Nino Bravo

Artist: Nino Bravo

LP: Lo Mejor de Nino Bravo

Song: "Mis Noches Sin Ti"

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Here's an early morning eye-opener from Spain. I'm gonna' have to look for some Nino Bravo songs in the karaoke book next time I'm at The Crescent. Nino, whose real name was Luis Manuel Ferri Llopis, became a musical singing sensation throughout Spain and all of Latin America in the early 1970s. Sadly, he perished in a car crash in 1973 at the age of 28, while at the height of his popularity. Nino had just signed a 5-year contract with Polydor Records when he died, and this "Best of Nino Bravo" LP was released by that label in 1976; "Mis Noches Sin Ti" was a hit for the singer back in 1971. You can read more about Nino Bravo's rise to international stardom and his fairytale of a life tragically cut short on Wikipedia here. You'll find Nino Bravo photos, a Spanish-language biography and his complete discography here.

Nino Bravo on YouTube:

[ "Noelia" ]

[ Nino Bravo: August 3, 1944 — April 16, 1973 ]

The Tiffany Singers

Artist: The Tiffany Singers

LP: The Tiffany Singers

Song: "Skin and Bones"

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Here's a lively little folk tune about a gal who's so skinny she has to wear her wedding ring around her waist. This 1965 record was the first (and only?) LP released by The Tiffany Singers, and my copy seems to have once been owned by some guy named Bill King. You can read about The Tiffany Singers and the group's individual members in the album's liner notes below. It's interesting to note that while the men—John, Larry, Joseph, Lenny and Bob—have only their professional accomplishments and credentials listed in their bio notes, the notes for Lena, Bunny and Lorice let us know if the women in the group are married and have kids—and Lena's short bio is mostly about her husband! Alas, poor Bunny Silver hasn't found herself a man... but at least she teaches school, so I guess we won't put her down just yet.

Lena Horne [1917-2010]

Artist: Lena Horne

LP: Lena ~ Like Latin

Song: "Old Devil Moon"

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I was pretty bummed yesterday when I found out that singer, actress and neat lady Lena Horne had died over the weekend. Her lovely and distinctive voice has been one of my favorites ever since I saw her dynamic performance of "If You Believe" in the 1978 movie THE WIZ when I was a kid. As my friend Julie says, Lena was a real class act. You can read the New York Times obituary for Lena Horne here, read more about her life and career here and below you'll find the notes from the back of Ms. Horne's 1963 "Lena ~ Like Latin" LP.

Lena Horne

[June 30, 1917 — May 9, 2010]

We will miss you, Lena.

Eruption feat. Precious Wilson

Artist: Eruption feat. Precious Wilson

LP: Eruption

Song: "The Way We Were"

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Song: "Party, Party"

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You know how sometimes it seems like groups put all their creative energy into sewing together spectacular outfits and designing an enticing LP cover, and then the music is thrown together almost as an afterthought, with no originality or pizzaz? Well, this is not the case with Precious Wilson and her Eruption. The music on this 1978 Ariola Records release is just as exciting as the cover—which is no small feat, since the front of the LP features floating silver orbs, lemon-lime stripes and a naked woman being consumed by flames. Eruption's version of Streisand's "The Way We Were" will make you forget the way it was, and the lively "Party, Party" was a minor chart success before the group hit it big(ger) with their follow-up single, "I Can't Stand the Rain." You can read about Eruption here and go here to learn more about the group's Jamacian lead singer, Precious Wilson.

The Merrymen feat. Emile Straker

Artist: The Merrymen feat. Emile Straker

LP: Caribbean Treasure Chest

Song: "Big Bamboo"

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This delightfully dirty little number by The Merrymen (w/ lyrics like: "well I give my lady a sugar cane—sweet of the sweets, I did explain—she give it back, to my surprise—she like the flavor, but not the size. She want the big, big bamboo...") is from one of the LPs I found in the Groove Merchant bargain bins on my trip to San Francisco back in March. Another of the song's lyrics—"workin' for the Yankee dollar"—clears up a 25-year-old mystery concerning The Andrews Sisters' recording of "Rum and Coca-Cola," which I've been singing along to since first taping it off my grandmother's set of Reader's Digest "Hits of the '40s" LPs back in 1984. I thought "both mother and daughter" were workin' for the "Anke Dallah," which I've always figured was some sort of discreet, exotic Caribbean name for a pimp. You can read about The Merrymen here and here, and find their complete discography here.

Bateria Nota 10 de Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel

Artist: Bateria Nota 10 de Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel

LP: Bateria Nota 10 de Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel

Song: "Afina A Cintura"

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Have you ever wondered what a Brazilian samba school's marching band would have sounded like back in 1975? This track from a record full of songs by Bateria Nota 10 at the Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel in Rio de Janeiro (info here) might give you some idea. Here's the school flag:

The percussive music of the school's bateria sounds distinctly Brazilian, yet for some reason it makes me feel like taking belly dance lessons.

Johnnie Allan

Artist: Johnnie Allan

LP: 7" single

Song: "Promised Land"

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Born in the tiny town of Rayne, Louisiana in 1938, Johnnie Allan is one of the most well-known pioneers of "swamp pop," a genre I'd never heard of before. But if this cover of a 1964 Chuck Berry song (on yellow vinyl!) is any indication, I'm a pretty big swamp pop fan. Click here to read about Johnnie Allan, who will be celebrating his 72nd birthday this coming Monday, and you can visit the Johnnie Allan website here.

David Essex

Artist: David Essex

LP: 7" single

Song: "Rock On"

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Born in Plaistow, England in 1947, David Essex had his only US top-40 hit with "Rock On," which made it all the way to #5 on the charts back in 1973. You can read more about actor/singer David Essex here. I'd planned to post this single last week, but when I played my copy, the sound was muffled and the record player needle seemed to be furrowing through some sort of dried substance in the single's grooves. To clean the record, I wiped it with a damp white paper towel, which turned a deep yellow color after just a single swipe... so I'm guessing maybe the previous owner of the record lived with a dog that wasn't much of a David Essex fan. Anyway, it still didn't sound right, so I ordered a new copy online and it arrived from Pittsburgh, PA last Thursday. It was nice to finally hear what "Rock On" sounded like without all that pee static.

V-Effect

Artist: V-Effect

LP: Stop Those Songs

Song: "Lavaplatos"

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Fred Frith adds some guitar bits at "crucial moments" on this terrific 1983 V-Effect LP that one blogger calls "exhilarating, pulse-pounding art-rock genius." In case you don't speak Spanish, "Lavaplatos" means this, which is what I was doing while listening to this record yesterday afternoon.

David Naughton

Artist: David Naughton

LP: 7" single

Song: "Makin' It"

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Here's something to help get the weekend started off on the right foot. In the flop 1979 TV series "Makin' It," which was evidently modeled after SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, David Naughton plays Billy Manucci, a disco king at the local dance club by night who works at the Tasty Treats ice cream parlor during the day. When his show got canceled after just 8 episodes, Naughton went on to appear in numerous other TV shows and in lots of movies too, including HOT DOG...THE MOVIE in 1984 and the captivating sci-fi rape-revenge fantasy thriller STEEL AND LACE, released in 1991. Naughton is probably best known, however, for his star turn in the 1981 horror cult classic, AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON.

The Orchids

Artist: The Orchids

LP: The Orchids

Song: "When Does Love Turn Out Right"

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If the music on this 1980 LP by The Orchids had half the pizzaz as the ladies' outfits on the cover, this record would be dynamite. Unfortunately, the songs are rather limp and tend to shift gears just when they start building momentum. Still, there are highlights, such as the album's single, "When Does Love Turn Out Right," during which one of the Lauries decides to expand her dating circle to include members of the band's male fan base. On their MySpace page here, The Orchids call themselves "Rock's Charlie's Angels," and that makes a lot of sense. From left to right: Kelly, Jill, Sabrina, Julie, and that's Kris down in front. Tiffany, not pictured, plays tambourine.

Katrina and the Waves

Artist: Katrina and the Waves

LP: 7" single

Song: "Que Te Quiero"

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In the USA, Katrina and the Waves are mainly known for their 1985 hit "Walking on Sunshine." But after listening to "Que Te Quiero," which only made it to #71 on the Billboard singles chart later that same year, you'll realize that the "one-hit-wonder" label the group got stuck with wasn't caused by any deficiency on their part, but was actually due to the dreadful musical tastes of that large and idiotic group known as the American public. You can read about Katrina and the Waves here and here, and see the chart history of all their US singles here. "Que Te Quiero" is an infectious love song about a young "captain's daughter" who, despite everyone's warnings, travels "south of the border" and ends up falling in love with a boy down in Mexico. For some reason I always imagine the song to be the personal story of first love as sung by Vicki Stubing from "The Love Boat."

Del Huff

Artist: Del Huff

LP: Del Huff on the Cordovox

Song: "All That Thrills My Soul"

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Song: "New Life In Jesus/Power In the Blood"

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According to the liner notes on the back of this 1977 Del Huff LP, when someone asks you "What is a Cordovox? Is it an accordion? Is it an organ?", you should answer with an enigmatic "Yes!" so that they still won't know what a Cordovox is. In order to understand the Cordovox, we must take a closer look.

And if we're going to unravel the mysteries of the Cordovox, it's essential we take a close and careful look at the sort of man who would play such an instrument. 

My early morning web search turned up this page, where you can click on the "Cordovox" organ stop to read about the instrument's history and uses and see pictures of various models of the Cordovox (none of which looks much like the Cordovox above). There's even more information on the Cordovox on Google Answers here. Unfortunately, nobody on the internet seems willing to discuss what transpired once people like Del Huff began using the Cordovox for religious purposes.

The Friends of Distinction

Artist: The Friends of Distinction

LP: Grazin'

Song: "Grazing In the Grass"

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Song: "Eli's Comin'"

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This 1969 Friends of Distinction LP is one of the neat things I found at the little shop in Grants Pass, Oregon while passing through a few weeks ago. The store didn't have a listening station, but the LP cover alone was worth the $3 I paid. One of the best tracks on the record is "Grazing In the Grass," a catchy number that was the group's first top ten hit, and which brings to mind one of my favorite Pizzicato Five songs. Another favorite here is "Eli's Comin'," a cover of a Laura Nyro song. A few years ago I bought a disappointing Laura Nyro tribute CD on which 14 popular female singers each transformed one of Nyro's songs into a bowl of cold, adult-contemporary oatmeal. But the Friends of Distinction don't let Nyro down, actually building upon the musical energy and excitement of her song. You can read more about The Friends of Distinction (Floyd Butler, Harry Elston, Jessica Cleaves, Barbara Love) on Wikipedia here, with liner notes, a list of musicians contributing to the LP and a photo of the group grazing in the grass included below.

Ethel Ennis

Artist: Ethel Ennis

LP: This Is Ethel Ennis

Song: "The Moon Was Yellow (And the Night Was Young)"

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Song: "Night Club"

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Song: "Love, Don't Turn Away"

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I already had a few Ethel Ennis records in my colletion when I found this 1964 LP by the Baltimore native on my trip to San Francisco a few weeks ago. Those others are great stuff, but I have to say that, with its sultry beatnik vibe, this one really takes the cake. Ethel's throaty voice makes me dream, laugh, tingle! You might even say it lifts me up and sends me flying. You can read about Ethel Ennis here and here and the LP liner notes and pictures are included here: