MetaFilter posts tagged with DooWop

The Gummy Soul Show: Chicano Rap Oldies

KokuRyu — Wed, 01 May 2013 09:07:41 -0800

In honor of Bizarre Tribe: A Quest to The Pharcyde's inclusion on Okayplayer's list of "Top 20 Vinyl Releases for Record Store Day", Gummy Soul has put together a new mix exploring Doo Wop's unlikely influence on East L.A.'s Chicano Rap scene of the early 90's. Hear the sounds of this overlooked chapter in Hip-Hop history here. [Previously]

Response Records: Answers to Hit Songs

filthy light thief — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 15:04:58 -0800

Before hip-hop beefs, there were response records, also known as answer songs, usually replies to well-known songs. There are a few key eras: blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s through 1950s, including a number of responses to "Work With Me, Annie" (1954), recorded by Hank Ballard & the Midnighters, with answers including "Annie had a Baby," and "The Wallflower" by Etta James; and Big Mama Thornton's "Hound Dog" (1953), with a quick response by Louis Innis and Charlie Gore, made a mere week after the original was released, and Rufus Thomas' "Bear Cat" (1953), Sun Records' first hit. Country, rock & roll, doo-wop and pop music picked up where the blues left off, with most activity in the 1950s to 60s. Two examples from this era are "Are You Lonesome To-night" and "Who Put The Bomp," and responses to both. The most well known from the next decade was Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" (1974), a response to Neil Young's "Southern Man" (1970) and "Alabama" (1972). Until the 2000s, no answer songs had charted as high as the original hits. That changed with Frankee's "F.U.R.B. (Fuck You Right Back)" (2004), a response to Eamon's "Fuck It (I Don't Want You Back)" (2003), which was the first answer song to reach number 1 in the UK. Six years later and across the pond, Katy Perry's "California Gurls" was a response to "Empire State of Mind" by Jay-Z. It was the first answer song to reach No. 1 in the Billboard Hot 100. More Responses inside. The most popular era for coverage on the internet was the 1960s for doo-wop and pop answer songs, as covered by the Answer Song Jukebox (music linked as Real Audio files) and Ask Mr. Music's list of notable answer songs (no audio). Music Pop Hits page of Answerback Songs (MP3 and WMA) includes a list of original tracks and their answer songs. Rewind the Fifties has a collection of answer songs, parodies, and death tunes (no audio), and Ace Records collected 28 answer songs recorded by girl groups of the 60s, and the linked page includes some samples. Disregarding the distinction of decades or genres, this Yahoo Music Playlist Blog pairs 34 songs with their responses, plus a few extensions of the Neil Young-Lynyrd Skynyrd "storyline." WMFU's Dave the Spazz collected 28 answer songs and shared them online as MP3s and Real Audio streams. The Frankee vs Eamon response "battle" brought answer songs back to public interest, and with it an article from The Guardian: Discs at Dawn, which claims 1986 as a "golden year for response records. The article cites Gwen Guthrie's "Ain't Nothing Goin' On But the Rent" and the answer song, Wally Jump Jr's "Ain't Gonna Pay You One Red Cent." There was also round two in The Bridge Wars, Boogie Down Productions' "South Bronx," a response to MC Shan's "The Bridge," which came out in late 1985. Shan shot back with "Kill That Noise" in 1987. There was also a response to Madonna's "Papa, Don't Preach" called "Madonna, Don't Preach" that apparently got some small amount of radio play in '86, but there's not much record of it online. Beyond these, it's not too clear why 1986 was special, but I digress. Previously Thomas and his "Bear Cat" were covered previously, though most of the links are dead. Here is an archived version of tribute page to Thomas. "Work With Me Annie" was included in the 2010 New Yorker holiday party mix. A nation of state-specific answers to California Gurls.

R.I.P. Everything Man

louche mustachio — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:05:04 -0800

The world just got a little less funky. Jimmy Castor passed away today. You might know him as the doo-wop Junior who replaced Frankie Lymon in The Teenagers. You might know him forYou Might know his hits Troglodyte, Hey, Leroy, or maybe the Bertha Butt Boogie. You might even know his Magic Saxophone. However you may know him, or even if you never heard of him, I am sure he would like to be remembered soulfully and funkfully, and with much grooving and booty shaking. Here is a selection of his tunes to get your ass-jowls flapping; by all means feel free to post more. (with The Juniors)This Girl of Mine (1957) Say, Leroy (The Creature From The Black Lagoon is Your Father) Leroy's in the Army King Kong(1975) (live) Dracula(1976) Psyche (It's Just Begun, 1972) L.T.D. (1972) E-man Groovin'(1976) Party People (1979)

Orange you glad you got your Nickelodeon?

Rhaomi — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 13:33:49 -0800

Two and a half years ago, we explored the early history of Cartoon Network... but it wasn't the only player in the youth television game. As a matter of fact, Fred Seibert -- the man responsible for the most inventive projects discussed in that post -- first stretched his creative legs at the network's truly venerable forerunner: Nickelodeon. Founded as Pinwheel, a six-hour block on Warner Cable's innovative QUBE system, this humble channel struggled for years before Seibert's innovative branding work transformed it into a national icon and capstone of a media empire. Much has changed since then, from the mascots and game shows to the versatile orange "splat." But starting tonight in response to popular demand, the network is looking back with a summer programming block dedicated to the greatest hits of the 1990s, including Hey Arnold!, Rocko's Modern Life, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Double Dare, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Legends of the Hidden Temple, and All That. To celebrate, look inside for the complete story of the early days of the network that incensed the religious right, brought doo-wop to television, and slimed a million fans -- the golden age of Nickelodeon. (warning: monster post inside) PART 1: The Early Years Nick started out as a young children's program called Pinwheel that mixed puppetry and live action with animated shorts from overseas. Only a few bootlegs survive from this era, making video hard to track down. As the nascent channel struggled to find an audience, it started rerunning episodes of the Canadian comedy show You Can't Do That On Television!, which proved to be a big hit and laid the groundwork for future variety shows like it once the network found its legs. The show also introduced the infamous green slime that would characterize the network's later game show programs. Semi-active fansite YCDTOTV.com provides official recipes, and is positively overflowing with other content about this era. PART 2: "From Worst to First" Fred Seibert arrived at Nickelodeon fresh from success at MTV, where he and colleague Alan Goodman had developed the iconic "Man on the Moon" sequence that launched the channel in 1981. The Fred/Alan team found Nickelodeon floundering, hemorrhaging millions of dollars and dead last in the ratings. Their solution: a complete re-branding, starting with the logo. Out went the clunky silver balloon, in came The Splat. Inspired by MTV's shifting psychedelic design, The Splat was an all-purpose wonder, an amorphous blob of bright orange gunk that could be anything and everything. Using fun style guides, producers applied the Nick name to bones, rocket ships, dinosaurs, and dozens of other forms across hundreds of products over the next few decades. The logo was so versatile, in fact, that it went through only one major revision (blog post; guide) before Viacom, in the way of all corporate giants, dispensed with The Splat in 2009 for a new unified brand -- one very similar, ironically enough, to the logo that saddled the network in its infancy. To introduce Nick's new brand, Seibert and Goodman contracted with dozens of artists to create a series of striking and innovative "bumpers" all showcasing the bright orange Splat. Perhaps the most fortuitous hire was a capella band The Jive Five. As Seibert explains in his article "The Doo-Wopping of Television":

Alan's former colleague, writer and producer Marty Pekar, had started Ambient Sound to capture contemporary recordings of classic doo-wop groups from the 50s and 60s. He introduced them to the leader of The Jive 5, Eugene Pitt, as "not only a great singer, but a smart man." They found Eugene to be, as Rock and Roll Hall of Fame CEO Terry Stewart said, "the most underrated soul singer in America," and a wonderful collaborator. When the opportunity to work with Nickelodeon presented itself, Fred, Alan, and producer Tom Pomposello immediately knew the Jive 5 would be the perfect underpinning for defining the vocabulary of the network. Convincing Nickelodeon was another story. [...] Fred/Alan tried a lot of arguments to bring them around to a doo-wop sound, but they fell on deaf ears. "Doo-wop's 30 years old, no kid has ever heard of it." We won the day on two grounds. Fred played on the executives' liberal backgrounds. "We love all forms of African-American music, and using doo-wop will be a great way to educate American kids without anyone being the wiser." Alan's worked even better. He opened his mouth and, quoting The Marcels' arrangement of chestnut "Blue Moon," sang: "Bom-ma-bom, a-bom-bom-a-bom, ba-ba-bom-bom-a-bomp, b-dang-a-dang-dang, b-ding-a-dong-ding." "What kid isn’t going to relate to that right away?" Alan asked. Case closed.

The Jive Five proceeded to record a number of joyful and infectiously catchy doo-wop melodies for the artists to animate in a wide variety of styles, spots that went on to form the core of the channel's new identity (and the first of which became the its enduring theme song):

N-Nick Nick Nick N-Nick Nick Nick... Nickelodeon! (Main Theme) - Hon De Laud Hup Hivvel Up Nick (Calling Cades MasterMix) - Orange you glad you got your Nickelodeon? (Fruit variant) - Bulldog Crew (Jungle) - Tweedley Dum (Space Beans) - Shoo Be Doo (Worms) - It's Time, It's Time (Haircut) - Say Hey Say Hi Say Ho (Skating) - Better Off By Far (Space) - Waiting for You (Fish) - Dino Bop - Doo-Wop-a-Saurus - Your TV Network (Jive Five) - Top of the Hour - Easy Groove - Alligator and Frog - Dragon and Frog - Full Montage

The campaign was a tremendous, CLIO award-winning success -- within six months Nickelodeon had rocketed to the number one slot on the ratings chart. And the doo-wop was just the beginning -- that first batch inspired a wider range of spots in later years, from the cute to the bizarre:

Pinchface - Bone - Picnic Ants - Big Beast Quintet - Nicktoons Blob - Scissors Man - Opera - Reggae - Toothbrush Morph - Monkey Balloon - Dancing Dogs - Monster Disco - Banner - Around the World - Waiter - Laundry - Rock Dance - Teacup - What You Want claymation - Doug - Spelling - Barnyard - Comet - Flying Chair - Origami - Asian ID - Sea Monster - Box Face - Stage - Cave Paintings - Octopus - Tractor - Head on Chair - Windshield - Lockers - Rugrats - Gymnastics - Nick Takes Over Your School - Compilation (with lots more) - Shorts: Inside-Out Boy and Angela Anaconda

A Maine summer camp was even invited to submit student-created bumpers, which turned into a fun campaign of its own. PART 3: Nickelodeon Studios Years of sustained success led to the 1990 foundation of Nickelodeon Studios, a combination film studio, animation mecca, and theme park at Universal Studios in Orlando. The studio, with its colorful facade and infamous Slime Geyser, would become the nerve center of the company and a backdrop for many programs throughout the next decade, especially game shows like Double Dare, the notoriously difficult Legends of the Hidden Temple obstacle course (which you can attempt yourself!), and Global GUTS with its imposing Aggro Crag. The network also developed spin-offs and sister channels, such as Nick Jr. (full of colorful fare like Face and Gullah Gullah Island for the toddler set) and Nick at Nite, which featured reruns of popular sitcoms from decades past (which, if you think about it, is basically what this '90s programming block is doing right now -- oh noes!). Sadly, the studios closed its doors in 2005 in the face of flagging attendance, storm damage, and staff relocations to other offices. The building still stands, but all has been stripped away, including the Geyser and the studio time capsule (reburied at a company resort talked about previously). Gone, but not forgotten, though -- enjoy this thorough behind-the-scenes guided tour of the facility from before the closure by a former employee. PART 4: Live Action The Nick Studio was home to many live action programs, from sitcoms to horror to variety shows (and Stick Stickly!): Two early sitcoms, Hey Dude and Clarissa Explains it All, have been given full retrospectives by the AV Club, while fan favorite The Adventures of Pete & Pete is getting an episode-by-episode review. Speaking of which, don't miss the full version of "Hey Sandy," the great theme song by Polaris that carried some surprisingly dark undertones, or this original short uploaded by Fred Seibert. As for the cast, where are they now? Horror series Are You Afraid of the Dark? went through several incarnations, many episodes of which can be found online. Brave the list of scariest episodes (or TVTropes' High Octane Nightmare Fuel page for the show) ...if you dare. And of course there were the two big variety shows, both the work of Dan Schneider ("the Norman Lear of children’s television"). Each were modeled on the earlier YCDTOT -- the SNL-lite All That and spin-off Kenan & Kel (both of which helped propel star Kenan Thompson to actual SNL stardom). The nature of the shows makes video more scattered, but there's plenty to take in; this 100+ video playlist is a good start, as is the TVTropes page. (And lest we forget: Camp Anawanna, Alex Mack, Cousin Skee-- well, you can probably forget that one.) For the cynics out there: The Nostalgia Critic's skeptical 18-minute mocking of the above (except for Pete & Pete, which he loves unconditionally). PART 5: Nicktoons Of course, the most well-known Nick properties were their many original animated series, or Nicktoons. A ToonZone member explains their genesis:

Sometime in 1989, at the Montclair, New Jersey house of Nick president Geraldine Laybourne, Laybourne, her husband Kit, Herb Scannell, Fred Seibert, and others had a meeting where they watched TV shows currently running at the time and compared them to classic shorts such as the Looney Tunes. They came to the conclusion that then-current animation from studios such as DIC and Hanna-Barbera was formulaic and had no unique style. Geraldine Laybourne believed that the best characters, such as Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, and Kermit the Frog, were those characters who were linked to their creator. Laybourne and the team decided that the creator should be the one who was the center of the production, just as it was in the old days. Also, having a library of animated shows that they owned would allow them to both prevent having to license other animation and make money for the network- and also eventually make back the high cost of producing original animation, since animation is costly to produce, but has a long shelf life. It was an expensive and laborious project- around $12 million in total ($1 to $2 million per pilot) to commission eight pilots, of which they hoped four would be able to air as an animated block with a target date of August 1991.

Only three of the eight made made it through to production: Doug, Rugrats, and the wonderfully edgy Ren & Stimpy. The success of these inspired others throughout the next decade, including:

Rocko's Modern Life, whose first season is on review at AV Club Hey Arnold!, whose main voice actress (for Helga) recently did an informative Q&A over at Reddit Kablam!, the comics-inspired variety animation show with one catchy theme song ("Two Tone Army" by The Toasters) The ongoing Spongebob Squarepants juggernaut, whose first few seasons could be pretty twisted Invader Zim (lots of episodes here), whose twistedness was a little more obvious And of course plenty of Mefites are familiar with the artistry and good storytelling of Avatar (no, not the 3D one)

One notable project was Seibert's Oh Yeah! Cartoons, an innovative series of one-off creator-driven shorts that would inspire later work on Cartoon Network's World Premiere Toons series (which in turn led to programs like Dexter's Lab and Powerpuff Girls, discussed here). There's a full list of shorts to peruse on Wikipedia -- many are on YouTube, but far to many to post here. Seibert himself has put a lot of media from the show on the web, like multiple 100+ page books of art from his Frederator Studios, which helmed the project and now makes series like Adventure Time. Don't miss the ongoing 16-part history of the studio (full table of contents are only in that last post). Also interesting, if unrelated, is Seibert's collection of media from his time at Hanna-Barbera in the early '90s. If you want more (lots more), check out Jerry Beck's Not Just Toons: Nicktoons! or Heather Hendershot's more scholarly Nickelodeon Nation. (The Nostalgia Critic is slightly more tolerant of the 'toons) PART 6: Nickelodeon Magazine For years, Nick promoted subscriptions to Nickelodeon Magazine, its flagship print product with a peak circulation of more than seven million. Interestingly, while the magazine was largely concerned with pranks and jokes and celebrity interviews, it was also a haven for the underground comix scene, featuring work from cartooning luminaries like Kim Deitch and Craig Thompson, whose works were popular enough to justify periodic all-comic specials and support award programs and convention events. As cartoonist Rod McKie described his first read through an issue:

So, having heard good things about Nickelodeon Magazine (US), I decided to get a hold of the thing and go over it with a fine tooth-comb, and try to think my way into the thing. The thing was, I had no idea what to expect, it was a kids magazine after all. Well, I was astonished when I saw it, really astonished. I'm not kidding, I was really bowled over by the magazine, I had never seen a publication more visually literate, more cartoon and illustration friendly, it was a cartoonist's delight. [...] I found myself responding to it with the same levels of wonder and delight as a cartoonist, as a parent, and as a teacher. I had never seen anything like this, and I had never seen such a range of mainstream and indie cartoonists all gathered together in one publication.

Though the magazine unfortunately folded in 2009, information and art from its many features can still be found on the web: Fiona of the Felines by Terry LaBan - Grampa and Julie: Shark Hunters by Jef Czekaj - Impy & Wormer by James Kochalka - Juanita and Clem by Craig Thompson - Mervin the Magnificent by Richard Sala - Patty-Cake by Scott Roberts - Sam Hill & Ray-9 by Mark Martin - Scene But Not Heard by Sam Henderson - Southern Fried Fugitives by Simon and Kim Deitch - Teeny Weeny, the Tiniest Hot Dog in the World by Mark Martin - The Uncredibly Confabulated Tales of Lucinda Ziggles by Andy Ristaino - Underpants-On-His-Head Man by Michael Kupperman - Yam by Corey Barba Lots more material in the unofficial Nickmag-Comics LiveJournal site, or browse an old issue at Archive.org. PART 7: Nick News In 1992, the channel hired respected journalist Linda Ellerbee to helm Nick News, a new educational program meant to air periodically in classrooms and in primetime. The show gained renown (and eventually won a Peabody and an Edward R. Murrow Award) for tackling difficult and complex issues like AIDS and global warming in a frank way, taking its young audience seriously and relying heavily on interviews with kids and teens to explore their problems and concerns. Politically aware, the program's regular "Kids Pick the President" mock election correctly called five of the last six winners (save Kerry in 2004). Perhaps the most notable episode of the show was the controversial 2002 special report "My Family is Different" (discussed previously), which dealt with same-sex parentage and attendant issues such as sexual harassment and hate crimes. In a time when homosexuality enjoyed far weaker public support in America, Ellerbee's earnest and nonjudgmental take on the subject provoked bitter outrage from conservative groups, who pledged to boycott Nickelodeon in retaliation. The episode, the show's highest-rated, went on to win a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Television Journalism. The show's still going strong, most recently covering the long-term consequences of the Haiti earthquake. PART 8: Nick Movies In its heyday, the company produced original live-action movies, such as Harriet the Spy (1996) and Good Burger (1997), in addition to adaptations of its animated stable. It later branched out into producing big screen versions of other works, from A Series of Unfortunate Events and Nacho Libre to Rango and the terrible M. Night Shyamalan version of beloved Nicktoon Avatar (The Last Airbender). PART 9: SPECIAL MUSICAL BONUS!! An official "Best of Nicktoons" CD featuring a random assortment of earwormy tunes from across the network; available for download here or with selected tracks on YouTube: Nick Nick Nick (Main Theme) - 3D Laughing Boy Open - Rugrats Theme - Nick Video Open - Kablam! Theme - Thunder Girl - Nick-o-Las Tell Underture - Ren & Stimpy Theme - Happy Happy Joy Joy - Log Commercial - Calling Cades - Aaahh!! Real Monsters Theme - Artman Open - Angry Beavers Theme - I Think I Like You - Hey Arnold! Theme - Haunted Train Blues - Darling You Left My Heart - Look Up! - Simple Things - Rocko's Modern Life Theme - Orange You Glad? - CatDog Theme And what musical bonus is complete without a little amateur a capella? PART 10: It all comes back For the foreseeable future, rotating blocks of the old shows are now set to air weeknights at midnight EST on sister network TeenNick, starting with All That, Kenan & Kel, Clarissa Explains It All, and Doug. If you're not a fan of those, changes will be made to the schedule in response to feedback online through Facebook, Twitter, and other social media channels. Also, regular marathons of the old animated shows run overnight on fellow sister network Nicktoons at the same time, offering some variety for anybody who wants it.

The Voice of Some of Phil Spector's Greatest Creations, a One-Woman Wall of Sound: Darlene Love

filthy light thief — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 14:21:27 -0800

On March 14th, the 26th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will add 5 new performers to the growing list of well-known musicians. As previously discussed, the 2011 inductees are Alice Cooper, Neil Diamond, Dr. John, Tom Waits and Darlene Love. Though the last name may not be as famous as the four fellows, the chances are you know her voice, from Monster Mash, Rockin' Robbin, or Da Doo Ron Ron. Except her name wasn't credited first on any of those recordings, if it was mentioned at all. Darlene Wright was born July 26, 1941 in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of a Pentecostal minister. Her family moved to Texas when her father was offered a position at a church in San Antonio, but in 1956 the Wrights moved back to Los Angeles. Darlene sang in school glee clubs and church choirs. In the 1960s, the member of The Blossoms (formerly The Dreamers), invited Darlene to join them as a new lead singer. The group became probably the most successful unknown group from that era, first for backing a variety of bands (though they had a few releases to their own name), then they were noticed by Phil Spector, especially Darlene Wright. Spector had used The Blossoms and Darlene Wright on a number of songs, but never crediting them directly. On He's a Rebel, it was The Crystals instead of The Blossoms, then Darlene Wright and Fanita James (both members of The Blossoms) joined Bobby Sheen as Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans, who had a hit with a cover of Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah that charted in the US, but still no credit to Darlene Wright. She recorded (Today I Met) The Boy I'm Gonna Marry, and Phil Spector promised he'd credit Darlene. But instead of Darlene Wright, Spector named her Darlene Love, after one of his favorite gospel singers, Dorothy Love Coates. Darlene didn't mind, saying "I figured Phil would just decide to call me something else again two or three records down the road." But he didn't, and the name stuck, yet Spector still didn't give Darlene Love all the credit she was due. It wasn't until a series of lawsuits were filed in the 1990s against Spector that Love received unpaid royalties. After the doo-wop of the 1960s faded out, so did much of Love's musical career. She reunited with Spector in the 1970s for Lord, if You're a Woman, reviving some of the old R&B sound for the then-modern dancefloor. There was talk of an album with Spector, but that never panned out. In the 1980s, Darlene Love returned to the spotlight, this time as herself in Leader of the Pack, a jukebox musical featuring songs spanning Darlene's doo-wop career. Some reviews were far from glowing, but memories of a good time remain. In the late 1980s, she hit the silver screen as Trish Murtaugh, wife to Danny Glover's character in the Lethal Weapon movies. And for the past 24 years, her 1963 tune, Christmas (Baby please come home) has returned to David Letterman's night shows (1986, 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010). In 2009, Darlene Love was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and performed with Bruce Springsteen at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Concert. Springsteen sang her praises, but her inclusion in the Hall of Fame was not to be ... that year. She was nominated again for the 2011 ceremony, and this time she was accepted. Bonus links: Wikipedia entry; Discogs fan-made discography (currently not complete); short bio and lengthy discography of The Dreamers, The Blossoms, and other aliases; Who is Darlene Love?, a site for a bio-pic in the works; Darlene Love World, her official site, though thin on information; an interview on Broadway.com from 2005, about her role in Hairspary, the musical, and her career to date. Tracks on YouTube, from the incomplete list of Darlene Wright/Love singles 1961 - Son-In-Law - The Blossoms 1962 - The Search is Over - The Blossoms 1962 - He's a Rebel and He's Sure The Boy I Love - The Crystals (recorded by The Blossoms) 1962 - Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah - Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans 1963 - Today I Met the Boy I'm gonna Marry, A Fine, Fine Boy, Wait til' my Bobby Gets Home (stereo version), and Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Darlene Love 1963 - Why Do Lovers Break Each Other's Hearts? and Not Too Young to Get Married - Bob. B. Sox and The Blue Jeans 1963 - I'm In Love - The Blossoms 1964 - Stumble and Fall (WARNING: LOUD) - Darlene Love 1965 - That's When The Tears Start - The Blossoms 1966 - Lover Boy and Let Your Love Shine On Me - The Blossoms 1966 - Too Late To Say You're Sorry - Darlene Love 1967 - The Stony End - The Blossoms 1969 - You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' (live, left-channel audio only) - The Blossoms 1970 - I Ain't Got To Love Nobody Else (possibly NSFW still image) and One Step Away - The Blossoms 1972 - Grandma's Hands - Blossoms 1975 - Lord, if You're a Woman - Darlene Love 1977 - There's No Greater Love - The Blossoms 1992 - All Alone on Christmas - Darlene Love (on the Home Alone 2 soundtrack; related music video version) 2008 - Christmastime for the Jews (quiet; also on Hulu) - Darlene Love clay-animated on SNL

Musical notes from the underground

jng — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 21:45:34 -0800

Where can you see jazz¹ shows,² doo-wop performances,³ a vaudevillian dance act,⁴ found object⁵ percussion duos,⁶ opera concerts,⁷ international and intergalactic folk music gigs,⁸ and a pink gorilla playing the bass⁹? All for $2.25? On the New York City subway system, of course. Busking underground in New York's labyrinthine subway system is completely legal, though there are restrictions. Officially, there are to be no performances on board subway cars, amplification is disallowed, and musicians must audition to play in the most desired, high-trafficked locations. The MTA's Music Under New York program administers these auditions, and among their past musicians is Natalia 'Saw Lady' Paruz, whose blog is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the life of a subway performer. For musicians, more resources can be found at City Lore's Guide for Subway Musicians (note: last revision was 2004), and Buskers Advocate. Folks might also enjoy the 2006 documentary Downtown Locals. And for New Yorkers, if you see a notable street performer aboveground, go ahead and contribute to omniguy's excellent UndercoverNY [MeFi Projects], which includes a handy map for finding your neighborhood busker. And not to be forgotten: the breakdancers [NYTimes] 1. Moon Hooch [Bandcamp] 2. Yaz Band [website] 3. Acapella Soul [interview] 4. Little Michael Jackson [aka Alex Sotomayor] 5. Larry Wright [Wikipedia, documentary clip] 6. The Family [request for info] 7. Tao Qi [bio] 8. Nathan Stodola, The Renegade Accordionist [BB, PBS] 9. XY LO PH KS [website]

Wasn't That Good?

andihazelwood — Mon, 12 May 2008 01:27:58 -0800

Bop Bop a Doo Bop. Please Give Me Something. Mellow Saxophone. Let's Have a Ball. Ubangi Stomp. Jeannie, Jeannie, Jeannie. Be Bop a Lula. My One Desire. Wasn't That Good. What do these songs, of varying levels of obscurity and fame, have in common? The Stray Cats. In order: Fishnet Stockings. Crawl Up and Die. Wild Saxophone. Gonna Ball. Ubangi Stomp. Jeanie Jeanie Jeanie. Be Bop a Lula. My One Desire. Wasn't That Good. Thirty years since they formed, the Cats' farewell tour begins in August.

y2karlTube - Simply Beautiful

y2karl — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 12:56:06 -0800

Clarence Ashley - The Coo Coo
Skip James - Crow Jane
Howlin' Wolf - How Many More Years
Son House - John the Revelator
Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys - Close By
Houston Stackhouse & Joe Willie Wilkins - Cool Drink Of Water
Muddy Waters - Honey Bee
Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys - Lone Star Rag
Mississipi John Hurt - You Got To Walk That Lonesome Valley
Maybelle & Sara Carter - Cannonball Blues
Al Green - Simply Beautiful
Enjoy. Note that, too, save for Mississippi John Hurt, there is more by each of the above artists linked on each clip's page.
The first is via FaheyGuitarPlayers, the rest were all in a day's surf. On dial-up, even.

DooWop Nation

y2karl — Thu, 11 Nov 2004 13:03:25 -0800

DooWop Nation Not to get all Pepsi Blue on your collective ass, but I have been luxuriating in the Proper box sets The Dawn Of Doo-Wop (tracklist) and Doo Wop Delights (tracklist and discography) and thought to construct a post around the topic of the original postwar--as World War II--black harmony singing style, of which, as Greil Marcus notes in his Lipstick Traces, there were 15,000 records recorded after World War II--a DIY phenomenom which he compares to rise of punk... (more inside, naturally)