TODAYS

Summer seems to have arrived at last (but for how long). But enough of all that - on to the music-

The Brothers (Dean & Marc) - Soiux City Sue
Billy J Kramer - Beautiful Dreamer & Da doo ron ron
Ernie Maresca (Songwriter Demo) - The Wanderer. An unusual one - the writers demo of asong that became a big hit for Dion. Later he had a hit himself with Shout Shout (Knock yourself out).
Crew Cuts - Mostly Martha. Back to the 50's and when the crew cut was the rage - no wonder the Beatles looked weird at first.
Mavericks - True love ways. I think the Mavericks Dance the night away is one of the best of very few good songs of the past 30 years. Here led by the superb voice of Raul Malo they sing a Buddy Holly hit. I am sure they had some NZ connection - manager or somebody connected was a Kiwi.
Mouth & MacNeal-How Do You Do
Preston Epps - Bongo Rock

MORE KIWI ON WELLINGTON ANNIVERSARY DAY

I should have put up "You can't beat Wellington on a good day" which is right except the weather here lately means we have had hardly any good days.

She who must be obeyed is grizzling about the wet and I suppose she is right but on the bright side we don't have the fire problems the Ozzies are having with the tremendous heat waves they are undergoing. My brother & his wife are Ozzies and they now have real water problems at the moment.

Anyway today's lot are here:

Black Bolt & the Silver Ferns - Give em a taste of Kiwi
Suzanne Prentice - When I dream
The Tumbleweeds - Maple on the Hill
John Rowles - Daffodil Day. Is he the greatest NZ pop singer. Probably he had the greatest International success.
Hammond Gamble - You make the whole world smile. Both this and Daffodil Day were made to raise funds for charity many years ago.
Steve Allen - Come together. The theme song of the 1974 Christchurch Commonwealth Games. Who can forget Dick Taylers great win. It inspired us to go to the 1990 Games in Auckland and although they say the opening ceremony is the 'thing' we found the closing much better as it was so emotional.
St Josephs Maori Girls College-Po Atarau (Now Is The Hour)

MORE KIWI

Some NZ hits -

Keil Isles - Splish splash
Craig Scott - When Jo Jo runs
Shane - St. Paul
Creation - Carolina
Larry's Rebels - Lets think of something. The famous Rugby commentator Winston McCarthy's son was a member of the Rebels.
Shona Laing - 1905. She got her start through the TV show "Have a Shot'. As I said she in a previous post she didn't win but I remember one the judges the late Relda Familton, saying at the end of the voting that she should have won - and she was right. Where is the winner today??
(Link in previous post)

A YEAR AGO

I meant to post on my one year anniversary but time the usual factor caught me out.

So I am a couple of days late but in recognition of this anniversary I have here two songs from the great John Hore-Grenell.

John Denver Hore was born in 1944, in the Central Otago town of Ranfurly and I first saw him on a NZ TV talent show "Have a Shot'. It was based upon a radio show from 1ZB in Auckland. In the radio program I used to listen to as a kid, when the judges thought they had heard enough they fired a shot and the act came to an end. TV was not that cruel.

John was like many others who failed to win Have a Shot but went on to fame - Shona Laing, Split Enz - and of course in the UK Susan Boyle didn't win. Where are the winners now?

So John did not win (3rd) but I thought he was the best act. However, I must admit that when I saw Split Enz on hHave a Shot I thought they were terrible.

Nevertheless John joined the show circuit and in 1965 he went to the USA where he performed as John Denver, using his first and middle names. Hore was considered by the Yanks as too risque.

Supposedly John Deutschendorf was performing and that was when he decided to call himself John Denver. Later when the Kiwi returned to the US he couldn't use Denver so he used his mothers maiden name of Grenell instead.

So today we have John singing I've been everywhere and Welcome to my world which Toyota used in an advert. I've previously posted his version of Blue Smoke.

WEAVING SOME OLDIES

Weaving some oldies here with the Weavers and others. All from a long time ago
Weavers - Tzena,Tzena (the Israeli folk song) and Bay of Mexico
Doris day - A bushel and a peck
Sensations - Music music music
Xavier Cugat - Sucu sucu sucu
Rosemary Clooney & Bing Crosby - Isle Of Capri
Russ Morgan - Forever and ever

ITS ONLY THE BEGINNING - OF 2010

Kalin Twins - It's Only The Beginning
- their big hit was When.

Dreamweavers - Its almost tomorrow
The Jumpers - Its springtime in the Rockies - all rocked up
Larry Finnegan - Lucinda. He was a one hit wonder with Dear One
Leroy Anderson - The Syncopated Clock
Nino de Angelo - Guardian Angel
All here

FIRST OF 2010

The first of the New Year. How are we going to say it - Twenty ten or Two thousand and ten. Who knows - who cares.

What we do care about is the music here:

Bonnie Guitar-The French song. Not as good as the Lucille Starr version

Anita Lindblom -You can have him. From 1962 a Swedish singer sing the female version of Roy Hamilton's great song.

Tony Sheveton - A million drums from 1964

Johnny Halliday-Love me tender (French). The King of R 'n' R in France.

Jan & Dean - Baby Talk. Supposedly recorded in a garage.

Crickets -A Fool Never Learns. Buddy's backing group. I go to a weekly quiz evening and one of the questions was 'What was Buddy Holly's wifes name" I knew she was Hispanic and not a pleasant person but it defeated me as I just couldn't recall it (pressure!!) so we wrote down 'That Spanish B.... '

It was Maria - why didn't we pick that as an obvious name?

(She caused some controversy when she wanted to charge the city of Lubbock to use Buddy's name in various ways, including in relation to a music festival, a street named the "Buddy Holly Walk of Fame", and a terrace named "Buddy Holly Terrace.")

Connie Francis - My Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own (V 3). Maybe the best song she ever did.