Sunday, March 29, 2009

ഌ DEEP PURPLE, Smoke On The Water|Strange Kind Of Woman|Black Night|Child In Time|Smoke On The Water II

Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford, Hertfordshire in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members have tried not to categorize themselves as any one genre. The band also incorporated classical music, blues-rock, pop and progressive rock elements. They were once listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's loudest band, and have sold over 100 million albums worldwide. Deep Purple was ranked #22 on VH1's Greatest Artists of Hard Rock program.




The band has gone through many line-up changes and an eight-year hiatus (1976-84). The 1968-76 line-ups are commonly labelled Mark I, II, III and IV. Their second and most commercially successful line-up featured Ian Gillan (vocals), Ritchie Blackmore (guitar), Jon Lord (keyboards), Roger Glover (bass guitar) and Ian Paice (drums). This line-up was active 1969-73 and was revived from 1984-89 and again in 1993 before the rift between Blackmore and other members became unbridgeable. The current line-up including guitarist Steve Morse has been much more stable, though Lord's retirement in 2002 has left Paice as the only original member.




A second album, the more mellow and creatively progressive Fireball (a favourite of Gillan but not of the rest of the band), was issued in the summer of 1971. The title track "Fireball" was released as a single, as was "Strange Kind of Woman" - not from the album but recorded during the same sessions (although it was included on the US version of the album instead of the UK version's song "Demon's Eye.")




Shortly after the orchestral release, the band began a hectic touring and recording schedule that was to see little respite for the next three years. Their first studio album of this period, released in mid-1970, was In Rock (a name deliberately chosen to distance the rock album from the concerto) and contained the then-concert staples "Speed King," "Into The Fire," and "Child in Time." The band also issued the UK Top Ten single "Black Night." The interplay between Blackmore's guitar and Lord's distorted organ, coupled with Ian Gillan's howling vocals and the rhythm section of Glover and Paice, now started to take on a unique identity and become instantly recognisable to rock fans throughout Europe.



Three months later, in December 1971, the band traveled to Switzerland to record Machine Head. The album was due to be recorded at a casino in Montreux, using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, but a fire during a 'Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention' gig burned down the casino. The album was actually recorded at the nearby empty Grand Hotel. This incident famously inspired the song "Smoke on the Water." Gillan believes that he witnessed a man fire a flare gun into the ceiling during the concert. [wikipedia]

We all came out to Montreux
On the lake Geneva shoreline
To make records with a mobile
We didn't have much time
Frank Zappa and the mothers
Were at the best place around
But some stupid with a flare gun
Burned the place to the ground
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky

They burned down the gambling house
It died with an awful sound
Funky Claude was running in and out
Pulling kids out the ground
When it all was over
We had to find another place
But Swiss time was running out
It seemed that we would lose the race
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky

We ended up at the grand hotel
It was empty cold and bare
But with the rolling truck stones thing just outside
Making our music there
With a few red lights and a few old beds
We make a place to sweat
No matter what we get out of this
I know well never forget
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky




In the 70's this song is a 'must' for all NiteClubs (like I mentioned before those days NiteClubs were not called Discos yet). Guess this new millenium's 'Smoke On The Water' sounds just as good after 40 years as they maintained their true colors, deeply purplish with no fading and of course the crowd now are more wild and responsive. No doubt they are a heavy metal band but I personally quite like this smokey song. Groovy...

ഌ DEBBIE GIBSON, Foolish Beat|Only In My Dreams|Lost In Your Eyes|Electric Youth|Shake Your Love|We Could Be Together

Debbie Gibson born Deborah Ann "Debbie" Gibson (born August 31, 1970), is an American singer-songwriter who was a teen pop icon. She was popular in the late 1980s and the early 1990s. At the age of seventeen, Gibson was the youngest female to write, produce, and perform a Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit single (in the USA) with her song "Foolish Beat," effectively taking the crown from her then teen idol George Michael (who she had ironically asked to produce "Foolish Beat" but passed on the opportunity).



Gibson was born in Brooklyn, New York. She grew up in the Long Island suburb of Merrick, New York. At the age of five, she began performing in community theater with her sisters and wrote her first song "Make Sure You Know Your Classroom." When she was eight, she sang in the children's chorus at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. She began playing the ukulele and taking piano lessons soon thereafter, including with the noted American pianist Morton Estrin. Gibson has stated that her household was probably the only one where you would hear kids fighting over piano playing time.






Four singles from Out Of The Blue reached the Top 5 of the Billboard Top 100: "Only in My Dreams," "Shake Your Love," "Out Of The Blue," and the number-one hit "Foolish Beat," followed by "Staying Together," which performed more modestly, reaching #22. "Foolish Beat" set a record for Gibson, making her the youngest female artist ever to write, produce, and perform on a Billboard number-one single, a record which stands to this day. By the time Out Of The Blue was established as a hit album, and she had considerable success in the UK, as well as in Japan and southeast Asia, with stadium tours.



Throughout 1988 and early 1989, Gibson was racking up studio time recording her second release. Electric Youth was released in March 1989, and spent 5 weeks at #1. The first single released, "Lost in Your Eyes," held the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks. Gibson achieved an additional honor of having both a #1 single and album charting simultaneously. She also shared ASCAP Songwriter of the Year Award 1989 with Bruce Springsteen. [wikipedia]

ഌ DEAN MARTIN, Everybody Loves Somebody|That's Amore|Sway

Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, film actor and comedian of Italian descent. He was one of the best known musical artists of the 1950s and 1960s. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made Of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "Mambo Italiano", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That A Kick In The Head?" One of the organizers of "The Rat Pack", he was a major star in four areas of show business: concert stage, recordings, motion pictures, and television. Dean Martin has since became a pop culture figure for his womanizing ways, his trademark charm, and his drinking and alleged alcoholism. He was much respected wherever he went, and became a sort of unofficial ambassador to the Italian-American community.



Born in Steubenville, Ohio, Martin dropped out of school in the 10th grade because he thought that he was smarter than his teachers. He delivered bootleg liquor, served as a speakeasy croupier, wrote crafty anecdotes, was a blackjack dealer, worked in a steel mill and boxed as welterweight. At the age of 15, he was a boxer who billed himself as "Kid Crochet" (Kro-Shey). His prizefighting years earned him a broken nose (later fixed), a permanently split lip, and many sets of broken knuckles (a result of not being able to afford the tape used to wrap boxers' hands). He won just one of his 12 bouts. For a time, he roomed with Sonny King, who like Martin, was just starting in show business and had little money. Martin and King held bare-knuckle matches in their apartment, fighting until one of them was knocked out; people paid to watch. [wikipedia]



ഌ DAVID SOUL, Don't Give Up On Us|Silver Lady|Let's Have A Quiet Nite In|

David Soul born David Richard Solberg in Chicago, Illinois on 28 August 1943, is an American-born British actor and singer and best known for his role as the "seat-of-the-pants"California police Det. Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson (opposite co-star and long-time friend Paul Michael Glaser) in the television program Starsky and Hutch (1975-79). He became a British citizen in 2004.





After a successful singing career, including hits such as "Don't Give Up on Us" and "Silver Lady", Soul fell into relative obscurity during the 1980s, during which time he fought a long battle with alcoholism, although he frequently made guest appearances in various US television series, with the occasional small film role. In 1988 he starred as the infamous Florida robber Michael Platt in the Tv film "In the Line of Duty: The FBI murders", which depicted the 1986 FBI Miami shootout. [wikipedia]

ഌ DAVID CASSIDY, Could It Be Forever|Cherish

David Bruce Cassidy (born April 12, 1950) is an American prolific character actor of stage, singer and guitarist. He is best known for his role as Shirley Jones's eldest son, Keith Partridge, in the 1970s musical/sitcom The Partridge Family from 1970 to 1974 (Jones is Cassidy's stepmother in real life.) He enjoyed a successful pop career in the 1970s, and still performs today




David Cassidy was born at Flower and Fifth Avenue Hospital in New York, New York, the son of Irish American actor Jack Cassidy and actress Evelyn Ward. As his parents were frequently touring on the road, he spent his early years being raised by his grandparents in a middle class neighborhood in West Orange, New Jersey. In 1956, he found out from neighbor children that his parents had been divorced for over two years and had not even told him.



In 1956, his father married actress Shirley Jones, and three half-brothers were born: Shaun (1958), Patrick (1962) and Ryan (1966).The Partridge Family series creator Bernard Slade and producers Paul Junger Witt and Robert "Bob" Claver did not care whether Cassidy could sing, knowing only that his androgynous good looks would guarantee success. But shortly after production began, Cassidy convinced music producer Wes Farrell that he was good enough and he was promoted to lead singer for show's recordings. Once I Think I Love You became a hit, Cassidy began work on solo albums as well. Within the first year he had produced his own single, Cherish (from the album of the same name), which reached #9 in the US, and began tours that featured Partridge tunes and his own hits. He became a teen idol. [wikipedia]

ഌ DAVE CLARK FIVE, Glad All Over|Catch Us If You Can|Bits and Pieces|Over And Over|Because Because

The Dave Clark Five (also known as "The DC5") were an English pop rock group. It was the second group of the British Invasion, after The Beatles, to have a chart hit in the United States ("Glad All Over" #6, February 1964). Unusual for a group named after an individual, Dave Clark was the drummer. He played with his drums at the front of the stage, relegating the guitarists and keyboard to his rear and sides. He formed the band around 1957, originally as a partnership, but from 1963 to 1968 he employed the other members, paying their wages and also paying for the recordings. He owned the copyright in the recordings for this period.





Lead vocals were provided by Mike Smith, who also played the keyboards. The rest of the band was Lenny Davidson on lead guitar, Rick Huxley on bass guitar, and Denny Payton on saxophone, harmonica and guitar. Songwriting credits went to Clark, Clark and Smith, Clark and Davidson, and Clark and Payton. Some early songs were credited to Clark and Ron Ryan, who was the brother of early group member Mick Ryan.



Originating in North London, the band was promoted as the vanguard of the 'Tottenham Sound', a response to the Mersey Beat stable managed by Brian Epstein. From the outset, the band's sound was complemented by the inclusion of a saxophone. They had a series of memorable hits, including "Glad All Over" that in January 1964 knocked the Beatles from the number one position on the UK Singles Chart.




The Dave Clark Five had 17 records in Billboard's Top 40, with 12 Top 40 United Kingdom hits between 1964 and 1967. Their song "Over And Over" went to number one in the U.S. On the Billboard Charts Hot 100 at the end of December 1965, despite less than impressive sales in the UK, and they played to sell-out crowds on their tours of the U.S. Heavily promoted as having a "cleaner" image than the Beatles, the Dave Clark Five made 18 appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, more than any other UK group.



In spite of their huge success for a period, bolstered by the movie and a television special, the major hits dried up after 1967's "You Got What It Takes". The DC5's efforts to embrace the prevailing trend of psychedelia were not successful. Finally its all over, they disbanded in 1970, having placed a further three singles on the UK chart that year.[wikipedia]

ഌ CULTURE CLUB, Do You Really Want To Hurt Me|Karma Chamleon|Move Away

Culture Club is a Grammy Award-winning British pop group that formed in the early 1980s. The band consisted of Boy George (lead vocals), Mikey Craig (bass guitar), Roy Hay (guitar and keyboards), and Jon Moss (drums and percussion).

It was with the release of their third single "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me", a reggae-influenced number, that the group scored one of its biggest hits. The song went to #1 in the UK in late 1982 and became an international smash, peaking at #1 in over a dozen countries (#2 US). With George's eccentric and androgynous look and long hair, the band's debut on Top of the Pops caused headlines such as "Wally of the week" and "Mr. (or is it Mrs.?) Weird" .


The first single "Move Away" became a hit, peaking at UK #7 and US #12, and the album seemed capable of returning Culture Club back to hit-making status. George's drug addiction began to circulate in British and American tabloids, which were denied by the singer. In July 1986, he was arrested by the British police for possession of cannabis. The band broke up and George pursued a solo career with several European hits and a couple of US Top 40 hits. [wikipedia]




Saturday, March 21, 2009

ഌ CYNDI LAUPER, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun|Time After Time|True Colors

Cyndi Lauper born Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper (born June 22, 1953) in Queens, New York is an American Grammy - and Emmy award winning singer-songwriter and actress. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album 'She's So Unusual', and became the first artist to have four top-five singles released from one album and became a worldwide hit and spread like wildfire. At the time Lauper became popular with teenagers and critics, in part due to her hybrid punk image. (Personally I quite like her 'cute' unique voice easily recognizable). Lauper has released 11 albums and over 40 singles, selling more than 25 million albums and singles worldwide.




Lauper knew she could write songs, but the record company had a lot of material they wanted her to record. She altered a lot of the songs that were thrown her way, often changing the lyrics to suit her. (This would end up helping her in the long run financially as she could claim credit as a co-writer and collect royalties.) An example is "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", Lauper says the original lyrics of the song dealt more with a girl pleasing a man, therefore she changed the lyrics, wanting the song to be more of an anthem as she felt the original song seemed misogynistic.




The album's second single was the ballad "Time After Time". Lauper co-wrote "Time After Time" with Rob Hyman when her producer, Rick Chertoff, suggested to the band that the album could use one more song. The record label did not have much faith in Lauper as a songwriter, but they gave her the chance to prove herself. "Time After Time" was one of the biggest hits of 1984. It has been covered by more than 100 artists. Lauper came up with the title for "Time After Time" while reading TV Guide — Time After Time was a 1979 science fiction movie starring Malcolm McDowell as H. G. Wells, portraying him inventing and then traveling in a time machine. She has also stated that the apartment that she shared with David in New York had a very loud alarm clock, and that's where the lyrics "I hear the clock tick and think of you" originated. [wikipedia]


ഌ CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL, Proud Mary|Have You Ever Seen The Rain|Hey Tonight|Who'll Stop The Rain|Midnight Special|Down On The Corner

Creedence Clearwater Revival (often abbreviated CCR) was an American rock and roll band who gained popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s with a number of successful singles drawn from various albums. The group consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist and primary lyricist John Fogerty, rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty, bassist Stu Cook, and drummer Doug Clifford. John Fogerty, Doug Clifford, and Stu Cook (all born 1945) met at senior high school in El Cerrito, California and began playing instrumentals and "juke box standards" together under the name The Blue Velvets. The trio also backed singer Tom Fogerty— John's older brother by three years—at live gigs and in the recording studio.



I want to know, have you ever seen the rain?
I want to know, have you ever seen the rain
Comin down on a sunny day?



'Pendulum', released in December 1970, was another top seller, spawning a Top 10 hit with "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?". The album marked yet another shift in the band's approach: gone was the wall of sound of Creedence's previous three albums. The single's flip side, the ringing "Hey Tonight" was also a hit. [wikipedia]



Long as I remember
The rain been comin' down.
Clouds of myst'ry pourin'
Confusion on the ground.
Good men through the ages,
Tryin' to find the sun;
And I wonder, Still I wonder,
Who'll stop the rain





Down On The Corner, out in the street,
Willy and the Poorboys are playin';
Bring a nickel; tap your feet.

ഌ CORRS, Breathless|Runaway|Radio|So Young

The Corrs are a Celtic folk rock group from Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland. The group consists of the Corr siblings: Andrea (vocals, tin whistle); Sharon (violin, vocals); Caroline (drums, percussion, bodhrán, keyboards, vocals); and Jim (guitar, keyboards, vocals).

'Talk on Corners', their most successful album to date, reached multi-platinum status in Australia and the UK. The Corrs collaborated with Robert Lange to produce a mainstream hit single, "Breathless", which reached number 34 in the Billboard Hot 100, number seven in Australia, number three in Ireland and New Zealand, and topped the charts in the UK. The album went straight to number one in the Irish Albums Chart, the third highest single-week sales in the history of the charts, behind U2’s The Best of 1980-1990 and Oasis' Be Here Now. 'In Blue' achieved platinum sales in the US, double platinum in the UK, and quadruple platinum in Australia.




The Corrs came to international prominence with their performance at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Since then, they have released five studio albums and numerous singles, which have reached platinum in many countries.



The Corrs have been actively involved in philanthropic activities. They have performed in numerous charity concerts such as the Prince's Trust in 2004 and Live 8 alongside Bono in 2005. The same year, they were awarded honorary MBEs for their contributions to music and charity. The Corrs are on hiatus because Sharon, Jim, and Caroline are raising families, while Andrea is pursuing a solo career.



The Corrs' parents are Gerry Corr, a manager of the payroll department of the Irish Electricity Supply Board, and his wife, Jean, a homemaker, who died in 1999 while waiting for a lung transplant. They raised their family in Dundalk, Ireland. Gerry and Jean performed together as a band called Sound Affair, and often brought their children to their performances, where they played songs by ABBA and the Eagles in local pubs.

With the encouragement of their parents, Jim took guitar lessons, Sharon played the violin, Caroline studied the drums, and Andrea took up the tin whistle. They were also taught the piano by their father. Throughout their teenage years, the children would practice in Jim's bedroom at a rented house. Andrea sang lead vocals, Sharon played the violin, and Caroline and Jim played the keyboards. [wikipedia]

ഌ EARTH HOUR - 28 MARCH 2009


If MOTHER EARTH could talk the VERY first word she would most probably utter would be ".:M:O:A:N:." Do your part in order to make your wishes come true. VOTE EARTH BY SIMPLY SWITCHING OFF YOUR LIGHTS FOR ONE HOUR AND JOIN THE WORLD FOR EARTH HOUR ..
ON 28 MARCH 2009 (SATURDAY) FROM 20:30HRS - 21:30HRS LOCAL TIME.

Friday, March 20, 2009

ഌ CONNIE FRANCIS, Who's Sorry Now|Stupid Cupid|Lipstick On Your Collar|Everybody's Somebody's Fool|Where The Boys Are

Connie Francis was born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1938) in the Italian Down Neck, or Ironbound, neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey. She is an American pop singer best known for several international hit songs including "Who's Sorry Now?", "Where the Boys Are", and "Stupid Cupid". She topped the Billboard charts on three occasions with "Everybody's Somebody's Fool", "My Heart Has a Mind Of Its Own" and "Don't Break the Heart That Loves You" and is listed as the 26th most popular artist of the 1950s and the 8th most popular artist of the 1960s based on her chart success. She is considered the most prolific and popular female rock 'n' roll hit-maker of the early rock era. [wikipedia]









Thursday, March 19, 2009

ഌ Next Posting...

Coming up soon:

Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero with her hit songs, 'Stupid Cupid' & 'Lipstick On Your Collar'.

Rings a bell???

Saturday, March 14, 2009

ഌ COMMODORES, Three Times A Lady|Easy|Nightshift|Brick House

The Commodores are an American funk/soul band of the 1970s and 1980s. The members of the group met as freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown in November 1972. The Commodores originally called themselves the Jays, but had to change their name because of the similarly named O'Jays. This group is best known for its ballads, such as "Easy" and "Three Times a Lady".
'There's something, I must say out loud. You're once, twice. Three times a lady. Yes you're once, twice. Three times a lady...'

Many of their hit tunes were written or co-written by Walter "Clyde" Orange, the original lead singer before Lionel Richie came on board. Lionel and Clyde alternated as lead singers. Clyde was also the lead singer on "Nightshift" and "Brick House" among others. Clyde now lives with his family in Coral Springs, Florida and has three children named Paula, Colin and Cody.

Band members typically alternated lead vocal duties. After Richie left to pursue a solo career, former Heatwave singer J.D. Nicholas assumed co-lead vocal duties with drummer Walter "Clyde" Orange. "Nightshift" won The Commodores their only Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals. Today, the Commodores consist of Walter "Clyde" Orange, James Dean "J.D." Nicholas and William "WAK" King, along with a backing band. King married songwriter Shirley Hanna-King ("Brick House" co-writer) in 1976. Together they have four children, Adam, Ryan Hanna, Leah Hanna and Noah. [wikipedia]

Friday, March 13, 2009

ഌ CLIFF RICHARD, Living Doll|Bachelor Boy|Constantly

Sir Cliff Richard, OBE (born Harry Rodger Webb on 14 October 1940) in Lucknow, India is an English singer-songwriter, actor and entrepreneur.
With his backing group The Shadows, Richard dominated the British popular music scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s, before and during The Beatles' first year in the charts.

During six decades, Cliff Richard has charted many singles, and holds the record (with Elvis Presley) as the only act to make the UK singles charts in all of its decades (1950s–2000s). He is the only singer to have had a number one single in the UK in five consecutive decades between the 1950s and the 1990s. If he can chart a single at number one in 2009 he will continue this record to six decades. On the British charts, Richard has had more than 130 singles, albums and EPs make the top 20, more than any other artist. He has sold more than 260 million records.


Cliff and the Drifters hit #1 single for the first time in 1959 with 'Living Doll' selling almost two million copies and subsequently the Drifters became 'The Shadows' after legal complication with the U.S. Drifters.




ഌ CLIFF RICHARD, Congratulations|Devil Woman|We Don't Talk Anymore

In 1968 Cliff sang the UK's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest: "Congratulations" by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter; it lost by just one point to Spain's "La La La". Nevertheless, "Congratulations" was a huge hit throughout Europe and yet another No.1 in April.

America had always seemed elusive for Cliff, however he undertook his first ever publicity US tour for a duration of four weeks, and by the end of June the first single, 'Devil Woman', entered the Billboard charts at No.88 and began to steadily climb and hang-on through July and August. While on tour in Russia, news broke that 'Devil Woman' had become Cliff's first top ten in the US. It went on to reach No.5 and become a US million-seller.


In 1979, Cliff teamed up with the producer Bruce Welch for the pop hit single "We Don't Talk Anymore", which hit #1 in the UK and #7 in the U.S. The record gave Cliff the distinction of becoming the first act to reach the Hot 100 in the 1980s who had also reached the Hot 100 in each of the three previous decades. It was his first time at the top of the UK singles chart in over ten years, and the song would become his biggest-selling single ever.

ഌ CLIFF RICHARD, Ocean Deep|Royal Variety Performance

Cliff was knighted on 25 October 1995 and as an Entrepreneur, Sir Cliff Richard has become joint owner of the Arora International Hotel in Manchester, which opened in June 2004. He also owns a rather fine Quinta in the Algarve, Portugal, where he is involved in the production of wines at the Adega do Cantor (“Winery of the Singer”), a state-of-the-art winery in Guia, near Albufeira. In 2006, Sir Cliff Richard received Portugal’s equivalent of a knighthood in recognition of his 40 years of personal and business involvement in that country. Sir Cliff Richard's premise is that his decision not to adopt the "sex, drugs and alcohol" image expected of rock stars, then and now, was the truly avant-garde choice.[wikipedia]


The legendary Sir Cliff Richard & The Shadows got reunited and performed at the Royal Variety Performance in 2008 singing The Young Ones|Willy And The Hand Jive|Move It with Bruce Welch (left) and Hank Marvin (right).

Thursday, March 12, 2009

ഌ CILLA BLACK, You're My World|Something Tells Me

Cilla Black OBE (born Priscilla Maria Veronica White on 27 May 1943 in Liverpool) is an English singer-songwriter and television personality. The local music paper 'Mersey Beat' misprinted her name as Cilla Black, but Epstein liked the sound of it. After a successful recording career, she went on to become the highest paid female presenter in British television history. Cilla Black outsold all other female recording artists in Britain during the 60s and was the second most successful act after the Beatles to emerge out of the 60s Liverpool Merseybeatboom. She has released 15 studio albums and 37 singles (many of which have charted world-wide).[wikipedia]



ഌ CHUBBY CHECKER, TheTwist|Let's Twist Again

Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans, October 3, 1941) in Spring Gulley, South Carolina, is an American singer-songwriter best known for popularizing the The Twist with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit "The Twist". In September 2008, "The Twist" topped Billboard's list of the most popular singles to have appeared in the Hot 100 since its debut in 1958.

Most Babyboomers would never forget how they first started to learn 'The Twist' by holding both ends of a towel behind their back and pulling it from left to right and left with both hands and at the same time twisting the body. Yeah real cool...

More Twist - Chubby Checker performing his signature hit 47 years later...

ഌ CHUBBY CHECKER, Limbo Rock|Knock Down The Walls

Every Limbo boy and girl
All around the limbo world
Gonna do the Limbo Rock
All around the limbo clock

Jack be limbo, Jack be quick
Jack go unda limbo stick
All around the limbo clock
Hey, let's do the limbo rock...

Limbo lower now
Limbo lower now
How low can you go
...

Chubby Checker performing his new song "Knock Down the Walls". This clip was part of a November 24, 2007 telecast that was a charity benefit for the Aids Services of the Monadnock Region and appeared on Cheshire TV Ch. 8 public access in Keene, NH. Thanks to Erniebaud for the Video Clip.

ഌ CHRISTINA AGUILERA, Reflection|Beautiful

Christina María Aguilera (born December 18, 1980) in Staten Island, New York is an American pop/R&B singer and songwriter. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The New Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994. Aguilera signed to RCA Records after recording "Reflection" for the film Mulan.
The second single, "Beautiful", was a commercial success and sustained the album's sales amidst controversy over Aguilera's sexual image. [adapted from wikipedia]




ഌ CHRISTIE, Yellow River|San Bernadino

"Yellow River" is a popular song recorded by the British band, Christie and the song was written by band leader Jeff Christie. It was released in May 1970, and it became a massive international hit, reaching #1 on the UK singles chart for a single week in June 1970. It also reached #23 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the US accumulating more weeks than any other entry on the chart completely inside 1970.

The song is the thoughts of a young man whose time in the army is over and he is looking forward to returning to his home town in the country on Yellow River, Iowa . The British video had the group on a barge sailing down the River Thames through London.[wikipedia]



"Put my gun down, the war is won
Fill my glass high, the time has come
I'm goin' back to the place that I love, Yellow River
Yellow River, Yellow River, is in my mind and in my eyes
Yellow River, Yellow River, is in my blood, it's the place I love..."

Friday, March 6, 2009

ഌ CHORDETTES , Mr Sandman|Lollipop|Never On Sunday|

The Chordettes were a female popular singing quartet, usually singing a cappella, and specializing in traditional pop music. The Chordettes were one of the longest lived vocal groups with roots in the mainstream pop and vocal harmonies of the 1940s and early 1950s. Although the arrangements owed more to The Andrews Sisters than doo-wop, they did, unlike many of their peers, prove fairly adaptable to the rock and roll era. First establishing themselves with the huge hit record, "Mr. Sandman" in 1954, they continued to chart in the last half of the 1950s and the early 1960s, often with cover versions of rock and R&B songs. Their #2 1958 hit "Lollipop" was the biggest of these.





The group organized in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, in 1946. The original members of the group were Janet Ertel (1913 - November 4, 1988), Carol Buschmann (her sister-in-law), Dorothy Schwartz and Jinny Osborn (or Jinny Lockard) (April 25, 1928 - May 19, 2003). In 1952, Lynn Evans replaced Schwartz, and in 1953, Margie Needham replaced Osborn (who was having a baby), although Osborn later returned to the group. Nancy Overton (born February 6, 1926) also was a member of the group at a later time. Originally they sang folk music in the style of The Weavers, but eventually changed to a harmonizing style of the type known as barbershop harmony or close harmony. Part of this change seems to be influenced by Osborn's father. [wikipedia]

ഌ CHICAGO, You're the Inspiration|If You Leave Me Now

Chicago is one of the longest running and most successful American pop rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois to survive four decades. They have sold over 120 million albums worldwide, scoring 22 gold, 18 platinum, and 8 multi platinum albums. Over the course of their career they have charted five No. 1 albums, and have had 21 top ten hits.


"You're the meaning in my life
you're the inspiration.
You bring feeling to my life
you're the inspiration.
Wanna have you near me
I wanna have you hear me sayin':
No one needs you more than I need you."

ഌ CHICAGO, Hard To Say I'm Sorry/Get Away|Saturday In The Park


It all began with a few music students from DePaul University who got together playing as a band, on and off campus. Their band members grew to seven players and started to name the band, 'The Big Thing'. When 'The Big Thing' was too big to handle, they changed their name to 'Chicago Transit Authority' and later after the Authority got lost in transit, the band's name was shortened to just 'Chicago'.

ഌ CHICAGO, Will You Still Love Me|25 or 6 to 4


Cannot help listening to Chicago again and again like a mantra, it's so soothing, COOL...

Thursday, March 5, 2009

ഌ CHER, Believe|Gypsys Tramps and Thieves

Cher ( born Cherilyn Sarkisian on May 20, 1946 in El Centro, California) is an American pop singer-songwriter, actor, director and record producer who is well known for her deep contralto vocal range. She has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards and was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.


Her smash hit dance single "Believe" is her biggest-selling recording, having sold over 10 million copies worldwide. She is the only female recording artist to have Top 10 hits in every decade beginning in the 1960s and the oldest female artist to reach number one. With a career lasting over 40 years, Cher is an enduring pop culture icon and one of the most popular and biggest-selling artists in music history, currently performing at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas with her show "Cher at the Colosseum".



Cher came to prominence in 1965 as one half of the pop/rock duo Sonny & Cher. She subsequently established herself as a solo recording artist, a television star in the 1970s, and a film actress in the 1980s, starring in a string of hit films including The Witches of Eastwick, Silkwood, Mask and Moonstruck, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. [wikipedia]

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

ഌ CELINE DION, My Heart Will Go On

Céline Marie Claudette Dion, CC, OQ (born March 30, 1968 in Charlemagne, Quebec) is a Canadian sopranosinger, songwriter, and recording artist. Winning both the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival and the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest catapulted her to international recognition. It don't come easy to start of her singing career as her manager and future husband Rene Angelil mortgaged his home to finance her first record. She was inducted into the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame, and was honoured with a star on Canada's Walk of Fame. She also won the Grammy Awards for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" and the most coveted "Record of the Year" for "My Heart Will Go On" (the song won four awards, but two were presented to the songwriters). Most would associate TitaniCeline with the movie 'Titanic' and the unforgettable caption - 'You Jump I Jump'.


The New York Times writes
“ Ms. Dion...is a belter with a high, thin, slightly nasal, nearly vibratoless soprano and a good-sized arsenal of technical skills. She can deliver tricky melismas, produce expressive vocal catches and sustain long notes without the tiniest wavering of pitch. And as her hit duets...have shown, she is a reliable harmony voice."

ഌ CELINE DION, Beauty and the Beast|The Power of Love


This song was sang by Celine and Terry Bradford in her Memphis Concert

ഌ CELINE DION, Power of the Dream

The power of the dream, the faith in things unseen, the courage to embrace your fear. No matter where you are, to reach for your own star, to realize the power of the dream, to realize the power of the dream.

Feel the flame forever burn
Teaching lessons we must learn
To bring us closer to the power of the dream
The world unites in hope and peace
We pray that it will always be
It is the power of the dream that brings us here