Ringo + Ronnie 2014-08-10 12.19

The Ronettes – “Be My Baby”

Ringo + Ronnie 2014-08-10 12.19

Ronnie Spector turns 71 years old today. Along with her sister Estelle and cousin Nedra, Ronnie, then Veronica “Ronnie” Bennett, formed The Ronettes, one of the classic girl groups of the sixties.

The trio was signed to Colpix Records, but none of their singles performed well. Then they met Phil Spector, who signed them to his label, Philles.

The first track Spector recorded with the trio was “Why Don’t They Let Us Fall in Love?,” which, though the girls liked it, Spector held from release.

With Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, Phil Spector wrote “Be My Baby,” with the intention of having Ronnie Bennett, the woman he wanted to be his baby, record it.

The resulting record had a classic Spector wall of sound production and Phil recorded more than 40 takes. It took Ronnie three days to get the lead vocal down.

The other Ronettes don’t sing on “Be My Baby.” Background vocals were provided by Darlene Love, Nino Tempo, Sonny Bono, who did promotion for Phil Spector, and Bono’s girlfriend, Cher.

In 1963, The Ronettes’ “Be My Baby” rose to #2 on Billboard’s Hot 100. Since that time it has made many lists of the greatest recordings. Among its biggest fans is Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, who named it is favorite single of all-time, saying “This is a special one for me. What a great sound, the Wall of Sound. Boy, first heard this on the car radio and I had to pull off the road, I couldn’t believe it. The choruses blew me away; the strings are the melody of love. It has the promise to make the world better.”

Ronnie Bennett married Phil Spector in 1968. They divorced in 1974.

Today’s playlist consists of twenty tracks embodying the classic girl groups sound, with an emphasis on The Ronettes.

Winston + Whitney 2014-08-07 18.58

Boy Meets Girl Meet Future Superstar

Do you remember the musical duo Boys Meets Girl? Neither do I, but they had a top 5 single in 1988 named “Waiting for a Star to Fall.” This post is not about that song.

A few years prior to that hit they were signed to A&M Records, for whom they had a top 40 single in 1985 named “Oh Girl.” This post is not about that song.

Also signed to A&M at that time was Janet Jackson, who had released two albums – Janet Jackson in 1982 and Dream Street in 1984. Neither had sold particularly well. A&M asked Boy Meets Girl to write a song for Ms. Jackson. They came up with a ditty they called “How Will I Know.” They sent it off to Janet’s people, who said “No, thank you.”

Someone from the pair’s publishing company sent the demo of “How Will I Know” to Gerry Griffith, who worked at Arista Records’ A&R department and was looking for material for a new teenage artist he signed to the label. Griffith liked the track and presented it to the young singer, along with another song, entitled “You Give Good Love.”

In 1985, “You Give Good Love” was the first single released from the singer’s self-titled debut album. It reached #3 on the pop chart. The follow-up single, “Saving All My Love for You,” went to #1. “How Will I Know” was the third single from the album, and it became the singer’s second #1. This was followed by “Greatest Love of All,” originally the b-side of the “You Give Good Love” 45, which also went to #1. To date, that album, entitled Whitney Houston, has sold approximately 25 million copies.

Winston + Whitney 2014-08-07 18.58
For the first single from Whitney’s second album, entitled Whitney, Arista turned to the duo who wrote “How Will I Know.” They came up with “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me),” another #1 single.

As for Janet Jackson, her 1986 album Control produced six top 40 singles and established her as a superstar.

In observation of Whitney Houston’s birthday, here are ten of her finest moments.

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It’s Friday And I Need To Dance!

I recently came across the following piece of advice:

We tend to beat ourselves up when we fail and fail to celebrate when we succeed. Strengthen your belief in yourself by reflecting on each decade of your life and every success you’ve experienced. You can begin as early as age five when you learned how to ride a bike. Write it all down. You’ll be inspired, motivated and amazed by your list and how and can be used to face your fear.
(from lifehack.org: 13 Tips To Face Your Fear and Enjoy the Ride)

My list includes:
Cast as the second male lead in high school production of Fiddler on the Roof
First person in my family to graduate college
Became a Vice President at Warner Music
Performed stand-up comedy – won contests, was mentioned in Backstage cover stories and secured an agent
Became a homeowner at 30
Adopted two rescue dogs (previously I had a fear of dogs)
Second place in Toastmasters humorous speech contest
Named President of ImprovMasters
Successfully sued landlord
Paid off student loans
Skied down the Swiss Alps
Learned how to ride a bike

I recommend doing this exercise. You’ll remember many things you haven’t thought about in a while or perhaps take for granted. Look at the list whenever you need a reminder of your fabulousness.

Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s Friday and I need to dance!

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Glenn’s Ten – August 4, 2014

Spoon’s “Do You” holds on to #1 in Glenn’s Ten this week. There is one new entry – “Really Don’t Care” performed by Demi Lovato featuring Cher Lloyd. The track, a pop song in the “Call Me Maybe” vein, is the first Glenn’s Ten entry for both of these women.

Glenn’s Ten for this week is:
1. “Do You” – Spoon
2. “All the Rage Back Home” – Interpol
3. “Left Hand Free” – Alt-J
4. “Really Don’t Care” – Demi Lovato featuring Cher Lloyd
5. “Heart is a Drum” – Beck
6. “Nothing More than Everything to Me” – Christopher Owens
7. “You Are Your Mother’s Child” – Bright Eyes
8. “Every Time the Sun Comes Up” – Sharon Van Etten
9. “Just One of the Guys” – Jenny Lewis
10. “Control” – Broken Bells

Rounding out today’s playlist are ten tunes that were #1 on this date in Glenn’s Ten history, in reverse chronological order.

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me July 25 2014 at IM

It’s Friday And I Need To Dance!

Last week I regaled an audience with the story of the time I accidentally hired a prostitute to show me around Prague. These things happen. To me, anyway.

Half-glass-full guy that I am, once I realized what I did, I looked at the positive – I hired a prostitute to show me around Prague! Complications arose when the police got involved and I had to explain to my bank why they needed to credit that charge.

Though I ended up sightseeing that spectacular city on my own, I got a great story out of the trip. Sometimes things don’t go according to plan, but you make the best of the situation and try to turn it into a positive.

me July 25 2014 at IMSomeday I’ll talk about the time I boarded a bus in Mexico to go on what I thought was a nature trip to the hot springs. Let’s just say I don’t think the springs got any hotter than they did that night.

In 1987, two bands, both interested in making a dance record, got together in the studio at the suggestion of the head of their record label, 4AD. Colourbox and A R Kane didn’t hit it off, so each worked on their own track, which they then turned over to the other group to embellish.

Colourbox came up with “Pump up the Volume,” its title line sampled from Eric B & Rakim’s “I Know You Got Soul.” A R Kane added some guitar to the track, and DJs CJ Macintosh and Dave Dorrell added a bunch of samples.

The record was released under the name M|A|R|R|S. “Pump up the Volume” became a worldwide smash and was groundbreaking in its use of samples on a British house track.

Though the idea of a true collaboration between the two bands didn’t come to fruition, and the acts didn’t get along and never worked together again, they did produce a dance classic. “Pump up the Volume” kicks off today’s dance playlist. Have a great weekend and before you buy anything, make sure you know exactly what it is you are paying for.

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