Hello, Bye Bye (Not the Beatles Song)

Our thanks to Jeremy Hawkins at Hollywood Nuts! for this utterly groovy
Arlee's Ambassadors badge.

Time to Say Hello


        To start things off in this post I'd like to introduce you to some people you will probably be seeing around in the months to come.  In fact you may have noticed an increase from them in tweets and mentions about the A to Z Challenge in the past few weeks.  Why the interest in the #AtoZChallenge?   They are the 2015 Team of Arlee's A to Z Challenge Ambassadors!

         You might know some or all of them from previous April Challenges as they are all veterans.  Know them or not, I'm going to introduce you to them.  Be sure to visit their blogs to say hello and follow them.   Also I'll be giving you their Twitter handles so you can follow them there as well. 

          They will be joining the other co-host assistance teams in patrolling the Linky list to make sure all the links lead to participating blogs and to spread general A to Z goodwill and encouragement to all of the hard-working bloggers joining us for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.

Here's my extraordinary 2015 team:

Tim Brannan has been working with me for the past couple of years since we first started the co-host assistance teams.   He's been a great asset to A to Z with his blogging experience and keen organizational skills.   You can find his main blog at The Other Side.   His Twitter handle is  @timsbrannan .

Rob Z Tobor first teamed up with me last year when he actually visited every single blog on the 2014 Linky list.    If you've never visited Rob at his blog then you've got to see it to believe it--he lives up to the name of  the Slightly Eccentric Diary of Rob Z Tobor.  Follow Rob on Twitter at  @Rob_Z_Tobor .

J Lenni Dorner is signed up for a 4th A to Z Challenge and this time will be joining my assistance team for the first year in that role.   J is already been very active in promoting the Challenge.  I'm expecting big things from "J" who can be found at  What Are They? or on Twitter at @JLenniDorner.

Jenny Pearson is not only a long time blogging friend of mine, but a veteran of the A to Z Challenge.  She was a very capable co-host during the 2012 Challenge and now returns with her experience to give my Ambassador Team a hand.   Find Jenny at Pearson Report  as well as on Twitter at  @PearsonReport.
  
Jeffrey Bushman with two previous A to Z's behind him is joining my team to help keep an eye on things.   Please visit his blog The High Cost of This Low Living  and give him a follow as well as on Twitter at @jwb81074 

      This 2015 Team shows a lot of promise as they've already been diving right into the action.  We will be doing our very best to keep the A to Z Linky list cleaned up to make things easier for all participants as well as stopping in to visit as many of you as we can.   

      Thanks to a great team of bloggers!

 Battle of the Bands Results:  "Bye Bye Love"

      In my latest Battle the the Bands I pitted a pairing of versions of the Everly Brothers hit song "Bye Bye Love" with a bonus clip thrown in the mix to stir things up even more.  As I mentioned in the post, that last clip from the film All That Jazz was going to be my choice, but it was optional for any one else who didn't want to take time viewing that ten minute video.  A few did watch that long clip so as it turns out that one did get some votes--after all it was the best version!

      All the versions were very good as far as I'm concerned and voting was fairly close under the circumstances.  If I hadn't tossed in the monkey wrench of the third video I have a feeling that the winner of this round would not have won.  But I guess we won't know for sure.

         Congratulations to the Ray Charles version for edging out the competition.

Final Tally 

 All That Jazz              8 votes

Madeleine Peyroux    10 votes

Ray Charles                 12 votes

        Next Battle of the Bands post will appear on Sunday February 15th.    I promise there will only be two choices and I'll keep them relatively short.   Please join me for this upcoming Battle.   It will be a unique song that is a cult classic originally released in 1967 by a legendary and highly influential band that many of you may not have even heard of.   A real favorite of mine, but what else would you expect from me--it's a rather weird song.  Anyone for some jug band music?

         Do you already follow any of my Ambassador Team members?    Have you been seeing tweets and retweets about the A to Z Challenge?   Sorry, but I can't resist asking this, but do you have any idea what the song or original artist of my next Battle of the Bands is?

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Bye Bye Love (BOTB)

         The first of February on this blog means it's time for another Battle of the Bands, the blogging event first introduced by our friends at Far Away Series and  StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands.   This event happens twice each month on the 1st and 15th.   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.

          Having just celebrated my birthday this past Friday has me in a celebratory mood to honor a birthday of a notable figure of rock music history.  Don Everly was born on February 1st in 1937.  He and his brother Phil comprised the Everly Brothers who had a career that spanned nearly 50 years with a string of hits that eventually landed them a place in both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame--no small achievement.  Many major artists including the Beatles, Paul Simon, and Neil Young have named them as an influence.

         The Everly Brothers will long be remembered for their music.   Happy birthday Don Everly.

"Bye Bye Love"

          "Bye Bye Love" (1957) was the debut of the Everlys and became a million seller hit record for the duo kicking off their stellar career.  The song was written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, a husband and wife songwriting team who have composed many well-known songs including "Rocky Top", "Love Hurts", and "Wake Up, Little Susie". Since the Everlys' initial success with "Bye Bye Love", the song has been recorded by numerous artists over the years and used in several movies, television shows, and commercials.  

          In this edition of Battle of the Bands I will once again be closing with a 3rd entry that is a somewhat long movie clip.  You can choose to disregard this final clip if you don't want to spend the time watching it--and let me add here that this is an outstanding version of the song with a great visual production.  As in my previous Battle of the Bands I'm going to announce my pick ahead of time and my pick will be the long movie version at the end of the post.   But if you prefer you can choose between the two shorter versions that I'm offering first.  I think they're both very good.   I'm not including the original version by the Everly Brothers since that might give an unfair advantage.

        Let's get started!  (If you want to hear the version by the Everly Brothers you can click on this link, but please don't vote on that version)

Ray Charles "Bye Bye Love" (1962)

       From his album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, Ray Charles jazzes up the Everly Brothers' hit with a big band flair.   This is a short one that flies by, but it's classic Ray Charles style.  Enjoy.

Madeleine Peyroux "Bye Bye Love" (2013)

         Jazz singer Madeleine Peyroux gives the song a bit of a New Orleans voodoo twist giving it a cool groove.  This is from Peyroux's album The Blue Room.




Ben Vereen and Roy Scheider "Bye Bye Life" (1979)

        The film All That Jazz is based on the life story of Bob Fosse who also co-wrote, directed, and choreographed the movie.  The film was nominated for 9 Oscars in 1980, winning in four categories and it won numerous other entertainment awards as well.  This highly acclaimed film starred Roy Scheider in the lead role.  You might remember Scheider as the police chief in the movie Jaws--he's the one who says "You're gonna need a bigger boat".   Scheider appeared in numerous roles in a film career that spanned nearly fifty years and garnered him two Academy Award nominations as well as several other awards.

********* (Spoiler alert! -- though it's probably not a big deal in regard to the film musical All That Jazz)******
****************************************************************



       In the final death scene musical production, the song "Bye Bye Love" gets some lyric changes that turns the song into "Bye Bye Life".  In my opinion this is the best rendition of the Everly Brothers' hit ever recorded--this really rocks!  I cast my vote for this version.   Since this runs for nearly ten minutes you might choose not to watch and just vote between the two shorter versions offered above.  I think you will be well rewarded if you do watch the clip below.

       If you never have seen the film and enjoy musical films about show business, dancing, and pushing life beyond the limit, I highly recommend All That Jazz.   It's one great film.

Warning:  There is brief nudity in this clip.  






Time to Vote!

          Which do you prefer?  I've started off the voting with one vote for the version of "Bye Bye Life" from the film All That Jazz which as I said earlier is an optional choice in this contest.   I hope you will consider this one, but I'll understand if you only choose between the shorter versions.  

        Now it's up to you to determine the winner.   Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the one 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:

‘FAR AWAY SERIES’ 

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

 ‘YOUR DAILY DOSE’ 

  'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Book Lover

This Belle Rocks

DC Relief Battle of the Bands

        The results of my Battle will be announced on this coming Friday February 6th.   No post this Monday since I've posted this and want to give this post more of a chance to allow for voting.  On Wednesday I'll have my post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group.

             Have you seen All That Jazz?   What do you think was Roy Scheider's best role of his film career?     Are you an Everly Brothers fan?    

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