I'm back with a recap of my Colossal Countdown! Now, I didn't upload my blog last week, but perhaps during Winter Break I will catch up on any submissions I may have missed. But since this Saturday's weather is much lousier than last Saturday's, I'm nestled up in my dorm room and ready to write (unlike last week). So if you missed last night's colossal countdown episode, stick around and read on! And even if you didn't... here's some more fun facts about each of the songs I played last night.
#451: Hello, I Love You (The Doors, 1968)
I started off last night with a song that's short and sweet, but certainly is a great example of Jim Morrison's powerful, baritone rock 'n roll voice. It has its share of controversy, because it allegedly plagiarized "All Day and All of the Night" by the Kinks. Personally, I hear nothing more than a passing resemblance with the riffs. Then, the more diehard Doors fans dislike this song due to its commercial nature. Well, there's a couple cool things about the Doors to me. First, is Jim Morrison's strong bravado and stage presence. Second, it's the well-known hits, such as this one.
#450: Yes It Is (The Beatles, 1965)
John Lennon described this as a failed rewrite of "This Boy", but as usual, he was his own harshest critic. Both songs are fantastic, in my opinion. Beatles Bible does indeed note the similarities between the two tunes. Much like "This Boy", this song is in a 12/8 time signature, features beautiful 3-part harmony, and is based on the 50s doo wop chord progression. No wonder I like it! This was written at a time when the Beatles were starting to transition from their lovey dovey romance tunes into something more substantial. And while this could be seen as a love song, the lyrics are more meaningful than say, "I Feel Fine".
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| This is arguably the Beatles most complex 3-part harmony. It's dissonant and spooky! |
#449: Little Bitty Pretty One (Thurston Harris & The Sharps, 1957)
Bobby Day may have had "Rockin' Robin", but perhaps most of his career earnings came off royalties from this song. After all, artists like Frankie Lymon, Clyde McPhatter, and the Jackson Five all went on to cover it! But of course this is the most popular version, and this is the one we're focusing on. This Aladdin Records version by Thurston Harris features the Sharps on backing vocals. And they play a vital role in this song, singing the epic hummed intro. Also, the Sharps would later go on to become The Rivingtons and record "Papa Oom Mow Mow". Interesting!
#448: Rainbow (Meghan Trainor, 2022)
Meghan Trainor had plenty of power ballads on her debut album Title in 2015. While she is known for her catchy hooks, her voice is perhaps even better suited for these beautiful slow jams. We'll cover quite a few more throughout my list, as of course I am a huge fan of MTrain! But, her debut on this list comes from her latest album, Takin it Back. MTrain is known for being a strong ally of the LGBT community, and so she recorded this pretty song "Rainbow" in honor of people struggling to come out. Apparently, Meghan just had her second son. Congrats to her and her husband, I hope it's another redhead!
#447: Daddy and Home (Jimmie Rodgers, 1929)
I noted on the show that Jimmie Rodgers is my "favorite lunger" (i.e. TB sufferer). Well, my Dad informed me that he can truly only be my second favorite, behind Doc Holliday from Tombstone. Sorry, I forgot about you, Doc! But speaking of Dads... this song is about Jimmie's Dad, whose name was Aaron Rodgers. As far as I know though, he bears no relation to the Jets quarterback that unfortunately suffered a season-ending injury on the fourth play of the season. But in any case, this song is a beautiful tribute to silver-haired Dads, almost 100 years later.
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| This is one of three songs that Jimmie recorded for his film "The Singing Brakeman". At the dawn of the "talkie" era, no less! |
#446: Alison (Elvis Costello, 1977)
I try to keep everyone somewhat happy with my show, and have songs that reflect all my listeners' tastes in music once in a while. Well, this was one for my Mom. I noted on the show that the single didn't even chart at the time, and yet it would later go on to make one of Rolling Stone's Top 500 songs lists. So, it did have some sort of lasting legacy! Costello said it was recorded about some woman he saw in a grocery store, and like the other Elvis before him, he borrowed a song element from black singers. Apparently, the staccato way he sings the chorus was inspired by how The Detroit Spinners sang their song "Ghetto Child".
#445: Big Balls (AC/DC, 1976)
Not everyone was a big fan of this song last night, needless to say! But I do know there's one other big AC/DC fan in the audience, so perhaps she could enjoy the genius lyrics of frontman legend Bon Scott. Although, I'm sure the Young brothers Malcolm and Angus must have also contributed to the mischievous lyrics of this innuendo-filled ditty. Sometimes, I'm not going to put songs on the list because they're musically good. Rather, I will put them on the list because they're clever and give me a good laugh. This fits much more in the latter category, I would say. Same applies with "Mr. Custer" from last week, or our very first song "C is For Cookie".
#444: Jolene (Dolly Parton, 1973)
It's now been 50 years since this blonde legend has recorded what can now safely be considered her signature song. Though I personally have two of Dolly's songs higher on my list, the critics gush over this beautiful tune even more than I do. The proof is in the pudding... Rolling Stone put this at #217 on their original Top 500 list; on their revised list, it now rocks #63. I mentioned on the show how it was a redhead bank teller flirting with Dolly's husband that inspired this song. Yes, us gingers are truly devilish! And it has even been explored whether Dolly wrote this song due to her own attraction to Jolene. She described that interpretation simply as "another take on it". Not explicitly denying it, I see!
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| I'm proud to own this album on vinyl. |
#443: Six Nights a Week (The Crests, 1959)
I've mentioned before on this blog what made The Crests a unique doo wop group. First of all, they were one of the few ethnically mixed groups at the time. They had three black singers, one Puerto Rican, and one Italian. And that Italian is another thing that made the group unique; John Peter Mastrangelo had quite the beautiful tenor voice. I of course am referring to the birth name of Johnny Maestro, who I suppose changed his name up to be a bit more commercially viable. In any case, his vocals shine on this particular song, which has been kept alive by my Grandpa's group, Spare Parts.
#442: Earth Angel (The Crests, 1960)
It's sometimes hard to find what year exactly these more obscure doo wop songs come from. Since the Crests were in the spotlight last night, I played them back to back. And while The Penguins' original quite clearly comes from 1954, it's harder to find when the Crests recorded their fantastic cover. But I think the best answer is that it's from 1960 off of Coed Records. I originally was going to play the classic Penguins version on this show, I swear that was my Plan A. But then, I was listening to my Dad's doo wop playlist a few weeks before school started. This song popped up, and I thought, "I didn't know Johnny Maestro covered this!".
#441: Sixteen Tons (Tennessee Ernie Ford, 1955)
There will be two songs written by, but not sung by, Merle Travis on my list. This is the first of the two. Travis was a 1940s country singer-songwriter that helped expose the poor conditions that coal miners worked in. He was a true singing muckraker, a legend of his time. But then his songs would go onto be recorded by more talented, deeper-voiced country singers. Case in point, Tennessee Ernie Ford had himself a huge crossover country hit at the end of 1955. Not only was this a country #1 hit for 10 weeks, it was a pop #1 hit for 8 weeks as well. Perhaps it had some inherent pop appeal with its use of the clarinet, not exactly a well-known country instrument!
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| Between that husky voice and that mustache, I'd probably be scared of this man, to be honest. |
#440: When You Dance (The Turbans, 1955)
I mentioned on the show how what The Turbans did was the original "cultural appropriation". For those unfamiliar, it's a modern day woke term for one culture ripping off another culture, perhaps by dressing in their garb. After all, it was part of the Turbans shtick to wear turbans on their head... despite the fact that they were probably not Sikhs, as they were four black guys. They may also have very well invented the term "doo wop" on this tune, which is now an iconic and well-loved song among doo wop fans. I think it has one of the best saxophone solos you'll hear on a doo wop song. And then right after it, you hear "Whe-ee-ee-een" from falsetto lead singer Al Banks. Good stuff!
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| I was not kidding about their look, folks. |
#439: I Want To Tell You (The Beatles, 1966)
The Beatles' iconic album Revolver has so many iconic songs that I feel bad for leaving many of them off the list. Whether it be "Eleanor Rigby", "Here, There, and Everywhere", or "For No One", there's plenty I could've included. But perhaps I just have an anti-Paul bias or something, because I think very few Beatles fans would put this unheralded George gem ahead of those more well-loved Paul songs. But guess what, it's my list, so it's my rules! I find the lyrics incredibly interesting, as George deals with his self-doubt. And then the piano is just gritty... not to mention the fading guitar into that is reminiscent of "Eight Days a Week".
#438: Think For Yourself (The Beatles, 1965)
The mid 60s, George Harrison-led Beatles got the spotlight on my show last night. And it was well-deserved, because George was truly starting to mature as a songwriter. A year later, he'd go on to take down the "Taxman" on the same album that the previous tune was on, Revolver. But before he got all political, he was directing this jabbing song at... well, I thought it was some relationship conflict with Pattie Boyd or something. But as it turns out, George said it was to target narrow-minded thinking, and perhaps the British government. George definitely had a libertarian bend, I suppose! Indeed, he already was political, even if it wasn't so obvious!
#437: Paper Doll (The Mills Brothers, 1942)
I mentioned on my show how this song was wildly popular. Indeed, it's one of fewer than 40 singles to have sold more than 10 million physical copies. In the World War II era, it had millions of men around the country saying "women, am I right?". After all, that's the main message of the song. Just cut out a paper doll for yourself, rather than have a fickle-minded real life girl! The song was originally written over a century ago in 1915 by Johnny S. Black, after he was indeed jilted by his girlfriend. So whether it's now or 108 years ago, Black's message lives on in the form of this Mills Brothers song.
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| My brother and I actually lip-synced a cover of this song, about 9 years ago. |
#436: Women and Drinkin' (The Persuasions, 1977)
As soon as you hear Jimmy Hayes's bass voice sing "Listen my man, let me talk to you for a minute"... you know you're in for some sort of ride. And this song is quite the ride indeed, lasting almost 7 minutes long. The Persuasions were of course known for their legendary a capella covers of songs, but I can't seem to find an original for this one. It leads me to believe that this song was about their own lived experiences, perhaps about what lead singer Jerry Lawson himself experienced. Their anthem to hard livin' just had to make my list.
So then, what do you think of these song selections? Let me know if you have any comments, and be sure to stay tuned for Episode 5 of Graeme's Colossal Countdown!
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