The Dixie Hummingbirds

Artist: The Dixie Hummingbirds

LP: The Best of The Dixie Hummingbirds

Song: "Our Prayer For Peace"

[ listen ]

Song: "Christian Automobile"

[ listen ]

I have nothing but unstained praise for this 1967 "Best Of" compilation from The Dixie Hummingbirds, who have been together, with various lineup changes, since forming in South Carolina in 1928. (I think I've found the group photo—included below—that was used to create the six Hummingbird portraits on the cover of the LP!) 

We sure could use a prayer for peace right about now, eh? "It's a sin to hate your brother because of the color of his skin." (This includes orange.) It's a drag that we even have to make this point still in the year 2020...and I guess I'd throw in "because of the color of his state" too, in a brand new verse for our current times.

 

[ The Dixie Hummingbirds ]

Jane Siberry

Artist: Jane Siberry

LP: The Speckless Sky

Song: "The Empty City"

[ listen ]

Last night I had my first session of listening to Christmas music for the 2020 holiday season. It was a CD of a live recording of some sort of "special evening" called "Count Your Blessings" with five singers. Two of them I've not heard of before (Holly Cole and Rebecca Jenkins), but the other three are favorites: Mary Margaret O'Hara, Victoria Williams, and this lovely lady, Jane Siberry. It's a beautiful recording.

I remember I first came across Ms. Siberry at Tower Records here in Seattle back in 1985. I was in the city from Yakima with my friend Denny Kibbe, and we were hunting 45s. The cover of Jane Siberry's "One More Colour" looked interesting, so I picked it up without having heard it...and that was the beginning of a life-long love affair. You can read about Jane Siberry here. 

[ Jane Siberry ]

Gibson Brothers

Artist: Gibson Brothers

LP: 7" single

Song: "The Singer Not the Song"

[ listen ]

Just popping in to say Happy Veteran's Day and to post something randomly pulled from my collection. I found this one for just €2 on my trip to Barcelona back in the summer of 2018. My ears have loved everything they've heard by the Gibson Brothers. You can't really go wrong with a formula Wikipedia describes as a "mix of disco beats, Latin percussion, soulful vocals and a catchy tune." I'm very sad to learn that one of the three brothers, Patrick, died this past April from COVID-19.

[ Gibson Brothers ]

Hibari Misora

Artist: Hibari Misora

LP: A Woman's Poem

Song: "A Woman's Poem"

[ listen ]

Song: "Mirror"

[ listen ]

Song: "Hometown Station"

[ listen ]

Hibari Misora is a national treasure in Japan, and one can certainly see why. Hibari's parents reportedly realized early on that they had something special in their young Kazuo Katō (she changed her name to Hibari Misora, meaning "lark in the beautiful sky," with the advent of her recording career when she was 12) and her father, a fishmonger, spent a big chunk of family savings to launch her musical career. Her first hit single, released in 1949, was called "Kappa Boogie-Woogie." Hibari went on to release a whole slew of records, including the 1972 album I've posted here. She also appeared in more than 160 films, including this one: 

[ "Hiyodori Sōshi" — 1954 ]

From the picture on the cover of her "A Woman's Poem" LP and in the photo below, Misora reminds me of a Japanese Barbara Stanwyck! Does anyone else see that too? In 1957 Hibari was attacked with hydrochloric acid at the Asakusa International Theater by someone Wikipedia describes as "an overly enthusiastic fan." (I'd say I'm an overly enthusiastic fan of Doris Day... Is it strange that I've never considered throwing acid on her?) Song lyrics are included below, in Japanese.

[ Hibari Misora: May 29, 1937 — June 24, 1989 ]

Bobby Bloom

Artist: Bobby Bloom

LP: Where Are We Going

Song: "Where Are We Going"

[ listen ]

Song: "Was I Dreamin'"

[ listen ]

This sealed copy of Bobby Bloom's "other" LP arrived in the mail today just in time to try to cheer me up. It's pure 1970 bubblegum pop! I mean sure, I'm a little bit giddy over the fact that Donald Trump will eventually have to face the "fake news" that most Americans prefer Joe Biden as President of the United States of America rather than suffering through another four years of Trump's teenage Twitter tantrums (plus we get Kamala Harris!), but my excitement has been dampened somewhat by a tragic personal loss. I can't find my favorite jacket! 

That sounds silly, I know, but this is the vintage navy blue polyester jacket that I found years ago at a thrift shop and wore so often it began to come apart at the seams, lots of them. So last year I finally took it to a tailor and paid a bundle to have them stitch it up so it was just like new. I LOVED THAT JACKET SO MUCH! 

If my jacket had caught fire after being struck by lightning or something, that would be one thing. I'd be sad, sure, but at least I'd know what had become of it. As it is, my favorite jacket seems to have simply vanished into thin air. I cannot find it anywhere. Call me Alex "OCD" Williams, but I just can't stand losing favorite articles of clothing. The pain from the loss seems to stick with me for years. Sigh. Anyway... guess I'll just sit here without a jacket on and listen to Bobby Bloom.

[ Bobby Bloom: January 15, 1946 — February 28, 1974 ]

ABBA

 

Artist: ABBA

LP: Super Trouper

Song: "The Winner Takes It All"

[ listen ]

Someone I dated for a while back in 2003 told me that the guy he'd dated for a few months just before we met threw a tantrum when he broke up with him, ranting and raving and going nuts. I decided then that, whenever anyone ended a relationship with me, I'd simply say, "Okay, that's fine." ...and then go do all my ranting and raving and going nuts in the privacy of my own bathroom. My idea is that, when the relationship is over, I'd like my ex to look back later and worry that they'd made a horrible mistake, and that I was the one that they should never have let get away...as opposed to putting on an emotional pyrotechnics show that simply confirms that they made the smartest decision ever when they dumped me. 

And now it looks like the USA is breaking up with Donald Trump. Will we ever look back as a country and wonder if he was the president that got away? I think probably the only thing he could do at this point to make me wonder if I'd cast my vote differently if I could go back and do it all again is this: Instead of offering a traditional concession speech if and when the 2020 Presidential Election is called in Biden's favor, Trump would slowly walk to the podium and stand perfectly still until the cheering crowd has gone silent. Then, suddenly, the opening notes of the piano would ring throughout the room, and Trump would launch into a heartfelt and wistful performance of ABBA's "The Winner Takes It All." As the vocals reach their end and the music crescendos before the final fade, Trump would slowly slink away, finally disappearing into the shadowy wings of the stage. So if he did THAT...maybe. Otherwise, I'm good.

Plastics

Artist: Plastics

LP: Welcome Back

Song: "Diamond Head"

[ listen ]

 

My dear friend Refugio gave me a gift certificate for Singles Going Steady in Belltown for my birthday back in August and, after one false start trying to use it (they've got new COVID hours and aren't open on Tuesdays), I met with success with attempt number two. This drop-dead amazing Plastics LP from 1981 is one of the physical manifestations of that success. Both the B-52s and Talking Heads are big fans of this band. Duh. Oh yes, and if you haven't voted by now...then don't bother. You're obviously a lost cause.

 

[ Plastics ]

La Rondalla Tapatía

Artist: La Rondalla Tapatía

LP: Rancheras Con La Rondalla Tapatía

Song: "La Norteña"

[ listen ]

 

I simply love the full and luxurious sound of 22 guitarras and 22 voces...but you do have to wonder if this would really sound remarkably different with just, say, 20 guitarras and 19 voces. (In the photo of La Rondalla Tapatía below, I count just 21 members in the group, but I guess they had to draw straws to decide who would snap the photo.) I picked this one up from the $.99 bins at Fat Cat Records while delivering their mail yesterday. As you can see, I got quite a bargain...especially when you consider that I've also obtained a lovely photo of 21 vintage hanging lanterns. Was I the only kid in the 1970s who was enthralled by the lamp and chandelier sections of the J.C. Penny's and Sears catalogs that arrived in the mail?

 

[ La Rondalla Tapatía ]

Sean Connery [1930-2020] / Matt Monro

Artist: Matt Monro / John Barry
 LP: From Russia With Love

Song: "From Russia With Love"

[ listen ]

Song: "James Bond With Bongos"

[ listen ]

Song: "Opening Titles - James Bond Is Back"

[ listen ] 

This morning I woke to the sad news that actor Sean Connery had died; he was 90 years old. I grew up watching the 007 films and for me Connery was the REAL James Bond. "From Russia With Love" is my favorite Bond film. British crooner Matt Monro does a fine job on the film's theme song (with John Barry doing dynamite work with the music for the film), but sadly, the Bond film tradition of having the vocal version of the theme song blazing hypnotically over the film's sexy opening title sequence hadn't yet taken hold when this second 007 film was released in 1963. (It was the next film that began the trend, when Shirley Bassey crooned the immortal "Goldfinger" over that film's opening credits in 1964.) If I remember correctly, Matt Monro's theme song for "From Russia With Love" is merely heard (only partially) in a beach scene, playing through the speaker of an AM radio stuck in the sand. 

 

Unfortunately, when I told my work colleague Amir, who is from the Middle East, about Connery's passing, I ended up with my foot in my mouth again in another of my infamous and regrettable situations where I'm accidentally racist because I'm just no good at comprehending foreign accents. Amir expressed sadness over Connery's passing, and then told me he really liked the actor in the film "Zurock." He asked me if I'd seen it, and I repeated the title several times aloud, trying to recall if I'd even heard of it before: "Zurock...Zurock..." I told Amir I'd seen Connery in the strange '70s sci-fi film "Zardoz" and asked it that's the movie he was talking about. It wasn't. As I was busy assuming that "Zurock" was some small-scale, made-for-cable film Connery had been in, probably about some conflict in an Iraqi city called Zurock that I'd never heard of before, Amir was on his phone looking up the film he was trying to tell me about: It was this one. Embarrassed, I told him I absolutely loved it. 

 

You can read about Sean Connery's life and career on Wikipedia here, find his BBC obituary here, see a sexy photo of Sean without a shirt on here, and read all about singer Matt Monro over here.

 

[ Matt Monro: December 1, 1930 — February 7, 1985 ]

 

Sean Connery

[ August 25, 1930 — October 31, 2020 ]

We will miss you, Sean.