Friday Photo Flashback

This week, I began a new feature called The Music of My Life and began featuring music from every year of my life. I began in 1970, and I thought I would stay in 1970 for the Friday Photo Flashback. As a bonus, because I couldn’t decide on one picture, you get two!

The above photo was taken shortly after I came home from the hospital. It is one of my favorite photos of my dad and me. There really isn’t a whole lot happening in the background, but there are some things that really stick out to me.

First, I was a pretty good looking kid! Next, my dad, for as long as I can remember always had a mustache. The fact that he doesn’t have one in this picture makes it a bit more special to me. Then, there are his sideburns. It seems like he always seemed to have those, but they are a bit more prominent here. Dad is also wearing a white t-shirt in this picture. It seems like he would wear those often when he was just walking or working around the house. Finally, we both have hair in this photo! LOL

The above photo is a bit after the one with my dad. I love my mom’s smile in this picture! Despite my brother and I making fun of her about them in later years, I love that she’s wearing the horn-rimmed glasses.

This photo was taken at my grandma’s house. So it makes it a nostalgic trip to remember the lay out of her house. It seems like my grandma had that yellow couch forever! There was a green chair made of the same scratchy fabric that went with it. It is no surprise to see the paneling on the wall behind it. If I could stretch the right side of the picture a bit more, directly above the couch was grandma’s cuckoo clock.

On the left side of the picture is a napkin holder that I vaguely remember her having. Later on, they just used paper towels that they stacked in a Tupperware sort of container. Directly behind my mom was grandma’s fridge, which always had a big block of parmesan cheese that she would grate fresh for spaghetti dinners. The freezer was on top and I remember they’d have Wonder Bread in thick plastic bags in there. I wish I knew what that thing is above the freezer next to that vase. It looks like fake flowers, but I don’t know.

Behind me is the stove, which produced some of the most amazing meals I’ve ever eaten! It looks like there was an analog clock on it to the right. I can see one of grandma’s percolators on the stove, as well as the infamous casserole dish that everyone had in the 70’s! In the middle of the stove top, I can see the glass salt and pepper shakers that my grandma used all her life. They are just like the ones you used to see in restaurants before they were replaced by those plastic ones.

There is actually a space between the stove and that counter top behind me. If I were to stretch that side of the photo to the left, the sink would be against the wall and another cupboard would be on the left side of a window that was above the sink. This was the spot where my father was aggravating my grandma one day and she went to kick him in his behind, but he moved. She fell and he stood there laughing. It was probably not funny for her at the time, but she certainly laughed about it whenever she retold the story.

There was a time when grandma always had a table cloth on the table, but as we got older, she stopped. I’m guessing it is because we stained them with food or drink. She eventually just had placemats. For whatever reason, I remember that there was a wooden bowl in the middle of the table that had fake wax fruit in it. My brother and I always seemed to pluck the plastic grapes off the plastic vines.

I have so many wonderful memories of that house, my grandparents, my mom, and my dad. I am glad to have so many photos to remind me of those days…..

First Game in the Books

I took a day off this week so that I could watch Ella’s first T-Ball game. What a treat it was to see he in her uniform. You can’t see in the picture, but they gave her baseball socks that went all the way up to her waist when when I put them on!

Being at the game took me back to when I coached my older boys. That organized chaos hasn’t changed a bit. I felt so bad for the coach. It was only him and another gal trying to get everyone organized, so I stepped in and helped where I could.

Just as I remembered it years ago, the kids love their turn at bat, but hate being in the field. Each team has like 13 kids on it and every kid gets a turn at bat. They get a few pitches to swing at and if they don’t hit it, the ball goes on the tee. I helped bring the tee to the plate and grab it when a kid was running home.

Every kid gets to go to first base and advance a base with each batter. When the team’s last batter comes up and hits, everyone runs home.

She got a few good swings in. I need to work with her a bit more this week. I really need to see which way she bats better – left or right. I am still not sure.

Out in the field, it get’s tougher to keep them focused. There really is no outfield, because no one really hits the ball far. So everyone sort of hangs in the infield. Ella was between 1st and 2nd base when she was out in the field for this game.

It took me a few tries, but I finally got her to get in the “ready” position. It never lasted long. She would often sit and play in the dirt like the other kids.

I love when someone hits the ball because unlike in a baseball game where one fielder gets the ball, every last kid runs to get the ball and fights over who gets the ball. Usually whoever gets it holds it up like the won something. By the second time we were in the field, there was one kid who got that you had to throw the ball to first base.

As we were in the field the second time, with about 3 more batters to go before the game was over, Ella said to me, “Daddy, I’m cold.” A breeze had picked up and it was getting a bit chilly. “I need a blanket!” I chuckled and said in my best Tom Hanks, “There’s no blankets in t-ball!”

When the game was over, the teams lined up and gave each other high fives. All the team members got a snack and that was that. On the ride home, it became apparent that the game took a lot out of her …

What an absolute JOY to watch her out there.

The Music of My Life – 1970

As I celebrate birthday 54, I am borrowing (ok, stealing) an idea from another blogger. I have altered the idea a bit, and may decide to change it up after a few posts …

I am calling the feature “The Music of My Life.” I plan on starting with the year I was born and picking 10 favorites from that year. I will move on through the years one by one. I doubt I will go too deep in the more modern years, so I’m not sure how long this will go on.

Right now, I am hoping to do this once a week. That’s a bit adventurous of me, but I am really hoping to be able to work ahead on these.

So what sources am I using to choose my songs? First, I am looking at the Billboard Year-End Top 100. This can be a problem as some of the songs from the list may have been released the year before. Next, I am looking a lists from various sources with all the songs released as singles for each year. Finally, my buddy Max (who may or may not be the blogger I stole this idea from), gave me a cool website to check out. It is acclaimedmusic.net

With that being said, let’s take a look at some of my favorites from the year I was born…

1970

I may as well start with the song that was number one on my birthday – American Woman by The Guess Who. It was released in January of 1970 and was the third biggest song of the year. A cool thing about this song – the whole thing was improvised on stage during a concert after Randy Bachman was tuning his guitar after breaking a string!

American Woman – The Guess Who

Next, a group that never had a number one song. That has always baffled me. CCR had a few hits in 1970. Travelin’ Band was released in January of 1970 and has a very 1950’s sort of sound to it. John Fogerty has been said to have channeled a bit of Little Richard in the vocal delivery of this song. Coincidentally, CCR was sued by the publishing company that had the rights to Little Richard’s “Good Golly Miss Molly,” because they sounded so much alike. The case was settled out of court.

Travelin’ Band – CCR

I always loved the sound of Dave Edmunds I Hear You Knocking. In 1970, he was getting ready to cut a version of Wilbert Harrison’s Let’s Work Together, when he heard that the group Canned Heat had just cut it. As he was driving in his car, a radio station played the Smiley Lewis’ 1955 version of I Hear You Knocking. He realized just how similar it was to Let’s Work Together and knew he wouldn’t have to change much and recorded it. He played all the instruments on the song (except maybe the bass guitar).

I Hear You Knockin’ – Dave Edmunds

Another group I have always liked is Badfinger. The song was recorded in May of 1970 and released in October. The band loved this song, but some of the folks at Apple records had no interest in releasing it. In August, the American director at Apple in New York heard the tape and liked it. The song was remixed and released as a single. It was a Top 10 single.

No Matter What – Badfinger

Released in January of 1970, Norman Greenbaum had a Top 5 Hit with Spirit in the Sky. Jesus is mentioned many times throughout the song, so I remember being surprised to read that Norman was Jewish! In a 2006 interview, he said that he was inspired to write the song after watching country singer Porter Wagoner singing a gospel song on TV. He said that he thought, “I can do that,” and wrote “my own gospel song.”

As far as the unique sound of the opening guitar lick? Normal used a Fender Telecaster with a fuzz-tone circuit built into the body to generate the song’s characteristic guitar sound. Because of the song’s length and religious tone of the lyrics, the record company was initially reluctant to issue the song. They came to their senses and finally released as a single after two other singles from the album had poor sales. The rest … is history.

Spirit in the Sky – Norman Greenbaum

Edwin Starr is one of my favorite Motown singers. In 1970, he released a song co-written by another Motown artist, Barrett Strong. The song is basically a protest song as the Vietnam War was still going on. The song was recorded originally with the Temptations singing it, however, the label decided to withhold the Temptations’ version from single release so as not to alienate that group’s more conservative fans, and had Edwin Starr record and release it.

War – Edwin Starr

By the time I was born, the Beatles were getting ready to call it quits. However, in March of 1970, they released Let It Be. At the time, the song became the highest debut ever on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It entered the chart at number 6 and went straight to the top. This was the final single released before Paul announced he was leaving the band.

Let It Be – The Beatles

One of the great song intros in classic rock belongs to All Right Now by Free. The song was recorded in January of 1970 and released on my birthday in the UK (May 15). Drummer Simon Kirke said: “‘All Right Now’ was created after a bad gig in Durham. We finished our show and walked off the stage to the sound of our own footsteps. The applause had died before I had even left the drum riser. It was obvious that we needed a rocker to close our shows. All of a sudden the inspiration struck (Bass Player Andy) Fraser and he started bopping around singing ‘All Right Now’. He sat down and wrote it right there in the dressing room. It couldn’t have taken more than ten minutes.” It’s a great jam!

All Right Now – Free

This song fits exactly what many blogger friends and I do often – Turn Back the Hands of Time through music, movies, and nostalgia. One of R&B’s greatest was released in February of 1970 by Tyrone Davis. The song was Davis’ second big hit. It went to number one on the Billboard R&B Chart and went to number three on the Pop Singles Chart.

I’ve always loved the way the intro starts with drum and bass, then adds guitar and keyboard (xylophone?) and finally the strings before Tyrone’s smooth vocal. And who doesn’t sing along with the background singers when they come in? I know I do.

Turn Back the Hands of Time – Tyrone Davis

Finally, we grab a cut from Van Morrison’s 1970 album, Moondance. Into the Mystic is just such a cool song. I guess this would fall into the category of “Yacht Rock” today. It has a spiritual feel to it. One article compared it to Yesterday by the Beatles describing it as “another song where the music and the words seem to have been born together, at the same time, to make one perfectly formed, complete artistic element.”

Van said the use of homophones really lent the song to have alternate meanings. He states: “Originally I wrote it as ‘Into the Misty’. But later I thought that it had something of an ethereal feeling to it so I called it ‘Into the Mystic’. That song is kind of funny because when it came time to send the lyrics in WB Music, I couldn’t figure out what to send them. Because really the song has two sets of lyrics. For example, there’s ‘I was born before the wind’ and ‘I was borne before the wind’, and also ‘Also younger than the sun, Ere the bonny boat was one’ and ‘All so younger than the son, Ere the bonny boat was won’ … I guess the song is just about being part of the universe.”

Into the Mystic – Van Morrison

I hope you enjoyed giving these songs a listen. Picking just 10 was harder than I thought. What about your favorites from 1970??

Up next – 1971….

Tune Tuesday – More

The amazing Bobby Darin was born May 14, 1936. Bobby was a phenomenal talent.  He was a lot like Sammy Davis Jr. in that he was a songwriter, a singer, an actor, and played multiple instruments.  He caught the attention of many, including George Burns, with whom he was good friends.

He began his career writing songs for Connie Francis, and eventually recorded his first song, “Splish Splash,” which was a hit in 1958.  He followed it with many other hits including “Dream Lover,” “Beyond the Sea,” “If I Were a Carpenter”, “Clementine,” “Things,” and “Mack the Knife.” His music was such a big part of that early rock and roll, however, thanks to Mack the Knife, he also had great success with some pop standards.

With so many great songs to pick from, I decided on one that I just love. The song was not exclusive to Bobby Darin, but his version is one of the best. I am talking about “More.”

“More” was the Theme to a movie called Mondo Cane, which is a documentary. According to Wikipedia, the film “uses a variety of music to accompany various segments. Some melodies are used repeatedly, in different styles, each named for the part of the movie where the music is used. Of the 15 music tracks on the soundtrack album, one melody is presented 6 times, another melody 2 times. The melody which became known as ‘More’ is presented 4 times.”

The song was first heard in the US as a pop instrumental hit by jazz trombone player Kai Winding in 1963. The instrumental version went to #8 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart. Bobby cut his version of the song for his album “From Hello Dolly to Goodbye Charlie.”

The song works so well as a ballad, but Bobby’s take on it swings and is so good! I love the lyrics and dedicate this one to my wife …

More

More than the greatest love the world has known
This is the love that I give to you alone
More than the simple words I try to say
I only live to love you more each day

More than you’ll ever know
My arms long to hold you so
My life will be in your keeping
Waking sleeping laughing weeping

Longer than always is a long long time
But far beyond forever you’ll be mine
I know I’ve never lived before
And my heart is very sure, no-one else could love you more

More than the greatest love the world has known
This is the love that I give to you alone
More than the simple words I try to say
I only live to love you more each day

More than you’ll ever know
My arms long to hold you so
My life will be in your keeping
Waking sleeping laughing weeping

Longer than always is a long long long time
But far beyond forever you’ll be mine
I know I’ve never lived before
And my heart is very sure, no-one else could love you more

There are many biographies available about the life of Bobby Darin.  His son, Dodd, wrote one entitled Dream Lovers which talks much about his dad and his mom (Sandra Dee).  It’s an honest read.

Bobby had health issues throughout his life and his heart already had issues.  In 1973, he neglected to take the antibiotics he was prescribed for his heart before a dentist visit.  He ended up developing sepsis which spread throughout his body.  This made him weak and affected one of the valves in his heart.  He checked himself into the hospital for another open heart surgery (he had two heart valves replaced in 1971).  After a six hour surgery, he died in the recovery room on December 20, 1973.  He never regained consciousness.  Bobby Darin was 37 years old.

Mother’s Day Recap

This was the first Mother’s Day since becoming a mom that Sam had the day off. I was so glad that she was able to take the day and spend it with us. She worked the night before and on the way home, she called and told me to make sure the kids were dressed. We were heading out somewhere when she got home.

I hurried and got the kids dressed, got myself dressed and was ready when she got home. She came in and changed clothes before we left, so I just assumed we were all going to go out to breakfast. Instead, she drove to the cemetery where my mom is buried. She told me she wasn’t going to let Mother’s Day go by without taking me there.

The innocence of my kids always chokes me up. As we walked up, Sam said, “We have to see grandma on Mother’s Day. She was daddy’s mommy.” When we got to her headstone, Andrew said, “I can’t see grandma.” That was the first choke up. Then Ella had found what she called a “heart shaped rock” and wanted to put it on her headstone. “I want grandma to have it.” Choke up number two. In the car, on the way out, Andrew starts to get upset. Sam asked why and he said, “Grandma can’t hold me.” Choke up number three.

When we got home, Sam got to see the gifts that the kids got for her.

They each drew her a picture/card and we placed a paint handprint inside. We bought her some hair stuff (hair ties, clips, a mirror, and stuff she uses to get ready). The kids also picked out a beautiful dozen roses for her. Finally, we made sure she got a delicious cake!

When our Head Start friend came over, we made feet flowers for her with her favorite colors.

After we opened her presents, she got to laid down and nap since she worked the night before. Then the kids and I went outside and we detailed her car.

We debated doing a BBQ for dinner, but she said she was really craving some Chinese food, so that’s what we got! By 7pm, the entire family was just exhausted and we were all in bed and asleep by 8! LOL

I am so happy that we got to celebrate her for mother’s day!! She is so special to all of us!

Movie Music Mondays – Come On Let’s Go

Richard Steven Valenzuela would have been 83 years old today, had he not become part of the story entitled, “The Day the Music Died.” We, of course, know him by his stage name – Richie Valens.

UNSPECIFIED – JANUARY 01: Photo of Ritchie Valens (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

In May of 1958, Bob Keane of Del-Fi Records was told about a high school singer who students called “The Little Richard of San Fernando.” This peaked his interest and he went to see him perform. Keane invited Richard to his home to audition for him. After that first audition, Keane signed him to Del-Fi on May 14, 1958. At this point, the musician took the name “Ritchie” because, as Keane said, “There were a bunch of ‘Richards’ around at that time, and I wanted it to be different.” Similarly, he recommended shortening his surname to “Valens” from Valenzuela to widen his appeal beyond any obvious ethnic group.

The first song that Ritchie recorded at a session shortly after being signed was Come On, Let’s Go. Our song for today. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Ritchie’s story was told in the 1987 biographical film, La Bamba, which starred Lou Diamond Phillips as Valens. Marshall Crenshaw played Buddy Holly, Stephen Lee was the Big Bopper, and Brian Setzer makes a cameo as Eddie Cochran. Some of Ritchie Valens’ family even had roles in the film.

The film was well received and Roger Ebert said that he liked the film and the screenplay and writing: “This is a good small movie, sweet and sentimental, about a kid who never really got a chance to show his stuff. The best things in it are the most unexpected things: the portraits of everyday life, of a loving mother, of a brother who loves and resents him, of a kid growing up and tasting fame and leaving everyone standing around at his funeral shocked that his life ended just as it seemed to be beginning.”

The soundtrack consists of many Ritchie covers done by Los Lobos as well as well as Howard Huntsberry (who played Jackie Wilson in the film), Bo Diddly and Brian Setzer. A second soundtrack was released 1988 with more music from the movie.

Los Lobos did a fantastic job capturing Ritchie Valens’ essence and his songs are fairly true to the originals. While La Bamba will forever be the song Richie is remembered for, Come On, Let’s Go was always my favorite. So for Movie Music Monday, let’s here Los Lobos’ version.

Valens’ story (like that of Buddy Holly and other singers who died young) leaves us wondering “What if ….?” His was a talent taken much too soon.

I feel this way daily, but a bit more today…

Book Recommendation: Mother-Daughter Murder Night

I’ve been waiting on this book for sometime and it finally became available. It’s another murder mystery and while it was not as good as the last one I posted about, it is good just the same. The book has plenty of suspects who have the motive to murder, and surprisingly, I guessed the killer about half way through (which didn’t ruin it because I wasn’t 100 percent sure).

Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

Nothing brings a family together like a murder next door.

A lighthearted whodunnit about a grandmother-mother-daughter trio of amateur sleuths. Gilmore Girls , but with murder.

High-powered businesswoman Lana Rubicon has a lot to be proud her keen intelligence, impeccable taste, and the L.A. real estate empire she’s built. But when she finds herself trapped 300 miles north of the city, convalescing in a sleepy coastal town with her adult daughter Beth and teenage granddaughter Jack, Lana is stuck counting otters instead of square footage—and hoping that boredom won’t kill her before the cancer does. 

Then Jack—tiny in stature but fiercely independent—happens upon a dead body while kayaking. She quickly becomes a suspect in the homicide investigation, and the Rubicon women are thrown into chaos. Beth thinks Lana should focus on recovery, but Lana has a better idea. She’ll pull on her wig, find the true murderer, protect her family, and prove she still has power. With Jack and Beth’s help, Lana uncovers a web of lies, family vendettas, and land disputes lurking beneath the surface of a community populated by folksy conservationists and wealthy ranchers. But as their amateur snooping advances into ever-more dangerous territory, the headstrong Rubicon women must learn to do the one thing they’ve always done – depend on each other.

“Gilmore Girls, but with murder,” is enough to make you want to pick it up, right? As I listened to the audiobook, I could see this being a great movie.

4 out of 5 stars.

Friday Photo Flashback

As my birthday approaches this coming week, I thought it would be fun to look at a birthday from the past. These photos will take you back 46 years to my 8th birthday.

The first thing I notice about this photo is the fact that my folks didn’t develop the film for over a year!! I find that hilarious.

The little dude in the awful brown and yellow outfit cutting the cake is yours truly. Look at that mop of hair!! This was probably one of the last birthdays I was sort of skinny.

The lady in red is my beautiful mom who made my birthday cake. At 8 years old, I’m sure I didn’t ask for a train cake, it was probably one of the cake pans she had already in the house. Just looking at this picture makes me miss her even more.

I cannot be sure, but I am guessing that my aunt is to my mom’s left. It looks like she is sitting on one of these green bar chairs we had. My brother is to my right with a party staple – Towne Club pop!

As I tend to do, I want to see the stuff in the background, but so often the photos are blurry. There are some things of interest here, however. I do not for the life of me remember the olive green corded phone on the wall. I do remember my mom and dad sticking notes with numbers and such above it. It looks like there might be a couple index cards there.

Directly behind my mom, up against the wall, I can make out what is probably a macramé plant holder. If memory serves me right, there were sea shells woven into the plant hanger itself. My mom hand plenty of plants in the house and at one point I had made her a plant hanger at summer camp.

I have to laugh at the classic Mr. Coffee Coffee Pot on the counter. I think every family member had one of those except my grandma who only used a percolator for coffee. It looks like my folks have stacked up stuff on the counter, which was a constant. I remember my dad moving stuff off the coffee pot whenever he had to make coffee.

I really tried to make out what looks like a bookcase, or maybe part of the stereo in the room behind my mom. It looks like it may have photo albums on there, but I can’t be sure. That was usually the spot where the TV was, but it could have been in a different spot at this time.

I had originally only wanted to post the one photo, however, after looking at another one taken the same day, I had to share for one reason – the ugly wallpaper! Get a load of that terrible pattern!

I like this picture a lot more than the other, because I have a cheesy grin and it screams 1970’s! For example, the paneling up half the wall. Paneling seemed to be in every house back then! Then, of course, the Polaroid cameras that every had back then. I’m surprised that these pictures were not taken with one!

If you look at the middle of the table, you will just be able to see a bit of one of mom’s plants. It may have been what she called spider plants. She used to have pieces of those plants in jars, vases, and pots all over the place! And just above my head is the bottom “tail” of one of the many plant hangers mom had.

The weird thing about these photos is that I can tell you without seeing them, who was there to celebrate with us. Both sets of grandparents, my aunt, and my folks. It was never really a big deal, but I loved those little birthday parties.

Oh, to go back 46 years just to see those folks who are no longer here ….

We’re Walking For Miracles

My wife and I have formed a team and are walking for miracles next month. We’ve put a team together and will be walking the zoo to help out our local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital.

With all the recent medical stuff that has been happening with our son, this is a perfect opportunity for my family and I to say thank you to the doctors who have helped (and continue to help) him. It is also a great way to raise money to help other families and children.

From our work website:

Superheroes of all ages are invited to Corewell Health Children’s Walk for Miracles at the Detroit Zoo, Saturday, June 8, at 7:30 a.m. Enjoy the zoo for the entire day by walking the two-mile loop and exploring the zoo exhibits. Attendees will also enjoy complimentary refreshments and meet popular comic book and fairytale heroes.

Participants are encouraged to dress as their favorite superhero and will receive a superhero cape and finishing medallion. Walkers must register in advance and make a minimum donation of $12 for ages 13 and over and $8 for ages 2-12. Children under the age of 2 are free.

Each of us is hoping to raise $100 ($1000 for the team). If you are in the Detroit area, I encourage you to join us. For more information you can click the link here:

https://www.helpmakemiracles.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donordrive.event&eventID=4838

If you are inclined to donate to our team, drop me an email: nostalgicitalian@yahoo.com and I will send you a link where you can do so. If you want to create your own team of walkers, you can do so at the link above.

Thanks in advance! Hope to see you there!