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Post by Kapitan on Mar 7, 2024 20:43:49 GMT
I like this song, and I can understand why it's a classic. If I were a woman (or hell, a gay man), I'm sure Elvis would have me swooning with his vocal. It's a very pretty song. Like Sheriff John Stone, I had no idea it was several decades old. I'm sure I've never heard a pre-Elvis version of it. But I do have a complaint: the spoken word part. As you've no doubt heard me say when discussing "Beaks of Eagles" or the "Santa Ana Winds," I really don't like spoken word parts in songs!
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 7, 2024 21:04:59 GMT
I like this song, and I can understand why it's a classic. If I were a woman (or hell, a gay man), I'm sure Elvis would have me swooning with his vocal. It's a very pretty song. Like Sheriff John Stone , I had no idea it was several decades old. I'm sure I've never heard a pre-Elvis version of it. But I do have a complaint: the spoken word part. As you've no doubt heard me say when discussing "Beaks of Eagles" or the "Santa Ana Winds," I really don't like spoken word parts in songs! I'm not sure Elvis was crazy about that spoken word part either. I've heard a few live versions with him making up funny lyrics for that part. Here's that "laughing version" I was talking about above:
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Post by jk on Mar 7, 2024 21:19:01 GMT
Elvis performed "Are You Lonesome Tonight" live pretty much through his entire career (has anyone heard "the laughing version"; it's hilarious) and I would think it has to appear on any Elvis "Best Of" comp. No offence meant, Sheriff, but I hate that version with a hatred that can only be described as dispiriting. If I want to hear Elvis laughing (and not hysterically), I play this (the Big E chuckles about ten seconds from the end): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Let%27s_Play_House
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 7, 2024 21:33:34 GMT
If the laughing version were all that existed, it would annoy me in the same way basically all of Party annoys me. But since it's just a curiosity of sorts, I don't mind it.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 7, 2024 21:45:36 GMT
For historical purposes - and for hearing a female interpretation of the song - here's Jaye P. Morgan's version. You know, it rocks a little!
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Post by lonelysummer on Mar 9, 2024 3:22:18 GMT
I like this song, and I can understand why it's a classic. If I were a woman (or hell, a gay man), I'm sure Elvis would have me swooning with his vocal. It's a very pretty song. Like Sheriff John Stone , I had no idea it was several decades old. I'm sure I've never heard a pre-Elvis version of it. But I do have a complaint: the spoken word part. As you've no doubt heard me say when discussing "Beaks of Eagles" or the "Santa Ana Winds," I really don't like spoken word parts in songs! I'm not sure Elvis was crazy about that spoken word part either. I've heard a few live versions with him making up funny lyrics for that part. Here's that "laughing version" I was talking about above:
There's even an earlier version with Elvis laughing. I think he found it too hard to do that spoken part serious.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 18, 2024 17:34:09 GMT
”Wonderland By Night,” by Bert Kaempfert Jan. 9-23, 1961 (3 weeks)Popular culture often speaks of eras with sharp dividing lines: the nights Elvis Presley appeared on national television; the day John F. Kennedy died; the night Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan; Woodstock; or 9/11. Some argue that the first rock and roll song to hit #1 was Bill Haley and the Comets’ “Rock Around the Clock” in 1955, three years or so before the Hot 100 era began, but that’s not so cut and dry. That same year, the Platters’ “Earth Angel,” Fats Domino’s “Ain’t That A Shame,” and Chuck Berry’s “Maybellene” each preceded Haley in topping one Billboard chart or another, and in hindsight all are seen as early rock and roll. (That’s to say nothing of the various songs then considered R&B from earlier years that we’d now find indistinguishable from early rock and roll.) There was no moment at which the country moved from old-time crooners or lightweight pop confections were replaced by the new, exciting, dangerous rock and roll. Reality moves along in fits and starts, with culture changing at different paces in different places, and rarely in a straight line. Berthold Heinrich Kampfert was born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1923. He studied music and played several instruments—piano, accordion, and clarinet among them—having caught on with Hans Busch’s orchestra prior to World War II. During the war, he served as a musician in the Navy; afterward, he formed his own big band as well as arranging and producing records. In 1959, Kampfert recorded an instrumental version of "Wunderland bei Nacht,” written by Klaus Neumann (and with English lyrics by Lincoln Chase), featuring the trumpet of Charly Tabor. However, he was unable to secure its release in Germany, and so he shopped it in the U.S. Decca Records released “Wonderland By Night” in August 1960, credited to Bert Kaempfert and His Orchestra. The song reached the #1 spot on the Hot 100 by the second week of January 1961, when it knocked Elvis Presley from that position. It stayed atop the charts for three weeks. Louis Prima and Anita Bryant had versions of the song that charted #15 and #18, respectively, in that same year of 1961. Kaempfert had a successful career that lasted several more decades. He wrote “Strangers in the Night” and “Danke Schoen,” among many other songs, and (also in 1961) he even hired the Beatles to back Tony Sheridan on the album My Bonnie. He is also credited with utilizing a technique that will surely be of interest to this board: “knackbass.” He regularly employed Ladislav Geisler, who used a pick and trebly tone on an electric bass guitar, hitting the string and immediately muting its vibration to create a sharp, staccato bass sound. Kaempfert doubled this with acoustic bass, creating an interesting and unique sound. In 1980, Kaempfert died in his Mallorca, Spain, home after a stroke. He was 56 years old.
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Post by jk on Mar 18, 2024 17:50:59 GMT
”Wonderland By Night,” by Bert Kaempfert Jan. 9-23, 1961 (3 weeks)Kaempfert had a successful career that lasted several more decades. He wrote “Strangers in the Night” and “Danke Schoen,” among many other songs, and (also in 1961) he even hired the Beatles to back Tony Sheridan on the album My Bonnie. He is also credited with utilizing a technique that will surely be of interest to this board: “knackbass.” He regularly employed Ladislav Geisler, who used a pick and trebly tone on an electric bass guitar, hitting the string and immediately muting its vibration to create a sharp, staccato bass sound. Kaempfert doubled this with acoustic bass, creating an interesting and unique sound. Another great scene-setter, Cap'n. I never knew that about The Beatles, or about his use of the the tick-tack bass. As for the track itself, I find it a bit schmaltzy, unlike, say, "Theme From A Summer Place". I though Bert's "A Swingin' Safari" was pretty cool though:
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Post by lonelysummer on Mar 18, 2024 20:01:47 GMT
”Wonderland By Night,” by Bert Kaempfert Jan. 9-23, 1961 (3 weeks)Popular culture often speaks of eras with sharp dividing lines: the nights Elvis Presley appeared on national television; the day John F. Kennedy died; the night Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan; Woodstock; or 9/11. Some argue that the first rock and roll song to hit #1 was Bill Haley and the Comets’ “Rock Around the Clock” in 1955, three years or so before the Hot 100 era began, but that’s not so cut and dry. That same year, the Platters’ “Earth Angel,” Fats Domino’s “Ain’t That A Shame,” and Chuck Berry’s “Maybellene” each preceded Haley in topping one Billboard chart or another, and in hindsight all are seen as early rock and roll. (That’s to say nothing of the various songs then considered R&B from earlier years that we’d now find indistinguishable from early rock and roll.) There was no moment at which the country moved from old-time crooners or lightweight pop confetions were replaced by the new, exciting, dangerous rock and roll. Reality moves along in fits and starts, with culture changing at different paces in different places, and rarely in a straight line. Berthold Heinrich Kampfert was born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1923. He studied music and played several instruments—piano, accordion, and clarinet among them—having caught on with Hans Busch’s orchestra prior to World War II. During the war, he served as a musician in the Navy; afterward, he formed his own big band as well as arranging and producing records. In 1959, Kampfert recorded an instrumental version of "Wunderland bei Nacht,” written by Klaus Neumann (and with English lyrics by Lincoln Chase), featuring the trumpet of Charly Tabor. However, he was unable to secure its release in Germany, and so he shopped it in the U.S. Decca Records released “Wonderland By Night” in August 1960, credited to Bert Kaempfert and His Orchestra. The song reached the #1 spot on the Hot 100 by the second week of January 1961, when it knocked Elvis Presley from that position. It stayed atop the charts for three weeks. Louis Prima and Anita Bryant had versions of the song that charted #15 and #18, respectively, in that same year of 1961. Kaempfert had a successful career that lasted several more decades. He wrote “Strangers in the Night” and “Danke Schoen,” among many other songs, and (also in 1961) he even hired the Beatles to back Tony Sheridan on the album My Bonnie. He is also credited with utilizing a technique that will surely be of interest to this board: “knackbass.” He regularly employed Ladislav Geisler, who used a pick and trebly tone on an electric bass guitar, hitting the string and immediately muting its vibration to create a sharp, staccato bass sound. Kaempfert doubled this with acoustic bass, creating an interesting and unique sound. In 1980, Kaempfert died in his Mallorca, Spain, home after a stroke. He was 56 years old. You should be writing "The History of Rock and Roll". You get it so right; the "official" histories get it so wrong. I thought I would recognize this song; a friend of mine made me some tapes of his mo
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Post by lonelysummer on Mar 18, 2024 20:04:41 GMT
Sorry, my computer acted up. I was starting to say a friend made me tapes from his mom's old 45's and 78's, and he wrote notes on each of the songs and artists. I do remember this title, but it was probably in reference to something else. Bert Kaempfert....the Beatles featuring Tony Sheridan...that's pretty much the extent of my knowledge about him. It's always puzzled me that here they were, the Beatles, recording for Polydor, yet Brian Epstein is trying to get them a record deal. I'm missing something here. Anyway, that's another topic for another thread.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 18, 2024 20:16:14 GMT
Ah, Bert Kaempfert. The King Of The Knackbass. I didn't expect to see him crop up in this thread.
Before I discuss "Wonderland By Night", I wanted to mention Bert's 1963 album, Christmas Wonderland. It's one of my favorite Christmas albums, comprised of both traditional Christmas songs and Kaempfert originals. Here's "Jingo Jango" from that album:
jk, you posted the song/video for "A Swingin' Safari". Bert wrote and released that song in 1962 but it didn't chart. Billy Vaughn released his version of the song at almost the same time and it went to #13 on the Billboard chart. However, I distinctly remember Kaempfert's version of "A Swingin' Safari" as the theme song (in the 1960s) for The Match Game, which was a popular game show in the 1960s/1970s/1980s.
Another song that Bert Kaempfert composed (with lyrics by Milt Gabler) was "L-O-V-E". Nat King Cole recorded the song as a single in late 1964, and as the title track for his 1965 album, L-O-V-E, which was released shortly before his death in February 1965.
Now, "Wonderland By Night". I'm not familiar with the song, even though it was #1 for three weeks! As Kapitan alluded to in his above post, there was no specific moment in time when the country or the music world moved on from the "old timers", only to be replaced by the new, young rock & rollers, but it's still surprising - even in 1961 - for a song like this to top the charts for three weeks. I mean no disrespect and I love some of Bert Kaempfert's stuff, but I find "Wonderland By Night" to be...meh.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 18, 2024 20:35:24 GMT
I hadn't heard of this tune before, or Mr. Kaempfert, for that matter, and I can't say it left much an impression on me now that I have. There's nothing wrong with it, don't get me wrong. It's a perfectly fine piece of music. Background music.
It's shocking to me that the radio-listening and record-buying public would care enough about this tune to propel it to the top of the charts--for three weeks!
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 18, 2024 20:49:56 GMT
I hadn't heard of this tune before, or Mr. Kaempfert, for that matter, and I can't say it left much an impression on me now that I have. There's nothing wrong with it, don't get me wrong. It's a perfectly fine piece of music. Background music. It's shocking to me that the radio-listening and record-buying public would care enough about this tune to propel it to the top of the charts-- for three weeks! Totally agree with your assessment of "Wonderland By Night". And, yes, Bert Kaempfert was not necessarily a household name, but some of the biggest names in popular music were recording his music including Elvis Presley, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Wayne Newton, Patti Page, Al Martino, Jack Jones, and Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass.
We'll be hearing from Mr. Kaempfert again, shortly as a matter of fact.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 25, 2024 14:36:56 GMT
”Will You Love Me Tomorrow” by the Shirelles Jan, 30 - Feb. 6, 1961 (2 weeks
Shirley Owens, Doris Coley, Addie Harris and Beverly Lee formed the singing group the Poquellos in 1957 to perform their original song “I Met Him On A Sunday” at their Passaic High School talent show. A classmate recommended they meet with her mother, Florence Greenberg, who owned Tiara Records.
The girls put off the meeting, but eventually agreed to it and subsequently were signed by Tiara. They changed their name to the Shirelles. A professional recording of “I Met Him On A Sunday” was licensed to and released by Decca records and went to #49 in 1958.
For a couple of years, the group struggled. Tiara—and the Shirelles’ contract—was sold to Decca, and the subsequent few singles did not perform well. Decca returned the group to Greenberg (who had stayed on as their manager after selling Tiara), and they recorded for her new label, Scepter Records. Greenberg also brought in experienced songwriters and producers to help the group with material.
Their first single on Scepter was “Tonight’s the Night,” co-written by Owens and songwriter-producer Luther Dixon, who had worked with Perry Como, Nat King Cole, and others. It quickly became their biggest hit to date, reaching #39 on the Hot 100 in 1960.
…..
Gerald Goffin met Carole Klein at Queens College around 1959. He was 20, had spent a year at the Naval Academy, and was studying chemistry. She had been something of a musical prodigy, recording demos under the name Carol King with her friend Paul Simon for $25 a session, and had a single released by ABC-Paramount—“The Right Girl”—in 1958.
King got pregnant by Goffin and they both dropped out of Queens College. They were married on Long Island in 1959. She was 17, he was 20. He worked as an assistant chemist, she worked as a secretary. In the evenings, they wrote songs together.
The duo wrote “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” which was to be the Shirelles second Scepter Records single. It was recorded in 1960 and produced by Luther Dixon. Owens reportedly did not like the song at first, thinking it was “too country,” but the string arrangement Dixon helped her come around.
Released in November 1960, the song rose to the #1 spot on the Hot 100 early in 1961. It was the first of several hits for the Shirelles—we’ll return to them soon enough—making them an early force in the girl-group genre that inspired countless musicians (not least of whom were the Beatles). The song also allowed the Goffin/King duo to quit their day jobs and compose full time.
“Will You Love Me Tomorrow” has been covered many times through the years, including by King herself on her 1971 classic Tapestry.
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Post by jk on Mar 25, 2024 18:52:24 GMT
”Will You Love Me Tomorrow” by the Shirelles Jan, 30 - Feb. 6, 1961 (2 weeks)Shirley Owens, Doris Coley, Addie Harris and Beverly Lee formed the singing group the Poquellos in 1957 to perform their original song “I Met Him On A Sunday” at their Passaic High School talent show. A classmate recommended they meet with her mother, Florence Greenberg, who owned Tiara Records. The girls put off the meeting, but eventually agreed to it and subsequently were signed by Tiara. They changed their name to the Shirelles. A professional recording of “I Met Him On A Sunday” was licensed to and released by Decca records and went to #49 in 1958. Released in November 1960, the song rose to the #1 spot on the Hot 100 early in 1961. It was the first of several hits for the Shirelles—we’ll return to them soon enough—making them an early force in the girl-group genre that inspired countless musicians (not least of whom were the Beatles). The song also allowed the Goffin/King duo to quit their day jobs and compose full time. Another very cool mini-essay, Cap'n. I regard your potted descriptions of songs and their history as a stand-out feature of this forum. The Shirelles... I recall seeing a picture of them in an early '60s glossy. Thinking back, I believe it was at the time of their US top-five follow-up, "Mama Said", which I never heard at the time. I do recall hearing "Baby It's You", which I loved, and the even more successful "Soldier Boy", which didn't really grab me. Perhaps it was because the extra-musical content outweighed the musical. Love the strings in "WYSLMT"!
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