Category: Music

“I Love” the Lennon Sisters singing Margo Guryan

When the Beatles appeared in America, I was puzzled. My big sister had a book with the Lennon Sisters in an imaginary adventure, like Nancy Drew would have. Was John Lennon related to the Lennon Sisters, who were regulars on the Lawrence Welk Show?

Well, other than the fact that the Lennon Sisters were singers, they had no connection at all to John Lennon, of course. By the mid-sixties their lovely, ultra-sanitized harmonies were considered out of date, but as the decade moved swiftly to the psychedelic era, they did what they could to keep up with the times. In 1967 the Lennon Sisters released “On the Groovy Side,” produced by Snuff Garrett, who had helped Gary Lewis have a string of hits. They look like they’re wearing matching paisley maternity dresses!

D.F. Rogers spotted a copy of this LP in a record bin, and he noticed that one of the songs is “I Love,” written by Lia Pamina’s favorite singer-songwriter, Margo Guryan. Good catch, Denro!

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2010/JAN/ILove.mp3]

Thoroughly Modern Milli

The Hippie spirit lives on in the resolutely independent artist Milli Moonstone! This post has been a long time coming, because I first mentioned Milli two years ago, when I spotted her MySpace page.

Milli Moonstone is Emily Edmonstone, a British singer-songwriter and environmental activist. Milli is an eclectic chameleon, and she defies conventional description. Here, in the intro video to her site, she’s Emily, down-to-earth and matter-of-fact…

[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/2010/JAN/MilliWelcome.flv 512 384]

… and in this video for her song “Lose Myself,” she’s the playful, free-spirited Milli.

A few months ago, Milli Moonstone put out an EP CD that I ordered, but I can’t imagine she made any money off of me, shipping it to Boston from London. Now Milli has an 11-song album you can download from Amazon.com. Listen to the samples, and you’ll know Milli’s her own genre of music. “Lotsa Money” would go well with belly dancing, and “Good Goodbye” is about the end of a romance, but it could almost be taken as a death scene, saying goodbye to life itself. For contrast, there’s “Over,” which is lovely and powerful. My favorite track is the wild “Flashbacks.”

Last September, Milli was interviewed by Nikki Bedi on BBC Asia.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2010/JAN/MilliMoonstoneBBC.mp3]

During the interview Nikki plays Milli’s song “New Day,” which prominently features a sarongi. I’ll embed the song here, down-converted, so it won’t sound as good as the original, because I want you to buy it.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2010/JAN/NewDay.mp3]

I think there’s a CD version coming of “Lose Myself,” but it can be downloaded right now, so why wait? I realize that a lot of people are sending their extra money to help provide relief to Haiti, but if you have $9 US to spare, please buy Milli’s album. (Note: I make no money at all from anything related to DogRat.com. This site is a hobby and an expense, and that’s the way I want it.)

Ringo’s starr still shines

Good old Ringo, the eldest Beatle, born three months before John, turns 70 this year. Back in ’08 Eric and I saw Ringo in Boston, and now he’s out plugging his new record — that I downloaded from Amazon last night, after seeing him on the Daily Show.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
Ringo Starr – With a Little Help From My Friends
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show
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A Freed man

BBC Radio 2 has a Listen Again (podcast) documentary about pioneering Rock and Roll DJ Alan Freed. I was going to listen to just a few minutes and finish it later, but instead sat through the whole show in one sitting. I think it should be available until next week.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00pqb52/The_Inventor_of_Rock_and_Roll_The_Alan_Freed_Story/