Da Blogmother

Friday Classics: City of New Orleans

I started out looking for a video of Arlo Guthrie covering this song. Still haven't come across one.

But I found I like this version a whole lot anyway: It's by Willie Nelson and the Highwaymen....

Friday Classics: Auld Lang Syne

"Auld Lang Syne," is traditionally sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year.

Here's a little of the song's history http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auld_Lang_Syne

And the complete lyrcis along with a translation into modern day english: http://www.newyearfavors.com/new-years-eve-song.html

While browsing YouTube, I fell in love with this version of Auld Lang Syne played as a background to scenes from the 1940 movie Waterloo Bridge.

Friday Classics: The Simon Sisters

Did you know Carly Simon started her musical career in a folk duo, the Simon Sisters, with her sister Lucy?

Here is a video of the Simon Sisters from the 1960s performing Turn, Turn, Turn. Pay attention to the harmony, the way their voices weave in and out. It is truly beautiful.

Lyrics

History of the song

Friday Classics: Hi-De-Ho

Over at BloodhoundBlog, a conference, BloodhoundBlog Unchained, is taking shape.

One interesting conversation revolves around a "theme song" for the event.

Here's a theme song idea from Teri Lussier. The song is Won't Get Fooled Again ,,,, and here's a link to the lyrics for boomer suffering from Rock-Ear Syndrome.

Here's Greg's Swann's original theme song idea. The song is I Won't Back Down ,,,, here are the lyrics.

In my usual wandering-stream-of-consciousness style, listening to I Won't Back Down made me think of Hi-De-Ho.

Interesting contrast. In I Won't Back Down, the singer stands at "the gates of hell" and declares he "won't back down". In Hi-De-Do, the singer meets the Devil, and replies very politely "Thank you very kindly, but"....

Here are the lyrics to Hi-De-Ho

Friday Classics: If I Had A Hammer

What the world needs now is some classic early 1960s vintage Folk Music. Go ahead and sing along:

Here is a link to the lyrics and a little of the amazing history of this song:

http://www.mysongbook.de/msb/songs/i/ifihhamm.html

When Pete Seeger first wrote the lyrics, they were considered "radical" and the song didn't become popular until Peter, Paul and Mary revived it several years later.

Friday Classics: Louie Louie

"Louie Louie" has become a standard in pop and rock, performed by high school marching bands, rock bands, punk bands, you name it.

"Louie Louie" was originally written by Richard Berry in 1955 as a calypso-style ballad, that told in simple verse-chorus form, the story of a Jamaican sailor returning to the island to see his lady. The singer brags of his "fine little girl" to Louie, presumably a bartender.

A jubilant rock and roll version, with little trace of the song's calypso origins, was recorded in 1963 by The Kingsmen and became a national and international hit.

The Kingsmen's lyrics were widely misheard and misinterpreted and became the subject of an FBI investigation about the supposed (but non-existent obscenity) of the lyrics, an investigation that ended without prosecution.

Without further ado ... here is the well-known Kingsmen version:

Remember Paul Revere and the Raiders' version?

One by Iggy Pop with some inventive lyrics

The Grateful Dead version is a trip

Here are the original Richard Berry lyrics

Friday Classics: That Was Then, This Is Now

Further explorations into "That Was Then, This is Now"

Consider this. Here is a video fo Eric Burdon performing "Bring It On Home" in 1965, probably on the Ed Sullivan Show. (Lordy, it should have been illegal for a kid that young to sing the blues.)

Here is a video of Eric Burdon performing "Bring It On Home" in 2006.

What has changed ... besides the newer video being in color? It seems to me that they are having a lot more fun in 2006. The feeling of joy and celebration is contagious.

Friday Classics

Last week, I posted a video of Springsteen in the 1980s and there were some interesting comments about how much we have all changed in 20 years.

Well, let's consider this (hang in a minute while the videos load):

Here is Joe Cocker performing "A Little Help From My Friends" in 1969. He's young, he's lean, he's intense. In fact, he's so deep into the groove you might be concerned that he suffers from a physical affliction (Check out Leon Russell playing guitar, too). .

This is now -- This is Joe Cocker in 2002 performing the same song. The hairline has changed, the waistline has changed. But the intensity, the passion, the voice and the heart .... those are even better.....

FRIDAY CLASSICS: DARLINGTON COUNTY

Last week I kicked off Friday Classics as a way to share some of my favorite music.

This is an exhilarating 1985 performance of a Springsteen Classic.

Friday Classics: Total Eclipse Of The Heart