music Archives - Page 88 of 265 - Ramblin' with Roger

Nat Cole, Charles Brown rule Xmas

Nathaniel Daniel Coles

Nat King Cole was born Nathaniel Daniel Coles on St. Patrick’s Day 1919 in Montgomery, AL. Died from cancer on 15 Feb 1965. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 as an early influence

The Christmas Song. This tune has one of the most interesting recordings and chart histories in music. It was first recorded in 1946 by the King Cole Trio with four string players, a harpist, and a drummer.
#3 RB for three weeks, #3 pop in 1946. #23 pop in 1947. #8 RB, 24 pop in Jan 1949. #30 pop in Jan 1953.

A new mono version was recorded in 1953 with Nelson Riddle conducting. This is the version that charted most often.
#29 pop in 1954. #80 pop in 1960. #80 pop, #29 Adult Contemporary in 1962. #13 Xmas in 1963 and 1973. #6 Xmas in 1964. #4 Xmas in 1965 and 1967. #5 Xmas in 1966. #2 Xmas in 1968. #1 Xmas in 1969 and 1972. #9 Xmas in 1970. #5 Xmas in 1983. #7 Xmas in 1984. #6 Xmas in 1985.

In 1961, Nat recorded a stereo version with Ralph Carmichael conducting.
#16 Adult Contemporary in 1997.
Nat is #4 of the Christmas in the Charts 1920-2004 artists. Gene Autry is #2, and Bing Crosby, unsurprisingly, is #1.

Not the Peanuts character

#3 is Charles Brown. Born in Texas 13 Sept 1922. Died 21 Jan 1999. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 as an early influence.

Merry Christmas Baby, with Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers. Brown on piano, Moore on guitar, Eddie Williams on bass.
#3 RB in 1947. #8 RB in 1948. #9 RB in 1949. #5 Xmas in 1965. #4 Xmas in 1966 and 1969. #6 Xmas in 1967. #2 Xmas in 1968 and 1973. #8 X,mas in 1970.
Different versions went to #4 Xmas in 1964 and #10 Xmas in 1965; and #2 Xmas in 1973.
Please Come Home for Christmas – #76 pop in 1961. #108 pop in 1962. #4 Xmas in 1963 and 1969. #3 Xmas in 1964, 1966-1968, and 1970. #2 Xmas in 1965. #1 Xmas in 1972. #9 Xmas in 1973.

And more

This Christmas – Donny Hathaway. #11 Xmas in 1972

White Christmas – The Drifters. #2 RB in 1954. #5 RB, #80 pop in 1955. #12 RB in 1956. #96 pop in 1960. #88 pop in 1962. #17 in 1963 and 1967. #4 in 1964. #13 Xmas in 1965. #14 Xmas in 1967.

The Mistletoe And Me – Isaac Hayes. #8 Xmas in 1969. #5 Xmas in 1973

Who Took The Merry Out Of Christmas – The Staple Singers. #2 Xmas in 1973

All I Want For Christmas Is You – Carla Thomas (written by Andrew Charles Williams, Jr., best known for “Oh, Pretty Woman”), #11 Xmas in 1966

That’s What Christmas Means to Me – Stevie Wonder

Sedition, Fiddler on the Roof song

he can’t change it with a tweet

Lately, I’ve not slept well at all. I go to bed around 9:30 pm, wake up three hours later, stay up for an hour, and check my email.

The evening before last, I had been singing to myself “Sedition” to the tune of “Tradition”. It’s undoubtedly a function of two things, that post I wrote recently and my unabashed love for Fiddler on the Roof.

I started jotting down notes from the emails. Suddenly, I had a few couplets, followed by a phrase that rhymes with sedition. I’ve barely edited them. Some of the rhymes are really forced. But I offer them up so that YOU might add to them, fix them, whatever.

Leave your suggestions in the comments on the blog or on Facebook. I’d be interested to see what you come up with.

The song, as it were

His faux regime refused to take the virus seriously
Engaged in partisan attacks – where is the PPE?
He hampered prevention, prevention.

The country’s finally seeing through his xenophobic lies
His anti-immigrant retorts should be something we despise
The bigot’s agnation, agnation.

His foolish quest to stay in charge is led by Sidney Powell
And Rudy Giuliani, whose hair dye is a howl
The lawyers’ deception, deception.

IMPOTUS plans to give some pardons to his family
Just like he did for Michael Flynn and Scooter Libby
The pardon provision, provision.

The Electoral College proves his constitutional defeat
Yet he keeps up denying; he can’t change it with a tweet
He stuck in delusion, delusion

Franklin Graham Says Trump ‘Will Go Down in our history
As one of the Great Presidents’ – I think he’s cra-a-zy
No state church in our nation, our nation.

He inflames radicals who hijack our society
They threaten civil servants who just want us to be free
Tyrannical sedition, sedition.

More Xmas music – percussion, rodents

A Very Special Christmas

When I grew up, I believe we had exactly two Christmas singles. The Little Drummer Boy was a tune I sang at church when I was young and cute. The version by the Harry Simone Chorale actually made the pop charts between 1958 and 1962, at #13, #15, #24, #22, and #28, respectively. It also made it to #6 on the adult contemporary charts in both 1961 and 1962.

Then it had a run on the Xmas charts between 1963 and 1970. It went #2 for four weeks, #1 for three weeks thrice in a row, #2, #1, #2, #3, respectively. A new version got to #9 in 1972, ##20 in 1973, and #10 in 1983, all on the Xmas charts.

The other single is well-loved or well-hated. The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late) was by David Seville and the furry creatures. In 1958, it went to #1 on the POP charts for FOUR weeks, and #5 on the rhythm and blues charts to boot. Then #41, #45, #39, and #40 on the pop charts in 1959 through 1962, respectively. It went #5 Xmas in 1963, and #6 Xmas in 1964.

We did have a few Christmas albums. But it seemed that most of them were rather generic. One exception was a series of albums by some name artists, put out by the Firestone tire company. At least two of them featured Julie Andrews. And by far, my favorite song was The Bells of Christmas, this particular version.

Some other songs

Getting Ready for Christmas Day – Paul Simon. Interesting that the sermon sampled was delivered in 1941, the same year Paul was born.

Jingle Bells – The Fab 4. NOT the Beatles.

Linus and Lucy – Vince Guaraldi Trio. I read a bio about Vince some years back.

From that first A Very Special Christmas album, which appeared on various charts between 1987 and 2002:
The Coventry Carol – Alison Moyet.
Gabriel’s Message – Sting. I had a girlfriend who HATED Sting’s voice.

Christmas All Over Again – Tom Petty. From that second A Very Special Christmas album in 1992, which charted between 1992 and 1998. I still miss Petty.

Mary’s Boy Child – Harry Belafonte. My late father incorporated elements of Belafonte in his folk-singing career.

Hamildolph! – Eclipse 6

Dec. rambling: Overture of Overtures

Beethoven (b. December 1770)

From https://wronghands1.com/2020/11/27/the-wrong-side-of-history/ Wrong Hands.

They Fought for the Country that Detained Their Families: Japanese American Soldiers in WWII.

The biology of dads.

How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome.

In The Age Of Zoom Dysmorphia, Experts Offer Tips To Improve Self-Image.

Interview with Swamp Thing Comic Artist Stephen Bissette.

David Lander, R.I.P. (Squiggy from Laverne and Shirley, and much more).

A New Study About Color Tries to Decode The Brain’s Pantone.

The first Golden Age Panel at Comic-Con in 1993.

Greg Hatcher: Grail Quests – Planet of the Apes, Logan’s Run, and especially Airplane!

The King Features Syndicate animated cartoon shows of the 1960s.

Now I Know: When Kids Didn’t Trust Santa and Return Doo Sender and The First Female Senator (For a Day) and The Ultimate Toys R Us Kid?

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Pringles update.

Drink away 2020.

IMPOTUS

He Rewards Kellyanne Conway, 2 Dozen Others With Prestigious Government Appointments.

Weekly Sift: Pardons and Their Limits.

Lincoln Project: Whispers III.

Comedians Bought DonaldJTrump2024.com Just so They Could Mock Him.

COVID

One traveler’s experience. For Andrew Evans, who had traveled to South Korea for a job, entering the country involved a mandatory, 14-day quarantine locked alone in a room at a government isolation facility.

“Checking in at New York’s nearly empty JFK included signing legal documents acknowledging that he was voluntarily placing himself in government custody and that he would have to pay for it — a fixed cost of 1.68 million KRW (equivalent to $1,459.99).”

COVID vaccines: calling the shots.

“What better lesson can we learn from the COVID vaccine experience than that the multi-national pharma companies should be publicly owned so that research and development can be directed to meet the health and medical needs of people not the profits of these companies.

“And moreover, then the necessary vaccines can get to the billions in the poorest countries and circumstances rather than to just those countries and people who can afford to pay the prices set by these companies.”

Margaret Keenan, soon to be 91, became the first person to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Rudy Giuliani potentially exposed hundreds to the virus.

A Nice Holiday Story About A Killer Virus.

How Your Brain Tricks You Into Taking Risks During the Pandemic.

Having Chemotherapy During COVID-19 Has Given Me So Many Things to Be Grateful For.

MUSIC

Jaquandor’s Daily Dose of Christmas.

Santa Baby – Marzia Plichta and Christoph Drösser.

Bohemian Chanukah – Six13.

Musicians from London’s West End performing Overture of Overtures.

The Revelation – Roosevelt Wardell Trio (album) within a discussion on stuck at home and depression.

Pop Psalms: Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5.

Paul McCartney: Who Cares and We All Stand Together and Come On To Me.

What the World Needs Now -Tom Clay, which I wrote about way back in 2006.

Coverville 1336: The Christina Aguilera Cover Story.

Mean Green Mother from Outer Space – Cavin Cornwall.

Concerto in One Movement by Florence Price.

Don’t Fool Around with My Heart – William Roberts, a/k/a Michigan J Frog, from the 1942 movie, The Yanks Are Coming. Plus It Hopped One Night: A Look at One Froggy Evening.

John Lennon: The Last Interview.

Roll Over, Beethoven (b. December 1770)

Fidelio, his only opera.

Symphony No. 4 in B-flat major.

Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor, more familiarly called Für Elise.

Symphony No. 6 in F Major, the Pastoral.

Soul Christmas from Stax/Atlantic

Clarence Carter, Solomon Burke, King Curtis

Soul Christmas! “Christmas doesn’t get more soulful than this collection of tunes.” That’s the truth.

‘Tis not the season to get into the murky distribution arrangement Atlantic Records had with Stax. But the deal did create a dynamite roster. Carla Thomas, William Bell, and of course, Booker T, who we heard last week, were from the Stax side.

Billboard magazine had Christmas singles charts from 1963 to 1972, and from 1983 to 1985. There was a Christmas albums chart periodically as well. These will be listed as Xmas.

Soul Christmas reached #13 Xmas in 1968, and #8 Xmas in both 1969 and 1970. The CD version, with three additional tracks, reached #89 RB in 1994. There are several variations on this collection. But I’m limiting it this week to the original release as represented on the album cover.

The songs

Back Door Santa – Clarence Carter, #4 Xmas in 1968. He was born blind in Montgomery, Alabama in 1936, His big hit was Slip Away (#2 RB, #6 pop in 1968)
The Christmas Song – King Curtis, with Duane Allman on guitar. Saxophonist Curtis Ousley, born in 1934 in Fort Worth, TX. Murdered in 1971. Known for Soul Twist, #1 RB for two weeks, #17 pop in 1962.
White Christmas – Otis Redding, #12 Xmas in 1968. Born in Dawson, GA in 1941. Died in a plane crash on 10 Dec 1967. He has the first posthumous #1 pop song. Sitting On The Dock of the Bay, #1 pop for four weeks, #1 for three weeks RB in 1968.
Silver Bells – Booker T. and The MG’s. Booker T. Jones was born in 1944 in Memphis, TN. Green Onions went #1 for four weeks RB, #3 pop in 1962.
Gee Whiz It’s Christmas – Carla Thomas (Thomas, Steve Cropper, Vinny Trauth/trumpeter) #23 on the Christmas charts in 1963. Her B-A-B-Y was #3 RB, #14 pop in 1966.

Merry Christmas Baby – Otis Redding, #9 Xmas in 1968
Presents For Christmas – Solomon Burke. Born in Philadelphia, probably in 1940, d. 2010). Got To Get You Off My Mind was #1 for three weeks RB, but only #22 pop.
Jingle Bells – Booker T. and The MG’s, #20 Xmas in 1966
Every Day Will Be Like A Holiday – William Bell (Bell, Booker T. Jones), #33 RB in 1968. Born in 1939 in Memphis. Prolific songwriter.
What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve – King Curtis