This Is Me--2024 A to Z Theme

My A to Z Themes in the past have covered a range of topics and for 2024 the theme is a personal retrospective that I call "I Coulda Been" which is in reference to my job and career arc over my lifetime. I'll be looking at all sorts of occupations that I have done or could have done. Maybe you've done some of these too!

Monday, February 15, 2021

2nd Chances ( #BOTB )


Everyone deserves second chances.   Without redemption we'd all be hopelessly lost...

In this post we'll look at some former child actors who made (or tried to make) comebacks later in their lives...



Battle of the Bands

        Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and now hosted by StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands.   This event happens each month on the 15th and on some there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month.  My blog is one of those with a second Battle excepting over these summer months.   The premise is simple:  Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it.  Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this                                                                                 post for more Battle action.


2nd Chances

         There have been a number of actors who made it big as children in the world of show biz but didn't fare so well in their later attempts at acting.   The Battle at hand will look at three actors who achieved a degree of stardom with roles in television shows in the fifties and then attempted comebacks in the world of pop music.  You undoubtedly know something about each of these artists, but maybe you don't know the full stories about them.  This Battle will touch upon these former child stars who ventured into the music business after their early stardom had faded...



Beaver and the Trappers   "Happiness Is Havin'"   (1963)

        After the successful run of the television show Leave It to Beaver, good ol' Beaver Cleaver stopped being a cute little kid and became a teenager.  What next on the Beaver's horizon?  Why not capitalize on that fame and start a rock and roll band?   Featuring Jerry Mathers as The Beaver, the Trappers included Richie Corelli-- Beaver's friend Richie on the show--who co-wrote this song with Jerry Mathers...




David and the Giants  "Why"  (1987)

         I Love Lucy was a big hit in the fifties and continues to be shown on television to this day.  There was quite a stir after Lucy became pregnant and the state of expectancy was written into the show.  The arrival of Little Ricky was greeted by millions who watched the child grow up before their eyes from week to week.   However, the Little Ricky we saw on the show was not the real son of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz .  The actual child actor who played that role was one Keith Thibodeaux (or Richard Keith as he was dubbed at the time).  At age 3 Keith had been already touring as a drummer with a popular big band.  After taking the role of Little Ricky  Keith appeared on many television shows during his stint as a child actor including a recurring role on The Andy Griffith Show.   In 1969 Keith joined a rock band called David and the Giants.  In 1974 Keith became a born again Christian and not long after that the entire band became a Christian band that continues to this day.  The song "Why" was written by Thibodeaux...







Micky Dolenz  "Tomorrow"  (1983)

       Moving from one drummer to another we come to Micky Dolenz who many of you might remember as the drummer of the TV band The Monkees.  But did you know that Micky had an earlier television career under the acting name of Mickey Braddock in the mid-fifties when he starred as the lead character of the series Circus Boy--a show of which I was a faithful viewer as a young child.  The song "Tomorrow" comes from the 1976 gangster themed musical Bugsy Malone which had an all child cast including a 13 year old Jodie Foster.  Here is an interpretation of that song by a former child actor turned rock star...






Time to Vote!
        
          Maybe you can take a chance on this Battle.  I hope you'll at least give the versions a listen to discern your favorite.   Which version do you prefer?   Hopefully you have an opinion of some kind.  You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.

        Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours.



Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

  'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 


A I Love Music



Winner of this Battle Announced on Monday February 22nd

          














25 comments:

  1. I agree Lee, everyone deserves a second chance for whatever reasons.
    I choose Mickey Dolenz, loved him with the Monkees and also the title of this song is appropriate for today's world situation.
    Take care.
    Yvonne.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yvonne, thanks for stopping by.

      Voting starts of with Mickey Dolenz.

      Lee

      Delete
  2. Mickey Dolenz gets my vote! I liked his song the best

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mike, best is what it's all about.

      Another vote for Mickey Dolenz.

      Lee

      Delete
  3. David and the Giants, both for song and his story.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alex, and this Battle takes a turn with...

      A vote for David and the Giants.

      Lee

      Delete
  4. I have to say my fav is Mickey Dolenz but I don't mind The Beaver who liked the harder edge for the time period.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Birgit, I thought Jerry Mathers was an interesting prospect, but it's...

      A vote for Micky Dolenz.

      Lee

      Delete
  5. I'm going to disqualify the Micky Dolenz song, because by the time he made this record he already had been a genuine rock star. Keith Thibodeaux's was slickly produced and sounded clean, while Jerry Mathers and crew was pure energy. I'm going with his.

    Great idea for a BotB! So good, I'm going to "borrow" it...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John H, Micky was certainly the biggest music star of the three.

      Glad to have you give your take on this theme.

      A vote for Beaver and the Trappers.

      Lee

      Delete
  6. My vote goes to Micky, since he has such an incredible voice, and I've loved him for almost my entire life. David and The Giants are a very close second, though. Their instrumentation is beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Carrie-Anne, like John said the production values of David and the Giants is very slick, but I like that instrumentation as well.

      A vote for Micky Dolenz.

      Lee

      Delete
  7. Lee,

    It's interesting you picked little Ricky from the I Love Lucy show. Later in the week, I plan to share a sketch I'm working on of Lucille Ball on Thursday. That's wonderful news to read Keith committed his life to Jesus and now jams for the Lord - very cool! I liked the song "Why" but I have to give my vote to the song/artist that turned my ear the most and that is MICKY DOLENZ singing "Tomorrow". Thanks for stopping by yesterday and casting your vote in my BoTB 2021 Round 4 Showdown - Photograph, my friend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cathy, it's always good news in my view when someone accepts Jesus Christ.

      Another vote for Micky Dolenz.

      Lee

      Delete
    2. Lee,

      I agree anytime anyone accepts Christ is a joyful event!

      Delete
  8. I'm gonna give it to Mickey, slightly over the Beav.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CW, the Beav isn't getting much love in this Battle.

      A vote for Micky Dolenz.

      Lee

      Delete
  9. David and the Giants for me. Nice idea. I agree with John though about Micky Dolenz.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Janet, still Dolenz was in a second career stage as a rock star.

      A vote for David and the Giants.

      Lee

      Delete
  10. I really enjoyed this Battle, LEE!
    You gotta goot juan, and I truly enjoyed listening to all three recordings!!!

    Wow! I was impressed by The Beav who, as early as 1963, was a promoter of Garage Rock (which was really a form of 'Proto-Punk'). Who knew that The Beav was so cutting edge?!

    Although I enjoyed it also, the Micky Dolenz song was my least favorite of the three.

    My BOTB Bote goes to DAVID & THE GIANTS.
    'WHY'?
    Just because, musically, I sincerely liked that song the best of the three. The fact that they were praising The King of kings and The Lord of lords is just an added bonus. That was a gorgeous song! It kind of reminded me of the song 'Love Is The Answer'. I really should look further into their output because, if 'Why' is any indication, I might be a major future fan of the band!

    ~ D-FensDogG
    'Loyal American Underground'

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. STMcC, I also enjoyed that harder edge of Jerry Mathers. I wonder why his music career didn't go much farther.

      I believe I only own 2 David and the Giants albums so I don't know about the rest of their output. But I really like what I've known about them. Saw them in concert around 1989 or so and thought they were excellent.

      A vote for David and the Giants..

      Lee

      Delete
  11. From Facebook my Cousin Tom casts his vote for...

    Beaver and the Trappers.

    Lee

    ReplyDelete
  12. I have to take Mickey Dolenz out of the equation, as he's still creating music (and touring) to this day and recently came out with a c.d. on 7A records (I believe) and you can follow him on FB. So to me, it would be unfair to include him in the voting as he's way more polished than anyone else.

    With the remaining two, Beaver and the Trappers sound like a prototypical garage band from the mid 60's (hollow vocals and weird twangy guitars) while David and the Giants sound a bit more polished and tight.

    I vote for David and the Giants

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. GB, Dolenz has had a pretty amazing career. To my knowledge I think Keith Thibodeaux still records and performs with David and the Giants.

      A vote for David and the Giants.

      Lee

      Delete
  13. The results of this Battle are now posted at:

    Tossing It Out

    ReplyDelete

Go ahead and say something. Don't be afraid to speak your mind.
I normally try to respond to all comments in the comment section so please remember to check the "Email follow-up comments" box if you want to participate in the comment conversation.

For Battle of the Bands voting the "Anonymous" commenting option has been made available though this version is the least preferred. If voting using "anonymous" please include in your comment your name (first only is okay) and city you are voting from and the reason you chose the artist you did.

If you know me and want to comment but don't want to do it here, then you can send me an email @ jacksonlee51 at aol dot com.

Lee