me in—something even beyond the delightfully generous profusion of electronic hand-claps sprinkled throughout. The song peaked at #63 on the Billboard Hot 100, earning sporadic airplay on Yakima's 107.3 KFFM.

Alwin Lopez Jarreau has always seemed so upbeat and friendly. Of course, it would be a real struggle to be a downer while wearing a turquoise v-neck sweater with '80s confetti flourishes and a fly-away fringed white scarf. But I've just learned that, in the mid-1960s before he launched his music career, Al worked in San Francisco as a rehabilitation counselor for people with disabilities. The notion of rehabilitation comes through in Jarreau's music, even in "Trouble In Paradise." 

I'm not all that familiar with many of Al Jarreau's other songs, but it was still sad news to hear that he had died. Here's hoping his positive energy has already begun to rehabilitate any Trouble In Paradise he finds on the other side. You can read more about the man and his music in The New York Times.

 

Al Jarreau

[ March 12, 1940 — February 12, 2017 ]

We will miss you, Alwin.

Paul & Paula

Artist: Paul & Paula

LP: Holiday For Teens

Song: "Holiday For Teens"
[ listen ]

Song: "Winter Wonderland"
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Song: "Holiday Hootenanny"
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First of all, these people's names are Ray and Jill, not Paul and Paula, and they were both in their 20s when this record came out in 1963. This entire enterprise has been built upon a pack of lies! Not only that, but I tried singing "Holiday For Teens," hand-claps included, to some festive-looking teenagers on the bus on my way home from work today, and it did not go over well, to say the least. I immediately switched over to "Holiday Hootenanny," since to be honest that one seems more likely to appeal to today's youngsters, but the teens silently shuffled away to another part of the bus before I even finished the first verse.

[ Paula & Paul ]

Mouth & MacNeal

Artist: Mouth & MacNeal

LP: Mouth & MacNeal II

Song: "Hello-A" 
[ listen ]

Ever since I found their "How Do You Do" 45 at Omega Music in Dayton, Ohio back in 2011, I've been on the lookout for more vinyl by dynamic Dutch duo Mouth & MacNeal. This 1972 LP (not their second, as one might suppose) is one I came across at Golden Oldies here in Seattle a few weeks ago. I stuck "Hello-A" on the track list I compiled for my good friend Carrie's 40th birthday party last night and the song was a hit. Admittedly, "Hello-A," with its hand-claps and "ooh-aah, ooh-aah, ooh-aah" chorus is probably a little more me than it is she, but who doesn't love hand-claps? Read more about Big Mouth and Maggie MacNeal on Wikipedia here.

[ MacNeal & Mouth ]

Eddie Dean

Artist: Eddie Dean

LP: Eddie Dean Sings

Song: "I Dreamed of a Hillbilly Heaven" 
[ listen ]

Song: "Katmandu" 
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Song: "Impatient Blues" 
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The country western section of my record collection has reached full capacity, so I've started sorting through it to see if there's anything I can get rid of to make more room. One of the gems I discovered in the process is this collection of songs by Eddie Dean, released on the Crown label—which of course means no liner notes, since they've got a bad habit of filling the entire backside of their album covers with Crown Records catalog listings. 

Born in the rural Texas community of Posey in the summer of 1909, Eddie got his start performing on radio in Chicago and South Dakota with his brother Jimmy. He then moved to Hollywood and appeared in movies throughout the 1940s, where he was usually called upon to present a few numbers. "I Dreamed of a Hillbilly Heaven" was a hit for Eddie in 1955, though the song gained even more favor with the public when Tex Ritter released his version in 1961. All ten songs on this LP are terrific, but my favorite is "Katmandu," on which the handsome Texan crooner warbles on about the exotic mysteries of far-away places, a musical sub-genre I think ought to be termed 'country eastern music.'

Eddie Dean, whom both Roy Rogers and Gene Autry named as the best cowboy singer of all time, passed away at age 89 on March 4, 1999, after which he was finally able to march forth into Hillbilly Heaven, taking his place amongst the stars. There's more to read about the life and career of Eddie Dean on Wikipedia here and I've included a clip from one of his movies below. 

Eddie Dean on YouTube:
[ "Ain't No Gal Got a Brand On Me" ]

[ Eddie Dean: July 7, 1909 — March 4, 1999 ]

Karen Young

Artist: Karen Young

LP: Hot Shot

Song: "Bring On the Boys" 
[ listen ]

I was initially drawn to this 1978 Karen Young record by the fact that she looks a little long in the tooth to be performing disco. (She brought to mind Disco Sally from Studio 54.) Based on the cover, I guessed Karen was somewhere around 50 when this LP was released, and that she had probably also been a guest star on "The Love Boat" at least twice (her frumpy '70s hair/dress combo practically screams Captain Stubing love interest). I was shocked to learn that Karen was born in 1951, which means that she was only 27 when this record came out. Sadly, Karen never made it to 50; she died at age 39, possibly from a bleeding ulcer. You can read more about Karen Young here, and watch her perform "Hot Shot," which peaked at #67 on the US singles charts, by clicking the link below.

Karen Young on YouTube:
[ "Hot Shot" ]

[ Karen Young: March 23, 1951 — January 26, 1991 ]

Los Ocho de Colombia

Artist: Los Ocho de Colombia

LP: De Costa a Costa Con Los Ocho de Colombia

Song: "La Danza del Diablo" 
[ listen ]

Song: "Shunga Marunga (Cuca Maruca)" 
[ listen ]

Happy Halloween! A spider just dropped onto my head while I was typing this. How appropriate. Have you seen this costume for a TV weather news person? What about this one that turns out like this? Anyway, "La Danza del Diablo" by Los Ocho de Colombia was the best I was able to come up with to commemorate the holiday. It's not very scary. There isn't much info about these eight handsome fellows on the web; according to this page they began making music in 1974, but I also found a discography that includes an album from 1972 and I have a feeling this "De Costa a Costa" LP is from even earlier than that. The group is still around, though according to the photo header on this Facebook page, Los Ocho de Colombia have now grown into Los Quince! I feel it's also important to point out that the male members of this group are not averse to posing shirtless...as long as they can continue to wear a tuxedo. 

In English, via Google Translate: 

1. Where has pace and party have to be The 8 of Colombia

2. Reminding the county that they are guilty of domestic happiness which

3. Members and instruments are at the top of the modern creation

4. Manufacturing

5. Only for crowds

6. The best list of successes that 

7. Located as precursors and absolute owners of musical truth of the nation

8. These are the seven critical highlights and notes in the dance music of Colombia

The Latin Souls

Artist: The Latin Souls

LP: Boo-Ga-Loo & Shing-A-Ling With The Latin Souls

Song: "Hey Lulu!"

[ listen ]

Here's a bunch of boogaloo, with a side of shing-a-ling, for a sunny and warm Friday morning in Seattle. Not to be confused with the Mexican street gang of Chicago, these Latin Souls were a group of musical teens who helped spread the boogaloo dance craze across North America in the 1960s—which you can read about here. The English and Spanish-language notes from the back of this 1967 record are included below, and I'm pretty sure that's Melanie Griffith shing-a-linging on the front cover.