For one last January we’re packing the old man off to college in New Orleans. Once graduated, who knows where our Giles will be a year from now. Personally I’m bucking for Canada, but will miss him in any event.

As has been melodically portrayed in a number of his autobiographical songs, Randall Stuart Newman was born in Los Angeles “in November ’43”. According to his rousing song, “Dixie Flyer” Newman’s father “was a captain in the army, fighting the Germans in Sicily.” 

Since his “poor little momma didn’t know a soul in L.A” they boarded the “Dixie Flyer bound for New Orleans” where she’d been bred. The somewhat sardonic story continues with this selection about Newman’s early childhood in the Crescent City during the Jim Crow-era.

“Willow Street in the Garden District” runs right through the Tulane University campus. The long-gone Sugar Bowl was Tulane’s football stadium (they now play in the Super Dome). Right across St. Charles Ave. is Audubon Park, where you’ll doubtless still find macaroons and red balloons and people reading the “Picayune” (now the “Times-Picayune”) but you’d be hard pressed to find someone who even knows what an octoroon is.

And that’s progress.

LISTEN TO TODAY’S SELECTION – Thursday 10 January 

New Orleans Wins the War

 Don’t remember much about my baby days

But I been told

We used to live on Willow in the Garden District

Next to the Sugar Bowl

Momma used to wheel me past an ice cream wagon

One side for White and one side for Colored

I remember trashcans floatin’ down Canal Street

It rained every day one summer

 Momma used to take me to Audubon Park

Show me the ways of the world

She’d say,

“Here comes a white boy there goes a black one,

That one’s an octoroon

This little cookie here’s a macaroon,

That big round thing’s a red balloon

And the paper down here’s called the Picayune

And here’s a New Orleans tune”

 In 1948 my Daddy came to the city

Told the people that they’d won the war

Maybe they’d heard it, maybe not

Probably they’d heard it and just forgot

‘Cause they built him a platform there in Jackson Square

And the people came to hear him from everywhere

They started to party and they partied some more

‘Cause New Orleans had won the war

(“We knew we’d do it, we done whipped the Yankees”)

Daddy said, “I’m gonna’ get this boy out of this place

Bound to sap his strength

People have fun here and I think that they should

But nobody from here every come to no good

They’re gonna pickle him in brandy and tell him he’s saved

Then throw firecrackers ‘round his grave.”

So he took us down to the airport and flew us back to L.A.

That was the end of my baby days

Blue, blue morning, blue, blue day

All your bad dreams drift away

It’s a blue, blue morning of a blue, blue day

Lose those bad dreams

Those gray clouds above you,

What you want them around with you for?

You got someone to love you

Who could ask for more?

It’s a blue, blue morning, of a blue, blue day

All your bad dreams drift away…

Let me state, emphatically, that not a single friend of mine, male or female, has ever taken this advice, as written by Sicilian-American Frank Guida in 1963 and based on a 1934 calypso hit called “Ugly Woman.”

Although I do know a few who have followed the enlightened suggestion proffered in the 1991 film, “Queen’s Logic” by Joe Mantegna’s character, Al:  “If you want to be happy for the rest of your life, fall in love with your wife.”

Today’s selection was performed by gospel singer, James McCleese, who was born in North Carolina in 1942 and had become a preacher by the age of seven. After acquiring the stage name, Jimmy Soul from his congregation he began to tour and was discovered by Guida, who also happened to be Gary U.S. Bonds’ record producer.

When Bonds turned down a couple of the songs that Guida had penned for him they were given to Soul who hit the Billboard charts with the first one, “Twistin’ Matilda” in 1962 and topped them with this one, even though it was banned on many radio stations by those who were not amused.  It also reached Number 39 on the UK Charts in 1963 and Number 68 when it was re-released in 1991.

After a lack of further success Jimmy Soul (whose enthusiastic falsetto “yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah” can be heard at fade-out) abandoned his singing career, joined the US Army and, sadly, died of a heart attack at the age of 45.

 LISTEN TO TODAY’S SELECTION – Wednesday 9 January

If You Want To Be Happy

 If you wanna be happy

For the rest of your life

Never make a pretty woman your wife

So from my personal point of view

Get an ugly girl to marry you

 If you wanna be happy

For the rest of your life

Never make a pretty woman your wife

So from my personal point of view

Get an ugly girl to marry you

 A pretty woman makes her husband look small

And very often causes his downfall

As soon as he marries her

Then she starts to do

The things that will break his heart

But if you make an ugly woman your wife

You’ll be happy for the rest of your life

An ugly woman cooks her meals on time

She’ll always give you peace of mind

 If you wanna be happy

For the rest of your life

Never make a pretty woman your wife

So from my personal point of view

Get an ugly girl to marry you

 Don’t let your friends say

You have no taste

Go ahead and marry anyway

Though her face is ugly

And her eyes don’t match

Take it from me she’s a better catch

 If you wanna be happy

For the rest of your life

Never make a pretty woman your wife

So from my personal point of view

Get an ugly girl to marry you

If you wanna be happy

For the rest of your life

Never make a pretty woman your wife

So from my personal point of view

Get an ugly girl to marry you

If you wanna be happy

For the rest of your life

Never make a pretty woman your wife

So from my personal point of view

Get an ugly girl to marry you

 If you wanna be happy

For the rest of your life

Never make a pretty woman your wife

So from my personal point of view

Get an ugly girl to marry you

 If you wanna be happy

For the rest of your life

Never make a pretty woman your wife

So from my personal point of view

Get an ugly girl to marry you

Here’s one of those songs you can pull out late in an evening when the weeknight dance party begins to get a little tired.  It’s a veritable tonic. Fun to dance to it also strikes people like an epiphany…“Oh I remember this!”

Hailed as the first British band to authentically emulate the Motown Sound, the Foundations were remarkable for their size (eight members), for their ethnic and musical mix and for their diversity in ages. Jamaican Saxophonist Mike Elliot was 38, while local-born drummer Tim Harris was barely 18.

The group came together in Bayswater (London W2) in 1967, practicing in their basement establishment called the Butterfly Club (still can’t figure out if it was on Westbourne Grove or Queensway, but where else would it be?). Well and truly the Butterfly Club was theirs because before they hit it big with a string of hits, in addition to performing nightly, all eight members of the group also managed the club, including the cooking and cleaning.

Legend has it that they’d get to bed at around 7 a.m., sleep until 4 p.m., and again get ready to open at 8 p.m., at times living off the leftovers and barely making enough money to pay the rent. Intriguingly they were eventually forced out by a protection racket and compelled to carry on next door in a dingy, unused mini-cab office.

Written by Mike D’Abo (lead singer of Manfred Mann) and Tony Macaulay (who also brought us “Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes”…another fun song to dance to) and released in 1968, today’s selection reached Number 2 on the UK charts and Number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it stayed for 11 weeks.

 LISTEN TO TODAY’S SELECTION – Tuesday 8 January

Build Me Up Buttercup

 Why do you build me up (Build me up)

Buttercup baby just to

Let me down (Let me down)

And mess me around

And then worst of all (Worst of all)

You never call baby

When you say you will (Say you will)

But I love you still

I need you (I need you)

More than anyone darlin’

You know that I have from the start

So build me up (Build me up)

Buttercup

Don’t break my heart

I’ll be over at ten

You tell me time and again

But you’re late

I wait around and then

I went to the door

I can’t take any more

It’s not you

You let me down again

Baby, Baby

Try to find a little time

And I’ll make you happy

I’ll be home

I’ll be beside the phone

Waiting for you.

 Why do you build me up (Build me up)

Buttercup baby just to

Let me down (Let me down)

And mess me around

And then worst of all (Worst of all)

You never call baby

When you say you will (Say you will)

But I love you still

I need you (I need you)

More than anyone darlin’

You know that I have from the start

So build me up (Build me up)

Buttercup

Don’t break my heart

 To you I’m a toy

But I could be the boy

You adore

If you’d just let me know

Although you’re untrue

I’m attracted to you

All the more

Baby, Baby

Try to find a little time

And I’ll make you happy

I’ll be home

I’ll be beside the phone

Waiting for you.

 Why do you build me up (Build me up)

Buttercup baby just to

Let me down (Let me down)

And mess me around

And then worst of all (Worst of all)

You never call baby

When you say you will (Say you will)

But I love you still

I need you (I need you)

More than anyone darlin’

You know that I have from the start

So build me up (Build me up)

Buttercup

Don’t break my heart…

“…well, how did I get here?”

Chris Frantz, David Byrne and Tina Weymouth, all alumni of the Rhode Island School of Design were looking for a new name for their band (then called the Artistics) when a friend mentioned an interesting piece in “TV Guide” that referred to the term that studios used to describe a head-and-shoulder shot of a person talking with all content but no action.

The name was a match and within a few years Talking Heads were at the very crest of New Wave, combining elements of punk, pop, funk, art rock, avant-garde and world music, with Byrne’s fanciful and esoteric lyrics.

 LISTEN TO TODAY’S SELECTION – Monday 7 January

First released in 1981 on the group’s fourth album, “Remain in Light” the music video for “Once in a Lifetime” became an MTV staple, featuring a bespectacled Byrne dancing like a marionette. Now on permanent exhibit at the New York Museum of Modern Art, it’s fascinating to note that some of Byrne’s mannerisms were inspired by choreographer, Toni Basil (“Hey Mickey”) who’d shown him footage of epilepsy sufferers.

A live version from one of “the great” concert films, “Stop Making Sense” was released in 1985….

Once In A Lifetime

 You may find yourself living in a shotgun shack

And you may find yourself in another part of the world

And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile

You may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife

You may ask yourself, “Well, how did I get here?”

 Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down

Letting the days go by, water flowing underground

Into the blue again, after the money’s gone

Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

 And you may ask yourself, “How do I work this?”

And you may ask yourself, “Where is that large automobile?”

And you may tell yourself, “This is not my beautiful house”

And you may tell yourself, “This is not my beautiful wife”

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down

Letting the days go by, water flowing underground

Into the blue again, after the money’s gone

Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Water dissolving and water removing

There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Under the water, carry the water

Remove the water from the bottom of the ocean

Water dissolving and water removing

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down

Letting the days go by, water flowing underground

Into the blue again, into the silent water

Under the rocks and stones, there is water underground

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down

Leting the days go by, water flowing underground

Into the blue again, after the money’s gone

Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

 You may ask yourself, “What is that beautiful house?”

You may ask yourself, “Where does that highway go to?”

You may ask yourself, “Am I right, am I wrong?”

You may say to yourself, “My God! What have I done?”

 Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down

Letting the days go by, water flowing underground

Into the blue again, into the silent water

Under the rocks and stones, there is water underground

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down

Letting the days go by, water flowing underground

Into the blue again, after the money’s gone

Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

 Same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Same as it ever was, look where my hand was

Time isn’t holding up, time isn’t after us

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Same as it ever was, hey let’s all twist our thumbs

Here comes the twister

 Letting the days go by

Letting the days go by

Once in a lifetime

Let the water hold me down

Letting the days go by

Born and raised in Rochester, NY in 1940, Charles Frank “Chuck” Mangione joined his brother Gaspare (Gap), at the Eastman School of Music in the late ‘50s.  While Gap studied piano, Chuck concentrated on the trumpet and in their spare time the two Mangiones released a number of records with their bop quintet, the Jazz Brothers.

Soon after graduation Chuck landed gigs with the big bands of Woody Herman and Maynard Ferguson before joining Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers.  In 1968 he formed his own quartet, after switching over to the instrument that he once referred to as “the right baseball glove.”

Originally used on the battlefield to summon the flanks of an army, the German word flügelhorn literally means “wing” or “flank” horn. It resembles a trumpet but has a wider, conical bore and while some consider it to be a member of the “Saxhorn” family, as developed by Adolphe Sax (think saxophone), others hold that it actually descends from the valve bugle as developed by Michael Saurle of Munich.

Regardless, it’s safe to say that neither man foresaw the popularity of the flügelhorn in popular music (it figures into many of Burt Bacharach’s arrangements), particularly jazz, with such noted players as Woody Herman, Chet Baker, Miles Davis, Hugh Maskela…and Chuck Mangione, who has recorded more than 30 albums.

Despite his ongoing critical acclaim, international success was a long time coming, finally arriving with that jazz-pop single that is sure to shepherd you back to 1977, “Feels So Good.” But Mangione actually won his first Grammy (Best Instrumental Composition) with the title track from a 1975 album that was dedicated to his parents, “Bellavia” (i.e. “beautiful way”).

Although he is said to have pretty much drifted away from the music scene in recent decades (his greatest “visibility” has been as a recurring character in the animated television series, King of the Hill), the 72 year-old Mangione occasionally makes appearances with his brother, Gap in and around their old hometown.

LISTEN TO TODAY’S SELECTION – Sunday 6 January

As we’re heading to greener climes let me be among the first to wish you a Happy New Year. This concluding (twelfth) seasonal selection is performed by those who brought in the first selection, Yo Yo Ma and Chris Botti.  With a melody of unknown origin (i.e. “traditional”) the auspicious words Dona Nobis Pacem (“Grant Us Peace”) are derived from the Latin Mass.

Dona Nobis Pacem

 Dona nobis pacem

Pacem

Dona nobis pacem

Dona nobis pacem

Dona nobis pacem

Dona nobis pacem

Dona nobis pacem

Also set to the tune of a “traditional” folk song “Auld Lang Syne” was written by Robert Burns in 1788. The Scots title may be translated into English literally as “old long since”, or more colloquially as “for the sake of times, long since gone.”  Either way, my jo, “We’ll tak a cup ‘o kindess yet!”

LISTEN TO THIS SELECTION – Happy New Year!

Auld Lang Syne

 Should auld acquaintance be forgot

And never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

And auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my jo (my dear)

For auld lang syne

We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet

For auld lang syne

And surely ye’ll be your pint-stowp!

And surely I’ll be mine!

And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet

For auld lang syne

For auld lang syne, my jo (my dear)

For auld lang syne

We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet

For auld lang syne

We twa hae run about the braes

And pu’d the gowans fine

But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit

Sin auld lang syne

For auld lang syne, my jo (my dear)

For auld lang syne

We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet

For auld lang syne

 We twa hae paidl’d i’ the burn

Frae morning sun till dine

But seas between us braid hae roar’d

Sin auld lang syne

For auld lang syne, my jo (my dear)

For auld lang syne

We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet

For auld lang syne

 And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere (friend)!

And gie’s a hand o’ thine !

And we’ll tak a right gude-willy waught

For auld lang syne

For auld lang syne, my jo (my dear)

For auld lang syne

We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet

For auld lang syne

Formed in Coventry, England in 1977 and known for their ‘60s era “rude boy” look replete with mohair suits, loafers and pork pie hats, The Specials were commonly referred to as a “2 Tone Ska Revival Band” that combined “danceable ska beat with punk’s energy and attitude” and there is something rather compelling about the version of this song found on their 1980 album, “More Specials”.

While Doris Day, Tommy Dorsey, Bing Crosby and (later) Prince Buster also had hits with it, perhaps the most popular recording remains the one put forth by Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians in 1949, the same year it was written by Carl Sigman and Herb Magidson.  No matter which version you prefer, the advice remains stellar as the sun begins to set on yet another year.

LISTEN TO TODAY’S SELECTION – Saturday 29 December 

Enjoy Yourself

 Enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think

Enjoy yourself, while you’re still in the pink

The years go by, as quickly as you wink

Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself

It’s later than you think

 Hello, I’m Terry

And I’m going to enjoy myself first

It’s good to be wise when you’re young

‘Cause you can only be young but the once

Enjoy yourself and have lots of fun

So glad I live life longer than you’ve ever done

 Enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think

Enjoy yourself, while you’re still in the pink

The years go by, as quickly as you wink

Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself,

It’s later than you think

 Never right, yes I know

Get wisdom, get knowledge and understanding

These three, were given free by the maker

Go to school, learn the rules, don’t be no faker

It’s not wise for you to be a footstool

 Enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think

Enjoy yourself, while you’re still in the pink

The years go by, as quickly as you wink

Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself,

It’s later than you think

Enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think

Enjoy yourself, while you’re still in the pink

The years go by, as quickly as you wink

Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself,

It’s later than you think

Born and raised in Mississippi, Joe, Willie, Lester and George Chambers first honed their skills as choir members in their community’s Baptist church in the 1950s.  But as The Chambers Brothers they became part of the ‘60s wave that integrated blues and gospel with psychedelia.

Initially released in 1966, a timelier version of this song was featured as an 11-minute track on the brothers’ third album of the same name in late 1967.  Subsequently released as an abbreviated single it spent five weeks at  (hmmm) Number 11 on the Billboard charts, just missing the Top Ten.  As we begin to close out yet another year…“tik tok”…let’s not forget that much celebrated directive… “More cowbell!”

LISTEN TO TODAY’S SELECTION – Friday 28 December

Time Has Come Today

 Time has come today

Young hearts can go their way

Can’t put it off another day

I don’t care what others say

They say we don’t listen anyway

Time has come today

(Hey)

 Oh.

The rules have changed today

(Hey)

I have no place to stay

(Hey)

I’m thinking about the subway

(Hey)

My love has flown away

(Hey)

My tears have come and gone

(Hey)

Oh my Lord, I have to roam

(Hey)

I have no home

(Hey)

I have no home

(Hey)

 Now the time has come

(Time)

There’s no place to run

(Time)

I might get burned up by the sun

(Time)

But I had my fun

(Time)

I’ve been loved and put aside

(Time)

I’ve been crushed by the tumbling tide

(Time)

And my soul has been psychedelicized

(Time)

 (Time)

Now the time has come

(Time)

There are things to realize

(Time)

Time has come today

(Time)

Time has come today

(Time)

 Time [x11]

 Oh

Now the time has come

(Time)

There’s no place to run

(Time)

I might get burned up by the sun

(Time)

But I had my fun

(Time)

I’ve been loved and put aside

(Time)

I’ve been crushed by tumbling tide

(Time)

And my soul has been psychedelicized

(Time)

(Time)

Now the time has come

(Time)

There are things to realize

(Time)

Time has come today

(Time)

Time has come today

(Time)

 Time [x4]

Yeah

Born in 1945, Morna Anne Murray, Companion of the Order of Canada, started life as the town doctor’s daughter in the coal mining community of Springhill, Nova Scotia.  Like many others she took voice and music lessons as a young girl, but went on to earn a degree in Physical Education at University of New Brunswick and became a Phys Ed teacher in PEI.

However, while at college, Murray had auditioned as a singer for a CBC TV program called Singalong Jubilee and although not offered the position, she received a call from the producers for a second audition a full two years later and this time landed a spot.

Murray left her teaching position and in time moved to Toronto after landing a solo record deal in 1968. Her first album, “What About Me” also featured her first single (of the same name) and was a substantial hit in Canada, but it was her second album “This Way is My Way” in 1969 that featured the song that made her an international star.

Written by Canadian songwriter Gene MacLellan (who also wrote “Put Your Hand in the Hand”), “Snowbird” reached Number 23 on the UK Singles Chart and topped the Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart for six weeks (it was Number 8 on the Singles Chart) becoming the first American Gold record ever awarded to a Canadian female solo artist.

Having since sold more than 54 million albums, Anne Murray is often cited as the woman who paved the way for other Canadian female success stories such as Céline Dion, Sarah McLachlan and Shania Twain.  A longtime golf enthusiast, she also made history in 2003 when she became the first woman to score a hole-in-one at the Kaluhyat Golf Course’s Par 3, 17th hole in upstate New York.  A few years later she was widely cited as the world’s best female celebrity golfer.

LISTEN TO TODAY’S SELECTION – Thursday 27 December 

Snowbird

 Beneath this snowy mantle cold and clean

The unborn grass lies waiting for its coat to turn to green

The snowbird sings the song he always sings

And speaks to me of flowers that will bloom again in spring

When I was young my heart was young then, too

Anything that it would tell me, that’s the thing that I would do

But now I feel such emptiness within

For the thing that I want most in life’s the thing that I can’t win

 Spread your tiny wings and fly away

And take the snow back with you

Where it came from on that day

The one I love forever is untrue

And if I could you know that I would

Fly away with you

The breeze along the river seems to say

That he’ll only break my heart again should I decide to stay

So, little snowbird, take me with you when you go

To that land of gentle breezes where the peaceful waters flow

Spread your tiny wings and fly away

And take the snow back with you

Where it came from on that day

The one I love forever is untrue

And if I could you know that I would

Fly away with you

Yeah, if I could I know that I would fl-y-y-y-y away with you

Now observed throughout much of the British Commonwealth, there are competing theories about the origins of Boxing Day.  Most likely the name comes from the tradesmen’s custom of collecting “Christmas boxes” of money or presents on the first weekday after Yuletide as thanks for good service throughout the year.

This tradition dates back to the days when the servants of wealthy landowners were allowed to take the day off to visit their families, and it was customary for each to receive a box containing gifts, bonuses and leftover food.

But an even older, European Boxing Day tradition stretches back to the Middle Ages, where in addition to those in service, money and gifts were given to those in need, with metal boxes placed outside churches to collect special offerings tied to the Feast of Saint Stephen.

That’s where “Good King Wenceslas” enters the picture.  As an English “Second Day of Christmas” Carol it was written by John Mason Neale and Thomas Helmore in the 1850s based on the Tenth Century legend of Saint Wenceslas I, Duke of Bohemia.  Wenceslas encouraged his page to stay the course against the frigid weather by following his footprints, step for step, through the deep snow so that he could give alms to a poor peasant during the Feast of Stephen.

Born in Manitoba in 1957, soprano Loreena Isabel Irene McKennitt, is a singer, composer, harpist, accordionist and pianist who writes, records and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern themes.

LISTEN TO TODAY’S BOXING DAY SELECTION 

Good King Wenceslas

 Good King Wenceslas looked out

On the Feast of Stephen

When the snow lay ’round about

Deep and crisp and even

Brightly shone the moon that night

Though the frost was cruel

When a poor man came in sight

Gathering winter fuel

 Hither, page, and stand by me

If thou knows it, telling

Yonder peasant, who is he

Where and what his dwelling

Sire, he lives a good league hence

Underneath the mountain

Right against the forest fence

By Saint Agnes’ fountain

 Bring me flesh and bring me wine

Bring me pine-logs hither

Thou and I shall see him dine

When we bear them thither

Page and monarch, forth they went

Forth they went together

Through the rude wind’s wild lament

And the bitter weather

Sire, the night is darker now

And the wind blows stronger

Fails my heart, I know not how

I can go no longer

Mark my footsteps, my good my page

Tread thou in them boldly

Thou shall find the winter’s rage

Freeze thy blood less coldly

In his master’s step he trod

Where the snow lay dinted

Heat was in the very sod

Which the Saint had printed

Therefore, Christian men, be sure

Wealth or rank possessing

Ye, who now will bless the poor

Shall yourselves find blessing