A song for Memorial Day
From the incomparable Mark Knopfler:
Continue reading →Category Archives: Music
Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad
In this video, composer Jim Steinman talks about the genesis of his song “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad.” It was suggested by the wife of a friend, and he originally conceived it as a country song: So here’s Elvis … Continue reading →
Why write about the Bee Gees?
Why do I keep writing about the Bee Gees? First, there’s the escape from difficult times that music affords. Long ago, dance class would take me away like that. It required my total concentration. And though music doesn’t require that, … Continue reading →
Telephone songs
I hear that telephones are growing obsolete, at least in terms of using them for actual conversations. They’re really just voicemail services and computers, especially for people under the age of 50. But the telephone used to be a big … Continue reading →
Who was “Blinded By the Light”?
Guess who wrote it? It was his first single, and it didn’t do well: The cover is better and extremely different, but it’s the same old song (with a different meaning since you’ve been gone). And no, they’re not wrapped … Continue reading →
Open thread 4/29/21
This might put a smile on your face. It certainly put a smile on mine to see and hear this particular group of singers all together. The song was written
Continue reading →“I Could Not Love You More”…
…is the title of a Bee Gees song that’s not one of my favorites. So, why am I talking about it? It’s because the official video for the song both amuses me and fascinates me. Don’t get me wrong; it’s … Continue reading →
I bring you another musical genre: the stutter song
I’d never really thought about it before, but there are quite a few songs that feature “stutter” lyrics. Why is it done? Emphasis, I think, and perhaps just in the name of variety. Songwriters and lyricists like to use different … Continue reading →
Who wrote Patsy Cline’s “Crazy”?
I was surprised to discover recently that it was Willie Nelson, and that he sang it on his first album in 1962, the same year Cline had a big hit with it. Here’s Nelson back then (the video says 1961, … Continue reading →
“Stayin’ Alive” is staying alive
Whether you love the song, detest it, find it merely annoying, or are indifferent, you probably are familiar with the Bee Gees’ 1977 megahit “Stayin’ Alive” from the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack. Just about everybody is, even people too young … Continue reading →
Open thread 4/7/21
This was a big hit for Eddie Holman in 1969-1970, one of the most memorable falsetto songs ever. And here he is in 2012 (age 66), still wowing them in a tour de force: The prototype:
Continue reading →Open thread 4/2/21
Here are the Bee Gees on Australian TV at around ages 13 or 14 for the twins and around 16 or 17 for Barry, who wrote the song. This is three or four years later, in England. Big changes. Here … Continue reading →