Blog: Geezer Music Club

Happily Hurricaneless

Aug 28, 2011, 12:08am Geezer Music Club
Johnny and The Hurricanes - Rough Road
As a lifelong resident of the Midwestern United States, my exposure to hurricanes is minimal. We have been known to get thunderstorms that can occur in fringe areas after hurricanes run their course, but for the most part we're not directly affected. I do have a Chicago friend who has a second home on the Gulf side of Florida and he's had his share of hurricane adventures, but that's not quite the same. Still, my heart still goes out to those who are at risk from Hurricane Irene so let's hope that it passes with as little distress [...]
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Artist:Benny Carter & Orchestra
Title:Ill Wind
Link Text:Benny Carter & Orchestra - “Ill Wind”
File Name:Benny Carter & Orchestra - Ill Wind.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps
Genre:Big Band
Year:2004

Milton Brown And The Evolution Of Taste

Aug 26, 2011, 12:12am Geezer Music Club
Milton Brown And The Evolution Of Taste I was thinking today about how a person's tastes in music can change - the person in this case being myself, but I think it's true of most of us. I can think of a lot of examples from my own meandering course through musical waters but one that comes readily to mind is how much I now enjoy Western Swing, that oddly-matched fusion of country blues and big band music that I didn't even know was a genre for most of my life. Which brings us to Milton Brown, who has been called the 'Father of Western [...]
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Kingsmen Inspired By Fabulous Wailers

Aug 24, 2011, 12:09am Geezer Music Club
Kingsmen Inspired By Fabulous Wailers I probably should begin by apologizing for the awkward title of this piece but it is a reasonably accurate statement, even if it needs further elaboration. The Kingsmen, a fractious group that has existed in one form or another in almost every decade since its inception in the 1950s, is most remembered for "Louie, Louie." But that performance was inspired by an earlier version, one offered up by Rockin' Robin Roberts and the Fabulous Wailers - a bunch whose very name is attention-grabbing. The song itself has received more than its share of bad press through the years [...]
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Artist:Rockin Robin Roberts & The Wailers
Title:Louie, Louie
Link Text:Rockin’ Robin Roberts & Fabulous Wailers - “Louie, Louie”
File Name:Rockin Robin Roberts & Wailers - Louie, Louie.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps

Ozzie & Harriet Before TV

Aug 22, 2011, 12:16am Geezer Music Club
Ozzie & Harriet Before TV Regular visitors to the ol' GMC will probably recall that Ricky Nelson has made the occasional appearance here, and his family's TV show has also been covered (for example, HERE ), but did you know that Ozzie and Harriet were once musical stars in their own right? OK, maybe not stars, but Ozzie did lead a very popular orchestra back in the big band era, and Harriet was apparently his favorite band singer because he ended up marrying her. Jersey City's own Oswald George Nelson was a classic overachiever; a star athlete in both high [...]
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Artist:Harriet w/ Ozzie
Title:Everyone But Me
Link Text:Ozzie Nelson & Orchestra w/Harriet Hilliard - “Everyone But Me”
File Name:Ozzie-Harriet-Orch - Everyone But Me.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps

Yes, It's Another Slideshow

Aug 20, 2011, 12:17am Geezer Music Club
For those who were looking for something a little more informational today, I can only confess that I'm in a slideshow frame of mind. This time around I'm again featuring pictures of unusual sculptures, specifically various critters from nature that have been made from an intriguing assortment of materials. And of course some appropriate music. Jan Hammer - "The Animals" Click to view slideshow.
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Baritone Bopper Battled Bogeys

Aug 18, 2011, 12:30am Geezer Music Club
Baritone Bopper Battled Bogeys More than a decade after his death, Gerry Mulligan is still considered the greatest baritone saxophonist in the history of jazz. But before he rose to fame he was preceded by another talented instrumentalist, one who starred in the bop era but had his career slowed by drug addiction and cut short by a fatal illness. Serge Chaloff was raised in a rich musical environment, with a father who was a pianist for the Boston Symphony and a mother who taught at the Boston Conservatory. Serge himself began as a pianist, then branched off into wind [...]
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Dodging Turntables On The Turnpike

Aug 16, 2011, 12:10am Geezer Music Club
Dodging Turntables On The Turnpike I've written before about my days as a radio DJ ( HERE's one example) but I was recently reminded of a strange road trip that occurred during my earliest days in radio. It all started with turntables for a new radio station that I was helping my boss get started. Big, heavy-duty turntables were a necessity for radio stations of that era. I'm talking massive, heavy, console-sized cabinet models, the kind that could run day and night for years. Of course, that kind of quality and construction was not cheap, and that's [...]
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Artist:Woody Guthrie
Title:Hard Travelin'
Link Text:Woody Guthrie - “Hard Travelin’”
File Name:Woody Guthrie - Hard Travelin'.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps

The OTHER Johnny Mathis

Aug 14, 2011, 12:13am Geezer Music Club
The OTHER Johnny Mathis One of the busiest posts on the GMC - in both visits and comments - has always been my 2006 review of a special 50th anniversary release from Johnny Mathis. The beloved singer has a ton of fans and is still a world-famous entertainer whose name is familiar to almost everybody. That's why I was startled to recently discover that there was once another singer named Johnny Mathis - a country version. The Texas-born singer/songwriter began to show up in the 1950s as part of a duo that called itself Jimmy & [...]
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A Head Full Of Newbeats

Aug 12, 2011, 12:10am Geezer Music Club
A Head Full Of Newbeats One thing that most of us have in common is the ability to fixate on a particular song and hear it playing endlessly in our head. And to make matters worse, rather than being one we like it's often one that rubs us the wrong way. At the risk of offending their fans (or the members of the group) let me just state that the Newbeats' 1964 mega-hit "Bread and Butter" is one of those for me. The Newbeats came together in the early 1960s, a trio formed in Shreveport, Louisiana, by [...]
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Artist:Newbeats
Title:Bread And Butter
Link Text:Newbeats - “Bread and Butter”
File Name:Newbeats - Bread And Butter.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps
Artist:Newbeats
Title:Bread And Butter
Link Text:Stream
File Name:Newbeats - Bread And Butter.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps

Marilyn Monroe The Singer

Aug 10, 2011, 12:16am Geezer Music Club
Marilyn Monroe The Singer If your memories of Marilyn Monroe as a singer mostly consist of her breathy rendition of "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" offered up to Jack Kennedy or brassy numbers like "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend," then you might be surprised to hear that there is a movement afoot to reexamine her vocalizing. According to a recent article in the New York Times, many experts are taking another listen to some of the material she left behind, and it appears that her singing - like her acting - was much better than she was given credit for during her lifetime. [...]
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Artist:Marilyn Monroe
Title:River Of No Return
Link Text:Marilyn Monroe - “River Of No Return”
File Name:Marilyn Monroe - River Of No Return.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps

The Pure Sound Of Molly O'Day

Aug 8, 2011, 12:18am Geezer Music Club
The Pure Sound Of Molly O'Day Modern country music doesn't much resemble what I remember coming out of the radio during my childhood, but I don't have a big problem with it. In fact, some of it is pretty good. But it would be a shame if the slick, packaged music of today caused modern listeners to run away from the pure, unvarnished sounds of the past. Which brings us to Molly O'Day. Born Lois LaVerne Williamson, a child of Appalachia who grew up in a coal-mining family during the Great Depression, she certainly had the background for a country music career. She [...]
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Artist:Molly O'Day
Title:Travelin the Highway Home
Link Text:Molly O’Day - “Travelin’ The Highway Home”
File Name:Molly O'Day - Travelin the Highway Home.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps
Artist:Molly O'Day
Title:Travelin the Highway Home
Link Text:Stream
File Name:Molly O'Day - Travelin the Highway Home.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps

The Mystery Of The Disappearing Slide Rule

Aug 6, 2011, 12:08am Geezer Music Club
The Mystery Of The Disappearing Slide Rule I saw an article recently about some of the odd things collectors look for, and I was surprised to see that old slide rules are considered a collectible now. It got me wondering what ever happened to the one I had to buy a half-century ago as a condition of attending a prestigious engineering college. This was years before electronic calculators began appearing and making slide rules superfluous, but there was nothing better at the time. Any engineering student had to buy a good (and expensive) instrument, complete with fitted leather case. I won't [...]
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Mozart Meets Waldo De Los Rios

Aug 4, 2011, 12:20am Geezer Music Club
Mozart Meets Waldo De Los Rios Although purists might have disliked the practice, making classical music more friendly to modern listeners has always been a regular part of the music world. I've written before about how much I've always enjoyed the swing versions of the classics that many big bands generated during their heyday, and certainly artists like Mantovani - and even Liberace - did their part to popularize the music of the early legends. But a guy with a less familiar name did his part too - and with a Latin flavor. The Argentine pianist, composer, and conductor Waldo de los [...]
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Getting Together With The Youngbloods

Aug 2, 2011, 12:25am Geezer Music Club
Getting Together With The Youngbloods Although I often write about the music of the 1960s, I usually add the disclaimer that I wasn't really much of a fan of most of it at the time. I was conservative in most ways, including my tastes in music, but in later years I began to appreciate and enjoy what I would have called 'hippie music' in those days. A good example is a Top Ten hit from the era, "Get Together" (sometimes "Let's Get Together") by the Youngbloods. Often compared to the Lovin' Spoonful, the Youngbloods didn't rise to the level of popularity [...]
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Artist:Youngbloods
Title:Get Together
Link Text:The Youngbloods - “Get Together”
File Name:Youngbloods - Get Together.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps
Genre:Pop/Rock
Year:1994

Doin' The Cow-Cow Boogie

Jul 31, 2011, 12:08am Geezer Music Club
Over the last decade or so, colorful life-size statues of cows have shown up in cities all over the world. It's the most visible sign of a movement known as CowParade, which has raised more than $20 million for charity via the subsequent auctions of the colorful bovine beauties. In the slideshow below I've included several pictures of cow statues from that project, but those aren't the only interesting ones around. If you look closely you'll also see a cow that resembles a leopard, one that looks like a zebra, and even a melting cowsicle. [...]
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Artist:Ella Fitzgerald
Title:Cow Cow Boogie
Link Text:Ella Fitzgerald - “Cow-Cow Boogie”
File Name:Ella Fitzgerald - Cow Cow Boogie.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps
Genre:Vocal
Year:2004

Dealing With A Trio Of Deadlines

Jul 29, 2011, 12:16am Geezer Music Club
Merle Haggard -- Are The Good Times Really Over
Lately I've found myself in the clutches of a very diverse trio of approaching deadlines, which means that I'm three times as cranky as usual. But at least two of the three seem to be getting resolved. The first deadline is being taken care of right now, by the act of writing this. You've probably figured out that I'm referring to my self-imposed publishing schedule for the ol' GMC. It requires me to post a new article every other day, so this will take care of that - at least until the next is due. [...]
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VIdeo Treasure Chest Includes Musical Gems

Jul 27, 2011, 12:15am Geezer Music Club
VIdeo Treasure Chest Includes Musical Gems It's kind of funny how things come together once in a while. A recent GMC comment led to a dialog in which I reiterated a familiar opinion - the quality and scope of videos available online is staggering. It seems as if someone has posted a video for almost anything that might come to mind, including many nostalgic musical treats. It's a veritable treasure chest of gems from the past. I had that thought in mind today when I happened to catch the beginning of the classic film, The Music Man , on TV. Although [...]
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Artist:Boston Pops Orchestra Seventy
Link Text:Boston Pops Orchestra - “Seventy-Six Trombones”
File Name:Boston Pops - Seventy-Six Trombones.mp3
Bitrate:96 kbps
Genre:255

Did Betty Roché Miss The Duke's A-Train?

Jul 25, 2011, 12:16am Geezer Music Club
Did Betty Roché Miss The Duke's A-Train? Although the legendary Duke Ellington is remembered for a number of his own compositions, Billy Strayhorn's "Take The A-Train" is considered by many to be the Duke's signature song. But it's a piece with an interesting history, one that includes a young singer who seems to have mis-timed the train's biggest moments. When Wilmington-born Mary Elizabeth Roché won an amateur contest at Harlem's Apollo Theater in pre-war New York, she knew it would give her a chance at a musical career. What she didn't know was that it would lead to her getting a job a couple [...]
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Artist:Betty Roché
Title:Take the A Train
Link Text:Betty Roché - “Take The A-Train”
File Name:Betty Roché - Take the A Train.mp3
Bitrate:96 kbps
Artist:Betty Roché
Title:Take the A Train
Link Text:Stream
File Name:Betty Roché - Take the A Train.mp3
Bitrate:96 kbps

Getting Relief From The Heat

Jul 23, 2011, 12:18am Geezer Music Club
Getting Relief From The Heat With triple-digit temperatures everywhere you look, my thoughts have turned to ways to stay cool. I think that might be at least one reason for my attention being caught by pictures of a huge new statue in Chicago. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.) It's a delightfully realistic Marilyn Monroe in her iconic pose, holding down her skirt as air fans it from below. Most of us will remember the famous scene that was the inspiration. It occurred in the 1950s film, Seven Year Itch , and the setting was Marilyn and [...]
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Artist:Willie Nelson, Asleep at the Wheel
Title:Fan It
Link Text:Stream
File Name:Willie and The Wheel - Fan It.mp3
Bitrate:160 kbps
Genre:Country
Year:2009
Artist:Willie Nelson, Asleep at the Wheel
Title:Fan It
Link Text:Willie Nelson & Asleep At The Wheel - “Fan It”
File Name:Willie and The Wheel - Fan It.mp3
Bitrate:160 kbps
Genre:Country
Year:2009

Garnet Mimms And His Babies

Jul 21, 2011, 12:17am Geezer Music Club
Garnet Mimms And His Babies Garnet Mimms was one of the best soul artists around in the 1960s, with a solid background in gospel-singing and tons of talent, and when he hit the top of the R&B charts with "Cry Baby," it looked like he was on his way to a long career. But the 1963 mega-hit would end up being his biggest-selling single by far, even though he would go on to record a number of outstanding songs. Among them were many that seemed to be attempts to recapture the magic of his big hit. Those included "My Baby," "There Goes My Baby," [...]
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Artist:Garnet Mimms
Title:Cry Baby
Link Text:Garnet Mimms - “Cry Baby”
File Name:Garnet Mimms-Cry Baby.mp3
Bitrate:128 kbps
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