Month: June 2023

Most awarded songs #11

“unable to interpret any of the wording”

Creedence-Clearwater-Revival
Stu, John, Doug, Tom

Now the countdown begins in earnest. With the list of some of the most awarded songs #11, we’re talking about the songs pop music aficionados of the 20th century surely know. So do Grammy and Oscar voters, as well as those folks who create those lists for Rolling Stone magazine, RIAA, ASCAP, CMA, NPR, and more.

50. Like A Rolling Stone – Bob Dylan. “Rolling Stone listed it at No. 1 on their 2004 and 2010 ‘500 Greatest Songs of All Time’ lists.”

49. Louie Louie – The Kingsmen. Richard Berry wrote this in 1955 and released a recording in 1957. But it’s the Kingsmen version in 1963 that made its mark. It’s chaotic, raw, and sloppy, with the singer coming in too early after an instrumental break. “The FBI started a 31-month investigation into the matter and concluded they were ‘unable to interpret any of the wording in the record.'” That actually added to the song’s allure.

48. When A Man Loves A Woman – Percy Sledge. Calvin Lewis and Andrew Wright were members of the Esquires, which Percy Sledge fronted. The two are credited with writing the song, but Sledge thought that his changes warranted a co-writing designation.

47. I Heard It Through The Grapevine – Marvin Gaye. The third version of the song from Motown. Berry Gordy nixed The Miracles’version. Gladys Knight and the Pips had a hit. But Marvin’s version became the monster. It became overplayed when the movie The Big Chill came out.

This is NOT a good wedding song

46. Every Breath You Take – The Police. This is a song about stalking and the breakup of Sting’s marriage. So the songwriter is bemused when people tell him they had the song played at their weddings.

45. Don’t Be Cruel – Elvis Presley. It was written by Otis Blackwell in 1956. A two-sided hit with Hound Dog.

44. In The Midnight Hour – Wilson Pickett. “The song was composed by Pickett and Steve Cropper at the historic Lorraine Motel in Memphis, later (April 1968) the site of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.” It might have been a bigger pop hit except that the powers that be thought it was too suggestive.

43. Earth Angel – The Penguins. “The original demo version became an unexpected hit.” Songwriting credits were in dispute for years. A vocal group from Canada named the Crew-Cuts did a cover and actually had the bigger pop hit.

42. Peggy Sue – Buddy Holly. The song was written by Jerry Allison and Norman Petty, although they insisted Holly receive a credit after he had died in 1959.

41. Proud Mary – Creedence Clearwater Revival. This was the first of five singles by the band to peak at Number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

An American in Paris

big sax

May 15: An American in Paris. Actually, two Americans celebrating their 24th wedding anniversary. After resting following our 24-hour, sleepless journey, we recognized that we had little time to experience the French capital. We went out to eat at a nearby restaurant in the Latin Quarter, so named because the language was taught at many schools in the area in the Middle Ages.

One of the first things one notices is giant teddy beans seated throughout the establishment. When I asked why, I was told they were a sign of happiness during COVID. They’re not limited to that restaurant but also appear at various shops.

As we were leaving, I took particular joy in seeing three adults my age or older sitting with this specific bear, even though there were other tables available.

We wandered down to Notre Dame. It’s a mighty impressive edifice, even during its renovation following the 15 April 2019 fire that toppled its iconic spire.

I love this hidden garden.

This piece of art was a block from our hotel.

May 16: After breakfast, we walked around the immediate area. The Panthéon is “a monument in the 5th arrondissement…  built between 1758 and 1790.”

Ultimately, we realized we needed to take a tour bus around the city to see the sights at least. There were at least two Hop-on Hop-off bus tours of the city we saw, Big Bus and TootBus, which we took. It cost about 40 Euros, more if we wanted to ride the Seine, which we could have, but time was more a factor. We did stop at the Louvre, though we didn’t have tickets, so we didn’t go in.

We did see the noted locales, albeit briefly. C’est la tour Eiffel, taken on the tour bus.

TJ

We returned to the MUSEE D’ORSAY area because we had homework. Our daughter wanted us to make a video of us singing to the beginning of The Election of 1800 from Hamilton with something definitively French in the background. Specifically, she wanted us to emphasize the lyrics: “And they say I’m a Francophile: at least they know I know where France is!”

My wife had spotted a statue of Thomas Jefferson. We made a couple of attempts, but I don’t think they’re satisfactory, in part because of the lack of skills of the actors and film crew.

We ate at a nearby restaurant. While we were sitting, a dozen police vehicles, all with sirens, passed by; we never did figure out what that was about.

We decided to walk back to our hotel. It was farther than I anticipated, and we stopped twice. But what was great was that we got to see random images we photographed. We also purchased a couple of souvenirs for our daughter, including a pink beret and a wedding card for Deborah and Cyrille.

After a brief stop at our hotel room, we went to a restaurant only two blocks away. We stayed inside partly because it was cool and the cigarette smokers were out there. Even indoors, we could catch a hint of tobacco stench from the guy outside our window.

I was captivated by a table of eight people sitting outside, six women and two men. At least three people walked or rode their bicycles by and stopped to chat with the octet. It seemed very…French.

Waving my pride flag

no tolerance for hate

How is it that things have moved backward in America? I feel a greater need to wave my pride flag, at least metaphorically, than I have in years.

Just last month, I quoted Kareem Abdul-Jabbar about the xenophobia that targets many folks. “They started by finding marginalized groups to demonize to unite people around a common enemy… to hate. Then they launched overwhelming campaigns of disinformation that ensured the people didn’t know what actually was happening in the world, only what they wanted them to know.”

It’s astounding how much misinformation – strike that: DISINFORMATION – is being spread about LGBTQ+ people.

Retrogression

An NBC News story on June 1: Companies under fire as Pride Month kicks off. “Some corporations are stepping into a fierce fight over transgender issues in the U.S. Target, Bud Light and Kohl’s are just a few of the companies getting backlash. ” And so is Chick-Fil-A?

To that end, this is from the Boston Globe. “From campy to controversial: How drag queens became a target of conservative lawmakers. The performers have gone from being the life of the party to facing tough restrictions and open animosity.”

From the LA Times on June 2: Police stepped in to split up protesters in a tense scene outside a North Hollywood elementary school as more than 100 parents rallied against a Pride Day assembly, bringing to a head weeks of turmoil that saw a transgender teacher’s LGBTQ+ Pride flag burned.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the largest LGBTQ civil rights group, issued its first State of Emergency in its 40-plus year history, citing a record number of bills across state legislatures targeted at regulating the lives of queer people. 

Several media outlets report that the Proud Boys plan to escalate their presence during Pride Month. “In private Telegram groups, Proud Boys have planned to counter Pride events by ‘taking back June’ with a so-called ‘Proud Month’ that would, as one militia member put it, ‘challenge this perversion of the Nuclear Family and Gender.” Proud Boys also plan to disrupt and co-opt Juneteenth celebrations with coordinated ‘Proud Day’ events “to break the chains of Pride Month” on June 17, two days before.”

The fight continues

Thus it becomes incumbent for allies to stay vocal and visible. The straight, cisgender Weekly Sift guy, notes, “I have attended Pride parades or seen drag shows. I’ve always found such events uplifting and life-affirming. I’ve never felt like anyone was telling me I should be gay or trans or anything else. The point is that we can all be what we are, and maybe even what we want to be.

“I see LGBTQ Pride as a little like ‘Black Lives Matter’; it’s a response to a negative. So often, our society sends the message that Black lives don’t matter, or that being anything other than heterosexual is shameful or sinful. Simply saying ‘I’m not ashamed of what I am’ doesn’t seem nearly strong enough, so I fully support people expressing pride in themselves.”

The AFL-CIO notes:  “We fight for all working people—no matter the gender, race, ethnicity or any other identity. Those identities intersect with your own identity as a worker, as a parent, as a sibling.  In America, we believe all people should be able to work without fear of discrimination or violence… LGBTQ+ people still lack basic federal legal protections in the workplace, which make them vulnerable to recent appalling and shameful actions by state legislatures. We have no tolerance for hate in our movement.” Amen.

Why I hate flying

Massive confusion

I hate flying. It’s not the part up in the air that bothers me. In fact, that’s generally a pleasant experience.

Here’s the beginning of the trip to France. We get a ride from a friend of ours to the Albany-Rensselaer train station, arriving at 10:30 for an 11:10 train to New York’s Penn Station.

The train leaves on time. I helped a young woman put her – god, that was heavy! – luggage in the overhead area. We used the Wi-Fi to check our email, and I wrote a bit.

We take the Long Island Railroad train to Jamaica, Queens. My daughter and I became experts in traveling the LIRR during her college visits. Buying the ticket at a kiosk is easy.

We’re to take the AirTrain to Terminal 4 at JFK Airport. This is a new experience for me. The one time I flew from Kennedy was as a connection between Albany and Barbados, so I’ve never had to get to that airport by land. It was pretty straightforward.

Alpha, beta, gamma…

When we get to Delta, though, it all falls apart.  Where should we go? We asked five representatives and got as many contradictory answers.

We were in one massive line for a time. Then an airline representative directed some of us down escalator stairs and a five-minute walk to ANOTHER place we could check in.  Good thing we had four hours before our flight.

It turned out we had more time than that. Our flight was delayed, first for one hour, then two, because of a window not sealed properly. Initially, they were going to fix it and repressurize the aircraft. Ultimately, they had to get another plane from a hangar. This is not a complaint, though being told we needed to go to three different ages was exhausting.

Finally, at 9:30 pm Eastern Daylight Time, we took off in one of those widebody vehicles that seat two, then three, then two across. We were in row 47 with lots of folks behind us.

The flight attendants spoke English, French, or both. Delta is affiliated with Air France. I watched two movies and one TV episode and got decent food. Considering it was seven hours, it was all good, although I never went to sleep as my wife did, using a light-blocking mask.

Landing at Charles DeGaulle Airport in  Roissy-en-France was a massive confusion. The line I  thought was to retrieve my luggage was to get my passport stamped. Regardless, it was long and chaotic. Occasionally, some staffers would say that if you have an American or a Canadian passport, you could go to a different line, but this was inconsistent.

Finally, we were sent to a shorter but hardly short line. The electronic scanners were down, and they were checking passports by hand. I got my passport stamped – my first on this document, which I procured in March 2022 – and I retrieved my suitcase at least an hour after getting off the plane.

We took a local train to the Luxembourg station in the Latin Quarter, walked to our first hotel, and dropped off our stuff about 24 hours after we left our house.  FINALLY, the adventure could begin.

In a Kennedy state of mind

JFK Assassination Records Collection Act

Bobby and John

I’ve been in a Kennedy state of mind. It’s been going on long before this recent JEOPARDY clue in the category EVERYTHING’S COMING UP ROSE for $200: Born in Boston in 1890, she had 9 children, including John, Robert, Edward & Eunice.

ITEM: This is the 55th anniversary of the assassination of Robert Francis Kennedy. I’d expressed my reservations about Bobby back in 2008.  I was no fan when he ran for US Senator from New York -the carpetbagger! – in 1964. Tom Lehrer quipped the following year that Massachusetts was the only state with THREE Senators.

Related-

ITEM: This year, August 28, marks the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom. This discussion is informative. “SNCC chairman John Lewis’s speech… on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial criticized the Kennedy administration…, which caused considerable difficulties. “

A draft of Lewis’ speech was circulated beforehand. “The speech… directly confronted Robert F. Kennedy’s Justice Department for its refusal to pursue and prosecute racist assaults on activists and black Southerners. The original speech, written by a committee of SNCC activists, included the rhetorical question, ‘I want to know, which side is the federal government on?'”

RFK 37

ITEM: I recently saw a question on a website about whether RFK would have become president in 1968 if he had not been killed. Almost certainly, yes.

From this 2021 article: “There was empathy in him that grew, especially after his brother’s assassination. He attacked childhood poverty, faced down the generals who wanted to attack Cuba with nuclear weapons, and broke with his Democratic president over the Vietnam War, opposing it not only on political grounds but morally.”

Just before he got shot, he said, “On to Chicago.” From Larry Tye, author of Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon: “Sure, Bobby Kennedy was talking about his hope of capturing the nomination at that summer’s Democratic National Convention in this Windy City. But he had no intention of waiting until August to wrap things up.

“This master of political maestros was planning to stop in Chicago on his way back East from Los Angeles. And he felt sure that a planned meeting with Mayor Richard J. Daley would yield both an endorsement and a critical leg up on the only rival who still mattered, Vice President Hubert Humphrey.”

With RFK as the Democratic nominee, there would not have been violent clashes between police and demonstrators in Chicago. Despite a splintered party, Humphrey almost beat Nixon in November; RFK whips RMN.

Like father, like son?

ITEM: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced in April 2023 that he is running for the Democratic nomination for  President in 2024. I shan’t be voting for him.

“He’s suing Daily Kos, trying to force the entity to reveal the identity of a pseudonymous community writer who criticized his participation in a Berlin rally organized and attended by Nazis. He mourned the loss of Tucker Carlson’s right-wing hatefest of a TV show.

“In May 2019, Kennedy‘s siblings said he had ‘helped to spread dangerous misinformation over social media and is complicit in sowing distrust of the science behind vaccines.’ But COVID was the anti-vax movement’s ‘moment to shine,’ where he grew in profile, getting nearly a million Instagram followers before it was shut down for misinformation.”

11/22/63

ITEM: JFK was killed on November 22, 1963, also sixty years ago this year.  From the National Archives: “Nearly 30 years after his death, Congress enacted the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992. The Act mandated that all assassination-related material be housed in a single collection in the National Archives and Records Administration.

“The resulting Collection consists of more than 5 million pages of assassination-related records, photographs, motion pictures, sound recordings, and artifacts (approximately 2,000 cubic feet of records).”

You have the opportunity to facilitate history. “Visit the JFK Assassination Records Collection Transcription Mission to get started. Various Citizen Archivist missions have been created featuring records from this collection. Select a mission and get started transcribing to help make the records more searchable and accessible.”

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