God Only Knows.... ~ STMUSS

Howdy kids!

It's time for Songs That Make Us Sing Saturday!

I've been a huge fan of the Beach Boys for the better part of my life. I've probably seen them perform live a minimum of 10 times. On one of those occasions, not five minutes into the performance, the skies opened up and the rain came down in buckets. Nobody cared, though. We just grabbed whatever we could find to cover our heads, huddled together under flannel shirts, old picnic blankets and the occasional umbrella brought by someone who'd had enough brains to watch the weather report. And we sang our hearts out and our voices raw.

The Brothers Wilson and their band mates didn't seem to care either, because they belted out the same perfect harmonies and addictive melodies that they are still famous for today. It would have taken more than a little rain to stop this talented group of California musicians from giving their fans what they came for. Whether in the studio recording an album, or on stage on a hot, rainy night in August of 1976, the Beach Boys always delivered. That's why their music is still being played on radio stations around the world and downloaded onto the iPods of fans who range from 16 to 60. (and beyond)

Now, you know I can rarely stop at just one video on STMUS Saturdays. So, here are three versions of one of my very favorite Beach Boys classics, "God Only Knows".  All three are great, so if you have an extra couple of minutes, please try to give them all a listen.


Best known version from their 1966 album "Pet Sounds":




An a Capella version from the "Master Tape" for the album:




Brian Wilson from a concert in London in 2002:



Some of the very best things in life just keep getting better. Thank God for that.

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Baby I Love Your Way ~ Peter Frampton STMUSS

Source

Howdy kids! It's time for Songs That Make Us Sing Saturday!

If you're a regular STMUSS partier, you may have noticed by now that I have a tendency to post "then and now" videos. Quite a bit. It's mainly because, well... I'm old.

Let me just start by saying that I have had a huge crush on this week's featured artist.  Peter Frampton was a rock-god back in the 70's and thanks to growing up so close to an amazing concert venue (Saratoga Performing Arts Center, aka SPAC), I saw him perform live many times. I owned all of his albums (for those of you under 30, those are like CD's, except bigger, with a little hole in the center that you put on this ancient contraption called a turntable and... oh he!!, just google it, OK?) and had posters of him plastered all over my bedroom walls. *sigh*

Anywhoooo, after seeing the second clip, it's pretty obvious that my crush hasn't lost any of his talent or charm over the years. He has lost quite a bit of his hair, but at my age, that's not exactly a deal breaker.






Head on over to Ginger or Becca's blogs and join the par-tay!

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Chuck Negron and Three Dog Night ~ STMUSS

Want a recipe that your family (even the kiddies) will love? Check out my post on Chef Alex Guarnaschelli and her incredible Pork Meatballs HERE!

It's time for Songs That Make Us Sing Saturday!

You know those "OMG... What a blast from the past!" feelings that you get when you hear a song or a band that you haven't thought about in ages? I was in my car on my way home from an appointment with my doctor last week and one of those songs came on the radio. It was "Easy to Be Hard" by Three Dog Night.  Now some of you young whipper snappers may have heard of the band, Three Dog Night, but I'd be surprised if you've heard this particular song.  It did well on the charts at the time it was released, but was overshadowed later on by songs like "Jeremiah was a Bullfrog", "Old Fashioned Love Song" and "One" (Is The Lonliest Number)

The song was orginally written for the Broadway musical "Hair" and was later released as a single and part of Three Dog Night's album Golden Biscuits in 1971. It also appeared later on several of their "best of" compilations. The band is no longer together, but two of the original members (Danny Hutton and Cory Wells) are still touring as Three Dog Night.  Former lead singer, Chuck Negron is now touring solo.

The first video is of their "original" version and the second is from a more recent appearance by Chuck Negron. Chuck's story is an incredible one and if you ever get a chance to check it out, you'll be amazed that he's lived to tell it. (36 different times in rehab!) I had such a crush on him back in the day and I was thrilled to learn that he's making a bit of a comeback.  His voice is a little bit worse for the wear, but he's still got it, in my book.  Enjoy!

"Original" version:



More recent version with Chuck alone:





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An Irish Christmas ~ STMUSS

It's that time again!  It's Songs That Make Us Sing Saturday - Christmas Edition!

I think just about everyone who's got ears has heard some rendition or other of the beloved Christmas Carol, Silent Night.  Whether Christian, Agnostic or Athiest, if you were to ask pretty much any person if they knew it, they could at least hum the melody for you.

According to Wikipedia, it was written in Salzburg Austria, by Father Joseph Mohr (lyrics) and Franz Xavier Gruber (melody) and has been recorded by over 300 artists, in over 44 languages. The English translation was published in 1859 by John Freeman Young, Second Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Florida.

Now, it could be because of my heritage, or just because it's so beautifully done, but either way, what follows is without question my favorite version...  EVER!





Wishing you a Blessed, Joyful, Love Filled, (Green) Christmas

Mrs B and Family

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Who Did It Best? Take Me To The River

WHO DID IT BEST???
(see my Christmas themed STMUSS post on my other blog)

There are a myriad of different versions of the classic soul/R&B classic "Take Me To The River".  I've posted four versions below (in no particular order) that seem to be the most popular on Youtube at the moment. I have my favorite and if you're familiar with my preferences when it comes to music, it might just surprise you. (I'll reveal which one it is at the end of the post.)

Which one do you prefer?

Version 1 - The Commitments





Version 2 - Al Greene





Version 3 - The Talking Heads





Version 4 - Uyen Linh





Now, you didn't peek, did you?

OK, My favorite version of this classic is......

The Commitments!

Now, technically speaking, there really isn't a band called The Commitments.  It was the name given to a fictional group of unemployed 1980's Dubliners who decided to form a band, based on their shared love for the music of soul legends like Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, and Aretha Franklin, (to name just a few) in the 1991 movie of the same name. It's one of my (and Hubby's) favorite movies and has quite a "cult following" here in the US, Ireland and the UK.  It was even voted The Best Irish Film Of All Time in 2005 in a poll sponsored by Jameson's Irish Whiskey.  Hell, if a bunch of Jameson's drinkers think it's the best, who am I to argue??  I mean, there was a time back in the day, when I was known to have the occasional nip of the wee mother's milk. ;~) I highly recommend it, especially if you're they type who can't seem to keep your feet still or your head bobbing along when there's great music in a movie.

Anywhooo.... I'm linking up again this week with the "Songs That Make Us Sing Saturday" hop. (both here and on my other blog) It's a relatively new and really fun hop, hosted by two very sweet bloggers who share a love of music and formed a great friendship right here in the blogosphere! The hop doesn't have a bunch of rules (which I love about it) and it would be fantastic to see more people join in on the fun each week. Whaddayathink bloggy friends?  Wanna give it a try?  It's easy-peasy!  Just click on the link below and join in on the fun!  C'mon, guys... Ya know ya want to!

Here's the link to Songs That Make Us Sing Saturday:

click here or here to link up

The Rush Is On...

courtesy of google images

Woohoo! We made it through another Thanksgiving! I can't take all of the credit for that, because it never would have happened without the Grace of God, some very necessary medication and all of the tireless help from my wonderful husband and amazingly beautiful daughter and her S/O. (They left on Saturday and I miss her terribly already) {big sigh} Out of the 37 that were expected, we had a final tally of 34.  Of course that's still a good crowd and what made it even better was that some of them (including said daughter) hadn't been with us for Turkey Day in several years.  It was exhausting, but when all was said and done it was a great day!

So... now it's time to put Thanksgiving to bed and turn my full attention to my preparations for Christmas.  I'm not sure where you all fall in the spectrum, but I'm ashamed to say that I've barely begun to shop, let alone wrap anything. I'm seriously jealous of those organized people who have all of their shopping and wrapping done by October! I realized that I needed some inspiration and when that's the case I usually turn to music to help me along. I've been going through my Christmas CD's and I came across an older one that has the following version of Run Run Rudolph performed by Bon Jovi, so I thought I'd share some inspiration with all of you!





When I was looking for the video on YouTube, I found this very rare, never commercially released version of the same song that was only given to DJ's at radio stations, to be played during the holiday season.  It's by the 70's band, Foghat and as it turns out, is really an incredible rendition of this classic Chuck Berry hit.

A Little Thank You To My "Someone"

Born in 1945 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Van Morrison grew up with a passion for all genres of music. His father was a rabid music lover and bought Van his first guitar when he was just 11 years old. He was heavily influenced by his father's extensive and eclectic record collection, which included the music of artists like blues icon Muddy Waters, the gospel sounds of Mahalia Jackson, jazz tunes by Charlie Parker, the folk music of Woodie Guthrie and the country ballads of Hank Williams.

Van Morrison has to be one of the most talented musicians in modern history.  For the past 50+ years, this extremely talented man has been writing and singing some of the most played and copied songs of any generation.  This particular "Van the Man" love song is dedicated to my "Someone"... My own personal knight in shining armor,  my rock, my life.... my amazing husband.




A little something from more recent times.... Just as good, if not better.  Hmmm... May I have this dance, darlin'?


 



 
M.