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Dave's Song of the Day
Jane's Getting Serious – Jon Astley
Monday song of the day: Today’s song was a very minor hit for a producer who also made some records of his own.
Jon Astley was best known as a record producer, having worked with artists including Eric Clapton, George Harrison, ABBA, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, and The Who. In 1987 he released an album of his own music, called Everyone Loves the Pilot (Except the Crew).
A single from this album was Jane’s Getting Serious. It told of a relationship between a man and a woman who were good friends but not romantically involved. As the song progresses the “just friends” status begins to change. Jane’s Getting Serious was not a big hit, making it to only #77 on the Billboard Hot 100. Later the music was used in a series of Heinz ketchup commercials, including one starring Matt LeBlanc before he became famous for the TV series Friends.
Astley released another album in 1988, but that had even less of an impact. Since then, he has continued his work as a record engineer and producer, and was especially well known as an expert at remastering older works for re-release on compact disc.
Oh, and he is no relation to Rick Astley.
Heinz ketchup commercial using Jane’s Getting Serious
Tomorrow: The worst person I know
Jane's Getting Serious – Jon Astley
Monday song of the day: Today’s song was a very minor hit for a producer who also made some records of his own.
Jon Astley was best known as a record producer, having worked with artists including Eric Clapton, George Harrison, ABBA, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, and The Who. In 1987 he released an album of his own music, called Everyone Loves the Pilot (Except the Crew).
A single from this album was Jane’s Getting Serious. It told of a relationship between a man and a woman who were good friends but not romantically involved. As the song progresses the “just friends” status begins to change. Jane’s Getting Serious was not a big hit, making it to only #77 on the Billboard Hot 100. Later the music was used in a series of Heinz ketchup commercials, including one starring Matt LeBlanc before he became famous for the TV series Friends.
Astley released another album in 1988, but that had even less of an impact. Since then, he has continued his work as a record engineer and producer, and was especially well known as an expert at remastering older works for re-release on compact disc.
Oh, and he is no relation to Rick Astley.
Heinz ketchup commercial using Jane’s Getting Serious
Tomorrow: The worst person I know
Dave's Song of the Day
Mother-in-Law – Ernie K-Doe
Tuesday song of the day: Today’s song was pulled out of a garbage can.
Singer Ernest Kador was working with his producer Allen Toussaint in 1961 trying to record some songs. Toussaint had written four songs for the session, and one concerned a mother-in-law who made life very difficult for her son-in-law. Toussaint was single, so he based the song on the common jokes he had heard several comedians make about their mothers-in-law.
Kador, who went by the stage name Ernie K-Doe, tried the song a few times but Toussaint didn’t like his rendition and threw the song away. One of the other musicians saved the crumpled paper from the trash and they tried the song one more time. Toussaint later described the session, “”I wrote four songs for him to do, because we always recorded four songs at a time, and ‘Mother-In-Law’ was one of them. When I tried it out on him the first time, he began to shout and preach at it and I really didn’t like his approach to it. I thought it was a waste of time to try to get him to do it, so I balled it up and put it in the trash can, like I did with other songs. One of the backup singers, Willie Harper, thought it was just a wonderful song, so he took it out of the trash can and said, ‘K-Doe, why don’t you calm down and listen closer to the way Allen is doing it and try to do it like that? This is a good song.’ So he calmed down and didn’t preach at it, but did it like it finally came out.”
The resultant take of Mother-in-Law was released as a single and climbed all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. K-Doe never had another Top 40 hit, but continued to perform for decades. In 1994 he opened the Mother-in-Law Lounge in New Orleans. After his death in 2001, his wife continued to operate the bar. She passed away in 2009, and the lounge closed for a while, but it was reopened in 2014 by a new owner and continues to operate today.
Tomorrow: You even worry my pet
Mother-in-Law – Ernie K-Doe
Tuesday song of the day: Today’s song was pulled out of a garbage can.
Singer Ernest Kador was working with his producer Allen Toussaint in 1961 trying to record some songs. Toussaint had written four songs for the session, and one concerned a mother-in-law who made life very difficult for her son-in-law. Toussaint was single, so he based the song on the common jokes he had heard several comedians make about their mothers-in-law.
Kador, who went by the stage name Ernie K-Doe, tried the song a few times but Toussaint didn’t like his rendition and threw the song away. One of the other musicians saved the crumpled paper from the trash and they tried the song one more time. Toussaint later described the session, “”I wrote four songs for him to do, because we always recorded four songs at a time, and ‘Mother-In-Law’ was one of them. When I tried it out on him the first time, he began to shout and preach at it and I really didn’t like his approach to it. I thought it was a waste of time to try to get him to do it, so I balled it up and put it in the trash can, like I did with other songs. One of the backup singers, Willie Harper, thought it was just a wonderful song, so he took it out of the trash can and said, ‘K-Doe, why don’t you calm down and listen closer to the way Allen is doing it and try to do it like that? This is a good song.’ So he calmed down and didn’t preach at it, but did it like it finally came out.”
The resultant take of Mother-in-Law was released as a single and climbed all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. K-Doe never had another Top 40 hit, but continued to perform for decades. In 1994 he opened the Mother-in-Law Lounge in New Orleans. After his death in 2001, his wife continued to operate the bar. She passed away in 2009, and the lounge closed for a while, but it was reopened in 2014 by a new owner and continues to operate today.
Tomorrow: You even worry my pet
Dave's Song of the Day
You Talk Too Much – Joe Jones
Wednesday song of the day: Today’s song was the subject of a legal battle between two record labels.
Yesterday’s song of the day, Mother-in-Law by Ernie K-Doe, reminded me of a song from the same era that was similar in tone. That song was You Talk Too Much by Joe Jones. The person referred to in You Talk Too Much was not specified, but like Ernie K-Doe’s mother-in-law, they made life difficult for Joe Jones.
The song was written by Reginald Hall, who happened to be the brother-in-law of established star Fats Domino. He offered the song to Fats, but he declined. Then it was offered to Joe Jones. At the time Jones was recording for Roulette Records, and in 1958 he released a single of You Talk Too Much. It did not sell very well.
In 1960 Joe re-recorded You Talk Too Much for New Orleans-based Ric Records, and it became a hit this time. Unfortunately, he was still under contract to Roulette. Roulette sued Ric over the record, and a few months later they reached a settlement. Roulette bought the master recording from Ric, and subsequent pressings were released by Roulette. Around this time the record peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Somebody made a lot of money off the record, but it was not Joe Jones. In his later years, he was an advocate for record companies paying the older artists who they had blatantly cheated out of royalties in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Jones passed away in 2005 at the age of 79.
Tomorrow: So we jumped up on the table and shouted “Anarchy!”
You Talk Too Much – Joe Jones
Wednesday song of the day: Today’s song was the subject of a legal battle between two record labels.
Yesterday’s song of the day, Mother-in-Law by Ernie K-Doe, reminded me of a song from the same era that was similar in tone. That song was You Talk Too Much by Joe Jones. The person referred to in You Talk Too Much was not specified, but like Ernie K-Doe’s mother-in-law, they made life difficult for Joe Jones.
The song was written by Reginald Hall, who happened to be the brother-in-law of established star Fats Domino. He offered the song to Fats, but he declined. Then it was offered to Joe Jones. At the time Jones was recording for Roulette Records, and in 1958 he released a single of You Talk Too Much. It did not sell very well.
In 1960 Joe re-recorded You Talk Too Much for New Orleans-based Ric Records, and it became a hit this time. Unfortunately, he was still under contract to Roulette. Roulette sued Ric over the record, and a few months later they reached a settlement. Roulette bought the master recording from Ric, and subsequent pressings were released by Roulette. Around this time the record peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Somebody made a lot of money off the record, but it was not Joe Jones. In his later years, he was an advocate for record companies paying the older artists who they had blatantly cheated out of royalties in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Jones passed away in 2005 at the age of 79.
Tomorrow: So we jumped up on the table and shouted “Anarchy!”
Love Draiman's voice. Cried when I saw him sing this in Richmond.
Dave's Song of the Day
Punk Rock Girl – The Dead Milkmen
Thursday song of the day: Today’s song was the biggest hit by a satirical punk rock band from Philadelphia.
The Dead Milkmen formed in 1983 in Philadelphia and specialized in humorous punk songs. They never had a song that made it onto the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, but a song from their fourth album in 1988 received a fair amount of airplay on MTV and made it to #11on the niche Modern Rock Tracks chart.
That song was Punk Rock Girl, and it told the story of a guy who meets the punk rock girl of his dreams at Zipperhead, a local alternative rock-themed store in Philadelphia. The two have some mundane adventures, and the singer fantasizes about their life together.
The song was written by singer/guitarist Joseph Genaro (who used the stage name Joe Jack Talcum for his work in the band) for a side project, but instead it was recorded by The Dead Milkmen. The song mentions some local Philadelphia landmarks, along with pop culture references such as Mojo Nixon, Minnie Pearl, and the Duke of Earl.
Most famously, the lyrics “mistakenly” mention California Dreaming as a Beach Boys song, instead of being sung by The Mamas and the Papas. Genaro claims that he knew that the Mamas and the Papas originated the song, but that he was referencing a more recent Beach Boys cover version. The story checks out, since the Beach Boys did in fact cover the song in 1986.
Tomorrow: We’ll walk through my dukedom
Punk Rock Girl – The Dead Milkmen
Thursday song of the day: Today’s song was the biggest hit by a satirical punk rock band from Philadelphia.
The Dead Milkmen formed in 1983 in Philadelphia and specialized in humorous punk songs. They never had a song that made it onto the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, but a song from their fourth album in 1988 received a fair amount of airplay on MTV and made it to #11on the niche Modern Rock Tracks chart.
That song was Punk Rock Girl, and it told the story of a guy who meets the punk rock girl of his dreams at Zipperhead, a local alternative rock-themed store in Philadelphia. The two have some mundane adventures, and the singer fantasizes about their life together.
The song was written by singer/guitarist Joseph Genaro (who used the stage name Joe Jack Talcum for his work in the band) for a side project, but instead it was recorded by The Dead Milkmen. The song mentions some local Philadelphia landmarks, along with pop culture references such as Mojo Nixon, Minnie Pearl, and the Duke of Earl.
Most famously, the lyrics “mistakenly” mention California Dreaming as a Beach Boys song, instead of being sung by The Mamas and the Papas. Genaro claims that he knew that the Mamas and the Papas originated the song, but that he was referencing a more recent Beach Boys cover version. The story checks out, since the Beach Boys did in fact cover the song in 1986.
Tomorrow: We’ll walk through my dukedom
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Love this song, it's in a playlist of mine.... And always makes me laugh because of that awful, but classically great guitar solo. Now I'm going to go eat fudge banana swirlDave's Song of the Day
Punk Rock Girl – The Dead Milkmen
Thursday song of the day: Today’s song was the biggest hit by a satirical punk rock band from Philadelphia.
The Dead Milkmen formed in 1983 in Philadelphia and specialized in humorous punk songs. They never had a song that made it onto the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, but a song from their fourth album in 1988 received a fair amount of airplay on MTV and made it to #11on the niche Modern Rock Tracks chart.
That song was Punk Rock Girl, and it told the story of a guy who meets the punk rock girl of his dreams at Zipperhead, a local alternative rock-themed store in Philadelphia. The two have some mundane adventures, and the singer fantasizes about their life together.
The song was written by singer/guitarist Joseph Genaro (who used the stage name Joe Jack Talcum for his work in the band) for a side project, but instead it was recorded by The Dead Milkmen. The song mentions some local Philadelphia landmarks, along with pop culture references such as Mojo Nixon, Minnie Pearl, and the Duke of Earl.
Most famously, the lyrics “mistakenly” mention California Dreaming as a Beach Boys song, instead of being sung by The Mamas and the Papas. Genaro claims that he knew that the Mamas and the Papas originated the song, but that he was referencing a more recent Beach Boys cover version. The story checks out, since the Beach Boys did in fact cover the song in 1986.
Tomorrow: We’ll walk through my dukedom
Dave's Song of the Day
Duke of Earl – Gene Chandler
Friday song of the day: Today’s song was originated by a vocal group, but rejected by the record company, so a member of the group recorded it as a solo artist for another company.
In the early 1960s, a group called The Dukays created a song based on their vocal warmup exercises. They had the habit of singing “do-do-do” at various pitches to warm up their voices. Eventually this became “duke-duke-duke” and they decided it might be the basis for a song. One of the members of the Dukays was Earl Edwards, so the song became Duke of Earl.
The group was signed to Nat Records and recorded Duke of Earl along with a few other songs for them. Nat preferred The Girl’s a Devil, and released that song instead. It was a minor hit at #64 on the charts,
Since Nat Records had no interest in Duke of Earl, Dukays member Eugene Dixon worked out a deal where he left the group and signed to Vee-Jay Records as a solo act under the stage name Gene Chandler to record Duke of Earl. He later explained, “It was a tough decision, but I went with the `Duke` record. I had been signed to Nat Records as Eugene Dixon, which was my real name, so I had to make up a new name for Vee-Jay. My favorite actor was Jeff Chandler, so I took his last name and cut Eugene down to Gene.”
The record was released in late 1961 and by February 1962 had climbed to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. At the same time, the Dukays had another single, Night Owl, on the charts at #73. Apparently, Chandler made the right decision to take a chance and leave the group.
Tomorrow: Are you as cool as you believe?
Duke of Earl – Gene Chandler
Friday song of the day: Today’s song was originated by a vocal group, but rejected by the record company, so a member of the group recorded it as a solo artist for another company.
In the early 1960s, a group called The Dukays created a song based on their vocal warmup exercises. They had the habit of singing “do-do-do” at various pitches to warm up their voices. Eventually this became “duke-duke-duke” and they decided it might be the basis for a song. One of the members of the Dukays was Earl Edwards, so the song became Duke of Earl.
The group was signed to Nat Records and recorded Duke of Earl along with a few other songs for them. Nat preferred The Girl’s a Devil, and released that song instead. It was a minor hit at #64 on the charts,
Since Nat Records had no interest in Duke of Earl, Dukays member Eugene Dixon worked out a deal where he left the group and signed to Vee-Jay Records as a solo act under the stage name Gene Chandler to record Duke of Earl. He later explained, “It was a tough decision, but I went with the `Duke` record. I had been signed to Nat Records as Eugene Dixon, which was my real name, so I had to make up a new name for Vee-Jay. My favorite actor was Jeff Chandler, so I took his last name and cut Eugene down to Gene.”
The record was released in late 1961 and by February 1962 had climbed to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. At the same time, the Dukays had another single, Night Owl, on the charts at #73. Apparently, Chandler made the right decision to take a chance and leave the group.
Tomorrow: Are you as cool as you believe?
Dave's Song of the Day
Labour of Love – Frente!
Saturday song of the day: Today’s song was released several times before it finally got noticed.
Formed in 1989, the Australian group Frente! were popular in their own country but never really caught on in the United States. The closest they had to a hit was a cover of New Order’s Bizarre Love Triangle that topped out at #49 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1994.
Other than that, they only managed to hit #106 with Labour of Love that same year. Frente! first released Labour of Love on their 1991 EP Whirled. The next year, it was featured on their debut album, Marvin The Album. Lastly, it was on another EP in 1993, also titled Labour of Love. After this, it finally gained some traction in the United States, getting enough airplay to place at #9 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, but overall its #106 peak failed to even make the Hot 100.
Musically, the song is very reminiscent of Jewel’s 1996 hit Who Will Save Your Soul. That’s not to say that Jewel copied the song, just that the overall feel and vocal tone is similar.
Tomorrow: There are addictions to feed
Labour of Love – Frente!
Saturday song of the day: Today’s song was released several times before it finally got noticed.
Formed in 1989, the Australian group Frente! were popular in their own country but never really caught on in the United States. The closest they had to a hit was a cover of New Order’s Bizarre Love Triangle that topped out at #49 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1994.
Other than that, they only managed to hit #106 with Labour of Love that same year. Frente! first released Labour of Love on their 1991 EP Whirled. The next year, it was featured on their debut album, Marvin The Album. Lastly, it was on another EP in 1993, also titled Labour of Love. After this, it finally gained some traction in the United States, getting enough airplay to place at #9 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, but overall its #106 peak failed to even make the Hot 100.
Musically, the song is very reminiscent of Jewel’s 1996 hit Who Will Save Your Soul. That’s not to say that Jewel copied the song, just that the overall feel and vocal tone is similar.
Tomorrow: There are addictions to feed
