Category: Music

Categories
Music

The Wrecking Crew

The Wrecking Crew, aka The Clique and The First Call Gang, were an ad hoc collection of high-quality session musicians who played on many of the hits of the 1960s. The musicians included Hal Blaine, Tommy Tedesco and Carol Kaye and they played on records released by artists such as The Beach Boys, The Monkees, the Mamas and the Papas, Frank Sinatra and Sonny & Cher.

Members of the Wrecking Crew

From a jazz background, playing music in the West and East Coast nightclubs, the Wrecking Crew took their musical skills into the recording studios where they would often record a full album in a day. These musicians were presented with one-chord and three-chord pop songs. Their job was to add the jazz chords and licks, and make the songs “swing”. This they did in style, transforming a basic song into an international hit.

The Wrecking Crew often went uncredited on the record sleeves and labels, but the next time you find your foot tapping to a musical rhythm, or you find yourself singing along to your favourite 1960s song, the chances are the rhythm and melody were provided by the Wrecking Crew.

My article for the Seaside News about Peggy Lee appears on page 43 of the magazine.

For Authors

#1 for value with 565,000 readers, The Fussy Librarian has helped my books to reach #1 on 36 occasions.

A special offer from my publisher and the Fussy Librarian. https://authors.thefussylibrarian.com/?ref=goylake

Don’t forget to use the code goylake20 to claim your discount 🙂

Categories
Music

1950s/1960s Top Twenty Chart Poll

Since the beginning of the year, on Mastodon, we’ve been voting on our top twenty records of the 1950s and 1960s. Through a series of elimination polls, we established a top twenty, then matched each record to produce this “definitive” chart.

As you can see, Space Oddity claimed the number one spot. Due to the number of votes Space Oddity received in the qualifying rounds, I regarded David Bowie’s superb record as the number one seed. When Space Oddity easily out-polled Good Vibrations in the first round, I thought that the eventual number one position was never seriously in doubt.

Again, because of the high number of votes Respect received in the qualifying rounds, I regarded this record as the number two seed. However, the popularity of Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever took me by surprise simply because this record qualified through the repêchage, and not as an individual year winner.

I’m pleased that the repêchage system worked – three of the top ten: Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever, Paint it Black and I Can’t Get No Satisfaction qualified through the repêchage.

I’m also pleased that records such as Respect, The Dock of the Bay and Son of a Preacher Man featured in the top ten because I feel that these records add credence to the chart – the voters weren’t only interested in ‘the usual suspects’.

In general, records from the middle and late 1960s faired better than records from the early 1960s and 1950s. Maybe this had something to do with the voters holding a personal connection to these records, or maybe improvements in recording technology throughout the 1960s make these records sound better to modern ears.

My personal top five from the top twenty, in no particular order: Summer in the City, Fever, Then He Kissed Me, Do Doo Ron Ron and Hey Jude. Each, in its own way, captures something magical about the pop record.

I would like to thank the administrators on Tŵt Wales and all the people on Mastodon who participated in the polls. Around 19,000 votes were cast during the course of the Top Twenty Poll. It would take me several hours to count the thousands of votes cast in the qualifying rounds. 

I feel that the compiling of this chart was a great community effort displaying social media at its best. Now on to the 1970s…

Categories
Music

Fever – Peggy Lee

Fever is one of the most sensual songs ever committed to vinyl. Peggy Lee (pictured) recorded her version in May 1958 in Hollywood. She significantly altered the lyrics adding historical invocations, including the verses beginning “Romeo loved Juliet,” and “Captain Smith and Pocahontas”.

With Jack Marshall, Peggy Lee arranged a slow, sultry version of Fever. Her vocal was accompanied by bass, limited drums, and finger snaps, Peggy Lee adding some of the finger snaps. The song was her 118th single in a career that featured over 1,000 masters and 270 compositions.

Peggy Lee was born on 26 May 1920 in North Dakota. Her ancestors were Scandinavian – Swedish and Norwegian immigrants. Her mother died when Peggy was four, and this resulted in a difficult childhood.

As a teenager, Peggy Lee appeared on local radio stations. Engagements in California and Chicago followed, and they brought her to the attention of band leader Benny Goodman. Goodman and Peggy recorded together, producing a string of hits, including How Deep is the Ocean and My Old Flame.

In 1943, Peggy left Benny Goodman’s band. She enjoyed further success as a singer and composer, and also featured in movies including The Jazz Singer (1953) and Pete Kelly’s Blues (1955), earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

In 1955, Peggy Lee wrote He’s a Tramp for the movie Lady and the Tramp. Indeed, she co-wrote all the original songs in that film. She also provided the voices for the dog Peg and the Siamese cats. 

Despite poor health in later life, Peggy Lee continued to perform and record. However, Fever, the record she made with Jack Marshall and her ex-husband Dave Barbour, remained as her signature song.

When you listen to Peggy Lee’s recordings and witness her performances, it’s easy to understand why she was regarded as “The Queen of American Pop Music.”

The book that started my writing career. Sam’s Song has received over 3,000 reviews and ten years after publication is still riding high on Amazon’s private detective chart https://www.amazon.com/Sams-Song-Smith-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B00OHZ151W

For Authors

#1 for value with 565,000 readers, The Fussy Librarian has helped my books to reach #1 on 36 occasions.

A special offer from my publisher and the Fussy Librarian. https://authors.thefussylibrarian.com/?ref=goylake

Don’t forget to use the code goylake20 to claim your discount 🙂

Categories
Hannah's Diary Music

Happy New Year!

To get by, I need to eat, drink, love, write and listen to music. This song, written by Tom Schultz, seems appropriate for New Year’s Day. Happy New Year!

Don’t look back

A new day is breakin’
It’s been too long since I felt this way
I don’t mind where I get taken
The road is callin’
Today is the day

I can see
It took so long to realize
I’m much too strong
Not to compromise
Now I see what I am is holding me down
I’ll turn it around

I finally see the dawn arrivin’
I see beyond the road I’m drivin’
Far away and left behind

It’s a new horizon and I’m awakin’ now
Oh I see myself in a brand new way
The sun is shinin’
The clouds are breakin’
Cause I can’t lose now, there’s no game to play

I can tell
There’s no more time left to criticize
I’ve seen what I could not recognize
Everything in my life was leading me on
But I can be strong

I finally see the dawn arrivin’
I see beyond the road I’m drivin’
Far away and left behind

Don’t look back

 

Categories
Cardiff Music Wales

Ar Lan y Môr

While searching for an item on YouTube, I stumbled across this lovely version of Ar Lan y Môr by Elin Fflur.

Ar lan y môr mae rhosys chochion
Ar lan y môr mae lilis gwynion
Ar lan y môr mae ‘nghariad inne
Yn cysgu’r nos a chodi’r bore.

Ar lan y môr mae carreg wastad
Lle bum yn siarad gair âm cariad
O amgylch hon fe dyf y lili
Ac ambell gan gen o rosmari.

Ar lan y môr mae cerrig gleision
Ar lan y môr mae blodau’r meibion
Ar lan y môr mae pob rhinweddau.

Ar lan y môr mae’n nghariad innau.

Ar lan y môr, Ar lan y môr . . .
Ar lan y môr mae’n nghariad innau.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION LYRICS:
Beside the sea red roses growing
Beside the sea white lilies showing
Beside the sea their beauty telling
My true love sleeps within her dwelling

Beside the sea the stones lie scattered
Where tender words in love were uttered
While all around there grew the lily
And sweet branches of rosemary

Beside the sea blue pebbles lying
Beside the sea gold flowers glowing
Beside the sea are all things fairest
Beside the sea I found my dearest

Beside the sea…Beside the sea…
Beside the sea I found my dearest