Dick Biondi and The Teenagers

Artist: Dick Biondi and The Teenagers

LP: Dick Biondi's Favorites...

Song: "The Teenager"
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Song: "The Teenage Mind"
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The older I get, the more baffled I am by the incomprehensible behaviors and attitudes of the teenagers of today. Thank god I've got this Dick Biondi record to explain them all to me.

[ Dick Biondi and The Teenagers ]

Joël Holmes

Artist: Joël Holmes

LP: 7" single

Song: "Les Chemins de Rome"

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Here's a bouncy ditty from France, probably from the early-to-mid 1960s, that I sometimes use for my early morning baton-twirling practice. Not to be confused with the talented jazz pianist, the junior rugby player from Wales, the guy from Tennessee whose estranged wife hired a hit man to kill him, or the Michigan video-game nerd of the same name, the handsome French crooner Joël Holmes has very little info about himself available on the web. What we do know is that the orchestra accompanying him on "Les Chemins de Rome" is under the direction of Jean Bouchety...or maybe it's Bernard Kesslair. Hard to tell.

[ Joël Holmes: 1928 — September 2, 2009 ]

The Impressions

Artist: The Impressions

LP: Keep on Pushing

Song: "Keep on Pushing"

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Originally formed as The Roosters by natives of Chattanooga, Tennessee, this talented group relocated to Chicago, added Jerry Butler to their ranks, and renamed themselves The Impressions. When Butler left in 1960 to pursue a solo career, Curtis Mayfield stepped into his shoes as the group's lead vocalist. With Mayfield aboard, The Impressions became one of the windy city's most popular singing groups in the 1960s, releasing a string of hits that climbed the national pop and R&B charts—including "Keep on Pushing," a top ten hit in 1964. You can read all about The Impressions on Wikipedia here, and go here to visit their official website, where you can listen to some of their latest songs and purchase their new Christmas CD.

Detroyt

Artist: Detroyt

LP: Detroyt

Song: "Physical Lover"

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I read last week that Detroit, Michigan lost 25% of its residents over the past decade, dropping from a population of 951,270 in 2000 to just 713,777 in 2010. The city had a population of 1,849,568 in 1950 and was the 5th largest city in the USA. It's strange and sad to imagine any city losing more than a million of its people—the great exodus has created some creepy, post-apocalyptic scenery in Detroit like this, this, this, this, and this too. And speaking of declining populations, I just found out that Farley Granger died two days ago, he was 85. I hope he didn't live in Detroit.

 

Tip & Tinker with Charlie Scott

Artist: Tip & Tinker with Charlie Scott

LP: Moanin' n' Groanin' 

Song: "I'm On My Way"

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Song: "Moanin' n' Groanin'"

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The vapid clientele at Bon Marche evidently couldn't be bothered to buy this terrific 1963 Tip & Tinker with Charlie Scott LP until employees had discounted it four times and then finally, in desperation, marked the price with a red pen!

I ended up paying $7.99 for it, but it was worth every cent. It's even worth $9.99, as you can find out for yourself by buying the album on iTunes here. If you only have .99¢ to spend, I recommend "Big Red," sung from the perspective of a very old and very tall tree. There's not much info on George Tipton, Joseph "Tinker" Lewis, or Charles Mal Scott on the web, but the LP liner notes shed a little light on this trio of handsome and talented gents. You can click here to read about their friend and colleague Joli Gonsalves, who has a street named after him in New Bedford.

 

 

 

 

Peter and Paul

Artist: Peter and Paul

LP: Sounds of Peter and Paul

Song: "No Beer Today"
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Along with (and amongst) all the Christians in North and South Dakota, there are lots of Germans—see here. The Dakota thrift stores are filled with the polka albums of Lawrence Welk (German heritage, born in Strasberg, North Dakota in 1903). But Lawrence Welk isn't the only Polka king in the region—just ask Peter and Paul! (here's their website.) I found their LP at Antiques On Broadway in Fargo. The Wendinger Brothers were reportedly in their early-to-mid 20s when photographed for the cover of this album, but to me they both look like they're pushing 50.

[ Peter and Paul with Santa (center) in Branson, MO in 2008 ]