Sons of Riches ( #BOTB )

     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 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.

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!

Dino, Desi, and Billy "Turn Down Day"  (1966)

Gary Lewis & the Playboys "Turn Down Day" (1968)

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 

Landmark Sounds (Diedre Knight)

BATTLE OF THE BANDS BY DEBBIE D

Trivial Music Silliness

Results on Wednesday May 21

 

     Or thereabouts....