Early Burt Special, Part 2

Burt is Bach (I mean, back) at MYPWHAE. We begin with the David-Bacharach classic (well, I like it) Underneath the Overpass, recorded for Columbia in 1957 by ex-Pied-Pipers vocalist Jo Stafford. In a 1982 interview with Bill Reed, Jo had these flattering words to offer re: Overpass: "A lot of the material (producer Mitch Miller) gave me to record it was not my cup of tea. I couldn’t do it justice. One was called Chow Willy. C-H-O-W, W-I-L-L-Y. And then there was one called Underneath the Overpass. If you can believe it."

O.K., the title is a little silly, but I love the big-band feel of the words and tune:

Underneath the Overpass (David-Bacharach), Jo Stafford with Paul Weston and His Orchestra, 1957, from my thrifted 78 copy.

Two years later, Gene Vincent recorded this Paul Hampton-Bacharach title (for the Vincent LP of the same title):

Crazy Times (Paul Hampton--Burt Bacharach), Gene Vincent, 1959.












Three years later, this Bacharach-David song almost reached the Top 100:

It's Love That Really Counts (Bacharach-David), The Shirelles, 1962.

A minor hit for Dionne Warwick in 1963, This Empty Place was also recorded by Ian and the Zodiacs, Cilla Black, and The Searchers. Let's pay a call to The Searchers' Empty Place. Bring any spare furniture, lamps, or chairs.

This Empty Place (Bacharach-David), The Searchers, 1964.

More Early Burt to come at MYPWHAE!


Lee

Money--that's what she wants

Santa Baby meets Money in this 1958 pearl by Gem Bailey. Rather, this gem by Pearl Bailey. The ending is the best part, and I don't mean that sarcastically--Pearl's free-form enunciation of the true meaning of (greed at) Christmas (time) provides for a classic closing.

A Five Pound Box of Money, Pearl Bailey, 1958.


Lee

MYPWHAE's Kiddie Christmas, Part 1

Good grief--a third Christmas thread, no less. (No fewer?) Yes, indeed--it's time for Kiddie Christmas, Part 1.













No, no, guys. Kiddie Christmas, not kitty Christmas. Sorry about that.

They don't care, so long as they get their treats. By the way, that photo shows fewer than half of our brood. Believe it or don't.

And, boy, do we have a kiddie Christmas to remember. We start with two tracks by the Marty Gold Children's Chorus, both chronicling the triumphs of unusual, vaguely Rudolph-esque heroes. The first title comes closest to aping the Montgomery Ward fable, though it conks out midway. You'll recall that Rudolph's target of bigotry (his shiny nose) eventually earns him a place at the head of the team (from which, hopefully, he passed wind on his critics.). By contrast, Roaring Sam the Snowmobile's loud engine noise--the source of his ostracism--is changed by Santa into a more pleasant sound, whereupon everyone likes Sam. Kind of the antithesis of the Rudolph story, and not much of a story, to boot. Elmer Elf is even more vapid--Elmer becomes Santa's "right hand man" when his clan fixes Santa's van. I mean, when his clan shovels up all the snow on a "frightfully snowy" Christmas Eve. Very lame. But (please don't tell anybody), I love it. Great melody, classy arrangement, and very nice singing by the kid's chorus. I don't suppose they'd have gotten the gig if they couldn't carry a part.

Roaring Sam, The Snowmobile, Marty Gold Children's Chorus, 1973.

Elmer Elf, Marty Gold Children's Chorus, 1973.

And here's the not-so-well-known country singer Ray Smith with Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, credited on the label to "Horton" (as in, Vaughn?).

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, Ray Smith (1949), from Columbia 78.

And we have Henry Hall and the BBC Dance Orchestra (from I don't know when) with the Spike-Jones-esque Does Santa Claus Sleep with His Whiskers and The Fairy on the Christmas Tree.

Does Santa Claus Sleep with His Whiskers (Over or Under the Sheets), Henry Hall and the BBC Dance Orchestra.

The Fairy on the Christmas Tree, Henry Hall and the BBC Dance Orchestra, featuring The Three Sisters.

Marty Robbins joins the kiddie fest with a cute rendition of the 1934 Christmas pop song, Santa Claus Is Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-H.... I mean, ...Is Coming to Town.

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town (Haven Gillespie--J. Fred Coots), Marty Robbins (1967).

Peggy King plans to trap Santa by way of putting glue around the Christmas tree (she must be using some pretty powerful dry-on-contact-with-Santa cement). Too bad about the carpet. Someone's parents are going to be unhappy come XMas morning.

I'm Gonna Put Some Glue 'Round the Christmas Tree (So Santa Claus Will Stick Around All Year), , Peggy King with Mitch Miller and His Orchestra, 1954.

More kitty--er, kiddie--tracks to come!


Lee

A 78 RPM Christmas--Part 1

It's a good thing I back up my MAGIX "projects" onto disc--or, at least, that I did this time. Seems MAGIX decided to lose the FX file to my latest project when my Dell's virtual memory froze up. So, I was able to upload my back-up disc. Problem is, it contained the previous night's work, meaning that much of my editing was lost, along with three files. I had a fabulous restoration of On a Christmas Morning (Prince's Orchestra) that is no more. I'll have to start from scratch.

Which should be easy, because 78s have lots of same.

But I'm not here to whine. (Yes, I am. Wahhhhhhhhh!!) Boy, do I feel better.

However, in spite of any and all computer-based disasters, I'm here with some cool Yuletide 78s, all from my collection. For your convenience, I have listed not only their titles but the people on them. Plus those names that show up in parentheses. We cover every base at this place.

We begin with a Christmas hymn (as opposed to carol or pop song)--maybe the most famous of all; I don't know. That would be my guess. Isaac Watts wrote the hymn in 1719, and Lowell Mason (of the "Better Music Movement") wrote the great tune in 1836, though for a very long time it was attributed to Handel. I coaxed pretty decent sound from this average-condition disc, I think:

Joy to the World (Watts--Mason), Trinity Choir, 1911. From Victor 78.

And here's the flip side. It actually says Oh, Come... on the label, though we're always seeing it as O, Come.... So far, I've found the music credited to three different people, with the hymn itself credited to A.P. Carter. I mean, John F. Wade, who was also probably (possibly?) the author of the words around 1850-ish. (1850-ish?) The 1841 English translation was the work of Frederick Oakeley.

Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful (Various folks), Trinity Choir, 1911. From Victor 78.

Next, Victor recording artists Olive Kline and Elsie Baker lend their terrific voices to some charming holiday numbers for children. The first three titles come from Alice C.D. Riley and Jessie L. Gaynor's Songs of the Child World series, which must have been pretty popular--books from same show up in five or six eBay ads, and there are a number of Google mentions. Really fun stuff. The last title comes from Dutch Ditties for Children by Anice Terhune. If you know anything about Anice, please let me know.

Merry Christmas, Sleighing Song (Riley--Gaynor, from Songs of the Child World), Olive Kline (1914).

Around the Christmas Tree (Riley--Gaynor), Little Christmas Shoes (Anice Terhune, from Dutch Ditties for Children), Elsie Baker (1914).

So nice to listen to those two sides without the pops. There were three or four real firecrackers in there. To use an old-fashioned term in a different context than usual.

Jingle Bells, by Shannon Four (The Revelers) was a much tougher case--lesser bloggers might have taken one look at the record's condition, laughed, and tossed the thing in the "Circular File." Not me--I knew I could get some sound out of it. Plus, I enjoy working for a full hour editing pops and messing around with EQ settings. It's a form of high-tech self-punishment. I probably should seek therapy.

Please bear with the snowy start (so to speak)--the sound fills in pretty quickly.

Jingle Bells (James Lord Pierpont, 1857), Shannon Four, 1925. From a tracked-with-error Victor 78.

From www.perfessorbill.com :



















Lee

Thanksgiving at MYPWHAE: Count Your Blessings

No, not the Irving Berlin song from White Christmas. Nor the Ferde Grofe song from the movie Palooka. And not the famous 1897 gospel song by Johnson Oatman, Jr. and Edwin O. Excell.

This Count Your Blessings was written by Cy Coben, who also gave us The Old Piano Roll Blues, Burning a Hole in My Mind, The Billboard Song, Never Been Kissed, and Nobody's Child. The full title, in fact, is Count Your Blessings (Every Day). By any name, it's pretty corny. But that's why it's so much fun!

And in any copy, the sound leaves something to be desired. This is my second, and the upper end, again, is lacking--what's there is distorted. Two bad copies, perhaps, but I suspect crappy engineering has something to do with it. As in, Mercury's version of RCA's Dynagroove--all midrange and compression. However, this is immaculately well-done kitsch. I'm thankful Merv recorded it. And that Cy wrote it. And that Mercury pressed it. And that Hal Mooney produced it. And that the eBay dealer posted it. And that....

Sorry. Got carried away.

Count Your Blessings (Cy Coben), Merv Griffin with Hall Mooney and His Orchestra, 1962.

I've never posted a corny file on this blog. You only thought that was corny. We're so hard-hearted these days. We should be ashamed.

Actually, it's true that Red Skelton was offered that little midway speech and rejected it as too maudlin. Well, no--I made that up. But it might have happened.

"Count all the things you've got; instead of what you've not."--Merv/Cy, 1962.















"I recorded that?"--Merv, listening to Count Your Blessings.

Lee

Thanksgiving at MYPWHAE: Bless This House

From 1957, the late, great Jerome Hines singing the 1927 classic Bless This House. Had it been joined to a mundane melody, this hymn, as moving as it is, might not warm a single room. Luckily for lryicist Helen Taylor (and us), Australian composer May Hannah Brahe was in the house. And, luckily for Helen and May, John McCormack was in the recording studio shortly thereafter. Luckier still, John almost as quickly suggested a name change--from Bless the House to Bless This House. Blessed sales followed. In those days, if John McCormack suggested something, the wisdom would have been: do it.

I used to feel like a fool for loving this so much, but I've discovered that the song has always been highly regarded by musicians. So there. I may post Perry Como's version; that has much going for it, too. And it's the first one I ever heard.

Wish I had McCormack's version. (What's up with that?)

Bless This House (Helen Taylor, May Hannah Brahe, 1927), Jerome Hines, with Paul Mickelson's Concert Orchestra, 1957, RCA.


















Jerome Hines (1921-2003)

Lee

Thanksgiving at MYPWHAE: Bringing in the Sheaves

Bringing in the Sheaves was written by Knowles Shaw in 1874. George Minor's famous tune came in 1880. Information courtesy of the great Cyberhymnal website. (A site that would be even greater if those loud MIDI files stopped after, say, a couple of repeats. Make it stop!!)

Dang. Even ALT+CTRL+DEL won't do it. It's the whole page, or nothing.

Anyway, Shaw's photo can be found there. He sort of looks like Ted Danson's great-great grandfather might have looked like.

This version, by the Salvation Army Band and Singers of London, is more New-Christy-Mintsrels-ish that I'd like, but it's superbly done. Of course.

Bringing in the Sheaves (Shaw--Minor), The Salvation Army Band and Singers.

A gospel tune like this one proves, if proof were required, that bone-simple music with the power to get into your head and stay there forever did not originate with rock and roll. The art of composing such tunes existed well before Berry, Wray et al. This hymn's memorable words were typical of the reaping/sowing genre, which included Scatter Seeds of Kindness and Reapers are Needed. The zillions of "sunlight" titles from the same period are a related genre, Leethinks. Sowing seeds/spreading sunshine. Same idea.

I'm trying to think of a sowing/harvesting analogy for the posting of mp3s, but no luck. It doesn't quite work.

Here in central Ohio, we have Rod Parsley's World Harvest Church. I'm sure there are even funnier church names out there, but WHC wins the prize in my book. If I ever build a media-style house of warship (er, worship), I'll call it the Bring Your Wallet Church. I'll have vacuum hoses by the door to suck up people's valuables as they enter. Wigs, spectacles, scarves, etc. will be returned at the close of service.

Lee

Thanksgiving at MYPWHAE: Come Ye Thankful/Faithful People, Come

Thanksgiving continues at the MYPWHAE blog. And elsewhere. I know, because I saw a Thanksgiving parade on TV with my very own eyes. (The only pair that works for me.) I happened to tune in during the balloon accident that injured two people. I'll never forget the scene--a band (literally) of idiots in absurd outfits jumping around and singing... something. Music, I think is the term. When these characters were finished, then (and only then) did the CBS cameras return to the hosts, who, by now grim-faced, described what had taken place during the "music" spot.

You know, I have a great idea. Radical, but doable. Why doesn't CBS, when covering the Macy's Parade, COVER THE PARADE? That way, when something happens during the parade, we won't get a late report.

"We interrupt our parade coverage for... the parade. Wow--didn't know it was still going on. What are those big things flying off the ground? Are those the 'floats'?"--CBS parade host.

We're having our own parade of Thanksgiving titles here. For some reason, Columbia decided to omit the first comma of Come, Ye Thankful People, Come on the copy I have--a 78, from 1927, recorded in England by the Temple Quartet. Furthermore, someone decided to substitute "Faithful" for "Thankful." Makes sense--England doesn't have a Thanksgiving, after all. A Pilgrims Fleeing Day, maybe, but no Thanksgiving. The hymn works with either title, and this is a cool performance. We only post good stuff here:

Come Ye Faithful People, Come (Henry Alford, 1844--George Elvey, 1858) Temple Quartet (mixed quartet with organ), 1927. (From Columbia 78; recorded in England)

The flip is even cooler--Good Christian Men Rejoice. It will be featured soon, along with other 78 RPM XMas gems.


Lee

Thanksgiving at MYPWHAE: Thanks Be to God

From 1923, we have the great Irish tenor John McCormack singing Thanks Be to God (1921). The words are by P. J. O'Reilly and the very memorable tune by Australian composer May Hannah Brahe (as "Stanley Dickson"), who also wrote the music for Bless This House. May is someone who deserves to be much better-known, in this blog's opinion.

A quick search through my book collection turned up no photo of May. Crud.

Wait, wait. Google Images, to the rescue! Here she is:












Thanks to the folks at the Australian Classical music label Move for this concise and informative bio: "Born in Melbourne, May Brahe achieved remarkable success in that more than 290 of her 500 or so songs were published. She was the only Australian woman composer to win both local and international recognition before WW2. She is best known for what has now become Dame Joan Sutherland's standard encore: Bless This House."

"John McCormack" is my answer to the cliche question, "If you could travel back in time to hear just one person or group, who would that person or group be?" He is that person or group. And here he is, from the other side of one of those big acoustical recording horns:

Thanks Be to God (P. J. O'Reilly--May H. Brahe), John McCormack (1923).

More Thanksgiving sounds to come....


Lee

Correckshuns

Randall Anthony has kindly informed me that Bobby Helms' recording of The Bell That Couldn't Jingle was released in 1965, not 1957--it was the B-side of Helms' Kapp label remake of Jingle Bell Rock. The worse part is, I actually suspected it was a later track, as neither the tune nor the arrangement sound like 1957 (the year I first appeared, by the way). But I was relying on an otherwise solid discography at a Bacharach site. So, it's all the site's fault. (Transfer blame? Me? Never.)

Seriously, I should have trusted my instincts. Dang. Thanks, Randall!

And the discography in question is a gem, minor mistakes notwithstanding.

And Jordan informs me that Ferrante and Teicher did not write Happy Sleigh Ride. He reports that the music was composed by Sergei Prokofiev for the 1938 Sergei Eisenstein movie Alexander Nevsky. I believe him, because it sure sounds like something borrowed--no offense to Art and Lou. This time, the record jacket is the culprit--it lists the dynamic duo-pianists as the inventors of Sergei's tune. I'm innocent, I tell you!

Thanks, Jordan, for that information.

(11/24) And David informs me that the piece in question is actually Troika from Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kije Suite. Meanwhile, Jordan e-mailed me back to relay the same information, kindly apologizing for his error. Heck, these things happen. I should know.

Please keep me informed of my goofs. Including any seppling erorrs. Tahnks.

Lee

Santa Got Stuck in the Elevator, Part 2

O.K., I think I've calmed down. A few sips of coffee, a few moments at ease in my easy chair, and I've got myself believing that power chords started in 1958. Life is easier when you just accept things without thinking.

And here's some soothing music for just that occasion. No, I really don't consider "light" sounds to be no-brainer fare--not at all. Leon Jessel, who composed Parade of the Wooden Soldiers, was one of Germany's leading composers, for example. And the Boston Pops' Leroy Anderson (Sleigh Ride, which isn't in this playlist) was ludicrously talented. Ditto, Emil Waudteufel, France's answer to Johann Strauss, Jr. But light sounds do make good music for zoning, if one is in in zone mode. As opposed to Chopin's last two Op. 25 etudes, which are the antithesis of listening-while-not-listening music. Chopin's etudes are life-altering; "Pops" pieces are mood-altering. In the direction of mellow, we hope.

Aren't you glad I clarified that?

We have two version of Waldteufel's famous 1882 waltz, Les Patineurs, a.k.a. The Skaters. The first, from 1941, is pretty spacey, thanks to the organ-Novachord combo. I accidentally applied too much low-pass filtering (i.e., forgot to change my EQ settings), but it sounds O.K., regardless. The Novachord, regarded by many as the first synthesizer, wasn't the big hit that Wurlitzer hoped it would be, but it sure showed up on a lot of sound recordings. Two files later, Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra perform the original version. Every time I hear this piece, I picture Alvin the Chipmunk on an ice rink. That image must have entered my brain at a young age.

I've dug up dates whenever possible--none of these tracks came with same. Poor, lonely tracks. I felt like Igor (re: digging up dates). Or is it "Ygor"? Who knows.

Good King Wenceslas (A.P. Carter), George Melachrino and His Orchestra, 1954.

Skiers Waltz (Gould, from "Cinerama Holiday Suite"), Morton Gould and His Orchestra, 1969.

Parade of the Wooden Soldiers (Leon Jessel, 1911), Dick Schory's Percussion Pops Orchestra, 1962.

Brazilian Sleigh Bells (Percy Faith), Ferrante and Teicher and Their Orchestra, 1962. (From Snowbound)

Happy Sleigh Ride (Ferrante and Teicher), Ferrante and Teicher and Their Orchestra, 1962. (From Snowbound.)

The Skaters Waltz (Emil Waldteufel, 1882), Louise Welcher, Hammond Organ, and Harry Campbell, Novachord, 1941 (from Columbia 78).

Jingle Bells (James L. Pierpont)ml, Ferrante and Teicher and Their Orchestra, 1962. (From Snowbound.)

Skaters' Waltz (Emil Waldteufel, 1882), The Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Eugene Ormandy.

The elevator doors are opening. Time to close this entry.












Elevator (from Internet).



Lee

Santa Got Stuck in the Elevator

Easy listening, light orchestral, and "Pops." Whatever. I label all such things "light instrumental," but nobody listens to me.

Proof: today's Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch features the piece "Guitarist Created Power Chord." I give up. Why doesn't the "mainstream" press check with me before printing these things? Is that too much to ask?

Yeah, that Link was such an obscure figure. What an unknown. AP obits always show up for unknown artists.

You know, folks, I have an idea. A radical one, but hear me out. Why don't we bloggers strive to NOT behave precisely like the mainstream press? Why don't we live up to our reputation as an alternative to that write-by-number body? To wit, why don't we present arts coverage that ISN'T steeped in cliche and written as if our readers possessed the brain mass of dust mites? Just a thought.

Things have gotten really bad when bloggers beat the newspapers to the punch in presenting a mess of rock-worn cliches about a "cult" musician who is so "cult" that his name brings up 581,000 matches on Google. Can we try to get real for a minute here, or has "real" ceased to mean anything in our Internet-addled world?

Have I insulted anyone? Sorry, but I'm not sorry.

I'll try this post again, after I've calmed down. Coffee might help. (Or, it might do the opposite.)


Lee, tired of living in a human-see, human-do world

Green Chri$tma$, Part 1 and 2

For your convenience, MYPWHAE has combined Green Chri$tma$ (Part 1 and 2) into a single file. (Single file--I like that.) Or, rather, the friendly folks at the Capitol label did so for us. All I did was rip the track.

That would make a nice, confusing T-shirt: "All I Did Was Rip the Track." ("Uh, sir? What does that mean?"--Confused onlooker.) It would be the context that confused, not the phrase itself. Such an original idea, to take a common phrase and present it out of context. I should patent that idea before it's too late.

Oops. Too late.

Speaking of lack of originality, Stan Freberg's commercialization-of-Christmas shtick, even in 1956, was about as fresh as a Little Debbie snack cake uncovered from a 1973 landfill. Satire was not Freberg's forte, and he in fact rarely indulged in it. Most of his records are parodies steeped in ridicule, not satire. They're marvelous for what they are, but what they are is not satire. And that's O.K. Great parody is nothing to undervalue.

I'm undecided. Green Chri$tma$ (whose file I labeled Green Christmas to avoid giving Box.net fits) may or may not qualify as satire by way of its ad parodies. And I reckon it does, but I suspect that even MAD magazine would have rejected this routine as too lightweight. In place of edge we have style--in other words, we have Freberg. All that matters, really, is that it works. Freberg is a genius, and I love his records, but he was no satirist. And I know this record isn't the least bit uncommon, but I wanted to present it, anyway. It's my blog, you know. Nyah. (Uh-huh. Lee's got "attitude.")

Green Chri$tma$, Part 1 and 2 (Freberg), Stan Freberg, 1956.

"Santa Got Stuck in the Elevator" coming up. I think.

And I almost posted this to Vintage Lounge. Hello. It's wakey-wakey time, Lee.


Lee

Power chords, and all that jazz

You know me well enough to know that I can't sit by and watch pop music history "reconstructed," to use a word grossly abused by our Illiterate-in-Chief and his VP, a draft-dodger who questions the patriotism of all who disagree with him. Cheney sure knows a lot about love for country, and how it stops short of laying one's butt on the line for same. I used to think that people like Cheney could never possibly get very far in public life, and I must have been one naive idiot when I thought that.

However, the subject is power chords. Wikipedia says the term started with rock musicians. Oh, yeah, sure. And every piece on Link Wray, save for mine, insists that the Wrayman invented the things. Yeah, sure, Part Two.

Reality check: the term "power chord" was in use as far back the 1940s and, possibly, earlier. Repeat: the 1940s. How do I know?

As a student at Bowling Green State University, I worked for the Popular Sound Recording Archives (at the time, and possibly still, the largest such collection in the country). We had received boxes and boxes of poorly-packed (read: smashed) 78s from another institution (I love that term), plus a few boxes of sheet music and song folios. A jazz-guitar folio from the 1940s included a section devoted to (you guessed it) power chords.

I only had time to skim the thing. I recall that it addressed voice-leading issues connected with electronic amplification. I was soooo tempted to swipe the book, because I figured it would simply get filed away with no one ever using, or even seeing, the thing. But that's not me. I don't take things that aren't mine. I'd never last two minutes in the Bush White House.

I sensed it was a significant document. Score one for Lee.

Which brings us to something I'm very annoyed at: very little of the study of popular music seems to involve the examination of sheet music. Of course, 99 percent of rock critics have no idea that music is even written down. Granted. But think of how much more we would know if we studied music folios and other examples of written-down music. Imagine an archives devoted to music-instruction books. My God, what a resource that would be. Probably, such collections exist, but I doubt they have much influence, if any, on pop music studies. Just a hunch.

So, I know three things for sure: the concept of power chords existed at least as early as the 1940s. It seems to have been connected with jazz. (No big surprise, there.) And it involved, as it does today, issues of voice-leading, a.k.a. voicing. As those issues related to guitar amplification.

We also know that amplification allowed the guitar, in a group setting, to hold its own as an instrument. This meant that the guitar was, potentially, freed from a rhythm-section role or at least given the chance to augment same. "Power chord" might very well have referred to a chord voiced for maximum effect in terms of cutting through the ensemble sound. That's my theory, at this point. And I'm betting that I'm close to the historical truth.

The modern definition of p. chords--two-note chords consisting of thirdless triads, i.e. perfect fifths or the inversion of same (perfect fourths)--is just that: the modern definition. It's highly, highly doubtful that power chords originated as perfect-fifth chords.

And, of course, by "two-note," I mean two different notes. Rock-style power chords can contain three or four notes if one or both of the two unique pitches are doubled. But there are only two different notes. Which brings us to the interesting fact, already mentioned on this blog, that Link Wray's Rumble contains three- as well as two-note chords. Gosh, I wonder if Wray was following an earlier tradition?

Yes, of course he was. I've demonstrated as much in earlier posts. And, really, to hear one of the all-time best p.c. examples, simply check out 1951's How High the Moon, a Top Ten hit recorded by Les Paul and Mary Ford. No one seems to mention this track in regard to power chords. Yet it's not as if Paul, or his influence on rock and roll, is some well-kept secret.

Voicing/voice-leading, by the way, refers of course not only to the arrangement of notes but also the choice thereof. In jazz, where extended chords, chromatic substitution, and the like are common practices, voice-leading is a major issue. When amplification was introduced to jazz guitar, it would have become even more of one.

Jazz (read: big band) is where power chords likely first emerged. To me, this is simple common sense. Or, power common sense.

Lee

Boofo Meets Godzilla

Turns out that Linn Sheldon's classic Christmas novelty Boofo Goes Where Santa Goes was recorded in 1960. That sounds about right. I found this out at www.boofo.com, where all fans of Boofo and/or Santa can order Boofo: The Dog That Goes Where Santa Goes, by Joseph P. King and E. Del Thomas, with illustrations by Dick Dugan, former sports cartoonist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. There's a piece about Dick Dugan at: www.clevelandseniors.com/people/dugan.htm.

Interesting--the article gives 1957 as the original year of publication for Boofo: The Dog That Goes Where Santa Claus and notes that the book was based on the song. That either means the song was recorded in 1957 OR that Linn Sheldon sang it on TV (or in person?) prior to recording it. If there are any Boofo scholars reading this, please help us out here.

Here's Boofo, at least as he looked in 1957:















Image from the enjoyable www.clevelandseniors.com article linked above. And I think I'm in love with Boofo. Who isn't? There should be a Boofo Fan Club. Louie (from the Overboard comic strip) and Boofo are my favorite cartoon canines. I wonder if they've ever met?

And Godzilla is my favorite man-in-chintzy-rubber-suit monster of all time. In fact, my favorite monster, period. Godzilla is also the subject of my all-time favorite Weekly World News "headline":















I don't remember the exact year this "article" came out--it must have been around 1995. My department was still in its original building with our original desks and our original 22nd-floor view of the downtown. Hm. It could have been a little earlier, even. 1993, perhaps.

Anyway, I displayed the article on my desk, where it stayed for... a year, at least. Maybe longer. (Don't you wish you had my memory?) An even greater "headline" than "Flushing the Toilet Can Make You Sick."

While in Japan, all of those years ago, I bought a Godzilla-destroying-Tokyo playset, which included a plastic Godzilla (now lost) who shot plastic fireballs at two-section, rubber-band-secured buildings. One earned points by hitting the buildings and causing them to separate. I saved the great artwork on the package, and I can't help noticing how much Godzilla looks like Cheney during this morning's "Iraq was behind 9/11" speech. Except that Godzilla is more handsome and, as always, charismatic. And not nearly as destructive in his behavior....















Long-time Boofo fan Godzilla, laying waste to another Japanese city.


Lee

The One Horse Open Sleigh, rolling along at MYPWHAE

1857 was a great year for music. It gave us Flee as a Bird; Come Into the Garden, Maud (Tennyson's poem set to music by Michael William Balfe); and Jingle Bells.

And guess which song we're going to listen to? Come Into the Garden? Uhhhhh... no. Flee as a Bird? Great number, but I thought instead we'd enjoy four big-band-style versions of the James Lord Pierpont (1822-1893) ditty One Horse Open Sleigh, much better known as Santa Got Stuck in the Chimney.

I mean, Jingle Bells. Sorry. Please pay special attention to the 1943 Bing Crosby/Andrews Sisters side, which differs significantly from their released Jingle single. In other words, don't skip it in the playlist--give it a chance to grow on you. My favorite, among the other three files, is Glenn Miller's. Forgive the so-so sound--I have another reissue that sounds better, but it's missing a verse (for p.c. reasons). I draw the line at censoring a Glenn Miller Christmas record. I mean, come on.

Jingle Bells, Benny Goodman and His Orchestra, 1935.

Jingle Bells, Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters, 1943.

Jingle Bells, Dinah Shore with Dick Reynolds and His Orchestra (from 33 and 1/3 EP Season's Best from Your Chevrolet Dealer), 1960.

Jingle Bells, Glenn Miller with Tex Beneke and The Modernaires, 1941.

I would add Ferrante and Teicher's 1962 recording, but it's not very big-band. Big-orchestra, yes, but not-big band. I'll probably post that with some other "semi-Classical" stuff. I might call it Santa Got Stuck in the Elevator. (Just kidding--I like that kind of music, needless to note.)

Hm. But I might use that title, anyway. I like it.










"Hi!"--Dinah Shore



Lee (who, too lazy to take a picture of his own copy of the Season's Best sleeve, swiped the above photo from the Internet)

Associated Press story on Link Wray--link thereto

This is no time for word play, I know, but click here for the link to the AP piece on Link.

Interesting, the way the piece steals from Cub Koda. AP piece, today: "Guitar player Link Wray, who invented the power chord, the major modus operandi of modern rock guitarists, has died." Cub Koda, 1997 edition of All Music Guide to Rock: "Quite simply, Link Wray invented the power chord, the major modus operandi of modern rock guitarists." I would think that AMG owns the Koda review, which would mean they own the words in it. Or am I behind the times, here?

I love Link Wray's music, but I'm not in the mood to hear over and over how he invented the power chord, fuzz tone, etc. Next, he'll be credited with being the first person to use amplification. This stuff gets silly. I think that's a nice word for it.

Please check out my previous post, wherein I give examples of pre-Link power-chording. The proof is in the audio....


Lee

Link Wray (1930-2005) and pre-Link power chords

The great rock guitarist Link Wray died on Friday. In the 1997 edition of the All Music Guide to Rock, the late Cub Koda had this to say about him: "Quite simply, Link Wray invented the power chord, the major modus operandi of modern rock guitarists. Listen to any of the tracks he recorded between that landmark instrumental (Rumble--Lee) in 1958 through his Swan recordings in the early 1960s and you'll hear the blueprints for heavy metal, thrash, you name it. Though rock historians always like to draw a nice, clean line between the distorted electric guitar work that fuels early blues records to the late-'60s Hendrix-Clapton-Beck-Page-Townshend mob, with no stops in between, a quick spin of any of the sides Link recorded during his golden decade punches holes in that theory right quick. If a direct line from a black blues musician crankin' up his amp and playing with a ton of violence and aggression can be traced to a young, white guy doing a mutated form of same, the line points straight to Link Wray, no contest."

I mostly agree with Koda. Yes, Wray very much represents a middle point between, say, Muddy Waters' Pat Hare and the "Hendrix-Clapton-Beck-Page-Townshend mob." But, no, he didn't invent the power chord. In fact, power chords were all over R&B records of the pre-Link era--oddly enough, I dealt with this very issue in a recent post (cue the theremin music). That post featured the slashing, distorted power chords of guitarist Pete Lewis on Johnny Otis' 1947 Midnight in the Barrelhouse. This time, we're going to listen to some early-1950s power chord examples by Howlin' Wolf (featuring Willie Johnson), John Lee Hooker, and Eddie Kirkland. If you spot any smoke coming from your CPU, do not be alarmed--these are, after all, some smokin' licks coming up.

How Many More Years, Howlin' Wolf with Willie Johnson, lead guitar, 1951. (Gosh, I wonder if the Stones ever heard this one? Or the Kinks?)

Chocolate Drop, Howlin' Wolf with Willie Johnson, lead guitar, 1952. (The jazzy opening power chords are rootless 9th chords a whole-step apart. They sound awesome, don't they?)

Rock House Boogie, John Lee Hooker and Eddie Kirkland, 1952. (Slide-guitar power chords? You bet. Courtesy of Eddie.)

Gotta Boogie, John Lee Hooker and Eddie Kirkland, 1953. (Practically a heavy-metal remake of Hooker's 1948's Boogie Chillen by Hooker. With help from Eddie Kirkland, that is. The killer power chord near the end is Hooker's.)

Some great Link Wray mp3s are showing up elsewhere, hence my tribute to Wray by way of the power-chord sounds that made his possible. Proof that great music inevitably inspires more of the same. R.I.P., Link.













Link Wray (1930-2005)

Lee