Pianist, composer, and record producer Allen Toussaint would be 83 today. He wrote songs for Ernie K-Doe ("Mother In Law"), Dr. John ("Right Place, Wrong Time"), Glen Campbell ("Southern Nights"), Lee Dorsey ("Workin’ In A Coal Mine"), and others. He wrote "Java" and recorded it on his 1958 album The Wild Sound Of New Orleans, on which he played as Tousan. Floyd Cramer covered it in 1962 and just missed hitting the Top 40. The Following year, Al Hirt recorded it, and it reached #4 on the Hot 100.
Mary B has a song challenge similar to one that another blogger had been doing a while back. Mary gives us three topics or themes, and we come up with a song for each. Being a sucker for challenges like this, you know what I’m gonna do…
A Food:"Chocolate Pudding" by Ambergris.Discogs calls Ambergris "A short-lived band who made just the one album (plus some singles). They were formed by Jerry Weiss, who played trumpet and flugelhorn in the first version of Blood, Sweat & Tears." I had their one album from 1970. It was great stuff.
An Animal:"The Unicorn" by The Irish Rovers. A popular sing-along at Irish pubs from Ulster to Ulaanbaatar, this is from 1967.
A Number:"BEechwood 4-5789" by The Marvelettes. Written by Marvin Gaye back in the day when your number was two letters and five numbers.
Oh, come on. If you feel like you have to justify enjoying something as enjoyable as chocolate, it takes all the enjoyment out of it.
Chocolate is great stuff. It makes you happy (that is, if you like it). I remember going on a really lousy job interview that was way out where God left his sandals. This was post-stroke, so Mary had to drive me. On the way back, she said "Let’s stop at Walgreens and get chocolate bars!" And we did, and they tasted great, and elevated our mood. I’ve forgotten nearly everything about the interview, but not about the chocolate.
This past Christmas, we bought ourselves Frango mints, a chocolate mint. I used to sell them at Marshall Field’s in Chicago, long before they became Macy’s. (And yes, I’m aware that they got the recipe when they bought out a department store in Seattle.) We hadn’t had them in years. They’re now made by an independent company, and they’re still great. This Easter, we’re going to get some chocolate from Fannie May, another Chicago institution that’s been bought by another company. Nothing like a little taste of home…
Just so everyone who had been finding me there knows, I dropped my Twitter account yesterday. I was at the point where every time I went out there I’d ask myself "Why did I come out here?" As I explained on Monday, it’s not a political move: it’s more of a "mental health" move, something I’ve considered for a while. I feel less burdened already. Reddit and Pinterest are next…
One-Liner Wednesday and Just Jot It January are both Linda Hill ventures.
Now here’s a word about Marlboro cigarettes. Settle back with a Marlboro!
Singer/songwriter, guitarist, and film composer Trevor Rabin turns 67 today. Trevor played guitar with Yes from 1983 to 1995. His first album with them was 1983’s 90125, which contained "Owner Of A Lonely Heart," released in October, a month ahead of the album. The song was written primarily by Rabin, with contributions from Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, and producer Trevor Horn. It reached #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart that year and #1 on the Hot 100 the following year.
