music Archives - Page 3 of 248 - Ramblin' with Roger

1915 #1 hits

anti-war song adopted by the pacifist movement

Before getting into the 1915 #1 hits, I should note how the charts were compiled per Joel Whitburn’s A Century of Pop Music. Talking Machine World published monthly lists of the best-selling records as provided by the major record companies from 1914 to 1921. Billboard offered a weekly list of the most popular songs in vaudeville from 1913 to 1918. ASCAP published a selected list of the most popular songs in its history.

Other information about top sheet music was from record company publications, led by Victor, Columbia, and Edison, plus other lists by Roger Kinkle, Jim Walsh, and Murrells.

It’s A Long, Long Way To Tipperary – John McCormick (Victor), eight weeks at #1. It was also a #1 hit for the American Quartet for seven weeks in 1914.

They Didn’t Believe Me – Harry McDonald and Alice Green (Victor), seven weeks at #1. A Herbert Reynolds/Jerome Kern song from the musical The Girl From Utah.

Hello, Frisco! (I Called You Up To Say “Hello!”) – Alice Green and Edward Hamilton, orchestra conducted by Walter B. Rogers (Victor), six weeks at #1, from the Ziegfeld production “The Follies of 1915.” The singers were also known as Olive Kline and Reinald Werrenrath

A Little Bit of Heaven (Shure, They Call It Ireland) -George McFarlane (Victor), five weeks at #1. I could not find it on YouTube, only via the Discography of American Historical Recordings.

The FBI!

Carry Me Back To Old Virginny (Plantation Melody)- Alma Gluck (Victor), five weeks at #1, gold record. Written by James Bland. The singer was “born Reba Feinsohn in Romania and moved at an early age to the U.S. The opera and concert soprano was married (2nd husband) to violinist-composer-conductor Efrem Zimbalist and was the mother of actor Efrem Zimbalist Jr.”

I Didn’t Raise My Boy To Be A Soldier – Peerless Quartet (Columbia), four weeks at #1. “Popular anti-war song adopted by the pacifist movement prior to the U.S. entry into WWI. Henry Burr (lead), Albert Campbell, Arthur Collins, and John H. Meyer were probably the Peerless personnel at the time of this recording.”

My Bird of Paradise – Peerless Quartet (Victor), four weeks at #1

I Didn’t Raise My Boy To Be A Soldier – Morton Harvey (Victor), three weeks at #1

Close To My Heart – Henry Burr and Albert Campbell (Columbia), two weeks at #1 [not a great recording]

My Little Dream Girl – James F. Harrison and James Reed (Victor), two weeks at #1. Their real names were Reed Miller & Frederick J. Wheeler

Chinatown, My Chinatown – American Quartet (Victor), two weeks at #1. Unsurprisingly, it’s a dollop of racialized ick.

Home, Sweet Home – Alice Nielsen (Columbia), two weeks at #1. There are a lot of versions of this song, but I can’t find this recording. Here’s a version from 1913 by Elsie Baker.

January rambling: lethologica

civic ignorance

Why Your Brain Blanks on Familiar Words. This phenomenon is often referred to metaphorically as something being on the “tip of your tongue,” but the technical term is “lethologica.”

Global Economy could face a 50% loss in GDP between 2070 and 2090 from Climate shocks, say actuaries

1.21.25 Sermon by The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde at the Washington National Cathedral

How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy in 53 Days: He used the Constitution to shatter the Constitution.

There’s No Place for Politics at the Bedside — When bias or prejudice intersect with power, terrible harm can ensue.

Jules Feiffer, Famed Cartoonist and ‘Carnal Knowledge’ Screenwriter, Dies at 95. In the day, I bought the Village Voice in no part for his cartoons.

Cecile Richards, Former Planned Parenthood President, Dies at 67

David Lynch, Visionary Director of ‘Twin Peaks’ and ‘Blue Velvet,’ Dies at 78

Joan Plowright, Venerable Legend of the British Stage, Dies at 95

Cancer deaths are down, but cancer in women and young people is up

Everything is on fire

Filmmakers Offer Old Location Photos to Help Fire Victims — And Prove Insurance Claims

Popeye, Singin’ in the Rain, Sound and the Fury: Welcome to the Public Domain

First-timers Ichiro, CC, and elite closer Wagner were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Yeah, for Billy Wagner

Photo: An Evergreen Snowflake

20 Defunct U.S. Airlines You Might Remember Flying; I flew on five of them

Baldoni v. Nicepool: How the ‘Deadpool’ Character Entered the Legal Fray

The Little Mermaid home video cover scandal

Ross Ulbricht, Pardoned Silk Road Founder, to Speak Out in Surprise Documentary

Now I Know: China’s City of Ice and Fan Mail for the Spam King? and And Here Comes the Pizza, and Homer Simpson is Not a Murderer

FOTUS: hardly a complete list

Vision for a “Golden Age of America”: Oligarchy Plus Ultranationalism

He Is Exploiting ‘Civic Ignorance’

How He Will War With Hollywood While Swiping All Its Tricks

Immediately reminding America of his pettiness and fragile ego

End of Birthright Citizenship? (ft. Liz Dye)

Withdrawing from the Paris Agreement (Again): What This Moment Means for Climate Action

Schools, Churches, and Hospitals Aren’t Off-Limits to Immigration Police

Federal health agencies — HHS, CDC, FDA, NIH — are instructed to pause all external communications, including weekly scientific reports, health advisories, data updates, and other information.

The HHS website scrubbed for the word “abortion,” and ReproductiveRights.gov — a site the Biden administration launched after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade — is now a broken link.

Admin halting of EPA limits on PFAS in drinking water

The Groundwork for Transgender Military Ban

A WHO Exit Is a Huge Mistake

Rescinding Biden’s executive order on drug prices, halting efforts to lower costs

An Executive Order Sets Out What Could Be a Road Map for Retribution. The order is titled “Ending the Weaponization of the Federal Government,” but it asserts that the Biden administration might have acted illegally and directs agencies to seek evidence.

We’ve become that S***hole Country

The Floridazation of America

TV Ratings: Trump’s Second Inauguration Down From 2017 (and 2021) in Early Numbers

INFLATION

From Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News from Behan Communications, which I read regularly –

AGE OF GRIEVANCE: Those are the words Richard Edelman, chief executive of the eponymous global communications firm, used to describe the conclusions of a worldwide survey of 33,000 people that found an unprecedented lack of faith in governments, business leaders, and the media, Bloomberg reports. Three-quarters of respondents across 28 countries said they worried their pay would not keep up with inflation, and 60 percent worried about job losses…

PRICE SHOCKS: The combined threat of mass deportations with new tariffs could make many fresh fruit and vegetables luxury goods that are priced out of the reach of many U.S. consumers. That’s the conclusion of Harvard researchers who examined the potential impacts if those threats are carried out, based on an analysis of how fresh produce is grown and harvested and who is doing the work…

Regardless of how this issue plays out, get ready to pay a lot more for your daily coffee — double-digit inflation looms for coffee drinkers in early 2025, Bloomberg reports. “Given the lag between wholesale and retail prices, the cost of your cup of morning heart-starter could increase by at least 20% to 25% in the next few months,” writes Javier Bias, whose specialty is energy and commodities.

MUSIC

Garth Hudson, Organist for The Band, Dies at 87. Chest Fever – The Band.

Angelo Badalamenti: Twin Peaks Theme

David Lynch and Karen O: Pinky’s Dream

Nina Simone: Sinnerman

Brian Eno – Prophecy Theme (From “Dune” Soundtrack)

Walk This Road – Doobie Brothers, ft. Mavis Staples

Mad World – Michael Andrews (feat. Gary Jules)

Peter Sprague Plays Spain (mas tempo)

Even If – Danny Farrant

Coverville 1518: The R.E.M. Cover Story V and 1519: The Elvis Presley Cover Story IV

Taking Chances – Marimo

Jim Croce

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band – The Flintstones Meet The President

Downtown in four languages and a remake – Petula Clark

Mention My Name In Sheboygan – Dick Van Dyke, Shirley Jones, Pat Boone

Tabuh-Tabuhaby by Colin McPhee

Crowded House – Don’t Dream It’s Over

Set Out Running – Neko Case

The Rhythm of Life is from the musical Sweet Charity. Performers are from the BBC series Strictly Come Dancing

Hazy Shade of Winter – MonaLisa Twins

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious backwards

The Battle Of Prague by Frantisek Kotzwara

Start Making Sense

Tribute to Talking Heads

In mid-December, one of my pastors emailed me: “I’m wondering—do you like the Talking Heads? I have two tickets to “Start Making Sense: A Tribute to Talking Heads “for Sunday, 12/29, at 7:30, which I would love to give to someone who would like them. Would that be you?”

It might be. I wrote about them here and several other times. I saw them perform on August 5, 1983, at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) in upstate New York. It was one of the two or three greatest concerts I had ever seen.

But what about Start Making Sense? The program at the Cohoes Music Hall notes the group “celebrates the entire Talking Heads’ catalog with a seven-piece band meticulously executing the sounds and iconic live visual elements in every performance. Together, these skilled and dedicated musicians enjoy bringing the unique, infectious energy of a Talking Heads live show that you know and love to the stage.”

I said yes to the tickets, though I was/am wary of tribute bands. My wife agreed to go with me even though she had to get up early the following morning. It was good that she and I had gone to see the movie Stop Making Sense in 2023, about the 1983 Talking Heads tour, because she was not nearly as familiar with the TH oeuvre as I was.

Our seats were in the front row of the balcony, which was a great place to watch the show. While some people were sitting on the lower level, many stood and danced up front.

Deja vu?

The show began like the 1983 Talking Heads concert, in which the lead singer (Jon Braun) performed Psycho Killer with the boom box. Next, a couple of songs with the bass player/singer (Jenny Founds) and the drummer (Jesse Braun), then the guitarist/singer (Brian Davis). Soon, others (Colin Miller – Percussion & vocals; Alex Ayala – Keyboards & vocals; Kate Desisto-/ Vocals) joined on stage.

I wondered whether this would be a replication of the movie, but then they did a song from after that period. There was a Tom Tom Club song in the second half, and then the lead singer came out in a large suit.

On their website was this message: “To all you listeners… This is an appropriate title — Start Making Sense. This band makes plenty of sense to me and is a great representation of Talking Heads’ music. So listen up and go check them out!” —BERNIE WORRELL, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member and keyboardist for Talking Heads and Parliament / Funkadelic

Many audience members had seen them in the past decade and a half, including in Cohoes, yet I had been unaware of them. They were very good.

The group will tour Australia from January 23 to February 1. Then, they will embark on their Spring tour with the Ocean Avenue Stompers, “playing the music of Talking Heads, David Bryne, and more with a full Horn Section!!!” The first show will be at The Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ, on March 28.

Here’s a Reddit link, plus some videos on their Instagram feed, including a pair of COVID-era concerts.

Musician/actor Steve Earle is 70

I Feel Alright

Someone must have given me a Steve Earle album or two back in the 1990s, probably I Feel Alright. His breakthrough album, Guitar Town, came out in 1986, going to #1 on the Billboard Country charts. I hadn’t thought of him so much as a country artist as a folk/Americana (whatever that means) musician.

He has long been an anti-war activist, opposing the wars in Vietnam and Iraq. He’s also been involved in other progressive/socialist causes. On one of his live albums, he mentioned that he sang at an early Farm Aid concert, admitting that it benefited him more than the farmers because “they didn’t know who the hell I was

His biography on Wikipedia is extensive. It mentioned his younger sister, Stacie Earle, and his late son, Justin Townes Earle (d. 2020), both of whom he has sung with. He’s been married seven times, including to one woman twice.

Writer

“Earle wrote and produced an off-Broadway play about the death of Karla Faye Tucker, the first woman executed since the death penalty was reinstated in Texas.“

He’s a bit of an iconoclast: In describing the writing of The Book I Swore I’d Never Write, he noted: “I’m writing a memoir,” he said in a to-be-published article. “I made a deal for two books, a memoir, and a novel. They made me an offer I couldn’t understand [laughs].”

He continued, “It’s not an autobiography, it’s a literary memoir, a little more abstract. It’s not like, ‘I was born a poor black child…’ and it doesn’t try and encompass every minute of my life. I think it’s about something besides me. It’s really about heroes and mentors, good and bad, so obviously the first part is about [renowned songwriter and Earle’s mentor] Townes [Van Zandt], before I started making records. The record-making aspect is in other books about me, I understand, but I’ve never read any of them.

Songs

Roughly leading to my favorite song

Goodbye’s All We’ve Got Left

The Galway Girl

John Walker’s Blues, the song about the captured American Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh, created controversy. Earle responded by appearing on various news and editorial programs and defending the song and his views on patriotism and terrorism.

Christmas In Washington

The Revolution Starts Now

Way Down The Hole. Earle’s version of Tom Waits‘ song was the “theme song for the fifth season of the HBO series The Wire, in which Earle appeared as a recovering drug addict and drug counselor named Walon (Earle’s character appears in the first, fourth, and fifth seasons).” Earle is a recovering heroin addict.

CCKMP – “Cocaine can’t kill my pain.”

Hard-Core Troubador

Day’s Aren’t Long Enough with Alison Moorer, his then-wife

The Devil’s Right Hand

Copperhead Road

Feel Alright

Ellis Unit One – Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture Dead Man Walking. Earle is an anti-death penalty advocate.

Guitar Town

You’re Still Standing There with Lucinda Williams

Valentine’s Day. My favorite February 14 lyrics

Steve Earle turns 70 today.

January rambling: Lebensraum

Monroe Doctrine

We’ll get to Lebensraum in a bit.

Global temperatures in 2024 shattered records, soaring past 1.5°C as extreme weather devastated millions. 26 Climate-Fueled Extreme Weather Events Killed at Least 3,700 People.

Big Agriculture Is Leading Us Into the Bird Flu Abyss: The federal government’s deference to agriculture industry interests has put the US at risk of a public health crisis.

How The Polio Vaccine Destroyed Trust In Healthcare (a bit of a misleading title, but not entirely wrong)

Bernie Sanders’ Prescription to ‘Make America Healthy Again’: “Our real problem is not so much a healthcare crisis as it is a political and economic one.”

A Disastrous Development in Our Response to Disasters

Veterans rights and discrimination: a guide

New VIP+ Special Report: Generative AI: Deepfakes & Digital Replicas

Aaron Brown, CNN Anchor During the Sept. 11 Attacks, Dies at 76

Ask Arthur 2024: Racism and change; Miscellany

The art of monotasking: “Being busy” doesn’t necessarily mean we’re doing what matters. Focusing your attention on only one task at a time is the secret to performing tasks correctly.

The Best Reviewed Broadway Shows of 2024

A book on Albany’s railroad history? Yes, please…

Embiggen – defined earlier than the Simpsons

“Explain a Movie Plot Badly” — A Fun Party Game

What era?

A real meditation on American greatness

When people would talk about MAGA, liberals wanted to know which era was the “great” one they wanted to go back to. Many thought they were talking about the 1950s before integration. Or the 1920s before the Great Depression and FDR regulations. Maybe they meant the 1880s and 90s during the Gilded Age.

I would have picked any of those. But I did not have on my bingo card the 1820s. We’re going back to the Monroe Doctrine era. The Daily Signal, a right-wing online publication, favorably suggested the same. The piece by Jarrett Stepman ends: “If Trump does revive some form of the Monroe Doctrine, it could represent a much-needed return to tradition and to a stronger foundation for U.S. security in an increasingly dangerous world.”

Suddenly, the January 7 press conference made sense. djt said he’d be renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.”

“The once and future president also doubled down on his aims to acquire Greenland, retake control of the Panama Canal, and put pressure on Canada to change its trade relations with the United States” which he voiced before Christmas.

Here’s former Trump national security adviser Robert O’Brien on Fox News:

It’s strategically very important to the Arctic which is going to be the critical battleground of the future because as the climate gets warmer, the Arctic is going to be a pathway that maybe cuts down on the usage of the Panama Canal.

Or MAYBE we’re going to become 1930s Germany. Lebensraum is “the policy of Nazi Germany that involved expanding German territories to the east to provide land and material resources for the German people while driving out Jewish and Slavic people.”

The Corporate Giants Bankrolling the Inauguration: PAY to play.

The President Can Self-Pardon, but It Would Be an Impeachable Offense (CATO Institute, Dec 2020)

MUSIC

Bemba Colorá-Sheila E. ft. Gloria Estefan on Jimmy Kimmel; I see Rebecca Jade!

Coronation Procession by Ruth Gipps

You Get What You Give – New Radicals

Love In Action – Utopia

Rocket 88 – Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats

Coverville 1516 and 1517: The 2024 Coverville Countdown

Down By The Riverside – Elvis Presley · Carl Perkins · Jerry Lee Lewis · Johnny Cash. I bought this CD after I saw the Million Dollar Quartet musical

The theme from the 1967 Spider-Man cartoon show – Midtown

Tomorrow – Julie Benko and Cantor Azi Schwartz

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 21: The final notes – all of the US pop #1s

Peter Yarrow Dies at 86. Leaving On A Jet Plane – Peter, Paul, and Mary

Sam Moore, who died at age 89, was more than a Soul Man – he was one of the 20th century’s great live performers. When Something Is Wrong With My Baby – Sam And Dave.