Remade Music

Posted on October 16, 2018 by

Readers of this blog know that I enjoy history and I enjoy music. Most music. Some music. Don’t buy me opera tickets. . . . I digress. Anyway, the history of certain popular songs is fascinating to me. Growing up in the 70s, I loved certain songs that I later found out originated in the 40s. While skimming Billboard’s Hottest Hot 100 Hits, by Fred Bronson, I came across a chapter, “The Top 100 Pre-Rock Era Remakes,” and was amazed to discover how many hits were recorded or written, years or even decades before.

Many people know, for example, that the 1960 hit, “The Twist,” by Chubby Checker was actually a remake of Hank Ballard’s record which had been released in 1959. Ballard wrote the song, and his version, originally the B-side of the record, reached number 28 on the Billboard charts. Chubby Checker’s version reached #1 not only in 1960, but again in 1962 making it the only record to reach #1 in two different years.

The Platters, who scored a multitude of their hits in the 1950s took a great deal of material from the 1930s. “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” 1933 and “My Prayer,” 1939 are two examples.

Likewise, Connie Francis remade hits from decades before, including “If I Didn’t Care,” a remake of a 1939 hit by The Ink Spots, whose original version sold over 19 copies worldwide, making it at one point, one of the top 10 singles of all time. Francis’ “Who’s Sorry Now?” was originally written in 1923 and was actually featured in the Marx Brothers’ film, A Night in Casablanca.

“Are You Lonesome Tonight?” and “It’s Now or Never,” are two signature Elvis Presley tunes, the former first recorded in 1927, and the latter based on the 1949 version of “There’s No Tomorrow,” by Tony Martin. Elvis’ “It’s Now or Never,” which has its basis in “O Sole mio” sold 20 million copies, making it Elvis biggest hit, and also one of the biggest sellers of all-time.

Bobby Vinton’s “There, I Said It Again,” is a remake of Vaughn Monroe’s 1945 version.

Pat Boone’s, “Love Letters in the Sand,” is a remake of the 1931 recording by Ted Black & His Orchestra.

“Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime,” which was a #1 song for Dean Martin in 1964, was originally recorded by Frank Sinatra in 1948.

There is a lesson in all these remake remarks, and that is that good music, from whatever era, endures. A great song might not find its best performer or arrangement immediately, but sooner or later, it will emerge.

Same song, different eras!

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Ads in 1944 Life Magazine Reflect on Then–and Now

Posted on October 2, 2018 by

Even with the many dramatic events happening in the world today, most of us spend our time talking about mundane things—the weather, the score of last night’s game, the restaurant down the street that just opened, the cost of a loaf of bread. When writing The Secret of Their Midnight Tears trilogy—and yes, the first chapter of the final entry has just been completed!—I have incorporated just such conversations in order to make the characters as real as possible, and the best way to find out what mundane events folks were talking about is to peruse periodicals and magazines of the time. I did this recently with the July 17, 1944 issue of Life magazine. The lead article was entitled, “Task Force 58” about the Navy’s “great cruise to break the Japanese power in the Marianas.” The cover story was about the fashion trend of young women wearing peasant clothes. Ironically enough, there was also a story about the Japanese beetle invasion, which had begun a mere 28 years before, as well as other features. Looking back 74 years, however, the most interesting thing in Life are the advertisements.

Almost every ad had a war theme. Bell Telephone, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Borden’s, and Sanka coffee urged readers to conserve. Indeed, Borden’s noted that while cheese was a rationed commodity, “Elsie [the cow] says, ‘If your husband was good today—do this . . . if he’s bought an extra war bond on the way home . . . Or if he’s been working in your victory garden since suppertime . . . SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION, LADY! Give him some of that swell Borden ‘s Cheese that he’s been hankering after!’”

Dot Fasteners, Stromberg Carlson, Statler Hotels, Chrysler, and Scotch Tape reminded readers that life would be better and their products and services would be more readily available, once the war ended. Indeed, NBC ran a full-page ad explaining that once victory had been achieved, the development of television would be renewed. Some companies proudly pointed out the manner in which they were contributing to the war effort. These included Plymouth, Veedol Motor Oil, Shell Oil, Grace Line Steamships, and Sperry. Mobil ran a two-page color spread touting its contribution to the war effort, as well as how things would be better once victory had been achieved. “War-Power For U. S. Planes Today—Driving Power For Your Car Tomorrow!” reads part of the copy regarding “Mobilgas.”

Even an ad for Hollander Furs, which featured an elegant woman descending a staircase, and clearly not wanting to remind readers of those sacrifices already made and those yet to come, contained a tiny tag that read, “. . . next to WAR BONDS, the best loved gift . . . FURS.”

Other advertisements for Ansco Film, milk, Gaby Suntan lotion, and Pequot Sheets reference in some way the soldiers themselves.

The old ads are fun—“Jeff” the husband in a Colgate ad when informed by his wife that he has bad breath, says, “Zowie! No wonder you’ve been glum, chum! Mister Dentist, here I come!” They are colorful. They tell stories, some containing more plot than half our modern movies,  and one can sense a growing optimism that the war would be won.

Still, the old ads make me sad, for they also suggest that, unlike today, there was only one demographic to whom these diverse ads were meant to appeal: Americans.

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Make Plans to Attend the 75th Commemoration of the D-Day Invasion

Posted on September 17, 2018 by

The last great reunion of veterans from the War Between the States took place at Gettysburg in 1938. It was the 75th anniversary of the epic battle, and some 1,845* veterans from both North and South assembled to remember and to be honored. Some of them lived to see World War II and, as did everyone else, anxiously followed the news bulletins and radio broadcasts on June 6, 1944 when the Allies embarked on D-Day. Now, the boys who landed in Normandy are about to arrive at the 75th anniversary of their great battle on June 6 of next year. Appropriately, the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia is planning to commemorate “the valor, fidelity, and sacrifice of those who fought to free the world of tyranny.”

Part of the parade during the 70th Commemoration.

I attended the 70th Commemoration and I expect to be present at this one as well. That event was a moving experience, and I urge everyone with an interest in history to attend the 75th as I suspect that 2019 will be the last great gathering of these veterans. You will want to tell your children and grandchildren that you saw these makers of history. Better yet, take your children and grandchildren and impress upon them the greatness of those old men who were young once, and who, in their youth, saved the world. Indeed, according to the Summer 2018 Memorial newsletter, “the largest gathering of D-Day veterans in the Nation is expected to attend the ceremony that day with every D-Day veteran in attendance being introduced in a special roll call.” That will take place on the morning of Thursday, June 6. Friday’s events include an evening concert and canteen, and “a 1940s themed parade featuring veterans, antique cars, bands, and living historians” on Saturday.

Bedford is still a small town and accommodations are few. If you plan to attend it is not too early to reserve a room.

I will go for the history and the pageantry, but mostly to fulfill the obligation and the desire to say “thank you.”

* According to The Last Reunion of the Blue and Gray, by Paul L. Roy, 1950.

[Read The Bedford Boys, by Alex Kershaw, for an explanation as to why the National D-Day Memorial is located in a little town between Lynchburg and Roanoke, Virginia. This is the very moving story of the very first boys to hit the beach.]

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The World Of Little League Museum

Posted on August 31, 2018 by

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What’s on Your Bucket List?

Posted on August 23, 2018 by

My buddy Al and I have just returned from another item on our baseball bucket list, namely attending a Little League World Series game. We saw Puerto Rico defeat Canada and Georgia (Southeast) defeat Michigan (Great Lakes). Well, we saw parts of both games as we moved back and forth between the two ballparks.

Lamade Stadium, the main diamond at the Little League World Series

Attending the Little League World Series, and the College World Series (CWS), which we did in 2016, appear on the bucket lists of many fans. Others compose rather elaborate lists, such as attending games in every major league city, but it is hard for me to believe that anyone has had more fun than have Al and I by visiting the lesser known baseball shrines. While some take a pilgrimage to the mecca of Fenway Park or Wrigley Field, we have journeyed to Bosse Field in Evansville, IN, the third oldest continuously used professional ballpark in the country behind those two major league shrines, where we saw the Evansville Otters of the independent Frontier League play; and where we met some folks with whom I still keep in touch. We also attended a collegiate summer league game in League Park in Huntingburg, IN where the movie A League of Their Own was filmed and which has maintained its 1940s look. And we met some folks there with whom I still keep in touch.

We each visited the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown as kids and before we knew each other, but together, we also visited the Eastern Shore Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at Perdue Stadium in Salisbury, MD. While on the Shore, we also visited Jimmie Foxx’s statue in Sudlersville, MD.

We make it a point to at least play catch in every new state through which we pass and so we have played baseball to some degree or another in every state from Pennsylvania/Delaware all the way down the coast to Florida. Naturally, we played in Nebraska while there for the CWS and in Iowa, driving across the Missouri River in order to lay claim to that state. We can also lay claim to Bermuda because, yes, we took our gloves on a cruise. The parks in which we’ve played include Home Run Baker Park in Trappe, MD and James Hoyt Wilhelm Park in Cornelius, NC.

Playing catch on Nassau Beach.

We’ve been to the Hillerich & Bradsby Factory and Museum in Louisville, KY; the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum in Baltimore; Spring Training in Florida, including the Braves and Orioles minor league complexes; and games at the University of Florida. I’m not sure what’s next on the bucket list, but I have no doubt that we have not reached the end of it.

So, dear readers: What are the top three items on the bucket list of your passion? You art fans what works must you see or have seen? Music fans, what performers must you hear or have heard?

If you don’t have a bucket list of something, make one, for despite the irony that the list encompasses the things you want to do before you die, the planning and the achieving insures that you are truly living.

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No Blues for the Browns in 1944

Posted on August 9, 2018 by

The St. Louis Browns, more than any other team in baseball, were affected both negatively and positively by World War II. The Browns are the least successful franchise in major league history, and so in The Boys We Knew, Mr. Morrison, the druggist, jokes with Veronica, in the chapter titled, “April 20, 1943,” that “‘with the war on, why the Browns might win it one year if the rest of the American League gets drafted.’” Baseball fans will recognize the irony of that statement because the very next year, that is essentially what happened.

By 1944, the powerhouse New York Yankees had already lost to military service Joe DiMaggio, Tommy Henrich, Phil Rizzuto, Joe Gordon, and Charlie Keller, a loss of talent not unusual for most teams. The Browns on the other hand, listed more players—13—on their roster who had been designated 4-F, that is unfit for military service, than any other team. In fact, their entire starting infield was classified 4-F. In addition, two key contributors, outfielder, Chet Laabs and pitcher, Denny Galehouse, worked in defense plants and so were exempt from the draft. Laabs worked during the day, allowing him to play night and on the weekend, while Galehouse pitched on Sundays. Towards the end of the season, their best hitter, Al Zarilla, was inducted into the service, but General Manager Bill DeWitt appealed to the commanding general of the camp to which Zarilla was to report, and the outfielder’s induction was delayed until after the World Series.

The Browns collection of cast-offs, older players (16 out of 38 players who appeared in a game for St. Louis that year were 30 or older), and drunks (yes, plural) may have been among the least talented major league ballplayers ever to play the game, but they were at least major league talent and that proved superior to the career minor leaguers, 40-somethings, and teenagers other teams were forced to employ.

Indeed, the Browns swept the depleted Yankees in the season’s final series thereby winning their only pennant in their 52 year history. (They finished second only twice.) The Browns faced their cross-town rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals in the Fall Classic, losing to the Redbirds in six games.

 

Despite capturing the American League pennant, the Browns finished fifth (out of 8 teams) in the American League in attendance that year. This was better than their streak of finishing last in the league in attendance from 1926-1943. And while the Browns/Cardinals World Series matchup on October 9th. drew 31,630 fans, the Junior World Series between the International League champion Baltimore Orioles and the American Association champion Louisville Colonels on that same date drew 52,833 customers in Baltimore. The American League took note of that and 10 years later, the St. Louis Browns moved east to become the Baltimore Orioles.

As unlikely as a St. Louis Browns pennant was, it would have been an impossibility had the plan of owner, Donald Barnes come to fruition. Barnes was all set to move the Browns to Los Angeles for the 1942 season, and apparently he had the blessing of his fellow owners. The vote on the move was scheduled for Monday, December 8, 1941. Pearl Harbor squelched such a dramatic move, of course, and eventually, it was the Brooklyn Dodgers who moved to Los Angeles in 1958.

World War II affected every aspect of American life, and for the St. Louis Browns, it marked both the pinnacle and the beginning of end.

Image result for 1944 st. louis browns

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We Have a Language Problem

Posted on July 30, 2018 by

When I was a boy a “mobile” phone was that one in the kitchen that had a 5 foot cord that allowed you to talk out in the garage where hopefully, your parents couldn’t hear you. There were certain words, however, that I never used whether they could hear me or not, particularly in mixed company. A young man named Josh Hader brought this memory to mind recently in a most unusual way. Hader, who just turned 23 in June, was representing the Milwaukee Brewers in his first All-Star Game, and even as he was pitching, people in the “Twitterverse,” as it’s called, began unearthing racist and sexist tweets, the latter expressed with the most explicit and vulgar words, that Hader had published when in high school. Hader immediately apologized after the game, appearing quite contrite and sincere. In fact, his two fellow Brewer All-Stars, Lorenzo Cain and Jeremy Jeffress, both of whom are African-American, accepted the apology immediately.

As of this morning (July 30, 2018) you can add Atlanta Braves pitcher Sean Newcomb and Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner to the list of major league baseball players who tweeted “stupid stuff,” to use Newcomb’s words, when they were teenagers.

The words that these three tweeted are indefensible, but I would offer this defense of all three individuals: They are products of a society that has lost all perspective on acceptable public discourse.

Not all thoughts should be expressed. Not all expressions should be used and if they are used, there should be a very specific context in which they become acceptable. This was once our standard, but now, of course, reality television, twitter, and Facebook offer an opportunity to pour out your heart, unfiltered and raw, so that you can let everyone know at this very moment that you are ANGRY! Or sad or bitter or jealous or plotting revenge or whatever the passion of the moment may be, and in any language you choose with no ramifications other than perhaps a reprimand in the comments, which you may then delete. Many of our celebrities, including actors, reality TV stars, sports figures, and politicians no longer adhere to any standard, which, of course, makes it easier for our neighbor to abandon a standard for civil discourse. Ultimately, that makes it easier for us to throw our former standard to the winds. I seriously wonder if most high school students even know what vulgar means.

You have the right to offend, but I have the right to not be offended. You may offend through your art—I don’t have to go to the art museum. You have the right to offend in your television show—I don’t have to watch. When we all share a public space, such as a busy street or a ballpark, however, then you don’t have the right to offend. It is in such public places that a standard of public discourse should be maintained for one very important reason: It is a sign that we respect each other, and that we are not going to chance offending others, especially when there is no need and there is no cause.

All of which brings us back, not to Hader, Newcomb, and Turner, but to ourselves. If you don’t approve of your ballplayers tweeting slurs and vulgarity, then don’t use that language when tweeting about the guy in the car in front of you or the team you hate the most or the President, however mad or disgusted you are with any of those people at the moment. The only way that we will restore civil public discourse is to be civil to one another. Standards come about through the example that we set for one another. Josh Hader, Sean Newcomb, and Trea Turner did not sin in a vacuum.

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