Category: Monday’s Music Moves Me

Monday’s Music Moves Me: WLS Survey From 1977

I went back and forth with what I wanted to do today as far as M4, and finally I decided to go with the old tried-and-true survey post. So, I spun the wheel and came up with 1977 (sorry, there’s disco) at WLS, by then heavily into their “Musicradio” phase. Let’s see what Larry Lujack was playing on this date in 1977.

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Monday’s Music Moves Me: Fall-ish Songs

Cathy has set as the theme for today “songs about things you like about autumn.” I put together a list of ten songs that more or less fit the theme. A lot of new stuff to me in here. Hope you like it.

  1. John Fogerty, “Centerfield” I have to start with this because, as of Saturday, THE ATLANTA BRAVES ARE NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST DIVISION CHAMPIONS! There will be October baseball in Atlanta! To quote Marie (a/k/a Xmas Dolly, who if she’s watching, get well and hurry back, we miss you), WHOO HOO!
  2. Eva Cassidy, “Autumn Leaves” Eva Cassidy was a jazz singer and guitarist who was only 33 when she passed away from melanoma (see, I told you, wear sunscreen!). Pretty much unknown outside of Washington, DC, her music became better known after her death. This is a timeless standard.
  3. Justin Hayward, “Forever Autumn” We all know Justin Hayward as the guitarist and lead singer for The Moody Blues. This is from 1978’s Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds. Jeff reportedly wanted “the guy who sang ‘Nights In White Satin'” to sing it.
  4. Earth, Wind & Fire, “September” Released in 1978, from The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire Vol. I, this got to #1 on the R&B chart and #8 on the Hot 100 that year.
  5. Amy Winehouse, “October Song” Like a lot of songs that are named after months, it doesn’t mention anything about the month itself. But hey, it’s Amy Winehouse…
  6. The Brothers Four, “Try To Remember” I usually use Jerry Orbach’s version, and said, “no, let’s try someone else.” The Brothers Four (none of whom are actually brothers) are a folk-singing quartet from the Seattle area, known for their 1960 song “Greenfields.”
  7. Freddie Joachim, “Autumn Rain” Freddie is a devotee of hip-hop, jazz, and soul music who is also a performer and producer. This is from his second album, 2010’s Midway, which is all instrumental, meaning I like it already.
  8. Yerin Baek, “November Song” Another artist I will follow up on, Baek Ye-rin (Yerin Baek to the rest of us) is a South Korean singer who is also a member of 15& with Park Ji-Min (the name refers to their age when they started). Now 21, she recorded this a couple of years ago for her first EP, 2016’s Frank.
  9. Billie Holiday, “Autumn In New York” A classic song by Lady Day. Lord knows we need one by now…
  10. Nicole Westbrook, “It’s Thanksgiving” Nicole recorded this in 2012, when she was twelve years old. She’s an actress and singer in a world of adolescent actresses and singers. What more is there to say?

So, in summary: I like autumn because of the baseball postseason, the leaves, the rain, the cooler weather, and of course Thanksgiving. Not to mention the near-constant reminder that Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat… Really, fall just started Saturday, and I heard “Jingle Bells” on TV for the first time on Friday. It was still summer!!!

And that’s Monday’s Music Moves Me for September 24, 2018.

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

Monday’s Music Moves Me: Long Story

This is going to take a minute to explain.

One of the blogs I follow is PopRockBopTilUDrop. Craig, who runs the blog is really into popular music from the ’50’s and ’60’s, making us kindred souls. One of the things he does frequently is to go through old issues of Hit Parader magazine and post the trade ads that announce the new records. One of the first posts of his I read was this one, looking at trade ads from 1967 and 1969. I hadn’t heard most of the songs, so, when I had a few spare minutes, I created a playlist of the songs that were advertised. All the songs are pretty good, but many never made the Top 40 and thus never got played on the radio. From that list of 41, I used Random.org to choose ten of them. And that’s what today’s playlist is all about. (You’ll note I linked to the full playlist as well.)

  1. Bert Kaempfert, “Strangers In The Night” Bert was a German composer and orchestra leader who composed the music for “Strangers in the Night,” which as you probably know was a huge hit for Frank Sinatra.
  2. Carol Channing, “Do It Again!” My cousins used to say that my mother looked like Carol Channing, which is just crazy, because Mom looked like Lucille Ball. Carol and Julie Andrews were co-stars in the 1967 movie Thoroughly Modern Millie, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
  3. Ramsey Lewis, “One Two Three” Ramsey was very popular among jazz audiences and frequently ended up in the Top 40, probably best-known for his recording of “The In Crowd” in 1964.
  4. Keith, “Tell Me To My Face” Keith had a hit with “98.6” in 1967, which peaked at #7. This was the followup, which did nowhere near as well.
  5. Iron Butterfly, “Soul Experience” Of course, we all remember “In A Gadda Da Vida” from 1968, that made it to #30. This was the followup to that, which only made it to #75. They’re still going, bless their hearts.
  6. Anthony Armstrong Jones, “It’s Only Lonely Me” Not to be confused with the Earl of Snowdon who was married to Princess Margaret in the ’60’s and ’70’s, Jones was a country singer who found chart success in 1970 with “Take A Letter, Maria,” which reached #8 in 1970. This one didn’t do so well.
  7. Jimmy Hughes, “Why Not Tonight” Hughes, an American R&B singer, had a hit in 1964 with “Steal Away” (not the song done later by Robbie Dupree), which reached #17. This only hit #90 on the pop chart in 1967, but reached #5 on the R&B chart.
  8. The Illusion, “Did You See Her Eyes” The Illusion were a psychedelic rock band from Long Island, NY. This song reached #32 in 1969.
  9. Julie Andrews, “Thoroughly Modern Millie” Julie was the star of Thoroughly Modern Millie and won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Movie Musical or Comedy in 1968. This song was written by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn.
  10. Gene Pitney, “Animal Crackers In Cellophane Boxes” Gene had his last Top 20 hit the year before. This didn’t even make the Hot 100, coming in at #106, and reaching #87 in Australia in 1967.

This was fun, and I hope you’ve enjoyed the music. If you liked this, leave me a comment and let me know, and I’ll do this again. Be sure and follow the link to Craig’s blog and, if you like what you see, subscribe. He posts a couple of times a week. That’s Monday’s Music Moves Me for September 17, 2018.

ETA: Craig contacted me after this was published and straightened me out on his name and gender, so I’ve fixed the references above, with my apologies. Really, though, follow his blog or subscribe to the RSS feed. You’ll be glad you did.

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