A great new song from singer Ann Wilson and a backing band called Tripsitter. Ann and her sister Nancy gained fame in the 70s and 80s as part of the band Heart ("Magic Man", "Barracuda", "Straight On" and many others). This came out about a month ago and the album was released at the end of September. Ann is now 73 but still has a great voice.

On of my favorite songs by "The Ink Spots".

Which reminds me of The Mills Brothers, another of my very early favorite groups.

My favorite Gerry Rafferty. It always make me sad when I think of his passing back in 2011.

"Baker Street" is a great song.

Back on the subject of The Ink Spots, British actors Don Estelle and Windsor Davies, singing as their characters from the sitcom It Ain't Half Hot, Mum, had a #1 hit in the UK in 1975 with "Whispering Grass". That success led to a couple of albums, but nothing else they did matched the success of this, despite their talents. To my knowledge this never made a splash in the US since nobody on this side of the pond would have known who they were.

Michael - I have to admit, that was really funny.   You had to have seen the video of "Whispering Grass" by the Ink Spots to really appreciate this send up. 

And for @MarsGal , their version of The Mills Brothers' classic "Paper Doll".

A horror-themed parody of "Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue" courtesy of The Cool Ghoul. Dick Von Hoene was a local guy who hosted a Saturday night horror movie show called Scream In on a local TV station in the early 1970s. The show only ran for a few years but the character became quite popular. He died in 2004 at the age of 63.

An impressive rendition of an old American folk song. I found this guy on YouTube recently and keep going back to his videos. Amazing vocal range and impressive video editing.

Shenandoah --- One of my favorites
A different one -
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A catchy dance tune from 1980. This was a huge hit, peaking in the top 10 in at least 7 countries including both the US (#7) and UK (#6).

A fun song from the talented Connie Stevens. This was written for the 1938 film Garden of the Moon but seems to have outlived the film itself. It's been recorded by lots of artists as well. This version is from 1962.

Some great exotica from 1960

I have a memory of my mother singing, "I'm the Girl Friend of the Whirling Dervish", when I was young.  1938 sounds about right.  I don't recall the song by Connie Stevens?

Or more recent ---

Can't say that I ever heard Girlfriend of the Whirling Dervish before, but I do remember Connie Stevens.

Okay, while I was looking for something else, I came across 101 Strings, Soul of Spain and Soul of Spain II. They were among my very, very favorite albums growing up. I gave up trying to find them digitized long ago. And here they are. Yeay! Hang on to your mantillas and sombreros.



Somehow these sound a little different than on the old 33rpm HiFi, smoother, more basey, less "tinny", I think. Or it just could be my aging ears. But, oh yes, all the pops and scratches like my old records ended up sounding after such a hard life entertaining my ears.

Oh, and here is Hugo Montenegro with Arriba!. Also one of my top spins. Pay attention to  Ante El Escorial (#4). This one has always mesmerized me.

Hugo Montenegro was a big name back then. Today he's mostly remembered for his version of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", but he put out a ton of great stuff.

Here's a fun exotica album from bandleader Dick Schory from 1960. Includes a wild version of the jazz standard "Caravan" to start, along with some other fun tunes.

Stumbled across this a little while ago. Don't know anything about these guys, but a great song. Just released a few weeks ago apparently.

QuoteWhen did I get old? When did everything change?
I don't recognize this world, I don't remember this pain
Did time speed up, or did I slow down?
When did I get old? It's all behind me now

I used to fly so high, and not fear a thing
I was ten foot tall, everybody knew my name
But the world keeps turnin', statues begin to fall
And now I'm just a man, who used to have it all

So when did I get old? When did everything change?
I don't recognize this world, I don't remember this pain
Did time speed up, or did I slow down?
So when did I get old? It's all behind me now

Well there ain't much left, of the man I was
I'm just a rusty outline covered in dust
But it happens to the best, best of us all
Another one rises, while another one falls

When did I get old? When did everything change?
I don't recognize this world, I don't remember this pain
Did time speed up, or did I slow down?
When did I get old? It's all behind me now
When did I get old? It's almost over now

I can relate.

I can too, and I'm younger than you guys (I'll be 42 in June)

Among friends, here.

I don't recognize that one either, but yes, I can relate too. Here is another which shares most of my sentiments. Here is another that speaks to the shift in priorities and life changes as we get older.

Take what many see as a happy song, include the original verses that show it really isn't a happy song, and then change the melody to a minor key. You'll never look at this song the same way again.

Thanksgiving is still two weeks away here in the US, but there's never a bad time to listen to this gem. (For those who have no idea what the connection is, this song takes place on Thanksgiving and was originally released in October of 1967 (though it debuted as a live performance on a New York radio station earlier that year. See https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/11/21/18104601/alices-restaurant-arlo-guthrie-thanksgiving and/or Wikipedia for more).

A great instrumental version of an old country song called "Waltz of the Wind". This was originally recorded by Rome Johnson in 1947. This version is from 1962 and also features Floyd Kramer on piano with a sax solo by Jim Horn, who appeared on a number of Duane Eddy records. Duane Eddy had several big hits, with the biggest probably being "Rebel Rouser".

My favorite Duane Eddy is Ghost Riders in the Sky. No wonder, I have at least three versions of it, This is one I don't have and hadn't heard before that I know of, nor had I before paid much attention to who wrote it. Here is singer/songwriter Stan Jones.

I remember when "Ghost Riders in the Sky", by Frankie Laine, was #1 on the Hit Parade.  Must have been in the late 1940's or early 50's?  I'll look for it later on YouTube and post it.  Too early for me right now here in California.  Only 7:15, and I haven't had my coffee yet!    

Spike Jones and company apparently quickly grew tired of hearing Vaughn Monroe's version. Apparently Monroe didn't find the "I can do without his singing, but I wish I had his dough" line funny and complained to RCA-Victor, who in turn recalled the record and re-issued it with a slightly edited ending (horses galloping and the drunken cowboy singing "Yippee-aye-ay!" in place of the offending line).