Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Advent Music Day 11 - 1972


Every morning I consult the Google oracle to find the list of top 100 songs for the day. All I have to say about this list is, 1972 was a very strange year.  I mean, if "Alone Again, Naturally" is the NUMBER TWO SONG, then what what what is going on?  Other notables? "Candy Man" by Sammy Davis Jr. (5), "Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me" by Mac Davis (8), "Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast" by Wayne Newton (10), "Ben" by Michael Jackson (20), and "A Horse With No Name" by America (27).  Yikes.  Thank goodness we have a savior.


1972        American Pie  (Don McClean)


Do you believe in rock and roll?  Can music save your mortal soul?  I'd much rather listen to this epic hit than a song about a creepy candy dealer, a deadbeat father, a nameless horse or a love ballad for a murderous rat.  Clocking in at over 8 minutes long, I never get tired of hearing this song.


I met a girl who sang the blues
and I asked her for some happy news
but she just smiled and turned away.
I went down to the sacred store
where I'd heard the music years before
but the man there said the music wouldn't play
and in the streets the children screamed
the lovers cried and the poets dreamed
but not a word was spoken
the church bells all were broken
And the three men I admire most
The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost,
they caught the last train for the coast
the day the music died.


Care to hit the rewind button?
Here are the past #AdventMusic Day meme links

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Advent Music Day 10 - 1971


This was also cross-posted to my other blog because it had too good of a story not to share widely. My song choices don't often come with an honest-to-goodness story, but this one does.  In 1971 it appears that Motown has had an off-year, and with the breakup of Simon and Garfunkel, the list was open for some big changes.  The Top 100 list for 1971 included two offerings from The Partridge Family (HA!), four from The Osmonds (whoa), two from The Jackson Five (slipped this year), and a smattering of real oddities, including Andy Williams, Olivia Newton John and Perry Como (whose dates I just checked and go figure, he lived until 2001!)

Sometimes I pour over these lists and really have a difficult time picking just one song. Not this year.  In fact, I've been on the lookout for this song for awhile, hoping that it would be in a year when  there wouldn't be big competition.  And while I'm sorry to pass over David Cassidy and The Partridge Family, the choice for 1971 is crystal clear:  

1971              Joy to the World  (Three Dog Night)

There is no doubt about that one.  This song has everything:  joy and fishes in the deep blue sea and Jeremiah the bullfrog, and for me, a story to go with the song.

The story takes place somewhere in the neighborhood of 1984 or 1985 (I think), and it's the final day of moving out of the family home.  The process of downsizing from a two-story house with a full basement to a two-bedroom apartment was... how do you describe it? It was impossible yet we did it, but really, it was impossible.  It was a nightmare of epic proportions to get through the final cleaning, the tossing, the storing and the moving to an apartment which, extremely inconveniently for our purposes, was on the fifth floor.  But we moved and we moved and we moved and we moved.  The apartment began to become a wall of stuff starting in the back corner and creeping forward like the water filling the Titanic.  One bedroom stuffed.  Two bedrooms stuffed.  The whole concept of boxes being labelled and things being put in the corresponding room started out as a nice idea, but lost any hope of happening after the clock struck midnight.  Load after load we hauled, up and down the elevator, from the apartment to house and back again over and over and over.  The bedrooms were full.  The bathroom was full.  The kitchen was full.  And now, we only had the living room, Obi-Wan Kenobi; our only hope.  So we piled and piled and piled some more, and the stacks moved closer and closer to the front door. The good new was we were approaching the finish line, so we thought and hoped and prayed that we might be able to fit all this stuff inside.  I wasn't sure how the people would fit, but our assignment was stuffing the stuff, not the people.  At one point towards the end there were three of us standing in the doorway, staring at a wall of possessions and feeling like a puny pee-wee offensive line facing off against the pros.  One of us had an armful of something -- I think pots and pans -- and after taking one look at the options, sent them airborne into the center of room where they went careening and clanging into void.  And that was the end. 

We all fell over howling with laughter because, what else could you do?  We were hot, sweaty, and absolutely exhausted.  So we laughed, and then we laughed some more.  And then we got sternly shushed by our mother for MAKING NOISE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT.  Which of course, only made us laugh harder, but we went into stealth silent laughing mode so as to not incur any additional wrath.  Our tiptoeing became pantomime gold, and we snickered and whisper-yelled at each other to SHUT UP PEOPLE ARE SLEEPING.

We finished at 3 AM and went outside cool down for a minute, quietly, of course BECAUSE PEOPLE WERE SLEEPING.  And then we heard it: loud as a truck and clear as day from somewhere nearby.  It was a a very drunken college student singing at the top of his lungs, "JEREMIAH WAS A BULLFROG... WAS A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE!!!"

It was the perfect ending to a physically and emotionally draining day.  Jeremiah made sure the day wasn't just about sadness.  Now it had a song to go with the aches and pains.  It had flying pots and pans, and it had shushing and laughter.  In my family, somehow there always manages to be laughter.  The day may have marked the end of an era, but at least there it had Jeremiah and joy.






Here are the #AdventMusic Day meme links
in case you want to see what you missed

Monday, December 8, 2014

Advent Music Day 9 - 1970


One look at the top songs of 1970 and I knew I was in trouble.  There are so many great choices, bands, songs and singers.   I'm faced with a real Sophie's choice of sorts.  Two great songs, two vocal duos that are instantly identifiable with listeners.  I want to go with the group I haven't yet selected... but I just can't.  No other choice this year than the number one song


1970        Bridge Over Troubled Water  (Simon and Garfunkel)


This record got So. Much. Love. as I was growing up.  And like many great songs, as soon as the introduction would start in piano, I would stop what I was doing and just listen.  I still do.  Art Garfunkel's voice is gentle and easy, and believe me, that's a huge compliment, especially considering the range of this song.  Hit the third verse for some harmony, throw in some strings and drums, and you've got perfection.  Sadly, Simon and Garfunkel would part ways in 1970, but this song and their sound will always be a major force in the soundtrack of my childhood.





Sunday, December 7, 2014

Advent Music Day 8 - 1969


And now it's 1969.  Motown is really taking the world by storm, and while Stevie Wonder becomes a regular on the charts, throwbacks to an older era (Sammy Davis Jr., anyone?) still pop up on the year-end list, as do a stray country-western artist or two.  Like most years I've considered so far, I begin by scrolling through the list thinking "this one.. or this one... or maybe this one" but when I hit my winner I know instantly that all my other choices were a tie for second place.  So for the winner of 1969 I bring you the cool, the awesome:


1969        Hawaii Five-O  (The Ventures)


An iconic selection, to be sure.  Anybody who knows this song, knows it after 5 seconds of the opening percussion riff.  And then the trumpets come in, and we're off to the races.  Listening to the theme from Hawaii Five-O, I'm instantly transported back to my childhood, because watching Hawaii Five-O was a bit of a treat back then, and Jack Lord?  Well, he was hot stuff to a seven year old.  Everybody know "Book 'em, Dano" and everybody knew the theme song from Hawaii Five-O.  It's a shame the TV show theme songs have lost their importance in the name of squeezing in more commercials at the top of the show, but I'll bet that most people are still familiar with this opening riff and the sweet brass and electronic guitar melody.

So much to love here, especially as you wonder who starts any song with four measures of drum set, cymbals, and orchestral kettle drums?    The answer is COOL PEOPLE, THAT'S WHO.

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Advent Music Day 7 - 1968


Looking over the list of the top songs of 1968 there are at least twenty choices... for second place.  As I scanned this list there was one and only one choice.  Today's winner is a titan of pop music that is still debated, deconstructed, loved, and ridiculed.  Any song that generates chatter more than 40 years later and enjoys a variety of remixes ranging from symphonic orchestras to disco divas is well-deserving of the crown.

1968        MacArthur Park  (Richard Harris)


Oh yeah, baby.  A classic for the ages.  Recorded by Richard Harris (who?) who was looking for pop songs for his debut album, he actively courted composer Jimmy Webb and decided this seven-plus minute musical extravaganza was exactly what he was looking for.  That's right.  Longer than The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, or Bohemian Rhapsody, MacArthur Park lobs bizarre images at the listener faster than a hot dog cannon at the ballpark.  But it's all good, and it's exactly why we love it, melting parks, sweet green icing, rainy cakes and all.

Friday, December 5, 2014

Advent Music Day 6 - 1967


Today is a three way race.  The first group still lives in the land of childhood favorites with strong entries from The Monkees (I'm a Believer), and sentimental favorites from The Beatles (All You Need is Love), The Seekers (Georgy Girl), and Sonny and Cher (The Beat Goes On).  The second camp is all Motown all the time with hits from The Temptations, Aretha Franklin, The Supremes and Marvin Gaye.  In the third corner are heavy hitters from the late '60s counter cultural revolution: The Doors, The Rolling Stones, Jefferson Airplane.  Who took the crown in the battle of 1967?

1967        Respect  (Aretha Franklin)


Nobody could do it better than The First Lady of Soul.  With a voice that hits you right between the eyes and never lets up, her sound is gospel, motown, soul wrapped up in a whole lot of sass and attitude.  Aretha never asks or apologizes, she tells it like it is without any hesitation.  The best thing is, over the years, that attitude has never changed.  I just wish I knew what the one line was....


(Ellen doesn't know either -- check it out starting at 7:18)

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Advent Music Day 5 - 1966


This is the year where I have to choose between my childhood soundtrack and my teenage soundtrack, and it's honestly a tough choice.  But in the end, even though I'm only four years old in 1966, I'm going to take the last train from Clarksville and betray my beloved Monkees.  And who was able to defeat this hysterically odd quartet (made forever perfect by Davy Jones)?

1966        The Sound of Silence  (Simon and Garfunkel)

What is there to say?  Simon and Garfunkel were this perfect duo.  Short and tall.  Tenor and ridiculously high tenor.  Poet and thinker.  Activists.  Paul Simon went to Africa and brought their music and culture to America.  Art Garfunkel was on the PBS children's cartoon Arthur and was a singing moose.  Song after song after song, the music of Simon and Garfunkel became the soundtrack of America in the 60s and 70s.  Listening to the hard realities of the lyrics that are soothed by calming melodies and perfectly blended harmonies, their songs today remain both timeless and timely.

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never share
and no one dared 
disturb the sound of silence.




Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Advent Music Day 4 - 1965


This is the first year where it's a very difficult choice.  Checking out the top 100 songs of 1965 it's clear that it was a great year for Herman's Hermits (5 spots), The Righteous Brothers (3 spots), The Beatles (3 spots), and Mowtown, which is starting to make a real run with powerhouses Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, and The Miracles.  There are also plenty of novelty songs this year, including I'm Henry the VIII, I Am (Herman's Hermits), Hang on Sloopy (The McCoys), and Jolly Green Giant by the Kingsmen.  My winner for 1965?

1965        I've Got You, Babe (Sonny & Cher)


The Sonny and Cher comedy hour ran for three short years in the early '70s.  Cher had her own musical variety show in 1975, and despite their divorce, the duo resurfaced briefly for a retooled version of their original show in 1976.  I remember elaborate gowns, singing and comedy sketches, and as a then 8-year old, that was the whole world wrapped in a boy.  I've Got You, Babe was their anthem and closed every show.  Maybe most touching performance was an unexpected 1987 rendition on the David Letterman show, where, with a little bit of prodding, they sang together once again.  I've Got You Babe, was sixties bohemian pop, with a little bit of sweet defiance, a little bit of optimism, a lot of love, and a kick-ass oboe part.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Advent Music Day 3 - 1964


Looking over the list of the top 100 songs of 1964, it's Beatlemania.  In 1964 their songs held spots at number 1, 2, 13, 14, 16, 52 and 55 for the year, which is impressive, to say the least.  Maybe it's surprising, then that I didn't choose a single one for day three of my #Adventmusic meme.  It's not that I don't like them.  I've always thought they were perfectly fine, and yet somehow, I don't feel like their songs hold any sort of special place in my life.  Instead I chose this gem:

1964        Do Wah Diddy Diddy (Manfred Mann)

Bet you didn't see that coming.  But give me one play through of this fun, silly little pop song, and I'm transported another 17 years down the road to 1981 and the opening of the movie Stripes starring Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, John Candy, Warren Oates (how sad that Sgt. Hulka died the following year!), John Larroquette, and Judge Reinhold, to name a few.  Stripes brought so many quotable lines for those of us that like to annoy others with this sort of nonsense.  From "that's the fact, Jack!" to "C'mon, it's Czechoslovakia.  We zip in, we pick 'em up, we zip right out again. It's like going to into Wisconsin"  to "Son of bitch....shit!" it was an instant hit in that hysterically unapologetically sophomoric humor kind of way.  Thanks, Manfredd Mann and Do Wah Diddy Diddy for being a part of that ride. You've definitely earned a spot in the soundtrack of my life.



Monday, December 1, 2014

Advent Music Day 2 - 1963



1963        Puff, The Magic Dragon (Peter, Paul & Mary)

I feel like I'm cheating already, with my Peter, Paul & Mary love-in.  But without official rules for this #Adventmusic exercise, I'm sticking with my choice.  And really, how could I not?  There might not be any more iconic song from my childhood than Puff the Magic Dragon.  And no, before you ask, I'm not going to entertain thoughts about whether or not it's about taking drugs.  If it is for others, then OK.  But for me, it will always be a song about childhood, imagination, friendship, and growing up.

Over the years they've tweaked the lyrics to make it more inclusive, less gender-specific, and more optimistic at the end of the song (Puff the Magic Dragon lives by the sea -- PRESENT TENSE!).  I understand the reasoning.  After all, there is nothing that says "little Jackie Paper" has to be a boy, and then there is the whole issue of a children's song telling the tale of a depressed dragon who slinks into his cave never to be seen again.   But I don't know.  Call me obtuse, but it never occurred to me that when Jackie Paper grew up and stopped playing with Puff it meant the dragon died.  For me, the song is the essence of childhood, and celebrates this wonderful but all too brief time of excitement, discovery, imagination and friendship.  And even though children grow up and life changes, inside our imagination, and whenever this song is sung, I'm a child again and Puff is always there.


Sunday, November 30, 2014

Advent Music Day 1 - 1962


I just ran across a fun meme for Advent 2014.  The twitter hashtag is #Adventmusic and evidently the assignment is to select one song per day throughout the season of Advent (November 30-December 24).  This year the challenge is to start with the year you were born, and each day  pick one from the next year.  This will certainly be an interesting walk down memory lane.  And thank you, Internet, for being the wind beneath my wings, or at least the resources at my fingertips.  This should be fun.


1962        If I Had a Hammer (Peter, Paul & Mary)

It seems very appropriate for me that Peter, Paul & Mary are there the year I'm born.  In October, 1962, their first album was released and it reached the number one spot in the Billboard charts, staying there for over a month.  This was quite an accomplishment for a folk group.  Throughout my life, it seems that Peter, Paul & Mary have never been far from my side.  This album was a favorite of mine growing up, and their music remains part of the soundtrack of my life today.  "If I Had a Hammer" is my go-to song when I teach students the basics of folk song construction, and although I'm shocked when students tell me they've never heard of it (or of Peter, Paul & Mary), I'm always happy to right that wrong and fill that hole of their education.

Their singing is impeccable, their harmonies tight, and their songs (often written by the giants of folk music like Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan) were, and still are, profound in their simplicity.  When compared to popular music today with all its theatrics, special effects, auto-tune nonsense, drum machines, electronic manipulations and elaborately choreographed dance breaks, it's inspiring to see  that three singers, two acoustic guitars and one stand up double bass (always off camera) were able to take the world by storm and become a lasting voice of reason, protest, understanding and hope, all over this land.

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Surrender


Very little grows on jagged rock.
Be ground.
Be crumbled, so wildflowers will come up where you are.
You've been stony for too many years.
Try something different.
Surrender.

from the poem A Necessary Autumn Inside Each