*** music trivia ***

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Originally Posted by Dom Heffner

I may be too young to appreciate it out of its context.

Songs about cannibalism are tough to relate to haha

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Yeah, not saying I particularly ate it up but it did have pretty nice , upbeat melody. I like the Zevon song about rape and murder , better, though.

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Originally Posted by Ky Fried Redleg

185. This Tongan-American band of eight brothers and sisters from Minneapolis got their name from a big Elton John hit of the 1970's . Their family name of Wolfgramm was a difficult stage name, so they originally called themselves "The Quasars," after a popular brand of television from way back in the day. I'm sure most of your parents or grandparents had a Quasar at one point in time. I know mine did. Anyway, this name was short-lived, as they wanted something that was shorter, punchier, and easier to remember. So, the band's manager suggested the name that borrows from the famous Elton John song. That's the name they adopted.

The band of youngsters had five top 10 hits in the latter part of the 1980's . One of their songs was famously featured on the Beverly Hill Cop II soundtrack. But it's their biggest hit that I want to feature here. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March of 1987 and was #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for two weeks. It was written by a well-known singer/ writer/arranger/composer for his young daughter. The singer/ songwriter wanted to pen a song that his 10 year-old daughter, Wendy, would enjoy listening to, especially knowing it came from her father.

Sadly, and tragically, Wendy died suddenly from an undiagnosed brain tumor before the song was ever released. The little girl never got to hear the song her father wrote for her. That singer/ songwriter was... Rupert Holmes.

Do you remember this group of young Mormon siblings(no, not that one) who hit it big in the mid and , especially, the late eighties and had five top 10 hits, including the Rupert Holmes' penned ballad that he wrote for his daughter, Wendy?


Who was the group and what was the hit song ?

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Billboard #3 (1987)


I wonder if Rupert could even listen to this song back in the day. It would be way too difficult for me. The young lady singing lead is Elizabeth Wolfgramm. She was only 12 years old when she recorded "All Over You." The recording took place in 1985, and because she was too young to understand the song's romantic lyrics, her manager famously told her to imagine she was singing the song to a puppy to get the right emotional delivery. She nailed it!


https://youtu.be/Dr1pZHPExlE?list=RDDr1pZHPExlE

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Songs about cannibalism are tough to relate to haha

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I think you meant to say: Songs about cannibalism are tough to swallow. :laugh:

Rupert Holmes may be the All-American male, but the only two song lyrics that I know from him are about 1) cannibalizing a fellow worker, and 2) cheating on your 'own lovely lady'. :D

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Originally Posted by texasdave

Rupert Holmes may be the All-American male, but the only two song lyrics that I know from him are about 1) cannibalizing a fellow worker, and 2) cheating on your 'own lovely lady'. :D

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He also penned a NY Times Bestseller in 2023 entitled Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide.

One of the things I always liked about Holmes is the same thing that attracted me to Zevon's music. Both enjoyed dark and/or twisted humor/satire. Zevon had real demons. I think with Holmes it's a case of being extremely curious about the nature of human behavior... even really bad human behavior. I'm the same way. Always been fascinated with serial killers.


Billboard #6 (1980) :

https://youtu.be/KKfZ_OO0oYw?list=RDKKfZ_OO0oYw

Today's Yacht Rock Revisit comes from a guy whose first band was the Oat Stump Straddlers, a bluegrass band he formed in high school. He also played in LA garage bands Western Union and The Red Roosters. He rose to prominence as the lead singer and keyboardist for the psychedelic jazz-rock band Spirit (1967) and later founded the rock band Jo Jo Gunne (1971). We mentioned him a few days ago.
This is a fun summer song. Jay Ferguson with "Shakedown Cruise."

Peaked at #31 in 1979 :

https://youtu.be/3lS57QJVUTI?list=RD3lS57QJVUTI

186. The multifaceted American artist below worked as a cartoonist, playwright, poet, songwriter, and children's author. He was a prolific songwriter (more than 800 songs to his credit) who wrote every song but one on this band's first two album releases in the early 70's. Who's the band and who's the songwriter?


https://cdn-test.poetryfoundation.or...48698c4f5.jpeg

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Originally Posted by Ky Fried Redleg

186. The multifaceted American artist below worked as a cartoonist, playwright, poet, songwriter, and children's author. He was a prolific songwriter (more than 800 songs to his credit) who wrote every song but one on this band's first two album releases in the early 70's. Who's the band and who's the songwriter?


https://cdn-test.poetryfoundation.or...48698c4f5.jpeg

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Timely...

Shel Silverstein

Without his talents we probably never would have heard of Dr Hook. He also wrote "A Boy Named Sue" and "The Unicorn Song". Folks actually from Ireland are quick to point out that the Unicorn song is not Irish. They don't generally play that in pubs in Ireland

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EPsuOEH1fY

Shel Silverstein's pairing with Dr Hook was a match made in rock 'n roll heaven. His talents worked so well with the personality of that band.

As many of you know, "Sylvia's Mother" is autobiographical for Shel and very true. Some of the names and places were changed but the story was true. Sylvia was Sylvia Pandolfi, Shel's ex-gf, who he attempted to call to try and win back. Sylvia's mother , who intercepted the call , was Louisa Pandolfi. Oddly enough, she lived to be 101 years old and outlived Shel by 10 years. In the song, Sylvia was packing to leave to marry a man in Galveston. Actually, she was packing for Mexico City to marry a painter and bullfighter there.


For those interested, here's the real Sylvia and her mother, Louisa, talking about the events that inspired the classic Dr Hook hit, "Sylvia's Mother." Dennis Locorriere did such a great job expressing the hurt felt during a phone call like that. I've been on the bad side of a Sylvia's Mother call. Not a good feeling. Great job by Dennis.


https://youtu.be/qZMUx2CfpXI

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Originally Posted by Ky Fried Redleg

Happy 79th BDay, Jay Ferguson !


https://youtu.be/m_iU0sxxbiM?list=RDm_iU0sxxbiM



Joe Walsh did the lead slide guitar work on this track, which contributed to its signature sound.

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Just popping in to say I freaking love Thunder Island. It’s the sound of summer beach cocktail hour for me.

One of my favorite memories: Years ago when we lived in Virginia Beach, my wife and I bought a condo right on the Chesapeake Bay. It was in rough shape, which is why we could afford it. We fixed it up nice with the help of some great friends.

I had recently gotten into standup paddle boarding. It’s a great workout and also can be incredibly relaxing, and it’s an unbelievable feeling to essentially be standing on the water. After work, I would come home, walk down the back steps, grab my board and be in the water in no time. I would go for a sunset paddle, watch the fish jump and see the pelicans fly by so close, I felt like I could reach out and touch them. My ritual was that once I was done, I would come inside, grab a beer, and blast Thunder Island while I looked out at the water from our balcony. There was no better feeling in the world.

Sha la, la, la, la, la, my lady
In the sun with your hair undone
Can you hear me now
Callin' your name from across the bay?

Happy belated birthday to Jay Ferguson!

RIP to the guy whose voice was a big part of the soundtrack of my youth. The distinctive voice of Dr Hook.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...XcOcOCJXhYOg&s

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Originally Posted by RichRed

Just popping in to say I freaking love Thunder Island. It’s the sound of summer beach cocktail hour for me.

One of my favorite memories: Years ago when we lived in Virginia Beach, my wife and I bought a condo right on the Chesapeake Bay. It was in rough shape, which is why we could afford it. We fixed it up nice with the help of some great friends.

I had recently gotten into standup paddle boarding. It’s a great workout and also can be incredibly relaxing, and it’s an unbelievable feeling to essentially be standing on the water. After work, I would come home, walk down the back steps, grab my board and be in the water in no time. I would go for a sunset paddle, watch the fish jump and see the pelicans fly by so close, I felt like I could reach out and touch them. My ritual was that once I was done, I would come inside, grab a beer, and blast Thunder Island while I looked out at the water from our balcony. There was no better feeling in the world.

Sha la, la, la, la, la, my lady
In the sun with your hair undone
Can you hear me now
Callin' your name from across the bay?

Happy belated birthday to Jay Ferguson!

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Just a fantastic summer song. Loved Thunder Island and Shakedown Cruise. Gosh, to go back to those fun times!!! Jay is a very talented writer and musician.

Shel wrote more than 100 songs for country legend , Bobby Bare, including the hit "Marie Laveau." He wrote "A Boy Named Sue," which went to #1 on the country chart and #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for Cash. He wrote "One's on the Way," the country hit for Loretta Lynn. And, of course, he wrote pretty much every Dr Hook song on their first two albums, including "Sylvia's Mother" and "Cover of the Rolling Stone."

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Originally Posted by Ky Fried Redleg

Shel Silverstein's pairing with Dr Hook was a match made in rock 'n roll heaven. His talents worked so well with the personality of that band.

As many of you know, "Sylvia's Mother" is autobiographical for Shel and very true. Some of the names and places were changed but the story was true. Sylvia was Sylvia Pandolfi, Shel's ex-gf, who he attempted to call to try and win back. Sylvia's mother , who intercepted the call , was Louisa Pandolfi. Oddly enough, she lived to be 101 years old and outlived Shel by 10 years. In the song, Sylvia was packing to leave to marry a man in Galveston. Actually, she was packing for Mexico City to marry a painter and bullfighter there.


For those interested, here's the real Sylvia and her mother, Louisa, talking about the events that inspired the classic Dr Hook hit, "Sylvia's Mother." Dennis Locorriere did such a great job expressing the hurt felt during a phone call like that. I've been on the bad side of a Sylvia's Mother call. Not a good feeling. Great job by Dennis.


https://youtu.be/qZMUx2CfpXI

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The emotion that Dennis put into this is right on. Every version I've seen has that, including the one on Youtube done on Shel's houseboat where Shel is doing the harmonica part.

I think the Galveston thing is still accurate because Mexico is "down Galveston way" from where she was living at the time

I'll also add that I don't think Shel would've made a good husband. I doubt he would have stayed faithful to anyone but that's just my view from afar. He had incredible creative skills but I don't think he was much of a family man