A selection of some of my favorite Christmas carols. A daily event through Christmas.
Today's selection: unknown - "Carol of the Bells" - early 20th century
Carol of the Bells" is based on a Ukrainian New Years song that predates Christianity. It was first presented to western audiences in 1919 (US audiences in 1922) with English lyrics were written in 1936.
I neglected to document the performers of this version.
A selection of some of my favorite Christmas carols. A daily event through Christmas.
Today's selection: Blackmore's Night - "We Three Kings" - 1958
The song "We Three Kings" was written in 1857 by the rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Williamsport, PA for a Christmas pageant in NYC. It has been compared to music written in the Byzantium era and is the first popular carol written in America.
Ritchie Blackmore was a founding member of Deep Purple, Rainbow, and Blackmore's Night - a medieval folk group.
Not quite Deep Purple style, eh?
Candice Night first met Ritchie Blackmore at a 1989 Rainbow concert when she asked for an autograph. By 1991, they were a couple based on their interest in Renaissance-era music. "We Three Kings" was released in 2006 on their "Winter Carols" album.
Continue reading →A selection of some of my favorite Christmas carols. A daily event through Christmas.
Today's selection: Abney Park - "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" - 1650
A traditional English carol, the earliest version was mentioned in the 1650s. A printed edition showed up in 1760 and is referred to in a story by Charles Dickens in 1843. The first recorded version appeared in 1917.
Abney Park is a steampunk band formed in 1997 and based in Seattle. Their version of this carol appeared on their album "Dark Christmas" in 2009.
A selection of some of my favorite Christmas carols. A daily event through Christmas.
Today's selection: Dean Martin - "Silver Bells" - 1950/1966
Originally written for the 1951 Bob Hope movie "Lemon Drop Kid" but first released by Bing Crosby and Carol Richards in 1950, this version was recorded by Dean Martin in 1966.
It's Christmas carols time ...
Continue reading →A sample of some obscure - and maybe not obscure - tunes from my strange and off-the-wall collection.
Today's selection: Ladyva "Boogie Woogie Piano" 2022
A live performance from the 2022 "International Boogie Nights" festival in Uster, Switzerland. Worthy of a video.
Ladyva is a Swiss pianist, specializing in boogie-woogie, jazz, and blues. Born in 1988, she's quite popular on her own Youtube channel - with over 120 million views.
Look at those fingers ... born to be a musician.
Continue reading →A sample of some obscure - and maybe not obscure - tunes from my strange and off-the-wall collection.
Today's selection: Insect Trust - "Declaration Of Independence" 1968
Today's selection was inspired by several of Jean's poems.
A New York band of sorts, the core of the band to be left for San Francisco in '66, singing for gas and food along the way as the Solip Singers. They gave up heading west, the Solip Singers broke up, and returned to Memphis. The Insect Trust congealed in 1966 in Memphis and bounced back and forth between Memphis and Hoboken. During their "success" time, they fronted for bands such as Santana and the doors but eventually, personnel problems - drugs and business didn't mix well - led to the final breakup in Hoboken.
This cut is from their first, self-titled album. As one critic put it: "The album did nothing, sales-wise ... But what was really remarkable was that, somehow or other, the Insect Trust got a second chance a year later with "Hoboken Saturday Night. After the 2nd release, the band quietly fell apart bit by bit."
A sample of some obscure - and maybe not obscure - tunes from my strange and off-the-wall collection.
Today's selection: Ragdolls - "Dusty" - 1964
The Ragdolls were formed as a "female Four Seasons" in New York by the producer of the Four Seasons. Dusty was their second release but their first (and only) chart breaker (Billboard #55). At a time when 4-track recorders were standard, this song was recorded on the second 8-track recorder in existence at the time; the other being at Motown. The group was a corporate entity; performers varied depending on circumstances.
I admit to having a taste for the "girl groups" of the early 60s; this was among my first 45s bought as soon as old enough to do so.
Continue reading →A sample of some obscure - and maybe not obscure - tunes from my strange and off-the-wall collection.
Today's selection: Jane - "Jane Session" - 1974
German "kraut rock".
Jane was formed in 1970. This cut is off their third album, Jane III - "a scorching guitar blowout"
Wiki describes Jane as "Playing a melodious synthesis of symphonic hard rock, that has occasionally been compared to Pink Floyd"
Not sure I agree with that description, particularly "compared to Pink Floyd" but I like a fair amount of their stuff.
This cut is a dual-guitar instrumental.
A sample of some obscure - and maybe not obscure - tunes from my strange and off-the-wall collection.
Today's selection(s):
Albert Farrington "Long Way To Tipperary" - 1915
Murray Johnson "Pack Up Your Troubles" - 1916
The guns fell silent at 11:00AM, November 11, 1918. Until 10:59AM, the battle raged on.
The Meuse–Argonne battle was the primary involvement of US troops in the war, lasting from Sept 1918 to 10:59, Nov 11.
Written for English music halls in 1912, it was adopted as a British marching song during WWI.
It's a long way to Tipperary,
It's a long way to go.
It's a long way to Tipperary,
To the sweetest girl I know!
Goodbye, Piccadilly,
Farewell, Leicester Square!
It's a long long way to Tipperary,
But my heart's right there.
The song was written in 1915 by George Powell under the pseudonym George Asaf. It was written as a morale booster, encouraging recruitment. Its popularity was such that it became a favored marching song for British troops in WWI.
Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag
And smile, smile, smile.
While you've a lucifer to light your fag
Smile boys, that's the style
What's the use of worrying
It never was worth while
So, pack up your troubles in your old kit bag
And smile, smile, smile.
Both songs are strongly identified with WWI although the popularity of both went well beyond the war and into the 21st century.
Continue reading →A sample of some obscure - and maybe not obscure - tunes from my strange and off-the-wall collection.
Today's selection: James McMurtry "Vague Directions" - 1990
James McMurtry (1962 - ) is the son of the author of Lonesome Dove.
This place you say you're looking for
That's a place I used to know
Don't know the number of the road
But I can tell you how to go
Head on down 'till the pavement ends
Used to go back there now and then
I used to know it like the back of my hand
When I was just a boy
This place you say you're looking for
It's a good ways off the track
It'd take a quarter tank of Firechief
Just getting there and back
And of course there wasn't no pavement then
Once you got yourself around that bend
There wasn't nothing but the whistling wind
When I was just a boy
And the light shines long ago
On the cold December snow
And the river runs on through the (golden) past
I can see it in the bottom of the (whiskey) glass
Ain't seen you around here before
You kin to someone I know
What was your mama's name
Before she moved away
Did she tell you about that place up there
Did she show you how to curl that hair
A grown man would have never dared
When I was just a boy
This place you say you're looking for
Might have washed out with the rain
It might not be there anymore
It might not be the same
But if you find it won't you let me know
If I weren't so poorly I'd surely go
Don't you know I used to love it so
When I was just a boy
It's not a road anymore, just a path through the woods that have taken over.
The old bridge is washed out near where we used to park and ...
Even the abutments are gone.
For that matter, so's the bar with the whiskey glass.
And so is she ... and her name gone with her.
From when I was just a boy.