Reminder: U.S. markets will be closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday.

Time for the long weekend open thread, where you can talk about whatever you like.

For the last of this summer’s one-hit wonders, I am going to push the limits a little. Murray Head originally reached #14 on the U.S. charts in 1969 with Superstar, from the play Jesus Christ Superstar:

Head played Judas Iscariot in the play. But he had a much bigger hit 25 years later, in 1984, with One Night in Bangkok, from the play Chess. The song reached #3 on the U.S. charts, and #1 in 10 other countries:

The music for One Night in Bangkok was written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA (who knew a little bit about writing international hit songs), while the lyrics were written by Ulvaeus and Tim Rice. Rice is known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber (i.e. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Evita). So One Night in Bangkok has a good artistic pedigree.

Unfortunately, this song also gets a William Shatner award for worst cover, from Mike Tyson (yes, THAT Mike Tyson) in the movie Hangover 2:

However, there is a runner-up for the Shatner award: Robey, an actress (best known from the syndicated Friday the 13th tv series) who thinks she can sing:

At least Tyson’s version was mercifully short, and played for laughs. Robey doesn’t even have that excuse.

Enjoy your long weekend folks, and I’ll see you next week! I am outta here!

This week we return to my previous theme of “summer of one hit wonders” for the weekend open thread, where you can discuss any topic you like.

Today, we look at Nick Gilder. Although he did chart as the lead singer for the band Sweeney Todd, his solo career had only one number one hit, Hot Child in the City, back in 1978:

According to a Rolling Stone interview with Gilder, this is why he wrote the song:

“I’ve seen a lot of young girls, 15 and 16, walking down Hollywood Boulevard with their pimps. Their home environment drove them to distraction so they ran away, only to be trapped by something even worse. It hurts to see that so I tried writing from the perspective of a lecher — in the guise of an innocent pop song.”

I question whether taking the perspective of a lecher provides a view sympathetic to the poor girls involved in teenage prostitution. Regardless, it does make for a good song, even if it screams for a Marilyn Manson cover due to the evil nature of the lyrics (sadly, he never covered it).

Speaking of covers, there haven’t been any covers of the song by big name acts. However, most of the lesser acts which have covered it seem to have little trouble (Note: If you are in a band just starting, this is a great song to cover!). But standing out from the crowd takes some work.

One of the few that does is a band named Int’l Male, whose version has a 70’s synthesized sound to it, and includes a cute little spoken riff in the David Lee Roth style (stolen almost verbatim from the Van Halen song Panama) which suits the song perfectly:

Enjoy your weekend folks!

Say goodbye to another week, as it is time for the weekend open thread, where the topics are your choice!

Continuing my theme of the summer of one-hit wonders, I offer a song from a 10-time Grammy winner, yet he only has one hit: Bobby McFerrin. Of course, the song is Don’t Worry, Be Happy, which was written by McFerrin, based on a poster:

The Indian mystic and sage Meher Baba (1894–1969) often used the expression “Don’t worry, be happy” when cabling his followers in the West. However, Meher Baba communicated variations of the sentiment; fuller versions of the quote – such as, “Do your best. Then, don’t worry; be happy in My love. I will help you” — which incorporate responsibility with detachment, as well as the master/disciple spiritual relationship. In the 1960s, the truncated version of this expression by Baba was printed up on inspiration cards and posters of the era. In 1988, McFerrin noticed a similar poster in the apartment of the jazz band Tuck & Patti in San Francisco. Inspired by the expression’s charm and simplicity, McFerrin wrote the now famous song, which was included in the soundtrack of the movie Cocktail, and became a hit single the next year. In an interview by Bruce Fessier for USA Weekend magazine in 1988 McFerrin said, “Whenever you see a poster of Meher Baba, it usually says ‘Don’t worry, be happy,’ which is a pretty neat philosophy in four words, I think.”

The video for the song surprised me, especially the cameo by Robin Williams. Note the newspaper headline early in the video:

A good song for a bear market.

Speaking of the movie Cocktail, it is actually a not-too-bad romantic film. If you have to watch a chick flick, you could do much worse. The Cocktail soundtrack also featured the last number 1 hit by the Beach Boys, Kokomo:

(Yes, that was actor John Stamos playing the drums in the video.)

That is it for me this week. Enjoy your weekend, and try not to worry!

Let’s move ahead to the weekend, shall we? Welcome to the weekend open thread, where you folks can discuss whatever topics strike your fancy.

As usual, I am continuing with my summer of one-hit wonders theme. For this weekend, I offer a song which was featured in one of the few funny scenes in the movie Men in Black II:

Nobody will ever mistake Baha Men’s Who Let the Dogs out for great music, but it is a fun little tune, in spite of frequent appearances on worst/most annoying song lists. The song lends itself easily to comedy, based on the video above, as well as appearances in Rugrats in Paris: The Movie, The Shaggy Dog, The Hangover, The Simpsons, and South Park.

So just enjoy the song, and try not to take it seriously:

Like the song, enjoy your weekend, and leave the seriousness behind!

Bring on the weekend! As well as the usual open thread, where you can pontificate on any topic you like.

In my ongoing “summer of one-hit wonders” series, I offer you one of the classic one-hit wonders from the 1980’s: Tainted Love by Soft Cell.

The funny thing about Soft Cell’s version is that it was a cover of the 1965 version by singer Gloria Jones:

Jones never managed to hit the charts with Tainted Love. In fact, aside from Soft Cell, the only other act to chart the song was Marilyn Manson in 2001, with his unique sound:

But the most fun cover of Tainted Love was from the indie rock band Francine:

That’s it for me this week. Enjoy your weekend! Next week should be interesting, since it will be the last week of the month.

Stick a fork in this week, because it’s over! Welcome to another weekend open thread, where you can discuss whatever you like.

Continuing my theme of the summer of one-hit wonders, today I offer you one of the few one-hit wonders to actually chart twice with the same song: Benny Mardones, with Into the Night.

The song originally reached #11 on the U.S. charts in 1980, followed by a return visit in 1989 to #20. The second trip up the charts was kind of a fluke. From Wikipedia:

In 1989, KZZP, a radio station in Arizona, ran a segment titled “Where Are They Now?” The most popular question was “Whatever happened to the guy who sang ‘Into the Night’?” Scott Shannon, then program director for Pirate Radio in Los Angeles, added “Into the Night” to its playlist. Radio stations across the country followed suit and “Into the Night” was once again a hit.

Sadly, there aren’t many covers of Into the Night, a song which begs for a great voice to cover it. The only decent cover I could find was by reggae singer Tifa:

That is all for me. Enjoy your weekend folks!

I’m cutting out early today, so welcome to the weekend, and your weekend open thread, where you can discuss whatever you like.

Continuing with my theme of the summer of one-hit wonders, I offer Norman Greenbaum. Aside from dj’s, most people won’t recognize his name, but they will probably remember his one hit, Spirit in the Sky:

How did Greenbaum, born and raised a Jew, write a song with such strong Christian overtones? From an interview he did with Examiner.com:

…I’m a writer and I’ve always thought I can write about anything I want to write about. I was into all kinds of music from jug band music to country music. I was taken by Porter Wagoner, he’d wear these snazzy coats that he’d got from Nudie’s in North Hollywood and had a big pompadour. And he was kind of interesting. He had a show on TV and I’d watch it. One day he’s singing this song about a preacher and I said, “Wow that’s a little out of my league to write about preachers and stuff, but I can do it.” And that’s what I did. But it had nothing to do about having a religious background. Many people thought I was tongue- in- cheek and making fun by saying, “Never been a Sinner” but basically I didn’t know any better. I just did it at the top of my head and put music to it that was unbelievable when you think of a spiritual type of song and it was very risky. But as it developed, the producer and I both knew we had something.

…If you ask me what I based “Spirit In The Sky” on… What did we grow up watching? …Westerns! These mean and nasty varmints get shot and they wanted to die with their boots on. So to me that was spiritual, they wanted to die with their boots on.

…The song itself was simple, when you’re writing a song you keep it simple of course. It wasn’t like a Christian song of praise it was just a simple song. I had to use Christianity because I had to use something. But more important it wasn’t the Jesus part, it was the spirit in the sky. Funny enough… I wanted to die with my boots on.

The song only reached #3 on the U.S. charts, but was #1 in Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, and the UK.

Spirit in the Sky has had multiple covers, including one by Elton John:

But the best cover, in my opinion, was by a band called Stellar Kart. Almost all of the covers by other musicians are too similar to the original (including Elton John’s version above). But Stellar Kart opens with a ZZTop-like guitar riff, followed by a punk version of the song:

There is nothing like a fresh take on a great original!

With that, I am calling the week over. Have a great weekend folks!

(hat tip to Wikipedia for the pic)

Enjoy your weekend open thread (remember, U.S. markets are closed tomorrow), where you can talk about anything you like.

In continuing my “summer of one-hit wonders” theme, today I will cover a one hit wonder in the lyric-writing category: Francis Scott Key. According to Wikipedia, Key “was an American lawyer, author, and amateur poet, from Georgetown, who wrote the lyrics to the United States’ national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner”.” That one song was the only thing for which he was remembered.

The song itself has an interesting history:

On September 3, 1814, following the Burning of Washington and the Raid on Alexandria, Francis Scott Key and John Stuart Skinner set sail from Baltimore aboard the ship HMS Minden, flying a flag of truce on a mission approved by President James Madison. Their objective was to secure the exchange of prisoners, one of whom was Dr. William Beanes, the elderly and popular town physician of Upper Marlboro and a friend of Key’s who had been captured in his home. Beanes was accused of aiding the arrest of British soldiers. Key and Skinner boarded the British flagship HMS Tonnant on September 7 and spoke with Major General Robert Ross and Vice Admiral Alexander Cochrane over dinner while the two officers discussed war plans. At first, Ross and Cochrane refused to release Beanes, but relented after Key and Skinner showed them letters written by wounded British prisoners praising Beanes and other Americans for their kind treatment.

Because Key and Skinner had heard details of the plans for the attack on Baltimore, they were held captive until after the battle, first aboard HMS Surprise and later back on HMS Minden. After the bombardment, certain British gunboats attempted to slip past the fort and effect a landing in a cove to the west of it, but they were turned away by fire from nearby Fort Covington, the city’s last line of defense.

During the rainy night, Key had witnessed the bombardment and observed that the fort’s smaller “storm flag” continued to fly, but once the shell and Congreve rocket[4] barrage had stopped, he would not know how the battle had turned out until dawn. By then, the storm flag had been lowered and the larger flag had been raised.

During the bombardment, HMS Erebus provided the “rockets’ red glare”. HMS Meteor provided at least some of the “bombs bursting in air”.

Key was inspired by the American victory and the sight of the large American flag flying triumphantly above the fort. This flag, with fifteen stars and fifteen stripes, had been made by Mary Young Pickersgill together with other workers in her home on Baltimore’s Pratt Street. The flag later came to be known as the Star Spangled Banner Flag and is today on display in the National Museum of American History, a treasure of the Smithsonian Institution. It was restored in 1914 by Amelia Fowler, and again in 1998 as part of an ongoing conservation program.

Aboard the ship the next day, Key wrote a poem on the back of a letter he had kept in his pocket. At twilight on September 16, he and Skinner were released in Baltimore. He completed the poem at the Indian Queen Hotel, where he was staying, and titled it “Defence of Fort M’Henry”.

Much of the idea of the poem, including the flag imagery and some of the wording, is derived from an earlier song by Key, also set to the tune of The Anacreontic Song. The song, known as “When the Warrior Returns”, was written in honor of Stephen Decatur and Charles Stewart on their return from the First Barbary War.

“The Star-Spangled Banner” was recognized for official use by the Navy in 1889, and by President Woodrow Wilson in 1916, and was made the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931 (46 Stat. 1508, codified at 36 U.S.C. § 301), which was signed by President Herbert Hoover.

The first time the song was ever released as a single and reached #50 on the U.S. charts, was a version done by José Feliciano at the beginning of a 1968 World Series game:

The next memorable version was the one by Jimi Hendrix, played in 1969 at Woodstock:

However, all versions pale before the one performed by Whitney Houston at Super Bowl XXV in 1991. Even though it occurred several weeks after the start of “Desert Storm”, the first major U.S. military operation since Vietnam, the song was performed to perfection, and remains the standard by which all versions of the National Anthem get measured. While it only reached number 20 on the U.S. charts when it was initially released, it was re-released after 9/11, and reached number 6 on the U.S. charts, and even reached number 5 in Canada:

(I apologize for the beginning titles on this video, specifically for the “just a woman” comment, which I consider unnecessarily sexist. However, the rest of the video serves it’s purpose.)

Enjoy your 4th of July weekend folks, and I will be back next week.

Normally, I wouldn’t post the weekend open thread this early, but I have a busy day ahead, and I am not sure when I will be home. So here is your place to discuss any topic you like.

In continuing with my “summer of one-hit wonders”, I offer you the song which was named the “#1 Greatest One-Hit Wonder of all Time” by VH1, Los del Rio’s Macarena:

Although Los del Rio formed in 1962, it wasn’t until Macarena that the duo had an international hit. The song itself has an interesting history (from Wikipedia):

As a result of their lounge act, Los del Río were invited to tour South America in March 1992 and, while visiting Venezuela, they were invited to a private party held by the Venezuelan empresario Gustavo Cisneros. Many prominent Venezuelans were in attendance that night, including former president Carlos Andrés Pérez.

Cisneros had arranged for a local flamenco teacher, Diana Patricia Cubillán Herrera, to do a small performance for the guests, and Los Del Rio were pleasantly surprised by Cubillán’s dance skills. Spontaneously, Antonio Romero Monge, one half of the Los del Río duo, recited the song’s chorus-to-be on the spot, as an accolade to Cubillán, but naming her “Ma’dalena” (Magdalena): “Dale a tu cuerpo alegría, Ma’dalena, que tu cuerpo e’ pa’ darle alegría y cosa’ buena'” (“Give your body some joy, Magdalene, ’cause your body is for giving joy and good things to”). In Andalusian culture labeling a woman “Magdalena” is to give her a faint association with Mary Magdalene’s reportedly seedy past, and more accurately describes her as being sassy or sensuous.

The song was originally recorded in 1992, and released in 1993 as a rumba. This was the first of six versions of the song that can be associated with Los Del Rio. Another version, a new flamenco rumba pop fusion theme with fully Spanish lyrics, attained significant success in Spain, Colombia and Mexico. It also became popular in Puerto Rico because of its use as an unofficial campaign theme song for then-governor Pedro Rosselló, who was seeking reelection under the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico’s ticket. Being the base for many cruise ships, visitors to the island were constantly exposed to the song during their stay in Puerto Rico. This may explain how the song spread to—and became a hit in—cities with sizable Latino communities in the United States, particularly Miami and New York City.

In mid-1996, the song became a world wide hit when the Bayside Boys—a trio of producers composed of Mike Triay, Carlos de Yarza, and Jammin Johnny Caride—produced a remix of the song which added English lyrics. Jammin Johnny Caride, a radio personality at Power 96 in Miami, first learned of the “Macarena” when clubgoers at a club where he worked as a deejay requested the song. Caride brought the “Macarena” to his supervisors at Power 96 who asked him to create an English-language version of the song.

Caride recruited his two partners at Bayside Records, Mike “In The Night” Triay and Carlos de Yarza, to remix the original song. The new, English-language lyrics were written by Yarza and Triay. The trio, known as the Bayside Boys, added a new dance beat specifically targeted to American audiences with English-language lyrics sung by Carla Vanessa. The finished version was called “Macarena (Bayside Boys Remix).” The Bayside Boys remix hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1996 and remained at the top of the chart for fourteen weeks.

While there are multiple covers of Macarena, none of them match the Bayside Boys Remix version. However, the most unusual version might be from the Bollywood movie Auzaar:

That’s it for me this week. Enjoy your Friday, and your weekend folks!

Another week ends, and another weekend open thread comes around. Feel free to discuss whatever you like here.

Here is my continuing “summer of one hit wonders” series. Today, I offer Rick Derringer. If you don’t remember him, I know you will remember his only hit:

Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo is a somewhat silly song lyrically, but the music makes it work. It is almost a stereotype of 1970’s music.

Derringer originally wrote the song for Johnny Winter, who did a good version of it in 1970, although he never released it as a single (it was included in the Johnny Winter And album).

Most covers of Rock and Roll have been either too similar to the original, or just plain awful. I was thoroughly disappointed with Van Halen’s cover of it, although it was from 1976, so I will excuse it as an early mistake by them. Van Halen tried to do something original with it, and just made a mess.

Surprisingly, the best cover was by a band named Gypsyhawk. While their cover is quite true to the original, they capture the spirit of the song and even manage to improve on it slightly:

That’s it for me this week. Have a great weekend folks!