music Archives - Page 19 of 258 - Ramblin' with Roger

August rambling: the war on drugs

MAD magazine exhibit at Norman Rockwell Museum through October 27

**Alfred E. Neuman and Norman Rockwell, 2002;** **Cover illustration for Mad Art: A Visual Celebration of MAD Magazine and the Idiots Who Create It (Watson Guptill, 2002)** **Oil on canvas**
**MAD and all related elements ™ & © E.C. Publications. Courtesy of DC**

Nixon Started the War on Drugs. Privately, He Said Pot Was ‘Not Particularly Dangerous.’

California Sues ExxonMobil for Deceiving Public About Recycling Plastics

What’s 11,000 Times Dirtier Than a Toilet Seat?

Squirrel!

School Lunch: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Hugh Taft-Morales: Racism and the Weight of History | The New York Society for Ethical Culture

I Want to Free My Mother’s Killer From Death Row

No, the world doesn’t hate America: It’s still the world’s dominant cultural power, and that’s ok

Why You Should Never Make a Major Purchase on Your Phone

Are you in the American middle class? Find out with the income calculator

10 Worst Things About The djt Presidency | Robert Reich

15 Best FREE Printable Books for Early Reading

Longtime anchor Jeff Glor and three correspondents exit CBS News in a cost-cutting move (msn.com)

What Is Jeopardy!’s Future? One day, I got a furious email from one of the show’s stars. It only got weirder from there.

“Track Meet”-starring Heather Graham for MoveOn.org (2010)

Did Frank Sinatra Really Perform at My Grandma’s High School?

Writing about vaudeville

Sciolist: A person who pretends to be knowledgeable and well-informed.

My former blog, in Polish.

MADness

“What, Me Worry” is on view at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, through October 27, 2024. There is also an online symposium, The Usual Gang of Idiots and Other Suspects:
MAD Magazine and American Humor, on October 18 and 19. MAD magazine on CBS Sunday Morning.

Dame Maggie Smith , grande dame of stage and screen, died at 89. I only saw her in the movies The Pride of Miss Jean Brodie (1969), Travels with My Aunt (1972), California Suite (1978), A Room With A View (1985), Sister Act 1 and 2 (1992, 1993), The First Wives’ Club (1996), seven Harry Potter films (2001-2011), Gosford Park (2001), The Best (and Second Best) Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011, 2015), Quartet (2012), Downton Abbey and A New Era (2019, 2022), and The Miracle Club (2023).

Now I Know: Like Two Ships Not-Quite-Passing In the Night and Why Isdied This Football Player Sitting in the Stands? and A Different Type of Mug Shot and The Problem With Food Allergies on Mars and A Slippery Way to Win a Football Game

MUSIC

Please note: all of the links in this and other posts worked when they were created. However, there’s a dispute between YouTube and SESAC (Society of European Stage Acts and Composers), a performance-rights organization similar to ASCAP and BMI. So, certain videos are blocked until the dispute is resolved.

Rebecca Jade Rewind: Music Through the Years

Oldest Surfer on the Beach – Jimmy Buffett

Dolly Dagger – Jimi Hendrix

Elegy by Jonathan Leshnoff.

That’s The Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be – Carly Simon

Coverville 1503: The Lynyrd Skynyrd Cover Story II and 1504: The Bruce Springsteen Cover Story IV

Polkamania! – Weird Al” Yankovic

Break It Up – Patti Smith

Spike Driver Blues – Mississippi John Hurt

Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 by Georges Enescu

Crystal Beach – Kim Deal

Titanic suite

Mutations – Nilüfer Yanya

Suite from True Lies by Brad Fiedel

Panic In Detroit-David Bowie

The Abyss, suite from the film’s score, by Alan Silvestri.

Highwayman – The Highwaymen –

Pleasant Valley Sunday (2024 Re-Mix) -Monkees

Revolution – MonaLisa Twins

Anyone Who Had A Heart – Shelby Lynne

Hit Me With Your Rhythm – Ian Dury and The Blockheads

Circles – Of Monsters and Men

Missing You – John Waite

Please Please Please – Sabrina Carpenter

Klingon Style (Star Trek Parody of PSY’s Gangnam Style)

Hank Green explains The Forgotten Viral Video that Could Never be Made Today. Bree Sharp’s David Duchovny

More DNC music

Nebraska — Firework – Katy Perry

Nevada — Mr. Brightside – the Killers, a rock band from Las Vegas

New Hampshire — Don’t Stop Believin’ – Journey

New Jersey — Born in the U.S.A. by the New Jersey native son Bruce Springsteen. The song has often been misread by politicians; it is not an enthusiastic celebration of American birthright but instead a conflicted protest song, with criticisms about the Vietnam War.

New Mexico — Confident – Demi Lovato; the New Mexico singer has performed at the Democratic National Convention in the past.

New York — Empire State of Mind, a duet by two New York artists — Alicia Keys and Jay-Z — that became the anthem for the New York Yankees’ 2009 World Series run.

North Carolina — Raise Up – Petey Pablo, a hip-hop artist from North Carolina.

North Dakota — Girl on Fire – Alicia Keys.

Northern Mariana Islands — Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, a Motown staple by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell.

Ohio — Green Light – John Legend, the Ohio native scheduled to play a concert in Chicago after the convention’s proceedings on Tuesday night.

Oklahoma — Ain’t Going Down (Till the Sun Comes Up) -Garth Brooks, the Tulsa, Okla., country legend.

Oregon — Float On – Modest Mouse, a band born in Washington but now based in Portland, Ore.

Pennsylvania — Motownphilly by the Philadelphia group Boyz II Men, and Black and Yellow by the Pittsburgh rapper Wiz Khalifa, a staple at Pittsburgh Steelers games.

Puerto Rico — Despacito– Luis Fonsi; one of the biggest singles ever by a Puerto Rican artist.

Rhode Island — Shake It Off – Taylor Swift, who owns a home in Watch Hill, R.I.

Adult Contemporary #1 hits for 1984

The Honeydrippers

About half of the Adult Contemporary #1 hits for 1984 were very familiar to me. Incidentally, starting with the October 20 charts, Billboard changed the name to Hot Adult Contemporary.

Two songs appeared on the pop, AC, and Black Singles that year. Hello by Lionel Richie (2 weeks pop, 6 weeks AC, 3 weeks RB) did not connect with Arthur.

I Just Called To Say I Love You by Stevie Wonder (3 weeks each on all three charts) wasn’t my favorite Stevie song.

Additionally, Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper was #1 for 2 weeks pop and 3 weeks AC.

Stuck On You – Lionel Richie, 5 weeks at #1

Think Of Laura – Christopher Cross, 4 weeks at #1

Got A Hold On Me – Christine McVie, 4 weeks at #1

If Ever You’re In My Arms Again – Peabo Bryson, 4 weeks at #1

Penny Lover – Lionel Richie, 4 weeks at #1. Four of the last five songs, all except the McVie track, I’m not recalling. It’s not that I never heard them, but rather that they just didn’t stick to the brain.

Drive – The Cars, 3 weeks at #1. This track, conversely, I recall and have heard in the past few weeks.

Do What You Do – Jermaine Jackson, 3 weeks at #1. I remember this. What a strange video.

The Longest Time – Billy Joel, 2 weeks at #1. All three of the Joel songs are from the Innocent Man album, which I own. It was the follow-up to the more ambitious The Nylon Curtain album, so he went retro.

Leave A Tender Moment Alone – Billy Joel, 2 weeks at #1

What About Me – Kenny Rogers with Kim Carnes & James Ingram. I barely remember this.

Single week at #1 AC

An Innocent Man – Billy Joel

Believe In Me – Dan Fogelberg

Almost Paradise… Love Theme from Footloose – Mike Reno & Ann Wilson. This song is so generic that I barely remember it, even though I listened to the Footloose soundtrack earlier this year.

Sea Of Love – The Honeydrippers. I love this song and have The Honeydrippers’ EP on cassette, for some reason. The group consisted of Robert Plant and Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin, Nile Rodgers from Chic, and Jeff Beck, like Page, a former Yardbirds guitarist.

#1 hits of 1984: at the movies

Jump, not Jump

“Hello — ORwell 1984?” / Herblock. April 1962
Summary: Editorial cartoon: man talking on a telephone labeled “Wiretap Bill 1962”; he is looking at a poster with a bust portrait of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy

Some of the #1 hits of 1984 on the pop charts are from movie soundtracks. All of the movie albums listed here I own on vinyl, except Footloose, which I have on CD. RB means rhythm and blues/soul, and AC is adult contemporary.

Like A Virgin – Madonna (Sire), #1 pop for six weeks, #9 RB, #29 AC, gold record

When Doves Cry – Prince (Warner), #1 pop for five weeks, #1 RB for eight weeks, platinum record. From the semi-autobiographical movie Purple Rain, starring Prince and Apollonia, which I saw in the theater. The album won the Oscar for Best Original Song Score.

Jump – Van Halen (Warner), #1 pop for five weeks, #88 RB, gold record.

[This is not to be confused with the Pointer Sisters hit Jump (For My Love), which went to #3 the same year. Here is a cinematic footnote: the Pointer Sisters’ version of Jump (For My Love) appears on the US soundtrack for the 2003 movie Love Actually, but the UK soundtrack uses the version by Girls Aloud.]

Three weeks at #1 pop

Footloose – Kenny Loggins (Columbia), platinum record. The title song of the movie starring Kevin Bacon and Lori Singer. It was nominated for an Oscar as Best Original Song (Loggins and lyricist Dean Pitchford).

What’s Love Got To Do With It – Tina Turner (Capitol), #2 RB for five weeks, #8 AC, gold record

Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) – Phil Collins (Atlantic), #2 AC for six weeks, gold record. From the movie Against All Odds, starring Jeff Bridges and Rachel Ward. The song was nominated for an Oscar as Best Original Song.

I Just Called To Say I Love You – Stevie Wonder (Motown), #1 RB and AC for three weeks, gold record. From the movie The Woman In Red, starring Gene Wilder and Kelly LeBrock. The song won the Oscar for Best Original Song.

Ghostbusters – Ray Parker, Jr. (Arista), #1 RB for two weeks, #9 AC, gold record. The title song from the movie starring Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd, and Sigourney Weaver, which I saw in the theater. It was nominated for an Oscar as Best Original Song.

Karma Chameleon – Culture Club (Virgin/Epic), #67 RB, #3 AC, gold record

Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go – Wham! (Columbia), #4 AC, platinum record

Two weeks at #1 pop

Hello – Lionel Richie (Motown), #1 RB for three weeks, #1 AC for six weeks, gold record

Owner Of A Lonely Heart – Yes (Atco), #69 RB. As I noted here, I remember the first time I heard this song.

Out Of Touch – Daryl Hall and John Oates (RCA), #24 RB, #8 AC

Time After Time – Cyndi Lauper (Portrait), #78 RB, #1 AC for three weeks, gold record

Let’s Hear It For The Boy – Deniece Williams (Columbia), #1 RB for three weeks, #3 AC for three weeks, platinum record. It is also from the movie Footloose and was nominated for an Oscar as Best Original Song (Tom Snow and Dean Pitchford).

Let’s Go Crazy -Prince & the Revolution (Warner), #1 RB, gold record. It is also from the movie Purple Rain. I have a 12″ EP with an extended version of this song.

The Reflex – Duran Duran (Capitol), gold record

Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run) – Billy Ocean (Jive), #1 RB for four weeks, #7 AC, gold record

A single week at #1 pop

Missing You – John Waite (EMI America), #7 AC

To my surprise, putting this together gave me a touch of melancholy over the passing of Tina Turner, Eddie Van Halen, Prince, George Michael, and even Irene Cara (in the Ghostbusters video).

The last CHQ 2024 post

furled

Here is the last CHQ 2024 post. I did not realize I would write quite as much about the place, but it wasn’t easy to encapsulate it.

Often, I would wake up at about 3:30 in the morning and wander into the Presbyterian House library. I would check my e-mail, complete my Wordle, etc. It’s a small but interesting room, which has an array of significant photos on the walls, such as one of Thurgood Marshall at a podium in 1957, a few years after he was the primary lawyer to litigate Brown v. Board of Education before the Supreme Court, and a decade before he was named to SCOTUS.

Many presidents and future presidents appeared on the walls, and at least some photos were taken in Chautauqua. The picture above of Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Al and Tipper Gore was taken before the 1992 election.

FDR was there in 1917, 1919, 1929, and 1936; the picture was of him standing before a crowd, which suggests earlier in the list. His cousin Teddy was there in 1890, 1894, 1895, 1905, and 1914, before, during, and after his presidency. William McKinley was there in 1895 before he took office.

For some pictures, it was more challenging to ascertain if they were taken there. Ulysses S. Grant visited Chautauqua as President in 1875. Rutherford B. Hayes visited in 1889, well after his term in office. Garfield’s stop in 1880 was a year before his Presidency and death. Gerald R. Ford’s picture was a government issue; his appearance in 1964 was a decade before he became Commander-in-Chief.

Furled flag

When I wasn’t attending an event during the day, I often sat on the back porch of the 2nd floor of the Presbyterian house. It’s a lovely space with a small table. To my left, I could see Chautauqua Lake, which was lovely. Often, I could hear music from the amphitheater; sometimes, it was from a worship service, while other times, it would be the rehearsal for a show that would take place that night. Once, a program for kids took place, with young adults performing short plays the kids had written.

I would talk to the staff, mostly young people, who would clean the windows, sweep the floor, and unfurl the flag. This particular American flag on this porch got wrapped daily. Once, when my wife came out and unfurled it after it had been wrapped twice, a couple of hours later, it had furled five times. Meanwhile, the Presbyterian flag, made of a much heavier material, only furled once that week.

I have never seen so many American flags in a small community as in Chautauqua. CHQ considers itself part of a great American experiment, so one expects to listen to points of view that are divergent from one’s own.

This is not to say that everyone is on board. The Daily Chautauquan, which comes out six days a week and covers (previews then reviews) most of the significant events, carried a letter to the editor blasting CHQ for inviting former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy to be in conversation with Julian Castro, HUD secretary under Obama, the day before my wife and I arrived.

There were many discussions about politics at mealtimes, largely because Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he wouldn’t run for re-election. A guy named Bill and I mused over Kamala Harris’ VP pick.

The penultimate day

My favorite time at Chautauqua was on Friday afternoon in the main quad. My wife told me there would be a Pete Seeger tribute on the green, which reminded me of a college main quad. It turned out that the performance was the day before. A couple, a guy on guitar and a woman on fiddle sang folk songs, and I sang a little harmony with them.

Then my wife and I returned to Presby House, where they served wine – before supper! – and a couple of young adults, the male clearly the son of a woman staying there, sang some songs. Eventually, they performed Country Roads, Take Me Home, and I sang harmony in the chorus, which made them happy. Then, someone else sang a Fleetwood Mac song. It was a fun time on our last afternoon at Chautauqua.

1974 country and AC: LOTS of #1 hits

lots of pop/AC crossover

Just as in the primary Billboard singles charts, the sheer number of 1974 country and adult contemporary #1 hits is astounding. There were 40 #1 country hits. I like doing these chart posts, but not THAT much.

So I will only list the ones that charted for two or more weeks. I’ve noted I Can Help recently and wrote about it in 2015.

Skipping the one-week #1 country songs means I miss several well-known songs. Dolly Parton has four songs in the category, including Jolene and I Will Always Love You.

A Very Special Love Song – Charlie Rich, three weeks at #1; #1 for two weeks AC, #11 pop

The rest of the list was #1 for two weeks:

I Love – Tom T. Hall, #2 AC, #12 pop

Another Lonely Song – Tammy Wynette

There Won’t Be Anymore – Charlie Rich; #15 AC, #18 pop

He Thinks I Still Care – Anne Murray; I’m surprised it didn’t cross over because I heard it a lot in the day

Rub It In – Billy “Crash” Craddock; #15 AC, #16 pop

Please Don’t Tell Me How The Story Ends – Ronnie Milsap; #95 pop

I See The Want To In Your Eyes – Conway Twitty

Adult contemporary

There were 34 AC #1 hits in 1974. Once again, I’m ignoring the ones that were #1 for a single week. I already listed A Very Special Love Song today.

Annie’s Song and Sunshine On My Shoulders by John Denver; I Honestly Love You by Olivia Newton-John; The Way We Were by Barbra Streisand; Love’s Theme by Love Unlimited Orchestra; TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia) by MFSB featuring The Three Degrees; Sundown by Gordon Lightfoot; Feel Like Makin’ Love – Roberta Flack; Laughter In The Rain by- Neil Sedaka; and Mandy – Barry Manilow were listed last month.

Last Time I Saw Him – Diana Ross, three weeks at #1; #14 pop, #15 RB

The rest of the list was #1 for two weeks:

Keep On Singing – Helen Reddy; #15 pop

You Won’t See Me – Anne Murray; #8 pop

Back Home Again – John Denver, #5 pop, #1 CW for one week