“A Charlie Brown Christmas” Music by the Vince Guaraldi Trio
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#1000 in the Series and then re-posted in 2011) is a Charlie Brown Christmas, music by the Vince Guaraldi Trio. We all remember the Charlie Brown Christmas Special. Because of that special, we were first introduced to one of the bestselling Christmas albums of all time. The Charlie Brown Christmas with music by the Vince Guaraldi Trio. It was recorded way back in 1965. It made it to CD in 1986. Many Decembers, if you don’t grab it in the first few weeks, you can’t find it. It seems like there is always shortage of these produced. Downloading has taken care of that issue. A Charlie Brown Christmas was the first animated television...
The Ventures “The Ventures Christmas Album”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#999 in the Series) is The Ventures, The Ventures Christmas Album The Ventures were another band that got a strong amount of airplay in my house when I was a youth. No, It didn’t want to make we want to be a surfer or anything like that. That would have been a little hard for a Chicago boy so I’m glad that was never a goal. Italian kids weren’t usually blonde enough either. I was no exception. It did help me add to my love of rock and roll. I remember my sisters playing their version of “Telstar” on more than one occasion. I remember my sisters playing their version of “Telstar”...
Andy Williams ‘Merry Christmas’
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#991 in the Series) is Andy Williams, Merry Christmas In 1963, smooth jazz crooner, Andy Williams, released his first Christmas album, The Andy Williams Christmas Album too much acclaim and his name has been synonymous with the holiday season ever since. As good as it was it can’t compare with what he followed up with in 1965. Andy’s Merry Christmas album focused exclusively on 20th century compositions, unlike its predecessor, with one side focusing on more traditional pop and secular holiday fare. For a generation of baby boomers and even early generation X-ers, this is the quintessential holiday album because of its mainstream production, in addition to years of Christmas specials on...
Otis Blue ‘Otis Redding Sings Soul’
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#871 in the Series) is Otis Blue, Otis Redding Sings Soul. If you are a musical purist and do not allow live albums, compilations, or greatest hits packages to infiltrate your desert island disc knapsack, then Otis Blue / Otis Redding Sings Soul should be added to your collection post haste. The album, released in 1965 just months after the death of Sam Cooke, was the first really pure Otis Redding record. More cohesive in style, this effort has much more of a live feel about it, with the entire package (including the sultry, evocative blond on the album cover) produced with an artistic flow that was previously missing from his prior efforts that...
Gary McFarland ‘The In Sound’
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Bloop Bleep” by Gary McFarland Gary McFarland towed the line between samba infused light jazz and orchestral mood music. He was a vibist from California who was known as much for his vibe playing as he was for his arranging and orchestrations for others. After serving in the army where he took up trombone, trumpet and keyboards, McFarland settled on the vibes and began fronting an orchestra that backed the likes of Anita O’Day, Bill Evans and Stan Getz. He also recorded notable sessions with Bob Brookmeyer and Gary Burton. McFarland began to make a name for himself as an artist after recording a 1963 album with Bill Evans called The...
Unit 4 + 2 ‘Concrete and Clay’
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Concrete And Clay” by Unit 4 + 2 Today’s Song Of The Day is a somewhat forgotten British Invasion classic from 1965, featuring future members of The Kinks and Argent amongst its band members. Unit 4 was a British harmony vocal group that was started in the early 1960s by Brian Parker who had a gig with Adam Faith’s backing band The Roulettes. Parker set out to form his own band and recruited Buster Meikle on vocals and guitar, Tommy Moeller on vocals and piano and Peter Moules on bass. Soon thereafter, they added two more members, Rod Garwood (bass) and Hugh Halliday (drums) who became the “+2” of their...
Four Just Men ‘Things Will Never Be The Same’
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Things Will Never Be The Same” by Four Just Men Last week I wrote about Freddie & The Dreamers single, “I’m Telling You Now,” and the American album of the same name. The record was not a Freddie & The Dreamers album per se, although they were the featured group on the cover. It was a compilation released in 1965 to introduce unknown British Invasion groups to American audiences featuring two tracks each by Freddie & The Dreamers, Mike Rabin & The Demons, The Toggery Five, Linda Laine & The Sinners, Heinz and the group whose song is today’s Song Of The Day, Four Just Men. Four Just Men were...
The New Musical Express Poll Winners Concert 1965
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” by The Animals (Live NME Version 1965) Some classic Animals from the 1965 NME Poll Winners Concert, as “Song Of The Day by Eric Berman” looks at a terrific “grey area” CD release! The New Musical Express is a weekly British newspaper that has focused solely on the music scene for nearly 50 years. For several years during the 1960s, the paper sponsored concerts featuring artists who topped their music polls. The 1965 edition took place at Wembley Stadium on April 11, 1965, and was filmed. An edited version of the concert was screened on ABC TV in the U.S. on April 18 of that...
Freddie and the Dreamers ‘I’m Telling You Now’
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “I’m Telling You Now” by Freddie & The Dreamers I’m writing this on the 49th anniversary of The Beatles historic first performance on The Ed Sullivan Show, and while I have a vague memory of The Beatles playing on Sullivan, I don’t think it was their very first performance. Well, heck, I must have only been four or five years old. But even then, I do remember there was a sense of importance about the event in my house because of my older sister, who made it that way. Some of my earliest memories of the British Invasion include hits and albums by the Herman’s Hermits including “Mrs. Brown You’ve...
Little Bob And The Lollipops ‘I Got Loaded’
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “I Got Loaded” by Little Bob And The Lollipops For many years, I thought this song was a Los Lobos original. Their version was so in line with their sound and it fit so well on their Will The Wolf Survive album. So it was surprising to me, when I found out that the song wasn’t theirs, and had been around for over twenty years by the time they got around to recording it. The song was recorded by Little Bob and the Lollipops, and was never even originally released as the A-side to the single it appeared on. When originally released in 1965 on the La Louisianne record label...
