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Publication date  /  2019  /  February   -   31 articles

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  • Just Squeeze Me (But Please Don't Tease Me)

    - 01 Feb 2019
    In 1941 Duke Ellington and His Orchestra released the future jazz standard "Just Squeeze Me (But Please Don't Tease Me)" (Duke Ellington - Lee Gaines) with vocalist Ray Nance. Ray was with the Duke for years as a dancer, trumpeter on "Take The 'A' Train",

  • What Have They Done To The Rain

    - 02 Feb 2019
    Political activist Malvina Reynolds sings "What Have They Done To The Rain" she wrote in 1962 trying to stop atmospheric nuclear testing causing fall out. The lady knew how to compose songs with meaning, songs like "Little Boxes", "Turn Around" and

  • Disco Lady

    - 03 Feb 2019
    Originally called "Disco Baby", Harvey Scales sings "Disco Lady" (Harvey Scales - Albert Vance - Don Davis) during a live performance. Harvey wrote "Love-Itis" which hit for Mandala in their native Canada. Johnnie Taylor hit number one on both

  • Quentin's Theme

    - 04 Feb 2019
    This is the original theme to the gothic television series "Dark Shadows". Conceived as "Shadows Of The Night" this cult classic was composed by Robert Cobert and is performed here by his orchestra in 1968. The narrator is David Selby who played the

  • Everybody Knows

    - 05 Feb 2019
    Co-writer Les Reed sings "Everybody Knows (L. Reed - B. Mason). Just a few of the successes Les co-wrote include "It's Not Unusual", "There's A Kind Of Hush", "Delilah", "The Last Waltz, "Here It Comes Again" and "Kiss Me Goodbye". The Dave Clark Five

  • High Hopes

    - 06 Feb 2019
    The 1959 movie "A Hole In The Head" highlighted Frank Sinatra and Eddie Hodges singing "High Hopes" (James Van Heusen - Sammy Cahn). The song won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The Frank Capra film also included Edward G. Robinson, Eleanor

  • Lonely Teardrops

    - 07 Feb 2019
    Jackie Wilson's "Lonely Teardrops" (Berry Gordy Jr., Tyran Carlo) was initially recorded as a blues ballad but Brunswick label executives and the writers weren't happy with the product. It was Decca veteran arranger Dick Jacobs who re-arranged it. What

  • I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)

    - 08 Feb 2019
    Hank (Hiram) Williams and his Drifting Cowboys (Don Helms, Sammy Pruett, Jerry Rivers and Jack Shook) original "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)" was issued as a B side yet reached number two on the Country chart in 1951. Hank is a member

  • Poetry In Motion

    - 08 Feb 2019
    This version of "Poetry In Motion" (Paul Kaufman - Mike Anthony) was recorded in 1960 but first published in 2011 by Bear Family Records. This original has King Curtis (Curtis Ousley) on saxophone and was recorded some weeks before the famous single

  • She Lets Her Hair Down (Early In The Morning)

    - 09 Feb 2019
    "Early In the Morning" aka "She Let's Her Hair Down" or a bracketed combination of those titles started with a 1968 Miss Clairol television commercial and resulted in a well known song. Who recorded the tune first as a single is hotly debated. The title

  • I Love You So Much It Hurts

    - 10 Feb 2019
    Floyd Tillman recorded "I Love You So Much It Hurts" in 1948 and charted at number six on the "Country" listing. This is a remixed stereo version of the original record. Floyd played lead guitar for Adolph Hofner and also worked with Moon Mullican and Ted

  • Amazed

    - 11 Feb 2019
    Marv Green sings "Amazed" (Marv Green - Aimee Mayo - Chris Lindsey) from his LP "Pouring Raindrops Back Into Clouds". Apparently the song was offered to Boyz ll Men and they rejected it at the time. Marv's tunes have been recorded by Willie Nelson, Jewel,

  • Rock The Boat

    - 12 Feb 2019
    From the Wally (Waldo) Holmes LP "A Good Mix" comes the solfeggio version of "Rock The Boat" (Holmes). The trumpeter and songwriter is the leader of the jazz group Yankee Wailers. They make annual appearances at the L.A. Sweet and Hot Music Festival.

  • Lost In Love

    - 13 Feb 2019
    The duo Air Supply (Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock) originally recorded the Australian single version of "Lost In Love" (Graham Russell) in 1979. The single was in excess of five minutes and became part of the album "Life Support". The next year

  • Maneater

    - 14 Feb 2019
    Grammy award winner John Oates performs (Daryl) Hall and (John) Oates' chart topping "Maneater" live at the New York 2009 Songwriters Circle Song Writing Contest June 25th, 2009 at the Bitter End in New York City. Wikipedia: "John Oates has explained that

  • La Vie en Rose

    - 15 Feb 2019
    "La Vie en Rose" (Piaf - Louiguy - Monnot) was written in 1945 and made popular by Edith Piaf (Gassion). The name "Piaff" meaning sparrow was a nickname. She was named Edith after nurse Edith Cavell. Actually the song from the LP "Chansons Parisiennes"

  • Pink Cadillac

    - 16 Feb 2019
    Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band (Clarence Clemmons, Garry Tallent and Max Weinberg) recorded "Pink Cadillac" in 1984 as the B side of "Dancing In The Dark". Until The Boss heard the Natalie Cole version he nixed women singing the song because it

  • Spirit(s) In the Night

    - 16 Feb 2019
    His debut album "Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J." contains Bruce Springsteen's "Spirit In The Night". This and "Blinded By The Light" were late additions to the LP so few members of the band are on the track except for Clarence Clemmons, Vini Lopez and

  • Young Girl

    - 17 Feb 2019
    Jerry Fuller sings his song "Young Girl" from the album "From The Vault". Jerry once toured with The Champs as their vocalist. As a songwriter Jerry was responsible for "Young World", "A Wonder Like You" and other Union Gap hits "Lady Willpower" and "Over

  • (At Your Best) You Are Love

    - 18 Feb 2019
    It was 1976 when the Isley Brothers (lead vocalist Ronald, Ernie, Marvin, O'Kelly and Rudolph Isley with Chris Jasper) released "(At Your Best) You Are Love" on the album "Harvest For The World" and dedicated it to their mother. The album got to the top

  • Nut Rocker

    - 19 Feb 2019
    First issued on the Del-Rio label, here's H.B. Barnum's original adaptation of the march from Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite". Played on a grand piano in 1962 "Nut Rocker" (Kim Fowley) is credited to Jack B. Nimble and the Quicks. Hidle Brown Barnum

  • Skip A Rope

    - 20 Feb 2019
    Glenn Tubb and his in concert version of "Skip A Rope" (Jack Moran - Glenn D. Tubb) at the Texas Troubadour Theatre in Nashville in 2010. This is the venue built by Glenn's uncle Ernest Tubb. Henson Cargill took "Skip A Rope", with the help of The

  • Steam Heat

    - 21 Feb 2019
    The 1954 Broadway Tony Award winning smash "The Pajama Game" included "Steam Heat" (Richard Adler - Jerry Ross) as sung by Carol Haney with Peter Gennaro and Jim Hutchison. The musical became a successful film in 1957 and has been revived several times on

  • What A Girl Wants (Ce Que Je Suis)

    - 22 Feb 2019
    Actor, model, singer and songwriter Ophelie Winter released "Ce Que Je Suis" (Ophelie Winter - Guy Roche - Shelly Peiken) in 1998 as a track from her LP "Privacy". The next year saw the issue of the Billboard number one hit "What A Girl Wants" (Shelly

  • Stop, Stop, Stop (Come On Back)

    - 23 Feb 2019
    The Hollies (Graham Nash, Tony Hicks, Allan Clarke, Bobby Elliott and Bernie Calvert) "Come On Back" (L. Ransford) was recorded as a B side in 1964. The writer's name was a pseudonym for group members. "Stop, Stop, Stop" (Allan Clarke - Tony Hicks -

  • I Can Love You Like That

    - 24 Feb 2019
    Kentucky country singer John Michael Montgomery introduced "I Can Love You Like That" (Maribeth Derry - Steve Diamond - Jennifer Kimball) as the first single from his 1995 platinum self-titled album. The single topped the Country chart. John's elder

  • So Much In Love

    - 24 Feb 2019
    The Tymes (lead vocalist George Williams, Donald Banks, Albert Berry, Norman Burnett and George Hilliard) topped the charts with "So Much In Love (Jackson - Joseph - Williams) in 1963. The single is from the top twenty LP of the same name. All-4-One

  • (Themes From) The Man With The Golden Arm

    - 25 Feb 2019
    "(Themes From) The Man With The Golden Arm" (Leonard Bernstein) was featured in the Frank Sinatra 1955 vehicle of that name. Academy Award, Golden Globe and Emmy winner Elmer Bernstein composed the music for too many films and television shows to list.

  • Somebody To Love (Queen)

    - 26 Feb 2019
    From the 1976 top five album "A Day At The Races" here's Queen (lead vocalist Farrokh Bulsara aka Freddie Mercury, John Deacon, Brian May and Roger Taylor) with the initial single from the LP. "Somebody To Love" (Freddie Mercury) peaked at number thirteen

  • You And I

    - 27 Feb 2019
    Frank J. Myers and Crystal Gayle (Webb) teamed for "You And I" (Frank J. Myers), a song written for Frank's wife on Frank's 2006 album "Scrapbook". Once the bandleader and road manager for Eddy Raven, Frank was co-writer on the massive crossover hit "I

  • Reconsider Me

    - 28 Feb 2019
    From the album "Rockin' At The Sock Hop" is co-composer Margaret Lewis with "Reconsider Me" (Margaret Lewis - Mira Smith). Margaret joined the cast of the Louisiana Hayride in 1958.The other composer, Mira Smith was a multi- instrumentalist, songwriter,