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Songs People Should Hear - Music Head - 29-11-2009
YouTube - Louis Armstrong - Hello Dolly Live
from wikipedia
"Hello, Dolly!" is the title song of the popular 1964 musical of the same name. Louis Armstrong's version was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001.
The music and lyrics were written by Jerry Herman, who also wrote the scores for many other popular musicals including Mame and La Cage aux Folles.
"Hello, Dolly!" was first sung by Carol Channing, who starred as Dolly Gallagher Levi in the original 1964 Broadway cast. In December 1963, at the behest of his manager, Louis Armstrong made a demonstration recording of "Hello, Dolly!" for the song's publisher to use to promote the show. Hello, Dolly! opened on January 16, 1964 at the St. James Theatre in New York City, and it quickly became a major success. The same month, Kapp Records released Armstrong's publishing demo as a commercial single.
The best-known recording is by Louis Armstrong, in 1964, which reached number-one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, ending The Beatles' streak of three number-one hits in a row (they also held the top three spots) and becoming the biggest hit of Armstrong's career, followed by a gold-selling album of the same name. For the song Armstrong received a Grammy Award for "Best Vocal Performance, Male" in 1964. In 1965, it received a Grammy Award for "Best Song" (Jerry Herman (songwriter), performed by Louis Armstrong). The song also spent nine weeks atop the adult contemporary chart shortly after the opening the musical. Louis Armstrong also performed the song (together with Barbra Streisand) in the popular 1969 film Hello, Dolly!.
As successful as the stage show and title song itself turned out to be, however, the tune "Hello, Dolly!" became caught up in a lawsuit which could have endangered timely plans for bringing the musical to the silver screen. Mack David (1912-1993), an Academy Award-nominated composer also known for his compositions for television, sued for infringement of copyright, because the first four bars of Herman's show number, "Hello, Dolly!", were the same as those in the refrain of David's song "Sunflower" from 1948. As he recounts in his memoirs, Herman had never heard "Sunflower" before the lawsuit, and wanted a chance to defend himself in court, but, for the sake of those involved in the show and the potential film, he reluctantly agreed to pay a settlement before the case would have gone to trial.
Songs People Should Hear - Music Head - 30-11-2009
YouTube - The Young Rascals - "Good Lovin" on The Ed Sullivan Show
from wikipedia
"Good Lovin' " is a song written by Rudy Clark and Arthur Resnick that was a number one hit single for The Young Rascals in 1966.
The song was first recorded in 1965 by R&B/novelty artists The Olympics, but was only moderately successful at best, reaching number 81 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. The tale is told that Rascal Felix Cavaliere heard it on a New York City radio station and the group added it to their concert repertoire. Co-producer Tom Dowd captured this live feel on the recording, even though the group did not think the performance held together well.
Divining a mixture of garage rock and white soul, the Rascals' "Good Lovin'" jumped out of radios with a "One - Two - Three -" count-in, high-energy instrumentation, and insistent call-and-response vocals from Cavaliere and the band.
These were followed by an organ break from Cavaliere, and a full stop false ending that was suddenly popular at the time (cf. "Rain" and "Monday, Monday") â all in two and a half minutes. "Good Lovin'" rose to the top of the Billboard Pop Singles chart in the spring of 1966 and represented The Young Rascals' first real hit. It was also the first of three #1 hits for the group.
"Good Lovin'" is one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, and was ranked number 325 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. Writer Dave Marsh placed it at number 108 in his 1989 book The Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made, saying it is "the greatest example ever of a remake surpassing the quality of an original without changing a thing about the arrangement," and that "'Good Lovin' all by itself is enough to dispel the idiotic notion that rock and roll is nothing more than white boys stealing from blacks."
The song has since been performed and recorded by a number of artists, including Tommy James and the Shondells (1966), Herbie Mann (1966), The Who (1965), and Bobby McFerrin (several versions). The Grateful Dead made it a workhorse of their concert rotation, sung in their early years by Ron "Pigpen" McKernan and then later sung by Bob Weir. The Weir rendition was recorded for the group's 1978 Shakedown Street album and came in for a good amount of criticism: Rolling Stone said it "featured aimless ensemble work and vocals that Bob Weir should never have attempted." "Good Lovin'" was the title song of a 2008 album by Australian singer David Campbell.
The Rascals' "Good Lovin'" was also featured in the 1986 third season "Atomic Shakespeare"/Taming of the Shrew episode of Moonlighting, with Bruce Willis singing the Cavaliere vocal, as well as the 1987 first season Wiseguy episode "No One Gets Out of Here Alive".
Songs People Should Hear - Music Head - 01-12-2009
YouTube - Skeeter Davis -- The End Of The World
from wikipedia
"The End of the World" is a pop music hit by Skeeter Davis that enjoyed international success in the 1960s. The record was released by RCA Records in December 1962 and reached its greatest success in March 1963, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart, number two on the Billboard country singles chart (Davis was a country music vocalist and the record was a crossover music success), and #1 on Billboard's adult Contemporary - easy listening chart. The record also was a number four hit on Billboard's rhythm and blues chart - making Davis one of the very few Caucasian female vocalists to enjoy a top ten record on that chart. Davis' four-chart top-ten accomplishment has never been duplicated by any other female vocalist in the history of the Billboard charts.
Although Ruby and the Romantics' hit "Our Day Will Come" kept "The End of the World" from hitting number one on the pop chart, the song's popularity and chart history earned it the #3 place on Billboard's list of the year's 20 biggest hits.
The music was written by Arthur Kent with lyrics by Sylvia Dee. Dee also wrote the lyrics for "Too Young" by Nat King Cole.
Davis' recording was produced by Chet Atkins and has long been considered one of the foremost examples of the Nashville Sound of the 1960s - smooth vocals and a slick, sophisticated production appealing to audiences far beyond the traditional country music audience. The song was played at Atkins' funeral in 2001 in an instrumental performance by Marty Stuart and later, Davis' recording was broadcast over the speakers of her 2004 funeral at the Ryman Auditorium.
Davis went on to score many other country music hits as well as a few major pop crossovers, but she was forever identified with "The End of the World" and sang it at virtually every concert appearance she would make after its success.
The song has been covered by a number of artists on albums, including The Carpenters, Loretta Lynn, Herman's Hermits, Brenda Lee, Carola, Bobby Vinton, John Cougar Mellencamp, Johnny Mathis, Julie London, Eddy Arnold, Dottie West, Nancy Sinatra, Sonia Evans, Twiggy, Claudine Longet, Agnetha Fältskog (of ABBA fame), Rosie Flores, Patti Page, Anne Murray, Nina Gordon, Vonda Shepard, Exposé, The Vanguards, Leigh Nash, Brilliant, Lobo, Satoko Ishimine and others. In 2009, the song received new attention via a cover version by international Internet sensation Susan Boyle on her debut album, I Dreamed a Dream.
Davis' remains the definitive performance, and her version has been featured on the soundtracks of a number of films (including Girl, Interrupted; Riding In Cars With Boys; and Daltry Calhoun) plus in the JFK assassination episode of the 2009 television series Mad Men.
It was also featured on TV commercials for the videogame Tom Clancy's EndWar, in which the conflict the game revolves around threatens to destroy civilization.
Songs People Should Hear - trbc08 - 01-12-2009
YouTube - Howlin' Wolf - Spoonful (1960)
"Spoonful" by Howlin' Wolf.
I've never heard pain expressed so ecstatically. Beautiful, amazing stuff.
Songs People Should Hear - Music Head - 02-12-2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LANwIgpha7k
from wikipedia
"Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In", sometimes referred to as "The Age of Aquarius" or "Let the Sunshine In", is a medley of two songs from the musical Hair ("Aquarius" and "The Flesh Failures (Let The Sunshine In)") written by James Rado, Gerome Ragni, and Galt MacDermot, and released as a single in 1969 by The 5th Dimension. The single held the number one position on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks and was certified Platinum.
The song listed at #57 on Billboard's Greatest Songs of all time.
The recording won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Best Contemporary Vocal Performance by a Group at the Grammy Awards of 1970, after it was released on the album The Age of Aquarius.
The song was based on the astrological belief that the world would be entering the Age of Aquarius, an age of love, light and humanity, unlike the then current Age of Pisces. This change was presumed to occur at the end of the 20th century, however major astrologers differ over this. Dates range from 2062 (Dane Rudhyar), 2150 (Neil Mann), 2595 (Hermann Haupt) and 2680 (Shephard Simpson).
"Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" was ranked thirty-third on the 2004 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs.
Songs People Should Hear - Catherine Sutter - 03-12-2009
I've had a lot of favorite songs over the years, and Lady Gaga is my current favorite artist... A really GREAT song, even if you don't usually like rap, is Eminem's "Beautiful" off his latest album. I cry every time I hear it.
If you're looking for incredible songs that aren't mainstream, check out James Pequignot and Christel South. I used to see them a lot at this open mic in Encino, CA. Really all of their songs are incredible, but this one song Christel posted recently really made an impact on me. It's called "Ever See the Sun" and she has it on reverbnation dot com (I guess I'm still not allowed to post links yet) ... www dot reverbnation dot com slash christelsouth. Oh and James Pequignot is at www dot iprefersadsongs dot com.
Songs People Should Hear - Music Head - 03-12-2009
YouTube - THE FOUR TOPS - I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)
from wikipedia
"I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" is a 1965 hit song recorded by the Four Tops for the Motown label.
Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland-Dozier-Holland, the song is one of the most well-known Motown tunes of the 1960s. The song hit number one on the R&B charts and was also the number-one song on the Billboard Hot 100 for two non-consecutive weeks, from June 12 to June 19 and from June 26 to July 3 in 1965. It replaced "Back in My Arms Again" by labelmates The Supremes, It was replaced by "Mr. Tambourine Man" by The Byrds, then regained the top spot before being replaced by "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones.
The song finds lead singer Levi Stubbs, assisted by the other three Tops and The Andantes, pleadingly professing his love to a woman: "Sugar pie, honey bunch/I'm weaker than a man should be!/Can't help myself/I'm a fool in love, you see." Like most of his lead parts, Stubbs' vocals are recorded in a tone that straddles the line between singing and shouting, similar to the tone of a black Baptist preacher. The melodic and chordal progressions are very similar to the Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go".
Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song #415 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It has been covered extensively since 1965, including versions done for several television commercials.
In 1980, Bonnie Pointer had a crossover hit, with the song, peaking at #40 on the pop singles chart, #42 on the soul singles chart, and #4 on the dance charts.
In Autumn 1985, The Johnny Dyson Experience performed the song as their cover of a 9 Below Zero version, at the Crown public house in Bognor Regis, West Sussex, UK. The featured lead in instrument was harmonica played by David Turner who went on to join UK Ska legends Bad Manners.
La Toya Jackson covered "I Can't Help Myself" on her 1995 album Stop in the Name of Love. The single was only released throughout Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Holland, with the album track "Baby Love" (cover of The Supremes' "Baby Love") as a B-side. The single failed to chart.
Australian girl group, Teen Queens, released a version in 1992 for their second single, where it peaked at #28 on the ARIA Singles Chart.
The hard rock band Axe did a heavy version of the song on their first LP.
During the 1980s the song (using the original Four Tops arrangement) was featured in a popular commercial for Kelloggs Honey Smacks cereal in the United Kingdom; sung by the cereal's (then) mascot, Barey Bee.
In 1980, the song was covered by Japanese pop singers Pink Lady on an episode of their American variety show Pink Lady and Jeff.
On Madonna's Who's That Girl Tour, she sang a few lines of "I Can't Help Myself" during the song "Like a Virgin."
The band Say Anything also uses a few lines from the song on their track "Sure Baby...Hold Back" released on their first album entitled Baseball.
George Harrison's "This Song", which commented on the "My Sweet Lord"/"He's So Fine" plagiarism suit, borrowed the riff of "I Can't Help Myself". In the middle of the song, Harrison, referring to the Fontella Bass song, says, "Sounds like 'Rescue Me'". To which, Eric Idle replies, "Sounds like 'Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch' to me."
Scottish Post-punk band Orange Juice makes reference to The Four Tops in their similarly named song "I Can't Help Myself" and made use of the intro bass riff in their instrumental song "Moscow".
Songs People Should Hear - carbon_psycho - 03-12-2009
Deer Mouth - Song about a man.
YouTube - KEXP inStudio 10.2 - DEER TICK
Songs People Should Hear - Iota - 03-12-2009
YouTube - Songs you should listen to: Red House Painters - Have You Forgotten
Songs People Should Hear - CMB1888 - 03-12-2009
Music Head Wrote:YouTube - THE FOUR TOPS - I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)
The band Say Anything also uses a few lines from the song on their track "Sure Baby...Hold Back" released on their first album entitled Baseball.
starts at 3.15
YouTube - Say Anything- Sure baby... Hold back
- Can't beat the Four Tops version though