My A to Z Themes in the past have covered a range of topics and for 2025 the theme is a random assemblage of things that are on my mind--or that just pop into my mind. Whatever! Let's just say I'll be "Tossing It Out" for your entertainment or however it is you perceive these things.
If I had a million dollars for every blog post I've done about Battle of the Bands I'd be surprised. And I'd probably still be broke. Life is like that sometimes. In any case, with every BOTB post comes a results post. And this is another one...
Battle of the Bands Results
My most recent Battle was a contest between sixties pop groups Dino, Desi, & Billy and Gary Lewis & the Playboys. I like both groups pretty well and they both presented good versions of the old Cyrkle song "Turn Down Day". I was tempted to give my vote to DD&B because I do like their version and they needed the help with the vote. Still, my vote wouldn't have made much difference, so I stuck with my real choice of Gary Lewis and gang. I liked the orchestration and fuller vocals better. So did most of the voters I guess...
The rich and famous seem like their lives would be so fulfilled. Sometimes I guess they are, and for others there are so many struggles and hassles they can go through. You figure if you are the kid of a celebrity you have a menu of opportunity at your pleasure. Can just your name pay the meal ticket?
This past week I watched a documentary about the life of Dean Martin. Since I had followed Martin as I was growing up and through his television career, I was familiar with a lot about his life. He became biggest after he teamed up with Jerry Lewis and for nearly a decade they were huge stars. Then in 1956 Lewis decided to go on his own and made a rather acrimonious separation.
The documentary delved into Dean's love of family and his willingness to embrace the social institution of kids and relatives. On the other hand, I'd long heard about the cruelty of Jerry Lewis toward his own kids. They were not only cut out of his will, but 3 of his sons were barred from coming to their father's funeral.
One of the stories they told in the film was about son Dean Paul Martin's successful foray into show business. This brought back my own memory of the summer of 1966 when my family moved to East Tennessee from northern Indiana. I was about to begin high school. The move didn't bother me that much since Indiana had only been home for less than three years. Seemed like time to move on.
My new friends had similar musical interests as my friends up north. I'd became drawn into the current of British groups as well as listening to a lot of Beach Music groups and Tijuana Brass. However one of the new groups that greeted me in Tennessee was Dino, Desi, and Billy, a group that included the sons of Dean Martin and Lucy & Desi Arnaz ("I Love Lucy"). I'm sure I was aware of them, but just hadn't known anybody who had any of their albums. My new friend Fred had two of them and we would listen to them often. Fred, being an aspiring young musician, liked this group I think because they were mostly a cover band. Most of the songs on their albums were hits from other groups or artists. Since any band Fred would be playing in locally would be playing music covers, then DD&B seemed like the kind of band to listen to.
I was already a fan of Jerry Lewis's son Gary's band. They'd had several hits on Chicago radio in 1965 and I liked all of them. I even broke down and bought a 45 RPM copy of their song "Just My Style" which I still think is a pretty great tune. Back then I knew about the relationship between Gary and Jerry, but wasn't aware of the bad part. I figured Gary was mostly helped into the business by his dad. Apparently his mother helped, but forget help from Daddy. Fortunately, Gary and his Playboys put out some good songs that people liked and they were a hit.
Which, by golly, that makes me think of something! You know...
Battle of the Bands
Battle of the Bandsisthe blogging event started byFar Away Seriesand now hosted byStMcC 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.
Turn Down Day
Once I came up with the two competitors in my Martin vs Lewis Battle I started scouring for a song they had both covered. Since Gary Lewis recorded mostly songs his team came up with there were less covers from which to choose. And then I saw a song from one of my favorite groups of the sixties: The Cyrkle. You likely know their biggest hit "Red Rubber Ball" which was often played on the radio during the summer of '66. Their next release was a song that I liked even better. Fortunately for my BOTB this time, there are versions recorded by both of my featured artists. Hope you will enjoy!
Time to Vote! Please don't turn down this opportunity to vote for your favorite. You're supposed to vote on one of these song versions. Which one do you prefer? Battles are no fun without you the reader participating. 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. I don't know if anyone else will be doing a Battle this time around, but you can still check out these sites. Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts: StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands 'Curious as a Cathy' Sound of One Hand Typing Jingle, Jangle, Jungle
I've got some Battle of the Band results to post, but first I'll make some reflections on my recent Blogging from A to Z April Challenge experience.
It was a good year I thought. I managed to post as I should daily in April and wasn't too stressed about it. I enjoyed the content I posted and hopefully some of you did as well. Simplicity was my goal and I think I achieved it.
As usual, I didn't visit other blogs as much as I had intended and know that I should for a blog event such as A to Z. Bottom line is that I'm just not on my computer as much as I used to be and blogging time is sacrificed. I guess I'll have to figure that out eventually.
Thanks to everyone who participated by posting and reading. And a very big appreciation for the fantastic A to Z Team:
My recent Battle was between the groups Badfinger and Electric Light Orchestra. I have so many more memories associated with Badfinger that they are my general favorite. I do enjoy the classical music setting of ELO and there is not a thing wrong with their music in my view. I just prefer Badfinger.
Final Vote Tally
Badfinger 2 votes
Electric Light Orchestra 8 votes
Next Battle on May 15
That's my plan and I'm not planning to change it yet.
