Do Wah Diddy Diddy

Posted by Dave Zobrist on

  Download Instrumental    This arrangement is for those lonely singers out there doing gigs all by themselves. I used a brass section and saxophone for the backup vocals, so you solo performers have plenty of room to show off your chops and still have a full sound with what passes for backup singers.  It’s cheating, but who cares?  Okay, the overall style is a bit different, but you can make it work…. we did.  It doesn’t always have to be exactly like the original.

We played a beach bar for three years, which is too long to play any venue but the money was good.  The name of the place was “The Happy Hooker”.  I always thought this piece should have been their theme song with lyrics like “there she was just a’ walkin’ down the street” (street walker) and “snappin’ her fingers and shufflin’ her feet” (happy).  But I digress (as usual).

The songwriting team of Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich wrote “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” in 1963.  These two had just had a big hit called “Da Doo Ron Ron”, so you can see a pattern there.  Sometimes gibberish works.  It was first recorded by a girl group called “The Exciters” but didn’t do all that well on the charts (#78).  The British rock group “Manfred Mann” took notice, headed for the studio, and produced a number one hit.  I think it’s time to get this little nonsensical tune back in every singer’s repertoire.  It’s easy, entertaining, and the crowd will sing it with you.  You know you love that…

My favorite rendition is from the movie “Stripes” with Bill Murray.  Click on the link below to watch the fun:

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=do+wah+diddy+diddy+videos&view=detail&mid=AE886FB1E53063167EC4AE886FB1E53063167EC4&FORM=VIRE

All About Richard

Posted by Dave Zobrist on

  Download Instrumental    We did this “Carpenters” arrangement for a high school musical years ago.  It begins with only snippets of two of their songs, then finally flows into the main course – “We’ve Only Just Begun” (you have to wait for it).  It played well on a musical stage as a tribute to the “Carpenters” and I think it might work in a club atmosphere as well…. or even (choke) a wedding.

Richard and Karen Carpenter grew up with music – Richard studying piano and Karen playing the drums.  In 1965, they formed the jazz-oriented Richard Carpenter Trio (they added a stand-up bass player), later forming a middle-of-the road band called Spectrum.  Neither group went anywhere, mostly because Karen wasn’t doing any of the vocals.  She finally took a year’s worth of singing lessons and developed that soft, slightly sultry voice we all still enjoy today.  Richard rewrote a Burt Bacharach tune in 1969 called “Close to You”, which was first recorded in ’63 by Richard Chamberlain (yes, Dr. Kildare).  Richard Carpenter’s arrangement of that song was their first hit, followed by “We’ve Only Just Begun”, which was originally a bank commercial that Richard heard on TV and liked the melody and lyrics.  His arrangements were all a thing of beauty.

So, in reality,  the “Carpenters” were a cover band.  Richard borrowed other peoples’ songs that he liked, rearranged them to suit their style, then struck gold on the charts.  Quite a rascal, huh?   “For All We Know” was first done by the California soft-rock band Bread – “Superstar” was written by Leon Russell and recorded by Rita Coolidge – Paul Williams wrote and recorded “Rainy Days and Mondays” before Rick got ahold of it – and “Top of the World” was a hit for Lynn Anderson in 1973, six months before the “Carpenters” released it.  None of that matters.  Richard was the driving force behind this iconic duo and we’re all better off for it.

On another, slightly sinister, note – Karen and Richard both privately believed marijuana should be legalized.  Well, there ya go…

Love and Marriage

Posted by Dave Zobrist on

  Download Instrumental    File this one under “dumb-ass songs you hope you never have to do”… but you will. One day some bride-to-be will gush, “Oh, and I want you to play ‘Love & Marriage’ right after we cut the cake”. How about right after the band slits their throats.
So, if you’re gonna have to do this tune, you might as well have fun with it.  Frank Sinatra owned this song, even if he didn’t really want to.  So that’s the arrangement I attempted to emulate here.  It’s got some cute plucking strings and titillating flutes, so that makes it kinda fun…  kinda.

The irony of this masterpiece is that it proclaims that love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage.  Oh, really?  Seems to me that a horse is blindly hitched to a carriage, back side first, spending its life pulling a heavy load to be rewarded at the end of a hard day with a handful of oats and the random crack of a whip.  Take from that analogy what you will.  Just kidding, folks.  Marriage is a wonderful thing, hitched to a buggy or not.

And as a warning to you new wedding singers out there – you’re gonna have to learn “Chapel of Love” too.  Good thing weddings pay exceptionally well.

Black Velvet

Posted by Dave Zobrist on

  Download Instrumental    This song is just… sexy.  The bass and drum combination is the throbbing force that carries you along all the way to the end.  The sultry guitar licks jump in when you least expect it, making your heart skip a beat just a little when they suddenly appear.  The organ is just there… subtle and quiet, underpinning everything.  The vocals are raspy and ache with unbridled passion.  Sexy…

Alannah Myles had a number-one hit with “Black Velvet” in 1989 and won a Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance the following year.  However, she was young and inexperienced when she signed the deal with her record company and promptly got screwed.  She received her first ever royalty check for this song on April 1, 2008.  April Fools’ Day.  Ironic, wouldn’t you say?

This masterpiece is, of course, about Elvis Presley.  Canadian songwriter Christopher Ward (Alannah is also from Canada)  traveled to Memphis for the 10th anniversary of Elvis’ death.  He was struck by the intensity and still fervent love of the fans, which he thought was reminiscent of fundamentalist religion… hence the line “a new religion that will bring you to your knees”.  There are many references to “The King” throughout the tune, most notably “Black velvet and that little boy smile”.  Elvis was an extremely popular subject for black velvet paintings, and young girls were desperately drawn to his “little boy smile”.  Then there’s “Love Me Tender leaves ’em cryin’ in the aisle” and, tragically “In a flash he was gone, it happened so soon”.  Elvis lives on forever, even in other peoples’ songs.

Even if you’re not necessarily an Elvis fan, this piece is magical onstage.  Give it a try at your next gig if you’re not already doing it.  Use these backups if you’re a single or a duo and you can’t go wrong. The last 16 bars gives a singer plenty of room for vocal improvisation, so have fun with it.  And don’t you feel better knowing Alannah is finally getting her checks?

Love Potion # 9

Posted by Dave Zobrist on

  Download Instrumental    This fun tune was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, a songwriting team in the fifties known for their inane but entertaining lyrics.  Included in their string of masterpieces are gems such as Hound Dog (Elvis) and Charlie Brown (The Coasters).  See what I mean by inane lyrics?  Downright “cheeky”, but who cares?  They were huge hits and a riot to perform.  This song in particular should be in your repertoire.

“Love Potion No. 9” was originally recorded by an R&B group called The Clovers.  It went to No. 23 on the charts – not huge, but respectable.  I think their arrangement was much better than a version that a British band released in 1965. The Searchers were riding the “British Wave” ushered in by The Beatles in the early 60’s so theirs was the greater hit.  My arrangement is based on the more popular version – because I’m a sell-out.

This song is about a guy who just doesn’t do well with women, so he goes to Madame Ruth (our resident gypsy) to enlist her help.  She tells him her Love Potion #9 will do the trick.  He drinks it and goes nuts… “I started kissing everything in sight”.  But a cop eventually breaks his bottle and the show is over.  But none of this makes sense if you think about it.  Here’s a guy who can’t score with the opposite sex (for whatever reason), but the silly twit gives him a potion that turns him into a wild man – attacking women instead of wooing them.  Methinks the gypsy lady had one warped sense of humor.

One of the things that makes The Clovers recording better is a change of lyrics in the last line.  The Searchers ended it with “But when I kissed a cop down on 34th and Vine, he broke my little bottle of – Love Potion No. 9”.  The much more inspired “Clovers” version ended with “I had so much fun that I’m going back again, I wonder what happens with – Love Potion No. 10”.  Ah, much better conclusion, don’t you think?

Oh, one more thing…. the original didn’t have any keyboards, but I put a piano track in there anyway.  A piano cures everything – much better than some lousy potion.

Stay

Posted by Dave Zobrist on

  Download Instrumental    It’s midnight – you’re getting ready to break at the end of your third set. You’ve got one more hour to go and you don’t want to lose half your crowd.  Whether you’re a single performer using my backing tracks or a full band, here’s some good advice – play this song with lyrics that say “Oh, please stay – just a little bit longer”.  Doesn’t hurt to beg, you know.  Tell them some of the great tunes you’ve got lined up for the final set or, if you’re really smart, save your “60’s set” for the final hour.  Everybody loves those oldies.  Your goal is to make them STAY…  and buy more drinks… which will make the club owner a very happy camper.

“Stay” was written by Maurice Williams (Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs) in 1959 and released as a single in 1960.  It became the shortest ever #1 hit in the United States – being only 1 minute, 37 seconds long.  A disc jockey in the 60’s didn’t even have time to run to the bathroom when he spun this one.  The Four Seasons later recorded an absolutely awful rendition of it – then The Hollies released a version that was even worse.  In 1978, Jackson Browne did it justice by combining it with a tribute to his “roadies” – the staff that loads and unloads the heavy concert equipment.  It’s Browne’s arrangement that I tried to emulate here.

Now, keep in mind, this is a break song – intended as a cute way (well, I think it’s cute) to entice your crowd to stay for one more set.  It’s a bit longer than the original because I added guitar and synth solos, in case you get some dancers.  You can sing the original lyrics first time around, then make up your own words to fit the venue.  Just keep it clean, folks.  I’d hate to think I helped trash a perfectly good song.

Fun Fun Fun

Posted by Dave Zobrist on

  Download Instrumental     Does the guitar intro to this “Beach Boys” tune sound familiar?  Of course it does.  It’s the exact same intro (note for note) from the Chuck Berry song “Johnny B. Goode”.  Why they had to steal it is beyond me.  But it gets worse.  Chuck Berry first stole the intro from a 1946 tune called “Ain’t That Just Like a Woman” by Louis Jordan.  I guess all’s fair in love and song intros.

“Fun, Fun, Fun” is about a girl who borrows her daddy’s Thunderbird but doesn’t actually go to the library to study – imagine that.  Instead she terrorizes the town with her fast, reckless driving, making the boys adore her but the girls not so much.  But, hey, she’s having fun, at least until “her daddy takes the T-Bird away” – which he eventually did.  The lyrics to this one tell a little story, which was typical back in the 60’s.  Songwriters don’t do that much anymore (sad) and that’s all the more reason to bring The Beach Boys back from rock’n’roll oblivion, although they’re still wildly popular in some age groups.  A “twenty-something” might scratch their head and wonder where in the world did that song come from, but just tell ’em “California” and escort their butt out to the dance floor.  It’s time the younger generation learned what real music is all about.

Murry Wilson was the father of three of the band members (Brian, Carl and Dennis) and was also their manager.  He had very conservative values and thought this song was immoral and didn’t want it recorded (what would Murry do today, I wonder).  He didn’t get his way and was fired soon after “Fun, Fun, Fun” was released.  Take that, Murry!  Don’t you know a hit song when you hear one?  But how do you fire your own father?  That had to be interesting…

Girls Grow Up Faster Than Boys

Posted by Dave Zobrist on

  Download Instrumental    “Dear Dave”, the email began.  Don’t you love it when someone puts “dear” in front of your name?  Makes you feel all special.  Obviously, this person doesn’t know me.  It continues: “Would you please, please, please do an arrangement of a song called ‘Girls Grow Up Faster Than Boys’ for us?”  I love it when they beg.  Then she indicated that she didn’t care what it cost.  Even better.  Turns out, she’s a member of an all-girl group in Chicago performing songs from the early 60’s.  The song she wants was recorded by a trio of “chick” singers in 1963 called “The Cookies” – new one on me.

“The Cooklies” had one big hit – “Don’t Say Nothing Bad (About My Baby)” –  which I actually have heard of but the song is so repetitive it’ll drive you insane.  Two minor hits included “Chains” (later recorded by The Beatles) and this little gem –  “Girls Grow Up Faster Than Boys”.  They later became “The Raelettes”, backup singers for Ray Charles.  They also sang backup behind “The Locomotion” by Little Eva and Neil Sedaka’s hit tune “Breaking Up is Hard to Do”.  Well, it seems cookies are a good backup to everything.  Chocolate chip, anyone?

While I think everyone would agree that girls do, in fact, grow up faster than boys, this song about that phenomenon would not fly today.  Lyrics such as “Once you used to date my big sister, but now she’s too old for you – won’t you take a look at me now” gives one pause.  Follow that up with “I’m everything a girl should be now – thirty-six, twenty-one, thirty-five” and you’ve got yourself a class-action suit.  Besides, isn’t that “21” reference a bit tiny around the waist in proportion to the other two numbers?  Sexist, I know… so sue me.

The one thing I do like about this song (other than someone was willing to pay for it) is the slightly dissonant saxophone licks.  That was fun, and proves to me the whole piece is pretty much “tongue-in-cheek”, which makes me feel better about the whole thing…. but not much.  How this one will play in Chicago is anybody’s guess.

American Honky-Tonk Bar Association

Posted by Dave Zobrist on

  Download Instrumental    Can’t say I’m a Garth Brooks fan – never have been, probably never will be. But I like the piano riffs in this one, and that’s good enough for me to trot it out on stage.  Some of my most fun gigs have been in rowdy country bars, even though I’m not what you’d call a “country boy”. But I love the idea of a music genre that could turn into an adventure in a split second.  I remember Karen jumping between me and a guy with a knife one night.  She ended up on the floor and I didn’t…crazy woman. But that’s honky-tonk for ya!  I even like to say it.  Go ahead, say it out loud – Honky-Tonk  – now ain’t that fun?  Put this arrangement on your country set list.  The Holiday Inn crowd will love it…

“American Honky-Tonk Bar Association” reached the top of the Hot Country Songs list in 1993.  It’s sort of a redneck anthem that compares honky-tonk bars to support groups for “blue collar” people.  By today’s standards (if there are any), this tune might be considered a bit “edgy” and low on the political correctness scale – especially unfortunate lyrics like “but when your dollar goes to all those standing in a welfare line”.  But you can change the lyrics to anything you want, as long as it rhymes.  It’s the music we’re talking about here, folks.  This song is just plain fun to play – great country boogie beat, walking bass line, that piano, and even a fiddle thrown in for good measure.

The music played in the old West saloons was first referred to as “honky tonk” music.  It was usually played on an out-of-tune upright piano stuck in the corner of the bar – so as to be out of the way when the fight started (uh… been there, done that).  These days, it’s just a bar that caters to country music fans.  I think the “old west” scenario is much more colorful and romantic – where’s Miss Kitty when you need her? The first time “honky-tonk” was used in print was in the Peoria Journal on June 28, 1874.  The news story read, “The police spent a busy day today raiding the bagnios and honky tonks”.  Okay… but what’s a “bagnio”?

Just Me and My Radio

Posted by Dave Zobrist on

  Download Instrumental    Sandwich this one between two heavy-duty songs for a nice contrast and to give your dancers a break.  It’s a simple arrangement with only piano, bass and drums – the classic hotel lobby trio – and I used a clarinet for the lead vocal..  You, the singer, are going to sell this one with your clever inflections on the lyrics.

“Ain’t Misbehavin” was written by the great Fats Waller with lyricist Andy Razaf.  The tune is a classic example of “stride jazz”, a piano technique that is almost ragtime, but much more innovative.  The left hand alternates between a single note and a chord, giving the rhythm kind of an “oom-pah” feel while the right hand plays a syncopated melody in and around what the left hand is doing.  Quite fun, really, but ya gotta be able to separate your brain into two altogether different factions.  In other words, if you can’t walk and chew gum at the same time, forget about it.

The lyrics are the heart and soul of this classic.  The singer is lonely: “No one to talk with/all by myself”.  However, he’s quite “happy on a shelf”.  He swears he’s not staying out late or carousing with other women: “I’m through with flirtin’, it’s just you I’m thinkin’ of” (a paragon of virtue is our hero).  “I don’t stay out late, don’t care to go/I’m home about eight, just me and my radio” (what a guy).  “Ain’t misbehavin’/I’m saving my love for you” is the refrain repeated four times and pretty much wraps up the gist of this little ditty.  I believe him.

Oh, by the way, Fats Waller wrote this while in jail on an alimony charge.  I don’t think he had much choice but to “behave”.  Doesn’t matter – this is a great song that never gets old and can be performed by a male or female – just change the pronouns.  Watch Fats perform “Ain’t Misbehavin” on the link below (with a funky little twist in the middle”.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=ain%27t+misbehavin+song+facts&view=detail&mid=EEAEDEA0B0D8E1E6C6BEEEAEDEA0B0D8E1E6C6BE&FORM=VIRE

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