*** music trivia ***

[Ky Fried Redleg]

110. Okay, here's your chance to guess the song that tops my "Happy Song" list. I've loved this song for over 50 years. It never grows old and never fails to make me smile. The song was the band's first big hit record. It peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 but it was a global sensation, reaching #1 on the charts in the UK, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, West Germany, Ireland, Norway, South Africa and Switzerland. The song won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 for their home country, besting Italy's song entry by a score of 24-18 . The song propelled the band to international stardom. Stonewall Jackson, a country artist, had a song by the same title back in the late 50's.. That song didn't make me as happy, though. Plus, Stonewall didn't look nearly as good in a kitty cat dress.

Ironically, the first few seconds of my happiest song sounds very much like the first seconds of ELO's "Turn to Stone"(At least to my ears it does). Just think, if it weren't for the Little General, we might not have ever heard this song.



Can you name the song that tops my happy list ?

MEOW!!!

[Ky Fried Redleg]

111. This question falls under the category of "Songs That You Never Knew Were Cover Songs."

Our story begins with a man named Paul. Paul was born to Creole parents from the Cape Verde Islands in 1950. He was born with congenital glaucoma and was essentially blind from birth. By age 20 he had no sight at all. Paul grew up speaking Cape Verdean Creole with his parents. His father and grandfather were both musicians and taught Paul how to play. As a kid he learned piano on a baby grand that had been pulled out of a local landfill. He also learned guitar , violin, double bass, and trumpet. Paul gravitated to Blues, Jazz, and Gospel, and studied the recordings of B.B. King, Ray Charles, and T-Bone Walker. By his twenties, he was an accomplished and soulful guitarist, singer, and songwriter who was opening shows for Gerry Garcia and Frank Zappa. Paul was even invited to participate in a folk festival in 1969, alongside James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and Kris Kristofferson.

Paul recorded his first album in 1971. The album, while not selling well, received stellar reviews.(Actually, it's a rare find collectible today). His friendship with Garcia prompted him to move to San Francisco in '71. He made the scene around the Grateful Dead, particularly at a Venue called the Keystone, where he often played. It was there , playing alongside Garcia, that got him noticed by music insiders and influencers, leading to a record deal and a second album. The album was produced by a man named Ben, who also played on all the songs. Garcia also played on a couple of the tracks.

Unfortunately, the head of the record company refused to release Paul's album. Whether it was because he thought it wouldn't sell or because of a personal dispute, Paul's album was shelved, and remained shelved for the better part of three decades(more on that in a minute). Now here's where our story gets interesting. You see, Ben, the guy who produced Paul's album, was a keyboardist for a popular 70's band . He gave a demo copy of Paul's shelved album to the leader of this 70's band. The singer loved the album, and one song, in particular.

The 70's singer/songwriter who got a hold of a copy of Paul's album really wanted to do something with this one song. He asked Paul for permission to sample the song, provided he could make changes to it. He wanted to rework the lyrics to be more radio-friendly and give it a more fun, lighter, upbeat vibe . According to the singer, Paul's lyrics were way too long and way too angry , featuring verse after verse after angry verse , which would never play on radio. You see, Paul wrote the song as a deeply personal testament to the stress he was feeling at the time. There were tensions with his record label and long flights across the country that he didn't want to be on. Hence, the more dark, angry tone.

The new, reworked version of Paul's song struck gold. The 70's singer/ songwriter who had a knack for making radio-friendly pop songs, had done it again. The song rose to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977, reaching the top 10 on multiple record charts that year.

Paul's wife, who was also blind, became very ill with kidney failure in the 1980's , and died in 1991. When she became ill , he gave up his music career to care for her. After her death, Paul, already prone to recklessness and depression , sank into further despair. Fortunately , he eventually reconnected with his love of Tuvan throat singing and got back into music.

Back in the 80's, Paul had taken quite an interest in Tuvan throat singing, an ancient Central Asian vocal technique where a performer produces multiple notes simultaneously by manipulating their vocal chords. Paul had learned how to do this via shortwave radio. It is traditionally used to connect with nature and express the sounds of the landscape. An Oscar-nominated documentary in the late-90's followed Paul to the remote Russian Republic of Tuva , where he fulfilled his dream of competing in Tuva's national competition and fostered a unique cross-cultural friendship. As a result of the publicity offered by the documentary, Paul's second album that had been shelved for nearly three decades was finally released in the year 2000. He even made some television appearances after the release of his long-delayed second album . Paul died from complications of pancreatitis in 2005.



Fortunately for Paul, the royalties from the smash 70's hit of his song, was able to provide some quality of life for Paul and his wife in the later years of their lives. They pretty much lived off of the royalties of that song, which was covered and made famous in 1977 by a pop superstar. Can you name the song and the singer who covered Paul's song and took it to the top 10 of the Billboard chart?

[texasdave]

My money is on no one getting this one correctly. Although, everyone will know the song when they find out what it is. Paul got stiffed on the non-release of the album.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

My money is on no one getting this one correctly. Although, everyone will know the song when they find out what it is. Paul got stiffed on the non-release of the album.

I went to the dollar store down the road this afternoon and when I got back into the car to leave, this song was playing on my local radio station. WEIRD!

[Ky Fried Redleg]

My money is on no one getting this one correctly. Although, everyone will know the song when they find out what it is. Paul got stiffed on the non-release of the album.

I'll give everyone some time to think about it. I might give just a tiny clue later tonight when I get a chance. So much funky sh!t going down in this city right now.

[texasdave]

I'll give everyone some time to think about it. I might give just a tiny clue later tonight when I get a chance. So much funky sh!t going down in this city right now.

I see what you did there. Although, you have always been a bit of a Joker.

[Roy Tucker]

I'll give everyone some time to think about it. I might give just a tiny clue later tonight when I get a chance. So much funky sh!t going down in this city right now.

The AM radio version said funky kicks

[Revering4Blue]

Man, the memories of that song. When I first heard it as a youngster when it was new, I thought the lyrics were “Big Old Jed and Lionel”


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ky Fried Redleg]

Man, the memories of that song. When I first heard it as a youngster when it was new, I thought the lyrics were “Big Old Jed and Lionel”


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

GREAT Song! Thank you, thank you, thank you , Paul Pena :






Btw, in Paul's original, the first line is:

"In seat forty-two, just about to go insane
I've been down before "


In Steve's version:

"Leavin' home out on the road
I've been down before"


Also, Paul was on a 747 ; Steve's plane was a 707 lol


Paul performing his original on Conan O Brien in 2001:





Paul's original studio recording:





I love when there are are two interpretations of a great song and they are both terrific. Paul lays down this incredible bluesy groove and Steve does a fun ass kickin' rocker with an iconic opening riff. Well done, men.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

112. Imagine being a 17 year -old senior in high school and writing a song that would someday be a hit on the Billboard charts. Now, imagine if all of that was about to happen and then a bunch of lawyers says your song can never be released. Here's the story, along with one of the oddest coincidences , that I know of, in the history of music . Our young teen songwriter was a senior in 1966 , attending high school in Alhambra, California. He started a band in high school, calling it , The Second Helping. The band even released three singles. But it is one particular song he wrote in high school that is the subject of this question. That song became a classic, beloved '70's soft rock song. But the song almost never made it to radio.

Fast forward about three years or so. The young songwriter now found himself in the position of staff songwriter for Wingate Music , making $100 a week. At Wingate, he would pen songs for other artists. One band that he pitched his songs to was a band by the name of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. He gave them four of his songs to record for their 1970 album, including the song that he wrote back in his senior year of high school. But that's where things hit a road block.

Sometime after the deal was struck with The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band , the songwriter got a call from the band's management. They said we're sorry, but we are not gonna be able to release that song(the one from his high school days). The Nitty Grittys had been inundated with letters from lawyers from the Disney Corporation, telling them they couldn't release the song because of copyright issues. Needless to say, the songwriter was extremely bummed about not being able to release his most prized song. The young songwriter tried to shake off his blues. He had a first date scheduled with a cute girl named Marnie. Yes, that's right... Marnie.

So the young couple went out on their first date together and the songwriter was telling her he was bummed that lawyers from Disney had put the big kibosh on the release of his song. Marnie said, "Let me talk to daddy about that for you." He was, thinking , what the hell does daddy have to do with my song(well, I don't if that's exactly what he was thinking, but it's probably close)? So, sure enough, Marnie talked to daddy and he told his daughter to invite the young singer/songwriter to over to play the song for him.

The young musician went over to the house of his young girlfriend's daddy and sat in the floor and performed the song. He was so nervous that he was shaking throughout the song. Daddy liked the song and picked up the phone and called those nasty lawyers at Disney and told them to cease with the letters, that the young lad was going to be allowed to have his song recorded and released to the public. You see, Marnie--- the girl he had just met and gone out with for the first time---her daddy, Card Walker, was a high-ranking executive . Better yet, he was a high-ranking executive at Disney. In fact, he later became CEO of Disney. The kid must have been living right. The chick that he goes out with has a daddy that is a head Honcho at the company that is trying to keep his song from being heard.

The Nitty Grittys recorded the song for their 1970 album. It peaked at #53 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of '71. The song's writer also included the song on an album of his , and released it later in 1971. More than twenty years later, the singer/songwriter wrote an additional verse for the song, changed the title slightly, and included it on a popular children's album(with the same title) that he released in 1994. He recorded the reimagined version of his song as a duet with a vocal cameo from Amy Grant.

Can you name this songwriter who got his start by writing songs for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, including the classic that he wrote as a 17 year-old in high school, a song that only survived because his girlfriend appealed to her daddy for help. Also, do you know the song?

I guess the moral of this story is always ask that girl you date, Who's Your Daddy, sweetie? "

[texasdave]

No idea why, but this song always make tear up. It's not even a sad song.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

No idea why, but this song always make tear up. It's not even a sad song.

I've heard other people say the same thing, td. I think it's the nostalgia feel of the song and the longing for that lost innocence that Father Time ripped away from us years ago. Deep down, we all still want to be a child again.

[texasdave]

My eye get moist at the end of this song as well.

A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys
Painted wings and giant's rings make way for other toys
One gray night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more
And Puff, that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar
His head was bent in sorrow, green scales fell like rain
Puff no longer went to play along the cherry lane
Without his lifelong friend, Puff could not be brave
So Puff, that mighty dragon, sadly slipped into his cave

[Ky Fried Redleg]

My eye get moist at the end of this song as well.

Yep. Such sad lyrics.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

113. I've been pondering this question since last night. I can't imagine anyone but a rabid music fan who moonlights as a mathematician would even think about or come up with such a question, but here goes.


Can you name the four songs(at least that's how many I came up with) that were released in either the 1970's or the 1980's that had a prime number of two digits or more in the title of the song AND reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100?

I truly believe there are only four songs that meet the requirements. How many can you name?