Popular Music
When I was young I used to listen to ‘pop’ music, especially that broadcast on the Pirate Radio stations, like Radio Caroline. I grew out of it in my late twenties onwards; for me, most pop music nowadays is just a noise, and few of its ‘stars’ can sing, only screech. Here are a few that I still enjoy:
The Animals
‘House of the Rising Sun’
Posing for publicity in 1964:
L-R: Eric Burdon [Vocals],
Alan Price [Keyboards],
Chas Chandler [Bass],
Hilton Valentine [Guitar],
John Steel [Drums];
YouTube has several versions ►
Eurhythmics
Annie Lennox (born 1954) and Dave Stewart (born 1952)
The Eurhythmics performing at Rock am Ring
in Nürburgring, Germany in 1987.
They were at their peak in the 1980s, have broken up, rejoined,...
My favourite of their many recordings is Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), released in 1983.
See Annie Lennox’s web site ► and Dave Stewart’s web site ►.
Scaffold
‘Lily The Pink’
A ‘fun’ song from Merseyside in the 1960s. Here are the lyrics:
Chorus:
We’ll drink a drink a drink
To Lily the Pink the pink the pink
The saviour of our human race
For she invented, medicinal compound
Most efficacious in every case.
Mr Freers had sticky out ears
And it made him awful shy
And so they gave him medicinal compound
And now he’s learning how to fly
Brother Tony was notably bony
He would never eat his meals
And so they gave him medicinal compound
Now they move him round on wheels
[Chorus]
Old Ebenezer thought he was Julius Caesar
And so they put him in a home
Where they gave him medicinal compound
And now he’s Emperor of Rome
Jonny Hammer, had a terrible st st st st stammer
He could hardly sssay a word
And so they gave him medicinal compound
Now he’s seen, but never ’eard
[Chorus]
Aunty Milly ran willy nilly
When her legs they did recede
So they looked on medicinal compound
Now they call her milipede
Jennifer Eccles, had terrible freckles
And the boys all called her names
But they gave her medicinal compound
Now he joins in all the games
[Chorus]
Lily the Pink she turned to drink
She filled up with parafin inside
And despite her medicinal compound
Sadly piccalilli died
Up to heaven her soul ascended
All the church bells they did ring
She took with her medicinal compound
Hark the herald angels sing
[Chorus]
Jo Stafford
(1917 — 2008)
Jo Stafford
You may never have heard of Jo Stafford, but she was the first recording artist to sell 25 million records for Columbia Records. She was an American singer of traditional pop music and jazz standards and an occasional actress whose career ran from the late 1930s to the early 1960s. She was of the same era, and was arguably the equal of Doris Day and Rosemary Clooney. Jo Stafford was greatly admired for the purity of her voice and was considered one of the most versatile vocalists of that time.
In a remarkable coincidence, Jo Stafford died on 16th July 2008, the same day as comic singers Darlene Edwards and Cinderella G. Stump!
(All right — they were the same person, 90 years old.)
She was viewed as a pioneer of modern musical parody, having won a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album in 1961 (with husband Paul Weston) for their album “Jonathan and Darlene Edwards in Paris”.
In 1947, Jo noticed Red Ingle rehearsing a parody of “Temptation”. She was so amused, she asked if she could sing it. The girl hired for the session was paid off and Jo took over, recording as ‘Cinderella G. Stump’. The song became a Top 10 hit.
She was urged to make a comedy album, and as “Darlene Edwards” (with husband Paul Weston on piano as “Jonathan”, the pianist with two left hands) issued some “so bad it’s funny” discs. Jo’s queasy I Love Paris was a notable break from the mainstream.
Jo Stafford was also the first woman to have a Number 1 in the UK Singles Chart. “You Belong to Me” was her all-time biggest hit, topping the charts in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Her work in radio, television and music is recognized by three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
See also this tribute site ►.
Jonathan & Darlene Edwards on YouTube:
Paris in the Spring ►
The Last Time I Saw Paris ►
Take The ‘A’ Train ►
Ashley
(Karaoke)
My companion, Ash, has an aptitude for singing and enjoys karaoke. Here he is performing
Don’t Stop Believin’ ► in a duet with Babs
All video clips courtesy of Babs & Steve on YouTube.
Grace Jones
‘La Vie En Rose’
see YouTube ►; I prefer hers to Edith Piaf’s ►: Edith’s better with Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien
Queen
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’
Queen in concert in 1984:
John Deacon [far left],
Freddie Mercury [centre stage],
Brian May [foreground],
Roger Taylor [drums]; see YouTube ►
And what about ‘Barcelona’, sung by Freddy Mercury and the opera soprano Montserrat Caballé?)
John Lennon
‘Imagine’
More on YouTube ► — see here for the lyrics ►
Other Beatles classics for me include ‘Eleanor Rigby’, ‘She’s Leaving Home’, ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’, indeed most of ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’)
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
‘Relax’
Frankie Goes to Hollywood were a British dance-pop band popular in the mid-1980s. The group was fronted by Holly Johnson (vocals), with Paul Rutherford (vocals, keyboards), Peter Gill (drums, percussion), Mark O’Toole (bass guitar), and Brian Nash (guitar).
The group’s debut single Relax was banned by the BBC in 1984 while at number six in the charts and subsequently topped the UK singles chart for five consecutive weeks, going on to enjoy prolonged chart success throughout that year and ultimately becoming the seventh best-selling UK single of all time (as of May 2006).
Bronski Beat
‘I Feel Love’
Jimmy Somerville of Bronski Beat and The Communards
Bronski Beat were a popular British synthpop trio who achieved success in the mid 1980s, particularly with the 1984 chart hit Smalltown Boy. All members of the group were openly gay and their songs reflected this, often containing political commentary on gay-related issues. At the height of their popularity the band consisted of singer Jimmy Somerville backed by Steve Bronski and Larry Steinbachek, both of whom played keyboards and percussion. Somerville went on to have success as lead singer of The Communards and as a solo artist.
Dire Straits
‘Sultans of Swing’
Sultans of Swing was the first single release of the British rock band Dire Straits. Although it first appeared in 1978, it was the 1979 re-release that caused it to become a hit in both the UK and the USA. The song was written by Mark Knopfler whilst in a bar in South London. The inspiration came from a jazz band playing in the corner of an otherwise deserted pub. Sultans of Swing was the name of Mark Knopfler’s band during his teenage years when he was a student at Gosforth High School in Newcastle upon Tyne.
10cc
‘Dreadlock Holiday’
This is another favourite from around that time.
Del Shannon
‘Runaway’
YouTube has several versions ►, here’s one.
This record reminds me of my teenage years helping out backstage at an amateur charity concert — the guy operating the sound equipment kept playing this at full volume whenever he could during rehearsals, and it has stuck in my mind ever since.
UK’s Million-selling Singles: The Full List
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the official singles chart [Aha! A real diamond jubilee!], the Official Charts Company has ranked the top UK million-selling singles. See which songs make the list and which have sold the most ►.
The most authoritative chart ever of the UK’s million-selling singles shows Elton John ranked highest for sales for his double A-side Something About The Way You Look Tonight/ Candle in the Wind. Released after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997, the song is at the top of the UK million-sellers chart with 4.9 million copies sold. Do They Know It’s Christmas? by Band Aid released in 1984 is in second place with 3.69 million singles bought in the UK.
There are some interesting results.
It is a chart in which Don’t You Want Me? by the Human League sits just outside the Top 20 but immediately above the Beatles’ Can’t Buy Me Love.
Lennon and McCartney’s 1964 hit is in turn just ahead of I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston, followed by Baddiel and Skinner and the Lightning Seed’s Three Lions and then Ken Dodd’s Tears. The records are ranked by sales in the first-ever authoritative chart of the UK’s million-selling singles.
The list of 123 singles includes million-selling singles from artists such as Queen, The Beatles, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Adele. Even the Teletubbies make an appearance with 1.11 million copies of Teletubbies Say “Eh-Oh!” sold in the UK.
