Monday’s Music Moves Me: Tom, Dick & Harry

Monday's Music Moves Me 2 Minutes
From left: Tom, Dick, Harry. Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

Freebie day, and I couldn’t get the phrase “Tom, Dick & Harry” out of my mind. I took it as a sign. Here are four songs each from men named Tom, Dick and Harry.

What’s New, Pussycat?
Tom Jones		 The song was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1965 movie of the same name. Tom took this to #3 in the US, his second Top 40 single, while it reached #11 in the UK.
Life Is A Highway
Tom Cochrane		 Rascal Flatts weren’t the first people to do this. From Tom’s 1991 album Mad Mad World, this topped the Canadian charts and was a #6 hit on the Hot 100 and Mainstream Rock charts in the US.
Lewis & Clark
Tommy Emmanuel CGP		 Chet Atkins bestowed the honorary title Certified Guitar Player on this Australian guitarist, and every time he plays he shows us why. From his 2006 album The Mystery.
Wave
Antonio Carlos (Tom) Jobim		 A pioneer in bossa nova music, Tom Jobim has written many of the big hits of the genre, and many of his songs have become standards. “Wave” is the title track from his 1967 album.
Misirlou
Dick Dale		 Originally a folk song from the Eastern Mediterranean, Dick Dale’s cover of the song has become a surf rock classic. He plays the song on one string after having seen his father and uncles, all of whom were Lebanese-American musicians, play it that way on the oud. It regained popularity in the 1990’s when Quentin Tarantino used it in the movie Pulp Fiction, and again when it was used in an episode of Mad Men.
Chim Chim Cher-ee
Dick Van Dyke		 As fine an actor and song-and-dance man as Dick Van Dyke is, the movie Mary Poppins proved that he couldn’t do a Cockney accent. The song was written by the Sherman Brothers, who wrote lots of music for Walt Disney Studios, and earned the 1964 Best Original Song Academy Award. The Sherman Brothers also earned the Oscar and the Grammy for the score of the movie.
Moritat
Dick Hyman Trio		 You will recognize this immediately as “Mack The Knife.” It was written by Kurt Weill and Bertold Brecht for The Threepenny Opera in the 1920’s. Radio station WFMF (later WLOO) in Chicago played the Dick Hyman recording at the top of every hour.
Jessica
Dickey Betts		 “Jessica” was written by Dickey Betts and made its first appearance on the Allman Brothers Band’s fourth studio album, 1973’s Brothers & Sisters. This is video from a 1984 performance.
Ciribiribin
Harry James		 This is an Italian song by Alberto Pestalozza, who wrote it in 1898 with lyrics by Carlo Tiochet. Harry James liked the song so much that he made it his orchestra’s theme song in 1939, from when this was recorded.
W-O-L-D
Harry Chapin		 This song, from Chapin’s 1973 album Short Stories, inspired Hugh Wilson to create the TV show WKRP in Cincinnati. As a single, this reached #36 on the Hot 100, while it reached #14 in Canada and #9 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart.
Jamaica Farewell
Harry Belafonte		 Another song my aunts used to drive me crazy by singing. From Harry’s 1956 album Calypso.
Jump Into The Fire
Harry Nilsson		 From Nilsson’s 1971 album Nilsson Schmillson, it was released as the second single (after “Without You”) in 1972. A real rocker, a departure from Nilsson’s previous releases, it reached #27 on the Hot 100.

And that’s Monday’s Music Moves Me for August 24, 2020.

Monday’s Music Moves Me is sponsored by X-Mas Dolly, Cathy, Alana, and Stacy, so be sure and visit them, where you can also find the Linky for the other participants.

Published by John Holton

Internet disc jockey, lover of old TV (especially the commercials), inveterate wise guy.

Published

18 thoughts on “Monday’s Music Moves Me: Tom, Dick & Harry”

  1. Pingback: The End Of Summer Week That Was – The Sound of One Hand Typing

  2. I must have been out of it – I left your site open on my browser and never sent my comment, so I am taking care of that now! Strangely, I didn’t like Tom Jones (don’t ask me why) growing up but I like him very much now; including having seen (via You Tube) some of his moments on the U.K Voice. He just got better with time. Another favorite here is Life is a Highway, and a third is Jump Into the Fire. Thank you for the set and I hope I didn’t let other bloggers hanging with comments I never sent.

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  3. John,

    What a fun theme for your playlist this week! You shared a mix of familiar and new-to-me songs in this set. I enjoyed listening to them. “Jamaican Farewell” is a fun tune. It makes me feel like I’m standing on isle beach with the wind blowing across my skin as I watch the boats on the water. 🙂 It’s great having you on the 4M dance floor. Stay safe, be well, and have a boogietastic week, dear friend!

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  4. You’ve got some super tunes here my friend. Tom Jones…ahhhhhhhhhhh I could watch him dance all night long. Although he’s still on that game show as old as he is, but he’s still hot and he’s still has those sexy pipes. Dang, dude… you’re messin’ me up here. hahahahaha Life is a highway is a fun tune don’t cha think? Mary Poppins and Dick Van Dyke could’ve been no other actor. Fantastic. Well, it’s really getting late. Love all your pickins John & have a great day tomorrow and have a good night! hugs

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    1. Are you thinking of “The Voice UK”? I checked IMDb and that’s what I came up with. He’s 80, and so is Ringo Starr and John Lennon would be if he were still alive. He’ll be gone 40 years… And you’re right, I’d rather have Dick Van Dyke with a lousy Cockney accent than anyone else, even if the person spoke perfect Cockney…

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  8. I do t know what happened to me last week but I am here and loving these songs. Tom Jones has a great voice and I am loving some of your picks like Dick Van Dyke who I still like in this film and love the song Wave

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