Category: Music

Peter Gunn Theme

Peter Gunn

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?

More with Pet and Cousin Brucie on PBS

[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/MAR07/PetBruce.flv 400 242]

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.

Petula Clark Hosts “My Music: The British Beat”

The British BeatThere’s a PBS TV special that’s starting this week, called My Music: The British Beat. It’s hosted by none other than Petula Clark. No, I haven’t seen it yet! But I will. It sounds like a fun show, but I think it’s one of those specials that’s run in between pledge requests. Here’s a blurb about it:

In February 1964, a young English rock ‘n’ roll quartet called the Beatles arrived on U.S. shores, kicking off a musical explosion that took the country by storm – and reverberates to this day. PBS revisits the time when the nation’s airwaves grooved to the swinging sounds of London in MY MUSIC: THE BRITISH BEAT. Britain’s first lady of song, Petula Clark, hosts this all-star reunion of some of the best of the British Invasion and performs her #1 million-seller “Downtown.” Beloved duo Peter and Gordon reunite for the first time in nearly four decades to perform their hits “World Without Love” and “I Go to Pieces.” Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent of the Zombies bring back the British psychedelic pop sound with the Brit-rock anthems “Time of the Season” and “She’s Not There.”

THE BRITISH BEAT includes numerous #1 Billboard hits such as “Wild Thing” by the Troggs, “To Sir With Love” by Lulu and “Game of Love” by Wayne Fontana, original lead singer of Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, who also reprises the favorite “A Groovy Kind of Love.” An archival performance of her 1966 worldwide smash “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me” pays tribute to the late Dusty Springfield, while vintage clips from “The Ed Sullivan Show” provide era-defining moments from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

Frank Luther Children’s Sing-A-Long

Frank Luther Sing-A-Long

It’s a brother’s lifelong duty to torment his sisters, and this post will most assuredly do that. The picture above was scanned from a very old record from our childhood — Children’s Sing-A-Long, by Frank Luther and the Children’s Chorus.

The audio players below have the record, with each side played through as a single track. The total time is well under 30 minutes. The song titles are given as they appear on the record jacket. Luther is noteworthy in the history of American popular music, and some background information on him is provided at the bottom of this post.

Side One

  1. I’ve Been Workin’ On The Railroad
  2. Shortnin’ Bread
  3. My Darling Clementine
  4. Home On The Range
  5. Goodbye, Old Paint
  6. Old MacDonald Had A Farm
  7. Oh Susanna
  8. America The Beautiful
[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/MAR07/FrankLuther1.mp3]
 

Side Two

  1. Skip To My Lou
  2. Swing Low Sweet Chariot
  3. A Tree In The Wood
  4. Billy Boy
  5. She’s Be Comin’ Round The Mountain
  6. The Bear Went Over The Mountain
  7. Froggy Went A-Courtin’
  8. My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean
  9. Sidewalks Of New York
  10. Daisy Bell
  11. Little Liza Jane
  12. Buffalo Gals
[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/MAR07/FrankLuther2.mp3]

Frank LutherOne of the first urban cowboys, Frank Luther (August 4, 1905 – November 16, 1980) made a career out of supplying urban listeners with their fix of traditional country music. A Kansas native, Luther was a professionally trained pianist who played in several vocal groups in his home state before moving to New York in 1928 and meeting fellow Kansas transplant Carson Robinson. The duo wrote and recorded several songs targeted at urbanites [including “Barnacle Bill The Sailor” – DogRat] and regularly guested on a country radio program hosted by Ethel Park Richardson. When Luther met and married a fiddler who had once played with Robinson named Zora Lyman, he began to move away from country music, preferring to write and perform children’s music. ~ Steve Kurutz, All Music Guide