Download   For some reason,  I have this sudden urge to play and sing this song called “SHOUT”.  I must be very happy about something but I’m not quite sure what it is.  Hmmmm… wait!  Now I know.   We could change this one-word title to “TRUMP” and I’d be just as happy.  Never express political opinions, Dave, but I can’t help myself…. it just makes me want to SHOUT!!!

“Shout” was originally recorded by the Isley Brothers and released in 1959.  Since then, it’s been covered by just about everybody – even The Beatles recorded a live version of it – not to mention Bon Jovi and Alvin and the Chipmunks.  It’s a happy, energetic tune that works great about halfway through the third set if you have a wild crowd that’s paying attention.  They’ll join in and hands will fly in the air every time the word “shout” comes around in the lyrics.  Magical.

We use a pretty straightforward version – slowing it down for 32 bars – then jumping back in and ending it fairly quickly.  A live band can perform this one forever – bringing the volume down to a whisper then slowly bringing it up again – very effective.  But if you’re working alone, you don’t have the luxury of screwing around with it for 15 minutes.  This sequence will work well for you solo performers and duos.  I used my “growly sax” for the lead just because it’s fun and has the intensity your vocals should have.

If you’re performing anywhere in California, I’d stick with the title “Shout”.  Screaming “Trump” at the top of your lungs might get you in trouble.  Just sayin’…

  Download   I’ve never walked into a calypso bar without hearing this song. It can be played a thousand different ways and the rhythm makes the Bahama MaMas go down a lot faster – and that is the point, after all.  We’ve always done it with a combination rock/calypso beat just to make it danceable.  It’s a happy tune and we love doing it, but it has its dark side.

“Mary Ann” was written in the 1940’s by a Calypso musician who called himself “Roaring Lion” – real name Raphael de Leon (close enough).  It immediately became popular with steel bands and revelers – especially during Carnival celebrations.  I had thought the lyrics were pretty innocuous, but now they tell me the words refer to Mary Ann’s rather dubious occupation: “All day, all night, Mary Ann – down by the seaside, sifting sand”.  I always had a vision of her sitting down at the water’s edge with a pail and shovel, but apparently that’s not the case.  My illusions are shattered forever.

You want a lot of rhythm in this one, which is why the extra guitar syncopation.  The backups are on the Pop/Rock list since I don’t have a Latin category – I have to work on that.  Now that I think about it, we did throw in a verse that said: “All day, all night, Mary Ann – who do you think I am, Superman?”  So deep down I must have known she wasn’t as pure as the driven snow.  My, my… the things you learn about yourself when you sit down to write something.  Pure magic…

  Download  ” The Mills Brothers” were actually brothers (four of them) who would gather in front of their father’s barber shop and sing for people passing by – no doubt for tips.  That’s always been a secret dream of mine – to be a street musician.  What a treat to set up my equipment on a street corner and play whatever and whenever I wanted.  It’s what I’ll do when I retire, I think.  Beats a club manager looking over your shoulder.  But I digress…

The brothers had a string of hits through the 50’s and 60’s, most of them becoming classics like “Paper Doll”, “Standing on the Corner”, “Nevertheless”, “Lazy River”, “Glow Worm”, and this terrific tune, “Cab Driver”.  This piece was their last hit and released in 1968.  However, the song would have had it’s problems in this day and age.

It’s about a poor soul who’s lost his girl and is pining away for her – even hires a cab just to drive by her house (her name is Mary, by the way) and reminisce about their lost romance.  But if you pay attention to the lyrics, it’s just a hair frightening.  The word “stalker” comes to mind.

First line: ” Cab driver, drive by Mary’s place – I just want a chance to see her face”.  Okay, this guy doesn’t want to talk – just wants to stare at her.  Hmmm…  creepy.

Next line:  “Don’t stop the meter, let it race”.  Apparently, price is no object – nothing worse than a stalker with money.  His next request is “Cab driver, once more ’round the block”.  Once more?  How many times has he circled the block – like 2 or 3… or 60? Then it’s “once more down the street” – then “wait here by her door”.  Now it’s getting serious – he’s moving in closer.

Finally, he decides “Cab driver, better take me home”.  Well… yeah.  Don’t you imagine by now Mary has noticed this nut job circling the block and called the cops?  And not to forget this joker has tricked a poor cabbie into the role of accomplice.  This guy is SCARY!

Still a great song, though… if you don’t over-analyze it like some people.

[Pop/Rock List]

  Download Instrumental   This great dance tune by “Kool & The Gang” has been played at every celebratory event since 1980 and should be in your repertoire.  I’ve been waiting for something extra special to feature it here on this blog.  Well… that time has come.  The Chicago Cubs won the World Series – the first time since 1908!  And to make it even sweeter, my second cousin, Ben Zobrist, was a HUGE factor in their victory.  Way to go, Ben.  The Zobrist clan is super proud of you!

For obvious reasons, I played a ballpark organ for the lead on track 1.  But you know how to take that out and sing it yourself.  “We’re gonna have a good time tonight – let’s celebrate – and Go Cubs”!

[Pop/Rock List]

  Download Instrumental   A songwriter by the name of Bob Crewe was sitting on a train one night in 1957, staring out the window as it slowed for a small town station.  He glanced over at a house nearby and happened to see a couple embracing through the windowshades (can you say “Peeping Tom”?).  Ever the opportunist, he immediately thought that there might be a song there and set about putting lyrics to paper.  By the time he got to his destination, he had a hit song on his hands.

Our “peeper” just happened to own a small Philadelphia record label (XYZ Records) and was looking for a third single for a group called The Rays.  “Silhouettes” reached #3 on the charts and was, unfortunately, the group’s only Top 40 hit.  It might not have gone even that far if it hadn’t been for a sleepy disc jockey.  Hy Lit was his name, and he fell asleep while playing a stack of newly-released singles.  This song happened to be the last to spin and kept playing over and over again, which caught the attention of his listeners.  Sounds like a made-up story to me, but who knows?  It was also recorded by The Diamonds and Herman’s Hermits,  but they couldn’t really improve on The Rays original recording.

The vocal backups were a bit of a challenge for this tune, but the Yamaha was up to it.  This is a terrific pick for a “classics” set.

[Pop/Rock List]

   Apparently, Jimmy Buffett was in touch with his nostalgia muse when he wrote this song.  “I wish I had a pencil thin mustache, the Boston Blackie kind – a two toned Ricky Ricardo jacket and an autographed picture of Andy Divine”.  Yep… definitely nostalgic.  Buffett also mentions American Bandstand, flat tops, Errol Flynn, Disneyland, the Sheik of Araby, and Brylcreem in this tune.  He also assures us that “only jazz musicians were smokin’ marijuana”.  Ah… those were the days, my friend.

But who is this “Boston Blackie” with a mustache that is so coveted? Well, there was this chap named Jack Boyle who was convicted of robbery and served time in San Quentin.  While sitting behind bars, he created a fictional character named “Boston Blackie”, a reformed jewel thief and safecracker turned private detective.  Boyle, under the pen name “No.6066”, had his stories printed in Red Book magazine for several years before they were adapted for motion pictures.

You can’t find decent backups for this song, so I made up my own.  I took the liberty of adding some brass and a trombone (it needed something) and this is the way we performed it for years.  Now, if only I could work out that mustache thing. Personally, I’m not all that enamored with a “thin mustache”.  I was shooting for the “Dr. Zhivago” look myself, but trust me, just the mustache doesn’t help you look anything like Omar Sharif.  Can’t blame a guy for trying.  Now where’s that Ricky Ricardo jacket I had……

  Download MP3   At one time I played in a backup band for a group that did an entire set dedicated to “The Platters”.  There were so many “Platters” hits that it was difficult to choose which songs to put in a set…. so we did ’em all (it was a long set).  Among them were such classics as “Twilight Time”, “The Great Pretender”, “Smoke gets in Your Eyes”, “My Prayer”, and this one – “Only You”.

“Only You” was written by a chap named Buck Ram, who also went by the names Ande Rand, Lynn Paul, and Jean Miles…. got to be a story there but that’s for another day.  He’s best known for writing, producing and arranging nearly all The Platters hits….no matter what his name was.  This piece was a struggle for the group as they weren’t satisfied with the arrangement but didn’t quite know what it needed.  Driving around in a car one day, they were rehearsing the song (Doo-Wop groups could do that) when the car hit a bump, causing their lead singer to warble “O-oHHHHH-nly you”.  They all laughed, but then thought they just might have hit on something.  Sounds like a made-up story, but apparently it’s true.  Thank goodness for pot holes!

In this sequence, I used a saxophone as the lead vocal with two tracks of backup chorus voices to round it out.  If you’re performing alone, you can mute the sax and leave the backup tracks to give your vocals a fuller sound.  And who knew there was a female singer in “The Platters” (Zola Taylor)?  I didn’t… but then I’ve lead a very sheltered life.

[Pop/Rock List]

  Download Instrumental    Yep… Bob Dylan has won the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature.  My first reaction was, “You’ve GOT to be kidding!”  That makes as much sense as Obama getting the Peace Prize twenty minutes after he took office.  The Nobel people said they had a reason though – it was for “having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition”.  Oh, okay – that explains it.

However, after pouring over lyrics of some of his lesser known songs… well, they actually are pretty good literature.  I don’t know that they’re on par with the likes of Saul Bellow or Steinbeck or Hemingway, but  Dylan did write some pretty heady stuff.  His song “Hurricane”, for example, gave us the true story of the false imprisonment of Reuben Carter.  The song achieved such popularity that it led to the retrial of “Hurricane” Carter (after spending 20 years in prison) and the subsequent release and judgement that Carter hadn’t received a fair trial – though I think Dylan might have been more in line for a Pulitzer for that one.

“Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” was one of the few Bob Dylan compositions I actually liked – though not by him.  I much preferred Eric Clapton’s reggae feel for the tune and that’s what I’m giving you here.   I guess I like the whole idea of being able to knock on heaven’s door – hoping beyond hope that it opens and I can stroll on in to a reggae beat.  I’m pretty sure there’s music in heaven…

So congratulations, Mr. Dylan… I guess.

[Backup tracks on Pop/Rock List]

  Download    There is no explaining this song. It’s loads of fun to perform, and one of those melodies that sticks in your head decades after you heard it the first time. That, ladies and gentlemen, is by definition a true “hit”.

“Karma Chameleon”  was recorded in 1983 (yes, it’s that old) by Culture Club, featuring front man Boy George.  It was during the filming of this video that Boy George developed his “signature look” –  fingerless gloves, colorful costume, long braids, and the black derby.  I, personally, have some issue with his overuse of mascara, but that’s just me.  The man has the smoothest of voices and carries himself like the coolest of the cool.  He may be a bit eccentric, but I like him and his music.  Smooooooth…

The most interesting part of this tune is the harmonica (and great fun to duplicate on a keyboard).  It was played by a black actor in the video, but was actually done by a white Englishman named Judd Lander, a musician from the “sixties “era.  If you have a harp player in your group, just mute track 6 and let him play away.  That instrument makes the song what it is.

Boy George explains the piece as being about ” the terrible fear of alienation that people have, the fear of standing up for one thing.  Basically, if you aren’t true, if you don’t act like you feel, then you get karma-justice,  that’s natures way of paying you back”.

And here I thought we were all just having fun…

[Pop/Rock List]