Found this last night... A British psychedelic rock adaptation of Lewis Carroll's famous poem "Jabberwocky". The songwriter and singer here later went on to fame in country music under the name Hank Wangford apparently.

A great rendition of the classic "Bye Bye Blackbird" by the always talented Peggy Lee

Oh, I do love Peggy Lee.  Have most of her LP albums!

Found this gem last night. Apparently the Nazis decided that if swing music was going to be popular, they should use it to their advantage... They made dozens of recordings with "Charlie & His Orchestra" while using popular tunes to offer commentary on the current political/war events. In this one they take a jab at Theodore Roosevelt.

A funny song from 1918 lamenting what would happen if alcohol was prohibited in the US (which did happen from 1920-1933).

Here's a classic from the 1950s. This was the second biggest hit for the group, peaking at #27 on the charts here in the states. Their biggest was "It's A Sin To Tell A Lie", which peaked at #7.

In 1950, Spike Jones teamed up with comedy duo Homer and Jethro to offer this humorous take on the opera Pagliacci...

My all time favorite Peggy Lee, Fever!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGb5IweiYG8


Spike Jones was always fun to watch. I seem to particularly remember he did something with The Harmonicats on the Ed Sullivan Show. Can't find it. Maybe I am remembering wrong.

One of my all time favorite classical pieces played by The Harmonicats. I have never heard this rendition before, so it is a delight to find it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJAZt21t7jw&list=PLWTuOyAhniZsPKr_3HBol9wGutQdlmohK&index=31

Peggy Lee also appeared in the movie Lady and the Tramp as the character "Peg" and sang the song "He's a Tramp". Quite a talented lady

Here's a funny one I heard at the local amusement park earlier.

A fun cha-cha version of the classic "Glow Worm" from 1959.

No, as much as i would like to try, i just cant muster up any energy to cha - cha - cha at 9.am, or any other time of the day ( UK )
Think i will have to sit this one out...

Here's "I Put A Spell On You" as it was originally recorded by Screamin' Jay Hawkins. This version wasn't released for several decades. A year later, Hawkins re-recorded it for a different label, resulting in the now-famous version. This came about after the producer brought in ribs, chicken and alcohol and got everyone drunk prior to the recording session.

How about a rumba version of the famous "Taboo"? This song was originally titled "Tabú" with Spanish lyrics (and later English lyrics under the more familiar name), but is more well-known as an instrumental, with hit versions by Arthur Lyman and Les Baxter in the mid-60s (during the height of the "exotica" craze). This version is from 1966, though I can't find any info on the artist.

I have only ever heard the instrumental verisons of Tabu. One of those was performed by Arther Lyman and his band. It was one of my favorites.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y4WyqEir2g

Here is his version of Caravan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kcFKh03ZSk

I have to say either the laptop speakers are more sucky than I thought or the old HiFi doesn't translate well. Neither of these sound as good as I remember them on my old 33's. I wonder if these have ever been remastered.

Anyway, this all reminds me of all the fun days I sat playing my 33's, now gathering dust all these years. It makes it all the harder to get rid of them. Which is exactly what I am thinking of doing. Sigh.

MarsGal - We have lots of boxes of 33 albums stored in our basement.   Like you, I know we should get rid of them, but I can't do it.  I'll probably just try  not to worry about it, and let my children give them away or throw them away when we're no longer here.  We also have albums of 78's, some of which belonged to my parents, or to me when I was in high school. Relics from the past, that no one wants. 

I don't know about nobody wanting them Marilyne. There appears to be a resurgence of interest in vinyl records. But, of course, I know don't know anyone around here who is interested. I have been told by my sister that the junk hauler that I am considering contacting to haul off a bunch of stuff sorts through for anything that can go to a flea market before dumping. I have a few 45's too, but no 78's; my dad passed them on when I was still young to a friend at work who collected them and also music boxes and the like.

78s are pretty collectible, especially since some of the performances on them aren't available on CD. 33s are as well to some extent, depending on condition and such. I've got quite a nice collection myself, though I haven't listened to anything in a while as I don't have a working record player at the moment (have two that I need to get repaired).

Here's a classic most people have heard but don't know the name of. It was used in numerous cartoons over the years.


Raymond Scott was a composer, bandleader and inventor who released numerous tunes with descriptive titles ("Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals", "In an 18th Century Drawing Room", etc.) in the 1940s. He also wrote jingles for commercials and later became well known for his experiments with electronic music.

One of my all-time favourites, i have given up the times i once reggae danced ( Lovers Rock ) to this, " Cupid, " way back in my young 20's...R.I.P Johnny Nash...( 6 October 2020 ) aged 80..

That's a great song. It was written and originally recorded by Sam Cooke in 1961 and was a fairly big hit here in the states, peaking at #17.

On the subject of reggae versions of pop songs, this one was a huge hit for UB40 in the 80s, peaking at #1 on both sides of the pond and also charting in numerous countries throughout Europe. It was their biggest hit here in the US.

Michael, reggae singer Eddie Lovette released Red Red Wine 1969, i was dancing to his version in my 20's...

Another i was dancing to in my 20's...Barbara Jones - Changing Partners....happy memories..

A funny Beatles-themed parody of Lorne Green's classic "Ringo", complete with exaggerated country accent.

Here's some spooky music courtesy of the late great Thurl Ravenscroft. This was written for the 1949 Disney film ''The Legend of Ichabod and Mr. Toad'' and originally performed by Bing Crosby. This version was from a 1963 childrens' record narrated by Billy Bletcher. Thurl Ravenscroft was a singer, actor and voice actor best remembered for the song "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" and the original voice of Tony the Tiger ("They're grrrreat!"). He died in 2005 at the age of 91.

Found this tonight. Ray Charles with legendary French Caribbean singer/comedian Henri Salvador sometime in 1996. I'm sure it's even better if you understand French. The most impressive part of this is that Henri Salvador would have been 78 or 79 when this was recorded.

A funny Halloween-themed novelty song from 1959.

A hilarious parody of Sheb Wooley's smash hit "Purple People Eater" - only this is also recorded by Sheb Wooley (as "Ben Colder", an alias he used for parodies he did as a drunken country bum). Sheb is one of the few people to parody his own song.

One of many great tunes from Italian composer Ennio Morricone. For those not familiar, Morricone wrote music for dozens of films, particularly some well-known "Spaghetti Western" films of the 1960s such as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, which is what this is from. He is considered a legend and one of the greatest composers of all time. He died in July at the age of 91.

Michael...
... yes agree Ennio Morricone, i have always loved his music and to the spaghetti westerns from Sergio Leone films....