Looking Back At Some Classics

[jazzboCR]

#365 - Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) - 1983

Annie and her butch orange hair became an MTV hit giving the song a huge push

Yes but she has such beautiful eyes and, unusually enough for an UKster, perfect teeth. Having moved 80 million units, she's not easy to dismiss: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Lennox

[jazzboCR]

#363 - Elvis Costello - Watching The Detectives - 1977

Genuinely creepy song. Not so by-the-way, his adopted last name is pronounced COS-tell-o, in the Irish manner, not cos-TELL-o, as in the Abbott-and- manner. I'll give him style points for marrying Diana Krall (finally seems to have gotten that marriage thingie right, the 3rd time around.)

[jazzboCR]

i think Eric really poured his heart out when he wrote this one(well,it appears that way anyway)

great,great track IMO, and like you i also prefer the "mtv unplugged" version,i also prefer the "mtv" version of "layla"

oops, back to the track at hand...."***" from me

I had very dark thoughts about Mr. Clapton when I heard about the tragedy--who left that window unguarded? I've long since let it go, which he can't ever, not even with solace of that beautiful song. To answer Music Head and Crazy-horse's unspoken request, here's those 2 tunes mentioned.:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyk2eQcltso Alt. version--same session; much louder: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSbqm7ZK_9s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y9T15kAF8U
I'm feeling generous today--whole concert: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrWk0sDwfig <<grab a bud/Bud and enjoy yourself--ain't nobody gonna do it for you.

[jazzboCR]

#358 - Ben E. King - Spanish Harlem - 1960

Always wondered if King regretted leaving the group. The Drifters seem to have had the better career.

Never heard him express any regrets. I'll concede "...better career..." for the Drifters if you'll concede Mr. King had the more interesting and varied career not just as a music man but also his work to relieve problems in Africa and elsewhere through his foundations ( Wiki will lay out the whole deal). He had a solid album as late as '99--the Drifters not so much. Here's the hot poop on that followed by 2 cuts from other discs. Oh, and then there's a bit of a surprise.
http://www.allmusic.com/album/shades-of-...0000248041ts << most def' worth looking up--it's much better than the reviewer gives credit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlivtDpZB...livtDpZBo8 << That Bobby Darin classic done to perfection.
What you might call a "Killer Kut" from a London perf in '12: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cQS8L8mX...livtDpZBo8 << How'd you like to be the back-up band and singers for a certified legend who also happens to be a helluva gent ? ( I was privileged to meet with him in his residence a coupla times). The riddim looks a little tight but the GTR and BU singers are loose like long-neck goose.
Oh yes--relevance and surprises: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_i-4oV3mls You think one is enough? Me neither: here's a live-in -studio (Old Grey Whistle Test perf): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_fIBAj75lY

[jazzboCR]

#361 - Elvis Presley - All Shook Up - 1957

Elvis liked this Suzie Quatro version (see comment #2): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCMPQiT2lNg

[jazzboCR]

i loved Freddie Mercury's version back in the day also

So what the hay/ Let's give it a play: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbIcfFD30Ms
<< if there's one thing he absolutely was/ absolutely wasn't (6-5 pick'm) it was being a pretender. An earlier clip with Shirley & Co.: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9FaOiWRciI
Here's something you'd never expect from Mr. Mercury--he was a big-league stamp and cover collector (being a Cypriot, he specialized in that neck of the woods). And not just use/ hide behind agents either--you'd see him out and about a big stamp shows or mixing with the hoi-polloi in the GenPop section at auctions. He was avid and knowledgeable hobbyist and a credit to Philately. No idea what happened to his extensive collections --I hope that they went to good hands.

[jazzboCR]

"**" from me,prefer los lobos version

I'll second that emotion. Here's a live version with a very enthusiastic audience--a little habanera in the middle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yye_ns2WwjQ

[SteveO]

Beautiful, Jazz! The ultimate connection between artist and fan!!!

[jazzboCR]

A fun song...I like it!

About Lavern Baker's "Jim Dandy": This may be her only breakout hit but that's a simple-fimple metric--she's had a long and distinguished history as an R&B and jazz singer. She's not to be judged on the basis of a novelty song or two. Give a listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRjnV0DcAwE and a short read: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/lavern-ba.../biography << She had a solid album with terrif players as late as 1992 (Woke Up This Mornin').
This song is a prime exemplar of a long and storied tradition: R&B braggadocio tunes. See the Coaster's "Charlie Brown" for another comic take.

[jazzboCR]

#350 - Jimmy Cliff - The Harder They Come - 1975
The only cover I see charting is by Rockers Revenge, which
reached #30 in the UK. Never heard of them.

You're not missing much--synthetic soul to the max: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8HobIuoS_Y << BTW give the movie a shot--good story of a dude trying to navigate between the LEOs and the gangs. Not easy to do in the ghettos of Kingston, Jamaica, not then, not now.