Every Christmas Eve through Christmas morning I manage a homeless shelter in an area church. It gives the regular workers a night off on their holiest of holidays, and it is something that I find very rewarding. Inevitably every year, I either get home after, or someone comes up to me during the 15 hour […]
Song Of The Day – “The Painless Dentist Song” by Allan Sherman
Funny guys are often tragic figures, and Allan Sherman surely fits into this category. In the span of several years, Sherman went from the pinnacle of success as a TV sketch writer and recording artist who had a huge hit with the song “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh,” (plus the requisite books, cartoons and board games […]
Today in Rock History – July 23
1964, The Beatles were atop the UK singles chart with “A Hard Days Night,” the group’s fifth. They would be number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 in August. 1964, The Beatles take part in the Night of a Hundred Stars at the London Palladium. 1965, The Kinks perform “You Really Got Me” on […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Solar Prestige A Gammon” by Elton John
This is the “Seinfeld” of songs, meaning that it is a song about…nothing! By the release of “Caribou” in 1974, Elton John’s career was so white-hot he could do no wrong. Hence, Elton unleashed a flimsy, tossed-off album chock full of half-baked songs (by a fully baked superstar), that topped the charts all over the […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Your Call Is Very Important To Us, Please Hold” by Sparks
Today we have a track from Sparks’ “Lil’ Beethoven” album released in 2002. Sparks’ concept on “Lil’ Beethoven” was to meld their songs with lush orchestral backing, creating a rather ornate listening experience. Ornate is it, but all the orchestras in the world can’t obscure the singular brand of humor that the Mael brothers bring […]
Today in Rock History – May 30
1964, The Beatles went to number one on the singles chart with “Love Me Do,” the group’s fourth chart topper in five months. The version released in America had Andy White playing drums while Ringo played the tambourine. The British single was a take on which Ringo played the drums. 1965, The Who performed at […]
Today in Rock History – May 18
1967, The Beatles were selected to represent the UK for the first-ever global-wide satellite broadcast. The group agreed to be shown in the studio recording a song written especially for the occasion, scheduled for June 25. John Lennon wrote “All You Need is Love” which was thought to sum up the 1967 “Summer of Love” […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Reggaejunkiejew” by Ween
MORE WEEN! This is the 2003 “All Request Live” version of a song originally released on the 1994 “Pure Guava” record by Ween. Before anyone gets too excited, I’m a Jew and so is Aaron Freeman (aka Gene Ween), so don’t get it in your head that this track is slamming Jews, Rastas or even […]
Today in Rock History – April 20
1968, Deep Purple made their live debut at a gig in Tastrup, Denmark. Formally known as Roundabout, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore suggested a new name, Deep Purple, after his grandmother’s favorite song. “Deep Purple” had been a hit for Peter De Rose. Blackmore’s grandmother had repeatedly asked if they would be performing the song. 1968, Apple […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – Selections from “Popshopping Volume 1” by Various Artists
“Popshopping” is a compilation of German TV commercial production music from the 1960s and 1970s. Compilation producers Sir D’Oeuvre and Senor 45 collected these tracks from flexi discs and dusty TV production tape vaults. Many may consider this music nothing more than a bunch of blaring, dated commercials, to others (including me), this is highly […]
