*y vuelve a repicar ríquititi...*

So… I am a longtime fan of the old television show, I Love Lucy. I’ve considered it my favorite for around 20 years. I started watching it on Nick at Nite with my grandmother when I was quite young and by the time I was 12 or so, I was recording every episode off the television. I was completely obsessed with the show. I had t-shirts, pajamas, read a number of the books about the show and biographies of the actors, and even had a couple I Love Lucy themed games – (I wish I still had the trivia game. It got lost somewhere, but was a lot of fun). In fact, I can still recite the Vitameatavegamin spiel in its entirety – and have a number of the episodes more or less memorized. I suppose if you know that much about me, it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to discover I own a Desi Arnaz CD compilation.

 

Obviously, Lucy was the star of the show and rightly so. She was beautiful, a capable business woman, and had impeccable comedic timing. But while Lucy tends to be in the limelight, Desi’s talent shouldn’t be overlooked. His facial expressions and reactions in I Love Lucy episodes were hilarious. But while he was a skilled actor and comedian, his musical talent is also noteworthy. I suppose the most well-known of his songs is “Babalu” because of its constant reference on the show. While it is a fine and energetic song, I think I prefer the song “El Cumbanchero” that is kind of in the same vein with its lively beat and call and answer chorus. “Cuban Cabby” was one of the first Desi performances I really took notice of – and I think I particularly enjoy the contrast of each section of the song.

 

Most of his songs have the sound of much of the popular music of the ‘40s and ‘50s, featuring a strong brass section, but also highlight woodwinds like the flute and clarinet – and always seem to have a solid Latin rhythm that often brings the percussion section into the spotlight. Songs like “In Santiago, Chile”, “Straw Hat Song”, “Guadalajara”, “You Can In Yucatan”, and his rendition of “The Lady In Red” all make me want to dance around the living room and tempt me into learning how to do a proper rumba.

 

Though, I think the most of his songs, fall into the “Latin Swing” genre, he sang quite a few lovely ballads that he sings quite sweetly. “Forever Darling” was the theme from the Lucy and Desi film of the same name and is very pretty, but I think my favorite of his ballads is “Made for Each Other (Tu Felicidad)”. I first heard it on the Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie about 15 years ago, but when I found it a few years back, I fell in love with it. It has fantastic piano interludes, a lovely harmonized flute intro, unobtrusive strings, a Latin beat that keeps it moving forward, and Desi’s sincere vocals. I think my favorite part is when he repeats the chorus in Spanish.

 

Of course, there are a few songs that I’ve only ever been able to find on the show including “Mexican Giveaway” and probably my favorite of all of Desi’s songs, “I’m Breaking My Back (Putting Up A Front For You)”. It’s a song that I think may have also been recorded by Ozzie Nelson, but I’ve not been able to find his version either. I love the sentiment of it – where he’s listing everything he’s been doing trying to impress a special girl – and I find the lyrics quite amusing… in an early 1950s innocence sort of way.

 

All in all, even if you don’t find Desi’s voice appealing, you should still be able to enjoy the lighthearted and entertaining quality that his songs possess.

 

 

 

*Here we come walkin' down the street...*

The Monkees have long been a part of my music collection, but until fairly recently, they have been strictly a “greatest hits” band to me – meaning, I never delved into their non-singles. As I believe I stated elsewhere, I got into The Monkees in my early teens and bought a greatest hits album. Unfortunately, I never really moved beyond those hit songs.

 

I feel like The Monkees kind of got a bad rap when they first came out in the mid-60s and it’s kind of stuck with them. The Pre-Fab Four. A manufactured band who didn’t write their own music and don’t play their own instruments. Never mind the fact that there are a number of groups from that time (and since) that don’t write music and use studio musicians on their albums – particularly the latter. The Beach Boys, The Mamas and The Papas, The Temptations were all basically vocalists in the studio. Even so, that wasn’t entirely true. Maybe they didn’t play or write much on their first album or two, but Mike and Peter were both decent musicians before they were cast as Monkees. And I think a certain amount of props has to be given to Micky – who initially only played guitar – for learning to play the drums so quickly. And they were expected to do an awful lot – not only acting in a television show, but recording albums and making personal appearances and doing live performances. All in all, I find what they were able to accomplish very impressive.

 

The early songs were often composed by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart and are amazingly catchy – like “Last Train to Clarksville”, the fast-paced “Let’s Dance On”, the sweetly sung “I Wanna Be Free”, and rocking “I’m Not Your Steppin’ Stone” (which has always been a favorite of mine). Neil Diamond contributed a few tunes as well like “I’m A Believer” and “Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)”. Then of course, the exceptionally accomplished Gerry Goffin and Carole King wrote some great Monkees hits like “Pleasant Valley Sunday”. And yes, The Monkees themselves did write a number of their own tunes. Mike Nesmith wrote “Mary, Mary”, “Tapioca Tundra” , “Sweet Young Thing”, “The Girl I Knew Somewhere”, “Listen to the Band” (a personal favorite of mine) and a number of others. Peter Tork wrote the appealing “For Pete’s Sake” that was featured as the closing theme for the 2^nd season of the TV show. Micky, inspired by a party thrown for them by The Beatles, wrote the tune “Randy Scouse Git”. Davy even co-wrote a few songs like “Hard to Believe”. Oh, and if you want to check out a definite lyric challenge, look up the song, "Goin' Down", written by all four band members. Crazy fast lyrics!

 

As I’ve been checking out more Monkees albums, I’m finding that my favorite of their albums is the 1967 released Headquarters. It’s really an exciting album. It’s the first album made after producer, Don “The Man With The Golden Ear” Kirshner was dismissed and you can hear the amount of enjoyment, excitement, and energy the band put forth into making it. Upon its release, it raced up the charts to number one, only to be bumped firmly into the number two spot by The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper.

 

The album kicks off with the country-tinged rocker written by Mike, “You Told Me”, featuring some excellent banjo playing by Peter. Boyce and Hart’s “I’ll Spend My Life With You” is a lovely ballad sung by Micky and is followed by the catchy “Forget That Girl” with Davy providing the vocals. Mike takes the duty as lead singer on the fantastic song, “You Just May Be The One” – and Micky provides excellent harmonies. “Shades of Gray” is more of a grown-up song for the band, lyrics reflecting on the uncertainty of the mid-1960s – and features

superb vocals by Davy and Peter. “For Pete’s Sake” is a fantastic tune with an addictive guitar riff and very “Summer of Love” lyrics that I love. “Mr. Webster” is a slower song that tells the sad story of Mr. Webster and features a lot of tambourine by Davy. Another Nesmith penned song follows with “Sunny Girlfriend” and then a classic 1950s rock and roll inspired song, “No Time” (and there’s a Beatles reference in this song!). “Early Morning Blues and Greens” is another lovely Davy sung ballad. And the album ends with Micky’s excellent “Randy Scouse Git” – I love the piano part and the contrast between the verses and the chorus. Though, I think my favorite song (at least of the moment) is one of the bonus tracks, “All Of Your Toys”. That song is fantastic and very addictive. It’s a bit Beatle-esque, but I love that tune and the use of harpsichord and piano. Micky does a great job on the vocals and I also thoroughly enjoy the background vocals. It was written by Mike’s friend, Bill Martin and the tune was slated to be a single originally, but couldn’t be released due to copyright issues.

 

Like I mentioned, I never thoroughly explored the band’s full catalogue of songs – and while I still have a bit more to peruse, I think I’m beginning to fully appreciate how remarkable this band was. In fact, the more I’m getting to know them, I’m finding it increasingly difficult to pick a favorite member. It was originally Davy, because of his adorable face and British accent (I got to see him live in ’04!), but now… I don’t know. Maybe I’ll just go watch some more of them and I’ll be able to decide… Until then, I’ll leave you with this.

 

*I know with the dawn you will be gone...*

On a fairly recent episode of the ABC Family series, Bunheads, I caught a rendition of a familiar song that I’d somehow forgotten about. Of course, now that I’ve found it again, I’m finding myself rather addicted to it.

 

The tune is “Tonight You Belong To Me”. While this song has been featured in a number of commercials through the years and in a couple episodes of American Horror Story (which seems to be where many youtubers think it’s from), it has actually been around since the mid-1920s. It was written in 1926 by Billy Rose and Lee David, and since then, I believe there are dozens of renditions of it.

 

Gene Austin recorded it first in 1927 and it was later revived by Frankie Laine in 1952. In the mid-1950s, The Lennon Sisters recorded it with Lawrence Welk and his Orchestra and in 1956, possibly the most famous rendition was recorded by Patience and Prudence. Karen Chandler and Jimmy Walkley, Ann Shelton and The Duprees, George Maharis, The Honeys, Eddie Vedder, Fiona Apple, Zooey Deschanel, and even Alvin and the Chipmunks all have contributed their own interpretations of the song.

 

I guess it’s no surprise so many people have chosen to cover it. It’s short, simple and not hard to sing, and while it borders on being almost too saccharine, it has very lovely harmonies and is damn catchy. My favorite version is probably the version featured in The Jerk, with Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters singing a slower version while walking along the beach, accompanied by just a ukulele. The performance is more wistful than some of the others and I think it may appeal to me for that reason. Also, I'm finding I have kind of a thing for the ukulele...