Eavesdroppings

Overheard when: 8:45pm on Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Overheard where: the narrow corridor near the bar inside gay hangout Madison Pub at 1315 East Madison Street in Seattle, WA [map]
Overheard who: a gay, cane-using octogenarian man, commenting to his two elderly friends as the three gingerly made their way toward the exit through the dense crowd of 40-something-year-old gay men.
Overheard what: "What happened—did school just let out?"

Jack Costanzo

Artist: Jack Costanzo

LP: Latin Fever — The Wild Rhythms of Jack Costanzo
Song: "Cumbanchero"
[ listen ]

Here's some red-hot bongo music for a cold gray morning. You can read about Jack "Mr. Bongo" Costanzo on " Wikipedia [here], you can find some cool clips of Costanzo playing w/ Nat King Cole, Elivs and others and become his friend on MySpace [here] and I've copied the notes from the back of this 1958 "Latin Fever" LP here:

From a humble, do-it-yourself beginning...(he constructed his first
set of bongos and taught himself to play)...JACK COSTANZO has become
the worlds most renowned bongo drummer. When he plays in Cuba the
natives shout—when he plays in Hollywood the cream of the screen stars
turn out to listen...and to study with him.

Jack has worked with Stan Kenton as the first bongo drummer to join
a jazz orchestra...with Nat "King" Cole as the first to play with such a
trio; he has played in night clubs from New York to Las Vegas...even
appearing in the Hollywood Bowl and Carnegie Hall...and his rhythmic
genius has surged through many motion pictures.

If you're not already a Costanzo fan, you will be after one quick listen
to this, his latest album, "LATIN FEVER." You may even decide to
buy some bongos—or make them yourself—and practice till your fingers
are sore and your wrists stiff...but don't say you weren't warned!
--Vance Graham

LATIN FEAVER LP features:
Eddie Cano — Piano
Paul Lopez — Trumpet
Jay Corre — Tenor Sax
Augie Alcaraz — Flute
Tony Reyes — Bass
Eddie Aparicio and Ray Rivera — Drums

Notes for "CUMBANCHERO" track:
Another first—the first time you'll hear snare drum played with open
snares. Solo honors are divided between bongos and trumpet...
over-all effect is the most!

[ Jack Costanzo ]

Fog Face

While riding my bike to work on a foggy morning last week, all the fog stuck to my face and covered up my glasses. I couldn't see!

side one:
01. Me/Yo - Maria and Gordon
02. Olé, We Are the Champions - De Allergrootste Voetbalkrakers
03. Kauf' Dir Einen Bunten Luftballoon - Lolita
04. E-Ma-Ma - The Andrews Sisters
05. Blue Skirt Waltz - The Gay '90s Village Wurlitzer #105 Band Organ
06. Strawberry Tea - Tiny Tim
07. On With the Show - The Rolling Stones
08. Hymn to the Sun - Stanley Black & His Orchestra
09. Kem Kem - Juma Bhalo
10. Every Day Is Ladies Day With Me - Jack Carson w/ The Vikings and Betty Munro
11. Galveston - The Exotic Guitars
12. I Wish I Could Fall In Love Again - Jan Howard
13. Piensa En Mí - Virginia López
14. Sommerblau - Tommy Kersten
15. The Fling - Mikis Theodorakis
16. The Lady Is a Tramp - Lovelace Watkins
17. Jumping Jack/Windmill/Tortoise and Hare - Boyd Pexton
[ listen ]

side two:
01. My Roomate - Village People
02. White Is the Color - Vancouver Whitecaps
03. The White Bunny and His Magic Nose - The Pan-Harmonic Music Education Society
04. El Aguacero - Miguel Aceves Mejía
05. A La Feria - Los Cardenales Del Exito feat. Rubén Oliveros
06. Stella - Riccardo Fogli
07. Black Hawk Waltz - The Gay '90s Village Mills Violano Double Virtuoso
08. Moon River - Mrs. Miller
09. Bien Avant - Benjamin Biolay
10. You Only Live Twice - Ronnie Aldrich & His Two Pianos
11. Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots - The Cheers
12. She Lived Next Door to a Firehouse - Cliff Steward and His Boys
13. Vida Perdido - Grupo El Bueno
14. Skyrover - Omega
15. Over the Waves - The Gay '90s Village Wonderful Belgian Band Organ
16. Squat Thrust - Boyd Pexton
[ listen ]

The Clash

Artist: The Clash

LP: 7" single
Song: "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"
[ listen ]

Everyone knows this song, right? It's probably even more popular in the USA today than their #8 hit "Rock the Casbah," from the same LP. the strange thing is, "Should I Stay/Go" never entered the US Billboard top 40, though there were two separate attempts to get it there. "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" was first released in the summer of 1982 with the picture sleeve shown above; the song spent 13 weeks on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart, peaking at #45. After the top-ten success of follow-up single "Rock the Casbah" in late 1982, "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" was released again as a single in the spring of 1983—with a different picture sleeve (shown below)—in hopes that this time it would be a hit. Unfortunatley, the song stayed in the Hot 100 just 10 weeks the second time around and peaked at #50.

Someone from The Clash is missing from the photos on the sleeve of the 1983 release, and I'm guessing it's drummer Topper Headon, who was asked to leave the band shortly after the "Combat Rock" recording sessions because of his herion use. If anyone can confirm that's who's missing from the pictures, let me know. You can read all about The Clash [here] and [here].

Die Ärzte

Artist: Die Ärzte

LP: 7" single
Song: "Teenager Liebe"
[ listen ]

Here's a single I picked up in Munich when I was 16. I remember working really hard to make my hair look like that guy's hair there on the right. You can read about the band Die Ärzte on Wikipedia [here].

Geeta Dutt

Artist: Geeta Dutt

LP: 7" single
Song: "Jane Kya Tumne Kahi"
[ listen ]

Here's a pretty song from the 1957 Indian film [Pyaasa]. Singer Geeta Dutt was born in Bangladesh in November of 1930 and married up-and-coming film director Guru Dutt in 1953, but then she drank herself to death in July of 1972. You can read more about Geeta Dutt's life and career on Wikipedia [here] and there's another interesting article about the singer [here].

January 30, 2009 update: A Geeta Dutt fan named Parag wrote to let me know that he/she was involved in the recent creation of this terrific [Geeta Dutt tribute website], where you can find photos, trivia, songs and pretty much everything you've ever wanted to know about Geeta Dutt but were afraid to ask. Thanks, Parag!

[ Geeta Dutt ]

The Crusaders

Artist: The Crusaders

LP: Unsung Heroes
Song: "Heavy Up (Don't Get Light With Me)"
[ listen ]

Of course some crusading clothes-horse has to go and spoil the whole effect just so he can show off his impressive collection of dress shirts:

Up With People

Artist: Up With People

LP: Livin' On
Song: "Tomorrow's Gonna Be a Fresh New Day"
[ listen ]

We have a new president, hurrah! My conservative Republican mother called to tell me that even she's excited about the way President Obama is bringing all sorts of people together. I won't get to watch today's historic speeches until after work, but when I went to The Sandwich Tree to get my morning coffee, I did have the pleasure of seeing former President George W. Bush lift off in his helocoptor and fly away. Here's a song for President Barack Obama's inauguration day, and here are some notes from the back of this 1974 Up With People LP:

Recorded in London and in Tucson, Arizona, LIVIN' ON is the Up With
People Sound: big, alive, and very new, with twelve never-before-
recorded songs from the all-new Up With People show. From Carnegie
Hall to Paris' Olympia Theatre, from outdoor music festivals to London's
Royal Albert Hall, on national television and in village squares around
the world, Up With People has captivated audiences with its original
music, its contemporary kaleidoscope of sight and sound, and its fresh
expression of hope and concern.

It's a big show with a hundred or more performers on stage, from every
part of the United States and about 20 other countries. They sing as
if born to it, play a variety of instruments from electric guitars to funky
brass, dance up a storm, and generally carry on with a professional
but human touch you'll seldom find in so large a production. Their
music is all new, from rock to country to anything else that really comes
across, and they put it out for two unforgettable hours—or more—a night.
And it talks to you. Their concerns are serious but somehow exhilarating;
they make the faceless crowd feel like real people again from the first
note to the final chord and usually a lot longer. When you walk out of
one of their shows you feel a little more tolerant, a little more
involved, a little more human.

So lay this record on your stereo, sit back, and imagine dimming lights,
stomping feet, a hush as Up With People takes the stage: LIVIN' ON!

Fat Chance

One of my New Year's resolutions is to gain too much weight.

side one:
01. Le Pornographe - Marcel et Son Orchestre
02. The Caterpillar - The Cure
03. Whole Lotta Fire - Stingray
04. Rainbow Massaker - Electronicat w/ Miss Le Bomb
05. Come Home Woman - Swallow
06. Red Hot Chicken - Wet Willie
07. Man Made Paradise - Freddie Mercury
08. I Get Ideas - Jane Morgan
09. Moonbeam - Men Without Hats
10. Ça Va Ça Va - Karl Zéro
11. A Worm's Coat - Whirlwind Heat
12. Empty Glasses - The Amps
13. A Face In the Crowd - Peggy Taylor Woodard
14. I Wonder - Yma Sumac
[ listen ]

side two:
01. What Does Sex Mean to Me? - Human Sexual Response
02. Give Me Some Drugs - Spider Babies
03. Cath Carroll [10cc mix] - Unrest
04. The Circus - Tangra
05. When You Said Hello - Double Take
06. Emotional Traffic - The Rumour
07. Computer Datin' - Patrick D. Martin
08. Like Flames - Berlin
09. And the Grass Won't Pay No Mind - Neil Diamond
10. He Hit Me - Jody Miller
11. The Hills of Yesterday - Scott Walker
12. Current Time - Beautiful Skin
13. Behold the Devils - Nino Rota
[ listen ]

OXO

Artist: OXO

LP: 7" single
Song: "Whirly Girl"
[ listen ]

This terrific single from OXO's only LP peaked at #28 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart in April of 1983. The song has a great beat, is easy to dance to and it's one of my favorite pop songs of the 1980s. You can read a brief bio of the band [here] and you can go [here] to become OXO's friend on MySpace, see pictures of the band and listen to a few more of their songs.

Erotic Drum Band

Artist: Erotic Drum Band

LP: Touch Me Where It's Hot
Song: "Touch Me Where It's Hot"
[ listen ]

Brrrrrr, another cold and foggy winter morning in Seattle. This guy must want to be touched in Phoenix, Arizona. My parents just came back from there and said it was a balmy 84 degrees!

Denny Pezzin

Artist: Denny Pezzin

LP: 7" single
Song: "Up-and-Comer"
[ listen ]

Here's something I listen to whenever I feel like I'm dropping behind in this cockamamy rat-race called life on planet Earth. and here are the sweet, sad notes from the back of the single:

Someday I hope to be a "somebody" in the recording industry. Below
are listed all of the people who believed in me when I was a "nobody."
Great big hugs to all of you for helping me get my very first
record produced. --Denny

BOB & DIANE ALBANO • CHRIS ALEXANDER • BOB & NORMA ARMSTRONG •
JOHN & JUNE ATKIN • WERNER & FRIEDA BATZLER • CHUCK, JOAN & TROY
BENSINGER • DICK & MAE BIGGINS • DON & DOTTIE BLAYDES • GINGER &
JOHN BOHLAND • EUNICE BOWEN • DON BRACKENBURY • JEFF BREWNER •
JIM & DIANA BURNHAM • JACK & KATHI CAMPBELL • DAVID & JILL
CARMICHAEL • DENNY & DIANE CARROLL • DAVE, JOAN, DAN & DOUG
CASSAVAR • DIANE CHAMPION • CHARMAINE & MEL • GEORGE CLASBY &
JOAN SHIRK • CHAMOIS CONKLIN • BEN & SALLY COOLEY • BARRY &
DIANE DAGESTINO • SUSAN DANIELS • CHAN & DYANE DeKRAMER • JOE &
AURORE DEMERS • LOIS DORRANCE • CHERYL DUHME • CAROL ELSTON •
PAUL & SUSIE FARKAS • JERRY & JUDITH FILLMAN • BARBARA FINEBERG •
JAMES & GLORIA FOHRMAN • NEATSA FOSTER • DONNA GARSOMBKE •
SABRINA GAUTREAU • LINDA HACKETT • BARBARA HAINES • SCOTT,
NANCY & SHAWNNA HARRINGTON • BRUCE & JANET HEATHCOTE•
TOBY & SHER HECKER • DONNA & RAMSEY HEDRICK • BOB & ROBIN
HEIL • BILL & JUDITH HUNT • JACK & HELEN JENKS • JERRY & YVONNE •
CATHY KEATON • JOE & ELSA KINDER • DEBORAH KUTTRUFF • SUSAN
LANGLEY • JERRY & JEANNINE LEAPER • JERI LENNON • TERESA LLOYD •
JOHN & NANCY LONGMORE • LOU & YVONNE LONNI • SAM MAIMONE •
MARY MARCUS • JOE MAZZEO • PETE & BONNIE McRAE • ED & MARY
MILLER • KARLEEN MONROE • JANE MORRIS • DON MORRISON • TOM &
SUE MULLIGAN • MICHAEL & RHONDA NORTH • ANITA PAIGE • HAROLD &
VICKI PARKER • LORETTA PEZZIN • MOM & DAD PEZZIN • DON & NANCY
RIDDLE • MIKE & MARY JANE RODGERS • KATHY ROSHONG • PATTY
SANDERS • ED SATHER & ROSE MARIE TEEN • VALLERIE SCHOFIELD •
LARRY SKELDON & SHARON HAHN • EDDIE & OLLIE SKELDON • BOB & NANCY
STEARNS • BOB, SCOTT, TIM, STEVE, KEVIN & RODNEY STEARNS •
MOM STEARNS • GRANDMA & JO TALLUTO • JIM & SHARON TALLUTO •
JULIE TALLUTO • CHRIS TANNOUS • MERRY TRAMMELL • TURTLE ROCK
FRIENDS • BILL & BESS WAGANFEALD • BOB WAGANFEALD • MORTON &
MARLENE WENDER • TERRY WELCH FAMILY • FORD WHEATLEY, IV •
DALE & ELLY WINTERQUIST • LOU ZAVAC • CAROLYN ZIMMER

The good news is that Denny Pezzin is still "somebody," as I found this listing from the October 24, 2007 edition of the Orange County Register's Night-life Calendar:

SANTA ANA

Embassy Suites Capistrano Lounge, 1325 E. Dyer Ro. Denny Pezzin (lounge, dancing), 8:30 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 714-241-3800.

I also found a recent-looking YouTube clip of Denny Pezzin performing [Lady], perhaps recorded at the Santa Ana Embassy Suites Capistrano Lounge! and I just found the [Denny Pezzin Official Website], where you can read Pezzin's bio, see lots of photos and even send him an email. If you're reading this blog entry and you happen to be Carolyn Zimmer, Chamois Conklin, a Turtle Rock Friend or one of the Stearns boys (or anyone else included in Denny's exhaustive list above), please send an email with any amusing, enlightening or hopeful Denny Pezzin anecdotes you'd like to share. And if you happen to be Denny Pezzin, please write to say hello.

UPDATE: well I just heard back from Denny Pezzin (I sent an email to tell him I found his record and to see how he's been doing). Sadly, after 16 years of performing at the Embassy Suites Capistrano Lounge, Denny will be hitting the pavement in three weeks because the hotel is getting rid of entertainment. Things are tough all over, even in Orange County, CA. Still, if the lyrics to "Up-and-Comer" are any indication, I'm sure Denny Pezzin will land on his feet and be walking tall again real soon.

K. Leimer

Artist: K. Leimer

LP: Imposed Order
Song: "Water Music"
[ listen ]

If you're like I am and O.D. on caffeine every morning, here's an early '80s tranquilizer to help slow you down.

Luise Rainer

If this world were fair and even, the name Luise Rainer would be as familiar to classic movie fans today (and even to the general public) as the names of great film actresses like Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis.

Born in Düsseldorf, Germany on January 12, 1910, Rainer was discovered by an MGM talent scout and brought to Hollywood where she starred with William Powell in ESCAPADE in 1935. Her next two films were THE GREAT ZIEGFELD (1936), in which she plays French entertainer Anna Held, and THE GOOD EARTH (1937) in which she plays O-Lan, a Chinese peasant farmer's long-suffering wife. Luise Rainer received back-to-back Academy Awards for Best Actress for the two performances, a feat that has only been matched by one other actress—when Katharine Hepburn won the Best Actress Oscar in both 1967 and 1968.

Though Rainer begged to continue with serious and demanding roles, studio boss Louis B. Mayer ignored her pleas and she was cast in lightweight, forgettable films after her double Oscar win. Frustrated, Luise left Hollywood behind in 1938 and moved to New York with husband Clifford Odets—returning just once to star in the WWII drama HOSTAGES in 1943. Luise Rainer had been off the silver screen for 54 years when she had a comeback of sorts at the age of 87 with a spirited performance in the 1997 British production of THE GAMBLER. You can read more about Luise Rainer's life and career on Wikipedia [here]—and thanks to a tip from DonHo57 from deep in the hills of West Virginia, I found more interesting tidbits about Luise Rainer on the TMC website [here], where I also found a list of several never-released-on-video-or-DVD Luise Rainer films from 1937 and 1938 that they're showing (and I'm missing) today. [January 12, 2011 update: you can now buy three of these Luise Rainer films on DVD here!]

I'm not sure why I've suddenly become fascinated with Luise Rainer and her films, as I've seen her name on the Oscar winners' list for years and have always just half-wondered about her. But over the past two weeks I've watched THE GREAT ZIEGFELD, THE GOOD EARTH and THE GAMBLER each for the first time and can heartily recommend them all (especially THE GOOD EARTH), if only to enjoy the talent and beauty of the wonderful and sadly forgotten star Luise Rainer.

Now living in London, Rainer turns 99 years old today, so I've put this mix together as a tribute. Happy Birthday, Luise Rainer!

side one:
01. Kaikyo - Asa-Chang & Junray
02. I'm Gonna Live Till I Die - Frankie Laine
03. Tacka Vet Jag Det Som Var En Gång - Mats Olsson med Sin Kör och Orkester
04. A Time For Love - Urbie Green
05. Triste Le Ciel - Georges Schmitt
06. 99 - Toto
07. Wien Bleibt Wien - Will Glahé & His Orchestra
08. Too Old to Cut the Mustard - Marlene Dietrich w/ Rosemary Clooney
09. Il a Mal Aux Reins Tintin - Suzanne Dehelly
10. In Germany Before the War - Marianne Faithfull
11. Bulgareasca - Fanfare Ciocârlia
12. Flower Crown - Goddess In the Morning
13. Eux - Raymond Lefèvre & His Grand Orchestra
[14. Octobre - Jacqueline François]
[ listen ]

side two:
01. C'est La Vie - Léo Ferré
02. Le Tour de Monde - Céline Dion
03. Lovely Sunny Days - Démis Roussos
04. Me Esta Matando Suavemente Con Su Cancion - Juan Torres
05. Say Goodbye to Hollywood - Billy Joel
06. Dreams - Ozz
07. Claire Disco Lune - Ferrante & Teicher
08. My Lost Dream - Yim Chu Ling
09. Louise - Erroll Garner
10. Finkenwalzer - Gunter Kallmann's German Chorus w/ Orchestra and Bells
11. Quando, Quando - Max Eric Trio
12. The Honey-Wind Blows - Leon Bibb
13. In the Sweet By and By - Fred Lowery
14. Louise - The Human League
[15. Aimer Comme Je T'aime - Jacqueline François]
[ listen ]

Eva

Artist: Eva

LP: 7" single
Song: "Je M'en Vais"
[ listen ]

Why is it that having a heartache sounds more painful in French?