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Here’s some more of the bizarre Russian duo Messer Chups, with Zombie Girl on bass. I don’t know if evoking the look of Bettie Page and combining it with a surf guitar sound makes sense, but somehow it works.
It’s generally believed that the Hitchcock movie North By Northwest with Cary Grant influenced the development of the James Bond movies. After the first Bond movie Dr. No proved to be such a hugely successful hit, in 1963 Cary Grant, almost 60, was featured in a less physical spy movie called Charade.
Henry Mancini wrote the Charade score and Andy Williams sang the theme song. Compare this to Matt Monro singing the theme to From Russia With Love, also from 1963.
[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/MAR07/Charade.mp3]Nice, huh? Well, here’s a Russian duo performing a decidedly different version of “Charade” at a rowdy German club last year. That’s Zombie Girl playing bass.
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There was an earlier statement of appreciation made for the theme to the old TV show Peter Gunn. It’s certainly a favorite of Bismo’s. Here’s the theme, recorded in 1958 and taken from boring, old vinyl LP. That’s Johnny Williams, as he was known then, on piano.
[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/MAR07/PeterGunn.mp3]The Peter Gunn soundtrack is fun and evocative of its era. Well worth getting, and it’s available cheap on Amazon. Click here. Dig that crazy, mixed-up artwork! What are those red vein things supposed to be — bullet holes in a sport coat, or something?
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Here’s another slice and splice with Petula Clark and legendary NY DJ Cousin Bruce Morrow from the PBS special My Music: The British Beat. I don’t actually agree with Pet’s comment that the Beatles were her big break in America. Her success was her own, of course, but if anybody deserves some credit for paving the way for Petula it was Julie Andrews, who had been in America for nearly ten years by that point. And before the Beatles the James Bond movies were hugely influential in opening up the U.S. to all things British.
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I’ve spliced together segments from My Music: The British Beat with Petula Clark and Cousin Brucie giving sales pitches for PBS. I wonder just how well known Bruce Morrow is nationally, or even in Boston where I am now?
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I remember when the PBS music specials that were aired for fund-raisers featured Lawrence Welk. Later, it was Doo-Wop. Now it’s, sigh, the music of my generation. Here’s Petula Clark introducing the Zombies, performing “Time of the Season” on My Music: The British Beat.
